DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-171, September 30, 2005 Incorporating REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING edited by Glenn Hauser, http://www.worldofradio.com Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. Materials taken from Arctic or originating from Olle Alm and not having a commercial copyright are exempt from all restrictions of noncommercial, noncopyrighted reusage except for full credits For restrixions and searchable 2005 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO Extra 61: Fri 0200 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream [repeated 2-hourly thru 2400] Fri 2000 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru 1600 Sat] Fri 2105 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Sat 0400 WOR VoiceCorps Reading Service, WOSU-FM subcarrier, cable Sat 0800 WOR WRN to Eu, Au, NZ, WorldSpace AfriStar, AsiaStar Sat 0855 WOR WNQM Nashville TN 1300 Sat 1000 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5 & WPKM Montauk LINY 88.7 Sat 1600 WOR R. Veronica 106.5 Sat 1730 WOR WRN to North America (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 140 ex-115) Sat 2100 WOR WRMI 7385 Sat 2300 WOR Radio Studio X 1584 http://www.radiostudiox.it/ Sun 0230 WOR WWCR 5070 Sun 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0630 WOR WWCR 3210 Sun 0730 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Sun 0830 WOR WRN to North America, also WLIO-TV Lima OH SAP (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 140 ex-115) Sun 0830 WOR KSFC Spokane WA 91.9 Sun 0830 WOR WXPR Rhinelander WI 91.7 91.9 100.9 Sun 0830 WOR WDWN Auburn NY 89.1 [unconfirmed] Sun 0830 WOR KTRU Houston TX 91.7 [occasional] Sun 1300 WOR KRFP-LP Moscow ID 92.5 Sun 1400 WOR WRMI 7385 Sun 1730 WOR WRN1 to North America (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 140 ex-115) Sun 1900 WOR RNI Mon 0300 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0330 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 Mon 0415 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually closer to 0418-] Mon 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Mon 1800 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru 1400 Tue] Tue 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 2330 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually but temporary] Wed 0000 WOR CJOY INTERNET RADIO plug-in required [ex Sat 1600] 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 or http://wor.worldofradio.org WORLD OF RADIO Extra 61 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx61h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/worx61h.rm [Extra 61 is same as COM 05-07; high version adds WOR opening] WORLD OF RADIO Extra 61 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0507.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0507.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0507.html WORLD OF RADIO Extra 61 in true SW sound of Alex`s mp3 (stream) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_09-28-05.m3u (download) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_09-28-05.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO Extra 61 downloads in studio-quality mp3: (high) http://www.obriensweb.com/worx61h.mp3 (low) http://www.obriensweb.com/worx61.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO PODCAST: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml (currently: 1284, Extra 60, 1285, 1286, 1287, 1288, Extra 61) CONTINENT OF MEDIA 05-09: Coming shortly: (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0509.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/com0509.rm ** AFGHANISTAN. La Rosa de Tokyo, el programa de comunicaciones de LS11 Radio Provincia de La Plata en el cual colabora el GRA-Grupo Radioescucha Argentino, se irradiará el próximo domingo en el horario habitual de las 13 a 14 LU (1600-1700 UT).- La emisión correspondiente al domingo 02 de Octubre de 2005 de La Rosa de Tokyo estará dedicada a revisar la historia y el presente de la onda corta en Afghanistan. El programa incluye un análisis de varias emisoras que han marcado la historia de la radiodifusión local, como: Radio Afghanistan, Voice of Sharia y las actuales Radio Sohl, Salaam Watandar, etc. Colaboraciones especiales de Arnaldo Slaen, desde Argentina-. No se lo pierdan!!!!!!!! El programa, insistimos, se irradiará en su horario habitual de las 1300 a 1400 hora local (1600 a 1700 UT) y podrá escucharse en los 1270 kHz de amplitud modulada, con 56 kW de potencia y en Internet, haciendo "click" en http://www.radioprovincia.gba.gov.ar (Arnaldo Slaen, Noticias DX via dXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Mika Mäkeläinen points out that the dxing.info piece about 7875 in 5-170 was already outdated, an updated version having been available. Here is what I found as of Sept 30 at 1617 UT: ABC PERTH FROM AUSTRALIA RELAYED ON 7875 KHZ SHORTWAVE A shortwave relay of the ABC domestic service for Perth originates from an Australian Defence Force transmitter in Exmouth, North West Cape, Western Australia. The Department of Defence confirms to DXing.info that recent transmissions heard worldwide on 7875 kHz USB did indeed come from Exmouth. "Defence has been transmitting from this site on an irregular basis since 1994 and was transmitting on 7875 kHz at the time that it was detected," says Communications Adviser Michael Weaver at the Department of Defence in the capital Canberra. "The purpose of the shortwave relay is to provide recreational news for Australian troops overseas. In this case, it was specifically for the Australian rules football grand final," Weaver adds. Programming on 7875 kHz originated from 6WF Perth (720 kHz), and ABC programming has recently been heard also around 15060 kHz. Steve Napier from the ABC technical staff in Perth says to DXing.info that he is unaware of the shortwave broadcasts. According to the Register of Radiocommunications Licences of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), 7875 kHz has been allocated to the Department of Defence since 1993. The transmitter in Exmouth has a power of 40 kW. David Hodgson in the United States was the first to report hearing ABC on 7875 kHz on September 18 in DXLD 5-165. Meanwhile, John Schache in Australia reports on DXing.info that he has heard ABC programming also on "approximately 15060" kHz shortwave. More information about the station can be found in the DXing.info Community (DXing.info, September 25, 2005, last edited on September 28, via DXLD) For info. This in response to a web form on the ABC - Western Australia web site (Wayne Bastow, NSW, dxldyg via DXLD) From: http://www.abc.net.au/contact/default.htm comments: Hi, Wondering what this transmission is? I can't find any information on it. Thanks, Wayne, location: New South Wales ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HTTP_REFERER: http://www.abc.net.au/wa/contact.htm ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Reception Advice Date: Sep 30, 2005 1:22 PM Subject: RE: ABC WA on 7875 kHz To: Wayne Bastow Dear Mr Bastow, Thank you for your email. The 7875 KHZ ABC Radio service you can hear is not currently being transmitted by the ABC. We believe this service is being transmitted by the Australian Military, to troops overseas, although we have been unable to confirm this as yet. Additionally, as we are not transmitting this service, we are unaware of how long the broadcasts will continue. I'm sorry I could not provide you with more details. Thank you for taking the time to write to the ABC. Yours sincerely, Jo Lindsay, Communications Officer, ABC Transmission Public Relations TTY: 1800 627 854, Reception Advice Line: 1300 13 9994 (8am-7pm Monday to Friday EST) (Via Wayne Bastow, ibid.) But still missing now? (gh) ** AUSTRALIA. ANALOGUE TV SWITCH-OFF DATE SEEN AS UNACHIEVABLE | Text of press release by Australian Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts on 27 September The minister for communications, information technology and the arts today released an issues paper to examine the current arrangements for analogue television switch-off and seek feedback on a range of matters which will help formulate a Digital Action Plan to drive take-up of digital television. Analogue broadcasting is currently scheduled to cease at the end of 2008 in the five main metropolitan markets. Analogue signals in regional markets are scheduled to switch-off by the end of 2011. "Given the current level of digital take-up, an analogue switch-off date of 2008 in metropolitan areas seems unachievable. We need a Digital Action Plan to drive digital take-up and a plan for the transition to the point where Australia will be ready to end the expensive simulcast period," Senator Coonan said. "The issues paper is an important step. It will examine not only the timetable for analogue switch-off, but also the agenda which needs to be adopted by industry, the Australian government and others to achieve switch-off." The review will cover a range of matters including whether the switch- off date should be market driven or whether a firm date should be set; measures to drive digital take-up; barriers to digital take-up; whether technical and standards issues need to be addressed to further encourage consumers to make the transition to digital and what measures can be brought together into a Digital Action Plan. "The Australian government has invested significantly in digital technology. Our existing commitment to digital TV is well over 1 billion dollars [758,000,000 US dollars] to help both our national broadcasters convert to digital," Senator Coonan said. "We are also spending around 250 million dollars on the Regional Equalisation Plan, which is assisting regional broadcasters in their conversion. "I encourage all stakeholders and interested members of the community to participate in this review by responding to the issues paper." The issues paper is available at http://www.dcita.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/32142/Review_discussion_paper= pdf. Submissions in response to the issues paper should be made to the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts by Tuesday 8 November 2005 Source: Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts press release, Canberra, in English 27 Sep 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** CANADA. Once again on Sept 30 around 1330 check, only one of three RCI frequencies was on the air, 9515, nothing on 13655 or 17800. Has anyone noticed similar outages at other dayparts, not only concerning RCI, but relays from Sackville, which apparently have priority over RCI itself? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn: Did RCI move from 11945 to 17800 at 1100-1200 in French? I think that is where I found them this morning (John Babbis, MD, Sept 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re comments by GH in DXLD 5-170: "Is Sackville falling apart and the only people who can fix it are locked out?" Actually, I've been told by a reliable source that the regular engineering staff are indeed locked out and the station is being run by replacement staff from Montreal who belong to a different union. So Glenn is probably right, though I doubt it's literally "falling apart" :-) (Andy Sennitt, Sept 30, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) NO DRM TRANSMISSIONS FROM SACKVILLE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE We have been advised that our DRM transmission at 2130-2200 UT on 9800 kHz via Sackville in Canada is off the air due to a technical problem. The transmitter needs a spare part from the manufacturer, and this could take up to several weeks. This affects all DRM transmissions from the Sackville site. Further information when we have it. # posted by Andy @ 09:14 UT Sept 30 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** CANADA. More bytes of information regarding the CBC lockout. 73, Ricky Leong, Calgary, Alta. From http://www.cbcunplugged.com : "The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's national broadcaster, is in trouble. A dispute between management and the union has seen staff locked out for over a month. Only a skeleton service is going to air. The clock is ticking though because the Canadian obsession, hockey, is about to begin a new season." http://abc.net.au/rn/podcast/feeds/mediarpt_20050929.mp3 --- From http://www.cbcunplugged.com CBC management this morning paid $500 to a domain owner to help it fix a typo it made in full-page newspaper ads. The CBC asked the public to visit its negotiations web site in its full page newspaper ads today, but an error in the web site address made it impossible. The CBC ad told people to go to cbc.negotiations.ca when, in fact, the address is cbcnegotiations.ca. The difference is only a period, but it's a big deal on the Internet. And a common mistake among people who aren't that familar with the web. The domain negotiations.ca was purchased last August by Ebenezer Thevasagayam. Thevasagayam told CBCunplugged.com that two CBC managers were in touch with him early this morning and "desperately" wanted to acquire the "cbc" subdomain so that the URL listed in the ad would work. Thevasagayam says he billed the Corporation $500 for use of the subdomain until Monday. (...) --- From http://johngushue.typepad.com/blog/2005/09/not_here_not_no_1.html On Sept. 12, the revamped version of Here & Now was supposed to have launched on CBC Television in Newfoundland and Labrador. The lockout of almost all of the CBC's employees in the region (not to mention the rest of the country) meant that that didn't happen. Nonetheless - to the surprise of all of us on the picket lines - an advertising campaign promoting the new Here & Now rolled out, on schedule. We've seen buses carrying boards on their sides, and at least one billboard in the city. (...) [The website has a photo of locked out CBC TV presenters posing in front of a huge billboards of themselves. -- Ricky] (via Ricky Leong, AB, DXLD) ** CHAD. 6165, Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadiènne. Sept. 25 at 1940- 2003. SINPO 34333, but covered by Radio Japan co-channel at 1955. News report in French with some interview. ID was heard at 2000, then popular song (Iwao Nagatani, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Radio Líder, Bogotá, 30-09- 2005, 0355-0405 UT, 6140, poor with QRM, better in LSB. Spanish, ID with frequencies and music. Tnx segnalazione giaber. Rx: Icom R72, ant: 120 m lw HTTP://I05639FR.BLOGSPOT.COM (Francesco Ceccone, Italy, HCDX via DXLD) 6139.8, Radio Líder, 0520-0600, 30-09, canciones colombianas y latinoamericanas, identificación entre canciones por locutor: "Ésta es Radio Líder". A las 0558 identificación completa: "Desde Bogotá, Colombia, transmite Radio Líder, el canal preferencial HCJU, Radio Líder, 730 kilociclos, AM Estéreo, otra potente emisora de la Cadena Melodía de Colombia..." A las 0559 comienza, primero con portadora, y luego con audio y programa en inglés la Deutsche Welle, eclipsando completamente a Radio Líder. SINPO hasta las 0559: 24222 (Manuel Méndez, Spain, Grundig Satellit 500, antena de cable, 4 metros, Lugar de escucha: casco urbano de Lugo, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Now it`s managed to stay on 3 days in a row, and counting! (gh, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. TIFC vs RHC 5055: see CUBA ** CUBA [and non]. Re RHC test on 5055: Saludos Raúl, tienes mucha razón. Al menos aquí en mi QTH la prueba fue borrada por WWRB en los 5050 kHz desde las 0105 más o menos. Después ya no pude seguir la escucha por tener que ir a la cama. Sobre el heterodino no te puedo comentar pues la TIFC prácticamente no llega a esta área, quizás por las actuales condiciones de propagación o quizás por su débil transmisor? Recuerda que yo sólo soy un DXista que tengo relaciones (buenas y malas) y contactos amistosos con muchas y muchos emisoras y técnicos de las diferentes emisoras sin importar su bandería política. Creo que no debemos mezclar la política con nuestro pasatiempo. Recibe un muy cordial saludo (Dino Bloise, FLORIDA, USA, dxldyg via DXLD) Por mi parte, ya le he escrito al Sr. Arnaldo Coro, de Radio Habana Cuba, comunicándole como se recibe por aquí su emisora en 5055, y le dije que si utilizan dicha frecuencia, estarán eclipsando a Faro del Caribe. Lo hice hace 24 [horas?] y no tuve respuesta. Yo no sé a dónde va dirigida la señal; me imagino que será no direccional y que irá dirigida en especial a toda Latinoamérica. Si se quedan ahí, será una transmisión similar a la de Radio Rebelde. Claro que la ITU tiene mucha culpa. Glenn Hauser comenta en DX Listening Digest 5-170 de 29 de Septiembre, que Radio Habana Cuba está probando nuevos equipos, y, tal vez, en realidad, no tiene pensado quedarse en 5055, aunque cuando prueba ahí será con alguna intención. En fin, que si aún no lo tienen decidido y nosotros les hacemos ver la interferencia que causan a Faro del Caribe, abandonarán definitivamente la idea de quedarse en los 5055 kHz Un abrazo (Manuel Méndez, Spain, Noticias DX via DXLD) I seriously doubt Arnie cleared this with ITU first, so don`t blame them (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. Radio Progreso 640; 27 2345Z SEP 05 --- R. Progreso 640, Guanabacoa, Habana had for months been deteriorating from an analog station filling this home with studio quality audio to a pneumonic wheezebag one step removed from death rattles. Last week, reported by T. Kreuger, it roared back. Although not back fully, it smacks oldies IBOC Royal Palm Beach, FL on its big fat digital corkscrew tail. Why couldn't one hear it in Vacaville? Always enjoyed hearing lower- powered 660 Progreso, Matanzas nights on I-10, blasting thru west Texas at invigorating speeds. Another to try, 670 Rebelde, Arroyo Arenas, Habana. Until last week you could null Rebelde and hear WWFE Miami clearly. Last Tuesday, continuing today, can't null Rebelde or hear WWFE. Why? Possible new mitter operating in sync, LOBS to Santa Clara. You can appreciate Don Fido's wisdom. Santa Clara due south of Miami. In sync with Habana, WWFE listeners hear jamming, albeit a pleasant variety, given Rebelde's lack of 'noise blooms', infinite playlist and live announcers. Might well improve coverage to NE US regular listeners. Re: 640 Progreso - at highest power and fidelity it emits spurs on 627.5 and 652.5 kHz. Not back as of yet. One can always hope. =Z.= (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manaprogreso Key, FL BT, Sept 27, IRCA via DXLD) ** DENMARK. DANMARKS RADIO UNDER PRESSURE TO RETAIN FOREIGN LANGUAGE NEWS Danish public broadcaster Danmarks Radio (DR) is being pressurised by the government to scrap plans to close its foreign language news services. A few weeks ago, DR said it was going to close down DR International, which produces news in English, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Somali, and southern-Slavic languages. The decision was part of a plan to save nearly DKK 100 million (13 million euro). But Minister of Culture Brian Mikkelsen declared at a meeting of the parliamentary cultural committee that he would investigate whether the programming could be saved. He stressed that he could not get involved in the actual decision about cancelling DR International, because that decision was made by the board of trustees. Offering the news in foreign languages was not a part of the public service contract between the Ministry of Culture and DR, according to Mikkelsen. Danmarks Radio has just relaunched its website, and for those who don't speak Danish the pages in foreign languages are harder to find. You have to click on 'Andre sprog' (other languages) in order to see a list of available news services. An easier way is to click on this link and bookmark: http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Andre+sprog/English/ # posted by Andy @ 11:10 UT Sept 30 (Media Network blog via DXLD) see also KURDISTAN [non] ** GERMANY. EXTERNAL BROADCAST CHIEF INTERVIEWED ON PLANS FOR MIDDLE EAST | Text of interview with Erik Bettermann, Deutsche Welle's director-general in the September edition of the Association of International Broadcasters monthly publication The Channel titled "Dialogue between cultures is key" Since October 2001, Erik Bettermann has been instrumental in shaping the strategy of Germany's international broadcaster Deutsche Welle in his capacity as director-general. His links with the media go back to his university days, and after he moved into politics in the early 1980s he eventually, as a member of the Bremen Senate from 1995, established a personal link to DW by sitting on its administrative board. More than halfway through his term at the helm of DW, Erik Bettermann talked to Gunda Cannon. [Gunda Cannon] How would you sum up the experience so far: what's been good, what's been difficult? [Erik Bettermann] Since I had been on DW's administrative board, assuming office as director-general was not really a jump into the deep end. My earlier experience as a journalist also helped. In the past three years, we have accomplished a great deal. Together with the broadcasting and administrative boards we developed a company profile for DW in mid-2002. It forms the foundation for the reforms we have carried out since - from agreeing key geopolitical projects to regionalisation of the services of DW-TV, DW-Radio and DW-World.de. Other achievements are, for example, the founding of the DW-Academy and the passing of the new DW Act. However, I am dissatisfied with one crucial thing: our funding. To be honest I had hoped that the federal government would not merely pay lip-service to the idea of a powerful international media representative but that it would also provide the corresponding funds. Yet I am hopeful that we will be able to discuss DW's financial needs in detail with the politicians. [Q] DW is one of the big names in international broadcasting - in your view, what role does international broadcasting have in our century? [A] There is a role for international broadcasters even in the 21st century. International broadcasting isn't just short wave radio anymore. The decisive factor is not the delivery platforms, which have changed a lot over the past decades, but the journalism. Particularly in the age of globalisation, we cannot do without transnational media. A country has to have a presence and position itself and its strengths. As for the much-invoked dialogue between cultures, we must take it seriously as a precondition for a safe, peaceful future. [Q] DW is not only a big name but also a huge organisation, employing around 1,500 people and operating DW-Radio, DW-TV and the multimedia/multilingual web site DW-World.de. You currently broadcast in 30 languages - how do you decide which languages to broadcast in? [A] The most important question is: whom do I want to reach where and why? Our statutory mission defines the following target groups: present and future opinion leaders and decision makers who are interested in differentiated information about Germany and Europe, people living in censored media markets or crisis regions, Germans who live permanently or temporarily overseas and people all over the world who are learning German. We try to align our services and transmission routes as precisely as possible to the specific interests and needs of the audience. They have to be configured to offer viewers, listeners and users distinct added value, with as little technical effort as possible and at the optimal broadcasting time. We rely both on traditional and on the most modern delivery platforms. Our priorities are determined in the so-called "task plan". Until 2009, we are focusing chiefly on dialogue with the Islamic world, increased regionalisation - for example in Latin America - , strengthening of our presence in Asia and promoting European cooperation. In doing so, we also ask: can we reach the people there with what we have or do we need to launch new programmes? On 1 October 2005, for instance, we are launching a specific radio slot for Belarus. [Q] Have your language priorities changed over the last years? [A] Rapid technological developments and geopolitical changes constantly force us to examine our language priorities. Reflecting the developments within the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), we set up a Ukrainian Service in the year 2000; since then Ukrainian has also been used on our website DW-World.de. Another example: following the attacks on September 11, we set up an Arabic-language programme slot on DW-TV in the summer of 2002 with the aim of intensifying the dialogue with people of the Muslim faith. Along with strengthening DW- TV, we considerably extended our radio service in Arabic - to five hours - and set up a separate Arabic-language desk at DW online. [Q] How important are rebroadcasting partnerships? [A] DW pursues a differentiated distribution strategy. Rebroadcasting is an important part of that and involves loyal alliances. We have roughly 5,000 partner stations around the world that rebroadcast programming of DW-TV or DW-Radio either in part or whole. Due to our financial situation, we cannot be present on our own FM frequencies in all of our target regions. So far, this is the case in cities such as Sofia, Prishtina and Tirana. Wherever possible we want to expand "metropolitan radio," particularly in Europe, but in many places this will only be possible in partnership. Setting up "metropolitan radio" in southeastern Europe is our response to the beginning liberalisation of the media markets there. In view of dozens of FM stations, analogue short wave radio will soon be a discontinued model. [Q] In May of this year you signed a new rebroadcasting partner in Iraq, Radio Alnas - your second rebroadcaster in that country. Are you targeting specifically the Middle East? [A] Yes, we give special attention to the Arabic world. After all, it is a highly politically sensitive region that is not far from us. Dialogue with the Islamic world means not only services in Arabic, but also in languages such as Urdu, Dari, Pashto and Indonesian. Since late February, Dima Tarhini is the first Arabic woman in Europe to anchor the Arabic-language news for a western international broadcaster. DW-TV is relevant as an alternative to the government- controlled media in the region and to the Anglo-American channels. We expanded the Arabic services on DW-Radio and DW-World.de as well. In the Middle East, we are seeing signs of an opening vis-a-vis democratic principles: to permit elections, to allow women more rights and to align economic structures to western ideals. We should take advantage of this new openness by using our services to help people form their own opinions. [Q] How do you measure your success in different markets? [A] It's difficult to get reliable figures. We share this problem with all international broadcasters. We estimate that Deutsche Welle has a weekly reach of more than 90 million listeners and viewers worldwide. For the internet, our figures have jumped by 1.000 per cent over the last three years - DW is the most efficient international broadcaster on the internet. Around 65 million listeners worldwide use DW-Radio as their source of information, received via short wave, satellite, rebroadcasting and other transmission techniques. Our international television service DW-TV, which can be received worldwide via satellite, is watched by a good 28 million viewers - primarily in Latin America, in the countries of the EU and in the Middle East and northern Africa. [Q] You say you are not satisfied with the funding of DW - how is DW funded at present? [A] Deutsche Welle is largely funded from the federal budget. Our funds are allocated to us annually; for the year 2005 DW's operating budget is Euro261 million. We have made clear our objectives to the German Bundestag: qualified journalistic coverage of vital German interests in the world. This of course costs money. We at DW are aware that the public coffers are not exactly overflowing. But we need answers to questions such as: What is Germany's international image worth to the country? What benefits does the government expect from an efficient, competitive media vehicle that carries Germany's economic, academic and cultural image into the world? In view of the current federal budget, it is likely that we will have to put some projects on ice. [Q] The new Deutsche Welle Act has been in force since January 2005 - what changes has this brought for DW? [A] The new DW Act strengthens the independence of Germany's international broadcaster and allows us to react more flexibly than before to the challenges of world politics. The programme mission was modernised - we are now expressly instructed to "promote understanding and dialogue between cultures and peoples". It is also very important for DW that the telemedia/internet are now recognised as an independent pillar, meaning that DW-World.de provides a separate journalistic service alongside DW-TV and DW-Radio. If you look at our first web site dating from 1995 when DW was the first radio station in Germany on the internet, and compare it with today's site, you can see the huge changes that reflect the rapid development of this medium. For us, the internet is an indispensable medium that's still growing in importance, for it helps us reach our target group of disseminators. We use all the modern distribution channels for DW- World.de. In addition to the World Wide Web (WWW), we rely in particular on mobile-capable transmission protocols as well as e-mail and syndication formats like RSS. This enables both stationary and mobile use of DW-World.de. The streaming audio and video content are offered for narrow and broadband connections, both live and on-demand. In the telemedia and online services, we will benefit from the fact that opinion formers and disseminators in particular will search for mobile services in their native languages. For the football world championships in 2006, we will have some great new ideas for our online services. This year's Confederation Cup in Germany, which we also reported on in Chinese, offered a taste of what's to come. [Q] How do you maintain your editorial independence? [A] Credibility is our most valuable asset, based and built on independent journalism practised in our daily work. DW has roughly 500 journalists from more than 60 nations and they are all aware of their journalistic and editorial responsibilities. The new DW Act underlines our independence: we at DW determine our programming objectives, key projects and priorities. Throughout my entire term of office, I have never experienced any attempts by a government office to influence our programming. And if such an attempt were made we would resolutely defend our independence. [Q] DW and RFI are joining forces in the Arab world and CIS, helping each other to develop programmes and reach more listeners. How important is co-operation with other international broadcasters? [A] I think that cooperation with other - especially European - international broadcasters is indispensable - and not only because the new DW Act demands it. The countries of Europe are moving closer together and that cannot pass unnoticed by the national broadcasters. The better we are networked, the better we can mutually support one another. Take the internet for example: there has been a regular exchange of DW and BBC online editors since 2004. Both sides benefit from knowledge sharing and even joint internet campaigns have taken place. In radio, we cooperate closely with RFI, for example through the joint use of FM frequencies in Eastern Europe, the CIS regions and Africa. [Q] You are doing both - radio and TV. How do you assess the future of each medium? [A] We have to differentiate between the different target regions and the media that can be received there. Where does radio play an especially important role and where do disseminators use more television or internet? TV and internet dominate in developed countries with liberalised media markets, while radio is more important in developing and threshold countries or crisis regions. One thing is certain: thanks to digital technology, short wave radio will experience a renaissance. [Q] DW is also involved in German TV, the joint German-language programme of DW, ARD and ZDF. The channel has been on air for just over 3 years now - how successful has it been? [A] German TV now reaches over 20,000 subscribers in North America and various regions of Latin America. It has become apparent that we are unlikely to achieve the number of subscribers needed to cover the operating costs. Therefore, and due to ever-tighter public budgets, we want to find a solution that satisfies the current subscribers of German TV and does not place an additional burden on the federal budget. Also, we wish to maintain the good alliance between the regional broadcasters of the ARD, the ZDF and Deutsche Welle. At the same time, the German international television service should be free- to-air. The coming weeks will show what future there is for the project "German international television service". [Q] Apart from the link via German TV, is there cooperation between DW and the domestic broadcasters in Germany? [A] We work closely and very well with the ARD institutions and the ZDF. Both sides benefit from this cooperation and I hope we can further intensify our alliance in the future. [Q] You also run DW-Academy - how does training for journalists and broadcasters from around the world fit into DW's mission? [A] The range of services that DW-Academy offers complements what we do at Deutsche Welle. Over the coming years, we plan to expand DW- Academy into a centre for international media training. Its services, like the DW programmes, promote the dialogue between cultures. The DW- Academy employs numerous instructors from the DW services, so there is close interaction which creates many synergies from which the course participants benefit, especially those from developing and threshold nations, but also those from Eastern Europe and the CIS. [Q] You are heavily involved in Digital Radio Mondiale - what is your prognosis for success or failure? [A] The technological development of radio, television and telemedia is marked by increasing digitalisation and convergence. I am sure that short wave digitalisation will succeed and lead to a short wave renaissance. Transnational radio programmes will soon be heard in FM quality in countries such as China, India and Uganda, countries where freedom of information is not a matter of course. We were among the first to join DRM and our radio strategy is consistently aligned to it. [Q] How important is it for Germany to have an international broadcasting voice of its own? [A] Germany's political and economic weight in Europe and the world grew with unification. Yet in many places little is known about German society, culture and economics or about Germany's important role in the process of European unity. If a nation's culture and language are not accessible, that nation is immediately less attractive. It is Deutsche Welle's job to spread information from Germany and Europe and to convey Germany's image to the world. [Q] What about closer cooperation with other international broadcasters in Europe - for example forming a pan-European broadcasting station broadcasting to the world - an idea that was mentioned by RFI's president Antoine Schwarz in his interview with The Channel? [A] We have been cooperating with other radio stations in Europe for many years. Antoine Schwarz's idea has a lot going for it and we have often discussed it both in Paris and in Bonn. Yet, along with all the wishful and visionary thinking, I'm enough of a realist to know that, attractive as the project may be, it will take us a very long time to get there. It is clear that the EU member states have widely diverging interests. In its project phase the idea is like a tiny, delicate plant that needs to be well looked after and nurtured. Who knows how well it will grow in the coming years? I would be delighted to see it grow strong and tall. [Q] Which developments do you see on the horizon for international broadcasting? [A] International broadcasters must keep up with the enormous dynamics of technological change. My impression is that services will become more highly segmented in international broadcasting in order to satisfy the target groups' interests. This is easiest to implement online. The importance of mobile information services will certainly continue to grow as well. [Q] In his speech at the 3rd International Radio Meeting in Mexico City in May, Radio Netherlands DG Jan Hoek said the media have social responsibility as they have enormous power to influence public opinion, and they must use this power to search for balance, being critical when things go wrong, but also constructive to show that there are alternatives to a spiralling circle of poverty, misery, disease and maybe war. [A] I can only agree with my colleague. Of course, we bear a huge responsibility for what we broadcast overseas. We must always heed the mentalities, the religious sensibilities and the cultural traditions of our listeners, viewers and users. Credibility, competence and independent journalism are benchmarks for acceptance in our target regions. We set our standards high. If we are successful in our dialogue between cultures and if we can convincingly promote understanding of democratic processes then international broadcasting has a future. This is especially true as long as two thirds of the world's nations have no or only very restricted freedom of the press and freedom of speech. [Q] What would you like to achieve during the rest of your term? [A] I want to contribute to Deutsche Welle being able to face the challenges of the future with confidence and political backup. Deutsche Welle is one of Europe's most modern broadcasters - past reforms now facilitate DW's further development and more distinct positioning. I would of course be very pleased if were to get better funding so that we can realise our objectives properly. Background on Deutsche Welle Deutsche Welle is Germany's international broadcaster with DW-TV, DW- Radio and DW-World.de. Publicly funded, it is one of the five largest international broadcasting services in the world - more than 1,400 broadcast professionals from over 60 nations staff its radio, TV and internet divisions. DW offers news and cultural highlights from all over the world with a European and German perspective. DW-Radio broadcasts in German, English and 28 other languages (including Amharic, Urdu, Bengali and Ukrainian). Reception is direct-to-home via short wave, satellite or cable, or local stations operated by rebroadcasting partners. DW-TV broadcasts its 24-hour information programme in German and English from studios in Berlin. There are also regional programme slots in Arabic, Dari and Pashto. http://www.dw-world.de Source: The Channel, London, in English Sep 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. DOES THE ITU *GET* THE INTERNET? World organisation's IP block on lock By Kieren McCarthy in Geneva Published Thursday 29th September 2005 13:56 GMT http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/29/itu_ip_lock/ (via DXLD) Register also has lotsa stuff about breasts (gh) ** INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM. GIMF JOINED BY JIHAD MEDIA BATTALION IN WAGING AL QAEDA PROPAGANDA --- By Nick Grace, September 28, 2005 Al Qaeda and its supporters raised the notch today in the global War of Ideas with the introduction of a new propaganda video by the "Jihad Media Battalion." The 10-minute video, "We Die to Be Alive," was posted across Islamist message boards today, including the London- based Tajdeed Forum. The video, according to the Washington-based SITE Institute, "contains selected quotes from Usama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and several video clips from the Islamic Army in Iraq and al-Qaeda in Iraq, depicting bombings and sniping attacks on American soldiers... (S)everal still photographs of U.S. governmental leadership, coffins draped with American flags, and soldiers in battle are shown over a warning reading: 'What is coming is far more worse... And this is their end...so it will be your end.'" The Jihad Media Battalion has posted "We Die to Be Alive" to the following locations: http://s6.ultrashare.net/hosting/fs/70e475d0c8a77351/ http://d.turboupload.com/d/73550/up0228.zip.html http://www.sendmefile.com/00095436 http://www.uploadtemple.com/view.php/1127559953.zip http://www.sendmefile.com/00095446 http://d.turboupload.com/d/73564/up0228.zip.html http://s1.ultrashare.net/hosting/fs/0358914f84e3d5f4/ http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BXVJ1YB4 http://s2.ultrashare.net/hosting/fs/0c33100218ea7915/ http://d.turboupload.com/d/73579/up0228.zip.html The Jihad Media Battalion appeared earlier this year with various video clips of Jihadis and attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan on free Web servers across the world. The outfit has also posted audio of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, al Qaeda leader in Iraq. "Sawt al-Khilafa" (Voice of the Caliphate), the weekly news video magazine, appeared again today with a second installment. Produced by "The Global Islamic Media Front" (GIMF), the short 1:31 program reports on the sentencing of Taysir Alluni by a Spanish court for financing Al Qaeda and serving as a courier for the organization while working as a journalist for Al Jazeera in Afghanistan. The video can be found at: http://GIMF-Taseer.notlong.com http://GIMF-Taseer2.notlong.com http://GIMF-Taseer3.notlong.com http://heretic.maid.to/cgi-bin/stored/serio0773.rm http://www.isonly.net/~blue_cats/cgi-bin/upload/source/up2816.rm http://www.dos222.com/test/imgupload/img/200592842328face.rmvb http://www.dos222.com/test/imgupload/img/200592872247face.rmvb http://shink.de/cgc41j http://www.n1url.com/3qjw http://www.megaupload.com/?d=O9E3SNFE http://d.turboupload.com/d/78513/Tayseer.rmvb.html http://82.133.140.67/MrWorm/uploads/17/Tayseer.rmvb http://d.turboupload.com/d/78519/Tayseer.rmvb.html GIMF earlier produced and posted a 6-minute video called "Jihad Hidden Camera" on September 8, 2005: http://crusader.rulez.jp/files/Jihad_Hidden_Camera.ram (CRW Sept 28 via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. I feel compelled to note that what I am about to say may well be a load of crap and shouldn't be taken too seriously! ;-) One of the ways Sirius has tried to close the subscriber gap with XM is by going on a wildly expensive content buying spree. Howard Stern is only the most prominent example of their spending; NFL rights were expensive, and so was the acquisition of NASCAR, whose satellite rights were held by XM (XM president Hugh Panero didn't bother to get into a bidding war to retain the NASCAR rights, and you have to assume Hugh has some real-world data about how much NASCAR is worth to a satellite radio service). Sirius reminds me of one of those late 1990s dot-coms that spent wildly and now has to figure out how to generate some positive cash flow. And while I'm not a business expert, it's my understanding that writing a lot of big checks isn't a good way to get rich. Frankly, I don't see how Sirius can possibly recoup their investments through new subscribers quickly enough to avoid a date with chapter 11 or a forced marriage to a "white knight." I've noted in my blog that Microsoft has been making some noises about getting involved in audio/video content distribution (I believe this used to be known as "broadcasting") and I wouldn't be surprised if someone like them winds up buying Sirius assets for a few cents on the dollar. And if I were that buyer --- or if Bill Gates were to ask my advice -- - I'd suggest making a basic set of Sirius channels (say a dozen music channels) free to anyone owning a Sirius receiver and then charging extra for Howard Stern, the NFL, NASCAR, etc. As I used to hear back when I worked as a technical writer/editor at Radio Shack's national HQ in Fort Worth, "Sell up! Add on!" (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, http://futureofradio.typepad.com/ ABDX via DXLD And as an ordinary cable TV subscriber, I deeply resent having to `buy` a lot of channels I have no use for in order to get the few I want. Same would go for sat radio (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. Is Coalition Maritime Radio One on 9133 kHz USB really broadcasting with increased power? Noted today September 30 at 1550 with strong signal, better than ever. Music was ME and talks in Arabic, 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY [non]. Italian Radio Relay Service - Times and Channels Radio MiaMigo [sic] (music - 60s to the 90s) Saturday from 0800 UT onwards on 15725 kHz E-mail - radiomiamigo @ amserve.com Saturday and Sunday on 13840 kHz from 0900 to 1400 CET [sic; CEST is currently in effect, 2 hours difference --- gh] Radio Rasant will be relayed this weekend at the following Sat Oct. 1 at 1030 CET on 13840 kHz Sun Oct. 2 at 0900 CET on 13840 kHz Thu Oct. 6 at 2100 CET on 5775 kHz Daily on 5775 kHz at 2100-2230 CET [so are these times UT+1 or UT+2? How about just giving all times in explicit UT???] (sign-off at 0000 CET on Fridays & Sundays) Please check our latest program and frequency schedules online at: http://www.nexus.org/NEXUS-IBA/Schedules Reports by E-mail are very much appreciated. Please E-mail reports@nexus.org Thank You (via Tom Taylor, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. NORTH KOREAN TV OBSERVED TO USE NEW REPORTING STYLE, NEW BACKDROP P`yongyang Korean Central Television [KCTV] via Satellite in Korean was observed to have introduced a new style of reporting during its 1100 gmt evening newscast on 11 August 2005 and has been observed to continue to use this new style of reporting occasionally during its newscasts since 11 August. The new style featured an interaction between a studio anchorman and a reporter who had actually visited a glass plant. The anchorman asked several questions regarding the Taean friendship glass plant which was being built in cooperation with China. The reporter gave an account of how the construction was progressing and the products that would be manufactured there. During this segment of the newscast, KCTV was observed to introduce a new studio backdrop. KCTV was also observed for the first time to use a large flat panel TV to show scenes of the new plant. In addition, during the 30 August 1100 gmt newscast, KCTV introduced a new interview format where a reporter interviewed a researcher on the balcony of a building while sitting down. This relaxed studio-like setting contrasted to previous KCTV interviews where the reporter and interviewee talked about issues in a stiffer manner. Source: Korean Central Satellite TV, Pyongyang, in Korean 0000 gmt 11 Aug 05 (via BBC Monitoring Sept 29 via DXLD) Not clear why this was not released until Sept 29, unless the dates are wrong or it was earlier overlooked. Seems like I saw a similar report before, anyway (gh, DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. KURDISH TV OFF AIR IN DENMARK - TURKISH TV | Text of report by Turkish commercial NTV television on 27 September After Turkey asked Denmark to ban Roj TV, the television station is now off the air. Nevertheless, Roj TV continues to broadcast through Mesopotamia TV, a channel set up earlier as a precaution. Complaining about Roj TV broadcasts, Turkey had sent a file to Denmark which had supplied the channel with a broadcasting license. Turkey had voiced its unease because Roj TV spreads PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party] propaganda. The Roj TV studios are in Brussels, but the channel's broadcasting license was given by Denmark. Roj TV is off the air now, but it is broadcasting through Mesopotamia TV which transmits through the same satellite with a license it received from Denmark earlier. It was a known fact that Mesopotamia TV was set up in case Roj TV was closed down. Source: NTV television, Istanbul, in Turkish 0900 gmt 27 Sep 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** LAOS. 7145, Lao National Radio. Sept. 24 at 1335-1402*. SINPO 33332. External service in English. News, followed by interview from 1340. News headlines at 1354. National anthem after ID at 1358. Talk in Lao at 1400 and Sign-off at 1402 (Iwao Nagatani, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. RTM B'05 Valid from 30 oct till 26 mar'05 updated as on 17-aug-2005 FREQ STRT STOP CIRAF Z LOC PWR AZI SLW ANT DAYS 3385 2200 1500 54 MIR 10 0 0 751 1234567 4845 0000 2400 54 KAJ 100 0 0 926 1234567 4895 2200 0100 54NE STA 10 0 0 751 1234567 4895 0800 1500 54NE STA 10 0 0 751 1234567 4970 2100 1800 54NE TUA 10 0 0 751 1234567 5005 2200 1500 54NE SIB 10 0 0 751 1234567 5030 2200 2400 54NE STA 10 0 0 751 1234567 5965 0000 2400 54 KAJ 100 0 0 926 1234567 5980 2200 1500 54NE TUA 10 0 0 751 1234567 6025 0200 1700 54 KAJ 100 0 0 926 1234567 6050 0200 1500 54NE SIB 10 0 0 751 1234567 6060 0400 1500 54NE MIR 10 0 0 751 1234567 6100 1300 1530 49 KAJ 100 0 0 926 1234567 6175 0300 0830 54 KAJ 100 0 0 926 1234567 6175 1000 1900 54 KAJ 100 0 0 926 1234567 7130 0400 0600 54NE STA 10 0 0 751 1234567 7270 0800 1500 54 STA 100 45 0 101 1234567 7295 0000 2400 54 KAJ 100 0 0 926 1234567 9750 0300 0830 54SE KAJ 100 150 0 145 1234567 9750 1000 1900 54SE KAJ 100 150 0 145 1234567 11885 1030 1230 44N,45NW KAJ 100 25 0 218 1234567 15295 0300 1230 55,58-60 KAJ 250 133 0 218 1234567 15295 1530 1900 39 KAJ 250 295 0 218 1234567 --------------------------- (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I guess these are routine registrations and many frequencies are in fact not in use at all. Are there any active transmitters in the tropical bands than 5030 nowadays? (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) Yes, as usual. Regds (Alokesh Gupta, ibid.) I am not hearing 7295 today 1300-1400+. This was a regular signal. Maybe a tx problem. 5965, 6025, 5030 however heard well. 24/9 (G. Victor A. Goonetilleke via DXplorer via Ron Howard, dxldyg via DXLD) Radio 4 (RTM) has been noticeably absent from 7295, for a number of days now, during my checking around 1300-1400 UT, when it usually is heard here (Sept 29). (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340 + T2FD antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Ron, Victor & all, I'll try to check 7295 soon. By the way, RTM renamed its networks a few months ago, and Radio 4 is now called Traxx FM (yuk!). The other renamed networks on SW are now Nasional FM (ex- Radio 1) in Malay on 5965v; Asyik FM (ex-Radio 7) in Malay & Orasng Asli languages on 6025; Wai FM in Iban/Bidayuh etc. on Kuching 7270; Sarawak FM in Malay on Kuching 5050 & 7130. The Sabah network on 5980v has been renamed as Sabah V FM, but I haven't heard the SW frequency for some time. Regards from Indonesia (Alan Davies via DXplorer via Ron Howard, DXLD) Thank you Alan. This is very helpful and I hope that Traxx FM will return to the air soon, so I can have a chance to catch this ID. Nasional FM I have recently heard with the new ID, but it's always nice to get first hand reports such as yours. Thanks again (Ron Howard, CA, via DXLD) See also SINGAPORE ** MEXICO [and non]. BONILLA CHAPTER XI - AN ARCHERY ANALOGY As you may recall, CGC #706 indicated that Lazer Broadcasting had used measured field strength data on XHBCE-FM's antenna (XHBCE's own data yet) to allegedly show that the XHBCE directional antenna violated the SCT-notified pattern on 9 of 17 radials extending toward Lazer's KXRS(FM) in Hemet, CA. Broadcast Company of the Americas ("BCA") has now responded to Lazer's charges. At the heart of the response is BCA's claim (made in its second to the last paragraph) that XHBCE is only required to protect KXRS along the 351.03 degree radial (the radial between the XHBCE and KXRS transmitter plants). The 8.88 degree radial mentioned by BCA applies to Ludlow, CA and not KXRS - although BCA gave no indication of recognizing that. The question is, must XHBCE protect KXRS along a single radial, or over an arc of radials as Lazer maintains? According to BCA, use of the phrase "direction of limitation" in Annex 1/ Section 1.4.1 of the U.S./Mexican FM agreement means that only a single radial must be protected. The complete sentence in question reads as follows: "In the direction of limitation, a restricted assignment using a directional antenna must not exceed the notified antenna pattern values." A really simple analogy will help clear matters up. If your neighbor took up archery and some arrows landed in your yard, you wouldn't ask the person to stop shooting along only one RADIAL. You'd ask the person to stop shooting in the DIRECTION of your property. Here, the word "direction" means an arc of protection. The word "direction" is used the same way in the U.S./Mexican FM agreement. An arc of protection is extended to otherwise impacted listeners. When a radiation reduction is required to protect a station in the other country, the transmitter-to-transmitter radial is usually the only one mentioned in written correspondence between governments. Doing so is a great shorthand convenience, but BCA uses this as an excuse to claim that protection is required along that radial only. Again, protection must be afforded over an arc. That's why the governments require directional antenna patterns to be submitted (first part of the agreement, Section 8.3). You are invited to read the entire BCA pleading, as usual. The real action is in the last two paragraphs. If you feel like doing a little research, check the 345 degree field value which is tabulated for us by XHBCE's antenna manufacturer, and you can easily see that it exceeds the SCT-mandated pattern value - re CGC #706. The information offered in this story is an editorial and should not be considered as a finding of fact. We are all awaiting the FCC decision in this fascinating case. http://earthsignals.com/add_CGC/Filing_for_BCA.pdf (CGC Commmunicator via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. MRT B05 Updated : 26-Aug-2005 freq start stop ciraf z loc power azimuth slw ant days lang ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 12085 0830 0900 44,45 U-B 250 126 0 216 1234567 japanese 12085 0900 0930 44,45 U-B 250 126 0 216 123456 mongolian 12085 0930 1000 44,45 U-B 250 126 0 216 1234567 chinese 12085 1000 1030 43,44,49,50 U-B 250 178 0 216 1234567 english 12085 1030 1100 43,44 U-B 100 178 0 216 1234567 mongolian 12085 1130 1200 43,44 U-B 100 178 0 216 1234567 chinese 12085 1200 1230 44,45 U-B 100 126 0 216 1234567 japanese 12015 1500 1530 30-32 U-B 50 315 0 882 1234567 english 12015 1330 1400 30-32 U-B 50 315 0 882 3 5 7 russian 12015 1330 1400 30-32 U-B 50 315 0 882 12 4 6 japanese 12015 2000 2030 30-32 U-B 50 315 0 882 1234567 english 7260 2200 1600 32,33 U-B 50 0 0 925 1234567 mongolian 4830 2200 1600 32 U-B 10 0 0 925 1234567 mongolian 4895 2200 1600 32 U-B 10 0 0 925 1234567 mongolian (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dxldyg via DXLD) see also RUSSIA ** NETHERLANDS. Programmes I Like (#12) "Insight" - Radio Netherlands: Here's another hidden gem of the international radio world. "Insight" bills itself as a "look behind the Dutch headlines", and I suppose that it is, in a way. But it much more. It is really the musings of one fellow by the name of Robert Greene, who is a veteran of the Radio Netherlands team. Each week, Robert provides a four-minute, rambling commentary on a topic that is loosely drawn from something in the previous week's Dutch news. These topics are not only political, but can come from a wide range of fields, and usually touch something of interest in his personal or professional life. Thus, he has a vested interest in the topic, providing a motive for the rather argumentative and opinionated sounding-off that follows. Underlying the somewhat verbose ramblings that he provides lies a real commentary and analysis of a current topic. In all cases, his comments are designed to cut away the "bull" of the topic and reach the truth. He advises his listeners to do likewise in their own analysis. The host is very open about his likes and dislikes, and laces his diatribe with liberal doses of wit, criticism, cynicism, sarcasm, and humour. If that wasn't enough, he can be disrespectful, blunt, and a (self-admitted) pompous ass. Unfortunately, there are few similar opinion pieces on international radio. Although I can have difficulty with his arrogance, and slight accent, I very much enjoy his pieces nevertheless. It is indeed very good when, in an age of political correctness, someone goes out on a limb to express strong views that may be at odds with the prevailing trend. Well done, Mr, Greene. Website: http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/radioprogrammes/insight E-Mail: N/A (Peter Bowen, Canada? Sept 29, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) I too enjoy Robert Greene very much but his days are numbered as he has hit sixty-five, the mandatory age of retirement in The Netherlands (Mick Delmage, Sherwood Park, Alberta, ibid.) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. No DRM from Sackville: see CANADA ** PALESTINE. ROW OVER RADIO --- By a staff reporter 28 September 2005 Dubai - The Voice of Love and Peace (VOLP) Radio in Palestine claimed yesterday in a statement issued to the Press that Radio Sawa, an American radio station, has "illegally taken over" the frequency (94.2 FM) VOLP has been assigned to since 1996. The statement, also posted on VOLP's web site http://www.volpfm.com claimed that "the Palestinian Ministry of Information closed the Voice for Love and Peace Radio Station and granted a broadcasting licence to Radio Sawa to broadcast on the frequency 94.2 FM... ". Mutaz Bseiso, founder and General Manager of VOLP, said that as a result of the destruction caused by the 2002 Israeli invasion of Ramallah and in order to maintain and save the frequency from illegal pirate stations, VOLP agreed to sign a contract with Radio Sawa and provide a re-broadcast service for a limited time contract, until VOLP regained its financial ability to go back on the air. VOLP expressed surprise that Radio Sawa started broadcasting from its new radio station in Ramallah on the same frequency, after the expiration of the contract between the two stations, on August 15, 2005. The statement claimed that the Palestinian Ministry of Information, "to cover up for its actions, went to court to stop VOLP from continuing with its own broadcasts using the frequency". Responding to the complaint, VOLP was, according to the statement, successful in obtaining an injunction against the decision to stop its broadcasts, but despite the order of the Ramallah Magistrate Court, Radio Sawa continues to use to the said frequency. http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2005/ September/theuae_September842.xml§ion=theuae&col= (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) Another foreign policy coup (gh) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Wantok R. Light, 7120, QSL card (v/s: David B. Olson, Chief Engineer), letter in 83d for English report with 1$ (Kenji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. A quiet month DX-wise except for doing the reception reports from The Coorong in July. The worst part about having successful DXpeditions is the typing up of reports afterwards. I have about 70 reports, more than what I first thought. I have 30 out but with the Filipinos it is quite difficult. I wish there was a Philippine reception report guide. I`m somewhat put off also by the response rates of these stations. Geir Stokkeland has suggested we try registered post as a lot of letters do not reach the intended location. This might be okay for a few reports but in my case of 35 Filipino’s that would be quite some postage. But you feel almost obliged to give it a go (David Onley – Geelong, Victoria, Oct Australian DX News via DXLD) Not worst part if you simply don`t even try to QSL (gh, DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. I notice R. Comercial's MW transmitter at Porto Alto 1035 kHz 100 kW is putting an unusually good, punching audio for a few months' time, and finally decided to get in touch with the right person and learn what is going on, including their long halted future plans for MW. This individual wasn't available, but his assistant did provide interesting info, unlike what happened with their headoffice colleagues here in Lisboa. So here it goes. The Porto Alto MW site was dismantled (I knew for years that would happen in the near future) and a brand new 100 kW (presumably DRM capable) was installed in this new site at Belmonte, very near Benavente, approx. 9 km NE (in straight line) from the previous site. As far as I can recall what I was once told by RARET, the company operating RFE/RL here, their HF receiving site was very close to Benavente. Back in 1997 I think, a new 100 kW transmitter was indeed planned for Porto Alto + 100 kW for Canidelo and 10 kW for Faro, in the Algarve province. The ID you'll hear via R. Comercial's MW transmitters is, however, "Rádio Club Português" - not the original, the old RCP, but simply the name applied to a music station that's also carried via the officially called "southern VHF-FM network", granted to Rádio Regional de Lisboa, S.A. (owned by the same group that, among other things, includes R. Comercial and the private commercial TV station TVI, keen to broadcast quite a few bad taste TV shows by the way). I also enquired about the state of their northern MW site of Canidelo (not Miramar: sorry, WRTH people and readers) 783 kHz 10 kW --- things are unchanged there. So in sum the station is currently just via Canidelo 783 kHz 10 kW, place near Miramar, both south of Porto Benavente 1035 kHz 100 kW, place NE of the capital The radio authority ANACOM's webpage http://www.anacom.pt is still showing the full list of licensed MW channels for R. Comercial as if they were all alive. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Sept 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 12015, Voice of Russia, Armavir, 1320-1400 Sept 30. Tune in here to wait for MRT [Mongolia, q.v.], but instead heard VOR in Dari transmission with news and features. Some mentions of "Moscow" during comments. Middle Eastern music presented. Also, heard parallel program on 15510 which was good from Samara. Signal on 12015 was fair and had a utility signal on it. Theme at end of sked. This is DX, right? (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, NRD545, DIPOLE, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SINGAPORE. Mediacorp has also rebranded their English network relayed on 6150 --- it's now 938LIVE (ex-NewsRadio 93.8). Regards from Indonesia (Alan Davies via DXplorer via Ron Howard, DXLD) See MALAYSIA ** SRI LANKA. From DXAsia 30 September 2005: Robin Viegas in Bombay reports that SLBC has reintroduced the Hindi service to India in the evenings 1330-1530 UT daily on 11905 & 7275 kHz. Radio Tashkent is using 11905 at 0000-0400 UT daily causing severe co-channel QRM to the SLBC both morning & evening. K. Raja in Chennai says that the Tamil Service is now on the air at 1130-1330 on 7275 and 11905 (via Andy Sennitt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN. SUDAN EX-REBEL GROUP SPLM TOLD TO ESTABLISH OWN MASS MEDIA Text of editorial entitled "Where is the SPLM media?" in English by Sudanese newspaper Khartoum Monitor on 28 September In any community, state, region and world countries media is a very powerful tool. The media can destroy and build, can inform and misinform, educate, enlighten and entertain. Until now no one knows the SPLM top priorities. Is media one of those? Southerners need their own powerful media now. It would be regrettable if media is not one of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) top priorities. I believe the SPLM might have seen during almost one month wrestling over the oil ministry portfolios where the Arabic newspapers particularly the National Congress Party [NCP] mouthpiece dailies which smeared southerners with charcoal and mud dominating the general public media with disinformation about the SPLM position in this regard. For how long would the SPLM shoulder such misleading information? Don't we (southerners) have competent journalists who can repulse the Khartoum Arabic hostile media rather than being constantly harassed and humiliated for no cause? When the liberation movement was founded particularly towards the end of 1980s it was having very powerful radio station to counter the National Islamic Front clandestine radio propaganda and inaccurate reporting of fighting "Jihad" in the southern Sudan. The SPLA/M radio was vigilant to hit back, a matter that witnessed consecutive falling of several towns in the south Sudan into the SPLA/M hands without any resistant [as published] from the government fleeing forces under the pretext of tactical withdrawal. This makes one wonder and ask, what has gone wrong with the SPLM powerful radio station? Where is the SPLM chief of information and communications, Dr Samson Kwaje? We are fed up of being victims to the Jalabas' media propaganda since the Machakos peace negotiations. I would like to assure you that we the journalists from southern Sudan are ready and capable to manage willingly with the available resources and manpower any media institution to be established in the south today or tomorrow. For our journalists to be effective and efficient, and operate without concern of NCP media, I suggest that the GOSS should establish its media in Juba, rehabilitate Radio Juba and equip it with advanced digital production studios and establish print media concurrently with Khartoum Monitor newspaper expected to move its headquarters to Juba in the nearest future and start circulating internationally and nationally including Khartoum. The GOSS should assist these media institutions in starting up this much needed weapon especially at this critical hour of media combat and should also encourage those journalists who are inclined to start printing without any further ado. We need a powerful media now. Source: Khartoum Monitor, Khartoum, in English 28 Sep 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U K. BBC en español --- ¿qué pasa? No soy necesariamente un asiduo oyente del Servicio Latinoamericano de la BBC, pero por ser una referente de primera línea en la onda corta, ésta se encuentra en la obligación de observar alto decoro en lo que hace. Yo escucho desorden en su puesta al aire y en la programación. Aparte de muchos "baches" o espacios en blanco, ya llevan como cinco días de estar repitiendo una entrevista con el famoso personaje de la TV mexicana "Chespirito". Interesante pero, no les parece que es ya demasiado el refrito? Supongo que hoy no va a ser la excepción de aguantarla de nuevo. Otra cosa es que siento que le están dando demasiada "bola" a las lamentables nuevas tendencias de la música. Por qué no variar de vez en cuando presentando un programa de historial de ya medio siglo de la corriente Rock? --- Hasta ofrezco mi experiencia radial de 35 años para producírselo, si es que el personal que tienen hoy en día es incapaz. Esto tal vez inquieta porque el Servicio Latinoamericano de la BBC no parece guardar la misma proporción y altura de lo que produce su Servicio Mundial en inglés. Es acaso falta de adecuada dirección o más bien, falta de ideas? (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Sept 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) O, the English service has been dumbed down too (gh, DXLD) ** U K. UK REGULATOR ACCUSED OF INTERFERING IN RAMADAN RADIO BROADCASTS | Text of report in English by Iranian news agency IRNA website London, 29 September: Local Ramadan radio stations begin their annual broadcasts across Britain next week amid fears of being charged with breaching a new code of standards introduced by the communications regulator, Ofcom, in July. According to Muslim News, applicants for a record 82 Restrictive Service Licences (RSL's) have expressed concern about undue interference by the regulator. "Ofcom has stated that they would like to work with radio Ramadans about the contents of the programmes," one applicant was quoted saying. Another described the undue interference as "religious discrimination," saying Ofcom had "set of rules for Muslims and another for the rest". The concern comes after Ramadan radio stations have been operating in Britain for the past 13 years, with many of the country's 1.8 million Muslim community tuning in, when breaking their fast. Particular unease relates to a clause on 'harm and offence,' which states that programmes must not include material which "condones or glamorizes violent, dangerous or seriously antisocial behaviour and is likely to encourage others to copy such behaviour". In the current climate of the government's anti-terrorism focus on so- called 'extremism' in the Muslim community, fears were expressed about the definition of "seriously antisocial behaviour". But Ofcom denied that the implementation of its new code had anything with anti-terrorism measures following July's London bombings. "The new code is not terrorism related. The new code was actually formulated in May, a good two months before the London attacks," a spokesman told the Muslim News. First-time RSL applicant Mohammed Anwar, who will be in charge of Nelson's APNY Nawaz station in northwest England, said that like many others, it would also be difficult to assess the interpretation of inflammatory comments from the merely controversial views. "We've briefed our staff to scan the callers in phone-ins. For example, they've been told to cut off anybody who promotes terrorism," Anwar said. Ghulam Hussain, applicant for High Wycombe's Radio Ramzan, west of London, also said that there was a "little confusion" after being sent a letter about the codes. In a forward of the new code, Ofcom Content Board Chair, Richard Hooper, insisted that rights of free expression came with "duties and responsibilities" and said the code were in the light of the Human Rights Act 1998 and the European Convention on Human Rights." But Ejaz Siddique, administrating for Radio Ramadhan Birmingham, in central England, spoke of the importance of programmes interpreting the Quran and said his station was "not going to shy away from talking about jihad". Source: IRNA website, Tehran, in English 1213 gmt 29 Sep 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U K. NEW 90-PART BBC RADIO 4 HISTORY SERIES: "EMPIRE" If you are a fan of history, you might enjoy a new series from the domestic Radio 4 service, called "This Sceptred Isle: EMPIRE". The series is a 90-part series on the history of the British Empire; it airs for 15 minutes each episode, with episodes weekdays at 1545 BST (1445 UT). The series appears to be available on-demand; the first two episodes are currently available at the special website for the series, http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/empire/index.shtml (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Sept 27, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) ** U K. "Communication" leads - Radio 4 follows!! If you like a broader take on the media world, I can recommend a new five-part Radio 4 series that began today - "Africa's Fourth Estate". Today's programme was a feature on "the Berlusconi of East Africa", media magnate Reginald Mengi, who owns 70 per cent of the Tanzanian media. After the programme the continuity announcer said next week's edition would be about "the queen of the breakfast time airwaves in Kenya". No name was given, but immediately I knew that they were talking about the famous/infamous Caroline Mutoko. R4's description of her rang a bell, so I checked and sure enough that was exactly how I described her in "Communication" in October 2001!! (My article is also available at the BDXC web site if you want to double-check.) "Africa's Fourth Estate" is on R4 on Tuesdays at 9.30 a.m. BST. Today's edition is available via Listen Again. (Chris Greenway, Sept 27, BDXC-UK via DXLD) This is not the first time that this sort of thing has happened. Ask Mark Savage (Andrew Tett, ibid.) Mmm, quite. I think Andrew must be referring to my idea for a Radio 4 feature documentary, which I came up with as part of the application process for the BBC's very competitive Network Radio Production Trainee scheme about 15 years ago. Having just finished a degree at Cardiff University, I suggested a feature with a title like "No More a Welcome in the Hillsides", examining why Welsh nationalists and others then were reacting fiercely against incomers, i.e. English folk buying up holiday homes in rural Wales which in the most extreme cases were burnt to the ground by angry locals. I was never shortlisted for an interview even but "co-incidentally", a few months later a programme which was suspiciously close in its format to my idea appeared on Radio 4! I didn't know whether to feel flattered or livid- pity you can't copyright an idea in this way --- but I wouldn't be at all surprised if many other "original" Radio 4 programmes have actually emerged from disappointed applicants! Let this be a warning to any aspirant programme makers, though --- don't be too free in sharing your ideas! Thanks for the tip about the programme though, Chris --- definitely one to catch on the audio on demand facility on the Radio 4 website! Happy listening (MARK Savage, ibid.) ** U S A. CHATSWORTH, CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE --- There is a SW religious broadcaster in Box Canyon, which is where the fire was burning last night. I believe that they suffered damage last time around. I was watching streaming coverage on the cbsnews.com site - it was a feed straight from a reporter in a helicopter. Presumably co-owned KCBS-9 and KCAL-9 have gone back to regular programming, thus the raw feed. It looks like the helicopter just went to refuel though, so the stream was shut down. I don't know when/if it will be back again. The weather today is expected to be hot, dry and windy. Hotter than yesterday (it could be in the 100's in the fire area), but not as windy - so it's a mixed bag. They are going to try to stop the fire before it gets to the 101 freeway. If it crosses the freeway, and the weather stays hot and windy, it could burn all the way to Malibu. Not a pretty picture. I don't think they're predicting that yet, but this fire looks to be quite aggressive, so who knows (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA, Sept 29, ABDX via DXLD) That would be KVOH – check 17775 day, 9975 eve. I don`t think I heard 17775 in various Sept 29 bandscans --- and no trace of it on 17775 at 1703 UT check Sept 30; burned up? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WBCQ will be moving our 5105 kHz service to 5110 effective Monday, October 3, 2005. This will move us away from all the RTTY traffic on 5102. Also FEMA has complained we are too close to some of their frequencies (Allan Weiner via Larry Will, Sept 29, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. FORDHAM UNIVERSITY RADIO STATION ANTENNA GOES UP IN BRONX NEW YORK -- A 160-foot antenna for Fordham University's radio station has been erected in the Bronx, but far away from the New York Botanical Garden. The radio tower replaces one that was being built at the university's Rose Hill campus. The campus is across the street from the New York Botanical Garden, which didn't want it there and began fighting it in 1994. The new antenna is on top of a 28-story apartment building owned by Montefiore Medical Center. The hospital said it offered the space to help end the dispute over the antenna for radio station WFUV-FM. The cost of erecting the new antenna is being shared by Fordham, Montefiore and the Botanical Garden. The unfinished radio tower opposite the Botanical Garden will be torn down. The station at 90.7 FM offers a variety of music, National Public Radio programming and live Fordham University sports broadcasts. Its new antenna is at the highest point in the Bronx. Source: http://www.wnbc.com/education/5020119/detail.html See also - Older article with photos of the half completed tower: http://www.current.org/tech/tech0212tower.html Older article with artist's conception of new tower: http://www.current.org/tech/tech0409wfuv.shtml WFUV Online: http://www.wfuv.org (Ken Kopp, KS, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) SPIRE MARKS END OF FEUD A beacon of hope replaced a metal monster in the Bronx yesterday. A new transmission antenna for Fordham University's radio station was raised off-campus - far, far away from the New York Botanical Garden's unspoiled glades, signaling a visible end to a decade-long war of the roses between the two neighboring borough institutions. . . http://www.nydailynews.com/09-26-2005/boroughs/story/349733p-298384c.html (via Ken Kopp, ibid.) ** U S A. SWITCH OF RADIO STATIONS SIGNALS CARDS' LATEST BREAK By Les Carpenter, The Washington Post 09/28/2005 Mike Shannon in the KMOX booth. (Chris Lee/P-D) [caption] ST. LOUIS -- The tower at night is a magical thing, a husk of girders that climbs into the midnight gloom before reemerging as a pulsing blue light 476 feet above the Illinois flood plain. And when the light flashes, it fills the fog with a gauzy azure glow. Then, as fast as it clicks on, it blinks off and everything is still again. There is something potent in this glow, with 50,000 watts of one of America's most powerful radio signals booming across the heartland at the peak of its force. In the distance, just across the Mississippi River, the lights of downtown St. Louis twinkle, but the nocturnal sounds of KMOX also fill radios set to 1120-AM in places as far away as the Mediterranean and New Zealand. For the past 52 years -- and parts of the decades before -- the signal has brought the St. Louis Cardinals to Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Iowa and beyond. It created so many Cardinals fans, winning them away from closer teams across the Midwest, the South and even upstate New York, that the club's venerable announcer Jack Buck used to love walking through the parking garages next to Busch Stadium before the game simply to count the out-of-state license plates. "It's death, taxes and KMOX," said Tim Sullivan, a 54-year-old retail store manager in St. Louis. In a city that clings hard to its civic institutions, there was always a comfort that two of its biggest -- KMOX and the Cardinals -- would be married forever. But there has been a divorce in the family. . . http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/cardinals/story/860237EE47F6C0538625708A0069638F?OpenDocument (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. Re 5-170, unID new target broadcast Sat/Sun 15-16 via Taiwan on 9795: I received a confirmation that the transmissions were on the air on 24 & 25 September as scheduled and were heard in the target area, but with lots of interference (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZIMBABWE. 6612, Zimbabwe B.C., Sep 23 2045-2103, 25432-35432. Vernacular and English, Local music, ID at 2046 and 2053, 2100 News (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) 2 x 3306 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE TINY TRAP +++++++++++++ About two minutes into PBS`s special ``Sixties --- the Years that Shaped a Generation`` UT Sept 30 at 0102, the narrator referred to Vietnam as a ``tiny Asian country``. Even if the writer was so stupid, why wasn`t the narrator paying attention to what he was saying??? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ G.A.R.S. Estimados amigos, me llamo GABRIELLI Dàrio y vivo en un país situado en el norte de Italia acerca Padova y Venecia. A travez de Ud. me gustaría publicizar un trimestral italiano que se dedica de cultura radiofónica; asì deseo enviarve este pequeño anuncio con la esperanza podéis divulgar a travez la red y Vuestros amigos. En este días se ha publicado en Italia un boletin trimestral de el Grupo Radioescucha de lo Estrecho (GARS) con 28 páginas ricas de noticias de radioescucha. Por recibirlo se deben enviar una solicitud a la siguiente direcciòn postal: GABRIELLI Dàrio Via Firenze 8a 35010 CADONEGHE (Pd) ITALIA EMail: bcldario @ yahoo.it Web Site de el grupo http://www.polistenaweb.it/gars Es agradable un ayudo por cubrir en parte los gastos de spedición en Euro o dólares Usa. Si después deséis collaborar a la rúbrica SHORTWAVE TIPS podéis contribuir enviando Vuestras escuchas con receptor utilizado a la siguiente direcciòn: tipsgars @ katamail.com Sovre solicitud se envía lo espejo de la structura por contribuir a la realización de la página. Se ruega de divulgar esta noticia a sus amigos DX. Gracias (Dario Gabrielli, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Evidently the bulletin is only on paper, but the front cover is illustrated here: http://www.polistenaweb.it/gars/immagini/cop_092005.jpg (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ Welcome to HFC2005 If anyone finds themselves in the vicinity of Gatwick on 8th October you might be interested in HFC2005 run by the RSGB. http://www.rsgb-hfc.org.uk/draft_programme.htm You will see that yours truly is giving a talk on the morning of Saturday 8th Oct. It would be great to meet up with as many Circle members who also attending HFC2005. If you are there please come & introduce yourself. Although ostensibly an HF conference there is a lot that is of relevance to MW enthusiasts. 73 (Steve Whitt, UK, MWC via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ NORTH CAROLINA PASSES A LAW REGARDING TOWER SAFETY Including more intensive training of tower climbers. The law applies to those who have been on the job six months or longer. The industry wanted it to apply to those on the job a full year or longer, but officials believe the new law will promote safety and contribute to recruitment from employees who might perceive the job to be less dangerous. There were nine deaths among tower climbers in the state since 1997 (Sept FMedia! via DXLD) BUILD AN ANTENNA AND WIN This was posted on Irish radio entrepreneur, Chris Cary's website a few days ago, obviously aimed at those involved in the proposed UK music station on 279 kHz. ---------------------------------------------- Posted by Chris Cary on September 23, 2005, 4:30 pm Hello. How's this for a challenge? A £10,000 Prize is offered to any person, or organisation, who can design and build an antenna (less than 200 Ft high) to operate on a frequency of 279 Khz and to give a Signal Strength of 2 Millivolts at a distance of 5 Miles, at a power of 100 Watts. A 100 Watt transmitter will be supplied on the day. This can easily be achieved with a quarter wave 700 to 800 Foot Antenna - but this is not what we're looking for. The judges will be Chris Cary and Peter Murtagh (Chicago) using a Potomac FIM-22 Field Strength Meter. The closing date is June 1st of 2006. Any type of radiators considered - CFA is fine, why not be the first to demonstrate it works. Competition open to UK entrants only, and tests will only be performed in a location to be announced in the UK. Chris (via Paul Strickland Sept 25, LWCA via Brock Whaley, DXLD) AUSTRALIAN ANTIQUE RADIO -- FROM MICKEY MOUSE TO PEE WEE From Mickey Mouse to Pee Wee, from Alladin [sic] to the Symphony Leader, Australian vintage and antique radios from the 1930's have alluring names, gorgeous designs and a heritage that's little known beyond Australia. Kevin Poulter, committee member of the Historical Radio Society of Australia has written an excellent introduction to the antique radio world 'Down Under', and we're delighted to share this with you today at http://www.radioheritage.net. Kevin explores the major manufacturers and their big series, looks at domestic backyard builders, discusses restoration and the collectibles market and much more in this timely item. 'Collecting Classic Radios' is the first in a series of items about Australian, New Zealand and other Pacific region vintage and antique radio you'll find. As a professional photographer, Kevin has also supplied breathtaking color images of some of the Australian radios from the 1930s through to novelty and transistor collectibles. At the same time, we release a very limited number of complete sets of twelve gold medallions from the Art Deco Australian Vintage Wireless Collection. Each medallion features rare and classic Australian designs from the 1930's in the finest detail. They make a very special gift. Only 300 sets were made at the Perth Mint. Many have already been snapped up by Australian collectors. At http://www.radioheritage.net become one of just a handful of collectors worldwide able to secure your own complete set. Hurry though, this is a real Limited Edition, and available only as 'first come, first served'. Every purchase also contributes funds towards the heritage preservation programs of the Radio Heritage Foundation, a registered non-profit charity. Antique and vintage radio has a growing collectable interest, and you'll find Kevin's item a useful guide to what's hot in Australia. More vintage and antique radio items, including books, will soon be added to www.radioheritage.net so bookmark the site today. Warm regards (David Ricquish, Radio Heritage Foundation, Sept 27, DXLD) Pee Wee who? POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ CHIP HELPS ELECTRIC OUTLET GO BROADBAND Sep 29, 8:58 AM (ET) By YURI KAGEYAMA TOKYO (AP) - The common electric socket will serve as your home's connection to broadband with a new chip developed by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. - doing away with all the Ethernet cables or the hassle of hooking up to a wireless network device. Products are still being developed, but gadgets embedded with the chip from the Japanese manufacturer of Panasonic products can hook up to a broadband network by plugging into the common electrical outlet, company officials said Thursday. That's because the Osaka-based company has come up with technology to use electric wiring in the home to relay not just electricity but also data. The technology has been around for some time - including in the United States - but Matsushita's system is unique in that it delivers fast- speed broadband information at up to 170 megabits per second, which is faster than Ethernet. The advantage is that the lowly electric socket is everywhere. Right now, a broadband outlet still isn't usually available in every room, even in homes that have broadband connections. In the future home envisioned by Matsushita, people will be able to download and watch high-definition movies in any room of the house that has an outlet. Attach a special device made by Matsushita into a socket and all you have to do is plug your TV or other gadgets into a socket for instant connection to broadband, which allows for faster transmission of online information than dial-up telephone connections. Matsushita hopes to eventually sell refrigerators, TVs and other products with the chip already installed. A network-connected refrigerator may allow users to connect from a mobile phone or laptop to check whether you're low on eggs, for example. Or you may want to turn gadgets off or on, such as your washing machine or air-conditioner, from outside the home. But for now, an adaptor when plugged into an outlet will allow gadgets with Ethernet connections - even those without the Matsushita chip - to receive broadband. Matsushita official Tomiya Miyazaki said that even homes with optical fiber connections don't have broadband outlets in every room, and people are tired of setting up gadgets with their home wireless LAN device. "Our goal is to have every gadget plugged in this way so that people don't have to even think about connecting it to broadband," he said. Samples of the technology are being made available to companies, including other Japanese electronics makers, that may wish to use it for their products, Matsushita officials said. A demonstration of the technology will be on show at the CEATEC exhibition that showcases electronic technology, opening near Tokyo next month. Acceptance of the technology is more likely in Europe and the United States because of stricter regulations over power line use in Japan, according to Matsushita. The company is in talks with the Japanese government to have regulations eased (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ ANALOG TV SWITCHOFF LIKELY DELAYED: see AUSTRALIA above DRM patent license and DReaM Software From the RX320 Yahoo Group: Date: Wed, 28 Sep 2005 09:07:53 -0700 From: "Fischer, Andrew" andrew.f @ vialicensing.com Dear Mr. Niephaus and forum members: My name is Andrew Fischer. I represent Via Licensing Corporation, a division of Dolby Laboratories in San Francisco, CA. I'm writing with regard to the DReaM Software, which I understand you are providing in executable form through this forum. As you know, DReaM Software is an implementation of the Digital Radio Mondiale specification. Digital Radio Mondiale includes technology which is the subject of patents owned by several companies that are represented by Via Licensing. These patent owners encourage the development of implementations that may evolve through open-source projects such as the DReaM Software project. Indeed, the public availability of reference code from ISO / MPEG is itself a condition of the standardization effort through which several of the MPEG-4 Audio technologies utilized by the Digital Radio Mondiale system were developed. Patent rights for Digital Radio Mondiale are not needed by those who are developing or distributing component products or implementations to an intermediate market of third-party product developers. However, rights to practice the essential Digital Radio Mondiale patents are needed by those who provide complete or substantially complete end- user products. In other words, by supplying an implementation in executable form your activities become of interest to the DRM licensors. Via Licensing's business is to streamline access to the patents of multiple parties in a single agreement offered on a reasonable and non-discriminatory basis, worldwide. There are thirteen companies currently offering a non-exclusive license to their essential DRM patents through the program administered by Via Licensing. These entities are AT&T Corp., Coding Technologies, Dolby Laboratories, France Telecom, Fraunhofer IIS, Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., NEC Corporation, Robert Bosch GmbH, Sony Corporation, TDF, Thalès, T- Systems International, and VoiceAge Corporation. A summary of the patent licensing fees for Digital Radio Mondiale is presented here... http://www.vialicensing.com/products/drm/license_fees.html If you wish to provide the DReaM Software in executable form, you will be expected to obtain the patent rights in order to cover the distribution of these products. The DReaM Software is available from a vendor who has taken a license in order to cover their activities in this area. Other vendors hoping to find a commercial market may wish to offer PC-based software implementations of a Digital Radio Mondiale receiver as well. The patent holders have established a reasonable rate for their essential DRM patents, and none of this is intended to or should inhibit the availability of low-cost PC-based software receiver products. In the interest of the legal and commercial interests of the DRM patent holders and their licensees, we look forward to your cooperation to either take a patent license in order to cover your distribution of the DReaM Software in executable form, or to discontinue your distribution of the software in such form. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely, Andrew Fischer Director, Licensing Programs Via Licensing Corporation 1000 Brannan Street, Suite 200 San Francisco, CA 94103-4888 tel: 415-645-4731 fax: 415-645-4400 (via Al Quaglieri, NY, DXLD) Ah, lawyers: the true face of DRM. At its root, DRM is no more than a marketing initiative for a proprietary codec. As much fun it is to twiddle around your radio's innards to (maybe) decode a DRM broadcast, as many broadcasters get bamboozled into implementing an unproven technology, as many glowing press releases are issued about how the marketplace will soon be awash in cheap all- mode receivers, at the end of the day DRM's primary goal is to enrich its creators. It's all pie in the sky. Listeners who want to hear DRM broadcasts apparently have to be within eyeshot of the transmitters, as multihop propagation - the backbone of international broadcasting - seems to render DRM unlistenable. Until I see evidence to the contrary, I will continue to contend that all the DRM listeners in the world would comfortably fit inside a highschool gymnasium, with room left over for a basketball game. Meanwhile, the HF bands continue to become polluted with wideband DRM QRM, all for the sake of anticipated profit. Here's wishing the entire enterprise an unceremonious and costly demise (Al Quaglieri, Albany, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Statement from Roberts on DRM set --- Had this rather odd email about their DRM radio 'project' as they call it! :- ROBERTS RADIO AND DIGITAL RADIO MONDIALE In conjunction with major International broadcasters our DRM receiver project is currently in the final trial stage. The receiver will be multi-standard i.e. AM/FM/DRM/DAB. Final specifications will be decided after the trials are completed. Upon the successful completion of the trials we expect to have sample receivers available late 2005 / early 2006. Further updates will be available on the Roberts Radio web site http://www.robertsradio.co.uk during December 2005. Details of the DRM system can be found at:-http://www.drm.org/system/technicalaspect.php Details of the current broadcast schedule can be found here:- http://www.drm.org/livebroadcast/livebroadcast.php ------------------- I had thought the spec / design etc had been completed as the radio(s) were on show at the IFA etc. (DRM fan, drmrx.org forum via Mike Barraclough, DXLD) see also CANADA PROPAGATION +++++++++++ SOME USEFUL SHORTWAVE PROPGATION BEACONS Recently there has been some discussion of propagation, or the lack thereof on various shortwave bands. A couple people even posted to one SWL list that I belong to asking if the bands were bad, or if their receiver had developed a problem. There are some amateur radio beacons operating on the various ham- bands that can assist you in determining what frequencies are open to various parts of the world. A short 10 minute "listen" on one of these beacon frequencies will provide you with an overview of what "Paths" are open in that band, and which are not. The NCDXF/IARU beacons each run 100 watts peak to an omnidirectional antenna. They first transmit their callsign in CW (Morse code), then a long "dash" that steps down in power from 100 Watts to .1 Watt. They transmit in rotation on a 10 Minute "cycle" which then repeats. If you don't know Morse code there are various programs available that will actually display on your computer screen which beacon is transmitting at any given time (requires your computer clock to be accurate). Doing a Google on "NCDXF/IARU Beacon" will bring up more information. List of NCDXF/IARU Beacons Call Location Grid/Sq 4U1UN United Nations, New York FN30AS VE8AT Eureka, Nunavut, Canada EQ79AX W6WX Mt Umunhum CA USA CM97BD KH6WO Laie, Oahu, Hawaii BL11AP ZL6B Nr Masterton, New Zealand RE78TW VK6RBP Rolystone, Australia OF87AV JA2IGY Mt Asama, Japan PM84JK RR9O Novosibirsk, Russia NO14KX VR2B Hong Kong, China OL72CQ 4S7B Colombo, Sri Lanka NJ06CR ZS6DN Pretoria, South Africa KG44DC 5Z4B Kiambu, Kenya KI88MX 4X6TU Tel Aviv, Israel KM72JB OH2B Lohja, Finland KP20BM CS3B Santo da Serra, Madeira Is. IM12OR LU4AA Buenos Aires, Argentina GF05TJ OA4B Lima, Peru FH17MW YV5B Caracas, Venezuela FK06NK Frequencies on which these beacons operate. 14100 18110 21150 24930 28200 NOTE: There are many other Ham radio beacons operating in various ham bands, including the 160, 80, 40 & 30 Meter ham bands. But since these aren't coordinated into "groups" they tend to come and go, change frequency etc. In short, not as reliable a source as the NCDXF/IARU Beacons. My DXing tools (RECEIVERS), all fully overhauled: Hammarlund SP-600, 18 tubes, digital disp. (Circa 1952) National NC-60 Special, 5 tubes (Circa 1960) Heathkit Mohican (Circa 1962) Icom IC-751 Digital Transceiver (Circa 1986) Grundig S350 Digital Portable (Circa 2004) THE BEACONEER'S LAIR: http://www.geocities.com/ko6bb/ QSL GALLERY: http://photobucket.com/albums/y123/KO6BB/ Merced, Central California, 37.3N 120.48W CM97sh (73 de Phil KO6BB Atchley, Sept 26, swl at qth.net via DXLD) ###