[continued from DXLD 2-185] ** TAIWAN. Radio Taipei International (RTI) Indonesian section announces, effective today, 25 November 2002, they canceled their program 1 in Indonesian on 15580 at 0800-0900 UT. The others (program 2-6) run as usual (Lim Kwet Hian, Jakarta, Indonesia, via Dan Sampson, Prime Time Shortwave, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. CBS RADIO TAIPEI INT'L latest B02 schedule eff Nov 25 as follows: Updated : NOV 25, 2002 NOTICE ONE: CBS IS AUTHORIZED TO SHIFT FREQ WITHIN THE SAME METERBAND TO AVOID CHINA HEAVY JAMMING WITH CNR 1/2 PROGRAMS OR CHINESE TRADITIONAL MUSIC. IT APPLIES TO VARIETY, NEWS, MAINLAND NETWORKS. SEE ALT CH. NOTICE TWO: DUE TO NOT A ITU MEMBER, CBS BROADCASTING SEASONS WILL BE MORE THAN ONE MONTH LATER THAN ALL ITU MEMBER STATIONS. THIS DELAY CAN AVOID CO-CHANNEL OR ADJACENT CHANNEL JAMMING/INTERFERENCE. 1. VARIETY NETWORK ONE (in CH) 2200-0200, 0400-1700 (local Mo-Fr 0600-1000 sign off) 603 0400-1600(0400-1000 Sa Su) C CHN C TWN 927 1000-1500 C CHN S TWN 1098 1300-1700 C CHN S TWN 6085 0800-1500(0800-0900 Sa Su) C&S CHN alt ch 6140 6280 6150 2230-0000 C CHN 7270 2230-2300 N CHN 7415 0900-1700(0900-1000 Sa Su) N CHN alt ch 7365 7425 9680 1400-1700 N CHN 11795 1100-1400 N CHN alt ch 11875 11855 11645 0000-0200 0400-1400(0600-1000 Sa Su) C CHN alt ch 11625 11640 11665 0900-1700(0900-1000 Sa Su) N CHN alt ch 15060 15130 11730 0400-0900(Sa Su) N CHN alt ch 11765 11885 2230-0200 N CHN alt ch 11865 11970 11985 11985 0400-0600 N CHN alt ch 11970 15245 2300-0200 N CHN alt ch 15345 15265 0400-0900 SEAs 15430 0400-0900(0600-0800 Sa Su) C CHN alt ch 15335 Note: 927 kHz is for occasional baseball live broadcast from 0900Z to end. 2. VARIETY NETWORK TWO: (repeat certain programs of VARIETY NETWORK ONE) 0500-0600 15270 CHN 0900-1100 9280 CHN 1300-1500 7445 927 SEAs 3. NEWS NETWORK (in CH) 2200-1700 603 2200-0000 N&C CHN C TWN 747 2300-0000 1000-1200 CHN C TWN 1008 2200-0000 0400-0500 0700-1700 CHN C TWN 1422 2300-0500 0900-1500 S CHN S TWN 1521 1200-1700 N CHN S TWN 1557 0300-0800 C&N CHN 6150 2300-0000 C CHN 7105 0900-1400 C&N CHN alt ch 7310 7385 9635 2300-0000 SoEaAs 9735 0700-1700 S CHN alt ch 9670 9790 11635 2200-0000 SoEaAs 11780 2200-0300 1100-1700 N CHN alt ch 11719 11770 11885 2300-0000 N CHN alt ch 11865 11970 11985 11930 0100-0500 N CHN alt ch 11940 15215 0300-0800 N CHN alt ch 15175 15235 15245 2300-0000 N CHN alt ch 15345 15290 0200-0500 SoEaAs alt ch 15105 15395 0900-1300 N CHN alt ch 15175 15215 5950# 2200-0000 eNAm 15440# 2200-0000 wNAm Note: # via WYFR Florida 1422kHz is for occasional baseball live broadcast from 0900Z to end. 4. Mainland NETWORK ("Date with Taipei" features program) 0600-1000 11795 alt 11775 1400-1800 6145 alt 6060 2300-0300 9660 alt 9680 5. DIALECT NETWORK (in Amoy Hakka Cantonese Mongolian Tibetan) 1) Amoy (mainly spoken in Taiwan, Fujian) 0000-0100a 15440 11875 WeNAM SoEaAs 0100-0200b 11875 SoEaAS 0500-0600b 1008 1422 CHN 0600-0700a 15580 9680 1422 1008 S CHN TWN SEAs NAm 0700-0900cd 1206 1422 TWN S CHN 0700-0800b 15580 SoEaAS 0800-0900a 11715 TWN PHL 0900-1000b 1206 CHN TWN 1000-1100a 1206 11605 15465 AS CHN 1300-1400b 11635 15465 SEAs 2100-2200b 5950 EaNAM 2) Cantonese (spoken in Hong Kong Guangdong) 0100-0200a 5950 15440 NAm 7520 15290 Eu SEAs 0200-0300b 15610 SEAs 0300-0400b 11740 CAM SAm 0500-0600b 5950 9680 NAm 15320 15580 SEAs 1000-1100a 11715 15270 11635 15525 SEAs AUS NZL 1100-1200b 15270 1206 SEAs CHN TWN 1200-1300a 11915 6105 6060 1206 SEAs CHN 1300-1400b 11915 6105 6060 SEAs CHN 3) Hakka (mainly spoken in Taiwan E.Guangdong S.Fujian) 0000-0100a 5950 ENAm 0300-0400b 15610 SEAs 0900-1000b 15465 SEAs 1000-1100b 6105 6060 CHN TWN 1100-1200a 11635 15465 6105 6060 SEAs 1300-1400b 1206 15175 SEAs CHN TWN 1400-1500a 11915 1206 SEAs CHN TWN 1700-1800a 11875 EAf SEAs 4) Mongolian 1000-1100 11985 Mongolia Tibetan 1300-1400 9415 Tibet Nepal Note: a-PROGRAM A b-PROGRAM B 6. INTERNATIONAL NETWORK: [most to Am and some to Eu are WYFR relays] En 0200-0300a 11740 9680 5950 NoAm CeAm 11875 15320 SoEaAS b 15465 NoEaAS 0300-0400b 5950 9680 NAm 15320 SoEaAS 0700-0800a 5950 WeNAm 1100-1200a 11985 N CHN b 7445 SoEaAS 1200-1300a 9610 7130 NoEaAS AUS NZL 1400-1500a 15265 SoEaAS 1600-1700a 11560 INDIA S CHN 1700-1800b 11560 INDIA S CHN 1800-1900? 3955 EUR (prog a/b shown on sked!) 2200-2300a 9355 EUR Fr 0700-0800 9355 EUR 1900-2000 3955 EUR 2000-2100 9955 9355 15130 EUR NAf NAm 2200-2300 7315@ WAf Sp 0200-0300 15215 11825 wSAm 0400-0500 11740 CeAM 0600-0700 5950 wNAm 2000-2100 11665 EUR 2100-2200 9955 EUR 2300-0000 11720 9690 eSAm Jpn 0100-0200a 15310 JPN 0800-0900b 11605 JPN 1100-1200a 7130 11605 JPN 1300-1400b 7130 11605 JPN German 0600-0700 9355 EUR 1800-1900 9955 EUR 1900-2000 6180 EUR 2100-2200 9355 EUR Ru 0900-1000 11985 EaCIS 1300-1400 11745 WeCIS 1700-1800 9955 WeCIS 0400-0500 7355 EaCIS INS 1000-1100a 11550 11520 INS 1100-1200b 11550 11520 INS 1200-1300b 11635 7445 927 SoEaAS 1400-1500a 11875 SoEaAS 1500-1600b 1422 SoTWN 0400-0600ba 927 SoTWN Korean 0300-0400 15465 Korea 1200-1300 9415 Korea 1400-1500 9415 Korea Thai 0600-0700a 15270 THA 1400-1500a 15465 11635 THA 1500-1600b 7445 927 747 THA 2200-2300a 7445 927 THA 2300-2400b 7445 585* THA (585 antenna had been dismantled, maybe QSY 927) Vietn 0900-1000 15270 VNM 1500-1600 11915 VNM 2200-2300 9635 VNM Burmese 1200-1300 15580 MMR 1500-1600 9465 MMR Arabic 1600-1700 11890 NAf ME 1800-1900 11890 NAf ME Ch 0100-0200 11825 SAm 0400-0500 5950# 9680# 15320 15270 SoEaAS Am 0500-0600 15270 11740 SoEaAS CAm 0900-1000 11715 11605 11635 11520 15525 SoEaAS AUS NZL 1200-1300 15465 11605 SoEaAS NoEaAS 1300-1400 15265 SoEaAs 1900-2000 9955 9355 EUR RUS 2200-2300 3965@ WEu Note: a-PROGRAM A b-PROGRAM B c-PROGRAM C d-PROGRAM D @ via France Relay stn via CBS : WYFR (Family Radio): B02 CHINESE 1200-1600 1900-0200 1557 1000-1300 1098 1200-1500 747 2100-0000 1102-1602 6300 9280 CANTONESE 0800-0900 1557 ENGLISH 0200-0300 (23567) 0900-1200 1600-1900 1557 0900-1200 1521 0100-0200 15060 1300-1500 11550 1500-1700 6280 Hindi 0000-0100 15060 1500-1600 11550 Russian 1500-1700 9955 AWR-KSDA: B02 Vietnamese 0100-0200 15445(sa) 1400-1500 15550 R. AUSTRALIA: B02 INDONESIAN 0900-0930 11550 2130-2330 11550 VIETNAMESE 2330-0030 15110 WSHB-KHBI: B02 ENGLISH 1000-1100 11780 RADIO FREE ASIA B02 VIETNAMESE 1400-1500 9930 Clandestine station in Taiwan : VOICE OF CHINA: CHINESE 2230-2330 7270 0800-0900 11940 STAR STAR BROADCASTING STATION: 11430 Star Star Channel 1 15388 Star Star Channel 2 9725 Star Star Channel 3 8300 Star Star Channel 4 13750 Star Star Channel 5 (via Miller Liu, Taiwan, Nov 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TATARSTAN. There is an ongoing dispute between Kazan and Moscow about introduction of this [?] alphabet; you can read more at site: http://www.intertat.ru/index.php?cat=et&bigoffset=0µoffset=0&id=12562 (in English). (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, BC-DX Nov 25 via DXLD) ** TIBET. CHINA 5240, China Tibet PBC, 1103-1119 Nov 22. Holy Tibet program in progress. 9490 is covered at this time by Radio Sweden. Audio was distorted on 5240. Also heard in parallel on 4905 and 4920 khz. Chinese talk at 1119. SINPO 24332 (George Maroti, Chamberlain, Maine DXpedition, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** TIBET [non]. UZBEKISTAN: Frequency change for Voice of Tibet in Tibetan/Chinese via TAC 200 kW / 131 deg: 1430-1515 NF 11550 (54444) plus Chinese jammer, ex 11975 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Nov 25 via DXLD) ** TOGO. 5047.0, Radiodiffusion Togolaise, 0515-0610 Nov 24. After hearing a carrier yesterday around 0500 (and on other mornings), Lome seems to be active now with man and woman in French, choir music and 'Onward, Christian soldiers'. No formal ID heard, but several times Togo was mentioned. Transmission break at 0548, again back at 0552. News at 0600 with a 'live' report and at same time fading away. Signal too weak to read (Piet Pijpers, The Netherlands, hard-core-dx via DXLD) 5047, R. Togo (presumed), Nov 23, 2141 S6 carrier, but no audio or modulation (George Maroti, Chamberlain, Maine DXpedition, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U K. CLASSIC FM `TO OPEN TV VIDEO STATION' By Anthony Barnes, Showbusiness Editor, PA News TV viewers will soon have Bach around the clock as the world's first classical music video station bids to capture an audience of younger fans, it was announced today. Bosses at Britain's biggest commercial station Classic FM are are adding another string to their bow with the launch of their 24-hour television channel. They will concentrate on contemporary stars of the classical world and music from hit films. Managing director of Classic FM Roger Lewis said: "This is a unique format for music television. Classic FM TV will be the first 24/7 classical music video channel anywhere in the world. He said the launch of the TV station underlined the company's commitment to building new audiences for classical music." In 10 years Classic FM has built up a radio audience of nearly seven million. It recently wooed former Radio 1 DJ Mark Goodier to become the voice of its weekly chart countdown, and has a presenter list which includes newsreader Katie Derham, Aled Jones and Stephen Fry. Classic FM TV will be available to digital satellite viewers and will go in to 6.3 million homes, although a launch date has not yet been announced. It will feature artists such as Kyung-Wha Chung, Angela Gheorghiu, Nigel Kennedy, The Opera Babes, Yo-Yo Ma and music from film soundtracks such as The Piano and Star Wars. Some of the videos which will be shown have been tailor made for the channel. The extension of Classic into TV follows successes with its magazine and record label (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) World`s first?? Well, Classic ARTS in the US has been doing this for years, but not 100 percent classical music (gh, DXLD) ** U K. INSIDE TRACK: THE BBC'S AUSTERITY PROGRAMME By Tim Burt, Financial Times; Nov 25, 2002 Around the world, the British Broadcasting Corporation is synonymous with first-class television and radio - whether drama, current affairs, children's shows or nature programmes. It is less well known for its astute financial management. The BBC's finances have long been a matter of controversy, rather than acclaim. In recent months, leading international media executives - including Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation - have openly criticised the BBC as an unfair competitor, bloated by generous government funding. Domestic rivals have also attacked its financing arrangements and urged stronger regulation of the corporation. Amid the clamour, a quiet financial restructuring has been launched to cut costs and overhaul the BBC's balance sheet. The process - culminating in a budget review over the next three months - is expected to create a new blueprint for managing one of the world's largest public service broadcasters. John Smith, the BBC's finance director, argues that criticism of its funding arrangements is founded on a simple misconception: the 80- year-old corporation is not a corporate money-spinner, it is a spending organisation. The BBC's main role, as it has been since its inception, is to pour state funding into top-quality programming. "The macroeconomics of the BBC are simple: it is about maximising licence-fee revenue and spending it in the best way," says Mr Smith. That view has enraged commercial competitors, not least British Sky Broadcasting, the satellite broadcaster 36.6 per cent owned by News Corp, along with cable channels such as MTV of the US and Channel 5, the terrestrial broadcaster controlled by RTL, the Luxembourg-based TV group. They claim the BBC is moving into their territory, stealing market share with new services funded by the state. Mr Smith is unfazed. He is less interested in the argument over how the BBC gets its money than in how it spends it. That income - a bone of contention with all rivals - is derived almost exclusively from the licence fee levied on all TV-owning UK households. Under a generous settlement negotiated with the government two years ago, the BBC receives licence fee income currently worth £2.5bn every year rising at 1.5 percentage points above the retail price index every year. Over the seven years of the BBC's charter - which enshrines the financing deal - the index-linked element alone is worth an additional £1bn between 2000-2006. In return for that above-inflation settlement, the BBC has committed itself to achieving £1.1bn of savings or positive cash flow from ancillary businesses. That commitment, says Mr Smith, underpins the financial restructuring now under way. As part of that strategy, he is taking a knife to the corporation's overheads. Only two years ago, the BBC was spending almost a quarter of its income on administration, rather than programme-making. This year it has reduced that total to 15 per cent and Mr Smith says: "It's got to come down even further; that is why the current budget round is significant." Among the cutbacks, the headcount in the BBC's finance department has been halved. The number of different accounting systems has been cut from a mind-boggling 39 to just one, outsourced to SAP, Europe's largest technology company. The number of stationery suppliers - more than 140 at the last count - are being slashed. On the accounting front alone, Mr Smith says the BBC has secured savings of £55m from using SAP. The next phase of the financial restructuring is being divided into three areas: cracking down on licence fee evasion, increasing contributions from commercial subsidiaries and further cost-cutting. Mr Smith predicts the largest savings will come from clamping down on evasion of fees. The corporation this summer outsourced the collection system from the Post Office - which had administered the fees for 75 years - to Capita, the professional services group. The 10-year contract, worth £500m, aims to reduce the evasion rate from 7.5 per cent of licence fee income to 4 per cent by 2006. The potential benefits are significant, he says, as every 1 percentage point reduction in evasion is worth £25m in additional revenue. Some commercial rivals have condemned the entire basis for the licence fee, arguing it should be regarded as a poll tax or disguised subscription fee. Mr Smith rejects both charges. He maintains that it is not a tax, given that the money is neither collected nor distributed by the government. If the BBC relied on subscriptions, he claims, the corporation would no longer have to meet public service obligations. "If it was a subscription service we would probably not do Radio 3 or arts programmes, because that is not what commercial subscribers want," he adds. "And an advertising model would not be fairer, because the BBC would simply seek £2.5bn in advertising revenue from the existing market, so every commercial broadcaster would end up with less." The second strand of the restructuring - contributions from commercial activities - has caused a similar furore to the row over licence fees. BBC critics claim it should not be setting up businesses charged with making profits, given its public service remit. The businesses in question - BBC Worldwide and BBC Ventures - aim to sell programmes overseas, while also generating a commercial income from services such as studio production and technology. Again, Mr Smith says, the critics fail to understand the strategy. Funds raised by both Worldwide or Ventures, he maintains, will help offset overheads in the corporation and allow more spending on programme making. Worldwide contributed £106m of cash last year on sales of £660m. The BBC has also won government approval for the two commercial operations to raise borrowings of up to £350m to fund their further expansion. The finance director hopes to augment contributions from those businesses with further cost-savings in the main corporation. That drive is expected to involve headcount reductions in some departments when the current budget review is completed next spring. That effort also coincides with an innovative shake-up of the BBC's £500m property portfolio, which could see many assets removed from its balance sheet. In doing so, Mr Smith says, the BBC can confound its critics by sharply increasing programme spending - due to rise £450m over two years - while also becoming leaner. That means investing more heavily in new channels, inter-active services and new distribution systems such as digital terrestrial television. "The situation is no different from a manufacturer," he says. "We have to improve our content, packaging - in this case our channels - distribution and marketing. And the simple aim is to make costs and revenue equal each other over the cycle." (via Larry Nebron, DXLD) ** U K. BBC SET FOR WIDE-RANGING SHAKE-UP OF FLAGSHIP SITES By Tim Burt, Media Editor, Financial Times; Nov 25, 2002 The BBC is considering a radical shake-up of its £500m property portfolio that could transfer ownership of several flagship sites, including its famous Broadcasting House headquarters, to new property joint ventures. The project would transform Broadcasting House into Europe's largest broadcasting centre with 140 studios. Following completion in 2007, more than 6,000 staff including the BBC's entire television and radio news operations would be relocated to the complex, along with five radio networks and the World Service. The corporation, which owns more than 400 buildings boasting 7.5m square feet of office-space, is in advanced talks with Land Securities, the UK's largest property company, over the scheme. Senior BBC managers will next month seek board approval to place Broadcasting House in one of the first joint ventures, handing 50 per cent of the valuable central London freehold to the developers. In return, Land Securities will assume the capital risk for a £300m- £400m redevelopment of the pre-war landmark. John Smith, BBC finance director, said: "My broad plan is that with each re-development we would put our buildings in similar vehicles." The BBC regards the scheme as a blueprint for other public finance initiatives. "It differs from normal PFI projects because we will retain 50 per cent of the [property] vehicle," he said. As part of the Broadcasting House deal, Land Securities would have the right to buy the BBC's remaining freehold stake after 30 years, during which time it will provide services and maintenance for the complex. The BBC could, alternatively, renew the joint venture or buy back the entire freehold. The property scheme coincides with complaints, levelled mainly by rival broadcasters, that the BBC has lost sight of its public service remit in the search for commercial gains. Mr Smith rejected such allegations. In an interview, he said the property partnerships were part of a financial overhaul aimed at reducing overheads and freeing more investment for programme-making. "There is £500m of property on our balance sheet and it's a bit unloved and underinvested, which we need to upgrade," he said. "As we redevelop the sites, we could put them in joint ventures in return for lower service charges and removing the capital risk from our balance sheets." Such moves are being modelled closely on a £250m project at the BBC's White City complex in west London, where Land Securities is overseeing construction of a 17-acre office development. The corporation has already awarded Land Securities a contract to provide maintenance services at properties around the country, including Broadcasting House. As part of the 900,000 sq ft redevelopment, the BBC will move out of several leasehold properties in central London, including the Bush House headquarters of the World Service (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. BBC7 (launching Dec. 15) preview and schedule: http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/docs/bbc7.pdf which was found at the informative http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/radio/index.shtml (Kevin A. Kelly, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA, Nov 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. STRAW TO SEEK MUSLIM SUPPORT OVER IRAQ Linus Gregoriadis and Michael White Wednesday November 27, 2002 The Guardian http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,848698,00.html Jack Straw, the foreign secretary, last night announced government plans to broadcast direct appeals to Muslims in Britain - and the Middle East - to explain the cabinet's determination to remove Saddam Hussein's arsenal of lethal weaponry. A day after warning MPs that some Islamic fundamentalists regard moderate Muslims as worse enemies than Christians and Jews, Mr Straw told the annual awards ceremony of the Foreign Press Association that ministers will continue to resist voices which portray the government's stance as "anti-Muslim". Whitehall sources later confirmed plans for the foreign secretary to record a broadcast for Muslim radio stations in Britain during the holy month of Ramadan, which ends next month. Mr Straw also told his audience of British foreign correspondents last night that radio stations broadcasting from outside Iraq, such as the BBC World Service, would be used to address the Iraqi people directly in Arabic. He said: "Our quarrel is not with them but with the regime which has made their lives a misery and has turned a potentially prosperous and successful country into an international pariah. "Although Iraq has no free press, some Iraqis do have satellite dishes with access to international television and many listen regularly to radio stations broadcast outside Iraq." Mr Straw's speech last night came 13 months after Tony Blair used an interview with al-Jazeera television to make a direct appeal to Muslims to shun Osama bin Laden, an appeal which ministers know met with limited success. Mr Straw surprised some MPs on Monday night when he set out terms that would constitute a breach of the UN's terms for Iraqi compliance with the new weapons inspection regime which sounded softer than those invoked by the prime minister or President George Bush. It did not prevent 32 Labour MPs joining forces with the Liberal Democrats to vote against any military action against Iraq unless it is specifically sanctioned by a fresh UN mandate. Ministers are determined to avoid being pinned down on that detail as preparations continue for a possible attack in the new year. Mr Straw added last night: "We want to deal with Iraq by the force of law, not the force of arms. But we know that the Iraqi regime will not comply without the credible threat of force, and therefore while we do not seek confrontation, we will not shirk it." (Guardian Nov 27 via Kim Elliott, DXLD) Seems to be a foregone assumption that BBCWS will gladly broadcast government messages. BBC have bristled in the past as such co-option by H.M. Government, e.g. in the Falklands War, when government had to set up its own service to Argentina, R. Atlántico del Sur (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Dear Mr. Glenn Hauser, Today I have heard on RFE/RL Radio that its Persian (Farsi) service which is known as RADIO AZADI http://www.radioazadi.org will end its broadcast to Iran effective 12- 02-2002 and will start a new format which called "RADIO FARDA " (Tomorrow Radio) sometime middle of December, 2002 and will target Iranian youth and younger generations in 24 hours format. Today I called RFR/RL Persian service director and he told me the present shortwave frequencies remains the same, but more frequencies will be added. He told me in near future when you go to Radioazadi site will direct you to the Radio Farda site. Sincerely (P. Mohazzabi, Nov 26, WORLD OF RADIO 1158, DX LISTENING DIGEST) NEW US BROADCASTING INITIATIVE TO IRAN The President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Tom Dine, has given details to RFE/RL staff of the latest US international broadcasting initiative. Based on the concept of Radio Sawa, an Arabic language service aimed at young people established earlier this year, Radio Farda ('Tomorrow' in Farsi) will sign on in mid-December with programming aimed at the 70% of Iranians under the age of 30. RFE/RL's existing service to Iran, Radio Azadi, will close around 1 December. The service was established at the request of Congress in 1998. Radio Farda is a joint venture between RFE/RL and the Voice of America, under the auspices of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Existing staff from both stations will be involved in the new 24 hour service, which will have a format of Persian and Western popular music, news, features and information. The amount of time devoted to news and current affairs will be more than 5 hours a day, and can be increased if necessary. Although RFE/RL's Persian Service which has been broadcast only on shortwave, Radio Farda will use powerful medium wave transmitters in nearby countries to increase the potential audience. Shortwave will continue to be used (© Radio Netherlands Media Network Nov 26 via WORLD OF RADIO 1158, DXLD) Sent: Monday, November 18, 2002 4:47 PM Subject: Radio Farda Tom Dine sent the following message out to the RFE/RL staff today (Nov 18 2002)... RFE/RL Colleagues: I am delighted to inform you about an exciting and important new broadcasting initiative at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Radio Farda ' 'Tomorrow' in Farsi -- will go on the air in mid- December. It will be an around-the-clock radio station for Iran, targeted primarily at Iranians under the age of 30, which is about 70 percent of the country's population. Radio Farda is a joint venture between RFE/RL and the Voice of America, under the auspices of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Each day Radio Farda will provide more than five hours of original news, features and other information. In the event of breaking news or other important events, more news time will be added. The remainder of the program will be music, a combination of popular Persian and Western songs aimed at attracting young Iranians to Farda's news products. Radio Farda's news and information offerings will project the same seriousness of purpose and adherence to RFE/RL's surrogate mission of promoting democracy, covering local and relevant international news, and living up to our Professional Code, embodying the highest journalistic standards of accuracy and objectivity, as have the programs of our Persian Service. In preparation for the launch of this new service, RFE/RL's Persian Service -- Radio 'Azadi" -- will go off the air about December 1. This service was established in 1998 at the request of Congress. Under the outstanding leadership of Steve Fairbanks, this service has fulfilled its mission with distinction. It has attracted a significant audience in Iran, particularly among influential figures in politics and among its opposition. Its success has been acknowledged even by Iran's hard- line leaders, who regularly denounce its programs -- a sure sign that they are listening and concerned with our impact, and the fact that the regime also jams our programs. Radio Farda will aim to build on this success by attracting new and larger audiences. The hard-working broadcasters of the Persian Service will join Radio Farda's news team. They will work under the direction of Mardo Soghom. Ideally suited for this task, Mardo is a native of Iran and fluent in Farsi. He has led our successful Armenian Service, one of his achievements being the introduction of lively, youth oriented programming. At my request, he spearheaded the start-up of Radio Free Iraq in 1998. Steve Fairbanks will take on new duties at RFE/RL, drawing on his analytical and writing skills as one of America's foremost experts on Iranian developments. Mardo and our Persian Service broadcasters will be joined by 10 broadcasters from the Voice of America. They will work in RFE/RL's Washington offices under the direction of Ali Farhoodi, a VOA veteran whose most recent assignment has been as deputy chief of the West Asia Branch. We are very pleased to welcome Ali and his colleagues and look forward to working together on the Farda team. Mardo and Ali have already forged a close, working partnership of the highest order. I also welcome Sara Valinejad to RFE/RL. She will work from Washington as the music director of Radio Farda, assembling a blend of Western and Persian music that will help attract young listeners to Radio Farda's news and information programs. For your information, Sara is a professional performer of Persian music in the Greater Washington area. I am pleased that, unlike RFE/RL's Persian Service which was broadcast to Iran only on shortwave, Radio Farda will be beamed into Iran from powerful medium wave transmitters. MW will greatly increase prospects of building a large audience ' and quickly. At the same time, we will continue with SW. Michele DuBach and I will keep you informed of further developments relating to Radio Farda in coming weeks. Please join me in wishing Mardo, our Persian Service broadcasters, and their VOA broadcasting partners success in this important new venture of U.S. international broadcasting. I thank Steve Fairbanks for his groundbreaking role, for his dedication, hard work, and knowledge of Iran in creating and leading RFE/RL's Persian Service. RFE/RL's participation in this new 24/7 Iran radio puts us on the cutting edge of new ways to communicate and achieve our target goals. Tom (from http://www.publicdiplomacy.org/news/RadioFarda20021118.html via Michiel Schaay, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A. NEW PERSIAN-LANGUAGE RADIO SERVICE PLANNED BY BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS (BBG) Washington, D.C., November 22, 2002— Radio Farda – a new Persian-language radio station aimed at the broad mass of people under 30 in Iran – will begin broadcasting in December 2002, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) has announced. ``We need to reach out to the young people of Iran, large numbers of whom share the American ideals of freedom and democracy,`` said Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, the BBG`s chairman. ``We want to bring them accurate news and information about the United States and the world.`` Radio Farda, which means ``Radio Tomorrow`` in Persian, will be a joint effort of two BBG entities: The Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). Operated from Washington and Prague, Czech Republic, Radio Farda will broadcast news, features and other information 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, it will broadcast a combination of popular Persian and Western music designed to appeal to a young audience. Norman J. Pattiz, chairman of the BBG`s Middle East Committee, which oversees the project, said Radio Farda ``will target an audience that has not been targeted before by U.S. international broadcasting.`` He noted that about 70 percent of Iran`s population is under 30 years old. Pattiz, who also oversaw creation of the BBG`s highly successful Radio Sawa http://www.radiosawa.com an Arabic-language station that reaches the Middle East, said, ``Because of Radio Sawa`s overwhelming success in attracting audiences and new listeners, the BBG believes a similarly formatted service in Persian directed at Iran is a high priority.`` Radio Farda will complement the VOA`s existing Farsi service on shortwave, which has a strong following in Iran. VOA also broadcasts two popular television shows to Iran: ``Next Chapter,`` a weekly, hour-long, youth-oriented show, and ``Roundtable with You,`` a news and public affairs show. Radio Farda will be broadcast on medium wave (AM) as well as on shortwave, digital audio satellite and by the Internet. The total budget is expected to be about $8 million, all of it from internal reallocations by the BBG. No new funding is required. The Broadcasting Board of Governors is a nine-member, presidentially appointed body, which supervises all U.S. government-supported non- military international broadcasting, including VOA, RFE/RL, Radio Free Asia, Radio and TV Marti, and WORLDNET Television. Current governors include Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, Edward E. Kaufman, Norman J. Pattiz, Robert M. Ledbetter, Jr., Joaquin Blaya, Blanquita W. Cullum, D. Jeffrey Hirschberg, Steven Simmons and Secretary of State Colin Powell, who serves a an ex officio member. For more information, contact: Joan Mower (202.260.0167 or 202.401.3736), jmower@ibb.gov, or go to http://www.bbg.gov. (BBG press release via Kim Elliott, DXLD) FOUR NEW GOVERNORS APPOINTED TO THE BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS (BBG) http://www.bbg.gov/_bbg_news.cfm?articleID=46&mode=general (BBG press release Nov 19 via DXLD) BQ Cullum got all the attention, but three other new BBG members were also appointed. This tells a bit of their background, and accompanying releases give more detail about each one http://www.bbg.gov/_bbg_news.cfm?mode=general (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. STEVE ANDERSON ARRESTED BY FEDS Steven Howard Anderson, a.k.a. Steve Anderson, formerly the operator of the KSMR, the longest running clandestine station in history with both a target area and a transmitter within the United States (in Pulaski County, Kentucky), was arrested Friday, November 22 in Cherokee County, North Carolina by officers of the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. According to the Louisville Courier Journal, Anderson was initially held in Bumcombe County Jail in Asheville, North Carolina, pending a planned transfer to a Kentucky detention center on or about November 25, where he was scheduled to face various charges. All this took place about five miles from Brasstown, North Carolina, the longtime home of Grove Enterprises and Monitoring Times magazine. Brasstown is actually in Clay County, North Carolina, but it is only five miles from Murphy, the county seat of Cherokee County, North Carolina. Brasstown`s web site has a monthly contest with a prize of a canned opossum. If you don`t believe me, check out http://www.clayscorner.com/contest.shtml on your internet dial. So, Anderson was not discovered in anything like what we would call an urban area. The jail in Asheville, a newly constructed facility that was ordered to be built by a court after the old jail was found to be illegally deteriorated, has a web site that outlines procedures for visiting inmates, if you`d like to take a trip to this historic site. The URL of http://www.buncombesheriff.org/detentioncenter_g.html is the place to go for additional information. We thank a variety of people for sending information to us about this story that was breaking right at deadline time for The ACE. These people include the original poster on rec.radio.shortwave about this story, a DXer named William Smith. Chris Lobdell, Bob Montgomery, and Artie Bigley quickly noticed that the Courier Journal was running daily coverage of the events (George Zeller, Clandestine Profile, Dec the A*C*E via DXLD) ** U S A. WMLK: Gary McAvin took the time to explain to me what the status of their 250 kW unit is. We got this 10 ton unit and had to first reassemble it. You have to understand that a lot of the peripherals did not come with the set. Parts have to be ordered and things have to be made and this takes time. While we hoped to have it on by now, we have had to back order some parts, so this has delayed us a bit. For the moment, we are on 9465 from 1600-2100 Sun-Fri with 50 kW (via Hans Johnson, Rio Hondo TX, Nov 25, Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1158, DXLD) ** U S A. WBOC, 5920, tells Cumbre DX that they are having a bit of a problem with the transmitter. Once they have it worked out, they plan to put this unit on the air (via Hans Johnson, TX, Nov 25, Cumbre DX via DXLD) I frequently go by this frequency when checking YB-400 memory bank, and nothing heard for weeks since initial lowpower tests (gh, OK, DXLD) ** U S A. Hi Glenn, noticed that WWRB Tennessee, 12172 KHz is pushing a much better signal to my QTH (Gold Coast Q AUS) noted at 1400 talking about vegetables and vegetable growers (fascinating; heard mention of WBCF?) and was still there at 2100 but starting to fade by that time. Also, I wish WJIE would drop down 5 kc (7485 KHz) to avoid East Asia Russia on USB; would probably be a much better solution to the problem. Both clash badly here. Thanks Glenn (Tim Gaynor, Oxenford Q AUS, Nov 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9955, WRMI: I have tried for these guys all over the country and I finally seemed to have found a spot where they overcome the jamming in the morning time frame. Usually pretty readable by 1040 and even better after 1100 depending on how many jammers the Cubans are running (Hans Johnson, Rio Hondo TX, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A. THANKSGIVING/CHANUKAH PROGRAMS ON NYC RADIO With American Thanksgiving on Thursday, and Chanukah beginning Friday night, here is a link to some holiday programming on NYC radio stations. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/38485p-36312c.html Some programs that stand out, at least to me, are: The making of John Coltraine`s "A Love Supreme", WBGO 4-6 PM (GMT-5) Thursday, and on WBGO and WNYC-FM Friday, 9-11 PM. It is not unlikely that this is on other U.S. public radio stations. A Klezmer Nutcracker, WNYC-FM, Friday 7-8 PM The 35th Anniversary of the band Chicago, WBZO 5 P.M., Friday, top 5 songs from various years at the top of each hour Thursday. Finding and posting further holiday programming on shortwave and on local stations, preferably those which still have webcasts, is left as an exercise to the reader (Joel Rubin, Queens, Nov 26, swprograms via DXLD) See http://www.worldofradio.com/calendar.html ** U S A. WDIV PLANS A HIGH-TECH FIRST FOR PARADE COVERAGE November 25, 2002 BY MIKE WENDLAND, FREE PRESS COLUMNIST When WDIV-TV (Channel 4) shows America's Thanksgiving Parade on Thursday, it'll be a moment for Detroit history books: the city's first locally produced broadcast in high-definition television. That gives the Detroit NBC affiliate bragging rights that only a handful of other stations around the country can claim. "By 2006, every station is going to have to be able to do hi-def," says WDIV General Manager Joe Berwanger. "So I figured we might as well start getting experience right now by determining just what is involved." One thing Berwanger found out right away is that doing hi- def is expensive, about 30 percent more than the station's traditional costs in providing live coverage of the annual event. That's because traditional broadcasting gear isn't compatible with high definition. WDIV Chief Engineer Marcus Williams scoured the country to find a live remote truck and the specialized cameras needed to cover the event. Only about five production companies can provide live coverage, and they are hard to get. The rented hi-def remote truck expected to arrive in Detroit sometime today was last used to cover the MTV Music Awards show in New York. It also was in service at the Winter Olympics, the World Series and the U.S. Open tennis tournament. All 10 cameras that Williams' crew will use have to be hi-def units. That includes the two that are mounted on cranes and the three portable units that WDIV photographers will carry on their shoulders as they walk along Woodward for street-level close-ups. The cameras, which capture images in a widescreen format, take some getting used to. "Instead of having to stand far back to get a wide shot of a band, these cameras have a greater width of view," Williams says. "That brings everything much clearer and closer." Williams says the sheer quality of hi-def format will also present some unusual challenges. Hi-def provides 1,080 lines of resolution, compared with the standard 525 lines seen on analog home television sets. That means much more vivid colors and a sharpness in picture quality that will keep technicians and on-air talent on their toes. If anchors Carmen Harlan and Devin Scillian have any lint on their clothes, or the set they'll use has any dents or dings, the hi-def picture will reveal it. There are other technical challenges. Usually, a simple microwave radio transmitter would be used to send the remote signal back to the downtown Detroit studios. But with HDTV, SBC Ameritech's Broadcast Services Division had to be brought in to install high-speed fiber optic lines directly to the studio master control. Then there's the sound. More than 35 microphones will be strung out along the parade route, 24 of them wireless and in stereo. "The improvement in the sound we get from the bands and the things that happen as the parade passes by will be very noticeable," Williams says. "It will really maximize the hi-def experience." Even traditional analog sets without digital receivers should notice a better picture, Williams says. "That's because we're starting with a better quality image," he says. Berwanger says he has no idea how many people in the Detroit area currently have hi-def sets, which start at around $1,500 and go up to $8,000. "It's not a big audience," he concedes. "But that's not why we're doing it. Forever on from this time, we'll be able to say we were the first local station to do a live event in HDTV. So we're thrilled." Channel 4's parade coverage begins Thursday at 8 a.m. with a "Dateline Detroit" preview, followed by three hours of the big march down Woodward starting at 9 (via Fred Vobbe, NRC FMTV via DXLD) ** U S A. PROPOSAL: SATELLITE-FED TRANSLATORS IN THE COMMERCIAL FM BAND The FCC has assigned RM-10609 to a proposal by Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls and two smaller broadcasters for authority to allow satellite- fed translators in the "non-reserved" FM band (92-108 MHz). This is the band that is currently used by [commercial] broadcasters, over- the-air-fed translators and most LPFM stations. Currently, "Satellators" are restricted to the 88-92 MHz band and the translator must be owned by the primary station. The petitioners claim this proposal will have little impact on existing stations in the 92-108 band since there is currently a freeze on new NCE translators in that band, yet the petitioners did leave the door open for "displacement" applications for stations moving from the reserved band (88-92) to the higher band.... It does not appear that a Public Notice has been issued (Fred Vobbe, Nov 27, NRC FMTV via DXLD) ** U S A. Sharp-eyed Matt Edwards, previous M-Street Journal owner, e- mailed about an item in the Sept. 24 FCC Daily Digest. FreePage in New York City would be able to experimentally add what it offers on former paging channels. The FCC also plans to abandon analog cellular in five years. ``They really want everything to be digital, don`t they? Somewhere around Paragraph 66 they discuss the Free-Page proposal to provide SCA-like services on Part 22 channels.`` Seven frequencies near 158 MHz would be utilized, with power even greater than the Weather Service uses at 162.55, etc., ``so coverage will be better, too. Each channel is 30 kHz wide and licensed on an exclusive basis with the rules being similar to FM --- interference contours, reliable service, etc. Are these the beginnings of a new `narrowcast` band? The FCC would permit paging companies to use their channels for programming of interest to a narrow or specialized audience, which might include children`s and foreign language programming, plus reading to the blind. The Commission feels that any rate regulation of the new service will be unnecessary, and that existing mobile communications services would not be unduly harmed by such new uses for the frequencies. Like SCS, the Commission would consider any services envisioned by FreePage to not be ``broadcasting.`` ``We believe that a developmental license will afford FreePage the opportunity to assess consumer demand for its LPDS service offering,`` said the Commission (Nov FMedia via DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn, To answer your question and prove I read DXLD thoroughly, I work for WSCL/WSDL. I am a volunteer announcer with a classical music program on Sunday afternoon from 1 until 5 PM. I have also filled in for the news person for a few days doing Morning Edition last Spring. The station is owned by the Salisbury University Foundation with studios on the campus of Salisbury University in Salisbury, MD. We have two transmitters, WSCL in Seaford, DE at 30 kW ERP at 600 feet and WSDL at about 18 kW at 300 feet in Roxana, DE. We cover most of Delaware and the Eastern Shore of MD with these two transmitters. WSCL is 15+ years old. Thanks for your long-time contribution to the radio hobby. 73, ~*-.,_,.-*~`^`~*-.,_,.-*~`^`~*-., (Joe Buch, DE, Nov 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) -*~`^`~*-.,_,.-*~`^`~*-.,_,.-*~`^ ** U S A. KOPN, *89.5, Columbia MO, celebrates 30 years on the air. Its heritage emanates from Lew Hill`s pioneering efforts in starting KPFA *94.1 Berkeley CA, and extends to Jeremy Landsman`s coming over to help after he sold KDNA 102.5 St. Louis. KOPN has two fulltime staff, two parttimers and a volunteer presence of nearly 120. The station runs the gamut of programming from Jewish to news of technology, ``all different kinds of music, just about everything we can think of,`` said Robert Holloway, operations coördinator, in the NFCB`s Community Radio News. The station is advertising for a station manager, B.A. or B.S. degree, 3-5 years of supervisory experience in radio or related field, fulltime with benefits, resumé and letter of intent, salary requirements and three references to: Carl Wingo, Board of Directors, KOPN, 915 E. Broadway, Columbia MO 65201-4857, or to cwingo@coin.org (Nov FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. FCC APPROVES LICENSE FOR U OF O RADIO STATION University of the Ozarks officials recently learned that the Federal Communications Commission has approved the university`s application for a low-power FM radio station. While Ozarks has had a student-operated closed-circuit access radio stations on campus in the 190`s and early 1990`s, this will be the university`s first broadcast station. The 100-watt station will operate out of a new studio on the first floor of Walker Hall and will have a radius of about five miles. The FCC has appointed the U of O station the FM frequency of 100.5, but the university is awaiting word on whether or not the FCC will approve the request for the call letter KUOZ. The radio station will be a community format station, meaning members of the student body, staff, faculty and Clarksville community will have an opportunity to have a voice in its format. According to U of O`s Director of Media Services Susan Dorney, who will serve as station manager, the station will play a variety of music, including classical, jazz, blues, college alternative and Big Band era. “We want to provide an education alternative to mainstream music heard on commercial radio,” Dorney said. The station hopes to go on the air sometime in the late spring, according to Dorney. Copyright © 2002, Russellville [ARKANSAS] Newspapers, Inc. Nov 26, via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. Several more stories about saving the Pacifica tape archives: http://www.pacifica.org/news/021121_PRAinthenews.html#SFGate (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. Tom Jones, president and founder of KNXR 97.5 Rochester MN, writes me: ``I was at the Audio Engineering Society (AES) convention in Los Angeles (in early October). iBiquity had a lone booth on the show floor with few visitors. I approached the man in the booth and asked him if he could explain why I (as a long-time broadcaster) was having such a difficult time getting excited about IBOC digital radio. He said he would have one of his colleagues call me! ``On October 1, Motorola announced Symphony digital radio, and I spent a good deal of time with them in their showroom at the AES. It looks promising and as a broadcaster I am excited... I was told that by December they would have radios available for us radio owners/managers to install in our cars and hear the Symphony radio system in action. ``With the demos of IBOC that I heard at the past NAB show, we would have no problem competing with IBOC digital radio with our present analog signal. We have infinite resolution and we don`t throw any bits away! Interestingly, the focus at AES was 96 kHz sampling with 24 bit words for better master recording. Super Audio CDs were also very present. At the same time, iBiquity is attempting to force just the opposite down our throats! To me, the Motorola option simply makes more sense.`` The Motorola system was reviewed in Radio World newspaper under the heading, ``Motorola Asks: Why IBOC? Just Make the Radio Sound Better.`` The RW article points out that the Motorola system can adjust automatically to both 100 and 200 kHz FM station bandwidths, with costs expected to add $5 to $10 to the price of an existing radio, once mass production is underway. iBiquity was quoted as not seeing Symphony as a competitor to its IBOC (``HD``) Radio (Nov FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO STATION`S SALE HELD UP - FANS` PETITION SLOWS PURCHASE OF WGLB --- By DAN BENSON Last Updated: Nov. 22, 2002 Saukville [WI] - The sale of an idiosyncratic "retro radio" station and its expected changeover to a Roman Catholic format [EWTN] will be delayed at least until mid-January thanks to a petition signed by hundreds of area residents opposing the sale. The petition was signed by about 500 fans of WGLB-FM (100.1), the station being sold.... http://www.jsonline.com/news/ozwash/nov02/98076.asp (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. RIVALS DISPUTING CLEAR CHANNEL STATION PROPOSAL Kathy Showalter, Business First Clear Channel Communications Inc. wants to move a Marion radio station to Dublin, but rival executives think the request is more about profit than good service to the affluent suburb. Clear Channel wants to provide Dublin with its first hometown radio signal, according to documents filed with Federal Communications Commission. Clear Channel proposes to move Marion country station WMRN-FM to Dublin and concurrently shift Hillsboro`s WSRW-FM, also a country station, to Chillicothe. To ensure the signals from the relocated stations won`t interfere with signals from other stations, Clear Channel also proposes to downgrade the channels of WMRN and WSRW. The moves would leave Marion and Hillsboro with one radio station apiece, but it would raise Clear Channel`s stake in metro Columbus to six stations. "It`s bull----," Alan Goodman, president of Franklin Communications Inc., said of Clear Channel`s request.... http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2002/11/18/story5.html (Business First, Columbus OH, Nov 15 via Artie Bigley, OH, DXLD) ** U S A. FANS MISS LONGTIME MACON RADIO PERSONALITY By Don Schanche Jr., [Macon] Telegraph Staff Writer Posted on Mon, Nov. 25, 2002 For the past three weeks, something has been missing from the air in Middle Georgia. A voice, to be specific: the voice of a brash, funny and sometimes depressed 42-year-old Alabama native and self-described "redneck hick." His absence has prompted phone calls to a former county commissioner, conversation over coffee at Jeneane`s Cafe and even letters to the editor of The Macon Telegraph. Rick Knight has left the building. The afternoon DJ who had entertained and sometimes irritated WDEN listeners since 1987 with his offbeat blend of comedy, confession and country music was terminated Nov. 4. "They fired me, canned me, gave me the pink slip, showed me the door, run me off," Knight said ruefully during an interview at his downtown Macon apartment. (Note to dedicated listeners: No, Rick Knight doesn`t really live in his pickup truck.) Knight`s 15 years at the city`s leading country station came to a close not long after U.S. Broadcasting agreed to sell WDEN, 99 on the FM dial, and seven other Macon-area stations to Atlanta-based Cumulus, the nation`s second-largest radio chain. The official reason for Knight`s termination: "On-air style does not fit company`s programming strategies." ... http://www.macon.com/mld/telegraph/news/local/4598170.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Broadcasters and the US Fish & Wildlife Service are getting together in order to try to decide finally whether or not towers kill birds, and if so what can be done about the problem. The data could determine where radio stations locate their towers and how they light them, according to Randy J. Stine, writing in Radio World. The F&WS has come up with some voluntary guidelines, which broadcasters fear might be used by some groups to make it even more difficult to locate towers. Migrating songbirds are especially vulnerable to collisions with all the new communications towers coming into being. On days with low cloud ceilings, birds crash into towers, guywires or the ground and are killed. Some 10,000 Lapland Longspurs were killed in 1998 at a 128 m TV tower in Kansas during a snowstorm, and 30,000 birds died in a single night in a 1974 incident involving an Eau Claire WI communications tower. American Tower has proposed building a series of 61 m towers on forestland in Arizona as part of a three-year study of towers` effects on birds. It wants construction to be complete in time for the spring 2003 migration. NAB President Eddie Fritts sent a letter to congressional leaders in June. He wrote: ``We urge you to support the US F&WS` efforts to secure federal funding for this scientific endeavor... We are optimistic that a cost-effective remedy to this problem will be found with this basic research.`` (Nov FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn, This article was in the Bryan, Ohio Times this afternoon. Channel 63 is a Christian broadcaster and the transmitter is in Indiana just a few miles west of Edgerton. I only copied the portion of the article that pertained to this problem (Charlie Hinkle, Pioneer, OH, Nov 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. EDGERTON VILLAGE COUNCIL HEARS OF SIGNAL INTERFERENCE By MARCI HUMMEL - Times Business Editor EDGERTON - Steve LaLonde of rural Edgerton spoke to Edgerton Village Council Monday evening about a problem plaguing several residences in the rural Edgerton and northeast Indiana area. Mr. LaLonde said ever since Channel 63 switched to a digital signal about six weeks ago, television reception of other channels has suffered from interference. He said the digital signal is overpowering VHF and UHF signals. Mr. LaLonde said he contacted the Federal Communications Commission and was told to buy a filter. However, since everyone in the area who does not subscribe to a cable service or satellite system is having the same problem, the FCC gave him some other options: He could get up a petition and obtain signatures or ask the village council and township trustees to write to the FCC. The FCC told him it could do something about the problem, he said, but that it would be more effective if members of the local government sent letters. Mr. LaLonde said he had contacted Channel 63 and was told it was operating according to FCC regulations. James Brown, village administrator, asked council if members would be willing to sign a letter, and they agreed to do so. He suggested Mr. LaLonde obtain signatures to mail with the letter for added effect. (via Charles Hinkle, DXLD) ** U S A. THREATENED LICENSE REVOCATION AND A $300,000 FINE MAY BE THE BIGGEST SINGLE-STATION FCC PENALTY EVER. Unauthorized transfer of control -- plus tower problems and failure to respond to Commission inquiries -- have put WMGA licensee Radio Moultrie in very hot water. The Georgia company now faces a show-cause hearing on license revocation for regional Mexican WMGA, Moultrie (1130). (Inside Radio, M-Street via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. GERMANY: Freq change of Gospel For Asia in SE Asian languages via DTK/WER 250 kW: 2330-0030 NF 9765(55444) 075 deg, ex 11680 to avoid Radio Cairo in Arabic 0030-0130 NF 9490(55444) 090 deg, ex 11680 to avoid Radio Cairo in Arabic/Spanish (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Nov 25 via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. TAIWAN/U S A: Freq change for WYFR via TAI: 1300-1500 in English and 1500-1600 in Hindi on NF 11560*(33343), ex 11550 * co-ch 1330-1530 Radio Cairo in Persian on 11560.2 1400-1500 Voice of Khmer Khrom R in Khmer on Tuesday on nominal 11560.0 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Nov 25 via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. ESTADOS UNIDOS VIA CHILE - O programa Altas Ondas, da Voz Cristã, completou um ano no ar no início do mês de novembro. O aniversário ocorre juntamente com o reconhecimento de toda a comunidade de dexista e radioescutas brasileiros, já que é um programa que dispensa 60 minutos para falar de rádio e ondas curtas. Seu reconhecimento não é apenas dos brasileiros. Muitos dexistas de todo o mundo começaram a prestar a atenção no trabalho dos brasileiros. O Altas Ondas tem audiência de colegas como Anker Petersen, da Dinamarca; Martin Elbe, da Alemanha; Henrik Klemetz, da Suécia; e Arnaldo Slaen, da Argentina. O Altas Ondas veio resgatar o espaço nobre que o dexismo brasileiro perdeu em emissoras internacionais, há alguns anos, quando a Rádio Nederland acabou com o programa "O Mundo das Comunicações". O que está esperando? Sintonize os 21500 kHz, todas as sextas-feiras e sábados, às 1600, ou acesse o áudio em http:;/www.vozcrista.com Para sua comodidade, o programa conta com endereço eletrônico para o recebimento de informes. Faça o seu e envie para: altasondas@v... [truncated] Parabéns Voz Cristã por um ano de Altas Ondas! (Célio Romais, @tividade DX Nov 26 via DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. Additional frequency for Radio Tashkent in English via MSK 100 kW / 240 deg: 2030-2056 and 2130-2156 on 7185 (55444) // 5025 (54433) and 11905 (43333) (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Nov 25 via WORLD OF RADIO 1158, DXLD) The others presumably still from Tashkent itself, but new 7185 from Moscow? Believe that is a first (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO 1158, DXLD) ** VATICAN STATE. In approximately 1992-96y one of CVA`s transmitters was putting huge amount of white noise in approx 1 MHz range around its nominal QRG. As one clever guy supposed, they had faulty synthesizer bringing countless spurs (with step of 1-10 Hz or so). I had very unpleasant hours when that tx was on and carried something beamed into my direction (CVA to FE, etc). That`s another story. (Vlad Titarev, Ukraine, DXplorer Nov 20 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** VATICAN [and non]. Vatican Radio - B02 definitive schedule shows these transmissions via overseas relays: 6020 Puge 1225-1315 Mandarin [Philippines] 6205 Irkutsk 2200-2245 Mandarin 6205 Irkutsk 1315-1345 Vietnamese 6210 Samara 1710-1740 Russian 9865 Tashkent 1450-1620 various langs to SAs From Dec-01, amendments are planned: 1330-1400 Russian 11805 (additional freq), 13645 unchanged; 2200-2245 Mandarin 11830 (additional freq), 7305 9600 unchanged (all via SMG) [Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy] For all of B02, 9865 0035-0200 continues from SMG to Asia (Bob Padula, EDXP Broadcast Monitor Nov 27 via DXLD) Just got VR`s new slick printed schedule (and an even slicker glossy card showing all the saint days in 2003y, bound to be handy), and as usual there is NO mention of external relay sites; the map still gives the impression that all azimuths lead to Rome; but hardly the only misleading info put out by the RCC (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. Saludos Glenn. Espero te encuentres bien. En Venezuela, a Chávez le molesta que los canales de Televisión informen a la población lo que ocurre en el país. A Chávez sólo le interesa que digan lo que el quiere oir. Por tal motivo arremetió hoy nuevamente contra los canales de televisión, específicamente contra Globovisión. Lo único que faltó que dijera es que estaba cerrado. Parece que en este país la única verdad tiene que ser la verdad de Hugo Chávez. A continuación un sonido interesante donde se puede oir a Chávez arremetiendo contra los canales de TV. Atte: (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Nov 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Enclosed a one-minute clip of Chávez, saying his government will not permit TV stations to predict or assist coups; what they are doing is bordering on illegality, especially one of the four networks... (gh) ** VIETNAM [non]. CLANDESTINE from GERMANY to VIETNAM. 15715, Chan Troi Moi --- been listening to this one *1330-1430* daily, heard with fair signals here. IDs at start and close and still opening with "My Country" song sung by woman. Discovered that they have an email address of ctm@radioctm.com -- Website isn`t working right now, but seems to have been http://www.radioctm.com Don`t confuse with New Horizon magazine and website which has nothing to do with this station (Hans Johnson, Rio Hondo TX, Nov, Cumbre DX Nov 25 via DXLD) This is High Adventure V. of Hope, Vietnamese, 1330-1430 VTN, 15715 JUL (Wolfgang Bueschel, BC-DX via DXLD) ** VIRGIN ISLANDS BRITISH. T-E FM DX to Brasil: See PROPAGATION below ** WALES [non]. Wales R International: Yesterday 23 Nov, I heard their txion to Australasia 1130-1200 on 17625. Reception was not good though due to strong co-channel interference from CNR2, China. So I can confirm that their Saturdays only txion to Australasia does indeed exist! (Barry Hartley, NZ, BC-DX Nov 24 via DXLD) ** YUGOSLAVIA [non]. Updated B-02 schedule for Radio Yugoslavia via BEO 250 kW: [sic: Belgrade??? Surely Bijeljina, B-H, as usual --- gh] 2330-2358 D a i l y 9580 055 deg Chinese to SoEaAs 0000-0028 D a i l y 9680 265 deg Spanish to SoAmWe 0030-0058 Mon - Sat 7115 310 deg Serbian to NoAmEa 0030-0128 Sun only 7115 310 deg Serbian to NoAmEa 0100-0128 Mon - Sat 7115 310 deg English to NoAmEa 0130-0158 D a i l y 7115 310 deg Serbian to NoAmEa || relay R. Beograd 0200-0228 D a i l y 7130 325 deg English to NoAmWe 1330-1358 Mon - Fri 11835#100 deg English to AUS 1400-1458 Mon - Fri 11835*100 deg Serbian to AUS || relay R. Beograd 1500-1528 Mon - Fri 11835*100 deg Serbian to AUS 1530-1558 D a i l y 11800 130 deg Arabic to ME 1600-1628 D a i l y 6100 040 deg Russian to RUS 1630-1643 D a i l y 6100 non-dir Hungarian to Eu 1645-1658 D a i l y 6100 130 deg Greek to SoEaEu 1700-1728 D a i l y 6100 310 deg French to WeEu 1730-1758 D a i l y 6100 310 deg German to WeEu 1800-1813 D a i l y 6100 180 deg Albanian to SoEaEu 1815-1828 D a i l y 6100 130 deg Bulgarian to SoEaEu 1830-1858 D a i l y 6100 310 deg Italian to WeEu 1900-1928 D a i l y 6100 040 deg Russian to RUS 1930-1958 D a i l y 6100 310 deg English to WeEu 2000-2028 D a i l y 7200 250 deg Spanish to SoEu || not on registered 7220 2030-2058 Sun - Fri 6100 310 deg Serbian to WeEu 2030-2128 Sat only 6100 310 deg Serbian to WeEu 2100-2128 Sun - Fri 6100 310 deg German to WeEu 2130-2158 D a i l y 6100 310 deg French to WeEu 2200-2228 D a i l y 6100 310 deg English to WeEu # co-ch BBC in Bengali * totally blocked by Radio Free Europe in Arabic 73 from (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, Nov 25 via DXLD) ** ZANZIBAR. TANZANIA (Zanzibar) 11734.1, R. T. Zanzibar 1645-1907 Nov 22. First checked at 1645, and their carrier was detected. By 1907 re- check, SINPO was 44444. News presented by a male, mentions of Washington, Bin Laden, and Zanzibar (George Maroti, Chamberlain, Maine DXpedition, Cumbre DX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 3749.75, 0225 Nov 22, heard with audio for the first time in a long time, nondescript Latin American music, very weak signal (Mark Mohrmann, VT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Likely 3 x 1250 or 5 x 750 UNIDENTIFIED. 4920.00, 1011-1116 Nov 18/19/21/23. Haven`t had a lot of time to investigate this one; programing sounds like a US MW harmonic, EE talk and ads, "YMCA" by the Village People heard one morning, rough copy in USB until R. Quito fades out, seemed to be mixing with foreign language station (India?) around 1230 Nov 23 (Mark Mohrmann, VT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1640 X 3, 1230 X 4, OR 820 X 6 UNIDENTIFIED. Re 15056: I`m also hearing this carrier at various times, often at fair level. Never any trace of audio so far. It also operates when there is nothing on 15060, so it is not a jammer against Taiwan (Olle Alm, Sweden, 25 Nov, WORLD OF RADIO 1158, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See COLOMBIA This [15056.5] has been audible often at various times at my location during the last two weeks or so, but no audio - or anything else - has been heard whenever tuned. The signal is peaking to 9 on my S meter at 1100 today [Nov.26] with moderate fading. I find nothing logged on this frequency in (undated) monitoring files that I have. 73`s (Noel R. Green, Blackpool - NW England, Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1158, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FREQUENCY CLASHES ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ These B-02 frequency pile-ups have been noted from our Melbourne Monitoring Station on Nov 18/19: 5975 1900-1930: RKI-Kimjae (German) to Eu, VOR-Samara (French) to Eu 5960 1900-1915: RRI-Tiganesti (German) to Eu, NHK-Yamata (Russian) to Siberia/Eu 5990 1915-1930: BBC-Rampisham (Russian) to Eu, R. Ethiopia (domestic) 6090 1800-1900: BBC-SLA (Persian)to ME, VOR-Samara (English) to Eu 6030 1900-1930: BBC-Wof (Arabic)to Eu, VOR-Samara (Czech) to Eu 6180 1900-1930: RTI-Skelton (German) to Eu, VOIRI (French) to Eu 7145 1930-2000: VOV-Son Tay (French) to Eu, DW-Wertachtal (Russian) t to Eu 7170 1930-2000: REE-Noblejas (Arabic) to NAf, VOA-Wof (S. Croatian) to Eu 7165 1900-1030: VOIRI-Tehran (Albanian) to Eu, RFE-Biblis (Romanian) to Eu 11685 1830-1900: VI-Darwin (English) to As, CRI-Beijing (Russian) to Eu 11665 2000-2030: WYFR-Okeechobee (Spanish) to Eu, NHK-Yamata (Japanese) to As 11680 2000-2030: BBC-Rampisham (Arabic) to ME, CRI-Beijing (S. Croatian) to Eu 11835 1830-1900: RFE-Briesch to ME, CRI-Kunming (Arabic) to ME 11895 2000-2030: DW-Kigali (Portuguese) to Af, and HCJB (English) to WAf and Eu (Bob Padula, EDXP Broadcast Monitor Nov 27 via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Excellent opportunity for Hawaii-BC ducting [VHF, UHF] Wednesday nite/Thursday. See my maps for more details: http://www.iprimus.ca/~hepburnw/tropo_wam.html DX Web Site: http://www.iprimus.ca/~hepburnw/ Tropo Forecast Maps: http://www.iprimus.ca/~hepburnw/tropo.html (William R. Hepburn, Ont., Nov 26, WTFDA via DXLD) Looking at the maps he apparently means British Columbia, i.e. Vancouver and Queen Charlotte Islands at least, tho conditions to Baja California Sur are also favorable (gh, DXLD) TRANS-EQUATORIAL FM DX SEASON IS ON! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ILHAS VIRGENS BRITÂNICAS 90.9 24/11 2348 ZJKC, Roadtown-Tortola, EE, final do programa, algo como "Worldwide Rock"n roll....show" em seguida música reggae, 33422 (alternando com R. Bandeirantes, S. Paulo 90.9). Ouvida também em 23/11 à 0031 com talks em EE. SCM* PORTO RICO 90.5 24/11 2337 WIDA, Carolina, SS, mx, OM em SS, 33333 SCM* 97.5 23/11 0020 Tentativo Porto Rico, mx, advs e anúncios, jingle (não compreendido), 23322 SCM* UNID 96.9 23/11 0008 UNID, religioso no estilo pentecostal, YL exaltada, OM, SS 23322 SCM* (Samuel Cássio Martins, escutas no "Brôa", Itirapina-SP, @tividade DX via DXLD) De Jaraguá do Sul, SC, Márcio Roberto Polheim da Silva tem as seguintes escutas e notícias: Esta época do ano é muito propícia às escutas de FMs do Caribe, no sul do Brasil. Estou conseguindo sintonizar as seguintes FMS caribenhas: 93,70 MHZ Rádio WZNT, Porto Rico 94,50 MHZ The Wave FM, Santa Lúcia 97,30 MHZ Radio Saint Lucia, Santa Lúcia 95,30 MHZ Hot FM, Barbados Também estou sintonizando duas FMs em 100,10 MHZ e 95,50 MHZ, ambas transmitindo em língua inglesa, mas ainda não identifiquei as mesmas. (Márcio Roberto Polheim da Silva Jaraguá do Sul/SC, @tividade DX Nov 26 via WORLD OF RADIO 1158, DXLD) 100.1 could be Caribbean Beacon, Anguilla, \\ SW (gh, DXLD) ###