DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-011, January 18, 2005 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING0 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 2005 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 53: Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: WORLD OF RADIO Extra 53 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx53h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx53h.rm [WOR Extra 53 is the same as Continent of Media 04-08] WORLD OF RADIO 1259 (low version without WOR opening): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0408.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0408.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0408.html AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1260: Wed 2300 WOR WBCQ 7415 [first airing of each edition] Thu 0000 WOR WBCQ 17495-CUSB Thu 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Thu 2130 WOR WWCR 9985 Fri 0200 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream repeated 2-hourly thru 2400 Fri 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Sat 0000 WOR Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 87.35 96.55 105.55 Sat 0900 WOR WRN1 to Eu, Au, NZ, WorldSpace AfriStar, AsiaStar, Telstar 12 SAm Sat 0955 WOR WNQM Nashville TN 1300 Sat 1130 WOR WWCR 5070 Sat 2030 WOR R. Lavalamp Sun 0330 WOR WWCR 5070 Sun 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0430 WOR WRMI 6870 Sun 0730 WOR WWCR 3210 Sun 0930 WOR WRN1 to North America, also WLIO-TV Lima OH SAP Sun 0930 WOR KSFC Spokane WA 91.9 Sun 0930 WOR WDWN Auburn NY 89.1 [unconfirmed] Sun 0930 WOR KTRU Houston TX 91.7 [occasional] Sun 1030 WOR WRMI 9955 Sun 1100 WOR R. Lavalamp Sun 1400 WOR KRFP-LP Moscow ID 92.5 Sun 1500 WOR R. Lavalamp Sun 2000 WOR Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 87.35 96.55 105.55 Sun 2030 WOR WWCR 12160 Sun 2100 WOR RNI Mon 0330 WOR WRMI 6870 Mon 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0430 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 [week delay] Mon 0530 WOR WBCQ 7415 Mon 0900 WOR R. Lavalamp Mon 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 0700 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5 Tue 1000 WOR WRMI 9955 Tue 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours MORE info including audio links: http://worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ONDEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: WORLD OF RADIO 1260 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1260h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1260h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1260 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1260.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1260.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1260.html WORLD OF RADIO 1260 in the true shortwave sound of Alex`s mp3: keep checking http://www.piratearchive.com/dxprograms.htm CONTINENT OF MEDIA 05-01 available from January 11: (stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0501.ram (download) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0501.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0501.html MUNDO RADIAL, enero-febrero 2005: (descargar) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0501.rm (corriente) http://www.w4uvh.net/mr0501.ram (guión) http://www.worldofradio.com/mr0501.html También en WWCR 9985, desde el 21 de enero: viernes 2215, martes 2230, miércoles 2200; además en segmentos por Radio Enlace de Radio Nederland, los viernes y domingos. ** AFGHANISTAN. AFGHAN WOMEN'S VOICE RADIO TO BE RELAUNCHED ON 18 JAN 05 | Text of report by Afghan radio on 17 January Afghan Women's Voice Radio will restart broadcasting tomorrow, Tuesday [18 January]. A report by the UNAMA office in Kabul says that it seems that the Afghan mass media will have a stronger and brighter future. The Afghan Women's Voice Radio restarts its broadcast tomorrow, Tuesday, from the Cultural Centre which is managed by a non-government organization, IIMI, in Kabul. The radio programmes will be launched by the country's president tomorrow. The inauguration will be broadcast live at 1015 hours [local time]. The radio programmes will cover Kabul, Parwan [province north of Kabul], Logar [south of Kabul], Maidan Wardag [west of Kabul] and [eastern] Nangarhar Province on AM 69.3 {sic}[kHz] from 0600 hours [local time] until 2000 hours. The 11 female reporters of the radio station and technical workers will not only cover issues of health, education, women's rights, and informative programmes on family crisis, but will also fight sensitive issues such as divorce and forced engagements. The Afghan Women's Voice Radio first started its broadcasts in Wrai 1382 [March - April 2004] with the help of the UNESCO, but could not broadcast except to a small area in Kabul because of limited resources. Later, it was closed down in late Ladam [October - November 2004]. Now, the German Development Services Centre has given the radio a strong transmitter which broadcasts on a large scale for 11 hours daily. Source: Radio Afghanistan, Kabul, in Pashto 1430 gmt 17 Jan 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) I suppose they mean 693 kHz, where no Afghan stations are shown in the WRTH 2005 frequency list (gh) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Re 5-008: UK, 15265, Radio Solh via Rampisham logged with excellent reception Dec 21 at 1500 with opening of transmission. News and music from Afghanistan, etc. E-mail QSL received within 4 hours from: MARLO.BAHRAIN @ me.navy.mil (Torre Ekblom, Finland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) QSL on CMF, not Sohl! (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window Jan 12 via DXLD) Coalition Maritime Forces is on 15500 --- I suspect the report was sent to the wrong address, and the QSL came automatically, not to imply that these two stations are related, just that CMF QSLs are worthless (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** ALASKA. GLOBE NETWORK EXPANSION: The latest node in Globe Wireless`s chain of HF data linked world wide network is now operational from Nikoloski, on Umak Island in the North Pacific Aleutians. Call sign is KEM. Ten frequencies from the 6 to 17 MHz bands are allocated. Some frequencies are omnidirectional while others are directed towards the SE and SW to enhance coverage in particular target areas. This node brings the total number of Globe outlets to 22. An updated list of Globe stations in frequency order is available from the Club (Peter Kierans through wun via Allen Fountain, Utility DX, Jan Australian DX News via DXLD) WTFK? ** ANTIGUA. BBC Antigua harmonic heard in NE USA Monday 17 Jan 2005, 30.38 MHz AM: 1607 UT - BBC World Service via Antigua relay, FK97, 2nd harmonic OM, YL news re China, interview. Sig just above unusually high local noise level at S4, S5 > 7 with good audio quality (Jack Sullivan, Central New Jersey, FN20, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [and non]. Voice International, English via Darwin to Asia, adjusted schedule: 0900-1430 13685, 0900-1030 11955, 1100-1730 13635, 1500-1730 11840, 1800-2030 11685. Additional new transmission: 0000-0300 7355 via Tashkent to India (Bob Padula, Radio EDXP, HCJB DX Partyline Jan 15, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. DIGITAL RADIO AROUND THE CORNER January 18 2005 Sydney Morning Herald By Mike Barton Digital radio promises to transform the airwaves, but satellite radio - which will do to radio what cable has done to television - could eclipse it before it even takes off. Digital broadcasts, which will offer CD-quality sound, better signals and some text and mobile video information services, will be available next year. "If radio doesn't go digital it will die," said Andrew Thompson, chief of WorldAudio, which broadcasts as Radio 2 on AM bands and subscription TV. . . http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2005/01/17/1105810845557.html (via Dan Say, DXLD) The story goes on to mention ``launch a satellite over Australia``. I have news from them. Australia is not on the Equator; thus there cannot be a satellite parked ``over Australia`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BANGLADESH. EID SPECIAL ON BANGLADESH BETAR English Service Bangladesh Betar: Eid-ul-Azha: A day of total submission to the will of Allah --- A special composite program on the occasion of holy Eid-ul-Azha. Broadcasting Date: January 21 or 22, 2005 (depends on Moon, may be 22.01.2005) Frequencies : 7185 kHz, 9550 kHz UT: 1815-1900 (Europe), 1230-1300 (S & SE Asia) Details of the program : 01. Intro: highlighting the significance of Eid-ul-Azha (to be writen by the compiler) 02. Song (Bengali): Az dil diye dao korbani (A special composed song on holy Eid-ul-Azha with the theme in English) Artist: chorus. Lyric: Munsi Wadud. 03. Talk: The teaching of holy Eid-ul-Azha. by Dr. A. N. M. Raisuddin, Professor, Dept. of Islamic studies, Dhaka University 04. Recitation: from the poem 'Kurbani' with the gist in English. Written by: Kazi Nazrul Islam. Read by Golam Mustofa. 05. Eid Songs : Specially composed songs (Bangla) on Eid-ul-Azha with the gists in English. (3 songs) Compiler : Mohiuddin Babar. Narrator : Shamim Khan and Shahnawaz Ahmed Producer : Akramul Islam. Happy listening (Ashik Eqbal Tokon, Rajshahi, Bangladesh, GRDXC via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Radiodifusora Roraima lleva muchos días desactivada en su habitual frecuencia de los 4875. ¿Problemas con el transmisor? (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, Jan 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. As I mentioned last week I sent an email to RCI and they sent me a helpful and encouraging response. Basically they indicated that they had expected that 6190 kHz would provide good reception in the north eastern US. However, the skip distance, i.e. the distance the signal travels in its first bounce from the transmitter to the ionosphere and back down to earth, has been greater than was expected, so that the northeastern US isn't benefiting from that frequency nearly enough. Their frequency manager plans to recommend the reintroduction of 2300-0100 UT broadcast next winter (Sandy Finlayson, PA, Jan 17, swprograms via WORLD OF RADIO 1260, DXLD) ** CHINA. MUTED COVERAGE OF ZHAO'S DEATH BY CHINESE MEDIA When former Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang died on 17 January following a period of poor health, China's state-controlled broadcast media did not immediately report the fact, leaving it to the printed press to relate only the bare facts with minimal comment. Zhao, once expected to succeed Deng Xiaoping as the country's leader, was removed from office after voicing opposition to the military crackdown during the pro-democracy Tiananmen Square riots in 1989. Since that time he had remained under house arrest and was almost never mentioned by the state media. Initial signs that reports of Zhao's demise were likely to be suppressed came with the release of an English-language report by China's Xinhua News Agency, saying he was in a stable condition after treatment. However, there was no Chinese-language version of the report and evening television and radio broadcasts made no mention of Zhao's deteriorating health. Previously, on 11 January, Beijing denied Hong Kong media stories that Zhao had already died and that the government had withheld the news for fear of social unrest. Recent reports say that visitors to Tiananmen Square are accompanied by police escorts to watch the daily flag-raising ceremony. Analysts suggested this may be to pre-empt any dawn protest following Zhao's death. Beijing fears that Zhao's death will become a focus for disillusionment in Chinese society, and a possible flash-point leading to more unrest. The death in January 1976 of populist premier Zhou Enlai led to an outpouring of grief and protests on Tiananmen Square. And the 1989 demonstrations themselves were triggered by the death of Hu Yaobang, the reform-minded party chief purged in 1987. Although Zhao's death was reported by China's Xinhua News Agency on the morning of 17 January, the story came with a notice that domestic television and radio stations were not allowed to use the information. "Attention please - we have received a notice from a relevant department," the message said. "The item on 'Death of Comrade Zhao Ziyang' which was transmitted today is for use in newspapers and journals," it continued, adding: "Domestic radio and television stations, do not use it - without exception." China Central Television's noon news broadcast made no mention of Zhao's death. Although popular Chinese news web sites carried the news, they limited the posting of messages on the subject from the public. "We closed the comments on the news item of Zhao Ziyang dying because of reasons everyone is well aware of," an official at Sohu.com, one of China's most popular web sites, told one reporter. "It is not convenient to say who ordered us to do this." Elsewhere, a news programme by Japan's public broadcaster NHK, and broadcast via Chinese operated satellites, was cut off shortly after it reported the death of Zhao at about 11:20 a.m. local time (0220 gmt). In one sign that the news has yet to reach the general public, experts and professors reached through the phone by a reporter all expressed surprise at the news, saying that they had not heard it yet. Analysts said that the fact that the news was carried by Xinhua, if only to the outside world, although unthinkable in the past, is not surprising, since the current leadership is keen to be seen as more open than their predecessors. However, government control over domestic media appears to remain tightly controlled, including careful management with relation to the release of sensitive stories to the Chinese public. Source: BBC Monitoring research 17 Jan 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CHINA [non]. CHINA VIA GUIANA FRANCESA, 11720, 25/12 2157, Rádio China Internacional, via Montsinery, em Português, programa com receitas: ``esquentar o óleo na frigideira``, 55555 (LFH) (Lucio Flavio Haeser, Florianópolis – SC; Praia do Campeche; Receptor Sony SW 7600GR. Para as ondas curtas antena telescópica, @tiviade DX Jan 17 via DXLD) ?? We have had several items in DXLD that this transmission is via Voz Cristiana, Santiago, Chile. What is your source that it is French Guiana? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. 6280, China Radio International; 1142-1155, 16-Jan; M in English with lite pop music; "CRI" ID. Continued in Chinese at 1155. SIO=333/LSB helps with ute bursts. Some occasional weak audio QRM there too (Harold Frodge, MARE DXPedition via DXLD) Actually this is [non], yet another Sackville mixing product, 5960 CRI relay leapfrogging over 6120 NHK relay at 160 kHz intervals to land on 6280 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. La presente es para rectificar mi anterior informe acerca de la escucha de La Voz de Tu Conciencia en los 5910 kHz, en paralelo con los 6010 kHz pero con un retardo de varios segundos. El día de la escucha fue el 14/01/2005. Mil disculpas por el error (Adán González, Catia La Mar, VENEZUELA, Jan 17, WORLD OF RADIO 1260, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 6923.5U, Radio Caracol, 1106-1123 Jan 18. Thanks to Henrik Klemetz for listening to my audio clip. This was an apparent relay of Radio Caracol 810 kHz, with morning news program hosted by anchorman Darío Arismendi. I also heard some occasional advertisements that mentioned Colombia and Bogota. SINPO 34333 (George Maroti, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. The latest RHC trouble report: Jan 18 at 1450, 9550 audio was breaking up, stopping and starting and skipping, while \\ 11760, 11800 and 12000 were OK. Maybe 9550 gets a different STL feed (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Whoopee! Among the stations pulling out all the stops to cover Dubya`s coronation is R. Martí, heard promoting their coverage starting at 1630 UT January 20. But how can I listen if I am not spending a dime on electricity, AC or DC? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Quito 16/1 2005 *** Sunday edition: *** Recording of 1330.10, Radio Visión Cristiana Internacional, Quito. This Sunday morning I talked to the station by telephone 2 565756: "Radio Visión Cristiana Internacional" is the new name for "Radio Misión Cristiana Internacional" (MCI Radio), Quito, Ecuador (listen also to recording with their old name here!). More info about this station and recordings at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. PIRATE (Euro), 21894 kHz, Cupid Radio, 1541-1600 Jan 16. Luckily, just caught the ID and phonetic spelling of the maildrop address as the signal faded up. Per e-mail from their operator, Rinus, only running 15 watts at the time. Also heard some techno music, but there were so many long and deep fades that the signal was usually inaudible most of the time. Thanks to Chris Lobdell alert. SINPO 14311 (George Maroti, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON [and non]. For quite some time I have noticed a motorboating (continuous fast clicking) sound against Africa Number One, 17630, such as Jan 18 at 1505 during news in French about Africa. At first I thought it was a defect in ANO`s own transmitter, but the clicking fades up and down independently. There is also another station underneath, either getting jammed or producing the clicks. Checking EiBi listings, the only other station would be CRI via Mali in English, not a good frequency share in the first place. At 1559 recheck, still heard the clicks against a weak Deutsche Welle IS (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Today the 738 kHz transmitter at Stuttgart-Hirschlanden has been tested between 0900 and 1230 with the AFN feed carried from this site on 1143. Audio/processing adjustments were observed. http://www.truckradio.de/connect.aspx?do=2&go=542 suggests that this frequency will be soon put on air for Truckradio. Truckradio plans to use also Burg 531 (silent since 1998, disregarding low power DRM tests done in the meantime), Frankfurt 1080 (coordinated but never put in use, possible transmitter site unclear, most likely candidate appears to be Weißkirchen) and Würzburg 1386. They also intend to put transmitters on air in Austria. Cf. http://www.truckradio.de/connect.aspx?do=2&go=543 where 531 is shown way too much to the east of course, and just disregard the mention on "1475" in Austria. Here is a nice overall view of the Burg site: http://people.freenet.de/senderfotosbb/radio/burgmw01.jpg To the left the 324-metre-tall mast of the dismantled ARRT antenna (ex 783 kHz), now carrying the double cone longwave antenna for 139 and 261 kHz. To the right the 210 metres tall mediumwave masts; one of them had been modified for the old Tesla longwave transmitter after the collapse of the original LW mast. The six white towers carry the vertical incidence antenna for 1575 kHz, used for the 250 kW operations of the past and again for the 500 kW nighttime service of Megaradio, putting an enormous signal within a radius of about 200 km from Burg for nighttime service of the GDR (this antenna is not designed to serve targets further away; GDR radio used 1575 for RBI against regarding advice by the postal office). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also RUSSIA ** GUATEMALA. RADIO VERDAD SE QUEDÓ SIN LA F.M. --- En noviembre del 2003 para sorpresa de muchos, el Gobierno democrático de Guatemala vendió de forma anómala la frecuencia que ya tenía asignada a la emisora evangélica RADIO VERDAD como lo era 92.7 MHz, frecuencia por la que ya se habían pagado por los derechos correspondientes. RADIO VERDAD continúa transmitiendo por onda corta por los 4052.5 kHz. Su direccion es Apdo. Postal No. 5, Chiquimula, Guatemala C.P. 2091. Contestan todas sus reportes de sintonía (Geovanny Aguilar Bustamante, BOLETIN INFORMATIVO No. 1, DIEXISTAS "VAGABUNDOS DEL DIAL" ENERO 2005. HONDURAS DX CLUB - (ASOCIACION HONDUREÑA DE RADIO ESCUCHAS A.H.R.E.), PUBLICACION ELECTRONICA MENSUAL, APDO. POSTAL 376, C.P. 01-1804-01, EL PROGRESO, YORO, HONDURAS C.A. hondurasdxclub @ yahoo.com.mx via Noticias DX via DXLD) ** GUINEA. Thanks to geomagnetic storms, Africa offers always nice surprises on radiowaves. Here´s two stations from Guinea: 7125, RTG Conakry heard January 16 with French programming at 2228 UT. ID simply "Radio Guinée". Reception poor to fair. Some splashes from Radio Tirana signing on in English at 2230 on 7120. 1385.8 kHz, Radio Rurale, Labé with language I couldn´t recognize. Really strong signal after the close down of CRI Beijing in German via Kaliningrad at 2300. Also January 16. 73´s (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. My Time! Get to know the media habits of an impatient, underserved audience --- Originally published in Current, Nov. 15, 2004 Commentary by Dennis L. Haarsager We media professionals have always thought of ourselves in terms of functional divides — electronic vs. print, radio vs. television, local vs. national. Those dualities in turn govern how we organize ourselves, how we produce and distribute content and even how we think about our careers. Out in the real world, however, a different sort of divide is emerging for media users — real time vs. non-real time. Broadcasters operate mostly in real time, but our listeners and viewers increasingly consume the programming on what might be called in ad copy, My Time — that is, whenever they choose. We ignore My Time at our peril, and some public broadcasters are already finding ways to respect the many ways that people use media today. . . http://www.current.org/tech/tech0421mytime.shtml (via Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, swprograms via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. SATELLITE LOSS CUTS LINKS WITH WORLD FOR MANY SOUTH PACIFIC COUNTRIES WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - The loss of a communications satellite left 10 South Pacific countries without telephone contact with the outside world, New Zealand communications officials said Tuesday. A further five Pacific states and three Asian territories were also affected but had alternative backups available, Telecom New Zealand Ltd. said in a statement. In what satellite operator Intelsat Ltd. called an extremely rare event, one of its satellites moved out of alignment and was lost Saturday. The New Zealand communications company rented capacity on the lost Intelsat unit. The satellite's loss left Cook Islands, Western Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Vanuatu, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Tonga and the U.S. territory of American Samoa without communications links to other states, Telecom said. The other countries were also affected but could plug into backup systems. Telecom spokeswoman Sarah Berry said communications had since been restored Cook Islands, Western Samoa and the Solomon Islands and most of the islands still without satellite services will have local telephone and data services but will be without international calling and data access until alternative arrangements can be made. "Bank services, (electronic cash) services ... and airline data circuits have also been impacted and this could lead to some flight delays to and from these locations," Berry said. (via Ricky Leong, Jan 18, DXLD) BERMUDA: INTELSAT REPORTS TOTAL LOSS OF IS-804 SATELLITE Text of press release by Intelsat (Bermuda), Ltd. on 16 January Pembroke, Bermuda, 16 January 2005: Intelsat, Ltd., announced today that its IS-804 satellite [located at 174 degrees east] experienced a sudden and unexpected electrical power system anomaly on 14 January 2005, at approximately 2232 gmt that caused the total loss of the spacecraft. In accordance with existing satellite anomaly contingency plans, Intelsat is in the process of making alternative capacity available to its IS-804 customers. The satellite, launched in 1997, furnished telecommunications and media delivery services to customers in the South Pacific. Intelsat and Lockheed Martin Corporation, the manufacturer of the satellite, are working together to identify the cause of the problem. Intelsat currently believes that there is no connection between this event and the recent IA-7 satellite anomaly [of the 28 November 2004] as the two satellites were manufactured by two different companies and their designs are different. A number of Intelsat-operated satellites in the region are being utilized to restore service to affected customers, and many end users of IS-804 capacity are already operating normally using replacement capacity. Intelsat has also begun working with other fleet operators where necessary to ensure the quickest possible restoration of service for customers. "The loss of a satellite is an extremely rare event for us, and our first priority must be restoration of service to our customers," said Conny Kullman, CEO of Intelsat, Ltd. "Intelsat remains firmly committed to the region that was covered by IS-804, and all necessary effort and assets will be allocated to ensure Intelsat satellite coverage throughout the Asia-Pacific region." Intelsat expects to record a non-cash impairment charge of approximately 73m dollars to write off the value of the IS-804 satellite. The IS-804 was not insured, in accordance with Intelsat's practice of insuring only those satellites with a net book value greater than 150m dollars. Under the terms of the Transaction Agreement and Plan of Amalgamation for the sale of Intelsat dated 16 August 2004, among Intelsat, Ltd., Intelsat (Bermuda), Ltd., Zeus Holdings Limited (Zeus Holdings), Zeus Merger One Limited and Zeus Merger Two Limited, the total loss of the IS-804 satellite gives Zeus Holdings the right to not consummate the acquisition of Intelsat. Zeus Holdings has advised Intelsat that it is evaluating the impact of the IS-804 failure. Source: Intelsat (Bermuda), Ltd., press release, Pembroke (Bermuda), in English 16 Jan 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** LATVIA. KREBS TV in Riga, the exclusive license owner for shortwave transmissions from Latvia, is expanding its relay services on 9290. At the demand of customers, KREBS TV will offer also smaller power rates of 1, 5 and 10 kW from the Ulbroka site in addition to 100 kW as hitherto, starting this summer. Also DRM tests are planned on 9290 for the summer. 9290 is available 24/7 for lease through KREBS TV (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, Jan 18, WORLD OF RADIO 1260, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Nord in Riga started its own website: http://www.radionord.lv (still under construction). The station's email address is quoted as radionord @ apollo.lv Radio Nord is planning to broadcast regulary in DRM at nighttime from mid-summer, via their 2.7 kW transmitter in Ulbroka on 945. The daytime transmissions will continue in analogue mode (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, via Steve Whitt, MWC via DXLD) The EMR website is now up and running with many recordings, pictures, and information all about European Music Radio. Just log on to http://www.listen.to/EMR 73s (TOM Taylor, dxldyg via DXLD) ** MALI. R. Mali's 7285v and 11960 outlets are still the single ones active 0800-1800, whereas 4785v and 5995 are active 1800-s/off; 4835 night / 9635 day, surely used by the same transmitter are the ones that always provided stronger audio. I wish their carrier on 41 m had stronger audio as it would at least enable following their programmes until, say, almost 1100, since 11960 is typically very bad here on SW Europe. On Dec 07, frequency readings were 7285.82 and 4783.82 at 2125; there was a carrier on 4834.66, but no audio noticed, or then level was so low that noise prevented one to actually perceive it, and roughly after 2130, a heterodyne with Australia 4835 was audible. 31 m and 4835 still off today, Su Jan 09 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DSWCI DX Window Jan 12 via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Obituary: Víctor Díaz, 62, in the 1970s put XHIS (now XHITZ) 90.3, XHERS (now XHLTN) 104.5 Tijuana on the air. His XHKY (now XHOCL) 95.7 moved to 99.3 to accommodate an upgrade for KKOS (now KUSS) 95.9 Carlsbad, which moved to 95.7, with improved San Diego coverage. After selling the stations, he continued to operate XHLNC 90.7 Tijuana with classical music as a labor of love (M Street Journal online via Jan FMedia! via DXLD) ** MEXICO [and non]. DO TOUCH THAT DIAL!: Big breaking news from Los Angeles, where the long anticipated Clear Channel switch is slated for reality on February 3. That's when KLAC's Adult Standards format moves to XETRA/690, currently the home of Xtra (and Fox) Sports. The Sports stuff conversely goes to KLAC/570, which will retain rights to the Lakers hoopcasts. Whither 1150 (currently KXTA-Sports, in parallel with 690)?? AirAmerica in L.A., so goes the rumour! (Incidentally, HBO is planning to air a documentary in late March, on the AirAmerica startup, titled "Left Of The Dial"...should be interesting, to say the least!) CC is required to drop its programming interests in several Tijuana- based stations serving the San Diego/SoCal market, by September 2006; one of those involved is the 77,500-watt XETRA/690. A logical strategy would be (and apparently is) the idea of parking the Adult Standards mix on 690, while playing with AirAmerica on 1150. AA is already doing well on CC San Diego's KLSD/1360, which ironically dropped Adult Standards to do AA. Any kind of new programming on Los Angeles airwaves always constitutes a Grand Experiment. Thus, we have 1150...which can always segue over to Adult Standards in '06, if AirAmerica tanks, either by going broke or by garnering no ratings diary-keeping listeners. The ultimate potential loser is Adult Standards, which may wind up nowhere in SoCal as of Fall, next yeark. While the cause of the accident is yet to be determined, local pilots say that the KFI tower (was) nearly invisible from above on bright sunny mornings. This is particularly true when wind conditions require that planes land from the West instead of following the standard Eastern approach. That was the case when the accident occurred. According to news reports, local authorities are quoted as saying that numerous requests have been made in recent years to Clear Channel Communications which owns KFI. They wanted the company illuminate the tower with flashing strobe lights easily seen in the daytime. So far these requests have yielded no response." Clear Channel issued a statement the following week, accurately stating that the tower was in full compliance with FCC and FAA regulations. CC plans to rebuild, on the same site alongside Interstate 5 at the Los Angeles/Orange County line. A much less tragic occurrence affected a well-known structure just South of downtown San Diego in late December. You might've heard about some recent nasty stormy weather here in SoCal; a particularly potent gust of wind managed to bend the KSON/1240 self-supported lattice stick pretty much in half, taking the brokered ethnic Jefferson-Pilot station off the airwaves for a few days. Also affected were tower- share partners KURS/1040 (still off the air) and KBNT-LP, the Univision low powered affiliate on TV Ch.17, their current air status is unknown. The Gospel format heard on 1040 is now heard next-door on Jaime Bonilla's co-owned XESDD/1030 from just South of the Border; the Adult Standards pushed off of 1030 are now heard on Bonilla's 620 outlet from Ensenada, or Rosarito, or somewhere in that general 'hood. Cruise over to http://www.fybush.com and click the "tower site of the week" field on the left; look for the January 14-21 section on San Diego tower sites for some great before & after shots of the KSON problem (Greg Hardison, Broadcast Band Update Jan 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Full Update appears in the DXLD yahoogroup ** MEXICO. BATTLE INTENSIFIES OVER CONTROL OF MEXICAN TV --- An unlikely coalition is seeking to loosen the grip -- and lessen the political clout -- of a broadcast duopoly. By Marla Dickerson Times Staff Writer January 17, 2005 http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-mextv17jan17,1,1244455,print.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-business MEXICO CITY -- When Mexican voters elected Vicente Fox to the presidency in 2000, ending 71 years of one-party rule, many hailed it as a watershed. Now lawmakers seek to dislodge what they see as another roadblock to democratic progress: Mexico's television duopoly. Two companies, Grupo Televisa and TV Azteca, control 95% of Mexico's television stations, snare most of its advertising dollars and determine how millions of Mexicans are entertained and informed. In a nation where the vast majority of people get their news from network television, the companies have extraordinary power to shape public opinion. Too much power, some have concluded. As Mexico prepares for presidential elections next year, an unlikely tri-partisan coalition of legislators wants to loosen the grip of Mexico's TV barons and foster more competition. They propose limiting broadcast ownership, opening up the secretive licensing process and regulating political advertising during elections. Citizens groups are demanding more transparency, viewers want more choice and businesses welcome the prospect of lower advertising rates. Although some are doubtful any major change will make it through Mexico's gridlocked Congress this year, many lawmakers agree that the nation's 45-year-old broadcasting law needs updating, even if they differ on how to go about it. "This isn't about political parties," said Sen. Manuel Bartlett Díaz, a member of the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who is helping spearhead the broadcast overhaul. "This is about confronting a monopoly." That was an extraordinary comment from a politician whose party has long benefited from the lack of diversity. Mexico's media played an integral role in helping to prop up "the perfect dictatorship," as Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa called the PRI-controlled political system. Government officials paid print reporters for flattering coverage and advertised heavily in their publications. Perhaps more important, lucrative broadcast concessions were awarded to pro-government entrepreneurs. The most notable was Emilio Azcárraga Milmo, the now-deceased head of Televisa, who merged several Mexican broadcast groups into a single, dominant player in 1973. Today, Televisa is the world's largest Spanish-language media company, with revenue of $2.1 billion in 2003, more than 12,000 employees and holdings in radio, publishing, sports, entertainment, cable television and satellite TV. Net income was $320 million in 2003, up 351% from 2002. The company is a major producer of soap operas and other programming distributed around the world. Televisa is part owner of and a major content provider for Los Ángeles-based Univisión Communications Inc. and has expressed a strong interest in expanding its U.S. presence. But its bread and butter remains Mexican network television, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of its revenue. For that, publicly traded Televisa can thank Azcárraga's cozy relationship with the former ruling party. In exchange for a virtual monopoly on TV broadcasting, Televisa for decades functioned as de facto government mouthpiece while alternately ignoring or hectoring the opposition. Larry Lorenz, an expert on Mexican media, recalled one of the rare interviews Televisa conducted with National Action Party (PAN) candidate Miguel Clothier during the hotly contested 1988 presidential race. In contrast to the reverential treatment given to PRI candidate Carlos Salinas de Gortari, who ultimately won the election, Televisa's questioning of Clothier was openly hostile. "They were laughing on the set at him as if he were some sort of fool," said Lorenz, a communications professor at Loyola University in New Orleans. "It was shameless treatment." Azcárraga -- who once publicly declared himself "a soldier of the president and at the service of the PRI" -- reportedly pledged more than $50 million at a party fundraiser hosted by Salinas to show his gratitude for Televisa's privileged status. But it was Salinas who gave Televisa its first real taste of competition in México. In 1993, in keeping with the then-president's philosophy of privatizing state industries, some government stations were sold to a private-sector group headed by retailing tycoon Ricardo Salinas Pliego. Although his TV Azteca network is a distant second to Televisa in México, the publicly traded company has grown quickly, posting $648 million in revenue and net income of $140 million in 2003. TV Azteca holds interests in a soccer team, an Internet portal, Mexican mobile operator Unefon and the Azteca América television network, whose stations include KAZA-TV 54 in Los Angeles. (The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this month filed fraud charges against TV Azteca, alleging that it hid a debt transaction with Unefon that netted Salinas $109 million in profit.) Media observers said Mexico's changing political climate, coupled with the rise of TV Azteca and increasingly feisty print and radio journalists, has compelled Televisa to become more balanced. Emilio Azcárraga Jean, who took over the family media empire after his father died in 1997, is widely credited for injecting a new level of professionalism and fairness into the news operation. Still, the fact remains that two companies control much of the information flowing to more than 100 million Mexicans. Although the nation boasts hundreds of newspapers, including at least 18 dailies in the capital alone, few are widely read. Radio isn't the powerhouse it is in the United States, in part because fewer than 2 in 10 Mexicans own cars. Only an estimated 9% of households have Internet access. But more than 85% have a TV set. In a country where the minimum wage is less than $5 a day, few families can afford satellite or cable, so most of those sets are tuned to Televisa or TV Azteca's free channels. Juana Cruz shrugged when asked if she was enjoying the prime-time soap opera that was airing on an set tuned to Televisa's Channel 2 in the Mexico City restaurant where she was dining on a recent evening. "I guess so," she said. "There is not much else" to watch. Other Latin American countries have network television oligopolies, but nothing on par with México, said Sallie Hughes, an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Miami. In an article to be published next month in the journal Political Communication, she and co-author Chappell Lawson, an assistant professor of political science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, cite figures showing that Televisa and TV Azteca together controlled nearly 97% of Mexico's broadcast viewing audience in 2002. "I can't think of any democratic country anywhere that has a more concentrated private-sector TV broadcast system," said Hughes, who is working on a book about Mexico's media. Some Mexicans have had enough. Academics and civic leaders have joined legislators from Mexico's three major parties in demanding changes to the nation's broadcasting laws. Mexican radio, too, is highly concentrated, and backers of the proposed legislation hope to pry it open, but cracking Mexico's insular television market remains their prime objective. The most sweeping changes would limit the concentration of broadcast ownership so that no single company would control more than 35% of any geographic market. The proposed changes also call for the creation of an independent agency, similar to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, to oversee the approval of broadcast licenses and open the process to public scrutiny. At present, the executive branch has nearly total control over the granting of concessions, a process historically cloaked in secrecy, said Raúl Trejo Delarbre, media expert at the National Autonomous University of México. "Can you imagine not being able to find out even basic information, such as who owns a concession or when it expires?" Trejo said. "This is what we have been living with in México." The proposed law would also set a floor on the amount of Mexican- produced content some stations would have to air daily in a bid to support homegrown talent and production. And it would put the independent Federal Election Institute in charge of buying and allocating paid political spots during election season, with the goal of ensuring equitable pricing and airtime for all candidates. Some legislators don't like the idea of adding yet another agency to the federal government's sprawling bureaucracy. Others think the content and political advertising rules smack of censorship. Still others see all the high-minded talk about democracy and diversity as a smokescreen for rival media moguls who want a piece of the action. Noticeably absent from the public debate have been Televisa and TV Azteca. The companies, which declined repeated requests for interviews, have said virtually nothing in public about the proposed rule changes. Televisa Chairman Azcárraga Jean made one recent comment: "I really believe that there are problems in this country, such as the budget, that are much more important than the issue of the legislation of radio and television." Behind the scenes, the companies have been working feverishly to persuade lawmakers to kill the overhaul, according to Javier Corral Jurado, a PAN senator who helped craft the legislation. Corral says he and other supporters of the overhaul have been denied coverage by Televisa and TV Azteca's national channels as a warning to other lawmakers about television's power to make or break a political career in Mexico. He said some of his colleagues were fearful of potential repercussions. "There have been threats, blackmail, pressure," Corral said. "But this process is in motion. There is no going back." * (BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX) Controlling TV --- Two companies own nearly all of Mexico's 461 commercial television stations. Televisa: 56% TV Azteca: 39% Independent and government: 5% Source: Raúl Trejo Delarbre, National Autonomous University of Mexico Copyright 2005 Los Angeles Times (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** MONACO. On 17 Jan at 1430 noted coastal station Monaco Radio 3AC on 8728U with canned IDs in French, English and Russian promoting their maritime fax, e-mail, etc., services, playing an interval signal between the announcements. Most interesting about the interval signal was that it is an orchestral version of that tune used by Trans World Radio in their own interval signal (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3AC - the one and only radio station from Monte Carlo soil, except small FM station. All other RMC, TWR, and Radio France Info/R Orient programmes originate from FRANCE soil, i.e. Fontbonne Mt. Agel, G.C. 07E25-43N46 or Col de la Madonne, G.C. 07E25-43N47 (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) ** MOROCCO. 1637.9 kHz, RTM, Rabat, noted again with its harmonic of 818.95 kHz (nom. 819 of course), 15 Jan 2016-..., Arabic program, news; 35332 or completely nulled via a different antenna, thus allowing Dutch pirate station (R. Derby) on 1638 kHz to boom in at 45343! (Carlos Goncalves, Portugal, BC-DX Jan 17 via Wolfgang Büschel, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** NEPAL. JAPAN/NEPAL: AGREEMENT SIGNED TO IMPROVE RADIO NEPAL AUDIBILITY, STUDIOS | Excerpt from report by Radio Nepal on 17 January An agreement was signed today [17 January] between Radio Nepal and the Japan International Cooperation Agency to carry out a study on the feasibility of expanding and strengthening the short wave and medium wave broadcasts by the national broadcaster [Radio Nepal] and modernizing the existing studios. The project will enable Nepalese throughout the country to hear Radio Nepal loud and clear. [Passage omitted] Source: Radio Nepal, Kathmandu, in Nepali 1115 gmt 17 Jan (via BBCM via DXLD) What does ``strengthening shortwave`` mean? (gh) ** OKLAHOMA. KSYY, Kingfisher, owned by Citadel (now KINB), 105.3, fined $9000 for locked main studio during business hours and an incomplete public file (FMedia Jan via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. One more thing about the 107.5 near Ketchum that KOSU is about to convert to KOSN --- Present calls KGND obviously refer to Grand Lake O` the Cherokees, upon whose shores Ketchum virtually sits. A nice allusion, but considering it a `heritage` call might be pushing it (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. 4955.0, R Pakistan, Islamabad, *0055-0110, Jan 03, Haya Allal Falah programme in Urdu, Call to Prayer (and fighting with Peru), talk, hymn about Allal, 23222. Signed on later than scheduled *0045 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Jan 12 via DXLD) ** PERU. Información de onda corta y diexismo --- Hola amigos de playdx, quisiera por favor consideren las informaciones DX que yo pueda colaborar con Uds. Desde Cusco, Perú, para servir gustosamente a los diexistas del mundo otorgándoles ayuda para que puedan conseguir cartas o tarjetas QSLes de Puerto Maldonado, Andahuaylas, Tacna, Juliaca, Sicuani y otros; así como responder casi de inmediato las cartas que lleguen a R. la Hora de Cusco que opera en 4855 kHz en la banda tropical de 6o m. Soy director de frecuencias de Radio la Hora y entregamos con gusto y sin mucho retrazo la tarjeta QSL y el modesto banderín de la emisora. Saludos, Lic. Carlos Gamarra Moscoso, adalidcusco@hotmail.com Jan 17, playdx via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES [and non]. Loggings from (CE) Craig Edwards, Townsville, Queensland, Australia Icom R75 running off 12V, pre-amp, EWE to Asia. Heard at home from January 10-16th 2005 (times UT) 1170, 1102, HLSR Kimje, South Korea. Fair in RR here and dominant on the channel, no sign of proposed VOA move (CE) 1170, 1107, DXMR Zamboanga, Philippines. Fair under HLSR, again no sign of VOA as DXMR has always been the regular Philippino here (Craig Edwards, MWDX yg via DXLD) Well, VOA 1170 has already been heard in Europe; maybe extremely direxional? Perhaps they have to protect DXMR and don`t put much signal into NE Australia either (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Switch to 1170 occurred 1/1 (that's in day/month format for those who prefer least significant figure first). df (Dan Ferguson, DC, IBB, SWBC topica list via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. 9815, RDP Lisbon alongside two spurious peaks on 9805.00 and 9825.00. Noted today on three independent receivers around 0830- 0900 UT slot. Registered 0600-1300 UT, 100 kW 52 degrees (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX Jan 18, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. Re Taldom: ROTFL!! This is so crude that it took me almost a minute to realize it, also because the translation is incorrect: A Cathedral Valley would be a Domtal [actually, gh reversed the words from the translation], just like Wertachtal is the Wertach Valley (indeed no town/village but just the valley of the Wertach river, found to be the most suitable choice to name the transmitter plant rather than arbitrarily picking out one of the settlements around it). I cannot figure out a specific meaning for Taldom. But there is one for Bolshakovo: This name contains "great" (really matching the transmitter site...), and as far as I know this is because the German name of this village (or small town) was Groß Skaisgirren, although in 1935 the name of the railway station was simply Skaisgirren. Later the Nazi's replaced the name Groß Skaisgirren by a "proper German one", as far as I recall it was Grunau. Now it is Bolshakovo, and the railway station is called Novaya Bolshakovo, i.e. New Great(er) (Something). By the way, like Groß Skaisgirren the Nazis renamed many other villages and towns. For reasons I would be really like to know some of these renamings in what became later the GDR were not cancelled in 1945. "Wehrkirch" became Horka again, "Spreefurt" became Uhyst again, "Wolfsfurt" became Lohsa again etc. But the former Werminghoff remained Knappenrode and the former Zschornegosda remained Schwarzheide. And a recently deceased journalist of VOR's German service said in one of his last programmes that he doesn't agree with Königsberg still being called Kaliningrad, since Mr. Kalinin rendered not that much contributions to the town. Finally another note from the Kaliningradskaya oblast: The Stallupöner Allee street at Berlin, known from the 567 kHz (plus ex 810 and 1449 kHz) site, is called after Stallupönen, a town about 25 km east of what is today Gussev (I couldn't figure out the Russian name of Stallupönen yet). Good night from old Europe, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA. Paul Gager reports that according an on-air announcement by RSI the Rimavská Sobota site will be completely off air for maintenance today (Jan 19) either 0700-1200 or 0800-1300 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. R. Sweden`s special tsunami broadcasts [1130-1200 on 11560, 1200-1600 on 11550] finished on Jan 9 (Erik Køie, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window Jan 12 via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. Spurs from Kopani (Lutch) UKR site --- Mykolayiv 972 kHz transmitter is putting two distorted mirrors, quite strong here: 899.6 and 1044.4. Transmitter is carrying VOR Russian (daytime). Once, it was reported about "jammer" in Kiev: as if it was set upon 999 VOR. (it was signal of UR detected in Kiev few hundred Hz upper of 999). Now we have 1044 R. Liberty (Transmitter: Moscow) being "jammed". ;-) Hope this upper spur will not reach Moscow area in dark. Otherwise IBB would accuse RRT (Vlad Titarev, Kremencuk, Ukraine, Jan 18, MWDX yg via DXLD) ** U K. JOHN DUNN - A GIANT OF RADIO BBC Radio 2 Tuesday 18th January 2030 - 2130 Presented by Chris Searle John Dunn, who died in December, was one of the best loved voices on radio. A stalwart of Radio 2 since it's earliest days, John presented a daily show on the network for over 30 years. This special tribute programme brings together many of those who knew John through the years with archive material of the great man in his heyday. Hear the programme again for seven days after transmission at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/r2music/documentaries/johndunn.shtml (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) John Dunn: a Giant of Radio 8:30 - 9:30 pm BBC Radio 2 [Tue Jan 18] John Dunn joined Radio 2 when it was created in 1967 and hosted the breakfast show for six years, before being moved on, amid a storm of protest, to the weekday Drivetime programme that he ended up making his own. Another pile of mail from outraged or simply disappointed listeners arrived at Broadcasting House when he announced that he was semi-retiring in 1998 and that Johnnie Walker was taking over the show. In this tribute presented by Chris Serle, who produced John on Late Night Extra and also deputised as a presenter for him on Drivetime, we get to hear clips from his early days as an announcer on the General Overseas Service (World Service) through to his last Drivetime show (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) [both in advance via dxldyg] ** U S A. LEO SARKISIAN LIBRARY OF AFRICAN MUSIC TO OPEN THIS SPRING PRESS RELEASE - Washington, D.C., Jan. 5, 2005 - The Leo Sarkisian Library of African Music, a rare collection of indigenous African music that has been donated to the Voice of America (VOA) by the internationally known VOA broadcaster, musician and ethnomusicologist, will become available to scholars in the Spring of 2005. Sarkisian, 84, amassed the collection during nearly 50 years of traveling and broadcasting to Africa, where he interviewed musicians and compiled a unique collection that reflects the continent's broad heritage of traditional and popular music. The collection includes recordings presented to him both by African radio stations and ordinary Africans for broadcast on his long-running VOA radio show, Music Time in Africa. Thanks in part to such contributions, his personal collection grew to include more than 10,000 reel-to-reel tapes, plus records, cassettes, and CDs. The collection also includes several hundred tapes of original Music Time in Africa broadcasts along with scripts, reference books on African history, culture, music and literature, African music periodicals, journals of the Society for Ethnomusicology, and publications of the International Consortium of African Music. "For decades, Leo's broadcasts on VOA have established him as an ambassador of goodwill to the people of Africa," said VOA Director David S. Jackson. "His collection is an international treasure for anyone studying African music and culture, and we're proud to make it available to scholars and researchers." Sarkisian first visited Africa as a music director for a Hollywood recording company in 1958. Five years later, at the invitation of Edward R. Murrow, then director of the U.S. Information Agency, Sarkisian joined the Voice of America. He has been on the air ever since. The Leo Sarkisian Library of African Music will not only conserve archival materials for research and scholarship, but also establish a website to serve the needs of VOA programmers, academic scholars, and researchers. The library is located at VOA headquarters in the Cohen Building, 330 Independence Ave., SW, Room G108. The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 100 million people. Programs are produced in 44 languages, including English. For more information, call the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 401-7000, or E-Mail publicaffairs@voa.gov (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. US-ARAB BROADCASTS, By BARRY SCHWEID AP Diplomatic Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department has recommended improving the quality of U.S. government broadcasts to the Arab world along with a more effective presentation of American policy. The Arab-language broadcasts by Radio Sawa, which began nearly three years ago, have been hailed by the Bush administration as a success. Heavily emphasizing popular music and operating on a $22 million budget, the broadcasts also mix in news reports and have largely displaced the Voice of America as the U.S.-sponsored radio outlet in the Middle East. A draft report assessing operations and prepared by the department's inspector general was sent last summer to Radio Sawa's overseers, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, but was not released to the public. Subsequently, the acting inspector general, Cameron Hume, questioned the standards used in preparing the report and called in independent auditors, a U.S. official said Thursday. After a review, Hume concluded the report should not be issued. But three major conclusions were submitted to the board last month and disclosed to The Associated Press. The first called for building broadcasting facilities that can transmit strong radio signals and produce clear and high quality reception. The second urged that surveys be done to get a better notion of the way an audience "generally unfriendly to America" responds to the Sawa broadcasts. The third was that U.S. policies should be presented clearly and effectively through "responsible discussions" and that comprehensive and objective news must be emphasized. Last April, Sawa said surveys conducted by ACNielsen had found the network to be the must successful in the Middle East. During the Iraq war, regularly scheduled news programming was nearly doubled, with an emphasis on attracting Arabs in the 15- to 30-year- old age range (APn 01/13 1706 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Larry, I checked the WBCQ 7415 stream 0050-0100 UT Tue, and found Radio Free Euphoria instead of I`ve Found Jesus. Missed checking for that one last Monday night (Glenn to Larry Will, via DXLD) Yes, I noticed RFE here this evening as well. Made for a very interesting transition into Sonny Hill's music show. They played Marion's Attic here last week. Looks like the new show is not quite ready yet. Regards, Lw (Larry Will, ibid.) ** U S A. Mr. Tafadzwa Mudambanuki, born in Zimbabwe, Africa, is a Training Developer for the Communications Resourcing Team at United Methodist Communications. They are a group of dedicated individuals who connect United Methodist annual conference and local church communications with the resources and expertise they need for effective communications ministry. Mr. Mudambanuki visited the WWCR studios and transmitter site in December 2004 to learn more about reaching the international audience via shortwave radio. He obtained valuable information from George McClintock, Founder and General Manager, to aid in the development of international technical standards and programs. WWCR (World Wide Christian Radio) which serves Europe, Middle East and Africa on Shortwave is the sister station to WNQM, 1300-AM, all located in Nashville, Tennessee. http://www.wwcr.com/press_releases/wwcr_pr_2004-12-28_tafa.html Last revision 28 December 2004 © 2004 WWCR. All Rights Reserved (via DXLD) Then he went on to visit WWRB, as already reported. Wonder if he`s involved with the ex-UMC SW transmissions from New York (gh) ** U S A. 6925 (spur?), WYFR, 1200-1208 Jan 16. WYFR IS and ID by YL at the top of the hour. Religious music and talk in French followed. Probably a spur of 6855 kHz, but didn't think to check at the time. Later, US pirate Undercover Radio signed on in USB mode. Weak signal (George Maroti, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. LIBERAL TALK-RADIO STUDIO OPENS By Jennifer Harper THE WASHINGTON TIMES http://washingtontimes.com/national/20050117-113025-4200r.htm It is being billed as the official "clubhouse" for liberal talk radio. Just in time for President Bush's inauguration, a broadcasting studio opened today at the District-based Center for American Progress, set to host Al Franken and a chorus of progressive or left-leaning personalities for three days of special inaugural coverage this week. The studio is meant to be a national beacon for liberal talkers. "The right had done an excellent job at providing resources and infrastructure for talk radio — especially conservative radio hosts," said John Podesta, the group's president, who served as chief of staff to President Clinton. "As talk radio emerges as one of the primary sources of information for Americans, the center felt it was important to counter the efforts of the right, and to create a level playing field in talk radio," Mr. Podesta said. The center describes itself as a research group "dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America." Mr. Franken, who will broadcast tomorrow and Thursday from Washington, doesn't regard the inauguration as an automatic target, a spokesman said. "We're going to the true ground zero of politics. But we're not billing our coverage in any particular way," said producer Billy Kimball of New York-based Air America, which syndicates Mr. Franken's daily program in 45 cities. The inauguration is not a celebration — or a funeral, Mr. Kimball said. "We're just here to comment on the event," he added. Air America, founded last year as the nation's first liberal talk radio network, will be profiled March 31 in "Left of the Dial," a behind-the-scenes HBO documentary centered upon Mr. Franken and featuring fellow personalities Janeane Garofalo, Chuck D, Randi Rhodes and Marc Maron. Conservative listeners, however, have their own champions. More than 20 popular radio hosts — including Neal Boortz and Blanquita Cullum — also will offer live inaugural coverage with the District-based Talk Radio News Service. Sean Hannity, who hosts a daily show for ABC Radio, will broadcast live from a temporary studio in the Reagan Building — just blocks from his liberal counterparts. "Throughout the campaign and the election season, we've worked hard to keep our loyal listeners informed about the most important and decisive issues facing our country," Mr. Hannity said. "It is my privilege to be broadcasting from our nation's capital during this historic week." The inauguration, meanwhile, could serve as a backdrop for liberal talkers intent on honing an appealing populist image. Mr. Franken will be joined by Stephanie Miller and Ed Schultz of Denver-based Jones Radio Networks. The network describes Miss Miller as "a fresh voice from the left that even conservatives love because she's real." Mr. Schultz, on the other hand, "delivers straight talk from the heartland. ... He goes toe-to-toe with conservatives and injects common sense, intelligence and humor into mainstream talk radio," the network noted. The trio will offer broadcasts before a live audience on Thursday. The program will be broadcast from a D.C. hotel and can be heard locally on WRC-AM (1260), a station that traded an all-sports format for "progressive talk" this week (Washington Times [Moony] via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** U S A. WSAI-AM 1530 Cincinnati, OH is now gone, as of Monday 17 January, 2005, at 0900 EST. I listened from about 0630 until 0900, although the final half hour was very difficult to make out because the recent solar activity was playing havoc on the signal (Interesting -- the one day I want it to stay in, and it doesn't! Usually they're in here until after 1000 ET in January!) Anyway...the "Farewell Party" pretty much had the usual traffic and weather reports, as well as Dangerous Dan sharing memories and playing tapes of the various DJs' final farewell messages. (Dangerous Dan said that Dusty Rhodes had taken the day off "To reappraise Jerry Springer's house.") The jokes were few, the memories and Real Oldies more numerous. I lost the signal about 0830 EST, but I stayed tuned there, picking up bits and pieces; I remember at 0830 one man who was on said that Jerry Springer was there, and that he felt like he was in the way, as "Various engineers were all over the place pushing buttons." Shortly thereafter I lost the signal. I heard parts of records with "WSAI" IDs about 0855, way down in the static, and then they played their final record, "Rock And Roll Is Here To Stay" by Danny & the Juniors. At 0900, they had some two- minute promotion (Which I was mainly unable to make out,) going on about "WCKY, the New Revolution In Talk Radio." As soon as Jerry Springer came on and gave his "Good morning!" I shut it off. I think it was about 0720 when the DJ on the air mentioned that they were now "Legally WCKY." And so ends a great radio station. Rest in peace, Real Oldies 1530; we'll miss you! (Eric Berger, Detroit, Michigan, Jan 17, WORLD OF RADIO 1260, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1530 only had the oldies format for a couple of years, did it not? CC ought to put it on some other station in the market (gh, DXLD) SPRINGER: TALKING A NEW GAME --- King of trash TV returns to his adopted hometown to battle the conservatives who dominate political radio --- By John Kiesewetter, Enquirer staff writer The right end of Cincinnati's AM radio dial starts leaning to the left Monday. The city's first liberal radio talk format debuts at 9 a.m. Monday with Jerry Springer's new serious talk show, "Springer on the Radio." The Clear Channel station, which will revert to its original WCKY-AM (1530) call letters Monday, also gives its 50,000-watt voice to syndicated hosts comedian-author Al Franken, Ed Schultz and Randi Rhodes. . . http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050116/ENT/501160303 (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) SPRINGER'S ON AIR, FIRST DAY'S A BREEZE Tuesday, January 18, 2005 By John Kiesewetter Enquirer staff writer Information: http://www.springerontheradio.com WCKY-AM LINEUP 5-6 a.m.: "Wall Street Journal Report". 6-9 a.m. Tuesday: "Morning Sedition" with Mark Riley and Marc Maron from New York on Air America. 9 a.m.-noon: "Springer on the Radio," with Jerry Springer, Jene Galvin and Megan Hils. Noon-3 p.m.: "Al Franken Show," with the former "Saturday Night Live" comedian from Air America studios in New York. 3-6 p.m.: "Ed Schultz Show," with sportscaster-turned-talk host Schultz from KFGO-AM in Fargo, N.D., syndicated by Jones Radio. 6-10 p.m.: "Randi Rhodes Show," with a former West Palm Beach, Fla., talk host broadcasting on Air America from New York. 10 p.m.: Lionel, with the former host of Court TV's "Snap Judgment" from New York's WOR-AM. Midnight-5 a.m.: Paid religious broadcasts on the half-hour. No chairs were thrown, and nobody wrestled in the studio when Jerry Springer introduced his new radio talk show Monday on WCKY-AM (1530). Nobody even called the station to scream about Springer - much to the surprise of the host and his staff. "I can't believe that there were no bad calls," Springer, 60, said after completing his 9 a.m.-to-noon premiere at Clear Channel's studios in Kenwood. Four to five callers at a time were on hold throughout the morning. None had anything bad to say about the former Cincinnati mayor and news anchor, who is also host of TV's raunchiest daytime talk show. Nobody called to argue when Springer criticized President Bush and called the Iraq war "immoral." . . . http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050118/ENT/501180315/1086/Life&template=printpicart (via Mike Cooper, WORLD OF RADIO 1260, DXLD) ** U S A. IN A WAY, WHFS WAS ALREADY GONE By Marc Fisher, Sunday, January 16, 2005; Page C01 Eighteen thousand names on an Internet petition of protest don't begin to tell you why the conversion of a radio station from rock-and-roll to Spanish dance hits is a cultural watershed. For nearly a quarter of a century, rock fans in the Washington area have argued about exactly when WHFS began to, you'll excuse the expression, suck. Some say the glory days of free-form rock ended when the station stripped deejays of the right to play whatever music they were into. Some say it happened when the station was sold to a big company that wanted the deejays to sound as smooth and solid as polished jewels. Now, it hardly matters. The station that introduced Washington listeners to The Who and Root Boy Slim, to sandals at Georgetown Leather Design and bongs at local head shops has flipped to tropical love songs. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A12756-2005Jan15?language=printer (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. SIGHTED: THE ELUSIVE SHRIEKING STARLET By Lisa de Moraes Sunday, January 16, 2005; Page D01 LOS ANGELES, Jan. 15 It's vital to continue funding PBS, we've been told, because PBS gives a voice to those who cannot get their voice heard on other networks. But then PBS gives a talk show to CNN show host (and soon to be MSNBC show host) Tucker Carlson. We were told that PBS must survive in order to provide viewers with the kind of programming other networks won't. Then PBS announces this week that it's going to rerun three of HBO's long-form projects. And all the while, the best reason for continuing to support PBS is because its nature programs are not hosted by Cameron Diaz. . . http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A12745-2005Jan15?language=printer (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. IBOC STATION LIST --- The updated list is at: http://topazdesigns.com/iboc/station-list.html (Barry McLarnon VE3JF Ottawa, ON, NRC-AM via WORLD OF RADIO 1260, DXLD) ** U S A. AN OPEN LETTER TO LEONARD KAHN -- Guy Wire Says If CAM-D Is to Show Itself As a Viable Alternative, Kahn Must Win Over Industry Forces That Can Make It Happen http://www.rwonline.com/reference-room/guywire/letter_to_kahn.shtml (via Bill Hale, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Torrance, CA "Daily Breeze" radio writer Richard Wagoner & I are back-&-forthing about IBOC and Satellite Radio. I wanted to fwd. this to you (with his knowledge & permission), for his comments on DXing in the Digital Age. Richard was a strong promoter of AM Stereo, and the only one I know of in the mainstream press. Please note his thoughts toward the bottom re DXing digital signals; I'd love to see some response from "out there", to his comments. I'll also be including them in my February rant. 73z (GREG HARDISON, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) "I'm on the fence as well. Interestingly, my subscription with Sirius is actually making me more excited about IBOC than before. As much as I think analog AM stereo could have done well if pushed and done right, the fact remains that many AM stereo receivers sounded awful, and the mono ones just kept getting worse. The net result: there is rarely anything compelling on AM now that everyone is going talk. At least with IBOC, the minimum will sound much better than the average analog just due to the circuit designs, and perhaps music could return to AM. Of course temporarily DX reception is gone. But it would seem that once analog is turned off, you could more centrally place the digital signal so it wouldn't splatter ... and DX digital reception could be possible. Another possibility: AM could be turned over to the FM band with the multiple channels, and analog AM could stay in its current band with far fewer stations. Wideband AM could return!" (from Richard Wagoner via Hardison, ibid.) ** U S A. KSON 1240, KURS 1040, LPTV-17 and a backup for KSON-FM 97.3 San Diego lost the top part of their tower in an intense rainstorm with big winds. Inclement weather is not usually a problem in San Diego, but the storm severely bent the top 73 m of the 135 m tower. However, the lower section was saved and KSON soon returned to the air. KSON-FM was not affected. Jefferson-Pilot`s chief engineer John Buffaloe was vacationing in New Orleans and had to make a hurried trip back in order to fix things. Driving I-5, you can no longer see the huge ``KSON`` letters on the tower. They had to be taken down as part of the recovery effort --- and the good news is that nobody was hurt. [see also MEXICO and non] KXO-FM 107.5, and AM 1230, El Centro CA, back on after tower crashed to the ground due to corrosion coming from the highly alkaline soil in the area. AM is using a temporary wire antenna, while the FM is using a temporary pole (Bruce Elving, Jan FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. KTMN 97.9, Cloudcroft NM --- this deleted station is ordered to pay $25,000 for exceeding RF limits when it operated. The station claimed it never was able to achieve more than 60 percent of its authorized 100000 watts power, and there should have been no problem. The FCC was also mad that A-O Broadcasting hadn`t installed EAS equipment. The station argued that the FCC entrapped it by forcing it to go on the air or face license revocation. But the FCC media bureau rejects that argument, and ordered A-O to pay up (Jan FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. OF1-12/28/04 PATIENT-RUN RADIO STATION orig bdcst OF4-6/23/04 9:25AM The Osgood File. Sponsored in part by CLR Bathroom and Kitchen Cleaner. This is Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network. A patient- run radio station in New York City is using its half a watt to rock the corridors of a hospital for the chronically ill. The story after this for Smart Balance. Coler-Goldwater Specialty Hospital in New York is home to some 2000 long-term patients, and one unique radio station, WCGH-FM. The patient-run station was started two years ago by resident Sunderam Srinivasan , better known as "Shrini" who gave everyone a radio, started recruiting talent, and hosting his own show. SOT: "This is WCGH, 88.1 FM, broadcasting live from Goldwater campus." Most of the patients will never get out. Shrini himself is a polio victim who has lived at the hospital for 14 years. Despite a collapsed lung and a tracheotomy, he does a daily interview show called "The Searchlight." Shrini says creativity is good therapy. SOT; Shrini: There are a couple of patient residents who cannot even lift their hands, but still they are very intact in the brain, and they can do some shows. SFX: music from DJ Mr. Wonderful's show: "How Deep is Your Love" by the Bee Gees -- There's news, call-ins, sports, tango, and a soul program called "Freaky Friday." Amputee Martin Vanterpool has been at the hospital over a year, struggling with severe diabetes. But on the air, he's DJ Mr. Wonderful. SOT: "I'm just trying to convey that nice feeling back when you were 17 years old, the days when you went to people's houses to have a party down in the basement, and the red light was on, and wearing turtleneck sweaters with Hai Karate cologne. For the bedridden, it breaks down the sense of isolation. For the DJs, says Shrini, it's a chance to create. SOT: "Our slogan is, "listen to the beat of the heart." So the sense of love and the sense of heart, we touch the people who are totally lost in this world." For more information about this broadcast, log on to http://www.acfnewsource.org The Osgood File. I'm Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network. The Osgood File. December 28, 2004 (via FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. BOSTON AREA LOW POWER / UNLICENSED AM/FM RADIO STATIONS Here are the results of a bandscan and Internet search for low power and unlicensed AM/FM broadcasts on the air in the greater Boston area. 530 Radio Planet Compas, Randolph 870 unID - classical music days, French Caribbean zouk nights 1580 Radio Concorde, Boston - 1620 Radio Energie, Boston - French Caribbean 1620 Radio Soleil International, Brockton - 1640 Radio Nouveauté, Boston - 1650 Logan Airport Info, East Boston 1670 Radio Communautaire de Brockton, Brockton - 1680 unID - continuous French Caribbean zouk 1690 Radyo Kreyol International, Lynn - French news/talk, also IDs as Caribe FM 1700 Radio Bel Ayiti, Boston - French Caribbean 1710 swamped by WRKO and WBZ (680 + 1030 = 1710 kHz) 89.3, unID - French news/talk, ID sounds like "Compare FM" 91.3, Radio Superstars, Everett - French news/talk, IDs as "W Radio" and "La radio d'information" And in the Lowell/Lawrence area: 1700 unID - Spanish contemporary Christian music and preaching A list of Haitian radio stations in the Boston area can be found online at the Haitian Americans United web site - http://www.hauinc.org/html/community/Media/Radio/RadioStations.asp (Bruce Conti, NRC, BADX, Jan 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Tests with the experimental station continue. We received our first reception report from John Sgrulletta in NY; he`ll get the first verie from this ``totally unique`` station. Which must operate 2 hours after sunrise to 2 hours before sunset (January times are 0930- 1500 [EST = 1430-2000 UT], and on the colder days, I`ve noticed skywave interference up to within 10 miles of the station. The tests should continue up through the end of January (Dave Schmidt, P O Box 3111, Scranton PA 18505-0111, Musings of the Members, NRC DX News Jan 17 via DXLD) What is this about??? Back to 4-184 of December 11: OK Guys, here`s a GOOD one --- WB3XNN - 1620 kilohertz should be on the air about December 15th. This station licensed to Milford, PA (near Port Jervis and less than a mile from NRC member BILL ALISAUSKAS) is being operated for field intensity measurements of the ground conductivity in the area. This will be operating during non critical hours (approx. 0915 til 1445 [EST = 1415-1945 UT]) with an unmodulated carrier, IDs given on the hour. Power will be 1000 watts into a 50 foot top loaded single tower. (For those into tower currents, that adds up to 8.8 amps at 14 ohms!) Tests should continue through the end of January. Reports can be sent to myself c/o: Digital Radio Engineering, 2927 US Route 6, Slate Hill, NY 10973. A DX TEST will be set up prior to completion of the measurements. Good luck! Dave Schmidt (via Fred Vobbe, Dec 10, NRC-AM via DXLD 4-184, via DXLD 5-011) ** U S A [and non]. Northeast Radio Watch, 2004 Year in Review: http://www.fybush.com/nerw-yir2004.html (via DXLD) ** U S A. THE IRRESISTIBLE, SINGABLE, STICK-IN-YOUR-MINDABLE JINGLE IS DEAD Date: January 9, 2005 "In 1929, a barbershop quartet in Minneapolis sang a song about breakfast cereal on the radio. So began the long, lucrative, endearing, and excruciating heyday of the jingle, when cheerful tunes about things for sale permanently lodged themselves in people's brains. Humming consumers would then go out and buy Rice-A- Roni, the San Francisco treat, or double their pleasure with Doublemint ..." To see this recommendation, click on the link below or cut and paste it into a Web browser: http://www.boston.com:80/news/globe/living/articles/2005/01/09/the_irresistible_singable_stick_in_your_mindable_jingle_is_dead (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. 5000, YVTO, Venezuela, 16-01-2005, 0327 UTC, la señal continúa fuerte, pero igualmente sigue el ruido de fondo. 4940, Radio Amazonas, 17-01-2005, 1133 UT, comentarios políticos y llamadas de oyentes planteando problemas de la comunidad. Señal deficiente (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Barcelona, Edo Anzoátegui, Venezuela, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. VOV English to Asia: 1100-1130 SEAs 7285 1230-1300 Indonesia 9840 12020 1500-1530 SEAs 7285 9840 12020 2330-2359 [sic] Indonesia 9840 12020 Listener Letterbox every Wednesday (Bob Padula, Radio EDXP, HCJB DX Partyline Jan 15, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. A las 2300-2321 por los 7460 kHz, R. Nacional Saharauy [sic] con SINPO 24322, se identifica La voz del pueblo Saharaui, espacio dedicado a la cultura con canciones de José Luís Perales y lectura de un poema dedicado a la lucha del pueblo saharaui "Paloma del desierto, no dejes nunca de volar". También la verifiqué por los 1550 kHz pero con SINPO 22222. Luego seguí escunchándola desde las 2327 a 2335 (José Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia), España, 1421 UT Jan 18, Sangean ATS 909, Antena de hilo de siete metros, Noticias DX via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ There aren`t too many programs left on shortwave (or elsewhere) of specific interest to radio hobbyists, but happily this one has probably always been the best of them: WORLD OF RADIO, CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL BROADCAST SCHEDULE EFFECTIVE JANUARY 3, 2005 . . . [our complete radioskd page] (Craig Seager, Jan Australian DX News) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ BANDSCAN ANALYSIS OF RADIO HANDBOOKS FOR 2005 by Anker Petersen, Denmark, 04 January, 2005. © DSWCI. This article may be fully quoted, if the source is mentioned. Again this year the publishers of the 2005 editions of the World Radio TV Handbook (WRTH), Nicholas Hardyman, UK, and of the Shortwave Frequency Guide (SWFG), from Joerg Klingen-fuss, Germany, sent me review copies of their latest Handbooks for a comparative analysis. On 28 October 2004 the B04 winter schedules became effective. I received the Handbooks around Christmas. Within the few days available since then, I have analysed and compared their value to the SW Broadcast DXer. The WRTH 2005 looks thinner than the 2004 Edition, but once more it contains 688 pages about Broadcasting. It is, however, on thinner and whiter paper, nicely printed. The SWFG 2005 contains 508 pages (307 about Broadcasting and 201 about Utility stations). Its predecessor had 532 pages. At the same time Klingenfuss has published the 2005 Super Frequency List (SFL) on a CD-Rom with the same total of 19,000 entries. The new WRTH costs £ 22 from the Publisher in England or 34 Euro for members of the DSWCI from Hein Radio Bookshop in Germany, while the SWFG costs 35 Euro from the Publisher, Klingenfuss. The SFL costs 25 Euro, but the package price for SWFG + SFL is 50 Euro. Prices include postage and handling. Bandscanning As in my analysis a year ago, I did not choose the traditional way of reviewing each section in the Handbooks. Instead I scanned through the shortwave bands randomly, selected 50 broadcast stations and identified them 100%, no matter what language. I then checked in the two Handbooks, if each particular broadcast heard, was mentioned in the Country Section and in the SW frequency list (Station name and frequency). Half of the stations carried domestic broadcasts, and half of them international broadcasts. Every DX-er, in Europe at least, has the possibility to listen to the same stations and check my loggings. On this direct link to our website: http://www.dswci.org/specials/bookreviews/200501handbooks.pdf you can read my detailed analysis. Analysis I consider the following details to be essential for the DX-er during his listening and identification of the transmitter and broadcast: Station name, Exact language, Scheduled broadcast time, Exact frequency and Transmitter site. Thus it was checked for each logging, if the Handbooks have these details and they are correct. This is then marked ”+” in my detailed analysis. I still consider it useful, if the Handbooks can provide the DX-er with additional information about Geographical Coordinates for his propagation calculations and ID in the language heard. Furthermore it is necessary to know current addresses (postal, e-mail and web) and QSL-policy for his reception report writing. Most of these useful details can be found in the WRTH, but they are still missing in the SWFG ! Comparison I then counted how many of the 50 stations heard which had all essential details correct (each figure out of 25 possible): WRTH SWFG Internation. Domestic Internation. Domestic Country Section 22 23 21 19 Frequency List 24 24 23 24 Sum converted to % WRTH SWFG Country Section 90 80 Frequency List 96 94 For identification purposes, it is necessary that all the essential details are readily available in the Country Section of the Handbook. This was found to be the case in 90% (78%, 68%) of the checks in the WRTH, and 80% (80%, 74%) in SWFG. (In brackets are the results from 2004, 2003). Particularly the WRTH has steadily been improving this Section. Please be aware that changes in broadcast schedules occur nearly each day and also during the period from the editorial deadline till the printed Handbook reaches the listener. It has always been so. Because of this, it is impossible to achieve a 100% score! I must state that the Country Sections in both Handbooks are very comprehensive and accurate. In both Handbooks the Frequency Lists are very up-to-date! Both Handbooks cover Clandestine stations well, but as for other broadcasting stations, the list in the WRTH has much more details about the stations. Conclusions It is evident that the editors of both Handbooks once more have done a tremendous work to gather up-to-date broadcasting schedules and other information for the B04 period and both have succeeded in this! Each of the Handbooks is useful for the DX-er and ordinary shortwave listener. I need both Handbooks for my broadcast DX-ing on shortwave, because they supplement each other. The details published in both of them are at a very high accuracy level and can hardly be much better! An important feature when searching for and identifying broadcast stations, is their complete frequency schedules, so that all parallel frequencies can be checked. The schedules are easily available and very complete in both Handbooks. The SWFG is a Frequency List with SW schedules, but without any other details about the stations. It is in English. On page 206 is an interesting article about ``The digital future: DRM is here!`` I prefer the SWFG when I scan the SW broadcast bands, because the current schedule and language is added to the Frequency List. Moreover, the SFL CD-Rom is unsurpassed with its search capability on a PC: In a split-second you are able to get all entries in either frequency-, station-, country-, language- or timeorder which is extremely useful for the shortwave listener. The German editor, Joerg Klingenfuss, and his staff has put a lot of effort to make it as up-to-date as possible. But I am afraid that the ordinary Broadcast DX-er does not have any use of the many Utility pages, so I suggest again this year the book split up into two cheaper publications in the future. In contrary to the SWFG, the WRTH also contains LW, MW, FM and some TV information. Therefore I use this Handbook when I DX on these bands or need more information about SW stations. The 2005 Edition of the WRTH contains tests e.g. of JRC NRD-545G and the PC-based Winradio G313i and interesting articles such as ``Ancillary Equipment``, ``Managing the HF Spectrum`` (Mike Still of VT Communications), ``Digital Radio Update`` and ``World Music Radio``. Again this year, I can recommend serious DX-ers to buy this ``DX-ers Bible``! It is really a MUST! My congratulations to Publisher Nicholas Hardyman and his international team (Anker Petersen, DSWCI DX Window Jan 12 via DXLD) DRM +++ DRM TO LAUNCH MORE RADIOS IN '05 --- Receivers Due From DRM Late This Year; Group Considers Expanding Into Upper Bands --- by Jeff Cohen http://www.rwonline.com/reference-room/iboc/05_rw_drm_3.shtml DALLAS --- Look for a major Digital Radio Mondiale non-auto receiver launch in the latter part of this year. The technology also could someday be used in higher frequency bands. The steering board of the DRM consortium has floated a proposal to extend the system to frequency bands up to 120 MHz. Currently, DRM is a digital transmission for the bands below 30 MHz. The board plans to bring the proposal to the full DRM general assembly when the group meets in March. Asked what the proposal would mean and what implications it may have for other digital radio systems, a DRM spokeswoman declined comment, stressing that this was "a proposal." These were the two major developments at a DRM symposium held in Dallas in November. Participants from North and South America attended what was billed as the first such meeting on this continent, according to DRM. "We are ready for you if you want us," Senger Chairman Peter Senger told some 90 attendees from the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Chile, Peru, Brazil and Ecuador as they took part in a day dedicated to a technology that permits high-quality mono and stereo radio, free from noise and fading, on the bands currently used for short-, medium- and long-wave analog transmission. Speakers from eight countries that belong to the DRM consortium stressed its potential for local, national, regional and international broadcasting and for a revitalization of wavebands (such as shortwave) that no longer pull in the mass audiences now listening on FM. Shortwave and digital The attendees included radio stations, principally holders of AM and shortwave licenses, as well as regulators and manufacturers of transmission equipment and receivers. Jan Hoek, vice chairman of DRM and acting director of Radio Nederlands Wereldomroep, chaired the event. He discussed the progress made since DRM was unveiled six years earlier at a ceremony in China and described it as "arguably the fastest technology ever developed." Professor Douglas Boyd of the University of Kentucky said a suggestion he made to a group of broadcasters sparked the initial consideration of digital transmission in the AM bands, earning him the title of "grandfather of DRM." Transmitter manufacturer DRS Broadcast Technology (formerly Continental Electronics) hosted the symposium and four days of DRM internal meetings that preceded it. Addressing the audience, DRS Vice President Adil Mina said that DRM has the answer for broadcasters wanting to enter the digital age. Senger said in addition to the new, non-auto receivers coming to the market at the end of this year, the DRM consortium predicts about 1 million radios with the ability to decode DRM signals will be used by the end of 2006 and 4 million by year-end 2008. According to Senger, the consortium expects transmission hours to grow from the current 350 hours a day to 700 hours per day in 2006, and 1,600 hours per day in 2008. Senger also said that when a station upgrades to DRM transmission, it pays off the upgrade costs in a decade thanks to electricity savings. Migration path As for the proposal to extend DRM to higher frequency bands, Senger said he thought it unlikely that the FM band used in Western Europe (87.5-108.0 MHz) would be used for DRM in the foreseeable future, but believed that bands that have fallen into disuse, such as 66-74 MHz in Eastern Europe, might well be used. Don Messer of the International Broadcasting Bureau, the chairman of the DRM Technical Committee, gave the audience a basic DRM primer, describing how the system works and what it is capable of. He predicted that the 21 MHz and 26 MHz broadcast bands would support local transmission while the 9 MHz to 17 MHz bands would be used for intercontinental services and the 7 MHz, 6 MHz and 4 MHz bands would be ideal for national and regional broadcasters who want to cover vast areas. On the AM band, he suggested the best migration path for existing analog broadcasters would be for them, where possible, to simulcast in DRM on the adjacent channel but with DRM power far lower than analog. During the gathering, several broadcasters carried out demonstration transmissions to the conference in Dallas. Temporary licenses These included Christian Vision from Santiago, Chile; HCJB/World Radio Network from Quito, Ecuador; Radio Canada International from Sackville, New Brunswick; TDF from Issoudun, France; and RNW from Bonaire. The DRS factory in Dallas conducted a local 750 W transmission on the 26 MHz band. The transmission powers for the international transmissions varied from 4 kW to 50 kW in both mono and stereo. The day ended with a roundtable discussion that included Jeff White of WRMI in Miami, the founder of the DRM USA Group. He said the FCC is issuing temporary licenses for DRM operation to shortwave stations in the United States. Fernando Borjón Figueroa, from the government agency that regulates broadcasters in Mexico, told the group that that it expects to start testing DRM in Mexico soon, along with the ongoing Eureka-147 and Ibiquity HD Radio DAB systems. Closing the meeting, Senger urged the Americas to consider adopting the non-proprietary DRM international standard for digital radio. "There is no question mark," he said, "we are here and you can use our open standard." (via Bill Hale, NRC-AM via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Strange happenings with the CMEs and stuff: Jan 17 at 1515, conditions were disturbed in a strange way: RCI on 17820 was booming in, but CRI via Cuba 17730 was quite weak. Jan 18 at 1550, BBC-Antigua vanished in an apparent SID, and RCI 13655 had also dropped out. A few minutes later as I was tuning around the bands, RCI and most other North American signals on 11 MHz and higher had recovered, but 15190 was barely detectable (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to major storm levels with an isolated period of severe storming observed at higher latitudes. Quiet to active, with some minor high latitude storming periods, were experienced on 10 – 11 January, as the IMF Bz fluctuated between +/- 5 nT. By early on the 12th, activity levels generally increased to unsettled to minor storming with isolated major to severe storming at higher latitudes, due to the onset of a geoeffective coronal hole high speed wind stream. Prolonged periods of southward Bz produced occasional active levels from late on the 12th through early on the 15th. Isolated minor to major storming was observed midday on 15 January due to a short-lived high speed coronal hole wind stream. Activity declined to mostly quiet to unsettled until midday on the 16th when activity increased at higher latitudes to unsettled to isolated minor storming following the onset of transient flow from the first of the CMEs. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 19 JANUARY - 14 FEBRUARY Solar activity is expected to be at moderate to high levels through 22 January when Region 720 is due to rotate around the west limb. Thereafter, very low to low conditions are expected through 05 February with a chance of isolated M-class activity after the 5th due to the return of old Region 720 (N13, L=178). A greater than 10 MeV proton event is in progress and is expected to persist through 21 January. Further intensifications of the existing event are possible with additional major flare activity from Region 720. Proton flux levels are expected to return to background conditions by the end of January and are expected to remain so for the balance of the forecast period. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 19 – 21 January, 30 January to 02 February, and 08 – 11 February. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to severe storm levels. Early in the forecast period, minor to severe storming is expected as effects from the 17 January CME are due to arrive. Coronal hole high speed wind streams are expected to produce unsettled to active with occasional minor storm periods on 29 - 31 January and 07 – 08 February. Otherwise, expect quiet to unsettled conditions. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2005 Jan 18 2211 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2005 Jan 18 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2005 Jan 19 130 75 8 ||||||||||||||||||| 2005 Jan 20 120 30 5 2005 Jan 21 115 20 4 2005 Jan 22 110 10 3 2005 Jan 23 100 10 3 2005 Jan 24 100 15 3 2005 Jan 25 95 15 3 2005 Jan 26 90 12 3 2005 Jan 27 90 8 3 2005 Jan 28 85 12 3 2005 Jan 29 85 25 5 2005 Jan 30 85 20 4 2005 Jan 31 80 20 4 2005 Feb 01 80 15 3 2005 Feb 02 85 12 3 2005 Feb 03 90 8 3 2005 Feb 04 95 8 3 2005 Feb 05 100 8 3 2005 Feb 06 110 8 3 2005 Feb 07 115 12 3 2005 Feb 08 115 25 5 2005 Feb 09 120 15 3 2005 Feb 10 120 12 3 2005 Feb 11 120 15 3 2005 Feb 12 120 10 3 2005 Feb 13 115 8 3 2005 Feb 14 115 10 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1260, DXLD) NW7US PROPAGATION BULLETIN / UPDATE 19 JANUARY 2005 - 0030Z There is speculation that the coronal mass ejection unleashed by the X3.8 level flare from active region 720 may have arrived. It is very difficult to determine exactly when, if indeed it has, arrived. The reason for this lies in the extreme to very strong proton storm that has caused a saturation / contamination of the instruments that we measure the solar wind data with. Without reliable measurements, we are not yet sure of the details needed to pinpoint the arrival of the CME. However, the solar wind speed readings are beginning to become reliable, and we have some spotty information that the wind speed was over 900 km/s. At the same time, the interplanetary magnetic field appears to be oriented northward. Even so, with a wind pressure this strong compressing the magnetosphere, the geomagnetic field will increase in its activity, to severe storm levels. Aurora is a pretty sure bet. If/when the IMF turns southward for more than a few hours, the storm will increase significantly (Kp >= 8). We are still under a strong proton storm with a polar cap absorption event. Bottom line: Fire up your VHF for AU mode propagation. Look for visual aurora even in lower latitudes. Tonight in North America, the Northern Lights will play, and they may well be quite a show. At the same time, as the storm picks up, the maximum usable frequencies on HF will become greatly depressed, making communications difficult on many signal paths. Medium Wave propagation will continue to have attenuation, especially over high latitude paths. : Propagation Editor for CQ, CQ VHF, Popular Communications : : Creator; live propagation center http://prop.hfradio.org/ : : Associate Member of Propagation Studies Committee of RSGB : -- 73 de Tomas, NW7US (AAR0JA/AAA0WA) Hood, dxldyg via DXLD) Tomas` Propagation Bulletins now appear in the dxldyg; only the latest one as of press time is reproduced here (gh) ###