DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-002, January 2, 2005 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 52: Mon 0330 WOR WRMI 6870 Mon 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0430 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 [1258] Mon 0530 WOR WBCQ 7415 Mon 0900 WOR R. Lavalamp Mon 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Mon 2200 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Tue 1000 WOR WRMI 9955 Tue 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 2200 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Wed 2200 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB MORE info including audio links: http://worldofradio.com/radioskd.html 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 52 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx52h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx52h.rm WORLD OF RADIO Extra 52 (low version, without the WOR opening): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0407.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0407.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0407.html WORLD OF RADIO Extra 52 mp3 in the true shortwave sound of 7415: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_12-29-04.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_12-29-04.mp3 DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS, Jan 2 edition by John Norfolk: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html TSUNAMI ITEMS: filed separately under ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS, BURMA, GERMANY, INDIA, INTERNATIONAL WATERS, MALDIVE ISLANDS, SRI LANKA, SWEDEN ** ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS. WAVE OF DESTRUCTION, WAVE OF SALVATION - - Ham Radio Operator on a Chance Visit to a Remote Indian Island Becomes a Lifeline By Rama Lakshmi. Special to The Washington Post Sunday, January 2, 2005; Page D01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A41861-2005Jan2?language=printer PORT BLAIR, India -- About one month ago, Bharathi Prasad and her team of six young ham radio operators landed in this remote island capital with a hobbyist's dream: Set up a station and establish a new world record for global ham radio contacts. In the world of ham slang, it was called a "Dxpedition." "It is a big honor to come to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and operate. There is no ham activity here because it is considered a very sensitive area by the Indian government," said Prasad, a 46-year-old mother of two from New Delhi. In fact, the last ham activity in these scattered islands in the Bay of Bengal, 900 miles east of the Indian mainland, occurred in 1987, when Prasad set up a station in Port Blair and made 15,500 calls. "I had always wanted to come back and break that record," she said. This time, Prasad set up an antenna in her hotel and turned Room 501 into a radio station. She made more than 1,000 contacts every day and said she operated "almost all day and all night, with just three hours of sleep." In the early hours of Dec. 26, while the other hotel guests were fast asleep, Prasad's room was crackling with the usual squawks and beeps. At 6:29 a.m., she felt the first tremors of an earthquake. The tables in her room started shaking violently. She jumped up and shouted, "Tremors!" into her microphone. Then the radio went dead. She ran out and alerted the hotel staff and other guests. But with that one word, she had alerted the world of radio hams, too. Within a few hours, the extent of the damage was clear to everyone in Port Blair. But the tsunami had knocked out the power supply and telephone service of the entire archipelago of 500 islands, leaving the capital virtually cut off from the rest of India. Undaunted, Prasad set up a temporary station on the hotel lawn with the help of a generator -- and put the city back on the ham radio map. "I contacted Indian hams in other states and told them about what had happened. The whole world of radio hams were looking for us, because they had not heard from us after the tremors," she said later. "But I also knew this was going to be a big disaster. I immediately abandoned my expedition and told all radio operators to stop disturbing me. I was only on emergency communication from then on." While news of the death and devastation caused by the tsunami in other parts of India was quickly transmitted around the world, the fate of the Andamans and Nicobars was slow to unfold. Prasad kept broadcasting information about the situation to anyone who could hear her radio. Over and over, she repeated that there was no power, no water, no phone lines. On Monday morning, she marched into the district commissioner's office and offered her services. "What is a ham?" he asked her. After she explained, he let her set up a radio station in his office, and a second one on Car Nicobar, the island hit hardest. For the next two days, as the government grappled with the collapsed communication infrastructure, Prasad's ham call sign, VU2RBI, was the only link for thousands of Indians who were worried about their friends and families in the islands. She also became the hub for relief communications among officials. "Survivors in Car Nicobar were communicating with their relatives in Port Blair through us," she said. When the phone lines were restored on Tuesday, Prasad's team in Car Nicobar radioed information about survivors to her team in Port Blair, whose members then called anxious relatives on the mainland to tell them that their loved ones were alive and well. Prasad also helped 15 foreign tourists, including several from the United States, send news to their families. Offers of relief aid poured in from around the world through her radio, and she directed them to government officials. She also arranged for volunteer doctors to be sent from other Indian states. Now she has become so popular in the islands, and in the ham world, that she said she has been affectionately nicknamed the "Teresa of the Bay of Bengal." When the earthquake occurred, Prasad's worried husband called her from New Delhi and asked her to return home immediately. "He reminded me that I have two children to look after back home," she said, laughing. "I told him that as a ham radio operator, I have a duty in times of disaster." Under India's strict communications laws, a ham cannot leave home with his or her radio without going through an elaborate bureaucratic process to obtain permission from various ministries. Prasad said that after her first expedition to Port Blair, she spent 17 years begging and badgering officials before she was allowed to return. Now she hopes her work in the aftermath of the tsunami will ease the path for other hams in India. "She looked like a simple housewife when she checked in," recalled Ravi Singh, the hotel manager in Port Blair. "But now I marvel at the courage she has shown." © 2005 The Washington Post Company (via Ken Kopp, dxldyg, Mike Cooper via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. More discussion of how R. Guaíba couldn`t possibly be putting out spurs --- or could it??: Caro Adalberto, Como morador de Porto Alegre (RS), há 20 anos, fico muito chateado quando leio algo que desqualifique minha cidade e as boas coisas que possui. E a Guaíba e a Gaúcha são exemplos disso. Emissoras robustas, de Primeiro Mundo, antenadas com o seu tempo. A Guaíba não pode ser comparada, por exemplo, com emissoras surgidas 'do nada', praticamente ilegais, que muitas listas e sítios divulgam aos quatro cantos do planeta. Adalberto, tens razão: em 20 anos de monitoria da Guaíba, em 6000 kHz, jamais presenciei desvio tão largo! Também pudera, quem conhece a Guaíba sabe que ela teve um dos melhores engenheiros da área, Homero Carlos Simon, que foi o responsável pela questão técnica na Rede da Legalidade, nos anos 60. Portanto, não só a Guaíba, como um dos seus melhores funcionários, fazem parte da história (o Homero já é falecido!) Quanto a Gaúcha, trabalhei naquela emissora e posso escrever que o gerente técnico, Gilberto Kussler, é pessoa altamente antenada no mundo atual e sempre atento para qualquer problema que possa ter no parque transmissor. 73s! (Célio Romais, Porto Alegre, Brasil, Dec 28, radioescutas yg via DXLD) No meu modesto receptor Midi Japan a Guaíba está sempre lá, firme nos 6000. Eu sempre começo as escutas em ondas curtas pela Guaíba. Mas já que meti minha colher, acrescento outra possibilidade: talvez tenha sido um erro de digitação em que houve uma mistura da freqüência em ondas curtas (6000) com a freqüência em ondas médias da Guaíba (720). Abraços (Lucio Haeser, Florianópolis - SC, ibid.) Olá, Após as reportagens dos amigos, corujando 49 m,efetivamente lá está o sinal da Guaiba em 6.720 Khz, com S9 +40 dbs, no IC706. Curioso é que essa QRG é o somatório da frequencia nominal em 49 m (6.000 Khz) e da de onda média da mesma estação (720 Khz). Talvez mixagem no próprio sistema de antenas ou no aterramento das torres. Um abraço (Sérgio, PY3BAM, Dec 30, ibid.) Eu também fui questionado por esta questão e encontrei na falta de filtragem do tanque final de saída destes transmissores a resposta para este impasse. Não se trata de desvio de frequência, mas de um pequeno defeito no sistema irradiante da emissora. É simples: uma mesma antena, podeter um ou mais elementos irradiantes, onde cada elemento, oscila preferivelmente numa frequência. Cada frequência de emissão, tem seu sinal portador gerado por transmissores independentes, mas na saída de cada um deles, é inserido um filtr chamado ninho de abelhas. Nada mais do que um sistema onde só passa a frequência daquele transmissor, nada mais. Com isso, dois ou mais transmissores podem usar antenas comuns, e ao mesmo tempo. Só que neste caso, um deles está com problemas, logo, o sistema irradiante está transmitindo a fundamental, os harmônicos e a somatória dos filtros. O que está sendo captado agora por exemplo. Espero que tenha dado ara entender, Com meu fraternal abraço e votos de um Feliz 2005, com muita propagação, exceleneste escutas e ótmos DX a todos vocês, (Denis Zoqbi, Brasil, ibid.) Sobre a Rádio Guaíba em 6720 KHz !!!! Caros amigos, Sobre esta transmissão da Rádio Guaíba, mencionada ultimamente, como tendo sido copiada em 6.720 KHz. Não estou me apregoando como dono da verdade, aquele que teima em um determinado ponto de vista sem voltar atrás, mas sinceramente estou agindo como São Tomé. Tenho monitorado contínuamente as frequências, utilizando um scanner IC R-10, o qual foi programado para fazer "escaneamento" de 6000 à 6800 KHz. Até agora, este receptor somente captou tanto Guaíba como a Gaucha na frequência correta especificada para elas. Durante uma parte do dia, principalmente após 14 horas UTC ocorre de sumir o sinal da Gaucha, mas fazer captação da Guaíba em 6720 KHz não ocorreu nenhuma vez. Vou continuar monitorando para descobrir o que está ocorrendo nesta situação e peço a todos que caso tenham alguma captação desta transmissão que anda sendo mencionada que a apresente como um LOG completo, corretamente redigido, com todos os detalhes, e horários, para permitir uma correta verificação. Ainda continuo com a mesma opinião que apresentei inicialmente aqui na lista, pois tenho este conceito baseado em princípios tecnicos sólidos, cujas opiniões apresentadas não abalaram; além disso sei por conhecimento do funcionamento interno da Anatel que uma variação desta amplitude não oocorreria incólume pois esta agência pode até ser acusada de sub-fiscalizar alguns segmentos de transmissões (como tanto reclamam até os radioamadores) mas na faixa de serviço de emissoras comerciais ela apresenta uma fiscalização, monitoramento, escuta e inspeções regulares muito rígida. Constantemente temos exemplos da atuação da agência, tanto nas metrópoles como nos rincões mais escondidos na verificação destas emissoras. Continuarei monitorando esta ocorrência e darei retorno tão logo tenha alguma notícia sobre o caso. Um abraço a todos, (Adalberto Marques de Azevedo, Barbacena - MG - Brasil, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. Ano novo e freqüência reativada! Este deve ser o lema da Rádio Gazeta, de São Paulo (SP), que retransmite a programação da Rede Canção Nova, de Cachoeira Paulista (SP). Pois a freqüência de 15325 kHz, na faixa de 19 metros, acaba de voltar ao ar. Foi ouvida, aqui em Porto Alegre (RS), em 1º de janeiro, às 1837 UTC, com programação religiosa. A locutora chamou uma criança para fazer uma oração e foram repetidos os dizeres "Jesus eu te amo!" por mais de dez vezes! 73s! (Célio Romais, Porto Alegre, Brasil, Jan 1, radioescutas via DXLD) 15325, Rádio Gazeta, São Paulo, 1938-1945, Enero 01, Portugués. Reactivada!! Gracias al colega Célio Romais, de Porto Alegre, Brasil por el tip que me permitió la captacion!!- Escuché la retransmisión de la programación de Rádio Canção Nova, de Cachoeira Paulista. Esto fue chequeado con los 9675 y en ambas emisoras, a esa hora, se irradiaba un espacio religioso. 34433 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Célio, e demais amigos, Também desejo divulgar um outro fato importante: Depois de um bom tempo, foi sintonizada a Rádio Cultura de SP em 17815 kHz, no encerramento das transmissões no último dia 30 de dezembro, à meia-noite (horário local) [0200 UT], com locução e o tradicional hino nacional brasileiro. Um detalhe importante: Era a única frequencia no ar em 16 metros naquele momento. 73s, (Rudolf W. Grimm, São Bernardo, SP, Jan 1, radioescutas via DXLD) Referente a Radio Cultura, hoje 1 de Janeiro estive escutando uma programação musical com entrevistas às 1700 até 1800 UT, o sinal com um SIO 3-3-3 nesta cidade. Na freqüência 17815 na faixa dos 16 metros. Eu envié um relatório da escuta para a estação; eu espero receber comfirmação QSL da emissora. Cordiais 73´s (CESAR PEREZ DIOSES, CHIMBOTE – PERU, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. Zonas horarias de Brasil --- Había preguntado esto en Radioescutas, pero hasta ahora nadie me había respondido concretamente. Ahora sí tengo la información: Referencia Horaria: Brasil tiene varias zonas horarias: Hora estándar del este: GMT - 3 (GMT - 2 del tercer domingo de octubre al tercer sábado de marzo). Hora estándar del oeste: GMT - 4 (GMT - 3 del tercer domingo de octubre al tercer sábado de marzo). Hora estándar de los estados del noreste y Parà oriental: GMT - 3. Hora de Parà occidental y Amapa: GMT - 4. Hora del Estado de Acre: GMT - 5. Hora del Archipiélago Fernando de Noronha: GMT - 2. http://www.guiamundialdeviajes.com/data/bra/bra.asp (Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo - Uruguay, Jan 2 condiglist via DXLD) Still needs to list exactly which states are in which zones! (gh) ** BURMA. BURMA'S TSUNAMI TOLL UNCLEAR, MEDIA ISSUING "BRIEF REPORTS" Burma's state-controlled media are yet to report any casualty figures from the earthquake of 26 December, but have taken the unusual step of reporting the incident (two days later) and of inviting foreign journalists to an official news conference for the first time in 15 years according to journalist Ludu U Sein Win. The journalist, quoted by the Democratic Voice of Burma on 31 December, said such developments must be welcomed. The same article reported from the Kawthaung region in the south, where 27 people are thought to have died. It noted that passage to outlying islands has been suspended so a realistic assessment of the situation remains impossible. A marine department official was also cited in the report, acknowledging that no order has been issued to launch a search and rescue mission despite reports of about 50-60 fishermen missing at sea. It also reported that frequent earthquakes since 26 December have frightened the residents of Rangoon into avoiding high-rise apartments. The following is an excerpt from a report by Burmese opposition radio Democratic Voice of Burma web site on 31 December Although five large fishing boats have been missing in the seas off the Arakan coast due to the severe earthquake and tsunamis which struck on 26 December, authorities have so far failed to conduct a search and rescue operation, it is learnt. A Marine Administration Department [MAD] official from Akyab port told DVB [Democratic Voice of Burma] about 50 to 60 fishermen might have been missing since each of the five fishing boats carried more than 10 fishermen. He said they are large fishing boats with more than 20 HP engines and some could be registered in Akyab while others belong to companies from Rangoon joint-ventured with Thailand. He explained the MAD is not conducting any search and rescue operation because although they received news that about five or six fishing boats have been missing, they did not receive any orders from Danyawadi Naval Base and the chairman of Arakan State PDC [State Peace and Development Council, SPDC]. When asked how many boats were missing, he replied as follows: [MAD official] We heard that four or five boats were missing and they were all privately-owned, not government-owned. The ships might be either registered in Sandoway or in Rangoon while some might belong to joint-ventures between a Thai company and Fisheries Department. We do not have the details of the registration because probably they must be registered in Rangoon. I think there is a great possibility on the loss of small boats, with less than 20 HP engines, since they are coastal fishing boats. The registrations are handled by the respective township PDCs or the Fisheries Department. [DVB correspondent] Regardless of registration in Akyab or Rangoon, when you found out that some fishing boats were missing, didn't you carry out any search and rescue operation? [MAD official] No, we did not because we do not have the capability. We could only listen to the news. We were also not called by the Arakan State PDC for any related meeting. We have already reported to the Planning Department at MAD HQ. Moreover, we do not have any radio telephone to make any contact. Although the Fisheries Department and the navy base in Akyab have radio telephones, we were not given any casualty report so we never arranged for any operation. But everyone is kept on a standby. [DVB correspondent] Well, based on the news received, didn't the MAD contact the Fisheries Department to coordinate search and rescue? [MAD official] I will try to contact Fisheries Department and try to coordinate something. Currently, there is no coordination and cooperation here. Usually, when something happens at sea the owners report to us but there is no such report in Akyab. I didn't hear anything about the fishing boats from Akyab. We heard news from Sandoway and Gwa. Most of them are either from Rangoon or joint- ventures with Thailand and they have base stations there. There are very few local fishing boats there. [End of recording] That was a MAD official from Akyab. A Fisheries Department official said that as the boats were not from Akyab they could not do anything. Dear listeners. This is a report on the situation in Rangoon. Due to frequent earthquakes since 26 December, Rangoon residents dare not stay in high-rise apartments. A resident living at 50th Street in Botataung said recent rumours of more quakes have sent people living in high-rise apartments to stay on the roads. [Begin Rangoon resident, recording] Well, the people were really afraid. When news came about another aftershock most people went down and stayed on the road since 1700 in the evening. Most Rangoon residents dare not stay inside the building yesterday especially when the new structures are not that strong. We heard cracks appeared at some buildings in last Sunday's tremor mostly on the seventh and eighth floors. A friend in Bo Aung Gyaw Street told me cracks have appeared in his eighth floor unit. [End of recording] That was a resident from Botataung. In some townships including Sanchaung, people have been making meritorious deeds because of a premonition given in a dream by the late Thamanya abbot. [passage omitted on the report] Here is a report on the latest situation at Kawthaung in southern Burma. According to Rangoon-based relief organizations, three bridges collapsed in Kawthaung region with 27 people killed, 267 households destroyed and 1,750 people homeless. According to today's SPDC [State Peace and Development Council]-controlled newspapers, the number of casualties was not mentioned, but reported on the activities of Maj- Gen Ohn Myint [coastal region commander and chairman of Tenasserim Division Peace and Development Council], and party. They inspected the region and presented over 60m kyat in donations, together with medicines and relief supplies. DVB correspondent Maung Maung Hein reported from Ranong [in Thailand] opposite Kawthaung about the latest situation. [DVB correspondent] Yes Ko Maung Maung Hein, could you please explain to us about the latest situation in Kawthaung. [Maung Maung Hein] Local residents said rescue teams departed today. There were also three centres where they accept donations for the tsunami victims - at Victoria Point, at three-mile point, and at Myintzizaka Hall. They collect food, clothing, and other stuff donated by the people from the wards. [DVB correspondent] That was the camps where they collect donations. Where do they keep the people who lost their homes in Kawthaung? [Maung Maung Hein] They are currently living at temporary shelters built on higher grounds in Awzee Village. [DVB correspondent] Who is helping them with food and shelter? [Maung Maung Hein] The people from the wards and villages together with the relief organizations are helping them with the necessary things. Well, nothing has been done for the victims who returned from Ranong but then again there seem to be no arrests as well. [DVB correspondent] Are the boats plying as usual between Ranong and Kawthaung? [Maung Maung Hein] Yes, they have started the service from today. Previously officials from Kawthaung have prevented the boats from crossing over to Ranong. [DVB correspondent] What about boats going to Tavoy and Mergui? [Maung Maung Hein] Well, the services have been temporary suspended. [DVB correspondent] What about the people living on the islands in the Mergui archipelago? [Maung Maung Hein] There are people living on some islands cutting cane, firewood and eking out a living. The authorities have temporarily suspended the boats from going to sea so the people are unable to go to the islands and thus it is not possible to assess the situation. [DVB correspondent] According to the NGOs report from Rangoon yesterday, 27 have died in the Kawthaung region. Have you heard about any more casualties? [Maung Maung Hein] Although some are missing, there are no boats to go to sea and search for them. The authorities requisitioned some boats using their own fuel to search for the missing. These boats would search only some areas but not every creek, stream, and waterway. Although no bodies have been retrieved many are reported to be missing. [End of recording] That was the situation in Kawthaung reported by Maung Maung Hein. Dear listeners. The following is the view of journalist Ludu U Sein Win about the paucity of information concerning the aftermath of the quake and the Asian tsunami. He said he is thankful to the SPDC, who always censor news and keep a news blackout, for releasing partial news about the situation. [Ludu U Sein Win] There is some change here. Previously, such news would never appear because they would keep a total news embargo. Now, although it is late, two days after the actual happening, a short news item on the earthquake and the aftermath appeared in government- controlled newspapers. Then again, in the recent news conference by the information minister, I noticed for the first time in 15 years that journalists from privately-owned journals and magazines were invited. Although I do not think of it as changing for the better, we must welcome even a slight change. We must also encourage them to become more and more open. [DVB correspondent] Of course, the government issued brief reports. Do you think the reason for them not to disclose everything like other countries is to prevent the people from worrying? On the other hand, if they unveil everything they could receive international assistance. Don't you think it is better to reveal everything? [Ludu U Sein Win] Of course, it is better to disclose everything. As I mentioned before, frank news reporting is the best. Rumours appear when you could not report truthful news. Correct news reporting is good for the country and the people and we would like to see more open news reporting in the future. [DVB correspondent] They know that they would get assistance if they give the correct news. Why do you think the government is acting like this by giving short news reports only? [Ludu U Sein Win] Well, it has been a riddle for me for the past 16 years. I could not understand why. If the government gives correct news about natural disasters like floods and fire, I am sure many will be willing to help. I could not understand why they would not want to report such news. [passage omitted on premonition and bad omen] [DVB correspondent] In brief, do you think we need to educate the government-controlled media and private media about the earthquake like other nations? [Ludu U Sein Win] Of course, we need information and education in the media. Since the private media could not engage in information and education they have zoomed in on entertainment. As for the government- controlled media, they are mostly involved in propaganda. Source: Democratic Voice of Burma web site, Oslo, in Burmese 31 Dec 04 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CANADA. The CHEV 1610 ON website http://www.chevradioam.com mentioned last week, complete with flagship info for the Markham Waxers and a non-functioning audio link, has now been taken down. Replaced by a "coming soon" notice from Register.com. So why did they go to all the trouble of creating a web page, only to pull it less than a week later? Tough noogies for any Markham Waxers fans. 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, Dec 30, NRC-AM via DXLD) I got an e-mail from the Markham Waxers hockey team which said that "CHEV" was only doing the hockey games on the internet (despite all the references to 1610) and that they "have had some trouble with the airwaves and are looking to change frequency". 73 Niel Wolfish ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC [non]. The Issoudun relay [9590] is quite irregular. Audio from Bangui is terrible and unstable. Sometimes RFI instead or just carrier, or signing off earlier than 2300 (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Germany, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO. 01/01 at 1828 I caught both transmitters of Radio Congo, Brazzaville in parallel (for the 2nd time): 5985 (O=3) and 6115 (O=2) are used in the evenings (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Germany, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DIEGO GARCIA. Here`s the URL for the complete DG report previously referenced: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/diego-garcia.htm (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. I have been listening to a mystery Latin station on 970. It loops best on the SE leg of the K9AY. Any help would be appreciated. http://mywebpages.comcast.net/billqsl/sounds/0970-20041228-1835.mp3 (Bill Harms, K9AY, R8B, Elkridge, Maryland, Dec 28, NRC-AM via DXLD) Hi Bill, right at the end of the song they mention a local festival and there's a very clear "Radio Olímpica" announcement. It should be La Vega, from the Dominican Republic. Very nice, 73s (Andy Lawendel, Italy, ibid.) They've been at low power for a long time but recently got the 5 kw talking again. At my QTH on the north coast of the DR about 50 miles north the 870 from La Vega has a far superior groundwave signal. If you ever hear Spanish under WWL, that's who you have. Here's the government listing of AM facilities: http://www.indotel.org.do/(11qdpnarzpqgr2451y1vhuqm)/empresas_1.aspx?o=3&p=2 (Jerry Kiefer, Port Orange, FL, Puerto Plata, Dom Rep, ibid.) ** EUROPE. PIRATE (Euro), 6310, Radio Malaisi, 0034-0100* Dec 30. Played mostly 80's pop/new wave fare, like "I Eat Cannibals". Heard what sounded like two ID's, "You are listening to independent music radio from southern Europe", and later, "Radio Malaisi". Believe the first "ID" is really just a slogan, not an official station name. SINPO 34434 (George Maroti, NY, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON. Africa No. 1, 15475 seems to be not in use at the moment. Instead 17630 is running until 1700, but 9580 is as usual (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Germany, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Amigos, a DW está colocando em sua programação habitual em ondas curtas no idioma alemão, um segmento muito interessante e muito triste ao mesmo tempo. Trata-se de uma chamada nominal às pessoas dadas como desaparecidas que estão ainda (ou estavam) no local do maremoto e que ainda não fizeram contato com os seus familiares na Alemanha. Tanto nos 17860, como agora neste momento ainda nos 9545 kHz, a DW menciona o nome da pessoa desaparecida, a cidade de sua origem, o nome do hotel em que estão (ou estavam) hospedados e ainda o nome do familiar ou amigo que está pedindo esta chamada no ar. Mencionam freqüentemente também uma hot-line que foi criada na própria DW para receber contatos de quem precisa da chamada, ou até de quem repentinamente estiver no local da tragédia, e que desejam responder. O número: 0049 (228) 429-4466. Vale à pena conferir. Como disse, embora triste, é também muito interessante. 73s, (Rudolf W. Grimm, São Bernardo, SP, Jan 1, radioescutas via DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 4799.7, TGMI, Radio Buenas Nuevas, San Sebastián, were missing at this QTH during November's DX Challenge. They were quite good in peaks this morning (Jan 2) at 1146 with a program of children's choral and solo music with announcements by a man in Spanish about the performers, ID at 1150 (Mark Coady, ON, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONDURAS. Por cortesia del Honduras DX Club, reproducimos un informe sobre las emisoras activas e inactivas de onda corta en Honduras: [I don`t think 4820 or 4830 are active either --- gh] RADIO "VOZ EVANGÉLICA DE HONDURAS" (HRVC) --- Primera emisora cristiana que se funda en Honduras, sus indicativos HRVC. Primera emisora en transmitir por medio de la onda corta y primera emisora cristiana en transmitir vía satélite. Fue fundada el 8 de diciembre de 1960 en la capital Tegucigalpa. Sus frecuencias 4820 kHz banda de 60 metros. Su cadena radial abarca ocho emisoras. Su página Web es: http://www.hrvc.org Email: hrvc @ infanet.hn Tel. (504) 234 3468. RADIO "MISIONES INTERNACIONALES" "LA VOZ DEL EVANGELIO COMPLETO"(HRNI) Emisora fundada en la capital Tegucigalpa en 1977, el aniversario lo celebran los días 14-15 y 16 de junio. Sus frecuencias de transmisión son 3340 kHz banda de 90 metros, 5010 kHz banda de 60 metros y 1480 kHz en A. M. Apartado postal 20,585, Comayagüela. Honduras C.A. Tel. (504) 238 49 33. Es importante mencionar que en septiembre del 2003 reactivaron sus transmisiones en onda corta. RADIO "LUZ Y VIDA" (HRPC) Emisora evangélica. Transmite desde la comunidad de San Luis, Santa Bárbara, Occidente de Honduras. Fue fundada el 27 de febrero de 1979. Frecuencia de transmisión 3250 kHz. Banda de 90 metros. Contactos: Apartado Postal 303, San Pedro Sula, Cortés. Tel. (504) 6641221 RADIO "LITORAL" (HRLW) Emisora evangélica. Transmite desde el puerto de la Ceiba, Atlántida. Su: frecuencia 4830 kHz banda de 60 metros. Tel. (504) 441 59 73 Apdo. postal 888, La Ceiba, Atlántida. Email: radiolitoral @ psinet.hn RADIO NACIONAL DE HONDURAS. (A.M, F.M) Información adicional. Radio Nacional de Honduras (HRH [sic: HRN]) "La voz de la nación" ("Cultura que se oye") fundada el 12 de marzo de 1976 en la Capital Tegucigalpa. 880 A.M. Tegucigalpa y alrededores. 101.3 F.M Tegucigalpa, centro sur, oriente. 890 A.M Tegucigalpa y alrededores. 890 A.M Juticalpa, Olancho y alrededores. 880 A.M Santa Rosa de Copán y Occidente. 94.3 F.M Tegucigalpa. 890 A.M. San Pedro Sula y el Valle de Sula. Contactos, Fax 236 75 59 Tel. (504) 236 74 75 (504) 236 76 00. [this was on SW years ago when 5875 was considered far out of band --- gh] EMISORAS EN ONDA CORTA FUERA DEL AIRE (EN HONDURAS) RADIO PROGRESO Fundada en la ciudad de El Progreso, Departamento de Yoro. Transmitía en la frecuencia 4920 kHz banda de 60 metros. Primeramente fue clausurada por el gobierno militar de facto. Actualmente transmite por los 1130 kHz en A.M. Fecha de fundación 15 de noviembre de 1956. RADIO "EBENEZER" "LA COSTEÑA" Ex emisora evangélica, fundada en la capital industrial de San Pedro Sula, Departamento de Cortés. Transmite por la frecuencia 4930 kHz banda de 60 metros, sus transmisiones en A.M. por los 1220 kHz también fueron suspendidas, eran emisoras de alquiler. RADIO "LA VOZ DEL JUNCO" Fue fundada el 6 de enero de 1953 en la comunidad de San Luis, Departamento de Santa Bárbara. Transmitía por lo 6075 kHz banda de 49 metros. [+ harmonics up to 5th --- gh] RADIO "LA VOZ EVANGELICA DE LA MOSQUITIA" Emisora fundada el 23 de enero de 1981. Su frecuencia de transmisión 4910 kHz banda de 60 metros. Emisora establecida en Puerto Lempira, La Mosquitia. Departamento Gracias a Dios. (Nota: no tengo información sobre su existencia). (via Conexión Digital Jan 1 via DXLD) ** INDIA. Op de website van All India Radio http://allindiaradio.org/Tsunami.htm wordt informatie gegeven over de ramp in India. Ook via de reguliere uitzendingen in het Engels van de General Overseas Service kan het nieuws uit India beluisterd worden (Max van Arnhem, Netherlands, Dec 30, BDXC via DXLD) ** INDIA. 4970.0 AIR Shillong, Jan 1, 1500-1611, announcer in English with program of western orchestra music, local ID: ``The Northeastern Service`` of AIR, program schedule given in English, ads, news in vernacular, news in English (usual ``News at nine``) with many items about the situation on the Andaman & Nicobar Islands; after the news, back to local programming with subcontinental music, 1600 announcer in English with music program (mostly western soul music). Ranged from fair to very good. About 1520, checked for //’s, found 4760 (Pt. Blair or Leh?) fair, 4775 (Imphal) poor, 4850 (Kohima) very good, 4990 (Itanagar) fair, 5040 (Jeypore) fair, with no Myanmar and 9425 (Bangalore) good. (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, NRD545, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. THE LUXEMBOURG EFFECT Has anyone else noticed the high level of ionospheric cross modulation (ICM) present on Radio Monte Carlo on 216 kHz long wave? Here in the south of England, tune to RMC any time of day or night and you`ll hear more than a faint trace of France Inter, which broadcasts on 162 kHz. For those of you unfamiliar with IOCM, this phenomenon --- sometimes called the Luxembourg Effect --- occurs when the ionosphere, reflecting signals back to earth from station A, is modified by a high-power transmission from station B. In this cse, broadcasts from the massive 2 megawatt transmitter in Allouis actually heat and modify the ionosphere such that its audio is superimposed on that coming from RMC`s outlet in Roumoules. The effect is so pronounced that on occasions both audio components struggle for supremacy on 216 kHz. Distinguishing ICM-assisted interference from a co-channel signal is aided by the fact that the audio from the `alien` station is fairly wooly, with only the lower part of the audio spectrum being heard (Martin Peters, LM&S, Jan Short Wave Magazine [UK] via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. The large Joint Maritime Course (JMC) course/exercise ended at the beginning of November and provided much of interest to the HF monitor. The following frequencies were in use: 7518.5 1725[means 5172.5? see below] 5706 5208 5267 5261.7 5204.5 5400 9032 and 6720 kHz [why aren`t these in order to be sure they are right?] All were USB. Another frequency heard at the time was 8115.5 but this may not have been JMC-related. Most of the traffic referred to radar tracks and other similar information, but 5172.5 [not 1725 as above?] was the frequency to monitor for action, as during operations on several days they announced `Air Warning Red` and similar alarming transmissions. The exercise involved naval and air forces from the USA and UK plus some other European countries, and took place mostly at sea off the northwest coast of Scotland. . . Without wishing to take up too much space reprinting HM Coastguard frequencies, this time of year presents an ideal opportunity for a reminder of HF frequencies used by their voice services, all USB. Some of the frequencies listed have not been published in SWM before: 2226 Fishing vessel intership 2241 Intership 2246 Intership 2596 RNLI lifeboat, light vessels and CG use 2762 Secondary use subject to propagation 2860 Coastguard helicopter private channel 3023 International nighttime aero frequency 3380 Secondary use subject to propagation 3488 CG Helicopter secondary frequency 4718 Secondary use subject to propagation 5680 International Rescue Coordination working frequency 7777 Secondary use subject to propagation (Ben Hogan, SSB Utilities, Jan Short Wave Magaine [UK], via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. TSUNAMI'S, CODAR EN DE KORTEGOLF CODAR -- Na de tsunami's in Z.O. Azië herinnerde ik mij het Codar systeem dat juist bedoeld is om de hoogte van golven in de gaten te houden. Dit systeem bestaat notabene al vele jaren. Codar signalen zijn ook 's-nachts hier goed te horen, met name ergens tussen 4800 tot 4810 khz. --- Max From time to time our members have seen the loggings of stations being disturbed by CODAR. This is an abbreviation of Coastal Ocean Detection And Ranging which is a form of continuous wave radar that is appearing increasingly on SW frequencies throughout the world. It was developed by the U. S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the late 1960`ies and 1970`ies as a system to measure sea wave height, period and flow. The turbulent sea surface reflects radiosignals in all directions, but the signal is returned directly to its source only when it scatters off a wave that is exactly half of the transmitted signal wavelength, and that wave is travelling in a path directly away from or directly towards the radar. In this case, the scattered radar signals add together and produce a strong returning `echo` at a very precise wavelength. Most modern CODARs use a variety of SW frequencies from 3-50 MHz to do their work and can therefore use a variety of sea waves for scattering: 25 MHz radar = 12 m radio wave can observe 6 m ocean wave. 10 MHz radar = 30 m radio wave can observe 15 m ocean wave. 4 MHz radar = 75 m radio wave can observe 37.5 m ocean wave. Typical frequencies are 4800-4900 (heard at night) and 13400-13600 and 24700-25900 (heard during daytime). The signals have an unmistakable metallic `schwip, schwip, schwip`` as the radar signal is swept across the narrow range of frequencies, typically about 20 or 50 kHz. These notes are based upon a larger article in Monitoring Times, July 2003. BRON: Dx-Window nr 258 (3 NOV 2004) (via Max van Arnhem, Dec 27, BDXC via DXLD) Die CODAR jongens hebben een heel aardige website: http://www.codaros.com/ De Duitse CODAR te horen is op 29850 kHz (Ary, ibid.) ** IRAN. IRAN BROADCASTS TO ISRAEL, IN HEBREW, ON "KOL DAVID." Article does not mention that Kol Israel is slated to end its shortwave broadcasts in March, including Persian to Iran. Jerusalem Post, 30 December 2004. http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1104376738090 (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** ITALY. Casini a RAI International --- Non sembra uno dei momenti migliori per la sala controllo di RAI International. Wolfgang Bueschel ci ha segnalato di avere ascoltato, la mattina del 29 dicembre, due trasmissioni contemporaneamente in onda su 11800 Khz. Non è andata meglio ad Andrea Borgnino che dall'India si è sintonizzato sui 21520 khz per ascoltare le notizie da Roma ed ha trovato solo la portante per tutta la durata della trasmissione. E' assolutamente evidente che questi sono i primi sintomi del progressivo smantellamento di questo servizio, poco personale addetto e assoluta mancanza di controlli (Roberto Scaglione, Italy, playdx yg via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. Completo esquema del servicio exterior de la Radio TV de Malasia \"Voice of Malaysia\", válido desde el 31/10/2004 al 27/03/2005: HORA UTC IDIOMA KHZ 0600-0830 Ingles 6175, 9750, 15295 0830-1030 Malayo 15295 1000-1400 Indonesio 6175, 9750 1030-1230 Mandarin 11885, 15295 1300-1430 Thai 6100 1430-1530 Burmes 6100 1530-1700 Arabe 15295 1700-1900 Malayo 6175, 9750 Por otra parte, el programa \"Voice of Islam\" se irradia de acuerdo a este esquema de emisiones: HORA UTC IDIOMA KHZ 0300-0600 Ingles 6175, 9750, 15295 1400-1700 Malayo 6025, 6175, 9750 QTH: Voice of Malaysia, P.O.Box 11272, 50740 Kuala Lumpur, Malasia. E-mail: vom @ rtm.net.my Web: http://www.rtm.net.my (Marcelo A. Cornachioni, Argentina, Conexión Digital Jan 1 via DXLD) ** MALDIVE ISLANDS. This thread is of particular interest to SW DXers for whom these largely unknown places are indeed known as DX targets and can be pointed to on the map. Also, DXers are especially aware of the geographical features (low-lying) of these islands and some of the political aspects, too. Of all the horrifying images of these large ocean waves, the most horrifying in my mind is imagining 30-50 foot swells washing over islands that are only a meter or two high, especially the Maldives. I was once on the Outer Banks of NC on vacation (but DXing, too!) and the hurricane aiming for that exact location on Atlantic Beach was expected to wash over the island and reach the Sound behind - and that was frightening enough to imagine! The hotel cleared furniture from the first two floors in preparation. We were in no danger because the causeway to the mainland was close at hand, and we had a lot of advance warning. In fact we stuck around a few extra hours in the hotel pool. Totally unlike the ones in this week's news who had advance warning of seconds at best (Jim Renfrew, Byron NY, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** MALI. Radio Mali transmitter moving slowly upwards in the 60m-Band, now on 4788; // 5995, but this one has been very weak here, even when conditions are good (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Germany, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Hoy 1 de Enero de 2005, XEVOZ-AM 1590 kHz cambió de programación, la cual anteriormente se llamaba "Bonita 15 90" (con la música de mi tierra) para dar paso a "Radio Reloj" (la hora al minuto y mucho más) por lo que ahora esta emisora está dando la hora cada minuto seguido de anuncios comerciales. Por lo cual ha copiado el mismo formato que por más de 61 años tuvo la legendaria "Hora Exacta, S.A." empresa concesionaria de las emisoras XEQK [1350, 9555]. La estación XEVOZ-AM es una estación perteneciente al Grupo ACIR (Roberto Edgar, Jan 1, condiglist via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. See BURMA ** NIGERIA. Radio Kaduna, 6090, 01/01, before 2100 and after 2130, up to O=4, Hausa. 4770 seems to have been silent for several weeks (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Germany, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. Last evening I logged the "International Service of Voice of Nigeria" with English 6 o'clock news (at 1700 UT) on new 7275 kHz. Is this change from 7255? Nothing heard on 9690, 15120 and 17800. 73 (Jarmo Patala, Finland, Dec 27, dxing.info via DXLD) ** NORTH AMERICA. Undercover Radio, 6925 AM: I picked this pirate up Jan 1 at 2050 in AM mode with a man with ID and a box 293 Merlin, ON maildrop then into some weird chanting type of music, then another ID at 2156 with a mention of undercoverradio @ mail.com e-mail address a couple of times then another full ID with Merlin, ON maildrop mentioned again (Mark Coady, ON, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. KGYN Move now goes to auction Buried at the bottom of December 17th FCC Digest is this: SHARON BERLIN INGLES, ET AL. Granted in part and dismissed in part the Petitions to Deny. Action by: Chief, Audio Division, Media Bureau by LETTER. (DA No. 04-3913). MB "Conclusion. For the foregoing reasons, then, Ingles`s and PMCC`s Petitions to Deny ARE GRANTED IN PART AND DISMISSED IN PART. Ingles`s Petition to Deny the April 11, 2003, Amendment to TELNS`s application IS DISMISSED AS MOOT. TELNS`s April 26, 2002, Form 301 application for major change to KGYN(AM), as amended, IS RETURNED AS INADVERTENTLY ACCEPTED FOR FILING. The applications of TELNS, Ingles, and PMCC shall be scheduled for a subsequent auction, the date of which will be announced by Public Notice." Full text at: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-04-3913A1.doc (boiseengineer, Dec 17, Oklahoma Radio-Info board via DXLD) It basically sounds like the FCC has agreed to disagree and the end result is to auction off the 1210 frequency to the highest bidder. However I don't see how 1210 can get auctioned off in this market because of 1220. So I'm wondering if maybe it will go to auction in the Tulsa market where the original complaint against the deal originally came from. Not sure but it appears 1210 will be auctioned in some capacity here in the State Of Oklahoma. It really doesn't make any sense considering CC has done this numerous times across the US in order to move in a frequency while moving out another and tweaking to the next 10th of the frequency. Oh well. All that for a 50K signal in Oklahoma City? (laughing) (whatsupwitdatnow, ibid.) It looks like they will allow the other companies to bid to have licenses in Bixby and the other place in Oklahoma on 1210 against CC's app to do the OKC thing. My guess is CC will outbid the others, so it is likely they eventually will get the 1210 in OKC. The reason they want that signal is so they can claim to be basically the same as KOKC signalwise with their KTOK. The real signal advantage will be to the northwest part of the metro where KTOK fails to cover at night. Even if they win the bid, they'll still be several years out from getting that mess on the air. There is quite a bit of work to be done to successfully put that kind of a signal on the air for the first time. Lots of physical work and FCC documentation, plus tweeking will have to be done. For their sake, I hope they don't have to de-tune too much stuff near their proposed transmitter site to make it work. Lots of stomping though fields with a meter and driving in places where cars shouldn't have to go awaits CC engineers if they get that signal. I, for one, would not eagerly await that mammoth challenge. I believe there was also an application for a station in the Abilene, TX area for 1210. I suspect the FCC ruled that this was not a simple move-in but a new allotment since the Abilene and Bixby proposals weren't mutually exclusive with KGYN as it exists today. The FCC will only allow a new allotment without affording other parties an interest if it is mutually exclusive with an existing station. [By the way, after reading the document, I stand corrected. The FCC ruled that neither application was better than the other in the way of public interest.] (--- THE Insultant --- , ibid.) Call me the Scrooge in my attitude toward Clear Channel here at Christmastime, but it just kinda upsets me that Guymon is losing such a big part of its community. I mean KGYN is a big signal for that area. I can sit in Little Rock and listen to it on my car radio most nights, and they still do a lot of local sports. (They are the only place that I can get the OSU Cowboys much of the time.) I listened to them broadcast the local college's commencement exercises not too long ago. They had a C1 FM allotment in the last auction that Clear Channel had originally filed for, but it went to a religious outfit for only $90,000. I have never been to Guymon, but I have always wondered about that town because of KGYN. I would love to have a 10,000 watt fulltimer. I wonder what will become of KTOK 1000 once the move-in is complete? (Media Mogul, ibid.) In many ways, I agree with you. I'm not up-in-arms about such a loss, but I do agree that another signal serving OKC, and likely with the same programming already on the dial, isn't a good thing when a station that will be replaced is superserving its small community. Much like you listening to it in Little Rock, I've been able to hear it in Tulsa as well as Oklahoma City at night. Of course, if both of us can hear it that far away, it likely means it failed to go to its nighttime pattern as it beams its signal pretty much straight west when it changes patterns. You know, I've never been to Guymon either, but I hear it's a great place to go if you collect diamondback rattlesnakes! Everything I've heard about it is that it's a pretty economically depressed place with virtually nothing to do. I doubt Telns would be so eager to get rid of the station if it were raking in the dough. You know, if, and really more like when, the move of 1210 to OKC happens, I'm not really sure what will become of which stations. I tend to agree that 1210 is likely the intended home of KTOK, though I'm really not sure it makes a lot of sense to move KTOK there when it's already killing its two main competitors, one of which can be heard in California at night. About the only two AM formats I can think of running in OKC are standards, which has never had a very high success rate, and Spanish language radio as OKC has had a Hispanic community that has been growing for quite some time now. I would have said sports as well, but sports is already well-served in OKC. (Kent, ibid.) Two corrections here. First, Mangum, Oklahoma is the rattlesnake capital of Oklahoma. They have a yearly Rattlesnake hunt. Two, If you paid any attention to the ratings as they are broken down, you'll notice that KTOK IS NOT killing the other two stations (whatsupwitdatnow, Dec 20, ibid.) No, OKEENE is the rattlesnake capital, with the hunt (gh, DXLD) I am curious as to what would happen to KTLV 1220 in OKC if CC moves 1210 in. Also, I heard that KEBC 1340 is still up for sale. Does anyone know anything about that one? (jb, ibid.) Word on the street is CC will spin off 1340 to the 1220 folks (whatsupwitdat, ibid.) KGYN-1210: the move [to OKC] is still on, cc said that they were not to be in the auction. that they planed to move the station in 2005. will take about 90day to build out the towers. (``Guymon``, Dec 28, Radio-info OK board via DXLD) mmmmmm...well that's not what I hear. FCC is auctioning and if CC doesn't participate than they don't get the frequency. Something doesn't sound right here. Plus...90 days to build out towers for a 50K watt station? Unless your a miracle engineer and you've got at least 30 people working on this, I'm not sure how that can be accomplished. You might check your resources again on this. Unless you know something within the FCC that we don't. I've heard other bizarre things (whatsupwitdatnow, ibid.) In my experiance, the "source" must be in sales (boiseengineer, ibid.) ** OKLAHOMA. WBBZ in Ponca broadcasts on the web at http://www.wbbz.com/ They are still owned by the local newspaper with no other station, still in the same building near the tower and sound pretty much the same way they did 20+ years ago. They might be the last small town AM station in Oklahoma to still have live and local DJ's with a full service format, playing mostly oldies and some AC cuts.. The way radio should still be (Billy G., Dec 13, Oklahoma Radio-info board via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. No great distance but some very strong signals from Oklahoma (Tulsa and OKC). KSBI-52 is still in at noon, but others have faded a lot. From OKC were local quality signals from 14, 25, 34, 52, 54 and 62. Very strong CCI on 38 and 43 and DTV snow reducing signal of Topeka KSNT-27. Most likely KFOR-DT 27. KXOC-54 was very strong with programming parallel with KSBI at first with KXOC call letters at 8 a.m. Distinct programming later. I do not know if it is a LPTV or a regular station. LPTV 46 in weakly as well as HSN on channel 21, Azteca America on channel 51 at one time and Spanish on channel 69. Several DTVs from Tulsa and OKC including KOKH-DT 24 with "local weather conditions on program 2, KOPX-DT 50, KWTV-DT 39, KOCB-DT 33 from OKC and KJRH-DT 56 from Tulsa (Dave Pomeroy, Topeka, Kansas, Dec 31, WTFDA via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. VOA-FM 101 DEAL ABORTED BEFORE EXPIRY --- By Khalid Hasan http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-1-2005_pg7_7 WASHINGTON: Voice of America programmes will go off the air with effect from today (Saturday) from all eight stations of FM-101, as the contract between VOA and the state-owned network leased to a private company has been mysteriously cancelled six months before it was to expire. The cancellation is believed to have come on account of pressure from the Pakistani government which was experiencing growing unease and rising in-house criticism for having permitted a foreign broadcasting service to use Pakistani airwaves to push out its message. Never before in Pakistan’s history had such a deal been allowed. All governments, regardless of their political character, have been one in maintaining total control over the state-owned broadcast media. Both Radio Pakistan and Pakistan Television Corporation remain hundred percent state-owned organisations. Privatisation has stopped at the door of the two organisations that have sometimes been referred to as the ``twin otters of disinformation.`` The deal between the Broadcasting Board of Governors that exercises overall control over Voice of America and Clarity Communications Pakistan, Al-Rahman Building, II Chundrigar Road, Karachi, was signed in Washington on 9 July 2003 according to which the latter - which holds a lease for the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation-owned FM-101 network of eight stations - was to broadcast programmes beamed out by Radio Aap ki Dunya, the new name that VOA has chosen for its Urdu broadcasts aimed at a Pakistani audience under the age of 40. The agreement between the two entities was signed on behalf of Clarity Communications by Syed Asif Salahuddin and for VOA by Kenneth Y Tomlinson, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Attempts by Daily Times to find out what the financial basis of the agreement were met by silence, not only at the press conference held at VOA headquarters on 9 July but even later. In the end, Daily Times filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act which took about six months to process, at the end of which a copy of the contract signed between the two parties was made available to this newspaper. The agreement revealed a strange case of `role reversal` since it was not Voice of America which was being paid for use of its programmes by FM-101, but FM-101 which was being paid to broadcast the programmes, a mixed fare of music, news and views. VOA was also contract-bound to provide Clarity with ``satellite receiving equipment`` at the eight transmitting facilities. The term of the agreement was to be from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005, ``with an additional period subject to available funding from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2005.`` The total duration of the contract, it was specified, ``shall not exceed five years.`` The question is: why has the contract been terminated after just six months? This correspondent has been able to gather that eyebrows were raised in certain ``sensitive and influential`` quarters in Pakistan when the deal was signed, sealed and delivered. There were questions asked as to the role played by the then head of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and whether he had used his influence to have the lucrative contract awarded to a party that had had the reputation of being ``far too close`` to him. Of the seven or eight people recruited by VOA, when it decided to extend the time and range of the Urdu programmes beamed at Pakistan, one was the daughter of the said official (Pakistan Daily Times Jan 1 via Radiointel.com via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 5950.0, Bible Voice via Khabarovsk (listed), Jan 2, 1140- 1203, found them under WYFR (1145*), then in the clear, in English (Dr. Kennedy program), Bible Voice ID and website given. TOH into Vietnamese. Off their usual and still listed frequency of 5945. Fair (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, NRD545, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. I was listening to Radio Happy Isles [presumably 5020v] this morning (Jan 2) from 1153 with island and pop music and a man with small talk about the new year, closing announcements by a woman from 1159 followed by national anthem then into a BBC drama at 1202. This brings up two questions: Is this a special deal or has SIBC extended their broadcast day to 1200 from 1100. Also, I wonder if the BBC relay they use is live or tape delay because, if it was live, they should have been playing the BBC news at 1202 (Mark Coady, ON, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SRI LANKA. SLBC website, with links about aid, and to live audio -- - apparently City FM is in Sinhala, not English, and they also have a Tamil service. Possibly there are English segments on one or both? http://www.slbc.lk/ (Glenn Hauser, OK, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. Finn Krone, en la Lista DXplorer, informa que Radio Suecia Internacional está realizando transmisiones especiales para las áreas afectadas por la catástrofe que asola el sudeste y centro asiático. Pueden escuchar las mismas de 1130-1200 11560 kHz, 1200-1600 11550 kHz. 73's (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina, Dec 31, condiglist via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. Radio Sweden Anew --- Radio Sweden has always been counted among the top echelon of international broadcasters. Mindful perhaps of the fact that it is now the sole remaining international broadcaster hailing from the Nordic region, Radio Sweden has undergone a period of soul-searching and emerged with a refreshed line-up. The pace of the presentation has been quickened, retaining and adding new segments that explore history, geography, sci-tech, sport, personalities and the intricacies of Swedish cooking. ``The daily editions offer a smorgasbord of news and current affairs, science and technology. We explore, debate, analyse and give insight into the way Swedish society and its people are changing to meet today’s challenges and opportunities,`` claims Radio Sweden`s web site http://sr.se/rs Each weekday has been given a broad theme. Monday`s focus is ``culture.`` The arts program Spectrum airs on the first and third weeks of the month. Tuesday`s leitmotiv is ``knowledge`` and that brings the environmental program Earthscan, the medical report Healthscan and the all things Swedish S-Files on the first, second and third weeks respectively. Wednesday is devoted to ``real life,`` which means Sportscan the first week, Money Matters the second and Nordic Lights the third. ``Lifestyles`` infuse Thursday with Cooking with Judi and Juan, a new show devoted to Swedish cuisine, airing the first week and the personality profile Close Up presented the second. Friday`s theme is ``Debate.`` Where regular features don`t air, special reports and programs will. On the weekends, Radio Sweden is now part of the Network Europe team, whose reports will go to air every Sunday. Saturdays rotate around SONO (otherwise known as the youth lifestyles and music show Sounds Nordic, documentaries from Studio 49, the listener interactive In Touch with Stockholm and the topical magazine Sweden Today, week to week every month (John Figliozzi, Programming Spotlight, Global Forum, Jan MONITORING TIMES via DXLD) ** TAIWAN [and non]. RADIO TAIWAN INT'L/VOICE OF TAIWAN current schedule as follows: Revised : JAN 01,2005 NOTICE: To Avoid China Heavy Jammer With CNR programs, Chinese traditional music, all frequencies vary. It applies to Mandarin, Mainland Networks. International Network will rebroadcast on FM frequencies of Han Sheng BC (Voice of Han), it targets into foreign workers and spouses in Taiwan in July 2005. 1. MANDARIN NETWORK ONE (in CH) 2200-0500, 0900-1800 603 0900-1600 TWN C CHN 1008 0900-1800 TWN C CHN S CHN 1098 1300-1800 TWN C CHN S CHN 1422 0900-1500 TWN N CHN 1503 1000-1200 1600-1700 SEAs 1521 0500-0800 TWN N CHN 6085 0900-1500 C&S CHN 6105 2200-0000 C CHN 6150 2200-0500 C&S CHN 7185 0900-1800 N CHN 9680 1100-1800 C CHN 9780 0900-1500 S CHN 11640 0000-0500 0900-1400 C CHN 11665 0900-1800 N CHN 11710 2200-0000 N CHN 11780 1100-1500 N CHN 11885 2200-0400 N CHN 15245 2300-0400 C CHN 9790 2300-0000 SEAs 11635 2200-0000 SEAs 11715 1100-1200 AUS NZL 15290 0200-0500 SEAs 5950 2200-0000 E NAm 9495 0500-0600 CAm 11825 0000-0100 SAm 15215 0000-0100 SAm 15440 2200-0000 W NAm Note: 927, 1422kHz is for baseball live broadcast from 0900 every Sa Su till NOV 14. Next session to be announced. 2. Mandarin NETWORK TWO: PROGRAM: repeat some of Mandarin NETWORK ONE 0500-0600 15270 SEAs 0900-1100 9415 N CHN 1300-1500 7445 SEAs PROGRAM: repeat 0100-0200 of Mandarin NETWORK ONE 0400-0500 5950U 9680U 15320 15270 SEAs NAm 0400-0700 1210 Sacramento CA, USA 0900-1000 11715 11605 11635 11940 15525 SEAs NEAs Oc 1200-1300 15465 11605 SEAs NEAs 1300-1400 15265 SEAs 1900-2000 17760U 9565U Eu RUS 2200-2300 3965F WEu 3. Mainland NETWORK ("Date with Taipei" features program) 0600-1000 11795/11775 1400-1800 6145/6060 2300-0300 9660/9680 4. DIALECT NETWORK (in Amoy Hakka Cantonese Mongolian Tibetan) 1) Amoy (mainly spoken in Taiwan, Fujian) 0000-0100a 15440U 11875 W NAm SEAs 0100-0200b 11875 SEAS 0500-0600b 15580 1422 1008 SEAs CHN 0600-0700a 15580 1422 1008 S CHN TWN SEAs 0700-0900cd 1206 1422 TWN S CHN 0900-1000b 1206 CHN TWN 1000-1100a 1206 11605 15465 As CHN 1200-1300a 11715 TWN SEAs 1300-1400b 11635 15465 SEAs 2100-2200b 5950U E NAM 2) Cantonese (spoken in Hong Kong Guangdong) 0100-0200a 5950U 15440U 15290 NAm SEAs 0200-0300b 15610 SEAs 0500-0600b 5950U 9680U NAm 15320 SEAs 0700-0800b 1210 Sacramento, CA,USA 1000-1100a 11715 15270 11635 15525 SEAs AUS NZL 1100-1200b 15270 1206 SEAs CHN TWN 1200-1300a 11915 6105 1206 SEAs CHN 1300-1400b 11915 6105 SEAs CHN 2200-2300a 5810 Eu 3) Hakka (mainly spoken in Taiwan E.Guangdong S.Fujian) 0000-0100a 5950U E NAM 0200-0300a 15440U W NAM 0300-0400b 15610 SEAs 0900-1000b 15465 SEAs 1000-1100b 6105 CHN TWN 1100-1200a 11635 15465 6105 SEAs CHN 1300-1400b 15175 SEAs 1400-1500a 11915 SEAs 1700-1800a 11875 EAF SEAs 4) Mongolian 1000-1100 11985 Mongolia Tibetan 1300-1400 9415 Tibet Nepal Note: a-PROGRAM A b-PROGRAM B 5. INTERNATIONAL NETWORK: English 0200-0300 9680U 5950U NAm CAm 11875 15465 SEAs NEAs 0300-0400 5950U 15320 NAm SEAS 15215U SAm 0700-0800 5950U WNAm 0800-0900 9610 SEAs AUS NZL 1100-1200 7445 SEAs (1100-1200Th 747 927 Program for Foreign Workers) 1200-1300 7130 NEAs 1400-1500 15265 SEAs 1600-1700 11815 INDIA S CHN 1800-1900 3965F Eu 2200-2300 9355U Eu Spanish 0200-0300 15215U 11825U wSAm 0400-0500 11740U CeAM 0600-0700 5950U wNAm 2100-2200 6120D EUR 2300-0000 9690U 11720U eSAm German 0600-0700 5810U Eu 1800-1900 9565 Eu 1900-2000 6170G Eu 2100-2200 11665U Eu French 0700-0800 5810U Eu 1900-2000 3955G Eu 2000-2100 9635 11665U 15440U Eu NAm 2100-2200 9365F WAf Russian 1100-1200 11985 EaCIS 1300-1400 11935 WeCIS 1700-1800 7135F WeCIS Japanese 0800-0900 11605 JPN 1100-1200 7130 11605 JPN 1300-1400 7130 11605 JPN Korean 0300-0330 15465 Korea 1200-1230 9415 Korea 1400-1430 9415 Korea Thai 0600-0700a 15270 THA 1400-1500a 15465 11635 THA 1400-1500b 747 TWN 1500-1600b 7445 1503 927 THA TWN 2200-2300a 7445 1503 THA 2300-2400b 7445 927 THA TWN Arabic 1600-1700 11890 NAf ME 1800-1900 11890 NAf ME Burmese 1130-1230 11680 MMR 1500-1600 9465 MMR Indonesian 1000-1100a 11550 11520 INS 1100-1200b 11550 11520 INS 1200-1300b 11635 7445 927 SEAs 1400-1500a 11875 SEAs 1500-1600b 1422 SoTWN 0400-0600ba 927 SoTWN Vietnamese 0900-1000 15270 VNM 1100-1200 1521 SoTWN 1300-1400 1206 SoTWN 1500-1600 11915 VNM 2200-2300 9790 VNM Note: a-PROGRAM A b-PROGRAM B c-PROGRAM C d-PROGRAM D Relay via: U-Okeechobee, USA D-Juelich, Germany G-Skelton, UK F-Issoudon, France Relay stn via CBS : WYFR (World Family Radio): A04 [sic!] CHINESE 0100-0300 0500-0600 0700-1000 2100-2200 1503 2200-0300 0900-1400 1700-1900 1557 0900-1000 1359 1000-1300 1098 1200-1500 747 2100-0000 1102-1602 7250 9280 CANTONESE 0800-0900 1557 2300-0100 0600-0700 1503 ENGLISH 1400-1700 1900-2200 1557 1800-2100 1503 1359 0100-0200 15195 1300-1500 11560 1500-1700 15520 KOREAN 1000-1100 7130 Hindi 0000-0100 15195 1600-1700 11560 Russian 1500-1700 9955 Tagalog 1000-1100 1300-1400 2100-2200 1359 Indonesian 1100-1200 1400-1500 2200-2300 1359 Vietnamese 1200-1300 1500-1600 2300-2400 1359 AWR-KSDA: B04 Vietnamese 0100-0200 15445(Sa) 1400-1500 11720 BBC: B04 Vietnamese 1430-1500 1503 R. AUSTRALIA: B04 INDONESIAN 0800-0830 11550 0900-0930 11550 2130-2330 11550 VIETNAMESE 2330-0000 15110 R.FRANCE INT'L B04 CHINESE 2200-2300 1098 747 1200-1300 1503 RADIO FREE ASIA B04 VIETNAMESE 1400-1500 11605 2330-0030 11605 TRUTH FOR THE WORLD B04 CHINESE 1400-1430 7220(Sa) Clandestine station in Taiwan : STAR STAR BROADCASTING STATION: 11430 Star Star Channel 1 15388 Star Star Channel 2 9725 Star Star Channel 3 8300 Star Star Channel 4 13750 Star Star Channel 5 NB: seems inactive due to cases of Mainland spy VOICE OF CHINA: CHINESE 2230-2330 7270 0800-0900 11940 HMONG LAO RADIO: LAOTIAN 0100-0200 15260 (3.5) Radio Chan Troi Moi (New Horizon Radio): VIETNAMESE 1330-1430 1503 //17595v (Last edited by Miller Liu on Fri Dec 31, 2004 1202 U; edited 1 time in total, dxing.info via DXLD) Both ILG and Nagoya DXers Circle newest frequency databases show that the new clandestine station call "Sound of Hope" beaming to Mainland China is relayed via Taipei facilities (Eriz Zhou, Yangzhou, China, Dec 31, ibid.) ** TURKMENISTAN. 5015, 1500-1515, TKM Friday 17-12, Türkmen R, Asgabad, English news on a Friday, 1510 Turkmen announcement and news with musical interludes 35343 AP- DNK (Anker Petersen, Denmark, @tividade DX via DXLD) ** UGANDA. Re: Jeff Heller: "// 7195 for Blue channel covered in ham QRM. Note, R. Uganda 5026 noted at threshold this day, with similar program on // 7110 but that frequency buried there under presumed CRI and VOA" --- This suggests that frequencies are running in parallel. I don't believe that. Did they ever use four SW transmitters? (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Germany, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC Radio 4. Monday 3rd January 8.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. [2030 UT] Don't Touch That Dial --- It just takes a few seconds. The radio jingle imprints the name of the presenter or station on the listener's ear and they're hooked. Anyway that's the theory. DJ's, producers, composers and listeners talk about the place the jingle holds in their lives (Radio Times via Mike Barraclough, England, Jan 2, worlddxclub via DXLD) I caught a preview for this programme on Radio 4 earlier today. Amongst other things I think they will feature some of the 1960s offshore pirate jingles. The Radio 4 web site gives these details: Just a few seconds is all it takes. The radio jingle imprints the name of the presenter or station on the listener's ear, and they're hooked. That's the theory, and ever since jingles crossed the Atlantic to pirate radio and then to the new BBC Radio 1 in the 60s, they have been a vital part of the radio experience, whether it's 'Wonderful Radio One', ' To-ny Black-burn' or 'Paul Gamba-ccini'. Close harmonies, a musical phrase that sums up the identity of the station, urge the listener to stay tuned. DJs, producers, composers, collectors and listeners talk about the jingle in their lives. Happy New Year (Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Also available on line at http://www.bbc.co.uk (Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U K. Radio lookahead for 2005 --- Lots of big things coming up this year. I tried to flag up some of them in the Sunday Times today: If years were hat-stands, this new one has more pegs than ever. Anniversaries abound and programmes will be hung on all of them. The year 2005 is the 10th anniversary of Classic FM's Hall of Fame, the 15th of Leonard Bernstein's death, the 20th of Live Aid, the 30th of Bohemian Rhapsody and the fall of Saigon, the 40th of Churchill's death, the 50th of Charlie Parker's death and the 60th of Radio 2 itself. Julie Andrews will be 70 and June Whitfield and Oscar Peterson, both 80. The new year also celebrates what would have been the 60th birthday of Jacqueline du Pre and the 100th of Michael Tippett. That is a rich crop, likely to yield a bumper harvest. Yet the most remarkable moment on radio this year is not linked to any commemoration. The big event, the thing that really leaps out, is that Radio 3 is clearing an entire week's schedule in June to play nothing but Beethoven. Every note he wrote will be played, from the familiar string quartets, piano concertos, violin sonatas and symphonies to more obscure compositions such as his 100 folk songs and cantatas. Several works will be played more than once, giving us a chance to compare strikingly different interpretations. Alfred Brendel, John Hurt, John Suchet and Sir Roger Norrington are all, in different ways, contributing speech to this marathon. Even Choral Evensong, generally as immovable as the pips, will be shifted (from Wednesday to the following Sunday). It is the boldest step Radio 3 has ever taken, and a tonic for those of us who have sometimes grumbled about BBC radio for its steady companionship at the expense of originality and imagination. Radio that makes a splash in a visual-dominated culture should always be welcomed. Roger Wright, the network's controller, must take the credit. He personally conceived it and is seeing it through. The Beethoven Experience, as the week is being called, will be followed by the complete works of Webern on the 60th anniversary of his death in September and then the complete works of Bach in December. No other network, I often think, does more to elevate and uplift - as opposed to all those other areas of British broadcasting that debase and depress. Radio 3 has mounted themed evenings and weekends before, but why now is Wright embarking on a themed week? Why in 2005? Perhaps he is responding to the muted criticism of the BBC governors last summer, when they observed in the annual report that "some listeners are unhappy with the share of output given to non-classical music on Radio 3 and we will remain mindful of this in continuing to assess the network's performance". Doubtless he knows that, with a white paper looming on the BBC, it is wise to emphasise your core values and not the avant-garde. He may have been stung by suggestions that Radio 3 had tried to copy Classic FM (though that has now been reversed, with Classic this Saturday launching a CD review show startlingly similar to what Radio 3 does on the very same day). Or it may be just that classical music lives in his soul, as it does with Radio 3, and that he knows a good idea when it pops into his head. Whatever the motive, the results will be there for everyone to enjoy for six consecutive days and nights this summer. Ends (From Paul Donovan in uk-radio- listeners@yahoogroups.com via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. VOA FM relay deal aborted: See PAKISTAN ** U S A. NEW YORK VOLMET RETURNS TO AIR The automated aviation weather broadcasts from WSY70, New York Radio, suddenly resumed around October 6, 2004. There was no formal announcement or explanation given, just like when the station vanished a year or so before. Services, schedules and frequencies are unchanged, as if nothing had happened. Presumably, whatever budget issues had put the broadcast on hold have been resolved. The station sounds great. It`s being heard worldwide on its traditional frequencies of 3485 (local night), 6604, 10051, and 13270 (local day). These are in kilohertz (kHz), and all upper sideband (USB). Duration is 20 minutes, starting on the hour and half hour, with Gander Radio, Newfoundland, Canada, filling the other ten. Content is also unchanged. It is the North Atlantic VOLMET (``flying weather,`` loosely from French). It`s intended for pilots on oceanic air routes. This consists of three parts. First is airport weather observations in a slightly modified METAR (Routine Aviation Meteorological) format. Second is Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAF), and the third is Atlantic and Caribbean SIGMETs (SIGnificant METeorological reports). The lower frequency uses a doublet antenna, and the others use a rhombic, 3000 watts each. Their location is near Barnegat, New Jersey, as fed from the Federal Aviation Administration on Long Island. It sounds as if the same well-trained announcer is always on-mike, but it’s really an unusually natural-sounding ``Voice Concatenation System`` called StarCaster. Unlike the Coast Guard’s ``Perfect Paul`` and other voice synthesizers, it turns text files into a convincing stream of digitized human speech, from a database of words with various intonations. Nice to have this great old station back on the air (Hugh Stegman, HF Communications, MONITORING TIMES January 2005 via DXLD) ** U S A. WWV: Here's to Marty Edwards. I am not sure how to take this, seriously. I am so used to hearing THAT voice when I tune into 10000 kHz. In Afghanistan, when I could pick up NOTHING else, he was there. An old friend saying "one minute less til you go home". Can you please send specifics? I assume he passed in Ft. Collins and (is now) laid there (Kenny Daniel, shortwave yg via DXLD) Found the following item on Usenet: "Actually, there were seven on air announcers to cover the 168 hours a week WWV broadcasts. I was told this by someone who worked at WWV when it was in Greenbelt, MD (outside Washington, DC). The shifts varied in length, but lasted about 3 or 4 hours. Since there was an overlap, they could break for lunch. The occasional 5-minute breaks (which had no tone or voice) allowed an extended visit to the potty. Literally, it was potty, a porta-potty placed right outside the studio door, and vented to the outside. WWV had the first US prototypes of these in the mid-50s, and the experiment was closely watched by the military and the Park service. In addition to the announcers, there were two engineers (really, technicians), one to turn the mike on and off, the other to take transmitter readings. There were actually fifteen engineers on staff, plus supervisors, office staff, and an accountant to handle payroll and billings. "Billings?," you ask. Yes. The Bureau of Standards billed other government agencies for "using" WWV, whether or not they actually did. Us civilians got a free ride. There was also an advisory board which met monthly to oversee operations and to guide WWV into the 21st century. Their meetings were held at the WWVH site, although most lived in Washington. The WWV budget was about $25 million (in 1953 dollars) which is equivalent to $2.7 Billion today. The move to Boulder Colorado was a problem, since propagation would be affected. The station would be far away from the population center of the mid-Atlantic states. Of course, a change of call-sign was required, since "W" was for East-of-the-Mississippi stations, and "K" for Western stations. The next available call sign with "K" was "KKK" but it was decided not to use it. KKL didn't sound right either, and KWV was nixxed. Senator Dirksen introduced a bill in Congress to allow the continued use of WWV in Colorado. Anyway to get back to the announcers. They were hired to sound alike, and because of the repetitive precision needed , ex-military types were given preference. I thought that everything was taped, but they were live! To test this out I closely monitored WWV for a total of 65 hours over a one week period, in sessions lasting up to 8 hours. Sure enough, I heard differences in delivery. Sometimes the voice sounded a little gruffier, other times a little hurried, and at times the announcer sounded bored. After a while I could hear the forced authority in the voice. The shift changes occurred on the hour, during the last five minutes (when there's no tone, only clicks). The longer I listened the more I heard differences in inflection and rhythm. Several times I could detect the change of announcers, but those guys were good!! You could hardly tell them apart. Several still draw pensions from AFTRA, the announcer's union. They were in the Baltimore-Washington local of AFTRA, but had a no-strike contract, and were paid Civil service GS-12 pay. Several turnovers occured as people quit or were institutionalized. One guy actually defected to Cuba and became the voice of Radio Reloj in Havana. Today WWV is undergoing even more changes. See this site, and click on the "clock" to hear audio. http://www.grantassoc.net/wwv.html `` -- (via Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com (huge GRIN!), WTFDA via DXLD) Reminded me of an article that appeared once in the parody publication "BLANDX" (The Journal of SASWA, the South American Shortwave Association). As I recall the article was entitled "A visit to WWV". The gist of it was that on a station tour of WWV, the announcer kept on running out of the booth to greet and talk to visitors, only to have to run back in each minute to give the time (Niel Wolfish, Toronto, NRC-AM, via DXLD) This is very interesting stuff. So interesting, in fact, I would like to add it on my WWV/WWVH Appreciation Site http://www.geocities.com/radiojunkie3 Could you find the source of this info so that I may add it on the website? Many thanks and please take a few minutes to peruse the site. 73, (Peter Q. George (K1XRB) Whitman, Massachusetts, ibid.) See also WORLD OF TELEPHONES below ** U S A. We are progressing on building of the new WOR transmitter facility in Rutherford, NJ. I would guess around March, we'll be starting the non directional proof, which means we'll be adjusting matching overnight. I'll try to post as much in advance as I can as to when WOR will be off the air, or at the least off sporadically. Some of the dates/times will be last minute decisions, but if I can give at least a week, I will. This will be a good chance to check 710 (if Fidel is off the air that night), as since NYC is rated overnight, it is very rare to find WOR off the air overnight for any length of time. The new facility should work pretty well. It is literally being built in a swamp, and the bedrock is 165 feet deep. The transmitter building, guy anchors, and tower bases sit on steel pilings 165 feet deep. Makes a hell of a ground rod! One final thing. If anyone is in the NYC area, feel free to give either myself or our Chief Engineer Kerry Richards a shout if you'd like to tour the facility. We'd be happy to show anyone around any time (Tom Ray, WOR, Dec 27, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. The last two mornings while getting ready for work I've noticed that WBT-1110 plays a full-length instrumental version of the Star Spangled Banner at 0608 EST. This info might help a DXer west of the Mississippi who needs WBT (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Dec 29, NRC-AM via DXLD) Highly unusual these days! AFAIK, no US SW station ever plays the SSB (gh) ** U S A. The WOKY-920 WI DX test scheduled for UT Jan 3 0455- has had to be postponed (Les Rayburn, IRCA CPC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Another tower down in SOCAL: Here is a pic. I bet they will have a hard time putting this one back up for a graveyard station. http://www.signonsandiego.com/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=041229storm&id=kson18 (Paul Smith, Sarasota, FL, Dec 29, NRC-AM via DXLD) Could be, but that link generated more pop-ups than I've seen in a long time - some of them repeated as well (Russ Edmunds, ibid.) With the severe storm damage to the KSDO 1240/KURS 1040 tower in San Diego yesterday (see sdradio.net for pictures), a few of the formats in the area have moved around: KSDO 1240 is off the air (it had been running leased-time Asian languages, mostly, also doing some simulcasting with KAZN 1300 Pasadena/KMNY 1600 Pomona), KURS 1040 is off the air, and its black gospel has moved to XESDD 1030; the standards that had been on XESDD 1030 have moved to XESS 620, which had been doing regional Mexican. I suspect the standards on 620 are the only thing that would be very noticeable to anyone outside the immediate San Diego area. (I also note that 620 has been VERY bad about ID'ing; I couldn't get a legal out of them when I was there in October, and Garrett Wollman tried five times with no luck last weekend.) s (Scott Fybush, Dec 30, ibid.) ** ZAMBIA. Re: "4500, possibly Zambian ZBC2". Many thanks for that. I will try tonight. They would have reason to move away from 6165 as Chad is extremely strong now. [later:] --- just got a mail from Christoph Ratzer of [a-dx] that Tony Ward of DXplorer has IDed it as Zambia 2 ---- (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Germany, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4500, ZNBC Radio 2, 0339-0431 Jan 2. Apparently a relay of Radio 2 on 95.8 MHz. Sunday Morning Show, with lots of ballads. Played the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody". Brief Fish Eagle IS, TC and ID at ToH, followed by news summary. Very good signal and audio quality, a pleasure to listen to, SINPO 44434 (George Maroti, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 4500: see ZAMBIA just above UNIDENTIFIED. 6015: heard several days at 1600+, variety of music with few short announcements, time pips at 1600, into music, followed by very short news bulletin, unable to understand anything because of not very good audio. Not Iran. Any ideas? (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Germany, Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Zanzibar? (in the past at 1500-2100 UT on former v11734). 6015 is heavily disturbed here in Europe by the Korean fighters (North to South and vv jamming). 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, dxldyg via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 7155. Has anybody heard a weak signal in French there, or any idea (except Niger)? I had one on New Years eve at 1830? No more details, sorry. All the best for 2005! (Thorsten Hallmann, Muenster, Germany, http://africa.coolfreepage.com/africalist Jan 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ INTERNATIONAL RADIO CLUB OF AMERICA, ANAHEIM CA, Aug 25-27, 2005 The 2005 IRCA convention will be held in Anaheim, California (in conjunction with Disneyland's 50th anniversary). Dates are Thursday Aug. 25th, Friday Aug. 26th. Sat. Aug. 27th (with Sunday being an optional free day for folks to go out and do the tourist thing). The hotel is the Days Inn at 1111 South Harbor Boulevard (a block north of the happiest place on earth), phone number is 714-533-8830 and the hotel website is http://www.the.daysinn.com/anaheim04986 Registration fee will be $25 payable to me, and the banquet will be at a nearby restaurant, B.Y.O.B. (buy your own bratwurst, hi). We'll have full use of the meeting room each day after 1000 when they clear out the comp. Continental breakfast service. Guest room rates should be in the $49 range when you mention the convention. Larger suites are also available, as are Disneyland packages. Talk to manager for details. Watch for more info in DX Monitor. Hope to see everybody there. It appears that we're halfway through another decade. Sad incident last Sunday with the plane hitting the KFI tower. It is (was) clearly visible from both home and work, a real sight to behold at night. Unfortunately way too close to Fullerton airport. Perhaps it will be rebuilt by next August as it was one of the sites I had planned on touring for the 2005 convention. 73 and best of DX (Mike Sanburn, KG6LJU, Burbank, IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ E-LECTRIC AVENUE January 2, 2005 -- To log on, New Yorkers may soon plug in. This month, Con Edison will expand a test program for broadband over power lines, or BPL, a new competitor for traditional high-speed DSL and cable modem connections. . . http://www.nypost.com/business/37477.htm Another lazy journalist copies an Ambient press release and calls it news. Business as usual for Rupert Murdoch's New York Post (Ken Kopp - Amateur Radio KKØHF, Jan 2, dxldyg via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ AIR CORE LOOP ART Beauty (or ugliness) is in the eye of the beholder. We think an air core loop would be a terrific conversation piece in the office or living room. What's the difference between a finely constructed air core loop and modern art? (Bob Galerstein, WB2VGD, Morris Plains, NJ, NRC-AM via DXLD) When we were first married, we lived in a rather small apartment in Hutchinson. The HQ-129-X (not very small in itself) and the four foot air core loop had a prominent place in the living room (on a set of "bookshelves" held up by bricks. I'll have to give my wife a lot of credit; if she didn't like it there, she never said anything about it. It was always a conversation piece when we had company, in fact, one person wondered if it were something that we worshipped! (John Sampson, ibid.) And your wife at that point probably said "Well, he does!" (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA, ibid.) You see, Russ! Tell your wife the loop and HQ-150 are non- denominational items to worship and that they bring health and happiness! (Bob Galerstein, WB2VGD, Morris Plains, NJ, ibid.) First Church of the Resonated Wire (Fred Vobbe, OH, ibid.) Other options for the HQ150 if Bob's suggestions don't work out: (1) tell her it's a space heater. Since you don't DX during the summer, it will make plenty of sense that you aren't using it. (2) tell her it's for homeland security. The Axis of Evil must be monitored. (3) since it has crystals, talk up its New Age flavor. I wouldn't suggest any group meditations, however. And as for the loop: (1) you're going off the grid for clothes drying. It's a space efficient clothesline. (2) it's a teen monitoring device (this only works once) (Chuck Hutton, ibid.) WALGREENS ``LIFELONG`` WORLD BAND RADIO With Reference To A Few Similarly Priced Alternatives OK, so I`m a sucker for the newest cheap radio that comes along. My collection of radios includes many portables which cost under $100 and some under $50, some of them can actually be fun to play around with, such as the Degen 312 and Kaito WRX-911. But when I hear about a new radio in the sub $25 category it arouses my curiosity enough that I throw common sense out the window and try it out just to see if it might be an undiscovered jewel. So it happened with the Lifelong World Band Radio, sold at Walgreens. There`s been some murmuring about it and a few people asked if I would check one out. Marked at $19.95, it has been on sale for $15.99 recently and at that price how could I resist? After all, 7 Shortwave Bands plus AM & Fm for $16 --- that`s about $2.50 a band. I could skip coffee and save more than that! I discovered that Walgreens has a whole range of small electronic products with the Lifelong name on them, from small retro-styled portable AM/FM radios to Walkman type stuff, a Shower Radio, a Sports Radio etc. In fact, it was amazing to see a World Band radio here at all. Other than the Bell & Howell which generally sells for $9.95 I know of no other multi-band portable this inexpensive. My hopes with these inexpensive, small portables is that I will find decent performance in a package small enough to take anywhere and cheap enough to not have to worry about loss or damage. For a spur-of-the-moment purchase or a gift it may be someone’s first sw portable --- what will they find when the open the blister pack? One positive note is that there is a small instruction sheet which gives some brief info about SW (AM and FM are for local listening while SW is for long distance listening --- that sort of thing), and lists some frequencies for major World Broadcasters, such as BBC, DW, CRI etc. Comparing the listings with my own loggings I found them to be mostly out of date or for other areas of the world, but that’s typical of most such radio datasheets --- this literature is the same the world over so is necessarily generalized and less than helpful. My suspicions that the Lifelong would not become my next favorite portable began even before I put the two AA batteries (not included) into the radio…I almost had to break the thing to get them to snap into it. It seems that the plastic opening for the battery compartment is just a wee bit too short, and I could not exert enough pressure using just my fingers to get the second battery to drop into place. I had to get a screwdriver and FORCE it down into position. I am very lucky the case didn’t shatter into tiny fragments under the pressure I was exerting with the screwdriver and please don`t ask how I plan to get those batteries out in the future. I was about to take the back off the radio to get the batteries into it, but discovered only one screw which seems to hold the rod antenna. Maybe the case is glued together? I certainly never envisioned that installing the batteries would be an item to comment on in a review but this really amazed me. Strike 1! However, I did finally get the batteries in there. I slid the power button to the right and was instantly greeted by a loud local FM station. ``Great``, I thought, ``at least the FM is working and it can play rather loudly,`` although the sound was a bit screechy and shrill for my tastes. I tuned up and down the band and was able to hear my local FM`s without any problem. The local stations all crowded into one another with no blank spots between them, but I don`t expect distant FM reception on a radio like this anyway. It was mono in headphones as well (no ear buds provided). Next it was time to try AM, but I encountered my next problem. I couldn`t move the band switch --- a slider on the top of the case. Try as I might it just would not budge --- it felt stuck in place. I pressed harder and harder and it finally gave way, snapping all the way to the opposite end of its range. Once again I had to exert enough force that it felt as if something would break --- but it finally gave way and moved. Strike 2! I jockeyed it back to the am position. I found I was able to pick up the local AM`s but with more noise than I deemed listenable. My favorite semi-local am signal is a 50 KW on 1080 about 15 miles away --- it was down in the noise --- you wouldn`t want to listen to it for long. A very local 5 KW about 4-5 miles away came in fine, so I would rate this am as for strong locals only. Sensitivity is low enough that nighttime skip didn`t affect reception much --- only a couple of signals that were incredibly strong on other radios could be heard. I tried my 100 mile distant daytime test signals, which come in listenably on other radios --- they were a faint noise only --- no audio was decipherable on the Lifelong. For SW I checked a couple of frequencies that were booming in at the moment --- the BBC on 15190 (about 10 over S-9 on my reference tabletop) and a stronger US SW which was about 20 db over S-9. I could hear the BBC on 15190 but it was faint at best. The US signal was clear and listenable, so again, sw sensitivity is low enough that only very strong signals will be comfortable to listen to. Strike 3! . . . [more} http://www.radiointel.com/review-lifelong.htm (Jay Allen, Radiointel.com via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ POPULAR COMMUNICATIONS OWES ME VOICE FROM THE PAST --- I was recently contacted by "Mr. Anonymous" who used to send me his intercepted items frequently during the years I wrote the Communications Confidential column for Popular Communications magazine. After exchanging updates on our respective activities he asked if I and the other four writers had ever received the money due us when we all quit writing for the magazine. I told him I was not sure if any of the others had been paid in full but that I was still owed $1200 which I will most likely never see. He remarked it was amazing that a publication would do that to folks who had written for them for a long period of time (Don Schimmel, Radio Intrigue Dec 15 at Dxing.com via DXLD) RADIO STAMPS ++++++++++++ Dear HAM Stamp Friends, now I have worked a little bit for "HAM STAMPS Group". You can visit a "Photo Album" with (for the first) only amateur radio stamps, there I know. It was not a home page for the "HAM STAMP Group". You or all there have interest can visit on: http://www.fotos.web.de/ManfredBussemer Sehr geehrte Ham Stamps Freunde, nun habe ich ein wenig für die Gruppe tun können, ich habe ein Fotoalbum mit (für das erste) nur Amateurfunk-Briefmarken angelegt. Es ist keine Homepage für die HAM STAMP Gruppe. Alle die Interesse haben könne sich die Marken ansehen unter: http://www.fotos.web.de/ManfredBussemer I hope you have a nice start in 2005. Ich hoffe Sie haben das Jahr 2005 gut begonnen. vy 73 Manfred, DL4UE (via Horacio A. Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay, radiostamps yg via DXLD) Nice collection, quite long list; bypass login and password (gh, DXLD) WORLD OF TELEPHONES +++++++++++++++++++ WHAT TIME IS IT, REALLY? DON'T CALL 259-2222 - Tuesday, 12/28/04 By ANNE PAINE Staff Writer Radio station's service apparently clocked out --- Say it's not so! Dial 259-2222 and a voice no longer answers and tells you the time and temperature. As of late, a caller hears only ringing. The service that was provided by WSIX-FM is no longer available, say radio station staff who have been fielding calls from devotees. . . http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/04/12/63400737.shtml?Element_ID=63400737 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) TIME'S UP FOR SBC 'TIME LADY' RECORDING THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION Thursday, December 30, 2004 By Meghan Gilbert http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-25/110442372769740.xml#continue Time will stop Friday. Callers in the Flint area and throughout Michigan will no longer be able to pick up the phone and hear the familiar "At the tone the time will be ... " in the new year. Beset by clock competition from cellphones, the Internet and the media, SBC Michigan is phasing out its time of day service (234-1212), which started in Michigan in 1929, spokeswoman Liz Whelan said. Michigan is the last in SBC's five-state Midwest area to lose the service. It began being phased out Dec. 13 in the Upper Peninsula. Rick Frase of Clayton Township already would like to turn the clock back. Frase is a stickler for the correct time. He keeps the exact time on his watches and clocks with time.gov, the occasional check of his shortwave radio and, until now, the time lady. He once brought the phone company's attention to the fact the time service was off by 32 seconds. "I was surprised to hear about that and really disappointed because that's something I've called all my life since I was a little kid," Frase said. "I thought that could be around for years." © 2004 Flint Journal. Used with permission (via RadioIntel.com via DXLD) ###