DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-031, February 23, 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. 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Thanks, Glenn CONTINENT OF MEDIA 03-02 available since Feb 22: (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/com0302.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/com0302.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0302.html ON RFPI: Tue 2000, Wed 0200, 0800, 1400, Fri 1900, Sat 0100, 0700, 1300, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130 NEXT AIRINGS of WORLD OF RADIO 1170: RFPI: Mon 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700, 1300 on 15039 and/or 7445 WBCQ: Mon 0545 7415 WJIE: Mon & Tue 0700, M-F 1300, 7490 WWCR: Wed 1030 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1170.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1170.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1170h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1170h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1170.html GLENN HAUSER`S WORLD OF RADIO http://www.worldofradio.com For the latest DX and programming news, amateur nets, DX program schedules, audio archives and much more! (MONITORING TIMES) ** ABKHAZIA. 9494.72, Abkhaz Radio (tentative) 0411-0452 Feb 23. Decent carrier strength (S5-S6) at tune-in, but weak modulation produced only the faintest of audio; could recognize YL vocals. Brief talk by YL at 0414, then more pop music with female vocals. Audio began improving at 0424, when alternating talk by OM & YL was heard, but I wasn't able to recognize the language. Some pop ballads with occasional announcements by a YL. At 0440 a discussion between two men and a woman was heard up till 0452 when the audio was gone. SINPO was 24332 during the peak in audio (George Maroti, NY, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** ANGOLA. GOVERNMENT TAKES "GOOD NOTE" OF EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE'S APOLOGY | Text of report by Angolan news agency Angop web site Luanda, 22 February: The Angolan government said it "took good note" of the communiqué issued by CEAST (Episcopal Conference for Angola and Sao Tome), broadcast on Thursday 20 February where an apology was made to President Jose Eduardo dos Santos over insults contained in programmes broadcast by Rádio Ecclesia, the Angolan Catholic radio station. The Angolan Executive said in its communiqué published on Friday 21 February, that it hopes CEAST's position will "in fact mark the reintroduction of Rádio Ecclesia abiding by its scrupulous editorial stance, in order to respect the truth, promote people and institutional dignity and spread evangelical and moral values." The government feels that during this phase of national reconciliation, Rádio Ecclesia can play a positive role towards forgiving and overcoming the grief and trauma caused through the armed conflict, bringing Angolans closer together and consequently contributing towards establishing more fraternal, just and dignified relations among all citizens. As Rádio Ecclesia is incorporated into the national information system, it has the same rights and obligations as any other media body, "that is given the right to educate the conscience by respecting truth, spreading different opinions, engaging in open and honest debate, without resorting to insult and falsehood, exercising the right to criticize and revealing illegal and immoral situations by way of helping to construct a united, prosperous and fair nation for all of Angola's children." In the communiqué, the government acknowledges, the importance of private media allowed in the Angolan democratic system, but recalls that all development projects, especially those on radio, are subject to the country's legislation. The communiqué ends by congratulating CEAST, for the "edifying position" taken at its last meeting. Source: Angop news agency web site, Luanda, in Portuguese 22 Feb 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. VLF ANTARCTIC ANTENNA A new antenna has been erected in [sic] the South Pole, but this one isn`t about communications for the remote outpost nor is it involved in Antarctic studies. The antenna is intended to study the mesosphere and lower atmosphere --- a section which is largely ignored because it`s too high for airplanes or balloons, but too low for satellites. Umran Inan, head of the Very Low Frequency Group of the Space, Telecommunications and Radioscience Laboratory at Stanford University, says the only way to measure these layers is by passing very low frequency electromagnetic waves through it. Such waves are generated naturally by events such as lightning strikes, but the transmitter at the South Pole --- where there are no thunderstorms --- allows for more controlled observations. Umran Inan is paying attention to this section of atmosphere, hoping transmissions from the massive 4-mile long antenna will allow better detection of problems such as satellite-damaging disturbances caused by solar activity. ``The weather in space is very, very important for our technological age now, because we have so much of our assets in space,`` Inan said. The highest energy electrons can also penetrate as low as 25 miles (40km) above the Earth, where they can ``wreak havoc in the atmosphere, ionizing chemical species, creating x-rays and perhaps influencing the chemistry that produces ozone,`` he noted in a summary of the project (Communications, March MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. Even More Antarctica We got a nice letter from Bruce Blackburn, N0NHP, a senior tech at Raytheon Polar Services. He passed along many updates to the information in January`s column, just in time for the final weeks of the 2003 Antarctic summer season. For a start, NNN0ICE has been gone since 1998, when the US Navy pulled out of McMurdo. There is still a ham radio there, but it`s no longer in the Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS). The remaining US military presence is seasonal. Currently it`s the 109th Air National Guard, out of New York state, and the US Coast Guard ``Deep Freeze`` operation we have mentioned. C-130 aircraft with landing skis continue to use the callsigns SKIER and ICE. KIWI is used by wheeled New Zealand C-130s, and KB is Ken Borek’s Twin Otter. The 10-kilowatt transmitters were scrapped in the late `80s, and the major activity is now on 9032 kHz USB with 5000 watts. Other stations have 500 or 1000 watts. Incidentally, an Argentine travel company called AeroRed offers day trips to Antarctica twice a week during the summer. Adventurers can fly the 625 miles (1000 kilometers) from Tierra Del Fuego, take a three-hour tour of Argentina`s Marambio research station, and return. Summer high temperatures on this island base are nice and toasty, right up around freezing. We wrap up this month`s column with a few of the more audible frequencies from the Antarctic coordination list. Stay warm! Antarctic Frequency List--- All frequencies are upper sideband (USB), shown as assigned channels in kilohertz (kHz). On most radios, they will be different from the ``dial/window`` readings. If the digit after the decimal point is 0, tune down 2 kHz. If 4, subtract 1.4 kHz, and if 5, 1.5. For example, 5697.5 is really the well-known Coast Guard channel on 5696.0 kHz. Base station power is in kilowatts (kW). Frequency kW Use 2026.4 1 Ship tactical/conference 2183.4 var International calling/distress 2515.0 1 Air/ship 3248.4 1 Ship tactical/conference 3320.4 1 Ship tactical/conference 4127.0 var International calling/distress 4719.5 1 Long range air/ground 4771.5 .5 Common 5697.5 1 US air/ship (Coast Guard) 5727.5 1 Long range air/ground 6709.5 1 Long range air/ground 7996.5 1 Common 8298.4 1 Ship tactical/conference 8364.0 var International Search & Rescue 8420.0 .5 McMurdo ship to shore 8999.5 1 Long range air/ground 9007.5 1 Common 9032.0 5 Long range air/ground 10641.0 5 McMurdo air/ground weather net 11256.5 1 Long range air/ground 11554.5 .5 Common 12222.0 5 Air/ground weather net 12354.4 1 Ship tactical/conference 12630.0 .5 Ship/shore coordination 13252.5 1 Long Range air/ground 14700.0 5 Air/ground weather net 16529.4 1 Mobile stations (Hugh Stegman, HF Communications, March MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. CAPSULE REVIEW: Feedback, R. Australia Fri 2105, Sat 0605, Sun 0305 For those who miss Media Network and Communications World, Feedback has quietly evolved into the program that best fills that void. While not as expansive or ambitious as MN once was, nor as comprehensive on a weekly basis as CW, Roger Broadbent regularly uses his weekly half- hour to thoroughly examine matters of topical interest in international broadcasting. The art of the interview is the method of choice and Broadbent is a consummate interviewer. Whether the topic is technical, such as digital radio broadcasting --- or philosophical, such as managerial approaches to programming --- the listener is accorded the full benefit of a calm and inquiring mind whose questions (and the answers they produce) always provide the listener with a fuller understanding, whatever the subject. Often, the listener is asked to provide additional perspective and the program returns to subjects as circumstances warrant. It may just be this sense of continuing dialogue that makes Feedback unique in this genre. [Note: In addition to shortwave, Feedback also can be heard on the internet http://www.abc.net.au/ra at the times indicated and on World Radio Network at 0300 ET.] (John Figliozzi, Program Highlights, March MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. G'Day list, more transmitter/EMR/planning issues today. Check: "NEIGHBOURS FIND ABC HAS TURNED THE RADIO UP TOO FAR" http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/02/23/1045935279578.html also at http://www.amt.org.au/newsitem.php?id=882 Cheers (Chris Martin, Brisbane, ARDXC via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. 7230 / 7165. Die Rundfunksendungen der STIMME DER HOFFNUNG, dem deutschsprachigen Programmanbieter von Adventist World R (AWR) werden ab 30. Maerz bis voraussichtlich 25. Okt 2003 nach folgendem Sommerplan ueber Kurzwelle, Satelliten und auf Abruf im Internet ausgestrahlt: Kurzwelle Moosbrunn (Oesterreich): 0700-0730 UTC 7230 kHz 41 mb 300 kW 1500-1530 UTC 7165 kHz 41 mb 300 kW Empfangsberichte ueber den Kurzwellenempfang sind an folgende Adresse zu senden: Listener Services, Adventist World Radio, 39 Brendon Street, London, W1H 5HD, England Fax: +44-1344-401-419 Internet: http://www.radio.stimme-der-hoffnung.de Empfang der Radioprogrme im Internet auf Abruf! Jederzeit kann das Programm des aktuellen Tages oder eines der 29 vorhergehenden Tage abgerufen werden. Format: RealPlayer (Lothar Klepp, Feb 17 AWR Technischer Hoererservice via BC-DX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Rádio Alvorada de Rio Branco - AC , foi ouvida novamente nos 2460 kHz. Saulo Gomes de Sousa a ouviu em Porto Velho, Rondonia em 20 de Fevereiro às 0415 UT com programa evangélico da Assembléia de Deus. Há muitos meses esta emissora não era reportada nesta freqüência, o que indica uma reativação (editor, @tividade DX Feb 23 via DXLD) I see no definite ID above; could it have been this?: (gh) 23/02 0421, 2460, R. Novo Tempo, Governador Valadares-MG (2 x 1230), músicas religiosas, ann do programa Desafio Novo Tempo e DVD de Márcia Lessa, 33222 (Caio Fernandes Lopes, Itajubá, MG, Icom ICR-75, Antena Long wire 30 mts, radioescutas via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 9645.9v, Radio Bandeirantes, São Paulo, 1218-1228, February 23. Portuguese transmission. Announcement about the direct transmission from "Sambodromo". Local ads. ID as: "Bandeirantes, a rádio oficial da Gran [sic] Prémio do BRAZIL: Brasil do Formula Um... com tecnologia e som digital... a rádio da Formula 1..."; "Bandeirantes... lider na audiência do jornalismo". Ads. Banco Real. TC: "9 horas com 27" and weather report. Press headlines. 44444 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentine, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. COLOMBIAN JOURNALISTS WARN ANTI-TERRORISM BILL ENDANGERS PRESS FREEDOM | Text of report by Colombian Caracol radio web site on 21 February Bogotá: The Bogotá Reporters' Association, CPB, has rejected the article concerning restrictions of the press contained in the government's anti-terrorism bill. A press statement, signed by the CPB's board of directors, warns that the bill violates articles 20 and 73 of the constitution and undermines the principle of freedom of the press and information. "The article is a weapon against freedom of expression and its implementation would be a carte blanche for the government against journalists and the media. It is in the spirit of totalitarian regimes, not democracies. The government must explore other paths than censorship in order to achieve a patriotic compromise with journalists and the media in the face of terrorism. There are other means the government can use in order to correct press blunders," the group said. The proposed article in question says: "Whoever, by written press, radio, television or virtual information systems, divulges information which could hinder the effective execution of military or police operations, endangers the lives of public order officers or private citizens, or carries out any other act threatening public order and public morals, improving the position or image of the enemy, or stimulating terrorist activities so that their actions have a greater impact, will be liable to a term of imprisonment of from eight to 12 years, without prejudice to the suspension of the corresponding service." Source: Caracol Colombia web site, Bogota, in Spanish 21 Feb 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CROATIA [non]. MORE ENGLISH PROGRAMMING! On UT Feb. 23 at 0525 I tuned to Voice of Croatia (via DTK) on 7285 and noted the English news started earlier than before --- wonder why? Well the news ended at 0529 (thus it must have started at 0522), and then a new program, a review of the week in the Croatian newspapers, was heard until 0536. Then came the Spanish news (again earlier than usual) and it was followed by the press review at 0543-0553, then the ID and frequency schedule in Croatian, EG and SP to 0557. I checked after 0600 on 9470 (to New Zealand) to see if something similar was happening after 0605 but it was news only in English and Spanish. So this additional programming in English and Spanish (thus far only on all broadcasts on UT-Sunday) is heard at approximately 0120, 0320, 0520, 0720, and 0920 on the usual frequencies to different targets. Wonder if more features and topics for EG and SP will be added for other days of the week? (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Thursday, February 13, 0351, 6390. R. Rebelde. Mellow music. Heavy noise, audible in USB with steady signal, SIO 312. (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That would be the 9th harmonic of 710! (gh) ** CUBA [non]. Coro at Kulpsville? No Way! Regarding MT’s note about Cuba`s ham radio host Arnie Coro being invited to the SWL Fest March 7-8, we received this note: ``NY Times 1/6/03: Cuba has an aggressive and effective intelligence service that has hundreds of agents in the USA. Page 3 of Northeast Edition. Check it out. (Arnie Coro is one of the `inner circle` in Fidel’s government and has been for over 40 years.)`` (CD Fairleigh, Retired Intelligence Analyst, Washington DC) You'll be interested to know Coro is unable to attend this year's Fest, due to insufficient time to complete government paperwork (March MONITORING TIMES letters to the editor via DXLD) ** DEUTSCHES REICH [non]. Zundel Deported TORONTO Feb 20 (AP) - A German man who ran a neo-Nazi publishing house and denied the Holocaust happened was deported to Canada after his U.S. visa expired, a U.S. immigration official said Thursday. U.S. officials handed Ernst Zundel over to Canadian authorities Wednesday, two weeks after the 63-year-old was arrested in Tennessee, U.S. Immigration spokesman Michael Gilhooly said. Zundel, who ran a white supremacist publishing house in Toronto, had been living in the foothills of eastern Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains for about two years. He immigrated to Canada in 1958 to escape the draft in West Germany, according to the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League. By the 1970s, he was running a Toronto-based publishing company that produced white supremacist books with titles such as "The Hitler We Loved and Why." In the 1980s, Canadian officials temporarily suspended his mailing privileges and later sued him for "knowingly publishing false news." He was convicted, but Canada's Supreme Court struck down the "false news" law in 1992 before he could go to jail. Canada later refused to grant him citizenship, prompting his move to Tennessee. A Web site, "Zundelsite," which the Canadian Human Rights Commission tried to outlaw, also moved to Tennessee. Although Zundel is a German citizen, U.S. officials sent him to Canada because he entered the U.S. through Canada. Zundel's wife, Ingrid, said she was kept in the dark as to Zundel's final destination. "This is bizarre," she told The Mountain Press newspaper in Sevierville, Tennessee. "Never once has any official told me anything." Keith Landy, the president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, said Zundel should have been deported to Germany. "He is a citizen of Germany. He ought to be sent there," Landy said. "The last thing we need is a hardcore hate monger and holocaust denier like Zundel." Canadian immigration authorities had no comment on Zundel's arrival (via Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Zundel once aired his "Another Voice of Freedom" via shortwave in the 1990's. It never lasted long anywhere due to its controversial nature. Ironically, his website has audio files on demand. The Canadian Jewish Congress' website is at http://www.cjc.ca/ Zundel's site is at http://www.zundelsite.org/ The Mountain Press website is http://www.themountainpress.com/ (Hans Johnson, TX, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) I see via NYT for 2/22/03 that notorious Holocaust-denial propagandist Ernst Zundel is being held by Canadian immigration while he tries to earn refugee status in Canada. He previously left Canada in 2001 when it got too hot for him there, with actions to shut down his website beginning. He was recently arrested in the USA for overstaying his visitor's visa, hence the return to Canada. He never took Canadian citizenship and faces charges in his native Germany. In the late 1980s I used to listen to Zundel's program over WRNO, New Orleans. I think the show was called "Voice of Tomorrow". The program had some horn fanfares announcing the show --- these were the same trumpet fanfares that the German radio in WW2 used to herald battlefield victory announcements. When I was listening to his show, I used to be thinking that this was the closest thing one could experience to the crude WW2 nazi radio propaganda. My opinion was that he was not very well educated in either science or history, and just about any listener with any breadth of reading could find glaring errors to easily refute. Of course, how hard is it to defeat someone who claims UFOs were actually an invention of the Third Reich (Hue Miller, Feb 23, swprograms via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 6025.02, R. Amanecer 0159-0206+ 2/18 with phone numbers in Santiago and Santo Domingo given. Sounded like a "prayer-a- thon" or "Dial-a-prayer" program; music at 0203; M announcer at 0206. Fair signal but crunched between 6020 and 6030 QRM (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, phased LW's, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) What about BFBS on 6025 from 0200? (gh DXLD) ** EGYPT. 36.1500 MHz, 1024 UT Feb 22 or 23, Radio CAIRO, 250 or 500 kW with music program, harmonic radio station am-modulation, 3 x 12.0500 (Jan Griep, Kreileroord 1773AC, Netherlands, 52.845 north, 5.078 east, vhfskip list via Tim Bucknall, harmonoics yahoogroup via DXLD) ** EL SALVADOR. Caros amigos, Após um bom tempo de inatividade e após a resolução do problema que eu tinha com o ruído elétrico proveniente da rede elétrica por parte da empresa de energia local (esperei quase seis meses por isso), resolvi voltar na noite de ontem fazer algumas escutas, alguns informes e elaborar um relatório de escutas para enviar à lista como eu fazia há algum tempo atrás. Porém uma única escuta que eu fiz foi capaz de ofuscar qualquer outra que eu poderia ter feito. Pela primeira vez desde que a referida emissora entrou em operação, esta foi a primeira vez que eu consegui sintonizá-la, haja visto que há um bom tempo eu já vinha "perseguindo- a". Os dados da escuta são os seguintes: 17835v - 23/02 - 00:29 - SLV - Radio Imperial - Sonsonate - Identificação clara "Radio Imperial, 17835 kHz, onda corta, 16 metros" seguido por longos trechos repletos de cumbias - 35343. Escuta feita com o Sony 7600G e antena longwire com 30 metros de comprimento. Na minha modesta opinião, esta foi a minha melhor escuta nestes 9 anos de dexismo, não somente por esta ser uma emissora bastante rara e por até onde eu lembro, nenhum colega brasileiro ter divulgado a escuta desta emissora, e sim pelos fortíssimos laços que eu tenho com este que é o menor país da América Central e que é conhecido como "El Pulgarcito" ou simplesmente "Pequeno Polegar". Digo isso porque foi uma experiência única ouvir no rádio músicas que normalmente eu apenas escuto em CD's, e por lembrar através desta escuta tantas coisas que me ligam a este país, desde a comida (feijão frito, o arroz doce --- que lá é comido quente, entre tantos outros pratos) passando pela cultura, seu povo (que assim como nós adora futebol) entre muitíssimas outras coisas. Com certeza vou fazer um informe de recepção "no capricho" para esta emissora e, se eu conseguir uma confirmação, com certeza será a minha preferida! Bem, caso alguém queira tentar a escuta desta emissora, o horário limite é 2300 UT [sic --- quer dizer 0100 --- ggh], pois neste horário a Rádio Japão começa a transmitir, tornando zero a possibilidade de escuta, pelo menos por aqui. Hoje tentarei novamente ouví-la. Caso alguém queira enviar um informe de recepção para esta emissora (se alguém tiver o endereço desta emissora me ajudará bastante), eu tenho algumas dicas quanto ao envio de cartas que podem ser decisivos para a chegada ou não do seu informe: 1 - Curiosidade: As cartas que eu envio para San Salvador demoram em média de 30 a 40 dias para chegar ao destino. Cartas enviadas de San Salvador para mim demoram em média de 10 a 20 dias para chegar em minhas mãos. 2 - Use correio registrado: Nunca consegui fazer uma carta não registrada chegar até lá. Também nunca recebi uma carta de lá que também não fosse registrada, sendo assim, prepare-se para gastar pelo menos R$ 3 com o envio da carta e um bom custeio postal, pois é recomendável que a resposta venha por correio registrado. 3 - Coloque abaixo do endereço "América Central". Isso ajuda muito para que a carta chegue mais rapidamente, sei disso por experiência própria. Sei que o relato foi longo, mas espero que as informações sejam úteis. Última curiosidade: quem nasce em Sonsonate é "Sonsonateco"!!! Na verdade estes "ecos" no fim dos nomes é bastante comum, por exemplo, quem nasce em Santa Ana é "Santaneco", etc. Creio que o mais "diferente" seja para quem nasce em San Salvador que é "Capitalino". Para quem quiser saber notícias sobre este país ou apenas conhecê-lo um pouquinho mais, eu recomendo o site do jornal "El Diario de Hoy" em http://www.elsalvador.com 73 Ivan Dias, Sorocaba/SP (sim, eu estou no Brasil e não em território salvadorenho!), Feb 23, radioescutas via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. I tried to listen to the new Voice of Ethiopia and didn't find them on the published frequency of 7560 kHz. Instead I listened to them on the new frequency of 7520 kHz from 2008 to 2055 UT tonight, Feb 23rd. Very good strength! 73 from (Björn Fransson the island of Gotland, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sundays only; great way for a new station to build up an audience --- change frequency without notice after the very first show (gh, DXLD) CLANDESTINE TO ETHIOPIA: Voice of Ethiopia heard February 23rd at 2001 tune in on 7520 with identification in English and reading of their mission statement, 2035 recheck commentary in English criticising Western inaction against the, in their view, Stalinist Ethiopian government. Strong signal on clear channel (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The `Voice of Ethiopia` name has also been used in past by the Addis Ababa official station, but I`m not sure if it is currently (gh, DXLD) ** GREECE. Thursday, February 13, 0337, 5865. Voice of Greece. Interesting and unique music. Nearby utility messing up reasonable signal. 312 with some chaotic fading (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. 4779.99, Radio Coatán, San Sebástian Coatán. Feb 2003 - 1030 UT. Began at this time with a nice ``Radio Coatán``-ID, later several ``En el aire Radio Coatán`` IDs. I didn`t manage to hear any ``Cultural``, is listed as Radio Cultural Coatán. On the same frequency, 1-2 100-parts higher up I sometimes heard Radio Satélite in Santa Cruz (Perú). ID in SS but followed by program in some Indian dialect (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Feb 23, Translated by SWB-editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. Radio K`ekchí, 4845, SINPO 24333. 2/22/03 1155 - 1233 with music and IDs. Signal deteriorated after 1225 (Mark Taylor, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. Saturday, February 22, 2003, 0405+, 3291.0. GBC, Georgetown. Relaying BBC World Service in English, parallel to 5975. Good copy in LSB. SIO 312. Also noted with a weaker signal on February 19, at 0328-0336+, with F announcer and lively music, SIO 212 (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3291.08, Voice of Guyana, 21 Feb 0800, sub continental flute music, time check by OM, followed by easy listening music, addresses given, 0850 ID "... Voice of Guyana ... a reminder that the ...show ... in one and a half hours ... we will not be able to bring the ...show today..." 0557 several mentions de Guyana and sub continental music. Eclectic program of musical variety continues. Tnx log from Scott R Barbour (Bob Wilkner, NRD 535 D Pompano Beach, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAITI. THREATS FORCE HAITI RADIO STATION OFF AIR By DAVID ADAMS, Times Latin America Correspondent © St. Petersburg Times published February 23, 2003 One of Haiti's most respected independent radio stations, Radio Haïti Inter, decided to take itself off the air Saturday after complaining of constant threats. The station's owner and one of the country's most prominent journalists, Jean Dominique, was murdered by gunmen outside the station in April 2000. The station's caretaker also was killed in the hail of bullets. Dominique's widow, award-winning journalist Michele Montas, has continued to run the station while also pushing to have the killers brought to justice. Montas' bodyguard was killed on Christmas Day last year when armed men attacked her home. "We have lost three lives . . . and we refuse to lose another," she said in a statement broadcast before going off the air. "We don't know exactly when we will go back on the air." The Dominique murder investigation has become a test case for Haiti's weak justice system. Charges were drawn up last year by an investigating judge against a leading politician with ties to the ruling Lavalas Family Party of president Jean Bertrand Aristide. But no arrests were made and the judge fled the country after receiving death threats. Hollywood film director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) recently completed a documentary about Dominique's life, The Agronomist, which is showing this week at the Miami International Film Festival (via Terry Krueger, DXLD) HAITIAN RADIO STATION TO CLOSE AFTER RENEWED THREATS TO STAFF February 22, 2003 By REUTERS Radio Haiti Inter, one of Haiti's most popular radio stations, is going off the air because of threats against its staff.... http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/22/international/americas/22HAIT.html?ex=1047006168&ei=1&en=2e1cca0e8a521db9 (via ??) Extending the recent reports on Haiti, Radio Metropole, here are two more reports taken from the sources indicated (Dr. Anton J. Kuchelmeister, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MENACES SUR LA PRESSE : RADIO HAÏTI VA CESSER D’ÉMETTRE Source : HPN, 21 février 2003 Après Métropole, c’est au tour de Haïti Inter : La Radio Haïti Inter va cesser d`émettre à partir du samedi 22 février 2003, à cause des menaces dont seraient l’objet les journalistes de cette station.... http://www.haitipressnetwork.com/presse/presseprint.cfm?pressID=474 And another, also in French, which doesn`t seem to mention radio: MASSACRE À CITÉ-SOLEIL Source : HPN, 20 février 2003 http://www.haitipressnetwork.com/presse/presseprint.cfm?pressID=473 (via Dr. Kuchelmeister, DXLD) ** INDIA [and non]. [QSLing timesignal stations:] A few years ago I sent my report to the Indian station at the then listed address. The report and tape were returned by a station engineer in a small hand made box, with a cloth wrapping sealed with posting wax. He really went out of his way to see that my report and tape were returned to me. In his enclosed letter he explained that the station had been transferred to a different department in the government. I did not try to make contact with the new address, but should have and may. It is a rare day we hear that station in western Canada. A few years ago I tried to drum up some interest in Time Signal Stations, it never really took off. I had asked that DXers with active time signal stations in their countries to contact me. A Canadian DXer William Hepburn has a great web site devoted to Time Signal Stations, if you can't find it by a "search", the Canadian DX Club (CIDX) may have a link. In the past WRTH had a section devoted to these stations. There are several countries that have active stations, Russia, Indonesia, México, India, Czech Republic, these are the less common of those left on SW. I have the sked for the Hong Kong station, not sure if they are still on. I would still like to get more info on these stations, skeds, etc. Anyone interested? 73 (Joe Talbot, Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, swl via DXLD) That would be ATA on 10000 kHz only and not 24 hours. WRTH 2003 has a 2-page spread, 656-657 about `STFT`, a new term which I doubt will catch on (and hope not), with a frequency listing but no real details as for broadcast stations (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [and non]. CYBER-WARFARE IN IRAQ ALREADY HAS BROKEN OUT Thom Shanker and Eric Schmitt/NYT NYT Monday, February 24, 2003 WASHINGTON --- In the most ambitious effort of its kind, the American military is already at war with Iraq, but it is a conflict being fought with electrons and words in advance of any order by President George W. Bush to loose bullets and bombs. American cyber-warfare experts recently made an e-mail assault against Iraq's political, military and economic leadership, urging them to break with the regime. A second wave of messages has gone to private cell phone numbers of specially selected officials. More than eight million leaflets have been dropped over Iraq, including towns 100 kilometers south of Baghdad, warning Iraqi anti- aircraft missile operators that their bunkers will be destroyed if they track or fire at allied warplanes. A similar blunt notice has gone to Iraqi ground troops: Surrender, and live. Radio transmitters hauled aloft by Air Force Special Operations EC-130E planes are broadcasting directly to the Iraqi public in Arabic with programs that, by mimicking the styles of local radio stations, are generations advanced from the clumsy preachings of previous wartime propaganda efforts. "Do not let Saddam tarnish the reputation of soldiers any longer," said a recent broadcast. "Saddam uses the military to persecute those who don't agree with his unjust agenda. Make the decision." ... http://www.iht.com/cgi-bin/generic.cgi?template=articleprint.tmplh&ArticleId=87692 Copyright (c) 2003 The International Herald Tribune | http://www.iht.com (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** ISRAEL. It has been observed that the French broadcast now finishes at 1645 UT and is followed by 10 minutes of Ladino. The schedule on http://www.israelradio.org has been updated to reflect this (Doni Rosenzweig, Feb 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAEL. STATE RADIO CHIEF: NO ISRAELI DISPUTES AIRED IN WARTIME BY HAARETZ SERVICE --- Last update - 13:17 11/02/2003 Israel Radio chief Amnon Nadav said Tuesday that in the event of war in Iraq, the state-owned radio network will keep revelations of Israeli mistakes, miscalculations, and disputes off the air for the duration of the conflict. http://makeashorterlink.com/?L54231193 (via Jilly Dybka, TN, NASWA Flashsheet Feb 23 via DXLD) ** JAPAN. This week, we would like to introduce a message from an announcer in the Persian language section of NHK World Radio Japan. I came to Japan in September last year, and working as a Specialist of Persian programs. The trip was not our first experience living abroad, hence my family had less anxiety about settling down. But frankly there is a big difference in the food culture of Japanese; our hometown, Tehran, is far from the sea and there is not much seafood in Iran's food traditions. We have some food restrictions due to our religious guidelines, strictly banning us from eating pork. During the first two weeks in Tokyo, staying at a hotel, always having food at restaurants, having to special order those rare foods without pork, we had some hard times, although it was fun as we kept saying 'Sumimasen, Watashiwa butaniku dame. (Excuse me. I don't eat pork.)' Mr. Afshin Valinejad (Persian Language Specialist) (NHK World E-Guide plus via Wolfgang Bueschel, DXLD) ** KASHMIR [non]. Voice of Jammu & Kashmir Freedom Movement 5102 brev, affischer, häfte, tidningar, ett antal bilder i A4-format från Occupied Jammu & Kashmir. V/s Islam ud Din But. Allt kom i ett rekommenderat brev från Post Box No 102, Muzaffarabad (Azad Kashmir), Pakistan. (Christer Brunström, Sweden SW Bulletin Feb 23 via DXLD) ** KASHMIR [non]. 6135, 19.2 1500, Radio Sadayee Kashmir is a new clandestine, in Dari [?] language. I am not yet 100% sure of the ID, but I am checking every day. This one comes up behind an Arab, which closes down shortly after, when this one can be heard reasonably well. Nice India type singing. Lots of talk about Pakistan. S 2-3 (Bjorn Fransson, Sweden, SW Bulletin, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA [non]. FRANCE, 17880, R. Jamahiriyah via Issoudun *1700-1759* 2/22 with drum IS, chimes and pips at 1702, opening announcement, Qur`an, and Arabic programming to 1735; then 5 minutes of English news, followed by 5 minutes of French at 1740; back to Arabic from 1745 to 1759*. Fair signal, // to poor 15220 (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, phased LW's, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** MEXICO. More Mexican Military --- Our Spanish dictionary was somewhat broken when we published details of the various Mexican Army nets. Since that time, more frequencies have come to light, in addition to another network which uses names of countries. Most of the networks carry voice traffic, either plain or encrypted with the Harris AVS (Advanced Voice System). Here are the updated details: Metals/Stones Net: Frequencies: 5260, 5590, 8050, 8084, 9080, 10444 kHz (USB) Identifiers: Acero, Bronce, Cobalto, Cobre, Diamante, Jade, Marmol, Oro, Plata Planets/Earth Net: Frequencies: 7900, 8065, 9060, 10135, 14400, 14715 kHz (USB) Identifiers: Arbol, Europa, Galaxia, Marte, Planeta, Universo, Valle, Venus Animals Net: Frequencies: 7900, 8047, 9060, 10135 kHz (USB) Identifiers: Faisan, Jaguar, Jilguero, León, Leopardo, Salmón, Tauro, Tiburón, Tigre, Zorro Countries Net: Frequencies: 4550, 8020, 8065 kHz (USB) Identifiers: Alemania, España, Francia, Israel, Italia Regional Nets: Frequencies: 4650, 7777, 9060, 14700 kHz (USB) Identifiers: RM1 to RM14 Frequencies: 9050, 10444 kHz (USB) Identifiers: Delta1 to Delta9 (Mike Chace, Digital Digest, March MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) ** MONACO [non]. Two sites on 1467? Yes, of course... Such has been the situation for a number of years now. I don't know for sure but I may well be 10 years, in fact ever since the 1MW transmitter was moved to the Roumoules Plateau. During daytime hours the spare transmitter was used from the old site for local programming of RMC, at night Roumoules came on with TWR. In fact, during the last years of RMC's existence there was very little local programming, RMC actually relayed a station from Paris with only local news inserts several times a day. Who owns the sites is another story altogether. They do not belong to RMC. RMC does no longer exist. They belong to TdF, since TdF bought RMC's assets (Rémy Friess via TL, ARC via Olle Alm, DXLD) ** NAMIBIA. LAND OF DIVERSE BEAUTY --- By Colin Miller From vast expanses of desert, moving sand dunes and the spectacular Fish River Canyon, to savanna, woodlands and forests – the southern Africa country of Namibia is a land of contrasts. It gets its name from the world`s oldest desert, the Namib, located along the Atlantic coast. About the Country Namibia has an area of 318,000 square miles, or about the size of Texas and New York combined. This ranks it as the 31st largest country in the world. It is bounded by Angola on the north, Botswana on the east and South Africa to the south. The border also just touches those of Zambia and Zimbabwe at the eastern end of the Caprivi Strip, a narrow finger of land stretching east along the frontier with Angola. The population is more than 1.8 million. The inhabitants include a small number of Bushmen, as well as members of the Herero, Ovambo, Tswana, Kavango, Damara, Nama and other groups. It also includes some Whites of German, English and Afrikaans descent. Only about a third of Namibia`s population lives in urban areas. In the late 15th century the Portuguese navigators Diogo Cão and Bartholomeu Diaz explored the coast. The country became a German colony in the late 19th century. In World War I, South Africa, fighting on the side of the Allies, took the country and administered it until independence. In 1966, the UN General Assembly declared that South Africa`s mandate was terminated; however, South Africa disregarded this resolution. Two years later, the UN adopted the country name Namibia, although South West Africa was still officially in use. From 1968 the South West African People`s Organization, SWAPO, was involved in a violent and bitter struggle against the South African army and the South West Africa Territorial Force, SWATF, for control of the country. Independence was finally achieved on March 21, 1990. The capital is Windhoek, a small city of about 200,000 inhabitants, which has a German influence in some of its architecture. In fact many tourists see it as a most un-African city. It is cosmopolitan with excellent hotels, restaurants and shops, and is situated in a hilly region at almost the exact center of the country. The population is increasing due to a lack of employment in the rural areas. Other towns include Tsumeb, Keetmanshoop and Lüderitz. The major port of Walvis Bay formerly belonged to South Africa as part of the Cape Province, but this was relinquished in 1994 and it is now Namibia`s only deepwater port. English, German and Afrikaans are the official languages, and of course those languages mentioned above are also spoken. Namibia has great mineral wealth, especially alluvial diamonds near the mouth of the Orange River in the extreme southwest. The most important agricultural products are cattle and karakul sheep, the latter being raised for their valuable skins. The fishing industry plays a significant role in the economy; lobsters and anchovies, among other fish, are caught off the coast. There is quite a lot to attract tourists to the country. The most famous game park is the Etosha National Park, which has a variety of wildlife. The Great Fish River Canyon is one of the most impressive sights in Namibia. For those who like to visit the desert, the sand dunes in Kolmanskop, a ghost town, have surrounded the buildings. Broadcasting Debut Broadcasting came late to Namibia, although South Africa had already provided a shortwave service for many years. In South West Africa, as it was then, the South African Broadcasting Corporation was responsible for the introduction of radio services on FM for the indigenous peoples, as was the case in South Africa. This commenced in November 1969 with the birth of Radio Ovambo, broadcasting in the Kwanyama and Ndonga languages, and also Radio Herero and Radio Damara Nama. The introduction of Radio Kavango along the northeastern border with Angola followed in February 1976 in the Kwangan, Mbukushu and Jeiriku languages. However, the SABC relinquished control of these services in May 1979, when the South West African Broadcasting Corporation (SWABC) came into being by proclamation of the Administrator General. On Oct 10, 1980, the SWABC inaugurated two 100 kW shortwave transmitters at Hoffnung near Windhoek. This station relayed the English, Afrikaans and German services on the one transmitter, and the indigenous services on the other. The other NBC On March 1, 1990, the SWABC was renamed Namibian Broadcasting Corporation, which aims to provide information, education and entertainment to its listeners, without discrimination or bias. The NBC now operates radio services in several languages, with regional programming at various times. These are as follows: • National Service 1 in English • National Service 2 in Afrikaans • National Service 3 in German • Oshiwambo Service in Ovambo and Kwanyama for the north and northwest • Otjiherero Service in Herero and Setswana for the east • Damara/Nama Service in Damara and Nama for central Namibia • Rukavango Service in Kwangali for the Caprivi Strip • Radio Opuwo, which opened in 2000, and is a supporting unit to the regional station at Oshakati in the north Most of these services originate from the studios on Cullinan Street in the northern industrial area of Windhoek. The NBC`s radio service reaches about 97 percent of the country over a network of FM stations, as well as shortwave, broadcasting from regional centers at Katima Mulilo in Caprivi, Rundu in the Kavango region, and Oshakati in the Oshana region. In addition to the three regional centers, NBC has contribution centers at Otjiwarongo in central-northern Namibia and Keetmanshoop in southern Namibia. News and educational programs form a large part of daily output, and there is also audience participation through call-in shows. In Chat Show and Open Line, listeners air their views and opinions about many issues, as long as these do not infringe on the rights and freedoms of other citizens. These talk shows also provide a channel of communication between the public and political decision-makers. Responses to listeners` questions about government policies are aired on the daily Feedback program. The NBC is striving to add more local content to its programs, but this is difficult to achieve due to financial constraints. The Education Section was established in 1985, and provides formal and informal education programs covering all ages from pre-school to adult. Some programs are imported from other countries, but it has developed its own programs to meet the local curriculum. The NBC has taken a step towards digital broadcasting. A computerized studio has been installed in Windhoek, and plans are to extend this to the entire network. Following the liberalization of the airwaves through the Namibian Communication Commission Act, a number of independent stations have opened in recent years, broadcasting on FM. These include commercial, religious and community stations. Namibia can usually be logged in North America on 3270 or 3290 kHz from fade-in around 0100 until sign off at 0715. These channels relay the National Service in German and Afrikaans, however. They are not always in parallel or heard at the same time. So it just amounts to a matter of luck. You might also try 7165 kHz between 0500 and 0630 in English. The address for reception reports is NBC Short-wave Section, P.O. Box 321, Windhoek, Namibia. The station is a good verifier. Prior to independence, the cards had the name Radio SWA, and were modeled on those of Radio RSA in South Africa. The station has issued some beautiful QSL cards over the years, which depict the ``land of contrasts`` through its various tourist attractions, flora and fauna (March MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. Hi Glenn, RNZI, 23.02.2003, 1100-1106 UT on 11675. Was glad to hear this station after a gap of at least 2 years. Reception of RNZI tends to prove difficult here in England (at least where I live) and I had not heard RNZI since they used 9700 during the mornings our time! Heard the newscast at 1100 (or what I could of it because of the reception) which made mention of the war in Iraq then followed that with items on things such as Singapore, Cricket World Cup and, I think, Golf. At 1106 heard ID as "Radio New Zealand International"; then the transmission closed. Retuned at 1107 to 15175 and was greeted with bird-like noises which went on for about 1 minute and was then followed by music then ID as "This is New Zealand Forces Radio... of Radio New Zealand International from our studios in Wellington". Straight into Newscast and talk. The reception remained stable until 1124 when I put my computer on to write this and the reception packed up. SINPO ratings: 1100 - 1106: 45444 (occ. 12111) --- 1107 - 1124: 45444 (occ. 44444) Best wishes and 73, (DXDave, Bristol, England, Feb 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. STATE BROADCASTERS COME UNRAVELED, BY DUNCAN BRIDGEMAN The country's state broadcasting service has been thrown into disarray, with TVNZ and Radio New Zealand struggling with key staff problems http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q12251193 (via Jilly Dybka, NASWA Flashsheet Feb 23 via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. Adán Mur, de Radio América, Villeta, me comentó en un correo electrónico recibido hace instantes, que la emisora está haciendo pruebas en los 15185 khz, entre las 1100 y las 1900 UT, en forma irregular (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, @tividade DX Feb 23 via DXLD) R. América: Adán Mur tells me about the new tests transmissions on 15185: are between 1100 to 1900 UT. 73's (Arnaldo Slaen, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** PERU. BM bandscan SW 59, Feb 22, 2002 3157.92, harmonic, Radio Naylamp, la provincia de Lambayeque, el departamento de Lambayeque. Feb 2003 - 1130 UT. ``Transmite Radio Naylamp 1580 kHz amplitud modulada, Radio Naylamp la diferente. Escúchanos y compáranos``. A splendid station with a DJ who really ``keeps things going``. Info from ``Ventanaperú``: Provincia de Lambayeque, cuya capital es Lambayeque. Sus distritos son: Chochope, Illimo, Jayanca, Lambayeque, Mochumí, Mórrope, Motupe, Olmos, Pacora, Salas, San José, Túcume; con una población total de 220,105 hab. New Peruvian on SW? 4964.27/ .97, Radio Santa Mónica, el departamento de Cusco. Feb 17 2003 - 0115 UT. Vanished at 0121 UT without any particular closedown-ceremony so I couldn`t get the exact QTH. Several very clear ``Radio Santa Mónica`` IDs. On MW 1370 kHz is listed a ``Radio Santa Mónica`` in Cusco. Maybe this one has started broadcasts on SW? I have big trouble with splash from Federación Shuar in Sucúa on 4960+ but Feb 21 Santa Mónica was heard quite well, then on 4964.97 kHz, with a transmission from ``Santiago los Jardines`` where a ``fiesta`` was held. Greetings and music for a person in el distrito de ``Ancahuasi`` located in la provincia de ``Anta``, el departamento de ``Cusco``. At this occasion the station closed down at about 0100 UT. A new station for me. Regards (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Feb 23, Translated by SWB-editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU [and non]. 6173.8 kHz, Radio Tawantinsuyo (presumed), 1041 UT. After signing on the past week anywhere from 1042 to 1050, they were already on when I tuned in this morning Feb 23 with a good signal but het from something on exactly 6176 kHz. Tawantinsuyo was broadcasting a music program featuring a male host. Other than that het, no QRM until Radio Habana turns on their transmitter [6180?] anywhere from 1055 to 1058. They were on the later side this morning and somewhat weaker, so was able to get in about 17 minutes of details. Haven't had a chance to review the cassette. Note that Radio Oriente (6188 kHz) was very strong the last 2 days --- even overriding Radio Educación (6185 kHz) on Feb 22nd (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, USA JRC NRD- 515/K9AY & A/D Sloper, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** POLAND [non]. /RUSSIA. 7400 kHz, Radio Maryja via listed Samara, 2237 UT Feb 22 with Polish religious programming. Featured male and female program hosts with some type of congregation answering at times. I listened to the end of the broadcast in which they also close in English. After the Polish version including frequencies, they thanked listeners in EG only to cut their broadcast at exactly 2300 as the second EG sentence was starting. The carrier remained on for another minute but nothing further heard. Good signal (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, USA JRC NRD-515/K9AY & A/D Sloper, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** REUNION. Glenn -- here's a nice little item from the past: After nearly 30 years, my quest for a verification from Reunion is over. Beautiful card, with color photos of R.F.O. antenna, a volcano, a surfer, and a map of Indian Ocean, full data for a 4/9/73 (!) reception on the old 2,446 kHz at 0228 sign on. In the ``old days`` Reunion was one of the 120 meter broadcasters that occasionally made it to East Coast NAm during good East Africa propagation. QSL received after a one-in-million internet correspondence with a ARO in St Denis who offered to get a copy of my 1973 reception to the station. V/S Raymond Kodaday at R.F.O. Reunion, 1, Rue Jean Chatel 97716 (Dan Robinson, DC, Feb 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 11975, Kamchatka Rybatskaya via Pet-Kam *0000-0059* 2/23. Opened with M giving ID as "Govorit Prbo(?) Kamchatsky," then YL with program ID "Kamchatka Rybatskaya". After a few minutes of possible area news, the remainder of the hour consisted of apparent phone reports from correspondents and selections of Russian popular music. Frequent mentions of "Kamchatka" and "Vladivostok". A couple of the phone calls seemed to be from children --- maybe over-the-air greetings to their fisherman fathers at sea? VG signal, 100% copy except for the fact that I don't speak Russian! Closing comments, 4 chimes, and off at 0059* (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, phased LW's, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** SAO TOME. Thursday, February 13, 0317-0325+, 4960. VOA, São Tomé. News broadcast in English. 212 (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. 30.5200 MHz, 0919 UT Feb 22 or 23, CBS TAIPEI Radio Station, 300 kW with news broadcast, harmonic radio station am- modulation 2 x 15.260 (Jan Griep, Kreileroord 1773AC, Netherlands, 52.845 north, 5.078 east, vhfskip list via Tim Bucknall, harmonoics yahoogroup via DXLD) 300 on the fundamental, much less on 30520... ** TAIWAN. Received two brand new QSL cards from Radio Taipei International, Xi Men Ding & Dong Shan Riverside Park with a station pennant and two point ball pen (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, Feb 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. 13695, R. Thailand 0036 2/23, Start of National news at 0036:45; top story was about the visit of Thai princess to Viet Nam. Good signal (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, phased LW's, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Yes, news never comes first ** TIBET. 4905, 14.2 1630. Lhasa, Tibet, med engelsk ID og programet 'Holy Tibet', senere brevkasse, // 5240 og 7385 kHz. 2 SHN (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, SW Bulletin via DXLD) Haven`t seen reports of this for some time, so reconfirmed still doing the English show (gh, DXLD) ** U K. The only decent reference I can find re BBC security breach is on the Guardian newspaper (quoted also in the Singapore Strait Times): http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,897585,00.html Until I heard it on your program, I had no idea, and I listen practically every day to the BBC and watch its BBC World TV news. Self-censorship and not giving people ideas... Best regards (Carlos Coimbra, Ont., Feb 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Radio - I LOVE TV, By Rachel Reed From http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/spectrum.cfm?id=220472003 IT SEEMS a little strange for radio to be promoting television, given that it's the biggest threat to radio's survival, but I Love TV does just that (Tuesday, BBC World Service, 9.05am). In a world where households are more likely to own a television than a telephone, this programme, the first in a new four-part series, examines the role of television in people's lives around the globe, comparing relative consumption and the impact it has on the community. This episode looks at soaps, focusing on Mali, where 30 family members will gather round to watch the country's favourite soap opera - which only one member of the group can understand. Much like watching EastEnders then. If you've ever been up close and personal with a camel, you'll know reports of them being stinky, hairy and bad-tempered are true. But, in their native territories, they are used for much more than carrying fat tourists (via Mike Terry, DXLD) See http://www.worldofradio.com/calendar.html for additional times ** U K. PURGE OF PIRATE RADIO STATIONS 'THREATENS THE LIFEBLOOD OF BRITISH MUSIC' By Ian Burrell, Media and Culture Correspondent 22 February 2003 To anyone whose quiet enjoyment of The Archers has been obliterated by the pounding rhythms of their neighbourhood pirate radio station, they are a dreaded nuisance. But music industry experts yesterday accused the Government of threatening the lifeblood of underground British music with plans to purge the bedroom broadcasters. The Radiocommunications Agency last year made more than 1,000 raids on pirates and prosecutions went up by 145 per cent. The crackdown was out of tune with a warning by Ms Dynamite at this week's Brit awards ceremony that the future of British music depended on more than just television talent contests.... http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/news/story.jsp?story=380468 (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U K [and? non] 6025, BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service): 6025 // 13720 // 6135, UT Mon 02/17 0242-0329. IDs as "BFBS Radio 1," dedications from family members, etc. to British servicemen in the ME, ME weather reports, and music by Avril Lavinge, the Chemical Bros, and other hip hop, pop, etc music. At 0300 UC 6025 went off or was obliterated by other signals and 6135 came on with a strong signal. 13720 was present the whole time, and was very faint but suffered from almost no static, interference, etc. 6025 was fair but subject to much splatter. 6135 was strong and clear (Comeau, MA, NASWA Flashsheeet Feb 23 via DXLD) 6135, "ENGLAND" British Forces Broadcasting Service, *0259-0328 Feb 19, opened with "The next transmission from BFBS starts in 50 seconds" followed by same announcement over and over with ten second countdown intervals. Woman announcer with "It's 3 o'clock" followed by News. At 0303 another time check followed by Middle East Breakfast Show consisting of pop music, dedications, and weather for Kuwait, Kabul, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and finally the UK. At 0321 ID for BFBS Radio One followed by a story about "45,000 toilet rolls on the way to Kuwait ... had borrowed from the Americans." Good signal (Rich D`Angelo, PA, NASWA Flashsheet Feb 23 via DXLD ** U S A. Timtron announced on Saturday afternoon during "Radio Timtron Worldwide" that WBCQ 9335 would be moving to 9330 effective Tuesday, February 25. I've verified the frequency change with Dr. Scott Becker at WBCQ in Kansas (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Frequency Change for 31 metre service http://www.laserradio.net/ WBCQ has advised us of a frequency change for our North American service to avoid possible interference with transmitters in Syria. From March 2nd please retune to 9330 kHz. Your reception reports for the new frequency are welcome at studio@laserradio.net Broadcasts from Latvia to Europe on 5935 kHz short wave every Sunday from 1500 until 2100 UT and to the United States via WBCQ on 9335 from 2000 to 0000 UT (1500 to 1900 ET) (Laser Radio via Mike Terry, DXLD) Syria? On 9335? Says who? Or is it a ute? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. A VOICE FILLED WITH HATRED, INTOLERANCE The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group, says seven of the 21 shortwave stations in the United States broadcast far-right programs - a trend that began about a decade ago and has grown to about 1,100 hours of programming a month. "Hal Turner is part of an absolute explosion of radical, right-wing programming on shortwave," said Mark Potok, a spokesman for the law center. http://makeashorterlink.com/?V2A222293 (via Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, Feb 23, DXLD) See also DEUTSCHES REICH [non] ** U S A. Hi Glen[n]: We have made major updates to our web site http://www.wwrb.org We are testing global-4 our new transmitter. We are thinking of 3.225 or 3.200, something like that. No decision just yet. We are growing fast now as we are no longer harassed and side tracked continuously by neighbors! Global -5 on the way! See Ya! (Dave Frantz, WWRB, Feb 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Obvious strategy in frequency selection, as already implemented on 5 and 12 MHz --- get as close to WWCR as possible in order to sidetrack some of their audience. Includes wide-angle shot of antenna field. I laboriously looked thru the entire program schedule on all three transmitters, hunting for absolutely any `specialty program` other than gospel and far-right huxters --- and I found one --- half an hour UT Sun 0300-0330 on 6890 of Bluegrass Music!!! The vilest of the vile are still on there: the neo-Nazi American Dissident Voices, Sat 2300-2330 & Sun 0400-0430 on 5085 and 6890; followed by its ilk, Herald of Truth at 2330 on both, 0430 on 6890 only (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. G'Day List, Following a printout of IBB for their frequencies which list from 612 to 21780 kHz, note the glaring omission is Radio Martí on 1180 kHz. Whilst indicated on shortwave code is 'OCB' (Office of Cuban Broadcasting); network 'LARM'. Is it because it`s the only mediumwave IBB facility on US soil? The list is found at URL: http://sds.his.com:4000/fmds_w/schedules/freqsked.txt also check http://sds.his.com:4000/fmds_w/ for more IBB options. [Later:] I see another entry in the IBB frequency list as an anomaly. Newly listed 981 kHz U-B, I take to be Ulaanbatar. VOA English transmission 12-14 & 22-24 UT. The WRTH lists Ulaanbatar as 990 kHz with 500 kW. Does someone know the meaning of U-B in the station code column? Cheers (Chris Martin, Brisbane, ARDXC, Feb 21-22, via DXLD) ** U S A. In case you were wondering what De Santos was referring to in 3-030, it was this item in 3-029: SUPPORTING UNCLE SAM: US media already on a war footing http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/us030221.html (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. CHINESE AGENCY REPORTER TO ACCOMPANY US TROOPS TO GULF Excerpt from unattributed report entitled: "Xinhua reporter invited for first time to accompany US naval troops to cover action in Persian Gulf", carried by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Washington, 20 February: It has been confirmed by the US Department of Defence [DoD] that Hu Xiaoming, resident Xinhua reporter in Washington, will be accompanying the US naval troops to the Gulf area to cover stories about the war the United States is likely to wage on Iraq. The US Pentagon has recently given notice that news reporters will be permitted to travel with US troops to the Gulf area to gather news about the war on Iraq which is likely to take place. This is the first time since World War II that the US government has invited a large number of news reporters to head with its troops for the front line and cover the events there. After receiving the notice, the Xinhua Washington Branch had gone ahead to submit the names of two reporters and a photojournalist to the Pentagon. Since the Pentagon has alloted only one opening to Xinhua, it has decided to dispatch Hu Xiaoming to the Gulf area. According to the e-mail message Xinhua received from the Pentagon, Hu will be "embedded" with the US naval troops, but it is not clear at present to which aircraft carrier or warship Hu will be assigned. US DoD Army Major Timothy Blair said that on receiving Xinhua's application, the Pentagon will assign its reporter to a specific unit on 21 February and, hereafter, Xinhua may directly contact the military unit concerned. He also stressed that in view of the fact that not all countries in the Gulf area welcome war correspondents, therefore, from the time of the application to the time of departure, certain setbacks may crop up and there may even be the possibility that the whole plan would be called off. He also pointed out that as US President George W. Bush has not yet come to a final decision on taking military action against Iraq, the purpose of sending out these e-mail messages is to allow reporters more time to make preparations for travelling with the troops as war correspondents. Apart from an invitation letter and application form, the e-mail message the Pentagon sent to Xinhua also included four linked documents issued by the US DoD: the first document contains notes on inoculations against small pox and anthrax and the procedures involved, including inoculation time, venue, and forms of payment; the second and third documents are legal documents which state that the undersigned is willing of his or her own accord to bear responsibility for all the consequences brought about by the aforesaid inoculations and should in no way hold the US government responsible for such consequences; the fourth document is similar to a contract between military correspondents and the US government and it states clearly that in the case of injury, death, or property loss on the part of the war correspondent, the US government shall not be held accountable and the victim and the unit with which the victim is embedded shall have no right to take any corresponding legal actions... To broaden its coverage of the Iraqi situation, Xinhua has successively dispatched to the Gulf area additional personnel, including six reporters, three photojournalists, and one technician. It has also installed additional marine satellite communications equipment at its branch offices in Baghdad and other cities. At present, there are nearly 60 Xinhua reporters and editors in the Middle East region and they are presently working round the clock to provide uninterrupted news coverage in Chinese, English, and Arabic supplemented by images on the latest developments of the situation in the Gulf area. Source: Xinhua news agency for Hong Kong, Beijing, in Chinese 0029 gmt 22 Feb 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U S A. 1670, KHPY, Moreno Valley CA, full-data handwritten letter on KHPY / 1530 stationary in 21 days. Letter confirms they are directional to the west with 10 kW day and 9 kW night. Says they took the Harris DX-10 transmitter for 1530 off the air and retuned it and the existing 3-tower array to 1670. Also says they are transmitting in stereo. V/s: D L VanVoorhis, owner. AM QSL #11 for 2003 Expanded band QSL #39 (Patrick Griffith, CBT, Westminster, CO, USA, Feb 21, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Ft. Collins CO, is getting a new community radio station, KRFC. Thanks to a tip from Jim Thomas, Millikin, CO on the WTFDA list, who has heard it testing on 88.9. We found their website not at the obvious but at http://www.prfr.org There`s a lot about how the station has been planned and built over the past year. They`ve been taking demo tapes from would-be DJs, so I`m not expecting much in the fine arts area; also news and public affairs. A listen-live link is hidden under the PRFR logo at the upper left, but around 0200 UT Feb 24 was just running a notice that they are not on live at the moment, so check the archives (if any?). Official on-air target date is March 1 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) They are billing themselves as a 'community' station. I believe the announcer said something like, an alternative to what`s out there. And if their musical programming is anything like they were testing this afternoon, definitely interesting (a top 40 selection by Sade, followed by a Roy Rogers western tune, then something very 'jungle' sounding, with the drums, flutes, etc., and so on). No mention that they are connected with any institution of higher learning. The FCC dbase shows the license holder to be "Public Radio for the Front Range". (Jim Thomas, wdx0fbu, Milliken, CO, Feb 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. A RADIO ERA ENDS (February 21, 2003) For 56 years, WRRZ radio has been a part of the lives of Sampson County residents, stirring up the radio waves with everything from country and gospel music to Sunday morning church services and special programming. Whether you were a faithful, daily listener or an occasional fan, most everyone who is from Sampson County, at one time or another, has tuned in to 880 AM. It's been like a part of the family, a comfort in times of trouble, a little fun on a Saturday afternoon, a spiritual boost on Sundays, and a familiar voice throughout the week. Who can forget all the items acquired or yearned for as they were advertised on the ever-popular Country Store? How often have we enjoyed a sunny afternoon at home, listening to a little beach music as we whiled away the hours? How often have we felt comforted by the friendly baritone voice of owner Dave Denton? How many times have we leaned on its programming to remind us of what kids would be having for lunch that day, who had passed away in the community, and what the buzz on the street was? WRRZ provided all that and so much more. The radio station, its on-air personalities and all its owners throughout the years, as well as all those who've been part of the WRRZ family, delivering special programming of all varieties, are ingrained in our hearts and our routines. The station has been a mainstay and institution that we have always just assumed would be there, thick or thin. While the station is not closing, the format we've grown to depend on and love for our own personal reasons is no more. WRRZ will remain, but its format is changing along with its owners. For the Hispanic community, it will become what it has been for us for so long - a good friend that could always be depended upon to keep us informed as well as entertained. But for those of us who, over the past 56 years, have grown to rely on it just being there, within reach with just the twist of a knob, an era has ended. Last Saturday, WRRZ changed hands and formats. With the change comes the close of programming like that provided by Hanson Strickland, Dave Denton and all those others we've come to know, love and depend upon. We wish new owner Víctor Sánchez luck with this venture. We hope it will bring to the Hispanic community all the things it has brought to us for so many years. And to Dave Denton we say thank you. For being such a tremendous supporter of the community, for keeping the flame alive that was started so many years ago, and for allowing us to have a community radio station we have loved for many years. ©The Sampson Independent 2003 (via Mike Terry, DXLD) In case you`re wondering, WRRZ 880 is a 1 kW daytimer in Clinton, Norte Carolina (gh) ** U S A. SOUTH FLORIDA OBSERVATIONS/ATTEMPTS TO DX Last Wed. I dug the 18" of snow off my driveway and went to Miami on business. In 4 days, using a Dodge Caravan radio (average...not real sensitive or selective, but not real bad either), did some band scanning in Miramar (where my hotel was), Fort Lauderdale, downtown Miami, Miami Beach, along Alligator Alley, Naples, and Ft. Myers. First off, it was bloody hot down there. 80-85 degrees and muggy every day. It made the snow not seem so bad. Second, there's a lot of pirate activity (my main reason for listening to the radio so much)! And it seems the pirates have chosen "clean" channels that aren't too close to adjacents and certainly not on top of any local stations. I have to say that I like the pirate scene and would like to see it repeated all over the country, or at least in D.C. Third, I didn't hear anything that was real DX-worthy. I had about 120 stations. Nothing from Orlando or Tampa areas. Best distance about 100 miles, mainly I think due to the crowded dial in S. Florida. I think all the known Caribbean island frequencies buried under 100 kW locals, too. The following stations I heard are assumed pirates, mainly because I can't find a listing for a legal station on frequency. 89.1 hip-hop music, mono but good audio, heard strong in Hialeah 90.9 reggae, stereo, stronger in Miami 92.7 Spanish, stereo, good audio, no ID (or maybe it's Stuart with a new format --- may not be a pirate at all) 95.3 rap music, awful audio, stereo, only heard once on Weds. night near FLL airport 96.9 reggae or black gospel depending on the hour; stereo, good audio heard mostly in north Dade Co, but sometimes overcome by WINK (Ft. Myers) 97.7 soul/R&B/reggae, stereo, fair to poor audio, sporadic schedule, heard all over Broward Co. 99.5 French or Creole (not the French spoken in Quebec or France), sometimes black gospel music, no advertising or ID's (I don't think?), mono, and usually with fades. I never heard WAIL Key West under it. I heard this station almost everywhere in Broward/Dade. Am real curious what this was. 104.1 "Boss Radio", this stereo station was usually overmodulated or distorted. They varied from beach music to rhythmic oldies, to old Bill Cosby routines, to African-American affairs discussions, to reggae. This one had a strong signal everywhere I went in Broward & Dade counties. I didn't find any pirates over in the Ft. Myers area, on a Friday night. My car radio had RDS. The RDS scene in S. Florida is pathetic; so few stations actually had it turned on that it will be of little use for DX'ing. In fact, it's easy to list every RDS station I locked onto: 90.9 WSOR Naples "WSOR" 93.9 WLVE Miami Beach "Love 94" 95.5 WLDI Ft. Pierce "WiLd95.5" 101.5 WLYF Miami "LITE FM" 102.7 WMXJ Pompano Beach "MAJIC" Note WSOR frequently says its callsign, and everyone has heard Love 94 by skip, and Wild-95-5 is a unique slogan. So only two stations really benefit DX'ers with RDS. That's it!!! In Ft. Pierce, the only station on the whole dial with RDS was WSOR. There might be a couple more up above W. Palm Beach, but they never locked on where I was. Hope this warms everyone up a bit while those of us in the mid- Atlantic and NE wait for the snow to melt away. Cheers, (Tim McVey, Warrenton, VA, Feb 23, WTFDA via DXLD) ** URUGUAY. 6010, Emisora Ciudad de Montevideo, Montevideo, 1650-1705 February 23. Spanish transmission. Music programme (only "tangos"). Ann.: "Una vez mas hemos transitado por las calles del tango a traves de CX42 Emisora Ciudad de Montevideo". Local ads.: La Favorita, Cerrajeria SAP, Restaurant Panamericano, etc. Complete ID as 1701: "En su receptor CX42 Emisora Ciudad de Montevideo, Uruguay, transmitiendo en 1370 khz, la frecuencia que se sintoniza con mayor frecuencia". 34433 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. UZBEK RADIO FOREIGN SERVICE BROADCASTS IN 12 LANGUAGES | Excerpt from report by Uzbek TV on 22 February [Presenter] At a time when the process of reform and the renewal of society is deepening, it is expedient to supply a broad range of the foreign public with objective information. The Board of Foreign Broadcasting of the Uzbek TV and Radio Company is preparing special radio programmes in foreign languages. Over the years of independence this area has faced a lot of positive changes. [Reporter over the call signs and announcer opening up a programme in English] This is how the call signs come daily to announce to listeners across the world the start of the work of Radio Tashkent, known abroad as a voice of peace and friendship. It is clear because for over 50 years correspondents and reporters have been giving the news, bringing people closer together. Naturally, the foreign service of the past years is incomparable with the one operating from the days of Uzbekistan's independence. First it was 15-minutes and then nine hours of broadcasting, which expanded from three languages to seven, while today it is a powerful 15 hours of information and analytical broadcasting in 12 languages. However, it is only a small portion of positive transformation. Another change is that previously the foreign service correspondents were in a kind of a vacuum, with no opportunity to communicate with foreign colleagues. At present they have an opportunity to improve their skills and also exchange specialists. [Passage to end omitted: specialists from India, Nepal and other countries come to work at Radio Tashkent while local radio workers go abroad, soon Radio Tashkent programmes will be transmitted through Internet on its own web site]. Source: Uzbek Television first channel, Tashkent, in Russian 1430 gmt 22 Feb 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) So what are the 12 languages mentioned in the headline??? (gh, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. ``Que nadie se extrañe en el mundo si en Venezuela, dentro de poco, comenzamos a cerrar plantas de televisión. Ninguna libertad es ilimitada.`` ``Let no one in the world be surprised if shortly in Venezuela we begin to close down television stations. No liberty is without limits.`` --- President Hugo Chávez (via Catholic Radio Update Feb 24 via DXLD) ** ZAMBIA. Thursday, February 13, 0343, 6265. Radio Zambia. African music with lively DJ. Some fading, but clear and audible. Signal 233, but completely nuked by a utility at 0350 (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4864.95 unID LA. Feb 2003 - 1020 UT. In the morning I can hear an LA in Spanish with religious program until 1030 UT when the Brazilian ``Verdes Florestas`` starts up on 4865.06 kHz. Might it be the Bolivian ``Radio 16 de Marzo``, Mina Bolívar? Has ``Radio Centenario`` left this frequency? Hope someone can give info about this (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Feb 23, Translated by SWB-editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Wednesday, February 19, 0304, 4885. LA station with strong signal and some fading, SIO 322. Spanish talk. Mentions Paraguay at 0305. Also noted on February 18 at 0316 with lively talk radio and a strong signal. Lots of interference from nearby utilities but perfectly audible in USB, SIO 422. Gone by 0327. LA SW Logs http://www.sover.net/%7Ehackmohr/sw.htm identifies two stations in Brazil near 4885, but that seems unlikely from my listening post here in Maryland (Larry Will, Mount Airy, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4890.01: The religious station continues to be heard with the same type of programs. A little bit strange with the mix of education about the Catholic church, where they talk about the Vatican, Spain and several other countries, and parts with ``evangelistas``, fast talking preachers in Spanish with American accent. ``Florída`` and ``Guatemala`` are geographic names mentioned. My theory is that it is a Latin American radio station situated in Central America and with adequate transmitter effect. They broadcast recorded TV-audio with religious, dramatised educational programs for children and adults, sometimes real English or American adventure movies with dubbed Spanish audio. Between every recorded TV-section some minutes with religious music. What I hope is that they sometimes have divine service/sermon with an audience where they actually talk about local affairs. At these occasions they have mentioned names of places which I unfortunately didn`t catch. Our Norwegian member TBV/ Tore B. Vik reports in a mail that the station can be heard with quite decent signal and thinks he heard mentioning the frequency and that it probably is a new station. Thanks for the mail Tore! (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Feb 23, Translated by SWB-editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ COMMENTARY ++++++++++ SECRECY INFESTS SHORTWAVE RELAY DEALS - by Glenn Hauser, MT columnist All the major companies (notably Merlin, Deutsche Telekom, TDF, and a vast network in the former Soviet Union), involved in brokering time on shortwave, are less than candid about whom they are relaying. We have both privatization and traditions of government secrecy in Europe to blame for this, along with private companies such as the so-called Transmitter Documentation Project [note the irony in the very name], which allow clients to try to keep secret where their shortwave broadcasts actually emanate from. Some go so far as to release disinformation. Or they keep true info from their own clients, who don`t really need to know where their signal is entering the ether! Even R. Nederland has suppressed info from its schedule. Fortunately, astute and experienced monitors can usually figure out the truth, based on operational practices and mistakes, propagation characteristics, etc. But why shouldn`t this info be part of the international public record? There are glaring gaps even in the seemingly exhaustive HFCC ``public data`` schedules (that implies there is also ``private data,`` and indeed there is a restricted part of the HFCC website – without the phony registrations?) As more and more traditional international services reduce their own shortwave usage, more and more time becomes available on otherwise idle units. Norway and Denmark even consider their own remaining SW relays of domestic services to be expendable if a paying client wants time. With funding always a problem, many are eager to make money by selling time to practically any religious or clandestine broadcaster, as well as to legitimate international services needing a relay closer to target areas. Despite its self-avowed ``public access`` status, IRRS, a.k.a. IBA/NEXUS in Milano, Italy, allows no public access to basic information of where it is transmitting from, though a variety of relay sites are obviously available, with powers stated to range from 10 to 500 kW. You`ll note this info never came out in the feature articles here in January and February. Why refuse to disclose transmitter sites? Could shady deals be involved? Under-the-table payments to transmitter personnel rather than to the governments or agencies which own the facilities? It is open to speculation. It`s somewhat understandable when truly clandestine broadcasts don`t reveal the site for fear of retaliation or more effective jamming. But when time is purchased from an entity also broadcasting openly, should it not be on the record as part of the overall operational schedule? There is also the issue of whether government or public broadcasters should be used to propagate contentious political or religious views. RCI for years has seen nothing wrong with relaying Communist stations such as China and Vietnam, whose governments also engage in jamming western broadcasters (but not RCI...). Until last year, RCI provided schedules of all relays through Sackville, but no more. Now Canada not only propagates communist ideology but favors one religion. For some years, HCJB had been relayed from the UK by Merlin (ex-BBC) transmitters to Russia and the Middle East, but last fall the Arabic broadcast for North Africa at 2100-2230 on 12025 was suddenly switched from UK, to Canada, no doubt for propagational reasons. This can now be done, since Sackville has become part of the Merlin network. Canada can claim it really has nothing to do with it, and refuse to release schedules confirming this, even though such schedules obviously exist, at least for internal use. At press time, the HCJB website still claimed this was via England, but Sackville is obvious from the strong signal off the back into central North America, not to mention the RCI IDs which precede or follow it! Jerry Coatsworth, a Canadian himself, reported in the MARE Tipsheet this response from RCI when inquiring about relays: ``We regret that we are unable to provide you with this information. The frequency and content information is the exclusive domain of the originating broadcasters. Furthermore, in specific cases, CBC Transmissions, the organisation that coordinates the Sackville facility, has been requested to not release this information. You may, however, request frequency information directly from the originating broadcasters. Once again, we apologize for not being able to provide you this information. Best Regards`` --- Steve Lemay, Manager, Presentation, Radio Canada International. This policy mirrors that of WYFR, which for years has refused to include along with its own scheduling information, that of Radio Taibei International, which it relays extensively. Could some of the dozen transmitters in Okeechobee be carrying something more covert? In our Global Forums, we always have new clandestines, and a lack of explicit information about sites, forcing us to find out indirectly. While the DX community is up to the challenge, we resent being deprived of accurate information from the source. Politics plays a large role here. Even though we may find out, governments want to maintain deniability in case their clients turn out to be unsavory, or the deals could cause diplomatic problems with target countries. Even stations which should have nothing to hide, such as Radio Australia, have quit publishing their own comprehensive transmission schedules. Bob Padula complains: ``R. Australia refuses to publish composite schedule on website, or anywhere else, exacerbating growing alienation with hordes of SW listeners in prime coverage areas, most of whom have no facilities to migrate to satellite or RealAudio. RA sees its main audience across Asia/Pacific being serviced through rebroadcasting or relays via local AM and/or FM stations, satellite, and the Internet, and to heck with direct HF delivery!`` Why do we need to know? Relay deals reflect political realities and alliances, and are part of the overall picture. In order to understand better how shortwave signals propagate, we at least need to know where they are coming from. We may even need to know which way to aim our antennas. As long as the broadcasters are not forthcoming, we need a widely dispersed network of experienced shortwave monitors capable of directionfinding! Casual listeners may not care, but for those of us who do, site information should be readily available. The airwaves belong to us, not them (Closing Comments, March MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ INTERNATIONAL LISTENER Here`s a bio and photo of Ed Mayberry, at his real job, KUHF: http://www.kuhf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=new_edmayberry (via gh, DXLD) GROVE SHORTWAVE DIRECTORY --- By Larry Van Horn Anyone who listens to the shortwave spectrum owes it to himself to add the 9th edition of the Grove Shortwave Directory to his resource shelf. This reliable stand-by has now been entirely revamped and expanded to double its previous size, reflecting the enormous changes that have taken place in HF communications since the last edition of the SWD several years ago. The size increase isn’t due merely to new information piled on top of old as is sometimes done; this edition basically started from scratch, throwing out much old and inactive material. Bravo! The Shortwave Directory concentrates primarily on the U.S., but contains a substantial amount of worldwide entries as well, especially in the government, military, and aeronautical sections. Listings cover all services which have activity or frequency allocations in HF – government, military, aircraft, maritime, business, licensed and unlicensed broadcasters (pirates and ``numbers`` stations) and much, much more. Ute World editor Hugh Stegman says, ``The US Coast Guard is just an awesome section!`` This is a 467-page book on CD, presented in PDF format. Though not in a strict database format, the book`s main focus is all about frequencies. The amount of introductory text to explain service mission, organization, operation, etc., varies throughout the book; much of it assumes some familiarity on the part of the reader. A welcome addition to the SWD which provides an overview of spectrum assignments is the HF portion of Larry Van Horn’s ``Who`s Who in the Spectrum`` series from Monitoring Times. None of the more recent editions of the SWD have included a frequency cross-reference, more easily generated in data-based publications. It is expected that users will make heavy use of Adobe Acrobat`s search engine to locate and identify frequencies of interest. Low frequency listeners will appreciate the huge list of nondirectional beacons, which are presented in both by-frequency and by-callsign order. The well-presented introduction to utility listening notes that information changes constantly. As an example, the Global High Frequency System (GHFS) became outdated about the same time the CD was released. Fortunately the change was in name only; the content is still valid. Although minor errors are noted here and there, this reader`s primary criticism is the difficulty of navigating through the document. A directory, by definition, is a resource for looking things up quickly. This directory is way too comprehensive to be covered in only 16 chapter headings. Fortunately, such things are easy to update on a CD as opposed to a printed book, and I`m sure they will be. Like many users, I will probably print out the sections I want to be inserted in a ring binder. You have other options, though. To my surprise, though copyrighted, the SWD may be printed, or copied (through cut and paste), or you may extract sections or the entire book to your computer. Once on your computer, you will be able to add your own bookmarks, comments, and additions. The 9th edition of the Grove Shortwave Directory represents a major effort and countless hours of research and data entry by Larry Van Horn. Much material in this edition is found nowhere else, such as schedules and frequencies for all three MARS programs. Though this kind of work can never be said to be truly finished, the SWD is the most comprehensive, most up-to-date, and most authoritative guide for North America currently available anywhere. It`s available from Grove Enterprises for $39.95 plus $3.50 shipping: call 800-438-82155, email order@grove-ent.com or write 7540 Hwy 64 West, Brasstown, NC 28902. – Review by Rachel Baughn, Editor (What`s New, March MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ MAGNETIC STORMS ON THE SUN HAVE WEATHER CELLS --- PRESS RELEASE Saturday, February 15, 2003 Clusters of sunspots form their own weather patterns on the sun, according to new observations by a team of University of Colorado at Boulder researchers... http://makeashorterlink.com/?I18223193 (via Jilly Dybka, TN, NASWA Flashsheet Feb 23 via DXLD) SHUTTLE BREAKUP OCCURRED IN MYSTERIOUS PART OF ATMOSPHERE Associated Press SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - The space shuttle Columbia broke up in a mysterious area of the upper atmosphere once so little understood and difficult to study that scientists dubbed it the "ignorosphere." http://makeashorterlink.com/?V2A212193 (via Jilly Dybka, TN, NASWA Flashsheet Feb 23 via DXLD) ###