DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-124, July 13, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser, ghauser@hotmail.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits HTML version of this issue will be posted later at http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldtd3g.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 1190: RFPI: Sun 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 on 7445/15039 WBCQ: Mon 0445 on 7415, 5100? WWCR: Wed 0930 on 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1190h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1190.html WORLD OF RADIO ON 7485 Dear Glenn, Just returned from a 4 week vacation I can tell you that last Sunday (July 6) I heard your World of Radio of June 24 in Ghent, Belgium, on 7485 kHz at 0935 UT, as broadcast by a probably British pirate. 73, (Erik Koie, Copenhagen, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not to be confused with WJIE, 7490, where we are supposedly still scheduled Sat 0930, Sun 1030. BTW, after a period of improved modulation on 7490, I am not hearing that or 13595 at all lately, including at 1630 Sun July 13 when WOR 1179 might have appeared yet again (gh) WORLD OF RADIO ON RFPI Anomaly: I heard WOR 1190 open on RFPI 7445 kHz at 0203 GMT 12 Jul 03. 73 de KB9NXD (Michael A. Mathis, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So was already half an hour late; also noted after 1430 Sat, another half hour late (gh) ** AFRICA. In the past few weeks there have been quite a number of interesting developments in the African SW broadcasting scene, so I made just another update of africalist: http://africa.coolfreepage.com/africalist This is still a list of almost all subsaharan africa SW broadcasters sorted by frequency and country, zipped .xls-file (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Germany, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I have problems opening that format, and wish you would just skip the zipping and the xls (gh) ** ANTARCTICA [non]. FCC ATTEMPTING TO RECTIFY CALL SIGN GOOF The FCC has issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order (MO&O) in an effort to rescind a vanity call sign it issued in error to a Virginia amateur. Last August, the FCC`s Licensing and Technical Analysis Branch of the Public Safety and Private Wireless Division (within the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau) erroneously granted the request of Richard L. Smith of Chesapeake, Virginia, to have the call sign KC4USH. The Branch is responsible for issuing all amateur license and call sign grants. The Commission says that since the KC4USA through KC4USZ call sign block has been made available to the US Navy for the use of amateur stations in Antarctica, the KC4USH call sign should not have been issued to Smith, a General-class licensee who used to be KG4UKV. The FCC now wants Smith to take back his former call sign (along with a refund of his vanity application fee, of course). The MO&O was released July 3 and signed by D`wana Terry, Chief of the Public Safety and Private Wireless Division. The FCC will not issue a modification order until Smith has received notice of the proposed action and has a chance to protest, something he must do in writing within 30 days (ARRL Letter July11 via John Norfolk, DXLD) QSO/QSL him while you can!!! (gh, DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. FEEDER: 5400-L, Radio 101, Buenos Aires, 0400-0430, July 9, Spanish, musical program, comments by female announcer, ads., IDs "La 101", "Ud. escucha la 101", "La 101 solo igual a vos", 24442, // 101.1 MHz FM (Eramo, Argentina) 5400-L, La Red AM 910, Buenos Aires, 0944-0948, July 10, Spanish, program "Puntos de Vista", ID "La Red AM 910", 24442, // 910 KHz, (Nicolás Eramo, Villa Lynch, Argentina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. Glenn, Tuned into R. Vilnius around 2345 UT 9875 kHz on July 12, 2003. Wanted to know who was causing QRM. Tuned down to 9870 and heard English. Sounded familiar so I listened to 9870 instead of R. Vilnius as originally intended. Got positive ID at 2358 UT as R. Austria Int. Male announcer gave new mailing address. The mailbag program began. After 2 letters the signal abruptly cut off. Was the signal cut off intended? Or, was there a problem? I believe intended. Checking the ORF website for the latest skeds http://roi.orf.at/english/en_schemadownload.html I see 9870 was in use until 0000 UT. What is the purpose of cutting off in mid sentence? I know ORF is currently having difficulties, but this is sloppy and will turn away potential listeners. 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Surprised they are still doing a mailbag, even a fraxional one (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. ZW7S - II BRAZILIAN NATIONAL SCOUT JAMBOREE will be active from July 12nd to 19th, 2003, day and night operating on World Scout frequencies plus Echolink as ZW7S e PY2RAR. JOTA HF Voice Calling Frequencies 3590, 7090, 14190, 21190, 28590 kHz 14290, 18140, 21360, 24960, 28390 kHz (DX) Band, Frequency and mode will be displayed at http://www.radioescotismo.com.br/zw7s and through DX-Telnet. Amateur Radio is an attraction to 2.000 participants and there will be an special QSL Card celebrating the activity. Radio Scouting Team: PY2RAR, PT7HI, PS7NF, PY4SLC, PY5ZC, PY5ISA, PU5VIV and PY5EI. QSLs: via Bureau or Direct to the manager, together with a SASE, to receive ZW7S QSL Card. QSL manager: PY2RAR - Ronan A Reginatto Avenida 1, 2091 Rio Claro, SP - Brazil 13503-250 e-QSLs to zw7s@radioescotismo.com.br (Wireless Institute of Australia Q-News July 13 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CAMBODIA. Re Beehive Radio: Note that this one is also in the WRTH- 2003 as station 15). (Olle Alm, Sweden, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sombok ka Mum on 105.0 ** CHINA [and non]. Alan Davies reports from Kolkata: Going back to those newish Chinese high- and super-power transmitters, I would suggest that there are at least 2 of them on each of the 'new' CNR frequencies, as below (1134 and 1377, tentatively from Lhasa, were not audible in early year 2000 from here, but are now very strong, so both appear to be new arrivals). 1134: At this location there are at least 2 transmitters audible carrying CNR-1 at night with echo effect characteristic of Chinese MW transmitters sharing same channel and programming but with different delays in the audio feeds. One is very strong, sometimes dominating over the AIR 1000 kW station located a few 10s of km from here, and I would guess Lhasa as possible site. WRTH lists Lhasa on this frequency but with Xizang PBS Ch (maybe they have listed the right location and frequency but wrong network?). (Alan Davis in Kolkata, 1 July) In daytime, very weak carriers are just about detectable here on 1134 and 1377 both with roughly the same bearing as 594 Lhasa, but direction finding from hotel rooms can be misleading. On 1134 at night, the strong CNR-1's audio is slightly behind that of the weaker co-channel CNR-1 transmitter(s). (Alan Davis in Guwahati, 6 July) Late at night I'm hearing CNR-1 on 1116 kHz from around 1600 and CNR-2 on 1260 kHz from around 1355. Not sure if these are new unlisted frequencies or relays via known local stations, but if so, most likely Sichuan and the Tibet local respectively (Alan Davis in Guwahati, 6 July) 1377: In Calcutta, dominant signal is strong Xizang PBS Chinese service // 5935, 7170 and other SWs. I suspect location is Lhasa, and bearing seems to be same as Tibetan-language service on 594 kHz. The CNR-1 station audible in Indonesia and elsewhere in SE Asia must be from a different site. Henan Province was mentioned in a QSL from CNR (Alan Davis in Kolkata, 1 July) Now in Guwahati, Assam. Here the CNR-1 signal on 1377 is audible at night under Tibet-Ch and is in the clear for a few minutes after Tibet signs off at 1730, so there are definitely two or more transmitters on the channel (Alan Davis in Guwahati, 6 July) 1593: Weak CNR-1 just audible in Calcutta under AIR Bhopal. In SE Asia, the signal is much stronger, with early fade in at Surabaya around 1115, same time as Taiwan transmitters on 1521, 1539 and 1557, suggesting site in SE China (maybe Fujian / Zhejiang / Jiangxi area). But Scandinavian DXers also report a CNR-1 signal with propagation characteristics suggesting Xinjiang or nearby as probable location of 'their' CNR-1 signal (Alan Davis in Kolkata, 1 July) (all ARC via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Domestic Latin broadcasters are currently making a strong showing on our bands. Little is heard, however, from Colombia. This once-strong radio country used to have shortwave broadcasters all over the tropical bands some 25 years ago. But times have changed and all but a handful of broadcasters have disappeared from the shortwave spectrum. That is why I was delighted to hear La Voz de tu Conciencia in Lomalinda, Meta, Colombia. Noted on 6009.9 kHz, I have been monitoring this frequency for some weeks now. As previously reported, I had noted a very strong signal from R. Mil, Mexico City and several other stations underneath. However, on July 11 the Colombian was well above R. Mil and anything else on the frequency. First noted at 0710 with a religious program and many mentions of "La Palabra de Dios" (the word of God), "El Señor" and "Cristo". The program lasted nearly an hour. Then, after 0800 a popular music program and a very clear ID for La Voz de tu Conciencia and many mentions of Colombia. If you want to QSL Colombia, this may be a good chance. But make sure you are listening to the right station, because Mexico and Chile are also on the same frequency! Good luck! Regards (Rob Wagner (VK3BVW), Receivers: Yaesu FRG100, Sangean 909, Antennas: 14 mHz dipole, 5 MHz T2FD, July 13, EDXP via DXLD) ** CUBA. Jamming US satellite broadcasts to IRAN: q.v. Sounds like a topic for DXUL ** CUBA. RADIOS GRATIS PARA CUBA En su programa "La Hora de Chibás" del 12 de julio en Radio Miami Internacional, el locutor Mario Jiménez hizo a todos los oyentes en Cuba la siguiente oferta: Si le envían un informe de recepción de uno de sus programas, él les enviará completamente gratis un pequeño receptor portátil de onda corta marca Bell and Howell. Esta oferta está abierta solamente para los oyentes en Cuba. "La Hora de Chibás" se transmite cada sábado a las 8:30 p.m. hora de Cuba (son las 0030 UT domingo) en la frecuencia de 9955 kHz. Informes se deben enviar a: Mario Jiménez La Hora de Chibás P. O. Box 451132 Miami, Florida 33245-1132 Estados Unidos de América (Jeff White, WRMI, July 13, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Radio Federación Shuar, Sucúa; 7-3-03; 4960 kHz; 0929-1015 UT; Shuar language (no Spanish); Andean-sounding pop music, spoken segments by male announcer, and a bit of traditional solo singing by female singer. Could not positively ID; otherwise, what I heard matches WRTH info; SINPO 44333; Icom R71A with dipole for 60 meters; (John Sandin; Merriam, KS; DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR [and non]. Caught most of this week`s DXPL on HCJB, 15115, Sat July 12 until 1259:30. Then played an ID claiming that they were still on both 15115 and 12005. Quickly flipped to 12005 but nothing there. Probably never was, tho it could have just gone off. More likely, this is another of countless HCJB ID announcements that have not been updated since their drastic cutbacks May 31. On WINB, the correct edition did play from 0001:40 UT Sunday on 12160 and ran to the end at 0031:10 or so. After long pauses and ID, correct WOR 1190 started at 0032. On WWCR, the correct DXPL also played UT Sun 0200 on 5070; I wonder if they had it in time for the Sat 0900 airing? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 1017: AIR Chennai B (mostly in English and Hindi) has moved to 1017 kHz ex-1395. AIR Mysore has reportedly moved from 1017 kHz to FM, thus vacating the channel. 1332 AIR Mangalore 1332 kHz is now silent and replaced by FM 100.3 MHz. AIR Mangalore is still relayed on 1089 kHz from nearby Udipi. 1224 AIR Kolkata 1224 kHz, which went inactive in early 2000, was on air this morning (1 July around 0500 UT) relaying AIR Kolkata FM 100.2 MHz. I'm not sure whether this is a regular transmission or some kind of test (Alan Davis in Kolkata, 1 July, ARC via DXLD) ** INDIA. COMMUNITY RADIO BROADCASTING by W. D. Mathur With the advent of community broadcasting, a whole new exciting world awaits listeners in far-flung areas where radio listening revolves around community centres. . . http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dx_india/message/772 (via Alokesh Gupta, dx_india via DXLD) Archives of this group are public ** INDONESIA. Hello DX-ers. In fact one would not expect mid-summer in Central Europe to be a good time for reception of weak RRI stations in the 60 m band. However, the experience over the last few weeks has shown that reality is different. Two recently reactivated RRI stations from Irian Jaya (Wamena on 4870kHz and Fak Fak on 4790 kHz) are regular guests in our evening hours (s/on around 2000 UT). Although signal strength is low, they now offer some unique reception opportunities of stations not heard in the past. In discussion about this topic with Belgian and Dutch fellow DX-ers, we all noticed that RRI Fak-Fak on 4790 kHz carries a rather unusual program. After s/on (varying from 2000 to 2015 UT), invariably at about 2030 (until 2100) the program format changes to an endless repeat of one melody and song. An audio file of this can be found at http://www.dxa.be/dxsounds/MyFavoriteRRIFakFakmx.rm (made by Guido Schotmans, Belgium). Nice to listen to (if reception quality would be a bit better), but also in Indonesia an endless repeat of the same thing cannot be the magic way to attract listeners. Does someone of the list readers (Australians ?) know what this type of program is for ? Just a lack of creativity of programing staff in the early morning hours, or a special reason ? (Regards, Aart Rouw, Bühl, Germany via HCDX via SW Bulletin via DXLD) ** INTERNATINAL VACUUM. When C-Span stopped offering BBCWS on an audio subcarrier of its analog C-band satellite signal, I drew some consolation from the fact that WVGN, an NPR station in the US Virgin Islands carried in digital on KU-band on Telstar 5 carries BBCWS overnight. But I find feature programs are not available. Imagine my surprise to hear the announcement "You're listening to BBCWS News on Sirius." (Which follows the non-legal ID "You're listening to member- supported WVGN, your NPR station for the Virgin Islands.") Are Sirius and BBC now authorizing their signal for use by rebroadcasters? I thought PRI had the lock on BBCWS distribution in the U.S. (Mike Cooper, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Resultantly, we have also lost BBCWS on local cable TV in Enid, where one of the public access channels used to run it some 11 hours per day/night. Notice refers to BBC cancelling contract with C-SPAN, and it`s replaced by C-SPAN 1 Audio. Altho as previously reported here, BBCWS blames C-SPAN! Which is it? And why not replace by WRN instead? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. HOW SATELLITE IS SAVING THE RADIO STARS David Coursey: I'm a radio fan, but had feared for its future --- until I discovered satellite radio You may not believe this, but it's 1:50 a.m. and I've gotten out of bed and come downstairs to write this column just so I can tell you how much I love "It". No, not the column. Or almost falling down the darkened staircase as my size 12.5s slid out from under me. No, I'm here to tell you how much I love It, a special programme that's been running continuously for the past 10 days on XM Satellite Radio (currently only available in the United States), in which every record that's made the pop music charts since the Depression is being played back in chronological order. . . http://comment.zdnet.co.uk/story/0,,t479-s2137423,00.html (ZD Net UK July 11 via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER FORECASTS ON AIR The HHS [?] is on USB 4317.9, 8503.9, 12789.9, voice and fax with latest info on all tropical storm and hurricane forecasts, weather maps and satellite photos try putting all 3 frequencies in memory and check each one for best reception. I am getting a decent signal with just the built in whip antenna and have my old computer interfaced from the ats-909 from the line out to the soundcard to decode the fax. Careful tuning is crucial (charleysx, July 13, DX-398 yahoogroup via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. MUSEUM SHIPS SPECIAL EVENT SET: The USS Cassin Young Radio Club will sponsor the annual Museum Ships Special Event July 19-20 (UTC). Seventy museum vessels -- including everything from aircraft carriers and battleships to submarines and tugboats -- are expected to participate in the event. While most vessels are in the US, several are in Europe. Stations set up onboard participating vessels will use SSB and CW (as well as other modes, including AM, PSK31 and IRLP) on various HF amateur frequencies. All of these museum ships are open to the public. More information, including suggested frequencies and a list of participating vessels, is available on the USS Cassin Young Radio Club Web site [at] http://www.qsl.net/ww2dd/event.html which will be updated as new information is available (ARRL July 10 via John Norfolk, DXLD) Well now that the new year has started lets put aside July 19 and 20 2003 for this years Museum Ships Special Event. The operating time will be from July 19 0001Z through 2359Z July 20. The ships listed below will using SSB and CW on various frequencies on all the Amateur HF Bands. All of these museum ships are open to the public so that all may experience what it was like to live and work on a ship. Please visit this page for updates to the event information as it unfolds. If the callsigns of the ships are underlined you may click on the callsigns to send email to the ham radio contact for that ship. Here is the list of participating ships for the year 2003 Museum Ship Event. Please let us know of your participation for this year. We need more ships! I will add ships to the list as I am notified of their participation. Note: If anyone knows of any ships that want to participate please have them contact me so I can add them to the list. Also please send me corrections. We now have 70 participating ships/stations! This list is the official participants that will be counted towards a certificate. NAME TYPE OF SHIP LOCATION CALLSIGN QSO's USS Hornet Aircraft Carrier Alameda Point, CA NB6GC USS Lexington Aircraft Carrier Corpus Christi Texas W5LEX USS Saratoga Aircraft Carrier Rhode Island WA1USA USS Alabama Battleship Mobile, Alabama W4BPR USS Missouri Battleship Pearl Harbor, HI KH6BB USS New Jersey Battleship Camden, New Jersey NJ2BB USS North Carolina Battleship Wilmington, N.C. NI4BK USS Texas Battleship Houston, Texas NA5DV B/S Georgious Averoff Cruiser Athens, Greece SX1MBA H.M.S. Belfast Cruiser London, England GB2RN USS Littlerock Cruiser Buffalo, New York W2PE USS Salem Cruiser Quincy, MA. K1USN USS Barry Destroyer Washington DC W3MAD ORP Blyskawica Destroyer Gdynia, Poland 3Z0BLY USS Cassin Young Destroyer Boston, MA. WW2DD HMCS Fraser Destroyer Canada VE0NED HMCS Haida Destroyer Hamilton,Ont.Ca VA3XJF USS Kidd Destroyer Baton Rouge, La W5KID USS Laffey Destroyer South Carolina NT4HI USS Orleck Destroyer Orange, Texas KD5ULS USS Slater Destroyer Escort Albany, NY N2USN HMS Smaland Destroyer Sweden SK6SL USS The Sullivans Destroyer Buffalo, New York W2TU HMS Plymouth Frigate Birkenhead, England GB2PLY HDMS Peder Skram Fregate Copenhagen, Denmark OZ1RDN USS Albacore Submarine New Hampshire NM1JY B143 Submarine Zeebrugge Belgium ON4BRN USS Batfish Submarine Oklahoma WW2SUB USS Becuna Submarine Philadelphia, PA WB2LNR USS Clamagore Submarine South Carolina NJ4DU USS Cod Submarine Cleveland, Ohio K8KRG USS Drum Submarine Mobile, Alabama KG4HDP USS Lionfish Submarine Fall River, MA. W2SUB USS Nautilus Submarine Groton, CT. N1S HMS Onyx Submarine Birkenhead, England GB0NYX USS Pampanito Submarine San Francisco, CA NJ6VT USS Requin Submarine Pittsburgh, PA. NY3EC U-5075 Seehund Submarine Quincy, MA. WW2MAN USS Silversides Submarine Michigan "K8ROH USS Torsk Submarine Baltimore, MD K8ROH U 995 Submarine Laboe, Germany DL0MEL LST-325 Landing Ship Chickasaw, Alabama WW2LST USS Potomac C G Cutter/Pres. Yacht Oakland, CA. W6P USCGC McLane W-146 C G Cutter Muskegon, MI. W8BXS HNLMS Abraham Crijnssen Minesweeper Den Helder NL PI4MRC MS Deneb Minesweeper Frankfurt, Germany DL0MFF MV Pluto Minesweeper Hameln,Germany DF0MV MV Keihassalmi Minelayer Turku, Finland OI1AXA SS Jeremiah OBrien Liberty Ship San Francisco, CA K6TR SS Lane Victory Victory Ship San Pedro, CA W6LV SS Red Oak Victory Victory Ship Richmond, California K6YVM MV Cap San Diego Freighter Hamburg,Germany DL0MFH LS Columbia Lightship Astoria, Oregon W7BU LV Elbe1 Lightship Cuxhaven, Germany DL0CUX LS Helsinki Lightship Hamina, Finland OH5AD LS Planet Lightship Birkenhead, England GB2LBL LS Westhinder Lightship Belgium ON4BRN/LGT FYRSKIB XXI Lightship Denmark OZ7DAL RMS Queen Mary Passenger Ship Long Beach, CA W6RO SS City of Milwaukee Passenger Ferry Manistee, Michigan K8GWW EX MS Dresden Freighter Rostock, Germany DL0MCM SS Soldek Coal Carrier Gdansk, Poland SO6Y/2 SS St. Erik Ice Breaker Stockhome, Sweden 8SOHRA CSS Acadia Survey Ship Nova Scotia, Canada VE0MMA Angel's Gate Tugboat San Pedro, CA K6AA MV Frederic Mistral Tugboat Vienna, Austria OE6XMF/FM James Whalen Tugboat Ontario, Canada VE3FAL MS Seefalke Salvage Tug Bremerhaven, Germany DK0SN HMS Hugin Patrol Boat Sweden SK6HUG US Naval Academy Shore Station Annapolis, MD W3ADO Work eight of the participating ships and send a copy of your logs to: Mark Starin, K1RMC 457 Varney Street Manchester, NH 03102. You will then receive a certificate and QSL card. For QSL cards for the other ships please QSL direct to them. EVENT FREQUENCIES. While the participating ships will use any valid amateur frequency the ships will try and stay near the following frequencies: SSB CW 3860 kHz 3539 kHz 7260 kHz 7039 kHz 14260 kHz 10109 kHz 18160 kHz 14039 kHz 21360 kHz 18099 kHz 24960 kHz 21039 kHz 28360 kHz 24899 kHz 50160 kHz 28039 kHz EVENT PSK 31 OPERATIONS 14.070 MHz 10.142 MHz 18.100 MHz 21.070 MHz 28.120 MHz EVENT AM OPERATIONS 3885 kcs 7290 kcs 14286 kcs 29.12 MHz EVENT IRLP OPERATIONS Reflector 9600 channel 8 so to connect enter 9608 The USS Cassin Young will be on this reflector. EVENT APRS Some of the ships will be running an APRS station using the ship ICON. If a participating ship can operate an APRS station please notify Bob WB4APR@AMSAT.ORG, and myself w1qwt@arrl.net. The following ships/stations will be APRS: USS Cassin Young, Boston, MA W2PE USS Little Rock, Buffalo, NY NJ2BB USS New Jersey, NJ K6JOB Jerimah Obrien, California K1USN USS Salem Quincy MA. W3ADO US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD On most Saturdays there are members of the USS Cassin Young Radio Club on board. Call WW2DD on 145.39 FM -600 kHz or 53.33 Mhz down 1 Mhz and if someone is aboard then they will answer (from http://www.qsl.net/ww2dd/event.html via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** IRAN [and non]. U.S. SATELLITE FEEDS TO IRAN JAMMED JAMMING SIGNALS ARE COMING FROM CUBA, SOURCES SAY By Robert Windrem, NBC NEWS PRODUCER http://msnbc.com/news/936772.asp?0dm=N1APN NEW YORK, July 11 --- U.S. government officials as well as Iranian Americans and communications satellite operators confirm that all U.S.-based satellite broadcasts to Iran are being jammed out of Cuba, one of Iran`s major allies and a nation increasingly dependent on Iranian oil. ``WE ARE well aware of the jamming,`` said one senior U.S. official familiar with intelligence on the matter. He said that it was almost certainly done as part of an effort by the Iranian government to eliminate dissent during a week of renewed student protests and the inauguration of Voice of America`s Farsi-language television programming to Iran. Asked if the jamming were being done out of Cuba, the official would only say that it was ``within the realm of possibility.`` Late Friday, however, three sources associated with the broadcast services confirmed that Loral Skynet, the operator of the Telstar-12 satellite used by the broadcasters, had determined the jamming was probably emanating from ``the vicinity of Havana, Cuba.`` One of the sources said that Loral, working with transmitter location expert TLS Inc. of Chantilly, Va., had further fixed the location as ``20 miles outside of Havana.`` Cuba`s main electronic eavesdropping base, at Bejucal, is about 20 miles outside of the Cuban capital. The base, built for Cuba by the Russians in the early 1990`s, monitors and intercepts satellite communications. Iran and Cuba have had increasingly close relations over the past several years with Iran supplying Cuba with oil. Cuba has extensive jamming experience, regularly interfering with the signal of the U.S. government-financed TV Marti. Over the past several months, private Iranian-American groups have begun increasing their broadcasts into Iran using Telstar-12, a communications satellite over the eastern Atlantic. All are trying to encourage protests against the regime in Tehran. Iranians, using small satellite dishes, have been able to receive the broadcast, whose mix of news, entertainment and exhortations to protest have gained a large audience, particularly in Tehran. Then on Sunday, the Voice of America began its Farsi-language broadcasts. Not long afterward, the jamming began. Over the past few days --- as the fourth anniversary of the country`s most widespread protests approached — the broadcasts have been jammed, not in Iran but in the Americas, according to officials and investigators. The Farsi language broadcasts, by the Los Angeles-based ParsTV, Azadi Television and Appadana TV, are uplinked in the US via Telstar- 5, which is over the United States. They are then turned around at the Washington International Teleport in Alexandria, Va., where they are joined by the VOA broadcast and uplinked again to Telstar-12 over the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It is the Telstar-12 uplink that is being jammed, say investigators for companies working with the broadcasters, cutting off broadcasts not only in Iran but in Europe and the rest of the Middle East as well. The jamming could emanate from anywhere within the satellite`s uplink footprint, which covers all the Eastern United States, the Caribbean and South America, say investigators. In the past, the Iranian government, using high-power transmitters on towers in cities such as Tehran have been able to jam it locally. The fact that TV viewers elsewhere can`t see it was the first hint that the jamming was happening on this side of the Atlantic. Loral, which operates the satellite, declined comment on what it is doing in response. But in a letter that Loral Skynet`s Peggy Courter sent to Atlanta DTH, which manages the satellite services for Azadi, was quite clear in laying out its findings. The interference, it reported, had begun at 5:35 p.m. EDT on July 5, which was just after midnight in Tehran and shortly after the VOA began its broadcasts. After running a series of tests, wrote Courter, ``Skynet concluded the interference was caused by a third party`` and asked TLS to investigate. TLS was able to find the ``probable source of the interference`` on Friday afternoon, identifying it as Havana. ``The jamming appears to be linked to the anniversary of the student uprisings,`` said one investigator for a company working with the broadcasters who preferred to remain anonymous. ``It`s malicious, not a prank. For us, it began yesterday, continues today. Not only are the Iranian signals jammed, but those of other nearby broadcasters are as well. We have a Chinese client who is being jammed. ``There are ways of determining the location of the interference,`` he added. ``It is complex and time-consuming. Basically, you look at minimal interference other nearby satellites are experiencing and then you triangulate.`` As for the actual jamming, its simply a matter of aiming a strong signal at the uplink transponder on the satellite and overwhelming the Farsi language broadcasters` signals. Said the investigator: ``You need a dish, some power, not too much. You put up a test pattern ... and do a sweep and find the transponder on the satellite you want to jam. It could even be smaller than the standard 6-meter dish. It could be a small dish with a lot of power.`` BBC`s Media Monitoring Service, which provides capsules of various foreign TV broadcasts for subscribers, described the jamming as ``a mysterious, interfering signal, rendering the broadcasts unwatchable.`` It reported problems began on Sunday, the day VOA began its broadcast, with the worst jamming taking place over the past two days with the jamming extending to all the Farsi-language broadcasts emanating from the United States. Late Wednesday, monitors reported that jamming had become sporadic. The anniversary of the student demonstrations, the largest since the fall of the shah in 1979, was Wednesday. The senior U.S. official said the Iranian government ``is concerned that these broadcasts have encouraged the student demonstrations and this is one way to stop that encouragement.`` Robert Windrem is an investigative producer for NBC News, based in New York (MSNBC via DXLD) What`s next, sharia law in Cuba? Probably would be an improvement (gh) ** IRAN [non]. NORWAY/IRAN, 15790 at 1630-1730 UT Mon-Sat only, HPR[?] in Persian from Kvitsoe-NOR. HPR - Who is this? (wb df5sx) [Observer mentioned Radio Sedoye Yaran, 250 kW 095 degr.] New time and freq for R. Sedoye Yaran in Persian via KVI 250 095 deg 1630-1830 Mon-Sat NF 15790 (55544), ex-1800-2000 on 7525 (Observer-BUL 267 Jul 8, 2003 via W. Büschel-D for CRW via Büschel, DXLD) ** IRAQ. FRENCH RADIO MONTE CARLO GAINS FM FREQUENCY IN BAGHDAD | Text of report by French news agency AFP Paris, 13 July: RMC-Moyen Orient [RMC-MO - Radio Monte Carlo-Middle East], a subsidiary of Radio France Internationale, broadcasting to the Arab world, now has an FM frequency (93.5) in Baghdad, it was announced by the pan-Arab radio in a statement today, Sunday. RMC-MO has previously broadcast to Iraq only on medium wave. Since 21 April it has been broadcasting, in particular, a programme every Saturday from 1900 hours to 2000 hours [not clear whether gmt or French time - RFI usually operates on gmt], presented by Fayez Maqdisi and called "Hello Baghdad - this is Paris speaking", in which Iraqis from the diaspora and from Iraq express their views. The Arabic-language French radio, based in Paris and part of the RFI state-owned group, has an editorial team of 35 journalists and 40 correspondents around the world and says it has 15m listeners in the Arab world and in the Arab- speaking communities of the diaspora. Source: AFP news agency, Paris, in French 1007 gmt 13 Jul 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. SHARON SHUNS BBC OVER DOCUMENTARY The confrontation has been building for some time as the Israelis become exasperated with critical reporting by foreign journalists. But it has been particularly infuriated by the BBC because of the volume and depth of its coverage and because some of its outlets are easily accessible in Israel. World Service radio can be heard on medium wave rather than the more difficult short wave. Until recently, the BBC's international television broadcasts were available on Israeli cable television. That service was dropped during the Iraq war, officially because of a dispute over its cost. . . http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,11538,996062,00.html 73 (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** KUWAIT. From a DRM schedule: 0600-0800 15110 KBD 050 kW / 100 deg Radio Kuwait English 0800-1100 15110 KBD 050 kW / 100 deg Radio Kuwait Arabic (Observer, Bulgaria, via EDXP via DXLD) Still in effect? ** LAOS. 702, Vientiane City Radio (Sathaani Witthayu Krajaisiang Nakhong Luang Wiengchan, or however you want to spell it, sometimes the 'Krajaisiang' is dropped in IDs) now operates 2330-1000 (announced and observed). The Vientiane City Radio station is located in the compound of the Department of Information and Culture of Vientiane Prefecture in Manthatulath Road, Ban Xieng Yuen, Vientiane. Inside the compound is a building marked in Lao 'Vientiane City Radio Broadcasting and Television Station'. Hard to believe that TV and radio studios can both be squeezed into the tiny building, but there is a tall lattice tower there with what appear to be 8 vertically polarized vertically stacked dipoles for Band II. The MW transmitter must be located elsewhere. 1030 is now inactive, although it's still announced by the foreign language services. I'm not sure about Pakse 1370 kHz. I'd expect the carrier at least to be audible after dark, but there's not a trace here. Possibly it's changed frequency (All items: Alan Davies in Vientiane, May 30, ARC via DXLD) ** LATVIA. Radio Gold 945 AM in Riga will be (read: was to be -oa) on the air with test transmissions (Ulbroka 945 kHz, 20 kW) on Friday 4 July from 1300-1900 (nonstop music) and Saturday 5 July at 1500-2100 (Live DJ). The station is planning to buy a 2.5 or 5 kW DRM transmitter in autumn (Bernd Trutenau via MWDX 26.6.2003 via ARC via DXLD) ** LITHUANIA. Radio Baltic Waves International (RBWI) will confirm all correct reception reports of the 1557 kHz transmissions (150 kW, Sitkunai). Reports should be sent by snail-mail and contain audio tape of the broadcast. Address: Radio Baltic Waves International, Vivulskio 7-405, Vilnius LT-2006, Lithuania. Schedule: 1800-2000 UT China Radio International in Russian 2000-2030 UT China Radio International in Polish 2030-2100 UT China Radio International in English 2100-2200 UT China Radio International in Chinese Reports of the RBWI channel marker on 1386 kHz (25 kW, Giruliai, 2000- 2100 UTC) are also welcome. RBWI Press Release, 11 July 2003 (via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, MWDX via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) So the music tape that is received daily until sign off just after 2100 is a "channel marker"?. No ID ever heard, only Dave Brubeck`s Take Five, Unsquare Dance??? BTW, what has happened to VoR on 1386 with sign off at 2100 - not heard in the last days. 73 (Gunter Lorenz, Freising, Drake R8B, EKD300, EKD500, Grahn GS3-SE+ML-1-S, MWDX via DXLD) Yes, that is how RBWI calls it. It's a CD, btw, not a tape. VoR has agreed to reduce the usage of Bolshakovo 1386 kHz by one hour since 1 July. The current schedule is: 0900-1200 VoR German 1200-1400 VoR Russian 1400-1500 VoR English 1500-1900 VoR German* 1900-2000 VoR English *) includes Radio Santec relays (via all VoR German service frequencies): daily 1555-1600, Tue/Sat/Sun 1730-1800, Wed 1830-1900. 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, ibid.) ** MALTA. I don`t remember having seen it before, but Radju Malta is on 998.85 kHz 24 hours a day. Noted on this slightly off channel frequency for more than a week now (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Sliema, Malta via MWC e-mail news 25.5.2003, via ARC via DXLD) ** NIUE. The tiny Pacific island country of Niue that Amateurs know as ZK2 or IOTA OC-040 is the first country to have a country-wide open WiFi or 802.11 radio link to the internet, using the world-wide license-free 2.4 GHz band. This WiFi network is also free and open to anyone on or visiting the island nation, including yachties and business travellers. Niue is often cited as the largest upraised coral atoll in the world, that ``should better be called the world`s largest electronic component, a virtual `pie network tank` or `capacitive resistance tank` `` because ``Niue has no natural Earth ground, and therefore actually appears to an energy source as a giant capacitor-resistor floating on the ocean floor some thousands of feet down. Add to that the dielectric constant of ocean water, with a fresh water lens floating in coral and it makes Niue a very interesting specimen of electrical properties.`` For further information, look up on the internet, http://www.niue.nu (Reporter Peter Ellis VK1KEP, Wireless Institute of Australia Q-News July 13 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This item will not qualify for http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/tinytrap.html ** PERU. 1166.4, R. Nuevo Amanecer is the AM outlet of R Nuevo Amanecer on 4650 kHz. The AM outlet broadcasts 1030-2300 actually using 0.75 kW. Maximum power is 1.5 kW. Nominal frequency is 1180 kHz. Studio address: Jirón Grau 501, Celendín, Provincia de Celendín, Departamento de Cajamarca (TIN = Takayuki Inoue Nozaki in Relámpago DX via RNM via ARC's LA News Desk for July via Tore Larsson, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. World-Band Radio Day is Coming! Ladies and gentlemen, On October 3 [2003] the European Broadcasting Union will be celebrating World-Band Radio Day in Moscow. Our Russian colleagues, the Voice of Russia and Mayak radio companies, will fill you in on whatever You want to know about Russian life. Live interviews with leading Russian politicians, scientists, businessmen, cultural celebrities, reports and sketches about life here in Russia - the choice is Yours! Your answers to this survey will give us an idea about what You really want to know about Russia. Please answer our questions! The programs You will be selecting participants and subjects for will be aired by public radio stations in Your own countries. To answer the survey in English, Russian, German, Spanish, French or Italian go to: http://www.radiomayak.ru/quest/?referer=aHR0cDovL3d3dy52b3IucnUvbmF2YmFyLmh0bWw=&langID=0 (via Sergei Sosedkin, IL, July 9, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 3923.9, Radio Samorodinka (Russian pirate from Moscow, 40 W) with talk and a couple of ID. 233 at 2100. Log from last night (July 11), heard at my summer-QTH about 150 kilometer south of Stockholm, Sweden. The conditions this night was good, but there was, as always in summertime, QRN from thunderstorms. Receiver: NRD-535D Antennas: 20 and 75 meter wire antennas (Claes Olsson, Norrköping SWEDEN, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** RWANDA. It`s a pleasure every summer to hear Radio Rwanda on 6055 kHz with very strong signal, even S 9 1735 UTC. Language was local, I think. Unfortunately R Slovakia International came on frequency with their German program 18 UT. Goodbye Rwanda.... It`s nice to hear Rwanda on 6055 kHz every summer. In wintertime the 49 mb is far too crowded and upper frequencies keep silent. 73`s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, July 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Isn`t Rwanda in the clear again after 2030? (gh) ** SOMALIA. BROADCASTS HEARD AGAIN FROM RADIO GAALKACYO Broadcasts from Radio Gaalkacyo have been heard again on shortwave after a lengthy absence. Radio Gaalkacyo is based in the town of the same name (alternative spellings include Galkayo and Galcaio) in the self-declared autonomous state of Puntland in northeast Somalia. It is currently being heard in the local evenings on the shortwave frequency of 6980 kHz (an adjacent channel to its previous frequency of 6985 kHz). News bulletins in Somali are broadcast at 7 and 8 p.m. (1600 and 1700 gmt). Observations indicate that the station continues to support the Puntland regional authorities led by Col Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmad and based in the Puntland capital Garoowe. Gaalkacyo has been the scene of fighting in recent days. On 10 July Radio Gaalkacyo reported that Puntland leaders had called on the clans involved in the clashes to stop fighting. Source: BBC Monitoring research 11-12 Jul 03 [Chris Greenway, Kenya] (via DXLD) ** SOUTH AMERICA. Hi pirate friends. We are working now to change the crystal of 11440 kHz since the frequency is occupied in LSB mode, we will move then to 11430U in the next days. Now, we are trying to obtain a crystal for the mentioned frequency or, to move 1 or 2 kHz down, not more is possible. On this weekend, if the frequency of 11440U kHz is free, then may be some operations. FFFR, (Cachito http://www.geocities.com/rcochiguaz Radio Cochiguaz, Box 159, Santiago 14, CHILE, July 11, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. 1602, Radio Dellen. Time again for the yearly event of MW (AM) broadcasting by Delsbo Radioklubb. Radio Dellen from Delsbo is on the air on MW 1602 kHz 24 hours a day with relay of Radio Ljusdal live programs 06-15 UT (08-17 SST) daily. Power is estimated at 100 W ERP and we will be on the air until 22.00 UTC (00.00 SST) on Monday, July 14. Reception report can be sent to this address: Radio Dellen, Light Valley Media, Box 90, SE-827 23 LJUSDAL, Sweden. You can also mail us at radiodellen2003@hotmail.com but if you would like a QSL card, please send sufficient return postage (Swedish stamps, IRC or a $ bill). E-mail reports will be verified by e-mail if we don't receive any return postage. Since the year 2000 we have been broadcasting on 1602 kHz on a temporary license, normally during two weeks. Last year we even were on the air for one full month using the name of Radio Dellen. We went on the air for the first time from Thunvalls Fäx in Färila in the summer of 2000 and made another special broadcast from the same location in 2001. Last year the transmitter - an old marine transmitter with an output power of about 50 W - was moved to the vicarage of Fredshammar in Delsbo, near the lake of Ava. An 18 m. vertical mast was erected at the site. (From the station's website at http://www.rock.x.se/radiodellen.htm ) The station has been easily audible during daytime in Härnösand after the power increase (Olle Alm, Arctic Radio Club via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND. 531, Beromünster is normally broadcasting with 600 kW, but on May 8th lightning destroyed the supply cable. The current power is 180 kW and will remain so until the end of September. Information from Stephan Widmer, Distribution Manager Radio, SRG SSR, Bern (Bengt Ericson, ARC via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND. The Swiss AR Society, USKA has received from their Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) information which in part told them: Due to the decision WRC03 to drop morse code as part of the licence test, the OFCOM will release a letter to all CEPT 2 licensees in Switzerland containing a temporary permission to use the short wave bands. With this provisional agreement it is possible to save a lot of time until the ordinance is changed. Immediately after reception of this letter the CEPT 2 licensees are allowed to use the short wave bands according to the Swiss prescriptions with their present call signs. As the Swiss AR Society points out, ``this ultra-fast procedure of our national Telecommunication Authority in favour of the waiting amateurs is doubtless a result of the excellent agreement between the committee of USKA and the responsibilities of OFCOM.`` (The committee of USKA via Wireless Institute of Australia Q-News July 13 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** SYRIA. At 1915 July 11 I found an awful noise on approximately 11900, spreading at least 20 kHz up and down. After some research I found that the weak audio in the noise was in parallel with 13610 and 12085 Syria in French. The noise was also audible around approximately 11720 (2x the distance from 12085 to 11900). 12085 has low audio and both 13610 and 12085 have a problem with mains hum (Olle Alm, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. R Taiwan International revised new schedule --- Programs ----------- Radio Taiwan International's English Service produces two hours of programming every day. Show schedules, along with the times, frequencies and target areas, are listed below. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hour One--Times / Frequencies / Target Areas Time (UTC), Frequency, Target Area 0200-0300 9680 North America 5950 North America 15320 Southeast Asia 11875 Philippines 0300-0400 15125 South America 0700-0800 5950 North America 0800-0900 9610 Australia, New Zeal., Phil., Indonesia 1200-1300 7130 Japan & Korea 1400-1500 15265 Southeast Asia 1600-1700 11550 South Asia 2200-2:00 15600 Europe Hour One--Show Schedule Minutes Program Name Host Sunday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Great Wall Forum various '30-'60 Mailbag Time Paula Chao & Natalie Tso Monday `00-'15 News various '15-'45 Jade Bells & Bamboo Pipes Carlson Wong '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Elem.) Carlson Wong Tuesday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Culture Express Huang Wen-ling '30-'45 Trends Natalie Tso '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Intermed.) Paula Chao Wednesday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Taiwan Today Huang Wen-ling '30-'45 Instant Noodles Andrew Ryan '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Elem.) Carlson Wong Thursday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Discover Taiwan Doris Owyang '30-'45 New Music Lounge James Ho '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Intermed.) Paula Chao Friday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Taipei Magazine Carlson Wong '30-'45 People Natalie Tso '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Elem.) Carlson Wong Saturday '00-'15 News various '15-'45 Groove Zone Ellen Chu, Andrew Ryan '45-'60 Kaleidoscope Huang Wen-ling Hour Two--Times / Frequencies / Target Areas Time (UTC) Frequency Target Area 0200-0300 15465 Japan & Korea 0300-0400 9680 North America 5950 North America 15320 Southeast Asia 11875 Philippines 1100-1200 7445 Southeast Asia 1700-1800 11550 South Asia 1800-1900 3955 Europe Hour Two--Show Schedule Minutes Program Host Sunday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Great Wall Forum various '30-'60 Asia Pacific Radio Australia Monday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Taiwan Economic Journal Carol Wei '30-'45 Stage, Screen and Studio Doris Owyang '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Elem.) Carlson Wong Tuesday '00-'15 News various '15-'45 Jade Bells & Bamboo Pipes Carlson Wong '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Intermed.) Paula Chao Wednesday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 New Music Lounge James Ho '30-'45 Confucius & Inspiration Beyond Carol Wei '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Elem.) Carlson Wong Thursday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 News Talk Paula Chao '30-'45 Life Unusual Carol Wei '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Intermed.) Paula Chao Friday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Formosa Outlook Paula Chao '30-'45 Taiwan Gourmet James Ho '45-'60 Let's Learn Chinese (Elem.) Carlson Wong Saturday '00-'15 News various '15-'30 Kaleidoscope Huang Wen-ling '30-'60 Mailbag Time Paula Chao & Natalie Tso ----------------------------------------------------- Central Broadcasting System, No.55 Pei An Road Taipei, Taiwan. R.O.C. http://www.cbs.org.tw ---------------------------------------------------- 73 (via Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, DXLD) ** TAIWAN. One lone verification to report in with. QSL CLANDESTINE (China), 8300.10, New Star Broadcasting Station. Full data card with frequency indicated. This in response to a French report sent to CBS, Taiwan, with reply in 106 days. The card has all the details necessary for verification except for the Language of the Broadcast as French(?) v/s illegible (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, DX'er since 1965, Cumbredx mailing list July 12 via DXLD) ** THAILAND. Some Radio Thailand networks have changed their hours. 891 and 918 kHz now close at 1700, while 819 kHz continues past that time (probably to 2000?). 918 kHz carries BBC World Service news in English most hours on the hour. 927 Radio Thailand Bung Kan (Nong Khai Province) appears to have started operations on 927 kHz. There's a weak RT signal audible in Nong Khai town, but I haven't caught any local IDs I'm afraid. (Alan Davies, 30 May) 1206, Thor Phor Neung (1st Army Area), Pranburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province has reactivated 1206 kHz. Heard this morning in Bangkok with many clear IDs (Alan Davies, 25, 26 May, ARC via DXLD) ** TIBET. New high-power MW: see CHINA [and non] ** U K. More lessons from Orwell's list Saturday July 12, 2003 The Guardian Timothy Garton Ash (Under the blanket, July 10) is right to draw parallels between the media machinations of No 10's strategic communications unit today and the information research department in the 1940s. However, I cannot share his confidence in the media's independence of spirit, then and now. He cites the refusal of Ian Jacob, the head of the BBC's European Service during the early cold war, in one instance to adopt the IRD's anti-Soviet terminology. What he doesn't tell us is that Jacob actively supported the establishment of the IRD in 1948 and the dissemination of its anti-communist propaganda on the BBC afterwards. This link between the BBC and government was of course kept secret from the public. Today, the BBC overseas service is still obliged to seek guidance from the Foreign Office. What is remarkable is how few people, here and overseas, know that. Dr Tony Shaw Senior lecturer in history University of Hertfordshire a.t.shaw@herts.ac.uk (Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 via Daniel Say, BC, DXLD) ** U K. COMMENT & ANALYSIS: THE PUBLIC SERVICE BROADCASTER IS AN INSTITUTION WORTH PRESERVING --- By Michael Prowse, Financial Times; Jul 12, 2003 http://tinyurl.com/gsmq Greg Dyke, the BBC's director-general, and Gavyn Davies, the chairman of its board, must wish that they were not embroiled in a bitter dispute with the Blair government over the BBC's coverage of the Iraq war. Ministers will deny that the dispute has any bearing on the negotiations that are shortly to begin over the renewal of the BBC's royal charter, which expires at the end of 2006. But given a dispute of this ferocity, such denials cannot be taken at face value. In the 1980s, the Thatcher government made "reform" of the BBC a priority after becoming incensed by what it regarded as biased broadcasting. Angered by the BBC's claim that Downing Street "sexed up" intelligence briefs so as to convince a sceptical public of the merits of military action against Saddam Hussein, Tony Blair just might conclude that a publicly funded broadcaster of the BBC's size and influence is no longer needed. This is a real risk for two reasons. The first, ironically, is that the BBC's renaissance under Mr Dyke has provoked much resentment. Some of its commercial rivals are now lobbying hard for a different approach to public service broadcasting. When Mr Dyke took over in 2000 few expected the BBC to regain its old self-confidence so quickly. Many doubted that it could compete financially with the big commercial broadcasters. He proved them wrong - and not just because a generous funding formula ensured that his revenue rose steadily while an advertising famine eroded theirs. He has also managed the BBC adroitly, significantly raising cost efficiency while also boosting morale - something that had eluded his predecessors. Resentment alone might not be dangerous. The larger problem is that it has become hard to defend the BBC in its present form, given the presuppositions of much public debate. The fashion these days is to view most things in economic terms. With the arrival of pay TV, the tendency is to think of broadcasting as just another market. Consumers can surely purchase their news and entertainment from competing private sector sources. Perhaps there is a small "market failure" because commercial companies fail to supply enough "merit" goods such as educational and cultural broadcasting. But how can this justify the scale - and distribution - of present subsidies? Why raise nearly -L-2.6bn through a compulsory licence fee when the BBC spends much of its cash producing programmes that are indistinguishable from those of its commercial rivals? Why not privatise or wind up the parts of the BBC that duplicate commercial broadcasting, leaving a smaller core devoted to high-quality programming that meets a genuine "public interest" test? And why not make subsidies available to any private broadcaster willing to produce programmes that meet the same public interest test? Such questions are hard to answer unless the terms of the debate are widened. The public consists not just of consumers buying goods and services but also of citizens who collectively make up a democratic community that has an interest in values, such as open, informed debate, that private bodies have no direct reason to promote. Given globalisation and technological change, the BBC is now just one operator in a market driven mostly by commercial interests: its share of total broadcasting revenue has already fallen to about 28 per cent from 44 per cent a decade ago. The question is whether a powerful public corporation can better promote the public interest in broadcasting than subsidies scattered across a predominantly commercial industry. Does the public interest need a face, a history and the coherence that a single institution represents? One reason for arguing that it does is that Britain has an excessively adversarial public culture. Most people think of public bodies as controlled by partisan governments. But the BBC is institutionally atypical: it is publicly financed but, by virtue of its charter, not a creature of government and still less of party politics. In standing up to intense pressure from Downing Street over coverage of the Iraq war, Mr Dyke and Mr Davies have performed a considerable public service. Even though both have close links with the Labour party, they have upheld the BBC's independence and reasserted its right to disagree with politicians over what constitutes the public interest. The ideal of acting impartially and of trying to represent the interests of all citizens is easily ridiculed. With the exception of the judiciary, it is hard to think of many institutions of which it is asked. It is certainly not expected of governments because, in Britain, they are usually formed exclusively from the members of one political party. Nobody, for instance, expects Mr Blair to listen impartially to all groups in society when devising education or healthcare policies. Rather than building a consensus, he pursues policies that Labour voters, or prospective voters, are likely to support. The Tories have as little regard for the overall public interest when in office. In politics, the common good is achieved indirectly if at all - and in zigzag fashion, as one political party wins temporary control of the machinery of government from another. It is easier to represent a faction than to try to be impartial. And there is no guarantee that the BBC's director-general and board will always reach the right judgments. Nor is it possible to define precisely what constitutes the public interest, which is one reason why an attempt to pursue the goals of public service broadcasting by offering targeted subsidies to private companies would probably fail. There would have to be criteria for such subsidies and they would always be too narrowly drawn. But one sign that the BBC is currently getting its judgments about right is that it is simultaneously under attack from both Labour and the Tories. Mr Dyke has also had to field complaints of bias from Teresa May, the Conservative party chairman. The UK's broadcasting ecology is still much admired. Continental European countries have state broadcasters but often fail to insulate them from political pressures. The US has always suffered from an over-commercialised broadcasting system. It would benefit greatly if a public institution of comparable stature to the BBC were able to scrutinise the partisan policies of its politicians and help set the tone of public debate. As consumers Britons may sometimes resent the licence fee; as citizens they would have much to lose from the BBC's dismemberment (Financial Times via Mike Cooper, DXLD) see also ISRAEL ** U K. Trouble and strife --- by Michael Vestey [reviewing the book:] THE FUN FACTORY: A LIFE IN THE BBC By Will Wyatt, Aurum Press, £20, pp.363, ISBN:1854109154 Will Wyatt opens this account of his 34 years at the BBC with the attempts by himself and John Birt to prevent Greg Dyke becoming the 13th director- general of the corporation. Birt wanted one of his own protégés to succeed him, Mark Byford, then director of regional broadcasting, in the hope that Byford wouldn’t reverse any of his massive and debilitating structural changes, as Dyke might and indeed did. Wyatt, then deputy to Birt and with no claim to the job, convinced himself that Dyke’s financial donations to the Labour party ruled him out. The two began plotting, seemingly unaware that the chairman of the governors, Sir Christopher Bland, was determined to have his former colleague at LWT. Dirty tricks were afoot. . . http://www.spectator.co.uk/bookreview.php3?table=old§ion=current&issue=2003-07-12&id=1651&searchText= (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) see also INTERNATIONAL VACUUM ** U K. Facelift for Auntie --- Major redevelopment work has begun at the BBC's most famous building, Broadcasting House in London W1. The redeveloped complex, due for completion in 2007, will be home to all the BBC's national radio networks, its national and international news operations, and the World Service, which will move back into Broadcasting House for the first time since it was forced out by bomb damage in 1941. http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/bbc030711.html (Media Network Newsletter July 11 via DXLD) ** U K. Mediasound moves to USA --- Just a short note to let you know that MediaSound has now moved onto servers in the USA. This move gives us additional capacity when the number of listeners increases. Broadband The broadband stream has been increased to 64K to provide better quality. Dial Up: We have re-introduced a server aimed at users who have dial up access to the internet. Please see the website for details of how to listen - http://www.mediasound.net If you experience any problems please let me know. Cheers, (Alan Maylin, July 11, via Paul David, DXLD) ** U S A. Hello, Glenn, Well, in case you missed Allan Weiner last night, he announced the frequency for the new WBCQ transmitter. It is 5100. He expects to be testing it this weekend, though he did not give times. He did not say when regular broadcasts will start, or what they will contain, but, the authorized schedule, when it does start, is 0from 2200 to 0700 [sic] UT. I suspect that, especially during the summer, it will be fairly late in the evening before the signal starts to come into Alabama, or, even more, into Oklahoma. Transmission mode will be USB with reduced carrier, as in transmitters 2 and 3 (Except, of course, 9330 is LSB.) 73, (Tim Hendel, AL, July 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Greetings Glenn, I just learned that WBCQ has been approved by the FCC to commence operations on its fourth service. The new frequency will be 5.100 MHz, authorized for operation between 2100 and 0600 [sic] UT. They will be simulcasting 7415 in the next few days, before being dedicated to more free speech programming. I'm sure Allan will have more details forthcoming on his show this evening (Friday July 11, 2003). Also, I wanted to mention to you that Dr. Scott Becker and I have implemented an online program guide and schedule for WBCQ programming. Our goal is to (eventually) allow listeners to interactively add their own show reviews and help us keep this resource up to date and informative. The online program guide can be found at http://www.zappahead.net/wbcq It's not officially sanctioned by or associated with WBCQ, but is meant to be a resource for the listening community. Regards, (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, July 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Programs by title with times and frequencies, hotlinks (gh, DXLD) WBCQ is testing right now (2145 UT) on 5100 kHz, CUSB. The signal in coastal New Jersey is fair but stable, and interference free. This ought to be a killer frequency after dark! They are playing rock music, announcing that this is a test, and giving the High Street snail mail and wbcq@gwi.net email addresses (Dan Srebnick - NJ, Grundig Satellit 800, 130' inverted L, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Inaudible here at various checks Saturday afternoon, and still inaudible at 0045 UT Sunday, but not surprising as 7415 is poor-fair until there be full darkness path in summer. Recheck at 0220 found it there, in C-USB, LSB suppressed, \\ 7415 which was quite a bit better. Troubled by some RTTY around 5097. I expect 5100 will be useful to lessen the skipzone around Monticello, especially come winter nights. Check UT Mon 0445 if WOR is being simulcast. I guess the intermittent R. Liberia International on 5100 was considered dispensable (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5100 13.7 0145 WBCQ på ny frekvens, banjo og satire, ID. //7415. O=4 SHN (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, SW Bulletin via DXLD) WBCQ have recently (11th Jul. 03) started transmissions on 5100 kHz (50 kW), between 2100 and 0600 ut. Here in Guernsey, Channel Isles (UK) I monitored WBCQ on 5100 kHz at 0245 13th July). The Alan Sane show was heard until 0300. SINPO 35434. [Icom IC-R75 - 30m copper wire ant.] RAO for now (Robin Ban, SWBC, July 13, SWBC via DXLD) Noted here in Wyoming with a good signal and "Al Gore Men of Action" parody ad 0324 // 7415 (Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A. Haven`t heard WJIE at all for several days, altho 7490 enjoyed a brief period of improved modulation before that. At 1630 check Sun July 13 for another repeat of WOR 1179, no trace of any signal on 7490 or 13595. No doubt they are preoccupied by what`s going on in Liberia (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Effective June 15th, The Herald Broadcasting Syndicate's remaining shortwave station, WSHB reduced its Monday thru Thursday schedule. The new schedule is available at the following URL: http://www.tfccs.com/GV/shortwave/wshb.jhtml (Jim Moats, July 8, MT messageboard via DXLD) Both transmitters off the air 0800-1600 ** U S A. WRMI Schedule/Horario Effective July/Julio 1, 2003 Days are local days in the Americas; times are UTC. Días son días locales en las Américas; horas son UTC. [gh deleted gospel huxters, leaving only:] MONDAY-FRIDAY/LUNES-VIERNES To the Caribbean and Latin America on 9955 kHz/ Hacia el Caribe y Latinoamérica en 9955 kHz: 1000-1030 La Voz de la Junta Patriótica Cubana (español) 1030-1130 Entre Cubanos (español) Note: This transmission from 0900-1200 UTC is temporarily not aired on Tuesday and Thursday. To North America on 15725 kHz/Hacia Norteamérica en 15725 kHz: 1330-1430 Stock Talk Live from IBC Radio SATURDAY/SABADO To the Caribbean and Latin America on 9955 kHz/ Hacia el Caribe y Latinoamérica en 9955 kHz: 0900-0930 Radio Vaticano (español) 1000-1100 Foro Militar Cubano (español) To North America on 15725 kHz/Hacia Norteamérica en 15725 kHz: 1200-2200 Music To the Caribbean and Latin America on 9955 kHz/ Hacia el Caribe y Latinoamérica en 9955 kHz: 2300-0000 Foro Militar Cubano (español) The following are Sunday UTC. Los siguientes son domingo UTC. 0000-0030 Conversando entre Cubanos (español) 0030-0045 La Hora de Chibás (español) [See also CUBA] 0100-0200 Radio Revista Lux (español) 7385 kHz to North America/7385 kHz para Norteamérica: 0200-0230 Wavescan (English) 0230-0300 Viva Miami (English/español) 0300-0900 Solid Rock Radio (English) SUNDAY/DOMINGO To the Caribbean and Latin America on 9955 kHz/Hacia el Caribe y Latinoamerérica en 9955 kHz: 0930-1000 Viva Miami (español/English) To North America on 15725 kHz/Hacia Norteamérica en 15725 kHz: 1230-1300 Viva Miami (English) 1300-1330 Wavescan (English) 1400-2000 Solid Rock Radio (English) 2030-2100 Wavescan (English) To the Caribbean and Latin America on 9955 kHz/Hacia el Caribe y Latinoamérica en 9955 kHz: 2300-0000 Radio Revista Lux (español) The following are UTC Monday. Los siguientes son UTC lunes. 0030-0130 Radio Oriente Libre (español) 0130-0200 Conversando entre Cubanos (español) 7385 kHz to North America /7385 kHz para Norteamérica: 0230-0300 Wavescan (English) (WRMI website via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. "Good evening Zimbabwe... you`re listening to Studio seven..." That was an ID on 17895 kHz 1730 UT, probably coming from Briech, Morocco. No sign of English to Zimbabwe 1730-1800 UTC on other frequencies 11975 - and 909 kHz mentioned in 2003 program guide supplement. Really, "supplement" has arrived instead of original guide. I wonder, where`s my copy of VoAGuide. It`s always useless, very badly late. What`s the problem, VoA???? I can only laugh at president Bush. He called the president of Zimbabwe Mkabe or something similar. Definitely it went wrong. Mugabe is correct. What`s the name of Canadian PM, president Bush?! Something too difficult to you, I think. 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, DX LISTENING DIGEST) My hands are clean. Mkabe sounds pretty close tho (gh) ** U S A [non]. Family Radio announces test transmissions in German: July 14 till July 18 0400-0500 on 3955. This frequency points to Skelton, especially since the latest DTAG schedule update released just a few days ago shows no such tests (and default choice on 75 metres at Jülich is 3965). ---Ursprüngliche Nachricht--- Testsendung von WYFR Family Radio testet eine neue Morgenfrequenz. Julie Hesse: "Wir haben eine neue Frequenze 3955 KHz zum ausprobieren vom 14. Juli bis 18. Juli von 04.00-05.00 (MESZ 06.00) Uhr. Es wäre für uns eine grosse Hilfe wenn Sie diese Frequenz anhören und uns per E-Mail Bescheid geben. Bitte senden Sie Ihren Report bei 21. Juli." (Julie Hesse 11.7.2003) international@familyradio.com Im jüngsten Sendeplan 040703.txt von T-Systems Jülich erscheinen die Sendungen nicht. Insofern kommt wohl eher Merlin in Großbritannien als Sendepartner in Betracht. Mit beiden ist Family Radio im Geschäft. (Dr Hansjoerg Biener via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) ** U S A. KQED TACKLES MONEY WOES By Judy Silber, CONTRA COSTA TIMES http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/business/6280463.htm [illustrated] Hard times have finally caught up to KQED, the Bay Area's public television and radio stations. Reductions in corporate donations this year will force KQED to cut operating expenses by about 10 percent, or $5 million for the 2004 fiscal year, management has told employees. About half the cuts will come from cutting payroll. In a memo to employees Thursday, KQED president Jeff Clarke said it's impossible to make significant cuts without affecting employees. KQED wages and benefits for its 248 employees are 46 percent of the station's approximately $45 million budget. He outlined three options for the staff to consider during the next few weeks. The most severe would eliminate about 40 positions. A second option would impose unpaid mandatory seven-day vacations on all employees as well as some layoffs. The third would reduce the work week to 36 hours with fewer layoffs. Clarke also said the cuts could include a combination of layoffs and early retirements, mandatory unpaid vacation, and cuts in hours. The severity of KQED's current fiscal crisis is a surprise, said Kevin Wilson, president of the national association of broadcast employees and technicians, local 51. While other public broadcasting stations have had to lay off people, KQED remained untouched until now. KQED is one of the most popular public stations in the country. And individual membership remains high, at more than 200,000. But in 2003, corporate donations are expected to fall by as much as 30 percent, Clarke said. The station is expecting to receive about $6.5 million to $7 million, compared with about $9 million donated in 2002. At the same time, dues to PBS and NPR, which supply much of KQED's programming, have increased and the station is still working to comply with federal regulation that forced a conversion to digital broadcasting. "The bottom line is, we're looking out at the landscape and the economy doesn't appear to be improving," Clarke said in a telephone interview. "We've got to cut our budget." Some staff members reacted angrily to the memo and the news that some jobs may be lost, accusing KQED's management of misappropriating funds. "They were giving hiring bonuses. They gave bonuses at Christmas," said one outraged staff member who didn't want to give his name. He said there are too many managers per worker and extra perks like a van to BART that could easily be eliminated before jobs. And he said the purchase of a station in Sacramento and expansion of KQED's Web site were unnecessary. But Clarke said the Sacramento station purchase and Web site expansion come from a different source of funds than salaries. He also said he will hold conversations with staff and the union to solicit input on the predicament, and that cutbacks would come from all parts of the organization. Despite the cuts, Clarke said KQED's programming will not suffer. "We're doing everything we can so that it won't have an impact on programming at KQED," he said. However, union president Wilson said it's too early to tell. "With less staff, you would expect less local production," he said (Contra Costa Times July 11 via Current, DXLD) more at: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/6280151.htm (via Current, DXLD) ** U S A. FLEDGLING RADIO STATION WANTS TO BE A VOICE FOR CITY By Nancy Cicco PORTSMOUTH --- That fresh crackle of enthusiasm you`re hearing about town is the voice of a new Portsmouth radio station primed to hit the airwaves. On Thursday, founders of WSCA-FM, a noncommercial radio station, spoke of their passion to bring such an outlet to Portsmouth as alternative to the glut of huge, powerful media companies they say have more to do with corporate profits than community involvement. ``It`s needed everywhere, if you ask me,`` said Bruce Pingree of the 100-watt radio station recently sanctioned by the Federal Communications Commission. ``The conglomerates are just getting too big,`` Pingree, booking manager at the Press Room Restaurant in Portsmouth, got in on the ground floor of the radio enterprise with a cadre of like-minded radio rebels who joined forces in 2000 in order to make the new radio station a reality. On May 19, after a three-year fight, the FCC awarded the fledgling WSCA-FM a construction permit that will allow the founders to build a broadcast studio. Listeners will find the 100-watt station at 106.1 on the FM dial. The station will reach listeners within a 5- to 10-mile radius of Portsmouth, an area that encompasses Rye, New Castle, Greenland and Newington, and Eliot and Kittery in Maine. The next hurdles WSCA-FM founders need to clear are finding a studio space of 1,000 to 2,000 square feet and raising seed money for the equipment. Stone and Pingree said they hope to raise $50,000 to $75,000 to get the venture on the air. Volunteers with specialty skills related to radio are also welcome to jump on the bandwidth bandwagon. The station`s call letters stand for ``Seacoast Alternative,`` . . . http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/07112003/news/38767.htm (Portsmouth NH Herald via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. WAL-MART URGES ITS TOP SUPPLIERS TO ADOPT RADIO TRANSMITTERS By CHUCK BARTELS, Associated Press Writer, July 10 LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) -- Wal-Mart wants its top 100 suppliers to slap tiny radio transmitters on all products they provide to the retail giant in an effort to better track merchandise while driving costs down. The technology is intended to provide automatic coordination of goods going into and out of Wal-Mart's 103 distribution centers, replacing what Wal-Mart uses now -- bar codes that are scanned. As products tagged with radio transmitters get within range of a reader, the distribution center's system automatically picks up the location of the product and details about what's on the pallet, Wal- Mart spokesman Tom Williams said. "It's almost like a voice coming into range of a microphone," Williams said. "It's a unique, quick and efficient way to gather information on a pallet of goods as it comes into a distribution center." If the technology moves to the shelves, shoppers could see some significant changes. The labels could allow customers to breeze through a checkout line with all their items being read via radio frequency at once. Williams said Wednesday the company wants its top 100 manufacturers to have the system in place by 2005 on all Wal-Mart products. By 2006, the company wants all its other suppliers to use the technology. Radio transmitters have promise for retail shelves, as well. With the transmitters on individual products, stores can get signals from areas that need restocking, protect against theft, and determine other product movement (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. HEY, BUDDY, WATCH WHERE YOU'RE PUTTING THAT WATER TANK Is fresh water good for an AM station? Not in this case, at least. Our friends at the CGC Communicator newsletter point us to an article in the newspaper Public Opinion of Chambersburg, Pa. Officials there have asked the FCC to step into a dispute between the government and an AM radio station. The station is WCBG. The borough complains that its attempt to build a water tank near the station's four towers has been thwarted since last fall because workers complained of receiving RF burns. The local newspaper has hired an attorney to try to force Verstandig Broadcasting to cease operating long enough for workers to finish the 2-million-gallon tank. "According to officials, possible solutions to the problem call for the borough to move the water tank, pay for moving WCBG's operation or buy the radio station," the article stated. "No cost estimates were available but all of the options would be costly, officials said." CGC adds its own observation: "Complicating the situation are allegations that the storage tank interferes with WCBG's signal - presumably warping its radiation patterns." (Radio World Daily newsbite July 9 via Kim Elliott, DXLD) RADIO CONFLICT: PENNSYLVANIA TOWN DISCOVERS WATER AND RADIO WAVES DON`T MIX Officials in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania have asked the FCC to intercede in a dispute between that township and Radio Station WCBG on 1590 kHz. This, as the borough hires a Louisiana attorney to try to force the owners of the radio station to cease operating long enough for workers to finish a 2-million-gallon water storage tank project in the nearby Chambers-5 Business Park. Chambersburg`s effort to build a new, elevated, 150-foot-high water storage tank on land adjacent to WCBG`s towers have stalled because workers complained of receiving RF burns. Complicating the situation are allegations that the storage tank interferes with WCBG`s signal, presumably warping its radiation patterns. WCBG operates 5 kW non-directional daytime and, 1 kW directional at night. The whole story is on-line at http://tinyurl.com/g1dk (CGC via Amateur Radio Newsline July 11 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. WNIN SIGNAL IMPROVEMENT FLOPS By MAUREEN HAYDEN, Courier & Press staff, July 11, 2003 EVANSVILLE [IN] -- WNIN-PBS9 hoped to blast its viewers into the digital age with a new broadcast tower that would improve and expand the local public broadcasting station's reach, but just the opposite has happened. Ever since the station switched over in April to a new $3.5 million tower project south of Boonville, Ind., some viewers have been calling to complain that the picture on their screen is worse than before, or just plain gone. Meanwhile, listeners to WNIN's sister radio station, at FM 88.3, have found static on occasion instead of the usual fare of classical music and National Public Radio. Station officials blame the problem on a "split beam" broadcast signal from a faulty antenna and subsequent attempts to rectify it. But they're not completely sure of the cause of their woes, nor do they know how long it may take to fix it. What they do know is that they have a technological mess on their hands that's already resulted in a big drop in viewership, and may not bode well for an on-air fundraiser scheduled for August. When WNIN president and general manager David Dial realized the extent of the problem, his first reaction included the phrase, "Oh, holy smoley E" The project was meant to elevate WNIN's presence in the area, launch its entry into digital television, and widen its footprint by replacing its analog transmitter and antenna. The result was supposed to be a better picture for the station's television viewers, a broader range of up to another 20 miles for the television signal, and a sharper signal for radio listeners. But it didn't quite work that way. "The day after we went on air (from the new tower) people started calling us, saying, 'I can't get a picture,'" Dial said. Initially, he thought only noncable viewers were affected But more calls started coming in, including calls from some cable viewers reporting fuzzy signals. Attempts to figure out the problem caused more woes. When engineers climbed the tower to inspect the antenna, both the radio and TV broadcast signals had to be shut off. Dial was alarmed when he saw the monthly Nielsen Media Research ratings, which measures television viewership. In the month after the new tower went up, WNIN's viewing audience dropped 25 percent -- from about 75,000 households to about 52,000. For WNIN, viewership translates into money. The nonprofit station relies mostly on financial donations from viewers to pay for programs and to pay staff. The dilemma now is to pinpoint and fix the problem. Dial believes the problem lies with the antenna itself, manufactured by the Dielectric Communications, based in Maine, the nation's largest manufacturer of high-power television and FM broadcast antenna systems. Dial said replacing the antenna could take several months. Dielectric wants to further investigate the problem, said spokeswoman Sally Rich. Rich didn't know the details of the WNIN matter, but said the company wants happy customers (INKY.com via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO UNDER FIRE OVER FREE-SPEECH CLAMPDOWN Fri July 11, 2003 08:23 PM ET By Bill Holland WASHINGTON (Billboard) --- Natalie Maines' controversial comments about President Bush are echoing ever louder in Congress and starting to rattle windows in the radio industry. Cumulus Broadcasting -- which banned Maines' group, the Dixie Chicks, from all 50 of its country stations after her remarks at a London concert in March -- was the latest to feel the sting of a mounting backlash against media consolidation. In congressional hearings held July 8, Dixie Chicks manager Simon Renshaw led the charge against Cumulus and the radio business. He revealed his office had had death threats during the ban and he had uncovered evidence that the effort was "orchestrated" in part by "right-wing political" groups. . . http://reuters.com/printerFriendlyPopup.jhtml?type=industryNews&storyID=3077850 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. PUBLIC REACTING, SLOWLY, TO FCC RULING BY BRIAN LAMBERT, St. Paul Pioneer Press Polls are a snapshot of a moment and all that, but when one reported that 70 percent of Americans still haven't heard of the recent FCC ruling further deregulating much of the media around us, the number sounded about right. Before the June 2 vote, few of the people I run with were aware of what was up with the FCC, and virtually none was clear on the details. (I know, I know. They're friends of mine, so consider the source.) After the vote - which, if it stands, will allow major corporations to expand the number of TV stations they own across the country, marry ownership of newspapers and TV stations in individual markets and so on - the average citizen still appears far more informed as to what color Scott Peterson is dyeing his hair today and where Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore went for dinner last weekend. But the FCC and Congress are hearing from citizens who have followed the Great Giveaway, and those folks are pretty upset about it. According to a spokeswoman in FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, the FCC has taken more than 2 million calls and e-mails since June 2, the vast majority registering disagreement with the decision. (Adelstein was one of the two commissioners to vote against further deregulation.) Three pieces of legislation floating around Congress are designed to roll back the FCC's June 2 rule changes. Senate Bill 1046, sponsored by Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., and Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, would return the so-called ownership "cap" - the percentage of the population covered by stations owned by a single company - to 35 percent from the 45 percent the FCC approved. The corresponding House bill is Resolution 2052. Meanwhile, also in the House, where anti-deregulation forces see much tougher slogging for rollback/repeal initiatives, Rep. Bernie Sanders, Independent-Vt., is proposing House Resolution 2462, titled the "Protect Diversity in Media Act," which would rescind everything the FCC just approved and --- this is important - prohibit the FCC from opening the same can of worms under the guise of fulfilling its obligation to conduct a biennial review of broadcast ownership rules. (That clause was mandated by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and has been thoroughly gamed by pro-deregulation forces.) Since the June 2 vote, supporters of deregulation have been clucking that, look, the sky hasn't fallen. Disney hasn't bought the New York Times, and Comcast hasn't bought Disney. Therefore, this repeal fervor is just more fringe hysteria. Sen. John McCain's Commerce Committee is at center court on the FCC issue. A hearing earlier this week illuminated the Orwellian consequences when one company controls the switch to hundreds of media outlets across the country. At issue were the Dixie Chicks and the now-infamous boycott of their music after singer Natalie Maines' remarks to a London audience. Cumulus Media owns 250 radio stations (none in the Twin Cities area). Without regard to regional attitudes, it yanked the Chicks from each of its country music stations. The company's president, Lewis Dickey Jr., defended the move to McCain, saying, "There was a groundswell of negative reaction by our listeners against the band.? " That may have been true, but Dickey's decision made no accounting for the varying depth of that reaction, which by all indications, was far stronger in certain parts of the country than it was in others. The point being, when your finger controls hundreds of stations, one attitude, one point of view suddenly fits all (via: Shoptalk 7/11/03 & http://www.tvweek.com via Frederick Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. NAB ABOUT-FACE ON FCC OWNERSHIP RULES In a jarring about-face, the National Association of Broadcasters has decided to oppose all pending legislation that would roll back the Federal Communications Commission's recently enacted rules changes that relaxed media ownership limits. The NAB has also reached out to the major networks to join with it in its new position, apparently seeking to head off the formation of a competing trade group that would represent network interests. Until Tuesday, under orders from its affiliate-dominated board of directors, the NAB had been lobbying vigorously to win legislation that would roll back the FCC's decision to relax the cap on national TV ownership. The cap was lifted to let broadcasters acquire stations reaching 45 percent of the nation's TV homes after the three Republican FCC commissioners voted for the change. The two Democratic FCC commissioners voted against the change. The NAB's marching orders have long been to keep the cap at 35 percent -- a level the association has maintained for years is vital to checking the power of networks over their affiliates. But industry and congressional sources said NAB officials have decided to give up the cap fight because they fear they won't be able to win legislation that would focus on the cap alone -- and that any measure approved by an increasingly heated Congress would be likely to be loaded down with provisions reversing FCC deregulation that key NAB members support. Those include the relaxation of the newspaper-broadcast cross- ownership restrictions. The sudden change brought an angry rebuke from Rep. John Dingell, D- Mich., the ranking member on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce: "The NAB's decision to reverse itself on the issue of the national television ownership cap is an unfortunate retreat from its proud history of support for localism, diversity and competition in the broadcast marketplace. My efforts, and those of my colleagues, to repeal the FCC's ill-advised decision to raise the ownership cap to 45 percent will not be deterred. And I remain confident that many of NAB's own members will continue to support us." Sources said NAB President and CEO Eddie Fritts has also asked representatives of the Big 4 TV networks to join NAB in its fight against any legislation. All of the networks bailed out of the association over the past several years in a dispute over the cap issue. One source said NAB's change of direction on the cap issue could also take wind out of the sails of the Local Broadcasting Alliance, a new organization that the networks have been planning to launch to represent the interests of their owned-and-operated TV stations in Washington. A major test of the newfound industry unity could take place next Wednesday when the House Appropriations Committee is slated to consider an FCC appropriations bill. Sources expect the committee to consider a rider that could roll back much of the deregulation the FCC voted to adopt on June 2. An NAB spokesman declined comment on the association's new legislative strategy. But the NAB's Mr. Fritts has scheduled a briefing with reporters Thursday at which he is expected to announce the association's new plan (via: Shoptalk 7/11/03 & http://www.tvweek.com via Frederick Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. The long awaited report on LPFM has been posted to the FCC's electronic Comments section. What it boils down to that unless you are within 100 feet of a 100 watt LPFM, there is no interference from Low Power FM. Now, if we can get our politicians to let us put them on the 3rd adjacent frequency, there will be thousands of frequencies becoming available in all areas (provided translators don`t take them all). You need Acrobat to view it, but all 700 pages + + + are available for viewing at: http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cginative_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6514285087 If the link is split on your computer, paste it back together... If the above doesn`t work then This link will get you to the FCC's ECFS. Proceeding number 99-25 http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi BTW, the proceeding which many of us from the NRC have commented on is 99-325 IBOC interference (Paul Smith, W4KNX, Located in Sunny Sarasota Florida http://www.amtower.com NRC FMTV via DXLD) ** U S A. To a friend of radio, RIP As president of the Museum of Television and Radio for two decades, Robert Batscha was that semi-rare media historian who didn't let radio disappear in the shadow of television. While much of the museum's growth during his tenure focused on television, it did not ignore its radio collection. Several years ago, it launched a radio festival, and it has played host to a number of live radio shows - most recently Harry Harrison's final broadcast on WCBS-FM. The preservation of radio history has been so fragmented that institutions like the museum are critical, and under Batscha, radio's unique value was not ignored. Batscha died of cancer on July 4, at age 58. He will be missed. David Hinckley, Originally published on July 12, 2003, (c) 2003 Daily News, L.P., via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. 60 METERS: A LOOK AT NIGHT ONE ON THE NEW GENTLEMEN`S BAND Its being called the ``New Gentleman`s Band`` by some. At least that`s what monitoring the first availability of the new 60 meter band as it opened to the East Coast on July 3rd. Newsline`s Don Wilbanks, was listening in from the deep South: The `New Gentlemen`s Band`` may well be a title that will stick on 60 [sic] meters. Even as the new frequencies came to life, there was none of the on-air pushing and shoving that`s so prevalent on other bands like 20 and 40 meters. Instead, those observing, operating and posting their thoughts to the Internet seemed to agree that calm and order was the way most approached 60 meter operation. Ron Wray, WB5HZ, was one of those listening in. He says over the qrz.com website that it seemed as if someone had kicked an anthill at 11:00 PM Central time. That`s when hundreds of stations were conducting simultaneous QSO`s on all five frequencies. According to Wray, there were explosions of activity that continued throughout the night as each time zone jumped onto the new band in sequence. And Wray notes the apparent success of the 50 watt effective radiated power limit. He says that from his location in Dear Park Texas, the low power limit made it so that no one signal was sufficiently strong to completely control any particular frequency. And because of this amateurs were able to make solid contacts despite the unbelievable level of QRM. Robert Harper, AFZ0H, of Park Hills Missouri was another early user of 60 meters. In his posting to QRZ, Harper said that he was very impressed by the discipline of the amateur community on opening night. Despite the noise and the crowd, everyone seemed to keep a level head. He says that it was an atmosphere that reminded him of the ``good ol` days,`` adding that he cannot recall when he last observed such gentlemanly behavior under such crowded conditions. And Bill Collins K8NQC, may have summed it up best. In his QRZ note he said that multiple QSO`s on the same frequency will greatly help the utility of the band. He adds that the absence of big signals is really a plus. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I`m Don Wilbanks, AE5DW, in New Orleans. So far there seem to be no complaints about the new spot frequencies that comprise the current 60 meter ham radio allocation. In fact, one ham was heard to say that the rest of high frequency Amateur Radio can learn lessons in sportsmanship and courtesy by simply tuning in (ARNewsline(tm), from QRZ.com and other sources) (AR Newsline July 11 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. 999, Radio Terra, Uzbekistan. A private radio station called Radio Terra from the Uzbek capital Tashkent has been heard on the frequency of 999 kHz. DXer Alexander Polyakov reports on Signal DX No. 102a that reception quality is excellent in the region around Tashkent. It is unclear when exactly this station has hit the airwaves. The station has a flashy website offering program and station information, photos and a discussion forum. Contact info is given as Glavpochtamt, a/ya Radio Terra, 700000, Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Telephone: 998-71-136-2261, or email 105@radioterra.uz (Dxing.info via MWC e-mail news 26.6.2003 via ARC via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. There seems to be a Vietnamese station operating on 981 kHz. Heard last night after 1400 carrying VOV-1. No idea of the location, I'm afraid (Alan Davies, somewhere in Asia, 30 May, ARC via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. RUSSIA/VIETNAM. 7115 at 1300-1400 UT, DGV in Vietnamese from Chita-RUS. Who is this? Religious? Oppositional? (wb df5sx) (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, July 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I wonder whom you are quoting; DGV?? ** VIETNAM [non]. Re: GERMANY: But NHS is not explained. What's that? (gh, DXLD) NHS = ? New Horizon Service ? [See this old logging:] [GERMANY to VIETNAM]. 15775, Chan Troi Moi, ex-15715, excellent at 1328*, opening with anthem-like music, ID by lady, into program of all talk, occasional music bridges, many mentions of Sadaam Hussein and Iraq, all Vietnamese. Anthem-like music again at 1428, and closed program at 1430 with ID by woman in English, "The Vietnamese broadcast of New Horizon signing off." Very brief pause, and then a program from another broadcaster began. Via DTK Juelich? I was listening in LSB. At 1400 I thought a program segment began with the CTM announcers talking over low background music, but it turned out that at least from that hour the music was from another, even more powerful station co- channel, the latter on USB only, so when I was in LSB I was just getting the spillover. Not sure what the station was, but it was very strong (Jerry Berg-MA-USA, DXplorer Apr 12, 2003; via BC-DX April 19) 1330-1430 49,50 100 kW 70 degr VOH Chan Troi Moi or New Horizon, High Adventure VoHope, in Vietnamese (BC-DX #621, April 19, 2003) Glenn, see: http://www.clandestineradio.com/intel/vietnam.htm NHS = ? New Horizon Service ? Yahoo search ``chan troi moi`` results in a lot of URL hits: http://www.fva.org/radio.html Radio Broadcasts to Vietnam ... Regarding Chan Troi Moi broadcasts, people in Western United States, South Pacific, and in some regions of Russia have reported good signal reception. ... cached | more results from this site http://www.vietchristian.net/chantroimoi http://www.lmvntd.org/avl/demo0696/0696bai4.htm Document Top Secret du Bureau Politique largement divulgué à l'extérieur. Note éditorial: Les membres de l'Alliance Vietnam Liberté (AVL) à l'intérieur viennent de recevoir ce document classé Top Secret et signé par M. Dao Duy Tung, membre du Bureau Politique, instance suprême du Parti Communiste Vietnamien. Nous vous traduisons texto ci après pour toute fin utile. L'émission Chan Troi Moi, mentionnée dans le document est une émission indépendante, diffusée des informations destinées aux vietnamiens vivant au Vietnam. CHAN TROI MOI (Nouvel Horizon) : émission en langue vietnamienne sur la longueur d'onde de 31m (9965 KHZ), chaque jour de 22 h à 22h30, heure locale du Vietnam. Adresse pour le courrier: P. O. Box 48, Nishi Yodogawa, Osaka 555, Japan. P.O.Box 957 Cypress, CA 90630, USA (all via Wolfgang Büschel, July 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. NO IDENTIFICADA, 4890, 0545, programa religioso en español, locutor con acento caribeño-centroamericano, escuchada desde las 0515 hasta las 0600, a partir de esa hora la señal se volvió muy débil. SINPO 24322. ¿puede decirme alguien de qué emisora se trata?. (Julio 11). (Manuel Méndez Reinante, costa de Lugo, España, Grundig Satellit 500, antena de cable, 8 metros, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Doesn`t sound like R. Macedonia, Perú ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PROPAGATION +++++++++++ GEOMAGNETIC INDICES Phil Bytheway - Seattle WA - phil_tekno@yahoo.com Geomagnetic Summary June 17 2003 through July 7 2003 Tabulated from email status daily Date Flux A K SA Forecast GM Forecast Etc. 6/17 123 38 5 moderate minor 9 18 122 40 5 moderate minor 9 19 120 45 5 strong minor 10 20 123 20 2 minor minor 5 21 117 14 2 no storms no storms 5 22 115 26 3 minor minor 7 23 110 15 3 no storms no storms 7 24 114 22 3 minor no storms 6 25 115 29 3 minor no storms 6 26 116 18 3 no storms no storms 8 27 119 18 3 no storms no storms 7 28 124 34 3 moderate minor 8 29 124 33 4 moderate minor 8 6/30 127 25 3 minor minor 8 7/ 1 128 24 2 minor no storms 6 2 131 15 3 no storms no storms 4 3 135 13 3 minor no storms 3 4 132 17 4 no storms minor 7 5 140 23 3 minor minor 6 6 142 21 3 no storms minor 6 7/ 7 130 12 2 minor minor 2 ********************************************************************** (IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) What does etc. refer to??? RECORD-BREAKING TRANS-ATLANTIC SPORADIC E ON VHF/FM In GB2RS last week, we reported the extraordinary VHF propagation on the 26th of June, when two VHF-FM DXers received broadcast stations from Newfoundland and Bangor, Maine, in North America. One of them, Paul Logan, from County Fermanagh, has contacted GB2RS to say that he also logged radio station WFRY in Watertown, New York, on 97.5 MHz at 2015 UT on the 26th of June. The station has since confirmed his reception report. Paul says the distance is 3049 miles, which breaks the previous Band 2 Sporadic E distance record, held by Todd Emslie in Australia, who had received a station in American Samoa at 2739 miles. (From The RSGB Sunday 13 July, 2003 (actually Friday evening) http://www.rsgb.org/news/gb2rs.htm via Mike Terry, DXLD) ###