DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-100, July 1, 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 1236: 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 2000 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sat 2030 on WWCR 12160 Sat 2030 on WBCQ 17495-CUSB [maybe] Sat 2030 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org Sat 2130 on RFPI http://www.rfpi.org repeated 8-hourly [maybe] Sat 2300 on RFPI http://www.rfpi.org repeated 8-hourly [maybe] 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 1100 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org Sun 1500 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org 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 1235] Mon 0430 on WBCQ 7415, webcast http://wbcq.us Mon 0900 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org Mon 1600 on WBCQ after-hours http://wbcq.com repeated weekdaily 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 1236 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1236h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1236h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1236.html WORLD OF RADIO 1236 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1236.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1236.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1236 in MP3, the true shortwave sound of 7415: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_06-30-04.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_06-30-04.mp3 NETS TO YOU: New July edition: http://www.w4uvh.net/nets2you.html ** ARMENIA. New schedule for Voice of Armenia. Mon-Sat 1745-1805 UT French, 1805-1825 German and 1825-1845 English on 4810 and 9960 kHz. Valid since July 1, 2004. Strong signal in Sweden on 9960 (Christer Brunström, Sweden, via Thomas Nilsson, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM [non]. RVi via South Africa continues to use 21630 in Dutch at 1100 UT, per monitoring check 6/29, so has not moved to 17750 yet - - may go into effect July 5? (Joe Hanlon in NJ, June 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. R. Nacional da Amazônia on 6190 (?). A check of 49 meters this evening revealed R. Nacional da Amazônia in Portuguese on 6190 at 0000 (7/2/04). The signal was Good-V. Good. (No sign of them on 6180). There were numerous "Nacional da Amazônia" IDs and slogans along with Brasília QTH and a frequency announcement. This was followed by the news ("Nacional Informa") read by a (W). There seemed to be reports from correspondents in a variety of locations including São Paulo and talk (I think?) re a futebol match in Haïti. During the news there were also mentions of "Radiobrás" and "Rio de Janeiro," so maybe a relay of national news. At the conclusion of the news there were more "RNA" IDs followed by a feature of some sort on Amazônia. Not sure if I have ever logged RNA on 6190. Is this a new or seasonal frequency? I can't seem to find them listed as using this channel in any of the databases, in the WRTH or Passport. Anybody in the group have information about this? The only Brazilian I see listed anywhere for 6190 is a R. Senado Federal (Brasília) which seems to have the same callsign (ZYE365) as RNA (Jim Clar, Rochester, NY, July 1, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 6190.00, R. Nacional, Rio de Janeiro (?), 121 kb. 0030 UT 1/7 2004. Is this a new station or is this R. Nacional da Amazônia, Brasília on new frequency just talking of new "Radio Nacional, Rio de Janeiro"? Listen to my recording and let me know your opinion. Recordings and comments at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC [non]. UNITED KINGDOM --- 15545, Radio Ndeke Luka (via Woofferton). Full data QSL sheet-folder (with no site mentioned) plus postcard of Bangui with a 'thank you for your reception report of Radio Ndeke Luka'. Reply in 7 months (total) after initial e-mail report sent, with a e-mail follow-up in April of this year. v/s A. Bolk (?) (Edward Kusalik, VE6EFK, Alberta, DX'er since 1965, June 30, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** CHINA. China Radio Int'l on 17490 is coming in at fair level at 1100 check 6/29, also good signals at 1300 per check 6/27 (Joe Hanlon in NJ, June 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DENMARK. 15810, World Music R., Ilskov near Karup. This transmitter has been off the air since Jun 17 due to antenna problems. 5815 is still on the air testing 24 hours a day (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, WMR, June 24, DSWCI DX Window June 30 via DXLD) ** EGYPT. Repasso o e-mail que recebi da Rádio el Cairo --- Correo postal: Radio El Cairo, Programa español, Apartado postal 566, El Cairo - Egipto Correo electrónico: Radioelcairoespa@y... [truncated] Horario: 0,45 - 2,00 (UTC) (GMT) Horario de verano: 3,45 - 4,00 am. Tiempo local de El Cairo Horario de invierno: 2,45-4,00 am. Tiempo local de El Cairo Onda corta. Banda de 31metros, Frecuencia 9415 KHZ. Banda 25 metros, Frecuencia 11755 KHZ. Vía satélite: Nilesat 7 grados, frecuencia 11766 GHZ polaridad horizontal, sinpo [sic] 27500, programa No. 7 Emisiones en Español --- Programación del SEGUNDO semestre 2004 [this is amazingly prompt, as the second semester has just begun! But the times below must be in UT +2 instead of +3 or +0!! And are the days of week UT, or as in Latin America target area?? -- gh] Programas permanentes: 2:47. Música. 2:48. Resumen de las principales noticias. 3:00. Primer noticiario. 3:50. Noticias de última hora. Programas diarios [quiere decir, semanales!]: Lunes 2:50. Mensaje del Islam. 3:10. Comentario político. 3:15. Tema semanal. 3:30. Amplie sus conocimientos 3:35. Papel y lápiz. 3:45. Charla variada. Martes 2:50. Tarjeta postal. 3:10. Luces sobre Oriente Medio. 3:20. Panorama egipcio. 3:30. Jerusalén. 3:40. Rincón filatélico. Miércoles 2:50. Los compañeros del Profeta. 3:10. Comentario político. 3:15. El cancionero egipcio. 3:30. El deporte en una semana. 3:40. Preguntas y respuestas Jueves 2:50. Cruce de civilizaciones. 3:10. Comentario político. 3:20. El micrófono en la calle. 3:35. Perspectiva latinoamericana. 3:45. TESOROS EGIPCIOS Viernes 2:50. Exegesis del Corán. 3:10. Comentario político. 3:20. Del patrimonio cultural. 3:30. De la enciclopedia egipcia. 3:35. El Cairo contesta. Sábado 2:50. La mujer egipcia. 3:10. Semanario de prensa. 3:20. Música latinoamericana. 3:35. TRADICIONES Y COSTUMBRES 3:40. Historia de la civilización árabe. Domingo 2:50. Luces sobre nuestra vida cotidiana. 3:10. Comentario político. 3:15. El Cairo contesta. 3:35. Egipto al vuelo. 3:45. PERSONALIDADES Y EVENTOS ...................................................................... RADIO EL CAIRO EN ESPANOL DIRECCION: SANAA MAKLED LOCUCION: VERONICA BALDERAS, ASSIA LAMARTY PREGRAB[ación]: MAHMOUD, MOHAMED SUPERVISION: Dr. AHMED, NAGLAA RED: NANCY, RANA (Anderson José Torquato, Garopaba, SC, antenadx yg via DXLD) ** ERITREA [non]. Re V. of Liberty, 4-099: The listing on the TDP website http://www.airtime.be/schedule.html is misleading in regard to the languages: it lists Sun 0400-0500 15675 as "Tigrigna" and the new Wed 1700-1800 12120 as "Arabic". In reality, both transmissions are/have been 30 min in Tigrigna and 30 min in Arabic from the beginning (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 12120 coming usually from Samara or Armavir-Krasnodar site in Russia. (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX via DXLD) ** ERITREA/ETHIOPIA [nons]. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES/UNITED NATIONS, 21790, UNMEE, via Al Dhabbaya, *0900-1000*, Sunday Jun 20, Oromo/Tigrinya/Amharic/English news, translations from speech by UN Envoy about HIV/AIDS and the African Child and its Family, new frequency ex 21460, Sundays only, 25333 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window June 30 via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. External Service of Radio Ethiopia 1600-1800 UT on 9410.85 kHz. Music first half hour, followed by time pips and time check for 7.30 PM at 1630 UT. Very fine reception in Sri Lanka. First noted by Mikhail Timofeyev, Russia (G. Victor A. Goonetilleke, 4S7VK, DSWCI DX Window via DXLD) ex-9561v? ** FINLAND. 5980/5990/6170/11690/11720. I told Scandinavian Weekend R. that they were inaudible at our DX-Camp (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window June 30 via DXLD) Reply: ``Dear Anker, Thank you for spreading info of our transmissions. Anyway, we have not yet got our new 25 mb antenna ready, so we had only simple dipole antenna 15 meters high in use. Adding this that we faced transmitter problems, we had to limit power to almost zero... so we had only 5 (FIVE) watts during afternoon hours. Transmitter has now been fixed and I REALLY HOPE that technicians will get that 25 mb 3 elements antenna finally ready. ``Otherwise conditions was a little bit better and 48 mb frequencies were heard somehow from the early morning to late evening hours in Finland and reported to be heard also in Sweden. Wish that conditions will be good in July. (Alpo Heinonen, SWR, June 16, ibid.) Next broadcast is from Friday July 2 at 2100 till Saturday July 3 at 2100 (DSWCI Ed., ibid.) ** GERMANY. DEUTSCHE WELLE TO START DIGITAL BROADCASTS IN EUROPE | Text of press release by the London-based Association of International Broadcasting on 25 June Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle (DW) is forging ahead with a technical revolution in broadcasting that is promising to make listening to the radio much easier and more pleasurable - digital short wave transmissions. With the new digital technology, radio stations will retain the same national and international reach as with their conventional AM short and medium wave broadcasts, but listeners will benefit from near-FM quality sound and additional data services. The new digital system DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) will take the crackle, interference and hiss out of international broadcasting so it can compete for listeners on equal terms with domestic services. DW's Director of Marketing and Engineering, Peter Senger, heads the 25-nation DRM consortium spearheading the introduction of the new technology. He said that there is now "no alternative to digital broadcasting" and the DRM standard offered "a bit rate that could supply near FM quality". DRM would also be cheaper that conventional AM, saving between 40 per cent and 60 per cent in transmitter costs. DRM can also be used to transmit text messages and pictures, and it can pack several radio channels into the same frequency, offering the listener a far greater choice of programmes. DW will start weekly DRM broadcasts from 5 July 2004 on 6140 kHz and 7125 kHz between 1600 and 1900 gmt. Source: Association of International Broadcasting, London, in English 25 Jun 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) Start??? They`ve been doing this for some time, haven`t they? Only weekly, so Mondays only?? (gh, DXLD) ** HAWAII. 1500, KUMU, Honolulu. Noted first on 6/04 simulcasting KUMU-FM 94.7 day and night, instead of just AM drive, dropping the AC oldies/standards format. Used slogan "Lite 94-7." Later found out from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin 6/11 this was temporary while the station was being rewired to receive satellite radio, as KUMU was relaunched 6/10 as "The New Talk of Honolulu," featuring talk programming from Westwood One, WOR and Air America. KUMU will still air some holdover brokered programs as well as some play-by-play. Station was recently bought by the owners of talk stations KAOI-1110 and KQNG-570 (Dale Park, HI, via Nancy Johnson, MT, IRCA Soft DX Monitor July 3 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non?]. Re Coalition maritime forces, Radio One, etc.: By the way, 6125 is totally covered by REE in Spanish to NAm *0200-0600* here in Denmark (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window June 30 via DXLD) ** IRAN. IRAN'S AIRWAVE ASSAULT --- By SETH CROPSEY June 30, 2004 – http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/opedcolumnists/24028.htm IRAN'S government broadcasts on short-wave radio in about 30 languages. It operates four 24/7 TV channels — one in Arabic to Iraq, a second in Arabic for Lebanon, a third in mostly local languages throughout Central Asia and a fourth in Persian for a global audience. U.S. International Broadcasting, by contrast, has just one 24/7 TV station: the Arabic-language news and information channel Al-hurra. Iran targets audiences not only in its neighborhood, but in Europe and America as well. At the same time that the Iranian regime transmits to other countries, it works tirelessly to prevent its own people from listening to other international broadcasters in the Persian language. The mullahs understand the benefits of offering ideas to others, and the potentially high cost of allowing their own subjects the same access. The Islamic regime began its international broadcasting in southern Lebanon. As the founder of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Lebanon in the early 1980s, Iran financed the terrorist organization's radio program and its TV channel, al-Manar, in the late '90s. The broadcasting initiatives were all part of Iran's effort to radicalize the Islamic world. Hezbollah's successful experience in Lebanon (where --- unpunished for the murder of more than 200 Marines in 1983 --- it remains a potent force today) encouraged Iran's ruling mullahs to apply similar techniques in the post-Saddam Iraq. With the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Iran immediately launched a 24/7 Arabic TV program Al-Alam ("The World") in Iraq. Al-Alam provides Iraqis with information on the "occupation" and the "occupation" forces. A steady diet of propaganda attacks U.S. and Coalition forces in Iraq for much that ails the Arab world, and claims that Saddam's rule was preferable. With Iranian government support, Al-Alam has had the opportunity to broadcast interviews with clear and focused purposes. For example, on May 4 --- as Fallujah was erupting, and just before Muqtada al-Sadr launched his own uprising --- it aired comments from Sadr's mentor, Ayatollah Kazem al-Haeri. A reclusive Iraqi religious figure who has lived in Iran since 1973, he told Iraqis that the occupation forces were responsible for the blood that had been shed in Iraq by Saddam's regime as well as by the "occupiers." The mullahs have combined their broadcasts to other countries with a vigorous effort to jam the signals of international broadcasts to Iran. Consistent with the well-worn path of modern dictatorships, Iran's jamming and broadcasting policy complement the regime's longstanding effort to eliminate any semblance of a free press inside the country. An August 2000 attempt to amend the press law, for instance, was quashed with a warning directly from the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In a letter read aloud to the parliament, he said: "Should the enemies of Islam, the revolution and the Islamic system take over or infiltrate the press, a great danger would threaten the security, unity and the faith of the people and, therefore, I cannot allow myself and other officials to keep quiet in respect of this crucial issue." Diligent in their effort to caulk any seams that could allow unwanted ideas in, Iran's rulers also forbid Iranian scholars and activists from giving interviews to Persian-speaking media outside the country. For example, the Voice of America's Persian Service has been prevented from interviews in Persian with Iranians visiting abroad on several occasions. The ruling clerics possess a sophisticated understanding of their vulnerabilities. Broadcasting as an instrument of policy took off with force after Hitler came to power in 1933, and the Nazis' foreign radio service metastasized from two hours a day to nearly 120. Dictators from Hitler to Stalin and his successors have always placed great emphasis on controlling and directing communications. Radio --- and its modern successor means of communication --- offer un-elected rulers power over their own populations' minds, as well as influence with credulous foreign audiences. In the absence of electoral majorities, such control is critical to the appearance of legitimacy. Iran's Islamic dictators are no different. Their large investment in 24/7 international TV channels and professional production values represents a careful effort to advance the radical ideology of clerical rule, and protect it against the consequences to the mullahs of ideas like self-government, equal rights and separation of church and state. The democratic world's lesser emphasis on international communications also reflects some of our fundamental principles: reliance upon a privately owned independent press as the instrument for conveying the information free peoples need to decide their future, and a healthy suspicion of government involvement in the media. One result: The Voice of America's Persian-language service broadcasts just a half- hour a day of TV news to Iran. Is this enough for what confronts us today? As the large question of whether and how democracy takes root in the Islamic Middle East hangs in the balance, the practical question remains. Is America's minimalist approach to offering democratic ideas the best way to answer the more visible and audible presence of Iran's international broadcasts as well as the equally invidious --- albeit by different means --- spread of radical ideologies like Wahabism? Seth Cropsey is director of the U.S. government's International Broadcasting Bureau (NY Post via Andy Sennitt, DXLD) ** IRAQ. ANALYSIS: BROADCASTING IN IRAQ AFTER THE HANDOVER | Text of editorial analysis by Peter Feuilherade of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 29 June 2004 As Iraq's interim government takes over, there are plans for Coalition-run radio and TV to evolve into a national public broadcaster, although no timetable has been made public. A growing number of private TV and radio stations are transforming the broadcasting scene as they compete for audiences. But many Iraqis are asking whether greater state control could threaten the media freedom which they won with the fall of Saddam Husayn. Meanwhile, there's no let-up in the US propaganda war. Private broadcasters Fifteen months of unregulated media growth have seen dozens of local private TV and radio stations springing up all over Iraq. Most are run as local mouthpieces of political factions. But a few commercial channels aspire to be successful national broadcasters. They include Al-Sharqiya TV, which describes itself as the first private national channel not tied to any political, ethnic or sectarian group. It promises programmes with a local flavour, as well as political comedy, a novelty in Iraq after 35 years of state- directed news under Saddam Husayn's rule. Radio Dijla (Tigris), Iraq's first independent talk radio station, has become required listening for officials in Baghdad, as ordinary Iraqis bombard the station's live chat shows with phone calls to air their grievances and aspirations. News in a foreign voice Iraqis still turn to pan-Arab and foreign channels as reliable sources of information. Al-Jazeera, which claims 35 million viewers worldwide, and its close rival Al-Arabiya, with about 20 million, are the front runners in Iraq too, among the estimated one-third of the population with satellite dishes. Those without satellite dishes rely on the only nationwide terrestrial TV channel, Coalition-run Al-Iraqiyah. In Shi'i areas in southeastern Iraq, the population tends to watch Iranian TV channels such as Al-Alam TV in Arabic, the only foreign channel that can be viewed by Iraqis without a satellite dish. US outlets hit wrong tone At least four broadcasters run or funded by Washington currently target Iraqi viewers and listeners. They are Al-Iraqiyah TV, Al-Hurra TV, Radio Sawa, and US-funded Radio Free Iraq based in Prague. Critics of Al-Iraqiyah say its role has been more as a tool for getting the Coalition's message out than as an independent network in the making. They deride its presentation as amateurish and its news focus as poor. The channel is run on contract by the US broadcasting equipment manufacturer Harris Corporation and a Lebanese partner. Al-Hurra, the US government-funded Arabic-language satellite TV station launched in February this year, targets the entire Arab world. It has had poor ratings in Iraq. Arab analysts say that stations like Radio Sawa (the US government's Arabic-language radio station broadcasting a mix of pop music and news) and Al-Hurra alone will not alter how US policies are perceived in the Arab street. Despite the US pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into beaming TV and radio programmes to Iraq, most Iraqis perceive these broadcasters as propaganda outlets, through they are willing to turn to them for entertainment. Reform or crackdown? Over the coming months, the TV and radio channels run by the Coalition Provisional Authority will be incorporated into a new publicly funded broadcaster. The Iraq Communications and Media Commission, set up in March this year, will act as an independent regulator for broadcasting and telecoms, and will be able to collect media licensing fees. But analysts note with regret that very little of the 18 billion dollars promised by the US Congress for Iraq's reconstruction has been earmarked for revamping the broadcasting infrastructure. The majority of Iraqis appreciate the mushrooming of radio and TV available to them after decades of state control. And they are proud to have what's been described as one of the most free media environments in the Arab world. Iraqi journalists and the world's media watchdogs, meanwhile, are united in hoping that the new administration will not use the pretext of preserving national unity and preventing sectarian strife as an excuse to crack down on the media. Source: BBC Monitoring research 29 Jun 04 (via DXLD) ** IRAQ. GERMANY: ARAB-LANGUAGE RADIO PROGRAMME FOR IRAQ TO LAUNCH 10 JULY | Text of report in English by Egyptian news agency MENA A radio programme in the Arabic language for Iraq and produced in Berlin will start up on 10 July in a six-week pilot project supported by the German Foreign Ministry, the initiators disclosed Tuesday. The programme is to be called "Telephone FM", said Klaas Glenewinkel and Anja Wollenberg, the project initiators. They said three Iraqis, two men and a woman, will moderate the 90- minute daily programme, which will be transmitted to Baghdad via the Internet for local transmission, [the German news agency] DPA reported. The show is to be broadcast by the private station "Hot FM" which at the moment can only be heard in Baghdad. The three moderators have been in Berlin the past two weeks, but have asked not to be shown on television or to be photographed for their own security, Glenewinkel said. In Iraq itself, a freelancer is to stay in cellphone contact with the Berlin studio and conduct interviews with local residents - explaining the name of the programme, "Telephone FM". The Foreign Ministry is providing 83,000 euros (100,000 dollars) to help support the six-week project. Source: MENA news agency, Cairo, in English 1716 gmt 29 Jun 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. The following is the schedule for HLAZ-1566. I got this from their sign off announcement in Korean on 26 March at 1100. Chinese 1100-1230, Japanese 1230-1345, Chinese 1345-1730, Russian 1730-1800, Korean 1900-1100 (Bill Harms, Maryland, IRCA Soft DX Monitor July 3 via DXLD) How or whence did you hear it? ** LATVIA. Kiss Radio, 9290, expects to make the station`s first broadcast Sunday July 4 at 0800-0900 via relay-facilities in Latvia. Kiss Radio 9290 has a new website at: http://www.kiss9290.net where you can read all about this new music-station. The programme format is classic soul, R&B, disco etc. Contact-address is: kissradio @ kiss9290.net - also for receptionreports. Correct reports will be verified with a printed QSL-card if requested. Otherwise you will receive an e-mail-QSL (Peter Witten, Klarup, Denmark, Jun 23, DSWCI DX Window via DXLD) Kiss Radio 9290 is a brand new radiostation bringing soulmusic to Europe on 9290 kHz. Why do we do it? Because this very enjoyable and important kind of music is ignored by the majority of other musicstations. Because we love Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Martha Reeves, Smokey Robinson, Barry White, Marvin Gaye and all the other soulbrothers and sisters. We respect them, we worship them and we love their music. It all grew out of Detroit, the motortown of USA, when Berry Gordy started his record company Tamla-Motown in 1959. Since then the soulhits just poured out - now also on shortwave 9290 kHz. Receptionreports are appreciated and will be verified with our very special and sexy Kiss Radio 9290 QSL-card. You can e-mail your receptionreport to the the mailaddress below. We will only verify correct receptionreport if you include details from a least 15 minutes of our programme, time, date etc. If you want a printed QSL-card via snail-mail, please let us know. If not - then you will get a (faster) e-mail-QSL. (From website) It looks that program producers are queuing to rent air time via Ulbroka 9290 :) All these relays are booked via KREBS TV in Riga which is the sole licensee for selling SW air time in Latvia (Trutenau in Dxplorer via DSWCI DX Window via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. EXTRA RNW TRANSMISSION TIME FOR TOUR DE FRANCE In order to cover the Tour de France, which takes place on 3 through 26 July, our frequencies of 9895 and 13700 kHz beamed to southern Europe will come on the air at 1200 instead of 1500 UT on Mon-Fri. On Saturdays and Sundays transmission on these frequencies starts at 0800 UTC as usual. Tour de France coverage is also available on 5955 kHz. These transmissions are in Dutch. # posted by Andy @ 13:01 UT June 30 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. Coming back strongly Exactly a year ago, things looked very bad for Dutch commercial radio station Radio 10 FM. Having failed to win a terrestrial licence for the next eight years, and fallen out with Sky Radio, who looked to have saved them, the station's new owners Talpa Radio, fired three quarters of the staff, closed the Amsterdam studios, and set about running the station as a much lower budget operation. Now they're back on high power, and set to become more popular than ever. It's a victory for listener choice over the bureaucrats. . . http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/tien040701.html (Media Network newsletter July 1 via DXLD) 1008 kHz is supposed to be 400 kW but the antenna has a null towards the UK, as Radio London discovered when they tested the frequency last summer. However Radio Ten Gold still expect to have daytime and nightime listenership in Belgium, Luxembourg, west Germany, Northern France and Eastern England according to their website (where there's a picture of the Zeewolde, Flevoland transmitter site) - http://www.radio10gold.nl/ 1395 khz is also supposed to be in parallel until 1st August according to the website? (if my Dutch translation is correct that is ;-)) (Alan Pennington, UK, July 1, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. 7/4: special broadcast from Oklahoma --- If any of you happen to be near a computer this Sunday (1 PM ET / 10 AM PT), [WHAT ABOUT CT????? noon --- gh] I encourage you to listen to a special edition of our local public affairs program, "Oklahoma Voices." You can catch the stream on our website, http://www.kgou.org On this month's show: "The Idea of Oklahoma" - Oklahoma has a bit of an image problem in the rest of the country. I spent some time walking around Times Square in New York City, asking people what they thought about the Sooner state and what they'd do to attract tourists if THEY lived in Oklahoma. Then I played back their comments for the Director of the state tourism board to get his response. I also spoke to a woman with the OK film commission about how Oklahoma is trying to change people's perceptions on the big screen. Also, diving head-first into the local culture, I covered the 5th Annual Okie Noodling Tournament and Fish Fry this weekend, at Bob's Pig Shop in Pauls Valley, OK. Noodling -- for the uninitiated -- is a sort of back-country sport where people catch giant (40-60 lb.) catfish with their bare hands by basically sticking their fists into the fish's mouths! As you can imagine, it can be quite dangerous, but it's terribly popular and even enjoying a resurgence in this region. I spent an afternoon with a noodler in rural Western Oklahoma last week, and then I went to the tournament last Saturday, where people weighed their biggest fish and crowned the "2004 Noodling Queen." You can view a slideshow of photos I took at: http://www.kgou.org/programming_okvoices.php For those who miss it, I'm told this show will be repeated at the same time on the following Sunday, 7/11. Unfortunately, we don't yet have the bandwidth to archive and stream on-demand audio at our website, but I may post these pieces at the Public Radio Exchange http://www.prx.org Also, a few national shows have expressed interest in airing versions of the noodling piece, so drop me a line if you're interested, and I'll keep you posted (Scott Gurian, news director, kgou=krou public radio, Norman / Oklahoma City, wk 405 325 3169, cell 201.315.7877 via Joe Bernard, DXLD) ** PERU. I have received a very interesting article in Spanish from the DXer Carlos Maldonado, Santiago (Chile) about radio pirates in Peru. Tanks Carlos for very nice mail and article. Now I know why it is much harder today finding new Peruvian radio stations on the tropical bands! DESCUBREN 72 ESTACIONES DE RADIODIFUSIÓN CLANDESTINAS OPERAN EN LOS CONOS DE LIMA, VIOLAN EL ESPECTRO RADIOELÉCTRICO Y CAUSAN INTERFERENCIAS HASTA EN AEROPUERTOS. "Ay, señor, y ahora qué emisora voy a escuchar", ANTENA FRÍA. Las estaciones clandestinas trabajan con antenas y transmisores que tienen de 20 a 80 vatios. clama Alicia Buendía. Lo que ignora la anciana es que a pesar de tratarse de una actividad irregular y en algunos casos peligrosa, las emisiones ilegales de radio han logrado persistir a través de los años. Según un informe del ministerio de Transportes, solo en los conos de Lima existen 72 estaciones que vienen operando clandestinamente. Las autoridades sostienen que no solo violan los derechos de propiedad de las mpresas que venden los servicios y pagan los derechos correspondientes. También implican un grave riesgo cuando interfieren, por ejemplo, las transmisiones en las torres de control de los aeropuertos, poniendo en riesgo las operaciones de los aviones. Llegaron a la conclusión que muchas de estas radioemisoras tienen transmisores caseros, comprados incluso en campos feriales, el jirón Paruro y en la 'cachina'. A todo ello --- dicen --- hay que agregar la superposición de sonido de alguna radio. "Ese es el castigo habitual que sufren muchos pobladores de la ciudad que viven cerca del radio de alcance de dichas emisoras piratas", enfatizan. Al margen de esto, hombres y mujeres de toda edad y condición social deben soportar el lenguaje de malas palabras y agresiones que emplean los supuestos locutores. "Hacen programas sin más control que la que ellos se imponen", asegura un funcionario del MTC. INFORMALIDAD CERO Se ha establecido que son muchos los LA LEY. Funcionarios del MTC ejercen el principio de autoridad e incautan equipos. promotores de espectáculos y artistas folclóricos que trabajan ilegalmente, alquilan horas de transmisión a precios bajos y quitan la publicidad a las radios legalmente establecidas. El ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones, en el marco de sus facultades para verificar el correcto uso del espectro radioeléctrico, ha realizado durante las últimas semanas alrededor de 250 acciones de verificación en diferentes servicios de telecomunicaciones. También han decomisado equipos en 24 estaciones de radio no autorizadas. Desde el 1 de abril, el MTC viene aplicando el plan denominado "Informalidad Cero", destinado a erradicar estas estaciones que operan sin licencia de este portafolio. Generalmente estas radios tienen ambientes pequeños, donde apenas entra el trasmisor, un teléfono, la grabadora, la consola y el locutor. Las estaciones clandestinas trabajan con transmisores que tienen de 20 a 80 vatios. "LA VOZ DEL PUEBLO" Ayer fue intervenida la radio La Gigante del Folclore que tenía la frecuencia 99,5 en frecuencia modulada. Se desmanteló la cabina de locución y se decomisó los equipos de estudio y de transmisión. Radio Sabor y Radio Armonia del Folclore, localizadas en San Juan de Lurigancho, con las frecuencias 106,7 y 105,9 MHZ, en la misma banda de FM, también fueron clausuradas. Similares acciones se realizaron en Carabayllo con la Estación 3, que operaba en 96,3 Mhz de la FM; Radio Mix, la cual operaba en la frecuencia 95,9 Mhz de la FM. La Radio Código 99 de la frecuencia 99,7 Mhz, con una potencia aproximada de 20 watts, fue ubicada en el Cerro El Pino. También la estación Radio Rímac tenía la frecuencia 87,9 Mhz en la banda de FM. La cantante vernacular Lolita López, propietaria del inmueble donde funcionaba una estación, afirma haber sido sorprendida por Lourdes Gonzales Suárez. "Le alquilé mi casa hace un mes, pero jamás que dijo que iba a poner una radio", manifiesta. "Nosotros somos la voz del pueblo, no nos pueden cortar la señal", refiere el trabajador de otra radioemisora. "Eliminaremos radios ilegales" Considerando a la publicidad como la principal Los operativos seguirán, asegura el ingeniero Edgard Alvarado. fuente de ingresos de las estaciones de radio y televisión que operan sin autorización, el MTC exhortó a los anunciantes, instituciones públicas y privadas y público en general a abstenerse de celebrar contratos de publicidad con estas personas naturales o jurídicas. "Estos hechos constituyen infracciones susceptibles de ser sancionadas con multas hasta de 350 UIT (cada UIT es de 3.200 soles). Dichas radioemisoras clandestinas causan interferencias y sus dueños evaden las obligaciones con el Estado, asegura el director de Infracciones y Sanciones de Telecomunicaciones, ingeniero Edgard Alvarado Barreto. Añadió que el objetivo del Plan Informalidad Cero es eliminar la operación de las estaciones ilegales de radiodifusión sonora detectadas en Lima. Estamos ejerciendo el principio de autoridad del MTC en relación a la operación de las estaciones radioeléctricas de radiodifusión sin autorización, subrayó el funcionario. Se han cancelado 93 emisoras en Puno, San Martín, Ancash, Arequipa, Lambayeque, Cajamarca, Pasco, Ayacucho, Junín, Tacna, Moquegua, Cusco e Ica. Precisiones El espectro radioeléctrico se define como una gama de radiofrecuencias utilizables para las comunicaciones y es un recurso natural, bajo exclusiva propiedad del Estado. Su uso es aprovechado por la televisión, radio en Amplitud Modulada (AM) y Frecuencia Modulada (FM), radares, celulares y las comunicaciones aeronáuticas. Nadie es dueño de ninguna frecuencia, el Estado solo autoriza su uso en calidad de arrendamiento, por lo que no pueden heredarlas, ni transferirlo de una persona a otra (source? Via Carlos Maldonado, Chile via Björn Malm, Ecuador, via WORLD OF RADIO 1236, DXLD) ** PERU. Peruvians on the tropical bands --- Hello Glenn (DXLD) and Arnaldo (Conexión Digital)! The Peruvian DXer Alfredo Cañote, Chaclacayo published a list of 28 loggings of Peruvian stations. I have just one question about 3172, R. Municipal, Marcawana: The QTH I´m hearing is "Panao". QTH "Marcawana" is a part of Panao? [below] "5160.2 La Voz de Bolívar, Bolívar" is of course just a "typing error" should be 5460.2 kHz. If you take Alfredo Cañote`s list together with the stations in my "extra" list here below you have a complete list all active (read: more or less irregular..... - some are VERY irregular) Peruvian stations on the tropical bands. 73s from Bjorn Malm, Quito, Ecuador. 2680.14 Radio Melodía, Santiago de Chuco (harmonic) 3375.12 Radio San Antonio, Callalli 4415.0v Radio Cielo, Chiclayo (drifting, you can hear them "anywhere") 4446.0v Radio Naylamp, Lambayeque (drifting, you can hear them "anywhere") 4824.39 La Voz de la Selva, Iquitos 4826.36 Radio Sicuani, Sicuani 4886.62 Radio Virgen del Carmen, Huancevelica 4890.27 Radio Chota, Chota 4940.00 Radio San Antonio, Villa Atalaya 4950.17 Radio Madre de Diós, Puerto Maldonado 4964.98 Radio Santa Mónica, Cusco 4996.xx R. Andina, Huancayo 5005.72 Radio L.T.C., Juliaca 5486.73 La Reina de la Selva, Chachapoyas 5637.22 Radio Perú, San Ignacio 5699.92 Radio Frecuencia, San Ignacio 5775.29 La Voz de San Juan, Lonya Grande 5949.78 Radio Bethel, Arequipa 6193.45 Radio Cusco, Cusco (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador July 1, DX LSITENING DIGEST) Hola Colega Malm, Para completar la lista que se ha compilado; a mi QTH regularmente también me llegan las señales de: 4460.9 R. NORANDINA 4485.2 R. FRECUENCIA VH 6479.8 R. ALTURA 6536.0 RD HUANCABAMBA Como comenta, muchas son muy irregulares y hay que intentar "cazarlas" en varios horarios y días; por esto ¿cuándo fue la última vez que escuchó La Voz de San Juan desde Lonya Grande? ya que por acá no la reporto desde hace más de 3 años. Un saludo (Rafael Rodríguez, Bogotá, Colombia, Conexión Digital via DXLD) Establecí contacto por mail con Radio Municipal, Panao [3172, above]. Esta gente ha obtenido mi dirección de correo electrónico para informarme que una carta con QSL despachada a mi QTH volvió al destinatario. Estoy tratando de obtener más información de la emisora y ya tengo un interlocutor con el cual he iniciado diálogo. Ya les estaré contando lo que vaya averiguando. 73's (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, ibid.) ** SAUDI ARABIA. On 30 June at 1845 noted a station with Arabic phone- ins on 4790. Weak under local static/man-made noise. Time pips at 1900, then news. Random rechecks showed sports news around 2020 and time pips and news again at 2030. At that time signal had improved and several mentions of Riad and Saudi Arabia was heard. I guess this is the Saudi transmitter which used to carry clandestine programs such as Voice of the Iraqi People. These various 60 meterband transmissions were believed to be sub-harmonics from a 31 meterband transmitter. I checked the "fundamental" 9580 but no parallel program heard (same thing noted often here during the clandestine era, only a weak signal on fundamental or then nothing). I guess the program was BSKSA 2nd Arabic Program, based on the newscast times and also the 1st program channels on MW were not in parallel (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, July 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, it`s BSKSA Jiddah. Heard them closing down with positive ID at 2200 UT June 21. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, ibid.) Many thanks Jouko for the confirmation! For a while at 1845 that date I was hoping it to be Djibouti here instead of 4780, but no way:-) 73 (Jari, ibid.) 4790.0H, BSKSA, Jeddah, 2055-2150, Jun 23 and 25, mostly talks in Arabic, native instrumental music, 35333, not // Riyadh heard on 9555 // 9870. This is half the basic Jeddah frequency on 9580 which has been reactivated. At 0310 it had nearly faded out on 4790 and only a weak carrier was noted (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA [non]. Re 4-099, clandestines from Iraq: Possibly the "Idha'at al-Mu'arada as-Saudiya min Najd wa al-Hijaz" program?? But in such a society there are connects to each other Clandestine station too. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Excellent "DSWCI CSL" booklet by Finn Krone of the Nineties shows: Holy Medina Radio, "Ida'at al-Medinah al-Munawwarah", try 9530 or 11785 kHz v0400-1525 UT daily, started Aug 27, 1990. In the past heard also on 11785, 11815, and 11860 kHz. Radio of Saudi Opposition from Najd and Hijaz, "Idha'at al-Mu'arada as-Saudiya min Najd wa al-Hijaz", first heard on July 11, 1995. 11785 kHz *1300- UT. Voice of the Free Men of the Peninsula. 9740 *2000-0000* daily, alternate-11860. First observed Jan 18, 1993. (dswci Clandestine Station List, 1995+1996, Finn Krone, Denmark via Büschel, DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA [and non]. OYENTE ARGENTINO TRANSMITIÓ LAS NOTICIAS DEL DÍA A TRAVÉS DE RADIO ESLOVAQUIA INTERNACIONAL Es muy normal imaginarnos al radioescucha de onda corta abstraído entre sus auriculares mientras está sintonizando una emisora lejana, tan lógica esa imagen como la del locutor ante el micrófono o el operador en la consola transmitiendo la voz y la música desde un típico ambiente radiofónico... Sin embargo, los diexistas -que van más allá de lo "normal"- son capaces de invertir esos roles. El argentino Hugo Longhi, radiómano por naturaleza, ya se ha convertido en un trotamundo que no se permite despedir del nuevo país donde llegó sin visitar a su emisora internacional. Los contactos que frecuentemente establece a través de su receptor suelen transformarse con sus viajes en emocionantes encuentros personales con los mismos dueños de aquellas voces que escucha, una manera de hacer realidad lo que para el común de los oyentes nunca dejará de ser fantasía. Pero lo más increíble de esta historia tiene relación con la reciente visita de Hugo Longhi a Radio Eslovaquia Internacional donde fue recibido por la Jefa de la Redacción Española Marcela Gregorçova y demás integrantes del equipo. A través del sintético mensaje electrónico del pasado 29 de junio el colega anunciaba desde Bratislava: ``Estoy en Radio Eslovaquia, acabo de grabar las noticias del día`` para acotar risueñamente ``Estos eslovacos no saben lo que hacen, mi `dulce voz` ha salido para todos los oídos de América Latina y España``. Efectivamente, por unos minutos Hugo experimentó una maravillosa metamorfosis, de radioescucha pasó a radioemisor y, contrariamente a su propia calificación, le salió demasiado bien. A través del boletín informativo, repetido en las tres emisiones diarias de RSI en español, la "dulce voz" de Longhi recorrió el mundo reafirmando que, más allá de la vigencia vital de los servicios por ondas cortas, la unidad entre el personal de las emisoras internacionales con su audiencia es una verdad indiscutible. El periplo de Hugo continúa en República Checa y Hungría, seguramente volveremos a escucharle a través de los programas de fin de semana por RSI, Radio Praga y Radio Budapest (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Casilla de Correo 950, S 2000 WAJ - Rosario ARGENTINA, June 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH AMERICA. RPI para Sudamerica --- Amigos! Cordiales saludos! Esta noche o por lo menos mañana de noche, estaremos emitiendo especialmente para Sudamérica. Durante el día de hoy estaremos configurando, alineando y ajustando equipos, antenna y transmisor desde nuestro QTH en Sudamérica. En las semanas que siguen estaremos bastante activa. La frecuencia en que operaremos será en una primera instancia 6290 o 6307 kHz. También hay posibilidades posteriormente de que haremos pruebas en 6925 y 11420 kHz. Ya avisaremos más tarde hoy sobre el desarrollo, y si estaremos con la posibilidad de emitir hoy. Mañana, si algo drástico no ocurre, estaremos a partir de las 23 TU en unas de las dos frecuencias ya mencionada inicialmente. [Luego:] Las emisiones serán en AM con un transmisor transitorizado de fabricación casera. El transmisor es "controlada" por cristal, y los cristales que dispongo aquí en estos momentos son 6255, 6290, 6307, 6925, 6955 y 11420 kHz. Portanto sólo tendremos la posibilidad de emitir en estas frecuencias. El transmisor también es muy sensible al ajuste de antenna, o sea no funciona bien pasando los 15 kHz del corte de antenna. Portanto en una primera instancia trataremos los 6290 o 6307 kHz. Saludos de (Jorge R. García, Radio Piraña Internacional, July 1, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** SYRIA [non]. Re Radio Free Syria: Glenn: I still don't have an answer from the Syrians on issuing QSL cards, but I believe Deutsche Telekom/T-Systems will issue QSLs for reports on these transmissions (Jeff White, FL, June 30, WORLD OF RADIO 1236, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA [non]. CLANDESTINE from CIS? to SYRIA, Arabic Radio heard on weak 7470 and strong 12085 at 1507 Jun 30 with speech by woman in Arabic. Good modulation as well with music starting at 1515. More talk and off at 1530 with ID's (Hans Johnson, WY, via DXtuner Europe, Cumbre DX via WORLD OF RADIO 1236, DXLD) ** U K. A LONGWAVE GOODBYE TO THE RUGBY VLF STATION Eight of the twelve 820' masts at Rugby were due to be demolished by DSM Demolition contractors during the evening of 19th June 2004. The Police had insisted that the demolition should take place in the dark and without prior publicity in order to avoid having to close the M1. As it was, they still had to close the A5 and A428 immediately prior to the demolition taking place. The method of demolition was to simply cut one set of the four support guy ropes for each mast. The tension on the other three support ropes then pulled the mast in the desired direction. Demolition charges were applied to each of the three stay ropes at their base, the metal bracket joining the ropes to the concrete stay block having been pre- weakened. The 'shaped' cutting charges were linked together to fire simultaneously for each individual mast. The eight masts were due to be demolished in two phases. The first phase of the three most northerly masts went down at about 21.45 with two seconds between each mast. It was a text-book demolition with all three masts falling 'clean' and in exactly the right place. The second phase of the five southerly masts was due to take place two minutes after the first phase, this being the time taken for the demolition engineer to move from one firing point to the other. The count-down began and we all expected a similar result to the first phase. Alas, it was not to be. Nothing happened. Half an hour later they had reconnected the command lines and tried again. The fourth mast went down but none of the others. Half an hour later they tried again. The fifth mast went down but not the final three! An inspection of the command lines revealed that each had been 'nibbled' by rabbits! It seems that bunnies are partial to detonation cord. Despite the cord having been laid down a maximum of eight hours before, all the southern command lines had been severed! At about 01.00 on Sunday morning, new detonation cord having been applied to each charge, they finally pressed the button and the final three masts fell, slowly and imperceptibly at first, then with increasing speed, hitting the ground in a shower of sparks as the rivets sheared away. The sound of the demolition was distinctive with the bang of the cutting charges followed by a distinct "crinkling" noise from failing rivets and a final thunderous roar as the 250m masts folded into the ground. Despite the unexpected delay, the masts fell in the right places and as a demolition exercise it has been a great success. With only four masts remaining the Rugby skyline all looks very different (July-August Medium Wave News via DXLD) ** U S A. "The Front Office has informed us of their decision to close down the editorial functions in London as of September first of this year. This decision was taken despite strong opposition from the News Division. We presented a proposal several months ago to save those two editorial positions, but to no avail. In the next few weeks, I'll be talking to those of you who are correspondents affected by this turn of events. This is no doubt a blow to our Division, but we will weather this as we have weathered so many other storms in the past few years. I would just ask for your cooperation during a difficult period." (VOA News Director Andre DeNesnera, June 30, via WORLD OF RADIO 1236, DX LISTENING DIGEST) VOA`s budget is going up next Fyear, as in last issue, and news department is steady, but they keep closing bureaux in keeping with policy to remove themselves from major world capitals. First Tokyo, then London (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) but that`s not all! --- ** U S A. SHAKEUP AT VOICE OF AMERICA VOA Director David Jackson announced Thursday July 1 a shakeup in VOA News Division, removing Andre DeNesnera who had served as head of VOA's newsroom for several years. DeNesnera, a former correspondent for VOA in Moscow, Geneva and London assumed the role of Acting News Director at the request of former VOA Director Sanford Ungar, in one of many periods of poor morale triggered by an employee rebellion against another former news director, Sonja Pace. As head of the newsroom, DeNesnera took VOA's news staff through the first term of President George W. Bush, who signaled early on his intention to attempt to reshape VOA into more of a voice of U.S. policy. In an appearance at VOA, Bush said sent a clear message to employees that they could not be "neutral", laying the groundwork for what many VOA journalists saw as the start of a series of actions supported by conservative and neo-conservative forces to bend VOA toward sharper support of U.S. policies. DeNesnera strongly defended the VOA newsroom in the period just after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks when VOA's Pashto service obtained an interview with then Afghan Taliban leader. The State Department at first criticized the interview, then was forced to backtrack in the face of support for the VOA News Division, and DeNesnera personally, from commentators. DeNesnera also fought a series of battles with VOA management, and his relations with VOA Director David Jackson were described by knowledgeable sources within the organization as strained. Although sources predicted some action in the wake of frequent tensions between VOA and IBB (International Broadcasting Bureau) management and Mr. DeNesnera, his removal nonetheless came as a shock to employees. It followed by only one day DeNesnera's email notification to employees complaining about a management decision to eliminate editor positions in VOA's London bureau, a move DeNesnera called "a blow to our division" that he "strongly opposed." As of late Thursday, DeNesnera had not commented to employees in electronic form on the announcement by VOA Director Jackson, but had spoken in person to news staff, a number of whom were reported to have personally gone to Jackson's VOA office to lodge complaints about the move. In addition to the removal of DeNesnera, VOA's Pentagon correspondent Alex Belida was reassigned as Senior Supervising Editor in VOA's News Center (DX LISTENING DIGEST) (Following is the text of VOA Director David Jackson's memo): "The way people around the world get their news and information is rapidly changing, and that's why it's important for us at the Voice of America to change the way we provide it to them. For example, our research shows that even in developing countries, people increasingly turn to television for information. That's why we've been rapidly developing new television products for markets where that strategy offers solid opportunities for audience growth. Our target audiences also have more choices, which is why we've been working so hard to make our content fresh, unique, and compelling -- and to make it available on the medium audiences prefer, whether that's radio, television, or the Internet. Finally, people want more news about developments that affect them and their region, whether that news originates locally or in decisions made in Washington, the most influential city in the world. That need in particular is behind some of the changes we're announcing today. These are formidable challenges, especially in a time of tight budgets and limited resources. But by adopting the following changes in the way we produce and distribute news and information, the Voice of America will be better organized to compete internationally and have an impact in these historic times. First, we're reorganizing Central News to accomplish several goals: to strengthen its ability to more effectively cover the diverse peoples and cultures to which we broadcast, to maximize our resources, and to bring our operation more in line with those of other international news organizations. To that end, the newsroom's shifts will be tailored to conform to broadcast schedules and focus on the regions targeted by our language broadcasts during those hours. The result will be more fresh content for our 44 language services, and on a schedule that they can plan their broadcasts around. To oversee these and other changes, a new management structure is being created. Associate director Ted Iliff, who has broad experience in managing international radio and television production, will assume direct supervision of Central News. I have asked Andre de Nesnera, who has served with distinction as news director for the past four years, to take the new position of chief diplomatic correspondent, to take full advantage of his extensive international reporting experience. The duty editors in Central News will be retitled as supervising editors, with enhanced authority as part of the shift changes. Veteran VOA correspondent Alex Belida will be coming to the newsroom as senior supervising editor. In that role, he will oversee all other supervising editors and help them in the transition to their new editorial roles. Jack Payton remains assignment desk chief. Diane Bradley will continue to manage the CN staff. Cindy Krasinksi remains Ted Iliff's administrative manager. The assignment desk will have expanded hours to better accommodate our foreign correspondents. Although London will remain as a correspondent post, London's two editing positions are moving to Washington, where they will help the desk cover a broader range of hours. On the subject of correspondents, Kurt Achin has been named the new VOA correspondent for our new bureau opening in Seoul. Kurt established his reporting credentials for the job with his performance for VOA in Hong Kong. We also are planning to open a new bureau in Jakarta later this year. The correspondent for that position will be named in the coming weeks. Central News is also refining its television role with the help of Steve Frank and his staff. They will soon begin providing a selection of TV news pieces twice a day on a schedule designed to fit the needs of our language services which have TV audiences. Following our merger with Worldnet, integrating television and radio will be an increasingly important component of how we move forward, and will help create new opportunities for all staff. I plan to meet with Central News personnel in the coming days to discuss these changes. As always, I remain interested in hearing your ideas and suggestions. These moves will not only maintain but reinforce VOA's traditionally high editorial standards. Our content, style, and sourcing practices are unchanged. What is being changed is an organizational structure and procedures that have been under study for many months, including consultations at many levels throughout VOA. As in every dynamic news organization in the 21st century, today's announcement does not mean the end of change. We expect to further adjust and improve our practices and procedures as we settle into our new post-merger structure. But when today's changes are implemented in the coming weeks, VOA will be much better prepared to handle the challenges that face us. I know I can count on your support and enthusiasm to help us move forward together into the future. Thank you. David [Jackson, VOA Director] (via DXLD) ** U S A. WWCR specialty programs, excerpted by gh from the printed schedule as of 01 July 04, with rounded-off (durations): ASK WWCR (15): Fri 2030 15825, Sat 0845 5070, Sat 2345 9475, Sun 0145 5070, Thu 1715 15825, Fri 0945 9475 WORLD OF RADIO (30): Thu 2030 15825, Sat 1030 5070, Sat 2030 12160, Sun 0230 5070, Sun 0630 3210, Wed 0930 9475 MUNDO RADIAL (15): Tue 2130 15825, Wed 2100 15825, Fri 2115 15825 DX PARTYLINE (30): Sun 0200 5070, Tue 0930 9475, Thu 2000 15825 DX RADIO SCHOOL (30): Mon 2000 15825, Thu 0930 9475, Mon 0330 5070 RADIO WEATHER (30): Sun 0300 5070 CYBERLINE (55): Sun 0405 5070 WORLD WIDE COUNTRY RADIO (60): M-F 1000 15825, M-F 1300 15825, M-F 1600 15825, Sat 2200 12160, Sun 0600 5070, Sun 2000 12160, Mon 0400 3210 KEN`S COUNTRY CLASSICS (30): Sun 0500 5070 COUNTRY CROSSROADS (30): Sun 0530 5070 OLD RECORD SHOP (30): Mon 0330 3210, Tue 1730 15825 INTO THE BLUE (55): Sun 0705 5070 SING FOR JOY (30): Sat 2030 15825 ROCK THE UNIVERSE (55): Sat 1105 5070, Sun 0805 3210 LATIN CATHOLIC MASS (30): Sun 1600 15825 GOLDEN AGE OF RADIO (55): M-F 0805 3210, Sat 1505 12160 A VIEW FROM EUROPE (5): Sat 1010 15825, Sun 1015 5070 ACTING PRESIDENTIAL RADIO ADDRESS/DEMOCRATIC RESPONSE (15): Sat 1900 15825 (WWCR via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Please note the following changes (effective 1 July 2004) to the Family Stations, Inc. A-2004 High Frequency Schedule aired from Taiwan: Delete 15060 kHz 0000-0200 UTC to India Add 15195 kHz 0000-0200 UTC to India Delete 6300 kHz 1100-1600 UTC to China Add 6155 kHz 1100-1600 UTC to China Delete 6300 kHz 2100-0000 UTC to China Add 6155 kHz 2100-0000 UTC to China (WYFR June 30 via WORLD OF RADIO 1236, DXLD) They finally ``got religion`` and exit the maritime/aero bands (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) WYFR's new Korean religious programme schedule: 1000~1100 UT, 7130 kHz, transmission from Taiwan. Best regards (Sungchul Cho from Korea South, July 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Now that so many Koreasoutherners have been converted to Christianity, it`s time for various factions to fight over them (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. It`s time for another Capitol Steps quarterly comedy special, Politics Takes a Holiday. From the woefully incomplete schedule at http://www.capsteps.com/radio/ where we have already missed some early opportunities, here are some upcomings, most of which webcast, I think; the page has hotlinks to many of the stations or consult http://www.publicradiofan.com for quick links or in most cases www.xxxx.org with the call letters will get you directly to the station. All times and dates here converted to UT: UT Fri July 2 1600 WYSO UT Sat July 3 0430 KUAC 1800 WMUB UT Sun July 4 0230 WMUB 1600 WAER 2300 WUKY 2330 WNIN UT Mon July 5 0000 WVPE 1300 WAER 2300 WCVE UT Tue July 6 2330 KCBX The April Fool`s and New Year`s shows are on the same page for download, and this one no doubt will be too (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. NADER, DEAN TO DEBATE WHETHER RALPH SHOULD RUN The Associated Press 6/30/04 3:11 PM http://wizzer.advance.net/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0655_BC_Nader- Dean&&news&newsflash-national WASHINGTON (AP) -- Among the debate topics: Should Ralph run for president? The participants: Howard Dean and a candidate who always has an opinion on the subject -- independent Ralph Nader. Dean, the former Democratic presidential hopeful who attracted legions of liberal followers before his bid fizzled out, will debate Nader for 90 minutes on July 9 before a studio audience. National Public Radio's weekly program "Justice Talking" is sponsoring the debate, and correspondent Margot Adler will moderate. Dean has been urging his supporters not to back Nader, but to stay within the Democratic fold and vote for John Kerry, "I am anxious to debate Ralph Nader in order to speak about why he wants to run for president," Dean said in a statement. "This is the most important election in my lifetime and a third party candidate could make a difference -- this November and for years to come." Many Democrats blame Nader's last run for the presidency for stealing votes from Al Gore in the 2000 election. Nader says Democrats have only themselves to blame for losing. "This is an opportunity to discuss how to reinvigorate our democracy by providing voters with more choices and voices rather than our anemic two party corporate duopoly," Nader said in a statement. Dean is currently the honorary chair of Democracy for America, a political action committee dedicated to supporting and raising money for fiscally conservative, socially progressive candidates at all levels of government (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) To track down when and where to hear the program, which is not normally a sesquihour long, consult http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/program.pl?programid=686 but due to the length it might get special scheduling at other times; or the show`s own site http://www.justicetalking.org (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DGIEST) ** U S A. MEDIUMWAVE DX TESTS: Daily, 2:55-3:05 am EST [sic] - WRIB- 1220 - Providence, RI - This test is scheduled to run indefinitely. Reception reports (with return postage) may be sent to: Craig Healy, NG1U WRIB 200 Water St. East Providence, RI 02914 OR WWW: http://www.wrib.com (Arranged by Craig Healy, NG1U and AM- DX.COM.) (July 3 IRCA Soft DX Monitor, June 30, via DXLD) Presumably now means around 3 am EDT = 0655-0705 UT. This was supposed to include code IDs; anybody actually heard that lately? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Paul Walker, Chief Babysitter and Bottlewasher at WQMA, seems from the response he's given me personally, to be "too busy" to make good on the veries he intended to send out (but very anxiously sought reception reports and recordings) from the February 15th WQMA DX Test on 1520. Every time I ask him I get the brush off. What he's told me previously of his personal lifestyle, he is 22 years old, lives AT the radio station (using the owner's home for a shower station), is single, has no wheels, and essentially is at WQMA most all day long. Not trying to criticize, but to paint the picture... each time I approach the subject of fellow members following up on QSLs I get the brush off and no indication of concern or plan to follow up. If I knew this was to be the outcome of the test I would not have provided the advice, time and materials I have to WQMA / Paul Walker and ignored his initial email asking me about AM Signal Propagation tests. I think that I still have the template in one of the WNNR sales Department Computers for the WQMA verie I designed and printed. I'm not sure how legitimate a QSL veriletter would be if I don't work for the station worked/reported. I would be willing to step in at that capacity... My heart goes out to those who are still seeking thier first Mississippi QSL (I'm in that number). I will keep at Paul about fulfilling the obligations he set out to take care of and post any new developments (Ron Gitschier, Palm Coast, FL, June 30, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. COMMISSION WANTS WWVA LICENSE TO STAY --- By ANDY STAMP http://www.news-register.net/community/story/0629202004_com01.asp WHEELING - The Ohio County Commission unanimously approved a resolution Monday in support of local efforts to ensure that Wheeling remains home to WWVA's license for a powerful 50,000-watt transmitter. David Demarest, a former WWVA radio employee, argued that the license allows Wheeling to broadcast a strong signal that is heard throughout a large region of the country and even into Canada. Demarest addressed the commission on behalf of the Coalition for Wheeling Radio, a local group that intends to lobby the Federal Communications Commission to keep the license in Wheeling. On March 23, Clear Channel Communications Inc., which owns WWVA and six other Wheeling radio stations, confirmed that it had filed an application with the FCC to move the station's license and transmitter. The company said it is seeking to move the license to Stow, Ohio - located just north of Akron. According to the coalition, the transmitter allows Wheeling and the Ohio Valley to have a voice that reaches 18 northeastern states and six Canadian provinces. The voice advertises some of the valley's most popular events and attractions, such as Jamboree USA and Oglebay Park's Festival of Lights. Moreover, the coalition argues that the license and transmitter provide the only radio signal that can reach certain deep valleys and rural areas within the state. As West Virginia's only 50,000-watt transmitter, it is vital for providing media access to isolated residents during emergencies, the coalition said. "There is a lot of support in the community for the retention of that license here," said county commission president Randy Wharton. He said commissioners also thought Demarest provided some compelling arguments in favor of resisting the transfer of the license. In order to navigate the FCC's petition process, the group has acquired the services of an experienced communications attorney from Washington, D.C. According to Demarest, the attorney has agreed to cap his fees at $5,000. The coalition intends to file a petition to deny with the FCC once the agency opens the required 10-day comment period. Demarest said the FCC has not yet announced when that period will begin. The county's resolution, along with a similar statement by Wheeling City Council, will be attached to the petition as evidence. Demarest said the coalition is also seeking to demonstrate the community's support by attaching letters from businesses and organizations and signed "declaration forms" from individuals. The declaration forms are available through the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau's office and displays at several local businesses (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) Even if this effort succeed, Clear Channel could still program the station in such a way as to ignore Wheeling and WV and serve Cleveland instead, out of spite, at least at nite (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. POWELL CALLS REJECTION OF MEDIA RULES A DISAPPOINTMENT By Frank Ahrens Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, June 29, 2004; Page E01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A13300-2004Jun28?language=printer When a federal appeals court returned several media ownership rules to the Federal Communications Commission last week, it was a "deep disappointment" to Chairman Michael K. Powell, who said the commission may have erred in trying to pass all of the controversial rules at once. On Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit sent back three proposed FCC media ownership rules that would determine how many newspapers, television and radio stations companies such as Tribune Co. and Viacom Inc. can own. The proposed rules would have relaxed some standards, allowing one company to own a newspaper and television station in the same city for the first time in nearly 30 years, but would have tightened others, such as limits on local radio ownership. The court said the FCC's justification for the new rules was flawed, though it agreed with some of the commission's deregulatory policies. The result: All of the new rules are stayed until the FCC decides whether to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court or submit rewritten versions to the appeals court. In a wide-ranging interview yesterday -- the first he has given since the rules were sent back -- Powell lamented the lack of deference shown by the court to the FCC, the expert agency charged with devising the rules. Some of the proposed rules were substitutes for previous attempts to limit ownership that had been sent back by other courts . Having a court reject a second set of ownership rules calls the whole process into question, Powell said. "The previous commission drew tighter lines, and the court said they could not justify those. This commission drew slightly looser lines, and we still couldn't justify those," said Powell, FCC chairman since 2001. "It may not be possible to line-draw. Part of me says maybe the best answer is to evaluate on a case-by-case basis. The commission may end up getting more pushed in that direction." Last week's court ruling left national limits on media ownership intact, but rules on local media ownership would face legal challenges if the FCC tried to enforce them. In the interview yesterday, Powell appeared to waver between taking up each acquisition in a local market on its own merits or trying again to set rules that would apply to all mergers. In writing the recent rules, commissioners faced the difficult problem of trying to graft mathematics onto social policy. In the end, the court didn't buy the FCC's approach, writing, "Most importantly, the Commission has not sufficiently justified its particular chosen numerical limits for local television ownership, local radio ownership, and cross-ownership of media within local markets." It is the FCC's job to police the radio and television broadcast airwaves, which in theory belong to the public, and to make certain that rules governing media ownership ensure "localism, diversity and competition." As a result, the FCC has tried to set limits on how many newspapers and television and radio stations companies may own, balancing the desire of big companies to grow bigger against the threat that a few companies will dominate the airwaves and choke out smaller voices. Largely, the agency has failed. As a result, it has lost some of its authority to make media rules. For instance, the FCC said one company may not own a group of stations reaching more than 35 percent of the national audience. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said there may be no legal justification for any cap and sent the rule back to the FCC. In January, Congress took away the FCC's power to set the limit and set its own limit at 39 percent. When Powell and the FCC media bureau began revising media ownership rules in 2002, as they were required by Congress to do, they said this time would be different. This time the FCC's approach was to inundate Congress and the courts with data, demonstrating with tables, charts, graphs and formulas how it arrived at its numbers. On Thursday, the appeals court told Powell and the FCC, essentially, that its math was wrong. Perhaps the toughest blow to Powell's expertise was the court's rejection of the FCC's "diversity index," a complicated formula devised to weight all of the media outlets -- television and radio stations, newspapers, cable channels, the Internet, etc. -- to which consumers are exposed. The FCC would use the diversity index when deciding which mergers to allow among different media outlets, such as television stations and newspapers. The diversity index was modeled on the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index of market concentration that the Justice Department uses in antitrust cases. As a former Justice antitrust lawyer, Powell was well-acquainted with this device. Yet the court slammed the door on Powell's approach, saying it failed to take into account each media outlet's audience size, a major flaw. "There is no question that what we were doing was completely novel," Powell said. "I do think we did it fairly well, but I think we had some areas of weakness. I'm willing to be self-critical. I think certain aspects could have been better explained." Still, Powell said he thinks the index is "defensible." Not persuaded by arguments in favor of the rules, the court wrote last week: "A diversity index that requires us to accept that a community college television station makes a greater contribution to viewpoint diversity than a conglomerate that includes the third-largest newspaper in America also requires us to abandon both logic and reality." Last week's ruling brings some form of closure to a tumultuous period of more than a year. A politically split FCC adopted the proposed rules on June 2, 2003, with Powell and fellow Republican commissioners Kevin J. Martin and Kathleen Q. Abernathy voting for them. Democratic commissioners Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein opposed them, saying they would allow big media companies to grow too big. During the process, the FCC was flooded with millions of e-mails and postcards protesting the new rules, bringing together unlikely and bipartisan coalitions. Powell said yesterday it might have been a bad political idea to try to push all the rules through at once. "I believed, as good government and good policy, bringing them together as a unified whole was a good instinct and idea," he said. "At the end of the day, it's worth some consideration as to whether they should be rolled up like that. It's hard to manage and very complex and creates all kinds of legal twists and turns. . . . Maybe it works better to take them individually, and that's one of the things I would consider going forward." The rules may also have appeared poorly justified to the court because they were the product of a shaky coalition, according to several sources within the FCC who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of the issue. Powell stood between Democrats Copps and Adelstein, who thought the proposed rules were too deregulatory, and Republican Martin, who thought they were not deregulatory enough. Powell needed Martin's vote to pass the rules, and certain elements of the diversity index may have been pushed too far to justify further deregulation, sources said. Then there was the issue of court shopping. The chairman has said he followed the direction of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, which told the FCC it should pursue a more deregulatory course, saying it had to justify keeping ownership limits rather than justify jettisoning them. Opponents of the proposed rules sued to stop the proposed rules and keep tighter limits in place. But they chose not to bring the case before the D.C. appeals court, which they said they thought would not be sympathetic to their cause. Instead, the Prometheus Radio Project -- a Philadelphia community radio organization that led the complaint -- filed its appeal in several jurisdictions across the country. When this happens, a lottery picks the court that will hear the case. Prometheus rolled the dice, and Philadelphia was chosen. "I still believe we would have had a very different result if it had gone to the D.C. Circuit," Powell said. "That's why those who opposed it were so aggressive about going to a different court." It's too early to say what the FCC will do next, Powell said. Copps read the court's decision as a repudiation of what he considered the Republican majority's media deregulation. He called for a series of nationwide public hearings and more studies before the agency takes another run at the rules. "The rush to media consolidation approved by the FCC last June was wrong as a matter of law and policy," Copps said. Powell said yesterday that he is still digesting the rules but found some promise in the court's decision and suggested opponents claimed a larger victory than was actually won. "The court wants more explanation for the lines we drew," he said. "Yes, we failed to convince them on the first try. But we were not sort of way out of whack the way people portrayed it." (c) 2004 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. HOWARD STERN, SILENCED IN SOME CITIES, GAINS SOME OTHERS http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/01/arts/television/01STER.html?pagewanted=print&position= (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) STERN SAYS HE'LL PUSH FOR KERRY ON-AIR SUPPORT -- COULD CARRY CLOUT http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040701/6333253s.htm (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) NEW STERN OUTLETS: Pittsburgh New: WBZZ (93.7) - Infinity, CHR, B937 Replaces: Dave, Bubba, Brian & Shelly Old: Clear Channel Modern Rock, WXDX, The X (4.8-3.6) West Palm Beach New: WPBZ (103.1) - Infinity, Modern Rock, Buzz103.1 FM Replaces: Mark, Genny & Dahmer Old: Clear Channel Classic Rock WBGG (2.4-2.3) San Diego New: KPLN (103.7) - Infinity, Classic Hits, The Planet Replaces: Woody & Wilcox Old: Clear Channel Active Rock KIOZ (3.2-2.6) Orlando New: WOCL (105.9) - Infinity, Modern Rock, O-Rock Replaces: The O Show with Tony Old: Clear Channel Hot Talk WTKS (6.7-4.4) Rochester NY New: WZNE (94.1) - Infinity, Modern Rock, The Zone Replaces: Ty Old: Clear Channel Modern Rock WNVE (4.1-3.5) Houston TX New: KIKK-AM (650) Infinity, Business News Tampa New: WQYK-AM (1010) Infinity, Sports Austin TX New: KQBT-FM (104.3) Infinity, Rhythmic CHR Fresno New: KRNC-FM (105.9) Infinity, Spanish/Romántica Ratings in parentheses compare the station`s final full survey with Stern (Fall `03) to the station`s latest Arbitrend (Spring `04 Phase II) without him. All ratings are Mon-Sun, 6a-12 mid and copyright 2004 The Arbitron Company (FMQB.COM via Brock Whaley, DXLD) Still not on in Atlanta, but on 1010 AM in Tampa! (Brock Whaley, GA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. TOON IN --- THE BEST TV HAPPENS WHEN NO ONE IS LOOKING. By Justin Peters Every era has its hotbeds of cultural innovation, its gathering points where original thinkers and brilliant minds assemble and produce high- caliber works of art -- London's Bloomsbury, Paris' Montmartre, New York's Greenwich Village. My candidate for the modern day Left Bank is the corner of Williams Street and 12th Street in downtown Atlanta, Ga., where you'll find a decrepit-looking old warehouse. Inside, there are no ceiling tiles -- the writers ripped them out by hand as soon as they moved in. The production staff works in a broad, rectangular basement-like space with open-doored offices lining the mural-covered walls, ping-pong and foosball tables in the hallway, and life-sized robots (presumably not real, although I'm not quite sure) guarding the back entrance. The place resembles nothing so much as a real-life Wonka World for people who like cartoons instead of candy (but if you do like candy, don't worry, there's a gigantic bowl full of it on the table). Moving through this scene -- sauntering from office to office with various drawings in hand, congregating around the big table in the rear for a script read-through -- are a mixture of pudgy gawkers and rail-thin middle-aged guys, most of them Southern natives. Several are married with families and wouldn't be out of place at a college football game or a PTA meeting. And every afternoon (great art doesn't get made in the mornings), these guys can be found sketching hillbilly squids or French fries with goatees, debating the funniness of various voices, all of it destined for eventual use in a block of subversive cartoons, known collectively as "Adult Swim," that airs late-nights, 11 p.m.-5 a.m. [EDT = 0300-0900 UT in Eastern feed], on Ted Turner's Cartoon Network. Unless you're one of its growing number of insomniac fans, you may not have heard of Adult Swim. But these shows are among the most innovative, and increasingly popular, new programs on television today. . . [MUCH MORE, illustrated] http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2004/0406.peters.html (via Tom Roche, DXLD) This one does mention SGC2C ** U S A. EQUIPMENT FAILURE BUMPS PUBLIC RADIO STATION OFF AIR http://www.dodgeglobe.com/stories/063004/sta_0630040015.shtml Story last updated at 10:14 a.m. Wednesday, June 30, 2004 Listeners to High Plains Public Radio from the Texas Panhandle to the Nebraska state line have been without their favorite radio station since Tuesday morning. Promotions Director, Deb Stout, says the station continues to stream on-line at http://www.hppr.org : "We hope our listeners will take advantage of that service as much as possible while we work to correct the problem." HPPR Chief Engineer Chuck Springer said a failure occurred in the station's satellite uplink transmitter which broadcasts the signal from Garden City to four stations and 16 translators in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, western Kansas and southeastern Colorado. "It's not absolutely clear what caused the breakdown," Springer said, "but this kind of equipment does fail." Springer says repairs to the uplink are not an option because the manufacturer, SSE Technologies, is no longer in existence. The replacement uplink has been ordered, but Springer says HPPR is also investigating a "loaner" because new uplinks are not available for immediate delivery. Ideally, HPPR would have a backup uplink transmitter as do more affluent stations. "We've got this chain of equipment that it takes to keep the station on the air," Springer said, "and we're constantly examining it, looking for the weakest link and building in redundancies where we can afford them. Unfortunately, this back-up wasn't something we could afford." High Plains Public Radio is a non-profit radio station broadcasting in western Kansas, southeastern Colorado and the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. The bulk of HPPR funding comes from contributions of listener-members (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) Geez, the network originally depended on off-air relays from the FM signals. They should have kept this as backup and/or webcast! (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WFMT CHARGES FOR INTERNET STREAMS http://www.suntimes.com/output/feder/cst-fin-feder251.html After enjoying WFMT-FM (98.7) via their cable television systems for 25 years, thousands of listeners from coast to coast soon won't be hearing the classical music station anymore. Due to the proverbial "circumstances beyond their control" -- in this case, a unilateral decision by Tribune Co. to drop the audio service next month from its cable superstation feed -- WFMT bosses are scrambling for a substitute method of distribution. Starting in early July, the station will begin streaming its signal online on a paid-subscription basis. It is expected to cost $60 a year for WFMT Fine Arts Circle members and $100 a year for non-members. Some insiders are dubious about creation of a pay-stream service, citing few successful broadcast models for such a system. But without a national presence, WFMT stands to lose much of its listenership, clients and revenue. Listeners interested in the new service are invited to write to: streaming@wfmt.com (via Jonathan Marks, Critical Distance blog via DXLD) This Chicago classical music station also distributes Radio Netherlands jazz material. Looks like they are really going to test if people are willing to pay for Internet audio feeds (my guess is only the really dedicated few). (Marks, ibid.) Well, WFMT had a free stream for a long time until it was deleted a year or more ago (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 6925-USB, pirate, fair May 20, 2313-2406*, various clips including ``Rocky & Bullwinkle``, Steve Martin, Glenn Hauser (WoR), Artie Johnson. No ID, off after Acapulco Gold jingle (Rich D`Angelo, PA, The A*C*E via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 17700 1330-1500 UT --- I took a look at 17700 Wednesday, but missed the actual sign on at 1331. This is reported as a unID in Pashtu by Observer. They reported a 55555 signal, but it was nowhere near that here - only S5 at best, which suggests it is coming from somewhere in western Europe. I don't know if the old Pathé cinema news is familiar to you but I heard what sounded like the music they used at beginning of the transmission. Then it was talk and music. Transmission stopped at 1433 after music - no announcements - but carrier remained on (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX June 24 via DXLD) 17700, tentative Persian (Dari) station, 1330-1500 UT. Today Sunday June 27th heard only pause tones of approx. 700/300 Hertz?, continuously every 6 seconds with gap of silence in between. Monitored at 1330-1400 UT only. Strong signal, I guess from UK's 250/300 kW sites RMP/SKN at 85 degrees. See attached recording of the UNKNOWN Persian/Dari station on 17700 at 1330-1500 UT of today. Still a mystery. No program content today [Sunday June 27], just test tones... (wb, BC-DX June 27) I had a look at 17700 today at 1330. The carrier came on slowly a little after 1330 and the programme started at 1331 after a few short pips. The signal was modest, S-9 at best, often around S-5. I noted a couple of longer breaks in the feed despite that I only listened intermittently. The programme as such seemed to be rather professional and was in both Dari and Pushtu. No specific ID noted. The carrier went off exactly at 1500 and seemed to be DCC controlled (Olle Alm, Sweden, BC-DX June 29 via DXLD) And OK re 17700, and I note Olle's report about the signal strength - seems about right for a UK based transmitter, but we will eventually see if it really is a MNO operation. I also note the "delayed" start - possibly the transmitter is in use elsewhere until 1330? I hadn't noted two languages, but think I would need a better signal to recognise them (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX June 30 via DXLD) I heard them today, 1330 June 30, 17700. They came on around 1331, after some tones. Decent level, tho the band was noisy, and probably via Merlin, or even one of the U.S. relayers (tho would probably be stronger here if from U.S.). Definitely not from Taiwan, which would not propagate here like this at this hour. It seems like Persian to me, tho I'm not sure I would know Dari or Pashto if I heard it. At the beginning it sounds (phonetically) like Sal-AAM WAH-tan-doh-rah. Definitely mentions "MHz" and "kHz," and I think "FM" too. I don't hear an "Amani." And nothing in the Domen list http://www.schoechi.de/crw/domen.html seems to fit. "Needs more work," as we like to say! (Jerry Berg-USA, DXplorer June 30, ibid.) UNID 17700 Pashto service reported by DX Observer. Strong, no sign of an ID. 1500* (Hans Johnson-USA, June 29 and 30 via DXtuner Europe, Cumbre via BC-DX via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ``IT SEEMS TO US . . .`` BPL --- A BLIND ALLEY ARRL QST Editorial July 2004 From: http://www2.arrl.org/news/features/2004/07/01/1/?nc=1 By David Sumner, K1ZZ, ARRL Chief Executive Officer, July 1, 2004 --- Editor`s note: Typically, only ARRL members get to read the ``It Seems to Us ...`` editorials that run each month in QST. We`re posting this editorial that appears in the July 2004 issue of QST in the hope that both ARRL members and nonmembers might appreciate it and find it informative. --- Speaking at the American Association of Community Colleges Annual Convention in Minneapolis on April 26, President George W. Bush said: ``There needs to be technical standards to make possible new broadband technologies, such as the use of high-speed communication directly over power lines. Power lines were for electricity; power lines can be used for broadband technology. So the technical standards need to be changed to ­encourage that.`` Mr Bush is wrong. Technical standards do not ``need to be changed to encourage`` Broadband over Power Lines (BPL). Even the self- proclaimed ``cheerleaders`` for BPL at the FCC realize that the rules already are too lenient when it comes to controlling the potential for BPL to interfere with over-the-air radio ­- communication services. Where did the idea for Mr Bush to promote BPL come from? Not from the experts that he asked for advice on ``Building Out Broadband.`` On December 13, 2002 the President`s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) delivered a report with that title. The PCAST report doesn`t even mention BPL; its focus is on wireless broadband. Everyone is in favor of increasing consumer access and lowering the cost of broadband services. During the past three years the United States has slipped behind other countries, nota­bly those in Scandinavia, in its readiness to take advantage of Internet-based opportunities. In an election year, the administration`s desire to be perceived as doing something about that is understandable. But there is growing evidence that BPL is a blind alley. As radio amateurs, our concern about BPL is that it pollutes the radio spectrum. Were it not for this unfortunate side effect, BPL could be left to succeed or fail on its economic ­merits. We are not opposed to BPL; we are opposed to the interference it causes. The problem facing BPL proponents is that radiation is unavoidable when you put a radio-frequency signal on an unshielded, unbalanced wire such as a power line. The power lines can`t be shielded--a separate shielded cable is much cheaper--and they are inherently unbalanced because the load is changing all the time. So, power lines inherently are an inappropriate medium for broadband signals. On the day after Mr Bush`s speech the ­National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released Phase 1 of its long- awaited study of BPL interference potential. The technical content of the report reflects the high quality we have come to expect from the NTIA. However, somewhere along the line the NTIA apparently received instructions to find a way to make elephants fly. As a result the report suffers from schizophrenia. Directly contradicting the FCC`s claims in the BPL Notice of Proposed Rule Making that ``the risk of harmful interference from Access BPL operations is low,`` the NTIA found that interference is ``likely`` to receivers trying to hear ``low to moderate`` signal levels extending to 75 meters (about 250 feet) for land vehicles and 460 meters (1/4 mile) for fixed stations. Land vehicles are nearly always within 250 feet of a power line – and needless to say, most fixed stations are within 1/4 mile of a power line. Even more remarkably, the NTIA report predicts interference to aircraft reception ``within 40 km of the center of the BPL deployment area.`` For the metrically challenged, that`s 25 miles. Yet the NTIA does not take the logical next step of recommending a lower limit for BPL radiation. Instead the Phase 1 study suggests ``several means by which BPL interference can be prevented should it occur.`` These include mandatory registration of certain parameters of planned and deployed BPL systems, frequency agility (notching and/or retuning), and ``power reduction for elimination of interference.`` NTIA also recommends ``avoidance of locally used radio frequencies,`` among other things, to BPL developers. In a May 17 speech, NTIA Acting Assistant Secretary Michael D. Gallagher said the Phase 1 study ``showed that interference risks are high under existing FCC Part 15 rules.`` However, he also claimed that ``solutions exist to all identified BPL technical issues.`` This is true only if turning BPL systems off, and leaving them off, is counted as a ``solution.`` We doubt that investors in BPL would regard that as a desirable outcome. In May we said on this page that the important decisions about BPL deployment would be made in corporate boardrooms. On May 21 we were advised by a spokesman for PEPCO, the operator of a test BPL site in Potomac, Maryland, that a corporate decision has been taken not to invest in BPL. If someone were to approach them with a proposal to lease their lines to deliver BPL services, they would listen -- but they`re not committing any of their own money. We`ve heard of other power companies and cooperatives that have come to the same conclusion. Of course, such decisions are not heralded to the world by press release. Manassas, Virginia is an example of a BPL deployment decision gone wrong. Last October the City Council voted unanimously to grant a franchise for BPL service to a company called Prospect Street Broadband LLC. At the time a Manassas official bragged that there was ``very little financial risk`` to the city. There was talk of as much as $4.5 million in revenue to the City over 10 years -- even talk of tax reductions. Less than six months later, on April 8, the City of Manassas ``concluded its relationship with the initial Franchisee by mutual agreement and acquired the interests and equipment of the Franchisee.`` The franchise is out for rebid. The 77-page bid package makes for interesting reading. It doesn`t take an MBA to figure out that operating the system is costing a lot more than it is producing in revenue from 100 paying customers as of the time the bid package was released. Curiously, there is no mention of any of this in the City`s comments on the NPRM filed more than three weeks after the cancellation of the initial franchise. Manassas has elected a new mayor who takes office July 1. We wish him luck finding his way out of the BPL blind alley. He`ll need it. Copyright © 2004, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, dxldyahoogroup via DXLD) ALLIANT SHUTS DOWN BPL TRIALS The ARRL is reporting this. http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2004/06/28/2/ Also, there is a thread on it at slashdot (Mike Westfall, N6KUY, WDX6O, Los Alamos, NM (DM65uv) Online logbooks at http://dxlogbook.gentoo.net NRC-AM via DXLD) RADIO STAMPS ++++++++++++ GOOGLING EKKO Continuing the discussion of EKKO stamps from last time, John Johnson sent me an e-mail letting me know that one can access a lot of websites just by typing in EKKO Stamps in Google. I just tried it and he's right. I took a look at one and it was interesting. It also had pictures of some of the EKKO Stamps and it wasn't the same as the one I got from KFYR-550 in Bismarck, ND back in 1965. These pictures had an eagle in the middle but the KFYR stamp had a transmitter on their stamp. So, I will have to check the websites further later on (Richard Evans, Indianapolis, Indiana 46227-7923, IRCA Soft DX Monitor July 3 via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ PAPER CLIP YAGI Boredom can be a dangerous thing --- Tonight is another night with no Es, no tropo beyond what I get every night, and nothing else to do. For some reason, I decided to make an antenna out of paper clips, tape and a popsicle stick. Not only did it work, but it worked quite well. Some pictures are up at: http://www.electroblog.com:8090/construct/cliptenna.shtml (Joe Veldhuis, Grand Haven, MI - +42.993N -86.126E, June 30, WTFDA via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to unsettled levels at all latitudes. The calm field is a result of the mostly benign solar wind plasma and IMF measurements. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 30 JUNE - 26 JULY 2004 Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels. Mostly very low conditions are expected through the early part of the forecast period. Old active regions are expected to return on 10-11 July, which will likely boost activity levels to low. No greater than 10 MeV proton events are expected The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on 30 June – 03 July and 13 – 14 July due to recurrent coronal hole high speed streams. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to active levels. Unsettled to active conditions are possible on 30 June – 01 July, 6 July, 11-12 July, and 25-26 July as generally weak, recurrent coronal high speed streams rotate into a geoeffective position. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2004 Jun 29 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2004 Jun 29 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2004 Jun 30 85 20 4 2004 Jul 01 85 15 3 2004 Jul 02 85 12 3 2004 Jul 03 85 10 3 2004 Jul 04 85 10 3 2004 Jul 05 85 10 3 2004 Jul 06 85 15 3 2004 Jul 07 85 8 3 2004 Jul 08 85 10 3 2004 Jul 09 90 10 3 2004 Jul 10 95 5 2 2004 Jul 11 100 10 3 2004 Jul 12 110 15 3 2004 Jul 13 110 8 3 2004 Jul 14 110 8 3 2004 Jul 15 110 10 3 2004 Jul 16 115 10 3 2004 Jul 17 115 10 3 2004 Jul 18 115 10 3 2004 Jul 19 115 10 3 2004 Jul 20 110 7 2 2004 Jul 21 110 12 3 2004 Jul 22 105 10 3 2004 Jul 23 100 12 3 2004 Jul 24 95 15 3 2004 Jul 25 90 15 3 2004 Jul 26 90 10 3 (from http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1236, DXLD) ###