DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-196, October 31, 2003 edited by Glenn Hauser IMPORTANT NOTE: our hotmail accounts are being phased out. Please do not use them any further, but instead woradio at yahoo.com or wghauser at yahoo.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 [note change] http://www.w4uvh.net/dxldtd3j.html For restrixions and searchable 2003 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1205: WWCR: Sat 1130, Sun 0330 on 5070, 0730 on 3210, Wed 1030 on 9475 WRMI: Sat 1900+ on 15725 RFPI: Sat 2330, Sun 0530, 1130... on 7445 [may be off the air; see COSTA RICA] WBCQ: Mon 0515 on 7415 WRN: Rest of world, Sat 0900; Europe only Sun 0530; N America Sun 1500 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 WORLD OF RADIO 1205 (high version): [Note: high version lacks the final 25 seconds, propagation] (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1205h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1205h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1205.html WORLD OF RADIO 1205 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1205.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1205.rm NETS TO YOU: New November revision by John Norfolk is now available: http://www.worldofradio.com/nets2you.html UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIAL I just went to the WOR website and I couldn`t believe I had missed donating to your good cause in 2002. Please find enclosed a check... I can`t believe how many years I`ve been listening to WORLD OF RADIO. It seems like yesterday I was listening to show #666 on a Friday the 13th in October (or was it Hallowe`en?) Life has been extremely busy lately – but there is always time to DX. Thanks for all your work --- you make it easier. Peace, (James D. Strader, MA) ** AFGHANISTAN. A new 100 kW shortwave transmitter is being constructed in Afghanistan, financed from Indian aid according to this item from Keralanext.com --- Presumably to replace one bombed by the Americans on 8th October 2001. INDIAN FIRM CAPTURES AFGHAN AIRWAVES (31-October-2003) NEW DELHI: Helping strife-torn Afghanistan rebuild and expand its radio and TV network is an Indian firm, Basil Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BBECIL). [...] The BBECIL is constructing a 100 kW SW radio transmitter in Kabul with uplink facilities to expand its reach beyond the mountain ranges. For this, it has signed a contract with Indian Space Research Organisation, which will provide bandwidth on INSAT-3A. Combined with the civil works that are currently under way, the project is worth Rs 17.5 crore. The funds come from the $100 million grant that India has committed to Afghanistan. BBECIL chairman and MD K R P Verma said the project will be ready by next March. [...] Full article at: http://www.keralanext.com/news/index.asp?id=18245 Note: A web search revealed company is actually called Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd (BECIL) and has website: http://www.becil.com/index.html Contract was awarded by Indian government in September 2003 according to http://www.un.int/india/ind802.doc extract of which reads: [...] A team of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting visited Afghanistan in March 2002 to assess the requirements. Based on its recommendations, the Government of India has awarded the following works to Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited in September 2003: [...] Setting up of a new 100kw SW transmitter. [...] (Alan Pennington, UK, Oct 31, DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. INDEPENDENT RADIO TAKES KABUL STREETS BY STORM | Text of press release in English by Internews web site on 29 October Kabul, 29 October: An informal survey conducted by Internews found that two new independent Afghan radio stations have taken the streets of Kabul by storm, capturing over 80 per cent of the market, more than Afghan state broadcasting, the BBC and VOA. The survey team of seven walked the streets of the Afghan capital for seven days and when they found a radio on, they established what station it was tuned to, collecting 1,966 data points in all. While this approach meant that listening patterns in houses, by women and during the early morning and evening periods could not be comprehensively established, the survey clearly shows that independent Afghan radio dominates the streets of Kabul by day. Arman FM, on the air since March, scored 63 per cent while Radio Killid, launched in August, scored 18 per cent of the market. Voice of America and Radio Free Asia, two US government stations which share one FM frequency, obtained 10 per cent of the market; State broadcaster Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA) scored just six per cent and the BBC scored two per cent. The independent stations also attracted younger audiences, with the average age of an Arman listener at 27 years old and Killid at 29, while the BBC's average listening age was 38 and RTA's was 40. Arman FM is a commercial FM format station which broadcasts Indian, Afghan and Western music. Killid also plays a lot of music but has built up four hours of talk programming a day since its launch in August. Both stations broadcast 24 hours a day. The survey suggested different listening patterns depending on location. Arman, for example, captured 73 per cent of listening in the capital's shops. The picture was more mixed in the smaller subset of houses, where Arman gained 24 per cent, compared to 28 per cent for RTA, 17 per cent for Killid, and 14 per cent for Azadi/VOA. Internews' work in Afghanistan is made possible by grants from the US Agency for International Development. Source: Internews web site in English 29 Oct 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. FIRST WOMEN'S RADIO STATION OPENS IN HERAT | Text of report in English by Afghan newspaper The Kabul Times on 26 October Herat's first radio station will be officially inaugurated on Tuesday, 28 October. The project is supported by the Afghan NGO, Women Activities and Social Services Association (WASSA), the Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society (IMPACS), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Internews and USAID. The new radio station will reach women through programming on women's affairs, health, education, children, parenting, leadership and community issues. Hulan Khatibi [as published] is the Executive-Director of the Women Activities and Social Services Association and the station project. Khatibi says the opening of a journalistically independent station and Herat Governor Esmail Khan's pledges of support are an important milestone in the reconstruction process of Afghanistan. "The new women's radio station is a new hope for the women of Herat. They believe this radio will help them increase their knowledge and give them strength. The establishment of a radio station is a crucial step towards the empowerment of women". The new radio station in Herat is the second in a network of independent women's community radio station opening in Afghanistan. The first station, radio Rabia Balkhi in Mazar-e Sharif, began broadcasting in March this year. A Kabul-based women's radio station, the Voice of Afghan Women, also began broadcasting in March. Other women's radio projects are planned in Faizabad and Konduz. Organizational Information: The Women Activities and Social Services Association (WASSA) is a non-governmental, non-profitable, non- military organization involved in the rehabilitation and development of Afghanistan. WASSA has a main office in Herat and another in Badghis [Provinces]. WASSA's main goal is to support women affected by war by providing relief assistance and establishing and supporting schools, income generation programmes and literacy courses. In addition WASSA manages water and sanitation, agriculture and construction projects. WASSA is the local partner supporting the women's radio station project in Herat. The Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society (IMPACS) is a Canadian NGO committed to the protection and to the strengthening of civil society. IMPACS has been working in Afghanistan since August 2002 to support the development of women's media, community media initiatives, media legislation and elections reporting capacities. IMPACS Afghanistan provides journalism and management training to women's groups. As well, it is preparing to publish a monthly national media law bulletin. CIDA has assisted in the establishment of the Herat IMPACS projects in Afghanistan. Internews(r) Network is an international non-profit organization that supports open media worldwide. The organization fosters independent media in emerging democracies, produces innovative television and radio programming and Internet content, and uses the media to reduce conflict within and between countries. In Afghanistan Internews establishes and supports independent radio stations, produces radio programmes, conducts training for radio journalists, and advises the government. And media groups on fair and open media policy. USAID has assisted in the establishment of Herat radio station. Source: The Kabul Times, Kabul, in English 26 Oct 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) FIRST WOMEN'S RADIO LAUNCHED IN AFGHAN CITY OF HERAT - more details | BBC Monitoring research has said that a new women's radio station called Radio Sahar was launched in the western Afghan city of Herat on 18 October. "Radio Sahar is the first women's radio station in Herat," said this radio station press release. "It is an independent radio the aim of which is to give more power to women by supporting their participation in the reconstruction process." The station started broadcasting on 28 October with the message: "This is Radio Sahar, the beginning of a new future for Afghanistan." Radio Sahar, which means Radio Dawn, is run by women and airs programmes in Dari language every afternoon from 1400 - 1500 hours (0930 - 1030 gmt) on the frequency of 88.7 FM. This radio project is the second in the network of independent women's community radio stations in Afghanistan. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 28 Oct 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) AFGHAN WOMEN WELCOME FIRST WOMEN'S RADIO IN HERAT | Text of report by Afghan news agency Herat News Centre A women's radio station named Sahar Radio started broadcasting for the first time in Herat City on Tuesday [28 October]. This is the first non-government radio that has started broadcasting in Herat City. In spite of the fact that its programmes are short, it is hoped that they will broadcast longer programmes. Such radios have been warmly welcomed in the capital, because the people usually listen to their programmes. The reason is that people have access to radio stations and everybody can listen to them anywhere at any time; in one's car, office, home and elsewhere. An official of this radio told a Herat News Centre correspondent: "This radio belongs to all women. Wassa [Women Activities and Social Services Association] local office helps us in this regard. The radio station is funded by IMPACS [Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society] and Internews. Sahar Radio broadcasts two-hour programmes from 2pm to 4 pm [local time; 0900-1100 gmt] on 88.7 FM wave. It broadcasts cultural and social programmes. We, however, try to broadcast different programmes to draw the attention of our listeners. Our technical colleagues are four women from Herat, but we aim to increase the number of our professional employees." The Herat News Centre correspondent interviewed a number of Herat citizens concerning the inauguration of Sahar Radio. Sahida Ramesh, a citizen of Herat says: "For the first time, when I listened to this radio, I became very happy. I could not believe that Herat was going to have a non-government radio. What interests me is that all presenters of this radio are women. It is an exception. Nonetheless, the problem is that the radio's signals were a little weak while broadcasting interviews. Besides, the programmes are broadcast for a very short time. I hope that the radio's officials and employees will endeavour to increase the time of its programmes. Source: Herat News Centre, Herat, in Dari 0001 gmt 30 Oct 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ANNOBON ISLAND. DX DEBACLE: ANNABON [sic] ISLAND TEAM SPEAKS OUT An update to the plight of the plight of the Dxpedition group forced to flea Annabon Island a few weeks ago. Jeramy [sic] Boot, G4NJH, is in Nottingham, England with the rest of the story. We reported two weeks ago that the 3C0V DXpedition to Annobón Island - -- off the west coast of Africa --- had been forced to close down but at that time the reason for the enforced closure was not known. A press release has now been issued by the 3C0V team which says that all four operators - DJ9ZB, EA5YN, EA5FO and EA5BYP - are now back home safe and sound. The press release says that each operator had proper individual licences and the group had written authorisation to import and operate amateur radio equipment on the island. However, on the 4th of October the military authorities there demanded that the group should dismantle the stations and leave for the Equatorial Guinea capital. Two days later DJ9ZB and EA5FO were allowed to leave the country but the other two team members remained in the capital until the 10th, when they were eventually able to return to Spain. The complete press release is in cyberspace at http://www.tabarca.es.mn will have more DX news later on in this weeks program (GB2RS via Amateur Radio Newsline Oct 31 via John Norfolk, DXLD) Viz.: DX CLUB TABARCA ISLAND 14/10/2003 --Press Release 5 for Annobon Island 3C0V-- BACK DXPEDITION OPERATORS Members of Team 3C0V are in excellent health and safe at their respective homes. The group has always operated with all necessary legal documents to carry out an expedition to the Island of Annobón (Pagalu) 2003. We have: --Licences of individual radio operators for each member of the group. --Written authorization from the Minister of Transportation and Communications to visit the Island of Annobón for two weeks. --Authorization from Malabo's Director General of Customs to carry out a Special Temporary Importation for the import and export of the equipment necessary for our expedition. All this information, and the authorizations given by the Equatorial Guiney authorities to carry out our expedition, can be seen at our website http://www.tabarca.es.mn/ During our stay on the island the military authorities interrupted our mission frequently in spite of the fact that we had in our possession all necessary permits. During our first week there, we negotiated several times with the Military Authorities without success. On October 4, at 10:00 GMT the Military Authorities ordered us to stop all transmissions and disassemble all antennas, and we were expelled from the island in a Russian cargo plane. We were sent to Malabo with four hours notice. Unfortunately, we could not save most of our photographic material. We only managed to salvage a few photos. On October 6, two of our operators obtained authorization to leave Malabo. The rest had to remain in the capital to resolve bureaucratic formalities. On October 10, EA5BYP and EA5YN left the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. We deeply regret not having been able to fulfill the objectives of this expedition, and are very grateful for the help given us by the Associations, Clubs and individuals, as well as the kindness and friendship always given us by the people of Annobón. We do not feel free to share any additional details about what happened in order to keep open the possibility of future expeditions to Annobón. We hope you understand the difficult and delicate situation we went through. Nevertheless, we do not abandon hope of reactivating 3C0 when circumstances improve. A heartfelt thanks for your support. 73, ELMO team leader 3C0V --- 2003 CLIC IMAGES TO SEE THE LICENCES. (via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 4MW 1260 Thursday Island --- This after my short trip to Cooktown. I noticed in this A4 QSL reply that they 4MW broadcast only Monday thru Friday from 8am to 5pm for their own 4MW locally produced programming. i.e. 2200 to 0700 UT. Then they cross back to the National Indigenous Radio Service for hourly news, etc. You can expect to hear current affairs, talkback golden oldies to requests. The licence is 24 hours a day. The people that actually operate the station are TSIMA --- that is Torres Strait Islanders Media Association. 1260 am, 2 kilowatts. Their range is south to Coen (on Cape York), north into Papua New Guinea. The language spoken is Torres Strait Creol and at the time various dialects from the Thursday Island area. Hope that clears up 4MW`s operations (Johno Wright, ripple via DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC Radio is participating in this year's public radio collaboration, a programming initiative bringing together public broadcasters from the United States, CBC and BBC. During the first week of November, a coalition of public radio stations, programs, networks and independent producers will participate in a week of programming about the health of democracy. Some of these productions will air inside The Sunday Edition, The Current and Ideas. The titles of some of the programs which will air during this week are "Justocracy", "Warlords & Mullahs", "Race Against Time" and "Why Europe Hates America". These programs will be available on Radio Canada International. Please consult our program schedules for airtimes by visiting http://www.rcinet.ca Some of this special programming will also air in place of The Nighttime Review. Here are the airtimes and broadcast information. RADIO CANADA INTERNATIONAL AIRTIMES (UTC) This special programming will air on RCI-1 on November 5th, 6th and 7th at 03h00 UTC in place of THE NIGHTTIME REVIEW. RCI-1 can be heard throughout Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East on the Eutelsat Hotbird-6 satellite, channel RCI-1. The Democracy Project will air on RCI-3 on November 5th, 6th and 7th at 06h00 UTC in place of THE NIGHTTIME REVIEW. RCI-3 can be heard throughout Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East on the Eutelsat Hotbird-6 satellite, channel RCI-3. RCI-3 can also be heard on the Asiasat-2 satellite serving Asia, the Intelsat-707 satellite serving Africa and the Telstar-12 satellite serving the Americas. It will air on shortwave on November 5th, 6th and 7th at 12h00 UT in place of THE NIGHTTIME REVIEW on 9795 and 11730 khz to Southeast Asia and to China. This special will also air on shortwave on November 5th, 6th and 7th at 15h00 UT in place of THE NIGHTTIME REVIEW on 9635 and 11935 khz to the Indian sub-continent. RCI-1 and RCI-3 are broadcast simultaneously on our website at http://www.rcinet.ca Regards to all, Steve Lemay, Chef, présentation = Manager, Presentation Radio Canada International (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** CANADA. Radio Canada did conduct a series of test transmissions from Vancouver in British Columbia way back some thirty years ago. This is what happened; and this information comes from the published writings of the late Arthur Cushen in New Zealand, and also from Jerry Berg, William Matthews, and Walter Salminiw. During the late 1960s, Radio Canada International began the installation of five new transmitters at 250 kW in their shortwave building located at Sackville New Brunswick. Test broadcasts from two of these units began in July 1971, and at the end of that same month, these two units were taken into regular service, augmenting the three older 50 kW units. During this era, RCI conducted a whole slew of test broadcasts on shortwave, to Europe, Africa, Asia and the South Pacific, using these two new transmitters at 250 kW. However, somewhat simultaneously RCI also conducted another series of test broadcasts to Asia and the Pacific, using two transmitters at a communication facility located near Vancouver in British Columbia. Several different frequencies were tested during a brief period of time lasting just two weeks. This communication station was owned and operated by the Canadian Overseas Telecommunication Corporation and the two transmitters at 20 kW were fed into rhombic antennas for this short series of test broadcasts. These test broadcasts were announced in advance, though it was not stated at the time that they were from another facility located on the west coast. The assembled information would suggest that these test broadcasts from Vancouver BC on behalf of Radio Canada International were on the air in October, 1971. It is probable that several listeners in Japan, Australia and New Zealand are holding rare QSL cards from Radio Canada International verifying these broadcasts, and the listeners themselves are quite unaware of the temporary location that was in use at the time (AWR Wavescan Nov 2 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC FACES MORE CUTS AFTER PENSION SHORTFALL CATCHES UP Executives plan broad reductions to cover $43-million in employee payments --- By SIMON TUCK, UPDATED AT 8:29 PM EST Wednesday, Oct. 29 OTTAWA -- The CBC will have to cut programming and other costs by $43- million next year because of employee pension-plan payments, the corporation's top executive told a parliamentary committee yesterday. Robert Rabinovitch, chief executive officer of the CBC and Radio- Canada, told the House of Commons heritage committee that the public broadcaster has been able to enjoy a holiday from pension-plan commitments since January, 2000, because interest rates were low and the stock market's performance had been strong. But the holiday is set to end this January, when the CBC will be forced to endure the latest in a series of cuts since its budget peaked at $1.07-billion in 1995. "It's a real hit," Mr. Rabinovitch told reporters after his committee appearance. "It will inevitably have an impact." Mr. Rabinovitch said CBC executives have drawn up plans to deal with the pension-plan costs, but that he couldn't yet release details other than to say the effects will be broad. He made the remarks about the pension-plan payments as he and other executives were asked to speak to the committee about a lesser cut of $10-million, which the broadcaster is making in response to the federal government's $1-billion reallocation plan. That plan was announced by Finance Minister John Manley in February. It called for $1-billion worth of spending cuts so that higher- priority items could get extra money. Mr. Rabinovitch told the committee that these cuts will slash $3.5- million from English-language television, $3-million from French- language television, $500,000 each from English and French radio and $2.5-million from corporate, non-programming parts of the CBC. He said the CBC was dealt with in the same manner during reallocation as other recipients of government funding. The broadcaster is also being affected by Ottawa's $50-million cut over the next two years to the Canadian Television Fund, a move that Mr. Rabinovitch said will eliminate about 100 hours of original Canadian programming. According to the CBC's 2002-03 annual report, the public broadcaster received $937-million in operating funding from Ottawa during that fiscal year. That includes $60-million that the CBC received in extra, one-time funding for programming, from which the reallocation cuts were made. Mr. Rabinovitch said he'd be very pleased if the CBC were given an extra $40-million a year and had a guaranteed budget for five years. TV commitments by both public and private broadcasters are often made three or four years before programs appear on viewers' screens. Most members of the committee expressed their support for the CBC yesterday, particularly for the need for stable, long-term funding. "I don't know why we can't get that message through," said Liberal MP John Harvard. "It's just beyond me." Canadian Alliance MP Chuck Strahl, however, told the CBC executives that they get "a lot of money" and shouldn't shy away too much from pursuing high ratings, he said, as numbers show support. Mr. Rabinovitch said ratings are important, but the CBC's mandate is to pursue other goals, such as telling untold Canadian stories. "It is our job to give a mix." The CBC boss also said the broadcaster is involved in talks to offer its services to overseas markets in both official languages. (via William Westenhaver, DXLD) Same as? :: http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20031029/UCBCC29/TPTechInvestor/ (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** CANADA. Hello to all CHWO AM 740 DXer's --- It is with great pleasure to announce the official CHWO - AM 740 web site is now up and running. Although there will be a few tweaks during the coming weeks, it is now available to all to see. The web site contains email addresses to many of the station staff. The am740 @ rogers.com email address will still be available for questions and comments and you can also use it as a backup (ex. if you don't receive a reply by the direct route). We will be scaling back the other web pages you are familiar with now on the Ontario DX Association web site soon: http://www.odxa.on.ca/chwo.html So please enjoy CHWO - AM 740 - http://www.am740.ca The Ontario DX Association will continue to handle all reception reports for the CHW). We also will QSL for CJYE (1250) and CJMR (1320). And sorry, no streaming at this time. We are awaiting a final decision on the final royalty costs involved and cannot commit until this is know. _________________ Brian Smith - am740@rogers.com CHWO - AM 740 http://www.am740.ca Reception Report Manager for CHWO AM 740 http://www.odxa.on.ca/chwo.html YahooGroup Moderator for AM740 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AM740 (dxing.info Oct 30 via DXLD) ** COOK ISLANDS. RADIO COOK ISLANDS: LOCAL QUALITY 90-MIN MP3 RECORDING AVAILABLE A recent discussion thread on Hard-Core-DX about Radio Cook Islands prompted me to make the following MP3 audio files available to the DX community. Each recording is a 45-minute segment of a 90-minute cassette tape I made while visiting Rarotonga in 1993. The files are Zipped together with a "Readme" to save a bit of file size. The MP3 particulars are 16-bit, 16-kHz encoding in monaural format. If you can only download one of the two segments due to ISP costs, online time, etc., I'd recommend the first recording. Both are enjoyable, but the first MP3 has more programming variety. http://home.comcast.net/~guyw.atkins/files/R_Cook_Islands_1.zip (5 Mb download) http://home.comcast.net/~guyw.atkins/files/R_Cook_Islands_2.zip (5 Mb download) The URLs may not work for those who are not on the Comcast network. Try these alternate links: http://guyw.atkins.home.comcast.net/files/R_Cook_Islands_1.zip http://guyw.atkins.home.comcast.net/files/R_Cook_Islands_2.zip Below is the text of the README file included with each segment: ---------------------------------------------------------------- Radio Cook Islands 630 kHz mediumwave Recorded: April 6, 1993 at the Rarotongan Resort (7 km from transmitter). Equipment: Grundig Sat. 500 receiver, Marantz PMD-221 Cassette Recorder The programming of Radio Cook Islands is bilingual, and announcers are fluent in both English and Cook Islands Maori. Music selections on RCI encompass all styles, to appeal to many age groups. This recording was scheduled to include as much local music as possible. A visit with station personnel revealed that Radio Cook Islands' 11760 kHz shortwave transmitter and antenna were destroyed in a fire in May 1992. The outer islands are being served by AM and FM repeaters and RCI will not be reactivating their shortwave outlet. The shortwave transmissions on 11760 were simply rebroadcasts of the 630 kHz mediumwave station. PROGRAMMING NOTES: R_Cook_Islands_1.mp3 National anthem & hymn; sign-on announcements & music. Music; weather; sign-off announcements & national anthem. Local & regional news; weather; ads; music. R_Cook_Islands_2.mp3 "Party Time" music request show; weather; local ads; more music. OTHER NOTES: RCI programming includes all the hallmarks of a small, non- professional station: stuck records & tape carts, dead air, poor modulation, and other miscues. However, that's part of the flavor of local radio, and these errors are heard throughout this recording. Particularly noticeable is the bassy, over-modulation of the studio announcer during sign-on announcements (R_Cook_Islands_1.mp3 segment). RCI's headquarters is in downtown Avarua, and their 5 kw transmitter and modern quarter-wavelength vertical antenna is located in the town of Matavera (northeast side of Rarotonga). Original cassette recording of Radio Cook Islands transcribed to MP3 10/30/03. (Guy Atkins dx @ guyatkins.com Puyallup, WA USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. John H. Carver reminded me that RFPI started a live broadcast after 0210 UT Nov 1, on 7445. James Latham was asking those who have contributed to the RFPI building fund, at any time in the past, to document it, with the amount, the year, specifying that it was donated to Radio for Peace International, sign it, and send it to PO Box 75, Ciudad Colón, Costa Rica, or info@rfpi.org This will help RFPI make its case that the facilities were not paid for by the UFP. Leaks from UFP are that the building is to be used for computer facilities, but there is a lot of land in question, 300 ha. RFPI has challenged UFP to Conflict Resolution, but UFP has so far refused. James was horrified, as he was sitting in the office of the rector of the UFP, some time ago, to see a trophy case including a plaque from the School of the Americas thanking UFP for its cooperation, SOTA being responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people; military and police people are coming to the UFP, which is being turned into sort of a revised and polished version of the SOTA. Then accused UFP of trying to scam a person named Bill out of property worth $2.5 million, but he backed out at the last minute. UFP is quite a small operation, only 70 students now and in the past there have been only 12, so funding is a struggle. It often does not even show up on UN organizational charts. Most of the students there now are from the American University [in Washington DC?]. RFPI is looking for legal representation in Europe, too, where some litigation is necessary. Staff and volunteers have occupied the RFPI building continuously for some 90 days now. Invites calls from US toll fee at 1-800-493-5718, or direct in Central America +506 249-1821. If you do not hear this signal after tonight, check on the website, http://www.rfpi.org (notes by Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA [non]. Radio Croata, La Voz de Croacia --- Estimados amigos: La Voz de Croacia inicia una de sus emisiones a las 2300 UT, por los 7.285 kHz (sintonizada en el norte de España). Empieza con noticias en idioma croata y continúa en este idioma hasta las 2315. Entre 2315 y 2330 emiten en inglés, empezando con un informativo. Entre las 2330 y las 0000 se emite el programa en español. El programa continúa a partir de esta hora con noticias otra vez en croata. No he comprobado hasta cuando dura la emisión. La señal es muy fuerte, y la calidad muy buena. Todo esto comprobado durante los dos últimos días. Un saludo (Jesús María Iglesias Regidor, Oct 29, Noticias DX via DXLD) Same pattern each hour? ** CUBA. MEDIA WATCHDOG DECRIES PLIGHT OF HUNGER-STRIKING CUBAN JOURNALISTS | Excerpt from report by press release by Paris-based organization Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) on 29 October Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is greatly concerned by the health of the journalists Adolfo Fernández Sáinz and Mario Enrique Mayo and of the dissidents Antonio Díaz Sánchez, Alfredo Domínguez Batista, Ángel Moya Acosta and Arnaldo Ramos Lauzurique, who begun a hunger strike on 18 October. All are incarcerated in the provincial penitentiary centre of Holguín (in the centre of the country) and have been protesting against the detention in a "punishment cell" on 17 October of Iván Hernández Carrillo, an independent journalist. "This new hunger strike has been caused by the appalling conditions in which journalists and prisoners of conscience are being held", RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard said. [passage omitted]. Several journalists imprisoned in Cuba have complained about the lack of medical care. In August, Mario Enrique Mayo, Adolfo Fernández Sáinz and Iván Hernández Carrillo had already gone on a hunger strike to protest against their prison conditions. Moreover, RSF is worried by the situation of Claudia Márquez Linares, director of the dissident magazine "De Cuba" and a correspondent for RSF. According to reports received by the organization on 29 October, officers from the security forces threatened her with arrest for "contempt" if she refused to go with them. [passage omitted]. "The bimonthly magazine "De Cuba" went out of circulation after the arrest of its founders Ricardo Gonzales and Raúl Rivero in March 2003. By putting pressure on Claudia Márquez Linares, who managed to publish a new edition of this magazine on 1 October this year, the government is trying again to end the circulation of independent information," the organization explained. [passage omitted] Cuba is today the world's largest prison for journalists, with 30 detainees. Twenty-six of them were arrested in March 2003 along with almost 50 dissidents, during an unprecedented wave of arrests. In RSF's world ranking of press freedom (published on 20 October 2003), Cuba was ranked second to last (165th), just ahead of North Korea (166th). Source: Reporters Sans Frontières press release, Paris, in French 29 Oct 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ERITREA [non]. Erratum re: ``Voice Of Democratic Eritrea observed Wed. Oct 30 1700-1759 9820 Jülich. Usual signature tune and ID in Tigrigna. Also scheduled for Mondays`` Observed THURSDAY Oct 30 of course. Unfortunate typo, especially as those DTK schedules never give details. But am 100% positive that it is this station (Silvain Domen, Belgium, Oct 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. As scheduled, programs of Scandinavian Weekend Radio will start today Friday 31st, 22 hours UT [for 24 hours straight with two transmitters, three frequencies on 49m, two on 25m]. Check time and frequency schedule from our web pages: http://www.swradio.net Without listening you can never know whether SWR is audible during these special conditions. So follow our frequencies, catch us and listen to original wild and free radioshows from Arctic Finland. Call or send SMS-messages to our hotline +358 400 995 559. Stay tuned! (Alpo Heinonen, Scandinavian Weekend Radio, Oct 31 via Pedro Sedano, Spain, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** HAITI. HAITIAN PRESS ASSOCIATION CONDEMNS ATTACK ON RADIO CARAÏBES | Text of report by Haitian Signal FM radio on 30 October The press associations have condemned the attack on Radio Caraïbes FM. The secretary-general of the Association of Haitian Journalists [AJH, Joseph Guyler C. Delva] believes that these acts should not continue. Delva says the attack on the premises of Caraïbes FM is an act sponsored by the enemies of the free and independent press. For its part, the Haïtian Press Federation [FPH] believes this attack falls within the framework of an order that is contrary to democratic principles and makes the practice of journalism more fragile in Haïti. Esau César filed the following report: [César - recording] The Haïtian press is not spared by the wind of repression that is blowing here and there. From 1991 to 2003 democracy was supposed to grow with the presence of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, also known as Titid, the former priest of Saint-Jean Bosco. He struggled against US imperialism so that the demands of the poor masses could be properly expressed, so that people's living conditions could change, and so that respect for human rights, freedom of speech and freedom of the press could be established, and these were among the demands that were part of the struggle the former priest was waging for total and complete change. But watch out! A short pause! Three years of coup d'état by the former Haïtian armed forces were not in the democratic notebook that everybody was expecting. On 15 October 1994, the priest president, who was considered the symbol of democracy, returned from exile. Since then, the word democracy has been shouted with the establishment of Lavalas in power. Have freedom of speech and freedom of the press not been squeezed from the stomach of the woman that is called democracy? Every time a journalist is victimized, the press deplores it. But when will the press stop deploring? It continues. Today, Radio Caraïbes is the victim of acts of banditry by armed people. Since then tension and fear have been prevailing among press workers. Do not forget that it is still the woman called democracy who continues to be victimized. This time, the AJH and FPH were not long in reacting. What reactions [did they have]? Listen to Delva for the AJH and Guerdes Gilot, spokesman for the FPH. [Delva - in Creole] What we are trying to do is what we always do, that is to try to identify the bandits or to exert pressure so that the bandits can be identified so that they can answer for their actions before the justice department. But it should be pointed out that we are talking about a justice department that is sick, that is as corrupt as or that is controlled or, let us say, manipulated by the current authorities. [Gilot] The FPH expresses its support for Radio Caraïbes, whose premises were fired upon by unidentified evildoers on the night of Tuesday, 28 October, into Wednesday, 29 October. The federation protests this criminal act that clearly shows that freedom of the press and freedom of speech are truly threatened. We in the FPH ask first that an investigation be opened very quickly in order to discover what sector is responsible for this act. [César] Have you heard? Deplore. Observers keep wondering only one thing: is the press in every country in the whole world the defenceless victim [pitimi san gado] of all political governments established on behalf of the woman called democracy? Lavalas government, the ball is in your court, it is up to you to pass it. Source: Signal FM Radio, Port-au-Prince, in Creole 1230 gmt 30 Oct 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** HAWAII. Re 3-195: Any sign of 59.76 audio? If it was Es, the audio likely wood have been in at low levels. A scanner with 15 kHz nFM bandwidth should have likely produced weak KHON audio. 73, (Todd Emslie, Australia, WTFDA via DXLD) Implying it was F2, not Es (gh) No sign of any audio - MUF cutoff point must have been just above 55 MHz. No sign of any backscatter or Es on TV ch 3. KHON was in for about 10 min - luckily it peaked around 0300Z allowing me to get an ID 73 (Mike Cherry, VE7SKA, Salt Spring Island BC, Canada, ibid.) 1710 CST, channel 2: Very Strong OUT OF PHASE/MULTIPLE GHOSTING picture, occasional glimpses of a man speaking to a woman, some writing on the bottom of the screen. Looks lke a TELE-NOVELA. 1717 Two women talking to each other. Some non-readable writing LOOKS LIKE SPANISH or PORTUGUESE. NOT MEXICO. NOT Matching TELEVISA OR TV-AZTECA locals. 1742, 2, Two stations 20 kHz CCI. MULTIPLE GHOSTING-FADING/OUT OF PHASE (Steven Wiseblood, Boca Chica Beach, Texas, Times CST, ibid.) Sounds similar to what I had here, except the pictures deteriorated back to hash by 1735 CT. Sure looked a lot like the F2 from a couple of years ago. The direction of the antennas was west. I caught it all on two tapes from two different antennas, so I'll be reviewing this stuff. However, I'm not so sure about the language here... [Later:] Managed to find the time to go through one tape of the odd video. In a few short segments of tape from around 1715 CT, "The People's Court" logo can be made out in the lower left corner. A few words can be heard in English, as well, from that program. Extremely smeared-looking pictures, mostly without audio. It is definitely not Es or tropo. The antennas were aimed toward the west, but the signal was pretty wide. The only station that I can find (so far) on channel 2 in the U.S. that airs "The People's Court" at 1700 *CST* is KHON-2 Honolulu. (This is from zap2it; KHON's website is being renovated.) That would be 1 PM there. That would also be about 4,000 miles! I'll watch the other tape and continue to investigate this situation over the weekend. If anybody has any information or suggestions, I would appreciate hearing from them (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, ibid.) All I can say, Danny, is that this reception was during a MASSSIVE 6m opening to Hawaii at the same time; so, it makes logical sense. It's hard to understate the level of the opening. Historic. NH7RO was 10 or 20db over S9 for 3 hours. Most of what I was hearing, though, was Big Island. I did work an Oahu, but it was light. I am betting it was KHON. But, will there be enough for an ID? (Peter Baskind, J.D., LL.M. N4LI, Germantown, TN/EM55, ibid.) Thanks to Peter for his comments. Also, thanks to Bob Cooper for his off-list comments. Unfortunately, no station IDs have been readable on my tapes. On the other hand, if it was not KHON-2, what could it have been? Which station within "F2" range would be running "The People's Court" at 1700 CT? Any and all comments are welcome. When I have a chance, I'll put some photographs of this DX on the web (Danny, Shreveport, LA, ibid.) Man, I'd count it. If there's nothing else possible, I'd count it. It sounds pretty reasonable to me... Try and email KHON-2 and see if they can give you any info on promos/commercials (Adam Rivers, MA, ibid.) It's during these rare Es/F2 openings that a quality VHF communications receiver removes much of the detective work. Any quality Icom type scanner would indicate KHON's 55.2595 MHz video carrier offset and thus positive identification is virtually assured. Also, the minus 500 Hz offset is wide enough to avoid any confusion with other nominal .260 offsets. Given the prolonged 3-hour KH6 to N4LI 50 MHz F2 opening, I don't think it's unreasonable for the MUF to peak at 55 MHz for a short period. If Danny actually had KHON, I think it was via F2. 73, (Todd Emslie, Australia, ibid.) Maybe this has been mentioned before, but possibly a Canadian station? Don't get me wrong, I hope it IS Hawaii, but that would be a very, very long haul (fda, ibid.) Thanks for all of the latest comments. First of all, we're talking about a smeared, odd-looking signal that is typical of F2. This stuff is different. Therefore, the signal is from a station very far away. Second, my antennas are too directional for signals to peak stronger on the rear-end than on the front. This signal peaked from the west. Third, if the signal is backscatter, no station that I know of in the east runs "The People's Court" at that time. In fact, most channel 2s in eastern parts of the U.S. and Canada air news at 5 and 6 PM. I've checked the program listings for most U.S. and Canadian channel 2s. Although this is F2, and the station is probably KHON, I don't log stations based solely on direction, off-sets, or mere program matches (unless it is a local program). I have *honestly* logged over 250 stations via Es since 1994 (including 26 Mexico states and DF), and (even though this is a special situation) I'm NOT adding KHON to my log (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, ibid.) Based on what DXers saw yesterday, and the strong reception of HAWAII on 6-meters by HAMS throughout the SOUTH-EASTERN U.S. as well as Danny's (Shreveport) log of the "PEOPLE's COURT" at 1715 CST on Channel-2. I reviewed my notes, and on Chanel-2 at 1715 CST I did see large letters on the screen followed by several sets of smaller letters (perhaps on how to apply to be on the show). I am sure now, that the large letters that I saw did, in fact, say "PEOPLE's COURT". Apparently because of the smearing and multiple phasing caused by the F2 reception, I thought that I had seen something in Spanish or Portuguese, but the letters were too smeared to actually read. I thought that the format looked somewhat like a tele-novela. The format of the show I saw did, in fact, fit that of PEOPLE's COURT. Although only TENTATIVE, looks like Danny and I were both receiving Chanel-2 in HAWAII by F2 between 1700-1730 CST yesterday. YES, it is over 3500 miles from my QTH! (Steven Wiseblood, Boca Chica Beach TX, Oct 31, WTFDA via DXLD) ** INDIA. The complete B-2003 Home & External Services schedules are now available on the official AIR web site. Please go to: http://allindiaradio.org/schedule/fqsch.html ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS/AT0J, Oct 31, dx_india via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. When will the last stations disappear from the Tropical Bands? From the total figures I have made a graph which shows the curve of the total number of active transmitters is going very steadily downwards. I suppose this trend will continue and when I prolong it beyond 2003, it will hit zero around year 2014. So my guess is that after that year there will no longer be domestic broadcasting on the Tropical Bands (brief excerpt from The Old Good Times? Tropical Bands in Review, by Anker Petersen, from a presentation in August 2003 at the EDXC Conference in Königstein, Germany, via SW Center, Nov NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. The United States will begin funding independent Iranian radio and television stations to broadcast into Iran, but only on a case-by-case basis, a senior State Department official told Congress Tuesday... http://205.177.120.143/artman/publish/article_3368.shtml (via Jilly Dybka, DXLD) ** LIBERIA. STATE RADIO EMPLOYEES CRISIS DEEPENS It seems to be that trouble at the State-owned Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) is far from over, with employees of the entity producing what they termed "evidence" accusing its Director-General designate J. Allison Barco of financial mal-practices... http://allafrica.com/stories/200310270599.html (via Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, DXLD) ** LITHUANIA. MW relays provided by Radio Baltic Waves as Radio Baltic Waves International in the B03 season: Address: P.d. 3245, LT-2013 Vilnius. E-mail: radio@b.... [truncated] Vilnius 612 kHz 100 kW ND 0400-0600 R. Liberty in Belarusian 1600-2200 R. Liberty in Belarusian 2200-2230 R. Polonia in Belarusian Sitkunai 1557 kHz 150kW ND 1800-2000 China Radio International in Russian 2000-2030 China Radio International in Polish 2030-2100 China Radio International in English 2100-2200 China Radio International in Chinese More relays are in preparation (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, MWDX yahoogroup Oct 30 via DXLD) ** MADAGASCAR [and non]. Subject: Mad mods? Andy, Just wondering if any modifications in hardware, i.e. antennas, azimuth or takeoff angles, had to be made at Talata in order to use 9895 for Latin America (on three different azimuths, I see) -- or was it all ready to go with existing antennas originally intended for Africa only? Or was Latin America taken into account in the original design? This info would make for some interesting background (gh to Andy Sennitt) Hi Glenn, Rocus de Joode of our Programe Distribution Department has provided the following answer to your question: The last guess is the correct one. Latin America was taken into account in the original design. We have long distance antenna's in Madagascar ranging from 7-17 MHz with bearings between 265-295 degrees. It's the same with Bonaire where we also have these type of antenna's for Europe ranging between 50 degrees all the way up to 110 degrees for Southern Africa. Remember that in those days we did not have the possibility to rent airtime at other stations so we had to cover the whole world with three stations in every season during high and low sunspot activity. By the way, these Spanish transmissions via Madagascar are only possible during our winter time. During summer is just not possible due to lack of propagation (via Andy Sennitt, RN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. AWR en español. Escuchada ayer por la noche por los 6165, sin identificaciones, pero con música cristiana y breves charlas por OM e YL en español. Muchísimos cortes e interrupciones de la programacion. Parecería que se están haciendo pruebas aun o bien el transmisor tiene problemas Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Oct 30, Conexión Digital via DXLD) 2300-0100 ** NEW ZEALAND. RNZI Preview for Sunday Nov 2 a 0706-0900: SOUNDS HISTORICAL with Jim Sullivan - This week: John Stannage, pioneer broadcaster [15340 switches to 11675 at 0800]. (John Figliozzi, swprograms via DXLD) ** PERU. Anoche se registró un "golpe de propagación" excepcional entre las 2300 a 0100 UT aproximadamente para la región andina. En las bandas tropicales llegaban muchísimas emisoras peruanas con muy buena calidad de recepción. Algunos casos realmente sorprendían, como Ilucán [5678?], que entraba con QRK4 o La Voz de los Huarinjas que también llegaba con excepcional señal. Volví a escuchar a Radio Perú, de San Ignacio en 5637.23, la cual no reportaba hace añares y sólo de tanto en tanto en Acampadas DX. Lo curioso, es que mientras estas emisoras llegaban de la forma descripta, las grandes estaciones internacionales entraban en "medio de un burbujeo". Les recomiendo hacer un rato en las noches locales para corroborar si este fenómeno se repite. 73's (Arnaldo Slaen, Oct 30, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** SERBIA & MONTENEGRO. The B03 schedule for International Radio of Serbia & Montenegro has now been put up of their web site at http://www.radioyu.org/schedule.htm The English schedule is exactly the same as last winter, i.e. 0100-0130 7115 to N America/Europe (not Sunday) 0200-0230 7130 to N America/Europe (daily) 1330-1400 11835 to Australia (daily) 1930-2000 6100 to Europe (daily) 2200-2230 6100 to Europe (daily) (Dave Kenny, Oct 31, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K. RADIO`S LOST PROPERTY -- BBC R4 SATURDAY Dear Friends, This Saturday on BBC Radio 4 20.00-21.00 gmt there`s a second selection of "Radio`s Lost Property" in the Archive hour. Hancock`s Half Hour not heard since its original broadcast, "Hi Gang" with Gregory Peck and broadcasts from the D-day landings and more, are promised. You can also listen to it on the BBC`s website for a week following via the "listen again" facility (go to the radio page, launch the BBC radio player, choose Radio 4, then choose "search by title" and there it is in the A s!). Also an accompanying article is in the Radio Times 1-7 Nov., page 20 (Phil Attwell, Oct 29, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K. BOUND BY CONTRACT --- Regarding the debate on the BBC's use of audio formats and the recordability of its programmes (Feedback, October 23), while there may be technical issues at play, there is a more fundamental reason why the BBC is probably making it difficult for people to download or record programmes: contracts and rights. The BBC, when broadcasting a play or book, will have negotiated a contract and fee for the actors and writers. This is usually based on a one-off broadcast and a supplementary repeat fee. This contract won't cover repeated free use and, most importantly, could include ties to a geographic region. In theory, that shouldn't prevent domestic users downloading the files - after all, we've already paid for it, right? Unfortunately, we all know how easy it is to copy and distribute digital files, which means that without too much trouble, the programmes could end up all over the world. In theory, if one could prove the BBC had done little to prevent this happening, it could be argued it is in breach of contract. It could also potentially deprive the BBC - and, in turn, the licence payers - of lucrative distribution deals via BBC Worldwide once contracts have been renegotiated. All of which is a shame, as I do a lot of travelling and would love to be able to download a series of The News Quiz or Jazz Line Up to my iPod! Michael Sanders London Sound inequality Annoying program though it is, my main beef about the BBC's use of RealPlayer is not that it's a proprietary protocol, but that the sound quality is so bad. To hear the difference you only have to compare a BBC radio stream at 44.1kbps with one of the many available at 128kbps via iTunes - it's as if the BBC has decided we must listen to its programmes on medium wave. I know not everybody has broadband (or iTunes), but it ought to acknowledge that more and more people do. Mike Petty London Free for all I am puzzled by recent claims by Roland J Young and John Yardley (Feedback, October 16, 23) that "obtaining a free copy of RealPlayer is becoming almost impossible". Why not download a free copy from http://www.real.com as I have just done? Or have I missed something? Pat Martindale Bridlington (c) Guardian Newspapers Limited 2003 (Guardian Feedback Oct 30 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. JACKIE'S HEART BEATS AGAIN Oct 28 2003 By Mark Davison Sutton and Epsom's best-known pirate of the airwaves, Radio Jackie, is broadcasting again after being forced to close in the mid-1980s. Radio Jackie first took to the air on March 20, 1969, using DJ Mike Knight's home in Burleigh Road, Sutton, to store equipment. But the Post Office's radio inspectors were the station's keenest listeners. When the local pop station broadcast for the last time on in February 1985, from a studio in Central Road, Worcester Park, ending with the playing of Dusty Springfield's hit Going Back, it was felt that Radio Jackie could no longer survive the hounding of the radio inspectors and their eagerness to bring them to court. But happily, 18 years after that last broadcast, the station has been re-launched in a big way. And now it's legal. At midday on Sunday last week, Radio Jackie proudly took to the air once more on 107.8FM with the original programme controller, Dave Owen, from Epsom, back in the same role... http://www.tinyurl.com/t83b (Surrey Online via Mike Terry, uk radio listeners via Paul David, DXLD) ** U K. RADIO RAMADHAN ON THE AIR [Moderator note: Approx 30 Ramadan RSLs are now on the air on FM around the UK. All are listed in the November edition of Communication which is now at the printers] A community radio station is back on air for the month of Ramadhan broadcasting until November 26. Tune into 103.6fm and hear volunteers from Dudley Central Mosque and Muslim Community Centre on air with radio Ramadhan. The station has been hitting the airwaves for the past two years and after a successful response will be live for 24 hours a day, with debates, phone-ins, competitions and educational programmes. Radio Ramadhan is looking for sponsors or donations and local businesses that could benefit from very competitive advertising rates and you can call the studio on 01384 233081. You can help by becoming a presenter, advertiser or by distributing posters and for further information contact the team by e-mailing [truncated] radioramadhandudley@y... or visit our website at http://www.rrd.org.uk http://www.thisistheblackcountry.co.uk/the_black_country/dudley/news/DUDLEY_NEWS\_DAILY0.html (via Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K. Forever Young --- Broadcasting legend Sir Jimmy Young drew a crowd at a Bath store yesterday when he visited to launch his new autobiography in the city. Sir Jimmy spent 30 years as BBC Radio 2's top presenter with a record 5.5m listeners. His departure from the airwaves, aged 81, was shrouded in mystery last Christmas... http://www.tinyurl.com/t83g (via Mike Terry, 29 Oct, uk radio listeners via Paul David, DXLD) ** U S A. ``Hi All, I am still waiting for a promised QSL from WWVA in Wheeling, WV and have the message left on my answering machine from a staff member named David. Has anyone received one in the past eighteen months?`` CC Wheeling is very inept at QSLing. Then the ongoing mystery, where are the promised cards from WTIC from over two years ago at? Remember them? Got a bunch of us to do reports for them with the promise of a QSL and ... Thanks! (Duane Fischer, W8DBF/W9WZE/WPE8CXO, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) This is a situation that has gone very sour! I was e-mailing Mr. Hugabone about this every few months or so and then after many lousy excuses why he hadn't done anything yet he decided to give me a very plain e-mail verification. After I sent return postage this really made me unpleasant, to put it politely, so I e-mailed to let him know I was not going to except it and wanted a snail mail response, I e- mailed him again a few months later and again and again and then decided to use the general e-mail address for WTIC to see if somebody else at that so called radio station would be willing to QSL my reception, e-mailed them for a while and no response at all; now it`s been a few months since I decided to send a follow up to "Management" and still nothing. I understand that in the "new economy of radio", as horrible as it is, that stations are short staffed in an effort to grab every last dime they can get their hands on, but WTIC is a 50,000 watt blowtorch in a well populated area, it's not some station in a small town that throws a sports network on 24 hours a day because the one person running the station really doesn't care about ratings and is not even there but once a month. It's just arrogance! It is not hard to go to a word processor and make up a form letter that can be used over and over to limit the amount of time it takes to verify reception reports! This is a very ugly situation. If it weren't for 960 WELI verifying my reception of their station I would have nothing from CT! Here's a list of stations I have had a tough time getting a QSL from and still have not succeeded): WVNA 1590 Tuscumbia, AL WTIR 1680 Winter Garden, FL WIQR 1410 Prattville, AL (called once and they were very rude) WTCL 1580 Chattahoochee, FL WSYB 1380 Rutland, VT WMBG 740 Williamsburg, VA (unmanned?) WDZZ 92.7 Cumulus Flint! I have no respect for them. WTCW 920 Whitesburg, KY (seemed so nice when I called, then sent report and the guy never responded!) WMNI 920 Columbus, OH WFNO 830 Norco, LA WAQI 710 Miami, FL WWFE 670 Miami, FL WRSR 103.9 Cumulus Flint again! WUBE 105.1 Cincinnati, OH WLBA 1130 Gainesville, GA KARN 920 Little Rock, AR WIBA 1310 Madison, WI WDOD 1310 Chattanooga, TN WGAI 560 Elizabeth City, NC (Feb. 16, 2001, DX test!!) CHML 900 Hamilton, ON (hmm, they too seem to have gone sour!) CHSC 1220 St. Catharines, ON (heard through former WKNR) WDSU-TV 6 New Orleans, LA KTBZ 94.5 CC Houston not far above CC Wheeling! WWCK 105.5 Another Cumulus Flint station! XEEP 1060 Mexico City WJJL 1440 Niagara Falls, NY KMOX 1120 St. Louis, MO As I said above, I know we're all busy nowadays, but a little organization and these stations would have no trouble verifying credible reception reports in a timely efficient manner, at least those stations with computers and computer literate employees. Those small town stations with one person should at least sign the ppc and return it (Michael Procop, Bedford, OH amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) Making the WTIC situation even worse, is the fact that they requested the reports and offered, or was it promised?, to verify all they received. I got a very polite response from the station engineer by telephone, said they were having the cards printed and they would be mailed out. Even asked me to be a regular monitor for them because of other stations encroaching on the frequency into their space allocation. This was in March 2002. I finally gave up. At least I have one from 1962! There was absolutely only one MW USA station that ever returned my postage along with a verification. I won't mention them because I do not think it would be right and cause them to receive a flood of verification requests. I always include return postage, by the way, and never send an e-mail request. It is by mail and follow up by telephone. The only SW station to ever return postage was JJY in Japan. They returned one IRC as I had sent more postage than needed. I know that times have changed and time is money. I also agree that a prepared form letter, such as I use for the report and then fill in the details, does not take long to do. It is a courtesy to listeners. So much for courtesy, heh? However, things being what they are, WTIC does not get off my hook because THEY made the offer! All of us, and I understand that is several hundred, did our part and they spit in our face. Personally, I would like to see an article about this in the Hartford, CT papers. Maybe I will do the documentation work and contact the managing editor. Anyone know the name and contact info for the major Hartford newspaper? (Duane W8DBF Fischer, MI, ibid.) As a journalist, my overpowering gut instinct is that the editor of any Hartford paper would tell you there are real stories out there, and this isn't even close to being one of them. It matters to us because we're DXers, and in some cases QSL collectors. But we're not listeners within the station's primary coverage area. We're a frill. I'm very grateful that Jeff Hugabone was courteous enough to let us know in advance about down-time, and to coordinate it with KRLD. That certainly wasn't something WTIC paid him to do. OK, so he dropped the ball on the QSLs. I can tell you from my own job as an editor that I simply cannot keep up with my correspondence, and I am also guilty of making more promises and commitments than I can keep. If there's a story here, it's that there's this really nice guy who is an engineer, who went out of his way to do all this for DXers, but life caught up with him and the QSLs fell by the wayside. Sorry, this ain't newsworthy to the general public. BTW, I stopped collecting QSLs many years ago --- too expensive, lousy response rate, and most staff never bothered to consider the details of what I sent --- it was bleeping obvious (Saul Chernos, Ont., ibid.) Saul, As a journalist you take it upon yourself to apologize for the failings of the management of WTIC to keep their commitments? Very generous of you. But it seems to me, they should accept the responsibility themselves and make the appropriate apologies to the hundreds of listeners they exploited. We did our part, they got what they wanted and we got lied to. If the management of WTIC had come forward and said they made a commitment they could not keep, apologized to all of us who mailed in reports with envelopes and return postage and asked for our understanding, most of us would have obliged them. Even if we did not like it. But they did quite the opposite. They chose to continue to tell one falsehood after another month after month and year to year. Never admitting the truth. Now I grant that because nobody got murdered in the station parking lot while selling Girl Scout cookies, the main tower was not torn down by a political group who hated their support of a particular candidate for Sewer Commissioner and the station manager was not caught naked with the secretary having sex on the front desk in the lobby that the event is probably not "newsworthy". The fact that a major Hartford radio station lied to their audience is ho hum. No big deal, anymore so than a journalist writing a story full of mistakes that ruins a person`s life and then prints a little retraction hidden among the stories and ads and all is well. Which happens all the time nowadays, Saul. In fact, as I typed this, Judy Woodruf on CNN was discussing this very issue with a retired journalist who just published his recollections. So it is not my opinion, it is the way journalists behave nowadays. Accountability? What is that? As a journalist you surely know that almost all papers have an editorial section or a column devoted to letters from their readers. Hence, the concept of 'newsworthy' is taken right out of the equation. I realize that a journalist only gets paid, or if on staff retained, when he/she writes articles that sell newspapers. Sometimes the truth is not exciting, terrifying or scandalous, but the story still needs to be told. Radio stations sell ads to business to pay the rent, people listen to the station and hear those ads and buy products from the businesses paying for the commercials, but when that listener base dwindles - so do the businesses who want air time. Lose your audience, regardless of what the venue is, and you are soon history. You do not keep it by mistreating your listeners, as WTIC did. Bad news always travels fast and is what people almost always tell first. The truth is always 'newsworthy' Saul, but it often times is not saleable (Duane Fischer, W8DBF, ibid.) The problem with the aggressive stance being suggested here is that it will may very likely increase sour relations between radio stations and hobbyists, not only the station in question, but every station that staff person works for in the future, and in any conversation that person has with others in the same business. Yes, perhaps a few of us will get a response in this way by turning up the heat, but those who follow may be treated even worse. This is the bad news that travels fast (Jim Renfrew, ibid.) Re Conversation With WTIC I just finished speaking with the Chief Engineer of WTIC, Jeff Hugabone. He sends his personal apologies, on behalf of the station, to all who did submit reception reports for the test and never received a verification, as promised. There have been no QSL cards printed as of now. He has one partially designed, but is unsure when he will have time to finish it. He mentioned several station engineering projects in progress, from upgrading a transmitter of tower three to structural work to generator work to supply the station should there be a grid failure such as this past August. He does not have, nor does he foresee having, any time to handle the reception report verifications sent in to WTIC. However, he did listen to my suggestion of a form letter being filled in and sent out 'until' such time as he does finish the QSL card, print it and get it filled out, by himself or some yet to be determined party. There will be some engineering interns at the station starting in December. He suggested this may be a project for them. All in all, Jeff was as cordial as ever and mentioned his regrets about the previous test and the failure of WTIC to verify those reports. I asked him, point blank, if those reception reports still existed there or if they had been tossed in the trash? He said they were still there. The eightieth anniversary of WTIC comes up in 2005. He indicated there would be some special things happening then, including another test. His words, "Stay tuned." I could tell he looked me up on their database as we spoke, can't fool the old blind man's ears! He was surprised when I told him I still had my letter of verification from WTIC from 1961. A new one sure would be nice! Who knows, maybe the engineering interns will get a form letter created and those reports verified. Let us hope so. We have waited over 2.5 years already (Duane Fischer, W8DBF, ibid.) It is important to remember when going after a QSL to always be polite. Keep an even keel. Patience is the key as well. Give plenty of time. Thank them if they can be e-mailed. I also send some postcards out now and then as a thank you if the response was more than I expected. The latest news from WTIC is somewhat positive. If we have waited this long, another few months or a year won't hurt too much. In the whole picture of life none of this matters too much but it does reflect somewhat on the way things are going in society. Enough of this for now. Good DX! (Michael Procop, ibid.) ** U S A. For anyone interested, here's a reminder of upcoming DX tests; if anyone has any additions or corrections, please contact me. (BE SURE TO NOTE THE TIME OF THE TEST; THEY ARE IN THE LOCAL TIME OF THE STATION) Saturday, November 1, 2003 - WJNT-1180, Pearl, MS 12:00 am-1:00 am CST (1-2 am EST) [0600-0700 UT]. E-Mail: slca-@wjnt.com [truncated] WWW: http://www.wjnt.com (Lynn Hollerman, IRCA Oct 31 via DXLD) ** U S A. AMERICAN U. OUSTS WAMU DIRECTOR SUSAN CLAMPITT By Jennifer Frey, Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, October 31, 2003; Page C01 Susan Clampitt, executive director at public radio station WAMU, was removed from her duties yesterday morning by American University President Benjamin Ladner. The move comes after more than a week of meetings and discussions concerning financial and personnel problems at WAMU. Ladner assigned his chief of staff, David Taylor, to oversee the station on an interim basis. Taylor will retain his position in the president's office. Clampitt, who had directed the station since June 2000, had come under fire from current and former staff members, donors and volunteers. They questioned her financial management of the station and her managerial style, which had led to widespread staff disgruntlement. The airing of those concerns prompted Ladner to meet with the WAMU staff on Oct. 22, followed by several other meetings and discussions with individuals at the station and the university, which oversees WAMU's operation. "My decision came after very thoughtful extended discussions over the past week or two," Ladner said by phone. "I've had very direct conversations with many members of the staff, they are ongoing, and I tried to assess the situation. And what I found added up for me to a decision that will take us in a different direction." In a statement, Clampitt said that "this decision made by American University President Benjamin Ladner signals a retreat from the vision that both he and I shared for the long-term growth of WAMU. The record demonstrates that the difficult decisions and choices I have made over the last three years have been in the best interest of the station." Clampitt also noted in her statement that, under her stewardship, WAMU increased its listener levels to all-time station highs and put in place effective fundraising that has boosted membership and revenue. Under Clampitt, however, WAMU also ran large operating deficits in each of the past three fiscal years, depleting more than $4 million in cash reserves in the process. Those budgetary problems came as the station significantly increased spending -- particularly on the supporting services, or overhead, portion of the budget, which jumped 110 percent from 2000 to 2002 -- but failed to meet its revenue projections. Clampitt, who in an earlier interview blamed a poor economy for those losses, did not return calls made yesterday to her home and cell phone. Ladner said his decision was based on several factors, including the continuing pattern of deficits and staff relations. "There were more than a few people who could not be described simply as 'resistant to management leadership,' " Ladner said, echoing the explanation Clampitt had given for staff frustration, "but as having some thoughtful and creative ideas." When Ladner announced the change yesterday afternoon at a WAMU staff meeting, the reaction was "relief," according to reporter Jim Rosenberg and others. Diane Rehm, one of the most vocal critics of WAMU management -- she told The Washington Post last week that "what Susan Clampitt has done to this station is truly sad" -- fully endorsed the change. "There's a real lift in the air," Rehm said. "A feeling as though we've got our feet back on the ground. . . . As sad as I am to see any one person have to bear the burden of this, it was clear that Susan Clampitt and the personnel of this station were out of sync, and it was not only her financial management, it was her personnel management. Both directions were just wrong for this station." Taylor has held his current position for eight years and has a long background in media relations work, as well as undergraduate and graduate degrees in journalism. His selection to oversee the station was greeted with a standing ovation at the WAMU staff meeting. The next step, Ladner said, is to continue the discussions that have taken place in the last 10 days and complete work on a reconstituted station budget. Ladner -- who was approached months ago by former donors concerned about the station's finances -- said that he had not approved the budget for fiscal year 2004 (which began May 1) and that the university already was in the process of "reformulating what we think is a realistic financial framework." One of the concerned donors, Forbes Maner, yesterday expressed support for Ladner's decision to remove Clampitt and install Taylor, calling it "a good sign that the university is getting actively involved." But he is still looking for more answers. "There needs to be an explanation. . . . It's public radio," he said. "It's not just the big donors, it's all the people they ask to pay the bill. I think they need to be forthright about the station's circumstances, how they got there and what they're going to do to get out of it." ©2003 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. FROM UP THE RIVER TO ON THE AIR October 31, 2003 By MAREK FUCHS NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y., Oct. 30 - A year and a half removed from a prison term, the husband of Westchester County's top law enforcement official started a new career on Thursday as the host of a weekly talk radio program. Albert J. Pirro, the politically active husband of Jeanine F. Pirro, Westchester County's district attorney, took to the air for a noontime program here on WVOX-AM (1460) and WRTN-FM (93.5). Mr. Pirro's radio days began three years after he was sentenced to 29 months in jail for tax evasion. He served 17 months. The program, for which Mr. Pirro said he would receive no pay, was the idea of William O'Shaughnessy, the president and editorial director of Whitney Radio, the owner of the stations. "I've been after him to do the show for a long time," Mr. O'Shaughnessy said. . . http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/31/nyregion/31AL.html?ex=1068606360&ei=1&en=7ca37e011a3b1610 (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** VIETNAM. Re 3-187: Voice of Vietnam English to Europe is listed at 1700 on 9725 and 1800 on 7100 9730 and 9725. Monitoring shows this to be incorrect. 9725 was the Moosbrun relay frequency in A03. Moosbrun is now using 5955 and is carrying English at 1800 parallel to 7100 and 9730. There is no English transmission at 1700 (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth, UK, Oct 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ BDXC WEB SITE UPDATED The DX Diary and DX-Media Programme Guide have been updated today on the BDXC-UK web site at http://www.bdxc.org.uk The DX Programme guide has been updated for the Winter (B03) schedule period taking account of all available schedule information. This task is ongoing and any additions or corrections would be appreciated so that we can keep the guide as up to date as possible. 73s (Dave Kenny, Oct 29, BDXC-UK via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ AN INSIDIOUS FORM OF QRM The below is something that I just posted to the NDB (longwave beacon) reflector. While it`s NOT shortwave, it may be an indicator of things to come if the BPL folks have their way. No, this wasn`t due to BPL but rather ``Broadband cable``. When I first moved into this mobile home just over 4 years ago I was pleasantly surprised at how very low the overall LF noise level was, especially after having lived in an apartment (flat) the previous 10 years. That was helped a lot by the underground power cables here. Yes, there was ``some`` weak TV QRM , primarily from our own set and the computer monitor but it was perfectly acceptable. THEN! It started slowly, at frequencies well below 300 KHz. Various swaths of closely spaced, frequency unstable carriers generated by switching power supplies contained in the ever increasing number of TV satellite receivers, VCR`s and other RF polluters. The carriers were spaced at 60/120 Hz increments and most of these ``swaths`` polluted a fairly narrow band of frequencies and could often be ``dodged`` with tight filters and some patience. However, they were to get steadily worse with time, often making the area below 300 KHz rather miserable to listen to and DEMANDING narrow DSP filters to dig things out of the hash. NOW! The local cable TV Company finished installing a broadband cable TV system here in the mobile home park a month or so back. They pulled up all the old cables and sunken boxes and ran all new cable, installed new head ends etc. Of course I`m not an ``official`` inspector of the work but I did manage to inspect the work behind my Mobile Home before they ``put the cap on``. The job appears to be done very well with nice heavy duty cable, connectors, short ground post etc. So I don`t think I can fault the installation. We are NOT connected into the system; I still use an old UHF ``Bowtie`` antenna to watch ``off the air`` stations as the cable costs are too expensive for me. HOWEVER! Very large areas of the LF spectrum now have VERY WIDE bands of closely spaced carriers. When listened to in the CW mode these carriers are also frequency unstable with a kind of ``warble`` in the tone. To mention just a few, some of the wide ``swaths`` are in the area of 350-366 KHz, 385 KHz etc. In other words, prime NDB real estate. Radiation of these may be due to ``common mode`` transmission of QRM from switching power supplies on the cable or ``something`` that is being sent over the broadband cable system. I really haven`t determined which it is yet. NOW THE INSIDIOUS PART! If you are using VERY narrow filters of 10-40 Hz or so as you tune across the LF band, and you tune into one of these carriers (of which there are gazillions) it often sounds VERY much like CW as it ``warbles`` into and out of the filter bandpass. The insidious thing is that the ``CW sound-a-like`` can mess with your mind, especially if you`re ``expecting`` to hear a certain pattern. With narrow filters you can NOT determine that it`s actually a broad spectrum of RF, it only becomes apparent when you turn the DSP off. Of course, if you turn the DSP off you are NOT going to hear any weak ``REAL`` NDB`s that may also be lurking in that spectrum. You do hear the strong ones. WILL DIFFERENT ANTENNAS HELP? It doesn`t appear that changing my antenna will do much if any good at all. I have the sloper and the roof mounted Hustler 6BTV vertical antennas here. Due to different polarities, local QRM picked up on one antenna is usually greatly reduced or totally eliminated on the other. NOT IN THIS CASE. Both antennas appear to pick up this QRM equally or nearly equally well. I could build another loop antenna, but past experience, at least in this location showed that they were far more prone to local QRM than my other antennas. WILL THE FCC DO ANYTHING? They probably would NOT, even if I were to lodge a formal complaint. Hobby listening of longwave beacons is NOT a protected use of spectrum. IF it were heavily impacting my ham radio operations, yes they may do something or at least try to. Or if I could demonstrate that it impaired listening to local broadcasters then they might. The keyword being ``local`` since I don`t think even DXing the broadcast band or shortwave stations is considered. But so far as I can determine the interference is confined to LF, at least for now 8^( So, what can I do? It looks like about all I can do is grin and bear it. Listen as carefully as I can, double check what I hear and throw my radio through the window when it gets too bad. 73 from the ``Beaconeers Lair``. (Phil, KO6BB, Atchley DX begins at the noise floor! Merced, Central California 37.18N 120.29W CM97sh, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Hi Phil... I thought it was a matter of maximum allowable emissions rather than interference per se, when dealing with a non-transmitter`s (at least, not an intentional tx) emission. 73 (Ed Tanton N4XY, ibid.) Hi Ed. Yes, but what is the level of those ``permissible`` emissions? Let`s face it, if the line runs right through the back of your 2x4 mobile home land plot and your antennas are also in that 2x4 plot there isn`t exactly a lot of separation. I have far more ``vertical`` separation due to antenna height than I do horizontal separation. At least to the sloper. And with probably nearly everybody in the park connected to the cable system it makes a nice grid to radiate whatever junk there is from all sides. 73 from the ``Beaconeers Lair``. (Phil, KO6BB, ibid.) who is keeping an eye on the cable companies, satellite providers, power companies and so forth? We need some watchdogs with sharp teeth, and have none. Between the FCC (not Riley Hollingsworth`s division) and the ARRL selling Hams out hand over fist, both for comporate dollars (in my opinion) we are going to be dead in the water, UNLESS we rise up and get the major media to show the public what a valuable service Hams provide. The short-wave hobbyists will be the direct benefactors of this too, so their voices need to be heard as well. Once it gets started, there will be no stopping it! Let`s call it like it is gentlemen. Yes, I am including myself in that nomenclature! (Quiet Tomas! I heard that snort! Ha Ha) If one adds up all of the number of computer chips radiating rf, this planet could be mistaken a thousand light years distant for a gaseous nebula! Check your own home for all of the sources: watches, clocks, timers, microwave ovens, TV sets, all remotes, garage door units, radios, calculators, audio equipment, hearing aids, digital thermometers, talking bathroom scales, computers, digital tape recorders, alarm security systems, video games and on and on. All of these in your home times X? The atmosphere is literally saturated with it, and if seen with the right equipment, your home quite literally glows in the dark right now. Making this even worse, where are we getting rid of all of those zillion dead batteries? Technology is a wonderful thing, but it can, and will, if we are not very very careful, be the death of life on this planet! (Duane W8DBF Fischer, ibid.) I suspect that you are still hearing switching power supply noise. So far as I know the return signal from cable modems is in the HF to low vhf range and not in the medium or LF area. My cable modem sends to the headend on about 31 MHz. There is no interference from the modem on 10 or 6 meters. That doesn`t mean that you are not receiving interference from the newly installed cable. The ``grounded`` outer can radiate quite well as you point out. Several years ago I returned a television (refurbished) to the dealer. When the set was connected to the CATV cable there was a bright spark to the grounded cable outer. The set ``played`` okay. About this time I noticed that the AM band was wiped out whenever I neared home. I confirmed this set was radiating loudly all across the AM band. When I returned the then 3 day old set I tried to explain the problem twice and got blank looks. I then changed the explanation to the ``#@%$!!! thing shocked me! I hope no one bought that set before it went through the shop again. When this set was not connected to the CATV cable there was no noise. Computers with power supplies where the RFI suppression parts are omitted will also interfere greatly. I`ve got a supply with no ferrite filters or bypass caps. The board is silk-screened for the parts but they have been replaced with wire jumpers. This supply now has a CorCom filter so I can live with it. Even the clocks in the VCR`s will radiate and make AM radios buzz. I certainly don`t have a solution for this kind of noise except for the devices I control. The on/off switch! Pat wa4tuk (Patrick A. Thompson, Sr., ibid.) Who wants to work just six and ten meters? My favorite SW band is 31 meters. What is so awful about a dial up connection anyhow? How fast do you want to download a virus and spam anyway? Personally I am tired of this `hurry up` and `it`s too slow` society of ours. We used to manage just fine being slower, we did not even have road rage or pornography pumped into our homes daily. If you wanted it, you bought the Hustler magazine! How many people do you know who use their computer and modem to pass joke files and other trite nonsense back and forth? Very few do anything of actual value with it. Just more of an invasion of privacy and another way to control us with technology (Fischer, ibid.) I should have stated it more clearly. I don`t get any interference from the cable modem. It wouldn`t be allowed to stay on the premises if it wasn`t clean. I can hear the 31 MHz up stream frequency but only in the room with the modem and only at 31 MHz and only several kHz wide. I DO get interference from a myriad of digital devices; but the absolute worse is cheaply made switching supplies. I work 160 meters through 3/4 meters and listen all in between! I do hear signals leaking from the CATV system but these are the 50 MHz and higher downstream regular TV feeds etc. My point was that the switching hash is not the cable companies fault but originates with the subscribers poorly made equipment. Consumer equipment needs stricter emissions testing and improved immunity to RF ingress. My preference would be for the cable and DSL folks to make 2 MHz to 80 MHz BPL economically unviable and DOA. Off subject...you could use the bandwidth to download the perpetual Microsoft patches! (Pat wa4tuk, ibid.) Problem is, I can`t walk around the neighborhood and turn off all the On/Off switches. Even if I did turn them off, ``most`` of these things are NEVER really turned off and are only off if you unplug them or pull the main breaker panel. That blasted switching power supply is still polluting the spectrum. 73 from the ``Beaconeers Lair``. (Phil, KO6BB, ibid.) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ FCC`S CHEERLEADER DOES BPL CARTWHEELS FCC Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy spoke before the United Powerline Council Annual Conference on September 23, 2003. If you get the impression the FCC considers BPL a done deal, you are correct. Ignoring the thousands of comments filed by opponents to PBL, she gushed the following speech in support: [I believe we either ran it or linked to it over a month ago -- gh] Editorial comment: Note that Commissioner Abernathy made not even one cautionary comment about the potential for interference to or from existing radio services. In the mad dash to free up BPL from any regulation this Commissioner apparently has her head in the sand. Is it fair to investors in this new technology to not point out the serious business risks associated with a technology that will likely be delayed and hopefully trashed because of its serious technical flaws? I think not. In that regard the FCC, through its blind advocacy of a flawed technology, is doing a disservice to the folks who are putting their money into these fledgling BPL companies. NASWA is working behind the scenes with other opponents of BPL. We will continue to do that until either BPL is trashed or BPL trashes shortwave radio. I will bring you news of this continuing effort in future months. Until next time, stay tuned (Joe Buch, Technical Topics, Nov NASWA Journal via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ SOLAR FLARES AND SUNSPOTS There are others who are much more knowledgeable than I am on this, but my understanding is that sun spots are storms in the sun's magnetic field. The solar weather follows an 11-year cycle of peaks and valleys (we're currently a couple years into the downslope to a valley). When solar storms or sun spots are present, the sun's magnetic field is stirred up, increasing the likelihood of flares. A flare is like a magnetic bubble that pops with enough strength to eject particles from the sun's gravitational pull and hurl them into space. The term CME means Coronal Mass Ejection - meaning simply a blast of "sun stuff" thrown into space. When the sun spots are on the side of the sun facing us, it is more likely that the "sun stuff" will be hurled at us. Think of a cannon pointed at us. When the cannon goes off, if the smoke makes a complete halo around the muzzle (from your perspective), you have a pretty good idea that the shot was aimed at you. Similarly, if the blast of solar particles causes a complete halo around the sun (a "full-halo CME") it means the blast is pointed directly at the Earth. What's happening now is that there a big mother of a storm on our side of the sun, and it's acting stirring the sun's corona like a Cuisinart. So there is still time for more stuff to get thrown our way. Now, my understanding is that when a flare happens, we first get hit with electromagnetic energy - light, RF, X-rays, etc. These travel at the speed of light and they cause a burst of ionization in the atmosphere. But it's not until the wave of charged particles - the actual coronal matter - hits us that things really get interesting. Apologies for any errors, over-simplifications or incorrect metaphors. I'm looking forward to reading the posts from members who actually know about this stuff :-) (Rick Kenneally, CT, NRC-AM via DXLD) QST DE W1AW: PROPAGATION FORECAST BULLETIN 44 ARLP044 From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA October 31, 2003 To all radio amateurs Solar excitement continued this week. As this bulletin is being written Thursday night, an extreme geomagnetic storm is in progress. The mid latitude K index has been as high as 9, and severe space weather is predicted for the short term. Average daily sunspot numbers more than doubled this week to 201.4. Average daily solar flux was nearly double the previous week at 249. Average daily sunspot numbers for the week as reported in this bulletin have not been this high since the week of November 7-13, 2002, when it was 205.4. For solar flux, we go back to the week of January 24-30, 2002 when the average daily solar flux was 249.6. On Friday, October 24, a coronal mass ejection swept by earth around 1500z. The planetary K index went as high as 7, and aurora borealis was seen as far as the southern United States. On Sunday, October 26 an X-class solar flare at 0650z was followed by another one twelve hours later at 1850z. On October 28 one of the most powerful solar flares seen in many years hurled a cloud of particles traveling 5,000,000 miles per hour toward earth. This triggered an S-3 class solar radiation storm, and the next day the planetary A index shot up to 189, and mid-latitude A index was 199. On that day, October 29, an intense geomagnetic storm raged in response to a coronal mass ejection that hit earth around 0630z. Another powerful coronal mass ejection hit earth on October 30. Check the web site, http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solar_flare_031028.html for a news article on the major flares and resulting storms. This weekend is the ARRL November CW Sweepstakes. Conditions could be good if the geomagnetic disturbances cool down. Currently the predicted planetary A index for Friday through Monday, October 31 through November 3 is 100, 30, 15 and 15. The latest solar flux forecast for those same days is 265, 260, 255 and 255. Peter Greene, N2LVI wrote to inquire about when a solar cycle starts and ends. It isn`t easy to determine, and usually is some time after the peak or the minimum that we can say when it was, because in order to smooth out the solar cycle so that the peak can be seen, a running average must be run. In addition, a change of sunspot cycles means the polarity of the sunspots change, and spots from both the old and new cycles coexist. A good explanation for this is on this page: http://www.sunspot.noao.edu/PR/answerbook/sunspots.html#q94 Peter also sent us a link to http://www.qsl.net/w2vtm/hf_solar.html where he put up a graphic look at HF propagation and solar indices. One of our readers has been taking photos of the sun. Jake, N0LX sent along a link to http://hometown.aol.com/n0lx/sun102403.html showing his photos. In closing, if the geomagnetic storms calm we could be in for some fantastic conditions, assuming the sunspot numbers stay high. Finally, a couple of graphs show the recent activity here, http://www.dxlc.com/solar/ and here: http://www.wm7d.net/hamradio/solar/index.shtml For more information about propagation and an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see the Propagation page on the ARRL Web site at http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html Sunspot numbers for October 23 through 29 were 122, 160, 139, 191, 238, 230 and 330, with a mean of 201.4. 10.7 cm flux was 209.3, 190.6, 221.5, 298.3, 257.2, 274.4 and 291.7, with a mean of 249. Estimated planetary A indices were 7, 34, 14, 10, 15, 20 and 189, with a mean of 41.3. Copyright © 2003, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also HAWAII AURORAL PROPAGATION LAST NIGHT IN FLORIDA Propagation was very interesting last night in west central Florida. On the LF AM broadcast band all of the dependable European stations like France on 162 kc, etc. were not to be found, night before last same thing. This is a normal occurrence with an extreme Kp-9 geomagnetic storm. The longwave stations normally waveguide off of the bottom of the D layer at night but during a big geomagnetic storm electrons precipitate down to the D layer and create absorption of LF signals. On the MF AM broadcast band my normal night time regional stations from the north came in at times but then would abruptly disappear in favor of Central and South American stations. Stations from the north would skew in from the NE-E instead of the north and Central and South Americans would skew in from the SW-W instead of from the south. At times it all seemed to swirl around from every direction of the compass with a Doppler type of shifting sound, as the E layer varied from refraction to scattering to absorption. Also a normal occurrence as the radio Aurora is at E layer height. The 90, 75 and 60 meter HF broadcast band stations from Europe and Africa did not fade in from the east two hours before local sunset here as is normal. Because of high background x-ray flux levels fade in was a little "after" local sunset. Also Aurora E layer scattering, back scattering and Doppler shifting was noted on all HF stations that were able to propagate in. I'm disappointed though that I was not able to see any visible Aurora here in central Florida this time. Last night the Bz swung way north nixing any visible Aurora at my magnetic latitude of 38 deg. N. Night before last when the Bz was -50 clouds got into the way. By the way I think the CME of last night arrived even faster then the one before. Solar wind was cooking at 1200+ kms! To put recent events into perspective we had 60 consecutive hours of geomagnetic storming in the past 3 days. Also in the past 14 days 7 X class flares, 45 M class flares and 92 C class flares. Also 3 elevated energetic proton events and so many CME's that I lost count. We also saw the largest daily solar flux level of cycle 23 at 318, previous high was 294 in March 2001. The X17+ solar flare was the second largest of this solar cycle and third largest ever, the X11+ the third largest of this solar cycle. 73, (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF, Plant City, FL, USA, Oct 31, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ONLINE HF PROPAGATION PREDICTION Serge Stroobandt, ON4BAA, is heavily promoting his new page in the amateur radio community. I don`t recognize original material within the site, but the organization and presentation is different than I have seen elsewhere. The pros and cons of this site are the same: everything is on one page. Nice to access, but slow to load, depending upon the Web access. Tune to http://www.stroobandt.com/propagation and have a look (Tom Sundstrom, Net Notes, Nov NASWA Journal via DXLD) ###