DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-127, August 23, 2004 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING 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 1242: Tue 1600 on WBCQ after-hours http://wbcq.com repeated weekdaily Wed 0930 on WWCR 9475 WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: WORLD OF RADIO 1242 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1242h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1242h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1242.html WORLD OF RADIO 1242 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1242.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1242.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1242 in the true SW sound of 5070: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_08-21-04.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_08-21-04.mp3 FIRST AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1243: Wed 2200 on WBCQ 7415 Wed 2300 on WBCQ 17495-CUSB Thu 2030 on WWCR 15825 ON DEMAND: from early UT Thu, change 1242 above to 1243 ** ALBANIA. I have had a look at TWR via Albania, and although all signals are clean and stable, the frequencies in all cases are slightly low. It seems the new Chinese transmitters are not top notch technology (Olle Alm, Sweden, Aug 20, BC-DX via DXLD) no grip, only 30% of modulation level! (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) 7110, R Tirana is now back regularly in Albanian 0600-0800, but still on weak signal level, and LOW MODULATION of about 30% only noted on new Chinese transmitter, and the aerial path/reflection for this non- direxional? outlet is not optimal also. There is no 'grip' with this modulation level (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, BC-DX Aug 19 via DXLD) Tirana 7110 is audible but it isn't easy to distinguish it from Belarus - they mix badly - but certainly their audio is not "punchy". Their TWR broadcast in Russian on 11615 was audible around 1350 but not very strongly. The audio was clear enough to understand. I tried the TWR broadcast starting at 1625 today in Persian on 12075 and 9960, and both senders were on air and exactly on frequency as far as I could tell - and via 90 deg when from Cerrik. The strength of signal suggest a directional aerial away from Europe is in use so I assume Shijak also has a 90 deg beam - or similar. There is no trace of Armenia today so far, so I assume what I heard is not daily on 9960? As we say, the wheel has turned a full circle and CRI will once again instal new transmitters in Albania and use them as a relay station. Which company builds 150 kW SW transmitters - a Chinese copy from Thales or Harris? It seems that China has not given up on SW if CRI has rented the site for 15 years. I would guess the transmitters will be DRM compatible (Noel R. Green-UK, BC-DX Aug 17/19 via DXLD) I haven't yet checked the changeover times which Olle writes about concerning CRI but intend to do so. But I have checked the Shijak frequencies; 11865 was lower than nominal today, but not by very much. I made it somewhere between 11864.95 to 97. Tuning lower or higher introduced Donald Duck effects when using LSB, and it was easy to tell by tone when tuning away from the frequency. Perhaps the "new" 100 kW units are re-built rather than new? Usually, the 'old' Tirana transmitters sounded OK but they had problems in maintaining frequency accuracy, as we know. We will now await the new Cerrik set up. I wonder where they will point the aerials from this station? (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Aug 22 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. See POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ** AUSTRALIA. Voice International updated A04 schedule via Darwin, NT AUS (12S25 130E38) 250 kW. Christian Voice is a British based religious broadcaster which operates SW stations in Zambia (*1994), Chile (*1998) and Australia (*July 2000) and also applied for a local FM license in the UK Midlands. At World-Wide-Web http://www.voice.com.au Postal address is: Voice International Ltd., Killick St, Kunda Park, QLD 4556, Australia. Program from Zambia and Australia is produced at the organizations headquarters in West Bromwich near Birmingham and fed to the stations by satellite. The Spanish programs from Chile are produced in Miami (Florida-USA). Christian Voice (Australia) Ltd. Postal Site Address: Cox Peninsula Transmitter Site, Via Darwin NT 0800, Australia. Fax # +61 (8) 8981 2846. Postal Address: PMB 5777, Darwin NT 0801, Australia. Frequency Start Finish Target Chinese 17830 0700 0900 China 13770 0900 1400 China 13660 1400 1800 China 15165 2200 0100 China English 11955 0900 1100 India 13685 0900 1400 China 13635 1100 1800 India 6115 1800 2100 India Indonesian 17820 0600 1000 Indonesia 15365 1000 1300 Indonesia 7180 1300 1700 Indonesia 15250 2300 0200 Indonesia (Voice International Website via JKB, 18 Aug 2004, Aug-Sept WWDXC DX Magazine via DXLD) ** BELARUS. RUSSIA? 4983, Aug 21, 22, strong but distorted signal, sign-off at 1801 with jingle and announcement in Russian, pop music before (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) How about this: 4982 USB, 0310-0320 08-08, Minsk Utility Station, Belarusian pop songs, announcements // 5134 (USB), not // BR 1 on 6010 35343. New frequency 7145, 0340-0400 08-08, R. Stalica, Malhiliou. Belarusian announcements, local pop songs, ad Coca Cola, 0357 ID, not // BR 1 heard on 279 LW/ 6010 / 6040 / 6070 / 6080 / 6115 before 0400 when BR 1 was relayed. The relay of R Stalica on this frequency now seems to be daily! 45444 AP-DNK (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, on an AOR AR7030PLUS with a 25 metres longwire, @tividade DX Aug 23 via DXLD) 7110, mostly Belarus Radio is ahead of Tirana signal [see ALBANIA], \\ poor 6010 6040 6080, much better on 6070. But poorest signal of some Hundred watts only - I guess - noted on 7145 kHz. Fine condition this morning around 0545 til 0650 UT, but then declined. It was a little "breeze" of winter condition reached us (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, Aug 19, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Quem ouviu a Rádio Difusora, de São Luís (MA), pela freqüência de 4775 kHz e gravou tem um documento para a posterioridade. É que a emissora nunca mais reativará tal canal em ondas curtas, conforme informação dos funcionários Sidney e José Carlos. Eles conversaram, por telefone, com o nosso colaborador Paulo Roberto e Souza, de Tefé (AM). A partir de agora, a Difusora de São Luís pode ser captada somente em 680 kHz, em ondas médias, com programação da Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus. Quem ouvir a emissora, deve entrar em contato com Emilson Nóbrega, no seguinte endereço: Avenida Camboa do Mato, 120, CEP: 65020-260, São Luís (MA). Na Internet: http://www.sistemadifusora.com.br BRASIL – Alguns ouvintes da Rádio Bandeirantes, de São Paulo (SP), estão reclamando das dificuldades de sintonia da emissora, nos últimos tempos, em ondas curtas. Todas as terças, às 1230, a ombudsman da emissora, Maria Porchat, leva ao programa Manhã Bandeirantes, o responsável técnico, Augusto Huertas. Ele tem utilizado material técnico do coordenador do DXCB, Sarmento Campos, para sanar as dúvidas que os ouvintes levantam. Até outros espaços da emissora, como o Jornal Gente, tem recebido queixas quanto à dificuldade de sintonia em ondas curtas. Foi o que ocorreu no último dia 21, quando José Paulo de Andrade precisou reavivar que a Bandeirantes continua, sim, emitindo em ondas curtas. A coluna informa que a sintonia da emissora, em Porto Alegre (RS), é praticamente normal entre 0900 e 2000, em 9645 e 11925 kHz. BRASIL – Dois colegas brasileiros ouviram, recentemente, a Rádio Educadora, de Guajará-Mirim (RO), pela freqüência de 3375 kHz. Em Pontes e Lacerda (MT), o José Moacir Portera de Melo captou a emissora, em 28 de julho, às 0951, quando era apresentado o programa Brasil Caboclo. Já o Márcio Pontes, de Registro (SP), acompanhou o mesmo programa, em 6 de agosto, às 0904. BRASIL – Uma estação brasileira com poucos relatos de sintonia é a Rádio Missões da Amazônia, que emite desde a localidade de Óbidos (PA). Pois o José Moacir Portera de Melo ouviu a emissora, em Pontes e Lacerda (MT), em 29 de julho, às 0939, pela frequência de 4865 kHz. Naquela oportunidade, ele acompanhou músicas pentecostais e anúncio de uma loja de material de construção. BRASIL – O Município de Jataí, no estado de Goiás, tem orgulho de ser o maior produtor de milho no Brasil. De lá, emite a Rádio Difusora. Em Pontes e Lacerda (MT), o José Moacir Portera de Melo ouviu a emissora, em 22 de julho, às 0115, pela freqüência de 4925 kHz. Ocorre que, pelos dados do WRTH e outras publicações, a freqüência original da emissora seria 4935 kHz. No entanto, o Portera ouviu vários anúncios comerciais com endereços naquela cidade. BRASIL – Desde Anápolis (GO), Vieira Sobrinho informa a direção postal da Rádio A Voz do Coração Imaculado: Rua Barão de Cotegipe, s/n, Centro, Caixa Postal 354, CEP: 75105-970, Anápolis (GO). Na Internet: http://www.immacolata.com/radiovoz BRASIL – O dia 1º de setembro marca mais um ano de atividades da Rádio Nacional da Amazônia, que transmite de Brasília (DF), pelas freqüências de 6190 e 11780 kHz. Para comemorar a data, a emissora vai sortear 10 receptores de rádio de ondas curtas. Os detalhes podem ser conferidos em toda a programação da estação. A dica é do Paulo Roberto Peres Michelom, de Porto Alegre (RS). (all: Célio Romais, Panorama, @tividade DX Aug 23 via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. Re: ``Probably Bulgaria`s requirement; have they ever acknowledged running any such outside services? [...] 73, (Glenn to Kai, via DXLD)`` Well, has anybody actually ever asked "Bulgaria" to acknowledge? The SW transmitters are owned and run by the Bulgarian Telecommunications Company (see WRTH 2004, pg. 499 which also lists the capacities of each site). Bulgarian Radio is only a program producer and not involved in such relays. Experience tells that it is usually the brokers who impose a secrecy about sites they are using, and that has mostly commercial reasons (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also MALDIVE ISLANDS [non] ** CANADA. CHEV-1610 Licence renewed - but must find new frequency From today's CRTC release http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2004/db2004-364.htm The Commission renews the licence for CHEV Toronto, from 1 September 2004 to 31 August 2009. 1. The Commission received an application by BAF Audio Visual Inc. (BAF) to renew the broadcasting licence for the low-power radio programming undertaking CHEV Toronto. 2. The Commission did not receive any interventions in connection with this application. 3. Pursuant to the Department of Industry’s Broadcast Procedure Rules, as a low-power undertaking, CHEV, which currently operates at 1610 kHz, is authorized on an unprotected basis and, if necessary, must select another frequency to permit optimum utilization of the frequency spectrum. In Ethnic AM community radio station in Toronto, Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2003-117, 17 April 2003 (Decision 2003- 117), the Commission authorized the operation of a new full-power radio station at 1610 kHz. Accordingly, BAF must cease operation of CHEV at 1610 kHz once the licensee of the new station authorized in Decision 2003-117 advises the Commission that it is ready to commence operations. 4. In the circumstances, the Commission considers that a licence term of five years is appropriate to allow BAF adequate time to find a new frequency for CHEV, and to submit an application to the CRTC to obtain approval for its use. The Commission therefore renews the licence for CHEV Toronto, from 1 September 20041 to 31 August 2009. However, BAF must cease operation of CHEV at 1610 kHz once the new station approved in Decision 2003-117 is ready to commence operation, including if this occurs before 31 August 2009. 5. The licence will be subject to the conditions set out in New licence form for commercial radio stations, Public Notice CRTC 1999- 137, 24 August 1999, as well as to the following condition of licence: The undertaking shall be devoted solely to the broadcast of live community amateur sports events and community events. 73, (via Deane McIntyre VE6BPO, Calgary AB, Aug 22, NRC-AM via DXLD) The [Toronto] ethnic 1610 has its xmtr installed and equipment in place and rumor has it on as early as later this week. But an informed source tells me they will likely only operate from 8 am to 10 pm [EDT = 1200-0200 UT] for the time being (Saul Chernos, ON, Aug 23, NRC-AM via DXLD) See also CUBA [and non] for discussion of 530 stations ** CANADA. There will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to log and QSL Adventist World Radio on relay from RCI Sackville next Saturday. In a new series of broadcasts, NASB, the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters in the United States is now heard with a weekly broadcast in the digital mode from one of the transmitters in the shortwave station located at Sackville in New Brunswick. This current series of digital broadcasts from Canada is similar [identical?] to the series that was on the air earlier this year from a digital shortwave transmitter located in England. The programming in each weekly broadcast from Sackville is prepared by one of the shortwave stations that holds membership in the NASB organization. These broadcasts in the digital mode from the RCI facility at Sackville in Canada are as follows:- Saturdays 1700-1730 UTC 11900 kHz. The digital broadcast next Saturday, August 28, will be a repeat of the historic 500th edition of the AWR DX program, "Wavescan", which was aired in the analog mode a few weeks ago from the Miami based shortwave station, WRMI. AWR will honor all genuine reception reports on this digital broadcast, even if it is heard on an analog receiver. Please indicate reception conditions, including the width of the signal, interference circumstances, and signal strength. For programming content, please give a description of the sound of the transmitted signal. Reception reports on a digital receiver will be specially appreciated. The only address for this special once in a life time QSL is:- Adventist World Radio Box 29235 Indianapolis Indiana 46229 USA (Adrian Peterson, AWR, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. "Celebrating 55 Years of New China". Dear Listeners, Greetings from Rajshahi, Bangladesh. I am very glad to inform you that CRI Bengali service has arranged their Global Knowledge Contest, 2004. They arrange such type of contest every year on different themes and subjects. This year theme is "Celebrating 55 Years of New China". The deadline of participation of the contest is 31 December '2004. There will be a lot of prizes. The Top winners will get a free trip to China. Yours Sincerely (Salahuddin Dolar, Global Radio Fan Club, Chaumahani, Motihar, Rajshahi-6000, Bangladesh, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Site discussion: This morning I also heard CRI English on 17540 from before 0700 until 0857 s/off. The signal was rather weak and the audio was synchronized with 15350/13720, so my guess is that 17540 is beaming into the same area as the other two frequencies. At 0657 the second transmitter on 17650 arrived only seconds after the s/off on 17720, so this would seem to be one and the same transmitter. 17490 showed up 30 seconds or so later, which fits with the more complicated switch from 15245. I have also noted that the transmtiter used on 17650 until 0658 has a mild DCC (carrier amplitude varying with the audio amplitude). As far as I can remember this is the first time I have noted the Chinese using DCC. The implication is that this is another new transmitter (Olle Alm, Sweden, Aug 14, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) This morning I found out more to the 17490/17650 story at 0457. The transmitters used on these frequencies until 0457 obviously were Urumqi. Before 0457 a carrier was heterodyning (SAH) on 17650, and when the stronger transmitter had left it reappeared on 17720 after a few seconds, still with French audio. 17490 took a longer time to switch to 15245, where it still had the English audio on for a while. 17540 had Chinese dialect from 0400 and English from 0500, both also on 15350. Again the audio of these two channels was synchronised (Olle Alm, Sweden, Aug 16, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) I have now confirmed that both 17490 and 17650 switch to other transmitters at 1157-1158. I guess that those going on duty at that time are Kashi. 9795 arrives several seconds before any of 17490/17650 goes off, so it is a different transmitter, although appearing to be Urumqi (Olle Alm, Sweden, Aug 20, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) CNR-8 has been using 9430 and 9630 for some time now \\ 11630 for the evening segment in non-Chinese langs from at least 1400 until 1700 s/off. These replace other 31 m frequencies. 9430 is a strange choice considering co-channel FEBC. Is this a matter of intentional jamming? 9630 is shared with Finland, which is very weak at my location. Today, Sunday, the Chinese were jamming something on 6090 from at least 1400 until 1600 using the Lingshi transmitter normally operating on 7935 and also a Firedrake. 7935 was back after 1600 (Olle Alm, Sweden, Aug 22, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) 17720 German is stronger by 10 dB than 17650, but seemingly both from Urumchi. 17650 is stronger by 20 dB than 17490, latter S=8 only and from a different Chinese site[0700-1157], like jammer 17510 or CNR 17615 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Aug 19, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) CRI on 17490 & 17650 - via short path I assume - was again much less strong that 17720. And also less strong than the jammers on 17880, 17495 & 17615, but about the same as 17525. There was no trace of KWHR 17780 today - Tuesday it was peaking to S5+, which is the strongest I have ever heard it at around 0645 (Noel R. Green, UK, Aug 18, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) ** CROATIA. 5040, 1800-2300*, several days. Weak signal, a mixing product of 1125/6165 transmitters in Deanovac. They carry different programmes sometimes, and I can hear both on 5040. Audible with various antennas on digital Sangean ATS 505 receiver. 6165-1125=5040. a nice mix today (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. RVC-530 [Turks & Caicos] noted loud & clear with usual religious programming at 2315 EDT (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, UT Aug 22, NRC-AM via DXLD) The TV is explicitly said to be airborne at http://www.martinoticias.com/ At the end of the article, they say "also, our Radio Martí listeners can tune in our test transmission on 530 AM". It's not totally clear that the airborne applies to 530 also, but since they appeared at the same time I'd guess 530 is airborne also. Where's C.M. Stanbury when we need him? (Chuck Hutton, WA, ibid.) I seem to recall hearing RVC 530 in many different areas listening to saltwater path AM around Cuba. I'd think interference would be an issue. However, Turks and Caicos aren't signatories for the North American Radio Agreement/(treaty). (Ron Gitschier, Palm Coast, FL, ibid.) 530 is the TIS frequency for the Miami airport (MIA), useable during the day but pretty much toast at night. 530/RVC puts a great signal over all of Cuba, minimum .5mv skywave 50% with peaks at over 2mv so Radio Martí would be banging against that. With a saltwater path, RVC smokes into the eastern end of Cuba. On the other hand, keep in mind, RVC is not recognized by the IFRB in Geneva since they are not on an assignable frequency. Same holds true for the Caribbean Beacon 1610. The IRFB has assigned those frequencies for use by public safety agencies only, thusly they are not afforded any protection in the table of assignments. No matter what happens, it doesn't take long for Fidel to crank up another jammer (Jerry Kiefer, FL, ibid.) But these are certainly "assignable" frequencies in Canada! Do the IFRB recognize CIAO-530 and CJWI-1610? 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, Aug 23, ibid.) Good point. I think 530 was grandfathered in as Canada has been using it for years although, that is the only licensed broadcast activity presently on the frequency in the hemisphere. Both 530 operations in Costa Rica and Grenada have moved to 540. And 1610 is now assignable with all the US expanded band activity, plus Canada has apps pending in Toronto and Montreal. When the Caribbean Beacon arrived on the scene in the early 80's 1610 was strictly TIS (Jerry Kiefer, FL, ibid.) RVC and FIBS are both currently on 530 kHz. The FCC data also show CKHL, CJFT, CFHS and CIRS (in addition to CIAO), though I wouldn't have a clue whether that's accurate (Mike Westfall, N6KUY, WDX6O Los Alamos, NM (DM65uv), Online logbooks at http://dxlogbook.gentoo.net ibid.) CKHL has been gone for sometime. They moved to FM (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, ibid.) No idea about CFHS and CIRS. CKHL was the "other" Canadian 530 in High Level AB, which has since moved to FM. CJFT was the first 530, in Fort Erie, Ontario, rockin' the hits in AM stereo circa 1986. It eventually moved to FM (it's now CKEY 101.1), clearing the way for CIAO to move down the dial from 790 to 530. We'll be very close to the 530 site when we visit 740 during the NRC tours in a couple of weeks. s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) CFHS was a TIS in Ft. Frances, Ont, that was run by CFOB for the Ontario Tourism Bureau. It left the air a couple of years ago (according to the v/l I received from CFOB just before CFHS went dark, the Ontario Tourism Bureau didn't renew the contract). As I remember, CFHS's power was in the order of 50 watts; they came in very well here during the day (we're some 75 air miles from Ft. Frances). I believe that CIRS is the call of a similar TIS operating from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. When we went thru SSM two summers ago, it was on the air. (John Sampson, ibid.) Somehow I'm been confused by this thread. Are plans to use Spanish religious 530 for Marti or a transmitter elsewhere?? As others have mentioned 530 was SS rlg as usual last nite and pounding into Grafton WI (120 miles of Lake Michigan to that direction certainly doesn't hurt) 73 KAZ (Neil Kazaross, WI, ibid.) Neil, What was assumed was VOA was going to use an airborne xmtr on 530 to broadcast Radio Marti to Cuba. The US did that a few years ago over Haiti (93?) with a fair amount of success, but they didn't have a 50 kw powerhouse as a co channel. 530/RVC is too successful as a relay for 1330 in New York to broker time for a project like this (Jerry Kiefer, FL, ibid.) RVC was blasting in here last night with the usual SS religion and 3 station TOH ID in EE. Heard in the null of local 40 watt "superpower" TIS WPLX284. I am 2350 miles from RVC on a heading of 310 degrees (Patrick Griffith, NØNNK, Westminster, CO, Aug 22, ibid.) Re: [AMFMTVDX] Martí testing on AM 530 and Canal 13 That was quick. The FCC only issued a change in authorization for TV Marti (Ch 13) on Aug 19th. This is part of the text. Full text at link: "6. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that TV Martí may operate Channel 13 television facilities with technical parameters at variance from those previously authorized by the Commission. Such operations shall be permitted for a period of six months from the effective date of this Order." "7. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that TV Martí's operations on Channel 13 be on a non-interference basis and that such operations must cease if the Commission determines that they are causing harmful interference to Commission licensees." http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-2592A1.doc Didn't see anything about 530 (Bill Frahm - Boise ID, Aug 22, amfmtvdx at qth.net via DXLD) Since Martí is USG external service, I`m surprised the FCC was even consulted; perhaps just for the sake of appearances, CYA (gh, DXLD) US OVERCOMES CUBAN JAMMING OF AMERICAN STATIONS The Associated Press 8/23/04 5:22 PM http://wizzer.advance.net/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?a0661_BC_US-Cuba&&news&newsflash-washington WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration has successfully overcome Cuban jamming of U.S. government radio and television broadcasts through transmission from a military aircraft, the State Department said Monday. Spokesman Adam Ereli said the transmissions of Miami-based Radio and TV Martí took place for several hours on Saturday from an aircraft flown by the Air National Guard. Ereli noted that a U.S. government commission appointed by President Bush had recommended in May that regular broadcasts be carried out from an airborne platform "to break the Castro regime's information blockade on the Cuban people." Radio Martí was able to broadcast without interference during its first five years. But Cuban authorities began jamming Radio Martí and TV Martí when the television station began operations in 1990. "These broadcasts will give the Cuban people uncensored information about their country and the world, and will help bring about a rapid and peaceful transition to democracy," Ereli said (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Just like that? Don`t you believe such simplistic nonsense (gh) ALERT! [Rebelde] 530 right now (2225+ GMT 23 August) fair level and this time in direct parallel to 1180 (Terry L. Krueger, Clearwater FL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) OK, if you`re inland you get Charlie, not Rebelde. Not heard in Lakeland on 530 until a 0000 UT check had it with a pretty decent signal. My 530 Rebelde log was checked // 1180. Nothing at 2300 or 2330. JS (John Santosuosso, FL, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) At 0040 UT, 25 minutes past local sunset, on Aug. 24 UTC, Cristiana on top of 530 here in Atlanta, but, a nasty het is there. Too many "Christ" mentions on 530 for it to be Rebelde. Sounds like the usual T.& C. signal here, but with the het. Rebelde as usual on 710 and 1180. 0100 UT Cristiana ID here in Atlanta. BTW, het, if it is Cuba, is on the upper side. Regular Cuban's are in, nothing unusual in propagation noted. Of course, having been raised in Tampa, I know that Terry has a much better QTH for any Cuban activity, day or night (Brock WH6SZ/4 Whaley, Lilburn, GA, Sony 2010, 1950s WEGA German tube monster, 120' longwire, Palomar loop, Home brew tuner, EFT tunable pre-amp, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Cristiana has 530 to itself here in the Gainesville area at 2200-2215 EDT [0200-0215 UT] with a pretty good signal on peaks. Rebelde doing great on 1180, though Martí audible in the mess there. This all on the Sony 7600G, do not have 2010 and Scotka loop deployed (David Potter, FL, ibid.) see also TURKS & CAICOS ** DENMARK. World Music Radio update / now with Internet stream The transmitter for 5815 kHz has been running half power (6 kW) till July 5th and the test transmission on this frequency provided very good reception up till around 1,000 km from Denmark. At night the signals traveled even further. From August 15th 2004 the transmissions on 5815 kHz have been resumed. The results from the test transmission on 15810 kHz (500 W) - which ended June 17 - were less successful. Transmissions on 15810 kHz may resume mid September from a new transmitter site. Besides shortwave, WMR is also available worldwide via the Internet, and will be available locally in Eastern Jutland, Denmark on FM 104.2 MHz from mid September 2004. http://www.wmr.dk (via Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Aug 23, dxldyg via DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 5009.8, 0140-0205 15-08, R. Cristal Internacional, Santo Domingo (tentative) Spanish announcement, LA pop songs, 0200 talk and hymn, 0205 intermittent CWQRM. The usual heterodyne was away at 0130, because AIR had moved early to 7290 that morning! 24221 AP- DNK (Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, Denmark, on an AOR AR7030PLUS with a 25 metres longwire, @tividade DX Aug 23 via DXLD) Also recently reported as R. Pueblo --- you never know which of their domestic stations will show up on the SW frequency (gh, DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. 5500, V. of Tigray Revolution on Sat 21 Aug, sign- off at 1730*, instead of 1630 listed for Sat/Sun. Good signal! (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, Aug 23, http://africa.coolfreepage.com/africalist DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. New e-mail address: radio603 @ malmo2.net http://www.amradio.nu Amradio, Box 14006, S-200 24 Malmö, Sweden Tel ++46(0)40 49 50 00 mob +46(0)10 200 00 00 fax ++46(0)689 34 66 fax ++46(0)70 383 86 68 (Roy Sandgren, Radio 603, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE [non]. Re NASB Newsletter item about TDF: ``They also operate a site in Finland with three 500 kw SW transmitters providing coverage of Europe and the Mediterranean areas. Their site in Monte Carlo has two 100 kW and one 500 kW SW transmitters with fixed curtains serving Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean areas`` (Michel Penneroux, France, TDF, 2004 NASB Annual Meeting, Aug NASB NL via WWDXC via BCDX via DXLD) Perhaps the reference to Finland is because this company [TDF] owns the Pori site? I'm sure we would have heard if RFI was broadcasting via a relay station in Finland! And it's news to me that there are TDF SW transmitters in Cyprus at Cape Greco. Recent photos of the site did not show any antennas for SW. As far as I know, RMC uses SW transmitters and studios [co-located with RFI] in France --- this via Bernd. I heard a RMC transmission on 7 MHz last winter which Bernd commented on with this information. I wonder if there is some incorrect translation of the report by Michel Penneroux? (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Aug 22 via DXLD) ** FRANCE. Roberto Pavanello segnala l'arrivo della prima QSL di Radio Orient in Italia! --- Ciao! R. Orient 1350 KHz - 98 Blv. Victor Hugo - 92210 Clichy - Francia ha risposto con QSL folder e schedule, ma non l'adesivo in 26 giorni. Si 0.60 Euro, in moneta !!! (Roberto Pavanello, Aug 22, PlayDX via DXLD) Radio Orient 1350 kHz bestaetigte meinen Empfangsbericht innerhalb von 16 Tagen mit einer det. QSL-Karte im Format A4 und einem Sendeplan. Laut der Karte betrug die Sendeleistung 10 kW. Adresse: 98 Blvd Victor Hugo, 92110 Clichy, France (Patrick Robic, Austria, A-DX Aug 20 via BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) ** INDIA. 4910//5010, AIR English service, heard on several days with late sign-off AT 1805 or 1905. 5010 is much stronger. Olympia Special? (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR reception reports. The new email address is: spectrum-manager @ air.org.in Sunil Bhatia, Spectrum management & Synergy Division, All India Radio, New Delhi (AIR, Aug 13, From DXAsia http://www.dxasia.info via BC-DX via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. About RRI 11860. I suspect that it might really be beaming NW during local daytime, as it's a strong signal in mainland SE Asia, whereas 9680 and 15125 are much weaker and are probably beamed E/NE. In Surabaya, East Java, 11860 is so-so, 9680 is strong and 15125 is weak (SBY would be in the skip zone for 15 MHz from Jakarta). (Alan Davies, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Aug 12, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. Surf in' at the Internet you will see a lot of pages in a language other than English like Spanish, Italian, Russian, Japanese, Korean, French, Chinese or Portuguese. To translate this pages to English, there is a free service for translation of websites and short text: http://babelfish.altavista.com Often you will be informed, when a web page is changed, so you can use the free service http://www.watchcat.de After free registration (this is a German server, but the pages are in English) you type in the URL's to be watched, is there any change, you will receive an email. The URL's will be watched each day. Another goodie to for Windows users is the program WYSIGOT http://www.wysigot.com an off-line reader: you type in the URL's of the web pages to be downloaded to your local hard drive. Then you set the time intervals, WYSIGOT will look again at these web pages. If they are changed, WYSIGOT will download again the new changed page. Because you can hold the older version of the web page, you can highlight the changes of text at the two pages. So you will be informed, which words or numbers (like frequencies or transmission hours) changed at the page. At WYSIGOT there is a light program version for free, you can download and use. Babelfish translation, Watchcat service and the program WYSIGOT are very useful, I use them often when compiling the DXM news (Dr. Juergen Kubiak, Aug-Sept WWDXC DX Magazine via DXLD) ** IRAQ. NEW MUSIC RADIO OBSERVED ON AIR IN BAGHDAD BBC Monitoring has observed a new station identifying as Peace Radio FM, operating round the clock in Baghdad on 106.0 MHz. Programming is western and Arabic popular music with frequent identification announcements in Arabic, typically as follows: "Huna Idha'at al-Salam FM, min Baghdad". There is a station with a similar name, Peace Radio, already on air in Baghdad on 92.0 MHz FM and 1053 kHz mediumwave. Programming is not in parallel with that of the new station on 106.0 MHz, and it is not known if the two stations are connected. Source: David Kernick, BBC Monitoring research in English 23 Aug 04 (via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Kol Israel Networks --- For a while now, they've been talking about moving English, French and Spanish to the REQA network. It's currently on hold. As you know, people have been complaining that if those languages are moved to the REQA network, fewer people would be able to receive those broadcasts, as the REQA network doesn't cover as much area. To further explain the issue... The movement of those languages to REQA, was due to the proposed plan to merge the Reshet Alef (First Network), with Reshet Moreshet (Heritage Network), due to budget cuts. Once a merge of those networks would take place, they would be trying to fit two networks' worth of programming, on one network. Therefore, the foreign language broadcasts would be one more thing to try to fit into the programming day. The biggest issue holding up the merger, is the dispute over the firing of staff due to the proposed amalgamation of Reshet Alef and Reshet Moreshet. If you've noticed, over the past few weeks, on the IBA websites, they have already merged the Reshet Alef and Reshet Moreshet logos (Doni Rosenzweig, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Closure of medium wave transmitters in Italy. Many Italians continue to miss Radio 2 and Radio 3, and articles on the subject continue to run in newspapers. A case without precedent, Quotidiano Nazionale had a front-page article, "RadioRai, holed networks", and two full pages inside. In an interview, the Minister of Communication said that RAI has been forced to close down the transmitters because of electrosmog (which was clearly deceitful, as many low power stations have been closed down, along with more powerful ones, and electrosmog would not explain why the lease contract with Radio MonteCarlo of the 702 transmitter in French territory has not been renewed). That the long-term solution is digital radio (very long-term solution indeed, as WRTH 2004 says that "the general feeling today is that the process [of moving radio broadcasting from the FM band to DAB] may begin by 2010 and may be complete by 2015"); that many existing transmitting facilities will be renovated and relocated (and this is partial good news; we now know that Florence on 1368 and Pisa on 1062 will be closed down and a new transmitter will broadcast from Pisa on 657 with 100 kW, and also Roma Monte Ciocci with 6 kW on 1107 will be replaced by a 600 kW-er at Roma Blera). [and 846 + 1332 too?, wb.] With regard to 657 kHz, this choice is far from enlightened: with so many deserted or quasi-deserted formerly RAI freqs, a 100 kW-er on 657 from Pisa will clash - at 0620 UT winter - with regional programmes broadcast from Bolzano, Naples and Turin. And with regard to the following programmes of 50 years ago, has anyone ever logged Caltanissetta on 6240 kHz and Palermo on 6260 kHz? Both frequencies would look rather out-of-band by today allocations, and moreover, I can't remember reading about a SW station in Palermo before. RAI Programma Nazionale [in 1954] MW 566-656-899-1061-1331-1484-1578 kHz, SW 6240 and 9420 kHz from Caltanissetta. RAI Secondo Programma [in 1954] MW 845-1034-1115-1448-1484-1578 kHz, SW 6260 kHz from Palermo (Stefano Valianti, Italy, BDXC-UK "Communication" August via BC-DX via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. A "new" station appeared this morning on 11 MHz - Voice of Korea on 11865! I have been looking for this one and this is the first time I've noted it. It was on air at 0704 in Japanese when I tuned across it - before Shijak arrived with TWR. Signal strength was peaking to about S3 on the meter, and there was QRM from a RTTY type signal on the LSB (USB was clear). I wonder which way this one arrived here. The Grey [or gray if you prefer] line is only now - 0930 UT - covering JPN and approaching Korea. I could not hear any stations from China or JPN on 11 MHz same time so I assume the most likely path was a long one. 11735 (VoK in Russian) was just about audible. Does anyone know what the beam heading on 11865 might be? It's another one to check and it will be interesting to see if it is now a daily event (Noel R. Green, UK, Aug 18, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) ** KOSRAE. 1503, (FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA) V6AJ, Voice of Kosrae, Aug 21 at 1044 UT --- South Pacific island style music heard briefly 1044, then soft religious or EZL female vocals in unID language with piano accompaniment at 1048. Male singer with old time Gospel song 1049, and woman in Polynesian-sounding language with prayer or brief talk 1052. At 1055, definite island music heard again, with male announcer in English apparently closing out an evangelical program (mentions of 'broadcasts...thousands won to Christ'). Upon reviewing the recording, it sounds like the announcer is giving the program name as 'Jesus Can Save Radio, with James R. Hiney'. Shortly after this phrase he mentions 'Continue With Christ is broadcast in association with...'. I did a Google search for these possible program names but could not locate any clues. The beautiful island choral music peaked and went off at 1057, then silence for four seconds prior to a different male announcer saying, I believe, 'V-6-A-J'. The possible callsign is *extremely* weak and much lower level than the earlier programming, and no further content after that was heard. I didn't notice it until reviewing the minidisc. Bruce Portzer's latest Pacific-Asian Log shows English & Kosran languages for V6AJ, and a sign-off of 1100*. The music sounded very similar to Cook Islands native church hymns that I heard during a 1993 trip to Rarotonga. Best on Southwest Beverage. I also noted a very short peak of island music and drumming August 22 at 0803 on 1503. Very pleased with this 1 kw station, and potentially a new MW country for me (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DXing at Grayland, WA, 750 ft. SW & W Beverages, 950 ft. NW Beverage, mod. ICOM R-75 / mod. Racal RA6790GM / Timewave DSP- 59+, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN. CLANDESTINE Voice of Iranian Kurdistan was back reported at 1515 UT on 3970 and at 0158 UT on 3980 kHz, both cases jammed by Iran (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) ** MALDIVE ISLANDS [non]. [11525 test Aug 18] Started at 1630 after being on open carrier for a little while. Then programme with fair- good carrier but low audio level. Then audio went up but lots of hum and crackle and then heard Diesel engine drone. I think all this low audio coracle hum, preceding the normal audio before the Diesel Engine was when the Maldives Jammer was zero beating etc. The jamming broke off at times and then almost stopped 1615. Your test transmission also went off the air mid flight around 1650 and returned about 1655 and the strength went up. About 1705 co channel Maldive language speech under Minivan Radio and went on till about 1720, then started bursts of Hindi Music which was relayed from the Voice of Maldives \\ to MW 1449 kHz until Minivan Radio sign-off at 1732 approximately. Comments. Reception was not strong enough for very good SWL reception before the second transmission came on. The second half was stronger and reached satisfactory level; I would say S-4, but not S-5 like BBC, VOA, but quite a good signal. The effects of jamming were quite problematic before the second half. The second half was always the dominant signal, although after 1720 the jammer was getting stronger. After Minivan Radio carrier went off I noticed that the Maldive Island based transmission was in USB Mode. I felt that the Diesel Engine and the speech relay to the point of Music coming on, appeared to be an AM transmission. The bursts from the music after 1720 appeared to be a radio amateur type transmission not really made for broadcasting, thus the operators at the National Security Service (?) may have been using an SSB communications transmitter. From Sri Lanka I feel the second block is strong enough although I feel it could be better depending on what transmitter power and site are used. I did some recording for my own archives!! I think there were 3 repeats of a 20 min programme. All in Divehi other than for the March to Freedom Poem by Ismail in English (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, Aug 18, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) see also BULGARIA Starts Wednesday Aug 25 at 1600-1700 UTC on 13855 kHz, daily. They may air the same program for the first several days (Jeff White, WRMI, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I've just had word from the UK that the new station broadcasting to the Maldives, Radio Minivan, will start daily broadcasts on Wednesday 25th August at 1600-1700 UT on 13855 kHz from the Juelich transmitter site in Germany. These broadcasts are organised by Friends of Maldives, whose Web site is at http://www.friendsofmaldives.co.uk/ and will shortly contain further information about the broadcasts (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) As I recall, some other surrogate services are on same frequency at other times; I just recently noticed something there, didn`t note time, above WWCR on 13845. Should be clear as long as Iceland stays away (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13 MHz? - many receivers are not capable to receive 22 mb signals in Third World (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX) Good point; I guess they will soon get complaints if that be the case. Maybe 15.5+ MHz would work for a few more months. Ideally could run both Bulgaria 11525 and this a few days to find which is really better in target (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW CALEDONIA. 666, R. New Caledonia, Nouméa, Aug 22 1333 - Good signal at peaks, with male and female talk in French, relaying R. France International and parallel 738 Papeete, Tahiti. Promo of some sort 1338. It's nice to hear Nouméa again! (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DXing at Grayland, WA, 750 ft. SW & W Beverages, 950 ft. NW Beverage, mod. ICOM R-75 / mod. Racal RA6790GM / Timewave DSP-59+, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. 783, 2YB Access Radio, Aug 21 1328 - Folk music to 7- note xylophone music stinger and male announcer in English at 1229 ('Listen to the Irish Radio Program every Sunday, here on Access Radio...with news from Ireland and local news with Travis Davis, who will tell you what's happening and news from pubs...'), 1330 ID again including 'Access Radio 783 AM, celebrating the ethnic diversity of Wellington'. Good signal (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DXing at Grayland, WA, 750 ft. SW & W Beverages, 950 ft. NW Beverage, mod. ICOM R-75 / mod. Racal RA6790GM / Timewave DSP-59+, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. VON has been using 15120/17800 alternatively during the last two weeks for English to Europe from 2000-2300. I sent an E-mail complaining about fade-outs on 17800 a few weeks ago. After a few days with strong signal on 15120 (reported by email) they changed again to 17800 (complained by email again) and back to 15120 a few days later, but now they are back on 17800. OK, some more findings on VON: E-mail info @ voiceofnigeria.org is over quota, feedback form on website is out of order, vonlagos @ nigol.net.ng is not returned, but they do not reply to questions. The frequency announced is still 15120 from 0445 to 2300, but if they read out listeners letters referring to the evening broadcasts (observed three times), they do not give any frequency. While reading other letters they always point out that the writer listened to 15120. At 1500 hours they announced that broadcasts are directed to the Caribbean islands, at 1900 they should be for North America, at 2000 to Europe (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, Aug 23, http://africa.coolfreepage.com/africalist DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. OKC`s KKNG radio [93.3] has eliminated three reporters and will only do headlines in the future. Only one commercial radio station, KTOK, now staffs the State Capitol (Frosty Troy, Observerscope, The Oklahoma Observer, April 25, 2004 via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. This is "next door" to CCB LPFM client Central Assembly of God in Enid. From what we know about Enid Public Radio Association "we are not surprised ....." Apparently this is the first LPFM station to be sanctioned for underwriting violations (they occurred in 02.). (John Broomall, Christian Community Broadcasting, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 8/23/2004 --- LPFM SLAPPED ON WRIST FOR UNDERWRITING A lesson for all LPFMs who offer mentions in return for underwriting In an order, the FCC admonished Enid Public Radio Association, licensee of KUAL-LP in Enid, OK for violation of 73.503(d) and section 399B of the Communications Act. The FCC used this admonishment to remind LPFMs that "announcements may not contain comparative or qualitative descriptions, price information, calls to action, or inducements to buy, sell, rent or lease.". According to the FCC, the violations happened over a short period of time and that Enid has put new procedures in place to prevent further violations. Due to Enid's short but blemish free enforcement record, the Commission is not imposing a fine. For the complete text of the order as well as transcripts of ad copy that is considered in violation, see: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-2609A1.pdf (RECNET, also via John Broomall, DXLD) Viz.: Federal Communications Commission DA 04-2609 Before the Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C. 20554 In the Matter of ENID PUBLIC RADIO ASSOCIATION Licensee of Low Power Noncommercial Station KUAL-LP, Enid, Oklahoma ) EB-02-IH-0607 Facility # 124554 MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Adopted: August 20, 2004 Released: August 23, 2004 By the Chief, Investigations and Hearings Division, Enforcement Bureau: I. INTRODUCTION 1. In this Memorandum Opinion and Order, we admonish Enid Public Radio Association (``Enid``), licensee of low power noncommercial educational FM Station KUAL-LP, Enid, Oklahoma, for broadcasting advertisements in violation of section 399B of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended (the ``Act``), [footnote 1] and section 73.503(d) [footnote 2] of the Commission`s rules. We have carefully reviewed the record, including Enid`s response, and conclude that the licensee has violated the pertinent statutory and Commission underwriting rule provisions. While we believe that no monetary sanction is warranted at this time, based on the entire circumstances of this case, we find that an admonishment is necessary to redress the statutory and rule violations. Moreover, we believe that it is appropriate to specifically advise Enid of our concerns so that rule compliance may be fully achieved. II. BACKGROUND 2. In response to a complaint received by our Dallas Field Office, we inquired of the licensee concerning its underwriting announcements. Enid responded to our December 10, 2003, inquiry [footnote 3] by its submission dated January 2, 2004. [footnote 4] In its response, Enid acknowledges that it broadcast the inquired of underwriting announcements during the period June 5, 2002, through June 19, 2002, on Station KUAL-LP.5 Enid indicates that since receiving our LOI, it has initiated procedures to ensure that underwriting announcements will undergo more stringent staff review prior to broadcast. [footnote 6] III. DISCUSSION 3. Advertisements are defined by the Act as program material broadcast ``in exchange for any remuneration`` and intended to ``promote any service, facility, or product`` of forprofit entities. [footnote 7] As the Commission has long held, noncommercial educational stations may not broadcast advertisements. [footnote 8] Although contributors of funds to noncommercial stations may receive on-air acknowledgements, the Commission has held that such acknowledgements may be made for identification purposes only, and should not promote the contributors` products, services, or business. [footnote 9] 4. Specifically, such announcements may not contain comparative or qualitative descriptions, price information, calls to action, or inducements to buy, sell, rent or lease. [footnote 10] At the same time, however, the Commission has acknowledged that it is at times difficult to distinguish between announcements that promote versus those which merely identify the underwriter. Consequently, it expects only that licensees exercise reasonable, good-faith judgment in this area. [footnote 11] 5. The key facts in this case are not in dispute. Enid admits that Station KUAL-LP broadcast the announcements described in our letter of inquiry and set forth in the attached transcript; that the sponsors are for-profit entities; and that, with the exception of the announcement made on behalf of Remax Premier Realty, that it received consideration for airing the messages. Enid claims that it broadcast the Remax announcement only once, due to confusion during the staff`s script approval process, and that the other announcements aired only during a two-week period in June, 2002. [footnote 12] Enid asserts that it has since taken steps to ensure underwriting rule compliance by revising the station`s donor acknowledgment policy and practice. [footnote 13] 6. With the exception of the Remax announcement, whose broadcast was not made in exchange for consideration, we find that the other subject underwriting announcements exceed the bounds of what is permissible under section 399B of the Act, and the Commission`s pertinent rules and policies, in light of the ``good-faith`` discretion afforded licensees under Xavier, supra. In this regard, the announcements seek to promote their underwriters through comparative and qualitative descriptions and references that one could not reasonably believe would be permitted under section 399B of the Act and the Commission`s pertinent rules, and are thus prohibited. Notwithstanding this finding, however, we believe that a monetary forfeiture is not necessary to redress the statutory and rule violations at issue. Enid has previously enjoyed a blemish-free enforcement record. IV. ORDERING CLAUSES 7. In view of the foregoing, we conclude that a sanction is appropriate. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Enid Public Radio Association, licensee of low power noncommercial station KUAL-LP, Enid, Oklahoma, IS ADMONISHED for broadcasting advertisements in violation of section 399B of the Act, 47 U.S.C. § 399b, and section 73.503(d) of the Commission`s rules, 47 C.F.R. § 73.503(d). 8. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that a copy of this Memorandum Opinion and Order shall be sent, by Certified Mail -- Return Receipt Requested, to Enid Public Radio Association, 2122 West Maine, Enid, Oklahoma 73703. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION William H. Davenport Chief, Investigation & Hearings Division Enforcement Bureau Federal Communications Commission DA 04-2609 ATTACHMENT Transcript of Underwriting Announcements Aired on LPFM Station KUAL- LP, Enid, Oklahoma, from June 5 through June 19, 2002: Bradford Automotive Repair (30 seconds) This portion of the news is brought to you by Bradford Automotive Repair. Steve Bradford, he`s been around for 22 years, and that`s a long time; a lot of repairs he`s been doing here in Enid at 410 South Grant. And he`s open from 8-5 Monday through Friday. His phone number is 234-6635. That`s 234-6635. And he`s a very experienced repairman. And he`s a proud sponsor of 104.7, ``The Rocket.`` Bradford Automotive Repair (30 seconds) MV: Bradford Automotive Repair`s at 410 South Grant is open from 8-5 Monday through Friday. Steve Bradford—a really nice guy—too. You know him, don`t you, Jenny? FV1: I believe my Dad knows him actually. MV: Norman? FV1: Yes. MV: Well, Steve Bradford has offered general automotive repair for 22 years. And you know what, Anita? FV2: What? MV: That`s a lot of repairs and a lot of satisfied customers, too. FV2: Yes! MV: Bradford Automotive Repairs can be reached at 234-6635. Bradford Automotive Repairs, a proud sponsor of our programming today on 104.7, ``The Rocket.`` Beds Unlimited (30 seconds) Beds Unlimited is located just south of Northcutt Toyota on Overland Trail. They feature 90-day layaway on everything—bedroom sets, adjustable beds, sofas, futons, and more. They`re an authorized Orthopedic Mattress dealer, and remember their slogan, ``if you haven`t shopped Beds Unlimited, you`re not saving money.`` Beds Unlimited, a fine sponsor of programming on 104.7, ``The Rocket.`` [Footnotes:] 1 47 U.S.C. § 399b. 2 47 C.F.R. § 73.503(d) is a noncommercial broadcast rule applicable to LPFM licensees through incorporation by § 73.801. 47 C.F.R. § 73.503(d) allows noncommercial stations to air announcements acknowledging underwriter or sponsor donations, but prohibits the broadcast of paid announcements that promote for-profit underwriters or sponsors. 3 See Letter of William D. Freedman, Deputy Chief, Investigations and Hearings Division, Enforcement Bureau, to Enid Public Radio Association, dated December 10, 2003 (``LOI``). 4 See Letter of Ron Anderson, Director, Enid Public Radio Association, to William D. Freedman, Deputy Chief, Investigations and Hearings Division, Enforcement Bureau, dated January 2, 2004 (``Response``). Federal Communications Commission DA 04-2609 5 Response at 1. 6 Id. 7 47 U.S.C. §399b(a). 8 See In the Matter of the Commission Policy Concerning the Noncommercial Nature of Educational Broadcasting Stations (1986), Public Notice, republished, 7 FCC Rcd 827 (1992) (``Public Notice``). 9 Id. 10 Id. 11 See Xavier University, Memorandum Opinion and Order, 5 FCC Rcd 4920 (1990). 12 See Response at 1. 13 Id. (FCC as above via gh and John Norfolk, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FCC were too lenient; surely I have continued to hear such commercials since two years ago. I must listen more closely now (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The FCC today acted against a 100-watt LPFM (Low Power FM--100 weatts [sic] or less) station in Oklahoma. They`re putting on notice all NCE (Non-commercial Educational) stations that they`re going to start cracking down on blatant commercialism below 91.9 MHz FM. About time. ``Public`` stations are subsidized by tax payers in the form of government grants, tax-deductions for contributions, and free spectrum. Since most play only CDs and rebroadcast NPR news (as good as it is), they really don`t earn their free ride. A DJ playing a stack of CDs is NOT educational radio. Public stations pay no taxes, take tax monies to equip themselves, and take advertising in violation of the law. And people criticize the FCC for prosecuting Pirates? Here is FCC link to .PDF file, you can change to .doc or .txt http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-2609A1.pdf (rec.radio.shortwave via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** OMAN. You are right Noel, 15140 has been reactivated; I can also hear it under AIR in Russian (Mauno Ritola, Finland, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) Oman did eventually switch on 15140 at 1400 - or slightly after - when clock chimes were heard. I missed the ID then and then pop music until 1430! Clock chimes for the hour then one chime were heard. The ID was Radio Sultanate of Oman and the time was given as 1830. So, English is back on air. The signal is peaking to 9 on my meter with splash from R Liberty 15145. There is hum in audio which is not clear - like that from Urumqi on 17490. News ended c1438 and announcer said the next (English) news was "10 o'clock tonight.". Next English should be 0300-0400 on 15355, but I don't plan to listen to that! Arabic at 1400 should be on 15375 via Seeb and I hear a station there but it's too weak and noisy to copy. I heard Oman on 17630 this morning at 0630 with a clear ID at 0648. This is listed for their tr at Thumrait which has been off air for some time. I checked the usual Sebha frequency of 13640 and this was also audible but less strong but in parallel, with possible sat delay. 17630 is/was sched until 1000 and then nothing until 1400 when two frequencies are listed. But WRTH says only 1 transmitter at THU. 1400 on 13725 in Arabic and/or on 15140 in English & Arabic. The HFCC/ABU has no registration for 13725, but does have one for 15140. So, it may be worth while checking 15140 to see if English appears again at 1400 or Arabic at 1500 (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Aug 19 via DXLD) Provisional frequency requirement in A-04: 6085 0200-0400 39N,40W SEB 100 320 0 141 OMA RSO 6085 2000-2200 39SW,48 SEB 100 240 0 146 OMA RSO 6190 1800-2000 39SW,48 SEB 100 240 0 146 OMA RSO 9515 0400-0600 39N,40W SEB 100 320 0 141 OMA RSO 9760 2300-0200 28,39N THU 100 315 0 218 OMA RSO 13640 0600-1400 39N,40W SEB 100 320 0 141 OMA RSO 13640 2000-2200 28,39N THU 100 315 0 218 OMA RSO 15140 1400-1500 28,39N THU 100 315 0 218 OMA RSO english 15140 1500-1800 28,39N THU 100 315 0 218 OMA RSO 15355 0200-0300 48,53 THU 100 220 0 205 OMA RSO 15355 0300-0400 48,53 THU 100 220 0 205 OMA RSO english 15355 1800-2000 48,53 THU 100 220 0 205 OMA RSO 15355 2200-2400 28,39N THU 100 315 0 218 OMA RSO 15375 1400-1800 39SW,48 SEB 100 240 0 146 OMA RSO 17590 0400-0600 48,53 THU 100 220 0 205 OMA RSO 17630 0600-1000 28,39N THU 100 315 0 218 OMA RSO (pre A-04 conference file) (BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) ** SAO TOME [and non]. VOA. On Aug 22, 2000+ I heard regular Dateline Africa broadcast on new 4940. Must be just a few days ago when I heard it on 4950. To my surprise, on that channel I could listen to RCI after 2000 in English!!! Fair signal, really a new frequency or caused by my receiver? Digital Sangean ATS 505 with telescopic antenna. (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, Aug 23, http://africa.coolfreepage.com/africalist DX LISTENING DIGEST) In this case, it`s a receiver-produced image from Hörby, Sweden relay on 5850, 900 kHz higher (gh, DXLD) Die Voice of America Relay Station São Tomé war heute abend bis zum Sendeschluss um 2100 UT auf der (neuen?) Frequenz 4940 kHz zu hoeren (Christoph Ratzer, Austria, A-DX Aug 22) English/Hausa 1800-2100 UT, (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, BC-DX via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. The often mentioned Saudi Radio program II on 4790 kHz maybe is the 7th harmonic of fundamental 684 kHz MW, also carrying second program [instead of 0.5 x 9580! -- but that would be 4788 if 684 is not off-frequency --- gh] Today on 21680 kHz I heard a mix of two programs: in French and in Arabic (Main program) of 21505/21640 kHz. That is remaining to previous years, when the Arabic program was on 21495/21505/21705, the French was on 21600 (21505/21705), at *0800-100* UT, and the mixed signal with French & Arabic was on 21810 kHz. (2 x 21705 minus 21600 = 21810) By the way program "Holy Qur`an" was *0900-1200* UT on 11935 and 17615, not on registered 21495 (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Aug 16, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. 7105, R. Taiwan Intl. at 1100-1155. This frequency evidently replacing old 7445, but too late to avoid interference to RFPI. Classical Chinese music program, talk show, in English to SE Asia. 243 SIO (Rick Barton, AZ, Cumbre Aug 18 via BC-DX via DXLD) Indeed 7445 does not appear at all in the full TAIWAN schedule recently published (gh, DXLD) ** TIBET. PBS Xizang 4905 // 4920 // 5240 // 7385, Aug. 21, 22, sign- off at 1800, instead of 1700/1730. All signals strong (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKS & CAICOS. 530, Radio Visión Cristiana International, 1224- 1310 Aug 23 [daytime]. Noted a religious program in Spanish until 1242 which was probably canned. At 1243 man with live comments in Spanish, IDs and TCs followed by music. (...Radio Vision Cristiana Nacional) At 1259, English canned ID for WWRV (...WWRV, 1330) by a woman and on the hour other IDs in Spanish followed by news. Ads after the news at 1304. Signal was fair and clear here in South Central Florida. No sign of Radio Martí or Radio Rebelde on this frequency now (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, 545, Dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also CUBA [and non] ** U K. BBC's new media viewer --- THE BBC WIZARDRY SET TO MAKE WAVES Owen Gibson investigates a BBC gizmo called the interactive Media Player that will allow licence-fee payers to watch programmes at a time and place of their choosing. . . http://media.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4999194-105337,00.html (via Dan Say, BC, DXLD) ** U S A. Kenneth Tomlinson of BBG will be on C-SPAN Monday at 1300- 1330 UT discussing US broadcasting to Arab and Moslem countries. It`s a call-in (Glenn, dxldyg, some 9 hours earlier, via DXLD) Started 4 minutes late, or at 2:04 into the 3:07 hour file of the 8-23 Washington Journal, which came right up from a link on the home page http://www.cspan.org You did not miss much. As an example of where he is coming from, Tomlinson started right off by saying it`s hard to believe the US had not been broadcasting directly to the Arab people until Al-Hurra TV began early this year. WHAT ABOUT THE VOICE OF AMERICA which broadcast in Arabic for sesquidecades? And which he later admitted he had directed during Reagan`s first term. One question, from the moderator, was how do Cubans go about picking up Martí? He said some of them know how to cope with jamming, but nothing about the just-started airborne relays. Makes you wonder if he is even aware of them? Must not read DXLD. He was not confronted with any challenging questions, surprise. Many of the calls were off-topic, listeners sniping at each other, and those that were on-topic demonstrated an appalling ignorance on the part of the public about international broadcasting (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That ignorance is insured and reinforced by the Smith Mundt Act. His knowledge as displayed here confirms (at least to me) that overall high level management of US international broadcasting is in the hands of idiots, ne'er do wells and know nothings. I guess we who truly appreciate and treasure shortwave and international broadcasting really have our work cut out for us --- If we want to take on the challenge, that is. [Later:] Pardon me, please. Instead of "idiots, ne'er do wells and know nothings", it would have been better and more politic for me to say, "those who don't seem to have its best interests at heart". (John Figliozzi, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No John, your first description *was* more appropriate (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, United Kingdom, ibid.) ...or at least people who seem to have a shallow base of knowledge regarding the history and heritage of the VOA and how the VOA has contributed to enhanced understanding of world events, USA culture, and the promotion of representative government. Help me out here, please -- What is the Smith Mundt act? Why is it germane to the discussion? Paul: Would you (and any others from outside the USA) be willing to craft some text that helps explain how the VOA has contributed to your understanding of the USA and world afairs over the years? I don't think NASWA or other USA-based shortwave "hobby" clubs will take an advocacy position regarding the VOA as we did with broadband- over-powerline, but I (for one) wish to help elevate the visibility of the VOA's predicament to the key national media as well as the relevant members of the US Congress (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA Shortwave radio enthusiast, ibid.) ** U S A [non]. EUROPE: Radio Free Europe - RFE / Radio Liberty - RL updated language schedules, unchanged language schedules see prior issue of DXM. Cause of a lot of changes, hard to compare each item, given the complete language schedules: Afghan Service 0230-0330 11945 Every day 0230-0430 17670 Every day 0330-0530 17670 Every day 0330-0430 19010 Every day 0330-0830 19010 Every day 0530-0630 17710 Every day 0630-0830 17685 Every day 0730-1030 17685 Every day 0730-1030 19010 Every day 0930-1430 17685 Every day 0930-1330 19010 Every day 1330-1430 12140 Every day 1330-1430 17605 Every day 1330-1430 17685 Every day North Caucasus Service 0400-0500 9850 Every day 0400-0500 11780 Every day 0400-0500 15350 Every day 0400-0500 15460 Every day 1700-1800 9805 Every day 1700-1800 11705 Every day 1700-1800 17630 Every day Iraqi Service 0100-0300 7205 Every day 0100-0600 9730 Every day 0100-0600 9865 Every day 0300-0400 11910 Every day 0400-0600 11930 Every day 1400-1700 9825 Every day 1400-1500 13755 Every day 1400-1700 15170 Every day 1400-1700 17740 Every day 1500-1900 11805 Every day 1700-1800 9865 Every day 1700-1800 15135 Every day 1800-1900 9505 Every day 1800-1900 9740 Every day Romanian Service 1500-1530 7160 MoTuWeThFr 1500-1530 11905 MoTuWeThFr 1500-1530 15380 MoTuWeThFr 1800-1900 7130 MoTuWeThFr 1800-1900 12025 MoTuWeThFr Russian Service 0000-0100 6095 Every day 0000-0100 7120 Every day 0000-0100 7170 Every day 0000-0100 7220 Every day 0000-0100 9520 Every day 0200-0300 6105 MoTuWeThFr 0200-0300 6105 SaSu 0200-0300 7155 MoTuWeThFr 0200-0300 7155 SaSu 0200-0300 7170 MoTuWeThFr 0200-0300 7170 SaSu 0200-0300 7220 MoTuWeThFr 0200-0300 7220 SaSu 0200-0300 7275 MoTuWeThFr 0200-0300 7275 SaSu 0200-0300 9520 MoTuWeThFr 0200-0300 9520 SaSu 0300-0400 6105 Su 0300-0400 6105 MoTuWeThFr 0300-0400 6105 Sa 0300-0400 7155 Su 0300-0400 7155 MoTuWeThFr 0300-0400 7155 Sa 0300-0400 7175 Su 0300-0400 7175 MoTuWeThFr 0300-0400 7175 Sa 0300-0400 7220 MoTuWeThFr 0300-0400 7220 Sa 0300-0400 7220 Su 0300-0400 9520 MoTuWeThFr 0300-0400 9520 Su 0300-0400 9520 Sa 0300-0400 11725 MoTuWeThFr 0300-0400 11725 Sa 0300-0400 11725 Su 0400-0500 5995 MoTuWeThFr 0400-0500 5995 SaSu 0400-0500 7220 SaSu 0400-0600 7220 MoTuWeThFr 0400-0500 7295 SaSu 0400-0500 7295 MoTuWeThFr 0400-0500 9520 SaSu 0400-0600 9520 MoTuWeThFr 0400-0500 9760 SaSu 0400-0600 9760 MoTuWeThFr 0400-0500 11725 SaSu 0400-0500 11725 MoTuWeThFr 0500-0600 7220 SaSu 0500-0600 9520 SaSu 0500-0600 9760 SaSu 0500-0600 11815 SaSu 0500-0600 11815 MoTuWeThFr 0500-0600 12015 MoTuWeThFr 0500-0600 12015 SaSu 0500-0600 17695 SaSu 0500-0600 17695 MoTuWeThFr 0500-0600 17730 SaSu 0500-0600 17730 MoTuWeThFr 0600-0700 9520 Every day 0600-0700 9635 Every day 0600-0700 9760 Every day 0600-0700 11815 Every day 0600-0700 15130 Every day 0600-0700 17695 Every day 0600-0700 17730 Every day 0600-0700 17810 Every day 0700-0800 9635 MoTuWeThFrSa 0700-0800 9635 Su 0700-0800 11815 MoTuWeThFrSa 0700-0800 11815 Su 0700-0800 11860 Su 0700-0800 11860 MoTuWeThFrSa 0700-0800 15130 MoTuWeThFrSa 0700-0800 15130 Su 0700-0800 17810 MoTuWeThFrSa 0700-0800 17810 Su 0700-0800 21705 MoTuWeThFrSa 0700-0800 21705 Su 0800-1000 11860 Every day 0800-1000 15280 Every day 0800-1000 17810 Every day 0800-0900 21705 Every day 0900-1000 17730 Every day 1000-1100 11725 MoTuWeThFrSa 1000-1100 11725 Su 1000-1100 11860 MoTuWeThFrSa 1000-1100 11860 Su 1000-1100 15130 Su 1000-1100 15130 MoTuWeThFrSa 1000-1100 15460 MoTuWeThFrSa 1000-1100 15460 Su 1000-1100 17730 MoTuWeThFrSa 1000-1100 17730 Su 1000-1100 17810 MoTuWeThFrSa 1000-1100 17810 Su 1000-1100 17890 MoTuWeThFrSa 1000-1100 17890 Su 1100-1300 13745 Every day 1100-1300 15130 Every day 1100-1300 15205 Every day 1100-1200 15460 Every day 1100-1300 17730 Every day 1100-1300 17890 Every day 1200-1300 15215 Every day 1400-1500 9595 Every day 1400-1600 11725 Every day 1400-1500 11880 Every day 1400-1600 11895 Every day 1400-1600 13755 Every day 1400-1500 15130 Every day 1400-1600 15205 Every day 1400-1500 15215 Every day 1500-1600 9725 Every day 1500-1600 11885 Every day 1600-1700 7220 Su 1600-1700 7220 MoTuWeThFrSa 1600-1700 9520 MoTuWeThFrSa 1600-1700 9520 Su 1600-1700 9725 MoTuWeThFrSa 1600-1700 9725 Su 1600-1700 11725 MoTuWeThFrSa 1600-1700 11725 Su 1600-1700 11885 MoTuWeThFrSa 1600-1700 11885 Su 1600-1700 13755 MoTuWeThFrSa 1600-1700 13755 Su 1900-1930 3965 MoTuWeThFrSa 1900-2000 3965 Su 1900-1930 6105 MoTuWeThFrSa 1900-2000 6105 Su 1900-1930 7220 MoTuWeThFrSa 1900-2000 7220 Su 1900-2000 9520 Su 1900-2000 9520 MoTuWeThFrSa 1900-1930 11865 MoTuWeThFrSa 1900-2000 11865 Su 1900-2000 11885 Su 1900-2000 11885 MoTuWeThFrSa 1930-2000 3965 MoTuWeThFrSa 1930-2000 6105 MoTuWeThFrSa 1930-2000 7220 MoTuWeThFrSa 1930-2000 11865 MoTuWeThFrSa 2000-2100 3965 Every day 2000-2100 5955 Every day 2000-0000 7220 Every day 2000-2200 7260 Every day 2000-0000 9520 Every day 2000-2100 9860 Every day 2100-2200 6040 Every day 2100-2200 7155 Every day 2100-2300 7245 Every day 2200-0000 5985 Every day 2200-0000 6095 Every day 2200-2300 9590 Every day 2300-0000 7120 Every day 2300-0000 7170 Every day South Slavic Service 0730-0800 9555 Every day 0730-0800 11970 Every day 0730-0800 15260 Every day 1300-1330 9555 Every day 1300-1330 11795 Every day 1300-1330 15255 Every day 1300-1330 17605 Every day 1600-1700 6040 Every day 1600-1700 7115 Every day 1600-1700 11925 Every day 1730-1800 6130 Every day 1730-1800 9625 Every day 1730-1800 15245 Every day 1800-1900 9505 Every day 1800-1900 9855 Every day 1800-1900 11715 Every day 1800-1900 15120 Every day 2000-2100 5970 Every day 2000-2100 7165 Every day 2200-0000 6130 Every day 2200-0000 9635 Every day 2200-0000 11730 Every day Ukrainian Service 0300-0400 6065 MoTuWeThFrSa 0300-0400 7115 MoTuWeThFrSa 0300-0400 9710 MoTuWeThFrSa 0500-0600 7115 MoTuWeThFr 0500-0600 7165 MoTuWeThFr 0500-0600 11780 MoTuWeThFr 1600-1700 6185 MoTuWeThFr 1600-1700 9725 MoTuWeThFr 1600-1700 11805 MoTuWeThFr 1600-1700 17825 MoTuWeThFr 1700-1800 9855 Every day 1700-1900 11805 Every day 1700-1800 12035 Every day 1700-1800 15115 Every day 1700-1800 15135 Every day 1800-1900 7165 Every day 1800-1900 11785 Every day 1800-1900 11875 Every day 1900-2000 9615 MoTuWeThFrSu 1900-2000 11695 MoTuWeThFrSu 1900-2000 11875 MoTuWeThFrSu Uzbek Service 0200-0400 12015 Every day 0200-0400 12110 Every day 0200-0400 21770 Every day 1600-1800 9595 Every day 1600-1700 11835 Every day 1600-1800 11980 Every day 1700-1800 11815 Every day (RFE/RL website last modified 31 July 2004, via JKB, Aug-Sept WWDXC DX Magazine via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. I have asked AFRTS for the location of the transmitter for the frequency 9.980U which is from Iceland. I would have preferred if AFN said that. I still have seen nothing to show AFN is even aware of that frequency; they haven't replied to my emails - they never had! (Robert Wise, Geilston Bay High School, Tasmania, Australia, Aug 23, ARDXC via DXLD) ** U S A. WBCQ appears to be running full carrier now on 9330 (Chris Hambly, Victoria, Australia, 2230 UT Aug 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. LIBERAL MEDIA MYTH The problem is that the whole myth of the liberal media bias is preposterous because nobody who owns a broadcast license, or a newspaper, is a Democrat. They`re all screaming on the right. And the flap about the liberal media bias was manufactured by the right wing. The right wing goes to some of their friends in another part of the right wing and says, ``You attack my network. You say that CBS is too liberal and that gives us the license to behave more conservatively in order to appear to be fair.`` Thereby pushing any liberal idea completely out of their broadcast, and doing it in a way that`s saying, ``We`re doing this to provide balance.`` Perfect fakeout. Because that`s exactly what the people always wanted to do to begin with. The demise of the Red Lion Decision guaranteeing equal time for opposing points of view in a political situation they got rid of that last year, or the year before. [sic] Most people don`t even know that regulation doesn`t exist anymore. It is no longer required of a broadcaster to give equal time to the opposition. And so removal of that regulation, combined with the desire to have only one point of view presented to the American public, has given them this great opportunity in this election (Frank Zappa [undated], Oklahoma Observer, April 25, 2004 via DXLD) ** U S A. media bytes for friday, august 20, 2004 Starlight Express ... *** | Saving your radio station A majority of email concerning the demise of KPOP-AM radio has asked, ``What can we do to stop the format change?`` The answer is simple -- thank the advertisers. Make sure they know you heard their ad on the station -- and it brought you to the store. If it is a product endorsement -- such as tile, laser vision, windows ... make sure you tell the firm that the ad on the radio help to bring you in. With the format change at 1360, the decision to change formats was made at corporate headquarters. Clear Channel Communications owns the station -- they can program it the way they want. It's up to the listening public to let them know -- and the fastest way is through the advertiser. In the case of KPOP the audience target was thought to be 60-plus. There is a large -- and vocal -- audience in the baby boomer years, and also fans in the 25-54 year old area. The boomers and the 25-plus have the disposable income to buy fancy cars, home improvement, and the like -- 60-plus seniors are enjoying the golden years, grandchildren, and the rest of the family. That's how to save any station -- tell the advertisers and thank them for advertising. It'll get back to the station, and the air talent ... and the cycle starts again. Hare America, Jer America, and Care America KPOP-AM 1360 will sign-off adult standards before Monday and make a move to Progressive Talk radio for San Diego. With over 20-years as an Adult Standard station, KPOP was more than a music juke box -- it was a place to be educated with music, interact with the air talent -- and just have fun from morning to night. You already know the line-up: Hip-Hap Happy Hare Martin, Jerry G. Bishop, Ken & Cynthia and Jeffery Young. (Happy Hare told his audience that he tried to sell the idea of Hare America. Hare handed the reigns of the station to Jerry G. Bishop at 10 -- and said it was now ``Jer America`` radio. This afternoon at 2, it'll be Care America as Ken Copper & Cynthia Heath-Kerrigan continue the music and remind you to fly the American Flag. KPOP-AM was also the home to Ernie Meyers, John Regan, Joe Bauer and Kevin Taylor -- and don't forget that wild-wacky Larry Cumo. Just ask Dave Mason, he can tell stories about Cumo. As the broadcast day winds down, you'll hear well wishers, friends, and the continuing theme of KPOP -- great American Music. Before the last note sounds on Monday when Stacy Taylor starts his 6 a.m. morning talk -- KPOP will proudly end its mission of providing fine music for San Diego. Take 30-minutes out of your broadcast day and hear how fun radio can be -- how entertaining the music is -- and how live and local the talent is. UPDATE: KPOP Listener comment line: 858-279-9553. Thanks to all at KPOP ... it was a fun run. See YOU on the radio! Clear Channel Communications San Diego press release: Clear Channel Radio announced today the launch of KLSD AM 1360, San Diego`s Progressive Talk Station, featuring Air America Radio Network programming beginning Monday, August 23, 2004. The new ``progressive`` talk format is a radical new talk format in the San Diego Radio market. The station was created to utilize a combination of local and nationally renowned personalities that reflect the viewpoint of a large segment of the San Diego community. ``San Diego has been clamoring for a new talk radio station like this and we think our mixture of Stacy Taylor along with some of Air America Radio's personalities like Al Franken and other progressive talk show hosts will satisfy that need,`` said Cliff Albert, Program Director, KLSD AM 1360. ``We are excited about coming to San Diego,`` said Doug Kreeger, CEO of Air America Radio. ``This city now has an opportunity to voice its local and national concerns. In other parts of the country we found that a strong loyalty to Air America Radio was quickly established. We have a successful track record with our partners at Clear Channel that we are confident will be extended to San Diego.`` The following is the KLSD AM 1360 Radio weekday programming line-up: [PDT = UT -7] 6 a.m. - 9 a.m. The Stacy Taylor Show 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. The Al Franken Show 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. The Ed Schultz Show 3 p.m. - 6 p.m. The Randi Rhodes Show 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. The Ray Lucia Show 9 p.m. - 12 a.m. The Lionel Show 12 a.m. - 3 a.m. Majority Report with Janeane Garofalo 3 a.m. - 6 a.m. Morning Sedition ``There has never been a progressive talk radio format like `KLSD AM 1360` in the San Diego radio community,`` said Kelly Kibler, VP & Market Manager for Clear Channel Radio San Diego. ``We found a talk radio niche that is under represented in this market and attracts an extremely enlightened and affluent audience. At a local level we try to develop products that reflect the voice of the community and the people we serve. We think KLSD AM 1360 will represent that audience.`` (SDRadio.net Aug 20 via DXLD) media bytes for monday, august 23, 2004 Starlight Express ... *** | Pop goes the music, talk-radio trips out At midnight Monday, the KPOP-AM call letters were retired from San Diego's radio skyline and KLSD-AM, Progressive Talk started. The Adult Standards station, a mainstay for more than 20-years did its final broadcast and a new talk station, KLSD 1360 was on. The station features programming from Air America Radio and sprinkles in San Diego's Stacy Taylor at 6 a.m., and Fargo, North Dakota's Ed Schultz in the afternoon. What A Day: Last Friday's final live broadcast from the KPOP studios was bittersweet: The day kicked off with Happy Hare Martin, and finished with Ken Copper and Cynthia Heath-Kerrigan. The 12-hour day, along with Jerry G. Bishop was broadcast in excellence. Pictured are Jerry G. Bishop along with (my good friend) Steve Blessing. Steve stayed on throughout most of the broadcast day to help Happy Hare Martin, Jerry, and handed the studio off to Ken Copper. Jerry spent most of his four hour broadcast taking calls, thanking listeners and diving into the KPOP and his own personal music collection for one last spin. At 2 p.m., Ken and Cynthia Heath-Kerrigan (pictured) took to the mics for one last ride home at KPOP. Along with ace traffic reporter, Cindy Wood from Clear Channel Traffic, the show continued with what Jerry started: a look back at the many years of KPOP. Calling in to Happy Hare's show included Joe Bauer, former morning show host at KPOP. As indicated, Jerry opened up the lines to the listeners of the radio station, and Ken and Cynthia had on John Regan, Kevin Taylor, Jeff Williams and a vocal group of fans. As the day wound down, and the end of Adult Standards was played out, hosts spoke of other radio stations that have the same music. The only item missing at these stations is the warmth and the San Diego connection that KPOP had. Happy Hare and his quips about Hare America instead of Air America were right on form. Jerry amplified the importance of the listener, the true reason why the music was played. Ken and Cynthia played the last show as always: ending the show with the remidner to fly the American flag proudly. KPOP will be missed; and as indicated, there are other stations that have the same format -- but not the warmth and San Diego connection the Popper had. Thanks to Ken Copper and Cynthia Heath-Kerrigan for sharing the photos. Also pictured: Cindy Wood along with Cynthia Heath-Kerrigan during the last broadcast. The Garden Compass, hosted by Bryan Main along with garden experts Bruce Asakawa, Sharon Asakawa and John Bagnasco is expected to remain in the Saturday and Sunday timeslot. The show airs in the weekend from 8 to 10 (SDRadio.net Aug 23 via DXLD) ** U S A. Bye-bye, 1440 Broadway --- You may have heard, on an old time radio show, the old jingle for NYC clear channel MWer WOR http://www.wor710.com which began "W-W-W-W-somebody stop me O-R." They gave their address as 1440 Broadway (Times Sq.) which it still is, today, and mentioned the now dead Mutual Network. But this winter, the studio facilities for their "50 kilowatt smile" move down to 111 Broadway. (Jean Shepherd used to play it, from time to time, when it was already old) (It occurs to me that because of their low frequency, they escaped North American MW reallocation in 1941 so they must have been on 710 for quite some time.) WOR was started at Bamberger's Department Store in Newark, NJ, later a division of Macy's. They later became part of General Tire and Rubber (RKO General) which was killed as a broadcaster in a big FCC scandal. Perhaps their most famous on-air personalities were the three generations (and 75 years) of John Gambling's. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/224665p-192989c.html mentions that they no longer have much of an archive (much given to a museum) and that they have that godawful (for MW DXers) on frequency digital system (Joel Rubin, NY, Aug 23, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) A couple of other facts about 1440 Broadway: For years after they ceased to be an affiliate the plaque outside of 1440 Broadway read: "WOR Mutual" It wasn't only the home to WOR but many Mutual Broadcasting System network programs emanating from New York City. Studios and offices occupied at least two floors and possibly more. The original WOR-TV studios were housed in the lobby of 1440 Broadway. One studio could be seen from the street not unlike the Today Show and other morning show studios. WOR-TV later moved to 1481 Broadway on the corner of 42st and 7th avenue and then to Secaucus, NJ and now the station is housed in one studio at Fox's historic Telecenter WNYW-TV on 67th st (Fox owns both WNYW and WWOR the successor to WOR-TV and made the move to save money) and the Secaucus studio is leased to a TV station in Baltimore (Baltimore news live from New jersey!). Another historical fact is that WOR maintained commercial recording facilities which was used by various record companies to record artists. Some of the greatest Jazz recording were recorded there. Blue Note Records recorded much of their late 1940's and 1950's sides at WOR studios (this was not uncommon for NYC radio stations for instance "It's All in the Game," by Tommy Edwards was recorded at WMGM studios (before known as WHN as well as after WMGM was soldit became WHN again, then WFAN, WEVD and now home for ESPN Radio on 1050 in NYC). Why I know any of this or think that anyone else finds this interesting - I have no idea (DR, swprograms via DXLD) ** VANUATU. 7260, R. Vanuatu, Aug 20 0945 - I was hoping for Vanuatu, but no sign of it was found on the frequency, only a low-level unID station playing flute and orchestral music. This is possibly Mongolian National Radio, but the language at 1000 sounded Russian, not the Mongolian as listed in DBS. No sign of Vanuatu August 21 or 22, either(Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DXing at Grayland, WA, 750 ft. SW & W Beverages, 950 ft. NW Beverage, mod. ICOM R-75 / mod. Racal RA6790GM / Timewave DSP-59+, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DXing at Grayland, WA, 750 ft. SW & W Beverages, 950 ft. NW Beverage, mod. ICOM R-75 / mod. Racal RA6790GM / Timewave DSP-59+, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 15670 puzzle, Aug 20, fade-in or start of program 1325 UT. Persian with something like 'Inja Seday-e Medat-e Iran' at close (Finn Krone, Denmark, BC-DX Aug 21 via DXLD) Still a puzzle, ??? EGY Pashto scheduled, but from 1430 UT: 15670 1430-1600 40NE ABS 250 kW 70 deg Pashto EGY ERU RFA Almaty in Khmer 1230-1327 via CIS transmitter. CRI Turkish 1400- 1427, latter signs on at 1357 UT very strong here in Stuttgart (Wolfgang Büschel, Aug 21) Tentative TRT Ankara in Persian noted this week on 15670 at 1330-1355 UT sign-off; the station cut-off regularly at xx.25 and xx.55 hours. Poor on Aug 22, fair on Aug 23, noted something like "...Meedaan...". TRT Persian 11795 0830-0930 CAK 250 17705 0830-0930 EMR 500 11940 1230-1400 CAK 250 [seemingly on 15670 now?] There is still a puzzle. Heard 15670 around 1330-1355 UT, Persian language, very weak here at my place. I've no idea acc this tip of Finn yesterday (Wolfgang Büschel, Aug 22/23, ibid.) I tuned 15670 around 1320 today [Monday Aug 23] and found RFA Almaty Khmer alone on channel until 1325 when a carrier arrived and started to play music with announcement and ID given by a woman and then a man. No tones were heard - just a crash start. Both stations were mixing badly at this time. RFA went off c1330:30 UT and left a nice S9 signal with moderate fading. The transmission consisted of long talks, a song and march music with song. This sounded political rather than religious. I find it very difficult to identify whether Persian or Dari, but I heard several words which I associate with Persian - one sounding like ``bar-no- mi``. Transmission closed at 1355 UT before CRI appeared. I heard the ID several times sounding like 'Seday-e [something sounding like ``Milak-e``] Iran'. I didn't think it was ``Medat-e``. The announcer used the word alone several times in a closing announcement. I hoped they might announce a web site or e-mail address but I didn't hear it. I'll try again tomorrow and see if I can hear the word more clearly (Noel R. Green-UK, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) (later) I couldn`t hear any other station besides RFA [Almaty] before 1325 UT, when a carrier appeared followed by music, as reported. It was strong enough to disturb RFA, so if it had been on air before 1325 I would have heard it. I'll check for TRT Persian on 11940 tomorrow. I haven`t seen any change of frequency for this sce - and it does seem unlikely that they`d choose 15670 due to RFA (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Aug 23 via DXLD) I heard a frequency announcement in Persian [rather than Dari], two frequencies were given, but supposedly scheduled at two different times of the day !? (Wolfgang Büschel, Aug 23, ibid.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ BAD BPL VIBES FROM AUSTRALIA The Australian Communications Authority (ACA) is boosting powerline communications in that country just as the FCC is doing in the USA. I found the following excerpt from the August 22, 2004 edition of the Wireless Institute of Australia's National News. This is a bulletin service similar to ARRL's weekly letter or Newsline here in the USA. BPL entities are trying to convince the ACA that certain HF radio users would not be protected from BPL interference if they are classified as "less significant". I presume that amateur radio and shortwave broadcasting would fall into this classification contrasted to services like aeronautical communications or government services. The proponents of this approach argue that the greater good for society would be to allow BPL to interfere with these "less significant" users so that maximum throughput could be achieved by the BPL systems and their customers. Couple that with a recent decision by the FCC to no longer declare certain amateur frequencies to be avoided when being used for disaster relief or emergency communications (5 MHz discrete frequencies excepted), and you wonder if the FCC has a similar cop-out in the planning stages. Stay tuned. Here is the script of the WIA National News report: From: http://www.wiaq.com/qnews/upload/bcast.htm BPL - AT THE WAR FRONT The interference potential of Broadband Powerline Communications (BPL) is well recognised. It is of serious concern to many national radio societies including our Wireless Institute of Australia. Little is known about what has been occurring behind the scenes in Australia as power companies prepare to adopt the BPL technology and the ACA considers its regulatory response. However Jim Linton VK3PC has uncovered an interesting, to say the least, development that indicates potentially bad news. Report - The future introduction of Broadband Powerline Communications (BPL) in Australia could be on the condition that "less significant" HF radio users such as radio amateurs and four wheel driver clubs would not be protected from any interference it causes. The Australian power industry has a real concern about the added expense required to address interference that could affect amateur radio stations and other recreational radio users. Its arguments include that to remove amateur radio frequencies from a BPL system will add cost and reduce the capacity and potential data rate. The power industry is requesting that the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) outweigh the concerns of recreational or "less significant" HF radio users with the higher community benefit of providing greater access to broadband-enabling technology. The ACA, in response to the power industry concerns, is now examining the legal possibility of allowing BPL networks to cause substantial interference to "less significant" radio services, while other radio services would continue to be entitled to interference protection. Presumably if this becomes reality the Amateur Service could lose its protection against harmful powerline interference too. After all, were are in the eyes of some just a "less significant" radio service. This has been Jim Linton VK3PC for WIA National News (Wireless Institute of Australia National News August 22, 2004 via Joe Buch, DE, DXLD) PROPAGATION / RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++ +++++++++++++++++++++ Grayland, WA DXpedition - August 20th to 22nd INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW Some DXers "hang up the headphones" in the Summer, figuring that there is no DX worth pursuing. My experience, though, says otherwise. Especially from a quiet DXpedition location, every month of the year offers opportunity for interesting targets. This weekend's 3-night DXpedition at Grayland with John Bryant produced trans-Pacific MW DX from both hemispheres. The geographic regions that were "in" at any given moment toggled from one to the other within a minute or two. It would be fascinating to know what propagational mechanism causes DX to begin the evening "Down Under", flip suddenly to Japan/China/Asia for much of the night, and then finish with a sudden return to Aussie/Kiwi mediumwave DX just past local sunrise! Please see John's DXpedition report for an interesting and detailed account of these fluctuating conditions. Sunday, August 22nd provided a totally different mediumwave reception pattern compared to the previous evenings. Once the grayline had shifted far enough to the west, both Southern and Northern hemispheres propagated signals to our receivers. On frequencies such as 594 and 828, Australian/New Zealand and Japanese/Korean/Chinese stations were fighting for our attention at the same time. Overall signal levels were lower on the 22nd, often making it difficult to identify anything more than the languages and potential countries on the frequency. My DXpedition highlights on mediumwave were the 1 kw Kosrae, Micronesia station V6AJ on 1503 (a new MW country for me) and catching an elusive local ID of JOTB Matsue, Japan on 1593. I spent little time on the tropical bands as mediumwave was so productive. Most interesting catch on shortwave was an unidentified NHK feeder on 3970 USB, which is likely the 600 watt Sapporo station rather than the weaker, further south Nagoya outlet. The usual Indonesians on 90 meters such as RRI Palangkaraya and RRI Ternate provided excellent listening with their strong, clear signals. I also found Radio East New Britain (3385 kHz) on late past 1200 with an excellent quality broadcast of the "New Guinea Top Ten Countdown" of Melanesian pop music, sponsored by Coca-Cola. A number of advertisements, promos, and PSAs added to the local flavor. MP3 recordings of this intercept can be streamed or downloaded from: http://www.guyatkins.com/files/RENB_3385_long.mp3 (26 minutes, 3.05 Mb) or just the first half: http://www.guyatkins.com/files/RENB_3385_short.mp3 (13 minutes, 1.54 Mb). The MP3 files are analog copies of my original minidisc recorded on the ICOM R-75. John and I set up our usual three Beverage antennas on this DXpedition: 750 ft. terminated wires running southwest and west, and 950 ft. in the northwest direction. We also experimented with a remotely-adjusted termination for another western Beverage. The orientation of the Grayland DXpedition site limits our antenna lengths. In the past we've extended the wires a few hundred feet further over the beach during the night but found no worthwhile improvement; the risk of the wires being caught by passing vehicles on the beach is too great. My ICOM R-75 was my favorite receiver during the DXpedition, and it proved to be more flexible in tough DX situations than the Racal RA6790GM. The ICOM clearly was better with split frequency MW signals thanks to the INRAD crystal filters in the 1st & 2nd IFs which improve the R-75 twin PBT control's performance over stock. On the trans- Pacific MW catches in particular, once again I found myself wishing for PBT on the Racal. The RA6790GM has great selectivity, but it cannot compete with the audio recovery and signal readability of the R-75 with its PBT adjusted precisely. The PBT's superiority is due to its ability to peak crucial voice frequencies for best intelligibility, when signals are severely overlapping (often the case with foreign mediumwave stations close to domestic MW channels). The R-75 is also easier and quicker to tune than the RA6790GM, with the ICOM's keypad buttons providing a tactile feedback compared to the membrane keys on the Racal. In addition, if I want to use the full selection of voice bandwidth crystal filters in the RA6790GM I need to be in CW mode, adjust the BFO to 1200-1500 kHz, and offset-tune by an appropriate amount for clear audio. On signals without co-channel interference however, the Racal is my first choice for cleaner audio. Particularly with very weak signals having at least one sideband in the clear, the RA6790GM reveals more nuances of the audio for better intelligibility. The Racal is also my first choice for pleasant program listening to moderate and strong signals (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DXing at Grayland, WA, 750 ft. SW & W Beverages, 950 ft. NW Beverage, mod. ICOM R-75 / mod. Racal RA6790GM / Timewave DSP-59+, Cumbredx mailing list via DXLD) Logs excerpted in this issue: KOSRAE, NEW CALEDONIA, NEW ZEALAND, VANUATU ###