DX LISTENING DIGEST 4-147, September 26, 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 Extra 50: Mon 0100 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0230 on WRMI 6870 Mon 0330 on WSUI 910, webcast http://wsui.uiowa.edu [previous 1246] Mon 0430 on WBCQ 7415, webcast http://wbcq.us Mon 0900 on R. Lavalamp http://www.radiolavalamp.org Mon 1600 on WBCQ after-hours http://wbcq.com repeated weekdaily Mon 2100 on WBCQ 9330-CLSB repeated Tue, Wed 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 Extra 50 is the same as CONTINENT OF MEDIA 04-05] WORLD OF RADIO Extra 50 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx50h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx50h.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0405.html WORLD OF RADIO Extra 50 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0405.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0405.rm WORLD OF RADIO Extra 50 in the true SW sound of 7415: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_09-22-04.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_09-22-04.mp3 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ HEADLINES: AUSTRALIA --- Proposal for SW promoting `moderate Islam` COSTA RICA --- RFPI starts MP4 streaming FRANCE --- List of private MW stations MEXICO --- Chiapas clandestine, Radio Insurgente, back in news SRI LANKA --- SLBC turns off domestic shortwave USA --- Hurricane monitoring USA --- Blah, blah, blah from Lubavitcher 1710 USA --- Verbivores split up on A Way With Words POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS: FCC vote feared October 14 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ** ALASKA. RUBY, IT`S YOU --- AND SO IT IS FOR 10 MORE ALASKA VILLAGES: KNOM GETS OK FOR 11 NEW REPEATERS Nome, Sep 24 (CRU) --- Ruby, it`s you. Ruby, a small town on the Yukon River in the interior of western Alaska, will get its FM translator for KNOM, and so will 10 other Eskimo and Athapascan Indian villages throughout the western part of the state. In Ruby, the translator will be K246AU on 97.1 FM, but most of the others will be on the frequency of KNOM-FM, 96.1 FM. These are K241BF Nulato, K241BB Holy Cross, K241BC Anak, K241BE Saint Marys, K241BA Little Diomede Island, K241AZ Newtok, K241AY Shishmaref, and K241BD Kaltag. The translators in two other villages will be on different frequencies: K244EB 96.7 FM Tununak and K238AU Toksook Bay. According to the FCC database, all will run 10 watts ERP from an antenna mounted in the range of 9 to 11 meters above ground level. KNOM is expecting two more grants, in Nightmute and Chefornak. The translator (low-power repeater) applications were filed during the most recent ``window`` for filing translator applications. The FCC dismissed them last March 12 for failing to conform to its regulations, but KNOM appealed on April 15, saying that the FCC usually made exceptions for Alaska because of its special circumstances --- vast distances with little communication and very few radio stations. The petition for reconsideration was granted June 23, and the grant was announced today. In the March 2003 Nome Static station newsletter to supporters, KNOM devoted a full page to a map of the proposed translators, designed by Jim Mullaney, consulting engineer. See the map at http://www.knom.org/static/447/index.html#repeat The authorized stations are these: Nulato: K241BF 96.1 FM, 10 watts ERP, antenna 10 m AGL. Ruby: K246AU 97.1 FM, 10 watts ERP, antenna 11 m AGL. Holy Cross: K241BB 96.1 FM, 10 watts ERP, antenna 9 m AGL. Anak: K241BC 96.1 FM, 10 watts ERP, antenna 11 m AGL. Saint Marys: K241BE 96.1 FM, 10 watts ERP, antenna 11 m AGL. Little Diomede: K241BA 96.1 FM, 10 watts ERP, antenna 9 m AGL. Tununak: K244EB 96.7 FM, 10 watts ERP, antenna 9 m AGL. Toksook Bay: K238AU 95.5 FM, 10 watts ERP, antenna 9 m AGL. Newtok: K241AZ 96.1 FM, 10 watts ERP, antenna 10 m AGL. Shismaref: K241AY 96.1 FM, 10 watts ERP, antenna 9 m AGL. Kaltag: K241BD 96.1 FM, 10 watts ERP, antenna 10 m AGL. KNOM DESCRIBES THE VILLAGES TO GET TRANSLATORS AND EXPLAINS THE NEED BEHIND THE APPLICATIONS Republished from Nome Static, Transmission 447, March 2003. REPEAT, PLEASE? As you may have read, we`ve been lobbying the Federal Communications Commission to allow us to apply for translators, low- power transmitters that will repeat the KNOM signal in the villages of Shishmaref and Kaltag. The federal application process has been frozen for several years. In March, the FCC suddenly opened a one-week ``window`` for applying. On advice from consulting engineer Jack Mullaney, we have applied for a total of thirteen village translators --- see the map at http://www.knom.org/static/447/index.html#repeat Shishmaref (SHISH-mah-reff): Electrical interference has blocked the village`s 589 Inupiat Eskimos from hearing KNOM. On a barrier island that is eroding, they especially depend upon KNOM`s weather forecasts. This village, which desperately wants to hear KNOM, is primarily Lutheran. Aniak (ANN-ee-ak): On the Kuskokwim (KUSS-kuh-kwim) River, this largely Catholic village of 539 Yup`ik Eskimo and Athabascan Indians has been able to pick up KNOM only on rare occasions. Holy Cross (232 people), Kaltag (223), Nulato (noo-LAH-toe) (345) and Ruby (195): These Catholic Athabascan villages on the Yukon River all heard KNOM back in the days when long-wire antennas were possible. (Today, power lines prevent such antennas from being used.) St. Marys (549): Surrounding a Catholic mission founded in 1949, this Yup`ik Eskimo village is on the south side of a hill which blocks and weakens the KNOM signal for many homes. Tununak (tuh-NOO-nuk) (323), Toksook Bay (TOOK-suk) (549), Nightmute (NIGHT-myoot) (224), Newtok (NEW-tahk) (326) and Chefornak (Cheh-FOR- nuk) (419) are Catholic, extremely traditional Yup`ik Eskimo villages which easily heard KNOM in the days before electricity. Today, a few souls are able to pick up the station, but for most, it`s drowned out by static. Little Diomede (DYE-uh-meed) (128): A Catholic village of Inupiat Eskimos, this is the most rugged and remote village in Alaska, located at the base of a mountain which juts out of the Bering Strait alongside the International Date Line. The village is only 140 miles from Nome, but the mountain blocks our signal, rendering it very weak. Approval may take a year for this project, which represents a huge positive step for our mission (Catholic Radio Update Sept 27 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. Need to broadcast to Indonesia and Malaysia Hi Glen[n], Greetings to Enid. It sure sounds like an interesting market and of course your publication has been a favorite of mine for a long time. Me? I`ve worked in Radio in Aus since 14, I`m 60 now and I last set up 2AM/2KM X Band 1620 in Sydney Australia, having worked overseas with Capital in the UK, The Voice of Peace in Israel and Hauraki/RNZ in New Zealand. I have enough vision left to be useful and for inspiration always remember a Mr A. Cushen which is how I became interested in DX ing. I want to broadcast to Indonesia and Malaysia and the Middle East from Australia or PNG or NZ on Shortwave. And am setting up a corporation to run itself. The Target is to encourage Moderate Islam. What is being taught now to young people in the religious schools up there without any contradiction or alternative mainstream views is not good. There are people out there with much experience in this field. In this area there are not so many cyclones but we will have to look at those masts carefully any way. May be using higher power outside the bad weather zones. Sometimes there are like minded people out there. Do You know of any? I will probably need 250 kW x 2 and am prepared to share the facility with a Christian or other sharing costs. Anyway, I have started. I have set up many AM and FM in the past but not shortwave. (Keith Ashton, NSW, nswamfm @ yahoo.com Sept 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) and enclosed this: ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Expressions of Interest Sought --- Wanted: By Contract and Tender Presenter/Producer 29 Minute Mini Disc Weekly called "This is AussieSeek dot com" --- 26 weeks but then ongoing Looking for Announcer to produce from own facilities a weekly 29 minute radio program on mini disc for regular broadcast on 13 international shortwave stations and several satelite audio platforms outside Australia and later from Australia to reach an international only audience. (Weekly Radio Progrqm made in Australia but broadcast from shortwave transmitters in USA, ASIA, RUSSIA). Client has plans to broadcast on own shortwave transmitter from Aus or PNG in future as well. The Content of the program are a mix of items of Australian Culture, Tourism and Products for export. Some Items supplied, some read live The Programs content also sells a CD of Australian and Christian Music Posted etc. Please supply a voice demo and details of capacity, the weekly price to us (by tender) and your details in Confidence. to This is Aussieseek dot com 1/274 King Georges Rd Roselands 2196 Australia Selection not by me. No Phone Calls please Keith Ashton, Editor, AussieSeek.com & Lookabout.net Search Engines (est-1994) Please Note: The Sender is BLIND (5% vision) Sydney +61 02 97593774 FROM Aussiesek.com Internet Services ABN 92957836514 Australia. Cell 0438 470 244* Search and Export-Import World Radio Programs at http://www.aussieseek.com and 20 Active Country Specific Domains (all via Keith Ashton, Sept 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS. A message received from the German department of Radio Belarus on 25 September and published in the Austrian A-DX mailing list, informs that the German programes will return to the old schedule on 4 October: ..w..ss 2130-2200 and repeats ...t..s 0400- 0430 (there is no repeat of the Sunday evening broadcast). It has to be seen if the English transmissions will move back as well (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. 4716.9, R. Yatun Ayllu Yura, Yura. Presumed this station with Spanish sounding talk at 1010, 20/9. Difficult to decipher as weak and very noisy. Andean type song with plenty of flutes at 1015 (Dennis Allen, Milperra NSW (Icom R75, Dipole, Oct Australian DX News via DXLD) That`s the name given for this station in WRTH 2004, tho I don`t recall any such full ID ever being reported (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Faz vários meses que a Rádio Ribeirão Preto, de Ribeirão Preto (SP), não é sintonizada em 3205 kHz. No início do ano, a estação foi adquirida pelo Sistema Globo de Rádios, mas permanece inativa em ondas curtas (Célio Romais, http://www.romais.jor.br/ Sept 26 via DXLD) ** CANADA. BRAVE NEW RADIO WAVES --- Thousands of music lovers have discovered commercial-free U.S. satellite radio stations, leaving Canadian companies - and the CRTC - scrambling to catch up Paul Brent, Financial Post, Saturday, September 25, 2004 http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=e702acb5-a3fd-4bec-aa73-3e2f11515232 Nearly two years ago, Karen Pace found religion. And like a true believer, she's been spreading the message ever since. Ms. Pace, 38, a Toronto music publicist, is an apostle for Washington- based XM Satellite Radio, the world's largest satellite radio service, whose beams sweep across Canada unimpeded by the country's broadcasting regulators. "I have personally signed up 14 of my friends," she says. "I wish everybody had an XM radio. I wish for Christmas I could afford to buy everyone I know an XM radio." Ms. Pace is not your typical music lover. She listens to satellite- delivered music 40 to 50 hours a week, in her car driving to New York or Montreal on business, as well as on a portable radio in her home and cottage, all for the subscription fee of US$10 a month. Her love of the digital-quality sound and variety from 68 commercial-free music channels has also meant she has largely abandoned commercial radio. "Radio plays the same artists over, and over, and over," she said. "That is not what radio used to be. It was when the large corporations took over radio, and radio became about ad sales in the early to mid- '80s that we lost content." Ms. Pace and an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 other Canadians are "grey market" participants, unauthorized if not illegal. They are not exactly the regulatory scourge of those who take in U.S. satellite television satellite signals -- yet. That is because the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has yet to turn its full attention to the matter. In hearings this November it will be up to the broadcast regulator, a lightning rod of controversy for ordering the shutdown of CHOI-FM in Quebec City and the barring of Italy's state broadcaster RAI International, to decide what to do about what appears to be the greatest threat to commercial radio since the advent of television. Satellite radio is the fastest consumer product to reach one million units sold, its backers say, and is on track to hit 40 million subscribers by the end of the decade. The U.S. firms already have deals with the world's major automakers, which now offer satellite- ready radios from one of the services in their cars. The decision seemed simple for the CRTC – acknowledge reality and let them in -- so much so that the commission issued a call last year to have someone, anyone, propose a made-in-Canada alternative. CHUM Ltd., a Canadian radio pioneer that operates 30 radio stations across the country, heeded the CRTC's plea and has proposed a less- ambitious (and less capital-intensive) system that will offer the same digital-quality sound without the need for satellites. Not utilizing shiny steel birds orbiting at 22,000 feet means CHUM will need to erect transmitters in major urban centres and create and sell new digital receiver radios. Urban, young and cheaper, it's a system that by its nature will not reach all Canadians. Still, CHUM's late entry, and the announcement this week that Quebec- based Astral Media Inc. will be a 19.9% partner in CHUM Subscription Radio, makes the coming hearings worth watching (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** CHILE. Very strong signal as usual from Voz Cristiana, in Spanish on 17680, accompanied by distorted spur around 17670 and a lesser one on the high side, 17690, at 1355 UT Sept 26 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. RÁDIOS VIRAM ARMA NO CONFLITO COLOMBIANO 14/09/2004 Bogotá (BBC) --- O governo e as guerrilhas colombianas estão usando as ondas do rádio como uma nova arma de combate no país. Enquanto as emissoras de rádio do Exército e da polícia anunciam que guerrilheiros foram mortos em combate e oferecem recompensas por informações sobre o paradeiro dos principais líderes, as duas maiores guerrilhas colombianas atacam o governo e pedem à população para se incorporar à luta revolucionária. A guerra psicológica fora dos tradicionais campos de batalha é considerada uma ferramenta tática importante por todos os grupos armados, legais e ilegais, para conquistar simpatizantes e destruir inimigos. Do lado do Exército e da polícia, estão 60 emissoras. Já os paramilitares da extrema-direita contam com seis. As guerrilhas Forças Armadas Revolucionárias da Colômbia (Farc) e Exército de Libertação Nacional (ELN) têm, juntos, cem estações clandestinas. Ideologia Na avaliação do coronel Adalgiza Serrano, diretora das 31 emissoras do Exército, não se trata de uma competição. "Buscamos conscientizar as pessoas sobre o amor pela Pátria", afirma Adalgiza. "Também enviamos mensagens aos terroristas para aprenderem que estão sendo enganados por uma ideologia que defende a destruição e a violência". Segundo ela, em muitos lugares, as emissoras do Exército são líderes de audiência. Em outros, a única opção para os ouvintes. Criadas há cinco anos e presentes em 70% do território nacional, o tamanho e a influência delas são comparadas a conceituadas emissoras comerciais do país. "É uma ferramenta muito importante na guerra e um grande apoio para o governo", diz Adalgiza. "Através das mensagens psicológicas que utilizamos, conseguimos desmobilizar muitos guerrilheiros." A luta nas freqüências de AM e FM é diária e constante. Todos os grupos estão no ar durante as 24 horas do dia. "Nossas primeiras emissoras surgiram em 1996, quando detectamos a importância de contar com um meio de comunicação massivo, que nos permitisse maior aproximação com a sociedade", informa o capitão Pedro Gómez Durán, gerente da rádio da polícia de Bogotá. Conforme Gómez, a polícia tem hoje 29 estações e, em pouco tempo, deverá contar com outras dez, que aguardam aprovação do Ministério da Educação. De acordo com ele, as rádios guerrilheiras são muito diferentes das da Polícia. Exército tenta interceptar e destruir as emissões guerrilheiras "Eles trabalham para desestabilizar, chamar à guerra e à desordem", afirma. "Nós estamos comprometidos com a sociedade, a segurança, a tranqüilidade e a convivência pacífica." Paulo Beltrán, líder do ELN, discorda. Recentemente, durante lançamento de uma emissora do grupo, ele disse que a comunicação por meio do rádio é uma alternativa de confrontação ao bombardeio ideológico dos veículos oficiais. "Nosso objetivo é desmascarar o Estado", disse Beltrán. "Queremos levar ao povo a recuperação da sua cultura e identidade, através de um processo de formação e conscientização." Fama Os guerrilheiros das Farc foram os primeiros a utilizar o rádio para ganhar simpatizantes com suas cadeias piratas Voz da Resistência e Rádio Pátria Livre. Já os paramilitares, os últimos. Há apenas dois anos se deram conta que era importante investir nas rádios clandestinas. Depois de comprovarem como as Farc e o ELN ganhavam influência em regiões remotas do país, onde a única conexão dos camponeses com o mundo exterior eram as rádios guerrilheiras, policiais e militares decidiram investir na criação de suas emissoras para recuperar a audiência perdida. Tanto nas estações dos policiais e militares, como nas dos guerrilheiros, os locutores e cantores são tão famosos como os jornalistas que trabalham para emissoras comerciais. Uma das celebridades do Exército chama-se J.J. Fernández, com mais de 15 anos de experiência em rádios tradicionais. "Trabalhar numa emissora comercial e para o Exército é igual", diz Fernández. "Nossos ouvintes não são diferentes. O assédio do público é o mesmo." Além da disputa pela audiência e a melhor programação, outra batalha travada pelo Exército é a de interceptar e destruir as emissões guerrilheiras. Esses grupos, por outro lado, fazem ruídos durante as transmissões dos militares para que os ouvintes se cansem e troquem de emissora. A guerra é tão séria que o Ministério Público colombiano investiga se a morte da adolescente Mónica Fernández, ocorrida há três meses depois que um soldado dedicou a ela uma canção pela emissora, tem alguma relação com a batalha travada através das ondas do rádio (via Santa Rita DX Clube via Noticias DX via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. Radio for Peace International - a global community radio station - Updated September 21, 2004 RFPI Changes to MP4! --- 'Censorship is not an option initiative' ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Coming on Monday, September 27th - New Internet Radio Format - 16 kbps - MP4 streaming audio - optimized for dialup modems Currently the Webcast is offline while we complete the conversion to the new global standard in streaming media - MP4 Listeners will need to download and install Quicktime 6.5 (free! from Apple) or another suitable MP4 player such as Real One Player. . . (http://www.rfpi.org Sept 25 via DXLD) ** CUBA. MW logs observed at Clearwater FL during H. Jeanne: U S A ** CUBA [non]. Glenn, Re the ute operating near 11847: this has nothing to do with Martí jamming. It is being heard daily on air at tune in around 0630 at good strength sending very fast 'dits', and today [Sept. 26] I heard CW at 0638 during a dit break, but too fast for me to read. It could be the same transmission previously heard on 11760, and said to be from Moscow. This one is strong enough to cause QRM to RFI 11845 when they fire up around 0800. What was heard on 11760 was something different - digital. Transmissions of this type are often heard on various 11 & 9 MHz broadcast band frequencies around 0600+, but not on regular frequencies or schedule. They sound very much like DRM signals but are often [not always] offset in frequency from 5 kHz spacing. And most appear to use only one sideband (Noel R. Green, England, Sept 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. Christian Ghibaudo LISTE AM FRANCE UP TO DATE Liste des stations privées françaises en Ondes Moyennes, de Christian Ghibaudo, edition 25 Septembre 2004. 675 kHz 1000 kW Superloustic Marseille 819 kHz 20 kW Sud Radio Toulouse 981 kHz 5 kW Ciel AM Paris 999 kHz 5 kW Superloustic Paris 1062 kHz * 5 kW Radio Livres Télérama Paris 1071 kHz * 300 kW Radio de la Mer Montpellier 1080 kHz * 5 kW Radio de la Mer Paris 1161 kHz * 1000 kW Ciel AM Strasbourg 1161 kHz * 160 kW Ciel AM Toulouse 1314 kHz 5 kW Loisirs AM (R. du Temps Libre) Paris 1350 kHz 10 kW Radio Orient Nice 1485 kHz * 1 kW Radio Livres Télérama Marseille 1485 kHz * 1 kW Radio Livres Télérama Reims 1485 kHz * 1 kW Radio Livres Télérama Toulouse 1485 kHz * 1 kW RMC Info Nancy 1485 kHz * 1 kW RMC Info Brest 1575 kHz 5 kW Radio Nouveaux Talents Paris 1584 kHz * 1 kW Radio Livres Télérama Nantes 1584 kHz * 1 kW RMC Info Strasbourg 1584 kHz 1 kW RMC Info Metz 1584 kHz * 1 kW RMC Info Mulhouse 1602 kHz 1 kW Radio Orient Nîmes * Pas encore sur les ondes / Not yet on the air (10/04) Superloustic BP 32 75462 Paris Cedex 10 Tél. 01 47 23 77 40 Fax 01 47 20 65 18 http://www.superloustic.net Sud Radio 4 place Alphonse Jourdain 31071 Toulouse Cedex Tél. 05 61 63 20 20 Fax 05 61 63 20 24 http://www.sudradio.fr Ciel AM 26, rue Saint Sulpice 75006 Paris (NEW ADDRESS !!!) Tél. 01 72 29 65 69 Fax 01 53 10 32 82 http://www.cielradio.com Radio Livres Télérama 36 rue de Naples 75370 Paris Cedex 08 Tél. 01 55 30 55 30 Fax 01 55 30 57 35 Radio de la Mer 59, rue Lepic 75018 Paris Tél. 01 49 23 50 01 Fax 01 49 23 50 01 Loisirs AM Radio du Temps Libre AirProd Bat. 113 50 av du Pt Wilson 93219 La Plaine Saint Denis Tél. 01 49 17 84 00 Fax 01 49 17 84 01 http://www.airprod.com Radio Orient 98 bd Victor Hugo 92210 Clichy Tél. 01 41 06 16 00 Fax 01 41 06 16 19 http://www.radioorient.com RMC Info 12, rue d’Oradour-sur-Glane 75015 Paris Tél. 01 56 97 28 00 Fax 01 56 97 28 10 http://www.rmcinfo.fr Radio Nouveaux Talents RNT 31-32 Quai de Dion Bouton 92811 Puteaux Tél. 01 46 96 47 77 Fax 01 46 96 42 54 http://www.radiont.com (via Dario Monferini, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. XM Satellite Radio: see CANADA ** IRAQ. RADIO BABIL, AL-HILLA, OBSERVED ON EX-COALITION RADIO'S FREQUENCY BBC Monitoring observed a previously unidentified radio station on 1071 kHz mediumwave at 0600 gmt on 25 September 2004, when the following announcement in Arabic was heard: "Radio Babil, in collaboration with the municipality of Al-Hilla, presents..." The station is presumably located in the city of Al-Hilla, which is approximately 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of Baghdad, and is the capital of Babil [Babylon] Governate. Reception was poor when heard from the monitoring location in Baghdad. This frequency (1071 kHz) was formerly used by Iraqi Media Network- Radio Baghdad, which was operated by the Coalition Provisional Authority. Source: David Kernick, BBC Monitoring research, in English 1610 gmt 26 Sep 04 (via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. ALL FOR PEACE RADIO STATION --- By Sarah Bronson http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/481308.html In an attempt to bring Israelis and Palestinians closer together, the Jerusalem-based All For Peace radio station has added English-language programs to its schedule. The founders of All For Peace, a new radio station that brings together Israeli and Palestinian staff members, originally conceived of a program schedule that would alternate between Hebrew and Arabic broadcasts, blending a few talk or news hours into a diverse blend of music shows. The goal was to promote intercultural awareness between Arabs and Jews in their own languages, and to reinstill hope for the future of the region. But when Mike Brand, a London native living just outside Kfar Sava, brought them a demo tape three months ago, they realized that they should add English to the mix. "English is a language that both sides understand," explained Maysa Baransi-Siniora, the Palestinian co- director of All For Peace. "By having some English shows, we're increasing the percentage of broadcast time that both sides can enjoy." The station now has three English-language shows: one, a youth program called "Crossing Borders," is produced by native Israelis. Brand is airing his interview show, "Rainbow," every Sunday and Thursday, and within a few weeks All For Peace will introduce a music program by Dan Sieradski, a student in Israel for the year who spins records in his native New York under the pseudonym "Mobius." Brand, 46, started his radio career as a teenager, when he got a job as a junior clerk and then as a researcher at the BBC. At the same time, he got his first DJ-ing experience at the internal radio station of one of London's hospitals. Since moving to Israel in 1976, he has written trade journalism about off-shore radio for British and European publications including Radio Magazine and Offshore Echos, as well as for his own Web site about off-shore radio. Today, Brand holds a day job as a purchaser for a high-tech company, but says that radio is his real love. His one-hour show on All For Peace features interviews with peace activists, "to give a stage to humanitarian organizations that bring together Israelis and Palestinians." "There are so many groups out there working to bring people together, it's incredible," he told Anglo File. "The program shows the positive side of what is going on here. There are so many people in Israel and the Palestinian Authority who are looking for dialogue. The other side is not as scary as the official media make them out to be. I want people to know that someone on the other side is listening. Maybe some people will say `I want to help, too,' and the organizations can swell their ranks." He added that in the future, he might feature organizations that promote peace between different populations of Israelis. "I will interview anyone if it means bringing two different people together," he said. In contrast to "Rainbow," Dan Sieradski's show "The Mobious Mixdown" is almost all music. Through his show, he plans to introduce Israelis and Palestinians to his favorite hip-hop and indie-rock selections, as well as some reggae and club music. His goal, he says, is simply to "bring good music to the people of Israel and the Palestinian territories." Sieradski arrived in Israel just a few weeks ago; he is studying Bible and Talmud at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem as a Dorot Fellow. The Dorot Fellowship aims to produce future Jewish leaders, but chances are slim Sieradski will do anything "mainstream" in the future. The 25-year-old yeshiva and college dropout thrives on pushing cultural envelopes. He is the founder of the fringe Jewish news weblog Jewschool, an experienced DJ, graphic artist, party promoter and music journalist and writer of the internet site OrthodoxAnarchist.com. He is also the director of the Open Source Judaism Project founded by controversial "Nothing Sacred" author Douglas Rushkoff. The duality of Sieradski's rebelliousness and religiosity is embodied in his pseudonym. "A möbius strip seems to have two sides," he explained, "but really has one. I have an obsession with paradoxes. I'm amused by them." Working for All For Peace is the perfect opportunity, Sieradski said, to combine Dorot's volunteerism requirement with his call to spin records and his political worldviews. "I come across as right-wing to my left-wing friends, but to my right-wing friends I'm the most vehement lefty there is," he says. Currently, All For Peace, generated from Jerusalem, is broadcast exclusively over the Internet, at http://www.allforpeace.org The organization, funded mostly by the European Union and run as a joint project of Biladi, The Jerusalem Times and The Jewish-Arab Centre for Peace, has been given rights to one of the Palestinian Authority's radio frequencies, and owns a radio transmitter, but due to bureaucratic problems the transmitter has been sitting in a Tel Aviv customs office for several months. Israeli customs officials may not release radio equipment, Baransi- Siniora explained, until the owner has provided proof that they have rights to an approved radio frequency. Since peace negotiations have stopped, she says, obtaining acceptable paperwork from the Palestinian Authority that would verify the station's use of a PA frequency has become a time-consuming and frustrating task. Siniora added that the All For Peace programs would be on the air as soon as she can arrange for their transmitter to reach its intended home in Ramallah. "I believe in this station, because it's broadcasting to the people who matter, to the masses," Brand said, "But right now we're being accessed mainly by Israelis and by people around the world. I don't know how many Palestinians have internet access. That's why it's imperative that we get on FM as soon as possible." [caption] Dan Sieradski, left, and Mike Brand. "There are so many groups out there working to bring people together, it's incredible." (Lior Mizrahi / Bau Bau) (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** LATVIA. Caros amigos, Hoje, como era do conhecimento dos militantes das listas, a EMR, Europen Music Rádio, estava fazendo testes com uma transmissão em 9290 kHz de 2100 às 2220 UT, hoje (25 de setembro de 2004). Ocorre que tive boa captação aqui em Barbacena, MG-Brasil o que me foi confirmado pelo colega Adailton Roman também de Barbacena. Recebi informação (on-line) no Antonio Rosset que também a estava captaqndo muito bem em Salvado-Bahia-Brasil. Destas captações podemos ter uma ideia geral de que a emissora, se for efetivada nesta frequência e com a mesma potência possivelmente terá boa captação em quase todo território brasileiro, visto ter sido bem captada no sudeste e no nordeste do país. Acrescento as informações sobre a emissora para aqueles que pretendam enviar seus informes de recepção e saliento que o Rudolf Walter Grimm (S.B.Campo-SP-Brasil), já enviou informes para esta mesma emissora em testes anteriores e foi prontamente atendido com o cartão QSL. A EMR - European Music Radio, começou em maio de 1977 e parmaneceu como uma das mais destacadas pela sua eclética programação musical até 1980 quando foi invadida e retirada do ar. Retornou posteriormente através de um relay da Holanda e no início deste mês de setembro fez testes através de um outro relay na Lativia. Atualmente ela esta realizando testes de transmissão e novamente deseja informações sobre as captações. Estas transmissões de testes ocorreram hoje (25 de setembro de 2004), no horário de 2100 às 2200 UTC na frequência de 9290 kHz. Tal como na emissão anterior a emissora promete enviar folha de informações, adesivo e um grande e colorido cartão QSL com seu famoso logotipo vermelho e Azul, confirmando os informes de recepção completos acompanhados de 2 IRCs ou 2 US$, para o endereço: P.O.Box 2727, 6049 ZG Herten nos Países Baixos. Não localizei endereço eletrônico desta emissora; caso alguém o possua poderá informar aqui na lista. [Logo:] O dexista Fresnel de Planaltina, Goiás, Brasil; captou a EMR e conseguiu anotar o endereço completo atualizado divulgado na emissão de testes do dia 15 de setembro passado. Repasso as informações anotadas pelo Flesnel: EMR-European Music Radio Tom Taylor 32 Briscoe Road Colliers Wood London SW192AQ U. KINGDOM O E-Mail do Dom Taylor é: emrsw@blueyonder.co.uk Um abraço a todos, (Adalberto Marques de Azevedo, Barbacena - MG - Brasil, PY4WTH, Noticias DX via DXLD) Aqui em Curitiba a EMR está chegando as 2205 com sinal muito bom, SINPO 43443, EE, cm / mx. LOG DA ESCUTA: 9290, 25/09 2205, CZE [sic] R. EMR-European Music Radio, Latvia English Cm/mx 43443 (MVB) Grundig YB-400/ Philco Tranglobe TT, Antena Longwire 15m c/ sintonizador (Marcelo Vilela Bedene, Corretor de Seguros, Curitiba-PR - Brasil, ibid.) 9290, European Music Radio, 2108-2138, septiembre 25, inglés. Canciones modernas de diferentes estilos: pops, hip hop, etc, etc. Muchos anuncios e identificaciones en ingles: "...listen to European Music Radio."; "...transmission tonight... European Music Radio..."; A 2122 se anuncia una dirección en Londres, Inglaterra. Otras ID`s: "...Europe... transmitting EMR... in the world"; "EMR Broadcasting" e ID en español!!!! por locutora a 2134 UT: "Estás escuchando EMR European Music Radio". 44444 a 34443 hacia las 2220 UT cuando fue reportada con el s/off (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Noticias DX via DXLD) No sign of a signal here, as usual. Azimuth and/or propagation of the 9290 services must be extremely unfavoravel in this direxion (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO/CHIAPAS. LA RESISTENCIA. RADIO INSURGENTE [Excerpts from a much longer article about the Chiapas clandestine, which claims to be on 6.0 MHz, but never reported by any DX listener; hints at the time were more like 5.8 MHz. This dates back more than two years when it first made news, but this appears to be a recent article --- gh] From http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2004/sep04/040919/radio.html Autor(a): Gloria Muñoz Ramírez Fecha: 2:10am Lunes 20 Septiembre 2004 Categoria: Noticias Generales / General News Radio Insurgente Buenos días. Estás escuchando Radio Insurgente, la voz de los sin voz. Voz oficial del Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional. Son las cuatro de la madrugada, hora de combate suroriental". . . . Radio Insurgente es una realidad desde el 14 de febrero del 2002. Hoy opera en tres regiones zapatistas: en Los Altos, en la selva tzeltal y en la selva fronteriza. Son tres emisoras distintas que, de acuerdo con su ubicación y alcance, transmiten mensajes en español, tzotzil, tzeltal y tojolabal. La programación la realiza cada unidad insurgente, aunque existen programas generales que se comparten entre las tres estaciones. Los horarios de cada emisora también son distintos y cambian de acuerdo con las condiciones climatológicas (tormentas), económicas (recursos de estación) y políticas (interferencias). Todas las estaciones operan en frecuencia modulada (FM) y existe una más que transmite en onda corta. Ésta última tiene orientada su antena hacia el norte del país, Centro y Sudamérica: "Radio Insurgente, voz oficial del Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, transmite en la frecuencia de 6.0 megahertz en la banda de los 49 metros de onda corta de su radio", se escucha todos los viernes de tres a cuatro de la tarde, en países como Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua y el resto de Centroamérica, y falta aún recibir confirmaciones de países de América del Sur. . . (via Horacio Nigro, Conexión Digital Sept 25 via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. Mongolia introduced DST in 1984 and observed it every year since, except for 1999 and 2000 (Bernd Trutenu, Lithuania, Sept 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND [non]. UCB PACIFIC POISED TO BEGIN PACIFIC FM SATELLITE SERVICE [UCB = United Christian Broadcasters] Auckland based UCB Pacific now have satellite facilities fully funded and are poised to begin their 24/7 service to various Pacific islands. According to their newsletter, they also have 50% of ongoing satellite costs funded. The service will broadcast contemporary Pacific/Western music and religious programs from studios in Auckland for local relay on small low powered FM transmitters as they're approved in various island nations. Currently, affiliated FM stations are broadcasting in Tonga, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea, and an application has been made for a nationwide FM licence in New Caledonia. The music program is now streaming live at http://www.pacificpartners.org with ID's as 'UCB Pacific' UCB Pacific targets Pacific communities in NZ/Australia with LPFM The new UCB Pacific service is also targeted at local Pacific people communities in New Zealand and Australia via LPFM transmitters as both countries fall within the footprint of the satellite being used. In New Zealand, these will be the 'guardband' LPFM frequencies. According to the 2001 Census, major concentrations of the nearly 250,000 Pacific island community live in Auckland (especially Manukau/South Auckland) and Wellington (especially Porirua) with smaller numbers in Hamilton, Christchurch, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay and Manawatu regions. UCB Australia currently has 180 LPFM transmitters on air and major Pacific island communities can be found in Brisbane and SE Queensland, and Sydney. UCB Pacific previously broadcast in Auckland on 1593 AM in the 1980's (David Ricquish, Wellington, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PALESTINE. WEST BANK AND GAZA: NEW FREQUENCY FOR PRO-HAMAS RADIO, ONLINE AUDIO UNAVAILABLE BBC Monitoring observes that Voice of Al-Aqsa has changed frequency from 91.0 MHz to 106.7 MHz in the FM band, according to information on their web site at http://www.aqsavoice.com It was also noted that the online live audio stream is no longer available, although a notice on the web site states that it will be available online again soon. Voice of Al-Aqsa is a Palestinian pro-Hamas radio station broadcasting from studios in Gaza City. The station had been off air and unavailable on the Internet since an attack by Israeli helicopter gunships on 2 May 2004, although the online audio stream was observed to have been restored when checked by BBC Monitoring on 8 June 2004. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 26 Sep 04 (via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. Efectivamente Ignacio, anteayer a esa hora estuve escuchando en 9620 y había un programa en rumano, cortando la transmisión a las 0257, más o menos con la intesidad de la emisora que no había podido indentificar, eclipsando a Radio Exterior de España, así que la emisora que escuché el otro día tenía que ser Radio Rumanía. Muchas gracias y un saludo (Manuel Méndez, Spain, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. The legendary among DXers DX Editor of Voice of Russia Pavel Mikhailov has resigned from his program ``DX Club`` for health reasons and is now succeeded by Vadim Alexeev (Pavel Yordanov, R. Bulgaria DX program Sept 24 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SERBIA & MONTENEGRO. RADIO-TELEVISION SERBIA AVAILABLE LIVE ONLINE BBC Monitoring observes several Radio-Television Serbia (RTS) radio and television services available with live streaming from their web site at http://www.rts.co.yu The following RTS television and radio services are available streamed live online, listed below with main terrestrial frequencies: TV Channel 1 - VHF Channel 6 for Belgrade TV Channel 2 - UHF Channel 22 for Belgrade Belgrade Radio 1 - 88.9 & 95.3 MHz FM for Belgrade, 684 kHz mediumwave nationally Belgrade Radio 2 - 97.6 MHz FM for Belgrade, 1008 kHz mediumwave nationally Belgrade 202 - 98.5, 101.8, 104.0 MHz FM for Belgrade, 1503 kHz mediumwave nationally Stereorama - 98.5 MHz FM for Belgrade. The web site is in Serbian, with selectable options for Cyrillic or Latin scripts. Programme schedules and frequency details for all RTS radio and television services are given, along with full contact details. Source: David Kernick, BBC Monitoring research in English 26 Sep 04 (via DXLD) Is this new? ** SRI LANKA. SRI LANKA BROADCASTING CORP. TO STOP DOMESTIC SHORTWAVE Victor Goonetilleke reports: On the 22nd of September the order went from the Director General Engineering at SLBC to Ekala SW transmitting station to stop all Domestic SW transmissions due to the high cost of electricity. With it a long journey of Domestic SW has come to and end. MW ceased last year. However, the SLBC still runs its SW Service for its external services. The SLBC has a very effective FM coverage. The terrain of the country is tailor made for VHF and TV coverage with the highest mountain in Sri Lanka, Mt. Pidurutalagala 8281 ft (2524 m) and highlands situated in the centre of the country. The Central Highlands consists of a series of mountain peaks which almost without exception have one or more VHF/UHF and Microvave links. However, we are making representations to the SLBC to restore at least a domestic service relay for Sri Lankans working in the Maldive Islands and in neighbouring countries where Internet radio will still be prohibitive. [or prohibited! as in the Maldives per FOM --- gh] # posted by Andy @ 15:12 UT Sept 26 (Media Network blog via DXLD) I was hearing 15748.50 again Sunday morning Sept 26, External service (gh, DXLD) ** TIBET [non?]. Tibetan Peoples Broadcasting Station (presumed), Lhasa, has been noted since around September 10 on 7240, fading in here in the northeast as early as 2100, leaving the air around 2358*. Heard well with nice Chinese music and variety talk programming, including an English lesson at 2355 on September 12 (intro by M: ``This is the Tibet Broadcasting for ??? Would you like to study English? Please join our English class.``) Still in there as I prepare this (24 September, 2130 UT) but not as strong as last week. Question: is this via Lhasa or a site in Eastern China? Grayline propagation would indicate the latter (Al Quaglieri, NY, Oct NASWA Listeners Notebook via DXLD) FWIW, probably not much, HFCC A-04 says Lhasa (gh) ** U S A. WRMI and Hurricane Jeanne --- To all interested parties: It is just before 2200 UT Saturday. WRMI has been off the air as a precautionary measure since earlier today, and we have just decided to remain off the air tonight. The latest information from the National Hurricane Center indicates that while the eye of Jeanne is well north of us, strong tropical storm force winds of about 60 miles per hour could get as far south as the northern part of Miami-Dade County this evening and early tomorrow morning. Our transmitter site is located in extreme northern Miami-Dade County near the Broward County line, so it really behooves us to remain off the air tonight for the safety of the equipment and personnel. We will re-evaluate sometime tomorrow morning, but my best guess at this point is that if the wind and rains do no serious damage tonight and tomorrow morning, we will try to return to air at 2000 UT Sunday. We will obviously miss the broadcast of DX Party Line tonight, but if we are back on tomorrow night we will air DXPL at 0330 UT (Monday) on 6870 kHz. Incidentally, our friends at WYFR in Okeechobee have been off the air since early today, and it looks like they are right in the area of direct impact from the hurricane (for the second time this month). (Jeff White, WRMI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Jeff subsequently confirmed to Media Network that WRMI did indeed resume operating normally just before 2000 UT [Sunday Sept 26]. We are still awaiting news of the situation at WYFR. # posted by Andy Sept 26 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** U S A. Concerning WYFR, I could not hear any of their regular frequencies this morning. But ominously, something sounding very much like the WRMI "jammer" on 7385 was heard loudly on about 7357 (WYFR uses 7355). Besides WYFR and WRMI the only other not heard was which- ever W station operates on 7580. WJIE was on air on 7490 but not very strongly heard today. 73s from (Noel R. Green [NW England], Sept 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Okaloosa County Radio After Ivan --- As of six Friday morning, all Okaloosa stations were back to full power and normal operations. WBAU 1400 was the last to return, sometime after five on Thursday, 9/23, a full week after the storm had passed. WFTW 1260 and the FMs in the complex went to normal programming on Sunday, though half the county was still without power. WJSB/WAAZ Crestview, knocked off by downed lines, returned Sunday and picked up where they left off, with information about storm recovery for the north end of the county. WFSH 1340 and WNWF 1120 returned Wednesday morning. WFSH went directly to the ESPN feed, WNWF addressed post-Ivan efforts and news during the first two hours Wednesday, before switching to the satellite. WFSH used to be a great local radio station. Unlike Opal, when information on the radio was a steady stream, it was really hit and miss for Ivan. We got more information on Okaloosa from the Panama City stations for the first two days than we got from WFTW & co. Most annoying were the constant directives to "visit our website." For 80% of the people in Okaloosa, higher in Santa Rosa and Escambia Counties to the west, there wasn't going to be any web surfing for a while. Locally, there is a measurable deterioration in radio as public service in the last nine years, between hurricanes Opal and Ivan. Nothing has stepped in to replace this, and if the letters to the editor are any indication, the public is not happy. Anyone know whatever happened to FEMA's "Radio Recovery" that they used in Homestead, FL, in 1992? Seems this would have been a good year to have pulled it out of the closet and turned it on (Gerry Bishop, Trashnearingcompostville, FL, Sept 25, NRC-AM via DXLD) See also RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM ** U S A. From my location in Madison WI I am currently hearing WOKV 690 Jacksonville FL, no doubt on day facilities, simulcasting WJXT 4 Hurricane Jeanne coverage. It is Saturday night 9/25, 2300 ELT. [0300 UT Sept 26] 73 (Bill Dvorak, Madison WI, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. TOCOBAGA DX #73, 26 September, 2004 CLEARWATER, FLORIDA, USA E-mail: tocobagadx @ earthlink.net For otherwise unlisted low power FM, pirates and TIS stations within Florida, visit my "Florida Low Power Radio Stations" at: http://home.earthlink.net/~tocobagadx/flortis.html © 2004, Terry L Krueger. Retransmit or quote all or any portion only with full credit given to TOCOBAGA DX and all attributed sources. All frequencies are in KHz unless otherwise stated. Times in GMT/UTC unless otherwise stated. The following is a cursory MW/FM bandscan made here (Clearwater) in the midst of Hurricane Jeanne. Timeframe for the below was mostly 1700-1800 GMT (1:00-2:00 p.m. EDT) September 26th. Thus far (amazingly), save for a few moments (5-90 seconds) of brief drops, we have retained power. The new UPS seamlessly kicked in each time while online. Winds slowly increased from pre-dawn (35-40 m.p.h.) to present, where I estimated frequent gusts at 75-85+ m.p.h. (and finally a NWS confirmation a moment ago of a gust log at 78 m.p.h. on Clearwater Beach). Seems to me there's a very definite, secret "exceeded" wind shear closer to the coast (i.e., me), as the winds off the gulf are not impended by land and man-made obstacles. Rain has been pretty steady since post-sunrise, over three-inches in the gauge but it's mostly blowing sideways so I would guess we've received a bit more up to this point. Thus far, as I type, we have several hundred pounds of very large branches from the massive camphor tree downed in the back yard. I've heard some huge "thunks" on the roof but haven't been able to drift out for long to see what's up there. I can no longer do it; somehow I've got to pay someone to cut this shity up and haul it away in the coming weeks. One of the two longwires is lost, suspect the 2nd one will not make it at which time I will be inactive on the dials until I can round up assistance in rewiring on the roof. Watching the neighbors' shed shingles flapping did provide a few minutes of entertainment. Bottom line: Tampa Bay residents who have lived here less than 40-60 years have yet to experience a REAL hurricane; this one does not make the charts by any means despite being the worst I can recall since 1965. The local media always provides great amusement, if only Dan Rather could have been here to enlighten us even more: WFLA-TV channel 8 was the first to go into "hurricane panic mode" yesterday beginning at noon, with their wonderful VIPIR radar that they have yet to master for the viewers. One of the best field reports to date was courtesy of a clown (forget which channel) who was describing damage to a building, and then meekly stated that what we were viewing was actually caused by Hurricane Frances two weeks ago! That said, it seemed like a good time to scan the bands, while the one wire remains up. 860 FLORIDA WGUL, Dunedin; off the air. 860 CUBA Radio Reloj, unidentified location; thanks to WGUL's silence, this one here and alone, very strong, better than 850 and 950. Since I'm hearing this daytime, it cannot be the same transmitter as reportedly at Baracoa, Guantánamo (eastern Cuba). 910 FLORIDA WTWD, Plant City; off the air. 910 CUBA Radio Metropolitana, Arroyo Arenas, Ciudad de la Habana; thanks to WTWD being off, this one alone and near local level, plenty of station ID's, Cuban tropical vocals, program promos. 940 FLORIDA WPTI814 Pinellas County Emergency Mgmt. TIS, Largo; well, this expensive system was another waste of county taxpayer's money. Just an open carrier, the "sophisticated" audio link having failed. Bet spokesmouth Gary Vickers won't mention this on the next media briefing. 970 FLORIDA WFLA, Tampa; the "flagship" station for audio feed on all Tampa market Clear Channel stations. The 970 transmitter took a dump a few times today, including the longest starting at 1916 GMT (3:16 p.m.), back up in a minute but with carrier only, while the rest of the transmitters remained audio-active. 1110 FLORIDA WTIS, Tampa; off the air. 1150 FLORIDA WTMP, Egypt Lake; lost their audio link, big open carrier only. 1220 FLORIDA WIBQ, Sarasota; lost their audio link, open carrier only. 1300 FLORIDA WQBN, Temple Terrace; off the air. 1300 CUBA unidentified; with Spanish-language WQBN off, a Cuban here but threshold, definitely Cuba as parallel audio to 1180 kHz Rebelde with net feed of "Noticiero Nacional de la Radio" but unable to make anything out after the 1730 GMT conclusion. However, for certain not Enciclopedia, which did not carry NNdR as per 1260 and 1310 monitoring. 1310 CUBA Radio Enciclopedia, unknown; weak but alone, parellel 1260. 1320 FLORIDA WAMR, Venice; open carrier. Audio back on 1742 GMT recheck. 1400 FLORIDA WZHR, Zephyrhills; off the air. 1490 FLORIDA WWPR, Bradenton; off the air. 1500 FLORIDA WPSO, New Port Richey; off the air. 1520 FLORIDA WXYB, Indian Rocks Beach; off the air. 1550 FLORIDA WAMA, Tampa; off the air. 1680 FLORIDA WLAA, Winter Garden; off the air. 88.5 MHz FLORIDA WMNF, Tampa; off the air. 96.1 MHz FLORIDA WTMP-FM, Dade City; off the air (see 1150). 98.3 MHz FLORIDA WWRZ, Ft. Meade; off the air. 102.9 MHz FLORIDA (PIRATE) "WHRR Hot Rats Radio," Clearwater; the operator of this pirate reports to me that his 40-foot FM stick was snapped in two and cleanly landed across the fence in the yard of his neighbor. This station will now be indefinitely mothballed. 106.3 MHz FLORIDA WGUL-FM, Spring Hill; open carrier-only (see 860). 107.9 MHz FLORIDA WSRZ-FM, Coral Cove; off the air. The only Clear Channel station in the Tampa/Sarasota markets that appeared to be off (Terry L. Krueger, Tocobaga DX Sept 26 via DXLD) ** U S A. CARIBEFEST --- Miramar won't advertise on pirate station --- Miramar commissioners decide to not approve advertising with a pirate radio station at the strong urging of Miramar Mayor Lori Moseley. BY NATALIE P. McNEAL, Miami Herald Posted on Thu, Sep. 23, 2004 After a hastily called special meeting Wednesday, Miramar city commissioners unanimously decided to not advertise for its upcoming CaribeFest on a local, pirate radio station. CaribeFest is an annual festival, put on by the city and private organizers, which explores and celebrates South Florida's West Indian population. It's set for Sunday. The day before the special meeting, City Manager Bob Payton penned a note to commissioners saying that he was advised by legal counsel to not move forward with 101.9 FM Vibez's request to advertise CaribeFest 2004 on the air. Vibez is a popular English-language Caribbean radio station based in Miramar, which has a substantial West Indian population. It has been broadcasting for four years. Payton said he did not feel comfortable purchasing advertising from Vibez because it does not have a Federal Communications Commission license. . . http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/9735062.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. The "good old days" --- A few Continent of Media's ago, you quoted some Catholic newsletter about the good old days of the Andrews Sisters. I wonder if you've ever listened closely to the words of their "Rum and Coca Cola". I hadn't until recently because it's that least cool of things, the music of my parents' generation. But recently, I was at a luncheon in a nursing home and I listened and... it's about $2 Trinadadian prostitutes servicing the denizens of an American ship. I Google'd it, just to make sure. Apparently at least one of the Andrews sisters didn't realize it at the time but, yes, that's what the song is about. You see, you don't need gangsta rappers to sing about such things. Of course, in the good old days, in the moral U.S., a smart ass black 13-year-old kid from Chicago (Emmett Till) who dissed a white woman in Mississippi could be tortured to death and the jury would quickly return a not guilty verdict. By the way, did you know that the biggest of the Andrews Sisters hits, "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen", was sold by the author, Shalom Secunda, for thirty bucks? It hadn't made it in the Yiddish music market but Sammy Cahn managed to make it a million dollar crossover hit. Mr. Secunda also told George Gershwin to keep his day job (Joel Rubin, NY, Sept 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Commentary: NO LOVE FOR RADIO Since I am winding down this newsletter, chiefly because it has taken away so much time from my family (and still does) and partly because of the frustration in putting it out, I have decided to speak on my mind on a number of issues. I have refrained from doing so until now because I did not want some readers to cut off all e-mail and phone contact. Because they have done so anyway, I figure I have nothing to lose. One problem that I see with American Catholic radio is that there are more than a few people in it who do not like radio. They do not hate it; they are just in love only with the faith and everything else becomes an indifferent means to the end. If they could spread the faith --- restore it, in their minds --- in better fashion by billboards, the Internet, or whatever, they would do it and abandon radio without a qualm. The destination of evangelization is everything; the means of getting there irrelevant. They do not appreciate radio as an art, and it shows in their stations. Too many think that Catholic radio should be nothing more than downloading EWTN off the Internet and pumping it off the transmitter 24/7. Then they wonder why they have not much local support, and every month they have to dig in their own pockets to pay the bills. They have no local support because they have no local identity. In failing to see that the means are as important as the end, they fail in their efforts. It is important for any Catholic station to hire people who love radio. Mother Angelica did this in founding first the television and then the radio operations. The Protestant stations I have heard are distinguished by the professionalism of their people. I wish I could say the same about all U.S. Catholic ones (Michael Dorner, editor, Catholic Radio Update Sept 27 via DXLD) ** U S A. 1710 weirdness --- OK. This is just flat-out weird. I'm listening to 1710, and it sounds like a half-second audio clip repeating continuously. Sounds like a moderately high male voice saying "blahblahblahblahblah...." ad nauseam. It's about the same strength as Lubavicher. Anyone else hearing this?? (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, 0214 UT Sept 26, NRC-AM via DXLD) Vie got it over Lubavicher here in WV. Sounds like somebody looping something over and over. Carolina Windom @ 40 feet N/S (almost) and IC-718 with DSP (Larry N4SEA Fravel, Shinnston, WV, 0229 UT Sept 26, ibid.) Hearing it loud and clear here in Hingham MA --- very strange! (Keith McGinnis Hingham MA, 0232 UT Sept 26, ibid.) Is it not one of the high holy days of the Jewish faith this weekend? May have something to do with this (Sheldon Harvey, QC, ibid.) Wouldn't you know as soon as I set up to record it, it quit! (Larry Fravel, 0235 UT Sept 26, ibid.) Yom Kippur was sundown Friday. I'd be hard pressed to imagine a ceremony requiring a short digital sample repeated endlessly. (grin) Maybe they caught my comment on someone else filling the Sabbath off- air time with other programming, and this is a jammer. (yet another grin). (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, ibid.) Here in PA it's just Lubavicher alone (Brett Saylor. Central PA, 0248 UT Sept 26, ibid.) Yes, they did go back to normal programming. What this tells me is that at least some of their programming is prerecorded, probably on CD-R. That sound I heard is very much that of a skipping CD (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, ibid.) Does the Jewish station use digital automation to program the station? Perhaps the machine hung and is just spewing out whatever is in the buffer. Or they are running a CD jukebox and they have a CD skipping. I had that happen to a WireReady machine many years ago when it crashed on "It's Your Thang" and all you heard was "thang-thang- thang...etc" for 10 minutes until the reset button was pressed on the computer. I have no doubt it would have kept that up till the reset was pressed. Not heard here in Lima. Poor conditions last night. Only thing heard was a lot of stuff from the south and southwest (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) ** U S A. LEONARD NIMOY SERIES EXPLORES JEWISH MUSIC NEW YORK (AP) --- Former ``Star Trek`` actor Leonard Nimoy is beaming onto the radio. ``American Jewish Music From the Milken Archive With Leonard Nimoy`` will explore sacred and secular Jewish music from the Milken Archive of Jewish American Music during 13 two-hour episodes on WFMT Radio Network stations and XM Satellite Radio. The series will air beginning Sept. 30. ``I grew up speaking Yiddish at home in Boston and hearing this music during services at synagogue and at social events where my uncle and four cousins played klezmer music,`` Nimoy said in a statement Friday. ``This program and this music makes me feel very much at home.`` The series` musical selections will range from biblical epics set to music by Kurt Weill, Jewish legends in tone poems, film scores and operas, symphonies and concertos based on Jewish themes, Yiddish theater songs and world premieres of recently discovered Jewish compositions by Leonard Bernstein. The Milken Archive was created by Lowell Milken, chairman of the Milken Family Foundation, in 1990. Nimoy, 73, is most famous for his role as the logical Vulcan science officer Spock in the original ``Star Trek`` TV series. On the Net: http://www.milkenarchive.org/ 09/25/04 09:12 EDT Copyright 2004 The Associated Press (via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. The past few Saturdays when we checked the KPBS San Diego webcast at 2100 UT, we found Whad`Ya Know? [KPBS Spelling: Whad\\\` ya Know] instead of one of our favourites, A Way With Words. Including Sept 25, so looked up the KPBS website. The daily listings indeed show this, with AWWW scheduled only at what used to be its repeat time, Sunday 1700 UT. But there`s more: co-host Charles Harrington Elster is out, and a new co-host with Richard Lederer starts in October, Martha Barnette, http://www.kpbs.org/Preview/DynPage.php?id=1277 and her own homepage is http://funwords.com/index.htm Strangely enough, the new pages mentioning Barnette still refer to the prepeat time of Saturday 2 pm (PDT), so maybe it is coming back then? Or the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing at KPBS. Since I missed a few shows (if it has not just been reruns), I don`t know if any explanation of Elster`s departure was given, nor what the circumstances were. I thought they were a great team, altho I sometimes had a hard time deciding which one was speaking since their male voices are similar. That will not be a problem any longer. The latest show (only) is supposed to be audio archived for those who may have missed it via http://www.kpbs.org/Radio/DynPage.php?id=914 specifically at http://www.kpbs.org/archive/words.asx but I could not get this to open. There is no mention of Elster on the program`s webpages, and I suspect he is about to become a nonentity as far as KPBS is concerned, but I still find this bio page about him, which I am going to reproduce before it disappear from http://www.kpbs.org/Radio/DynPage.php?id=42 CHARLES HARRINGTON ELSTER --- CO-HOST - A WAY WITH WORDS Charles Harrington Elster (Verbivore the Younger) is the author of several books about language. There`s a Word for It! is a lighthearted look at unusual—and unusually useful-words. The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations was hailed by William Safire of The New York Times as "the best survey of the spoken field in years." And Tooth and Nail, which Elster wrote with his high school pal Joseph Elliott, is an SAT vocabulary-building mystery novel for high school students that has sold nearly 200,000 copies. Elster also wrote and narrated the leading audio vocabulary-building program in the United States, Verbal Advantage®, which is now also available as a book from Random House. Elster was pronunciation editor for the acclaimed seventh edition of Black`s Law Dictionary, and a consulting editor for Bryan A. Garner`s Dictionary of Modern American Usage. Elster is an occasional guest contributor to The New York Times Magazine`s "On Language" column, and his articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Los Ángeles Times, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and other publications. He has been interviewed on NPR`s Talk of the Nation, Weekend Edition, and All Things Considered and been a guest on hundreds of radio shows around the country. Mr. Elster has won various awards for his writing and radio work, including a "Golden Mike" from the Radio and TV News Association of Southern California. For eight years he served on the City of San Diego`s Board of Library Commissioners, and since 1995 he has been a vice president of SPELL (Society for the Preservation of English Language and Literature). Mr. Elster was born in New York City in 1957 and earned his B.A. cum laude from Yale in 1981. He lives in San Diego with his wife and two daughters. Charles Harrington Elster: Bibliography Tooth and Nail: A Novel Approach to the SAT. San Diego: Harvest/Harcourt, Inc., 1994. There`s a Word for It! A Grandiloquent Guide to Life. New York: Pocket Books, 1997. The Big Book of Beastly Mispronunciations. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Verbal Advantage. New York: Random House Reference, 2000. (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Ahá, a little Googling found the answer! --- http://members2.authorsguild.net/chelster/work6.htm A MESSAGE TO FRIENDS AND FANS OF "A WAY WITH WORDS" ON KPBS-FM Dear Listener, In recent weeks, I have received a number of queries like this one: I have heard a very disturbing rumor that you may be discontinuing your show. I hope the rumor is false. Will you be continuing your program? We're big fans and would really miss you. — Jim Watts Here is the situation: "A Way with Words" has not been canceled, but in February I resigned as cohost because of a contract dispute with management. They handed me a contract that was deeply flawed and they flatly refused to discuss its terms. They gave me an ultimatum—sign it as is or "KPBS will consider our relationship with you terminated"—so I resigned in protest. The contract's two chief problems, which could have easily been rectified had they been willing to talk, were that it lacked an expiration date and it contained a line giving KPBS the unclarified and unqualified "right to distribute the program in other markets outside of the San Diego broadcast market." This was a most puzzling and troubling clause given that last fall management had sent us a letter, quite out of the blue, stating that they no longer were interested in pursuing syndication of the show—something that for more than two years they had continually claimed they were eager to do. Richard Lederer, for his own private reasons, decided to sign the contract and preserve his relationship with KPBS. Management decided to continue producing the show with two hosts, so they are currently looking for someone to replace me. In the meantime, they are airing reruns. Their official spin regarding my departure is that I left "to pursue other interests." Now you know the truth. I should underscore that this dispute had nothing to do with money; I made more in royalties last year from just one of my books than I did producing 26 installments of the show. This dispute was about unclear language, unfair treatment, and station management's blundering, bullying behavior. When they gave me the ultimatum I asked myself, "If you capitulate and sign this contract, how are you going to feel the next time there's a pledge drive and you have to ask listeners to give money to KPBS?" I may be a lot of things, but I'm not a quisling or a hypocrite. I spent five and a half joyous years with "A Way with Words." It was a labor of love. I loved creating the show and I loved working with Richard and producers Stefanie Levine and Jill Fritz—all wonderful, talented, hardworking people. I loved the show's intelligent, inquiring audience, and I will be ever grateful for their keen enthusiasm for language and loyal support. I wish things hadn't turned out this way, but they did, and I did what I felt was right. Thank you for being a fan of "A Way with Words." I will miss you too. As John Ciardi used to say, good words to you. Charles Harrington Elster, May 27, 2004 (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) Some months ago, AWWW did pick up another outlet, or rather a state full of them, the WPR Ideas network in Wisconsin, initially very early on Sunday morning, and lately at 1400-1500 UT, per PublicRadioFan.com and indeed they got a lot of response from Wisconsin listeners. As far as webcasting, this is the only other known source for the show, which I long felt was worthy of national distribution. Yet more background from the local press, I am just catching up with: (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 'SWEET SORROW' NOT TERM FOR PARTING ELSTER, KPBS UNION-TRIBUNE June 13, 2004 http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/rowe/20040613-9999-mz1c13rowe.html (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN [and non]. Ah, these lovely equinoctial conditions! R. Tashkent International, English announcement and national music at 1349 UT Sept 26 on 17775, fair to good strength, but signal was accompanied by crackles, screeches, whistles and buzzes. Could not detect any such problem on weaker \\ 15295, so apparently the 17775 transmitter has big problems. 1358 closed ``English language service of Radio Tashkent International``, extraneous noises continued during two minutes of open carrier until 1400 IS and next language service. Must tune in earlier for start of English at 1330, or even the earlier release with different content at 1200. At same time, the two Kashgar, China frequencies not too far from Tashkent were loudinbooming, 17490 in English, 17650 in French, and \\ English after 1400. I still find it remarkable how well CRI does from this site propagating to here over a high latitude from the NNE rather than the NW as from eastern China sites (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. Venezuelan network news Info in http://paginasamarillas.infoguia.net/ and http://www.laguiaradialdevenezuela.com/ differs in some cases from what is in the 2004 edition of the WRTH. La Guia Radial has various menus, including one for networks, but digging into the list is rather time-consuming. 760 Simpatía 760 AM, Valera (ex Popular, Trujillo), located in same premises as Radio Simpatía 1410. Both join in what is being called Circuito Radial Rasimca. 910 RQ910 Tu AM, in Caracas, is the flagship of Circuito AM Center (affiliates, including the widely heard RM1580, on 1580, are listed on the FM Center home page http://www.fmcenter.com.ve/ 970 R Mundial Oriental 970 AM, is affiliated to Circuito Alfa Omega 1000 R Caribeña Mil AM, is ex-R Mil, Morón, an afíliate of Circuito Radial Continente 1300, also in Caracas, is Tu AM, or Tu Emisora Romántica AM 1300, in Maracaibo, is R Amistad, an afíliate of Sistema Conradial 1420 Noti R Marabina is an affíliate of Circuito Alfa Omega 1560 R Metropolitana is an affiliate of Circuito Radial Triple F (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, Sept 26, mwdx yg via DXLD) ** YEMEN. With varying degrees of signal strength I had Yemen on 9779.6 - 9779.9 v from 1831 to 1900 September 26/04 in English. Some good, some bad audio throughout. News from 1831 time check to 1838 where the country's name was also referred to as "The Republic". No Yemen mentioned. At 1838 a program about women rights that had good and bad audio, depending on what taped interview was played. Sign off announcements at 1858 to 5 times pips at 1900. Programming continued in Lang? but signal was getting to bad to continue. 73 (Mick Delmage, Sherwood PArk, AB, Collins HF2050, 7-30 MHz KLM Log Periodic antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thank you, thank you. The headlines are a great idea and make we want to scan the tedia of the other items. Why not do a line for each country/item in the list of categories you list underneath? DXLD has never been easy to read, (wide lines, acres of text, no sub-heads), but this is a great improvement of the heads-up notices you send out (Dan Say, Canada) I would like to do a complete table of contents, but even this I have resisted until now as it increases my excessive self-imposed workload. So far this is the only comment received about the added headlines (gh) DRM / POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ THE BPL FIGHT: SHORTWAVE VS. DIGITAL SHORTWAVE Amateur Radio has another friend in its fight to stop the world-wide rollout of Broadband over Powerline technology. This, as a European short-wave broadcaster say that BPL and digital radio will have a lot of trouble co-existing. Fred Vobbe, W8HDU, is here with an update on digital radio and an explanation of why the two do not mix. Jacob Freedman, N2MPN, found an interesting story on BBC News Online and thought he would share this news with A.R. Newsline listeners. In the link to the story, titled ``Fears for new digital radio system`` written by Chris McWhinnie of BBC Monitoring in Amsterdam, the warning came from Peter Senger, the chair of the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) at the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam. DRM is a standard agreed by world broadcasters for a completely new short wave radio system. The new internet power line distribution system has been evaluated by engineers, including the BBC, and has been found to affect short wave in particular. Short wave is mainly used to broadcast internationally and the AM bands have been used since radio first started in the 1920s. The DRM system uses existing AM broadcast frequencies to deliver near-FM quality digital sound. It uses compression to squeeze clear digital sound into the narrow radio channels that currently carry crackly analogue signals. The DRM technology has the potential to make digital radio available in places that Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) radio or even FM will probably never reach. As for the hardware required to hear these stations, there will be a new consumer DRM radio in the shops by Christmas 2005 and a tiny PC-only DRM set is already on sale. DRM is not being used by many radio stations yet. However a number of radio stations have seen the potential for new cross-border radio stations. A Germany-based music station is believed to be in the planning stages. BBC World Service and its counterparts abroad already have some regular DRM programmes and are backing the system. DRM is being seriously considered in many countries where the FM radio band is full. China sees DRM as the answer to pushing digital radio across its vast territory. The UK is not planning to use DRM for domestic radio. The UK has pinned its digital hopes instead on DAB, which offers stations like BBC 1Xtra, 6 Music, Oneword and Core. More digital radios have been sold in the UK than any other country. Switching-off analogue FM and AM may take years and making millions of much-loved analogue radio sets useless will no doubt be controversial. If power line internet transmission is introduced, then international broadcasting on shortwave may also be consigned to history due to the interference from data traveling over mains electricity cables. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I`m Fred Vobbe, W8HDU As we go to air, the proponents of Broadband Over Powerline have not yet challenged the Digital Radio Mondiale findings (W8HDU, N2MPN via ARNewsline(tm) September 24 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ BROADBAND CROSSES POWER LINES IT Week 23 Sep 2004 --- http://www.vnunet.com/comment/1158314 There's been a lot of talk recently about a broadband access system called Power Line Communications (PLC). Trials are being carried out on both sides of the Atlantic, and the IEEE is working on standardising the technology. With PLC, broadband data signals are injected into the local power distribution network and are carried along the cables to all properties connected to the same transformer. Anyone who wants the service just plugs a unit into a convenient power socket and, bingo, there's the broadband connection. This all sounds like good news but let's take a closer look at the way it works. It's pretty difficult to transmit high-speed data signals over power cables because of the high levels of interference present, so engineers have had to work hard to devise systems that can run at broadband rates. Acceptable performance has been achieved by transmitting at high power levels and by using large bandwidth with frequencies up to about 30 MHz to carry the signals. Unfortunately power cables were not designed to carry frequencies much above 50 Hz and they are not well balanced at high frequencies, which means that the signal leaks out of the cable as a radio transmission. Tests have shown that these emissions can be quite intense and can cause serious problems for licensed users of the radio spectrum such as short wave broadcasters, aviation transmitters and radio amateurs. In fact a technical argument has been running for several years between the radio users and the proponents of PLC. In the latter camp is the European Commission, which thinks that PLC should be deployed quickly because it is another competitor to ADSL and that means better deals for broadband users. The EC now seems fed up with the arguments and recently issued a recommendation to encourage trials to go ahead but with no control on the levels of interference. This decision has enraged the radio people. The government seems to be backing PLC. One might expect the MoD or the Civil Aviation Authority, as heavy users of radio communications, to be against PLC but they have been strangely silent. I think that the radio people have a point. It is a bad idea to wreck the performance of radio systems so that we can have yet another broadband system to compete with ADSL and wireless. Users will soon want speeds higher than can be provided by PLC and I doubt that it makes economic sense to invest in a technology that can only have a few years of life. Nevertheless, the power people will roll out their systems and the radio people will continue to fight. Time, politics and the market will decide the result (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) There has been a lot said about broadband communication being conveyed on power lines, in fact this idea had been on the cards in the UK for years and certainly many years before computers and the Internet became popular. One idea came from the then nationalised electricity industry and was called CALMS (Credit And Load Management System) The idea was that rather than build new nuclear or gas powered generating stations they would be able to switch off their customers unessential appliances for short periods, particularly at peak periods and thus reduce the load on the power stations and national grid distribution system. Customers having their washing machines, dishwashers and freezers being subjected to short breaks in supply would have received compensation by being on a reduced tariff. Two methods of communication were considered and experimented with using digital radio controlled switches in peoples homes. One was using the existing arrangement using inaudible frequency impulses from the BBC's 198 kHz 500 kW national Radio 2 [sic] transmitter, which is used to switch consumers meters onto off-peak tariffs at night (and back to day rate in the morning) or to inject radio signals into the mains from electricity sub-stations and manage the system locally. The same interference concerns existed, however the electricity industry was privatised which led to several different companies selling electricity directly to customers. This introduced competitiveness within the industry and any idea of joint cooperation was quickly forgotten as profitability and generating cash replaced the need to conserve energy. So the CALMS project was discarded as unviable, even though now, 20 years later, the supply network is so badly lacking spare capacity and the threat of 'managed' local power- cuts are planned to defend the system against overload this winter. I would like to think that this latest PLC system would become obsolete before it even gets started. Incidentally the interference would be many times worse in areas of high density housing and probably non existent in country areas where it may be uneconomic to connect very small transformers (sub-stations) that only serve one to two properties. Most professional military/aeronautical and other HF radio installations appear to transmit and receive their signals from the tops of hills miles from anywhere, which may explain their lack of concern. It is radio amateurs and us SWL's who live in towns that are most likely to be effected by PLC interference, which could be why so many international SW stations are ceasing their services to developed (computer owning) countries --- where broadband users can read their websites anyway (Andy Cadier, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Thanks Andy for an interesting posting with more background to an issue which, as has been said in the past, we radio users ought to be making more of a song and dance about than we currently are. Of course, I'm not suggesting direct action, but there must be some way we can stop this nonsensical and un-necessary encumbrance to our listening enjoyment becoming a reality? I may have mentioned before that I once worked for a firm which had a strong interest in R&D on what I now presume is the CALMS system Andy is referring to. The company was Thorn-EMI Datatech, and the project was known, internally at least, as Mains-Borne. That company has long since closed down; I wonder whether the privatisation of the electricity industry was in part responsible? Although holding no truck for anything which jeopardises existing RF users, it seems a pity that the CALMS idea did die a death, really. If only the interference issues could be economically addressed, it sounds like an eminently sensible idea whose time has certainly come now. Anyway, enjoy your weekend listening as unspoilt by RFI as you can, while you can. Isn't it ironic that the very force that led to the development of radio in the first place, i.e. electricity and the discovery of sparks travelling through space, could prove in part to be the downfall of SW broadcasting! (MARK Savage, BDXC-UK via DXLD) FCC POISED TO ACT ON BPL REPORT AND ORDER IN MID-OCTOBER The FCC Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) will present a draft broadband over power line (BPL) Report and Order to the full Commission when it meets October 14, the ARRL has learned. More than 6100 comments have been filed on the topic since the FCC released its initial Notice of Inquiry in the proceeding, ET Docket 03-104, in April 2003 and a subsequent Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), ET Docket 04-37, in February of this year. The ARRL so far on this round has taken its concerns regarding Amateur Radio and BPL to three of the Commission's five members. In a meeting this week with FCC Commissioner Jonathan S. Adelstein, an ARRL delegation again asserted that the FCC is pushing the proceeding to a predetermined conclusion with little regard for technical issues. ''Because the FCC has been unwilling to release for public review the results of its own tests and observations of BPL systems, the ARRL has no confidence that the draft Report and Order will be based on sound engineering and believes the rush to adoption is unwarranted and premature,'' ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ, said in a follow-up letter to Adelstein. The letter reiterated the League's key points that, it said, ''represent the minimum protection'' that should be incorporated into the BPL Report and Order prior to Commission adoption. ''Without adequate safeguards, the deployment of BPL systems will result in the pollution and degradation of the unique natural resource of the high-frequency radio spectrum,'' Sumner said. The League argued that a reduction in the radiated emission limit for BPL systems be included in the R&O. The ARRL wants the limit set 30 dB below current Part 15 requirements, which, it says, were established with narrowband point-source radiators in mind. ''The record in this proceeding clearly establishes that BPL is not a point-source radiator,'' the ARRL's letter asserted. The ARRL pointed out that the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has concluded that at the current Part 15 limit, interference is ''likely'' to receivers in land vehicles 75 meters from BPL-connected power lines and to fixed stations 460 meters from such power lines. ''Given the number of amateur stations and the fact that they almost invariably are located near power lines, the areas of potential interference at the existing Part 15 limit are clearly too large to permit case-by-case resolution of interference issues,'' Sumner said. Based on past experience with BPL field trials, the ARRL told Adelstein, ''widespread BPL deployment at the existing Part 15 radiated emission limit will result in an unmanageable incidence of interference.'' Arguing for a reduction in the radiated emission limit, the ARRL said mandatory ''notching'' of the amateur bands by 30 dB would reduce the probability of interference to amateur stations sufficiently that the remaining interference cases might be resolved on a case-by-case basis. ''However,'' the League added, ''such notching would not solve the problem for other radio services.'' Other points the ARRL has stressed in its meetings with Commission members include: * consider including the NTIA's recommendations to standardize measurement procedures and to require that Access BPL systems be certificated, not merely verified. * requiring independent confirmation of rules compliance before a BPL system is placed in operation. * the need for advance public notification of BPL system locations and characteristics, something not included in the NPRM. * performance standards for interference mitigation that would require that interference be terminated immediately upon notification to the operator; and meaningful penalties for non-compliance, including fines. * require BPL marketers to ''give clear notice to potential customers that licensed radio services have priority and that the delivery of broadband service via BPL cannot be guaranteed.'' In addition to Adelstein, ARRL representatives have met so far with Commissioners Kevin J. Martin, and Michael J. Copps. The League hopes to meet with the principal advisors to Chairman Michael K. Powell and Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy before the October 7 cutoff for ex parte communications in the proceeding. (W1AW Mailing List w1aw-list-request@listserv.arrl.org via Mike Terry, Sept 24, dxldyg via DXLD; also via Joe Buch, DXLD) 'SPECTRUM DESTRUCTIVE' TECHNOLOGY THREATENS SWL/HAM/HF RADIO According to a September 22nd report in TR Daily, the FCC may vote on BPL (Broadband-over-Powerlines) Rules at its October 14th Open Meeting. FYI for those interested in the decision about BPL that might be rendered at the FCC's October 12th Open Meeting, bookmark this link: http://www.fcc.gov/realaudio/#oct14 and listen in on the 14th when a large portion of OUR spectrum is very likely to be turned over to a 'spectrum destructive' technology due to the Commission's actions. Not familiar with what BPL (Broadband over Powerlines) means to SWL'ing or HF monitoring? Check these links out: http://www.gobpl.com/primer.html http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BPLandHamRadio http://http://www.arrl.org/tis/info/HTML/plc/aud-vid.html (Nick Ruark, thebasicsofshortwave yg via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO PLUS/GERRY THOMAS HURRICANE DAMAGE To all Radio Plus+ correspondents.... On September 16, 2004 Pensacola, Florida, the location of Radio Plus+ Electronics, was struck by Hurricane Ivan. Regrettably, the city sustained catastrophic damage with significant loss of life. Radio Plus+ was struck not only by the hurricane winds of Ivan but was also hit by a tornado at the height of the storm. The business sustained losses in excess of $10,000 but the critical infrastructure remains intact. We are presently in the process of clearing the property of fallen trees and debris and hope to be able to respond to individual emails by next week (electricity, phone lines, water and sewage removal were reinsated last night). All external antennas and testing facilities were destroyed and will have to be rebuilt; this could take a week or two. It is hoped that within the next week to 10 days, we will be able to resume operation. If we have not responded to your individual emails by next week, please resubmit them. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding in this matter. 73 Gerry Thomas (via Russ Johnson, Sept 24, NRC-AM via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ NOVO SITE DEXISTA ENTRA NO AR !!!!! Caros amigos, O Jornalista Dexista Célio Romais, de Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, acabou de colocar no ar o seu site pessoal e eu faço questão de divulgar este precioso endereço, pois sei da competência e conhecimento que este grande amigo possue. Como diria o Fitipaldi filho "Eu Reeeecomendo !!!!" A divulgação das ondas curtas acaba de ganhar reforço na Internet. Já está funcionando o site do Jornalista Célio Romais, de Porto Alegre (RS), com novidades das emissoras internacionais e nacionais. Quem acessar o www.romais.jor.br, no início de cada semana, poderá acompanhar as principais informações dos últimos dias. No entanto, ``como o gerenciamento é dinâmico, qualquer informação que surgir na terça ou sexta, vai direto para o site``, acrescenta o autor. Conforme Romais, o site surgiu da necessidade de divulgar cada vez mais o que as emissoras levam ao ar. ``Nas ondas curtas, encontramos informações que as agências muitas vezes ignoram``, diz ele. Para realizar o trabalho foi contratada a Web Designer Rosane de Souza Schripsema. ``A escuta de emissoras de ondas curtas é um hobby, mas é preciso conduzir o que gostamos também com doses de profissionalismo e rigidez alemã``, diz o autor. O site também disponibiliza boletins de áudios. Um deles é destinado a emissoras brasileiras de ondas médias que necessitam de informações internacionais. ``Queremos divulgar notícias de locais que são esquecidos pela grande mídia e que somente as ondas curtas veiculam``, finaliza o autor. Um abraço a todos, (Adalberto Marques de Azevedo, Noticias DX via DXLD) Seems the same as his `Panorama` column which appears (not any more?) in @tividade DX, also posted to Conexión Digital (gh, DXLD) SHORTWAVE CHARTS FROM MIKE MASSA Dear Glenn: I thought you might appreciate these charts that I've developed. They are for English broadcasts only. Hopefully, you will find them very handy. All of the feedback I've received has been positive and people really like them. Yes, they are fairly basic in nature but I've spent many hours, days, and weeks monitoring and I think they are quite accurate considering fitting a frequency or frequencies, into a particular block of time. The reason I made these were to simplify the search (and the amount of paper) used to just list English Broadcasts. I finally got my father hooked on SW (he's 73!) and he liked them. All you need is just one Time Chart to see what is being broadcast and from where. The Frequency List Chart is for aiding programming frequencies into your SW radio. I've only sold about 10 sets of these charts on ebay every now and then for $15.99, but have had to increase my price to $19.99. I can mail out the charts or Email them to anyone in PDF format, which ever they prefer. (I work part-time and I am a stay-at-home Dad during the day so I need the extra income!) Please accept these as a gift from someone who loves radio. Please enjoy and let me know what you think! Sincerely, (Michael B. Massa - KC0IVF, 1836 E. 97th Ave., Thornton, CO 80229 mcm9000 @ earthlink.net Sept 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As I told Mike, I found some mistakes and outdated info in the one I took a look at, so I am hesitant to recommend them unreservedly. He told me later he is relying on Passport 2004 to confirm his monitoring, so that explains it. It appears there are six charts in different versions (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ UPDATE: SPACE WEATHER AND PROPAGATION RESOURCE CENTER FYI: http://prop.hfradio.org/ The NW7US HFRadio.org Propagation Center which features a collection of live space weather and radio propagation data, as well as commentary by NW7US, graphics, and so forth, has been updated with a new layout. The data has been "load balanced" between several pages. Specific data that is of interest: 1. CQ Magazine "Last-Minute Forecast" table is updated daily - for those who follow my column in CQ Magazine, you will know that the "Last Minute Forecast" is used with the published propagation tables. Use the latest table for DX scheduling, etc. 2. Optimal Working Frequencies and predicted Smoothed Sunspots and 10.7-cm Flux tables are updated on a regular basis. 3. Discussion forum for a wide topical range - from Propagation to Shortwave Listening, NVIS, and more http://hfradio.org/forums/ 4. All of the major data is syndicated via RSS (XML RSS version 2.0) http://hfradio.org/propsupport/prop.rss 5. Same information, plus SWL BCL database search, DX spots, Callsign Lookup via WAP/WML http://wap.hfradio.org 6. Propagation and Space Weather e-Alert service (as used by the troops in the Middle East Theater, pigeon racers, and DXers alike) http://prop.hfradio.org/ealert/ There will be additional updates and changes in the next several weeks. 73 de Tomas, NW7US (AARØJA/AAAØWA) : Propagation Editor for CQ, CQ VHF, and Popular Communications : : Quarterly Propagation Columnist for Monitoring Times Magazine : : Creator of live propagation center - http://prop.hfradio.org/ : : Member, US Army Miltary Affiliate Radio Service (MARS) AARØJA : : 122.93W 47.67N / Brinnon, Washington USA - CN87 - CW/SSB/DIGI : : Website, software, database design - http://newwebmakers.com/ : : Washington State Army MARS, State Army MARS Director - AAAØWA : : 1Øx56526, FISTS 7Ø55, FISTS NW 57, AR Lighthouse Society 144 : (Thomas Hood, Sept 25, swl at qth.net via DXLD) TIP FOR RATIONAL LIVING +++++++++++++++++++++++ ONE GOOD REASON NOT TO VOTE GOP http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040924/NEWS/409240381/1021/OPINION01 I don't believe in single-issue voting; I think you have to evaluate candidates as an overall package. This, however, is one VERY powerful reason to place on the "NO" side of your balance sheet when deciding whether to vote for the President's re-election. (and for the re-election of any Congresspeople of his party. Congress could prevent - or at least make far more difficult - this kind of behavior if it chose to do so.) = (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View, TN EM66, WTFDA Soundoff via DXLD) Viz.: CONSTITUTIONAL VICTORY One of the most alarming abuses in President Bush's war on terrorism has come to a peculiar resolution. On Wednesday the government announced it would release Yaser Hamdi from custody. Hamdi is an American citizen, born in Louisiana, and an Arab whose family lives in Saudi Arabia. U.S. forces gained custody of Hamdi when Northern Alliance officials handed him over during the war in Afghanistan. The U.S. military was rounding up Taliban fighters, and Hamdi ended up in Guantánamo, Cuba. Hamdi said he was wrongfully captured by the Northern Alliance in northern Afghanistan and was wrongfully imprisoned by the U.S. military. But the Bush administration viewed him as an "enemy combatant," a designation that led to the government's asserted claim that it had the power to rob Hamdi of all his rights. It is unknown whether Hamdi is telling the truth when he says he had nothing to do with the Taliban and was not involved in the Afghan war. In America that is what trials are for. Until found guilty of a crime, suspects are presumed innocent and are protected by an array of constitutional rights. These rights ought to be cherished by every American. Otherwise each person is vulnerable to governmental abuse. These include the right to legal representation, the right to know the charges one is facing, the right to bail, and the right to a speedy and fair trial. Unrestrained by these rights, the government could jail any one of us on the flimsiest of excuses — or with no excuses. It was a shocking event when the Bush administration claimed it had the power to deny Hamdi all of those rights. The claim was not made on the basis of any evidence or charge. Bush was asserting he had the right to declare anyone he saw fit to be an enemy combatant and to lock him or her up with no trial, no charges, no legal representation. Hamdi was just one man; there is one other, Jose Padilla, who is being held on similar charges. But the power arrayed against him was the power of a police state --- until the Supreme Court stepped in. In June, the court ruled, 8-1 mind you, that Buh did not have the power to discard the Constitution and that Hamdi had the right to contest his detention. It was a victory celebrated by civil libertarians of the left and the right. Then on Wednesday the government announced it would release Hamdi to Saudi Arabia, where he would rejoin his family, and he would renounce his U.S. citizenship. So for nearly three years the U.S. government, on the say of President Bush, held a U.S. citizen in solitary confinement on no charges. The Supreme Court has shown that, in our constitutional system, the judiciary remains an essential line to protect us against governmental abuse. Authoritarian regimes frequently cite dangers to civil order as an excuse to round up and jail people who are out of favor. In Bush's hands the war on terrorism had become a war on the Constitution. It appears that, fortunately, this time the Constitution has won (Barre- Montpelier Times Argus [VT], editorial, Sept 24, 2004 via DXLD) ###