DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-082, May 12, 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/dxldtd3e.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 1181: RFPI: Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0700/0830, 1300/1430 on 7445 15039 WWCR: Wed 0930 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1181h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1181.html WORLD OF RADIO ON WJIE. By setting an alarm, I finally managed May 11 to check the scheduled 1630 Sunday airing of WOR on WJIE. When the alarm went off at 1628, WOR was already underway; must have started about 1625 as was in Turks & Caicos item, from #1179, produced way back on April 23. Audible but muffled on 7490; not audible on 13595; however, rechecking at 1656 after WOR had finished, 13595 was audible (gh) WORLD OF RADIO ON WWCR UT SAT MAY 10 AT 0600 ON 5070: Contrary to my previous report, World of Radio 1181 was broadcast at this time. What happened is I forgot to rewind my VCR tape from the previous week`s taping and when I rewound it for playback Saturday morning I ran it back to the beginning and heard the May 3 airing instead. Usually, I double check the time/date on the video signal but I did not do so. My apologies to GH and WWCR (John Norfolk, OKCOK) DXERSCALLING AUDIOSEND DISCONTINUED I've decided to discontinue dxerscalling Audiosend for the time being, due to constant upload problems with either my ISP or Yahoogroups. It has become so bad that I cannot upload anything to the groups at all or for the past 3 or 4 days and also a lot of the time prior to that. Also, many of the sound files are available elsewhere, and in time, I'll put a full list of these on the dxerscalling webpages. Also, it has become a bit time consuming as well with Family life as it is now. I thank you for you're past publicity and wish you well for the future. Webpages will be redesigned shortly into a DX resource site. Thanks again (Tim Gaynor Australia, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Was a source for WOR converted to MP3 and various other DX programs (gh) ** BAHRAIN. I`m think I`m just now [1635 May 10] listening to R. BAHRAIN on 9745. Lots of references to Bahrain, but unfortunately no positive ID. Best reception in USB. SIO 322. Bahrain is not a new acquaintance to me. Heard them in MW in the 80s and received a friendly letter verifying my reception report. 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. 19000 kHz at 1440 UT, Radio Bulgaria Intl, 2 x 9500 // 15000, 7500. All the best (Tim Bucknall, UK, May 12, harmonics yahoogroup via DXLD) ** CANADA. It looks like the channel 10 station in Red Deer, Alberta has changed its mind about moving to channel 2 - it looks like they're going to stay put on channel 10 (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, May 11, WTFDA via DXLD) ** CHINA. A few SWL related items that have arrived in my snail mail mailbox during the past week. "The Messenger" newspaper from CRI. This is an interesting paper that arrives every couple months. Heavy on Chinese culture as well as the "usual" opinions |grin|. Some features this month are a full page editorial on the Iraq war, 2 full columns of a CRI interview with Julie Nixon Eisenhower (Pres Nixon's Daughter), articles on Surinam, Mongolian Nomads, Qatar and more. Included with this issue was a schedule of the English Service; no it didn't scan into a text file at all well (too many graphics). 73 de (Phil, KO6BB, Atchley, Merced, California, May 11, swl via DXLD) And this schedule is usually wrong/outdated, anyway (gh, DXLD) O Departamento de Língua Portuguesa da Rádio Internacional da China enviou mensagem para a radioescuta Sandra Fernandes, de Belo Horizonte (MG), informando que foi suspensa a expedição de correspondências para os ouvintes. A medida tem como objetivo evitar que algo de errado possa ocorrer nesta época de SARS. O envio de correspondências voltará ao normal tão logo a endemia esteja sob controle (Célio Romais, @tividade DX May 11 via DXLD) Spread by P-mail, if not E-mail?? (gh) ** CUBA. R. Reloj, 1900 (2 x 950) 0753 May 12, nice second harmonic right in the middle of the 160 meter ham band. Caught several voice IDs, as well as their Morse Code ID "RR" at 0803. Spanish language news program, with second time pips, and 5 tone signature on the minute. There were several American ham operators on frequency trying to figure out from where the signal was coming. I caught the call sign of one and sent him an e-mail (David Hodgson, KG4TUY, Nashville, TN, harmonics yahoogroup via DXLD) Not to be confused with Guantánamo Bay ** CUBA [non]. LIEBERMAN'S RADIO MESSAGE RESONATES WITH CUBANS BY TERE FIGUERAS Presidential hopeful Joseph Lieberman sent a message of encouragement to Cubans across the Florida Straits on Thursday -- and appealed to the Bush administration not to back away from its pledge to promote democracy on the island -- during a campaign stop at Radio and TV Marti on Tuesday. . . http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/5819528.htm?template=contentModules/printstory.jsp (Miami Herald May 9 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. A few SWL related items have arrived in my snail mailbox during the past week. A nice wall map of the World from HCJB Quito. This folds out to 33 x 21 inches and shows their various ministries around the world and has a border of many different flags of the world. Back side has various pictures, statements of beliefs and core value etc. Makes a nice wall hanging for long time listeners of HCJB (or new SWLs). I got this by filling out a request for it on their web site. This evening I've been listening (as is my usual Saturday habit) to HCJB. Ham Radio Today was a re-run of a program I've heard a couple times on GPS receivers. That's no surprise as they tended to re-run the HRT on occasion anyway. HOWEVER, "Studio Nine" that I'm presently listening to (0135 UT) is a repeat of a program they ran last week in which they ran many excerpts of introductions to programs from the past. No, it's not a different program featuring previous programs, it's the same program. Perhaps they have already closed down the English studio and are just running "re-runs"?? 73 de (Phil, KO6BB, Atchley, Merced, California, May 11, swl via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. I missed the first 10 minutes of the May 3 DX Partyline, in case anything important about HCJB`s plans was mentioned. Tho ondemand links quickly appeared at http://www.hcjb.org/english/dxpl/dxplaudio.php the size of the file clearly displays as 0 rather than the usual 3700, and still the case May 12, when the May 10 show is not yet mentioned. I did, however, monitor that one on the air from the start at 0300 on 9745. The HCJB news: dates specified for termination of various language services from Quito: May 31*: English to Europe, North America; Kikongo at 0500-0530 on 12005; Low German to NAm at 2230-2300 on 17660 June 29*: Russian to Asia at 0330-0400 on 11865 September 28*: German to Europe at 0500 on 9780, 2000 on 15545, 17795; Low German to Europe at 0530 on 9780; Spanish to Europe ``Studies continue on further adjustments to the Pifo schedule`` (Press release from Curt Cole via Allen Graham, HCJB DX Partyline May 10, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) I am again paying more attention to La Voz de los Andes, since Spanish to NAm will continue. See a few weeks ago when I picked out some of the not-so-religious shows, like MUSICA DEL ECUADOR. This was confirmed UT Sun May 11 at 0430-0500 on 9525. At least I assume that was the program, since there were no announcements whatsoever during the half hour, not even a title, but certainly Ecuadorian music was played, much of it with harmonica, very nice. As I recall Jorge Zambrano used to announce this show, just like the English version. But HCJB still doesn`t have its automation act together: at 0430 the correct time was given, but the frequency as 15140, which has not been in use at this time of night for ages, if ever (previously in B-02 season it was 9650)! After another ID break at hourtop, the martial Ecuadorian national anthem, followed by some other music before transmission cut off at 0504 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. A few SWL related items have arrived in my snail mailbox during the past week. A "stuffed envelope" From the "Radio & TV Union" in Egypt. They send me one of these envelopes every few months, always have nice stamps on them. This one included a new postcard that I haven't seen in the past, a small book or travel brochure on Aswan and Nubia with lots of nice pictures and a little history as well as the Jan through July 2003 schedules to the East and West Coast. I don't know what it is with these schedules the stations send out. They'll scan into a JPEG OK but make terrible text files. Guess it's the graphics and various column dividing lines etc. 73 de (Phil, KO6BB, Atchley, Merced, California, May 11, swl via DXLD) Oséias Fantinelli, de Jacutinga (RS), recebeu longa carta de Ismael Jumá, do Departamento Brasileiro da Rádio Cairo. Expressa preocupação com a qualidade ruim da recepção dos sinais da emissora no Brasil. Entretanto, afirma que "estamos fazendo todo o possível para melhorar a nossa emissora". Por fim, pediu o número do telefone de Fantinelli objetivando "saber se a sintonia da emissora melhorou ou não". (Célio Romais, @tividade DX May 11 via DXLD) ** ICELAND. Seguidamente, el texto de la confirmación por e-mail a mi reporte enviado a la AFN, en donde confirman mi reporte en 13855 khz USB en 3 dias, y prometiendo el envío de QSL, la que he recibido ahora hace instantes. Su v/s es April Ball, Broadcast Operations Specialist of AFRTS, Naval Media Center, Mobile Detachment TWO, 2713 Mitscher Road SW, Naval District Washington, Anacostia, Annex, USA [sic, no state, no ZIP]. 73's GIB ---------------------------------------------------------- I can confirm that you heard American Forces Radio and Television Service programming from Grindavik, Iceland. I'm forwarding your email to the people at my headquarters who will issue you a QSL. You might be interested in knowing that I've been contacted by people from all over the world regarding the reception of AFRTS. I have email from Australia, Oregon (US), Finland, Sweden, Germany, The Netherlands, and now Argentina, just to name a few. Not bad, huh? From the land of fire and ice, best regards. Trish Huizinga (via Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, May 12, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** INDIA. There is a cyclone warning for the East Coast of India. The following stations of Andhra Pradesh state where I live is noted with extended broadcasts to give the latest information about this cyclone. Visakhapatnam 927 kHz 100 kW (signed off at 1805 UT i.e. 11.35 pm tonight). Hyderabad 738 kHz 200 kw & 4800 kHz 50 kw will continue up to 2030 UT tonight (i.e. up to 2.00 am local time) according to the info I got from the AIR Control Room. Look out for these stations as well as any other stations in this area for these emergency broadcasts for the next couple of days or till the cyclone threat is over. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J. Hyderabad 500082, India, May 12, dx_india via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 4604.95, RRI Serui (presumed) 1220-1237 May 12. Jakarta news feed parallel with 4753.53 until 1228 followed by Jakarta end-of- news music and announcements. Into poorly modulated local ID (unintelligible) followed by lagu2 romantik. Presume this is just drifted RRI Serui which has been rock solid for some time on 4606.50 (Don Nelson, OR, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. A bit off topic, but since some ARDXC folk have recently displayed a bit of interest in satellite reception, Radio Nederland has appeared on the Globecast bouquet on Optus B3 satellite (Free To Air), with three separate channels. One of them is the external service broadcasts and it is good to hear them in digital stereo. Frequency 12334 MHz, S/R 30000, Polarisation Vertical, FEC 2/3 Other recent (radio) appearances have been Kossuth Radio (Hungary) and Emirates FM, adding to the existing Tamil channels, Voice of Turkey and others. Abu Dhabi TV and JCTV (Religious) are also free to air at the moment, and the Dutch BVN TV is now a permanent free service. Worth checking out, for those with the relevant equipment (Craig Seager, Australia, May 12, ARDXC via DXLD) ** IRAN. IRAN "BANS THOUSANDS OF WEB SITES" INCLUDING VOA, RADIO FARDA Reports from Iran say the Iranian authorities have banned thousands of Web sites with political or pornographic content, including those of US radio stations that broadcast in Farsi such as the Voice of America and Radio Farda. The reformist newspaper Yass-e No quoted Post and Telecommunications Minister Ahmad Motamedi as saying that one hundred illegal websites which "insult the beliefs of different religions" are blocked. Other sources, including Iran's student news agency ISNA, put the number of banned sites as high as 15,000 (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 12 May 2003 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. BBC WORLD SERVICE TRUST IN BASRA Stephen King, Director of the BBC World Service Trust, is currently in Basra where efforts are underway to rebuild the local media. In an article on the BBC Web site, he confirms what many of us have known all along - the Iraqis are a sophisticated audience who are sceptical about media such as Towards Freedom TV. King says the 112 staff of Basra TV and Radio have turned up every day to a football stadium where the salvaged remains of their TV station are stored. The Trust is now developing a set of proposals to help Iraqis in Basra and Al-Amara re-establish local radio and TV programming. It is seeking funding to provide small amounts of equipment to resume broadcasting on both TV and radio as soon as possible and to provide training in journalism, in management and in editorial independence over the next two years. You can read the full story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3013907.stm (RN MN blog May 11 via DXLD) ** IRAQ. U.S. GENERAL MAY CENSOR IRAQI TV STATION'S PROGRAMS http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A32796-2003May8?language=printer By Walter Pincus, Washington Post Staff Writer, Friday, May 9, 2003; Page A24 Control over the content of a television station in Mosul has become a sensitive issue for the commanding general of the 101st Airborne Division who is running that part of northern Iraq. The station, which broadcasts as many as five hours a night to the city of 1.8 million, lost its cameras to looters and was forced to turn to outside programming sources to fill its broadcasts. That content now ranges from Arab-language al-Jazeera news reports, talks and speeches by local personalities and interviews with the newly elected mayor to U.S. military announcements about avoiding unexploded shells or arranging plans for the wheat harvest. Fearing that local politicians and returning exiles have bullied their way onto the air, often to promote themselves and sometimes to incite violence, the 101st commander, Maj. Gen. David H. Petraeus, said yesterday in a telephone interview from his Mosul headquarters that he is considering putting a U.S. Army officer and a translator in the station to monitor what goes on the air. "I want to be certain that nothing is shown that would incite violence in a city that was extremely tense when we took over two-and-one-half weeks ago, and which still has folks who are totally opposed to what we're doing and are willing to do something about it," Petraeus said. The problem U.S. forces in Mosul face over media control is one that will have to be dealt with in all major Iraqi cities in which radio and television stations were previously run by the now-deposed government. Petraeus said the problem of the local station's content had been raised with him only recently, but that he nonetheless had ordered its manager and employees be paid. He said he has been working with lawyers and others to determine the circumstances that would keep programming off the air. "Yes, what we are looking at is censorship," he said, "but you can censor something that is intended to inflame passions." Part of his concern arises from his experiences in Bosnia, where local television was frequently used to inflame people. One of the individuals who had bullied his way onto Mosul television was an exiled Iraqi who had tried to set himself up in office in mid-April as Mosul's mayor. Calling him "a rogue political operator," Petraeus said the city during that time was in turmoil and that in one week 14 people were killed. In the days before May 5, when local leaders met and selected a new mayor and council for Mosul, this individual "took a lot of airtime, announcing who was taking part and emphasizing his own possible role," Petraeus said. It was that situation that triggered the decision to do something about the station, he said. A news story published in yesterday's Wall Street Journal described Petraeus as having ordered the Mosul station "seized." He denied having given such an order, saying the station is still operating and no U.S. military officer has been assigned to work there as a monitor. The station's offices are in a building within a compound already guarded by U.S. troops because it also houses a battalion headquarters, he added. (c) 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. U.S. TO TAKE ITS MESSAGE TO IRAQI AIRWAVES http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A40257-2003May10?language=printer By Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus, Washington Post Staff Writers Sunday, May 11, 2003; Page A17 Convincing Iraqis that life would be better in every way after the demise of Saddam Hussein has been a primary goal of the Bush administration ever since it began drawing up its postwar blueprint early this year. But just as political and economic reconstruction have lagged in the month since the war ended, so too has progress on the propaganda front. For an administration that prides itself on message control, the scarcity of U.S.-controlled media outlets in Iraq has been both vexing and dangerous, in the view of some U.S. officials, adding to the postwar chaos and a feeling that the Americans are not on top of the situation. Others have stepped in to fill the void. From across the border, Iran operates a 24-hour Arabic-language channel that beams religious programs and equal-time critiques of Hussein and the Americans from Basra to Baghdad. In Mosul, Iraqis have restarted a local station with programming, some supplied by the local U.S. Army commander, but also including reruns of Hussein's latest alleged message to his people, apparently downloaded from the Qatar-based al-Jazeera satellite network. Last week, retired Army Lt. Gen. Jay M. Garner, head of the U.S. rebuilding effort, complained that broadcast restoration was moving too slowly. "I want TV going to people," he said, and at 8 p.m. Tuesday, if all goes according to plan, Garner will get what he wants. The Pentagon, which months ago contracted a major U.S. defense firm to draw up and staff a media operation in coordination with Psychological Operations and White House communications personnel, plans to unveil its own nightly television show. The program, initially for two hours but projected as a 24-hour full-service network, will include 30 minutes of news each night. The news will be in four segments, said Dan Senor, an aide to Garner's Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Affairs (ORHA). "There'll be a local news segment with public service announcements, like 'These schools are reopening; police have gone back to work in these areas' -- the equivalent of turning on the TV in D.C. during a snowstorm to see what's happening that day," Senor said in a telephone interview yesterday. Another portion will cover world news, drawn largely from news service reports. Other segments will include features "digging into a local news subject," such as reopened schools, he said, and man-on-the-street interviews. U.S. officials said the hope is that more information will calm Iraqi disquiet over such matters as still-tenuous security and continuing disruptions of electricity, water and medical supplies by explaining the efforts the Americans are making. The television will be transmitted initially from a Baghdad tower and eventually also from Erbil in the north and Umm Qasr in the south. It will be available on satellite for Iraqis with dishes. The television operation joins a U.S.-produced AM radio station that started broadcasting from Umm Qasr late last month. This Thursday, Senor said, the reconstruction office will begin printing a newspaper -- an eight-page, twice-weekly broadsheet called al Sabah (the Dawn), with an initial run of 50,000 copies. The paper will have "local news, world news, features and public service announcements," he said, along with weather, horoscopes and sports. "We've heard from a lot of Iraqis that they want all that," he said. "They want a regular newspaper." Senor said al Sabah will not have editorials or opinion columns and will not print the views of Iraqi politicians. There are already about a dozen newspapers being produced in Baghdad alone, nearly all products of political points of view. U.S. officials insist they do not want to interfere or compete with that free expression, and say they will eventually turn the entire media operation over to Iraqis. The U.S. government is clearly entering late in the media game in Iraq. Immediately after the war, with Hussein-controlled newspapers and television silenced, "it was a virgin market for others to come in and grab," an Arab journalist said. Iran had clearly planned ahead. "The Iranians were the only players in town" in terms of land-based broadcasting he said. Iran's al Alam television went on the air in February, specifically designed in Arabic for Iraq, and is particularly popular in the Shiite Muslim south. "They aren't too blatant," the Arab journalist said of the broadcasts. The Iranians "are being very smart -- trashing Saddam but at the same time talking about the occupation and calling for Iraqis to take over soon. They're credible. The Shi'a in Iraq think it's their channel." The Pentagon sees the Iranian broadcasts as aiding the increasingly ominous takeover by Iraqi Shiite clerics of towns and cities in southern and central Iraq. At the same time, satellite dishes -- prohibited under Hussein -- began to appear in markets all over Iraq, with access to all Middle East satellite channels, including some the Americans would prefer that Iraqis not watch. Among the first newspapers to hit the streets was printed by the local Communist Party. San Diego-based Scientific Applications International Corp. has a contract to develop television, radio and print platforms in Iraq for the Pentagon, but when the fighting ended it was far from ready to begin operations. One of the country's leading defense contractors, SAIC's board includes a number of former senior defense and military officials, including retired Gen. Wayne Downing, former head of counterterrorism at the White House. A spokesman at the company's McLean office last week referred all questions about the contract to the Pentagon. The Pentagon's public information office said it could not immediately provide details on the amount of the contract or how or when it was issued. Sources said the company has hired a number of Iraqi exile journalists who have relocated to Iraq, several of whom were employees of the U.S. government's Radio Free Iraq. Some local Iraqis were also hired, Senor said, but none whose face or byline was familiar under Hussein. Most of the Americans and exiles working on the project arrived in Iraq only two weeks ago, and Senor said they had worked hard and fast to get it up and running. But in the early postwar days, it was clear to the administration that a stopgap was needed. Just days after U.S. troops took over Baghdad, the White House called the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America and all other nonmilitary, U.S. government international broadcasting, and asked for help. "It came out of the blue," said Norm Pattiz, head of the board's Mideast committee and chairman of Westwood One, one of the nation's largest radio network. "The request from the White House was, 'How quickly can you put something together?' " Within two days in April, using Voice of America facilities on Independence Avenue in the District and $175,000 in White House-approved money, Pattiz had a six-hour programming package prepared. It consisted of the U.S. nightly news broadcasts, dubbed in Arabic, from CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and PBS, along with an hour of news produced in the studios of Radio Sawa, VOA's full-time music and news radio service to the Arab world. For the past month, the Sawa staff has assembled the program and sent it via satellite to the Pentagon at 2 a.m. daily. The Pentagon sent it to Commander Solo, a C-130 propaganda aircraft, to be beamed down to Baghdad. Pattiz said he has no idea what Iraqis thought of day-old Tom Brokaw and Peter Jennings broadcasts, and noted that even when the electricity was working, "only 13 percent of the country had TV sets." No one was very sorry when the money and month-long mandate ran out and the final program aired last Thursday. It seemed to be a workable concept while U.S. television was concentrating on Iraq, said one source who participated in putting the operation together, but "increasingly, the newscasts became irrelevant for Iraqis. They're not really interested in the Laci Peterson case." Several participants said they were becoming increasingly uncomfortable working on a program, however innocuous, that they saw as a breach in the firewall the Broadcasting Board was established to maintain between operations like VOA and U.S. political, military and intelligence efforts. On the ground in Iraq, things were getting more tense. In mid-April, Army Psychological Operations soldiers in Baghdad began distributing U.S.-printed leaflets warning that a curfew was in effect. Troops in the 3rd Brigade Combat team had become so frustrated with their inability to communicate with the people they were supposed to be helping that they scraped together $200 to print and translate their own newsletter, the Army News Service reported. The first printing of 1,200 copies was distributed and posted in public places last week. In Mosul, the U.S. Army general in charge was becoming embroiled in a censorship controversy with the newly reestablished local television station. Maj. David H. Petraeus, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, said he decided to monitor the station, with military personnel on the premises, after local politicians intimidated the manager into airing "them or their messages," and after the station last Wednesday broadcast a repeat showing of Hussein's call for "Iraqis to rise up against the American occupiers." It also broadcast al-Jazeera's coverage of the election by the local Iraqis of a new mayor and city council. Petraeus said in an e-mail from Mosul on Friday that "what Iraq will eventually need [in order] to deal with the press, radio and TV, will be something akin to the Communications Regulatory Agency that was developed in Bosnia to establish standards and procedures for cases in which those standards are broken." "That took five or six years in Bosnia, though," he said, "so we're just trying to figure out how to fill the gap." (c) 2003 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. NEW TV SERVICE TO REPLACE TOWARDS FREEDOM TV Details are beginning to emerge of the US media operation that willl replace Towards Freedom TV. The Washington Post reports that the Pentagon's new service will initially last for two hours but is projected to expand to a 24-hour service with half an hour of news each evening. A spokesman for the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Affairs told the Washington Post "There'll be a local news segment with public service announcements. Another portion will cover world news, drawn largely from news agency reports. Other segments will include features 'digging into a local news subject,' such as reopened schools and man-on-the-street interviews." Unlike Towards Freedom TV, the new TV service will be transmitted from terrestrial facilities, initially to the Baghdad region and eventually also from Erbil in the north and Umm Qasr in the south. It will also be available via satellite for the few Iraqis with dishes. MYERS CONFIRMS CAMP SNOOPY CLOSURE Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Richard Myers, has confirmed that the US military is pulling out of the Qatari air base known as Camp Snoopy, where the EC-130 Commando Solo airborne broadcasting fleet has been based. Flight operations are to cease this month and the camp will close by mid-June. NEW TV SERVICES IN KARBALA AND NAJAF A report in a number of US and Canadian newspapers dated 11 May refers to "the debut this week in Karbala of the first new television station operated from within Iraq." However, other reports on the same date suggest this claim to be incorrect. A station called An Najaf TV is already on the air, operated by volunteers using equipment looted from a station formerly operated by one of Saddam's sons. The channel, with a range of about 40 miles, apparently launched on April 28. The man in charge, Ali Kashif al Rata, briefly operated an independent AM radio station in Najaf in March 1991. He says the new station is politically neutral, and claims to have turned away various groups who wanted to use the station to promote their own agenda (all 3: RN Media Network May 12 via DXLD) ** IRAQ [and non]. While doing some Internet research about Iraq post- war media for Pop' Comm, I found out that the BBC has partnered with al-Jazeera to share television, satellite, and news gathering facilities. In return, the BBC will assist al-Jazeera with development of their new English-language website. The site is still under construction at http://english.aljazeera.net/ Meanwhile, as reported here earlier, Congress has approved funding of a new US-backed television / satellite network called "Iraq and the Future" involving NBC news as well. Al-Jazeera television was criticized during the Afghanistan war for its broadcasts of Osama Bin Laden tapes, and during the Iraq war for broadcasting pictures of US POWs and dead in violation of Geneva Convention rules. Al-Jazeera dismisses such criticism as propaganda, citing its goal to provide objective coverage of both sides of the war. Interesting that this follows BBC criticism of US media for one-sided news reporting (Bruce Conti, Nashua NH, May 12, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Re: DXLD 3-081: The Jerusalem Post/Haaretz say that there will be a strike tomorrow - but in my quick search they do not mention radio. There will be garbage collection. So the terms aren't the same as last time around (Doni Rosenzweig, May 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORWAY. Re: DXLD 3-079: ``Some stations via Norway transmitters: 0400-0800 11530 KVI 250 kW / 110 Daily Voice of Mezopotamiya in Kurdish `` The frequency from Kvitsøy is - and has always been - 15675 kHz. At 08 UT they continue from probably Kishinev on 11530 kHz until 16 UT. Furthermore, I do not think this one is from Norway: 2000-2100 7520 KVI 250 kW / 140 Sun Voice of Ethiopia English WS (Erik Køie, København, Danmark, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. I didn`t have much time to check the radio for tornado coverage during May 8-9, but I did notice a couple of items not mentioned in DXLD 3-081: NOAA station WXK85 on 162.4 MHz in OKC was broadcasting ``live`` during both tornado events, with a real voice instead of the computer generated one usually heard (note that here ``Perfect Paul`` has not been completely retired). I got the impression that they were sending the live audio to all NOAA stations in their coverage area, which would include all of western Oklahoma (including Enid) and the Wichita Falls area. As the storm was passing the TV stations, KWTV evacuated their weather center for a couple of minutes. The sound and picture continued, but there was no one in the center to respond to the calls coming in over the radio (or cell phones). GH: ``Their [KTBO-14] studio at NW 63 and Portland at NW Expressway must have been close to the path.`` Their studio is about a quarter mile north of Integris Baptist Medical Center. KWTV has a city cam at Integris, and they did show the tornado passing just to the west of the hospital. There was no funnel visible in the darkness but some spectacular power flashes were visible and even some debris flying in the air. The city lights remained on through this event, so at this point the storm was not strong enough to knock off the power (although it may have at KTBO). BTW, on June 13, 1998, KWTV showed a tornado just northeast of Integris (and slightly east of KTBO) tearing through a residential area; no one in the studio even noticed it until a voice was heard saying, ``Look at your monitor.`` The camera was knocked out a minute later, and Gary England`s remark ``Integris is gone,`` referring to the camera, was misinterpreted by KFOR`s Mike Morgan, who criticized KWTV for saying that the hospital was struck. KWTV also has a city cam in Choctaw, and on Thursday May 8 they had that tornado on the air, until it too was knocked out by flying debris. On the amateur side, I did not check any of the 2 meter nets since I had the scanner on the VHF Civil Defense storm spotters, but I did check 3900 kHz around 11 pm (0400 UT May 10) and heard nothing. The following morning, around 1300 UT, there were a couple of hams on 3900, but they were just rag chewing, so they were either unaware of the communications emergency (which, as far as I know, has yet to be cancelled as I write this, May 10 around 2200 UT) or, more likely, didn`t care (John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. ARRL Bulletin 34 ARLB034 From ARRL Headquarters Newington CT May 10, 2003 To all radio amateurs COMMUNICATIONS EMERGENCY TERMINATED MAY 10 2003 AS OF 1830 EDST (2230z), THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION'S DECLARED COMMUNICATIONS EMERGENCY WAS TERMINATED AT THE REQUEST OF THE OKLAHOMA SECTION MANAGER JOHN THOMPSON, WB5SYT. AMATEURS CAN RESUME USING 3900 kHz. THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION WISHES TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR COOPERATION AND DEDICATED AMATEUR SERVICE. JOSEPH P. CASEY CHIEF, TECHNICAL AND PUBLIC SAFETY DIVISION, ENFORCEMENT BUREAU FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION WASHINGTON, DC. (via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Re the Thursday May 8 tornado in OKC: I was unable to listen to the radio much this afternoon/evening, however I can tell you a little bit. When the tornado was first reported on the ground by KFOR-TV (KWTV reported it on the ground about 2-3 minutes later), all of the Renda stations very quickly started simulcasting KFOR with the exception of KRXO which waited a couple of minutes. KOMA-AM mostly simulcasted KFOR, but was providing additional information geared for radio listeners. A couple minutes later, I flipped around and heard many of the Citadel stations (KATT, KYIS, KKWD, but not WWLS-AM/FM or KSYY) simulcasting KWTV's audio. As I recall, KXXY and KTST were simulcasting KOCO-TV, but KJYO was playing music (I do not know about KHBZ). KOMA had Bob Sands and one other guy in studio with updates from several reporters until 11pm. The news reporting was supplemented by calls from the general public with traffic tips, and a couple of visits from members of KFOR's weather staff. Keeping in mind the short notice of this tornado (compared with May 3rd, 1999), most stations had a clue (anon., OKCRadio.com May 9 via DXLD) You must have flipped it on just before WWLS and KSYY switched to the simulcast. WKY stayed with News 9 coverage until 11 p.m. (with cut-ins from Kalusa, Shannon and Wright). Throughout the night, the other Citadel stations provided news updates every 30 minutes on the aftermath, etc. I think all of the OKC stations did a good job (another anon., ibid.) KTBO-TV 14 does not have their studios at NW 63 and Portland anymore. They've been gone from that location for a year or so. I'm not sure where they moved the studios, but their mailing address is on Hefner Road. They also produce a local version of the Praise The Lord program weekly. On the May 9 tornado, all the Citadel stations (KATT 100.5, KYIS 98.9, KKWD 97.9, KMMZ 96.9, WWLS 640, WWLS-FM 104.9, KSYY 105.3 and WKY 930) all simulcast KWTV (9) from about 9:20-Midnight. WKY's simulcast started around 8:15 and continued until 2 a.m. (with other reports from WKY reporters). Clear Channel's FMs (KXXY 96.1, KTST 101.9, KJYO 102.7) didn't start until late in the 9 p.m. hour. At approx. 10:20 p.m., when the storm was hopscotching through the metro, KHBZ 94.7 was still playing music. It was the last CC FM to switch to the TV simulcast. All of the CC stations went with partner KOCO (5). News/Talker KTOK 1000 went a lot earlier. I never heard brokered KEBC 1340 (Talk during the day and a simulcast of Perry Urban KVSP 1140 at night) flip to weather coverage, but I could be wrong on that report. A handful of those station mentioned were off the air for periods of time because of the storm. KYIS 98.9 was off until nearly 4 a.m. I believe KYIS is on KOCB (34)'s tower. Renda's stations (KOMA-FM 92.5, KMGL 104.1, KRXO 107.7 and News/Talk KOMA 1520 flipped to KFOR (4)'s coverage about the same time Citadel's did. News/Talker KOMA was on a lot earlier and went with KFOR until about 1 a.m. Tyler's KKNG 93.3 (Classic Country) was doing weather reports using their own news staff. Sister Regional Mexican KTUZ 106.7 played music the entire time. Most of the FMs that I didn't hear flip to coverage were non- commercial. KMSI (88.1; Religious simulcast of Tulsa station) KYLV (88.9; Christian Contemporary-Satellite) KCSC (90.1; Classical; later off the air) KOKF (90.9; Christian Top-40; later off the air) KROU (105.7; off the air when I checked) KGOU (106.3; off the air when I checked or too weak on the north side) I never checked these AMs (some because of weak night signals) KQCV (800) KTLR (890; daytimer only) KVSP (1140) KREF (1400) KOKC (1490) (Brian French, of okcradio.com, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. This is what makes DXing fun --- Friday night around midnight, I flipped on the 2010 and noticed WWKB sounded a little shaky, so I turned the radio and heard what seemed to be live tornado coverage in the null. So I quickly grabbed the Spacemagnet and plugged it into the 2010, and found that tiny but sharp null it has, and sure enough, there was KOMA 1520 Oklahoma City with live coverage of the tornado that swept the outskirts of town. There were likely running their ND day signal. This was incredibly riveting listening. Still love this hobby and the Spacemagnet! 73 and good DX, (Bruce WB3HVV Collier, York, PA, May 12, IRCA via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. PHOTOGRAPHERS SEARCH FOR PERFECT STORM SHOTS http://photos.msn.com/editorial/EditorialStart.aspx?article=ChasingThePerfectStorm§ion=FEATURES (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. RECLASSIFICATION OF LICENSE OF STATION KMMZ-FM, ENID, OK Issued Order to Show Cause why its authorization for station KMMZ-FM (File No. BLH-20001211ACI) should not be modified to specify operation of Channel 245C0 in lieu of Channel 245C at Enid, OK. (Dkt No. RM- 10692). Action by: Assistant Chief, Audio Division, MB. Comments Due: 06/30/2003. Adopted: 05/07/2003 by ORDER. (DA No. 03-1121). MB http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1121A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1121A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-03-1121A1.txt (via Fred Vobbe, NRC-FMTV via DXLD) Perhaps someone can explain what changing from 245C to 245CO really means. It`s the same frequency, 96.9 but a different class, and apparently involuntary (gh, DXLD) ** POLAND. POLISH SPECIAL EVENTS Special event station HF6UE will be active now though June 10th. This station is active to celebrate the signing of the European Community Accession Agreement by Poland. The suffix UE means UNIA EUROPEJSKA (European Union in English). This activity is organized by the SP6ZDA club station. QSL via SP6ZDA, via the bureau (the best) or direct to: Scouts Radio Club SP6ZDA, P.O. Box 41, 51-673 Wroclaw 9, Poland. Special memorial operation will be taking place in the coming months to commemorating Ignacy Lukasiewicz, the Polish petroleum pioneer who distilled crude oil and designed kerosene lamps to light up the operating theatre in the hospital in Lvov on 31 July 1853. He is the founder of the petroleum industry. Award: http://www.ot5.cq.pl "This lotion is the future wealth of this country, it's the welfare and prosperity for its inhabitants, it's a new source of income for the poor people and a new branch of industry, which shall bear plentiful fruits." -- Ignacy Lukasiewicz, 1854 Look for the following special event stations: Now thru June 30th - HF8IL (via SP8PJG) Ignacy Lukasiewicz: founder of the petroleum industry July 1st-August 15th - HF150IL (via SP8PJG) Ignacy Lukasiewicz: distilled kerosene, designed lamps and illuminated an operating theatre in a hospital (1853) July 25th-August 4th - 3Z0IL (via SP8ZBX), SN0IL (via SP9PEE), EN3WLL (via UR4WXQ) Ignacy Lukasiewicz memorial stations Award: http://www.ot5.cq.pl August 20th- September 10th - HF8IL (via SP8PJG) Ignacy Lukasiewicz: founder of the petroleum industry (KB8NW/OPDX May 11/BARF-80 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. V. of Russia previews: FOLK BOX (on the air from Monday, May 12) The city of Chelyabinsk is the capital of Southern Urals and one of Russia's major cultural centers. The city plays host to a mind- boggling number of all kinds of festivals. They are opera festivals, ballet festivals, organ music festivals, and also competitions of Russian accordion-, balalaika- and domra- (or Russian mandolin) players --- And early last month Chelyabinsk welcomed yet another competition, namely the First All-Russia competition of folk song singers "Nadezhda", and you'll learn all about the competition and the performers in the next edition of our regular feature "Folk Box". The program goes on the air for the first time on Monday at 1430 UT and is repeated throughout the week. Our program schedule can be found on our web site at: http://www.vor.ru/ep.html Copyright © 2003 The Voice of Russia (via Maryanne Kehoe, swprograms via DXLD) ** SOMALIA: PUNTLAND LIFTS BAN ON RADIO STATION, BUT BBC RELAYS AWAIT FURTHER MOVE | Text of report by UN regional information network IRIN on 12 May Nairobi, 12 May: The authorities in the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland [northeast Somalia] have restored the broadcasting licence of the [privately-owned] Somali Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) radio and television, based in the region's commercial capital, Boosaaso, Puntland's acting information minister told IRIN on Monday [12 May]. Abdishakur Mire Aden said the SBC had been allowed to resume broadcasting after its owners petitioned the Puntland president, Col Abdullahi Yusuf. "The president has instructed my ministry to restore SBC's licence, and we did so last week. They are free to operate in Puntland," Abdishakur said. The license was withdrawn in May last year after the authorities accused it of having "a political agenda inimical to the Puntland state", local sources told IRIN at the time. The radio was also accused of bias in favour of Jama Ali Jama, Abdullahi Yusuf's rival for the Puntland leadership. According to Abdishakur, the SBC - which had a contract with the BBC to rebroadcast its news services - "will not be allowed to do so [again], until the BBC makes an official request to the Puntland authorities". Other sources in Boosaaso told IRIN that the lifting of the ban on the SBC was part of ongoing reconciliation efforts within Puntland. Abdishakur, however, said "the decision to return SBC's licence had nothing to do with the current talks, and was decided on its own merit". Reconciliation talks are under way in Boosaaso between Abdullahi Yusuf's administration and the leader of the opposition's armed wing, Gen Ade Muse Hirsi. "Most of the issues have been dealt with, and an official statement will be issued at the end of the talks in a few days' time," Abdishakur told IRIN. Source: UN Integrated Regional Information Network, Nairobi, in English 12 May 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK? ** SPAIN. In their mailbag program, "Radio Club", on Sunday May 11 at 2135 UT on 9840 kHz it was stated that due to lack of staff they presently do not send out QSL cards (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, Denmark, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA. A Rádio Damasco, que também se identifica como "Radioemissora da República Árabe da Síria", transmite em espanhol, entre 2315 e 0130, pelas freqüências de 12085 e 13610 kHz. Nas segundas-feiras, a emissora leva ao ar um programa de interatividade com os ouvintes. As apresentadoras prometem enviar cartão QSL, acompanhado de mapas turísticos da Síria, com vista de Aleppo e da capital Damasco, "a mais antiga capital do mundo". Endereço: Rádio Damasco, Apartado Postal 4702, Damasco, República Árabe da Síria (Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX May 11 via DXLD) ** U K. DIGITAL RADIO'S KISS OF LIFE From BBC News: By Torin Douglas, BBC media correspondent The new radio listening figures show healthy numbers for digital radio stations - what does this mean for listeners? "This is a historic press conference" announced the head of Rajar, radio's official audience research body. "For the first time, we have listening figures for digital radio." And very good they are too - as far as they go. Just a handful of digital radio stations have submitted themselves for measurement so far, but the figures they announced took many people by surprise. The dance station Kiss 100 attracted 961,000 digital listeners, while two of its sister stations - Smash Hits Radio and Kerrang! Radio - each won more than 750,000. Why is that surprising? Because there aren't that many of the new digital radio sets, sometimes called DAB sets, in British homes. The Digital Radio Development Bureau - which said it was encouraged by the Rajar figures - estimates that by the end of this year 500,000 stand-alone digital radios will have been sold, rising to a million by the end of 2004. So how can so many more people be listening to the digital stations? The answer is that most of them are tuning in via their digital TV sets, either through Sky, cable or Freeview. Suddenly, it seems, radio listeners have cottoned on to the fact you can pick up radio stations on the TV. For the past three years, Rajar has been asking listeners whether they ever listen via the TV set. In the past few months that figure has shot up. In September 2001, 12% of those asked said they'd ever listened through their television. A year later that had risen to 14.6%. By December 2002 it had grown to 16 % and the latest figures, up to March this year, show another rise to 18.6%. That's a 50 per cent rise in the number people listening to the radio via their TV in just 18 months. And that's having a big impact on audiences to digital radio stations. But what do we mean by digital stations? As with all things digital, the answer is not simple. More than 300 BBC and commercial radio stations are now available through digital receivers, but most are the same ones you can get on ordinary analogue sets. Some gain particular advantages from going digital. Radio Five Live, which normally broadcasts on AM, can be heard in much better quality through digital receivers, while BBC World Service and many local commercial stations can now be heard nationally through their digital broadcasts. The last group includes Kiss 100, which is already the number one station for 15-24s in London. It can also be heard on more than 250,000 DAB digital radio sets, as well as in 1.5 million Freeview homes, three million cable homes and on the internet. Then there are almost 30 stations that only broadcast digitally. They include Smash Hits Radio, Kerrang! Radio, and Oneword (which broadcasts plays, books, comedy and discussion programmes) - all of which have now had their audiences measured by Rajar - as well as the BBC's 1Xtra, Five Live Sports Extra, BBC 6 Music and BBC7. Mark Story, managing director of radio at Emap, which owns Kiss, Smash Hits and Kerrang!, is convinced the recent boost to digital listening is mainly down to the launch of Freeview. He says listeners are telling his stations that's how they're receiving them, and he believes the word will continue to spread. The big question for the Digital Radio Development Bureau is whether this success will rub off on the digital radio sets, which it's their job to promote - in the hope that one day everyone will switch to digital radio, and the old analogue signals will be switched off. That's a long way off, if ever. Long wave is still going, years after everyone thought it would be phased out - and when you think that the middle classes marched on Broadcasting House to save Radio 4's long wave service, it may be doubtful whether analogue will ever be switched off (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U K. GBR is 75. Special VLF transmission. "Listeners may be aware that the UK Royal Navy are celebrating the Centenary of the Royal Navy Submarine service with a gathering of UK and overseas submarines in the Clyde. This year is also the 75th anniversary of operation of the GBR transmitter (Rugby). As part of this celebration 'It is hoped' that a special A1A Morse code transmission from the GBR long wave transmitter will be made. For those with an interest in VLF reception please listen to 16 kHz (yes 16 not 60 kHz!) on Tuesday 29th May 2001 at 1200 GMT and 1345 GMT." Cheers Ken G1ITV (This information from G4KHU:- via Ronny Peeters, May 12, BDXC via DXLD) Despite GBR closedown recently?? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. It is still noteworthy when WJIE is actually heard on its second frequency, 13595. Such was the case at 0508 check May 11; actually better than \\ 7490, and with rather different-sounding modulation. See top for WOR monitoring (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. R. Africa International [Methodist from NYC]: As transmissões desta Emissora são feitas desde Deutsche Telekom from Julich, Germany FREQUÊNCIA UTC IDIOMA 11645 KHz 0400 - 0600 Francês 13810 KHz 0400 - 0600 Francês 13820 KHz 1700 - 1900 Inglês 11735 KHz 1700 - 1900 Inglês (*) (*) Anteriormente esta transmissão era feita em 15265 KHz mas foi modificada para 11735. Um abraço do (Adalberto Marques de Azevedo, Barbacena - Minas Gerais, May 12, radioescutas via DXLD) ** U S A. WNET-13 NO LONGER (STRICTLY) NON-COMMERCIAL??? Noted two ads back-to-back on WNET-13 NYC just now between programs at 1700. Not underwriting ads but the real thing, one for Benjamin Moore paints and the other for the State of Pennsylvania tourism. Has there been a change in the rules allowing this? They have also running quite a few underwriting ads and a lot of fund raisers of late, too (WHYY-12 Philly has also been doing that). Money must be tough to get now(Joe Fela, NJ, May 10, WTFDA via DXLD) PBS still is a noncommercial corporation. They are bound by the rules that dictate that they cannot promote particular products by any company. However, affiliates of PBS still are very aggressive in obtaining underwriting from companies and organizations. Here is what is NEW, and may appear that PBS stations are now accepting advertising. Ellen Flahive, executive director of the PBS Sponsorship Group, was just appointed vice president, Sponsorship Sales for the Public Broadcasting Service. It is her responsibility to boost sagging PBS revenue. In a plan that was written in 1996, Ms. Flahive, along with her group, plan to begin seeking more national sponsorship than was sought after in times past. In doing so, they plan to develop "advertising" campaigns for their national underwriters, that may appear they are actually advertising. The rules that dictate that PBS (and their affiliates) remain noncommercial, still applies. The sponsorship 'advertising' (read underwriting) can promote the company, but not their product. They can promote the company Benjamin Moore, makers of paint, in an 'advertisement', but they cannot advertise that a certain sale for $$ for a certain brand of Benjamin Moore paint is now in progress through the month of May (example). The marketing people at PBS Sponsorship Group say that savvy viewers of PBS will be able to tell the difference, even though they are going to start having the sponsorship promotional announcements appear as if they were commercials. Doesn't this all sound political? And sounds like they'd like to be commercial, but can't. I been following this developing story from their website press releases. I believe that PBS too is feeling the affects of a fragmented television viewing audience. So when you get some skip this summer, you'll now have to watch closely, to determine if its commercial, or PBS (Jim Thomas, wdx0fbu, Milliken, Colorado, WTFDA via DXLD) From the horse's mouth: http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/nature.html From that document, some of the things that aren't acceptable on non-commercial stations: - Announcements including the price of a product. (including interest rates) - Calls to action. ("Stop by our showroom to see a model", "Try Product X next time you buy oil") - Inducements to buy/sell/rent/lease. Including indirect inducements like "Six months' free service" and "A bonus available this week". WNET-13 is licensed as a non-commercial station, even though its channel is not reserved for non-commercial use. As such, it's subject to the same restrictions on underwriting that limit most other PBS affiliates. However, WNET could apply to switch to commercial status; if that change was granted they could begin airing regular advertising. (such applications are usually granted, though WNET would certainly be an unusual case!) The FCC has very few (if any) regulations directly applicable to networks. As far as the Commission is concerned, PBS is free to schedule commercials - or, for that matter, X-rated movies. Of course, if it did so, none of their affiliates would be able to run the network programming! In general, networks are regulated through restrictions on what their *affiliates* are allowed to do. Rules like "no station shall be licensed that's affiliated with a network that programs more than three hours between 7 and 11 pm Eastern time". It's fine for the network to ignore the prime-time access rule; it's the *affiliates* that have to obey it... (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, ibid.) ** U S A. TV TOWER`S HOME – FOR NOW – IS EMPIRE STATE BUILDING By CHARLES V. BAGLI c.2003 New York Times News Service http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/12/nyregion/12TOWE.html?ex=1053715374&ei=1&en=e7e11dc280a722ec NEW YORK - Like a flock of birds migrating north, the major television stations in the metropolitan area have returned to the Empire State Building for the first time in more than 20 years. Last Thursday, WNBC-TV became the last of 11 stations to sign a 15- year lease for transmission and antenna space atop what became the city`s tallest skyscraper 20 months ago with the destruction of the World Trade Center. All but one broadcaster had left the 102-story, 1,454-foot-tall Empire State Building decades ago for a higher rooftop on the trade center`s north tower. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attack, some viewers were left with blank or fuzzy screens, and broadcasters were scrambling for a new home. In an industry in which height matters, however, the broadcasters are still casting about for an even taller perch in a search that pits New York against New Jersey. The Metropolitan Television Alliance, which represents the 11 broadcasters, is negotiating to build a $200 million, 2,000-foot-tall free-standing tower on a pier in Bayonne, N.J. At the same time, it has asked Mayor Michael Bloomberg`s administration for permission to erect a temporary $60 million tower on Governors Island, while a permanent tower and antenna are built at the trade center site. ``Whether we end up in Bayonne or at the World Trade Center site, the Empire State Building will be the backup,`` said Edward Grebow, the president of the television alliance. ``They`ve worked hard to improve conditions there.`` In a $6 million upgrade, the building`s owners are installing steel beams to reinforce the giant mast and 204-foot antenna atop the building, according to Thomas P. Sullivan, the director of leasing for the building, which is managed by Helmsley-Spear. They are bringing more electrical capacity to the top of the tower to accommodate the broadcasters, and converting the office space on the 77th, 78th and 79th floors into transmission stations. Sullivan said that 11 television stations and 22 FM radio stations now broadcast from the Empire State Building. But while station executives say they want an even taller antenna that would enable all viewers to receive a clearer picture, some experts suggest the difference between the Empire State Building and the proposed antenna towers is not so great. ``There`s not a lot lost between the World Trade Center and the Empire State Building,`` said Neil Smith, a broadcast engineering consultant who works for the partnership group that owns the Empire State Building, and has worked for many television and radio stations. ``And there would not be a lot gained by going to a 2,000-foot tower in Bayonne.`` ``There would be some improvement within the service area,`` Smith said. ``But the more significant issue is location rather than height. The Empire State Building is more centrally located with respect to other tall buildings that tend to block signals and do bad things.`` Grebow, though, insisted that a couple of hundred feet mattered greatly. The taller the antenna, he said, the less likely that viewers who get their signals via an antenna, rather than by cable or satellite, will have shadows, ghosts or reflections on their screens. ``The shadowing from the Empire State Building is terrible,`` Grebow said, adding that there are still 700,000 homes without clear television reception as a result of the collapse of the trade center antennas. An estimated 20 percent of the 7.3 million households in the New York metropolitan broadcast area do not have cable or satellite service, he said, and many of those that do plug their second television into an antenna. ``We still don`t have good reception on any station,`` said Alan Compagnon, who lives in Brooklyn Heights and uses what he called super rabbit ears. ``Most of the stations were clear before 9/11.`` But reception has never been perfect for everyone. In the late 1960s, the broadcasters then at the Empire State Building brought a lawsuit in an effort to halt construction of the trade center, claiming that the 110-story towers would reflect television signals and distort reception. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey settled the suit by agreeing to pay for some of the cost of moving the antennas to the north tower from the Empire State Building and installing new transmission equipment. Even so, WCBS-TV reported receiving more than 600 complaints about poor reception in the weeks after the station switched on its trade center antenna in 1980, and the station advised viewers to adjust their own antennas. Grebow said the signal coverage from the 2,000-foot antenna proposed for Bayonne, about 3.5 miles southwest of Manhattan, would be ```roughly equivalent`` to that from the old World Trade Center antennas, which rose to 1,750 feet. The proposed trade center tower -- a 1,776-foot tower to be known as Freedom Tower, would be even better, Grebow said, because it is in Manhattan and would be taller than the Empire State Building. Grebow contends that the Empire State Building antenna rises to only 1,350 feet, while the building`s owners and John Tauranac, the author of two books about the skyscraper, puts the antenna`s reach at 1,454 feet. Grebow also said that 4 Times Square, another skyscraper in the mix, where the developer Douglas Durst is building a 385-foot broadcast antenna that is to rise to 1,141 feet, was not a suitable backup because it would not be tall enough. Durst is signing a deal with Univision, the largest Spanish-language network in the country, which is currently broadcasting from the Empire State Building. The television alliance is negotiating with the city of Bayonne over building the costly permanent, free-standing 2,000-foot tower at the former Military Ocean Terminal, where it would pay about $5 million a year in rent and taxes. The project still needs federal and state approval. The stations are also talking to the Bloomberg administration about erecting a less expensive temporary tower on Governors Island, for which they have offered to pay $8 million a year in rent and to make an unspecified contribution toward the construction of Freedom Tower. The Bloomberg administration has been reluctant to agree to a large antenna on Governors Island, because, officials say, they fear it could turn into a permanent installation. ``We`re prepared to consider it, provided we`re absolutely convinced it`s on a short-term basis,`` said Deputy Mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff. The administration and Gov. George E. Pataki express support for permanent antennas on Freedom Tower, but there is debate over how soon the tower will be completed. So, the decision facing the broadcasting alliance now is New York or New Jersey, not both. "We have to build a permanent tower in Bayonne, which won't accept a temporary tower," Mr. Grebow said. "We have been having conversations with the city and the state about the possibility of using Governors Island. But at the moment, it seems unlikely." In the meantime, Bayonne is waiting. "We're working out the fine points of an agreement with the broadcasters," said Nancy Kist, executive director of the Bayonne Local Redevelopment Authority. "Given that the broadcasters are based in New York City, I understand their rationale for wanting to be there. It's really a matter of timing." (via Harry Helms, et al., DXLD) ** U S A. New Lowband TV Stations: With the Es season off to a pretty good start, I can report two more new low-band stations on the air... KIDA-5 Sun Valley, Idaho has applied for a license-to-cover. I have no idea what kind of programming they're running. Also applying for a license-to-cover is WBRA-DT in Roanoke, Virginia. They're a PBS affiliate on channel 3. Will this be the year someone reports a DTV by E-skip? Remember, KUTF-3 Price, Utah is new to the air too (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, May 11, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. GIVE-AND-TAKE F.C.C. AIMS TO REDRAW MEDIA MAP By STEPHEN LABATON, WASHINGTON IN a few weeks, the Federal Communications Commission will vote on what could be the most significant change in the rules governing media ownership in a generation, greatly expanding the reach of the nation`s largest broadcast and newspaper companies. With that vote, the commission`s chairman, Michael K. Powell, may finally find himself back in control. . . http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/11/business/yourmoney/11RULE.html?ex=1053672976&ei=1&en=73b6de6ccc8f56e6 (via Don Thornton, DXLD) Same article: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/05/11/business/yourmoney/11RULE.html?ex=1053921600&en=e1f769f34fab5e77&ei=5004&partner=UNTD (via Jim Thomas, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. Andrew Yoder`s 1994 pirate confrontation with the FCC: http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Miscellaneous/Orders/ormc4007.txt This is on the huge list of historical documents referenced in MUSEA section below, in the UNAUTHORIZED OPERATION subsection http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/decdoc/engrser.html (via gh, DXLD) ** U S A. PRISON SENTENCE FOR PIRATE Well, this doesn't happen very often... http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-234292A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-234292A1.pdf One Rayon Sherwin Payne of Orlando was sentenced to nine months in prison, followed by a year of supervised release and 50 hours of community service, for operating a pirate FM station. Obviously this is a far stiffer penalty than I've ever seen levied for unlicensed broadcasting. My guess is this wasn't his first offense (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, WTFDA via DXLD) This wasn't his first offense. I remember that name from 2 or 3 years ago being issued an NAL for unauthorized broadcasting. Looks like they are going to use this guy as an example to show that the FCC isn't messing around with these Florida pirates anymore. All the more reason to get the CBB ball rolling, so these guys have a place to go and play their music instead of on FM (Andrew MacKenzie, Niskayuna NY, http://www.capitalgold.org ibid.) Complete nonsense. I'd love to know how many DANGEROUS criminals aren't in jail while we pay to house this guy. With OUR tax dollars. But hey, I'm sure Lowry Mays is drinking a round to this decision. (Luke --- too young to be this cynical ;) ibid.) I wonder if they'll put this guy to work running the new prison LPFM... (Saul Chernos, Ont., ibid.) Maybe Clear Channel will pick him up when he gets out, kind of like what happens to a good hacker when they get caught... (Guy T. Falsetti, Lockport, NY, ibid.) ** U S A. Re DXLD 3-081: Glenn; That was especially interesting about WRHC-1560. I managed to get a QSL out of their illegal operation too. No wonder I logged them with 50 KW ND over here. 73s, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KTFH-1680 Seattle is now on the air. Right now, they're running non-stop Indian music, with periodic IDs giving slogan as "The Bridge" and mentioning Radio Awaz (sp?) will be heard noon-midnight [UT-7] beginning May 12 (Bruce Portzer, May 10, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. WTIR 1680 Winter Garden FL: I`m in the Orlando area and there is definitely Spanish on this frequency --- IDs as WTIR. As for religious programming, I just heard Spanish music (Bruce McFadden, May 10, IRCA via DXLD) FORMAT CHANGE AT WTIR-1680: This station uses "Alma Latina" for a slogan. Programming is entirely in Spanish. Location is announced as "Winter Garden, Orlando" (which is in Florida). I have not logged the station myself. What I have done is merely identifying it from an audio clip which contained the station ID. I have checked with a couple of DXers living in the Orlando and Tampa areas. One of them says he has not heard any ID at all, while another listener confirms that the station has been testing without any ID for some time, and from May 10 on as "Alma Latina". This means that the recording I listened to was made on the very first day they started identifying themselves on the air (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, May 11, dxing.info via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. U.S. X-BAND AT A GLANCE :: MAY 2003 Compiled by Tony King, New Zealand:: Changes since April DXT in BOLD [changed here to ## .. ##] 1610 CJWI Montreal QUE FF Caribbean music. 1620 ## WBUB ## Atmore AL Yet to be heard in US x WPHG & WPNS WDND South Bend IN ESPN Radio 1620 KOZN Bellevue NE ESPN Sport. ``The Zone`` WTAW College Station TX `Newstalk 16-20 WTAW` CBS Nx KBLI Blackfoot ID SS ``Radio Fiesta`` KYIZ Renton WA Urban/Contemporary Soul KSMH West Sacramento, CA Rel. ``Catholic Radio KSMH`` WDHP Frederikstad, US Virgins ## BBC WS to 0900. ID at :59 ## 1630 KCJJ Iowa City IA Hot AC /Classic Rock KKWY Fox Farm WY C&W AP nx `` K-W-Y`` KNAX Ft Worth/Dallas TX SS. Radio Vida/ Radio Dos Mil Dos. EE ID :58 WTEL Augusta GA `Newstalk 1630 WTEL` x WRDW [still overlooks XEUT Tijuana, tho irregular] 1640 WKSH Sussex WI Disney KDZR Lake Oswego OR Disney KDIA Vallejo CA Talk/religious/life issues ## WTNI ## Biloxi MS ``Talk Radio 1640``: ABC News 1 kw nites Good ID :30 ## KMKZ ## Enid OK Construction Permit granted. Pwr FCC approved KBJA Sandy UT SS/Radio Unica EE ID on hour 1650 WHKT Portsmouth VA ``AM1650 WHKT Portsmouth, Radio Disney`` KDNZ Cedar Falls IA Talk/ Sport ``The Talk Station``//KCNZ KWHN Fort Smith AR `Newstalk 1650 KWHN` KBJD Denver CO Talk. ``KNUS-2`` KFOX Torrance CA Korean/ EE ID on hour 1660 KTIQ Merced CA Sporting News Network `The Ticket`` WWRU Elizabeth NJ PP & SS Radio Unica/R. Portugal ## CP 10 kW nites ## WCNZ Marco Is FL `Newsradio 1660` AP nx. WQSN Kalamazoo MI Sports/talk ESPN KRZX Waco TX ``Newstalk KRZX`` (off 0600 UT) KQWB West Fargo ND Standards ``Star 1660 is KQWB AM` CNN news KXOL Brigham City UT ``Oldies Radio`` (60`s rock) KXTR Kansas City KS `Classical 1660` WGIT Canóvanas PRico SS oldies ``El Gigante`` 1670 WRNC Warner Robins GA Urban Gospel ``1670 The Light`` WTDY Madison WI Sports/Talk. ``The Big one is 1670 WTDY`` ``The Team`` KHPY Moreno Valley, CA Radio Catolica SS (nites) s/off 0800 UT. EE s/off. KNRO Redding CA ``Redding`s ESPN Radio 1670 KNRO` 1680 WTTM Princeton NJ Ethnic - Hindi WTIR Winter Garden FL ``Traveler Information Radio`` [but see above!] WJNZ Ada MI Urban/AC KAVT Fresno CA Disney/SS KTFH Seattle WA CC VV JJ RR 1kw ``The Bridge`` KRJO Monroe LA Gospel. ``Gospel 1680`` 1690 KDDZ Arvada CO Disney KFSG Roseville CA SS rel. `regional Mexican` x KSXX. EE ID on hr WPTX Lexington Park ``Newstalk 1690 WPTX`` CNN News 1700 WJCC Miami Springs FL SS/Rel/``Radio Luz`` WEUV Huntsville AL Black Gospel. ``Music of your Life.//1600 WEUC 1kw KTBK Sherman TX Sporting News Radio ``Sports Radio 1310 KTCK.`` KBGG Des Moines IA `The new AM 1700 KBGG``. CNN KQXX Brownsville TX `Oldies Radio 1700 AM` (via Mark Nicholls, NZDXT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. NAPLES' NEWEST HAITIAN RADIO STATION HOPES TO ENTERTAIN, EDUCATE LISTENERS Friday, May 9, By ELIZABETH WENDT, Naples News When Josue Alusma talks about the musical format of Radio New Star, Naples' newest Haitian radio station, he rattles off a list of sounds and shows. There's hip-hop and reggae. There's local and international news, especially headlines from Haiti. On Sundays, there's religious programming, and on Saturdays, the station gives its listeners a taste of Latin pop. But the term Alusma returns to most to describe the new station is "educational." [Caption: Josue Alusma, president of Naples' newest Haitian radio station, Radio New Star, delivers a news report earlier this week in his studio off Linwood Avenue in East Naples. Dan Wagner/Staff] He wants Radio New Star to make more than a musical impact on the Southwest Florida Haitian community. "Naples is a good place for education, for family," Alusma, 31, said. "And we really want to make it safer. That's why we push the educational part." Naples' second Haitian radio station went on the air Feb. 1, with Alusma as its president and co-creator. He gave up his career as a Naples engineer for the station, pouring $12,000 of his own money into the equipment that fills the small, windowless room in an East Naples office building. His partner, Golden Gate obstetrician Dr. Ferio François, matched Alusma's financial sum to purchase more equipment, including the subcarrier generator needed for the station to broadcast, Alusma said. As a subcarrier station, Radio New Star's listeners must have a receiver to hear the programming. The Federal Communications Commission defines a subcarrier station as a channel transmitted along with a main audio signal over a broadcast station; Radio New Star can be heard by receiver, night and day, on 88.7 Way FM, a Southwest Florida Christian station. Most receivers retail between $35 and $70, Alusma said, and he is happy to help listeners install theirs. To find out more, call Alusma at (239) 289-6099. The station can also be heard online by visiting http://www.shoutcast.com and entering "Radio New Star" in the search field. About three months into its operations, Alusma thinks Radio New Star is reaching listeners throughout Southwest Florida. The 15 advertisers on the station include local doctors, lawyers and retail stores, he said. The station has a staff of 10, including disc jockey Jean-Arthur Boyer. When not in the studio giving the international and local news, or when not gabbing with callers to the station — casually switching his speech from English to Creole and French — Boyer works for the state Department of Juvenile Justice in Naples. He is also finishing up his bachelor degree in criminal justice at International College. He manages to squeeze in time for Radio New Star, though. "It's just like school to me," Boyer, 32, said. "It keeps me up to date. I feel like I learn more than I am giving to the audience. It keeps me alive." In addition to giving the news and spinning songs, Boyer hosts a show focusing on legal issues. While he emphasized he doesn't give legal advice, Boyer said he does try to give Haitian newcomers a clearer sense of local laws. "We try to do everything possible for our community to know the law," Alusma added. When someone arrives from Haiti, Boyer said, they have more than a language barrier to overcome. They have a cultural barrier to surmount, too. Simply existing within the borders of a country is no way to be a part of it, Boyer said. That's one of the reasons he switches back and forth between Creole or French and English. "They're not just living in the United States," Boyer said. "We make them feel like they belong in the United States. We are pushing them to learn." Boyer and Alusma agree that the needs — and the nature — of Southwest Florida's Haitian community are changing. Both men moved to the Naples area from Haiti more than 10 years ago. Since then, they have adopted more than a country; they have tried to take on an understanding of its customs and culture, too. Beyond sharing entertainment, Alusma and Boyer said they want to share experience. "We know their needs because we are part of the population," Boyer said. Naples' first Haitian radio station, a subcarrier station which can be heard on 89.5 Praise FM, went on the air in September 2002. Alusma said he doesn't see that station as competition, but as an opportunity for his station to do something else to reach the Haitian community. With Radio New Star, he is aiming for increased awareness in the Haitian community. "We want to make sure we help the community with everything that's possible," Alusma said. Simone Milce of Fort Myers said she is tuning in to the new station. She moved to the area almost two decades ago and remembers when there was nothing for Haitians in Southwest Florida seeking news or entertainment. "A long time ago, we had no information," Milce said. "I think this is a blessing from God." http://www.naplesnews.com/03/05/business/d932704a.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. Obituary: Burton Paulu, Ph.D., 92, pioneer in educational radio, and long-time manager of KUOM (AM 770) Minneapolis. He went to Europe and wrote several books on broadcasting in Britain and Eastern Europe. As a grad student in 1931 he took a job at the campus radio station, and developed a music appreciation series on what became KUOM. In 1938 he became station director of KUOM, which shared the daytime 5 kW frequency with WCAL *770 Northfield MN (now WCAL is exclusively on FM, 89.3). He saw to it that KUOM was awarded an FM frequency in 1948 *91.7), but never built the station. I urged him, as a 17-year-old, in 1952 to create an FM radio network like Wisconsin just completed, but he replied that FM was ``not in the cards.`` A friend of mine saw the letter before I sent it, and said it was quite an editorial. I later, in the early 1960s, lobbied WMMR, a student carrier-current station, to go FM, but nobody took an interest then. Now KUOM-FM is a share-time 8-watt station on *106.5 that covers only a small part of the metro area. But I derive some satisfaction in being a co-founder as an undergraduate of what became KUMD *103.3 Duluth (Bruce Elving, May FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. SUPPORTERS OF ISRAEL PLAN TO PROTEST NPR OVER NEWS COVERAGE By BRIAN LEWIS Staff Writer Some local supporters of Israel are planning a protest of National Public Radio on Sunday to call attention to what they call bias in the radio network's news coverage. It's one of dozens of NPR protests planned for next week, loosely organized by the Jewish Action Taskforce. . . http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/03/05/32542162.shtml?Element_ID=32542162 (via Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, DXLD) ** U S A. The IBOC on your own station *can* cause problems with analog reception. The lab test data filed with the FCC showed significant drops in SNR for 3 out of the 4 analog receivers tested, when IBOC was turned on. The most affected was a Technics "hi-fi" receiver, with a drop in SNR of 9 dB. Since only a few receivers were tested, it is unlikely that any of them were close to "worst case". Also, the tests were done at signal levels corresponding to the 5 mV/m contour - at lower signal levels, the drop in SNR could make the difference between reception success and failure. Even if only a few listeners are badly affected, why run IBOC when there are zero IBOC receivers available? Most likely they decided to put it on the back burner until some receivers show up in stores (Barry McLarnon, Ont., May 12, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Whither IBOC? -- The system known by many engineers as "In-Band-OFF-Channel" continues to make it's strides, for better or worse. Sometimes here in SoCal, one can catch the innovative Digital emissions on KXNT-840, out of Las Vegas....which, interestingly enough, is NOT on the "official" list of IBOC stations. Their test signals have been noted several times in the early evenings...always accompanied by a loud hash interfering with KPLS-830, and practically covering KOA and KACD on 850. On the FM side, KROQ-106.7 is now running IBOC, and a similar effect in the form of a loud buzz is noted covering 106.5 and 106.9, on the trusty ICOM R-7000. That same buzz is also present on those frequencies, when tuned on a regular stock- Honda radio. So far, I've seen nothing written about the IBOC-FM effects....which can be potentially more damaging to plain ol' listenership, given the larger numbers of FM-vs.-AM casual users. This could get good...when one notes the substantial number of "move-in" FM allocations, already adding to dial congestion in growing Sun Belt areas such as Dallas, Houston, Atlanta and much of Florida. (Similar frequency moves have recently occurred in the Kansas City area, and in northern New Jersey.) Will this same hash carry itself thousand of miles away via e-skip FM-DX reception? How will this Digi-Hash affect the growing number of FM second- adjacent frequency grants, as noted above? Perhaps we're seeing the beginnings of a new source of business for attorneys who specialize in communications issues. Kinda' makes me nostalgic for the old Kahn AM- Stereo system. Speaking of whom...--Leonard Kahn himself continues as a lone voice of practicality, in an impractical universe. I would guess Mr. Kahn is in his late 80's by now, still operating out of a Long Island garage....and his latest idea is an alternative to the IBOC system. He says his design will permit on-channel Digital broadcasting, but without the sideband hash which threatens to completely undo splatter- control technology implemented by the NRSC, several years ago. (Many may recall the prime move there, which limited U.S. AM transmissions to a 10 kHz bandwidth.) Sideband splash-schmutz has always hurt AM listenership, but we ain't seen nothing yet...widespread use of IBOC is very likely to render any form of AM DXing (or, run of the mill reception of out-of-market stations), anything from extremely irritating, to obsolete. Leonard Kahn, in my opinion, borders on genius, and I was certainly a proponent of his AM Stereo system (as opposed to any of the other four systems offered in the "marketplace", years ago). That system was generally known as being the "friendliest", by far, to both engineers and consumers. Mr. Kahn, though, suffers from Political Incorrectitude --- not in the conventional sense, but through an apparent inability to make the proper connections among the marketeers who decide what will be tested, and what will be discarded. He's probably just too honest for the lot of them. Smoking Salem -- Or, will Salem "smoke" KCBQ-1170? That is a stated possibility by September. Seems their venerable Santee transmitter site has been sold for commercial development, as San Diego continues it's leaps-and-bounds growth into the SoCal outback. KCBQ license- holder Salem Communications has unsuccessfully lobbied the S.D. County Board of Supervisors, to approve a new location for the multi-tower directional array. Salem now says KCBQ may bite the dust by Fall 2003, if a new site is not found. Now, maybe it's just me...but it seems they could work out an arrangement with their own KPRZ-1210, involving it's non-threatened tower site in San Marcos, to continue operation -- - even if that involved a change in the city of license. Or, they could drop power (50 kW days), and go non-directional from any number of in-city sites --- still blanketing San Diego proper, and not allowing too much signal out of the semi-immediate area. Hey! Wait a minute! That's what's going on RIGHT NOW!! Tell me who, while trying to hear KCBQ in San Bernardino, Santa Ana or L.A., would EVER guess that their highly-directional signal is pumping 50,000 watts?? Keep in mind, Salem is the same firm that shut down the well-established KAIM-870 in Honolulu last year, allegedly in order to allow KRLA to boost it's night power. Guess what? KAIM is now back on the air! Their earlier incarnation boasted a 50 kW signal, directional to the West across Oahu and the mid-Pacific, from multi- towers on a spread of land, on the west end of Molokai. KAIM is back on with, I believe, 7500 watts from a non-directional diplexed stick in Honolulu-proper. Oh, by the by, they DID sell that land on Molokai --- mere coincidence, I'm sure. Does anyone else remember KCBQ's amped-up turntables in the early 70's? Seems they had at least one TT that would play 33s at 34.5 RPM, 45s at 47 RPM, and so on. Over the course of any given day, such engineering feats surely made room for more music...and more commercials, as well! I was always surprised no one in L.A. had done a similar deed...and was even more amazed, that listeners did not complain, and apparently didn't even notice. (After 1972, KCBQ would occasionally play "Crocodile Rock" by Elton John --- on one of those souped-up TTs, it made for the audio equivalent of a cup of Espresso!) A Bite of the Apple -- Disney has reserved the call letters WEPN, apparently for it's recently-purchased AM 1050 outlet in New York. That's the present home of WEVD, a set of calls that dates back to 1928. The original 'EVD was built with the help of a memorial fund honoring early Socialist Eugene V. Debs, certainly carrying some history into our crazed Modern Times. 'Twould truly be sad to see yet another set of classic calls discarded. And on a similar subject, go to http://www.fybush.com, for a fascinating look at the combined WCBS/WFAN transmitter site on High Island, just off the Bronx coast. More as it happens (GREG HARDISON, Conexión Digital May 11 via DXLD) I suspect the above is quoted from some other publication, not specified (gh) ** VATICAN [and non]. Who is the patron saint of broadcasting? Two saints can apply. The Archangel Gabriel, whose statue is at the Vatican Radio transmitter site at Santa Maria di Galeria, is the patron saint of broadcasters. Some of you, like me, may have one of the famous Vatican Radio QSLs with the statue of Gabriel in the foreground and a cross-shaped antenna tower in the background. Also, St. Paul is the patron saint of people in communications, including the press and electronic media; he presumably got that title because he was so famous for his writings. I heard about Gabriel from Tom Meyer on his "Happy Station" show on Radio Netherlands a few years ago. The word on St. Paul is on the authority of my aunt, Sister M. Eileen Heffernan, who has belonged to the Daughters of St. Paul in Boston for many years. That order runs a number of Catholic schools and bookstores, and produces such things as religious books, videos and audio tapes, radio programs for use on Christian stations, tapes and CDs of choral and other religious music, magazines, and instructional materials for Catholic education. St. Paul, as patron saint of communications, is a natural choice for such an order. When I visited my aunt in 1997, we made a point of visiting the Marconi National Historic Site in South Wellfleet, Massachusetts; as she said, "It's not just a shrine for you as a DXer and broadcaster, but Marconi was also important to our order's mission." And yes, one of the sisters is a shortwave listener, whose favorite station is pretty easy to guess! On a slightly related subject, I once got some pretty bookmarks from the famous Italian DXer Salvatore Placanica that had photos of gorgeous flowers and Biblical quotes in Italian. When I looked on the back, I saw the name "Edizioni Paolini" (pardon any spelling errors), which of course translates as "Pauline Editions." Sure enough, it was the Italian branch of my aunt's order! Small world.... ;-) 73, (Marie Lamb, NY, May 9, swprograms via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 9270 at 2220 Friday 10th May. UNID with Indian and ME style music, OM announcer. Deep cyclic QSB peaked to SIO 222, some QRM from MOSSAD/numbers station. Could not identify language. Best on LSB. Can't seem to find any reference other than Mossad on this frequency. Ideas (TX sprog?)? 73 (Sean G4UCJ Gilbert, UK, RECEIVER: ICOM IC756 + ATU + Audio Filter; GRUNDIG SATELLIT 600, 3000, ANTENNA: Low Band vertical with 32 x 10m ground radials, Indoor dipoles for 14-30 MHz and 50 MHz/Band I TV, 1.3m diameter MW loop + FET Preamp, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ LIMA LION`S CLUB I'm doing a presentation before the Lion's Club next Wednesday. I'm looking for audio clips of wartime broadcasts that I can play to show what shortwave radio sounds like. Clips do not necessarily have to be pro/con a political view, but if possible, in English. I'm most interested in finding the audio clip of the two US military planes that shot down an Iraq plane in 1991. I recall it was floating around the net, but can't find it now. E-mail me (off this list), and guide me to any sites that might be interesting. Perhaps we can entice some more shortwave enthusiasts into the fold!! (Fred Vobbe, Lima OH, fred@vobbe.com May 11, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) MUSEA +++++ The FCC seems to have posted some new documents on their "Early Radio" site http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/decdoc/engrser.html If you haven't read this before, and you have any interest in the technical history of broadcasting in the U.S., you need to RUN (not walk!) to this URL and take a look (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN, WTFDA via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS +++++++++++ TOPHOUR For the benefit of those who aren't familiar with this neat website I just discovered, direct your browsers to http://www.tophour.net and have a look-around. There are many many different AM and FM top of the hour station IDs to listen to, assuming you can use realone's player. Check it out AM station ID fans! (Ron Gitschier, Palm Coast, FL, NRC- AM via DXLD) Tophour.net is one of my favorite sites - it's the brainchild of Brian Davis, who does radio in Dubuque. (Along with fellow NRC'er Garrett Wollman, I had a nice visit with him out there a couple of summers ago.) I'm now in the habit of sending copies of my legal IDs both to Brian and to John Bowker for his DXAS Travelogs. Right now, Brian's digesting the first set of a three-CD set of IDs from that summer 1991 trip (John got a copy, too) with much more to follow... My secret fantasy is that someday I can get both these guys in the same room and hammer out a way to get the Bowker Collection onto Brian's site. Then I can die in peace :-) s (Scott Fybush, NY, NRC-AM via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ CLARIFICATION ON THE NW7US OUTLOOK ON HF CONDITIONS FOR SPRING/SUMMER 2003 [re: DXLD 3-080] Hi, folks. Mark Fine of Remington, Virginia, USA, wrote in response to my e-mail posting "HF Outlook for Spring/Summer 2003" that: "With more hours of daylight, it increases the amount of ionization and the effective "height" of the ionosphere, thus increasing distance and MUF. See Davies' "Ionospheric Propagation", IEEE Press. It is why frequency managers usually band-shift up for Summer paths, and down for Winter paths. BTW, it has absolutely nothing to do with solar temperature. You're confusing another effect that has to do with stratospheric "warming" which increases absorption - an effect that usually occurs more frequently on the down side of the solar cycle." I want to clarify my remark regarding summer time MUFs. One cannot condense complex science into a single, generalized statement, as I had. This was my generalization: "As we move closer to summer, the days grow longer in the Northern Hemisphere and the sun heats up and thins the ionosphere. With less ionization, the maximum frequency refracted is lower than during colder months. By June, this thinning causes a real reduction in the MUF." I based this on several references, one being "the New Shortwave Propagation Handbook" by George Jacobs, Theodore J. Cohen, and Robert B. Rose. On page 1-11, under the Seasonal Variation section, the book reads, "The seasonal behavior of the F2 layer is rather complicated. During the northern hemisphere winter months the atmosphere is cold, the Earth is closer to the Sun, and daytime ionization is very intense; thus, critical frequencies are high. During the long hours of winter darkness, on the other hand, the ionosphere has more time to lose its electrical charge, and nighttime critical frequencies fall to very low levels. In the summer a heating effect takes place in the F2 layer, causing it to expand during the daylight hours and resulting in a lower ionization density than is observed during the winter. As a result, summer daytime F2-layer critical frequencies are lower than winter values. On the other hand, because of the longer hours of daylight during the summer, recombination does not occur to the extent that it does in winter. As a result, nighttime F2-layer critical frequencies during the summer months are significantly higher than they are during the winter months. The variation between day and night critical frequencies during the summer is much smaller than during the winter." Now, I took a random year, and looked at the published propagation charts in QST for 1981. I looked at January's charts, and compared them to July's. Sure enough, for the most part, most paths show a higher MUF in January than in July. The average was higher in July, but the peak was higher in January. I then ran some IONCAP sessions with January and July of this year, based on the forecasted smoothed sunspots, and the same thing showed true. I did note, however, those paths that cross the North Pole region did have higher MUFs in the summer. I think that would be due to the fact that there is more ionization during daylight hours in the summer over the North Pole. Regarding this topic, I received the following correspondence from Carl, K9LA: "To answer your question, you have to distinguish between day and night. The reason summer MUFs are lower during the day is due to ion chemistry, not a thinning of the ionosphere. The electron production rate depends on atoms, whereas the loss rate is controlled by molecules. In a nutshell, the ratio of atoms to molecules is higher in winter than in summer. Hunsucker and Hargreaves (The High-Latitude Ionosphere and its Effects on Radio Propagation) give the ratios as about 6 in winter and about 2 in summer. I've attached Bob's article on this topic from the Jan/Feb 2002 issue of The DX Magazine. 4S7VK's comment about summer MUFs being higher applies to night. Check out the last figure in Bob's article and you can see this. Mr. Fine's comment about higher heights giving increased distance and higher MUFs is half-correct. Yes, the higher height gives a longer distance, but it gives a lower MUF because the ray now is incident on the ionosphere at a higher angle. The height issue is why the E region MUF is about 5 times foE and the F region MUF is about 3 times foF2 - a higher height equals a lower MUF for a given critical frequency. BTW stratwarms are strictly a December through April phenomenon, and I have to admit I've never looked to see if they're more prevalent during the descending phase of a solar cycle. The data certainly is there to do this." I still think that my general outlook for the summer of 2003 is valid. With a high level of geomagnetic storminess, such as what we are having right now, it will be an interesting summer on the High Frequencies. 73 de Tomas, NW7US // AAR0JA -- : Propagation Editor, CQ/PopComm Magazines - Member, USArmy MARS : : http://prop.hfradio.org : Brinnon, Washington 122.93W 47.67N : : A creator of solutions : http://accessnow.com : Perl Rules! : : 10x56526 - FISTS 7055 - FISTS NW 57 - http://hfradio.org/barsc : : A.R.Lighthouse Society 144 -- CW, SSB, RTTY, AMTOR, DX-Hunting : (swl via DXLD) My last comment on this subject, because I strongly disagree that your generalization is correct - primarily because it is extremely misleading. The smoothed T-Index for January 2003 was 112. The same predicted T-Index for July 2003 is about HALF that at 61. So of course July is going to look lower than January, but only because of the position within the cycle. Bottom Line: You need to be careful when oversimplifying and overgeneralizing such information without providing the relevant data, otherwise it's about as truthful as a huckster on WWRB (Mark J. Fine / Remington, Virginia, USA, ibid.) Noted. Hence, my clarification. I'll be sure not to generalize in the same way in future writings. The charts I looked at were based on about the same smoothed number (70 and 56 - not 112 and 61). For the sake of comparison, I ran the same charts (Jan and Jul) using 62 for both months (Jan and Jul). I got the same overall results. Yes, there are paths where the overall MUF is higher than in Winter. Yet, on many paths I checked, there were higher peaks in Winter, with lower nighttime MUFs. Here is another area that gets oversimplified. General outlooks on propagation conditions are misleading. Many outlooks generated from the United States are useless for those, say, in Australia, because the audience is expected to be those in North America. And what is expected for the East Coast might be quite different from what can be expected for Alaska. In all of that, I try to be careful in my generalizations. But, that, too, is a generalization. One would not want to be a huckster. 73 de (Tomas, NW7US // AAR0JA, ibid.) ###