DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-042, March 13, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits HTML version of this issue will be posted afterwards at http://www.worldofradio.com/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 1173: WJIE: Fri 1300 7490... RFPI: Fri 1930, Sat 0130, 0730, 1330, 1800, 2400, 7445 and/or 15038.6 WWCR: Sat 0700, Sun 0330 5070, 0730 3210, Wed 1030 9475 WRN: Rest of world Sat 0900; Europe Sun 0530; North America Sun 1500 WBCQ: Mon 0545 7415 WRN ONDEMAND from Fri: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1173.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1173.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1173h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1173h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1173.html MUNDO RADIAL, MARZO-ABRIL, en el aire del 14 de marzo en WWCR 9475: Viernes 2215, Miércoles 2200; y ya: (Corriente) http://www.k4cc.net/mr0303.ram (Bajable) http://www.k4cc.net/mr0303.rm (Texto) http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0303.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL Another source of news I`ll suggest, online, particularly if you are interested in shortwave radio stuff and the international radio scene is Glenn Hauser`s World of Radio. He`s been doing a self produced syndicated half hour weekly show about international radio since over 1100 weeks now, started back in the 80s, and his online stuff is simply amazing. He puts together bulletins called DX LISTENING DIGEST anywhere from 3 to 5 times a week, quite long, if you print them out around 30 pages. All sorts of material, fascinating stuff. I think most radio enthusiasts in the SW scene would not know what to do if Glenn were to suddenly stop doing this. It`s highly recommended by just about everybody, including me. At http://www.worldofradio.com (Bill Westenhaver, QC, CKUT International Radio Report March 9) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Tho the Observer schedule for relay via Norway shows 1330-1627 18940 KVI 500 kW / 095 degrees, on March 13 I did not find any signal at 1330, tho nearby 18950 and 18960 signals were good. Before 1430 there was open carrier on 18940, and opening with music at 1430 sharp, so they must have already changed to summer timing. Since I have reported ``Fanfare for the Common Afghan`` music fill so many times before, I must now point out that on this and a number of other recent checks, actual R. Afghanistan programming has been running during this transmission! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANDAMAN ISLANDS [and non]. ILG database shows a couple of AIR stations on 4760 : Leh and Port-Blair, both transmitting with 10 kW, in the same language and signing off at the same time. How to determine which one I'm listening to, assuming I don`t understand Hindi. Is there a specific ID for each of them? if "yes" what does it sound like? Thanks for your tips! So many signals, so little time... (Patrick, French Alps [45.28N 5.58E], DXing.info via DXLD) The AIR stations give their local IDs, but there generally are no fixed times. Good chances are just before and after the Delhi news, sign-off and best time is sign-on. About a year or two ago I spent a lot of time sitting on 4760, chasing for AIR Leh ID. Well, I did this during my local early evening prior to their sign-off. These two stations have some network programmes aired in parallel, but mostly you can hear two different programs on 4760. I'm not sure about Port Blair, but Leh seems to have also other languages (Kashmiri dialects) than only English and Hindi. Port Blair uses "Akashvani Port Blair" ID's, but Leh (I believe) mostly uses "Radio Kashmir" ID's. I noted Leh often in parallel with AIR Srinagar (4950). Nowadays maybe at times same program as AIR Jammu (4830). I believe in Europe it's wise to try ID these two during their sign-on time (Port Blair signs on earlier than Leh and maybe has faded down a bit when Leh signs on). Also notice that 4760 is also used by TWR Swaziland in Portuguese and African languages (used to be 1600-1700). Maybe one of our Indian members could give you more exact information. Good luck. [Later:] Well, Port Blair has the first sign-on around 2325 UT and Leh 0215 (on Sundays 0100 UT) so the band should be open at that time. Here in Finland the Indian signals at those times are OK, depending of course on the QRM situation (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) ** ANTARCTICA. 15476, R. Nac. Arcángel San Gabriel, Base Esperanza, 1922 Feb 19. Argentinian pop music. Canned ID by man, giving E-mail, more music. QRK 4, some QSB, excellent signal for just a kilowatt (Horacio Nigro, Valizas DX Camp, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15475.6, R. Nac. Arcángel San Gabriel, Mar 5 2052-2101* 25332-35333 Spanish, Music. ID at 2053 and 2059 by woman and 2058 by man (Kouji Hashimoto, Yamanashi, JAPAN, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. ABC FRIENDS WARNING ABOUT RADIO AUSTRALIA CONSOLIDATION The Friends of the ABC has written to ABC Chairman Donald McDonald about plans to establish an "International Broadcasting Division" which will combine its international TV service with Radio Australia. ABC Friends is concerned that the new Division may compromise Radio Australia's independence and resources. The letter reads: Dear Donald, Re: Radio Australia - ABC International Broadcasting Division Friends of the ABC read with interest... the ABC's decision to establish an International Broadcasting Division which will bring together under a single management structure Radio Australia and the ABC Asia Pacific television service, with both retaining separate identities and individual editorial obligations. FABC welcomes formal recognition by the ABC of the importance of its international broadcasting activities, and is pleased that Radio Australia will no longer be seen as a mere addendum to the domestic radio services of the ABC. We also recognize that there are likely to be advantages in a closer relationship an International Broadcasting Division could bring about between the ABC's international television and radio services. Nevertheless, FABC has two major concerns about the possible negative impact on Radio Australia of any structure that links it more closely to the ABC Asia Pacific television service. Respected across the world for its independence, Radio Australia has a long and credible history. FABC is worried that RA's editorial independence could be undermined through its closer connection in the new International Broadcasting Division structure to the Asia Pacific service, which relies on funds from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and from commercial sources. It would be unrealistic to think that political and commercial sources with the capacity (through the provision of funds to the television arm) would not attempt to influence both the television and radio services of the ABC's International Broadcasting Division. Even in the event that RA does not yield to such pressure, RA's reputation may be tainted by a perception that the ABC's International Broadcasting Division is linked to commercial and political forces. FABC is also anxious to see that RA's new relationship to the Asia Pacific television service does not weaken Radio Australia's role and resources. We are concerned to ensure that, as often occurs, radio is not treated as the poor cousin of television. This factor is pertinent in the provision of services to the Asia Pacific region. People with a capacity to influence Australian policy (including senior overseas DFAT staff) will have access and are therefore likely to have a stronger interest in promoting television, despite radio having the potential to reach a far greater number of people in our region, and at a significantly lower cost. The spirit and intention of the ABC Act is that ABC services be independent - free from commercial and political influence. FABC urges the Board to seek a level of triennial funding and access to transmission which will enable the ABC to provide independent, quality international broadcasting services. In the meantime, we would appreciate being informed specifically how RA's editorial independence will be protected, and its role and resources enhanced, and not diminished, under the new structure. Yours sincerely, Terry Laidler, President (via AMT, March 12 via EDXP via DXLD) MOVEMENT AT ABC RADIO --- March 13 2003, By Farah Farouque Radio Australia has abdicated the ABC's radio empire. Under a restructure, the ABC's international radio arm has been placed alongside the overseas TV service in its own international division http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/13/1047431139855.html (via Jilly Dyvka, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 2380, R. Educadora, Limeira, 0019 Feb 22, easy listening with religious program by man, 0030 recheck with more difficult copy and a het. At 0044 program "A Voz da Profécia". 2420, NOTHING HEARD, from R. São Carlos, 0020 on Feb 22 2460, R. Alvorada, Rio Branco 0022 Feb 22, talks by man. Deep QSB peaking S3/0 of SIO. 2470, NOTHING HEARD, from R Cacique, Sorocaba on Feb 22 2480, UNID 0030 Feb 22 with music and brief man. Most likely harmonic, too much QRN to tell more (Nigro-Uruguay, Feb 22) 2490, NOTHING HEARD from R. Oito de Setembro when checked 2227 on Feb 25 (Horacio Nigro, Valizas DX Camp, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. VIAJE A LOMALINDA, DEPTO DEL META POR RAFAEL RODRIGUEZ R. Luego de varios meses de la invitación que me hiciera Martín Stendall a visitar las instalaciones, desde donde transmiten las emisoras que él opera; por fin se consolidó el viaje a este lugar, inmerso en los llanos orientales de Colombia. Luego de los afanes de última hora salimos de Bogotá hacia las 2 de la tarde a recoger a una persona conectada con el Alto Gobierno colombiano que quería conocer la labor y campaña que desarrolla Martín por la paz de esta zona del país; al cabo de tres horas nos encontrábamos ya en ``la puerta del Llano``, la ciudad de Villavicencio; pero hay que anotar que es a través de una excelente carretera que duró muchos años en construcción por lo difícil de la geografía colombiana, ya que antes este viaje podía tomar más de 7 horas. Sin parar continuamos hacia Acacias, población ganadera y de tradición agroindustrial, luego arribamos a Guamal para continuar hacia la ciudad de San Martín y de allí a Granada: en cada salida de estas poblaciones habían retenes del Ejército Colombiano cumpliendo su labor de vigilancia y control. Granada es la última gran población; luego de allí vienen una serie de pequeños poblados como Fuente de Oro, Puerto Aljure, Puerto Limón; a esta altura ya eran las 7 y 30 de la noche y empieza a regir en estos lugares un ``toque de queda`` no decretado; así la carretera y las polvorientas calles de estos poblados estaban desoladas, semejando pueblos fantasmas, con el sólo sonido de algunas aves a los lejos. El continuar por la carretera es ``a cuenta y riesgo`` de la persona y así no lo hacen saber en el último retén del Ejército y por un momento pensé que nos iban hacer devolver hasta Granada, pero Martín ya es conocido por su campaña y luego de regalar varios libros, entre ellos La Biblia y su fascinante libro ``Secuestro y Reconciliación`` nos permitieron continuar el camino, para luego de hora y media llegar a Lomalinda; éste es un lugar que fue sede por varios años de una misión de la Sociedad Wycliffe de traductores de la Biblia, donde llegaron a construir más de 60 casas y causó algún revuelo por que se decía que estos ``gringos`` venían por Uranio que supuestamente había en esta zona; luego fueron expulsados por la guerrilla y destruyeron el lugar dejando tan sólo 6 casas en pie que fueron compradas por Martín y desde hace 6 años desarrolla desde allí su Campaña de Paz para esta región. Hay que anotar que Lomalinda se encuentra a unos 5 km de la cabecera de Puerto Lleras, lo que lo hace un punto muy singular ya que hacia el norte es región Paramilitar controlada por el Bloque Centauros de las Autodedefensas. Puerto Lleras es el último municipio con presencia del Estado y el Ejército de la zona, y al sur es zona de total dominio de la Narcoguerrilla de la FARC, con el Bloque 43. A nuestro arribo nos encontramos con la sorpresa que el Ejército estaba acampando en los alrededores, y en una de las casas se encontraba un General; con un teatro de operaciones en pleno funcionamiento, coordinando operaciones para llegar a varios lugares controlados por la guerrilla y que son zonas de producción cocalera. Es triste contarlo pero Martín me dice que allí hay gente que está sentada sobre toneladas de cocaína que valen millones de dólares, pero se mueren de hambre por que están inmersas en el medio de dos frentes de lucha (Guerrilla-Paramilitares). Tuve la oportunidad de ver mas no de fotografiar los equipos que utilizan para sus comunicaciones e intercepción el Ejército, son impresionantes, claro todo ``Made in USA``. El día siguiente visitamos ya las instalaciones de la emisora y lo primero que sorprende es la antena de FM con 150 metros de altura por la que opera la emisora Marfil Estereo (HKI79) 88.8 MHz; ésta es la única emisora que tiene conducción en vivo las 24 horas con programación de música popular (Vallenatos, Baladas, etc). Ésta inicio transmisiones hace aproximadamente 4 años luego que fuera autorizada dentro del Programa ``Todas las Voces, Todas`` que en 1998 autorizó una gran cantidad de estaciones comunitarias a lo largo y ancho de Colombia. Cuenta con un transmisor de 700 vatios de potencia de fabricación colombiana. Recibe cada día más de 30 mensajes de los oyentes que piden una complacencia musical o un saludo al aire. Desde allí también opera la señal de Alcaraban Radio (HJV82) 1530 kHz con programación y música dedicada al hombre llanero; la concesión de esta emisora pertenece a la Alcaldía de Puerto Lleras y es catalogada como ``emisora de Interés Publico``. Emite las 24 horas del día pero con programación administrada por un software que contiene mas de 1500 temas musicales, programas de la Campaña y mensajes de paz que este sistema programa automáticamente. Alli también opera la estación motivo de mi visita; La Voz de tu Conciencia, (HJDH) 6.010 kHz de la banda internacional de los 49 metros. La autorización del Ministerio de Comunicaciones es una extensión a la frecuencia de onda media, empezó sus emisiones en 6065 kHz ya que el transmisor es el que usara tiempo atrás la Cadena Colmundo Radio y por un trueque por un transmisor de onda media fue a manos de Martín. Éste es de fabricación colombiana por una firma Ingenieros Electrónicos Asociados. Para septiembre del 2002 sale la resolución autorizando operar en los 6.010 con una potencia de 5 kW y ya se han recibido reportes de escucha desde los 5 continentes. Curiosamente, durante la visita se encontraba fuera del aire por un problema con el fluido eléctrico que había quemado un circuito pero ya venia en camino el Ingeniero a solucionarlo. La programación contienen espacios de reflexión, de orientación y mucha música llanera. Por la cercania a los transmisores y antenas fue poco lo que pude de realizar en onda media y corta, más la FM sí deparó grandes sorpresas y aquí un panorama del FM llanero: 88.3, HJE22 Candela Estereo. Acacias: Estación Comercial, al momento se encuentra fuera del aire desde hace varios meses, a pesar de estar afiliada a WV Radio de Bogotá, parece que la baja comercialización la tiene en problemas. 88.8, Marfil Estereo. Puerto Lleras 88.8, HKI61. Acacias: Emisora Comunitaria autorizada por el Ministerio de Comunicaciones para operar con 250 kw pero no está operando. 88.8, HKI80. Puerto López: Estación con la misma situación que la anterior. 89.3, HJB98. Ondas Don Bosco. Granada: Estación Comercial operada por una comunidad Salesiana. ID: ``...Desde Granada, Meta transmite Ondas Don Bosco HJB98 89.3 FM estereo llevando un mensaje de esperanza, paz y fraternidad...`` Según me contó Martín Stendall la emisora se encuentra en venta por parte de la comunidad. Cuesta alrededor de $250.000.000 unos U$ 83.500. 90.3, HJQF. Oxígeno. Villavicencio: Estación comercial afiliada a Caracol con la programación musical de la cadena juvenil Oxígeno. 92.1, HKI70. Acacias: Emisora Comunitaria autorizada por el Ministerio de Comunicaciones para operar con 250 kw al Colegio Nacional Camilo Torres; cuenta con apoyo de la gobernación pero no está operando. 96.3, HJN42. Calor Estereo. Villavicencio: Emisora comercial perteneciente a la Cadena Súper de Colombia, con programación musical y noticiosa. ID: ``...En los Llanos orientales, ésta es Calor 96.3 FM, tu canal de radio HJN42 y al aire 96.3 en frecuencia modulada, emisora del Sistema Súper de Colombia...`` 98.3, HJQY. Super Estación. Villavicencio: Emisora comercial perteneciente a la Cadena Súper de Colombia, retrasmitiendo la programación de 88.9 FM desde Bogotá. 101.3, HJN38. Marandua Estereo. Puerto López: Emisora comercial, afiliada a RCN, retransmite los noticieros y cierto programas, pero tiene mucha programación local. ID: ``...Desde Puerto López, el primer puerto fluvial de los Llanos Orientales, ésta es HJN38, Marandua Estereo, Marandua Estereo 101.3 Megahertz, emisora afiliada a RCN Antena Dos....`` 101.8, HJN45. Policía Nacional. Villavicencio: Emisora de Interés Público, que hace parte de la cadena radial de la Policía de Colombia. ID: ``...Desde Villavicencio, portal del llano, Meta; HJN45 101.8 FM estéreo, Policía Nacional, la radio para oír y para actuar...`` 102.3, XXXX Granada: Estación sin licencia retransmite programación de Caracol desde la 22 a 05 horas UT 102.7, VOZ DE LA RESISTENCIA. XXXX: Estación clandestina operada por las FARC; su programación es de corte musical con mensajes revolucionarios. Hace parte de la Cadena Radial Bolivariana. Opera desde las 22 a 23 horas UT todos los días. ID: ``...Desde las montañas de Colombia con sabor fariano y bolivariano, transmite Voz de la Resistencia del bloque oriental, combatiendo por la nueva Colombia, somos FARC-EP; hacemos de la radio otra forma de lucha...`` A los amigos que les interese escuchar esta emisora tengo un archivo de audio de 12 minutos. 104.3, HJXY. Rumba Estéreo. Villavicencio: Emisora comercial de RCN, retrasmitiendo la programación de Rumba Estereo 105.4 desde Bogotá. 105.3, HJN46. Olímpica Estéreo. Villavicencio: Emisora comercial afiliada a la Cadena Radial Olímpica, con programación musical tropical; mayormente programación local. 106.3, HJN47. 106.3 FM. Villavicencio: Emisora de Interés publico operada por la Gobernación del Meta, ante el Ministerio de Comunicaciones se identifica como Esperanza Estéreo; con una excelente música llanera. ID: ``...Ésta es 106.3 FM, la frecuencia del Meta, desde Villavicencio transmite 106.3 FM HJN47; diálogo para la unidad departamental 106.3 FM, la frecuencia del Meta, radio con participación comunitaria....`` El viaje fue una gran experiencia en lo personal, fue conocer la otra Colombia, la del conflicto, la del narcotráfico la que parece tan lejana cuando se está en Bogotá, pero que se encuentra a tan solo 7 u 8 horas; y conocer más sobre la campaña de Paz que realiza Martin Stendall, algo que parece la aventura de un ``gringo`` loco; pero con sus libros y a través de la magia de radio lleva la semilla de paz a los actores del conflicto armado en Colombia (Rafael Rodríguez, Colombia, March 11, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** CONGO DR. 9550, R. Okapi, at 0207, talking, sounded like English and French segments (poor), some pop African music, 0247 English segment about reception reports they had received and about QSL cards, 0253 "coming to you from the studio in Kinshasa" (almost fair). For the past week this has only been a faint carrier here at this time. This is the very best I have heard them and would guess it would be much better tonight on the East Coast (Ron Howard, CA, DXplorer Mar 11 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. Glenn, Listening to WOR 1173 today you mentioned not having had any reports of Voice of Ethiopian Medhin being heard. I heard it on 09 March signing on with variable tones at 1750, followed by IDs at 1800 UT. Amharic Language Excellent signal here in South Wales. I have a recording of the opening announcements on the HF latest page of http://www.shortwave.org.uk if you wish to use it (Graham Powell, Wales, Editor of the Online DX Logbook, March 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FALKLAND ISLANDS. 530, FIBS 0258+ Feb 18, carrying BBCWS, Woman in EG interviewing a young boy about Israel. Easy catch at this time most of the days. Too bad they don't have local ID at midnight! (Horacio Nigro, Valizas DX Camp, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. Glenn, This TSF bulletin lists the winners to get the commercial AM slots in France. 73- Bill Westenhaver Bonjour, Le C.S.A. vient de diffuser la liste des heureuses stations lauréates et leurs fréquences : Superloustic = Marseille 675 KHz; Paris 999 KHz Radio Orient = Nice 1350 KHz; Nimes 1602 KHz Ciel-AM = Paris 981 KHz; Strasbourg 1161 KHz; Toulouse 1161 KHz Radio Nouveaux Talents = Paris 1575 KHz Radiorama = Marseille, Reims, Toulouse 1485 KHz; Paris 1062 KHz; Nantes, Montpeliers 1584 KHz La Radio du Temps libre = Paris 1314 KHz. La Radio de la Mer = Paris 1080 KHz; Brest, Montpeliers Bastia 1071 KHz 1071 KHz Beur FM = Perpignan 1584 KHz RMC-Info Metz, Mulhouse, Strasbourg 1584 KHz, Nancy, Brest 1485 KHz Les émissions devrait débuter à la rentrée. Aucune associative n'a été retenue. Union des Ecouteurs Français Radiodiffusions, utilitaires, radio-écouteurs, radioamateurs, techniques... Courriel: tsfinfo@magic.fr Web: http://www.radiocom.org U.E.F.: B.P.31, 92242 MALAKOFF Cedex, FRANCE. (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** GUAM. Summer A-03 registered freqs for KSDA/AWR via Agat, Guam: 9385 1700-1730 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Tagalog 9385 1730-1800 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg English 9670 1200-1300 SDA 100 kW / 330 deg Korean 9740 2000-2100 SDA 100 kW / 330 deg Korean 11560 1000-1100 SDA 100 kW / 315 deg English 11560 1100-1200 SDA 100 kW / 330 deg Mandarin 11560 1700-1800 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg English 11560 1700-1730 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Hindi 11560 1730-1800 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Tamil 11705 1300-1330 SDA 100 kW / 315 deg Japanese 11705 1330-1400 SDA 100 kW / 270 deg Khmer 11750 2000-2100 SDA 100 kW / 315 deg English 11770 0000-0030 SDA 100 kW / 285 deg Chin 11770 0030-0100 SDA 100 kW / 285 deg Karen 11770 0100-0200 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Mandarin 11775 1200-1300 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Mandarin 11850 1500-1600 SDA 100 kW / 270 deg Tamil 11850 1600-1700 SDA 100 kW / 270 deg Malayalam 11850 2100-2130 SDA 100 kW / 315 deg Japanese 11850 2130-2200 SDA 100 kW / 315 deg English 11880 1400-1500 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Mandarin 11890 1500-1530 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Nepali 11890 1530-1600 SDA 100 kW / 285 deg Marathi 11900 1200-1300 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Mandarin 11930 1000-1030 SDA 100 kW / 270 deg English 11930 1030-1100 SDA 100 kW / 270 deg Tagalog 11930 1400-1500 SDA 100 kW / 285 deg Burmese 11960 2000-2100 SDA 100 kW / 330 deg Korean 11970 1300-1330 SDA 100 kW / 315 deg Japanese 11970 1330-1400 SDA 100 kW / 270 deg Khmer 11975 1100-1200 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Mandarin 11980 1300-1330 SDA 100 kW / 345 deg Japanese 11980 1330-1400 SDA 100 kW / 345 deg English 11980 2000-2100 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg English 11980 2100-2130 SDA 100 kW / 345 deg Japanese 11980 2130-2200 SDA 100 kW / 345 deg English 12010 2300-2400 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Mandarin 12015 1700-1730 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Tagalog 12015 1730-1800 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg English 12120 2200-0200 SDA 100 kW / 330 deg Mandarin 15150 1200-1300 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Mandarin 15195 1500-1530 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Punjabi 15195 1530-1600 SDA 100 kW / 285 deg Hindi 15195 2100-2200 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Mandarin 15215 2100-2400 SDA 100 kW / 315 deg Mandarin 15235 1600-1700 SDA 100 kW / 285 deg English 15275 1300-1330 SDA 100 kW / 285 deg Bangla 15275 1330-1400 SDA 100 kW / 285 deg English 15320 2200-2230 SDA 100 kW / 255 deg Indonesian 15320 2230-2300 SDA 100 kW / 255 deg Javanese 15320 2300-2400 SDA 100 kW / 270 deg Vietnamese 15355 1600-1700 SDA 100 kW / 270 deg English 15370 0000-0200 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Mandarin 15380 1400-1430 SDA 100 kW / 270 deg Sinhala 15380 1430-1500 SDA 100 kW / 285 deg Karen 15435 1100-1130 SDA 100 kW / 255 deg Indonesian 15435 1130-1200 SDA 100 kW / 255 deg Javanese 15510 1000-1100 SDA 100 kW / 300 deg Mandarin 15575 1500-1530 SDA 100 kW / 285 deg Telugu 15575 1530-1600 SDA 100 kW / 285 deg Kannada 15615 1000-1500 SDA 100 kW / 315 deg Mandarin 17635 0000-0200 SDA 100 kW / 315 deg Mandarin 73 from (Ivo and Angel! Observer, Bulgaria, March 12 via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. QSL report: Radio Maya de Barillas for reception report dated 11/29/02 3:25 3325 kHz (3324.8 actual) program in K'anjb'al y Españo, including pennant celebrating the 40th anniversary of station on May 2, 2002, typed name of Pedro Gaspar Pedro, Gerente. They use a Gates BC1G transmitter with 230 vatios (watts) of power. Response in 98 [days] for mailed report with $2 and local postcards (Joe Miller, Troy MI, Mar 7, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** GUINEA. 7125, R. Conakry continues to make itself quite audible despite the listed 18 kW which I presume may be a lot more, e.g. at 2328-2343 at 14431 while airing talks in Vernacular and on 9 MAR 1103- f/out 1130 at 15341 and airing songs during a program in Vn. At same UTC on 7 MAR, the MW outlet on 1386 was not audible, and there was a German program instead (surely via Kaliningrad). (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, BC-DX Mar 7/9 via DXLD) ** HONDURAS. 3250, HRPC Radio Luz y Vida, 1145-1230, 13 de marzo del 2003. Escuché el programa Mañanitas Cristianas donde dan saludos, felicitan a los cumpleañeros, y ponen canciones e himnos cristianos; por ejemplo a las 1200 tocaron un himno acerca de la historia de Cristo. Lo escuché con un SINPO de 33343. Después de las 1230 fui perdiendo la señal; a las 1245 fue imposible escucharlo. También lo he estado escuchando en las noches, como a las 0320 cuando está el programa 'Enfoque a la Familia' que termina a las 0330 y dan su identificación (Héctor García Bojorge, México, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. This is my first post --- wanted to start with something funny :) Well, trying to pick up V of Indonesia today 12.3.03 around 2005 UT [15150??] I got them... but sounds like the sound engineer was asleep coz the speed of the tape was very fast. Reminded me of Donald Duck :) it's 2016 and they are still on that SPECIAL transmission ..HI (TAREK ZEIDAN, Cairo, Egypt, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. TRANS WORLD RADIO - EUROPE -------------------------- TRANSMISSION SCHEDULE SUMMER SEASON A-03 (30 MAR 2003 - 25 OCT 2003) Updated: 06 March 2003 Shortwave --------- TRANS WORLD RADIO - MONTE CARLO, MONACO TIME/UTC | DAYS | LANGUAGE | MB | FREQ | PWR | AZI |ZONES ==========|=========|=============|======|=======|======|======|===== 0645-0750 | 6 | English | 31 | 9870 | 100 | 324 | 27 0645-0820 | 7 | English | 31 | 9870 | 100 | 324 | 27 0655-0820 | 12345 | English | 31 | 9870 | 100 | 324 | 27 0830-0845 | 123456 | German | 41 | 7160 | 100 | 13 | 28 0830-0845 | 123456 | German | 31 | 9795 | 100 | 26 | 28 0830-0915 | 7 | German | 41 | 7160 | 100 | 13 | 28 0830-0915 | 7 | German | 31 | 9795 | 100 | 26 | 28 1230-1245 | 4 7 | Slovenian | 41 | 7280 | 100 | 85 | 28 1230-1245 | 123 56 | Serbo- | 41 | 7280 | 100 | 85 | 28 Croatian/Croat 1300-1330 | 7 | German | 41 | 7160 | 100 | 13 | 28 1300-1330 | 7 | German | 31 | 9795 | 100 | 26 | 28 1330-1400 | 1234567 | German | 41 | 7160 | 100 | 13 | 28 1330-1400 | 1234567 | German | 31 | 9795 | 100 | 26 | 28 TRANS WORLD RADIO - JULICH, GERMANY TIME/UTC | DAYS | LANGUAGE | MB | FREQ | PWR | AZI |ZONES ==========|=========|=============|======|=======|======|======|====== 0645-0750 | 6 | English | 49 | 6045 | 100 | 0 | 27 0645-0820 | 7 | English | 49 | 6045 | 100 | 0 | 27 0655-0820 | 12345 | English | 49 | 6045 | 100 | 0 | 27 1230-1245 | 4 7 | Slovenian | 31 | 9490 | 100 | 130 | 28 1230-1245 | 123 56 | Serbo- | 31 | 9490 | 100 | 130 | 28 Croation/Croat 1600-1645 | 6 | Rumanian | 31 | 9660 | 100 | 100 | 28 TRANS WORLD RADIO - NAUEN, GERMANY TIME/UTC | DAYS | LANGUAGE | MB | FREQ | PWR | AZI |ZONES ==========|=========|=============|======|=======|======|======|====== 1600-1645 | 6 | Rumanian | 41 | 7135 | 125 | 125 | 28 TRANS WORLD RADIO - MOOSBRUNN, AUSTRIA TIME/UTC | DAYS | LANGUAGE | MB | FREQ | PWR | AZI |ZONES ==========|=========|=============|======|=======|======|=====|====== 1344-1359 | 1 | Russian | 31 | 9745 | 100 | 55 28/29/30 1344-1429 | 67 | Russian | 31 | 9745 | 100 | 55 28/29/30 1344-1459 | 2345 | Russian ! 31 | 9745 | 100 | 55 28/29/30 1359-1429 | 1 | Belorussian | 31 | 9745 | 100 | 55 28/29/30 1429-1459 | 1 | Russian | 31 | 9745 | 100 | 55 28/29/30 TRANS WORLD RADIO _ CERRIK, ALBANIA TIME/UTC | DAYS | LANGUAGE | MB | FREQ | PWR | AZI |ZONES ==========|=========|=============|======|=======|======|======|====== = 0500-0515 | 12345 | Slovak | 49 | 6235 | 100 | 350 |28/29 0515-0530 | 1234567 | Polish | 31 | 9850 | 100 | 350 | 28 0830-0845 | 23456 | Hungarian | 31 | 9490 | 100 | 350 | 28 1030-1100 | 6 | Slovak | 31 | 9490 | 100 | 350 |28/29 1344-1359 | 1 | Russian | 25 | 11615 | 100 | 33 28/29/30 1344-1429 | 67 | Russian | 25 | 11615 | 100 | 33 28/29/30 1344-1459 | 2345 | Russian | 25 | 11615 | 100 | 33 28/29/30 1359-1429 | 1 | Belorussian | 25 | 11615 | 100 | 33 28/29/30 1429-1459 | 1 | Russian | 25 | 11615 | 100 | 33 28/29/30 1500-1530 | 1234567 | Polish | 31 | 9440 | 100 | 350 | 28 1530-1545 | 7 | Polish | 31 | 9440 | 100 | 350 | 28 1530-1545 | 67 |Armenian/East| 31 | 9945 | 100 | 90 29S/39N 1530-1545 | 67 |Armenian/East| 25 | 12080 | 100 | 90 29S/39N 1530-1600 | 12345 |Armenian/East| 31 | 9945 | 100 | 90 29S/39N 1530-1600 | 12345 |Armenian/East| 25 | 12080 | 100 | 90 29S/39N 1615-1630 | 12 45 | Czech | 49 | 6175 | 100 | 350 | 28 1625-1740 | 1234567 | Farsi | 31 | 9960 | 100 | 90 |30/40 1625-1740 | 1234567 | Farsi | 25 | 12100 | 100 | 90 |30/40 1630-1700 | 1234567 | Hungarian | 49 | 6175 | 100 | 350 | 28 1740-1755 | 7 | Qashqai | 31 | 9960 | 100 | 90 |30/40 1740-1755 | 7 | Qashqai | 25 | 12100 | 100 | 90 |30/40 1930-2000 | 12345 | Finnish | 31 | 9430 | 100 | 350 | 18 2000-2030 | 12345 | Swedish | 31 | 9430 | 100 | 350 | 18 2030-2100 | 12345 | Norwegian | 31 | 9430 | 100 | 350 | 18 TRANS WORLD RADIO - SHIJAK, ALBANIA TIME/UTC | DAYS | LANGUAGE | MB | FREQ | PWR | AZI |ZONES ==========|=========|=============|======|=======|======|======|====== 0500-0515 | 12345 | Slovak | 41 | 7380 | 100 | 350 |28/29 0515-0530 | 1234567 | Polish | 41 | 7380 | 100 | 350 | 28 0830-0845 | 23456 | Hungarian | 41 | 7385 | 100 | 350 | 28 1030-1100 | 6 | Slovak | 41 | 7340 | 100 | 350 |28/29 1500-1530 | 1234567 | Polish | 41 | 7355 | 100 | 350 | 28 1530-1545 | 7 | Polish | 41 | 7355 | 100 | 350 | 28 1615-1630 | 12 45 | Czech | 41 | 7135 | 100 | 350 | 28 Day 1 = Mon .. 7 = Sun LW & MW (Longwave & Mediumwave) ------------------------------- TRANS WORLD RADIO - ROUMOULES, RMC_FRANCE TIME/UTC | DAYS | LANGUAGE | M | FREQ | PWR | AZI |ZONES ==========|=========|=============|======|=======|======|======|====== 0228-0258 | 7 | French |1388 | 216 | 2000 | 315 | 27 0241-0256 | 123456 | French |1388 | 216 | 2000 | 315 | 27 0345-0415 | 1234567 | German | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 25 | 28 1845-1900 | 123 5 | Serbo- | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 85 | 28 Croatian/Croat 1900-1915 | 7 | Sous | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 241 |37,38 1900-1915 | 6 | Kabyle | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 241 |37,38 1900-1915 | 45 | Albanian | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 85 | 28 1900-1915 | 3 | Mandarin | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 325 |27,28 1900-1915 | 2 | Tarifit | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 325 |27,28 1900-1915 | 1 | Tamazight | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 241 |37,38 1915-1930 | 5 | Spanish | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 241 |27,28 1915-1930 | 1234 67 | Albanian | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 85 | 28 1930-2000 | 67 | German | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 25 | 28 1930-2030 | 12345 | German | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 25 | 28 2000-2200 | 67 | Arabic | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 241 |37,38 2030-2100 | 12345 | Kabyle | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 241 |37,38 2100-2200 | 12345 | Arabic | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 241 |37,38 2200-2245 | 1234567 | English | 204 | 1467 | 1000 | 325 | 27 TRANS WORLD RADIO - FLLAKE, ALBANIA TIME/UTC | DAYS | LANGUAGE | M | FREQ | PWR | AZI |ZONES ==========|=========|=============|======|=======|======|======|===== 1810-1840 | 12345 | Serbo- | 215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 Croatian/Serbi 1825-1840 | 12 | Serbo- | 215 | 1395| 500 | 330 | 28 Croatian/Bosni 1840-1915 | 1234567 | Hungarian | 215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 1915-1930 | 7 | Russian | 215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 1915-1930 | 5 | Arabic | 215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 1915-1930 | 4 |Kurdish-Sorani|215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 1915-1930 | 3 | Farsi | 215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 1915-1930 | 2 6 | Turkish | 215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 1915-1930 | 1 | Polish | 215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 1930-1945 | 1234567 | Serbo- | 215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 Croatian/Croat 1945-2015 | 67 | Serbo- | 215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 Croatian/Bosni 1945-2015 | 12345 | Serbo- | 215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 Croatian/Croat 2015-2030 | 1234567 | Slovak | 215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 2030-2100 | 1234567 | Czech | 215 | 1395 | 500 | 330 | 28 TRANS WORLD RADIO - ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA TIME/UTC | DAYS | LANGUAGE | M | FREQ | PWR | AZI |ZONES ==========|=========|=============|======|=======|======|======|===== 1800-1830 | 1234567 | Lithuanian | 201 | 1494 | 600 | 258 |29NW 1830-1900 | 67 | Lithuanian | 201 | 1494 | 600 | 258 |29NW 1830-1900 | 12345 | Finnish | 201 | 1494 | 600 | 258 | 18 1900-1930 | 67 | Latvian | 201 | 1494 | 600 | 258 |29NW 1900-1930 | 12345 | Swedish | 201 | 1494 | 600 | 258 | 18 1930-2000 | 67 | Estonian | 201 | 1494 | 600 | 258 |29NW 1930-2000 | 12345 | Norwegian | 201 | 1494 | 600 | 258 | 18 From 28 April - 08 August 2003: All transmissions are one hour later! TRANS WORLD RADIO - CAPE CRECO, CYPRUS TIME/UTC | DAYS | LANGUAGE | M | FREQ | PWR | AZI |ZONES ==========|=========|=============|======|=======|======|======|====== 0155-0200 | 1234567 | Arabic | 243 | 1233 | 600 | 205 38,39,40 0200-0215 | 67 | Arabic | 243 | 1233 | 600 | 205 38,39,40 0200-0230 | 12345 | Arabic | 243 | 1233 | 600 | 205 38,39,40 0215-0230 | 67 | Iraqi | 243 | 1233 | 600 | 205 38,39,40 1925-1944 | 2 | Arabic | 243 | 1233 | 600 | 205 38,39,40 1925-2100 | 1 345 | Arabic | 243 | 1233 | 600 | 205 38,39,40 1925-2115 | 67 | Arabic | 243 | 1233 | 600 | 205 38,39,40 1944-1959 | 2 | Sudanese | 243 | 1233 | 600 | 205 38,39,40 1959-2100 | 2 | Arabic | 243 | 1233 | 600 | 205 38,39,40 TRANS WORLD RADIO - GRIGORIOPOL, MOLDOVA TIME/UTC | DAYS | LANGUAGE | M | FREQ | PWR | AZI |ZONES ==========|=========|=============|======|=======|======|======|====== 1730-1745 | 67 | Ukrainian | 300 | 999 | 500 | 0 | 29 1730-1800 | 12345 | Ukrainian | 300 | 999 | 500 | 0 | 29 1745-1800 | 67 | Russian | 300 | 999 | 500 | 0 | 29 1800-1830 | 1234567 | Bulgarian | 194 | 1548 | 1000 | 245 | 28 1830-1845 | 1234567 |Romani-Balkan| 194 | 1548 | 1000 | 245 | 28 1845-1915 | 1234567 | Rumanian | 194 | 1548 | 1000 | 245 | 28 1900-1915 | 6 | Ukrainian | 300 | 999 | 500 | 0 | 29 1900-1930 | 345 | Ukrainian | 300 | 999 | 500 | 0 | 29 1900-1930 | 12 7 | Russian | 300 | 999 | 500 | 0 | 29 1915-1930 | 6 | Russian | 300 | 999 | 500 | 0 | 29 1915-1945 | 123456 |Romani-Kalderash|194| 1548 | 1000 | 245 | 28 1915-2000 | 7 | Serbo- | 194 | 1548 | 1000 | 245 | 28 Croatian/Serbi 1930-2000 | 234567 | Russian | 300 | 999 | 500 | 0 | 29 1930-2000 | 1 | Belorussian | 300 | 999 | 500 | 0 | 29 1945-2000 | 123456 | Serbo- | 194 | 1548 | 1000 | 245 | 28 Croatian/Serbi Day 1 = Mon .. 7 = Sun Visit our website at: http://www.twr.org Bernhard Schraut (Freq. Manager) TWR - EUROPE Vienna Office Frequency Coordination Trans World Radio, Postfach 141, A-1235 Vienna AUSTRIA Telephone: +43-1-863-12-0 Fax: +43-1-863-12-20, , or +43-1-862-12-57 E-mail : eurofreq@twr-europe.at (via Alokesh Gupta, DXLD) A reminder that all the A-03 schedules we are running are NOT YET IN EFFECT --- tho some entries will no doubt remain the same, but don`t count on it. And, standard disclaimer (gh, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. Hello Glenn, Just watched the programme on Danish TV2 "Dags Dato" where Bjorn told about how he came upon Radio Tikrit on 1584 kHz. The programme was in Danish/Swedish. Information Radio was mentioned too, with a photo of the "transmitter site" - the airplane. [later:] Glenn, maybe you already have seen Bjorn Fransson telling about Radio Tikrit on Danish TV; if not here is the address: http://nyhederne.tv2.dk/dagsdato.php3?id=584 click on the window "se indslag" (look at the program) Best 73s (Ydun Ritz, Denmark, March 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ. V. of the Liberation of Iraq, heard here tonight on stable 4025.9 kHz from 1828 sign-on with poor to fair signal. After playing "Land of Hope and Glory" heard male announcer with ID in Arabic "huna sawt al-tahir al-iraq" (this is Voice of the Liberation of Iraq). This was followed by aggressive sounding talk in Arabic by male and female announcers interspersed with military music. 73s (Dave Kenny, Caversham, AOR AR7030+, 25m long wire, March 12, BDXC-UK via DXLD) According to an informed source, V. of Iraqi Liberation, 4025 and 1206, is operated by the Iraqi opposition in Sulaymaniyah. Programming is directed at the Iraqi military, especially at the elite Republican Guard forces. DXing.info has been told that there is "cooperation" between the Voice of Iraqi Liberation and the Voice of the People of Kurdistan. A sample station identification of the Voice of Iraqi Liberation and of the Voice of the People of Kurdistan can be found in the DXing.info audio archive (Mika Mäkeläinen, DXing.info March 13 via DXLD) V. of Iraq Liberation, I got that station on the MW as well 1206 kHz around 2025 UT with the \\ 4025 kHz, though the frequency is occupied with the IBA-program D from Israel. But managed to copy it with 4025 kHz (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, SU1TZ, BC-DX March 11 via DXLD) It uses the transmitterss of the Voice of the People of Kurdistan, but its programming is clearly separate. For example in the evenings the transmission of the Voice of the People of Kurdistan ends at 1800 UT, followed by a break before the Voice of Iraqi Liberation begins broadcasting. The transmitters are located in Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq. Voice of the People of Kurdistan is the mouthpiece of Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). [Dialog between Wolfgang Bueschel and Mika Mäkeläinen:[ WB: Why should a war attack operation of 60-80 Billions of dollars use a small domestic station in Northern Kurdistan to put out their message? MM: Frankly, I don't know. But it never hurts to have many different kinds of outlets. And the station is actually not very small. Its signal should be powerful all over Iraq. And it may not be US, it could be an Iraqi opposition group with only marginal support from the US. WB: Uncle Sam has brought a lot of transmitting equipment in this region yet. The Kurds will be the loser in this coming fight, like at the peace agreement some 80 years ago, when the Osmanic World Empire collapsed after WW I [as the Armenians too then]. There is much protest in Kurdistan against the Turkish occupancy army, and the US Government now. Do you think that Talabani fraction will follow the US pressure? MM: Not necessarily pressure, but money could do the talking. WB: Once I should near to this conflict area like at Cyprus island, I would measure the exact frequency. Last reported the Kurds on 4024.85 kHz; I guess US will transmit on xx.00 kHz. MM: Voice of Iraqi Liberation has all the characteristics of the Kurdish transmitter, so I'm convinced that it is the same one. Exactly the same sound, similar changes in frequency (drifting between 4024 and 4026 kHz), similar strength. For example today at 2000 UT the station was at 4025.58 kHz, slowly drifting down. Of course US could broadcast on xx.00 kHz if they wanted to, so I have no explanation on this... WB: And what's about the frequency of 1206 kHz; is that channel registered for IRQ, or fetched by Kurdistan local radio station before? MM: 1206 kHz is another frequency regularly used by the Voice of the People of Kurdistan \\ 4025. Have you checked out http://www.dxing.info/articles/iraq.dx These frequencies have been mentioned there as well (March 7/ MM March 9, BC-DX via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. SAUDI ARABIA. Well here's some stuff that I got about Iraq the clandestine station (Iraqi Republic Radio, V. of the Iraqi People) picked up on 1053 kHz for the first time to get it on the MW. I used to get it only on the SW specially 11710 around 2030 with some news about Saddam in a comic way!! Fair to good (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, SU1TZ, via BC-DX March 11 via DXLD) From Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, \\ 1300-0300 on 9563.05, 9579.8 replaced recently by 9750, v11710 (Wolfgang Bueschel, ibid.) This is a correct report according to the program details. About hiring someone to get the Saddam accent. Well the station of Republic of Iraq radio [from Jeddah-Saudi Arabia], V of the Iraqi People is doing that all the time. They have a special program in which a man with the same accent of Saddam and his voice keeps on making a fool of himself ... so it's true ... they do it (Tarek Zeidan, Egypt, SU1TZ, BC-DX Mar 7 via DXLD) Clairvoyance: Well, sounds like it's very near!! :_( All the experts say, Bush's war will start at "new moon" minus 3-4 days. That means March 28th, but this is 'allahu akbar' holiday in the Muslim world, so will happen to start one day later on March 29th. And before that, the politicians will discuss endless, to get a 'political correctness reason' to attack Iraq. The last Gulf war KWT-IRQ started also at new moon on January 16th. End of Clairvoyance (Wolfgang Bueschel?, BC-DX March 13 via DXLD) ** IRELAND. MAN JAILED FOR 10 YEARS FOR ABUSING GIRLS - March 12, 2003 A 66-year-old man has been jailed for ten years for sexually abusing four young girls in the 1970s and 1980s. Eamonn 'Captain' Cooke, the founder of pirate radio station Radio Dublin, was in court on over 30 charges. Jailing him, Mr Justice Quirke said he could find no mitigating circumstances in favour of Cooke. One of his victims called him one of the most evil and perverse human beings she'd ever met. This page : http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/0312/abuse.html (via Ulis Fleming, March 12, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. IDF AND TV BOSSES SQUABBLE OVER EMERGENCY AIRTIME By Aviv Lavie http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=272307 The Israel Defense Forces and the national television stations are at loggerheads over the army's plans to take over all the channels in the event of an emergency. Senior staff at channels 2 and 10 are considering petitioning the High Court of Justice over the matter. Last Thursday, a preliminary exercise - during which there were numerous hitches - was held at the IDF's special TV studio that has been set up in the Kirya in Tel Aviv in anticipation of a U.S. attack on Iraq. "What we saw made us extremely anxious," one senior TV personality said. "If there are such serious faults in real time, there could be a national disaster." According to the IDF's plan, all the channels will link up to the IDF Spokesman's studio in the event of an Iraqi attack on Israel. A prepared tape will then be broadcast, with instructions to the population in five languages. Following that, the IDF spokeswoman, Brigadier General Ruth Yaron, will go on the air to provide further information. The IDF says that the broadcast will then be handed over to the Home Front Command where officers, experts and reporters from various stations will provide updates. Until that stage, the IDF is determined to have all the airtime to itself. This means that people viewing Israeli TV channels will be able to see nothing but the IDF broadcast. The army says this will continue for about 20 minutes only; however, it is clear that if a non-conventional attack takes place, the IDF broadcast could go on for several hours. Sources at channels 2 and 10 say that appropriating all the channels for hours would deal a death blow to the freedom of the media and Israeli democracy. They said they were determined to cut themselves off from the IDF broadcast when they saw fit, and to run their own programs. The TV people said that the army simply does not have the manpower to produce such a complicated broadcast and that this had clearly emerged during the exercise. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, who met with Channel 10 heads, has promised them an answer on the matter within the next few days. The IDF spokeswoman denied the charges that the media's integrity would be affected. A military source said that the descriptions of hitches at the army studio in the Kirya had been motivated by private interests (Ha`aretz March 13 via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** KASHMIR [non]. Radio Sadayee Kashmir, 6135, 0230-0330, 1500-1600. In today`s broadcast the song used at the beginning and ending of the broadcast was missing. It was there even in yesterday's broadcast. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J Hyderabad 500082, India, March 12, dx_india via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. CLANDESTINE - Moldova(?) to Iraq - 11530 Denge Mesopotamia 1459-1557+ 3/11. ME music; simple "Denge Mezopotamia" ID at 1501, followed by 10-minute talk or news by gal in Kurdish or similar lang; regional music 1510-1529. VG signal, but clobbered by WEWN s/on at 1557 (John Wilkins, CO, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** KYRGYZSTAN. Many DXers desire to have an idea who uses 4050 and 4940 kHz. Various observation related to that mysterious station have already been published, with slightly different ID variants: "Hit shortwave", or "Hit music on shortwave". If one compares this news with Alexander's report on Radio EXTOL (see previous report), some questions arise: * Is that the same station? Or maybe they are two different radio companies, but have a common QSL manager? I wrote emails both to Timur Karimov and to Radio EXTOL, asking to clarify this. But no reply yet... (Signal Ed. Dmitri Mezin, March 13 via DXLD) ** LAOS [non]. UZBEKISTAN [clandestine to Laos] 12070, Hmong Lao Radio verified a follow up report with a no data (very plain without masthead) letter from v/s Shoua Cha, Chairman indicating txions into Laos are twice a week at 0800-0900 Lao time every Wednesday and Friday. Report sent to 302 University Avenue, West, St. Paul, MN 55103 address unearthed by Wendel Craighead although reply from P. O. Box 6426, St. Paul, MN 55106 (Rich D'Angelo, PA, DXplorer Mar 8) [0100- 0200 UT via Tashkent) (via BC-DX via DXLD) ** MAURITANIA. 7245, R. Mauritanie, Mar 8 *0806-0835 35333-35322 Arabic, 0806 s/on with IS. Opening music. ID at 0808 as "Huna Nouakcott". Kor`an. ID at 0831 as "Idha'at Jumhuriyati al-Islamiya al- Mauritaniya". Talk (Kouji Hashimoto, Yamanashi, JAPAN, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** MONACO. Re DXLD 3-041: it`s Mont Agel, not Angel, a common mistake, Bernd Trutenau tells me (gh, DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. Nominal 7570 is a relay of the new overnight domestic service and intended for the Gulf & ME at 252 degrees from Islamabad. Current schedule on this frequency is 1915-0045 (Noel R. Green {Blackpool, UK], Mar 12, GRDXC via DXLD) ** PERU. 4890: In a subsequent mail, Guillermo Gardner says he believes the power to be around 100 Watts: ``We are located in Arequipa, Peru. I am not certain of the power that we are using but it is very low right now since we just got started. I think it may be 100 watts`` (via Henrik Klemetz, March 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) He aquí más información, para seguir despejando dudas: Los Gardner regresaron a Arequipa, Perú en febrero de 1997, y Chris inmediatamente reasumió el pastorado de la Iglesia Bautista El Faro. Dios les bendijo grandemente, y la iglesia creció con un promedio de asistencia de 200. Cuatro jóvenes, quienes ahora pastorean iglesias en crecimiento, son un resultado directo del ministerio de los Gardner en la Iglesia Bautista El Faro. Despues de darle el pastoreo a un pastor local, Chris asumió el pastorado de la nueva Iglesia Bautista Filadelfia. Aquí también, el Señor les ha bendecido, y la iglesia está creciendo. Programaciones Macedonia, es un programa de radio Cristiano diario, iniciado por Chris y Andria, que alcanza a gran parte del sur del Perú. Dios ahora está utilizando a un joven hermano peruano para continuar con este ministerio para el cual están levantando fondos. CAMBIO, (Crown And Macedonia Baptist Institute Outreach), es un emocionante nuevo ministerio que envuelve a Macedonia World Baptist Missions Inc. y el Crown College of the Bible en Powell, Tennessee. Actualmente, más de 19 estudiantes de Crown viajado al Perú por un período de siete meses para estudiar en el campo. Chris y Andria han sido muy involucrados con los estudiantes, enseñando y viajando con ellos por 5 diferentes paises de Sudamérica, brindándoles una oportunidad para que el Señor les de una visión y deseo por unirse a las misiones. Chris y Andria son maestros en el Seminario Bautista Macedonia. De esta manera, el Señor les ha utilizado para entrenar jóvenes en el trabajo del ministerio para que ellos mismos puedan iniciar sus ministerios. Nuestra Dirección en el Campo: Casilla 1677, Arequipa, Perú (via José Elías, Venezuela, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Se escucha un ruido tremendo porque como lo expuse en la mañana CHOTA esta en 4890.3 y MACEDONIA en 4890.0 --- esa diferencia origina un beat TERRIBLE y a eso de las 0200 ó 0300 UT, hora en que se retira CHOTA, ya se puede escuchar libremente MACEDONIA (Alfredo Cañote, Lima, ibid.) ** PHILIPPINES. 15270, R. Pilipinas, 0234 March 3, English program, ID by male, then talks by man about certain city in the country (I couldn't retain its name). QRK 3 Nice to have them logged, not so often heard here (Horacio Nigro, Valizas DX Camp, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL. About a sesquiweek ago, I drove about in a region north of the capital where several MF & HF station sites are installed, and started with one of our local MW stations, R. Renascença, at Muge, and thence to a well known site --- Glória do Ribatejo, formerly used by RFE/RL, now a ghost station, though still bearing the identification plate outside the main gate: RARET. My intention was not to visit the inside of either site, but to watch the antennae and find out what had been dismantled... R. Renascença's site, a few km SE of Muge, is identified by a huge rusty plate at a detour leading to the entrance: too many weeds, a broken porch lamp, a broken bell button, no visible human activity and... a few HF rhombics outside the fence on the opposite side of the end of the detour road; their HF operations to Eur/Brazil/NAm were halted years ago, but the most strange of all was that anyone could actually go near the rhombics like I did. A phone call last week revealed this site is automated for some time now, and usually run at just 60-70 kW to save the final stage for the transmitter (on 594 kHz) but currently being run at even less than that (the two 10 kW reserve units are in use at present) because a spare for the main transmitter is still to be received. I also enquired whether the station would reactivate its HF transmitter & aerials, but was informed that is not in their minds. When this Catholic station increased its transmitter networks, it ran a campaign among the audience so as to get funds, and many seem to have contributed; the result after a short lived HF experience is that the international broadcasts were dropped, the transmitter is not in use for any station whatsoever, and their only 100 kW MW unit is not performing that well. In fact, the 10 kW transmitter at Seixal (10 km so. of the capital) 963 kW (1 kW reserve) puts a better signal all around, possibly also because the tower was erected very near a swampy area in the mouth of the Tejo river. A few km south on the municipal road Muge-Glória, we find RARET, the Portuguese abbreviation for the company operating RFE/RL in this country; all antennae are in place, with a few dipoles of the huge curtain arrays broken here and there, and plenty, plenty of tall shrubs all around, to a point that one of these days they may get entangled around the many transmission lines. I was fortunate enough to get someone there though - the doorkeeper explained the (approx.) 230 hectare (=230,000 sq. m) place is owned by the PTT (something to be ascertained but rather irrelevant as no activity is carried out in the premises), and that an old couple who lives there is in charge of the housing and gardening maintenance. It's a shame seeing all that as a ghost village if we think it comprises several houses, a school, a small hospital plus different amenities like tennis court, swimming pool, supermarket, with some utilities thereof having been used by the local population too, like the hospital and the school. It would take a few kilometres' drive further to the south to find out what the RARET site in Maxoqueira looked like, but no point in doing so as the same doorkeeper gave me a useful tip: the Americans were forced to dismantle everything, from housing to antennae, since the grounds were only leased (from a state welfare organisation) whereas the Glória site was granted by the Portuguese government back in the 50's. I know that the only transmitters left behind by the RFE/RL were those supplied by the Port. govt along with the grounds. Other stuff including vehicles were offered to social organisations like the local fire brigade for example. The baby incubator machine at the RARET's mini-hospital is said to have been left in place ... The working conditions for all the personnel were formidable, no doubt, but it would have been a lot better, if no RARET had existed here, and if no AFN together with what this station serves had been allowed to set foot in our archipelago of Açores (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, BC-DX Mar 11 via DXLD) ** PUERTO RICO. 98.5, Salsoul, 0025 Feb 17, adstring with promo: "El fin de semana de liberación femenina...te invitan...Puerto Rico y Salsoul. El 22 de febrero competencia de kayak... auspicia Salsoul", short piece of music. QRK 2/3. This was the only FM DX catch... Nothing was heard later from the Caribbean. Maybe the sun or a problem at the antenna or receiver. Mmm... I don't know. Ant: radio set telescopic and its wire rolling antenna. Later I installed the folded dipole, beaming to the north (Brazil/Caribbean Basin), but nothing was heard. Expected some Es but it resulted nil (Horacio Nigro, Valizas DX Camp, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See URUGUAY ** RUSSIA. The Voice of Russia can now be heard live over the Internet in Russian, English, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Arabic (Windows Media). http://www.vor.ru/Audio/audio_eng.phtml (Somehow VoR chose to use Moscow time in their schedule for live broadcasts. UTC = MSK - 3 hours.) (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, March 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Finally. Trying to figure out when various programs would be ondemand, or on WRN was too much to cope with (gh, MONITORING REMINDERS) ** RUSSIA. Radio Gardarika relays via St. Petersburg-Popovka. We will again relay a program of our local FM station called R. Gardarika at the end of March. The main target area coverage is North-West Europe including southern part of Sweden and Norway, Denmark, northern and central Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, northern and central France, the U.K. and Ireland. Here is the full schedule: Date: March 24th-30th, 2003 Frequency: 6245 kHz Time: 1900-2200 UT Transmitter location: St. Petersburg-Popovka Transmitter power: 200 kW I hope you will be also to receive our signal far away from our main target area. Please send all reception reports directly to R Gardarika. If you or any of friends from any international broadcasting organizations will be interested in any short wave relays via St. Petersburg to Europe please contact me via timofeyev@s... [truncated] (Mikhail Timofeyev, St. Petersburg, Russia, March 13, BC- DX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA/UKRAINE. Russia and Ukraine have started to implement an agreement to exchange weekly radio programmes, to be aired in Ukrainian from Moscow and in Russian from Kiev. The first programme from Kiev went on the air last Saturday. Opening it, chairman of this radio company Armen Oganesian, whose staff prepared the broadcast, hoped the exchange would strengthen the age-old friendship between Russia and Ukraine. Prime Minister Kasyanov, who also took part, assured Ukraine of full Russian openness to such exchanges. The new Russian—language programme appears on the third channel of Ukrainian National Radio. It goes out each Saturday at half past two UTC. Voice of Russia News, March 13, 2003 According to VoR in Russian, the title of the program is "Hello, Ukraine!" (via Sergei Sosedkin, March 13, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. About 648 kHz stations [Ussuriysk transmitter, 1000? kW] I have received RFA on 648 kHz at 1500 UT on 12 March in Korean. The relay of RFA on 648 kHz ended at 1600. This schedule can be confirmed at http://www.rfa.org/service/schedule.html?service=kor The following stations can be heard on 648 kHz in Korea. (The consequences of monitoring 648 kHz in Korea with Sony ICF-2010's internal ferrite bar on 12, March) 1200-1300: Voice of Russia in Korean. Co channel interference= KBS 1 Radio from Cholla province, Korea. AFN from Okinawa, Japan. 1300-1400: Voice of America in Korean. Co channel interference= KBS 1 Radio from Cholla province, Korea. AFN from Okinawa, Japan. 1400-1500: A Chinese language station with very strong strength; I don't know exact ID. Co channel interference= KBS 1 Radio from Cholla province, Korea. AFN from Okinawa, Japan. 1500-1600: RFA in Korean. C o channel interference= KBS 1Radio from Cholla province, Korea. AFN from Okinawa, Japan. 73! (Sungchul Cho from South Korea, March 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Now to ID that station at 1400. Any ideas? (gh, DXLD) Razdolnoye [Ussuriysk] is shown with 2 x 60 kW, 1 x 100 kW, 2 x 200 kW (1971 year in), 3 x 200 kW? and 2 x 2 X 500 kW (1976 year in). The two 60's and one 100 are shown 'on standby' - probably converted to razor blades by now (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Mar 12 via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. PINA PRESIDENT EMBROILED IN STATE RADIO STAFF DISPUTE == Pacific Media Watch Thursday, March 13, 2003 HONIARA (Pacific Media Watch): Johnson Honimae, president of the Suva- based regional Pacific Islands News Association (PINA), is embroiled in a dispute with protesting staff and has been asked to take a nine- day break by the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC), according to the Solomon Star. Staff at the state radio were reported to be demanding Honimae's resignation within 28 days... http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/Weekly2003/03.11.2003/PacificIslands5.htm (via Jilly Dybka, TN, DXLD) ** SPAIN. PLAYA DE PALS STATION About three years ago, the IBB's big facility at Playa-de-Pals was closed down. I visited the station as part of the Barcelona European DX Council meeting about two months before its cessation, and up an illustrated story about our visit on the Web, which is at http://members.tripod.com/~bpadula/pals.html Some months later I received a message from IBB people in Washington requesting that I remove the story and photos, with IBB claiming that information made available to us during our visit was not authorised. I suggested to IBB that they ought to get their house in order first, when escorting visitors around "sensitive" facilities. It was made clear to all of us that the printed material handed out at the visit was not subject to any publication embargo, and that there were no restrictions on taking or republishing photos of the installation. I subsequently advised IBB that many accounts of the visit, with detailed descriptions and photos of technical facilities at Pals, were published in print, electronically, and on the Net, by many members of our group in their respective communities of interest. Naturally, I told IBB that I was not prepared to take down the story from the Web, and that if they wished to pursue the matter further they could do so via diplomatic channels through the US and Australian Governments, and seek an restraining injunction against the ISP owner. My story is still there for anyone to see! So my next address may well be c/o Alcatraz... So long as they have an Internet centre there! You can also view another interesting story about Pals, compiled by Antoni Bernabe, Spain, who tells us that it's at http://www.arbe-inc.com/ralib/radio-liberty.html (Bob Padula, Australia, EDXP March 13 via DXLD) Beware: MIDI launches automatically (gh, DXLD) Re Playa de Pals - I wonder what happened to all of the hardware in the buildings (5 X 250 kW Continentals?). And do they belong to the IBB or Spain? Has it really just been mothballed? I guess it would be a low-cost operation if it was brought back into use - but I see there have been various "meetings" concerning the new MW site in Djibouti. Wouldn`t that make a good site to put some SW transmitters - to serve the ME and Africa. I think the Spanish will want their beach back to build even more apartments! (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Mar 9, via DXLD) When the site was closed it was said that some of the transmitters would be moved to Kuwait, just as it indeed happened with the Holzkirchen mediumwave meanwhile. Well, no IBB SW from Kuwait so far, so the transmitters may well be still at Playa de Pals (Kai Ludwig, Germany, BC-DX Mar 10 via DXLD) I have been reading the long article about Playa de Pals in the latest DXLD. Very interesting, and it does seem that the whole site is still intact and capable of being reactivated. The only reference to transmitters refers to the installation of the four 250 kW Continentals and this... Over the years there were technical changes at the site. A 250 kW General Electric was installed. The 100 kW Telefunken was retired and a Marconi 250 kW installed. I've been referring to my 1998 edition of TDP and find that the 100 kW TEL, 4 x 250 kW CON, 1 X 250 kW GEN and 1 X 250 kW MAR are all listed, and there is an additional entry for 5 X 250 CON 419F year-in 1997 and the note that "These transmitters were moved from Gloria, Port, to PdeP". But were they - or did they go to Greece? It is noted (in TDP) that 2 X 250 kW CON 419F went to Greece from Gloria, but I seem to remember more have been hinted at as still being in their shipping crates. So I assume the 4 X 250 kW CON 420A of 1960 and the two 250 kW from MAR & GEN are still in situ (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Mar 11 via DXLD) The MAR B6131 250 kW transmitter is dated as 1987 year in, so is - still - not a very old unit. The TDP I am using shows there is one of these at CYP installed in 1991. It wouldn`t make sense - in my mind - to scrap the PAL unit. The four CON show 1960 as year in, so they are old technology. The "newish CON" is obviously one of those I referred to. So I assume 4 went to GRC (Noel R. Green, K, BC-DX Mar 12 via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. Glenn, Don't know what has happened to Alexander Yegorov of RUI. I have not heard from him since February 3, 2003. I have emailed him several time concerning different subjects since then. Anyone? 73, (Kraig Krist, VA, March 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) He was quoted in the March 13 issue of SIGNAL, FWIW ** UKRAINE/RUSSIA. See RUSSIA/UKRAINE ** U S A. To my inquiry how far from WTJC transmitter site (if not co- located) WBOH transmitters are, I got the info below from FBN. ------- On 13 Mar 2003 Fundametal [sic] Broadcasting Network fbn@mail.clis.com wrote: ------- Dear Jari, The transmitters are about 5 miles apart. In Christ's service, Mrs. Robinson (via Jari Savolainen Kuusankoski Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** URUGUAY. My last DX Camp took place from Feb 17 to Mar 5, 2003 The selected place was "Valizas" or also known as "Barra de Valizas", a nice Atlantic beach located in the department of Rocha, about 300 kilometers east from Montevideo, Uruguay. Here the Valizas River empties the sweet water of the Laguna de Castillos into the Atlantic Ocean. Great sand dunes, magnificent landscapes, fishermen in his daily work, swimming both river and ocean, natural forest, great Via Láctea display during clear nights. A place to feel Nature in its entirety! I have photos of the landscape to share if somebody is interested! My family owns a small but nice cottage there and I've enjoyed this place since I was a youngster for many times. Speaking of radio, there, I was fortunate to experience superb conditions for FM (Es) and TE. In the 80's and 90's I could log several Caribbean stations via transequatorial. I found out what salsa music was via FM DX with Puerto Rico!!! The most interesting Es catch was an Argentinian FM, Radio Nacional Rio Mayo, located in province of Chubut, in Patagonia. The recording I still have shows a particular fast fading, (but I was lucky to get the ID on the top of the wave"). It is justice to say that the station was also picked contemporarily by the late Manuel Barcia, a great Uruguayan DXer and my mentor in the field of DXing who practiced FM DXing from Montevideo with the same luck as we, with the difference that we had to travel moderate distances to hunt for significant TE FMDX. During low sunspot cycle years I also got Chilean FM stations, most of them regionals, which were a real pleasure to log. Receivers used where simple radiorecorders and a simple commercial folded dipole made with that TV flat -ribbon- cable. Valizas was also the place when in 1985 I got a Kenwood R-600 from former DXer Daniel Muñoz Faccioli, in the times when DX Club del Uruguay was alive, and could mount a Beverage for the first time in my DX-life. For a couple of subsequent years I used 100m and 300m Beverages, always directed to Europe. I was amazed at the results: Europe, (Spain, Germany, Bulgaria, GB, Albania, Cyprus, Norway, etc.) Africa (Kenya), and also powerful stations in the Middle East and Volcano radio in the Ascension Island, Atlantic Ocean. Also Germany on LW! Ahh... those good old times!!! In 1997, the electricity came to that place and power lines produced QRN via the cables. The last time I went, there was too much interference from the power line. Fluorescent tubes were used for lighting the hundreds of little houses of that seaside resort. Modern civilization was entering the place. This time I had no R600 and the vast space for a Bev was limited by new streets. But I took my portable Grundig YB 400 and 100 meters of wire. Comparison doesn't benefit this receiver. The YB400 is a good rx to enter the hobby of SWL and DXing. And a good companion for a traveler listener seeking for news and music from overseas. The following says it all: The only radio related topic I took with me to this vacation (besides the WRTH 2003 and the latest Cumbrelite available I had received via E-mail) was a print of the web published comments on the Palstar R30! The blank side of the last page of the Cumbrelite, and that of those couple of articles was filled with three artistic pencil drawings I took on the landscapes surrounding me. I found line QRN but could reduce it using batteries, and later placing the power supply distant from the fluorescent lamp. END OF THE STORY! I DREAM OF A PALSTAR R30 RESOUNDING IN VALIZAS! 73 (Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Some of Horacio`s logs from Valizas are in this issue under ANTARCTICA, BRAZIL, FALKLAND ISLANDS, PHILIPPINES, PUERTO RICO, URUGUAY, UNIDENTIFIED ** URUGUAY. 6140, R. Montecarlo, heard as late as 0045 on Feb 23, irregular s/off time other days, but never as late as this day (Horacio Nigro, Valizas DX Camp, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 1503, something on peak 0109 Feb 20, getting out of the mud, maybe IRAN with 100KW?, some sort of chant by man. QRK2/1 (Horacio Nigro, Valizas DX Camp, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Did anyone hear the station on 5015 tonight at 0010 UT? There was continous music but no talking or ID. It sounded like IRISH mandolin tunes. The signal was strong and clear except for some static. Maybe it was an early St. Patrick day pirate. Signal off at 0022 UT (Derek W. Gilmour, New Hamburg ONT., SAT. 800, Dipole antenna, Mar 13, ODXA via DXLD) First thing to do with any 5015 unID is see if it matches WWRB on 5085 or 5050, which put a mixing product there; but this doesn`t seem like their kind of programming (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DAB/DRM / CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ WORKSHOP - CAPITALISING ON DAB DIGITAL RADIO Dear Colleagues, We are delighted to invite you to a one-day workshop - content and programming opportunities for broadcasters - organised by the World DAB Forum, the Association of European Radio (AER) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The event takes place on May 28 in Brussels. Why you should attend: As digital radio shifts up a gear, broadcasters are continually looking for fresh, innovative and exciting ways to enhance the radio experience by exploiting the benefits afforded by DAB Digital Radio. DAB broadcasters want to provide listeners with an enhanced listening experience, thereby increasing the time spent listening to radio. This workshop brings together the best minds in the business, enabling public and private broadcasters to share ideas, experiences and best practice. Delegates will be able to identify workable solutions, boost content creativity and learn from colleagues' experiences. Public broadcasters Public service broadcasters will get an insight into how they can reach audiences that are currently underserved, as well as ideas on how to target completely new communities. They will also discover how to reuse their existing audio material, and how planning ahead will ensure they are getting the most out of their vast and extensive content production. Commercial broadcasters Commercial broadcasters will learn how to make their digital radio content broader and richer, in order to increase audience share and revenue. All delegates will come away with a wealth of shared knowledge on how to exploit DAB Digital Radio and make it a market success in their respective countries. This event is a 'must' for broadcast professionals responsible for content production who want to broaden their views and be exposed to the latest thinking on content for their DAB services. The event will also be attended by a limited number of journalists with experience on the subject. The workshop will take place at the following address: Residence Palace, Internationaal Perscentrum, Wetstraat 155 BE-1040 Brussels. A cocktail party will be organised on May 27, from 19.00 onwards. For the full program, further information and a participation form visit our website: http://www.worlddab.org/events/events_frame.htm We would be grateful if you could also indicate on your participation form whether you intend to join the evening event. Members are kindly requested to send NO MORE THAN TWO representatives to the workshop because of limited space. Registration will be accepted on a first come first served basis. We very much hope that all organisations and companies will support this very important event, and we are sure that it will prove a stimulating and interesting meeting. Yours faithfully Annika Nyberg Frankenhaeuser, President of the WorldDAB Forum; Sergio Natucci, President of the AER; Raina Konstantinova, Director of EBU Radio Department World DAB Forum, 20 Southampton Street, London WC2E 7QH, Tel. +44 207 288 4640/41/42, Fax. +44 207 288 4643, http://www.worlddab.org (via EDXP via DXLD) From: http://www.msnbc.com/news/883723.asp http://www.msnbc.com/news/883723.asp?0dm=B11JT [illustrated] RADIO IS GOING DIGITAL, By Gary Krakow, MSNBC If you're sick of all-talk AM radio, scratchy static or shortwave signals that sound like they're being sent from Mars, take heart. Just like television, radio is going digital. But lines are being drawn in a battle between the U.S. choice and the standard set for the rest of the world. FOR THE MOST PART, AM radio has remained unchanged from the early days of broadcasting. In the United States, AM radio, once our main music medium, is now mostly relegated to talk, sports and all-news formats - - because voice sounds good on AM and music sounds not so good. But what if AM transmissions could be improved to the point where the quality was equal to, or slightly better than, FM transmissions today? And what about CD-quality FM broadcasts? Last October, the Federal Communications Commission approved digital broadcasting for U.S. radio stations using a system from a company named iBiquity. Within the next few years, AM and FM radio stations across the country will begin broadcasting a digital signal alongside their current analog signals on the same frequency. Of course, you'll need new radios to hear the new iBiquity "HD" radio signal; they should be available for sale to the public later this year. A small but growing number of stations, in places as varied as New York and Birmingham, Ala., have already begun broadcasting digital signals. Currently, 130 stations are licensed to do so, according to iBiquity. It will take up to ten years to convert all 13,000 AM and FM stations in the United States, said Jeff Jury, a senior vice president at iBiquity. THE STANDARDS MUDDLE The HD standard is also available to AM and FM stations worldwide, but faces an uphill battle against competing standards that have already gained approval in Europe and elsewhere. Digital FM radio already has a big foothold in Europe, thanks to Digital Audio Broadcasting, a free, over-the-air digital service that requires only a special receiver attachment on the listener's end. While DAB is approved in Canada as well, the FCC opted for iBiquity instead of DAB. Digital radio goes beyond AM and FM, however. In many parts of the world, long wave and shortwave radio are the main sources for news and music. That's where yet another standard, DRM, comes in. Digital Radio Mondiale was formed in 1998 to create a universal, digital system for shortwave, medium-wave and long-wave bands. (Time for a brief radio jargon lesson: "AM," which stands for amplitude modulated transmissions, is actually used in three major bands of transmissions: long wave, for short-distances; medium wave, which is what we think of as AM radio; and shortwave for around-the- world coverage such as the BBC World Service.) Both HD and DRM are free to the listener, in contrast with the only form of digital radio most in the United States are now familiar with: satellite radio. Satellite radio services such as XM and Sirius are more analogous to cable TV, with a far wider variety of channels available than what you can tune in locally -- and many of the channels are commercial-free. But like cable TV, there's a monthly service charge for programming. In the last five years, the DRM group has expanded into an international consortium of more than 70 broadcasters, manufacturers, network operators, research institutions, broadcasting unions and regulatory bodies. Just last week, the International Telecommunication Union cleared the way for broadcasters in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia/New Zealand to switch to the DRM system for broadcasting. IBiquity says that the ITU has also approved their system for AM and FM stations worldwide. THE BENEFITS The reasons to switch to digital are numerous. For the listener, AM radio will now sound like FM, with bandwidth somewhere similar to current FM monaural signals in the United States, improved reception quality, receiving stations on the same frequencies, new, low-cost, energy-efficient receivers and easy tuning by frequency, station name or programming format. You will also be able to get text information from the station that could include things like the title of the song you're currently listening to and the name of the singer. Broadcasters using the DRM system get the additional benefit of much lower broadcasting costs. DRM estimates its system uses about 20 percent of the total energy needed to produce an old-fashioned AM signal -- in other words, they can now reach the same number of people at one-fifth the cost. Radio manufacturers will benefit from people purchasing new radios in order to receive the upgraded signals. One estimate says that 2.5 billion radio receivers may need to be replaced. THE SOUND I traveled last week to the Northeast SWL Fest (a conference of shortwave listeners) to hear DRM in action. For now, listening to the DRM test transmissions requires a lot of effort. You need a PC with Windows 98 or better, a 16-bit soundcard that supports full duplex at 48 KHz sampling rate, LAN or dial-up network installed, a unique software program (available for 60 euros at http://www.drmrx.org/purchase ) and a specially modified shortwave receiver with 12 kHz IF output. James Briggs of DRM and Jan Peter Werkman of Radio Netherlands set up the display and also brought with them a very, very, very early beta of a stand alone DRM-enabled radio, which had all of the above built inside. When it worked (I'm being kind) it showed what could be available in the next five to ten years. What did work were the three setups using PCs and the special software. Briggs and Werkman got a number of shortwave broadcasters to send test signals to the gathering and the results were very impressive. Gone was the fading in and out of the signal. Gone was the very narrow bandwidth, with no treble or bass to speak of. Instead, we heard music that actually sounded like music. People speaking sounded like they were nearby, not thousands of miles away like they do on today's shortwave broadcasts. In short, DRM sounded terrific. It will give AM stations a new lease on life and could give FM and even the satellite radio channels a run for their money. Briggs told me that he's heard the iBiquity system and sound-wise the two systems are very similar. I'm hoping to hear FCC-approved digital in the next few weeks to see if that's true. THE FUTURE IS COMING Back to the SWL Fest. Briggs and Werkman told the gathered crowd that all the stuff that now requires a PC, special software and a modified radio will be shrunk-down to one integrated chip. With radio manufacturers like Sony, Sanegan, Bosch, JVC and Telefunken on board the DRM bandwagon I'm sure we'll start seeing receivers very soon. Kenwood and Harmon-Kardon are among the manufacturers working on U.S. radios for the iBiquity standard. Within five to 10 years the price of digital radios should be low enough for people in remote areas and third-world countries, where reliance on shortwave is particularly strong, to afford new receivers. The big rollout of DRM is coming this spring at the World Radio Conference in Geneva, when a number of the world's largest broadcasters will announce a permanent schedule for DRM digital transmissions. Back in the States, local shortwave fans are hoping that the start of digital transmissions will mean the resumption of BBC World Service to North America, which ended a short while ago. German broadcaster Deutsche Welle also plans to end their North American services in the next few weeks. For now, BBC World is available via their Web site and on satellite provider XM. For now, it looks like we in the United States will have one digital AM and FM radio standard and most of the rest of the world will be using another one (or two if you count DAB). It won't be the first time this has happened: television, HDTV, cell phones, etc. I'm just hoping that someone out there is working on an AM/FM/LW/SW/DRM/HD/DAB radio -- and that it won't be too big or too expensive (via Ulis Fleming, March 12, Cumbre DX via DXLD; also via Jilly Dybka and mu23) WINTER SWL FESTIVAL Hi fellow EDXPers, thought you'd like to know about the Winter SWL Festival at Kulpsville, which ended on March 9. This year's 16th annual event was the best ever (in my opinion) because there was a good international turnout courtesy of some 15 monitors from the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) who are involved with listening to frequencies of the Voice of America, Radio Free Asia, RFE/RL etc. Bill Whitacre brought along a group of knowledgeable monitors, some of which you know quite well including Victor Goonetilleke (Sri Lanka) who hosted a forum on "Monitoring Officially"; also Craig Tyson, an IBB monitor from Western Australia who contributes to Passport to World Band Radio, and Graeme Dixon from New Zealand, and a few monitors from Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Ghana. Broadcasters in attendance this year were Radio Netherlands for the DRM demonstrations, Radio Slovakia International with a representative from the English section, Allan Weiner and other programrs from the US commercial station WBCQ in Maine, and Jeff White from WRMI in Miami, USA. Bob Zanotti, formerly of Swiss Radio International, was also at the Fest. At the monitoring forum, held Saturday afternoon, each monitor gave his background to how he goes about his work; some monitors work the VOA frequencies every day for about 10 hours a day or more, dealing with the channels for the target area they work in (ie: Victor is responsible for broadcasts to South Asia). Nearly all monitors use Sangean ATS-909 receivers, though Victor is using the Sony ICF-2010 he received some years ago, and he says he has the 2010 set in the wide position when he listens (fortunately his 2010 had the Kiwa filters installed, rather than the stock 9.5 kHz wide filters which were awful). Another forum that was of interest was Dan Henderson's travels to Western Australia to catch some tough DX signals. He heard some Indonesian signals, AIR regionals, Radio Sakhalin on SSB on 11840, and a few African signals during his time there, many of which the audience got to hear during his presentation. You'll be interested to know that Dan plans to travel to Mauritius next year (February 2004) and will meet up with Mahendra Vaghee during his visit. Other forums discussed scanning, the year in unofficial pirate radio, World War II radio history, how the future of shortwave will be and how to get more young people interested in the hobby through promoting it, a review of the EDXC conference in Finland last year, presented by Risto Vahakainu (he also teased us with a music quiz at the end of the forum!), and a QSL presentation from Adrian Peterson of Adventist World Radio, who also showcased his large QSL collections at the Fest display tables. He has quite a lot of verifications going back to the war years and it's awesome to see those old cards that he received from stations that no longer exist these days! Also at the displays were two demonstrations: one on satellite broadcasting with Tracy Wood and his fellow "Dishheads", and another that was eagerly anticipated - the DRM digital shortwave tests to North America, where six different transmitter sites sent digital shortwave broadcasts to the SWL Fest site. A representative from VT-Merlin, and another from Radio Netherlands, along with Kim Andrew Elliott of the VOA, showcased the tests and hosted a forum on what this new technology is about and how it will shape the future of shortwave in coming years. The Merlin rep spoke about the results of the tests at the Saturday night banquet. At the banquet, Fest attendees feasted on "chicken or beef" and, in addition to the above remarks on DRM, awards were given out from ANARC and NASWA for their DXers of the Year. The Grand Raffle closed out the proceedings and loads of books on scanning, pirates, shortwave and other electronic topics were given away; also some antennas and accessories, and the main prizes given out were a Palstar SW receiver, an Icom R75, and the Ten-Tec RX-350 receiver which was won by a listener from the New York City area. All in all it was a great time we had and now we await March 12 and 13, 2004, for the 17th Annual Winter SWL Festival. You can check out http://www.swlfest.com to see some pictures from this year's event, which will be posted in the next few days (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, USA, EDXP via DXLD) HFCC/ITU HFCC Conference took place at Johannesburg, South Africa in late February. The output of the Conference is now being made public by a few broadcasters as their final A03 schedules, and it seems that, once again, schedule data for many other broadcasters will not be disclosed to their global audiences. In my view, pathetic (Bob Padula, EDXP March 13 via DXLD) AIB GLOBAL MEDIA BUSINESS CONFERENCE 2003 The annual AIB Global Media Business Conference will take place in London on Tuesday 29 and Wednesday 30 April 2003 at the Royal College of Surgeons. The Conference is the only event designed specifically for the international broadcasting industry covering both television and radio. The key areas of debate at this year's Conference are: Audiences Technology Content Revenues The AIB's Conference Partners are BBC World Service and BBC World. The opening Keynote Address will be given by the BBC's Mark Byford. Byford is Director of BBC World Service and Global News. Other speakers in this major two day event include: Jonathan Marks, Creative Director, Radio Netherlands; John Begert, Vice President Content, Discovery Networks Europe; Roger Gane, Managing Director, Ipsos-RSL; Oliver Mojen, Chief Operating Officer, German TV; Wolfgang Klein, CEO, Dalet A.N.N; Christophe Duplay, Vice President, SES-Global; Dennis Israel, Director, InterMEdia Survey Institute; Valerie Geller, Consultant, Geller Media; Tom Gramms, Tech TV; Andy Nobbs, Managing Director, Teletrax; Jonathan Goodwin, Chief Executive, LongAcre Partners. The Conference will include contributions brought in live by satellite from around the world, courtesy of conference satellite partner, GlobeCast. With subjects from audience measurement to piracy, production systems to niche channels, media asset management to branding, this event will provide delegates with a unique opportunity to update their knowledge of the international broadcasting industry. The AIB Global Media Business Conference is also an unparalleled networking opportunity - delegates are already registered from the UK, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, Germany, Czech Republic and Australia, representing domestic, regional and international broadcasters, programme distributors, regulators and consulting firms. "International broadcasting will be the focus of much of the worlds attention over the coming weeks," says Simon Spanswick, AIB Chief Executive. "During any period of international crisis, audiences for international broadcasting services particularly those channels that focus on global news soar. Events in the Gulf in the coming week will affect broadcasters beaming programmes both to and from the region. The AIB Global Media Business Conference will be the place where the industry discusses and debates the role, challenges and opportunities for the sector. As a not-for-profit trade association, the AIB has kept the price of this two-day summit deliberately low. The full delegate registration fee is GBP685 (plus UK VAT). If your company is a Full Member of the Commonwealth Broadcasting Association, you benefit from a special rate of only GBP595 (plus UK VAT). Members of the Association for International Broadcasting are able to attend for GBP485 (plus UK VAT). The complete agenda for the two-day AIB Global Media Business Conference is available online at http://www.aib.org.uk and full booking information - including an online registration system - is also available on the AIB's website. The AIB looks forward to welcoming you to the Global Media Business Conference in London in April. For sponsorship, exhibition and any other enquiries, contact Kerry Stevenson, Director of Communications at kerry.stevenson@aib.org.uk, telephone +44 (0) 20 8992 7073. (AIB via DXLD) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ EMP ON NPR Ever wonder what an E-bomb would do to your shortwave radio? If not, you probably don't live in Iraq. And you probably don't use electronic products made from sand. The USA is getting ready to test a bomb in Iraq that is supposed to have the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effect of a nuclear weapon without all that nasty blast and radiation effect. A short EMP will simply zap everything that runs on semiconductors including SW radios and computers. Unfortunately, when I last visited this topic, the MIG fighter planes still used vacuum tubes for this reason. Want to learn more? Listen to Science Friday which first airs on NPR Friday March 14 at 1900 UT. The program will probably be archived at the NPR web site if you cannot get to a radio at that time. Bottom line -- buy old R-390A's, Intel, Texas Instruments, etc. Sleep well, ~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., (Joe Buch, swprograms via DXLD) -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^ OKLAHOMA USED RADIO SOURCES NEEDED Can you direct me to anyone in Oklahoma or the 0klahoma City area where you can buy a used shortwave radio, and used scanners? I have given up on Radio Shack as I believe the new stuff they have out is junk, but that`s my opinion. I`ve been to the so called electronic stores and the specialized so called radio stores and they look at me funny; also the pawn shops are selling the junky stuff that`s been sitting in attics and not working; and garage sales, have found nothing at all. In Oklahoma City looking for a trunk tracker scanner 500 channel used and used regular scanners. So called electronic stores that Uniden says it stocks in Oklahoma City are not there, and K&E electronics as was suggested does not carry any shortwave or scanners or accessories. Can anyone help with the older scanners and shortwaves? I am looking for myself and for an Oklahoma City area radio station. Many thanks as always. Anything that you could do would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the great work, take care, (Bill Eckart, Box 365, Mustang, Oklahoma 73064-0365 scanneradio2001@yahoo.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###