DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-147, August 15, 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/dxldtd3h.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 CONTINENT OF MEDIA 03-05 Nominal schedule on RFPI, 7445: Thu 2000, Fri 0200, 0830, 1430, Sat 2130, Sun 0330, 0930, 1530 NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1195: RFPI: Sat 0130, 0800, 1400, 1730, 2330, Sun 0530, 1130, 1830, Mon 0030, 0630, 1230, Tue 1900, Wed 0100, 0730, 1330 on 7445 [nominal times subject to delay or pre-emption] WRN: Rest of world Sat 0800, Europe only Sun 0430, N America Sun 1400 WWCR: Sat 1030, Sun 0230 5070, 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 WRMI: Sat & Sun 1800+ on 15725 WINB: Sun 0031 on 12160 WJIE: Sun 1630 on 7490, 13595 (maybe) WBCQ: Mon 0415 on 7415 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: Check http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html [Low] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1195.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1195.ram [High] (Download) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1195h.rm (Stream) http://www.k4cc.net/wor1195h.ram (Summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1195.html [these links in last issue led to 1194 instead of 1195; sorry] ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. 15615, Radio Amani heard on 15615 1628-1730 August 15th. Tones 1628, played wrong Russian or East European language programme for 30 seconds just after 1630, 1631 dramatic music and Radio Amani identification by lady in echo chamber. talks by man in Pashto or Dari with occasional bridges of local music. Fair strength with moderate fading on clear channel though splash from 15620. Audio disappeared suddenly 1707, reappeared at lower level 1715. Off mid sentence 1730. Is Fridays only per Bernd Trutenau in DXLD 3-145 (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN. NEW PRIVATE RADIO STARTS BROADCASTING IN AFGHANISTAN | Text of report in English by Afghan newspaper The Kabul Times on 10 August Afghanistan's first radio station to broadcast live 24 hours a day went on air in the capital, Kabul, this week. Radio Khilid Kabul (RKK) 88.5 FM [name as published] is one of the first private-sector radio stations in the country to be granted a government broadcasting license. "Radio Khilid will be highlighting Afghan culture, giving it back to the Afghan people as it has almost been forgotten. For 30 years Afghans have been living in other countries, and Afghan culture has not been transmitted to their children," Shahir Zahin, the director- general of an Afghan NGO, Development Humanitarian Assistance for Afghanistan (DHSA), told IRIN [as published] from Kabul on Wednesday. RKK's conception and realization is the result of a partnership between DHSA and the international media NGO, Internews. The country's airwaves have been monopolized by government-run stations for many years. Following the fall of the Taleban, however, new stations have sprung up, with the coalition forces taking the lead in establishing two of them. RKK is funded by the US Agency for International Development, and the objective of the venture is to encourage and foster the development of the independent media in Afghanistan. The new radio station, which was inspired by the success of a national magazine, Khilid [Kelid], is currently playing music only, but will also be broadcasting cultural information and chat shows, as well as news bulletins on the hour, with effect from Afghanistan's National Day on 18 August. Zahin said RKK would not only entertain but also help unite the Afghan people during this important period of national reconstruction. The station has taken a community participation approach by inviting citizens to contribute to programming by sending in ideas. The target audience is expected to be middle-class 25-to 45 year-olds. Internews envisages RKK to be the basis for a public service, but to remain a privately owned radio network spread across Afghanistan. The station will serve as a medium on-the-air training facility for journalists from other radio stations around the country. Internews is providing experienced international radio journalists as trainers for the venture, as well as studio and transmitter equipment. The project faced some difficulties at the beginning of the collaboration, which are now being overcome. "Training is the major problem, people going into modern radio who either have old radio or no radio experience," John West, the Internews country director, Afghanistan, told IRIN from Kabul. He added that the envisaged national network across Afghanistan would also help to highlight humanitarian issues. Source: The Kabul Times, Kabul, in English 10 Aug 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA [non]. DÍA DE LA RADIODIFUSIÓN EN ARGENTINA Estimados Amigos: Con motivo de cumplirse el próximo 27 de agosto el 83 Aniversario de la Radiodifusión en Argentina, el programa "Antena de la Amistad" de KBS Radio Corea Internacional emitirá mis informes N 137 y N 138 los días sábados 16 y 30 de agosto de 2003 respectivamente. En los mismos se incluyen registros sonoros históricos del pionero Enrique Telémaco Susini y de su señora esposa Alicia Arderius viuda de Susini como así también la grabación del último minuto que transmitió LR2 Radio Argentina en 1110 Khz aquel 31 de diciembre de 1997 cuando el gobierno argentino la dejó morir. Es una oportunidad para retener y guardar apenas una parte de la historia grande de la radiodifusión mundial. No olviden de expresar sus comentarios, preguntas y mayores informaciones al respecto directamente a la sección española de Radio Corea Internacional: spanish@kbs.co.kr , también por carta al Apartado 150-790 - Seoul, Republic of Korea o bien en Sudamérica a la Casilla de Correo 950, S 2000 WAJ - Rosario, Argentina. El siguiente es el esquema actual de KBS Radio Corea Internacional (UT, frecuencias y áreas de destino): 1000-1100 15210 Khz p/Europa; 9580 Khz y *11715 Khz (*vía Sackville- Canadá) p/América del Sur 2000-2100 15575 Khz p/Europa y 0100-0200 11810 Khz p/América del Sur 0700-0800 13670 Khz p/Europa (El programa se transmite a los 10' de comenzada cada emisión, después de las noticias.) En el aire por Internet entrando a http://rki.kbs.co.kr en los siguientes horarios UT y canales: 2000-2100 - CH1 2100-2200 - CH2 0100-0200 - CH1 1300-1400 - CH2 También en audio por demanda entrando en http://rki.kbs.co.kr (click en Select Language/Spanish luego Antena-Buzón y elegir las fechas aludidas). El programa se carga uno o dos días después de su emisión. Están disponibles los siete (7) últimos programas emitidos. Agradeceré tengan la bondad de difundir este mensaje a través de los medios a vuestra disposición. Saludos cordiales! (Rubén Guillermo Margenet margenet@arnet.com.ar Aug 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "ABORIGINAL RESOURCE AND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES INC (ARDS)" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ARDS is an Aboriginal controlled non-profit organisation has begun transmission on August 1 of a Short Wave Radio Service for Community Development. The service will enable the Yolngu (Aboriginal) people of north-east Arnhem Land to receive informational programs broadcast in their own language and has the potential to reach up to 7,000 Yolngu living in the five major communities and ninety homeland centres across the region. Mr Richard Trudgen (Business Manager of ARDS) stated: "ARDS is extremely pleased to be launching this much needed service. This educational service heralds an exciting new time for Yolngu people who will now be able to access all sorts of information on Health, Economics, Law and much much more." The Radio Service will use a concept developed in Africa called "Radio Browsing". This is where listeners can ring the studio to ask for information they want to hear over the radio. Radio staff research the information via the web and/or other sources and develop a program to put to air. It also allows listeners to be directly involved in the development of programs. A Yolngu person within the region and a radio announcer/interpreter can have a discussion, with a doctor in Darwin about diabetes using a three-way telephone connection. This discussion would all be recorded and then later broadcast via the Radio Service. Radio Browsing allows the people to stay in their own homes and access all sorts of information, all in their own language. The Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra (political leader of the Golumala clan) who has been involved in developing programs for broadcast stated: "I am very pleased and excited to be involved with this radio service. There are just so many things that Yolngu people are having problems understanding and this is a great way to get information in a quick and easy way." ARDS has secured some support from government, non-government and philanthropic organisations to develop various programs. This includes sponsorship to develop information on Renal Failure, Diabetes, Hepatitis C, HIV, Petrol Sniffing and Law and Order. They will be looking for on going support and jobs to keep this service operating. For further details contact Mr Richard Trudgen 08 8987 3910 or visit http://www.ards.com.au TRANSMITTERS The transmitters are ex-Civil Aviation, using 5050. They were manufactured by Commonwealth Electronics and are AM20 models. They can operate at 1 kW but operate continuously at 400W. The location is Humpty Doo S12.34.05, E131.04.35. Antennas are two fibreglass helical whips with a front to back ratio of -50dB and a beam of 110 degrees centred on 100 degrees true from Humpty Doo. LICENCING This is a "Broadcasting Licence Category HF Domestic Service" with the callsign VKD963. The date of effect is March 3, 2003 and expiry is March 3 2004. Special conditions apply, where the licensee may be required to cease operating the station, or operate the station under revised conditions, if the Australian Broadcasting Authority or the Australian Communications Authority receives an objection to the station's operation as a result of the international notification of the station. The intended area of coverage is "local". ARDS is also licensed for medium-frequency broadcasting, using off-band channels under the category of "Narrowband Broadcasting Station", in the Northern Territory, with 400 W: 1611 kHz VKD883 Milingimbi 1611 kHz VKD884 Groote Eyland 1620 kHz VKD885 Galiwin Ku (Elcho Island) 1629 kHz VKD886 Gapuwiyak The satellite link is allocated on 6.35794 GHZ, as a Fixed Earth Station, Nhulunby. HF SERVICE It should be noted that the HF service is for local broadcasting only, with the primary radiation pattern in an easterly direction from Darwin, generally covering the eastern part of the Northern Territory, Arnhem Land, and into NW Queensland. Side lobe radiation extends to NE Western Australia, and northern South Australia. Low level back-lobe radiation extends northerly into Timor and Eastern Indonesia. Antenna configuration has been designed to provide satisfactory coverage during daylight hours out to about 2000 km from Darwin. At night, coverage will expand. DXer reports from places well outside the primary service area complain about night-time co-channel interference from transmitters in China, Tanzania, and the USA. Such reports are of academic interest only, not affecting reception in the main service area. Similarly, It is doubtful if ARDS, with low power of 400W, will cause harmful interference to those transmitters. Reports are welcome at dale@ards.com.au or by mail to ARDS, Box 1671, Nhulunbuy, NT 0881, Australia. Studio Address: 19 Pera Circuit, Nhulunbuy NT 0880, Australia. BACKGROUNDER: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT RADIO SERVICE BRIEFING PAPER This ARDS paper will be of interest, which looks at the development of the organisation's media network, to meet the information access, self-learning and adult education needs of the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land. - WHAT THE SERVICE IS ABOUT It is said that a nation's people are its greatest asset. For people who work in government departments, and all those who work in education and training, attempting to unlock the wealth of capacity within a nation's people is a continual quest. For those of us involved in community development and community education the task is the same: how to unlock the untapped energy, ability, knowledge and creative potential that is locked up both within individuals and within the community in which we work. The Community Development Radio Service will aid this need by offering education, information and cultural reinforcement for the Yolngu people of north-east Arnhem Land. - KEYS TO HUMAN CAPACITY BUILDING When it comes to human capacity building and creating social capital, there are two essential keys: purpose and communication. Loss of purpose emerges when people become confused and do not have enough information about the world around them to take control of their own lives and develop their own future. Without good communication, clear purpose is but a faint and distant hope. Without clear purpose, human endeavour stops. Human capacity building cannot happen without good communication. Good communication happens when information is provided in a way that allows it to be understood. This can only happen in the people's own language, which is the medium they use to communicate, think and construct knowledge. - EDUCATION THROUGH A MEDIA SERVICE Since ARDS was incorporated in 1974, we have been involved in active community education within Arnhem Land. It has become clear to ARDS personnel that despite this education being very effective on a one-to-one basis or in small groups, it has not expanded across the region from the original groups involved. The lack of reinforcement of new information imparted has also become a major problem. The people have little opportunity to revisit or update the information they first gained. Furthermore, the amount of information that people want and need access to is too enormous to transfer through the face-to-face educational method over an area one-third the size of the state of Victoria. This has led to many hundreds of hours of discussion with clan and community leaders as to how this problem could be overcome. As a result of these discussions, ARDS has started developing "off-site electronic classroom" material and has produced subject-specific video and audio tapes in an attempt to create some accessible media. But to deliver the large amounts of information to the people where they live, what is needed is a dynamic, comprehensive media service across the whole of the north-east Arnhem Land region - in the people's language. - HOW CAN THE LARGE AMOUNT OF REQUESTED INFORMATION BE DELIVERED? After consultation, research, observation and testing of various media over a number of years, but more intensively in the last twelve months, some clear conclusions have become apparent. If we look at all the media and telecommunication methods - print media, telephone, the Internet, computer conferencing, television, immanent digital radio and multi-media transfer, video conferencing and AM, FM and HF radio, some interesting points emerge: No comprehensive media service exists in the people's own language for the north-east Arnhem Land region Almost all existing services, except the telephone, are not meeting the expected communication needs of the people New information technologies will also fail to deliver due to the extensive timeframe needed to develop comprehensive material in the people's language. An Effective Media Service Radio is the only telecommunications medium available that will deliver large amounts of information and knowledge, time- and cost-effectively, to the people of the region, in their language, in the next five to ten years. It is user-friendly and technically lean. Radios are readily available to the people - cheap to buy and easy to operate. They are also very portable for a mobile community. - CHEAPEST CONTENT DEVELOPMENT The other major advantage of radio is that it is extremely cost- and time-effective in area of content development. This means material can be created quickly and then put to air immediately. Almost all other media require many hours of scripting, translating, checking and correcting, whereas large amounts of radio content can be done in live-to-air dialoguing, thus employing live talkback and/or discussions between BRACS (Broadcasting for Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme) operators and the proposed Nhulunbuy studio. For emergencies and quick updates of information, radio has no real competitors even in today's IT world - especially in the unique Arnhem Land situation. The Radio Service of ARDS intends to: maintain a continuous on-air service using computer-based scheduling and automation software work with the Yolngu BRACS operators so that they can develop their own content material record, organise and archive traditional song-cycles and the people's intellectual language develop effective educational and culturally-supportive broadcast material use an Earth Station to deliver the radio broadcast signal to a satellite purchase space on a commercial satellite with a transmission footprint covering all of Australia set up receiving sites, incorporating Translator Units, at some of the major communities, a few homeland centre villages, and also one in Darwin to give radio coverage across the region operate these Receiving Translator Units, with digital forward control, to receive the broadcast signal from the satellite and then retransmit it to the local region as either an AM or FM, and from Darwin as a HF signal. This will allow Yolngu Matha speaking people to receive this service on normal radio-cassette units and in most vehicles (no matter where they live or work) across their whole living region. - A SERVICE THAT UNLOCKS SOCIAL CAPITAL This service will give the Yolngu elders first-time access to modern, dynamic media to teach culturally affirmative knowledge to their own people. It will also allow ARDS to take well-developed content material, which covers many subjects from health to economics, from a one-to-one teaching ratio to a one to many thousands teaching ratio. A Community Development Radio Service in the people's language will create good communication by opening a new world of information and knowledge. In turn it will give purpose to the Yolngu people as they build their human capacity to a level where their social capital is unlocked and they are truly able to control their own lives and future. - DOSSIER A dossier on the Community Development Radio Service, which is the Report of a Feasibility Study funded by the Miwatj ATSIC Regional Council, is available from ARDS. The dossier fully explains the Community Development Radio Service. It tells of the need for such a service, compares the existing media, explains how the Community Development Radio Service will complement existing services, describes the content material that the service will provide, as well as explaining additional complementary services. The dossier also sets out the social impact and benefits of the service, as well as describing the technical details of the project. This includes a full description of the service and full costings. Please contact Dale Chesson or Richard Trudgen on 08 8987 3910 if you are interested in obtaining a copy of the dossier. - ABOUT ARDS ARDS is an Aboriginal organisation incorporated under the Northern Territory Associations Act, and the community development arm of the Northern Regional Council of Congress (NRCC). The NRCC is the Aboriginal and Islander Presbytery of the Northern Synod of the Uniting Church in Australia. The Executive of ARDS comprises Aboriginal representatives from the following regions; East Arnhem Land, West Arnhem Land, Mowanjum - Western Australia, Darwin, and the Pitjantjatjara areas of South Australia/Northern Territory. This body sets policy and directs the work of ARDS. NRCC meets twice a year as a full Council with representatives coming from approximately 25 Aboriginal communities and homeland centres, and at this time the goals and plans of ARDS are discussed. ARDS Executive meet separately as required throughout the year. Since its incorporation in 1973, ARDS has worked at the 'cutting edge' of community development. This work demands a commitment to learning and operating in the language of the people. It also demands that non-Aboriginal staff have been immersed in, and can see the world-views of the people. For it is only when these two critical aspects i.e. language and world-view, have been taken into consideration, that education can bring about liberation. The policy of ARDS is to work in two basic areas. 1. ARDS practices community education as a major part of its development strategy. This community education must engage the intellect of the people, it must be practised in such a way that the process is one where the people involved 'discover', through critical questioning, truth and new realities. This community education is problem solving education, around areas of Health, Economics and Legal matters. Some of the problems within the health sphere include; patient intervention, HIV/AIDS, scabies, chronic diseases and others. Microscopes, microbiology and immune system education (literacy) is a major component of the health education. Health has become a major focus of ARDS education because of the critically high death rate of the people of North East Arnhem Land (five times the National average - 1991). Economic and Legal literacy also play a major role, as the people of the region begin to participate in a real way in their own development, rather than just survive, with two often conflicting systems of law and economics. 2. The second area is to provide cultural awareness workshops and information so that non-Aboriginal people who come to the region can be better equipped to work alongside Aboriginal people. This will allow Aboriginal people to be empowered with information and training, so that they can run their own communities. For the people to control their own development, ARDS believes that cultural awareness and communication skills are essential tools for all non-Aboriginal people to acquire and maintain if they are to be useful in the peoples development. Not everyone will acquire these skills to a high degree, but some specialists are needed to be skilled in these areas, in some considerable depth. ARDS also believes that all people that come from outside a particular minority cultural group need a good appreciation of where the minority group are, with regard to world-view and past experiences. This applies to people at all levels, whether they are political representatives, or senior public servants directing policy and its implementation, or persons who work with Aboriginal people at a 'grass roots' level. The Executive of ARDS requires that its staff conduct workshops for these relevant sectors of the community so that a greater degree of understanding can exist. Only when the world-view and history of any cultural minority is seen clearly by the dominant culture can any real development and effective communication take place. This then is the work in which ARDS is engaged. The prime focus for this work has been the North East Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory, however it is the vision of the Executive that this will expand to cover all areas from which the membership is drawn. Additional to these prime focuses ARDS provides services to urban and rural Aboriginal people through the Language, Education and Resource Centre, located in Darwin, and for elderly Aboriginal people through Darriba Nurri, an aged and disabled persons care program located in the northern suburbs of Darwin. The ARDS Executive is committed to standing with the people in their struggle. We can only become involved though at their request and the involvement is, as educators, to search for truth with the people - to enable them to become true subjects of their own destiny rather than mere objects in society. (EDXP WBM Aug 14 used by permission http://edxp.org via DXLD) ** BELGIUM. On the Aug 10 RVi Radio World, Frans Vossen acknowledges the inaccurate schedules recently quoted for Koreas, and then goes on to give some times and frequencies for China Radio International, from the latest issue of CRI`s very own Messenger, August issue, just arrived on his desk (with the implication that this info must therefore be correct). 2000-2100 on 11790 and 15110 2100-2200 on 11790, 15110 2200-2300 on 9880 Sorry, Frans, but as I have had to point out before, Messenger info is often incomplete and out of date by the time it arrives! Perhaps the slick magazine has a long lead time, combined with CRI`s usual lethargy in updating and correcting its own published schedule info. There have been various changes during the summer in CRI`s English schedule, which we have reported as they reach us in DXLD. In this case the Messenger appears to have been correct as far as it went but: In Eibi`s comprehensive schedule updated Aug 12 we extract the same three transmissions from http://139.18.51.71/~pge78crf/bc-a03.txt --- 2000 2057 CHN China Radio Internat. E Eu 1557$/LTU 9440b 11790u 15110B 2100 2157 CHN China Radio Internat. E Eu 1440/LUX 5965 9840 11790u 15110B 2200-2257 CHN China Radio Internat. E Eu 9880/Rus-Taldom B and b = Beijing (two different sites), u = Urumchi Besides additional SW frequencies, it might have been worth mentioning that CRI is relayed on MW from the adjacent country, Luxembourg, not to mention Lithuania. This show also has vintage audio clips of KMTH-920 Midway Island about 4 minutes into the file, another of RNZI`s Bell Bird; 1XX on 1240 and 1XI on 1590. Catch them while the file lasts until Sunday or Monday: http://www.vrt.be/wm/rvi/rw_HI.asx or http://www.vrt.be/wm/rvi/rw-LO.asx (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Hi Glenn, Re the item NACIONAL DO BRASIL PARA A ÁFRICA in DXLD 3-146: Since Aug. 2nd I have been hearing Rádio Nacional do Brasil on 9665 at very good strength, most days, on air at tune in 0600. It appears to have an 'off-day' at least once per week. Sign off time is variable around 0700+. I have regularly tuned 11780 and 6180 at these same times but have not heard either. Radio Sawa is using 6180 via Woofferton at 180 deg until 0700. However, what appeared to be Brazil was heard on 11780 and on 6180 - this co-channel with Finland`s Sunday only service - at 0705 on Aug. 10th, but 9665 had closed. Neither have been heard since then, but 9665 continues, with an off day noted Tuesday this week - Thursday last week. 73s, (Noel Green, England, Aug 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So you think the Af service is actually on 9665? ** CAMBODIA [non]. CAMBODIA/FRANCE: PARIS WEB SITE REPORTING ON CAMBODIA Khmer Intelligence (KI) is an English-language web site based in Paris that reports on developments in Cambodia. The web site, http://www.khmerintelligence.org does not identify its sponsor, noting only it represents a "non-government organization" seeking "to help Khmer and foreign observers better follow and understand the situation in Cambodia". Items posted on the web site reflect detailed knowledge of Cambodian media and are generally critical of the ruling Cambodian People's Party [CPP] and Prime Minister Hun Sen. The postings tend to support the political stance of the Cambodian opposition party of Sam Rainsy [SRP], and to a lesser extent, the royalist FUNCINPEC [National United Front for an Independent, Neutral, Peaceful and Cooperative Cambodia]. The web site claims that, "for security reasons, KI must preserve anonymity for its informants" and many items are not sourced. When sources are cited, they come from a range of publications from both inside and outside Cambodia including the Cambodian-language newspapers Reaksmei Kampuchea and Kaoh Santepheap, the English- language biweekly Phnom Penh Post and The Cambodia Daily. Foreign sources cited include Thailand's English-language newspapers, The Nation and the Bangkok Post. Broadcast items from the US-based Voice of America and Radio Free Asia are also cited in some of the items. KI ranks the information it posts, "according to five levels of reliability: Semi-official (1), Very reliable (2), Reliable (3), Insistent rumour (4), Rumour (5)". The overwhelming majority of items carried by KI are ranked 1 to 3 in terms of reliability. Observations on KI's reliability rankings - particularly when a specific media source is cited - accurately reflect the themes and content of reports appearing in either Cambodian or foreign media sources. On occasion, unsourced items given reliability ratings of either 1 or 2 by KI will later appear in other media reporting. The Khmer Intelligence web site began operations in August 2002 and appears to be steadily increasing its audience. On 2 January 2003, KI reported that a total of 15,284 people had visited the web site during its first five months in operation. On 1 March, KI posted an item claiming that the number of its readers had increased to a total of 32,449 with the addition of "10,850 visitors to the site in February 2003 alone". It does not carry links to any other web site. The web site is updated at rather irregular intervals, but is at times updated daily. However, between 22 May and 5 August, no new items were posted. A "Whois" internet search failed to reveal the name of KI's registrant, revealing only the following email address, telephone number and Paris postal address for the web site: Ka Samngat [Khmer Intelligence] khmerintelligence@dns.seanic.net +330140030996 29 Avenue Simon Bolivar Paris, France 75019 Source: BBC Monitoring research 15 Aug 03 (via DXLD) ** CANADA. XM Satellite: see INTERNATIONAL VACUUM ** CHINA. CRI schedule: see BELGIUM ** CHINA [non]. CLANDESTINE from USA to CHINA: World Falun Dafa Radio will drop its 9625 transmission (via CIS) at the end of September, but remain on KWHR (Hian, CRW) KWHR gives the schedule as follows: 9930 1500-1600 Sat/Sun, 1600-1700 Mon-Fri (Cumbre DX via Johnson via DXLD) No, the 1630-1700 show daily is Heavenly Life (Mandarin) LeSEA Productions per http://www.whr.org/index.cfm?fa=schedule&Search=Angel3 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FALUN GONG FOLLOWERS SEND "ILLEGAL SIGNALS" ON CHINESE TV | Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Beijing, 15 August: Sino Satellite, a Chinese TV satellite, was taken over by illegal TV signals transmitted by Falun Gong cult followers at 9.05 p.m. Tuesday and at 8.23 p.m. Wednesday [local times 12 and 13 August], the Ministry of Information Industry said Friday. The state monitoring centre on wireless communications under the ministry said illegal signals sent by Falun Gong cult activists had hindered the Chinese audience from watching routine programmes of China Central Television (CCTV), China Education TV Station (CETV) and ten provincial TV stations. The TV hijacking was also confirmed by the Ministry of Education and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. The banned cult attacked the satellite for several times between June and November last year. Source: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 0806 gmt 15 Aug 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) CHINESE SINO SATELLITE SPOKESMAN CONDEMNS FALUN GONG JAMMING ACTION | Text of report by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency) Asia-Pacific service Beijing, 15 August: This reporter learned from the State Radio Monitoring Centre of the Information Industry Ministry that at 2105 local time [1305 gmt] on 12 August and 2023 local time [1223 gmt] on 13 August, Sino Satellite was hijacked by illegal signals sent by the "Falun Gong" cult again. The transmissions of many channels - China Education TV Station, China Central Television, and ten other provincial TV stations were respectively seriously jammed. The viewers could not watch long-distance education programmes and other TV programmes. This information has been further confirmed by the Education Ministry and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television. This is another crime committed by the "Falun Gong" cult. It is not only against the basic principles of civilian communications, but also interrupting routine radio and TV broadcasts, and violating the rights and interests of the masses. A responsible person at the Sino Satellite Communications Company pointed out: The way that the "Falun Gong" cult openly trampled on the state law and the basic principles of civilian communications, and maliciously attacked civilian communications satellites many times is a challenge to the social order and modern civilization. It is information terrorism and banditry in the age of high technology. It also seriously invaded the rights of the satellite company and damaged the reputation of the satellite company. The Sino Satellite Communications Company will retain rights to investigate the legal responsibility of the "Falun Gong" cult. A responsible person at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television said: The acts in which the "Falun Gong" cult disregarded social ethics and interrupted regular TV broadcasting several times have once again revealed the "Falugong" cult's nature in causing grave harm to the country and the people. The hidden forces supporting and indulging the cult will have unshirkable responsibility for the illegal acts of "Falun Gong." They will eventually bring trouble to themselves and eat their own bitter fruit. The interrupted TV viewers feel furious about the "Falun Gong" cult's act of wantonly trampling on public opinion. They think that while the whole society is paying attention to the country's socialist modernization, the acts of the "Falun Gong" - repeatedly hijacking the satellite, depriving the rights of the masses to watch regular TV programmes, and disturbing the steady lives of the masses - have made them an enemy of the people and society. It is necessary to severely punish the cult to safeguard the interests of the people. Sino Satellite, launched into space by the "Long March [Changzheng or CZ] 3B" carrier rocket in 1998, has served the "Cuncuntong" radio and TV project [designed to bring radio and TV programmes to every village] of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television; the transmissions of China Education TV Station's programmes; and dozens of other users, including China National Offshore Oil Corporation, China Unicom Corporation, and China Netcom Corporation. From June 2002 to November 2002, the "Falun Gong" cult sent illegal signals to attack Sino Satellite many times from the Taipei area of Taiwan province. Source: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in Chinese 0852 gmt 15 Aug 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** DENMARK. World Music Radio (WMR) is an independent, non-political and non-religious radio station with a cheerful mix of the best in current chart hits and the best hits from the past. Music crosses all frontiers --- and WMR is a truly international radiostation programmed to bring people together and share the same experiences and thus to make international understanding just a little better. WMR first went on the air in 1967 from the Netherlands, from where broadcasting took place until August 1973. Later programs from WMR have been carried through the facilities of R Andorra (in 1976 and 1980), R Milano International (1982-1983) and R Dublin (1983-1989). In 1997 WMR came back on the air from May 31 to Aug 24 from a new HQ in Denmark and from powerful transmitters in South Africa giving a truly worldwide coverage but with Africa as the main target area. WMR World Music Radio is planning to resume operation late 2003. Test transmissions are due in August 2003 on 15810 and a frequency in the 6 MHz range yet to be announced (Stig Hartvig Nielsen on http://www.wmr.dk via DSWCI DX Window Aug 13 via DXLD) ** FRANCE [non]. [Or if you insist, non non]. LETTRES D`APPEL Les lettres d'appel (utilisées pour les radios et télévisions aux USA : Wxxx et Kxxx, au Canada Cxxx, au Mexique : Xxxx, etc), ne sont pas utilisées en Europe alors que chaque pays dispose pourtant d'une lettre réservée : F pour la France, G pour la Grande-Bretagne, etc. Pourtant, certaines stations disposent de lettres d'appel sans pour autant les utiliser à l'antenne : RFO St Pierre et Miquelon correspond aux lettres FZY, RFO Nouvelle Calédonie correspond à FJP, etc. Evidemment, ça a plus de gueule d'annoncer à l'antenne "RFO St Pierre & Miquelon" que "FZY"... Les radios amateurs utilisent ces lettres (en fait, une combinaison de lettres et chiffres) : s'agit-il des mêmes lettres ou bien d'une autre chose? Les lettres d'appels utilisées pour les radios (FZY, FJP, FJA, FFP, FFD) ne le sont-elles que pour les stations UHF/VHF météo? Auteur: Alca Date: 13-08-03 11:38 (Racio Actu forum http://share.wtc.mediasactu.org/phorum/read.php?f=12&i=572&t=572 via DXLD) ** GUYANA. GOVERNMENT PROMISES WIDESPREAD PUBLIC CONSULTATION ON BROADCAST BILL | Text of report by Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) news agency on 15 August Georgetown, Guyana: The Guyana government plans to hold widespread public consultations on the proposed Broadcast Bill, according to Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon. Speaking at the end of the weekly post-cabinet news conference on Thursday [14 August], he told reporters that the plan for public consultation on the Draft Broadcast Bill had been completed. Dr Luncheon said that the government would be soliciting written comments, questions and requests from Guyanese on the content of the bill. The head of the Presidential Secretariat said it was also the intention of the government to provide enough time to garner a response from Guyanese interested in responding to the proposed broadcasting legislation. He said that the views received would be collated and then taken to the planned series of county workshops, which will be facilitated by resource persons drawn from the Office of the Prime Minister. "The administration is anticipating that after the completion of the county workshops and the comparison and putting together of the draft bill and suggestions, a final draft will be perfected. That final draft will be the document that is tabled in parliament for its consideration," the Guyana Information Agency (Gina) said. Some media establishments and the main opposition People's National Congress/Reform (PNC/R) party have criticized the proposed legislation, saying it has the potential of being abused. Source: Caribbean Media Corporation news agency, Bridgetown, in English 1335 gmt 15 Aug 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** INDIA. NEWSREADER CLIMBS DOWN TV TOWER AFTER PROTEST http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030814/od_nm/newsreader_dc NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A newsreader with India's state-run radio, who threatened to immolate himself on top of a television tower on Thursday in a protest for better wages, climbed down after officials promised to give him a hearing. Hundreds of people gathered at the base of the 300-foot tower in the heart of New Delhi cheered as Bhaskar Vohra descended and was taken away by police. "We told him he will be given a patient hearing," Deputy Commissioner of Police Manoj Kumar Lall said after several calls to Vohra on his cellphone. Vohra earlier hurled down a two-page handbill saying casual newsreaders at All India Radio were treated shabbily. "I am not a terrorist, I am a translator cum newsreader," he said. "If my demands are not met by August 15, I will burn the national flag and immolate myself," said Vohra who had a backpack slung over his shoulder. Thousands of policemen and commandos are deployed across New Delhi on the eve of independence day celebrations. Here`s a kicker story! 73- (Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. SHADOWY ISLAMIC GROUP BLAMED FOR MANY INDONESIA BLASTS Mention of Jemaah Islamiah radio station in this report: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/JAK277660.htm (via A. Sennitt, Holland, Aug 5, 2003 for CRW via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. I did see AP article that mentions that Sirius is now giving away a Tuner when you sign up for their yearly plan. Go to Sirius' webpage... http://www.sirius.com/ (Ulis Fleming, MD, swprograms via DXLD) If I read the web site correctly, one still has to pay for something called a head unit, plus an antenna, plus installation. Not exactly a free radio by my view (Joe Buch, DE, ibid.) Sirius has provided free equipment, (including the Kenwood receiver, a head unit, home and car docking stations), and 3 months service free for those in the press or broadcast industry. Installation is on your own. I know someone who got this deal, but unfortunately I don't qualify. BTW: Subscribers can listen to the music streams on their PC. Entertainment streams, (which means partner produced channels like WRN), are not available on the Sirius audio server. (Steve Coletti, ibid.) No, but it does reduce the cost considerably. For example, if you just want to have Sirius by having it work with your existing head unit (through a vacant frequency on the FM band or via the tape deck), your investment is only about $170. The Kenwood plug and play unit, for example, is $99 for the player and $69 for either a home kit or the car kit each of which has all the necessary hardware (including the antenna) for their respective use. XM, to be honest, has the better arrangement in this regard with its sleek Delphi units that can be used virtually anywhere. However, I think Sirius's programming is superior by virtue of its non-comm commitment on the 60 music channels and its far superior roster of talk and info channels that, among other offerings, includes WRN, the BBC News stream, 2 NPR channels and a PRI channel. The start-up costs for a subscriber to either XM or Sirius are virtually identical. The monthly subscription costs are 9.99 for XM and 12.95 for Sirius, but even this differentiation can be reduced with a full year commitment to Sirius (one month free). Also, included with any subscription to Sirius is free access to its music channels over the Internet (John Figliozzi, NY, ibid.) I purchased the new Kenwood "Here2Anywhere" plug and play unit back in June from Circuit City after reading a posting from Joe Buch. THANKS, JOE!!! After a sesquimonth of use I highly recommend this unit and the SIRIUS service. For less than the price of my cheapest shortwave radio, I have one "Here2Anywhere" unit, two home/office docking units and one car docking system. The docking systems include an antenna, power supply for the home docking kits, a 12 volt plug & cassette adapter with the car docking unit. and audio cables with both kits. I start in the morning by plugging the unit into the car dock and listen to Radio Australia & Radio Netherlands. I get to the office and plug it into the docking station and listen to Radio Prague, Radio Sweden, Deutsche Welle (Glenn Hauser's WOR on Saturdays [sic]), RVI, Radio Australia, Voice of Russia. Lunch, Radio Slovakia, Radio Polonia, Channel Africa, RTE Ireland etc. etc., put back in car, drive home to RCI, dock it at home and if the shortwave isn't propagating I turn off the RX340 and listen to WRN or the BBC news Stream. The audio quality is phenomenal! Now when someone comes into my office they don't ask "What's all that noise?" now they say WOW and actually listen to whatever is on. One client actually prolonged our meeting so he could finish listening to "Radio Polonia". He's now a Sirius Subscriber. On the ride home last night I listened to Sheldon Harvey's segment on RCI's mailbag show and he sounded like he was in the car. I realize that anyone can listen to WRN via the internet but I got real tired of "buffering" and I think I'd be considered a hypocrite if my employees caught me streaming from the internet after I've banned it here in the office. Our T1 line would seem like a dial-up when everyone was listening to something via the internet. I know of a few companies here in New England that have made personal use of the internet (browsing, streaming, news groups) a reason for dismissal. So anyways for an investment of $287.00 (Receiver $95 & 3 docking stations $64 x3) and the monthly fee of $12.95 (I chose the yearly fee of $134) I am a very happy camper. Starting this Friday you can buy a "lifetime of the radio" subscription for $395. So if you want to gamble that your radio will live for over 3 years it's a good deal. I would consider that if I had one of the expensive in dash units but with the plug and plays won't. I had to exchange my first unit after 2 weeks because the display went blank. The second unit has worked flawlessly but they do run very warm. When I first looked at the Kenwood "Here2 Anywhere" I wondered why the top of the radio had a metal plate while the rest of the radio was plastic. Now I know ... it's a heat sink. (Jim Strader, MA, one of the ODD ONES, ibid.) I have done limited listening of both systems, I'll admit to having handled both the XM and the Sirius receivers at a friend`s house. The XM is very compact but by that nature it can be harder to operate in a moving vehicle unless you have small nimble fingers. The Sirius Kenwood has a larger and brighter blue fluorescent display and can be placed further from the vehicle operator, which is good since, except for changing channels, it seems to be impossible to operate other functions in a moving vehicle. As I said before, you can listen to the actual Sirius music streams on the net for 20 minutes, continuously if you are a subscriber, (or if you know people there you get an extended courtesy, as I am). XM on the other hand has only limited pre-recorded samples of the channels with an introductory clip to promote the format. Yes, Sirius is the better service for what we like, but I hate to say I don't think it will outlast XM. XM is cheating and has been since it decided to add ground based repeaters in urban areas. By defacto it has become a national DAB service. When DAB was approved something like 15 years ago in the adjacent band, no one in the USA wanted to use it, and no one does. Having those repeaters makes it a local service and so XM can get into areas that Sirius can't, where the maximum potential listeners are. The friend who has the Sirius set has to put it in the company truck to listen, it just dies at his house for long periods. The XM receiver works fine at the house by pointing the antenna unit nowhere towards the southern sky (Steve Coletti, NY, ibid.) Hmmm. Your friend's experience is a bit different from mine. I have an indash unit that I bought back in January, but was sent a plug and play unit with the home and car options in anticipation of a review that I am doing for a magazine. I have used the plug and play unit in both my wife's car and a company car and used the home option at – well -- home! The accompanying literature recommends that the antenna in the car be placed outside on the roof (it has a magnetic base) and that the antenna in the house be placed in a west facing window or outside (it is weatherproof). (The antenna placement recommendation in the home will change depending on your geographic location. In the northeast quadrant it is west-facing window; in the Pacific Northwest it will be an east facing window... etc.) In the car, I've just thrown the antenna of the plug and play unit on the top of the dash. No problem (other than the usual and common to both services dropouts in longer tunnels and underpasses when the antenna loses contact with the satellite.) In the house, I just place the antenna of the plug and play unit next to the stereo in the middle of the house facing up to the roof. I will say that on occasion I have to move the antenna to another location in the room, but I have never had it in a west facing window. (Of course, apartment dwellers and those with steel roofs will have a much greater challenge in this regard.) With my car indash unit, the antenna is placed on the rear deck under the rear window inside the car. Again, no problem other than the common one mentioned earlier. I guess my point is that it may take a little experimentation and flexibility with antenna placements to get serviceable reception, but the Sirius technology even at this point is somewhat forgiving. On another note, I too have noticed the heat generated by the Sirius chipsets. In the car unit, there is actually a small fan inside the unit to dissipate the heat. The top surface of the plug and play unit can get almost uncomfortably hot to the touch, but the heatsink appears to work fine. I also have wondered if this will have an effect on the useful life of these products. Historically, Sirius has had more difficulties with its Agere-provided chipsets, both in terms of heat and miniaturization, than XM. This is why it was later to market in the first place with the service and has been later to market with its plug and play unit. I understand it does not plan to have a boombox alternative (as XM and Delphi provide) but instead at around the holidays has plans to introduce a "high end" home stereo unit. Using the plug and play unit and having gotten great performance with my current stereo, I fail to see how the latter can be seen as much more of an improvement, but then again I am no marketing expert (John Figliozzi, swprograms via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. XM TO LAUNCH SATELLITE RADIO SERVICE IN CANADA http://www.todaystrucking.com/displayarticle.cfm?ID=2604 WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 13, 2003) -- The words should ring bell-clear to truckers tired of fading radio signals, banal talk-show banter, and way to much Avril Lavigne: a group led by Toronto entrepreneur John Bitove, Jr., plans to launch a Canadian joint venture with XM Satellite Radio Holdings of Washington, D.C. The new company, called Canadian Satellite Radio, will file an application for a broadcast licence to the Canadian Radio-Telecommunications Commission this fall, Today's Trucking has learned. A regulatory hearing from the CRTC could happen as soon as early next year. If the licence is approved, XM would begin taking Canadian subscribers next spring, said XM Radio spokesman Chance Patterson. Currently, XM is only licensed to provide service to the United States. Canadians who subscribe to satellite radio service from XM or its rival, Sirius, are doing so illegally. "Coming to Canada is a natural opportunity to expand our subscriber base," Patterson said. While XM will face questions from the CRTC about its ability to provide Canadian content, the company would require little in the way of new infrastructure: its satellite signal already reaches into the most heavily travelled and populated areas of Canada, along the border. Currently, XM boasts almost 700,000 subscribers, many of whom receive the service automatically when they buy a General Motors car. Most others pay $9.99 US a month. What they receive is 100 channels of distinctive programming -- 70 music stations, 30 talk, much of it presented with little or no advertising. One 24-hour channel, "Open Road," caters to truckers, with late-night stalwarts like Dale Sommers ("The Truckin' Bozo"), Midnight Cowboy Bill Mack, and Dave Nemo. The sound is CD-quality and the signal is unwavering most places you go, from one end of the United States to the other. The problem for XM and Sirius is that the satellites, the programming, and studio real estate cost money. Combined, XM and Sirius are heavily leveraged, having spent more than $2 billion US since their start nearly five years ago. Much of the money was raised from ebullient investors during the madcap 1990s. Patterson said acceptance will continue to grow as the hardware for satellite radio becomes more readily available and affordable. The units are common in truck stops, some retailing for as little as $120 US (Today's Trucking via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. KCBS heard on ex Voice of National Salvation frequencies of 4450 and 4557 at 1240, both // 2850. 4450 and 4557 were jammed. I checked 3480, 4120, 4400, and 6010. Nothing was heard on these channels, but don't read too much into that as Wyoming is a long way away from Korea (Hans Johnson, WY, Aug 15, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** KOREAS. Desperation tactics --- When North Korea declared its intention to silence the previously covert Voice of National Salvation radio broadcasts against South Korea late last month, the international press was quick to call the station a "Cold War relic" and paint the announcement as a positive development in North-South relations. Almost immediately, calls rang out to pressure Seoul into closing its own clandestine broadcasting efforts while American and European pundits began beating the drums of appeasement and international containment. But, as Nick Grace of Clandestine Radio watch points out, the truth behind this development is somewhat different. [illustrated, further links] http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/korea030815.html (Media Network newsletter Aug 15 via DXLD) KOREA SOUTH: see ARGENTINA ** MALTA. VOICE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN LAUNCHES INTERNET-ONLY RADIO STATION Maltese International broadcaster Voice of the Mediterranean (VOM) has launched a new service called VOMi. Complementing VOM's long- established shortwave service, VOMi is Malta's first Internet-only based radio station. VOMi broadcasts 24 hours a day, including a two- hour live talk and music programme from Monday to Friday hosted by Colin Fitz, who is also coordinating the project. The Internet schedule includes programmes specifically created for VOMi, such as "Cultural Menu" and "Women of Malta" both produced and hosted by Ruth Frendo, and a Maltese folk music programme produced by George Mifsud Chircop. Other familiar Maltese broadcasters such as John Suda, Elsa Romei, Margaret Agius, Godwin Scerri, Narcy Calamatta, as well as members of the expatriate community living in Malta will be head regularly on the new station. Many critically acclaimed programmes from VOM's vast shortwave archive will receive a second airing on VOMi. VOM Managing Director Richard Muscat said: "With the move to the specifically designed studios and production facilities of the new B'Kara premises, the Voice of the Mediterranean is in a position to introduce this new service. This medium, a first for Malta, will be able to transmit live programmes to our ever increasing numbers of listeners around the world. Their feedback so far has been overwhelming. The service will offer live interaction for them." VOM's Web site http://www.vomradio.com nominated for numerous web design awards and visited by over five million international users, has been relaunched for the fourth time with a new design. VOM says the site has been redesigned to offer a better navigation system as many new pages are added every day, and various new services will be offered through the site. The Web site receives an average of 28,000 hits a day, not including the hundreds of on-demand audio files that are downloaded daily. As from September the VOM newsletter will be published on the Web site. The new newsletter will be much more interactive than the current one, and will include videos and audio features. VOM also plans to have a live studio Webcam (© Radio Netherlands Media Network 13 August 2003 via WORLD OF RADIO 1195, DXLD) Per website this apparently started in early July (gh) ** MEXICO. EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CAN'T HIDE - MEXICO AND RFID Shades of George Orwell's novel 1984. According to a story in the Washington Post, Mexico is considering the radio frequency ID chip as an answer to crime and as a tool to help the medical profession keep track of health histories. Up to 10,000 radio frequency ID tags may be implanted in Mexico's citizens in the coming year. The RFID "Verichip" can be tracked for a distance of 5 to 8 kilometers, but Mexican officials are looking toward an implant that can be tracked by satellite, and a Global Positioning System implant that could aid in locating kidnap victims. The full story is on-line at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6440-2003Jul17.html (CGC via Amateur Radio Newsline Aug 15 via John Norfolk, DXLD) Hey, that could also help track illegal immigrants to the US! (gh) ** MOLDOVA. MOLDOVA'S SEPARATIST LEADER LAUNCHES WEB SITE | Text of report by Moldovan news agency Infotag Chisinau, 15 August: Dniester [Moldovan separatist region] president Igor Smirnov's web site has been launched in [Dniester capital] Tiraspol. The so-called presidential web site will also function as a state portal and contribute to the creation of a comprehensive representation of the region. The site will represent all ministries and district state administrations and feature up-to-date information about their activity. [The web site will become operational on 20 August at http://www.president-pmr.org the Dniester government news agency Olvia-press web site, Tiraspol, in Russian, said on 15 August 2003.] Source: Infotag news agency, Chisinau, in Russian 1532 gmt 15 Aug 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. The website of The Voice of Mongolia http://mongol.net/vom is under comprehensive reconstruction. The language on the schedule page http://mongol.net/vom/schedule.htm was changed from English to Mongolian, a Mongolian font is needed to display it properly. The name of this page was changed to "Mongolian National Radio" and a large menu for HS-related transmissions has been added (all in Mongolian), but the links are not yet operational. A planned page called "Tekhnikiin alba" ("Technical service") looks promising. Already since some time, audio files of current FS broadcasts are available on the website (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Aug 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. Hello from Hilversum, As from August 25th, all tape machines will be removed from our transmission suite. From that moment it will not be possible to broadcast any more programmes from tape. So it's the end of an era at Radio Netherlands as we go fully digital at the "sharp end". Of course, we still have tape machines around the building to play back archive material, but that now has to be copied to CD or stored in our digital system before it can be broadcast to you. Speaking of things digital, this weekend sees the annual conference of the European DX Council in Germany. The accent will be very much on DRM, and Radio Netherlands is making special DRM transmissions over the next three days: We will be on air on 15+16+17 August from Bonaire with DRM on 17785 kHz between 2000-2100 UT. Programme: RNW English DRM settings: Mode B, 16QAM, CR=0.62, 14480 bps Antenna: AHRS 4/4/1 (B5) Azimuth: 50 degrees; Slew: -15 degrees Target area: SW Europe P(DRM)=10 kW Between 2030-2100 UT you can also tune in to the same English programme in AM on 1512 kHz from Wolvertem, Belgium beamed to W. Europe. German listeners' club ADDX has hired airtime from T-Systems in Jülich, and will broadcast a summary of the conference on Sunday 17th August from 1900-1929 UTC on 3965 kHz in analogue mode, and at 1930- 1959 UT on 3965 kHz in DRM mode. Media Network wishes our friends at ADDX and all the conference participants an enjoyable and productive weekend (Andy Sennitt, Media Network, Radio Netherlands, Aug 15 newsletter via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. The Oklahoma Democratic Party had an exclusive deal with Griffin, owner of KOTV-6 and KWTV-9 (and one of the few non- conglomerate native-Oklahoma TV companies left; for many years Griffin owned KTUL-8 in Tulsa instead, but it was inconvenient to have an ABC in one market, CBS in another; now they are both CBS) for television coverage of, after some no-shows, the 6-candidate Democratic presidential forum this week in Stillwater, and on radio, only KOSU has rights to broadcast it, but not until the day after the TV stations finally air it next week, as explained in last issue. KOSU reports on how this was mis-managed, with objections from KOCO-5, which would have broadcast it live if they had been asked, and from KOMA, which did not even send a reporter when they found out what the deal was. A number of other media who went to the forum were surprised to find they could only talk to the candidates afterwards. KOSU`s current news feature is about this; it *probably* will remain up until a new one replaces it Monday Aug 18, but not archived, at http://kosu.org/sound/news.asx (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. Radio Los Andes, Huamachuco, ahora en 5030.0 (véase DXLD 3146), ocupaba antes la frecuencia de 5030.5. El último registro en mi log (levantado en Bogotá) es del 26 de mayo de 1997. La reactivación ocurrió el 10 de mayo, o pocos días antes. (¿EPP?) Entonces había estado fuera del aire durante 4 años, concretamente desde el día 8 de febrero de 1993. Por aquel entonces, al igual que ahora, utilizaba el lema "la radio total". Esperemos que esta nueva reactivación dure un poquito más que la anterior (Henrik Klemetz, Suecia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. WARNING FROM RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS AGENCY REGARDING DJ COMPETITIONS The Agency has learnt that a licensed broadcasting station is running a competition to recruit DJ's from pirate radio stations. The economic value of the UK radio industry is worth £20 billion at 2000 prices. The Agency is responsible for ensuring that this vital national asset is not threatened by misuse of the radio spectrum. The greatest threat comes from unlicensed broadcasters who operate with total disregard for authorised radio users. Recruitment of staff from pirate radio stations may require pirate broadcasters to provide information that is effectively evidence of their committing a criminal offence of unlicensed broadcasting. The penalties for that criminal offence are: An unlimited fine and/or two years in prison, plus anyone convicted of an offence is barred from working on a legal station for 5 years. The Agency expects that anyone in possession of such evidence will hand it over to them for further investigation. Failing that it can be seized under the Agency's legal powers under section 15 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 and section 79 of the Telecommunications Act 1984. What is Pirate Radio? Pirate broadcasts are made by broadcasters that do not have a licence issued under Section 1 of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949. Independent broadcasters must also have a broadcasting licence issued by the Radio Authority. Why is pirate radio a problem? Pirate radio is seen by some people as a bit of harmless fun and the actions of the Agency in taking enforcement action against stations heavy handed and unnecessary. The truth is that participation in pirate radio is a criminal and anti-social activity and station operations are a menace to legal broadcasters and the public alike. Pirate broadcasters: Cause interference to the broadcasts of legal radio stations depriving them of audience and the public of the ability to listen to the station of their choice. Steal frequencies and space on the radio spectrum and their use of poor transmitting equipment makes interference an inevitable consequence of their activities. Unauthorised use of premises as transmitter sites leads to criminal damage and theft - a burden carried by the owners or residents of the premises used. Pay no business, council, VAT or income taxes and therefore take from, rather than contribute to, the communities they claim to serve. They disrupt the vital communications of the safety of life services, particularly air traffic control. How does a typical pirate operate? A typical pirate station will identify what they think is a clear slot in the FM broadcasting band (87.5 - 108 MHz) irrespective of radio spectrum planning considerations designed to avoid interference and they will establish a transmitter site on high ground or the roof of a council tower block. Use of the latter site normally involves smashing locks to gain access to the roof and tapping into the power supply in a lift motor and stealing electricity. A transmitter similar to that in Figure 1 (shown being cut free) will then be concealed in the lift motor room or ventilation shaft. Figure 1 Quite often the transmitter is fed by a signal from the pirate's studio which may be several miles away (see Figure 2) via a microwave radio link (see Figure 3). An antenna on the roof (Figure 4) radiates the signal from the main transmitter. Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 What is the Radiocommunications Agency's role? The Agency addresses the pirate problem proactively, listening to the broadcasts of pirate stations from its monitoring station to gain information about pirates, such as the telephone numbers used in station operation. Service providers may cut them off if they are being used for illegal activity. Other information gained from this monitoring, such as about advertisers, is used to support enforcement action. The complaints of licensed broadcasters and members of the public about interference are recorded and passed to the Agency's local staff for action. Figure 5 below shows the number of operations carried out against pirates over the last five years. Figure 5 Anyone involved with pirate broadcasting, even if they allow their premises to be used, or if they advertise on a station commits an offence. The maximum penalties, at Crown Court, are unlimited fine and two years in prison. How do I report pirate activity? Pirate activity can be reported by telephone, fax or letter to any one of our local offices or "Pirates", Enforcement Policy Unit, Radiocommunications Agency, Wyndham House, 189 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SX. Email reports can be sent to pirates@ra.gsi.gov.uk The chart shown below (Figure 6) shows the outcome of the Agency's prosecutions up to 2002. How do I get into radio without becoming a pirate? The Radio Authority, a separate organisation to the Agency, set up as a result of the Broadcasting Act 1990 to license and regulate all independent radio services, can explain the legal route to establishing a radio station. Their website http://www.radioauthority.org.uk can provide further information. Alternatively they can be contacted by telephone, fax or letter at: The Radio Authority, Holbrook House, 14 Great Queen Street, LONDON, WC2B 5DG --- Telephone 020 7430 2724 --- Fax 020 7405 7062 http://www.radio.gov.uk/ (Radiocommunications Agency press release Aug 14 (photos on website) via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. READY TO KISS THEIR TRANSISTORS [sic] By DAVID HINCKLEY, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER For a few hours, radio ruled. As their beloved TV sets flickered and died at 4:11 yesterday afternoon, nervous New Yorkers turned to old-fashioned battery-powered radios to find out why their lazy August afternoon had become an evening of apprehension, confusion and long walks. In a scene straight out of the 1930s, dozens of people crowded around a Verizon truck on Astor Place, urging the driver to turn up the volume. When the night became pitch-black, several people sat near a pool on E. 10th St., listening to Mayor Bloomberg's voice coming out of a blue Ford Escort. "The radio is a lifeline," said Amy Taylor, 44. Radio stations, meanwhile, faced challenges of their own - like trying to stay on the air. More than half the city's stations were knocked off, for anywhere from a few minutes to hours, and many were forced to broadcast through backup facilities with shaky sound and reduced power. Early casualties included all-news WINS (1010 AM), traditionally the city's go-to station in times of crisis, which lost about half an hour. WINS' all-news sister WCBS-AM (880) hesitated slightly at the beginning of the outage but by 4:26 was on the story full-time. It was soon joined by news-talk stations WABC (770 AM) and WOR (710 AM). Most music stations did not switch to all-news programing, though several afternoon hosts such as WRKS' Jeff Foxx inserted news breaks and took listeners' phone reports. One unlikely news cluster was Clear Channel's five music stations - WHTZ, WAXQ, WLTW, WWPR and WKTU - all of which were knocked out at 4:11. As they came back on the air with backup equipment, each began by carrying a simulcast of Channel 4's news coverage. At several points, all five were carrying Channel 4 before they gradually returned to music as it became clear there was no sinister dimension to the story. One of the hardest scrambles came at WNYC (93.9 FM, 820 AM), which lost power at 4:11. It activated an emergency generator, but that failed at 4:58, forcing the station to broadcast via phone lines through the evening from a borrowed studio at Sirius Satellite Radio. Program director Bob Buchman of WAXQ (104.3 FM) said he was broadcasting with a hand-held microphone and a single CD player. Originally published on August 15, 2003 (via Bil Westenhaver, DXLD) PEOPLE WITH RADIOS SUDDENLY FIND AN EAGER AUDIENCE August 15, 2003 By MIKE McINTIRE Good days often find Mark Barney quietly perched on a green fire hydrant outside his 42nd Street apartment, a battery-operated radio pressed to his ear. Untold thousands of New Yorkers have passed him by, perhaps only vaguely attuned to the tinny reports of Knicks and Mets games emanating from his palm-size Panasonic. But yesterday, the thin bleat of Mr. Barney's trusty radio stopped them in their tracks. "People have been coming up to me for hours, wanting to know what's going on," said Mr. Barney, 44, who is blind. . . http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/15/nyregion/15RADI.html?ex=1061971111&ei=1&en=7b38a7e912a5dac5 (via Mike Cooper, Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) But did they mention any individual stations? Of course not! 73- (Bill Westenhaver, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WILL PHILOSOPHY SCHOLARS BECOME RADIO'S NEXT 'CLICK AND CLACK'? --- 'Philosophy Talk' tackles the big questions (not engine trouble) BY JOHN SANFORD http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2003/august6/philtalk-86.html Whereas Click and Clack, the onomatopoeically styled hosts of National Public Radio's "Car Talk," are mostly interested in solving callers' automotive conundrums, philosophy professors Kenneth Taylor and John Perry are out to tackle bigger questions. What is justice? Can machines be programmed to think? Is free will an illusion? Or in the case of the upcoming pilot of their radio show, "Philosophy Talk," is lying always bad? Philosophy professors Kenneth Taylor and John Perry's "Philosophy Talk" program will air Aug. 20 at 1 p.m. on KALW (91.7 FM). They hope it will be picked up by other radio stations. Photo: Peter Fox The program is set to air from 1 to 2 p.m. PDT Aug. 20 on KALW (91.7 FM) San Francisco. As they work to raise money for more broadcasts -- at least $200,000 is needed to produce 40 installments, according to Perry -- they're hoping "Philosophy Talk" will be picked up by other public radio stations. "Nothing breeds success like success," Taylor said. So far, the program has received backing from the Office of the Provost and Office of Public Affairs, as well as support from the Humanities Center and the American Philosophical Association. Over cups of coffee one recent morning at the Humanities Center, Perry, the Henry Waldgrave Stuart Professor of Philosophy, and Taylor, an associate professor who joined the Philosophy Department in 1995, sat down to talk about their inspiration and goals for the radio program. Both said they are fed up with what they describe as the mindless, manipulative chatter on programs such as "The O'Reilly Factor" on Fox News or "Hardball with Chris Matthews" on MSNBC, which, although perhaps rich in facts and opinion, are weak on reflection and analysis, Perry said. "When they get to the philosophical issues, they'll punt," he said. Perry and Taylor said they want to explore the fundamental beliefs that generally go unexamined during media discussions of current events and public issues. And the target audience? "People who are neurotically obsessed with minutiae," Perry quipped. "I'd like to say thoughtful, reflective people who really want to be engaged," Taylor said. "That's what I meant," Perry said. "This is Stanford's response to Fox." "Our tag line is 'Philosophy Talk -- a program that questions everything except your intelligence,'" Taylor said. Several years ago, Perry came up with the idea for the radio program, which he conceived of as a "Car Talk" about philosophy. "Like most of my ideas, it just rattled around in my head," he explained. "Then I told Ken, and he took it seriously, which was quite a shock." The duo have assembled a list of possible themes and topics -- among others, What is happiness? Is there a soul? When is it acceptable or even rational to hate? What is beauty? Is gender equality a political fiction or a moral ideal? -- that would make great fodder for late- night, dorm-room bull sessions, the kind which always produce more questions than answers. Indeed, Perry and Taylor are hoping to attract a large student audience, and they plan to court college-licensed public radio stations across the country. "We don't claim to be experts on everything, we just claim to be expert clear thinkers and arguers, and we'll do our homework on the topics," Taylor said. Radio program managers for Oregon Public Broadcasting were impressed with the "Philosophy Talk" demo recordings (on the subjects of artificial intelligence and terrorism) and will tune in to the Aug. 20 pilot, Taylor said. "They want to know if we can be as good live," he explained. Each installment of the program will feature interviews with experts and call-in questions, including a segment called "Conundrum," during which the two philosophers try to solve a caller's ethical or metaphysical dilemma, or some dilemma to that effect. (In one of the demos, they respond to a caller's moral uncertainty about giving money to a panhandler.) For the pilot, which is devoted to the subject of lying, Taylor and Perry will interview Paul Ekman, a psychology professor at the University of California-San Francisco who researches the physiological expression of emotion and deception, and Tamar Schapiro, an assistant professor of philosophy at Stanford and expert on Kantian ethical theory. "People usually think lying is a bad thing," Perry said. "The question is, would you want a president who never lied?" Taylor said. "The question is, would you want a president who ever told the truth?" Perry said. Laughter ensued, then Perry continued: "I mean, [President] Carter claimed never to lie, and most people don't think he was a very good president. I think he did lie sometimes and was a pretty good president." "He was a pretty honest politician," Taylor said. "Of course, if lying means deliberately telling what you know or believe to be false, it's not clear that George Bush is a liar. Or that Reagan lied," Perry said. For more information about the program or to make a contribution, contact Perry at 723-1619 or john@csli.stanford.edu; or Taylor at 723- 1840 or taylor@csli.stanford.edu (Stanford Report, August 6, 2003 via Current via WORLD OF RADIO 1195, DXLD) ** U S A. BULLWINKLE, ROCKY AND FRIENDS FLY TO DVD TO THE DELIGHT OF JUNE FORAY --- Wednesday, 08/13/03 Return of Bullwinkle the Moose By KEN BECK, Staff Writer http://www.tennessean.com/entertainment/news/archives/03/08/37564317.shtml?Element_ID=37564317 Rocky: Bullwinkle, do you know what an A Bomb is? Bullwinkle: Sure, a bomb is what some people call our show! Rocky: I don't think that's very funny! Bullwinkle: Neither do they, apparently. - from The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle June Foray . . . if you don't know her name, you know her voice. You've heard it all over television for more than 40 years. Those who know their cartoons know Foray as the queen of voice performers. And baby boomers know her most deliciously as the boyish voice behind Rocky the flying squirrel, the good-natured pal of the dimwitted Bullwinkle J. Moose. At 85, she's as excited as any cartoon character she ever spoke for, and for good reason. Hokey-Smoke! Just released is the new Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends four-DVD set ($40 retail), which features the complete first season (26 shows), a 16-page booklet, vintage Rocky and Bullwinkle TV spots and other squirrel and moose delights. The classic cartoon series about a silly moose and a rodent in aviator goggles is famous for its rapid-fire humor and tons of silly puns. ''Everywhere I go, a man will come up to me and say, 'Hey, Rock, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat,' and I will say, 'Yeah, but that trick never works.' ''I think it was the combination of - well, the animation wasn't that great, but the design of the characters was wonderful, and the writing and the voices,'' said Foray last week during a phone interview. ''It was a happy marriage of everything. I think it will last for ages and ages.'' The voice actress' ''Rocky road'' took her from Springfield, Mass., to Frostbite Falls, Minn. (Rocky and Bullwinkle's hometown), when her family moved to California. A radio pro by age 15, Foray signed with Mel Blanc and Stan Freberg to make comedy records for Capitol. That led to Disney's animated classic Cinderella in 1950. ''I did Lucifer the cat. He didn't have any dialogue. He was an evil cat, just growling like crazy. But, my lord, I was working for Disney, and that's what started my animation career,'' said the woman behind hundreds of voices. Eight years later came the offer to do Rocky. ''One day my agent called and said, 'There's man named Jay Ward who wants to take you to lunch.' In Hollywood, a free lunch is a free lunch. He had an idea for a series. Jay was with Bill Scott, who was head writer. They had an idea about a moose and squirrel. It was kind of cockeyed, I thought, but after one martini, I thought, 'What a great idea.' We did the pilot a couple of weeks later, and for a whole year I didn't hear anything about a series. ''A year later, my agent called and said, 'Remember the guy who had an idea about a moose and a squirrel? They're ready to go,' '' recalled Foray. Her mind and her mouth went to work. ''Jay said he wanted Rocky to sound like a plain little boy but with a very knowledgeable sound. So I did an all-American squirrel Boy Scout. ''When I asked him about Natasha, Jay told me (during the height of the Cold War), 'We don't want any problems with Russia, so do a continental accent.' So I did that with a little bit of Russian thrown in.'' Foray was flabbergasted by the quality of the cartoon scripts. ''The jokes were so sophisticatedly written, and there was no condescension to children at all. They had three-syllable words. Kids loved it because of the voices and the looks of the characters. I'm sure when they matured and got a little bit older, they thought, 'How brilliantly, mordantly witty.' ''We'd go into the studio at 5:30 or 6 p.m. and do five Bullwinkles in one night or five Fractured Fairytales or five Dudley Do-Rights. It was like having a party every night that we worked. It was fun. We told the jokes only one time. If we had to repeat one of the episodes, it was because we laughed too much.'' She says of writer-actor Bill Scott: ''I thought his Bullwinkle voice was wonderful. Red Skelton thought he was impersonating him and was quite angry. He was going to sue, and Jay said, 'Sue me, I need the money.' '' Skelton didn't sue. Foray, who was once 5-foot-1, is now 4-foot-10 (''I've lost 3 inches, but I still have the big mouth''). But she stands tall in the world of voice actors. From 1972 to 1979, she was president of International Animated Film Society and helped create ''the Annies.'' ''In 1971, before I was president, I went to the current president and said, 'You know, they have Oscars, Grammys and Golden Globes. Certainly, we should have some awards to do with animation because it's such a part of everyone's life.' '' The Annies were born. Foray finds it hard to select her favorite character. ''There's a little bit of me in everything, but I think what most people like are Rocky and Natasha. I get fan mail from all over the world . . . India, Germany, Poland . . . from people who understand all the jokes, it's incredible,'' said the only surviving voice of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends. Tuning in --- The Boomerang Channel will air 24-hour Rocky & Bullwinkle marathons on Fridays in September © Copyright 2002 The Tennessean (via Tom Roche, DXLD) ** U S A. FOX FIGHTS BACK -- Fox News Network is suing humor writer Al Franken for trademark infringement over the phrase "fair and balanced" on the cover of his upcoming book, saying it has been "a signature slogan" of the network since 1996. According to court papers made available on August 11, Fox is seeking a temporary or permanent injunction against Franken and publisher Penguin Group to stop them using the phrase in connection with the book to be published next month. The network, part of the News Corp group, also asked Manhattan Supreme Court for compensatory and punitive damages. The title of liberal satirist Franken's new book is "Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them." At the bottom of the planned cover is the tag line, "A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right." (Reuters) I would have thought a more accurate slogan for Fox would be "Anything But Fair and Balanced". They make no effort to be objective and are unabashedly right wing (George Wood, Sweden, SCDX/MediaScan Aug 13 via DXLD) ** U S A. AMATEURS IN MARS CHECK OUT ALE ALE -- automatic link establishment, a relatively new weapon against fading and interference on HF -- got its first substantial tryout by amateur operators participating alongside regular military units in an annual Army Military Radio Affiliate System (MARS) nationwide exercise. Throughout June, 667 MARS members in 43 states, Puerto Rico and Europe participated in ``Grecian Firebolt-03.`` The exercise focused on a wide range of communications problems and solutions associated with Homeland Defense. The MARS members joined US Army active and reserve communicators as well as federal, state and local emergency management agencies in responding to simulated terrorist activity. ALE harnesses computer technology and special transceiver gear to search a wide swath of spectrum to seek the best path between points in a net. Its chief mission was collecting information on local emergencies for transmission by radio to security planners in the national capital. To facilitate that flow, a portable MARS facility was set up at Fort Meade, Maryland, in the unit of John Scoggin, N3SKO/AAT3BF,Army MARS director for Delaware and a member of the special staff of Army MARS Chief Robert Sutton, N7UZY/AAA9A. Eastern Area Coordinator Robert Hollister, N7INK/AAA9E, pronounced the ALE tryout ``moderately successful.`` Direct communication was established with Fort Dix, New Jersey, Fort Detrick, Maryland, National Communications System headquarters in Virginia, the US Department of State and a Federal Emergency Management Agency mobile unit, but poor propagation precluded a wider reach. Those contacts ``demonstrated ALE has a role in MARS,`` Hollister said. He added that ALE probably would be limited to high-traffic routes over longer distances or for connection to ALE-equipped Army units. The VHF digital link between Fort Meade and the Eastern MARS Gateway station at Fort Detrick in western Maryland was considerably more active, handling more than 540 messages including simulated emergency traffic fed into the Army MARS system by participating Air Force and Navy-Marine Corps MARS members. From MARS headquarters at Fort Huachuca, New Mexico [sic – it`s in Arizona], Western Area Coordinator James Banks, James Banks, KK7RV/AAA9W, pulled off the biggest surprise of the exercise. The area`s script called for phased state-by-state activation. On the June 12 he signaled a simulated region-wide emergency and ordered immediate activation. The purpose, Banks said later, was to demonstrate that an emergency could happen without notice at any time, and MARS members must be prepared and respond quickly. Banks said the exercise demonstrated that in an actual emergency, MARS could and would respond. --Bill Sexton, N1IN (ARRL August 13 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP, will participate in the second N2LEN 9/11 Commemorative Net on September 11. Haynie said he will talk about the role of Amateur Radio in homeland security and urge each amateur to develop skills in emergency communications and to be prepared. The net will involve linking repeaters across the US and around the world via the Internet. Haynie addressed a first- anniversary hookup last year to thank all amateurs who volunteered in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks. The linkup relied on EchoLink and eQSO Internet software connections as well as repeaters and simplex links around the world. Len Signoretti, N2LEN, says improvements over the past year have made communication even easier and more reliable, and he hopes the second- anniversary net will be an even greater success. The net will rely on one main net control operator and several subnet control operators to assist with checkin volume. The main EchoLink net servers will open at 6 AM EDT on September 11, and the directed net will start at 7 PM EDT. All EchoLink, IRLP and eQSO servers are invited to join. For more information, contact Signoretti [at] n2len@aol.com or visit his newsgroup [at] http://groups.yahoo.com/groups/EchoLink (ARRL August 13 via John Norfolk, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 3-146: Radio María emite desde Barranqulla en 1580 e irradia también un armónico en 3160 según reportó Adán González en el 3146. El acento costeño tiene cierto parecido con el acento borincano (Henrik Klemetz, Suecia, Aug 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. UNITED KINGDOM. The new satellite station Al Asr http://www.alasr-radio.com is seemingly based in the UK, the website is registered to: Anglo Media Systems, 605 Crown House, North Circular Road, Park Royal, London NW10 7PN. There are dozens of similar stations broadcasting on satellite to Europe, North Africa and Middle East; with the arrival of the digital techniques in recent years, the lease of satellite channels has become affordable even for projects with a small budget. All stations are required to be in possession of a (satellite broadcasting) licence issued by the responsible broadcasting regulatory authority in the country from where they are uplinked (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Aug 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) We still await details of their upcoming SW operation (gh) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RECEIVER NEWS +++++++++++++ XM and SIRIUS receivers: see INTERNATIONAL VACUUM above MANUAL SOURCES Two of the most dependable and high quality manual sources I have come across the past five years are: Peter Markavage, WA2CWA: manualman@juno.com Pete has original and some reproductions of many different manuals. Fair prices, good quality and honest. Al Bernard, NI4Q: ni4q@juno.com Al has reproductions that are equal to, and in many cases superior to, the original manual. Great guy, good prices, totally honest and prompt. There are other sources, of course, but these two guys have impressed me time and time again over the years. DBF (Duane B. Fischer, swl at qth.net via DXLD) How about http://hamradiomanuals.com (Spencer G. Sholly, Killeen, TX, ibid.) TREES AS TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING ANTENNAS!!! http://www.rexresearch.com/squier/squier.htm 73, (Thomas F. Giella, FL, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Old discussion and patent dating from 1919y COMMENTARY ++++++++++ THE NEXT GENERATION OF SWLs??? I had three children. Two were interested enough in the challenge to get their ham radio licenses. They found ham radio kind of boring and never really got on the air much. One was born in Canada and maintained an interest in things Canadian because he had dual citizenship in the Canadian Government's eyes. I gave him a Hallicrafters S-38C I bought at a flea market for $20 when he was about 12 years old. During high school he used it to listen to Rock and Roll as he did his homework. In college he used it to listen to RCI to learn something of Canadian current affairs and history knowing that someday he might choose to live in Canada. When he went into the US Navy, I gave him an analog portable he could use on the ship. He used it to listen to BBC news when sailing in the Caribbean so he did not have to rely on the headline news the Navy fed the ship each day. I think some lessons can be learned from this experience: 1. The earlier you can stimulate interest, the better. Although I was building radios at age 11, and had my ham license at age 14, I never had much interest in shortwave programming until I discovered Radio Moscow. Kids need to be raised to be naturally curious about ideas, the way things work, and the bigger world outside their own sphere of experience. 2. Kids need a reason to listen. They must have a hook that makes them want to tune in. My son wanted to know more about a country of which he was a citizen but left at the age of one and had only been back to in order to attend an ice hockey camp at age 12. In my own case as a kid, I remember being told in my Catholic high school religion class that the pope had ruled that anyone who read Communist literature would be automatically ex-communicated. This was at a time in the 1950's when an Italian election had a number of Communists running for office and there was great fear that the godless Communists would give the Vatican a hard time if they came to power. That sparked my interest in Radio Moscow and I listened regularly thereafter. 3. Teenagers are inherently rebels. My own experience suggests that if you tell your kids they cannot under any circumstances listen to shortwave radio, they will find a way to listen. Tell them they will be exposed to unhealthy ideas ranging from criticism of our government, to racial hatred, to religious wackos. Of course none of this addresses the choice many have today to explore the world of ideas via the internet. Any ideas that are available on shortwave radio today are also available in spades on the internet. I think the difference is the serendipity effect that John Figliozzi has mentioned here before. Every time you twist the dial you never know what will be heard on that next frequency. On the internet you have to know ahead of time what you are looking for, if only to enter key words into the search engine. So if a kid is curious, the adventure of exploring the unknown world out there is much more apt to draw a young person to the radio. It all begins in the early years by nurturing the natural human instinct to explore the unknown. ~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., (Joe Buch, swprograms via DXLD) -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ THE BPL PROBLEM: IEE MEMBERS ASKED TO COMMENT ON BPL Great Britain's Institution of Electrical Engineers is asking its members for their views on Broadband over Powerline transmission systems. This, in the run-up to the formulation of European Standards that will control the spurious radio emissions from combined power and data networks. Broadband over Powerline -- called Power Line Transmission overseas -- is seen as a serious threat to amateur radio. Comments must be made to the Institution by the 2nd of September. (GB2RS) THE BPL PROBLEM: BPL - THE MOVIE Meantime in the United States, The ARRL has produced a short movie that documents justy how bad the problem of Broadband over Powerlines can be. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is here with the rest of the story. "BPL is the most crucial issue facing Amateur Radio and the one that has the most devastating potential." The words of ARRL President Jim Haynie, W5JBP. And Haynie is not far from wrong. Take a listen. BPL audio from Japan. No, that's not BPL here in the United States. That's the same recording we aired two years ago when Broadband over Powerline tests were being conducted in Japan. And we suspect that it, or evidence like it, was responsible for the decision by telecommunications regulators in Japan to turn thumbs down on permitting their nations power grid operators the extra income that comes from being Internet access providers. This is the way BPL sounds in the United States: ARRL BPL Audio That recording was made in July by Ed Hare, W1RFI, of the ARRL Lab during his 1350 mile drive to visit BPL trial communities in Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. Hare took measurements over significant parts of the High Frequency spectrum. He also took initial readings at low-VHF frequencies. What he found was noise. Lots of it blanking out signals that in some cases were S9 or better. ARRL BPL audio When he got back, Ed and his colleagues at the Lab set to work analyzing their data. They also prepared a 6 minute movie that graphically shows the literal horror of BPL to Amateur Radio communications and by inference, to all radio services operating in the 2 through 80 MHz spectrum. If you have any doubts that this is one of the biggest challenges yet to the survival of ham radio, simply take your web browser to the ARRL website and click on the link to the on-line movie. Then watch and listen for yourself. To again quote ARRL President Jim Haynie, in terms of interference potential on HF and low-VHF frequencies, nothing is on the same scale as BPL. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF. Jim. Again, to view the League's mini documentary on BPL take your web browser over to http://www.arrl.org (ARRL, ARNewsline(tm) via John Norfolk, DXLD) SHORTWAVE MUSIC +++++++++++++++ THAT FINAL ITEM: THE HAM RADIO MUSIC OF CQ SERENADE And finally this week, the story of a song. A song about our favorite hobby and service, Amateur Radio. Here's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW: The name of the song is CQ Serenade and we found it sometime back while trolling the world wide web. After downloading it, our curiosity got the best of us so we decided to find out more. Our search finally lead us to Jean-Guy Renaud, VE2AIK, who supplied us with a lot of information. According to VE2AIK, CQ Serenade was composed sometime between 1965 and 1970 by Maurice Durieux, VE2QS. Durieux was orchestra conductor employed by Radio Canada who had emigrated from France. Assisting Durieux in the creation of the song was F9KT. CQ Serenade was first recorded with French lyrics by Raymond Girerd [sic]. An English language version written by VE2QS and by Georges Brewer, then VE2BR, of Montreal. It was later covered by songstress Joyce Hahn. Both versions were available on 45 RPM long playing records under the rather apropos QSO Records label. Today, those discs are probably true collectors items and all but impossible to find. But don't despair. Thanks to the magic of MP3 audio and the Word-Wide-Web, CQ Serenade is still around to hear and enjoy. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles. You can download the MP3 version of C-Q Serenade by taking your web browser to the rather complex URL of http://www3.sympatico.ca/ddufault/cq-serenade/cq-serenade.htm (Thanks to VE2AIK for the information contained in this special report) (Amateur Radio Newsline Aug 15 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ###