DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-211, December 9, 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 For latest updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html Latest edition of this schedule version, with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html NEXT AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1296: Fri 2100 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Sat 1700] Sat 0500 WOR VoiceCorps Reading Service, WOSU-FM subcarrier, cable Sat 0900 WOR WRN to Eu, Au, NZ, WorldSpace AfriStar, AsiaStar Sat 0955 WOR WNQM Nashville TN 1300 Sat 1100 WOR WPKN Bridgeport CT 89.5 & WPKM Montauk LINY 88.7 Sat 1530 WOR R. Veronica 106.5 [ex-1700] Sat 1830 WOR WRN to North America [including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 140] Sun 0000 WOR Radio Studio X 1584 http://www.radiostudiox.it/ Sun 0330 WOR WWCR 5070 Sun 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0600 WOR World FM, Tawa, Wellington, New Zealand 88.2 Sun 0730 WOR WWCR 3215 Sun 0930 WOR WRN to North America, also WLIO-TV Lima OH SAP [including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 140] Sun 0930 WOR KSFC Spokane WA 91.9 Sun 0930 WOR WXPR Rhinelander WI 91.7 91.9 100.9 Sun 0930 WOR WDWN Auburn NY 89.1 [unconfirmed] Sun 0930 WOR KTRU Houston TX 91.7 [occasional] Sun 1400 WOR WRMI 7385 Sun 1400 WOR KRFP-LP Moscow ID 92.5 Sun 1830 WOR WRN1 to North America [including Sirius Satellite Radio channel 140] Sun 2000 WOR RNI Sun 2230 WOR WRMI 7385 [temporarily] Mon 0400 WOR WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0430 WOR WSUI Iowa City IA 910 Mon 1900 WOR RFPI [repeated 4-hourly thru Tue 1500] Wed 0030 WOR WBCQ 7415 [usually but temporary] Wed 0100 WOR CJOY INTERNET RADIO plug-in required Wed 1030 WOR WWCR 9985 WRN ON DEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL]: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org WORLD OF RADIO 1296 (real high): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1296h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1296h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1296 (real low): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1296.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1296.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1296 (mp3 high): (download) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1296h.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO 1296 (mp3 low): (download) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1296.mp3 (lower download) http://www.piratedxer.com/worldofradio_12-07-05.mp3 (lower stream) http://www.piratedxer.com/worldofradio_12-07-05.m3u (WOR 1296 summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1296.html (WOR 1295 summary) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1295.html DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our yg. When applying, please identify yourself with your real name and location. Here`s where to sign up http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ ** ALBANIA. Hello Glenn, I can confirm that there has been no transmission from Tirana this evening. I checked 7465 and 7530 at 1945 UT but there was no transmission. Also checked on Thursday, at 2230 on 7110, but still no transmission. I hope that this isn't the end for Radio Tirana, as I was quite fond if it. The listeners letterbox was a program featured on a Tuesday, and had my letter read a couple weeks back; glad I have tape recordings in my archive. Still, may not all be bad news --- see what happens when the power is back. All the best my friends (Christopher Lewis, UK, Dec 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) While listening on 7530 this afternoon for Radio Hargeisa I noted that Radio Tirana was not on in English at 1945 (Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, Dec 9, dxldyg via DXLD) E comunque meglio spegnere i trasmettitori che le case dei cittadini, la situazione in Albania è drammatica, date un'occhiata a questa pagina scovata da Bernd Trutenau http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4428782.stm (Roberto Scaglione, bclnews.it via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Please note that the program heard around 0930 UT have been LRA1 Radio Nacional program, and by a human error in the transmitter plant they imput the signal on 6059.96 kHz, but the correct must be 11710 kHz from 0945 (INT-SIG) then *1000 the usual programs. The director of RAE told me that the station is now with serious problems with the General Electric transmitter that is now on 11710 kHz, and also, lots of problems with the antennas. This poor situation also demonstrates the decadence of the diverse State owned media in the country (Gabriel Iván Barrera, Argentina, DXplorer Dec 5 via BCDX via DXLD) ** ARMENIA. Not much point in trying for PRA`s only English broadcast here, 1925-1945 exc Sun on 9965 --- as checked here Dec 9 at 1942: obliterated by superpower WWCR on 9975 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Blast from the past --- The following item from the CBC Hotsheets caught my attention: 7. MADLY OFF IN ALL DIRECTIONS: This Saturday Madly Off in All Directions comes to you from the Port Theatre in Nanaimo, British Columbia. Host Lorne Elliott welcomes Vancouver comic Damonde Tschritter, along with the very popular duo of Bob Robertson and Linda Cullen, a.k.a. Double Exposure - their first time back on the CBC airwaves in more than 10 years! That's Madly Off in All Directions, Saturday evening at 6:30 (7:30 AT, 8 NT) on CBC Radio One. I remember listening to Double Exposure when I first found CBC Radio. It came on right before Quirks and Quarks, as I recall (Ricky Leong, Calgary, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hard to believe it has been ten years for "Double Exposure". I listened semi-regularly to the program, but I missed many of the inside references as an American (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA USA, swprograms via DXLD) Was just listening to the previous "Madly Off" via SW on RCI this morning! Note that "Madly Off" is aired UT Sunday 0030 on 9755 kHz and repeated UT Friday at 1605 on 13655, 9515, & 17820 (Will Martin, MO, ibid.) ** CANADA. 6250, Radio Canada International; 0115-0159:10*, 4-Dec; 2 M&W in Spanish with rock music; several mentions of U of Toronto. "RCI desde Montreal" at sign-off. SIO=333/need LSB to kill QRM. Have heard this a few times; feeder, mixer? (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DXPedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) Mixing product 6100 RCI Spanish and 6175 Vietnam via Sackville, leapfrogging another 75 kHz to 6250. Any two Sackville frequencies on the 49m band probably produce such mixtures (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHAD. 6165, Radio Nationale Tchadienne, 7 Dec 2005, 2145 UT, French, nice African music, news at 2202, IDs and closedown at 2224. From 43333 declining to 32322 in the second half (Eike Bierwirth, 04317 Leipzig, DL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. RADIO: NATIONWIDE BILINGUAL RUSH HOUR SHOW STARTS by Jeremy Goldkorn (last update: December 2, 05 05:38 PM) CRI is enjoying your traffic jam --- State-owned China Radio International (CRI) yesterday announced the launch of China Drive, a new nationwide show in both English and Chinese broadcast between 5 and 7 pm daily [0900-1100 UT]. It airs on 87.9 FM in Shanghai, 91.5 FM in Beijing, and other major cities throughout China. According to their press release: "China Drive is a no news zone. It's a lighthearted, fun, features magazine," said China Drive producer and co-host Chris Verrill. Your correspodent has doubts about the bilingual format, but one thing is for sure: radio is a vastly unnderrated medium in China in terms of reach (Danwei via Day Say, BC, DXLD) Hey, another source for SW jamming audio! (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. RHC`s 9505 frequently has a big hum on it, such as in English at 2125 Dec 9, and in French at 2140 recheck. No // 11760 was on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DENMARK [and non]. STRIKE IN KASHMIR OVER DANISH PAPER'S MUHAMMAD CARTOONS | Excerpt from report by Danish radio website on 8 December; subheading as published: The Muhammad drawings are causing anger in the Islamic world. On Thursday [8 December] shops and companies in Srinagar, the largest town in Kashmir, closed down in protest against the cartoons published by Jyllands-Posten [Danish daily newspaper]. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who has been a separatist leader for many years, explains that the aim of the action is to show Muslims' anger over the 12 newspaper illustrations because they are insulting. Muhammad with bomb One of the drawings which was published on 30 September shows Muhammad with a bomb on his head. "This portrayal is derogatory and blasphemous because it associates the Prophet with terrorism," says Masarat Alam, leader of the Jammu- Kashmir Muslims League, according to the American news agency Associated Press. Source: Danmarks Radio website, Copenhagen, in Danish 1810 gmt 8 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) Since no Moslem knows what Mohammed looked like, as he is never iconized even in the most positive terms, how can they be sure the toon really portrays M? {OTOH, Denmark must be safe from terrorist attacks in retaliation as that would merely prove the point of the cartoon! Sneaky} (gh, DXLD) ** DENMARK. TURKEY STEPS UP PRESSURE ON KURDISH ROJ TV: see KURDISTAN ** DIEGO GARCIA. After hearing you mention on your last program that Armed Forces Radio was back on at lest two frequencies, I checked 12579 USB, Diego García, and sure enough, there they were. I had not heard them in over a year --- due to poor propagation, I assumed. Best in early morning, here (Zeke Russell, Williams AZ, Dec 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) AFN Diego García was heard yesterday December 8 at 17 UT with "AP Radio News" on 4319 kHz USB. Reception was good and signal strength S7. 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku, FINLAND, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4319 is quite strong here at 1535 UT (S9+) competing with strong C- utility. It excludes Americas' QTH, so Diego García fits quite well; Victor may hear it as superb (Vlad Titarev, Ukraine, DXplorer Dec 8 via BCDX via DXLD) Noticed some talk about Diego García on 4319 kHz in our morning on DXLD list. Had a listen to 12579 USB tonight around 1100 - there is a station there that sounds like AFRTS but signal strength is close enough to 0 and there's a morse station right on top of it. Maybe someone further west can have a listen (Wayne Bastow, Wyoming, NSW, Australia, 33.41 degrees S, 151.35 degrees E, ARDXC via DXLD) Wayne, AFN/AFRTS is now on air via 12579U now 10h54 UT; it`s great that their Diego García transmitter up and running again, not sure if I like the location tho on a small island, in the Ocean between Australia and India --- the Indian Ocean. There is as you say, Wayne, a morse code station being a pain, but I am very happy that they are on air; wonder if they can be heard during the day. Anyone know where they beam to? Cheers, (Rob Wise, Tasmania, HRI, ARDXC via DXLD) 4319: in my QTH signal is S4, or 5.5 max, 22442 at 1755. Much QRM from a ute station. ID at 1756, reports followed. A (truncated) pop song at 1805 with talks by YL about entertainment news. Signal is clear from QRM after 1800. Best heard with 'PBT' at narrow (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, Dec 9, DX LISTEINNG DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI. It's remarkable the great signal and HofA music we've been enjoying on 4780, every day, starting at 0300 and enhancing by the hour, till fading around 0500, guess daylight is not favoring propagation so far on this frequency. No other signal from Africa is making it so well at this hour, specially if we consider this one is coming from East Africa. SINPO 35343 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4780; RT Djibouti; 0301; SIO-232; woman talking, then Islamic prayers in Arabic at 0302, man talking at 0306 with mentions of Djibouti (Karl Racenis, MI, 03-DEC, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. HCJB, 12005, full-data QSL card in one month with schedule and personal note stating that Jorge Zambrano of Música del Ecuador program has inoperable cancer (Marlin Field, MI, QSL Report, Dec NASWA Journal via DXLD) How sad. His excellent program used to have an English version, but is still 5 days a week in Spanish [on FM?], and there is a two-week audio archive at: http://www.vozandes.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=25&Itemid=0 On SW, we have it 0430-0500 UT Sun on 9745; 2130-2200 Sun on 12000, 21455; 0230-0330 UT Thu on 9745, but none of these reconfirmed lately. It`s still a task simply trying to get a Spanish SW program schedule on HCJB website (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also DIGITAL BROADCASTING ** ETHIOPIA [non]. Re 5-210: ``Voice of Ethiopian People 1700-1800 7380 AM .t...s. Amharic Africa (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1296, DX LISTENING DIGEST)`` The station has a website at http://www.voep.net/ includes archived audio. Regards, (Dave Kernick, Dec 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Any guesses as to transmitter site? Listen in Sat Dec 10. Beware, mp3 audio launches automatically. Viz.: Welcome to Voice Of Ethiopian People (VOEP) ARCHIVES 12-06-05 Stay Tuned: Voice of Ethiopian People (VOEP) is gearing up to broadcast to Ethiopia and surrounding countries starting Tuesday December 6, 2005. Broadcasting every Tuesday and Saturday, the program covers a broad range of discussion topics including news, news analysis, history and current affairs. The VOEP programmes will amount to exactly 120 minutes of broadcasting twice a week on 7380 kHZ in the 41 meet bands. VOEP radio program could be heard in all area of Ethiopia and neighboring countries clearly. Special Note to All Ethiopians The Voice of Ethiopian people must be heard and respected!!!!! Amharic text mentions 1998 --- when it was founded? Audio is rather distorted (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EUROPE. SW PIRATES FORUM --- New station from South Europe A new station called Latino has started with testing between the frequencies 7565 and 7605 in AM. Very rare for a station from Europe is that they only send out QSL by reactions at the SW Pirates forum http://www.alfalima.net/forum Something which is not uncommon for pirates in the USA to be sure their identity is kept safe (ALI`s SW Pirates News, Dec, via DXLD) See PUBLICATIONS ** FALKLAND ISLANDS [and non]. "LA ROSA DE TOKIO" ( LS11 RADIO PROVINCIA ) Recuerden que el Grupo Radioescucha Argentino está colaborando con LA ROSA DE TOKIO, el programa de DX y comunicaciones que se irradia por LS11 Radio Provincia, La Plata, Argentina, en la frecuencia de 1270 Khz, con 56 kw! en su horario habitual de 13 a 14 hora argentina (1600 a 1700 UT) y también en Internet, en http://www.radioprovincia.gba.gov.ar La emisión correspondiente al domingo 11 de Diciembre de 2005 de La Rosa de Tokyo estará dedicada a revisar la el papel de la radio durante la Guerra de Malvinas. En efecto, el programa analizará a las diferentes emisoras que participaron de la batalla de las ondas, que se libró en forma simultánea a las terribles batallas que se desarrollaron en el Atlántico Sur durante mayo y junio de 1982. No se pierdan las grabaciones históricas que se incluirán en el programa. No dejen de escucharlo!!! (Arnaldo Slaen, bclnews.it via DXLD) ** FINLAND. R. Finland is now on the air in Finnish, Swedish, Russian and Special Finnish. In Latin on Suns at 1050 UT 6120 11755, and at 1653 [sic] UT on 15400 (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Dec 2, by P-mail to wwdxc BC-DX, via DXLD) YLE Radio Finland`s B-05 printed program booklet, Suoraan Suomesta, shows their still-extensive broadcasting in Finnish to all worldparts, even separately to east and west Australia. Times are generally in FST = UT +2, but unfortunately the semipage about Nuntii Latini, Radiophonia Finnica Generalis, which is strangely enough in English rather than Latin or Finnish, gives wrong time for broadcasts to North America: ``1653 UTC`` on Sundays, 15400, and that we know is really at 1453 UT! So the other time is suspect as well, and we can only [sic] it: ``Sun 1050 UTC on 11755 and 6120 for Europe`` Consult http://www.yle.fi/nuntii it says, but that`s a 404 = Not Found On the back page we see: YLE Mondo (formerly Capital FM), offers programming in English, Russian, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Danish, Norwegian and Special Finnish. The channel is available throughout Finland as an audio channel of YLE digital television, and in Helsinki on FM 97.5 MHz. Schedule follows [FST originally presumably, here converted to UT] including snippets of ``YLE in English``!! Now, why couldn`t they manage to have those on SW? --- M-F 0655-0700. Also there is ``YLE englanniksi`` M-F at 0530-0536, but if that means English, why is it in Finnish? Also on Sat 0655-0700, same time as on weekdays when definitely in English. And Sunday at 0655-0700 there is ``YLE News``. So the other English bits are not of news? And ``Starting Finnish``, presumably language lessons presented in English: daily 0946-0955 & 2050-2100 UT. Website for this is http://www.ylemondo.fi We can`t find anything about this network being webcast, tho some other YLE domestic radio services are, but see this: YLE 24, a unit of YLE Television, produces news in English about Finland and general bulletins. The YLE Mondo airs bulletins covering Finnish news. YLE24 News in English can be viewed on the Internet and the YLE Teletext Service. More: http://www.yle.fi/news/ Thanks to John Carson for forwarding the program booklet which led to this quest (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE [and non]. FRENCH STATE PLANS GLOBAL NEWS NETWORK Interesting article: France seeks a world voice, 8 - 12 - 2005 The French state plans to create a global news network. KA Dilday asks if more than national vanity is involved. http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization-village/france_voice_3108.jsp (via Mike Barraclough, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Also compares BBC, IBB ** FRANCE [non]. 7315, Radio France Internationale via Vladivostok, 8 Dec 2005, 2238 UT, Mandarin, Interview about Taiwan and Falung Gong, French songs, ID, no jamming heard! parallel to 7430. 32322. 7430, RFI via Novosibirsk, 8 Dec 2005, 2240 UT, Mandarin, parallel to 7315. Also no jamming heard. 54433. These two instead of recently listed 12005 and 12045 (but 7315 and 7430 are correctly shown in HFCC). (Eike Bierwirth, 04317 Leipzig, DL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Has China ever jammed France? They are bedfellows, e.g. with relay exchanges (gh, DXLD) ** GEORGIA. GEORGIA/RUSSIA. Abkhazian Radio was heard here for the last time on Nov 20th on 9495 and 9535 kHz, but no more till today Nov 30th. Bad conditions for check whether is on the air on MW 1350 kHz. Radio "HARA" ("we") is back on the air Mon & Thu 1700-1733, repeated Tue & Fri 0500-0533 UT on 4875 kHz, heard on Nov 24, 25, 28, 29th, with talks in Vernacular and songs from the 70s sung by Tom Jones, Bob Marley & The Wailors (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Dec 2, by P-mail to wwdxc BC-DX, via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Hi Glenn and all, some radio nostalgia : From 1979 a QSL letter as an answer to a report of a Radio DDR broadcast on 999 kHz. There were actually three RDDR transmitters on the frequency, but only one of them aired the program in Sorbian. At the time I was using an RCA AR88-D, a 500 meter beverage at 270 Degrees for Latin America the UK, and a 2 x 65 meter dipole directed south for Europe. The Cottbus transmitter could only be heard with the dipole, as well as RDDR in Weimar and Schwerin, both with a Sunday concert. I suppose this is a rather rare catch and QSL. The letter arrived with five postcards and a brochure in German/Sorbian about Bautzen/Bodysin. The receiver and both antennas are since long gone. Mere maintenance of beverage was impossible in the long run. 73 / (Johan Berglund, Trollhättan, Sweden now with a AR AOR7030, and a K9AY, Dec 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) jpg of the letter is in the photos section of the dxldyg ** GREECE. More Greek pirate harmonics heard on Nov 8th: 4154 kHz ~ 3 x 1384.7 kHz. 4702 kHz ~ 3 x 1567.3 kHz. 5000 kHz ~ 3 x 1666 kHz. (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Dec 2, by P-mail to wwdxc BC-DX, via DXLD) ** INDIA. AIR Hyderabad emergency broadcasts Dear Friends, The tropical cyclone named "Fanoos" is now active in the Bay of Bengal. Due to this there is a threat to the Indian East coast. Our local station AIR Hyderabad is now operating with special transmission round the clock on 738 kHz (200 kW) and on 7140 kHz (50 kW). The SW frequency will change to 4800 kHz from around 1130 UT. I have contacted the station and got information that tonight they will operate continuously. So watch out 738 kHz and 4800 kHz (and any other AIR stations of Tamilnadu/Andhra Pradesh States) For details of the cyclone please click on the following sites: http://www.hurricanealley.net/Storms/06B.html http://metoc.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc/warnings/io0605.gif http://metoc.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc/satshots/io0605sams.jpg (Thanks to my friend Mr.Sushil Kumar Dhingra, VU2LFA for details on his links page http://www.qsl.net/vu2lfa/links.htm 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad 500082, India, 1114 UT Dec 8, dx_india via DXLD) ** INDIA. 4850, AIR Kohima, 1100 to 1145, 9 December, OM in language, subcontinental music, then back to same OM, Music at 1142. Strong signal (Robert Wilkner, Pómpano Beach FL, Japan Premium via DXLD) 9425, All India Radio, Bangalore. Dec. 1 at 1110-1140. SINPO 44444. Phone-in program in English. News headlines at 1130, after jingle as "AIR FM Stereo...All India Radio." Another jingle as "AIR FM Rainbow, AIR FM Rainbow" was heard at 1131, then phone-in program again (Iwao Nagatani, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. (JAVA); 15149.8; V. of Indonesia; 1946 Dec 3; SIO-333; EZL piano music, then man talking in French about the economy. Woman with ID and frequency announcements at 2000, then into English program (Karl Racenis, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. LIES, DAMNED LIES AND STATISTICS British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli said: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." He might well have said the same about the surveys on the basis of which some international broadcasters form their strategy. . . http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/media/int051101.html?view=Standard (Media Network newsletter via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. OTHERNESS: 13457: it must be raining harder somewhere because the windshield wiper synchro service QRM on 13457 +- MANY kHz is much faster than in years past ..... 3/Dec – (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Brighton MI DXpedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) i.e. CODAR, ``swisher`` ** IRAN [non]. 4375.06V, V. of Iranian Revolution, Dec 06 *1425-1456, 44433-32442, Kurdish, 1425 sign on with IS, ID, Opening music, Talk, QRM from 1428 Jamming on co-channel, // 3880.06V kHz, move by 5 kHz step to escape from jamming to pursuit. 4375.7V, V. of Communist Party of Iran, Dec 06 *1627-1636, 45433- 42442, Farsi, 1627 sign on with IS, ID, Opening music, Talk, QRM from 1628 Jamming on cochannel, // 3880.06V, move by 5 kHz step to escape from Jamming to pursuit (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** IRAQ. AUTONOMOUS REGIONS IN IRAQ -- IMPACT ON SW BROADCASTING? During a business trip to the Middle East, I have noted an increasing discussion in the local Arab press about 'autonomous regions' in Iraq as the Federal Government is being finalized through the elections to be held next week. During this discussion, it is apparent that both the Kurds (in the North) and the Shias (in the South) are moving positively within the Federal Government structure to have 'autonomous regions' similar to the way the Kurds governed themselves during the final years of Sadaam's rule. If so, this could bode well for SW radio, in that the region is large enough to prevent FM or MW stations from dominating completely in the autonomous regions. I would expect that the Kurds` broadcasting that has been ongoing to both Turkey and Iran to continue, and I would think that there would be similar activities going on in the South between Iraq and Iran -- which is also ongoing as we speak. It is an interesting concept, and the current policy of the Sunni population to Federalism in Iraq will be interesting to watch to see if it changes as the 'wealthier' parts of the country become more and more autonomous. Incidentally, really good DX right now would be the low powered FM station from Baghdad --- Anyone hear it? v/r (Dan Henderson, Dec 9, HCDX via DXLD) WTFK? Dan posted from a JHU APL address, so: Dan Henderson received the Rear Admiral Grady Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his longtime career success and dedication to the men and women of the electronic attack community. [illustrated] http://www.jhuapl.edu/aboutapl/annualreport.pdf (2004 Annual Report of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, page 39, via DXLD) Dan Henderson, an engineer in the Power Projection Systems Department, received the Rear Adm. Grady Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his sustained tactical accomplishments. The award recognizes a lifetime of success and commitment dedicated to the men and women of the electronic attack community. http://www.jhu.edu/~gazette/2004/16aug04/16cheers.html (JHU Gazette, Aug 16, 2004 via DXLD) What the devil is the ``electronic attack community``? Google search gets only 53 hits including the above. He`s not the only DX name with an intriguing day job you never hear about. Other than the above, he appears to be a nonentity on the web (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** JAPAN [and non]. JAPAN/U.K. NHK Radio Japan's Year End Party as usual on Dec 31st only. The 56th Red and White Year-End song competition festival: 6090 1430-1700 27,28 SKN 250 150 7=Sat 311205 only G NHK MER 7195 1800-1900 28 RMP 500 80 7=Sat 311205 only G NHK MER 9575 1430-1700 38,39 WOF 300 128 7=Sat 311205 only G NHK MER 9750 1430-1700 28 RMP 500 80 7=Sat 311205 only G NHK MER 9795 1800-1900 41 SNG 250 315 7=Sat 311205 only G NHK MER 9860 1700-1900 47,48,52,53 WOF 300 140 7=Sat 311205 only G NHK MER 12045 1430-1500 41 WOF 300 82 7=Sat 311205 only G NHK MER 21630 1430-1500 47,48,52,53 ASC 250 85 7=Sat 311205 only G NHK MER (all Merlin/VT brokered, in HFCC schedule) and via various Yamata-JPN frequencies too. wb, Dec 5 (Wolfgang Büschel, BCDX via DXLD) In the New Year edition of "DX Corner" in the "Hello from Tokyo" program, RJ is planning a special edition. Editor of WRTH and publisher of PWBR will be phone interviewed and will talk on objectives of their pubs and features of 2006 editions. The program will be aired on Jan 7, 8 and 9, and JSWC will issue a special QSL card for all correct reports to: JSWC HQ, P. O. Box 29, Sendai Central, 980-8691, Japan. US$1 or one IRC for return postage will be appreciated. The new QSL-card will be a dog, the zodiac sign of year 2006. Those who do not have a rooster card of year 2005, the last chance will be RJ's "Hello from Tokyo" this weekend, featuring Japanese language stations. Times and frequencies: Saturday (Jan 7), 0510-0600 on 5975, 6110 (Sackville), 7230 (UK), 15195, 17810, 21755; 1010-1100 on 6120 (Sack), 9696, 11730, 17585, 17720 (UAE), 21755; and 1710-1800 on 9535, 11970, 15355 (Gabon). Sunday (Jan 8), 0010-0100 on 6145 (Sack); 0310-0400 on 21610; 1110-1200 on 6120 (Sack), 9696, 9835; 1510-1600 on 6190, 7200, 9505, 11730. Monday (Jan 9), 0110-0200 on 5960 (UK), 11860 (Singapore), 11935 (Bonaire), 15325, 17560, 17810, 17825, 17845 (Toshimichi Ohtake, Japan, JSWC Dec 4 via BCDX Dec 8 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Tuned in Dec 8 to 5880 kHz at 1458 on LSB (traffic on USB) and imagine I heard choir song in background. Just before 1500 a gong-like ID noticed, but extremely weak. 1601 a very effective jammer started on frequency wiping out any possibility to hear them further. FNKR finally came on SW - what good is it to carry internet radio to a country that prevents internet? On their website they call themselves 'AM 5880 Freedom Northkorea broadcast'. I tried to hear the program on web to confirm IS but absolutely no luck in making it work. Neither in making English version on web function (Finn Krone, Denmark, DXplorer Dec 8 via BCDX via DXLD) Free North Korea Radio 5880, Free North Korea Radio via Irkutsk. Dec. 9. 1532-1600* Noted on this date with a marginal signal at 1510; gradually the signal improved that by 1530 was quite audible with a fair signal. Noted with brief orchestra melody, then followed long interviews and speeches with the occasional musical break. Most of the talk was by female announcer, (in Korean) with guest speakers in the interviews. I did note that at 1552 there was reference to the Seoul Summit, with speech to a audience afterwards. At 1559:30 there was a musical selection, closing comments but actual ID that I could make out, speech/talk was cut in mid-sentence at sign-off. Initially the signal was marginal at best, gradually improved, to a periods of fairly good copy. Best heard on a 3.1 meter amplified loop (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, CANADA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Too much daylight here for 5880 or 5890 (gh, OK) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Re Shiokaze, Sea Breeze on 5890: Gli indirizzi riportati sul sito dell'organizzazione sono i seguenti: 2-3-8-401 Koraku Bunkyo Ward Tokyo 112-0004 (Giappone) E-mail: chosakai @ circus.ocn.ne.jp http://www.chosa-kai.jp/indexeng.htm (Luca Botto Fiora, Radio&Media Dec 9 via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. ANALYSIS: TURKEY STEPS UP PRESSURE ON KURDISH ROJ TV | Editorial analysis by Alistair Coleman of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 7 December The Turkish government has stepped up its campaign to silence the Denmark-based Kurdish TV channel Roj TV. Ankara is urging both the Danish government and the European Union to take action against the station, which it says is connected to the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Roj TV, which broadcasts via the Hotbird satellite from studio and uplink facilities in Denmark, started broadcasts in March 2004. According to the Turkish Milliyet newspaper, the station is seen as the successor to the Paris-based Medya TV, which was closed down by the French government; and Med TV which was based in London until its licence was revoked by the UK broadcast regulator. Such is Turkey's opposition to the station, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan boycotted a press conference with his Danish counterpart in November 2005 because a Roj TV journalist would be present, the Reuters news agency said. Turkey portrays Roj TV as a PKK mouthpiece, a charge denied by the station's management. Police, EU investigations The Danish broadcasting regulator, the Radio and Television Board, said Roj TV is free to continue broadcasting from Denmark as it had not broken any laws. According to the Copenhagen-based Berlingske Tilende newspaper, the regulator disagreed with Turkish complaints that the station "instigated hatred". Following complaints from the Turkish embassy in Copenhagen, Danish police have opened an investigation into Roj TV over allegations that the station is funded by the PKK, which has been defined as a terrorist organization by both the European Union and the United States, Berlingske Tilende said. However, the paper says, "it is perfectly legal to receive financial support from a terrorist organisation", a fact which has taken Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen "completely by surprise". Fogh Rasmussen said he would not bow to pressure and involve himself in the Roj TV affair as long as the police investigation continues, Berlingske Tilende added. Berlingske Tilende recalled that the US government has called for the station's closure owing to the station's alleged links to the PKK, while the Turkish TV channel NTV said the US government had sent documents to Copenhagen in relation to the issue. The European Union has also initiated an investigation into the status of Roj TV, Turkish state broadcaster TRT said on its website. Noting the "sensitivity" of the Roj TV issue to Turkey, the EU/Turkey Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-Chairman Joost Lagendijk stated the commission should "reconsider the Roj TV issue... an investigation will be conducted within the framework of the parliament", TRT said. Turkish press allegations The Ankara-based New Anatolian newspaper says a "top secret" German Interior Ministry investigation into Roj TV, the Germany-based Ozgur Politika newspaper and Mesopotamia News Agency, shows there is "an airtight case" which shows these organizations were founded, funded and developed "according to the directives of PKK leaders". The German authorities have made no statement about these allegations, which have been dismissed by Roj TV. Replying to these allegations, the Roj TV executive board released a statement, published by the Germany-based Kurdish Info website. The board condemned "unfounded and untrue reports about Roj TV" which appear in the Turkish press "on a daily basis", noting there was a concerted, government-backed "campaign of attack directed against Roj TV." Mezopotamia Broadcast, the company which operates Roj TV, has sought to distance itself from allegations that the station is funded by the PKK, or has any connection with militant groups. Speaking to Danish newspaper Berlingske Tilende, the company's general director Manuchehr Tahsili Zonoozi said: "We have absolutely no connection with the PKK, absolutely none." Roj TV denies charges Denying that the station is funded by the PKK, Zanoozi told Berlingske Tilende that Roj TV gets money from "Kurdish people who are in Europe, and from advertising." He noted that the station's accounts were clear, and all funds go through the official Danish tax system. Zanoozi, however, declined to name any of the station's backers, saying that to do so would result in pressure from the Turkish government. Zanoozi also condemned the United States' involvement in the Roj TV issue, saying Washington's involvement "sacrifices justice for the benefit of the good relationship between Turkey and the United States". Opposition to Roj TV in Turkey is not universal. The Kurdish Info website reported that 135 civil society and human rights organizations have declared their support for the station, praising its support for Kurdish culture and language. Meanwhile, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reports that several parliamentary deputies had given interviews to Roj TV, such as Faruk Unsal of the ruling AKP Party and Esat Canan of the CHP Party. Anatolia News Agency said several other deputies and a former chief of the appeals court had issued denials that they had ever spoken to the station. Defending his appearance on the station, Canan told Roj TV that it was his duty to "ensure a climate of coexistence with the Kurds of this country", while Unsal told Turkishpress.com that although he spoke to Roj TV over a year ago, he would "accept all legal and political responsibilities" for his decision to speak to the station. The Roj TV executive board questioned the validity of Turkish requests to close down the channel, saying it will maintain its independent stance and "remain devoted to freedom of thought and _expression". Turkish attacks on Roj TV are "based on lies... and are of no merit", said the statement published on the Kurdish Info website, saying that Turkey itself "ranks 115th among 167 countries in press freedom." Source: BBC Monitoring research 7 Dec 05 (via DXLD) ** LAOS. Still hearing LNR on 7145 in English 1330-1400, weak, but there. Sandwiched between two simultaneous China PBS frequencies (Zeke Russell, Williams AZ, Dec 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA [and non]. LIBYA JAMS VOICE OF HOPE. Nick Grace of Clandestineradio.com reports. Despite the positive steps that Libya has taken in the past few years to rejoin the community of nations, Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi 's recent efforts to force a small dissident radio station off the airwaves have flouted international law and are chilling relations between Tripoli, Washington and London. The satellite radio station, Sawt al-Amal (Voice of Hope), launched from London in September purely as an independent effort to promote freedom, human rights and political reform in Libya. Such an effort inside the country would result in the immediate detention and disappearance of the journalists involved. There are no private or independent media outlets under Gaddafi, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for 36 years. . . http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/media/lby051208.html?view=Standard (Media Network newsletter Dec 8 via DXLD) ** MYANMAR. I`m hearing R. Myanmar in English on 5985.8 from about 1400 to 1600 UT. Possibly earlier and as late as 1630. I`ll keep an eye on it (Zeke Russell, Williams AZ, Dec 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. ULTIMAS EMISIONES EN PORTUGUÉS DE RADIO NEDERLAND Este viernes 9 de diciembre se transmiten las últimas emisiones en portugués de Radio Nederland. Debido a la revitalización que está viviendo Radio Nederland, la dirección de nuestra emisora ha decidido suspender la difusión vía satélite de los programas en portugués. El vacío de 25 horas semanales que dejan nuestros queridos colegas brasileños vía satélite, es reemplazado por las emisiones en español. Por lo tanto, excepto una interrupción de dos horas a las 11 y a las 22 UTC respectivamente, cuando difundimos un programa en indonesio, en Europa nos pueden escuchar las 24 horas en español a través del satélite ASTRA. En las Américas la señal de Radio Nederland en español se difunde también vía satélite las 24 horas, excepto a las 12.30 y a las 5 UTC cuando retransmitimos diariamente las emisiones de RCI en español y los fines de semana en portugués en tres oportunidades. Estos programas de Radio Canadá Internacional son emitidos a través de nuestro sistema satelital gracias a un convenio entre las dos emisoras. En Cartas a RN, de este domingo 11 y miércoles 14 de diciembre, ampliaremos la información sobre esta triste medida. Fuente: Radio- Enlace / Radio Nederland (Via: Dino Bloise, dxldyg via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. 1210, KGYN, fair, [from a recent bandscan] --- Where's KGYN been lately? I heard something about ClearChannel buying them. I used to hear them on a nightly basis and lately it's been many months since I've picked them up. I've gotten KHAT Laramie and KUNF St George and even KRSV-Afton, WY --- but it seems it's been forever since KGYN was in. I'm wondering if they're no longer 50 kW or haven't been for a while. This was just what I had time to do while driving around for a while. MJR n WYO (Michael J. Richard, WY, Dec 9, ABDX via DXLD) KGYN was never 50 kW, just 10 kW. No doubt weaker to the NW, since they forget to go direxional at night and send more signal ENE. Has 3 towers in a row east of Guymon next to US 412 aimed at Philadelphia (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAKISTAN. I have received a mail today from Pakistan saying that 9360 will shift tomorrow (Dec 9th) to 9365 at 1700-1900 \\ 7530. This is after I advised him that you were hearing splash from the Chinese jammer on 9360. If you have some spare time can you please take a listen to it at your location? Up here I can only hear a weak signal on 9355 and PAK is not reliably propagating. Other changes have now been made. Russian 1415-1445 has changed to 9300 (x 9335) \\ 7550. But I can't hear 9300 at all and have asked if this transmitter is actually on air - it's API-1. Turkish is using 6215 (x6255) and should be using 7600 (x7465) at 1630-1700 but I don't hear the 7 MHZ channel that is also via API-1. And similarly, at 0945- 1045 UT (Tamil/Sinhali) should be using new 17480 (x17490) via API-1 but I don't hear that either - it's \\ 15625 kHz (Noel R. Green, UK, wwdxc BC-DX Dec 8 via DXLD) On Nov 7th R Pakistan in English, 1600-1614 UT reported on 4790, 6215, 9385, 11570, but not on 5080, 5027 kHz. On Nov 6th in En on 4790 kHz only (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Dec 2, by P-mail to wwdxc BC-DX, via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. SEMINARIES RUNNING OVER 90 ILLEGAL FM RADIO STATIONS IN BORDER AREA | Text of report by Ghafar Ali headlined: "90 illegal FM radio stations in NWFP" by Pakistani newspaper Daily Times website on 8 December Peshawar: Seminaries are illegally running more than 90 FM radio stations to broadcast their teachings in various districts of the North West Frontier Province, a source told Daily Times on Tuesday [6 December]. The source said the channels often disturbed police wireless transmissions because they operate at frequencies reserved for security agencies. He said the channels had not been allocated frequencies by the Frequency Allocation Board (FAB) but they were using frequencies allocated for security agencies to circumvent the issue. According to the source, 27 channels are operating illegally in Swabi district alone. The actual number could be much higher than these, which were detected by intelligence agencies. "These channels are very popular among residents as people know the religious scholars," said a Swabi resident, wishing not to be named. The source said that certain individuals in Swabi had also installed FM radio transmitters in hujras (religious gathering areas). He provided data showing that the broadcasting range was from half a kilometre to 29 kilometres radius. Transmitters are locally manufactured and cost between Rs 6,000 to Rs 10,000, and Swabi district is the main market, he added. The source said that an FM transmitter was also installed in MNA [Member of National Assembly] Maulana Muhammad Qasim's Darul Uloom at Shergarh in Mardan, and religious sermons were aired between Fajr (morning prayers) and Isha (evening prayers). Talking to Daily Times, Naqeeb Ahmad, personal assistant to Maulana Qasim, confirmed a transmitter was installed. But he added, "We broadcast Koranic translation and ulema's speeches. We do not use the transmission to promote religious hatred." Sources in Malakand confirmed such channels and said that sectarian leaders from different sects were using the medium to promote religious hatred against each other's sects. They added that various Sunni sects were illegally transmitting their sermons and no Shia sect was using this medium. Source: Daily Times website, Lahore, in English 8 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK? Outside 88-108 apparently (gh) Very similar story: PAK SEMINARIES BECOME TECH SAVVY, RUN ILLEGAL FM RADIO STATIONS Lahore | December 08, 2005 5:06:32 PM IST http://www.netindia123.com/showdetails.asp?id=185300&cat=Asia&head=Pak+seminaries+become+tech+savvy%2C+run+illegal+FM+radio+stations (via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 2410, R. Enga, Wabag, sign-on at 2000 UT without IS. NBC very strong at 1900-2100 UT on 4890 kHz, mainly slow wonderful songs, Nov 19th (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Dec 2, by P-mail to wwdxc BC- DX, via DXLD) ** PERU. 3329.53, Ondas del Huallaga being received 0050 to 0105 with fair signal 6 December. "OM en español y música", LSB to avoid CHU. Ondas del Huallaga seems to sign on at 1100 each day, making reception in South Florida difficult (Robert Wilkner, Pómpano Beach FL, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. VOR back on winter frequency 7260, and new 7415 at 15-16 in English. I have good reception of both, so far (Zeke Russell, Williams AZ, Dec 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Per HFCC B-05, 7260 is Vladivostok, 230 degrees; 7415 Pet-Kam, 265 degrees (gh, DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non]. 11510, Voice of Russia via Armenia, 8 Dec 2005, 1856 UT, English, quiz, 43433 (Eike Bierwirth, 04317 Leipzig, DL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. "Radiostantsiya Tikhiy Okean" with tests on 7330 (again) planned for Dec 8-15, towards north area of Okhotsk Sea http://www.oceandx.narod.ru reported on open_dx mailist by Roman Nazarov, dx_monitor @ mail.ru Time not mentioned (I guess it'll be as for previous test - vt) (relayed by Vlad Titarev-UKR, DXplorer Dec 8 via BCDX via DXLD) Audible at 0940 UT, but weaker than 5960 kHz (Mauno Ritola, Finland, DXplorer Dec 8 via BCDX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non]. Reminder that the weekly broadcast in Russian of Special Radio is imminent, Thursday 19-20 UT via Uzbekistan on 5850, 100 kW, 311 degrees. If it`s ever going to make it to NAm, now`s the most likely time, the further north the better. 73, (Glenn, in advance Dec 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 5850 via Uzbekistan at present strong S=4-5 signal in southern Germany. Moscow Special Radio at 1908 UT. Chaotic cry POP music. 1900- 2000 UT 5850 Thursdays only. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, ibid.) See recording of Special Radio (via Tashkent-UZB), Thursdays only. Heard 1908 til 1958 UT yesterday Dec 8th. At closing of transmission heard a phone no. of Moscow announcement, e-mail address, then - three times - interval signature (like more of Tashkent-UZB central Asia nature??) - and strange enough (one time) TWR interval signal at closing end. Do you know the 'three times IS' origin??? of R. Rossii special program or Uzbekistan? TWR starts the Northern/Baltic language service program via MW Popovka St. P. on 1494 kHz at 2000 UT. So seemingly another switching channel error via the Moscow broadcasting house control room. 73 (wolfgang df5sx Bueschel, wwdxc Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In the dxldyg Station Sounds files under 5850 Yep, heard here from tune in at 1903. Strong carrier but at times not too well modulated audio. Wolfie describes the music well, not to my taste. At 1959 www and e-mail address. After that, once TWR int-sig and then no audio anymore (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) 5850, Special Radio, 1900-1925, escuchada el 8 de diciembre en ruso a locutor con ID, programa de música pop, rock y rock duro (heavy metal) local, SINPO 34242 (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DXLD) Moscow Special Radio at 1908 UT. Strong signal also here in south Italy (Roberto Scaglione, ibid.) ** RUSSIA. Russia Today TV Starts Tomorrow RUSSIA'S 24-HR ENGLISH-LANGUAGE NEWS CHANNEL TO HIT AIRWAVES MOSCOW, December 9 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's first 24-hour English- language news channel will begin broadcasting on Saturday, December 10. "We have several satellites, and we will broadcast to the United States and Canada via IA-5 and to Europe via Hotbird-6," Margarita Simonyan, the 26-year-old chief editor of Russia Today, said. "The Taicom-3 satellite will transmit our programs to Asia, Africa and Australia." She said people in Russia would be able to watch the channel as part of the NTV-plus basic package. "Broadcasting will start at 4 p.m. Moscow time [1 p.m. GMT] tomorrow," Simonyan said. The launch of Russia Today was announced in June, and technical broadcasting began September 15. "We want to show the way Russia sees itself and the world," Simonyan said when the channel was launched. She also said the channel would seek to strike a balance between domestic and international news reports. Source & Simonyan's pic: http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051209/42417971.html (via Sergei Sosedkin via DXLD) This is TV, not radio as they do not make very clear; and why not do this on SW radio, anyway? (gh, DXLD) RUSSIA TODAY SATELLITE TELEVISION CHANNEL BEGINS BROADCASTING | Excerpt from report by Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta on 9 December A long-awaited project - the 24-hour English-language channel Russia Today - launches tomorrow at 1300 hours. Nezavisimaya Gazeta was told this by the channel's Chief Editor Margarita Simonyan. She refused to describe the details, stressing that "she does not have that possibility". The only thing that is known, and Nezavisimaya Gazeta has written about this, is that the channel plans to carry 30-minute news bulletins at the top of every our while the second half of the hour - depending on the time of day - will feature either a culture and entertainment programme, or "Russia Focus" - Russia in detail, or a documentary, or a talk show. For the time being the channel is not envisaging analytical roundup programmes. As Russia Today General Director Sergey Frolov said in an interview for Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the TV signal will be broadcast via three satellites throughout the world, including to Russia. But only NTV- plus subscribers will be able to see it. [Passage omitted] Frolov struggled to find an answer to how long it will take the non- commercial channel, for which 30 million dollars has been allocated, to start recouping its costs. As for the current number of subscribers, in his words, thanks to satellite broadcasting it will be theoretically possible for any viewer in Europe and the United States who has installed a dish to see the programmes. In practice Russia Today will for the time be visible mainly to the major television and radio broadcasting holding companies, and this, in Frolov's words, "is a subject for future negotiations with the major operators" in order to gain access to local cable networks. As yet no such contracts have been concluded with any foreign operator, so there are no rigid deadlines for the channel to be incorporated into foreign networks. The general director does not feel that his channel will be broadcasting on "a demonstration basis". Answering a question as to how a foreign viewer will be able to assess the attractiveness or otherwise of Russia Today programmes, the general director answered that this can be done via local cable operators who themselves will decide whether or not to include the Russian channel on their distribution. At the same time, Frolov is not afraid that Western partners will create any obstacles for Russia Today on political or competition grounds since he is confident that there are numerous channels on the international media market and there is space for them all. Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow, in Russian 9 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) NEW INTERNATIONAL ENGLISH-LANGUAGE TV CHANNEL RUSSIA TODAY LAUNCHES 10 DEC Russia's new 24-hour English-language international TV news channel, Russia Today TV, is due to start broadcasting on Saturday 10 December. The channel, with a workforce of 300 journalists, including around 70 hired from abroad, says it will offer "global news from a Russian perspective." By the end of 2005, Russia Today TV - whose parent company is TV Novosti - will broadcast live internationally by satellite in English to Europe, North America, Asia and Africa via the RRSAT Global Network, which the channel has selected as its distribution platform. A press release from RRSAT on 14 November 2005 said: "Russia Today TV will provide information about events in Russia, and give viewers an opportunity to gain a Russian perspective on world events. It will send a realistic image of the country to audiences beyond its borders and bring an atmosphere of home to fellow countrymen living abroad. This is a challenging and ambitious project, and there is confidence the channel will represent Russia appropriately on the international scene, senior executives say." The channel will be available to viewers in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa via the Hotbird 6 satellite; in the USA and Canada via Intelsat Americas 5 (Telstar-5); and in Asia and Australia via the Thaicom-3 satellite. BBC Monitoring on 9 December observed the Russia Today TV test card on the Hotbird satellite at 13 degrees east; frequency 10971 MHz; vertical polarization; signal rate 27500; FEC 3/4. The Russia Today TV website - http://www.russiatoday.ru - provides the following contact information: Address: Russia Today TV Channel Zubovsky bulvar, 4 Moscow 119021 Fax: (095) 540 28 41 Phone: (095) 540 28 40 Planning and newsgathering producers Fax: (095) 540 27 61 Phone: (095) 540 24 54 E-mail: producers @ rttv.ru Press department Fax: (095) 540 27 61 Phone: (095) 540 24 50 E-mail: sophya @ rttv.ru Source: BBC Monitoring research 9 Dec 05 (via DXLD) ** SENEGAL [non]. Altho reception is quite noisy around 0700 for this time of the year, WADR from Dakar was there on 12000 beginning English service, but nothing heard on parallel 15260. Is WADR relayed? SINPO 35242 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Transmitter sites in the UK. Somebody reported Ascension, probably by mistake, altho who knows, they might switch if necessary (gh, DXLD) ** SERBIA & MONTENEGRO [non]. 6100, Serbia y MOntenegro, 2000-2010, escuchada el 8 de diciembre en español a locutora con ID, locutor con boletín de noticias, ID "Aquí Serbia y Montenegro", transmisión con mala modulación y acompañada de fuerte zumbido, templando a 6102 para reducirlo, SINPO 34342 (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020 kHz, 1800-1900 relayed BBCWS in \\ 9410 WOF & CYP, but on 5020 kHz with time delay. From 1900 UT own program on 5020. 1912 UT fade-out. Nov 19th (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Dec 2, by P- mail to wwdxc BC-DX, via DXLD) ** SOMALIA. See ALBANIA ** SPAIN. 7200, Radio Exterior de España, 8 Dec 2005, 2157 UT, IS, Spanish, instead of listed 7270 for Africa, parallel to 7275. 42432. Co-channel CRI-Urumqi in French (Eike Bierwirth, 04317 Leipzig, DL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN. A while ago there was an item in DXLD about the planned United Nations Radio in Sudan. I checked the UNMIS website at http://www.unmis.org/english/en-main.htm and seems there are vacancies open for technical persons for FM. Couple of other related websites are also referring only to FM network to be set up. Hopefully they'll later realize shortwave could be a nice option (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SYRIA. Heard in Turkish, Ru, Ge, Fr, En from 1600 to 2100 UT on 9330 kHz, and from 1805 UT also on \\ 12085 kHz (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Dec 2, by P-mail to wwdxc BC-DX, via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. I was glad to see that my report of a few weeks ago of a QSL for Truth for the World via Taiwan prompted several to comment on what is a clandestine broadcast. I asked whether this Mandarin broadcast was actually a religious program or if it might be more of a clandestine-type program. I can see in reading my report that I failed to clearly state the point I was trying to make. I had read the Truth for the World websites and was aware they consider it a religious program. But what is a religious program to one person can be something different to someone else. If, for instance, it constantly points out what is wrong with the government of a country and advocates a change in that government in order to more easily spread the Gospel. That is why I was hoping there might be a response from a Mandarin-speaking listener who had heard this program. I realize the line between clandestine-type programs and some other programs is very blurred, and to most people it probably does not matter what kind of program it is. But there is at least one important reason why I keep veries from what I consider to be clandestine-type broadcasts separate from all others. When I show my general QSLs to non-DXers they usually are courteous enough to spend a few minutes looking at them. But when I show them my albums of QSLs from clandestine-type broadcasters, the time they spend often goes well beyond that of polite interest. And they frequently ask questions about the broadcasters and the organizations behind the programs (Wendel Craighead, KS, DXplorer Dec 2 via BCDX via DXLD) ** TURKEY. TURKEY STEPS UP PRESSURE ON KURDISH ROJ TV: see KURDISTAN ** TURKMENISTAN. Common news in Vernacular reported on LW 279, 4930, 5015 kHz at 0200 UT, Nov 20th (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Dec 2, by P-mail to wwdxc BC-DX, via DXLD) ** UGANDA. 4975.96, Radio Uganda; 2041-2020+, 2-Dec; Heavy accented English announcer, "Broadcasting from Kampala Uganda..."; English and native Gospel tunes. SIO=2+42+ Not // 5026 if them (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DX-Pedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) 4975.9; R.Uganda(?); 02 DEC 2059; SIO-232; Afropop music until 2100, then carrier only (Karl Racenis, ibid.) ** U K. BBC WORLD SERVICE PROGRAMME PREVIEWS Play of the Week --- Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare A new adaptation of William Shakespeare`s Much Ado About Nothing is broadcast over two weekends from Saturday 3 December. The story of two very different sets of lovers: Beatrice and Benedick and Claudio and Hero. This is a great Shakespearean comedy with an international resonance. The main plot revolves around obstacles to the union of young lovers Claudio and Hero; the sub-plot is the `merry war` of the sexes between Beatrice and Benedick. Benedick thinks he hates Beatrice but really loves her and Beatrice who thinks she hates Benedick, in reality loves him. The witty banter between Beatrice and Benedick is the highlight of the play. Adapted by Paul Brennen, the production is interspersed with interviews with theatre directors and actors who lead the audience seamlessly from theme to theme and scene to scene of this uplifting piece. Director/David Hitchinson Play of the Week: 60 minutes [European stream & webcast:] Sat 1830, Sun 0201 [American stream & webcast:] Sat 2201, Sun 0201, Mon 0601 Listen online http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/index.shtml (BBC Press Office via Rich Cuff via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sorry did not get this out in time last week; if you hurry maybe can listen to part I on the web (gh) ** U K. BBC'S GLOBAL NEWS WEBSITES HAVE BEEN REORGANIZED See http://news.bbc.co.uk/newswatch/ifs/hi/newsid_4500000/newsid_4502700/4502734.stm or http://urlsnip.com/386984. This continues the BBC's transformation into a "news first, entertainment second" organization (Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, Swprograms mailing list via DXLD) First impression: Quite functional; in fact, theme appears to be function over form because the site is not all that pleasing to the eye IMHO. Nonetheless, everything I usually look for was easy to locate which should be the primary intention of any web portal page (John Figliozzi, NY, ibid.) BBC LAUNCHES NEW LOOK FOR INTERNATIONAL WEBSITES | Text of press release from BBC on 9 December A new look has been launched for the BBC's main international websites - aimed at meeting the needs of online users outside the UK. Myra Hunt, Head of New Media, BBC World Service, said: "People using our sites from overseas tell us they want easy access to news, sport and feature pages and our new international version of the BBC homepage http://bbc.co.uk offers this - along with links to international pages for radio, TV and weather. "The changes follow a major BBC project launched in response to what our audiences want - and we hope it meets their needs. "Keeping in touch with audiences world-wide and listening and acting on what they say is at the heart of what we do." Logging in from outside the UK will automatically display the new international offer - but switching to a UK version (and back again) can be done at the click of a button near the top of the page. Users of the BBC's international radio sites asked for audio on demand, opportunities to listen again to highlights and clearly displayed channel and programme information. The new international radio portal aims to deliver this: offering the best from BBC World Service Radio, up-to-the-minute news bulletins and a live 'stream' of output. Links to the main BBC channels are also provided. The international TV page provides a guide to the BBC's international commercial TV channels plus links to BBC TV in the UK. The BBC Weather page provides summaries - with users able to pick their own city for a five day forecast. The 'languages' page displays the full range available from the BBC's international radio and online services. The BBC's Controller, Internet, Tony Ageh, said: "As the internet matures, it has become possible to differentiate between UK visitors to http://bbc.co.uk and those from elsewhere. "As part of the BBC's commitment to its global reputation, the new international home-page offers overseas visitors the same user- experience enjoyed by our UK audiences - but with the added benefit of more stories and links aimed exclusively at the international community." The changes were launched after a BBC-wide 'usability' project. It was endorsed by the BBC New Media Board and funded by BBC World Service. Source: BBC press release, London, in English 9 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. From AJ Janitschek at Radio Free Asia, this information was sent in response to my enquiry on their QSL Replies. "Additionally, we are still issuing all QSL cards for all valid reception reports from within the designated issue periods. Here is the full list: Dalai Lama 2002-Dec 31 04 Summer Olympics: Aug 1-31, 04 RFA 8th Anniversary: Sep 1 - Dec 31, 04 Year of the Rooster: Jan 1 - Feb 28, 05 SWL Winter Fest: Mar 1 - Apr 30, 05 EDXC 2005: May 1 - Jul 31, 05 Dick Richter: Aug 1 - Aug 31, 05 RFA 9th Anniversary: Sep 1 - Dec 31, 05 "In 2006 we hope to release a QSL card for the Winter Olympics, the Year of the Dog, the FIFA World Cup, and likely the 2006 Asia Games in Qatar. "The bad news that we have become victims of our own success. RFA has worked hard at promoting our QSL cards and we have therefore received a dramatic increase in reception reports via mail, email and on our automated system at http://www.techweb.rfa.org For example, just two days ago I confirmed the back-log of reports submitted by the automated system; this included all reports submitted from February 2005 through September 2005. Confirmation of the reports is still mostly a manual process where I review each report and confirm the language versus the frequency and the broadcast time. Each QSL card is filled out by hand. In the long run, it only takes a moment, but when you have a few hundred to process, it does take a while. We hope to have streamlined in the future so that QSL cards will automatically print with the person’s mailing address and reception report information already on the card. "As you know, we also accept reception reports that arrive by email at qsl @ rfa.org and the normal load of reports that arrive through regular postal services. It can be a daunting task when confirming reception reports are just one of many things to be done at RFA. With that said though, we look at the confirmation of reception reports as a very important service especially since DX’ers provide us with so much valuable information about the technical quality of our broadcasts. QSL cards must take a back seat sometimes to other broadcast priorities at times though. "So, now you have a lot more information about our reception reports system than you probably wanted but I hope this answers all of your questions and then some. "Feel free to let me know if you have any more questions and feel free to share this information with any of your fellow DX’ers. "One last bit of news; currently we are not confirming any transmitter sites on our QSL cards; even IBB sites. I believe the term, ``in the interests of Homeland Security`` were the exact words used by our Director of Program Delivery. "Thanks again for your note and for your patience. Best wishes from Washington DC. AJ Janitschek`` (via Edward Kusalik, QSL Album, Dec ODXA Listening In via DXLD) ** U S A. A reminder that the Thursday 2130 broadcast of World of Radio on WWCR is now on 7465. I`d be interested in informal reports of how well this is heard in Europe and North America, since in previous winters this was on 9 MHz. Tnx, (Glenn, in advance, Dec 8, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Saludos Glenn, por Valencia apenas audible, señal debil y con mucho ruido. SINPO 34232. 73, (José Miguel Romero, Spain, ibid.) Hi, Glenn. Just got done enjoying World of Radio at 2130 on 7465. Great reception in the Buffalo area, so not to worry! Very 73 es tnx again de (Anne Fanelli in Elma, NY, ibid.) Sounded great here. I even used a micro Yaesu VX-2 wibeband scanner that brought in the signal nicely here in Metro Detroit (Don Hosmer, MI, ibid.) Saludos cordiales, Glenn Hauser nos informa de la retransmisión del programa diexista World of Radio en ingles por la WWCR desde las 2130- 2200 por los 7465; está interesado en reportes de Norteamérica y Europa. Ésta retransmisión se hace los jueves. 73 y buen DX (José Miguel Romero, Spain, 2128 UT Dec 8, Noticias DX via DXLD) Atendiendo a esta información del colega José Miguel Romero, informo que a las 2135 UT estoy escuchando el programa WOR del Colega Glenn Hauser a través de 7465 kHz, a pesar del intenso ruido se copiar algo de la emisión. Aunque mi reporte es de America del Sur, espero que tenga alguna importancia. Atte: José Elías Díaz Gómez, Venezuela, ibid.) ** U S A [and non]. COSTA RICA: 5030, University Network, Cahuita transmitters with Pornster Barbi Bridges, er I mean PASTOR Melissa Scott complaining about people who won't pay her to keep her clothes on, er I mean won't live up their pledges and make the checks payable to her church instead of her dead husband. Gems included 'God has revealed to me that 50% of the people we were supporting us are still listening but are not supporting us any more.' and 'I have never felt so all alone in my entire life ... I'm tired of carrying this dead weight' and "I'm not going to give ultimatums but I'm going to have to cut back on things if I don't receive donations, and we're starting with the local broadcast time" The broadcast then looped and repeated with the same angst over money and support. Sigh --- We were speculating at the DXpedition that her name was Genella since she NEVER ONCE said her name in this broadcast (which repeated 24/7 for at least a week, but I see 6090 and the web stream have moved on to bigger and better things; Barbi is now talking about Old Testament personalities who danced naked and took wives who were whores --- BTW, I note the web stream is a good 45-60 seconds behind the broadcast audio -- makes it hard to watch the video and listen to the radio in the foreground!) and I had to get on the web to find out her real name. Now, (isn't Google wonderful?) it turns out that Melissa Scott is an alias -- she was the porn star and porno business manager Barbi Bridges up until she found God and Pastor Gene steered her right. We thought Genella was funny -- sometimes truth is stranger than ANYTHING you can make up! Isn't life special sometimes? :) Anyhoo -- SIO 343, heard from 0135 to 0200 3/Dec (Kenneth Vito Zichi, Brighton MI DXPedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** U S A. UNUSUALNESS ON WBCQ & OFF THE HOOK Following WOR on WBCQ at 2330 UT 12/7/05 on 7415 kHz a different program than had been on in previous weeks was aired. "Marion's Attic" had been used as an unscheduled fill-in during that half-hour between WoR and "Off The Hook", but that day "Creation Nation" came on instead. What struck me as odd about this was that an actual scheduled airing of an hour-long "Creation Nation" was replaced by an Allan Weiner WorldWide repeat at 2300 on 12/4/05. So maybe this was a make- up because that scheduled one was missed for some reason? But this was only a half-hour slot instead of an hour. I don't know if Creation Nation is one of those programs made in really-half-hour segments that just airs two of them in an hour slot, or what. Unfortunately, I couldn't wait around to check what happened at 0000 and also propagation got unusually bad that evening so I couldn't even hear "Off The Hook" which I normally do listen to. Speaking of "Off The Hook", do others in this forum also listen to that? If you care about it, maybe you could join me in e-mailing the program (oth @ 2600.com) to request that they acknowledge that they really ARE on shortwave in the content of the program, especially in their sign-on and sign-off announcements. A couple weeks ago, they read a part of an e-mail I had sent them about several topics, but ignored the part in which I identified myself as a listener via shortwave and specifically requested that they mention their shortwave frequency and outlet (WBCQ) in the program itself. They act like they are only hearable on WBAI locally or via the Internet, and I am mystified by why they want to ignore the other medium. 73, (Will Martin, MO, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5-digit YL Spanish numbers on exactly, and I do mean zero- beat, the same frequency as WYFR, 6855.0 --- Dec 9 before and after 2130. At 2127 numbers such as ``84413`` repeated several times, were mixing with ``Silent Night``, and Family Radio mentioned at 2130. Still going a few minutes later, but WYFR way under the numbers station. Per http://www.familyradio.com/international/schedules/englishsched.html WYFR is scheduled here at 20-22 to Eu and ME. So will ``FEMA`` force WYFR off this frequency too? BTW, at same time there was 2-way SSB in American English on 6850. If that`s a USG frequency too, might also have issues with WYFR being on 6855. At 10-11 to Can & Mex, 6855 is also shown but as in the 49m band! However at 11-13 both 6890 and 7780 are allegedly in the 41m band! Glanced thru the rest of the lengthy English schedule page, which was updated only today Dec 9 --- so there have just been further changes, or does it always carry the current date? This does not have any handwritten correxions, but perhaps there should be. Don`t you believe WYFR is on: C&SAm 2000-2200 17275 16 m Can & Mex 2000-2200 14555 16 m The former I have no idea without consulting other versions but the latter is supposed to be 17555, as used in the preceding trihour. Another instance of number station on same frequency as a US SWBC station: 9330, late at night, I think, but haven`t caught that actually clashing with WBCQ (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. GERRITSEN CONVICTED ON ALL COUNTS IN RADIO JAMMING CASE http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2005/12/09/4/?nc=1 NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 9, 2005 --- A US District Court jury has found Jack Gerritsen of Bell, California, guilty on six counts that included transmitting without a license and willful and malicious interference with radio transmissions. Gerritsen, 69, who briefly held the amateur call sign KG6IRO, will face sentencing March 6, according to the office of Debra W. Yang, US Attorney for the Central District of California. He could receive up to 15 years in federal prison. ``The Federal Communication Commission investigated illegal radio transmissions linked to Gerritsen for four years,`` said a statement from Yang`s office after the verdict. ``According to court documents filed in this case, the FCC investigation revealed that Gerritsen transmitted his prerecorded messages, as well as real-time harassment and profanity, for hours at a time, often making it impossible for licensed radio operators to use the public frequencies.`` A federal grand jury indicted Gerritsen last spring. Gerritsen had earlier turned down the offer of a public defender and served as his own attorney in the federal court trial. The government`s case, presented by Assistant US Attorney Lamar Baker, went to the jury December 8, and the jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning its verdict today. US District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner revoked Gerritsen`s bail, and the defendant was taken into custody following the verdict. Gerritsen was found guilty of interfering with a Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) communication last March and interfering with American Red Cross communications last January --- both misdemeanors - -- and of interfering with US Coast Guard communications in October 2004, a felony. Those familiar with the court proceedings, which got under way December 6, said Gerritsen tended to focus on freedom of speech issues and sometimes confused those giving testimony. Among those testifying at length on behalf of the government was FCC Senior Agent Steven Pierce, who discussed his use of mobile direction-finding equipment and techniques used in tracking the source of the illegal and interfering transmissions. Just days before the trial began, the FCC affirmed a total of $42,000 in additional fines it had levied on Gerritsen, releasing two $21,000 Forfeiture Orders (NOFs). In affirming the fines, the FCC rebuffed every argument Gerritsen had offered in responding to each Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL), including his insistent ``freedom of speech`` claim. ``His unlicensed operation on amateur frequencies is not protected by the US Constitution as it is well established that the right to free speech does not include the right to use radio facilities without a license,`` the FCC said in a footnote in one of the NOFs. The federal court jury in California apparently agreed. In late November, Klausner denied Gerritsen`s motion to dismiss the three counts of transmitting without a license, turning away Gerritsen`s argument that the FCC could set aside his Amateur Radio license without a hearing. Klausner declared that the effect of the FCC`s 2001 set aside of KG6IRO ``was to treat the application as if it had never been granted.`` Since Gerritsen never held an Amateur Radio license, he never had the right to a hearing, the judge reasoned. One of the recent $21,000 NOFs involved alleged willful and repeated malicious interference with Amateur Radio communications. The second focused on allegations of willful and repeated interference with the radio communications of a US Coast Guard Auxiliary officer attempting to use Amateur Radio frequencies to assist a sailboat in distress. Last March, the FCC upheld a $10,000 fine against Gerritsen for interfering with Amateur Radio communications. The government has yet to collect. FBI agents, accompanied by FCC staff, arrested Gerritsen without incident last May and seized his radio equipment. Released on $250,000 bond while awaiting trial, Gerritsen remained in home detention, barred from possessing any radio equipment. Gerritsen`s history of radio-related legal problems go back to 2000 when he was convicted for intercepting, obstructing and/or interfering with California Highway Patrol radio communications. In November 2001, the FCC`s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau issued, then quickly rescinded, Gerritsen`s Technician license, KG6IRO, because of his earlier conviction. While transmitting on various Los Angeles-area repeaters, Gerritsen continued to identify as KG6IRO, however. Radio amateurs on the West Coast complained for months about the slow pace of enforcement action in the Gerritsen case. Los Angeles-area repeater owners had taken to shutting down their machines to avoid the nearly constant barrage of malicious interference and lengthy political tirades attributed to Gerritsen. Page last modified: 03:42 PM, 09 Dec 2005 ET Copyright © 2005, American Radio Relay League, Inc. All Rights Reserved (via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. HARMONICS: 2280, WJR Detroit MI; 2218, 3-Dec; 3 x 760; poor but caught call ID. 2480, WGVA Geneva NY; 2117-2125+, 3-Dec; s/off anmt for Finger Lakes News Net daytimers @2118. WGVA continued on. Good peaks. [perennial] Talking Houses: 1630, Brighton MI area talking house; 1638, 2-Dec, 1756, 3-Dec; 9073 Summerset? on Wildwood Lake; hrd never cleanly from I-96 to DXP site. Mixing w/KCJJ @1756 (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DXPedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO MOSIACH & REDEMPTION: radiomoshiach @ erols.com on 1710/AM, 1122-1130+, 4-Dec; M in English talking about children, Yom Kippur, etc. SIO=4+43+, Lotsa English in recent months & IDs! (Harold Frodge, DXPedition in MI, Free Radio Weekly via DXLD) ** U S A. ANOTHER BOSTON UNLICENSED UPDATE More unlicensed FM signals discovered in metro Boston. Listen for Radio Mercure International on 93.5 FM in Boston, and Radio Superstars on 102.1 FM in Brockton, both with French Caribbean / Haitian programming. Don't know if the Brockton Radio Superstars is related to the one in Everett yet. Complete updated list available on BAMLog. (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, http://members.aol.com/baconti/bamlog.htm Dec 8, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. 1610, WVIR Visitor Information Radio, Atlantic City NOV 5 1400 - TIS, "Welcome to the Atlantic City Visitor Information Radio, WVIR," with loop of information on visiting Atlantic City. 1620, Ocean City NJ NOV 5 1744 - Emergency Advisory Radio Station with announcements for hurricane preparation. 1630.042, Atlantic City NJ NOV 5 1745 - NOAA weather loop, presumed from Atlantic City (The annual November Long Beach Island (LBI) DXpedition held at the Drifting Sands Motel in Ship Bottom, New Jersey (39 39'N 74 11'W), November 4-6 2005, NRC IDXD via DXLD) Quite a few more distant stations were heard! We`ll include a link when the entire report appear online (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. PAUL WINTER SILVER SOLSTICE SPECIAL has already run on WUOT, UT Dec 8; many other public radio stations schedule it in next biweek closer to actual solstice, and you can already listen to each hour: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4225815 We also received a card in the mail promoting their CD, and this year`s celebration at the Cathedral of St. John the [allegedly] Divine, Dec 15-17! So how can the broadcast already be released if it is really from this year? (Glenn Hauser, OK, Dec 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. US stations, mostly commercial, playing Xmas music: http://ftp.media.radcity.net/ZMST/100kw/christmas.htm (via Scott Fybush, 100000watts.com, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. Reminder of DX Tests from Philadelphia, early Sun Dec 11 0500-0600 UT on 560 and 990; see 5-195 for details (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Fri Dec 12, 5:00-6:00 PM CST MEDIA TALK WITH DAVE BERKMAN Today after five, on Media Talk, Dave Berkman talks with his guest about Salem Communications and evangelical radio. Guest: Adam Piore, reporter, Mother Jones Magazine http://www.motherjones.com [52-week audio archive of this series on Wisconsin Public Radio:] http://www.wpr.org/webcasting/ideas_audioarchives.cfm?Code=mtk (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. Hometown radio goes streaming. Hi Folks, OK, it's not DX, but as things seem to be a bit slow today, I thought I'd share the following article with you from the Wed. Dec. 7, 2005 edition of The Record of Paxton, Illinois. Curtis Sadowski P.S. The most interesting time to listen to this quirky Illinois station is 6 P.M. to Midnight Fridays. The host starts out his shift babysitting his two young children, and that's just the start of the evening's fun. [0000-0600 UT Sats] GIBSON CITY RADIO STATION NOW AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE GIBSON CITY- Persons can now hear WGCY FM-106.3 Gibson City worldwide. Radio Station officials announced the station is now streamed over the internet. Located at http://www.wgcyradio.com the website now contains an audio stream for those outside the broadcast range who would like to hear the station's "beautiful music" format and would like to check in with Gibson City news and sports. WGCY will stream home and away games of the GCMS Falcons in tandem with the FM broadcast. WGCY is also east-central Illinois' home for Chicago Bears football broadcasts, but legal prohibitions forbid an Internet broadcast of Bears games. WGCY's website features Gibson City news, sports, classified ads and promotions. Radio officials said the site has regular visitors from all over the world. Regular website visitors often send e-mail from Iraq, Afghanistan, the Netherlands, and Hong Kong. Many are former Gibson City residents who are serving in the military or have followed careers overseas, but some are family members of GCMS Falcons who check in to keep abreast of Falcon Sports. The station is family-owned and operated by the father-and-son team of Fred and Gary McCullough. Gary McCullough is also general manager/ morning show host of the station. His wife, Debra takes care of traffic and billing, and his son, Frank, is sports director. Daughter Ashley has logged hours at the station in the past. WGCY also features the on-air talents of another area father and son combination, Bob and Tom Benefiel, who each host a radio show; Tom's lounge-music show is heard Friday evening, and Bob hosts Mr. B's Bandstand, a collection of nostalgic big-band hits on Sunday afternoon. Other employees are sales staff Lori Epps and Rod Habermeyer and news director Jim Killian. WGCY recently observed 22 years of broadcasting an easy-listening format to east-central Illinois. The station operates at 6000 watts of power (Via Curtis Sadowski, Paxton IL, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. Dec 8, 3:59 PM EST. Correction: TV-ABC-New-Anchors Story NEW YORK (AP) -- In a Dec. 5 story about the appointment of new anchors for ABC's "World News Tonight," The Associated Press reported erroneously that NBC anchorman Brian Williams is 47. He is 46. In early versions of the story, AP reported erroneously that ABC will offer live broadcasts of "World News Tonight" in three time zones: Eastern, Central and Pacific. The correct time zones are Eastern, Mountain and Pacific. Also in early versions, relying on an ABC press release, AP reported that the new anchors and telecasts will begin Jan. 2. The network later corrected the start date to Jan. 3 (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) Yay, Mountain finally gets non-neglected! But what do you bet they just let the original ET/CT tape roll unless something momentous is happening (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. Nice conditions to Vietnam this cold afternoon December 9. DIEN BIEN BS coming with pretty weak signal on 6317.1 kHz at 1245 UT. Reception of R. SON LA on 4739.7 is quite readable. I´ve heard R Son La Radio signing off at 1400 UT. Nice to hear these exotic stations. 73 (Jouko Huuskonen, Turku FINLAND, Rx: AOR 7030+, Ant: a 95 m lw to E, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non]. VIETNAM/USA Tu Do Ton Giao/Committee for Religious Freedom in Vietnam via Viet Nam Hai Ngoai/Vietnamese Public Radio via subcarrier of KCUR-FM 89.3 MHz, Kansas City, Missouri. Hand-written friendly personal partial-data letter from Helen Ngo. By a lucky coincidence, of the dozens of photo cards which I brought back from Vietnam and could have sent with my report, Ms. Ngo said the one I enclosed showed the elementary school she attended! My report was sent to: CRFV, P O Box 342111. Bethesda, MD 20827, U.S.A. My Vietnamese friends are very familiar with Helen Ngo and her work on behalf of human rights in Vietnam. According to the CRFV website her work is not limited to religious freedom, and she has testified before a congressional committee on human rights violations in Vietnam. Of all the programs on the extensive VPR schedule [16 hours a day, 7 days a week], along with Radio Free Vietnam and Radio Free Asia, Tu Don Ton Giao appears to be the only other which might be considered a clandestine-type program. I am basing this on program titles [many are music programs], listening to programs, and most of all the word of my Vietnamese friends. They say its content is very similar to that of Radio Free Vietnam (Wendel Craighead, KS, DXplorer Dec 2 via BCDX via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. MADAGASCAR, 11704.93, CLANDESTINE (Zimbabwe). Voice of the People (via Madagascar), 1708-1755* on Nov 30, best in LSB to separate a bit from Sudan Radio Service on 11705 kHz. M&W talks about Zimbabwean topics (agriculture, economic development, etc.); frequent IDs and frequency announcements. Seemed mostly or all in English, but hard to tell due to the co-channel QRM. Off at 1755* UT (John Wilkins, CO, DXplorer Dec 4 via BCDX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Harmonic, 2280; 0225-0301+, 3-Dec; M in SS w/SS baladas; occasional fair peaks. Puerto Rico? (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DXPedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) How about DOMINICAN REPUBLIC? See 5-206 and 5-179, a benefit of reading DXLD (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. Re 5-209: Roaring jammer on 6015, Dec 5 at 1520. Glenn - this one is surely jamming from North Korea against South Korea's 'First Liberty Programme'. See left hand column of the WRTH 2005 page 260. It's usually audible here around 0730 / 0830 in winter time and occasional voice can be heard peaking through the noise. The reason why you notice it now may be because the jamming sound has changed - Olle Alm pointed out that it sounds more like a buzz saw than the former white noise, and I agree - it does. 73 from (Noel R. Green [NW England], dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Deutsche Telekom Test Transmission 12/10/05, 7160, SINPO 24232, 0223+, Multilingual test transmission announcements (including English announcement about every 4 minutes, has been on since 0223 and still on at 0243 as I write this. Giving a postal address in Munich. (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) For upcoming new client? UNIDENTIFIED. 7284.0, carrier, 8 Dec 2005, 2229 UT, no audio noted. Any ideas? Mali?? (Eike Bierwirth, 04317 Leipzig, DL, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Re Numbers station in DXLD 5-210 --- Thanks to Jose Jacob for reporting the coded messages. The UnId numbers station which Jose Jacob reported is known as E22 in the ENIGMA Numbers listing. Not much is known about its purpose, where it originates, or who is behind it. The reported 15040 // 17387 are the frequencies always used. It is quite irregular, but was reported an hour earlier on the same day in the U.K. By "Mike" (and a couple of others I suspect). There has been some question both about the accent of the announcer (Arabic or Indian / South Asian) and the direction (Western North Africa or India / Pakistan) on the ENIGMA 2000 listserv. A recording of the broadcast an hour before Jose's report by "Mike" is available at: http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/thesecretsiteofmike At the bottom of "Numbers Page 2" (E 22 dated 7/12/2005) If you want to know more: There has been quite a bit of discussion of E22 in the ENIGMA 2000 newsletter, available at Ary Boender's Numbers and Oddities site: http://home.luna.nl/~ary/ A good site for general information on numbers is Chris Smolinski's site: http://www.spynumbers.com/ 73 (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Best to you and yours for the holidays and as always, my thanks and appreciation for your efforts. 73 (Zeke Russell, Williams AZ, Dec 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ NEW EDITION OF BROADCASTS IN ENGLISH A new edition of Broadcasts in English is available now from the British DX Club (BDXC-UK). Compiled by Dave Kenny, it has been completely revised and updated for the current Winter 2005-2006 (B05) season and includes details of all currently known international broadcasts in English on shortwave and mediumwave for the B05 schedule period. The 32-page booklet is in time order throughout and covers all target areas. It gives a round the clock, hour by hour guide to what English broadcasts you can tune into and on what frequencies. Transmitter sites are indicated where known. It also includes a comprehensive guide to DX and Media Programmes; schedules for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) transmissions and World Radio Network in English to Europe. Copies are available at the following prices (postage included): United Kingdom - 2 pounds sterling Overseas - 6 International Reply Coupons; 5 Euros or 5 US Dollars Sterling payments by cheque/postal order to "British DX Club" Dollar or Euro payments in cash. We also can now accept Paypal - please email for details. Bdxc @ bdxc.org.uk All orders/enquiries to: British DX Club, 10 Hemdean Hill, Caversham, Reading RG4 7SB, UK Or visit the BDXC-UK web site at http://www.bdxc.org.uk (Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK via DXLD) RADIOROADTRIP.COM When traveling to IRCA's 2006 Convention and at any time you can access all the AM and FM stations along the way. Need a sports fix, a country music fix. Just access http://radioroadtrip.com/ and enjoy the trip (via Raymond Bauernhuber, WEBSITE WANDERINGS, IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) A seemingly useful concept but very lacking in practice. As a test, I picked I-40 from Santa Rosa NM to Amarillo TX, a route I frequently travel. Translators, often the ONLY WAY to hear certain stations, notably public radio, such as KENW in Tucumcari and other towns around, are NOT shown. If a small city is not directly on the route chosen, forget it! No listings from Clovis, or Las Vegas for instance, tho audible along I-40. However, KNMX-540 appears erroneously as a Santa Rosa station. Stations are sorted by format in each market, and day/night coverage radius is shown --- which can only be very rough guesstimates subject to all kinds of variables. Only interstate routes are covered, and the list looks far from complete. However, Tulsa makes it onto the I-40 list as a sidetrip on the Muskogee Turnpike – and on the I-35 list as a sidetrip on the Cimarrón Turnpike. I was going to check whether skywave coverage is ever included, so on I-35 I brought up San Antonio --- would you believe that WOAI is missing? WBAP does not disappear from Fort Worth, but shows with day and night coverage of only 180 miles! Clearly radioroadtrip.com is generated from some kind of theoretical database, not reality-based (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ALI`S SHORTWAVE PIRATES NEWS New pdf publication, free, first issue: http://www.alfalima.net/swnews/PDF/dec-2005.pdf (via Luca Botto Fiora, Radio&Media Dec 9 via DXLD) SHORTWAVE AS MUSIC ++++++++++++++++++ NEW SOUNDS #2352, UT Dec 9 at 0400-0500 on WNYC-FM, includes some tracks by and interview with Annie Gosfield, including ``Lost Signals and Drifting Satellites`` starting about halfway in. More info and audio: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/newsounds/episodes/12082005 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ DRM RECEPTION 6130, GERMANY, DW in English at 0702 Nov 3, Newslink, signal spotty, averaging about 13 dB, not quite enough to support the 14 kbps of this broadcast, but program largely understandable --- with many dropouts. 7295, GERMANY, R. Luxembourg via Juelich in English at 1002 Nov 10, rock music, S/N ratio about 14-17 dB with 21 kbps stereo broadcast, not strong enough to provide a solid signal but about 40% intelligible at first; dropping to about 10-12 dB by 1025 with only occasional audio 15370, ECUADOR, HCJB Quito in Spanish at 1237 Oct 29, contemporary Christian music, test aimed toward Chile; fairly good initially, about 95%, but still significant dropouts, becoming worse by 1252; S/N around 17 dB with 17 kbps transmission, but occasionally dropping to about 12 dB. 15375, ECUADOR, HCJB Quito in Spanish at 2136 Nov 9, relay of local FM station, pretty good reception, some dropouts but generally listenable, many more dropouts by 2145, S/N ratio bout 15-17 dB, dropping to about 12-13 dB ten minutes later. Only 11 kbps, so should be getting thru better than this, new frequency; prior DRM broadcasts were on 15370, 24 kW transmitter (Ralph Brandi, NJ, International Band Loggings, Dec NASWA Journal via DXLD) Ever notice how DRM looks like Damn if you just glance at it? (Kenneth Vito Zichi, MI, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ LUXEMBOURG EFFECT Hoi Jan-Reint, Je zou eens, terwijl je die vreemde zender hoort, met een andere radio (kan een simpele transistor zijn, zolang er maar lange golf opzit) op de lange golf moeten luisteren naar bijv. RTL (234 kHz) of Europe I (183 kHz). Het zou me niets verwonderen wanneer het een van deze zenders die je op de achtergrond hoort. Misschien heeft de 'geheime zender' een erg dof geluid (alleen maar lage tonen). Als dat het geval is kun je er helemaal op rekenen dat je te maken hebt met het Luxemburg-effect. Op een of andere manier wordt het signaal van een middengolfzender, dat ten opzichte van de luisteraar achter een sterke langegolfzender ligt (en dat kijkt niet zo erg nauw) "gemoduleerd" met het signaal van die sterke langegolfzender. De naam Luxemburg-effect komt van dezelfde RTL-zender (al zat hij indertijd nog niet op 234 kHz), maar komt ook voor bij andere langegolfzenders. In de jaren 1960 had ik ook veel last van de zender op 173 kHz (van de Voice of America in München) wanneer ik op de middengolf luisterde naar zenders uit het ZO ten opzichte van mijn QTH, en tegenwoordig heb ik er nog regelmatig last van wanneer ik naar Radio Nacional de España op 585 kHz luister (de kruismodulatie is dan van France Inter op 162 kHz). Het vreemde is dat soms het verdwaalde signaal zelfs even sterk en misschien op momenten nog wel sterker kan zijn dan het gewenste signaal. Vertel je nog even of dit de oplossing is? Dank bij voorbaat! Succes (Frank van Gerwen, BDXC via DXLD) THE K7RA SOLAR UPDATE SEATTLE, WA, Dec 9, 2005 -- This weekend is the ARRL 10-Meter Contest. The event this year, the one in 2006 and perhaps in 2007 will probably all have very few sunspots, but as we've discussed in recent bulletins, sometimes 10 meters opens when we least expect it, even in the middle of the night or very early morning hours. Mark Madcharo, AB2IW, in Schenectady, New York, will be running QRP in the contest this weekend and wants to remind us to check paths from the northern to southern hemisphere. At times these may provide the only long-distance openings. Don't be afraid to call CQ on what sounds like a dead band. You can also check the beacons between 28.2 and 28.3 MHz or the very useful NCDXF beacons (also, click on "Beacon Transmission Schedule and Status"). Ten-Ten International has a list of 10 meter beacons on its Web page. One of the remarkable features of the NCDXF beacons is that the timing is precisely controlled, so it is easy to tell where a weak signal is coming from provided you know what time it is -- even if you can't copy the call sign. Also, they step through several discrete power levels: 100 W, 10 W, 1 W and 100 mW. Another nice thing is that their network also covers the globe for 12 meters, which can sometimes give a hint of good things to come if 10 meters is not quite open yet. Sunspot numbers and solar flux declined as Sunspot 826 moved to the edge of the visible solar disk. Sunspot numbers peaked after the beginning of the month. Average sunspot numbers for the past week (the first week of December) were almost 39 points above the previous week, at 72.6. Geomagnetic conditions were very quiet for the past few days. For this weekend, the predicted planetary A index from December 9-12 is 7, 12, 10 and 5. Predicted solar flux for today (December 9) is 85, and 80 is predicted for the following five days. There is a low probability of disruptive solar flares this weekend, although conditions are expected to be slightly unsettled compared with those of the past few days. As this "Solar Update" is being written, the College K index, measured in Fairbanks, Alaska, has been zero for sixty hours straight. You can access an array of magnetometers in Alaska to compare current to recent conditions. The measurements are in NanoTeslas, which are used to calculate the more familiar K index, but you can get a good visual indication of relative quiet or activity. Note that at this site you can vary the time observed from the last 24 hours up to one month, vary the scale, and include readings for up to eight stations. Geophysical Institute Prague predicts unsettled conditions for December 9 and 10, quiet to unsettled December 11, and quiet conditions December 12-15. David Moore sent us a SpaceRef.com article about space storms and observing upper atmosphere disturbances. For more information concerning propagation and an explanation of the numbers used in this bulletin see the ARRL Technical Information Service Propagation page. An archive of past bulletins is on the ARRL Web site. Sunspot numbers for December 1 through 7 were 79, 98, 75, 91, 85, 58 and 22, with a mean of 72.6. The 10.7 cm flux was 98.2, 106.3, 101.3, 95.2, 91.7, 89.1, and 89, with a mean of 95.8. Estimated planetary A indices were 13, 12, 11, 5, 2, 3 and 0, with a mean of 6.6. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 12, 10, 9, 3, 2, 2 and 1, with a mean of 5.6 (K7RA, ARRL via Steve Lare, Holland, MI, USA, dxldyg via DXLD) ###