DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-008, January 13, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@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/dxldta03.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html For restrixions and searchable 2002 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid2.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 1164: RFPI: Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700, 1300 on 7445 and/or 15039 WWCR: Wed 0930 9475 WJIE: M-F 1300, daily 0400 -- maybe; Sun 0630, Mon 0700, Tue 0630 7490 WRN ONDEMAND: http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1164.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1164.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1164h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1164h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1164.html ** AFGHANISTAN. AFGHANISTAN TO JOIN GLOBAL INTERNET NETWORK - IRAN RADIO | Text of report by Iranian radio from Mashhad on 12 January A protocol on joining the Internet network has been signed between the Afghan Ministry of Communications and a private company, Neda Company Limited. In accordance with the agreement, Internet services, [word indistinct] and telephone links will be established first in Kabul and later in all other cities. By establishing the system, Afghanistan will join the global Internet network. A Ministry of Communications source told the Afghan official news agency, Bakhtar, that the Neda Limited Company project involves investors from Afghanistan, Belgium and the USA. In the first stage, they will invest 2.5m dollars, and in the second 22m dollars, to implement the plan. Source: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mashhad, in Dari 0330 gmt 12 Jan 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. RADIO STATION MANAGER FOR AFGHAN INDEPENDENT RADIO Here is a message received from Community Radio India groups. Hope you find it of interest. Sincerely, Jose Jacob, India To: air@radiogroup.org Subject: [Airdaily] job in Afghanistan The AIR Daily Mailing List A unique opportunity --- posting for Sarah Chayes. Job Title: Radio Station Manager Organization: Afghan Independent Radio Job Location: Kandahar, Afghanistan Start Date: Immediate Sponsors: Afghans for Civil Society & The Carr Foundation Background Afghanistan is emerging from more than two decades of war, which has shattered the very foundations of its society. With the establishment of a new government after the fall of the Taliban, there is currently a window of opportunity to build institutions of civil society that can provide an alternative to extremist elements still active within and around the country. Among such institutions are free and professional media. To date, all the radio and television stations in Afghanistan are state -sponsored, in the tradition of the old Soviet-style media. Each is firmly under the control of the regional powers, wherever it is operating. To offer an alternative, Afghans for Civil Society and the Carr Foundation are launching an independent radio station in Kandahar. As the second-largest city in Afghanistan, the historic capital, and also the former Taliban stronghold, Kandahar is key to the evolution and future stability of the country. It is a conservative city, which suffers a pariah status due to its Taliban past. But if Kandahar and the Afghan south are left behind, the current experiment in democratic nation-building will fail. Afghans are avid radio-listeners, and a truly independent, responsible radio station, providing informative programming, dialogue and debate, culture, and pure entertainment will make a significant contribution to forging a new space for Afghan citizenship. The station will be operated primarily by local broadcast professionals and journalists, under the stewardship of international professionals for the first several years. The broadcast day will be 12-16 hours from the start, with a goal of 24 hour/day programming. The range will be the city of Kandahar at first, with a goal of using FM repeaters and/or an AM frequency, to eventually reach the entire Afghan southwest, or some 1.5 million listeners. The broadcast languages will be Pashtu primarily, but with significant programming in Farsi, and some English or English-teaching. The position of international station-manager for Afghan Independent Radio (AIR) is currently open. Duties and Responsibilities Oversee the radio station. The manager will be responsible for the team of journalists and technicians, eventually in tandem with an Afghan counterpart. He/she will coordinate the operations, personnel and budget, and will report to the Board of Directors. Develop the content and scheduling of programs, in consultation with local staff and international mentors, on loan from leading Western public radio outlets. Establish and apply standards of journalism by working regularly with the journalists on broadcasting standards, weighing of evidence, conflict of interest and professionalism, monitoring program content, and conducting regular post-mortem discussions after programs have aired. Handle the technical infrastructure by purchasing equipment, maintaining it and supervising repairs, in conjunction with the technical staff. Write semi-annual reports for the Board of Directors. Assist the Board of Directors in long-range planning and fundraising. Liaise with media organizations operating within Afghanistan (both local and international) to share content and to find other ways to collaborate. Arrange for the establishment of an internet café to operate next door to the radio station. Skills and Competencies Required A solid background in public radio, including program development, reporting or editing, production, and personnel management. In general, strong organizational, personnel-management, and conflict- reduction skills. Initiative Ability to communicate – and facilitate communication -- in a clear manner likely to defuse potential tensions. Basic budgeting, accounting and bookkeeping skills Capacity to adapt to local customs and traditions Ability to live in severe field conditions and to work effectively in a stressful, multi- cultural environment Fluency in written and spoken English Driver's license. Desired Previous work experience in developing countries Aptitude for learning languages Knowledge of history and politics of the region or another Muslim society Proposal writing skills Contract Contract will last six months (renewable). Sponsors will cover accommodation and round-trip transport to Afghanistan. Termination of contract will require 6 weeks notice. Salary is negotiable, depending on candidate`s previous experience and range of expertise. Sponsors Each sponsor has one seat on the Board of Directors. Afghans for Civil Society Afghans for Civil Society (ACS) is a Kandahar-based nonprofit with American offices in Boston and Baltimore. It seeks to help change the basic concept of community life in Afghanistan from one of war to one of civil society, using a two-pronged approach. First, a policy center is being established in Kandahar dedicated to giving a voice to the ordinary Afghans and to strengthening public participation in the decision-making process. These objectives will be achieved through democracy-building, leadership training, research, and independent media. The second focus is on community reconstruction projects that aim to address the immediate needs of Afghan society, while at the same time instilling a sense of ownership within the aided communities. The American offices of Afghans for Civil Society are involved in fund- raising, channeling resources and publicizing issues of concern to Afghanistan. Scholars and journalists wishing to visit Afghanistan should contact the Boston office. Carr Foundation The Carr Foundation is dedicated to human rights education and the arts. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the foundation endowed the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. It also established the Market Theater, a venue dedicated to new playwrights and productions, and one that often explores provocative themes. In the spring of 2001, the Carr Foundation purchased a former neo- Nazi compound in Northern Idaho, razed it, and created a peace park and human rights education center to replace it. The Foundation is supporting a five-year human rights campaign through the Association of Idaho Cities and recently founded The Museum of Idaho in Idaho Falls, dedicated to cultural and natural history. To Apply Send a cover letter and résumé to sidney@carrfoundation.org , evelyman@afghanpolicy.org , and schayes@afghanpolicy.org Clearly indicate the job for which you are applying. Afghan Independent Radio Job Description Radio Station Manager ************************************* [Via / From / Thanks to and/or excerpted from the following: ] _______________________________________________ Airdaily mailing list Airdaily@airmedia.org http://three.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/airdaily Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) http://www.airmedia.org =================================== Barry Rueger Bagatelle Communications & Management 107 Victoria Avenue South, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 2S9 Phone: 905-308-9179 Fax: 905-308-9732 http://www.community-media.com AIM ID: AppalBarry --------------------------------------------------------- cr-india mailing list cr-india@mail.sarai.net http://mail.sarai.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/cr-india (via Barry Rueger, Jan 7, Association of Independents in Radio via Georges Lessard, CAJ-List, et al., via cr-india, via Jose Jacob, via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Durante os últimos dias, as emissões da Radiodifusão Argentina para o Exterior, em 15345 kHz, em vários horários, tem apresentado algumas distorções. Às vezes, o sinal chega a ser ouvido em 15340 kHz (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX Jan 12 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 11755, HCJB via Kununurra, 1128 Jan 9, end of some program that had a Miami, FL address to write to. At 1130, a male announcer said, "The Voice of the Great Southland. HCJB Australia. Greetings, friends. HCJB Australia." Then a program by Dr. John Rush "brought to you by the studios of HCJB Australia." At 1158 he gave the Melbourne address for correspondence. Transmission ended with "You've been listening to the Voice of the Great Southland, HCJB Australia on 11755 kHz in the 25-meter band broadcasting to the South Pacific and also at 0700 hours UTC tomorrow. Good night. God Bless." Some music notes heard. Also heard unID language after the music, but maybe from a different station after HCJB sign-off? (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, JRC NRD-515/K9AY & A/D Sloper, Cumbredx mailing list Jan 12 via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. Hola Glenn! Saludos cordiales. Por medio de la presente te informo del Concurso aniversario del programa MUNDO DX de Radio Austria Internacional. Consiste en una serie de palabras clave que se darán a partir de la emisión del 15 de enero durante los próximos seis programas, dos por cada uno. Como te comenté, este 15 de enero darán las primeras 2 palabras clave. Una vez recolectadas las 12 palabras clave la respuesta debe ser enviada a: Radio Austria Internacional, Programa MUNDO DX, Argentinierstr. 30a A-1040 Viena, Austria o al Correo electrónico: roi.hispano@orf.at Hasta la próxima, Glenn (Trenard Julio, Venezuela, Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ¿Premios? ** BOTSWANA. 4820, R. Botswana 0400-0410 UT Jan 14. News by woman followed by music at 0409. Very strong signal tonight. SINPO 43333 (Jim Evans, TN, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. From Eduardo De Moura on http://www.dxing.info/ South America Forum: Posted: Fri Jan 10, 2003 1729 U Post subject: Radio Canção Nova transmitting in 19M - 15.325 Rádio Canção Nova hope to reach foreign land with its programming through 19 m - 15325. Nowadays the Brazilian radio has been receiving radio-reports for AM, 31, 49 and 60m. which has paid back by QSL card. On January 06th Rádio Canção Nova opened its new band. We confirm radio reports on the air and 100% QSL back. Program: Além Fronteiras (Beyond Boundaries) Every Saturday: 2200 to 2300 (GMT) AM 1020 khz- SW 49m 6105 kHz -SW 60m 4825 kHz - SW 31m 9675 kHz - [I asked Eduardo if the new 19mb outlet was via the transmitter of Rádio Gazeta, São Paulo on 15325 kHz?? He replied:] From last January 6, Rádio Canção Nova rented this radio station in São Paulo, has the right to operate it. Rádio Gazeta will transmit all programming from Rádio Canção Nova, which has it headquarters in Cachoeira Paulista - SP - Brazil. Which confirms this item in DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-004, January 7, 2003 (via Alan Pennington, Caversham, UK) HOWEVER, following says Gazeta also carries some student programming only half an hour a day at 0930 (gh) ** BRAZIL. Durante breve período, a Rádio Gazeta, de São Paulo (SP), transmite o programa Gazeta AM Universitária, produzido pelos alunos da Faculdade Cásper Líbero. Paulo Roberto e Souza esteve no Rio de Janeiro e acompanhou o programa, em 7 de janeiro, entre 0930 e 1000, em 5955 kHz. Nos demais horários, a programação é da Canção Nova. A Gazeta também transmite em 9685 e 15325 kHz. BRASIL - A rádio Globo, de São Paulo (SP), permanece ativa em 9585 kHz, em 31 metros. Recentemente, foi monitorada por Rudolf Grimm, em São Bernardo do Campo (SP). Transmite, atualmente, programação em conjunto com a rádio Globo, do Rio de Janeiro (RJ), que também está ativa, em 6030 e 11805 kHz. É o que a instituição chama de Globo Brasil. Na verdade, é mais uma tentativa de economizar dinheiro, cortando empregos. Será que os ouvintes paulistas gostam de ouvir um apresentador carioca falando do Botafogo na segunda divisão do futebol brasileiro? E será que os cariocas gostam de ouvir o apresentador paulista falando das agruras do "Parmera" fora da elite do futebol brasileiro? BRASIL. A rádio Difusora, da cidade mineira de Poços de Caldas, é uma emissora que tem o cheiro da roça em sua programação. É uma das emissoras que ainda leva duplas caipiras para tocar ao vivo nos estúdios. Confira na programação noturna da emissora, pelos 4945 kHz. Vale lembrar que a Difusora responde todos os informes que recebe (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX Jan 12 via DXLD) BRASIL. O programa Amigos do Radio, programa Dexista da Rádio Transmundial, é apresentado as quartas feiras as 1430 e 2045 UT, sábados as 2315 e domingos as 1000 UT. As frequencias usadas são 5965, 9530 e 11735 kHz. Escreva-nos enviando os seus comentários e impressões. Nosso endereço é: Programa Amigos do Radio, Caixa Postal 18300, São Paulo-SP, 04626-97. O nosso e-mail é amigosdoradio@t... [truncated] (Carlos Felipe da Silva, Produtor e Apresentador do Amigos do Radio, Rádio Transmundial, @tividade DX Jan 12 via DXLD) ** BURKINA FASO. 5030 kHz - Radio Burkina, Ouagadougou. Non data QSL letter in French acknowledge the receipt of my reception report. The letter was prepared on an official letterhead of Radiodiffusion of Burkina, stamped and signed by Tahéré Ouedraogo. I sent by registered mail a reception report in French, CD with recording of the broadcast, post card of New York. Replied in 52 days (Marcelo Toníolo, Greenvale, NY, Jan 12, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. LIBYA PULLS OUT OF THE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, by Tawanda Majoni [Reference to radio station called "Peace and Liberty", paragraph 5!] THE Libyan government has announced the pullout of its troops from the Central African Republic (CAR) following a peace deal after more than a year of civil strife in the tiny country. The Libyan soldiers withdrew on December 28th 2002, together with Sudanese and Djibouti forces, according to a news bulletin released this week by the Libyan government. The withdrawal was in accordance with a resolution made by the Community of Coast and Sahara States (Cen Ssad). Forces from CAR, code-named SIMAC, are replacing the exiting troops. "The Great Jamahiriya (the Libyan mass movement) has celebrated the return of its forces from the Central African Republic after completing the mission of peace, security and stability," read the news bulletin. Libya hailed its military involvement in CAR as a "peaceful, humanistic mission as well as a practical manifestation of the decrees, objectives, means and principles of the African Union and Cen Ssad. The Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi was instrumental in the transformation of the Organisation of African Unity into the African Union, which was launched in August last year in South Africa. The participation of Libya in CAR has been dogged by controversy, with the country being accused of embarking on an imperialist crusade meant to extend its influence in the sub-Sahara region. There were outcries recently when Libyan troops were accused of bombing civilians in CAR. However, the Libyan Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mahmoud Azzabi has dismissed the bombing allegation as false. "It is not true that our soldiers bombed civilians. Those are the words of detractors who do not want to see us promoting peace in the whole of Africa," Azzabi told the Sunday Mirror. The news bulletin also dismisses the allegations of imperial ambitions by Gaddafi and the Libyan government. "We would like to state once again that this peaceful and kind process (of military involvement in DRC) is far from any kind of external intervention. It is deliberately an internal African process within the Cen-Ssad and the African Union." Gaddafi in May 2001 sent Libyan tanks, weaponry and soldiers to CAR to help President Ange-Felix Patasse put down a rebellion by CAR mutineers. Libyan soldiers fought side by side with loyalist troops to suppress the rebels led by former President, Andre Kolingba, who in addition to storming the presidential residence, seized control of the radio and television stations. The Libyans went on to set up a radio station called "Peace and Liberty" to enable Patasse to address the nation. Libya's intervention was seen by analysts as an ambitious plan to penetrate sub-Saharan Africa after falling out of favour with the Arab League to the north. Libya has also been involved militarily in several other countries. The country has sent troops to Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast to quell civil unrest following coup attempts. Azzabi said his country was the first to get into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in an attempt to avert the war that was to be dubbed "Africa's World War". Azzabi hoped that the peace process in CAR would hold. He added that time had come for Africa to shape its own destiny and that Africa had the capacity to solve its own problems. http://www.africaonline.co.zw/mirror/stage/archive/030104/national1746 .html (via A. Sennitt, Holland, Jan 4, 2003 for CRW via DXLD) ** CHECHNYA. See RUSSIA ** CHINA [non]. World Falun Dafa Radio, 9315, nice "Truthfulness- Benevolence-Forberance" [sic] card, same as Ed Kusalík received; spaces for full-data on back, not filled in. But accompanying letter from "Jennifer" said, "We listened to the enclosed CD and verified it is our program." Also sent a brochure and bookmarks. This for Dec 2000 reception; in one month for first CD follow-up to this address; from P.O. Box 93436, City of Industry, CA 91715 (J. Berg, MA, Jan 5, 2003 in DXplorer-ML via CRW via DXLD) ** ERITREA [non]. Glenn, Wolfgang, Thanks to Wolfgang - who tracked down the relevant Merlin registration for a Norwegian transmitter - Voice of the Eritrean People has been confirmed on 9990 kHz. Heard here (Nairobi) in progress at 1640 on Sunday 12 January with music, a poem and an anti-Eritrean government commentary in Tigrinya. Good signal. The transmitter was suddenly cut at 1657 before the commentary ended and so no closing announcement was heard. (So no ID was heard - but this must be the station we have been looking for.) Next Sunday I will try to catch the start of the broadcast at 1630. One remaining mystery remains their broadcast to Europe, said to be 1700 Sundays on 7530 (Chris Greenway, Kenya, Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Checked 7490 today Monday Jan 13, 1700-1830. Is undoubtedly a Kvitsøy, Norway site outlet in winter season B-02. Voice of the Eritrean People: No Merlin tests on 9990 kHz at 1657-1715 UT observed today Jan 13. Instead Norkring had a Norwegian domestic service transmission on all four frequencies at 1700-1727 UT on 7490, 9980, 13800, and 18950. DEN? today Jan 13, at 1730-1757 on 9980, 13800, and 18950. 9980 was much stronger at 1700-1727, than at 1730- 1757, towards E Russia (95 / 35 degrees). So seemingly southern direction antenna (110 / 165 degrees) in use at 1700-1727. 73 de wb (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. Radio Fana. I have been listening to Radio Fana on 6210 and 6940 from about 1755 to 1830. Reception has been fair with 6940 giving a stronger signal here but this frequency suffers some modulation problems so 6210, although weaker gives the better reception at this time of day (6.55 am here in New Zealand) I e-mailed my reception report to rfana@mail.telecom.net.et and received the following verification. ``Dear Ian, We are very pleased to receive your e-mail regarding reception of our SW broadcast frequencies of 6210 and 6940 kHz on Tuesday Jan 7/2003. We assure you that what you detailed in your reception report was part of our daily broadcast to the general public. The transmitters for the two frequencies are 10kw each with their antennas positioned in such a way that will enable us to get to, primarily, our country wide audience and secondly to listeners in the neighboring countries of east Africa and the Middle East. However, to be heard by audiences as far as Newzealand heartens us very much. We thank you once again for your information and hope to hear from you in the future. With best Wishes, Haile Tiku`` (via Ian Cattermole, New Zealand, Jan 13, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 6209.92, 0356-0430, R. Fana, Jan 11 noted // 6940 but far better copy on this frequency, slightly unstable, as if drifting back and forth. Otherwise fairly nice copy at S8 signal level on this frequency and // 6940 above and below noise floor. Male announcer at TOH with tentative ID (Bob Montgomery, PA, Jan 13, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 4830.1, Radio Litoral in this evening at 0300 Jan 10 with full ID after program whose mailing address was Miami, FL. I had listened earlier (around 0030) and suspect it was also Litoral. On Jan 3, Litoral was on 4832 and on Jan 9 it was Táchira [see VENEZUELA] on 4830. On each of these 3 days, only the reported station was heard. If only all co-channel stations would coöperate like this!!! Again no sign of even a het that could have been Jammu (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, JRC NRD-515/K9AY & A/D Sloper, Cumbredx mailing list Jan 12 via DXLD) ** INDIA. 9470 kHz, FM II via Aligarh, 0315 Jan 6. Per report on DX India website from Jose Jacob, I am able to hear quite well them testing. Had male and female announcers with commentary and news including an item on the stolen private plane over Frankfurt. Appeared English lasted to 0330 then into language (Hindi per Jose) by male and female with music program. Quick fade around 0400. This was parallel to Bangalore who was also testing on 9425 but with an 8 second delay to Aligarh. Signal poor to fair. Have not heard this station the last few days, so maybe tests have ended or suspended for now (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, JRC NRD-515/K9AY & A/D Sloper, Cumbredx mailing list Jan 12 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. MARITIME MOBILE SERVICE NETWORK CELEBRATES 35TH ANNIVERSARY The Maritime Mobile Service Network (MMSN) marked its 35th anniversary on January 3. The net now operates on 14.300 MHz. According to Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, the net's original purpose was to assist those serving in the US military during the Vietnam War. In its early years, the MMSN saw a lot of phone patch traffic. "Our primary purpose now is that of handling legal third-party traffic from maritime mobiles, both pleasure and commercial, and overseas deployed military personnel," said Graves, who serves as the nets schedule coordinator and Webmaster. He said the net also helps missionaries in foreign countries. The MMSN has grown from its original nine founding members to nearly 60 net control stations and relief operators. It's recognized by the US Coast Guard and has been instrumental in handling hundreds of incidents involving vessels in distress. During severe weather, the net also acts as a weather beacon for ships and relays weather warnings and bulletins from the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center. "The Maritime Mobile Service Network has a legacy of serving people and will continue to do so," Graves said (ARRL Letter Jan 10 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET & VACUUM. Glenn, This is in response to the comments in DXLD 3-005 about Deutsche Welle's plan to end English broadcasts to North America and the suitability of internet streaming audio as a replacement. Some contributors disputed the idea that streaming audio could be a satisfactory replacement for shortwave broadcasts and cited their own experiences (such as a slow dial-up connection) to support their arguments. A common mistake is to consider one's own experience to be indicative of the entire population. Just how popular are streaming audio services with the general public? Real Networks was the company that launched the streaming audio revolution with their server and client software, including the popular Real One player. While Real Networks is facing stiff competition from Microsoft, it is still the most widely used streaming media software. As a publicly traded company, it must report its financial results to the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC). Real Networks offers a service known as the Real One SuperPass. This is an enhanced version of the Real One player that allows subscribers to listen to various types of music, sporting events (such as NFL and MLB games), and over 1700 radio stations from around the world on their PCs. A current subscription is (with discounts) $24.85 for three months. As of September 30, 2002, Real One SuperPass had over 850,000 paid subscribers. However, one doesn't need to subscribe to Real One SuperPass in order to receive streaming audio from radio stations around the world. Anyone with the free Real One player can listen to numerous stations from around the world, including Deutsche Welle and the BBC World Service. The link for this is: http://radio.real.com Since 850,000 persons are paying almost $100 a year for a Real One SuperPass subscription, it's logical to assume the number of people who are listening to radio stations using the free Real One player must be greater. I'm one, and I know of many more people, none of them DXers, who listen to distant radio stations (such as from their old homes towns) via the internet with Real One. Microsoft is challenging Real Networks with its Windows Media client and server streaming software. Many radio stations stream in both the Real Networks and Microsoft formats, and an increasing number are using only Windows Media. Adding it all up, it's clear the number of people in the United States who listen to "radio" via the internet must be in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions. It certainly is much greater than the number of people who listen to shortwave (and, as James Tedford so cogently argues in DXLD 3-005, the number of shortwave sets sold is not an accurate indication of how many people actually listen to shortwave). The case for the internet being a more cost-effective way to reach a larger potential audience than shortwave is very compelling, despite what die-hard shortwave hobbyists have argued. Satellite radio is another non-traditional delivery vehicle that is growing rapidly. On January 8, XM Satellite Radio announced it has over 360,000 subscribers (at $10 per month) with 145,000 of those coming in the last three months of 2002. The BBC World Service is carried on XM, meaning you get clear, fade-free reception on the same frequency day and night no matter where you are in the United States. Can the same be said for the BBC WS via shortwave? 2003 marks my fortieth year in the SWLing/DXing hobby, and I have a great emotional investment in shortwave. I still get pleasure out of receiving a weak, fady signal from some distant place via the ionosphere. But I recognize that the era of shortwave as the best, most effective way to reach an international audience with audio programming has passed. It's time for international broadcasters and shortwave listeners to also recognize that and instead start thinking creatively on how to reposition shortwave among these new audio options. (Harry Helms AK6C, Ridgecrest, CA DM15, Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ. IRAQ DISCONNECTS THE INTERNET On Friday, the Iraqi government shut down all Internet access as well as its two E-mail servers. No official explanation was given, and a partial service was resumed on Saturday morning. The government's action appears to be a response to a blanket E-mail campaign by the US military urging dissent and defections. Other messages warned against carrying out any order from President Saddam Hussein to use chemical or biological weapons. The Internet was only introduced in Iraq in 2000. Baghdad has about three dozen public Internet centres, and other major cities have several each. There, customers (mostly young men and students) surf the net for 2,000 Iraqi dinars (about 45 US cents) an hour. That's still quite expensive: the take-home pay of a government employee is only $10 a month. An E-mail subscription is even more expensive: $80 per year. It's widely assumed that E-mail is heavily scrutinised by Iraqi security services, which probably explains the speed of the decision to block access (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 13 January 2003 via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Re Galei Zahal, DXLD 3-007: Of course, Galei Tzahal can be heard live in Israel or on shortwave (referring to GLZ's website - I would've typed in the exact time - but for some reason, I suddenly can't reach their website) 6973 kHz (evenings) 15785 kHz (day) (the SW broadcasts are meant for Europe, but 6973 can frequently be heard in the evenings, here in New York) or you can listen via the Internet http://glz.msn.co.il (Daniel Rosenzweig, NY, Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA. 5470, Radio Veritas, 0652-0701 Jan 13, Regional news in English until 0658. The announcer concluded with "That's Radio Veritas' early morning news, I'm (then he gave his name)". After that there was a time check, then station ID at the top of the hour. That was followed by "Daybreak Africa" from the VOA. Good signal strength and audio quality, though the VOA feed was a bit low in volume (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LITHUANIA. 3330 Afternoon. Here is the 5th harmonic from Lithuania on 666 kHz. (SA= Stig Adolfsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin Jan 12, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) see UNIDENTIFIED ** MYANMAR. [Re: Hans Johnson`s Dec 20 report of 4725]: Hans, just returned from Hawaii, and heard Myanmar on 5985ish on my 2010 with very nice reception just before sign-off sometime last week. Don't recall anything on 4725 or 5040 (Walter (Volodya) Salmaniw, MD, Victoria, BC, Canada, Jan 12, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PERU. unID 6324.35, 1022 Jan 13, Peruvian station, with high paced Spanish speaking announcer playing Andean style folk music. Mark Morhmann's DXing from Vermont website http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ lists this as: Radio diff Comercial, Nuevo Cajamarca. Fair strength, but poor copy due to strong interference from a utility station IDing in CW as NMC (Dave Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. ARMEN OGANESIAN: ``THE VOICE OF RUSSIA`` IN THE THREE- CENTURIES-OLD HISTORY OF RUSSIAN JOURNALISM January 13 will mark 3 centuries since the release in Moscow of the first Russian newspaper set up by Emperor Peter I under the official title ``News about Military and Other Events Worthy of Knowledge, Which Occurred in the Moscow State and in Neighboring Countries``. During the last 7 decades of the more than 3-centuries-old history of Russian journalism, the Voice of Russia state radio company has been telling listeners across the world about life in this country and its position on urgent international issues. The Voice of Russia President Armen Oganesian is in our studio today: - Speaking about how foreign audiences were being informed about the internal and external policy of the Russian Empire in the 19th century, we should mention poet and diplomat Fedor Tyutchev, philosopher, poet and publicist Alexei Khomyakov and other well-known figures who contributed to the process by publishing articles about Russia in leading French and German newspapers. The government in the person of State Chancellor, Prince Alexander Gorchakov, lent comprehensive support to and actively encouraged this initiative of the Russian gentry. Up to the 1920s the corresponding activity was within the competence of the Russian Foreign Ministry, as who but the Russian diplomats abroad could have a better idea of the biased nature of publications about Russia in foreign newspapers. Surprisingly, no matter what was happening in Russia, the bias was always there. - And it`s probably one reason why the Voice of Russia will always have listeners abroad, who are keen to know more about this country and will tune to our programs to get first-hand information. Being a bridge between Russia and the world has been and will remain our main task. Today the Voice of Russia is the third most popular foreign language radio broadcaster in the world. I am happy to inform you that a couple of Voice of Russia programs invariably rank among the top ten short-wave broadcasts on the annual list compiled by the US-based International Jury known as PWBR. We now broadcast in Russian for our compatriots abroad and these broadcasts can also be received in various regions of Russia, and we are also broadcasting to member-countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Voice of Russia programs evoke a warm response from our new audiences. Their letters coming from many countries and our emotional contact with them are very dear to us. A few years ago the Voice of Russia began broadcasting in the Internet. On our Internet website you can listen to Real Audio broadcasts in 7 languages. The Internet-encyclopedia Britannica.com ranks the Voice of Russia website among elite Internet sites. We maintain fruitful contacts with our foreign colleagues, for one, with the European Broadcasting Union grouping top-class TV and radio journalists. The so-called ``through`` serials are now very popular in the West. And we are planning to cooperate with our French and German colleagues in the already existing formats. I do hope that soon there will be an international radio station carrying best programs from national foreign language broadcasters. The WRN network has been working a very interesting project with the Voice of Russia taking part. We are developing successful links with our CIS colleagues, including Ukraine and Belarus. I am sure our future lies in deeper cooperation (01/13/2003 VoR.ru via Sergei Sosedkin, IL, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. KREMLIN-STYLE NEWS MANAGEMENT --- By Donald Jensen The Russian media scene today is characterized by continuing government efforts at all levels to centralize and manage -- both directly and indirectly -- news coverage. While there is little outright censorship, the commercial and professional weaknesses of many news organizations provides ample opportunities for official manipulation of the news. The federal government, for example, sometimes tries to influence coverage by claiming that critical media violate tax or other regulations. Many national media are linked to large corporate interests, which, in turn, are close to the government. The Kremlin's campaign to assert control over Moscow-based national television networks in 2001 -- conducted in the name of business rationalization -- has resulted in a homogenization of news coverage and the avoidance of controversial issues, as journalists increasingly practice self-censorship. Moreover, the close ties between many businesses and leading media have undermined media credibility in the eyes of many Russians. In the regions, the small advertising market means that the media there are almost totally dependent on local politicians or a few businessmen who control access to transmission facilities, printing presses, and even office space. Official pressure on the media sometimes relies on strong armed methods as well. In November 2002, the Federal Security Service conducted searches of newspaper offices in the Urals city of Perm and in the northern city of Petrozavodsk -- both papers had run major reports on corruption among local bureaucrats. Chechnya is another hot topic for the Russian authorities. Reporters are only permitted to go there on official tours closely supervised by the Russian military. Even refugee camps for those who have fled the ongoing fighting in Chechnya are increasingly off-limits to reporters. In December, reporters from Reuters and RFE/RL were not allowed to film a refugee camp in Ingushetia; police informed them that failure to obtain prior written permission to do so could result in their arrest. Officials, politicians, and businessmen who do not like what they see or read about themselves in the media can take advantage of Russia's vague libel laws, which they often deploy in the courts to protect themselves against corruption charges. The prominent independent Moscow newspaper "Novaya gazeta" was almost forced to close this year due to repeated heavy court-ordered fines. The relatively few investigative journalists in the country practice their profession at considerable risk. In the Pacific-coast city of Khabarovsk in December, a husband-and-wife journalist team was beaten by masked men wielding metal rods. Environmental reporter Grigorii Pasko is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for espionage for reporting on massive pollution by the Russian Pacific Fleet. According to media watchdogs in the West, seven journalists were killed in 2002 for their professional activities. None of these murders have been solved, and official investigations are usually perfunctory. There are indications that further media centralization may be in the offing. On 15 November, the State Duma passed in its first reading media-law amendments that would expand the grounds on which the government could revoke broadcast licenses. According to one provision, for example, media outlets may have their licenses revoked if they do not make full use of their assigned frequencies. Although President Vladimir Putin on 25 November vetoed amendments to a bill meant to regulate coverage of antiterrorism operations, the veto appeared largely to be a public-relations exercise. A reconciliation commission empowered to work on the bill is likely to recommend further press restrictions. Donald Jensen is the director of RFE/RL's Communications Division. Compiled by Catherine Cosman THE COSTS OF WHITEWASHING THE CHECHEN WAR Writing in "The Wall Street Journal" on 8 January, Cynthia Scharf observes that the "truth about the blood-stained catastrophe that is Chechnya remains one of the last things the Russian public is likely to hear from its leaders -- or its media." According to the author, "three years of hideous carnage have been publicly whitewashed by Russian authorities." In the aftermath of the two recent terrorist acts in Moscow and Chechnya, the Russian government has stepped up efforts to control reporting on the war. These efforts include the arrest, kidnapping, or death threats against those Russian journalists, such as Anna Politkovskaya and Andrei Babitskii, who have covered the Chechen war in depth. Journalists who manage to get into Chechnya are subjected to rigorous military control over their movements, while reporters whose coverage is seen as too critical by the Russian government are simply denied entry. "Journalists, including foreign reporters, have been detained, interrogated, physically threatened and expelled from [Chechnya] by security forces for refusing to comply with the Russian authorities' "see-no-evil, hear-no-evil" guidelines," the author writes. As a result, "Chechnya - - and now its neighbor Ingushetia -- [have become] walled-off ghettos," and the Russian people are left with "a whitewashed portrayal of the Chechen conflict with little sense of the war's true costs." Since a perceived Russian victory in Chechnya is the key to "Putin's political future, coverage of the war is a matter of vital concern to the Russian president." Putin is well aware that accountability depends on information. "In perpetuating the mixture of denials and lies that feed this war...[Putin] is jeopardizing the security of all [Russia's] citizens...he is compromising not only his country's security, but also its conscience." CC (both: RFE/RL Media Matters Jan 10 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. V. of Russia, 7240, 0400-0600, jumped on co-channel Turkey at 0400-0455, well after the start of the season (David Crystal, 19125 Israel, undated aerogramme received Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA. Answering a question from an Argentinian listener on their listener`s tribune, the English team of Radio Slovakia International confirmed the beginning of a new transmission in Spanish on March 2003 with the new A03 season (Ramón Vázquez Dourado, Spain) Estimados amigos: Ayer 12 de Enero pude escuchar cómo las presentadoras de la sección inglesa de Radio Eslovaquia Internacional, contestando la pregunta de un oyente argentino, confirmaban el lanzamiento de una nueva transmisión en español a partir del mes de marzo, coincidiendo con el nuevo período de transmisiones A03. Buenas noticias desde el corazón de Europa !! (Ramón Vázquez Dourado, España, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. R. Sweden in English, 17505, 1330-1359. This is not in their program schedule and it is not announced with the other frequencies 9// 18960, 9490) at the beginning of the program. I hear it very well, not on 9490 (David Crystal, 19125 Israel, another undated aerogramme received Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWITZERLAND. Some pictures of the mediumwave sites in Switzerland: http://mypage.bluewin.ch/oldradio/site10.htm (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. Radio Alex: I've stayed tuned since 0640 Jan 12; very weak carrier, no modulation noted. At 0900 drifting upwards (11980.8 -- 11982.3+), 0900-0915 not readable (maybe just testing with OC). Finally they launched UR1 feed (// 207 LW) at 1011, 11980.182, seemingly still drifting). Will wait for something "local." Signal S5+, fair despite R. Russia-11990 splatter (Vlad Titarev, Ukraine [200 km. NW of supposed xmtr QTH], DX-plorer) via DXLD) ** U S A. BUCK SLIP By Al Kamen, Monday, January 13, 2003; Page A19 Your tax dollars at work: The State Department's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has a telephone hotline folks can call with complaints and allegations of wrongdoing against other officials. Somebody called a few months back, according to an OIG "communication report," to allege that Broadcasting Board of Governors member Norman J. Pattiz had acted improperly to get a friend, Betty Barber, hired as director of marketing. The anonymous tipster said that the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) personnel office had changed the job description "at least twice to make her eligible." Also, the tipster said, executive director Brian T. Conniff was "also possibly involved in fixing the bid for Barber." But OIG investigators wrote the IBB to say that "the information does not fall within the investigative purview of our office; however, the issues raised may be of interest to your office." Doubtless of great interest, since the OIG letter, containing those and other allegations, was sent to the office of none other than the aforesaid Brian Conniff. "Accordingly, we are forwarding this information to your office for whatever action you deem appropriate," wrote Kathy A. Friebel, assistant IG for investigations. "Please respond to our office within 45 days on how you intend to address each issue." Unclear what the outcome was, but the IBB issued a statement saying Barber's hiring was conducted properly and "in accordance with U.S. government regulations and policies" and that she was the best-qualified person. Also, Pattiz "did not know Barber prior to her hiring and had absolutely nothing to do with her hiring." Meanwhile, not only was the OIG letter sent to one of those accused, but also it was the wrong form letter, because the issues raised do "fall within [OIG's] investigative purview." The 10 Best Dishes And now, the winners in the In the Loop Best Dish Contest, which is to help the Clinton Foundation raise money with its new cookbook. Here are the 10 best entries, as judged by Washington Post national copy desk chief Vincent Rinehart: The Robert Rubin Sandwich.... (© 2003 The Washington Post Company Jan 13 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. WWRB, 5050, before and after 0500 UT Jan 4, a call-in show, not religious (David Crystal, 19125 Israel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Then must have been political ** U S A. 5070 5 Jan [Sun] at 0700, WWCR with "This week in Americana". WWCR has in fact quite a lot of programs not of religious type. This program is about American folk music. 3-4 (CB = Christer Brunström, Sweden, SW Bulletin Jan 12, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. SPECIAL EVENT FROM FORMER WCC TO CELEBRATE MARCONI CENTENNIAL Special event station WA1WCC will be on the air during "Marconi Week," January 11-19, from the former WCC Marconi-RCA-MCI shore station operations center in Chatham, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. Look for WA1WCC on or about 7.040 and 14.040 MHz on CW and 7.260 and 14.285 MHz SSB. The event, sponsored by the WCC Amateur Radio Association, marks the 100th anniversary of Guglielmo Marconi's first successful wireless transmission between the US and Europe. A message was sent by the Marconi station in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, on January 18, 1903. By 1914, Marconi had built a new safer and more up to date station in nearby Chatham. The former WCC facility will be open to the public from 9 AM until 5 PM Eastern Time. Plans are under way for Marconi's daughter, Princess Elettra Marconi, to visit Chatham January 16. She is scheduled to visit another special event, KM1CC, at the former Eastham Coast Guard station on January 18. At one time, WCC was described as the busiest ship-to-shore station on the US eastern seaboard. The Chatham Marconi Maritime Center is sponsoring a series of educational events for the public during Marconi Week (Chatham Marconi Maritime Center Inc newsletter via ARRL Letter Jan 10 via DXLD) ** U S A. FCC TO HOLD OPEN COMMISSION MEETING The FCC will hold an open meeting Wednesday, January 15, at 9:30 AM in Washington, DC. The Meeting will focus on presentations by senior agency officials regarding implementations of the agency's strategic plan and a comprehensive review of FCC policies and procedures. Presentations will be made in four panels: Panel One consisting of the managing director. Panel Two consisting of the chiefs of the Enforcement and Consumer and Governmental Affairs bureaus. Panel Three consisting of the chiefs of the Office of Engineering and Technology, the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and the International Bureau. Panel Four consisting of the chiefs of the Wireline Competition and the Media bureaus. The audio portion of the meeting will be broadcast live on the Internet via the FCC's Internet audio broadcast page at http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/ (FCC via ARRL Letter Jan 10 via DXLD) ** U S A. NPR GETS FOURTEEN MEGADOLLARS FROM MacARTHUR FOUNDATION The Associated Press 1/12/03 2:01 PM WASHINGTON (AP) -- A private foundation is giving $14 million to National Public Radio, $10 million of which will support news and public affairs programs at the network's 714 stations. The other $4 million from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation of Chicago will go to an endowment for NPR's long-term financial stability and innovations. "This extraordinary, historic commitment ... gives NPR enormous new reserves, at a crucial time, to carry us forward and expand our service," said NPR's president, Kevin Close. The donation, largest in NPR's 32-year history, brings the foundation's contributions to the organization to more than $31 million. The foundation is best known for its "genius grants," the no-strings- attached awards given to scholars, artists and others since 1981 to free them to pursue their work without having to worry about making a living. In its announcement, the foundation called attention to NPR's emphasis on international news, saying it was "considerably more than most commercial network news." NPR claims an audience of nearly 20 million listeners weekly. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. LOW POWER AM SITES Here are a couple of web sites that might be of interest. http://www.talkingsign.com/index.htm has information about the talking sign transmitters that have been popping up in various areas. http://www.issinfosite.com/nps_stations.htm has a listing of some of the National Park Service TIS stations. ISS is a manufacturer of TIS equipment. I believe this list only includes stations with transmitters supplied by this company (Patrick Griffith, CBT, Westminster, CO, USA, Jan 12, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Re IBOC: Annoying is the opportune word here. Just the few seconds of listening to those clips [on the WOR NY site] puts my teeth on edge. On their FAQ page, they state: WHAT DOES THE DIGITAL SOUND LIKE? It sounds like FM. Sorry, but to me it sounds like a low-bandwidth streaming web feed, or a low sample-rate MP3 file. I, for one, would not pay a dime for a radio to listen to that quality of audio, either music or talk. I guess it remains to be seen if consumers can be persuaded to part with their money for it. My gut says not, but .... (Brett Saylor, N3EVB, State College, PA NRC-AM via DXLD) WCHB-1200 [Detroit] continues to blast away with IBOC at night. They're so strong here, I can hear them with just a modest null on my local 1200 blowtorch, CFGO. And the IBOC sidebands are really doing a number on 1190 and 1210. They must be on day pattern to put out that kind of signal to the east. Am I the only one hearing this? (Barry McLarnon, Ottawa, Ont., Jan 13, NRC-AM via DXLD) More excerpts from the IBOC thread on the NRC-AM list, dating from December 15-16::: The IBOC nighttime operation petition indicates in one scenario that a radio station (790 WMC) would broadcast the IBOC signal only on the lower sideband to eliminate interference to the adjacent channel on the upper side. I thought that reception of both the secondary upper and lower sidebands was required to receive minimal IBOC digital. If only one sideband is required to receive IBOC, then doesn't that open the door to possible digital DXing using ECSS or SSB? Digital DXing would obviously be much more difficult if both sidebands were required, but if only one sideband is required then it should be easier - Only one frequency would be tuned in rather than two frequencies adjacent to the center frequency. Did I miss this in the FCC Report and Order (iBiquity spec), or is this an untruth in the petition? (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, ibid.) Bruce: Nothing in the public documents from NAB or iBiquity defines a mapping of modes to OFDM carriers. I've tried to get that info but no luck so far. Without it, there's no way to know exactly what they are putting in each of the digital sidebands (Chuck Hutton, WA, ibid.) So the lawyers and FCC know something about IBOC that the rest of us don't? Based on an inference from the petition that only one sideband/adjacent digital IBOC signal is required for reception, it means that I can continue to hold optimistic. In fact there will be three opportunities to receive an IBOC station; upper sideband/adjacent IBOC digital, center frequency analog, and lower sideband/adjacent IBOC digital. In other words, if I can't hear 640 KFI analog, maybe I can receive 650 KFI IBOC, or 630 KFI IBOC. I guess I refuse to sign on to the doom and gloom scenario. However with so many pushing the death of DXing, I can't help but wonder when it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Carry on (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, ibid.) And you will only receive stereo if reception is optimum; it will default back ot mono, and narrrower digital until it drops back to analog. When analog is gone, it just drops out. WHEE! (Powell E. Way, ibid.) This is a BIG DISAPOINTMENT, I imagine most stations won't bother with AM Stereo, of which I am a big fan. I still have my '91 Chevy pickup with Delco AM Stereo radio and I still think AM stereo done right beats FM Stereo. Only 2 stations in Houston that do AMS, KWWJ [Gospel 1360] which sounds great during the day and KRTX [Tejano 980] which only uses stereo at night on their 4 kw pattern and sounds pretty decent. Now this leads to another question in my mind, when IBOC radios are sold in vehicles I wonder if they will have Stereo capability? If IBOC becomes mandatory on radios, AM stereo should also be mandatory. 73 (Mike Oswald, TX, ibid.) || ...is digital radio in Stereo? || It's optional. Similar to when there used to be mono and stereo FM radio stations, it'll be up to the individual radio stations to decide how they want to utilize digital broadcasting. It will require a station to use both sidebands to generate the familiar tune called the "IBOC hash". Even then it won`t sound as good as analog stereo. The digital garbage has way too many artifacts in it sound decent (Bob Carter, Operations/Engineering, Max Media Radio Group, ibid.) And there's a lot of useless big corporate stations. Well, a lot of stations do NOT serve their local metro or community. THESE stations aren't locally programmed, and some of them the local TOH ID isn't even locally produced. And as Fred says in time of disaster, they just plod on their merry way. And there are VERY few full service stations left. Often you'll find these in smaller markets and locally owned. These will be the first to go. There's a lot of FM's that don't. Too many 80-90 docket and rimshots that once provided local service to an outlying area and when the owner had millions waved under his nose, bailed. For IBOC to work we'll have to have a mass deletion. AM? Back to 1950 level? Half the FM's? And then the manufacturers will have to learn how to make a good receiver, something that was forgotten some 25 years ago (Powell E. Way, ibid.) From my perspective, the results of IBOC tests were not just a DX matter but a matter of general public interest. It is not just DXers who will be affected by the increased AM band noise and other changes IBOC will bring. For some reason, I get the feeling that some IBOC advocates seem to be more interested in squelching dissenting observations than factually rebutting them. I wonder why? (Harry Helms AK6C, Ridgecrest, CA DM15, ibid.) What I don't like is that there is no choice. If the band were split in the beginning with IBOC from 1500 to 1800 at first, then everyone else from 540 to 1490 were AM stereo, then I could buy it. Then as stations added IBOC, the IBOC band would expand. I could buy that. Its not done that way. It`s done in a way that is destructive to everything if it`s done as is planned at this point. I love the image of every small town home with small town radio stations being jammed with IBOC within five years. What a lovely picture, WOPP and all the denizens of Opp, Alabama, going to digital for the luxury of high school football, because there's "a lot of New York money" gone in it. Nobody in New York ever gets excited when a lot of other money goes into something. But I love the picture it creates. I can already see the Walmart trying to sell a radio that nobody's gonna buy, because I can't see the station ever having the cash stream (they're too poor, these Mom and Pop's, right Dave Gleason?) to buy and license IBOC. And when the truth comes out about IBOC in the small towns, I hope for the sake of Ibiquity it's a busy day for news overall. If the jamming of IBOC becomes the lead story, Ibiquity and IBOC are dead 'round these parts. Grandma doesn't want a new radio to get the morning ag news. The one she's got serves just fine, thank you (Gerry Bishop, NicebutreallyshouldbeAlabamawhenyoulookatitville, FL, ibid.) Gerry; You are right-on with your statement. People in Seaside, Oregon don't care about IBOC either, or Waterloo Iowa, or most other cities and towns in the US. Sure NY, LA, Washington, etc, maybe they care, the big station owners, but John Q Public on the street would really care less. I think if IBOC is mandated and becomes a reality on AM, I think it will kill the AM dial. People now have so many choices for entertainment. If the AM Band in noisy, then they will go to FM, Satellite, or whatever. 73s, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, KAVT Reception Manager, ibid.) At the IBOC manufacturing level, I don't think there is a conspiracy plot. I do think that the electronics manufacturers need a new product like the CD or the DVD to push replacement market devices. And at the radio level, everyone is concerned with the fact that teens don't use radio like they used to... digital devices being the reason. AM stereo was never well implemented or promoted. IBOC has consensus support. Similarly, digital cassettes were never widely licensed or manufactured, unlike CDs and CDRs. There are a lot of useless corporate stations. Lots of consolidation deals included bad AMs or defective FMs. Stations that might have eventually gone dark. Corporate ownership allows certain economies that permit niche formats that could not exist as a stand-alones. Serving the community by today's standards may be plying a nice mix of soft songs that you can listen to at work. Serving may be not interrupting that soft blend with news and traffic, something those listeners don't want. Most people have come to realize that dull Sunday morning shows don't serve anyone; a good format with the right music or talk or news is service. Not every station needs to do news, not every one needs to do public affairs shows. Generally, each thing of interest will be programmed somewhere, and all listeners will be served. Disaster coverage should be and is supposed to be coordinated by and through the EAS system. In big disasters, most radio and TV is off the air; in smaller ones, the EAS needs to send people to the right station for news. There are plenty of full service stations left. Most are news/talk, like KFI or WLW or KTWO or WWL. They are stations with good signals and there are not many of these any more. The problem is that they are so costly... and with more stations on the air than ever, it is hard to finance them. 80-90 did produce move-ins and upgrades. Prior to Bonita Springs, such was not doable due to the jeopardizing of the license. But many 80-90s were in Live Oak or Blythe, markets that could barely support the stations they had prior to 80-90. The first to go was local programming. Where does it end? I am not a seer or a psychic (David Gleason, ibid.) They want to make money. They saw that there was NO mandate for AM Stereo and if they NEED to get one for this to work also. AM Stereo and the NRSC stuff for receivers was never mandated. No one wanted to spend the money on a halfway decent receiver. Yes, even FM sections on most receiving equipment is a mini step from being close to defective. Consensus? Not really. It was, however MADE to be the only game in town. In my market even good AM's and FM's have become mostly useless. Corners cut to the bone. Dead air, 2 and 3 audio sources running at once. Voice tracking where the names of areas, towns and events are grossly mispronouced. Or programmed elsewhere and sound like it and people will turn off. It is true not every station needs to do news or public affairs. Disaster coverage through EAS has never worked, and it never will work properly. As Fred said when the big tornadoes came through his area, the big corporate stations were on autopilot and ignore mode. I am a skywarn spotter and storm chaser. A lot of the LP-1's are so bad they need to have their status revoked. But these command (for now big rates and get it). But when IBOC gets into full implementation they'll have maybe a digital coverage of 1/3 or less of their solid analog coverage. I cannot say what will happen to the FM band, but with 100% IBOC implementation, I expect I will be able to receive 3 stations at night where I am. Where I want to move to, I will have NO MW reception possible. FM will be spotty (Powell E. Way, ibid.) There was a Mandate that Stations who wanted to Move to the Expanded band had to Run AM C-Quam Stereo... and 99% of them are running in stereo. Now this document Comes out From Glen Clark that is saying that ALL expanded band stations be allowed to run 24/7 IBOC... There is a problem with Running IBOC on ALL expanded band Stations. First off, C-Quam Being mandated and Second you cannot run C-Quam and IBOC at the same time. They will have to change that. As an Expanded band station engineer, I cannot see my station Running IBOC. It won`t work, with 1680 and 1660 only about 30 Miles apart. From what I hear from the WOR signal, both stations would kill each other with hash and become a total wasteland. I thought for IBOC to have full bandwidth it needed both sidebands, and both stations would be transmitting IBOC on 1670. 1680's lower and 1660's Upper. This document claims you only need 1 sideband for it to work. To me that limits the digital bandwidth. If that's the case, why bother with IBOC at all. My C-Quam sounds great. Cost me a fortune to put the lines in to make my station AM Stereo; why would I change it? They never mandated AM stereo receivers; that's the only problem with AM stereo. Nothing wrong with the AM stereo Technology. It works and works well. If we got the FCC to mandate AM stereo receivers, that would solve the AM stereo problem. If manufacturers won`t spend the money on a known working technology, why would they spend it for IBOC? C-Quam does not hash up the spectrum like IBOC does. I can park my truck right under my station`s tower at night at 1 kw and still hear 1660 with no problems. No front end overload as claimed with IBOC (Neal Newmanm, ibid.) Broadcasting has changed. Much has been because of economics, some has been through listener preference changes. Radio only cared for DXers in a very early part of its existence. Radio in the last few decades has been forced to stop caring about any kind of non-local listening, mostly due to the profusion of stations everywhere. Radio changed. We as DXers can not stop that. This latest change, if night IBOC is authorized, will definitely change the hobby. There is nothing I can do to stop a technical innovation if broadcasters think it will help them compete with other media. My slowing down the conversion of an AM or two will not help, and my arguing at NAB that the system sucks will do no good as no one else seems to think so. The jury is out on night IBOC; if it happens, we will have to adapt. Love of DXing will not stop it. There is probably an R4C with a digital IBOC module in design now (David Gleason, CA, ibid.) The problem here is that Neal goes into the executive's office, says "stop IBOC" and the execs ask "why"?? Since few people have actually heard the IBOC damage so far, it seems to me that what we need are some carefully labelled and edited audio files that can be used as examples. A great thing would be to have simultaneously recorded files for the IBOCér, and the 1st and 2nd adjacents on each side, each with a file name and ID3V2 (if mp3) or clip info (if RealAudio). It would be great to have a "without IBOC" recording of each of the channels. Any chance of getting them put on the new IBOC page, Fred? (Chuck Hutton, ibid.) Try to get a radio to work in downtown Atlanta. Even as far back as 86 a solid state radio was totally useless downtown through midtown. My bakelite 8 tube Zenith purred along merrily much to the dismay of friends who bought expensive receivers that got all the stations all the time all over each other (Powell E. Way, ibid.) I am the chief engineer for Multicultural broadcasting (MRBI), the station`s owner, which is great. But there are things in the works I cannot discuss in an open forum. However I am against IBOC because of what I am hearing on the band by listening to the Warren test station and WOR's signal and what it`s doing to a few of the little local daytimers on their second adjacent; this is not hearsay. This is what my own 2 ears are hearing. Not on one but several different radios. Several of us have asked for proof as to which radios Ibiquity and the WOR Engineering staff have tested with No hash on the second adjacent and we are all still waiting for an answer that I really don't expect To get. Because they cannot Prove it. I do know Fact of what I hear on my station`s signal in my .5mv contour up in Warren, NJ. Why should I care about this when the parent Company (MRBI) does not. OK, I`ll fess Up. I'm not only the station`s Chief Engineer, I am also the designated Chief Operator and a partner of the LMA that's actually running the station, so my concerns are valid as far as losing listeners and advertisers, and getting hashed by the the test station. And the station really does sound good in full AM stereo. Why should I change to IBOC. If the 50 watt test station is doing what it`s doing in my contour, can you imagine what would happen if two 10 kw stations on the second adjacent that have contours that overlap, like my station and 1660. Our IBOC signals will kill each other. Do I know this as fact? NO, because it has not been tried. But I would be willing to bet 2 years of my services for free that it would. That's how sure I am about it, and from what I have read, only the first adjacent is protected. Maybe they (FCC) should change it to the first and second adjacent like they do on the FM band. If IBOC is approved. The first adjacent is fine with no IBOC. With IBOC it should be the first 2 adjacent channels. I see this as the time for a rule change, for IBOC to work on AM or all hell will break loose (Neal Newman, NJ, ibid.) Of course there`s a conspiracy. All the people in the consortium that is Ibiquity conspire to bring about IBAC and later IBOC. Just because there is a conspiracy doesn't mean anything other than the people got together and talked and decided to bring this to market. There is a conspiracy to push replacement products. David, digital is but the smallest and least important part. I talk to teens all the time. My neighborhood is full of people my age who have lots of teens at home and some in college. I ask them many times, why they don't listen to radio. They say consistently, "the music s*cks." None said that it sounds like crap, they say "the music s*cks." Perhaps you were out of the country doing your LA thing in Ecuador but I remember in the mid to late 60s when "underground rock" came out. Before this, kids were saying "the music s*cks" but when the music changed to underground rock on FM, then FM took off like a shot! Sure, do the digital thing, but the programming is awful these days. You remember how everyone was on the AM stereo bandwagon in 1983 and I could buy a Sony, Sanyo, Sangean, Radio Shack, Panasonic, Aiwa, Carver and a host of other brands to include Delco and Chrysler Infinity car radios. AM stereo WAS promoted, its just that people have short memories. The people didn't think that the difference in cost was enough to make the difference to their ears. To the public the cost/benefit equation was not on the balance to the consumer enough. I am half thinking that IBOC may be the same. The difference between IBOC and AM stereo is that AM stereo did not destroy everything on the band for listening. Your mono AM radio didn't care. IBAC is going to be really ugly and the listeners will not be happy when many stations begin to interfere with each other. One very large corporation is one that is keeping useless stations afloat. These stations ought to be dropped but the large corporation I am thinking about is afraid that someone would get these stations and put something that would draw listeners so they won't be sold or dropped. How does Clear Channel or HBC or Cumulus allow niche formats when they are voice tracking stations all over the nation? What niche format is being allowed by a large corporation. In my opinion radio is bland now and there is little diversity. The big corporation will program the blandest and narrowest play list possible as not to offend anyone. This is what turns off teens. How can a station be full service if they are only news talk and have no music? (Kevin Redding, [I think], ibid.) Long before IBOC was even in testing, stations were either not implementing AM stereo or taking it off. In its first decade, AM stereo had awful platform motion, something that could make a listener in a car actually get sick. Even now, AM stereo causes some awful artifacts in the null areas of directional stations. I killed AM stereo on KTNQ in 1995 and within a year we had several hundred percent more listeners in the null areas than before; we all believe turning off the stereo is why. AM stereo was defective, not promoted well, not a consensus decision, and too little too late for an analog solution to AM competitiveness. (David Gleason, CA, ibid.) Uh, if only one side can be used, (say the lower side), then why don't they solve the problem by shifting up the center of the IBOC signal 2.5 kHz? I'm not sure how they are doing the modulation, as iBiquity has not responded to two requests for an interview, but logic tells me if it can run with only one 5 kHz signal, move it and center it so it causes *less* problems. If I want to listen to WLW, and WOR is causing all kinds of QRM (as they have), then I think that I, "as a citizen and listener", and not a DXer, have a right to send a letter to WOR and the FCC complaining about the problem. If WOR wants to take that as DXers being a pest, then I don't think there is anything I can say that would not insult them. But I maintain that I do have a right to tell a station that their neglect is causing harm, and loss, to something that I have had interference free for quite a while (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) Instead of beating ourselves to death, how about this: NRC officially writes the FCC and the IBOC testers and Ibiquity. Volunteers the services of the active members of the NRC as "people with sophisticated equipment and receivers who are knowledgeable about allocations, station interference prior to IBOC and similar matters" and offers to make observations on tests and implementations available to all parties in an effort to "protect the existing stations, particularly smaller market ones, from destructive interference." A simple "press release" could be sent to R&R, Inside Radio, RBR and Radio World as well. We could advise through it that we are concerned with the degradation of AM service, especially to underserved areas, and the potential for IBOC interference. And we want to help develop a system that satisfies all broadcasters. Thoughts? (David Gleason, ibid.) Wonderful. And potentially productive. I'm happy to see an idea that uses the NRC in an informational way. We (NRC) are well positioned to do one thing that the others can't do easily - tune a bunch of receivers to a bunch of frequencies from a bunch of locations and say what was heard. I do hope the club can get behind this, and do it in a way that will get the message across to the industry. There's a real potential problem for us - the industry tries to ignore us as a wacko hobbyist group and the "IBOC sucks" type of comments won't help. One thing though... I wouldn't wait for iBiquity to accept our offer. Or the FCC and anyone else for that matter. I'd try and get the message out through the commercial press, who will be more receptive to us and also just might view it as a way to get a real story. We should try the people you mentioned, but I'm betting iBiquity will blow us off and the FCC will ignore us (Chuck Hutton, WA, ibid.) That was tried in the past with a small group, and because the NRC is a non-profit hobby group, and there was no record of calibrations for sophisticated monitoring, the FCC found no credence in the offer. There are a *few* of us who do have the ears of the FCC if we say it's a problem, and that's due to the fact of our credentials, history in the business, and the equipment we own. For example, if Joe DXer says, "I know WAAA didn't do their pattern change because I didn't hear it on my GE SuperRadio III", the FCC will blow them off as a crank. However, if I was to report it as "At 17:00 WAAA drops to night pattern. The transition from day to night at a location of 40:44:54.600N 84:08:19.871W traditionally yields a field strength of 8.6 mv/m down to .90 mv/m under normal operation. Tonight, and for the past 14 days, there has been no change in field strength from the 8.6mv/m reading", which report do you think the FCC will believe. I would be willing to bet, that out of ALL the members, there is only about 10-20 that have the tools and the education to make precise measurements and observations. And that is what the FCC and the IBOC testers are wanting. Out of that 10-20, there are about 4 in this list that I would trust to make accurate observations and readings. I do think, however, that we can all help with the issue spot checking at times, and reporting to stations and the FCC what we hear. That's pretty much how the hams do it (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) Makes sense to me - and will probably get no response from Ibiquity. But it could (especially with decent promotion in the trade media you mentioned, something I can help arrange for at least two of those outlets) begin opening the eyes of smaller-market broadcasters to the fact that "digital" does not necessarily = "better" where their signals are concerned. Count me in. -s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) Scott and others have a good point. No one in the engineering profession wants to singly come out against IBOC; their owners are also owners of IBOC (have you seen who owns the thing... go to the Ibiquity page). No one will do their job in over the 0.5 mv/m contour. But if there is evidence it does not work, then we can make a position that it is not of value. It does work on FM; let FM do it. But differentiate for AM until a real solution is developed. I think that well written observations based on high familiarity with normal conditions of reception provide the sort of listener based empirical evidence that the FCC would consider in a service context as opposed to an engineering one. I don't think anyone is going to take a field strength meter home, or buy a spectrum analyzer to do DX observations. However, comments based on "I can normally listen to WLW at my location on all but the most static-filled storm days. Since the IBOC tests began, I can not listen to it at any time between the usual monitoring hours of 8 PM and 11 PM due to the extreme sideband interference form WOR which did not previously exist." (David Gleason, CA, ibid.) Ah, the relentlessly optimistic Mr. Conti. :-) Yes, it is probably true that it is possible to still demodulate the core IBOC data stream when one of the primary sidebands gets clobbered. This is not because the sidebands are replicas of each other, but because there is a large amount of redundancy in the data stream for error correction. But (and this is big BUT), the remaining sideband would have to be pristine, since all of the error correction capability has been used up to compensate for the missing sideband. On a typical skywave channel, the signal will be far from pristine, so I don't think zeroing in on one sideband will do the trick. Let's say you try to get the KFI upper IBOC sideband on 650. To begin with, the signal level is 16 dB (or 22 dB, per the Clear Channel recommendation) below the level of KFI's analog signal, so it's probably in the noise. Even if it isn't, there's the interference to consider: co-channel analog on 650, and IBOC from other stations on 640 and 600. How are you gonna null them all? And even if you miraculously deal with the interference, the IBOC signal will be impaired by multipath. Digital signals just don't make it over skywave channels without bit errors occuring. With no error correction capability left, the IBOC digital signal simply can't be demodulated successfully. I spent a number of years working on modem designs for HF data systems, so I'm not just talking through my hat. The hybrid IBOC system will perform dismally on skywave (Barry McLarnon, Ont., ibid.) I think it should be easy to answer this "can we DX IBOC?" question. Hams have been able to transmit data streams for years. They can transmit slow scan TV, ASCII, and I'm sure other stuff. Now all you hams, how easy is it to hear a weak, fading ASCII stream as compared to a weak, fading voice transmission? The answer should tell us something about the DXability of IBOC. Oh, since IBOC is a broader, richer signal than a pure ASCII stream of data, IBOC would be another notch or two harder to DX than ASCII. (Rick Kenneally, CT, ibid.) Then the only solution seems to be, lower the bandwidth so it's half the width centered on carrier, lower the analog bandwidth so it does not interfere, and then it should co-exist happy as ever. Or, re- engineer the IBOC transmission so it fits as described, and turn off the analog component. Do either, or. We know it does not work with both. Barry: And why is that? I assume that the linearity of the IBOC signal must be preserved in all cases, and that a short selective fade would cause an immediate drop out (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) David or someone who knows IBOC, If I'm in the "distant" coverage area (the 0.5 mV/m) of a station, how effective will that station's IBOC signal be for me? Thanks, (Rick Kenneally, CT, ibid.) Probably non-existent. Most stations really only value down to the 5 mv/m or event he 10 mv/m in large metros. Beyond that, man made interference is an issue (David Gleason, CA, ibid.) You are unlikely to have any digital service from that station. The field test data from Ibiquity showed that the daytime digital service area extended to approximately the 2 mV/m contour, and it shrank back to about the 10 mV/m contour (or worse) at night. If you read the test reports carefully, you'll also find that the stereo data stream is less robust than the mono data stream, so there's a good chance you'll only get mono audio if you're near the edge of digital coverage (Barry McLarnon, Ont., ibid.) But here's the thing, David. I go to NAB, too (we really should actually MEET each other one of these days...) and I hear plenty of people in the business, some of them in positions of quite a bit of importance, who don't think much of IBOC, day or night. David and I (and others on this list) are also on several mailing lists meant entirely for broadcast engineering professionals, and there's plenty of doubt there about IBOC, too. And the tone at regional SBE meetings and such is very clear: as long as they're not on the record about it, I've yet to find one engineer who's not actually running IBOC who has anything good to say about it. That said, the political tide is hard to mistake, and it's in favor of IBOC, RIGHT NOW and without too many pesky questions. I have little doubt that this is one reason Tom Ray [WOR] has reacted the way he has to some of the questions we DXers and others have been aiming his way; he's under a great deal of pressure to make this thing work and get it pushed through quickly. And while David's right that the reality of broadcasting today is that DX reception doesn't matter, we DXers (David included) know better than anyone that the reality of the MF band today is just as it's always been - skywave exists and there's no way to keep signals tightly confined within a single market --- which means that if you don't have the blowtorch signal and clean local frequency environment of a WOR, the coming of IBOC *will* cause significant interference WITHIN THE LOCAL MARKET to every AM signal that's even slightly less than a blowtorch across its full market. That knocks out everybody in Boston except WBZ, everybody in Dallas except WBAP and maybe KRLD, and so on. And in Los Angeles, I have to believe there are areas where KTNQ's analog coverage will suffer, perhaps badly, when IBOC goes on the air at KOMO and Roswell and KTWO and all the lesser signals on 1010 and 1020 and 1030 and 1040 (and that's at night; by day, IBOC at 1010 in Delano and Palm Springs and 1030 in San Luis Obispo and 1040 in San Diego will do their own damage...) I've used this analogy before: we DXers are the canary in the coal mine where broadcast reception is concerned. Smart broadcasters would do well to listen; I don't believe it's too late for IBOC to be stopped, *if* some of the groups that have been fence-sitters on the technology step up and make their voices heard. (And not just at the FCC, either; the leadership of NAB's radio board comes largely from the mid-sized groups like Hubbard and Saga, whose smaller signals would suffer mightily if IBOC becomes reality.) -s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) Web sites like techcentralstation.com and instapundit.com have covered such issues in depth, and take a more nuanced, comprehensive look at the issues than slashdot.com's binary, "techie" perspective. This is really nothing new --- remember the attempts in the 1970s to add a "recording industry tax" on cassette tapes or to outlaw home recording of TV shows in the early 1980s? The outfits opposing the Recording Industry Association of America and their ilk are not lightweights; they include Microsoft, Intel, and most other computer/electronics hardware companies (collectively, a much larger, much wealthier group than media and entertainment companies). They are actively fighting RIAA, and you'll find a lot of lawyers who'll tell you the Digital Millennium Copyright Act won't stand a chance when it reaches the Supreme Court. It's definitely something to be watching, but the entertainment industry will ultimately be just as successful in their current battles as they were in their previous battles over cassette tapes and VCRs (Harry Helms AK6C, Ridgecrest, CA DM15, ibid.) Well, I do think that issues of interference do belong in a station's public inspection file. If not the first instance, and repeat performances of interference. Any station worth its salt would then respond to the complaint with an honest appraisal of how the problem was solved, etc. Should the station not answer the letter is their choice. I would not just do this just for IBOC interference, but also when a station has a technical issue, or forgets to power down, etc. Also, I should point out that it should not be used as a badger tool against a station. It's only in those specific cases when a station is impacting your normal listening habit. Dialing around looking for IBOC is not a normal listening habit. However, if I'm trying to listen to a station that I normally listen to, say WJR-760, and WABC-770 QRMs WJR to the point where it's unlistenable, then I think a letter is in order (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) It all depends, Dave. Will I write WOR's public file? No, because although I have heard WOR testing and blowing WLW out of the water at times, it did not impact me. Will I write WLW's public file? No, because there is nothing that I listen to on 690 or on 710. However, I can think of several cases where a letter is quite appropriate. If I'm trying to listen to WLW for specific emergency information and WOR is causing QRM, I think a letter is in order. If my habit is to listen to WJR at night, and through no fault of my own WABC or WSB cranks on IBOC and now I can't listen to WJR, a letter is in order. If, in my monitoring of WOWO in Ft Wayne on my EAS receiver, the IBOC from WCHB, or WHAM causes reception problems, and especially decoding problems, then I really think an overnight letter to the station is in order. I'm not advocating that we all go looking for stuff to write in about. Doing that is a waste of time. If you want to complain about IBOC the best thing you can do is write letters to Congress and the FCC. If I find an issue such as splatter, failure to power down or pattern change, I can usually write a polite letter or call the station and kindly advise them. However, as we know, the business has changed and now stations either don't care or are ignorant to the damage they do. In cases where it directly affects your personal listening habits, and especially the safety and security issues, then I really think you need to address this to the public file and make it a public issue (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) Great to have you around, Neal. What is needed is caring professionals like yourself to catch the ears of other professionals and not just the engineers, but the owners as well. Let them hear and realize what a mess IBOC, in its current sloppy form, will make of the stations on 1660 and 1680 in NJ unless they quickly decide to reduce emissions on adjacent frequencies. The FCC couldn't care less about a bunch of DXers crying "we can't DX due to all the IBOC hash on other channels", but let them hear from owners and chief engineers who realize that this slop will effectively reduce their coverage areas and that will result in them being able to sell less ads and reduce the value of their station(s). Then maybe, just maybe, the FCC will take notice and have more stringent requirements for IBOC. 73 and thanx for your help....KAZ (Neil Kazaross, Barrington IL, Dec 16, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. 4830 kHz, R. Táchira, 0059 Jan 9. Excellent signal at tune-in with nice music program and male host. ID at 0110 as "Radio Táchira, La Voz de Táchira en Venezuela". Full ID at sign off 0130 included frequency and meter band. Short song after ID to close, but not NA. Instead some song about Táchira or Radio Táchira (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, JRC NRD-515/K9AY & A/D Sloper, Cumbredx mailing list Jan 12, 13 via DXLD) Hi DX-friends, On Jan 11th at 0045 UT I heard an unidentified Spanish talking station on 4830. It talked about "Buen Pastor" and started a religious programming from "La Voz de la Liberación" from "Iglésia Diós". I also heard mentioned the name "Radio Mil Sesenta ..." (?). At 0054 the station abruptly was off, which points to the irregular transmissions of Radio Táchira (heard earlier the same night). Is there anyone out there who could help me to identify this station (or is it, as I suspect, Radio Táchira?)? Thanks in advance for any help. 73 from (Björn Fransson on the island of Gotland, Jan 13, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. CHAVEZ THREATENS TO REVOKE TV BROADCASTING LICENSES CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chávez threatened to revoke the broadcasting licenses of Venezuela's main TV and radio stations, accusing them of supporting opposition efforts to overthrow him through a six-week-old strike. Chávez said Sunday the stations were abusing their power by constantly broadcasting opposition advertisements promoting the strike, which has dried up oil revenue in the world's No. 5 oil exporter but hasn't rattled the president's resolve to stay in power. Venezuela's main television stations have not broadcast any commercials during the strike except the opposition ads. Media owners say they adopted that stance because Chávez incites his supporters to attack reporters. "They are worse than an atomic bomb,'' Chávez said during his weekly radio and television show Sunday. "If they continue to use their licenses to try to break the country or oust the government, I would be obligated to revoke it.'' He spoke as tens of thousands of his opponents marched on Los Próceres park outside the Fort Tiuna military base in Caracas, seeking military support for the strike. Troops lobbed tear gas at the protesters but they quickly regrouped, shouting "cowards'' at hundreds of soldiers facing them with armored personnel carriers. Troops also kept back dozens of Chávez supporters protesting nearby. The first marchers to arrive at Los Próceres park, which is outside the Fort Tiuna military base, stomped down barbed wire blocking the entrance, but they did not try to break past security lines. Hector Castillo, a photographer for the local newspaper El Mundo, was injured by rubber bullets that some soldiers fired into the air, Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceño said. Eighteen other people were treated for tear-gas asphyxiation, he said. The park is one of eight security zones in Caracas decreed by Chávez. Protests are banned in those areas unless authorized by the Defense Ministry. The military - purged of dissidents after a brief April coup - has supported Chávez during the strike, with troops seizing oil tankers, commandeering gasoline trucks and locking striking workers out of oil installations. Top commanders have professed their loyalty to the government. In Colombia, Foreign Minister Roy Cháderton dismissed the possibility that Venezuela was heading toward civil war. "To have a civil war, two (sides) are needed, and the government doesn't want that,'' Cháderton told The Associated Press. "We are not preparing ourselves for civil war but to preserve peace and reconciliation.'' Venezuela's largest labor confederation, business chamber and opposition parties began the strike Dec. 2 to demand that Chávez resign or call early elections if he loses a nonbinding referendum on his rule. The National Elections Council scheduled the referendum for Feb. 2 after accepting an opposition petition signed by 2 million people. Chávez says the vote would be unconstitutional, and his supporters have challenged it in the Supreme Court. He was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000, and his term ends in 2007. Venezuela's constitution allows a recall referendum halfway through a president's term - August, in Chávez's case. Cháderton said the government would consider providing funds for the vote if the Supreme Court upheld it. "An opposition that contributes ... to strangling the country's economy and calls for tax evasion ... is demanding funds for a vote. How curious,'' he said. "But at an opportune time, after the judicial institutions make their decision, we will decide.'' Opponents accuse the president of running roughshod over democratic institutions and wrecking the economy with leftist policies. The opposition has staged dozens of street marches, called for a tax boycott and held a two-day bank strike last week. Chávez accuses opponents of trying to provoke a coup. He has fought the strike by firing 1,000 workers from the state oil monopoly, where some 30,000 of 40,000 workers are off the job. The strike, which is strongest in the oil industry, has caused fuel shortages and is costing the country an estimates US$70 million a day. The country's crude output is estimated at about 400,000 barrels a day, compared with the pre-strike level of 3 million barrels. Exports are a fifth of the 2.5 million barrels a day the country usually produces. In Vienna for a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Oil Minister Rafael Ramírez vowed production would be 2.5 million barrels a day by mid-February (AP via Star Online Jan 13 via Ulis Fleming, DXLD) ** ZANZIBAR. Voice of Tanzania, Zanzibar, 11734, email from CE Ali Aboud Talib who promised verification card shortly. I had sent my report to Chief Engineer Abdulrahman Said, as per latest WRTH. But unfortunately he died two years ago! (CB=Christer Brunström, Sweden, SW Bulletin Jan 12, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ZANZIBAR 11735 kHz - Voice of Tanzania, Zanzibar. QSL card full data signed by Mr Khalid H. Rajab. He wrote on the card that they broadcast on 11735 kHz everyday from 18 to 24 hours local time in Swahili. I sent him a reception report in English, CD with 1 hour of recording, post card of Long Island, 1 US$ and 1 IRC. The QSL arrived in only 26 days (Marcelo Toníolo, Greenvale, NY, hard-core-dx via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 3330 Jan 5, 1417. ID might probably have been R. Comores. Had not switched on my recorder! The language was French until 1445. 1-3. 1445 a program in Russian about the tango in Argentina! I doubt it is the same station. The Russian programme continues and the signal increases towards 1500 but disturbed. The station is in the time zone UT +3h based on the time signal (OB= Olle Bjurström) (See below! /editor) Here is the 5th harmonic from Lithuania on 666 kHz (SA= Stig Adolfsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin Jan 12, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) COMOROS would be a very pleasant surprise, but don`t expect them to return after many years gone (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4937, 5.1 1350, discussion in French. Switched off the transmitter abruptly at 1357. 2-3. Listened a few times later on the frequency but never heard anything (OB= Olle Bjurström, Sweden, SW Bulletin Jan 12, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4995/U, 2143-2214+, 12-Jan; 1 second pips with occasional double pip and missed pip. Only long pip on each minute, no voice. At 2150 changed from pips to continuous chatter (fast pips). 2200 went to continuous tone till off or lost at 2208. 1 second pips back at 2209. Only hear in USB and on 4995, not 4996 (RWM Russia). S6 signal with minor QRM (Harold Frodge, MI, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TRANSMITTER NEWS ++++++++++++++++ RADIO DJ TOY TRANSMITTER Five or six weeks ago someone mentioned the availability of a "Radio DJ" unit at Toys R Us for slightly under $10. Never being one to turn down an el cheapo AM transmitter, I bought one. It's not bad, and grounding it to a water pipe and stringing out horizontally the 6' antenna wire which comes with it, the signal gets out better than what I got out of the much more expensive Ramsey. It is fix-tuned at 1610 and comes with a bright "On Air" light, mic, an external input, a modulation level light and four fixed-level effects (laughing, a zapper, etc.) It covers the house just fine, no mean feat since (1) I have a semi-local TIS on 1610 and (2) I have a local on 1620. It would make a fine backup transmitter for WNRC... I have no idea if it is still available (Pete (why bother growing up) Taylor, Tacoma, NRC-AM via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ WORLD RADIO TV HANDBOOK 2003 The latest edition of the World Radio TV Handbook was published recently. We've been putting it through its paces. If you're wondering whether to purchase, read our review. (13-01-03) http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/booklist/html/wrth.html (RN Media Network via DXLD) ###