DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-115, July 19, 2002 edited by Glenn Hauser, wghauser@hotmail.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 HTML version of this issue will be posted afterwards at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd02.html For restrixions and searchable 2002 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 WORLD OF RADIO #1140: (ON DEMAND) http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html (DOWNLOAD) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1140.rm (STREAM) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1140.ram (SUMMARY) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1140.html [available soon] WWCR BROADCASTS: Sat 0500, Sun 0230 on 5070, 0630 3210, Mon 0000? 9475 RFPI BROADCASTS: Sat 0130, 0730, Sun 0000, 0600 on 7445-USB, 15038.6 WRN BROADCASTS: Rest of world Sat 0800, North America Sun 1400 ** AFGHANISTAN. SURVEY OF RADIO/TV STATIONS IN KABUL AND HERAT The following TV and radio services were observed by BBC Monitoring during recent a recent survey in Kabul and Herat (all times mentioned are in GMT/UTC): Kabul - Television Afghanistan TV broadcasts on channel E11 (217.25 MHz vision/222.75 MHz sound). It is on the air at 1315-1900 daily (sign-off time varies) and additionally at 0430-0730 on Fridays. News in Dari was observed at 1430-1435 and 1500-1530 daily; news in Pashto was at 0530-0535 (Friday only) and 1600-1630 daily. Kabul - Radio The following radio services were observed on the air in Kabul: Radio Afghanistan FM: 93.0 and 105.2 MHz; MW: 909 and/or 1278 kHz : 0030-0340 Saturday-Thursday, 0230-0800 Friday, 1230-1815 daily. SW: 15485 kHz: 0130-0330 Saturday-Thursday, 0230-0330 Friday. [presumably via Abu Dhabi --- gh] SW: 18940 kHz 1330-1630 daily. [originally via Norway, now via where??? --- gh] Radio Kabul: FM 93.0 and 105.2 MHz: 0340-0830 Saturday-Thursday - not broadcast on Fridays. News in Pashto 0430-0435; news in Dari 0730-0735. BBC World Service: FM 89.0 MHz: 24 hours in English/Pashto/Persian. Radio Free Afghanistan/Voice of America: FM 100.5 MHz: 24 hours in Dari & Pashto. Radio Turkiyem: FM 101.3 MHz: 0230-1830 in Turkish for ISAF contingent. Information Radio (US PsyOps): MW 864 kHz and SW 8700 kHz (in upper sideband): 24 hours in Dari & Pashto. Herat - Television Herat TV broadcasts on channel E7 (189.25 MHz vision/194.75 MHz sound). It is on the air at 1500-1830 daily (sign-off time varies), and additionally at 0430-0730 on Fridays. News in Dari & Pashto 1700- 1730. Herat - Radio Radio Herat uses two mediumwave frequencies: MW 1512 kHz: 0200-0400 daily. MW 828 kHz: 1230-1530 daily. News in Dari & Pashto 0300-0315 & 1400-1500. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 1-14 Jul 02 (via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. 18940, R. Afghanistan, Kabul, still via Kvitsøy, Jul 7 & 15, *1330-1627*, usual programs with the following, confirmed schedule: Pashto 1330-1400, 1430-1500 and 1530-1600, and Dari 1400- 1430, 1500-1530 and 1600-1627. SINPO 25333. But the morning broadcast *0130-0327* on 15240 has not been heard recently, so Al Dhabbaya, UAE seems to have changed frequency to avoid QRM from R Australia. Two other 19 mb stations heard broadcasting in Dari/Pashto at the same time are not R Afghanistan, but VOA, Udon Thani on 15185 and BBC, Cyprus on 15470 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window July 17 via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. AFGHAN LEADER SETS UP COMMISSION TO SUPERVISE RADIO, TELEVISION PROGRAMMES | Text of report by Afghan radio on 17 July Decree by esteemed Hamed Karzai, the head of the Islamic Transitional Government of Afghanistan, in connection with the establishment of the commission in charge of supervising radio and television programmes. With the aim of reforming, improving and advancing the affairs of government departments and in order to fulfill and implement the pledges made to representatives of the nation at emergency Loya Jerga, the formation of the commission in charge of supervising the programmes of radio and television is hereby announced. This commission will supervise all programmes on radio and television and will present their opinions for the amending, improving and advancement of the programmes to officials of the radio and television. The radio and television officials are duty bound to implement the opinions of the commission. Similarly, the commission should evaluate the opinions of radio listeners and television viewers and use them to improve the affairs [of radio and television broadcasting]. The following have been appointed as members of this commission: Esteemed Abdol Hamid Mobarez, deputy minister of information and culture in charge of broadcasting, Esteemed Aziz Ahmad Fanus, from the media department of college of journalism of Kabul University, Esteemed Asadollah Ghazanfar, writer in Pashto and Dari languages and expert and critic of radio programmes, Esteemed Mrs Shafiqa Habibi, a former employee of Radio Afghanistan, Esteemed Mrs Jamila Mojahed, announcer of radio and television, Esteemed Rezwanqol Tamana, member of the Supreme Council for Media and Culture, Esteemed Habibollah Rafi, member of the Supreme Council for Media and Culture, Esteemed Amanollah Obaidi, member of the Supreme Council for Media and Culture, Esteemed Osman Akram, the managing editor of the Zanbil-e Gham magazine, Esteemed Engineer Mohammad Eshaq, general director of radio and television, Esteemed Dad Mohammad Anabi, member of the Supreme Council for Media and Culture. The commission will be chaired by esteemed Mobarez, and its affairs and performance will be supervised by the minister of information and culture. Source: Radio Afghanistan, Kabul, in Pashto 1500 gmt 17 Jul 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. 15475.6, R Arcángel San Gabriel finally confirmed with nice attractive QSL card and letter. It says that Director is: Juan Carlos Pérez Arrieu, Technical operator: Segundo Rodolfo Balcarce, Second technical operator: Javier Rossetti, In charge of program and announcer: María Rosa Gabrielli de Pérez Arrieu, Announcer: Silvana Rossini de Celayes, Fabiana Flores de Balocchi, Esther Plana de Dobarganes. E-mail: esperaanzaantar@infovia.com.ar or esperanzaantar@hotmail.com orlra36@infovia.com.ar (Masato Ishii, Japan, DSWCI DX Window July 17 via DXLD) ** BOUGAINVILLE. 3850.0, R. Independent Mekamui (tentative), Jul 15th 0908 with music/song with Papua New Guinea tribal sound to it, any talk pretty well lost in static crashes, but improving. More songs and Pidgin talk. Sounded like feedback squeals at 0916. Time check (I think) mentioning 8 o`clock something at 0921. Heard a Radio Independent ?? mention at 0935. Some HAM QRM past 0940 but short lived. Program was mainly songs and short talks between them. Still fairly decent at 1000, but no ID noted (Don Moman, Alberta, DSWCI DX Window July 17 via DXLD) I guess around 0935 was when that recording was made, featured on WOR 1140 (gh, DXLD) 3850, R Independent Mekumui, 0907 July 19, male announcer with talk in Pidgin and ID, then Country song. Best heard from here since activation (Paul Ormandy, New Zealand, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURMA [non]. The Democratic Voice of Burma is celebrating 10 years on the air. It started in Norway as a gesture of the Norwegian government's support for Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.... http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/burma020719.html (RN Media Network 19-07-02 via DXLD) ** CANADA. Re: July 14 Inside Track on CBC Radio One: Estimado Licenciado... Is that online for downloading or maybe somebody has a recording? 73 (Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo - Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Horacio, I found this page for the previous Inside Track. Presumably the one you want will be available shortly if you change 7/7 to 7/14: http://cbc.ca/insite/INSIDE_TRACK_TORONTO/2002/7/7.html 73, (Glenn to Horacio, via DXLD) ** CANADA. Glenn, the Catholic pope actually arrives in Toronto on Tuesday July 23 after all. 1 PM ET. Why confuse people with TWO welcoming ceremonies? Here's a link to the CBC TV coverage, but nothing about CBC R1 coverage yet. http://cbc.ca/news/features/wyd/coverage.html (Ivan Grishin, Ont., July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CBC Previews: TAPESTRY: This week on Tapestry... a look ahead to the Pope's visit to Toronto for World Youth Day. More than a quarter of a million people in their twenties and thirties are coming to Toronto for ten days of music, festivities and religious services topped off with a visit from Pope John Paul II. Meet some of the young Canadians who put this huge event together. That's on Tapestry, with guest host Mary Wiens, Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (2:30 NT; 4:00 p.m. MT; 3:00 pm. PT) on CBC Radio One. VANCOUVER FOLK MUSIC FESTIVAL 25TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL: Live from the Vancouver Folk Festival, a bilingual simulcast of conversations, impromptu performances and memories of 25 years of great music. Featuring performances by Les Charbonniers de l'Enfer, The Backstabbers Country String Band, Ferron, Rokia Traoré and La Bottine Souriante. Hosted by David Grierson and Andre Rheaume. That's the Vancouver Folk Festival 25th Anniversary Special, Sunday night at 10:00 p.m. (11 AT, 11:30 NT) on CBC Radio Two. (CBC Hotsheet via DXLD) ** CONGO DR. Re Okapi: Glenn, No, 11690 not heard here yet. I also don't recall hearing 9550 recently (Chris Greenway, Kenya, July 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. Hauser heard clearly on RFPI 7445 Jul 17 at 0200 with QSA 3-4 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window via DXLD) That would be Continent of Media, UT Wed (gh) ** CUBA. The unID at 5064, must surely be a new Pirate coming out of mainland Cuba. Radio Cienfuegos. A friend here in Puerto Rico has been lucky enough to catch it on both 5400 and 11300. We all presume that trying to avoid Cuban Security Monitors they change frequently from side to side. I posted also something on HCDX but no one said anything. Good luck to you (Hector (Luigi) Pérez, PR, NP4FW, KPR-260- SWL via Thomas Nilsson, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. De viaje por Cuenca, muchos años ha, no pude dejar de visitar el flamante edificio de Ondas Azuayas Radio y TV. Una de las cosas que más recuerdo es la colección de postales enviados por los oyentes de todas partes del mundo - aunque con una neta preponderancia por los países del norte europeo - abigarrada decoración ésta que cubría una pared entera. Entre los recuerdos que me llevé, quiero destacar una bonita tarjeta QSL sin rellenar de Ondas Azuayas TV (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** INDIA. 9425, AIR Bangalore, Jul 6, 1820 English with western pop music and requests until 1830 and then news. 1835 I think they have changed to Hindi. Announces as The National Channel of All India Radio. Return to English at 1840 with programme highlights. Signal was a good S9 but with side-splash (Noel Green, UK, DSWCI DX Window July 17 via DXLD) ** INDIA. A VISIT TO AIR THIRUVANTHAPURAM by Jose Jacob, VU2JOS Thiruvanthapuram is the capital of the South Indian State of Kerala. It is located almost in the Southern Western tip of India. It was earlier known in English as Trivandrum. Before the independence of India, it was the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Travancore, which had its own stamps, coins and even a radio station. During my recent trip to my native place, I undertook a 6 and half- hour trip by a Super Fast bus to cover 225 kms on a rainy day to visit the different facilities of the AIR station there, by prior appointment. It was the 15th AIR station that I could visit and here are the details of that station. The history of AIR Thiruvanthapuram goes back to the days of Travancore Broadcasting Station which came on the air on 12th March 1943 when the Maharaja (King) of Travancore, Sree Chitira Tirunnal Balramavarma switched on a 5 kW Medium Wave Transmitter. The transmitter was made by STC (Standard Cable & Telephone) and the antenna mast was of 76 Meters. AIR is now celebrating 60 years of Malayalam broadcasting to commemorate this first broadcast from this station. (Malayalam is the local language of the State). The callsign of the station was at first VUR which later changed to VUG and it used the frequency of 658 kHz. In 1946, it used to operate on Wednesday and Saturday evenings for one and half hours. After over two and half years of Indian independence, when Travancore became part of the newly formed state of Kerala, this station was inducted to the All India Radio network on April 1, 1950. The present studios and offices of AIR Thiruvanthapuram are at Bhakti Vilas, Vazthuthacaud in the city which was set up in November 1952. It was recommissioned on December 12, 1959. It was earlier a palace that was used by the famous Diwan (Governor) of Travancore, Sir C. P. Rajagopalachary. It is a heritage building and is nicely maintained by AIR. The Station Engineer’s office was in fact the Diwan’s bedroom! Thiruvanthapuram being the capital of the state, all the other 6 stations of AIR in the state relay several of its programs as well as the little station in neighboring Kavaratti in Lakshadeep where the local language is also the same. Its programs are unlinked via INSAT 2C Satellite and the downlink frequency is 49.725 MHz [GHz?]. Most of the External Service programmes in Malayalam language broadcast at 1730-1830 UT to the Middle East are also unlinked to Delhi from here. The studio to transmitter link is via UHF on 1489 and 1521 MHz made by DB Electronica Telecomunicazoni in Italy and by Meltron. I also saw a 2 watt Meltron RT43S transceiver for two-way VHF communication system between studio and transmitter site. The transmitters of AIR Thiruvanthapuram are at different places. 1. Medium Wave: (A Channel) Its main MW site is at Kulathoor, which is about 12 kms away from the studioes. The old 5 kW transmitter installed for the Travancore Broadcasting Station in 1943 was replaced by a 10 kW BEL HMB 104 Transmitter on February 15, 1973. This transmitter’s serial no. is 4. It used the frequency of 660 kHz till the MW frequency reshuffle on November 23, 1978 and then it was changed to the present 1161 kHz. At the end of 2001, this 10 kW transmitter was replaced by a solid state 20 kW Harris DX 20 transmitter made in USA. Its output power can be selected as 5, 10 or 20 kW. It uses a self-radiating mast of 122 Meters. There are generators here to be used in case of any power failures. The morning transmission of this MW service starts at 5.50 am (0020 UT) and the evening transmissions end at 11.05 p.m. (1735 UT). The old 10 kW Transmitter is used as standby here. It is tested daily for a couple of minutes between 5.00 and 5.30 am before the normal morning transmission starts. 2. Vividh Bharati MW (Studio) The Vividh Bharati Service from this station started on March 6, 1966 with a NEC MB 122 A transmitter of 1 kW on 1170 kHz with a 28 meter self-radiating mast antenna installed at the studios. Later it was changed to 1494 kHz during the MW frequency reshuffle on November 23, 1978. It was converted to a Commercial Broadcasting Station on May 1, 1975. This MW Transmitter was taken off the air in favor of FM which started from here in 1999 but it is still kept as standby with an L antenna at the studios. 3. Short Wave: There were plans for SW transmission from here very long back but the transmitter meant for here was diverted to Kurseong in the early 1960s during the war with China. Ultimately, a BEL HHB 144 SW transmitter of 50 kW was commissioned here on November 6, 1994 after being tested from around October 1992. The serial no. of this transmitter is 8 which is capable for operating between 3.9 and 26.1 MHz. The transmitter site is near the seacoast at Muttathura about 12 km away from the studio. During the testing time the following frequencies were noted: 3315, 4990, 5950, 6085, 7260, 7280 and 9650 kHz. Presently there are 3 transmissions from here on SW as follows: 0050- 0215 UT on 5010 kHz, 0230-0400(Sun 1030) and at 0630-0930 on 7290 kHz. There are no broadcasts on SW from here now for the evening/night transmission due to shortage of staff. They use distilled water and air cooling systems to cool the transmitter. There are 3 antenna towers and the antennas are dipoles for 5 bands viz. 3, 5, 6, 7 and 9 MHz. There is an emergency studio also here I also saw a Sangean ATS 818 CS digital receiver there. 4. FM: The FM transmitter is located at Kudappanakunnu at the TV station, about 8 km away from the AIR studios. It was inaugurated here on August 15, 1999. It carries the Vividh Bharati program on 101.9 MHz in Stereo. The transmitters are two numbers of 5 kW BEL HVB 165/A. There are 3 transmissions daily and most of the programs are in Hindi relayed via Satellite from Mumbai. The morning transmissions start at 5.55 am and the evening transmissions end at 11.00 p.m. The history of FM broadcasting in Thiruvanthapuram if fact goes back to back to January 1983 when a 5 watt FM Transmitter assembled by AIR Tirunelveli staff was on air for a couple of days during an AIR conference held here. This low power transmitter which was installed at the AIR Studios used the frequency of 107.1 MHz. It was taken back after the conference was over. The local TV station using the same site by the way has two 10 kw transmitters operating on Ch. 9 (DD1) and Ch. 11 (DD2). At first it was a low power 100 watt station which was inaugurated on January 1, 1985. I have received several confirmations for my reception reports to this AIR station. Letters from foreign listeners are forwarded to New Delhi and QSL Cards are issued from there. -------- 12 Mar 1943 Travancore Broadcasting Station, VUR, 658 kHz, 5 kW MW STC 1 Apr 1950 Inducted to AIR 6 Mar 1966 1 kW Vividh Bharati NEC MB 122 A (at Vazthucaud Studio) 15 Feb 1973 5 kW MW tx replaced by 10 kW BEL HMB 104 (Kulathoor) Jan 1983 5 watts FM 107.1 MHz (demonstration by AIR Tirunelveli at Studio) 6 Nov 1994 50 kW SW BEL HFB 144 (Muttathura) 15 Aug 1999 MW Vividh Bharati replaced by FM Stereo 2x5 kW BEL HVB 165/A (Muttathura) Dec 2001 20 kW Harris DX 20 Tx replaced 10 kW MW (Jose Jacob, dx_india July 18 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]. Very difficult to express During the more than 33 years that I`m writing about the medium radio it was never before so difficult to search for words by compiling a story than today, July 18th 2002. Yesterday evening, after an operation, Howard G Rose died at the age of 49 years after a heart attack. Most people in radio land knew Howard as deejay Chrispian St. John or Jay Jackson. He was one of the very first British Anoraks who I knew after I started writing for Pirate Radio News in 1969. Very young, 16 years of age at that stage, Howard wanted to grab and eat everything which had to do with Pirate and Offshore Radio and so he did also read my magazine and got, on regular base, in contact with me. Of course he couldn’t avoid to start his own station at that time but was doing illegal things in England working for a land based radio station. Although this was a very tiny little one, bigger stations would come soon reality for little Chrispian. It was in 1971 that he, as a 18 year old guy, climbed onboard the MEBO II, the then radio ship of Radio Norht Sea International. There he became part of the international service which supplied us with the perfect sound of `RNI, the Summer of 71`. Howard learnt a lot from his fellow deejays like Paul May, Martin Kayne and the guy who hired him at that time, Steve Merikke. It was also on one of my visits to the Oude Boerenhofstede at Naarden, where the land based studios of RNI were housed, where I met Chrispian for the very first time. In 1971 he was dismissed by the station and recently he wrote a story of his dismissal in Soundscapes, the online journal for media and music culture at the University of Groningen. See spring edition under Volume 4 the article with the title `Getting the sack`. http://www.soundscapes.info But it was not only RNI which took the interest of Howard. In 1972 he went to the station, where he tuned in to in the sixties: Radio Caroline. In March 1968 both Caroline vessels were towed away from the British Coast and went into Amsterdam harbour. After being there and in Zaandam harbour for many years, they were sold for scrap in order of the Wijsmuller Tender Company, to which Caroline had to pay still a lot of money. It was Gerard van der Zee who bought the MV Mi Amigo back for Ronan O`Rahilly so Radio Caroline could be on the air again soon. First they started as Radio 199 and being almost winter the station came in clearly and we especially enjoyed the Christmas programming in 1972, where Howard, a.k.a. Chrispian, played a key role. It looked like that the station would as soon stop again as it restarted as the crew, which wasn`t properly paid by the organization, hijacked the ship and towed it into harbour again. With hard working of the deejays and volunteers, the MV Mi Amigo was soon back at sea and the most famous radio station on Earth was a rocking good way again from the only place Radio Caroline can be, the international waters. It seemed Chrispian was very restless and later, at the end of 1973, he wrote me that he would soon leave for Germany. There, in the harbour of Cuxhavn, a new radio ship would be fitted out under very hard conditions. Even one of the crewmembers died during the out fit of the MV Jeanine. The new ship would be used for Radio Atlantis, which had earlier hired transmission time from Radio Caroline. With their own ship, off the coast of Zeeland, they started also an international service and Chrispian once again was part of a very good team including Steve England, Andy Anderson as well as Terry Davis. In the Seventies Howard played a role within the Independent Radio, which started with LBC and Capital Radio in 1973 as the first commercial stations in Great Britain. He could be heard at stations like Swansea Sound and Viking Radio, but the sea still had a special feeling for Howard. It was Abe Nathan`s Voice of Peace, a station in the Mediterranean, which was the next station to work for. Howard stayed for many years there. While doing my research for my book on the history on the Voice of Peace I interviewed a lot of people and every time Chrispian was mentioned as a very good deejay and friend, although some told me that he sometimes could be very pigheaded and tried several times to get things his way. Then more `Rocking on the Northsea` came for Howard under his nickname Jay Jackson, sometimes adding `J` between his both names. Not only was he responsible for the newsroom from 1983 on board the MV Ross Revenge, the new Radio Caroline ship, he also made a lot of prestigious album music programs, we will never forget. The combination of the music he played, compared with his knowledge of the music, his beautiful voice made it all complete for listening with good pleasure. About his period on board the MV Ross Revenge Jay Jackson wrote a book called `The Pirates Who Waive the Rules`, a book which didn`t get the publicity it deserved. In the eighties Howard played an important role in co-starting the very first golden oldie station in Britain, Radio Sovereign. It became headlines, not only in Britain but also in Western Europe. It was an illegal station and therefore it was one day forced to go off the air, but it returned later at the Riviera in France. In the years Howard made thousands of contacts within the radio industry and he would love, at one stage, to highlight the radio world from another corner. An own Radio Magazine was his idea. After a false start, a second attempt was very successful and The Radio Magazine was born, now already more than 12 years ago. In between he was also one of the co- owners of KCBC, a radio station in his home town Kettering. Howard, which whom I stayed in contact all those years, one time more than the other, asked me to write for the Radio Magazine for the news from the Benelux. He also wrote on regular basis for the Freewave Media Magazine since the late seventies of last century. Just last week the message came in that Howard and Patricia, his wife, had sold The Radio Magazine and the Gold Crest Communications to a big publisher. It was stated that Howard would be staying as the key role man, but the new step in his career could not last for longer than a week. He died yesterday at the age of 49, leaving behind Patricia whom he did marry last year, and three children. I hope they have the strength in the time to come to carry this heavy loss (Hans Knot, 18.07.02, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND. Since the 252 kHz LW facility is operated out of the UK, I plan to file future items about it under UK [non] (gh, DXLD) ** JAPAN. MINISTER SAYS COST OF PREVENTING RADIO INTERFERENCE AT 180BN YENS | Text of report in English by Japanese news agency Kyodo Tokyo, 19 July: The national expense of preventing possible radio wave interference [RF interference] between terrestrial digital and analogue television broadcasts will total some 180 gigayen, the telecom minister said Friday [19 July]. "The government would like to pay the expense by tapping the pool of fiscal resources from taxes charged on the use of assigned radio wave frequencies" by TV broadcasters, Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Toranosuke Katayama told a lecture meeting. The government plans to have private television broadcasters start terrestrial digital broadcasts by the end of 2003. Private TV broadcasters and the ministry have been trying to accurately estimate the cost of preventing possible radio wave interference between digital and analogue broadcasts. The cost for preventing such interference was initially estimated at 70-80 gigayen, but a closer examination of relevant potential expenses produced the latest estimate of 180 gigayen, ministry officials said. The government will officially release the figure later in the day, they added. Source: Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 0657 gmt 19 Jul 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** LATVIA. More Laser Radio tests: see UK [non] ** LESOTHO. 4800, LNBS Full data prepared card received in 7 weeks for a registered f/up report sent via Hungary. My card was signed by Emmanuel Rametse, the Transmitter Engineer for Radio Lesotho. Unfortunately they could not exchange the dollar I sent with my report as there are strict laws regarding currency exchange by local citizens (George Maroti, NY, Cumbre DX July 18 via DXLD) What is the point of sending via Hungary? To make your letter stand out from the crowd? (gh, DXLD) I have had some very friendly e-mail exchanges with Lebohang Rametse, the son of the Radio Lesotho Transmitter Engineer, who tells me that the spare parts for the shortwave transmitter have arrived, and is currently being fixed. I learned that the local instrument that is sometimes heard at the top of the hour is called a Lesiba, which means "feather" in English. This is a very old instrument and it was usually played by herd boys. It is a long hollow pipe (about 1 meter) of wood with a hole on one end and side, where the player blows air into the tube and then it subsequently makes that purr noise. There is a picture and description of a Lesiba at the following URL: http://www.und.ac.za/und/music/Thabos.html#lesiba I suggested that such information would be of interest to Radio Lesotho's English speaking listeners, if they would only have a cultural type program. Apparently this suggestion was very well received by Radio Lesotho's program manager, as they already have such a program in Sesotho, and it would just need to be translated into English. Although there is enthusiasm for such a program, it is contingent upon the re-structuring of the government budget (George Maroti, NY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** LIBERIA. Thinking of sending a reception report to Liberia? http://news.bbc.co.uk/low/english/world/africa/newsid_2133000/2133294. stm LIBERIAN MAIL RETURNED TO SENDER KLM aircraft http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38114000/jpg/_38114412_plane-bbc-300.jpg KLM is one of the airlines boycotting Liberian post Letters and parcels are being returned to senders in Liberia as a ban on the country's international mail begins to bite. The ministry of posts and telecommunications is taking the measure following the ban by international airlines on deliveries to and collections from Liberia, according to the Associated Press news agency (AP). The ban was instituted at the end of June because of Liberia's failure to pay off long-term debts to the Dutch airline KLM and Ghana Airways. Ghana Airways is the only international airline making regular flights to Liberia. It collected Liberian mail and passed it on to KLM, which distributed it worldwide. Rebel fighters http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38140000/jpg/_38140649_liberiasold150_.jpg The war has also disrupted postal deliveries Some of the Liberian debts to KLM and Ghana Airways has been outstanding for more than 10 years. KLM has been sending Liberia bills and letters requesting settlement of the debt for the last year but no payments have been made, KLM spokesman Frank Houben told BBC News Online. The airline will not lift the embargo until the debt is paid, he said. Liberia has been experiencing problems with its postal services for a number of years as a result of war and the displacement of people, Juliana Nel of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) told BBC News Online. In addition to the mail ban, the United Nations has imposed a travel ban on Liberia's leaders, an arms embargo and a diamond sale embargo in order to end Liberia's support for rebels in neighbouring Sierra Leone. Refunds Liberia owes KLM $373,000 and Ghana Airways $56,000, according to a KLM spokesman. Its failures to pay its annual dues to the UPU have led to the suspension of its voting rights in the postal union, according to Juliana Nel of the UPU. The union is still trying to assist Liberia in restructuring its postal system. It is trying to improve and expand them and provide services in districts "where services have been suspended as a result of political instability," she said. Liberian refugees http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/38140000/jpg/_38140694_libdisplaced150_.jpg Thousands of Liberians have been displaced by war The stoppage in international mail collections and deliveries has required the Liberian postal ministry to start returning mail to its Liberian senders. Postal workers are collecting receipts from customers and returning the backlog of mail in Monrovia. One postal worker, who asked not to be named, told AP that he did not know how or when refunds would be made to those who had paid to send mail abroad. The Posts and Telecommunications Minister Miwaseh Pay-Bayee is trying to get permission from President Charles Taylor to go to Ghana to ask the government there to join Liberia in asking for a lifting on the mail ban (BBC News Online via Chris Greenway, Kenya, July 19, DXLD) ** LUXEMBOURG. 6090, RTL Radio, Jul 10, 0710-2030: the test mentioned in DX-Window no. 198 was heard here throughout the day and evening with fair reception, but always severe QRM from Bayerischer Rundfunk on 6085 having the same signal strength. German DJ mostly with British oldies, ads and IDs: ``RTL Radio`` and ``Die neue Deutsche Welle`` (The new Deutsche Welle !!!). SINPO varied from 33443 midday to 53544 at night. In my e-mail report to RTL I recommended them to find another frequency in the 49 mb (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window July 17 via DXLD) ** MAURITANIA. 4845, Radio Mauritanie, Nouakchott 0045-0103 July 17. Western Sahara music (with vocals) played on an Ud instrument at tune- in, followed by a brief segment of rapid recitations, but it was not the Qur`an. Resumption of Sahara music interspersed with Arabic announcements. Piano music bridge at 0050 into definite Qur`an to 0100, as signal began to fade slightly. Arabic closing comments including station ID to martial national anthem and sign-off. Open carrier to 0103. Signal initially S9 at tune-in, shifting to S5 by sign-off (Gayle Van Horn, NC, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. 12015, V. of Mongolia, Jul 14, 2020, fair in EE with Mongolian music and comment, ID 2029. Normally blocked by R Canada Intl (Ken Baird, New Zealand, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Another outlet has been reactivated, 3395 heard here UT July 18 at 1945 in vernacular, music; 3345 Poppondetta was also in. Paul Ormandy has reported these in the local evenings, but I hear them in the mornings (Chris Hambly, Victoria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3395 listed in 1998 WRTH as R. Eastern Highlands, Goroka (gh, DXLD) ** PERU. Re R. Nacional del Perú silent on 854 kHz: Deduzco lo siguiente. Dejaron morir lentamente el transmisor de onda media, al igual que el de onda corta (6095 khz) y no se preocuparon "para que si ahi hay otro" (el de la Crónica) los imagino sin esfuerzo. Y no hay pretexto por la cuestión económica ya que alberga una buena cantidad de personas ganando cerca de 4 digitos mensuales... (Alfredo ``Spacemaster`` Cañote, Lima, Conexión Digital July 18 via DXLD) ** RWANDA [non]. See USA -- VOA ** SURINAM. 4991, R. Apintie, 0735 July 18, presume the one with a weak signal and Hindi-sounding music. This one usually heard with English pops (Paul Ormandy, New Zealand, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN [non]. Hello Glenn, I was interested in your reference to Gerrards Cross under "TAIWAN" in DXLD 2-114, July 17, as I live a few miles away. It's a small town in a now rather built-up area about 20 miles west of London. The Radio Taipei map seems to be implying it's a transmitter site but there are no masts of any significance in that area and never have been. (It's close to a popular private airfield.) There's no reference to "Merlin" in the phone book covering Gerrards Cross and I couldn't find the place on their website but they presumably have something there. I expect it's the last "stop" before the link to the transmitting site - probably one used by the BBC. (As you may know 3955kHz is an old World Service frequency.) Many thanks for all the work you put into "WOR" and "DXLD". They really are invaluable sources of reference, particularly when so many "DX type" programmes have now disappeared. Kind Regards (Paul Kennett, Chorleywood, Herts., England, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Gerrards Cross is a village in Buckinghamshire, the next rail stop down from Beaconsfield going towards London. I've been through it many times on my UK visits; my wife's sister lives nearby. The Thames Valley seems an unlikely place for a HF site. I would like to try and find it on my next trip, whenever that will be. 73 de (John Cobb, GA, July 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TIBET. 6240 Xizang PBS in DX Window no.198, which was 5240, NOT 6240. Sorry to confusing, my error (Masato Ishii, Japan, DSWCI DX Window July 17 via DXLD) ** U K. See TAIWAN [non] above re Gerrards Cross ** U K. LISTENERS TUNE OUT THE 'BEEB' An article from http://www.globeandmail.com July 17, 2002 Associated Press London --- The British Broadcasting Corp.'s World Service lost three million listeners from its global radio audience in the past year because of increased competition and market deregulation, according to the corporation's annual review published Wednesday. The network praised for its coverage of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States also suffered from a slump in listening in India, director Mark Byford said. "In the context of more intense competition and market deregulation, the overall global radio audience for BBC World Service fell ... from the record high in 2001, to 150 million listeners," Mr. Byford said. In India, the fact that "less than one in four now listens to any radio station, impacted severely on the overall World Service global figure," he said. "Our first all-India survey revealed a 45 per cent drop in our audience there, down 12-million to 14.6-million listeners." Successes included a doubling of the audience in Australia, Mr. Byford said. On Sept. 11 and 12, the service ran a much-praised, 40-hour uninterrupted broadcast about the attacks. It has also been praised for its coverage of the recent conflict in the Middle East, rising tensions between India and Pakistan and Zimbabwe's presidential elections. Earlier this week, the network learned it would receive an extra $118- million (Canadian) in government funding over the next three years to expand its services. (via Bill Westenhaver --- I wonder how much of the drop came from discontinuing the service to North America? --- DXLD) BBC WORLD SERVICE LOSES 3M LISTENERS From The Guardian, John Plunkett, Wednesday July 17, 2002 The BBC World Service was listened to by an average of 150 million people last year - 3 million down on the previous 12 months and 5 million below its audience target. In its annual report, the government-funded global broadcaster was praised by the BBC chairman, Gavyn Davies, for its "professionalism and courage... in the face of bitter attack from the enemies of free speech". The World Service broadcast the longest news programmes in its history in the wake of September 11 and the invasion of Afghanistan. Traffic on its website almost doubled to 75 million page impressions a month. Mr Davies said: "The professionalism and courage of the World Service's editorial teams during this turbulent year, often in the face of bitter attack from the enemies of free speech, has ensured that high quality news and current affairs programming has been available to a global audience of around 150 million listeners on radio and online. "That this reporting has received widespread acclaim has further enhanced the World Service's profile in Britain and abroad." But overall listening was down 3 million from 153 million in 2000/2001. The biggest shortfall was in Asia and the Pacific region, where audience figures fell 11.5 million, mostly a result of a slump in radio listening in India. The World Service watchdog, the governors' World Service consultative group, called on management to improve sound quality and make better presentation style a "high priority". The regulator said the World Service strategy in India should be overhauled because of the growing threat from TV. It called for a "thorough review" of its Hindi output to respond better to audience needs and expectations. The verdict comes just two days after the government awarded the World Service a £48m boost. The sum is about two-thirds of the amount the service requested. The extra cash, to be spent on producing more global-oriented programming and boosting online and FM services, coincided with a further "rigorous programme of efficiency" at Bush House. World Service managers made £3.2m of "efficiency savings" last year. The director of the World Service, Mark Byford, said: "The battle for radio audiences is increasingly ferocious across the world as markets deregulate and listener choice explodes. "Rapid technological advances, lifestyle changes and growing competition mean it is imperative for the World Service to have an even stronger understanding of audience needs and market developments." The BBC's services were extended in Afghanistan and the surrounding region during the "war on terror". The proportion of funding spent directly on content production is now 88%, still 2% short of its stated aim of 90% by 2003/2004. The World Service has also faced three accusations of racial discrimination this year (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U K. BBC News Online to offer more choice and relevance* http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/hi/english/world/newsid_2131000/2131907.stm In the next few days, we are going to make some changes to the way BBC News Online is organised and presented. Here they are explained (via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** U K. I'm all set to hear the first Proms this afternoon [July 19 1830 UT]. Starting tomorrow and every day for the next two weeks (except July 21), the concerts will be "videocast" live on the Proms website, or so that's what they appear to say. You can be sure I'll be checking that out! (Ivan Grishin, Ont., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UK. CHANGE OF NAME FOR MERLIN COMMUNICATIONS | Text of press release from UK transmission company Merlin Communications on 19 July As you may be aware, Vosper Thornycroft Holdings plc (VT) acquired Merlin Communications in December 2001 as part of their strategy to move into the technical services sector. This additional investment is allowing us to continue to grow the company quickly and exploit future opportunities in our existing markets, as well as provide greater access to new markets. On Friday 5th July 2002 at their annual general meeting, the VT board proposed to change the name of the group from Vosper Thornycroft Holdings plc to VT Group plc, which was agreed by shareholders. VT will also be implementing a new branding strategy that involves all VT's operating companies, and as part of this strategy Merlin Communications International will be renamed VT Merlin Communications. As a result of VT's branding strategy, Merlin will receive a new corporate identity, involving a new VT Merlin logo and brand colour. We will however continue to use our existing Merlin logo as a product specific logo. The new brand will enhance the image of Merlin and identify us with a large blue chip organization that can provide an even greater end-to- end solution to many of our customers. It also reflects our transition into a fully integrated subsidiary of a major FTSE 350 PLC. We certainly do not envisage any changes in our customer commitment and service provision. Our new corporate identity and brand will be rolled out from July 2002, with the official name change commencing from 1st August 2002. Should you have any questions whatsoever then please do not hesitate to contact your designated account manager, or Laura Jelf, Merlin's Marketing Manager. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your commitment to Merlin. Yours sincerely, Fiona Lowry, Chief Executive Source: Merlin Communications press release, London, in English 19 Jul 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U K. From The Radio Magazine 17th July 2002 The sale of London station LBC to Bloomberg, for an expected £10 million, has fallen through at the last minute. Bloomberg, the financial news organisation, had been planning to re-model the station on New York station WBBR-AM.. More in this week's issue! (via Mike Terry, July 18, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K. There is a dearth of radio north of Watford, although radio can sound fresher than the rather tired formats down here where the Palm trees grow. I don't think you missed much with the offshore RSLs - 1 watt ghosts of radio days past. I was brought up in the north-west and enjoyed a good choice of Irish, Manx, Dutch offshore and BBC national, local commercial and pirate stations from the early 70s on. That was the real thing in its time, not vintage revivals. Maybe I am anti-shortwave but that is only because it just seems so irrelevant to the ordinary radio listener in Western Europe. The range of good programming in English on shortwave is very limited. The changes in propagation and frequency confuse most people and the audio quality is often poor. If it ever arrives commercially, DRM may deliver AM/FM-style stations via SW without the listener even being aware they are tuned above 3 MHz. The free-to-air radios on DAB, Sky Digital and WorldSpace extend the radio choice for an outlay of around £150 pounds but I'm not sure that a whispy, fading, seasonal, weak shortwave signal from a station trading on the name of a once great station reaches more than a few dozen enthusiasts. In the post this morning some promo material came from the "Caroline" asking for funds to put the station on Sky Digital. Well good luck to them. It harped on about the ship and funding "for future use". It seems that a Sky signal isn't good enough, they want to keep painting a rusting marine studio, floating aerial and transmitter base which they don't use. I will not give them money but I am sure many will. It is no different from the appeals for funds many US stations air. Anyway, I absolutely respect your opinion and assure you that any southern bias in my comments was enviromental and not genetic. Cheers (Chris McWhinnie, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K [non]. This is a bit of a mystery - Mike) 16 July 2002 Reports arriving at the Laser office following our recent weekend test broadcasts indicate that a certain party is taking an unhealthy interest in having LaserRadio.net removed from the airwaves. Despite our engineers adhering to the strictest technical operating standards and the transmitter being fully licenced and authorised by the Latvian authorities, certain objections have been lodged regarding our operation. LaserRadio.net is a Free Radio service supported by its listeners and whatever advertising we manage to gather. The management of this station wish to make it perfectly clear we offer no 'threat' to any individual, group or government. We just want to play our music and entertain our listeners. We can assure our supporters we shall not give in to the bully tactics of those who would have us shutdown - They will NOT succeed. (via Mike Terry, UK, BDXC-UK via DXLD) As far as I am aware the 5.935 MHz Transmissions are perfectly legal, as, presumably, they are on a transmitter owned and operated by the country's (Latvia) public broadcaster. I also presume that Caroline have come to some sort of financial agreement with the said public broadcaster, for these transmissions. The only proviso I would suggest is that, if these transmissions were to become permanent, the Latvian public broadcaster (Radio Riga, I presume) should register these with the High Frequency Co-Ordination Committee (HFCC). This of course is NOT the concern or responsibility of (in this case) the Caroline organisation. All I can say is that the issues concerned, seem to me, to be, as stated above and are thus quite clear in my mind (Ken Fletcher, 1735UTC=1835UTC+1 17th July 2002, BDXC-UK via DXLD) From laserradio@yahoogroups.com Wednesday, July 17, 2002 11:35 AM Our engineers have made some modifications to the transmitter and we shall be running a brief test for two hours on Friday July 21 st. [sic – the 21st is Sunday, Friday is the 19th --- gh]. We will start at 09h00 UTC until 11h00 UTC. Reception reports most welcome! (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Presumably still referring to 5935 Latvia Laser Radio 5935 reception Reception of Laser Radio's test from Ulbroka Latvia on 5935 kHz here this morning (19 July) was not as good as last weekend's afternoon/evening transmissions. From tune in at 0823 to close at 0959 UT signal was weaker, noisier and with more fading than heard last weekend. Today's SIO 343 at 0823 deteriorated to SIO 242 at close. No interference on this channel though. (Last weekend here: SIO 444 at 1815 13 July; SIO 443 at 2157 14 July) Programme of continuous rock (REO Speedwagon, America, Bread etc) plus English announcements of UK address and mobile 'phone number for reports and comments. Reception was not really good enough to sit back and enjoy this sort of music programme on shortwave this morning though. Next transmission is scheduled this Sunday (21 July) 1400 to 2200 UT on 5935 again (Alan Pennington, Caversham, UK, AOR 7030+ / longwire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) July 13, 2125-2157: At 2115 tune-in, I could detect a carrier, and by 2125 recognizable audio was heard, with Herman's Hermits' "I'm Into Something Good". This was followed by a "laser" sound effect produced on a synthesizer. This pattern continued; every two or three pop/rock songs followed by a sound effect. No ID heard. The only other song I recognized was the Doobie Brothers' "Long Train Runnin'". Signal improved at 2145, with SINPO of 24332 (George Maroti, NY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A. VOICE OF AMERICA TO EXPAND KINYARWANDA, KIRUNDI OUTPUT; MAY RELAY RADIO RWANDA | Text of report by Rwandan radio on 18 July The head of the Africa Division of Voice of America [VOA] radio, Ms Gwen Dillard, says the VOA will soon broadcast in Kinyarwanda and Kirundi twice a day - in the morning and at night - instead of just in the morning. Ms Gwen Dillard announced this to the press following talks with the director of the Rwandan Information Office, Orinfor, Mr Joseph Bideri. Ms Gwen Dillard also said the VOA was thinking of relaying some Radio Rwanda broadcasts on the VOA in order to enable the entire world to become acquainted with realities in Rwanda. The head of the VOA's Africa Division is in Rwanda within the framework of celebrations to mark the first anniversary of the launch of VOA FM broadcasts in Rwanda. Source: Radio Rwanda, Kigali, in French 0445 gmt 18 Jul 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U S A. Can You Feel the (TV Critics) Love? X-URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/07/15/DD51629.DTL&type=printable CNN'S CHUNG JUST DEAD WEIGHT TIM GOODMAN Monday, July 15, 2002 ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle. Pasadena -- Getting spun is just part of the program of sitting down here listening to networks talk about themselves. What are they going to say -- we're lousy across the board? No. Even if they are lousy across the board, they will find a few positive numbers and try to stick them on your face with glue and paper. That's fine by most critics here. Bring it on. We expect it. Lots of practice has honed our ability to cut through it. So when CNN veered away from what it had a distinct right to brag about -- that it does good journalism, that it has a better news gathering machine than any other network and a verifiable commitment to news that goes beyond cheap studio talk -- it was almost insulting. Do executives there really think we're dumb enough to believe Connie Chung is doing important journalism for the channel? Apparently. As a reminder, they passed out a flier of her "exclusives" and previous guests and topics. The list read partly like sleaze, partly like ego puffery based on nothing of substance, and partly like cheap spin meant to remind us at the very last second to Vote Connie. Too bad this session came a couple of hours after a riotously funny, brilliantly delivered bit from Comedy Central's Jon Stewart, who was a guest on Chung's first show, a rocky start by all accounts except Chung's. It included her apparently serious question about whether Stewart, who "anchors" Comedy Central's "Daily Show", which spoofs network news, had ever been asked to anchor CBS's "Evening News" or ABC's "World News Tonight." Stewart gave a hilarious, non-verbal Tex Avery cartoon imitation of how he felt -- all bug-eyed, head-shaking, lip-shivering, tongue-hanging out, heart- beating-out-of-chest incredulousness. Point: Chung is out of her mind. Back in the CNN session, we found Teya Ryan -- the network's executive vice president and general manager -- continuing her bulldog-fierce support of Chung and blindly dismissing the idea that a tabloid sensibility reeks on most topics Chung covers. Pedophilia? Missing children? Drunk airline pilots? Enron employees posing nude? Nah. It's the news of the day. It chose us. For his part, Walter Isaacson, Chairman and CEO of the CNN News Group said, "Man, that's a cool show." OK, stop. We can buy into the argument Isaacson makes about being second to the glossy, opinionated Fox News -- "Emphasizing straight and decent journalism is not the easiest path to popularity," he said. CNN will be No. 1 on terms that don't erase its credibility. It won't sell out, etc. All great stuff and a fine motto. But getting Chung was an ill-advised bit of desperation meant to keep up with the Joneses, something CNN seems panicked about. Chung's show is bad. We know that. The CNN execs claim not to. Hell, even Jon Stewart knows that. So it was a little insulting for people who had otherwise made sensible and admirable claims about CNN's lofty journalistic goals to, all of a sudden, clump Chung in the same group. This is a woman who would pull her car over on the way to the Pulitzer party to cover a carnival sideshow. And how weird was it that CNN announced it was picking up Stewart's "Daily Show" and repackaging it as "The Daily Show: Global Edition," and sending it to 161 million homes in 200 countries? "The Daily Show" is, after all, a spoof of the news. Asked whether CNN should be concerned that people in other countries just might take his show, um, seriously, Stewart said, "That's an excellent question and one that I should answer -- not the head of CNN." And, asked whether he thought CNN didn't get the joke (because, obviously Chung sure hadn't), Stewart said, "I can't speak for them -- oh, what the hell, let me speak for them: They don't get it. They think it's cute. They don't understand that we're actually angry at them." Uproarious laughter is a good thing, and we got a lot of it there. Maybe -- and this isn't a joke -- CNN should have just hired Stewart instead of Chung. At least "The Daily Show" hasn't done overkill on the Elizabeth Smart story. ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle. Page D - 1 (via Tom Roche, DXLD) ** U S A. HAL SIMMS, CBS ANNOUNCER IN EARLY DAYS OF TV By Tom Long, Globe Staff, 7/12/2002 Hal Simms' name may not ring a bell, but his voice was certainly familiar to a generation of TV viewers who tuned in to ''The Edge of Night,'' ''Beat the Clock'' and ''The Frank Sinatra Show'' during the early days of network television. He was a CBS announcer from 1948 until 1972, but was really a jack-of-all-trades who also acted, reported, and delivered weather forecasts while the new medium was defining itself. Mr. Simms, 83, who grew up in Boston's old West End, died July 2 at Goddard House, a Brookline nursing facility. ''For a kid from a tenement, it was really quite a life,'' his son Adam said yesterday. ''He was there when Walter Cronkite and Eric Sevareid were young men in a new medium. He got to work with sports figures such as Frank Gifford and entertainers like Frank Sinatra - figures who were larger than life.'' In 1958, he recalled the early days when ''a three-station hook-up was a major network, and you reached a couple of hundred thousand people at peak hours.'' He and his colleagues ''practically froze'' at the thought of telecasting into homes in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia simultaneously, when that was the extent of network TV. ''No one dreamed of a network spanning the entire nation, making it possible to be seen and heard by millions upon millions of viewers,'' he said. Mr. Simms often recounted the time he was told to cover the races at New York's Belmont Park. ''He had never been to a racetrack and hadn't any idea what win, place, and show meant,'' said his son. An editor of the Racing Form gave him a quick tutorial and that afternoon Mr. Simms was at Belmont calling the races. He was the announcer for the game shows ''Beat the Clock'' and ''To Tell the Truth,'' the soap opera ''The Guiding Light,'' and many other TV shows. He also announced radio shows and for 10 years prior to his retirement was announcer in chief of CBS. Nobody knows how many times he delivered the lines ''CBS presents this program in color'' or introduced ''The Edge of Night,'' with the emphasis on the word ''edge,'' a hallmark of the show for many years. He was also an announcer-actor on the ''The Morning Show'' with Jack Paar. One morning, when the two finished a skit wearing gorilla costumes, the cue came to deliver the weather forecast. Never one to miss a cue, Mr. Simms delivered the weather in the gorilla suit. The CBS switchboard lit up. One evening, he was announcing the ''Songs for Sale'' show, and host Jan Murray contracted laryngitis and couldn't go on, so Mr. Simms hosted the show. ''Never in my life was I so scared,'' he said. ''Luckily, things went off without a hitch.'' And there was the time he and a crew taped the ''The Frank Sinatra Show'' at the Paramount Theater in New York City, where ''old blue eyes'' was performing. When they returned to CBS, they realized they had forgotten to load the camera. Sinatra had decamped for Hollywood, so Mr. Simms and his colleagues followed the singer to the West Coast to retape the show. ''Frankie couldn't believe his eyes when we walked in,'' said Mr. Simms. Mr. Simms graduated from the University of Michigan, working his way through school by selling shoes and newspapers and working in the school's kitchen. During school breaks, he hitchhiked to Boston to visit his family. He began his career in radio in Portsmouth, N.H., where he earned the princely sum of $20 a month. He was working for a Philadelphia radio station, his son said, when his college friends Robert Q. Lewis and Mike Wallace persuaded him to move to New York and join CBS. Early in his career, Mr. Simms was asked to go to Hollywood, step out of the announcer's booth and into the limelight and take a chance at a big-time career. He declined because his children were young and he didn't want to relocate. ''He passed on the pursuit of glamour,'' said his son, ''and he never regretted it.'' He leaves another son, Hank; a daughter, Sarah Simms Rosenthal; and three grandchildren. funeral service was held. This story ran on page B7 of the Boston Globe on 7/12/2002. (via Tom Roche, DXLD) ** U S A. LEFT OF THE DIAL: NON-COMMERCIAL RADIO STAYS ON THE AIR FOR ITS OWN SAKE by Joe Tarr It's hot as hell inside the broadcast booth of Knoxville's newest radio station on a muggy summer afternoon. The double-wide trailer— whose outside walls are spattered with graffiti—sits along a heavily wooded road in South Knoxville. The station's organizers squat rent free, but the neighbors don't mind—the place used to be a crack house until the station cleaned it out and moved in. The broadcast equipment doesn't look like much: some used CD players, a small mixing board, a microphone, a broken tape deck. The transmitter is located in a cramped closet with a lock that requires a screwdriver to open. The antenna has been strung to the top of a tree out back. Oh, and a video monitor in the booth shows the driveway outside, in case Federal Communications Commission agents should happen to visit. You see, Knoxville's First Amendment Radio (KFAR), is broadcasting illegally at 90.9 FM.... http://www.metropulse.com/dir_zine/dir_2002/1228/t_cover.html [This is a very long article, which deals with all the less than 92 MHz Knoxville stations, including WUOT, WUTK, WDVX, WNCW and two gospel huxters --- gh] (via Howard Box, Oak Ridge, TN, DXLD) All low-end FM fans should be impressed with how much Joe Tarr found gong on there but in fact he missed what some of us also find there. Rightly famed music commentator, Karl Haas can be heard at 9 am every weekday on WSMC 90.5 from Collegedale. And that station still carries ``Marketplace`` at 5 pm, which WUOT lost in the budget crisis. They also offer the other public radio news [``The World``] at 4 pm put out by a WGBH-BBC consortium. The East Tennessee State station, WETS on 89.5, is also heard well in Knoxville with what I`ll call ``jazz, etc.`` in the afternoon, and the 8 to 10 am Sunday NPR news [``Weekend Edition``], as well as a later run of daily NPR news. They even have an occasional program drawing on THEIR university resources! The ``compleat listener`` will appreciate that both offer much classical music that only infrequently duplicates WUOT, and sometimes offers a different time slot for a program we would otherwise miss. Really upsetting in Tarr`s fascinating article was not the ``pirate`` station, but the little note that supposedly non-profit ``Love 89`` and ``Easy 88`` on 89.1 and 88.3 have WRJZ as their common e-mail address, and are programmed by the TN Media Association. What is going on at that very low end of our non-profit corner? Are spaces being held until the FCC opens it up to commercial exploitation – as they did to the original high end non-commercial and, and as they have done to short wave? Who knows? ``Is anyone listening?`` Is anyone watching them? P.S. Blow the public mind if you want by telling them they can hear channel 6 at the very-very-low-end of FM with traffic and weather and soap operas for people who don`t have enough trouble of their own (Rev. Howard Box, July 12, letter to the editor of Metro Pulse, via DXLD) ** U S A. ATHEIST DIRECTORS ON THE AIR MONDAY IN NORTH CAROLINA American Atheists State Directors Wayne Aiken (North Carolina) and Kyle Oden (South Carolina) will be the guests this Monday, July 22, 2002 on WFAE-FM News Radio out of Charlotte, NC. Tune in to 90.7 on the FM dial beginning at 9 AM Eastern for an hour-long special on Atheism! You can also listen to a live feed on the internet. Just point your browser to http://www.wfae.org/wfae/index.cfm WHAT: Hour-long radio special on Atheism. WHO: Wayne Aiken and Kyle Oden, North Carolina and South Carolina State Directors for American Atheists. WHERE & WHEN: WFAE, 90.7 on the FM dial or on the net at http://www.wfae.org/wfae/index.cfm this Monday, July 22, 2002 beginning at 9:00 AM Eastern. MORE INFO: http://www.atheists.org/flash.line/aamedia.htm http://www.atheists.org/nc (Office of the State Director, NC) http://www.atheists.org/sc (Office of the State Director, SC) (AA Newsletter July 18 via DXLD) ** U S A. Bringing up the KXMS Fine Arts Radio International webcast, for the scheduled Iraqi National Anthem at 1542 UT July 17, as in the KXMS posted schedule, and in MONITORING REMINDERS, Ivan Grishin and I were surprised to hear something completely different. It turned out to be NPR Performance Today rather than KXMS` own classical programming, and even stranger, and ID on the KXMS webcast at 1600 as KRPS Pittsburg, Kansas, which is the next-closest public radio station to Joplin. We notified KXMS, and they notified their ISP. Later that afternoon Kevin Kelly checked and found that KXMS had its webcast back, but the next morning Ivan found KRPS once again. As it happens, KRPS has declined to do its own webcasting, so this was a rare opportunity to hear it (however, it does have a considerable audio archive of locally produced features on its website). We also feared that KXMS had suffered another financial setback and had been forced to convert to a satellite of its neighboring public radio station, after having to curtail its own local classical programming to only 3 hours M-F for the duration of the summer. We always got prompt replies from KXMS GM Jeff Skibbe, and this anomaly seems to correlate with whenever KXMS loses power and goes off the air, however briefly. It appears that the ISP is picking KXMS up off the air 88.7 as input to the webcast, and when the signal is lost, the receiver goes seeking on up to the next strong signal, namely KRPS at 89.9! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. RELATIVES OF DEAD FIREFIGHTERS WILL GET TO LISTEN TO SEPT. 11 EMERGENCY RADIO TAPES The Associated Press 7/16/02 9:04 PM NEW YORK (AP) -- Relatives of firefighters killed in the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center will be allowed to listen to recordings of emergency radio transmissions, fire officials said Tuesday. The Fire Department of New York said the U.S. attorney's office had agreed to allow family members to hear the recordings on the condition that they sign confidentiality agreements. Until now, the U.S. attorney's office has not released the tape due to court rules that prohibit the disclosure of possible evidence to the public. The U.S. attorney in Virginia has cited the recordings as possible evidence in the upcoming trial against Zacarias Moussaoui, the only person charged in the Sept. 11 attacks. Moussaoui has denied involvement in the attacks. The fire department, which lost 343 members on Sept. 11, said its family assistance unit would contact family members in the near future to arrange for them to hear the recordings. Copyright 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. [WUN] MAJOR CHANGE TO THE ECPA THAT IMPACTS EVERYONE... Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2002 11:46:01 -0400 From: Dave Emery die@die.com To: fedcom@mailman.qth.net, wun@mailman.qth.net Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but something of enormous importance to radio hobbyists has just happened in Washington, and so far I haven't seen any mention or discussion of it on any scanner or ham lists I follow. I hope this message will alert others to what has just happened and get people thinking about the consequences... The House just passed the Cyber Security Enhancement Act (HR3482) last night (7/15/02) by an overwhelming margin of 385-3. Buried in an otherwise draconian bill that raises penalties for computer hacking that causes death or serious injury to life in prison and allows government monitoring of communications and email without warrants in even more circumstances is the following seeming obscure language: : SEC. 108. PROTECTING PRIVACY. : : (a) Section 2511- Section 2511(4) of title 18, United : States Code, is amended-- : : (1) by striking paragraph (b); and : : (2) by redesignating paragraph (c) as paragraph (b). For those of you who don't realize what this means .... USC Section 2511 subsection 4 of title 18 (the ECPA) currently reads as foilows.... the CSEA will strike part (b) of this language. Penalties.. : (a) : : Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection : or in subsection (5), whoever violates subsection (1) : of this section shall be fined under this title or : imprisoned not more than five years, or both. : : [The following section will be eliminated by the new law...] : (b) : : If the offense is a first offense under paragraph (a) : of this subsection and is not for a tortious or illegal : purpose or for purposes of direct or indirect commercial : advantage or private commercial gain, and the wire or : electronic communication with respect to which the : offense under paragraph (a) is a radio communication that : is not scrambled, encrypted, or transmitted using : modulation techniques the essential parameters of : which have been withheld from the public with the : intention of preserving the privacy of such communication, : then - : : (i) : : if the communication is not the radio portion of a : cellular telephone communication, a cordless telephone : communication that is transmitted between the cordless : telephone handset and the base unit, a public land : mobile radio service communication or a paging service : communication, and the conduct is not that described : in subsection (5), the offender shall be fined under : this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or : both; and : : (ii) : : if the communication is the radio portion of a : cellular telephone communication, a cordless telephone : communication that is transmitted between the cordless : telephone handset and the base unit, a public land : mobile radio service communication or a paging service : communication, the offender shall be fined under this : title. What this does is change the penalty for the first offense of intercepting an unscrambled and unencrypted radio communication that is not supposed to be listened to (e.g. AMPS cellular calls, commercial pagers, cordless phones, common carrier communications) for hobby purposes (eg not a tortuous or illegal purpose or for direct or indirect commercial advantage or private commercial gain) from a misdemeanor (one year or less prison time) to a federal FELONY (5 years prison time). And further this changes the status of the specific offense of listening to a cell call, cordless call, a pager, or a public land mobile radio service communication (eg a telephone interconnect) from a minor offense for which one can be fined a maximum of $500 to a federal FELONY for which one can be imprisoned for up to 5 years. In effect this removes a safe harbor created during the negotiations over the ECPA back in 1985-86 which ensured that first offenses for hobby radio listening were only treated as minor crimes - after this law is passed simply intentionally tuning a common scanner to the (non-blocked) cordless phone frequencies could be prosecuted as a felony for which one could serve 5 years in jail. And in case any of my readers have forgotten, a federal felony conviction (even without any jail time) deprives one of the right to vote, to own firearms, to be employed in a number of high level jobs and professions, to hold certain professional licenses and permits, and important for certain readers of these lists absolutely eliminates for life the possibility of holding any kind of security clearance whatever (a recent change in the rules) - something required for many if not most interesting government and government related jobs. So merely being stopped by a cop with the cordless phone frequencies in your scanner could conceivably result in life long loss of important rights and privileges. For some of you out there this may seem small potatoes and irrelevant since it merely changes the penalties for an already illegal act (which you are not supposed to be engaged in) and doesn't make anything new illegal. But this is a rather naïve view. The federal government was certainly not going to prosecute a hobbyist for radio communications interception under the old version of the ECPA if the worst penalty that could be levied was a $500 fine - there simply is not the budget or the staff to prosecute people for what would be a very minor offense (equivalent of a speeding ticket). And even prosecuting hobbyists for more serious interception (eg not cellular, cordless or pagers) was still a misdemeanor offense prosecution with jail time unlikely. So in practice the only prosecutions were of people who clearly had a commercial purpose or otherwise engaged in egregious and public (e.g. the Newt call) conduct - no hobbyist ever got prosecuted. And this was doubtless the intent of Congress back in 1985-86 - it would be illegal to monitor certain radio traffic but only a minor offense if you did so for hobby type personal curiosity or just to hack with the equipment or technology - and a serious felony if one engaged in such conduct for the purpose of committing a crime or gaining financial or commercial advantage (e.g. true spying or electronic eavesdropping). But after this bill is signed into law (and clearly it will be), it will be quite possible for a federal prosecution of a hobbyist for illegal radio listening to be justified as a serious felony offense worth the time and effort and money to try and put the guy in jail even if the offense is not for a commercial purpose or part of an illegal scheme. Thus "radio hacker" prosecutions have now become possible, and even perhaps probable. And federal prosecutors and law enforcement agents get career advancement and attention from senior management in their agencies in direct proportion to the seriousness of the offense they are investigating and prosecuting - nobody ever advances to senior agent for going after jaywalkers, thus by raising the level of less than legal hobby radio monitoring offenses from a jaywalking class offense to a serious felony for which there can be real jail time it becomes much more interesting from a career perspective to prosecute radio listeners. And needless to say, such prosecutions would be shooting fish in a barrel type things given that many individuals are quite open on Internet newsgroups and mailing lists about their activities. And of course this MAJOR change in the ECPA also has the effect of making the rather ambiguous and unclear meaning of "readily accessible to the general public" in 18 USC 2510 and 2511 much more significant, since intercepting something that isn't readily accessible to the general public is now clearly a serious crime even if done for hobby purposes as a first offense. Thus one has to be much more careful about making sure that the signal is a legal one... And further than all of this, and perhaps even MUCH more significant to radio hobbyists on Internet scanner lists .... The careful, thoughtful reader will note that section 4 has been revised a bit lately, and that this new section 4 (see above) now makes it a federal felony with 5 years in jail penalties to violate section 1 INCLUDING the following provisions of section 1: 18 USC 2511: : (1) : Except as otherwise specifically provided in this : chapter any person who - : : (c) : : intentionally discloses, or endeavors to disclose, to : any other person the contents of any wire, oral, or : electronic communication, knowing or having reason to : know that the information was obtained through the : interception of a wire, oral, or electronic : communication in violation of this subsection; : : (d) : : intentionally uses, or endeavors to use, the : contents of any wire, oral, or electronic : communication, knowing or having reason to know that : the information was obtained through the : interception of a wire, oral, or electronic : communication in violation of this subsection; or : : shall be punished as provided in subsection (4) or : shall be subject to suit as provided in subsection (5). This seems to have changed the status of revealing as part of a hobby list any hint of the contents of a radio communications that might or might not have been legally intercepted from a potentially minor misdemeanor offense or less to a serious felony. Thus if a court finds that any communication reported on an Internet list was not legally intercepted, felony penalties apply for publishing the information even if the interception was for hobby purposes (which of course most scanner list intercepts are). Most significant for many of us, the section 18 USC 2510 exceptions to the prohibitions on intercepting radio communications in 18 USC 2511 are pretty silent about military communications - not prohibited, or specifically allowed except as "governmental communications". So it is possible that military comms might be found to be illegal to intercept and thus passing around information about them a potential felony, even though of course the military has complete access to the world's best COMSEC technology and uses for anything sensitive. But in a paranoid age (post 9/11) anything goes... and if the government wants to go after scanner lists (like Milcom) it might now be able to do so with prosecutions with real teeth and jail time. Thus the legal climate has fundamentally changed, and one can assume that since the Bush administration has been pushing for the passage of this bill that they perhaps intend to start prosecuting at least some category of radio hobbyists under the new provisions - no doubt as an example meant to scare the rest of us into handing our radios in at the nearest police station... So yet another blow to the radio hobbies.... and a big one indeed... -- Dave Emery N1PRE, die@die.com DIE Consulting, Weston, Mass. PGP fingerprint = 2047/4D7B08D1 DE 6E E1 CC 1F 1D 96 E2 5D 27 BD B0 24 88 C3 18 _______________________________________________ WUN mailing list WUN@mailman.qth.net http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/wun == end == (via Tomas NW7US // AAR0JA Hood, swl via DXLD) Well, I have to disagree... I resent very highly those of you who are scanner enthusiasts listening in on my cell phone communications. Therefore, I support this new language in the law. I think that anyone, even a fellow ham who attempts to listen in on my or anyone else's private communication SHOULD go to jail and pay a heavy fine. Also thinking it will make a major impact or the radio hobbies is the old domino/ Big Brother theory applied to radio hobbyists. I just cannot see it happening (Eric Cooper, KB6VPI, ibid.) This bill is not limited to just cell phone communications. But to ANY communication not intended for general public consumption. So, that could include listening in to the Coast Guard rescue communications, local police and fire, and so on. On topic? I know that listening to any Shortwave Frequency that some governmental agency decides is not for general public use would be covered by this bill. Making even scanning through those frequencies a federal crime. Cell phones are a very limited part of what this bill impacts. 73 de (Tomas, NW7US // AAR0JA, ibid.) Next step, you'll have to register your radio down at the local Police department obtaining a permit. And then later you'll only be able to buy radios that cover the FM and Mediumwave broadcast bands, and 'maybe' if you're lucky the International Broadcast bands. Anyone owning a vintage general coverage receiver such as a Hallicrafters, Hammarlund, Icom etc will be "suspect" and possibly open to criminal charges. And, God forbid that you should even think of owning a ``DC to Daylight`` receiver. Of course, criminals will always be able to "buy them on the street", for the right price. Does that sound like any other kind of government control we know of? (Phil, KO6BB Atchley, ibid.) I disagree that the new penalties automatically mean that the government will go after hobbyists. The intention might just be putting teeth in a law to use in investigating and prosecuting more serious crimes. Like applying tax laws to drug dealers, it's another tool in the box. Of course, I am a hopeless optimist (Chuck Boyle, kb5rvv, ibid.) This is not an OT subject. It does have the potential to limit our listening enjoyment. Although I am not a 'libertarian', I do believe that the founding fathers were correct in limiting government's power to prevent potential abuse in future generations. It's not possible to predict what government will feel 'they have to do to protect us'. I do believe we need a strong central government for protection against other nations, to regulate international trade and treaties, and provide limited in-country 'policing' that the individual states are not incentivized to do - i.e.; FCC, FAA, ICC, SEC, etc. A good example of this is the 'right to bear arms'. The founding fathers felt that the central government might attempt to usurp the independence of the states. Remember, that in the 1770's, virtually all of the real military power were in state raised, state financed, and state controlled militias (armies). It was felt that if the states had their own well armed 'militias', they could both easily prevent a central government takeover AND quickly repel a foreign invader - as they did in both the revolutionary war and The War of 1812. It was not until the 1820's that the US central government had grown large enough to field an effective army. Today, these state militias (National Guard) are, despite the rhetoric to the contrary, effectively under federal control. The standard of living of the 'average American' has been gradually eroding since the late 70's, melding with the rest of the world's. In 1965, a 'factory worker' could own a home and a car AND go on vacation once a year. Today, that same skill set barely produces enough income to make car payments. When the standard of living of this 'average American' approaches that of the 'typical Asian factory worker' (I've worked there and can testify to it), the US will NOT want 200 million armed citizens! Just look at the criminal chaos in many of the now 'free' African nations. Many other countries do limit what radios their citizens can own and operate. With only a handful of amateurs, most non-democratic countries do keep their licensed amateurs under some scrutiny. In China, unless you are a loyal and ranked 'party member, having even a legal amateur station subjects you to frequent inspections and monitoring. I've been there and seen it... Many of our in-country employees who were amateurs, would come to work to use our own company stations for conversations with their friends in other countries - afraid of being called on the carpet to (McCarthy era like) to explain their actions. Could the US force you to 'register' your radio and limit ownership to only standard broadcast band receivers? Sure. Probably not in the next generation or so, but in the 'brave new world' of the mid 21st century, who knows... 73 (Frank ----, swl , where the moderator declares this off-topic, via DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO STATIONS APPEAL INTERNET ROYALTY DECISION From Reuters, Wednesday July 17, 5:41 AM Radio stations have asked a federal appeals court to rule that they do not have to pay musicians and recording companies when they play music on the Internet because they do not pay royalties for regular, over- the-air broadcasts. In a motion filed late Monday, a group of radio stations said a federal court in Philadelphia and the U.S. Copyright Office had misinterpreted the law when they said that radio stations had to to pay musicians and recording companies when they "stream" their songs over the Internet. The Copyright Office established a rate of 0.07 cents per listener per song in June, which means that Internet-only "Webcasters" and broadcast giants like Clear Channel Communications Inc. would be on the hook for 70 cents for each song played to an audience of 1,000 listeners. The rate was decried as onerous by radio stations and Webcasters, many of whom said they would be forced to shut their doors. Webcasters did not participate in the appeal of the August 2001 decision, which was filed in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Radio stations have historically been required to pay per-song royalties to songwriters but not performers, recording companies, and anyone else who own the rights to the "sound recording" of a song. Congress said sound-recording owners should get paid for Internet transmission when it updated copyright laws for the digital era in 1995 and 1998. But Congress intended the law to apply only to services that would enable users to select and download songs, not online radio-style broadcasts that do not allow users to save songs, the broadcasters said in their appeal. While downloadable music may dampen CD sales, radio broadcasts over the air and through the Internet stimulate sales, they said. "Congress has long recognized the mutually beneficial relationship between the radio and recording industries, particularly the enormous promotional benefits derived by the recording companies from radio airplay of sound recordings," the appeal said. The Recording Industry Association of America ( news - web sites), which represents the five major labels, said it hoped the radio stations would lose their appeal. "Rather than seek special treatment from the courts, we encourage the broadcasters to work with the labels and artists as our industries transition into new businesses," said Steven Marks, a senior vice president at the RIAA. The appeal was filed by the National Association of Broadcasters and radio firms Bonneville International Corp., Clear Channel, Cox Radio Inc., Emmis Communications Corp., Entercom Communications Corp. and Susquehanna Radio Corp. The RIAA represents music divisions of Vivendi Universal, AOL Time Warner Inc, EMI Group Plc, Bertelsmann AG, and Sony Corp. (Reuters/Variety via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. From The New York Times: By MARGO JEFFERSON I LOVE to wander around my apartment, lie on my couch and listen to the radio. I can control what I hear there, but I can't predict it. Of course, we can all predict what we'll hear on commercial stations with their generic playlists. (Warning: do not purchase this product and do not listen to it again unless accompanied by diverting video images on television.) And I binge on nostalgia at regular intervals. "Don't it kinda strike you sad when you hear our song," as Donna Summer keened and whined in her 1979 disco hit, "On the Radio." As for the higher pleasures, it excites me to hear music I know nothing about and respond with no interference from anything or anyone. A good radio station or program can ambush my prejudices - change my mood. No, I do not want to hear Brahms or John Coltrane. But I give in, I listen clinically, And either way I'm rewarded. My response shifts, or feels even more justified. Finally, I use radio as a mental tuneup. I've always envied dancers the warm-up that starts their working day, and ever since Yvonne Rainer called one of her dances "The Mind Is a Muscle," I've made radio part of my prewriting ritual. News at breakfast; it makes me absorb facts and think about context. Then a brief period of quiet, followed by a search (sometimes desperate) for music that induces concentration and seems to have some link (rhythm, cadence, structure) to my work. I know I could get the same effect by programming my CD collection. But I know its contents. The mystery of not knowing what the radio will yield is closer to the mystery of not knowing exactly what I am about to write. Margo Jefferson is a cultural critic for The Times (via Mike Terry, July 17, DXLD) ** U S A. The following text is from http://www.dxing.com/dxld1009.htm: The International Broadcasting Act of 1994 requires the Broadcasting Board ``to review, reviewuate, and determine, at least annually, after consultation with the Secretary of State, the addition or deletion of language services.`` Language service review and the setting of language priorities are key components of the BBG`s broad responsibilities as an independent federal entity since Oct. 1, 1999. 'reviewuate' is not a word. I think you must mean 'evaluate'. Best wishes (Mark Drury, Head of Marketing, National Library for the Blind, UK, July 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) "A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone." (Jo Godwin) Well, I suppose this coinage means ``review and evaluate``, and seems somewhat useful, even tho I am not responsible for it. Somewhat redundant, tho, right after ``review`` (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Should have put a cross reference in DXLD 2-114 for those seeking AFN frequencies, in that issue under GUAM --- so here it is now (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. SMALL TV STATIONS REEL UNDER ORDER TO GO DIGITAL By David Lieberman, USA TODAY Duhamel Broadcasting Enterprises has provided a nice income to the Duhamel family since World War II. First a radio company, it entered the television age with KOTA in Rapid City, S.D. The station beams ABC shows and local news to the No. 175 TV market: 88,000 viewers spread over an area the size of a triangle from Washington, D.C., to Boston to Buffalo, N.Y. So company President Bill Duhamel was stunned when the federal government ordered all TV stations — even in tiny markets such as his — to buy the towers, transmitters and other gear needed to join the long-awaited and fitful national march from analog to digital television (DTV). "I would guess it's going to take three to four years of operating profits just to pay for the first stage" of retransmitting ABC's digital signals, he says. The full transition can cost up to $3 million per station. "The deal I have with the family is, they better make their living someplace else. It's not a great situation." A lot of station owners in small markets feel the same way about DTV. For them, it's not just a troublesome mandate. Many of them see it as a threat to their survival. They find it next to impossible to amass the needed dollars in the midst of the worst ad recession in decades. And they grumble that the conversion mandate hits small stations harder than big ones. "The cost really doesn't vary a whole hell of a lot whether you're in New York or Yakima," says Elizabeth Murphy Burns, president of Duluth, Minn.-based Morgan Murphy Stations. "In some cases, the cost of converting to digital is more than the station is worth. Right now, we're sort of stymied." Federal officials ordered the national conversion from analog to digital TV in 1997. It seemed like a good idea. They wanted to spur development of high-definition TV (HDTV). They wanted to save valuable spectrum — six or more non-HDTV digital channels fit in airwaves used by one analog channel. And they wanted to raise billions by selling the spectrum saved to wireless companies. But the transition has been rocky. Cable companies balked at carrying stations in both analog and digital form during the change. Digital TV sets remain costly. Consumers have shown little interest. And nobody seemed to consider the plight of smaller stations. Some 68% of the USA's 1,240 commercial television stations failed to meet the government's May 1 deadline to begin transmitting some digital programming. The majority of the laggards are in small markets. Just 13% of the 443 stations that now offer DTV are in the 110 smallest markets — those smaller than No. 100, metro Brownsville, Texas. They'll have to move fast, though, unless they can persuade the Federal Communications Commission or Congress to give them more time. "The law says you have to do it, and if you don't, they have the right to take your license back," says CEO Don Cornwell of station owner Granite Broadcasting. The industry's National Association of Broadcasters warns that consumers may lose in the rush. Stations scrounging for cash "have to cut back on news or services to a community to fulfill a government mandate," says Edward Fritts, NAB chief executive. "That's just wrong." In fact, several news operations at Emmis Television's 15 stations — in midsize markets such as Orlando, Wichita, Omaha and Topeka — have felt the pinch. "Everything from cameras, news production systems and satellite trucks have had to fall to a lower priority, and some have been eliminated" to accommodate DTV, says Randall Bongarten, Emmis president. The threat is real Industry analysts say small-station owners aren't just crying wolf. "These guys have really got a problem," says Sanford C. Bernstein's Tom Wolzien. "It can cost $3 million to convert to digital. But a smaller TV station is lucky if it makes $300,000 a year in free cash flow." The government's General Accounting Office reached a similar conclusion in April. In a survey of station owners, it found that: Digital expenses represent an average of 11% of yearly revenue for the mostly big-market stations that have already made the transition. By contrast, the costs for stations in the 100 smallest markets, when they do go digital, will be about 242% of annual revenue. Lack of money was "one of the most prevalent problems" for stations that haven't made the transition. Some 6% say they can only pay for DTV by putting themselves up for sale. About 56% of station owners say that consumers in their markets have "low" interest in DTV. An additional 7% said their viewers have no interest in it. The last point, a consumer yawn on DTV, helps explain lenders' reluctance to help stations. "When you go to bankers for a (DTV) loan and they look at return on investment, there isn't any," says Liberty President James Keelor. There's no mystery why. Digital conversion raises stations' costs. Advertisers supply virtually all of a station's revenue. But advertisers won't pay extra for their ads to appear on DTV when only a handful of consumers have bought TV sets capable of receiving digital signals. The FCC gave stations some relief in November. "For the first time, the commission created the possibility of an extension of time based on financial hardship," says Rick Chessen, who chairs the FCC's DTV task force. "You can't just come in and say, 'I don't have the cash.' You have to show why your financial condition precludes the build-out." The FCC has gotten 193 hardship requests but says it doesn't track them by market size, so it could not say whether small stations dominate the list. In another easing of the burden, the FCC cut the requirement that a station transmit digital signals to everyone in its current broadcast territory. That lets small stations with big areas install low-power transmitters that reach homes just in their immediate home city. "That downscales a number of items needed for the investment," says Dale Mowry, vice president of transmission systems for Harris, which supplies about two-thirds of the market for DTV transmission equipment. "A station can get on the air with a digital signal for as little as $160,000." There is disagreement in the industry, however, over whether that's a smart investment in the long run. Mowry says it is. He thinks most of the equipment can still be used later when the FCC sets a date for stations to raise power to reach everybody. But others say that low power would leave a lot of viewers feeling left out now and that the equipment may not last that long. "I wouldn't call it a waste of money, but when you want to go high power, you'd have to throw it out," Cornwell says. Low-power technology also is just part of the story. Whatever the power level, many stations still have to pay much more to build or modify their towers to accommodate DTV. They would pay higher electric costs. And production costs would soar to produce local programs. Several station owners in rural markets add that low power doesn't solve one of their biggest problems: To cover vast territories, they often have several repeater stations that basically just relay programming from the largest outlet in the group. The FCC wants each of these repeaters upgraded to carry DTV. Stations bear digital risk Underlying station owners' arguments is their feeling that they're taking most of the risks in the DTV transition. For example, only a few cable operators have agreed to carry local stations' DTV programs. And TV makers still charge top prices for sets with DTV converters, dampening consumer interest. "This is not really an orderly transition," Duhamel says. "Smaller markets need a substantial amount of time, because there's no demand for DTV here. We're out there as the Lone Ranger. Cable isn't doing anything. Set manufacturers are sitting on their hands. Return on investment is so far out there that this thing is crazy from a financial viewpoint." Despite their problems, small stations don't expect to get much more relief from the government. Federal officials plan to get tough with DTV laggards. The FCC denied 71 of the 843 requests for six-month extensions from the May 1 deadline. Regulators also threatened, in sanctions proposed last month, to yank the licenses from stations that they see as stalling. "For the most part, people are trying to get on with digital," Chessen says. Although there have been "some bumps in the road," progress has been "slow but steady, and we have to keep in perspective that it's a massive transition. These things don't happen overnight." Still, the NAB wants to goose the process and shift some of the risk: The powerful lobby group is asking Congress to require cable operators to carry local stations' DTV broadcasts, as well as the current analog ones. It also wants to require TV manufacturers to include DTV tuners in all new sets. Because stations must pay for DTV transmission even though there's no market for it yet, "we have no safety net," Fritts says. "We have to have this transition work. It's time for Congress to complete the circle. Without Congress acting, (small-market stations) have no hope. The FCC has been sensitive to the concerns of Congress and now we have to sensitize Congress to the concerns of small and rural markets." Without dramatic change, station owners in the smaller markets will have little choice but to plead for even more time. "We need to be flexible about the date when we go (from low power) to full power," Bongarten says. "It's really a question mark as to when the consumers and manufacturers will be in sync. If there isn't greater demand, then the FCC will have to take a closer look at what they're doing." (via Fred Vobbe, July 17, NRC FMTV via DXLD) ** U S A. GM RESIGNS IN SHAKEUP AT WSMV By KEITH RUSSELL Staff Writer The parent company of WSMV-Channel 4 replaced the television station's general manager yesterday amid reports of financial challenges and staff departures at a broadcasting operation that until recently dominated news ratings in the Nashville market. A spokesman for Meredith Corp. confirmed the resignation of Frank DeTillio, which ended his seven-year run as WSMV's general manager. Dick Williams, a 34-year broadcasting industry veteran who 15 years ago worked at WSMV, was named the station's acting general manager. At a meeting yesterday afternoon, Kevin O'Brien, president of Meredith's broadcast division, told staffers that a management change was necessary because WSMV was losing money. O'Brien boarded a plane to leave Nashville shortly after the meeting and could not be reached for comment. A humbling loss to WTVF-Channel 5's news programming in the all- important May ratings period might have helped to seal DeTillio's fate. The ratings are critical because they determine how much stations can charge advertisers. ''That's got to be a factor,'' said Whit Adamson, executive director of the Tennessee Association of Broadcasters. ''That's the bread-and-butter, and that stabs you right in the heart.'' DeTillio was named WSMV's general manager in 1995, shortly after Meredith purchased the station from Cook Inlet Television Partners for $159 million. He did not return phone calls placed to his home yesterday. Adamson said he was surprised by DeTillio's departure. ''Anytime we lose anyone who's been here that long in a position like that, it's a big deal,'' Adamson said. Meredith spokesman Jody Judge said Williams (whose wife, Judy, is a WSMV sales manager) would run the station until a permanent replacement is found. ''The search will begin immediately,'' Judge said. O'Brien was brought in last November to run Des Moines, Iowa-based Meredith's broadcast division after it posted a $10 million drop in quarterly profits. Since then, he has made sweeping changes to the company's 11 TV stations. DeTillio is the fifth general manager to depart since O'Brien came on board. ''He has taken charge and made changes to get the ball moving in the right direction,'' Judge said. That may take some work at WSMV. An NBC network affiliate, WSMV is Nashville's oldest television station. For years it led news ratings in the Nashville market, which encompasses Middle Tennessee and stretches into southern Kentucky. Channel 4's star has faded of late, however, especially after May's ratings loss to Channel 5 in every news time slot. The decline has heightened the pressure to perform and has sunk morale at WSMV, contributing to several staff departures. Four of the station's 11 sales staff members recently resigned. Of those, three left on the same day to join Sinclair Broadcasting, which operates Fox network affiliate WZTV-Channel 17 and UPN network affiliate WUXP-Channel 30. On the news side, executive producer Katie McManus-Faye was fired on July 1. A week later, anchor Sharon Puckett surprised colleagues by announcing her retirement after 28 years at the station. Jackie Pillars, WSMV's special events producer, also is leaving after 17 years. ''I just didn't feel as appreciated as I had been in the past by management,'' Pillars said yesterday. ''I definitely will miss the people who work here.'' Williams, who had most recently been serving as interim general manager for Meredith's Atlanta TV station, said he was unfamiliar with the recent staff changes and declined to comment on them. He added that Meredith would start formulating a game plan to revive the station. ''We've got to take it back to where it was,'' Williams said. ''When I was here 15 years ago, this was a pretty dominant television station. It needs to get back there.'' Staff writer John Shiffman contributed to this report. (Nashville Tennessean via cgoss549 July 18 via DXLD) ** U S A. EVENING HOST DIAMOND EXITS WOR July 17, 2002 By DAVID HINCKLEY, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER You can view the entire article at http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/3752p-3410c.html (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD ** VENEZUELA. There are 118 illegal broadcasting station in Venezuela, says the Cámara Venezolana de la Radiodifusión in a report. The majority of the offenders are in Western Venezuela, in Barinas, Táchira and Trujillo states. Full story in an article called "Radio Anarquía" (Radio Anarchy), at http://www.talcualdigital.com/ediciones/2002/07/17/f-tal.asp?pv=f-p1.htm&st=f-p1s1.htm (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, July 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PROPAGATION +++++++++++ GEOMAGNETIC INDICES phil bytheway - Seattle WA - phil_tekno@yahoo.com Geomagnetic Summary June 17 2002 through July 15 2002 Tabulated from email status daily Date Flux A K SA Forecast GM Forecast Etc. [first, an historical item ??? -gh] 10/22 233 53 4 moderate-high active-mas 9 mas 1645/ maf 1759 6/17 143 5 1 none none 4 18 143 8 4 none none 8 19 146 13 2 none none 6 20 145 7 1 none none 4 21 140 7 2 none none 7 22 142 7 3 none none 8 23 143 10 2 minor none 6 24 150 6 2 none none 4 25 145 11 3 none none 7 26 144 7 1 none none 5 27 139 4 1 none none 6 28 137 6 2 none none 2 29 143 7 2 none none 5 6/30 147 12 4 none none 8 7/ 1 147 16 2 none minor 6 2 149 5 2 minor minor 3 3 173 6 2 strong minor 3 4 146 6 3 minor minor 6 5 139 14 4 minor minor 7 6 134 21 3 minor minor 10 7 137 11 2 minor minor 4 geo storms 8 131 10 4 minor minor 3 9 136 17 4 minor minor 7 10 129 8 2 none minor 6 11 136 7 2 moderate minor 4 12 133 15 2 minor minor 6 geo storms 13 135 7 2 minor minor 6 14 144 4 1 none minor 2 7/15 160 5 2 strong minor 5 ********************************************************************** (IRCA Soft DX Monitor July 20 via DXLD) PROPAGATION REPORT The sun became quite active over the past week with 2 X and a few M class flares. MUFs have been enhanced near the equator but depressed over mid latitudes. Geomagnetic conditions have been fairly quiet but the faint halo CME observed in association with the X1-flare on 18 July is expected to impact the Earth and produce minor and possible major storm levels late on 20 to 21 July. Solar activity is expected to remain high. There is a reasonable chance of continued CME and associated intermittent geomagnetic activity over the next couple of weeks due to several active regions currently on the visible sun and rotating into view. (Prepared for Cumbre DX July 19 by Richard Jary using data from http://www.ips.gov.au via DXLD) ###