DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-126, August 9, 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 #1143: (ON DEMAND) http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html (DOWNLOAD) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1143.rm (STREAM) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1143.ram (SUMMARY) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1143.html WWCR BROADCASTS: Sat 0500, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 RFPI BROADCASTS: Sat 0130, 0730, Sun 0000, 0600 on 7445-USB, 15038.6 WRN BROAODCATS: Rest of world Sat 0800, North America Sun 1400 ** AFRICA. Have you heard these countries in the last weeks? I would like to hear only on short wave (no relay in Europe please): Algeria, Guinea Equatorial, Angola, Ethiopia, Burundi, Cameroon, Sudan, Swaziland, Central African Republique, Chad, Congo Kinshasa, ,Congo Brazzaville, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique,, Namibia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Togo, Zimbabwe, Lesotho. Thank you. (Frank PARISOT from France, RX Kenwood R5000 + wire 20 meters, Aug 7, hard-core-dx via DXLD) The African station scene is changing all the time. Some stations have moved from 60mb to 41/49mb at least temporarily. Here in Finland I think the 60mb is much more easier to hear Africans than the crowded 41 and 49. Burundi has been highly irregular. Cameroon has been inactive. Central African Rep 60 mb is inactive, other frequencies might be active Malawi has been inactive on 90/60 mb Mozambique has been inactive Niger 60 mb inactive Somalia I have not heard for a while Togo 60 mb inactive Lesotho 4800 been off for some time You can find station listings at http://www.dxing.info (click the lists) http://www.poba.de/africalist.html 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, Aug 9, hard-core-dx via DXLD) [Another Finnish Jari replies...] My observations since June are the following: Algeria - Nothing. Guinea Equatorial - Nothing. Angola - RN Luanda regularly on 4951 in night time after VOA Sao Tome closes down. Ethiopia - R Ethiopia, Gedja, on 5990, closing down 2000. or Radio Fana, regularly on 6940 after 1700 UT. Burundi - Nothing for many years. Cameroon - Nothing for many years. Sudan - Very weak on 7200 at 1800 UTC, no ID. Swaziland - TWR Swaziland audible sometimes on 3240 in night time. Central African Republique - Nothing for many years. Chad - Nothing for many years. Congo Kinshasa - Nothing, unless Lumumbashi pops up on 7435, not heard so far. Congo Brazzaville - Good signal on 5985 in evening, whenever transmitter is on - it is not always on. Kenya - Nothing, their only SW freq 4915 (10 kW) is blocked by stronger Ghana. MW (1386 etc) would be easier way. Malawi - Nothing for many years. Mozambique - Nothing for many years. Namibia - Sometimes a decent signal on 3270 overnight. Niger - Nothing. Inactive at the moment. Sierra Leone - Radio UNAMSIL carrier on 6137. SLBS not active. Somalia - Radio Hargeisa can be heard on 7530 after 1900 UTC. Togo - Nothing for many years. Zimbabwe - Nothing. Should be active on 5975 and 6045 overnight. Not heard so far. Lesotho - Nothing. (Jari Lehtinen, Lahti, Finland, hard-core-dx via DXLD) [every country mentioned above will be included in the index for this issue at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html] ** ALASKA. Re Ninilchik neighbors concerned about Aurora SW project: When I was there in the summer of 2001, they had dug two ponds that totaled perhaps 10 acres. They used what they dug out for graveling their road and a base of where the transmitter building is (this would be considered fill). I seem to recall that they had purchased 160 acres. Work on the antennas hadn't started but they were going to be very close to the Cook Inlet which the property borders. From what I saw, I wouldn't be surprised if much of their property was considered wetlands, which can be areas that are just wet seasonally. "Critical habitat" is a buzz phrase one usually sees in regard to endangered or threatened species, but I don't see any mention above as to what this is critical habitat for. Ninilchik is just a small village that is itself on the Cook Inlet (Hans Johnson, WY, Aug 2, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Argentina is since a year or so adopting a new postal code system. The new code consists of: one letter, the former 4 digit numerical code, three letters. You can see an example of this now postal code on 1290 below. 1290, Arzobispado de Mendoza has been authorized to operate a new station with a power of 5 kW at Villa Nueva de Guaymallén. Address: Arzobispado de Mendoza, Av. Bandera de los Andes 4404, M5521AXL Villa Nueva de Guaymallén, Mendoza (CRU via Tore Larsson, ARC via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Every few weeks I browse the Radio National website to look for additional programs available on demand. Most are now archived; two of the latest additions are: "Ockham's Razor", a weekly science-based lecture series, somewhat like the BBC's "Agenda" with a science twist, and also without interviewer interruptions or point-counterpoint distractions, at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/default.htm "The Europeans", which looks at political, cultural, economic and social developments across eastern and western Europe. It complements other overseas news and current affairs coverage by offering broader historical and cultural perspectives on European societies. It's at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/europe/europe.htm Much of Radio Australia's shortwave content originates on the domestic Radio National network. Even though Radio National is domestic, many programs cover topics of interest abroad. John Figliozzi's biweekly program highlights already show the '%' symbol indicating these programs are available on-demand, but I thought this development deserved additional mention! Regards, (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) ** BELARUS`. RFE/RL MEETS WITH OBSTACLES IN MINSK On 1 August, a two-meter-high fence was erected around the building housing RFE/RL's Minsk bureau, cutting off for a time access to the bureau and forcing the broadcaster to seek to move from the current location by the end of August. Property rights to the building, which houses one of six McDonald's outlets in Minsk, are the focus of a long-running dispute between Belarusian State University and the U.S. restaurant chain. Minsk-based Belarusian Service personnel are working primarily out of a company apartment, RFE/RL reported. This, however, cannot be a permanent solution because of restrictions on the legal use of private residences in Belarus`. Also on 1 August, RFE/RL's Prague office received a hand-delivered letter from the Belarusian Foreign Ministry that threatens the revocation -- without recourse to appeal -- of the official accreditation of all RFE/RL correspondents operating in Belarus if the Belarusian Service "utilized the professional services of nonaccredited correspondents and other individuals on the territory of the Republic of Belarus`." RFE/RL Belarusian Service Director Alexandre Lukashuk reported on August 6 that the Belarusian Foreign Ministry has refused to meet with him on the accreditation issue. RFE/RL is asking that accreditation be extended for those correspondents who currently hold it, while those correspondents who are not currently accredited are actively completing all necessary documentation for accreditation. The U.S. Embassy is providing support to RFE/RL in its efforts to deal with both events, though no U.S. citizens work at the Minsk bureau. It has been noted within the diplomatic community in Minsk that a common method for the Belarusian government to rid itself of irritating foreign nationals is to deny extensions of visas, accreditation, and other official permits (Catherine Cosman, editor RFE/RL Media Matters Aug 9 via DXLD) ** BURKINA FASO. R. BURKINA, 5030, French, 32333, 0545-0615 6 AUG: 0545, High life music into OM talk in vernacular to 0555- flute music and singing in vernacular to 0557- more high life music 0600- announcements in French mentions of Burkina Faso and Ouagadougou into news headlines. 0604- French announcer mention of "festival" into more high life music to tuneout at 0615. Good signal overpowering the regular Gene Scott on this frequency (John Beattie, Drake R8B, Eavesdropper dipole, 50' wire, MFJ 1026, Ventura CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURMA. DVB CHANGES FREQUENCIES FOR MORNING PROGRAMME | Text of report by Burmese opposition radio on 7 August Dear listeners. The DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma] morning programme which is broadcast daily from 0600 [2330 gmt] to 0700 [0030 gmt] on the short-wave 31 metre band, 9850 kHz, will also be broadcast on 9760 kHz beginning from tomorrow [8 August] while transmissions on the short-wave 25 metre band will be dropped. Source: Democratic Voice of Burma, Oslo, in Burmese 1430 gmt 7 Aug 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) That was a week later than Media Network said the change was made (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA. Radio-Trafic: Les moins chanceux d'entre nous passent chaque jour une heure ou deux dans le trafic en pestant devant le spectacle absurde des véhicules stationnés à la queue leu leu sur l'asphalte bouillant de l'été. Est-il humainement possible de faire du trafic un boulot quotidien? http://www.cyberpresse.ca/reseau/tendances/0208/ten_102080124933.html (test your French, via Bill Westenhaver, Québec, DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC Previews for Aug 10-11: GLOBAL VILLAGE: This week on Global Village, host Jowi Taylor has Radio Radio Radio: Radio Tikal in Guatemala, Sami Radio in Sweden, B- 92 in Belgrade, plus stations in Germany, Turkey, Hungary, Botswana and Mali. That's on Global Village, Saturday night at 7:05 (6:05 AT, 6:35 NT) on CBC Radio One. PEARLS OF WISDOM: This week on Pearls of Wisdom, host David Wisdom satisfies your basest desires this week with music from the lower registers of human voices and musical instruments: Paul Robeson, Ivan Rebroff, Tibetan monks and much more. That's Pearls of Wisdom, Sunday at 6:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. AT, 8:00 p.m. NT) on CBC Radio Two (CBC Hotsheet excerpted by gh for DXLD) ** CANADA. CanWest Global is the same company which has been heavily criticized for their heavy-handed running of their newspaper empire. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, QC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- An article from http://www.globeandmail.com, Thursday, August 8, 2002 CANWEST SETS SIGHTS ON CREATING RADIO NETWORK By ROMA LUCIW, Globe and Mail Update Winnipeg-based CanWest Global Communications Corp. is growing its Canadian media empire from newspapers and television to include radio. The company, which owns Canada's largest newspaper group and a television network, said Thursday it has received a broadcast licence from federal regulators to launch a new FM jazz radio station in Winnipeg. CanWest president and chief executive Leonard Asper called the move an important first step into Canadian radio. "We have always considered radio a logical and positive next step in our multi-media strategy. We hope this new radio licence heralds the eventual creation of a national radio system just as we entered the TV industry 25 years ago with a single TV station in Winnipeg, which became part of the Global Television Network," Mr. Asper said in a release. The company already owns and operates owns national radio networks in New Zealand, which broadcast a variety of music. CanWest's Canadian TV arm, Global Television Network, will run the new jazz station, which will hit the air early in 2003 and "appeal to the underserved community of jazz lovers," the company said. CanWest said the new radio station forms part of a two-pronged entry into music programming for the company, which has already been granted a licence for a planned digital specialty channel, COOL TV. The company owns the Southam chain of big city newspapers, including the National Post, Vancouver Sun and Ottawa Citizen. It also operates Global TV, Canada's second-largest private broadcaster after CTV Inc., and Internet portal canada.com Copyright 2002 | Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc. (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** CANADA. Mr. Asper should learn how to use his e-mail properly. Instead of sending this reply only to press release writer Robyn Hooper, he sent it to every employee in the CanWest Global chain. ...Too funny. ---------- From: Asper, Israel (Corporate) Sent: Thursday, August 8, 2002 9:11 AM To: Hooper, Robyn (Corporate); All CanWest Staff (TV/ Publishing) Subject: RE: News Release - CanWest to Enter Radio Business in Canada Excellent release. We should have added that there is no truth to the rumour that CanWest only applied for this in order to give the Chairman something important to do and thus keep him from messing in the other affairs of the company. Actually, the truth is that this is just a cunning and diabolically clever tax reduction plan, given the expected losses! Congrats to all concerned from -The Dotage. (Israel Asper, CanWest, via DXLD) ** CANADA. CRTC DECIDES IN WINNIPEG After considering the competing applications for new radio stations at the 4 February 2002 Public Hearing, the Commission has rendered decisions which may be summarized as follows: In Applications for commercial radio stations to serve Winnipeg, Decision CRTC 2002-224, 8 August 2002, the Commission approved the application by Global for a new commercial FM station at 99.1 MHz that will offer a smooth jazz format. It also approved, in part, an application by Rogers to convert its existing AM station CKY to an FM station that will offer a classic rock hits format. Although its application for a new FM station has been approved, Rogers must propose another frequency for the station that is acceptable both to the Commission and to the Department of Industry. The Commission denied the competing application by Corus. In Application for a Nostalgia station to serve Winnipeg, Decision CRTC 2002-225, 8 August 2002, the Commission has approved the application by Radiolink for a new commercial FM station at 100.7 MHz that will offer a nostalgia format. In Application for a youth-oriented Christian FM station to serve Winnipeg, Decision CRTC 2002-226, 8 August 2002, the Commission has approved the application by HIS for a new commercial FM station at 107.1 MHz that will broadcast Christian music. In Application for a new instructional campus station to serve Winnipeg, Decision CRTC 2002-227, 8 August 2002, the Commission has approved the application by Red River for a new not-for-profit instructional campus station at 92.9 MHz. In Application for a new commercial FM station in Winnipeg, Decision CRTC 2002-228, 8 August 2002, the Commission has denied the application by NIB for a new commercial FM station. It has, however, amended the licence for NIB’s existing campus instructional station CJAE-FM by changing the authorized frequency from 92.9 MHz to 107.9 MHz and increasing the authorized effective radiated power from 13 watts to 200 watts. The Commission notes that two of the three new commercial stations licensed today proposed special interest formats that will not compete directly with the formats now offered by stations currently operating in the market. These formats are the smooth jazz format proposed by Global and the nostalgia format proposed by Radiolink. While the new FM station proposed by Rogers will program a mainstream format based on classic rock hits, it will replace Rogers' AM station CKY, which programs oldies. CKY will therefore no longer compete for revenues in the market. Further, the format of the new FM station would likely have the greatest impact on Rogers’ other FM station CITI-FM, which offers a classic rock format. HIS proposed a Christian format targeted to young people. Although CHVN-FM already provides Christian music to Winnipeg listeners, the Commission notes that the programming of the station operated by HIS will target an audience that is younger than that of CHVN-FM. The Commission further notes that CHVN-FM submitted a letter expressing full support for the HIS proposal if HIS targeted a younger audience with its programming and the station`s effective radiated power did not exceed 1,000 watts. The Commission notes that HIS confirmed that it would offer programming designed for youth, and that the station would operate with an effective radiated power of 920 watts. The new station licensed to Red River is a not-for-profit instructional campus station that will operate with an effective radiated power of only 201 watts and has projected very low advertising revenues. While CJAE-FM will operate on a different frequency with an increase in power, it will remain an instructional campus station rather than becoming a commercial station. The Commission considers that the stations that will be licensed as a result of the decisions announced today will add to the diversity of radio voices in Winnipeg. They will also increase competition for listeners and advertisers in the Winnipeg radio market, yet will not, in the Commission's view, have an undue negative impact on the viability of the existing Winnipeg commercial radio -- 73 and Best of DX (via Shawn Axelrod) The AMANDX DX Info Site including the Canadian DX, AM Slogans and Expanded Band Pages: http://www.angelfire.com/mb/amandx/index.html REMEMBER ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN HEAR FOREVER (AMFMTVDX mailing list Via DXLD) ** CANADA. The application for CKY (580) Winnipeg, Manitoba to move to FM was approved today. Details were not announced (Tom Bryant / Nashville, Aug 9, WTFDA via DXLD) Was huge coverage with 50 kW (gh) ** CANADA. CHUM CUTS 43 POSITIONS, TECHNOLOGY TV SHOW http://www.nationalpost.com/financialpost/story.html?id=DFA4ADF5-B159-47C7-B029-56DF708747EA (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** CANADA. ANNOUNCER WAS VOICE OF MORNING, MANY CAUSES Sandy Hoyt, who has died at the age of 63, was a senior announcer on Toronto's CHFI FM http://www.nationalpost.com/national/story.html?id=42E8FE68-3C3F-4D71-98FE-EABAE548C337 (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** CANADA. ARC North American News Desk 5 August 2002 Olle Alm, Tjädervägen 6A, SE-871 65 HÄRNÖSAND Tel/fax: +46-611-21098 -- e-mail: o.alm@telia.com Copyright: Cf. the statement at the beginning of Information Desk. Copyright notice: The ARC supports the free flow of information policy. Items from any MV-Eko section may be quoted freely in other publications applying the same policy, but full credits, including a reference to the specific section or to ARC MV-Eko, must be given for all items quoted. For other uses normal copyright applies. Items from commercial sources (e.g. BBCM) are subject to the copyright of the respective sources. Photographic reproduction of full sections or large portions thereof in other publications permitted only after previous agreement. 810 CJVA Caraquet NB new address (actually has been in use for a few years already): 195 rue Main, Bathurst, NB E2A 1A7. (Internet via Olle Alm) 850 CKBA Athabasca AB new address: 1-4818 49th St, Athabasca, AB T9S 1C3. (Internet via Olle Alm) 880 CHQT Edmonton AB now has same address as CHED 630. (Internet via Olle Alm) 980 CJRP Saint-Nicolas QC has been granted this frequency instead of 1060 as previously approved. This construction permit has not yet been built. The CRTC uses the calls CJRP for this station, so apparently the station decided to retain the calls used by its predecessor on 1060. (CRTC 12.7.2002 via Olle Alm) 1000 CKBW Bridgewater NS opened its FM late February 2002, so the AM is likely to be history by now (after 50 years). (Internet via Olle Alm) 1210 VOAR Mt. Pearl NF new address: 1041 Topsail Road, Mount Pearl NF, A1N 5E9. (Website via Olle Alm) 1220 CFVM Amqui QC new address: 111 rue de l'Hôpital, Amqui QC G5J 2K1. Not clear if CP 1840 [?? 1480? -- gh] is dead or not. Has applied to switch to FM. (Internet via OA) 1370 CFOK Westlock AB new address: 201-10030 106th St, Westlock, AB T7P 2K4. (Internet via Olle Alm) 1490 CJPR Blairmore AB has applied to switch to FM. (CRTC via Olle Alm) (all: Arctic Radio Club via DXLD) ** CHINA. CHINA JAILS "INTERNET DISSIDENT" FOR DOWNLOADING "REACTIONARY MATERIALS" | Excerpt from report entitled: "Internet dissident sentenced to 11 years' imprisonment for subversion, downloading 'reactionary materials'", published by Hong Kong Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy on 5 August This Centre has been informed that the Intermediate People's Court of Tianshui City, Gansu Province recently sentenced dissident Li Dawei to 11 years imprisonment on charges of "subversion". The court said that Li downloaded 500 "reactionary" articles from overseas web sites and printed them. Li Dawei pled not guilty and is appealing to the Gansu Province People's Higher Court. Li Dawei, 40, had been employed with the Tianshui City Public Security Bureau. He resigned later. For years, he had been taking part in dissidents' signature collecting activities and appealing on behalf of sentenced dissidents. Since 2000 Li Dawei had been browsing the Internet extensively, but rarely posted his articles on overseas web sites. He was arrested in April 2001. In May 2002 he was subject to interrogation. On 24 July, 2002 he was sentenced by the Tianshui City Intermediate Court to 11-year imprisonment for "subverting state power". The charges, as the court indicated, were as follows: 1. Downloading 500 "reactionary articles" from overseas web sites, storing them in the computer's memory, printing them, then binding them in ten big volumes; 2. Contacting reactionaries overseas by e-mail, mail and phone, and telling them about himself. Based on these two points, the court sentenced him to 11 years imprisonment. Li Dawei pled not guilty and is appealing to the higher court. His family member and defence lawyer have confirmed the news of the sentence. This is the first time an Internet dissident is sentenced on charges of browsing and downloading Internet information. Prior to this sentencing of Li Dawei, other Internet dissidents were sentenced for publishing "reactionary articles" on the Internet. This case merits close attention: From now on, anyone browsing and downloading "reactionary information" can be sentenced on charges of "subversion"... Source: Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Hong Kong, in Chinese 5 Aug 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CHINA. This via [Chinese-language] BCL forum; I am not able to confirm any of this (receiver is still being repaired). Voice of the Golden Bridge (Jin qiao zhi sheng), the Tibetan/Yi channel of Sichuan PBS on 6060 kHz has started carrying Mandarin programs at 1400 UT, ethnic music at 1410, but of a different kind from the jamming stations. Heavy sideband CNR. Voice of Pujiang extended broadcast time, now from 1030 to 1558 UT on 3280, 4950, 5075/9705 kHz. Voice of Jinling reduced sked, now only 1145 to beyond 1400 UT on 5860 kHz. Qiao Xiaoli (I think dxswl is his handle) confirms this on the forum; he also adds that Fujian PBS has reactivated on 2340 kHz and 4975 kHz during local evenings (typically 1030 to 1600 -- my guess) (Richard Lam, Singapore, Aug 3, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CUBA [and non]. I received the following email from a veteran TV DXer in Cuba (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, WTFDA via DXLD) Dear DXer friend, Yesterday I found your very interesting and beautiful page about TV DXing. Well, I am writing to you from Cuba. I am 47 years old, my name is Jesús, and I live here in the city of Havana. During years I have been a TV DX lover, and I have recorded some of my experiences in my VCR. I have picked up many and many TV channels from the US during years. The months of the year that it can be possible are: February, March and April for South and Central Florida channels. Then, May and June for channel signals coming from Central and Southern US, like Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma (very rare), Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, DC, and at times New York states among a few others that I can`t remember now.... Except Florida channels, the rest of the signals that I pick up from other states are lower VHF channels (from 2 to 6 ). One of the channels that is always ``here`` touching my home doors is KRGV channel 5 Weslaco TX. I would like to have TV DXer friends. Since my childhood it has been a very nice hobby for me. Many years ago I used to draw in a album every of the logos I got to visualize very well while I was picking up any channel coming from so far away. Nowadays I have hundreds of those logos in this album. But I no longer draw more logos in that album because I get them from the internet now and collect them into the Disk-C of my computer now. Well, I am pleased to help you on new information about our local TV. There are new local stations in my country. Almost all of them broadcast their programming during a few hours per day. I think they will increase their hours in a future, but nowadays they use National TV network towers (Telerebelde) which is seen throughout the country. Telerebelde allows each of those local TV channels in the different cities to use its towers to broadcast during one or two hours per day from Monday to Friday in the afternoons. Each of those local TV stations uses their own identification logos and produces their own local news and programming. They call those stations: telecentros. There is a national festival of telecentros in Havana once a year and they present the best programs made in Cuba by those telecentros, and there is always a winner. Perlavision in Cienfuegos City produces beautiful documentaries. I will give you the name of each of those local TV stations: TELEPINAR- Pinar del Rio City. CHTV- La Habana City. (channels 2 and 10 in Havana) ISLA VISION- Isle of Pines (South of mainland Cuba) TV YUMURÍ- Matanzas City. (channel 13 in Matanzas City) TELE CUBANACAN- Santa Clara City. PERLAVISION- Cienfuegos City. CENTRO VISION- Sancti Spíritus City. TVA (Television Avileña) Ciego de Avila City. TV CAMAGUEY- Camagüey City. TUNAS VISION- Las Tunas City. TELE CRISTAL- Holguín City. CNC- Bayamo City. TELEVISION SERRANA- Near Santiago de Cuba. TELE TURQUINO- Santiago de Cuba. SOLVISION- Guantánamo City. Now we have a new TV channel in the Havana City. Its name: CANAL EDUCATIVO (Channels 4 and 12 in Havana). Our national TV channels (national network too) are still: TELEREBELDE channels 2 and 10 in Havana. CUBAVISION channels 6 and 8 in Havana (via Danny Oglethorpe, WTFDA via DXLD) ** EUROPE. Here is some info I received from LHH [Laser Hot Hits, presumably]. They have been on the air for years. More than one frequency and a lot of the time 24 / 7. They are a class station. They spend a lot of time and effort replying to reports. Check out their web site. --Yes we are still using 9385 (as well as 6220, 7465 and 3970, all 24 hours). Our website at http://www.radiolink.net/hothits is usually kept up to date with frequency details, new programmes etc. (Jerry Coatsworth, Merlin Ont., MARE Tipsheet Aug 8 via DXLD) ** FRANCE. A couple of months ago it was suggested that Littoral AM might soon broadcast from the TdF site at Thourie. They will not. They will use another transmitter "somewhere in central Brittany", as a spokesman for the station put it. The power will be 30 to 50 kW into a 75m high quarterwave aerial. A 12 kW spare transmitter will also be installed. Most of the groups who have applied for AM licenses look into getting their own facilities rather than hiring air time on TdF sites. TdF is too expensive. Littoral AM would have to part with 686 Euros a year to broadcast via Thourie!!! (Various sources, mostly Thierry Vignaud, via Rglobe-L via Remy Friess, MWC e-mail news 1.8.2002 via Arctic via Olle Alm, DXLD) ** GERMANY. 945: Yet another transmitter is now up with Megaradio: Since August 1st they are in Munich on 945. Power is just 1 kW, transmitter site the Blutenburgstraße telecom tower (also home of some low power FM outlets) and the antenna consists merely on two wires hanging down from a platform of the tower. According to a posting in a bulletin report, this outlet is so poor that it is at night subject of co-channel interference even within Munich (Kai Ludwig, 5 August 2002, Arctic via Olle Alm, DXLD) ** GERMANY. AFN: I find that AFN carries at least 60 seconds of local info at 2239 UT. Heard 873: ID as AFN Frankfurt and local info update 1107: info on local flea market, 1143: 2 stns - one with local traffic info then all back together for an oldies radio network show (Steve Whitt via MWC e-mail news 10.7.2002, via Arctic via Olle Alm, DXLD) ** GUAM. THE STORY OF AWR IN THE EXOTIC PACIFIC WS398 ADVENTIST WORLD RADIO "Wavescan" - DX Program In our continuing saga about the development of Adventist World Radio over the years, we come now to the story of the AWR station located at Agat on the island of Guam. On this occasion, we take our information from the book written by Dr Allen Steele who was the station manager at the time of construction. Additional information comes from a multitudinous variety of AWR publications and documents. Allen Steele states that most people begin their Guam story by talking about the weather, which is warm and humid year round. However, he states that he prefers to start his Guam story by telling about the people who are warm and friendly, and he refers to the happy welcome that he and his wife Andrea received when they first landed at the international airport at Agaña. Their first view of the un-developed AWR property on the edge of the blue Pacific near the village of Agat seemed so un-inviting. The site is on the extended slopes of Mt Lamlam, the highest mountain on Guam; scant vegetation covered the property, and eroded areas looked like a mini Grand Canyon. They had not yet thought about typhoons that would blow in from the Pacific nor of earthquakes that would rumble up from the deep underground. The first office for the new radio station was established in Agaña at the headquarters building of the Seventh-day Adventist church for Guam and Micronesia. Later the office function was transferred to a dwelling in Agat, and finally into the new AWR building. In these changing circumstances, Allen and Andrea administered the construction and installation of the large new shortwave radio station which would soon become Adventist World Radio. During their tenure, the facility would contain four shortwave transmitters at 100 kW and four large curtain antennas directing Gospel programming into the countries of Asia. After a period of unexpected delays due to heavy rain storms, the first transmitter was activated at 2:35 pm local time on Thursday March 5, 1987. The frequency on this first new unit was 11720 kHz. At 7:00 pm the following evening transmitter KSDA1 began regular programming, and in those days, all programming was assembled and presented at the station itself. Six months later, another 100 kW transmitter was activated as KSDA2 and it became fully operational just before the Christmas season, 1987. Seven years later again another 100 kW transmitter was installed and activated as KSDA3. The fourth and final unit was activated as KSDA4 with a regular schedule early in the New Year 1996. The first two transmitters were manufactured by Thomson in Europe and the second set of two transmitters were manufactured by Continental in the United States.. However, at the present time, AWR is replacing each of the four current transmitters with four newer ABB units procured from Africa. A 5th transmitter will be constantly hot ready for emergency usage. The antenna system consists of four TCI curtains with passive reflectors. These antennas are strung from 6 towers in two clusters, three towers on each side of the main building. On several occasions, major events at the station have been celebrated with public ceremonies. On the first auspicious occasion back in 1987 at the opening of the station, the Governor of Guam was an invited guest, and the “Voice of Prophecy” choir from Korea flew in to provide special music. The AWR station on Guam has seen its share of typhoons and earthquakes, but on each of these occasions it has survived with very little major damage though at times it may be off the air for a few days until needed repairs are quickly completed. The AWR property at Facpi Point is no longer an abandoned wilderness; instead it is now a showcase on Guam that has won several awards and commendations for beautification and conservation. The signal from the four transmitters at the AWR station on Guam can be heard far and wide, depending on the time of day, the season, and the frequency in use. In the Far East, the signal is loud and clear. In other countries of Asia, it can be heard on a daily basis. In the United States for example, all four transmitters can be heard around sunrise and sunset. Likewise in Europe, a multitude of listeners have reported nice reception from this station. A large number of QSL cards have been issued for broadcasts from AWR Guam, and these are processed these days mainly from the AWR office in England. If you have not yet verified each of the current four transmitters at KSDA Guam, you should do so quite soon. The first new transmitter is expected to take to the air after a couple of months. KHBN relay via KSDA One of the interesting events regarding the AWR station KSDA on Guam was the relay a few years ago on behalf of another Gospel shortwave station, one that was not yet on the air. This is how it happened. Back in the year 1989, High Adventure Ministries was constructing their own shortwave station on the island of Palau, one of the many islands of Micronesia in the western Caroline Islands. However, they encountered several construction delays due to environmental concerns. As an interim measure, High Adventure Ministries took out a temporary relay via AWR KSDA on Guam during idle transmitter time. This relay consisted of four hours daily, Monday to Friday, and these programs were on the air under their own callsign, KHBN. This unique program relay began on September 11, 1989 and it was on the air a little over half a year. The transmitter was KSDA2 and the frequency was 15225 kHz. Less than two years later, a series of low powered test transmissions began from their own station, KHBN on Palau. During the era when KHBN was on relay via KSDA, QSL cards were issued by both organisations for these broadcasts. Very few QSL cards were issued by KSDA for the KHBN relays, though many cards were issued by KHBN. The QSL card for KHBN shows the location as Guam. Either way, these QSL cards are now collectors` items. Guam - Ceremonies ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Year Event, Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1985 Oct 11 Friday Ground Breaking ceremonies, governor; AWRAN 17-10- 85 1987 Jan 18 Official dedication; SAT 5-87 8 1987 Jan 18 Dedication, newspaper coverage, Korean VOP Choir; Tell 2/4 87 1 1987 Jan 18 Dedication services, 1st transmitter on air soon; LUH 24- 2-87 6 1987 Dedication ceremonies; AWRAN 18-1-87 1 1990 Mar 2-4 3rd anniversary events; DXO 6-90 23 1995 May 16 Dedication KSDA3 and live broadcast; AWRecorder 6-95 1 1995 May 16 Dedication transmitter, live broadcast; FTGCP 22-5-595 1 1995 May 16 Dedication KSDA3; AR 10-8-95 20 1068 1995 Oct Wins beautification award; Transmissions 10-95 7 1996 Aug Wins Forestry award 25,000 trees; AWRecorder 8-96 2 =================================================================== Antenna Specifications Transmitter ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Antenna 1 TCI 611 6-12 MHz, 255 270 285 300 315 degrees KSDA1 Antenna 2 TCI 611 11-21 MHz, 255 270 285 300 315 degrees KSDA3 Antenna 3 TCI 611 6-12 MHz, 285 300 315 330 345 degrees KSDA2 Antenna 4 TCI 611 9-18 MHz 285 300 315 330 345 degrees KSDA4 =================================================================== KHBN Relay via KSDA Guam ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Year Event & Reference ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1989 KHBN ready, month or two begin over own station; DXO 10-89 54 1989 KHBN construction delay, environmental concerns; ADXN 11- 89 2 1989 Sep 11 KHBN began relay via KSDA; George Otis letter 11-89 1989 Dec KHBN relay via KSDA 0400 - 0800 15225 Mon-Fri; DXO 12-89 54 1989 Dec 12 KHBN via KSDA 15225 AMP QSL; AMP Log Book 1990 Jan 19 KHBN relay via KSDA 15225 noted; ADXN 3-90 1990 KHBN has ceased via KSDA; ADXN 7-90 7 1992 Apr 19 KHBN Palau began 5 kW tests; DXO 5-92 21 KSDA2 weekdays only, 0400-0800 15225 for KHBN; Schedules =================================================================== (Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan Aug 10 via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4698, Radio Amistad, untraced here in the States, but Larry Baysinger tells me that the station is telling him that they are on (Hans Johnson, WY, Aug 6, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** INDONESIA (Kalimantan). From the "Never say never give up file": RRI Balikpapan, Kalimantan Timur, 3317. Full data Prepared Cards, signed and stamped, with an Information letter back from the RRI / Head of Branch in Samarinda. In the reply letter the Head of the Branch states 'we don't BCB on short wave any more, our call sign is now RRI Samarinda, not Balikapan. That there is only one RRI station in the Province of Kalimantan Timur, which is Samarinda. Balikpapan is 110 kw's from Samarinda'. He mentions that he had not received any of my previous letters/reports. I addressed my last attempt for a reply to the Regional Indonesian Government Office in Balikpapan, asking for assistance in my attempt for a verification, to their station which was on short wave, and had left some years ago. My report was forwarded with the assistance of Allan Davies, in Indonesia, to whom I owe special thanks for his assistance in this attempt! As well, to the Indonesian DX Club for translation of the letter in particular. This makes 9 out of 9 from Kalimantan verified and closes this section. Address: Radio Republik Indonesia, Canang muda Samarinda, Jalan M. Yamin No., Samarinda. Total time of 21 years, 4 months, after first hearing the station in March of 1981! v/s Drs. H. A. Wahabsamman, MBA Kepala Cabang (Head of Branch) (Ed Kusalik, Alberta, Cumbre DX Aug 9 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. ANOTHER NEWS RADIO LAUNCHED JAKARTA: People living in and around the city now have a wider selection of news available on the radio with the launch of Namlapanha news radio on 89.35 FM and 603 AM on Friday. The radio is on air 18 hours a day with journalism-based programs aimed at promoting freedom of the press, freedom of thought and freedom of expression, Namlapanha director Santosa said. Besides Namlapanha, which is supported by 40 journalists in the city and 50 correspondents across the country, there are also several news radio stations in Jakarta, including Elshinta and Jakarta News FM. The new station was established following the success of the 68H radio news agency, which provides programs for 230 private and state-owned radio stations throughout the country. It also regularly supplies programs to Malaysia, the Netherlands, Australia and East Timor. Copyright 2002 JAKARTA POST all rights reserved as distributed by WorldSources, Inc. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [and non]. From The RSGB It's the International Lighthouse / Lightship Weekend next weekend, the 17th and 18th of August. Over 225 stations in 36 countries are expected to be on the air from, or adjacent to, lighthouses and lightships around the world. A full list of participating stations can be found on the Internet. Among the UK stations are GB2SCA from the lamp room at the top of Scarborough lighthouse. Activity will be on 40 metres SSB and CW and 2 metres and 70 centimetres SSB and FM. The station will be operated by members of the Scarborough Special Events Group and further details can be obtained from Roy, G4SSH, by e-mail: g4ssh@netscapeonline.co.uk Roy can also be contacted on 07881 542 532 during the event and says that the group welcomes calls especially from Intermediate and Foundation licence holders. GB2NCL will be operated from on board the North Carr Lightship, which is the home of the Dundee Amateur Radio Club during the holiday season. GB2LCP will be operated by members of the Wigtownshire Amateur Radio Club from Corsewall Point Lighthouse. Portland Amateur Radio club will be operating from Portland Bill Lighthouse as GB2PBL on HF, VHF and UHF. The club has recently applied for a permanent special event callsign for the lighthouse, and hopes in future to set up a permanent station in the lighthouse visitor centre. Finally, GB4HL will be on the air from Hurst Light at Hurst Castle on the West Solent using CW and SSB on HF, and SSB, FM and RTTY on 6 and 2 metres. This station will be at the castle from this Tuesday, the 13th of August, until Wednesday the 21st. For further details please contact Selwyn Cox, G7MXG, on 07778 354976 (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. See IRAQ ** IRAQ. CLANDESTINE from IRAQ to MIDDLE EAST. 11785, Mother of All Battles Radio heard sign on *1658, ID in Arabic by male voice followed by short announcement and 20 minuets prerecorded speech and patriotic songs 1800*. On the same 'crud' carrier [i.e. 11785?], V. of the Movement of the Mojahedin of Iranian Baluchestan heard sign on *1800 with march music and ID in Persian by a male, some other vernacular ID heard at around 1825. S7 at peaks for both in poor modulation and monkey chatter mainly from China (Mahmud Fathi, Germany Aug 8, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Mother of All Battles Radio is not considered a clandestine, but one of the services of R. Baghdad (gh, DXLD) ** ITALY. 1566: Radio Studio X has resumed tests on 1566 kHz. Reception reports to info@radiostudiox.it (Stefano Valianti via MWC e- mail news 26.7.2002, via Arctic via Olle Alm, DXLD) ** JAPAN [and non]. From The RSGB The RSGB has learned from its contacts in Japan who have been working on problems of interference from Powerline Telecommunications Systems that, following extensive trials, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications has decided not to permit the roll-out of PLT systems operating in the range 2 to 30MHz in Japan. Japanese studies have shown that emissions from PLT are harmful to HF communications and all requests from PLT manufacturers to operate PLT systems have been refused. The RSGB has been told that the Japanese amateur society, JARL, has been actively working with the government, along with radio astronomers, broadcasters and others, to assess the impact of PLT systems on the radio spectrum. We understand that this decision has been given much publicity in the Japanese national press, which has highlighted concerns about interference to safety-of-life services. In Europe, the RSGB continues to press for tight limits on emissions from cable telecommunications systems such as PLT, and is working with other HF users to try to ensure that the spectrum remains uncontaminated by wideband noise (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** LATVIA. RF001/2002 Immediate --- RADIO FESTIVAL 2002 announced Riga/London, 8 August 2002: Tourist Radio Riga in association with Davric Productions is pleased to announce that RADIO FESTIVAL 2002 will air on 24 and 25 August 2002. The 2002 RADIO FESTIVAL, schedule to be advised, will combine an eclectic mix of music and speech from a number of European areas and cultures. Raimonds Kreibergs, Chief Executive of Tourist Radio Riga, said, "We are so pleased to be hosting this years RADIO FESTIVAL with our friends at Davric Productions acting as Executive Producers of the event. "With much of the radio and TV industry still suffering and remaining in the doldrums we felt that a RADIO FESTIVAL could be a key factor in injecting some excitement into our industry. "It will also demonstrate that huge audiences are still interested in short wave broadcasting, whilst many are keen to suggest that short wave has no future when it clearly does". Eric Wiltsher, Davric Productions, added, "It is a great honour for us to be asked to produce the programming and schedule for RADIO FESTIVAL 2002. "Whilst the line-up is still to be concluded, there are already some great surprises in store for those tuning into the festival. "And endorsing the views of Raimonds Kreibergs, I know short wave will bring us a significant audience - it's going to be great fun!". RADIO FESTIVAL 2002 will be compiled in London and then broadcast via the facilities of Tourist Radio Riga on 5.935 in the short wave band. ********************************************************************** For more information about RADIO FESTIVAL 2002 and schedules of the event N.B. Schedules will only be sent by request. Contact: Eric Wiltsher via eric@tesug.cix.co.uk For more information about TRR and its facilities Contact: Raimonds Kreibergs via kreicbergs@delfi.lv (Aug 8, via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR. Today I listened at 1900 UT an hymn and s/off on 5010 with QRM; I think it was Madagascar again there (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, Aug 7, hard-core-dx via DXLD) RTM returned to 5010 after being on 5021 for a short period (around 1800). I would also like to add that some time ago the Malagasy station which was on the air after 1900 and until late night with lots of musical programs was not RTM but was CANNAL SIX, the station of Ex President Didier Ratsiraka. Malagasy Broadcasting System is still on 7130 and as per a Malagasy, the address is : Malagasy Broadcasting System (MBS) Tana, Anosipatrana 101 TANA Madagascar. Unfortunately no further details are available on this station (Mahendra Vaghjee, Mauritius, Aug 9, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** MALI. Glenn, Still missing this evening on Tropical Bands (Graham Powell, Wales, Aug 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Ayer en la noche pude escuchar el programa diexista de Radio Educación (6185 kHz), llamado Sintonía Libre en el cual presentaron una reseña sobre el 8vo Encuentro de diexistas mexicanos; hacia las 0345 vino un entrevista con el colega argentino Hugo Longhi sobre sus impresiones del encuentro y sobre la radio en Argentina. Realmente fue una interesante escucha ya que no conocía sobre este programa mencionaron los horarios en que transmiten y considero que la mayor probabilidad de escucharlos son los jueves UT de 0330-0400 y UT lunes en el mismo horario (Rafael Rodríguez, Colombia, Aug 8, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Pepe González hizo referencia a la estación de o.c. Mexicana, la XERTA, Radio Transcontinental de América. Ésta emisora siempre ha estado en el aire de manera incierta, su gerente el Ing. Nájera, parece un poco ambicioso al tratar de ser la ``única`` emisora comercial Mexicana de o.c. La verdad ha hecho un gran esfuerzo para mantenerla, hay que reconocerlo, muy a pesar de que su equipo ``casero`` y a las grandísimas limitaciones en las que ha operado siempre. Tuve el privilegio de conocer sus instalaciones casi desde el incio de sus transmisiones hace unos años atrás en uno de los últimos pisos de la torre Latinoamericana, y cada vez que los visitaba, el Ing. Nájera con su particular estilo, me decía: ``Ya vamos a confirmar los informes de recepción``, ``estamos por aumentar la potencia``, ``ya estamos en pláticas para tener patrocinio``, ``ya vamos a tener un nuevo trasmisor ``, ``ya le hicimos mejoras a la antena, ahora ya tiene mas radiales.... uhh y la nueva tierra que le pusimos``, con esa nos escuchan hasta Australia...``, ``voy a conseguir otros dos cristales para usar otras dos frecuencias``, ``mi socio ya tiene el permiso para explotar un canal de TV en UHF``. Vaya que todo esto quedó en sueños solamente, pero es de llamar la atención que éste Sr. es todo un personaje y muy a pesar de su edad, contagia su ánimo por la vida y por su querida ``emisora``. Actualmente la ha ``rentado`` a un grupo gringo, de esos ``religiosos``, en fin, así vino a terminar la XERTA... El ya también tradicional ``foro de emisoras`` tuvo lugar como última actividad ``oficial`` del encuentro; participaron: Radio Educación, Radio México Int., Radio Mil, Radio Nederland y Radio Universidad. Entre otras cosas, se comentó que el programa ``encuentro dx`` de Radio Mil se reanudará, Radio Educación comenzará de nuevo a emitir de nuevo 6 horas de su señal de o.c. y lo más emotivo fue el anuncio de Ana Cristina del Razo que se separa de la dirección de Radio México (Iván López Alegría, extraído de su informe sobre el OCTAVO ENCUENTRO DE CLUBES DX MEXICANOS Y ESCUCHAS DE LA ONDA CORTA, Jalapa, Veracruz, DX LISTENING DIGEST) His report runs much longer, also covering tourism and local culture. More, in English at end of this DXLD ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. Three of our 500 kW transmitters at Flevo are now back on the air, including transmitter #4 which was the one damaged by fire a few weeks ago. Some transmissions continue to be relayed from Germany. The schedule has been updated. http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/schedule.html Digital Radio Mondiale 7 August 2002 Tests have now started from Bonaire in stereo mode. Juelich is now using different beams in alternate weeks for its test transmissions at 1305-1455 UTC on 5975 kHz. Details on our DRM pages at http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/drm_latest.html A Tangled Web The Internet is sending out mixed messages at the moment, with some spectacular business failures, but also indications of better times for some. But looking at the global picture, what is the current state of the Internet? http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/internet020809.html (Andy Sennitt, Media Network Newsletter Aug 9 via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. Sunday 11 August: Please note on Saturday Night /Sunday morning 10/11 August immediately after the Forces Programme, RNZI will have coverage of the Tri-Nations Rugby - NZ v South Africa. Time: 0105 NZST [1305 UT]. Frequency: 6095 kHz. Regards, Adrian Sainsbury, Technical Manager, Radio New Zealand International, P O Box 123, Wellington, Aug 8 via Wolfgang Bueschel, DXLD) So will Democratic Voice of Burma, at 1430 on 9500, be pre-empted? (gh, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA [+non]. KGYN Guymon OK, heard under WPHT with C&W and ID at 0043 EDT. I think they must be on their ND day pattern. My first logging on 1210 other than WPHT! (Barry McLarnon, somewhere in Canada, Aug 8, NRC-AM via DXLD) For years and years I couldn`t hear `em and now I can`t get rid of `em. Did they change patterns? (Richard Dale, Collins, MO, DX398, Drake R8A, horizontal Slinky, ibid.) Three stations have been nighttime regulars here (Fort Worth) for the past couple of months which have NO business being heard with such regularity: 880 KRVN 1030 KCTA 1210 KGYN as their nighttime patterns and /or power should not favor this area. At first I was tickled to hear KRVN and KGYN, but then they were in every night. 880 and 1210 are well west of me and their nighttime patterns are 'all-westbound'. 1030's nighttime pattern shoots 113 Watts this way from 340 miles. I suppose it's possible, but 1030 is so messed up here. KGYN has an APP before the FCC to move about 250 miles east to a Tulsa suburb with what looks like U7 50000/10000, Critical Hours 50000 protecting San Antonio to the south and of course, Philly to the east. We'll see how that plays in DC! My 2/5 of a nickel's worth. 73, (Bill Hale, ibid.) ** OKLAHOMA. BBCWS has a new relay in Enid, OK – and I`ll bet they don`t know about it in London. KUAL-LP, 104.7, has been running the first few minutes of the 1200 UT news (probably off internet feed) an hour later at 1300 during their local morning show, at least on weekdays, first noted July 29 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PALAU. KHBN relays via KSDA: See GUAM ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3205, Radio Sandaun off for a few weeks now (Hans Johnson, WY, Jul/Aug, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. R. América: Hello All: After reading a message in Glen[n]'s DXLD, I E-mailed my very tentative reception report of Radio América. Mentioning that I could hear the very distinct "swooshing" actually a very fast "switt" sound of a tube type transmitter being tuned up or adjusted and very softly played bells, like hand bells being played. And to my surprise the following: Paraguay, 7300, Radio America-ZP20, partial data frequency and time E Mail QSL, v/s Adán Mur-Technical Advisor, for E Mailed report, reply in 12 hrs. v/s states 25 watts. Thanks to GH's DXLD tip, for motivating me into sending an otherwise very questionable reception report. A copy of the E QSL and E Reception Report follow: From: "raerica" ramerica@rieder.net.py To: "Joe Talbot" Subject: RE: Radio America Date: Thu, 8 Aug 2002 06:46:24 -0500 Mr. Joe Talbot, Red Deer, Alberta, CANADA Dear Mr. Joe Talbot: I have pleasure in verifying your reception of our test transmissions, on the frequency of 7300 KHZ, 41 Metres, heard during the hours of 0230 to 0400 UTC, at your location. The details mentioned correspond with the test transmissions being realized by ZP20, Radio América. I sincerely appreciate your comments. The "swooshing sounds" mentioned come from fine-adjustments being made in the system, and from demodulation interference, originating with a nearby, high-power transmitter. The bells come from the Compact Disc of Classical Music, utilized as test programming. The transmitter on 7300 KHZ is solid-state, and is capable of generating 2,4 KW of output power. It is a Class A Linear Amplifier. This transmitter is located at our Villeta site. Owing to wild electrical supply, our equipment at Villeta functions from a group of accumulators, recharged by rectifiers. The frequency of 7300 KHZ feeds a large Corner Reflector Antenna, having a theoretical gain of 25 dBi. This antenna is oriented towards 184 degrees from Magnetic North. Your reception most likely came from a trans-Polar, South-North Pacific Ocean path. I should mention that we are not yet at full power, but test at much less than the 2,4 KW. Your reception was from a power of, approximately, 25 Watts! The frequency 15185 KHZ is temporarily off-air, for equipment reconstruction. We received no reports on this frequency, whatsoever. At present, we are testing on 1610 KHZ (Medium Waves), using low power and a 5/8-ths Wavelength Antenna. The tower is 125 Metres tall; on 4830 KHZ, 60 Metres, also using a vertical tower; and on 7300 KHZ, with the characteristics previously noted. Your reception reports are always appreciated! With best regards from Paraguay! Maiteípa! (Greetings, in the Guaraní language) Adán Mur, Technical Advisor, Radiodifusión América, Asunción, Paraguay ramerica@rieder.net.py ----- Original Message ----- From: Joe Talbot To: ramerica@rieder.net.py Sent: Wednesday, August 07, 2002 9:24 PM Subject: Radio America Hello: Greetings from western Canada. I have been hearing what I believe is part(s) of your station`s ongoing test transmissions on 7300 kHz, at various times during our local evenings, 0230-0400 GMT. What has been heard are the swooshing sounds made by a tube type transmitter as it is being loaded up or tuned, also more importantly is the distinct sound of soft bells not unlike hand bells that choirs play. This could be a signature tune or interval signal? It is definitely not another station signing on as these sounds and soft bells are being heard well before the top-of-the-hour or bottom-of- the-hour. Nothing has been heard on your 15 MHz frequency after nearly a previous week of monitoring. I would be interested to hear back from you or your staff regarding Radio America, I would especially be interested in knowing if you could provide me with some sort of schedule of your testing hours. I would be more than happy to listen for your "test" and report back to you. I wish you and your staff continued success and await your kind reply. 73's to you all. Joe Talbot, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. N: 52-16-18 W: 113-48-46 Grid: DO32cg Rx: Rockwell Collins HF-2050 Antennas: 7 Slinky-28m, 32m Sloper. 19.7m Tower. (via Joe Talbot, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Note an additional test frequency first mentioned above: 4830! (gh) ** PERU. Hi Glenn- I noticed the report by Marie Lamb that you published about my QSL from Radio Bethel Arequipa. A small point, but for accuracy, Radio Bethel sent me a prepared card and letter as well as 2 beautiful postcards of Arequipa with a metered postage rate of S/. 5.80. I sent them the Bill Plum rate of postage (S/. 3.20) which is still valid for an airmail letter of the lowest rate to the US. So, they didn't use my stamps but didn't return them, either. In addition, when rechecking the postage, I noticed the street address is Avenida Unión "225" on the envelope and the letter, not "215". I had reported elsewhere that the address is the same as in the 2002 PWBR. This is not the case for the street number but everything else is OK. 73s- (John Sgrulletta- NY, Aug 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 4824.4, La Voz de la Selva, Iquitos, heard 30 January 2000 at 005-1018 [sic]. SINPO=15311. "Transformation of a witch into a snake" QSL +personal letter v/s Julia Jauregui Rengifo, via Iquitos in 908 days. Responding to my mail DX Report + 6 mail reminders + fax reminder +registered letter + post paid reply package ...10 in all. MORAL: Never give up! (George Glotzbach, NM, Cumbre DX Aug 9 via DXLD) ** SIERRA LEONE. BFBS SIERRA LEONE CLOSES DOWN The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), has closed down its operation in Sierra Leone. The decision was taken by the UK Ministry of Defence, which said that with the rationalisation of British military support to Sierra Leone following the end of the civil war, the service could no longer be justified. The BFBS programmes have been popular amongst the local population, but a Ministry spokesman said that there was still plenty of choice for viewers and listeners, including radio from the BBC and the Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service, and a number of satellite TV channels. BFBS had been operating in Freetown on FM 91 and 107 MHz (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 8 August 2002 via DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA. 1535 UT 8 Aug 2002. I have not yet personally heard "new" Brother Stair material since he's been out. They're simply running old tapes as while he was gone. He's probably too busy preparing his defense. What I have noticed that's different now is that they are once again back to the routine of asking listeners to call in and say what time it is and what frequency they're listening to. More than 50% of the time this request is coupled with the offer of a free gift to the caller. Prior to Brother Stair's captivity, this was a regular feature of his broadcasts. It ceased while he was gone (for the most part). Now it seems to be taking up about 20% of the broadcast time, as before. No references have been heard to his having come back, no thank yous or hallelujahs either on the air or on the website or any evidence he was ever gone (Robert Arthur, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. It looks like we lost another domestic service on SW. I don't think its a temporary thing (though I hope so); otherwise they wouldn't be carrying the foreign service on the usual HS frequencies. From the efficiency point of view, 6070 and 7115 are much more suited for regional transmission than frequencies higher up in the SW band. Besides, FM radio is getting more popular in Thailand. Already ten years ago, there are 50 FM stations in Bangkok (including 4 English channels) and some of these even have audiences in Rayong (100 km to the East) and Kanchanaburi (more than 200 km to the west). Radio Thailand already transmits on FM frequencies in the provinces for quite a while and as the story goes, once FM becomes popular, so SW and even MW stations lose their audiences. I don't even think that MW stations have much of an audience in Thailand anymore, except for those who like talk programs. Saw the PRD website. From what I can see, no mention that SW is being dropped in the Thai portion of the website -- who would notice anyway? (Richard Lam, Singapore, Aug 6, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U K. STEPHEN FRY JOINS CLASSIC RADIO LINE-UP By Anthony Barnes, Showbusiness Editor, PA News Actor Stephen Fry and newsreader Katie Derham are adding a new string to their bows by becoming presenters for radio station Classic FM, it was announced today. They have both landed weekend slots on Britain's biggest commercial station as the station revamps its schedules to add more complete performances. Ex-Radio 1 host Simon Bates sees his role at the station expand to a daily drivetime show. And station boss Roger Lewis has given a big break to a radio wannabe who has now landed her own show after simply writing to him. Violinist Lisa Duncombe, 22, who has just graduated from Trinity College Of Music, has been given a daily programme, Lisa Late and Live which starts at midnight. "She wrote to me completely cold and struck lucky," said Lewis. Katie Derham, a skilled violinist herself, will front a new afternoon show each Saturday at 2 pm. Derham, who hosts the annual Classical Brits show, said today: "I love radio and I love classical music, so what better combination?" Stephen Fry will present an authoritative but irreverent 20-part series tracing 1,000 years of classical music, The Incomplete And Utter History of Classical Music, at 2 pm each Sunday. Also joining the weekend line-up is ex-Virgin Radio and Heart FM presenter Mark Forrest, who along with Tim Lihoreau and news anchor Anne-Marie Minhall will form Saturday morning presenting trio Mark, Tim and Annie. Other changes include full works, rather than excerpts, being given greater prominence with the Classic FM Evening Concert going seven days a week, presented by Nick Bailey. Managing director Mr Lewis said today: "We feel we have taken our audience on a pretty extraordinary journey so far and in the evenings there's an opportunity to take them even further with full works. "We have put in record audiences for the past four consecutive quarters and now have our highest ever audience of 6.38 million listeners a week. "But now is not the time to sit back and rest on our laurels. We need to go forward with a fresh new sound. Our tenth birthday this year is a time to look forward, not back. There are still people we can introduce to classical music. "This is a really really strong field of broadcasters." Simon Bates, famed for his Our Tune slot on Radio 1, broadens his role at Classic FM by taking over a daily 4 pm show on top of his At The Movies programme on Saturdays (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) WHEN start they? I checked the website Aug 9, and no sign of e.g. Fry on the presenters` list. Station does have a webcast (gh, DXLD) ** U K. FIRST REPORTS OF UK 5 MHZ ACTIVITY RECEIVED, From The RSGB Tim Kirby, G4VXE, in Windsor was one of the first UK amateurs to receive a 'Fivemegs Experiment' NoV on the morning of Monday, the 5th of August. Within a few minutes he was on the air using a 100-watt transceiver and an end-fed wire tuned for the 5 MHz band. Tim reports working G0NBD in Wallasey, G3RXH in North Yorkshire, MW0AQD in South Wales, G0HNW in Huddersfield, G3JFS in Plymouth and G3YXM in Birmingham on the first day of operation. His first impression of 5 MHz propagation is that UK signals seem to be consistent throughout the day and evening. "Even at around 2045 local time, I was getting excellent reports from the Midlands - notably better than on 40 metres", he said. There seem to be long periods of fading and at Tim's location a lot of local noise, but he added: "It's really exciting to have the chance to unravel propagation on a 'new' band, first-hand." (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U K [non]. RADIO FESTIVAL 2002: See LATVIA ** U S A. The following story appeared in The Globe Online: Headline: SEEKING A VOICE IN ARAB WORLD, US TRIES RADIO Date: 8/7/2002 WASHINGTON - Radio Sawa, the US government's latest attempt to win the Arab world's hearts, has captured audiences across the Middle East with a cutting-edge mix of Jennifer López, Janet Jackson, and Arab idols like Egypt's Amr Diab." ... ____________________________________________________________ To read the entire story, click on the link below or cut and paste it into a Web browser: http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/219/nation/Seeking_a_voice_in_Arab_world_US_tries_radio+.shtml ____________________________________________________________ (This message was sent by Bill Westenhaver, via DXLD) RADIO SAWA: OBJECTIVE NEWS OR PROPAGANDA? From Arab News, SAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH DAILY, 09 August 2002 By Barbara Ferguson, Arab News Correspondent WASHINGTON, 9 August – Worried the US was increasingly perceived as out of touch with the Arab world, the Bush White House decided to develop a transitory effort to deflect Taleban disinformation about the Afghan war into a permanent "Office of Global Communications," aimed at relaying the administration’s foreign policy message and supervise America’s image abroad. The new office was the idea of former senior Bush adviser Karen Hughes, who guided the administration’s efforts to ensure a uniform message on domestic policy. Although Hughes returned to Texas last month, officials say she will remain closely involved in the new operation. Charlotte Beers, the advertising agency executive Bush appointed last year to the State Department’s top public diplomacy job, heads the Office of Global Communications. One of their first ventures is Radio Sawa, the new Arabic-language broadcasting service that began broadcasting to the Arab world last spring, and started a ‘streaming audio’ on its Internet site earlier this summer http://www.radiosawa.com Run by the US government-funded Middle East Radio Network (MERN), Radio Sawa is modeled after Top-100 FM stations here, and aims to attract Arab listeners under the age of 30. It features news and music 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Radio Sawa ("sawa" means "together" in Arabic) is a pilot project of the Voice of America (VOA), and is available to millions of listeners across the Middle East on medium wave (AM), FM and short-wave frequencies as well as on the Internet and through the digital radio satellite channels of Arabsat, Nilesat and Eutelsat Hotbird. This fall, the service is expected to broadcast news, analysis, interviews, opinion pieces, roundtable discussions, sports, weather, music and features on a variety of political and social issues in five regional Arabic dialects, and targets the Gulf states, Jordan and the Palestinians, Egypt, Iraq, and North Africa. The Washington-based staff includes Mouafac Harb, MERN’s news director who worked as Al Hayat`s Washington bureau chief, and as the general manager of radio and television at the National Broadcasting Network of Lebanon. Harb, who is currently traveling in the Middle East and was unavailable to speak to Arab News, earlier said MERN was committed to producing "objective, fair and balanced" news. Not everyone agrees. "Radio Sawa is one element of a public diplomatic offensive that the US government is working on in the hopes that they can reach people in the Arab world. They want to win the ears, and through that, the minds and hearts of the Arab world’s youth," said Abdulwahab Alkebsi, director, Dialogue of Civilizations, for the Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy, a Washington-based think tank. "They have told us that they hope to reach people in the Arab world, `by communicating with them, and not just by waiving a big stick,`" said Alkebsi, who said Radio Sawa hopes to achieve this through the combination of sanitized Arab and American pop songs, with pro- American news broadcasts. Alkebsi said MERN hired Bert Kleinman to start up Radio Sawa. "His claim to fame is that he produced `Casey Kasem`s Top 40,` and is familiar with what people want to hear. "They did a great job of running surveys in the Arab world, what they like and dislike. So they pretty much know what Arab youngsters like to hear — for example, they found out that rap, hard rock, country, would not sell, but pop does." said Alkebsi. "On the news side, they are going to fill the news with what American government wants the Arabs to hear. So it is a contrast: on the music side they will deliver what the Arabs want to hear, but will send the news that the American government wants them to hear." Alkebsi emphasized this is being done from by people with the right perspective. "They are in the Department of State, and they want to win the Arab hearts and minds, which is good, especially when you compare this with some people in the Defense Department, who want American unilateralism, and who don’t feel they need to win anyone’s hearts," said Alkebsi. "Although many Arab youngsters will listen to the music, it will not lead to a genuine dialogue between Arabs and Americans. Our fear is that it will be perceived as American propaganda. At best, it will not win the hearts and minds of the Arab people, and at worse, it will hurt, as many Arabs will perceive this as another attempt to corrupt Arab culture," said Alkebsi. Daniel Nassif, who is an editor for the Iraqi section at Radio Sawa, dismissed the criticisms. "Our aim is that the station will develop more understanding between American and Arab youth. We are trying to introduce American culture and values in the area, but at the same time, we want to sound very local to the Arabs," he said. "So far, it has been very favorably received throughout the Arab world. We are continuing to conduct research as to what our listeners want in regards to news and music," said Nassif. Regarding the news reports, Nassif said Sawa "covers Washington like no body else, and at the same time, we cover the Arab regions with up- to the minute reports for every capital in the Arab world, including Baghdad. We have 35 correspondents in the region." Nassif shrugged off the idea that the radio is a mouthpiece for the US administration. "It is not a propaganda piece. If Bush speaks, we have to cover it, but that doesn’t mean its propaganda. We don’t run editorials, so I don’t know how we can be accused of running a propaganda machine. "It is up to the Arab youth in the region to decide for themselves. And I think they will be fair in judging us, because I think they will like what they are listening to." (Editor’s Note: Radio Sawa`s FM broadcast capability will be amplified at the end of this month.) (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. No sign of WBCQ III, originally slated to come on late spring or summer. Was to have been for the Overcomer, but perhaps delayed or nixed due to Stair's arrest (Hans Johnson, Aug 6, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ?? They do have three transmitters, as 7415, 9335 and 17495 can be heard at the same time, e.g. from 2100 Wed. in http://wbcq.net --- 2100 5:00pm - 6:00pm 17495 The Full Gospel Hour 2100 5:00pm - 6:00pm 7415 The Clone Zone 2100 5:00pm - 12:00am 9335 Christian Media Network 2200 6:00pm - 6:30pm 7415 Glenn Hauser's World of Radio And WOR is also on 17495, not yet shown here (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. Hello Glenn; We saw your online posting about Kirsten: Yes, it is, and you can see it at: http://www.abcnews.go.com/onair/DailyNews/2020_rightwomen_000210_chat.html (Brian and Kirsten Betsworth, Dec 2...) Kirsten has finished writing her book: "The Bondage of Self" and it will be in print soon. Do you know people who would be interested in reading her book? (Brian and Kirsten Betsworth, Aug 7, 2002, DX LISTENING DIGEST) What`s this about? Kirsten Kaiser is the ex-wife of Kevin Alfred Strom, neo-Nazi, evident successor to William Pierce on American Dissident Voices via WWRB. This has been covered here before, but the reminder is timely (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. I'm not sure if Hank Bennett is still with us or the status of his data. Hank was profiled in an issue of Fine Tuning's "Proceedings" sometime in the late 1980s/early 1990s, and he seemed to be getting up in years then. I'm not aware of anyone in Flint, MI handling the WPE/WDX list. Back in 1981, I had lunch with Art Salsberg, who was then editor of "Popular Electronics," and he explained the whole WPE story to me. . . . . turns out that his predecessor as PE's editor, Perry Ferrell, kept his involvement with Gilfer secret when he was at PE and used the names from the WPE registrations for Gilfer's mailing list. When the Ziff-Davis people found out, they canned Perry --- secretaries were being paid overtime to process the certificates! --- and Z-D handed the WPE files over to Hank Bennett as a parting gift for being their SW editor for so many years. I think Tom Kneitel is still selling his scanner listener "call signs" through CRB if you really want to register your listening post! BTW, I saw a WPE monitor certificate for sale on eBay a couple of weeks ago, apparently from the estate of William Graham, an active SW DXer in the 1960s/early 1970s (Harry Helms WPE4HKE/6, Ridgecrest, CA DM15 NRC-AM via DXLD) TASBEM (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. KLON BECOMES KKJZ ON FRIDAY Thursday, August 8, 2002 Radio station KLON-FM (88.1) will change its call letters Friday to KKJZ to better reflect its format of jazz and blues. "While our call letters have changed, we are unwavering in our goal of bringing a wider audience and respect to jazz and blues through our programming, promotions and events," General Manager Judy Jankowski said Wednesday. The station had been known as KLON since it went on the air in 1981 on the campus of California State University Long Beach. The KKJZ call letters became available after a station in Portland switched from a jazz format to soft rock. Copyright 2002 Los Angeles Times (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. KXMS, Fine Arts Radio International, Joplin MO, continues to be plagued by a search/seek receiver picking up 88.7 for its webcast. Previously it had landed on 89.9, KRPS. August 9 at 1500 UT, when we brought it up to hear the scheduled Singapore national anthem, gospel music station KOBC 90.7 Joplin was there instead, with ID, slanted news. Notified KXMS again, and by 1937 when we checked again, classical music was back on the KXMS stream. They really need to provide their ISP a receiver which will stay locked on 88.7 (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. From Aug. 7 Radio and Records: FCC FINES WWFE/MIAMI $21,000 A field agent in the commission's Tampa office on March 28 noted that the Fenix Broadcasting Spanish News/Talker failed to have Emergency Alert System equipment installed, failed to exhibit tower lights from sunset to sunrise and failed to enclose the station's antenna towers within effective locked enclosures. Fenix has until ... (via Brock Whaley, GA, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC ORDERS SWITCH TO DIGITAL TV Thu Aug 8,10:39 AM ET By CONNIE CASS, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Dissatisfied with the speed at which the industry is going digital, the Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to require television manufacturers to have digital tuners on all sets by July 2007. Commissioners voted 3-1 to require manufacturers to add the tuners to all TV sets with screens of 36 inches and larger by July 2004, while the requirement for smaller sets would be phased in over the following three years. Congress has mandated that the nation switch to digital TV, which offers clearer pictures and better sound. But the transition to this new technology has been delayed by reluctance within the industry to make the switch before most households can receive digital signals. "This action will take these electronic appliances from being HDTV (High Definition Television) ready to HDTV reality," said Michael Powell, the commission's chairman. Powell rejected industry complaints that the action would force consumers to pay more for television sets, saying the price of digital tuners would drop quickly as they are mass produced. The dissenting vote came from Commissioner Kevin Martin, who noted that most TV viewers no longer receive their signals over the air and therefore do not need digital tuners. "I believe the cost of this particular proposal outweighs the benefits," Martin said. Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy said the requirement was necessary to move the switch to digital TV forward. Without this requirement, "the transition remains stalled," she said. "There's no question in my mind." In advance of Thursday's decision, Jenny Miller, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Electronics Association, had said, "We believe there's going to be a mandate for the inclusion of a digital broadcast television tuner in all television sets." But she also said she felt the manufacturers might challenge such a ruling in court, if necessary. Miller said the requirement would cost $250 for each set, amounting to an annual "TV tax" on the industry and consumers of about $7 billion. She said that with most consumers receiving television signals by cable or satellite, putting the tuner in all TVs would make people pay for a device most won't use. Broadcasters, who need consumers to be able to receive their digital signals, support a requirement for the tuners. They call the manufacturers' cost estimates "outlandish and ridiculous." "We don't think consumers will see any cost increase," said Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters. "The simpler you make it for consumers — you build the features into the set -- the faster you get to consumer acceptance of this new technology." He said digital tuners are especially important to give people access to digital broadcasts from local stations not carried by cable or satellite. The broadcast industry says 455 television stations are now broadcasting digital signals in markets that include nearly 90 percent of the nation's TV households. But they say less than 1 percent of the 25 million sets sold each year have digital tuners. Congress is requiring most broadcasters to convert by 2006 from existing analog technology to more efficient digital television, which allows much more programming and data to be transmitted over one channel. Broadcasters were given second TV channels for free to do so. When the switch is complete, broadcasters must return their analog channels to the government for other uses. Digital TV development has stalled over a number of issues, including the limited availability of high-definition programming and the pricey equipment needed for viewers to see it. Cable and satellite service providers also have balked at allocating additional space for digital programming, while local TV stations struggle with the cost of converting to digital signals (via yahoonews via Artie Bigley, Tom McNiff, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 12085 and 12115: When I switched right to the both frequencies around 1455...1456 UT: 12085.00 carried an Arabic program still in progress, I guess it was Syrian Radio Damascus, according to the limited signal strength of poor S=5, and some scratchy noise, amongst also Thunderstorm scratches, which occurs now every day, in past three weeks. 12115.00 at 1456 UT carried the usual RUS/CIS 800-1000 Hz tone procedure, like on transmission opening at Samara or Armavir-Krasnodar site. Signal was 8-9, with some deep fadings 12115 1500 UT Transmission started exact at 1500 UT with soft piece of Arabic music. When compared both outlets between about 1500 and 1502 UT, program on 12085 was different. But then, when checked again, from 1503 and 15.30.00 UT the programs were of s a m e content, B U T 12085 was ahead, or let's say 12115 behind by about 27 seconds !! 12115 signal was much, much stronger than 12085, at about S=8-9, despite the usual bearings of Samara or Armavir to the south is 190 degrees. [290 degrees towards Stuttgart instead] I taped the whole broadcast of 32 minutes, and will cut some pieces as mp3 file later this night. Two announcer could be traced, a female and a male voice. No clear program ID heard, I'll send the mp3 file to Tarek in Cairo to make his expertise, he may check the [Ar] accent and the soft music type. The lady announcer mentioned words like Iran, Iraq, Democracy, Quadina, Madina, Medina, Sahel, Hassan, Saharaui. 12085 sign off 1530. 12115 program / music still on air till 1532.02 UT, cut of audio feed. 12115 transmitter switched off at 1532.10 UT. Conclusion: so it seems an additional [unknown to me] Arabic language program, which broadcast via different sites on 27 seconds delay of each other. Both via Damascus 12085, and via CIS / Samara-Armavir site. But 0330-0400 morning service time span is much UNCOMFORTABLE for European audience, so I'll not ready at the early 'bird' tomorrow, to follow this service on 9950 kHz ! 73 de wolfy (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 12115 brings to mind the TDP Ethiopian clandestines via Samara? But those are in the 1700-1800 hour (gh, DXLD) Re: UNID Arabic 12115 kHz, 7 Aug 2002, 1452-1532 UT Hello Everyone, I've just been monitoring 12115 and 12085 (Aug. 8). 12115, when tuned at 1454 had on/off tones - a short one at 1456 then only carrier until programme began at 1500 with march music, what I assume was their ID - but none of it was understood - then talk and music. Signal strength around S7. The transmission stopped/cut-off during music at c1529:53 and the transmitter went off soon afterwards. 12085 Syrian Radio was heard and identified at 1450 and on air until at least 1500 (by which time I was concentrating on 12115). However, there appeared to be a co-channel carrier which was causing a flutter effect to their signal from at least 1455. No tones were heard. When checked again c1505 Syrian Radio had gone off and the programme now was the same as on 12115 - but approx. 43 seconds behind. Such a delay could hardly be attributed to a satellite feed - could it? It suggests the same programme was being transmitted from two sources. The signal strength on 12085 was also about S7 but this transmission was with better audio quality than Syrian Radio. Transmission stopped/cut-off at c1531 and carrier dropped c1531.40. A carrier came on to 12085 at c1554 and very low audio c1601. This is obviously Syrian Radio returned to air. I think someone with a knowledge of Arabic is needed to ID this transmission - Tarek in Cairo maybe? There does seem to be a connection with Syria, or why would their service go off air to accommodate this other one? (Noel Green, England, Aug 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, I condensed the recording file for the most interesting pieces. Mostly S=8, in peaks up to S=9, but Stuttgart isn't the MAIN target. Samara? Krasnodar/Armavir? RUS/CIS? 73 de wb df5sx Tarek Zeidan, SU1TZ from Egypt checked my mp3 File, and `narrowed' the Arabic accent to Syrian/Iraqi matter/area. But he said something about an 'OPPOSITION' program, not really from Damascus itself! So, the \\ 12085 kHz outlet isn't coming from Syria !??? Tarek will monitor the outlet today. He hasn't heard any ID yet! regards wolfy, Aug 8 (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNID Arabic 12115 kHz. SOUT AL WATAN - V. of Home. Finally I managed to get an ID for the station according to the file you sent me 12115- part-2. The ID is SOUT AL WATAN - Voice Of WATAN in ARABIC mainly means the country you live in. So we can call that HOME Sout said by a YL and Watan said by OM, in the back ground there's a very well known song called "HOB EL WATAN" - Love of my country/home. I'm 100% sure now, this is a Clandestine station beamed to Syria. The program included in your file Wolfie was mainly about the journalist, human rights activist in the Syrian jails and also other nationalities there like Lebanese, Iraqis etc. By the end of the file, around 5:40 they started calling listeners in the Syrian cities by the city name, like my dear bro' in "halab", my dear friend in "demascus" etc. And ... I was expecting more info, like which party this station is representing or anything. But, - the mp3 file ended !!! But I'll give it a try on my SONY today and sure will give you all the info I got. All the best from Cairo, a rather HOT Cairo ;-) (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, SU1TZ, Aug 8, BC-DX via DXLD) The Arabic word Watan is usually translated as Fatherland. Sawt al Watan then would be Voice of the Fatherland (Homeland, Motherland are possible alternatives). 73s (Olle Alm, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Meanwhile, Andy Sennitt has been working on this independently:- 12085 AND 12115: Hi Glenn, The station was there as reported today between 1500 and 1530. Unfortunately I missed the opening - hopefully I will catch it tomorrow. The broadcast on 12085 was about a minute behind 12115, suggesting different transmitter sites. Also the audio quality on 12115 sounded better. Programme ended with a song that faded out, no closing announcement. Doesn't sound lime anything I heard before. Unfortunately the only person I know at RN who speaks Arabic, Bertus Hendriks, is on vacation. I'm currently searching online Arab media (at least the English pages thereof) for clues. 73, (Andy Sennitt, Holland, Aug 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, I'm now inclining to the view that this could be a (new?) service from Syria. Listening to the tape I made yesterday, right at the end of a long talk, Syria is clearly mentioned. That's not conclusive, of course, but with 12085 being used, it points in that direction. Doesn't explain the time/audio difference on 12115 though. It could equally well be someone broadcasting *to* Syria, hoping to catch listeners already tuned to 12085. Will try to catch the opening today. [Later:] Hi Glenn, I made some further observations on this station. The transmitter on 12115 seems to be in the CIS. Prior to s/on they ran several minutes of tone bursts like typical Russian/CIS transmitters do. The ID defintely mentions 'souriya' (Syria). Today, I guess because it's a Friday, there was not much talk - just music, some Qur`an recitations, and more music. I've a hunch this is a test transmission and not a regular programme. I've discovered that another RN colleage understands some Arabic, and I will ask him to listen to the tape on Monday. I'm continuing to check for news references to a new station, but so far nothing. 73, (Andy Sennitt, Holland, Aug 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 914.762 MHz: Nothing heard here in Virginia near DC. (T, Monitoring Times Chatboard via DXLD) +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CONVENTIONS +++++++++++ VIII ENCUENTRO NACIONAL DE OYENTES DE LA ONDA CORTA XALAPA, VERACRUZ, MEXICO AGOSTO 2002 This is the eighth version of the Mexican DX Meeting; these conferences started back in 1995 and have been in the scene ever since. Following is the list of previous meetings: Tepic, Nayarit en 1995. Zacatecas, Zacatecas en 1996. Veracruz, Veracruz en 1997. Tehuacán, Puebla en 1998. Orizaba, Veracruz en 1999. Oaxaca, Oaxaca en 2000. Guanajuato, Guanajuato en 2001. This year the number of attendees surpassed 70. DX fans come from all Mexico and from abroad, China, Argentina, Ireland, Colombia, Spain and USA. We have two and a half days (August 1st to August 4th) of intense activities including a DXpedition on Friday night. Meeting started on Thursday night with registration and a beautiful "fiesta" enjoying superb regional Veracruz meals, drinks and music. Pepe González delighted us with his organ performance. First conference (Sociedad de Ingenieros Radioescuchas) was about DX and Internet; conclusion is that Internet will not substitute for Radio for the time being and will be more a complement to DXing. Attendees suggested to have live broadcast of the next meetings via SW or Internet. On the second conference by Germán Martínez A. (Radio Universidad de Veracruzana), we had a very interesting discussion on the role radio has to play for the community; an extensive experience on Radio Huayacocotla (2390 kHz) was shared. Education is a must on the Radio; was noticed the well done work on the international SWB programs compared with poor work on several commercial stations such as content and language skills. A contribution of Radio Nederland was the next point on the Agenda, DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale). Project started in 1998, today is a consortium made up of 73 broadcasters, network operators, manufactures and researchers. DRM is a digital AM system for Short-wave, Medium wave, and Long wave with the ability to use existing frequencies and bandwidth across the globe. Special test recordings were played AM/SW vs. DRM/SW results are astonishing; we were very pleased and awaiting for next generation broadcast technology. Conference was very educational and people really enjoyed the presentation. Radio Nederland presentation ended with huge applause. Broadcasting SW bands (Nayarit DX Club) presented the several opportunities we have on the spectrum to do DX; reference was made to the DXing Day for Mexico August 2nd. Ute DXing (Sociedad de Ingenieros Radioescuchas) was presented next. A very interesting discussion on the listening to aero frequencies, NAVTEX, military, coastal and diplomatic communications. We had a live demonstration, DXers were very active and took us much time so we have to postpone the last conference on the Agenda. We left (2000) to have some dinner and be ready for the Noche DXista at the beautiful Park of Los Berros. We gather round 2200 and started to prepare our gear, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Cuba, China, Spain were among the several logs we made. Enjoyed a nice weather and great time. Saturday 3rd started with DX for Kids. Host did not attended so among the audience we have to pick a kid. Isaac (11) and Keyla (10) Mauleon Tolentino from Tuxtepec, Oaxaca went to the podium and shared their experience on the SW. They started the hobby 3 years ago when they moved to Tuxtepec at that time no electricity was available so radio was the family entertainment. Big change on the family and kids; they are the best at school and have been able to share and introduce some new subjects at school. Environmental care for the Papaloapan river is a daily duty for school children because of the Ecological knowledge they learned on the radio. Mauleon kids told us about their favorite shows and radio stations. This kids make us cry and teach us what a family should be, a beautiful story with a great hobby. Next on the Agenda was our host Pepe González. He elaborated on 3 subjects; first How the visit of the Pope to Guatemala and Mexico was covered by the SW stations; DX Clubs situation in Mexico and the relationship with their members finally Radio Transcontinental de America troubles and opportunities. [see MEXICO] Antennas and how to construct one (Club de Radioexperimentadores) was the third lecture of the day. Very nice and professional presentation to the audience, a lot of questions and participation. Miguel A. Rocha, very good friend and old participant of these forums, did not attend this time but sent a presentation on how to prepare a SW Reception Report for getting a QSL. A practical guide with very good hints on the collection of QSLs. Radio Nederland covered the next two items on the Agenda; the first was about the 55th Anniversary of Radio Nederland; a portion of the RNW speech at the 2nd Encuentro Internacional de la Radio para una Cultura de Paz celebrated in San José de Costa Rica was read. A very reach and emotive opinions and memories of the audience with RNW programs, producers and presenters was exchanged. Long standing applause. The second part of RNW was a very clever idea; to record Cartas@RN live from the DX meeting to be broadcast next Sunday. This is a very popular RNW show conducted in Spanish for Sunday listeners. The experiment was a hit, everyone wanted to participate; our foreign DXers in a fiesta environment were the first to be targeted to speak on the micro. We had a lovely party time. The last issue on the Agenda was Clipperton Island Expedition 2000. This is a video that shows the story of preparation and experience of 12 multinational DXers at Clipperton Island (Pacific Ocean West of Mexico). Only trouble with this video was English version only, promise to have it translated into Spanish for next DX meeting. Club de Radioexperimentadores del Valle de Mexico announce a DXpedition for 1stQ[uarter] next year to an island in front of Veracruz Port. We ended the day around 2030, tired but very pleased with lectures presented during the meeting. Sunday was the last day of our Encuentro DX; and reserved for SW Broadcast, a round table with Radio Nederland, Radio Mexico International, Radio Mil, Radio Miami International (direct link) Radio Educación and host Radio Universidad de Veracruz (this station actually does not broadcast SW). The broadcasters point of view of DXing. SW is going to stay, great expectation for DRM and a revival of DX. The radio shall change towards nationalism showing the values of each country with their nationals abroad and listeners trough out the world; because of globalization. Radio Mil changes in their Mexican stations to adapt to new owners view of the Market. Radio Educación starts again a SW production separated from their AM. Radio Mexico International also announce changes on their managerial positions. RMI Manager Ana Cristina del Razo leaves the station after a very good job. She attended DX meetings with listeners and SWB. Every one wish her the best on her new activities. I would like to take advantage of this report to thank Lucha Olivares and Pepe González for excellent work and very well organized meeting, Radio Universidad de Veracruz for hosting us on their installations and DXers who attended and shared experience and knowledge. Finally I have to mention that a lot information was provided by Lucha and Pepe, contribution from Spanish Juan Franco Crespo, material from HCJB Ecuador, Radio Miami International as well as Radio Nederland; Kenwood as a provider and Radio Shack as vendor were present too. Memorabilia from R. Netherland, R. Mexico I. and others were given in a very amusing raffle. Next Encuentro DX will be at Tizayuca, Hidalgo Mexico and our host will be Martín Herrera who can be contacted by e- mail at mnhajz@hotmail.com (Carlos Jiménez V., México, Aug 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###