DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-032, February 19, 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 1264: 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 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 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 0700 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5 Tue 1000 WOR WRMI 9955 Tue 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1700 WOR WBCQ after hours MORE info including audio links: http://worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ONDEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL] WORLD OF RADIO 1264 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1264h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1264h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1264 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1264.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1264.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1264.html WORLD OF RADIO 1264 in the true shortwave sound of 7415: (stream) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_02-16-05.m3u (d`load) http://www.piratearchive.com/media/worldofradio_02-16-05.mp3 ** ANTARCTICA. The 2nd ANTARCTIC ACTIVITY WEEK will start this week and will take place between February 21-27th. Details and a list of stations to be active are available at: http://www.ddxc.net/wap (KB8NW/OPDX/BARF 80 Feb 21 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA. NO chance of hearing LRA36 here on 15476v for the rest of this season at least, with Greece via Delano blasting in on 15485 until 2200* (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 6215, R. Baluarte, Puerto Iguazú, audible after too long on 05 Feb 2305-2321, Brazilian Portuguese, preacher, religious songs; 24431 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Conexión Digital Feb 19 via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 15820, LTA, Armed Forces station, B. Aires, audible on 06 Feb 1930-1957, talks, local temperature, news in brief, songs; 23431 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Conexión Digital Feb 19 via DXLD) 15820-LSB, R. Continental, Feb 10, 0650-0705, 35443 Spanish, Talk, ID at 0600 and 0602 (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) 15820.2 LSB, Radio Continental, 1018, 13 Feb, Locutor, ID "Naturalmente por Continental, estamos en la mañana de Contiental, naturalmente, gracias por su compañía a Marcelo Luque". Entrevista, servicio informativo Continental, un informativo confiable". y el tiempo en la Argentina. 24222 (Informe de Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España, Conexión Digital via DXLD) I usually hear this around 2300. I wonder if it adhere to any specific schedule? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. Ciao! RAE 15344.9 kHz heard with suddenly S/on at 1959 UT on 19 February with a special edition of program of Hugo Morales "el primero clásico del domingo Astor Piazzolla" usually the program is broadcast on Sundays, but the program heard was from Paris where Hugo Morales was doing the program via phoneline (as announced). Signal up/down for 2 minutes and after a good stabilized signal has been heard, multilanguages RAE jingles before to start, with YL identification in Spanish. Strong signals in Milano almost till 2100 UT. Very nice program of true Tango music (Dario Monferini, Milano, RX= Jrc 525 15+15 meters outdoor wire at 7 floor, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BANGLADESH. Dear DXer, Warmest greetings from Rajshahi, Bangladesh. Dx News for your program. Bangladesh Betar's (Radio Bangladesh) external Service has made a decision to select a best listener every month. Bangladesh Betar is heard on 7185 kHz at 1630-1730 UT [this hour is in Bangla, not English --- gh]. The postal address of Bangladesh Betar is: G. P. O. Box No-2204, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh. Yours Sincerely (Md. Salahuddin Dolar, President, Global Radio Fan Club, Vill. + P.O. Chaumahani, P.S. Motihar, Rajshahi-6000, Bangladesh, E-mail: msdolar @ yahoo.com DX LISTENING DIGEST) Bangladesh Betar External Service --- ``21st February : A Red Letter day in the history of Bangladesh --- A special composite program on the occasion of the International Mother Language Day 2005`` Date : 21 February 2005 UT: 1230 ~ 1300 (S & SEA) UT: 1815 ~ 1900 (Europe) Frequencies: 7185; 9550 kHz (not in use now) [what about 4808?! gh] Program details : 01. Intro: Highlighting the background history of our language movement. (to be written by the compiler). 02. Song: Amar Bhaiyer Rakte Rangano Ekushe February (Begali) Artist : Chorus, Lyric: Abdul Gaffar Chowdhury, (The theme translation in English will be followed) 03. Talk: Significance of 21 st February in our national life. By – Dr. M. Moniruzzaman Miah, Former Vice Chancellor, University of Dhaka. 04. Recitation: Recitation from the Poem ``Kono Ek Make`` (To a Mother) in Bangla (with the gist in English) W/by: Abu Zafar Obaidullah, R/by- Samia Rubaiyat Hossain. 05. Song: Specially composed song on language movement and our mother language Bangla with the theme in English. Artist: Sabina Yeasmin, Shammi Akhter and Chorus. Program Compiler: Syed Anwarul Haque, Professor, Dept. of English, University of Dhaka. Narrator : Shahnawaz Ahmed and Laily Mawla Producer : Akramul Islam. Happy hunting. 73's from (Ashik Eqbal Tokon, Rajshahi, Bangladesh, GRDXC via DXLD) see also PHILIPPINES ** BOLIVIA. 6105.50, Radio Panamericana, 1035-1045 Feb 18. At tune in, noted a man in religious Spanish comments. Shortly afterwards canned IDs, "... Panamericana...", "Bolivia en canto". This followed with steady instrumental music. Signal was good at 1040 here in Clewiston (Chuck Bolland, FL, DX LISTENING DIGEEST) ** BOLIVIA. 4902.22, Radio San Miguel, Riberalta, 0935 to 0950 'flauta andina linda', much traditional music with excellent signal; 1000 to 1030 ID 'perfecta radio en Bolivia ~ traditional music, 'Alma, Corazón y Vida' with different lyrics and 'Happy Birthday to You' rather than ``cupleaños a ti``. English inclusion in Spanish broadcasts in Riberalta. 10 and 11 February (Robert Wilkner, Pómpano Beach FL, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** CANADA. EARLE FISHER --- Though a bit belated, here are some observations about the late Earle Fisher, the long time announcer on the CBC International Service. As a teenager in upstate New York, and then Kansas, one of my favorite stations in the late 1960s and early 1970s was the CBC International Service, as it was known in those days. Earle Fisher was a mainstay of the weekend programs, especially the mailbag show, called the Listeners` Corner. His melodious deep bass voice reading listeners` letters and answering questions about Canada was one of the most memorable programs of my youth. On occasion, Earle read the news as well. I recall during one of those broadcasts, his soothing voice brought the astounding news of the first human heart transplant by Dr. Christopher Barnard on one Dr. Louis Washansky, the ailing dentist. In today’s 24/7 live communications by radio, satellite, and internet, it is nearly impossible to explain the impact that this news had, and how clear a memory it is nearly 40 years later. In these broadcasts of mailbag programs or news, Earle had a home spun folksy manner, without being fake or hokey. It was a fireside chat among friends, learning bits and pieces about Canada and the CBC listeners from around the world. The program had a Part 1 and Part 2, coinciding with a first or second transmission to many parts of the world. But there was more than listeners’ letters. This weekly program often had a feature on bird calls. Usually one or two species were discussed with information on breeding, range, habitat, and distinctive behavior. This was followed by a tape recording of the bird’s call. In an electronic age when one can find a recording on the internet in a matter of minutes of virtually any bird, it is impossible to convey the wonder and amazement felt on hearing these broadcasts. These talks and recordings influenced my developing a strong interest in birds many years later. The call of the loon was particularly memorable. Could a bird actually sound like THAT? A few years later, I discovered in the wilderness that they did indeed sound that strange, and this led to volunteer field work on the Loon Preservation Project in the Adirondack Mountains of New York in the 1980s. Much of the inspiration for this is owed to Earle Fisher. Many years later, I recall writing to Gordon Reading [Redding, no? -- gh] on a Radio Canada International mailbag show, asking about archival tapes of these programs. His response over the air was, ``Archives? What archives?`` Unfortunately, such recordings of these old CBC programs don`t exist. CBC / RCI programs heard in my teens and 20s were instrumental in arousing curiosity about Canada, and stimulating travel to many of the places heard about when just a school boy. This is just one example of how international public broadcasting can have life-changing impact on listeners` lives. So on behalf of myself (and many other long time listeners as well), sincere condolences to Earle`s family and friends and former colleagues at CBC. Earle, thanks for the wonderful memories. Now for those interested in CBC / RCI history, some questions: What was the name of the quirky, possibly electronic melody that introduced the Listeners' Corner program? [I think I know the answer, but will hold it for now --- gh] What was the name of the feature on bird calls and who was the naturalist / announcer of this program? What was the name of the Mailbag program during the late 1980s or 1990s that was hosted by Gordon Reading, and who was his female co- host? (Roger Chambers, Utica, New York, Feb 19, ODXA via DXLD) ``Nola``, and I can hear it now. Also loved the bird calls, and seems the loon was frequently heard, perhaps as ``theme music`` too? 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) I also did some harkening back to my pre-teen and early teen years when I heard about Earle Fisher. Listeners Corner was my favorite mailbag program for sure. Late Sunday afternoon I think it was on. I must have written him often as I can recall him reading my letters over the air more than once. I once told him I wondered if we were related because my Mother's maiden name was Fisher. He informed me of the spelling difference [?]. I told him about our Sunday family outing to Point Pelee Park and how I made sure that, at least for a few seconds, I was "the most southerly Canadian on mainland Canada." He no doubt shook his head while reading that one. I told him how RCI came in so loud and clear that I could hear him rattling the papers as he read the letters and that I had to hold my hand on the tuning knob of the beat up old radio I used while listening because if I didn't it would vibrate off frequency. He replied that "maybe someday when I get a little older I would no doubt have a newer model radio to listen to Listeners Corner." I heard a snippet, just last Sunday on the present day RCI listeners letters program of Earle doing one of his shows. It was sort of like listening to your grandfather telling a story. Anyway, I vaguely recall the bird segments that Roger mentioned. Its been 30 years now. I do remember that gentle friendly voice. I cannot answer any of the questions Roger asked although I should be able to come up with the name of the mailbag program in the early 90s (Jerry Coatsworth, Merlin, Ontario, ibid.) OK for anyone out there, what was the NAME of the singing group that did the RCI signature tune in the 1970s (I can't think of the title but I sure has heck do remember the group, and yes, I got recordings of that too.) And does anyone remember the segment on Gordon's mailbag program where listeners would be called at home and actually recorded their question to be answered on a future Mailbag show? Did anyone every do one of those? I still have my recording circa 1974, when I was in fashion school and asked about Canadian fashion designers. Anyone know if Gordon is still alive? (Maryanne Kehoe, GA, ibid.) This is what Ian McFarland recently told me about Gordon Redding. In the aftermath of Black Friday 1991 Gord moved to Halifax and became the RCI rep for the Maritimes. One of his kids lived in Halifax at the time. I'm not sure if he is still with RCI or has retired (Harold Sellers, Newmarket, Ontario, ibid.) What does an RCI Rep for the Maritimes do? And does anyone remember the guy who did the mailbag program before Earle and Gordon? (Basil Pip Duke) I do !!! (Tim McGraw, W8BDM, ibid.) ** CHILE. v11801 /v11807, not a spur, male function way off frequency. At present (mornings Feb 17th / 18th / 19th) very fine conditions occurred from southern hemisphere into Europe. UNID Portuguese language station wandering down towards 11800 kHz. On Feb 18th, Thanks to Dirk Nees, Germany, who identified the station as CVI Santiago: 0610 UT: 11801.84, 0615 UT: 11801.75, 0618 UT: 11801.28 kHz. 0643 UT: 11800.08, 0720 UT: 11800.08, 0724 UT: 11800.20 kHz. 0735 UT: 11800.68, 0842 UT: 11802.05, 0850 UT: 11802.10 kHz. 0900 fade-out. On Feb 19th 0845 UT: 11807.07, 0910 UT: 11806.89, 0918 UT: 11806.79 kHz. 0941 UT: 11806.70, 0945 fade-out. Carrier measured at 1009 UT: 11806.36. Transmission of the Pinochet treasury from Calera de Tango, Santiago de Chile. Registered for CVI: 11890 0400-1100 12,13,15NW SGO 100kW 60deg Port CHL VOC CVI Nobody looks at the appearance of CVI outlets in CVI Florida production center? (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Feb 18/19, harmonics yg via DXLD) Maybe you remember I reported this one off frequency on Feb. 8. It was down on about 11849.7 that day, and has obviously moved lower since then (Noel R. Green-UK, wwdxc BC-DX Feb 19 via DXLD) ** CHINA. 10000, BPM, 1130 Feb 19, Time signal station BPM was heard this morning here in TN under WWV and WWVH. Morse ID "BPM" repeated several times followed by female voice in Chinese at 1130 (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. See VENEZUELA ** DESECHEO. & NAVASSA --- See USA --- Farallón story ** EGYPT. Re 5-031: Glenn, Tenho monitorado, quase todos os dias a emissão em português (11790 kHz) e ela continua sendo feita normalmente. A emissora não falou mais em cortes nas suas transmissões em português (Adalberto M. Azevedo, Barbacena - MG, Brasil, Feb 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello DXers, The head of the Egyptian Government Dr. Ahmed Nazeef decided to change the Media Minister Mr. Mamdoh El Beltaagy, to be replaced with the Youth Minister Mr. Anaas El Feqy last week. Hopefully that would mean the new media minister would give it a second thought about seizing some of Radio Cairo's over seas section. The Ex media minister was heavily criticized by several local newspapers today like Akhbar El Youm with some comments about the way he was dealing with some media issues. All the best (Tarek Zeidan, Cairo, Egypt, Feb 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. R. Cairo, 12050 at 0109, traditional music, male lead vocal with echoing chorus singalong, presumed in Arabic, followed by pieces of songs and giggling speech, possibly a music game show call-in contest, fair signal (Eric Bryan, WA, Feb 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 12050 is on very long hours; earlier in our afternoon it is often somewhat undermodulated, but at least not to the point of inaudibility or extremely distorted like the English broadcasts; signal so strong it remains listenable (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, Radio East Africa, Feb. 12 at 0804-0811*. SINPO 25432. Non stop African pops. Spanish announcement at 0811, but not heard clearly. Feb.13 at 0640-0805. SINPO 34333. Slight QRM from Radio Japan on 15195. Religious programs "Truth for the World", "Our decision" in English. ID was heard at 0756 as "Thank you for listening to Radio East Africa." (Iwao Nagatani, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) 15190, R. Africa No.2, Feb 14 *0646-0705, 34443, English, Talk, ID and address announce at 0656 (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** GEORGIA. After a long interruption, Radio Georgia has resumed broadcasts in English since February 12 at 0730 hours on 11805 kHz. The station has been reported between 1615 and 1645 and between 17 and 1730 hours with programmes in local languages (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Program Feb 18 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREENLAND. Dear Glenn, I've just received DXLD 5-030 and I noted with surprise the discussion on our (we were three that night at our DX-location in the lagoon between Venice and Trieste) listening of Greenland on 3815. First of all we used a beverage antenna of 450 meters beamed 330 ; this is one of the five beverages we put on every time we are there. Then we have a digital tape (I can send it if you want) made with a minidisk and before writing the log we sent the recording to my friend Anker Petersen in Denmark, well known DXer and DSWCI chairman, to have a confirm that what we heard was really a talk in Danish. Anker gave us the confirm and more infos, too. Then the news was published on Radiascolto.org by the webmaster Renato Bruni, but no one wrote that Greenland was heard in Italy for the first time, but just, as supposed by Anker Petersen, that it was the first time that it was heard on 3815! A little bit of difference, if anyone wants to read the facts as they really are! Best 73! (Alessandro Groppazzi, Feb 18, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. 4052.44, R Verdad, Chiquimula, 1152 English religious service. This station has English language off and on, for Belize listeners? I would have my doubts, 9th, 0230 'Transmite Radio Verdad' ID by om. Also 13 Feb at 0330, English end of program with 'mail to Post Office Box 4 ...', into Spanish language with YL (Robert Wilkner, Pómpano Beach FL, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** GUINEA. RADIO TÉLÉVISION GUINÉENNE AND ITS "WHITE ELEPHANT" Guinea's Minister of Information, Mme Hadja Aïssatou Bella Diallo, has defended the budget of her ministry at a time of unprecedented economic crisis. In a speech in Conakry, she outlined some of the problems facing the state broadcaster, Radio Télévision Guinéenne (RTG) which need to be addressed. RTG runs three radio channels and one TV network. The installations are largely obsolete. There are seven regional RTG stations, but they only manage with difficulty to achieve their mission. The government is financing the implementation of a satellite distribution system to circumvent the difficulties of using terrestrial links to feed RTG programmes from one part of the country to another. This requires the setting up of reception and retransmission stations in each prefecture. RTG has acquired a new broadcasting centre in Koloma thanks to a cooperation agreement with China, but it’s currently a "white elephant". Although work was completed a year ago, it still isn't in use. For one thing, there are still no regular water and electricity supplies. For another, the staff need retraining in the use of digital technology, and the audio archive has to be transferred from analogue to digital format. Although the building itself is described as "architecture of a rare beauty", it should be noted that the Chinese partners constructed a building without accessories, leaving the Guineans to put the finishing touches to it. For one thing, says the Minister of Information, there is currently no way of feeding signals from Koloma to Boulbinet where the satellite uplink is. RTG suffers from frequent breakdowns of mediumwave and shortwave transmitters, and sometimes also FM. The latest installations in the interior of the country lack fuel and spare parts. There's only one working backup transmitter, dating from 1986. The Minister paid homage to the dexterity of the RTG technicians who she said work under difficult conditions with the efforts of Titans. During 2005, the objectives are to improve the programming, increase staff numbers and bring RTG to a larger number of people in rural areas of the country. (Summarised from a long piece on boubah.com) # posted by Andy @ 09:08 UT Feb 18 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** INDIA. A list of AIR stations has been added into the AIR website with links for contact info: http://www.allindiaradio.org/address/airstn.htm All the links are not available - seems under updation (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dx_india via DXLD) ** INDIA. 9470.0, AIR Aligarh, FM Gold, Feb 19, 0148-0223, in vernacular with ads, sub-continental music and vocals, news, distinctive IDs with young women singing a short jingle in vernacular and ending with ``FM Gold``, fair. Also heard Feb 15, with the same program format and ID’s (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, NRD545, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 4925.0, RRI Jambi (Presumed), Feb 19, 1445-1537, program of non-stop music, wide variety from Middle Eastern sounding music to oldies songs in English (``Listen to the Rhythm of the Falling Rain``, ``Rosemarie``, etc.), all with no announcements, fair-poor (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, NRD545, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Re Molniya vs Molynia: I am not a native Russian speaker, but I do have a degree in Russian and Soviet Studies (well, it was 1974!) :-) Indeed, "Molynia" is incorrect. The most common transliterations are Molniya or Molnya (both are acceptable). Molynia actually means lightning in Russian, and was also the name given to a "flash message" from the KGB to agents in the West. The two words being similar, they are frequently confused. Even the European Space Agency gets it wrong. A Google search turned up: ESA - ESA Permanent Mission in Russia - ``Molniya ... use of a Fregat upper stage. Molinya is now mostly used for placing military payloads into space`` (Andy Sennitt, Holland, dxldyg via DXLD) ** ITALY. Rai, 15250 at 1850, harmonica blues music, pop or R&B with English lyrics, anthem and ID in Italian by man at 1905 and off, started very strong, deteriorated (Eric Bryan, WA, Feb 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Believe this is one of their feeds to CHIN in Toronto --- probably the last ``point-to-point`` service left on SWBC, and what other European SW aims at NAm at that time of day? Does CHIN really relay it off the SW signal any more? I doubt it (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 5965.0, R. Malaysia (presumed), Feb 17, 1453-1506, assume in Malay, local music, two time clicks, ``assalam alaikum``, news, fair. 7295.0, R. Malaysia, Radio 4, Feb 19, 1541-1606, male DJ in English with pop instrumental music and also songs (``Ain`t No Sunshine When She`s Gone``, etc.), ToH news headlines, noted station`s slogan several times: ``All the news you need, all the music you want, on Radio 4`` fair (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, NRD545, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO [non]. This station continues to claim it has a weekly shortwave broadcast. The photos, text and slogan on the 3rd anniversary page suggest it is broadcasting clandestinely using its own equipment. The slogan is "transmitting from the mountains of Southeast Mexico". Surely someone, somewhere, sometime must have been able to hear this shortwave broadcast if it really exists? http://chiapas.mediosindependientes.org/display.php3?article_id=111455 te [sic] 14 de febrero nuestra Radio Insurgente, la voz de los sin voz, voz oficial del Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional cumplió tres años de transmitir en FM en la zona Altos de Chiapas. On Feb. 14, Radio Insurgente, the voice of the voiceless and the EZLN, celebrated their third year of FM radio broadcasting in Chiapas communities. See http://www.radioinsurgente.org/index.php?name=aniversario Radio Insurgente broadcasts FM radio daily in many communities in Chiapas and every Friday offers a shortwave broadcast internationally. The shortwave broadcast is available every Friday evening on their web site at http://www.radioinsurgente.org/ The 3rd anniversary programme they claim was broadcast on shortwave 18 Feb is available online at http://www.radioinsurgente.org/index.php?name=archivo Listened to the beginning and end of the programme: starts with multilingual ID's including English, and at the end the announcer says that they'll be back next Friday "at the same time and on the same frequency", but without mentioning what these are (though on the page it's given as 2100-2200 UT on 6.0 MHz). If you have broadband, I recommend downloading the 64 kbps MP3 file. The audio quality is very good (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Amigos Españoles, buenas noticias -- tomado de: http://chiapas.mediosindependientes.org Radio Bronka reemite las emisiones de Radio Insurgente de México, la radio del EZLN. Semanalmente se reemitirán los programas que Radio Insurgente trasmite por Onda Corta [sic] a través del 104.5 MHz de la frecuencia modulada en Barcelona. Horarios de Radio Insurgente a través de Radio Bronka: Martes 9 a 10 h 104.5 fm [0800-0900 UT] Sábados 12 a 13 h 104.5 fm [1100-1200 UT] (via Alvin Mirabal, ondacortapr via José Miguel Romero2, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** MEXICO [and non]. Radio Educación to Commence DRM Tests in México http://beradio.com/currents/radio_currents_021405/index.html#mexico (via Ulis Fleming, dxldyg via DXLD) All over now ** MONGOLIA [non]. D. P. R. Korea. Radio Voice of Mongolia while being received in Sofia at 1330 hours on 12015 kHz, was fully covered by the loud signal of Voice of Korea which runs on this frequency one-hour programs in English at 13, at 15, at 18 and at 21 hours to Europe and at 13 and at 15 on 9335 and 11710 kHz to North America (Rumen Pankov, R. Bulgaria DX Program Feb 18 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, I expected such a clash when saw 12015 on the VOK schedule (gh) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Re RN on 558 in London: Indeed, this came as a surprise to us since we (or at least, the English department) were not informed about it. We are checking with WRN what's going to happen in the summer period. It may just be a temporary arrangement (Andy Sennitt, RN, Feb 19, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA [non]. Right now on XM channel 6 ("Sixties on Six") they are recreating KOMA-1520's Top 40 format from the 1960s. It includes the original KOMA jingles, local spots, and airchecks from that era. If you want to relive the golden days of Top 40, tune in! (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Wimberley, TX EM00, 0025 UT Feb 19, ABDX via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. Dear DXers, This is to inform you that Radio Veritas Asia Bengla Service is going to air a special program "Amlan Akushey" on 21 February, International Mother Language Day. The special program will be aired both morning and evening session of 21 February, Monday. RVA Morning transmission UT 0100-0127 on 11790 and evening transmission UT 1400-1427 on 11725. I invite you to all listen to this special program. Thanks. Sender: (Md. Salahuddin Dolar, President, Global Radio Fan Club, Vill.+ P.O. Chuamuhani, P.S. Motihar, Rajshahi -6000, Bangladesh, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also BANGLADESH ** PORTUGAL. RDPi - Rádio Portugal - alteração da grelha B04_ 31 OUT' 04. Em anexo, segue a minha versão sòmente de OC do B04 com as alterações introduzidas em Nov'04 e Fev'05 segundo dados recebidos da estação. Attached, please find my own HF-only version of the B04 schedule plus the amendments dated Nov'04 & Feb'05, all according to data received from the station. Melhores / Best 73, Carlos Gonçalves. TRANSMISSÃO EM ONDA CURTA RDP Internacional --- Rádio Portugal Período de Inverno 2004 (B04) – Mapa em vigor a partir de 31 OUT 2004 Target, with CIRAF zones, UT, kHz, mb, kW, azimuth MONDAY-FRIDAY EUROPA (Central) **) fora suprimida a 19 Nov’04 *) Fev’05 06.00 – 08.55 9755 31 300 45º 06.00 – 13.00 9815 31 100 52º 07.45 – 09.00 11660 25 250 55º 09.00 – 10.55 11875 25 300 45º 11.00 – 13.00 15140 19 300 45º 17.00 – 20.00 11630, ex-9460 31 300 45º 20.00 – 24.00 * 9795, ex-7310 41 300 45º 20.00 – 24.00 * 9615 *, ex-9460 ** 31 100 52º MÉDIO ORIENTE / Índia 39, 41 14.00 – 16.00 15690 19 100 81,5º ÁFRICA: São Tomé e Príncipe, Angola, Moçambique e RSA 48, 52, 53 e 57 11.00 – 13.00 21830 13 100 142º 17.00 – 20.00 17680 16 300 144º 20.00 – 24.00 * 11825 25 300 144º EUA / Canadá 6, 7 e 8 13.00 – 17.00 * 15575 19 100 294º 17.00 – 19.00 * 17825 16 100 294º 19.00 – 24.00 * 15540 19 100 294º Venezuela 10, 11 e 12 18.00 – 21.00 * 15535 19 100 261º 21.00 – 24.00 * 11635, ex-15460 19 100 261º Brasil; Cabo Verde e Guiné 12, 13, 14 e 15; 46 11.00 – 13.00 21655 13 300 226º 17.00 – 20.00 21655 13 100 215º 20.00 – 24.00 * 15555 19 100 215º UT TUESDAY-SATURDAY EUA / Canadá 6, 7 e 8 00.00 – 03.00 9715 31 100 294º 00.00 – 03.00 9410 31 100 310º Venezuela 10, 11 e 12 00.00 – 03.00 13700 22 100 261º Brasil 12, 13, 14 e 15 00.00 – 03.00 11980 25 100 215º 00.00 – 03.00 13770 22 300 226º SATURDAY & SUNDAY EUROPA (Central [applies to all times?]) 08.00 – 14.55 11875 25 300 45º 08.00 – 14.55 15575 19 100 52º 09.30 – 11.00 9815 31 250 55º 15.00 – 18.00 11960 25 300 45º 15.00 – 17.55 11635 25 100 52º 18.00 – 21.00 11630 25 300, ex-100 52º suprimida / deleted ::: 18.00 – 21.00 9460 31 300 45º 20.00 – 24.00 * 9795, ex-7310 41 300 52º **) fora suprimida a 19 Nov’04 *) Fev’05 20.00 – 24.00 * 9615 *, ex-9460 ** 31 100 52º ÁFRICA: São Tomé e Príncipe, Angola, Moçambique e RSA 48, 52, 53 e 57 08.00 – 16.55 21830 13 100 142º 17.00 – 20.00 17680 16 300 144º 20.00 – 24.00 * 11825, ex-9670 31 300 144º EUA / Canadá 6, 7 e 8 13.00 – 17.00 15575 19 100 294º 17.00 – 19.00 17825 16 100 294º 19.00 – 21.00 * 15540 19 100 294º Venezuela 10, 11 e 12 13.00 – 18.00 17745 16 100 261º 18.00 – 21.00 15535 19 100 261º 21.00 - 24.00 * 11635, ex-15460 19 100 261º Brasil; Cabo Verde e Guiné 12, 13, 14 e 15; 46 08.00 – 10.55 17710 16 300 226º 11.00 – 21.00 21655 13 300 226º 20.00 – 24.00 * 15555 19 100 215º * Possibilidade de prolongamento até às 24.00 h * Período reservado a transmissões extraordinárias (1) HORA HUC = HORA DE LISBOA may extend until mid night period reserved for extra broadcasts 6, 7 . . . 57 = CIRAF zones (ITU) CEOC – Centro Emissor de Onda Curta: São Gabriel, Pegões: 5 x 100 kW, 2 x 300 kW. Pro-Funk GmbH: Sines: 3 x 250 kW tel. +351-265 89 71 15 fax +351-265 89 74 31 tel. +351-269 87 02 80 (via Carlos Gonçalves, DX LISTENIING DIGEST) This required a lot of reformatting, and it remains confusing with the asterisks, and there was also some color-coding in the original. And I do wish stations would dispense with the clutter of meter bands in their published schedules (gh, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 1000 YEARS OF MUSIC. http://www.vor.ru/English/Exclusives/what_new.html Russian music admirers have now got a unique chance to enjoy a complete encyclopedia of Russian music at home with a set of recordings to go with it. The series RUSSIA. 1000 YEARS OF MUSIC invites you to savour the treasure. In our next program, on the air on Thursday, February 24, we begin to present the Golden Age in the history of Russian music –-- the 18th century. The first to appear is Dmitry Bortnyansky, the recordings of his best works and those that came up in the archives of Europe and Russia quite recently. The program can be heard at 1730 and 1930 UT on Thursdays and at 0430 on Fridays. Stay tuned. * * * Dear Sir/Madam, In 2005 the world marks the 60th anniversary of the Anti-Hitler Coalition countries` Victory in the Second World War. The war against the Nazi plague was the greatest tragedy of the 20th century, with dozens of millions of people having fallen victim to it. The war, the fiercest one in war history, called into question the very existence of humanity. ``That was the war to end all wars,`` wrote a listener in California George Poppin, a Second World War veteran. We would be interested to know your opinion, too. The Voice of Russia World Service would be grateful, if you answered the following questions of our V-Day survey: 1. What do you think provoked the Second World War? 2. What battles would you describe as the key battles? 3. Who do you think were the most prominent military leaders of the Second World War and why? 4. What do you know about the war that the Soviet Union fought against Nazi Germany? What was the Soviet Union`s contribution to defeating Nazism? 5. Why is it important specifically today to remember and discuss the lessons taught by that war? Do you think a Nazi revival is a possibility today? 6. Do you think the mass media gives sufficient coverage to the Second World War, in general, and to fighting on the Eastern Front, in particular? Please, send in your letters with the ``Second World War`` mark to: the Voice of Russia World Service, Moscow, Russia, or E-mail your answers to: world @ vor.ru We`ll accept your messages until September 1, 2005. The most interesting answers will be included in our broadcasts and posted on the World Service web site. Thank you for your cooperation (via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. 21495, BSKSA Riyadh outlet of Holy Qur`an program at 0900-1155 UT carries terrible buzz tone again today on 19th. \\ 11935 and 17615 kHz. Same transmitter is used regularly for the HQ program on 21460 at 1300-1555 UT, carries a buzz tone too. BSKSA's 1st program noted on usual ODD frequency of 17805.42 kHz, registered 0900-1155 UT (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, Feb 18/19, harmonics yg via DXLD) ** SPAIN. Glenn, I know you've written of this before, and I'd like to echo that REE's switch from 15385 to 6055 for their NA English bc is a disaster. They are rarely listenable here in WA, if they are there at all (on 6055). Last year I was enjoying The News From Spain and flamenco music at 0000 on 15385 almost daily, with usually a great signal. I note them in the evenings here on 11815 and 11880 in Spanish. 11880 especially is very strong and clear. I remember good old 11880 from years ago for their English program, and wish they'd use it now for the 0000 bc. As you said, 6055 is too big a jump from 15385. It's just rarely coming in (Eric Bryan, WA, Feb 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) What they really ought to do is put the English broadcast on the Costa Rican relay! But that has never been an option as apparently it`s intended to broadcast only in Spanish and co-official languages! 15385 should work beautifully from there yearound at 0000 to NAm (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SURINAME. 4990, Radio Apintie, Paramaribo 0500 to 0533, 'This is Radio Apintie' clear ID by om at 0505, into Judy in the Sky with Diamonds, and other favourites with dead air often between songs 9 February (Robert Wilkner, Pómpano Beach FL, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** SWAINS ISLAND. NEWS FLASH (Possible New One!). Members of the American Samoa Amateur Radio Association (ASARA) have announced a DXpedition to Swains Island (IOTA OC-200) to take place March 2-6th. Operators will be Kan/JA1BK, John/K1ER/KH6, Tet/JH1JGX/AH7C, Yuichi/JR2KDN, Paul/F6EXV, Jim/N9TK and Burt/W0MY (ex-W0RLX). The callsign will be KH8SI. Activity will be on 160-10 meters on the usual DX and IOTA frequencies. Modes will be CW, SSB and RTTY. Pilot base stations are: AH8LG, WA2MOE, JE2EHP and KH6BZF. QSL Manager will be VE3HO. The DXpedition's support team is: Yaesu, Steppir, JH1BUO and WD4NGB. The original ASARA project team members; JA1BK, AH8LG, K1ER, KH6BZF, K5FUV, W1RU, WA2MOE and AH7C, believe Swain Island, a privately owned island which is part of American Samoa, has a sufficient distance from Tutuila (where Pago Pago is located) to qualify as a new DXCC entity - per the original DXCC2000 Criteria. They also believe the island falls into the same category as Chesterfield, Ducie, and the Australes and Marquesas. The American Samoa's Amateur Radio Association had applied for membership in the IARU under Article II, paragraph 2. of the IARU Constitution, which states, "There shall be only one Member-Society representing a country or separate territory." American Samoa, is in fact, a separate territory of the United States, and is thus eligible. However, the ARRL Board of Directors in January 2004 removed paragraph 1.c) from the DXCC criteria for determining a DXCC Entity. This provision, implemented in 1998 as part of the DXCC 2000 Program, had provided that "An Entity will be added to the DXCC List as a Political Entity if it ...has a separate IARU Member Society." For more details, maps and pictures, we "highly" suggest that DXers visit the following Web page: http://www.swains-island.org/ We also recommend you read the section under "The Rough Road to IARU" (OP DX BARF 80 Feb 21 [sic] via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** SWEDEN [non]. 9520, GERMANY, IBRA Radio via DTK, 1820-1845, Feb. 15, Swahili/English, Talks and choral music. English at 1830 with "Spotlight" program re "The history of futbol". URL for http://radio.english.net IS and off at 1845. Poor, need to use USB to separate from strong co-channel VOA-Greece (Scott Barbour, NH, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hey, great coördination! This is the only English broadcast of IBRA Radio; actually, it`s an English-teaching show, the same one carried in HCJB`s Spanish service; they call it ``specialized`` English, along the lines of but no doubt with a different vocabulary than VOA`s ``Special English``. O, they acknowledge VOA and say 93% of their word list comes from there. No doubt this show is slanted toward religionism. Via above site found schedule for the show, here excerpting the SW portions, cleaned up; they couldn`t decide whether to use MHz or kHz: Tuning In --- Here is where Spotlight is being broadcast currently. If you hear Spotlight on a station not listed below, please contact us. Central Africa TWR Sa 0645-0700 9500 China Global Village Daily 2200-2230 9430 Daily 2030-2100 11580 [what in the world is Global Village? EiBi, HFCC and PWBR do not show anything on these frequencies at these times, except WSHB summer on 9430] East Africa Ibra Daily 1830-1845 9520 TWR Sa 1930-1945 9500 North Africa Ibra Tu 2045-2100 7260 [not in WRTH 2005 unless part of the Arabic 2000-2100 broadcast listed on 7340] Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran FEBA Daily 1400-1415 9445 South America HCJB shortwave [Spanish service] Mo-Sa 2345-0000 15140 Sa 0015-0030 9745 11840 21455 Sa 0645-0700 9745 11840 21455 South India FEBA Daily 1500-1515 7340 Southern Africa TWR Su 2215 3200 (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND. GOVERNMENT ORDERS AUDIT OF PUBLIC BROADCASTER SBC | Text of report in English by Swiss Radio International's Swissinfo web site on 17 February Communications Minister Moritz Leuenberger has ordered a financial audit of Swissinfo's parent company, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). This check, which comes as parliament prepares to review the country's broadcast law, will determine whether licence fees paid to the SBC are spent appropriately. The audit will consider whether the fees are used as set out in the public broadcaster's mandate and whether the SBC is managed according to strict business criteria. It will also seek to determine whether the SBC's system of internal checks functions correctly. The communications ministry said on Thursday [17 February] that the audit was needed to help the government decide what share of the licence fee the SBC should receive under the revised media legislation. Switzerland's private broadcasters have been calling for a larger slice of the pie, claiming that they too play an important public service role. The ministry admitted that the debate surrounding subsidies to private radio and television stations played a role in the decision to order the audit. Mandate Besides setting the SBC's share of licence fees, the government will also redefine the broadcaster's mandate. The new mandate will set out the extent to which the SBC can undertake multimedia and internet activities, and how these should be financed. Under the revised broadcast law, the SBC is likely to lose some of its revenue from licence fees, but can probably expect some form of compensation from the government for any losses. The new legislation is aimed at guaranteeing stronger public service television and radio, as well as granting more freedom to private broadcasters. SBC management said it welcomed the audit, adding that it was in its own interest. The results of the audit, which will be carried out by the finance ministry, are expected early next year. Source: Swissinfo web site, Bern, in English 17 Feb 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. 15250 Feb 18 1100- TWN: Fu Hsing BC, 3rd program. Jammed by a 'siren' sound. Thanks to Glenn Hauser for the tip! (Mauno Ritola, Finland, HCDX online log via DXLD) ** TINIAN. Dear Glenn: It has been some time since I have been in contact with you since the early days of NASWA. I am now the (contract) Station Engineer for the IBB Tinian and Saipan stations here in the Northern Mariana Islands. The reason I am writing you concerns the tiny blurb on Tinian in the February 17th edition of DX Listener's Digest by one Olle Alm, who made some very incorrect observations and disparaging comments concerning our contract operation of these stations. A bit of background about myself: I have survived (and "survived" is a pretty good word for it) over 35 years of shortwave and medium wave dx'ing and have been in the broadcast and related fields as an engineer for about the last 25 years. I frankly admit that I do not know Mr. Alm's qualifications, but as the "person-on-the-scene," I can tell you the following: 1. The incidents Mr. Alm refers to, such as spurious signals, were known to us and came from out PTS synthesizer which has since been repaired. Unfortunately, they were only +/- about 3.5 kHz as the High Q tuning of our Continental 419F transmitters would have precluded spurs over 30 kHz away, so I have no idea of what Mr. Alm heard, but he might want to have an alignment check done on his receiver. 2. Mr. Alm is incorrect about two transmitters being on the air at the same frequency and time. Due to our station's configuration and the fact that it is automated, the computer programming precludes this. What Mr. Alm heard was a secondary audio feed with a delay, patched into the existing transmitter by an operator due to an emergency schedule change because of proof of performance testing on two new low band antennas. Mr. Alm's assertions about two transmitters being on the air are completely erroneous and add little to his credibility. As you can see, the entire issue was that of a delayed secondary audio patched into the transmitter, not of multiple transmitters. Perhaps it may have sounded like that to Mr. Alm, and maybe that is what he based his observations upon. Lastly, the comments by Mr. Alm at the end of his observation that "apparently the BBG badly needs a new operator to take care of things," were extremely unprofessional even for a SWL, and I am dismayed that you saw fit to reprint them. Rome Research Corporation has many years of operation of government communications facilities at all power levels from LF through satellite, and we have always won and re-won contracts by honesty, integrity, good value and professionalism. Mr. Alm is correct that the contract is up for re- bid, however we fully intend to re-win the contract and continue our present high standard level of operation. It may interest you to know that we have recently finalized proof-of- performance testing on two new TCI low-band antennas, boresighted at 270 and 305 degrees. They should be worked into our schedule upon acceptance by the government. With warm regards, (Al Muick, BSEE CBRE MCSE, Station Engineer, Rome Research Corporation, IBB CNMI, PO Box 771, Tinian, MP 96952, Feb 20, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. ``UKRAINE(non): WYFR in Hindi via SMF 250 kW / 131 deg to SoAs eff. Feb.15 1600-1700 on 7520 (55555)`` Ooops, this isn't ´´UKRAINE(non)´´ but indeed the Ukraine, with SMF being the HFCC three letter abbreviation for Kopani. So apparently the Ukrainian RRT company now really enters the shortwave airtime business, apparently with help from Moscow (Kai Ludwig, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Observer doesn`t use [non] like I do. I am forever changing their headings, as I did with this one, in this case to USA [non] in 5-031. SMF of course originally meant Simferopol` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U A E. QSL: 15385, AWR, f/d "AWR-VOH" card, schedule and pocket calendars in 79 days for 1 IRC and an English report sent to the Voice of Hope-China, Kowloon, Hong Kong address mentioned during the program I reported on. The QSL was sent from the AWR-Asia/Pacific regional office in Singapore. The QSL lists the transmitter location as "Agat- Guam" tho every schedule I have seen, including the one accompanying the QSL, lists the site as Abu Dhabi, UAE. Go figure. V/S, A. Kaibe (Scott R. Barbour, Jr., Intervale, NH, R75, 200' Beverage antennas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. A REALLY COOL NEW SHOW ON BBC RADIO 7 ONLINE I've just listened to a new show on BBC Radio 7, called "All Classical Music Explained", which is both entertaining and hilariously funny. The first episode deals with Opera. The humour is very Monty Python- ish, yet it explains aspects of Classical Music very cleverly. My favourite line was "Like me, (George Frederick) Handel was half German and half English, which meant he wanted to take over the world, but was too polite." Thursdays "Oratorios...from the latin Ora to speak and Torios meaning members of the Conservative Party." Also on BBC 7, Walter Lord's "A Night To Remember" about the Titanic, serialized M-F I use the "Listen Again" page to listen "on demand"...note the shows are only up for 1 week. http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbc7/listenagain/ (Fred Waterer, Ont., Feb 18, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. SEN. MCCAIN PROPOSES CUTTING BROADCAST LICENSE TERM Senator John McCain of Arizona has unveiled legislation aimed at shortening the license terms of broadcasters from eight years to three. Mc Cain says that the proposed rules change is intended to let the public and Federal Communications Commission keep closer tabs on the industry`s public interest programming. Under the measure, broadcasters would also be required to cite on station Web sites the programming they have aired to meet their public interest obligations. In announcing his legislative proposal McCain said that he thinks that citizens deserve more than they`re getting from their local news (Information Daily via ARNewsline February 18 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) Amen. However, you still get more US National News via overseas SW, such as Radio Netherlands and The Beeb (Michael C. McCarty, OH, ibid.) ** U S A. WYFR A-05 sorted by transmitter, then by time [not including relays of other stations] [first number is original spreadsheet line number] 10 XMTR LANG TIME (UTC) FREQ (KHZ) AZ ZONE PWR ANT TYPE 11 1 PORT 0000-0345 15130 142 15 100 DRII 12 1 ARAB 0400-0500 9355 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 13 1 ENGL 0500-0600 9355 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 14 1 FREN 0600-0700 9355 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 15 1 SPAN 0700-0745 9355 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 16 1 PORT 0800-1045 9605 142 15 100 DRII 17 1 SPAN 1100-1345 9605 222 11 100 LPA516 18 1 SPAN 1400-1545 11670 222 11 100 LPA516 19 1 ENGL 1600-1800 21455 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 20 1 GERM 1800-1900 21455 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 21 1 FREN 1900-1945 21455 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 22 1 ARAB 2000-2100 15695 44 27,28 100 DRI 23 1 GERM 2100-2145 15695 44 27,28 100 DRI 24 1 PORT 2200-2300 15130 142 15 101 DRII 25 2 ENGL 0000-0045 17805 142 15 100 DRII 26 2 PORT 0100-0145 7520 142 15 100 DRII 27 2 SPAN 0200-0300 11740 222 12 100 LPA516 28 2 ENGL 0300-0400 11740 222 12 100 LPA516 29 2 RUSS 0504-0600 7520 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 30 2 PORT 0804-1045 11770 142 13 100 DRII 31 2 ENGL 1100-1200 7355 222 12 100 LPA516 32 2 SPAN 1200-1345 7355 222 12 100 LPA516 33 2 SPAN 1400-1500 18980 142 15 100 DRII 34 2 PORT 1500-1545 18980 142 15 100 DRII 35 2 ENGL 1600-2145 18980 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 36 2 PORT 2200-2245 15695 44 27,28,39 100 DRII 37 3 GERM 0404-0500 9985 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 38 3 SPAN 0500-0600 9985 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 39 3 ITAL 0600-0700 9985 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 40 3 PORT 0700-0745 9985 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 41 3 SPAN 0800-1145 11855 160 16 100 DRII 42 3 SPAN 1200-1400 15770 160 16 100 DRII 43 3 PORT 1400-1500 15770 160 16 100 DRII 44 3 ENGL 1500-1545 15770 160 16 100 DRII 45 3 ARAB 1600-1645 15770 44 27,28 100 DRI 46 3 GERM 1700-1800 17750 44 27,28 100 DRI 47 3 ITAL 1800-1900 17750 44 27,28 100 DRI 48 3 ENGL 2000-2045 17750 44 27,28 100 DRI 49 3 ENGL 2100-2200 11565 44 27,28 100 DRII 50 3 SPAN 2304-0100 15215 160 14 100 DRII 51 4 RUSS 0304-0400 7355 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 52 4 ENGL 0400-0500 7355 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 53 4 GERM 0500-0600 7355 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 54 4 ENGL 0600-0745 7355 44 27,28,39 100 DRI 55 4 SPAN 0800-1100 9550 160 14 100 DRII 56 4 ENGL 1100-1145 9550 160 14 100 DRII 57 4 ENGL 1200-1300 17505 160 16 100 DRII 58 4 PORT 1300-1400 17505 160 16 100 DRII 59 4 SPAN 1400-1545 17505 160 16 100 DRII 60 4 ITAL 1600-1700 21670 44 27,28 100 DRI 61 4 SPAN 1700-1845 21670 44 27,28 100 DRI 62 4 RUSS 1900-2000 15600 44 27,28 100 DRI 63 4 GERM 2000-2100 15600 44 27,28 100 DRI 64 4 SPAN 2100-2200 15600 44 27,28 100 DRI 65 4 SPAN 2304-0100 17845 160 14 100 DRII 66 5 SPAN 0304-0400 9715 285 10 50 LPA516 67 5 ENGL 0400-0500 9715 285 10 50 LPA516 68 5 SPAN 0500-0700 9715 285 10 50 LPA516 69 5 ENGL 0700-0800 9715 285 10 50 LPA516 70 5 SPAN 0800-1145 9715 285 10 50 LPA516 71 5 SPAN 1200-1945 15130 285 10 50 LPA516 72 5 SPAN 2000-2345 15155 285 10 50 LPA516 73 6 SPAN 2000-0200 5985 181 11 50 LPA515 74 6 ENGL 0200-0300 5985 181 11 50 LPA515 75 6 SPAN 0300-0445 5985 181 11 50 LPA515 76 6 SPAN 0500-0600 5810 181 11 50 LPA515 77 6 ENGL 0600-0700 5810 181 11 50 LPA515 78 6 SPAN 0700-0945 5810 181 11 50 LPA515 79 7 ENGL 0000-0445 6065 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 80 7 ARAB 0500-0600 9930 87 37,46 100 DRI 81 7 FREN 0600-0700 9930 87 37,46 100 DRI 82 7 ENGL 0700-0845 9930 87 37,46 100 DRI 83 7 SPAN 0900-1000 5950 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 84 7 ENGL 1000-1245 5950 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 85 7 ENGL 1300-1600 11910 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 86 7 FREN 1600-1645 11910 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 87 7 FREN 1700-1800 17525 87 37,46 100 DRI 88 7 ENGL 1800-1845 17525 87 37,46 100 DRI 89 7 ENGL 1900-2200 17845 87 37,46 100 DRI 90 7 ARAB 2200-2245 17845 87 37,46 100 DRI 91 7 FREN 2300-0000 6065 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 92 8 SPAN 0304-0400 6855 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 93 8 ENGL 0400-0600 6855 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 94 8 SPAN 0600-0700 6855 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 95 8 ENGL 0700-1100 6855 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 96 8 SPAN 1100-1145 6855 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 97 8 FREN 1200-1300 13695 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 98 8 MAND 1300-1400 13695 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 99 8 ENGL 1400-1500 13695 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 100 8 SPAN 1500-1600 13695 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 101 8 ENGL 1600-2000 13695 355 4,5,9 100 LPA516 102 9 FREN 0500-0600 11580 44 27,28,39 100 CTN611 103 9 ENGL 0600-0700 11580 44 27,28,39 100 CTN611 104 9 ITAL 0700-0745 11580 44 27,28,39 100 CTN611 105 9 SPAN 0800-1000 11970 151 15 100 LPA516 106 9 FREN 1000-1100 11970 151 15 100 LPA516 107 9 SPAN 1100-1300 11970 151 15 100 LPA516 108 9 FREN 1300-1400 11970 151 15 100 LPA516 109 9 SPAN 1400-1545 11970 151 15 100 LPA516 110 9 RUSS 1600-1800 18930 44 27,28 100 CTN611 111 9 FREN 1800-1900 18930 44 27,28 100 CTN611 112 9 ENGL 1900-2000 18930 44 27,28 100 CTN611 113 9 ARAB 2200-2245 18930 44 27,28 100 CTN611 114 9 ENGL 2300-0000 15255 151 15 100 LPA516 115 9 FREN 0000-0100 15255 151 15 100 LPA516 116 9 SPAN 0100-0300 15255 151 15 100 LPA516 117 9 ENGL 0300-0400 15255 151 15 100 LPA516 118 9 SPAN 0400-0445 15255 151 15 100 LPA516 119 10 ENGL 2300-0000 17750 160 15 100 LPA527 120 10 PORT 0000-0100 17750 160 15 100 LPA527 121 10 SPAN 0100-0200 17750 160 15 100 LPA527 122 10 PORT 0200-0245 17750 160 15 100 LPA527 123 10 SPAN 0300-0345 11580 160 15 100 LPA527 124 10 PORT 0400-0500 11530 87 47,52,57 100 DRI 125 10 FREN 0500-0600 11530 87 47,52,57 100 DRI 126 10 ENGL 0600-0700 11530 87 47,52,57 100 DRI 127 10 ARAB 0700-0800 11530 87 47,52,57 100 DRI 128 10 FREN 0800-0845 11530 87 47,52,57 100 DRI 129 10 PORT 0900-1045 6175 160 15 100 LPA527 130 10 SPAN 1100-1145 9355 160 15 100 LPA527 131 10 SPAN 1200-1545 13800 160 15 100 LPA516 132 10 ENGL 1600-1700 21525 87 47,52,57 100 DRI 133 10 PORT 1700-1800 21525 87 47,52,57 100 DRI 134 10 FREN 1800-2000 21525 87 47,52,57 100 DRI 135 10 ARAB 2000-2045 21525 87 47,52,57 100 DRI 136 10 PORT 2100-2200 15770 87 47,52,57 100 DRI 137 10 ENGL 2200-2245 15770 87 47,52,57 100 DRI 138 11 ENGL 0000-0445 9505 315 2 100 LPA516 139 11 MAND 0500-0600 5985 315 2 100 LPA516 140 11 CANT 0600-0700 5985 315 2 100 LPA516 141 11 ENGL 0700-1245 5985 315 2 100 LPA516 142 11 ENGL 1300-1645 11830 315 2 100 LPA516 143 11 SPAN 1700-1800 13800 315 2 100 LPA516 144 11 ENGL 1800-2145 13800 315 2 100 LPA516 145 11 ENGL 2200-2345 11740 315 2 100 LPA516 146 12 PORT 0800-1000 9625 140 13 100 LPA527 147 12 FREN 1000-1100 9625 140 13 100 LPA527 148 12 ENGL 1100-1200 9625 140 13 100 LPA527 149 12 PORT 1200-1245 9625 140 13 100 LPA527 150 12 ENGL 1300-1400 11865 315 2 100 LPA516 151 12 SPAN 1400-1500 11865 315 2 100 LPA516 152 12 MAND 1500-1600 11865 315 2 100 LPA516 153 12 ENGL 1600-1645 11865 315 2 100 LPA516 154 12 PORT 1700-2000 17725 140 13 100 LPA527 155 12 ENGL 2000-2200 17725 140 13 100 LPA527 156 12 PORT 2200-0145 17725 140 13 100 LPA527 157 12 SPAN 0300-0400 9680 315 2 100 LPA527 158 12 ENGL 0600-0700 9680 315 2 100 LPA527 159 12 SPAN 0700-0745 9680 315 2 100 LPA527 160 13 ENGL 0800-0845 5950 285 10 100 LPA516 161 13 ENGL 0900-1145 9755 285 10 100 LPA516 162 13 ENGL 1200-1645 17750 285 10 100 LPA516 163 13 ENGL 1700-2145 17795 285 10 100 LPA516 164 14 SPAN 2000-0200 11855 222 11 100 LPA516 165 14 ENGL 0200-0300 11855 222 11 100 LPA516 166 14 SPAN 0300-0445 11855 222 11 100 LPA516 167 14 SPAN 0600-0700 9505 222 11 100 LPA516 168 14 ENGL 0700-0800 9505 222 11 100 LPA516 169 14 SPAN 0800-0945 9505 222 11 100 LPA516 170 14 SPAN 1000-1600 6085 181 11 100 LPA515 171 14 ENGL 1600-1700 6085 181 11 100 LPA515 172 14 SPAN 1700-1900 6085 181 11 100 LPA515 173 14 ENGL 1900-1945 6085 181 11 100 LPA515 (WYFR Feb 18 via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1440, WTHM Red Lion, PA remains silent (ex religious). Owner Tom Moffett sold it to Susquehanna Broadcasting, based in York. They didn't want the 1 kW daytimer, they wanted the land and paid $280,000 for it so they could raise a shiny new 700' stick for the FM WSOX 96.1. It will likely remain silent for sometime. The transmitter is a 1950 Gates BC1F, the backup is a homebrew Fred Wise special, and much of the studio gear (boards, etc.) is homemade as well, and Susquehanna has no idea what to do with it. Possibility --- diplexing it into WSBA's 4 tower array north of York with 5 kW DA. We shall see. 960, WHYL, Carlisle, PA changes to talk --- 1/2 conservative, 1/2 liberal, with local morning show featuring Bobby Quinn. Route 81, the owner, is without a clue. Worked there, found that out. Runs 5 kW directional E-W daytime, 22 watts night, same DA. 73, (Bruce [of Bruce & Rita, but what`s their surname?], PA, Feb 19, HCDX via DXLD) 1440 is the original WGCB of the notorious Red Lion case, and once the sidekick of WINB (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Reminder of the WTTB-1490 Vero Beach, FL test from Midnight till 12:20 am tomorrow Night / Sunday morning Eastern. Tones, Morse ID's, sweep tones, and more (Juan Gualda, Ft. Pierce, FL, ABDX via DXLD) 0500-0520 UT Sunday Feb 20 ** U S A. WOKY is loaded up with the CW IDs. There will be 4 different times for IDs. I am still working on the WISN IDs. I may have to do them manually. WOKY will be OMNI (best for the west) from Midnight Central time, then 5 kW directional east (Normal day pattern) from 12:30 until 1 AM. It will be in Glorious AM stereo as well!! WISN will be day pattern 50 kW from midnight to 1 AM. Program will be Art Bell Coast to Coast AM. I did not hear back from the engineer at WSSP so I do not know the situation there. My suggestion is that those of you to the west try 920 from Midnight to 12:30, then AM 1130 from 12:30 until 1 AM. If you are to the east your best bet is reverse (Kent Winrich, K9EZ Chief Engineer Clear Channel Milwaukee WOKY WISN WRIT WQBW WKKV WMIL..... and tons of Marti and STL frequencies .....Did I also mention Ham frequencies?? Feb 18, --- [ABDX] Mailing List via DXLD) That`s in CST, so 0600-0700 UT Sunday Feb 20 (gh) ** U S A. Okay gang. Just finished creating the morse code/voice ID segment that will make up the KEVA DX test Saturday night. Most of it is tones with me in between saying "This is KEVA Evanston Wyoming conducting a distance reception test." The morse IDs are both at 5 and 10 wpm. Thanks to Les Rayburn for creating those for me. I used them instead of the morse we used last time because I could not find the CD. This is more or less a "loop" that's about 5 minutes long. It will run following ABC news at 12:05 am on Sunday 2/20/05 and will repeat 10 times. The loops will end at about 12:55 am [0705-0755 UT]. So you have a lot of time to try for this. Good Luck!! Remember we broadcast in AM Stereo so if you use an am stereo-capable unit, you'll see a pilot light too! Looking forward to those reception reports! (Michael J. Richards, KEVA Country AM Stereo 1240, Evanston, Wyoming, Feb 18, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. Patrick [Martin], I agree with your comment that station operators get farther in getting complaints about other stations resolved than private citizens (us DXers). I opened a dialog with FCC some time back about a station on 1480 in Concord CA that has been silent since 1990 or so. They have no special authority given to them, but they change calls and renew licenses on a regular basis. The FCC guy told me they are on the air or they wouldn't be renewing. Before he would lift a finger, he wanted me to jump through several hoops providing them with documentation over time. I told him that it was not even my job to report it to them, as they have staff AND field offices that are supposed to be handling that. I would imagine that someone in the Bay Area would like to take advantage of an "available" frequency, but they can't do it as it is now. On the flipside, I was speaking with the CE of another 1480 station who had been getting a few complaints about a Spanish-speaking station on 1480 that was blasting so that anyone further than 30-50 miles from the transmitter could only get the Spanish station. He tried a courtesy call to good old KRXR (the SS in question) and they went on the defensive. A 10-minute MP3 of the Spanish (including a very clear TOH ID) was provided to the CE, and now KRXR has cut their night power way back. I don't know if another call was made to them, or to the FCC, but the problem appears to be resolved, through channels, and with constructive help from the listening public (Mike Hawkins, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO FREE NASHVILLE: RECLAIM THE AIRWAVES! by Radio Free Nashville 18 February 2005 Radio Free Nashville (WRFN) is a new 100-watt low power FM (LPFM) community radio station that is about to become a reality with its newly acquired FCC license. Our basic idea is simple. We believe that since the airwaves belong by law to the public, the public should have access to them. We believe that we have as much of a right to speak on the radio as we do to listen. And we have a unique opportunity. Prometheus Radio Project is teaming up with Radio Free Nashville to unbuckle the Bible belt for progressive news and music for the Prometheus Radio Project's Barnraising of Radio Free Nashville! Thousands of these LPFM licenses were granted. Virtually all of them, however, went either to government departments-of-transportation or small rural churches. WRFN is one of very few progressive organizations in the entire country to receive one. There are not going to be many stations like WRFN out there. This is true despite the fact that only a strong, national movement made WRFN possible. WRFN recognizes the importance of coverage of progressive causes by "major" media, but has long felt it even more necessary to create and control our own media. We believe that the rather rough & tumble atmosphere of a community radio station will bring diverse communities in contact with each other, in very novel and exciting ways. We believe that our great foes are not so much ideologies as apathy and distraction. And this makes WRFN an enormously important undertaking. WRFN will program a 60-40 mix of news (information, talk and call-in shows) and music. Though each day will have some consistent elements, no two days will be exactly alike. All the broadcast elements will be complementary. Some of the programming will be of national origin. We envision bringing Free Speech Radio, Democracy Now, Counterspin and other like shows into the Nashville marketplace for the first time. But the bulk of programming will be locally produced by members of the Nashville community. A primary aim of WRFN has always been to provide a space for students and other young people to work with professionals to learn to produce their own programming, learn the technology, and above all, to understand through direct experience that the airwaves belong to them. Our goal is to promote young people's intellectual, creative, and professional growth through training and access to media. Five years after the birth of the Low Power FM service, and like so many other applicants, Radio Free Nashville (WRFN) has had to struggle and wait months for even minor modifications. Now after the introduction of the The Prometheus Radio Project (PRP) is teaming up with Radio Free Nashville to unbuckle the Bible belt for progressive news and music for the Prometheus Radio Project's Barnraising of Radio Free Nashville! In the spirit of neighbors pulling together to put up a new building, PRP organizers will gather hundreds of Low Power FM Radio applicants, journalists, radio engineers, students, lawyers, musicians, and activists from across the U.S. to tune the antenna, finish the studio, and flip on the station switch! People will gather from across the US to descend on Nashville to construct the radio station in a weekend. Although, we have a start-up date and an FCC license, we still do not have all that is necessary to get on the air. Radio Free Nashville needs the help of the community and financial support to get on the air and stay on. The start up costs of a community radio station is tremendous and the support of the community is key in making Radio Free Nashville a reality. There is a long list of audio and studio equipment that we will be needing such as a 100-wat transmitter, a mini disc player, stereo limiters, and so much more. The station is also in the process of being constructed and more money is needed to finish the work that needs to be done by April 2nd. Please, Nashville, help us reclaim our airwaves! Let's give low power(fm) back to the people! If some people are unable to assist WRFN financially or through donations of equipment, please feel free to help the independent media cause and come out and help us build the station. Also, WRFN invites everyone to come and join Prometheus Radio Project and people from all over America to attend the Radio Barnraising! Come to learn or teach essential organizing and radio skills, and to celebrate the birth of a new free voice. To register online for our conference, or to learn more about the Barnraising, which will feature dozens of informative workshops, great food, and music, as well as the incomparable experience of building this new station, visit the Prometheus Barnraising registration page to sign up to help out! The recommended donation for the entire weekend is $100 or $40 for one day if you are coming from out of town. Pay what you can afford. If you are coming from the Nashville area, than those fees are not applicable to you. Food and simple housing arrangements are included in the registration price. Scholarships are available, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Contact us to get a fee waiver/reduction. We need you to lend a hand in Nashville --- so don't let money be an obstacle for you! Help us build the Free Radio Movement and demand that democracy be brought back to the airwaves! For more information on the Local Community Radio Act of 2005 visit: http://www.prometheusradio.org/s.312.html http://www.tnimc.org/feature/display/4439/index.phpo Also see: http://www.radiofreenashville.org (via Brock Whaley; and via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) WTFK? Found it right away via Recnet query which includes a map showing site as in the SW corner of Nashville: http://www.recnet.com/cdbs/fmq.php?facid=&call=WRFN&latd=&lond=&city=&state=&party=&party_type=LICEN WRFN-LP PASQUO TN US RADIO FREE NASHVILLE, INC. 4084 SCENIC VIEW DRIVE PEGRAM TN 37143 615-293-3365 FCC Facility ID: 135643 Service Type: Low Power FM (LPFM) Station License Status: CPOFF Current Channel: 255 (98.9 MHz) 1. BMPL-20040915AAA GRANTED Jan 26 2005 Construction Permit Expires: Apr 30 2005 Geographic Coordinates: 36-2'47 N / 86-59'53 W Channel: 255L1 Domestic Status: Modify Construction Permit Elevation: 227 m AMSL Non-Directional Antenna Horiz Vert Effective Radiated Power 0 kW 0 kW [sic] Maximum Effective Radiated Power 0.030167 kW 0 kW Radiation center above average terrain 53.3253m 0m Radiation center-height above ground 21m 0m Radiation center-above mean sea level 248m 0m Overall antenna height above ground: 23m CALL SIGN HISTORY WRFN-LP - Dec 16 2003 Where this callsign has been: Apr 8 1997 on 93.1 in WARRENTON GA - now WGAC-FM on 88.1 in NASHVILLE TN - now WFSK-FM APPLICATION HISTORY BNPL-20010615BAS Original CP SUPER Oct 14 2003 BNPL-20010615BAS Original CP GRANT Oct 31 2003 BMPL-20040915AAA Minor Mod to CP GRANT Jan 26 2005 (via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. The moderator of the Met Opera Quiz, Feb 19, Thor Eckert, may know his opera, but not his geography or pronunciation: referred to a listener in ``La Cánada``, California, who listens on ``WKUSC- FM``! Bet we know which side of the Mississippi he`s from. Altho Californianglos tend to mangle their Spanish names, starting with Los Ángeles, I think La Cañada is really pronounced more or less as in Spanish, right? It has nothing to do with that northerly place (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. NAVY SHORT-CIRCUITS ELF --- by Matt Vogel On September 30, 2004, the US Navy officially closed Project ELF, setting in motion its plans to dismantle the two extremely low frequency (ELF) radio transmitters located near Clam Lake, WI and Republic, MI. These transmitters had been designed by the Navy during the Cold War to send messages to US submarines without first requiring the submarines to surface. These transmitters blasted electricity through the bedrock of northern Michigan and Wisconsin, effectively turning the region into a giant radio antenna. Such a large antenna allowed the Navy to send its encoded messages deep into the ocean, making it possible for submarines, including the Trident nuclear submarines, to approach targets without detection. The Project ELF transmitters were crucial in turning the Trident submarines into first strike nuclear weapons. The Navy began testing this "nuclear war trigger," as it has been called, in 1968, as a part of the military dominance and deterrence strategies of the Cold War. Public opposition was steep. There was a statewide referendum in Michigan against the project, and Wisconsin's Attorney General even sued the Navy to stop construction because of health and environmental concerns. A federal judge ruled in favor of the state of Wisconsin, citing a lack of health studies, but the Navy continued to push for the project. Soon, that decision was reversed by a higher court, for national security reasons, and Project ELF began transmitting in 1989, stopping only briefly for maintenance. Activists who had previously tried to stop Project ELF through legal means began to turn to civil disobedience. According to Nukewatch, an organization which has fought to c1ose Project ELF for many years and chronicled the resistance against it, 639 trespass citations have been issued, on 58 different occasions, over the past 13 years. More than forty people have been sent to jail or federal prison for refusing to pay court-ordered fines stemming from civil disobedience connected with Project ELF. (In 2001, the state of Wisconsin stopped prosecuting Project ELF trespassers and the US government began to do so.) According to Joel Kilgour of the Loaves and Fishes Community in Duluth, MN, who has spent a dozen or so years working against Project ELF, the federal fine was generally $150 and, if they refused to pay, activists were sentenced to thirty days in jail. Before 2001, however, activists who refused to pay the fines that the state imposed often had their driver's license suspended for five years, and some were given jail sentences ranging from seven to sixty days. Additionally, activists have cut down Project ELF's antenna poles five times since 1984, and many have endured prison sentences for this resistance. Furthermore, even though Project ELF was closed, the US Attorney in Madison, WI still prosecuted nine resisters in November 2004, for trespassing onto the ELF site in May 2004. Joel Kilgour reports that, while all of them, including two volunteers at the Loaves and Fishes Community, were found guilty, the judge, citing the. closure of Project ELF, basically imposed no sentence. All told, the dedicated activists resisting Project ELF spent roughly nine years in custody for civil disobedience. The Navy claims Project ELF is being closed because it is out of date and no longer needed. This is puzzling for a couple of reasons. First, the Navy has repeatedly insisted on the importance of Project ELF. Nukewatch reports that, as recently as two years ago, Navy spokesperson Richard Williamson was maintaining that the project would be necessary for another twenty-five Years. The Navy repeatedly insisted on the importance of this Cold War era communications device, despite the fact that the Cold War ended years ago. Second, the Navy is saying that it is going to replace the Project ELF with a dozen very low frequency (VLF) radio transmitters spread throughout the world. VLF is supposed to be a newer technology that has made ELF technology obsolete, but VLF technology has been around for decades, and is hardly new. Opponents of Project ELF have been making these arguments for years --- why has the Navy decided that they are now valid? Why the Navy decided to finally close Project ELF is a mystery. One possible reason is the huge potential health risks posed by Project ELF. When Federal District Judge Barbara Crabb's stop work order was reversed by the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals in 1984, the Navy was basically given the green light to construct the transmitters without conducting the standard health risk assessments. For fifteen years, Project ELF continuously pumped 1.3 million watts of electricity into the area of bedrock in northern Michigan and Wisconsin known as the Laurentian Shield. Several studies have recently linked electromagnetic radiation, which these transmitters generate in huge amounts, to many illnesses, including various cancers. In 2001, the Lac Courte Oreilles tribe of Wisconsin decided to begin independently investigating Project ELF`s health effects. The tribe initially received money from the US government to do the study, but the Navy stalled when the tribe requested more to continue and expand it. The Navy may be seeing lawsuits coming from the tribe's health study. A second reason is the Navy's not-yet-operational, but already quite controversial High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (project HAARP). Jointly operated by the Air Force Research Lab and the Office of Naval Research and: located about, eight miles north of Gakona, Alaska. Project HAARP, when fully operational, will cover thirty-three acres with equipment enabling it to blast the earth's ionosphere with 3.6 million watts of radio frequency power: While there is much speculation as to exactly what all the applications of such technology are for the military, the Navy has admitted that Project HAARP could be used to send ELF messages to submarines. The Navy, though, says the program, begun officially in 1990, is still in the testing and construction phase. Could it be possible that Project HAARP, while not fully operational, does have the capability to send ELF messages now? Whatever the reason, though, the closing of Project ELF is something to be celebrated. However, the specter of the Trident submarine and its twenty-four missiles, each carrying up, to eight nuclear warheads, is still with us. The Trident's nuclear warheads are thirty-eight times more powerful than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. These submarines can still be used as first strike weapons, now using VLF, or maybe even HAARP, technology instead of ELF technology. The military is based on technology and the mastery of it, and the Pentagon continues to develop more and more nuclear weapons. Depleted uranium is being used with abandon in Iraq yet again. Now that Project ELF is closed, Nukewatch, which is closely connected with the Anathoth CW Farm in Luck, WI, plans to focus on the manufacture of depleted uranium weapons in Minneapolis by Alliant Tech Systems, says John LaForge, who has worked with Nukewatch for nearly twenty years. Another concern is the federal government's plans for more nuclear reactors in Wisconsin. While Project ELF will no longer be threatening the people and environment of northern Michigan and Wisconsin, the nuclear danger is still very real: more nuclear reactors, more depleted uranium munitions and other nuclear weapons, and the Trident nuclear submarine, still swimming the seas, still undetected, still ready to attack (The Catholic Worker, Jan-Feb 2005, via DXLD) A word about The Catholic Worker. This is a most unusual paper in many ways. First of all, it`s not online, so the above article had to be scanned and heavily edited to fix it up --- better than retyping the whole thing. Searches show some C.W. material eventually on the web, but the paper seems to have no web site of its own. As I`ve said before, if you`ve gotta be Catholic, be of the Worker persuasion, as exemplified in this left-wing journal. It`s only 8 pages on newsprint, appears seven times a year, and is now in its LXXIInd year of publication. The price on the masthead is 1 cent. Yes, ONE cent, which is even more of a bargain (but try to find a newsstand that carries it, even in lower Manhattan?) than the subscription rate on the boilerplate of 25 cents a year domestic, 30 cents foreign. One can assume CW is making a statement right there, so that even the poorest (if not the penniless) can afford it --- tho I haven`t been billed for the two bits in years, which would obviously cost more than it`s worth. It contains no advertising, but always several good articles (tho seldom on radio topics!), and there are original illustrations which appear to be woodcuts; these are credited to the artists, as well as some calligraphy. Subscription and editorial address: 36 East First St., New York NY 10003. I recommend it for good reading, and you can`t beat the price; tho sending them a bit more than requested will no doubt go to good causes, unlike what you may put in the collection plate. BTW, if memory does not fail me, I think I first picked up a copy of this in the lobby of KJES HQ in El Paso (Glenn Hauser, non-Catholic, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. BILL TO OPEN UP FARALLONES LOSES A KEY SPONSOR Remaining backer Rep. Pombo plans to keep pushing - Zachary Coile, Chronicle Washington Bureau Saturday, February 19, 2005 Washington -- The top Democrat on the House Resources Committee on Friday abandoned his effort to open the Farallón Islands to limited public visits after biologists and a Bay Area lawmaker warned the proposal could harm sensitive species on one of the largest seabird breeding colonies on the West Coast. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., the chief sponsor of the bill to allow occasional public visits to the Farallones and two other wildlife refuges, backed off his support for opening up the islands 28 miles off the coast of San Francisco after Rep. Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, announced his opposition to the proposal. "I am particularly pleased that my friend and colleague Mr. Rahall so quickly understood my concerns regarding opening the Farallón National Wildlife Refuge to public access," Lantos said Friday in a statement. "The Farallón Islands provide truly one of the great success stories in protecting our wildlife." Rahall's decision may not end the proposal. House Resources Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, a co-sponsor of the bill who first suggested the idea of more public visits to the Farallones, indicated Friday he still plans to push the measure. The rocky granite islands that form the Farallón National Wildlife Refuge -- which are visible from the Bay Area on a clear day -- are home to more than 250,000 seabirds, marine mammals such as the endangered Steller sea lion and many other species. The Farallones have been a national wildlife refuge since 1909, and the only significant human presence since 1969 has been a small group of biologists who research the seabirds. Rahall had originally proposed legislation in the last Congress to allow more visits to the Navassa and Desecheo refuges -- both uninhabited islands in the western Caribbean -- after amateur radio operators contended that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was denying them access. Many amateur radio operators consider it part of the hobby to broadcast from remote islands -- an exercise some call "island hunting." But a ham radio operator who lives in Pombo's district had been lobbying to open up the Farallones as well, so the powerful Republican chairman of the committee persuaded Rahall to add the islands off the San Francisco coast to the bill. Rahall changed his position Friday after seeing a strongly worded statement from Lantos, who warned that "even limited public access to the Farallón Islands will hurt the extraordinary birds and marine mammals protected there." A spokeswoman for Rahall said he still supports the idea of opening the other two wildlife refuges, but not the Farallones. "Congressman Rahall's concern is with Navassa and Desecheo, and we regret causing any consternation over the inclusion of the Farallones," said Kristen Bossi, Rahall's spokeswoman. "Certainly, he will defer to the views of Congressman Lantos on this matter." The loss of support from the ranking Democrat on the committee who wrote the bill could be a near-fatal blow to the Farallones proposal - - although Pombo has a significant backing on a committee dominated by Western Republicans. No hearing on the bill has been scheduled. A spokesman for Pombo expressed disappointment at Rahall's decision, but said the Republican chairman believes the Fish and Wildlife Service should approve more permits for visitors, whether they are ham radio operators, birdwatchers or anyone else who just wants a closer look at the islands. "It's unfortunate in this situation that political interests would get in the way of the public interest," said Matt Streit, a Pombo spokesman. "The Farallon National Wildlife Refuge is not a country club for an elite group of birdwatchers. It should be available and open for limited access to the general public." Biologists who work on the islands fear the arrival of birders -- one of the fastest growing groups of hobbyists -- and ham radio operators would increase the stress on vulnerable birds and marine mammals on the islands. "It's a hypersensitive environment," said Ellie Cohen, executive director of the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, which has conducted research at the islands since 1969 under a contract with the Fish and Wildlife Service. "All you have to do is step off a path and you'll crush a sandy burrow. Or you pull up on your boat into a cove and flush off a few thousand common murres or a couple hundred Brandt's cormorants that will not return to their nests that season. Or you flush some seals that crush their young as they stampede off the island. It's just very, very sensitive." Fish and Wildlife Service officials have expressed concerns about the safety of visitors to the islands -- especially during the winter, when winds can exceed 60 knots. There is no dock on the main island, and all visitors have to be hoisted by a 30-foot crane. Critics of the bill suggest that anyone wanting to see the islands should take one of the regular boat tours offered by the Oceanic Society and SF Bay Whale Watching. The tours circle the islands, but the boats must stay at least 300 feet back from wildlife. The legislation would direct the Interior secretary to offer special use permits to visitors "during at least one period each year." Pombo's spokesman noted that the bill gives the Fish and Wildlife Service the ability to set all the conditions, including denying any permit if the proposed use would harm wildlife or habitat. "The general public should at least have consideration for access to their lands," Streit said. Page B - 1 URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/02/19/FARALLON.TMP via Ken Kopp Amateur Radio - KKØHF, dxldyg via DXLD) Not everywhere HAS to be trampled by humans (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Because of decisions made at corporate HQ in NYC, ABC has pulled the DTV feed of ABC News Now. Too bad as it was actually something (usually) worth watching on the box. WJRT in Flint has replaced it with LOCAL news and features 24/7 (humf, a local station that is doing something in the public interest, convenience and necessity. Wonder what sort of crazies there are up in Flint -- and how do we get more of them out here in the rest of the world?) but most stations, including my 'local' WLAJ are just running two streams of their analog station. Zzzzzznork Anywoo FYI, here's something snarfed from the St Louis Post Gazette web site http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05027/448523.stm ABC NEWS PULLS PLUG ON DIGITAL TV NEW YORK -- ABC News is ending a digital television experiment it began with last summer's political conventions. Beginning this weekend, its 24-hour-a-day news feed will be available only over the Internet and through wireless devices. "ABC News Now" had also been available on the digital channels of nearly 70 ABC affiliates; such channels require digital cable service or a television capable of receiving digital broadcasts. Although the network is pleased with the digital experiment, it needed to re-evaluate what distribution methods made the most sense, ABC News spokeswoman Julie Summersgill said. Internet and wireless distribution will continue because ABC News has multiyear deals with such partners as America Online Inc., she said. The network still considers "ABC News Now" to be the future of television news, allowing viewers to watch from whatever platform is most convenient, be it a cell phone or a computer. Yet the audience is very small -- in the thousands, compared with millions for regular TV. Prior to the conventions, ABC began distributing the program on Digital channels in an experiment intended to last through Election Day. The network extended that through last week's inauguration before deciding to end the experiment. Summersgill said ABC News remains committed to the program and is beginning to hire permanent staffers; before it had borrowed personnel from other ABC News shows. -- Anick Jesdanun, AP Internet Writer An article re the background of ABC recently pulling ``Newsnow`` from The digital streams of their broadcast stations http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=industryNews&storyID=7596009 http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/CA500331.html?display=Breaking+News&referral=SUPP and http://www.lostremote.com/archives/003649.html are interesting links about the FCC's recent decision that cable carriers didn't have to carry the extra streams of broadcasters (like the 'must carry' rules that force local cable systems to carry the analog broadcasters) -- probably the last reason stations would have been tempted to keep something unique on their multicasts.... sigh -- who gives a rip what will attract an intelligent, thoughtful audience -- just do what is cheap (Ken Zichi, MI, MARE Feb 19 via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Venezuela is following Canada's lead in terms of mandating local content on the radio. According to an article in the New York Times, a new law requires that "At least 50 percent of a radio station's programming must be Venezuelan music and at least 85 percent of its commercials must be Venezuelan-made. The law allows the government to impose fines and permits regulators to close stations that break the rules." With so few Venezuelans on SW any more, this is mostly of interest to MW DXers (Don Moore, Feb ARC LA Info, edited by Tore B. Vik, via Tore Larsson, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [and non]. 7087 kHz (usb), Red Nacional de Emergencia, 15-02-2005, 1345 UT, se hacían llamados a las estaciones que estaban en la población de Santa Cruz de Mora, donde las lluvias caídas han causado mucho daño. 6730 kHz (usb), Protección Civil Venezuela, 15-02-2005, 1430 UT, una persona estaba llamando para que le hicieran el favor de hacerle un puente con la ciudad de Mérida, ya que no tenía comunicación con nadie de allí. Luego se preguntó si hacían falta funcionarios de PC para enviarlos, a lo que le respondieron, llame a PC Nacional para que le informen lo que quiere saber, ya que aquí no hay nadie de los grupos de rescate. 5000 kHz, Observatorio Naval Cajigal (YVTO), 15-02-2005, 1438 UT, esta señal horaria venezolana continúa llegando a mi ciudad con una fuerte señal, pero así mismo sigue el fuerte ruido de fondo que la afecta. 7100 kHz (lsb), Red de Servicio del Radio Club de Venezuela, 17-02- 2005, 1155 UT, comunicados y comunicaciones entre estaciones de radioaficionados de Venezuela y otros países. Debo destacar que este servicio prestó gran ayuda durante los días que las fuertes lluvias azotaron a nuestro país dejando muchos muertos y a muchas personas sin sus casas y pertenencias. Esta era una manera de mantenerse al tanto de cómo estaban las condiciones meteorológicas en diferentes estados venezolanos gracias a los reportes de los diferentes radioaficionados. 7122 kHz (lsb), Radio Ayuda Internacional de Venezuela, 17-02-2005, 1158 UT, al momento de esta escucha se estaba presentando un colega radioaficionado, quien hacía una invitación a esta frecuencia para participar en la rueda, "Haz el bien sin mirar a quien", la cual se lleva a cabo todos los domingos a partir de las 9 de la mañana [1300 UT] Estaremos pendientes este fin de semana a ver si logramos escucharlos- 7145 kHz (lsb), Cadena HK Confraternidad, 17-02-2005, 1211 UT, Cadena de radioafiocionados colombianos, donde también se reportan radioaficonados de otros países. El colega que conducía la rueda en ese momento informaba que estaba incomunicado via terrestre y que sólo por vía aérea estaban recibiendo ayuda. Hay que destacar que también en Colombia, las lluvias han causado muertos y gran daño a la población. 14130 kHz (usb), Cadena Caribeña, 17-02-2005, 0145 UT, comunicados entre radioaficionados de diferentes países; escuché de Venezuela, México, Rep. Dominicana, Colombia, etc. Hago una cordial invitación para reportar este tipo de transmisiones, las cuales se convierten en gran ayuda cuando se presentan calamidades en alguna región de nuestra América y el mundo. Las frecuencias señaladas el día de hoy están activas y en completo funcionamiento. Bueno queridos amigos, hasta aquí las informaciones por este sábado, les invito a participar enviando sus colaboraciones. Atte (José Elías Díaz Gómez, Venezuela, Conexión Digital Feb 19 via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. I seem to hear a fair number of stations that don't appear in any of the Databases, PWBR etc. 7175 Unknown, Unknown Unknown, 23332, Unknown. Arabic or Turkish sounding music with an OM announcer followed by a YL announcer. ILG & HFCC says China Radio International, but I'm not so sure. Perhaps Radio Liberty? Not very strong. 0313 UT Feb 17 (Phil KO6BB Atchley, Merced CA, swl at qth.net via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. Checked 15345 Feb 19 after 1505 – Arabic music; recheck 1555, spirited discussion, must have been about sports or politix; 1559 ID mentioning Maghreb, so this is Morocco. No sign of any other station on frequency after 1600, either (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks Glenn. I mean the eibi.de.vu/ list by frequency, the Oct 04- March 05 list, doesn't show Morocco on 15345 any more (but the previous frequency list did). (Eric Bryan, WA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ BILL TARGETS PUBLIC BROADBAND The bill is in draft form and has not been filed. It is being backed by Sprint, BellSouth, Verizon and Comcast, among others. Last year, a similar bill died when it was caught in a crossfire between the House and the Senate. Brinkworth is concerned because he and his staff are studying the idea of providing broadband services over the city's power lines. If the law is passed, he said, those plans would be hampered, if not dashed. "We will talk with the City Commission about what broadband over power lines (BPL) could do for the city of Tallahassee in terms of broadband communications access," Brinkworth said. That idea does not sit well with Charles Rehwinkel, state vice president for Sprint-Florida. "Our position is that most fundamentally, you are using tax dollars to engage in a private enterprise," Rehwinkel said. He said "serious questions should be raised (about) whether it's an appropriate enterprise ... using involuntarily contributed tax dollars" to subsidize a service that competes with the private sector. Full Story - http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/business/10937628.htm (via Ken Kopp, dxldyg via DXLD) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ SHORTWAVE DX HANDBOOK Last week we mentioned that the highly successful "Kurzwellen DX- Handbuch" by Enrico Stumpf-Siering, DL2VFR, originally published in German in June 2003, is now available in English. Several have asked "Where can I get the book?". We recommend checking out the following Web page at: http://www.darcverlag.de Also, contact Harry Radke, DB2HR, via: verlag@darcverlag.de Or DARC Verlag GmbH, Lindenallee 6, 34225 Baunatal, Germany Tel. (05 61) 9 49 88-73 Fax (05 61) 9 49 88-55 (KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 Feb 21 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) Does it go beyond ham radio?? (gh, DXLD) RADIO STAMPS ++++++++++++ THE COLLECTION AND STUDY OF RADIO STAMPS Collecting and studying radio stamps is a fascinating side to the hobby of DXing. Throughout the world many countries have issued stamps with a radio or telegraphy theme. There are many topics that can be found on stamps. This can be broadened to include postal cancellations, new stamp issues, First Day covers, early postcards, EKKO stamps (or verification stamps), radio communications (radio telegraphy and wire telegraphy), radio programmes, personalities and anniversaries. Some countries such as Ecuador have issued special stamps to commemorate their years of service. One of the very unusual and unique Radio stamps was issued by the Dutch Post Office to commemorate Radio Oranje (Radio Orange), which was a programme compiled and presented by the Dutch Government in exile and broadcast over BBC transmitters during the Second World War. The broadcasting service in Holland went into Nazi control when Holland capitulated in May 1940. The first Radio Oranje broadcast from London was at the end of July 1940. The Nazi occupying power forbad listening to foreign radio stations and the transmissions of Radio Oranje were jammed. The two stamps are unusual as they are printed side by side on each sheet. One of the stamps shows a singer ``Jetje of Orange`` who sang resistance songs. The other stamp shows two men illegally listening to the broadcasts using a home made radio receiver hidden under the floor of a house. The text on the stamps is from the opening announcement giving the wavelengths and greeting sent to Dutch listeners around the world. There were some first day covers issued which showed the Radio Oranje banners from the original rubber stamp used in London on official correspondence. These covers are now considered collectors items. After the war many of the broadcasters with Radio Oranje were involved in the foundation of Radio Netherlands. On 23 March 1994, New Zealand Post issued a set of six stamps which took a nostalgic look at life in New Zealand in the 1950s. The $1 stamp featured a portrait of ``Aunt Daisy`` with a table model radio in the background. ``Aunt Daisy`` was one of New Zealand`s greatest broadcasting personalities. Her distinctive voice enthralled all ages during her daily broadcasts reflecting the joy and hopefulness of human life. Who in New Zealand at that time can forget the children’s session when she introduced the `Cheerful Chirpers`. The theme music for the children was borrowed from the famous march of the American Civil War `Marching through Georgia` and began ``Listen now to 2YA, we`ll sing a cheerful song: Sing it with a spirit that will start the world along: For now the children’s session’s more than twenty thousand strong; Big friends and little friends of Radio``. As well as the countries that issued stamps, individual Radio Stations issued QSL or verification stamps. These were called EKKO QSL stamps. I received a QSL stamp from KFI Los Angeles, California (Jan 24, 1952) and another from KFSD San Diego California. (May 9,1952). These are now a treasured part of my collection. Then there are the unique AWR QSL stamps, which were issued in the 1980s and used by AWR (Southern) Asia. These early verification stamps are now sought after by collectors. With the decline in sending out of reception reports and with verifications becoming more difficult to receive, these early radio stamps and envelopes are becoming quite rare. Collecting radio stamps together with the envelopes and verifications can be an added and fascinating addition to the DXing hobby (Peter J. Grenfell, Oamaru, NEW ZEALAND DX TIMES PAGE 46 FEBRUARY 2005 via DXLD) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Welcome to Glenn! As for Glenn using posts from ABDX, I agree with John Callarman. Nothing I say on any list is private. In fact, I'm always flattered and appreciative when Glenn mentions something that I've posted. Glenn has always given my Mexico TV ID and TV DX photograph web pages positive publicity, and I'm very thankful for that. Most of all, I thank Glenn for his many years of writing and talking about DXing! (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, ABDX) ###