DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-175, October 4, 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: Wed 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 Wed 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1289: Wed 2200 WOR WBCQ 7415 [first airing of each edition] Wed 2300 WOR WBCQ 17495-CUSB Thu 0900 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Thu 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Thu 1800 WOR KLC Thu 2030 WOR WWCR 15825 Thu 2200 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Thu 2330 WOR R. Veronica 106.5 Fri 0000 WOR WTND-LP 106.3 Macomb IL Fri 0200 WOR ACBRadio Mainstream [repeated 2-hourly thru 2400] Fri 0930 WOR WWCR 9985 [NEW] Fri 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Fri 2000 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Sat 1500] Fri 2000 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) 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 0600 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Sun 0630 WOR WWCR 3210 Sun 0830 WOR WRMI 7385 [from WRN] Sun 0830 WOR WRN to North America, also WLIO-TV Lima OH SAP (including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 140) 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) 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-hour thru Tue 1400] Tue 1600 WOR WBCQ after hours Tue 2330 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually but temporary] Wed 0000 WOR CJOY INTERNET RADIO plug-in required 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 [from Fri]: 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 1289 (high version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1289h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1289h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1289 (low version): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1289.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1289.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1289.html [soon] WORLD OF RADIO 1289 in true SW sound of Alex`s mp3 [anticipated] (stream) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_10-05-05.m3u (download) http://www.dxprograms.net/worldofradio_10-05-05.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO 1289 downloads in studio-quality mp3 [soon]: (high) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1289h.mp3 (low) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1289.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO PODCAST: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml (currently: 1284, Extra 60, 1285, 1286, 1287, 1288, Extra 61, soon 1289) WORLD OF RADIO IN SPE-CIAL ENG-LISH. 1289 and 1290 will be provided as an experiment via http://www.obriensweb.com/wor.htm (Andy O`Brien) WORLD OF RADIO ON WORLD FM, NEW ZEALAND. Times have changed, mostly due to DST now in effect: UT Thu 0900, 2200, Fri 2000, Sun 0600; see http://www.worldfm.co.nz/ CONTINENT OF MEDIA 05-09 via DXing.com: (stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0509.ram (download) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0509.rm (summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0509.html [soon] ** ARGENTINA. 15820-lsb R. Mitre (feeder), Buenos Aires, 25/09 1317, música romântica, ads, ID 35543 RWG (Rudolf W. Grimm, São Bernado SP, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** BELARUS [non]. BELARUS SLAMS EU-FUNDED RADIO BROADCASTS AS "UNFRIENDLY STEP" | Text of report by Russian news agency ITAR-TASS The expansion of Deutsche Welle's broadcasting to Belarus funded by the European Union is regarded by official Minsk as an unfriendly step on the part of the European Union. "Deutsche Welle broadcasting to Belarus, which started today, will not further friendly relations between Belarus and EU member states," the acting head of the information directorate of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, Ruslan Yesin, said today answering a question from ITAR- TASS. He said that using mass media to promote political agendas, a tool widely used by some European politicians, "is not only out of step with times, but also a return to the methods of the distant past". In addition, the Belarusian Foreign Ministry spokesman expressed surprise at the fact that Belarusian mass media organizations had not been invited to take part in the tender. "If Europe has the funds to waste on such tenders and broadcasting, we want to see Belarusian state-run mass media outlets take part in such tenders as they have qualified staff and can broadcast in Belarusian, Russian and many other languages," Yesin said. He added that Belarusian mass media organizations "are free and independent and are capable of objectively covering the situation in Belarus not only for domestic but also for international audiences". Commenting on the statement made by the Russian president's aide, Sergey Yastrzhembskiy, who described the expansion of Deutsche Welle's broadcasting to Belarus as " interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state", Yesin said that this "underscores the allied nature of our relations". Source: ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1454 gmt 4 Oct 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) Germany: The actual title of the new DW programme for Belarus is ``Belorussian Chronicle``, since it`s in Russian: ``Belorusskaya Khronika``. Apparently there are also two replays of this show at 1730 and 1930, but right now I can`t find a definite mention of airtimes on the DW website. The programs are also available on demand at http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,1595,9500,00.html The name of this service appears to be derived from the ``Khronika Tsentralnoy Asii`` programs. DW already referred to these Central Asia programmes of the Russian service as a precedent for broadcasting in Russian to other FSU countries instead of creating dedicated language services. Good night, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELIZE. Whilst in Belize, there is also a BFBS outlet you can hear on-line. As well s relaying the BFBS 1 and BFBS 2 stations (on 99.1 and 93.1 MHz), there are specialist programmes such as Jevo`s Belize Breakfast and Rosie Mac`s Belize Brunch Show: http://www.ssbc.com/bfbs/radio/belize If you feel like hearing radio from Belize for yourself, then the following website allows you to listen to Love FM, Love FM 2000, Krem FM the Mighty Mandingo, Integrity and Wave Radio: http://www.belizeans.com/radio.htm (Chris Brand, Beyond the Horizon, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** CANADA. At 1900 ELT [2300 UT] today on 710 under WOR I had accented talk then what sounded mideastern music. A few minutes later I had CJRN as usual. Does CJRN do anything but tourist or could this have been something else? (Tom Jones, Mason NH, IRCA via DXLD) During the month of Ramadan, there is a special program on CJRN at local sunset consisting of prayers, Kor`an readings and Arabic chanting. It's been aired on CJRN for the past few years during Ramadan, presumably directed to the large Muslim community in the Toronto area, rather than, say, an al-Qaeda sleeper cell in greater Buffalo! Today is a Jewish/Islam/Hindu triple convergence: Rosh Hashana, Ramadan, and Navratri (nine nights devoted to worship of the Hindu goddesses Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati) http://archives.amritapuri.org/bharat/festival/navaratri.php 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, Oct 4, IRCA via DXLD) ** CANADA. Now that the lockout is almost over, finally caught the title of the show filling the 2100 weekday hour on RCI 17765, mostly but not exclusively classical music: Disc Drive, per a mid-program announcement. Oct 4 at 1345 check, RCI was on 9515 and 13655 but not 17800 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. CBC LOCKOUT MAY BE OVER WITH NEW DEAL By 24 hours new services http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2005/10/04/1247022-sun.html The NHL is not the only organization returning to work this week. The CBC and its union have come to a tentative deal yesterday after a seven-week lockout. However, for the agreement to be ratified, it has to be approved in a vote by the union's 5,500 employees. Ratification should begin on Thursday and is expected to be completed by Sunday afternoon. It may be up to a week before regular programming returns to the airwaves. Analysts across the country are adamant that the CBC now must win back its fans after a lockout that has severely damaged the CBC's public relations image. Some are even suggesting that it could take months or even years for the CBC to return to its pre-lockout audience numbers. Heritage Minister Liza Frulla suggested that the public broadcaster has suffered considerable collateral damage that needs to be repaired. (via Bruce MacGibbon, WORLD OF RADIO 1289, DXLD) ** CANADA. CBC, CMG reach a deal --- Amazing -- am I the first to post this here? Anyway, courtesy of Ricky Leong over at swprograms, here's the deal at http://cbcunplugged.blogware.com/blog with plenty of comments attached to the rapid-fire update posts. Here's the CBC News version: http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/10/03/CBCLO20051003.html A key lesson learned -- by me, anyway -- is the power of the blogosphere to allow easy collaboration and near-instantaneous updating of text-based information with multimedia attached. It has been interesting to follow the process through the grass-roots sites that sprang up. There are still a fair number of loose ends, but it appears the logjam has been broken (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Oct 3, ODXA via DXLD) CBC RADIO LIKELY TO BOUNCE BACK QUICKER THAN CBC TV See http://tinyurl.com/cy2p6 --- Key relevant quote: "The consensus among media analysts is that CBC Radio, with its unique market niche and dedicated core of listeners, will have a much easier time bouncing back than CBC TV." (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, ibid.) ** CANADA. Latest CBC bargaining updates Details of the agreement in principle The employment status language includes contract employees as a fixed percentage of permanent staff. The Corporation will be allowed to hire up to 9.5% of the permanent workforce on contract plus an additional 80 jobs. What this means is that for every 100 permanent employees, there will no more than 9.5 contract workers. This ratio must be maintained for a full 15 months beyond the life of the collective agreement until June 30, 2010. We now have a clear mechanism for controlling the number of contract employees. We have improved rights for contract employees as follows: Contract employees who have been on contract for four years will be allowed to convert to staff if they wish. Any contract employee who has four years of service on ratification will be allowed to convert immediately. The approximately 90 contract employees now working in Television A&E, Radio Drama and Comedy and Sports will also have, for the first time, the opportunity to convert to staff. Those who remain on contract cannot be terminated during their contracts except for just cause or lack of work. Contract employees will have access to pension after two-years of employment including a buyback option. This buyback option will also apply to any contract employee who chooses to convert to staff. Contract employees will be entitled to severance pay. Contract employees who have worked 5 consecutive contracts of nine or more months but less than 1 year for 5 consecutive years will be credited with actual time worked for seniority purposes at the time of hiring into a permanent position. We have improved rights for temporary employees as follows: Temporary staff may be hired for relief, backfill, emergencies and augmentation. The Corporation will not use temporary hiring as a way to displace, delay or avoid hiring of permanent employees or to deny temporary employees rights. Temporary employees who have worked in the same position in the same location and component for 18 months will be allowed to convert to staff. A break of a week or less will not count as a break in service. Temporary employees will accrue seniority for use in progression on salary scales and upon becoming permanent. Temporary employees will be paid for a minimum shift of a full day unless they are filling in for someone who works reduced hours. Temporary employees of 13 weeks or longer will have access to sick leave (STD) benefits. They will no longer have to re-qualify if they have a break in service of less than 13 weeks. A break of four weeks or less between the end of one period of work and the beginning of another will not constitute a break in service for seniority. No pre-approval required. There will be a full jointly-conducted review within 90 days of ratification of all non-permanent staff to ensure they have been properly hired and are receiving the appropriate rights and benefits. On Workforce Adjustment (which includes layoff and recall), we have new and better language on occupational qualifications which creates a fair standard for redeployment or displacement in the event of a downsizing. There are grandfathering provisions for protected employees. The two sides could not reach agreement on the process for redeployment and displacement, so we have referred it to the National Joint Committee to reach a resolution. In the interim, the processes in the former collective agreements will apply. Wages: Across the board increases for a total of 12.6% for the life of the collective agreement; broken down as 2.5 % for 2004, 2.5% for 2005, 2.1% for 2006, 2.5% for 2007, and 3.0% for 2008. The duration of the contract will be to March 31, 2009. There will be full retroactivity to April 1, 2004 for everyone (including both short- and long-term temps and contract employees) on payroll at the time of the lockout. There will be a signing bonus of $1,000 per member. Freelancers will receive the same across the board increases except for 2006 which is 2.5%, not 2.1%, for a total of 13% over the life of the agreement. - There will be $20 million (including a $5-million contribution from the Corporation) for Job Evaluation retroactivity and an additional $2.6 million for implementation. This money will be disbursed in mid- January, 2006. - Employees will be entitled to five weeks of vacation after 18 years of service, an improvement over the previous 20-year rule. - Severance pay at retirement will be maintained for all existing employees and will include anyone on contract who converts to staff after ratification. People hired after ratification will not be eligible for severance on retirement. - A premium of $800 per year will be paid to those employees who are required to work in aboriginal languages. - Employees will have the right to refuse overtime after 48 hours of work in a week. - There will be no split or partial shifts, with the exception of radio traffic reporters who traditionally have reported for morning and afternoon shows (CMG Oct 3 via DXLD) ** CANADA. How many stations actually refer to DXers on their website. Is this the one & only? http://www.ckec.com/pages/area.html 73 (Steve Whitt, UK, MWC via DXLD) ** CANADA. Nuovi Arrivi X-Band dal Canada STILL ONLY FUTURES PLANS More details : QC Montreal 1650 kHz 1,000 watts (Hebrew) (Radio Chalom) Address : Radio Chalom 5775 Avenue Victoria, Montréal, QUEBEC H3W 2R4 Email robertlevy @ bellnet.ca Precedent!!! Petition was denied in 2003; see details: http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2003/db2003-399.htm QC Montreal 1690 kHz 1,000 watts (College) (English) (Concordia University) Address : Concordia Student Broadcasting Corporation, 1455 Blvd de Maisonneuve West Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8. contacts WEB page http://hamgate.concordia.ca/ http://www.concordia.ca Email : communications @ concordia.ca Also reported first by http://mediumwave.info/news.htm on 17 Sept. 2005 Ydun Mediumwave info WEB. Pare che in Canada si stiano muovendo per popolare la X-band (Dario Monferini, Oct 3, playdxyg via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. Cross-border protection of nonexistent stations This item appears in this AM Switch: AMENDMENTS TO CONSTRUCTION PERMITS SUBMITTED 1150 WHBY WI Kimberly - Back in Issue 29 we reported that WHBY had been reported to either be testing, or on their CP for U4 20000/25000 from their new 6-tower site. They have now petitioned the FCC to alter a couple of their augmentations to the new night pattern as they couldn’t tune it properly with regard to protection to CKX-1150 Brandon, Manitoba. So, the changeover remains a work in progress. Isn't that interesting! CKX has been off 1150 for a few years now-- moved to FM and turned in their AM license! So WHBY has to protect a station that is not there! I suppose it is because of treaties, and/or because someone might want to build a station on 1150 in Brandon some day. Anyone have an explanation? (Bill Dvorak, WI, NRC EDXN via DXLD) There are many such examples along the border. International treaties require U.S. stations to protect any AM facility that's "internationally notified" to the FCC by the Canadian authorities, and Canada's in no hurry to remove its silent AMs from the international notification list. Perhaps the most blatant example is in New Brunswick, where Canada continues to notify the US of the existence of CHSJ Saint John on both 1150 and 700, notwithstanding that CHSJ left 1150 for 700 years ago, and then moved from 700 to FM 94.1 in 1998. WTTT 1150 in Boston could improve its night signal substantially if it didn't have to protect the phantom signal in Saint John. Another such example is CHTN Charlottetown PEI, still internationally notified on 1190, even though it went to 720 many years back and now has a pending app to move to FM (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) ** CHINA. I noticed that the editors have chosen to put China Radio International`s propaganda on the cover of September`s NASWA Journal. SWLs seem to be a very tolerant lot because we want to learn of the world`s various cultures and points of view directly from the source, but at some point we have to draw the line. And I think CRI should be reminded that being a major player in international broadcasting entails some responsibilities. One of which is NOT jamming other broadcasters who transmit programs into your country and the other is NOT selling jamming equipment to authoritarian regimes such as Zimbabwe who have recently received jammers from People`s China. If you want to act like one of the big guys then you had better adhere to accepted norms; something People`s China seems unwilling to do (Martin Gallas, Jacksonville IL, Musings, Oct NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 6139.80, Radio Líder en español, 0530-0535 UT, 04-10- 2005, continúan las emisiones de esta emisora colombiana, música y diversas identificaciones entre canciones, "’Esta es la potente Radio Líder..." (José Bueno, Córdoba, España, JRC NRD-535, Watson PBX-100, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Re. 5-174: Hola Manuel, la emisora La Voz de tu Conciencia se sigue oyendo por aquí igual o mejor que antes de realizar los cambios que informa el Sr. Stendal y por el contrario, Marfil Estereo [5910] ha dejado de escucharse tan bien como lo venía haciendo. Esta mañana he estado un buen rato desde las 0400 UT hasta bien pasadas las 0700 y se oía pero muy lejana y muy mal modulada; a veces se perdía, escuchaba las canciones en español pero no podía entender cuando el locutor hablaba. Según deduzco por los comentarios del Sr. Stendal, como en la posición que tenía el emisor de 6010 llegaba bien a su zona pero entorpecía a R. Mil, le han dado la misma orientación al de 5910 que éste no entorpece a nadie. Lo que necesitamos saber es si en 6010 siguen produciendo QRM a R. Mil en su zona. Todo esto puede ser teoría. Un abrazo (José Bueno, Córdoba, España, Oct 4, Noticias DX via DXLD) ** CUBA. I have not had much luck hearing the 5055 RHC transmissions here; no sign of it after 0500 UT Oct 4, when a few days ago they were supposed to be in English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re 5-172, ``Well, I`d rather die at 105 than live another sesquidecade in a police state`` This was a rather knee-jerk response, when confronted with Habana`s competitions requiring some obvious commie political correctness. To answer a bit more seriously: altho it is impossible to know what it is really like to live in a police state such as Cuba without having experienced it, by the age of 105 (should I be so lucky), I might well have accommodated to it and be more concerned with socialistically- guaranteed health care than expressing my opinions freely for another sesquidecade. But why should it have to be one or the other? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re 5-173: time Rebelde on 11682.5 was first heard was 1305, not 1035 ** CUBA. Today's QTH: Parque Bahia des Limones. Rcvr: DX-398: 750 on air, no wobbles. Is Elian's coming-out party marking his trance-formation from Ellegua to el Lobotomazolito causing Wobbler shift? Why didn't Bob Simon ackse El about dent above left eye? Oh, right, sense of politeness. Monday Variations on Fido's Theme. Key: flat.: 1140 Habana, R. Musical, first time Musical here weekday, usually Cadena or Ciudad Bandera, same mitter. 1180 What's this? Dos Rebeldes - if not el Trinitario des Rebeldes of prophecy - weak, Marti clear beneath. No buzzing 458 pound bumblebee, no thundering coal breaker, but after several weeks' rally, in decline. Again. 640 - Where's Pro? Noted by TK last week, Progreso back w/big sig, flattening Beckman 7700/3 - 51J-4 meter and as well Royal Palm Beach. Today? Gone. Gone to gusanos everyone. 630 - What's this? Usually Progreso pays call nights this freq. Qth conflict - WRTH: Pinar. Dr. Dre's little list: Isla des Pinos. Bearings? Dre the man. New sig days, compensation for Progreso 640 absence during ratings? Either way, fine comfort having old friend Progreso on multiple freqs. Multiple freqs for multiple personalities. 670 - Still The Two Rebeldes, Arroyo Arenas and probable Sta. Clara, slowly beating one another into new levels of amplitude ecstasy. Null impossible, as is reception of formerly good WWFE. Big sig here almost two weeks running. 840 - Maybe it's the time of year. Maybe it's the time of man. Maybe it's Fido shoving more 6L6's into three-hundred thousand tube AN/FSQ-7 mainframe he bought Air Force surplus. 840 Dobleve, Sta. Clara, strong with clear audio, no doot-splat insolence from 820 Tampa. TPA listeners - possible w/format switch, 820 banked its flames? 1260 - R. Enciclopedia, Habana, strong. 'Poor People of Paris' followed 'Titanic' instrumental. Audio pristine. Any truth to rumor after mid-nite Enci plays retrospectives of The Butthole Surfers & possibly The Cramps? With Fido, all things? Possible. =Z..= (Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manalobotomy Key, FL, BT, Oct 3, IRCA via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC [non]. A partir de esta semana, Radio Miami Internacional (WRMI) está retransmitiendo el programa diario de Radio Praga en español de 1300-1330 UTC en la frecuencia de 7385 kHz para el área del Caribe. Este acuerdo entre Radio Praga y Radio Miami estará en efecto al menos hasta el 31 de diciembre de este año. Hace algunos años, Radio Miami retransmitía los programas de Radio Praga como relevo para las Américas, así esta es una renovación de la cooperación entre las dos emisoras. Agradeceríamos informes de recepción para este relevo de Radio Praga de oyentes en cualquier lugar, pero especialmente en el área del Caribe. Se pueden enviar a WRMI, Apartado Postal 526852, Miami, Florida 33152, EUA, or por correo electrónico a info @ wrmi.net (Jeff White, Radio Miami Internacional, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. A general union strike in France on Tuesday meant that RFI was running mostly fill music on its French service, other than a couple of features being rerun after their weekend first airing. The 1800 UT shortwave broadcast in Spanish on 17630 carried a French- language newscast, where the host admitted there wouldn't be a guest of the day because of the strike. Le Monde's Wednesday edition (out Tuesday afternoon in Paris) reported that the SNJ and CGT unions announced a 24-strike at public TV channel France 3, which was expected to disrupt newscasts. The newspaper (which noted that all the national newspapers were absent from newsstands on Tuesday because of the national work-action day and that its own Wednesday edition would not be distributed) added that programming was disrupted on France Inter between 6 am and 9 am and that there were also disruptions on France Culture in the morning. Radio France had not yet offered a figure for the number of strikers at each of its stations. Agence France-Presse reported that France 3 and RFI were hardest hit. It said officials at RFI announced 95 people went on strike out of 564 (16.8 percent). AFP said 15.2 percent of journalists and 9.1 percent of technicians went on strike at Radio France (Inter, Info, Bleu, Culture and Musique). F Inter's "Fou du Roi" panel show aired without its usual live audience (Mike Cooper, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) FRENCH BROADCASTING HIT BY INDUSTRIAL UNREST | Excerpt from report by French news agency AFP Paris, 4 October: Public broadcasting, especially France-3 TV and Radio France Internationale, was hit by work stoppages on Tuesday [4 October] after trade unions representing journalists and technicians called for a 24-hour strike as part of a national day of action. At France-2 TV, management said there was no disruption to programmes and that only 3.5 per cent of the channel's workforce stopped work. At France-3, the studio-hosted entertainment programmes were broadcast normally but the news bulletins at midday, both national and regional, were disrupted as the journalists belonging to the CGT and SNJ unions and the technicians from the CGT had called for a 24-hour stoppage. [Passage omitted] France-5 said there were "no problems". At Radio France (France Inter, France Info, France Bleu, France Culture and France Musique), the management said 15.8 of journalists and 9.1 per cent of technicians went on strike. [Passage omitted] Finally, at Radio France Internationale (RFI), the management said that 95 out of a total staff of 564 went on strike, in other words, 16.8 per cent of employees. RFI's programme, which are mainly aimed at an overseas audience but can also be heard in the Paris region, were replaced by music. Source: AFP news agency, Paris, in French 1715 gmt 4 Oct 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** FRANCE. The domestic French public all-news network, France-Info, plans a week of programming about China later this month. Following its earlier "Thursdays in Europe" and "A Week in Europe," France-Info will spotlight China, India, Japan, Vietnam and South Korea between now and June 2006, the French Associated Press reports. During the week of October 17-21, the journalists of France-Info "will give the microphone to the Chinese to hear about their daily life, their economy and their view of the world," the station Info announced. Each day, for one-hour (from 8 am to 9 am [0600-0700 UT now, 0700-0800 UT from 30 Oct]), France-Info will spotlight a city and a theme, with reports, guests and a review of the press and media (Mike Cooper, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY [and non]. Here`s the most compact DW B-05 English sked you are likely to see: ALEMANIA: Esquema en inglés de la Deutsche Welle, para el próximo Período B-05, válido del 30/10/2005 al 25/03/2006 HORA UTC KHZ 0000-0100 T-6030, W-7290 0400-0500 K-6180, W-9710, T-15445 0500-0600 W-7285, K-9565, K-12035, U-15410 0600-0700 S-7225, W-7225, W-11785, K-15440 0600-1000 J-6140 0800-1000 T-21675 (DRM) 1300-1600 J-6140 1600-1700 T-6170, T-9795, W-11695 1900-2000 S-11865, W-12025, S-15470 2000-2100 K-6145, W-9735, K-9830, W-12025, T-15410 2100-2200 W-7280, T-9615, K-11690 2200-2300 T-6180, A-6225 2300-2330 C-9800 (DRM) [currently suspended] 2300-2400 T-6070, K-9555, T-9815, C-9800 Centros emisores: (A) Alma Ata, Kazajstán (C) Sackville, Canadá (J) Jülich, Alemania (K) Kigali, Ruanda (S) Sines, Portugal (T) Trincomalee, Sri Lanka (U) Dhabayya, UAE (W) Wertachtal, Alemania. QTH: Deutsche Welle, D-53111 Bonn, Alemania. E-mail para QSLs: tb @ dwelle.de Web: http://www.dw-world.de (Marcelo A. Cornachioni, Argentina, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Service to BELARUS: q.v. ** GERMANY. Additional DTK T-Systems changes: TNT Hit Radio: 1400-1600 5975 JUL 100 kW / non-dir Sat to WeEu Dutch, additional from Oct. 1 Pan American Broadcasting (PAB): 1530-1545 11610 JUL 100 kW / 060 deg Wed to EaEu English, deleted from Oct. 5 WYFR (Family Radio): 1600-1700 9925 JUL 100 kW / 115 deg Daily to ME Turkish, additional from Sep. 29 CVC International from Oct. 10: 0500-0600 9815 WER 125 kW / 180 deg to NoAf English 0600-0900 15235 WER 125 kW / 180 deg to NoAf English 1500-1700 17545 WER 125 kW / 180 deg to NoAf English 1700-1900 13820 WER 125 kW / 180 deg to NoAf English 1900-2100 9775 WER 125 kW / 180 deg to NoAf English CVC International, tentative frequencies for B-05 0500-0700 9430 WER 125 kW / 180 deg to NoAf English 0700-0900 15200 WER 125 kW / 180 deg to NoAf English 1500-1700 15460 WER 125 kW / 180 deg to NoAf English 1700-1800 11850 WER 125 kW / 180 deg to NoAf English 1800-2000 9765 WER 125 kW / 180 deg to NoAf English 2000-2100 7285 WER 125 kW / 180 deg to NoAf English (Observer, Bulgaria, Oct 4 via DXLD) ** GUAM. KSDA / AWR in English, instead of Oriya: 1600-1630 on 12015, co-ch Voice of Korea in German \\ 11640 and 11680 (Observer, Bulgaria, Oct 4 via DXLD) ** GUAM. B - 05 Frequency Request for KTWR Trans World Radio - Guam (October 30, 2005 - March 26, 2006) Revised as on 29 Sept '05 Freq Time UTC Pwr Asm Target Days (KHz) Open-Close kW deg CIRAF (Sun-Sat)Languages ==== ==== ==== === === ======= ======= ======== 7455.0 1100-1500 100 320 42,43,44 1234567 Mandarin 7455.0 1500-1630 100 320 44 1234567 Korean 7455.0 1630-1700 100 320 44 7 Korean 9355.0 1300-1500 100 305 42,43,44 1234567 Mandarin 9465.0 1200-1230 100 345 45 23456 Japanese 9465.0 1200-1245 100 345 45 1 7 Japanese 9585.0 1300-1330 100 285 49 1234567 Sgaw Karen 9585.0 1330-1400 100 285 41,49,50 1234567 English 9635.0 1100-1130 100 285 49 1234567 Vietnamese 9865.0 0930-1100 100 315 42,43,44 1234567 Mandarin 9910.0 0930-1100 100 320 42,43,44 1234567 Mandarin 9910.0 1100-1300 100 305 42,43,44 1234567 Mandarin 9920.0 1400-1445 100 278 49 1234567 Vietnamese 9975.0 1200-1300 100 285 41,49 1234567 Burmese 9975.0 1300-1345 100 285 43,44 23456 Cantonese 9975.0 1300-1400 100 285 43,44 1 7 Cantonese 9975.0 1400-1500 100 285 43,44 1234567 English 11660.0 1230-1300 100 285 41 23456 Kokborok 11660.0 1245-1300 100 285 41 7 Kokborok 11690.0 0945-1030 100 315 42,43,44 1 7 Mandarin 11690.0 0945-1100 100 315 42,43,44 23456 Mandarin 11695.0 1300-1330 100 278 49 1234567 Khmer 11760.0 2200-2230 100 345 45 23456 Japanese 11760.0 2200-2245 100 345 45 1 7 Japanese 11840.0 0800-0930 100 165 51,55,56,58-60 23456 English 11840.0 0815-0930 100 165 51,55,56,58-60 1 7 English 11850.0 1245-1300 100 278 49 1234567 Khmer 12080.0 1345-1400 100 293 41 23 Muslimi/Bengali 12080.0 1330-1345 100 293 41 1234567 Santhali 12080.0 1345-1400 100 293 41 1 4567 Boro 12130.0 0845-1100 100 305 42,43,44 1234567 Mandarin 12130.0 1400-1415 100 285 41 123456 Muslimi/Bengali 12130.0 1415-1430 100 285 41 1 Manipuri 12130.0 1400-1415 100 285 41 7 Manipuri 12130.0 1415-1430 100 285 41 23456 Muslimi/Bengali 12130.0 2245-2330 100 285 44 23456 Cantonese 12130.0 2245-2345 100 285 44 1 7 Cantonese 13690.0 2245-2330 100 305 42,43,44 1234567 Mandarin 13720.0 2245-2315 100 315 42,43,44 1234567 Mandarin 15070.0 0815-0845 100 305 42,43,44 1234567 Hakka 15200.0 0900-0915 100 248 54 123 67 Balinese 15200.0 0900-0915 100 248 54 45 Torajanese 15200.0 0915-1000 100 248 54 1234567 Madurese 15200.0 1000-1030 100 248 54 1234567 Sundanese 15200.0 1030-1200 100 248 54 1234567 Indonesian 15225.0 0730-0900 100 278 49,50,54 1 7 English 15225.0 0740-0900 100 278 49,50,54 23456 English 15275.0 1100-1200 100 255 49,54 1234567 Javanese (George Ross, KTWR) KTWR Frequency Coordination, Trans World Radio, PO Box 8780, Agat, Guam 96928 USA Phone (671)828-8637 Fax (671)828-8636 j.pertile @ bigpond.com via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dxldyg via DXLD) [also tnx to Dr Hansjoerg Biener for an earlier version] Do all the frequencies ending in .0 mean that they have the option of operating on other decimals? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HONG KONG. HONG KONG ACTIVISTS START FM PIRATE RADIO BROADCASTS | Excerpt from report by Ambrose Leung, Gary Cheung and Martin Wong headlined "Activists defy the law to put rebel radio station on the air", published on Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post website on 4 October Activists have defied telecommunication laws by making an unauthorized broadcast on a frequency used by a radio station owned by tycoon Li Ka-shing. The group is calling the move a "first step in the fight to open up the airwaves". Citizens' Radio, run by a group including district councillor Tsang Kin-shing and former anti-Tung Chee-hwa campaigner Siu Yeuk-yuen, made the broadcast in the Wan Chai and Causeway Bay areas, using amateur equipment. The station said its broadcast could be heard clearly from the Bank of China in Admiralty to Victoria Park and parts of Happy Valley. Mr Tsang said they would continue to broadcast every evening from 8 p.m. for about an hour. "We will broadcast in 18 individual districts throughout Hong Kong. It is just like guerrilla warfare," he said. Last night's internet-based broadcast [as published], from 10.15 p.m. to 11.30 p.m., went out on the 102.8 [MHz] FM frequency, which is within the band occupied by Mr Li's Metro Finance station. Mr Tsang said the talk show was an act of civil disobedience because the government had been dragging its feet on opening up the public airwaves. "This is only the first step in the fight to open up the airwaves," he said. Last month, the group applied for a licence from the Broadcasting Authority to operate a public radio station. But officials, who insist most airwaves are already occupied, have yet to respond. The rebel station is aiming to provide an alternative voice to government and commercial stations, and to provide alternative cultural and political programmes. Last night's live "trial broadcast" was conducted by Mr Tsang, talk- show host Wong Yuk-man and fellow activists. Organizers said it was a historic moment because it signalled the breaking of what they termed a monopoly of the freedom of speech by officials and tycoons. [Passage omitted] Under the Telecommunications Ordinance, it is illegal to possess or use without a licence any apparatus for radio communications that generates radio waves. A spokesman for the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau said the Office of the Telecommunications Authority would monitor the broadcasts. A spokeswoman for Metro Broadcast Corporation, which operates the Metro Finance channel, said: "As the licensee, we of course do not want to see other parties jam or overlap our frequency spectrum." Legislator Albert Cheng King-hon, deputy chairman of the Legco information technology and broadcasting panel, said some trial broadcasts in a small area were not against the law. Source: South China Morning Post website, Hong Kong, in English 4 Oct 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** HUNGARY [and non]. Somewhat vague information via Bernd suggests the Diósd facilities were mothballed but not dismantled. And yes, most Rimavská Sobota transmissions of Radio Budapest are on 6025, but there are also a few ones on other frequencies. On the concerned broadcasts there is a clear difference between 3975 from the rather bass-hefty Jászberény transmitter and 6025 with some upper-mids boost from Rimavská Sobota (apparently a certain Czech audio processor called Tesla LK-12 is still in use there). There used to be an even more distinctive difference between Jászberény and the defunct Székesfehérvár station, so it will be interesting how the moved transmitters will sound once they return on air at Jászberény. Good night, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. AIR WOES: URDU SERVICE STILL OFF AIR --- Many consider the service as tool to counter adverse political propaganda by Pak by Tanvir Siddiqui http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=151328 Ahmedabad, October 3: The Urdu service of All India Radio (External Services Division), which has been extremely popular among listeners of western India, Pakistan and West Asia, stands discontinued due to technical reasons, since April 2004. The service is considered by many as an effective tool to counter the adverse political propaganda aired by Pakistan. Says AIR secretary Rakesh Panara, ''the service stands discontinued since April 2004, when the second part of its super-power transmitter malfunctioned and could not be restored despite several attempts by the engineers. The first transmitter had stopped functioning several years ago. Pinara says that RF-3 stage valve, a critical component of this super- power transmitter at Rajkot, went out of order and as on date, no company manufactures it, not even the Government owned Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL). The superpower transmitter at Rajkot is of 1 mega watt capacity is one of three such in the country, the other two being at Aligarh and Nagpur. While the 1 MW transmitters at Aligarh and Nagpur have been modernised and upgraded to solid state digital technology, the one at Rajkot (Padadhari) remained obsolete and ultimately malfunctioned in April 2004, but not before performing more than 15 years beyond its life span, points Panara. Prasar Bharati Corporation has requisitioned for a new digital transmitter for Rajkot, which would cost an estimate Rs 42 crore. The funds constraint remain a major handicap, especially after it initiated austerity measures announced by the Finance Ministry. Panara says that the prohibitive maintenance costs of the present setup and poor revenue generation may force closure of Rajkot super- power transmitter, even as the Ministry of External Affairs is not favour of doing so because of its strategic importance. Even the Home Ministry also wants the service to resume as it provides fitting reply to vicious anti-India propaganda across the border, he said. The technical association is also keen on restoration of jobs to staff that have been scattered here or there due to closure of the old transmitter, as soon as the new transmitter arrives. Station engineer AIR Rajkot K A Raval said the wiring of the transmitter had rotted and its valve also malfunctioned. ''BEL does not manufacture such valves any more, but there is some hope as we are asked to keep the transmitter area clean, as consignments are expected to arrive in the near future,'' he said (via Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, dx_india via DXLD) WTFK??? That would be the 1071 kHz transmitter, previously reported as off the air for more than a year. If they really wanted to maintain the service they could use a smaller transmitter, even only 50 kW, which we seem to get by with in North America, on the same or some other frequency, or even, godforbid, SW. AAMOF, WRTH 2005 does show AIR in Urdu on SW to the tune of almost 12 hours a day, plus quite a bit on MW 702, none of that worth mentioning in the article. And, shhh, Urdu speakers can understand Hindi (gh, DXLD) ** INDONESIA. GOVERNMENT TO LIMIT FOREIGN OWNERSHIP IN TV STATIONS Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The government plans to ensure that foreign investors hold no more than a 20 percent direct or indirect stake in any local television station, starting by verifying the existing ownership of the stations. Broadcasters already indirectly controlled by foreign investors will be required gradually to divest their foreign-owned stakes to local companies, Minister of Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil told The Jakarta Post recently. "We will check the ownership of local TV stations to ensure that foreign ownership does not exceed 20 percent at the stations ... this is to guarantee our media is not influenced by foreigners," he said. Sofyan said the first station to be checked would be ANTV, which is run by PT Cakrawala Andalas Televisi. This comes after Rupert Murdoch's Hong Kong-based satellite and cable operator Star TV bought a 20 percent stake in the station for a reported US$20 million. The communications ministry received an official notice from ANTV over the purchase and will make further checks, he said. Cakrawala spokeswoman Soraya Perucha said Star TV had no intention of purchasing more than a 20 percent stake in the company, at present or in the future, and violating the law limiting foreign ownership of local television stations. "Star TV and ANTV have no intention of breaching the law. Star TV will have a maximum 20 percent stake, as required by the law. We welcome the communications ministry's plan to verify our ownership," she said. Under the law, foreign companies can control a maximum of 20 percent in any local media company. However, there have been reports of foreign investors indirectly controlling stakes that exceed 20 percent in some local media companies. The local companies reportedly set up holding companies and then sell shares in the holding companies to foreign investors, giving these investors indirect control over the companies. Sofyan said the ministry would require local TV stations that were controlled indirectly by foreign investors to divest the foreign-owned stakes to local firms within five years. "We will issue a regulation that requires all companies running a TV network to start selling stakes currently controlled indirectly by foreign firms to local companies within five years or face sanctions," he said. He did not disclose the sanctions, saying the ministry was still working on them. However, TV stations require the involvement of foreign investors for financial support and expertise in the industry. Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, has 11 television stations with national coverage and dozens of provincial broadcasters. Many of the stations are struggling to compete in the crowded market. Most of the stations are expecting lower profits this year due to the high cost of producing quality TV programs in an effort to maintain audience share (via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Ramadan & DX opportunities This year the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on Wednesday Oct 5. During this period many stations from Muslim countries will run on extended schedule. This includes two of the most widely heard TAs on the East Coast: Mauritania-783 and Saudi Arabia-1521. In fact, on another list Mark Connelly noted that 1521 had stayed on late Monday night indicating that they are already on their extended schedule (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, IRCA via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. In preparation for a presentation on international broadcasting I gave in September at the ODXA`s Radio Fest conference, I identified the various programming delivery methods in use by the world`s traditional public service international broadcasters. There are very few that solely use shortwave nowadays. Those would include Radio Tirana, Radio Pyongyang, and KNLS. Most broadcasters now use at least two methods of reaching listeners --- shortwave, the World Radio Network, their own on-demand offerings, and live webcasts (Richard D. Cuff, Easy Listening, Oct NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** ITALY. A partire dal 30 ottobre Studio DX sarà in onda sulla nuova frequenza dei 9610 Khz alle 1000 UT [Sundays], corrispondenti come sempre alle 1100 ora italiana (Roberto Scaglione, shortwave yg via DXLD) That would be AWR via Austria? (gh) ** ITALY. Conferma Elettronica Radio Verona su onde medie 1584 kHz Ciao! ricevuto in contemporanea la conferma elettronica a rapporti di ascolto inviati a mezzo email a Radio Verona 1584 kHz IMPRESSIONANTE lo stesso testo.... Qualcun altro lo ha ricevuto ??? Dario Monferini Egr. Sig. Roberto Pavanello con la presente siamo a confermare il radioascolto da Lei effettuato sulla nostra frequenza di 1584 kHz. Ringraziando per il rapporto di ascolto inviatoci, porgiamo cordiali saluti. RADIO VERONA radioverona @ radioverona.it Egr. Sig. Dario Monferini con la presente siamo a confermare il radioascolto da Lei effettuato sulla nostra frequenza di 1584 kHz. Ringraziando per il rapporto di ascolto inviatoci, porgiamo cordiali saluti. RADIO VERONA radioverona@radioverona.it (via Dario Monferini, DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Cf 5-174: SHORTWAVE TO REACH OUT TO JAPANESE ABDUCTEES IN NORTH KOREA The Investigation Commission on Missing Japanese Probably Related to North Korea (COMJAN) will begin broadcasting on shortwave for about 30 minutes a day possibly starting this month. The broadcasts will contain the names and ages in Japanese of people it believes were abducted. COMJAN admits it doesn't know whether any of the Japanese abductees will be tuned in, as listening to shortwave broadcasts from outside the country is forbidden in North Korea. But many escapees have said they did manage to listen to get information from other parts of the world. COMJAN said it will not disclose the name and location of the broadcaster to prevent North Korea from trying to stop the activity. The broadcasts will cost the group about 3 million yen a year. (Source: Japan Times) # posted by Andy @ 12:18 UT Oct 4 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** LUXEMBOURG. Re: 5-173. See http://tinyurl.com/bzc5w for the answer :-) (Andy Sennitt, ibid.) DRM Forum reports -- So the answer is: DXers. Whoops. By the way, the Radio Luxembourg story led to some interest in DRM by a broadcaster with no bearing whatsoever on the shortwave scene, specifically the classical foreign services. We went into the details, I mentioned the usual bitrates of (shortwave) DRM and referred to screenshots of 7145 reception, showing 20.something kbps. His reaction: ``Oh dear, are they serious? This way it will become yet another flop!`` Good night, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. 6184.96, Radio Educación, Oct 4, 0342-0540, music program of C & W songs in English, long segment of big band songs, in English, from the 1940s, modern musical composition (sound bits, sound affects, sound of horses running; rather far out and chaotic!) and classical music; a few Spanish IDs (classical guitars before and after); English ID: ``This is the short wave of Radio Educación Mexico. Our phone number is 15 00 10 73, and the Area Code for Mexico City is 55 and the Country Code is 52. Why don`t you call us? We would like to record your conversation.`` Reception was good. Enjoyable listening (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340 + T2FD antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. Big L- Radio London boss explains silence on 1395 kHz Ray Anderson, the boss of UK commercial station Big L - Radio London, has posted a long message on the station's forum, where he explains why the station is currently off the air on 1395 kHz, the transmitter for which is located here in the Netherlands. Anderson claims to have been misled about the power and service area of the transmitter, and says that "in nearly 4 months, the transmitter only ran on the correct power level for 2 weeks." He also cites a number of other problems that he considers warrant compensation. Anderson confirms that he is now in dispute with transmitter operator Nozema Services, which he says "expects full payment for this bad service, with no compensation, even ignoring our request for a meeting to discuss the matter." So, says Anderson, "We are now in a stalemate situation with neither side prepared to move regarding the matter." However, Anderson says "we have several alternative options involving other service providers. Our commitment to resuming a service on 1395 kHz is still very high in our business strategy." Big L - Radio London Nozema Services [links] # posted by Andy @ 11:22 Oct 4 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. RNZI TRANSMITTER SITE INSTALLATION WORK MEANS SHUT- DOWN PERIODS Radio New Zealand International says that over the coming months there will be additional shut-down periods on shortwave from 1035-1700 NZST (2135-0400 UT). This will allow work on the antenna system and related issues due to the installation of a new transmitter. The Internet live audio stream continues 24 hours a day. Radio New Zealand International http://www.rnzi.com/index.php # posted by Andy @ 13:16 UT Oct 4 (Media Network blog, as amended, via WORLD OF RADIO 1289, DXLD) So for us with broadband there is no problem; I am starting to wonder if there is any point using the shortwave option anyway. Is the fun going out of DXing stations such as this?! That's a worrying comment from me as I have been an avid DXer since 1962!! Time will tell --- millions do not have access to the internet (yet!). (Mike Terry, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That means 15720 will be missing, but how often, actually? See also top for WORLD FM (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1289, DXLD) Basically the transmitter may have to be switched off some days during local daylight hours, and this will obviously depend on how the work progresses, local weather conditions, etc. There was a shutdown on 30 September, apparently. You're right, the website says 1035-1700 NZST which I guess means "New Zealand Summer Time." I was thinking it meant "New Zealand Standard Time". So the correct off times would be 2135- 0400 UTC. I think the website will mention in advanced when a shutdown is planned, wherever possible. Thanks for picking that up, Glenn :-) (Andy Sennitt, dxldyg via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND [and non]. RADIO MEMORIES ACROSS THE PACIFIC New radio heritage documentary at RNZI Rare recordings from American Armed Forces Radio stations in the Pacific region feature in the latest Radio Heritage Foundation documentary from Radio New Zealand International. Listeners will hear an excerpt from a 1942 Mail Call show recorded in Hollywood with special messages for allied troops in New Guinea, part of 'The Night Watch' program from WXLG Kwajalein in 1953 - including the full official nightly close down announcement - and excerpts from a rare recording made of WXLE Canton Island from the 1970's. The documentary has 'Memories' as the theme, and includes a variety of popular music tracks from the 1940's and 1950's, including 'Polynesian Memories' by New Zealand's steel guitar star, Bill Wolfgram. A former WXLG engineer also remembers how he lost a tractor digging a hole in coral rock for a new antenna system in 1945, as the station tried to reduce skywave coverage of Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. Two recent newspaper articles with a common radio 'nostalgia' theme from India and Japan round out the program. The Hindu newspaper leads with a nostalgic look back at old Indian radio listening habits, and the Daily Yomiuri looks forward as three million former Japanese BCL fans reach their 40's and begin dusting off their shortwave radios and return to their old hobby. The documentary is scheduled for broadcast on October 10, and is then available in the 'more audio' section of the RNZI website http://www.rnzi.com under the Mailbox heading. The program is produced by the Radio Heritage Foundation in association with RNZI and continues a series looking at radio issues around the Pacific region. Free access stories and images about WXLE, WXLG and many other Pacific radio stations can be found at http://www.radioheritage.net Warm regards (David Ricquish, Radio Heritage Foundation, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also USA [non] ** NORWAY. Time changes for BBC WS via KVI 050 kW / 180 deg to CeEu in DRM mode: 0700-1500 (ex 0700-1600) on 9470* 1500-1900 (ex 1600-1900) on 7465# *to avoid Voice of Russia in Albanian/Serbian 1500-1600 (Observer, Bulgaria, Oct 4 via DXLD) ** PERU. Quito 4/10 2005, 4965.83 kHz, Radio Nacional del Perú was there also this Tuesday morning. Nothing Monday evening. UT 1030 Carrier without audio. 1050 Start of transmission in Quechua with, if not an ID, at least mentioning the 60 meter band and Radio Nacional. 1100 Start of same newsprogram as yesterday morning: "Enfoque Internacional" in Spanish and Radio Nacional IDs with FM and mediumwave frequencies. Weak signal. Radio Nacional del Perú now established in Cusco or what?? 73s (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador http://www.malm-ecuador.com WORLD OF RADIO 1289, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 5939.24, Radio Melodía, (presumed) 1008-1038 Oct 4. Not much of a signal at 1008, but sitting here on 5939.24 waiting for the "window" to open for Peru. Presently I can hear, just slightly, a man talking, but not clearly. By 1015, the audio begins to fade in with a man and woman in Spanish comments. Sounds like and probably is, the news. By 1017, the format is still news, but now the signal is starting to come in clearly at a poor level. The "Window" has been opened so to speak. At this point, two men in Spanish comments. This is a very difficult frequency to copy. There's splatter from the station on 5935 which is WWCR from Nashville, Tennessee. Then there's the normal noise that is found on the 6 MHz band. At 1030, Radio Melodía is at it's best with a good level for a few minutes. Best heard using USB. With AM mode, too much splatter is allowed through. Signal began to fade again by 1036. Didn't hear an ID (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida NRD545, dipole/homebrew preselector, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. THE WHIMS OF FATE (on the air as of October 3rd) Our next edition of the program will be devoted to Basil Zaharoff, an international financier and munitions manufacturer, popularly known as the ``mystery man of Europe.`` It was mainly to his efforts that arms dealers have been dubbed ``merchants of death.`` Intrigued? Then tune in to the next edition of THE WHIMS OF FATE which will go on the air on Monday at 16.30 and 18.30, and then will be repeated on Tuesday at 03.30, Wednesday at 16.30 and 18.30, Thursday at 03.30, Friday at 16.30 and 18.30, and Saturday at 03.30. All times UTC. [Add a sesquiminute to all times] (vor.ru via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. B-05 transmissions in DRM mode via MSK 035 kW / 240 deg: 0700-1000 Voice of Russia English WS on 12060 1000-1300 Voice of Russia German on 12060 1400-1500 Voice of Russia Russian WS on 5810 1500-1600 Voice of Russia English WS on 5810 1600-1700 Voice of Russia German on 5810 1700-1800 Voice of Russia French on 5810 1900-2300 Deutsche Welle German/English on 5820 (Observer, Bulgaria, Oct 4 via DXLD) See also SEYCHELLES; TATARSTAN; U S A ** SEYCHELLES [non]. RUSSIA(non): Frequency & time changes for FEBA Radio to Iran/Afghanistan/Pakistan: NF 7350 MSK 250 kW / 159 deg, ex 9850 as follows: 1630-1730 (ex 1530-1630) Persian Fri-Wed 1630-1745 (ex 1530-1645) Persian Thu 1730-1745 (ex 1630-1645) Turkmen Mon-Wed 1730-1745 (ex 1630-1645) English Fri 1730-1745 (ex 1630-1645) Baluchi Sat/Sun Tentative frequency for B-05 is 7345 (Observer, Bulgaria, Oct 4 via DXLD) ** SINGAPORE. According to http://www.938live.sg 938Live! (formerly NewsRadio 938) was launched on 13 June 2005 ``and is Singapore`s only English news and talk station``. Presumably the ID we will hear on 6150 between 2300-1100 and 1400-1600 will now be ``938 Live`` (Tony Rogers, UK, Oct BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** SPAIN. REE English to NAm at 0000-0100 on 15385: poor propagation at times so it doesn`t show up. Co-channel Chinese (Bob Thomas, CT, Sept 30, WORLD OF RADIO 1289, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. Listening to ``La Bañera de Ulises``, Oct 4, still Tue 1405 on 17595 et al., ``mañana sábado`` was mentioned, so the program was recorded on Friday, and originally broadcast Friday evening on RNE Radio 3, but checking that network`s website http://www.rtve.es/rne/r3/index.htm we see that a new schedule went into effect Oct 3, including this program moved to Sat 1900 local = 1705 UT, so another chance to catch in on webcast then. But then announcement at 1443 said from now on would be Sat at 8 pm! That`s 1800 UT (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TATARSTAN. RUSSIA(non): B-05 for Tatarstan Wave: 0510-0600 on 15105 SAM 150 kW / 065 deg to FE 0710-0800 on 9860 SAM 250 kW / 060 deg to RUS 0910-1000 on 11915 SAM 250 kW / 305 deg to WeEu (Observer, Bulgaria, Oct 4 via DXLD) ** TUNISIA. ANALYSIS: WATCHDOGS SAY INFORMATION SUMMIT HOST TUNISIA "STIFLING DISSENT" | Text of editorial analysis by Peter Feuilherade of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 3 October As Tunisia prepares to hold the next United Nations-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) on 16 November, a monitoring group comprising more than a dozen freedom of speech watchdogs and NGOs has called on the authorities to respect media freedom and stop harassing journalists, lawyers and dissidents. In a report published at the end of September, the Tunisian Monitoring Group (TMG) warned that the situation had deteriorated over the past few months, with the government apparently bent on stifling dissent. It said in a statement: "We call on the international community to take responsibility in holding Tunisia to account ... Two months before WSIS Tunis 2005, Tunisia is not a suitable place to hold a United Nations world summit." The TMG's report expressed concern at what it termed "a serious deterioration in free expression conditions in Tunisia, marked by attacks on independent organizations, harassment of journalists and dissidents and interference in the judiciary". Critics of Tunisia's human rights record point to failings that include the imprisonment of individuals for expression of their opinions or media activities; the obstruction of websites, the import or distribution of books and publications, and of peaceful public assembly; police surveillance, harassment, intimidation and interception of communications; and press censorship and lack of diversity of content in newspapers. A commentary in the US magazine National Review in September said: "The Tunisian government and President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's relatives control all of the country's internet service providers. As in China, international news and human rights websites are routinely blocked. Citizens who post their dissent online face lengthy prison terms." In March this year Paris-based media freedom watchdog Reporters Sans Frontieres published a list of 23 human rights, news and political opposition websites it said were blocked in Tunisia. "Stifling dissent" Attacks on freedom of expression and freedom of association have escalated since January 2005, the TMG rapporteurs found. After banning the founding congress of the new Tunisian Journalists' Union (SJT) on 7 September, the authorities also prevented the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH) from holding its sixth Congress. The ban on the SJT's founding congress prompted Reporters Sans Frontieres to comment: "The United Nations agreed to hold its WSIS in Tunis in November in order to give President Ben Ali a chance to improve his record on free expression, but press freedom is still non- existent in Tunisia and now the authorities are harassing the SJT and forcing it to cease its activities." Earlier this year, the Association of Tunisian Judges was locked out of its offices for taking a public stance in favour of the independence of the judiciary. And in April 2005, human rights lawyer Mohamed Abbou was jailed for three and a half years on charges of "incitement of the population to infringe the laws", following articles he published on the internet. Steve Buckley, chair of the TMG, said Abbou's imprisonment has had a chilling effect on freedom of expression and the independence of the judiciary and "appears to be directly linked to Tunisian government efforts to suppress dissent in the run-up to the WSIS". The TMG compiled its 18-page report, "Freedom of Expression in Tunisia: The Siege Intensifies", after a fact-finding mission in early September, during which members met government officials, human rights advocates and journalists. They concluded that the Tunisian government is seeking to stifle dissent on the eve of the WSIS. The full report can be read on the internet at http://campaigns.ifex.org/tmg Press "free and pluralistic", insists Tunis The Tunisian government responded that the allegations against it were "biased and inaccurate", insisting that Tunisia had a "free and pluralistic" press and that there was no media censorship. The government said that the "overwhelming majority" of newspapers were private and followed independent editorial lines, while opposition parties were able to express their views "without any restriction." Radio and TV broadcasting in Tunisia was opened up to private operators following a decision by President Ben Ali in 2003. The first private television channel, Hannibal TV, started digital satellite broadcasts in February this year, but surveys show it has failed to attract a sizeable audience so far. Two private radio stations are also on the air. As for the print media, in the view of the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based media watchdog, "Tunisian newspapers are by and large private, but independent journalists say that editors must remain loyal to Ben Ali, resulting in hagiographic coverage of the president and his policies. Those who don't toe the official line are dealt with swiftly and severely." However, senior Tunisian officials maintain that their country's evolving democracy needs time to introduce "a full range of human rights". Source: BBC Monitoring research 3 Oct 05 (via DXLD) Why do I always get an underscore before the word ``expression``? Removed thruout the above item (gh, DXLD) ** U K [and non]. VT Merlin B-05 schedule has been posted Oct 4 on the dxldyg, more than 100K, tnx to Alokesh Gupta. It is sorted by: station, then by language, then by time, and then by frequency. The stations are: ABC, AWR, BBC, CRI, FEBA, HCJB, KBS, LRC[9290 Latvia], MNO, NHK, RAI, RFI, RNZI, TWR, UNR, WYFR. Unfortunately it does not flag DRM transmissions; e.g. the sole RNZI entry is DRM, we know (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 9290 is now hosted by Merlin? (Roberto Scaglione, Italy, ibid.) VT Merlin coordinated this frequency for the Latvian operator LVRTC some years ago and is keeping it registered with the HFCC each season (under "MER"). Since then it also appears (though as "placeholder") in the VT Merlin schedule. 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, ibid.) One interesting note, and one correction. Firstly, the finishing time for 198 kHz from Droitwich should be 0530, not 0600, as Radio 4 opens at 0530 UT during the winter, every day. Also the sites at Westerglen and Berghead were not mentioned in that entry. Also, I was surprised that the 1323 kHz transmitter at Zygi is only listed as 200 kW, I would have thought it was at least 250 (PAUL DAVID, Wembley Park, United Kingdom, ibid.) How do you tell the difference between 200 and 250? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. KVOH survived the wildfires. It had been off the air until Oct 3, when 17775 was back, checked at 1949, preaching about Hallowe`en. Recheck at 2000 an announcement in Spanish was being made about the transmitter and antenna having come through safe and sound. Sign-on is 1500 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1289, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. "The Forgotten Theater' or, 'XONE 1480 kilocycles, your Armed Forces Radio station in Peking' AFRS Radio in China-Burma-India 1944 If you lived in Peking [Beijing today] in 1944, you could set your radio dial at 1480 AM, settle back with a cold beer, and enjoy the latest swing music, Hollywood gossip, and US sports results from your local Armed Forces Radio Service station. XONE Peking was one of eighteen such AFRS outlets scattered across China and broadcasting to US forces and all but forgotten today. The Radio Heritage Foundation has tracked down information about these stations, and details are on-line now. Learn what actor Gene Hackman thought of his days working at XABU Tsingtao on 1580 AM, and read an original listener confirmation letter sent from XMAG Nanking [1540 AM] to a listener in New Zealand. Another twenty-eight stations extended across 'India' from Karachi to Dacca to Delhi, up into the borderlands between India and China, and with more scattered along the notorious Ledo road from Ledo to Myitkyina in Burma. Again, after extensive research, you can find details of these stations at http://www.radioheritage.net Find answers to questions like why was the USAF station at Myitkyina called 'The Half Way House' and check out the photo of the station crew sitting in front of their forgotten radio station alongside the Irrawaddy River. From VU2ZU Calcutta to VU2ZX Karachi, and as far south as Kandy in [then] Ceylon, the Indian airwaves pulsated with jazz, the crooners like Bing, the big bands, the female super stars and Englishmen shook their heads into their gin and tonics with disbelief. Every radio set for sale within 400 miles of Delhi was sold when VU2ZY came on air! The Radio Heritage Foundation asks for help to fill in so many knowledge gaps about these [almost] 'forgotten fifty' AFRS stations in the 'Forgotten Theater' of WWII. If you have any stories, names of personnel, images, recordings, program schedules, or any memorabilia at all about these AFRS stations in China-Burma-India you can share, please contact us either via the website or direct to info @ radioheritage.net We want to switch the light on in this theater, and honor and remember those who built the towers in Chungking, spun the discs in Delhi, and ran the sing-alongs in Tsingtao. And, drank the beer in Beijing whilst tuned to 'XONE 1480 kilocycles, your Armed Forces Radio station in Peking'! Warm regards (David Ricquish, Radio Heritage Foundation, NZ, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also NEW ZEALAND ** U S A [non]. B-05 for WYFR via CIS's transmitters: 1900-2000 on 6205 MSK 250 kW / 240 deg Italian 2000-2200 on 7360 ARM 250 kW / 290 deg English 1900-2000 on 7370 SAM 250 kW / 284 deg German 1700-1900 on 7435 TAC 200 kW / 311 deg Russian 1900-2000 on 7440 MNS 150 kW / 246 deg Spanish 1400-1500 on 7475 ARM 300 kW / 110 deg Bengali 1000-1100 on 7480 K/A 250 kW / 178 deg Japanese 1400-1500 on 7510 TAC 100 kW / 131 deg Urdu 1900-2000 on 7520 ARM 250 kW / 290 deg French 1300-1500 on 7580 SAM 250 kW / 140 deg English 1500-1700 on 7580 SAM 250 kW / 140 deg Hindi 0900-1100 on 9450 NVS 250 kW / 110 deg English 1100-1200 on 9450 NVS 250 kW / 110 deg Korean (Observer, Bulgaria, Oct 4 via DXLD) ** U S A. `BAI HAS BAD NEWS FOR VETERAN ANCHOR By David Hinckley, Daily News Staff Writer When it was time for a morning news report on WBAI 99.5 yesterday, host Deepa Fernandes told listeners that there would be no report, since morning news anchor Leslie George has been laid off by the station. Fernandes explained that the union contract specifies a paid staffer must do the report, so without George, a 10-year WBAI veteran, it could not be given. Fernandes played the instrumental theme music of the morning news, then asked listeners to E-mail management if they think news is important in the morning (NY Daily News Sept 29 via Bob Thomas, DXLD) ** U S A. The memory of legendary inventor Edwin Howard Armstrong will be saluted again next weekend in NEW YORK at the Audio Engineering Society's annual convention, which gets underway Friday at the Javits Convention Center. The Armstrong commemoration will take place Sunday (Oct. 9) from 5:30 to 7:30 PM [2130-2330 UT], reuniting the panelists who discussed Armstrong's life and legacy in June at his historic tower in Alpine, N.J. This panel will give the group (including Armstrong's colleagues Henry Dietz, Gil Houck and Ren McMann, his nephew Bob Brecht, his lawyer Jerry Minter, tower owner Chuck Sackermann, replica transmitter builder Steve Hemphill and historian Mike Katzdorn) more time to reflect on Armstrong's contributions to the radio industry - and, oh yes, it will be moderated by yours truly, in my capacity as a contributing writer for Radio World. It will also be broadcast live on WA2XMN, the Armstrong commemorative station operating at 42.8 MHz, through a nifty hookup that will send the audio to the APT booth on the AES show floor, from there over a RedLine radio hookup to the Empire State Building (specifically to the 85th floor, where Armstrong did his early experiments and where WPLJ now has its transmitter facility), and from there to WPLJ's backup site at the Alpine tower and then to the WA2XMN transmitter. WA2XMN will likely be on the air quite a bit next weekend, so if you can tune in 42.8, you'll probably enjoy what you hear. (Well, maybe not if you're named Sarnoff or DeForest...) And as exciting as the Armstrong panel will be, it's only one of the historic events AES will be offering. On Friday afternoon, Himan Brown, the creator of the CBS Mystery Theater, will be staging a recording of a brand-new radio drama called "Rockets Red Glare." It should be a good time, and we look forward to seeing you there. There's plenty of information at http://www.aes.org (Scott Fybush, NE Radio Watch Oct 3 via DXLD) ** U S A. To clear up the WSBC share time questions. I remember how courteous they were when all three still shared time. One would ask you to stay tuned to WEDC. The carrier would drop. Another carrier would come on, and an announcer would say "Thank you WCRI. This is WEDC" and so on. Very polite throughout the cycle (Brock Whaley, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WSBC = World Storage Battery Company, originally owned by Larry Silverstein and located at 13th & Michigan, then owned by Julius Miller. Relocated to Madison & Western in the 30`s, purchased by Louis Lee in the 50`s, relocated to Belmont Ave. in the early 70`s after the 1968 West Side riots, eventually owned by Daniel R. Lee, the son. Dan Lee Bought out first WCRW, then WEDC. WSBC are the only call letters. WEDC = Emil Denemark Cadillac, originally located in the showroom of Denemark Cadillac at Ogden & Pulaski. In the 60`s purchased by the family of local Chicago politician, later congressman, Roman Pucinski, operated by his wife, moved to building on Milwaukee Ave. at Bryn Mawr. Sold to Dan Lee, WSBC LLC. WCRW = Clinton R. White, located in the Pine Grove Hotel at Pine Grove and Diversy. Later owned by Ed Jacker, who was the engineer who put all three stations on the air (and also the original WGES). When Jacker died his daughters took over and studios were relocated to Milwaukee Ave, just North of the WEDC building and began sharing the WEDC transmitter. Sold to Dan Lee, WSBC LLC. Once the stations had been consolidated under a single ownership, Dan Lee sold WSBC, now operating on 1240 full time, to Fred Eychaner`s Newsweb Corporation, the current owner. It remains a brokered station. Newsweb also owns WAIT 820, WCPT 850 and WCFJ 1470, and ``Nine FM`` simulcast on 99.9 (WRZA Kankakee), 92.5 (WDEK Dekalb) and 92.7 (WKIE Arlington Heights). At present, WSBC broadcasts from studios at the old WCRW Milwaukee Ave. building and a transmitter at the old WEDC Milwaukee Ave. building a block away. An auxiliary transmitter is maintained at the old WSBC studio location on Belmont Ave., in a building which now houses only WXRT-FM. This info comes from Roy Bellavia, former GM of WSBC and historian of Chicago radio (via Brock Whaley, DXLD) Brock, what is the web source of the info quoted? (gh) Roy Bellavia used to have a site of Chicago radio history. It was excellent in its accuracy. I asked a friend who used to be connected with WSBC for the latest. And he sent me the info. I'm sorry, but Roy's website has vanished it seems. I trust the info is correct. Regards, (Brock, ibid.) ** U S A. Radio Veronica Update --- Hi all, I wanted to update you on what`s happening with Radio Veronica. In the past few weeks the internet station has really begun to take off. In the month of September we logged more than 3400 hits on our website, and 628 people spent a total 867 hours listening to our stream. For our first complete month on-the-net, those are numbers that we are proud of. At our inception, the majority of Radio Veronica`s programming was music – primarily oldies. Since that time we have added a wide array of discussion and informational programming of interest to the progressive community. This is where most of our growth has taken place, and most of our listenership has been gleaned from these programs. The cornerstone of our programming has become the well-known alternative and independent news program, Democracy Now with Amy Goodman, heard three times daily on Veronica (12:02 PM, 6:02 PM, and 11:02 PM). In fact, our single most listened to time slot is consistently the 6 PM netcast of DN! [EDT = UT -4] Other alternative programming we have added include WINGS (the Women`s International News Gathering Service), This Way Out (the Gay and Lesbian Radio News Magazine), Between the Lines, TUC Radio, Alternative Radio, Progressive Radio, Radio Nation, Talk Nation Radio, and several others. Be sure and check out the program schedule link on our website, http://www.radioveronica.us [not to mention WOR] Other music programming now includes an all night program of standards and jazz called ``Veronica After Hours``, heard nightly from 12 to 6 AM. And we will soon be adding an evening classical music program Mondays through Thursdays at 8-10 PM. There`s a lot happening on Radio Veronica and we hope you will continue to join us for the adventure. Thanks, (Rene` F. Tetro, General Manager, Radio Veronica (US), West Point, PA, Email: rtetro @ pobox.com Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. What a drag that the Blues aren't on KMOX any more. But then, neither are the Cardinals (as of 2006). Do the suits at Infinity in New York have any idea how much KMOX means to St. Louis, and to Cardinals and Blues fans? I got my DX start listening to the Cardinals and Blues games on KMOX, with the late Jack Buck and Dan Kelly, two of the best play-by-play men of their respective sports. 73 (Mike Brooker, Toronto, ON, IRCA mailing list via DXLD) Before blaming KMOX for the Cards, here is what really happened. The team reportedly wanted "possession" of the rights, meaning they would broker time rather than sell to a third party. They ended up doing a deal where they bought part of the new "affiliate" and are running their own sports marketing division. Infinity wanted to keep the team --- the team got greedy (David Gleason, ibid.) ** U S A. I used to listen to KVLU at Lamar University, Beaumont TX, for some nice late-evening music, but this page appeared before H. Rita, and is STILL there. When you try http://www.kvlu.org it forwards to http://home.gt.rr.com/snrhaynes/ saying the Univ will be closed and the station unavailable; yet the news items below are automatically updated and current. When will KVLU be back on line if not on air? What damage was there to its studio, transmitter and antenna? (Glenn Hauser, OK, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Hi gang, This is a report of my Saturday morning AM bandscan using what I'm dubbing my "EDA" (equine-derived antenna), which is 2400 feet of electric horse fencing; it consists of two strands of electric fence tape for a total conductor length of 4800 feet. The two strands are approximately 3 and 5 feet off the ground and supported by 99 fiberglass rods, with two sides of 800 feet and two of 400 feet. The center conductor of my coax is connected to the fence tape and the coax outer braid is connected to the fence's ground system; the ground conductivity here is really good. (Of course, I can only use this when our horses are in their stalls and the fence power pack is off!) I used a Palstar R30C for the following logs between 10:30 am to noon Central time on Saturday (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, ABDX via DXLD) Harry notes that 600 is a vacant frequency. What became of KTBB in Tyler TX? Put off the air by H. Rita and still off? I can`t find anything about that on its rather extensive website, which has an ``Ask the Manager`` section, including an enlightening discussion of why they offer webstreaming only to those in the local zipcodes: http://www.ktbb.com/ask.html#stream3 But no great loss, as KTBB presents far-right extremists such as Limbaugh and Hannity. I`m really surprised at all the other ``empty channels`` even with this huge antenna; I`d think a number of other Mexicans including the Tamaulipan on 780 would be audible too. Are a lot of TX stations still off the air due to Rita? Is it too direxional? As a defacto fence beverage user, I wonder what kind of direxional pattern this rectangle would have --- twice as strong off the 800-foot sides? Suggest Harry also try it on the 2-3 MHz harmonic band. 73, (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST and ABDX) You forgot another possibility: I'm a lousy DXer. I was likewise surprised by the large number of vacant channels, and do suspect the EDA has a muy weirdass pattern. The tape used is also different from the wire used for antennas (scroll down on the link below for a description) and that might also be a factor: http://horseguardfence.com/ I did some experimenting with my ham antenna tuners that covered 160 meters and got a little improvement in some cases, but I suspect I also need a tuner optimized for below 2 MHz. It was an interesting spur-of-the-moment experiment inspired by some coax with spade lug connectors, but I still plan to use the fence supports to hang a pair of 800 foot beverage antennas in roughly E-W and N-S directions. That'll be too short for most of the AM band, but might be interesting above 1500 kHz and should be killer on 120 and 90 meters. I plan to do that as soon as I get my 160 and 80 meters dipoles installed. I didn't accurately anticipate how much time some land and a couple of horses would require! (Harry Helms W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, ABDX via DXLD) Glenn, here is something that I find strange. My local channels KMSS- 33 and KSHV-45 were knocked off for a few days by Rita. However, channel 45's DTV outlet on 44 never went off. In the meantime, 33's DTV sister on 34 remains off the air, while the DTV 34 programming is running as program 45-3 on 44's DTV signal (Danny Oglethorpe, Shreveport, LA, ibid.) ** URUGUAY. Participación Viernes 7 de Octubre en Radio Sarandí Estimado Glen Hauser, cordiales saludos desde Montevideo. Continuando con el ciclo de rescate de la memoria sonora en Radio Sarandi, estaré este viernes 7 con temas vinculados a historias uruguayas. 13 de Octubre de 1995. URUGUAY, FIDEL CASTRO VISITA POR SEGUNDA VEZ EL URUGUAY. Las relaciones diplomáticas entre Uruguay y Cuba estuvieron cortadas entre el 8 de Setiembre de 1964 y el 17 de Octubre de 1985, luego se repetiria este suceso en tiempos mas recientes, con el Gobiernodel Dr. Jorge Batlle. Aquel 1985 asumió el cargo el Capitán de Navío Bernardo Piñeirua. Estaremos recordando el agasajo brindado por el Presidente Julio Maria Sanguinetti en el Palacio Estévez, de desde donde editare alguno fragmento pintoresco del discurso de Fidel Castro, vinculando a Cuba con Uruguay, en el comercio y la cultura, dejando de lado la propaganda política. Además de este temas vinculado con suceso ocurrido en la historia de Uruguay, en mi participación dentro de la primer quincena de Octubre, fuera de las efemérides estaré abordando; ``Las Grandes Tiendas de Montevideo``, con referencia a Angelsheif con sus agosto-ofertas y especialmente el London Paris, con la Multi-Stok, repasando especialmente esta última casa con su publicidad y su historia desde el márketing de éxito hasta su poco creíble cierre, para sus miles de asiduos compradores. Esta participación está pautada para las 2040 TU, por los 690 kHz en onda media y por Internet directamente en http://www.sarandi690.com.uy permaneciendo en archivo hasta la tarde del día siguiente. Un fuerte abrazo y estamos en contacto (Gabriel Gómez, Montevideo, Uruguay. Diexista e Historiador de la Radio. Telefono: (05982)924.14.24 Mail: gabrielgomez@montevideo.com.uy Web: http://es.geocities.com/archivoradio/gabrielgomez.html Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA. Hugo Chávez is taking a lesson from Canada and limiting the amount of US music that can be played on Venezuela's radio stations. VENEZUELAN STRONGMAN'S NEW GIG: NATIONAL DISC JOCKEY Barinas Journal By JUAN FORERO Published: October 3, 2005 BARINAS, Venezuela - Deep in Venezuela's new, cumbersome Social Responsibility Law is an item that requires radio stations to play more - much more - Venezuelan music. The idea, the fiercely nationalist government says, is to promote Venezuelan culture over foreign culture, particularly American rock, which has dominated radio airplay for years. Anselmo López, in a traditional liqui-liqui jacket, plays the bandola, a four-stringed instrument, in Barinas. If the measure seems obscure, its effects have not been. From the techno-pop wizards of cosmopolitan Caracas to the folksy crooners of this cattle town, Venezuelan musicians say they are reaping benefits from President Hugo Chávez's efforts to regulate culture. . . http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/03/international/americas/03venezuela.html?ex=1129003200&en=03490a2144fa3fa4&ei=5070&emc=eta1 (via Don Moore, Davenport, IA; Leigh Robartes, Moscow ID, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VENEZUELA [non]. RNV not heard for some time, including Sunday Oct 2 during the 2000 hour, but on Monday Oct 3, there it was, on via Cuba 13680 // 9550 at 2008 and synchronized. Still the same segments, making me wonder if a few old CDs are being played over and over, e.g. about Chávez to the music of Wagner; and closing with the thoughts of Simón Bolívar to 2056* and still giving the Apartado 3979 address. Nothing audible on 15230 or 17705/17750. Oct 2 after 2300, CRI via Canada was on 13680, and there may have been a trace of this underneath (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ Now to Language Lessons, altho this more precisely to clarify what I heard you mention in Mundo Radial last month that KFXY presents "Deportes Zorro". Sure, that's the translation but even here in Latin America we say "Fox Sports". That's like if we'd try to put in English proper names like "The Pass" for "El Paso" or change the name of Montana State (that should be written with "ñ") for "Mountain State". Finally, trying to be more explicit with English-speaking people, we would say "Rich Coast", for Costa Rica. Regards. Raúl Saavedra, Tiquicia. Ah, that term comes from the nickname to this land inhabited by us "ticos", equivalent for "chapines" (Guatemala), "catrachos" (Honduras), "pinoleros" Nicaragua, and even "gringos" for US people. Is "Yankees" an offensive term? Beg you to explain me (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Oct 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Raul, Yes, I know, a coinage like ``Deportes-Zorros`` is overdoing it, but that`s how I have some fun. Also ``Relampag-Hoja`` for NASWA`s Flashsheet, ``Cadena Media`` for Media Network, etc. Radio-Enlace does not fully accept my ``telasitio``, putting it in quotes, tho it seems a perfectly useful word. Why say ``website`` in Spanish when you can say telasitio meaning exactly the same thing in real Spanish? Of course, a lot of languages insist on keeping computer jargon in the original English, beats me why. Inside the US, ``yankees`` means people from the northeastern part of the country, and is not very pejorative; more so when spoken by southerners. When we hear it from outside, it usually seems to be pejorative and applying to all of us. I think we sometimes take ``gringo`` in a more affectionate way than it is meant. 73, (Glenn, ibid.) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ "THIRD COAST RADIO FESTIVAL" COMING UP LATER IN OCTOBER Fans of good radio might want to track this; the presentation on October 19th, "Radio Across Time Zones", would be on my calendar were I to be closer to Chicago on that date. Chicago's spoken-word public radio station, WBEZ, which also produces several public radio shows in national distribution, arranges the event. See http://thirdcoastfestival.org/index.asp (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) It's nice to see the Third Coast Festival reaching its 5th year. I was able to attend the first one, and since then they've made a strong effort at defining a community of independent documentary producers who work out of the US. They also have a weekly radio show of pieces organized around a central theme called Re:sound which airs on Sundays at 5 pm CT [2200 ut], and streams from http://WBEZ.org (David Goren, ibid.) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ HAN HARDONK`S DX PAGE NOW IN ENGLISH Dutch DXer has gone to the trouble to present his page also in English, including a number of neat mp3 recordings, MW and SW: http://home.wanadoo.nl/hanhardonk/indexengels.html (via BDXC, via gh, DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ PING-PONG STEREO Re stereo recordings now rarely use extreme panning anymore, the style in German also called Pingpong-Stereo: For my knowledge this practice has not been abandoned due to some incompetent broadcasters putting only a single stereo channel on air (of course a mono signal has to be an equal mix of both channels). The actual background is headphone listening, where the Pingpong style is quite annoying. I have to add that actually a standard stereo recording is not compatible with headphones at all, since it can only produce an ``orchestra in your head`` impression. But headphones can be the only option even for listening in one`s own flat in order to not bother the neighbours. Good night, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PINNING DOWN NOISY POWERLINES Unworthy scribe knows whereof he speaks --- If you are lucky, your local electric utility will have a Sprague noise detector. This is a receiver that hears the acoustic signs of arcing at 40 kHz (ultrasound). It has a very directional mic and hets the 40 kc sound down to the audible band and outputs it to a small speaker. The thing is so directional that you can stand on the ground and identify which half of the cross-arm has the sputtering insulator. You pretty much need to have narrowed it down to a couple of possibilities first (e.g. a half-city-block) as a random search with this thing would take just too much time. To see it work, as I did, is awesome. LILCO on Long Island had one. Me, k2ygm and some others in LIDXA were on first name basis with Bill B. in Special Services, but they expected you to have done your preliminary search first. Usually when I called them was after I had visually or audibly identified the arcing. Usually a tiewire across the insulator hitting the wood crossarm, or a cracked insulator. Going out on a search of the street at 2 AM with binoculars was usually needed to pin it down. They were always happy to fix these, and it usually seemed to help the noise problem, sometimes dramatically. This was 20+ years ago. Maybe different now. (such as, don't wander streets at 0200 nowadays) Much of the 13 kv overhead was installed decades ago and was getting somewhat ratty then. But it was all just reactive mtce, due to the huge installed base. If you had done your homework, they were very responsive. Assuming you knew exactly whom to call! Since they had to send out a bucket truck, you did not want to cry "wolf" very often (Bob Foxworth, FL, IRCA via DXLD) THERE ARE THREE WAYS A TRANSLATOR CAN WORK: 1. The "primary" station is picked up off-air with an antenna. The audio output of a FM radio is connected to the audio input of a FM transmitter; the transmitter retransmits what the radio hears, on a different frequency. 2. The "primary" station is picked up off-air with an antenna. The station's signal is amplified, then passed to a "frequency converter". In this converter, the received signal is mixed with a "dead air" signal from a "local oscillator". Four output signals result; the desired one is filtered out, amplified, and transmitted on a different frequency. 3. The same audio that's fed to the "primary" station's transmitter is also fed to another transmitter at the translator site. Means used can include microwave, phone lines, fiber optics, or satellite links. The translator is essentially another full station, differing primarily in the nature of its license. #2 is common with TV translators but I've not heard of a FM translator using this method. In many circumstances, FM translators are prohibited by law from using method #3. (if I recall properly, FM translators owned by the same company that owns the primary station and operating above 92MHz *must* use method #1) In method #1, it is certainly possible for the translator to relay the wrong station, if a band opening makes this "wrong" station stronger than the "right" station at the translator site (or if the "right" station goes off the air...) Translators are required by the FCC to take precautions "...to avoid unintentional retransmission of such other signals." (47CFR74.731(e)) but this seems frequently violated. Method #2 can also relay the wrong station when propagation permits. Also, a strong signal on a frequency adjacent to the "right" primary can be relayed. For example, a translator intends to relay WNPT-8 onto channel 46. If a strong signal is also present from WBBJ-7 at the translator site, WBBJ may be relayed on channel 45. (all TV DX loggings I know of on channel 37 have happened this way|grin|) However, I don't know of anyone using Method #2 for FM translators. With Method #3 it's almost impossible to relay the wrong station. (I suppose if you use a microwave or satellite link it's possible for the receiver to be mistuned and pick up someone else's link. Relatively unlikely.) -- (Doug Smith W9WI, Pleasant View (Nashville), TN EM66, http://www.w9wi.com AMFMTVDX at qth.net via DXLD) I've seen this happen locally with two signals, WBXB 100.1 Edenton NC and WURB 97.7 Windsor NC, (WURB being the relay). The company is too poor to invest in a decent FM receiver at the transmitter site so they grabbed a cheapo analog FM receiver from Radioshack and connected it to the tranny. When tropo kicked up, or when WBXB went off the air (happened regularly; the dinosaur Harris transmitter they had went down more than a stripper) the AFC would kick in and would start relaying WCMS (now WXMM) 100.5 out of Norfolk VA, hehehe; made for some interesting radio, hehe, and still does (Ernest Jones, ibid.) RADIO TAGS KEEP TRACK OF BODIES FROM `CANES As hundreds of bodies from Hurricane Katrina await identification at makeshift morgues, some workers have begun using tiny computer chips to keep track of unidentified remains. Radio frequency ID chips -- slender red cylinders about half an inch long --- were being implanted under the corpses` skin or placed in body bags at two Mississippi counties. . . (NY Daily News Sept 29 via Bob Thomas, DXLD) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ PPL Nixes BPL Happy day today -- PPL, the Lehigh Valley's electric utility and an early experimenter with BPL market tests, has decided to abandon further efforts to commercialize the technology. There will be a full article in tomorrow's Allentown newspaper, but here is the text in a late-afternoon update: --- October 3, 2005 PPL has decided not to enter the market as a broadband Internet provider over its power lines following a trial in some Lehigh Valley markets, the company reported on its Web site Monday. The company will end the market trial for residential customers on Oct. 31. Locations affected by the decision include Emmaus, Whitehall, Upper Macungie, Hanover Township and north Bethlehem. PPL said it will fulfill its contractual commitments with institutional customers in south Bethlehem and center city Allentown. "While our market trials indicate that BPL technology is promising, the combination of a competitive marketplace and the need for significant scale has led us to the decision not to proceed as a retail communications service provider," said David Kelley, president – PPL Telcom in a press release. PPL has notified residential market trial customers in those areas of its decision. The company will give those customers a $50 credit to ease the transition to another Internet service provider. The ending of the trial does not result in any material financial accounting impacts on PPL. --- (via Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, Oct 3, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ The geomagnetic field ranged from quiet to active with periods of minor to major storming at high latitudes. Middle latitudes were quiet to unsettled with isolated active periods on 27 and 28 September. High latitudes were generally quiet to active with isolated minor and major storm periods on 26 and 27 September. Mostly quiet to unsettled periods were observed until mid-day on 30 September when the effects of a coronal hole high speed stream became geoeffective. Periods of minor and major storming were observed on 30 September. Conditions continued at quiet to minor storming through the end of the period. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 05 - 31 OCTOBER 2005 Solar activity is expected to increase to low to moderate due to the return of old Region 808 (S11, L=232) on 04 September. Activity is expected to decrease to very low to low levels by 17 October. There is a slight chance for a greater than 10 MeV proton event following the return of old Region 808 until 17 October. This region will rotate to the backside on 17 October. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 05 – 06 October, 08 – 22 October, and 29 – 31 October. The geomagnetic field is expected to range from quiet to minor storm levels. Active to minor storm conditions are possible on 12 – 13 October and 28 – 29 October due to a recurrent coronal hole high speed wind stream. Otherwise, expect quiet to unsettled conditions. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2005 Oct 04 2154 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2005 Oct 04 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2005 Oct 05 85 5 2 2005 Oct 06 85 7 2 2005 Oct 07 85 10 3 2005 Oct 08 85 5 2 2005 Oct 09 85 5 2 2005 Oct 10 85 12 3 2005 Oct 11 85 15 3 2005 Oct 12 85 20 4 2005 Oct 13 90 15 3 2005 Oct 14 90 12 3 2005 Oct 15 90 12 3 2005 Oct 16 90 8 3 2005 Oct 17 90 8 3 2005 Oct 18 85 5 2 2005 Oct 19 80 8 3 2005 Oct 20 80 8 3 2005 Oct 21 80 5 2 2005 Oct 22 80 5 2 2005 Oct 23 80 12 3 2005 Oct 24 80 12 3 2005 Oct 25 80 12 3 2005 Oct 26 75 8 3 2005 Oct 27 75 10 3 2005 Oct 28 75 12 3 2005 Oct 29 75 12 3 2005 Oct 30 75 8 3 2005 Oct 31 80 10 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1289, DXLD) ###