DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-119, July 27, 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 #1141: (ON DEMAND) http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html (DOWNLOAD) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1141.rm (STREAM) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1141.ram (SUMMARY) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1141.html WWCR BROADCASTS: Sun 0230 5070; Sun 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 RFPI BROADCASTS: Sun 0000, 0600, Mon 0030?, 0630? 7445-USB, 15038.6 WRN BROADCASTS: Rest of world Sat 0800, North America Sun 1400 NOTE: Our main website has just changed servers, and should be back up shortly if not already, as new DNS info circulates: http://www.worldofradio.com For more on the change see the ANOMALY ALERT page http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html If still unavailable to you, some recent files are linked at backup: http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/anomaly.html ** AFRICA. This weekend shows an interesting tropo setup. Now the odds are slim of this, but thought I'd point out the possibility anyway. Fri nite/Sat morning looks like a possible Trans-Atlantic TR link from Cape Cod, MA to the West Coast of Africa. Sat nite/Sun morning shows a possible link from Nova Scotia to West Africa. Tropo keeners might want to check this out. (No money-back guarantees on this one). Refer to: http://www.iprimus.ca/~hepburnw/tropo_nat.html (W. Hepburn VEM3ONT22 July 25, WTFDA via DXLD) [Later:] There is a much better shot at a tropo duct to West Africa for South Florida DXers than that mentioned for MA/NS. It will be coming up on Sun/Mon...with Level 7 conditions along the entire path! See: http://www.iprimus.ca/~hepburnw/tropo_nat.html The Canaries and Cape Verde as well as the rest of West Africa may be within range. It might be hard to find open frequencies in the South Florida area, but if you can aim your antenna east. Remember, mid-day DX is possible with ocean ducts as well as night-time/morning. Good luck (W. Hepburn VEM3ONT22, July 26, WTFDA via DXLD) Quick, what are some good active high-power frequencies for WAf FM stations? (gh) ** ANGOLA. During the long Angolan civil war, UNITA had a powerful propaganda weapon in the form of its radio station A Voz Resistência do Galo Negro (VORGAN) - Voice of the Resistance of the Black Cockerel. During his visit to Angola earlier this year, Radio Netherlands' Eric Beauchemin managed to locate and interview some of the people behind VORGAN. Their stories provide a fascinating glimpse into the often closed world of political clandestine broadcasting... http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/angola020726.html (Media Network July 26 via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA [and non]. Please translate the Radio Liberty article! Those were some very interesting times on the shortwave bands. Best wishes, (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Yes, I think it would be great if you translated the Radio Liberty piece. The Tokyo Rose analogy of John Cobb's is a bit strained, as there never was any such woman as "Tokyo Rose." The woman who was convicted for treason after the war, and pardoned by Pres. Ford in 1977, was Iva Toguri. She was an American citizen stranded in Japan when the war broke out and worked for Radio Tokyo as a typist to earn money, then went on the air in late 1943, calling herself "Orphan Ann" and playing music mainly. Despite soldiers' beliefs and rumors that "Tokyo Rose" singled out specific units and had access to intelligence about troop positions and movements, both the Office of War Information and the Foreign Broadcast Intelligence Service concluded that there was no such person as "Tokyo Rose" and that none of the announcers on Radio Tokyo (including Toguri) made the taunts and threats attributed to her. The FBIS broadcast transcripts are in the National Archives and take up several boxes, if anyone is interested in looking through them. Axis Sally (Mildred Gillars) and Lord Haw Haw (William Joyce), on the other hand, were actual people and were indeed traitors. A good website for WW2 radio propaganda is http://www.earthstation1.com/ It contains short biographies of the announcers and wav clips of broadcasts. Thanks, (Dave Hochfelder, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Good morning Glenn, As my Spanish is very limited, I would like a translation into English of the Liberty Piece (2-117). I remember how Erik and I listened to 'Argentine Annie' and I still have her voice on tape. Best 73s (Ydun Ritz, Denmark, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voilà: ** ARGENTINA. RADIO LIBERTY The radio that was born to discourage English soldiers in the Malvinas War was called Liberty and its task was secret. Silvia Fernández Barrio and Enrique Mancini were recruited by the military government to be added to the intelligence strategy against enemy troops. RECOVERING THEIR ROLE If World War II had Tokyo Rose to discourage allied troops, the Malvinas War had Liberty radio. Fourteen civilians participated in this communications strategy whose objective was to break Anglo-Saxon morale. Silvia Fernández Barrio and Enrique Alejandro Mancini were two of the civilians who participated in the operation, and who desire today to reveal what had been restricted by a pact of silence, or pure prudence. The first one, who had been part of ``60 Minutes``, worked then for the Badia [station, network?] program ``Everybody`s Saturday``; the second was a regular in the well-known news cycle on the ATC channel. ``One day I am on `Everybody`s Saturday` and they tell me, ``you have a call from the military committee.`` ``What did I do?`` was my first thought, recalls Fernández Barrio, ``Why are they calling me? They take me somewhere and tell me:`` ``We have made an intelligence study; you are the most reliable person who knows English. Do you remember Tokyo Rose?`` ``Yes,`` I answered. ``Good, we want a kind of Tokyo Rose, but she will be called Liberty.`` And so was born Liberty radio. ``You were the most reliable, to whom?`` ``Reliable for the Argentines.`` ``But the objective was for the English to be listening...`` ``Obviously. But I suppose they wanted someone who would not tell the English anything. Don`t ask me, but I suppose that in a war there would be spies, people who send information. I would be reliable because they understood that I would not play for the other side.`` ``Who was in charge of the operation?`` ``Theoretically, in charge of the Liberty operation was the Army Intelligence Service, which was quarreling with the Navy Intelligence Service.`` ``Who actually ran it?`` ``We were all civilians.`` ``The editorial slant was military?`` ``They would set a line, but afterwards between whoever wrote it, and myself, we would change the line. If it was cruel or hard, we would not let it through like that. We would make it much softer. We would never speak of deaths or ugly things. We put it out more that they were estranged from their country and they should not come to lands that they had no knowledge of. And that is what we did between June 7 and 14.`` ``Was it possible for you to say, `No, I won`t do it?``` ``Yes, absolutely. I could have said no.`` ``Why didn`t you?`` ``Because I understood that I was doing something peaceful, and that at the best I could help. I believe that when your country is at war, you don`t have much time to think about which side to take. For me when the Malvinas march is played, tears erupt over what I lived through, for what we believed as innocent creatures, for the damage that was done to so many people. It freezes my heart.`` ALEJANDRO, THE UNFORGETFUL The exact details about Liberty are provoked by the prodigious memory of the announcer and director Enrique Alejandro Mancini, who coordinated the recording, and contributed, with his own material, Irish, Welsh and English music, even the Beatles, which was included in the transmission. Via shortwave, Liberty reached London, New Zealand, Australia, those metropoles which could identify with the English troops. And Mancini remembers that it bothered the British parliament so much that they created another station, with the same objective, but since it did not have a vast Argentine record library, always played records by Juan D`Arienzo. ``Where did you do the recording?`` ``We recorded on the 14th floor of what is now the building of Radio Ciudad de Buenos Aires. We recorded very early in the morning a tape of about 45 minutes. Once it was ready, it was taken on motorcycle under the responsibility of a police official of the province of Buenos Aires, to the transmitter site of Transradio Internacional. From there it was broadcast on different frequencies, to which sometimes were added the shortwaves of Radio Nacional. The frequency was always changing, on a certain meterband, to avoid interference by British intelligence.`` ``Fernández Barrio, who spoke English, was the announcer.`` ``She spoke American English very well, so an Irish translator marked Victorian tones, English pronunciation. The texts were written by several people, but the most important was a radio and TV script writer and sometime actor, in TV sitcoms.`` ``What was said?`` ``The content of the programming was a very expressive text, about the setbacks the English had, in which was shown the grief over their death. They spoke, for example, to the father of a fallen British soldier, and told him they understood his grief, because his son had died, that he was going today to see the Tottenham [ship?] but would no longer be with his boy who came to lose his life to defend a factory 14 megameters from the city. He said that in his room would be found all alone his records, like this one, which his son listened to, and then they played the music in question, such as something by the Beatles.`` The broadcasts of Liberty radio were prolonged up to 48 hours after the fall of Puerto Argentino [Stanley, Falkland Islands]. That day, Mancini remembers, a bilingual farewell was done, in English and Spanish: ``The battle was lost, but not the intention of regaining the islands, because the Malvinas have been, are, and will be, Argentine.`` (Miriam Molero, in the daily La Nación, Argentina, on Internet, April 7, via Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Conexión Digital, July 16, via DXLD 2-117 in Spanish, translated by Guillermo Glenn Hauser for this DXLD) ** ARMENIA, 15270 kHz, VOICE OF ARMENIA, partial data QSL-card in English (site and power missing); card shows '1700th anniversary of proclamation of Christianity as state religion in Armenia', v/s not given, schedule and 'thank you'-letter, envelope with nice stamps on it, in 132 days for a report with 1 IRC to Voice of Armenia, 5 Alek Manukjan Street, 375025 Jerewan, Armenien (Martin Schoech, Germany, Cumbre DX via DXLD) I.e. in English, Yerevan, Armenia ** AUSTRALIA. The two new weather stations that have replaced the coastal maritime stations are now operational and easily copyable here in the Chicago area. Kind of fun listening to weather for waters off Australia! A nice URL with details can be found at: http://www.bom.gov.au/marine/voice_services.shtml 8113 VMW Wiluna Australia 7/16 1230 USB 6507//8176//12365 VMC Charleville Australia 7/17 1200 USB (best on 12365) (Dave Tomasko, MARE Tipsheet July 26 via DXLD) ** BOUGAINVILLE. I listened to a radio clip amongst a series on PNG at Radio Australia. There they had several references to Bougainville and how the village of Paru Paru had hydro power, courtesy of parts stolen from the abandoned copper mine. This allowed for power for Radio Free Bougainville --- a much more believable story than the one propagated a few years ago about coconut oil powered generators! (Walt Salmaniw, BC, July 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CLANDESTINE from/to PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3850, R.I.M. Sam Voron confirms that they are operating at 80 watts using a generator for power. He adds that he will confirm reception reports with a QSL card. Cassettes are OK and reports should include 4 or 5 IRCs. His address is 2 Griffith Ave, Roseville NSW 2069, Australia (Hans Johnson, WY, Jul 21, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CANADA. No hotsheets received here, but CBC R1 and R2 Saturday July 27 programming is here: http://cbc.ca/radioguide/SearchByDate?date=07%2F27%2F2002&submit=Go%21 and you can change the date for Sunday (Glenn Hauser, swprograms July 26 via DXLD) E.g.: THE WORLD THIS WEEKEND: Saturday, Plan Colombia. The United States is pouring big money into a campaign to wipe out cocaine production in Colombia. Planes drone over coca fields, spraying a powerful herbicide on the plants. But farmers in neighbouring Ecuador say the the deadly clouds don't respect national boundaries and are making everything they grow sicken and die. Moreover, as Reese Erlich reports, they say the chemical is making people sick, too. That's on the World This Weekend, with Lorna Jackson Saturday at 6:00 (7:00AT, 7:30 NT) on Radio One and Two. Saturday at 6:00 pm (7 AT; 7:30 NT) on both CBC Radio One and CBC Radio Two. 2200- 2230 UTC Saturday to the USA, Caribbean, and Latin America on 6175, 9590, 11920, 13670, 15305, 17880 kHz. THE SUNDAY EDITION: A story of courage and resolve from Nigeria, where women activists have accomplished so much - without weapons. And in hour two, Saving Ryan: a moving documentary about a group of firemen, and the toddler they rescued from a burning building twenty five years ago. And Paul Kennedy takes us to all three of Canada's coasts in Ocean Explorations: Learning from our Oceans. We'll learn about the current state of ocean sciences and consider the timeless, ever- changing metaphysics of the sea. The series continues on The Sunday Edition throughout July and August, right after the 9 a.m. news (9:30 NT) on CBC Radio One. 1300-1559 UTC Sunday on RCI 9515, 13655 and 17800 kHz to the USA and the Caribbean and on CBC North Quebec 9625 kHz. CROSS-COUNTRY CHECKUP. This week Toronto is taken over by the excitement surrounding World Youth Day and the visit of Pope John Paul the Second. Hundreds of thousands of young people have made the journey to celebrate their faith ...and see the Pope. What's your reaction? What's the nature of the Pope's appeal? Join host Rex Murphy Sunday on Cross Country Checkup, Sunday afternoon from 4 until 6 (EASTERN) on CBC Radio One. 4 until 6 (EASTERN) on CBC Radio One. THE WORLD THIS WEEKEND SUNDAY: The Great Granddaddy of the Hippy-Dippy weatherman, Mork from Ork and the baddest EMCee today is Lord Buckley, flyest of the fly. His recordings have a cult following forty years after his death. Buckley's "hipsemantic" translations of Bible stories and the writings of such illustrious dead white guys as Shakespeare-- Willie the Shake--are down with the times. Jon Kalish wails on Lord Buckley, jazz philosopher and wizard of words. That's on the World This Weekend, with Lorna Jackson, Sunday at 6:00 (7:00 AT, 7:30 NT) on Radio One and Two. That's on the World This Weekend, with Lorna Jackson, Sunday at 6:00 pm (7 AT; 7:30 NT) on both CBC Radio One and CBC Radio Two. 2200-2230 UTC Sunday on RCI to the Americas on 6175, 9590, 11920, 13670, 15305 and 17880 kHz (CBC via Joe Buch, swprograms via DXLD) ** CANADA. Glenn, Sunday July 28 1300-1700 Papal Mass, Video feeds: http://www.ewtn.com/audiovideo/index.htm http://www.ctv.ca then click on CTV Newsnet live (30 minute limit) CBC R1 will not cover the mass, but CFRB/X will. http://www.cfrb.com or CFRX 6070 73, (Ivan Grishin, Monitoring Reminders, WOR via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. 5953.6, Radio Casino seems to be inactive. Used to be quite regular in Wyoming at *1030, but station has not been noted in over six weeks (Hans Johnson, July 21, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. RELOCATION OF US RADIO NECESSARY BUT EXPENSIVE - CZECH MINISTER | Excerpt from report in English by Czech news agency CTK Prague, 25 July: Moving the headquarters of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) station from the centre of Prague is necessary, Foreign Minister Cyril Svoboda said on interview BBC today. He nevertheless warned that it is an "extremely expensive matter", though he does not have the exact budget. According to Svoboda, it is necessary to ensure the safety of the US- financed radio station which remains, after last September's terrorist attacks on the USA, a potential target of terrorists. It is however necessary to find the financial means for the relocation, Svoboda said, adding that the money might have to be found in the 2003 budget. Svoboda told the daily Pravo earlier that there was no money for the relocation of the RFE/RL in either this year's or next year's budgets. Svoboda said on BBC that he doubted that the station would be moved by the end of this year. He pointed to the fact that the ministry would have enough work with the NATO November summit in Prague. Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1828 gmt 25 Jul 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 4959.85, Radio Villa; Santo Domingo, July 27, 0151-0200, Merenque music with short slogans and jingles in Spanish. Full ID at 0157; "Desde Santo Domingo, capital de la República Dominicana, ...América, ...Radio Villa, ...megahertz Frequencia Modulada..." Then static crashes, so not sure if the shortwave frequency was also mentioned. This is a reactivation, I believe. 24333 (Mark Veldhuis, Netherlands, SWBC via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. OFFICIALS AGREE TO BUILD NEW AIRPORT IN QUITO, ECUADOR Jul 25, 2002 HCJB World Radio will begin moving its shortwave transmitters and antennas to a new site near Ecuador`s coast now that the City of Quito has signed an agreement to build a new airport just six miles from the mission’s broadcasting facilities in Pifo, Ecuador. The final contract is expected to be signed on Sept. 15 with construction slated to begin in March 2003. Officials representing Quito and the Canadian government signed the agreement at noon Monday, July 22, to build the Quito International Airport in the valley east of Quito in Puembo, reported the daily Quito newspaper El Comercio. HCJB World Radio`s Pifo installations are considered to be a ``high risk`` to the operations of the future airport, prompting the move to the Santa Elena peninsula (about 1 sesquihour [by road???] from Guayaquil). The Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC) will finance the five-year, US$300-million project to build the new airport. In October the CCC begins operation and administration of the present Mariscal Sucre Airport. This will continue for up to five years or until the new airport is completed. Then the CCC will operate the new airport for two sesquidecades. The document was signed by CCC Executive Vice President Hugh O`Donnell and Diego Pachel, executive director of the Airport Corporation and Duty-Free Zone of Quito. As witnesses, Quito Mayor Paco Moncayo also signed the agreement along with the ambassador for Canada in Quito, Otch von Finckenstein. In anticipation of the agreement, HCJB World Radio`s board of trustees recently approved Project SERVE (Santa Elena: Renew the Voice from Ecuador), a $4.6-million, four-year project to move the international transmitter site to the Santa Elena. ``We need to take a number of steps in the coming days,`` says Gonzalo Carvajal, director of Project SERVE. ``We need to determine the best sale option for the Pifo property; the design of the power lines to the Santa Elena site; the best options for obtaining and importing the needed towers; the designs for antennas, buildings, and offices; as well as water and road access to the site.`` HCJB World Radio purchased a 500-acre site near the coast about a year ago after it appeared probable that the Pifo installation would have to move. Initial broadcasts from the new site could begin as early as mid-2003. Engineers plan to install 11 shortwave transmitters and 17 antennas at the site. The project will be financed primarily by the sale of the 110-acre site in Pifo, but funds also will have to be raised to purchase at least one new 100,000-watt transmitter. ``I`m excited about the chance to develop a new facility that prepares us for the future and strengthens our coverage of the Americas,`` says Engineering Director Charles Jacobson. ``At the same time, it`s an overwhelming task, especially considering the timeframe. Our Pifo facility has grown and developed for 50 years, and one does not easily replace it in four.`` The new site will provide an even better shortwave signal to HCJB World Radio`s target audiences in the Western Hemisphere with broadcasts primarily in Spanish, Portuguese, English, German and Quichua. Portuguese programs will also air to central Africa via shortwave. Source: (HCJB World Radio) (HCJB website via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. CLANDESTINES from GERMANY to ETHIOPIA. Radio Xoriyo, 15530, *1630-1657* July 19. Noted with 1000 Hz tone, then I.S. of instrumental music, sign-on in Somali, with ID for 'Radio Huriyo, shab Ogadinya' by male speaker. Into Kor`an verse at 1632, followed with political talks, instrumental music ('Horn of Africa') with singers. Noted to 1657 sign-off with closing comments, ID and short instrumental music (I.S.). Clear with some noise (Ed Kusalík, Coaldale AB, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 15530, Tigrean International Solidarity for Justice & Democracy / Radio Fithi, via Julich 15530, *1558-1625* July 20. Noted with sign-on with instrumental music/ I.S., then clear IDs for 'Radio Fit-hi', more music (up-beat), into a political commentary in Tigrina by male speaker. Noted to 1625 with sign-off in mid-song. Signal gradually improved to rather good signals (Ed Kusalík, Coaldale AB, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 15530, Voice of Ethiopian Salvation *1600-1610 July 21. Noted with 1000 Hz tone, then I.S. of flute/instrumental with several IDs in Amharic as 'Yth ye Ethiopia Dimts(?)' by male speaker. Into martial type of music, followed with political commentaries by male speaker. Signal quite noise and distorted at times (propagation?) (Ed Kusalík, Coaldale AB, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** FAROE ISLANDS. 531, Utvarp Faroya, 1837-1900+, 12-Jul; M in Nordic LL translating comments in EE by Mathias Reust, a German who flew a small plane into Russia as a peace protest and was imprisoned. ID @1855, comments by W in LL then EZL mx @1900. VGood. 2038, 12-Jul; EZL mx and LL versions of pop oldies. VGood. 2044-2109*, 13-Jul; Parisian concertina mx to brief anmt in non-Nordic LL @2050 then Nordic LL rlgs px. Nx @2100. Anthem, sounding like a rlgs hymn @2108 and off @2109. Good (Harold Frodge, visiting Iceland, q.v., MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** GUAM. THE EYE OF THE STORM PASSES OVER GUAM - ENTRIES FROM A RADIO DIARY Just recently, Typhoon Chataan (cha-TAHN) passed over several island groups in the western Pacific, leaving a sorry trail of damage, devastation, and death in its wake. In the islands of Chuuk (CHOOK), 35 people died in mud slides caused by the ravages of Typhoon Chataan. When this typhoon subsequently struck the island of Guam, again there was extensive damage and destruction. The AWR shortwave station, KSDA on Guam also suffered at the impact of Chataan and here is a progressive account of events at the radio station as chronicled by Dan Weston, the Chief Engineer for Adventist World Radio on Guam. Thursday July 4 Typhoon Chataan moves into Guam with sustained winds of 110 miles per hour and wind gusts up to 125 miles per hour. Friday July 5 The eye of the storm passes right over the AWR shortwave station soon after daylight with a total of nearly 8 hours of heavy winds. An assessment of the storm damage later in the day indicates that all four of the curtain antennas have sustained moderate damage and are unusable in their current condition. The island power system is down and the governor states that it could be two months before power is finally restored to all areas of the island. Saturday July 6 Three antennas were repaired during the day and three transmitters were activated with regular AWR programming, using the AWR emergency generator. Sunday July 7 The fourth antenna was repaired during the day and the fourth transmitter was activated with the regular schedule in the evening. Monday July 8 All four transmitters are on the air, though at lower power due to generator problems. Tuesday July 9 All four transmitters are on the air at full power with their regular full schedule in the AWR shortwave services to Asia. However, another wind storm, this one named Typhoon Halong, is beginning to threaten Guam. We pray that it will turn aside and go out into the uninhabited Pacific (Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan July 28 via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4799.8, Radio Buenas Nuevas, 1030-1115 tune-out July 20. Tough thru Codar and thunderstorm static, good signals, female announcer with religious talk, corridas and marimba music. USB reduced Codar QRM to only slightly annoying rhythmic thumping (Rick Barton, AZ, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4845, Radio K'ekchí. We got the transmitter back up to full power but it blew something else right before I left. So they are on the little backup rig again. I hope to return in August to repair the large transmitter (Larry Baysinger, KY, July 22, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ICELAND. 1530, AFN Keflavik, 2153-2203+, 16-Jul; "AFRTS News Center in Washington" to 2155 then local PSAs for US base. Spot for "Channels 2 and 5 for the Keflavik family community". ID as "AM 15-30 Keflavik Iceland". Fair from about 50 miles east. (Frodge-SW Iceland, MARE via DXLD) ** INDIA. Friends, Due to the demise of the Indian Vice President Mr. Krishan Kant, India is oberserving state mourning for 3 days from today. AIR and Doordarshan is also oberving it by cancelling its entertaintment programmes. Devotional music etc,. is broadcast instead. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS Box 1555, Somajiguda Hyderabad 500082, India, July 27, dx_india via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. From http://www.worldspace.com/about/pressroom/releases/index.html PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release NPR NOW PORTABLE IN EUROPE, AFRICA AND THE MIDEAST ON WORLDSPACE WASHINGTON, DC --- For the first time, native residents, international travelers, expatriate populations and military personnel stationed abroad can hear NPR programming 24 hours a day via international satellite broadcaster WorldSpace. Listeners with portable, digital WorldSpace radios can access the same popular NPR programs heard throughout the U.S., including Morning Edition® with Bob Edwards, All Things Considered®, Fresh Air®, Car Talk®, Talk of the Nation®, Wait Wait -- Don`t Tell Me® and Marian McPartland`s Piano Jazz. [® -- whatever symbol you see -- is for registered trademark] The NPR service on WorldSpace is the latest historic example of American news media teaming up with satellite technology --- a partnership begun 40 years ago when Walter Cronkite first broadcast American news to international audiences. NPR on WorldSpace brings the same NPR programming heard domestically to a vast potential audience worldwide, allowing listeners in Europe, Africa, Western Asia and the Middle East to hear firsthand what`s happening inside the U.S. and how international news is reported by NPR. WorldSpace estimates its potential audience at 4 billion people. Early users to NPR on WorldSpace include NPR News foreign correspondents Rob Gifford and Michael Sullivan, whose assignments often take them to remote corners of the world where access to information --- in English or otherwise --- is limited or nonexistent. Gifford, who reports from South Asia, and Sullivan, who is based in New Delhi, use the radios in the field to keep informed and to aid the reporting they do for NPR. ``The WorldSpace radio is an invaluable addition to my tool kit,`` says Sullivan. ``With it, I get the most up-to-the-minute news, direct from NPR and other broadcasters. WorldSpace helps keep me connected, whether I`m in New Delhi or Kabul or Karachi.`` Listeners can learn more about NPR on WorldSpace at http://www.npr.org/worldwide or at http://www.worldspace.com which includes a footprint of the WorldSpace service area. In addition to its channel on WorldSpace, NPR Worldwide transmits award-winning programs to audiences around the world on over 140 radio stations, in more than 25 million homes via direct broadcast satellite and in 7 million homes via cable. Contact: NPR: Jenny Lawhorn +1-202-513-2754 jlawhorn@npr.org WorldSpace: Nichole Johnston +1-202-969-6161 njohnston@worldspace.com Copyright 2001, 2002 all rights reserved WorldSpace Corporation (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. MUZZLE THAT MICROWAVE! WELCOME TO RADIO QUIET ZONE Thu Jul 25,12:27 PM ET By Deborah Zabarenko GREEN BANK, W.Va. (Reuters) - Welcome to the National Radio Quiet Zone. Feel free to shout, play the tuba or let out a primal scream. Just don't think about using a microwave oven.... http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=572&ncid=811&e=4&u=/nm/20020725/lf_nm/space_quiet_dc_2 (via Daniel Say, swprograms via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. CLANDESTINE from FRANCE to IRAN: KRSI: An undated listing on their website mentions two frequencies, 15740 and 17510. They also have extensive instructions for an anti-jamming antenna at http://www.krsi.net/us-en/antijamming.asp (via Hans Johnson, Jul 22, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. I'm not sure now what Kol Israel's sked is. I checked 17545 and 15615 at 1630 on 7/26 and found them there, but not in English (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I checked July 27 from tune in about 1625, 17545 not making it, but 15615 sounded like Romanian and there was no change at 1630. Indeed, `summer shortwave schedule` supposedly effective July 21 at http://www.israelradio.org shows Romanian at 1625-1645 but on different frequencies: 9435, 11605, 15640, 15650. Something was on 15650 but I could not make out what. There was a timesignal at 1645, perhaps introducing a different language. Perhaps they have their networks crossed. How long before they notice? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks Glenn. I checked again myself today 7/27 on 17545 and 15615 and both carried the same program at 1625-1645, but not English. I will check all the others tomorrow or Monday to see if indeed they have the feeds switched. It won't be the first time they've made that mistake! (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. 6973.04, Galei Zahal, Tel Aviv. 0008-0036 July 21. John Fogerty's rendition of 'I Heard It Through the Grapevine'. Deep fades intermittent at 0016. R&B tunes to Hebrew announcements from YL DJ. 'Papa Was a Rolling Stone' at 0026 into 'Summertime' tune, followed by Ray Charles vocal. Station's transmitters are 5 kW, located 25 km southeast of Tel Aviv. Additional frequency noted as 15785. Website: http://www.glz.msn.co.il (Gayle Van Horn, NC, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. I know that other people have been less than successful with the DPRK but I sent a request via snail mail for a QSL card about a sesquimonth ago, and today I received a nice little package from Radio Pyongyang/Voice of Korea; had a card, a magazine, newspaper, pennant, reception forms, and a very nice little pin. Of course the publications are very very "Communist," out Stalin-ing Stalin. BTW when I sent the letter I marked it "Via Beijing," don't know if that helps. cheers, 73s, (Sue Hickey, Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland, Canada, July 26, GRDXC via DXLD) [Her tagline:] ______________________________________________ "I am in terrible ignorance of everything." Blaise Pascal ** KOREA SOUTH [non]. CLANDESTINE/SOUTH KOREA. 3912, Voice of the People (tentative), 1130 July 20. Coming in SINPO 44454 with talk by female announcer, music. Propagation favoring the station but not the usually present jammer, now only barely heard. Was nice to hear the programming sans jammer (Rick Barton, AZ, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. 1548 | VOA Relay, Kabd - Kuwait City, JUL 25 0030-0130 - I listened to this several times over an hour and was mystified by the same station playing Middle Eastern and Indian music along with western (US/Euro) pop hits. The female announcer was somewhat mumbly, so I wasn't sure of the language. I did hear an ID that Herman Boel in Belgium confirmed as being "Radio Sawa", an entertainment service being run on VOA Kuwait. The signal was very strong on peaks. At Rowley, MA (GC= 70.829 W / 42.745 N) (Stackyard Road / Parker River - Nelson Island wildlife refuge: salt-marsh) Receiver: Drake R8A. Antenna system - Rowley: two active whips, spaced 50 m (164 ft.) E-W axis. Superphaser-2 phasing unit (Mark Connelly, MA, hard-core-dx via DXLD) see also SRI LANKA ** KYRGYZIA. KYRGYZ PRESIDENT SLAMS US RADIO FOR BIASED INFORMATION | Text of report by Kyrgyz newspaper AKIpress web site on 26 July At the [third national] round table "Interaction and Cooperation in the name of Kyrgyzstan" that ended today, on 26 July 2002, Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev subjected Azattyk radio to severe criticism. "The biased and one-sided coverage of events by Radio Liberty, Azattyk, is one of the main threats to our state. This is information terror unleashed by Radio Liberty, Azattyk, that is being financed from abroad, against the Kyrgyz Republic." In reply to this statement, well-known human rights activist Tursunbek Akunov shouted several times for the whole hall to hear: "That's a lie!" Source: AKIpress web site, Bishkek, in Russian 26 Jul 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. 7295, RTM Radio 4, 1054 July 17. Pop music to two men talking in English. 1100 time pips to the news with several mentions of Malaysia. 1110 ID as Radio 4, with FM frequency given. To woman with talk over music. Strong but fluttery signal, in the clear. Best ever heard (Dan Ziolkowski, WI, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** MEXICO. R. Transcontinental de América, XERTA Mexico City, 4800.7 kHz, Partial-data e-mail in 11 days after several follow-ups for a 1998 report. Also stated that Ing. Roberto Nájera Martínez is no longer at the station and that their format has changed. New website: http://www.misionradio.com/ V/S: Veronica Coria Miranda, Representante Ejecutiva (Terry Palmersheim, KC7LDP, Helena, MT, July 27, hard-core- dx via DXLD) ** NAMIBIA. 3270.1, Namibian BC (presumed), 0500-0545 July 20. Talk by man. Very enjoyable African pop music. Announcement by woman at 0530, followed by more music. Signal slowly improved 0510-0530, which appears to coincide with local sunrise in Windhoek, then began to fall off slowly. Noticeably weaker at 0545 tune out. Heavy atmospheric noise and fading made it difficult to identify the language, but it appeared to be an African dialect. Best SINPO 24222. Last heard on Oct 20 with a much narrower reception window (Jim Evans, TN, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. Within two weeks Alfa Lima will use a new QSL card. A full colour one witch of course you can obtain to send a report to our station. As usual there will be also a info sheet inserted when we send away a QSL. Reception reports as you al know obtains always a few details of the heard program and a reply fee (just enough to cover the reply) witch might be 1 US dollar or if you don't have local currency. About IRC's, it seems we can not exchange them here in the Netherlands so we prefer the USD. We enclose with this email an example of the new QSL [features bare-breasted woman] Greetings, Alfred _____________________________________ Download Info's and new photos in high resolution http://www.alfalima.net/foto-paket.zip Huge webpage with just everything related to short-wave http://www.alfalima.net and take a look at our SW-online shopping centre. http://www.alfalima.net/store.htm Contact information Alfa Lima International, pobox 663, 7900AR Hoogeveen, the Netherlands Enclose 1 US$ email: alinter@rendo.dekooi.nl http://www.alfalima.net (Alfa Lima International July 26 via DXLD) ** PERU. Here`s a translation of the item we had earlier: RADIO SAN ANTONIO FORCED OFF AIR AS EXTREME COLD KILLS THOUSANDS OF ANIMALS, MENACES PEOPLE by Brother Rolando del Carpio Montalvo, Director, Radio San Antonio Callali-Calloma, July 22 (special) -- My dear friends, the reason for this report is to greet you and at the same time tell you that for over a week there has been no signal broadcast from Radio San Antonio. We hear by international news that the south of Peru has been declared an emergency because of the natural disasters such as the change in climate with blizzards, strong winds, and low temperatures. All these are causing serious respiratory problems among children and the elderly. In addition, these are causing a high rate of mortality among animals such as alpacas, sheep, and llamas, which have nothing to eat. As a result of these woes, a crusade of help has been organized on the national level for all the zones affected by this climatological phenomenon, which for the present year and the next will cause difficulties for all the people of this area who live solely by raising domestic animals, given that because of the altitude there can be no agriculture. Because of the blizzards, an electric power transformer has blown, by which for more than a week all the towns of the high zones of Arequipa province have no electric current and we are still trying to get the authorities to give us fuel for our generator and thus keep all the people of these high altitudes informed, because we are the only radio station that keeps everyone who inhabits these high altitudes informed. We hope that by tomorrow or the end of the week we will be back on the air. Later I will be reporting to you more of the situation of this southern area of Peru. Until then I say goodbye until the next occasion. Database Arequipa (Callalli-Cayoma): OAW6A Radio San Antonio 3375 khz (1,000 watts) y OAW6B on 3375 khz [sic]. Parroquia de San Antonio de Padua, Asociación Promotora San Francisco Solano, Apartado Postal 1817, Arequipa. Hermano Rolando del Carpio Montalvo, director. Plaza Principal s/n, Callalli, Depto. Arequipa, Perú. ID "Es Radio San Antonio...que transmite desde la ciudad de Callalli para todos los oyentes, es una emisora Católica a servicio de la comunidad" 5 a.m.-9 a.m. and 5 p.m.-9 p.m., Monday through Saturday. E-mail: rsan_antonio14@hotmail.com (via Catholic Radio Update July 29 via DXLD) ** PERU. An excellent report on Peru`s latest political and meteorological crisis, basically disappointment in or betrayal by Pres. Toledo, is on NPR Morning Edition, Friday July 26: Peru's President Toledo Anne Moncrief reports that one year into his term, President Alejandro Toledo is facing strong opposition from politicians and the public. His approval ratings have fallen amid strikes and scandals, and there is growing demand for new elections. (4:36) http://www.npr.org/ramfiles/me/20020726.me.14.ram (via gh, DXLD) ** PERU. Yesterday I received a QSL from Radio Comas Televisión in Perú. It consists of an information letter and a QSL certificate. The letter is signed by Edgar Saldaña Reátegui, Jefe de Prensa, e-mail: edgarsaldana@latinmail.com The certificate is signed by Julio Saldaña Reátegui, Gerente Comercial. By e-mail he can be reached via: rtcomas@protelsa.com.pe I had sent a snail mail follow-up with a dollar and some enclosures and an e-mail follow-up. The e-mail follow- up was also answered a few days ago. I had used the following address, from which there was also the reply: rtcomas@terra.com.pe Snail mail address is: Radio Comas Televisión S.R. Ltda., Av. Estados Unidos 327, Comas Km. 10 Av. Túpac Amaru, Lima, Perú. I should perhaps mention that all this was for a report of September 2000 when the station was on 4880 kHz. They also indicate this frequency in their letter head now. So I am not sure where they transmit now, because in the meantime I saw them reported on 3250 kHz again. Best 73's and good DX (Hans- Dieter Buschau, Hildesheim, Germany, July 26, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** PERU [and non]. [See previous item under USA non] Over the past few nights I've been monitoring 1470 kHz using audio analysis to "watch" the various carriers fade-in, sign-off or fade- out. It's a very busy channel with many carriers slightly offset from each other. Fade-in has been as early as 2130 when only Brazil or Argentina is realistically possible, and mostly the strongest signal has been CPN, Lima, Peru peaking 0300-0330 UT. Does anyone have a list of Brazilian MW stations with sign-off times? Or in fact other South American countries too ... I've uploaded the spectral traces onto my website http://www.dxradio.co.uk/mwoffsets/index/html The rig is a AOR 7030+, with a 40-inch square MW loop, and the audio analysis is done using Spectrum Lab. I've tuned to 1469.000 kHz in USB and analysed the audio from 925-1075 Hz ... 1000 Hz would correspond to a zero Hz offset on 1470.000 kHz obviously. CPN Lima would appear to be the station registering on 995 Hz on the scale, i.e. 1469.995 kHz given its fade-in time and peak. 73s (Mark Hattam, London, England, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 11720, Radio Pilipinas, 1758-1830 July 18. Program in Tagalog, with feature called 'Country Profile' which in this case was Singapore. After this a feature on News about Regional Development and Assistance Project . 1827 EG ID, with schedule and frequencies given . Signal good at times (Ed Kusalík, Alberta, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** POLAND. MILITARY HANDS OVER FREQUENCIES TO BROADCASTERS, PHONE OPERATORS | Text of report by Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza on 25 July The army is beginning to hand over frequencies it will no longer be using. The Office for the Regulation of Telecommunications and Postal Services [URTiP] has announced those frequencies will be used to develop digital media and GSM cellular phone networks, as well as to establish an UMTS network. An agreement signed between the URTiP and the Ministry of National Defence [MON] provides that the army will be gradually freeing frequencies that are not used by armies in the west. In exchange, it will receive other frequencies from the URTiP which it will use for its own purposes. Part of them are in the lower ultra short wave range that was used by radio networks 2.5 years ago. The media have been waiting for the military frequencies for a long time. Experts even said once that the MON frequencies coupled with single free civilian bands would suffice to establish another nationwide television channel (after the First and Second Channels of Polish Television and Polsat). "That is an exaggeration. Terrestrial television and radio networks would not be able to switch to digital broadcasts. We would also have to back out of building the two planned digital terrestrial television networks in order to establish a single supra-regional - and not nationwide - network the size of TV4," says Krystyna Roslan-Kuhn, head of the URTiP chief's secretariat who was director of one of the departments of the National Radio and Television Council until recently. In her opinion, the military currently uses 28 per cent of the frequencies necessary to establish two nationwide terrestrial digital television platforms in Poland. URTiP chief Witold Grabos stresses that digital media are an absolute priority. "We will be reserving part of the frequencies we receive from the MON for the needs of digital television. Broadcasters can count on getting only single frequencies that cannot be used in the digital network," Witold Grabos assures. What implications does this have for radio broadcasters? "None. They have no use for what we will be getting," the URTiP chief explains. Unofficial sources at the URTiP say that the Third Channel of Polish Television that has been recently established by a joint effort of regional centres has the largest appetites for new frequencies. This is currently a supra-regional network, but the Polish Television management wants to expand. Cellular phone operators will also benefit from the agreement as they will be able to develop their networks. "The safety of railway communications will improve thanks to a special system called GSM-R," Grabos stresses. The military frequencies will also be used to establish third-generation cell phone networks (UMTS). The army will hand over further frequencies as old equipment is withdrawn. The MON is to hand over the first of 11 bands with various frequencies this year. The next bands will be freed in 2003-2004. The process may continue up until 2017. Source: Gazeta Wyborcza, Warsaw, in Polish 25 Jul 02 p 18 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SAMOA AMERICAN. WVUV 648 kHz Leone, full-data prepared card with letter, sticker and business card in 11 months after 2 follow-ups (heard from Grayland SP, WA). Verie signer: Larry Fuss, Pres. of South Seas Broadcasting (Terry Palmersheim, KC7LDP, Helena, MT, July 27, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA [and non]. Hi Glenn, Re ```SRI LANKA. In DXLD 2-102 under CONGO DR we had a reference to Sri Lanka being on 9770: ``Also SLBC Ekala-SLK-CLN is registered there til 1630 UT. 9770 1230-1630 41 EKA 100 350 1234567 3103-271002 CLN SLB SLB (BC- DX)`` --- so I guess the recent report of 9970 is a typo ---- but by the reporter, or by the station when punching up the transmitter frequency?? (gh)``` ...which appears in DXLD 2-117. When reading the original report of the SLBC being heard on 9970, it did seem reasonable to assume that someone had made a mistake - particularly as their original frequency is/was 9770. The SLBC is not currently audible on 9770 here - which doesn`t necessarily mean it isn`t working there - and 9970 is blocked by Belgium. When reading DXLD it becomes obvious that it is not a rare occurrence for stations to operate where they are not meant to - or should that be don't mean to - for whatever reason. On July 17th I found an Arabic broadcast on 13650 at 1545, unknown to me, and which eventually identified as Kuwait. Their frequency should have been empty 13620, and, sure enough, that's where it was next day. If there's a motto perhaps it should be not to trust the engineer if a new, but very familiar looking, frequency is heard! And as for typo's, we all try hard, but inevitably the odd one gets through. Best 73's (Noel Green, UK, July 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. Anybody know what's up with Radio Ukraine International? I haven't been able to hear anything on 12040 kHz for the past few days, and it has nothing to do with solar activity, AFAIK: I could pick up Radio Romania International on 11775 kHz at 2300 UTC just fine, as well as Radio Prague at 0000 UTC on 11615 kHz. But RUI, which should be on 12040 kHz from at least 0000-0400 UT, has *nothing*. The Real Audio link, which is allegedly at rtsp://real.nrcu.gov.ua:7554/encoder/rui.rm (although I've never seen the rtsp protocol before) is also dead. Can anybody with better equipment than I've got pick up a signal? And if not, does anybody know what's going on? Thanks in advance! - (Ted Schuerzinger, July 25, swprograms via DXLD) 10 to 1 Ted, it`s just as in the past -- Radio Ukraine ran up another whopper of a electric bill with the power company there and the power utility in Kiev stopped the electric flow to the power plant; it has happened in the past. 73s (Bill KA2EMZ Bergadano, ibid.) As recently as this past Wednesday both the webcast and shortwave were working -- the webcast as recently as 03 UT July 25th. I just checked the webcast and it was fine -- in Ukrainian anyway. I believe (others here can verify) the rtsp protocol is the preferred protocol for RealMedia files; normally all you see are http protocols with *.rm or *.ram file extensions, which have the rtsp information "hidden" in them so you wouldn't normally see it. I know their HTML coding on the web page generates errors -- at least it does in MSIE v6.0 on my machine (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. A LITTLE U.S. POP-AGANDA FOR ARABS At New VOA Radio Station, Music Is Light and So Is the News Voice Of America correspondent Mahmoud Zawawi at his booth during a broadcast in Amman, Jordan, on Thursday. (AP) [caption] By Howard Schneider, Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, July 26, 2002; Page A24 AMMAN, Jordan -- After 30 years with the Voice of America and more than seven as an Arabic language correspondent in the Middle East, Mahmoud Zawawi has had to ditch the VOA's documentary style for brief news flashes. In his new gig, he dispenses with full-length interviews, forgets about in-depth reports on U.S. politics and economics and scraps the film reviews that were his passion. In the name of reaching Arab youth with a product that will not be associated with heavy subjects, such as the U.S. war on terrorism or violence in neighboring Israel, the United States has gone pop with its outreach radio. It has switched to the FM band and replaced the VOA's Arabic language service with a new station, Radio Sawa, that mixes the latest Arabic tunes with light American rock for 50 minutes every hour. The little bit of news sprinkled in with the rest of the broadcast would be depressing to the VOA veteran except for one thing: People are finally listening, at least here in Jordan. "Most of my friends never heard my voice until three months ago," when the new service began, Zawawi said. "It is catching on like fire. Very relaxing. Quick pace. A little news." Planning for Radio Sawa was underway before the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and at the Pentagon. It was prompted mostly by the VOA Arabic service's sparse audience, a group Zawawi said was limited to "elites" -- political officials, academics, journalists and a handful of others. The station broadcast on an AM signal from Greece, and reception varied throughout the region and with the weather. But since Sept. 11 the project has taken on a new dimension as the United States has tried to strengthen diplomacy in the Middle East and burnish an image that, for many, has become associated less with democracy and free speech than with the airplanes and helicopters deployed by the Israeli military. Neither is the United States alone. In recent months virtually all key players in the Middle East dispute have intensified efforts to spread their point of view in other languages. The programs include a $22.5 million Arab League fund to produce English and Hebrew programming. Hebrew radio and television broadcasts are being aimed at Israel from all directions. Egypt is broadcasting two hours of Hebrew television each day via its Nilesat satellite. Iran recently inaugurated the "Voice of David" radio broadcast, meant to provide its view of the news to Jewish listeners throughout the Middle East, and particularly in Israel. Syria added 15 minutes of Hebrew news to its daily satellite television programming, hoping, as the presenter said on the first night, "to reveal the truth to the Israelis." The Shiite fundamentalist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon, which operates the Al-Manar television station, often includes Hebrew propaganda in what station executives characterize as an attempt to demoralize Israeli citizens. Israel has responded in kind. Last month it launched an Arab language satellite station that Israeli official Raanan Cohen said would be a "counterbalance to the sea of venomous propaganda surrounding us." Whether anybody listens is another matter. Egypt may have the most experience. Its Hebrew radio show, "Voice of Cairo," began in 1954. The director of Hebrew broadcasting, Hassan Ali Hassan, said he has only anecdotal evidence that the radio and the new television broadcasts are well received. But he said demographic studies and audience data are not needed to justify the effort. If the technology is there, he said, any country that does not take advantage of it is foolish. "Every country has a message to distribute. It should be part of every country's policy to explain and clarify, or else its message will be held back," he said. In an environment focused on regional troubles, Radio Sawa, which means "together" in Arabic, may hold the most promise for building an audience. Non-ideological, not even identifiably American, it is designed as entertainment rather than public posture, although news content may expand over time, Zawawi said. With U.S. taxpayer support, it can run its music -- programmed by a staff in Washington -- commercial-free. Radio Sawa was given quick approval to establish local FM transmitters in the countries most trusting of the United States, Jordan and Kuwait, and airs there 24 hours a day. It has also been approved in the United Arab Emirates and is expected to win approval in Bahrain and Qatar, Persian Gulf countries where the United States has a large military presence. The core of the Arab world, however, remains out of reach. Egypt, with 70 million people the most populous Arab country, keeps broadcasting under state control and is finicky about content. Syria and Iraq for political reasons are not likely candidates for the Radio Sawa chain, while Saudi Arabia for cultural reasons is also not expected to comply. While those countries can receive a few hours daily of Radio Sawa programming, sent via the old AM signal from Greece, it is unlikely to make the impact that has been felt in just three months in Jordan. Located at FM-98.2, the broadcast is routinely heard in taxis, coffee shops, hair salons and other public spots, Jordanians say. Sipping a frozen lemonade with friends in downtown Amman, Ahmad Sharabati, 18, was quick to show a visitor how he had programmed Radio Sawa into his mobile phone, so he could listen through the ear piece. Reliable audience data are unavailable. But Sharabati and a group of recent college graduates -- an age group in the Arab world that often talks about boycotting American products -- said the station quickly became their favorite. The Arab music is up to date, he said, and alternates with American tunes, mostly light pop and ballads, that cater to Arab tastes. "Everyone in Amman is listening," he said. "One English song. One Arab song. Some news. It has got everything. It has nothing to do with being American." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2157-2002Jul25.html © 2002 Washington Post Company (via Kraig Krist, DXLD) see also KUWAIT ** U S A [and non]. WJIE and High Adventure Ministries have entered into a joint venture agreement. Effective Sept 1st, the corporate staff of HAM will be moving to Kentucky. KVOH will continue to be solely owned by HAM. The HAM shortwave operation planned for Nigeria is being moved to Liberia. While WJIE has plans to upgrade to a 100 kW transmitter, HAM doubts they will be able to reach the Middle East as the former is planning to do (Fax and follow up conversation with Marjorie Carpenter at HAM July 22 [via Baysinger, or Johnson?] Cumbre DX July 26 via DXLD) In spite of what their website says, WJIE shortwave is not operating at 50 kW. They were on with about 30 kW their first day and then went off for quite some time. They didn't even have the 7490 kHz exciter running into the antenna until last week when I was at the site working on WJCR's backup FM transmitter and notified Gary Richardson that everything in the shortwave transmitter building was turned off! WJIE then turned the exciter back on. As for as having "two 50-kW transmitters" - I had to remove several components from the 13595 transmitter in order to repair the 7490 transmitter, so they only have two "working" 100-watt exciters - not 50-kW transmitters (Larry Baysinger, July 25, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A. Narrator: WORLD WAR 2 MEMORABILIA - CALIFORNIA ON SHORTWAVE At the time when the Pacific War flared up to an international conflict in December of 1941, the United States government did not own nor operate any shortwave broadcasting stations on the west coast for coverage into Asia and the Pacific. However, by the end of hostilities, a total of a dozen different transmitter locations had been pressed into broadcast usage during that dramatic four year period. A spate of intensive research into the available radio publications of that era indicates that the programming of the Voice of America VOA and the Armed Forces Radio Service AFRS was on the air during that dramatic time period from as many as 50 different shortwave transmitters at the dozen shortwave locations, all in California. This is the story. The only shortwave broadcasting station in California at the time was KGEI, a General Electric facility that was launched as W6XBE in 1939 at the World`s Fair on Treasure Island. After the Fair was over, the station was renamed as KGEI and transferred to Belmont, a little south of San Francisco. In 1942, this station, along with many others along the eastern seaboard and in the mid west, were all taken over by the government for use with OWI-VOA programming. In order to secure adequate coverage into Asia and the Pacific, the government contracted the usage of several utility transmitters that were already on the air with communication traffic. Most notable of these station were the following:- RCA station at Bolinas (bol-EE-nas), AT&T station at Dixon, Press Wireless station near Los Angeles. The RCA station at Bolinas was a long established facility and it had often been heard in pre-war days with the relay of radio programming to and from Hawaii and other countries on the Pacific rim. Over a period of time, several of the Bolinas transmitters were noted with OWI-VOA programming. Early in 1942, an additional 50 kW RCA transmitter was installed at Bolinas and this was noted with radio broadcast programming under the callsign KRCA. A sister unit was installed three years later and this was allocated the callsign KRCQ. QSL cards were issued to verify several of the Bolinas callsigns, including KES2, KES3, and KRCA. The utility station at Dixon was owned and operated by the telephone company AT&T and this was on the air with OWI-VOA programming under six different callsigns, four of which were verified with the now famous red white and blue QSL cards. The callsigns on these cards are KMI, KWU, KWV and KWY. The Press Wireless facility was located near Los Angeles and two of its transmitters were in use with wartime programming, one of which was verified with a QSL card, station KJE8. Additional shortwave transmitters in California also carried the VOA- AFRS programming, though little is known about these stations. The U. S. navy wireless station at San Francisco was noted with the relay of AFRS programming, as were also station KZH and KNY, the specific locations of which are unknown. At the same time as contract radio coverage was taken out over these many utility transmitters, plans were laid for the quick installation of additional shortwave transmitters at already established locations specifically for broadcast coverage. The first of these new units was station KWID. The 100 kW transmitter for KWID was co-located with a mediumwave station KSFO at Islais Creek and the studios were installed in the Mark Hopkins Hotel on the seafront edge of San Francisco. A 50 kW sister transmitter KWIX was installed at this same location during the following year. Another utility station was the Mackay facility located at Palo Alto and two new transmitters at 50 kW were installed here under the callsigns KROJ and KROU. These units left the air for ever after the end of the war. In addition to these smaller units, two large shortwave stations were built specifically for trans-Pacific broadcast coverage and these were the CBS station at Delano (de-LAH-no) [sic – it`s de-LAY-no!! --gh] and the NBC facility at Dixon. The Delano station was inaugurated in 1944 as KCBA and the Dixon station was inaugurated in 1945 as KNBA. Interestingly, only one of these many historic radio stations is on the air today with broadcast programming and that is the very large Voice of America station located in a country area near Delano, north east of Los Angeles in southern California. During this hectic four year period when all of these many shortwave transmitters were in use with radio programming, they were heard far and wide throughout the Pacific rim, as well as in Europe and elsewhere. Many thousands of QSL cards were processed for these stations, and the AWR collection in Indianapolis contains a large album with nearly 50 of these neat red white a blue QSL cards, each with its own distinctive callsign (Adrian Michael Petersen, AWR Wavescan July 28 via DXLD) ** U S A. Friday, July 26, 2002 AROUND THE DIAL A WORD FROM THE SPONSOR: READ THE RADIO Technology widely used in Europe is offered on five local Clear Channel stations. If it catches on, expect written ads. By STEVE CARNEY, Special to The Times Music fans driven crazy by disc jockeys who never identify the songs or artists they're playing can rejoice: Now the radio itself will name that tune. For listeners who already think there are too many advertisements on the radio, this is not good news; the ads are starting to appear on the radio in the form of text messages scrolling across the display screen. Radio Data Service is a technology that has been around about a decade, enabling FM receivers to automatically display the call letters of a station or identify the song and artist being played. Advanced systems can shut off a CD or cassette if a traffic report or weather warning comes on the air, if the user has programmed it to do so. Widely popular in Europe, where the receivers can also switch between stations of the same format to find the best reception, Radio Data Service has mainly languished in the United States because neither broadcasters nor the electronics industry ever embraced it. Only about 700 of the 5,000 radio stations in the United States employ it, according to the National Assn. of Broadcasters... http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Print-X!ArticleDetail-67196,00.html? (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) LA Times stories soon disappear ** U S A. RADIO LAW: CQ SAYS YES TO NEW HAM BANDS The publisher of several hobby radio magazines is urging the FCC to proceed in the creation of several new ham bands. However, it is voicing significant concern that the regulatory agency appears to be placing the interests of unlicensed services on a par with, if not ahead of, those of licensed services. Amateur Radio Newsline`s David Black, KB4KCH, tells us who filed and why: Most magazine publishers traditionally stay out ham radio politics. But the people who publish CQ Amateur Radio, CQ VHF and Popular Communications magazines are making an exception this time. The publishers have filed comments with the FCC strongly supporting proposals that would create two new amateur bands and elevate a current amateur allocation from secondary to primary status. CQ wants the FCC to adopt a proposal to create a ``splinter band`` at 135.7 to 137.8 kHz -- this would give amateur radio its first allocation above 200 meters in nearly a century. The company proposes opening the band to all amateurs with General Class or higher licenses, not imposing mode restrictions and making technical requirements flexible enough to encourage a wide range of experimentation. CQ is also pushing for creation of a new ham band at 60 meters from 5.250 to 5.400 MHz. The proposal suggests that full amateur power be permitted; that there be no sub-banding, either by mode or by license class; and that the band be open to all amateurs with HF privileges. That would include CW privileges for hams holding Novice Class licenses or Technician licenses with code credit. Finally, CQ voices strong support for the FCC`s proposal to make the Amateur Service primary on 2400 to 2402 MHz. The publishers say they`re very concerned about one Commission request in its Notice of Proposed Rule Making. That requests solicits comments on the change in status that might affect non-licensed users of this band, such as cordless telephones and wireless computer networks. CQ wants the Commission to reaffirm its long-standing policy that the interests of licensed operators and services are primary on any frequencies shared by licensed and non-licensed users. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I`m David Black, KB4KCH. CQ`s comments were filed electronically and may be viewed in full on the FCC`s Electronic Comment Filing System website at http://www.fcc.gov/e-file/ecfs.html by selecting ``Search for Filed Comments,`` then typing in ``02-98`` under ``Proceeding`` on the search page, scrolling through comment summaries until the CQ comments are reached. (CQ) (Amateur Radio Newsline July 26 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. Replies to NRC`s Question of the Week: "If you were given the authority, how would you reform the AM band? Before answering, define what reform means to you, and why it is necessary." What reform means to me is to get rid of most of the syndicated satellite programming and give the programming back to the communities. I am tired of travelling to find Rush, Dr. Laura, Art Bell, you name it everywhere on the dial. Why not have local talk shows, local DJ shows like we used to have. There would be a place for the high school kid to start in radio like I once did (KVAS-Astoria). When I travel I try to find a "local" station that is not satellite programmed. Sure you have national network news on the hour. That is fine, national sports, all fine, but let`s have local programming. I don't mind hearing the news item about how the local fire dept. saved a cat out of a tree, or info on the local high school basketball game, or someone selling a TV on the air, local auctions, you name it. Give radio back to the local people of the community! (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, KAVT Reception Manager, NRC-AM via DXLD) Reform; to form again or anew, to remove defects, necessary in this case to improve reception of high power radio stations, to restore local access to the airwaves, to reduce interference, and to provide quality receivers. 1. Define two types of channels, local and clear: Local channels would simply be 250/250 U1, 500/500 U1 and 1000/1000 U1, to restore local access to the airwaves with ownership limited to a single station. License fees would be reduced and the application process streamlined per the Paperwork Reduction Act for the local channels. Clear channels would include a power increase to 100 kW maximum. There would be 68 clear channels; 530, 540, 640 - 780, 800 - 900, 940, 1000 - 1140, 1170 - 1220, 1500 - 1560, 1580, 1610 - 1700. Remaining frequencies would be local channels. [why not 990, 1160? gh] 2. IBOC would be scrapped, instead going with Eureka-147 in the 1465 - 1485 MHz frequency range like Canada. Those radio stations that are "victims" of the new local/clear channel allocations would be given priority assignments of new digital channels and temporary authority to continue broadcasting on a local channel regardless of ownership. 3. Conducted and radiated emissions standards would be vigorously enforced and tightened if necessary. Notorious interference sources would be targeted, including but not limited to power lines, cable TV, light dimmers, electric motors, and digital electronics. The FCC would be given the power to pursue criminal prosecution for repeat offenders. 4. Finally, FCC type acceptance of AM receivers would require compliance with minimum standards for sensitivity, selectivity, image/IF rejection, dynamic range, and audio quality approaching the AMAX standard (C-QUAM stereo would be optional). (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH http://members.aol.com/baconti/bamlog.htm NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Posted by Rachel Baughn on July 25, 19102 at 05:33:42: Please join us on our shortwave segment 7/28/02 12am EASTERN on WBCQ 7415 kHz, also on W0KIE GE7 Ch5 7.5 MHz and the net feeds when we will have a segment with Mason from Canada as he interviews Ken Burg, VE7KEN talking about the RAC (Radio Amateurs of Canada) conference. This is part of our shortwave show; join us July 28th at 12am ET or 0400 UT. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Duane Whittingham (N9SSN) - Producer Tom and Darryl Radio Shows Heard on C-Band Analog Satellite (W0KIE) - GE7-CH5-7.5 mHz Also on WQNA 88.3 FM, WBCQ 7415 kHz and the Internet. Fridays 9pm ET, Sundays 12am ET and Tuesdays 1am ET An Independent Freeform Eclectic Radio Show. http://www.tomanddarryl.org (via Monitoring Times Chat Board via DXLD) ** U S A. WBCQ SCHEDULE CHANGE - EVM JEWISH RADIO NETWORK SUNDAY SCHEDULE CHANGE FOR EVM JEWISH RADIO NETWORK ON SUNDAYS ON 9335 CANCELLED - LAST PROGRAM 7/14/2002 [UT, then EDT] 2000 4:00-5:00pm 9335 EVM: Mystical Insights: Ideas of Chassidic Masters 2100 5:00pm - 6:00pm 9335 EVM: Ask the Rabbi: Questions from Listeners 2200 6:00pm - 7:00pm 9335 EVM: Jewish Music and Its Meaning ------------------------------------------------------------ SCHEDULE CHANGE FOR EVM JEWISH RADIO NETWORK ON SUNDAYS ON 7415 Sunday Schedule on 7415 as below ended July 14, 2002. (except for 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM .. see following info) Beginning Sunday, July 21, 2002 -- (only) 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM - 7415 EVM Jewish Radio Network email link: yspivak@aol.com 8EVM, P.O. Box 317, Monsey, New York 10952 The Jewish Radio Network 1-866-722-2497 (toll free) Torah Talk with Rabbi Yaakov Spivak can also be heard via the internet on American Freedom Network - http://www.americanewsnet.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------- old schedule: 1300 9:00am - 10:00am 7415 EVM: Torah Portion of the Week 1400 10:00am - 11:00am 7415 EVM: Jewish Music for the Morning 1500 11:00am - 12:00pm 7415 EVM: Talmud For Today 1600 12:00pm - 1:00pm 7415 EVM: Israel and the World (People & Politics) 1700 1:00pm - 2:00pm 7415 EVM: Talkline with Zev Brenner 1800 2:00pm - 2:30pm 7415 EVM: The D'Var Program - Rabbi Chaim Friedman 1830 2:30pm - 3:00pm 7415 EVM: Music of a People 1900 3:00pm - 4:00pm 7415 EVM: Mining the Midrash: Insights from the Rabbis (WBCQ July 25 via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. De acuerdo a un correo enviado a la lista por el colega y amigo José Valdez, La Radio Nacional de Venezuela ha confrontado algunos problemas con sus transmisiones de Onda Corta, pero se está trabajando para mejorar este servcio, que se espera esté al 100% dentro de muy poco tiempo. La Radio Nacional de Venezuela actualmente no está en la onda corta,pero de todas maneras hay que estar siempre pendientes de la frecuencia 9540 de RNV. Atte: (José Elías, July 26, Venezuela, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** VIRGIN ISLANDS US. 1620 | WDHP, Fredriksted, St. Croix, JUL 12 0100 - WDHP ID; fair. + JUL 25 0049 - "Chariots of Fire" music followed by ads including "Amigo Enterprises" used cars in St. Croix (tel. 719- 8960) and Tom's Concrete and Building Supply (tel. 719-4554). 3- station ID given, then a promo for the Virgin Islands lottery. Good signal. [Mark Connelly, Rowley, MA, hard-core-dx via DXLD; see KUWAIT for equipment] +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PROPAGATION REPORT ++++++++++++++++++ 3 X class flares in the past week have meant conditions have been pretty active. Things have been fairly quiet for the past 24 hours but 2 regions on this side of the sun remain flare capable. A CME associated with the flare on July 23 should have impacted by the time you read this leading to possibly storm levels of geomagnetic activity. Geomagnetic activity was high on Jul 17 and 20/22. Other active periods are expected Jul 27/28 and Aug 1-3. Further shortwave fadeouts remain possible (Prepared for Cumbre DX by Richard Jary using data from http://www.ips.gov.au via DXLD) TRANSATLANTIC TROPOSPHERIC VHF DX FROM AFRICA TO NORTH AMERICA is possible; see AFRICA at top of this DXLD! (gh) ###