DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-012, January 21, 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 1165: RFPI; Wed 0805, 1405 on 15039 and/or 7445 WWCR: Wed 1030 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1165.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1165.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1165h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1165h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1165.html WORLD OF RADIO 1166 FIRST AIRINGS: WBCQ: Wed 2300 on 7415, 17495-CUSB WWCR: Thu 2130 on 9475 RFPI: Fri 1930 on 15039 CONTINENT OF MEDIA 03-01 is available from Jan 20: RFPI: Wed 0705, 1305 [special timings], Fri 1900, Sat 0100, 0700, 1300, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, Tue 2000, Wed 0200, 0800, 1400 (Download) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0301.rm (Stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0301.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0301.html [not yet available] UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS Hi Glenn, I love reading your DX Listening Digest! (Eric Zhou, China) Escuchada este pasado Sábado 18 a WWCR 5070 kHz a las 0330 con el programa "World of Radio" # 1165 en Inglés con Glenn Hauser. Como siempre bien fuerte y fácil de sintonizar en esta parte de los EEUU. El mejor programa con info sobre el DX !!! (Dino Bloise, New Jersey, USA, Jan 19, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Thanks for your broadcast that I`ve been listening since it began. This is my first e mail ever. So keep up the good work. À la prochaîne. 73, good listening (Richard Casavant, Montréal, Jan 20) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. NORWAY: 18940, Radio Afghanistan (Presumed); 1352..1436, 18-Jan; Only now- familiar stirring IS tune. SIO=2+53 (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DXpedition, Cumbre DX via DXLD) And also when I checked 1445 UT Jan 21. It`s really *incredible* this has gone on for so long, burning up kilowatts and dollars --- but whose? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. 17705, R. Afghanistan. 0900 "This is radio Afghanistan, the net will be news" said in Pusthu. This was under help by an Afghan guy. Uncommon was that in 0945 I heard many times "R Azadi" (R Liberty) and I was much concerned by this... Local like signal in MVT7100 plus TV antenna (Zacharias Liangas, 20 [Jan], Thessaloniki Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Like many of your logs, I`m not quite sure what to make of it. Current IBB schedule does not include 17705 at this hour, but on 17710: 17710 0700 0730 RFE AFG PA HOL 02 077 17710 0730 0830 RFE AFG DA HOL 02 077 17710 0830 0930 RFE AFG PA HOL 02 077 17710 0930 1030 RFE AFG DA HOL 02 077 I.e. the RFE service from Holzkirchen to Afghanistan alternating Dari and Pashto. Was this a receiver with accurate frequency readout? Some of your others seem to be 5 kHz off (gh, DXLD) ** ARMENIA. Updated winter schedule received from Voice of Armenia: Armenian: Mon-Sat 1930-2000 on 4810/11625, daily to South America: 0300-0330 on 9965; Arabic: 1745-1815 on 4810/1314; Azeri: 1400-1430 (SS -1415) on 864/4810; English: Mon-Sat 2040-2100 on 4810/11625, Sun 0910-0930 on 4810/15270; Farsi: 0330-0400 on 864/4810; French: Mon-Sat 2000-2020 on 4810/11625, Sun 0830-0850 on 4810/15270; Georgian: Mon-Sat 1320-1330 on 234; German: Mon-Sat 2020-2040 on 4810/15270, Sun 0850-0910 on 4810/15270; Kurdish: 1445-1515 on 864/4810; Spanish (to South America): 0330-0345 on 9965; Turkish: 1430 (SS 1415) -1445 on 864/4810 (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Jan 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Really on 11625 now? They keep listing it but not using it, as I recall (gh) ** ASCENSION. 6135, R. Japan via Ascension. Swahili 0345, fair. On only few days during midsummer, when all is still on the lower bands, signals from Africa will suddenly fade up out of nowhere in the 0200- 0430 period. This phenomenon has yet to be explained satisfactorily, and usually lasts for an hour or two, before 49, 41 and 31 metres become silent again (Craig Seager, Australia, Jan ADXN via DXLD) Date, then? ** AUSTRALIA. Progress report from Dennis Adams, HCJB-Australia. Everything going well; only a couple minor failures at the transmitter, really quite good. With fine tuning done, even at low power 25 kW, signal is stabilizing and stronger. Picking it up much better now in Melbourne, quite a distance from Kununurra. Engineers will be ready for Asian service to start this coming Sunday, 15480 full power 100 kW, 1230-1730. [NOT: delayed another week; see below.] Reception reports first two weeks, even with low power and antennas toward S Pacific, amazed that reports have come in from Japan, Scandinavia, India, Pifo. DX Partyline was sent last *Thursday* night, local time via ftp site, received OK on Friday Oz time, in plenty of time to get it on air as scheduled. [Wonder if show must now be produced a day earlier? --gh] Ethiopia test broadcasts? Date still not set, as putting all efforts so far into getting Asian antenna online. Then will turn attention to that, ASAP (DX Partyline Jan 18, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. HCJB-AUSTRALIA HCA plans to test its service to India from January 19, using 15480, 1230-1730. This frequency was originally used by IBB from October 27 2002 for VOA programming 1300-1500 via Philippines (Poro) with two transmitters, to India and the Middle East, azimuth 285 degrees and 215 degrees, but was withdrawn on October 30. The channel was then made available to HCJB-Australia HCA acknowledges that there is a possibility of interference from BBC 15485 via Skelton, servicing Europe. 11755 was chosen, 0700-1100, azimuth 110 degrees, to maintain frequency transparency with the previous Pifo (Ecuador) transmitter, and it has been acknowledged that Radio Finland, co-channel, might be a problem in the Pacific. If necessary, a more suitable frequency may be selected. I have urged that 11755 be changed, as it is not providing a reliable service across the primary target area of Australia and the Pacific. Interference from Radio Finland is annoying, with that transmitter running 500 kW 0600-2100, at azimuth 220 degrees, servicing western Europe. That heading is virtually straight into Melbourne via long- path! Here in Melbourne, the Finnish transmitter often overrides HCJB, especially for the first hour of the broadcast. I have suggested to HCA's frequency manager that long-path transmissions from Europe into eastern Australia on 12 MHz in the period 0600-1200 have been commonplace for decades, providing very strong and reliable signals throughout the year. I visited the Pori station last year as part of the EDXC conference, and I was impressed with the facilities, with 11755 running out of a slewable curtain. Let's hope that something can be done to resolve the problem on 11755, acknowledging Kununurra is presently using reduced power during the test phase. Increasing the antenna input power to 25 kW (from the present 13 kW), may improve audibility across the primary target areas. However, this has he potential to create co-channel interference to Finland service, due to the reciprocity pattern. When Pifo used 11755 to the South Pacific, it ran 100 kW, and put out a thumping big signal across NZ and Eastern Australia, a different set of circumstances as compared with 13 kW from Kununurra! (Bob Padula, EDXP Jan 19 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. HCJB Australia [tentative] January 18, 2003, 11755 at 1039-1101. Announcers reminiscing about the hobby when they were young on "Ham Radio Today". Buzzing noise began around 1055. At 1057 the R. Habana Cuba ident signal begins on 11760. Is this the cause of the buzzing on 11755? I'm hearing the buzz from 11755 thru 11765. Perhaps dirty RHC transmitter? [No doubt – gh] HCJB Australia, January 20, 11755 at 1127-1131. "This is HCJB Australia..." by male announcer. Into "Word of God" program. SIO 252. 73, (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, Annandale, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. HCJB Australia Update: The Asian service of HCJB (Australia) due to commence on January 12th has been delayed until January 19th. This is due to structural damage to the antenna system by a willy willy (strong but very small tornado type wind) Try 15480 1230-1730 on this date (Jan CQ SW News via DXLD) Later delayed to 26th as already reported in 3-011 (gh) ** AUSTRALIA. Signal quality from Kununurra has been variable in eastern Australia, to say the least, but this is no doubt partially due to the reduced power being used. It is certainly inferior to the signal previously provided from Pifo, also on 11755, and is subject to QRM from Finland co-channel. I must confess that I’m something of an occasional closet listener to HCJB. I don’t mind the folksy format of their mailbag program, DX Party Line sometimes has useful information, and any news and music from South America is a bonus. I guess that the overall message from the studios of the Australian operation is intended to be the same, but it’s not as sugar-coated, and I wonder if all the listeners, like myself, who have HCJB on in the background semi-regularly will be retained. -cs (Craig Seager, Jan ADXN via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. BEND OVER AUSTRALIA! An Arabic broadcasting group has paid a record price for a Section 40 AM 'off-band' radio licence bought from the New South Wales Labor Council. The Council sold its AM station 2KM 1620 to World Media for $2.1 million last week. World Media provides ethnic content to Pay TV, including a feed of the controversial Al Jazeera TV channel. The current music format, which plays "all time favourites" from the 1930s to the 1960s, will be dumped and replaced with Arabic programming. Three 2KM staff will be sacked. Sounds like ``The enemy within!`` ed. (Jan CQ SW News via DXLD) A touch of xenophobia there? ** AUSTRALIA. AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL DIALECTS There are innumerable dialectical differences and idioms used across Australia, with many instances of phrases and expressions being incomprehensible to speakers in different States and Territories The inhabitants of Melbourne speak a form of English which is unique to this part of Australia, heavily influenced in recent yeas by the increasing multi-cultural presence in this State. The ABC has a very useful and interesting interactive Website known as the "AUSTRALIAN WORD MAP". You will find there a big listing of regionalism's, words, phrases, expressions sued by particular language groups. Visitors may post their own additions with comments, or search to see what other people have submitted. I often see references in radio monitoring newsgroups and E-mail lists to "Aussie-accents", as heard over Radio Australia, Australian mediumwave broadcasters, or Australian internet broadcasts, but that is meaningless, as there is no such thing as s single "Aussie accent"! To see what this is all about, please visit: http://abc.net.au/wordmap/ Look for "potato cake"...!!! (Bob Padula, EDXP Jan 19 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 1611, AUSTRALIA unID, JAN 10 1136-1208 - Presumed; fair carrier peaked briefly at 1202 with man speaking. Too weak to determine language or accent. This is a frequency to watch as it seems to have the strongest signal of the expanded band Aussies and the noise level is comparatively low (Ray Moore, N Fort Myers FL, NRC IDXD via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. ABC DASH FOR CASH TO FUND ITS DIGITAL VISION By Cosima Marriner January 18 2003 URL: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/01/17/1042520776307.html (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. BOOK: On History of Australian Broadcasting. ``When Radio was the cat`s whiskers``, by Bernard Harte. I received this book for a Xmas present from my sister in law, what a beauty! The book is written by someone who grew up with radio, (just like Alan), and details history of early radio broadcasting, and some later developments. The book is published by Rosenberg Press, and is distributed by Collins bookshops. In fact I found a girl I ``courted``, in my earlier days in Port Macquarie, in a photo. I didn`t know she was a descendant of radio pioneers! (unID writer, Jan Australian DX News via DXLD) ** BOTSWANA. R. Botswana, 4820, January 20, 2003 0401 UT. News read by female. "This news bulletin comes to you from R. Botswana, Gaborone" by female announcer. SIO 454 (-.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, Annandale, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Desde 6 de janeiro, a rádio Gazeta, de São Paulo (SP), leva ao ar, em 5955, 9685 e 15325 kHz, a programação intitulada Jornal da Gazeta AM Universitária. Emite no seguinte esquema: entre 0900 e 1000; das 1500 às 1600, e entre 0100 e 0200, de segundas a sextas-feiras. Nos demais horários, a programação apresentada é a da rádio Canção Nova. Monitorei, aqui em Porto Alegre (RS), a programação apresentada entre 0100 e 0200, em 18 de janeiro. O programa apresenta notícias do dia, futebol, de São Paulo e do mundo. Também leva ao ar entrevistas com músicos e um quadro sobre cidadania. Pude perceber que os apresentadores André e Emanuel são muito simpáticos e, a todo momento, faziam questão de saudar os ouvintes das ondas curtas: "seja muito bem-vindo você que está nos ouvindo em ondas curtas!". Entre as notícias, davam os endereços e formas de contato com a emissora. Inclusive, além de pedirem telefonemas, envio de cartas e mensagens pela Internet, convidavam os ouvintes a visitarem a Gazeta "para tomar um café!". Com toda essa simpatia, é possível que respondam aos relatórios de recepção. Endereços para contatos: Avenida Paulista, 900, 4º andar, CEP: 0310-940, São Paulo (SP). Telefone: (11) 3170.5801. Endereço eletrônico: radiouniversitaria@f... [truncated] (Célio Romais, @tividade DX Jan 19 via DXLD) So the areligious programming on Gazeta has longer hours than previously thought (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. A rádio Nacional, da cidade de Tabatinga (AM), está trabalhando para reativar suas emissões em 4815 kHz, em 60 metros. A informação é do comunicador da emissora, Jocerli Rodrigues. Ele conversou com o dexista e biólogo Paulo Roberto e Souza, de Tefé (AM), que telefonou para a Nacional, em busca de novidades. Conforme o Paulo Roberto e Souza, a emissora já pertenceu à Radiobrás, mas atualmente está nas mãos da Prefeitura de Tabatinga. Opera, no momento, em ondas médias, entre 1000 e 0200, em 670 kHz (Célio Romais, @tividade DX Jan 19 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Ao que tudo indica, a rádio Nacional da Amazônia, que transmite desde Brasília (DF), deixou de emitir em 6180 kHz, em 49 metros. Entretanto, tem sido captada em 9665 kHz, em 31 metros, além, é claro, de 11780 kHz, em 25 metros. Monitorei, aqui em Porto Alegre, em 18 de janeiro, os 9665 kHz, entre 0015 e 0100. Em dado momento, o sinal que sobressaía era da Nacional. Mas, em seguida, aparecia o sinal da Marumby, de Florianópolis (SC). Às 0052, abruptamente desapareceu o sinal da Nacional da Amazônia, que foi substituído pelo da Rádio Internacional da China, com sua programação em espanhol. Às 0100, ainda pude ouvir o encerramento da programação da Marumby, com o apresentador dizendo: "nos despedimos na paz do senhor!". E entrou no ar a programação da CRI em espanhol. (Célio Romais, @tividade DX Jan 19 via DXLD) So Marumby is still on 9665 and Amazônia clashes with it. 9665 had been carrying CRI Spanish relay at 0100 for some time (gh, DXLD) Recentemente a Rádio Nacional de Brasília deixou de transmitir nos 6180 kHz e agora está transmitindo em 9665 kHz. Bastante estranha esta mudança, em 9665 transmite a Rádio Marumby de Florianópolis-SC há bastante tempo e agora as duas emissoras se interferem mutuamente, será que a Nacional não levou isto em conta? 73 (Samuel Cássio Martins, DX CLUBE DO BRASIL, São Carlos SP, Jan 20, radioescutas via DXLD) Caro Samuel, Não teria sido involuntário, já que a Marumby tem seu sinal destinado mais para a região Sul e a Nacional da Amazônia para o Norte? 73s! (Celio Romais, Porto Alegre, RS, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. 2470, 19/01 0955 R. Cacique, Sorocaba, SP, advs lidos pelo locutor Tomás e muitas conversas deste com ouvintes ao telefone e música com Tião Carreiro e Pardinho ( famosa dupla sertaneja), 35433 SCM (Samuel Cássio Martins, Brasil, @tividade DX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 5055.04 12/01 2219 R. A Crítica, Manaus-AM, relay da Crítica FM 93.1, nxs: "Informações com Carlos Caldas", advs Águas Amazonas, 33333 CFL (Caio Fernandes Lopes, Brasil, @tividade DX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4925 kHz, Rádio Difusora de Taubaté, São Paulo. Ouvida novamente hoje entre 0930 e 0940 UT apresentado o "Jornal Difusora". Recepção apenas regular. Havia algum tempo que esta emissora não era escutada nesta freqüêencia. Há uns dois anos a Rádio Difusora retornou às ondas curtas depois de um longo tempo, mas desde então tem se mostrado muito irregular. 73 (Samuel Cássio Martins, DX CLUBE DO BRASIL, São Carlos SP, Jan 21, radioescutas via DXLD) Caro Samuel, Muito boa notícia! Vale destacar que a Rádio Difusora, de Taubaté (SP), é muito boa pagadora de confirmações. Todos os relatórios de recepção são contestados com carta e material de divulgação da emissora. Pelo menos era assim, há algum tempo. 73s! (Celio Romais, Porto Alegre, RS, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. Brasilian logs in 31 meters : 9515, Novas da Paz, Curitiba, 2210-2315 19 January, Talks religious, usual exalted voice of a MAD man , poor signal. 9565, Radio Tupi, Curitiba, 2215-2235 19 January, Talks religious, usual exalted voice of a MAD man , poor signal (different Mad man than 9515) 9675, Radio Cançao Nova, Cachoeira Paulista, 2230-2325 after 2310 program AGAINST "SEXUALIDADE DA MULHER" OLD MAD MAN crying against women. Good dxs (Dario Monferini, Milano,Italy, JRC 525 , long wire outside balcony 30 meters long, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CAMBODIA. CAMBODIAN ROYALIST PARTY LAUNCHES RADIO STATION Reports from Phnom Penh say that Cambodia's Funcinpec [royalist] Party will launch a radio station on Saturday to counter the media dominance of the ruling Cambodian People's Party in the run-up to national elections in July. The new station, to be called Ta Prohm Radio, will air news, party views on electoral issues, and songs honouring the monarchy. Radio is the most powerful medium in Cambodia because of the high illiteracy rate. Funcinpec official Nhiek Bun Chhay says the Party has a licence for the new FM station, which will be heard in Phnom Penh and surrounding areas. Mr Nhiek Bun Chhay said the station will broadcast Khmer news programmes "similar to Radio Free Asia and the Voice of America." (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 21 January 2003 via DXLD) ** CAMEROON. 5010, R. Garoua, 1730-1900, Garoua, French, English transmission not-on-air. SINPO 45333. R71A, Longwire. 28/12/02 Confirmed (Tony Smith, 4RK1SWL, [does that mean he`s in Rockhampton?] Jan CW-SW News via DXLD) ** CANADA. The following is a news item posted on CBC NEWS MONTREAL at http://www.montreal.cbc.ca/template/servlet/View?filename=indepth_news_theme20030120 CBC RADIO NEWS THEME CHANGE -- WebPosted Jan 20 2003 05:42 PM EST MONTREAL - On Jan. 20, CBC Radio listeners heard something a little different before the morning news: new theme music now introduces the international, national and local newscasts. The new themes were composed by Adam Goddard, who also wrote the themes for The Current and Sounds Like Canada on CBC Radio One. He also composed the Requiem heard during CBC Radio's Sept. 11 commemoration. While the new theme is only about seven notes long, Goddard says a lot of work went into creating it. "It is a fairly complex process. I started out with several different seven- or five- or eight-note-long themes, all with different types of orchestration or different types of 'feels' to them," he explains. "The lead instrument is a mixture of piano and percussion, and also you're hearing some tympani and some brass and a reverse cymbal, which gives it a little bit of energy, that little snap at the end." "The actual notes that I chose were chosen specifically because they're not really positive or negative or major or minor, so that they can cover a broad spectrum of contexts, types of news, whether it's covering war in Iraq or covering a Canadian winning the Pulitzer Prize you have to cover a wide spectrum," he says. Goddard is continuing work on other newscast themes for CBC. New theme music for Canada At Five, World At Six and The World This Weekend will be introduced later this year. Copyright © 2003 CBC All Rights Reserved (via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. I welcome a repeat of the domestic service to the SW bands. I was a real fan of RCI and CBC years back when they had the Northern Service telling all who would listen and savor that Mrs. XXX saw a polar bear in her back yard and that all is well with the amily, in case her husband on a business trip to Toronto was listening. That's what SW can (and used to) bring us -- a sense for the heart beat of other people, their problems, priorities and their successes as well as failures. (Vern Modeland, AR, swprograms via DXLD) Sigh. Then you were getting only half the story. RCI's French service is far more flexible and has more than read-the-papers of the English side. This is far more noticeable when overseas and trying to get news of Andorra (Canada is a forgotten country in most international news, like Andorra), and getting up and going outside with the radio on a frozen morning at 6 a.m. to hear Canuckistan news, but waiting 20 minutes into the broadcast after news of Norwegian whaling commission, Bushisms for the day, and finally: Strike in Toronto, snow on the palm trees of Vancouver, hockey, hockey, then signoff. That's the English service to China which dumped 'The world at six (pm)' on us. The French service however lead with Canadian stories, too many out of Ottawa -- world's dullest capital, and then Quebec and summary of the nation. I can see how the Northern Service would fascinate some people. I got the CIDX Messenger for the Arctic DX column. But that is intended to be a regional _service_ using a BROADcast technology rather than point to point for communication inside a region. The nearest analogy I can think of is the Tok-Piksun service from PNG, and RA, though that is not just a regional service but what the 20th century called a 'nation' Eavesdropping on national services may be fun, but it is not International Radio, in my view. (Dan Say, BC, Jan 18, swprograms via DXLD) ** CANADA. CANADIAN REGULATOR RULES ON INTERNET TV The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has ruled that is illegal to broadcast television programmes on the Internet without the permission of the appropriate TV network or copyright holder. In explaining its decision, the CRTC cited the difficulty of imposing and enforcing regional restrictions on such broadcasts to protect the rights of copyright holders. "At present, there is no completely workable method of ensuring that Internet retransmissions are geographically contained," the CRTC wrote in its decision. "The likelihood that a programme retransmitted over the Internet would become available worldwide could significantly reduce the opportunities" for copyright owners. The ruling closes a loophole in Canadian law which has allowed a number of Internet-only TV companies to stream programmes such as Friends, The Simpsons, and professional sports worldwide (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 21 January 2003 via DXLD) ** CYPRUS TURKISH. From the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Radio Bayrak International transmitting at location MF Servisleri - Konum: Yeni ískele - 35 13' N / 33 55' E at 1494 KHz (10 kW) and 6150 kHz (25 kW), 0630-2400 [no hint given UT or local time. I presume local time. Ed.]. Postal address is Bayrak Radio Television Corporation, BRT Sitesi, Dr. Fazìl K‡k [sic – lost characters] Bulvarì, Lefkoça - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, via Mersin-10, Turkey. Web: http://www.brt.gov.nc.tr 1200 News headlines (English & Greek) 1400 News in Greek 1415 News in English 1600 News headlines (English & Greek) 1800 News in Arabic, Russian & German 1930 News in English 2000 News in Greek (BRT Webpage via JKB, 16.01.2003 via Jan WWDXC DX Magazine via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 5009.8, Radio Cristal; 1135-1155+, 19-Jan; Spanish baladas. Male ID as "Ésta es Radio Puebla [sic] ...República Dominicana, la grande de Santo Domingo" and "Radio Puebla"; 1510 relay per WRTVH. SIO=3+43 at start but QSBing rapidly (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DXpedition, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** DUCIE ISLAND. SECOND DUCIE DXPEDITION SET FOR MARCH The second DXpedition to the newest DXCC entity, Ducie Island, is expected to take place in March, according to an announcement this week. Ducie Island DXpedition leader Yuichi Yoshida, JR2KDN, reports he will depart from Narita, Japan, on March 3 heading for Tahiti, French Polynesia, and then on to Gambier Island. Presumably this is where the vessel Braveheart will meet up with the DXpedition team members. They expect to arrive at Pitcairn Island to pick up the remaining team members on March 5 and then head for Ducie Island. Plans are to begin operations March 8 from VP6DI2 (yes, that's a "2" at the end of that call sign) and continue about a week. The operator list includes Dieter, DJ9ON; Hans, DK9KX; Philippe, FO3BM; Hiro, JA1SLS; Yuichi, JR2KDN; Doug, N6TQS; Dave, VP6DB; Mike, VP6AZ; and Meralda, VP6MW. Activity is being planned for 6 through 160 meters on CW, SSB, RTTY and AO-40. QSL via JR2KDN (bureau or direct). Pilot stations for this DXpedition are JE2EHP, DJ8NK and WA2MOE. The initial Ducie Island DXpedition in March of 2002 racked up some 50,000 contacts. A 2.5-square-mile Pacific atoll, Ducie was approved for DXCC credit in November 2001.-(The Daily DX http://www.dailydx.com via ARRL Letter Jan 17 via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. A programação em espanhol da HCJB - A Voz dos Andes transmite o programa Aventura DX-ista. Vai ao ar, nos sábados, às 1440, em 15140 kHz. A dica é do Oséias Fantinelli, de Jacutinga (RS). (Célio Romais, @tividade DX Jan 19 via DXLD) ** EL SALVADOR. 17835.3, Radio Imperial (presumed); 2045-2112+, 2130, 2214, 17-Jan; Religious program with evangelizing & singing. QSB at ToH and peppier music after 2100. All in SS. SIO=1+31+ (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DXpedition, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ERITREA [non]. NEW ERITREAN OPPOSITION RADIO HEARD; SUMMARY OF 19 JANUARY 2003 BROADCAST The new opposition radio station, Voice of the Eritrean People, was heard with its weekly broadcast at 1630 gmt on Sunday 19 January on 9990 kHz shortwave. The station broadcasts in Tigrinya, the main language of Eritrea. After some introductory music and greetings the station identification was given as "Ezi dmtsi hzbi Ertra eyu" ("This is the Voice of the Eritrean People"). Shortly afterwards, a news bulletin contained the following items: 1. The Eritrean government continues to commit atrocities against citizens living around the Mereb River because of their alleged support for opposition forces in the area. 2. The French news agency AFP has reported that the US government has warned Eritrea that unless it improves its style of governance it will face losing US aid and investment. 3. The BBC has reported that, in a bid to create animosity between Eritreans and the peoples of neighbouring countries, the Eritrean government has secretly circulated a directive to hotels and restaurants that they should not play Ethiopian songs in the Amharic language. However, in an interview with the Voice of America on 8 January, a senior government official denied this. 4. The Eritrean Kunama Democratic Liberation Movement, EKDLM, says its forces launched a surprise attack against government forces around the Mereb River, killing three soldiers and forcing others to flee. An enemy truck carrying food rations was blown up by a land mine planted by EKDLM forces. The EKDLM forces also ambushed and destroyed another enemy Isuzu vehicle carrying bread along the Das-Barentu road on 4 January. 5. Eritrean youths continue to flee to neighbouring countries. In addition to the news bulletin, the broadcast included a commentary by the Eritrean National Alliance (ENA) on the need for unity between the various Eritrean opposition groups in order to remove the current government. The transmission was terminated shortly before the advertised time of 1700 gmt, during the reading of a poem. Therefore, no closing announcement was heard. (According to information compiled in recent editions of DX Listening Digest - an Internet news service at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html - Voice of the Eritrean People has hired airtime from the Norwegian transmission facilities company Norkring for a transmission at 1630-1657 gmt (Sundays only) on 9990 kHz. The Norkring shortwave transmitting station at Kvitsoy, near Stavanger, is being used for this purpose. It may be noted that for some time it has been common practice for opposition groups around the world to hire airtime on bona fide shortwave transmitters in Europe.) Source: Voice of the Eritrean People in Tigrinya 1630 gmt 19 Jan 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ERITREA [non]. 15670 *1600-1658* 16-01, Voice of Ethiopian Salvation, via Jülich, Germany. Amharic Flute I/S, Three IDs like "Yeh Ethiopia ....", announcement, Horn of Africa music, talk, abrupt s/off 1658, carrier off 1659, but came back 1700. 35433 AP-DNK (Anker Petersen, Denmark, @tividade DX via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 15670 *1700-1730 16-01, Voice of Democratic Eritrea, via Jülich, Germany. Tigrinya. Rhythmic opening tune and ID by man: "Demtsi Democrasiyawit Eritrea", announced two broadcasts, music from the Horn of Africa, talk 35444 AP- DNK (Anker Petersen, Denmark, @tividade DX via DXLD) ** FRANCE. A rádio França Internacional voltou a enviar cartões QSLs a seus ouvintes. A constatação é de Lenildo Silva, de Niterói (RJ). De acordo com ele, a RFI confirmou um informe, enviado em outubro. Lenildo diz que enviou um sem número de relatórios, nos últimos cinco anos, e que jamais foram confirmados. Fica a boa notícia para os demais que ainda não têm a França como país confirmado, ou outros países em que a emissora possui sítios retransmissores (Célio Romais, @tividade DX Jan 19 via DXLD) RFI is QSLing again ** GERMANY. What ever will be will be, I guess – but please God don`t let them suggest that we can all listen to their programs via the Internet, as SRI and the BBC did. Maybe all these European guys have all got cable connections to the Internet, and they assume the rest of the world has also progressed from dial-up as the norm. As for satellite alternatives, Deutsche Welle Radio and TV are both available on Asiasat2, and Australia is considered to be within the target area – but in most parts of Australia you need at least a 2.3m dish; not really practical for anyone but an enthusiast. –cs (Craig Seager, Jan ADXN via DXLD) I think DW should abandon at least the German language broadcasts to the world. What a waste of money, just to stoke the feeling of Gemuetlichkeit for a few thousand, at the most generous guesstimate, expats. And how about this for even worse misappropriation of German taxpayer money: such an overseas broadcast, carrying a denominational religious broadcast! Good thing that wouldn't fly, over here (Dan Say, BC, swprograms via DXLD) Except on R. Martí, R. Liberty (gh) ** GERMANY [and non]. Postings in a German bulletin board report that the Megaradio outlets Regensburg 819 and Würzburg 1386 are now on air, apparently since yesterday. Regensburg is audible here in a mess when nulling co-channel Egypt. Würzburg would have to be confirmed with Bolshakovo off, until then not even a faint trace here also when nulling the bolshoi transmitter at Groß Skaisgirren. By the way, at times reactivated Kopani on 1431 is as strong as co-channel Wilsdruff here despite Wilsdruff ist just 50 km away, or rather, because Wilsdruff is 50 km away since the ground-/skywave congestion is obvious. Best regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Today the media authority of Saxony declared that it is unable to sponsor DAB (Eureka-147) with the current amount of money beyond September. The chairman of the authority said that all involved parties should have the courage to admit the failure of the DAB project in case there are no prospects for the future. There are still less than 1000 DAB listeners in Saxony. Original news item: Dresden (ddp-lsc). Die Sächsische Landesmedienanstalt (SLM) stellt das Digitalradio im Freistaat in Frage. ``Sollte es keine realistische Zukunftsperspektive geben, muss man auch den Mut haben einzugestehen, dass die Hörfunkdigitalisierung vorerst gescheitert ist``, sagte SLM-Medienratspräsident Kurt-Ulrich Mayer am Montag nach der Sitzung des Gremiums in Dresden. Die Medienanstalt sei ab September nicht in der Lage, die bisherige Förderhöhe zugunsten des so genannten ``Digital Audio Broadcast`` (DAB) beizubehalten. Alle am Projekt Beteiligten sollten sich deshalb kurzfristig zu Beratungen über die Zukunft des Projektes zusammenfinden, forderte Mayer. DAB erlaubt auch mobil störungsfreien Empfang ohne Rauschen und Knistern in CD-ähnlicher Klangqualität. In Sachsen hat DAB seinen Regelbetrieb am 1. September 2000 aufgenommen. Zurzeit können im Freistaat neben den öffentlich-rechtlichen Sendern Deutschlandfunk und Deutschlandradio Berlin vier private Sender empfangen werden. Digitalradio Klassik und Oldie. FM werden von Radio PSR verantwortet, Antenne Sachsen und Project 89.0 von Hitradio Antenne. Anders als in Sachsen-Anhalt und Thüringen wurde in Sachsen kein Platz für MDR Klassik freigehalten. Da die privaten Hörfunkanbieter einer Kapazitätsreduzierung ihrer Sender zugunsten des neuen MDR-Formats nicht zustimmten, sei dieses anders als in den Nachbarländern bislang noch nicht zu hören, sagte SLM-Sprecher Martin Deitenbeck auf ddp- Anfrage. Seinen Angaben zufolge liegt die Resonanz von DAB, das nur über spezielle Geräte empfangbar ist, in Sachsen immer noch bei weniger als 1000 Hörern (via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) ** GREENLAND. Due to a report from Italy that KNR in Greenland was heard on a 75 meter band frequency (3947 kHz) I contacted the chief engineer at KNR and he also contacted the Tele administration. They confirmed Stig Hartvig Nielsen's previous report in, for instance, DXLD Oct. 17, 2002: KNR pays for the transmissions on 3815 kHz USB with 100 W. from Tasiilaq (Angmagssalik) on the East coast - probably from their coast station, which also operates on several SW frequencies. The Danish text on the attached .htm file reads: "We broadcast on 3815 kHz USB 100 watts at 1205-1305 and 1825-1925 local time (for UT add 3 hours). The purpose of the transmissions is not broadcast, but only to supply the fishing fleet on 'Dohrns Bar' and the 'Irminger Sea' (both located between Tasiilaq and Iceland)". More: http://www.knr.gl 73, (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, Jan 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: OPLYSNINGER OM KNR AM SENDERE, OG USB I GRØNLAND USB -- Vi sender på 3815 kHz USB 100 watt i tidsrummene 12.05 - 13.05 og 18.25 - 19.25 lokal tid. Dette kan ikke modtages af en almindelig radio, da der sendes på USB. Formålet med udsendelserne er ikke broadcast, men udelukkende at forsyne højsøflåden på Dohrns Banke og i Irminger-havet. Radiofoni AM Upernavik: 810 KHz – 5kW Uummannaq: 900 kHz – 5kW Qeqertarsuaq: 650 kHz- 5kW Nuuk: 570 kHz- 5kW Simiutaq: 720 kHz-10kW M.h.t. AM modtager og antenne kan man henvende sig til en radioforhandler eller en radioamatør. KNR sender på FM båndet i byerne og bygderne -- Man kan naturligvis ikke modtage KNR´s FM sendere uden for Grønland, da FM har en begrænset dækningsområde, max. op til 50 KM).) (via Køie, DXLD) ** HAWAII. Tests from `K-JAPAN` Honolulu 1370 with Japanese/English announcements that the new station would begin regular broadcasts from January 2003. The call is supposed to be KMDR, but may in fact be KJPN ex 940 (Chuck Boehnke, Keaau, HI, Jan NZ DX Times via DXLD) = Midori? ** ICELAND. 189, Rikisútvarpið, Gufuskálar, JAN 10 0924-0955 - Fair, presumed with variety of music, some traditional/folk and Nordic- sounding talk by a male. Into hymn-style vocal music interspersed with frequent talk at 0926. Sounded like a Mario Lanza opera-style hymn at 0930. My DX Edge shows a total darkness path holding even at that late hour. Never played much with LW here before. First non-beacon station heard here. Also heard the following day but much weaker. Didn`t appreciate the potential from this area until the Miscou trip, where this station was prominent. Occasionally faded up to good on the G5RV, but barely audible on the sloper (Brent Taylor, Doaktown NB; Kenwood TS-680S, G5RV dipole, 60-ft Sultronix top-fed ham HF sloper at 50 feet, NRC IDXD via DXLD) 189, Rikisútvarpið, (presumed); 2205, 2317, 18-Jan; barely detectable at 2205 to better but poor at 2317; 0031, 0231, 19-Jan; Woman in LL [unidentified language, but we can guess] with lengthy talks between pop tunes. Still poor but improving (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 1000 ft. NEish unterminated beverage + 65 ft. T2FD, MARE via DXLD) ** INDIA. So is AIR's Tibetan service also jammed? (gh, DXLD) Yes, widely reported in DXpress, at least in past four years, when jamming started again against VoA, BBC, etc. and some religious from the Pacific ... 73 wb (Wolfgang Bueschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) OK; the only jamming of AIR I recalled hearing about recently was of their Chinese service (gh) ** INDIA. 3365, All India Radio, Delhi, 1257 Jan 20, Announcements by woman then into Subcontinental music with female singer. Fair copy. The program was parallel to the 4860 outlet, which was strong (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. CAN XM PUT RADIO BACK TOGETHER AGAIN? -- By Frank Ahrens Heard Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" just a wee bit too often? You can thank Lee Abrams, the man who shackled FM radio to the tyranny of mass market research. The "Moses of programming," they call him.... To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57791-2003Jan15.html (Courtesy of Tom McNiff, Burke, Virginia, USA, DXLD) Written by the Post's best radio reporter (who now works on the business section). It will only stay on the public site for about 10 days (Bob carpenter alt.radio.broadcasting via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. In a 19 January op-ed, Oliver North writes, "There still is no Radio Free Iraq." Actually, RFE/RL's Radio Free Iraq has been on the air since 1998. http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20030119-85213366.htm [Moony] 73 (Kim Elliott, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. Israel noted on 15655 at 1100-1130 testing to Australia in French and English 21/01/03. Testing on this frequency will continue for the next two days. Fair signals noted here in Perth (Craig Tyson, WA, Jan 21, EDXP via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. From Mike Brand: The chairman of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Michael Cheshin turned down a claim, made by the left wing organization " Keshev ". Keshev turned to Cheshin claiming that Arutz 7 were still broadcasting party political propaganda after they were ordered to stop interviewing all right wing politicians until after the elections here in Israel on the 28th January. Cheshin rejected the claims, stating that Arutz 7 have agreed to stop any interviews with politicians assosiated with the right wing until after the elections, and therefor, there is no reason to take any action against them. And... From today`s Jerusalem Post: CHESHIN REJECTS PETITION AGAINST ARUTZ 7 The Central Elections Committee chairman, Supreme Court Justice Mishael Cheshin, on Sunday rejected a petition to declare the pirate radio station Arutz 7 in contempt of court, and ruled that it had taken steps to reduce election propaganda during the current campaign. The petition was submitted by Keshev (the Center for the Protection of Democracy in Israel) and the Religious Action Center. The two organizations claimed that Arutz 7 had violated an order by Cheshin, in response to an earlier petition, to stop broadcasting election propaganda. In their latest petition, the groups submitted recordings of recent Arutz 7 broadcasts to back their claim that the station was still broadcasting election propaganda. Cheshin disagreed and noted that station manager Shulamit Melamed had presented letters sent to three political commentators who appear regularly on the station, Aryeh Eldad and MKs Benny Elon and Uri Ariel (National Union Party). Melamed informed the three that she was suspending their appearances until after the elections. "Ms. Melamed must have understood that she could not invite the three commentators to the studios without their words spilling over into election propaganda, and therefore she took a step that could not have been easy for her," wrote Cheshin. Cheshin also found that the evidence presented by the petitioners did not constitute election propaganda and that, in fact, the station had toned down its political content since his original ruling (via Mike Terry, Jan 20, DXLD) ** JAMAICA [and non]. Shortwave was an important early influence for blues singer Taj Mahal... http://www.vaildaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=VD&Date=20030117&Category=AE&ArtNo=301170601&Ref=AR ...Born Henry Saint Clair Fredericks in New York City in 1942, Mahal was raised in Springfield, Mass. Though he did not start his musical career until graduating from college, music was an integral part of his upbringing, as his father was a jazz pianist from the Caribbean and his mother was a gospel singer in the church choir. Their neighborhood was rich with ethnic diversity which exposed Mahal to a wide range of musical styles at a young age. Equally important was an old short-wave radio that belonged to his father. Through it, young Mahal was able to listen to London, Rio, Havana, Kingston - he "could hear people's souls through their music." When Mahal decided to work with Smith and Rich years later, it was because he'd heard their souls and liked what he heard... (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ZQI? What year did SWBC from Jamaica cease? I can`t remember hearing it, just MW (gh) ** KOREA NORTH. Recent low solar activity has allowed for some interesting lower band DX. THE DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE`S REPUBLIC OF KOREA. 2850, Korean Central Broadcasting Station, Pyongyang, 1217 Jan 20, Announcements by male, followed by emotionally charged patriotic anthems; undoubtedly praising the paradise that is the DPR, and extolling the virtues of the god-like Kim Jong-il. Confirmed with parallel reception of the outlet on 11679.75. The signal on 2850 peaked to fairly good level at local sunrise, despite my not having a particularly good antenna for this frequency. 11679.75 was readable, yet weak and fluttery, due to unsettled to active geomagnetic conditions (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA. UnID: A station audible today Jan 20 at tune in around 0745 in English on 6100 - Liberia ? Unfortunately, the signal was low and in my local noise level, but English speaking voices were heard, and at least one seemed American accented. Music and song was also heard, and gave the impression of being religious. From 0800 a man alone was heard speaking in English and, by this time, the signal was rapidly going down. Can anyone elsewhere do any better? 73s, (Noel R. Green, Blackpool, NW England, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) 6100, Radio Liberia International 0707 Jan 20, regional news in English, long news clip of President speaking about the constitution, excellent (Jilly Dybka, TN, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** MALAWI. BLANTYRE, Malawi, Jan. 19 — A radio journalist was arrested Sunday for interviewing a man who claimed he was attacked by vampires, under a Malawi government campaign to quash vampire rumors. Maganizo Mazeze, who works for a community radio station in Blantyre, was charged with broadcasting false news that could lead to public unrest. President Bakili Muluzi has ordered the arrest of anyone seen to be spreading accounts of vampires attacking villagers at night, which started circulating in this tiny east African nation in October. Muluzi blames the stories on political opposition groups, who he says are trying to undermine him by saying his government gave aid agencies blood in exchange for food. Since the rumors started, frightened villagers have beaten to death two men suspected of being vampires, attacked a ruling party official suspected of harboring vampires, attacked three visiting priests, and destroyed an aid group's encampment they feared was a vampire headquarters. Mazeze's interview with a man from the southern tea- growing district of Thyolo was broadcast Saturday. ''As police, we are saying there is no evidence that we have blood suckers in this country,'' said police investigator Paul Chifisi. ''No one has come forward with evidence, be it medical, physical or otherwise.'' (Steve Whitt, Yorkshire, UK, Medium Wave Circle email list via Mike Barraclough, DXLD) As Paul Harvey would say... (gh) ** MALI. Re 3-011: Keyboard slip. No, 9633.36 is right, also on Jan 16th. 73 wb (Wolfgang Bueschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Another wandering frequency measured with the analyzer today. 73 wb: MALI. At 0800 start of RTN Bamako on 9634.46v (Thomas Lindenthal, Germany, A-DX Jan 20 via Bueschel, DXLD) ** MEXICO. Mexico City was heard last evening on my GE Superradio. La Neuva X was heard on 730 kHz in my Central NJ location from about 0330-0400 UT. At times it was quite strong, other times it was completely covered by two other unidentified stations causing QRM, one in English, one Spanish. The announcer made frequent use of the expression "Qué Buena" and gave the time between every song. The format seems to be contemporary Mexican music, with lots of ballads. This is my first Mexican on MW. Turks & Caicos were booming in stronger than usual on 530, but the Cubans were down in the mud (Dan Srebnick, NJ, Jan 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 2390, Radio Huayacocotla (presumed); 0009-0030+, 19-Jan; W in Spanish with alternating brass band, campo and mariachi tunes. Mensajes between tunes with names and locations. SIO=453- (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DXpedition, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** MONACO [non]. Superloustic, a station for children under 12, is back on the air after an 11 year absence. They are using the Monaco transmitter on 1467 kHz between 0530 and 1730 with 50 kW. This seems to be just a test and it is not clear yet how long it will last. They are actually testing the programme they will put on the air if they are awarded a MW channel by the CSA next month (Rémy Friess, Montbéliard, France, Medium Wave Circle email list via Mike Barraclough, DXLD) Ciao! Novità in onde medie, su 1467 kHz da oggi 20 gennaio viene trasmesso il programma radiofonico per bambini Superloustic, con studi situati a Parigi. L'amico Christian Ghibaudo di Nizza ci segnala anche lui la buona ricezione su 1467 kHz. La WEB da me reperita grazie al solito Google è la seguente: http://www.superloustic.net/ l'ideatore e coordinatore delle attività radiofoniche è Claude Wargnier la sua e-mail : cwargnier@superloustic.net schedule provvisoria 0530-1730 UT (con emissioni test ripetute alle 0600-0800, 1100-1300, 1500-1700). Hanno anche un annuncio in Italiano!! Sulla WEB c'è pure l'audio. Ecco il testo originale ..... Depuis le 20 janvier 2003 de 6 h 30 à 18 h 30, et après 11 ans d'absence sur les ondes, Superloustic, la radio des moins de 12 ans diffuse son programme test ``à partir d'un émetteur situé au cour même de la Principauté de Monaco, sur 1467 kHz en Ondes Moyennes (bande AM) sur une zone de diffusion s'étendant des abords de Toulon à la ville de Gênes en Italie (bassin de population: 2 millions). Ce démarrage est une première. Depuis 1992, aucune radio pour enfants, en Europe, n'a émis en diffusion hertzienne. C'est aussi la première radio européenne en Ondes Moyennes pour les moins de 12 ans. Ce test ne peut être considéré comme le lancement officiel de Superloustic, lancement envisagé en mai prochain. En effet, les autorisations de fréquences en Ondes Moyennes sur la France qui pourraient nous être délivrées par le Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel et pour lesquelles la société FWDP / Superloustic est candidate, ne seront connues et annoncées officiellement qu'au mois de février 2003. Le test grandeur nature de Superloustic ne comporte donc pas encore d'émissions en direct, ni d'interventions à l'antenne de nos jeunes auditeurs. Il permet néanmoins de se faire une première idée du format, format novateur et enrichissant pour les moins de 12 ans, autour de trois temps forts : le 7 - 9 h, le 12 - 14 h et le 16 - 18 h. Chroniques, contes, histoires en multidiffusion, feuilletons, films (bandes sonores en intégral), habillages musicaux (production La Belle Equipe), habillages sketchs ``maison`` et bien entendu toutes les musiques pour un éclectisme actuel, apaisant et équilibré. A noter 1 Beatles par heure, les liners enfants, les liners en langue italienne (Superloustic est une radio à vocation européenne) et le message institutionnel d'alerte une fois par heure. DERNIERE MINUTE - Lundi 20 janvier 2003 - 12:30 RADIO SUPERLOUSTIC - DIFFUSION EN AM DEPUIS MONACO SUR 1467 KHZ Depuis ce matin 6h30, Superloustic diffuse de manière effective ses programmes en ondes moyennes depuis la Principauté de Monaco, mais également sur le Net via sa plateforme multimédia. En exclusivité pour RadioActu, Denys Didelon et Joël Pons reviennent sur cette nouvelle aventure radiophonique (via Dario Monferini, Italy, Jan 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONTSERRAT. Laurence Lieberman is professor of English at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and he has published a poem about a radio station. Yes, a poem. It`s called Ode to Radio Antilles (Plymouth, Montserrat) and you can find it at: http://www.valpo.edu/english/vpr/liebermanode which is the website of the Valparaiso Poetry Review from Indiana. Here`s a small extract: .......about the seven outdoor antennae two tallest near the seashore, five others ranked equidistantly, in a row..... That`s certainly a little different, and, in fact, it`s a tour of the radio station and its programs and technical facilities and some of the characters involved. Radio Antilles broadcast with a 125 kW transmitter on 930 AM and was frequently heard here in the South Pacific. The station began in 1963 with relays of Deutsche Welle and Radio Canada International as well as local broadcasts. The studios and towers were wrecked with the volcanic eruption which destroyed most of this `emerald isle` of the Caribbean several years ago (via David Ricquish, Jan NZ DX Times via DXLD) Glad I could visit it (gh) ** NETHERLANDS. A WEEK OF MEETINGS PLANNED AT RADIO NETHERLANDS A series of meetings will be held this week at Radio Netherlands as management and staff try to resolve differences over the implementation of the new strategic plan unveiled last Wednesday. Today (Monday) RN Director-General Lodewijk Bouwens attended a mass meeting of employees and clarified the management's position on a number of key issues. Central to the concerns of staff are job losses and guarantees of editorial independence. Lodewijk Bouwens said that there was scope for discussion about how the plan will be implemented, but management is not prepared to make fundamental changes to the plan, as it is the result of two years' work. No significant developments are expected until after Mr Bouwens meets union representatives on Thursday (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 20 January 2003 via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. Like comedy? Try tuning into RNZI for an interesting spoof called ``Off the Wire``. 17675 Saturday, from around 0030. Also heard on Friday nights (NZ time). Other frequencies for RNZI include: 11675, 11980, 15175, 15265, and 15340 (Jan CQ SW News via DXLD) ** PERU. 4746.67, Radio Huanta Dos Mil, 1000-1100 Jan 20. Signal was almost perfect with Huaynos music, IDs and brief Spanish comments from a man. Good signal strength. It's cold here in Clewistion this morning (43F) (Chuck Bolland, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. Greater Manila, Philippines, is comprised of at least 18 cities, including Manila. I live in Quezon City, abutting Manila and about 2.5 times larger than Manila. Greater Manila has about 15 million people (compared to about 20 million in Australia, I was told). Most people around Manila speak quite a bit of English. The official language of the nation is Filipino. For historical reasons it is not the same as Tagalog. Filipino is about 90% Tagalog and a 10% mixture of Spanish, English, Cebuano, or other of the languages or dialects spoken by the inhabitants of the 7000+ islands. There are 9 languages and about 80 dialects. In meetings, radio programs, and one-on-one conversations, Filipinos slide effortlessly in and out of Filipino and English. "He goes in for the lay-up, shoots, maganda, it counts or masama, hindi counts". Us Westerners, usually addressed as Joe (from GI Joe) or Sir or Mr. but never by our first name are usually following only a percentage of any conversation. Bandscan from 11:15 to 11:45 a.m. on a Saturday morning (10:15 to 10:45 p.m. on Friday night Eastern Standard time) from floor 21 of a condo in Quezon City on a Sony ICF-SW7600 using only the internal antenna. Unless otherwise noted, program heard was Filipino Talk (could be a commercial, news, speech, commentator, or call-in show) Pardon my lack of call letter knowledge. Newspapers don't list station, and there are no NRC or IRCA or other publications to help me. Rest assured the first letter is D though. [excerpted by gh] 702 DZAS Religious, Protestant, language primarily Filipino. I was a guest for 15 minutes on a program called Si Bartimeus At Ako (Bartimaus and me) for a blind audience. I was interviewed in English about a job placement program for blind or low vision adults that I am trying to establish. Music is usually current pop or 90's pop. Lyrics usually English by the same celebs as elsewhere, but frequently music played may be by local musicians using English, Tagalog, or Filipino. Lots of repetitive beats; some disco. Very little rap, or country. Regards, (Andy Ooms, Jan 18, NRC-AM via DXLD) Thanks Andy for the Philippine info. Great! Especially since I have heard a lot of filipinos over here on the Oregon coast. Great report! (Patrick Martin, Seaside, OR, ibid.) Okay, Pat, Pete, or any other left coasties: If you pick up a possible Filipino signal and want to make a log for yourself or the News or this list, send me the kilohertz and I'll try to capture the call letters from here (Andy Ooms, Quezon City, Philippines, ibid.) Andy, Thanks for the offer. Unfortunately, I probably won`t hear any filipinos until late Summer. I normally get them from late Aug through October. DZEC-1062 is the most common these days. I've heard 30-40 and have about 20 QSL'd through the years (Patrick Martin, ibid.) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. VANDALS HIT SOLOMONS NATIONAL BROADCASTER | Text of report by Radio Australia on 20 January Police in Solomon Islands are investigating an incident where vandals put the country's national broadcaster off the air for several hours. The vandals entered the transmitter site of the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation in the Henderson Airport area, east of the capital, Honiara. General manager Johnson Honimae says the damage caused put the national radio service off air for five hours at the weekend [18-19 January]. He says the vandals damaged the building, tampered with equipment and stole two large batteries from a standby generator. Solomon Islands is in the midst of ethnic conflict and continuing law and order problems. Source: Radio Australia, Melbourne, in English 0700 gmt 20 Jan 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SUDAN. 7200, SNBC Radio Omdurman presumed? 0450 Jan 20, time pips and ID, mention Omdurman, Sudan, by OM in presumed Sudanese. Music bumpers between OM and YL announcers, good (Jilly Dybka, TN, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** TOGO. 5047, Radio Togo, Togblekope. 2159 Jan 18. Afro Music, ID on top of Hour, Extremely quiet audio. SIO 331 (Graham Powell, Wales, UK. Jan 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. RADIO AUTHORITY PUBLISHES QUARTERLY BULLETIN OF COMPLAINTS FOR FINAL QUARTER OF 2002 --- 17 January 2003 The Radio Authority is today (17 January) publishing its Quarterly Bulletin of complaints for October to December 2002. During the quarter, the Authority considered 82 complaints about programming and advertising on commercial radio throughout the UK. 31 complaints concerned programming matters, of which 12 were upheld. Of those upheld, seven concerned taste and decency and offence, one related to balance, bias and fairness, one related to failure to comply with Promise of Performance/Format, and three concerned other matters. The Authority also considered 51 advertising and sponsorship complaints, of which 15 were upheld. Of those upheld, four related to offensive advertisements, seven concerned misleading advertisements, and four related to harmful advertisements. Details of all adjudications are set out in the Quarterly Bulletin, published today and available online at http://www.radioauthority.org.uk (Regulation). (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U K. US immigration: Is South Asia getting a raw deal? A World Today debate on this subject will be broadcast on BBC World Service Radio on Thursday 23 January at 0045 and 0245 GMT. A selection of your e-mails will be read out during the debate and daily on the programme leading up to the debate at 0040 and 0240. [SAs stream only???] http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_point/debates/south_asian/2665891.stm (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U K [non]. This Sunday on Laser Radio on 5935 [LATVIA] sees a continuation of the new broadcast hours started last week. We start at 1500 with a 2 hour religious relay service and then the Laser Radio programmes proper from 1700 to 2100. All output from 1700 is also carried on the internet in mono and stereo via our web site at http://www.laserradiio.net and repeated until midnight Mon/Tue. This week sees the very welcome return to the short wave bands of Eric May, with some excellent music and chat. Julian Clover is here with some music which may be described as 'eclectic' and we also have the first of a brand new monthly series of programmes looking at offshore and land based radio memorabilia - The Anorak Hour - hosted by Stewart Ross. Programme line up today : 15:00 World Bible Radio Network (Laser Relay) 17:00 Eric May 19:00 Julian Clover's music show 20:00 The Anorak Hour - with Stewart Ross 21:00 Closedown Do please join us and tell your friends ... Happy Listening, Geoff Rogers (via Mike Terry, Jan 19, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K [non]. Today I heard from Bible Voice Broadcasting UK. Mr. McLaughlin told me they would have Mandarin program in the near future: ``Thank you for your recent reception report. You will receive a letter from Bible Voice UK. You were listening to our signal to India. I wondered if you would also like to check out this signal: 7485 from 1145 - 1400 UTC Monday to Friday 7485 from 1200 - 1400 UTC Saturday and Sunday From 1200 to 1300 the programming is in Mandarin. Check it out and let us know. The identification on the signal is High Adventure - but it will be Bible Voice Broadcasting in the near future. I will send you a schedule soon. Marty McLaughlin --- Bible Voice Broadcasting`` Updated schedule: Middle East 7435 Mon-Fri 1700-1815 UT 7435 Saturday 1700-1900 7435 Sunday 1700-2000 9470 Thu/Fri 1900-1930 Sat 1909-2000 21590 Fri 0900-1000 9860 Mon-Sun 1530-1730 INDIA 12035 Sat/Sun 0030-0100 7315 Mon-Sat 0030-0100 9610 Mon-Sun 0200-0230 7180 Mon-Sun 0030-0100 15775 Mon-Sun 1530-1630 EAST AFRICA 13810 Daily 1630-1700 Tue 1600-1700 Wed 1630-1730 EAST EUROPE 5910 Mon-Fri 1900-1945 5880 Sat/Sun 1800-1900 WEST EUROPE/UK 5975 Mon-Fri 0800-0845 Sat/Sun 0800-0915 CHINA 7485 Mon-Fri 1145-1400 Sat/Sun 1200-1400 SE ASIA 6070 Sat 1400-1430 Mar 1330-1430 [sic – does this mean the second time starting in March??] Best wishes! Yours, (Eric Zhou, China, Jan 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 15385, 2015-2101, KJES Jan 18 Per PWBR, Spanish broadcast to Central America (but reference in Glenn Hauser WOR says to Puerto Rico); listed power 50 kW. Fair signal. First half hour, program consisted of two women talking in Spanish, mostly in unison, with religious talk. ID in SP at 2030 by woman. After ID, talking by woman over female singing religious songs. However, strange thing was that, as the talking women would fade out, the singing would get stronger, almost as if they were two separate stations. At 2100 both faded out together, and a young girl gave an ID. Carrier off 2101 (Brett Saylor, PA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) It`s a regular here, strong enough to stop scan on Philips caradio. Before 2000 in English (gh, OK) ** U S A. Allan H. Weiner, owner of WBCQ, has finally responded to questions first put to him in November 2002, regarding "WBCQ Kanasas", which is raising money on the wbcq.com website. His complete response is available at http://swradio.us (Dan Srebnick - NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Checked WRMI 15725 again Mon Jan 20; after 1400 there was still music fill, but not classical; Stox show at 1430, but there was co-channel interference, and again about 20 Hz away judging from the fast SAH. Could Greece be back? No, I don`t think so as Arabic was heard on 15650, where it moved a couple months ago. The QRM went off around 1457. The stox show did no break at hour top, so WRMI cut in with its usual minute-long ID giving all its addresses. They should either get coördinated to leave sufficient time for an ID break, or do nothing but a quick legal ID taking about 2 seconds. Not that I was engrossed in what the host was saying (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 7355, WRNO, no-data letter in 37 days for SASE (used), for a report sent to Good News World, P.O. Box 895, Ft. Worth, TX 76101. Letter states, "We are the proud owners of WRNO Worldwide" and "all former encumbrances" have been cleared. Also notes that they are raising cash for a new transmitter. The old one caught fire just after they bought the station, so they are running on low power for the time being. V/S Robert E. Mawire, Chairman of the Board (Scott Barbour, NH, DXplorer via DXLD) ** U S A. 2480, WGVA Geneva NY (2 x 1240); 2354-2408, 18/19-Jan; "Money Talk" call-in program. Abruptly off at 2359; on/off with tech on air talking about problem to another tech. Back on at 2403 with Geneva ads, Finger Lakes Forecast and Finger Lakes News Net. Off/on again at 2408. Fair/Good, when on. Hearing this harmonic routinely for several months (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DXpedition, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. U.S. X-BAND AT A GLANCE - January 2003 (8 /1/03) 1610 CJWI Montreal QUE FF Caribbean music 1620 WPHG Atmore AL Rel/Gos. (but silent) possible resurrection as WPNS WDND South Bend IN ESPN Radio 1620 KOZN Bellevue NE ESPN Sport .``The Zone`` WTAW College Station TX `Newstalk 16-20 WTAW` CBS Nx KBLI Blackfoot ID SS ``Radio Fiesta`` KYIZ Renton WA Urban/Contemporary Soul KSMH West Sacramento, CA Rel. EWTN Global Catholic radio WDHP Frederikstad, VI Variety.``The Reef`` //WRRA 1290 & WAXJ 1630 KCJJ Iowa City IA Hot AC /Classic Rock KKWY Fox Farm WY C&W AP nx KNAX Ft Worth/Dallas TX SS. Radio Vida/ Radio Dos Mil Dos. EE ID :58 WTEL Augusta GA `Newstalk 1630 WTEL` x WRDW 1640 WKSH Sussex WI Disney KPBC Lake Oswego OR Black Gospel//KKSL. (soon to Disney) KDIA Vallejo CA Talk/ `Business Radio 1640` KBJA Sandy UT SS/Radio Unica EE ID on hour 1650 WHKT Portsmouth VA Disney. ``AM1650 WHKT Portsmouth, Radio Disney`` KDNZ Cedar Falls IA Talk/ Sport ``The Talk Station``//KCNZ KWHN Fort Smith AR `Newstalk 1650 KWHN` KBJD Denver CO Contemp Christian. ``The Beat` KFOX Torrance CA Korean/ EE ID on hour 1660 KTIQ Merced CA Sports/Sp News `The Ticket`` WWRU Elizabeth NJ PP & SS Radio Unica/R. Portugal WCNZ Marco Is FL `Newsradio 1660` AP nx WQSN Kalamazoo MI Sports/talk ESPN// WKLZ 1470. KRZX Waco TX ``Newstalk KRZX`` (off 6.p.m.-12 NZST) KQWB West Fargo ND Standards ``Star 1660 is KQWB AM` CNN news KXOL Brigham City UT ``Oldies radio`` (60`s rock) KXTR Kansas City KS `Classical 1660` WGIT Canovanas PRico SS oldies ``El Gigante`` 1670 WRNC Warner Robins GA Urban Gospel ``1670 The Light`` WTDY Madison WI Sports/Talk. ``1670 WTDY`` ``The Team`` KHPY Moreno Valley, CA Rock/AC ``KHPY Moreno Valley 1670`` KNRO Redding CA ``Redding`s ESPN Radio 1670 KNRO` 1680 WTTM Princeton NJ Ethnic - Hindu WTIR Winter Garden FL ``Travel Information Radio`` WJNZ Ada MI Urban/AC KAVT Fresno CA Disney/SS KRJO Monroe LA Gospel. ``Gospel 1680`` 1690 KDDZ Arvada CO Disney KSXX Roseville CA SS rel. /Radio Tricolour/ & Asian. EE ID on hour. WPTX Lexington Park ``Newstalk 1690 WPTX`` CNN News 1700 WJCC Miami Springs FL SS/Rel/``Radio Luz`` WEUV Huntsville AL Black Gospel. ``Music of your Life.//1600 WEUC 1kw KTBK Sherman TX Sporting News Radio ``Sports Radio 1310 KTCK.`` KBGG Des Moines IA `The new AM 1700 KBGG``. CNN KQXX Brownsville TX Oldies (880 watts night) (NEW ZEALAND DX TIMES JANUARY 2003 PAGE 35 via DXLD; compiler unknown) ** U S A [and non]. GERMANY OPPOSES US PLAN TO MERGE MILITARY MEDIA, PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE OFFICES | Text of report by German news magazine Der Spiegel on 20 January If the United States has its will, all NATO countries are supposed to merge the media offices of their armed forces with the departments for psychological warfare. Great Britain supports this idea, which was recently discussed at the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Led by Germany, several European states oppose this plan, however: they fear for the credibility of their media staffs, who are officially obliged to tell the truth, if their personnel are mixed with that of the psychological warriors: one of the tasks of the units for psychological warfare is misleading the enemy through deliberate incorrect reports. Since US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld assumed office in 2001, the US military has tried several times to make press officers and propaganda officers at the NATO-led peacekeeping forces in Kosovo and in Bosnia subordinate to joint chiefs, but they have always failed because of the Germans. Even though Rumsfeld buried the plan to disseminate propaganda also in friendly states with an "Office for Strategic Influence" at the beginning of 2002, now Washington is operating an "Office for Global Communications" for this purpose - and the US military has established training camps for journalists. Source: Der Spiegel, Hamburg, in German 20 Jan 03 p 19 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA HAS GONE MAD --- John le Carré America has entered one of its periods of historical madness, but this is the worst I can remember: worse than McCarthyism, worse than the Bay of Pigs and in the long term potentially more disastrous than the Vietnam War. The reaction to 9/11 is beyond anything Osama bin Laden could have hoped for in his nastiest dreams. As in McCarthy times, the freedoms that have made America the envy of the world are being systematically eroded. The combination of compliant US media and vested corporate interests is once more ensuring that a debate that should be ringing out in every town square is confined to the loftier columns of the East Coast press.... http://www.timesonline.co.uk/printFriendly/0,,1-152-543296,00.html (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. ON MEDIA GIANTISM By WILLIAM SAFIRE, The New York Times, January 20, 2003 WASHINGTON. You won't find a movie nominated for an Oscar with the heroine fighting to expose the dominance of media conglomerates in the distribution of entertainment crushed by the giant corporation that controls film financing, distribution and media criticism. You won't find television magazine programs fearlessly exposing the broadcast lobby's pressure on Congress and the courts to allow station owners to gobble up more stations and cross-own local newspapers, thereby to determine what information residents of a local market receive. Nor will you find many newspaper chains assigning reporters to reveal the effect of media giantism on local coverage or cover the way publishers induce coverage-hungry politicians to loosen antitrust restraints. Should we totally deregulate the public airwaves and permit the dwindling of major media down to a precious few? Should we reduce choices available to cantankerous individualists who do not want their information and entertainment limited by increasingly massive mass media? "Luddite nonsense," answer many merging movie mogul and media magnates, as they point to the seemingly fierce competition from the Internet and the proliferation of cable channels. Tell that to the purchasers of political advertising: the big bucks go into broadcast TV, with its unmatchable cost per thousand viewers. And stop to examine the highly hyped "competition" that consolidating media profess to fear: the leading 20 Internet sites and biggest cable channels are already owned by the expansive likes of G.E.-NBC, Disney, Fox, Gannett, AOL Time Warner, Hearst, Microsoft, Cox, Dow Jones, The Washington Post and The New York Times. (Is there anyone I haven't offended?) Ah, counter the trust-trusters, but most people want the conglomerates they trust to provide the content they watch and read. As for diversity don't 16,000 local radio stations provide much of the vaunted diversity of views and tastes that Americans want? Take a listen to what's happened to local radio in one short wave of deregulation: the great cacophony of different sounds and voices is being amalgamated and homogenized. (The following figures were published by Gannett's USA Today, which kind of blunts my point about big-media squeamishness, but its account of the F.C.C.'s ruination of independent radio is damning.) Back in 1996, the two largest radio chains owned 115 stations; today, those two own more than 1,400. A handful of leading owners used to generate only a fifth of industry revenue; now these top five rake in 55 percent of all money spent on local radio. The number of station owners has plummeted by a third. Yesterday's programming diversity on the public's airwaves has degenerated to the Top 40, as today's consolidating commodores borrowing public property say "the public interest be damned." Granted, Rush Limbaugh's views differ from those heard on liberal NPR, just as an indie movie producer can make money for a cookie-cutter conglomerate with a film going against the grain. But while political paranoids accuse each other of vast conspiracies, the truth is that media mergers have narrowed the range of information and entertainment available to people of all ideologies. Does this make me (gasp!) pro-regulation? Michael Powell, appointed by Bush to be F.C.C. chairman, likes to say "the market is my religion." My conservative economic religion is founded on the rock of competition, which since Teddy Roosevelt's day has protected small business and consumers against predatory pricing leading to market monopolization. One of the Democrats on the F.C.C., Michael Copps, is concerned that "we're relying on institutions to cover this debate which have interests in the outcome of the debate." That inherent conflict of interest is why I have long been banging my spoon against the highchair. Republicans in the House, intimidated by the powerful broadcast lobby, don't admit that some regulation can be pro-business; neither does the D.C. Court of Appeals, which wants further "granulating of evidence" that endless merging harms competition. In the Senate, Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, grasps this. Perhaps Commerce Chairman John McCain will see T.R.'s trust-busting light and start heavy granulating in hearings before merger mania afflicts TV and film the way it is debilitating local radio. Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. DIZZY DATA HAVE FCC IN A CAP TIZZY From Reuters Fri January 17, 2003 12:58 AM ET By Jill Goldsmith NEW YORK (Variety) - Four of the five FCC commissioners said Thursday they're stumped, frustrated and downright scared courts will toss out key restrictions on media ownership -- unless they're handed hard data showing the regulations protect the public interest. It's a complex case to make, which is why the Federal Communications Commission recently published 12 studies to get the ball rolling. But facts on just how consolidation has impacted the media business can be controversial and contradictory. The commissioners seemed hungry for something definitive to help them take a stand, before the courts and before consumers. "The rule falls unless otherwise justified. The court said we want empirical justification for the rules or we'll eliminate it," FCC chairman Michael Powell said ominously during a forum on FCC Media Ownership Rules hosted by Columbia University Law School. He and fellow commissioners Michael Copps, Jonathan Adelstein and Kevin Martin asked the participants for guidance. They got plenty to chew on, although not much was new. The event featured all-day panels where public interest advocates, representatives from think tanks and Hollywood guild members ("Oz" creator Tom Fontana and actor Richard Masur) well outnumbered industry reps like Viacom's Dennis Swanson, Fox Entertainment Group's Ellen Agress and David Poltrack of CBS. Powell himself had said he didn't believe in public hearings, but he was apparently pressured into attending this one. The slowly germinating public interest in the issues may not change the outcome. But it is likely to slow the review process and quiet accusations of back room dealings between the FCC and the powerful interests it regulates. Powell also criticized a congressional mandate requiring the FCC to conduct a biannual review of ownership rules, calling it "regrettable and destabilizing" to have to revisit the regulations so often. "There will be rules when this is done," he promised. "There won't be a rule that lets one person own everything." Neophyte commissioner Adelstein, who was appointed in December, finds the task intimidating. "Imagine, the future of the media landscape and the future of our democracy is something in which you have one of five votes. I think we have too much responsibility and not much guidance." The Supreme Court wants the commission to protect "the uninhibited marketplace of ideas," to guard the public interest. "The courts want that quantified," Adelstein said. But the FCC will be hard-pressed to "get answers to these kinds of questions in the time frame we have been given." Powell has asked for a vote on the regulations this spring. Some rules under review include a 35% broadcast ownership cap; a ban on newspaper-TV cross ownership in one market; cable ownership caps (the FCC's 30% cap was thrown out by a D.C. court); a dual network ownership rule; and restrictions on duopolies and triopolies. Arguments for keeping or beefing up the regulations haven't changed much. Advocates insist the five media giants -- AOL Time Warner, Viacom, Walt Disney, News Corp. and GE/NBC -- rule the media roost to a scary degree and that it's folly to give them any more muscle. Local news and entertainment content have sunk to the lowest common denominator, they argue. There may be hundreds of channels, but 90% of the 50 top networks are owned by the big five, as are the most popular Internet sites. There are few minority voices. TV producers like Fontana fumed at insider deals to "repurpose" (i.e. recycle) shows from broadcast to cable. Critics of consolidation have a potent weapon in the story of what's happened in radio. Even many fans of deregulation don't deny that giant Clear Channel Communications has distorted the radio business. The company amassed more than 1,000 stations since a first wave of deregulation hit after in the 1996 Telecom Act. Trouble is, without facts and figures, caps and regulations can seem arbitrary. "You may agree a media company can become too big. But at what point -- 35%, 42%, 50%?" said one Wall Streeter at the forum. Fox's Agress urged folks to "move away from big must be bad," and claimed that current antitrust regulations that apply to all industries should be the only barrier to media consolidation. "The FCC never thought there could be a fourth network," she said. Fox was able to create a real competitor only because Financial Interest and Syndication rules (prohibiting networks from owning their programming) fell, duopoly regulations were relaxed, and the broadcast cap was raised, she added. Swanson swore that CBS is devoted to local news and said the TV network biz is so expensive that networks need to own as many stations as they can. Besieged by hostile questions, he jibed the forum for a lack of balance on its panels. Poltrack said TV content is better than ever, and if people watch network fare, it's because of its superior quality. He said networks often take stakes in shows because they can't find partners willing to share the risk. And he maintained that networks are experimental in looking for new formats, like reality shows, to attract viewers. "I know it puts actors out of work. I know it hurts the craft unions. But that's what people want to watch." He said it's no secret programs skew young to please Madison Avenue. "That's the commerce of the business." USC is organizing another forum on FCC regulations next month, and the FCC has planned a single hearing on the issues on its own account to be held in Richmond, Va. (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC SEEKS COMMENTS ON WRC-03 DRAFT PROPOSALS The FCC is seeking comments on draft recommendations that the World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee (WRC-03 Advisory Committee) adopted January 8. The FCC established the WRC-03 Advisory Committee in January 2001 to assist the agency in developing WRC-03 proposals. "Based upon our initial review of the recommendations forwarded to the Commission," the FCC said this week in a Public Notice, "the International Bureau, in coordination with other Commission Bureaus and Offices, tentatively concludes that we can generally support the proposals recommended by the WRC-03 Advisory Committee." The FCC said the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has submitted letters to the FCC containing draft proposals developed by Executive Branch agencies, and the FCC requests comment on those draft proposals as well. The FCC will consider the draft proposals and comments during upcoming consultations with the US Department of State and NTIA in the development of US proposals to WRC-03. Once agreed to by these agencies, proposals will be used by US delegations at bilateral, regional and international meetings. "The draft proposals attached to this Public Notice may evolve as we approach WRC-03 and during the course of interagency discussions," the FCC said. "Therefore, they do not constitute the final national position on these issues." The Public Notice includes proposals concerning WRC-03 agenda items 1.35, 7.1, 7.2, 2.16, 1.8.2, 1.13, 1.20, 1.22 and 1.36. Agenda item 1.20 concerns the so-called "Little LEOs." Item 1.36 involves examining the adequacy of the frequency allocations for HF broadcasting in the vicinity of 4-10 MHz. Complete texts of draft proposals are available via the FCC's WRC-03 Web site http://www.fcc.gov/wrc-03 Interested parties may file comments via e-mail to wrc03@fcc.gov. Commenters also may submit an original and one copy of comments to the Office of the Secretary, Federal Communications Commission, 445 12th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20554. Provide a courtesy copy to FCC WRC- 03 Director Alex Roytblat, Room 6-A738. Comments should refer to specific proposals by document number. The deadline for comments on draft proposals and NTIA letters is January 31, 2003. WRC-03 takes place in Geneva, Switzerland, from June 9 until July 4, 2003 (ARRL Letter Jan 17 via DXLD) ** U S A. How is KKSU doing in making something of itself, after losing its AM 580 frequency? Rechecked the website http://www.kksu.org Jan 21 and found: "THE VOICE OF KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY" The K-State Radio Network is a free audio service from K-State Research and Extension to radio stations throughout Kansas and the U.S. It is distributed each week via CD and on-line. The features are also available to the general public, in streaming formats. Click here to listen to AGRICULTURE TODAY and other features. Affiliate Station Login (coming soon) KKSU-AM The K-State Radio Network was formerly a service of public radio station KKSU-AM which left the air November 27, 2002, after nearly 78 years of broadcasting. Click here to listen to KKSU's final month of local programming or KKSU's final day of broadcasting, including a retrospective of KKSU's 78 year history. PROGRAM DAY TIME [CST] HOST AGRICULTURE TODAY M-F 12:40p-1:30p Eric Atkinson COMPUCATS TH 2:18p-2:19p Randall Kowalik DIVERSITY TH 2:05p-2:16p Richard Baker EXTENSION UPDATE W 2:10p-2:20p Larry Jackson KANSAS PROFILE W 2:05p-2:10p Ron Wilson KKSU NEWS AT FIVE M-F 5:00p-5:29p Richard Baker K-STATE THIS WEEK W 2:20p-2:29p Randall Kowalik OUTBOUND KANSAS TU 2:05p-2:15p Eric Atkinson PERSPECTIVE F 2:02p-2:29p Richard Baker PET CHAT TU 2:17p-2:29p Randall Kowalik PLANTORAMA M 2:05p-2:29p Randall Kowalik and Jeff Wichman SOUND LIVING M-F 1:32p-2:00p Jeff Wichman WILDCAT INSIDER M/F 4:00p-5:00p Wyatt Thompson, Tim Fitzgerald and Eric Atkinson (via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re WOR IBOC recordings: || We don't but now that would be a REAL conspiracy if they didn't. You, my friend are a bigger conspiracy theorist than I, if you believe that. It would be something if it never was on RF.... || I wouldn't say that I'm a conspiracy theorist, but having worked with "some" people, and observed "some" things, I think that the possibility is entirely possible. In my career I've seen more than a few people put lipstick on a pig and sell it as a super model. I famous man once said, "trust, yet verify". || It would mean IBOC is even worse than we thought, if the recording came straight out of the board. It would not be the "FIRST" time that this was done. Sometimes when someone has to further their agenda it's easier to fool someone that prove with evidence the fact (Fred Vobbe, ibid.) Indeed, the NAB has done it. During the LPFM debate. When they presented that CD which the FCC's engineers concluded had been fabricated. (IIRC by mixing recordings of two different stations) It would not be a stretch for them to do it again (Doug Smith, ibid.) Yep. Those were as bogus as Lima is cold tonight. Funny, many people didn't want those recordings out, for obvious reasons. Now, several people are trying to find out who falsified the recordings. However, the cockroaches have run under the refrigerator. |g| (Fred Vobbe, NRC- AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Text of President Theodore Roosevelt's message to England's King Edward VII, transmitted by Guglielmo Marconi on Jan. 18, 1903: "To His Majesty, Edward VII, London, England. In taking advantage of the wonderful triumph of scientific research and ingenuity which has been achieved in perfecting a system of wireless telegraphy, I extend on behalf of the American people most cordial greetings and good wishes to you and all the people of the British Empire." Edward's reply, later that night: "I thank you most sincerely for the kind message which I have just received from you, through Marconi's transatlantic wireless telegraphy." (Associated Press via Mike Terry, DXLD) [non]. On 18 January 1903, Guglielmo Marconi transmitted the first wireless telegraph message from the US to the UK. The message was from US President, Theodore Roosevelt, to the British King, Edward VII. To mark this centenary Graham Powell, Webmaster for 'Online DX Logbook', 21MHz.com and Shortwave.org.uk positively identified broadcast stations from a total of 104 countries. Full details of all 104 countries heard, including all log details are available at: http://www.shortwave.org.uk (Graham Powell, Editor of the Online DX Logbook, http://www.shortwave.org.uk DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. 4830.04, Radio Tachira, San Cristóbal. 0040 Jan 18. Music 'The Ketchup Song' ID Jingle. SIO 242 (Graham Powell, Wales, UK. Jan 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. 4830, Radio Táchira (presumed); 2302-2316+, 18-Jan; Male speech in Spanish with crowd noises and many mentions of Venezuela, venezolanos, pueblo, patria, etc. SIO=4+33- (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DXpedition, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** YEMEN. 9780.36, Republic of Yemen Radio, Sana'a. 1830 Jan 18. News Bulletin and ID. EE SIO 222 (Graham Powell, Wales, UK. Jan 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. I am reporting a very strange reception out here in Delano, CA. I am hearing what sounds to be a baby monitor on 16,620 kHz. I heard this yesterday also. It is about 1900 UT right now. I am hearing it on my R.S. DX-350 cheapy and on my R-390A. It has instrumental music in the background and a baby crying, people talking. Any ideas?? (John @ Delano Vodenbik, CA, SWL via DXLD) John. Nothing here in Merced California at 1907 UT (not all that far from you). Perhaps somebody in your neighborhood has a baby monitor. These typically operate in the 45-49 MHz range and 16.620 is 1/3 of 49.86 MHz. That would add up to the device using a third overtone Xtal Oscillator which makes sense. If you have a scanner check on 49.86 and see what you hear. 73 de (Phil KO6BB Atchley, ibid.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FREQUENCY MANAGEMENT [and non] ++++++++++++++++++++ BROADCAST ENGINEERING PLANNING -- WORLD RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE 2003 Organised by the ITU, WRC-03 will take place in Venezuela in June 2003. Important issues concerning the BROADCAST SERVICE will be addressed. For an excellent professional overview of the formal Agenda, please visit http://www.hfcc.org/pro/HFCC_WRC.doc HIGH FREQUENCY COORDINATION CONFERENCE (HFCC) The next HFCC meeting will be at Sandton, in South Africa, early February, attended also by delegates from the Arab States Broadcasting Union. The meeting will produce the Master Schedule for participating administrations for the A03 transmission season, which starts on Mar-30, 2003. - Process Management and Control Documentation. Flow charts and other documentation used at the previous meeting at Bangkok for the B02 transmission season may be viewed at http://www.hfcc.org/bangkok/b02procs.pdf This shows how the HFCC meeting functions, and the way in which frequency requirements are submitted and analysed for incompatibilities, using propagation prediction software. That site also gives a full listing of many identified frequency "collisions" which were examined at the meeting. CIRAF ZONES Some members may not know what "CIRAF Zone" means. CIRAF is the acronym for CONFERENCIA INTERNACIONAL DE RADIODIFFUSION POR ALTAS FREQUENCIAS, and signifies (generally) zones used in the management of international broadcasting. The term was introduced at the ITU's World Administrative Radio conference, held in Mexico, in 1948. CIRAF zones are mostly analogous to "ITU Regions". A world map of CIRAF Zones may be viewed and downloaded from http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/terrestial/broadcast/hf/refdata/maps/ (Bob Padula, EDXP Jan 19 via DXLD) DRM +++ This morning (Tuesday) at 0915 I heard an extremely strong DRM signal on 5945, most likely from Norway. The signal reached S9+60 in periods and produced spurious signals that were audible, more or less, throughout the 49 meter band. At +/- 20 to 30 kHz the noise level was about 50 dB below the center frequency level, i.e. it was peaking at S9+10. Even the sturdiest supporters of the DRM technology will have to admit that spurious signals at this level are unacceptable and have to be remedied before regular DRM transmissions are launched (Olle Alm, Sweden, 21 Jan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Don`t count on it (gh) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ THE DRM SOFTWARE RECEIVER This is a low cost version (public use only, non-commercial) of the professional FhG Software Receiver. The actual software version of the DRM Software Radio is 1.0.18. It now can be purchased at http://www.drmrx.org Questions on the FhG Software Radio: contact fhg-swr-support@iis.fhg.de Questions on the DRM Software Radio: please refer to the FAQ and Forums at http://www.drmrx.org Test Transmissions: the schedule of test transmissions can be found at http://www.drm.org/system/globfieldtrial.htm and http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/drm_latest.html Gerd Kilian (FhG-ADTM, Erlangen, Germany) (EDXP Jan 19 via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ POPTRONICS CEASES PUBLICATION Poptronics magazine -- which evolved from the former Popular Electronics and Electronics Now magazines – ceased publication with the January 2003 edition (Vol 4, No 1). "After 94 years of publishing electronics magazines Gernsback Publications is no longer in operation," said Larry Steckler, Poptronics' editor in chief and publisher. "Negotiations are under way to provide an alternative publication to Poptronics subscribers." Steckler says a new on-line edition of Poptronics will soon be available. Poptronics Interactive, a separate on-line, paid subscription site announced in the October issue of Poptronics, also is scheduled to return soon, Steckler said. The company plans to post the latest information on its Web site http://www.Poptronics.com The site has been undergoing "remodeling," but Steckler said it should be back in operation by the end of January. Many veteran amateurs may recall the "Carl and Jerry" stories by John T. Frye, W9EGV (SK), which appeared in Popular Electronics in the 1950s and 1960s. The tales involved the ham radio-related exploits of a couple of teenaged hams (The ARRL Letter Vol. 22, No. 03 January 17, 2003 via Brock Whaley, WPE4IPK in 1965, who adds: the first magazine I subscribed to is gone; DXLD) WRTH 2003 AND AMAZON Here at WRTH we have been amazed that Amazon seems not to be able to ship WRTH 2003 and we are very sorry for all our readers who have not yet got a copy as a result. Here are the details in case it helps: Amazon.com ships the US edition of WRTH. This is published and distributed in North America by Billboard Books (a division of Watson- Guptill Publications). The ISBN of this edition is 0-8230-5967-7. Amazon.de ships the German edition of WRTH. This is published and distributed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland by Gert Wohlfarth GmbH. The ISBN of this edition is 3-87463-341-1. At this site you should click on 'German edition'. Amazon.co.uk ships the UK edition of WRTH. This is published and distributed throughout the rest of the world by WRTH Publications. The ISBN of this edition is 0-9535864-3-X. I will ask our American distributor to try to sort out the muddle with Amazon.com. With apologies, (Nicholas Hardyman, Publisher, World Radio TV Handbook, Jan 20 via DXLD) AMATEUR RADIO TODAY Jan 17, 2003) -- The ARRL is offering a new video presentation, Amateur Radio Today, that tells Amateur Radio's public service story to nonhams. The video presentation, produced and edited by Dave Bell, W6AQ, and narrated by former CBS news anchorman Walter Cronkite, KB2GSD, runs approximately six minutes. Full story at: http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/01/17/3/?nc=1 (via Mike Terry, DXLD) SATELLITE TV MAGAZINES NEEDED To the members in USA: I am doing a survey on the current satellite TV situation in USA and I am looking in printed material (mostly newsstand based magazines) for making this survey. Your assistance by dropping a message to me by e-mail will be STRONGLY appreciated otherwise this article will NEVER be made! See http://www.schoechi.de/crw/crw-sat.html (Zacharias Liangas zliangas@athena.compulink.gr Jan 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ SWL WINTER FEST I got word from Richard D'Angelo, one of the organizers of the 2003 Winter SWL Festival, that Victor Goonetilleke, the well-known DXer from Sri Lanka, will appear at the event in Kulpsville, PA USA, scheduled for March 6-9. I have also learned through listening to this weekend's DX Partyline show on HCJB in Ecuador that Adrian Peterson, from AWR, will also appear at the Fest. Victor, can you please post an e-mail about your coming to the US for this event? I'm looking forward to meeting up with you again... (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, USA, Jan 19, dx_india via DXLD) I suppose I have no choice but to comment on it now that you have brought it up Joe. The visit to the SWL Winterfest is verymuch on the cards. however this is an extension of an official visit to the US which luckily coincides with the SWLFEST, so all depends on the official engagement which is still not confirmed as of today given the volatile International situation. Hope for the best and if it goes through will be at the FEST 7-9th and hope to meet for the 1st time many many long time friends over my 35 years as a DXer and catch up with some like you and Rich D'Anjelo who I had the pleasure of meeting in 2000. Keep fingers crossed and wish us luck! 73 (Victor Goonetilleke, ibid.) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 22 January - 17 February 2003 Solar activity is expected to be low during the period. At the time of this report activity on the east limb suggests a potentially active region rotating onto the visible disk. This is expected to result in isolated moderate levels early in the period and low during the latter half of the period. No greater than 10 MeV proton events are expected during the forecast period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to reach high levels on 25 - 28 January and again on 01 – 02 February due to recurring coronal holes. The geomagnetic field is expected to be at quiet to isolated major storm levels during the period. Isolated minor to major storm conditions are possible on 23 -24 January due to a returning transequatorial coronal hole. Isolated active conditions are possible on 30 – 31 January due to a smaller recurring coronal hole. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2003 Jan 21 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2003 Jan 21 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2003 Jan 22 135 15 3 2003 Jan 23 125 25 5 2003 Jan 24 125 20 4 2003 Jan 25 120 15 3 2003 Jan 26 120 15 3 2003 Jan 27 120 12 3 2003 Jan 28 120 10 3 2003 Jan 29 125 10 3 2003 Jan 30 135 10 3 2003 Jan 31 145 15 3 2003 Feb 01 150 12 3 2003 Feb 02 160 8 3 2003 Feb 03 160 8 3 2003 Feb 04 170 10 3 2003 Feb 05 180 10 3 2003 Feb 06 185 15 3 2003 Feb 07 185 12 3 2003 Feb 08 175 8 3 2003 Feb 09 170 8 3 2003 Feb 10 165 8 3 2003 Feb 11 155 8 3 2003 Feb 12 145 8 3 2003 Feb 13 140 8 3 2003 Feb 14 135 12 3 2003 Feb 15 130 12 3 2003 Feb 16 135 12 3 2003 Feb 17 130 12 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio Jan 21 via WORLD OF RADIO 1166, DXLD) ###