DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-017, January 29, 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 0400 on SIUE Web Radio http://www.siue.edu/WEBRADIO/ [followed by CONTINENT OF MEDIA 03-06 at 0430; this week only instead of Tue] Mon 0430 on WSUI, Iowa City, 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1218: Sat 0000 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy, 1584 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 Sat 2130 on WBCQ 17495-CUSB [NEW] 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 0515 on WBCQ 7415, webcast 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 1218 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1218h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1218h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1218.html WORLD OF RADIO 1218 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1218.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1218.rm CONTINENT OF MEDIA 04-01 is now available: From DXing.com: (stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0401.ram (download) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0401.rm (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0401h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0401h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0401.html (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0401.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0401.rm ** ANGOLA. 7216.8, R Nacional, Luanda, 1445-1500, Jan 17, Vernacular with local rhythmical music and some talks, fair but weak. They must be using a small fraction of the rated 100 kW as this station is barely audible here most of the time. 11955v not heard lately so it will be irregular at best. So the only active Angolan SW frequencies are 4950 and 7216.8 (different programmes). (Vaclav Korinek, RSA, DSWCI DX Window Jan 28 via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 2379.83, LRA15, Radio Nacional Tucumán (2 x 1190), Jan 28, 0940, unbelievably strong signal, news and network "...Radio Nacional..." ID, // 6060. For about 1/2 an hour this morning from 0930 to 1000 the opening to LA was incredible. I couldn`t keep up with all the carriers I was hearing below 3 MHz (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 deg., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. RA signal back to normal, very good on 21740, Jan 29 at 2305 check, in news (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Quirks & Quarks Jan 31 --- Hello, This week our feature item on Quirks & Quarks is: "Dark Energy" We can't see it, we don't know what it is, and it's the most important thing in the universe. In fact, Science magazine called the confirmation of its existence the "breakthrough of the year" for 2003. The dark energy is described by scientists as shocking, crazy and embarrassing, and it may be tearing the universe apart. Find out what we know, and mostly what we don't know about the mysterious force that's controlling our cosmos. Plus - Paul Martin gets some scientific advice ... All this and more on Quirks & Quarks, Saturday right after the noon news on Radio One. (Bob McDonald, Host, Quirks & Quarks, CBC Radio One, Saturdays at 12:06, online at http://cbc.ca/quirks, Quirks mailing list via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 2020.19 (tentative), HJZD, Radio Panzenú, Montería (2 x 1010) Jan 28, 0946-1054*, as reported by Björn Malm, long talks possibly religious, 1021 back and forth ballads and ads, many mentions of "Montería", 1040 into talk/conversation, 1049 back to ballads and ads, abrupt sign-off at 1054 in mid talk, good signal until fade at 1000. 2740.01, (presumed) HJXX, Radio Mundial, Bogotá, (2 x 1370) 0936, Jan 28, as reported by Adán González previously, still no ID here with the usual female preacher going on and on, good consistent S-6 signal with S-9 peaks (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 deg., DX LISTENING DIGEST) "VT-DX" http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/ ** CYPRUS [non]. Sonnet Radio was supposedly going to test in late January and start SW broadcasts in Feb, but all we get at http://www.rtidigital.com/index3.htm as of Jan 29 is: Test Transmissions TBC – what does that mean, To Be Confirmed, Continued? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. Hi Glenn, re. the BBCM report: ``According to Czech Radio`s web site [http://www.rozhlas.cz/cro6/zmeny] Radio 6 can now be heard on 639 kHz, 954 kHz and 1332 kHz.`` --- No, this webpage doesn't say that Ceský rozhlas 6 can "now" be heard on these frequencies. It says "Ceský rozhlas 6 pocínaje 1. únorem 2004 zahajuje své vysílání v novém case denne od 18.00 do 24.00 hodin na kvalitnejší stredovlnné síti.", and after reading Karel's report (the one BBCM obviously refers to when quoting your publication) it should certainly need no knowledge of Czech to figure out that this sentence just confirms that the changes will come into force on February 1st as Karel reported. And after remembering that it is always a good idea to turn on the radio I can confirm that today at 2100 there was still CRo 2 - Praha on 639. It also appears that my previous comments are somewhat outdated: At this time, i.e. after 2100, CRo Sever (here on 88.8 from Buková hora) had no Praha relay but own programming instead. PS. I hope the special characters do not result in my mail program producing an unreadable format? (Kai Ludwig, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nice to see an s with a hook over it! How about a c? Should there be one on case if not Cesky? (gh) ** ECUADOR. 2299.84, La Voz de Riobamba (2 x 1150), Jan 28, 0932-0943, Andean vocals, lively announcer yelling announcements and ID's, good signal // a weaker 3449 (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 deg., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Hello all of you happy SWB-ers! Absolutely nothing has happened on the radio front and on shortwave nothing has happened regarding LA for a long time. The content in my bandscans is more or less aimed at harmonic-DX --- a form of DX very popular especially in North America. After a visit at one of the enormous quantity of ``1 dollar 20 Centavos`` restaurants in the town I was totally wiped out for three days by food poisoning and woke up just in time to send this report. All this despite I know very well to visit only the restaurants where there are a lot of ``white shirts vitskjortor`` among the customers, i.e. People from the middle class. This advice was given by Henrik Klemetz in an article about food published in the ``mv-eko`` in ARC some years back. To start ``$1.20 restaurants`` is a way for a lot of families to survive and new ones pop up almost every week here at Avenida La Prensa. A lot of them are very bad but you can find some pearls. The difficult thing is to find them. My experience is that most of them totally lack fantasy, dare not to stand out from the rest and serve new and exciting food. It means: soup with some vegetables and a little piece of meat (often chicken), rice with some salad, a piece of meat (mostly chicken), a piece of fried banana + a big glass of fresh orange juice. Of course the price is very low per customer and the temptation is there waiting: primary products longtime ago overdue. All food is practically served without spices; if you are lucky some salt is mixed in. But this is typical Ecuadorian, people are very afraid of strong spices and cooking fat. The strange thing is that in all Ecuadorian homes and on the tables in restaurants there is a small dish of the strongest spice I have met: ``Ají``. The difficulty with ``Ají`` is that the strength varies from place to place. (1 Dollar 20 Cent Is about SEK 8:75). (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Jan 25 translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Still no sign of Jan 24 DX Partyline in the audio archive Jan 29, so I made a point of catching the last SW repeat of it on WWCR 9475 at 2100. Allen Graham was speaking from home ministry in Sonora, California (or was it Sonoma?). Luigi Cobisi continues contributing scripts to the program, no longer under the aegis of EDXC, but plugs the http://www.italradio.org portal (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. R. Coatán, 4779.98, Jan 24 0210-0230+, tentative. Very weak with Spanish religious programming. Marimba music. Very weak in noise and `swisher` QRM (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HUNGARY. Special event stations to mark Hungary`s full membership in EU: Hungary will become a full member of the European Union May 1. Special event call signs HA2004EU and HA2004UNI will be on the air to mark the event. QSL HA2004EU via HA5XXA and HA2004UNI via HA6QT (ARRL January 28 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR stations heard Jan 23, 24, all weak but with their distinctive IS at sign-on and into local music: 4840, AIR Mumbai *2354- 4790, AIR Chennai *2358- 5010, AIR Thiru`puram *0018+ 4820, AIR Kolkata *0023- Checked other AIR frequencies but heard nothing (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. 10330, AIR Bangalore, 1400-1430, Jan 25, National anthem, address by the President to the Nation on the 55th Republic Day of India. The first five minutes were in an Indian language (not Hindi), the rest in English. The President spoke about the good economical and technological development of India and the plans to reduce illiteracy and corruption and to improve schools and increase agricultural production. At the end the President read his intentions and each sentence was repeated by a group of children! Very nice. At 1430 another man read a translation of the address in Hindi. 55444, heard // 9835 (Delhi) which was disturbed: 22332 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Jan 28 via DXLD) See also KASHMIR ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. Regarding the Martian Air Force piece, DXLD Jan 13, you write "(via Duane Fischer, swl at qth.net via DXLD) Did Duane write this?". No, he didn't. Here's the source of the original (namely me): http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/97/Jul/marspress.html http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=Sb43.21d1%40clarinet.com (Jim Griffith, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hmmm, Duane later attributed it to Lowell Observatory (gh) ** IRAN. I heard another unlisted IRIB transmission this morning on 9695. It appeared to be announcing freqs/schedule and then gave their web address when I tuned in c0957 and I think closed down at 1000. I didn`t hear enough of the language to recognise it, but my guess is that it might be their Armenian service timed at 0930-1000 - it sounded to be a language from that area (Noel R. Green, UK, Jan 28 via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) Thanks to a tip of Noel in Blackpool, another IRIB service change: IRIB Tehran's Armenian service heard today Jan 29, started 15260 at 0930, but the parallel 9695 came much later on-air around 0934 UT. 15260 c-down at 0958 UT, but 9695 still played their stringed instrument IS till 1000 UT, and c-down at 10.04:30 UT. 9695 kHz is 0.5 second ahead of 15260-SIR. 0930-1000 now 9695 ZAH? (x13740); 15260-SIR Probably via 9695 0930 1000 29SE,39NE,40NW ZAH 500 289 ARMENIAN IRN IRB More Armenian: 0300-0330 7295 1630-1730 6185 7230 100.7 MHz 6185 1630 1730 29SE,39NE,40NW SIR 500 320 ARMENIAN IRN IRB 7230 1630 1730 29SE,39NE,40NW SIR 500 320 ARMENIAN IRN IRB 7295 0300 0330 29SE,39NE,40NW SIR 500 320 ARMENIAN IRN IRB x13740 0930 1000 29SE,39NE,40NW SIR 500 320 ARMENIAN IRN IRB 15260 0930 1000 29SE,39NE,40NW SIR 500 322 ARMENIAN IRN IRB (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN [non]. 6420, Voice of the Mojahed, 1550-1600, Jan 20, Farsi talk and music with the usual bubble jammer, 31331. No parallels found. This station is operated by the People`s Mojahedin (Freedom fighters) of Iran (MKO), as a patriotic, Muslim and democratic organization. Thus they fought vigorously the regime of the Shah until his downfall in 1979. They have always been against the fundamentalist mullahs and when Ayatollah Khomeini took power after the Shah they embarked upon a nationwide campaign to establish democracy in Iran. Their islamic ideology, based upon democracy, the popular will, tolerance and moderation, has been very effective in combating the fundamentalist thinking in Iran. Khomeini declared the Mojahedin ineligible to run in the presidential election in 1980 and prevented all candidates of the organisation from being elected to the parliament. (Something similar is happening these days against politicians positive to reforms!) Khomeini turned a 500,000-strong peaceful demonstration of supporters in protest to the suppression of freedom into a blood-bath. After that many members of the MKO went into exile in Iraq before the start of the bloody Iraq- Iran war. The Voice of Mojahed has been on the air since 1981 with a daily programme of up to nine hours in Farsi towards Iran and during the past few years an additional programme on 7070 with three hours daily. It claimed to have up to nine SW transmitters located in Iraq with the consent of Saddam Hussein. When they are broadcasting, Iran is trying to prevent its population from hearing these messages about democracy by strong bubble jammers. The Voice of Mojahed then frequently changes frequencies in steps of 5 kHz, but they are chased a few seconds after by the jammers. With the fall of the regime of Saddam Hussein all transmissions of the Voice of Mojahed suddenly ceased early April 2003. At the same time about 3,800 members of the MKO were peacefully interned by the Coalition Forces in Camp Ashraf northeast of Baghdad where they still are. The MKO is on the U. S. and EU lists of terrorists alleged to have killed U.S. citizens in Iran during the Shah regime, have supported the hostage action at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and to have supported Saddam Hussein’s neutralization of the Kurdish and Shia-muslim revolts in 1991 after the first Gulf War. Because of this status, the MKO bank accounts have been closed by the Coalition. Despite this, there are still some operators left somewhere who are able to run the main programme of the Voice of Mojahed which reappeared in May 2003. It can still be heard sporadically from unknown transmitters on a few frequencies – and still being bubble jammed! The station is also broadcasting on the Telstar 12 satellite at 15 degrees west, on frequency 12588 vertical, in parallel with the terrestrial frequencies. The web site of the radio station is at: http://www.iran.mojahedin.org (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Jan 28 via DXLD) ** JAPAN. 9181, NHK, Osaka 2 (USB), *0325-0425*, Jan 11, 12 and 14, Signed on earlier than listed 0330 with a 5 minutes program of what seemed to be an English/Japanese lesson on Jan 11, 0330 Japanese program. On Jan 12 there was a German/ Japanese lesson at 0340-0359! 0400 Time signal 3+1 pips, NHK ID and Chinese/Japanese lesson! 9550, NHK Kasuka, Tokyo 1 (USB), 0210-0240 fade out, Jan 14, Japanese talks and music, weak, // NHK Sapporo 1 9535, fair (Roland Schulze, Mangaldan, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Jan 28 via DXLD) ** KASHMIR. 4830, AIR Jammu, 0100-0220, Jan 26, Indian music celebrating the 55th Republic Day of India, 0130 address by the President first in Hindi and from 0155 in English dealing mostly with the security situation in Jammu Kashmir and his hope for better relations with Pakistan. 0217 Indian songs again. 45444. Cf INDIA 10330 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Jan 28 via DXLD) ** KASHMIR [non]. Voice of Jammu Kashmir Freedom operated by Harkat ul Mujahhideen as listed in World Radio TV Handbook 2004 on page 579 is noted with a new morning broadcast as follows: 5990 0230-0400 It has been operating for a long time near 5101 kHz at 1300-1430. This transmitter is from Pakistan (as per WRTH 2004) and has lot of hum which is also noted on the new frequency of 5990. With my slight understanding of the language coupled with poor quality reception, I notice that the opening announcement at 1300 UT says it is the 3rd transmission. So there seems to be a new afternoon broadcast also. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Raj Bhavan Road, Hyderabad 500082, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. RTM Radio 6 in Tamil seems to have been off 4845 for at least the last few days. Radio Satu in Malay is still heard with good reception on 5965v; Radio 4 in English is strong on 7295 kHz but often with poor to unintelligible audio and frequent audio breaks at the moment. RTM Radio Malaysia Sarawak was heard around 0100 29 Jan in Iban on 7270 and tentatively in parallel on 6050, and also signing on at 0100 with programmes for schools on 7130. I have been unable to hear Sarawak on 4895 and 5030 kHz on a couple of not very thorough checks during the past week. Regards from Indonesia, (Alan Davies, Jan 29, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** MEXICO. R. Mexico International, 9704.96, Jan 24 0105-0130, presumed. Nonstop Spanish talk. No ID heard but Mexico heard on this specific frequency in the past. Weak but clean audio. Faded down into local noise level at 0130. XERTA, 4810, Jan 24 0230-0630+, mostly continuous music. A wide variety of Spanish/English religious music, pops, and rock music. A few Spanish announcements which had low modulation. Fair-good signal otherwise. Irregular; was not heard here several hours earlier when I checked. Still on at 0900 (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4810, XERTA, Mexico City, 0442-0540, Jan 17, very different program from the Jan 03 reception, which was almost all light pop music. Today noted man and woman talking, at one point background sounds of a large crowd (political or sports event?), 0501 into music program (Spanish songs and ballads, one English song, one instrumental piano selection, several minutes of no music, just silence), only one clear ID, ``...Mexico... XERTA``, fair-poor, best in LSB, some periodic QRN. Believe they have not been on recently. Heard again 1333, Jan 25, light pop music, ID, fair (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, DSWCI DX Window Jan 28 via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. RADIO SEAGULL --- On February 1st 2004 Radio Seagull will be sharing the Sky Digital Transponder number 913 with Apple FM. They will broadcast in Stereo, with an EPG, initially broadcasting for 4 hours every evening starting at 1900 hours (UK time), followed by 2 hours of religious programmes. For those who have a Free To Air Digital (FTA) satellite receiver, the tuning details are as follows: Eurobird Satellite 28.5 Degrees, Frequency 11, 585 GHz, Polarity Horizontal, S/R 27500, FEC 2/3 The station is still working hard to start broadcasting on 1602 Khz on AM. Meanwhile the 24/7 internet service can be heard via http://www.radioseagull.com Here are some details of Radio Seagull, taken from their aforementioned website: "Welcome to Radio Seagull, home of Progressive Rock and Alternative Music. Radio Seagull brings you the music you don't hear on other radio stations, neither 'on air', nor on the Internet. We play the best progressive rock, the coolest album tracks and the finest alternative music. Why 'Seagull' We broadcast from a small harbour-town in the northern part of the Netherlands where the sound of the sea and of seagulls is heard everyday. We also feel a strong relationship to the "Radio Seagull" broadcast from the MV Mi-Amigo in 1973 and 1974. During those days, the ship that also housed the radio station Radio Mi-amigo, was anchored 4 miles off the Dutch coast. Radio Seagull's format consisted of Progressive Rock and Alternative music, the same format we broadcast nowadays. Loving Awareness Like our colleagues in the 70's, we also promote the message of 'Love and Understanding', or 'Loving Awareness'! You'll hear our message throughout our programmes! Happy Listening..." Well done and good luck to everyone concerned. (Steve Szmidt, http://www.radiocaroline.de/ Tuesday January 20th 2004 via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. 5027.22, PBC Quetta, 0159-0225 (fade out), Jan 22, 23 and 25, fast tempo musical fanfare, ID as ``Pakistan``, 3 time pips, seemed to be 10 minutes of news, with many items about Pakistan and several about Iraq and Iran, followed by what I assume was a 5 minute commentary, with no less than eleven mentions of Pakistan, into program of sub-continent music and singing. This was by far the best reception this week, with very little QRM and still the best in LSB (Ron Howard, Monterey CA, DSWCI DX Window Jan 28 via DXLD) ** PERU. R. La Poderosa, 6536.08, Jan 23 0157-0212* On later than usual with OA folk music, ID, mentions of Huancabamba, sign-off with NA; fair. R. Unión, 6144.96v, Jan 23 0820-0900+ mostly nonstop Spanish talk, but some OA music, IDs. Good but slightly unstable carrier (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RWANDA. R. Rwanda, 6055, Jan 22, 23, 2020-2100* presumed. Heard after Turkey sign-off with US pops, Afro-pops, vernacular talk. 2055 instrumental anthem, 2057 choral anthem. Very weak initially at 2020 but slowly improving in strength (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN. 7200, Sudan National Broadcasting Corporation, Omdurman, *0400v-1912, Jan 19, 24 and 25, Arabic news and other programmes // 765 and 1296 MW. It seems that they now broadcast continuously throughout the day (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, DSWCI DX Window Jan 28 via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN--Coming up on Radio Sweden: Thursday: "S-Files" Friday: Our weekly review Saturday: Special Sunday: "In Touch With Stockholm" (SCDX/MediaScan Jan 28 via DXLD) ** TURKEY. V. of Turkey, 6055, Jan 22, 23 2015-2019* tune in to local music, 2018 English sign-off announcements and IS, fair. Then RWANDA, q.v. (Brian Alexander, Mechanicsburg PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UGANDA. Our feature article this week takes us to Africa: Mega task in Uganda --- In the north of Uganda, a civil war has been raging for 17 years. In the mid-1990s, violent attacks by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) forced many of the ethnic Acholi population to flee their homes in the Gulu and Kitgum/Pader districts. A period of relative calm in 1999 allowed the displaced people to return home, but renewed LRA attacks since the beginning of 2000 forced an increasing number of people to seek refuge in the towns such as Gulu and Kitgum. In Gulu, a community radio station has been set up with the aim of doing something positive towards conflict resolution. http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/uganda040129.html (Media Network newsletter via DXLD) ** U K. BBC Buys Google News Keywords In Kelly Case from the fair-and- balanced dept. posted by timothy on Tuesday January 27, @23:10 (censorship) http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/01/28/049235 (via Jilly Dybka, KF4ZEO, DXLD) ** U K. JUDGE CLEARS BLAIR OF WRONGDOING IN SCIENTIST’S SUICIDE January 28, 2004 By PATRICK E. TYLER http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/28/international/europe/28CND-BLAI.html?ex=1076330725&ei=1&en=89fa01b31d6f143c LONDON, Jan. 28 - A senior British judge today cleared Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government of any blame for the suicide of a weapons scientist who was the source of a BBC report accusing Mr. Blair and his aides of "sexing up" the case for going to war in Iraq. The judge, Lord Hutton, also cleared Mr. Blair and his government of any deliberate attempt to deceive the British public over the threat from Iraq in a September 2002 intelligence dossier. The allegation that government officials had used intelligence they "probably knew" was wrong - reported by the BBC last May 20 - was "unfounded," Lord Hutton said in a long-awaited 740-page report. The judge also castigated the BBC for sloppy reporting and "defective" editorial supervision. After Lord Hutton read out his conclusions from the bench in the Royal Courts of Justice, the chairman of the BBC's board of governors, Gavyn Davies, resigned immediately in the face of one of the worst journalistic debacles in the 78-year history of the network. The "Beeb," as it is known, operates a worldwide broadcasting empire and has set standards for editorial integrity over decades. Many of its journalists were stunned by Lord Hutton's rebuke. The network's board of governors was set to meet Thursday to consider further steps in response to Lord Hutton's critical findings. Greg Dyke, the BBC's editor in chief, issued a recorded statement saying the broadcaster had already admitted that "certain key allegations" of the May report by its defense correspondent, Andrew Gilligan, "were wrong and we apologized for them." But he added that "at no time" did the network accuse Mr. Blair of lying, and insisted that "the public in a modern democracy has a right to be made aware" of the serious concerns that were expressed to the BBC by Dr. David Kelly, the government weapons scientist who was the source for Mr. Gilligan's report. The suicide of Dr. Kelly last July set off a political crisis and Lord Hutton's inquiry, but the judge said the tragedy of his death could not have been foreseen. Still, he criticized the Ministry of Defense, where Dr. Kelly was employed, for not communicating clearly with him about a high-level decision to make his name public. Dr. Kelly expressed his private doubts about the reliability of some intelligence findings on Iraq to Mr. Gilligan and another BBC reporter; that put him in the middle of the clash between the government and the network over the credibility of the BBC's reporting and the truthfulness of intelligence findings and Mr. Blair's statements about them. Mr. Blair appeared in the House of Commons today immediately after Lord Hutton concluded his televised remarks from the Royal Courts of Justice. The prime minister said that six months of accusations that his government distorted intelligence in taking the country to war "is itself the real lie - I simply ask that those who made it and repeated it withdraw it." But the leader of the opposition, Michael Howard, refused Mr. Blair's at-times indignant demand for an apology. Mr. Howard said his Conservative Party accepted Lord Hutton's conclusions, but still wanted an independent inquiry into why no weapons of mass destruction were found by American and British forces entering Iraq. Lord Hutton's findings were a strong vindication for Mr. Blair, current and former members of Parliament said in interviews. The prime minister has struggled against an assault on his credibility since taking Britain to war in Iraq and as he has sought to quell a rebellion in his Labor Party over domestic policy. "Obviously in the short term, Blair is greatly strengthened by the report because it eliminates accusations of bad faith and impropriety," said Sir Malcolm Rifkind, foreign secretary during the former Tory government of Prime Minister John Major. "But don't forget that Hutton did not deal with the far more important question that the country has been grappling with: Should we have gone to war in the first place and should the intelligence agencies be used for this purpose?" Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company (via Don Thornton, DXLD) ** U K. ANOTHER BBC HEAD ROLLS AS BLAIR SAVOURS VICTORY By Katherine Baldwin LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The BBC's top executive quit on Thursday after a British judge sternly rebuked its Iraq reporting but mounting cries of "whitewash" rained down on Tony Blair's victory parade. On Wednesday, Judge Lord Hutton exonerated the prime minister of wrongdoing over the suicide of Iraq weapons expert David Kelly and ruled that the venerable broadcaster's claim that Blair had "sexed up" intelligence on Iraq was unfounded. BBC Director General Greg Dyke resigned after crisis talks with the public broadcaster's board of governors over what is being called the gravest crisis in its 82-year history. "I hope that a line can now be drawn under this whole episode," Dyke told reporters outside the BBC's head office. Gavyn Davies, BBC chairman, quit on Wednesday. Blair's foes, many commentators and large parts of the public were staggered at the scale of his let-off compared with the censure of the BBC. In an NOP poll for London's Evening Standard newspaper, 56 percent said it was unfair the BBC had received most of the blame and 49 percent branded Hutton's report a whitewash. "It is just flipping unbelievable," said opposition Conservative lawmaker and writer Boris Johnson. "(Blair) is a mixture of Harry Houdini and a greased piglet. He is barely human in his elusiveness. Nailing Blair is like trying to pin jelly to a wall." Blair sought to draw a line under the most perilous period of his six- year premiership with a speech on public services, promising no let-up to reforms many of his supporters oppose. Kelly killed himself in July after being named as the source behind the BBC's claim that Blair had hyped the threat from Iraq. His death sparked a war between the government and the BBC and plunged Blair into the darkest days of his tenure. Hutton's report had the potential to sink Blair had he been directly blamed for naming Kelly as the BBC's source. Instead, Hutton slammed the BBC's management procedures as "defective." Blair's team repeated its demand for a full BBC apology. "SAINT TONY?" Davies, in his resignation letter, questioned Hutton's conclusions while the nation's press had a field day. One newspaper splashed a picture of a grinning Blair on its front page with a halo over him and the headline "Saint Tony." Another left its front page largely blank save for the question "Whitewash?" in red letters. Hutton's report came a day after Blair had narrowly averted parliamentary defeat on a key bill, seeing him through a two-day period that had threatened his political future. The prime minister had been staring at a humiliating defeat in Tuesday's vote on education reform but just scraped through, his majority of 161 slashed to just five votes. Following the narrow win, Labour party legislators warned Blair against stretching their loyalty to such limits again. "There are lessons to be learned, bridges to be built but no wavering in our political purpose," Blair said on Thursday. Blair is not out of the woods yet on Iraq. Hutton said the intelligence published on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction -- the primary reason Blair gave for war -- had been consistent with what was known at the time. But Blair's critics were quick to return to the question of the whereabouts of those weapons, which have yet to be found. In the Evening Standard poll, 70 percent called for a full independent inquiry into the reason Britain went to war. Blair's opponents have fresh ammunition after David Kay, the chief U.S. weapons hunter in Iraq who quit last week, said on Wednesday the intelligence had been "wrong." (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U K. HEAD OF BBC RESIGNS OVER IRAQ WEAPONS ADVISER REPORT; BBC APOLOGIZES `FOR OUR ERRORS' By JANE WARDELL The Associated Press 1/29/04 3:12 PM http://wizzer.advance.net/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0672_BC_Britain-WeaponsAdvise&&news&newsflash-internationa LONDON (AP) -- The head of the British Broadcasting Corp. resigned Thursday, the second top official to step down after a judicial inquiry harshly criticized the broadcaster's journalistic standards, and the network apologized "for our errors." But Greg Dyke's resignation prompted hundreds of BBC employees to walk out of the 81-year-old corporation's two main London offices and demonstrate on the street. "My main concern is that with the climbing down, the news gatherers will stop their task of questioning the government and holding it to account," said Richard Curtis, 35, an engineer at BBC's Radio 4. One local radio station, BBC Somerset Sound, went off air for a minute in protest at the resignation and what staff called the "abject" apology from the BBC. On Wednesday, Judge Lord Hutton criticized the BBC for an "unfounded" report it broadcast last year accusing the government of "sexing up" a prewar dossier about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction with information it knew was wrong. Gavyn Davies, the chairman of the BBC's board of governors, resigned hours after Hutton's decision -- the first time the top executive at the broadcaster has left in a dispute over reporting. The BBC governors also appeared to bow to pressure from Prime Minister Tony Blair's office, issuing an apology after an emergency meeting to discuss the findings of the Hutton inquiry. Lord Ryder, acting chairman of the BBC board of governors, said the network had to confront "serious defects in the corporation's processes and procedures. On behalf of the BBC, I have no hesitation in apologizing for our errors, and to the individuals whose reputations were affected by them." Blair accepted the apology, saying it was "all I ever wanted." "I think what this does now is allow us to draw a line and move on," Blair said. Before his resignation, Dyke had defended the "greater part" of the story that sparked a bitter fight with Blair's office. "I hope that a line can now be drawn under this whole episode," Dyke said Thursday, announcing his resignation outside the BBC's headquarters. "Throughout this whole affair my sole aim as director general of the BBC has been to defend our editorial independence and act in the public interest." He said, "I think my going is very important in preserving the BBC's editorial independence." Although Dyke was the head of the BBC, he was not a journalist and did not direct its news operations. The major part of the BBC's output on its television and radio channels in Britain is entertainment, although the BBC is largely known overseas for its news gathering. Dyke's deputy, Mark Byford, was named acting director general. Until this month he had been director of World Service and Global News. Some of the BBC employees who walked out of their offices Thursday carried signs saying "Bring Back Greg" to demand Dyke's reinstatement. "I'm totally shocked and devastated, just like the majority of staff in the BBC," said protester Harry Matharu, 42, who works in the technology department at the network's Broadcasting House. "Greg has done more for the BBC than anyone else. ... I think it's a major tragedy for the BBC that he's gone, and I don't think Greg and Gavyn should have resigned." Hutton, a senior judge appointed by the government to investigate the suicide of arms adviser David Kelly, cleared Blair and his administration of wrongdoing in connection with the death and criticized "defective" BBC editorial controls. But a former BBC chairman, Sir Christopher Bland, criticized Hutton's report. He said the judge had "whitewashed the government ... but he tarred and feathered the BBC. "It is legitimate to question whether Hutton was evenhanded in the way he treated on the one hand politicians, civil servants and the security services, and on the other hand the standards of conduct he applied to journalists and broadcasters," Bland told BBC radio. Many British newspapers expressed surprise Thursday over what they called a one-sided Hutton judgment. "Whitewash?" asked The Independent in its main headline. In the conservative Daily Mail, columnist Max Hastings said Hutton "fails to set his story in the context of the BBC's huge virtues and Labour's sore vices." Most agreed Blair had been utterly vindicated by Hutton of charges he lied about the threat posed by Iraq, with one tabloid calling him "Saint Tony" in a front-page headline. But some editorials said key questions remained about Blair's controversial decision to go to war, given the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. "The government may have been cleared over Dr. Kelly's death -- but that does not mean it was honest about Iraq. It is entitled to Hutton's narrow vindication, but it still has a lot to prove," The Guardian said. The BBC has so far declined to say whether it will take any action against defense correspondent Andrew Gilligan, who made the criticized broadcast. Hutton said the 12 BBC governors failed to carry out proper checks on Gilligan's story, which was based on an interview with Kelly, then failed in its duty to inform the public that the information it broadcast might have been wrong. The verdict was a huge blow for the BBC, which governs itself, even though it is funded by mandatory annual license fees on TV sets. In December, while bracing for the Hutton report, the BBC announced tough new editorial rules, including stricter guidelines about the reporting of controversial stories based on a single anonymous source. Michael Howard, the opposition Conservative Party leader, told the House of Commons following the release of Lord Hutton's ruling that the case for independent regulation of the BBC "has never been stronger." Blair, who criticized the BBC for failing for months to acknowledge its report was wrong, responded by saying there would be a thorough review of the broadcaster's charter (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** UNITED KINGDOM. 9565, Merlin Communication, 1100-1235, Jan 18, English, test transmission with the same announcements during the whole programme: "This is a transmission by VT Merlin Communication. Your programmes can now be heard on digital short wave and medium wave. To find out how we can take you forward into the clarity of international digital radio using DRM, please go to http://www.vtplc.com/merlin " and "Your programming can now be broadcast as a high quality digital transmission over short wave and medium wave using DRM, the clearest and the most signifiant recent development in AM broadcasting. To find out how VT Merlin Communication can broadcast your programmes quickly and easily on DRM, visit http://www.vtplc.com/merlin and use the contact and location link.". Only heard this day. 44444 (Bjarke Vestesen, Radby, Blommenslyst, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Jan 28 via DXLD) ** U K. The new 19th edition of RADIO STATIONS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM (ISBN 0-9540223-1-9) is now available from the British DX Club. The 60-page booklet includes up-to-date detailed listings, by frequency and station name, of all medium wave and FM services in the UK - including BBC, independent, low power AM and FM services. Plus, as usual, an extra booklet covering all the Irish stations is included! This ever popular publication has been completely up dated since the last edition and is a must for anyone interested in UK radio - from the keen DXer to the casual listener. Why not order an extra copy to keep in the car! Features include: =========== - All stations listed by frequency as well as station name - Frequencies cross-referenced to show parallel channels - Includes transmitter sites and powers, contact details and web sites - Comprehensive listing of long-term Low Power AM and FM stations at colleges, hospitals, schools, sports venues, prisons and army garrisons - Includes details of the extended Access (community) radio stations - Separate Irish supplement covers all RTE and independent stations RADIO STATIONS IN THE UK is available from BDXC's London HQ: British DX Club 126 Bargery Road Catford London SE6 2LR, UK. Price per copy: ========== UK: 3.00 pounds sterling Overseas: 3.50 pounds sterling, 5 Euros, 5 US Dollars, or 7 IRCs Above prices include postage worldwide. For airmail please add 2 Euros, 2 US Dollars or 2 IRCs Recommended methods of payment:- - UK cheque / UK postal order payable to 'British DX Club' - International Reply Coupons - Cash in Euros or US Dollars Full details also on the BDXC-UK web site at: http://www.bdxc.org.uk (via DXLD) ** U S A. Reception of WWCR 9985 in Western Australia: G'day Glenn, Just to advise reception of 9985 at 1300 UT was very good. A strong, solid, clear signal into Perth, Western Australia. 44444. Much better than 12160. No problems on 8965/10495. Am hoping 9985 will remain. Am hearing 12160 at present. My gear: Icom R71A, with dipole. Cheers mate, (Jeff Bell, WA, Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A? PIRATE, 6950.00, WEAK, Jan 24, 0320-0333, "This is the Oldies Program on WEAK Chicago...", hosted by Leonard Longwire, standard rock oldies. Fair to good signal (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 deg., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. In downtown Brooklyn, NY, I heard a very professional sounding pirate catering to the Caribbean community. It was heard at about 0930 local time this morning along Smith Street and Jay Streets on my Sony car radio. The frequency is 103.1 MHz. The station IDd as Bashman Radio (sp?) or something like that, with jingles and sounders. According to the FCC database, Kingsborough Community College has CPs for three translators in the Brooklyn area, but they are not listed as approved. Between the Lubavitchers, the Haitians, and the Rastafarians, Brooklyn is currently a hotbed of pirate radio. The FCC doesn't seem to care much, after the higher profile busts of the bedroom pirates such as Perry Cavaliere and John Calabro back in the late 1970s (Dan Srebnick (driving through Brooklyn), Jan 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. "Radio Log" logged in Boston --- Thanks to a tip from Bill Merrill, I listened to 540 kHz while driving home from work today and heard Radio Log, a Boston community station, with a positive ID at 5:30 and 6 pm local. Announcers were women and most of the songs had female lead singers, with the exception of an LL Cool J song before 5:30. The announcer at 5:30 also mentioned something about community, but I missed it due to driving duties in snow. I initially heard this while in Waltham (NW of Boston). I still heard the signal in my car at 6 pm in Natick (farther west of Boston), so it's not THAT weak. Who else can hear this station? Have fun, (Paul McDonough, Natick, MA, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) This is going to get interesting --- if they're putting enough power out of Dorchester to be listenable in NATICK, they're probably also interfering with WDDZ or whatever the calls are now for 550 in Pawtucket. But how the heck do you bust a community radio station run by disadvantaged inner-city teenage girls? Talk about a publicity nightmare (Scott Fybush, NRC-AM via DXLD) You help 'em find a better frequency and operating parameters --- maybe even help them prep an actual low-power station application (Saul Chernos, Ont., ibid.) You must be in Canada or sumpin' :-) This is market #6 we're talking about --- there's not a spot on the dial within 100 miles where an LPFM will fit under the FCC's standards for same, and LPAM isn't a legal reality here (and won't ever be, if the NAB has anything to say about it.) I suppose they could mosey up to 16-something on the dial and not cause any real interference to anyone for a while (Fybush, ibid.) ** U S A. Is WRIB 1220 in Rhode Island really running Morse code IDs yet in its nightly DX tests at 0800 UT? I might have a chance at it (Pat Martin, OR, NRC-AM via DXLD) I haven't yet had time, due to an eye operation and heavy workload. But, if you would care to send me an MP3 of "WRIB" in morse code at a high audio frequency, like 2.5 or 3 kHz, I may be able to ask the show host to add it to his playlist for 3 am. I do apologize, but life has been hectic lately (Craig Healy, via Les Rayburn) I'll be happy to create the Morse Code ID and mail it to Craig later today. 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. NAB RADIO BOARD ENDORSES NIGHTTIME AM IBOC OPERATION Washington - The NAB Radio Board placed a final piece in the IBOC puzzle by voting to endorse interim AM IBOC nighttime operation at a January 20 meeting. This endorsement is expected to weaken opposition to full-time HD Radio AM that had previously come from AM broadcasters concerned with the loss of AM nighttime fringe analog coverage. The argument for endorsement came in a statement from the NAB digital radio committee that suggested that the improved AM HDC codec would bring audience and revenue gains sufficient to offset any loss to analog fringe coverage posed by interference from HD Radio AM's primary sidebands. The board stated that, "in the event that 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 board also agreed to recommend that the NRSC should pursue "modulation and transmission IBOC standards (for FM and AM IBOC), which include provisions for advanced data applications." The day vs. nighttime digital operation issue was believed by many to be a significant stumbling block for AM broadcasters considering whether to invest in an HD AM upgrade at their facilities. It is as yet unclear how the FCC will act on the basis of the NAB's recommendation (Source? via Karl Zuk, Jan 28, NRC-AM via DXLD) More discussion under RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM ** U S A. CLEAR CHANNEL SELLS OUT O'HARE IN TRAFFIC REPORTS January 28, 2004 BY ROBERT FEDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST Mayor Daley may have obliterated Meigs Field last year, but now Clear Channel Radio wants to wipe out O'Hare Airport -- at least from all of its traffic reports. In a move that has enraged and appalled staffers at all seven Clear Channel stations in Chicago, the company is ordering its on-air talent to stop reporting Kennedy Expy. travel times to O'Hare -- the landmark end point familiar to generations of motorists. Thanks to a yearlong marketing agreement with Allstate Arena -- the first under Clear Channel's "traffic destination rights program" -- travel times are to be reported "from Downtown to the Allstate Arena" rather than to O'Hare, starting next week. The concert venue and sports facility, formerly known as the Rosemont Horizon, is located near O'Hare in northwest suburban Rosemont. The edict came in a memo this week from Barry Butler, general sales manager for Clear Channel Traffic Chicago. Butler declined to say how much Allstate Arena was paying for the product placement plugs in traffic reports. "Quite honestly, for commuters who take this route, this change makes much more sense, since the significant majority of commuters are not going to and from O'Hare each day -- it's from the area where the Allstate Arena is located," Butler wrote to Clear Channel staffers. "By the way, all of the concerts that are booked at the Allstate are from Clear Channel Entertainment!" The sinister implications of that corporate synergy are not likely to be lost on anyone. "Anytime that we mention the Kennedy Expressway travel times, it will be to and from the Allstate Arena (or, for the cool people, 'The Allstate')," he wrote. "I understand that for the first couple of weeks that this will be an adjustment for some. Old habits are hard to break. As such, I asked the marketing people representing Allstate for some patience with this transition." In Chicago, Clear Channel owns the top four stations among listeners between the ages of 25 and 54 -- WVAZ-FM (102.7), WGCI-FM (107.5), WLIT-FM (93.9) and WNUA-FM (95.5). It also owns WKSC-FM (103.5), WGCI- AM (1390) and WRLL-AM (1690). (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) ** U S A. DXLD 4-016: Clear Channel press release day? Hi! I was reading DXLD 4-016 and had trouble reading all of the RDS news with a straight face. Were these news stories rehashed Clear Channel press releases? First of all, in the item "WHAT WAS THAT SONG, AND WHO SANG IT?" no, RDS was not making its Triangle debut. WUNC-FM started using it no later than August 1995, though I don't know if they stopped using it after that. At that time, I caught a blank RDS ident on my Grundig Satellit 700, walked up to the station, and asked about RDS. I got a tour, got to see the equipment and the manuals; and a little bit later, something was put in the RDS ident. I'm 100% positive that RDS is not new to the Triangle. I expected better reporting from the News and Observer. Second, in the item "U S A. AMERICANS DISCOVER THE JOYS OF RDS," no, RDS is not new to America. The car radios have been out for quite some time now, at least since the 2002 model year. The stations have been putting out RDS signals since at least 1995 if not earlier here in Florida. Heck, it's not even new to Clear Channel, given that a lot of these RDS-capable stations were Clear Channel stations. It's only in the past three months that my local Clear Channel stations decided all at once to put RDS messages in the "STATION - ARTIST - SONG" format. In conclusion, I suspect that some Clear Channel marketroid that's unaware of even his own company's history in the field has been marketing RDS like it's brand new --- and some people are stupid enough to buy the pitch and run it as fact. Just my two cents (Michael L. Semon, Lakeland, FL, Jan 28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FCC actions: YOUNG BROADCASTING OF SAN FRANCISCO, INC. Proposed a monetary forfeiture in the amount of $27,500 against Young Broadcasting of San Francisco, Inc., for broadcasting apparently indecent material. Action by: the Commission. Adopted: 01/23/2004 by NALF. (FCC No. 04-16). EB http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A2.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A3.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A4.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A5.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A2.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A3.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A4.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A5.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A1.txt http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A2.txt http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A3.txt http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A4.txt http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-16A5.txt CLEAR CHANNEL BROADCASTING LICENSES, INC./CITICASTERS LICENSES, L.P./CAPSTAR TX LIMITED PARTNERSHIP. Issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture to Clear Channel for $755,000 for apparent violations of indecency and public inspection file rules. Action by: the Commission. Adopted: 01/26/2004 by NALF. (FCC No. 04-17). EB http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A2.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A3.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A4.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A5.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A1.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A2.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A3.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A4.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A5.pdf http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A1.txt http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A2.txt http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A3.txt http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A4.txt http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-04-17A5.txt (via Fred Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) The problem with CC, as with any large widely distributed company, is corporate governance. It's now pretty well proven that the only way to do it successfully is the way CC is doing it. Tight centralized financial management of virtually autonomous operating units. Where CC and others, for example Infinity, may have fallen short is in corporate policy. They have grown so fast that true, centralized policies unrelated to legal compliance issues probably have not been given much consideration. It's an area the more mature large broadcasting organizations - when they existed - called "Standards and Practices". It also seems IIRC, the pre-Fritts NAB had a committee that dealt with such matters. However, it looks to me like they (M. Powell et al) are trying to recover from the NBC fiasco, and the fact that they were essentially impotent in the St. Patrick "Infinity promotion" although Chm. Powell did quite a flap his "uppers" extensively about it. IMHO, the only reason they are proposing this fine for CC is they know it will get a lot of ink for them and make them look like they are doing something without significantly impacting CC's bottom line or price per share. Also, the FCC probably wants a statutory increase in the level of fines they can assess, and I'd think this also comes into play. While this is truly unbecoming conduct for any broadcaster, the tragic thing is that the station level operating people at CC could point to any number of other incidents that led them to believe this was an "acceptable" way to increase ratings. The FCC is trying to make an example of CC, IMHO, because they CAN, and I don't think that's close to fair. The problem is the "line" that was crossed (clearly crossed IMHO) is too vague, thus Mays proposal might well be, in fact probably is, sincere. It's the old problem of porno vs. free speech. Jack Paar who passed away just a few day ago comes to mind. The joke that was censored and caused him to walk out on "Tonight" for a few weeks, is very tame by today's standards. The price of a free society is tolerating quite a lot of pure -expletive deleted- material. I'm not saying that this CC station's conduct should be condoned at all, but the CC operations are generally better than most, and the FCC targeting them for the sake of publicity and political agenda strikes me as much a comment on the FCC as on CC (Phil Alexander, CSRE, Broadcast Engineering Services and Technology, Indianapolis, NRC-AM via DXLD) Here's how I see this all ending: in federal court, where broadcasters at this point have a pretty good case to make against the FCC. For years now, broadcasters have been complaining to the FCC about the lack of any clear guidance about what does and does not constitute indecency, and the FCC hasn't provided it. Instead, the Commission issues Notices of Apparent Liability, gets the publicity that accrues, then quietly backs down more often than not when challenged with the threat of a lawsuit. So far so good - until Congress begins stepping in and the headlines get larger and louder. What we're seeing now, I think, is a frantic backpedaling by the FCC to get some actual standards in place that could survive a court challenge. This will get much more interesting in the months to come (Scott Fybush, NY, NRC-AM via DXLD) One problem with consolidation on such a scale, is that it becomes difficult to levy the most severe penalties if they become necessary. Can you imagine what would happen if the FCC were to rule Infinity "not qualified to be a Commission licensee"? (as they did with Michael Rice) The consequences would be devastating not only to Infinity, but to all other radio owners who would see the values of their holdings plummet. Not to mention what would happen to the public if something like a third of all radio stations disappeared overnight. More likely, how large of a fine do you have to levy to make a huge operation like Infinity "hurt"? Now, what happens if you levy the same fine for the same violation against a single-station mom & pop owner? Can the Commission legally fine Infinity 20x as much for the same violation? | However, it looks to me like they (M. Powell et al) are trying to recover from the NBC fiasco, and the fact that they were essentially impotent | I will say, IMHO the Commission's action in the NBC case was proper. Words must be taken in context - I can say "I used screws to fasten the antenna switch to the tower" and nobody would bat an eyelash. There are ways I could use the word "screw" that would certainly NOT be acceptable on the air! Bono's use of the "F-word", taken in context, had no indecent meaning or connotation. I wouldn't stand up in church and describe my day that way, but I don't believe it was unacceptable for broadcast. – (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, ibid.) ** U S A. BARE FACTS DON'T TELL WHOLE STORY – by C. Schultz, 01/29/04 http://www.cleveland.com/living/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/living/1075384514200890.xml When you hear the sound-bite version of newscaster Cather ine Bosley's barroom stunt, it's easy to judge her. A television anchor for Youngstown's WKBN, Bosley went on vacation in Key West, Fla., entered a wet T-shirt contest and ended up naked as a newborn. The 36-year-old blonde jiggled her way across the stage and into unemployment after one of the many men with cameras that night posted photos of her on the Internet. A videotape of her performance soon followed. The day after Christmas, a tearful Bosley was out of a job. "Catherine is a seasoned veteran who consciously chose to engage in behavior that she knew was inconsistent with the responsibilities of her chosen profession," news director Gary Coursen wrote on the station's Web site after Bosley resigned. "Returning Catherine to the air would cast the department in a seedy, tabloid light." Coursen was also testy about the "overwhelming negative feedback" from viewers protesting his decision to let Bosley go. "WKBN has done nothing," he wrote, "we did not dance nude, nor did we fire Catherine, yet we have somehow come out the bad guys." In a business where the anchor teams often resemble second marriages graying older man, perky lass barely out of braces you have to marvel at the chutzpah of a television news director claiming he thought he'd hired Sister Mary Catherine. And Bosley's antics hardly rival the industry standard for local television promos during sweeps week, when the mantra is sex-sex-sex. There is more to this tale. Here's what most people don't know about Catherine Bosley. In 1999, surgeons cut open her chest to repair a heart defect. The scar is barely visible in most of those Internet photos, but there isn't a day of her life that Bosley doesn't look in the mirror and see the reminder. In the fall of 2002, Bosley was diagnosed with a rare lung disease. Another scar runs under one of her armpits where a surgeon mined for a lung biopsy. One treatment after another failed. In constant pain, barely able to breathe, Bosley was slowly suffocating to death. That December, doctors finally hit on a successful combination of high-dose steroids and expensive antibiotics. She remembers well the day she got the news. "My doctor said, Oh, my God, look at this. It's clearing!' " Bosley needed to hear the words. "I asked him, You mean I'm going to live?' and he said, Yes, my dear.'" "My husband and I were so excited," Bosley said. "We went from thinking I was going to die to thinking about a whole new life." Last January, they took the Key West trip to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary. One evening, they went to the bar holding the wet T-shirt contest. Bosley said she'd never seen one before. "We looked at each other and said, Oh, why not? Let's celebrate.' We thought it'd be our moment with a bunch of strangers. And so I did it, scars and all." Eleven months later, on Christmas Eve, an anonymous female left this message on Bosley's newsroom voice-mail: "You prissy little [expletive]," she snarled. "You're finished. You're done." The photos were on the Web. The station accepted Bosley's resignation a week later. The ensuing publicity was as predictable as it was lurid. Local television stations and "Good Morning America" covered it, as did radio call-in shows and print media, many including a Web site address for the photos. Some women have been predictably venomous, ridiculing her judgment along with her "lousy boob job." Why do we women do this to one another? For the record, Bosley said her breasts were repaired after open-heart surgery. "I was pretty disfigured. I had reconstructive surgery. If I'd just been going for cosmetic effect, I would have gotten bigger breasts." Bosley has apologized repeatedly, saying she let down her viewers, her family and God. "I want people to know I'm taking responsibility here," she said. "I'm not blaming anyone but me." Judge her if you will. As for me, I'll pass. © 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission. Copyright 2004 cleveland.com. All Rights Reserved (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC corrects call-sign goof: The FCC has ordered that a Chesapeake, Virginia, amateur will have to give up the vanity call sign it erroneously granted him in August 2002. In an Order of Modification released January 22, the FCC said it would modify the license of Richard L. Smith, KC4USH, to return his call sign to KG4UKV --- his former call sign. The FCC concluded that the grant of KC4USH as a vanity call sign ``was defective because the call sign is included in the call sign block KC4USA through KC4USZ, which is available to the Department of the Navy for the use of amateur stations at US Navy Antarctic stations,`` the Order said. The FCC said it was unable to simply set aside the grant because it did not become aware of its error until more than 30 days after making the grant. After the FCC indicated its intention to pull back the call sign Smith protested, saying that he`d picked KC4USH because it was used at Cape Hallett Station, Antarctica, when his father was there during ``Operation Deep Freeze 60.`` Smith further argued that he`d applied for the call sign in good faith and that he`d spent considerable personal funds to make others aware that he was assigned this call sign. He also pointed out that the US Navy had not used KC4USH for 30 years. The FCC turned away Smith, however, reaffirming that modifying his license to reflect his previously held call sign would serve the public interest by ensuring that the call sign block KC4USA-KC4USZ is only used to identify amateur stations that are located at US Navy Antarctic stations. The FCC said the reason a licensee requests a particular vanity call sign ``is not a sufficient basis to allow a licensee to retain a call sign that is otherwise unassignable to the licensee`s station`` under the FCC rules. ``We apologize for any inconvenience this error has caused Mr. Smith,`` the FCC said, adding that it`s made necessary corrections to prevent a repeat of the mistake in the future. Signing the Order was D`wana R. Terry, chief of the Public Safety and Critical Infrastructure Division in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (ARRL January 28 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Shuttle Columbia special event set: The Nacogdoches Amateur Radio Club (NARC) in Texas will mark the first anniversary of the shuttle Columbia disaster February 1 with a daylong special event operation from W5NAC. The club says the operation will honor the lost Columbia astronauts, recovery workers and volunteers and agencies involved in the debris recovery effort. Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) and Deep East Texas SKYWARN volunteers assisted with the shuttle recovery effort by providing the other responding agencies with a unified radio communication system as well as providing up-to-the-minute weather information. More than 350 Amateur Radio volunteers logged more than 5100 work hours and 60,000 miles on their personal vehicles during the recovery effort. ``The amateur radio community really came together to serve during that time,`` commented NARC President Kent Tannery, KD5SHM. ``That is what we train to do.`` Tannery said the amateurs were honored to play a role in the recovery operation, and the special event operation is the club`s way of showing respect to all of the volunteers and especially the crew and their families. Operation will be on HF as well as on a UHF/EchoLink-based system. Additional details are available on the NARC Web site. Local officials and NASA representatives are expected to be on hand for the occasion (ARRL January 28 via John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO SELLING SOME OPERATIONS Associated Press Published 01/23/2004 Minnesota Public Radio is shedding some of its commercial operations, agreeing to sell all-news radio WMNN-AM to a Catholic radio network that will expand in the Twin Cities. In addition, MPR's for-profit affiliate, Greenspring Company, said Friday it has sold The MNN Radio Networks, which operates WMNN (1330 AM), to Saga Communications Inc., a broadcast company based in Michigan. The WMNN purchase price is $6.75 million, while the MNN sale price is $3.25 million, MPR said. Bill Kling, president of both MPR and Greenspring, said the properties had provided a revenue stream for more than 25 years to support MPR. ``These sales will allow us to convert this revenue stream into a permanent asset, helping to assure MPR's financial health far into the future,'' Kling said. . . http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/4336314.html (via Kim Elliott, DXLD) [same story, with sidebar:] ON THE NET Relevant Radio: http://www.relevantradio.com Minnesota Public Radio: http://www.mpr.org Saga Communications: http://www.sagacom.com WMNN 1330 AM: http://www.wmnn.com --- http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/breaking_news/7781780.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) MPR SELLS WMNN, MINNESOTA NEWS NETWORK FOR $10 MILLION; DONOR IS DISAPPOINTED Nicole Garrison-Sprenger and Benno Groeneveld, Staff reporters Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) has sold radio station WMNN-AM 1330 in Minneapolis. At the same time, MPR's for-profit affiliate Greenspring Co., announced it had sold the Minnesota News Network (MNN) to a Michigan-based broadcast organization. Larry Bentson, who donated 1330 to MPR in the early 1980s, said he is extremely disappointed with the sale. "The intent of our gift to Minnesota Public Radio was that it be used as an additional voice to the community by a nonprofit organization," said Bentson, chairman of the board of Midcontinent Media Inc. in Edina. "It's a real disappointment that the station we donated to MPR ... is now being sold by them for a substantial amount of money." Suzanne Perry, spokeswoman for MPR said "we are very sorry that Mr. Bentson was disappointed because we really appreciated" that he offered his station to MPR at a bargain price. "But when he entered his transaction with us there were no conditions attached. We subsequently used the station to support the mission of Minnesota Public Radio and we are pleased that this sale of the station will enable us to further support the mission of MPR." Perry said. . . http://twincities.bizjournals.com/twincities/stories/2004/01/19/daily51.html (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) STARBOARD DOES BIG: BUYS MAJOR TWIN CITIES AM STATION FROM MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO FOR $7 MILLION Minneapolis, Jan 24 (CRU) --- Minnesota Public Radio confirmed yesterday that it is selling WMNN 1330 AM Minneapolis to a subsidiary of Starboard Media for $6.75 million, reports Jon Ellis at his Upper Midwest Broadcasting website http://www.northpine.com/broadcast this morning. WMNN broadcasts with 9,700 watts daytime and 5,100 watts night, directional antenna using three towers with a different pattern day and night. The WMNN signal is superior to Starboard`s present ones in the Twin Cities: WMIN 740 AM, which is an 850-watt daytimer, and KSMM 1530 AM, 8,600 watts day but only 10 watts at night. Both are suburban stations and together cover much of the metropolitan area during the daytime. The new WMNN will accompany the reportedly handsome and well appointed new studios constructed by Starboard in the Twin Cities. The purchase follows by two weeks the announcement that Starboard had agreed to buy WAUR 930 AM Chicago (Sandwich) from the old Catholic Radio Network for $3.5 million (Catholic Radio Update #262, January 12, 2004). Reports have been circulating in the trade and Twin Cities press since then that the WMNN deal was in the making. WMNN`s daytime signal extends almost to St Cloud on the northwest, to Hutchinson on the southwest, and to extreme western Wisconsin on the east. Its signal is limited to the south, but it does cover all of the metropolitan area. Its nighttime signal does not reach quite as far to the north and west, but extends to Faribault on the south and almost to New Richmond, Wisconsin, on the east. Minnesota Public Radio bought 1330 AM in 1980. The owner of the long- standing Twin Cities stations WLOL-AM-FM had decided to sell the AM and FM separately. After Minnesota Public Radio`s efforts failed in buying KBEM 88.5 FM from the Minneapolis School Board so that it could convert its major station, KSJN 90.1 FM in the Twin Cities to all classical music and make KBEM all news and information, it decided to buy WLOL 1330 AM in 1979, and on January 26, 1980, changed the call letters to KSJN, and the MPR KSJN 90.1 FM (founded 1967) call letters to KSJN-FM. KSJN-FM 90.1 FM became all classical music and KSJN 1330 AM became news and information. In October 1989 MPR changed the call letters of KSJN 1330 AM to KNOW, call letters owned for five decades by Austin, Texas` oldest station— the call letters come from the fact that it was originally owned by the University of Texas. In the meantime, the call letters WLOL had been retained by the new owners of WLOL-FM 99.5 FM, which had been the affiliate of WLOL 1330 AM since the founding of the FM station in 1956 by the WLOL-FM Corp.* When Minnesota Public Radio floated a successful bond issue to purchase WLOL-FM in 1991, it changed the call letters of KSJN-FM 90.1 FM to KNOW-FM, making it a news and information station (along with KNOW 1330 AM), and moved the call letters KSJN and the classical music format to the newly purchased 99.5 FM. (Astute readers will note that call letters in the Twin Cities interchange the ``K-`` and ``W-`` prefixes easily; the FCC historically has used the Mississippi River as the dividing line between the ``K`` calls (west) and the ``W`` calls (east); some pioneer stations are exceptions (such as KDKA Pittsburgh and WACO Waco). But because of the unique situation of the Twin Cities being one metropolitan area straddling the Father of Waters, the Commission has made exceptions. In reality, the Twin Cities are not absolutely unique; New Orleans also straddles the Father of Waters.) Since KNOW-FM 90.1 FM had become the NPR and local news and information station for the Twin Cities, a different role was ultimately found for KNOW 1330 AM, which became a commercial news operation. Its call letters were changed in 1995 to the present WMNN. WMNN, the former WLOL, is one of the Twin Cities` oldest radio stations; it was founded as WLOL in 1939 by the Independent Merchants Broadcasting Co. (1,000 watts fulltime). From its first years, it was an affiliate of the old Mutual Broadcasting System, one of the four national radio networks in the glory days of radio. It was also one of the Twin Cities` most important radio stations, in the pack led by WCCO 830 AM (CBS), KSTP 1550 AM (NBC), WTCN 1280 AM (NBC Blue/ABC), and WLOL 1330 AM (Mutual). Other stations were the independent class IV WMIN 1400 AM, the University of Minnesota`s WLB 770 AM (a daytimer, later KUOM), and sharetimer WDGY 1130 AM, owned by a doctor (and eventually bought by Todd Storz). Minnesota Public Radio, famous as the home turf of Garrison Keillor`s ``Prairie Home Companion`` and founder of Public Radio International, has been operating a statewide news network called Minneapolis News Network (MNN). But now, at the same time that it is selling WMNN, the holding company of MPR, the Greenspring Company, is selling the MNN network to Saga Broadcasting for $3.25 million. WMNN 1330 AM was apparently the flagship of MNN, which, according to Mr. Ellis, also distributes the games of the Minnesota Twins, the Timberwolves, Wild, Gopher Football, Gopher Basketball, and Lynx. Saga said that it will keep ``many or most`` of MNN`s 32 employees. He also reports that Minnesota Public Radio will continue to own and format KLBB 1400 AM St Paul (the old WMIN) and KLBP 1470 AM in suburban Brooklyn Park; these have a nostalgia format. The acquisition of WMNN 1330 AM Minneapolis–St Paul raises the total of Catholic radio stations pending or authorized to 128. There are no changes in the number of stations on the air or the number of dioceses with stations. Several weeks ago, Starboard filed with the FCC to buy WAUR 930 AM Chicago from the old Catholic Radio Network. * Additional Information --- The Independent Merchants Broadcasting Company, founders of WLOL 1330 AM in 1939, received a construction permit for WLOL-FM just seven years after starting the AM station; The original WLOL-FM was on 101.3 FM with a power of 34,000 watts ERP. It operated until about 1954. Two years later, with the boom in high- fidelity sound equipment (stereo was still six years away), the Independent Merchants Broadcasting Company formed a subsidiary, the WLOL-FM Corp., and applied for the vacant 99.5 FM, which had been the old WMIN-FM frequency from 1945 to April 10, 1956. The construction permit for the reborn WLOL-FM seems to have been granted in July. The old 101.3 FM frequency of WLOL would be taken three years later by WPBC-FM, the FM affiliate of Peoples Broadcasting Company`s WPBC 980 AM in suburban Richfield (now KEGE Minneapolis–St Paul). Database --- Minneapolis - St Paul: WMNN 1330 AM (9,700 watts daytime, 5,100 watts nighttime, different directional antenna patterns day and night). Minnesota Public Radio. Being purchased by Starboard Media. Studios: Hwy. 100 and Duluth St., Golden Valley, MN. Starboard Network, Inc. Sherry Kennedy Brownrigg, Western Region president; tel. (763) 546-4000. John Bitting, Eastern Region president; tel. (312) 648-1621. 2300 Riverside Dr., Green Bay, WI 54301. Tel.: (920) 469- 3021. Anne Moyer, public relations and promotions manager; tel. (763) 546-4000, e-mail: amoyer @ relevantradio.com (Catholic Radio Update Jan 27 Extra, Jan 25 via DXLD) ** U S A. RURAL OREGON PUBLIC RADIO STATION PUSHES INTO BUSINESS SECTOR By JULIA SILVERMAN The Associated Press 1/29/04 2:16 AM http://wizzer.advance.net/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0427_BC_PublicRadio&&news&newsflash-national ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Snug in their role as the radio dial's learned professor, most of America's public stations stick close to a familiar format, bookended by popular programs like "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered." But from the basement of a nondescript building on the campus of Southern Oregon University, an unusual National Public Radio affiliate is pushing itself into the business sector, far beyond the traditional boundaries. From its beginnings as a 10-watt station run by students, Ashland-based Jefferson Public Radio has built itself up over three decades to become one of the nation's largest regional public radio broadcasters, and emerged in the last five years as a key entrepreneurial player in its region, which stretches virtually everywhere in the legendary state that never really was. That state is Jefferson, the freewheeling slice of Northern California and Southern Oregon that once tried to secede from Salem and Sacramento and form a separate state, only to be thwarted by the onset of World War II. Residents back then were furious that highways in their area were deteriorating, hampering the logging industry. Today, the so-called state of Jefferson still exists in the minds of plenty of residents and on the stations of JPR. One of the country's largest networks of relay stations beams the station's signal as far south as Mendocino, Calif., and as far north as Salem, plus east into the sparsely populated interior of California and Oregon. Along the way the station has picked a high-profile legal battle with the Federal Communications Commission over the application process for noncommercial stations seeking a spot on the dial. That case is still pending but could have significant fallout in the ongoing dispute between religious radio and local broadcasters over space on the air. The station also runs an Internet service provider called JeffNet, whose profits go back into radio programming and operations. And in 1999, the station purchased a historic Art-Deco theater that anchors a main thoroughfare in downtown Redding, Calif., and led a fund-raising campaign for the theater's renovation. Now, station employees are planning for their largest entrepreneurial venture yet: a $10 million, 50,000-square-foot Western States Museum of Broadcasting, to honor the roots of radio and TV stations west of the Rockies, which would include new studio space for the station. Mark Handley, the president of New Hampshire Public Radio and chairman of the National Public Radio board of directors, said he didn't know of any other public radio station in the country that has ventured so deep into development. "It is unusual," Handley said. "They have a vision for an institution in the community, not just an invisible provider of programs, most of which may come from a national source someplace." Public radio stations have ventured into the public sector before, although most such ventures are closely tied to programming. At powerful Minnesota Public Radio, for example, the station started a for-profit mail order operation in 1981, then sold it in 1998 to the Dayton-Hudson Corp. for $120 million, with much of the proceeds going to the station's permanent endowment. The "Lake Wobegon USA" store at the Minneapolis-area Mall of America sells books, tapes and bobblehead dolls based on the station's flagship show, "A Prairie Home Companion." In Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania-affiliated station WXPN has granted an outside entertainment group the right to use the name of its signature show, World Cafe Live, for a new performance space, coffee house and restaurant. Licensing fees are expected to help the station defray the cost of building new studios. In Ashland, Jefferson Public Radio's ambitious plans for the broadcasting museum have drawn some skepticism. Some doubt that Ashland, already home to the popular Oregon Shakespeare Festival, has the tourist base to support such a venture, while others say the station will never raise enough money to pay for the museum in a sluggish regional economy. JPR executive director Ron Kramer said a broadcasting museum makes sense for the far-flung West, where radio voices and early television programming provided a common language in the early 20th century. Like the station's other business ventures, he said, the museum will link back to Jefferson Public Radio's programming and news content. "I think the museum will help create a stronger future for public radio," he said. "Part of creating a literate media society is teaching people about the importance of media, and why it is the way it is. It's all kind of organic." ------ On the Net: http://www.jeffnet.org (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. QSL: CLANDESTINE, 7380 Degar Voice. Brief e-mail verie from usual Kok Ksor at usual address degar @ montagnard- foundation.org Asked for current sked; the reply was "The day will be Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The frequency, they change 3 times a week so I don't know which one. The reason is they don't want to be jammed". (John Wilkins, CO, Cumbre DX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 1819.88, Jan 29, 1023-1115 continuous music with no announcements, pop ballads and rock vocals, probably Spanish, fair to good signal strength but weak audio. Fading by 1115. Maybe HJTT 2 x 910 per Malm (Mark Mohrmann, Coventry, VT, NRD 535D, V-Beam 140m @180 deg., DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6760.14 kHz, religious LA, 29/Ene/2004 2345 UT Amigos DXistas, aquí viene SWB MICROINFORMATIVO! Quito 29/Ene/2004 23:27 hora local This could be a new station. I noted the station first this evening at 2340 UT with nonstop LA-music with no talk. When I checked the frequency again after 0200 I heard a man talking nonstop without IDs about religious things. 0215 the audio was gone but the carrier was still there at least 1 hour more. You can listen to the recording [later] at SWB: http://homepage.sverige.net/~a-0901/ (This 1 minute long file has a original size of 714 kB; that`s the method I used before. Now the same recording is just 127 kB and much easier for you to listen/download it. I`m using a freeware program called "dBpower Music Converter" to get the size down) (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SWB América Latina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 13790, Jan 29 2245-2254* nothing but big band music, Glenn Miller, ``Pennsylvania 6-5000`` but instrumental only, very strong and clear, no announcements, not even before carrier cut. Likely some IBB or other American transmitter testing (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 17800 with continuous tone test Jan 29 2300+, mixed with beeps more often than one per second, strong. Suspect Voice of Nigeria which should have just finished on this frequency (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ETON E1 XM See http://www.thiecom.de/shop1/index.html?target=Zubehoer_von_A_bis_ZAntennenznSchalter.html and SEARCH for ETON --- announced for summer 2004. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Maybe June or July; price not yet set. English segment: Weltempfaenger The Eton E1 XM is the world's first radio that combines AM, FM, Shortwave, and XM Satellite radio into one ultra high-performance unit. In development for more than 10 years in collaboration with RL Drake Company and XM Satellite Radio, the E1 is simply the finest full-sized portable in the world. XM Satellite Radio (optional?) or Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) Ready Continuous Shortwave with Selectable Single Sideband (SSB) Reception Dual Conversion Superheterodyne Circuit Design Digitally Synthesized PLL Tuner with Synchronous Detector Passband Tuning and Selectable Bandwidth Filters 1700 Station Presets with Memory Scan Function 5.7" Oversized Illuminated Multi-Function Dot-Matrix LCD Screen Stereo Line-Level Audio Inputs/Outputs and External Antenna Connections Dual Clocks and Programmable Timers Separate Bass and Treble Controls Dimensions: 13.1"W x 7.1"H x 2.3"D Weight: 4lbs. (approx.) © Copyright und Erstellung: http://www.thiecom.de (via Büschel, DXLD) THE NRC IBOC THREAD CONTINUES There is no change in analog audio quality IF YOU CAN HEAR IT over the noise of the IBOC subcarriers. A 50 KW transmits subcarrier energy of about 160 W in each adjacent channel. This is NOT SPLATTER or spill over. It is a group of subcarriers within the adjacent channels. The noise level usually sounds like a buzz saw at levels from impossible, to unbearable, to change channels quickly. The penetrating quality of the analog demod of the subs is far out of proportion to the power. Note: Despite the chatter about night time IBOC, as of Friday evening when I last looked, neither the NAB or Ibiquity had publish a news release regarding a decision of the NAB board on this topic. I do agree with Russ Edmunds comment that night time IBOC is "unintentional suicide" for CC and the other AM licensees, at least during hour of darkness. Islands in the noise that barely extend beyond visual range of the tower lights on a clear night will be the rule rather than the exception. I don't think they get it. If Eddie Fritts did this he should be fired. Of course he should have been fired long ago, but that's neither here nor there. |ggg| (Phil Alexander, NRC-AM via DXLD) Phil; It is 4:45 PM PST. Is KCBS using IBOC now? Their audio sound narrow and tinny. No IBOC noise noted, but at 160 watts, I would not notice it at this distance, if that is what the sidebands are. You said that the power of the carriers on the adjacents (e.g. 730 & 750 in KCBS on 740), is 160 watts? if that is the case, then why will the QRM be so bad. 160 watts sure is not much. But in the case of the IBOC test of KIXI-880, those IBOC carriers on 870 & 890 sure did not sound like 160 watts to me? KIXI is S9 and the carrier on 890 was S7 and the one on 870 was S5 or S6. 160 watts should hardly be heard at 150 miles. But maybe during the test the RF on 870 & 890 was more than 160 watts. Maybe that is why I cannot hear the IBOC noise on KCBS during the day at 500 miles, even though KCBS can be S9+10 DB at times. Any thoughts? 73s, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, ibid.) I get a different result when i work the numbers. The nominal power in one primary IBOC sideband (10-15 kHz from the carrier frequency) is 16 dB down from the AM carrier power. So, for a 50 kW station, this would be 1250 W on each adjacent channel. Stations running IBOC can also opt to lower their digital power by a further 6 dB, which would put the power in each sideband at 312.5 W. Unless you have a spectrum analyzer, it's pretty hard to tell which IBOC power level a station is running, but in the case of KIXI it seems likely it was at the higher -16 dB level, since they were running demos and wanted to make sure they worked well. Roughly speaking, that would put the IBOC sidebands down about 2 1/2 S-units from the AM signal. KCBS may well be using the lower -22 dB level, though even at that level the digital noise should be quite noticeable, so I dunno why you're not hearing it (Barry McLarnon, Ont., ibid.) Another thing to remember, in addition to Barry's excellent analysis, is that the digital subcarriers fill the modulation envelope in a very different way from the analog signals we're all used to. So while 160 watts of AM analog wouldn't necessarily break through at 150 miles, 160 watts of carrier modulated by IBOC digital just might. (Remember how far we discovered that carriers could travel with that KFI carrier-monitoring experiment last year?) (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) Thanks for the clarification, Scott and Barry. But I have not heard a peep from the IBOC noise of KCBS. Today, I wonder if they were using it, because the audio seemed very narrow and tinny. Much different than their regular signal. If that is what the public has to deal with in the future, bad audio like that, people wont walk from IBOC, they will run. And the NAB is complaining now why AM is dying. They are now running over it with a steamroller. If is isn't dead yet, it will soon be! Barry; In the daytime here, 1250 or 330 watts would not make it from SF up here, not at 500 miles over the mountains. Now 10-50 kW would, although KCBS is more directional to the South with the site in Novato North of the Bay area. But even if they were using a full 1250 watts, the signal would be weak enough, not to be a factor. You are right that the IBOC noise was a couple S units lower than the 880 KIXI signal. I'll bet KCBS is running a lower power and maybe KTNQ is too, as I have not noticed their IBOC signal up here either. With 330 watts, I have an idea stations will overpower the noise at a distance. It is hard to really tell how much QRN the IBOC signal will always cause. But you giuys in the East really had plenty of it at a distance from WLW, WOR, WSAI, WBZ, etc., though. So I have a good idea if KNBR or KGO started using it at night it would be heard big time! But so far those are not on the list. Thanks again. 73s, (Patrick Martin, ibid.) Fred, the interfering signal is IN the adjacent channel, so no amount of filtering will help unless the adjacent station is sending CW. |ggg| To make it clear, consider WLW on 700. They were transmitting several subcarriers with a power of about 160 W each for a total of 500 W split between the 690 and 710 channels during their IBOC testing. I heard one of the tests and they made the adjacent channels USELESS about 100 miles NW of Mason where I happened to be driving at the time. The reason many like to call IBOC "IBAC" is just that. The digital power is all in the ADJACENT channels. The so called IBOC signal is just barely within the NRSC mask which limits frequencies greater than 10.2 kHz and less than 20 kHz to a maximum of 25 dB below carrier. If you have a sharp, narrow I/F, it will let you hear the 2nd adjacent channels without noise, but not the 1st adjacents. If I understand it correctly, Ibiquity is also using part of the main channel and analog audio can't be permitted to randomly crash into the subcarriers, so they need a LPF. This is also the reason you need a sharp, narrow I/F to hear the analog of the IBOC hybrid transmission without "IBOC" noise. If you've got a classic car from the late 50's or 60's, it might not be a good idea to try tuning an IBOC station - - unless you like the sound of a buzz saw rasping in your ears. |ggg| (Phil Alexander, CSRE, Broadcast Engineering Services and Technology (a Div. of Advanced Parts Corporation) Ph. (317) 335-2065 FAX (317) 335-9037, ibid.) What happens when IBOC means a station can no longer receive one of its EAS monitoring assignments? (Doug Smith, TN, Jan 23, ibid.) Whenever you are unable to receive your assigned LP-1 or LP-2 you should IMMEDIATELY contact your SECC for a replacement assignment. This should be done by exchange of letters, or at least get a WRITTEN assignment that will be incorporated into your state plan. This is your responsibility, and getting it in writing is for your protection. Unless you are monitoring your ASSIGNED LP-1 and LP-2 and reliably receiving RWT's and RMT's, Uncle Charlie will be sure to pick your pocket to the tune of about $3,000 or more the next time he or his niece, Cousin Charlene, visits your fair city. Beware, they want PAPERWORK, excuses won't cut it. In lieu of paperwork, the will accept a BIG check. Really, they don't want to visit you. They would prefer that you become a member of your state broadcaster's association and participate in the alternative inspection process. Then you are on the list and they won't come your way unless someone complains that you are doing something nefarious. If you're not on the list, they WILL come around, because that's their job (Phil Alexander, CSRE, ibid.) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ John`s dedicated efforts directed toward keeping the "English Language DX/SWL/Media Programs on Shortwave" listing up-to-date is nothing short of FANTASTIC. If there was such a thing as a "Golden Globe" award for such efforts; he should receive one! Truly, a Super Job! (Stephen Foisey) Finally managed to catch Secular Bible Study on WBCQ..." -- Glenn: - I am always heartened by your approach to religious hucksterism. It also constantly amazes me how few humans can distinguish between what we call God (truly inconceivable to all of us, by design), and manmade organized religion. Sincere thanks for graciously relaying my monthly rants to your vast constituency... I do consider that an honour! -- (GREG HARDISON, CA) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ MEDIUMWAVE DX-ING NEAR THE MAGNETIC EQUATOR I am in Fortaleza, Ceará state, Brazil. This is a paradise to DX in medium wave. From here, is possible hear every day a lot of MW stations from Europe, Africa and Middle East. For example, with my Sony ICF2010 and the ferrite antenna, in only two days I could heaR twelve stations from Spain. I can hear Syria, Kuwait, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria too. Yesterday, I heard my first USA X-band station from South Bend, USA, in 1620 kHz too. On Thursday, I heard two other stations from USA on 690 and 710. The propagation for Africa on SW is very good. I hear many stations on different frequencies (Arnaldo Slaen in Dxplorer, Jan 16 via DSWCI DX Window Jan 28 via DXLD) When stationed in Ecuador and Colombia in 1983/86 and again in 1992/98, I used to get several US MW stations on a regular basis, two of the most frequent ones being ex-WGBS, Miami, 710 and KGBS, Harlingen, TX 1530. Occasionally, during special DX conditions I have logged KLCL 1470 [Lake Charles LA], WCKY 1530 [Cincinnati] and WPAD 1560 [Paducah KY], all three from my Ecuadorian listening post. I cannot remember ever hearing any Canadian station on MW, but I have logged most of Central America, as well as Mexico and several islands in the Caribbean. The Cubans show little prominence, appearing at random intervals on 590, 600 and 670. From Ecuador I have been hearing several Europeans, the Vatican, Spanish low powered stations at the upper edge of the band, Luxemburg, Germany, Switzerland and so on. Probably you won't believe me, but the toughest areas to log on MW from northern South America are the countries situated south of the magnetic equator, which splits Peru in two, from thence running towards the Amazon delta in Brazil and from there on to the Congo. That's why, during some 10 years of frequent listening, I can't remember having heard more than one station each from Brazil and Argentina, Radio Globo 1220, and LRA Radio Nacional on 870, and they were heard only once each! When in Argentina, in 1976/77, I heard most of Latin America on MW. I did not hear any US stations, but I believe that the farther south you go, the easier it becomes. The same is true for Europe, isn't it? For some reason or other there have always been DXers far north (Scandinavia) and far south (Australia and New Zealand). Honduras and Guatemala are two countries where you'll find US stations all over the band. Similar conditions seem to befall listeners on the Atlantic seaboard of Colombia. I have never heard MW stations from the Brazilian nordeste in Ecuador or Colombia, but a good number of them are well heard along the East Coast of the USA and Canada as well as in northern Europe. In the early 60's, a 190 W station on 1560 kHz, broadcasting from Caruaru, PE, would put an S9 signal into northern Scandinavia on an otherwise nearly empty MW band. (Henrik Klemetz via Dxplorer, Jan 17 via DSWCI DX Window Jan 28 via DXLD) I was on São Tomé and Príncipe in March 2003 which is on the geographical equator, but also must be near the magnetic equator. There I was surprised by the big amount of European MW-stations I could hear just with the ferrite antenna on my Sangean ATS909 whereas Brazilians were inaudible (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window Jan 28 via DXLD) MORE TRANSEQUATORIAL FM DX, CARIBBEAN TO SOUTHERN BRASIL Acabo de vim do bom abrigo onde eu e Claudio Rotulo de Moraes fizemos escutas em FM. Seguem abaixo as emissoras do caribe ouvidas. 95.7*- Radio Prise- Ilha de Saint Vincent- 2202- Comentário em inglês por voz feminina 88.1- Radio Revelación- Porto Rico- 2209- Músicas cristianas 89.1- ???-???- 2214- locutor falando em inglês 97.3- Radio Santa Lucia- Santa Lucia- 2221- músicas típicas da região 98.1- Radio Liberty- Barbados- Voz feminina enquanto rolava uma música caribenha de fundo 103.9*- Radio ICS- Martinica- 2233- locutores masculino e feminino em francês. "...liberté, ..société de France ....capitale informative.`` Música cantada. Esta emissora por curiosidade estava pegando com um sinal mais forte na frequencia de 103.8 *- emissoras inéditas para mim aumentando a minha lista para 22 emissoras do Caribe. Receptor:. ICF SW 7600G. Antena: telescopica Local: Praia bom abrigo- Sao José (Anderson José Torquato, Garopaba, SC, Jan 29, radioescutas via DXLD) ###