DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-028, February 15, 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 Extra 45: [Same as COM 03-06, but not previously on most WOR affiliates] Mon 0430 on WSUI 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu [last week`s 1219] Mon 0515 on WBCQ 7415, webcast http://wbcq.us Tue 0400 on SIUE Web Radio http://www.siue.edu/WEBRADIO/ 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 Extra 45 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx45h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx45h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0306.html WORLD OF RADIO Extra 45 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0306.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0306.rm MUNDO RADIAL febrero-marzo 2004: En WWCR 9475, 3 veces por semana desde el 17 de febrero: martes 2230, miércoles 2200, viernes 2215, y: (Corriente) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0402.ram (Bajable) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0402.rm (Texto) http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0402.html ** ANGOLA. 7218v, R. Nacional de Angola, Mulenvos, still on apparently 24 hours but always very weak even here, so no surprise it is a very difficult catch further out (Vaclav Korinek in Dxplorer, Feb 05 via DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 1660: Amigos: Yo todavía no me fui a dormir como sugería el amigo Ruben y finalmente la emisora que venía retransmitiendo a Radio Uno ha comenzado su propia programación y se identifica así: "Desde la ciudad autónoma de Buenos Aires, transmite Radio Contemporánea". Lo extraño que anuncia el siguiente teléfono, 42822627 y una de las ID está grabada por Pedro Aníbal Mansilla, "Ud. sintoniza Radio Contemporánea" "Usted sintoniza Radio Contemporánea, emisora de Buenos Aires, que transmite en amplitud modulada". No anuncia frecuencia pero sale por los 1652.95 KHz. En estos momentos está pasando música de Donald, Palito Ortega e interpretes de los años 60. Cordiales 73s (Nicolás Eramo, Buenos Aires, Feb 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOTSWANA. 4820, R. Botswana, has been off altogether for the past few months. The station has been using only 7255 and only up to 1800, the MW network probably covers all the target areas well at night. However 7255 was off whole day on Feb 05 although a strong carrier was noted on several times, probably a transmitter trouble. Incidentally 1350 MW has been off today as well. Normally the MW outlets carry on past 2300 or even 2400 with a phone-in programming, so the chances that you've heard RB1 on 1350 are good (Vaclav Korinek in Dxplorer via DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) ** CANADA. 6030, CFVP, Calgary, Alberta, 0845-0905, Feb 09. I was waiting for the 0900 opening of Amanecer-6025 and decided to tune off frequency a bit and on 6030 ran into ". . . radio to go, AM 1060, CKMX." They continued with a C&W vocal, another ID at 0848 (very weak--". . . Calgary's AM 1060, CKMX"), Simon & Garfunkel, "Sentimental Journey," two more IDs at 0900, into news, talk about ice hockey. Gone by 0905. The signal was poor at best tho with a decent peak following the 0845 ID, and very fady, MW-like with peaks and troughs. I think there was a Brazilian in there as well from around 0900, but it was even weaker and also very fady, so not much of a problem. And here's luck -- I had my tape recorder running! This was the "Monday window" when the channel is relatively clear. I believe the first and only time I ever heard this one was in December 1970 when I also managed to QSL them. I'm gonna try for another. They have a website http://www.ckmx.com but with very little content and no mention of SW (Jerry Berg, MA, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) As reported here recently, CFVP makes it down here on quiet winter mornings after sunrise (gh, OK, DXLD) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC [non]. Heard Ndeke Luka via UAE Al Dhabbaya relay on Feb 13. Schedule is really 1830-1930 [not 1900- 2000], as Noel explained recently. Started with crash into African music at 1829:35 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHECHNYA [and non]. Federal broadcaster Radio Free Chechnya is now available online with a live audio stream accessible from the Chechnya Free website at http://www.chechnyafree.ru This bilingual Russian/ English website has the following statement in English: "You can listen to Free Chechnya Radio station from 6 AM to 12 PM Moscow time on a frequency of 594 kHz on the medium wave band and on a frequency of 171 kHz on the long wave band. The programme is created with the involvement of the Ministry for press, television and radio broadcasting and mass communication of the Russian Federation". There is also an extensive audio archive on the website, though it's not clear if these clips are from Radio Free Chechnya or from the local public broadcaster, Chechenskaya GTRK - or both (Dave Kernick, UK, Feb 15, http://www.intervalsignalsonline.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. 6105.02, Radio Universidad, San José, 15/Feb/2004 0400 UT. Amigos DXistas, aquí viene SWB MICROINFORMATIVO! Quito 14/Feb/2004 23:59 --- I have not heard this station before so it has to be a very irregular station. Good but distorted signal with a program called "Inolvidables", older LA music. I have noted a signal on the frequency for the last 2 days playing nonstop classical music without talking. (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SWB América Latina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DENMARK. It`s about a year since WMR World Music Radio began work on re-launching the old station. Unfortunately several things have been delayed over and over again. However Northland Radio in Canada -- - which is delivering the transmitters to WMR --- has promised that the transmitters will be shipped from Canada to Denmark this week. At the same time WMR is considering various alternative transmitter sites (including a site in the South Western part of Denmark and another one on the island of Zealand) and a final decision is hopefully going to be taken later this week. The new WMR studio and a 512 kb Internet- connection have been completed with only a few things still remaining to be taken care of. For instance The Orban Optimod compressor has not arrived yet. Despite all the delays and the things still needing a completion Stn. Mgr. Stig Hartvig Nielsen is still aiming at an On Air date late February. WMR will be broadcasting on 5815 (10 kW Collins) and 15810 (1 kW CCA) --- as well as streaming via the Internet from http://www.wmr.dk and http://www.live365.com (World Music Radio, Feb 09 DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) ** EGYPT. 9415, R. Cairo in Spanish --- equal level to BBC 9410 adjacent --- opened at 0100 UT Feb 14 with ID, IS Cairo hymn, and a very late time pips signal: 1 min 18 seconds behind real time (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Munich radio facilities --- Sorry, but I really have no other idea how to provide some captions than in this bulky manner... -------------------- Ismaning transmitter site: http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/ --- http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211556.html http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211603.html 100 kW Nautel mediumwave transmitter, installed in 1994 and apparently delivered by Telefunken like another one at Berlin-Britz http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211621.html http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211622.html http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211623.html http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211625.html Lorenz mediumwave transmitter, installed around 1935 (still operational!) http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211635.html http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211636.html http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211637.html 50 kW Continental transmitter, once carrying AFN on 1107, now a back- up for 801. For an European eye this is a rather small transmitter, for a US eye it will be a big one... [50 kW are in the USA and Canada the maximum permitted power for mediumwave stations.] http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211559.html http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211560.html http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211562.html Telefunken S4005 shortwave transmitter (500 kW, run at reduced power) http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211634.html FM antenna combiner, in the background to the right of the Continental an unidentified transmitter, probably the 20 kW shortwave back-up? http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211630.html AM audio processing with Optimod 9105 for shortwave, EMT 377 limiters for the Nautel and "shortwave 250 kW" (behind the Orban??) and another EMT model for the Continental http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211600.html Rohde&Schwarz FM transmitter http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211638.html Emergency studio; the first one I see at any German transmitter site http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211633.html Rohde&Schwarz TV transmitter http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211503.html Rohde&Schwarz DVB-T transmitter http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211715.html http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211716.html Main power supply http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211717.html Emergency generating set http://bilder.fliegl.de/2002-09-22-br-sender-ismaning/p209211727.html Dummy load -------------------- Bayerischer Rundfunk radiohouse: http://bilder.fliegl.de/2003-05-15-br/ http://bilder.fliegl.de/2003-05-15-br/matthias/ A mess of pictures from an old studio (note the Telefunken 15A tape recorders, labelled "Magnetofon", an old West German work horse), from Bayern 3 editorial offices (this picture http://bilder.fliegl.de/2003-05-15-br/p305151446.html reveals that they are working with the Selector music planning software there), the new Bayern 3 on-air studio (especially nice glimpses at http://bilder.fliegl.de/2003-05-15-br/matthias/p305151556.html and http://bilder.fliegl.de/2003-05-15-br/matthias/p305151557.html with a look at the Radiomax continuation system etc.), another new studio environment I cannot identify and some plant rooms hard to identify either. -------------------- M94,5 training station: http://bilder.fliegl.de/2004-01-27-m945/ A few years ago Deutsche Telekom used M94,5 as audio source for testing the mediumwave transmitter on 945 later used by Megaradio, causing quite some confusion since nobody at M94,5 was aware of being on mediumwave until the first enquiries and reception reports arrived. The confusion got completed by the station name causing an impression that this was an intentional mediumwave service, but of course it just refers to the tiny 94.5 FM outlet, co-located with the otherwhise unrelated mediumwave transmitter (at the Blutenburgstraße telcom tower inmidst Munich). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Feb 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAITI [and non]. HAITIAN HEARTBEAT February 15, 2004 By FIELD MALONEY http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/15/nyregion/15feat.html?ex=1077861879&ei=1&en=36e5e5e1d7933d25 RICOT DUPUY got the call in the afternoon at his radio station, Radio Soleil d'Haïti, in Flatbush, Brooklyn. It was one of his regular listeners, a man whose nephew had just called from Port-au-Prince. "The rebels have taken Gonaïves," the man told Mr. Dupuy. Mr. Dupuy, Radio Soleil's 51-year-old manager and signature voice, soon took to the air. "Mesdames et messieurs,'' he intoned in his velvety Creole. "The rebels have taken Gonaïves." Last week, as opponents of Haiti's president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, led uprisings in more than 10 Haitian cities that led to dozens of deaths, Mr. Dupuy's words resonated in Manhattan taxicabs, in the Haitian barbershops and restaurants on Nostrand Avenue in Flatbush and in mini-mansions in Laurelton, Queens. In New York's sprawling Haitian community, news travels by teledyol, Creole for word of mouth. In this city, Mr. Dupuy is teledyol. Crises back home and in New York are hardly new to Radio Soleil and its listeners --- Haiti is a country that has had 32 coups since 1804. And in New York, the assault on Abner Louima by police officers in 1997 and the shooting death of Patrick Dorismond by a police detective in 2000 shocked and galvanized the city's Haitian community. But even when there is no crisis, Radio Soleil, the city's first Haitian radio station, serves as a lifeline, umbilical cord and town hall of the air for New York's 200,000 Haitians. Near midnight last Tuesday, Mr. Dupuy paced back and forth in Radio Soleil's cramped Nostrand Avenue storefront. His eyes were red and pouched. From time to time, he collapsed into one of the armchairs in the front room. Mr. Dupuy had spent the four days since the capture of Gonaïves at the station. His voice, usually as smooth as a good bottle of 25-year-old Haitian rum, seemed worn and ragged. "Gonaïves is my hometown," he said. Not all nights at Radio Soleil offer the bitter adrenaline of rebellion. One slow, sultry evening last summer, for example, Mr. Dupuy spent several hours preparing for that night's show, gathering Internet news items to read and discuss from an eclectic pool of news media: Agence France-Presse, WINS-AM (1010), Le Monde, New York 1, The Guardian. Before going on air, he relaxed in his tiny office, his feet up on his desk, his face half-hidden behind stacks of papers and books, trash and bric-à-brac. The walls were crowded with framed photos of Mr. Dupuy with luminaries he has met: Mr. Aristide, Magic Johnson, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali. Every now and then the phone rang. Mr. Dupuy would perk up, then answer: "Radio Soleil! Bon soir!" Mr. Dupuy is no mere conveyor of information; his rôle in Brooklyn, and in the city, is a strange mix of 1940's telephone switchboard operator and the aging-don-as-neighborhood-fixer of the "Godfather'' movies. He is also a go-between for his fellow Haitians and the puzzling, at times hostile institutions of their new home. "I spend my day answering the phone," said Mr. Dupuy, who has a courtly island manner and a foxlike grin. "Seventy percent of the people that call need help with something. Sometimes young couples have disputes, and they call me to mediate. People in the community call me if they need help with city services. I'm there if there are no other doors to knock. Sometimes I try to find them the right lawyers." New York and Miami share the distinction of having the world's largest communities of Haitians outside Haiti, and since Mr. Dupuy arrived in New York 33 years ago, during the first big wave of Haitian immigration, the city's Haitian community has remained fluid but steady. In the absence of official numbers, exactly how many Haitians listen to Radio Soleil is hard to determine. According to the station's Web site, it has "half a million captive, dedicated listeners,'' a claim that may reveal less about actual audience size than about marketing goals. Haitians tend to travel a great deal between Haiti and America. Many New York Haitians even send their school-age children back to live with relatives and attend school there, Mr. Dupuy said, worried by the atmosphere in inner-city schools. But lately, as conditions in Haiti have worsened --- the average Haitian lives on less than a dollar a day --- movement between the two countries has become increasingly one-way. In a poll of Haitians last year, more than 70 percent said they would leave Haiti if they could. Pockets of the city's sprawling Haitian population are scattered throughout the five boroughs. But the biggest, densest and poorest Haitian neighborhood is the section of Flatbush around Nostrand and Flatbush Avenues, which is where Haitians usually land when they come to New York. Some eventually move out to more prosperous and suburban Haitian enclaves in outer Queens, like Laurelton and Cambria Heights. (Laurelton, in fact, is home to many of the Duvalier-era elite. Emmanuel Constant, also called Toto, an anti-democracy paramilitary leader, was last known to be living in his mother's brick colonial there.) But Mr. Dupuy swears by Flatbush. "You've got to be in Brooklyn,'' he said. "That's where the action is." And Mr. Dupuy seems to enjoy his stature. "Everybody knows me here,'' he said. "Once you come here, you've got to know me." The city has many ethnic radio stations, but it is probably fair to say that no other immigrants pursue radio with more intensity than the city's Haitians do. The Power of the Transistor In Haiti, radio is king. In modern times, whenever there is a coup, the first places to be shut down are the airports and the radio stations. When the father of Haitian radio, Jean Dominique --- after almost a quarter-century of antagonizing dictators, inciting popular uprisings, weathering death threats and bombings, and helping both topple and restore regimes --- was assassinated four years ago outside his Port- au-Prince radio station, he was given a state funeral in a soccer stadium. The event was attended by tens of thousands of Haitians, including Mr. Aristide. That day, the offices of Radio Soleil were filled with mourners. In 1971, when Mr. Dupuy left Haiti at 19 with his mother, radio was emerging as a powerful means of grass-roots resistance. The previous decade had brought the small, cheap, battery-operated transistor radio, a godsend in a country that was then, and still, largely without electricity. Mr. Dominique had started a station, Radio Haiti Inter, that reported the news in a frank, take-no-prisoners style. For Haitians, who were accustomed to a newspaper and radio culture that for decades had essentially churned out French-language press releases for the ruling Duvalier dictatorship, that approach was a revelation. And, as it happened, large swaths of the country's citizens had recently been given transistor radios by American Protestant missionaries. Tramping through the Haitian countryside and inner cities in search of converts, those missionaries had handed out transistor radios to poor Haitians to let them receive spiritual direction from the 24-hour evangelical programming on Radio Lumière. Despite the missionaries' intentions, Haitians soon spent more time tuned into Mr. Dominique's Radio Haïti Inter and the dozen or so small independent Haitian radio stations that had mushroomed in its wake. "The vast majority of the Haitian population is illiterate, but Haitians are very politically astute," said Jonathan Demme, director of a documentary about Mr. Dominique, "The Agronomist," that is scheduled to open in New York in April. "Before Jean Dominique, the airwaves were strictly French language. It was a way for the Duvaliers and the upper classes to exclude the Creole-speaking masses from radio and the national dialogue. Radio became the literature of an illiterate people." Mr. Dupuy added: "The transistor radio was a symbol of resistance. All of a sudden, under the harshest dictatorship, there was a way for people to say things they wanted to say." And gradually, he added, "the transistor brought down Duvalier father and son." In 1986 a popular uprising toppled Jean-Claude Duvalier, ending the Duvalier family's 28-year dictatorship. Mr. Aristide was elected president four years later. Into the Void, a Voice When Mr. Dupuy arrived in New York, there were no radio stations serving the city's burgeoning Haitian community; today there are also Radio Tropicale and a few Haitian newspapers to complement Radio Soleil. Mr. Dupuy, who had dabbled in radio as a student in Haiti, soon started a show on the radio station of Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Throughout his early years in New York --- while he worked as a bike messenger, earned a master's degree in economics and finance at Pace University in Lower Manhattan, served as host of a local public access cable show and worked in the audit department at Chemical Bank --- he was always running some kind of Haitian radio news program at various community radio stations. Eleven years ago, Mr. Dupuy was among the group of people who renovated the humble Nostrand Avenue storefront that is home to Radio Soleil. Friends gave them their old speakers and turntables, and they bought additional secondhand equipment. They soundproofed two back rooms with blue foam padding, hung up the red and blue Haitian flag and a large photo of Mr. Dominique, and recruited a few men and women who had worked in radio back in Haiti, and soon Radio Soleil was up and running. (Soleil leases a subcarrier channel from the Spanish station MEGA, effectively piggy-backing, at a different bandwidth --- 97.6 SCA --- off its Manhattan radio tower.) Jean Monfistou, a cabdriver, is a typical Radio Soleil listener. For nearly two decades Mr. Monfistou had been listening to Mr. Dupuy in his taxi, on a radio cobbled together from used parts. He went by the station to buy a radio so he could listen at home. (Because Radio Soleil broadcasts on a subcarrier channel it requires special receivers, which most of its listeners have rigged up on their own, but Mr. Dupuy also sells them, and frequently gives them away, at the station.) He greeted Mr. Dupuy as if he were a celebrity. After the cabbie left, radio in hand, Mr. Dupuy said: "The community is first. I'll drop whatever I'm doing to go out and shake their hands and talk to them. Some people get happy just to see me." Fittingly, Radio Soleil was the first radio station to broadcast Mr. Dominique in the United States. And, in a sense, Mr. Dupuy, politics obsessed, a born showman and talker, emerged as Mr. Dominique's New York heir. Mr. Dupuy is a dogged supporter of Aristide, who he says has been undermined by a Haitian press in the lap of a dirty-handed opposition and by the antipathy of the international community. But for some New York Haitians, Mr. Aristide's presidency is a subject of debate. Down the street from Radio Soleil, a straw poll of a group of Haitian men hanging out in a laundry indicated that Mr. Aristide must go. When told of this, Mr. Dupuy sniffed that they had been found in what was probably "an anti-Aristide Laundromat." He added: "Millions of Haitians support Aristide. Forcing him to leave goes against every notion of democratic fairness. The guy was elected. The Haitian Constitution has to be the arbiter." 'Talking Is a Drug' As the offices of Radio Soleil are a shrine to teledyol, it seems appropriate that they also function as a community hangout and social club, a place where radio is piped into the rooms and pours out onto the sidewalk through funky little speakers. Impromptu groups of Haitian men, and a few women, are always gathered in the front room, lounging on two worn sofas under the Haitian flag and chatting away in Creole. On long summer nights --- the closest Brooklyn ever comes to Haiti, when the streets of Flatbush become most alive --- the crowd spills out onto the street in front of the storefront, the men leaning on parked cars, the women rocking baby strollers along the curb. On one such evening, Mr. Dupuy sat in his office, shirtsleeves rolled up, fanning himself with a newspaper. He complained of fatigue, of all the people who needed to see him. He had only 10 minutes to talk, he said, but soon close to an hour had passed, and he was reminiscing about his days in amateur theater in Haiti. "I love Ionesco,'' he said. "I love the theater of the absurd. Life is absurd. We talk because we are afraid of silence. Talking is a drug." Later, there was a knock on his door, and a clean-cut young man in a leather jacket and khakis entered. Each day, short obituaries of community members are read over the air, accompanied by traditional music of mourning. The young man, speaking perfect English, told Mr. Dupuy that he was waiting for his father, and that they had a death announcement to give him. Soon, a thin, wrinkled man in a white guayabera came in. He greeted Mr. Dupuy, grabbing him by the shoulder as he shook his hand. The country frankness in his manner contrasted with his son's urban reserve. The son hung back as his father and Mr. Dupuy spoke in Creole. Finally, the son spoke up: "The police came to our house on Tuesday. They had found my older brother's body in the woods in Prospect Park. He had been strangled. We don't know when, perhaps Monday night." Mr. Dupuy took down the obituary as the old man read the words he wanted from a crumpled piece of notebook paper, and then escorted the men out. Back at his desk, he shook his head and let out a low, sad whistle. "Strangled at 28 in the bushes in Prospect Park,'' he said. "There were all kinds of questions the journalist in me wanted to ask back there." But, he added, his job is to serve the community, and please the family of the deceased. "So I just listened, and made sure I got the spellings and the facts right." With his homeland in free fall, Ricot Dupuy is grappling with how to live up to Mr. Dominique's ideal that "radio could hold a mirror up to the Haitian people, so they could bring about social change in their own country." For Mr. Dupuy, for all Haitians, nothing they can see in that mirror seems clear, or hopeful. Last Thursday night, after finishing his show, Mr. Dupuy shook his head and considered the day's news: In Saint-Marc, the police had shot their way through a slum where rebels were holed up, providing cover for burning and looting by Aristide loyalists. In Cap Haitien, pro-Aristide militants torched the house of a reporter for the opposition Radio Maxima. In Gonaïves, rebels killed a man suspected of being an Aristide hit man by "necklacing" him - putting a tire around his neck, dousing him in kerosene and setting him on fire. "Thirty years of military brutality in Haiti under the Duvaliers is something no one can comprehend if you have not lived through it," a weary Mr. Dupuy said. "It left deep scars on every Haitian. With Aristide, we thought, 'Never again. That would never happen in my country again.'" Field Maloney is on the editorial staff of The New Yorker (via Don Thornton, NJ, DXLD) ** ICELAND. 13865, Rikisutvarpid, Reykiavik, *1215-1300*, Jan 26 and 27, Icelandic news and a few short musical interludes in USB. A rare `bird` here in the Philippines! Very weak with fadings, but quite good readability (Roland Schulze, Mangdalan, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) ** INDIA. Test transmission from All India Radio --- Jose Jacob of Hyderabad, India, reports that All India Radio is testing on different frequencies for their forthcoming launch of 24 hrs News channel expected to start on 2nd April 2003. The tests are follows as monitored in Calcutta: 0030-0430, 0700-1330, 1500-1740 UT: 7220 Mumbai 100 kW 7270 Chennai 100 kW 7360 Delhi 50 kW 7420 Guwahati 50 kW These transmitters were used before for Vividh Bharati Service on 10330 kHz and are now available as 10330 kHz is used from Bangalore. Due to the usage of Chennai on 7270 kHz for testing, External Services from this Chennai transmitter on 4790, 7270, 7275 are now discontinued (Source: DXAsia) # posted by Andy @ 15:18 UT Feb 15 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. History of all the Armed Forces Radio services === The 1943-1993 history of BFBS, AFRTS, CBC, etc. in European and other areas has been studied by Norwegian DX-er Svenn Martinsen on http://www.northernstar.no/afrs.htm (Andrew (A. J.) Janitschek, R Free Asia, Washington, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non?]. NEW OFFSHORE STATION OFFICIAL TEST- BROADCAST!! Saturday February 14 at 1900 hours UTC (gmt) the brand new offshore radio station RADIO RAINBOW INTERNATIONAL is expecting to have its first official TEST TRANSMISSION from international waters between the frequency of 3933-3937 kHz, in the 76 meter band. The station`s technicians want to have reports from listeners. It will be a live program from the radio ship with acquaintance with ship and crew. They are asking to sent your e mails directly to the ship on this aDdress; radiorainbow@h... [truncated, but can we guess?] Following evenings there will be more test transmissions with nice music programs, in which you can participate by sending an e mail during the programs. Please sent this mail to the press and all interested people. The message came from RADIO RAINBOW INTERNATIONAL, THE VOICE OF PEACE (via bclnews.it via DXLD) New offshore station in the North Sea heard tonight with a test transmission: Radio Rainbow International. Heard on the 13th of February from about 1845 UTC on 3937-3936.9 varying with bad modulation and asking for reception reports (Björn Fransson, Sweden, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Also reported in last issue from Brasil There's more information about this station in a long and rambling thread at http://www.anoraknation.com/threads/1185.html There appears to be some doubt as to whether this is really an offshore station, or just another landbased hobby pirate. Either way, it's apparently a weekend-only operation (Andy Sennitt, ibid.) ** KOREA NORTH. 9235, V. of Korea, 1142 14 Feb; S8 operatic and patriotic music with polar flutter // much stronger 9335 at 10/S9. (Jerry Strawman, IA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Spur? ** LESOTHO. 4800 is still silent (Vaclav Korinek in Dxplorer, Feb 05 DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. 4845, RTM Kuala Lumpur, Kajang with Tamil programmes has been off the air since Jan 20 after having had a bad rumble (Padula Jan 29 and Feb 06, Goonetilleke Jan 30 and Schulze Jan 31). Cf DX- Window no. 238 (Ed) 4895, RTM Kuching-Stapok, Sarawak has also been off since Jan 20 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, Jan 31, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) 5030, RTM Kuching-Stapok, Sarawak has not been heard since Jan 09. (Roland Schulze, Philippines, Jan 31, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) 5964.9, RTM R One (Satu), Kuala Lumpur, 0900-1100 and 1913, Jan 29, 31 and Feb 01, Malay programmes are still on, but QRM VOA (Davies, Goonetilleke and Schulze, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) 5979.4, RTM Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, 0900-1100, Jan 31, still on the air in Vernaculars (Roland Schulze, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) 6024.9, RTM Kuala Lumpur, 0900-1100, Jan 31, still on the air with ``Radio Tujuh`` (R 7) in Vernaculars (Roland Schulze, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) 6050, RTM Sibu, Sarawak, 0900-1100, Jan 31, still on the air in Iban. (Roland Schulze, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) 7270, RTM Kuching-Stapok, Sarawak, 0900-1100, Jan 31, still n the air in Malay and Vernaculars (Roland Schulze, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) 7295, RTM Kuala Lumpur, Kajang, 0900-1100, Jan 26, 31 and Feb 01, still on the air in English with ``Radio Four`` (Davies, Goonetilleke and Schulze, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. UnID: Today Feb. 13th on 5770 kHz from 1606 I heard a broadcasting station with romantic songs. At 1615-1616 a woman in Asiatic language made announcements and then on the frequency it stayed an open carrier until 1630. Could it be Defence Forces Broadcasting Unit from Taunggyi? If it is, I think that when I checked the channel two weeks ago and I found it empty may be that the station was off the air (Luca Botto Fiora, Italy, with R7 Drake, Satellit 500 Grundig, Dipole 49m, Longwire 20m and MFJ1026, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** NAMIBIA. 6060, NBC Windhoek has been inactive for about 2 weeks (Vaclav Korinek, RSA, in Dxplorer, Feb 05, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) 6175, NBC Windhoek, 0440, Jan 29, German ann, Enya, Bellamy Brothers songs ousted by co-channel RFI Moyabi 0459, 23332 (Martien Groot, Holland, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD). Still going strong 24 hours (Korinek in Dxplorer, ibid.) ** PERU. 5030, Radio Los Andes, Huamachuco, 15 Feb 1100-1115 blasting in with "Radio Andes" shouted ID by hyper OM at tune in (Bob Wilkner, NRD 535D - Icom R75, Pompano Beach, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILLIPINES. 15120, R. Pilipinas 0202-0234 2/15. YL with English news to 0214, then other news and info programs; ID at 0232 by M "This is Radio Pilipinas, the Overseas Radio of the Phillipines Broadcasting Service" and announced this sked: English at 0200-0330 UT on 11685, 15120, and 15270 (only 15120 heard here); and Filipino at 1730-1930 on 15190, 11890, and 11730. Fair at tune-in, improved a bit by 0230 (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 11975, GTRK Kamchatka, Yelizovo, Petropavlovsk, *0000- 0100*, Jan 11 and Feb 01, Russian talks, local and English songs, best as 35543 (Roland Schulze, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) In DX-Window no. 237 Michael Timofeyev informed us about the new `Dubl` broadcasts of R Rossii. "Dubl" is the Russian word for "duplication". The general structure of those "Dubl"s is as follows: all newscasts go on the air live, while all pre-recorded broadcasts are put in schedule so as to be aired in nearly the same LOCAL time everywhere in Russia. The same broadcast may start at: - 1015 UT for Far East (that's 1915 in Blagoveshchensk), - 1215 UT for Siberia (1915 in Krasnoyarsk), - 1415 UT for Urals (1915 in Yekaterinburg), - 1615 UT for Europe (1915 in Moscow) Thus it eliminates the unfortunate situation when, say, in a particular time zone some radio feature goes on the air at deep night and then repeated around the noon when many people are at work. But I don't think that program announcers say something like "you are listening to Radio Rossii dubl 3" on the air (Dmitri Mezin, Kazan, Russia, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA [and non]. UK-BASED SAUDI OPPOSITION WEBSITE SHUTS OVER SECURITY FEARS | Text of the statement entitled "MIRA website closed for review of security measures", dated 12 February and posted by London-based Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA) web site on 14 February Following the discovery of some security breaches in the servers of the Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia [MIRA] and the movement's keenness to ensure the safety of visitors to and participants in the forum, it has been decided to close the MIRA servers allocated to the forum until the end of the security review. Technicians were able - thank God - to track the quarters which tried to hack into the site and identify the main individual responsible, as well as his address (F. Th. from Al-Ta'if). They have also identified the hosting company behind which he is hiding, and have established the nature of his links to the Saudi government. We reserve the right to sue this quarter, whereby we have the technical evidence that enables us to take legal action against this quarter and link it to the Saudi government. Should we need to resort to this measure, we would like to apologize for this halt in the forum's activities, given that there is no room for recklessness or laxity when it comes to security issues. We will try our hardest to resume service as quickly as possible, but would also like to warn that the process may take a few days. Source: Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia web site, London, in Arabic 14 Feb 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SOUTH AMERICA. PIRATE SOUTH AMERICA: 6880.44L, Radio Nave Kosmos via Andino Relay Service, 0130 0230, Feb 15, Spanish, Musical Program with Jingles of Venezuela FM, announcement of eddress in yahoo and hotmail, ID of ARS, 24442 (Nicolás Eramo, Argentina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. 7302.44, SLBC Colombo with lovely SubContinental music at 0110-0130 Feb 14, nominal on 7300, but the station uses crystals of 2.5 kHz separation, former British colony transmitter of 1948 age? Scheduled 0020-0400 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SURINAME. 4990, R. Apintie, 0339, Feb 08, caught English ID: "Right now and in the future, Radio Apintie, in command on the FM band; Radio Apintie, in command on the AM band; Radio Apintie, in command on the SW band; Radio Apintie --Number One." (Jerry Berg, MA, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD). Nice slogan! (DSWCI Ed Anker Petersen) ** TAJIKISTAN. OVERVIEW OF THE MEDIA --- Background Tajikistan borders on Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China. It is a mountainous, mainly Muslim country with a population of over 6m, including about 62 per cent Tajiks; 23 per cent Uzbeks and 7 per cent Russians (Europa World Year Book 2001). A Reuters report on 14 January 2004 said the population was 7m. Tajikistan administers a small enclave in Kyrgyzstan and has close ethno-linguistic ties with much of Iran and Afghanistan. The average monthly wage in Tajikistan is less than 15 dollars (Tajik TV first channel, 1400 gmt 17 Jan 04). Current issues Russian border guards: Russian troops have been defending Tajikistan's southern borders since independence in 1991 and attempting to curb the influx of drugs from Afghanistan. Will there be a gradual handover of duties to Tajik forces? The possible opening of a Russian base and the relationship with Russia in general are current issues. War on terror and drugs: Tajikistan is on the front line in the so- called war against terror and its sources of finance. Largely unsuccessful efforts have been made by Russian and Tajik forces to combat the smuggling of Afghan drugs to the rest of the world: "The Tajik authorities assure us that through their own efforts they are apprehending at the border 10-12 per cent of the heroin arriving from neighbouring Afghanistan. But the figures of the UN International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) give completely different figures - 3-4 per cent. Heroin flows continuously and virtually unimpeded across the Pamirs into the Russian Federation." (Russian Stringer news agency web site, 1 Jan 04). Economy: Largely agriculture-based; very weak; large number of Tajiks work in Russia and remittances amount to "over several hundred million dollars in 2003". (Russian ITAR-TASS news agency 0946 gmt 17 Jan 04). Water resources: Considerable, and a possible bargaining chip in dealings with neighbouring countries; hydropower is a major resource, though the country faces electricity supply problems all the same. Elections: Parliamentary elections in 2005. The current ruling party is the People's Democratic Party, led by President Emomali Rahmonov (recent laws mean he could be president till 2020). The ruling party has been making new media appointments and revamping media outlets ahead of the 2005 elections; other parties are following suit but will have to rely more heavily on the independent media to get their messages across, Asia-Plus newspaper reported on 29 January in an article entitled "Tajik media market: the fight has started". Politics: "Growing signs of a crackdown against opposition politicians linked to a 1992-1997 civil war that pitched Islamic forces against an authoritarian secular government." (Reuters 13 January 2004). Some observers say the government is breaking the peace deal which allowed the Islamists participation in government. Priority tasks, according to President Rahmonov: "Ensure the country's food self-sufficiency and its food security; second, ensure the country's energy self-sufficiency; third, settle problems relating to transport isolation; fourth, speed up economic reforms especially in the agricultural sphere, create favourable conditions in the private sector and the development of entrepreneurship, and increase the attraction of domestic and foreign investments; fifth, fight resolutely against corruption in all spheres." President Rahmonov said this at a government meeting on 24 January 2004. (Tajik TV first channel 1550 gmt 25 Jan 04). State TV and radio The Tajik broadcast media are dominated by state-run Tajik TV and radio. The national TV and Radio Broadcasting Committee issues licences to new TV and radio stations. The alternatives to state-run TV and radio are relatively few, especially in the countryside. "Tajik TV represents a monopolized and highly dependent structure, which is absolutely obsolete in all respects." (Narodnaya Gazeta, Dushanbe, in Russian 10 Jul 02, p 3) More recently, state-run Tajik TV and radio has been expanding its reach in the east of the country: "Twenty-four out of 44 stations which transmit the programmes of Tajik TV (TVT) and seven out of 35 stations which transmit the programmes of Russia's RTR channel, were commissioned in MBAR [eastern Mountainous Badakhshon Autonomous Region] in 2003. A senior engineer at the region's radio and TV broadcasting centre told Asia-Plus news agency that the first channel of Tajik radio had also expanded its coverage area, with FM transmitters installed in Khorugh town and in the districts of Rushon, Vanj and Ishkoshim (all in MBAR) in 2003. He said plans were under way to further expand the reach of state radio and TV in part by commissioning FM stations in the Murghob, Darvoz and Roshtqala districts of the region, he said. "Thus, we shall ensure the fulfilment of a decision by the Tajik Communications Ministry ... to achieve full coverage of the region by TVT and Tajik radio first channel by 2007." (Asia-Plus news agency, Dushanbe, in Russian 0830 gmt 8 Jan 04). New head of State TV and Radio Committee On 24 January 2004 President Rahmonov said the State TV and Radio Committee needed a reshuffle. The Committee's duty was to cover the life and work of the entire country and the most distant regions, he said, according to a Tajik TV report. (Tajik TV first channel, 0600 gmt 25 Jan 04). "The former head of the presidential administration's department for culture, Abdujabbor Rahmonov, who is young, energetic and loyal to President Emomali Rahmonov, was appointed head of the State Television and Radio Committee last week." (Asia-Plus newspaper 29 Jan 04, p6). Second state TV channel Tajikistan was also planning to launch another state TV channel, which would possibly be commissioned by March 2004. (Asia-Plus news agency, Dushanbe, in Russian 0830 gmt 8 Jan 04). Other important state-run regional TV stations are Soghd Regional TV (in the north) and Khatlon Regional TV (in the south). Censorship Though officially banned, censorship and self-censorship exist in some form. However, many observers believe it to be less severe in Tajikistan than in other Central Asian states. A Central Asian media conference organized by media freedom campaigners and human rights activists in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 23 December 2003 concluded: "Even in Tajikistan, where, according to international human rights organizations, freedom of the press is better than in other countries of the region, according to Lidiya Isamova of the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR - a UK- based NGO), the media and journalists have very many problems, too," Kazakh newspaper Respublika Assandi Times reported on 26 December. "The processes taking place in these [Central Asian] countries are not similar to each other; improvements and some progress are also observed, and this is taking place in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, but along with that there are sharply negative things, too." (Respublika Assandi Times, Almaty, in Kazakh 26 Dec 03). Newspaper comment on censorship An article entitled "Censorship" by Tajik newspaper Ruz-i Nav on 8 January says that although state censorship and persecution for criticism are banned by law in Tajikistan, "it is more difficult to be a journalist in Tajikistan than we imagine it to be in Turkmenistan, because in Turkmenistan you know that it is forbidden to criticize, so you do not do it. In Tajikistan, criticism is allowed, but cannot be applied to everyone." (Ruz-i Nav, Dushanbe, 8 Jan 04 p1). Two newspapers facing restrictions A number of recent media reports indicate that state control of the print media, or censorship in some form, is still exercised in Tajikistan: A Tajik independent weekly, Neru-i Sukhan, was refused publication on 31 December 2003, Asia-Plus news agency reported the same day, and added: "Officers from a Tajik tax department which banned the publication and distribution of the newspaper, said that the Neru-i Sukhan staff were not precisely identifying the printing house where they had been publishing and the weekly's exact circulation figures." The weekly's editor-in-chief, Mukhtor Boqizoda, reportedly told Radio Liberty that they had been experiencing difficulties with publishing the newspaper, "since many printing houses were instructed not to publish Neru-i Sukhan." According to the agency, Boqizoda also said: "Today many publications are forced to conceal their real circulation figures due to the heavy tax burden." The Asia-Plus news agency also said Neru-i Sukhan's first edition was published in February 2003 and that it had published a number of articles criticizing the government, the president and the parliament of the country, and that the weekly had "managed to attract a lot of readers". The Sharq-i Ozod printing house had refused to publish another independent weekly, Ruz-i Nav, at the end of November 2003, the agency said. (Asia-Plus news agency in Russian 0800 gmt 31 Dec 03). "Pressure" on freedom of speech ahead of elections? At a conference on press freedom held in Dushanbe on 21 January 2004, Tajik journalists said it was possible that press freedom may be curtailed in the run-up to the 2005 parliamentary elections. They said "pressure" had recently been exerted on freedom of speech in the country. One journalist at the conference said the Sharq-i Ozod publishing house was being used by the government to exert its influence on the press. (Asia-Plus 0940 gmt 21 Jan 04). Tajik media watchdog "concerned" The National Association of Independent Media in Tajikistan (NAIMT) in a statement on 6 January 2004 said the obstacles to the publication of Ruz-i Nav amounted to "pressure on freedom of speech and the democratization of society". "The NAIMT is concerned about the situation which has emerged around the independent weeklies Ruz-i Nav and Neru-i Sukhan," the statement said. (Asia-Plus news agency, Dushanbe, in Russian 0905 gmt 7 Jan 04). Iranian comment Commenting on a closure warning issued to Ruz-i Nav, Iranian radio, broadcasting from Mashhad, said: "Experts also believe that the main reason why the authorities are carrying out such actions against the independent Ruz-i Nav and Neru-i Sukhan newspapers is to prevent the publication of accusatory articles about Tajikistan's present economy, state officials and growing corruption in the country." (Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mashhad, in Dari 1600 gmt 3 Jan 04). Iranian technical assistance: Iran donated two TV transmitters to Tajikistan, the Asia-Plus news agency reported on 5 January. "The 50-W transmitters will be installed in Fakhrobod [southern Tajikistan] and Varzob [about 25 km north of the capital, Dushanbe]. Once these are installed, residents of these areas will be able to watch Tajik TV," the agency said, quoting an official. Iranian specialists would also train their Tajik colleagues how to operate them, the agency added. (Asia-Plus news agency, 0745 gmt 5 Jan 04). Iranian media: Iranian radio broadcasts in Persian and Tajik from Mashhad on 5955 kHz and 720 mediumwave for several hours per day. It frequently comments on political events in Tajikistan. Iran also funds Somoniyon TV in Dushanbe. Restricted media access to government information Tajik media access to government information is still restricted, a Vecherniy Dushanbe article said on 19 December 2003. The newspaper criticized the authorities' unwillingness to cooperate with the media: "Officials very often refuse to give certain information to journalists, citing the secrecy of information or asking journalists to get permission in writing from a minister... who at that moment is not usually present. The situation that has emerged with access to information is not changing yet and is further deteriorating," the article says. (Vecherniy Dushanbe, Dushanbe, in Russian 19 Dec 03 p7). Alleged violations of journalists' rights A Tajik media watchdog reported violations of journalists' rights: "More cases of violations of the rights of Tajik journalists and the media were observed at the end of 2003 than at the beginning of the year, says the second report by the National Association of Independent Media in Tajikistan (NAIMT), according to Asia-Plus news agency. The report was prepared as part of a Central Asian media support project, which is being implemented by the Swiss Cimera organization and is financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). "More than 60 cases of violation of journalists' rights, particularly, threats and pressure, problems relating to information sources and interference in journalists' work were reported in this period," the report says. (Asia-Plus news agency 0800 gmt 6 Jan 04). Independent media Tajikistan has a number of independent media as well as at least one effective media freedom campaign group (the National Association of Independent Media of Tajikistan). Perhaps the main independent media are the Asia-Plus news agency and newspaper of the same name, which were launched with the help of Internews, (a mainly US and Western funded NGO). In Tajikistan's second city, Khujand, the Varorud news agency and Tiroz FM radio are the best known independent media. Many of the opposition parties have their own newspapers. Ruz-i Nav and Neru-i Sukhan are other well-known independent newspapers. Internews "Internews has been active in Tajikistan since 1995, working with some 20 stations to increase the quality and quantity of unbiased information available to citizens of the republic, primarily through supporting the work of independent television broadcasters," says the Internews web site: http://www.internews.org/regions/centralasia/tajikistan.htm The web site carries a four-paragraph summary in English of the Tajik media landscape in 2002. It gives a clear picture of the political and financial difficulties faced by the emerging independent media, but concludes that these media are becoming "a force impossible to ignore". BBC radio on FM One possible indicator of an emerging trend is that the BBC has been given permission to broadcast on FM in Tajikistan's two main cities, Dushanbe and Khujand, from "mid-summer 2004", Asia-Plus reported on 22 January 2004. No other central Asian state permits the BBC to broadcast on FM. The report quoted Rahmatullo Masharipov, managing director of the Teleradiokom TV and radio joint-stock company, as saying the BBC broadcasts will be in three languages - Russian, Tajik and English. The radio will be on 104.7 FM in Dushanbe and 102.7 FM in Khujand. The same report said Tajik state radio would also start broadcasting soon on FM in these two cities. (Asia-Plus 1015 gmt 22 Jan 04). Tajik-Russian media accusations The Tajik Foreign Ministry sent an official protest to Russia in December 2003 over alleged anti-Tajik articles in the Russian press. The protest note, according to Tajik TV, said: "A number of Russian media outlets for a long time now have been carrying out an information campaign against the Republic of Tajikistan. The tendentious and slanderous nature of the coverage by some Russian media outlets - to which Russia's attention has repeatedly been drawn - of separate aspects of Tajikistan's socio- political life is a cause for serious concern." "Tajikistan states with regret that a distorted view of Tajikistan's real situation in the Russian media, which is becoming frequent, will tangibly harm the process of the further development of multifaceted cooperation relations between the two countries." (Tajik TV 1400 gmt 17 Dec 03). In early February 2004 the Russian ambassador to Tajikistan, Maksim Peshkov, accused the Tajik Asia-Plus and Ruz-i Nav newspapers of "juggling with the facts" over Tajikistan's debt to Russia and Russian treatment of migrant Tajiks. He demanded an apology. (Asia-Plus news agency, 1000 gmt 5 Feb 04). In January 2004 Peshkov had criticized an anonymous article about Tajik-Russian relations. He said its tone was "more like a blackmail attempt". (Asia-Plus newspaper, 29 Jan 04). Main newspapers Minbar-i Khalq (People's Tribune, published by the ruling People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan; former presidential aide Mansur Sayfiddinov was recently appointed new chief editor - Asia-Plus newspaper 29 Jan 04) Asia-Plus newspaper (independent; from same stable as news agency of same name) Ruz-i Nav newspaper (New Day, independent) Neru-i Sukhan (Power of the Word, independent) Varorud (Transoxania; Khujand-based, independent) Biznes i Politika (Business and Politics, independent weekly in Russian) Javonon-i Tojikiston (Tajikistan Youth, a weekly by the Union of Youth of Tajikistan in Tajik) Najot (Salvation, a weekly issued by the largest opposition party, the Islamic Rebirth Party) Jumhuriyat (Republic, thrice weekly government newspaper, in Tajik) Khalq Ovozi (Voice of the People, thrice weekly government newspaper, in Uzbek) Sado-i Mardum (Voice of the People, government-owned weekly in Tajik) Narodnaya Gazeta (The People's Newspaper, thrice weekly government newspaper, in Russian) Tojikiston (privately-owned weekly in Tajik) Vecherniy Dushanbe (Dushanbe Evening, privately-owned weekly in Russian; owned by newspaper magnate Akbar Sattor) Charkh-i Gardun (Wheel of Fortune, also owned by Akbar Sattor) Charogh-i Ruz (Light of Day - independent privately-owned newspaper owned by outspoken journalist Dodojon Atoulloyev; Internet: http://charogiruz.ru/) Nido-i Ranjbar (Voice of the Toiler) and Golos Tadzhikistana (Voice of Tajikistan) are both mouthpieces of the Communist Party. New newspapers A new independent weekly newspaper Shchit [Russian: Shield] was launched in Dushanbe in December 2003. It will be published in Russian only. "The newspaper will publish articles about love of mankind and patriotism, and provide information on the activities of the country's law-enforcement agencies in the fight against all kinds of breaches of the law in the current democratic and law-based society. "The newspaper's founder, Davlatkhuja Nazirov, said that the main purpose in establishing the newspaper was to carry out research by journalists on such phenomena as political and religious extremism and international terrorism; strengthen the fight against all kinds of breaches of the law, and protect the constitutional order of the Republic of Tajikistan." (Tajik TV, 0300 gmt 21 Dec 03). The ruling party of Tajikistan, the People's Democratic Party, started publishing a new political, socioeconomic and cultural magazine in Dushanbe called Mehvar (Tajik: Axis), Asia-Plus news agency reported on 22 January (Asia-Plus news agency 1015 gmt 22 Jan 04). It also recently launched a new colour magazine Mehrovar (Tajik: Affectionate), Asia-Plus newspaper reported on 29 January 2004 (p6). Main radio stations Tajik TV and Radio - Radio 1 and 2 are both state-run and have nationwide reach. Radio Sado-i Dushanbe broadcasts nationwide on 549 MW. It broadcasts live from 0800 to 1600 (0300-1100 gmt), and in the evenings it repeats the daytime programmes. Radio survey A poll of two major towns in the south of the country, Kulob and Qurghonteppa, reportedly showed that 40 per cent of the population do not listen to the radio at all, a Dushanbe newspaper reported on 19 December 2003. The most listened to country-wide radio station was Sado-i Dushanbe radio. In Dushanbe itself Asia-Plus FM radio is the most popular, with Vatan FM radio in second place and Sado-i Dushanbe in third place, the paper reported. It said Tiroz FM radio was popular in Tajikistan's second city of Khujand. (Vecherniy Dushanbe, Dushanbe, in Russian 19 Dec 03 p3). Khujand Tajikistan's second city, Khujand, is in the north of the country and has a large Uzbek minority. It currently has one (privately-owned) FM radio station, Radio Tiroz, which began operations in 2001. Radio Tiroz broadcasts on 103.7 FM, features music, advertisements and brief news, and broadcasts 18 hours a day. According to the station's director, Khurshed Ulmasov, about 75 per cent of Soghd Region's 1.5m population listen to the radio. (Asia-Plus news agency 23 May 02). Web site: http://www. Radiotiroz.html.htm; e- mail: trrktiroz@sugdien.com Khujand also has at least two TV stations - Aziya TV and Radio Company, and TV SM-1. Main FM stations in Dushanbe 106 FM - Radio Vatan. Broadcasts 24 hours per day in Russian and Tajik - mainly music. Web site: http://www.radiovatan.com 107 FM - Radio Asia-Plus. This was the first independent, private FM radio station in Dushanbe and started broadcasting on 9 September 2002. Asia-Plus broadcasts 13-14 news bulletins in Russian and Tajik every day apart from musical programmes. "The Tajik head of state... personally ordered a licence to be granted to the new radio station." (Asia-Plus news agency 0345 gmt 11 Sep 02) Web site: http://www.asiaplustj.com Some regional TV stations TV Doro (Panjakent) TV Simo (Panjakent) TV Gulakandoz (Gulakandoz, Jabbor Rasulov District) TV Gulibodom (Konibodom) TV Anis (Konibodom) Jahonoro (Chkalovsk) TV Isfara (Isfara) TV Kulob (Kulob) Qurghonteppa TV and Radio Company (Qurghonteppa) TV Mavji Ozod (Vose) TV Poytakht (Dushanbe) TV Somoniyon (Dushanbe - Iranian-funded) TV Regar (Tursunzoda) TV TadAZ (Tursunzoda) TV Kurushkada (Istaravshan TV Usrushana (Istaravshan) News agencies Asia-Plus - set up by Internews; publishes reports in Russian and English; web site: http://www.asiaplus.tajik.net Khovar - state news agency; in Tajik, Russian and English; former Presidential Press Office Spokesman Zafar Saidov appointed head of the agency (Asia-Plus 0930 gmt 16 Dec 03); "The appointment of ... Saidov... is another key appointment. It is expected that the Khovar news agency will soon step up its activities and give private news agencies in the domestic [media] market a run for their money. The issue of a complete technical re-equipment of the news agency is now under consideration." (Asia-Plus newspaper 29 Jan 04) Web site: http://khovar.tojikiston.com Mizon - "independent" - director and founder is Asatullo Valiyov Varorud - independent news agency (based in Khujand); in Russian and English; web site: http://www.varorud.org (regularly updated) Tajik media web sites - nongovernment http://www.tajikistantimes.ru/ - Internet only, but currently not updating http://centran.ru/ - a Russia-based news agency reporting on Tajik and Central Asian affairs http://tajikistan.tajnet.com - carries reports from presidential press service and Russian border guards; owned by Telecom Technologies Company http://www.somoni.com - in English; appears to collate Tajik-related reports from other web sites, sources; web site opened in December 2000 http://www.tojikon.net/ - web site in Tajik and Russian aimed at promoting Islamic culture Web sites with information on Tajik media http://www.camsp.osh.kg - web site of Cimera, an international NGO based in Geneva and campaigning for media rights in Central Asia; a number of analyses of the Uzbek and Central Asian media can be found here. http://www.internews.org - (see above). http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1296639.stm - BBC Monitoring Country Profile on Tajikistan - updated in November 2003 http://www.ozodi.org - (US) Radio Liberty's web site in Tajik http://www.hrw.org/reports/1999/tajikistan/Tajik99n-04.htm - "An Overview of the Media in Tajikistan" apparently published by Human Rights Watch and written in about August 1999 Source: BBC Monitoring research 10 Feb 04 (via DXLD) ** U K. WILL BBC RISE FROM ASHES? Ginko Kobayashi Special to The Daily Yomiuri LONDON -- The BBC is facing its worst crisis ever--or at least that's how many of the public broadcaster's 28,000 employees feel. It seems that their independence from the government of the day can no longer be assured and, in the wake of the Hutton Report, which heavily criticized the broadcaster, huge question marks linger over the issue of the organization's impartiality, which until now has been a source of great pride for the BBC... http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20040214woc2.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U K. BRITISH GOVERNMENT CONSIDERING DISMANTLING BBC: REPORT Sat Feb 14, 5:32 PM ET [illustrated] http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040214/wl_uk_afp/britain_politics_media_040214223216 LONDON (AFP) - Britain's government is considering a plan to break up the BBC and remove its independent status in the wake of a bitter row with the state-funded broadcaster over the Iraq war, a report said. Government papers detailing possible changes to the BBC's structure proposed breaking it into separate regional entities for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Sunday Times said. The documents, which the newspaper said had been drawn up by "senior civil servants", also suggested that the job of ensuring the BBC's impartiality could be taken away from the corporation's board of governors. The BBC, which is independently run despite being financed by public money through a compulsory television licence, is currently facing perhaps the worst breakdown in relations with the government in its 82-year history. The dispute came after a BBC radio report alleged in May last year that Prime Minister Tony Blair's government deliberately exaggerated the threat posed by Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction in a pre-war dossier. Government weapons expert David Kelly was later identified as the anonymous source of the charge. Kelly killed himself soon afterwards. An inquiry into Kelly's death, led by judge Lord Brian Hutton, concluded last month that the BBC's story had been "unfounded", a verdict which forced the corporation to apologise, with the corporation's chairman and director general resigning. According to The Sunday Times, the new plans for the BBC will bring accusations that "the government is gearing up to exploit the fall-out from the Hutton inquiry". Plans being considered include giving a government media watchdog greater control over the BBC's output, closing BBC outlets which are not considered "public service" and even forcing the corporation to share some of its licence fee revenue with other broadcasters. Such a move would most likely prompt public concern, given that the BBC is still generally revered in Britain for being impartial and accurate. Opinion polls after the Hutton inquiry was published showed that many people considered its verdict a "whitewash", and that they trusted the BBC far more than they did Blair and his ministers (via Bill Matthews, OH, DXLD) ** U S A. AL HURRA TV! The kick-off of the station was at 1500 UT; in the meantime it was the final match of Tunis Vs. Morocco in the African cup of nations, but I watched it. It started with a news brief with bits and pieces of an exclusive interview with president G W Bush, followed by a program called ``All Directions`` hosted by a guy called Sam Manasy, hosting the chief director of the news in Alhurra, Mr. Mwafaq Harb, the Washington office director for Alhayaat (an Arabic newspaper based in London) and Mr. Shoushan, a Libyan who's the chief editor of the Arabic version of Newsweek magazine. There was a fourth guest from London who was on as well called Gihad; he's an old journalist as I think. The interview tackled some of the interesting issues: How would Alhurra fit in the Arabic Media scene? Would Alhurra as an American network (funded by the American people) be a neutral station not following the US point of view always? What would happen if there's a piece of news which is causing some debate with an allied country of the US in Middle east --- will they show it? What if there's some pressure from the US State Department, still will show it? Would they let representatives of Jihad and Hamas appear on Alhurra to speak about their point of view about the Israeli occupation to the Arab lands? Some of these heated international debates were really good. But here's my personal observation: When the guest from London was talking about Aljazeera, he said, well it's coming from Qatar which is a small country that would not affect the Arabic scene by all means. Mr. Harb was laughing like hell; when the camera caught him he just had his official mask on again. Mr Shoushan was talking about the latest changes in the Libyan attitude towards USA; he said I hope that you won't stop criticizing the Libyan regime because they decided to stop having mass distraction weapons. Mr Harb came back with a personal opinion saying, I'm sorry but I think that Mr. Gaddafi is a MASS DISTRACTION WEAPON himself!!!!! This program followed by another program called Magazine with news about valentine (showing lovers kissing from all over the world !!!) and then some news about NFL which is an American sport. I went out and got back to see that they keep rebroadcasting the `All Directions` program and at 2000 UT there was a documentary about Egypt subtitled in Arabic. I think more observations would make us viewers come up with a conclusion about this new born TV station. A couple of my friends were watching the station yesterday and they said it was not bad. All the best (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, Feb 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. ANALYSIS: ARABS SCEPTICAL ABOUT NEW US GOVERNMENT-RUN ARABIC TV CHANNEL | Text of editorial analysis by Peter Feuilherade of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 13 February From Saturday 14 February, satellite viewers in the Arab world will be able to watch a new US government-funded Arabic-language satellite TV channel, Al-Hurra (meaning "the free"). The channel sees its role as promoting democracy and winning over public opinion in the Arab world. Al-Hurra is aimed at the younger audience that dominates most Arab countries. The channel will focus on news, current affairs and discussion programmes, but also carry general interest features on health, entertainment, sports, fashion and science and technology. "Al-Hurra endeavours to broaden its viewers' perspectives, enabling them to make more informed decisions," the station says on its web site, www.alhurra.com. The station will broadcast via Arabsat and Nilesat satellites. According to the US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the government body overseeing Al-Hurra, more than 75 per cent of households in the Gulf states have satellite access, as do 30 per cent of residents in Gaza and the West Bank and 10 to 20 per cent of homes in Egypt. In a few months, it will also be available over terrestrial transmitters in Iraq. At its headquarters in Washington, a mixed team of some 200 Arab and US journalists say they will try to harness American production and marketing skills attuned to Arab sensibilities in their output. They insist they will be editorially independent. But critics say the station will find it hard to establish independent credibility, as it is being set up with funding from the US Congress, which has given Al-Hurra a 62-million-dollar budget for its first year. Washington's hopes Washington hopes its latest public diplomacy initiative will succeed as an alternative to pan-Arab satellite TV broadcasts like Qatar-based Al-Jazeera or Al-Arabiya, broadcasting out of Dubai. US officials see these stations as being often critical of the US, particularly in their coverage of the US-led "war on terror". Between them, Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya alone claim over 55 million viewers worldwide. Abu Dhabi TV and Al-Manar, the satellite TV station of Lebanon's Hezbollah, also have viewing figures in the millions. The new American venture will not find it easy to lure them to its programmes. "We will challenge the voices of hate and repression with truth and the voices of tolerance and moderation. The people will hear free and open discussions not just about conflict in the Middle East, but also about subjects critical to that region's future. We are talking about economic development and human rights and respect for minorities... "The people aren't stupid. If we are slanting the news, they'll figure it out. If we establish long-term credibility, people will begin to turn to us with serious questions," says Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the BBG. Cool response from Arab media Even before its launch, Al-Hurra has provoked distrust and scepticism from the Arab world, as this selection of quotes reflects: "I have no doubt the new competition will be professional and technically sound. But as for changing Arab public opinion about the United States, I think it's going to take a little bit more than a new satellite channel to do that... A better way would be for the United States to change its policies on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict." Al-Jazeera spokesman Jihad Ballout "This station is part of a project to re-colonize the Arab homeland that the United States seeks to implement through a carrot-and-stick policy." Syrian newspaper Tishrin "By arguing that our region is troubled and violent because Arabs and Muslims hate American values, and then attempting to correct this by launching television, radio and magazine efforts in Arabic, the US government perpetuates a fatal combination of political blindness and cultural misperception that is only going to exacerbate the gap between Americans and Arabs, rather than close it.... "Al-Hurra, like the US government's Radio Sawa and Hi magazine before it, will be an entertaining, expensive and irrelevant hoax. Where do they get this stuff from? Why do they keep insulting us like this?" Rami G. Khouri, Daily Star, Beirut "Criticism of Al-Hurra will open a discourse that has so far been lacking in the Arab world...This criticism, as harsh as it may be... will open discussions about freedom of speech and _expression and also human rights, and issues that do not gain full coverage in the Arab media." Prof Hussein Amin, chairman of the Journalism and Mass Communications Department, American University in Cairo. US officials are realistic when asked about the prospects for their new satellite TV venture. They admit that like other US efforts to win Arab hearts and minds, it faces many challenges. Margaret Tutwiler, US Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, admitted to US Congressmen recently that the US standing abroad has deteriorated to such an extent that "it will take us many years of hard, focused work" to restore it. Al-Hurra's critics, meanwhile, say that what the Arab world wants is a significant change in US policies affecting their region, rather than more satellite TV diplomacy. Source: BBC Monitoring research 13 Feb 04 (via DXLD) ** U S A. I once received a panic call from a SWDXer in AZ who was sure we had a serious harmonic problem on WLW at 700 kHz. He was actually hearing our 60 watt FM IFB/que transmitter on 26.45 MHz. We regularly got DX reports on it from all over the world. New Zealand and Italy were some of the more memorable ones. I have seen some transmitters with bad harmonic problems. But usually never above the 50 db down range. Which at 5 kW would be the equivalent of 50 Milli- Watts and that is some pretty low power. But hams use that power level to communicate hundreds of miles if the conditions are right (Paul Jellison, CO, ex-Cincinnati, Clear Channel, Feb 13, NRC-AM via DXLD) It's amazing (disturbing!) how many posts there are to rec.radio.shortwave from people who hear these 26.xMHz IFB transmitters and think they're hearing spurious emissions of the related broadcast rigs. A couple in Florida seem to be most frequently heard. I'm surprised I've never heard a report of any of the transmitters operated in the same band by TV broadcasters for field IFB. I suppose they're harder to ID (Doug Smith W9WI, WSMV, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66 http://www.w9wi.com NRC-AM via DXLD) Then you haven`t been reading the 25 Plus column in CIDX Messenger, much of it quoted in DX Listening Digest. Alan Roberts in Quebec specializes in these and has heard a lot of TV station IFB on the 11 meter band. You could probably find them by Google searching on "Alan Roberts" site:worldofradio.com AFAIK, WFLA on 25870 and WJFP on 26490(?), the once-widely-heard Floridians, are no longer active. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) I`m surprised that WLIO's IFB on 26.410 does not get reported more often. Then again, it's usually only on for an hour around 6 PM eastern on a Friday night. I'll have to leave it on longer so people have a chance to log it. It's 40-watts at 26.410, call sign WPLP549. (Fred Vobbe, Lima OH, ibid.) ** U S A. Judging from numerous reports on the NRC-AM list, the WQMA 1520 DX test from Mississippi got out very well, as far as Oregon and New Jersey, with code IDs, distinctive sound effects. So close to KOMA, I did not try for it (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Al Franken was the guest on the Feb 15 MEDIA MATTERS from WILL-AM in Chambana; mentions that new Liberal network will be called Air America; had been some confusion about the name. Archive audio should be up shortly at http://www.will.uiuc.edu/am/mediamatters/default.htm (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. A FIGHT TO SAVE A RADIO STATION By Dan Russo , STAFF WRITER 02/11/2004 [illustrated] http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10952358&BRD=1725&PAG=461&dept_id=45529&rfi=6 Manning the WHHS 107.9 FM studio is Haverford High School 10th-grader Katie Arcdiacomo. Photo by Anne Neborak. Grammy award winning musicians and late night talk show legends have to start somewhere. Since 1949 WHHS 107.9 FM, Haverford High School's radio station, has been giving bands, broadcasters, and other communications industry professionals a beginning. Thanks to a large commercial radio station and a decision by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the nation's first high school radio outlet, may go off the air. Behind the microphone WHHS is student run and provides a hands-on learning experience for about 100 young people, according to faculty advisor Ed Weiss. "This is something where they have a creative outlet," said Weiss. "A lot goes into it. We get a cross section of everybody. We do have a bunch of kids that have gone on to careers in radio." Music director Grace Goldblatt is a junior who wants to apply to Temple University's communications program. She says the station offers an alternative to academics and other more traditional activities. "This gives people a chance to do something you don't have to get tested on," says Goldblatt. Students DJ, manage schedules, do promotion, and learn technical skills. Sports broadcasts, news, and discussion are mixed in with a line-up of eclectic music. "You can play whatever music you're interested in," said program director Kevin Moran, a junior. "I think it introduces our listeners to all kinds of music. It gives people a chance to step away from commercial radio." David and Goliath on FM WHHS is a small 10-watt station on an FM dial dominated by much larger commercial entities. About two years ago, WSNJ, a station from Bridgeton, N.J., decided it was time to expand. Conhansink, the Chicago-based company that owns WSNJ, proposed a move to the FCC. They wanted to relocate to Pennsauken, N.J., and extend WSNJ's signal to cover the Philadelphia region and parts of New Jersey, according to Haverford Township School District's business manager Dennis Kelley. About a year ago, the FCC approved the application. The decision means WHHS and another high school station in northern New Jersey will loose their broadcast licenses. "There's only eight high school radio stations in the country and two of them are knocked off," said Kelley. According to the business manager, the federal government did not notify his school district of its decision. School officials found out after a station alumni working in the radio industry contacted them "I was a little angry that they didn't notify us about this," said Kelly. "The only communication we've ever had with the FCC is when we filed an objection." The district's lawyers have tried to negotiate with the government and company, but to no avail. "By federal law, if a class A license wants to toss out a class D, they can do it," said Kelley. "We tried to work with Cohansink ... The last sentence of one of our conversations was 'it really doesn't matter what you do, the law is on our side.'" An FCC representative did not return a phone call Feb. 5 seeking comment for this article. Making waves WHHS staff has been hit hard by the recent developments. "The whole thing more than anything else has been frustrating," said station manager Jake Smith, a senior. "With all this stuff going on, we feel we're at a stand still. As students, it's so hard to get anyone to take you seriously." Moran is also upset about the FCC decision. "They didn't take the historical tradition into account," he says. Despite the difficulties, the station pushes on. Fundraising efforts to purchase a new radio tower have been redirected. There are now T- shirts for sale that read "Save the Tower." The station will hold a benefit concert 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27 featuring the band "Town Hall." The station is also investigating ways to stay on the air. WPVI channel 6, a TV station, currently broadcasts a radio signal on a lower frequency. "We're trying to set up a meeting with WPVI to see what's available to us," said Kelley. "There's another federal law about TV stations going digital. If channel 6 is not using that frequency, we should not have any trouble doing it. Basically it's our only option." WHHS also started broadcasting on the Internet about a year ago. The FCC has not given the station a date when WSNJ will take over the frequency. Weiss said he and the students are determined to keep going despite an uncertain future. "It's changing day by day," said Weiss. "We are going to have business as usual regardless." Kelley echoed the desire to persevere. "I want to see us save it," said Kelley. "We're exhausting every avenue. We're just hitting stone walls." ©News of Delaware County 2004 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Comments include: Name: Kerrin Wolf Date: Feb, 12 2004 As an HHS alumnus from 1997 and a former DJ on WHHS, I am appalled at what is happening to the station. Since high school, I have graduated from the College of William and Mary with a bachelor of arts in History and will receive my JD from William and Mary in May of this year. Although I never went on to work in radio after I graduated from high school, the experience I gained on air certainly has helped me at every stage of my life. Among other things, WHHS teaches high school students leadership, public speaking skills, team work, and, most importantly, self confidence. It's an activity that they can share with friends, family, co-workers, and even potential employers that most people never have the opportunity to experience. The demise of WHHS would be truly detrimental to present and future HHS students. The fact that Conhansink is willing to destroy the station without even attempting to offer some sort of alternative opportunity to the school and its students is disgraceful. I urge listeners to refuse to tune into WSNJ and businesses to refuse to advertise on their radio programs (ibid.) ** U S A. TED FLORKO, VETERAN RADIO REPORTER Ted Florko, a veteran Cincinnati broadcaster, radio traffic reporter and newsman, died Wednesday at the age of 71 after a nine-year battle with leukemia. Mr. Florko was best known to radio listeners as the reliable, no nonsense voice of traffic reports for more than 35 years, mostly on WCKY-AM. The last decade he had done traffic reporting on WGRR-FM, WVXU-FM and other stations as part of his contract with Metro Networks. . . http://www.cincypost.com/2004/02/14/florko02-14-2004.html (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. DEPARTMENT OF STATE HAM CLUB ON THE AIR FOR PRESIDENTS` DAY: The Daily DX http://www.dailydx.com/ reports that the Department of State Amateur Radio Club`s W3DOS will be on the air February 14-16 to celebrate Presidents` Day. Approximate operating frequencies will be CW: 3.530, 7.030, 10.130 14.030, 18.080, 21.030, 24.910, 28.030 MHz. SSB: 3.880, 7280, 14280, 18150, 21380, 24.980 and 28.480 MHz (ARRL Letter Feb 13 via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** VATICAN. HVJ VATICAN RADIO MARKS 73RD ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW DESIGN FOR LIVE 105 FM WEBPAGE IN ENGLISH Vatican City, Feb 12 (CRU) --- HVJ Vatican Radio, the Pope’s radio station, celebrated its 73rd anniversary today with a new webpage in English for its FM station Live 105. The new page was designed by Sister Janet Fearns, lately of Yatsani Radio in Lusaka, Zambia, and now on the staff of the English section of HVJ. The Live 105 page is available in English or Italian. The English page offers reports on the political and social situation in South Africa with a lengthy interview of the cardinal archbishop there, on an historic church in Rome, on the handling of doctrinal teaching by the mainstream press, and a piece for the 75th anniversary. Live 105 is designed to appeal to youth, and its bright colors and multi-presentation using a variant of split screen techniques can be found at http://105live.vaticanradio.org./inglese/105/en_information.html. Visitors can also listen to the station audiostreaming, using Real Player (Catholic Radio Update Feb 16 via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. 6045, ZBC Gweru, 0459, Feb 05, Vernacular ann, drums, in the clear after co-channel Bucharest had vacated this frequency 0457, very weak, first time I heard them here (Martien Groot, Holland, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) Also heard 2301-2345, Jan 25, Vernacular program with clear IDs: ``Radio Zimbabwe`` at 2310, 2337 and 2345! Phone-in calls and nice African music (Roland Schulze, Philippines, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) Reactivated 3306 from ZBC noted with excellent reception from tune in 0040 UT on Feb 15 in local language and with a very nice selection of African pop tunes. No ID or news at 0100 --- but 0101 song about Zimbabwe. At 0109 clear ID as 'Radio Zimbabwe'. Best reception in LSB and frequency around 3306.005 kHz. According to DXLD 0-025, ZBC has been inactive on 3306 since November 1999 --- so nice to hear ZBC back here with such a clear signal (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3306, ZBC (Presumed), 15 Feb 0146, Apparently back on this old 90 mb frequency with very nice signal!!!! Talk by M in South African language, then into Afro Hi-life music. Didn't listen very long as I jumped to the computer as soon as I discovered this!! Go get'em fellas!! (Dave Valko, PA, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Later: Here is my 'official' logging of Zimbabwe. 3306, R.Z./ZBC, 15 Feb 0147-0415, Lively talk by M in what sounded like Swahili over Afro Hi-life music at tune-in, then contiinuous hi- life music. Turned on the computer, so I lost the signal from 0152- 0201. More music with talk by M then. 0204 two clear IDs as "Radio Zimbabwe" by M!! The music program with same M hosting continued. Sounded like a different M at 0228. Nice clear TC during talk at 0234 sounding like "26 minutes until 5" (although the "until" sounded more like "after", and the "26" sounded more like "36"). 0241 another TC as "19 minutes to 5" followed by a short canned ID in Swahili "Hii ni ?? Radio Zimbabwe". 5 o'clock TC at 0300, children`s choral NA to 0304, then M announcer with TC, Rock music bridge, and different M mentioning Zimbabwe to 0308 (didn't sound like the news). Back to soft African music. Had a 10 minute newscast by M at 0400-0410 followed by different M with ID and TC " ?? now...Allen ?? broadcast...7 o'clock. ?? Radio Zimbabwe ?? 10 minutes past 6". Then talk by W announcer. Good clear signal. Nice to see it back on this old freq!!! Still doing nicely at 0415 when the MD ended (Dave Valko, ibid.) May I remind you this is the mouthpiece of one of the most evil, repressive regimes in Africa. How can you be so excited? (gh, DXLD) 3306, R. Zimbabwe, 0113-0200 2/15. Hilife and other Afro rhythms; M in heavily-accented English between songs and voice-overs; 0125 ID as "Radio Zimbabwe". VG at tune but had faded noticeably by 0200. Nice to hear this frequency reactivated (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbre DX via DXLD) 3305.99, ZBC, 0420 16 Feb [sic, must mean 15 Feb]; S9 signal at tune- in, but took real nose dive after 0430; afropop/hi-life music with talk, in mixed English/vernacular, which was tough to copy (Jerry Strawman, Des Moines IA, ibid.) UNIDENTIFIED. Re ``7036.00, 0854 UNID Possibly Asian, poor signal, playing back-back tracks, midst dominant ham QRM. FA 0857 then music till 0900 and apparent news. Sounded Japanese/Korean. Needs more work. [Ormandy]`` I guess that is illegal amateur radio(s). 7036 was monopolized by some UNILLEGAL amateur radios in Japan, and illegals disturb with re- transmission of ordinary BCs. [ed] (Gaku Iwata, Japan Premium Feb 13 via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ WRTH UPDATE FILE NOW AVAILABLE Please visit http://www.wrth.com to download the latest update file for WRTH (World Radio TV Handbook). This file can be found by clicking on the WRTH book icon and then on the scrolling banner. The file is a PDF, so you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to view it. There have been many updates and changes to broadcasting schedules since WRTH was published last November. In order to keep our readers as informed as possible, we have produced a comprehensive update file which includes the lastest available information for the following stations: COUNTRY: STATION ALASKA: KNLS ALBANIA: R. TIRANA ARMENIA: V O ARMENIA AUSTRALIA: HCJB AUSTRALIA AUSTRIA: ORF/RADIO AUSTRIA AZERBAIJAN: V O AZERBAIJAN BANGLADESH: BANGLADESH BETAR BELGIUM: TDP RADIO CAMBODIA: RN CAMBODIA CHINA: CRI CROATIA: V O CROATIA CUBA: R HABANA CUBA CYPRUS: SONNET RADIO CZECH REPUBLIC: R PRAGUE DENMARK: WORLD MUSIC RADIO DJIBOUTI: IBB RELAY EQUATORIAL GUINEA: R AFRICA FRANCE: GOLOS PRAVOSLAVIYA GABON: AFRICA No 1 GEORGIA: R GEORGIA GERMANY: CHRISTIAN SCIENCE; IBB RELAY GREECE: ERA5; ERT3 GUAM: KDSA HUNGARY: R BUDAPEST INDIA: ALL INDIA RADIO IRAN: V O ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN IRELAND: RTE WORLDWIDE ISRAEL: KOL ISRAEL ITALY: IRRS KOREA: R KOREA INTERNATIONAL KUWAIT: R KUWAIT LIBERIA: V O LIBERTY LIBYA: V O AFRICA MADAGASCAR: R FEON'NY MALTA: V O MEDITERRANEAN MONGOLIA: V O MONGOLIA NETHERLANDS: RNW NEW ZEALAND: RNZI NORWAY: NORKRING PAKISTAN: R PAKISTAN PALAU: T8BZ PHILIPPINES: R VERITAS ASIA POLAND: R MARYJA PORTUGAL: RDP ROMANIA: R ROMANIA INTERNATIONAL RUSSIA: VOR SLOVAKIA: R SLOVAKIA INTERNATIONAL SRI LANKA: SLBC TURKEY: V O TURKEY UKRAINE: R UKRAINE INTERNATIONAL UNITED KINGDOM: AL-ASR RADIO; BIBLE VOICE BROADCASTING USA: AFRTS; RFE/R LIBERTY; R SAWA; VOA; R AAP KI DUNYAA; IBB; AWR; OVERCOMER MINISTRY; TRUTH FOR THE WORLD; WMLK; WRNO; WSHB; WWRB Also included are updates for the following clandestine/target broadcasts: V O CHINA; VO TIBET; V O LIBERTY; DEJEN R; R SOLIDARITY; RV OROMO LIBERATION FRONT; V O OROMIYA; V O ETHIOPIAN SALVATION; V O OROMO LIBERATION; R SEDAYE KASHMIR; V O JAMMU KASHMIR FREEDOM; R AVAYE ASHENA; R BARABARI; R YARAN; SEDAYE KOMALEH; DENGE MEZOPOTAMIA; R MASHREQ; V O BURMA; DEMOCRATIC V O BURMA; JAKADA R INTERNATIONAL; SAWT AL ISLAH; R MUSTAQBAL; V O TIGERS; SUDAN R SERVICE; THE ARABIC RADIO; V O TIGRIS; DEGAR VOICE; R FREE VIETNAM; V O KAMPUCHEA KROM; NATIONAL RADIO SADR Regards, Sean D. Gilbert, International Editor - WRTH (World Radio TV Handbook) Fax: +44 (0) 709 2332287 WRTH - THE Directory of Global Broadcasting (via bclnews.it Feb 14 via DXLD) The WRTH website has a pdf file with updates of the 2004 WRTH. Unfortunately, the link is in a moving banner that seems only to appear in IE, and not in browsers. The direct link is: http://www.wrth.com/WRTH%20International%20Radio%20Updates%20Feb%202004.pdf (Dan Ferguson, DC, SWBC via DXLD) A well done update, but I did not find anything significant not already covered in DXLD (gh, DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ ARRL TECHNICAL RELATIONS OFFICE EYES WRC-07 While it may seem like World Radiocommunication Conference 2003 (WRC- 03) was just yesterday, the ARRL Technical Relations Office in Washington already is participating in a new cycle of meetings to prepare for what`s tentatively being called WRC-07. ARRL Chief Technology Officer Paul Rinaldo, W4RI, says ARRL`s involvement is in two arenas --- the FCC WRC-07 Advisory Committee and its informal working groups (IWGs), and regular meetings of various International Telecommunication Union http://www.itu.int/home/index.html ``working parties.`` ARRL Technical Relations Specialist Walt Ireland, WB7CSL, has been especially active as vice chairman of the IWG 4, which is dealing with broadcasting and Amateur Radio WRC-07 agenda items. Ireland also is the convener of US Working Party 6E, which deals with terrestrial delivery in the broadcasting service. Both groups are focusing on the possible allocation of additional broadcast spectrum in the 4 to 10 MHz band, which, Rinaldo points out, could impact amateur allocations. Additional information on WRC- 07 preparations is on the FCC Web site http://www.fcc.gov/wrc-07/ (ARRL Letter Feb 13 via John Norfolk, DXLD) CONTEST +++++++ THE GRAND TOUR WITH CANCER AND CAPRICORN 2004 The 16th international DSWCI DX-contest runs from Friday Apr 02, 1800 to Sunday Apr 18, 2400. It is open to all shortwave listeners regardless of their membership in any DX club. Primary contest frequencies are from 2300 to 26100. Logs outside this range will be valued by half points. The contest fee 5 IRCs (only new large coupons please)/ EUR 3.00 / USD 3.00 shall be sent together with the contest form to: Jaroslav Bohac, Jizerska 2900/11, 400 11 Usti n.L., CZECH REPUBLIC, trams@volny.cz Deadline: Apr 23 (date of post stamp), Apr 30 (by e- mail). Each participant will receive a contest diploma with his/her classification and a list of participants with their results. The first three participants will be awarded non-cash prizes; three additional prizes will be drawn into all participants regardless to their scoring. In Part 1 listen please to any BC station of the contest country, for 15 minutes at least. For one country one log only. Unofficial, pirate and clandestine stations are not allowed. Scoring: 1000 points of each logged country will be divided by a number of logs and rounded to two decimal places. Maximum point value 200 points for one country. In Part 2 you can raise your score by listening to any DX programme. The number of DX programmes is limited to 6! No particular country limit. Scoring in the same way as in Part 1, maximum point value 100 points for one DX programme. Full value of the Quiz questions is 1/10 of the points reached in Part 1 + Part 2. Example: If your point value of Part 1 + Part 2 is 1000 points, and you reach 65 quiz points, then you can raise your total score to 1000 * 1.065 = 1065 points. We wish you good listening! (Bohac) The DSWCI Board hopes that many DX-ers are going to participate in this contest which is not for beginners. Beforehand You have to make research on the frequencies and times to listen! But already now you can download the eight pages of contest sheets with all the stations and Quiz questions from http://www.dswci.org (Editor Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window Feb 11 via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ENFORCEMENT: YOU CAN`T SELL THOSE RADIOS IN THE USA The FCC`s Dallas Field Office has gone after yet another source of illegal CB gear being marketed under the guise of it being Amateur Radio equipment. This, as the agency issues a citation to John Edward Stone of Clayton Texas. Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, has more: The citation issued on January 7th identifies thirty transceivers on a website allegedly run by Stone`s company as being non certified for 11 meter operation. We don`t have room to list all the models here but the FCC says that this gear has the ability to be modified for operation in the 10 meter Amateur Radio band. According to the FCC, Stone does cyberspace business as Omnitronics and Pacetronics through the http://www.pacetronics.com website. The agency says that each of these products noted in its citation places Pacetronics in violation of Section 302(b) and Section 2.803(a) (1) of the Commission`s Rules. Stone was given 14 days from the date he received the citation to respond. The FCC says that any statement or information he provides may be used by to determine if further enforcement action is required. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, Bill Pasternak, WA6ITF, in Los Angeles. In its instructions to Stone the FCC warned that knowingly or willfully making any false statement in reply to the citation is punishable by fine or imprisonment (FCC via Newsline February 13 via John Norfolk, DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN BLINDLY SUPPORTS BPL I received a letter from my congressman this week, addressing my concerns about the lack of engineers on the FCC staff, and the commercial dominance of the FCC agenda. Congressman Jeff Miller, Republican, 1st District Florida, essentially patted me on the head and told me to look at the benefits of BPL for rural Americans. I'm not at all surprised that a group of supervisors wouldn't have the grit or intellect to grasp the downside of BPL, nor am I surprised that they defer to one of the conflicting parties for expertise. Lord, I remember the township supervisors in Sadsbury Twp, Lancaster Co, couldn't figure out how to get the main road plowed after a two- inch snowfall. I can just imagine the same collective group picturing every household in their jurisdiction downloading porn at high speed, and thanking them for this gift. They'll fit right in with Congressman Miller. Assuming our dear Jeff can make it through the primary this time, of course (Gerry Bishop, Niceville, FL, (DXing as fast as I can.), NRC-AM via DXLD) TIP FOR RATIONAL LIVING +++++++++++++++++++++++ HUMANISTS WIN VICTORY OVER STATUS --- STANDING UP FOR 'GODLESS MASSES' Tom Blackwell, National Post, Saturday, February 14, 2004 A group of secular humanists trying to give a voice to Canada's "great, Godless masses" has won what it calls precedent-setting government recognition of humanism's value to Canadians. . . http://www.canada.com/search/story.html?id=8a453ff4-0c1b-4dd3-b4ae-2994db157450 (via Gerald T. Pollard, DXLD) ###