DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-121, July 24, 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 1281: Mon 0230 WOR WRMI 7385 Mon 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 [NO week delay] Mon 0415 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually closer to 0418-] Mon 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Mon 1800 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Tue 1400] Tue 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 2330 WOR WBCQ 7415 [occasional] Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Latest edition of this schedule version, with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html WORLD OF RADIO 1281 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1281h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1281h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1281 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1281.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1281.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1281.html WORLD OF RADIO 1281 in true SW sound of Alex`s mp3: (stream) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_07-20-05.m3u (download) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_07-20-05.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO 1281 downloads in studio-quality mp3: (high) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1281h.mp3 (low) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1281.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO PODCAST: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml (currently available: 1277, Extra 57, 1278, 1279, 1280, Extra 58, 1281) WORLDOFRADIO.COM --- Hi Glenn, Trust that all is well with you. Hope your domain gets un"expired" very soon. I am already showing signs of DXLD withdrawal! Take care, (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, 1638 UT July 23, DXLD) This morning I accessed http://www.worldofradio.com only to find the message "This Domain has expired. Please contact your provider to renew." Has the URL removed to another address? (Takahito Akabayashi, Tokyo, Japan, 0048 UT July 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Is everything OK? The "worldofradio" website has changed, and is no longer yours in terms of content. Glitch or major problem/change? This at 8:30 PM EDT (Brock Whaley, GA, July 23, ibid.) There was a billing mixup. Temporarily some files were availablized at the yg, and via other site http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/anomaly.html (gh) Glen[n], In case you haven't already been notified, or noticed yourself, worldofradio.com's url works just fine now, at UT 1330 Sunday (Brent Taylor, Aurora, ON, July 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So it was down for approximately 1 day from early Saturday to early Sunday. Tnx to everyone who contacted me expressing their concern, and tnx to our benefactor for renewing it. Glenn Interesting --- I'm still getting the domain expired site (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, 1651 UT July 24, ibid.) I guess it is the usual delay in recirculating DNS info (gh, DXLD) Site is working here (Don Hosmer, Dearborn, MI, 1749 UT, ibid.) Not working (Andy O`Brien, 1904 UT July 24, ibid.) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Re recent postings on this: "Ashna" means "Friend", as confirmed by VOA itself at http://www.voanews.com/english/About/RadioAshnaMay05.cfm "Voice" is "Seda", as familiar to DXers from various Farsi stations over the years (Chris Greenway, UK, July 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks for this. My memory must have been on vacation when I commented incorrectly ;) My apologies. 73 (Bernd Trutenau, dxldyg via DXLD) I wish everyone were so gracious in accepting correxion! Another example follows (gh, DXLD) ** ALASKA. KNLS, 12105, 1725 GMT, Russian, 333, July 20, YL with news items and an OM with comments in French. MacKenzie-CA. KNLS, 9615, 1620 GMT, Chinese, 444, July 20, YL mentioning Tony Blair, PM of England plus an OM with a newscast followed by music to past 1725. YL in Chinese and OM in French at 1730. French at 1730 and // 12105 (Stewart MacKenzie, WDX6AA, CA, GRDXC yg et al. via DXLD) Stewart, PLEASE check the references before circulating your logs. KNLS does not use 12105, and does not broadcast in French. So at least part of what you heard must have been something else. By studying three different online frequency schedules, it appears you may well have had KNLS in Chinese on 9615. The ``Russian`` at 1725 on 12105 would be V. of Greece in scheduled Albanian; no other stations are on this frequency at this hour. And French at 1730 on 12105 would surely be V. of Greece, but not // 9615. On 9615 after 1700, both KNLS in Chinese, and VOA via UK in Russian are listed. I will leave in some other stations during this time period on 9615, in case they have a bearing on this. The pertinent entries from the EiBi schedule: http://www.susi-und-strolch.de/eibi/dx/freq-a05.txt 9615 1300-1800 ALS KNLS Anchor Point M FE 9615 1600-1630 G BBC UZ CAs /CYP 9615 1630-1700 Mo-Fr G BBC UZ CAs /CYP 9615 1700-1900 USA Voice of America R CIS /G-w 12105 1600-1630 GRC Voice of Greece SR Eu 12105 1630-1700 GRC Voice of Greece BU Eu 12105 1700-1730 GRC Voice of Greece AL Eu 12105 1730-1800 GRC Voice of Greece F Eu HFCC A-05, which you have to download from a zip file via http://www.hfcc.org : 9615 1600 1700 43,44,49,50 NLS 100 300 Mandarin USA NLS FCC 9615 1700 1800 43,44,49,50 NLS 100 300 Mandarin USA NLS FCC 9615 1700 1900 29 WOF 300 66 G IBB IBB 9615 1600 1700 30S CYP 250 77 G BBC MER 12105 1200 2000 1-11,17,27,28 KAV 250 355 GR GRC ERA ERA And a third list from NDXC: http://www.geocities.jp/bindxc/bia05.txt 9615 BBC 1600-1630 1 7 Uzbek Limassol 250 77 CYP BBC a05 9615 BBC 1600-1700 23456 Uzbek Limassol 250 77 CYP BBC a05 9615 KNLS 1600-1700 1234567 Chinese Anchor Point 100 300 a05 9615 KNLS 1700-1800 1234567 Chinese Anchor Point 100 285 a05 9615 VOA 1700-1900 1234567 Russian Woofferton 250 82 G a05 12105 VOICE OF GREECE 1600-1630 Serbian Kavala 250 355 GRC VGREE a05 12105 VOICE OF GREECE 1630-1700 Bulgarian Kavala 250 355 GRC VGREE a05 12105 VOICE OF GREECE 1700-1730 Albanian Kavala 250 355 GRC VGREE a05 12105 VOICE OF GREECE 1730-1800 French Kavala 250 355 GRC VGREE a05 The current KNLS schedule, which appears to be up-to-date now: http://www.knls.org/English/ksched.htm where you can quickly check whether what you have could be KNLS. Oops, that version leaves out Chinese at 1700-1800 on 9615, but it does show at http://www.smzg.org/Schedule%20in%20English.htm 73, (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, Many thanks for your input of my loggings of KNLS? Alaska. I use the Passport to verify various frequency's that I tune in plus other schedules. I did not have on file a print out of the KNLS schedule BUT I do now. Now what I possibly heard on 12105 was a mixture of KNLS and Greece, or possible Greece all the way through. Since Alaska is closer than Greece, I assumed it was Alaska since the Passport has KNLS listed for that frequency. I also assumed that the 9615 freq was also KNLS as Greece in my files is not listed as being there. In the hours of 1500 to about 1800 GMT, propagation is good here for the Pacific Rim route. Europe is not heard here at all, they start coming in around 2000 GMT onwards for awhile. Again "thanks" for input to my recent logs. I am NOT a perfect person as of yet, so human errors due creep into my logs now and then and when folks drop me a line or two, I then know, some one is realy reading my logs!!! Have a good weekend and DX! (Stewart H. MacKenzie, WDX6AA, "World Friendship Through Shortwave Radio Where Culture and Language Come Alive!" ASWLC - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ASWLC/ SCADS - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SCADS/ DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Stewart, Since Passport is out of date when it is published, and much more so by the following summer, I do suggest that you consult the three online frequency listings I mentioned. I see that PWBR ``2005`` does have 12105 as an alternate S-season to 9615 for KNLS at 17-18 only --- but all more current info including KNLS itself does not show 12105 actually in use. Sometimes unusual propagation can happen and your French at 1730 on 12105 certainly matches Greece`s schedule. 73, (Glenn to Stewart, via DXLD) However, a possible wild card here is that KNLS has been known to change frequency and take plenty of time to update their own website. Checked all three versions, in English, Chinese and Russian and none show 12105 (gh, DXLD) ** BELARUS [non]. Would it be possible for a non-IBB station to be called "Radio Free Belarus" at all? At least RFE/RL is a registered trademark. And such a station from Poland would be already the second attempt after Radio Racja (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM [non]. 15660, 10.7 0900, Zwart of Wit, Vlaams Belangs hördes skapligt, men inte bra. Bara en massa politiskt snack. S 2-4 och splashad. BEFF Vlaams Belang, Zwart of Wit via ? – 15660. QSL via E-mail, v/s: Alice De Coster. 2 d. (Björn Fransson, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 24 via DXLD) ** BERMUDA. 1858 [EDT?] July 18, 94.9 ZB.., Hamilton, Bermuda, presumed with "Power 95 Stereo FM" with Hip hop, reggae and accented English. Nothing domestic uses this slogan, maps indicated 6 m paths open to Bermuda as well as FL. Not much else this could be (Russ Edmunds, Blue Bell, PA ( 360' ASL ) [15 mi NNW of Philadelphia] 40:08:45N; 75:16:04W, Grid FN20ID, Yamaha T-80 & APS9B at 15', WTFDA via DXLD) Es, 94.9, reggae music at 12 minutes past the hour, fighting with semi local superpowers WKSJ Mobile, AL and WTNT Tallahassee, FL. I think it was Power 95 Bermuda but no ID recorded. Weak audio, reggae, gone now (Randy KW4RZ Zerr, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, EM60qk http://www.geocities.com/kw4rz 2223 UT July 19, ibid.) ** CANADA. 6030, 0631 18 July, CFVP, Calgary with ID as the "Country morning show", weak and faded within ten minutes (David Norrie Dxing at Matarangi, Coromandel Peninsula, North Island, New Zealand. AOR 7030, 40m long wire, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Great catch; 100 watts (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA [non]. Per all my receivers here (even my modified Yamaha tuner) KISM is *still* fully broadcasting on 92.7 AND 93.1 - even causing serious interference on 93.3 KUBE as well on inferior receivers. I lost 93.1 a long time ago when they started doing this. 93.1 used to be clear. I would expect the new Vancouver to suffer more from this weird triple-frequency thing than KISM will, seeing how they boom in here. At least until somebody finally corrects whatever is causing it (SD, Es-less in (near) Seattle since June 28 and giving up, WTFDA via DXLD) ** CONGO DR [non]. Radio Okapi has started an evening service in French. A Japanese DXer received a schedule from Sentech in which Sentech had two transmissions for Hirondelle Foundation at 0400-0600 on 11690 and 1600-1700 UT on 11890. I know 11690 is used for Radio Okapi. So, I tried to identify the station at 1600 on 11890 last night and it turned out that the station was Radio Okapi. Strong carrier was observed at 1559 and at 1600, S/on with African music with chorus as "Okapi, Okapi". ID in French and talk by a man followed (Iwao Nagatani, Kobe, Japan, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST, via dxldyg just in time for July 23 monitoring from 1600) Weak to fair here on 11890 from 1625 tune in, clear channel but best in LSB. Mainly talk, identification as Radio Okapi by woman 1630 and quite a few IDs heard between 1630 and 1635 (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth Garden City, England, July 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST, and BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** CUBA. L'ouragan Dennis ne semble pas avoir endommagé les émissions en ondes courtes en provenance de Cuba. Si les émissions en français à 2000 et à 2130 TU étaient toujours diffusées dimanche dernier, il n'en est pas de même pour les émissions à destination des Antilles. Ainsi, entre 0000 et 0200 TU, le mardi 12 juillet, les programmes en français et créole sur 9550 kHz étaient remplacés par le programme de Radio Rebelde, une station domestique cubaine. Le programme sur 9550 kHz était diffusé en parallèle sur 11760 et 5025 kHz, 5025 kHz étant la fréquence habituelle de Radio Rebelde (informations issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. HEY, HEY, HEY: DENNIS SHREDS ALBERTS BY VALLI FINNEY, Citizen Staff http://www.keysnews.com/283838894683806.bsp.htm CUDJOE KEY --- Something has been missing for a few weeks in the skies over the Lower Keys. The something is Fat Albert, the locals' nickname for the two dirigibles that beam TV Martí [hereafter: Marti] --- American propaganda [sic] television --- to Cuba. Both of the large, white blimps, known as aerostats, were destroyed when winds from Hurricane Dennis roared through the Keys during the early morning hours of July 9, Maj. Vic Hines of the Air Force Air Combat Command in Virginia wrote in an e-mail in response to questions from The Citizen. The cost to replace the balloons is estimated at $1.4 million each, Hines wrote. "A team is still evaluating the full extent of the damage and whether damaged items are repairable or not," he wrote. "We plan to replace the aerostats as soon as possible." The damaged dirigibles are made to withstand high winds, but not of the type seen during the storm. "Aerostats are designed to withstand steady winds up to 65 knots (approximately 75 mph) while in flight and 90 knots (approximately 104 mph) on their mooring towers," Hines wrote. The highest recorded winds at the site were 93 knots or approximately 108 mph. The Air Force made its regular storm preparations after learning Hurricane Dennis was a threat to the Lower Keys, according to Hines. "Normal procedures are to dock the aerostats on their mooring towers during hurricanes and let them ride out the storm," he wrote. "Deflating an aerostat requires winds to be less than 10 knots (approximately 11 mph) for an extended period of time." Unfortunately, Hines said, that rarely occurs prior to the arrival of a storm. And, there are no structures large enough to house the two aerostats in the vicinity. Precautions were taken in an effort to keep the payload and the site safe, too. "We were able to remove the payload packages from both aerostats before site personnel were evacuated from the site. The generators on the aerostats were activated to sustain the blower systems and to provide aerostat system status," Hines said. "Site personnel also prepared the site for hurricane arrival by removing loose items, storing equipment items inside, placing vehicles out of harm's way, removing antennae from (the) top of buildings, etc." With the blimps destroyed, TV Marti has a limited broadcast schedule in Cuba and the television station is attempting to keep the news flowing to the communist country. "I checked with the people in Miami on how it is going to affect TV Marti," said Joe O'Connell, a spokesman with Voice of America. "They are our sister station. They are still trying to figure out how long it will take to get a replacement. The last time this happened, some years ago, it took many months as I recall." In the meantime, Voice of America plans to continue satellite transmissions and weekly flights of the C-130 on Saturday afternoons, O'Connell said. "We have anecdotal evidence [that Cuban residents] have seen those, especially those on Saturday," he said. "The Cubans have been jamming TV Marti for 15 years." (via Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, DXLD) Yes, we have no Martí --- I monitored 530 kc/s from GMT 23 July, 2155+ --- no trace of airborne Martí tonight (as of 2235 GMT). Suspect earlier treat of tropical blob Franklin caused them to abort the long journey from Pennsylvania this weekend (Rebelde was present on 530, alone.) (Terry L Krueger, Clearwater, Florida, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Nueva Tarjeta QSL --- Ola amigos, quem diria, eu que falei que Radio Marti (aquela que não gosta do Camarada-Barbudo), não enviava QSL, pelo menos uma carta, um ano após chegou, agradecendo o envio do informe e dizendo que no momento está sendo criado um novo cartão QSL, para ser enviado a todos. Bom final de semana... 73, (Paulo Miled, July 23, radioescutas yg via DXLD) ** DEUTSCHES REICH [non]. Anklage gegen Ernst Zündel Deutschland: Die Staatsanwaltschaft von Mannheim hat im Juli 2005 Anklage gegen Ernst Zündel erhoben. Der 66-jährige Nazi und Holocaust-Leugner war am 1. März 2005 aus Kanada nach Deutschland abgeschoben worden. Zündel war kurz nach dem zweiten Weltkrieg nach Kanada ausgewandert und hatte von hier aus ab den siebziger Jahren revisionistische Literatur verbreitet. In den neunziger Jahren hatte Ernst Zündel deutsch- und englischsprachige Sendungen über kommerzielle Kurzwellenstationen (1993 WRNO, 1994 WRMI, ca. 2000 WGTG) in den USA. Im Oktober 1996 gelang es ihm überdies, Sendungen über die russische Mittelwelle Kaliningrad 1386 kHz zu verbreiten, bevor die durch Hörer aufmerksam gemachte deutsche Redaktion der Stimme Russlands die weitere Ausstrahlungen unterbinden ließ. Die Sendungen wurden samstags um 21.00 Uhr MESZ nach dem deutschen Auslandsprogramm der Stimme Russlands ausgestrahlt, pikanterweise aus Ostpreußen, das Deutschland durch den nationalsozialistischen Angriffskrieg gegen die Sowjetunion verloren hatte. Nach nur zwei Sendungen am 12. und 19. Oktober 1996 wurden die Ausstrahlungen wieder eingestellt. Vom 19. bis 21. August 1998 brachte die deutsche Redaktion der "Stimme der Islamischen Republik Iran" ein ausführliches Interview mit Ernst Zündel. Die Staatsanwaltschaft Mannheim hat Anklage wegen Volksverhetzung in 14 Fällen erhoben und erwartet den Prozessbeginn gegen den Rechtsextremisten frühestens im November (Dr. Hansjörg Biener 23.7.2005, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Al parecer las dominicanas Cima 100/Super Q (4960 kHz) y Radio Pueblo (5010 kHz), no tienen en sus planes volver a las ondas cortas. Ambas ya llevan más de un año sin dar señales de vida. Tan sólo Radio Amanecer (6025 kHz) se mantiene al "pie del cañón" (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, July 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Hoy 21/07 también he intentado escuchar La Voz del Napo (3280v) y también se encuentra fuera del aire (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, July 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. La política QSL de Radio Cairo: ¿será que enviar informes de recepción vía correo-e a Radio Cairo, es una pérdida de tiempo? Como que sí. En noviembre de 2003 les mandé un informe vía correo electrónico y me prometieron una QSL. Un año después les recordé que no me habían enviado ninguna QSL y me dijeron que seguro la tendría en mis manos pronto. Ya estamos en julio y nada. ¿Por qué tanto descuido con los oyentes? 73s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, July 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FALKLAND ISLANDS [non]. BBC 'Calling Falklands' program heard here at 2130 on 11720 via Rampisham. I didn't note any co-channel interference. July 22, 2005 (Steve Lare, Holland, MI USA, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Fri and Tue only; so CRI via Chile did move to 11690 (gh, DXLD) ** GERMANY. Latest developments in the Königs Wusterhausen museum matter: Deutsche Telekom states that they acknowledge the attempts to preserve the object and consequently offered it to the Brandenburg state for sale at a symbolic 1 Euro charge. Trouble is, it costs 500,000 Euro annually to maintain the station grounds. Meanwhile the state, the Dahme-Spreewald district and the municipality of Königs Wusterhausen rejected this offer, stating that they are unable to bear the operational costs. Press reports: http://www.berlinonline.de/berliner-zeitung/brandenburg/467946.html http://morgenpost.berlin1.de/content/2005/07/23/brandenburg/768427.html (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Adverts on shortwave stations: They are possible at Deutsche Welle. This is kind of a low profile offer, but here is a special one for last year`s ballgame spectacle: http://www.ard-werbung.de/dokument/2548.phtml I did not go through the booking information pages where probably more details about placing ads on DW radio can be found (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. The following full data Prepared QSL's received from DTK Jülich, signed and stamped. 7220, Le Heraut de la Chritian Sience [sic --- I seem to recall that the CS insist on their name being spelt {and pronounced} in English no matter what the language, à la Côte d`Ivoire --- gh] 9480, Radio Cimarrona 15565, Ethiopians for Democracy and Peace. Reply in 5 months, after sending follow-up inquiry. V/s reported that my reports where forwarded to the respected stations for further verification, but yet to date nothing yet. v/s: Ralf Welf [sic] (Edward Kusalik, Coaldale AB, Canada, July 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GREECE. Glenn: Last Saturday, July 16, at 1400-1500 UT, VOG was playing disc-jockey type Greek music with no interruptions for the whole hour. This Saturday 1400-1500 VOG did not have anything even resembling Katerina's prerecorded programs. They were doing a relay of the Second Program of the Voice of Greece. I think the same thing will happen next Saturday, July 30. I don't know if that VOG's web site is accurate; mostly it doesn't get fixed for a month. This time the information is undated. Maybe things will be back to normal on Saturday, August 6, when Katerina gets back -- perhaps she will get the webmaster to put up the new details on VOG`s web site (John Babbis, MD, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9775 via Delano ** GUATEMALA. Hola Glenn, Saludos desde Catia La mar, VENEZUELA. Este pasado 21/07, a las 0306 UT, pude comprobar que Radio Verdad (4052v) se encuentra fuera del aire. Es la segunda noche consecutiva que no la puedo captar (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, July 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUINEA. FRENCH, RT Guinée, Conakry, 2100z, 7125 kHz (best in LSB), list of people invited to withdraw their passports: example, Miss xxxx student, bachelor, passport number xxxx; news of margarine supply in xxx stores (Patrice Privat, France, July 23, HCDX via DXLD) Pat apparently has embarked on a mission to log stations primarily by language, as many different ones as possible, and has reported a number of obscure ones on missionary stations, which are of course only a curiosity (gh) ** HONDURAS. 4819.15v, HRVC - LV Evangélica, July 23, 0450-0740. Thanks to Jim Ronda for tip. Spanish religious programming, preaching, songs, both religious and ballads, many IDs. Varied from poor at tune- in (heavy static) to good after 0550. Seemed to have a slight drift (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340, with T2FD antenna, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Had been inactive (gh) Quito 23/7 2005 *** Saturday late evening edition: *** Recording of 4819.14, HRVC, La Voz Evangélica, Tegucigalpa. Reactivated this Saturday evening! I have not logged this station for many years, a real surprise! Is giving ID for a station on 1040 kHz --- I`m not sure but the name sounds like "Volante 10-40" and then HRVC La Voz Evangélica de Honduras. Comments, photos and recordings at: http://www.malm-ecuador.com 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, WRTH 2005 shows among several 1040 stations an HRVC relay in Juticalpa (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Dear friends, Reactivated HRVC, La Voz Evangélica, Tegucigalpa, heard in Denmark 0220-0330, Jul 24 on 4819.1 kHz with religious talks by a man in Spanish, hymns, 0306 clear ID by a woman, 25232. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, HCDX via DXLD) Very good signal here in Helena, MT with some T-storm static. Spanish at this time at 0419 UT. Good to hear them again! (Terry Palmersheim, KC7LDP, ibid.) Yes, also noted last night at the Coorong DXpedition in South Australia fading in at late afternoon around 0630 UT (Craig Edwards, ibid.) ** HUNGARY/SWITZERLAND. SWISSCOM holds 75%+ share on Antenna Hungaria now. Wins against Austrian ORF/'ORS' and Australian 'Macquarie'. Swisscom kauft ungarisches Sendernetz. Beim Bieterverfahren um das ungarische Sendernetz geht der ORF leer aus: Die im ersten Schritt der Privatisierung abgegebenen 75 Prozent plus eine Aktie an der Antenna Hungaria gehen an den Hoechstbieter Swisscom. Mitbewerber von Swisscom waren in der letzten Runde die ORF-Sendertochter ORS sowie der australische Finanzriese Macquarie, die ORS landete letztlich auf dem zweiten Bieter-Rang. 46.76 Milliarden Forint (190 Millionen Euro) sind dem Schweizer Telekom-Konzern die ungarischen Sendemasten wert, die ORS bot laut ungarischen Medienberichten umgerechnet rund 170 Millionen Euro. "Ein hoeherer Preis waere aus unserer Sicht nicht vertretbar gewesen", kommentierte ORF-Finanzchef Alexander Wrabetz den Ausgang des Bieterverfahrens. Nach wie vor habe man weitere Sendernetze im mittel- und osteuropaeischen Raum im Auge und habe nun in Ungarn "international aufgezeigt". http://www.horizont.at/medien/pages/showmsg.prl?id=21300&type=4 (via Gerhard Meixner-AUT, A-DX July 21 via Wolfgang Büscheel, DXLD)) ** INDIA. A speaker from All India Radio is hoping to close its external radio service as soon as possible - AIR external services costs 10 million dollars a year and has no discernible audience at all (posted by Jonathan Marks @ 7/21/2005 07:57:47 PM Critical Distance blog via DXLD) Apparently referring to a session at an AIB conference in London (gh) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. I have decided to move the Prime Time Shortwave newsletter back to Topica. I hadn't considered that Yahoo! Groups can be a bad place for the email list when it comes to being spammed. I have not heard of anyone having problems with spam at Topica so it seems to be the ideal place to have this email list unless I find a better alternative. Sorry for any inconvenience (Daniel Sampson, Prime Time Shortwave, July 22, PTSW yg via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. 7480, 18 Jul, R. BAYEM-E Doost, 1800-1815, persa, locutora con ID, comentarios, música folklórica de fondo, lectura de un poema con referencias a Teheran, locutor, SINPO 43433 (José Miguel Romero, Sacañet, (Castellón), España, Sangean ATS 909, Antena hilo de siete metros, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Re "Didn't Israel Radio carry adverts at one time or was that when they were just relaying the domestic service a few years ago? (Russell Cummings, UK, ibid.) " Personally, I don't ever remember Israel Radio International/Reshet Hey (Fifth Network) having commercials. On the other hand, back around 1990, I remember hearing Osem (food) advertisements on the Kol Israel domestic English news, then on Reshet Alef (First Network). This was relayed on shortwave. "It's Good, it's Osem." This English catchphrase they used, is a direct translation of their Hebrew catchphrase. Therefore, it's coincidental that it almost sounded like, "It's good, it's awesome," when spoken. Osem products are exported to the United States and other countries, so advertising via shortwave was not a bad thing. Regarding current Israel Radio available on shortwave - Reshet Bet (Second Network) has commercials. This is also a domestic network, relayed on shortwave. Israel Army Radio (Galei Tzahal - this is not Kol Israel) also has commercials and is relayed on shortwave. I think that I remember reading that the Russian broadcasts on the REKA network contain commercials. Some of the Russian broadcasts are relayed on shortwave as well. As I don't understand Russian, I can't confirm the relaying of the commercials (Doni Rosenzweig, July 23, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LATVIA. Hi Glenn, Just now at 17 UT July 22, I`m listening to Radio Tatras International on 1350 kHz with signal strength S5 broadcasting from the transmitter site in Latvia. Pop music and short "R-T-I" - IDs. Same program also on 9290 kHz, but with better reception. 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, DX LISTENING DIGEST via dxldyg without delay) 9290 kHz: Radio Tatras International (presumed) was heard at 1715-1801 on July 22. SINPO 24332. The program consisted of Pops and short ID as "RTI". Was this a test broadcast or regular one from Latvia? (Iwao Nagatani, Kobe, Japan, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9290 very strong here 2200 and still going at 2305 with Radio Tatras relay (Mike Barraclough, July 22, dxldyg via DXLD) Hello All, Heard Radio Tatras International via Ulbroka Latvia, 9290 kHz, 2250 past 2300 UT. Station ID at top of hour, with a music event commercial. Excellent signal with SINPO 55555 (Christopher David Lewis, England, July 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) There's a way to QSL R Tatras International 1350 kHz via the transmitter operator KREBS TV in Latvia. Just received a kind full- data verification by e-mail. Same company also operates Radio Nord on 945 kHz and they said printed QSL-cards for R Nord are now ready and will be sent out soon. RTI cards will be printed later. If you need the e-mail address for reports of 1350 kHz Kuldiga transmitter, please contact me. My e-mail is: jari.savolainen [at] pp8.inet.fi (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski Finland, July 23, dxldyg via DXLD) Tune in to medium wave 1350 kHz every night to Radio Tatras International 24/7 with a output power of 50 kW. 73s Good listening (Tom Taylor, via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** LATVIA. 9290, [EMR] 0620 23 July, Signal S7-8, 34333 (after QRN removing) with reggae music at 0621 and at 0624 with a flute playing. ID with Radio Tatras though R 6 is also mentioned, advert at 0629 'funtrack' and jingle. ID at 0645 as R 6. Sign-off 0700 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece using 16m hor 2x16 inv dipole and MFJ 1025 noise canceling phaser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBERIA [non]. 9525, Star Radio, 0719 23 July with news reports, heard ID Star Radio Liberia, interview with OM S7, 34323 even with local QRN from power lines. At 0700 with S54344[2-3]3. OM 24 July with S9 and 44334 with international news (Qa`eda, Guinea, Ghana) ID and program 'We Could Have Voice' (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece using 16m hor 2x16 inv dipole and MFJ 1025 noise canceling phaser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ascension Island --- 11965, Star Radio, July 17 *2100-2200*. Sign-on with children's vocals, with clear ID by female speaker in English as 'This is Star Radio Broadcasting from Monrovia Liberia on FM and short wave' Followed with newscast read by male announcer. Commentary on religious and cultural events in Africa at 2111. Repeat of major news events at 2115. Repeated ID's throughout the broadcast where noted.. 2125 commentary on Africans and religion with telephone call-ins, hosted by the Lutheran Church of Nigeria and the University of Nigeria guest speakers. 2143 program feature called 'Farm Forum', with focus on chicken diseases and cabbage farming. Noted to sign-off in mid programming. Excellent signal noted at this time period and frequency (Edward Kusalik, Coaldale AB, Canada, July 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Star Radio Liberia via Ascension Islands-9525. E-mail QSL, v/s: James K. Morlu, Station Manager. 3 d. (Björn Fransson, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 24 via DXLD) ** LIBYA [non]. Depuis le 1er juillet, les services extérieurs de la radio libyenne, la Voix de l'Afrique, ont été réorganisés. Jusqu'ici, la station diffusait en arabe, avec de brefs bulletins d'informations en anglais et en français. Dorénavant, une émission de 60 minutes en français est diffusée entre 1600 et 1700 TU sur 15660, 17695 et 17870 kHz. Un bulletin d'information de 3 minutes en français est toujours diffusé vers 1825 TU sur 11615 kHz Voici les émissions entendues les 9 et 10 et 12 juillet 0300-0400 : émission en arabe sur 7320 kHz avec un bulletin en français vers 0325 TU. 1200-1300 : émission en langue africaine, sur 21675 et 21695 kHz [Swahili] 1300-1400 : émission en anglais sur les mêmes fréquences 1600-1700 : émission en français 15660, 17695 et 17870 kHz 1700-1800 : émission en langue africaine sur les mêmes fréquences [Hausa?] 1700-1900 : émission en arabe sur 11615 kHz Comme aucune information officielle n'est disponible, cet horaire est probablement incomplet. Jusqu'ici, toutes les fréquences étaient transmises depuis Issoudun, en France (informations issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. Changes/Updates to New Zealand AM 657 AM Network [ST] Wellington [correction] 873 Radio Trackside [ST] Tauranga [new] Radio Pacific [ST] Tauranga [new] 882 AM Network [ST] Auckland [correction] 900 AM Network [ST] Dunedin [correction] 909 AM Network [ST] Napier-Hastings [correction] 918 National Radio New Plymouth [ex-1530, inc pwr 2.5kW] 963 AM Network [ST] Christchurch [correction] 990 Radio Apna Auckland [Hindi, exAM990 Chinese] 1026 Newstalk ZB Kaitaia [ex Classic Hits] 1179 Voice of Samoa Auckland [ex Mai FM] 1215 Newstalk ZB Kaikohe [ex Classic Hits] 1359 Coast New Plymouth [new] 1413 Radio Ferrymead 3XP Christchurch [extended hours, Fridays 0600-0900 UTC] 1440 Gold Rush Radio Lawrence [correction] ST is Shared Time on frequency. Full updated New Zealand @ a Glance list scheduled to be on-line at http://www.radioheritage.net by August 1. Changes to Pacific-Asian Log [PAL] scheduled shortly. Warm regards (David Ricquish, Radio Heritage Foundation, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [] in this item are not gh`s comments ** OKLAHOMA. All logged at Matarangi, Coromandel Peninsula, North Island New Zealand on AOR 7030 with 40m long wire. Matarangi thoroughly recommended for a winter break, breathtaking beach, excellent golf and tennis facilities and good reception of the Americas on medium wave. 740, 1050 15th July, KRMG, Tulsa OK, news of "honour America ten time award winner Emmy Lou Harris`` and full ID ``newstalk 740 KRMG", other nights blocked by KTRH. 1170, 1112 15th July, KFAQ Tulsa OK, ad for Johnny Daniel footwear, ID good 1520, 1112 20th July, KOKC, Oklahoma, ID as "KOKC" ex KOMA? with anniversary of first man on moon (David Norrie, New Zealand, HCDX via DXLD) I picked the OK logs only ** POLAND. More than a fortnight, Radio Polonia website is not working, http://www.radio.com.pl/polonia/gb/ Shifted to any new url?? (Hari Madugula, Hyderabad, A.P. India, July 24, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) URL is working perfectly, no problem at all. Regds (Alokesh Gupta, India, ibid.) Hi Alokesh,Thanks. The URL is changed as http://www.polskieradio.pl/polonia/gb/ At present the site is automatically redirecting to the new url. Earlier it's not working. Regards, (Hari, ibid.) The radio programs of Polskie Radio are currently shifted over to a new domain: http://www.polskieradio.pl --- visitors accessing these programs via http://www.radio.com.pl are normally transferred automatically to the new site. Try http://www.polskieradio.pl/polonia/gb/ 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, ibid.) Dear Bernd Trutenau, Thanks for the info about Radio Polonia web shifting. I have changed that new URL for Radio Polonia in our Global Radio Stations link in our club website. You can verify that at http://www.geocities.com/ysrc_india/index.html (Hari Madugula, Young Stars Radio Club, Hyderabad, India, July 24, dxldyg via DXLD) ** PORTUGAL [and non]. PORTUGUESE RADIO TO CARRY OUTPUT OF PORTUGUESE- SPEAKING COUNTRIES' BROADCASTERS | Text of a report by Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias web site on 23 July [Portuguese state radio African branch] RDP Africa will soon carry output of state radio broadcasters of Portuguese-Speaking African Countries [PALOPs] in a move aimed at strengthening the ties between the PALOPs, announced [state radio] RTP director Goncalves Reis. Radio Mozambique is due to be the first broadcaster to join the initiative. Source: Diario de Noticias web site, Lisbon, in Portuguese 23 Jul 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) What does this really mean? (gh) ** RUSSIA. 6240, 14.7 1800, Special Radio från Media Project i Moskva med rysk pop till Ukraina och Vitryssland. Trist musik! S 4-5. BEFF (Björn Fransson, Sweden, SW Bulletin via DXLD) Thursdays only 18-19 Special Radio 6240 svarade med två epostmeddelanden från Maria Anikeeva, PR Manager. Adressen i Moskva är: Office 417, Efremova Street 10, Moscow 113092, Ryssland. Special Radio sänder normalt bara på Internet. Kortvåg används för att nå lyssnare utan datorer i Ukraina och Vitryssland (Belarus). Maria berättar vidare att man inte har något QSL-kort. Sändaren ligger i Samara (Christer Brunström, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 24 via DXLD) Special Radio, Ryssland-6240. Flera e-mails, QSL v/s: Maria Anikeeva, PR-manager. Lovade att skicka mig `a goodies bag` med posten! 1 d. (Björn Fransson, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 24 via DXLD) ** SERBIA and MONTENEGRO [non]. Re 5-120: ``1400-1430 UT on 7200 - music with 2 minutes news in English, Fr, Ge, Sp, It (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, wwdxc BC-DX July 14 via DXLD) I guess that is a domestic service relay; don`t find it in WRTH 2005, but Beograd used to be on 7200 long ago (gh, DXLD)`` This is SERBIA AND MONTENEGRO [non], via the Bijeljina transmitter site in Bosnia and Herzegovina. As was pointed out on various occasions over the past years (like in DXLD 4-163, October 24, 2004): all SW transmitters in Serbia were destroyed in the last Balkan war in May 1999 and were not rebuilt. There was no urgent need, since Int'l Radio of Serbia and Montenegro owns the Bijeljina site which is just 80 km away from Belgrade (WRTH map: pg. 75), though on the other side of the border. Quite many DX sources and reference lists still seem to be unaware of this situation which exists since 6 years meanwhile (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn, the 1300-1430 transmission of Radio Beograd programming on 7200 is actually shown in the current RSCG schedule: http://www.radioyu.org/schedule.htm WRTH includes it as well, just giving as frequency 11835 instead which was probably indeed used in winter. To recap the story: 7200 used to originate from Stubline near Belgrade, co-located with the 2000 kW monster for 684 if I recall correctly, and carried Radio Beograde (// 684) around the clock. In the Kosovo war the 684 and 7200 transmitters were deliberately (i.e. no ``collateral damage``) destroyed, and later the then Radio Yugoslavia started to carry Radio Beograd for this 90 minutes period prior to its own first program of the day (Arabic), on the old 7200 frequency but now via the Bijeljina facilities of course (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA. Le 24 août, le Conseil de la Radio slovaque se réunira à nouveau pour étudier et se prononcer sur les nouvelles mesures proposées par le directeur général de la Radio (Radio Slovaquie Int. - 20 juillet 2005, informations issues de http://perso.wanadoo.fr/jm.aubier via DXLD) See CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES ** SOUTH AMERICA. Desde los Andes Sudamericanos PIRATAS SUDAMERICANAS RADIO COCHIGUAZ, si las condiciones de propagación están buenas, estaremos activos enarbolando la bandera pirata y probando las antenas en 6950 kHz LSB, con el siguiente esquema, sujeto a que las condiciones técnicas de nuestras instalaciones estén en orden. Dom 24 julio 2005 0130-0300 Horas UTC Enviar sus reportes a: (adjuntar franqueo de retorno) Radio South Sea Melody; Postfach 10 11 45; 99801 Eisenach; ALEMANIA. Email: radiosouthseamelody @ gmx.de Radio Cochiguaz, Box 159, Santiago 14, CHILE. FFFR, ;-) (Cachito Mamani, Radio Cochiguaz op. http://www.geocities.com/rcochiguaz/ July 23, HCDX via dxldyg in advance via DXLD) Later: Hola amigos piratas. Último momento, por razones técnicas, lamentablemente se ha quemado el equipo transmisor de Radio Cochiguaz siendo las 0131 UT del día 24 de julio 2005. Volveremos pronto cuando sea reparado el equipo. Desafortunadamente sólo estuvimos en el aire 10 minutos desde que comenzamos hoy las transmisiones. :-( Hello pirate friends. Last minute info: For technical reasons, unfortunately the transmitter of Radio Cochiguaz has been burned at 0131 UT of July 24, 2005 after 10 minutes of broadcasts. We will return soon when the transmitter will be repaired soon. FFFR, ;-) (Cachito Mamani, Radio Cochiguaz op., ibid.) Overheated, or really on fire? (gh, DXLD) ** SUDAN. 9505, 23.7 1640, Radio Omdurman fra Sudan med arabisk, ann., tydeligt ID klokken 1641, svag modulation, hørt // med Hotbird 12.654 MHz H SR 27500 3/4 og endda uden nogen tidsforsinkelse! 22333 BV (Bjarke Vestesen, SW Bulletin July 24 via DXLD) 9505, 19.7 1800, Radio Omdurman på ny frekvens med arabiska. Diverse annonserningar där även "Omdurman" ingick. 2 (men 3 senare). CB (Christer Brunström, ibid.) ** TIBET. 7385, 19.7 1630, China-Tibet Broadcasting Co. med Holy Tibet på engelska. Denna kväll en hel del tibetansk musik. 2 CB (Christer Brunström, Sweden, SW Bulletin July 24 via DXLD) ** U K. UKOGBANI --- BBCWS radio is not available at any time on any station audible in Atlanta. Clearly there is something wrong when the boondocks of lower Delaware get lots when one of the nation's largest cities (the one with the busiest airport in the country) gets none. As an opinion-former, I can assure you I've formed an opinion about BBC's desire to be heard (Mike Cooper, July 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. I am usually co-host of VOA's Talk to America on the first Friday of the month. However, my appearance on 5 August is canceled. I'll be back on 2 September (from http://www.kimandrewelliott.com July 23 via DXLD) Lots of new stuff there including the Telesur/R. Free Venezuela flap (gh) ** U S A. ANOTHER WBUR CASUALTY, MICHAEL GOLDFARB By Mark Jurkowitz Tuesday, July 19, 2005 Although the eye-catching news last Friday from public radio station WBUR was the cancellation of the station's home-grown talk show, "The Connection," which was hosted by Dick Gordon, another distinguished station journalist was also let go last week. And that news flew under the radar screen. Michael Goldfarb, the London-based senior correspondent for the station's "Inside Out" documentary unit Goldfarb bio became another casualty of the station's drive to cut costs and concentrate on more local programming. In addition, Goldfarb had hosted both "On Point" and "The Connection" and was in the "Connection" chair on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. "Inside Out" and Goldfarb garnered their fair share of journalistic kudos awards. He is also the author the upcoming book "Ahmad's War, Ahmad's Peace: Surviving Under Saddam, Dying In The New Iraq," a biography of his friend and Iraqi wartime translator who was ultimately murdered. Goldfarb, whose wife is expecting their first child in two weeks, said simply "I was completely shocked" by his termination. His last official day is Aug. 31. Media Log could not reach a WBUR spokeswoman for comment (Media Log, Boston Phoenix July 21 via Current via DXLD) ** U S A. OUT THERE TV --- For some time, I've been seeing a strange program about conspiracies and the paranormal locally on WPXS TV on channel 51 here in StL, called "Out There TV". Sometimes reception is poor, with a bad hum on the audio, but it's been better lately. The program format appears to be the two hosts (a male and a female) reading news items and then having a long telephone interview with the author of some book, usually on a topic of some esoteric quality. They did announce that the guest coming up would be Alex Jones, so there's an SW talk-show tie-in. They advertise a website of http://www.outtheretv.com and I finally got around to going to it and looking at what they have there. It appears to either contain or connect/link to a vast assortment of the various conspiracy theories and psychic/paranormal topics. I think it would be interesting to read all of this mishmash and then be able to regurgitate it when discussing just about any natural or political topic, but I don't know if I'd be able to compel myself to embed my consciousness in this sea of strangeness. But anyhow it appears to maybe be a good general introduction into the conspiracy theorists' world and the psychic phenomena universe. I was just wondering if you'd ever run across it? I looked at their list of TV stations and there's nothing in Oklahoma for you, Glenn. I keep thinking that this would certainly be a more interesting place to live if these guy's worldview turned out to be right, and all the stuff they blather on about was really true --- Skepticism and rationality are rather bleak in comparison. Regards (Will Martin, MO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Never saw it or heard of it. I suppose that is a Pax or rather i outlet; I wonder if other such stations are still carrying Faith Under Fire, UT Sun 0200-0300? The program website appears to be current, if only in reruns for summer, tho its timeslot on KOPX in OK has been usurped --- and used up --- by something else (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. BENJAMEN WALKER`S THEORY OF EVERYTHING --- A show I had never heard, nor heard of, until news in Current that he was denied a CPB grant to continue. Looks interesting; see http://www.toeradio.org/ for blog and access to audio archives of the 23 half-hour shows that have been produced (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. AGENTS RAID, SHUT DOWN UNLICENSED FREE RADIO By Joe Hughes and Frank Green UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERS July 22, 2005 http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20050722-9999-7m22piracy.html Federal agents armed with a search warrant shut down Free Radio 96.9 FM, the self-proclaimed oldest-running and most notorious unlicensed radio broadcaster in San Diego, in a midmorning raid yesterday. About a dozen armed agents – some wearing shirts with the initials FCC, for Federal Communications Commission – served the warrant in South Park about 10 a.m. They seized amplifiers, computers, a transmitter and other equipment that effectively knocked the station off the air, witnesses said. Agents also climbed onto the roof of a house next to a wooden shack that served as the studio for the station, removing a 43-foot-tall antenna in sections and putting it in a van. Dayn Reardon, 22, was one of several supporters of the station who watched the raid. "This is a fight over free speech," said Reardon, who vowed that staff and loyal listeners will hold fundraisers and buy new equipment to get the station back on the air at an undisclosed location. The U.S. Attorney's Office declined comment yesterday; no one from the FCC returned phone calls seeking comment. Free Radio, which had illegally broadcast for three years out of the private residence on Bancroft Street, could also be heard on a legal Internet simulcast at http://www.pirate969.org The station was not streaming on the Internet yesterday afternoon. The FCC has said it investigates underground stations if it receives enough complaints from commercial broadcasters or the public that the illegal signal is interfering with legitimate transmissions. Operators of Free Radio, if convicted, could face a one-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine for operating an unlicensed outlet. The station's founder, who identified himself only by his radio DJ name Bob Ugly, said he would try to get Free Radio back on the air in a month. "The station never received any interference complaints," he said. "We went on the air illegally because it was impossible for us to get a license." With its eclectic mix of everything from political commentaries and rock music to lilting gospel tunes, the station enjoyed a wide reach, from Interstate 8 to the north, Interstate 805 to the east and Tijuana to the south. Station supporter Lori Thurman, 20, said Free Radio had a popular following. "It was truly democratic," she said. "There were no ads." Charlie Darling, one of the more than 20 part-time disc jockeys working for free at the station, said rent and utilities were paid for through donations by station announcers. Yesterday's raid hardly came as a surprise to station personnel, since the FCC had posted a warning on a door at the radio's makeshift studio a month ago, Darling said. With Free Radio's sudden demise, there still are a handful of local pirate stations illicitly beaming their signals to an unknown number of listeners. These include Chronic Radio, which uses Free Radio's FM location during its down hours. Another station, Radioactive, can be heard on the Internet, where its Web stream is picked up by someone apparently unknown to the station who then broadcasts it at FM 106.9. There are dozens of pirate stations currently programming in the United States, among them Atomic Frog, Betty Boop Radio, Orbital Mind Control Satellite and Johnny Weasel, according to Pirate Radio Central, a Web site that tracks the trend. The zenith of pirate radio operations in San Diego County was probably in the early 1990s, when hundreds of small stations operated out of basements and garages here, according to estimates by ham radio operators at the time (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Video report on the FCC raid is here: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/4755752/detail.html (Artie Bigley, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It was understood that this raid was coming. Not from anything that happened as of late, but hey.. if you roll the dice against the FCC, there's a pretty high chance (roughly 100%) that they will do something else other than sit around and lament. No one was arrested, all of our spare equipment is intact, and we have absolutely no plans to pack up and go home. We will be having a regular staff meeting to discuss the situation, and probably a public meeting as well. Our next announcement will be on this website, no later than 22 July 2005, 2100 PST [sic]. Link to interview conducted on Free Radio Santa Cruz [download mp3] (14 minutes). Link to interview conducted on Enemy Combatant Radio [download mp3] (30 minutes). If anyone has any money that they'd like to contribute, we lost roughly $3,000 worth of equipment, and need to replace it. Our new transmitter alone is $1,300, we hope to have (new-ish) computers donated, and even our RF cable will come out to $100-$200. We rarely ask for financial help, but if you can spare it, we sure could use it. Really, anything helps. We have some spare equipment to put in, but for various reasons that is only a temporary fix, and some equipment we're completely out of right now (from http://www.pirate969.org/ via DXLD) ** U S A. VINTAGE RADIO NOW DIGITAL [AM 1710 ANTIOCH] Geek of the Week By dave watson Publish Date: 21-Jul-2005 http://www.straight.com/content.cfm?id=11737 There are several Internet radio stations devoted to vintage radio programs (heck, there are three just within iTunes), but one of the best also has a real-world presence: a low-power transmitter in Antioch, Illinois, next to the Wisconsin border. It’s at 1710 on the AM dial, and you need to be within a kilometre to listen --- but you can also go on-line via iTunes (under Talk/Spoken Word) or the station`s Web site http://radio.macinmind.com/ where a full programming schedule is available (via Bruce MacGibbon, DXLD) ** U S A. MEDIA OWNERSHIP REFORM ACT OF 2005 http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ny22_hinchey/morenews/071405mediabill.html Media Ownership Reform Act of 2005 Would End Media Consolidation, Provide For Wide Array Of Information Sources To Public Washington, D.C. - In an effort to restore integrity and diversity to America's media system, Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today introduced the sweeping Media Ownership Reform Act of 2005 (MORA). Hinchey, who is the chairman and founder of the congressional Future of American Media (FAM) Caucus, authored the bill to fix what he sees as a broken media system in the United States in which only a select group of individuals get to determine what information Americans can receive via television, newspaper, radio, and other media. "The current state of today`s media system threatens the ability of our democracy to function because it does not allow for the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources and shrinks the marketplace of ideas," Hinchey said. "The Media Ownership Reform Act tackles the issue of media consolidation head on and implements new standards for a diverse media that will ensure Americans have access to a wide array of ideas and information." MORA is a broad measure that seeks to undo the massive consolidation of the media that has been ongoing for nearly 20 years. It restores the Fairness Doctrine, reinstates a national cap on ownership of radio stations, and lowers the number of radio stations one company can own in a local market. It further reinstates the 25 percent national television ownership cap, requires regular public interest reports from broadcasters and provides for more independently produced programming on television. The bill establishes new public interest obligations to ensure broadcasters are meeting the needs of local communities and requires increased and sustained public input and outreach so that Americans have a voice in the programming they receive. "From the recent debate over public broadcasting, to the uproar that followed when the FCC tried to weaken its media ownership rules in June 2003, it is clear that Americans want a diverse media that is responsive to local communities," Hinchey said. "Unfortunately, the consolidation of the media has created a system that is less diverse and less responsive to local needs. It is imperative that the Congress take action to fix this broken media system." Congresswoman Diane Watson (D-CA) is the principal cosponsor of Hinchey's MORA measure. Now that Hinchey and Watson have introduced the measure, they plan to recruit other House members to sponsor the MORA bill. The FAM Caucus is composed of House Members who believe in an accountable, diverse, fair, and independent media. The Caucus, which currently has 20 members, is open to members of both parties and it neither supports nor opposes any particular industry stakeholder. The FAM Caucus' goal is to educate members of Congress and their staff about media issues before Congress and to ensure that all parties - especially the American public - have a chance to participate in the critical debate over media policy (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) The Fairness Doctrine is something the big, corporate broadcasters would fight against; talk radio is largely conservative and anti- American nowadays. It's no wonder listeners are tuning away from commercial AM and FM radio. The bill should have included language that would effectively end voicetracking on music-oriented radio stations; this has been a deception from Day One. Listeners are duped into believing that the DJ is coming from one city, but he or she is actually coming from another city hundreds or thousands of miles away. It also should have included language that would end the policy of "it's not WHAT you know, it's WHO you know" as the hiring policy of many broadcasters, especially in radio. This policy, also known as patronage and cronyism, has hurt far more people than it has ever helped. In other words, if you don't know the General Manager, Program Director or other management type, your chances of getting into broadcasting's door are practically zilch. We need to put an end to talk radio as we know it, as well as put the illegal "shock jocks" where they belong: the unemployment line. We need to put the hard-working, "play-by-the-(FCC) rules" jocks in their rightful place: ON THE AIR. 73, (Eric (N0UIH) Bueneman, MO, IRCA mailing list via DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn, Just a note to tell you that WRTH 1430 St. Louis, MO has returned to its former call, WIL. This change took place over the Fourth of July weekend; the format was also changed from Adult Standards to Classic Country, identifying as "Country Legends 1430". Ron Elz, also known as Johnny Rabbitt, remains in morning drive; another St. Louis native, Paul Jeffries, returns to afternoon drive (the slot he held when that station ran '50s and '60s oldies in 2003 and 2004). WIL is owned by Bonneville International; the St. Louis cluster also includes Hot Country station WIL-FM 92.3, Modern AC station WVRV 101.1, and "Jack" outlet WARH 106.5. 73, (Eric Bueneman (N0UIH) Hazelwood, MO, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) For quite a while before that, WRTH was the call on 590 across a river (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. CLEAR CHANNEL ANNOUNCES ``QUEER CHANNEL`` Clear Channel radio’s KQKE-AM (960) will be the home of a new live radio program called ``Queer Channel`` starting Sunday Aug. 7 at 10 p.m. [UT Mon 0500-0700 from August 8] ``It`s about time,`` said Clear Channel manager Kim Bryant in a press release. ``San Francisco has a long history as ground zero for the gay community and as the Bay Area’s only liberal talk radio station, The Quake is the perfect platform for this program.`` The Queer Channel show was formed by a group of GLBT (Gay/ Lesbian/ Bisexual/ Transgendered) Clear Channel employees in San Francisco who formulated the content and format of the program and took the concept to Clear Channel management. The launch of ``Queer Channel`` also marks the first live, locally-produced program on the KQKE line-up. According to their mission statement, the show will ``educate and entertain the world at large about issues concerning the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Community.`` The two-hour program will feature a celebrity and community panel discussing relevant issues of the day. You can find out more at http://www.queerchannelradio.com (The Mercury News, July 21, 2005 via Art Blair, Folsom, CA, July 22, IRCA mailing list via DXLD) This has previously been the domain of community radio stations and Internet radio. Maybe there's a market for such a show in the Bay Area. This is quite a switch --- from a company that has brought us anti-police talk in St. Louis, sexual exploitation of women in Tampa, and animal cruelty in the same city. 73, (Eric (N0UIH) Bueneman, ibid.) Some suspect this is a put-on, but respectable news source (gh) ** VENEZUELA. Hola Glenn, Saludos. Por algunas horas del 22/07, YVTO estuvo corrida un poco hacia arriba. Captada a las 2239 UT, SINPO 35443, en los 5008 kHz. Señal más fuerte que de costumbre y persistente ruido de fondo como de "burbujeo". Todavía en el aire a la 0142, pero casi imperceptible. Muy irregular ha sido durante todo este tiempo YVTO y es lamentable; antes era la más consecuente de las activas en onda corta desde Venezuela. 73s y buen DX (Adán González, Catia La Mar, Estado Vargas, VENEZUELA, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non]. HAWAII, 11550, Radio Hoa-Mai (via WHRI) full data .pdf document file verification in 24 hours, after sending a follow-up inquiry for my June 25th report to these addresses: radio @ hoamai.org caulacbo @ hoamai.org Also sent two postal type QSL folders (for sending a written report to their US address). Response from Trinh Ngoe Anh at this e-mail address caulacbo @ hoamai.org Reply in 22 days total (Edward Kusalik, Coaldale AB, Canada, July 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** YEMEN. YEMEN AMATEUR RADIO --- The following was received a few days ago from Vladimir Bykov, UA4WHX: Hello everybody! Having spent 10 days in Yemen and met a number of people responsible for issuing licences and spectrum management of Yemen Telecom as well as two deputy ministers of the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology, I can probably say this: 1. Not a single amateur radio license has been ever issued in Yemen in the past 20 years; for those interested in the authenticity of the fact I can probably provide a written statement of the Ministry confirming the fact. 2. Amateur radio has never been legalized in Yemen. Period. No legal base, no exceptions so far. But the Ministry is sincerely interested in promoting the hobby. They know about it and do plan to pass the laws for it as soon as possible. 3. When King Hussein of Jordan was here he requested a license which he did not get. 4. The Ministry has tried to authorize amateur radio activity in Yemen a few times but the attempts always got stuck at the Ministry of Interior offices being higher or lower. 5. What may help: write letters (when you have time) to both of those ministries, explaining A. why it is good B. why it is no danger to security C. send a bit of printed material. Then it won't be too long before Yemen goes down to 10 least wanted. 73, (Vladimir M. Bykov, UA4WHX etc., In Sana'a, Yemen, 425 DX News via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** ZAMBIA. R. Christian Voice (Zambia) Ltd. Full/data card via post with Zambia stamps after 56 days; design identical to R Christian Voice Chile. Both very nice additions to country count at 121. Does anyone have a G.C. for this one? Zambia National BC is listed as 28E15 15S30 (WRTH '94 '00) which is "Lusaka." The G.C. for R Christian Voice (Lusaka) wasn't listed. Yet '00 map shows "Kitwe" site in red, which is also listed under Zambia National BC MW service. (WRTH '94 shows "Kitwe" in black, before Christian Voice.) So the question of the day is: does R. Christian Voice use Zambia National BC transmitters? If so, which one? If not, then what? Lacking a current WRTH, any info appreciated before contacting CE at Lusaka. TNX (Konnie Rychalsky, CT, July 21, HCDX via DXLD) Konnie, WRTH 2005 shows exactly same Lusaka coordinates for CV. But not being to the second, I would not assume it is necessarily the same site as ZNBC. Not much info here, but they do talk about having their own compound: http://www.christianvision.com/graphicsite/christianvisiongraphicsite/worldwideoperations/africa/zambia.htm HFCC also shows LUS at same coords for the CV frequencies. 73, (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) TNX Glen[n]. I'll inquire a bit deeper unless someone else responds. Seems they may be next door to ZNBC but I would like to assume such a large compound should show in the G.C. by a minute. Will post when I find out, unless, again, someone else has the answer sooner (Konnie, ibid.) Interesting question. I tried to find something by googling but no luck yet. Anyway, some sources place Lusaka city at 28E17 15S25. So the ZNBC site listed as "LUSAKA" 28E15 15S30 is about 10 km at 201 degrees from the city. Meanwhile, many sources indicate that the Christian Voice transmitter is 35 km from Lusaka. The name of the place and G.C., don't ask me. Maybe the staff will tell you that, if you send them an e-mail. Here's some info from http://www.voiceafrica.net/newgraphicsite/station/facilities.htm "CHRISTIAN VOICE ZAMBIA --- Our first short wave broadcasting began in December 1994. This was the first licence granted to a private broadcaster under Zambia's broadcasting liberalisation policy. We broadcast from our site 35 km outside Lusaka, to Zambia and the surrounding countries, with a 2000 km radius from coast to coast. We use a Continental Electronics 100 kW short wave transmitter and a TCI 615 omnidirectional antenna." Best 73 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, HCDX via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE. Radio Zimbabwe, 3306 is inactive July 22, at 1900 and this is a National radio station. Pushed out strong harmonics [6612] over the past few days. Glenn: Doing it for the rest of us (David Pringle-Wood, Harare, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ENGLISH, ZBC, Zimbabwe, anthem, then list of VHF FM Frequencies, 2205z, 6612 kHz (best in LSB) this is an image [harmonic] of (unheard) 3306 as previously reported. Cheers de Pat (Patrice Privat, France, July 23, HCDX via DXLD) Beste mensen, Op de HCDX lijst wordt er door verschillende mensen melding van gemaakt dat Zimbabwe op 2 x 3306 = 6612 kHz te horen is. Klaarblijkelijk is er iets mis met de 90m band zender. Ook in Zimbabawe schijnt het signaal op 3306 kHz slecht te zijn. Ik heb de laatste maanden daar (behave een dun draaggolfje) niks meer gehoord. Ik heb een paar maal op 6612 kHz geprobeerd (rond 2000 UT). Er is inderdaad wat, maar te zwak voor ID. Misschien dat het op een later uur nog wat beter gaat. Zonder de verdere technische details te kennen - het doet me wat denken aan hetzelfde verschijnsel uit Botswana van enkele jaren geleden. Als het daar kurkdroog was, kwam de 90m band zender van 3356 kHZ vaak ook op 6712 kHz door. Groeten (Aart Rouw, Germany, July 23, BDXC via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Heard the boinker (bottle banging against concrete) on 5070 last night (7/22). (Lou Johnson, KF4EON, Atlanta, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Timespan? No sign of it here during WOR UT July 24 (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. Been hearing music on 6878 kHz on and off mainly around 2250 onwards; anyone help on this one? Best Regards (Christopher David Lewis, England, July 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 9915 DRM at 1315 July 21? Hallo, vielleicht sollte sich Glenn Hauser mal einen DRM-fähigen Empfänger zulegen, damit man weiß, ob es sich überhaupt um ein DRM-Signal handelt. "Sounded like" ist ein bisschen wenig. Über diese Frequenz gibt es keine Erkenntnisse. Das gilt auch für die 15375 kHz, die immer wieder auftaucht, aber hier in Europa nicht zu empfangen ist. Er beschwert sich ständig, dass die QRG nicht im Sendeplan steht, aber es gibt darüber keine Infos. Möglicherweise handelt es sich um Tests von HCJB, aber ohne genaue Angaben ist eine Listung wenig sinnvoll, zumal wenn es sich um unregelmäßige Tests handelt. 73, (Klaus Schneider, A-DX via Kai Ludwig, DXLD) Hallo, gibt es Erkenntnisse über diese DRM Station? Ist doch eine VT Merlin / BBC Frequenz? Auch die Russen gehen gerne - sehr löblich ! - an die Bänderränder. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) Summary of this response: GH should better obtain a DRM receiver to make sure that it is a DRM signal at all. Nothing is known about this frequency. The same applies to 15375. He keeps lamenting about this frequency missing in the schedule, but no informations are available. Probably these are HCJB tests, but without further details it makes no sense to list them, especially if these are irregular tests only (via Kai Ludwig, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Why in the world would it make no sense to list them? Surely every DRM transmission should be of interest, especially to those with DRM receiving capability and at this early(?) stage of development. If one cared to, one could inquire of HCJB and BBC/Merlin about this, tho the latter would probably deny it at first, or claim it is confidential. I previously heard from HCJB that they were carrying out unscheduled tests on 15375. I don`t have to do DRM myself, just like there are many analog stations I cannot pick up adequately; the DX community has been made aware of these DRM frequencies, and it`s up to others to follow up --- if anyone else cares, which Klaus evidently does not. As I pointed out before, it seems the DRM-equipped are mostly NOT DXers, and do not care to, or do not know how to go looking for new signals. Fortunately, there are a few exceptions, capturing those flea-powered European DRM tests (Glenn Hauser, July 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ ITU COUNTRY CODES Re 5-120: Official ITU country code list is published on ITU website: http://www.itu.int/cgi-bin/htsh/mm/scripts/mm.list?_search=ITUstates (Bernd Trutenau, LTU, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Along with date of entry into ITU; unfortunately cannot sort by code alphabetically (gh, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ UNIVERSAL RADIO COMMUNICATIONS CATALOG 2005-2006 Universal Radio has announced the publication of their largest catalog ever. The Universal Radio Communications Catalog is 108 pages covering everything that is new for the shortwave listener, scanner or amateur radio enthusiast. New items premiering in this catalog include: etón E1 XM portable shortwave receiver, ICOM IC-7000, ID-1 and ID-800H amateur transceivers, RFspace SDR-14 and Elad FDM77 software defined shortwave receivers, Yaesu VX-170 HT, AOR SR2000 professional VHF-UHF receiver, several new Bearcat scanners, Tivoli Audio AM-FM receivers and the Yaesu FTDX 9000 series of amateur transceivers. This free catalog may be requested at 1 800 431-3939 or may be requested by email (DXing.com via DXLD) NO CODE HAMS, Re 5-120, ``NPRM`` got attached to the first URL, ruining it; should be: For original with hotlinks see http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/07/20/100/?nc=1 NPRM: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-143A1.pdf (via Ken Kopp, dxldyg via DXLD) DXLD question about reel machines "I've got some old 7-inch tapes I made in the 60s or 70s gathering dust in the closet. Assuming they haven't disintegrated --- anyone know a reasonably priced machine that would play them? (Ed Stone, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST)" He might try any local radio station, they might even be willing to give one away just to get rid of it. Our station was once totally reliant on them, now we are all digital, either via computer or minidisk (Eric Loy, Champaign IL, July 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PODMANIA A note about "Podcasting": Actually it is not just about downloadable MP3 files, suitable for being transferred to an MP3 player for later listening. In fact this Podcasting is a matter of iTunes, the proprietary software of Apple's iPod which can't be used in any other way than through the iTunes program. I did not take a closer look at the matter so far, but a friend of mine really mislikes the iTunes concept and will purchase a competing product. Apple has a market share of some 70 percent, but non-Pod MP3 players exists as well, and I find it alarming how they could be pushed out of the market and a monopoly being created by all the podmania (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) IBOC Just picked up an HD Radio. And my first HD DX on FM 104.5 WSNX out of Michigan. Though I hate the idea of AM IBOC, I have heard the sound. It is nothing short of amazing how good it can sound. But not at the expense of the whole AM band (Kent Winrich, K9EZ, Clear Channel Milwaukee, July 22, ABDX via DXLD) Even more important, to me at least, how did you find out about it ?? I am thinking that this was an "inside sales" job. And I don't imply anything sinister about that, just that I believe these sets are (now) only offered to industry people. They are just plain invisible in the general consumer marketplace. Even in the NY Times, the full page ads for J&R Music World etc, there is NO mention of anything like HD Radio receivers. Kevin is not alone, here, in asking WHERE ARE THE RECEIVERS??? I heard WFLA in HD, a few weeks ago, by listening on a Kenwood receiver installed in the car of the CE of Cox's FM properties here. This is an AM signal, a local. The other CC AM locals such as 620 and 1250 are not running HD/IBOC. 970 which I frequently listen to, does not promote using HD on-air. I would guess this is intentional. My thought was, yes that's nice, and yes there is a difference (in sound quality) but is there a $500 value proposition in it for ME? (reported cost of the receiver). And, the answer is, No. If my company were to buy me such a receiver, so that I could keep an eye on the technical issues of the signal, yes that is a good thing. But, this whole HD Radio plan is going to need a lot of people going out and spending their own personal money to get these sets. And right now, this economic model isn't adding up very well, in my mind, when the Content issues are not being thought about. i.e. where is the driver for some listener spending this kind of money? The next radio equipment I buy will be XM. If I could get an AM HD radio for less than, say $50, I'd do so, mainly to see how it behaves. But that's the outside end of the value proposition, for me. For others who still listen to AM, I'd guess that number is even smaller. (I think Kevin is prepared to spend a Benjamin, however) When I get XM, it will be for content, not signal quality. The offered quality right now is fully acceptable to me. And I think the "multiple data stream" concept will turn out to be a non-starter except for the elitists and the cone-heads that make up a percentage of the NPR listener types, and they all hang out on FM. (Yes I do listen to NPR on WUSF-FM, but just to occasionally hear things like ATC and PHC). I think everyone here on ABDX would like to have some good intel on the current availability of HD receivers. Another question is whether you can get ANY HD decode from some of the night time skywave HD that must be present in your area. (not just hearing the sidebands in analog mode). DXers' are getting more impatient to hear some results on distant AM HD decoding issues from people with these sets, who have the knowledge to even look for night time skip signals. This is central to the still largely unanswered question of whether DX'ing is even possible in a world where all AM would have moved to HD. We need some independent analysts, who are not media apologists with ulterior motives, to start reporting on just how effective AM HD coverage is, from the fade zones, from null minima on stations with DA's, from areas with high local ambient noise etc. Very little of this is being done and publicized. I believe this may be intentional. Let's start some dialog, folks. 73, (Bob k2euh Foxworth, FL, 1331 edt July 23, ibid.) Panasonic something. $329 at etronics.com No hiss on the analog. I was working at one of our IBOC FMs yesterday, and with a walkman, and within about 2 feet of the transmitter I noticed hiss. You have to remember that the IBOC transmitters are flea power for FM. Our 13 kW at 1000' station runs about 340 WATTS transmitter output and about 1.3 kW (or about 10%) ERP on IBOC. Not a lot of power. http://www.etronics.com/product.asp?stk_code=pancqcb8901u I just Googled under HD RADIO RECEIVER. No inside contacts, just purchased it like everyone else. $329, not that much different than most other decent car stereos price wise. They has been a delay in the receivers has some of the chips are behind in being manufactured. A little company out of the Dakotas is making a portable version, due out in early September. http://www.radiosophy.com If you are looking to XM to save money, you will have a point to where you don`t save anymore. HD RADIO = $329 one time XM = $100 plus $13 per month Also HD Radio has better codecs therefore cleaner audio. Also the multiple streams on HD Radio have already started. There are three stations in Chicago running it already: WUSN doing country and modern country, as well as WNUA running smooth jazz and I THINK standard jazz. In regards to decoding AM HD at night, won`t happen until the FCC (heaven forbid!!) opens that up. In regards to AM fade zones, I need to do more testing on AM. From what I hear, you can get better coverage with IBOC, especially in the nulls (while maintaining the same level of power). This could open up some new DX session. FM on the other hand presents some DX fun, and to be honest I don`t see a lot of interference from IBOC on the sidebands. Believe me I have not been a supporter of IBOC! I am just giving you the info from my experience as a DXer! (Kent Winrich, K9EZ, Clear Channel Milwaukee, ibid.) Let me try to address some of these issues... Concerns from operators... yes there are plenty of concerns from this group. The FCC is taking comments from broadcast professionals right now and there are plenty of negative comments. Justifiably so! IF AM IBOC is allowed at night without any changes I would be very surprised. AM IBOC at night. I have not heard any IBOC at night. The only station that I know that can run IBOC after sunset is WCKY 1530 in Cincy (Until sunset Sacramento, when WCKY has to change patterns). I talked to the engineer there (Owned by Clear Channel) and they are having trouble with the transmitter right now and have it turned off. That would be the only chance of hearing IBOC at night. If they get it turned back on I will give it a try. How does AM IBOC sound? In a word STUNNING. I was listening to WBBM Chicago knowing that they have IBOC. When the digital signal kicked in, it was night and day (no puns used here). I was using a 3 foot long piece of wire for the antenna and I am about 90 miles away from the transmitter. It does work, but at the price of wiping out 2 channels on either side. The clarity of even talk radio is very marked. I didn`t think it would be worth it to turn a talk/news station on to IBOC, but after hearing it, the intelligibility is greatly increased. On FM the increase in fidelity is not so marked, but the opportunity to offer multiple channels is a big issue with broadcasters. The change over from digital to analog (when the digital signals goes away) is very smooth. It kind of cross fades. It really surprised me. There is a less expensive IBOC radio from Radiosophy for $279 and is portable. http://www.radiosophy.com We have ordered about 4 of these for work and are expected to be here in early September. Of course I will review the radio when it gets here. Once and a while the Local Radio Disney outlet accidentally leaves IBOC running. If it happens I will try to get the radio going. I hope you find my comments unbiased. I am an old fashioned AM radio guy. And I love AM stereo. But alas AM stereo seems to be going away. Actually I think you can go up to 7 kHz bandwidth on AM though it is not recommended. On FM, multiple channels actually take away from the main IBOC channel, lowering its bitrate, not the analog. Any other questions? Comments? PS - The above comments are my own and may not be supported by Clear Channel (Kent Winrich, Clear Channel Milwaukee, ibid.) But you'll NEVER be able to DX at the 0.02µv/m level that a very sensitive analog receiver can barely receive. DXing IBOC will be akin to receiving a 1kW graveyarder at 45 miles with no background noise - something nearly anyone with a pocket transistor radio can do in analog on AM right now (Darwin Long, CA, ibid.) There are issues with AM IBOC --- mainly in the antenna system not having enough bandwidth to handle the analog and IBOC signal. You are trying to cram a big signal into an old antenna system. XM is not really a big issue, as the combination of Sirius and XM subscribers equals to the total listenership of the top rated station in New York alone. In addition there will be major troubles for the Sat radio people in the next few years. Adding channels to FM IBOC will bring the fidelity to just above FM analog. And yes most stations are planning either true music formats and some are thinking eclectic. Typically a format that is not carried elsewhere in the market. The Radiosophy radios are being manufactured as we speak and will be here in Early September. I really don`t expect flames as I am trying to just give people what the situation is out there. BELIEVE ME there are plenty of broadcasters that are on our side with the AM issue. I can only speak for our Clear Channel market --- we do a lot of local programming, including a hour long program for the Hispanic community, live computer shows, real estate shows, a LOT of local issue programs, our local college basketball games are covered by two of our stations, local sports talk, yada yada. It doesn`t take that much to do these shows. But you do need decent talent to make it work (Kent Winrich, Clear Channel Milwaukee, ibid.) If these formats make sense for the additional channels, why don't they make equal sense for the existing channel? Eclectic tends to create a loyal following that apparently not many advertisers are all that interested in. In the Southern California market there have been several attempts at eclectic offerings and they have all fallen to one thing or another. Today there's little worth listening to on FM. Any idea how much of the improvement is due to it being digital and how much is simply because it's a much wider bandwidth signal? Since IBOC is blowing away at least one channel on either side, what would AM sound like if the analog signal was allowed to use all that bandwidth? (Jay Heyl, ibid.) To be honest I am not sure how to relate the two. It is better because the digital signal (with the CODEC) offers more bandwidth. But not in the normal bandwidth that we are used to thinking about (ala analog). If the analog signal went away, the digital signal would take up less space than analog. The digital offers a more "efficient" usage of bands width. But since we have analog AND digital, it ends up taking more space. I hope that makes sense. It does to me at least ;-) Eclectic may create a loyal following, but is it what advertisers want? This isnt about what broadcasters want for a format. Broadcasters want to find a format that advertisers want to pay money for to advertise. Stations fall by the wayside because A) people dont listen to it (most likely) B) advertisers dont want to advertise. There must be someone listening to the stations that are out there now. Perhaps HD Radio can offer something to people like you that like something a little different (Kent Winrich, ibid.) Kent, The BIG, BURNING question --- Are they streaming STEREO AUDIO through their iBOC signal???? I know many stations that have discontinued analog stereo (like WBBM) still have a stereo audio airchain in place, and it would make sense that they would want to plug right into that, taking advantage of the stereo digital iBOC stream to deliver such to their audience. Other stations have, oddly, converted their airchains to mono, but then turned around to upgrade to iBOC, which does not make much sense (downgrade before the upgrade - they should have kept stereo audio to stream over iBOC). With iBOC, I would hope that digital stereo audio on AM would be as common as on FM (Darwin Long, ibid.) ``However there are plenty of people that like their talk radio. Not everyone is into music 24/7.`` SO --- move some talk to FM and let AM have equal crack at music as FM does - especially if AM iBOC places the audio on more of a level playing field - there is technically no real incentive to keep talk mainly on AM anymore. Many people like listening to talk programming at work in their office buildings, but they lament that they can't get those AM talk stations through brick and steel buildings. If major talk outlets were on FM in large cities, their signals would penetrate inside those many large office buildings and reach their audiences all day long. This will be even more important if iBOC becomes the absolute standard (Darwin Long, ibid.) ``Is this still under Docket 99-325? If so, I will comment *again* FWIW.`` The docket is still MM 99-325 and it asks, at this point, for comments on the NRSC-5 mask. I believe the comment period ended this past Monday and the time for Reply Comments will end in August. There are something like over 870 comments on the record, as of Tuesday. A lot of big players such as NAB, NPR, iBiquity, ABC, filed on the last day. (full disclosure, so did I) If you wish to comment, it seems to be that you should now file as a reply to previous comments. What is interesting about some of the comments from the people I mentioned earlier is that they talk about the benefits from a sociological POV, and do not address the technical issues. Multiple streams of programming is a major desire for the FM operators, NPR people, etc. (Bob k2euh Foxworth, FL, ibid.) My latest comment to the FCC on IBOC Comments of Kevin Redding, a private individual: Gentlemen, My comments only apply to IBOC/HD radio use on MW at night. I have come to submit to you that IBOC/HD should be permanently banned from use on the Medium Wave Broadcast Band [MW BCB] at night. I do not have any issue with IBOC/HD on the FM VHF BCB. The physics of propagation are very different on MW and VHF. I have grave concerns about interference if all stations are allowed hybrid mode on MW. Recently in the Phoenix market, 550 KFYI has started transmissions in the hybrid mode. This has caused interference to my reception to 570 XEUK, Caborca, Sonora, Mexico and 560 KBLU Yuma, AZ during daylight operation of IBOC/HD radio. It causes me concern that we may allow a tremendous amount of interference to stations across our international borders. I also believe night time IBOC/HD should be permanently disallowed on the MW BCB for Homeland Security reasons. There are still today citizens who do not live in an area covered by a city grade signal on MW/VHF FM or TV. If there is significant interference or signal coverage is reduced, these citizens are disenfranchised from receiving news that could affect their safety that could save their lives. It is for these reasons that I do not support IBOC/HD radio for night use on the MW BCB (Kevin Redding, AZ, ibid.) Kevin, I for one am grateful that you addressed the Homeland Security issue. I did too, and brought up the example of the August 2003 NorthEast blackout. I have not read nearly all of the comments, especially the earlier ones, but of those I did look at, I think you, myself, and a third person are the only ones that even mentioned it at all. My comment was that there were many people dependent on transistor radios getting night time skywave from distant areas that did have power, for ANY news, as all of their local comms were totally farkled (even the UPS's in the cell sites had gone completely offline). If you study things like SCADA (substation control automation) you'll see how potentially easy it is to cause major disruptions in power and water distribution etc. I went to an allday IEEE seminar in March up at Seminole Elec. Coop. about SCADA and IT issues. An eye-opener. I think this is a major, serious issue and I think DHS is derelict if they don't become involved in this (Bob Foxworth, 0043 edt July 24, ibid.) When there is a major calamity, where do people turn? They all turn to WTMJ, WFLA, KTAR, KFI, WBBM, KRLD, WCBS, WBZ, KOA, KSL, all AM stations. It goes to reason that if the signals are reduced or interfered with in any way, people lose their ability to receive news affecting their safety. I have commented upon this IBOC every step of the way since 1999. Several on this list commented earlier. I would guess I have made about 8 or 10 comments. I am POSITIVE that my comment has no or negative weight with the FCC but at least I can say that I tried to stop the train wreck. This is the most serious but the international interference issue has to be a very major one as well. I have faith that the FCC will do the worst possible thing. I have a lot of faith in the government to always do the thing that will cause the greatest damage to the largest possible number of people. Should any of you decide to make comments on IBOC the Proceeding [Docket #] is 99-325 and this is the URL: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/ecfs/ Hope you decide to comment for or against (Kevin Redding, AZ, ibid.) This is central to the still largely unanswered question of whether DX'ing is even possible in a world where all AM would have moved to HD. Apparently, if you live in the fringe coverage of stations that you can pick up OK right now - ones that will eventually go IBOC - you won't be able to use them in digital, as the signal level has to be near "city grade". You may hear those stations fine now in analog, or you may have had good stereo from them before they yanked it, but IBOC will NOT work unless you have a high signal level... otherwise you have just bought yourself a very expensive narrowband analog radio if you're listening to them an HD radio - because it will just sit there in analog mode (Darwin Long, ibid.) Is there a possibility if night operation of IBOC is approved, once most of the high-powered stations have converted to IBOC, that fringe reception of analog stations might actually improve? I'm not talking about the channels that are immediately adjacent to the local IBOC station, but channels where there would be no IBOC interference. I'm wondering if the lack of high-powered distant analog stations on a regional or clear channel might result in better reception of the distant analog stations that didn't convert? (Dick W., ibid.) Kent, In one of your earlier posts you mentioned something about very little or no hiss on FM using the HD radio. Was that "on channel" or on the adjacent? It will also be interesting to see how easy it will be to modify one these HD radios with narrow filter or that will even be needed. I am also interested to find out how long of a period the "Hybrid" mode will last? As a side note I was in downtown Boston yesterday (right now I live about 20 miles south of the city). I took my little Sony Walkman and IBOC hiss on frequencies that should not have had anything on them at all. IBOC images I guess. Not Good. Once again from a DXer`s POV I hate IBOC. From a listeners POV I hate it too since I can no longer receive stations that I listened to on a semi regular basis. These stations are from 30-60 miles from my QTH and now they come in only under perfect trop conditions (Keith McGinnis, Hingham (IBOC FM HELL) MA, ibid.) DW COMPETITION TO WIN A SHORTWAVE RADIO Have you tried this month Deutsche Welle competition - there is a chance of winning a shortwave radio! The details are posted at our Competitions link http://www.geocities.com/ysrc_india/index.html Please try and let me know, With regards, (Hari Madugula, Young Stars Radio Club, Hyderabad, India, July 24, dxldyg via DXLD) RADIO PHILATELY +++++++++++++++ PHYSICS-RELATED STAMPS WEBSITE I found a nice website with Physics-Related Stamps at http://th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/~jr/physstamps.html and includes these interesting links: A Selective History of Science on Stamps by Maiken Naylor, University of Buffalo http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/asl/exhibits/stamps The History of Physics on Stamps, a very beautiful website by Frans Jacobs http://fysicaenfilatelie.webhop.net/ Mathematicians on Postage Stamps by Jeff Miller http://members.tripod.com/jeff560/index.html A Philatelic History of Radiology http://www.xray.hmc.psu.edu/rci/contents_4.html Science on Stamps http://atozee.com/web/stamps/topical/science.shtml Swedish Nobel Stamps http://www.nobel.se/nobel/stamps/ Philately & Education at Education International http://www.ei-ie.org/phila.htm Physicists on the Money http://www2.physics.umd.edu/~redish/Money/ Pictures of Famous Physicists http://th.physik.uni-frankfurt.de/~jr/portraits.html (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, radiostamps yg via DXLD) The Jacobs site really is wonderful, nicely laid out and goes on forever page after page. But there is no stamp portraying Ohm! So a stamp portraying a resistor substitutes. And it`s remarkable how generous many third-world countries have been in their emissions on this subject, considering that virtually every notable physicist is a dead white European (or American) male. Must be philatelic market- driven (gh, DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ MERCHWEILER DX CAMP As you have probably already figured are the pictures from this year posted at http://www.swlcs.de/sonderseite.html In recent years editors of Radio Slovakia International used to be there, but this year their business trip to Merchweiler has been cancelled. This made them think, well, we run out of money, so let's hope for better days. Just a few days later they had to learn how grim the situation really is. So this year only representatives of two stations were present: The Berlin correspondent of China Radio International http://www.swlcs.de/clubgeschichte/2005_dxcamp/dx_camp_2005_021.jpg and the head of Radio Taiwan International's German service http://www.swlcs.de/clubgeschichte/2005_dxcamp/dx_camp_2005_060.jpg This constellation --- see also both ladies posing at http://www.swlcs.de/clubgeschichte/2005_dxcamp/dxc2005_tobiasdx-camp2005_069.jpg is also a main topic of the newspaper report shown on this page (below the thumbnails). Another well-known German DX Camp is organized by the EAWRC club: http://www.eawrc.de/WEEKEND/weekend.htm Or perhaps I should write "was", since it looks like EAWRC will fold up by the end of this year (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And I was surprised by the several Asian radio stations that visit, including both "Chinas". Is there a transcript of remarks online? We can run it through babelfish.altavista.com for a quick translation (Daniel Say who sat at lunch in Stuttgart in April listening to CRI on a cheap portable while skimming FAZ, SZ, Ludwigsberger Nachrichten u.s.w., DX LISTENING DIGEST) No surprise, the both Chinas have been there also last time (in 2003). The persons of CRI and RTI spoke with each other and posed (?) for pictures with other representatives and the mayor of the village. 'We make things possible that politicians can't make possible.' Is there a transcript of remarks online? No. And I do not think this was planned. But in 2003 at least CRI reported about the meeting in its German service, also had an article on its web site. Contact their German service and ask them. Also Radio Slovakia was invited (regular visitor at the camp in the last years), but Sofia was not allowed to come this year (funds) I prefer the SZ, FAZ is too conservative for me. SZ also has more 'culture' (FAZ has more 'stock market'). Yours (Martin Schoech - PF 101145 - 99801 Eisenach - Deutschland, ibid.) Guess they are talking about Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Stuttgarter Zeitung? (gh, DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ FM DX FROM 16.5 KILOFEET Just recently I had the chance to do some serious FM DX at high altitude because it was a private plane & the pilot gave me permission. We levelled out at 16,500 feet. Equipment used was a TEAC T-515 AM/FM tuner modified to run off 6 AA batteries, a ribbon T shaped indoor FM antenna & a sanyo boombox to record the reception. The 6 batteries give you 1/2 hour of operation. Reception up high is like intense tropo, with signals being very very stable (no fading at all). The most distant station heard was about 400 km but those within that range were very strong & in good stereo! We had to be above 5000 feet to hear any reception at all due to the attenuation by the aircraft's fuselage. Over the Snowy Mountains of NSW Australia, locations such as Orange, Goulburn, Shepparton, Albury & Wagga could be heard. We also had a fantastic view to boot! Here's what I managed to record within our short flight (20 mins each way from Bombala to Tumbarumba NSW) 101.5 FM - Sale/Canberra 102.3 ABC Classic FM - Canberra 102.5 2EEE - Bega 102.7 FM - Orange/Jindabyne 103.3 3JJJ - Albury 103.9 1PNN - Canberra 104.1 ABC Classic FM - Albury 104.7 2ROC - Canberra 104.9 2AAY - Albury 105.9 2GZF - Orange 88.3 ABC Classic FM - Riverina 93.1 2WZD - Wagga 93.5 2SNO - Goulburn 93.9 2LFF - Young 94.5 3JJJ - Shepparton 95.7 2AAY/t - Mt Elliott 96.1 ABC Classic FM - Shepparton 96.5 2BDR/t - Mt Elliott 96.7 3JJJ - Sale 99.5 3TR-FM - Sale (Geoff Wolfe, Bombala, NSW, Australia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So which one was at the greatest distance? This is really line-of-sight. You don`t normally get any of these on the ground? (gh) Hi Glen[n], Well, I do normally get them but it was interesting that I could DX in an aircraft - which is normally not allowed on a commercial flight. Most people who have - only use walkmans which aren't good for FM DX. It was interesting to see how FM behaved 'up high' using fairly decent equipment. e.g., travelling in a car produces rapid fading - the picket fence effect (Geoff, ibid.) ###