DX LISTENING DIGEST 3-223, December 12, 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 http://www.w4uvh.net/dxldtd3k.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 1211: Sat 0000 on Studio X, Milano, 1584, 1566 Sat 0430 on SIU Edwardsville Web Radio Sat 0900 on WRN to Europe, Africa, Asia, Australasia, webcast Sat 0955 on WNQM, Nashville, 1300 Sat 1130 on WWCR 5070 Sat 1900 on IBC Radio webcast [see below] Sat 1930 on WPKN Bridgeport, 89.5, webcast Sun 0130 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB [NEW] Sun 0330 on WWCR 5070 Sun 0530 on WRN to Europe only, webcast Sun 0730 on WWCR 3210 Sun 0845 on Ozone Radio, Ireland, 6201v, time variable Sun 1500 on WRN to North America, webcast Sun 1600 on IBC Radio, webcast Sun 2000 on Studio X, Milano, 1566, 1584 . . . 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 1211 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1211h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1211h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1211.html WORLD OF RADIO 1211 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1211.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1211.rm WORLD OF RADIO ON IBC RADIO if not WRMI: Daryn, sorry to hear from Jeff White that you are suspending broadcasts via WRMI. Can you confirm that? Thanks for having made WOR available that way (or trying to). In order to keep my schedule accurate, I wonder if you plan to continue with the webcast, including WOR at the previously scheduled times? Regards, Glenn (to Daryn Fleming, IBC Radio) Hi Glenn: Yes, it is confirmed. We will take a look at shortwave again after the first of the year. The schedule will remain as is. I appreciate your coverage of us and giving us permission to broadcast your excellent program. I will keep you informed of our activities. Regards, (Daryn Fleming, IBC Radio, Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I take this to mean they will keep webcasting, with WOR now scheduled Sat 1900+ and Sun 1600+ UT. Audio links are here: http://www.ibcradio.com/CMN.htm IBC also relays a number of international stations as well as its own programming STOCK TALK LIVE and some domestic shows from other networks, such as Dreamland; schedule, subject to considerable variation: http://www.ibcradio.com/radioschedule.htm (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS Glenn, Here's my $60 donation for 2004 towards support of World of Radio. This is the amount I would pay if WoR was a subscription-based publication. Urge the notoriously parsimonious SWL/DX community to ante up this amount --- or at least $30 (just $2.50 a month!!). 73, (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV) I enjoy your SW column greatly in MONITORING TIMES (David Weronka, Benson NC) ** ARGENTINA. 15820.00, 101 FM, Buenos Aires 11/Dic/2003 - 0300 UTC. Quito 11/Dic/2003 23:32 Amigos DXistas! For the last hour I have been listening to a local FM station in Buenos Aires, some fading but good signal and high sound quality. 0300 UTC news and ID for "101 FM" and "Canal 23". After the news ads and a program called, I think, "Amantes en la noche" with fine LA music. I should like to know from Arnaldo Slaen, Buenos Aires in "Conexión Digital" if "101 FM" has been on this frequency before? I know that other stations in Argentina have used the frequency. Is still on air when I´m sending this information. You can later on listen to the recording at SWB: http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/ (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SWB América Latina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Radio National summer schedules --- Hi Glenn, Here's the link to Radio National's pages about their summer scheduling, including week-by-week skeds and other programme information: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/summer/summer2003/default.htm (Bill Westenhaver, QC, Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Much of which is relayed by R. Australia, not necessarily at the same times (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. R. Cultura Ondas Tropicais, 4845.23, Dec 7, *1006-1025+, sign-on at approximately 1006 with NA, opening announcements with IDs, Portuguese talk; very good (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Today Friday, Dec 12, 2003 I heard the new unID music station from China(?) on Medium Wave 1422 kHz from tune in around 0045 UTC (6.15 am local time). Signals were fair but faded out soon after our local sunrise which is 0106 UT. I could not hear that station on any SW freq at this time. Hope observation will help to track down this station (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, ATOJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) At Kashi-Kashgar location the Chinese erecting also a new powerful CRI external service station of 600 kW at present, on mediumwave 1197, 1422 or 1539 kHz. Jose, please try all these three mediumwave channels. See also ITU website: http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/publications/brific-ter/index.html Click to: "GE75_110" in the file list. And see three entries under KASHI. EMRP Maximum radiation is 37.7 dB(kW) on all three channels. Azimuth of maximum radiation is 140 and 320 degrees (Wolfgang Büschel, referring to previous info from Bernd Trutenau, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 2740.01 (2 x 1370) (presumed), HJXX, Radio Mundial, Bogotá, Dec 12, 0923-1050, as reported by Adán González [Venezuela], female preacher to 0935, short tune and announcements into a couple vocal ballads, 0945 announcement into talk, 0959 announcement into music at 1000, solid S-7 signal all morning but audio was pretty weak (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 degrees "VT-DX" http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 2200.08 (2 x 1100), HJMK, Emisora Ideal, Planeta Rica, Dec 12, 1052-1103, announcer with talk // 3300.12, 1058 anthem, ad block, 1103 ID "...Emisora Ideal..." fair to good signal. 3300.12, (3 x 1100), HJMK, Emisora Ideal, Planeta Rica, Dec 12, 1048- 1103, // 2200.08 but weaker (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V- Beam 140m at 180 degrees "VT-DX" http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) Following probably the same, not TGN (gh, DXLD) UNID. 3300.2, Hearing a station Dec 12 at 1055 UT tune-in on this frequency. Already seems like I missed the peak signal by this time. Possibly a return of Radio Cultural? Did not stay on frequency (John Sgrulletta, NY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CUBA. 2380.00 (2 x 1190) (presumed), CMHT Radio Sancti Spíritus, Dec 12, 1010-1031, as reported by Terry Krueger, still no ID up here, soft ballads with female announcer in between. Fair signal. CUBA? 2580.00 (2 x 1290), Unidentified, Dec 12, 1105-1115, male and female announcer team apparently reading news items, low "ominous" note played under some items (for dramatic effect I presume), mention of "...en Santa Clara...", weak with occasional fair peaks, possibly CMHW Rancho Veloz which was logged here last year (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 degrees "VT-DX" http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. UNIDENTIFIED. 4773.69, 11 December, 1120-1135. Two men in prolonged telephone interview of a political nature, "...trabajo ....el presidente ....Santa Fe....en todos millxxxx de Perú[?]" 1130 music bridge followed by young woman ".... América Latina en radio xxx" male announcer" en la Radio xxxx telephone xxxx cinco internacional ...bolivar...... la comercial ...metros...en la ciudad [Tena?] ....Radio [vent te cent]. Buenos dias...centenario desparado[?]...." Radio [vent te cent] is three syllable word with the accent on the middle syllable. Possibly? Centinela del Sur, Loja except for many ments de Perú and garbled ID. Very close to the Ecuador frequency several days ago (Bob Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, "Una nueva provincia de Perú", DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later:] Ecuador, 4773.60, 2305 Dec 11, clear mention of "provincia de Loja" good signal, 2315, much better signal than 1100. Booming in (Bob Wilkner, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Björn, Did you have R Centinela del Sur, Loja on 4773.60 around 2305-45. R Centinela seems off now but were there 1120-35 with confusing ID. Played the tape recording back many times and never got the ID. It is fine to have this Ecuadorian station back on the air. (Bob Wilkner, via Malm, DXLD) Hello Robert! Yes, Centinela del Sur, Loja have moved up a little bit so I´m 99.99% sure you have heard the Loja station, irregular off some days. 73s from (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Bob, I tuned to 4773.6 at 0006 UTC and heard music being played. The station signed off just after I tuned in at around 0008 UTC. No ID was heard. 73s- (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. R. El Buen Pastor, Saraguro, 4814.99, Dec 7, *1010-1100+, variety of LA pops, HC music, Spanish ballads and some rustic vocals; very little talk. PRESUMED. Fair (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. Radio Non Grata forced off the air --- 10 December 2003 http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8774 Reporters Without Borders has been forced to suspend broadcasting of Radio Non Grata [95.8 MHz], the pirate radio station it launched to protest against a UN ban on its participating in the World Summit on the Information Society and to denounce the violations of free expression committed by many of the governments attending the summit. Further info at http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=8773 (via Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, DXLD) ** GEORGIA. Re: R Khara Correxion --- please notice that Georgia has to be noticed instead of Khara in the previous log. Thanks to Anker Petersen for this correction and about the languages used : 1515-1545 Armenian (could not think they are so close to Russian) 1600-1630 Azeri -- R. Khara has been noticed today on 4540 with program in Russian or Georgian till 1545 and in Azeri 1600 till 1628. A vacant carrier for the time 1545-1600. My tune in on 1535 with news with references to Turkey, R. Almaty, Kazakh language, Christians and Ukraine. A song follows, then national hymn was heard. Tape or cassette player was faulty! 1600 with IS, talks by OM, severe QRN (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As usual, I am more confused than every about what you really mean. Is the language until 1545 Armenian, Russian, Kazakh or Georgian? (gh) ** GERMANY. B-03 schedule for Deutsche Telekom T-Systems as of Dec 10: Daily, u.o.s. with kW / azimuth degrees Hrvatska Radio/Voice of Croatia: 0000-0400 7285 JUL 100 / 300 NoAmEa Croatian/En/Sp 0200-0600 7285 JUL 100 / 325 NoAmWe Croatian/En/Sp 0500-0800 9470 JUL 100 / 230 NZ Croatian/En/Sp 0600-1000 9470 JUL 100 / 270 AUS Croatian/En/Sp 2300-0400 7285 JUL 100 / 230 SoAm Croatian/En/Sp Athmee Yatra He/Gospel For Asia (GFA): 0030-0130 9495 WER 250 / 090 SoEaAs So As languages 1430-1530 13650 WER 250 / 075 SoEaAs So As languages 1530-1630 13790 WER 250 / 090 SoEaAs So As languages 2300-0030 9765 WER 250 / 075 SoEaAs So As languages Voice of Russia: 0200-0300 5995 JUL 100 / 100 ME English WS 0300-0400 5995 JUL 100 / 100 ME Russian WS 1500-1600 9555 JUL 100 / 115 Eu Russ Int Radio 2000-2200 5965 JUL 100 / 105 ME Russ Int Radio 2000-2200 5975 JUL 100 / 110 ME Russ Int Radio 2100-2200 5990 JUL 100 / 115 ME Russ Int Radio 2300-2400 6175 JUL 100 / 100 ME Arabic United Methodist Church/Radio Africa International: 0400-0600 9815 JUL 100 / 160 NoAf French 0600-0800 11690 JUL 100 / 190 NoAf French 1700-1900 11735 JUL 100 / 160 NoAf English 1700-1900 13820 JUL 100 / 145 EaAf English IBRA Radio: 0500-0530 9710 JUL 100 / 115 ME Arabic 1730-1800 9660 WER 125 / 135 EaAf Somali 1730-1830 9520 JUL 100 / 145 EaAf Swahili 1830-1845 9520 JUL 100 / 145 EaAf English 1900-2000 9495 JUL 100 / 190 WeAf Hausa 2000-2100 7260 JUL 100 / 175 NoAf Arabic Swiss Radio International: 0600-0800 9885 JUL 100 / 160 NoEaAf Fr/Ge/It/En 0600-0800 13790 JUL 100 / 200 NoEaAf Fr/Ge/It/En 1630-1815 9755 JUL 100 / 115 NoEaAf It/Ar/En/Fr 1630-1815 11810 JUL 100 / 115 NoEaAf It/Ar/En/Fr 1830-2130 9820 JUL 100 / 200 NoEaAf It/Ar/En/Ge/Fr 1830-2130 13660 JUL 100 / 145 NoEaAf It/Ar/En/Ge/Fr Deutsche Welle: 0600-1000 6140 JUL 100 / 175 Eu English 1000-1200 6140 JUL 040 / 120 Eu English/DRMtest 1200-1300 6140 JUL 040 / 120 Eu German/DRMtest 1300-1600 6140 JUL 100 / 175 Eu English 1600-1800 6140 JUL 040 / n-d Eu English/DRMtest 1800-1900 6140 JUL 040 / n-d Eu German/DRMtest Deutsche Telekom T-Systems: 1305-1455 5975 JUL 040 / 290 WeEu German/DRMtest Voice of Hope/High Adventure Ministries: 1330-1430 9585 JUL 100 / 070 Vietnam Vietnamese Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty: 1500-1600 11885 JUL 100 / 075 CeAs Russian 1600-1700 6180 JUL 100 / 070 CeAs Tatar Bashkir 1600-1700 7105 JUL 100 / 090 CeAs Georgian 1800-1900 9840 JUL 100 / 080 CeAs Ru/Av/Chec/Cher WYFR/Family Radio: 1700-1800 13720 JUL 100 / 175 NoAf Arabic 2000-2100 9595 JUL 100 / 115 ME Arabic 2000-2100 11735 JUL 100 / 190 WeAf French Voice of America: 1700-1800 12110 JUL 100 / 100 ME Persian 1800-1900 9495 JUL 100 / 100 ME Persian 1900-2000 9600 JUL 100 / 100 ME Turkish 1900-2000 12110 JUL 100 / 100 ME Persian HCJB - Voice of Andes 1800-1900 6015 WER 125 / n-d WeEu German Radio Taiwan International: 2100-2200 6120 JUL 100 / 215 SoEu Spanish Democratic Voice of Burma: 2330-0030 5945 JUL 100 / 080 SoEaAs Burmese Bible Voice Broadcasting Network/BVBN/: 0030-0130 9495 WER 250 / 090 SoAs Hindi 1530-1600 9705 JUL 100 / 090 Mon/Wed-Sat SoAs English 1530-1615 9705 JUL 100 / 090 Tue SoAs Urdu 1530-1600 9705 JUL 100 / 090 Sun SoAs Hindi 0845-1015 17565 JUL 100 / 130 Fri ME Arabic 1515-1800 9860 JUL 100 / 115 Sat/Sun ME English 1545-1615 9860 JUL 100 / 115 Mon/Tue/Fri ME English 1615-1630 9860 JUL 100 / 115 Tue ME Hebrew 1630-1700 9860 JUL 100 / 115 Tue ME English 1700-1715 9860 JUL 100 / 115 Tue ME Russian 1545-1800 9860 JUL 100 / 115 Wed ME English 1545-1645 9860 JUL 100 / 115 Thu ME English 1700-1730 9860 JUL 100 / 115 Fri ME Tagalog 1730-1800 9860 JUL 100 / 115 Fri ME English 1615-1730 11650 NAU 125 / 125 Mon-Fri ME Arabic 1700-1800 11650 NAU 125 / 125 Sat/Sun ME English 1800-1815 7210 JUL 100 / 100 Sat ME English 1815-1900 7210 JUL 100 / 100 Sat ME Persian 1800-1900 7210 JUL 100 / 100 Sun ME Persian 1900-1930 9470 WER 250 / 120 Thu ME Arabic 1900-2000 9470 WER 250 / 120 Fri ME English 1900-2015 9470 WER 250 / 120 Sat/Sun ME English 1630-1700 13810 JUL 100 / 130 Fri-Sun/Tue EaAf Amharic 1630-1730 13810 JUL 100 / 130 Mon/Wed/Thu EaAf Amharic 1700-1730 13810 JUL 100 / 130 Tue EaAf Tigrina 1900-1915 7295 JUL 100 / 170 Mon-Thu CeAf English 1900-1930 7295 JUL 100 / 170 Fri/Sun CeAf English 1900-2000 7295 JUL 100 / 170 Sat CeAf English 0815-0845 5975 JUL 100 / 290 Wed-Fri WeEu English 0800-0915 5975 JUL 100 / 290 Sat/Sun WeEu English 1915-1930 6015 JUL 100 / 060 Mon/Wed-Fri EaEu Russian 1930-1945 6015 JUL 100 / 060 Mon/Wed-Fri EaEu English 1900-1945 6015 JUL 100 / 060 Tue EaEu English 1900-1945 6015 JUL 100 / 060 Sat EaEu Russian 1945-2000 6015 JUL 100 / 060 Sat EaEu English 1900-1930 6015 JUL 100 / 060 Sun EaEu English 1930-2000 6015 JUL 100 / 060 Sun EaEu Russian 2000-2030 6015 JUL 100 / 060 Sun EaEu English Pan American Broadcasting: 0045-0100 9435 JUL 100 / 090 Sun SoAs English 0130-0145 9495 JUL 100 / 090 Sun SoAs English 1400-1430 13605 JUL 100 / 100 Sat ME English 1430-1500 13605 JUL 100 / 100 Sat ME English 1400-1445 13605 JUL 100 / 100 Sun ME Arabic 1445-1500 13605 JUL 100 / 100 Sun ME English 1500-1515 12015 JUL 100 / 115 Wed ME English 1500-1600 12015 JUL 100 / 100 Sun ME English Universal Life/Universelles Leben: 0100-0130 9435 JUL 100 / 090 Sun SoAs English 1200-1300 6015 WER 125 / n-d Sun WeEu German 1600-1630 9495 JUL 100 / 175 Sun NoAf French 1730-1800 6015 WER 125 / n-d Tue/Wed/Thu WeEu German 1800-1830 11840 JUL 100 / 160 Sun EaAf English 1900-1930 7105 JUL 100 / 115 Sun ME English Brother Stair/TOM: 0400-0500 9770 JUL 100 / 240 NZ English 1100-1200 6110 JUL 100 / n-d 2nd Sun WeEu English 1300-1600 6110 JUL 100 / n-d WeEu English 1300-1600 13810 JUL 100 / 115 ME English 1400-1600 21590 JUL 100 / 260 SoAm English 2000-2100 9755 JUL 100 / 160 SoAf English RTBF: 0400-0600 9490 JUL 100 / 160 Mon-Fri Af French 0530-0600 9490 JUL 100 / 160 Sat/Sun Af French 0600-0810 17580 JUL 100 / 160 Mon-Fri Af French 0600-0905 17580 JUL 100 / 160 Sun Af French 0600-1100 17580 JUL 100 / 160 Sat Af French 1100-1215 21565 JUL 100 / 160 Sat Af French 1100-1305 21565 JUL 100 / 160 Mon-Fri Af French 1200-1215 21565 JUL 100 / 160 Sun Af French 1600-1815 17570 JUL 100 / 160 Sun-Fri Af French 1700-1830 17570 JUL 100 / 160 Sat Af French TWR/Trans World Radio: 0600-0615 7315 JUL 100 / 100 Mon-Fri CeEu Slovak 0930-0945 7315 JUL 100 / 100 Tue-Sat CeEu Hungarian 1130-1200 7340 JUL 100 / 105 Sat CeEu Slovak 1330-1345 5945 JUL 100 / 130 Mon-Wed/Fri/Sat EaEu Croatian 1330-1345 5945 JUL 100 / 130 Thu/Sun EaEu Slovenian 1700-1730 6170 JUL 100 / 105 Sat EaEu Romanian 1700-1730 7180 JUL 100 / 100 Sat EaEu Romanian 1730-1800 6170 JUL 100 / 105 CeEu Hungarian AWR/Adventist World Radio: 0600-0630 9840 JUL 100 / 200 NoAf Arabic 0630-0700 9840 JUL 100 / 200 Mon-Wed NoAf English 0630-0700 9840 JUL 100 / 200 Thu/Sun NoAf Kabyle 0630-0700 9840 JUL 100 / 200 Fri/Sat NoAf Tachelhit 0700-0730 9840 JUL 100 / 200 NoAf French 1900-1930 11845 JUL 100 / 200 NoAf Arabic 1930-2000 11845 JUL 100 / 200 Mon-Wed NoAf English 1930-2000 11845 JUL 100 / 200 Thu/Sun NoAf Kabyle 1930-2000 11845 JUL 100 / 200 Fri/Sat NoAf Tachelhit 2000-2030 11845 JUL 100 / 200 NoAf French 0500-0600 6095 JUL 100 / 100 EaEu Bulgarian 1730-1800 5945 JUL 100 / 115 EaEu Romanian 1800-1900 9510 JUL 100 / 115 EaEu Bulgarian 1000-1100 11730 JUL 100 / 145 Sat/Sun SoEu Italian VRT/Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal: 0600-0755 5965 JUL 100 / 130 Mon-Fri Eu Dutch 0600-0755 5965 JUL 100 / n-d Sat/Sun Eu Dutch 0800-0825 5965 JUL 100 / n-d Eu English 1830-1855 5910 JUL 100 / 130 EaEu/ME English 1900-1955 5910 JUL 100 / 130 EaEu/ME Dutch 1900-2055 5985 JUL 100 / n-d Sat Eu Dutch Voice of Democratic Path of Ethiopian Unity: 0700-0800 17655 JUL 100 / 145 Sun EaAf Amharic 1830-1930 7220 JUL 100 / 140 Wed EaAf Amharic WSHB/Christian Science Monitor: 1000-1100 5985 JUL 100 / 115 Sun Eu German Radio Rainbow/Kestedamena Radio: 0900-1000 6180 JUL 100 / n-d Sat(not active!)WeEu Amharic 1900-2000 11840 JUL 100 / 140 Fri EaAf Amharic Evangeliumsradio Hamburg: 1000-1100 6045 JUL 100 / n-d Sun CeEu German 1100-1200 6045 JUL 100 / n-d 1st Sun CeEu German Evangelische Missions: 1100-1130 15225 WER 500 / 030 Sat EaEu Russian 1130-1200 6015 WER 125 / n-d Sat CeEu German 1130-1200 6015 WER 125 / n-d Sun CeEu German 1500-1530 9635 WER 500 / 060 Sat EaEu Russian 2200-2230 9860 WER 250 / 240 Wed SoAm German Radio Rhino International Africa: 1500-1530 17870 JUL 100 / 145 Tue-Fri EaAf English 1500-1600 17870 JUL 100 / 145 Sat/Sun EaAf English Voice of Democratic Eritrea: 1500-1530 5925 JUL 100 / n-d Sat WeEu Tigrina 1530-1600 5925 JUL 100 / n-d Sat WeEu Arabic 1700-1730 9820 JUL 100 / 140 Mon/Thu EaAf Tigrina 1730-1800 9820 JUL 100 / 140 Mon/Thu EaAf Arabic Voice of Ethiopian Salvation: 1600-1700 9820 JUL 100 / 140 Thu/Sun EaAf Amharic Radio Huriyo: 1630-1700 9820 JUL 100 / 140 Tue/Fri EaAf Somali Voice of Oromo Liberation (Sagalee Bilisummaa Oromoo): 1700-1730 9820 JUL 100 / 145 Tue/Wed/Fri/Sun EaAf Oromo 1730-1800 9820 JUL 100 / 145 Tue/Wed/Fri/Sun EaAf Amharic Radio Reveil Paroles de Vie: 1830-1900 11840 JUL 100 / 160 Thu Af French (Observer, Bulgaria, Dec 12 via DXLD) ** GUAM [and non]. Guam, AFRTS Daytime 13362kHz USB Nighttime 5765.0kHz USB I am listening to 5765.0 kHz at 1000Z. MT Shortwave Guide, page 44 USA, AFRTS/ Armed Forces Radio Stations are world-wide so IT IS a bit misleading to title it USA, AFRTS-- all stations are broadcast from a U.S. Navy base. Source is headquarters AFRTS, March Field, CA. 5765.0 kHz not listed in the 11 channels. Each station has a Daytime and Night time channel, broadcasting dual channels not always used (Charlie, MSG USNS BOWDITCH, Dec 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. R. K`ekchí, Alta Verapaz, 4644.98, Dec 6, 1105-1115+, religious Xmas music, talk in in Spanish and local language, ID; poor in noise (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. 3324.79, Radio Maya, Dec 9, 0329-0333, Vernacular talk, 0331, short tune followed by "...Radio Maya..." ID, off abruptly in mid-sentence at 0333. Fair to poor signal (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 degrees "VT-DX" http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) Was inactive? ** HAITI. HAITIAN STUDENTS PROTESTS ARISTIDE; STATIONS HALT BROADCASTS OVER THREATS - By MICHAEL NORTON The Associated Press 12/11/03 9:16 PM PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) -- Police fired tear gas and warning shots Thursday at thousands of students calling for President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's ouster, as four private radio stations shut down because government supporters called in death threats. After Radio Caraibes was the target of a drive-by shooting and death threats, it and three other stations -- Radio Metropole, Vision 2000 and Radio Kiskeya -- suspended broadcasts. Station owners said Aristide thugs have vowed to attack. The threats came as thousands of university students poured into the streets, one of the largest anti-government demonstrations in a country where student protests toppled two previous governments. At least eight students were wounded in Thursday's demonstration. A bystander was shot and killed in a separate protest in the town of Gonaives on Haiti's west coast. "The government wants to put an end to freedom of press in Haiti," said Lylianne Pierre-Paul, co-owner of Radio Kiskeya. "They blame the media for reporting what is happening." Since Haiti's most prominent journalist, Jean Dominique, was murdered in April 2000 outside his radio station, at least one other journalist has been killed and several have fled the country. The government says the recent surge in protests are meant to spoil celebrations for Haiti's bicentennial on Jan. 1 and are intended to overthrow the country's first freely elected leader. Despite calls by opponents to step down, Aristide says he will serve out his term, which ends in 2006. The former priest was deposed in a military coup in 1991 and restored by a U.S. invasion three years later. He stepped down in 1996 due to a ban on consecutive four-year terms and was re-elected in a landslide in 2000. But his popularity has waned as the Caribbean nation sinks deeper into despair. Most of Haiti's 8 million residents are jobless and live on less than $1 a day in a country with bleak economic prospects. "Aristide has mismanaged the country," said Pierre Joseph, a 22-year-old student from the University of Haiti. "Every sector of the country is suffering and saying we've had enough!" Two university students were shot Thursday as they fled police firing tear gas and warning shots. It was unclear who shot the students. The demonstrations came a day after Haiti's Education Minister Marie-Carmel Paule Austin resigned, saying she was "horrified" over a recent attack on university students. Government spokesman Mario Dupuy claimed she left the post because she was being investigated for misappropriation of funds. More than 24 people were injured last Friday at the university's Human Sciences College, when government supporters attacked about 100 students calling for Aristide's resignation. Aristide supporters ransacked university buildings and set fire to a nearby house. University Rector Pierre-Marie Pacquiot was hospitalized after Aristide partisans allegedly beat his legs with iron bars. At least six people were shot, including one Aristide supporter and five students. A government commission is investigating the incident. Student protests helped topple President Elie Lescot in 1946 and dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1986. "What has happened is unacceptable," said university professor Frantz Varella, who was Aristide's former Minister of Public Works. "These young people (students) aren't politicians. They are the intellectual elite of the future in revolt against the intolerable." Aristide's administration has been locked in a stalemate with the opposition since flawed 2000 legislative elections that the opposition charged were rigged. Since mid-September, clashes during anti- government protests have killed at least 17 people (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** INDIA. Tuned in 13710 at 1435 UT Dec 11. Intonation sounded like English, but extremely muffled and accent kept me guessing for several minutes; conversation between man and woman – yes, English, at most 10 percent intelligible. Ended at 1441 with announcer introducing another program, about Princess Lakshme, and suddenly intelligibility jumped to 95 percent. 1445 ID as GOS of AIR, music; 1455 news. Thus ended the sesquihour intended for SE Asia. Signal quite strong with moderate flutter. Doesn`t AIR listen to their own audio output? The initial segment was not of broadcast quality, and this proves it`s in the studio equipment, like worn out tape heads or tape not tracking properly, or lousy microphones (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Re DXLD 3-222, SIRIUS and the CBC: Glenn wondered: "This raises a lot of unanswered questions! Will the Canadian service be totally separate, from different satellites/ transponders than the US service? That takes care of two audio channels. How about the other 98 or so?" The press release says, "The CBC/Radio-Canada and SIRIUS venture will ensure that Canadians have the greatest possible access to a wide array of commercial-free music, information and entertainment services, as well as their national public broadcaster." I interpret that to mean the Canadian subscribers will receive the other channels also. I see plenty of program rights issues in this deal. Copyright license fees are now based on distribution within the USA for SIRIUS programs. If Canadian coverage is added, the copyright owners will want more money. Hopefully, the revenue from Canadian subscribers will more than cover this added cost. Likewise CBC Radio currently does not pay for broadcast rights in the USA but will likely have to pay something once this service starts. The unique "Molnyia Type" orbit of the existing Sirius satellites provides good look angles for the northern latitudes. (XM satellite orbits are much lower when seen from Canada and thus much more subject to shadowing by buildings and trees.) I believe the population of Canada could not be expected to economically justify added satellites or even added transponders but they should not be necessary. Each program stream uses code division multiplexed spread spectrum technology. If the existing transponders have at least 2% power margin in their link budgets, the two additional channels can be added without affecting the level of the other signals. All that is required is that each of the new services be assigned a unique code pattern to allow the receivers to pull the correct signal out of the jumble of pseudo noise generated by the existing signals. XM did that a while ago when they added a 101st channel for the Playboy Channel subscription tier. (Soft-core porn sans pictures -- the mind boggles, but I guess if phone sex works, there can be a market for audio porn. Talk about cell phones being distracting to drivers!) Glenn further asked, "Why does CBC get only two, the English and French first networks? CBC Radio Two is in far greater need of nationwide coverage than Radio One!" My guess is that SIRIUS will charge CBC for each channel relayed so it becomes a matter of economics. CBC Radio Two and the French equivalent air mostly classical and jazz music programs. Would the demand for these formats be sufficient to bring in enough additional customers to justify the added cost? Probably not, although I would personally enjoy having and paying something for these channels. Glenn further inquired, "Will Unitedstatesians not be able to get CBC via Sirius??" I interpret the following statement in the press release to confirm that listeners in the USA will be allowed and able to receive the CBC Radio One and La Première Chaîne, "As a result of CBC/Radio-Canada`s involvement, the new venture will also provide significant opportunities for existing and emerging Canadian artists to showcase their talent and be heard not only across Canada, but throughout North America as well." SIRIUS has already beaten XM when it comes to programming of the type I am interested in hearing. NPR, WRN, BBC News, and CNBC audio were enough to convince me that when I get ready to buy I will subscribe to SIRIUS. Addition of CBC R1 just puts icing on the cake and hastens my decision to sign up. Audiovox now sells a tuner that can be used in both the home and the car. In the interest of full disclosure, I own both SIRIUS and XM stock (Joe Buch, DE, Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Indeed it does (raise a lot of questions). There is much to do, not the least of which is the application to the CRTC which --- even if made right away --- will take months for that body to review. Hearings may be required under Canadian law and undoubtedly current regulations regarding Canadian content requirements will come into play in some form. In the interim, the parties also will have to sort out copyright issues. Their degree of success there likely will determine whether Radio One and Première Chaîne are simulcast intact to U.S. audiences or if a modified U.S. version of these networks will have to be crafted for this purpose. There are some news and entertainment streams on Sirius (BBC News, WRN, CNN, Fox, ABC, CNBC, ESPN, NHL and NBA game broadcast agreements come to mind immediately and there are others) that may pose a challenge both contractually and copyright-wise. The 60 music streams, however, are all produced in-house by Sirius and carry no advertising. While there may be some copyright issues involved there too, they would seem to be far simpler than the issues that might arise in carrying some of the news/entertainment streams to Canadians. The technology is no problem whatsoever. Sirius' satellite scheme, which places at least one of its three satellites near or over Manitoba at all times, should adequately cover at least the overwhelming majority of the land mass of Canada. The bottom line is that this plan would appear to be at least several months away from implementation (John Figliozzi, NY, Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. K6DUE OPERATING EVENT UNDER WAY The K6DUE International Space Station Commemorative Event from the International Space Station is finally under way. What`s described as a challenging schedule kept the crew from getting on the air November 29th and 30th, but the ISS ham station was active during a pass on Saturday, December 6th. We have more in this report: According to ARISS International Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, numerous hams across North America and Europe were able to contact with Astronaut Mike Foal, KB5UAC or heard the ISS ham radio station downlink. Those who did qualify for a special ISS Commemorative Certificate. Information on obtaining one is on-line at http://www.rac.ca/ariss KA3HDO also reports that the Phase 2 equipment setup has been completed and the gear activated at approximately 11:20 UTC on December 8th. The new radio is a Kenwood D 700 dual band transceiver. It appeared to operate flawlessly but the packet operation was turned off after Russian controllers requested that the crew power down the hardware while bilateral safety paperwork coordination is being completed. Bauer says that hopefully, this will be completed quickly and that the long awaited packet operation will be on the air once again. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Norm Seeley, KI7UP. The event commemorates the contributions of the late Roy Neal, K6DUE, to manned ham radio space operations and continues through the end of the month. (ARISS via Amateur Radio Newsline December 12 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. 6120, Voice of Justice; 0122-0138+, 7-Dec; Anti-Brit commentary on Iraq; "In the name of Allah... This is the Voice of Justice from the Islamic Republic of Iran". All in English. SIO=332+; LSB helps (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 1000 ft. NEish unterminated beverage & 65 ft. TTFD which bit the dust, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. IRAQ/IRAN: VOICE OF THE MOJAHED - PROFILE The Voice of the Mojahed has been broadcasting for much of the last 22 years. Until April 2003 the station was believed to be located in Iraq. Since the overthrow of the Saddam Husayn regime by US-led coalition forces in April 2003, during which the station temporarily ceased broadcasting, Voice of the Mojahed has continued to be observed on shortwave frequencies, via satellite and the Internet. First observed by BBC Monitoring in 1981, the Voice of the Mojahed (Seday-e Mojahed) advocates the overthrow of the government of Iran, which the radio describes as a "regime of Iranian clerics." Programmes are produced by the Iranian opposition Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO). This is the largest group committed to the overthrow of the Tehran government. Formed in 1965 to oppose the Shah of Iran, the movement has developed its own philosophy combining Marxism and Islam, and advocates a secular government for Iran. The group reportedly broadcast as "Patriotic Radio" via Libyan transmitters in the 1970s with programming aimed against the Shah, and the Voice of the Mojahed originally broadcast from the transmitters of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kordestan radio station. In 1993 the MKO was subordinated to the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCR). In 1997 the MKO, and in 1999 the NCR, were both classified as "terrorist" organizations by the US State Department. Besides postal addresses in Washington DC, London, Cologne and Baghdad, the Voice of the Mojahed for many years has had an address at Mojahedines du People d'Iran, 17 rue des Gords, F-95430 Auvers-sur Oise, France, some 40 kilometres north of Paris. French police arrested several people at that address in July 2003, accusing them of involvement in terrorism. Programme content The station announces at the start of transmissions: "The Voice of the Mojahed. The Voice of the Mojahedin-e Khalq of Iran. The Voice of Iran's National Liberation Army. The Voice of the Iranian people's new revolution." The station typically continues with more opening announcements and details of programmes contents: "Greetings to you dear listeners of the Voice of the Mojahed. We begin today's programme of the Voice of the Mojahed with conviction that the oppressive regime of the clerics will be overthrown, and the luminous light of freedom will be cast over our beloved homeland Iran." News content is entirely critical of the Tehran government. Other programmes and themes of the station reflect the philosophy of MKO leaders. Readings from the writing of Mas'ud Rajavi, or profiles of personalities with communist/Marxist beliefs from the pre- revolutionary period in Iran predominate. The Voice of the Mojahed is disliked by many Iranians. This is due to the clandestine support the MKO received from Iraq, and the direct military assistance given by the MKO to Iraqi forces during the 1980- 1988 Iran-Iraq war. Transmission characteristics Since 1981 the Voice of the Mojahed has used up to 16 shortwave transmitters, broadcasting the political message of the MKO on a wide range of frequencies, designed to reach Iran and the Iranian-speaking diaspora, in Europe and the Middle East. The broadcasts have always been jammed by Iran, and are well known for their characteristic "hopping" of frequencies, in steps of 5 or 10 kHz, in order to avoid the jamming. These frequency changes are followed within minutes by the jamming transmitters that also jump in 5 or 10 kHz steps. Several frequencies are used in parallel at any given time. Unconfirmed location The location of the studios and transmission facilities of the Voice of the Mojahed have not been publicly revealed. Political and broadcast observations indicate that the country of location has been Iraq. The Voice of the Mojahed suspended its operations following the normalization of relations between Iran and Iraq in August 1990. According to the "Tehran Times" newspaper, transmissions resumed on 3 May 1991. The station was reportedly closed again by the Iraqi government in November 2000, but was observed to have resumed broadcasting, again after a deterioration of political relations between the two governments, during 2002. Audio from Radio Iraq International was observed being transmitted over Voice of the Mojahed frequencies when the station encountered technical difficulties in December 1999 and April 2000, indicating that the transmitters were in Iraq. It has been widely reported in "hobbyist" publications that shortwave broadcasts originate from one of the five main Mojahedin camps in Iraq. These camps house several thousand MKO fighters and the largest camp, Ashraf, is close to Tikrit. It was reported during the 2003 Gulf war that the shortwave transmitters were located near Tikrit, and were bombed by US-led forces. This remains unconfirmed by BBC Monitoring, however, since the reported bombing there has been a reduction in the number of transmitters broadcasting the programmes of the Voice of Mojahed. From a reported maximum of 16 active transmitters in 1981, the number of active transmitters observed in December 2003 by BBC Monitoring is eight. Broadcast behaviour and regime-change timeline The station ceased broadcasting via all transmission platforms at the end of March 2003. It recommenced with 24-hour programming via satellite in mid-April after the fall of the Saddam Husayn regime on 9 April, with a further brief stoppage of satellite transmissions in June. Transmissions via shortwave recommenced in late May 2003, initially using as few as four transmitters at any one time. In April there was a political rapprochement between the MKO and the United States. On 15 April the United States signed a cease-fire agreement with the MKO. Unidentified officials with the US Army's 5 Corps in Iraq told AP (Associated Press) on 10 May that the MKO, based some 45 miles northeast of Baghdad, would now be "protected by American forces." The political arm of the MKO had long sought the support of Washington. By mid-June 2003 the station and its attendant jammers had returned to shortwave, using the old characteristics: a number of frequency-agile "hopping" transmitters, wide frequency ranges and two transmissions a day. This suggests that shortwave transmissions continue from the same site that operated during the Saddam Husayn regime. The station continued its 24-hour broadcasts via satellite with live or repeated programming and via the Internet, with live or archive programming from August. Voice of the Mojahed studios were reportedly located in Baghdad prior to the fall of the Saddam Husayn regime in April 2003. In June 2003 AFP (Agence France Presse) reported that an Iranian man, Nader Adbul al-Barki, who had "run a Baghdad-based radio station opposed to the Tehran regime since 1988," was abducted by four armed men in front of his house in Baghdad. Satellite conundrum Voice of the Mojahed programmes have been broadcast via satellite, from Telstar 12 located at 15 degrees west for 24 hours a day, both before and after the regime change in Iraq. Prior to April 2003 programming from the shortwave transmitters were in parallel both with the Internet and satellite transmissions. If the studios were located in Baghdad earlier than April 2003 then, despite UN sanctions, a programme feed from the studio was leaving Iraq. If the studios are now located outside of Iraq, the shortwave transmitters in Iraq are relaying the satellite signal during the morning and evening transmissions. The downlink from Telstar, a satellite located over the Atlantic ocean, is specifically configured to provide a strong signal into Europe, Iraq and Iran, despite these countries being on the edge of the beam. MKO Vision of Resistance The MKO television station, "Vision of Resistance TV" (Sima-ye Moqavemat) was previously relayed by the former Republic of Iraq Television. The current MKO television station "Simaye Azaidi Iran National TV" (Vision of Freedom National Iran TV) is only available via satellite. It has been reported, but remains unconfirmed by BBC Monitoring, that the studios were in Ashraf and have subsequently relocated to Paris since the regime change in Iraq. The satellite and frequency is the same as that used by the Voice of the Mojahed, the trans-Atlantic Telstar 12 at 15 degrees west on 12588 MHz, vertical polarization, in digital format. The MKO/Voice of the Mojahed website is at: http://www.iran.mojahedin.org The Simaye Azaidi Iran National TV website is at: http://www.iranntv.com. In December 2003 the Iraqi Governing council announced that the MKO will be expelled from Iraq. Source: BBC Monitoring research 12 Dec 03 (via DXLD) ** IVORY COAST. Côte d`Ivoire: TWELVE REPORTED KILLED IN ATTEMPTED ATTACK ON TV HEADQUARTERS | Text of report by Radio France Internationale on 12 December 12 people were killed last night in heavy gunfire in Abidjan, according the national radio. The RTI [Côte d'Ivoire radio and television] secretary-general said that the gunmen attempted to attack the television headquarters but were rebuffed by the gendarmes in charge of the station security. According to military sources, one gendarme was later killed during a second shooting in the outskirts of Abidjan. The situation is calm this morning. Source: Radio France Internationale, Paris, French 0830 gmt 12 Dec 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) Media behaviour report 12 December --- Despite reports that security forces in Abidjan killed 12 members of an armed group that tried to launch an attack on Ivorian state television (RTI) overnight, RTI's two radio channels - Radio Côte d'Ivoire Chaîne Une and Frequence 2 - appear to be behaving normally on the morning on 12 December. RTI television has not yet begun its daily transmissions, which is normal. Source: BBC Monitoring research 12 Dec 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** JORDAN. 11690, Radio Jordan; 1407-1413, 7-Dec; W in English with Jordanian news; mostly about His Majesty. SIO=443+, USB took out RTTY to 1409:40, when new RTTY started making LSB/USB useless. AM impossible (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 1000 ft. NEish unterminated beverage & 65 ft. TTFD which bit the dust, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** LIBERIA. ELWA, 4760, Dec 7, *0556-0610+, sign-on with celeste IS, into program of Xmas and religious music; poor in noise (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALI. 4835, RTV Malienne; 2337-2348+, 5-Dec; M in French playing all Spanish tropicales! "Mali" at 2248. SIO=2+32; USB best; 0621, 6- Dec; M in unID language chant and flute music. SIO=4+53, //5995 which was covered by VoA in EE from Morocco (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 1000 ft. NEish unterminated beverage & 65 ft. TTFD which bit the dust, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** MEXICO [and non]. XEKTT / Tecate --- Here's the scoop: circa 1973 the Mexican government allocated 560 kHz for use in Tecate. There was some question of short-spacing, to KBLU/560 in Yuma, Arizona, but such questions were rendered moot by the fact that the station was never built --- until this week. The move of XEKTT (originally at 1600 kHz, with little or no signal even in San Diego) to 550 was probably the result of a smudged "6" becoming a "5" on some obscure document issued in the D.F.; thus the goof was made. As of yesterday, XEKTT is putting an equal-to-550 signal into the San Fernando Valley --- on 560. This should reduce interference to the Saul Levine-brokered XESURF in Tijuana on 540, and will help Clear Channel in Phoenix, victims of co- channel interference to their KFYI, anywhere outside Downtown Phoenix. CC also owns the now-ill-fated KBLU in Yuma; perhaps our friends across the border are harboring a CC-fixation? At any rate, that's the story --- the station never was a "pirate", but was ostensibly the result of a sloppy procedure, fulfilling a 30 year old allocation (GREG HARDISON, CA, Dec 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As I am typing this XEKTT is booming in over KSFO with "Radio Romántica" IDs and IDed as "XEKTT, Tecate, Tijuana, San Diego" I guess if they don't like 550, let`s move to 560....hi (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, UT Dec 12 0244, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. 6160, Radio Netherlands; 0539-0546+, 6-Dec; English, News Line features. SIO=4+34-; USB helps (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 1000 ft. NEish unterminated beverage & 65 ft. TTFD which bit the dust, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ?? RN is on 6165, not 6160, and English is at 0400-0500, not after that. I suppose he really had CKZN with CBC Overnight, if that half- hour fit for RN; someone tell HF (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 5628.80v kHz Radio Cielo, Chiclayo, 11/Dic/2003 - 2355 UT. Quito 11/Dic/2003 19:18 Amigos DXistas! The last year I have noted Radio Cielo just 1 or 2 times and this is the first time I have recorded an ID with QTH: "Desde la ciudad de Chiclayo transmite Radio Cielo". Good signal but distorted audio. Is still on air when I´m sending this information. You can later on listen to the recording at SWB: http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/ (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SWB América Latina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5626.8v, Radio Cielo, Chiclayo, at 1110 UT Dec 12. Based on Björn Malm's log in HCDX & Cumbre, tuned into this frequency to hear definite Peruvian music. Clear multiple Radio Cielo IDs at 1121-1122 by male announcer, then back to Peruvian music. A single Radio Cielo ID at 1126 UT. Bjorn listed as 5628.8 but I'm getting it more around 5626.8 but the signal is so overmodulated and muffled that it's spread about 2 kHz across 5626-5628 that an exact measurement even to 100 Hz by the NRD-515 was difficult. An occasional ute QRMs the broadcast but not severely (John Sgrulletta, Mahopac, NY, via Malm, DXLD) Hello John, as far as I know you are the first DXer to hear and get ID on this Peruvian pirate, outside Quito, Ecuador. I have heard the station during many years on many frequencies and it took me years to get the QTH. A DXer from Japan thereafter (I think it was TIN) visited Chiclayo and told us that the owner is a policeman(!!!) named "Mr. Cielo". 73s from (Bjrn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5630.32, Radio Cielo, 2300-2315, "Radio Cielo" ID by om 2310, 2316 flauta andina, good signal, frequency drift up since 1100-1155* Tnx. Björn Malm and John Sgrulletta logs (Bob Wilkner, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. R. Huanta 2000, 4746.88, Dec 7, 1005-1040+, Spanish talk, some OA folk music, ``R. Huanta`` ID; fair. R. Melodía, Arequipa, 5906.46, Dec 7, 0940-1000+, OA music, Spanish talk, ID. Canned announcements, ads, jingles; fair. R. Unión, Lima, 6115.03, Dec 6, 1030-1105+, tune-in to OA folk music, 1058 NA, ID and more OA music. Fair, but slightly wobbly, unstable carrier (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 2550v, Radio Uno (presumed) Nov 27, 0250/1010-1045, probably Radio Uno, Chiclayo harmonic (2 x 1280) as reported by Björn Malm in Quito, heard here with religious programming, wobbly drifting carrier up around 2557.9 at 0250, later in the morning down at 2547.3, weak signal with occasional fair peaks (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m at 180 degrees "VT-DX" http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. R. Coremarca, Bambamarca (listed on WRTH 2003 on 780 MW and 5645.6 SW [but not reported any time recently, I think --- gh]) suffered an attack on its transmitter site on Tue 2, Dec 2003, when a group of strangers entered there to destroy some equipment and to take others, according to press reports from Coordinadora Nacional de Radio, Peru (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, Dec 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Original article in Spanish: PERU/ORGANIZACIONES SOCIALES RECHAZAN ATENTADO CONTRA RADIO COREMARCA Bambamarca, 05/12/03 (CNR) Diversas organizaciones sociales y sindicales de Bambamarca expresaron su solidaridad con Radio Coremarca, emisora que sufrió un atentado en su planta de transmisión. A través de un comunicado, los representantes de las organizaciones de base y otras instituciones manifiestan su preocupación y rechazo por el acto de sabotaje que sufriera Radio Coremarca el pasado martes por la noche cuando un grupo de desconocidos ingresó a su planta de transmisión y para destrozar algunos equipos y llevarse otros. Además, se reconoce la labor desarrollada por ese medio de comunicación el cual expresa el sentir del pueblo con libertad, objetividad y valentía. Los firmantes demandan a las autoridades investigar estos hechos delincuenciales que atentan contra la libertad de expresión y que se señale a los responsables, los cuales deben ser sancionados de acuerdo a ley. Asimismo hacen un llamado a la población para que se mantenga alerta y denuncien hechos sospechosos que puedan evitar que se registren más actos de violación a la libertad de expresión. El comunicado es firmado por la Federación Regional de Rondas Campesinas de Cajamarca, la Mesa de Concertación de Lucha contra la Pobreza, el Sutep, Juventud Popular, la Asociación de Productores Ecológicos, entre otras organizaciones e instituciones de Bambamarca. Cabe señalar que Radio Coremarca es una emisora comprometida con la defensa de los derechos del pueblo, la defensa del medio ambiente y la lucha contra la corrupción, líneas de trabajo en las que continuarán concentrando sus esfuerzos. (Fuente: Radio Coremarca, Peru, via agencia de noticias de la Coordinadora Nacional de Radio, Peru, dic 5, via Horacio Nigro, dic 11, DXLD) Text translated with Babelfish software translator: SOCIAL PERU/ORGANIZACIONES REJECT ATTACK AGAINST RADIO COREMARCA Bambamarca, 05/12/03 (CNR) Diverse social organizations and union of Bambamarca (have) expressed its solidarity with Coremarca Radio, transmitter that underwent an attack in its plant of transmission. Through an official notice, the representatives of the base organizations and other institutions show their preoccupation and rejection by the sabotage act that underwent Coremarca Radio the past Tuesday at night when a group of strangers entered his plant of transmission and to destroy some equipment and to take others. In addition, the work developed by that mass media is recognized which expresses feeling of the town with freedom, objectivity and courage... (via Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Radio Rossii is back on short waves via MSK 250 kW / 260 degrees: 0200-0500 NF 5925, ex 5910 for B-02 0520-0800 NF 12075, ex 12060 for B-02 0820-1500 on 17600, co-ch LJB Arabic Sce to Iraq in USB mode 1202-1300 1520-1800 NF 7310, ex 7350 for B-02 1820-2200 on 5895 Additional freqs for Voice of Russia WS in English: 0700-0900 on 11820 S.P 200 kW / 265 deg, co-ch BBC in Arabic from 0800 0700-0900 on 12010 S.P 200 kW / 215 deg (Observer, Bulgaria, Dec 12 via DXLD) ** SEYCHELLES [non]. Frequency changes for FEBA Radio: 1200-1230 Daily Tibetan NF 15240 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg, ex 15170 1400-1415 Sun-Thu Urdu NF 9630 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg, ex 9485 1400-1500 Fri/Sat Hindi NF 9630 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg, ex 9485 1415-1500 Sun-Thu Hindi NF 9630 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg, ex 9485 1730-1745 Fri-Sun Amharic on 6180 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg cancelled 1905-1955 Daily Arabic on 9605 KIG 250 kW / 030 deg new txion (Observer, Bulgaria, Dec 12 via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND [non]. FRANCE: RADIO NON GRATA CLOSED DOWN BY FRENCH AUTHORITIES | Text of press release in English by Paris-based organization Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF) on 10 December Reporters Without Borders was today forced to suspend broadcasting of Radio Non Grata, the pirate station it launched yesterday in the Geneva area to protest against its exclusion from the World Summit on the Information Society that began yesterday in Geneva. "After being banned by the United Nations from speaking at the summit, we have now been forced off the air by the French authorities," Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Menard said. "But, unless someone decides to censor the Internet as well, Radio Non Grata's broadcasts can still be heard on our web site," Menard added. At 1 p.m. today, three officials from France's National Frequency Agency went to Ferney-Voltaire (in French territory, eight kilometres from Geneva) looking for Radio Non Grata's transmitter, which was located in a rural area. When they returned an hour later accompanied by gendarmes, Reporters Without Borders decided to stop broadcasting because of the threat that all of its equipment - a mobile transmitter and generator - would be seized. The purpose of the broadcasts was to condemn the organization's exclusion from the summit and to publicize the violations of free expression on the Internet committed by many of the governments taking part. Reporters Without Borders' consultative status with the United Nations was suspended for a year on 24 July at Cuba's request. At the inaugural session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Reporters Without Borders activists had protested against the choice of a representative of Col. Gaddafi's regime to chair the commission. Radio Non Grata was broadcast in the Geneva area on 95.8 MHz in English and French, carrying programmes especially tailored for the occasion. They included interviews with Menard, former Agence France- Presse director Claude Moisy, the head of the Swiss branch of Reporters Without Borders, Gerald Sapey, and the co-authors of the book "The United Nations against human rights ?" - Jean-Claude Buhrer and Claude Levenson. Also interviewed were Patrice Mugny, administrative adviser for cultural affairs for the city of Geneva ; Christian Ferrazino, mayor of Geneva ; Stephane Koch, the chairman of the Internet Society Geneva; and Pamela Taylor, a US journalist specializing in the media. A Reporters Without Borders team was in Geneva to publicize Radio Non Grata. Its members handed out mini radios on which people could listen to the pirate radio, along with leaflets and posters with the message, "Don't let them decide the future of the Internet." More than 50 people are currently in prison for setting up independent online news sites that criticize governments, or just for visiting banned web sites. Tunisia, China, Vietnam, Cuba and the Maldives are among the "predators" of freedom on the Internet, censoring hundreds of sites, intercepting e-mails, tracking down and jailing cyber- dissidents. Nonetheless, the leaders of these countries make a show of appearing at the World Summit on the Information Society. Radio Non Grata can still be heard on the Reporters Without Borders web site http://www.radionongrata.info/ Source: Reporters Sans Frontières press release, Paris, in English 10 Dec 03 (via BBCM via DXLD) See also FRANCE ** SYRIA [non]. Re : EGYPT (tentative) [Voice of Homeland?, to SYRIA] The Arabic R D 0430-0500 Arabic 7510 The Arabic R D 1600-1630 Arabic 7470 and 12085 (Clandestines heard in DEN, Anker Petersen, dswci Nov 30) As an Egyptian living in Cairo, following the political relations between Egypt and Syria, I`d say it's IMPOSSIBLE that Egypt is transmitting that station by all means! As the relations between Egypt and Syria are doing very well. The times when Syria used to have a special station called the Arabic Egypt Radio is gone longtime ago, even before the death of Hafez Asaad the late President of Syria. Just wanted to comment on this one! All the best from Cairo (Tarek Zeidan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. Due to a transmitter problem Voice of Turkey cancelled transmission in Turkish: 2300-0355 on 7300 EMR 500 kW / 325 deg to WeEu/NoAm 73! (Observer, Bulgaria, Dec 12 via DXLD) ** U K [non]. RUSSIA: New transmission for Bible Voice Broadcasting Network/BVBN/: 0500-0530 Mon-Wed Arabic on 15460 ARM 200 kW / 175 deg to EaAf (Observer, Bulgaria, Dec 12 via DXLD) ** U K. Glenn, BBC press release on the Byford appointment is here.... http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2003/12_december/10/deputy_dg.shtml [illustrated] (Kim Elliott, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Glenn: Because of IBC's abrupt cancellation, we will be off the air this weekend (Dec. 13 and 14) during most of the hours normally occupied by IBC Radio, so our engineers can do some maintenance on the transmitter. However, on Sunday night (0400-1000 UTC Monday Dec. 15) on 7385 kHz we will air a one-time silmulcast of VCS Radio from Vacaville Christian High School in Vacaville, California. Their format is Christian rock music. The first hour will also be simulcast on KDIA AM 1640 in Vallejo/San Francisco. The student radio producers are learning about shortwave broadcasting in a radio production class (Jeff White, WRMI, Dec 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hi Glenn, VOA has introduced its new web home page, also known as a "splash page." It can be accessed by entering either http://www.voanews.com or http://www.voa.gov I would welcome comments to my Communications World e-mail address: cw @ voanews.com 73 (Kim Elliott, VOA, Dec 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 11490, Radio Martí; 1302, 7-Dec; M with religious program in Spanish; heavily jammed, // 11930 also jammed but much more copiable (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 1000 ft. NEish unterminated beverage & 65 ft. TTFD which bit the dust, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Spur? Is there a Greenville transmitter on 11710 at that time to mix with? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Sunday, December 14, 2003 - WILM-1450, Wilmington, DE will conduct a DX test from 1:05 to 3:00 am EST [0605-0800 UT]. The test will consist of Morse code IDs, regular IDs, recognizable music and various sound effects. On-air calls will be accepted at 302-656-9800 (Fax: 302-655-1450). Reception will be verified with a letter and full-data anniversary QSL card. Reception reports (with return postage) may be sent to: Allan R. Loudell Program Manager WILM-AM 1215 French Street Wilmington, Delaware 19801 Arranged by Ron Musco for the NRC CPC.) (Lynn Hollerman, IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) ** U S A. Washington, DC Mystery 1640 kHz KJI955 Fwd from the broadcast list. Anyone in NRC hear it? (Bob Foxworth, NRC-AM via DXLD) Viz.: This morning's mystery message on 1640 kHz was to announce that a helicopter would be landing in Langley Fork Park between 6 AM and 8 AM as a part of a US Government exercise. Station must be at CIA / Langley. This might explain why the FCC claims to know nothing about the KJI955 callsign being used. Perhaps the call is from a block of calls used by NTIA or some other government department, which I believe can authorize spectrum use by government entities (Larry Vogt, N4VA, Springfield, VA, via Foxworth, ibid.) Might indeed, but the FCC is supposed to have those in their database. I did a number of TIS authorizations via NTIA and they always ended up in the database...eventually... Did the message note that the helicopter would be all matte black with no designations? :) (John `WLOYPROF`, ibid.) I have heard the KJI955 call while driving past the CIA HQ exit in Langley on the GW Parkway on some X-band frequency, though I don't think it was 1640 (David Yocis, Washington DC, Dec 10, NRC-AM via DXLD) NTIS wouldn't have any calls. A 3x3 call looks like an original TIS/HAR call, which may be expired or renewed with an update. Hard to tell (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) ** U S A. Bruce Conti posted this on the NRC AM list. I've stripped away the AM part of it. Here is the FM part: RADIO STATIONS LICENSED FOR HYBRID IBOC DIGITAL Compiled December 11, 2003, from the FCC CDBS Call Location Frequency KKBT Los Angeles, CA 100.3 KPSC Palm Springs, CA 88.5 KROQ-FM Pasadena, CA 106.7 KDFC-FM San Francisco, CA 102.1 KOIT-FM San Francisco, CA 96.5 KZBR San Francisco, CA 95.7 KFAC Santa Barbara, CA 88.7 WKIS Boca Raton, FL 99.9 WRMA Fort Lauderdale, FL 106.7 WEDR Miami, FL 99.1 WUSF Tampa, FL 89.7 WBEZ Chicago, IL 91.5 WDRV Chicago, IL 97.1 WNUA Chicago, IL 95.5 WUSN Chicago, IL 99.5 WVAZ Oak Park, IL 102.7 WTMX Skokie, IL 101.9 KZIA Cedar Rapids, IA 102.9 WASE Radcliff, KY 103.5 WPOC Baltimore, MD 93.1 WTKK Boston, MA 96.9 WBOS Brookline, MA 92.9 WROR-FM Framingham, MA 105.7 WQSX Lawrence, MA 93.7 WKLB-FM Lowell, MA 99.5 WAAF Worcester, MA 107.3 WCSX Birmingham, MI 94.7 WMGC-FM Detroit, MI 105.1 WDMK Mount Clemens, MI 102.7 WDHA-FM Dover, NJ 105.5 WMGQ New Brunswick, NJ 98.3 WNEW New York, NY 102.7 WRAL Raleigh, NC 101.5 WGUC Cincinnati, OH 90.9 WNWV Elyria, OH 107.3 WYGY Lebanon, OH 96.5 WMGK Philadelphia, PA 102.9 WMWX Philadelphia, PA 95.7 WXTU Philadelphia, PA 92.5 WIVA-FM Aguadilla, PR 100.3 WZAR Ponce, PR 101.9 WFID Rio Piedras, PR 95.7 WPRM-FM San Juan, PR 98.5 KBKS Tacoma, WA 106.1 WKWS Charleston, WV 96.1 WVAQ Morgantown, WV 101.9 (Mike Bugaj - Enfield, CT USA, WTFDA Circulation, Dec 11, WTFDA via DXLD) [Of the Philadelphia stations] Only the last one is running it. They started a couple of weeks prior to the broadcast convention at the beginning of October and are still at it. Only by aiming the antenna right at WOBM-92.7 during decent tropo have I been able able to hear anything on either of the adjacents. I am 8 miles uphill from the WXTU transmitter. Both of the other two put out more splatter here without IBOC than WXTU ever did without it (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ), [15 mi NNW of Philadelphia], ibid.) None of the stations in Boston are running it. 93.7 WQSX tested it for about a week quite a while ago (Jeff Lehmann, Hanson, MA, ibid.) OK, now I`ll take the list and strip the FMs out of it (gh) Radio Stations Licensed for Hybrid IBOC Digital Compiled December 11, 2003, from the FCC CDBS Call Location Frequency WJLD Fairfield, AL 1400 KNX Los Angeles, CA 1070 KCBS San Francisco, CA 740 WSBR Boca Raton, FL 740 WRHB Kendall, FL 1020 WQAM Miami, FL 560 WKAT North Miami, FL 1360 WHSR Pompano Beach, FL 980 WWNN Pompano Beach, FL 1470 WJNA Royal Palm Beach, FL 640 WSB Atlanta, GA 750 WBZ Boston, MA 1030 WWJ Detroit, MI 950 WTWZ Clinton, MS 1120 KFUO Clayton, MO 850 KXNT North Las Vegas, NV 840 WWTR Bridgewater, NJ 1170 WMTR Morristown, NJ 1250 WCTC New Brunswick, NJ 1450 WOR New York, NY 710 WOLF Syracuse, NY 1490 WRMR Cleveland, OH 1420 WPEN Philadelphia, PA 950 WWDB Philadelphia, PA 860 KOAL Price, UT 750 WKDL Alexandria, VA 730 WTMJ Milwaukee, WI 620 Stations not listed in the FCC database but recently reported testing: KTNQ Los Angeles, CA 1020 WLW Cincinnati, OH 700 WSAI Cincinnati, OH 1530 XEN Mexico City, Mexico 690 (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, NRC-AM via DXLD) KTNQ is no longer testing. IBOC is on 6 A to 6 P permanently. We believe it may be the only one on the West Coast in regular operation (David Gleason, Univisión Radio, ibid.) So, did you guys forget to notify the FCC of your IBOC operation? Notification is supposed to take place within 10 days from your startup date (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) The FCC list is hardly complete. It is missing several hundred stations that have notified of intent and are installing now. Just in my company, there are 16 stations installing the gear and several already running; they were among the original Ibiquity signers. I'd say that the FCC is simply not paying much attention to the list (Gleason, ibid.) I'm sure they don't care about intent, or who's signed up with Ibiquity, but you DO have to formally notify them soon after you actually start transmitting IBOC. If you don't, then I'd say you are operating illegally. Of course, that doesn't seem to matter much these days (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) Barry, KTNQ has done all the necessary notifications. Our company has never been fined or cited for a major violation. Suggesting we are operating incorrectly without first checking is personally, professionally and morally of the highest offense. It's rude, Barry, and insensitive to a company that has 1,500 employees and probably does more service to its communities than any other broadcast company I know of on this planet. Yes, I am pissed. And really offended. Why the hell do you and some other DXers think that every radio station in the US is operating illegally and incompetently. KNTQ has one of LA's best engineers, Tom Koza, who was a CE (At Power 106 no less) at age 19 and is as close to a genius as I have seen; or engineering staff consists of 5 fulltime engineers, we have about the best corporate CE in the country, Dave Stewart, and both in-house and Washington legal counsel. We have FM's with triple transmitters, 4 antennas, double power supplies (solar and conventional), multiple STLs, earthquake hardening, and some of the best studio equipment in the world in a studio facility that was built just 2 years ago at a cost of over $10 million dollars, every bit of it with every type and kind of local, state and Federal permit required. We are responsible and honorable. These are good radio stations, Barry. I am proud to work for them, in a great part because we take very seriously our obligations as a licensee, and as part of our community. This kind of crap is enough to make me take the Drake to the dumpster and forget about DXing. And you wonder why stations don't answer reports anymore --- several of the supposed DXers on this group have enough misguided venom to turn off any broadcaster. Most of us are professions, responsible and dedicated. There are over 100 thousand people working in radio. Nearly none of them are dishonest and deceitful. KTNQ had its paperwork for IBOC in order, as it does on every legal and technical matter, long before you started speculating and pointing your finger. I first became an NRC member in 1958. After this insult, 2003 will be my last if I can get a refund for my remaining months. And --- you should have seen this message _before_ I edited it (David Gleason, ibid.) Univision Radio, formerly HBC, is indeed one of the quality players in the business. David Stewart, their corporate chief, took time out of his Saturday not only to give us NRC'ers an extensive tour of their Dallas studio facility a couple of months ago, he then joined us for our banquet and the entire auction that evening. And he, along with Univision's local engineers in New York and Chicago, couldn't have been nicer to me on my recent tower-hunting travels - in fact, just minutes ago I posted the latest Tower Site of the Week at fybush.com, that being the WIND (560) Chicago site where CE Paul Easter Sr. spent an entire DAY with me and several other NRCers a few weeks back, taking us to two of his AM sites and to his FM high atop the John Hancock Center. And are they DXer-friendly? Those of us who took the Dallas tour will recall seeing that one of the bulletin boards upstairs had a QSL letter from Jim Renfrew tacked up there. 'Nuff said. What I think is happening with IBOC is that the list the FCC is posting is coming from some source in the Commission that's not the office that's actually handling approvals for IBOC operation. Well- connected broadcasters - and Univision is certainly in that category - can get a lot done inside the FCC simply by making a phone call. Special Temporary Authority authorizations are poorly reflected in the Consolidated Data Base System (CDBS) that's accessible on-line - believe me, I tear my hair out trying to sort out STA operations for 100 kw - and are often handled on a phone-call, verbal authorization basis. I hope David and Barry can get over what seems to be a pretty mild misunderstanding. I, for one, value both David's industry insight and Barry's outstanding DX skills, and I'd hate to lose either of them on this list or in the club (or at the convention this fall!!!) s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) The tone of the Barry-gram was simply so dismissive and rude, that I am disposing of the Drake, already wrote to NRC to cancel membership and am out of here. This is like being a conservative at the annual Marx-Engels Awards (Gleason, ibid.) I would urge that this thread be terminated (NRC-AM Moderator, ibid.) Aside from the participants in this flamewar, if ``almost no broadcasters are deceitful``, how come there are obviously so many day-facilities-at-night operations? So many fines the FCC metes out, which must represent only a fraxion of all the real violations? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. KWKH 1130 [Shreveport] is MUCH MUCH too strong here at night. Either the DA is out of whack or they are using only 1 stick. 73 KAZ Barrington IL (Neil Kazaross, Dec 10, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. CLEAR CHANNEL RADIO SLASHES LOCAL NEWS --- By GABE WELLS http://www.theintelligencer.net/news/story/1211202003_new1clear.asp Clear Channel Radio Wheeling, owner of WWVA and six other local radio stations, has made major cuts in its local news programming and personnel. WWVA has eliminated two local talk radio programs, hosted by George Kellas and Jim Harrington. Also, the Clear Channel Wheeling news director's position, held by Tammie Beagle, has been eliminated. Following the cuts, on Monday long-time Clear Channel Wheeling news reporter Dave Demerest resigned, announcing his decision during a live broadcast. Program changes were scheduled to take place Jan. 2, said Scott Miller, vice president and general manager of Clear Channel Radio Wheeling. On Wednesday, Demerest said he believes the elimination of the two local programs is a significant change, and Wheeling residents no longer have a forum to discuss on air important city issues. Demerest also said he left the station because he believes Clear Channel is no longer interested in the needs of the local listener and noted that his on-air resignation was not a protest gesture. "They have eliminated seven-and-a-half hours of local programing," Demerest said. "They are leaving the public with practically no forum for discussion of local interest like the steel crisis, downtown revitalization and eminent domain in Center Wheeling. How is the public going to discuss this on the air if there are no local programs? I was told there would be considerable cuts in local news, and the amount of time devoted to local news coverage. "I saw this as a betrayal of public trust," Demerest added. "I could only conclude that the current Clear Channel management team doesn't have the same level of commitment to the local community as the legendary programmers that made this station what it was. I didn't do this as a protest move. I didn't do this because I was angry. I did this because, for 17 years, I have tried to tell the story straight and the public deserved to know why I left." Kellas said he does not believe the changes are a good move for the station because the decisions are being made by people who don't understand the needs of listeners in the area. He added that he doesn't agree with the timing of the positions eliminated, and described the moves as corporate greed. "In my opinion, Clear Channel Wheeling is the poster child for corporate greed in America," Kellas said. "There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of compassion for the little guy. There are humane aspects to this. I will be fine, but the thing is, for people that I work with, good people born and raised in this valley, they are unemployed. Last year, two weeks before Christmas, two people on the sales staff were fired. ... What about the person who finds themselves unemployed? "I feel as though, as a lifelong member of this community, they have come in here, the corporate suits, and intruded into this community," Kellas added. "They are steamrolling people out of the way and taking a 50,000 watt institution, and taking whatever local orientation there was to it, and eliminated it." Kellas said the news staff at WWVA has received many awards in its long history and some of those who lost their jobs had continued the station's award winning news coverage. Kellas added that he does not know what will become of the remaining news department at Clear Channel Wheeling. "As radio goes, the walls are lined with AP awards for what that news department has done," Kellas said. "Repeatedly, (Beagle) and her staff were honored with awards. They really had one of the few full-time news department, and have had one for most if not all of those 75 years. They will continue to have some youngster continue to do news in the morning, but I don't believe they will be kept on with a full- time staff with full-time benefits." Beagle said, although she is not pleased with Clear Channel's decisions, she is thankful for her time and work at the station. "During my tenure at WWVA, I worked hard to make sure my listeners got the story straight, and they got both sides fairly and evenly," Beagle said. "While I enjoyed working with newsmakers up and down both sides of the river, I am obviously disappointed in the decisions management made. Right now, I am keeping my options open." Despite those changes, Miller said local news coverage will still be included during the syndicated programming at WWVA. He added that programming at Clear Channel's six other Wheeling stations will remain the same, and there are misconceptions about the recent changes made by the company at WWVA. "We are continuing our local coverage," Miller said. "We have had program changes. Our local news coverage has not changed. There is a national syndication and there will be local news within that program. "The decisions made here in Wheeling are much more locally made than with some bigger companies," Miller added. "We have made some changes, and those haven't sat well with some in the community. They are business decisions, and we are trying to provide a great product for the community we live and work in." (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO POLITICS: STUDY SAYS WHITE HOUSE SHOULD REGULATE RF SPECTRUM A new study says that its time for the White House to replace the FCC as the nations regulator of the airwaves. Amateur Radio Newsline`s Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, is here with the story: The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a private research organization that analyzes global issues. And in a recent report, it basically posed the rhetorical questions of: what if the FCC went away, and what if the Executive branch of the federal government --- the White House --- took over management of the nation`s airwaves? Would it be better or worse for America? The Center says yes. That, in its view, such a change would definitely improve the way the finite resource called electromagnetic spectrum is managed, but critics have their doubts. One told Amateur Radio Newsline, ``You think the spectrum management is bad now, put it under the executive branch`` Be that as it may, the Center`s report called Spectrum Management for the 21st Century was recently presented to Representative Tom Davis. Davis is chairman of the House Committee on Government Reform and the report recommends a number of steps to stop what the think-tank describes as the increasing number of fights over existing spectrum space. Among its recommendations are to develop a national spectrum strategy. Increase research support for technologies that make better use of the spectrum and the controversial one. Establish a spectrum oversight advisory board to implement full White House control of all spectrum related matters. Davis said his committee will weigh the report`s findings, along with the results of five ongoing General Accounting Office reviews and a Presidential Spectrum Policy Initiative study commissioned last June. With all of this information for Congress to gather and digest, any change in who will regulate the nations spectrum is probably years, if not decades away. With thanks to KC0DGY for bringing this to our attention, I`m Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, for the Amateur Radio Newsline. Currently, the Federal Communications Commission oversees commercial use of the electronic magnetic spectrum while the National Telecommunications and Information Administration handles all aspects of government use. Its far to early to speculate on what effect, if any, such a change might have on Amateur Radio. More information can be found on-line at http://www.gcn.com/vol1_no1/mobile-wireless/24166-1.html (KC0DGY, GCN via Amateur Radio Newsline December 12 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. Discussion of FM pirate radio, live at 2307-2330, 2337-2359 UT Dec 12, on Wisconsin Public Radio: Media Talk with Dave Berkman - 12/12M Pirate radio is the focus, after five, on Media Talk with Dave Berkman. Dave talks with WPR's own Lisa Nalbandian, who recently completed her maser's thesis on Pirate Radio. Guest: Lisa Nalbandian – authored master thesis on Pirate Radio, and promotion manager at Wisconsin (WPR website) No promises, but based on previous programs, this one may become audible at: http://clipcast.wpr.org:8080/ramgen/wpr/mtk/mtk031212.rm (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Possible end of one of the longest running radio programs FAR-FLUNG OPERA LOVERS HOPE TO TUNE IN NEXT TIME By ANTHONY TOMMASINI Published: December 12, 2003 http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/12/arts/music/12TEXA.html?th=&pagewanted=all&position= EARLY last month an enthusiastic audience of nearly 4,000 people showed up at the Metropolitan Opera for one of the most anticipated events of the season, the first production in 67 years of "La Juive" by Fromental Halévy. Once a popular work and an important vehicle for Enrico Caruso at the end of his life, the opera had all but disappeared from the active repertory. Tomorrow afternoon, though, millions of opera lovers around the world will be able to hear "La Juive" when it is broadcast live from the Met stage on the ChevronTexaco Metropolitan Opera radio network. And so begins the 64th consecutive season of these treasured broadcasts. Could it be the last? As concerned opera buffs already know, the ChevronTexaco Corporation has decided to cease its sponsorship of these broadcasts at the end of this radio season, which concludes on April 24 with Wagner's "Götterdämmerung," which means "Twilight of the Gods." Listeners can only hope it will not signal the twilight of the Met broadcasts. They have been a cultural lifeline for generations of listeners, both those who live in places far removed from any opera company and those who may live just a subway ride from Lincoln Center but can't afford to attend. They are carried by some 365 stations in the United States, as well as in Canada, Mexico, South America, 27 European countries, China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, reaching, according to the opera company's most recent survey, an estimated total of more than 11 million. The Met has been unable to obtain a new sponsor to pick up the annual $7 million cost of the broadcasts, which covers a range of expenses including compensation to commercial radio stations; extra fees to singers, musicians and technical crews; salaries for the radio production staff, engineers and announcers; transmission fees; royalties; and publicity. Ideally the Met is looking for a single sponsor that will pledge financing for a minimum of five years. A partial reprieve for next season came recently with the announcement that the Annenberg Foundation had awarded $3.5 million to keep the broadcasts on the air. That still leaves a sizable sum to raise. The only reassurances that the broadcasts will continue have been the personal pledges of Joseph Volpe, the Met's general manager, and Beverly Sills, its chairwoman. Ms. Sills's determination to find a new sponsor is strongly personal. "Being a child in Brooklyn from a modest home, the opportunities for me to go to the Met were nil," she said in an interview. "The radio broadcasts were an essential part of our lives. My mother cut out that time every week. She arranged for my singing lessons and piano lessons in Manhattan to be on Saturday mornings, so that there was time for me to get back to Brooklyn for sandwiches and the opera." The tenor Neil Shicoff, who sings the leading role of Eléazar in "La Juive," and whose passion for the work was the driving force in the Met's decision to produce it, was another Brooklynite who grew up with the broadcasts, as he recalled recently. The son of a cantor, Mr. Shicoff said that his family could not afford to attend Met performances often. "My father and I listened together in the living room," he said. "I remember all these amazing singers: Renata Tebaldi, Franco Corelli, Sherrill Milnes. I used to take out the score and follow the performance." Mr. Shicoff's father was invited by Rudolf Bing, then the Met's general manager, to audition for the company in 1952. But, Mr. Shicoff said, his father decided against it. Still, those afternoons were especially meaningful experiences for the music-loving family. The withdrawal of ChevronTexaco will end the longest continuous commercial sponsorship in broadcast history. Until Texaco was acquired by Chevron in 2001 (in a $45.8 billion deal) Texaco's commitment to the broadcasts seemed solid. In a 1999 interview, Peter I. Bijur, at the time the chairman and chief executive of Texaco, said that "sponsoring the Met has become part of our corporate DNA." That Texaco's name was associated with the radio broadcasts earned the company tremendous good will, said Mr. Bijur, adding: "You should see the letters we get." By the thousands, he said. But Mr. Bijur left Texaco abruptly some eight months before the acquisition was made formal in October 2001. The priorities at ChevronTexaco have shifted since then, as a company representative, Chris Gidez, conceded in an interview. "As our company evolved, the decision was made to focus more resources directly on the countries and markets where we do business," he said, "with a special emphasis on the development needs in those countries, like health care, education, small-business development, entrepreneurship." ChevronTexaco does business in 180 countries, he added, notably Nigeria, Angola, Kazakhstan and Indonesia. "Certainly the broadcasts were quite synonymous with Texaco," Mr. Gidez said. "We recognize that a great deal of good will was built up over the years. The decision was not made lightly but after careful thought and consideration." He added that ChevronTexaco would continue to support the Met in other areas, for example the Early Notes program, which brings opera to the New York City public schools. "We would like to think that the radio listeners and supporters of the Met would find the work that this company is doing overseas worthwhile," he added. ChevronTexaco's shifting priorities can be seen as a legitimate corporate move. Still, it's hard for opera lovers to imagine that the Met broadcasts might be jeopardized for want of a sum that would be a pittance in the world of commercial entertainment or sports. In major league baseball, $7 million would not pay the salary of a decent pitcher. The six stars of the sitcom "Friends" make $1 million each per half-hour episode. Compare this to the absolute top fee for a singer at the Met, America's most prestigious opera house: $15,000 per performance. No one, no matter how big, not even Plácido Domingo, makes more. Mr. Gidez said that "money per se" was not an issue in the decision. "The company didn't view the Met broadcasts as a means to sell gasoline," he said. "It had nothing to do with that." You can't overstate, though, how essential these live broadcasts have been to the growth of opera, the development of audiences and as inspiration for aspiring singers. The mezzo-soprano Susan Graham, who will sing the title role in Lehar's "Merry Widow" (performed in English) on the broadcast of Jan. 17, said that these broadcasts were her musical lifeblood. When she was 13 her family moved from Roswell, N.M., a remote area where there were no radio stations [sic!], to Midland, Tex., where she could finally tune in to the Met. "At the time I was a budding pianist, and I loved listening," she said in an interview. "But I really got seriously interested when I went to college at Texas Tech in Lubbock, a school that actually spawned many singers. I had had such a poor connection to the outside world and felt so culturally removed. I had never even been to New York. I was in awe of the broadcasts." Naturally, she especially loved hearing the mezzo-sopranos, like Frederica von Stade, Christa Ludwig and Tatiana Troyanos. "On my first trip to New York in 1983, I sat in the nosebleed seats at the Met and heard Tatiana sing Octavian in `Der Rosenkavalier,' " she said. "Then 12 years later there I was onstage in Tatiana's costumes, singing that role. The Met broadcasts planted that seed." I, too, was formed musically and even emotionally by the Met broadcasts. Coming from a family on Long Island with no musical background, I discovered these broadcasts on my own. Sometimes I would listen on the crackly radio in the kitchen, where, in something of a role reversal, I tried to engage my mother, who was intrigued but not that interested. Eventually my parents gave me a high-quality radio, and I would listen in my room alone. I remember having only a scant idea of what Verdi's "Aïda" was about, yet being enthralled with Leontyne Price's singing. With opera on DVD popular now, radio broadcasts might seem passé. But there is something magical about hearing opera on the radio, as Mr. Shicoff recalled. "You absorbed so much of the atmosphere of the performance, not just the singing," he said. "You could hear the walking on the stage, the props moving. It was as if you could smell it, and you were there. The experience was so important to the imagination, such a stimulus to the senses." Ms. Graham had the same experience as a young listener. "The singers became like members of your family," she said. "It was like having a kindly old aunt whom you love having around but don't always have to listen to." The television broadcasts of opera, though they can be riveting, demand more focused attention. Not everyone who listens to the broadcasts sits at home with a score like the young Neil Shicoff. People also love the Met broadcasts because you can do housework while you listen, or take your radio outside while you garden, or tune in on the car radio while you run an errand. With the popular intermission features — the Opera Quiz, the interviews with singers and directors, the lectures about the opera of the day with illustrations at the piano, the chatty Singers' Roundtables — the Met broadcasts have long offered a model of how to enlighten listeners about a subject in an entertaining way. Consider some of the broadcasts coming up this season: Berlioz's rarely heard "Benvenuto Cellini" in its première production at the Met (Dec. 27); Schoenberg's challenging "Moses und Aron" (Dec. 20), followed two weeks later by Rossini's ebullient "Barbiere di Siviglia" starring the brilliant young tenor Juan Diego Flórez in his Met broadcast debut (Jan. 3). Speaking of tenors, the suave Roberto Alagna sings the title role of Massenet's "Werther" (Jan. 10), and the ageless Mr. Domingo sings the daunting role of Herman, sometimes called the Russian Otello, in Tchaikovsky's "Queen of Spades" (Feb. 14). You can hear the new Met productions of Mozart's "Don Giovanni" with Thomas Hampson as the Don, René Pape at Leporello and James Levine conducting (March 13) and Strauss's "Salomé" with the radiant soprano Karita Mattila in the title role (March 27). Verdi's "Traviata," which was presented in the first weeks of the season, will be brought back so radio listeners can hear Renée Fleming's breakthrough performance as Violetta (March 6). Following tradition, during tomorrow's broadcast of "La Juive" there will be welcoming remarks from Mr. Volpe on behalf of the Met and from David J. O'Reilly, the chairman and chief executive of ChevronTexaco. Count on Mr. Volpe to assure listeners that he will secure a new sponsor for next season. How will Mr. O'Reilly handle the matter? When you walk by the ticket takers into the grand lobby of the Met, you pass a marble plaque mounted on a white column to your right with an engraved message expressing deep gratitude to ChevronTexaco for its "longstanding support and many contributions to the Metropolitan Opera." I asked Ms. Sills if the Met would now remove the tribute. "Oh no," she said. "That sign will remain. After all, 64 years deserves some permanent recognition." Yes, but that sign commemorates both the company that has solely supported the broadcasts for 62 of those years and the merged company that has pulled the plug on them. You can imagine Wotan lifting his spear, peering angrily with his one remaining eye and bellowing his displeasure (via Fred Waterer, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Demonstrators supporting President Hugo Chávez on Thursday seized the premises of radio station Mundial Zulia [1070 kHz], in northwestern Zulia State, to reject the opinions of broadcaster Rafael Mejía, a harsh critic of Chávez' administration. Mejía declared he has been threatened in several times by followers of President Chávez because the broadcaster reads "the news just as they are published in the newspapers." He added that in the last few days pro-government groups had been calling their followers to seize the radio station during his show. On Thursday morning, he arrived to the radio station and found pro-Chávez demonstrators occupied it. He talked to a man who identified himself as "Colonel Barbosa," who claimed he had "orders from his superiors." According to Mejía, Chávez followers wrongly believe the government owns the radio station. The truth is that it belongs to the Venezuelan State. "If the government bought it (the radio station), it did so with the money of all Venezuelans," he told news TV network Globovisión. He added he is an independent producer and pays for broadcasting his show. Daily News & Summary, El Universal newspaper, Caracas, Dec 11, 2003 http://www.eluniversal.com/eng/index.shtml (via Henrik Klemetz, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Yet more intruders in the SW broadcast band, 2-way in Spanish on 9530-USB at 1450-1454 Dec 11, seemed Cuban accent (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 11460 UNID; 1305-1330+, 7-Dec; Familiar classical mx; no anmts. SIO=253, but faded out before 1400. See 12065. (Frodge-DXP) 12065 UNID; 2038-2103+, 5-Dec; Familiar classical mx; no anmts. SIO=232+/occasional ute trill. See 11460 (Harold Frodge, Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts DXpedition, Brighton MI, Drake R8B + 1000 ft. NEish unterminated beverage & 65 ft. TTFD which bit the dust, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Presumably CHINA ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ Re: [ham-hist] JOSEF MURGAS, FORGOTTEN RADIO GENIUS To add to the information about Murgas. His transmissions used two tones, a high and a low tone, not the length of them, for the letters. His two way test, with various military and government representatives watching covered about 15 miles, and went over the mountains which were about 800 ft higher than the transmitting or receiving points. Marconi's test went over salt water and I believe covered less than five miles. Rev Murgas was also a painter and had other interests aside from being a Parish priest. I know there are a few sites on the Internet that have info on him, but do not recall the exact http. Bob (Robert G. Chimel, WA3LWR, DX LISTENING DIGEST) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ FEMA opposes BPL -- A heavy hitter now opposes BPL: http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/36294 (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ GOOD DX CONDX TONIGHT ON MF With the solar flux under 90 and better yet the background solar flux below B level, we should see the best band conditions on the MF AM broadcast band, 160 meters and 120 meters in a good while. We are also seeing a lower Kp index of around 3, so if this holds higher latitude MF propagation paths will be open also. One fly in the ointment could be increased lightning QRN from thunderstorms developing over Texas but hopefully that will hold off until Saturday. 73 & Happy Holidays, (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF, Plant City, FL, USA, Dec 12, NRC-AM via DXLD) ###