DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-127, August 11, 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: Wed 0930 9475 RFPI BROADCASTS: Mon 0030, 0630, Wed 0100, 0700 on 7445-USB, 15038.6 [also webcast Sun 1830, Mon 1230] UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL Hope you are well. This heat makes me feel like we're in North Africa although I've never been there. Best regards and thanks for giving us all the straight information. the amount of data you collect, organize, edit and put out in each Digest is incredible! (LeRoy Long, Edmond, OK, Aug 10) ** ARGENTINA [non]. A Polícia Federal brasileira fez uma apreensão de diversos aparelhos da Igreja Maranatha, em 6 de agosto, em Foz do Iguaçu (PR). De acordo com matéria publicada no jornal Gazeta do Povo, e repassada por Cássio Silvério, editor do sítio http://www.planetaradio.cjb.net uma emissora fechada foi a Rádio Melodia FM, que emitia em 98.1 MHz. Segundo o jornal, "o sinal da emissora era transmitido por meio de uma antena direcional para Puerto Iguazú, na Argentina." (Célio Romais, @tividade DX Aug 11 via DXLD) Wasn`t this one related to the 6215 outlet?? (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. A Rádio RGS, de Porto Alegre (RS), está sendo sintonizada, com bom sinal, na freqüência de 6160 kHz, em diversos horários. A emissora faz parte do Sistema LBV (Célio Romais, @tividade DX Aug 11 via DXLD) As in my previous report at 1000 UT (gh, OK, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. A Rádio Canção Nova, de Cachoeira Paulista (SP), apresenta, aos sábados, o programa Além Fronteiras, a partir de 2200. Nele, são respondidos os relatórios de recepção enviados para a emissora. Como complemento, a emissora coloca o seu sítio à disposição para um bate- papo dos ouvintes. Anote o endereço: http://www.cancaonova.com/dx. A Canção Nova emite em 4825, 6105 e 9675 kHz (Célio Romais, @tividade DX Aug 11 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. O radioescuta Paulo Roberto e Souza, de Tefé (AM), fez excelente perfil de emissora de seu Estado. Confira: A Rádio Cultura do Amazonas, de Manaus (AM), está no ar de 1000 às 0200, na freqüência de 4845 kHz. Emissora do governo do estado, é ligada à FUNTEC (Fundação Televisão Cultura do Amazonas) e tem por lema "a Rádio da família amazonense". Na programação, muita música entremeada de noticiários e avisos para o interior do estado, além de retransmitir alguns programas jornalísticos da TV Cultura de Manaus. Fundada, inicialmente, pela RADIOBRÁS, como Rádio Nacional de Manaus, passou, depois, para controle do Estado, quando veio a se chamar Rádio Cabocla. Em 1993, foi incorporada à FUNTEC, passando a ter a nova denominação de Rádio Cultura do Amazonas. Há planos de colocar também o som de emissora na Internet. As informações foram prestadas por Sávio Santos, um dos comunicadores da emissora e que apresenta o programa matinal "Canta Amazônia". (Célio Romais, @tividade DX Aug 11 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. RÁDIO CULTURA FM, SÃO PAULO, NOS 16 METROS Os 16 metros da R Cultura FM deve estar no ar entre 30 e 40 dias de acordo com as estimativas deles. Uma válvula estava inoperante e o tanque final estava danificado. Fui lá justamente para ver de perto o estrago e o restauro. Para quem é de SP, o transmissor deles fica no bairro Parque Novo Mundo, entre Z Norte e Leste da cidade. O técnico que restaurou o sistema deles trabalhou comigo na 89 FM anos atrás e sempre que posso vou "xeretar" o que ele está fazendo. O Célio Romais já havia noticiado a escuta deles no radionews, gerado por ele, e no boletim também. Por sinal, é graças a este conhecido que eu passei a escutar rádio com o ponto de vista de quem está transmitindo, pois existem N fatores de propagação, reflexão de sinal etc... Uma hora com mais calma eu comento uns testes que eles fazem para saber o quanto de sinal está saindo do transmissor por exemplo (Denis Zoqbi, São Paulo, SP, @tividade DX Aug 11 via DXLD) 17815 ** BRAZIL. AM NO RIO - Situação preocupante Gostaria de comentar sobre a situação atual das rádios AM do Rio de Janeiro. Sou ouvinte diurno assíduo de algumas delas e, infelizmente, as notícias que ouvimos não são nada boas quanto à manutenção de algumas no ar, a saber: || A Rádio Manchete deixou de apresentar alguns programas de entrevistas e informação para só apresentar música. || A Rádio Nacional deixou de apresentar programas tradicionais e os substituiu por programas ditos "nacionais". || A Rádio Globo "paulistanizou-se", terminando com um programa tradicional como o de Haroldo de Andrade por este apresentador não concordar com a mudança de diretriz da programação. Li que a freqüência 1220 estaria à venda. || A Rádio Tupi parece que está em vias de ser adquirida por um grupo evangélico. Assim, as rádios mais tradicionais estão umas desaparecendo, outras deixando de ser cariocas e outras se evangelizando, tudo isso para nossa infelicidade que gostamos da companhia diária da programação dessas emissoras (Carlos Augusto da Silva Maia, Rio de Janeiro, em carta publicada no sítio http://www.observatoriodaimprensa.com.br via Célio Romais, @tividade DX Aug 11 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL [and non]. RÁDIO -- [por] Laura Mattos "72% das rádios [emissoras no mundo, não receptores no Brasil! -- gh] estão nas mãos do Estado", copyright Folha de S. Paulo, 31/7/02 "É uma constatação importante. Dentre todas as mídias, o rádio é a que mais se concentra nas mãos do poder estatal. Segundo o Relatório de Desenvolvimento Humano-2002, divulgado pelo Pnud (Programa das Nações Unidas para o Desenvolvimento), 72% das Ams e FMs estão nas mãos do governo, contra 60% das TVs e 29% dos jornais. O estudo de mídia do Pnud começa com a seguinte frase: `Talvez nenhuma reforma seja tão significativa para fazer com que as instituições democráticas funcionem quanto a reforma da mídia`. E continua: `Para ser livre e independente, para produzir informação factual e imparcial, a mídia precisa ser livre não só do controle estatal, mas também das pressões políticas e corporativas`. Para nós, brasileiros, é fácil perceber --- e o estudo do Pnud comprova --- que a realidade está bem distante desse ideal. Por aqui, o Estado não controla diretamente a maioria das AMs e FMs, mas é raro que se tenha no dial algo livre de pressões políticas, alguma estação que não esteja inundada de interesses que passam a milhares de quilômetros dos democráticos. O relatório diz que o liberalismo, as privatizações e o alto custo das novas tecnologias colaboram para que parte do controle estatal fosse transferido a empresas. Mas afirma que isso nem sempre é a solução para a democracia, já que, em muitos casos, a mídia acaba caindo em monopólios familiares. A Globo, por exemplo, é citada pelo estudo das Nações Unidas como um dos maiores monopólios no mundo controlados por indivíduos e familiares. É claro que há realidades piores do que a brasileira, e o Pnud trata de listar algumas. Em Ruanda, por exemplo, onde o rádio é a mídia mais importante, as estações foram usadas, em 94, para incentivar o genocídio. O estudo lembra ainda que o Líbano é o único país árabe que permite a existência de radiodifusão privada. Mas isso não livra o Brasil da necessidade de refletir sobre essa questão. E de considerar uma dica importante do relatório: para acabar com uma estação `antidemocrática`, basta escutar outra. Depois de Maluf e Genoino, agora será a vez de Alckmin almoçar com os empresários de rádio. Será na próxima terça-feira, na sede da Aesp (Associação das Emissoras de Rádio e TV de SP)." (via Célio Romais, DXLD) ** BURMA [non], Hi Glenn, Yes, the DVB was a week late announcing the frequency change to 9760, but yesterday our frequency coördinator Leo van der Woude assured me that Madagascar made the change last weekend. Obviously a misunderstanding occurred somewhere. 73, (Andy Sennitt, RN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Desde o último dia 3 de agosto, o Serviço Latino-Americano da Rádio Canadá deixou de contar com a tradicional voz de Hector Moreno. Ao término do programa, ele informou que estava se aposentando. Relembrou seus grandes momentos e chorou, juntamente com seus colegas de estúdio. Um momento inusitado e emocionante das ondas curtas, que foi acompanhado por Oséias Fantinelli, de Jacutinga (RS). Vale lembrar que, quando do término dos programas em língua portuguesa da Rádio Canadá Internacional, a locutora que fez a despedida também se emocionou e chorou (Célio Romais, @tividade DX Aug 11 via DXLD) ** CANADA. Hi, everyone. The new CJWI station on 1610 kHz here in Montreal seems to have broken out from their testing period with some regular programming. At 10 Eastern this evening, I tuned in to see if they were still testing and there is a talk show going on with a male and female announcer in French. They are also taking phone calls, giving a phone number of 514-790-2726, which is also 514-790-CPAM. Again, do not get confused by the constant references to CPAM. This is the name of the company which owns the station and is the official name of the station, CPAM Radio Union.com. The French being spoken is heavily accented, with a Haitian accent, somewhat difficult for me to fully understand at times. It has a much different sound than what we are used to here in Montreal with Quebecois French (Sheldon Harvey, Greenfield Park, Aug 9, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CANADA. Yet more to add to your list of things to listen to and watch... from http://www3.cbc.ca/sections/newsitem_redux.asp?ID=2388 CBC ANNOUNCES PLANS FOR COVERAGE OF THE ANNIVERSARY OF SEPTEMBER 11TH CBC will mark the first anniversary of September 11th with a comprehensive array of programming on its Television, Radio and Internet services. The programming will have a Canadian point-of-view, examining not only the American and international repercussions, but also the Canadian perspective on the attacks and the events that followed them. On Wednesday, September 11th, CBC Radio will present a six-and-a-half- hour special called Loss and Legacy: Reflections of September 11th. Beginning at 8:30 a.m. ET, and including live coverage of commemorative events from New York, the special is designed to help Canadians to understand and share the many interpretations of the events of September 11th, and to reflect personally on the significance of the day. Loss and Legacy: Reflections of September 11th is also a series of connected programs that will begin airing on CBC Radio as of September 2nd. These programs will cover a wide range of themes - vulnerability, tolerance, relationships, resilience - all related to the question of what September 11th means to Canadians. On September 11th, CBC Television and CBC Newsworld will devote the entire day to a live special titled Remembering September 11th. From 6 a.m. to approximately 11:30 p.m. ET, host Peter Mansbridge will be joined by CBC correspondents from across the country and world. Remembering September 11th will feature live coverage of commemorative events, interviews with experts and relatives of victims and a documentary report by Peter Mansbridge that examines the inside story of what happened in Canada's government and its military on September 11th. Starting September 2nd, CBC Newsworld will present 10 days of outstanding documentaries that deal with the reality of today's post- September 11th world at 8 and 10 p.m. ET each evening. cbc.ca presents September 11th: One Year Later, a special Web site launching on September 2nd. The site will examine how life has changed for average Canadians since the events of September 11th. Highlights include first-person stories, photo galleries and multimedia presentations, in addition to video and audio clips of the best of CBC Television's and CBC Radio's September 11th anniversary coverage. The site will build up to a special presentation on the day of September 11th. Canadians are invited to participate by sending e-mails and joining in discussion forums. Until the 2nd, the site will contain the programming schedules of CBC Radio, CBC Television, and cbc.ca September 11th anniversary coverage. Visit http://cbc.ca/september11 for information (via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** CHINA [and non]. CHINA LAUNCHES WEB SITE TO REPORT ON CROSS-STRAIT MILITARY SITUATION | Text of report by Wang Wei and Liu Dian, carried by Chinese news agency Zhongguo Xinwen She Fuzhou, 1 August: On the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army [PLA], "Straits Military Web Site" [Chinese: Haixia Junshi Wang], China's first general web site dedicated to introducing and conveying military information across the Taiwan Straits, has been successfully opened in Fuzhou. This web site, http://www.vos666.net has been jointly launched by the radio station, the Voice of Straits, and "Fujian Hotline". It boasts a team of professional journalists gathering and editing military news. Its primary sections, "Topical Features", "Green Scenery", and so on, publish truthful and reliable first-hand information gathered by staff reporters from various units of the PLA. Other sections in the site include "Today's Headlines", "Military Situation on Both Sides", "International Military Situation", "Full Scan on Military Strength of Both Sides", "Beacon Tower Over the Straits", and "Cool Military Photos". They collect hot military news in an all-round way and convey military information across the straits. Here, numerous netizens interested in military developments on both sides of the straits can find a platform for exchange and debate. The site will, from time to time, invite renowned Chinese experts and scholars to host the Military Forum as guests and the netizens may freely communicate with them via the Internet. Source: Zhongguo Xinwen She news agency, Beijing, in Chinese 1 Aug 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 6025 kHz - Radio Amanecer Internacional (HIAJ), Santo Domingo. Two full data QSL cards (one issued by Adventist World Radio and the other by Radio Amanecer Internacional), two pocket calendars for 2002, an AWR stamp, letter signed by Mr. Adrian Peterson (DX Editor), AWR Contest, AWR Current (newsletter), plastic ruler and pamphlets about AWR projects with kids in Haiti and Tanzania. V/S: Mr. Adrian M. Peterson. 493 days (Marcelo Toníolo, Greenvale, NY, Aug 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. About RDS and ARI: see USA [and non] ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. AS CLASSICAL MUSIC DISAPPEARS FROM THE FM AIRWAVES, SATELLITE RADIO ATTEMPTS TO FILL THE GAP Michael Markowitz, Andante - 9 August 2002 Imagine driving mile after mile across the United States while listening to a complete opera or a long symphony and never losing the radio signal. Heck, imagine even being able to find a complete opera or symphony on the radio, now that one station after another is dropping classical music. Two companies that recently began operating across the United States say they have an alternative for people fed up with bland radio programming and poor reception. Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio are hoping to win the allegiance of beleaguered music lovers — among them classical listeners — who seek stimulating music with superior sound quality and feel left in the cold as traditional broadcasters embrace ever- narrower play lists and chase younger demographics. Each satellite service provides virtually commercial-free music all day, every day, with several channels devoted to classical. (XM carries 170 channels in all, ranging from "industrial-strength metal" to talk radio for truckers; Sirius has 100.) Both dedicate a separate channel to operatic and vocal works, which have all but disappeared from the airwaves. And both XM and Sirius promise clear digital sound that doesn't fade in remote areas because it is beamed not by land- based towers but by orbiting satellites. There is, however, a catch: XM (which has been available coast-to- coast since early this year) costs $9.99 a month; Sirius (which started in four markets in February and finished its nationwide rollout on 1 July) costs $12.95 a month. And neither service can be heard on a standard dashboard radio. Subscribers need to buy and install special satellite radio receivers, which start at around $250. Will people shell out that kind of money for radio? XM and Sirius say people are coming around to the idea, just as they got used to paying for television when cable became common. "Certainly 10, 15 years ago, people would have blanched at paying for water, but now, look how many people are walking around with their little bottles of Evian," said Martin Goldsmith, the director of classical programming at Washington-based XM and the former host of Performance Today on National Public Radio. "I think people have discovered the joys of quality and are willing to pay for it." So far, tens of thousands have, indeed, proven willing. XM reports that it has 137,000 subscribers and expects the number to reach 350,000 by year's end. By 2004 or 2005, it is expecting to have four million customers, which will allow it to break even. Sirius says 60,000 car stereos equipped to receive its signal have reached the market, and it also projects strong growth. Auto manufacturers have taken notice of the new technology. General Motors plans to install XM receivers on some two dozen 2003 models and DaimlerChrysler, BMW and Ford have agreements to provide Sirius as either a factory- or dealer-installed option. Other carmakers and several manufacturers of big trucks offer the radios as well. Neither company would say how many listeners tune into its classical programming, but both said anecdotal evidence shows they are reaching people who either do not live near a classical station or are disappointed by the programming their local broadcaster offers. "There a lot of people who have given up on finding classical music on their local stations, even in the big cities," Goldsmith said. "My sense is that we are a natural alternative for people who are fed up with 'terrestrial' radio." XM devotes three of its 170 channels to classical music: one for "traditional classical," one for vocal music and one for "popular classical." Sirius also offers three classical channels: one for orchestral music, one for chamber works and one for vocal music. The aim, according to both companies, is to provide more than just the background music and greatest hits that so many commercial FM stations play. (Both XM and Sirius can be sampled on the Web). XM, said Goldsmith, takes pride in playing a much broader array of classical music than typical stations. "We play music from the Middle Ages to the 20th century," he said. "We play music by Machaut and Josquin, we play complete symphonies by Mahler and Bruckner, and we play contemporary music by composers such as Adams and Corigliano and Libby Larsen." Brian Atwood, the format manager at Sirius, said his station's announcers don't just spin records; they try to describe the music in a way that will draw in novice listeners without talking down to veteran music lovers. That means, for example, that while a traditional radio station might occasionally play an isolated opera aria, Sirius announcers would take the time to explain its dramatic context and discuss it from the perspectives of both the composer and performer. "We can do that with our commercial-free format," Atwood said. "We're trying our best to develop a creative alternative to terrestrial radio, to make it a little bit more fun, but at the same respect the seriousness of the music. You present the great classics first and foremost, but you can make it a little more accessible with on-air talent that is extremely knowledgeable." "Satellite radio in general has got a lot of variety and a lot of options," said Peter Goodman, who writes about radio for Newsday in Long Island, New York, and is himself an XM subscriber. "They are playing stuff you never hear [on the radio] anymore, except occasionally in an odd time slot. I know that when I turn it on I will find something that I want to listen to almost all the time, unless I want local news or local weather." Because there are so many channels, he added, he has broadened his repertoire, switching from classical occasionally to American popular standards or jazz, both of which are also disappearing from the airwaves. Potential satellite customers need to consider some tradeoffs, in addition to the costs. Satellite receivers for the home are not yet available. And despite paying for the service, subscribers still have to put up with commercials on some channels. Sirius is commercial-free on its 60 music channels but it does have ads on news, sports and talk channels; XM plays a few commercials on 30 of its 70 music channels and on its news and sports programs. Sirius, which developed satellite technology first but saw XM beat it to the market, apparently hopes that playing fewer commercials will be a selling point. Now that they are both available nationally, Sirius and XM are pressing ahead with plans to expand their offerings. Next up for both is more original programming, including live broadcasts by musicians and ensembles in the stations' studios. Sirius and XM are also working with major orchestras and performing arts centers to offer concert broadcasts. "We have an abundance of studios where we can have artists come up and visit at length," said Atwood. In a way, if the two companies achieve the success they expect, the future of radio could look a bit like its past, when one of the trademarks of broadcast networks were live performances from such house ensembles as the NBC Orchestra. "We definitely want to bring back the golden age of radio," Goldsmith said. © andante Corp. August 2002. All rights reserved. (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Hi Glenn, ever heard actual Worldspace transmissions? Here are some short clips: http://www.sender-tabelle.de/SAT/Worldspace.htm Frankly, I find the audio quality really disappointing! By the way, Radio Caroline is available on the Astra satellite system in the clear, and certainly in a much better quality. Therefore it appears to be really doubtful if the pay-radio concept for the Worldspace service will work, at least as long as they keep up the Astra signal (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. I`ve been catching VOIRI rather consistently for the past few days on 9610 from 0100. The signal seems pretty clear, with a little interference, but with a *fascinating* program agenda, veering from the apparently benign (a lengthy description about a mosque in Cairo) to outright anti-western. VOIRI seems to be in the habit of trying to find and interview American anti-Americanists, and discuss what's 'wrong' with western foreign policy (on 8/7 0115-0130), a discussion about US imperialism ("backward looking and out of the step with the times, creating useless conflicts" vs. "Global Empire" (still elitist --- but more promising "possibilities for global democracy"), or American domestic policy (on 7/30 a John MacArthur(?) was interviewed about the implications of Bush's push to repeal the posse comitatus act --- mainly to cover up his participation in the corporate corruption scandal). (Erik Hinnov, NH, Aug 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. I just listened to the IBA's on-demand web radio broadcast. At about 0515 UT, Sunday morning, they are broadcasting the 0400 UT broadcast --- but from FRIDAY morning, not SUNDAY morning! They listed the times that the Jewish Sabbath with start, "tonight" (it starts Friday evening) -- and said that the next broadcast will be 1015 UT. Time to email them again - and see if they'll tell me something more (Daniel Rosenzweig, NY, Aug 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. An op-ed piece from Friday's Ha'aretz on the dropping of CNN from Israeli cable services. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=195762 DRAINING THE LIFEBLOOD OF DEMOCRACY, By Ze'ev Sternhell The decision to drop the international news channel CNN from the Israeli cable network only adds to a long list of policies that will end up eroding whatever democratic lifestyle still remains in this country. In a cynical exploitation of the sorrow, fear and suffering arising from terrorism, a series of actions is being taken that are all heading in the same direction - allowing the government to operate without criticism from the media. In a Knesset without an opposition, the media, the Supreme Court and the universities are the last line of defense against these destructive policies. The vulnerability of the universities and how easy it is to pressure them with budget sanctions - driving a wedge between them and the academic colleges - has already been proved in Stage I of the battle that Education Minister Limor Livnat has been waging so successfully. The Supreme Court is a much harder nut to crack, but the idea of establishing a constitutional court in order to abolish judicial oversight in legislative affairs is alive and well. What remains are the media, where sanctions hurt most because they are felt on a daily basis. There is nothing anywhere in the Western world like the Journalism Law now being discussed in the Knesset. Those who preach economic freedom, who are working to privatize public assets, who are prepared to let hundreds of thousands of citizens slip below the poverty line in the name of economic freedom, are the same people who are amassing all the power of the state to dictate policy on a matter that should not be subject to government interference at all. In what other democratic society does parliament decide how many newspapers the public should read and what kind of "living space" a paper should occupy? There is no question that instead of the three newspapers we now have, it would be better to have half a dozen respected dailies. It would be better if the major political parties, instead of paying gargantuan sums to advertising companies, put out their own publications. But the sad fact is that Israel is not capable of sustaining a large number of newspapers, not to mention weekly or monthly magazines. Perhaps that, too, says something about the state of intellectual life and public discourse in Israeli society. The attack on CNN is part of a campaign to suppress independent coverage of events in this region. The claim that this station is being taken off the air exclusively to save money is an insult to the intelligence. CNN is far from perfect - like all reporting, CNN reporters are subject to the pitfalls of the profession, such as on- the-spot broadcasting, and constantly having to talk to cameras. For that reason, they are often superficial and shallow - though no more so than other news stations including Israeli ones. In one sphere, one which is particularly painful to the Israeli government, the coverage of CNN is several notches above that of Israel's televised news reporting - there is no deliberate bias. Its reporters are suspicious by nature, and unlike most Israeli journalists, they feel no obligation to recycle statements issued by the IDF spokesperson. They also try to supply information that the government is trying to hide. That is how they operate all over the world, including in the United States, and they have no intention of granting Israel any special discounts. In contrast to Israeli military reporters, the Americans try to gather information on both sides of the fence. They do not make do with what they pick up in the corridors of general staff headquarters or various field command posts. They are liable to report that the same person the IDF spokesperson says was killed while trying to escape arrest, was murdered on his doorstep as his family looked on, according to the Palestinians. Every Israeli who has served in the army, especially combat units, knows that foreign correspondents are not always haters of Israel. They are simply doing their job, unfettered by phony Israeli "patriotism," the real aim of which is not to safeguard military secrets but to whitewash reality in keeping with the interests of the army and the reigning politicians. This, of course, is the sore point, for both the government and Israeli newscasters. They dislike CNN for the same reason - everyone knows foreign reports tend to be less pleasant on the ear, but they are not necessarily less credible. True, foreign correspondents enjoy a tremendous advantage over the Israelis - they are not under the same pressures. They do not have to cultivate sources of information so that they can fill entire pages with the inside IDF gossip that Israeli readers adore. They are not part of the social network that Israeli journalists rely on for leaks, and hence, are under no obligation to pay back for information by helping the top brass in whatever areas interest them. A foreign correspondent cannot be controlled or ostracized. That is exactly the trouble with a global news channel like CNN. Like the courts, an independent press is a source of power that a free society cannot do without. Take away freedom of information and democratic choice is meaningless. Democracy is a luxury item. It needs constant grooming. Free access to information is an inseparable part of the code of liberties of modern man. It is as deserving of protection as any other liberty. (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. 40 Aniversario de la Sección Española de Radio Corea Internacional El próximo 19 de agosto se cumplen 40 años del inicio de la programación en idioma español de la entonces LA VOZ DE COREA LIBRE (denominación que cambiaría por RADIO COREA a partir de marzo de 1973), actualmente RADIO COREA INTERNACIONAL (desde agosto de 1994). Por tal motivo está editándose un programa especial cuya primera parte será emitida el mismo día, 19 de agosto, en los horarios y frecuencias habituales. 1000-1100 UT en 7550, 9580 y 11715 (vía Sackville-Canadá) p/Europa y América del Sur 1600-1700 UT en 6150 para Europa 2000-2100 UT en 7275, 9870 y 15575 hacia Europa, Africa y Oriente Medio 0100-0100 UT en 15575 para América del Norte 0700-0800 UT por 13670 dirigido a Europa. E-mail spanish@kbs.co.kr WEB http://rki.kbs.co.kr (real audio 2000-2100 y 0100-0200) TE (sección española) 82-2-781-3679 #18, Yoido-dong, Youngdungpo-gu, Seoul 150-790, Korea Les deseo a todos buena sintonía, saludos cordiales de: (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, Aug 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I believe that RGM is a regular contributor to RKI`s DX show in Spanish (gh) ** KYRGYZSTAN. NEW RADIO STATION OPENS IN KYRGYZSTAN | Excerpt from report entitled "Baltic melodies" by Kyrgyz newspaper Argumenty i Fakty Kyrgyzstan on 7 August A new radio broadcasting channel was recently registered at the Kyrgyz Justice Ministry. It is indebted to Interfond - the business and cultural cooperation fund - for its appearance. The fund was set up in Bishkek in 1999 to implement long-term projects and programmes in the sphere of business, culture, information, education, service and fashion. The new channel's name is Interkanal [International channel].The fund's president, Tatyana Amankanova, said that it would carry international broadcasting on short wave and had already received the right to rebroadcast the Melodiya [Melody] channel (St Petersburg [Russia]) in the Kyrgyz capital [Bishkek]. [Passage omitted: Russian famous singers and composers were invited to attend a presentation of the channel; the fund asked the Kyrgyz leader, the Bishkek mayor, the Russian ambassador to assist in organizing the presentation] Interkanal is currently registered on the 88.0 MHz FM frequency. The possibility of rebroadcasting the Melodiya channel on VHF is being considered. Source: Argumenty i Fakty Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek, in Russian 7 Aug 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) Ambiguity, ambiguity! ``It would carry international broadcasting on shortwave`` -- does that mean relayed from SW stations or on SW itself?? And does SW really mean ultra SW, i.e. FM?? (gh, DXLD) ** LIBYA. Voice of Africa, 2340-2348 on 15435. On 8/5, I heard news about Africa/Libya; Libyan delegates visiting Madagascar, a 9-nation forum about disease control, and a British Minister visiting the "great Jamahiriyah". Then an ID, "thanks for listening", and French at 2348 (Erik Hinnov, NH, Aug 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. Hi Mahendra, this is interesting. At least in June here in Finland the program after 1900 on 5010 was using ID as "MBS 95.4". It was in parallel with the MBS webcast (with delay). My opinion is that this was the same, strong RTM transmitter all the way. Some of my observations can be seen on http://www.dxing.info/community Africa section titled "7130 MBS Madagascar". 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, Aug 11, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** NIGERIA [and non]. Tho received as spam, this appears to be a legitimate anti-scam site; of course much of that purports to come from African countries other than Nigeria too ---- The WONST (Wipe Out Nigerian Scams Team) http://www.nigerianscams.org (via gh, DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. Dear Mr Glenn Hauser: To update on our test transmissions, here at ZP20, Radio América. We have suspended transmissions on the frequency 15185 KHZ, pending reconstruction of the transmitter, for greater power output. We received no reports on this frequency. We have received reports on the frequency 7300 KHZ, from Norway and Canada (Alberta Province). Previously, we received reports from Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil and the southern border regions of Paraguay, for our tests on 41 Metres. We have also received local reports for the tests on 1610 KHZ. Constructions and improvements continue, at the new transmitter site. With best regards from Paraguay! Maiteípa! (Adán Mur, Technical Advisor, Radiodifusión América, Asunción, Paraguay ramerica@rieder.net.py Aug 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear Mr Mur: Tnx for the update. In your reply to Joe Talbot, you mentioned another frequency, 4830. Please let me know the technical parameters, hours of testing on this one like you have given for the others. Please excuse my ignorance, but I am wonder if `Dom` is a title, or part of your own name? Regards, (Glenn Hauser to Adán Mur via DXLD) Dear Mr Glenn Hauser: Thank you very much for your message. With reference to the frequency 4830 KHZ, it is the third harmonic of the frequency 1610 KHZ, but seems to be radiating, strongly, owing to the resonance characteristics of a portion of the 125 Metre tall tower. It is, in fact, the same transmitter, used for 1610 KHZ. I mentioned it to Mr Joe Talbot, out of interest in knowing whether or not this harmonic propagates, ionospherically. At present, we have four broadcast transmitters and one programme transport link transmitter. Tests are being conducted, presently, on the frequencies of 1610 and 7300 KHZ, 24 hours each day, save for short interrruptions, for technical adjustments. The transmitter for 15185 KHZ is scheduled for reconstruction, for greater power output. These transmitters are all at our Villeta plant. The frequency 1480 KHZ is located at the old, Ñemby plant. There is a UHF, digital (ADPCM) link between the two sites. We have received reports for 1610 and 7300 KHZ, from Villeta, and for 1480 KHZ, from Ñemby. The 1480 KHZ signal tends to propagate into the Chaco region, often hundreds of kilometres distant. The 1610 KHZ signal easily propagates across Paraguay, and has been heard in the Eastern part of the country. As I mentioned, earlier, tests in 41 Metres have been monitored and reported in Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Canada, Norway, and in the southern border regions of Paraguay, Itself. The name Dom is not actually my given name, but results from the variety of languages spoken in this region, and from my Portuguese ancestry. In Portuguese, "Dom" is prefixed to the name of Ecclesiastical Authorities and, in the past, for the Portuguese and Brasilian Royal Families and peers of the Empire. It is equivalent to the treament "Sir", in the British usage. These days, in Portuguese, it is often used in a friendly, endearing way, as is used the "Don", in Castillian. The other reason is that, in Guaraní-speaking Paraguay, it approximates the sound of my proper name. Here, we have many persons with non-Castillian names, many of which are adaptations, from the English. I have friends with names of Nelson, Nilson, Gilson, Robson, and know of people with the names Washington, Jefferson, James, and even a Guy-Lyon Playfair! Some of these persons have probably never travelled beyond the borders of Paraguay, but have English-style names. A few kilometres distant, we have the Colonia Thompson, named in honour of the Colonel Thompson, of War of the Triple Alliance days. The port of Asunción is named Puerto Sajonia, equivalent to Port Saxony. The just-retired president of the Banco Central of Paraguay is named Washington Ashwell. Our Minister of Finance is James Stanley. Paraguay is very international! Any reception reports are most welcome! With best regards from Paraguay! Maiteípa! (Adán Mur, Technical Advisor, Radiodifusión América, Asunción, Paraguay ramerica@rieder.net.py Aug 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Following a translation of Joe Talbot`s previous report...] Felicitaciones a Joe por la excelente "caza", y gracias a Glenn, quien le motivó a enviar el informe y luego a enterarnos de estas noticias gracias a su notable DXLD. Yo no podía dejar de traducir estas noticias para los hispano parlantes aquí en Conexion Digital, especialmente quienes estamos en la zona de influencia de esta emisora, que ha generado mucha expectativa, pero aún no ha sido captada por aquí (Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo - Uruguay, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** POLAND [non]. POLISH RADIO MARYJA BROADCASTS DISRUPT GERMAN MILITARY AIR COMMUNICATIONS | Text of report by Polish newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza on 7 August Radio Maryja is spreading the gospel to the Bundeswehr from the territory of Russia. In the course of a routine training flight, instead of the air control a Luftwaffe fighter pilot suddenly heard: "This is Radio Maryja. The Catholic voice in your home." Capt Hans Bauer quickly switched channels and asked the air control duty officer what was going on. They had both heard the same thing - a prayer in a foreign language. Only some time later were the Germans able to establish that the Radio Maryja, the Polish [Roman] Catholic network, was broadcasting on their military frequency. The Bundeswehr turned to the German Defence Ministry for help. The ministry contacted the Polish [Army] General Staff, and our army demanded an explanation from the National Radio and Television Broadcasting Council [KRRiTV]. "The Military Frequency Management Office has been notified by a frequency control unit of the German Defence Ministry that German military radio communications are being interrupted by the Polish Radio Maryja network on the short-wave frequency of 7,400 kHz. I am asking KRRiTV Chairman Juliusz Braun for an explanation," wrote Lt-Gen Lech Konopka. The explanation Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, the head of the radio network, gave stupefied everyone: the radio signal is transmitted not from Poland, but from the Russian Federation. In line with a licence issued by the Russian Communications Ministry and an agreement signed with the RTRS company it owns, the transmitters Father Rydzyk's network uses are located in Krasnodar, in the south of Russia. RTRS refused to speak with us, as did the technical assistance division at Radio Maryja. "This is the height of the summer holiday season," a receptionist told us. We do not know whether the Luftwaffe pilot who heard the Radio Maryja broadcast is actually named Hans Bauer. This is a military secret. Just like many other radio networks broadcasting via satellite in the age of globalization, Father Rydzyk's network has partners on other continents. It leases frequencies from television networks. It pays Rupert Murdoch's Fox Television for broadcasts to the United States and ArabChoice for broadcasts to Lebanon and the Persian Gulf. Fees for European broadcasts are paid to Polish public television. Source: Gazeta Wyborcza, Warsaw, in Polish 7 Aug 02 (via BBCM via DXLD) 7400 may be officially in a fixed band, but there are broadcasters all over that area, so why were the Luftwaffe surprised?? (gh, DXLD) ** SEYCHELLES. Perhaps I could get a little help here. 8/10/02 1245- 1300 on 15535 --- my resources show this to be FEBA in Seychelles, especially with the religious content. I listened to a SLOW English talk about the benefits of the Sun, and comparing it to Christian faith/God. Would have listened for an ID, but some crazy electrical interference popped up, and the Newmarket NH Old Homes weekend kicked off with a rip-roarin' Fire Truck parade passing right in front of my house. I looked on the FEBA website, found the frequency and time( as 100 kW to the Middle East), and sent a QSL?? e-mail. Has anyone else in North America heard broadcasts from FEBA on this freq? (Erik Hinnov, NH, Aug 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Surely, altho this brief 15-minute `Special English` segment may be easily overlooked (gh, DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA. This may or may not be significant. I have noticed that on occasion on his radio show when Brother Stair speaks, his voice sounds hoarser than I've ever heard it, and I therefore assume but do not know that perhaps these portions were recorded after his release. In any event, this small portions consist solely of his giving his own mailing address (as you know, Stair is famous for giving his mailing address many times per half hour and repeating it over and over as though is his listeners are 1st graders) and he now gives the payable-to name as "The Overcomer." Previously it was always, "Send your check to ME, Brother Stair, that's Brother Stair, Brother S-T-A-I-R," etc. Now it's "The Overcomer." I theorize that while he was gone, the business had difficulty cashing donations in his name. Again, I can't prove any of this, but that is my theory. Or, perhaps, he's under pressure to keep his own money separate from the business's. Other than these hoarser-than-usual portions, the rest of the broadcast consists of nothing but re-runs, as was the case during his absence (Robert Arthur, 0131 UT 11 Aug. 2002, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later:] During the time from 1230 to 1300 UT 11 Aug. 2002, I heard a Brother Stair rant. I knew it was recent because he mentioned the "under God" decision (denouncing it) and the recent forest fires. During the rant he mentioned in passing that "I was incarcerated for a while," but did not discuss it further. My theory is he wants to play it both ways. The people who know about it will consider him not to be hiding the fact. But people who don't know of it will perhaps miss these mild passing references, or assume they refer to ancient times, or even that he is speaking figuratively. No clue was given that the cases are pending and that he may be going back. Also, since I last wrote I've heard more references to Brother Stair as the payable-to line on checks. It seems to be about 50%/50% regarding whether they use "Brother Stair" or "The Overcomer" for this purpose (Robert Arthur, Aug 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA [and non]. V. of the Homeland -- see UNIDENTIFIED below ** TAIWAN. Recently the ``New Star`` V13 Chinese language station has been following their regular numbers broadcasts with a female reading some commentary in Chinese, followed by a musical interlude. The commentary and music lasts for about 15 minutes after the end of the numbers broadcasts. I had heard this several times, but not being able to speak Chinese, couldn`t make out what was being said. however, I did make out what sounded like an e-mail address being given. A post to the Spooks e-mail list recently shed some light on the announcement. The post stated that a Mr. Toru Yamashita of the Asian Broadcasting Institute says that the message is a request for listeners to send letters to them either via e-mail or regular mail. The e-mail address is w2789@hotmail.com and the postal address is P. O. Box 12587, Taipei, Taiwan. Mr. Yamashita reportedly sent an e-mail to the station and received a reply. I guess we don`t need any more proof that this station is located on Taiwan, as had been generally believed. What is interesting is that this station has been sending encoded messages for years, and now they are requesting letters from listeners. It makes me wonder who they think is listening? Are they interested in hearing from their own spies, Chinese intelligence, or us numbers listeners? I doubt anyone else ever pays much attention to this station. Could it be an attempt to appear legitimate? Doubtful, since Chinese intelligence and other intelligence agencies are surely aware of what the station is used for. The station is also not on any ITU allocated frequencies. It also make me wonder if they will send out QSLs. OLX from Czechoslovakia used to send out QSLs for reception reports send to the mailing address listed for it in old ITU lists, so it`s certainly unusual but not impossible to QSL a spy numbers station. I`m planning an experiment to try to QSL New Star, and even see if they will answer a few questions for this column. I`m optimistic that they will reply, but doubtful they will answer all the questions I can think of asking them. The results will follow in a future column. New Star is active daily almost every half hour on 8300, 8375, 9725, 11430, 13750, and 15388. I usually can only hear the station on 8300 and 13750. The best time to catch the station here in North America is from around 1000 to 1400 UT. The New Star numbers station is a favorite of mine because it is the first numbers station I ever heard. I used to hear it all the time while at Clark Air Base in the Philippines back in 1990-1991. At the time I knew what numbers stations were, but didn`t realize that I was hearing one. I only heard it on 8300 kHz, and it always had a very strong signal with an antenna beamed north. If you QSL New Star, or even send them an e-mail and get a reply, I`d like to hear from you. Please let me know what they say, and I`ll share it here in this column (Tom Sevart, n2uhc@yahoo.com Frontenac KS, June Covert Comms, The Monthly ACE via DXLD) Last month I reported that the V13 ``New Star`` [supposedly really ``Star Star`` as previously reported here --gh] station had announced a mailing address as well as an e-mail address. It looks as if the e- mail address no longer works. Mail to w2789@hotmail.com bounces. A reception report sent to that address came back with a message saying the mailbox is unavailable. The interesting thing is that this account closed down in a short amount of time after New Star gave the announcements including this address. Last month I also speculated as to why New Star would give an announcement asking for listener comments. After all, this numbers station has been active for many years now, and to read an announcement giving an e-mail and snail mail address seems strange. The fact that the e-mail address no longer works adds to the mystery. Could it be possible that Taiwan intelligence lost contact with an agent, and this is a ruse to have the agent send an e-mail to let them know he`s OK? Or is it a method to get all agents to check in? This is highly unlikely, as Chinese intelligence would have intercepted the e- mail announcement, and having one or all of your agents suddenly send e-mail to you (which is easily traceable) would give them away. Even sending a letter to the announced address would be risky. It would even be risky for any Chinese citizen to send a letter to the station requesting a QSL. The Chinese government and the citizenry are very suspicious of everyone. Someone sending a letter to a broadcast station the government knows is used for intelligence work would surely result in an arrest and imprisonment. Since the e-mail address is down, we are only left with the mailing address of P. O. Box 12587, Taipei, Taiwan. So far I haven`t heard of anyone receiving any replies to mail sent to this address. This is probably your best bet to receive a QSL, if in fact they decide to issue them. I`ve been trying to hear New Star again in order to send them a reception report, but I haven`t been able to catch them on their 8300 or 13750 frequencies. I don`t know if it`s due to propagation or if the station has not been active on these frequencies (Tom Sevart, Frontenac KS, Covert Comms, July The Monthly ACE, via DXLD) ** TIBET. I can confirm that "China Tibet Broadcast Company" is broadcasting at 0700 UT in English as reported in DXLD # 2125 by Parthasarthy Goswami and friends from India. Today (8-8-2002) the program was about "Tibet Opera" by YL. The English broadcast continued past 0715 till 0720. Most probably this transmission is also heard Monday to Saturday only. The only frequency audible at my QTH in Punjab, India was 9490 kHz. 73s, (Harjot Singh Brar for GRDXC via DXLD) ** U S A. This seems to be the first in a series of at least three articles on Clear Channel. 73- (Bill Westenhaver, QC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) From Wired News, available online at: http://www.wired.com/news/print/0,1294,54036,00.html CLEAR-CUTTING THE RADIO FOREST By Randy Dotinga 2:00 a.m. Aug. 5, 2002 PDT SAN DIEGO -- If you want to hear Aretha Franklin or Lauryn Hill or Metallica on the radio in San Diego, you have no choice but to tune to a Clear Channel station. The same goes for sports talk, local news and Rush Limbaugh. In the radio world, this pattern is about as unusual as a "first-time caller, longtime-listener." From Honolulu (seven stations) to Des Moines, Iowa (six), and Ft. Myers, Florida (eight), Clear Channel Communications dominates the dial across the country. But nowhere is its domination more prevalent than in San Diego. The world's largest radio company controls 14 stations there -- a half- dozen more than anywhere else in the United States -- and it still has room to grow by looking to the south. Clear Channel's aggressive determination has set it far apart from its mild-mannered competitors. Over the past three years, Clear Channel programmers sacked San Diego disc jockeys and replaced them with voices from out of town, hoodwinked listeners by airing national contests as if they were local, and rolled out cookie-cutter radio formats designed elsewhere. Meanwhile, the company sweet-talked Mexican station owners across the border and tore through legal loopholes in order to build its mini- empire. Clear Channel's stations now reach more than 40 percent of all radio listeners in the San Diego area, and its ratings are strong, suggesting that few people care about its tactics. But critics say there are plenty of chinks in the company's armor that could allow competitors to take down this Goliath both here and across the country. "I don't think these stations are connecting with listeners like they used to," said Tracy Johnson, general manager of rock station KFMB-FM. "They're sterile and lack creativity. There's a sparkle that's missing." If that's true, it may be because Clear Channel's inner fire has been directed toward buying everything in sight. The company barely existed five years ago, but blazed onto the broadcasting scene by snapping up radio stations after Congress abandoned ownership rules. After a blizzard of purchases, sales and mergers, Clear Channel owns or operates 1,165 radio stations in the United States. It controls about 80 more through other means that occasionally raise eyebrows. In San Diego, for instance, Clear Channel took over the sales and programming of a small talk station but didn't buy it outright in order to circumvent the eight-station limit. Clear Channel also raided five Tijuana radio stations that broadcast in English, taking over the latest two in May. Mexican law forbids Americans from owning stations but doesn't stop them from running them. Clear Channel could even add to its stable of Tijuana-based stations. From a Federal Communications Commission point of view, the Mexican stations are untouchable. The stations could technically broadcast obscenities 24 hours a day without violating U.S. law because they're in a foreign country. While some radio insiders hope someone will sue Clear Channel over its control of Mexican stations, nobody has gone to court yet. But that hasn't stopped competitors from accusing the company of moral breaches. "There are companies that choose to live by the spirit of the law, which says you can't own more than eight stations in a market. If you're going to be a good corporate citizen, that's what you do," said John Dimick, program director at country station KSON-FM. But Mike Glickenhaus, a Clear Channel vice president for the San Diego market, said morality has nothing to do with his company's inroads into Mexico. "Any company has the same rights to do what we have done," he said. "We are simply maximizing our position like any good business would try to do." Many critics are quick to accuse Clear Channel of cracking down on creativity in its push for dominance. Since the company entered the San Diego market three years ago, a few successful stations retained their management and most of their staffs. But others have lost their local flavor and their local disc jockeys. Some of the stations are little more than clones of sister operations elsewhere. For instance, a new Clear Channel country station called "Bob 99.3" -- "Turn your knob to Bob" -- ripped off the name and motto of a defunct Minneapolis station. Dimick said it appears to be a twin of a country station in Phoenix. And when a San Diego rock station called "Mix" debuted in 1999, it was one of more than a dozen Clear Channel stations nationwide with identical nicknames, identical logos and similar playlists. While the San Diego station folded, the number of "Mix" stations nationwide has grown to 25. Meanwhile, local contests have largely vanished from the San Diego airwaves. In 1999, Clear Channel began running national contests without making it clear that local callers competed against listeners from dozens of other stations. The public didn't blink, and the media barely noticed. (After it was fined in Florida, the company now runs explicit disclaimers about the contests.) Glickenhaus said local radio hasn't disappeared. Even if disc jockeys are often from out of town, station bosses remain in San Diego and customize their programming to the country's eighth-largest city. "It's still all about being as compelling and entertaining as you can," he said. Judging from the ratings, the estimated 2.4 million radio listeners in San Diego County don't mind the creativity gap on the radio. Clear Channel controls 12 of the county's 20 top-rated stations, including No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5, according to an Arbitron report issued earlier this month. Even some competitors admit that Clear Channel isn't always the Radio Company of Doom. By consolidating stations into one group, Clear Channel contributes to making San Diego a more stable radio market, said Bob Hughes, co-owner of KPRI-FM, the only locally owned commercial station left in the region. "You've gone from 20-25 owners with wildly different needs and pressures to just a handful," Hughes said. "In a lot of ways, it has made radio a better business." Indeed, Clear Channel's growth may actually help adventurous stations like KPRI, which broadcasts an eclectic mix of classic and alternative rock, blues and reggae. By contrast, Clear Channel deploys its San Diego stations to reach specific demographics -- men 18-34, for example, or women 25-54 -- and never blends different genres of music. But listeners don’t necessarily want distinctive radio. KPRI placed 21st in the latest San Diego ratings, lagging behind 12 stations run by -- you guessed it -- Clear Channel. Tomorrow: Has your "local" DJ even heard of your town? Copyright (C) 1994-2002 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. ASIAN RADIO By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- When Anil Srivatsa launched his weekly radio show five years ago, he had a specific audience in mind: New Jersey's growing Indian population. His target audience has broadened somewhat since then. "My aim is to take South Asian radio to the mainstream level," said Srivatsa, 34. "I am a broadcaster for the mainstream audience." His show, "Anil ki-Awaaz" -- "Voice of Anil" -- airs Saturdays from a studio in Srivatsa's New Brunswick home, and reaches beyond central and southern New Jersey to audiences in Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., and the San Franciso Bay area. The English-language program broaches topics including the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 ("America has a double standard when it comes to fighting terrorism") and how Indian immigrants often betray each other ("We are our own worst enemy.") But the show also features popular Indian music, cooking segments and chatter about Bollywood, India's version of Hollywood. Also included - - perhaps in honor of his broadcasting idol, Howard Stern -- are interludes with beautiful women. Dennis Wharton, a spokesman for the National Association of Broadcasters, says a recent surge in Indian programming like Srivatsa's is part of a trend toward more diversity on the airwaves. "There has been an increase in a lot of foreign language stations in the last three or four years," Wharton said. "The broadcasters are pretty good at spotting a trend and will create programming to meet a new audience." The Hispanic radio market gives other ethnic broadcasters a model for success, Wharton said. He estimates there were fewer than 400 Hispanic stations around the country five years ago. "Now, there are probably more than 600," he said. Vinod Vasudeva, host of the Orlando, Fla.-based program "Manoranjan" – which means "entertainment" in Hindi -- said he speaks a mixture of English and Hindi on his music show to attract more listeners. "We have many American listeners who tune into the progam now," he said. "White, black, Hispanic people. They are keen to get information about what's going on across the seven seas." Richard Wallace, a host of "Sounds of the Subcontinent" from Ann Arbor, Mich., said the growing popularity of Indian shows reflects a general interest in Indian culture, including its music and movies. Indeed, most people involved in the English-language "Sounds of the Subcontinent" have no personal ties to the region. None of the three hosts is Indian. "Our show reflects just a personal interest in the music and culture," he said, adding that the subject matter extends beyond India to Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Many ethnic shows find a home with companies like Multicultural Broadcasting, which owns 30 radio stations across the country, specializes in ethic programming. Arthur Liu, who has owned the Manhattan-based company since 1982, said programmers lease time from Multicultural and bring in their own shows and advertisers. The Indian programs are particularly well-suited to New Jersey's demographics. The latest census figures show the number of Indians in New Jersey more than doubled since 1990, to 169,180. Nationally, Indian is the third largest Asian subgroup with 1.9 million residents, according to the latest Census numbers. Chinese comprise the largest group (2.7 million), followed by Filipinos (2.4 million). Alex Saout, a vice president at the Virginia-based marketing company Allied Media, said advertisers appreciate the often specialized market offered by ethnic programming. "Mainstream media overreaches," he said, adding that specialized media targets "specific people who are more likely to use the service." Advertisers on Indian stations run the gamut from banks and insurance companies that cater to Indian populations to car rental services and restaurants, he said. Srivatsa, who is hoping to get big-name advertisers such as Burger King for his show, said he is setting his sights on the next big market. "I have my eye on Atlanta next," he said. "These are really heavily populated South Asian centers." His show airs on WPRB in Princeton, N.J., KSQQ in San Jose, Calif., and WMET in Washington, D.C. ------ On the Net: Anil ki-Awaaz: http://www.indiaradio.com (AP July 29 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. BOTH SIDES APPEAL NET RADIO RULING Thu Aug 8, 7:59 PM ET --- By Laura Rohde, IDG News Service No one is happy with a June decision by the U.S. Copyright Office and the Librarian of Congress on the rates webcasters are to be charged per song. Both sides of the dispute, Internet music broadcasters and the Recording Industry Association of America ( news - web sites) Inc. (RIAA), which represents the major music labels, appealed the decision this week. The ruling by the Copyright Office, handed down on June 20, set the royalty rates for music broadcast over the Internet at US$0.70 per song, per 1,000 listeners. However, the Internet music broadcasters contend that this rate is still too high -- the RIAA is arguing that the decision is unfair to artists and record labels. Over two dozen Internet radio stations, including America Online Inc., Virgin Audio Holdings LLC and Live365.com Inc. filed Notices of Appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., the Digital Media Association said in a statement. The RIAA filed its intent to appeal the Cop! yright Office's decision on Wednesday, the deadline for doing so, on behalf of the major recording labels and will officially file its briefs "later in the year," it said in a separate statement. In June, the Librarian of Congress said in a position paper that it accepted the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights and rejected the rates and terms recommended by a Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel (CARP), which had suggested rates of $1.40 per song, per thousand listeners, "because significant portions of it were arbitrary or contrary to law." Jonathan Potter, executive director of the Digital Media Association, said in a statement Wednesday that he was still hoping for a negotiated resolution that would enable the industry to withdraw the appeal, but the RIAA seemed entrenched in its position, he said. For its part, the RIAA accused the Librarian of Congress of "significantly undervaluing the music used by Internet radio companies" while! Also improperly throwing out 140 licensing deals that the record companies and RIAA had signed with webcasters (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. A CHORUS OF ANGRY PIGGIES --- By Jonathan Krim WATSONVILLE, Calif. -- The battle over Internet broadcasting is raging right here, in a place they call the Pig Sty, in a town that mostly caters to food-packing businesses and farmworkers who toil in the surrounding fields of strawberries, artichokes and cabbages.... To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A851-2002Aug9.html (via Tom McNiff, VA, DXLD) ** U S A. REGULATORS SAY NEW TV SETS MUST HAVE DIGITAL TUNERS BY 2007 Text of Federal Communications Commission press release dated 8 August Washington, DC: Today, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a plan that will give consumers access to digital programming over television by requiring off-air digital TV (DTV) tuners on nearly all new TV sets by 2007. By enacting a five-year rollout schedule that starts with larger, more expensive TV sets, the FCC is minimizing the costs for equipment manufacturers and consumers. This action marks another step in the FCC's progress towards making the digital television transition a reality. The FCC said DTV receivers are a necessary element of broadcast television service in the same way that analogue TV receivers have been since the inception of analogue television service. Although analogue receivers are still dominant today, that will change as the transition to digital TV progresses. The FCC said that its jurisdiction is established by the 1962 All Channel Receiver Act (ACRA), which provides the FCC with the "authority to require" that television sets "be capable of adequately receiving all frequencies" allocated by the FCC for "television broadcasting". The authority provided under the ACRA applies to all devices used to receive broadcast television service, not just those used to receive analogue signals. The FCC said the plan reflects and accounts for the following: - including DTV reception capability in new television receivers will require the redesign of product lines, - prices are declining and will decline even faster as economies of scale are achieved and production efficiencies are realized over time, and - prices of large TV sets have been declining at a rate of 100 to 800 dollars per year, so the additional cost of the DTV tuner may be partially or completely offset by the general price decline. The FCC said this plan will ensure that new TV receivers include a DTV tuner on a schedule as close as economically feasible to the 31 December 2006 target completion date for the DTV transition that was set forth in the Communications Act by Congress. Timetable The Second Report and Order and Second Memorandum Opinion and Order adopted today requires that all television receivers with screen sizes greater than 13 inches and all television receiving equipment, such as videocassette recorders (VCRs) and digital versatile disc (DVD) players/recorders, will be required to include DTV reception capability after July 1, 2007, according to the following schedule: Receivers with screen sizes 36 inches and above - 50 per cent of a responsible party's units must include DTV tuners effective 1 July 2004; 100 per cent of such units must include DTV tuners effective 1 July 2005. Receivers with screen sizes 25 to 35 inches - 50 per cent of a responsible party's units must include DTV tuners effective 1 July 2005; 100 per cent of such units must include DTV tuners effective 1 July 2006. Receivers with screen sizes 13 to 24 inches - 100 per cent of all such units must include DTV tuners effective 1 July 2007. TV Interface Devices: VCRs and DVD players/recorders, etc. that receive broadcast television signals - 100 per cent of all such units must include DTV tuners effective 1 July 2007. In the item today, the FCC also declined for the time being to adopt labelling requirements for TV receivers that are not able to receive any over-the-air broadcast signals. The FCC stated that it is unclear when, or if, such products will become commercially available or how they will be marketed. The FCC will continue to monitor the state of the marketplace and take additional steps if necessary to protect consumers' interests. Today's item also amends the FCC rules to reference the most recent version of the Advanced Television System Committee's (ATSC) DTV standard. The FCC also stated that it will address the possible adoption of the ATSC's "Programme System and Information Protocol" (PSIP) specification in its forthcoming Second Review of its policies for the DTV transition. In the interim, the FCC included the PSIP specification in its rules as a document that licensees may consult for guidance. Finally, today's action denies a petition for reconsideration requesting that the FCC consider imposing minimum performance thresholds for DTV receivers. In reaffirming its previous decision on this issue, the FCC said that competitive forces are the best approach for ensuring that DTV receivers perform adequately and meet consumer needs in terms of price, quality, performance and features. Source: Federal Communications Commission press release, Washington DC, in English 8 Aug 02 (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. Recently you had a link to a newspaper article about attempts to establish the RDS system in the USA. It should be pointed out that the cited eight character display, the so-called PS code, has to contain the station ID and nothing else; it is a violation of the RDS specifications to use the PS codes for advertisements or any other text messages. Unfortunately such misuse of the PS code is quite common. Any commercial station from Poland I caught so far does it; it is also quite popular amongst commercial stations here in Germany and recently even a public broadcaster (Hessischer Rundfunk) get used to this bad habit. RDS offers a specific feature for text messages, called radiotext, but hardly anybody uses it (Deutschlandradio does so, as far as I know). The alternative frequency feature is of course related to the European concept which does not consider a single FM transmitter (just with a few low powered gap-fillers probably added) as a "station" but instead lets a station often use extended networks of transmitters. And traffic jam announcements are nothing new here; already in the seventies an RDS predecessor called ARI was developed to facilitate this service. In the eighties ARI was established even in Czechoslovakia, on the OIRT band transmitters there. Trouble was, no ARI car radios covering the OIRT band ever existed! Of some interest may be how the ARI announcement code is switched on and off here in Germany: This is done through the program audio with a special signal, developed by a certain Mr. Hinz and therefore called Hinztriller. A Hinztriller is a tone of 2350 Hz, modulated with a frequency of 123 Hz. Probably you will know this signal: Once Deutsche Welle aired transmitter site identifications, and if memory serves right ten years ago these announcements were framed by Hinztrillers. If so they probably used this signal to trigger the site ID's on the individual transmitter plants. Have a nice Sunday, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. CNN banned from Israeli cable systems: see ISRAEL in this and previous issues ** U S A [and non]. This via today's ARRL Letter: The end of the line for Radio Amateur Callbook: Radio Amateur Callbook is throwing in the towel and will cease publication of its CD-ROM Callbook product effective with its winter 2003 edition, which will come out in November. "Due to accessibility to the FCC database via the Internet, sales have declined to levels that make it unprofitable to publish future editions," publisher Bob Hughes announced in a recent news release. In 1997, citing "rising costs and increasing demand for electronic publishing" the company phased out its telephone-book-size paper North American and international editions in favor of its CD-ROM product. The 1997 Callbook--the 75th edition--was the last hard-copy version available. The Callbook began publishing in 1920 (via Harry Helms, AK6C, Ridgecrest, CA DM15 NRC-AM via DXLD) What about the international portion? That info is not in the FCC database, is it?? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Hi Glenn, Just finished reading DXLD and saw an item on Hank Bennett and WPE's. Hank is still with us and I think he is in his 80's. He has kept all his WPE and WDX data and the last I heard was that it was being converted over to computer programs. As for being active, I believe he is not at this time. Several folks have made inquiries to him BUT no reponse from him to date. A number of writers to me would like to see the WPE and WDX program active once again. Hank's mailing address is WDX Monitor Services, PO Box 9, Collingswood NJ 08108 for those who would like to contact him. As far as I know, he has NO email nor web site address (Stewart H. MacKenzie, WDX6AA, Huntington Beach CA, Aug 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) "World Friendship Through Shortwave Radio where Culture and Language meet" ASWLC - http://communitylink.ocnow.com/groups/aswlc SCADS - http://communitylink.ocnow.com/groups/scads ** U S A. As for Spectrum I am sure you know they have said, again, that the show is over because of no money to pay the station. This, although they mentioned they`d be playing old shows or music this Saturday and weeks after. Glenn, would not WWCR charge Spectrum the same amount of money for broadcasting anything? I don't get this (LeRoy Long, OK, Aug 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Me neither. I haven`t heard exactly what they are saying now, but in the long history of Spectrum they have periodically run out of money or the desire to continue, but haven`t gone away permanently. We shall see... I checked it briefly around 0330 Aug 11 and heard some talk discussion, not music (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Pirate John at Radio D.C., which follows WOR on WBCQ UT Thu 0445 on 7415, tells me that Allan Weiner mentioned on AWWW UT Sat Aug 10 at 0000, that he was replacing both our shows with some Jewish religious hour at 0415-0515. Yet to hear from him directly about this and/or a possible replacement time -- possibly bumped back to 0515? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. On wqxr.com heard "Inside the New York Times Book Review" at 2258 today. The NYTBR was a sesquiminute long -- 2258-2300. 1 min 40 sec to be precise. [i.e., one hektosecond -- gh]. I assume it is on every Saturday at this time. Since I can no longer afford to purchase the Sunday NYT, (like I used to back in the '70s), this is great! I also note that the book reviews and other NYT features are archived for two weeks on the WQXR website (Ivan Grishin, ON, Aug 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com PETE'S BACK LIVE ON 'FUV -- Friday, August 9th, 2002 Pete Fornatale comes back to WFUV (90.7 FM) today [Saturday!] to resume new live editions of his "Mixed Bag" show, 5-8 p.m. [EDT] This will come as good news to his fans, who have been listening to rebroadcasts of the eclectic music program since Fornatale began what was officially described as a "leave of absence" in February. "Pete wants to be back, and we're delighted to have him," station manager Ralph Jennings said yesterday. "Both for the station and for me personally as a fan of the show." Soon after Fornatale stopped doing live shows in February, WFUV indicated there were disagreements over the content of an earlier program in which he related a joke that involved Osama Bin Laden and used a bleeped-out obscenity. Jennings suggested certain types of political commentary were not appropriate for the music-based program, and soon thereafter the "leave of absence" was announced. Fornatale has made no public statements. As recently as January, he was thanking WFUV "for letting me do the kind of free-form radio that you just can't hear on the commercial airwaves anymore." AROUND THE DIAL: "Radio Lab" tomorrow night [Sunday! UT Mon 0000] at 8 on WNYC (820 AM) features an unusual concept: the "New York Scream." Several weeks ago, Radio Lab producer Jad Abumrad asked listeners to call up and scream. Dozens did so, and they will be the database from which Abumrad and his experts analyze and assess the New York scream. (David Hinckley, NY Daily News via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. WBBR-1130 NY: According to the transmitter engineer, this weekend's planned testing will not occur. It will likely be deferred to next weekend. I'll check in with him again next week and publish any info (Rick Kenneally, CT, Aug 9, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Hello fellow DXers, I just heard WTIC announcer Glen Colligan mention that they will be going off the air tomorrow night (Sunday) at 9 pm [EDT] for transmitter maintenance. He said the silent period could last as much as 3 hours depending on what work needs to be done. I'll try to confirm the silent period by calling the station. WTIC is licensed to Hartford, Connecticut with its transmitter located on Avon Mountain in Avon. As most of you know, WTIC operates on 1080 with 50000 watts directional at night to protect KRLD in Dallas (Kent Plourde, Bristol, CT, Aug 9, NRC-AM, via DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn: I'm not sure you've seen this or not, but I think it would be of interest to readers of DXLD. Jim Hawkins' Radio and Broadcast Technology Page at: http://hawkins.pair.com/wsm.html has a lot of great photos and historical info concerning the WSM AM 650 tower and transmitters. There are photos and info on the Blaw-Knox dual cantilevered (center guyed tower). A.k.a. "diamond antenna" which was erected in 1932 and is still in use today. Also included are photos the original 50 kW as well as a 1939 FM transmitter That operated at 44.7 MHz, and even a short wave transmitter licensed as W4XA, which was active on 26150 kHz until the beginning of WW2 (David Hodgson, TN, Aug 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non], 8-7-02, 0100-0115 on 6175: Voice of Viet Nam, with a very clear and strong signal. News about catfish imports/exports, children in Hanoi speaking about HIV, Thailand/Myanmar relations, Vietnam wins three medals in a badminton tournament, and a nuclear power plant being built in North Korea with US help, and an ID at 0110. Is this signal being relayed from somewhere in N. America --- similar to radio Japan via Canada on 6120/6145?? (Erik Hinnov, NH, Aug 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Exactly UNIDENTIFIED. Re 3446.30 kHz playing non stop mostly instrumental music around/after 2215... Almost certainly a spur from Ghana on 3366 kHz, audible here in the UK at present 2309 UT 9th August (Graham Powell, Wales, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 5005.63~. For the past few evenings around 0130-0200 I am hearing a very weak station on close to 5005.63 or so... Probably Radio LTC, Juliaca, Perú (Graham Powell, Wales, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Webmaster for the Online DX Logbook & 21 MHz.Com Full details available at: http://www.shortwave.org.uk UNIDENTIFIED. RE: 12115 / 12085 ANTI-SYRIAN CLANDESTINE Hi Glenn and Andy, -Test? - but the Indian DXer observed it first on July 24th! (K.M. Patel, India, Jul 24, DXLD) Re: DX LISTENING DIGEST 2-126, August 9, 2002 Noel Green from Blackpool sent this today, Sat 10th: Thanks for details concerning the Arabic station on 12085 and 12115. BTW, 12085 was 43 secs BEHIND 12115 when I heard it first. Friday I stayed tuned to 12085 and SYR was heard on top of the Watan station around 1500 before closing down to leave Watan in the clear. I didn`t time the difference between the two frequencies, but noted that 12115 had started before 12085. But I`m not sure I agree with Tarek ```I'm 100% sure now, this is a Clandestine station beamed to Syria```. Why is it broadcasting on 12085, and why does Syria close down to leave it clear channel. Most strange! (Noel R. Green, UK, Aug 10, BC-DX via Wolfgang df5sx, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Maybe it is anti-Syrian, but the Syrians close 12085 in order to DF it, or just to monitor it. Still no luck here getting any readable signal on any of their frequencies (gh, OK, DXLD) I just listened to the mysterious operation on 12085 and 12115: Shortly before 1500, 12085 had Damascus with the usual very weak audio and a subaudible heterodyne. At about 1500 the program in question started with much louder audio, and at 1501 the het disappeared. So it is evident that this transmission not originates from the Radio Damascus transmitter, but instead Damascus takes the 12085 transmitter down between 1500 and 1600. Of course this could be a mere coincidence, but I do not believe in Santa Claus anymore. There is no audio processing in use on 12085. Otherwise I would therefore assume that this is just another CIS facility but the use of a completely different audio source than for the 12115 outlet is quite remarkable, keen monitors will probably remember a similar case. Today 12115 (which could well be the "usual" Tbilisskaya or Samara) was about 45 seconds ahead of 12085. Regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Aug 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Clandestine SOUT AL WATAN - Voice of Homeland [belongs to SYRIAN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD MOVEMENT?] SOUT AL WATAN - Voice of Homeland. Here's my report about this new clandestine station on "SOUT AL WATAN" on 9950 at 0330-0400 UT, and on 12085 and 12115 kHz at 1500-1530 UT. Well, first of all, the morning transmission is repeated in the evening transmission. They start the program always with a call for all the listeners in different Syrian cities --- with the background the well known musical song (Watani Habibi) - "my beloved country- home". This song was released upon the Egyptian-Syrian unification in the mid 60's. And after that, they read verses from the Holy Qur`an talking about unification between all the nations. I noticed that the reading of the Qur`an was on, while the music in the background is still on, which is not right mixing music and the Qur`an; and announcement at the end of that musical introduction that goes "soon we'll have a meeting with you --- and for you!!!", said by a YL. Then the program starts. I picked them up on Friday morning 9/8/2002 and they started with the usual (Watani Habibi song) and the call for different Syrian cities, followed by chanting of the Holy Qur`an that lasted for almost 10 minutes, followed by some religious chantings, that lasted till the end of the transmission. No ID at all. As you know Friday is the holy day according to Muslims all over the world. It's like Sunday for Christians and Saturday for Jews. so I wonder, was that on propose --- as they start the program with the Holy Qur`an only on Fridays. On Saturday and Sunday the program was usual no religious stuff at all. Further more, they started the Sunday 11/8/2002 program with a musical program about the #1 Syrian singer SABAH FAKHRI, with some of his old greatest hits. The usage of 12115 and \\ 12085, this is correct. I checked that, and 12115 is ahead of 12085 by almost some seconds [35 seconds on Aug 10]. On 12085 the official Syrian Radio Damascus is on till almost 1455 UT with a very BAD audio as usual, and then Sout Alwatan booms in with much better audio quality. So for sure it's not the same transmitter. Some of the programs are mainly about the human rights in Syria and those jailed for criticizing the Syrian regime, and also about the banning of the SYRIAN MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD MOVEMENT. One final comment: mainly the station is using the songs of the Egyptian singer MOHAMMED ABD ALWAHAAB, who was the best singer in the whole Arab world in the 40's, 50's and the 60's. They use the famous song (HOB ALWATAN) - "The Love Of My Country-Home" when announcing the ID and it goes like this: SOUT said by a YL and then an OM saying ALWATAN in the back ground the musical song by M. ABD ALWAHAAB. No idea who's supporting this station and where it's coming from, but the programs are mainly targeting Syria and the Syrians. Hope to reveal the secrets of this one soon (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, SU1TZ, Aug 11, BC-DX via DXLD) I did some research on Samara and Armavir-Krasnodar pip tones this afternoon [Aug 10]: 12115 1449 UT tx s-on 1452.13 opening tone procedure start 4.8 second pip / 4.8 second pause || 887.96 Hertz, acc COOL EDIT 2000 software frequency analysis 1459.48 end tone procedure 1459.55 audio program start. Samara ?? SOUT AL WATAN - Voice of Homeland. Today [Aug 10] 12085 kHz program was 35 seconds BEHIND 12115 !!! Around 1500 UT t w o programs were heard on 12085 co-channel, like on previous Noel's observations. [some other tone frequencies, thus eliminating sites? -- gh] 9925 VRT Brussels via Armavir 100 kW unit. 1652 UT. || 775.84 Hertz tone [other users of 12115:] 12115 Dejen Radio, Tigrina ?, 1655 UT opening tone procedure in progress, 4.8 second pip / 4.8 second pause || 776.73 Hertz Armavir ? Netsanet Le Ethiopia, Amharic ??? Natanat Lediopyan Radio. Freedom Radio 1700-1800 Wed,Sun (x12110) SAM Radio Sagalee Oromia, Oromo ??? 1730-1800 Mon,Thu,Fri? (x12110) SAM Dejen Radio, Tigrina ??? 1700-1800 Sat 12115 (x12110) SAM 73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Bueschel, Stuttgart, Germany, Aug 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PROPAGATION/PUBLICATIONS I suggest anyone who REALLY wishes to understand how various forms of VHF and UHF propagation function should locate a copy of "Beyond Line of Sight - A History of VHF Propagation from the pages of QST" by Emil Pocock. The ARRL web site should have an ordering system for this one. It traces the world above 50 MHz from the 1930s, touches on and details how everything from tropo scatter to field aligned Es works and includes some interesting references to TV and FM DX as well. This should be in every DXer's library as a reference work (Bob Cooper, NZ, via Mike Bugaj, CT, Aug 9, WTFDA via DXLD) ###