DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-058, April 5, 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 later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3d.html HTML version of late March issues: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3c.html HTML version of early February issues: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3b.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.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 1176: RFPI: Sun 0000, 0600, 1200, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700, 1300 on 7445 [subject to pre-emption] WWCR: Sun 0330 5070, 0730 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WBCQ: Mon 0445 on 7415 WJIE: Mon & Tue 0600, M-F 1200 on 7490 WRN: Europe Sun 0430, N. America Sun 1400 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1176.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1176.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1176h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1176h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1176.html WORLD OF RADIO etc. SCHEDULES UPDATED FOR THE WEEK OF CONFUSION http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html [above now also has upcoming schedule effective April 6] http://www.worldofradio.com/wormast.html DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS, A-03 revision as of April 3: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html BDXC DX PROGRAMME GUIDE British DX Club web site updates 5 April 2003: The Guide to DX Programmes has now been updated for the summer schedule period on the club web site. Updating is ongoing so there may be further amendements during the next few days to take account of A03 schedule changes. (click on Article Index for the DX programme guide) [specifically:] http://www.users.waitrose.com/~bdxc/dxprog.htm The DX Diary page has also been updated today. http://www.bdxc.org.uk UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL In order to read a few issues of the 'Iraqi Media Behavior'-notes by BBCM please visit Sennitt's RN Media Network-pages or read Hauser's DXL-Digest. Both present a few of these summaries in their publications. And of course a lot other interesting material is there, too. Most interesting are even the added personal comments of both editors. Both publications are up-to-date with recent events and are highly recommended. Their view esp. on Iraq is not focused on Clandestine Radio but on the whole media scene (M. Schöch, Mar 31, 2003 in CRW) DXLD : http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html RNMN : http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/iraq030319.html ** AFGHANISTAN. AFGHAN SOUTHWEST PROVINCE GETS RADIO TRANSMITTER | Text of report by Iranian radio from Mashhad on 4 April A radio transmitter device has been inaugurated in Nimruz Province by the Afghan information and culture minister, during a ceremony held there. According to a report by an [Iranian] Dari radio correspondent from Kabul, this Italian-made device was donated by France to the Afghan government. This 1 kilo-watt device can cover a range of 70 kilometres and, according to Afghan engineers, in addition to Nimruz town it can provide services to a further four districts of the province, and Iran-based Afghan refugees living on the Iranian border areas close to Nimruz can also receive programmes from the radio. According to this report, the Afghan government, given its media policies, intends to provide the centres of all provinces with radio transmitter devices. Source: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mashhad, in Dari 0330 gmt 4 Apr 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK??? ** ANGOLA. 7217.3, R. Nacional de Angola, Luanda. 2100 ID in English "This is Luanda, International Service of Angolan National Radio". News and economics, fair 14/3 (Leigh Morris, Coorong SA DXpedition, April ADXN via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. I noticed there was no ABC on 2310 in HFCC - they were there last time (Wayne Bastow, ARDXC via DXLD) Interesting. No Radio Australia listings in it (Ian Johnson, ARDXC via DXLD) Hi Ian, You will find "some" entries for RA under the station title ABC-Radio Australia, but interesting that Shepparton & Brandon TX sites not found there. Regards (Ian Baxter from further south, ibid.) I grabbed it on the 2nd - the first AUS station shows up on 7180 kHz at Darwin. First ABC is on 9720 via SNG. Maybe they've updated it since then (Wayne Bastow, ibid.) See below for discussion of the incomplete and censored HFCC (gh) ** AUSTRALIA. In this week 7 to 12 April, RA Sheparton will be doing some tests and performing benchmarking tests on the J Group of antennas. Anywhere between 2200 and 0600 UT you might hear on 9475 9500 11660 and 6080 regular programming when not sked. This will again occur between June and August. Some of the recent problems of harmonics, etc., hopefully will be knocked over (Johno Wright, April 4, ARDXC via DXLD) J Group antennas? Mmm. What --- new Curtin Arrays or Rhombics at the site? I haven't been past the Lemnos (Shepparton) site during the day for a few months. Sounds like new construction (Ian Baxter, near Shepparton, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA [?]. Don Rhodes of Yarra Glen, VIC is a long time ARDXC member and experienced dx’er, in a recent email reports: ``I have noticed a marked increase in another type of QRM on many of the bands, like a machine gun, and moves about the bands at will. Sometimes covers many khz's. Very strong signals and can completely override even strong cochannel signals; all this since the run up to the middle east war.`` One would wonder if this could be an over the horizon radar type of operation (April ADXN via DXLD) Could this be Jindalee OTH radar in Australia itself, as reported activated in last issue? (gh, DXLD) Don, the Jindalee system, according to the ACA data base has transmitting sites at Laverton and Carnarvon; it may be worthwhile checking these if to see if the signals you mention tally with their transmit frequencies. I have not worked out just what the mode is, but the transmit power listed is quite high, Carnarvon has 23 frequencies from 5 to 21 MHz (there are higher) but there are no 15, 17 or 18 MHz frequencies. I am afraid I have no information from other sources about these OTH radar systems (Allen Fountain, April ADXN Utility ed., via DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. ROI via short wave Europe / North Africa 0400 - 2230 6155 0400 - 1800 13730 1800 - 2230 5945 North America East 0100 - 0200 9870 West* 1500 - 1600 15515 * Relais Sackville Latin America 0000 - 0100 9870 2300 - 2400 9870 13730 Middle East 0500 - 0600 17870 Asia & Australia 1200 - 1300 21780 (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, April 5, hard-core-dx via DXLD) And that`s all? Checked 15510 at 1530 on April 5 and it continued in German when English used to appear; not especially good signal. At previous seasonal shifts, it took them a while to straighten out the feeds to get the English broadcast on Sackville, but not on Moosbrunn; not sure if they are still trying to do that (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Emissora reativada 4895 05/04 0845-0905 Rádio Baré, Manaus-AM, musical, locutor anunciando a nova programação em ondas tropicais, divulgação do telefone 2344-0161, código 92 para informes de escuta, ID às 0858 " ZYF 270, Rádio Baré, transmitindo em ondas tropicais na freqüência de 4895 kHz em 60 metros, Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil. Uma nova programação, fique conosco, conversando a gente se entende" 35443 73 (Samuel Cássio Martins, São Carlos, SP, Sony 7600 GR, antena longwire 25 metros, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA. Schedule for Radio Bulgaria's DX programs in A-03: Bulgarian 1345-1400 Sun 1224 Balk 11700 WeEu 15700 WeEu 1945-2000 Sun 7200 WeEu 7400 ME English 2138-2200 Fri 5800 WeEu 7500 WeEu 2338-2400 Fri 9400 NoAm 11900 NoAm 0238-0300 Sat 9400 NoAm 11900 NoAm 0638-0700 Sun 11600 WeEu 13600 WeEu 1138-1200 Sun 11700 WeEu 15700 WeEu German 1930-1940 Thu 5800 WeEu 7500 WeEu 0500-0510 Fri deleted 1920-1930 Sat 5800 WeEu 7500 WeEu French 2039-2050 Tue 5800 WeEu 7500 WeEu 0139-0150 Wed 9400 NoAm 11900 NoAm 2039-2050 Sun 5800 WeEu 7500 WeEu 0139-0150 Mon 9400 NoAm 11900 NoAm [Suns and Mons irregular] Russian 1445-1500 Sat 1224 Balk 7500 EaEu 9500 CeAs 13600 EaEu 1615-1630 Sat 7500 EaEu 9500 EaEu 1845-1900 Sat 7500 EaEu 9900 EaEu 2345-2400 Sat 11700 CeAs 0345-0400 Sun 1224 Balk 7500 EaEu 9500 EaEu 0515-0530 Sun + Mon 7500 EaEu 9500 EaEu 1045-1100 Sun + Wed 11600 EaEu 13600 EaEu Spanish 1649-1654 Sun 15700 SoEu 17500 SoEu 2118-2123 Sun 11800 SoEu 13800 SoEu 2318-2323 Sun 9500 SoAm 11600 SoAm 0118-0123 Mon 9500 SoAm 9700 CeAm 11600 SoAm (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Mar 26, BC-DX April 3 via DXLD) ** CANADA. CAB DISAPPOINTED BY COPYRIGHT BOARD`S DECISION ON REPRODUCTION OF MUSICAL WORKS For Immediate Release Commercial radio should not be penalized for embracing new technology Ottawa, April 1, 2003, – The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) expressed its disappointment over the recent ruling by the Copyright Board of Canada on royalties payable for the reproduction of musical works. The ruling requires commercial radio stations to pay for making reproductions of music for broadcast purposes, such as from a CD to the radio station`s computer system. The impact of this new tariff is estimated at approximately $6.5 million annually, retroactive to 2001. This is an additional new payment for radio stations. ``We are disappointed by this decision,`` said Glenn O`Farrell, CAB President and CEO.`` While we believe that all creators are entitled to fair compensation for their work, we believe that this tariff is unfair, as there is no economic value resulting from transfer of media and no royalties should be paid for it. Radio broadcasters are simply doing their jobs, getting music to Canadians. They are employing emerging efficient technology. They should not be penalized for that.`` In April 2001, the Canadian Musical Reproduction Rights Agency (CMRRA) and the Society for Reproduction Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers in Canada (SODRAC) filed proposed tariffs for the reproduction in Canada of musical works by commercial radio stations. ``What we do need is the Government to uphold its commitment to amend the Copyright Act to create a meaningful and effective broadcaster exemption, protecting the industry from technology taxes,`` added O`Farrell. The CAB is in the process of reviewing the decision and will determine if it will appeal the decision at a later date. The CAB is the national voice of Canada`s private broadcasters, representing the vast majority of Canadian programming services, including private radio and television stations, networks, specialty and pay, and pay- per-view services. -30- For additional information, please contact: Kelly Beaton, Vice-President, Communications (613) 233-4035 ext. 351 kbeaton@cab-acr.ca Julien Lavoie, Communications Manager, (613) 233-4035 ext. 331 jlavoie@cab-acr.ca (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** CANARY ISLANDS. 6715U, Full Gospel Church, Las Palmas. 2230 o/m with Gospel program in Korean. Surprising good for only 100 watts, 15/3 (Leigh Morris, Coorong SA DXpedition, April ADXN via DXLD) ** CHINA. CRI A-03, English to N. America/Caribbean 2300-0000...13680,5990 0100-0200...9580, 9790 0300-0400...9690, 9790 0400-0600...9755, 9560 1300-1400...9570 1300-1500...17720, 7405 After News and special reports (special reports air each weekday), regular features on the English Service (all days UT) Monday People in the Know Tuesday Biz China Wednesday China Horizons Thursday Voices From Other Lands Friday Life in China Saturday Global Review, Listeners Garden Sunday Report From Developing Countries, In the Spotlight (from updated http://pw2.netcom.com/~jleq/cri1_skedfreq.htm James Richard LeQuesne, a.k.a. jleq, swprograms via DXLD) As already reported here, 17720 has been missing; the 0400-0600 on 9560 and another frequency has never really been the case; one is at 0400-0500 yearound from Guiana, has been 9730 but now really 9755? And the 9560 from Canada, 0500-0600 during ST, 0400-0500 during DST (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS. Local people are protesting at new radio masts. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1421365.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/1421689.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1422532.stm (via BC-DX, April 3, 2003 via DXLD) These stories date from 4 July 2001 ** DENMARK: Glenn - there's no need to put a question mark after DENMARK (as you did in DXLD 3-057)! World Music Radio (WMR) is indeed planning to return to the air from transmitters in Denmark. Also I don't understand your reference to IRRS Italy. We have no connection to this station. They are on 5780 and not 5790. Besides - I don't think we will be using 5790 after all - because it suffers from severe splatter from powerful Radio Bulgaria on 5800 kHz. I'm afraid I can't give you more details right now about the relaunch of WMR - except that test transmissions (AM only) hopefully are due within a few weeks (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, April 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON. 4777, Radio Gabon, Libreville, found today 2 Apr 1836-1901 (when they abruptly shut the transmitter off) airing newscast in French followed by African songs 1850 and program in vernacular. It's been ages since I last caught Gabon using this particular QRG. 55433. I fear it's some sort of an erratic use of this old outlet, yet hope I'm wrong! (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, BC-DX April 3 via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Megaradio closed down today at 1100; last played song was Linkin Park's In the End, followed by a countdown. At 1100 sharp a white noise was put on the feed circuit to provide an effect until the satellite output finally went dark at about 1105. Most if not all mediumwave transmitters were switched off between 1100 and 1102. The on-air staff was notified about the deadline not earlier than 0900. My sympathy is with them. Well, I noted the silence at 1200 when doing a bandscan at Hof. Actually it was my intention to use the opportunity of a business trip to take a look at the Bayerischer Rundfunk transmitter at Hof, but finally the train schedule situation prevented me from walking out to the station. And so 1431 had around 1800 now Kopani with Voice of Russia programming and now, at 1915, with Kopani off some other faint signal. 1575 has Italy instead of the Burg powerhouse. No more high power from Wilsdruff, Wöbbelin and away from low power DRM and utility also Burg off and silent altogether. For me personally not exactly reasons for being happy (Kai Ludwig, Germany, April 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) NDR website, 75 years of radio in Northern Germany, sub pages of technic in 1920, 1930, 1946, 1950, 1960, 1978, and 1992 http://www.ndr.de/ndr/derndr/technik/75jahreradio/19201929.html (Wolfgang Reisnwdl, A-DX Apr 1 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** GERMANY. According to an announcement in the German service of Deutsche Welle heard on 19 March, the supplementary services ("Zusatzversorgung") on SW will be discontinued on 30 March 2003. Only the 4-hour primary services to the various target areas will be maintained. Cost reductions were mentioned as reason for this change. The new DW freq schedule for the period A-03 confirms this change. It can be downloaded at http://www.dw-world.de/dwelle/cda/detail/dwelle.cda.detail.download/0,3830,435653_51479,00.pdf All the morning and noon transmissions in German to overseas areas are gone. This means significant reductions of transmitting hours at the Antigua, Kigali and Trincomalee relay stations. Personally, I regret this change very much. I will miss DW's news service in the morning hours during my overseas trips. In some cases, it might be possible to receive backlobe radiations of primary services to other areas as a replacement. An example is 17845 kHz (directed to Asia), which was received well in South America from 1000 to 1400 UT in January (Dr. Uli Onken DK2GO, BC-DX Mar 29 via DXLD) ** ICELAND. A03 schedule of the RUV news relays in Icelandic: To Europe: 1215-1300 on 15775, 1755-1825 on 13865; To North America: 1410-1440 & 1835-1905 on 15775, 2300-2335 on 13865. The transmissions are provided by Iceland Telecom and are in AM-compatible A3A mode (USB-6dB). (RUV info via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, April 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 10330, AIR, 0045, April 5, Strong signal with 10 db over s9 peaks was made possible by nice greyline path between India and Eastern U.S. Lots of aurorl flutter. Subcontinental music with lady announcer. This is a domestic outlet of All India Radio, but I'm not sure which transmitter site (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As per a recent DXLD report from Jose Jacob, 10330 is no longer multi-site, but only Bangalore 500 kW (gh, DXLD) ** INDIA. All India Radio : External Services Language Wise – A 2003 Prepared by Jose Jacob, vu2jos@yahoo.co.in Updated on 2 April 2003 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Language UTC KHz Target Area --------------------------------------------------------------------- Arabic 0430-0530 11730 13620 15770 17845 West Asia 1730-1945 9910 13620 ,, Baluchi 1500-1600 1071 9620 11585 Pakistan Bengali 0300-0430 594 Bangladesh 0800-1100 594 ,, 1445-1515 1134 ,, 1600-1730 1134 ,, Burmese 0100-0130 9950 11870 13630 Myanmar 1215-1315 11620 11710 15415 ,, Chinese 1145-1315 11840 15795 17705 NE Asia Dari 0300-0345 9845 9910 11735 13620 Afghanistan 1315-1415 7255 9910 ,, English 1000-1100 1053 15260 Sri Lanka ,, 13695 15020 15410 17800 NE Asia ,, 13695 15020 17510 17895 Australia NZ 1330-1500 9690 13710 SE Asia 1745-1945 7410 9950 11620 W. Europe ,, 11935 15075 17670 E. Africa ,, 9445 13605 15155 W. NW Africa 2045-2230 7410 9445 9950 11620 W. Europe ,, 9575 9910 11620 11715 Australia NZ 2245-0045 9705 9950 11620 13605 NE E SE Asia French 1945-2030 9910 13605 13620 W. NW Africa Gujarati 0415-0430 15075 15185 17715 E. Africa 1515-1600 11620 15175 ,, Hindi 0315-0415 11840 13695 15075 West Asia ,, 15075 15185 17715 E. Africa 0430-0530 15075 15185 17715 ,, 1615-1730 7410 12025 13770 West Asia ,, 9950 17670 E. Africa 1945-2045 7410 9950 11620 W. Europe 2300-2400 9910 11740 13795 SE Asia Indonesian 0845-0915 15770 17510 SE Asia Kannada 0215-0300 11985 15075 West Asia Malayalam 1730-1830 7115 12025 West Asia Nepali 0130-0230 594 3945 6045 7250 9810 Nepal 0700-0800 7250 9595 11850 ,, 1330-1430 1134 3945 6045 7410 11775 ,, Persian 0400-0430 11730 13620 15770 17845 West Asia 1615-1730 7115 9910 ,, Punjabi 0800-0830 702 Pakistan 1230-1430 702 ,, Pushtu 0215-0300 9845 9910 11735 13620 Afghanistan 1415-1530 7255 9910 ,, Russian 1615-1715 11620 15140 E. Europe Saraiki 1130-1200 702 Pakistan Sindhi 0100-0200 1071 5990 7125 9635 ,, 1230-1500 1071 9620 11585 ,, Sinhala 0045-0115 1053 11985 Sri Lanka 1300-1500 1053 9820 15050 ,, Swahali 1515-1615 9950 17670 E. Africa Tamil 0000-0045 9910 11740 13795 SE Asia ,, 1053 4790 9835 11985 Sri Lanka 0115-0330 1053 ,, 1100-1300 1053 ,, 1115-1215 15050 17860 ,, ,, 13695 15770 17810 SE Asia 1500-1530 1053 Sri Lanka Telegu 1215-1245 13695 15770 17810 SE Asia Thai 1115-1200 13645 15410 17740 SE Asia Tibetan 0130-0200 9565 11900 13700 Tibet 1215-1330 1134 7410 9575 11775 ,, Urdu 0015-0100 1071 Pakistan 0015-0430 702 6155 9595 ,, 0100-0430 11620 ,, 0200-0430 1071 ,, 0530-0600 11730 13620 17845(Haj Season) Saudi Arabia 0830-1130 702 1071 7250 9595 11620 Pakistan 1430-1735 3945 ,, 1430-1930 702 3945 4860 6045 ,, 1600-1930 1071 ,, --------------------------------------------------------------------- TRANSMITTER SITES USED FOR EXTERNAL SERVICES --------------------------------------------------------------------- KHZ Code Location KW --------------------------------------------------------------------- SW A Aligarh 250 SW B Bangalore (Doddaballapur) 500 594 1134 C Chinsurah (near Kolkatta) 1000 4790 Ch Chennai (Madras) 100 3945 7250 G Gorakhpur 50 702 J Jalandhar 200 SW Kh Khampur (Delhi) 100,250 SW Ki Kingsway (Delhi) 50,100 11935 M Mumbai (Bombay) 100 SW P Panaji [GOA] 250 1071 R Rajkot 1000 1053 T Tuticorin 200 --------------------------------------------------------------------- All India Radio : External Services Time Wise – A 2003 Prepared by Jose Jacob, vu2jos@yahoo.co.in Updated on 2 April 2003 --------------------------------------------------------------------- UTC Language kHz (Transmitter site) Target Area --------------------------------------------------------------------- 0000-0045 Tamil 9910(A) 11740(P) 13795(B) SE Asia 0000-0045 ,, 1053(T) 4790(Ch) 9835(Ki) 11985 Sri Lanka 0015-0100 Urdu 1071 (R) Pakistan 0015-0430 ,, 702(J) 6155(Ki) 9595 ,, 0045-0115 Sinhala 1053(T) 11985 Sri Lanka 0100-0130 Burmese 9950(Ki) 11870 13630(B) Myanmar 0100-0200 Sindhi 1071(R) 5990(P) 7125 9635 Pakistan 0100-0430 Urdu 11620(B) ,, 0115-0330 Tamil 1053(T) Sri Lanka 0130-0200 Tibetan 9565 11900 13700(B) Tibet 0130-0230 Nepali 594(C) 3945(G) 6045 7250(P) 9810(A) Nepal 0200-0430 Urdu 1071(R) Pakistan 0215-0300 Kannada 11985(B) 15075(B) West Asia 0215-0300 Pushtu 9845 9910 11735 13620(B) Pakistan, Afghanistan 0300-0345 Dari 9845 9910 11735 13620(B) Afghanistan 0300-0430 Bengali 594(C) Bangladesh 0315-0415 Hindi 11840(P) 13695(B) 15075(B) West Asia ,, ,, 15075 15185 17715 E.Af., Mauritius 0400-0430 Persian 11730 13620(B) 15770 17845 Iran 0415-0430 Gujarati 15075 15185 17715 E.Af., Mauritius 0430-0530 Hindi 15075 15185 17715 ,, ,, Arabic 11730 13620(B) 15770 17845 West Asia 0530-0600 Urdu 11730 13620(B) 17845 (Haj Season) Saudi Arabia 0700-0800 Nepali 7250(G) 9595(Ki) 11850(Kh) Nepal 0800-0830 Punjabi 702(J) Pakistan 0800-1100 Bengali 594(C) Bangladesh 0830-1130 Urdu 702(J) 1071(R) 7250(G) 9595(Ki) 11620(Kh) Pakistan 0845-0945 Indonesian 15770(A) 17510(A) SE Asia 1000-1100 English 1053(T) 15260 Sri Lanka ,, ,, 13695(B) 15020(A) 15410(Kh) 17800 NE Asia ,, ,, 13695(B) 15020(A) 17510 17895 Australia, NZ 1100-1300 Tamil 1053(T) Sri Lanka 1115-1215 ,, 15050 17860 ,, ,, ,, 13695(B) 15770(A) 17810(P) SE Asia 1115-1200 Thai 13645(B) 15410(P) 17740 ,, 1130-1200 Saraiki 702(J) Pakistan 1145-1315 Chinese 11840 15795 17705(B) (Cantonese/Kuoyu) NE Asia 1215-1245 Telugu 13695(B) 15770(A) 17810(P) SE Asia 1215-1315 Burmese 11620(Kh) 11710 15415 Myanmar 1215-1330 Tibetan 1134(C) 7410 9575 11775(P) Tibet 1230-1430 Punjabi 702(J) Pakistan 1230-1500 Sindhi 1071(R) 9620 11585(B) ,, 1300-1500 Sinhala 1053(T) 9820(P) 15050 Sri Lanka 1315-1415 Dari 7255(A) 9910(A) Afghanistan 1330-1430 Nepali 1134(C) 3945(G) 6045(Kh) 7410 11775(P) Nepal 1330-1500 English 9690(Kh) 13710(B) SE Asia 1415-1530 Pushtu 7255(A) 9910(A) Afghanistan, Pakistan 1430-1735 Urdu 3945(G) Pakistan 1430-1930 ,, 702(J) 4860(Ki) 6045(Kh) ,, 1445-1515 Bengali 1134(C) Bangladesh 1500-1530 Tamil 1053(T) Sri Lanka 1500-1600 Baluchi 1071(R) 9620 11585(B) Pakistan 1515-1600 Gujarati 11620(B) 15175(B) E.Af., Mauritius 1515-1615 Swahili 9950(D) 17670 E. Africa 1600-1730 Bengali 1134(C) Bangladesh 1600-1930 Urdu 1071(R) Pakistan 1615-1715 Russian 11620 15140(B) E.Europe 1615-1730 Hindi 7410(A) 12025(P) 13770(B) West Asia ,, ,, 9950(D) 15075 17670 E.Af., Mauritius 1615-1730 Persian 7115(P) 9910(A) Iran 1730-1830 Malayalam 7115(P) 12025(P) West Asia 1730-1945 Arabic 9910(A) 13620(B) ,, 1745-1945 English 7410(D) 9950(D) 11620(B) W.Europe ,, ,, 11935(M) 15075 17670(A) E.Africa ,, ,, 9445 13605(B) 15155 W & NW Africa 1945-2030 French 9910(A) 13605(B) 13620(B) ,, 1945-2045 Hindi 7410(D) 9950(D) 11620 UK & W.Europe 2045-2230 English 7410(D) 9445 9950 11620 ,, ,, ,, 9575(P) 9910(A) 11620 11715 Australia, NZ 2245-0045 ,, 9705(P) 11620 13605(B) E & SE Asia ,, ,, 9950(Kh) 11620(B) 13605(B) NE Asia 2300-2400 Hindi 9910(A) 11740(P) 13795(B) SE Asia -------------------------------------------------------------------- (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Box 1555, Somajiguda, Hyderabad 500082,India, vu2jos@rediffmail.com Telefax: 91-40-23310287 dx-india, reformatted by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. RADIO HONORS: WORLD AMATEUR RADIO DAY From ARNewsline Report 1338 - April 4, 2003 Amateur Radio Supporting Education' is theme for World Amateur Radio Day. Its coming up real soon. RSGB newsreader Jeramy Boot, G4NJH, is here with the details: -- The theme of this year's IARU World Amateur Radio Day is to be 'Amateur Radio supporting technology education in the classroom'. World Amateur Radio Day is marked on the 18th of April each year to commemorate the anniversary of the founding of the International Amateur Radio Union on that date in 1925. Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, the Chairman of IARU Region 1 writes: "There is no doubt that the future of amateur radio belongs to those that are now in the classroom. In keeping with this theme, I would like to encourage every society in the Region to let our young people know that amateur radio is a unique hobby - simultaneously sport, scientific study, personal pleasure and collective activity. And that radio amateurs today are voluntary and selfless researchers in the technological field of amateur radio, an important resource to every country, and something to be proud of." "But the 18th of April is not only a day to think about our future, it is our day, a day for celebration. All of us, societies and individuals, can celebrate in our various ways - organizing presentations, club meetings, parties, honoring senior radio amateurs who go back to the early years of IARU, or just putting our equipment on the air and making just a single QSO on this day, so realizing how large our ham community is." Jeramy Boot, G4NJH -- Again, the date for this years World Amateur Radio Day is Friday, April 18th. (GB2RS) (Amateur Radio Newsline April 4 via Mike Terry, John Norfolk, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. TITANIC ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EVENT SET: From the ARRL web site (via ASWLC) http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2003/04/03/1/?nc=1#Titanic Join The Titanic Historical Society and the Yankee Wireless Association for an Amateur Radio special event to commemorate the 40th anniversary of The Titanic Historical Society and the 91st anniversary of the Titanic disaster. The station will be located at The Titanic Museum in Indian Orchard, Massachusetts. Special event station W1MGY (MGY was the Titanic's radio call sign) will commence on-the-air operation on April 11 at 1330 UTC (the time the Titanic left Queenstown Harbor) and will cease operation on April 15 at 0527 UTC (the time the Titanic's last transmission was heard by the Virginian). Operation will center on the following modes and frequencies: SSB, 3860; 7260; 14,260; 18,160; 21,360; and 28,236 kHz; CW, 7033; 14,033; 18,099; 21,033; and 28,033 kHz; AM, 3885 kHz; FM, 146.52 MHz. A brief hand-sent CW tribute to the Titanic and its wireless operators will follow the special event on some frequencies. A commemorative QSL card is available in return for a QSL and SASE. As part of this special event, low-frequency station will transmit from a location near the museum in Westfield, Massachusetts. Listen for MGY at 185 kHz and copy the Titanic commemorative message. All transmissions will be at approximately 10 WPM using "simulated spark" modulated CW. Send signal report, time and message text accompanied by a 9x12 SASE to receive a commemorative certificate. Send QSLs and reports to Titanic Historical Society QSL, PO Box 51053, 208 Main St, Indian Orchard, MA 01151-0053. -- //Steve// Steve Silverwood, KB6OJS Fountain Valley, CA Email: kb6ojs@arrl.net Web: http://home.earthlink.net/~kb6ojs_steve (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** IRAN. I hear always a BUBBLE jammer during dark hours, like Iranian type. Bubble jamming the whole day on 5860 kHz against Farda from Kavalla-GRC (wb Mar 29-31) IRN 11705 bubble jamming, against US Radio Farda Persian, Lampertheim 1700-1900 UT (wb Mar 30) VoA Radio Farda JAMMING is immense these days: 0500-0600 UT all four channels, 9795-LAM, and the KAV relays 9510, 15185, 15290. At 0700 UT the 17835-KAV outlet also been jammed. At night 5860 is subject of jamming too (wb Apr 2) (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, BC-DX via DXLD) ** IRAQ. THE COMMAND POST - A WARBLOG COLLECTIVE http://www.command-post.org/ Interesting effort by individuals to get the latest info on the war (Tom McNiff, VA, April 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAQ. Republic of Iraq Radio Main Service : The official domestic radio station has not been heard since 1400 gmt on 3 April. Internet The official news agency of the Iraqi Government and other web sites are inaccessible. Source: BBC Monitoring research 5 Apr 03 1400 gmt (via DXLD) ** IRAQ. BAGHDAD HAM CLUB STATION DISMANTLED PRIOR TO BOMBING: The Daily DX http://www.dailydx.com relays information from Diya Sayah, YI1DZ-- one of the primary operators at the Baghdad Radio Club YI1BGD station in Baghdad. Sayah reported just prior to the outbreak of hostilities in Iraq that he had dismantled the YI1BGD station equipment and stored it in a safe place -- if there can be such a location in the besieged capital city at this point. The Daily DX Editor Bernie McClenny, W3UR, says he doubts there will be any activity in the near future from YI1BGD "much less any other YI stations." The YI1BGD club station went on the air in the 1970s. The Iraqi Association for Radio Amateurs (IARA) remains an International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) member-society. Its president is Adnan M. Aswad, YI1DX (ARRL Letter April 4 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. US releases four million dollars for Iraqi opposition The United States released 4m dollars to a major Iraqi opposition group to allow it to restart television broadcasts into Iraq as the US-led war there rages, a State Department official said Wednesday, the AFP news agency reported on 3 April. The decision to release the money to the London-based Iraqi National Congress (INC) for its Arabic-language Liberty Television satellite broadcasts was made by deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, the official told AFP on condition of anonymity, the report said. Source: AFP news agency, Paris, in English 1901 gmt 2 Apr 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) SENATOR: GOVERNMENT TO FUND IRAQI OPPOSITION TV LIBBY QUAID, Associated Press WASHINGTON - The State Department is releasing $4 million for television and radio broadcasts by the Iraqi opposition, a U.S. senator said Wednesday. Sen. Sam Brownback, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage notified him Wednesday morning that an initial $4 million is being released. Brownback, R-Kan., and several other senators had urged the administration to clear red tape that was holding up State Department grant money. "The Iraqi opposition remains a vital tool for saving American lives in the process of toppling Saddam's regime," the senators wrote in a letter sent Monday to President Bush. "The fact that we are at war with Saddam's regime, and still not fully funding the Iraqi opposition in their struggle to achieve the same goal, is wrong," the senators wrote. Besides Brownback, the letter was signed by Republican Sens. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Jon Kyl and John McCain of Arizona and Norm Coleman of Minnesota. Specifically, they mentioned Liberty TV, run by the Iraqi National Congress opposition group. The group said the satellite television channel went off the air in May 2002 because of lack of State Department funding. At the time, the State Department said grant negotiations had been complicated by problems with INC's financial management. The State Department did not immediately respond to Brownback's announcement on Wednesday. Called Television Hurriah in Arabic, Liberty TV was broadcasting 24 hours a day in Arabic to Iraq, the Middle East, Europe and parts of Asia and Africa. It presented a mixture of news, current affairs, talk shows, documentaries and entertainment. Brownback said he is not endorsing any opposition group to rule Iraq following the war. "This is not an effort to pick leadership for post-Saddam Hussein, but simply to engage the opposition to Saddam," Brownback said (AP Apr 2, 2003 via A. Sennitt-HOL for CRW via DXLD) ** IRAQ. Iraq SAT TV / Some technical problems this morning before 0830 UT: low quality sound, black and white images. Iraq TV is still on Hot Bird 13 East this day. The news at 0830 UT / The sound seems to be more damaged and deep-sounding in this edition. In the background an image has replaced the curtains --- is it a new studio or a way to apply video effects? They are broadcasting again Saddam's video in Baghdad with several interruptions, tape rewindings, sound/no image or image/no sound sequences. Despite the hard technical conditions Iraq is still broadcasting on satellite. It supposes a well organized network, with numerous broadcasting sites over the country including mobile equipment. 0940 UT / We can think that this media could be on the air for a long time even if the stream is often interrupted as it was the case this morning. Regards 73, (Pascal Perriot, Tours, France, April 5, hard-core-dx via DXLD) They seem to have moved locations during the night. Observations by BBC Monitoring and from our own correspondents will be in the Media Network Weblog over the weekend: http://radio.weblogs.com/0121781/ Also don't forget to check http://www.dxing.info for information from Mika Makkelainen who has just been on assignment in Doha (Andy Sennitt, Radio Netherlands, ibid.) ** IRAQ [non]. Note this item claims DAB is being used on 1800.9 MHz by V. of the People of Kurdistan, from the Kuwait border!? (gh, DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. CAMBIO DE FRECUENCIA - Fernando Mejía Barquera Medios en Irak: antes y después de la guerra 4-Abr-03 RADIO MILITAR O CLANDESTINA Pero es en el terreno de la radio donde hay mayor número de emisoras no controladas por el gobierno. Opera, por ejemplo, Radio Información, en los 100.4 megahertz, en FM, manejada por el ejército estadunidense y ubicada en algún punto al sur de Irak, cerca de la frontera con Kuwait. La propia Radio Información opera en la misma zona dos frecuencias de AM (690 kilohertz y 756 kilohertz) y una de onda corta. En los 1575 kilohertz de AM transmite la emisora clandestina Al Mustaqbal (``El futuro``), ubicada en la frontera con Kuwait. Mediante la novedosa tecnología de radio digital (DAB por su sigla en inglés, Digital Audio Broadcasting) difunde, en los 1800.9 megahertz, ``La Voz del Pueblo de Kurdistán``. Y en la banda de onda corta transmiten al menos cinco estaciones clandestinas adversas al régimen de Hussein: ``Radio Irak Libre``, ``La Voz del Pueblo Iraquí``, ``La Voz de la Revolución Islámica en Irak``, ``La Voz de los Trabajadores de Kurdistán`` y ``La Voz de la Rebelión en Irak``. (from a long article by Fernando Mejía Barquera, Publicado en Milenio Diario, México via Héctor García Bojorge, DF, Conexión Digital via DXLD) PICTURE BULLETIN VOICE OF THE LIBERATION OF IRAQ 1730 GMT 4 APRIL 03 1. Announcer: Huna Sout Tahrir Al-Iraq - This is the Voice of Liberation of Iraq. Introducing the radio station, time and frequency of broadcast. 2. Announcement to Iraqi soldiers saying that Iraqi 1st corps forces, which refused to surrender were bombed by coalition forces. He added that Saddam and his allies were hiding away from the dangers to which soldiers were exposed. 3. News item: Senior US officer said that 500 Iraqi soldiers were killed on Thursday 3 April 03, when they tried to re-control bridge, 30 km south of Baghdad, captured by US forces. 4. Appeal to Iraqi soldiers to abandon Saddam. 5. Iraqi news: a. Explosions were heard in Baghdad and Saddam International Airport. b. Iraqi opposition held meeting in Iraqi Kurdistan and discussed latest political and military developments and future government. c. US House of Representative authorized 80bn US dollars to finance war on Iraq. d. Bush to meet on Friday 04 April 03 Iraqi opposition members, including shi'i and Christians, living in the US. e. Christopher Ross said Saddam's regime was built on terrifying people and that the war in Iraq was not against Iraqi people but against Saddam. 6. Appeal to security forces elements asking them to abandon Saddam or be tried as criminals. 7. Commentary titled "Iraqis will celebrate Liberation". 8. Song. 9. Appeal to Iraqi forces urging them not to put mines that might hurt innocents. The appeal also carried warning to those doing so that they would be severely punished. 10. News item: Quoting journalist of London-based newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat reporting on 4 April 03 edition about the return of shi'i cleric Abd-Al-Majid al-Khu'i to Al-Najaf. 11. Song. 12. Announcement to Iraqi people saying end of Saddam and their liberation were near. 13. News item on Al-Najaf published in Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper on 04 April 03. 14. Appeal to Iraqi soldiers to abandon Saddam. 15. News item: Iraqi forces clashed with Kurdish forces 10 km from the border line between Baghdad and Kurdish controlled areas. 16. Appeal to Iraqi forces assigned to launch anti-aircraft missiles urging them to abandon their locations or surrender with their equipment to coalition forces and they would be rewarded or otherwise they would be attacked. 17. News report attributed to Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Watan published on 04 April 03 on how safe were the bunkers in which Saddam was hiding. 18. Song. Source: Voice of the Liberation of Iraq, in Arabic 1730 gmt 4 Apr 0 (via DXLD) V. OF LIBERATION OF IRAQ - TRANSMITTER-SITE SPECULATIONS "Do you think from your reception of the Voice of the Liberation of Iraq that it is really located in Sulaymaniyah, Northern Iraq? [..] Its transmitter does not seem to be the same as the Voice of the People of Kurdistan ?" - Yes I am pretty sure this is based in as- Sulaimaniya orlocation in that region, see also my comments in the lines attached; actually I believe that American specialists are already in the area for quite a while and have upgraded transmitters / antennas of 4025, 4085 in the past months. And then we have 4500, also this I very much believe is ground based not airborne; actually I am guessing that this is the old 4400 or 4415 of V. of the People of Kurdistan, which is no longer on air on that frequency for more than 2 months (W. on Pöllnitz, Poland, Apr 1 2003 for CRW via DXLD) HELP THE IRAQI MAQUIS (excerpt) London Telegraph, March 29, 2003 [Interesting that this editorial asserts that Radio Tikrit is a covert product funded by the State Department ... N. Grace-CRW] http://www.dailytelegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2003/03/29/dl2901.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/03/29/ixnewstop.html ...(T)he contrast between America's sophisticated military capabilities and its low-grade political propaganda give a whole new meaning to the Left- wing theory of "uneven development". A combination of sending Condoleezza Rice on to al-Jazeera and dropping millions of crude leaflets on to Iraq does not add up to a hearts and minds campaign. It is illustrative of the marginalisation of the democratic Iraqi opposition that it was not consulted about this PR offensive. Instead of free Iraqis talking to unfree Iraqis in their own language and in line with their own cultural sensibilities, Western military liaison officers are stumbling around speaking broken Arabic. Likewise, the US State Department has long failed to fund the democratic opposition's request for a terrestrial television station. Instead, they have quietly approved the work of Radio Tikrit, on which some ex-Ba'athists broadcast to Saddam's home turf. This is the part of the country where such an enterprise is likely to have least effect, since it is populated by many of those with most to lose from regime change (London Telegraph Mar 29, 2003 via N. Grace-USA, CRW via DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. I only found out today that Iraq switched to UT +4 on 1st April. And that was only because a BBC reporter said that it was "a quarter past ten" at 0615 UTC. But the clandestines (e.g. Tirkrit) seem not to have time-shifted. 73, (Andy Sennitt, April 5, DX LISTENING DIGESET) Really? I didn`t notice CNN`s Baghdad clock on UT +4 instead of 3 until April 4 (gh, DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. ANALYSIS: IRAQ - PICTURES SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS | Text of editorial analysis by Chris McWhinnie of BBC Monitoring's Media Services Iraq's state-controlled media proved more resilient in the last week than might have been expected, considering US-led forces were just a few miles outside Baghdad. The main domestic radio and TV channels have continued, albeit on lower power and with some interruptions. However, Saddam Husayn's broadcast media is no longer on the air from Mosul in the north and in Basrah the TV and radio is off. It has been replaced by a new UK-sponsored voice, FM Radio Nahrain, which dovetails neatly with US airborne Information Radio which circles Iraq on AM, FM and shortwave, though reports of US Information TV broadcasts have not been confirmed. The Iraqi Satellite Channel TV has battled on. Interruptions seem to be more technical than military. There is a constant parade of soldiers and a barrage of patriotic songs, interspersed with bulletins of news, successes and extracts from Iraqi press conferences. The channel has become a defiant sign to the media world that if Saddam Husayn's TV is on the air, he is still in control. His appearances and non-appearances on screen have confused, confounded and generated yet more speculation about his well-being and whereabouts. In the USA it is Fox News which has attracted more viewers with a robust pro-US line. CNN, famous for its reports live from Baghdad during the last Gulf War in 1991, has been challenged for its prime position. An editorial in Germany's Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper said that CNN's style resembled live coverage of the Super Bowl. There are other global TV players: Saddam Husayn reportedly used to watch CNN, BBC World. But he was also reported to be watching Al- Jazeera. Western media hegemony appears to be over and it is Al-Jazeera and its imitators which together have produced an alternative to the western media which so dominated the previous conflict. There is more competition and fledgling Arabic TV stations want to send different messages to new viewers. Around the world the thematic news channels have become demanding consumers of pictures that demand attention. Al-Jazeera claim some 35 million viewers across the Arab world and it is a widely held view amongst commentators and politicians alike, that the station has had a lasting impact on Arab public opinion. From the western politician's point of view, Al-Jazeera has aired video which is deemed too graphic and emotive for the USA and UK. The channel is not alone in this, although it has been singled out for specific criticism. It is not alone in this; almost every Arab TV station apart from Kuwaiti state TV have shown and lingered on such images. Arab viewers see this portrayal of the bloody human realities of war as an indicator of more balance in Al-Jazeera's reporting than western channels, and one which is also delivered in their own language and from within their region. A conduit for Iraqi spokesmen has been the coverage of statements and press conferences by Al-Jazeera TV and its sister news stations. It is curious therefore that the Iraqi Information Ministry has informed Al-Jazeera that Diyar al-Omari, one of its five Baghdad correspondents, is banned from working there. In protest, the channel has stopped all its reporters from working in the Iraqi capital while continuing to run images from its cameras. CNN had already been ousted by Baghdad, but Al-Jazeera seems a strange channel to pick on. Last time Al-Jazeera fell foul of the Iraqi Information Ministry, in July 2002, Uday Saddam Husayn's newspaper Babil, called successfully for the channel's bureau to be reopened. [now, too: see QATAR] In an Australian TV interview Alistair Campbell, director of communication and strategy at the UK Prime Minister's office, said of a question put by an Al-Jazeera correspondent about the execution of Iraqi POWs: "The fact that the question came up at all is outrageous ... complete fiction, but there it was aired. Now that is something we have to get out there ... dealing with it, challenging it, rebutting it." Other Arabic channels are making an impact too. Their tone is a combination of what they show, how they package it and where they are placed culturally, politically and geographically. On 2 April, prior to the 1730 gmt newscast, Syrian Space Channel, essentially a relay of Damascus' domestic service, carried silent video footage illustrating wounded civilian casualties of war. The news programme itself focused almost entirely on the Iraqi situation. It carried factual reports with scenes of wounded children, destroyed buildings and archive Iraqi TV footage of dead US soldiers. The station also carried dispatches from Moscow and Berlin on political figures opposing the war. This was in addition to reports on demonstrations in Arab and other countries against the war. At the same time, Al-Manar Television from Beirut, which is affiliated with the pro-Iranian Hizballah, centred on the crisis. It showed footage of President Bush speaking about bringing freedom to the Iraqi people. This was then juxtaposed with edited footage of wounded children, dead adults, and people weeping in despair and followed by the caption "Freedom, the American Way". The satellite channels, ANN, Al-Jazeera, Abu Dhabi TV, MBC's new Al- Arabiyah news channel and many other general Arabic channels, which have given over hours of broadcast time to war coverage, have been joined by a new channel. It is a channel which opposes both Saddam Husayn and the intervention of US-led forces. It is not afraid to broadcast live any images to which it has access. The Iranian-based Arabic television news station Al-Alam, which means The World, started broadcasting last month and is gaining viewers in Baghdad. Test broadcasts started in February this year and full programming commenced in March. Most notably it broadcasts over the terrestrial air waves to TV- starved Iraq, as well as across most continents by satellite. Dishes are banned in Iraq and reception reports of Al-Alam in Iraq suggests that the transmissions are broadcast from high-ground in Iran, which overlooks the Iraqi valley. Based in Tehran and run by IRIB, the Iranian state radio and TV service, it has carried extensive and close-up video of dead and wounded in Iraq. Its rolling coverage is aired under the slogan "War for Control". Al-Alam's on-screen look is similar to that of Al-Jazeera. It shows "An Exclusive Al-Alam" caption when the station plays its own reports. On 1 and 2 April it showed extensive clips of Iraqi civilians being treated in hospitals or lying dead in residential areas. There are English news subtitles or "news tickers" updating news on the war on Iraq from international news agency reports. There is the familiar rolling-news fare of bulletins every hour, live reports from Iraq and studio roundtable discussions with researchers, commentators and experts including Iraqi dissidents and exiles opposed to Saddam Husayn. The managing director of Al-Alam, Hasan Beheshtipur, has said that the Al-Alam TV channel intends to introduce the viewpoints of the Islamic world and counter the monopolization of news channels by Western countries. Beheshtipur said that the objective of launching this network is to interconnect the Islamic world and to disseminate news among them. He said: "This network plans to fill the existing vacuum in news dissemination in today's world." Iran clearly has a fine line to draw between being anti-Ba'ath party and anti-US. It is notable that Iran has chosen to direct pictures rather than just words or voices to the Iraqi people and across the region. The development of TV technology, the rise of media freedom and the spur of Al-Jazeera are together having an impact. Taken together these stations show shocking images of war which do stir hearts and sway the minds of viewers: more than the words of any politician or general. When the fighting stops, the media war seems set to continue. The next fight may be for the control of TV screens in Baghdad and the challenge will be to portray peace and reconciliation, because the horrors which have already entered homes have created memories which cannot be erased. Source: BBC Monitoring research 3 Apr 03 (via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. PICTURE BULLETIN OF RADIO TIKRIT 1900 GMT 04 APRIL 03 1. Announcement with musical background: Huna Radio Tikrit: This is Radio Tikrit - repeated several times. 2. Announcer greeting listeners and previewing programmes. 3. Holy Koran. 4. Religious lecture on rejecting violence and adopting peace. 5. News: a. Explosions in Baghdad following attacks by coalition forces. At least seven explosions close to Baghdad airport. b. News attributed to Reuters said US forces fighting for complete control of Baghdad airport countered Iraqi tanks attack and destroyed five of them besides a number of small army vehicles. c. US Central Command in Qatar said Saddam airport was renamed as Baghdad airport. d. Senior source at the Pentagon said the USA might begin to form transitional Iraqi government even before end of war. e. US Army Central Command official spokesperson said about 2,000 of republican guards surrendered to US marines in area between Al-Kut and Baghdad. f. The Times UK newspaper said British forces seized four coaches carrying suicide fighters coming from different Arab countries and holding Syrian documents in western Iraq. 6. Political analysis: On coalition forces seizing and controlling Saddam International Airport. 7. The daily open programme: Announcer greeting listeners and introducing the programme, which was made of commentaries and songs. a. Commentary: Greeting officers and soldiers from Iraqi army and republican guards who joined coalition forces. b. Commentary: Pledging severe punishment to Saddam and his officials. d. Play ridiculing Saddam and his officials. e. Commentary: On war and incompetence of "Saddam forces" to fight coalition forces. f. Commentary: On lies of Saddam and his junta and their claims that they were victorious. g. Commentary: On end of tyrants, deeds of Saddam, his war with Iran and invasion of Kuwait. h. Commentary: On communication between former Iraqi officers living in exile with their colleagues inside the army urging them not to fight. i. See "d" above. j. Commentary: On coalition forces' control of Al-Najaf and Karbala and respect the coalition forces gained after they gave up the idea to enter the sacred areas in Al-Najaf. k. Announcer: Huna radio Tikrit - This is radio Tikrit. l. Commentary: Urging Iraqi people to be patient as liberation was coming soon. m. Announcer: Huna radio Tikrit - This is radio Tikrit. 8. News: See "5" above. 9. See "7 d and i" above. 10. Song. 11. Announcer: Huna Radio Tikrit - This is Radio Tikrit. Source: Radio Tikrit in Arabic 1900 gmt 4 Apr 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. Voice of Korea - Pyongyang, 9335, Mountain scene card (with Voice of Korea stuck over Radio Pyongyang), letter, Radio Pyongyang banner, English program schedule, pocket calendar, Pyongyang Times paper and Korea Today mag. The calendar changes from a soldier with a gun to a missile when the viewing angle is changed; in 105 days (Wayne Bastow, April Australian DX News via DXLD) ** MALAYA [non]. Re Roger Tidy`s previous historical item: V. of Malayan Revolution was also heard here in Europe then. 6670 and 8998 kHz ceased on July 1, 1981. But "La Voix du Peuple Malais" (Suara Rakyat Malaya) on 7063 kHz appeared on May 4, 1976 (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, BC-DX April 3 via DXLD) ** MEXICO. INICIA TRANSMISIONES XEQK "LA RADIO DE LOS CIUDADANOS" martes 1 de abril, 09:17 PM México, 1 Abr (Notimex).- Con el inicio de transmisiones de la XEQK "La radio de los ciudadanos" se abre un espacio de reflexión, análisis y discusión para la sociedad civil, y el Gobierno Federal busca fomentar la cultura democrática del país, afirmó el subsecretario de Normatividad de Medios, José Luis Durán Reveles. En el marco de la presentación de la XEQK, el funcionario de la Secretaría de Gobernación (SG) expuso que, a diferencia de la que se dirige a los consumidores, la radio pública está dirigida a los ciudadanos. "Ahora la sociedad civil organizada hace de la radio pública un espacio de servicio a la sociedad para fomentar el debate entre los diferentes grupos ciudadanos, tan diversos y disímbolos pero que tendrán un lugar común para expresarse y encontrarse", explicó. En el Estudio B del Instituto Mexicano de la Radio (Imer) precisó que la concreción de la XEQK es una de las acciones de fomento a la cultura democrática de México en la que un número mayor de ciudadanos tendrá la posibilidad de participar en los asuntos públicos y en los asuntos del país. Por su parte la directora del Imer, Dolores Béistegui, indicó que "La radio de los ciudadanos" busca convertirse en un medio de comunicación participativo, no partidario, plural y sin propósitos comerciales o de lucro. Para nosotros, señaló, el concepto del "radioescucha" debe transformarse en "radioparticipante", en un auditorio activo y comprometido con el desarrollo político del país. Con la integración del Consejo de Programación de "La radio de los ciudadanos" el objetivo de la primera etapa se ha cumplido, al dar inicio la programación que crecerá y se consolidará conforme se desarrollen las producciones de las diversas organizaciones de ciudadanos, comentó. Por su parte, a nombre de la ciudadanía, Jorge Villalobos mencionó que el inicio de transmisiones de la XEQK se concreta en un momento importante en la historia de la radio en México, pues se trata de una oportunidad de comunicación sin precedente para las organizaciones de la sociedad civil. "La radio de los ciudadanos" es una estación del Imer pero busca ser una radio de Estado, no de gobierno ni de partido y con una definición específica: que tu alma sea ciudadana. Considerada como la primera en su género por abrir su frecuencia a la participación civil las 24 horas del día, la XEQK tiene entre sus objetivos contribuir al desarrollo de la cultura ciudadana, profundizar en la democracia de la radio pública y fomentar un medio no partidario, plural y sin propósitos comerciales o de lucro (via Héctor García Bojorge, Conexión Digital, Radio-Enlace via DXLD) ** NEPAL. RADIO NEPAL MARKS ANNIVERSARY | Text of report by Nepalese newspaper Kathmandu Post via Nepalnews.com web site on 3 April Kathmandu, 2 April: Radio Nepal, which still attracts the largest audience in the country, completed its 52 years of service, said Radio Nepal in a press statement issued here today. Acclaiming high of its services, Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand said in his congratulation message that a time has come for Radio Nepal to make use of the latest technology to bring more effect and reliability in its services. "Radio Nepal has continued to play a laudable role in reforming the multi-party democracy," Prime Minister Chand said in his message to Radio Nepal. "Radio still continues to be the world's fastest and most reliable medium of communication. Its relevance is even greater in a country like Nepal," said Mukunda Sharma Poudel, chairman of the Radio Broadcasts Service Development Committee. An estimated 70 per cent of the total population in the country are currently tuning in on Radio Nepal. The government has also established frequency modulator (FM) transmitter in southern belts, where medium wave does not clearly reaches the audience. "Radio Nepal is currently disseminating news and programmes in about 20 different languages," the statement issued by Radio Nepal said. The statement said that Radio Nepal would strive forward to make the news at 0900 more audible and simple to understand. It said in the future, it would begin broadcasting from additional regional broadcasting stations. A small-capacity 103 MHz FM transmitter station has been installed in Jomsom, Mukti Chhetra area, a famous tourist destination. This service would be extended to Bara, Rupendehi and Kanchanpur through the 100 MHz band of FM, the statement assured. A Bardibas-based transmitter destroyed by the Maoists last year is under repair. Radio Nepal said that it has limited resources at its disposal to reconstruct the stations completely since it costs around 450m rupees for purchasing spare parts alone. Japan Telecommunication Engineering and Consulting Services, with the support of Japanese government, has completed a study for the modernization of Radio Nepal. The team submitted its report to the government by 2002 end. "Since then, JICA [aid agency] and the Japanese embassy have been showing up in our office keeping interest in the development of radio in our country," the statement added. Source: Kathmandu Post via Nepalnews.com web site in English 3 Apr 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** PARAGUAY. Desde esta medianoche (-3 UT), la hora oficial del Paraguay se atrasa en 60 minutos. Es para dar vigencia al horario de invierno que regirá hasta el primer domingo de setiembre próximo, según el decreto 16.530 firmado por el presidente Luis González Macchi. La hora oficial por lo tanto será - 4 UT. 73 de (Levi Iversen, Paraguay, April 5, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** PERU. Dear Glenn: Any idea about the signal on 6115.0 exactly? (I zero-beat to make sure.) It is a strong signal here in San José, CA. (S9+10) and I listened for about 45' to 0804 this morning. I do not speak Spanish but thought I could make out "Unión...La Radio!" as a repeated station slogan. ILG, WRTH, etc. show nothing resembling this. I *thought* perhaps, judging from the format (rockish Spanish 'hit' type music, seguéd together with brief sounders separating songs, and occasional vo's) that it is a simulcast of another station, perhaps FM. I also think that I heard some numbers repeated, which might have been "768" if I was translating correctly -- I may not have been. Was using an Icom R75 and found ECSS mode helpful with either sideband to improve intelligibility. I alternated between two antennas: a 175 ft unbalanced wire, and a 350 ft balanced dipole. Wire had more QRM but less fading. Have DX'ed SW since the fifties. Gave up on it during my professional career as a broadcaster (classical music host, PD of 5 stations, and chief engineer of about 40 stations over a 25 year period, from 100w FM'ers to several 10-50 kW AM'ers.) Started listening to SW again about two years ago when I dug up a broken Magnavox radio from 1947; it worked so well that in January I purchased the Icom and started getting very serious about DX logging. As I write this, I heard the slogan between songs. It seems to me that the format is all canned, with carts being played between songs and no live DJ whatsoever; maybe automated. I am not altogether sure that they are saying "Unión"; it could be another similar word. I do know that nothing I've heard indicates that it could be 6115.0 Voz del Llano Meta COLOMBIA as given in ILGS data; anyway, that should not be on the air at present. Now it's 0816 and the interference (xtalk that *might* be a Ham image) is so unpleasant that I shall tune out. Best, (Steve Waldee - retired radio consultant/CE, San Jose, CA, April 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That would be Unión Radio, Lima, Perú, listed e.g. in 2003 WRTH on 6117, but I believe they have fixed the frequency (gh, DXLD) ** QATAR. IRAQ RESCINDS DECISION TO SUSPEND AL-JAZEERA TV CORRESPONDENTS | Text of report by Qatari Al-Jazeera satellite TV on 4 April The Iraqi Information Ministry has informed the Al-Jazeera Television offices in Baghdad that it has decided to rescind its previous decision to suspend Al-Jazeera correspondents Diyar al-Umari and Taysir Alluni. While welcoming the Iraqi Information Ministry's move to rescind its previous decision, Al-Jazeera Television announces that it will immediately resume the work of all its correspondents in Baghdad, Basra and Mosul. Source: Al-Jazeera TV, Doha, in Arabic 1747 gmt 4 Apr 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SOUTH AFRICA. Channel Africa March 30-Oct. 25, 2003 schedule. TIME UT FREQ TARGET AREA LANGUAGE 0300-0325 6160 East & Central Africa Swahili 0300-0330 6035 East & Central Africa English 0330-0355 6035 Madagascar French 0400-0430 5955 Southern Africa English 0430-0455 5955 Northern Mozambique Portuguese 0430-0455 3345 Southern Mozambique Portuguese 0430-0455 9565 Central Africa French 0500-0530 11710 West Africa English 0530-0555 11710 Angola Portuguese 0600-0630 15215 West Africa English 0630-0655 15215 Angola & West Africa Portuguese 1300-1455 21760 West Africa English* 1300-1455 21620 East & Central Africa English* 1300-1455 11780 Southern Africa English* 1500-1525 17780 East & Central Africa Swahili 1500-1530 17770 East & Central Africa English 1530-1555 17770 Madagascar French 1600-1630 9525 Southern Africa English 1600-1630 15245 East & Central Africa Swahili 1630-1655 15245 East & Central Africa French 1630-1655 9525 Northern Mozambique Portuguese 1630-1655 3345 Southern Mozambique Portuguese 1700-1730 17735 West Africa English 1730-1755 17735 Angola & West Africa Portuguese 1800-1830 17735 West Africa English 1830-1855 17735 West Africa French *Saturdays and Sundays only (Channel Africa website via Dan Sampson, Prime Time Shortwave, DXLD) ** SUDAN. ST0RY Sudan operation is QRT: The ST0RY Sudan DXpedition shut down this week, a bit earlier than expected, after logging more than 49,000 QSOs. Pilot station, Bernd Koch, DF3CB, says the last QSO was March 31 at 1745 UTC, a bit earlier than expected. "The last news and logs were sent from an Internet cafe in Khartoum," he said. DF3CB has prepared an online QSL request form for those seeking ST0RY cards via the bureau. It's available on the ST0RY Sudan DXpedition Web site http://www.df3cb.com/st0ry which includes more information and photos. ST0RY was active in the CQ World Wide WPX SSB contest over the March 29-30 weekend. Demand for ST0RY was heavy. Most-wanted lists put Sudan in the top 20.--some information from The Daily DX http://www.dailydx.com (ARRL Letter April 4 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U K. BBC WORLD SERVICE STRIKE? From Waveguide The National Union of Journalists is to ballot its 3000 members at the BBC over possible industrial action following the sacking of two journalists from its World Service. Adli Hawwai and Dr Abdul Hadi Jaid were dismissed in February after launching a series of industrial tribunals and appeals against the BBC, all of which were unsuccessful. Over a period of five years and at a cost of up to £1 million to the BBC, Mr Hawwari and Dr Jiad brought 17 tribunal cases, 20 external appeals and reviews, and various other hearings to air their alleged grievances. The BBC described the cases as ranging from the "frivolous to the ridiculous" - but the NUJ said the men were denied a right to appeal against their sacking. The ballot opens on April 9, and will close three weeks later (via Mike Terry, April 5, DXLD) ** U S A. Re Sawa log on 15045? Yep! There was an typing error !! Thanks for the mentioning. was: 15045 S9, 42443 QRM 15050 Egypt should be: 12045 S9, 42443 QRM 12050 Egypt (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. I have been listening to 5015 for several hours tonight, trying to identify it, but can only get "TCN Radio Network" as an ID. However, the content is identical as WWRB on 5085, so I suspect that 5015 is a spur of 5085. 5085 comes in much louder to my location in southeastern Montana late evening than does 5015. 73, Wayne ----- (Wayne Leman KL7FDQ QRP ARCI #4454 Busby, Montana Grid: DN65nm http://www.qsl.net/kl7fdq/ April 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No legal WWRB IDs on the hour? ** U S A. Hi Glenn, WBOH 4/3/02; 0412 - 0445; 5920 khz; SINPO 54343; preaching and hymns. Not // with WTJC 9370. WBOH SINPO 54242 at 0955 the same day with instrumental hymns. The 1000 ID gave the frequency as 5930 kHz, although it was clearly 10 khz lower. (I listened to the recording to be sure that is what the announcer said.) WTJC was not audible at that time (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FCC CRACKDOWN Friday, April 4, 2003 By Susan Whitall / The Detroit News SOUTHFIELD -- Talk radio WKRK-FM (97.1) is facing a $27,500 fine, the harshest that the Federal Communications Commission can impose, over a segment it deemed indecent on the station's "Deminski & Doyle Show" in January 2002. New York-based Infinity Broadcasting, the station's owner, has 30 days to pay the fine or appeal it. The move by the FCC, which announced the fine Thursday, appears to signal a new toughness against "shock jocks" that could lead to other radio stations cracking down on smashmouth shenanigans that have slipped by in the past. The FCC was 4-1, with the dissenting commissioner Michael J. Copps calling for hearings into a possible revocation of the station's license. Copps called the segment "some of the most vulgar and disgusting indecency that I have had the misfortune to examine since I joined the commission." WKRK program director Terry Lieberman did not return several phone calls Thursday. In New York, Infinity spokesman Dana McClintock said of the FCC's decision: "We've been offered an opportunity to respond, and we intend to do so." Infinity owns 185 radio stations, with six in Detroit. While there have been occasional $7,000 fines here or there in the past year, and one late last year for $24,000 against a Spanish- speaking station in Texas for obscene jokes, the WKRK decision is notable in its severity. "It's a harsh and rare penalty for one 30- minute segment," said Tom Taylor, editor of Inside Radio, a daily industry newsletter. "You expect the normal $7,000 (FCC) fine, instead of four times that. It may signal the beginning of a new crackdown." Taylor likened its effect on the industry to motorists seeing a police officer pulling over a speeder ahead on the road. "Doesn't that make you slow down a bit?" he said. Considering the air talent on Detroit's morning shows, Deminski and Doyle are usually rather tame. The broadcast took place between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. Jan. 9, 2002, and included graphic descriptions of violent and/or demeaning sexual acts inflicted upon women. Before airing the calls, the jocks Jeff Deminski and Bill Doyle warned women and children not to listen, " 'cause this is really foul." Infinity's lawyers didn't deny that the Deminski & Doyle material was indecent. Rather, their argument is that the FCC's definition of indecency is "unconstitutional." The concept of indecency is more fluid than that of obscenity, which is expressly forbidden. Entertainment lawyer Henry Baskin, who handles Deminski & Doyle's contracts, thinks it's confusing. "Don Imus called some guy a p---- today on the radio," Baskin said. "So how far can you go? I don't know that there's a clear definition of what's airable and what's not." Deminski and Doyle came to Detroit from Trenton, N.J., in 1999, and while the show has a decidedly macho slant, it usually consists of chat about current events. The show was the highest ranked of WKRK's shows, ranking 10th in the Detroit market in the age 25-54 demographics. The FCC could revoke licenses for Infinity or WKRK-FM if there are further violations. This isn't the first time the radio giant has been in hot water with the FCC. In 1995, it settled several cases for more than $1 million. And the infamous jocks Opie and Anthony, who encouraged listeners to have sex in a church last summer, worked for an Infinity station in New York. Infinity fired the pair, but the FCC could still take action in that case. Detroit News Staff Writer Adam Graham contributed to this report (Relayed by Harry van Vugt, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, DXLD) ** U S A. Howie Castle alerted us to a feature by Guy Zapoleon of Zapoleon Media Strategies, dated 20th Feb 2003. In the article titled, 'Will Radio Get Better?' Guy writes: Do you ever feel like you're in a horror movie - just when you think things can't get worse something even more horrible happens! Well that's the way I feel looking at radio today. If anyone had told that 13 year old kid who listened to his transistor in the 60's that radio would be dealing with this sad state of affairs I would have put my head in my hands and just cried. So would we! Guy's article is bound to strike a chord with all our Radio London visitors, and can be read in full here http://www.zapoleon.com/zms/kbase.asp and watch out for Part Two. (From http://www.radiolondon.co.uk via Mike Terry, DXLD) Viz.: Will Radio Get Better? (Part 1) Consolidation, generic product, focus on the bottom line, competition from new technologies -- how we got here -- and where we are going. by: Guy Zapoleon | February 20, 2003 Most people desire brand names with the best quality and have been taught to know the difference in brands. Now we plan on giving them watered down generic brands in radio and expect them to be happy about it. NO WAY! Do you ever feel like you're in a horror movie -- just when you think things can't get worse something even more horrible happens! … (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. WEMU DROPS BCMS FROM LINEUP DUE TO POLICY VIOLATIONS YPSILANTI, MI 2003-04-04 WEMU's removal of the Bone Conduction Music Program from WEMU was a difficult and simple decision. It was difficult because BCMS had been a part of WEMU for 20 years. WEMU gave the program an on-air voice when other stations refused. WEMU supported the program in many ways through good and difficult times. The program was a benefit for listeners, the station, and the host. However, the decision to remove the program was a simple decision because there was a clear violation of policy that would not be remedied in the future. The host's employment was not terminated for his support of the current war in Iraq. The actual choice was made by the performance of the program itself. WEMU postponed its spring on-air fundraiser over concern that listeners were appropriately focused on the world situation. Part of WEMU's decision to make this adjustment was to include five-minute news updates during all local programs. This included BCMS. It is the obligation of staff to broadcast those items which are included in the station's official schedule. Not only were the newscasts not broadcast during the program, but also listeners were encouraged to watch Fox News in place of listening to NPR news. Beyond this violation of policy was the expressed position that the violations would continue on the part of the program host. The station could either choose to permit exceptions to policies that exist in the best interests of its audience and staff, or enforce adhere to the policies. In essence, there was no choice. The choice was made by the decisions of the program host. http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wemu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=478858 (via DXLD) PUBLIC RADIO STATION FIRES HOST Terry Hughes voiced views on war during his show at EMU By Susan Whitall / The Detroit News Thursday, April 3, 2003 YPSILANTI -- WEMU-FM host Terry Hughes, known on the air as "Thayrone," was fired from the Eastern Michigan University public radio station Wednesday for repeatedly expressing his views about the war in Iraq, and refusing to run NPR news during his Sunday night music program "The Bone Conduction Show." Hughes was fired by station manager Art Timko. "Art said he was 'tired of the fight,' trying to get me to run news on the show and not have an opinion," Hughes said. In between the vintage Detroit R&B and soul music he plays, Hughes has been talking up the war in Iraq, expressing his support for the troops and for President Bush, and denigrating National Public Radio. On his show this past Sunday, among other things, Hughes was explaining why the station's fund-raiser had been postponed: "Because (Bush) has the (guts) to get up to do the right thing after 18 attempts to get everybody to help. ..." Hughes also complained to his listeners about not wanting to run NPR news. "We know if you want a current assessment of what's going on, you're sure not listening to us," he said on last week's show. "You'll be over at Fox TV where they're not bending the news. ... It ain't happening on NPR." Station manager Timko's account doesn't differ much. "He was fired basically over philosophical differences," Timko said. "We have a policy that eliminates or restricts the expression of personal opinion on issues of controversy, and he didn't believe that applied to him." The WEMU station manager admitted: "Thayrone has always been opinionated. But most of what he had opinions about was not controversial. This time, it was." Hughes agrees. "But this is personality radio," he said. "I have nothing but opinions on my show, every show." It's because WEMU is a public radio station that there was a problem. "We need to be balanced in our presentation, and as individual announcers we don't take positions on controversial issues," Timko said. "That's not an encumbrance on commercial radio." Hughes will continue to tape his show at home for syndication. "It wasn't my intention to mess with the station manager," he said. "It's only been my intent to do crazy cool radio in America." (via Mike Cooper, Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. Radio Tashkent, 5885, colored card shows emblem and communications building. The package also contained a nice card with a view of Samarkand (text in English, Uzbek, and Russian),and an intereresting personal letter from the Correspondence Section. My reception report form was noted as "very beautiful". It has been sometime since I last sent a report to RT, mainly because they rarely introduce new channels, but the NF of 5885 was puton line for A02. There was also a brochure about the Radio Tashkent Quiz for 2003. Response in 8 weeks (Bob Padula, Mont Albert, Victoria, Australia, EDXP via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 6949.9 AM, Mar 30, *0242-0248*. The entire show was in the voice of George W. Bush, heavily edited in the studio. Apparently this was his State of the Union speech, complete with applause from the audience of congressmen. In the altered voice, Bush called for a recession and environmental damage. Every child in the USA is to receive three nuclear missiles. After Bush announced his plan to end the civilized world, there was loud applause from the audience. The editing of all this was very well done, with a hilarious effect overall. No talk by any other announcers,and no ID or addr was given. Surprisingly this has been the first political pirate I have heard since KSMR went off the air. 353+ (George Zeller, OH, Free Radio Weekly via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A-03 CLASHES / FREQUENCY (MIS)MANAGEMENT ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Glenn, re this item: "Another A03 clash is the BBCWS on 11835 (ex- 6135) to CAm. It comes in quite well here this week, but after about 0415 is buried by the VOA African service co-frequency (Chuck Albertson, Seattle, Wash., Apr 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST)" Glenn, frequency managers get really irritated by items like this. There is NO clash here. BTW The HFCC term is "collision". Mr. Albertson was listening to two transmissions directed to different parts of the world from a third location, That's not a collision, that's normal shortwave propagation, and has been for the 40 years or so I've been a SWL. It only becomes a collision if listeners in the *target* areas (i.e. Central America and Africa) report interference from the other transmission. I'm not suggesting that clashes don't occur - of course they do - but recent "examples" cited in various reports I've seen all refer to broadcasts to target areas separated by 1000 miles or more. That suggests the DXers concerned don't understand the basic principles of frequency management. Of course it would be nice if every transmission to every target area could have a frequency all to itself - but it ain't going to happen! 73, (Andy Sennitt, RN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Andy, I take your point, but these are rather bad examples. BBC itself recommends 6135 for North America (in March On Air, page 16, and presumably 11835 in April, which I haven`t hunted up). No doubt it is the best/only frequency audible in WNAm during that time period, so it`s a pity that VOA Africa is QRMing it. And if the QRM gets all the way to Seattle, chances are it is also getting to ``Mexico``. Checking HFCC, we are reminded that after 0300 BBC is via Delano, and VOA Botswana is supposed to start on 11835 also at 0300, not 0415, beamed 350 degrees. Padula`s reported clash between Vietnam and China on 11630 involves same target area Asia even tho monitored in Australia. 11895 at 2200 VOA Creole/NHK Japanese is also a valid complaint, NHK from French Guiana or Sackville (not sure which, as this NHK usage is not in HFCC!) would surely cause a problem for VOA in Haiti. Just because it is a clash here outside the VOA target area, does not mean that it is not also a clash within the target area! Must recheck that to see if anyone has moved (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Whatever happened to the 1970s ITU publications (from memory) Tentative High Frequency Broadcasting Schedules & Final HFBS? these were truly world wide and internationally recognized if somewhat peppered with deadwood and inaccuracies. Surely the ITU is still obligated to publish this data and make it publicly available? Non- worldwide HF co-ordination is non-sense. Wonder if the absence of data in the HFCC release is a result of much more widespread distribution of DX news defeating the desire of broadcasters to hide their real transmitter sites. Should we be screening access by broadcasters to DX sites? 73s gd dx de (sam dellit, vk4zss tamborine, australia, ARDXC via DXLD) Hi Sam, As one who likes to DX/QSL TX sites I share your disappointment with this archaic development. One also wonders if this decision by some broadcasters to their respective organisations comes as a result of increased international tension translating into increased probability of jaming & international terrorism? Hopefully it's not a future trend (Ian Baxter, ARDXC via DXLD) Responding to Joe Hanlon's message, DW's new English service 2200- 2300 on 9720 via Trincomalee is a horrendous mess, as noted here in Melbourne. As at April 1, severe intermodulation problems at the txer site, with the Indonesian service superimposed on the English! The correct freq for the Indonesian svce is 9670 and OK here! 15605 via Komsomolsk with English 2200-2300 OK. Regards! (Bob Padula, Melbourne, Australia, EDXP via DXLD) [Later:] Further to my earlier note about 9720, there are actually two sources of interference to DW's English service 2200-2300 from Trincomalee. One is the transmitter fault, where DW's Indonesian service is superimposed on the English, and under all that there is BBC's Indonesian service from Kranji, also using 9720 2200-2300,as Michael has pointed out. I believe the txer fault will be fixed shortly. Frequency coordination in this case is absolutely horrid: Both Kranji and Trincomalee targeting the same region simultaneously! DW has invited listeners in Australia to work with 9720 for English at 2200, but no good. Parallel 15605 from Komsomolsk better. Think I will listen to DW's English relay on the ABC's Newsradio here in Melbourne (1026 AM) which gives rather good reception during the several releases each day! (Bob Padula, Melbourne, April 2, EDXP via DXLD) THAILAND: Radio Thailand has a new frequency for their evening service which is easily heard in Australia. Noted on 9700 (ex 9810) in En from *1230-1300*. QRM from another Asian station (perhaps South Korea??) on same freq. Not sure why Thailand changed as 9810 is now vacant this evening (Rob Wagner, Australia, VK3BVW, edxp Mar 30 via BCDX via DXLD) The problem is different. The A-03 RTG freq would be like in A-02 season as always on 9885: 9885 1230-1300 RTG RTG1 ENGL UDO 05 132 But on request of RNZI that QRG moved away from 9885 to new 9700 kHz. To free R New Zealand 9885 in 0706-1305 portion. 0706-1105 9885 31 All Pacific, also mid-west USA 0' Daily 1106-1305 9885 31 NW Pacific, Bougainville, Timor, Asia and Europe 325' Daily (Wolfgang Bueschel, Mar 30, BC-DX via DXLD) "9700 is traditionally used by Xian, CNR1, 2300-1400, continuing in A03, 150 KW, to CIRAF43 (China), and well-heard across the primary target for Udorn, which uses 9700 1100-1300 for IBB and R. Thailand services. Another example of excellent frequency selection.... This is the sort of thing which is triggering the ITU proposal for extra exclusive spectrum space below 10 MHz, to reduce mutual interference from national and international transmissions on 9 MHz. The IBB people obviously do not understand that Xian puts out a hefty signal on 9700, even though it is "targeted" for China!..." (Bob Padula, Austrlia, via Rob Wagner VK3BVW, March 30, ALL VIA BC DX via DXLD) DRM / CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ DRM PRESENTATION ON APRIL 7TH, PLUS EXHIBITORS, AT NAB 2003 News Release For Immediate Release: April 3, 2003 Contact: Siriol Jane Evans, pressoffice@drm.org Las Vegas, NV – A paper titled Digital Radio Mondiale: Features and Requirements from a Broadcaster`s Perspective, will be presented at NAB 2003 by Andy Giefer of the BBC, which is one of the Digital Radio Mondiale( (DRM() consortium`s 80 members. The paper, written by Mr. Giefer and his BBC colleague Simon Gosby, will be given at 11 a.m. on April 7th, in the LVCC, Room N111. It appears within the session International Broadcast Developments, chaired by Dr. Donald Messer of IBB/VOA, another DRM consortium member. Nine DRM members will exhibit at NAB this year: BBC Technology (Booth SU5047); Harris Broadcast Corporation (Booth C404); IDT Continental Electronics (Booth N2403); Kintronic Laboratories Inc. (Booth N2012); Nautel Ltd. (Booth N2312); RIZ Transmitters (Booth N3218); TCI, a Dielectric Company (Booth C424); TELEFUNKEN SenderSysteme Berlin (Booth N2347) and Thales Broadcast & Multimedia (Booth C2000). DRM is the world`s only non-proprietary, digital system for short- wave, AM/medium-wave and long-wave with the ability to use existing frequencies and bandwidth across the globe. With clear, near-FM quality sound that offers a dramatic improvement over analog, DRM will revitalize the broadcasting bands below 30 MHz. The International Electrotechnical Committee (IEC) gave the DRM on-air system its highest stamp of approval – International Standard – in January 2003. DXers and radio amateurs in the U.S. gained access to DRM test transmissions on December 31st, 2002, when they joined the DRM Software Radio Project. The ongoing project gives radio enthusiasts who purchase software licenses (price: approximately $60) the opportunity to receive and analyze DRM`s live test transmissions. Registration information is available at http://www.drmrx.org/ The project is managed by VT Merlin Communications, a DRM member. DRM`s inaugural daily broadcasts will take place this June, during the ITU`s World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC 2003) in Geneva, Switzerland. Commercial DRM-capable receivers are expected to be available in markets worldwide in the next few years. About DRM DRM`s founding members joined forces in 1998 to create a digital system (also called DRM) for the broadcasting bands below 30 MHz. DRM information and audio samples are available online at http://www.drm.org (Siriol Jane Evans, DRM, Apr 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) CONVENTIONS AND HAMFESTS: NAB HAM RADIO RECEPTION - APRIL 9 On the convention scene, the annual Amateur Radio Reception at the National Association of Broadcasters Convention is slated for 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday April 9th. The venue is the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas Nevada, right next door to the famed Las Vegas Convention Center. This years hosts are again CQ Magazine and Kenwood Communications. Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA and Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU will be there representing CQ. Paul Middleton, K4NUH, will be on hand for Kenwood. Between 800 to 1000 hams in the broadcast industry attend this yearly ham radio social get together. Among them will be top ARRL officials and some of the folks from Amateur Radio Newsline. The National Association of Broadcasters Convention is one of the largest held each year in Las Vegas. It typically draws over 100,000 attendees. More information is on the web at http://www.nab.org/conventions/nab2003 (ARNewsline via John Norfolk, DXLD) RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ RADIO CONTROL From: Victor Keegan, Thursday April 3, 2003, The Guardian Guglielmo Marconi would be rubbing his eyes in disbelief. More than a hundred years after he sent the first radio signal across the Atlantic, the medium he discovered is making a strong comeback. In 2001, the numbers listening to radio exceeded those watching television for first time in seven years. Now it is experiencing a new renaissance as digital radios fall in price and, against early pessimistic predictions, are fast becoming must-have items. Leading the charge is Imagination Technologies which sold 40,000 of its attractive retro £99 Evoke-1 radio over Christmas. It is forecast that digital radio ownership could reach 500,000 by the end of the year and, as prices continue to fall, a million a year later. Since Imagination, in addition to manufacturing these radios, claims an 80% market share of DAB (digital audio broadcasting) processors, it could easily become another UK success story like ARM of Cambridge which designs the chip of choice for mobile phones. Interestingly, both of these have a link with the BBC. ARM traces its ancestry back to Acorn, which made its mark from manufacturing the BBC's range of computers, while digital radio has taken off mainly as a result of BBC investment. The Evoke-1 (which will be joined in May by a portable model costing £170) is a typically global product. Designed in Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, the chip is manufactured in Taiwan, after which it is sent to Wales to be packaged into a ceramic chip case before journey ing on to Austria, where the digital radio module is added. It is then dispatched to China for final assembly. Imagination has not got the field to itself as a number of companies are planning to cash in on the digital boom. Digital radio (not to be confused with internet radio), provides clear reliable signals and is a market where Britain has already established an early world lead. There are more than 300 services available and still rising with around half exclusive to digital. But the fascinating possibility is what will happen when tiny DAB radio chips are bundled into mobile phones in a year or two. Unlike the FM radio chips in some current models, they will feature a multiplicity of channels sending voice, data or even pictures and, most interestingly, will include a "return path" from the phone to provide interactivity. Where all this is leading is anyone's guess. People don't currently take radios with them in the hope they might have a spare moment. But if they come as a standard part of a lightweight phone, maybe with a Bluetooth short distance wireless earpiece, it could be different. It could easily turn out to be the biggest boost for broadcasting since radios were installed in cars. And the cost - under £100m so far - pales into insignificance beside the £22.5bn down payment made by the telecom companies for their 3G licences. Digital radio could usher in a new golden age - on a shoestring (via Mike Terry, DXLD) SONY ICF-2010 TECHNICAL GUIDES After a long and worthy career Sony have finally retired the veteran ICF2001D/2010 short wave receiver. To co-incide with this event, this is now the last time Steve Whitt will be making available two well known publications about this receiver: "Get The Best from your Sony ICF-2001D" is a 32 page booklet that covers: * The 2001D family tree * How to hot-rod the Sony ICF2001D (filters, tuning range, overload, reciprocal mixing, s-meter, audio output, FM selectivity, memory wipeout) * Hints & tips (battery choice, whip aerial, aerial socket, static damage) * Questions & answers (pricing, synchronous advantage, external loop & Beverage aerials) * Bibliogrraphy & useful addresses * The rarely seen official receiver specification "Get Even More from Your Sony ICF-2001D" is a 12 page supplement that covers: * More on memory & batteries & tape audio output * Squelch * Dead tuning knob * Remote cassette control * Binaural reception If you are interested in having both booklets sitting proudly along side your historic Sony receiver please e-mail me at steve.whitt@btinternet.com. Stock is limited so first come first served. I'm still using a 15 year old 2001D today and it's still going strong! (Steve Whitt, IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) CINGULAR WIRELESS PETITION CITES ARRL PART 15 POSITION Cingular Wireless has cited an ARRL position in a recently filed Supplement to Petition for Reconsideration regarding the FCC's Ultra- Wideband (UWB) proceeding, ET Docket 98-153. "The fatal flaw associated with unlicensed operations has already been raised by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL)," Cingular said. Cingular was referring to the League's February 2002 Petition for Reconsideration in ET Docket 98- 156. In that docket, the FCC proposed allowing Part 15 fixed point- to-point transmitters in the 24.05 to 24.25 GHz band to operate at field strengths of up to 2500 mV per meter, in response to a Petition for Rule Making from Sierra Digital Communications Inc. "It would be arbitrary and capricious for the Commission to permit additional unlicensed operations--such as UWB--without addressing the statutory basis for such operations," Cingular continued. The ARRL has maintained that unlicensed devices that pose likely risk of interference to licensed services should be licensed. The wireless service provider asserted that under Section 301 of the Communications Act, "UWB devices require licenses." Cingular argued in its supplementary petition that operation of UWB devices is likely to be widespread and unsupervised and that licensed operators will not be able to identify interfering parties that are non-compliant with the Part 15 rules that regulate unlicensed devices. Concluded Cingular: "The Commission's authority to permit unlicensed, intentional radiators such as UWB is therefore non-existent." (ARRL Letter April 4 via John Norfolk, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ GEOMAGNETIC INDICES Phil Bytheway - Seattle WA - phil_tekno@yahoo.com Geomagnetic Summary March 19 2003 through March 30 2003 Tabulated from email status daily Date Flux A K SA Forecast GM Forecast Etc. 3/19 118 20 3 strong moderate 6 20 108 12 2 minor moderate 6 21 97 17 5 minor minor 8 22 91 30 4 minor no storms 7 23 89 14 3 no storms no storms 7 24 93 20 2 moderate no storms 6 25 98 7 1 no storms no storms 5 26 109 5 2 no storms no storms 3 27 127 8 1 no storms minor 7 28 141 22 5 minor minor 9 29 147 22 4 no storms no storms 10 3/30 155 21 4 minor minor 10 ********************************************************************* (IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) ###