DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-097, June 16, 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 Extra 57: Thu 2300 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Fri 0000 WOR WTND-LP 106.3 Macomb IL Fri 0200 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream [repeated 2-hourly thru 2400] Fri 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Fri 2105 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Fri 2300 WOR Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 87.35 96.55 105.55 Sat 0000 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream Sat 0800 WOR WRN to Eu, Au, NZ, WorldSpace AfriStar, AsiaStar Sat 0855 WOR WNQM Nashville TN 1300 Sat 1030 WOR WWCR 5070 Sat 1330 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5 [also WPKM Montauk LINY 88.7] [at 1000 from July] Sat 1730 WOR WRN to North America (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 115) Sat 1730 WOR WRMI 7385 [from WRN] Sun 0230 WOR WWCR 5070 Sun 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0330 WOR WRMI 7385 Sun 0630 WOR WWCR 3210 Sun 0730 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Sun 0830 WOR WRN to North America, also WLIO-TV Lima OH SAP (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 115) Sun 0830 WOR KSFC Spokane WA 91.9 Sun 0830 WOR WXPR Rhinelander WI 91.7 91.9 100.9 Sun 0830 WOR WDWN Auburn NY 89.1 [unconfirmed] Sun 0830 WOR KTRU Houston TX 91.7 [occasional] Sun 1200 WOR WRMI 7385 Sun 1300 WOR KRFP-LP Moscow ID 92.5 Sun 1730 WOR WRMI 7385 [from WRN] Sun 1730 WOR WRN1 to North America (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 115) Sun 1900 WOR Studio X, Momigno, Italy 1584 87.35 96.55 105.55 Sun 1900 WOR RNI Mon 0230 WOR WRMI 7385 Mon 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 [1276] Mon 0415 WOR WBCQ 7415 [time varies, e.g. 0419 May 30] Mon 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours MORE info including audio links: http://worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ON DEMAND [from Friday]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also for CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: WORLD OF RADIO Extra 57 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx57h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx57h.rm [Extra 57 is same as COM 05-03, with WOR opening added to hi version] WORLD OF RADIO Extra 57 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0503.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0503.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0503.html WORLD OF RADIO Extra 57 in true shortwave sound of Alex`s mp3 Keep checking http://www.dxprograms.net Note: there have been a number of mixups lately on all of our US SW outlets, the wrong edition airing. WORLD OF RADIO ON RNI: Note that our première time has shifted one hour earlier to Sunday 3 pm ET, = 1900 UT via http://www.11L-rni.com The daily archive plays remain at 6 am ET = 1000 UT. Note the nice logo design provided for us at http://www.11l-rni.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=8 EDITOR`S NOTE: As you may have noticed we have taken a few days off, but the material piles up unabated. This issue can only cover a fraction of that, and we hope to dig deeper into the backlog for the following issues. ** AFGHANISTAN. TALEBAN SET UP TWO MORE RADIO STATIONS, ANNOUNCE AMBITIOUS AFGHAN PLANS | Excerpt from report by Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press news agency Peshawar, 11 June: The Taleban have set up two more radio stations in Afghanistan and say that the total number of Taleban radio stations will reach 20. Speaking to the Afghan Islamic Press from an unknown location today, Taleban spokesman Mofti Latifollah Hakimi said that the Taleban have recently set up two more radio stations, which have begun broadcasting fairly successfully. Hakimi added: "With the setting up of these two stations, the total number of active Taleban radio stations is now three. We are intending to activate more such stations." Hakimi, who repeatedly called his radio "Voice of Shari'ah", said: "At present, three shari'ah radio stations are functioning. Two other stations will be set up soon and five others are ready to be dispatched to other regions of Afghanistan. We have also issued an order for the construction of 10 further units, bringing the total number of Voice of Shari'ah radio stations to 20." In response to a question, the Taleban spokesman said: "We intend to set up a unit in Kabul, as well as one in the north of the country." In reply to a question about whether or not Afghan and US soldiers have tried to find the units already functioning, Mofti Latifollah Hakimi said: "Why not. They mounted patrols in Zabol, Urozgan and Kandahar Provinces for 40 consecutive days, but were unable to find this unit." In reply to another Afghan Islamic Press question about why the Americans have been unable to find this unit, despite having so much advanced technology at their disposal, Hakimi said: "The fact is that the Americans are not capable of discovering such units. Whatever they have said in the past about this was part of a propaganda war. In addition to this, our radio broadcasts at sunrise and sunset. The Americans can not pinpoint the frequencies on which the radio station is broadcasting." Another important factor here, Hakimi said, is that their radio station is a mobile station. This is why the Americans cannot find it. Hakimi told Afghan Islamic Press that the Taleban, with the help of these 20 radio stations, will be able to carry the Taleban's message of freedom to all areas of Afghanistan and the voice of Voice of Shari'ah will be heard all over Afghanistan. The Taleban spokesman repeated that all these radio stations will try to broadcast in local languages, in addition to Pashto and Dari, so that they will be accessible to everyone. [Passage omitted: What Taleban did with the radio when they were in power] Source: Afghan Islamic Press news agency, Peshawar, in Pashto 0959 gmt 11 Jun 05 (via DXLD) ** ANTARCTICA [and non]. Re Voz Cristã QSY: Excelente noticia Glenn. Gracias por compartirla. Martes, miercoles y jueves de la pasada semana, en que tuve oportunidad de regresar temprano a casa fue triste no poder escuchar a LRA36. 73's (Arnaldo Slaen, condiglist via DXLD) Arnaldo, Apenas alguns esclarecimentos a respeito da decisão da Voz Cristã de mudar a freqüência para que não paire dúvidas e mal- entendidos: A Voz Cristã, desde o primeiro dia da ida para 15475 kHz procurou, por diversas vias, entrar em contato com as duas emissoras que estavam naquele canal, não obtendo êxito. Vale ressaltar que a Voz Cristã faz parte do consórcio HFCC, portanto, gozando de pleno direito de escolha dos canais. Tal, infelizmente, não ocorre com a LRA-36 que, mesmo assim, foi avisada do evento [ao contrário do que alguns assinantes, especialmente dos Estados Unidos e Europa, tentaram passar para a comunidade dexista internacional nas listas de discussão e em alguns programas!]. A LR-36 [sic] conformou-se em informar que seu alvo preferencial [target] não era o Brasil e sim a Argentina; Desde o primeiro dia daquela mudança, diversos colegas tanto do Brasil como de outros países passaram a sugerir, de forma educada, mudança para outros canais, para preservar o dexismo internacional que pretendia prosseguir captando a LRA-36. A emissora leu todas as sugestões, tanto é assim que a mudança ocorreu. Pessoalmente, sugeri ao apresentador Edson Bruno mudanças mais radicais para a Voz Cristã, inclusive com a saída da faixa de 19 metros. Eu ainda acredito que novas mudanças e aberturas de novas freqüências em horários diurnos [aqui no Brasil!] seriam ideais para a Voz Cristã atingir seus objetivos como emissora, tal qual ocorre com a Voz Cristiana. A saída de 21500 kHz e a ida para 19 metros foi sugerida por mim, há algum tempo, uma vez que poucos receptores brasileiros têm os 13 metros e isso ja estava sendo constatado pela direção da emissora no contato com os seus ouvintes [nós, dexistas, não somos alvos]. De negativo, como colaborador da Voz Cristã [não por ser a Voz Cristã, pois colaboro com outras emissoras como a RDP, Rádio Romênia, etc.] lastimo que alguns dexistas enviaram mensagens "desrespeitosas" para a emissora, com palavras ásperas e de forma descortês. Tal atitude, na minha opinião, não coaduna com o espírito de camaradagem que eu vejo no dexismo. Mas, isso depende da cabeça de cada um. Nem todos têm os mesmos objetivos e crenças. Eu, por exemplo, desde o início das escutas em ondas curtas, aprendi que a linguagem do rádio é diferente: o rádio não distingue raça, cores partidárias, países, religiões etc. Agora, é "bola para a frente". Vamos ouvir a LR-36 [sic], as belas músicas do Gabão pela Afrique Numero Un. E a a Voz Cristã, é claro! Aproveito para convidar a todos para sintonizarem o espaço Altas Ondas, que vai ao ar, nas sextas e sábados, às 1500 UTC, a partir do dia 20, em 15485 kHz, que tem a participação de integrantes do DX Clube do Brasil na produção. O endereço do programa para contato é altasondas@.... [truncated by yg] O espaço Altas Ondas é uma cortesia especial do apresentador Edson Bruno, que é um aficcionado das ondas curtas, tanto é assim que, por exemplo, a Voz Cristiana em espanhol, não possui espaço semelhante. No último dia 3 de junho, Jeff Whitte, gerente da Rádio Miami Internacional e presidente da entidade que congrega as emissoras norte-americanas que emitem em ondas curtas, foi entrevistado por mais de 30 minutos no Altas Ondas (Célio Romais, Porto Alegre, Brasil http://www.romais.jor.br condiglist via DXLD) Célio, who contributes to VC`s DX program, continues to blame LRA-36, and says since VC is a member of HFCC it has a perfect right to choose its frequencies. Furthermore, it was Célio who suggested in the first place that VC move from 21 to 15 MHz, because not many Brazilian radios have 13m on them (tho let us hope not to the specific frequency of 15475). While I agree that LRA-36 ought to participate in frequency coordination, and indeed titled my Monitoring Times piece ``Coordinate or get Covered!`` (should have said Clobbered), the fact is that there are many stations besides LRA-36 which for one reason or another do not participate in HFCC. The participants in HFCC need to recognize that there is the HFCC world, and there is the REAL world. The REAL world must be taken into account in HFCC frequency coordination sessions, if for on other reason than self-interest by the HFCC crowd!! The REAL world can be researched by consulting remote monitoring logs, keeping up with DX publications, or consulting knowledgeable monitors, amateur or professional. If any of this had been done, VC would have known that LRA-36 was on 15476 at 1800-2100 UT. They might also have known that there is great interest worldwide in being able to monitor this unique station, far beyond its nominal target area. But some stations such as this are so out-of-it, that it is up to interested listeners to protect their interests if the stations will not or cannot do it themselves. As perhaps the most remote SW station on earth, LRA-36 ought to get some special consideration, and not be blamed for merely continuing to operate on the frequency it has used for many, many years. VC using 15475 was an even greater mistake from VC`s point of view, because ANO Gabon 15475 IS on the HFCC schedule for A-05, yet was considered an acceptable share! This is one of many examples of believing that signals into a certain CIRAF zone are not going to carry on any further, or bleed into adjacent zones! Those who believe that must lack any practical experience in SW listening. Before VC showed up on 15475, we were concerned with the one-hour overlap 1800-1900 between Gabon and LRA-36, but hadn`t pressed the issue with ANO, since at least the other two hours were unencumbered. LRA-36 might have shifted one hour later to compensate, 1900-2200 instead of 1800-2100, but perhaps that is also too much to expect. They could still do that, as VC will no longer be on 15475 after 2100 as it was in previous seasons. As for 15485, will there be any problems with it? Not much usage is shown in the censored public version of HFCC A-05 during these hours, just 15485 1600 2200 7-11 DL 250 75 1234567 270305 301005 D GR GRC ERA ERA 15485 0700 1700 27SE,28W,37 SKN 300 180 1234567 270305 301005 D G BBC MER And we know that the ERA Delano one is a ``wooden`` standby alternative, instead of 17705 which is actually in use. But the BBC has been on 15485 for years, one of the replacements for 15070. The CIRAF targets for that are W Europe and N Africa. Oh, oh, I`ll bet there is again a collision, at least in N Africa, where both beams cross, this time between VC and BBCWS (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) En días pasados he enviado un mail al personal de LRA 36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel, para comunicarles la buena nueva del cambio de frecuencia de Radio Voz Cristiana en Portugués, que se moverá desde los 15475 a los 15485 kHz, dejando de interferir, de este modo a LRA 36. Dicho mail decía lo siguiente: "Hola amigos de LRA 36, espero que todos Vds. se encuentren bién en la base. Estas letras son para comunicarles una buena noticia, y es que luego de las protestas habidas en contra de Radio Voz Cristiana, de Chile, encabezadas por Glenn Hauser y otros amigos de la onda corta, entre los que me encuentro, esta emisora, a partir del día 20 de Junio, cambiará su frecuencia de transmisión de 15475 a 15485 kHz. y así dejará de interferir a LRA 36, Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel. De esta forma podré escucharlos en España, al igual que el año pasado, que por cierto, por estas fechas se recibía aquí, LRA 36 bastante bién, sobre todo en su última hora de transmisión, o sea, entre las 20 y laas 21 UTC. Reciban un abrazo desde España. Manuel Méndez Bien, pues acabo de recibir contestación de la emisora antártida, que copio: "Gracias Manuel, te mandamos un fuerte abrazo desde la distancia todos los que trabajamos en esta emisora, no creo que este año vayas a recibir una señal tan buena como el año pasado dado que nuestro actual equipo de transmisión es uno alternativo en reemplazo del principal que se encuentra en estos momentos averiado. Igualmente nos alegramos de recibir esta grata noticia. Reiteramos nuestro saludo y agradecimiento a todos Uds. quienes hicieron posible esto. Jorge Villagra." (Manuel Méndez, Lugo, España, June 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Is glad to hear of this development, but we still may not be able to hear it as well as before, once the frequency is clear, since they are using a standby transmitter since the main one broke down (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BAHAMAS. Visitors to ZNS Web site are greeted with a page titled "Account Suspended," with text that says "Website under construction." (Mike Cooper, GA, Jun 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM [non]. Here is the reason why also no TDP Radio transmission could be observed last Saturday on 6015: It had been moved to 3955. http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?s=b07fea260e79d47304d58f52cf9bb25f&threadid=1103 (Kai Ludwig, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 1400-1600 UT ** BELGIUM [non]. Plan C finally brought Vlaams Belang on air --- http://www.vlaamsbelang.org/index.php?p=0&id=655 They are indeed right now, after 0920, on 13680 AM with a rather poor signal. So they say from a 250 kW transmitter at an undisclosed location in Europe, and further on they say how ironic it would be that they had to go to Eastern Europe. This description leads to RTRS (Russia), Pridnestrovskiy Radiotsentr or perhaps also RRT (Ukraine) as possible transmission providers. However, I would expect a noticeably better signal from a 250 kW in these countries (Kai Ludwig, Germany, June 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [answer below] Viz.: 11.06.2005 11.24u - Het programma ZwartofWit van volksvertegenwoordiger Jürgen Verstrepen (Vlaams Belang) start nu zondag met uitzendingen voor heel Europa via de traditionele korte golf (SW/KG). De uitzending zal op zondagmiddag van 11 tot 13 uur Vlaamse tijd te ontvangen zijn via de frequentie 13680 KHz. De analoge kortegolfuitzendingen gebeuren met een 250 kW zware zender vanuit een niet nader bepaalde locatie in Europa. (het zesvoudige vermogen van de geplande digitale uitzendingen) ZwartofWit zal met een gewone wereldradio te ontvangen zijn in de Benelux, Frankrijk, Duitsland, Groot-Brittannië, Italië, Spanje, de Scandinavische en vroegere Oostblok landen. Via deze analoge frequentie zal ZwartofWit een groot luisterpubliek bereiken in combinatie met de digitale MP3 internetarchivering en podcasting van de uitzending op buitenlandse servers. De goedkoopste wereldontvangers zijn in Vlaanderen verkrijgbaar in bijna elke elektrozaak en kosten zelfs minder dan 50 euro. Vlamingen die in het buitenland verblijven tijdens de vakantie kunnen dus nu ook luisteren naar het programma van de vrije meningsuiting via een goedkope wereldontvanger. ZwartofWit zal tijdens de zomermaanden meer aandacht besteden aan ``Nieuws uit Vlaanderen``. Het is bijzonder cynisch dat een politiek getint radioprogramma voor Vlaanderen nu haar heil moet zoeken in een ex-communistische regio. Voor de val van het communisme in Europa richtte het Westen meerdere radiozenders op Rusland en het Oostblok om daar de vrije meningsuiting te laten horen. ZwartofWit doet nu het omgekeerde. Voor de digitale uitzendingen (DRM) wacht Jürgen Verstrepen nog steeds op de goedkeuring van de bevoegde radio-instanties in Duitsland en Groot-Brittannië. De piste Duitsland wordt moeilijker met de dag. Door de negatieve stemmingmakerij van Groen heeft zelfs het Duitse ministerie van buitenlandse zaken zich gemoeid met het project. De verspreiding van digitale kortegolfontvangers is op dit ogenblik nog verwaarloosbaar in tegenstelling tot de analoge radiotoestellen die wereldwijd verspreid zijn. In de eerste Europese etheruitzending van het programma praat Jürgen Verstrepen met Jean Marie Dedecker, Derk Jan Eppink, Hugo Coveliers en Filip Dewinter. Dedecker verklaart o.a. dat hij niet gaat opkomen bij de gemeenteraadsverkiezingen in 2006, het Denemarken model zijn streven is en dat hij tevreden is dat de stemmenkampioen van de SP.a (Steve Stevaert) niet meer meedoet aan de verkiezingen. Klik hier en lees meer (via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) ** BELGIUM [non]. RUSSIA: Test transmission for Zwart of Wit / Black or White in Dutch via Russia: 0900-1100 Sun June 12 on 13680 ARM 250 kW / 284 deg to WeEu in AM 0900-1100 Sun June 12 on 6015 RMP 035 kW / 085 deg to WeEu in DRM --- no signal (Observer, Bulgaria, June 14 via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 5952.47, Emisora Pio XII, Siglo Veinte 0940 to 1015 on June 12, returned after month off the air, ``música de Bolivia...`` by OM, fair to poor signal with deep fades, 0947 vocal by alto YL, 0956 YL with Pio Doce ID garbled? Noted on Wednesday 8 June as carrier 0940 to 0950. Stronger at 1040 on 13 June (Bob Wilkner, Pómpano Beach, South Florida, U. S. Drake R7 ~ Icom R 75 ~ NRD535D, HCDX via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. ANALYSIS: BOLIVIA'S COMMUNITY MEDIA - "READY FOR THE REVOLUTION" | Text of editorial analysis by Peter Feuilherade of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 14 June Weeks of protests in Bolivia by miners, peasants and trade unionists demanding the nationalization of their country's rich gas resources and constitutional reform ended after the resignation of President Carlos Mesa and the swearing-in of Eduardo Rodríguez as his temporary successor on 9 June. The caretaker president has said elections will be held within 180 days, and has also promised to study calls to nationalize the energy sector. The media, both broadcast and internet-based, played a significant role both in mobilizing the protests across South America's poorest country and in bringing details of the issues to an international audience. A TV "voice of the voiceless" In recent years Bolivia's population of nine million people has become more polarized, as the Indian majority push for more political representation and a greater share of energy wealth. "A broad anti-globalization groundswell that seeks expulsion of multinational energy companies from Bolivia has growing adherents in a country where reserves are second only to Venezuela," according to a dispatch from the Associated Press. In a television sector which is dominated by privately-owned channels, and where there are almost no presenters who are of indigenous origin like the majority of the population, one TV channel stands out as the exception. "Channel 4, with its programmes in Spanish and Aymara [indigenous language of the southern Andes], appears to be the channel of the voiceless in Bolivia and of those who advocate nationalizing gas," Agence France-Presse reported on 11 June. As Channel 4 news presenter Consuelo Ponce Medina explained to AFP, "Channel 4 was created for social action, for the most disadvantaged social sectors." During the first "gas war" in October 2003, triggered by plans to export gas to Chile, which left more than 60 people dead and led to the resignation of President Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada, most Bolivian newspapers as well as the large TV and radio channels criticized the protesters, depicting them as "vandals". Channel 4 was the only TV channel to associated itself with the protests. Its slogan became "We are the voice of the voiceless." "Although it does not have the large audience of the big Bolivian channels, it has a considerable audience among the indigenous people, the poor, and members of the bourgeoisie," the AFP report noted. Speed and accuracy - "global weapons" on the web On the web, the Narco News web site http://www.narconews.com brought together a team of reporters in Bolivia and abroad working with activist groups to produce tip-offs and breaking news reports, many of which were picked up by international wire services and broadcasters. US-based Narco News is produced by a team of internet journalists who say they "report on the drug war from Latin America with breaking news, analysis, investigative journalism, translations of journalism from Mexico and beyond..." A Narco News reporter predicted that Carlos Mesa was close to resigning on 6 June, a few hours before the president began his resignation speech. By 8 June, Narco News says it was "breaking major developments to the English-speaking world", filed by its correspondents from flashpoints of protest in Bolivia including La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz and Sucre. As the Narco News web site recalls, "Narco News established lightning- fast communications systems, utilizing cell phones, internet, online text messaging to cell phones, Instant Messenger service with various backup systems, emergency internet `safe houses' to go to in case our communications systems suddenly went down... We set up `buddy systems' for reporters to keep track of each other and of our best sources to alert us of any problem or threat to security... Our reporters on the ground in Bolivia would dependably chronicle [news] as it was happening. Via the internet, Narco News tuned to Bolivia's national public Radio Erbol and began translating their reports from Sucre into English, moments after each was broadcast." Narco News believes the success of its reporting from and about Bolivia lay in involving its readers and sources: "Speed and accuracy, when combined in reporting, are global weapons now. These are weapons in your hands. Here, although we meet professional codes and standards, we don't just leave it up to the so-called professionals. For us, `professional' has nothing to do with whether someone gets paid or not. We involve you, the readers and the sources, and our humungous and growing international network of Authentic Journalists together as we cover immediate history like it has never been reported before." "Revolution-ready media" Radio, which is an important medium in Bolivia's rural areas, provided the final element in helping to mobilize the street protests. Benjamin Melancon, writing on the Narco News web site on 10 June, said the success of the demonstrations was a product of the efforts of the Bolivian social movements to build a media network "that reflects the people's needs". He said this was epitomized by the Erbol radio network, which links a large number of educational broadcasting stations across the country. "What kind of a radio network is this, that allows people to come on the air to talk about opposing the plans of the powerful with acts of civil disobedience (legally defined as terrorism in the United States)?", Melancon commented. He concluded that the key to the national effectiveness of radio in Bolivia "is that true community stations... don't just carry national programmes but also send reports that are carried over national programmes". When protests next break out in Bolivia - and the protesters have promised to take to the streets unless their demands are met - then the country's community broadcasters and online journalists already have what one analyst termed a "revolution-ready media model" that most media activists would envy. Source: BBC Monitoring research 14 Jun 05 (via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. I got a very surprising QSL from Rádio Caiari, Porto Velho, 4785 with QSL-card and two-page letter after more than 4 years of waiting. KN (Kurt Norlin, Sweden, SW Bulletin June 12, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Radio Caiari, Porto Velho, 4785 Letter + card. V/s Alisangela Lima. Nice answer after almost 5 years! Informed a month ago via among others DXLD that they worked on preparing QSL-cards and that they should issue QSLs for their present stock of reception reports. Obviously the had saved up and now was the time. The QSL-station of the year, without doubt! JE (Jan Edh, ibid) ** BULGARIA. I`ve noticed that no scripts for Bulgaria`s DX program were published for the first Fridays in May and June. Can anyone confirm that there were DX programs broadcast that day, or is there a different format or something else for the first week of the month? (John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** BURMA [non]. Trying to nail down the current sked of Democratic V. of Burma, whether 15480 at 1428 replaces one of the other two frequencies, I can`t find anything resembling SW schedule on the English or Burmese pages of http://www.dvb.no/ Is SW of no real importance to them? (Glenn Hauser, June 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHILE. Possible problems with VC`s new 15485? See ANTARCTICA ** CHINA. Radio Cina Internazionale ha comunicato ai propri ascoltatori causa di una ristrutturazione tecnica di una stazione trasmittente, dalle ore 0430 (UTC?) del 16 giugno alle ore 0530 del 20 giugno le trasmissioni sulla frequenza di 11845 Khz saranno sospese. A questo punto si presuppone che la stazione interessata sia quella di Urumqui, utilizzata anche per le trasmissioni in lingua italiana dalle 2030 alle 2130 proprio sulla frequenza segnalata. Sarà interessante monitorare anche le trasmissioni su altre frequenze e in altre lingue, ma comunque provenienti da Urumqui, e soprattutto se verranno attivate ad integrazione delle frequenze alternative. In Cina, di sicuro, non c'è carenza di trasmettitori ad onda corta; vi ricordiamo che solo dalla zona di Pechino per 24 ore al giorno almeno 10 trasmettitori jamming con musica cinese no stop sono attivi per disturbare le trasmissioni dei broadcaster appartenenti a paesi o ad orgnanizzazioni "non proprio in accordo" col governo cinese (Roberto Scaglione, June 15, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. 530 Martí status --- As of 2200 GMT June 11th, not only did the Cuban 530 kHz transmitter NOT go down a few minutes before the EC-130E airborne Martí [should have] appeared, but there's no trace of Martí. How foolish of me. Tropical Storm Arlene no doubt forced the Pennsylvania Air National Guard EC-130E back home from the temporary base at Boca Chica Naval Air Station earlier this week. And The Fidel- O-Monitor figured this out way ahead of me. DOH! DOH! DOH! I bet the PANG crew loves when the weather allows them go actually go home. Maybe Fidel should work on seeding clouds from rickety Anitov's to produce tropical disturbances, thus diverting Martí. After all, Radio Havana Cuba sporadically claims the CIA seeded thrip bugs over their 'cane fields to destroy the economy (crop dusters cleared for overflight to the Cayman Islands in the 1990's). I'll check back on 530 in an hour or so, but otherwise, stay tuned next Saturday (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, USA, 27.55.83 N, 82.46.08 W, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DEUTSCHES REICH [and non]. Following the publication in the last two years of three new books on Lord Haw-Haw, a major feature film with a budget of £15,000,000 is being made on the life of William Joyce. An article on Joyce, "The Making of a Traitor", appears in the current edition of "BBK", the magazine of Birkbeck College (London University), where Joyce was once a student. I understand also that the documentary shown this week on the History Channel will be shown - if it has not been shown already - on Ireland's RTE TV. Finally, I am told that an academic book on Joyce is being prepared by a Professor Holmes, formerly of Sheffield University, where a collection of manuscripts regarding Joyce are held (Roger Tidy, UK, June 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. RUSSIA: Dejen Radio in Tigrina noted on June 11: 1700-1900 Sat on 12120 ARM 250 kW / 188 deg, ex 1700-1800 Sat on same frequency (Observer, Bulgaria, June 14 via DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non?]. Today at 0910 UT something happened on 11775. While AWR Europe was broadcasting DX program "Studio DX", many DXers in Europe were listening to me with Italian DX news and a man talking in German and music. Apparently no co-channel on 11775 at that hour, but Radio Romania International starts at 1000 just in German. New UT for RRI? Feeds problem AWR to Jülich? Unfortunately nobody was able to check AWR on Hotbird 13 or some affiliated FM station in Italy, and I was at work, so I don't know if it was a BF or RF trouble. DXer Luca Di Spalatro from Italy listened to the same mix also last Sunday, June 5. Any idea? (Roberto Scaglione http://www.bclnews.it June 12, dxldyg via DXLD) 11775, Jun 12 0900-0927, Germany: AWR Europe, Juelich. During this time slot I heard Studio DX #102, the only DX program in Italian, main points: ARI Bologna contest, FM DX from Italy, NHK World Radio Quiz of 70th anniversary, audio clip Maeva FM and Radio America Paraguay; Another ID in Italian at 0927 UTC moderate QRM on same frequency of UNID station. SINPO 42322. MP3 archive of Studio Dx program 2003-2005 at http://www.radioascolto.net/studiodx 73s from (Treviso, Italy, Nino Marabello, bclnews.it via DXLD) ** ICELAND. 7590-usb kHz AFN, Grindavík, noted on 10 JUN 1404-1512, talks but no copy thereon; 15241, and rtd. 25342 on 11 JUN 0945. I just wanted to see how their 41 m band signal "looked like" at that critical hour; \\ 9980-usb was about the same, but with slightly less noise (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. EXTERNAL BROADCAST: HOW SHOULD THE WORLD SEE US? NIVEDITA MOOKERJI, Posted online: Monday, June 13, 2005 at 0000 IST http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=93572 NEW DELHI: Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati is in a rethink mode, as far as the external services division (ESD) of All India Radio (AIR) is concerned. With no direct funding from the government and absence of support from the ministry of external affairs (MEA), the pubcaster is reviewing the working and relevance of ESD, according to a Prasar Bharati official. In 1991, when AIR came under the 'autonomous corporation' Prasar Bharati, direct government funding of ESD was withdrawn. That was the beginning of an end, a source pointed out. Consider the global scenario, as an internal presentation at Prasar Bharati showed. All around the world, external broadcast service is always funded by the government, while home services are financed by various other sources, it said. Whether it's British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Voice of America (VOA) or Deutsche Welle of Germany, external service is invariably funded by the government, the presentation argued. Same is the case with other countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The results show. Radio Bangladesh broadcasts in 19 [sic!] foreign languages; China in 43 foreign languages along with English; Pakistan in 17 foreign languages. India, which has had the external service division since 1939, broadcasts in 16 foreign languages --- Arabic, Baluchi, Dari, Burmese, Chinese, French, Indonesian, Nepali, Persian, Pushtu, Russian, Sinhala, Swahili, Thai, Tibetan and English. But some of these languages have lost their relevance, pointed out critics. Significantly, among the suggestions being discussed at Prasar Bharati is inclusion of languages such as Japanese, German, Spanish and Korean in AIR's external division. Also, as per the new thinking, the service must reach markets like the US, Canada, Latin America and Korea. Currently, ESD covers some countries in Asia, Africa, UK, Western Europe, New Zealand and Australia. It's important to note that when external broadcast started in 1939, it was considered a mouthpiece of British India. Post-independence, however, the objective changed. Now, ESD became the real window of India, to the world. The country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru said ESD was meant to be "the authentic voice of independent, secular, modern and resurgent India". Insiders at Prasar Bharati argue that even today, the objective remains the same. ESD must project the foreign policies and culture of the country, to the world. But, it's time for a review, they say. Besides introducing new languages and removing some of the obsolete ones, the pubcaster wants a review of the staff position also. There's a shortage of manpower in the division. Technology is another area which needs upgradation. Advance digital studio with database is the need of the hour, officials say. Also, ESD must take up online distribution of content, they add. Even Pakistan Radio programmes are available on the Net (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi and Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, dxldyg via DXLD) ** INDIA. 11585, Rainbow FM Relay via A.I.R. Delhi. Full Data 'Panch Mahai, Fatehpur Sikr' QSL Card via Delhi. This in response to my February 3.05 report. Reply in 108 days. v/s: Y.K. Shama (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, June 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That was the service so vital that it had to be put on SW temporarily for Andaman & Nicobar Islands following the tsunami (gh) ** INDIA. 40M SPURIOUS EMISSIONS FROM AIR 13TH JUNE 2005 Dear Members, On an alert by OM Raj VU2ZAP ARSI Governing council member, on 13 June 2005, at about 0900 UT, regarding the distorted, spurious emissions, he was hearing on 40 M, the Monitoring Systems Coordinator of ARSI VU2UR, jumped to action. VU2UR Manohar could log 7065, 7075, 7095, 7115, 7125, 7145, 7165, 7195, 7220, 7250, 7270, 7295, 7325, 7345, 7360, 7370, 7420 kHz and some more, quite weak upwards. All these were carrying Hindi film music, in A3E mode. Monitoring Systems Coordinator VU2UR, in turn, alerted, his contacts at AIR, to advise the concerned stations about the spurious emissions. By 1000 UT, all these distorted spurious emissions ceased, except for four fundamental frequencies. These were identified as 7195 (Mumbai), 7270 (Chennai), 7360 (New Delhi) and 7420 (Guwahati). AIR was testing these channels by feeding "FM Gold" audio of 106.4 MHz from New Delhi. AIR did give an ID for request music, radioactivefm @ hotmail.com The transmissions continued and carried an English news bulletin at 1030 UT, and continued even beyond 1100. By 1230, Guwahati transmitter had signed off. The quick action by the ARSI group, could see that clear transmissions from AIR continued to entertain the common man and the keep the 40 metre amateur band free of the broadcast interference. ARSI thanks Manohar VU2UR for his quick and timely efforts in ridding the 40M Amateur radio band of spurious emissions. ARSI --- Amateur Radio Society of India - The National asociation for Radio Amateurs (From the ARSI e-group June 13 via Alokesh Gupta, dx_india via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. 9133, Coalition Forces, 1456 May 15 heard with marginal signal under strong QRM from FSK signal on 9131. Music plays (Zacharias Liangas, using R75+16m dipole, Retziki Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. With elections nigh on June 17, Iran has increased jamming on SW, and from the ground of satellite services, in order to block news from outside. IBB may be stepping up Ku-band satellite transmissions to compensate (Aaron Zawitzky, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Grazie a Bruno Pecolatto e alle informazioni postate su Radiorama ml veniamo a conoscenza di qualche particolare in più per quanto riguarda le trasmissioni in onda corta di radio Maria su 26000 Khz. Intanto l'indirizzo per eventuali rapporti d'ascolto è: Radio Maria, c/o Ing. Claudio Re, Ing. Giacomo Querio, Via Mazzini 15, 21020 Casciago (VA) Il trasmettitore è un Kenwood TS50 montato a rack e con la sezione BF modificata, pronto per essere collegato ad un PC per trasmettere in DRM. Non c'erano dubbi che fosse un operazione assolutamente lecita, quella di Radio Maria dovrebbe infatti essere la prima in assoluto rilasciata in Italia. Dicono, infatti, che già da tempo giaceva inutilizzata per via di altre urgenze lavorative (Roberto Scaglione, June 10, bclnews.it yg via DXLD) Ciao a tutti, vi segnalo che su HF Archive ho appena caricato le foto dell'impianto di Andrate di Radio Maria che trasmette sui 26 MHz, ecco il link: http://www.mediasuk.org/archive/radio_maria.html http://www.mediasuk.org/archive Saluti, (Andrea IW0HK Borgnino, ibid.) ** JAPAN. Radio Japan's 70th Anniversary DX Program commemorating Radio Japan's 70th anniversary on June 1, 2005 --- Checked out the reception report to Japan Shortwave Club of the "Hello from Tokyo" program on Monday June 6th, at 0110-0159 UT on 5960 kHz via Rampisham- UK relay. Strange, but discovered now, that R Japan frequency announcement at this hour, both at 0100 and 0159 UT mentioned old A-04 summer season frequencies to EUR and PAC instead. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, June 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JORDAN. 11690, Radio Jordan fair to poor in English; news ending at 1611, weather till 1613; then into "Eye of The Tiger" by Survivor; announcement said they were relaying an FM station. Seems to be relaying their domestic service, 6/11 (Tim Davisson, Norton OH, NASWA Flashsheet via DXLD) ** LAOS. Lao National Radio Houa Phan. Monitoring in Japan on 15th June, Lao National Radio Houa Phan has changed its frequency from 4649 to new 4677.9 kHz. This station is on the air from 0957 to 1230 and relays news from Vientiane at 1200, then Parallel with 6130 (Kenji Takasaki, Mie pref. Japan, June 16, JRC NRD-515/535D/545, HCDX via DXLD) ** LAOS [non]. Updated schedule for Hmong Lao Radio in Laotian: 0100-0200 Wed/Fri on 15260 TAI 100 kW / 250 deg to SoEaAs 1200-1300 Saturday NF 11785 HRI 100 kW / 173 deg to NoCeAm, ex 1300-1400 on 15105 1300-1400 Sunday NF 11785 HRI 100 kW / 173 deg to NoCeAm, ex 1400-1500 on 15105 (Observer, Bulgaria, June 14 via DXLD) These changes were reported weeks ago in DXLD, perhaps from start of A-05 (gh) ** LATVIA. Relays on 9290 kHz: 18th June 2005 Radio Six 0600-0700 UT Australian DX Club 1000-1100 UT 19th June 2005 Geromino [sic] 1700-1800 UT Good Listening (Tom Taylor, UK, June 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA. 5470, 12/6 2150-2220, unidentified with classic religious music (until 2200) and Gospel music (after 2200). I thought about a DE1103 anomaly but the station also has been heard with the R7. Radio Veritas Liberia tests? Good/Fair (LUCA BOTTO FIORA, QTH: Rapallo (Genova) - Italy, RXs: R7 Drake - Satellit 500 Grundig - DE1103 Degen, ANTs: Ferrite 85cm amplified (LW-MW), Dipole 49m - Longwire 20m (SW), ACCs: Noise Canceling MFJ1026 (SW), June 14, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks for a nice tip! On 14 June at around 2000 UT I checked this 5470 frequency and there was indeed a station. Real bad QRM and QRN here but I believe after 2030 there was English program in VOA style. Just prior 2100 mentions of VOA editorial and Voice of America. Then switch to African accented announcer in English with mentions of Monrovia. And then into non stop music. Rather nice signal, rapid fading; I wish I could get the local noise level down a bit. 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) [Later:] Yep, seems to ID as Radio Veritas. Had some pop songs also, like James Brown (Jari, ibid.) Radio Veritas, Liberia, 5470, noted here from tune in 2150. Still on 2245 with programme of soul music, religious commentary, close off announcements saying that they had started the second part of their daily broadcasts at 4.45 that afternoon, identification mentioning 97.8 FM and 5470 in the 60 metre band, Lord`s Prayer and off 2300. Fair on peaks channel clear apart from occasional bursts of utility buzzing just below frequency (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth Garden City, UK, ibid.) ** MALDIVE ISLANDS [non]. Glenn: Minivan is definitely on 11800 now. The report of it still being on 12015 must be a mistake (Jeff White, RMI, June 11ish, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALI. 5995 kHz, R. Mali, Kati, observed on 11 JUN 2124-..., Vernacular, talks, local tunes; 54433, adjacent DRM QRM, weakish audio (just like on 11960 - so probably meaning the same transmitter is used); \\ 4782.4 kHz (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONGOLIA. I have got an interesting package from Voice of Mongolia. It contained a CD-record with Mongolian music. Last winter I sent several reports to the station which apparently were much appreciated. CB (Christer Brunström, Sweden, SW Bulletin June 12, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. 9885, RNZI, Rangitaiki, is gradually becoming poorer mornings, at a point that it's often almost inaudible at 1059 when azimuth changes from 0º (path through Bering Sea, ISL) to 325º (i.e. path through PNG, Asia), the latter meaning no signal here. 11725, RNZI, Rangitiki, observed on 02 JUN 2016-205*, English, Dateline Pacific program, talks, music; 44444, but adjacent QRM=2 till 2025. Yesterday, 12 JUN was, however, a disaster, with a fluttery and poor signal, completely useless, and then not much better when changed to 15720 at 2050, but have enjoyed fair reception on 19 m for over a week. 11820, RNZI, Rangitaiki, 08 JUN 0632-0705*, English, parliament reports, talks, music, frequency change announcement, IS; 55544 (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) RNZI is almost antipodal from Portugal, so it could be difficult to determine actual signal paths (gh, DXLD) ** NIGERIA. 7255, V. of Nigeria, Ikorodu, poorly audible on 11 JUN 0941-1000*, talks in Vernacular (Hausa?); 15331. At 1000, VON opens on 15120 in English (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. KFOR-TV ch 4 OKC suffered a major outage on Saturday morning, June 11, presumably caused by heavy T-storms. Checked at 1255 UT on cable in Enid, which gets a satellite feed, just (almost) dark screen. OTA with antenna, no signal! So they couldn`t put anything out on ch 4 or uplink to satellite. Don`t know about DT channel 27. This went on for half an hour, but NBC Today came back on around 1327; during the local break at 1329 there was nothing but black screen. So they managed to get the transmitters and network back on the air, but not yet local origination --- just when it is most needed as further storms were approaching the area. Other OKC stations unaffected. The ch 4 OTA signal was rather weak at first, and may have been the old standby transmitter. Was there any explanation during the outage, on the website http://www.kfor.com ? Not at all, until 1343 recheck: ``NewsChannel 4 is temporarily off the air Strong thunderstorms overnight have knocked our signal off the air temporarily. Engineers are currently working to resolve the problem and we should be back on the air in short order. We apologize for any inconvenience and we will keep you updated on our progress to reestablish our signal. MORE`` But the MORE link led nowhere, and by this time they were NOT off the air, as I just explained. We even got to see the NBC affiliate weather roll at 1345, accompanied by outside crowd noise from Rocky Plaza, normally obliterated by local commercials. A few minutes later this notice had vanished (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. KOSU 91.7 noted signing off around 7 pm local on June 13. Said programming would continue on KOSN 107.5 relay. Missed first part of announcement if reason was given, but probably connected with installing IBOC (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 4960, 0840-, Catholic Radio Network, Jun 11, S7 to S9 signal with church service in progress with a beautiful choir. Not at all sounding like anything indigenous, though. Lots of static noise. At 1402-, even a couple of hours after sunrise, this PNG is still going strong with late night instrumental music. Still a S5 to S7 (Walt Salmaniw, Grayland, WA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4960, 0904-0906, Catholic Radio Network, Vanimo, Jun 11. Noted in passing with Catholic programming in English, 'Hail Mary full of grace,' etc. at tune-in. Much poorer signal than Wantok Radio Light -- - fair at best. However, at 1340 I happened upon CRN again, with a good signal of PNG choral music. At 1347, the female announcer congratulated Wantok Radio Light on their inaugural broadcast and official first day on the air. On June 12, CRN was heard with a poor signal of contemporary Christian music and female vocals at 1115 (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DXing from Grayland, WA, mod. ICOM IC-756Pro & mod. ICOM R-75, Kiwa MAP / ERGO SW, W, and NW Beverage antennas, 500-800 ft., DX LISTENING DIGEST) See DX-PEDITIONS below ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 7120, 0634-, Wantok Radio Light, Jun 11. Official opening ceremonies of the radio station. Mentions of PNG and Wantok Radio Light. Seemingly live relay of an outdoor event. Superb signal at 0701 retune. Every bit as strong as Don Moman's fabulous recording from last week. Armchair copy, like Port Moresby's 4890 so often! I rechecked at 0825. Easily S9+10 to 20 signals, with thanks to various individuals, so I'm wondering whether the opening ceremonies are coming to a close (Walt Salmaniw, Grayland, WA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7120, 0520-1325, Wantok Radio Light, Jun 11. A weak het first heard around 0520, and strengthening into threshold audio before 0600, over two hours before Port Moresby sunset. A steady rise in signal strength throughout the 0600 hour was noted, with good, listenable levels by 0630, with special inaugural broadcast of Wantok Radio Light in progress. Many mentions of 'Wantok Radio' by male and female announcers with references to the dedication of the station, and so on. This was clearly an outdoor event and broadcast, with a 'you are there' feeling, complete with echoes, microphone feedback squeals, crowds cheering, etc. Christian contemporary praise and worship music in between announcer comments, phone interviews, and messages by pastors and Christian leaders, and songs by local bands (Voice in the Wind; P.T.U.I.F. Band; and Higher Vision). Heard frequent comments like 'Papua New Guinea is praising today', 'Are you rejoicing, Papua New Guinea?' and mentions of thanksgiving for the new station. By 0715 the signal was positively loud! An exclamation of 'Good evening, Kaupena!' was heard at 0744, at the beginning of a listener's message and excited testimony (Kaupena is the transmitter location [NOT --- gh].) At 0902 recheck, I caught a quick ID in Pidgin rather than English: 'You hearim Wantok Radio Light'. This new PNG station was even coming in at a fair level on the whip antenna of my Degen DE1103 --- pretty impressive for 1 Kw on an NVIS antenna from over 6700 miles away. At 1325 recheck, noted Wantok Radio Light still in with a fair-good signal of contemporary Christian music. Here are two MP3 audio files of Wantok Radio Light: http://www.guyatkins.com/files/Wantok_Radio_Light_7120_11June05_0738_inaugural_bcst.mp3 (outdoor inauguration celebration); http://www.guyatkins.com/files/Wantok_Radio_Light_7120_11June05_1007_studio_ancr.mp3 (studio announcer after the event). (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DXing from Grayland, WA, mod. ICOM IC-756Pro & mod. ICOM R-75, Kiwa MAP / ERGO SW, W, and NW Beverage antennas, 500-800 ft., DX LISTENING DIGEST) See DX-PEDITIONS below This morning I received the inaugural broadcast report from Joe Emert of Life Radio Ministries, with some photos of Wantok Radio Light's "big day" on the 11th. I've posted it at: http://www.guyatkins.com/files/Journal_5.doc (MS Word file, approx. 355 Kb) 11,000-12,000 people attended this event; no wonder it sounded like quite a crowd out there while Walt and I were sitting with headphones on, eavesdropping on this live broadcast (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA, June 13, HCDX via DXLD) Links to five journals including this one are now at http://www.missionaryradio.info --- Viz.: THE PAPUA NEW GUINEA RADIO REPORT --- WANTOK RADIO LIGHT JUNE 11, 2005 Dear Friends, We wish this photo could capture the excitement under the big-top tent! Approximately 5,000 people sat on the ground for over 5 hours while another 6,000 or 7,000 people stood outside completely surrounding the tent. It was the official Launching of the shortwave station and FM network covering Papua New Guinea. Reports have poured in from around the nation as listeners report on the coverage on one or both of the frequencies. Other reports have come from Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, surrounding islands, and even the State of Washington! The 5 hour nationwide broadcast really seemed to fly by. Numerous Choirs and musical groups presented songs of praise, many of them custom written for ``Wantok Radio Light``. To see that ``first contact`` excitement on the faces of adults and children alike, as they heard Christian radio for the first time, was simply awesome! Dr. Allan Marat, Member of Parliament and former Deputy Prime Minister was the featured speaker for the event. Just before this photo was taken I had handed him my Sony shortwave/FM radio and the grin on his face was great reward as he listened intently to the live service. Many were curious about the ``digital delay`` which is a confusing effect of observing a song or speaker live, but then hearing it come through the radio seconds later. When Dr. Marat rose to speak he announced that he was laying aside his prepared and typed remarks, as the Lord had directed him to speak from his heart. He called the nation, and Parliament, to a life of holy service to Jesus Christ. He spoke with a holy passion! He may be a Doctor of Law, but he sure ``preached`` a message of grace! Later, on our flight back to the Capitol city, he signed and gave to Doug Doran a copy of his undelivered speech. Doug said, ``I was just overwhelmed by his honesty and his commitment to the Christian message. It made me want to come and vote for him!`` The crowd enthusiastically responded to his call to commitment to the Word of God as the essence of why we were created. He said, ``Along with partnering churches, supporters, individuals and corporations here in PNG and abroad, Wantok Radio Light has been, and will be, in the rescue business. Wantok Radio Light was prepared for a big rescue mission.`` Following Dr. Marat`s stirring remarks, the Provincial Governor for the Southern Highlands Province, Honorable Hami Yaware (also a Member of Parliament) spoke of the powerful difference already being made in his Province, now covered by the shortwave station and the first FM repeater station installed at Ialibu. As he concluded his remarks he handed a government check for K150,000 (Kina) to the Chairman of Wantok Radio Light as a gift from the government. He had also provided a separate gift of K50,000 to help pay for the event that day! K200,000 Kina is approximately $75,000 dollars! Imagine that happening in the United States!! The PNG government is so very supportive of this national effort, perceived by many as a powerful force for healing and wholeness in this hurting nation. As the Launching service concluded, the Master of Ceremonies very briefly mentioned that if anyone wanted to make a contribution they could come forward after the closing prayer and place an offering in one of three 5 gallon buckets. The prayer was offered and we found out later that over K35,000 Kina was given! That is over $10,000 US dollars from people in desperate need themselves, some who walked over 40 miles to get to the service. Liquid joy could be seen on the cheeks of many! Tears are a language! God has given us a large responsibility. The people of Papua New Guinea are underwriting the operational cost of their Wantok Radio Light. But they cannot do it alone. Our partnership is of great assistance in the areas of radio planting, equipment, engineering and programming consulting. Yes, we are leaving on June 14 and will pillow our heads soon in the comfort of our own homes. But we will bring part of the heart of Papua New Guinea with us. Thank you for your wonderful prayer support and financial investment. As one PNG brother said during the Launching service, ``The ground forces have been working hard, but now, the air-force has arrived!`` May all praise be God`s! Joe Emert and Doug Doran, Life Radio Ministries, Inc., PO Box 2020 Griffin, GA 30224, (770) 229-2020 Tenk yu tru and God i blessim yu. ("Thank you and God bless you" in PNG Pidgin.) (via gh, DXLD) Hey, who needs Separation of Church and State as long as your church is the one favored by the state?? Hmmm, could be a fallacy there (gh) ** PHILIPPINES. Summer A-05 updated schedule for Radio Veritas Asia: Bengali 0030-0057 11770 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg 1400-1427 11875 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg Burmese 2330-2357 9805 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg 1130-1157 15450 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg Filipino 2300-2327 7180 PUG 250 kW / 331 deg 1500-1527 11765 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg, ex 9695 We/Fr/Su 1500-1557 11765 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg, `` Mo/Tu/Th/Sa Hindi 0030-0057 11790 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg 1330-1357 11875 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg Hmong 1000-1027 11780 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg Indonesian 2300-2327 11820 PUG 250 kW / 222 deg 2300-2327 9505 PUG 250 kW / 222 deg 1200-1227 11795 PUG 250 kW / 222 deg Kachin 2330-2357 9625 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg 1230-1257 15225 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg Karen 0000-0027 11795 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg 1200-1230 15225 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg Mandarin 2100-2257 6110 PUG 250 kW / 350 deg 1000-1157 9720 PUG 250 kW / 355 deg Russian 0130-0227 17830 PUG 250 kW / 015 deg 1500-1557 9685 PUG 250 kW / 330 deg, ex 9570 Sinhala 0000-0027 11820 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg 1330-1357 9520 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg, ex 9565 Tamil 0030-0057 15520 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg 1400-1427 9520 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg, ex 9565 Telugu 0100-0127 15530 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg 1430-1457 9520 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg, ex 9565 Urdu 0100-0127 15350 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg, ex 15300 1430-1457 11875 PUG 250 kW / 300 deg Vietnamese 2330-2357 9670 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg 0130-0227 15530 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg 1030-1127 11850 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg 1300-1327 11850 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg Zomi-Chin 0200-0227 11895 PUG 250 kW / 280 deg (Observer, Bulgaria, June 14 via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. Frequency change for RDP International Radio Portugal in Portuguese to WeEu, 1800-2000 Sat/Sun NF 15555 LIS 100 kW / 052 deg, ex 11700 to avoid RFA in Chinese (Observer, Bulgaria, June 14 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Frequency change for Voice of Russia in Urdu: 1200-1300 NF 15405 MSK 500 kW / 135 deg, ex 15605 \\ 11510 DB, 15550 NVS, 17570 ARM (Observer, Bulgaria, June 14 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 7325, 8.6 1730, unID but probably the foreign service from Kabardino-Balkar in Russia. Starts with National Anthem but so far I could not get any definite ID. Noted Sundays and Wednesdays and should also be on air on Thursdays. 3 CB (Christer Brunström, Sweden, SW Bulletin June 12, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SCOTLAND [non]. LATVIA: Test transmission for Radio Six International in English via Ulbroka: 0600-0800 Sat June 11 on 9290 ULB 100 kW / 250 deg to WeEu 0600-0700 Sat June 11 on 15725 MIL 020 kW / non-dir to WeEu --- no signal (Observer, Bulgaria, June 14 via DXLD) MIL = ``Milano`` ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5019.87, 0708-, SIBC, Jun 11. Nice reception except for pretty awful splatter from Cuba on 5025, but quite nicely taken care of by the 7030+ NB on wide setting. Regional news and sports. Time check for 12 minutes past (6? o'clock). In English, but then switched to Pidgin. Nice TC at 0715. Much stronger now, as the sun sets. Still in Pidgin, with a play by play of a sports match, but no excitement in the announcer's voice! Soccer it seems (Walt Salmaniw, Grayland, WA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5019.9, 0750-0802, SIBC, Jun 11, Bored-sounding announcer calling a soccer match between the Solomons Islands and Kenya, alternating between Pidgin and English. Caliope-like tune at 0801, and ID by woman, and into news in English. Very good to excellent signal (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DXing from Grayland, WA, mod. ICOM IC-756Pro & mod. ICOM R-75, Kiwa MAP / ERGO SW, W, and NW Beverage antennas, 500-800 ft., DX LISTENING DIGEST) See DX-PEDITIONS below ** SOMALIA [non]. GERMANY: Test transmissions of new station Radio Solmal in Somali via DTK T-Systems 1400-1430 Fri June 10 on 17550 JUL 100 kW / 130 deg to EaAf 1600-1630 Fri June 10 on 15495 JUL 100 kW / 130 deg to EaAf GERMANY: Test txions of Radio Horyaal in Somali via DTK T-Systems: 1730-1800 Fri May 27 on 15650 JUL 100 kW / 145 deg to EaAf 1730-1800 Fri June 03 on 11925 JUL 100 kW / 145 deg to EaAf GERMANY/RUSSIA: Radio Horyaal in Somali from June 15 on air: 1730-1800 Sat-Thu on 11925 JUL 100 kW / 145 deg to EaAf 1730-1800 Sat-Thu on 12130 SAM 250 kW / 173 deg to EaAf (Observer, Bulgaria, June 14 via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. 15748, 10.6 1400, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation with the All Asia Service in English. According to frequent announcements, the evening service in English (1225-1535 UT) will be terminated on June 11. This is sad news indeed as the All Asia Service in English is a long time favourite of mine. O = 3 Och 11.6 1500 Sri Lanka BC Corp med sista kvällssändningen av All AsiaService. 3 CB (Christer Brunström, Sweden, SW Bulletin June 12 via DXLD) Please check and confirm that this is gone. Tnx, (Glenn, dxldyg via DXLD) On seeing the message at 1515 on the 12th I have checked both 15748 and 9770 and cannot hear a signal on either frequency. This is indeed very sad news as The Commercial Service of Radio Ceylon --- later to become the SLBC All Asia Service --- was one of the first stations I heard on SW over 50 years ago. 73s (Noel R. Green, [NW England], ibid.) ** SUDAN. Hello! I got a mail (QSL) from Pete(r) Stover of Edmedia with some more information about Radio Peace in southern Sudan. He tells me that both frequencies (4750 and 5895 kHz) are in daily use, but with different programs and patterns. 4750 kHz is on with 1 000 W for the southern parts of Sudan in six languages (English and five Sudanese languages). 5895 is on with 5 000 W for central and northern Sudan and in two languages (English and Arabic). "The stations are domestic. The signals throughout the rest of the world would be weak if existing at all except for the "right" conditions". says Pete Stover. Best regards (Jan Edh, Hudiksvall, Sweden, DX-ing in Fredriksfors, June 16, HCDX via DXLD) ** SYRIA. Radio Damascus was heard on 13610 kHz on June 11 at 2114- 2140. SINPO 34333. Syrian music at 2114, followed by ID in English and news. Commentary and music from 2124. But modulation was very poor, so I checked with 12085kHz and found that both broadcasts were in parallel. 12085 was SINPO 44444. Both signals got weaker around 2130 (Iwao Nagatani, Kobe, Japan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) For a while, 9330 seemed to have replaced 13610, so I guess 9330 is gone again? (gh, DXLD) ** TUNISIA. New updated schedule for RTTunisia in Arabic effective from June 1: 0300-0430v 12005 SFA 500 kW / 100 deg to EaAf 0300-0430v 9720 SFA 500 kW / 100 deg to EaAf 0300-0530v 7275 SFA 500 kW / 340 deg to WeEu 0500-0700v 7190 SFA 500 kW / 265 deg to NoAf 1500-1900 12005 SFA 500 kW / 100 deg to EaAf 1500-1900 9720 SFA 500 kW / 100 deg to EaAf 1600-1900 7225 SFA 500 kW / 340 deg to WeEu 1800-2200 7190 SFA 500 kW / 265 deg to NoAf DELETED FREQUENCIES: 0100-0300 9720, 12005 0300-0500 7190 0530-0600 7275 1100-1300 15450, 17735 1300-1500 11730, 11950, 15450, 17735 1500-1600 7225, 11950 1600-1800 7190 1900-2000 7225, 9720, 12005 2000-2200 7225 (Observer, Bulgaria, June 14 via DXLD) ** U K [non]. Time and frequency changes for morning transmission of BBC in Albanian: 0500-0700 NF 9770 CYP, NF 11840 RMP, ex 0530-0600 on 7285 CYP, 9885 CYP, 11845 RMP (Observer, Bulgaria, June 14 via DXLD) The BBC's Albanian Service is launching a new morning news and current affairs programme from Wednesday 8 June. From 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Central European Time [0500 to 0700 gmt], Monday to Friday, BBC Sot (BBC Today) sets the day's agenda with global, regional and local coverage for listeners in Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia and Greece (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) The transmission is also being heard on SW via 11840 and 9770. And a transmission in what sounded like Albanian was on air at tune in 0545 today (Saturday June 11) until 0700 and included a language lesson around 0630. 73s Noel R. Green [NW England], June 11, ibid.) ** U S A. VOA TO RESUME RADIO BROADCASTS TO UZBEKISTAN Press Release Washington, D.C., June 10, 2005 http://www.voanews.com/english/About/2005-06-10-voa64.cfm The Voice of America will resume its radio broadcasts to the Central Asian nation of Uzbekistan on June 12. VOA had ceased broadcasting on radio to Uzbekistan last year in response to research that showed Uzbeks watch television in significant numbers. VOA has been broadcasting television programming to Uzbekistan since December 2003. "Because of the recent events in Uzbekistan and the Uzbek government's tightening of controls on foreign television broadcasts, we have decided to resume our radio broadcasts," said VOA Director David Jackson. "The Uzbek people deserve to have access to uncensored news and information about what's happening in their own country, their region, and the world. In addition, our Uzbek language web site will continue to be updated with the latest news and information." VOA's Uzbek-language radio broadcasts will consist of a daily (seven days a week), 30-minute program, airing at 1500-1530 UT (20:00 -20:30 local time) on the following shortwave frequencies: SW Frequencies 1500-1530 UT: 11515 IRA (26.05 meters) 11780 UDO (25.47 meters) 15390 KAV (19.49 meters) VOA hopes to offer the new Uzbek-language radio broadcasts on medium wave and FM in the future. VOA's coverage will focus on the news of the world, of Uzbekistan and Central Asia, and information about U.S. policy and opinion. The coverage will also include U.S. and world press reviews on Uzbekistan, as well as interviews with regional and international experts on Uzbekistan and the region. The Voice of America, which first went on the air in 1942, is a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. government through the Broadcasting Board of Governors. VOA broadcasts more than 1,000 hours of news, information, educational, and cultural programming every week to an estimated worldwide audience of more than 100 million people. Programs are produced in 44 languages, including English. For more information, call the Office of Public Affairs at (202) 401- 7000, or E-Mail publicaffairs @ voa.gov (via Mike Terry, June 10, dxldyg via DXLD) TFK! ** U S A. To eliminate the heterodyne from Polisario 7466, WWCR has shifted from 7465 to 7466 at 5-8 pm CT [2200-0100 UT] (George McClintock, WWCR, June 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Unneeded after 0000, but confirmed on 7466 at 0052 check June 13. So US SW stations have the option of doing this; must the FCC approve first or be notified? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also WESTERN SAHARA [non] ** U S A. Hi, Glenn! Didn't see anything about this in the dxldyg: WRMI had a lot of dead air over this past weekend, at least in the evenings when I checked them for DXPL, WoR, etc. Saturday and Sunday nights (Sun/Mon UT). Carrier there but no audio on 7385 kHz (Will Martin, MO, June 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 11645, WEWN Radio Católica Mundial, en una nueva frecuencia o emisión accidental, desde 2103 a 2200, en español con locutor en un programa sobre Fray Junípero Serra, música sintonía, locutora con programa de carácter religioso y segmento de música, anuncian emitir desde California, SINPO 34332 (Jose Miguel Romero, Burjasot (Valencia) España, June 12, bclnews.it via DXLD) Talvez el programa, no la emisora desde California (gh) FRECUENCIAS POR ONDA CORTA 27 de marzo – 30 de octubre del 2005. 1 am - 7 am 7425 khz 7 am - 10 am 13615/11645 khz 10 am - 6 pm 15745/11645 khz 6 pm - 8 pm 13615/ 9355 khz 8 pm - 1 am 13615/ 7425 khz http://www.ewtn.com/spanish/Frequencias_radio.asp (via Jose Miguel Romero, ibid.) If they just changed to 11645, how can this be dated starting 27 March? Times presumably EDT = UT -4 as usual even tho WEWN is in the CDT = UT -5 zone! (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Re 5-096, high seas weather broadcasts: Glenn, The High Seas Voice sked is in April/May 2002 issue of the Great Lakes Monitor, if you keep back issues. It was the first ute column I wrote. The original voice sked on the USCG site is no longer online, tho' I don't know why. I have a copy if you need it. The USCG has been experimenting with different voices for two or three years now. Paul has not been transgendered, just occasionally replaced. Ute chasers are odd. 73 as always, (Liz Cameron, June 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, My latest sked is 2004. NOJ is weak here. NRV is slightly better. The 2670 broadcasts require very quiet conditions. I haven't heard Ft. Macon. 73/Liz [several of the 8764 entries read as 9764; gh changed] NMN, Portsmouth VA 0330 4426 6501 8764 0500 4426 6501 8764 0930 4426 6501 8764 1130 6501 8764 13089 1600 6501 8764 13089 1730 8764 13089 17314 2200 6501 8764 13089 2330 6501 8764 13089 NMC, San Francisco 0430 4426 8764 13089 1030 4426 8764 13089 1630 8764 13089 17314 2230 8764 13089 17314 NMO, Honolulu 0000 8764 13089 0600 6501 8764 1200 6501 8764 1800 8764 13089 NOJ, Alaska 0203 6501 1645 6501 NRV, Guam 0300 13089 0930 6501 1530 6501 2130 13089 2670 Broadcasts --- These use calling freq of 2182 at :00-:03 minutes. 0103 Ft Macon, NC 0133 Cape Hatteras 0203 Portsmouth, VA and San Francisco 0233 Chincoteague, VA 0303 Humboldt, CA 0533 Astoria, OR 0603 North Bend, OR 0615 Pt Angeles, WA 0705 Guam 0903 Honolulu 1233 Ft Macon, NC 1303 Cape Hatteras and Long Beach 1333 Portsmouth, VA 1403 Chincoteague, VA and San Francisco 1503 Humboldt, CA 1733 Astoria, OR 1803 North Bend, OR 1815 Pt Angeles, WA 2103 Long Beach and Honolulu 2205 Guam 2330 Atlantic City, NJ Unscheduled emergency messages only from Kodiak, AK, on 2182/2670 (via Liz Cameron, dxldyg via DXLD) Are these times Local, or UT?? Seems as if a 2103 UT broadcast from Long Beach on 2182 would have extremely limited range (GREG HARDISON, ibid.) I think they are expected to be short range on 2182 and 2670, since there are many stations using them (gh) Liz, Tnx, but this still doesn`t account for all the // frequencies I heard at 1500-1530 UT. Any ideas? (Glenn, ibid.) Did you hear WLO? However, there is no 1500 broadcast from the USCG. Today, 13 June, I heard WLO on 13110 // 13152 at 1500, with Perfect Paula. Note the gender. Don't know what else it could be. Who knows what the government does. The WLO sked is at http://www.shipcom.com/frequencies.html The weather is transmitted on the ship receive frequencies. Kindly, (Liz Cameron, June 13, dxldyg via DXLD) I didn`t get an ID but assumed it would be easy to look up the schedule, to determine station(s) and frequencies. Now this site does it. The first group of frequencies I heard, 17362, 13152, 13110, 8806, 8788 all match WLO Mobile AL below, altho channels 830 and 1226 obviously should have a + after them; and the slightly-satellite?- delayed second group, 17311, 13101 and 8731 all match KLB Kent WA. This was evidently the broadcast dealing with the Gulf of Alaska, at 1500 (Glenn Hauser, June 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: SHIPCOM LLC ON THE HOUR SYNTHESIZED VOICE TRAFFIC LISTS AND WEATHER AREA TIMES OF BROADCAST UT Gulf of Mexico 0400 1300 1600 2200 SW N Atlantic 0500 1300 1700 2300 Caribbean Sea 0600 1300 1800 0000 East Pacific 0300 1400 2000 Alaska Offshore 0800 1500 WLO HIGH SEAS HF SSB VOICE WLO SCF = Suppressed Carrier Frequency ITU CH NO. | SCF Ship Transmit | SCF Ship Receive 405+ 4077.0 4369.0 414 4104.0 4396.0 607 6218.0 6519.0 824+ 8264.0 8788.0 830 8282.0 8806.0 1212+ 12263.0 13110.0 1226 12305.0 13152.0 1607 16378.0 17260.0 1641+ 16480.0 17362.0 1807 18798.0 19773.0 2237+ 22108.0 22804.0 2503 25076.0 26151.0 KLB HIGH SEAS HF SSB VOICE KLB Enhanced Coverage of the Pacific and Alaskan waters. 417+ 4113.0 4405.0 805+ 8207.0 8731.0 1209+ 12254.0 13101.0 1624+ 16429.0 17311.0 Shown Frequencies are in kHz. +denotes Voice Guard, Calling, Paging, Working and Synthesized Voice WX announcement (ShipCom site above via gh, DXLD) 17362/U, WLO Mobile AL; 1703-1726:23*, 11-June; Synthesized W voice in English with Caribe & Gulf of Mexico marine wx and Arlene update mentioning the Nat'l Hurricane Center in Miami. Off with ID, "This is WLO & KLB". Good but fady (Harold Frodge, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) Glenn, I heard the marine bulletin on 17362U this weekend with a weak signal. Got curious and started checking Hugh Stegman's utility column in old MTs for a listing. It is identified as WLO, Mobile, AL in the April 2004 issue. I'm with you on the state of voice synthesizers. The USCG broadcast is even worse than this one, and the National Weather Service is still using Perfect Paul, too. With their mispronunciations (especially of place names), uneven cadence, and strung-together phrasing, you have to wonder if the chance of misinterpretation in an emergency is worth the trade-off. For an example of the right way to do it, one only has to listen to the aviation weather broadcasts emanating from New York and Gander Radio (6604U/10051U et al.). 73, (John Cobb, Roswell, GA, June 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re: Alpine 42.8 MHz Sat 1600 UT, until? The scanner is set for 42.8 MHz, WFM mode. Since I easily receive TV from the Alpine tower (stations moved there after 9/11/2001), it should be an easy catch in Aberdeen, NJ (Daniel L. Srebnick, June 11, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) [Later, 1801 UT:] So much for my optimism. No signal received. Did anyone have better luck? (Daniel Srebnick, ibid.) Reminder that another repeat of that commemoration is at 2300 UT Thu June 16 on WFDU plus webcast (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. I found the note I saw on dxldyg about KFUO AM 850 here in St Louis thinking about dropping IBOC to be heartening news. That hiss blankets from 810 up to 890, wider than the reported IBOC interference I had previously read about. It will be good to hear it gone! 73, (Will Martin, MO, June 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. ANALYSIS: US MEDIA GIANT VIACOM TO SPLIT INTO TWO COMPANIES | Text of editorial analysis by Peter Feuilherade of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 15 June The board of the global media giant Viacom, whose holdings include CBS, MTV and the Paramount film studio, on 14 June unanimously approved a plan to split the company into two separate entities, one focusing on broadcast television and the other on cable networks. Businesses such as CBS and the Infinity Broadcasting radio operation will be grouped in a separate company, CBS Corporation, while Viacom's other assets - including MTV Networks, Paramount Pictures and Paramount Home Entertainment - will be combined in another company retaining the Viacom name. Viacom, itself the product of several big mergers, said the split would take effect in the first quarter of 2006. Viacom CEO Sumner Redstone will be chairman and controlling shareholder of the companies, which will both be based in New York. The move to break up the company essentially undoes Viacom's acquisition of CBS, which was announced in 1999. Viacom decided to go ahead with the break-up after becoming frustrated with its languishing share price. Although Viacom shares traded as high as 75 dollars in July 2000, they have struggled since then, finishing at around 34 dollars on the New York Stock Exchange on 14 June. "Viacom hopes that the MTV-based unit will attract investors seeking fast-growing businesses, while those seeking dividends and higher cash-generating businesses such as broadcast TV and radio will buy shares in the new CBS Corp," the Associated Press reported. The end for conglomerates? US media analysts say Viacom's split-up is the biggest example of a recent trend among media companies to trim their holdings as they try to regain favour with investors. Large diversified media conglomerates have generally failed to attract investors in recent years, as scepticism has grown about the synergies to be gained from owning such diverse assets. When Viacom announced in March that it was considering a plan to split itself into two companies, it said it wanted to allow investors to value its line-up of companies separately. In April, the US radio giant Clear Channel Communications said it would spin off its live entertainment business, and radio station and magazine owner Emmis Communications announced that it would sell its TV stations. "The problem is there hasn't been much growth in the last three years; (Rupert) Murdoch has that problem and Time Warner has that problem," independent media analyst Dennis McAlpine told the entertainment industry publication Variety. Sumner Redstone himself put it more succinctly, saying after Viacom's demerger was announced: "The age of the conglomerate is over." Source: BBC Monitoring research 15 Jun 05 (via DXLD) ** U S A. FCC ISSUES $21,000 NOTICE OF APPARENT LIABILITY TO MAINE AMATEUR http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/06/14/100/?nc=1 NEWINGTON, CT, Jun 14, 2005 --- The FCC has issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL) proposing to fine Glenn A. Baxter, K1MAN, of Belgrade Lakes, Maine, $21,000. In the NAL, released June 7, the FCC alleges that Baxter has violated several sections of the Part 97 Amateur Service Rules. The list includes rules proscribing interference with ongoing communications, transmitting communications in which he has a pecuniary interest, failure to provide information the FCC requested, engaging in broadcasting, and failure to exercise control of his station. In the NAL, the FCC`s Enforcement Bureau recites a litany of correspondence over the past several months to and from Baxter --- a registered professional engineer and executive director of the American Amateur Radio Association (AARA). ``In response to numerous complaints of deliberate interference caused by transmissions from Mr Baxter`s Amateur station K1MAN to ongoing radio communications of other stations, including stations participating in the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Net, the Bureau issued a Warning Notice to Mr Baxter on September 15, 2004,`` the NAL states. ``The Bureau requested information from Mr Baxter with regard to the method of station control and what action, if any, was being taken in response to the complaints of interference.`` The FCC said its Warning Notice also recalled a written warning dated April 14, 2004, advising Baxter that enforcement action would be taken if he failed to correct the deliberate interference attributed to his station and if he continued to use his station for pecuniary interest by advertising his Web site. Baxter responded to the FCC Warning Notice on October 14, 2004, stating ``no corrective actions are necessary at K1MAN`` and that his means of station control ``is in full compliance with all FCC rules`` and that K1MAN ``is in full compliance with all FCC rules, state laws, and federal laws.`` According to the FCC, Baxter concluded his reply by saying, ``I encourage you to take `enforcement actions` and look forward to seeing you in court(s).`` Calling Baxter`s response ``insufficient,`` the FCC issued a second Warning Notice last October 29, spelling out his ``obligations as a licensee to furnish the information requested by the Bureau.`` The Warning Notice also reported the receipt of two more complaints of deliberate interference allegedly caused by K1MAN. The FCC gave Baxter 20 more days to provide information regarding the identity of the control operator and his method of station control on the dates and times specified in the recent interference complaints. The FCC says Baxter responded last November 2 to indicate that his previous response had ``provided all the information required by FCC rules and by federal law.`` He did not offer any information regarding the identity of the control operator or the method of station control, the FCC added. The NAL also cites monitoring of K1MAN by FCC personnel and asserts that last November 27, ``K1MAN began transmitting on top of ongoing communications at 5:54 PM EST on 3.890 MHz, disrupting the communications by other licensees.`` It alleged similar occurrences on December 8 and March 31. FCC personnel from Boston inspected Baxter`s station last November 30. During that visit, the FCC said, Baxter demonstrated that he could control his station`s transmitter using a telephone interface. ``Mr Baxter claimed that he monitored the station from a mobile receiver when not at the transmitter and that he could control the transmitter through a land-line or cellular phone,`` the NAL recounted. The FCC said last December 1, K1MAN transmitted ``a pre-recorded program lasting nearly seventy minutes, which consisted of an interview by Mr Baxter with Mr Jeff Owens.`` The Commission contends that the transmission ``consisted of a lengthy broadcast of the telephone interview with Mr Owens`` during which, it says, Baxter explained how Owens could invest in franchises of Baxter Associates -- - a management consulting, executive search and executive career management enterprise --- and how Baxter planned to market franchises of Baxter Associates. ``Nothing in the program related to Amateur Radio, and no station call sign was given until the conclusion of the seventy-minute program,`` the FCC stated. The Commission said the transmission constituted a broadcast and an impermissible one-way transmission. On December 19, 2004, the Commission asserts, K1MAN ``broadcast transmissions of an apparently defective pre-recorded audio tape, which resulted in the repeated transmission of a nine-word phrase, and segments thereof, without any intervention of a control operator and without the identification of the station`s call sign.`` The transmission lasted some 46 minutes, the Commission reported, noting that Baxter`s station shut down abruptly in mid-sentence. The FCC said this incident indicated that the control operator did not have sufficient control over his station. The Commission says on March 30, 2005, on at least four occasions on 3.890 MHz its monitoring personnel observed K1MAN advertising the AARA Web site, which ``offers various products for sale.`` It concluded that those mentions and the transmission of the Baxter Associates interview violated FCC Amateur Service rules ``by transmitting communications regarding matters in which he has a pecuniary interest.`` The FCC further concluded that Baxter failed to supply information it had requested in its warning notices of last September 15 and October 29. Baxter has 30 days to pay the fine or file a written statement seeking a reduction or cancellation of the proposed fine. Copyright © 2005, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, dxldyg) K1MAN`s response can be found at http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/K1MAN14275/myhomepage/business.html (Norfolk, dxldyg) ** VANUATU. 7259.685, 0621-, Radio Vanuatu, Jun 11. Sunset in Port Vila, with a decent signal (at least the music) but with lots of summer static crashes. Modern western music. Chatting with Guy Atkins across the table, when it just vanished at 0625. Very weak het only. I assumed it was some local noise, but I don't think so, as 7120 PNG is coming in with audio. Still nothing at 0642, but fair audio on 3944.86 with identical format, so I'm assuming this is the same transmitter. Listened to 0658 with mentions of Vanuatu. Port Vila mentioned at 0706. I checked again at 0800. Rapid drums up to the TOH, then islands type music. No IS or ID on the hour. 'People of Vanuatu' heard at 0805. Transmitter appears to be drifting somewhat. 'Vanuatu government' at 0807. Frequency is 3944.86 at 0810. Radio Vanuatu ID at 0811:55. Rapid drums, and ?conch shell, and another Radio Vanuatu ID at 0815, and into music, and presumed ad. All at good signal strength but weak modulation (Walt Salmaniw, Grayland, WA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 3944.9v, 0715-0740, R. Vanuatu, Jun 11. Noted this rising up from the noise prior to 0700, and down 0.1 kHz from nominal, just like Vanuatu on 7259.9v earlier in the evening before it shut down suddenly. Mentions of 'Tok Tok' at 0715 as well as Port Vila at 0731. Poor to fair signal, but improving past 0740. Noted again at 0814, drifted down to 3944.85. 'Radio Vanuatu' ID at 0815 (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DXing from Grayland, WA, mod. ICOM IC-756Pro & mod. ICOM R-75, Kiwa MAP / ERGO SW, W, and NW Beverage antennas, 500-800 ft., DX LISTENING DIGEST) See DX-PEDITIONS below ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 7466, RASD, May [sic, surely means June] 15, 1956 man singing, 2002 man talking news in Arabic with many mentions of Sahara, Polisario and Maghreb. Signal: S9, 43443 some little QRM from 7475 ERA Greece (Zacharias Liangas, using R75+16m dipole, Retziki Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) also see USA --- WWCR W. SAHARA (or ALGERIA) 700 kHz, Polisario Front (site?) resumed its 2300-2400 programs in Castilian, as observed on 10 JUN at 2347-; 35443; \\ 7466. On 11 JUN, the carrier ran empty ±2135-2155 while \\ 7466 had a carrier without any audio (only the typical noise or noise- like "signal" was to be heard) from sign-on until sign-off. Yesterday, 12 JUN, they again broadcast the 2300-2400 Castilian program. On Friday (10 JUN) morning, the Radio for Peace feature was aired again after the 0800-0900 extra hour of normal program in Arabic Fridays (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, June 13, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I felt curious on whether the Polisario Front's (*) frequency announcement in the language I can understand --- which is by no means Arabic but Castilian --- is still sticking to the usual "recipe" --- and they do actually, for they keep announcing 1550 & 7470 kHz. As we know, neither is used, albeit 7470 now became "closer" to 7466 (ex- 7460). Also, it's certainly not everyday that the usual frequency announcement at the start of the (Castilian) program is aired, and on the other hand I would really like to know which frequencies are announced in Arabic. Does anybody know some reliable address (postal or e-mail) for them? (* some reports &/or bulletins seem to be fond of mentioning "R. RASD" [=Castilian, Radio de la República Árabe Saharaui Democrática], but is there a country such as this? To my knowledge, this is for the time being simply a territory with some special status recognised by the UN (+other details involving Morocco, etc.). Please do correct me, if I'm wrong or outdated about it all, but don't think I'm too far from the truth. This explains why I stick to what's still behind these activities, broadcasting or otherwise, i.e. "Polisario Front", instead of mentioning R. RASD.) (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, June 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It`s a clandestine, so they can call themselves RASD or whatever they like (gh, DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. Hi Glenn, SW Radio Africa heard in Zimbabwe at 15145 sign on at 1700 without jamming, June 11. A decent signal which is still most likely from the Rampisham, UK, 500 kW site. 73 (David Pringle-Wood, Harare, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15145, 15 Jun, SW R. Africa, 1700-1715, Inglés, locutora con ID, música de sintonía, entonces "This is [sic] Radio Africa, Zimbabwe independence boys", locutor con cuña "Radio Africa, opinion, remembers y news", noticias, SINPO 55555 (Jose Miguel Romero EA5-1022, Burjasot (Valencia), España, SANGEAN ATS 909, Hilo de siete metros, bclnews.it via DXLD) So they keep on going (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. 12005, 8.6 0615, VT Merlin Communications with test transmission until 0630. Announcing web site: http://www.vtplc.com/merlin The question is what will come at this time in the future. 4-5 CB (Christer Brunström, Sweden, SW Bulletin June 12, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. On 6/11/05 1759-1800 UT, I encountered a strange high- pitched tone from 17436 to 17464 kHz, strongest on 17450. Tuning down, I heard distorted audio from my local FM 90.7, loudest around 17430, detectable to 17412, which I guess was a receiver artifact from the Grundig 800. But that stayed there while the high tone disappeared, so I think the tone was actually an on-air signal. Tuning down, I found your reported maritime weather synthesized voice on 17362 (Will Martin, MO, June 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I hear the high-pitched tone too almost every day; this was discussed in DXLD a couple years ago, but I don`t think it was ever identified (gh) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hello. Enjoy your W O R broadcast weekly on WRN internet services. I find them very informative. From Dublin, Ireland. I`m a radio SW listener, mainly to the bigger national stations, such as RCI, VOR, RNW, etc. on a small SONY portable ICF-SW11. Also recently online via WRN. All the best, (Declan Nolan, June 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DX-PEDITIONS ++++++++++++ GRAYLAND, WA DXPEDITION 11 - 12 JUNE, 2005 [complete reports by Walt Salminiw and Guy Atkins appeared in dxldyg. In this issue, see PAPUA NEW GUINEA; SOLOMON ISLANDS; VANUATU --- gh] This weekend, John Bryant, Guy Atkins, and myself once again convened in the Grayland, WA area for a mini-dxpedition. Conventional wisdom states that with the longest day approaching, DXing takes a back burner to normal summer pastimes. Needless to say, this notion has been dismissed soundly in past years, when dxing has been excellent, especially to stations Down-under. John preceded Guy and me by a day, and DXed for a couple of nights at the Grayland State Park, experimenting with his portable Kaz antenna, being unable to erect a Beverage, at least on the second night. We were able to communicate via GMRS radios the night Guy and I arrived. Unfortunately (for the MW DXer), reception was lackluster at best the first night, and a bit more interesting the second night. SW to PNG, however was superb, with the best reception in a long while. The highlight for both Guy and myself was monitoring Wantok Radio Light's official inauguration on 7120 with near armchair levels at times --- so much for the NVIS antenna system and 1 kW not getting out! It sure did! Vanuatu on 90 meters was another interesting logging. For the few PNGs not heard the first night, they appeared the following night. Tantalizing was a signal on both mornings on 2410. Could this be Radio Enga again? Unfortunately, unlike in past years, no audio was audible. ARDS 5050 (actually more like 5049.98) was audible only as a reasonable het both mornings. John's Kaz performed rather well compared to the Beverages, providing another alternative for the space challenged DXer, and does not depend on ground conductivity, unlike the EWE and Pennant/Flag antennae. Guy noted that this outing was a first of sorts, with the 3 of us all having spectrum display abilities --- John with his WinRadio 3030e, Guy with his Icom 756Pro, and me with my 756 ProII! We mused how the hobby has changed from a simple receiver, cassette deck, and headphones, with a myriad of paper resources. Today, we are all equipped with lap tops (in my case running both the Icom, and the 7030+ with ERGO4 computer control software, and ILG databases, as well as GeoClock, and Bruce Portzer's excellent Pacific AM List, the B-Log logging program, and 2 copies of Recall-Pro fed by each of the receivers via independent sound cards! Utterly amazing, isn't it? We had the choice between 3 Beverages aimed SW, W, and NW to Asia and the Pacific. I now have some 10 or 12 hours of MP3 recordings to listen to. No more cassette tapes, or Minidiscs! When everything works, it's simply marvellous!!! Now on to the loggings. Enjoy! (Walt Salmaniw, now safely home in Victoria, B.C., June 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) One thing you can count on with DXpeditions: there's always something memorable about each one! Although trans-Pacific mediumwave was an almost total bust, there seemed to be a propagational magnifying glass on Papua New Guinea this weekend on shortwave. This was very fortunate, as June 11 was the special inaugural broadcast and celebration of the new Wantok Radio Light station in Port Moresby. Walt Salmaniw and I occupied the usual "DX Central" motel room at Grayland; we had guest appearances by John Bryant, staying at nearby Grayland Beach State Park with his wife on the first segment of a 10- day camping/mini DXpedition trip. The first night, Walt and I kept in touch with John via GMRS radio transceivers. On the second night of DXing we had the chance to try out John's new "Porta-KAZ" antenna alongside the Beverages. Although designed for mediumwave, the KAZ was a surprisingly good performer on shortwave, too. It is also a quiet antenna and fits within a small "footprint," suitable for most campsites. The highlight of the trip for Walt and me was without a doubt the very impressive reception of 1 kW Wantok Radio Light, 7120 kHz. At home, both Walt and I have had reception just above threshold levels. On the DXpedition we were treated to hours on end of impressive signal levels, which made for very enjoyable listening and recording for posterity (Guy Atkins, Puyallup, WA USA, DXing from Grayland, WA, mod. ICOM IC-756Pro & mod. ICOM R-75, Kiwa MAP / ERGO SW, W, and NW Beverage antennas, 500-800 ft., DX LISTENING DIGEST) DRM [see also BELGIUM; ITALY] +++ The latest edition of Mailbox on RNZI includes a long documentary/ discussion on how DRM would be used in the Asia-Pacific region, including a segment on a DRM field test in New Zealand. I caught the program during its repeat on shortwave earlier this week. If you haven't heard it, you can find it here: http://www.rnzi.com/pages/audio.php Just scroll down to "Mailbox" and click on the show for June 6. It should remain available for a few more weeks (Ricky Leong, Calgary, Alta., swprograms via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ RE: HOW TO DISTINGUISH METEOR SCATTER FROM AIRPLANE SCATTER To quote Darwin of Thousand Oaks - "It lasts anywhere from 1/4 second to several seconds, depending on the trail length and size". He does not take into account meteor trains (persistent trains) which can last up to & even longer than 4 minutes These are heard during showers like the Leonids & Eta Aquarids. I have extensive recordings of these. Some meteor reflections even exhibit Doppler whistles (which drop in pitch - just like TV carriers in SSB mode) moments before the FM station is heard. Aircraft scatter is better described as "rhythmical fading" (phasing which slows as the aircraft enters the signal & speeds up when leaving). (Geoff Wolfe - Bombala NSW Australia - SONY ST-SA5ES tuner. DXing FM since 1983, June 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The geomagnetic field ranged from predominately quiet to minor storm levels with a couple of isolated periods of major to severe storm conditions at higher latitudes late on 12 June. The period began with quiet to active conditions at both the middle and high latitudes as a recurrent coronal hole high speed wind stream became geoeffective. By midday on 07 June, periods of minor storm conditions were observed at high latitudes. By late on the 7th, effects of the coronal hole waned and the field became quiet. Other than some isolated periods of unsettled levels, these conditions persisted through early on 12 June. By early on the 12th, geomagnetic conditions increased to mostly unsettled to active, and by midday, the higher latitudes observed minor to severe storm levels as effects from the 09 June CME became geoeffective. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 15 JUNE - 11 JULY 2005 Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels for the entire forecast period. There is a slight chance for a greater than 10 MeV proton event. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 15 June, 18 – 19 June, 21 – 24 June, and 27 June – 11 July. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to minor storm levels. Effects from a weak halo CME on 12 June, coupled with a small coronal hole wind stream, is expected to produce unsettled to active levels on 15 – 17 June. Recurrent coronal hole high speed wind streams are expected to produce active to minor storm levels on 24 - 27 June, and again on 01 – 04 July. Otherwise, expect quiet to unsettled conditions. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2005 Jun 14 2215 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2005 Jun 14 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2005 Jun 15 90 12 3 2005 Jun 16 90 15 3 2005 Jun 17 90 12 3 2005 Jun 18 85 10 3 2005 Jun 19 85 8 3 2005 Jun 20 80 5 2 2005 Jun 21 80 5 2 2005 Jun 22 80 5 2 2005 Jun 23 80 5 2 2005 Jun 24 80 12 3 2005 Jun 25 85 20 4 2005 Jun 26 85 20 4 2005 Jun 27 90 15 3 2005 Jun 28 95 10 3 2005 Jun 29 95 10 3 2005 Jun 30 95 10 3 2005 Jul 01 100 15 3 2005 Jul 02 105 20 4 2005 Jul 03 105 15 3 2005 Jul 04 105 15 3 2005 Jul 05 110 8 3 2005 Jul 06 110 5 2 2005 Jul 07 110 5 2 2005 Jul 08 105 5 2 2005 Jul 09 105 8 3 2005 Jul 10 100 8 3 2005 Jul 11 95 8 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via DXLD) ###