DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-038, March 7, 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/dxldtd3c.html [note change] HTML version of February issues: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3b.html HTML version of all January issues: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3a.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 NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1172: RFPI: Sat 0130, 0730, 1330, 1800, Sun 0000, 0600, 1200, 1830... on 7445 and/or 15038.6 WWCR: Sat 0700, Sun 0330 5070, 0730 3210, Wed 1030 9475 WBCQ: Mon 0545 7415 WJIE: Mon 0700, 1300, Tue 0700, 1300... 7490 WRN: rest of world Sat 0900; Europe Sun 0530; North America Sun 1500 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html from early UT Thursday: [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1172.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1172.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1172h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1172h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1172.html ** AFGHANISTAN. Re DXLD 3-032, the air-dropped radios all being smashed on impact. What these psywar people need is to hire some of the engineering students who have been experimenting with different packaging techniques to preserve eggs from breaking when the packet is dropped off a high-rise balcony. This has been going on at various engineering schools for decades; surely we've developed technology that can adequately protect any air-dropped device by now, especially considering the vast resources available to the military. (These tests happen every year at Wash U here.) (Will Martin, St Louis MO, March 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN. 5 Mar at 1756 on 7000 unID with music and talks, language sounds like Farsi or Dari. Numerous mentions of Taleban and Afghanistan. Some music sound "Indian". Continues when writing this at 1822. No jamming. Closed down at 1832. Carrier and USB. Needs further checking (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This is Information Radio (Afghanistan), ex-8700 kHz. Regards, (Dave Kernick, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Many thanks to Dave Kernick for the info. He says it's Information Radio (Afghanistan). Moved here from 8700 about 2 weeks ago (Jari, DX LISTENING DIGEST) How come not reported then? (gh, DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. A-03 schedule for R. Afghanistan in Pashto/Dari via Merlin Communications: 0130-0327 13680 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg 1330-1627 18940 KVI 500 kW / 095 deg (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, March 7 via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Talking about "Dari" and "Farsi": as a matter of fact, the BBC does not seem to recognize "Dari" as an own language; its broadcasts to Afghanistan are designated "Persian" (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, March 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Subject : Bob Injury My name is Cynthia and I am Bob Padula's next door neighbour. Bob has asked me to write this letter to people who are members of his radio club using his terminal. I hope this works out all right but my typing is only ordinary. Bob is unable to use the terminal for the time being as he suffered a painful injury to his arm today whilst working with my husband Timothy in our yard clearing away rubbish and stones. A big old stone heavy laundry tub fell on Bob's arm while they were trying to move it to the trailer. I have nursing experience and did what I could but there was a lot of bleeding and signs of a bad hematoma. I feared that there had been bone damage. Tim drove Bob down to the casualty section where he was patched up with stitches to a nasty wound on his forearm. There was concern that the ligaments and tendons may have been damaged and the swelling is starting to go down now. Bob has asked me to say that he is unable to write the newsletters or do the tasks with the computer terminal until the injury gets better. He already suffers from painful Carpal Tunnel Syndrome which is a kind of chronic tendonitis in both arms and his computer work is done with a lot of difficulties. He has been advised to not do so much terminal work. Bob spent the last four days in the Victorian Alps at Hotham Heights with his mate Mick and he tells me that they managed several kilometres of mountain walking but a lot of the trails were shut down after the bushfires. Bob also said that it snowed heavily one day with the temperature as low as minus 3. Bob is sitting here watching me type this and says "I'll be back soon". Bob is a very fit and active person and I hope he can recover quickly from this arm injury with no long term effects. Sincerely, (Cynthia (Bob's neighbour), March 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Wishing Bob a speedy and full recovery! (Glenn) ** AUSTRALIA. Wondering when DST in SA, NSW, VIC and TAS will end this year, I find at http://www.worldtimezone.com/daylight.htm the date of March 29. This may have some effect on R. Australia program scheduling, and of course on webcasting output from domestic stations. See also NEW ZEALAND (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Summer A-03 schedule for Voice International via Darwin: English 0130-0200 17775 DRW 250 KW / 317 deg 0900-1300 13685 DRW 250 KW / 340 deg 1300-1500 13685 DRW 250 KW / 313 deg 1500-1700 13665 DRW 250 KW / 313 deg 1700-2100 11680 DRW 250 KW / 313 deg Hindi 1100-1700 13635 DRW 250 KW / 303 deg Indonesian 0030-0100 21680 DRW 250 KW / 290 deg 0430-0500 21680 DRW 250 KW / 290 deg 0530-0600 21680 DRW 250 KW / 290 deg 0600-0900 17820 DRW 250 KW / 290 deg 0900-1300 15365 DRW 250 KW / 290 deg 1300-1800 7180 DRW 250 KW / 290 deg 2330-2400 11935 DRW 250 KW / 290 deg Mandarin Chinese 0600-0900 17715 DRW 250 KW / 340 deg 0900-1400 13770 DRW 250 KW / 340 deg 1400-1800 17560 DRW 250 KW / 340 deg 1800-2100 5990 DRW 250 KW / 340 deg 2100-0200 15165 DRW 250 KW / 340 deg (Observer, Bulgaria, March 7 via DXLD) ** AZERBAIJAN. Thursday only transmission heard on Feb 27, 9155 Ashur Radio, Assyrian Democratic Movement most likely Baku Gyanca site, but very, very poor audio --- like Falklands. Only heard with AOR 7030 Passband Tuning on lower side band mode. Even from 1600 UT onwards with announcements, but regular program I guess starts 1630-1700 (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, BC-DX March 6 via DXLD)) ** BOLIVIA [and non]. Harold Frodge; northern Bolivia, southern Peru & Galapagos. ICF7600G + Whip + 20 ft. RW [reel-wire??]. Hotels and steel-hulled ships remain lousy places from which to DX. Frequencies are to the nearest kHz as best as the 7600G could tune. I was in La Paz, Bolivia 2 days after the "little disagreement" they had about 3 weeks ago. The government announced a tax increase. For some reason, which I can't imagine, this peeved the citizenry just a tad. Then the police went on strike. Then the police and the army decided to have a shootout across the main plaza in La Paz. From the looks of the front of the police building, the army won. Of the places we went in La Paz, the only other significant damage I noticed was that the toll booths to the Pan-American Highway were burned down. 6105, Radio Panameric[an]a; 0207-15+, 19-Feb; 2 men in SS alternating news and sports items; "Bolivia escucha" before remote reports. ID and Banco America ad. Poor (Harold Frodge, Yucay, Peru, Cumbredx via DXLD) see also CHILE, PERU, UNIDENTIFIED ** BULGARIA [non]. Bid to save RFE Bulgarian. "VOX" in article is really VOA. http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=19979 73 (Kim Elliott, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CBC MANITOBA RUNNING A DXER'S PROMO This may not be on their website for very long, but at least now on the website of CBC Manitoba at http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/radio1/inforadio/index.html if you scroll down a bit - there's a picture of one of their most far- away listeners. Jim Solatie also made a promo for the station, and if you haven't heard it on the air, you can listen to it on the website. Up in Lapland, CBC Manitoba is indeed a relatively regular catch on 990 (CBW Winnipeg) and 1230 kHz (CHFC Churchill). (Mika Mäkeläinen, Vartaa, Finland, March 6, dxing.info via DXLD) Audio file: http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/media/audio/inforadio_finland.ram ** CHECHNYA [non]. 5985 is audible here, but it is weak and fluttery. 5905 has switched back to the Chechnya service. These two are not synchro with each other or with 171. I would not be surprised if 5985 is another offering from Tashkent (Olle Alm, Sweden, BC-DX Mar 5 via DXLD) 12025: I hear this station on 12025 at *0730-1500*; they do not announce frequencies, so I did not know what frequency they use after 1500. Maybe it is the 5985 you mention at 2100* (Karel Honzik, Czechia, hcdx via BC-DX via DXLD)) In Nikolai Rudnev's original schedule, the usage of this transmitter was supposed to be: 0200-0500 on 7365 0530-0900 on 12025 0930-1600 on 11655 [Juelich 15-16 UT now] 1630-2200 on 5895 (cf. WRTH, which has a typo though: 12065 instead of 12025). As indicated below, R. Chechnya Svobodnaya is not a clandestine station. It is an official program produced in the studios of the Voice of Russia; the station's website (in Russian/English) is http://www.chechnyafree.ru (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DXplorer Mar 4 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** CHILE. 6010, Radio Coöperativa; 2353-2410, 16/17-Feb; M&W alternating news and sports items. Ad for drugstore "en Santiago" All in Spanish. Fair; 2128, 17-Feb; Chile promos and one-word "Cooperativa" IDs. Poor (Harold Frodge, Huatajata, Bolivia, Cumbredx via DXLD) ** CHINA. 9425, People's Broadcasting Station, Location Unknown, 1100- 1215 Noted comments and singing in possibly Mandarin Language. Noted parallel on 9470 kHz which is listed as Urumqi, China. Signal was fair on both frequencies. Broadcast on 9425 kHz not listed anywhere in my library (Bolland, Chuck March 5, 2003, Clewiston, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA/FRANCE. A-03 schedule for China Radio International via Issoudun: 2000-2027 Polish NF 6145, ex 6150 2030-2057 Bulgarian NF 6145, ex 6150 2100-2127 Albanian NF 6145, ex 6150 2130-2157 Hungarian NF 6145, ex 6150 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, March 7 via DXLD) ** CONGO. Radio Congo was again yesterday (6/3) evening around 1945 with special test transmission, with Chinese style music (!?) and test identifications in French with frequency and contact info. Just wonder why they have chinese style music programmes. I have read the chinese technicians are restoring the transmitters in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, but has this something to do with it remains mystery. 73 (Jarmo Patala, Finland, dxing.info via DXLD) ** CONGO DR. RADIO IN DRCONGO'S BUNIA CONFIRMS TOWN HAS BEEN CAPTURED BY UGANDAN TROOPS Radio Candip, based in the town of Bunia (in Ituri region, northeastern DRCongo), was heard early on 7 March on its usual shortwave frequency of 5066 kHz. A news bulletin in French was broadcast at 0430 gmt. It reported that Bunia was now under the control of the Ugandan armed forces. (International news agencies had earlier reported that Bunia was seized by Ugandan troops on 6 March after fighting with forces of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC, led by Thomas Lubanga), an ally of the RCD (Rally for Congolese Democracy)-Goma rebel group (which is backed by Rwanda), which had previously held the town). In September 2002, BBC Monitoring noted that Radio Candip, previously under the control of the Bunia-based and Ugandan-backed rebel group RCD-ML (Congolese Rally for Democracy - Liberation Movement, also known as RCD-Kisangani), had fallen under the control of Lubanga's forces. Source: Radio Candip, Bunia, in French 0430 gmt 7 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. After a protracted dispute in RFPI`s board of directors, James Latham says he has been appointed General Manager and CEO of the station. He took over directorship of RFPI some four months ago. Plans to add some great new programs, make other improvements. Making VISTA online instead of paper has increased circulation from about 200 to over 1000 (James Latham`s Interactive Radio Show, 0345 UT March 6, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Finally a significant frequency change from RHC noted: 0543 March 7, English very good on 11760 \\ 9820 but not on 6000 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS. Glenn. Radio Sawa on 990 is loud and clear in Bahrain during the evenings! Maybe 600 kW is too much power!? (Tim Lemmon, WK4U, Bahrain, March 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DEUTSCHES REICH [non]. Re the Zundel discussion under CANADA in DXLD 3-031: One should not be so dismissive of the possible "Nazi" origin of UFO's. See the new book by Nick Cook (a Jane's military- reference publication editor) THE HUNT FOR ZERO POINT. This was discussed on WPR/NPR's "To The Best of Our Knowledge" back on Oct. 6, '02. See their web description at http://www.wpr.org/book/021006a.html This is a fascinating book with a lot of detail about the WWII German research and experimentation with possible antigravity and then the later open and then "black" research into this by various organizations (Will Martin, MO, March 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 6 Mar at 1812 on 5005 a station with African music and talks in local language. Several mentions of "Guinea Equatorial". Transmitter went off at 1829. I think Radio Nacional de Guinea Equatorial in Bata is testing. Audio was clean and sharp, signal strength rather good as it used to be in the past. Maybe the Chinese engineers got the new transmitter up and testing now. Nice if this station is activated again (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [non]. See NORWAY ** ETHIOPIA [non]. NORWAY 7520 2000-2100 UT Sundays only, V of Ethiopia in English. Most likely via Kvitsoe-Norway, see below. Came back home to the receiver around 2020 UT, and noticed a strong carrier on air, but no audio feed at all. Suggest is coming from Kvitsoe-Norway relay too. At same time 7490 carried NOR/later DEN program. And on 3rd freq 7590 the Arabic station Sawt al-Islah was in progress, accompanied by a jamming station. 9980 R Norway domestic relay towards Australia missing, no carrier at all. PHYSICS should not be underestimated!!! When I came back for the 2nd check around 2044 UT: ALL the Norwegian outlets were SUNK in a typical || Northern path like AURORA flutter || that's 7490, 7520, and 7590 kHz. But the original Voice of Ethiopia audio feed had re-appeared on 7520 kHz. All other Samara, Armavir, Moscow, Ekaterinburg, Sofia sites like 7290, 7300, 7320, 7340,7360, 7390, 7400, 7440, 7465, 7500 kHz were on top, with strong signals, no Aurora flutter at all could be observed here (Wolfgang Bueschel, Mar 2, BC-DX via DXLD) ** FRANCE. RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONALE STRIKE CONTINUES DURING 5 MARCH Radio France Internationale's service in French for Africa carried the following announcement at 1930 gmt on 5 March: "In view of a strike by some RFI journalists, we will not be able to carry the news bulletin scheduled for this hour. Kindly accept our apologies. RFI will present a musical programme. Thank you for your understanding." The same announcement had also been heard earlier in the day. Source: Radio France Internationale, Paris, in French 1930 gmt 5 Mar 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Relays: see RUSSIA non ** INDIA. AIR TUNES INTO DIGITAL BROADCAST, MAY FACE A HURDLE IN SET PRICE FINANCIAL EXPRESS, Nivedita Mookerji, NEW DELHI Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) is coming to India for the first time. It is already present in the UK, France, Spain and Singapore. All India Radio (AIR) has got the government clearance to start the project, AIR resources head HO Srivastava told eFE. So far, India has been receiving digital audio in satellite mode from US-based service provider WorldSpace. But, DAB will be digital broadcasting in terrestrial mode. To begin with, it will be rolled out in Delhi at an initial cost of around Rs 4 crore, to be followed by other metros. Although the four metros were expected to see a simultaneous launch of DAB, now the rollout will be done in a phased manner. Interestingly, AIR is exploring the possibility of sharing its platform with private broadcasters also, besides having its own bouquet of channels. The rollout is expected to begin by March 2004. Depending on the success of the Delhi experiment, the project will be implemented in other cities. Elaborating on the DAB advantages, Dr Srivastava said that the quality of reception would be good and the number of channels would be many more on one transmitter. Also, there won’t be any signal loss or fading, he said. But there are disadvantages too. For instance, one has to buy a new radio set to access DAB. That’s not all. For, these sets come for a price. Since these are not manufactured in the country, importing them would be the only option to begin with. Currently, the receiver sets, being manufactured by several UK-based companies, cost around $100. Add to that the duties, and the price for the India market is estimated at around Rs 8,000. And it is this price factor which has been a hindrance for DAB in other markets as well. It has hardly been a success story anywhere just for that reason. The numbers didn’t grow because of the high price. And because the market remained small, the price couldn’t come down. On whether DAB is going to be a competition to WorldSpace, Dr Srivastava said that the two cater to different market segments. There are several differences. While DAB is meant for a radius of only 50-60 km, WorldSpace covers a much wider geographic area. Also, DAB would be available on mobile sets, for example, in moving cars, but WorldSpace is still to evolve into the mobile mode. For the basics, digital audio will be available on very high frequency (VHF) band, with either six stereo channels or 12 mono channels. One can even have a video channel along with a few other channels on DAB. © 2003 The Indian Express Online Media Ltd. (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, DXLD) ** INDIA/SRI LANKA [and non]. Alok Dasgupta and Victor Goonetilleke discuss the state of the electronic media and technology in South Asia. They explain why international shortwave broadcasting is still important in their region. Audio link via http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/index.html (Media Network Mar 7 via DXLD) ** IRAN. Re DXLD 3-035: To answer your question --- no I did not quote my phone number so they must have looked it up! (Richard Lowis replying to Mike Barraclough, via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. See NORWAY ** IRAQ. Propaganda leaflets dropped on Iraq and their translations may be viewed via http://www.eucom.mil website for European Command (Fred Waterer, Ont., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ [non]. SUMMARY OF RADIO TIKRIT BROADCAST BETWEEN 1900 AND 2100 GMT 5 MARCH 1. Announcement: Huna Radio Tikrit: This is Radio Tikrit - which is repeated several times. 2. Programme preview 3. Readings from the Koran 4. Music. 5. Religious lecture on the benefits of leading a pious life. 6. Music. 7. News bulletin starting with news headlines: a. Doha summit marked by serious argument between Iraq's delegate and Kuwaiti information minister. b. Statements of secretary of Organization of Islamic Conference, Palestinian and Turkish delegates at the Doha summit quoted on Iraqi issue. c. Rumsfeld said that there was great danger that Saddam would use banned weapons if he saw imminent end to his regime. d. USA to put forward draft resolution to UN next week. e. Russia, Germany and France said they rejected UN draft resolution allowing use of force against Iraq. French foreign minister quoted. f. Russian diplomat said about 150 Russians to leave Iraq today fearing imminent attack on Iraq. g. Egyptian foreign minister said his country's stance towards UAE initiative was very clear. Sudanese foreign minister said his country appreciated UAE initiative. 8. Music. 9. Political analysis: [Anti-Saddam] item recalling the initiatives put forward by the UAE and Iran. The radio says that Saddam does not agree to any proposal which threatens his position as sole ruler of Iraq. Many believe that the change from dictatorship to democracy in Iraq would encourage peoples of the region to call for democracy, a matter which most governments of the region consider as a red line towards which there should not be encouragement from abroad. These initiatives confirm that the evil caused by Saddam Husayn's regime is not felt just by the Iraqis but by the region. Iraqis who follow these initiatives and massing of forces for war want to get rid of Saddam who deprived them of a peaceful life. 10. Songs. 11. Item praising an army officer staff-Col Abd-al-Karim Mustafa Nasrat, who was a member of the free officers organization with Abd- al-Karim Qasim and participated in the coup against the latter. He was arrested and tortured as he was a left-winger and he was then killed in his cell. The authorities then lied about the reason for his killing and said it was because of his immoral behaviour, in an attempt to tarnish his image. 12. Music 13. News summary: a. UN Security Council preparing to hold meeting at the level of foreign ministers next Friday in order to listen to report by UN inspectors. b. USA studying possibilities regarding US-British-Spanish draft resolution allowing use of force against Iraq. c. Russian foreign minister said he did not consider it unlikely that his country would use veto against resolution allowing use of force against Iraq. British foreign secretary warns Germany, France and EU against pushing USA to adopt unilateral stance on Iraq. d. Rumsfeld said Iraq able to produce WMD even if UN inspectors are present in Iraq. e. British chancellor said his country ready to incur war expenses in order to solve WMD issue. 14. Item under the title "Before it is too late": Saddam reorganized his republican guards and other security bodies in accordance to what was called: allegiance to him and the ruling family. He gave the responsibility of commanding these special forces and security bodies to his son Qusay. Putting Tikrit and neighbouring towns under one unit was one of the biggest mistakes made by Saddam against Tikrit people. Radio's call to Iraqis: Fighting for Saddam and his remaining in power is a useless matter. The sound attitude is not to be canon fodder in a war which was ignited by Saddam. We must be cautious about every step we make before it is too late. 15. Iraqi song. 16. News summary: [See programme summary above. Recording interrupted during this programme summary]. 17. Song. 18. Weather forecast. 19. News bulletin: See news bulletin above 20 Music. Source: BBC Monitoring research in Arabic 5 Mar 03 (via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. See NORWAY ** LEBANON [non]. 11515, 1600-1700, Voice of Free Lebanon, Sawt Loubnan Al-Horriyah, 1600-1700 Arabic LBN 11515 SAM, via Samara- Russia. Had a terrible audio feed on Saturday Mar 1st. Carrier was very strong like Issoudun-France on 11615 kHz at same time, but audio quality suggest coming from Samara instead. Once I should check the harmonic of 23030 kHz too, an indicator for Samara outlets (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, Mar 1, BC-DX via DXLD) ** LUXEMBOURG. Today I heard the 6095 DRM racket already at 0910. It went on continuously until 1700. Poland was a complete loss during the midday service to Western Europe. In the late afternoon the DRM signal was strong and disturbing both 6090 and 6100. I am only missing the Morse pips the Soviet jammers used to insert at regular intervals for their internal identification purposes. 73 / (Olle Alm, Sweden, March 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. XEPRS-1090 began regular programming yesterday The new format and staff were assembled by John Lynch, the man who built the sports talk format at XETRA-690 several years ago before the Borg took it over. XEPRS-1090 "The Mighty 10-90, Sports Talk for San Diego" has managed to reassemble a very high percentage of the better local sports talk talent that was let go by XETRA-690 over the last few years, both in front of the mike and behind it. Except for a few overnight hours filled by Sporting News Radio, the programming is all local, with hosts who are well established in this market. They are quickly succeeding at making XETRA (and Sneer Channel) look very foolish! Based on their local phone numbers, their studios must be in the Sorrento Mesa area (somewhere near I-805 @ Mira Mesa Blvd.). 73, (Tim Hall, Chula Vista, CA, March 5, amfmtvdx via DXLD) ** NAURU. MYSTERY ISLAND The news from missing Nauru is not good THE good news is that Nauru, a tiny speck in the middle of the Pacific, is back in touch with the outside world. An Australian engineer has fixed its telephone system, which collapsed in early January. The bad news is that the hazy reports of parliamentary paralysis, riots and fires that emerged during the breakdown all seem to be true. Things just keep getting worse in one of the world's most dysfunctional countries. For a spell in the 1970s, revenues from phosphate mining gave Nauruans the world's largest income per head. But now there is hardly any phosphate left to mine. In a string of doomed attempts to maintain their standard of living, the islanders have tried everything from money-laundering to bankrolling an appalling London musical about Leonardo da Vinci's love-life. In 2001, the government of the day even agreed to house refugees on Australia's behalf in exchange for a big dollop of cash. The current chaos stems in part from that decision. Some of the 454 refugees, mainly Iraqis and Afghans, took control of their camp in a riot in late December. The government succumbed to a no-confidence vote soon afterwards. The courts subsequently reinstalled the ousted president, but he quit again a day later, as did the speaker. Amid the confusion, the presidential mansion somehow got burned down. A five- times former president, Bernard Dowiyogo, claimed the office again, but then flew to America for medical treatment. In his absence, the parliament cannot agree on a new speaker, let alone a budget. The mess rolls on. The government is not paying its employees. It cannot afford fuel to run the island's power plant. It is behind on payments for Air Nauru's one and only aircraft. And if that gets impounded, Nauru will be cut off again. See this article with graphics and related items at http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=1623170 (c) 2003 The Economist Newspaper Group Limited. All rights reserved (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** NEWFOUNDLAND & LABRADOR. Glenn: Am listening to CKZN, Saint John's, Newfoundland on 6160 from about 2300 to 0030 GMT still with a pretty good signal. They are having a telethon raising money for the Red Cross and presenting numerous bands from Labrador and talking with people who have donated money. No break on the hour with an ID, but all the groups that are singing are said to be from the Labrador area. I thought this station was no longer on the air. Good signal, but some noise (Tom Sliva, NYC, March 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. Wondering when DST ends this year, I find at http://www.worldtimezone.com/daylight.htm that it`s March 15, leading to one-hour shifts in timing of some but not all RNZI programs (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. Radio New Zealand International A'03 -------------------------------------- Frequency Schedule - 30 March - 26 October 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1650-1750 6095 NE Pacific, Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands 35' M-F [UT Sun-Thu] [Later start Sun & Mon] 1750-1850 11980 NE Pacific, Fiji, Kiribati, Samoa, Cook Islands 35' Monday to Friday [Later start Sun & Mon] 1851-2215 15160 All Pacific, also audible in Europe 0' Daily 2216-0505 17675 All Pacific, also heard on the west coast of the USA 0' Daily 0506-0705 11825 All Pacific, also Europe, and mid-west USA 0' Daily 0706-1105 9885 All Pacific, also mid-west USA 0' Daily 1106-1305 9885 NW Pacific, Bougainville, Timor, Asia, Eu 325' Daily 1306-1650 6095 All Pacific 0' --- Usual Closedown is 1305 UT - this frequency is for occasional overnight broadcasts to the Pacific for Sports commentaries or Cyclone Warnings. Bougainville/Timor Transmission 1105-1305 UT: directed to the North Western Pacific and Asia for NZ Forces serving overseas. Internet: We broadcast our breakfast sessions via the Internet and also have several news bulletins and programmes available as audio files. See the Audio Links page for details. Other Broadcasts: Every week we prepare a half hour current affairs programme Dateline Pacific with news from the Pacific and New Zealand for broadcast on the London based World Radio Network. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WRN Europe 0330 UTC Saturday, 1500 UTC Saturday, 0800 UTC Sunday ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WRN North America 1630 UTC Saturday, 1030 UTC Sunday ---------------------------------------------------------------------- WRN Africa, Middle East, Asia-Pacific 0000 UTC Sunday (on SAfm), 1630 UTC Sunday, 0400 UTC Monday ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The WRN programme is distributed via direct-to-home satellites, cable systems, FM and AM rebroadcasts and the Internet. In New Zealand, WRN is available on cable in some northern parts of the North Island. Our WRN programme is available from the WRN Sound Store as a RealAudio file (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, March 5, DXLD) ** NORWAY. A-03 schedule for clandestines station via KVI and SVE: Voice of Democratic Eritrea in Tigrina and Arabic 1500-1557 Sat 5925 KVI 200 kW / 160 deg to WEu Radio Anternacional/International in Persian 1630-1715 Daily 13800 KVI 200 kW / 095 deg Voice of Eritrean People in Tigrina 1630-1657 Sun 9985 KVI 200 kW / 140 deg to EAf 1700-1727 Sun 7530 SVE 200 kW / 160 deg to WEu Voice of Komala in Kurdish and Persian 1700-1757 Sun 7560 KVI 250 kW / 110 deg to ME Voice of Reform in Arabic 1830-2127 Daily 7590 KVI 500 kW / 125 deg to ME ||||| till May 3 1830-2127 Daily 15705 KVI 500 kW / 125 deg to ME ||||| from May 4 (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, March 7 via DXLD) I wonder if this is complete, as some other clandestine services have seemed to come from Norway. See ETHIOPIA non above (gh, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. OKLAHOMA CITY FINDS "SHAME TV" A TURN-OFF OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) - The real shame of Shame TV was the ratings. Shame television is off the air in Oklahoma after the [cable!] channel aimed at humiliating men who frequented prostitutes ended up providing free advertising for city street walkers but gaining few viewers. Oklahoma City officials this week pulled the plug on a city-run television channel used to show pictures of prostitutes and their customers. They said the channel did not deter prostitution. "There were more females than males, and we kept seeing a lot of the same people," said Oklahoma City spokeswoman Marsha Ingersoll. The channel dubbed "John TV" aired mug shots of women arrested for prostitution and the men who consorted with them. It was launched in 1999 with the intention of frightening people not to engage in prostitution out of the threat that their face would be splattered across the airwaves. Ingersoll said the channel used for John TV will now be used for an informational program, highlighting useful city subjects. The scrolling and repeating mug shots of disheveled streetwalkers helped would-be customers identify prostitutes, the spokeswoman said. "It was almost a promotional thing for them. It wasn't a deterrent at all," Ingersoll said. 03/05/03 13:53 ET (AOL Canada news via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. Radio Pakistan HS noted on 7571 kHz in Urdu at around 2345 UT parallel to 585 kHz MW. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, ATOJ, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Somajiguda, Hyderabad 500082, India, March 6, dx_india via DXLD) News from Bin Laden land. PBC has started its domestic service night relay transmission from 1st March, 2003. Meant for the CIRAF zones 46, 47 & 48N from 1915 to 0045 on 7570 kHz. PAK want to continue this frequency during A-03 season also. 7570 kHz - Checked it at 2040 UT, very difficult here in Germany, three signals nearby, much better in NE/Asian/African target I guess: 1 - some RTTY or rather High Speed CW on 7573.30, from FAF Metz France ??, sign-on and -off between 2000 and 2400 UT. 2 - Pakistan seems on 7571.08 kHz today, stronger than 3 - continuous carrier/whistle tone of 7570.38 kHz at present. Seemingly the Islamabad transmitter produces multiple carriers. CIRAF 39 = Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Arabian Peninsula. 46 = West Africa, 48 = East Africa 73 de (Wolfgang Bueschel, Mar 6, BC-DX via DXLD) 7570 checked again at 1930 UT, very difficult here in Germany, three signals nearby: 1 - mode changes, and stops in between, some RTTY or rather High Speed CW on 7573.40 2 - Pakistan seems on 7571.05 kHz today, 3 - continuous carrier/whistle tone of 7570.34 kHz at present. Heard here a FAX machine in 'idle motion' 73 (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, March 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. The new Peruvian also heard in Germany! 4965, R. Santa Mónica, March 5th, 2300-2330, Spanish, huayno music, several IDs, reception possible in LSB-mode, heavy QRM on upper side band; SINPO 22322. I prepared a small sound file (mp3, 12 KB) and put it on my homepage (audio clips section): http://home.arcor.de/mschnitzer/ good DX (Michael Schnitzer, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Hello again, good conditions on to South America last night. The new R Santa Mónica came in with stronger signal than the previous day. On that reason I replaced the audio clip on my homepage by a better recording: http://home.arcor.de/mschnitzer/ 4965, R Santa Mónica, March 6th, 2325-2340, Spanish, comunicados (someone wanted to sell a motorcycle), huayno music, IDs, SINPO 23322 (Michael Schnitzer, Hassfurt, Germany, March 7, ibid.) ** PERU. 5997, Radio Melodía; 0233-39+, 19-Feb; 2 men with commentary about an election in Arequipa and ID. Fair (Harold Frodge, Yucay, Peru, Cumbredx via DXLD) 6115, Radio Unión; 0201-06+, 19-Feb; 2 men in Spanish with game call. Several singing IDs including one that sounded like "Una Radio Unión". Good (Harold Frodge, Yucay, Peru, Cumbredx via DXLD) 9505, Radio Tacna; 2136-2202+, 17-Feb; M announcerr in Spanish with wide range of SS vocals. Ad for Fani-Fani candy. Heard 2 IDs and both sounded like "Tana" without pronouncing the "c", but our guide assured me that the "c" is pronounced. Fair (Harold Frodge, Huatajata, Bolivia, Cumbredx via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 6155, Voice of Russia, 0340, 3-Mar; English feature on the Romanovs and St. Petersburg. VoR WS ID at 2144 [sic = CST]. Good (Harold Frodge, Galapagos, Cumbredx via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Re Razdolnoye (near Ussuriysk) 648, the original usage in B02 was 1000-1500: 1000-1100 VoR Korean, 1100-1200 VoR Chinese, 1200- 1300 VoR Korean, 1300-1400 VOA Korean, 1400-1500 VoR Chinese. Now, RFA Korean was added 1500-1700 (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, March 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [non]. GERMANY -- It is quite interesting that Voice of Russia now considers German transmitters for boosting the services to the ME. Obviously, VOR has something else in mind for the new DTK relays --- they are not going to use Juelich to broadcast German to Germany! What I find surprising is that there are more powerful transmitters within Russia located closer to their intended target area --- and I wonder how costs of using Russian/Commonwealth based units compares with that charged by the DTK. The biggest puzzle is why they need to use Juelich at all --- have they rented out all of their own available transmitters? Or is this something to do with the recent agreement to broadcast from Germany that we read about not long ago? Very strange indeed (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Feb 27) Soo - the Russians will use their broadcasting hours in exchange. I selected all the DW relay usage hours on RUS/CIS soil, and account a total of approx. 68 broadcasting hours daily, despite didn`t use final stage transmitter power in mind... On German soil, the two VOR relays on 603 and 1323 kHz are on table as 'barter medium'. The new transmitter agreement is more or less an EXCHANGE type one. I guess, the Russians will never pay in hard western currency (and have never done such in GDR era too). (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, Mar 1, BC-DX via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA [non]. See NORWAY ** SEYCHELLES [non]. Excerpt about changes at FEBA (The Far East Broadcasting Association) from an article by the Director of Programming, Tony Ford, in Treshold 10/2003, FEBA's listeners bulletin: With three transmitters working flat out together, it was impossible to squeeze more programmes into evening peak listening hours. "Wouldn't it be nice," some planners dreamed, "to have transmitters dotted around the world so we can pick and choose the best one for each language and time of day?" Some dreams come true. The bold decision last December by the Feba UK Board to transfer all programmes from Seychelles to other stations brings new freedom to programme planners in Feba. It's like accessing a fleet of taxis rather than running just one car. We have known for ages that Seychelles provides a good service to Christian mission, but it's expensive - because of the license fee and because the Seychelles itself is expensive. Then the government needed to reclaim land from the coral lagoon around our extensive antenna system. New buildings planned would be too close to the high frequency radiation. "Your station," we were told, "will have to go". For 33 years Seychelles provided a distinctive Christian voice, for some countries the only such voice there was. Now, commercial stations are plentiful, reliable and cheap to hire. As a craftsman lays down an old, loved and well-used tool to pick up a new, more efficient one, Feba is going to use different outlets for its programming. We plan that many listeners will hardly notice the change. Where possible programmes will be heard at the same time and frequency as now. If not, we will advertise from Seychelles just how the replacement programmes can be found. For listeners in Ethiopia, it should be easier to find the broadcasts. Cheaper transmitting costs release money to make and air more programmes each week. The challenge has been to find the right station for each language and to get the best price for a good quality service. We shall adjust programmes to fit the new stations' processes. And we shall check that stations are delivering the promised signal. Noteworthy is the level of trust and partnership with other Christian radio groups. In East Africa we have agreed that IBRA Radio finds the station for Swahili. Feba-made programmes will continue in a programme block IBRA organizes and manages. In Mozambique Feba is moving its Portuguese programmes from international to domestic radio services - more good news for listeners. We will keep on planning for the future. Shortwave radio propagates with seasonal variations; we will adjust things so listeners get a clear, reliable signal on which to hear the Gospel - sometimes by moving programmes from one station to another. Engineering and technology were the bedrock of Feba in Seychelles. Our new toolset contains propagation software, a good negotiating style, confidence that programme partners will trust us to find the best stations, and faith to sign contracts when money to pay the bills will come in later. These are exciting days as opportunities multiply to share Jesus with needy people (Tony Ford, FEBA Director of Programming in Treshold #10/2003, via JKB, March 2003 via Juergen Kubiak, Berlin, Germany, March 6, DXLD) I wonder if once it becomes so multinational, we should still file FEBA under SEYCHELLES non ? OTOH, it would be a good time for them to get rid of that ``brand`` altogether, since there`s nothing `Far East` about it, except being an offshoot of FEBC Philippines. Missionaries have a way of misnaming themselves --- like the Oriental Missionary Society, 4VEH Haiti (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. VOICE OF TIGERS CONTROVERSY GOES TO COURT There has been a significant development in the controversy over the award of a licence to Voice of Tigers, the radio station of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) that previously operated clandestinely. On Thursday the Sri Lankan Court of Appeal served notice on the Norwegian Ambassador and the Minister of Mass Communication, among others, in a writ seeking cancellation of the licence. The petition says that, under Sri Lankan law and international convention, a diplomatic mission can import equipment for itself or its staff, but in this case Norwegian Ambassador Jon Westborg had broken both the law and the convention when the Embassy imported transmission equipment for the LTTE. The affair has caused a political row in Sri Lanka, with the country's president and the opposition parties strongly opposed to the government's decision to legalise the LTTE station. The lawyer handling the petition, Manohara de Silva, described the LTTE, which recently signed a peace agreement with the Sri Lankan government, as "an internationally banned terrorist organization". Earlier this week, before news broke of the latest development, we asked our Sri Lankan media correspondent Victor Goonetilleke for his opinion on the Voice of Tigers affair. Listen here --- see http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/medianews.html (3'30") (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 7 March 2003 via DXLD) ** TURKEY. New frequencies for TRT / Voice of Turkey (A-03 vs A-02): 1030-1125 Greek 7295, ex 9630 1200-1555 Turkish 13655, ex 15405 1230-1320 English 17590, ex 17615 1230-1355 Persian 11940, ex 15180 1600-1655 Kyrghyz 11860, ex 11865 1800-1855 Bosnian 9500, ex 9755 1830-1920 English 9785, ex 11960, re-ex 9785 1930-2025 French 11850, ex 9635 2200-2250 English 9830, ex 12000 73 from (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, March 7 via DXLD) ** U K. Re Criggion site closing: I can recollect visiting that site back in the 1960's. It is a VLF site, but I don't remember on what frequency. There is another located on the coast west of the city of Carlisle which has a big "star" shaped series of masts, and also operates on VLF. It is still in use as far as I know (Noel R-Green, UK, BC-DX Mar 1 via DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn, WBOH, Newport NC 5920 kHz 2158 UT SIO 555 with equipment tests. Hear approx 1.33 minute sample at http://users.erols.com/kkrist/SWL/ 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, March 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, also here at 0155 UT check Mar 7. Sounds like more than the exciter now. Believe they have hired the spy numbers lady, finally (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WYFR A-03 by language: LANG TIME (UTC) FREQ (KHZ) AZ ZONE PWR ARAB 0500-0600 13695 87 37,46 100 ARAB 0500-0600 11580 44 27,28,39 100 ARAB 0600-0700 11530 87 47,52,57 100 ARAB 1600-1700 18930 44 27,28 100 ARAB 1900-2000 17845 87 37,46 100 ARAB 1900-2000 21525 87 47,52,57 100 ARAB 2000-2100 15695 44 27,28 100 ARAB 2200-2245 18930 44 27,28 100 CANT 0600-0700 5985 315 2 100 ENGL 0000-0100 15130 142 15 100 ENGL 0000-0445 6065 355 4,5,9 100 ENGL 0000-0445 9505 315 2 100 ENGL 0200-0300 5985 181 11 50 ENGL 0200-0300 15255 151 15 100 ENGL 0200-0300 11855 222 11 100 ENGL 0300-0400 11740 222 12 100 ENGL 0400-0500 7355 44 27,28,39 100 ENGL 0400-0500 9715 285 10 50 ENGL 0400-0500 11580 44 27,28,39 100 ENGL 0400-0600 9355 44 27,28,39 100 ENGL 0600-0700 11580 44 27,28,39 100 ENGL 0600-0745 7355 44 27,28,39 100 ENGL 0700-0745 13695 87 37,46 100 ENGL 0700-0800 11530 87 47,52,57 100 ENGL 0800-0900 13570 87 37,46 100 ENGL 1000-1245 5950 355 4,5,9 100 ENGL 1100-1200 7355 222 12 100 ENGL 1100-1200 11855 160 16 100 ENGL 1100-1245 5850 315 2 100 ENGL 1200-1300 13695 355 4,5,9 100 ENGL 1200-1700 17750 285 10 100 ENGL 1300-1500 11970 355 4,5,9 100 ENGL 1300-1700 11830 315 2 100 ENGL 1600-1700 21525 87 47,52,57 100 ENGL 1600-1800 21455 44 27,28,39 100 ENGL 1600-2145 18980 44 27,28,39 100 ENGL 1900-2000 17750 44 27,28 100 ENGL 2000-2100 18930 44 27,28 100 ENGL 2000-2200 17725 140 13 100 ENGL 2000-2245 17845 87 37,46 100 ENGL 2100-2200 18930 44 27,28 100 ENGL 2200-2245 15695 44 27,28 100 ENGL 2200-2245 15770 87 47,52,57 100 ENGL 2200-2345 11740 315 2 100 ENGL 2300-0000 5985 181 11 50 ENGL 2300-0000 15255 151 15 100 ENGL 2300-0000 17750 160 15 100 ENGL 2300-0000 11855 222 11 100 FREN 0000-0100 15255 151 15 100 FREN 0500-0600 11530 87 47,52,57 100 FREN 0600-0700 7520 44 27,28,39 100 FREN 0600-0700 13695 87 37,46 100 FREN 0800-0845 11530 87 47,52,57 100 FREN 1000-1045 9625 140 13 100 FREN 1000-1100 11970 151 15 100 FREN 1100-1145 9505 355 4,5,9 100 FREN 1700-1800 17525 87 37,46 100 FREN 1800-1900 17750 44 27,28 100 FREN 1800-1900 21525 87 47,52,57 100 FREN 1800-1945 21455 44 27,28,39 100 FREN 2000-2045 21525 87 47,52,57 100 FREN 2300-0000 6065 355 4,5,9 100 GERM 0300-0400 9355 44 27,28,39 100 GERM 0400-0500 9985 44 27,28,39 100 GERM 0500-0600 7355 44 27,28,39 100 GERM 1700-1800 18930 44 27,28 100 GERM 1900-2000 18930 44 27,28 100 GERM 2000-2045 17750 44 27,28 100 GERM 2100-2200 15695 44 27,28 100 ITAL 0600-0700 9985 44 27,28,39 100 ITAL 0700-0800 11580 44 27,28,39 100 ITAL 1600-1700 21670 44 27,28 100 ITAL 1800-1900 18930 44 27,28 100 MAND 0500-0600 5985 315 2 100 MAND 1100-1245 6015 315 13 100 MAND 1300-1500 13695 355 4,5,9 100 MAND 1500-1600 11865 315 13 100 PORT 0000-0045 17805 142 15 100 PORT 0000-0100 17750 160 15 100 PORT 0100-0145 15130 142 15 100 PORT 0200-0300 17750 160 15 100 PORT 0400-0500 11530 87 47,52,57 100 PORT 0700-0745 9985 44 27,28,39 100 PORT 0800-1045 11770 142 13 100 PORT 0804-1045 9605 142 15 100 PORT 0900-1000 6175 160 15 100 PORT 0900-1000 9625 140 13 100 PORT 1000-1100 9550 160 14 100 PORT 1700-1800 21525 87 47,52,57 100 PORT 1800-1845 17525 87 37,46 100 PORT 2100-2200 15770 87 47,52,57 100 PORT 2200-0145 17725 140 13 100 PORT 2200-2245 11565 44 27,28 100 PORT 2200-2300 15130 142 13 100 RUSS 0304-0400 7355 44 27,28,39 100 RUSS 0504-0600 7520 44 27,28,39 100 RUSS 1600-1645 15770 44 27,28 100 RUSS 1700-1800 17750 44 27,28 100 SPAN 0000-0200 5985 181 11 50 SPAN 0000-0200 11855 222 11 100 SPAN 0100-0200 15255 151 15 100 SPAN 0100-0200 17750 160 15 100 SPAN 0200-0245 15440 285 10 100 SPAN 0200-0300 11740 222 12 100 SPAN 0300-0345 15255 151 15 100 SPAN 0300-0445 5985 181 11 50 SPAN 0300-0445 11855 222 11 100 SPAN 0304-0400 9715 285 10 50 SPAN 0500-0600 9985 44 27,28,39 100 SPAN 0500-0600 9715 285 10 50 SPAN 0700-0745 7520 44 27,28,39 100 SPAN 0800-1000 9550 160 14 100 SPAN 0800-1100 11855 160 16 100 SPAN 1000-1045 6175 160 15 100 SPAN 1000-1400 6085 181 11 100 SPAN 1100-1200 9550 160 14 100 SPAN 1100-1200 9355 160 15 100 SPAN 1100-1300 11970 151 15 100 SPAN 1100-1400 9605 222 11 100 SPAN 1200-1400 7355 222 12 100 SPAN 1200-1500 15130 285 10 50 SPAN 1300-1500 11865 315 13 100 SPAN 1700-1845 21670 44 27,28 100 SPAN 2100-2200 11565 44 27,28 100 SPAN 2200-2300 5985 181 11 50 SPAN 2200-2300 11855 222 11 100 SPAN 2300-0100 15215 160 14 100 SPAN 2304-0100 17845 160 14 100 WYFR A-03 by time: TIME (UTC) LANG FREQ (KHZ) AZ ZONE PWR 0000-0045 PORT 17805 142 15 100 0000-0100 ENGL 15130 142 15 100 0000-0100 FREN 15255 151 15 100 0000-0100 PORT 17750 160 15 100 0000-0200 SPAN 5985 181 11 50 0000-0200 SPAN 11855 222 11 100 0000-0445 ENGL 6065 355 4,5,9 100 0000-0445 ENGL 9505 315 2 100 0100-0145 PORT 15130 142 15 100 0100-0200 SPAN 15255 151 15 100 0100-0200 SPAN 17750 160 15 100 0200-0245 SPAN 15440 285 10 100 0200-0300 ENGL 5985 181 11 50 0200-0300 ENGL 15255 151 15 100 0200-0300 ENGL 11855 222 11 100 0200-0300 PORT 17750 160 15 100 0200-0300 SPAN 11740 222 12 100 0300-0345 SPAN 15255 151 15 100 0300-0400 ENGL 11740 222 12 100 0300-0400 GERM 9355 44 27,28,39 100 0300-0445 SPAN 5985 181 11 50 0300-0445 SPAN 11855 222 11 100 0304-0400 RUSS 7355 44 27,28,39 100 0304-0400 SPAN 9715 285 10 50 0400-0500 ENGL 7355 44 27,28,39 100 0400-0500 ENGL 9715 285 10 50 0400-0500 ENGL 11580 44 27,28,39 100 0400-0500 GERM 9985 44 27,28,39 100 0400-0500 PORT 11530 87 47,52,57 100 0400-0600 ENGL 9355 44 27,28,39 100 0500-0600 ARAB 13695 87 37,46 100 0500-0600 ARAB 11580 44 27,28,39 100 0500-0600 FREN 11530 87 47,52,57 100 0500-0600 GERM 7355 44 27,28,39 100 0500-0600 MAND 5985 315 2 100 0500-0600 SPAN 9985 44 27,28,39 100 0500-0600 SPAN 9715 285 10 50 0504-0600 RUSS 7520 44 27,28,39 100 0600-0700 ARAB 11530 87 47,52,57 100 0600-0700 CANT 5985 315 2 100 0600-0700 ENGL 11580 44 27,28,39 100 0600-0700 FREN 7520 44 27,28,39 100 0600-0700 FREN 13695 87 37,46 100 0600-0700 ITAL 9985 44 27,28,39 100 0600-0745 ENGL 7355 44 27,28,39 100 0700-0745 ENGL 13695 87 37,46 100 0700-0745 PORT 9985 44 27,28,39 100 0700-0745 SPAN 7520 44 27,28,39 100 0700-0800 ENGL 11530 87 47,52,57 100 0700-0800 ITAL 11580 44 27,28,39 100 0800-0845 FREN 11530 87 47,52,57 100 0800-0900 ENGL 13570 87 37,46 100 0800-1000 SPAN 9550 160 14 100 0800-1045 PORT 11770 142 13 100 0800-1100 SPAN 11855 160 16 100 0804-1045 PORT 9605 142 15 100 0900-1000 PORT 6175 160 15 100 0900-1000 PORT 9625 140 13 100 1000-1045 FREN 9625 140 13 100 1000-1045 SPAN 6175 160 15 100 1000-1100 FREN 11970 151 15 100 1000-1100 PORT 9550 160 14 100 1000-1245 ENGL 5950 355 4,5,9 100 1000-1400 SPAN 6085 181 11 100 1100-1145 FREN 9505 355 4,5,9 100 1100-1200 ENGL 7355 222 12 100 1100-1200 ENGL 11855 160 16 100 1100-1200 SPAN 9550 160 14 100 1100-1200 SPAN 9355 160 15 100 1100-1245 ENGL 5850 315 2 100 1100-1245 MAND 6015 315 13 100 1100-1300 SPAN 11970 151 15 100 1100-1400 SPAN 9605 222 11 100 1200-1300 ENGL 13695 355 4,5,9 100 1200-1400 SPAN 7355 222 12 100 1200-1500 SPAN 15130 285 10 50 1200-1700 ENGL 17750 285 10 100 1300-1500 ENGL 11970 355 4,5,9 100 1300-1500 MAND 13695 355 4,5,9 100 1300-1500 SPAN 11865 315 13 100 1300-1700 ENGL 11830 315 2 100 1500-1600 MAND 11865 315 13 100 1600-1645 RUSS 15770 44 27,28 100 1600-1700 ARAB 18930 44 27,28 100 1600-1700 ENGL 21525 87 47,52,57 100 1600-1700 ITAL 21670 44 27,28 100 1600-1800 ENGL 21455 44 27,28,39 100 1600-2145 ENGL 18980 44 27,28,39 100 1700-1800 FREN 17525 87 37,46 100 1700-1800 GERM 18930 44 27,28 100 1700-1800 PORT 21525 87 47,52,57 100 1700-1800 RUSS 17750 44 27,28 100 1700-1845 SPAN 21670 44 27,28 100 1800-1845 PORT 17525 87 37,46 100 1800-1900 FREN 17750 44 27,28 100 1800-1900 FREN 21525 87 47,52,57 100 1800-1900 ITAL 18930 44 27,28 100 1800-1945 FREN 21455 44 27,28,39 100 1900-2000 ARAB 17845 87 37,46 100 1900-2000 ARAB 21525 87 47,52,57 100 1900-2000 ENGL 17750 44 27,28 100 1900-2000 GERM 18930 44 27,28 100 2000-2045 FREN 21525 87 47,52,57 100 2000-2045 GERM 17750 44 27,28 100 2000-2100 ARAB 15695 44 27,28 100 2000-2100 ENGL 18930 44 27,28 100 2000-2200 ENGL 17725 140 13 100 2000-2245 ENGL 17845 87 37,46 100 2100-2200 ENGL 18930 44 27,28 100 2100-2200 GERM 15695 44 27,28 100 2100-2200 PORT 15770 87 47,52,57 100 2100-2200 SPAN 11565 44 27,28 100 2200-0145 PORT 17725 140 13 100 2200-2245 ARAB 18930 44 27,28 100 2200-2245 ENGL 15695 44 27,28 101 2200-2245 ENGL 15770 87 47,52,57 100 2200-2245 PORT 11565 44 27,28 100 2200-2300 PORT 15130 142 13 100 2200-2300 SPAN 5985 181 11 50 2200-2300 SPAN 11855 222 11 100 2200-2345 ENGL 11740 315 2 100 2300-0000 ENGL 5985 181 11 50 2300-0000 ENGL 15255 151 15 100 2300-0000 ENGL 17750 160 15 100 2300-0000 ENGL 11855 222 11 100 2300-0000 FREN 6065 355 4,5,9 100 2300-0100 SPAN 15215 160 14 100 2304-0100 SPAN 17845 160 14 100 WYFR A-03 by frequency has already appeared (via E. Marcy, WYFR, March 4, DXLD) ** U S A. Re DXLD 3-032: USA: Dave Franz' comments about his new rhombic [WWRB] and the way it provides a signal to some "military" people who listen to "The Power Hour". I wonder just what those referred-to military think of that program's repeated assertions that there was no airliner crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11, but that the damage done there was caused by some mysterious missile or other conspiratorial perfidious machination (Will Martin, MO, March 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. DEMS SAY RADIO TALK IS LEFT OUT Shoptalk Magazine - Mon, 3 Feb 2003 08:20:23 The New York Post's John Mainelli writes that the Democrats on the prowl for their own version of Rush Limbaugh wined and dined three dozen potential contenders this week before and after President Bush's State of the Union address in Washington. But as if to validate the widely-held belief that liberals can't get ratings on talk radio, the invited politicians had far more fire-power than the invited guests - and the organizer even had a problem remembering who some of the liberal talk show hosts were. "Most of the current folks we hear on talk radio now were [themselves] unheard of not long ago," said Tom Athens, executive director of Democracy Radio, organizer of the event. "We're dedicated to creating more diversity in talk radio, so it really is representative of America as a whole, "Athens said. "I think it's a media invention that we need a liberal Rush Limbaugh . . . [although] our view is that the right wing dominates the airwaves at present. "Whereas the D.C. gathering featured high-powered Democratic speakers like Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Tom Daschle and Nancy Pelosi, the only nationally-recognizable talk show name on hand was Detroit gabber Mitch Albom - and only because he wrote 'Tuesdays with Morrie.' "We think there are people on the air in local markets - and others who have never been heard of - who could do well," said Athens. "We're looking for someone who can be entertaining, engaging and informative at the same time," he said. "The worst thing they could do for a talk show host is anoint them the designated party hack," warned Talkers magazine publisher Michael Harrison. "Before you get the medium, you'd better have the right message that resonates with the American people - then radio will follow, naturally. Harrison said he's troubled by the fact that, according to Athens, some of the invited talk show hosts were "sponsored" - all expenses paid. "The relationship between broadcasters and political parties should be at arm's length, even at their coziest," he said (via Fred Vobbe, NRC DX Audio Service via DXLD) ** U S A. MSNBC TURNS TO THE RIGHT FOR RADIO TALKER SAVAGE By Gail Shister, Philadelphia Inquirer - Fri, 14 Feb 2003 MSNBC is going Savage! Right-wing radio ranter Michael Savage will join conservative-starved MSNBC next month to host a weekly talk show, the cable news network said yesterday. No start date. The Savage Nation will air live at 5 p.m. Saturdays out of San Francisco, home base for the commentator's weekday Savage Nation. It's syndicated to more than 300 radio stations. Savage's The Savage Nation: Saving America From the Liberal Assault on Our Borders, Language and Culture, is a best-seller. MSNBC, a distant third in the cable news wars, announced last week that ex-Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, a fiery independent, would host a weekday prime-time show. No time slot or site yet. With Oliver North, Alan Keyes and Laura Ingraham having left, Pat Buchanan is MSNBC's only high-profile conservative. Network boss Erik Sorenson wants to balance the equation. "There's a widespread perception that we're lacking in conservative viewpoints," he says. "We need to do more in that general direction. "Given the interest in the eight or 10 kinds of conservative thought in our country, having one person represented [Buchanan] isn't adequate. We're going after all kinds of people." Still, Sorenson is loath to use the "c" label, saying it oversimplifies issues. "There isn't just a right and a left, or Democrat and Republican. The world of social and political thought is three-dimensional. There are a lot of ways to slice the onion and cut up the pie of thought." (Check, please!) MSNBC needs plenty of Nielsen nourishment. Since Jan. 1, its weekday prime-time lineup of Phil Donahue at 8, Chris Matthews' Hardball at 9, and MSNBC Reports at 10 has averaged just 400,000 viewers. During the same period, Fox News Channel's average is 1.78 million viewers; CNN's is 1.14 million. Speaking of Donahue, MSNBC's most visible lefty is being evaluated "on a week-to-week basis," Sorenson says, adding that odds are better than 50-50 that the show will be canceled. [it was, shortly later] "We're frustrated. If it doesn't begin to attract considerably more audience very soon, it will probably require a drastic decision, as opposed to continuing for months and just hoping." Donahue, who debuted July 15, has averaged 424,000 viewers since Jan. 1, compared with 2.27 million for Bill O'Reilly's O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel and Connie Chung's 907,000 on CNN. "We'd like to be regularly beating CNN," says Sorenson. Donahue "has never met the aspirations we had going into this project." (Translation: Later, Phil.) As for Ventura, look for him to go at 10 p.m. If MSNBC signs ABC's Sam Donaldson - Sorenson confirms they're talking - he may host a Jim Lehrer NewsHour-style show at 9. That would push Hardball to 8, leaving Donahue odd anchor out (via Fred Vobbe, NRC DX Audio Service via DXLD) ** U S A. Welcome to the National Radio Club's DX Audio Service for March, 2003. This is issue #216, and I'm your host, Fred Vobbe, the publisher of the DX Audio Service. Our address is 706 Mackenzie Drive, Lima Ohio 45805-1835. Telephone 419-228-6223. If you are on the Internet you can send mail to me at fredv@nrcdxas.org, that's f-r-e-d- v at n-r-c-d-x-a-s dot o-r-g. If you live in the United States of America, and would like to become a member of the DX Audio Service the cost of a subscription is $28.00. To members in Canada the subscription is $32.00. And to Europe & elsewhere Address it`s $40.00. Those prices are also the renewal rates. Tapes are sent via first class mail, and you keep your cassettes. If you would like to subscribe, make your check payable to the National Radio Club Incorporated, and send them to me at the address I just mentioned, or log onto our web site at http://www.nrcdxas.org/member and sign up using our PayPal credit card system. POSSIBLE FINAL THOUGHTS ON DIGITAL AM By: Frederick R. Vobbe - March 2003 Audio is up on http://www.nrcdxas.org/ra On our November issue I ran the first of our IBOC stories and gave some examples of interference from KIXI and WOR. On the January 2003 edition Scott Fybush dropped in some well-pointed comments. Then on the February 2003 edition I played some examples of interference between digital station WCHB and analog WOWO. If you don't keep your cassettes you can find Real Audio copies of past shows or order back issues from the Publications Center or via the web site. The reason I point this out is that anyone interested in listening to AM radio needs to know how digital AM will affect their listening habits. Over the past few months I've visited this subject with casual listeners, station managers, and professional broadcast engineers. While everyone has heard the buzzwords, such as "HD Radio", "digital radio", or "AM equal to FM", the average person has failed to understand the impact of the interference issue. In fact, one thing that has kept people in the dark is not knowing what the interference sounds like. Many of us are used to hearing buzzes, heterodynes, or the crash of a lightning strikes on AM radio. To many of us it comes with the product and we accept it. So it's not surprising that when someone hears a hiss on a station they write it off as a neighbor's TV, or some malfunctioning appliance. Only a few are aware that this hiss is a different modulation scheme tucked into a normally AM analog world. Why does it bother AM radios, and cause a lot of problems. Leonard Kahn is well-respected in the subject of AM transmission and reception, and I asked him if the problem is due to the fact that most AM radio, while tuned to one frequency, have a bandwidth wide enough to receive signals on adjacent frequencies. [SB:L01] :48.9 KAHN: "Yes, I think the main problem isn't what it does to the digital station, it's what it does to all its neighbors, I think that's the severe thing." VOBBE: "The adjacent channels?" KAHN: "Yes, and the second, and the third. It's not just the first order sidebands, people should be aware of. It's because the receivers can't distinguish. You take a receiver selectivity curve and just draw it, and you see that the receivers do not have infinite slopes. Theoretically you can have them, but you can't take that half a billion receivers and fix them up with infinite slope selectivity." Mr. Kahn is referring to the fact that all the existing radios in the world today hear signals from adjacent frequencies. It's been an acceptable design since the beginnings of radio manufacturing. Narrowing the selectivity of the radio makes it sound hollower, with fewer highs. A radio such as the Sony ICF-2010, GE SuperRadio III, or normal high-end car radio sounds good because it's receiving from 5 to 12 kilohertz off the carrier. Producing a radio with a brick wall approach, such as a selectivity filter that would only receive information from within a 5 to 7.5 kHz window, while other information outside the window is suppressed by as much as 20 dB, is very costly. A cost only a few people could take on. The best way to demonstrate this effect is to play an aircheck of a station being received with another analog station right above them transmitting analog signals. Then, the digital AM signal is turned on. It's February 21st, at 6:45AM, we're tuned to 700 kilohertz and listening to WLW, in Cincinnati OH. Above WLW at 710 is WOR in New York, New York. Listen what happens when WOR turns on their digital AM transmission. We start this recording 15 seconds prior to the digital AM being turned on. [Recording] The receiver used was a stock Sony ICF-2010, and signal strengths were approximately equal. As noted in our prior column, there is no reason to suspect that a different radio might not have interference. I noted no difference between an ICF2010, GE SuperRadio III, Radio Shack 12- 604, or the in-dash car radio in a 2001 Buick Century. While many of us are concerned that interference is tearing up a normally good sounding radio, folks supporting digital AM happily point out that it's all legal since the transmissions are within the NRSC mask. But is the mask relevant? Or are we comparing apples to oranges? Leonard Kahn explains the NRSC guidelines. [SB:L02] 1:03 KAHN: "Within a ten minute period, you were not permitted to hit more than 25 dB (outside the mask) at those frequencies. Now that means one spit, one over modulation hit every ten-minute that came to that point. The energy is like an impulse function, there is very, very little energy there! But if you look at this (digital AM), this (digital AM) is here all the time. It's orders of magnitude, more energy. What is important in all this is the energy, and not a short term pulse. They are putting carriers there, and with that energy you have to integrate the time into this, and the time is totally violates the mask, it's not even close to the mask, or by orders of magnitude." What has been interesting to note in all the discussions I have had is that many of the 50,000-watt stations care about their distant coverage as it applies to interference free analog service. But they seem to only be concerned with the immediate Grade-A coverage for digital AM service, that is the 50-60 miles from the transmitter. At present, digital AM can't work in the Grade-B or be used by a distant listener such as myself trying to listen to a Detroit Tigers game out of Detroit, or a Yankees game from New York. Another issue is the bandwidth of the digital AM signal. The cassette that you are listening to does not do this test justice, but a normal AM analog signal sounds like this. [Test Aircheck 1] :17.4 While the 36 kbps encoded digital signal sounds like this. [Test Aircheck 2] :16.1 When listening to this on a radio in a room, or in the car, the difference is noticeable. The strings and piano in the digital example have some artifacts that can be heard. It's not CD or FM quality. If we continue with this digital in band-on channel AM, we face obsoleting all analog sets that people presently own. We face loosing AM as a viable platform for the distribution of programming, emergency information, news, weather, and E.A.S. information. Do we need to loose a source of emergency program distribution while we having world conflicts and threats of attacks in the U.S.? There is nothing wrong with the present platform for transmission, as we'll point out in a future article. It's the content that is causing people not to listen. If all the AM stations in my part of the world were to magically change to an FM or CD quality, I don't know that I would change my listening habits. Then again, if something is legislated to take away my analog radio, and force me to listen in digital, maybe I'll propose legislation to replace my radios --- or just be content in reading my CQ Magazine while listening to oldies off my hard drive. You can hear the complete interview with Leonard Kahn on All Radio volume 1, tape 2, side 2. Leonard will also be with us in the future to discuss the quality of AM radio. For the DX Audio Service, in the sheet rock analog announce booth, I'm Fred Vobbe (NRC DX Audio Service, March via DXLD) Archives at http://www.nrcdxas.org/whazup Audio at http://www.nrcdxas.org/ra ** U S A. A selection from a decade of visits to tower and studio sites in the Northeast and beyond http://www.fybush.com/site-010829.html 73 de (Bill Smith, W5USM, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. As I recall there are only three New York City stations with transmitters in the city, or even in the state for that matter. WFAN, WCBS and whatever WQEW's call is now on 1560. Have I missed any? (Allan, NRC-AM via DXLD) That's correct, Allan! Here's the rundown of NYC AMs, for the obsessive among us (which is all of us in THIS group, I bet...) 570/820 - 3-tower array near the Pulaski Skyway, Kearny NJ 660/880 - High Island (City Island), Bronx NY 710 - 3-tower array alongside the Turnpike, 1585 Valley Brook Pkwy, Lyndhurst NJ (with CP to move next door) 770 - Wisse Ave., Lodi NJ (easily visible from US 46/NJ 17) 1010 - 4-tower array, Polito Ave, Lyndhurst NJ 1050 - 3-tower array, Rt 120 adjacent to Giants Stadium, E Rutherford NJ 1130 - 4-tower array, off Paterson Plank Road Extension, Carlstadt NJ 1190 - 5-tower array, Valley Brook Pkwy, Lyndhurst NJ 1280 - 4-tower array, Paterson Plank Rd, Carlstadt NJ 1330 - diplexed into WWDJ 970, North Hackensack NJ 1380 - 3-tower array (surrounded by 4 towers of WWRU 1660), Paterson Plank Rd, Carlstadt NJ 1480 - alongside NJ Turnpike near Bogota NJ 1560 - 4-tower array (only three of which are in use), Metropolitan Ave, Maspeth, Queens NY 1600 - 4-tower array (in a square), Radio St., Secaucus NJ Driving the NJ Turnpike near exit 16W, you can see 710, 1010, 1050, 1130, 1190, 1280, 1380/1660 and 1600 (as well as NJ-licensed WSNR 620, which has a 5-tower site just behind WLIB 1190) all more or less at once. It is truly one of the most magnificent sights in radio towerdom. What about NYC FM, you ask? (You did ask, didn't you?) 89.1 - former CUNY campus, Bronx (that's the WNYU half of this share- time; the WFDU half, licensed to Teaneck NJ, transmits from the Armstrong tower in Alpine NJ, the most famous site in American FM.) 89.9 - formerly World Trade Center, now using a low-power antenna atop a Columbia U. dorm (but soon to improve its signal from a Manhattan site I'm not yet at liberty to disclose...) 90.3 - somewhere in Harlem 90.7 - unfinished tower (damn NIMBYs) next to the Fordham University stadium, Bronx NY 91.5 - Brooklyn Technical High School, Brooklyn NY 92.3/93.9/95.5/96.3/97.1/97.9/98.7/99.5/101.1/101.9/102.7/104.3/105.1/ 106.7/107.5 (as well as non-NYC-licensed 93.1, 100.3 and 103.5) - Empire State Building, 350 Fifth Ave, NYC But... of the Empire FMs, 95.5, 97.1/98.7/101.9 and 102.7 all have auxiliary sites in north Jersey. I asked the question over at radio- info: does that turn them into New Jersey stations any time they go to the aux site? |g| s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) Scott: Playing the numbers game... notice that the largest array is only 5 towers? Perhaps this is a function of "they were there first". I would expect some in the east to have some highly directional systems due to population concentration (Fred Vobbe, ibid.) Maybe you could answer a question for me. Back in March 2000 I took one of those sightseeing boats around Manhattan Island. My son and I noticed (and photographed) a two tower AM array along the East River right on the Queens/Brooklyn line. Could that be the old WEVD site? (Allan Dunn, K1UCY, ibid.) Probably not. There are three dead AM sites near the East River. The old WLIB 1190 site (when it was still a 1000-watt daytimer) is a single tower in Hallett's Cove near the East River in Astoria, Queens. Working south from that, we come to the old WEVD 1330 site in Maspeth, Queens. I'm not sure if the tower there is even still standing. And then we come to the one you probably saw: the old WNYC 830 site along the East River in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. I'm told that the building there still displays the WNYC calls; the towers are used for city 2-way radio functions. I need to get out there and take some pictures myself one of these days before all that history vanishes for good... s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) ** U S A. Mega Communications' hopes for 1380 AM didn't work out - first a Spanish all-news station as WNNY, then Mexican music as WLXE - but at least Mega made a small profit in the end. It sold the station back to Arthur Liu, whose stations generally have brokered programming, for $47 million - $4 million more than it paid (David Hinckley, NY Daily News Mar 6 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. NO FIGHTING IT: WAR ISSUE GOOD FOR PACIFICA By DAVID HINCKLEY, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER The Pacifica Radio Network, a fivestation group that includes WBAI (99.5 FM) here, hardly had to be persuaded to take the lead in reporting prewar news from the anti-war perspective. So now, as with Vietnam, a war Pacifica listeners don't want has given the stations a financial boost. February fund drives yielded more than $4 million, an all-time high. That included a record $1.2 million at WBAI and totals of more than a million dollars at the two West Coast stations, KPFA in Berkeley and KPFK in Los Angeles. WPFW in Washington raised $440,000, and KPFT in Houston raised $354,000. "Listeners responded to Pacifica's alternative war coverage," said Dan Coughlin, Pacifica executive director. "The big media giants have been cheerleaders for war, and Pacifica is providing a real diversity of views, which includes perspectives on peace." Most of WBAI's shows are not specifically about current news events. But those that are, prominently including the morning "Wake-Up Call" that lately has been featuring Robert Knight with Amy Goodman, have devoted most of their airtime to what they call the immorality, illegality and stupidity of impending war. Goodman's "Democracy Now," heard daily at 9 a.m. on WBAI, raised more than $800,000, or 20% of Pacifica's total. WOMEN'S DAY: WBAI will mark International Working Women's Day on Saturday by having its Women's Collective program the entire 24 hours. While WBAI isn't like other stations and while this day's programming is not designed to explore "women in radio," it remains true that women's voices have traditionally been muffled in that medium. When it comes to "serious subjects," the overwhelming majority of voices and thus viewpoints are male. Saturday will include discussion, debate, social issues, performances, music, poetry, spoken word, film, support groups and vignettes honoring women working in their communities (David Hinckley, NY Daily News Mar 6 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. KQXX 1700 [Brownsville TX] seems easy now (cheating?). These guys seem way stronger than they used to be and have no trouble pushing thru KBGG/KTBK anymore. My guess is that they are running day power at night, unless they've undergone an antenna upgrade and now get out very well. (Neil Kazaross, Barrington IL, March 4, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. See http://www.michiguide.com/dials/fm.html for Michigan FM list (Larry Russell, MARE via DXLD) ** U S A. Voice Of Cyclones, Pete Taylor, Dies - Taylor Died Wednesday THE VOICE OF THE IOWA STATE CYCLONES SILENCED. 03/05/2003 Pete Taylor, the voice of Iowa State football and basketball for more than 30 years, died today at a hospital in Iowa City, a school spokesman said. The cause of death was not immediately known. Taylor had suffered a stroke last night and died late this morning at the State University Hospital in Iowa City. Taylor, 57, did not make a road trip with the basketball team late last month because he was suffering from migraine problems. Taylor had been an associate athletic director at Iowa State for the past seven years. He also worked with the Cyclone Club. He joined Iowa State on a full-time basis in 1990 as director of athletic fundraising. Before that, Taylor worked 22 years as sports director at KCCI television in Des Moines. He was named sportscaster of the year in Iowa four times. Taylor was a 1967 graduate of the University of Iowa, where he played baseball. A native of Des Moines, he is survived by his wife, Judy, and two children, Jill (34) and David (31). (Compiled from various sources for DXLD by Bill Smith, W5USM, March 6) ** U S A. FAKE ACCENT FOR 'VOICE' OF HUSSEIN? --- CBS' choice of translator, heard on Dan Rather's exclusive interview, puzzles some. By Elizabeth Jensen, Times Staff Writer, March 5 2003 VIDEO: Watch 'The Saddam Interview' on CBS.com NEW YORK -- Steve Winfield is a listed member of the Screen Actors Guild and, according to the owner of the "Fabulous Voices" Web site on which he once appeared, a translator with a particular flair for foreign accents. Last week, for 17 million TV viewers, he was also the voice of Saddam Hussein during Dan Rather's exclusive CBS News interview of the Iraqi leader. Apparently putting on an Arabic accent, Winfield -- who spoke with a seemingly everyday North American accent when he talked briefly to a reporter this week -- read Hussein's answers to Rather's questions. The translation was "100% accurate," CBS News said in a statement, describing Winfield as one of four translators it hired. The accent, CBS said, was meant to provide "a voice compatible with the piece." A network spokeswoman said Winfield was supplied by a translation service; she said she does not know whether Winfield in fact speaks Arabic. It didn't violate CBS News standards and practices, the network said, and the spokeswoman said CBS has used such a technique previously. But in an environment in which many inside and outside the media business worry about the blurring of the lines between news and entertainment, the notion of CBS News hiring someone to fake an accent has met with some gasps, a few laughs and a lot of puzzlement. A CNN spokeswoman said the network's standards would not allow a translator to fake an accent. Both NBC and ABC declined to comment, but executives at ABC and NBC agreed that the practice is not used in their news divisions; one ABC executive said that when the network hires a translator, he or she uses his or her own voice. A former top TV executive who asked not to be named called it "bizarre," saying the standard practice at his network was always to have the translator read the translation in his own voice. But Richard Wald, a professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, and a former head of standards and practices for ABC News, said that as long as CBS didn't pretend the speaker was Hussein, "there's nothing wrong with having done it." "It would have been better if they had simply told" viewers, however, he said. "It's always nicer to be straight with the audience." Clearly, Rather's exclusive interview -- the one sought by all his competitors -- presented challenges that other interviews do not. For security reasons, the Iraqis insisted on using their own camera crews, and they provided the translators seen on camera in the room during the broadcast. They also kept the tape for close to 24 hours before returning it -- with footage from three cameras edited into one tape -- to CBS, which then had to carefully scrutinize it to make sure nothing was cut, before making its own translation. ABC and CNN had to endure similar conditions more than a decade ago when their anchors interviewed Hussein. One executive at a CBS rival said his network would have gladly met the same conditions, uncomfortable as they are, this time around to get the interview. But the issue of the accent has many flummoxed. CBS News declined to discuss why it did what it did except in the statement, which read: "CBS News employed three independent and respected Arabic translators to provide a 100% accurate translation of the interview. A fourth such translator recorded the actual audio in a voice compatible with the piece. The '60 Minutes II' report conveyed a fully accurate translation of the interview that was in complete compliance with CBS News Standards." Winfield, in a very brief telephone interview, confirmed that he was the voice of Hussein on the CBS program and described himself as the show's "on-air interpreter," before passing the phone to his wife, Judy. She said her husband "is conversant in a number of languages" but then referred other questions to CBS, saying, "It's CBS' process so they should speak about it." At the Web site Fabulous Voices, a clearinghouse for actors and others seeking voice-over work for everything from commercials to books on tape, owner Frank Henry described Winfield, who used to be part of the roster, as a translator in addition to his voice-over work, and said he specialized in putting on foreign accents. Another Web site says Winfield can do "sessions in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese and German," and has "directed translation projects in a myriad of languages including: Chinese, Japanese, Punjabi, Hungarian, Swedish, Russian and Czech." Copyright 2003 Los Angeles Times (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) The headline, "CBS News defends Saddam translator's fake Arabic accent," reminds me of when I was working as a journalist in Tokyo about 15 years ago, occasionally filing radio for the BBC World Service. One Saturday I received a desperate call from the BBC's Japanese office manager. She couldn't reach any of her bureau staff and a TV crew which was due to fly back to London was editing an interview with the elderly Soichiro Honda, founder of the Honda Motor Company. The producer urgently needed a voice-over in English. Could I do it? Certainly, I said. I arrived at the bureau and after a rushed meeting stepped into the recording booth. I should say here that I am from Sydney, with a fairly mild Aussie accent. About a minute into my recording, the producer interrupted over the studio monitor and said: "Excuse me, but, you're not *Australian*?" I told him yes. There followed the most British kind of spluttering, whimpering, haw-hawing and "terribly sorries," and then I was asked to step from the booth to have it explained to me, didn't I see, it simply wouldn't "do" to have Honda's words rendered into Australian. I thought this was odd, since there is a huge variety of accents on the BBC. I don't know which dialect Mr Honda spoke with in the end -- I left them, somewhat annoyed. Perhaps Irish or Indian or Scottish or Jamaican, if the BBC's general cast of voices is anything to go by. Or maybe they located a Brit with a special line in Fu Manchu voices. In any case, Australian was just too much for the great carmaker. I suppose I'll never get asked to do Saddam (Daniel Say, BC, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. CLINTON, DOLE TO DEBATE ON '60 MINUTES' By DAVID BAUDER NEW YORK (AP) - Former President Clinton and his 1996 election opponent Bob Dole are joining the CBS newsmagazine ``60 Minutes'' for weekly debates on national issues in the show's old ``Point- Counterpoint'' style. The two agreed to 10 segments, starting Sunday night, but CBS executives say the network will consider extending the debates into next season. Clinton said he often watches some of the political shows on cable television that degenerate into screaming matches. ``There may be a market for people who want light instead of heat,'' the former president said. The retired politicians taped their first segment Friday morning, declining to identify the topic. Asked who won, Clinton said, ``He did.'' ``I got a `B,''' said Dole, the former Senate majority leader. ``He got a `B-minus.''' Clinton said that given their old jobs, both men want to be careful about what they say regarding any potential war with Iraq. All citizens want to be supportive of the armed forces, he said. Clinton, who has reportedly been offered several television opportunities, said the CBS idea appealed to him because ``60 Minutes'' is a serious show. ``It's just once a week and not too long, so we won't be in anybody's way,'' he said. The segments will revive the ``Point-Counterpoint'' segments popular until they stopped airing in 1979, but will instead be called ``Clinton/Dole'' one week and ``Dole/Clinton'' the next week. Executive producer Don Hewitt said the planned format calls for one debater to pick a topic and write a 45-second script that would be faxed to his opponent. The response would also be 45 seconds. After the initial arguments, the first debater would get 15 seconds to rebut, followed by a final 15 seconds from the opponent. ``It is going to be provocative but not mean or nasty. That would be a first for us,'' quipped Dole, whose sharp tongue occasionally got him in trouble during his political career. Clinton said their wives - Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Dole, R-N.C. - were ``both terrified'' about what they may say. ``They should be,'' Dole added. Clinton said, ``All I can do is make a blanket plea that neither of them be held responsible for what we say.'' Producers of ``60 Minutes'' hope the Clinton-Dole debates will boost ratings. The show has been in the top 10 for the past 20 years, but its popularity dropped recently, with the loss of about a million viewers in the last year. 03/06/03 12:25 EST (via AOL Canada News via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. SUPPORT GROWING FOR FAVORABLE 40-METER REALIGNMENT PLANS NEWINGTON, CT, Mar 6, 2003--With World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC-03) set to start in just about three months in Geneva, support is growing for two favorable proposals to create a 300-kHz worldwide 40-meter allocation. ARRL and the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) seek a return to the 300-kHz allocation that existed worldwide prior to World War II but that now exists only in the Americas. Delegates to WRC-03 will attempt to address -- and possibly eliminate -- the overlap on 40 meters between amateurs in the Americas (Region 2) and broadcasters elsewhere (Regions 1 and 3). ``There is encouraging news,`` says ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, in his ``It Seems to Us . . .`` editorial set to appear in April QST. He reports that, thanks to the efforts of IARU volunteers and others, more than 30 countries now have gone on record to support either one or the other of two favorable 40-meter realignment formulas. Sumner said more support is needed, but he called the interim head count ``a good start.`` Most popular among the half dozen realignment schemes outlined by participants at last November`s WRC-03 Conference Preparatory Meeting is so-called Method B. This approach calls for a three-stage transition that would begin by allowing Region 1 and 3 amateurs on 7100-7200 kHz on a secondary basis starting in 2005 and end with all ITU regions gaining access to 7000-7300 kHz by the end of 2009--with the top 100 kHz shared with fixed and mobile stations in Regions 1 and 3. Broadcasters would shift upward to 7300-7550 kHz worldwide. For US and other Region 2 stations, such a change would mean an end to deafening nighttime phone band QRM from broadcasters and the necessity to operate split-frequency to work stations in Regions 1 and 3 on SSB. Sumner says Method B is now a European Common Proposal with initial support from 17 CEPT administrations -- Austria, Denmark, Czech Republic, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Hungary, Estonia, Belgium, Slovak Republic, Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Lithuania, Finland, Poland and Bulgaria. At least three other countries in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific have also expressed support for Method B, he said. The IARU team now is working to gain the support of additional administrations in Regions 1 and 3 either for Method B or for the similar Method A, Sumner reports. Otherwise identical to Method B, Method A does not include any sharing with fixed and mobile services. In the Americas, a dozen ITU Region 2 countries last month agreed to support an Inter-American Proposal that`s virtually the same as the so-called Method D. Proposed by Canada, Method D would provide 300 kHz worldwide for amateurs by shifting broadcasters in Regions 1 and 3 upward by 200 kHz. Region 2`s broadcasting allocation would remain unchanged. In supporting this plan, Canada has been joined by Argentina, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, Honduras, and Peru. IARU Region 2 is now working to expand the list of Region 2 countries supporting that plan. The US so far has taken no position on the 40-meter realignment issue, although it has long supported a 300-kHz worldwide, exclusive allocation for Amateur Radio. At World Administrative Radio Conferences in 1979 and 1992 the US proposed to realign the amateur and broadcasting allocations to provide for a ``harmonized`` allocation. The FCC WRC-03 Advisory Committee has recommended that Method A be a US proposal, but the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has not yet agreed. ``Acting on behalf of the federal government users of the radio spectrum, the NTIA has been advocating `no proposal` from the US, a position that the ARRL is working hard to overcome,`` Sumner points out. ``A small number of federal agencies claim to be concerned that their backup circuits on HF would be affected by an upward shift of broadcasters.`` Sumner also calls it ``unfortunate`` that some broadcasters persist in efforts to link the 7 MHz WRC-03 agenda item with another that deals with the adequacy of broadcasting spectrum between 4 and 10 MHz. Sumner said the broadcasting spectrum item is ``a separate issue with an entirely different genesis.`` He also points out that major international broadcasters continue their shift away from HF. As evidence, he cites a recent announcement by Deutsche Welle that it will drop HF broadcasting to North America, Australia, and New Zealand at month`s end. (ARRL March 6 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. Hoy está arribando a sus 53 años mi querida emisora Ondas Porteñas, el próximo sábado en mi programa estaré recordando parte de su historia , grabaciones que tenemos en nuestra fonoteca y grabaciones que me han hecho llegar colegas diexistas y radioescuchas. Durante la programación de la mañana se recibieron llamadas telefonicas de muchos oyentes felicitando a la radio y recordando muchas anecdotas. Hoy, Ondas Porteñas , se identifica como Unión Radio 640 (José Elías Díaz Gómez., March 6, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. 4796, regional station Son La is not active on their morning service around 2200-0100 UT at present. But regular heard in the 1200-1400 UT night slot (Roland Schulze, Pangasinan, the Philippines, BC-DX Feb 28 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4890: I am hearing this one when I can wake up by 1030 or so. It is mixing with the co-channel NBC from Papua New Guinea. I don't think it is Family Radio, doesn't sound like their Spanish programming to me (Hans Johnson, LA, Mar 6, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 6175. Possibly COLOMBIA La Voz de Resistencia but doubt it; 2324-2400+, 17-Feb; Several different announcers with political commentaries mentioning several different LAm countries separated by camp'o tunes. ID at 2335, "Ésta es... onda corta..." All in Spanish. Poor. Tried several other times and locations to hear this but never heard it again (Harold Frodge, Huatajata, Bolivia, Cumbredx via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ WEB SITES FOR AM DX STUFF I stumbled across a website called "Surfing the Aether". It's a history of radio, of sorts, and is broken down into ten year time periods. The author (I never found his name other than his e-mail address which contains Chris in it) also has a section where he highlights theparallels between the early days of radio and the beginnings of the Internet. Interesting stuff... have a look-see at http://www.northwinds.net/bchris/index.htm VIRGINIA BROADCASTING There's more than AM radio here, but a great site to follow the goings on in Virginia Broadcasting is http://www.vartv.com (RT, presumably Rich Toebe, March 8 IRCA Soft DX Monitor, March 5 via DXLD) SIGNAL My DX site has moved to its own domain: http://dxsignal.info. You know, I had hosting problems since mid-January, and that prevented me from developing/updating English pages. So be patient and wait a couple of days until I put the current version of Signal on the Web. If someone's site contains a link to me, please update it. Previous URLs (at by.ru and v3space.com) will not be valid any longer. During the period of difficulties, some people kindly offered me their help in providing some space at their sites. I'd like to say my sincere thanks to all of them. 73, (Dmitry Mezin, Kazan, Russia, hard-core-dx via DXLD) DRM +++ Re end of DXLD 3-032: If DRM is truly a "non-proprietary" International Standard, then why is the software to decode it on a PC hooked to an ordinary current receiver not freeware? Thanks for all the good work! 73, (Will Martin, MO, March 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn: Here's the schedule of DRM transmissions to the Winter SWL Fest, 6-7-8 March. We'll have three receiving setups, using an AOR AR-7030DRM, Ten-Tec RX-320, and WiNRADiO 303i. [with DRM kW] Sackville RCI / CBC 1400-1555 9660 70 RCI / CBC Sackville RCI / CBC 1600-1900 11975 70 RCI / CBC Sines DWL 1800-1955 21550 70 DWL Bonaire RNW 1900-2200 17725 10 RNW English/Dutch, Backup: 17790/17620. QoSAM Test [?] Sveio Norkring/Telenor 2000-2100 15175 180 March 6 only Sines DWL 2230-0030 13665 70 DWL Juelich DTK 2300-0100 5925 40 Pre-recorded Multimedia IQ-file Juelich DTK 2300-0100 9530 40 Live RNW English // 6165/9845 Sackville BBC 0000-0100 6010 70 BBC WS Rampisham BBC 0100-0300 9810 30 BBC WS 73 (Kim Elliott, DC, and Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, March 5-6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also LUXEMBOURG above RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ GRUNDIG S350 Glenn, Universal Radio now has the new Grundig S350 AM/FM/SW portable in stock, as of March 3: it sells for $99.95. More info on this new portable can be found at: http://www.rffun.com/catalog/portable/3500.html (Joe Hanlon at the Winter SWL Fest, March 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Coronal hole activity lessened during the early part of the week allowing propagation to return to normal and the geomagnetic field to remain quiet. Some slight disturbance was noted on March 3 but quickly returned to low levels. Flare activity has been very low for the past week. Conditions should remain similar apart from possible coronal hole effects raising the geomagnetic field to active levels at times during the next week. Currently the solar wind speed is elevated but does not appear to be having much of an effect on geomagnetic ctivity. Prepared using data from http://www.ips.gov.au (Richard Jary, SA, March 7, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ###