DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-025, February 10, 2005 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 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 1263: 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 0000 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream Sat 0600 WOR SIUE Web Radio [NEW] 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 WXPN Rhinelander WI 91.7 91.9 100.9 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 RNI [archive] 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 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 1100 WOR RNI [archive] 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 1100 WOR RNI [archive] 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 1263 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1263h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1263h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1263 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1263.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1263.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1263.html [soon] WORLD OF RADIO 1263 in the true shortwave sound of 7415: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_02-09-05.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_02-09-05.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO BACK ON SIUE WEB RADIO Just a note to remind you that World of Radio returns to SIUE Web Radio this week! The new time for World of Radio is Saturday 0600 UT (local Midnight). http://webradio.siue.edu 73, (E.B. Stevenson, PSA/Technical Director, SIUE Web Radio, Feb 9) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Hemos notado música afgana y comentarios en idioma presumiblemente Dari, entre las 1530 y 1615 UT, aproximadamente entre los 17705 y los 17710 kHz (Mi nuevo receptor digital es de sólo 4 dígitos), por debajo del servicio Saalam Watandar que opera en los 17720 --- según su actual esquema. ¿Qué emisión dirigida a Afganistán se trata? (Jorge García Rangel, Venezuela, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Estimado Don Jorge, Según mis fuentes debe ser Radio Solh, via Rampisham, Reino Unido, en idioma Dari de 1500 a 1630 en 17710. 73, (Glenn to Jorge, via DXLD) ** ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS. Dear friends, An article on the recent DXpedition to Andaman Island by National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, India is available in pdf format at: http://www.dailydx.com/VU4.pdf The last photo of the article on page 7 is on the Ham Radio demonstration conducted at All India Radio, Port Blair in their conference Hall. The 3rd person from the right is Mr. K. S. Venkateswarlu, Station Engineer, AIR, Port Blair who is well with DXers worldwide for his prompt repies to reception reports. The other members seen are the staff and AIR and Doordarshan TV. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS National Institute of Amateur Radio, dx_india via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Ayer capté en horas de la mañana hora local, 1000 UT a la HCJB Australia, identificándose como Voice of the Great Southland, en inglés, la frecuencia los 11750 kHz. Estuvieron presentando un programa de música religiosa llamado ``Walking on the Sunshine``. (Jorge García Rangel, Venezuela, Feb 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM. Radio Vlaanderen International chiude!!! Anche Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal sospenderà tutti i servizi in onda corta, come annunciato dalla stessa emittente durante i suoi programmi.La notizia è stata ulteriormente confermata da Frans Vossen durante l'ultima puntata di Radio World. L'unica possibilità di ascolto all'esterò sarà, quindi, quella offerta dal trasmettitore in onda media operante su 1512 kHz (Roberto Scaglione, Sicily, Feb 9, bclnews.it via DXLD) He said there were only 6 editions left of his show Radio World. This is not necessarily (but probably) identical to the termination of all RVi SW broadcasts, as he has also announced his intention to retire at that point (gh, DXLD) ** BELGIUM [non]. GERMANY - 5925 kHz, R Traumland, additional full data QSL-letter (transmitter site 'Jülich' mentioned, including even coördinates) as an E-mail attachement (x.rtf), arrived 2 days after the printed QSL-card. In 7 days for a report in German to radiotraumland @ skynet.be December 2004 (M. Schoech, Germany, GRDXC via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Re 7842: Olá amigos, Fui à busca desta emissora nesta tarde e com muita dificuldade consegui escutar alguma coisa. Péssimo sinal numa propagação tbm muito ruidosa. Uma programação bem local, com muitas ID informando "Rede Difusora para todo o Brasil via Satélite". Daí me questiono: os colegas de SC não conseguem identificar onde está a cabeça desta rede que eu nunca ouvi falar? PS: transmissor deles tbm está ruim: oscila quase 1.5 kHz a cada 20 minutos. 73, (Denis Zoqbi, radioescutas via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Rudolf e amigos, A emissora em 5080, acredito mesmo ser clandestina, a modulação é péssima e a programação é destas evangélicas que em emissoras "normais" alugam horários. Já ouvi algo parecido em 5000 kHz transmitindo em LSB. Um abraço, (Samuel Cássio, Brasil, radioescutas via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Olá amigos, hoje pela tarde, por volta de 2000 UT pude ouvir em 4800 kHz uma emissora se identificando como R. TERNURA FM, alguém já ouviu? Se trata de uma retransmissão (talvez até nao autorizada) dessa emissora de FM ou a própria rádio transmite em Ondas Curtas, mas nem se quer identifica isso na sua transmissão? Havia vários comerciais, a maioria da cidade de Ibitinga. Ficou a dúvida. Fiquem com Deus amigos! -- (Fernando Silva Pucci - PY4SKY, Monte Santo de Minas - MG, Feb 8, radioescutas via DXLD) Fernando, Saudações. Deve ser 4845, R. Meteorologia Paulista, de Ibitinga-SP. Essa FM é do grupo deles. 73 (Carlos Felipe, ibid.) Caro Fernando, O Carlos tem razão. Veja minha escuta recente: 4845 04/02 0647 Rádio Ternura FM, Ibitinga (SP), "tá todo mundo ligado! É bom dia Brasil sertanejo!", 45343. Há algum tempo, o diretor da emissora, Roque de Rosa, respondeu a informe de recepção que enviei (inclusive no ar!). Segundo ele, "vale mais a pena colocar a programação da Ternura FM no canal de ondas tropicais, pois a audiência será maior". Caso queira entrar em contato com a emissora, eis o endereço: Rua Capitão João Marques, 89, Jardim Centenário, CEP: 14940-000, Ibitinga (SP). A principio me causou estranhesa, em ondas tropicais uma emissora se identificar como FM, deveria pelo menos na ID citar que também transmite em ondas tropicais. Quanto à idéia de se colocar um sinal de uma emissora com plástica para FM em OT, eu particularmente não acho muito legal, FM é FM, e AM é AM. 73s! (Célio Romais, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil, ibid.) ** CANADA. Voice of Vietnam (probably Sackville) on 6180 at 0450z in English (strangely Passport 2005 says 6175); anyone aware of a last- minute frequency change? (Patrice Privat, France, Feb 9, HCDX via DXLD) Another frequency error at Sackville? ** FINLAND. YLE CONSIDERS DROPPING SHORTWAVE AND MEDIUMWAVE BROADCASTS The Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) has plans to axe the traditional shortwave and mediumwave broadcasts of the company’s external service, Radio Finland. After such a move, the broadcasts of the company’s external service would still be available on satellite, as well as on its fee-based Internet service. The decision would amount to a considerable cutback on YLE services to Finns living abroad. "No decision has been made, but a shutdown is under serious consideration", says Heikki Peltonen, head of programming at the YLE unit responsible for Radio Finland. He says that the company’s Administrative Council will probably take up the issue in the autumn. The cutback in distribution of Radio Finland programming is prompted by YLE`s need to slim down costs. The broadcasting costs of Radio Finland are an annual 3.4 million euro. "Running costs need to be reduced. YLE is trying to get by with the budget it had in 2001 all the way until 2008", Peltonen says, noting that any increases in costs have to be balanced by cuts elsewhere. Radio Finland is the only free source of information in Finnish and Swedish reaching expatriate Finns in almost every corner of the world. Its programming is compiled from broadcasts on YLE’s domestic radio channels. The channel also has six journalists who produce programmes aimed at expatriate Finns. About 250,000 Finnish citizens live abroad. The number of Finns who spend at least some time abroad for reasons of work is constantly growing. Peltonen notes that although no listener studies have been made, he estimates that Radio Finland has tens of thousands of listeners. The head of Radio Finland, Juhani Niinistö, says that shutting down shortwave and mediumwave broadcasts would probably lead to a sharp reduction in listeners, as the Internet is very expensive and difficult to use in many countries. He also notes that satellite equipment is expensive, and that it is not available everywhere - even in the United States and Australia. Peltonen admits that the decision would amount to a weakening of service: "Especially for expatriate Finns who move around much, a world band radio has been a handy device." YLE has already axed nearly all foreign language services abroad. The 2002 decision was based on YLE`s desire to focus on serving Finns living abroad. "However, there are no plans to completely shut down services for Finns abroad", Peltonen promises. (Source: Helsingin Sanomat) # posted by Andy @ 15:05 UT Feb 9 (Media Network blog via DXLD) YLE has a heavy presence on the WRN Multilingual feed in North America. Check out Intelsat Americas 5 Ku band. WRN Bouquette. No loss here if shortwave goes away (TK Wood, 02.09.05 - 5:56 pm ibid.) ** GOA. Glenn, Just received an e-mail from S. Jayarman, Superintending Engineer at AIR Panaji airtrgoa @ sancharnet.in for a Jan. 24, 2005 e-mail report on 9820 kHz // 11740 kHz 1530-1545 UTC EG transmission. As follows: Dear Mr. Terry J. Palmersheim, We are grateful to you for the detailed reception reports sent by you on 24th Jan. 05. Although we are in a position to acknowledge the receipt of the report sent by you, we cannot send you a QSL verification card. The programs are originating from All India Radio, New Delhi and are broadcast from our station. A copy of your letter is being forwarded to the office of the Director General, All India Radio, New Delhi for verifying the program content to send you the QSL Verification Card. We are delighted that you have shown interest in our transmissions and we hope to continue to get your valuable reception reports. With best wishes, S. Jayarman, Superintending Engineer Now, we've all received replies like this at one time or another; either e-mails or snail mail, as frustrating as it is. The AFN SSB broadcasts were another example, among others. My report was in response to a request by Jose Jacobs via AIR on your DXLD #5-010 of Jan. 16, 2005. I hope all is not lost, however, as a similar request from the Bangalore site brought not only an e-mail reply in less than 12 hours but also a f/d snail mail QSL from New Delhi in less than 3 weeks. I've been trying to verify this AIR site since it went on the air several years ago by every means I can think of. My hopes remain high. Thanks, Glenn (Terry Palmersheim, KC7LDP, Helena, MT, Feb 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) AIR Panaji, Goa: I just came to know that names of the 250 kW SW transmitters of AIR Panaji are as follows: Transmitter 1 P1 Mandovi Transmitter 2 P2 Zuari The 6 x 500 kW SW transmitters at Bangalore are also having names of six rivers. ===== 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, dx_india via DXLD) See INDIA ** HONG KONG [and non]. HONG KONG'S METRO RADIO TO BROADCAST TO MAINLAND CHINA WITH LOCAL PARTNER | Text of report by Sidney Luk, published by Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post web site on 7 February Metro Radio hopes to tune in to the mainland's untapped radio market, the world's second-largest after the United States, by repositioning itself as a bilingual broadcaster in cooperation with Radio Guangdong. Metro Radio, jointly owned by Hutchison Whampoa and Cheung Kong (Holdings), will for the first time produce Putonghua [Mandarin Chinese as spoken in mainland China] broadcasts for a mainland audience, with an initial target of 100 hours of programming this year. "We hope China-related turnover will contribute 10 to 20 per cent of our total sales by the end of this year," Metro Radio deputy managing director Bianca Ma Kin-san told the South China Morning Post. "Sales from China are insignificant for us now." While the mainland has moved to gradually liberalize its film and television markets over the past year, with foreign-invested joint ventures in both sectors allowed recently, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has done almost nothing to open its fragmented radio market, which has more than 1,000 broadcasters. Metro Radio's ambitions also highlight the degree to which local media outlets, trapped in Hong Kong's relatively small but hyper-competitive media market, are looking north for an escape route. "We realize we can't survive under the shadow of Radio Television Hong Kong and Commercial Radio," Ms Ma said. "The potential for the radio market in Hong Kong is limited. There is a chance one day we can have our own channel in China. We don't know when it will happen, but we are preparing ourselves for that day to come and we are doing the groundwork now." Metro Radio has been collaborating with Radio Guangdong since August last year, when the two agreed to jointly air 11 hours of Metro Radio financial and entertainment programming a week. The station also produces six hours of syndicated programming for Radio Guangdong. Those agreements extended Metro Radio's mainland audience from just one million people, who could tune in to its signal in the border areas of Shenzhen and Zhuhai, to 35 million people across the Pearl River Delta. But these programme-sharing and syndication arrangements, which Metro Radio hopes to double this year from 17 hours to 34 a week, were limited to Cantonese-dialect content. By moving into Putonghua programming, Metro Radio expects that it can reach out to a far larger audience. "The production is not limited to Radio Guangdong - we are eyeing the 200 stations in [southern China]," Ms Ma said, adding Metro Radio was also in talks to cooperate with stations in Shenzhen and Foshan. Under a revenue-sharing model, Metro Radio sells advertising spots for the jointly aired programmes to Hong Kong advertisers, while Radio Guangdong sells to mainland clients. "The Chinese audience has a high demand for financial products," Ms Ma said. "Hong Kong companies such as property developers also want to promote their projects to mainlanders who come to Hong Kong to visit show flats." Nielsen Media Research says advertising sales at Metro Radio surged 12.84 per cent to 567.08m dollars last year, including 53.36 per cent from Metro Finance, while rival Commercial Radio saw its advertising revenue rise just 1.05 per cent to 487.29m dollars. Ms Ma said Metro Radio broke even last year for the first time. Source: South China Morning Post web site, Hong Kong, in English 7 Feb 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** HUNGARY. 6025 kHz, R Budapest, Special QSL from Radio Budapest via the action of the Austrian DX-Club ADXB-OE (transmitter site mentioned as FV), full data QSL, but not including my name; card shows the symbols of ADXB-OE, Magyar Radio, AGDX and the European Flag, as well as the Austrian and the Hungarian Flag (large bars), no v/s. The envelope also included further info from ADXB-OE, arrived from Budapest. In 108 days for a report in German with 1 USD to ADXB-OE, - Radio Budapest-, Postfach 1000, A-1081 Wien, Österreich. January 2004 (M. Schoech, Germany, GRDXC via DXLD) ** INDIA. [dx_india] 11585 relay finished Dear friends, The special transmissions by AIR to Andaman & Nicobar Islands which started just after the earthquake and tsunami there have ended. So the broadcasts of the AIR External Services on 11585 & 11620 which were affected / cancelled are back to normal now. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, dx_india via DXLD) see also GOA ** INDONESIA. I've just crossed over very distorted signal on 11884.7 M talk in a language which is hard-to-recognise --- 1720 ID sounds like "Radio Republik Indonesia", into soft pop then. // checks gave nothing: 9525 (9524.89) VOI in Spanish fair-to-poor not // 11874v [sic] 11860 (11860.007) RRI in Indo, good, clear audio. Not // too. What's it on 11874.7 [sic] then? (Vlad Titarev, Kremenchuk, Ukraine, via Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Vlad, seemingly the second RRI/VOI SW station at Bonto Sunggu, Jeneparto, Sulawesi. Not mentioned in DXpress[Jembatan] since 1999 I guess. Scheduled for 9565, 9630, [9680?], 11750, 11885 kHz. Dipoles towards 85 degrees. 11885 0900-1300 51 UJU 100 85 5 206 D INS RRI RRI Usually RRI/VOI uses Jakarta Cimanggis site. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel via DXLD) ** IRAN [and non]. [Discussion of IRIB`s incredible QSL policy] Monitoria da Voz do Irã --- Pergunta Geral: Alguém conhece ser humano que tenha estes Diplomas da Voz do Irã? Desde os anos 80 eu vejo eles promoverem estes Diplomas mas nem Antonio Ribeiro da Mota, dexista daquela época se aventurou a escuta a mesma emissora algumas centenas de vezes. Será que eles acham que isso gera audiência ou existe algum ponto em questão que eu não tenha percebido em 20 anos de dexismo? Comentem. 73, (Denis Zoqbi, Brasil, radioescutas via DXLD) Preclaro Denis, Respondendo a teu questionamento, informo que, em diversas edições do espaço "Conversando con Nuestros Oyentes", ouvi referências ao informes enviados pelos ouvintes fiéis da emissora. Certamente um deles é o professor e doutor em Direito Nicolas Cosio Sierra, de Cuba. Creio que, pela sua fidelidade, acabou se tornando correspondente da Voz do Irã em Cuba. No entanto, friso que não tenho certeza de tal informação. O próprio Sierra já foi monitor da Rádio Taiwan, sinal de que faz este tipo de trabalho. Em mensagem anterior, da lavra do Adalberto, ficou explícito meu posicionamento sobre o tema: "citamos a Voz do Irã que trabalha de maneira muito inteligente a relação com seus ouvintes". Reitero meu posicionamento. Gosto de obter QSLs e não acho o trabalho um fardo ou algo inatingível. E mais: cito o Clube de Ouvintes da Rádio Romênia e da Rádio Bulgária que, de maneiras idênticas, utilizam tal método. A diferença é no número de informes que as duas emissoras pedem, bem menor que a Voz do Irã. Mas, e se alguém, após dois ou quase anos, prosseguir enviando informes para a Rádio Romênia? Poderia dar no mesmo! Quem tem diploma por enviar um amontoado de informes para a Rádio Romênia são o José Moacir Portera de Melo, de Pontes e Lacerda (MT), e o nosso Rubens Pedroso, de Bandeirantes (PR). Ah! Eu quase cheguei lá com o extinto Serviço em Português da Rádio Romênia! Fui reprovado na RRI, mas já cheguei na terceira fase do Clube de Monitores da Rádio Bulgária. Neste, da Rádio Bulgária, creio que o Rubens e, se não estou enganado, até o Lenildo Silva, estão bem adiantados! 73s! (Célio Romais, Porto Alegre, Brasil, ibid.) Denis e demais amigos da lista, Eu me considero uma Rádio escuta ainda iniciante, aja visto que só tenho 1 ano e alguns meses no hobby. Com relação a VOI, já recebi 2 correspondências deles. O material recebido por mim, é de primeiríssima qualidade. Sempre que envio algum informe para a VOI, ele me retornam com lindos QSLs e outros materiais de primeira. Acho que vale a pena fazer o monitoramente e enviar os Logs. É isso que vou fazer a partir de hoje (Francisco Jackson, PY1PDF, ibid.) Célio, Entendo e respeito sua colocação, mas não consigo ver muito retorno para a emissora que "prende" o ouvinte a ela por meio de uma recordação. E outra, temos que nos lembrar que o que une o ouvinte a uma emissora é afinidade, mas tenho minhas duvidas se esta afinidade forçada gera audiência. Não adianta ter apenas alguns idolatrados ouvintes que os sintonizam, mas uma demanda que justifica sua transmissão. Em 1989 organizei toda a estrutura de Monitoração da então Rádio Central de Moscou; mantivemos mais de 20 monitores só no Brasil e nem por isso a audiência aumentava, nas 3 horas de transmissão diária para o Brail (bons tempos aqueles). Em compensação, nunca receberam tantos informes e emitimos tantos QSL como naquela época. Jackson, Em momento algum eu estou questionando a importância ou não de escutar a Voz do Irã ou qualquer outra emissora, só não vejo razão para oferecerem Diplomas deste tipo de escuta num método de aferição tão longo como esse. Eu não sou ouvinte deles e não pretendo ser, confirmo que a escuta e orecebimento de QSL é interessante para alguns, mas nem por isso esta audiência é garantida. O tratamento que eles dão aos oubvintes é bom, recnheço, mas tenho minhas duvidas até que ponto esta audiência é fiel, verdadeira. Com meu 73, (Denis Zoqbi, ibid.) Célio e Denis, Entendo que cada ouvinte tem as suas preferências. Também não acho saudável uma emissora tentar aumentar a audiência usando alguns truques. Eu, sempre que tenho tempo disponível, sintonizo a VOI, em espanhol, para saber notícias daquela região. Pelos menos, eles cumprem com o prometido --- Enviam os QSLs, que por sinal, são lindos! Queria eu que a RFI fizesse o mesmo! (Jackson, ibid.) ** IRAN [non]. On 10 Feb at 1520 noted Radio Farda on new 1575 mixing with VOA Thailand. Couldn't hear Farda on its former 1170. According to logs from Nilsson and Ritola, Radio Asia moved couple of days ago from 1575 to 1557. So, 1575 is a new frequency from Dhabbiya, UAE? (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Re the comments by GH in DXLD 5-024: Yes, strictly speaking what GH says is correct. But a check of the various sections on http://www.rai.it showed that they themselves are inconsistent, even on the same page, indeed the same line. See http://www.international.rai.it/engl/whoweare/index.shtml The first heading reads: Rai International: RAI in the world In the Weblog I tend to stick to the same style that we use throughout Radio Netherlands. The news agency reports routinely render it as RAI. I don't think it's a big deal: it's pronounced the same way whether you render it as all upper case, all lower case, or a mixture of the two. But, point taken :-) (Andy Sennitt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Why change RAI to Rai? RAI itself uses the three capital letters. Using the same logic, DXLD should be Dxld, since X is not a separate word (Mike Cooper, Feb 8, DXLD) Hmm, nice try, but DX is not a word, but a stand-alone term in its own right to which L and D are added in this case. RAI or Rai should really be RTI or RTVI (gh) Abbreviations in use since 1924: 1924: U.R.I. - Unione Radiofonica Italiana 1928: E.I.A.R. - Ente Italiano Audizioni Radiofoniche 1944: R.A.I. - Radio Audizioni Italia (Roberto Scaglione http://www.bclnews.it ibid.) From the article.... "He added that the privatisation of RAI would help the current restructuring of the broadcaster and shield it from 'political interference.'..." My comment --- Not if Berlusconi or some other ne'er do well buys it! (John Figliozzi, 02.08.05 - 6:29 pm, Media Network blog via DXLD) Something similar happened in Thailand. An independent TV channel was set up in the 1990s by the then Democrat government (the existing channels were, and are, government or army run). Guess who bought it - and still owns it? Mr Thaksin! (Andrew Rogers, 02.08.05 - 8:25 pm, ibid.) ** KENYA. I noted yesterday that KBC's 4915 transmitter was relaying the Swahili Service, rather than the usual Eastern Service. A check on the Eastern Service's studio-to-transmitter link on 89.5 FM found that it was a silent carrier. This morning 4915 is off the air and 89.5 FM is still a silent carrier. In 2001, 4915 was off the air for several weeks as the KBC couldn't pay the electricity bill, but this looks like a different problem (Chris Greenway, Nairobi, Feb 10, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Chris, thanks for confirming this. I was listening 9 Feb our early evening and noted 4915 with the different language than usual. Not too strong signal but I thought it might be Swahili and you now confirmed it. 73, (Jari Savolainen, Finland, ibid.) ** KIRIBATI. AaRS (Adopt a Radio Station)... well Chuck, I'll take Kiribati, but u'all don't hold your breath. All I've seen on 9825 is noise for weeks. What is the URL for Speaker Watch? (David Norcross, Kahalu'u HI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KURDISTAN. IRAQ: KURDISH RADIO AVAILABLE LIVE ON THE INTERNET BBC Monitoring observes Voice of [Iraqi] Kurdistan radio with a live audio stream available from the web site of the Kurdistan Democratic Party at http://www.kdp.pp.se in parallel with their shortwave signal on 6335 kHz. However, there seems to be confusion about the formal name of the station: The pre-recorded identification announcement at the start of transmission identify it as "Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan" (Aira Dengi Kurdistana Iraqiya), however subsequent announcements, apparently live, identify it as "Voice of Kurdistan" (Aira Dengi Kurdistana). Further, the live stream link on the web page is labelled as "Radio Kurdistan", whilst on the Windows Media Player the name is given as "KTV Radio". The station broadcasts in support of the Kurdistan Democratic Party from facilities in northern Iraq on 1116 kHz mediumwave, 91.5 and 93.3 MHz FM, and 6335 kHz shortwave. Source: BBC Monitoring research in English 9 Feb 05 (via via WORLD OF RADIO 1263, DXLD) ** LITHUANIA. Starting 1 March, Radio Baltic Waves International will provide a relay of RFE/RL in Russian for a local audience in Siauliai (Northern Lithuania) on 1386 with 3 kW at 0500-1600 (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, MWDX yg via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Ya está al aire la transmisión digital DRM de Radio Educación en la frecuencia de 25620 kHz (M.I. Hector Garcia Bojorge, DF, 2135 UT Feb 8, condiglist via DXLD) Radio Educación with a special DRM test on 1060 kHz --- Hi Glenn, As I read the info in DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-019, I monitored today Radio Educación on 1060 kHz. I started at about 10H50 (Mexico local time) and after 2 typical Mexican songs, the broadcaster said that R. Educación was going to transmit during 20 mins in DRM, "el modo de transmisión del futuro", then off during 2 seconds and at 11H02, DRM transmission started until about 11H21 [1702-1721 UT] and then back to normal transmission. I've also monitored during different time of days, the frequency of 25620 and it's DRM transmission as planned (Thierry Fricot, Mexico City, Feb 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Noted a brief sporadic-E opening, unusual for Feb, at 1719 UT Feb 10 up to 60 MHz, but not from México --- WCBD, ch 2, Charleston SC. Still, a good sign that 25620 could possibly be heard at a distance (Glenn Hauser, Enid, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Another XEJN 2390 kHz audio clip --- This time at sign off (6:00 pm MST) [0100 UT] and IDing as Radio Lacaxcajak, which is what they call themselves when broadcasting in the Otomi language, with children singing the Mexican National Anthem -- cute! The original recording was very noisy because I had the mic input level to the recorder set way too high, so I had to clean it up a bit. It sounds a little weird.... Again, recorded off my DX-398 with 200 feet of wire out in the woods. http://www.gentoo.net/mike/radio/swl/audio/lacaxcajak.mp3 (Mike Westfall, N6KUY, WDX6O, Lost Almost, NM (DM65uv), Feb 9, Online logbooks at http://dxlogbook.gentoo.net dx398 yg via DXLD) ** NEPAL. King of Nepal cracks down, cuts 'net, BBC on FM --- Obviously, a post like this to this mailing list has, as its primary message "There are times when shortwave trumps the internet and local relays of international stations." http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/international/asia/08nepal.html NEPAL'S KING CRACKS DOWN ON POLITICS AND NEWS MEDIA By AMY WALDMAN February 8, 2005 KATMANDU, Nepal, Feb. 7 - Instead of the usual spicy mix of current affairs and politics, the subject of Radio Sagarmatha's talk show on Saturday night was as bland as rice. In fact, the subject was rice: the differences, as explained by a scientist, between golden, wild and other varieties. That was the only topic the independent Nepali FM station felt safe to discuss. "Normally I don't do that kind of program," a 31-year-old journalist at the station said, laughing nervously as a soldier listened. When the soldier - one of six lounging around the station - moved off, the smile fell away. "Our hands are tied," the journalist said. Six days ago Nepal's king ended the country's 15-year experiment with democracy and took power for himself, imposing a state of emergency and suspending a host of civil liberties, including freedom of expression. Nepalis have been facing something between fear and a farce since then, adjusting to a combination of royal rule and martial law. Those in politics and the news media feel particularly under siege. In a televised address last Tuesday morning, King Gyanendra said he was taking power for three years because the country's fractious political parties had failed to hold elections or bring Maoist rebels to peace talks. As he spoke, phone lines and Internet connections were being cut, political and student leaders were being detained and soldiers were arriving at news organizations' offices to take on their new role as censors. Nepalis now have no freedom of assembly, expression or opinion; no right to information, property or privacy; and no protection from preventive detention. The government has banned any criticism of the king's action for six months, and any public comment that could affect the morale of the security agencies. [...] All of the community radio stations that sprang up in the 1990's are locked up, playing only music or discussing things like rice. The BBC's popular Nepali news service has been stopped, and Netra K. C., its reporter in the western city of Nepalganj, has been detained, according to human rights activists. Newspapers have been reduced to editorializing about safely banal subjects, like the weather or clean socks, or resorting to metaphor to make their case (via Joel Rubin, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) ANALYSIS: NEPALESE MEDIA FACE FUTURE UNDER SURVEILLANCE | Text of editorial analysis by Steve Metcalf of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 10 February When King Gyanendra sacked the government on 1 February and declared a state of emergency, virtually all communication with Nepal was cut off and news was hard to come by. Although some communications links have now been restored, the country's media find themselves operating under different conditions to those they previously enjoyed. One of the first steps taken by the authorities was to ban, for a six- month period, any broadcast or publication of opinions opposing "the essentials" of the king's proclamation. The ban also applied to any news or analysis that tried to justify the country's Maoist rebellion. In addition, the country's 40-plus independent FM stations were ordered to limit themselves to broadcasting entertainment programmes. News would be reported by the government-run radio and TV channels. Agency reports speculated that this could lead to up to 1,000 journalists and ancillary staff losing their jobs. International broadcasters such as BBC and CNN, and Pakistan TV, were back on air after a few days. However, the absence of Indian channels led the Indian media to suspect that they were being blocked. An army spokesman denied that cable operators had been given any such instructions, but added: "I don't know if they have stopped the news channels because of their own nationalistic feelings." The Nepalese government had recently complained about an Indian-based channel calling itself Nepal 1-TV. It described the channel as unauthorized and operating in violation of the international press code. Media restrictions International telephone lines and internet connections were restored after a week, but mobile phone services may remain cut off for some time. The decision to resume some communications was taken by a newly- established Subcommittee on State Affairs, whose members include the heads of the security forces. Following the royal intervention, a number of daily and weekly newspapers were forced temporarily to suspend publication, while those that did appear found themselves subject to military censorship. At least two journalists were among those reported to have been arrested under the state of emergency. Those newspapers that did manage to publish adopted varying tactics to deal with the new situation. Some left their editorial pages blank or wrote editorials on deliberately bland topics such as archery or soap operas. A few of the bolder ones argued the need for freedom of the press and even dared to ask the government to reconsider some of the steps it had taken. But the government seems determined to maintain its grip on the media. A new order on 7 February banned criticism of the security forces, and four weekly newspapers were said to have been raided to halt publication. The following day, Information and Communications Minister Tanka Dhakal said the government was reviewing its whole media policy. He added: "The government wants the media to be effective in terms of quality; it does not want censorship." Dhakal had earlier said that the government only wanted to "bring order" to the press sector and see it promoting a common point of view at a time of national crisis. He said the press could not flourish by highlighting "the negative aspect of things". It remains to be seen how Nepal's once outspoken media will respond to the new restrictions. When the Kantipur Online news portal resumed on 8 February, it carried a notice saying it was now operating "under strict media guidelines". Source: BBC Monitoring research 10 Feb 05 (via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. JOOP DAALMEIJER IS NEW RADIO NETHERLANDS EDITOR-IN- CHIEF Radio Netherlands is pleased to announce that Joop Daalmeijer has been appointed as its new Editor-in-Chief, responsible for the programming and journalistic aspects of the organization. Mr Daalmeijer has spent more than 30 years in Dutch broadcasting. After 13 years at VARA, he moved to Veronica where he became Director in 1990. Later he worked at HMG, Filmnet and Canal+. Since 1998 he has been in charge of one of the Dutch public TV networks - first Nederland 1 and then Nederland 2. Radio Netherlands Director-General Jan Hoek is very happy at the appointment. "I'm pleased that we have found someone with an enormous journalistic experience, with an understanding and vision of the cross-media future." Mr Daalmeijer says "My heart is in journalism. For me, it's a challenge to be in charge of the journalistic process within such an innovative organisation as Radio Netherlands, that operates internationally. Radio Netherlands reaches millions of people through radio, TV and Intenet, and adapts quickly to technical developments and changing needs. A worldwide public in eight languages via diverse media platforms gives a new dimension to my journalistic craft." # posted by Andy @ 16:38 UT Feb 10 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. If you're in the UK, you will probably be seeking refuge from blanket coverage (if I may use that phrase under the circumstances) of today's much-anticipated wedding announcement of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. The story is, of course, being reported in the Dutch media, including Radio Netherlands, but unlike some of the UK media we won't neglect other important stories. Many years ago, an American colleague of mine was looking forward to watching the British TV news as he believed it to be much better on international stories than the US networks. Unfortunately he arrived on the day that Princess Diana's second pregnancy was announced, which occupied 23 minutes of the 30-minute bulletin at 6pm. He left with a very different opinion of British news values. The inability of much of the world's media to focus on more than one major story at a time is something that bothers me, and has inspired my commentary this week: Reporting the tsunami disaster On 26 December 2004, a number of countries in Asia were devastated by the worst natural disaster in recorded history. Unfortunately the ongoing story - for that's what it is - has already slipped off the radar of much of the world's media. I believe international broadcasters such as Radio Netherlands have a vital role in keeping such stories in the public consciousness. http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/media/features/tsu050210.html (Andy Sennitt, Media Network newsletter Feb 10 via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. 6680, 0724, Auckland Volmet, Nueva Zelandia, USB, inglés, estación del servicio aeronáutico, noticias meteorológicas del Área Pacífico Central. 28/1 (Alfredo Locatelli, Durazno, Uruguay, el eskuch@ via playdx via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. Radio New Zealand International, The Voice of New Zealand, Broadcasting to the Pacific --- Te Reo Irirangi O Aotearoa, O Te Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa --- News About RNZI RNZI TRANSMITTER CURRENTLY OFF AIR --- 10 Feb, 2005 01:09 UTC. The RNZI short-wave transmitter is currently off-air due to a fault at the transmission site. We have a technical service crew there at present and they are endeavouring to fix the fault and have us back on-air as soon as possible. The RNZI Internet feed is unaffected (via Barry Hartley, via Wolfgang Büschel, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Same problem last weekend, but they were back in the interim (gh, DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. As Glenn Hauser has pointed out, reported loggings of KFNY 1640 Enid OK have been somewhat rare, due mainly to its directional pattern. The following logging will appear in DDXD-West, DX News #72-20 2/21/05: Bill Dvorak, Madison. Drake R8B, Quantum QX Pro loop. (Times ELT) 1640 KFNY OK Enid. 2/9 0619. Glenn Hauser's hometown X-bander heard with a generally fair signal in WKSH null, with WTNI signal subdued. Comedy routine, a full 3-1/3 sesquiminutes of commercials (Quicken Loans, NASE Benefit Plans, others), ID by a woman: "KFNY, KFNY, 1640 AM, 1640 AM, Oklahoma's Laugh Button, Enid-Oklahoma City", into All-Comedy Radio Network programming. By far the best overnight reception of this station here. 73, (Bill Dvorak, Madison WI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I logged them last night at 0040 AM ELT. They mentioned their new affiliate - Johnson 970 in Portland, OR. After about half an hour, I got their ID at 0040 ELT (Dennis Elya, Jefferson City, MO, SuperRadio 3, Feb 9, NRC-AM via DXLD) I caught them on the desert Beverage last Friday --- that 1800-footer is at an azimuth of 70 degrees, so Enid would have been quite a bit off-axis (Mark Durenberger, eastern UT near Grand Junxion CO, Feb 9, ibid.) 1640, 25 28, 0500, 0744, KFNY Enid OK "All Comedy R" LHU (Lars Hedberg, Uppsala, Oct 2004 dates, at PAX44 - Parkalompolo (Sweden?), DXpedition site, Antenner: 240, 270, 293, 302, 317, 335, 350, 44 grader samt en massa SW-byggen som fördelare o preamps, http://www.algonet.se/~lhu/pax44.htm via DXLD) ** PERU. 5486.7, La Reina de la Selva, Chachapoyas, 1025-1050 Feb 10, Various announcements and folk music. ID in passing between songs by DJ at 1043. Carrier strength was fairly good, but signal didn't sound fully modulated (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PETER I. The Peter One Antarctic DXpedition is happening this month. They should be operating from around the 18th of Feb through the 3rd of March. They have a great website http://www.peterone.com/ with lots of pictures and information about prior DXpeditions. They mention that more people have walked on the moon than have been to Pete One! Given the money and effort required for this kind of operation, I doubt that it will come around again anytime soon. They will be using 9 Icom 756 ProII transceivers. I am sure the pileups will be horrendous, but should be fun work or listen (Chris Black, Cape Cod, NRC-AM via WORLD OF RADIO 1263, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Hi, 5940.0, RadioKanal Dadrujestva, 1704z Russian news, any precise info on that station, lads? (Patrice Privat, France, HCDX via DXLD) See http://www.sng-baltia.ru/sodr-tt.html (Reijo Alapiha, Joensuu, Finland, HCDX via DXLD) Outdated ** SOMALIA. 6960, Radio Shabelle, 1820 Feb 5, talks by OM. Best time for reception here with maximum S1 with 16 db pre-amplification (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. DRM test van radio Sweden --- Uit een andere mailing list: Next week Feb.7 to Feb. 11 tests continue from Hörby on 5875 kHz directed northwards between UT 0800 to 1000. Groeten (Han, Feb 9, BDXC via DXLD) Northwards?!?! Radio Sweden DRM-tests on 5835kHz next week --- Hello everybody, Next week Feb. 7 to Feb. 11 tests continue from Hörby on 5835kHz directed northwards between UT 0800 to 1000. PS. Thank you Klaus – the frequency is 5835 kHz and nothing else. I made a silly mistake. All the Best – (Håkan, Feb 5, DRM forums via DXLD) Hi, but Rampisham is already scheduled on this frequency from 0900 to 1600 UT until 9 Feb. 73, (Klaus, Bad Wildungen, Germany, ibid.) Radio Sweden DRM-tests stays on 5875 kHz this week --- Hello, It is Monday and back to reality. It was decided to use 5875 kHz anyway. But we cut the test short at UT 0900 Mo–We so we do not knock the BBC boys out of Paris with our mighty 1 kW. We intend to use 5875 kHz the rest of the week as intended; it is a nice and quiet channel in our target area. Sorry for this confusion. I will keep an eye in your list in the future Klaus. All the Best – (Håkan, ibid.) ** SWEDEN. Hello Glenn, Aros DX Club, Vasteraas, celebrates 20 years (10 Feb) with a mini-exhibition at the Library in Västeraas, informing the public about DX-ing and the club. The actual celebration will take place at the AGM Sunday 13 March. The club stands at 24 members and its club bulletin DX-Stunden (one of the few remaining in Sweden) is distributed 6 times a year with an average of 24 pages. The club has a small information web page at http://www.algonet.se/~lhu/adxc.htm Best regards, (Lennart Weirell, Secretary & chief editor DX-Stunden, Vasteraas, Sweden, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Congratulations (gh) ** TAIWAN. WAGING WAR OVER TAIWANESE AIRWAVES By Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times | February 6, 2005 http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2005/02/06/waging_war_over_taiwanese_airwaves/ TAIPEI -- The radio show called ''Special Communications" was an unlikely hit, given that it consisted of announcers reading strings of numbers for 15 minutes. Taiwan used the mind- numbing program in the 1980s to send coded messages to its spies in mainland China. But like many Taiwanese propaganda broadcasts, it also could be picked up locally. To the surprise of many at the government-run Radio Taiwan International, the show soon developed a cult following among Taiwanese. Listeners, particularly former soldiers, started sending fan mail saying how much they enjoyed it, how it made them feel like secret agents, and how they had deciphered the code. ''I'd think, how absurd," said Chen Hsiao-Ping, a veteran at the station for 25 years. ''Here I am reading this stuff, and I don't even know what it means. How could they possibly understand?" The glory days of ''Special Communications" may be over, but Chen and her colleagues at Radio Taiwan still have plenty of work, as do members of the propaganda team at China's Central People's Radio Station, which is busy beaming programming the other way. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of mainland radio propaganda broadcasts into Taiwan and the 55th for Taiwan in the opposite direction. Over the decades, the weapons have changed, the tactics refined, the ideology softened. Shows on investments, popular culture, and tourism have largely edged out biting criticism and political dogma. But like two old soldiers locked in a wrestling grip, the broadcasts press doggedly on, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, outlasting even North and South Korea's loudspeaker battle across their tense demilitarized zone. ''This isn't just a broadcast," said Cheryl Lai, president of Radio Taiwan International. ''This is war. China sees it as a hot war. We see it as a cold war. But it's still a war." Chen, the broadcaster, grows animated as she recalls her early days at the station. Recruited in 1978 at age 18, she was tested, her family and friends screened, and her ideology reviewed for any hint of Communist sympathy before she got a job as ''professional political warfare agent," as presenters were then called. For most of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, propaganda airwaves in both directions were filled with hard-core screeds, slogans, and denunciations. But around the time Chen joined, the Taiwanese intelligence service had a new psychological weapon against China -- Theresa Deng, a Taiwanese singer known for her gentle love songs. A new program mixed Deng's music with soft-sell messages about the island. The show, which lasted a decade, proved hugely successful among mainlanders battered by the tumultuous 1966-76 Cultural Revolution. A few hundred miles across the Taiwan Strait, the Central People's Radio Station in Beijing also was working overtime to score points, shape minds, and reach Taiwanese listeners with its worldview. For about a decade after the national service began broadcasting on Aug. 5, 1954, Taiwanese listeners who tuned in heard Communist Party summaries, production statistics, and bitter denunciations of the Taipei government. Broadcasts encouraged Taiwanese to go on strike, rise up against their ''American toady" government, and renounce capitalism before a workers' revolution swept Taiwan. Mainland planners were also careful to include softer programming as well, particularly during big holidays such as the midautumn Moon Festival, to help temper the martial music and angry political attacks. But any hint of softness vanished with the advent of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, as broadcasters became swept up in the social turmoil. © Copyright 2005 Globe Newspaper Company (via Andy Sennitt, dxldyg; and via Dan Say, DXLD) Numbers station must refer to ``Star Star`` or ``New Star`` on 15388, 9725, etc. (gh, DXLD) ** TAIWAN. RADIO TAIWAN INTERNATIONAL, WHICH FORMERLY WAS USED TO BROADCAST GOVERNMENT PROPAGANDA AIMED AT CHINA, IS TO OFFER PROGRAMS IN FIVE FOREIGN LANGUAGES --- By Ko Shu-ling Thursday, Feb 10, 2005 "With the increasing number of international marriages, what we're doing now is broadcasting not only to foreigners working or living here but also to the future children of Taiwan." National radio station Radio Taiwan International (RTI) is poised to enter a new era on July 1 when it starts domestic broadcasting in five foreign languages to the nation's 500,000 foreign workers and residents. Over the course of 77 years, RTI has transformed itself from a government propaganda radio station targeting China and the world, to a public service station serving both local and international communities alike. While some might question the popularity of radio stations in a multimedia age, Cheryl Lai, president of RTI, seemed upbeat about the future of the airwaves industry. "There are three English-language newspapers in Taiwan but their target audiences are either white-collar office workers or intellectuals," she said. "We're more concerned about the blue-collar audiences, especially foreign workers and spouses, who have a hard time understanding Mandarin and some of them cannot even afford computers or Internet access," she said. Lai added that foreign-language radio programs also provide foreigners with access to instant and immediate information, which can be quite useful, especially when natural disasters hit. "With the increasing number of international marriages, what we're doing now is broadcasting not only to foreigners working or living here but also to the future children of Taiwan," she said. . . [MORE] http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2005/02/10/2003222725 (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** THAILAND. 1575, Ban Phachi, Ayutthaya District had a fine signal 2/2. At 1400 a woman spoke in UNID language and there were several tones (perhaps played on an organ) at TOH. There didn't seem to be an ID. At 1500 a man spoke, then there was theme music and several seconds of dead air. A man said "...the Voice Of America from Washington D.C." I am very happy to finally log this one. Art Peterson's Great Circle Distance program says it's 7,694 miles from Missoula (Larry Godwin, MT, IRCA Soft DX Monitor Feb 12 via DXLD) ** U S A. VOA TTA with Kim & Jan audible Friday`s Talk to America archive audio is already available, if you know where to find it. The user-unfriendly VOANews website would lead you to believe there is no such thing depending on how you approach it. This is the one about int`l broadcasting with Kim Elliott, and guest Jan Hoek, new head of RN. I haven`t listened to it yet myself, and you have to download the whole file first; I clicked on Feb 4 and it started to download, via: http://www.voanews.com/english/NewsAnalysis/TTA-Archive-Page.cfm (Glenn, Sat Feb 5, dxldyg via DXLD) KIM'S INTERVIEW WITH RADIO NETHERLANDS DIRECTOR JAN HOEK ON VOA'S TALK TO AMERICA, 4 FEBRUARY 2005 There was a delay in making audio stream of Talk to America available because I didn't know where to find it in the VOA website. But DX newshound Glenn Hauser did find it, and sent me the link: http://www.voanews.com/english/NewsAnalysis/TTA-Archive-Page.cfm Glenn wrote: "The user-unfriendly VOANews website would lead you to believe there is no such thing depending on how you approach it." Thus challenged, I decided to spelunk the VOA website: 1) Go first, of course, to http://www.voanews.com 2) Now you might be tempted to click on Webcasts to find the webcast of TTA. Wrong. This will only get you the live broadcast, which requires you to be at your PC at 1600 UTC. 3) Click instead on VOA English. 4) Again, don't click on Webcasts to find the webcast. 5) Instead, click on Find VOA Radio or TV Programs. You will get a list of all VOA programs, in all languages. (Yes, I know we were at the VOA English page.) 6) Click on T, then find Talk to America. On the TTA page, click on Archives. 7) Then click on the date of the program you wish to listen to. (4 February for the Jan Hoek interview.) 8) Your browser might force a download of the RealAudio file, which could take a long time with a dial-up account. For me, Internet Explorer and Netscape force downloads, while Mozilla allows one to listen online. Whatever browser you use, you can right click "Copy Link Location" or the equivalent, and paste it to the RealOne Player's File, Open. Easy. Or just click on any of the following: Listen online (Real Player) Listen online (Windows Media) Download (Real Player) Download (Windows Media) Download (mp3) (from http://kimandrewelliott.com/tta_jan_hoek_audio.html for all the audio links, via DXLD) ** U S A. WASHINGTON: BBG IN LINE FOR BIG BUDGET INCREASE IN 2006 Details of President George W Bush's budget proposals for fiscal year 2006 were released this week. While some areas of domestic spending would be curtailed, a larger proportion of the budget would go to foreign aid programs and international broadcasting. Under the proposals, the budget of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which overseas all the US government's international television and radio broadcasting, would increase from $592 million this fiscal year to $652 million. # posted by Andy @ 11:58 UT Feb 9 (Media Network blog via WORLD OF RADIO 1263, DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. http://www.bbg.gov STATEMENT ON THE KILLING OF CORRESPONDENT ABDUL-HUSSEIN KHAZAL This morning at 8:00 a.m. (12:00 a.m. EST) Alhurra correspondent Abdul-Hussein Khazal, 40, and his 3-year-old son Mohammed were killed outside of their home in Basra by an unknown number of gunmen. Abdul- Hussein had been a correspondent for Radio Sawa for nearly two years and joined Alhurra in April 2004. "We are deeply saddened at the loss of our friend and colleague Abdul- Hussein Khazal and his son Mohammed. Abdul-Hussein was a dedicated and respected journalist, who was an integral part of the Alhurra and Radio Sawa team. He will be truly missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time." --- Mouafac Harb, Executive Vice President and Network News Director (BBG Press Feb 9 via DXLD) ** U S A. Holy disinformation, Batman!! Pentagon to broadcast to millions of U.S. homes -- The U.S. military is to beam its own news coverage to millions of Americans. Moving on from its phase of embedding journalists, or as some would say, 'a policy of restricting and controlling the flow of information,' the Pentagon will now produce and disseminate the news itself. It will be beamed to the public at no charge. The service will emanate from what is known as the Pentagon Channel, an internal public relations television unit within the Department of Defense (Breaking news from Citizens for Legitimate Government newsletter Feb 8 via Clara Listensprechen, DXLD) ** U S A. Stephen's brother Peter continues as president of LeSea Broadcasting Network. http://www.southbendtribune.com/stories/2005/02/08/local.20050208-sbt-LOCL-B2-Stephen_Sumrall.sto (via Andy Sennitt, dxldyg, and via Kim Elliott, DXLD) viz.: STEPHEN SUMRALL LEAVES CHURCH, LESEA TAKES POSITION WITH PROVIDENT MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL By ANDREW S. HUGHES, Tribune Staff Writer February 8, 2005 SOUTH BEND -- Stephen Sumrall resigned Sunday from his posts with LeSea Inc. to become a pastor with Provident Ministries International Ltd. "After much prayer and consideration, my family and I have chosen to continue the call to minister locally as well as internationally under Provident Ministries International," Sumrall said Monday night in a statement released to The Tribune. "With the help of the Lord, we intend to continue to build upon the foundational truths taught to us by my father, Dr. Lester Sumrall. For more information, the Web site you can contact is pmiltd.org." The Web site said that Provident Ministries meets in the Bendix Theater at Century Center, 120 S. St. Joseph St., at 10 a.m. Sundays. Stephen Sumrall had been the pastor of Christian Center Cathedral of Praise and president of LeSea Ministries and LeSea Global Feed the Hungry since 1996, when his father, Lester Sumrall, died. Stephen's brother Peter continues as president of LeSea Broadcasting Network. In a news release issued Monday, LeSea Inc. said Stephen Sumrall "will be deeply missed from the LeSea family." In a telephone interview Monday afternoon, Peter Sumrall said he did not know what the "new direction" for his brother's life and ministry would be. Peter Sumrall said he and Stephen Sumrall had not discussed the latter's resignation before or after he tendered it. "I don't know," Peter Sumrall said Monday of his brother's plans. "All I know is that he resigned yesterday (Sunday) as senior pastor of Christian Center." Peter Sumrall said Stephen Sumrall was not forced to resign his position. "No," he said in response to the question. "It comes as a complete surprise that he decided to resign yesterday." LeSea Ministries and LeSea Global Feed the Hungry both remain open and functioning as scheduled, the news release said. The LeSea group was founded by the late Lester Sumrall, originally from New Orleans. He and his wife, Louise, who died in 1994, had three sons, Peter, Stephen and Frank. In December 1947, Lester Sumrall became pastor of a church at 1115 S. Michigan St. In 1948, he began construction of the South Bend Gospel Tabernacle, 2315 S. Michigan St. Lester Sumrall moved his ministry again, in 1967, to the newly constructed Bethel Temple Church, 530 E. Ireland Road. Christian Center, which is behind the former Bethel Temple, was dedicated in 1985. Lester Sumrall died April 28, 1996. In 1957, Lester Sumrall founded LeSea, an evangelical organization with its headquarters in South Bend and with operations around the world. LeSea Ministries operates Christian Center School, Christian Center Daycare and Indiana Christian University. Also under the umbrella of LeSea Ministries are Sumrall Publishing, Christian Center Bookstore and the World Harvest Ministers Network. LeSea Global Feed The Hungry provides emergency relief to victims of famine, drought, flood, war or other natural disaster. The LeSea Broadcasting Network owns and operates seven television stations in the United States; World Harvest Television on DirecTV channel 321; five shortwave radio stations covering six continents; Middle East Television based out of Limasol, Cyprus, covering 15 countries in the Middle East; all cable homes in Israel via Amos 1 satellite; and Far East Television through the satellite signal PanAmSat Pas 10. LeSea Tours, Making Healthy Choices and LeSea Prayerline also operate under the umbrella of LeSea Broadcasting. Peter Sumrall's son, David, will serve as interim pastor at Christian Center. "Everything is business as usual, and we look forward to the ministry moving forward and continuing to do good works, not only here in South Bend but around the world through Feed the Hungry," Peter Sumrall said during the interview Monday afternoon. Frank Sumrall, Peter Sumrall said, left LeSea "about a year ago" to move to Tampa, Fla. He now leads Frank Sumrall Global Ministries, which is not affiliated with LeSea (South Bend Tribune via Larry Nebron, via WORLD OF RADIO 1263, DXLD) Generally money isn't the issue with tiffs like this -- these tend to be personality clashes related to succession planning. Papa Sumrall & the boys might not have sorted this all out before Lester bought the farm. Just like with big companies -- egos tend to get quite big in these large ministries. These folks become legends in their own minds. There are many, many examples -- see Bakker, Jim... Swaggart, Jimmy...for a couple examples. Unfortunately if the congregation splinters up, it loses critical mass that is required for expensive activities like satellite TV/radio services (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, via WORLD OF RADIO 1263, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hello Editor, I've never contacted you before and came across your site while doing research. I'm trying to find a recording of a broadcast from 1939 on WRUL in Boston. The date was October 29 and included Senator Truman, Admiral Byrd, and F.N.D. Buchman. Any help you can offer me to find a copy of the recording would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. Respectfully, (Peter via Nicholls, HCDX via DXLD) Hi Guys, I have been sent a query from a guy in the US trying to track down a recording of WRUL in 1939. I have suggested a couple of websites to him such as http://www.boatphone.com/wrul/ and http://www181.pair.com/otsw/net.html but if anyone has a recording or knows of another good website, please let me know. Regards, (Mark Nicholls, Editor, New Zealand DX Times magazine, New Zealand Radio DX League http://radiodx.com/ HCDX via DXLD) ** U S A. WHRB is back to `normal` programming following orgy after orgy in January. The pertinent program titles have been reëntered in MONITORING REMINDERS CALENDAR. It`s really a great, daring station, but my opinion of Harvard is dropping as I hear awful gaffes in pronunciation by the announcers when it comes to foreign names in classical music. These kids may have made it to Harvard, but they obviously are ill-schooled in foreign languages, if not music as well. I wonder if Hvd even has any foreign-language entrance (or exit) requirement any more? It`s fairly obvious that the brains belong to the program planners and scriptors, not the announcers (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The call situation for this station [1220 Cleveland OH] is confusing. The legal call for the station on 1220 is still WHK, but on the air they are WHKW. WHKW is the legal call for the station in Warren on 1440 which is // to 1200. The station on 1420 calls itself WHK, but the legal calls are actually WRMR. Maybe they will straighten this all out eventually (Bill Harms, Elkridge, Maryland, Feb 9, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. Re 5-023, the story about Pecos/Santa Fe Freeform Radio, KWRP, the website link should be http://www.kwrp-1015.com/ but as the article says, nothing there but a current playlist (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Independent all-Spanish AM #1 in the Denver market Here is a link to the Denver Post story about KBNO /1280. http://www.radioquebueno.com/article6.html (Patrick Griffith, Westminster, CO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. McCAIN INTRODUCES LOW POWER FM LEGISLATION Feb. 08, 2005 By Paul Heine http://billboardradiomonitor.com/radiomonitor/printable_version.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000790975 On the fifth anniversary of a Federal Communications Commission rulemaking that authorized the creation of the Low Power FM radio service, a trio of senators introduced a bill that would enable the FCC to license scores more LPFM stations by eliminating third adjacent channel protections. Senators John McCain, Rep., Ariz., Maria Cantwell, Dem., Wash., and Patrick Leahy, Dem., Vt., claim the Local Community Radio Act of 2005 would eliminate ``costly and redundant`` interference studies and ``ensure the availability of radio spectrum for low power FM radio stations.`` In 2000, following relentless lobbying by the National Assn. of Broadcasters, Congress passed legislation that required LPFM stations to adhere to third adjacent channel protections to avoid potential interference to existing full-power stations. Opponents of the legislation said it would water down LPFM’s potential by drastically scaling back the number of low power stations the FCC could license. The following year, McCain introduced the Low-Power Radio Act of 2001, which would have permitted more low power stations to hit the air while requiring the Commission to intercede when LPFM stations were causing interference to full power stations. That bill was never passed. The new legislation coincides with today’s FCC forum on LPFM in Washington and with low power radio supporters meeting with members of Congress. In a statement, McCain said LPFM implementation has been ``severely hampered by commercial broadcasters` flagrantly exaggerated claims of interference. The most recent obstruction, a two year study conducted at the behest of broadcasters, cost taxpayers over two million dollars and proved what the FCC and community groups have known for years: Low Power FM stations will not cause significant interference to other broadcasters` signals. It is time for broadcasters to stop hiding behind false claims of interference when they are really afraid of the competition from truly local broadcasters.`` Cantwell added: "This is an important fight to ensure that these affordable, community-oriented radio stations are allowed access to our nation's airwaves.`` Leahy said, ``For too long now the number of low power FM stations the FCC could license has been limited by unrealistic and unnecessary rules requiring these smaller stations to search for available frequencies far from any full-power broadcaster. This bill will open up the airwaves to truly local broadcasting while protecting full- power broadcasters from unreasonable interference and preserving important services such as reading services for the blind.`` (via Ken Kopp Amateur Radio - KKØHF, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1263, DXLD) ** U S A. TV IN BLACK - RACE AND TV IN THE EARLY YEARS TV ALERT Tonight at 8 Eastern, 7 Central on WGN [UT Friday Feb 11 at 0100]. Sure to be full of kines. DuMont had many early black programs, but they could be lost (Brock Whaley, Feb 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) "TV in Black - Race and TV in the Early Years," premiering tonight at 8 on superstation WGN, is a one-hour documentary narrated by actor Obba Babatunde, who co-wrote and co-produced it with Ruth Adkins Robinson. It's a history of blacks on TV, but it's a lot less superficial and more complete than most. The segment on "Amos 'n' Andy" alone, which explains the popularity and controversy surrounding the CBS TV spinoff of the long-running radio hit, sets this apart. Not only are there lengthy discussions of the show's content and characters, but many black performers provide their recollections. (One stunner here is that musician Billy Preston's mother played Sapphire in a touring stage production of "Amos 'n' Andy" after the TV show was canceled.) Such performers as Smokey Robinson and Mo'Nique comment on the style, importance and legacy of everyone from Nat King Cole to Redd Foxx, Sammy Davis Jr. to Diahann Carroll. Clips are doled out generously, and the comments from today's actors, singers and musicians explain the history of blacks on TV - what was missing as well as what was there - better than any dry narration ever could (via Whaley, DXLD) ** URUGUAY. 9620, 1855 SODRE, Uruguay, español, OM ID, avances de programas, relay CX6 650 khz. 7/2 (Alfredo Locatelli, Durazno, Uruguay, el eskuch@ via playdx via DXLD) ** VANUATU. 7260.2, R Vanuatu, ...0625-0635... still on at 0702, 2/8, Bislama (Pidgin) (assumed). Picked this up while band scanning. 25222/1. Pretty sure I heard a "long", the common "tie" word in Pidgin. YL talks, sounded like the pattern of talk and short fast fades often heard when hearing this (trans-equatorial?). It has been under the noise for some days or weeks... they apparently haven't finished their 'emergency' repairs. These islands have a lot in common, whether they be Polynesian (like Hawaii), Micronesian (like Guam and Saipan) or Melanesian (like Vanuatu). Things drift along, letting good resources go bad, until a 'wakeup' comes along. Then, boy, you never saw so much energy and action (at least as long as the media is paying attention, or it's near election time). There's a good chance that maintenance would have cost a lot less than this crisis fix up. And Australia is in the mode of paying a lot of attention to the Pacific Area now (even the current Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum is an Aussie now; that stirred up a lot of talk in Oceania) It's not that difficult to get money, even for non-crises. For Pacific news see http://pacificmagazine.net (David Norcross, 2010 and attic Grove T, Kahalu'u HI, WORLD OF RADIO 1263, DX LISTENING DIGEST) VANUATU BROADCASTER'S FINANCES TO BE PROBED The government of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu will set up a commission of inquiry into the financial problems facing the national broadcaster, the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation. A government spokesman said the intention was mainly to review all the payments made in recent years to former staff members of the corporation and former members of its board of management, Port Vila Presse Online reported. The spokesman said VBTC's financial situation had been aggravated in recent years by bad management. Among other things, the inquiry would try to shed light on payments to VBTC staff members in excess of the funds allocated for their housing allowances. Last week the Prime Minister, Ham Lini, criticised the VBTC for failing to provide radio services to most people living in remote areas. The VBTC admitted that its shortwave transmitter had been down for some time but said repair work was expected to be completed soon. (Source: Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union) # posted by Andy @ 13:35 UT Feb 8 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 7460, 0745, R N de la RASD, Rep Árabe Saharawi, español, noticias desde el legislativo español. 26/1 (Alfredo Locatelli, Durazno, Uruguay, el eskuch@ via playdx via DXLD) 7460 KHz, R.N.R.A. Saharaui en español, 9 Feb. 2005, 2310 UT, derechos del pueblo Saharaui, 44333. Receptor: JRC NRD-535 HF, Antena: Hilo largo 10 metros y Mini Windom, Lugar: Casco urbano Muy atentamente 73's (José Bueno - Córdoba - España, Noticias DX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 3380: 4 Feb 05. 1725 UT, 3380 kHz. Beautiful music, but could be from anywhere. OK in USB and LSB, but poor in AM. Close-down at 1726! SINPO 33333 (Eike Bierwirth, 04317 Leipzig, DL, HCDX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4800: 05 Feb 05. 0045 UT, 4800 kHz. US English, with a sermon, so unlikely AIR (?). Under Chinese station CNR1. SINPO 32322. Guatemala?? Too good to be true with my city-polluted environment. Thanks for any help!! 73, EiBi – (Eike Bierwirth, 04317 Leipzig, DL, HCDX via DXLD) Can`t imagine this Guatemalan in English (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. 5030: On 9 Feb at 1255 noted a weak station on 5030 under CNR. Too weak to identify the language. Possibly news by male at 1300. Is Malaysia again active on this freq? I'm not sure, but it sounded like their carrier was still on until at least 1530 (was just a bit off the CNR freq, so notable). Any ideas? (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 9300, 1120, NO ID, español, celebración religiosa del rito católico. Cierre sorpresivo, 29/1 (Alfredo Locatelli, Durazno, Uruguay, el eskuch@ via playdx via DXLD) WEWN error? UNIDENTIFIED. Yosemite Sam noted here back in operation again on 10500 and 6500 at 1720. 9 February 2005. The last time YS was using these frequencies 3700 was also used so one may wish to check that as propagation permits (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, http://www.iserv.net/~n8kdv/dxpage.htm via WORLD OF RADIO 1263, dxldyg via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ ARRL TELLS FCC TO ``RECONSIDER, RESCIND AND RESTUDY`` BPL ORDER http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/02/08/100/?nc=1 NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 7, 2005 --- The ARRL has petitioned the FCC to take its broadband over power line (BPL) Report and Order (R&O) back to the drawing board. In a Petition for Reconsideration filed today, the League called on the Commission to ``reconsider, rescind and restudy`` its October 14, 2004, adoption of new Part 15 rules spelling out how BPL providers may deploy the technology on HF and low-VHF frequencies. Asserting that the R&O fails to adequately take into account the technology`s potential to interfere with Amateur Radio and other licensed services, the League called the FCC`s action to permit BPL ``a gross policy mistake.`` The R&O, the ARRL said, ``represents a classic case of prejudgment`` by an FCC that knew better but ignored evidence already at its disposal. ``It is readily apparent that the Commission long ago made up its mind that it was going to permit BPL without substantial regulation, no matter what the effect of this flawed application of old technology is on licensed radio services,`` the League`s petition declares. The ARRL accuses FCC Commissioner Michael Powell and his four colleagues of deliberately authorizing ``a spectrum pollution source that has, time and again, been demonstrated to be incompatible with existing licensed uses of the limited and unique high frequency spectrum.`` The ARRL said BPL`s interference potential makes BPL ``a bad method`` of providing broadband services to homes and businesses. While expressing appreciation for Commissioner Michael Copps` concerns regarding BPL`s potential to interfere with Amateur Radio and his call for quick complaint resolution, the League said his admonition ``has not been heeded by either the Enforcement Bureau or the Office of Engineering and Technology.`` The latter has ``inexplicably taken control of BPL interference investigations and has adjudicated not a single one to date,`` the ARRL added. Pilot BPL projects have demonstrated that interference to licensed services is ``extremely difficult or impossible to eliminate,`` even with close cooperation by the BPL provider. ``Not a single interference complaint has been resolved except by termination of the BPL test,`` the League`s petition maintains, and the Commission has ``swept all interference complaints under the rug.`` In its eagerness to satisfy a policy goal, the Commission covered up ``the bad news`` about BPL that it already had in its hands, even before it released its Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the proceeding, the ARRL charged. ``The Commission wanted nothing to contradict its enthusiasm about BPL,`` the League said, and its Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) saw to it that evidence of the ``fundamental incompatibility`` between BPL and incumbent HF radio services ``was suppressed, ignored or discredited`` by ad hominem arguments aimed at the messengers of the bad news, principally the ARRL. In the filing, which included several technical exhibits to bolster its major points, the ARRL further argued that Powell --- a self- described ``cheerleader`` for the technology --- should have recused himself from voting on the R&O. The chairman, the ARRL says, violated the FCC`s own ex parte rules by attending a BPL provider`s demonstration October 12, after the FCC had released its agenda for the October 14 meeting. Powell ``tainted this proceeding`` by taking part in the demonstration, and that alone is sufficient to have the Commission vacate and reconsider its action. The League also said the FCC`s ``late and incomplete`` responses to ARRL`s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests fail to show any support for FCC`s conclusions regarding interference to licensed services from BPL. The ARRL filed FOIA requests in 2003 and again last year calling on the Commission to produce tests and other documentation that the agency said it had used in developing its new BPL rules. The highly redacted information release contained nothing that supports the FCC`s conclusions about BPL`s interference potential and suppressed negative recommendations from its own technical investigators, the petition says. ``The released information establishes that the Commission failed to conduct impartial, reasoned rulemaking.`` The ARRL also said the R&O falls short in substantively evaluating BPL`s interference potential. Beyond that, the Commission used an unlawful ``balancing test`` that weighed BPL`s purported benefits against its interference to licensed services. ``Worse, it has done so in a way as to create a hierarchy of licensed radio services and characterized them by how much interference each service deserves,`` the League`s petition asserted. The ARRL called the approach untenable under the Communications Act, and its marginalization of the Amateur Service ``discriminatory and unreasonable.`` The Communications Act, the League`s petition points out, requires an objective determination from the outset that the likelihood of harmful interference from a proposed unlicensed service is virtually nil. ``There is no statutory underpinning for the application of a `balancing test` between interference from unlicensed facilities to licensed radio services based on the FCC`s preconceived conclusions about the social or economic benefits of the unlicensed service,`` the ARRL concluded. The FCC`s statements and action in the proceeding suggest the agency doesn`t believe Amateur Radio is very important and does not deserve protection from interference to the same extent other licensed services do, according to the ARRL. The interference mitigation rules the R&O incorporates are both ineffective and inequitably applied, the ARRL`s petition further argues. Noting the new rules do not require BPL systems to shut down in the event of interference except as ``a last resort,`` the League said the practical effect is ``that systems will never have to shut down, even though the BPL operator may have proven ineffective at remedying serious, ongoing harmful interference to the Amateur Service.`` The petition says the R&O marks the first time in history that the Commission has authorized an unlicensed service with significant and demonstrable potential to interfere with licensed radio services while not requiring its immediate shutdown if it does interfere. The League says the new rules accord priority to unlicensed BPL, ``regardless of the preclusive effect`` or the duration of interference. The Commission`s ``business as usual`` attitude flies in the face of its own admission of BPL`s higher potential to interfere when compared to other Part 15 systems, the ARRL says. In its unanimous BPL decision, the Commission, the League says, has abandoned its fundamental obligation to avoid interference in telecommunication systems, instead requiring complainants to initiate contact with BPL providers and ``beg for resolution.`` Precluding interference by so- called ``notching`` techniques is not the answer either, the petition asserts. Notching has proven difficult to implement effectively and ``has not been successful generally in remedying BPL interference at test sites,`` the ARRL contended. Even more absurd, the League says, is that the R&O doesn`t require BPL systems deployed before a date 18 months after its publication to comply with the new rules unless the system causes harmful interference and the operator fails to take necessary steps to eliminate occurrences of harmful interference. ``As the result of this holding, it is apparent that the BPL facilities installed before July 7, 2006, never have to come into compliance with the new rules,`` the ARRL maintained. BPL systems not yet in operation ``cannot be allowed to skirt the rules limiting interference potential`` that long, according to the petition. The League`s petition also faults the Commission`s adopted measurement standards. The League`s Petition for Reconsideration in ET Dockets 03-104 and 04- 37 is on the ARRL Web site http://www.arrl.org/announce/regulatory/et04-37/recon_petition/ Copyright © 2005, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, dxldyg, via WORLD OF RADIO 1263, also via Bill Smith, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ MORE IBOC/HD RADIOS TO BE OFFERED "The average price should drop from an average of $800 to roughly $500 per unit, says Ibiquity President/CEO Robert Struble." http://www.rwonline.com/reference-room/iboc/01_rw_hd_ces_gear_2.shtml (Harry Helms W5HLH, Wimberley, TX EM00, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GRUNDIG OCEAN BOY 70 --- A MULTIBAND RECEIVER WITH STYLE Review by Rich Toebe This past summer, my wife and I traveled to Europe for three weeks. I took along my trusty Grundig Yacht Boy 305, which, for a low cost compact AM/FM/SW unit, has been very good at inhaling signals while taking up very little space. Although it only tunes standard AM frequencies, it has a 9/10 kHz switch which makes it possible to listen to MW outside the Western Hemisphere. It has two glaring weaknesses, however. One is that the telescoping antenna is fairly rickety and the connection finally gave out, leaving me essentially with a one band receiver. Only very strong FM or SW signals could be heard now, but the MW band was still a strong performer. The other weakness is that the "other" AM band, LW, is not provided on this unit. So, I resolved to pick up a radio while we were in Germany. I did some research on the web and found that the offerings by Grundig were different than what we were getting. Two radios in particular caught my attention. Both were labeled "Ocean Boy"; one, the 510, had LW, MW and FM/RDS reception; the other, the 70, a newer model, lacked RDS but had SW as well as LW, MW and FM. I decided to look for these models. First superstore I walked into, Saturn (www.saturn.de), which is the equivalent of Best Buy, had a good selection of radios, but at inflated prices by our standards. They asked 259 Euros (€) for the Sony 7600 GR, including 16% VAT, or about US $345 at present rate of exchange --- way more expensive than US prices. But no Grundigs. It was common to see AM-FM radios with no LW or SW capability, no doubt the result of Far Eastern models driving home-grown companies out of business just like in the US. Some "consumer" table models did have LW, but the Golden Age of multiband radios for average European consumers is over. Besides, MP3 is hot now. (If DAB radios were sold there, I didn't see them.) I soon figured out that Grundigs were generally being carried by smaller stores, higher end shops, and not all models were necessarily being carried. I did not find the 510 in any shops I walked into. Apparently it is no longer being produced, but it's still available from some retailers on the web, and on the German eBay. Shortly after we arrived in Germany, we took the train to Vienna. I found the Ocean Boy 70 RP 5300 PLL at Europafunk http://www.europafunk.at across the street from the "Westbahnhof" passenger train station where we arrived in Vienna. Their price was €63.50, including 20% Austrian VAT (!!!) or about $79 US at the time. This price compares with what the YB-305 was retailing for in the US. I was able to use this receiver for most of the time we were in Europe, and to compare reception quality with the YB-305 on MW. I have since used it at home as well. The Ocean Boy 70 is a compact unit, but is slightly bigger than the YB-305. The owners manual (135 pages long and written in 11 languages) states that the dimensions are 210 mm (8 1/4") wide, 115 mm (4 1/2") high and 63 mm (2 1/2") deep; it weighs 550 grams (1 lb. 3 oz.). The 3 1/2" diameter speaker sits behind 3 round mini-grilles. Output is rated as 10% total harmonic distortion at 400 mW. It runs on 6V DC, by 4 AA batteries, and the memories and settings are preserved by 2 AAA cells. There is a jack for a 6V 200 mA DC adapter, which is not supplied with the unit. (nice pix in PDF – pb) [the pdf version of IRCA Soft DX Monitor, available to members] The Grundig Ocean Boy 70, with a copy of DX Monitor and US 25 cent and 1 Euro coins for size comparison Tuning is achieved either by pressing the "band" button, which cycles through the FM, MW, LW and SW bands, and then by using the up and down slewing buttons, or by selecting one of the 20 memories by pressing one or two of the chrome preset buttons. To keep the clutter to a minimum, the top of the radio has 5 preset buttons, plus a "10" button. Hit the "1" button, and preset 1 is tuned in. Hit the "1" button twice, and preset 6 comes up. Hit the "10" button and the "1", and preset 11 appears. Hit the "10", and the "1" button twice, and you get preset 16. The "2" button also calls up preset 7, and 12 and 17 are recalled using the 10 button. The "3" brings up 3, 8, 13 and 18... and you get the idea. An M and the preset number appear in the lower left of the display. Slewing can be done by pressing and releasing, which jumps by one step. For FM stations, tuning is in 50 kHz steps; for MW, it is in 9 or 10 kHz steps; for LW, it's in 1 kHz steps (because of the splits still used on LW), and SW is in 5 kHz steps. The 50 kHz FM and the 5 kHz SW readout are shown by a dot or period rather than a "5" on the readout. Holding the slewing button down for one second activates the "seek" function, and scans until a strong signal is detected. Holding the slewing button down-and not letting go-allows for fast scanning which does not stop until the button is released. When reaching the top end of the band, the tuner reverts to the bottom end. The tuning ranges of this radio are geared to European needs. FM tunes from 87.5 to 108.0 MHz, MW from 522 to 1620 kHz when in 9 kHz mode, and 520 to 1620 when in 10 kHz mode; LW from 144 to 281 kHz, and SW from 5.950 to 15.600 MHz (49 to 19 meter bands). When the Ocean Boy 70 is powered up for the very first time, it begins an automatic FM station search and captures the first 20 strong signals it receives. (Suddenly I was able to listen to most of the major Viennese FM signals!) However, manually setting the memory for each preset is simple. Assuming you have already tuned in the desired frequency, to store it in a given preset you press the blue "MEM" button between the 2 silver slewing buttons. Then you pick a preset, pressing it once or twice or pressing 10 and then the preset once or twice. An "M" flashes in the round display. Press the blue "MEM" button again, and the frequency is stored. Any preset can be used for any frequency that this radio can receive. There are no presets reserved for LW, MW, FM or SW. The radio also sports an alarm clock. The "Mode" button under the round display allows one to choose between clock, alarm setting, or frequency display. The "Alarm" button turns the alarm function on or off (and a bell or musical note is shown in the clock display when it is active). The "sleep" button allows for 90 to 10 minute settings, adjustable in 10 minute increments. When it is activated, a bed appears in the display. The "Light" button turns on the light, bathing the black LCD display in an amber glow. When setting the display to "Clock" or "Alarm", the + and - slewing buttons become the hour and minute buttons for setting the time. Display is in the European 24 hour standard, so you'll see 20:33 instead of 8:33 pm. Volume and tone are adjusted by the two gray rubberized thumbwheels on the left side of the radio. A headphone jack is positioned between the thumbwheels, but output is mono. Two switches on the right end of the radio are used for "DX" and "local" sensitivity on FM and SW only, and for alarm sound or radio reception when the wakeup function is used. An oval "snooze" button interrupts the alarm for 5 minutes. Finally, there is a slider on the bottom of the radio, which disables or enables all of the buttons. Attached to the rear of the radio is a 3 inch diameter metal "loop" (reminiscent of old UHF loops) with a plastic encapsulation at the bottom, which blends in with the styling. It can be rotated out at an angle to act as a support, so that the radio can stand at an angle, or rotated all the way out so it can act as a handle for carrying. The telescoping antenna sits in a cutout. It can be extended to about 20 inches, and can be swiveled horizontally or vertically. Selectivity is pretty reasonable, but on MW and LW it seems that the filtering is skewed to favor one sideband. For example, two LW stations are on German soil, yet only 6 kHz apart-Deutschlandradio on 177 and Europe 1 on 183; both are splits-each offset 3 kHz from the nominal 180 kHz channel. DLR was free of splatter on 177, but Europe 1 needed to be off tuned to 185 kHz to make splatter disappear. The Russian on 171 did not splatter onto 177. Iceland on 189 was not splattered by Europe 1 on 183. DLF 207 was a semi local at our location near Regensburg; it caused no splatter on 198 even during the day when Poland was audible, but did affect RMC-216. The manual does not specify the dimensions of the internal ferrite antenna, and I have not opened the unit (yet). But it nulls very deeply for a portable. I was able to listen to signals underneath super power stations, such as RTL on 234 LW and 1440 MW, when nulled. Sensitivity seemed to be on a par with the YB-305 based on subjective listening in Europe, but until I got more time to DX here during the fall and winter in quieter surroundings, I reserved judgment. In three weeks of DXing in Europe, I was able to log stations from 50 "countries" on LW and MW (counting Canary Islands and Kaliningrad, the chunk of Russia just north of Poland and west of Lithuania as countries just as we count Alaska as one). Not all are high powered receptions; 2 local stations from Britain on 1566, one listed at 630w and the other at 750w, were quite strong as the sun was rising. I also heard Djibouti on 1431 with Radio Sawa, // Cyprus on 990. Turkmenistan was heard under Belarus on 279. Many Spanish 5 and 10 kW stations would show up regularly. Here in California, I have had more time to compare receptions with the YB-305. I shunted the 9/10 kHz switch underneath the AA batteries. All memories were lost. When I turned the unit on, with the whip antenna collapsed, it searched for strong FM signals and found only 5. Interestingly, the settings 6-10 were set to MW defaults of 520, 600, 1000, 1400 and 1620, 11 through 15 were set to LW frequencies 144, 162, 198, 252 and 281, and SW frequencies 5.95, 7.1, 11.0, 14.5 and 15.6 MHz. The clock needed to be reset as well, although the AAA batteries were not removed. In general, I have found the Ocean Boy 70 sensitivity to be similar to the YB-305, but it has a higher noise floor. In one early morning pre-dawn DX, for example, the YB-305 had KMON under KSFO on 560; on the Ocean Boy, KSFO was alone. However, selectivity is superior to the YB-305. CKOK-800 Penticton, BC was in loud and clear with no KGO-810 splatter on the Ocean Boy; the YB-305 was nothing but splatter on 800. Other noteworthy receptions with the Ocean Boy on that morning include a loud and clear KSIR-1010 Brush CO well over CBC-1010 Calgary, a monster KTWO-1030 and KOA-850, and KDIS-1110 all alone, with no semi local KLIB-1110 (nulled). On the YB-305, the Roseville station was about at par with LA's Radio Disney. The Ocean Boy 70 nulls more deeply, although some of that may be due to the higher noise floor. Although Grundig as a company has seen better days (it's now owned by Sampo of Taiwan and the automotive radio division was sold to GM's Delphi), it still tries to live up to its past image. First thing that strikes you is the styling. It's quite unlike most Asian-engineered boxes, and according to Grundig's web site, the Ocean Boy 70 won a design award. Secondly, although it is a multiband receiver, it is designed for the average listener. The styling dictates the user friendliness, which means that it's meant for people who have their favorite stations programmed into the 20 presets. The up/down slewing is fine on LW, MW and FM, but is not practical for regular SW "channel surfing". The fast scanning mode took 15 seconds to go from 522 to 1620 kHz by 9 kHz jumps, 23 seconds to go from 87.5 to 108.0 MHz in .1 MHz jumps, and 15 seconds to go from 144 to 281 kHz in 1 kHz jumps. It just takes too long to run through all of the SW band! I timed approximately 23 seconds to go 1 MHz, or 3 minutes 38 seconds to run from 5.950 to 15.600 MHz. Presets could be used as jumping on places, however. This is a great radio to have on your nightstand, as it has a very legible illuminated display with the frequency and time in numerals approximately one half an inch tall. The alarm function is practical as well. Wake to a buzzer or your favorite station, and the adjustable sleep function is great for falling asleep to your favorite station. The snooze button has a unique shape and is easy to find without looking. While it has good sensitivity and selectivity for a radio of its size and price range (less so on SW), it is not designed to be used the way a DXer would. It does pass the spouse test-my wife uses it every morning! In summary, the plusses and minuses: (+) * 4 Wavebands (FM/LW/MW/SW 49-19m) * Clean, award-winning design with minimal clutter * Illuminated display, timed to save battery power * Good sensitivity/selectivity; good sound quality from internal speaker * 9/10 kHz tuning options on MW * 20 independent memories usable on any band * Deep nulls with internal ferrite bar antenna * Battery backup for station memories and clock functions * Standard 6V power jack (-) * MW only to 1620 kHz * No MW splits tuning (or 1 kHz as allowed on LW) * No direct frequency entry * One SW dial with a long slewing time * No stereo with headphones or RDS on FM * Higher noise floor than competing receivers * No signal strength indicator * No external antenna or ground connections * No tropical bands or 16-11m receptions on SW Unlike the Ocean Boy 510, which only tunes in 9 kHz steps on MW, the Ocean Boy 70 is adaptable to North America. It appears now that Grundig models by Lextronics, now Eton, are becoming a thing of the past. Perhaps Grundig will resume marketing in North America with the help of Sampo. If so, this would be a great item for Sharper Image, but it really is designed with the average European listener in mind. RT- 1/22/2005 (Many very nice pix in PDF – pb) (IRCA Soft DX Monitor Feb 12 via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ AURORA FORECAST TOOL Whenever the AU index goes up and you want to know if there might be some DX in the works, here's a useful tool on the 'net- http://www.gi.alaska.edu/cgi-bin/predict.cgi The website is based in Alaska; however, if you click on the 'Custom Maps' link on the page, it will put up a new page with the globe, where you can click on the map and get a view of your part of the world (Jim Thomas, wdx0fbu, Milliken, Colorado, 40 mi N of Denver 40.19.230'N 104.51.510'W, WTFDA via DXLD) SUNSPOT REPORT: Last week, solar physicists using a technique called helioseismic holography spied two big sunspots on the far side the the sun. Since then the sun's 27-day rotation has carried these 'spots around toward Earth where we can see then directly. So look out if they erupt (Mark Coady, Feb 8, ODXA via DXLD) The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to minor storm levels with isolated major to severe storming at high latitudes. Quiet to minor storm conditions were observed at middle latitudes through late on 31 January, while major to severe storm periods were observed at higher latitudes midday on the 31st. The remainder of the summary period was at mostly quiet to unsettled levels with some isolated active periods at all latitudes early on the 3rd and again on the 6th of February. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 09 FEBRUARY - 07 MARCH 2005 Solar activity is expected to be mostly low with isolated moderate activity possible through 19 February. Thereafter, very low to low levels are expected. A greater than 10 MeV proton event is not expected. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 08 – 10 February, and 26 February – 02 March. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to minor storm levels. Coronal hole high speed wind streams are expected to produce unsettled to active levels with occasional minor storm periods on 09 February, 25 – 28 February, and 07 March. Otherwise, expect quiet to unsettled conditions. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2005 Feb 08 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 Feb 08 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2005 Feb 09 110 20 4 2005 Feb 10 115 12 3 2005 Feb 11 115 12 3 2005 Feb 12 115 15 3 2005 Feb 13 115 12 3 2005 Feb 14 115 8 3 2005 Feb 15 115 8 3 2005 Feb 16 110 8 3 2005 Feb 17 110 10 3 2005 Feb 18 105 10 3 2005 Feb 19 95 10 3 2005 Feb 20 90 15 3 2005 Feb 21 85 15 3 2005 Feb 22 85 15 3 2005 Feb 23 80 8 3 2005 Feb 24 80 15 3 2005 Feb 25 80 25 5 2005 Feb 26 80 20 4 2005 Feb 27 80 20 4 2005 Feb 28 80 20 4 2005 Mar 01 80 8 3 2005 Mar 02 80 8 3 2005 Mar 03 80 8 3 2005 Mar 04 80 8 3 2005 Mar 05 85 8 3 2005 Mar 06 90 12 3 2005 Mar 07 95 25 5 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1263, DXLD) ###