DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-085, May 24, 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 AIRING OF WORLD OF RADIO 1231: Wed 0930 on WWCR 9475 WORLD OF RADIO ON WBCQ 9330-CLSB: Sat 2000 ex-Sun 0300 (see USA below) WORLD OF RADIO on Different Kind of Oldies, Sat 2100, is canceled 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 1231 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1231h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1231h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1231.html WORLD OF RADIO 1231 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1231.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1231.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1231 in MP3, the true shortwave sound of 7415: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_05-19-04.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_05-19-04.mp3 AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO Extra 48 [= COM 04-03]: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415, 17495-CUSB Thu 2000 on RFPI, http://www.rfpi.org repeated 4-hourly thru Fri 1600 Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 Fri 1430 on SIUE WEBRADIO, http://www.siue.edu/WEBRADIO Fri 2300 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 Sat 0800 on WRN1 to Europe, Africa, Asia, Pacific Sat 0855 on WNQM Nashville 1300 Sat 1030 on WWCR 5070 Sat 1830 on WPKN Bridgeport, 89.5, webcast http://www.wpkn.org Sat 2030 on WWCR 12160 Sat 2000 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sat 2030 on WBCQ 17495-CUSB Sat 2130 on RFPI, http://www.rfpi.org repeated 8-hourly thru Mon 1330 Sat 2300 on RFPI, http://www.rfpi.org repeated 8-hourly thru Mon 1500 Sun 0230 on WWCR 5070 Sun 0630 on WWCR 3210 Sun 1000 on WRN1 to North America, webcast; also KSFC 91.9 Spokane WA, and WDWN 89.1 Auburn NY; maybe KTRU 91.7 Houston TX, each with webcasts Sun 1900 on Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 Sun 2000 on RNI webcast, http://www.11L-rni.com Mon 0100 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0330 on WSUI 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu [previous 1231] Mon 0430 on WBCQ 7415, webcast http://wbcq.us Wed 0930 on WWCR 9475 WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: 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 48 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx48h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx48h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0403.html WORLD OF RADIO Extra 48 (low version) [same as COM 04-03]: (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0403.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0403-rm DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our new yg. Here`s where to sign up. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ (Glenn Hauser, May 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN. NEW TV STATION BEGINS OPERATION IN AFGHAN CAPITAL | Text of report by Afghan radio on 22 May The Afghan TV Network started broadcasting in Kabul yesterday. The establishment of the TV network cost 200,000 dollars. TV channel's trial programmes include music and movies for one month. The TV channel air programmes on VHF channel 7 on frequency 189.25 MHz every day from 0600 to 2400 [0130 to 1930 gmt], on a trial basis. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, Ahmad Shah Afghanzai, the head of the Afghan TV Network, said: Once we install our new support aerials on Asmaie Mountain, in two months time, TV's programmes will also cover areas to the west of Kabul. Source: Radio Afghanistan, Kabul, in Dari 1530 gmt 22 May 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) TFK! E7, that is ** ALBANIA. CRI MW outlets via Fllake all 59.5 minutes in duration. 0540 UT on 1215 still on air heard continuous music, into CRI at 0600 UT. Also 1500-1600 Albanian 1215, 1600-1700 Esperanto, 1700-1800 Romanian. 16-17 Bulgarian, 1700-1800 Italian, 1458 (Wolfgang Büschel, visiting Italy, May 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANTIGUA. GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATES OPERATIONS OF STATE-RUN BROADCASTING BODY | Text of report by Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) news agency on 20 May St John's, Antigua: A probe has been launched into the operations of the state-owned Antigua & Barbuda Broadcasting Services (ABS). A government statement said cabinet agreed to contract the services of Finance and Auditing Services, an Antiguan company, to conduct the investigation and audit. Former junior Information Minister George Bernard Walker is heading the team, which will carry out the probe. "The investigation is a continuation and expansion of a previous report undertaken by the Ministry of Finance to investigate the inconsistencies surrounding the procurement and payment for advertising spaces at ABS Radio and Television," the government said on Wednesday [19 May]. "That investigation came to an abrupt halt after a mere 18 days and verbal instructions were given for the committee to cease operations." The government said the new probe "is intended to determine the loss of revenue incurred by arbitrary pricing practices; the [alleged] appropriation of commissions by senior staff and payment 'in kind' by businesses, as well as questionable relationships between private sector interests and ABS Radio and Television. "The investigation is also intended to look at any and all discrepancies with respect to financial impropriety at ABS Radio and Television; and will determine whether there is a prima facie case of misappropriation of public funds or misbehaviour in public office to be forwarded to the director of public prosecutions." FAS will also carry out a human resource audit of the "job programme", operated by the previous government, to determine "its usefulness, the abuses of the programme and the cost to the government to continue it". This is the third investigation ordered by the new Baldwin Spencer administration following an international forensic probe of the financial dealings of members of the past government and an ongoing police investigation into missing files from the Prime Minister's Office. Source: Caribbean Media Corporation news agency, Bridgetown, in English 2230 gmt 20 May 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CHINA [and non]. Re: The China Article in DXLD 4-082 [INTERNATIONAL VACUUM] Dear Mr. Hauser, I have been reading you since your days in Popular Electronics, and generally find you to provide accurate info, but this article you posted to from NewsMax really strains credibility. 1). NewsMax is an unabashedly radically right-wing propaganda rag, and has at this point in time zero credibility in military and intelligence matters. One must wonder if they work outta Paul Wolfowitz's Office of Special Plans disinfo department, because their military and intelligence reports in the past years has been for the most part completely incorrect, and operates as a neo-con "yes man" rag. 2). The blatant attack on Senator Kerry was completely out of line, and largely inaccurate. For the sake of your own perceived credibility, it would be wise to not use such absurdly biased sources with obvious radically extremist agendas. I'm going to agree that the current administration now has everyone afraid of the USA and wanting immediate countermeasures to prevent further invasions based entirely on lies, lies that NewsMax was instrumental in disseminating, and still is. How far would Hitler have gotten if he had been stopped after Czechslovakia because the whole planet united against him and his lies? The whole world is now asking themselves this question in regards to America. Bush is a Uniter! -- "Religious fundamentalism is the biggest threat to international security that exists today." United Nations Secretary General B.B.Ghali, 1995 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Fascist State organizes the nation, but leaves a sufficient margin of liberty to the individual; the latter is deprived of all useless and possibly harmful freedom..." -- Benito Mussilini, 1932 http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/patriot2-hi.pdf -- The GOP agrees (Jim Bryant, Democrat, May 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. RUSSIA, 15440, CRI Arabic 16-1657 UT via St. Petersburg in J-04 season, pre-conference registered 17580, then changed by HFCC to 15595, but co-channel DW Sines Polish, so landed on 15440 in J-04. From S-04 St. P relay on 7130 (Wolfgang Büschel, visiting Italy, May 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also ALBANIA ** CUBA [non]. De la correspondante de RFI à La Havane Il faut tourner longtemps le tuner de la radio, très doucement. Les ondes courtes sont pleines d'interférences, une voix s'approche puis disparaît. Plus loin, c'est une musique déformée qui retentit, et à nouveau une voix, en espagnol. La bande est traversée de zigzags sonores, de bulles de bruits, de crachotements, et le signal disparaît parfois aussi vite qu'il est apparu. Pour écouter Radio Martí à La Havane, il faut de la patience, beaucoup d'attention, et un récepteur radio en ondes courtes, une denrée rare dans l'île. Car Radio Martí est une radio hors-la-loi pour le gouvernement cubain, et sa réception est systématiquement brouillée. Le nom de cette radio est en soi une déclaration d'intentions pleine d'ironie. José Martí est un héros des guerres d'indépendance cubaines du XIXe siècle. Célébré, encensé par le régime castriste, son buste en plâtre blanc orne tous les édifices publics de l'île. L'ironie, c'est que la radio qui porte son nom a justement déclaré la guerre au régime castriste, la guerre des ondes en tout cas. Radio Martí est produite en Floride, à 200 km à peine au nord des côtes cubaines. Elle diffuse 24heures sur 24 des informations, des talk shows et des feuilletons radiophoniques à destination de l'île. Son but : briser le monopole du gouvernement cubain sur l'information. Le projet est né en 1983, au cour de la guerre froide, sur le modèle de Radio Free Europe, qui diffusait alors ses programmes vers les pays de l'Est, derrière le rideau de fer. Présentée par la puissante Fondation nationale cubano-américaine de Mas Canosa (des Cubains anticastristes exilés à Miami) et soutenue par le président Ronald Reagan, Radio Martí a commencé à émettre le 20 mai 1985. Entièrement financée par le gouvernement américain, elle dispose d'un budget annuel de 13 millions de dollars pour la réalisation et la diffusion de ses programmes. Dans les années 80, Radio Martí a bénéficié d'une audience considérable dans l'île. Mais en mars 1990, une TV Martí a été lancée par les Etats-Unis. Contrairement à la radio, cette télé, rapidement surnommée "No se TV" ("on ne te voit pas"), n'a jamais pu trouver son public. Une semaine après son lancement, ses quatre heures et demie d'émissions quotidiennes ont été brouillées par Cuba. Depuis, la chaîne continue à produire ses programmes, avec un budget de 9 millions de dollars par an, et un ballon atmosphérique qui relaie le signal vers Cuba. En vain : personne dans l'île ne peut la capter. Et les autorités cubaines, en représailles, ont commencé à brouiller également la réception de Radio Martí. 70% d'audience dans les années 80 Impossible évidemment de faire un sondage officiel à Cuba pour connaître l'audience de la radio: c'est la radio de l'ennemi, et l'écouter ou travailler pour elle peut être interprété comme un délit. Pourtant des estimations partielles existent, qui témoignent d'une chute de l'audience, passée de 70% à la fin des années 80, à 5% d'auditeurs ces dernières années. Une chute due aux difficultés de réception bien sûr, mais aussi à la qualité médiocre de ses émissions. Car si la radio permet à des dissidents cubains de l'intérieur de se faire entendre de leurs compatriotes (ce qu'ils ne peuvent jamais faire dans l'île), ses méthodes sont aussi contestées. Ainsi en 2002, une information relayée et déformée par Radio Martí s'est trouvée à l'origine de la tentative de prise d'assaut de l'ambassade du Mexique à La Havane par de jeunes Cubains candidats à l'exil. Ces derniers, qui avaient entendu à la radio que Mexico délivrait des visas, avaient détourné un bus et défoncé les grilles de la légation. Plus généralement, ses auditeurs reprochent à la radio de privilégier le discours des exilés anticastristes les plus radicaux au détriment de sa mission d'information. Un reproche qui ne décourage pas l'administration Bush: si les mesures du rapport de la semaine dernière sont appliquées, des avions C-130 en vol en permanence autour de l'île devraient bientôt servir de relais émetteurs à la radio, pour contourner les brouillages cubains (site de RFI, informations issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) ** DENMARK. 5815, WMR, 0054-0115; 0124-0131, May 21, English, Weak but steady signal with rap/R&B music until 0104 then quick "World Music Radio" jingle after which the format changed to power ballads/love songs. Lost the signal under excessive QRN at 0015. Re-check at 0124 with more ballads including "Love Hurts" by Nazareth. Excessive QRN, which I think was locally, took over at 0131 (Scott Barbour, NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 4870, La Voz del Upano or Dif. Católica Cultural, (presumed), 1012-1030 May 23. Noted Spanish comments from a woman with back ground music. Sounded like praying. A man commented occasionally. Checked 3279, LV del Napo and found parallel program. Signal on 4870 was poor while 3279 was good. Didn't hear an ID (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, 545/dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. I listened to HCJB`s Portuguese DX program, DX-HCJB, UT Sun May 23 at 0100-0130 on 11920, which was better here than // 12020 --- wonder why HCJB uses two frequencies only 100 kHz apart, presumably at different azimuths toward Brazil, but both skipping over the nearer Amazon regions: who cares about them? The show is very well done because it relies on recorded contributions from several of the best-known Brazilian DXers, members of the DX Clube do Brasil. One after another, every few minutes, good, up to date info by people who know what they are talking about. Best of all, I did not notice any gospel-huxtering within the program (tho possibly there was some briefly) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non]. WRMI will start carrying DX Partyline from late July or early August; and a monthly NASB report will be on DXPL (Allen Graham, HCJB DX Partyline May 22, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EL SALVADOR. 17834.82, R. Imperial 1548-1613+ 5/23. Religious- sounding talks by M; largely unreadable due to weak signal. However, improved slightly at 1611 just as an ID was being given. Still there past 1700, very weak (John Wilkins, Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Drake R-8, 100-foot RW, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** EUROPE. Eurovision Song Contest Presenter Terry Wogan has called on the European Broadcasting Union to stop the "political voting" and called last weekend's Eurovision Song Contest the most corrupt in the event's 48-year history. The veteran broadcaster aimed particular criticism at the Balkan nations which gave the bulk of their votes to each other. Wogan, 65, who has been commentating on the contest for the BBC since 1973, said he had never seen such widespread vote-rigging. He said on his Radio 2 breakfast programme: 'People have accused me of taking it too seriously but you have to take the voting seriously. It's not a song contest any more. It's a political voting contest. It's so unfair.' Saturday's night contest in Istanbul was won by the Ukraine with a song called Wild Dance. Singer Ruslana, a cult figure in the former Soviet republic, was accompanied by a group of dancers in warrior costumes said to be intended to evoke the spirit of Carpathian mountains. Votes were cast by members of the public in all 24 competing countries calling special phone numbers. But Wogan said many of the voting patterns 'beggared belief'. Viewers heard him repeatedly predict correctly how some of the 24 nations taking part would award their top marks. Often it was neighbouring countries - or major economic allies - who received generous awards. At one point a dismayed Wogan told viewers: "This is barking. I was afraid that the Balkan block voting was going to make a difference and I'm afraid it has. It's beyond me." Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro, Greece and Turkey all profited from each others' votes as cultural links and shared national tastes came into play. Three of the top five places were taken by states from the Balkan region, although both Greece, which was third, and Turkey, fourth, had been among the pre-contest favourites. Wogan said: "I'm sorry but somebody has got to stop this. The EBU have got to take this in hand." The UK's entry, James Fox, could manage only a lowly 16th position. The EBU ignored the vote-rigging allegations last night and said in a statement: "Saturday night's winner, who sang to a wild crowd of over 7,000 at Istanbul's Abdi IpekÁi arena, was chosen by a European audience. "For the first time ever, all 36 countries (including those eliminated in the semi-final) used tele-voting via a mass pan-European tele- voting system that was especially developed for the contest and centrally coordinated by a German telecom provider." http://www.waveguide.co.uk/latest/news040518.htm#Euro%20Vote%20Rigging (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** FINLAND. Finland: Radio Scandinavia 603 AM update II Hello Radio Freaks, all wrong. I got the licence from the beginning in Swedish. Mike Spencer popped up in the end of Januari offering me transmitter, antennas and a studio free of charge to my daytime show. I agreed, Mike wanted to air his programs in English from 1800 UT, free of charge. We did not get permission to broadcast in English 1800 UT. Now we got all on Åland, except the ATU, which arrived Saturday evening by DHL, broken!!!!! Now we need new spares and parts to repair the ATU. A longwire attached to a 60m mast at Lotsberget Mariehamn will be the QTH, transmitter, ATU and a mobile studio. It's a test solution, now we need to repair the ATU, only, then we are on air, testing, testing 10-1000 watts. The ship is coming in 4 weeks. Roy Sandgren, Radio Scandinavia 603 AM, http://www.amradio.se (May 22 via swedx mailing list via Bernd Trutenau, MWDX via DXLD) ** GREECE. JUEGOS OLIMPICOS DE GRECIA - desde el 6 de mayo hasta el día que se inicien los Juegos Olímpicos, el 12 de agosto, estarán activas nueve estaciones especiales como SX9A, SX8A, SX7A, SX6A, SX5A, SX4A, SX3A, SX2A y SX1A dentro de las nueve regiones griegas. Además, algunos radioclubes griegos preparan muchos actividades. QSLs solo via buro griego. Más información, en Línea, en: http://www.qsl.net/sv2ngct/sx.htm Todos los radio aficionados griegos pueden usar el prefijo SX2004.... o SY2004.... desde el 1 de junio hasta el 15 de noviembre de 2004, para conmemorar los Juegos Olímpicos de Atenas y los Juegos Paralympic 2004. Más información en: http://www.athens2004.com (Arnaldo Slaen, Conexión Digital May 22 via DXLD) ** GREECE [non]. With the recent items about a VOG mailbag show in Greek, but including letters in English, M-F at 1230, ex-1200 on 15650, I should add that this may also be on the overwhelming Delano relay signal 9690; been meaning to check for that (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HUNGARY. Antena Hungária, the operator of the 500 kW transmitter in Marcali on 1188, will close down this transmitter on 1 June. The transmitter has been used for carrying RFE/RL and VOA relays in the last years, these relays will end (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, May 22, MWC via DXLD) ** IRAN. FORMER HOSTAGE-TAKER APPOINTED HEAD OF IRIB Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has promoted Ezzatollah Zarghami, 45, to head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) where he has been deputy head. Zarghami was among militant students who overran the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979 and held 52 embassy staff hostage for 444 days. He joined Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards as a senior officer in the early 1980s and served for a decade there. IRIB enjoys a monopoly over Iranian broadcasting. It has 12 domestic television and radio channels and an international service that produces radio programmes in 25 languages. Khamenei appoints the head of IRIB and other key officials. # posted by Andy @ 09:31 UT May 24 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** IRAQ. US MARINES RECEIVE DONATIONS TO START UP RADIO & TV STATIONS Marines and soldiers assigned to the 1st Marine Division serving in Iraq have received $85,000 worth of donated television and radio equipment from Spirit of America, a Los Angeles-based charity organization. The donated equipment will be used to set up at least seven Iraqi Media Network television stations and some radio assets in Al Anbar Province. "Right now, the Iraqis are receiving a lot of their information via electronic media outlets," said Lt. Col. John Lutkenhouse, the civil affairs officer with the 1st Marine Division in charge of the project. "The principal message they're hearing is from people who don't want us to succeed, like the Al-Jazeera network. If we don't have something to balance out those messages, the people will be inclined to believe the false information." The hardware is intended allow credible media to operate without censorship or undue influence. Once the Iraqi Media Network receives the gear, Coalition Forces will not have a say as to what can and cannot be covered. Still, there will be stipulations. "This will not be a Coalition-controlled media outlet," said Lutkenhouse. "However, they will be not be allowed to put out anti- Coalition propaganda." More information can be found at http://www.spiritofamerica.net and http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/oif (Source: press release) # posted by Andy @ 11:09 UT May 24 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** ITALY. MW cutting list of Enrico Callerio May 4th is correct, except heard RAI Trieste-Monte Radio in Slovene national language broadcast on 981 kHz, S=8 day and night (Wolfgang Büschel, visiting Italy, May 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY [non]. Re IRRS: The transmitter location is one story. In regard to the website info of Reformed Bible Church I would rather think that somebody confused "Italy" and its capital "Rome" with "Romania" ;) You may note that the website info does not mention that NEXUS is an Italian provider. 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, May 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAMAICA. I see in the WRTVH 2004 that CVM Television Ltd. has FOUR outlets on channel 4: Cabbage Hill in St. Thomas; Marley Hill in St. Catherine; Berry Hill in St. Mary; and Kemp Shot in St. James. Those Saints are parishes, or whatever Jamaican sub-divisions are called. All the others are high-band, as are the channels of the other network TVJ. I don`t recall anyone ever DXing Jamaican TV by Es, but it would seem to be possible. Check the 1000 and 1500 mile radii. Bet these are low power, and possibly direxional. No such details given, of course. I suppose it would be worth looking thru the other Caribbean/Central American listings in WRTVH 2004 for more things to dream about. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid, May 21, WTFDA via DXLD) More Low Band Jamaicans --- I don't have a WRTVH 2004 (not as interested since the TV lists "fell apart") but on my trip to Jamaica last fall, I noted the following other over-the-air low banders listed in the phone book: Channel 2 Love TV Montego Bay Channel 3 Love TV Ocho Rios (Lilyfield) Channel 6 Love TV Kingston & St Andrew These are on my Caribbean/Central American Low Band TV List at http://www.iprimus.ca/~hepburnw/dx/tv/tv-car.htm Any updates are welcome. 100 watts is my low cut-off for the list (Bill Hepburn, Ont., ibid.) ** KYRGYZSTAN. 4010, 2257-2305, Radio Biskek, May 22, carrier as of 2257, s/on with national anthem and ID at 2300, then into presumed news bulletin by male speaker in Kyrgyz, weak signal with deep fades but progressively stronger peaks (Thomas Roth, DL1CQ, 53º32'58"N - 9º58'00"E, RX: JRC NRD-525G, RA-1792, ANT: Dipole 32m long, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Wonder if they still have English news segment during the 2300 hour (gh) ** LATVIA. Greetings all. Possible European Music Radio-Latvia on 9290 kHz, just above the noise level with announcements in English. Gone at 1840. No ID so just tentative. 73 (Mick Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Never much luck with 9290 here (gh, OK, DXLD) {confirmed: 4-086} ** MADAGASCAR. RTV Malagasy, Antananarivo is frequently heard on 5010 kHz playing pretty exotic music from my point of view and closing down at 1900 UT with the national anthem. It´s funny, their interval signal is played many times after the national anthem. Take a look at David Kernick´s web site: http://www.intervalsignalsonline.com 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, May 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALI. RTV Malienne, Bamako noted both on regular 4835 kHz and more seldom heard 4782.4 kHz. Never heard Mali on reported 11960-, or 9635 kHz. Only very few occasions on 5995 kHz. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, May 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) {See 4-087} ** NEW ZEALAND. Re 4-084, David Ricquish`s rebuttal to my comments on satellite feeding: are you talking about Big Ugly Dishes? Sure, those would be a problem in cyclones. Isn`t RNZI on Ku band where small dishes are adequate, and easily replaced, and if not, why not? Or does it take a pro flown in from NZ just to acquire signal and reposition one of those? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES USE COLD WAR JAMMERS TO KEEP TABS ON PIRATE RADIOS | Excerpt from report by Russian external TV service NTV Mir on 21 May [Presenter] Our last item is about an illegal hobby. St Petersburg has a number of underground radio stations occupying local frequencies. They are called pirate radios. The scriptwriter and presenter of the most popular illegal station was once refused employment in the radio industry. Now he has his own live station. Here is a report by Andrey Burtsev. [Video shows a man wearing dark glasses, who is obviously blind, feeling his way to the door of his apartment. This man is referred to as "Gennadiy" throughout.] [Correspondent] For Gennadiy these 10 steps along the corridor and round the corner into the room are the route which takes him live onto the air. People do not recognize him when they meet him on the street. But many of them will be familiar with his voice. He is the most experienced and well-known radio pirate in St Petersburg. [Passage omitted] [Correspondent] This is how Gennadiy has spent every weekend for the last six years. From evening through to morning he broadcasts on 99.2 MHz, the frequency occupied by his own radio station Kometa. The studio is a cramped room in a high-rise apartment block in the city's commuter belt. Almost all the equipment is made from anything which comes to hand. [Passage omitted] [Correspondent] The only modern technology at Gena's radio station is a computer. A special audio programme helps him to find songs which listeners want to hear. [Passage omitted] [Correspondent] He is achieving his childhood dream, of communicating with people he does not know over the air, in order to make new friendships. Gennadiy has fashioned his Kometa after commercial radio stations, which have refused up to now to employ him. [Gennadiy] The fact that I cannot see means I must have something that other people do not have. Or maybe - [changes thought] of course, other people do have this something. But I must have a double dose of it, so to speak. No doubt that is why I want to make my presence felt in radio. I reckon I am succeeding. [Correspondent] Katya reads the news on Kometa. She taps Internet sites from which she copies the latest news. Her microphone is made from a medical syringe. But people forgive Kometa for the quality of its signal. [Passage omitted] [Correspondent] Anybody who broadcasts without a licence is acting illegally. For this reason, they are called radio pirates. They themselves use the neutral term "non-commercial radio", because they work for the soul and not for profit. Amateur radio enthusiasts are romantics. They have their own code of honour. The main rule is not to interfere with official stations. In St Petersburg they broadcast mainly in the commuter areas. But there are so many of these illegal stations that they cover almost the entire territory of the city. [Video shows two radio masts.] These two metallic structures in the old part of St Petersburg are a material reminder of those days when every broadcast word was monitored. These are jammers which were designed to prevent the people of Leningrad from listening to Voice of America, Radio Liberty and the BBC. They have not been used for this since the end of the 1980s, but they still vigilantly monitor every hertz in the frequency spectrum. [Video shows a man pointing to a coloured diagram.] The appropriate organizations examine the airwaves through a microscope. On this diagram you can see that everything is divided between civilian and military services. The broadcast wavelengths are already crowded, without the illegal radio stations which are pushing their way in. Their appearance is always felt and tracked. [Anatoliy Abramov, deputy managing director of the Radio Frequency Centre for the Northwest Federal District, captioned] Pirate radio stations are operating in seven geographical areas of St Petersburg. It is not correct to say they only broadcast in the outskirts. [Correspondent] The pirates usually come to the attention of the authorities after a tip-off from the public that they are making it difficult to watch TV in the kitchen. There are administrative penalties for illegal broadcasting. For Gennadiy broadcasting is, without any exaggeration, a question of life and death. [Passage omitted] [Video shows apartment which acts as improvised radio studio. The man identified only as "Gennadiy" selects mp3 tracks from his computer. A female announcer and a DJ are also visible. The camera shows a variety of radio aerials and satellite dishes. A second sequence shows two radio masts and a sign saying "Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, State Radio Frequency Service of Russia, Radio Frequency Centre, Northwest Federal District". A close-up of one mast is shown.] Source: NTV Mir, Moscow, in Russian 1100 gmt 21 May 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA. 5930, Radio Slovakia International, *0057-0128* May 20, IS followed by opening ID, "You are listening to Radio Slovakia International." Brief musical fanfare, ID and frequency announcements followed by news. Feature program was Slovakia Today. Off with postal address give as Box 55, not Box 15 that is in Passport and WRTH. Fair signal and // 9440 (good). (Rich D`Angelo, Wyomissing PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** SUDAN. 4750, R. Peace. While reviewing a recording I made of them back at the end of March, I discovered that they air the "Spotlight" program. I have heard it on several occasions, but never knew what it was other than the fact it was in English. Fortunately I was able to identify it from this particular reception. When I checked out the "Spotlight" Web site, R. Peace is not listed as one of the stations carrying the program. I'm not sure if R. Peace has a set schedule for the "Spotlight" program. If they sign on early, around 0230 UT, they'll carry the 15 minute "Spotlight" program. If they sign on later, usually around 0245, they won't air it. So I suppose one could get Sudan verified via a "Spotlight" pseudo-QSL if R. Peace won't verify. Has anyone tried this route?? 73's (Dave Valko, PA, May 23, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) What would be the point, if Spotlight does not acknowledge R. Peace as one of their outlets? Even so, would Spotlight know for sure on which date at which time the program actually aired on 4750? Pseudo, indeed (gh, DXLD) ** UGANDA. Main Script for Wavescan, Edition number 490 for airing on Sunday 5/23/2004. So let`s start in with our Wavescan topic for this week. Since 1996 In Uganda, citizens have been holding peoples` parliaments to discuss some of the burning topics of the day. Known as ekimeeza [pron. eh-chi-may-zah] the debates take place weekly at a set venue - usually a pub - and the topic is set in advance and well-publicised. Around 400 people usually turn up. In the last couple of years, radio stations realised the potential of the debates and began to broadcast them live, adding to their popularity and allowing more people to participate by phoning in to the shows. The government has tried to close down the broadcasts on the grounds that FM stations do not have licenses to do outside broadcasts. But the ekimeeza shows go on and the format is now being copied up and down the country. Our reporter Christine Otieno went along to one ekimeeza where the topic of discussion was the African Big Brother and sexual behaviour. She sent this report. Full script for Uganda Radio Feature [bottom]: http://english.awr.org/wavescan/scripts/ws490.htm (AWR Wavescan via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** U S A. Access to the IBB's on-line Composite Schedules, at the Frequency Management Database System (FMDS), is no longer available as a public resource. Only IBB personnel and authorised users may access that information, via a username and password. This means that the complete operational MF/HF schedule for IBB services is now blocked to the general public (the listeners!). People wishing to view the complete RFE-RL schedules must now visit 22 separate IBB Webpages - one for each language service. Transmitter sites are not provided. The same approach is needed to view schedules for the other IBB services - separate visits to each service are now required. Now, transmitter sites appear to be non-disclosed by the IBB for any of its broadcasts. Ku-Klux-Klan? As an aside, I happened to come across VOA's "Border Crossings" show at 1915 UTC on May 21 (5.15 am here). A listener in the country town of Warrnambool, some 280 km west of here in Melbourne, had phoned up the VOA and was being interviewed live. The host was amazed that someone in Australia was actually listening to the show, and when the listener was asked "why do you listen to Border Crossings", his response was "for American music". In fact, they had at least two Australian listeners at that time - me being the other! For his interest, the host promised to send the Warnambool listener a stack of CDs. How about that! Even though VOA dumped its direct services to Oceania a while ago...!! Regards! (Bob Padula, Mont Albert, Victoria, Australia, May 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Just spoke with Allan Weiner, who advises that the UT Sun 0300 airing of World of Radio on 9330-CLSB has been replaced by 2000 UT Sat on same -- yes, that is just before the airing on 17495-CUSB at 2030 (which actually started at 2032 today after a quick rewind). These two may be merged later to simulcast at one time or the other(?). Also looking for a spot on 5105. Others remain the same: Wed 2200 on 7415, 17495-CUSB Mon 0100 on 9330-CLSB Mon 0430 on 7415 WBCQ is getting a wireless 800-MHz broadband connexion, and installing several new computers, which will allow direct streaming, downloading, remote control, etc., hopefully from mid-June or so (Glenn Hauser, May 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. MOTHER ANGELICA NAMED ALABAMA BROADCASTERS ASSOCIATION`S ``CITIZEN OF THE YEAR`` Orange Beach, AL, May 22 (EWTN) --- Mother M. Angelica, Foundress of EWTN Global Catholic Network, was honored at the Alabama Broadcasters Association`s 2004 Annual Convention on Saturday (5/22) when she was named the organization`s ``Citizen of the Year.`` According to Jerdan Bullard, the ABA`s Executive Director, ``The vote of the ABA board to name Mother Angelica `Citizen of the Year` was unanimous and her being awarded this honor was long overdue.`` The 81-year-old nun, who was unable to attend in person, was represented at the ceremony by Raymond Arroyo, EWTN`s Director of News and Anchor of its weekly newsmagazine, ``The World Over Live.`` (via Mike Dorner, Catholic Radio Update May 24 via DXLD) ** U S A. WLOL-AM RETURNS TO 1330 AM! Hi Glenn! -- Are you from Minneapolis? Wowser, you sure know all about me olde stomping grounds, WLOL-AM, WLOL-FM/BFR Broadcasting Corp. I served there from 70-75. Lotsa fun. Great station! Good management. Yep, it's great that WLOL-AM returns to their original 1330 spot on the dial. I worked, variously, as an engineer, operations director for their classical FM and PR guy for AM & FM. If you want to read an account of my days with classical WLOL-FM, I wrote a 9,000 word story for a British classical music net on the internet. My story is called "What Does A Classical Music DJ Do...?" You can access it from the title or via "Jim Stokes classical DJ." http://www.musicweb.uk.net/classrev/2001/Aug01/Stokes1.htm When I was a kid, we picked up WSM on Friday nights. And tons of other stations. And we all asked ourselves, "why do stations come in from far away on Friday and Saturday nights???" (Best, Jim Stokes, May 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Of course, the best-known feature of WWVA is Jamboree USA http://jamboreeusa.com their live Saturday night country music show. I wonder what would happen to this if Clear Channel moved the station to metro Cleveland? Other than the Opry is this the last remaining show of its kind? (Joel Rubin, NY, May 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. A NEW AGE FOR OLDIES PROGRAMMING --- By Marc Fisher, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, May 23, 2004; Page N02 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A45468-2004May21?language=printer Have you noticed that the older you get, the newer the oldies on the radio become? If you're in your sixties, your oldies are Elvis and doo-wop. If you're in your fifties, your oldies are Motown and "Downtown." If you're in your forties, your oldies are, well, they're all over the board -- anything from folk-rock to disco to the hard stuff. Therein lies the problem facing hundreds of oldies radio stations, including Washington's WBIG. It no longer makes commercial sense for oldies stations to play more than an occasional, token record from the 1950s because no one in radio's target audience remembers those songs from his or her youth. Increasingly, audience surveys show that those who listen to oldies stations don't want to hear much from the early '60s, either. So aside from the Beatles, what can oldies stations play and still hope to win a mass audience of listeners now in their thirties and forties? Consultants who advise oldies programmers have been pushing them gently into the '70s music library, but it's a dangerous road because that's when Top 40 radio died and all manner of much more specialized formats came along. So most Americans from that era grew up listening only to the kind of music they liked -- the soft soul of the Stylistics and the Spinners, disco, hard rock, lite rock and so on. The result was the same kind of polarization the nation is now experiencing in its politics. Oldies stations are leery of cobbling together those tastes in one station. But by testing audience appetites for inoffensive songs of the '70s, they've identified some tunes that reach across musical boundaries (Rod Stewart's "Young Turks," any of Fleetwood Mac's hits). And over the past three years, that has permitted oldies stations to slowly push the average year of songs they play from mid-1965 to almost 1967. Ever eager to quantify musical tastes, a major consultant to oldies stations, Coleman Research, has advised programmers to use a mix of music with "between 17 and 18 percent '70s content." But what if you love the really old stuff? Fear not: A new format is born. ABC Radio this spring launched its True Oldies Channel, a format focusing on the years 1958 to 1964. The programming is being offered primarily to stations on the AM band, where music has been dying off for decades because of the far better sound quality on FM. But the great hits of the early rock era were recorded in monaural sound, for which AM radio should suffice. Starting in Cincinnati last year, several "real oldies" stations have popped up on AM, bringing back local hero DJs from the '60s and re- creating the stations that originally played Chubby Checker, Connie Francis, the Four Seasons, Elvis, Chuck Berry and so on. Does this mean the return of Washington Top 40 stations such as WOOK and WEAM? Stand by. © 2004 The Washington Post Company (via Tom McNiff, VA, DXLD) ** U S A. PUBLIC SUPPORT CAN BOOST KKJZ`S VOLUME By Steve Irsay, Staff Writer, Gazette http://www.gazettes.com/grunionkkjz05202004.html KJAZZ is asking its listeners to help the radio station pump up its volume. The publicly-supported KKJZ 88.1 FM is in the midst of a pledge drive to raise nearly $500,000 to boost signal strength and update its broadcasting equipment this summer. Station manager Sean Heitkemper said the upgrades would improve the clarity and robustness of the jazz and blues station`s signal. ``If you live somewhere where the signal is a little scratchy or poppy, that will be dramatically improved,`` Heitkemper said. The new equipment, including a digital transmitter and antenna, will up the station`s power from 6,500 watts to 30,000 watts. The added power also will expand the station`s reach about 15 miles beyond its present range of Burbank to the north and Corona to the east. The station has been broadcasting classic and contemporary jazz to its 350,000 weekly listeners using equipment dating back to 1982, Heitkemper said. KKJZ`s small budget has allowed them to make minor improvements over the years, but never a sweeping overhaul. Without purchasing a single piece of equipment, the station has already spent $125,000 in legal fees alone to get the FCC`s approval for the upgrades, Heitkemper said. The improvements will take place in two $250,000 phases. The first phase, to increase the power, will include the purchase of a new $13,300 antenna and a $70,000 backup power generator. Next, the station hopes to replace its obsolete transmitters, control boards and studios. So far the station has raised almost $20,000 for the improvements. The pledge drive runs through this Sunday. Heitkemper said the wattage increase also would help the station in its ``constant struggle`` with pirate radio operators, who illegally broadcast content over KKJZ`s signal in parts of Los Angeles. At 30,000 watts, KKJZ will be able to overpower those pirates, he added. ``For people who are jazz fans, this is really going to protect the station from that encroachment,`` he said. The station was founded in 1950 as KLON, according to Heitkemper. It has been a jazz station for the past 24 years and changed its call letters to KKJZ two years ago. Eighty percent of KKJZ`s funding comes from member support, Heitkemper said. The station asks everyone who listens to become a member. A basic membership costs $40. During the current drive, the station is asking existing members to give an additional $25. Once the upgrading has started, the station must be able to raise enough money to complete the process or risk going out of business, making that listener support absolutely critical, Heitkemper said. ``It`s different from commercial radio,`` he said. ``It really is a community effort. We need everyone who uses the service to stand up and he counted.`` Membership and pledge information, as well as an interactive overview of the upgrading plan, is available at http://www.kkjz.org (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. Re: High School Radio Stations Thrive "There are about 300 high school stations nationwide" Seems a bit high - if it were winter & too cold to go outside I'd try to check on this number |grin|. "Federal legislation passed in the 1960s set aside the frequencies between 88.1 and 91.9 for non-commercial stations of 100 watts or less." Yikes, Nashville Public Radio is illegally using 80,000 watts on 90.3?! (I'm having a hard time figuring out where they got this statement from, it's wrong on at least two counts and not at all difficult to find public radio stations of more than 100 watts!) "FCC rules require smaller stations, categorized as Class A, to make way on the FM band for larger stations in Classes B, C and D if conflicts arise." This one, too, is wrong. (it's Class D stations that must give way) "That amounts to a death sentence for WWHS," Which would be a surprise to the Virginia station, easily 200+ miles from Philadelphia... They meant WHHS. ("Fair & balanced"? Can't argue with that on this particular item, but it would be nice if they could do "accurate" too!) (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com WTFDA Soundoff via DXLD) ** U S A. PIRATE RADIO STATION CLAIMS NEW CHANNEL By DAN WHITE, Sentinel staff writer SANTA CRUZ -- For the past year, 96.3 FM sure sounded weird in Mid- County. Even weirder than usual. Rolling through Live Oak and Capitola, drivers heard broadcasts from the Free Radio Santa Cruz pirate station and the Air 1 Christian rock channel duking it out on the same frequency. The result was an unintentionally hilarious mix of sounds and messages. One moment, there would be poetry slams, howling punk bands and angry broadsides against the City Council. The next moment born-again boy bands would be crooning about Jesus. The clash is over. On May 8, Free Radio`s self-described anarchist pirates moved off the 96.3 FM frequency, saying they wanted to be responsible stewards of the airwaves while making "a good faith effort to avoid interference with Air 1." The pirate station also has moved to a new downtown location. But the 9-year-old Free Radio’s switch to 101.1 FM, an unoccupied portion of the bandwidth, won the programmers no favors from the federal government. . . http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2004/May/22/local/stories/02local.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. FCC ASKED TO EXAMINE A LA CARTE CABLE TV -- LAWMAKERS SEEK FEASIBILITY STUDY By Frank Ahrens Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, May 20, 2004; Page E04 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A40996-2004May19?language=printer Key members of the House Commerce Committee have asked the Federal Communications Commission for a detailed study on the feasibility of cable and satellite companies offering their subscribers the ability to pay for the individual channels they want. Most satellite and cable companies require their customers to subscribe to packages of channels, arguing the system allows them to maintain robust lineups at affordable rates. But a la carte pricing, which would allow subscribers to pick and choose the channels they want, has been gaining momentum among some lawmakers and consumer groups as costs have risen and concerns have grown over televised indecency. Several parents groups have complained that consumers should not have to pay for channels that air content they find offensive. In the letter sent Tuesday, Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Tex.) was joined by ranking member John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) in asking FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell to have his agency determine -- within six months -- whether a la carte pricing would be technologically and economically feasible. Powell has not publicly taken a position on the alternative pricing scheme. Lawmakers so far have held off attempting to impose an a la carte structure on cable and satellite companies. Deal recently withdrew an amendment to satellite legislation that would have required the companies to offer a la carte. Instead, lawmakers are asking cable and satellite companies to offer a la carte in addition to the packages they already sell subscribers, which typically come in bundles of dozens of channels. The members asked the FCC to examine whether offering a la carte programming would end up costing subscribers more, or if it would hinder the ability of lesser-watched channels to exist when not bundled with popular channels. They also want to know whether cable and satellite companies have the ability to buy channels individually from programmers, such as Viacom Inc. (generally, they do not), and if a la carte subscribers would be required to have new set-top boxes. Finally, they asked the FCC to consider what legal issues might arise if Congress decided to mandate a la carte. The cable industry opposes a la carte, saying it would ultimately raise subscriber costs and harm diversity on the airwaves. Currently, popular channels subsidize less-popular ones, which the cable industry says provides more options for viewers. "As the General Accounting Office has found, 'a la carte' pricing would likely lead to a choice of fewer cable channels at higher prices for consumers," the National Cable & Telecommunications Association said in a statement, referring to a December GAO study. "The economic facts have not changed over the six months since GAO issued its comprehensive study. We believe that an FCC study would further confirm that 'a la carte' pricing would be very harmful to ad-supported cable networks and consumers by reducing programming diversity and driving up the cost of cable and satellite television." The NCTA is the trade group representing the largest cable companies, such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable. However, the American Cable Association, which represents smaller cable companies, endorses a la carte pricing. "We are pleased that Congress has listened to the overwhelming public outcry against cable rate increases and requirements that consumers purchase channels they do not want or that they find objectionable," Consumers Union said in a statement yesterday. The advocacy group, which publishes Consumer Reports magazine, has pushed for a la carte pricing and is working on legislation, requested by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), that may require a la carte pricing in addition to channel packages. "We are confident that once the FCC looks past industry innuendo and unsubstantiated assertions to find the real facts about the benefits of allowing consumers to select and pay for their own channels, cable and satellite carriers will no longer be able to resist public pressure to offer such options," Consumers Union said. (c) 2004 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) It`s about time!!! (gh) ** U S A. STATEMENT FROM NAB PRESIDENT AND CEO EDWARD O. FRITTS ON FCC PROPOSAL TO INTRODUCE "UNLICENSED DEVICES" INTO THE TELEVISION BAND The National Association of Broadcasters FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 13, 2004 Dennis Wharton (202) 429-5350 "We have serious concerns that the introduction of unlicensed devices into the television band could result in unforeseen interference in broadcast service to millions of television viewers. Free, over-the- air television provides invaluable news, information and entertainment to local communities all over America and serves as a lifeline to citizens in times of crisis. We will work with the FCC to ensure that this proposal can be accommodated while preserving interference-free over-the-air television." http://www.nab.org/ (via Mike Terry, DXLD) ** U S A. PUBLIC TV HAS TO `SELF-CENSOR,` BUT A NAUGHTY BIT GETS THROUGH Originally published in Current, May 10, 2004, By Karen Everhart The FCC`s campaign against offensive words and images sent shivers through the hierarchy at PBS when execs learned the network had mistakenly fed an unedited version of an Independent Lens documentary, The Weather Underground, on April 27 [2004]. The film about white American radicals in the 1970s included the taboo word `fuck.` Although PBS edited the documentary for broadcast and told stations it would feed the bleeped version, viewers on April 27 heard every harsh word leftists of that distant time used to denounce the Vietnam War and the U.S. power structure. . . http://www.current.org/federal/fed0408indecent.shtml (Current via DXLD) ** U S A. TELEFUTURA ON CHANNEL 2 Es from south FL fired up again at about 1845 CT. WPBT-2 was super strong. For a couple minutes, beginning about 1855, Telefutura (logo lower right) was mixed with WPBT. I saw Telefutura mixed with WPBT for a couple of minutes one afternoon last year, but never thought much of it after checking Doug's list to no avail. I caught it on tape, and it matches the US-based network. (We receive Telefutura on Dish Network.) Any ideas? [Later:] For what it`s worth, the Telefutura station list shows a WTIG-CA-2 Ft Myers-Naples FL: http://www.univision.net/jsp/en/mp_list2.jsp (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, May 22, WTFDA via DXLD) Thanks a ton for posting that link! I'd just been on the Telefutura site looking for an affiliate list without success - though maybe that's because I was distracted by a certain picture over on the right side of the site. Yikes, do they actually expect the FCC to let them do that on the air?! [What`s that? Nothing special when I looked --gh] I seem to recall WTIG-CA has been seen by Es before, but when they were airing something else. Several of those LPs on the Telefutura list were previously known to carry various third-string English- language networks (Doug Smith W9WI, ibid.) ``-CA`` calls apparently mean Class A. Doug`s database, just updated May 22, has this one as 3 kW, offset plus, with Pax network: http://home.earthlink.net/~w9wi/tvdb/channels/2.htm (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. CHRISTIAN MUSIC RADIO CHANGES IN THE PANHANDLE [a.k.a. HIGH PLAINS PUBLIC RADIO GETS A FULL-POWER OUTLET IN AMARILLO] It looks like Adonai Radio Group has sold both of their Christian AC properties in Amarillo and Lubbock. The Lubbock property (Free 107.3 KOFR) was sold to EMF the owners of the KLOVE and AIR 1 networks. While Amarillo's signal (105.7 The Breeze KAEZ) was picked up by High Plains Public Radio out of Kansas (Rick Rose, May 21, Radio-Info Texas board via DXLD) That will give HPPR a nice C2 facility in Amarillo. Did HPPR's planned KTXP 91.5 (1kw) in Amarillo never materialize? When HPPR's KTOT 89.5 (100 kw) went on from a tower near Spearman, Amarillo was pretty much in the fringe area for that signal. Of course Amarillo had the HPPR translator on 94.9, but with 62 watts, probably barely covers the city. That will obviously get shut down; wonder if something new might pop up on that frequency in the near future? (MediaFrog May 22, Radio- Info Texas board via DXLD) The HPPR no longer mentions the 91.5 signal on their website like I remember seeing in the past. That signal is still listed as a station they own in FCC files so maybe they are looking for a buyer. They maybe looking to sell the 94.9 translator but they may keep it as is. The HPPR website mentions nothing about the 105.7 acquisition yet and I only discovered it when the sale to Kanza was listed in the daily digest from the FCC. Once I found it was the legal owner of the HPPR signals I determined what was going to replace 105.7 The Breeze. Right now they applied to turn the signal non-commerical and I believe also to remove the local studio requirement (Rick Rose, ibid.) HPPR has a second translator in the Amarillo area on 91.3. I can hear them both as I drive thru on US 60. KTOT 89.5 also reaches into Amarillo, tho it`s getting a bit weak by then (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [and non]. I continue to be amazed at the number of incorrect and misleading postings across various newsgroups, lists, and boards, concerning the Voice of Vietnam's current frequency usage for its external services. 1. The schedule available at the VOV Website is incorrect and does not reflect actual frequency usage. Neither does it indicate transmitter sites. 2. A schedule was originally posted from an Indian listener some time ago, purporting to be the "complete operational schedule" for A04. It was meaningless, and totally wrong! That schedule has found its way into various "Schedule Lists" across the Internet and subsequently republished by DX Clubs in good faith. 3. The correct, complete schedule, with sites, is available at the WRTH Webpage. That schedule was made available to WRTH from myself, based on my professional research and contacts within the ABU (of which VOV is a member). Regards! (Bob Padula, Mont Albert, Victoria, Australia, May 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 7460, WESTERN SAHARA/ALGERIA, RASD, 2140- 2205, May 20, Arabic, YL with talks between music bits, Arabic vocal music. ID at 2201 followed by presumed news headlines, Anthem-like music between talks "passionate" OM. Good (Scott Barbour, NH, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6925U, PIRATE (No. Am.) short bits from Rocky and Bullwinkle, Steve Martin's wild and crazy guy, MaCartney song "Live and Let Die." Played Glenn Hauser's World of Radio #1231 at 2335 after Artie Johnson's "very interesting." No ID noted and apparently pulled plug after Glenn's program and an Acapulco Gold jingle. Poor to fair (Rich D`Angelo, Wyomissing PA, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Glenn: I was fascinated by the mysterious signal on upper sideband at 10512 kHz mentioned in DXLD No. 4-084: I went searching for what "XM" might be; found the description in Chris Smolinski's list of ENIGMA signals; then I copied the anomalous transmission which came in fine in San José, California on Saturday night. I added a sound clip of this to my "SW Anomalies" page, and decided that it sounded more like "Backward Whales" to me, so I made up a little surprise to see if I could simulate the sound with some processing. The report and audio clips are here at: http://www.home.earthlink.net/~srw-swling/anomalies.htm#XM Best, (Steve Waldee, the VERY bored, cynical SWL'er in San José, May 22, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. DXA colleague Guido Schotmans passed on that an Arabic station is active on 11180 usb 2128 - May 23. Tuned in myself and can hear Arabic chanting and comments. Weak but stable signal. [Later:] The 11180 transmission signed off at 2159. Traditional style of Arabic songs, mentioning Iraq quite a lot. Couldn't get an ID. Improved to 35343 not real USB, could get it with the sync lock on the upper. One to monitor ! ! ! -------------------------------------------------------- (DXA375-Silvain Domen, Antwerpen-Belgium (CEST = UTC +2), Sony ICF- SW7600GR + 10 M longwire, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Does mentioning CEST in your footer mean that your times are not in UT? (gh, DXLD) {No; it`s LIBYA: 4-086, 4-087} ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ MUSEO DE IDIOMAS En caso que Ud. esté complicado con una determinada escucha, donde no consigue identificar aquel idioma exótico que no conoce, podrá quizá hallar una manera de identificar este idioma, a través de la comparación con un excelente archivo de muestras de idiomas existente en el sitio "The Museum of World Languages" que queda en la direccion: http://www.gengonomori.co3.jp/ (Adalberto Marques de Azevedo, Brasil, lista Radioescutas, May 19, traducido via Conexión Digital via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ ODXA RADIOFEST ATTRACTS MORE CELEBRITIES Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott, of Voice of America audience research and former program producer, and Alan Heil, former VOA program director, are planning to attend RadioFest 2004, September 24-26. RadioFest is hosted annually by the Ontario DX Association in Oakville, Ontario, Canada. This year the ODXA celebrates its 30th anniversary with special guest Ian McFarland attending as our guest speaker. Keep an eye on http://www.odxa.on.ca for updates. (Harold Sellers, May 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ SDR-14 Is there at present any technology that enables the entire MW band to be recorded when interesting openings like this occur? This would not only serve as a historical reference but would also allow technological improvements in the future to be used for further radio forensics of the recording (Derek Maylon, MWC via DXLD) Hi Derek, have a look at this site http://www.moetronix.com/sdr14info.htm Ian Wraith introduced me to it following his SWM article on software defined radio --- the future way to go? (Dave G8SZX Towers, Leicester, UK, MWC via DXLD) Hi David, You've knocked me socks off, as they say. This short extract from http://www.rfspace.com/sdr14.html probably says it all. Like wow man. One of the most exciting features of the SDR-14 is the ability to record band segments of any band to hard drive in realtime. This is done at a rate of 52GB/day for a 150 KHz wide segment. The stored file contains everything that happened in that segment of the band for the duration of the recording. The fidelity of the file is superb with over 96dB of dynamic range. The recording can be played back at any time with full tunability and choice of demodulation modes. The recording can also be analyzed for hidden signals and carriers (Derek Maylon, May 22, MWC via DXLD) Dear Derek, there was an article by Adrian Pickering on "USING A VCR TO RECORD FROM RADIO" on page 24 of RADIO LISTENER`S GUIDE 2001. Best regards (Phil Attwell, ibid.) THE PHAZER, RADAR JAMMER I just filed the following formal complaint with the FCC: "Please consider this a formal complaint. While driving in southern Kentucky around 12:27 pm on the afternoon of Thursday, May 13th, I was listening briefly to WNRQ, 105.9FM. I heard the end of an advertisement for a device called "The Phazer". This advertisement called for listeners to "Go Stealth"; advised that any speeding tickets received while using this device would be paid by the manufacturer; and invited listeners to call 800-695-7703 to order. I have heard similar advertisements on other stations, but have not previously been in a position to write down details. I have not been able to find this specific phone number on the Internet, but I have found numerous ads that seem to offer to sell the same device. One such advertisement on http://www.jammersstore.com/p_phazer.htm explains in layman's terms how this device operates. I have also found this Appeals Court decision on the Commission's own website: http://www.fcc.gov/ogc/documents/opinions/1998/rockymtn.html In this decision, the Court upheld the Commission's decision that a similar device, also marketed by Rocky Mountain Radar, could not be legally marketed. It lacks Commission certification under Part 15, and cannot? be certified, as its intended purpose is to interfere with a licensed service. The advertisement on http://www.jammersstore.com suggests the "Phazer" operates in the same way as the device proscribed in the previous Rocky Mountain decision. Beyond the illegality of this device under FCC regulations, the "Phazer" also serves to make it possible for users to violate state law without risk of prosecution. I urge the Commission to investigate this matter. If this device does prove to operate in the same way as the previously-prohibited device, I ask that the FCC: Sanction Rocky Mountain Radar for continuing to market non-Part-15- certified devices after being warned such action is illegal. Formally admonish WNRQ(FM) for airing advertisements for illegal products designed to interfere with police. Issue a Public Notice advising other stations that these radar jammers are illegal, and Commission-licensed stations should not be airing advertisements for these unlawful devices. Sincerely, Douglas E. Smith 1389 Old Clarksville Pike Pleasant View, TN 37146-8098" A formal admonition is the "tamest" penalty the Commission can levy against a station; it carries no sanctions or monetary penalty, but it does go in the station's file and can presumably be considered in the future if the station gets in trouble again. I suppose it's all WNRQ deserves at this point, as they probably believed Rocky Mountain when they were told the product being advertised was legal. == (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com May 18, WTFDA Soundoff via DXLD) THE APPRAISER'S CORNER Tube-style and transistor radios fetch ... ... hearts of men?" On rainy days, when boredom consumed me, I would listen to police and fire reports on a large console radio with a short-wave component ... http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031775574120&path=!flair&s=1045855936229 The old days of US radio --- If you are into nostalgia then this article is for you (Richmond Times Dispatch - Richmond, VA, USA via Mike Terry, DXLD) THE NATIONAL RADIO CLUB IBOC THREAD CONTINUES I also bought the boombox, and it works perfectly fine in the typical wood-frame house. You may have to find a "sweet spot" for the antenna, but that's not hard. It seems to be an even bigger problem for my local broadcasters. The content they provide is contaminated with far too much commercial and promotional content. It flat out isn't entertaining any more. Too much chaff for the wheat. It hasn't been a problem for me. I doubt that there is a large percentage of the listening population that works in a steel and concrete Faraday Cage. I have heard of cases where passive technology is being used to allow cell phones to work in a building. XM will probably piggyback on that. I can't hear that on my locals either. It's all satellite-delivered network stuff. I haven't heard obits on the air in *years*. Swap and Shop? Hello, eBay? High school ball is best seen live, anyhow. If those formatic elements are so important, why don't the larger market CC stations provide them? Because they are death on ratings, no pun intended. Huh? There is traffic and weather now for central Florida. Most Top-50 metro areas will have that by year's end. Right now there is the Weather Channel, and "Open Road" does extensive interstate traffic reports. It's there, and reasonably good. It may morph, but if it keeps going in the direction of uninspired content wedged in 14-commercial-per-hour format clocks, it will write its own obituary - which it probably won't broadcast. No disrespect, but it might be a good idea to step out from the focus groups occasionally and smell the coffee (Dennis Bouchard, ibid.) I have to disagree with you there. The parties involved believe that they can improve their bottom line by "going digital". It has nothing to do with the public interest. I agree that some people will be cut off, but they apparently don't count - most of them are not in those all-important Arbitron markets. The only card the broadcasters have left is localism... some are playing it sucessfully, but most are moving away from it. They think going digital will stem the tide to satellite/portable media players/MAN/ whatever, but they are deluding themselves. They are being led down the garden path to oblivion (Barry McLarnon, VE3JF, Ottawa, ON, ibid.) Since Paul is more closely involved than I am perhaps he'll chime in and give us his view from inside one of the "early adopters" of IBOC. :) However, at this stage, the organizations/stations/engineers are all top flight. We may vent from time to time about consolidation of the stations, but in a strict technical sense, consolidation has, on balance, been good for the industry. Technical improvements are made in stations the groups acquire. As for the engineers involved such as Tom Ray and Paul, and others, these are people with reputations for upholding the standards of the industry. Its possible there may be a few smaller stations trying their hands at IBOC during the early phase, but for many reasons, these will be few. Also, remember that of the small stations, perhaps not all, but most will do IBOC correctly. Thus, out of every 100 IBOC stations in the first two or three years there may be one or two who don't set it up quite right. However, even that does not mean that they will be in non-compliance with the mask. Also, remember that there is no great advantage to "pushing the mask" that is apparent to a GM --- not for example like over processing and over modulation in analog FM. IMHO, the real problem will come when the IBOC AM bandwagon starts rolling and you have many poorly equipped, under financed operations trying to jump on the bandwagon using "engineers" who think "j" is funny coax bend, and have never "walked in" a directional array in their entire lives. That's when, IMHO, the wheels of this cart will begin to fall off. Understand that, even then, I doubt the non- compliance issues will be intentional, but they will happen through ignorance of AM/MW basics, because we now have a whole generation of guys (and a few gals too) out there who were raised on FM only, and if they were in a combo operation, the AM Tx was looked upon like a light bulb to be turned off and on. For them, ATU tuning is a black art practiced by Kintronics or a consultant. Ask them about bandwidth through a "T" network in an ATU and they get a strange look of being totally lost in their eyes. I'd venture to say that the members of this list know more about AM than many of the under age 40 Chief Ops. running stations. It all comes down to desired/undesired ratio of carrier tuned vs. first, and sometimes second adjacent when the desired is analog and the undesired is IBOC hybrid signal one or two channels away. Translating IBOC from the linear lab to the real, non-linear, world will compound its problems. It appears that any engineering advice not originating with iBiquity fall on deaf ears, and iBiquity wants ALL the "law" allows, because they appear to need it. West of the Mississippi the white spaces are huge. IMO, until final rules are issued there is too much ambiguity. That's the reason they've virtually given up on over modulation enforcement on FM. Indecency gets ink in the press during an election year, while failure to file paperwork on an existing station isn't too exciting, and the penalty fits the "crime" in this case. It's the $27,500 limit, or it may have increased slightly recently, that puts a cap on all fines. That's a legislative limit, and the FCC wants a general increase if they can get it - so they can become a "revenue producer". When it becomes the #1 fine, it will encourage diligence, because there is little to gain, and as Paul and Barry indicated, there is a problem that regrowth will cause since its root is non-linearity. Namely, that the IBOC signal itself becomes compromised in the process if there is too much regrowth. Paul can comment better than I can, but I'd think that the signal will be compromised before there is much encroachment on the mask. Barry hit the nail on the head when he said the thing to worry about is the PROPERLY operating IBOC operations (Phil Alexander, CSRE, Broadcast Engineering Services and Technology, Indianapolis, ibid.) Actually, in most office buildings of any size, terrestrial FM is difficult-to-impossible if you're not near a window. There are other ways to get a signal, but for those who want music in their workplace CD's seem to prevail in larger buildings. I don't know where you live Dennis, but I know that I can hear any and all of those things on any number of more rural DX stations on both AM & FM (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA ( 15 mi NNW Philadelphia ), ibid.) Here is Craig Healy`s reply to my forwarded question on the article on wideband recording that he wrote: (Dennis Bouchard, ibid.) Hi Denny, Great to hear from you! I did have pretty good success with recording BCB RF spectrum on VCR. It was adequate to record about a third or so of the band at a time. Mostly that was a limitation of the preselector I had available. If someone were to make a bandpass filter to cover the BCB, and include a number of individually tuned traps to drop the local pests down, it could take the whole thing. Locals cause spikes of maximum voltage, which require an overall attenuation which raises the effective noise floor. There's only a limited headroom in a VCR, maybe 40db as a guesstimate. Knocking the locals down would help a lot. That'd best be done with a spectrum analyzer to tune the filter. There is a frequency warble and jitter in the signal as it's being played back. Not enough to prevent normal AM demodulation, but use of reinserted carrier such as the SSB mode on a receiver didn't work. I don't know if that was a function of the particular VCR used to record, or inherent in the process. That same jitter was found on every VCR used to play back, so it was there on the original recording. So, it's really all in the input signal preselection and preparation. It was also critical to have the input 60Hz signal used as a replacement sync signal as clean as possible. Rather than using a small line transformer as I did, a nice clean 60 Hz tone from an audio generator would be a better choice. I simply didn't do a lot of the possible follow-up research. And, some of the computer hard drive based storage systems may be cleaner and more stable. TiVo anyone? I see you mentioned XM Radio in your forwarded email. I have had XM for a while and love it! About the only time I listen to commercial radio these days is while DXing, or to see if one of my clients is on the air. Again, nice to hear from you! -c- (Craig Healy, RI, ibid.) I've heard the WOR / WLW testing. And have heard the WSAI IBOC. When driving through Nashville, WLAC was SUBSTANTIALLY impacted in the local area. When I stopped about 50 miles out WLAC was unlistenable until the IBOC was turned off. Actually they [KFCC] had done other things like move the station WELL out of ANY range of the COL...among other things (Powell E. Way III, ibid.) In small towns, High School sports, especially football is a money mill --- a license to print money. Because Newberry High School missed the playoff for the first time in years cost JPC at WKDK TENS of thousands of dollars in revenue! In even small markets and up doing HS football is problematic as the area has lots of schools. WPUB on 102.7 in Camden, SC is doing American Legion Baseball and it's sold out! Chris wouldn't do anything that didn't make money! (Powell E. Way) High School Football is by far a goldmine for small stations. And yes, even Clear Channel does them with their WAMR 1320 out of Venice and WSRQ 1450 out of Sarasota. Both of these stations operate out of their Sarasota cluster. When I was a station owner we got top dollar for what anyone else would call throwaway time. Any fall Friday nite in my area, and one can tune at least 4 different stations all with HS Football. Those on this list for a long time know about that obscure FCC Rule regarding Friday nite football authorization. This is the rule that allows daytimers and other low power AM's to operate on day power and pattern for High School Football. Many of us have caught several new stations using this little known FCC rule (Paul Smith, W4KNX, Sarasota, FL, ibid.) Fred Broce of the Atlanta FCC office calls it the sports STA. (Powell, ibid.) == special temporary authority How widespread is the practice of Friday night HS football broadcasts? They're a staple in southern states and in Texas/Oklahoma (two states where football constitutes a de facto state religion). I also caught a couple of such broadcasts from Pennsylvania back when I lived in the east. But I can't recall hearing a single one since moving to California in 1987 and Nevada in 2003. Are Friday night HS football broadcasts mainly a regional phenomenon? (Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, ibid.) In the small towns of west Florida, HSFB is the only place to be. It's more than a religion. Those not attending have the game on the radio. Those stations not carrying a football game have immeasurably small audiences for about three hours. I don't recall that anybody in PA ever cared much about it, but it's life here. The rest is just details from August to November (Gerry Bishop, Niceville, FL, (State champs, 1988), May 12, ibid.) I know I've posted before about the success my friend Chuck Kelly has had with high school football broadcasts in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He's already selling spots for the upcoming season and will have home radio for five HS programs that are traditional winners. Here's the math: 18-20 sponsors (on average) per broadcast at $300 per game each (10 game regular season), extra sponsorships ("...this point after touchdown attempt is sponsored by Mama Mia's Pizza...") are available at additional cost. He buys the airtime and delivers a complete broadcast (including produced commercials). He makes a very nice return on each broadcast, after paying for airtime, the on-air crew, and usually a small donation to the booster club. If everything is cooking the right way (close game, great crowd, etc) they sound as good as a larger college broadcast. If the team makes the state playoffs (up to 6 additional games) it's pure gravy and he usually adds sponsors who want on the bandwagon. We're on stations that traditionally have no numbers to speak of and they welcome the business. Microbroadcasting at it's best, but if you're in Southlake, Highland Park, Aledo, Allen or Ennis, your team is on the radio and there are businesses that want on. And most of the stations he uses stream audio so you can find the broadcasts on the web. And I haven't even mentioned the high school scoreboard wrap up show he does late Friday nights.....there's a possibility it could return to one of the area's 50 KW blowtorches this year. Wish I had thought of it! (Wally Wawro, WFAA-TV, Dallas, TX, ibid.) Same thing here in western Ohio, Harry. Seems like a very common practice (Fred Vobbe, ibid.) They are carried on at least three stations here in Phoenix market. There`s a lot and I mean a lot of money in it (Kevin Redding, Mesa, ibid.) WLW is a good example. Has anyone bothered to read iBiquity's report on the WLW/WOR field tests of analog compatibility? Take a look (watch the wrap): http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6515784943 Here's what it says (p.8) about skywave-to-groundwave interference from IBOC: "In areas of strong interference, however, there was a degradation in audio quality that went from an acceptable level to below the threshold for tune out. As is explained in greater detail below, however, these strong interference levels would be found at or beyond the desired station's NIF. As a result, the impact from the introduction of IBOC would be felt only in fringe areas outside the stations's primary service area". That doesn't sound too serious, but let's dig a little deeper... WLW is a Class A station with a nighttime protected contour of 0.5 mV/m. This is, by definition, their primary service area. But now the NIF (Nighttime Interference Free) contour enters the picture. NIF is an estimate of actual nighttime coverage based on calculations of predicted skywave interference field strengths. The NIF is not normally calculated for a Class A station, but iBiquity does it anyway, and claims that for WLW, it is 2.7 mV/m. Hmmm... it seems that "protected contour" doesn't mean anything anymore! The folks at iBiquity have redefined WLW's primary service area as the area inside the 2.7 mV/m contour. So, even though there were serious IBOC interference problems noted at and outside this contour, they claim that this is of little consequence, since it's not inside the primary service area. How convenient! Let's try and put some numbers on this... the radio-locator site gives some idea of WLW's groundwave coverage. See (wrap again): http://www.radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WLW&service=AM&status=L&hours=U The purple line is the 0.5 mV/m nighttime protected contour. It can be approximated by a circle of radius 164 miles, which is the distance from the WLW site to Toledo. The area inside the protected contour is therefore about 85,000 square miles. The red line is the 2.5 mV/m contour, so the claimed NIF contour is slightly inside this contour. The claimed NIF contour can be approximated by a circle of radius 85 miles, which is the distance from WLW to Columbus. The area inside the NIF contour is therefore about 22,700 square miles. Therefore only 27% of the area inside the protected contour is considered important by iBiquity - the rest of the area is not in the primary service area, according to them. But wait a minute - their own report shows good reception at test locations outside the claimed NIF. Good until WOR turned on IBOC, that is. Strange contradiction, that - it seems to indicate that the NIF is a myth, or at least is greatly exaggerated. I'm sure it's true that groundwave reception of WLW is not wonderful at night in every nook and cranny inside the 0.5 mV/m "protected" contour. There will likely be some self-interference problems with WLW's own skywave signal, and some receivers will have problems with adjacent channel interference. But I find it difficult to believe that good reception is confined to locations where the field strength is 2.7 mV/m or higher. Are the owners of WLW really willing to write off nighttime groundwave coverage beyond a radius of 85 miles, not to mention most of their secondary (skywave) coverage? In return for that, they get digital coverage (woo hoo, talk in digital!) that doesn't even extend to the claimed NIF (the digital coverage limits measured on four radials from the transmitter site were 2.5, 2.8, 4, and 6.3 mV/m, with quite a few dropouts before reaching those points). It's pretty hard to believe they would see an upside to this fiasco. I'd love to hear Paul Jellison's thoughts on this (Barry McLarnon VE3JF Ottawa, ON, ibid.) A small addendum to Barry's good note: the coverage areas listed for IBOC are actually MONO coverage areas. As best I know, iBiquity has never released maps with the stereo coverage areas as they would show an even-smaller-than-mono coverage area which is already even smaller than current analog coverage. One tiny thing - aren't the numbers in the last paragraph (2,5, 2.8, 4 and 6.3 mV/m) actually from "Field Report: AM Nightime IBOC Performance"? I'm just hoping that throngs of NRC'ers will want to read these documents, so we better point 'em to the right place. (Chuck Hutton, ibid.) True, but I suppose that wouldn't be a major shortcoming for a news/talk operation. I believe some of their early reports on digital coverage did give an indication of which mode the receiver was in, and the coverage for enhanced (stereo) mode looked pretty bleak. This is one of the dirty little secrets of AM IBOC that iBiquity doesn't talk about, along with the fact that the relative digital power is much higher in hybrid AM IBOC than it is in the hybrid FM system, making the interference problems that much worse. Yep, I did pull those from a different report, but I didn't cite it as I didn't want to scare people off. :-) For anyone interested, unwrap this URL and have a look: http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/retrieve.cgi?native_or_pdf=pdf&id_document=6515784938 (Barry McLarnon VE3JF Ottawa, ON, ibid.) This was largely what I was trying to say in my previous post about antenna impedances. For example, at WHND-560, the array had wildly rising and falling impedances. This caused a lot of havoc with audio, but I can't imagine how they would reign this in to run IBOC. For example, on roughly the 130-degree monitoring point the typical reading was .2 mv/m. When the carrier was shifted off 560.000 to 5 kilohertz up or down, (or even 1 kilohertz up or down), the field values would change from anywhere from .08 mv/m to 5 mv/m. While the listening public may here the artifacts of the rolling of response in analog of such an array, (at the 130 degree it sounds like single sideband), I would suspect that the IBOC would be crushed even in major lobes which are not linear as well. If I'm reading the reports correctly, these variances of impedance and response screw up IBOC to the point where it's unusable. And there are many stations with simple two tower arrays where this can happen. I'm working on one right now that has a shift of 12 ohms and goes inductive by 90 in 7 kilohertz of carrier. So, unless there is a complete rebuild of antenna systems, or some consideration given to getting away from directionals and doing just non-D facilities, I don't see how 90 percent of the stations will transition to digital in the AM world. I've yet to comment on IBOC, but hope to weigh in soon. I've been busy doing some NRC stuff, working some long hours, and researching options to this mess. BTW, anyone on the list running CAM-D? (Fred Vobbe, ibid.) Kevin, I figured I would catch some flack on My XM comments. And I chimed in for the debate assuming that. Thank you for the kind words. Sorry for the delay in responding I am busy and on the road. Here are a few things to ponder. I know Clear Channel is in the same dislike area for some folks as Wal-Mart. For a lot of similar reasons. But the bottom line is that we give a product to the masses and are very successful at it. That being said there is an article I recently read that sums that part of it up much better than I. http://www.washingtontimes.com/entertainment/20040429-093734-4296r.htm Do I agree with everything the company does? No. But I try to make right where I can. Clear Channel puts up Satellite formats but the difference is if a local emergency or breaking news happens, you should hear about it. Oh yea and it does not cost 10 bucks a month. And I can tell you the small market CLEAR CHANNEL stations DO run high school basket ball games, broadcast at the county fairs and civic events. And support local community activities. Death to ratings? In a non rated market or one that does one book a year no one sells using Arbitron much anyhow. Anyone selling small market can tell you that. A lot of it is still based on local relationships. I can point to the Cheyenne Wyoming, Huntington WV, the southern Ohio CC stations for specific examples. The GMs for these stations live in the towns and go to the rotary meetings and local church. Like everything else some CC managers in some markets do it much better than others. Just like some broadcasters do it better than others. The XM charter I speak of is what XM "pitched" to the FCC to be allowed to create the service they have. They pitched it as a national only service. The FCC was adamant that it be kept national in scope. And now that the foot is in the door they want to add local service and in essence create a new pay radio local service which if it would have been put to auction as such, would have netted many billions of dollars in competitive bidding for the rights. Sneaking in local content is why XM created such a huge expensive ground based repeater network. Sirius did not put in anywhere near the number or ground repeaters. Just like the ad says AM FM,,,,XM. XM will change the face of radio. As will internet streaming. And don't think broadband has gone unnoticed. It has been but one strategic direction planned for 5 years or more. But again it is not free, content might be to the consumer but bandwidth isn't nor will it be in the near future in any quantity. Unless you run down to the local internet cafe. CC fed certain audio streams to XM since its beginning. XM has its place. But there are many issues, like EAS, public safety and local elements that have been staples of radio for many years. It will continue to be. XM has no mechanism even in place to handle those issues. If you are listening to XM you won`t know about the ammonia cloud up ahead from the tanker wreck. But you will grow daisies well along with the rest of the XM listeners who did not know either. (VBG) What happens in a particular market is local market driven and depends on what works in each locale. And it IS what the masses want. And what the advertiser will pay for. I don't have to like what it is. Just make it play on their radios. You can bet the people with the billions invested will change their business model when the market demands it. Some will prevail and prosper and others will fall by the wayside. Same as it has been for the past 75 years. (Paul Jellison, Clear Channel, May 13, ibid.) John, I really do mean it when I say, on the whole, CCU has what may be arguably the best engineered and technically competent stations on the air. Rare is the time when a CCU station is down, or automation cues are missed with commercials played over programming. You guys do a very good job and when I talk to you, Girard Westerberg in Lexington, KY, or John Baker here in Phoenix, you all are pretty open with answers. http://www.washingtontimes.com/entertainment/20040429-093734-4296r.htm Thanks, for the URL, I have read this a week or two ago. I have even placed it on my radio mail list. Clear Channel puts up Satellite formats but the difference is if a local emergency or breaking news happens, you should hear about it. I also can say that in an emergency, at least here in AZ, as when we had the huge fires here 2 years ago, you guys had the best news coverage of all the locals. My big concern about XM however is that I WANT them to be running the EAS messages and break in with them for a specific local area. I am sure you can understand my concern with this singular issue. If people like CCU programming, then its nice that its free. It`s worth the $10 a month for what I want when I want it. I don't particularly have a problem with XM having some local / regional programming such as news / traffic / weather. I can understand it from your point. After all, they are the competition. My only issue with CCU on streaming audio is that none of the stations in South Carolina seem to carry it. WSAI and the others that carry streaming do a great job and work well with all platforms such as the Windows OS's and Mac OS X and OS 9 and before. Some streamers have problems with that but CCU seems to have some good computer programmers. I believe that XM not only be allowed to pass EAS messages, I think they should be REQUIRED to do so for local / regional areas. I think satellators should be required to do this as well. Thanks, for the reply. The only issue I have with CCU is one of programming and certainly not engineering. I only wish there were less homogeneity (Kevin Redding, Mesa AZ, ibid.) Subject: IBOC and satellite radio links Tom Ray on IBOC; fascinating quote indicating flicker of insight --- "We're constantly reading about loss of listenership. Much of this has to do with programming.": http://www.radioworld.com/reference-room/iboc/04_rwrf_may_5_part_1.shtml CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING PROMOTES SWITCH TO IBOC: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/05-12-2004/0002172855&EDATE= http://www.radioworld.com/dailynews/one.php?id=5199 SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO NOW AT 400K SUBSCRIBERS: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/040511/nytu219_1.html XM INTRODUCES PORTABLE AUDIO SYSTEM: http://news.designtechnica.com/article3732.html (all via Harry Helms W7HLH, Las Vegas, NV DM26, NRC-AM via DXLD) ###