DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-014, January 23, 2004 edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.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 For restrixions and searchable 2004 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 1217: Sat 0900 on WRN1 to Europe, Africa, Asia, Australasia, webcast Sat 0955 on WNQM, Nashville, 1300 Sat 1130 on WWCR 5070 Sat 1900 on IBC Radio webcast Sat 1930 on WPKN Bridgeport, 89.5, webcast Sat 2130 on WWCR 12160 Sun 0130 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0330 on WWCR 5070 Sun 0730 on WWCR 3210 Sun 0845 on Ozone Radio, Ireland, 6201v, time variable Sun 1100 on WRN1 to North America, webcast; also KSFC 91.9 Spokane WA, webcast and WDWN 89.1 Auburn NY Sun 1600 on IBC Radio, webcast Sun 2000 on Studio X, Momigno, 1584 Mon 0430 on WSUI, Iowa City, 910, webcast [last week`s 1216] Mon 0515 on WBCQ 7415, webcast, 5105 Tue 0400 on SIUE Web Radio Wed 1030 on WWCR 9475 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 1217 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1217h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1217h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1217.html WORLD OF RADIO 1217 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1217.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1217.rm ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. 7350, R. Amani via Armavir, Russia, Jan 9 *1630- 1640 34333 Pushto, 1630 s/on with opening music. ID. Opening announce. Talk and music (Kouji Hashimoto, JAPAN, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. Heard Radio Uncía again last evening 2310 UTC with a very good signal in Norway. Much stronger than the other Bolivian stations so perhaps they using 5 kW. 73 de OLE (OLE FORR, FRYA, N-2647 SOR-FRON NORWAY, Jan 22, dxing.info via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4865.04, Radio Missões da Amazônia, Jan 21, 0945-1007, ballads with short canned ID's between songs, "...Missões da Amazônia... ondas tropicais...", good signal (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 degrees, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. From DXLD 4013: ``CKY must be out of their minds to give up the huge groundwave coverage of 50 kW on 580 (gh, DXLD)`` Glenn, It appears many Canadian radio executives have deemed the AM band unmarketable to anyone under age 105. That's too bad -- if these 50 kW AM stations are outfitted with DRM, they should sound really good AND have vast coverage. However, DAB is expected to replace AM, with a vastly reduced (and extremely deficient) coverage (Ricky Leong, QC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) One person was let go. His name is Ken Shier he did the Midday Shift From 12:00 till 3:00 [CT]. They also won`t have any announcers until 2/15/2004 when the spring ratings period begins. Kathy Kennedy did the news and mid morning shift and Frank Andrews (AKA Little Frankie Wonder or LFW) also worked at KY 58 (Sean Traverse, DX LISTENING DIGEST) R.I.P.: CKY-AM, 1923-2004; BORN: CLEAR FM, 2004- Thursday, January 22nd, 2004 By Bartley Kives AN 81-year-old chapter of Winnipeg radio history came to an end yesterday as CKY 580 AM morphed into 102 Clear FM. Rogers Broadcasting flipped the AM oldies institution over to the FM band to complete a radio chain reaction that began when jazz station Cool FM won the rights to 99.1 FM. The new Rogers station at 102.3 FM plays adult-contemporary pop. Singers such as Elton John, Phil Collins and Celine Dion will dominate the playlist as Clear FM goes after female listeners aged 35 to 49. "There hasn't been an AC (adult contemporary) station in this market for a long time," says Geoff Poulton, vice-president and GM of Clear FM and Rogers' other Winnipeg station, classic rock outlet 92 CITI FM. He says the format will appeal to listeners left without an adult- contemporary option since Magic 99 became the '80s-oriented BOB FM. The move allows a newly competitive Rogers to cater to two distinct Winnipeg radio demographics, as CITI's audience is predominantly male. It was in the works since 2002, when Rogers was unsuccessful in its bid to move KY-58 to 99.1 FM, then considered the last full-power frequency available on Winnipeg's FM airwaves. The federal broadcast regulator gave 99.1 to CanWest Global's jazz station but offered Rogers another FM frequency as a consolation prize. Under the conditions of the flip, 102 Clear FM will be simulcast at the old KY-58 signal for another three months. The new, 70,000-watt FM station is an entirely different creature from CKY, which started up in 1923. Some longtime listeners are upset by the loss of popular KY morning man Don Percy. "What can you say to these people? Nothing I could say could soften the blow of taking KY-58 off the air," Poulton says. "You can't take away a station that's been on air for 81 years and not have people upset... it was a bittersweet day, watching Don (broadcast) his final show. There wasn't a dry eye in the house." There was only one layoff resulting from the AM-FM switch. It wasn't Percy, who will remain with Rogers "in another capacity," Poulton says. Clear FM's program director is Gayle Zarbatany. The position of music director has yet to be filled, says Poulton, himself a new arrival from Vancouver by way of Rogers' head office in Toronto. © 2004 Winnipeg Free Press. All Rights Reserved (via Doug Copeland, DXLD) When 580 goes silent in 3 months, only 5 AM stations will be in Winnipeg. 680 - CJOB talk and sports (#1 station in Winnipeg) 810 - CKJS ethnic they now carry China Radio Int from 6-7 PM CST 990 - CBW CBC Radio 1 1050 - CKSB CBC French 1290 - CFRW oldies like CKY was (.7 in the last ratings; maybe they should try All Polka ha ha). Not that much on AM, everything is on FM, about 20 stations. Must go and see how DW is coming in. 73's (Doug Copeland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) KY-58 TRANSFORMS INTO CLEAR 102 FM By ROB WILLIAMS, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER [source??] It's the end of an era in Winnipeg radio. As of 9 a.m. today, oldies station KY-58 will flip from the AM dial to the FM dial and become Clear 102 FM, playing adult contemporary music from the 1980s and '90s aimed at females age 35-49. "It's a bittersweet day when we have to turn this radio station off to turn the new one on, but the economics of radio basically forced our hand," said Geoff Poulton, vice-president/general manager of Rogers Broadcasting in Manitoba, which owns the station. Instead of golden oldies by artists such as the Beatles, the Guess Who and The Ronettes, 102.3 FM will play artists such as Elton John, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, Celine Dion, Coldplay and Train. The format was chosen after research in the Winnipeg market found females in the 35 to 49 age bracket under-serviced by FM stations, Poulton said. The station received approval from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to flip to the FM dial in 2002 and has been testing the frequency since October. Because of CRTC regulations written in the mid-1990s to help protect AM stations, Clear FM is not allowed to follow KY-58's format, and that will leave 1290 CFRW as the only place in town to hear oldies on the AM dial. Rogers, which also owns 92 Citi FM, applied for another FM licence to attract more advertising revenues, Poulton said. DEMOGRAPHICS "The advertisers who buy radio time have more demand to target key demographics," he said. The station will be broadcast on the AM and FM dials for the first few months. It won't have any announcers on air until Feb. 15, when the next ratings period starts. One staff member lost his job in the merger, but popular hosts Don Percy and Little Frankie Wonder will remain with the station in different capacities. Percy will host a special today, with former staff members reminiscing about their time on air and taking listener calls. -- Visit the AMANDX DX site with info for the new or experienced listener: http://www.angelfire.com/mb/amandx/index.html REMEMBER ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN HEAR FOREVER 73 and Best of DX (Shawn Axelrod, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) ** CHINA. The ITU Global HF Transmitter Site Table has added the Kashi site as follows: 07-JAN-2004: add KAS Kashi, CHN, 39N30 076E00 The coördinates earlier specified for the MW transmitter(s) are as follows: 075E46 39N20. It seems that the Chinese (or someone else?) have instead specified the coordinates of the city for the SW transmitters. 73 (Olle Alm, Sweden, Jan 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. National channels: CPBS 1st channel is now called "Zhongguo zhi Sheng" (= Voice of China), in English "China National Radio". CPBS 2nd channel is called "Jingji zhi Sheng" (=Voice of Business), in English "China Business Radio". "Zhongguo zhi Sheng" is also heard in connection with the newscasts in the 2nd channel. The CPBS organisation name ("Zhongyang Renmin Guangbo Diantai" = Central People's Broadcasting Station) is retained and is often added before the individual channel names (Olle Alm, ARC via DXLD) 675 Shanghai PBS Traffic Channel: Aug. 31, 0135 ID. (TH) 702 Jiangsu Broadcasting Corp.: Aug. 9, 2020 s/on ID as "Jiangsu Sheng Guangbo Dianshi Zongtai, Xinwen Zonghe Pinlu". 747 Changshu PBS: Sep. 8, 1000 ID. (TH) 810 Zhejiang PBS News & General Channel: Aug. 10, 2013. 24 hours. 846 Changzhou PBS: Nov. 1, 1600 s/off. 846 Suzhou Broadcasting Corporation: Sep. 7, 0811 ID ""Jiangsu Sheng Guangbo Dianshi Zongtai, Suzhou Jingji Jiaotong Pinlu". (TH) 882 Dalian PBS News & General Channel: Aug. 19, 2025 s/on. 891 Shandong PBS: Nov. 13, -1319-1600-. 927 Changzhou PBS: Sep. 8, 0701 ID. (TH) 927 Taizhou PBS: Nov. 22, 1703 s/off. 954 Anshan PBS: Aug. 10, 2025 s/on. 1008 CPBS-1: Sep. 22, 1958 s/on. 1008 Nanjing PBS News Channel: Aug. 2, 2000 s/on. 1008 Wuzi PBS Traffic Station: Nov. 25, 1800 s/off. 1017 Guangdong PBS Satellite Broadcast (Weixing Guangbo): Sep. 10, 1600. 1053 Jiangsu Broadcasting Corp.: Aug. 2, 1530 ID "Diaopin 97,5, Jiangsu Diantai Wenyi Pinlu". 1053 Zhejiang PBS News & General Channel: Nov. 17, 1800 ID. Jammer. 1080 Suzhou Radio & TV (Suzhou Guangbo Dianshi Zonghe Xinwen Zonghe Pinlu): Aug. 10, 2020 s/on. 1098 Anhui PBS Economic Station: Nov. 11, 1650 s/off. Jammer. 1098 Tianjin PBS Coast Station (Binhai Tai): Sep. 1, 1800 s/off. English ID as "Tianjin Binhai Radio". 1098 CPBS-1: Nov. 11, 2000-1730. Jammer. 1116 Changzhou PBS: Sep. 7, 0846 ID. (TH) 1125 Hebei PBS Economic Channel: Aug. 11, 1512 ID. 1152 Hunan PBS News Channel: Sep. 21, 1600 s/off. 1206 Jinling zhi Sheng: Nov. 4, 1036 ID. 1206 Yanbian PBS: Nov. 22, 2125 s/on. Korean. 1224 CPBS for Taiwan: Aug. 8, 1500-1900. Jammer. 1251 Henan PBS News Broadcast: Nov. 28, 1700 s/off. Maybe Jammer. 1251 Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation: Sep. 6, 2020-1600. Jammer. 1255 (1254,9) Shaoxing PBS Economic Station: Aug. 25, 1600 s/off. Nominal on 1251. 1314 Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation: Sep. 7, 2059 s/on. 1323 Heze PBS Traffic Station: Nov. 20, 1610 s/off. Ex Traffic & Music Channel ex. Traffic & Music channel. 1323 Ningbo PBS News & General Channel: Aug. 3, 2110. 1332 Fuzhou PBS News Channel: Aug. 11, 1730 ID. 1341 Taizhou PBS: Nov. 25, 2047 s/on. 1364 Huayi BC: Sep. 2, 1320 ID. 1377 Zhejiang PBS News & General Channel: July 29, 1200. 1377 Huayi BC: Sep. 2, 1320 ID. 1386 Jiangyin PBS: Nov. 27, 1102 ID. 1395 Anhui PBS Life Broadcast: Nov. 24, 1400 ID. Ex Life Station. 1431 CPBS-1: Sep. 22, 1300 ID. Jammer. 1449 Dongying PBS News Channel: Nov. 10, 1433 s/off. 1512 Jinan PBS Traffic Broadcast: Aug. 19, 2001 ID "This is FM 103.1, AM 1512, Jinan Traffic Radio Station". 1521 Changzhou PBS Literature Station, Popular Channel: Aug. 24, 1600 s/off. 1521 Guangdong PBS Satellite Broadcast: Sep. 17, 1758. Maybe jammer. 1521 Jiangsu Broadcasting Corporation: Sep. 11, 2020-1600. Jammer. 1521 Wuxi PBS Health Station: Aug. 24, 1522 ID "Wuxi Jiankang Tai"; Sep. 2, 1702 s/off 1521 Yangzhou PBS Traffic Station: Aug 24, 1500 ID "Yangzhou Jiaotong Tai. 1521 Zhunan Economic Broadcasting Station: Aug. 24, 2005; Sep. 11, 2000-1600 1521 CRI: Aug. 23, 1600-1700 s/off. Chinese programme. Jammer. 1530 Zhejiang PBS Voice of the City: Aug. 25, 2030 ID. 1557 Fujian PBS Nes & General Channel: Nov. 15, 1400 ID. Jammer. 1557 CPBS-1: Nov. 11, 2000-1730. Jammer. (All T. Gima, except TH = T. Hayashi visiting Shanghai. ABI September, October, December issues via Y. Kato via Olle Alm, Arctic Radio Club via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 2200.08, HJMK Emisora Ideal (2 x 1100), Jan 22, 1050- 1104, music, announcer between songs with ID in passing at 1057 into ad block, fair to good signal // 3300.12 (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 degrees, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. No squeal on 9820! When checking RHC Jan 22 around 0530. Very strong signal but hardly any modulation. Cranked audio gain all the way up to hear program at normal level. \\ 9550 was much better but with the usual hum (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CYPRUS [non]. RADIO IBRAHIM. Radio Ibrahim is Media network providing quality information for all Arabic speaking people around the world. We do this through radio, TV and Internet. You can catch our programs on many different stations and transmitters, including Radio Monte Carlo and Radio Moscow [sic]. Some programs are transmitted on Medium wave, so they can only be listened to in the Arabic countries and those surrounding. The short- wave transmissions on the other hand can be heard all over the world. We have received letters from places as diverse as Peru, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and Russia, as well as the thousands we receive from Arabic speaking nations. The purpose of our transmissions are to give accurate information about how to find real purpose and meaning for your life [i.e. by becoming Protestants]. (The station manager of Radio Ibrahim) SW. Schedule: Language Arabic. Gulf Region. 15535. 1130-1230. 2045-2100. 5935. 1900-2030? Middle East. 15715. 0500-0530? North Africa. 9605. 2000-2100. 12025. 2100-2200. Address for reports is: Radio Ibrahim, P. O. Box 56500. 3307 Limassol. Cyprus. E-mail. dx @ radioibrahim.com mail @ radioibrahim.com (via NEW ZEALAND DX TIMES PAGE 19 JANUARY 2004 via DXLD) ** ERITREA. Hi Joe Talbot, Was that 7009.96 a typo or actual frequency. Just checked on 22 Jan at 1810 UT, VOBME Eritrea was on 7100. At the same time R Ethiopia was audible on 7110 // 5990.0 with similar sounding talks and music. 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, Cumbre DX via DXLD) I wondered that too (gh) Hello All: My apologies for the typo! Jari Savolainen is correct, again, the frequency is 7099.96 kHz. The logging remains tentative, no ID heard. Thanks Jari! 73 (Joe Talbot, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GEORGIA. Hi Glenn, Though not shortwave related, this story may have some interesting implications for the radio scene in and around Georgia (Steve Lare, N8KDV, Holland, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: POWELL'S TRIP TO GEORGIA MAY MARK START OF CIVIL WAR By Dick Carlson and Bill Regardie Secretary of State Colin Powell plans to attend the inauguration of Georgia's new president, Mikhail Saakashvilli, this weekend, offering Saakashvilli a symbolic stamp of U.S. approval. In addition to the planned festivities of singers, acrobats, dancing bears and a military parade, Powell may be stepping into the beginning of a civil war set off by the new president. Sources close to the president of a small Georgian republic, the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, say the Adjarans have uncovered a secret plot by Saakashvilli to seize the republic and its port capitol of Batumi in the aftermath of Sunday’s inaugural celebration. Adjarans believe that as soon as Powell leaves Georgia the new president intends to strike against them. . . http://www.thehill.com/story.asp?id=174 (via Steve Lare, DXLD) ** GERMANY. The nation-wide overnight programmes still exist, but one station after another is dropping them. Here is the current situation for overnight programming on the AM outlets of ARD stations: 567. Radio Multikulti (RBB): Own programming, includes rebroadcasts of shows from various European stations (VRT, ORF, RDP etc.) 576, 666, 711, 1017, 1485. SWR cont.ra: From January 1st relay of MDR INFO 594. hr-skyline: ARD-Nachtexpress, will be probably replaced by relay of MDR INFO 702, 792, 828, 972. NDR INFO: Own overnight programming (ARD-Nachtexpress dropped earlier in 2003) 720, 774. WDR 2: Own programming 729, 801. Bayern 1: ARD-Nachtexpress 783, 882, 1044, 1188. MDR INFO: Own programming 828. SWR 4: ARD-Nachtexpress 936. Bremen Eins: Relay of SWR 1 ARD-Nachtexpress is one of the three overnight programs produced on a rota scheme and distributed through circuits leased anyway and otherwise used for feeds. The other ones are ARD-Nachtkonzert, aired by all culture / classical music programs, and ARD-Popnacht. The latter one is already dead meanwhile, used only by HR and SR anymore (Kai Ludwig, 23 Dec 2003, ARC Information Desk 19 Jan 2004 via Olle Alm, DXLD) ** GERMANY. Power 612 pausing (forever?) ULR, the media authority of the Schleswig-Holstein state, granted a service pause until the end of July requested by Power 612. The station states that it will use this pause to realign the program format and to achieve an economical consolidation. The ULR expects Power 612 to develop a conception for programming that will be in accordance with the licence requirements. Power 612 has to return on the air by August 1st of this year; otherwise the licence will be revoked. This authorized pause will be preceded by a one week ban, imposed on Power 612 for violating the licence requirements and coming into force on January 25. Press release of ULR: http://www.ulr.de/ULR_Akt_Presse04/einzelausgabe_D1_3.html Power 612 was on air since 1997 on the 612 daytime-only (0500-1800, during DST 0400-1700) frequency earlier abandoned by Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR). They used the old NDR transmitter at Kiel-Kronshagen, still owned and operated by NDR on behalf of Deutsche Telekom (until recently only DTAG was authorized to run transmitters for commercial stations in Germany). Power 612 also tried to establish a branch in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, but all Power-Radio brought on air there were test loops via Wöbbelin 999. Finally their licence in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was revoked. Around 1999 attempts were being made to launch a nationwide talk radio station, Wöbbelin 999 for some time carried a loop announcing "soon on this frequency the new Talk Radio", but this talk station never materialized and Power 612 continued with their dance music format. For some time just a loop was repeated again and again, forcing URL to temporarily ban Power 612 from broadcasting. Observers are very sceptical about Power 612 ever returning on the air. I am not sure whether or not Power 612 was still on air today: all signals I could make out on 612 when monitoring prior to 1800 were Athlone and Sarajevo. Pictures of the Kiel-Kronshagen station, housing also FM and TV (ch. 5) transmitters: http://www.senderfotos.de/images/schleswigholstein/kronshagen1.jpg http://www.senderfotos.de/images/schleswigholstein/kronshagen2.jpg Mediumwave antenna is obviously the smaller mast with insulators in the guys, in the first picture in the background, in the other one to the right. Earlier press releases of ULR, providing a chronicle of Power 612: February 1997: No licence for Power 612 yet, provided documents insufficient for verifying the journalistic level of the applicant, doubts primarily caused by intention to run the station with very few staff --- http://www.ulr.de/ULR_Akt_Presse97/einzelausgabe_D1_5.html September 1997: Licence for Power 612 granted --- http://www.ulr.de/ULR_Akt_Presse97/einzelausgabe_D1_22.html February 2000: Application for reformatting Power 612 into a talk station granted, project backed by Antenne Bayern, Hit-Radio Antenne and other companies --- http://www.ulr.de/ULR_Akt_Presse00/einzelausgabe_D1_3.html April 2001: ULR warns Power 612 not to further violate the licence requirements, only a loop of 2.5 hours duration on air since mid-February --- http://www.ulr.de/ULR_Akt_Presse01/einzelausgabe_D1_39.html September 2001: One week ban imposed on Power 612 due to continued violations, the program loop run since mid-February was merely replaced by another one of similar duration in May and this time repeated again and again until July --- http://www.ulr.de/ULR_Akt_Presse01/einzelausgabe_D1_20.html January 2003: Legal action of Power 612 against FM allocation favouring Klassik Radio over them failed --- http://www.ulr.de/ULR_Akt_Presse03/einzelausgabe_D1_3.html (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. Clandestine stations [and non]: Hmong Lao Radio Laotian 0100-0200 Wed/Fri 15260 TAI 100 kW / 250 deg, ex 12070 TAC 200 kW / 131 deg R.Sedoye Payem e Doost Persian 0230-0315 Tue-Fri/Sun 7460 KCH 500 kW / 116 deg Radio Sadaye Kashmir Urdu/Kashmiri 0230-0330 Daily 6100 UNID TX MAYBE CIS Voice of Homeland Arabic 0430-0500 Daily 7510 SAM 250 kW / 188 deg Radio Sadaye Kashmir Urdu/Kashmiri 0730-0830 Daily 9890 UNID TX MAYBE CIS Denge Mezopotamya Kurdish 0500-0900 Daily 11530 TAC 100 kW / 256 deg, ex 15675 KVI 250 kW / 110 deg Denge Mezopotamya Kurdish 0900-1700 Daily 11530 KCH 500 kW / 116 deg Voice of Tibet Tibetan/Chinese 1212-1300 Daily 11640 DB 100 kW / 117 deg, co-ch R.Prague Czech till 1227 15615 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg alt. 21495/21525 15680 DB 100 kW / 117 deg alt. 15645 Radio Free Vietnam Vietnamese: 1230-1300 Mon-Fri 9930 WHR 100 kW / 285 deg Degar Voice Khmer 1300-1330 Tue/Thu/Sat 7125 TCH 250 kW / 194 deg alt. 7180 Que Huong Radio Vietnamese: 1330-1400 Mon-Sat 9930 WHR 100 kW / 285 deg Voice of Khmer-Krom Khmer 1400-1500 Tue 11550 VLD 250 kW / 230 deg, ex 11560 Voice of Tibet Tibetan/Chinese 1430-1518 Mon-Wed 7485 TAC 200 kW / 131 deg, ex 7525 Daily Thu-Sun 7525 TAC 200 kW / 131 deg, ex 12025 Daily Dem.Voice of Burma Burmese 1430-1530 Daily 5905 A-A 100 kW / 132 deg, co-ch CRI in Russian 17495 MDC 050 kW / 055 deg Radio Sadaye Kashmir Urdu/Kashmiri 1430-1530 Daily 6100 UNID TX MAYBE CIS Voice of Homeland Arabic 1600-1630 Daily 7470 SAM 250 kW / 188 deg 12085 KCH 500 kW / 150 deg SW Radio Africa English 1600-1900 Daily 6145 MEY 100 kW / 005 deg VOSouthern Azerbaijan Azeri 1630-1700 Tue/Fri 9375 UNID TX IN USB Radio Amani Dari/Pashto 1630-1730 Fri 7350 ARM 100 kW / 104 deg, co-ch VOIROI/IRIB in Persian Voice of Iran Persian 1630-1830 Daily 7580 UNID TX SITE V of Oromo Liberation Oromo 1700-1730 Mon/Thu 7560 SAM 250 kW / 188 deg, ex 12120 Voice of People English 1700-1755 Daily 7120 MDC 050 kW / 265 deg Mezopotamian Radio&TV Kurdish 1700-1800 Tue/Wed/Fri 7560 SAM 250 kW / 188 deg Dejan Radio Tigrina 1700-1800 Sat 7560 SAM 250 kW / 188 deg, ex 12120 Voice of Komala Kurdish 1700-1800 Sun 7560 SAM 250 kW / 188 deg, ex 7560 KVI 200 kW / 125 deg Radio Sagalee Oromiya Oromo 1730-1800 Mon 7560 SAM 250 kW / 188 deg, ex 12120 V of Eritrean People Tigrina 1730-1800 Sun 13690 SKN 300 kW / 125 deg, ex 9990 KVI 250 kW / 140 deg Radio International Persian 1730-1800 Daily 7490 KCH 500 kW / 116 deg Radio International Persian 1800-1815 Thu/Sat 7490 KCH 500 kW / 116 deg V of Eritrean People Tigrina 1800-1830 Sun 7130 SKN 300 kW / 110 deg, co-ch CRI Persian, ex 7530 KVI R.Sedoye Payem e Doost Persian 1800-1845 Tue-Fri/Sun 7480 KCH 500 kW / 116 deg V of Ethiopian Mehdin Amharic 1830-1930 Sun 7520 SAM 250 kW / 188 deg Radio Ezra English 1900-1930 Sun 7560 ARM 100 kW / 284 deg Radio Ecclesia Portuguese 1900-2000 Daily 7205 MEY 250 kW / 328 deg Fang Guang Ming Radio Mandarin 2100-2200 Daily 6035 SAM 200 kW / 297 deg Voice of Biafra Inter Igbo/English 2100-2200 Sat 7380 MEY 250 kW / 335 deg Dem.Voice of Burma Burmese 2330-0030 Daily 5945 JUL 100 kW / 080 deg 12055 MDC 200 kW / 055 deg (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 23 via DXLD) ** IRAN. Some frequency changes for VOIROI/IRIB: 0030-0127 Bengali NF 6185, ex 9520 0100-0257 Tajik/Uzbek NF 4000, ex 5950 0230-0327 Pashto NF 3985, ex 9605 0330-0627 Dari NF 13740, ex 9885 0830-0927 Bengali NF 9565, ex 11705 0830-1157 Dari NF 9855, ex 11860 1200-1457 Dari NF 5050, ex 5965 1500-1727 Uzbek/Tajik NF 4000, ex 5955 2230-2327 Malay NF 9690, ex 9785 (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 23 via DXLD) ** IRAN. In this last group since you have * them, does that mean you are hearing them again?? (gh, DXLD) Glenn, okay, to make this clear: the last group of mostly European lang sces, like German and Italian langs ended really on Dec 21, 2003, and n e v e r appeared again on shortwave from Dec 22nd, 2003 onwards. * marks the outlets, I could hear regularly here in SoGER before Dec 22nd. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Jan 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Japanese 1300-1330 9510 9770 2100-2130 6125 7180 6125*2100 2130 45 SIR 250 60 JAPAN 7180*2100 2130 45 SIR 500 53 JAPAN 9510*1300 1330 45 KAM 500 60 JAPAN 9770*1300 1330 45 SIR 500 60 JAPAN (updated according monitoring by wb, Oct 26-28, Jan 17-19; BC-DX Jan 20 via WORLD OF RADIO 1217, DXLD) ** ISLE OF MAN. IOM LW RADIO VERDICT IN 4-8 WEEKS Long wave radio hearing concludes Wed 21st Jan 2004 A hearing to get a petition to stop a long wave broadcasting licence for the north of the Island has concluded today in the High Court. Bride resident Nick Cussons lodged the petition and claimed the Communications Commission didn't have enough information to grant a substantive licence two years ago. He believes Isle of Man International Broadcasting PLC, who want the Long wave license, hadn't met the conditions set down in the provisional licence, which was awarded in nineteen ninety-nine. The aim of the petition is to get the licence revoked, although Paul Rusling, chief executive of IMIB, remains hopeful he can progress with his plans for a long-wave radio station in the north of the Island. After a two and a half-day hearing, Acting Deemster Roger Kaye will now consider his verdict which is expected to be made known between four to eight weeks (manxradio.com via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. The two Israel Defence Forces-run radio stations - Army Radio and the music station Galgalatz - will be able to start airing advertisements, according to a proposal the defence minister plans to submit to a ministerial committee on Sunday (Ronny Koren-Dinar via Steve Whitt, MWC e-mail news 9.1.2004 via ARC Information Desk 19 Jan 2004 via Olle Alm, DXLD) ** IVORY COAST. CÔTE D`IVOIRE POLICEMAN JAILED FOR 17 YEARS FOR KILLING FRENCH JOURNONALIST | Text of report by French news agency AFP on 22 January Abidjan, 22 January: A military court in Abidjan on Thursday sentenced Ivorian police sergeant Theodore Seri to 17 years' imprisonment for the murder of the Radio France Internationale journalist Jean Helene. Source: AFP news agency, Paris, in French 1813 gmt 22 Jan 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KUWAIT. Checked 11675 for new DRM from here, Jan 22 after 2200, but could not hear any such noise above the ambient noise level (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KUWAIT [and non]. 1925 EST [0025 UT Jan 23]. VOA 1548 with good audio, man speaking in Arabic, I think. Easily separable from the stuff on 1550. S9+. Also 1575 has something going well over S9, pop music in English. Below 1300 I have lots of noise tonight (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT, Jan 22, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) Those crazy 1500's --- Those of you who might be looking for some TAs (and perhaps a little diversion from all this IBOC frustration) ought to try the 1500's these days. Last night, for example, between 1700 and 1800 EST Saudi-1521 had an awesome signal, reducing WWKB to a het, but it was the only TA. Tonight Saudi-1521 was hardly noticeable but between 1800 and 1900 the 1500's were loaded with TAs. 1548 was a jumble for a while with Radio Sawa Kuwait eventually coming out on top. 1575 sounded like a domestic regional channel and so did 1602. France-1557 was big with pop music, and there were also signals on 1503, 1512, 1539, 1566 and 1584. And after Saudi signed off on 1521 there was another one, probably Spain. The rest of the band seemed dead. You never know! (Ben Dangerfield, Wallingford, Pa. [SE cor Pa], Jan 22, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** LATVIA. 945, Radio Gold 945AM in Riga will start 24h transmissions on 945 kHz in the very next time. The station bought a 2.7kW Blyth transmitter which is recently being installed at the transmitting centre in Ulbroka (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, ARC Information Desk 19 Jan 2004 via Olle Alm, DXLD) ** MALTA. Heard the Voice of Malta during its final few days on air at the end of last year and he noted this station on 6110 kHz at 0630 UT (North American DX Report - Dr. Floyd Layer, Indiana, USA, AWR Wavescan Jan 25 via DXLD) That was scheduled in Arabic via Rome, except Sundays, V. of the Mediterranean (gh, DXLD) ** MEXICO. 4810.00, XERTA, Jan 17, 1023-1157*, program of contemporary christian music, blues, gospel, funk and an over-the-top rock religious fight song with the refrain "God's got an army and he's not afraid to fight", canned ID at 1053, and sign-off in mid-song at 1157, a pretty strange and unsettling mix of music coming from Mexico (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 degrees, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. Well, here I am! ("himself") I found out about this group through my former loyal secretary (Helma) who still works for RN. I am alive and kicking. Healthy, happy and spending my time (of which there never seems to be enough) doing the things I love (too many to mention). I was amazed and flattered, to be called a "Latino" since I am (and have always been) half Dutch and half Swiss. However, I produced and presented shows in English AND Spanish for RN(e.g. "musicalmente suyo"), some of which were only broadcast by FM local stations in many Latin American countries, among which probably Radio Clarín (TOM MEIJER (Happy Station and La Estación de la Alegría host from 1970 until 1993) - HOLLAND, thehappystation yahoogroup via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. We attended the auction of KXOK-LPTV 32, as scheduled, 10 am CST Jan 22 at the Garfield County Courthouse. It was supposed to be on the south steps (outside), so we were bundled up for the temp of about 40 degrees, but since no one but the participants and us showed up, it was moved inside next to a sweltering radiator. Chuck Pearson, of Media Manics, the original owner was there, along with his lawyer Tom Leonard, and the lawyer for Rex Faulkner, Michael D. Roberts, but not Faulkner himself. The opening minimum bid of $60,000 was made by Pearson, and as planned, it was bettered by Faulkner`s at $61,000. Once the confirmation of sale goes through Feb. 2, always subject to FCC approval sometime in the future, Pearson will finally get some of the money Faulkner has owed him for years, but still suffer a considerable loss. The auction was only for the license, not any physical property. We glanced through the court documents in this case, and see there is a lot more to all this. http://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/GetCaseInformation.asp?number=cj-2002-496&db=Garfield&submitted=true Faulkner had been charged with contempt of court previously; and the value of the license had allegedly been degraded, since there was an application to upgrade it (up from LPTV status??). Now presumably, it`s all Faulkner`s problem. The final .tif document dated Jan. 22 at the above link confirms the $61,000 sale. Meanwhile, the station is a laughingstock, ever the past weekend broadcasting a frozen frame (``loss of signal``) for a couple of days straight! (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. On 22 Jan at 1600 heard 5027.2 R Pakistan, Quetta with English news. This was in parallel with Islamabad transmitters 4790 and 5080.2 but Quetta had about 2 seconds delay in audio. 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PARAGUAY. MW station info from Adán Mur of R. América: ZP15 licence applies both to Pedro Juan Caballero and to Ayolas (San Roque Glz. de Santa Cruz). Two Stations, two locations, one ZP callsign - 550 ZP16 R. Parque, Ciudad del Esta [sic -- Este?] – is active 680 ZP41 R. Ypacaraí – operation ceased 920 ZP1 R. Nacional, Asunción 10kW daytime, 100 kW during hours of darkness 1000 ZP36 R. Mil – new address: Av. 25 de Mayo, 1164 Asunción 1250 ZP3 R. Libertad – ex R. Asunción 1330 ``1330-AM`` - new station testing from Asunción 1360 ZP37 Yby Ya`u – correct spelling 1480 R. América, Nemby – 5 kW – relay of R. América, Villeta (ARC's SA News Desk January 2004, editor is Tore B Vik via Tore Larsson, DXLD) ** PERU. 3329.46 (tentative), Ondas de Huallaga, Jan 23, 1037-1103, unusually good signal this morning with Vernacular christian religious talk and singing, 1054 program ending announcement followed by long ad block including a message from the Ministry of Health and a tentative ID at 1102. Normally strong CHU was almost totally minimized in LSB receive mode (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 degrees, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BTW, I believe it`s Ondas del Huallaga. Names like this with the masculine preposition before what looks like a feminine name usually result from the word ``Rio`` (m.) between them being understood, and even if the name is masculine, ``Rio`` is still often omitted (gh, DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. Re: 1143, 1170 The Poro medium wave site is about to be moved further out on the tip of Poro Point to the site of the former Wallace Air Station (Benj. F. Dawson III, P.E., Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers, LLC, Seattle, WA, Dec 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The site will have five towers, each 270 ft., and two different patterns (IBB info via Olle Alm ARC Information Desk 19 Jan 2004 via Olle Alm, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 981, Religious programmes provided by the Moscow based radio station Radio Tsentr (Moscow 1503 kHz) are now also aired via a 50 kW transmitter in Blagoveshchensk, Amurskaya oblast (Russian Far East) on 981 kHz. The programmes are in Russian and English, the schedule is 0800-1600 and 2200-0100. (Info: guzei.com website) (Bernd Trutenau via MWDX 17.12.2003, ARC Information Desk 19 Jan 2004 via Olle Alm, DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non]. VoR in China --- The concert, that was prepared by the Chinese service of the Voice of Russia, was broadcast earlier today by the People’s Radio of the Henan Province, whose programmes were devoted to the New Year on a lunar calendar. The listeners in the central provinces in China heard congratulations on the occasion and also listened to the fragments of the Russian classical and popular music. The Chinese service of the Voice of Russia is holding talks about airing a series of special programmes about Russia’s culture and art that will be broadcast for the 140 millions of listeners of the People’s Radio of the Henan Province (Voice of Russia News, Jan. 22, 2004, via Sergei Sosedkin, IL, DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non]. KAZAKHSTAN, 9355, La Voix du L'Orthodoxie. Jan. 16 at *1630-1700*, SINPO 44433. Started with sound of bell and ID in Russian, followed by talk by a man (NAGATANI Iwao, JAPAN, Japan Premium via DXLD) Not clear why its name should be in French; or is it based in France? ** SAUDI ARABIA. ROUND-THE-CLOCK HAJ RADIO TRANSMISSION FROM TOMORROW Maha Akeel, Arab News Staff http://www.arabnews.com/services/email/email.asp?artid=38434&d=22&m=1&y=2004&hl=Round-the-Clock%20Haj%20Radio%20Transmission%20From%20Tomorrow JEDDAH, 22 January 2004 - The Pilgrimage Enlightenment Radio, a seasonal arm of the Broadcasting Service of the Kingdom, will begin transmitting round the clock from tomorrow. The Pilgrimage Enlightenment Radio began transmission at the beginning of Dul Qaada for 12 hours daily but from the first of Dul Hijjah it will broadcast for 24 hours each day. The 24-hour broadcasts will continue until the end of Dul Hijjah. "It's a special transmission for pilgrims that is broadcast every year during Haj," said Samar Fatany from Saudi Radio. "It provides information about Saudi rules and regulations, Haj rituals, services provided and also a news bulletin," she told Arab News. The Pilgrimage Enlightenment Radio transmits in eight languages: Arabic, English, French, Persian, Turkish, Hausa, Indonesian and Urdu. It transmits on two Medium Waves: on 594 Kilohertz for listeners in Makkah and the neighboring areas and the other on 1017 Kilohertz for listeners in Madinah. It also transmits on two FM Waves of 94.2 Kilohertz [sic] and 101 Kilohertz [sic] for listeners in Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah. The radio's technical equipment, programs and staff are provided by the Ministry of Culture and Information. Its performance is monitored by Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy and his assistant, Prince Turki ibn Sultan. Several official departments, as well as relevant establishments, are regular contributors of programs to the Pilgrimage Enlightenment Radio. Among the new programs this year is one entitled: "With You on the Air" which provides live coverage of the various activities relating to the pilgrimage and pilgrims. This includes up-to-date reports monitoring pilgrims' movements from one place to another and instructions regarding matters of interest in the fields of religion, health, environment, safety and motor traffic. This new program also features interviews with pilgrimage specialists and the pilgrims themselves. In addition to these there are news bulletins, news briefs, and, in all eight languages, the weather conditions day and night in the two holy cities as well as other pilgrimage sites (Arab News via Horacio Nigro, DXLD) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. I see that the Overcomer now claims to be on 7 days at 1100-1200 on 5070 (and 1200-1400, surely not correct). Can you confirm about the 1100 hour, which would mean that WOR is gone from Sat 1130 (gh to Adam Lock, WWCR) Glenn, Incorrect information. Current sked for 1100-1200 UT. Bro Stair is on 3 transmitters at once (15825, 5070 & 5770) but that is only 5 days a week. Sat & Sun he is on 5770 (Xmtr #4) only. I know nothing about the 12-1400 UT, except of course for Xmtr #4. Much and many thanks to both you and your listeners for the help on the 9985 monitoring (Adam Lock, WWCR, Jan 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As I tuned across 9475, Jan 23 at 1425, Brother Scare was yelling about his schedule, so I forced myself to listen in case there is anything new, with the usual caveat about accuracy even from the horse`s --- mouth. He said he`s now (or soon?) on WBCQ 5105, 14 hours a night starting at 2200, so that would be until 1200 UT. (Too bad something rational, like RFPI, couldn`t occupy this time.) If it`s 7 days a week, this would knock out just about everything else previously scheduled on 5105, including WORLD OF RADIO, UT Mon at 0515. B.S. also said from Feb 1 he is on B-Sky-B, SkyNet satellite in Britain, channel 913, at 5-7 am. Also on a MW station somewhere in China on 585, at 2200 UT, and on an Istanbul FM frequency I missed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [non]. I'm puzzled by recent reports of Sudan Radio Service being on the additional frequency of 15290 at 1500-1700. I've recently got to know SRS station manager Mike Kuenzli at their studios here in Nairobi, and he confirms that they are on the air at present as follows: 0300-0500 on 9625 1500-1700 15530 Both Monday-Friday only. I heard nothing on 15290 when I checked at the appropriate time yesterday. Both 9625 and 15530 are good signals here. Kuenzli says they hope to increase output to six hours a day by March or April. Regards, (Chris Greenway, Kenya, Jan 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. 6765U, Bangkok Meteorological Radio Jan. 17 1257-1345 43333, Weather information in English and Thai (ISHIZAKI Kyoshiro, JAPAN, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** U A E. 1539, Sadiyat no longer mentioned in the IBB and Radio Farda schedules, so may have been taken off the air as no longer needed after the activation of 1170 (Olle Alm, ARC Information Desk 19 Jan 2004 via DXLD) ** U K. BBC FAULTS ITSELF IN REVIEW OF FUROR ON THE CASE FOR WAR January 22, 2004 By PATRICK E. TYLER http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/22/international/europe/22KELL.html?ex=1075793836&ei=1&en=cc81e127422ffb5d LONDON, Jan. 21 - Just days before an official verdict on whether Prime Minister Tony Blair exaggerated the case for war in Iraq, the BBC on Wednesday broadcast a documentary that aired a litany of its own mistakes in reporting the suspected misuse of intelligence. The clash between the BBC and the government has turned the outcome of the inquiry by a respected jurist, Lord Hutton, into a referendum on Mr. Blair's political future and the broadcaster's credibility. The BBC, which as much as any institution created a distinct culture of worldwide news gathering and reportage, was described by its own producers as being too loose with language, too distracted to investigate charges that its reporting was wrong, and simply negligent in checking the basis of a two-minute report on May 29, 2003, that members of Mr. Blair's staff had "sexed up" the case to go to war with Iraq by using intelligence they "probably knew" was wrong. But the 90-minute program also asserted that British intelligence chiefs were too willing to approve the sensational formulations that Mr. Blair's staff wanted to use to persuade the public that Saddam Hussein was an imminent threat. The May report, by a defense correspondent, Andrew Gilligan, incited a strong public reaction as many Britons, already disturbed by Mr. Blair's close alignment with the war camp in Washington, learned that trust in the intelligence services might have been undermined by politicians. Mr. Blair's supporters lashed back, accusing the BBC of bad reporting and antiwar bias. The conflict reached a tempestuous peak last July after a government weapons scientist, Dr. David Kelly, identified himself as the source of the report to the government, which soon confirmed his role publicly. Dr. Kelly, 59, was grilled by investigative committees armed with transcripts of what he had said to BBC reporters in confidence. In a vise between the news media and his own government, he slit his wrists in the woods near his home on July 17. The suicide set off Lord Hutton's inquiry, which next Wednesday will try to settle the question: did Mr. Blair deceive the public by exaggerating the case for war, or did the BBC unfairly impugn the prime minister's integrity? The "Panorama" program, created by the BBC's investigative documentary unit, appeared to be trying to distill the most unpleasant questions that its producers believe Lord Hutton must resolve. It included previously unused film from an October 2002 interview with Dr. Kelly in which he was asked whether there was an "immediate threat" from Mr. Hussein's chemical or biological weapons. "Yes, there is," he replied. "Even if they're not actually filled and deployed today, the capability exists to get them filled and deployed within a matter of days and weeks. So yes, there is a threat." The report thus sheds new light on Dr. Kelly's views right after Mr. Blair had made his case to the British public in September 2002, including the claim that Iraq could activate chemical or biological weapons in 45 minutes and threaten British forces as far away as Cyprus. But the documentary also sought to establish that while many intelligence professionals considered the Iraqi leader dangerous - especially if attacked - they were uncomfortable with political efforts to turn raw intelligence into unequivocal fact so as to portray him an imminent threat to Western interests. Dr. Kelly, 59, was in the camp of those scientists who were uncomfortable with the political pressure exerted by Mr. Blair's top aides. In the documentary, Sir Rodric Braithwaite, the former chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee that advises the British prime minister, said his successor, John Scarlett, "crossed a red line" by allowing Mr. Blair's political aides into the drafting process of the intelligence dossier on Iraq. Moreover, the documentary explained, one shard of intelligence was sensationalized: a claim from a single unconfirmed source that Iraqis might be able to deploy short-range battlefield chemical weapons within 45 minutes and threaten British forces in the region. That claim was the focus of the May BBC report, in which Mr. Gilligan said, "The government probably knew that the 45-minute figure was wrong even before it decided to put it in" an intelligence dossier. "The dossier was presented as an objective assessment of the threat, yet it did not have all the careful qualification that intelligence assessments usually come with," the BBC producers asserted in the documentary. "To some, not just John Scarlett, but every member" of the Joint Intelligence Committee "is as responsible for any sexing up as No. 10," the program said, referring to the prime minister's office at 10 Downing Street. The documentary was blunt in some indictments of the BBC's reporting. "Trust in the BBC is an inheritance that been built up over nearly 80 years," a voice-over said. "It stands or falls on the accuracy of its news reporting." But in this case, it went on, the BBC's director general, Greg Dyke, "and his senior executives bet the farm on a shaky foundation." Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company (via Don Thornton, Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. DYKE TO OPEN UP BBC ARCHIVE http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3177479.stm (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) ** U K. GWR BOSS CALLS FOR DIGITAL RADIO SWITCHOVER DATE From Media Guardian http://media.guardian.co.uk/radio/story/0,12636,1128061,00.html The chairman of Classic FM owner GWR today called on the government to set a date when it will switch off the current analogue signal to boost take-up of digital radio. His plea for this audacious move, which would almost certainly prove more controversial than the switch-off of the analogue TV service, came as Dixons revealed it sold more digital radio sets than analogue models over Christmas for the first time. The GWR chairman, Ralph Bernard, has added to the pressure on the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, who is already facing calls to announce a definite date for the switch to digital television, currently scheduled for between 2006 and 2010. "It's my belief that the time has come for the government to announce a digital switchover for radio, as it has for television," Mr Bernard told an industry forum this afternoon, adding that he had today written to Ms Jowell and the Ofcom chief executive, Stephen Carter, to call for a target date. "Now we have digital radio on a roll, it's the right time to give the industry a boost with a plan for digital radio switchover. It may take 10 or 15 years - Germany has announced a target date of 2015 - but the sooner we start the sooner we'll finish," he added. Digital listening, offering better sound quality and more stations as well as the ability for advertisers to target listeners with location- based data services, has taken off over the past six months as the price of receivers has fallen below £100. More than 400,000 digital radio sets have been sold to date, a quarter of them over Christmas, and the radio industry is predicting take-up of 1 million sets by the end of the year. A number of new manufacturers are set to enter the market this year, increasing competition and driving down prices even further. But the radio industry faces even more of a challenge than television in switching off the existing signal, given the millions of analogue radios in offices, kitchens and bathrooms across the country. The switch to digital would particularly benefit GWR, which has invested heavily in the medium. It is the majority shareholder in Digital One, the only national commercial digital radio service, which broadcasts 10 stations including Classic FM, Core, Planet Rock and The Storm. Including local services, the company owns more than 60 digital licences. Radio companies with an interest in digital radio are keen to promote its benefits. The former Emap radio chief, Tim Schoonmaker, who left the company earlier this month, said last year he expected a quarter of all listeners to be tuning in through digital sets, digital TV or the internet by next spring. "Stephen Carter, the chief executive of Ofcom, said at the Oxford Media Convention last week there should be a 'Switchco' set up to manage the transition to digital TV in much the same way as you would manage an Olympic bid - drawing together the parties in pursuit of a common goal," said Mr Bernard. "Stephen said that we needed a coherent vehicle to implement the switchover process. He was talking about digital television, but his points apply equally to digital radio - and I've written to him to ask that radio should be included in the Switchco vehicle," he added. Mr Bernard also called on Ofcom and the government to ensure that the new broadcast spectrum that will shortly become available should be used for digital radio, so that every part of the country could receive both local and national services (via Scott Hatley, DAB yahoogroup via Paul David, DXLD) ** U S A. Jan 22 at 2228 tuned in 13089.0 and heard Perfect Paul giving NWS weather for the Atlantic. However, at 2230, ANOTHER Perfect Paul came on exactly the same frequency giving NWS weather for the Pacific! The latter was notably stronger throughout. This clash continued for a full half hour until 2259, when one of them stopped, and then the other one stopped at 2301 after ID as USCG NMN, and phone 1-800-743-8519 (not sure of 3rd and 7th digit --- P.P. still needs to work on pronunciation; he also says ``millibers`` instead ``of millibars``). The same mixture was heard on 17314.0, and, I believe, tho reception was not so good, on 8764.0. What`s going on here? Both were on USB and exactly the same frequencies. At first I figured a timer went wrong, and one failed to stop when the other was scheduled to start. Then I inspected WUN`s Marine Info Broadcasts schedules at http://www.wunclub.com/files/sched_bc.html In that list, NMN Portsmouth VA is the ONLY station listed at any time on these three frequencies. NMO Honolulu is the only other one on HF with weather on USB at some time of day, such as 1145 UT, but nowhere around 2230, and its frequencies are slightly different. BTW, NMN is shown to use 17314.0 only at 1730 (along with 8 and 13), while at 2200 and 2330 it`s on 6501.0 (which I did not know about in time to check), 8764.0 and 13089.0. Other times for it are 1130 and 1600. So I am left wondering if the audio input to NMN somehow was getting two feeds at once, rather than two outputs, transmitters on the air at the same time. Perfect apparently wasn`t monitoring the frequencies during his pauses, or he might have noticed something amiss. Then I checked Bill Snyder`s Hurricane Frequencies list http://aa6kc.home.mindspring.com/ and found that NMC San Francisco (missing as a USB weather source at WUN) is scheduled for a broadcast at 2230 on exactly the same frequency, so from this it looks like my original theory is correct, NMN running over its 2200 broadcast --- by half an hour! --- to clash with NMC at 2230 (and I include the others for good measure): 13089.0 USB USCG wx NMN Portsmouth (1130 1600 1730 2200 2330) 13089.0 USB USCG wx NMC San Francisco (0430 1030 1630 2230) 13089.0 USB USCG wx NMO Honolulu (0000 1800) 13089.0 USB USCG wx Marianas Section Guam (0300 2130) And let`s check the other frequencies, keeping in mind that which bands are used at different times of day may vary depending on propagation conditions: 08764.0 USB USCG wx NMN Portsmouth (0330 0500 0930 1130 1600 1730 2200 2330) 08764.0 USB USCG wx NMC San Francisco (0430 1030 1630 2230) 08764.0 USB USCG wx NMO Honolulu (0000 0600 1200 1800) 17314.0 USB USCG wx from NMN Portsmouth (1730) 17314.0 USB USCG wx from NMC San Francisco (1630 2230) Let`s check a third listing, Hugh Stegman`s at http://www.ominous-valve.com/hurrlist.txt 8764.0 USCG, Honolulu, HI, Pac WX at 0000, 0600, 1200, 1800 8764.0 USCG, Portsmouth, VA, Atlantic WX at 0330, 0500, 0930, 1130, 1600, 1730, 2200, and 2330 8764.0 USCG CAMSPAC Pt. Reyes, Pac WX 0430, 1030, 1630, 2230 13089.0 USCG, Guam, Pacific WX at 0300 and 2130 13089.0 USCG, Honolulu, HI, Pacific WX at 0000 and 1800 13089.0 USCG, Portsmouth, VA, Atlantic WX at 1130, 1600, 1730, 2200, and 2330 13089.0 USCG CAMSPAC Pt Reyes, Pac WX at 0430, 1030, 1630, 2230 17314.0 USCG, Portsmouth, VA, Atlantic WX at 1730 17314.0 USCG, San Francisco, CA, Pacific WX at 1630 and 2230 Here`s the official info, tho more than a sesquiyear old: MF/HF High Seas Voice Broadcasts --- U.S. COAST GUARD HF RADIOTELEPHONE (SINGLE SIDEBAND) BROADCAST SCHEDULE http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/marcomms/cgcomms/voice.htm This also shows both NMN and NMC on 8764 and 13089, but NMN at 2200 and 2330, NMC at 2230. 24 hours later, Jan 23 at 2229 I tuned in 13089 and heard Atlantic weather alone, but just before 2231 the second, weaker station came up with ID and frequency list, hard to copy under the first one, but presumably San Francisco, again in a clash. On 17314 this time I heard only Pacific weather. 8764 was weak, but seemed to have both of them. Someone will probably argue that at least on 13089, since I am halfway between NMC and NMN, in the middle of the country, interference is to be expected, and of no concern on dry land, but not interference problem out in the Atlantic and Pacific, respectively. I`m not buying that. BTW, after the Jan 22 clash was over at 2302, I noticed a YL giving unID weather on SSB, 17311. That frequency is not on any of the three private lists. Then I checked my hardcopy of Kingenfuss` 2002 Shortwave Frequency Guide. Possibilities on 17311 USB are: IAR Rome, LYL Klaipeda, 5WA Apia. Listening again Jan 23 from tune-in at 2305 already in progress, her voice is obviously American-synthetic, so doubt any of those three stations; she is a bit more erratic with skips and jumps; also began with info from Miami. Concluded before 2311, missed ID; 17314 was still going (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non?]. There is a utility signal on 9983. Jan 23 noticed at 1415, and pretty much continuous, but off at 1500. Idling RTTY? Not sure about identifying exactly what it is. Fair strength. Did not notice it when WWCR was on 9985 Sunday morning, and may be able to override it, but 9983 station might be upset about WWCR on 9985. When it was on, KHBN 9985 could not be heard (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 194, TUK has been MIA all season -- were they decommissioned or have they lowered power? I miss them -- so much history with CONSOLAN and such (Ken Zichi, MI, MARE Jan 22 via DXLD) ** U S A [non]: Frequency change for Voice of America in Tibetan: 1400-1500 NF 7115, ex 7290 \\ 6015, 11790, 12040 Freq change for Radio Liberty in Kazakh: 1400-1500 NF 7290, ex 12010 \\ 9660, 17680 (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 23 via DXLD) ** U S A. Another error at Delano: V. of Greece relay was missing from 9690, Jan 22 at 1415, but instead on 9670. At recheck 1446 it was back on 9690. In the meantime, All India Radio GOS in English was uncovered on 9690, good reception with ID and press review at 1420, aside from the usual modulation and accent problems (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. There are five interesting entries in the international section for shortwave stations in the United States. 1. Station WRNO in New Orleans is shown on the air with one transmitter at 50 kW. 2. Station WMLK in Bethel Pennsylvania is shown on the air with their new transmitter operating at the half power level, 125 kW. 3. Station WRMI in Miami Florida is shown with two transmitters on the air at 50 kW. 4. The shortwave station located at Upton, Kentucky is shown with four transmitters at 50 kW under the new callsign WJIE. 5. The new American shortwave station at Rancho Cucamonga in California is shown with one transmitter at 50 kW under the callsign KIMF (Adrian Michael Peterson, IN, AWR Wavescan Jan 25 via DXLD) That`s in a review of the WRTH 2004; strange he should pick these out, because they are all wrong (or not yet in effect)! We all know? That WRNO is rarely on the air, and when it is, it`s more like a hundred watts or so ham transceiver backup. We have been waiting years for WMLK to get its ex-Swiss 250 kW transmitter going at half power, but no sign of it yet. WRMI expects to add a second transmitter, but not yet. WJIE may have four transmitters (or parts of them), but never have four been on the air at once – at most, two, tho another 100 kW ex-FEBA has arrived and will take some time to get on the air. KIMF is not on the air and is NOT in California (that`s the office HQ), but in Piñón, New Mexico (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WSWK 1690AM --- Glenn, On the night of January 19 at around 8:00 PM local I heard a strong signal on 1690 kHz at my location just northeast of Atlanta in Suwanee, GA. The station was playing classical music during this time with no announcements during the time period I was listening. I believe this was WSWK testing which has a CP license for Avondale Estates, GA (an Atlanta suburb) on 1690 kHz. From the good signal strength, I believe this is from their new Avondale Estates location. They have previously been heard from their Adel, GA location. I had not heard any signal on subsequent nights on 1690 kHz when I checked, but I continue to check when it goes back on the air again (Harry Smith, GA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. We're getting closer to nighttime IBOC..... At the NAB's RADIO BOARD meeting in KEY BISCAYNE, the board voted unanimously to endorse the NAB Digital Radio Committee's support of nighttime IBOC digital service for AM, saying that the audio improvement is "well worth" the reduction in analog coverage. (From allaccess.com 1/21/04 via Chuck Hutton, NRC-AM via DXLD) The continuing self-delusion that's going on here is incredible - first, most of them have no idea what the coverage implications will be because nobody knows how many stations will go forward with it and what interference will follow; second because of the continuing belief that improving the audio is going to accomplish anything on its own ( without content changes ); third, even with content improvements ( which aren't likely to occur ), the audio still won't compare favorably to solid analog FM, let alone IBOC FM, so the 'defection to FM' isn't going to be reversed; and finally, they are pretty much clueless about propagation effects (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) The publication "Inside Radio.com", which unfortunately requires a subscription to get full access to their information, has the following headline story on today's e-mail teaser: "For AM, is better audio worth the tradeoff of less nighttime coverage?" It's a pivotal question -- and the NAB Radio Board just said "Yes." This is a fundamental policy call that will forever change the way nighttime AM broadcasting works. The details are in today's Inside Radio (Sheldon Harvey, QC, ibid.) There's no easy way to cut and paste from the Inside Radio PDF, but in a nutshell the NAB Radio Board, meeting in Florida, unanimously voted to ask the FCC to authorize nighttime IBOC on an interim basis. A couple of quotes from the meeting: "The dramatically improved audio quality from IBOC service at night is well worth the predicted and limited reductions in analog coverage" and "in the event there are reductions in stations' nighttime analog service areas beyond those predicted by the studies, the FCC should take steps to address those problems." The article's author, Tom Taylor, observes that this will "forever change the way nighttime AM broadcasting works" because the big skywave clear-channel signals won't work well with IBOC. My comments: I think Tom has a better grip on this than many of the broadcasters themselves do. As DXers, we too have, collectively, a much clearer vision of how the AM dial will sound when it's full of IBOC than most of the station group owners do. Remember, these guys are businesspeople, not engineers, for the most part, and they don't always --- or often --- listen to what the engineers are saying. Also, just because the NAB endorses it doesn't automatically mean the FCC will bite --- there are still a few people there with an engineering background who could raise a stink. And even if the NAB endorses it and the FCC approves it, if there really IS significant damage to analog coverage on, say, WBZ and KDKA or WCHR/WEPN/KYW, there WILL be repercussions of some sort that could get interesting. (One more note about Inside Radio: They - my 100kw bosses - make issues available for free on the insideradio.com website three days after publication. So today's issue will be available without requiring a password next Monday.) s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) Of course, this pre-supposes that a) the projections are even moderately accurate, and b) that the FCC has an enforcement budget to speak of. I think that, were this to come to fruition, there will be a lot of very surprised people on the business side of the industry (Russ Edmunds, ibid.) Whatever comes to pass won't likely be an issue for the FCC's enforcement division. I suspect it's more likely we'll start seeing lawsuits among stations over lost coverage areas. Then it will REALLY start to get interesting (Fybush, ibid.) The other interesting piece of this is what happens when they start interfering with their own stations -- for instance WINS-1010, KDKA- 1020 and WBZ-1030 are all owned by Infinity, and are all geographically close enough to one another to mutually interfere (Russ Edmunds, ibid.) And the FCC will be also be a defendant in these lawsuits. It does surprise me that the big guns are willing to throw away their skywave coverage. But since they are, there will be opportunities for daytimers to go full time. Let each frequency sound like a graveyard (Paul Smith, W4KNX, Sarasota, FL, ibid.) Sounds like a perfect opportunity to write to a station's public file with a request to fix the problem. I know I will. Having lost my local stations due to idiotic programming and incompetence, I depend on stations like WJR, CKLW, and others at night. I wonder how a station would address an issue by a listener requesting them to add a translator to overcome IBOC interference from adjacent channels. Or, ask them to construct a syncro in order to receive the station without interference. If they would elect not to, then it seems to me they are content to give up the coverage, and therefore a petition could be made to reduce the station's [protected] coverage so a new signal could come on the air in the affected area. Can you say, the entire band goes Class 4? |big grin| And I wonder how CKLW will handle complaints in Toledo and Cleveland, two communities where they do have listeners (Fred Vobbe, Lima OH, ibid.) You mean I could still own a 1 kW local radio station. Let me stress the local aspect of that, too, as "local" WFSH is now "ESPN 1340." And if skywave doesn't matter anymore, I'll apply for 750. That shouldn't bother WSB too much, should it? Feeling feisty, (Gerry Bishop, Niceville FL, ibid.) But here's the catch - what David was saying wasn't so much "35-40 miles" as "outside the Arbitron market." So if you're KABC or KFWB in Los Angeles, with a 5 kW signal that already can't cover the entire market as well as it would like, any further incursion into your contour is bad news --- and if KKOH in Reno turns on IBOC at night, KABC will feel it in its fringe areas. If I may better paraphrase what David was saying, "listenership OUT OF MARKET doesn't matter anymore." s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) Seriously, if the whole US goes digital, especially at night, they will have to reduce powers to perhaps 10 to 25%. Otherwise face a problem with each other's digital getting into the co and adjacent channel. Case in point, WJR will be killed by WSB and WBBM here in Lima. It will really get interesting to see how our local stations will fare. For example, WIMA does not put in a killer signal at my home, but 1140 and 1160 could take out any signal I could get. Since WIMA serves Lima, and I'm in city limits, do I have reason to be upset? Does WIMA have due cause to make engineering changes? WLJM will be non-existent here with strong signals on 950 and 930. I can think of a lot of other situations where distant, out of market signals, will destroy perhaps 25% or more of a station`s MARKET (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) If you're talking about nighttime, WLJM doesn't have a case, since it's a class D facility - essentially a daytimer that's allowed 249 watts or less at night as a courtesy but with absolutely no protection from interference of any sort. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) And the IBOC signals can't handle interference themselves. Range at 50,000 watts might be as little as a graveyarder today. A Chicago based engineer said the coverage of a groundwave 50 kW clear channel could be reduced 50-75%. EVEN in town the local 1070 50 kW before powerdown gets clobbered by WIBC. All IBOC would give it, what a 5 mile range? Mike McCarthy, a Chicago engineer, thinks it will be FAR worse than that 50% or even more (Powell E. Way, III, SC, ibid.) That could be right. Remember that the slope of the response of the analog radio will dictate how much interference someone will receive from an adjacent IBOC station. So, the better your radio, the worse the interference. Those of us with SuperRadio IIIs and Sony 2010s will have to listen only in narrowband. The wideband mode will be useless (Fred Vobbe, ibid.) Remembering that the FCC IBOC order included a section on how to handle IBOC interference complaints, I suspect the FCC will indeed be involved (Chuck Hutton, WA, ibid.) Whatever comes to pass won't likely be an issue for the FCC's enforcement division. I suspect it's more likely we'll start seeing lawsuits among stations over lost coverage areas. Then it will REALLY start to get interesting. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) I wish I could understand where they get the "improved audio quality" from. The samples on WOR's web page, which are really all any of us have to go by, sound roughly like 32 KBPS Real Audio. In other words, a very good sound if you are connecting to the Internet over a dial-up MODEM at 56K, but not something one would expect out of their radio. I recall an advertisement that was airing a few years ago promoting high-speed Internet access. They had a radio playing a few seconds of audio, cutting out, then playing again, etc. They said "you don't expect this from your radio, do you? So why put up with it from your Internet connection?" Now, with IBOC, we are liable to have just that effect from our new digital radios as we drive under power lines, or start getting to the fringe area of reception. Or, it could be like the newer Real Players which would drop to a lower bandwidth when the connection wasn't fast enough, then raise back up if they got the chance [`surestream`]. The result would be the audio switching from muffled to clear and back. That's another possibility with dual-mode radios. I'm sure people will just love that "improved audio quality!" (Adam Myrow, TN, ibid.) And the least bit of interference, the bit rate falls dramatically. GAG! And the analog sounds like edgy phone audio. And a radio that has ANY response past 5 kilohertz will have the IBOC noise in the audio (Powell E. Way, ibid.) Based on what I read on the lists, the NAB wants IBOC at night. There are a few stations with skywave signals here that really do matter to me. WSB and KMOX lead that short list. I now have obligations to let these stations know they'll be losing listeners when IBOC at night begins. And I mean listeners, too, not just DXers like us. We know the effects. I'll contact the stations that I listen to. I don't know what this will mean for WSB and their revenue from Braves baseball. I trust they'll be honest with their advertisers. Sherwin Williams ponies up a lot of money to blanket the southeast during Braves games. 10 miles southeast of me, there is no "local" station coverage with Braves baseball. Think that won't matter? There are some places you could bag fertilizer with a Braves logo, and get $1 more per bag for your trouble. I hope WSM will do the same with their advertisers, against the day WFAN is compelled to digitize their drivel (such blather from a once great frequency, too.) KKOB, too, will no longer be the steady voice in the night for all of New Mexico, though it will take a little while for all of New Mexico to know it. Will KTNN be able to cover the entire Navajo Nation at night in an age of IBOC? Maybe we all have an obligation here. But the NAB speaks with one voice, and the business is run as a business and nothing else. Meanwhile, I have obligations (Gerry Bishop, Niceville, FL, ibid.) Quoted with permission from Art Sutton who gets DXN, but isn't on e list. This was an email he sent someone and CC'd to me: *************************************************** Don't know if you have read any of the trades but the NAB Board has voted to support use of IBOC on AM at night. This vote was made with full knowledge that IBOC, as is, will basically wipe out skywave coverage of AM and there are also concerns that a station using IBOC putting a skywave into your market, two or three channels either side of you, can create tremendous interference to the analog signal. The key is analog here which is what we all run now. So let's assume that you operate on 1130 and KMOX at 1120 booms into your market at night. If in fact KMOX is generating an IBOC, your analog signal at night could be greatly reduced by interference KMOX IBOC generates to every analog AM radio trying to hear your station in present day analog. The NAB was quoted as saying that the tremendous quality improvement IBOC affords AM overrides the reduction in nighttime AM coverage. There will be more to this story but Inside Radio called it a mammoth AM action that could have far reaching impact on how AM nighttime rules are treated, etc. Since most of the big groups have representatives on the NAB Board, I guess we can assume that the big clear channels have decided that their huge sky wave signals are no longer important enough to be protected from interference. I subscribe to the National Radio Club's DX publication and the DXers are complaining loudly about the interference IBOC creates at night when someone like WOR leaves IBOC on at night. One could conclude the death notice for Clear Channel AM Radio has been written if the FCC accepts the NAB recommendation. Times a-changin` --- and I am just getting used to DVDs! (via Powell E. Way, ibid.) What happens when IBOC means a station can no longer receive one of its EAS monitoring assignments? City LP-1 LP-2 Nashville WSM-650 WSIX-97.9/100kw WSM-FM 100kw WNRQ-105.9/100kw (WWTN is 35mi. south of town) WWTN-99.7/100kw Waverly WVRY-105.1 50kw WFGZ-94.5/50kw (Waverly is 60 mi. west of town) Cookeville WGSQ-94.7/100kw WGIC-98.5/50kw (Cookeville is 80 mi. east of town) Nashville is roughly 80 miles north of the Alabama line. I suspect WWTN can be picked up reliably enough for EAS service all the way down to the line, but WSM-FM (35 miles further north) can't. Especially if 95.3/95.7 FM stations in southern Tennessee and northern Alabama are also running IBOC-FM. Will WSM-650 be reliable enough for EAS service down there? Or will an additional LP-1 need to be assigned down there? (if so, who? - as the last more-than-6 kW FM down there besides WWTN has just applied to downgrade to 50kw and move to Huntsville, Alabama...) – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN, ibid.) I find it much more interesting that the NAB is fighting local broadcasting via satellite terrestrial boosters. Both Sirius and XM want to provide local traffic and weather channels. To me this would be the perfect solution to solving the need to go digital. A local radio station that's about to be buried by IBOC interference could go digital by using a relay channel via the satellite boosters. To take it one step further, a radio station like WBZ that has already lost much of its coverage across 38 states and Canada to interference, could be relayed by one of the subscription satellite services for coast-to-coast digital coverage. Besides, since most of the nationally syndicated talk programs carried by so-called local radio stations are already available on satellite, why should a station have exclusive rights to local traffic and weather inserted during commercial breaks? Go ahead NAB, support IBOC, but open the satellite services to local radio as well, then let the public decide the best path to digital (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, ibid.) ** U S A. LOW FREQUENCY RADIO --- USUALLY TACITURN WHITE HOUSE FIGURES FACE MIKES Bob Deans - Cox Washington Bureau Thursday, January 22 http://www.ajc.com/thursday/content/epaper/editions/thursday/news_04f01741f3d9818700d5.html Washington --- Radio talk show host Sean Hannity bore down on his microphone Wednesday just a few steps away from the White House. He ticked off the list of guests he'd interviewed live over the past several hours on his nationally syndicated show. ''We've had Dick Cheney --- that would be the vice president --- Colin Powell, secretary of state; Donald Rumsfeld, secretary of defense; Tom Ridge, secretary of homeland security; Karl Rove, White House political counselor. Pretty impressive,'' said Hannity, pausing for breath as a graying figure fidgeted in a folding chair across the small table from him. ''Oh,'' Hannity added, ''and Chief of Staff Andy Card joins us now.'' It was that kind of day for the four dozen radio reporters and talk show hosts who piled into a heated tent on the North Lawn for the chance to question Cabinet members and senior aides to President Bush in a sort of radio round-robin. Senior White House aides, some of whom rarely talk with the media, moved from one mike to the next at a pace that left some of the fastest talkers in the nation scrambling to keep up. ''We were live for 4 1/2 hours,'' said talk show host Neal Boortz of Atlanta's WSB, who interviewed Powell, Card, Ridge and others, including Bush's longtime adviser, Karen Hughes. ''I tried, with every one of them, to get at least a little bit in their face,'' said Boortz, who claims nearly 5 million listeners to his nationally syndicated show. ''They took it with good graces. Explained positions. It was very worthwhile.'' That's what White House planners hoped when they planned the second Radio Day since Bush took office, giving broadcasters who make their living talking about the issues of the day a chance to speak face-to-face with the personalities behind the policies. While many talk radio hosts are political conservatives in the Rush Limbaugh mold, the White House made no effort to exclude other voices, said White House spokesman Taylor Gross. Indeed, liberal commentator Ellen Ratner, president of nationally syndicated Talk Radio News Service, participated, as did Juan Williams, senior correspondent for National Public Radio's ''Morning Edition,'' and April Ryan, White House correspondent for the American Urban Radio Networks, which reaches some 20 million predominantly African-American listeners over 400 stations nationwide. To accommodate the interviews, the White House set up the large white tent in front of the North Portico and provided coffee and Danishes. News organizations paid for telephone lines and brought other necessary equipment. Some of the administration officials said they preferred radio to television and newspapers. ''It's a really great medium,'' Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said between interviews. ''It's not threatening, and, for a guy like me, who looks like the wrath of God, it's very comfortable. It's not how I look ---- it's how I sound.'' The interviews also weren't bad for ratings. ''I got several e-mails that said 'Look, I've been listening to you for 20 years and this is the best show ever,' '' said Boortz, who vowed to return the next time the White House hosts Radio Day. ''How in the world else are you ever going to be able to sit in one place and get that much access to key personnel?'' (c) 2004 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Captain Kangaroo --- Another Icon of my youth is gone.... Bob Keeshan, CBS' Captain Kangaroo, passed away today at the age of 76. Link to a story: http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/O/OBIT_KEESHAN?SITE=IAIOP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT Good Night, Captain. Say Hi to Mr. Greenjeans (Paul Smith W4KNX, Jan 23, NRC FMTV via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Radio Continente network: 590 YVKL R Continente, Caracas 680 YVQR R Continente, Cumaná 970 YVLR R Continente, Maracay 1020 YVMX R Continente, Maracaibo ex R Calendario. Recently heard announcing R Continente by several ARC-members 1370 YVJI R Continente, Mérida, ex R Cumbre Affiliated stations: 880 YV.. R Paraguaná, Punto Fijo 1000 YVNM La Caribeña, Morón 1280 YVQS R Zaraza, Zaraza (ARC's SA News Desk January 2004, editor Tore B Vik via Tore Larsson, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ RE: "RADIO FREE AZERBAIJAN" ``As a regular reader of the BBC Monitoring's reports, I actually appreciate BBCM's using English transcriptions instead of some strangely looking words. Unlike RL/RFE, BBCM seems to care about both its subscribers and the English language. Let's face it, how many of us would be able to pronounce the word "Azärbaycan" correctly?! (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` ...and yet you won't find BBCM spelling something like "Sweryes Raadio" for Sveriges Radio (Sweden) or "Norddoytchar Roondfoonk" for Norddeutscher Rundfunk (Germany) in its reports ;) No, BBCM certainly does care for accuracy and a correct spelling of station names. It does not use an English transcription for station names in languages that have a Latin alphabet. It just omits the diacritics which is a common and proper way. My comment was limited to some recent BBCM reports from West and Central Asian countries, in particular Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan where the national alphabet was changed from a Cyrillic to a Latin script some few years ago and where I noted a number of station names not spelled in accordance with this Latin script (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Jan 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ FAREWELL ANALOG Why Farewell Analog? Because broadcasters are being pushed by the Federal Government to convert to digital technology and give up their analog signals. The deadline is December 31, 2006. http://www.farewellanalog.net This one will keep you busy for awhile, it's chock full of radio/TV history and some technical stuff (Curtis Sadowski, WTFDA via DXLD) ALL ANSWERS ABOUT TEXAS RADIO http://www.governor.state.tx.us/divisions/music/directory/radio/radio.htm (Kevin Redding, AZ, WTFDA via DXLD) Incomplete / out of date. Does not list under Panhandle the first station I looked for, KTOT 89.5 which has been on the air for a couple of years now. Still, a lot of info there (gh, DXLD) ZIPPED QIP FILES ARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR FREE The QSL Information Pages at http://www.schoechi.de/qip.html present BC-DX QSL more than 38900 logs from logs from more than 8290 radio stations coming from 240 different radio countries. The QSL have been received from 1980 until today, but the majority between 1995 and today. The html files are at the above mentioned homepage. Since Jan 2003 QIP also offered several zip-files containing all the HTML-files for each region. And we had MS Excel files, containing all logs, for each region. These files were offered only to subscribers. The 'old' zipped HTML and Excel of Dec 2003 files are now available for free for all readers. New, updated versions of these files are still only available for a subscription of 6 USD/5 EUR for 2 years. Subscribers also have access to the packages of flags and maps that are used on the QIP HTML pages. They also have access to the files with the latest new updates and for the QSL Logs before 1980. More details about the subscription options and the link to the download page can be found at the Subscription - page (which is linked several times from the QIP start page). --------------------------------------------------------- Martin Schoech - PF 101145 - 99801 Eisenach - Deutschland --------------------------------------------------------- E-mail : radio[a]schoechi.de Web : http://www.schoechi.de (Martin Schöch from Eisenach, Jan 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ WiNRADiO News - 22 January 2004 Hi Glenn, Just in case you aren't on Winradio's "news" email list, here's info on a new receiver from them. The URL is below. Comparing the specs against the existing g303i, I note that IP3 is improved from +5dbm @ 20 kHz to +8 kHz @ 20 kHz. The image/spurious signal rejection is greatly increased from 60 db to 80 db. You need to dig a bit on the WR-g313i pages to find the price... it's $999, and due for release next month. (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) An interesting new receiver is coming soon: The WR-G313i is a high-performance PC-based HF receiver with some very interesting and unusual features: 1. Spectrum scope with 16 Hz resolution 2. Graphical IF shift 3. Graphical notch filter 4. Continuously variable IF bandwidth 5. Ultra-sensitive and accurate S-meter 6. Built-in recording and playback - not only audio but IF as well 7. Frequency range extendable to cover aircraft and marine frequencies Plus much more, at a price you won't believe. This PCI-card-based software-defined receiver has its own DSP onboard and does not rely on a PC sound card. See more details on http://www.winradio.com/home/g313i.htm . ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this message because your email address is subscribed to WiNRADiO mailing list. Your subscription type is: Medium-frequency mailings of news summaries (approx. 6-12 times a year). To change your subscription please click on http://www.winradio.com/subscribe If you wish to contact us, use the enquiry form on http://www.winradio.com/enquiry (via Guy Atkins, DXLD) PHONE MASTS 'CONFUSING' PIGEONS Which way now? Could the pigeon's skills fall foul of new technology? A growing number of homing pigeons are getting lost due to interference from the new "unseen enemy" of mobile phone masts, racing experts claim. The birds' natural instincts are being confused by radiation signals from an increasing number of transmitters, the Royal Pigeon Racing Association said. . . http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/3423691.stm (via Gerald T. Pollard, DXLD) INTRUDER WATCH ++++++++++++++ FEDERAL WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA INTRUDER WATCH FOR DECEMBER 2003 The unidentified broadcaster on 14280 kHz, a harmonic, is found to be Radio Liberty, with its 3rd harmonic from 4760 kHz. So also, the other unidentified broadcaster on 14320 is identified to be Radio Uzbeckistan [sic], with the 2nd harmonic from 7160 kHz. Attempts to communicate with their contacts is going on. [IBB schedule shows 4760 from Dushanbe, only one sesquihour per day: 4760 0100 0200 RFE RL10 TA DB 09 045 4760 1630 1700 RFE RL10 TA DB 06 045] The 24 MHz interference from Codar is still very low, but Karl, VK6XW, reports that OHR (CODARC)? is making a lot of interference on 7075 kHz which almost blots out a WIA News Broadcast at 0230 Sundays. VK6XW also reports logging 81 SSB Intruders on 14 MHz, mainly Indonesian and Chinese and other Asians. 14250 PY Broadcaster is a daily occurrence. [3 x 4750?? No Brazilians known there --- gh] VK7GW reported that the Asian CW is still active at the bottom end of 14 MHz, short bursts. Hope 2004 will be a good year with plenty ID`s and removals. Cheers and all the best from Henry vk8ha @ octa4.net.au (Wireless Institute of Australia Q News January 25 via John Norfolk, DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ We're not just sitting idly by and letting it happen. Technical colleagues here at Radio Netherlands are already actively involved in the collective efforts of public broadcasters to prevent PLT ever becoming used on a wide scale (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter Jan 22 via DXLD) CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION The story ``Austrian Authorities Pull Plug on BPL Pilot Project,`` in The ARRL Letter, Vol 23, No 2 (Jan 9, 2004), [original version appears in DXLD 4-005] contained some incorrect information. Austrian Amateur Transmitter Federation President Mike Zwingl, OE3MZC, explained this week that the Austrian Ministry for Commerce, Innovation and Technology last fall requested that the Linz Power Company`s BPL project immediately halt all instances of interference. But the Ministry fell short of altogether shutting down the pilot project, which continues to operate. Zwingl said authorities did order a BPL shutdown at one location where BPL was causing harmful interference to a radio amateur, however. ``The press did read it differently,`` he conceded. Zwingl said that BPL has been deployed over a large part of Linz, and all power lines --- not just individual BPL users --- are radiating HF interference. Legal action reportedly is pending (ARRL Letter Jan 23 via John Norfolk, DXLD) THE BPL FIGHT: NORTH CAROLINA HAMS MEET WITH POWER PROVIDERS Slow but steady progress in dealing with the imminent release of Broadband over Powerlines in North Carolina. Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, is here with more: Progress Energy fulfilled their promise to North Carolina Amateur Radio operators and invited several Raleigh area hams to observe their new Phase II BPL trial in a rural subdivision south of the city on January 15th. BPL --- Broadband over Power Lines --- is a system for delivering high speed Internet through neighborhoods and into homes and businesses via the power lines. The technology places radio frequency signals on the power lines in parts of the spectrum between 2 and 80 MHz. Those signals radiate to some extent, and can cause interference to a receiver in the vicinity of the power lines. Naturally, this has become cause for great concern among hams worldwide. In Raleigh, three ham radio operators met with engineers for both Progress Energy and Amperion, the equipment manufacturer. Two of the Progress Energy engineers were also hams. The BPL trial consisted of a half-mile of overhead feeder along a highway, and a few dozen homes passed by buried power lines. A ``repeater`` amplified the signal about every other block. We were particularly interested in the spectrum used. We learned that each run of BPL, from repeater to repeater, uses two blocks of spectrum, 2.5 and 3.5 MHz wide. At each repeater, a different block of spectrum is required. The overhead feeder segment in this trial used spectrum blocks around 25 and 29 MHz. We listened with mobile equipment driving on the road adjacent to the power line, and received S-9 signals in the immediate vicinity of the line that sounded like this when tuning across the 10 meter band: [audio clip of BPL signal] The signal fell off quickly when driving away from the line, but a ham at a home station almost a mile away heard the 10-meter BPL signal about S-6 using an 80-meter dipole antenna. Amperion says a Network Operation Center can move any repeater to another block of spectrum, or notch part of a block by remote control, to eliminate interference, but they were unable to demonstrate that for our test. Even with that flexibility, fitting 3.5 MHz wide blocks of energy in between ham bands would be a delicate jigsaw puzzle. That much ``empty`` spectrum exists only between the 30, 20 and 17-meter bands, and it`s empty only from the perspective of Amateur Radio. Skip could completely upset the equation. BPL signals, which are similar to very low power QRP Amateur signals, could reflect off the ionosphere and appear hundreds or thousands of miles away. The energy of one isolated trial area might not have much impact, but a mature nationwide system with hundreds or even thousands of installations using the same spectrum blocks could be a very different story. Yet to come in BPL is a comprehensive report from the NTIA; an FCC Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for changes in Part 15, based on last year`s Notice of Inquiry; and a decision by your local utility about getting involved in BPL. Reporting for Newsline, this is Gary Pearce KN4AQ in Raleigh, North Carolina The hams at the test included Wake County ARES E-C Tom Brown, N4TAB, Technical Specialist Frank Lynch, W4FAL, and reporter Gary Pearce, KN4AQ. (ARNewslineâ„¢ January 23 via John Norfolk, DXLD) FCC`s ABERNATHY ACKNOWLEDGES AMATEUR RADIO BPL CONCERNS NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 23, 2004 --- In a seeming shift away from ``Broadband Nirvana,`` FCC Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy this week specifically cited Amateur Radio concerns about the interference potential of Broadband Over Power Line (BPL). In remarks prepared for delivery at her alma mater, the Catholic University of America`s Columbus School of Law, Abernathy said BPL should not be widely deployed before dealing with ham radio`s interference fears. ``I recognize that Amateur Radio licensees have raised concerns about harmful interference,`` Abernathy said, ``and that is something that will have to be addressed before any mass market deployment can occur.`` She addressed the convocation ``The Journey to Convergence: Challenges and Opportunities`` January 22 on the school`s Washington, DC campus. Abernathy said that if engineers can find a way to prevent harmful interference to other radio services, BPL would represent ``a tremendous advance for consumers, because it could bring broadband to any home that has electricity.`` In her speech, ``Overview of the Road to Convergence: New Realities Collide with Old Rules,`` Abernathy called BPL ``another promising technology`` that electric utilities have already successfully field tested. As an ``add-on service to the existing electrical grid,`` she said, BPL might be a cost-effective alternative to provide broadband service to rural and other ``underserved communities.`` Missing from her remarks was any mention of interference worries that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) have expressed to the FCC in the BPL proceeding. Abernathy drew fire from the Amateur Radio community last September after she expressed unabashed enthusiasm for BPL in a talk before the United Powerline Council`s annual conference. In that talk, she`d suggested that BPL was a step along the pathway to ``Broadband Nirvana.`` The ARRL led the barrage of strong objections in the wake of Abernathy`s characterization. ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, told Abernathy that technical showings submitted in response to the FCC`s Notice of Inquiry in ET Docket No. 03-104 ``clearly establish that BPL is a significant source of radio spectrum pollution`` that ``cannot be implemented without causing harmful interference to over-the-air radio services.`` Abernathy`s office later conceded that her ``Broadband Nirvana`` speech may have failed to make sufficiently clear the commissioner`s concerns about potential BPL interference. Sumner called Abernathy`s subsequent clarification ``most welcome and reassuring news.`` More than 5100 comments--many from the Amateur Radio community--have been filed in response to the FCC`s BPL NOI and are available for viewing via the FCC`s Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS): http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ Copyright © 2004, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved. (via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ THE K7RA SOLAR UPDATE SEATTLE, WA, Jan 23, 2004 -- Average daily sunspot numbers and solar flux rose modestly this week. Sunspot numbers were up by nearly four, and solar flux rose by nine points. In last week`s bulletin, we reported that we were entering a solar wind. The effects can be seen in the planetary A index for last Friday. Geomagnetic indices were down by Saturday. On Monday, January 19, energy from a coronal mass ejection hit Earth, but it only caused high geomagnetic activity at high latitudes. For the January 19 and 20 the planetary A index was only an unsettled 17 and 16, but the college A index in Fairbanks, Alaska was 37 on both days. A strong solar wind from another coronal mass ejection hit earth at 0130 UT on January 22 causing a strong geomagnetic storm. Mid-latitude Fredericksburg A index as reported by NOAA was 35, and mid-latitude A index as reported by WWV was 46. The college A index on January 22 was 80, and planetary A index was 62. Another coronal mass ejection should hit earth on January 23 or 24, although latest projections on Thursday show predicted planetary A index for January 23-26, Friday through Monday at 25, 15, 15 and 10. The Prague Geophysical Institute predicts a minor geomagnetic storm for January 23, unsettled to active conditions for January 24, unsettled conditions on January 25, quiet to unsettled conditions for January 26, and active geomagnetic conditions on January 27 and 28. Users of the WA4TTK Solar Data Plotter --- see http://www.craigcentral.com/ --- a free program, can see the prominent rise in sunspot numbers and solar flux at the end of October 2003. The lower frame, showing a detailed plot of activity over the past eight months shows the October peak followed by the declining activity from the same sunspot group over the following solar rotations. With several sunspot groups rotating off the visible disk, solar flux over the next few days should decline from 120 down to 110. It should rise again after January 26-27 for another short-term peak around the end of the first week of February. Spaceweather.com http://www.spaceweather.com displayed a fantastic photo of a giant filament of hot gas rising above the sun taken by Gary Palmer of Los Angeles on January 21. It`s available at the Science at NASA site: http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/swpod2004/22jan04/palmer1.jpg Vern Rabin of Colorado took another photo of the same filament: http://science.nasa.gov/spaceweather/swpod2004/22jan04/raben1.jpg We haven`t mentioned the beacon network http://www.ncdxf.org/beacons.html operated by the IARU and the Northern California DX Foundation in a while. The 18 beacon stations operate all over the world on 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 meters and are a good tool for gauging propagation. The NCDXF Web site lists many software tools for use with the beacon network: http://www.ncdxf.org/Beacon/BeaconPrograms.html There are programs that work on many platforms in addition to current and recent versions of Windows, including DOS, Linux, OS/2, Windows 3.1 and Palm Pilot. This weekend is the CQ Worldwide 160-meter CW Contest. Conditions for the contest might be good if geomagnetic conditions don`t cause havoc. The ARRL January VHF Sweepstakes also is this weekend, and VHF conditions might not be disturbed if a geomagnetic storm occurs. In addition, the British Amateur Radio Teledata Group is sponsoring its 2004 RTTY Sprint Contest this weekend. For more information about propagation and an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see the Propagation page on the ARRL Web site: http://www2.arrl.org/tis/info/propagation.html Sunspot numbers for January 15 through 21 were 57, 68, 56, 72, 87, 94 and 104, with a mean of 76.9. The 10.7 cm flux was 119.1, 120.3, 122.6, 119.5, 134.6, 128.9 and 130.1, with a mean of 125. Estimated planetary A indices were 16, 26, 14, 18, 17, 16 and 12, with a mean of 17. Copyright © 2004, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###