DX LISTENING DIGEST 5-221, December 23, 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 1298: 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 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 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 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 1298 (real high): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1298h.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1298h.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1298 (real low): (stream) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1298.ram (download) http://www.w4uvh.net/wor1298.rm WORLD OF RADIO 1298 (mp3 high): (download) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1298h.mp3 WORLD OF RADIO 1298 (mp3 low): (download) http://www.obriensweb.com/wor1298.mp3 (lower download) http://www.piratedxer.com/worldofradio_12-21-05.mp3 (lower stream) http://www.piratedxer.com/worldofradio_12-21-05.m3u WORLD OF RADIO 1298 summary: http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1298.html WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml ** ALASKA. 680, KBRW, Barrow; Alaska weather, "This is Mike Bolders with National Weather Service and we're back to KBRW"; G at 0910 Alaska weather, "wind chill to 55 below" Cold!; then current events and at 0915 into VV announcements; P/F peaks at 1115; F/G at 0812 22/12. Yesterday, 680 KBRW was noted coming up out of the noise on a few occasions as late as 1902 (Martin A. Hall, Clashmore, Scotland. NRD-545, RPA-1 preamp, beverages: 513m at 240 degrees, unterminated; 506m at 290 degrees, terminated; 588m at 315 degrees, terminated; 550m at 340 degrees, terminated. http://www.gorrell.supanet.com/index.html MWC via DXLD) As exotic as KBRW seems to us in the Lower 49, it`s a fairly common winter logging in north Scotland and Scandinavia. VV announcements??? I guess this means vernacular, e.g. Inuit, rather than Vietnamese, tho these days you never know (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. Radio Tirana satellite --- So Radio Tirana (foreign service) is now on satellite as well. This would be Eutelsat W2 (at 16 degrees East), transponder F6 on 12.656 GHz v. But the question is whether they put it on additionally or just replaced the 1st domestic channel by the foreign service feed here? Probably the latter, since so far neither Lyngsat nor SatcoDX show an additional, second radio channel on this transponder. All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. WIA PROPOSES NEW 40M BROADCAST SEGMENT [for hams!] Meanwhile down-under, the Wireless Institute of Australia`s Glen Dunstan, VK4DU, is in the process of completing a new 40 meter band plan. One that aims is to encourage operation above 7.100 MHz. The WIA says that it knows there is broadcast QRM to contend with, but it also believes it to be essential for VK hams to start to spread out operation into the segment above 7100. This is because of international pressure on the HF spectrum from other services who want more of it. To this end, the WIA says that it wants to create an operational broadcast segment from 7.130 to 7.150 MHz. The reason for going so high up in the band is because to avoid QRM from a Papua New Guinea broadcaster on 7.120 MHz. The new upper limit has also been set to cater for the existing AM service from VK2WI on 7.146. The WIA says it`s now looking for member input on this revised 40 meter band plan proposal (WIA News via Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1480 December 23, 2005 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) However, Wantok Radio Light may not be on 7120 much longer, as it is proposed to move them OOB to 7325 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Re 5-220: ACMA Website --- I note that Glenn typed [?] after the term gui. The meaning seems clear enough to me - gui is the abbreviation for Graphical User Interface and has been for as long as I have been using computers (about 18 years now). Wayne is saying that, as a programmer, he prefers a text interface to a graphical one (Andy Sennitt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) O, you mean GUI ** CANADA. Re 5-220: I listened to CFRX 6070 for an hour between 1745 and 1845 and heard no ID. (23 December 2005) (Steve Lare, Holland, MI USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The CFRX IDs have been absent for several years now. As I understand it there was first a breakdown in the ID equipment and since then, the station staff hasn't been motivated enough to record a new ID (Harold Sellers, ODXA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. ON, Toronto, ``PIR`` 104.9, a DJ station from a club in the city`s west end. FMakings: NS, Halifax, CHNS, a venerable 50 kW signal on 960 AM, wants to give that up and go to FM 89.9 with 100000 h,v; 224 m. This application, however, conflicts with an 89.7 there by a French community group. ON, Toronto, 103.9, 50 watts h,v; 132m, Rainbow Media Group for a gay and lesbian station. It would be closely associated with, if not owned by, CIDC 103.5 Orangeville ON (Bruce F. Elving, Dec FMedia! via DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. WA, Ferndale, KRPI 1550 beams mostly Punjabi programming at Vancouver BC, plus it has 50 kW day and 10 kW night. This has the neighbors in the Bellingham suburb upset. ``Residents Against High-power Radio Interference`` have about 1000 signatures on a petition to the FCC and the Whatcom County Council. They ask that KRPI`s license not be renewed. In an effort to assuage them, the station plans to add to the two hours of English programming it has each week (Bruce F. Elving, Dec FMedia! via DXLD) ** CHINA [and non]. It seems CRI has been very active in adding transmissions in the past week. Besides Hungarian 1000-1100 on 15220/17570 there is Czech at 1100-1200 on 15225 and 17570 (listed as KAS) and Romanian at 0900-1000 on 7130 and 9460 (listed as CER) Moreover, there are additional transmitters. Judging from the audio these are new Alliss units, listed as Xi`an 500 kW. All transmissions 57 minutes. 1000 English on 7215, Chinese on 7255 1100 Mongolian on 7170, Japanese on 7200, Russian on 6080 1200 Japanese on 7150 (/Olle Alm, Sweden, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. Radio República 12/24/05, 5965 kHz 0127 ­ 0200 & 7110 0200 ­ 0241. Interview between 2 men, ending with ``Feliz Navidad``, interviewer with ID and frequencies, canned ID, woman with ID and frequencies and into a long talk with a brief section by a man until 0153, ID and web site given, ``Feliz Navidad`` Spanish / English popular Christmas song, ID, talk by same woman, continuity and talk until mid sentence sign off at 0159:30 by my clock. All the while Radio Habana is programming with long talks by a woman and snatches of Cuban music and RHC continuity AND a bubble jammer under it all on the same frequency. The bubble jammer went off almost immediately after R.R. leaving the frequency to RHC loud and clear. Despite the Cuban efforts, I could make out R.R. on top of the mess in LSB. SINPO 52333, RHC second, jammer third (Of course I`m in the Midwestern U.S., not Cuba). About 2 seconds after 5965 sign off, a carrier came up on 7110, bubble jammer almost immediately, then a man in mid sentence, All within about 2 ­ 3 seconds. Same man with occasional short musical bridges and into an interview with another man until 0225. I couldn¹t tell the topic. ID at 0227. A woman took over at 0233. Tonight the bubble jamming is pretty effective. SINPO 32332. As to site considerations, here are some comparison loggings from a little earlier tonight: 6135 0103 UT Deutsche Welle from Sines, POR SINPO 54444 6065 0115 UT WYFR from Okachobee, Fl. SINPO 54333 6055 0119 UT R. Exterior de España from Noblejas SINPO 54333 (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. NEW: Don't expect them to be extradited. Five VOA broadcasters will be tried in absentia by Ethiopia, for conspiracy, treason, etc. IRIN via Reuters Foundation, 22 December 2005 http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/588eeb71d9a72462bd5e5c0d024d24cd.htm See also VOA News, 22 December 2005 http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-12-22-voa32.cfm "These charges are false and are an obvious attempt to intimidate our broadcasters. The Voice of America has a worldwide reputation for the quality and reliability of our journalism, and we stand by our reporters." VOA director David Jackson, VOA press release 22 December 2005 http://www.voanews.com/english/About/2005-12-22-jackson-statement.cfm (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** GABON. Re: ``Now we know when it signs on, and sign off is around 1700. Wonder if 4777 is on continuously thru the day (gh, DXLD)`` See recent DXLD: heard in the US on 7270 at 0800.... :-) (Thorsten Hallmann, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Assuming this is the same one and only transmitter. So we still need to know the full schedule. WRTH 2006 says only, ``100 kW reported occasionally on 4777`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. A visit to AIR Tirunelveli: STATION PROFILE - Jaisakthivel Tirunelveli is a big town and capital of this district. It is situated in south of Tamil Nadu in the South India. Next to Madurai, it was an important city for sometime ``If the boundary of the town is made with stone, it will not be of aesthetic beauty and therefore boundary is fenced with paddy field``, says a Tamil Poet about Tiru-nel-veli. The town has been surrounded on all sides by paddy fields. As such the town was called a ``Nelveli`` i.e: Paddy Hedge. Since the temple in the town is dedicated to Lord Siva, the town around the temple was called Tiru-nel-veli. Around 1560, Viswanatha, the founder of Nayak dynasty who also erected many temples in it, rebuilt the twon. Tirunelveli was the earliest Pandiya capital. The Nayaks ruled Tirunelveli from Madurai during the 16th, 17th and early years of 18th century. Tirunelveli was 603 Kms from Chennai, where I was stationed for three days in mid November 2005. One day I make a hurried trip to AIR Tirunelveli, exclusively to visit the AIR station there. The offices and studios of AIR Tirunelveli are in the town, near PalayangKottai bus terminal. The station was inaugurated on 1 December 1963. As the station Engineer Ms. S. Ajeetha gave me the details. I asked them, did you send any QSLs to the listeners. But they told me, they didn`t send. Four studios are there named Talk, music, playback and Live Studios. The transmitter site is at Gandhi Nagar on the Thenkasi road about 15 kms away from the studios. All the buses from Tirunelveli to Thenkasi stoped in that Gandhi Nagar bus stop. I took the express bus and reached the site with in a half-an-hour. They don`t allow me to enter the transmitter campus, because I didn`t get the proper permission. But in the station itself Ms. S. Ajeetha gave me the full details. The transmitter is a Harris TH20 with a power of 20 KW. It operates on 1197 KHz. The studio to transmitter link operates on cable and UHF link. The primary coverage area of the station is about 120 km in the districts of Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Tutucorine, with a population of 63,00,000. Tirunelveli district does not have powerful radio transmitters but the Tutucorine MW station was already covering most of the districts, several programs broadcast from AIR Tutucorine. As the AIR coverage in Tirunelveli is less but AIR Chennai broadcast programs for south Tamil Nadu on SW. AIR Tirunelveli broadcast in Tamil, several program are relayed from AIR Chennai, the station in the state capital. There are three broadcasts and timing are 5.55-10.00 am, 11.40-4.00 pm, 5.30-11.10 pm. A new 10 KW FM transmitter is expected to start next year. In AIR Tirunelveli library archives have a Raja Gopalachary, Periyar and lot of the freedom fighters voices. Every year they did live coverage of Sabarimalai Iyappan Magara Jothi Fest. And Thirucenthur Lord Murugan Surasamkaram. For contact: All India Radio, Sarojini Park, Palayankottai, Tirunelveli - 627 002. Tel: 0462 - 2560 794/95/96 ************************ (T. Jaisakthivel, Editor, Dxers Guide, No: 3, First Floor, 21, Nathens Arcade, Malaviya Avenue, L. B Road, Chennai-600 041, India. Mobile: +91 98413 66086 URL: http://www.dxersguide.blogspot.com dxldyg via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL. Hi Glenn, Received the full English transmission schedule for CVC radio in the mail.The schedule is as follows: 0100-0300 7355 khz India [Tashkent] 0300-0600 13685 khz India [Tashkent] 0500-0700 9430 khz (To Nigeria) [Darwin] 0700-0900 15640 khz (To Nigeria) [Darwin] 0630-0900 15335 khz India/Indo [Darwin] 0900-1100 11955 khz India [Darwin] 1100-1800 13635 khz India [Darwin] 1500-1800 15680 khz Nigeria Via Wertachtal 1400-1600 9555 khz Africa via Meyerton From CVC Program grid English service 24/7 grid B05 "Effective 10th October 2005 on asiasat2, Thaicom-3 C-band PAS-10 kU band and streaming on the Internet 24/7. ``Shortwave broadcast from Darwin Australia to India 0600-1800 utc (12hrs), to Nigeria 0500-0900 & 1500-2100 utc (10hrs) Tashkent to India 0100-0600 utc (5hrs) Meyerton Southern Africa and Central Africa 0515-1545 utc (10 1/2 Hrs)`` http://www.cvc.tv Best Wishes (Christopher Lewis, England, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. ARISS-Russia ``Space Patrol`` holiday operating event set (December 22, 2005) --- ARISS-Russia`s Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, has announced that his team and Russian Space Agency Roscosmos/Energia will sponsor ``Space Patrol,`` a space-related operating event, December 25 and 26. The activity will be both space- based and ground-based and on HF as well as VHF. International Space Station Flight Engineer Valery Tokarev will take part from space via RS0ISS. Special pass times are December 25 at 2056 UT, and December 26 at 1947. Western Europeans should listen 10 minutes prior. RS0ISS will use 145.99 MHz FM simplex (145.55 MHz FM simplex will be a back-up frequency). Worldwide earthbound ham radio operations on HF will begin December 25 at 1200 UT and continue through the following day. Frequencies are on or about 7.080-7.090 MHz (transmit) listening on 7.290 MHz, 14.180-14.290 MHz and 21.280-21.390 MHz. Hams and cosmonauts will be on the air from Energia`s R3K in Korolev and from RK3DZB at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City. Cosmonauts planning to participate (most likely on December 26 from RK3DZB) include Mir and ISS veterans Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR; Yuri Usachev, RW3FU; and Alexander Kaleri, U8MIR. The activity commemorates the first anniversary of the death of cosmonaut Gennady Strekalev, U6MIR. ``Space Patrol`` participants are eligible for a certificate and a commemorative QSL card. Details on how to obtain these will be announced (ARRL main page via John Norfolk, dxldyg) ** JAMAICA. JAMAICA'S PUBLIC BROADCASTING CORPORATION BEGINS OPERATIONS NEXT FINANCIAL YEAR The Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica (PBCJ) is slated to commence operations during the first quarter of the next financial year. The company will be operating from 5 South Odeon Avenue, the former office of the now defunct Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC). Speaking at a recent Jamaica Information Service Think Tank, Minister of Information Senator Burchell Whiteman said that early in the new financial year, the PBCJ would be a presence in the Jamaican media landscape. He noted that although there had not been much news recently about the PBCJ, "significant progress has been made." Along with the 17-member board and management team, which was appointed in March of this year, the Minister pointed out that the requisite staff members have also been selected. He informed that the company has been granted a start-up budget of $100 million, which is to be allocated over a two-year period. Of that sum, a total of $25 million has already been released. These monies, he stated, have been collected through "government subventions, its (PBCJ) own efforts and by any bequests or contribution it receives from any organization". Additional funding, he said, would be acquired from existing tenants. Turning to the PBCJ's work plan, Minister Whiteman said that the corporation was now working on developing a programming plan. He informed that board chairman Reverend Neville Callum, had expressed satisfaction with the progress so far. "They are very impressed by the amount of local content, which is available and which is being produced on an ongoing basis," he added. The Minister added that the chairman wished to use the PBCJ as the vehicle for transmitting local programming to the Jamaican audience. The intention is to reach television audiences by creating a channel on local subscriber television, while radio audiences would be reached through the PBCJ frequencies and transmission systems. Commenting on the World Electronic Media Forum, one of the meetings held recently in Tunis, Tunisia as part of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), Minister Whiteman pointed out that there was a significant body of support for public service broadcasting from such entities as the BBC as well as smaller enterprises. The entities, he explained, have recognized that "there is a need to share the space and the expertise because there were areas the commercial broadcaster would not go but would support other people going." Additionally, he pointed out that there was acknowledgment of the need for "more interactivity in broadcasting", as long gone were the days when information was transmitted one way and the message would be received. There was now, he noted, an increasing need for the audience to be reacting and responding to the message that goes out, adding that information communication technology (ICT) enhanced the opportunity for this process to occur. The PBCJ is a body created by law to encourage and propagate positive values and attitudes within the society; encourage the promotion of the arts, literature, literary and artistic expressions; the vitality of democratic institutions; the dissemination of news, information, ideas on matters of general public interest; and the development of education and training. The intention is to use the public broadcasting service as a vehicle to present the best of Jamaica in a variety of ways that are consistent with high quality broadcasting in terms of content and technical quality. (Source: Jamaica Information Service) # posted by Andy @ 16:39 UT Dec 23 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** JAPAN [and non]. The following schedule for the 56th "Year End Hitparade", which has LIVE broadcast in Japanese on 31 Dec 2005 at 1030-1545 UT, and repeats via many VT-Merlin brokered relay stations later that day, see according to the [ESTIMATED] schedule BELOW. THE 56TH RED AND WHITE YEAR-END SONG COMPETITION FESTIVAL Target Area Bc UTC kHz Asian Continent 1030-1445 9750 YAM Southeast Asia 1030-1445 11815 YAM Southwest Asia 1500-1700 12045 SNG 1700-1800 11865 YAM 1800-1900 9795 SNG East Europe 1500-1800 9750 RMP 1800-1930 7195 RMP West Europe 1500-1700 6090 SKN 9750 RMP 1900-1930 7195 RMP MEast&NoAF 1500-2000 11830 CLN Ce Africa 1500-1700 21630 ASC 1700-1900 9860 WOF So Africa 1500-1930 15355 GAB North America 1300-1730 11705 CAN Hawaii 1500-1930 9835 YAM Central America 1300-1730 17875 CAN? South America E 1030-1445 17565 RMP South America W 1500-1930 9835 GUF Oceania/Pacific 1500-1930 7140 YAM NHK World Radio JPN info @ intl.nhk.or.jp (ESTIMATED transmitter locations contributed by wb BC-DX Dec 22 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. [Cf RUSSIA]. And on the subject of drifting transmitters, the ailing North Korean transmitter on 6070 is back on nominal after more than a year on 6071v. The weak signal under BLR could mean that they are using a backup. 73 (/Olle Alm, Sweden, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LITHUANIA. PIPELINE RADIO INSTEAD OF RADIO 390 ON 1386 The earlier planned Xmas test transmission of the UK-based netradio Radio 390 via a 50kW transmitter in Klaipeda on 1386 will not take place. Instead, Radio Baltic Waves International will provide a relay of Pipeline Radio via this facility. The schedule will be 24 December 2200 to 25 December 0200 UT (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, MWC via DXLD) Reporters to the BigL and Anorak Nation forums noted this message at http://radio390.bravehost.com/ earlier this week: "Our Backers In Dallas Have Pulled Out In Funding Radio 390 At 18.21pm Today Tuesday 20th December 2005." Paul Francis's claims of full time operation next year including shortwave to North America and operating from a boat were being increasingly challenged on the forums. His website appears to be being altered several times each day. Tom McKenzie of Pipeline Radio, among those who were challenging Mr Francis's claims, posted to Anorak Nation today that they would now be using 1386 with 50kw 2200 Christmas Eve 2200 to 0200 Christmas Day, this booking has been confirmed by Bernd Trutenau on the Yahoo MWDX group. Pipeline Radio say they have also booked another transmission on 1386 on 28th January from 2200, the initial booking was for the 7kw transmitter they have been using on Wednesdays, I believe (Mike Barraclough, Dec 23, dxldyg via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Estimados amigos: antes que nada mi mejor deseo en estas fiestas, que en verdad sean de reflexión y de promesas que habrán de cumplirse, un fuerte abrazo desde México, D.F. Acabo de hablar con el Ing. Mejía de Radio UNAM; finalmente ya está instalada la antena y el transmisor de onda corta. Este último tiene una falla en un bulbo (válvula); habrá de llegarles la reposición de éste la próxima semana. Seguirán laborando normalmente la próxima semana, así que, con un poco de suerte, se iniciarían las pruebas en los 9600 kHz antes del fin de año, Ojalá. Saludos, (Julián Santiago Díez de Bonilla, DF, Dec 23, condiglist via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. 18-12-05 & 23-12-05, I listened to Voice of Mongolia at 1000-1030 UT [English] on 12085, first time this season. SIO 322; see http://www.angelfire.com/biz/mrtv/ (Abid Hussain Sajid, Mailsi, Pakistan, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Contrary to yesterday`s mid-day observations, KWSH Wewoka was heard as soon as I retuned to 1260 Dec 23 at 2152 UT with ID as ``Best country . . . AM 1260 KWSH`` (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. PAPUA NEW GUINEA PM LAUNCHES NATIONAL BROADCASTER'S DIGITAL STUDIO | Text of report in English by Papua New Guinea newspaper The National website on 23 December Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare has urged the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) to use more Pidgin and Motu languages in its programmes. Sir Michael said the NBC reached into more rural communities in Papua New Guinea than any other medium of communication. The prime minister said this when launching the digital broadcasting studio at NBC head office at Five Mile in Port Moresby yesterday morning. NBC had been broadcasting to Papua New Guinea using old radio equipment and the digital system would enable it to be fully computerized. NBC had been using the new system for the last four weeks until it was officially launched yesterday. Sir Michael also said he wanted NBC to go into television broadcasting but he indicated that it would take some time. Those present included Lands Minister Dr Puka Temu and his Secretary Pepi Kima who presented 85,000 kina to NBC to carry out a voluntary land registration exercise. Source: The National website, Port Moresby, in English 23 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) see also AUSTRALIA ** RUSSIA. It seems the repairman has paid another visit to Yakutsk and got the 7200 transmitter back in good order. For how long? Krasnoyarsk 6085 also had a similar problem, which was finally fixed a couple of weeks ago (/Olle Alm, Sweden, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA [non]. Re: ``BRAZIL 9665 In the time period 0300-0400 9665 is usually covered here by VOR-Moldova. However this evening (Dec 17 local date) VOR was gone`` Aren't they supposed to be gone from 9665 since November anyway, with 7160 being the winter frequency to be used now? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 5960, Radiostantsiya Tikniy Okean via Vladivostok. Full data paper QSL card with nice station stamp, either for my postal or/and e-mail report. Reply in 29 days. 6205, Vatican Radio via Atamanovka (Chita) Full data (with no site indicated) 'Angel statue at Maria di Galeria Transmitter' card with brochure, decal in 49 days (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. BROADCASTERS OFF THE AIR IN RUSSIA http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=78673 http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Russian-dispute-knocks-BBC-off-air/2005/12/23/1135032160986.html# http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,17649055,00.html INTERNATIONAL broadcasters BBC and Germany's Deutsche Welle have been knocked off the air in Moscow. Konstantin Eggert, Moscow bureau editor for the BBC's Russian service, said the company which broadcasts the corporation's programs had lost its licence, causing it to lose its medium wave transmission in the Russian capital. "We officially have a right to broadcast. We were not the ones who lost the right to broadcast, it was the service provider," he said. Grigory Kliger, head of the Oktod operating company, told Moscow's Ekho Moskvy radio the licence for the frequency had run out and the documents needed to renew it had not been ready in time. Russian news agencies reported the service provider, which broadcasts the British Broadcasting Corporation's news in Russian along with English-language programming, did not have a licence from the federal agency that regulates programming. A spokesman for the agency, Rosokhrankultura, told Interfax news agency the BBC made its broadcasts without a broadcasting licence. "The BBC only had a technical licence from the Communications Ministry, but it did not have a licence from (our agency)," the spokesman said. But other officials said the problem arose from a mix-up rather than from any desire to halt the broadcasts. The BBC is well-known and prestigious in Russia and its service was popular in Soviet times for Russians keen to find a Western source of news. Meanwhile, Deutsche Welle (DW) said today it had stopped medium-wave transmissions in Russia because Moscow had taken away its radio frequencies. Russian officials told DW there were frequency and licensing problems, the broadcaster said. DW has been negotiating with Russian authorities for months for a new licence. "I'm very concerned and hope the interruption in transmissions will not last for more than a few days," said Miodrag Soric, editor in chief of DW Radio. The DW bureau in Moscow confirmed the broadcasts could no longer be heard in the city on the medium-wave band. DW had been broadcasting in German and Russian alternately. In Berlin, the German Foreign Office said it was in intensive talks with the Russian authorities and sought "a solution so that Deutsche Welle can go back on air as soon as possible". Wolfgang Boernsen, a Christian Democratic party spokesman on media issues, demanded that former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder phone Russian President Vladimir Putin and seek a restoration of the transmission rights. BBC OFF AIR IN MOSCOW http://www.waveguide.co.uk/latest/news051223.htm#BBCOffAirInMoscow The BBC's Russian service and Germany's Deutsche Welle have been knocked off the air in Moscow. Konstantin Eggert, Moscow bureau editor for the BBC's Russian service, said the company which broadcasts the corporation's programmes had lost its licence, causing it to lose its medium wave transmission in the Russian capital. "We officially have a right to broadcast. We were not the ones who lost the right to broadcast, it was the service provider," he said. Grigory Kliger, head of the Oktod operating company, told Moscow's Ekho Moskvy radio the licence for the frequency had run out and the documents needed to renew it had not been ready in time. Russian news agencies reported the service provider, which broadcasts the BBC's news in Russian along with English-language programming, did not have a licence from the federal agency that regulates programming. A spokesman for the agency, Rosokhrankultura, said the BBC made its broadcasts without a broadcasting licence. "The BBC only had a technical licence from the Communications Ministry, but it did not have a licence from (our agency)," the spokesman said. But other officials said the problem arose from a mix-up rather than from any desire to halt the broadcasts. The BBC is well-known and prestigious in Russia and its service was popular in Soviet times for Russians keen to find a Western source of news. Meanwhile, Deutsche Welle (DW) said it had stopped medium-wave transmissions in Russia because Moscow had taken away its radio frequencies. Russian officials told DW there were frequency and licensing problems, the broadcaster said. DW has been negotiating with Russian authorities for months for a new licence. "I'm very concerned and hope the interruption in transmissions will not last for more than a few days," said Miodrag Soric, editor in chief of DW Radio. The DW bureau in Moscow confirmed the broadcasts could no longer be heard in the city on the medium-wave band. DW had been broadcasting in German and Russian alternately. In Berlin, the German Foreign Office said it was in intensive talks with the Russian authorities and sought "a solution so that Deutsche Welle can go back on air as soon as possible". (via Zacharias Liangas, DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. The reports about the mediumwave relays of DW and BBC in Russia being shut down prompted me to do some research: Perhaps somebody can reconfirm that 1188 (DW) and 1260 (BBC) at St. Petersburg are still on air, but obviously this concerns Moscow only. The reports from the BBC side are apparently correct, the transmitter operator itself mentions on its websites that the licences were valid until Dec 21 only: http://www.octode.ru/ENGLISH/BROADCASTING/FMMWDVB/MW_licences.htm This concerns a site in Moscow city, perhaps most widely known as Oktyabrskoye polye (other names are around as well). I understand that this was once a jamming site, because around 1994 a relay of Radio-1 was on air from there on 4055, reportedly run with 12 paralleled 5 kW transmitters (thus 60 kW output). Here is a detailed description of the mediumwave operations from this site: http://www.octode.ru/ENGLISH/BROADCASTING/FMMWDVB/MW.htm This blurred picture could show the MW/SW transmitter areal: http://www.radioscanner.ru/uploader/2005/050412_094658.jpg I heard from an authoritative source that indeed all Oktyabrskoye polye mediumwave transmitters (including RFI) were switched off as of Dec 22. It appears that Russian insiders discussed the looming shut- down already in mid-December, so this development is hardly a surprise. To me the reactions here in Germany are much more interesting than the embarrassing Oktyabrskoye polye story itself. Some stuff I found on this occasion as well: http://www.radioscanner.ru/uploader/2005/img_xx01.jpg -- Unid. Google Earth image, showing the Lesnoy/Zelenogradskaya station I assume. http://www.radioscanner.ru/forum/index.php?action=vthread&forum=5&topic=19657&page=0 -- One of the directional mediumwave antennas of the Bolshakovo site near Sovetsk/Tilsit. Bolshakovo has three such systems, aiming at 180, 245 and 275 degrees. Until about 1995 the transmission configuration was 1386 on 245 deg. and 1215 on 180 deg. with +30 deg. slew, then it had been changed to 1386 on 275 deg., 1215 on 220 deg. and 1143 on 180 deg. with +30 deg. slew (1143 was non-directional before). http://www.radioscanner.ru/forum/index.php?action=vthread&forum=5&topic=19253&page=0 -- Antenna on the Krim peninsula?? Could it be that these shortwave curtains actually belong to the Kopani plant (registered as "Simferopol")? All the best, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SAO TOME. I have found the recent posts concerning WLW interesting. Based on my experiences with three of VOA's 600 kW MW transmitters, I view some of the stories I have heard about WLW over the years as perhaps a bit apocryphal. For example, we have not had any reports of anyone hearing us by reception via the fillings in their teeth. Neither am I aware that anyone in the nearest village in the main lobe is getting free lighting (though it could probably be done to some degree with a large, efficient antenna if they knew how). During my previous tour of duty in São Tomé [hereafter: Sao Tome] in the 90's, I lived off the site in the town of Sao Tome. My home was about four miles from the station across a bay of the sea and in the center of one of the two main lobes of the two tower directional antenna of our 600 kW, 1530 KHz transmitter. The re radiation of our 1530 KHz signal from my 160 meters ham antenna was sufficient to drive a PI FIM off scale on the highest scale anywhere in my yard. A #47 lamp simply connected from my 160 meters antenna to ground would light to full brilliance from the 1530 KHz signal miles away. I am sure I could have destroyed the bulb instantly with an efficient matching arrangement. I could also get an RF burn if I touched the antenna lightly. I live on the 346 acres station site now, so I am fortunate that my home lies near a null in the pattern of the 1530 KHz antenna, which I think is a bit less than half a mile distant. 600 kW covers a lot of territory at night. Our 1530 KHz nighttime sky wave signal is usually received well on a remote monitoring receiver located over on Madagascar Island at an urban site. That is nearly 4,000 miles away on the opposite side of the African Continent in the Indian Ocean. I think the receiver is an ICOM with just a short whip antenna. Merry Christmas, (Charles Lewis - S9SS, Manager, IBB Sao Tome Transmitting Station (VOA), Sao Tome Island, West Africa, http://groups.msn.com/s9ss Broadcast list via Bob Foxworth, ABDX via dXLD) ** SAUDI ARABIA. RADIO JEDDA LAUNCHES HAJJ CHANNEL | Text of report in English by Saudi newspaper Arab News website on 23 December Jedda, 23 December: Radio Jedda has launched the seasonal Pilgrimage Enlightenment Radio (PER) to serve Hajj pilgrims and observers. The PER will be transmitting religious programs in 14 languages during the Hajj season. Besides Arabic, the programmess will be in English, French, Persian, Turkish, Hausa, Indonesian, Urdu, Bengali, Pashto, Turkistani, Somali, Swahili and Bambara. The last four languages have recently been added to the list by the Ministry of Culture and Information as part of its efforts to ensure a wider audience for this seasonal radio service. The PER programmes are tailored to ensure the pilgrims' proper orientation and enlightenment in topics related to the performance of pilgrimage. PER will broadcast live comprehensive coverage of Hajj, including traffic reports, movement of pilgrims, weather conditions, safety precautions, and interviews with experts, scholars and pilgrims. The programme "With You On the Air" will be presented again this year. Besides religious programmes, the PER will broadcast live coverage of the days of Tarwiyah [first day of Hajj], the stay at Arafat, the Arafat Day sermon, the noon and late-afternoon prayers performed at Nimrah Mosque, the pilgrims' movement from Arafat to Muzdalifah, the Id prayer from the Holy Mosque, and the three days of Tashriq. Abdullah al-Shaya, director of the second programme and PER supervisor, said that several ministries, such as the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, the Ministry of Hajj and the Ministry of Interior would present special programmes through the PER. Source: Arab News website, Jedda, in English 23 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) Fourteen languages of international broadcasting, all within Mecca. Radio Jeddah's Pilgrimage Enlightenment Radio on the air during the Hajj, in Arabic, English, French, Persian, Turkish, Hausa, Indonesian, Urdu, Bengali, Pashtu, Turkistani, Somali, Swahili, and Bambara. . . http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=119629 (via kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) WTFK?? Or rather what`s the full schedule of this rather extensive service? Anything on SW? Also some Islamic countries have had special SW services for Hajjists, India, Pakistan, ? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) We do not have confirmed details of the frequencies, but last year, PER broadcast on mediumwave 594 kHz for listeners in Makkah, the pilgrimage sites and Jeddah, and on 1017 kHz for Madinah and its vicinity. It was also available on FM 94 MHz for the entire area covering the Holy Sites, and on 101 MHz for Mina and its vicinity. # posted by Andy @ 11:36 UT Dec 23 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** SOUTH AMERICA. PIRATE --- 11430U, Radio Mahute via Radio Cochiguaz. Nice full data QSL Card with accompanying verification from Cachito. Cachito was good enough to verify my report, after numerous attempts writing to the station direct, failed. Cachito himself tried, but the operator never replied, as well. Total time of 2 years, 5 months, 9 months after sending a follow-up to Radio Cochiguaz. v/s: Cachito Mamani. Cachito also mentioned that in February 1, 2006 will be the 9th anniversary of Radio Cochiguaz , and he hopes to have the transmitter repaired, and be back on the air. This operator does go out of his way to help with reports, whether his broadcasts or relays (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN. Re: Radio Panorama se despide de sus oyentes. Estimados amigos: Suecia se queda sin español a partir de la decisión de cerrar el programa "Panorama" de la Radio Nacional de Suecia, Sveriges Radio, que se emite hasta el 15 de enero de 2006 por FM e Internet. El sitio que nos facilita el colega José Miguel Romero Romero http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/International/programsidor/index.asp?ProgramID=2202 reproduce la despedida que dura 45 minutos y resulta muy interesante. Después de las palabras finales del catedrático Carlos Vidales, Alberico Lechini dijo ``...Muy bien, con estas últimas palabras de Carlos Vidales vamos a cerrar este programa de despedida de Panorama. Cecilia Mora, Alberico Lechini se despiden y les agradecen la atención prestada y recuerden de que Panorama entonces deja de existir a partir del 15 de enero, sentimos mucha pena y nostalgia ya por este final pero bueno, las cosas son así y tenemos que enfrentarlas, Cecilia las últimas palabras...``. Así, Cecilia Mora puso punto final a su participación en este programa especial de despedida: ``... Las últimas palabras para hacernos un poco de propaganda nosotros, Alberico Lechini y yo vamos a seguir trabajando en sueco o sea que alguna vez nos escucharán en el éter en el idioma nacional`` a lo que Alberico agregó finalmente: ``Muy bien, adiós amigos, entonces``. De este modo SR cree haber cumplido con la colectividad hispana residente en su país para dar lugar a otros idiomas olvidando también a muchos otros hispanohablantes cibernautas en diversas partes del mundo. Así comenzamos a vivir la era del real audio por Internet casi paralelamente al cierre del español por onda corta... Algo está fallando en la pretendida y cuestionada globalización. Saludos y Felices Fiestas (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. And a note on the recent discussion about the Ukrainian transmitters: I find the KHR signals to be quite weakish for already some time now, still doing it here in Central Europe only because they stay away from the crowd. Indeed KHR hardly sounds like 100 kW anymore, but perhaps the antennas are to blame? The same goes for Kopani: They run 5910 through a rhombic now? Makes me really wonder about the general shape of this station, especially the antenna park (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. London 26 MHz DRM --- I have been fortunate to have a chance to borrow a Mayah DRM portable recently. A few observations on the DRM tests from London: firstly the National Grid Wireless tests on 26080 are putting a variety of stations out during the day including BBC World service, Kiss FM (200 w Crystal Palace). The Arqiva service has commenced this week from the Arqiva Croydon mast (400 w); they are currently running 2 services at the same time on 26000; service 1 is BBC World service, service 2 is WRN. I have managed to decode both services at home 10m [miles? meters?] north of Luton, with a 1 metre CB antenna plugged into the Mayah; although it`s not 100 percent, driving south of Luton on the M1, coverage into London has been solid. One major drawback, however, is that the whip antenna on the Mayah doesn`t appear to perform very well inside a building, even inside the M25 (David Thorpe, Dec 22, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K. H M THE QUEEN'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE TO THE COMMONWEALTH The annual reflection and address from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II to the people of the British Commonwealth. 25 December - programme times (GMT) Australasia: 0806; East Asia 1006; South Asia, East Africa, West Africa, Middle East, Europe, Americas: 1506 (BBC World Service Email Network Information via Paul Gager, Austria, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K. BBC SLOVENE SERVICE STOPS BROADCASTING | Text of report by Slovene television website on 23 December; headline as received: After 64 years, the Slovene members of the BBC in London were heard in their last radio broadcast at noon [1100 gmt]. In their last programme, all members of the Slovene section - among them its first voice, 86-year-old Lisa Houlton born Hirsch - said goodbye to their audience following 24 partner stations in Slovenia. The BBC leadership announced in October that eight of the 12 European sections will be closed, among them the Slovene one. Financial expenses had to be lowered and the service will expand to the Arabic countries. The Slovene section was - along with the Greek one - the most popular among the audience. Along with the Slovene section, the Bulgarian, Czech, Greek, Croatian, Hungarian, Polish and Slovak sections will be closed as well. The Albanian, Macedonia, Romanian and Serbian BBC sections will remain active. A bitter end of a successful story The Slovene BBC section was set up on 22 April 1941 and it will be completely closed in January next year. Brane Kastelic, the Slovene section editor-in-chief, has explained that lack of success is not the reason for the closure of the majority of the BBC European sections. They are closing partly because of the democratic success of the countries which used to receive their broadcasts. The main reason for the closure is - Kastelic says - in the BBC's decision to set up a TV station in the Arabic language, which has not received any funds. Source: Television Slovenia website, Ljubljana, in Slovene 0930 gmt 23 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U K [non]. Re 5-220: Bermuda Bermuda Broadcasting Co Ltd - 94.9 FM / 1230, 1340 AM Radio VSB - 106 FM / 1450 AM Interesting. I didn't know Bermuda is located in the Caribbean. Or the Bahamas, for that matter. Are they addressing this geographically, or culturally? (Terry Krueger, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, I thought of mentioning that, but have done so several times before. Another reason it would have been nice to know the real source (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [and non?]. 500 KHZ PROPOSED AS INTERNATIONAL MEMORIAL FREQUENCY The Maritime Radio Historical Society is seeking to have the 500 kHz band designated as an international memorial frequency. Amateur Radio Newsline`s Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has the details: The idea is that museums and historical initiatives would be issued with coast station licenses to operate on the band. It comes as the result of some experimentation showing that 500 Kilohertz would be ideal. The Maritime Radio Historical Society has recently been carrying out experimental transmissions to test the viability of the proposal. The transmissions were made between the historic Morse code radio station KPH based at Point Reyes in California and KLB Marine radio in Seattle, Washington. The test started with KPH transmitting a series of test messages. Not long after, the operators at KPH heard KLB calling. According to Richard Dillman, W6AWO, of the Maritime Radio Historical Society, the KLB signal was weak but it was a thrill to hear it. What made this contact so important was that KLB was using A2 modulated CW. This mode had until that moment not been heard on 500kHz for decades. During the following hour, both stations sent test messages. The KPH test message asked listeners to phone in with signal reports. Nine people responded. According to Dillman, the test proved a great success. For the Amateur Radio Newsline, I`m Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, in Los Angeles. No word as to if and when the Maritime Radio Historical Society might submit a formal request to create this allocation (GB2RS via Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1480 December 23, 2005 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U S A. Re AFN: Technically, it's Saddlebunch Keys (plural), oddly. you are the only one who correctly refers to the site. Everyone else assumes if anything exists in the Florida Keys, it can only be Key West (Terry Krueger, Clearwater, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Thanks to your pointing this out. Including http://myafn.dodmedia.osd.mil/radio/shortwave/ which says Key West. Of course, disinformation is to be expected from the military, ``close enough for government work`` (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. /MIDDLE EAST: ARABIC-LANGUAGE HI MAGAZINE SUSPENDED, WEBSITE STILL ACTIVE | Text of press release from US Department of State website on 22 December The State Department is conducting a review of its Arabic-language magazine, Hi, to assess whether the magazine is meeting its objectives effectively. During the period of this review, the print version of Hi magazine will be suspended. The Hi website (himag.com) will remain active. Hi Magazine was launched in July 2003 to develop a dialogue with young, Arabic-speaking audiences on topics that affect them and their American counterparts. Currently, 55,000 copies are distributed monthly in 18 countries, at a cost of 4.5m dollars a year. The purpose of this review will be to develop quantitative data on how broadly Hi magazine is reaching its intended audience. The review is part of a broader effort to develop a "culture of measurement" and to evaluate regularly the effectiveness of the Department's public diplomacy programmes. [Note: A State Department spokesman said approximately 55,000 copies of the magazine were distributed per month in 18 countries. Of those, 2,500 copies, on average, were sold.] Source: US Department of State website, Washington DC, in English 22 Dec 05 (via BBCM via DXLD) NEW: Hi. Goodbye. State Department suspends Arabic-language youth magazine Hi. "There is sadness in the Arab world today among NASCAR fans, aficionados of U.S. men's fashions and those seeking more information on Washington's healthy eating pyramid or American dating standards." Toronto Star, 23 December 2005 http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1135291812612&call_pageid=968332188854&col=968350060724 See also Reuters, 22 December 2005 http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=industryNews&storyID=2005-12-22T190555Z_01_KNE268660_RTRIDST_0_INDUSTRY-MEDIA-USA-ARABS-DC.XML And State Department press release, 22 December 2005 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2005/58401.htm State Department spokesman claims Hi website gets 3 million hits per day. Later corrected to 3 million hits projected for December 2005. And further details during State Department press briefing, 22 December 2005 http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2005/58445.htm (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** U S A. NEW: "This is the jazz equivalent of a major archaeological find." "In 1957, Thelonious Monk and John Coltrane played in a concert at Carnegie Hall. It was recorded by radio station Voice Of America (VOA), which regularly broadcasts jazz programmes worldwide. In the mid-1960s, VOA was overflowing with tapes of recordings it had made, so the Library of Congress acquired the collection. Included was the Carnegie Hall concert, and only recently were the tapes rediscovered. Then came the red tape. Unless the musicians - or their estates - agreed, VOA would not allow music from its archives to be sold. Other legal clearances were also needed." Financial Mail (South Africa), 23 December 2005 http://free.financialmail.co.za/05/1223/leisure/hcd.htm The details were resolved, because the recording is available from Blue Note Records http://www.bluenote.com/detail.asp?SelectionID=10459 [includes a couple of audio samples] (kimandrewelliott.com via DXLD) ** U S A. VERY SELECTED HOLIDAY SPECIALS ON WEBCASTING PUBLIC RADIO STATIONS Derived from http://www.worldofradio.com/calendar.html#holiday where audio links may also be reached. This time I have avoided most of the syndicated music specials which have already appeared numerous times in the past week on various stations, and will still be appearing for the next few days, but tried to pick out some other worthwhile programming, some of it locally produced and only on one station. Enjoy! Times are strictly UT. UT SATURDAY DECEMBER 24: 0500-0600 KUNI: Women in Music - Laney Goodman is your host for a holiday program filled with seasonal music from today's female singer/songwriters. 1500-1630 Numerous stations from BBC: FESTIVAL OF 9 LESSONS & CAROLS 1730-1830 WBNI: Best Seat in the House Christmas Special --- Music of the holiday season is performed by many of opera’s greatest names in this special Christmas program, hosted by WBNI's Janice Furtner and Dick Ver Wiebe. 1900-2200 NWPR: THE INLAND FOLK CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION WITH DAN MAHER Once again Dan Maher brings you the best in holiday folk music from his library. He brings out old favorites and new surprises this year to add to a Northwest Public Radio Christmas tradition. 2300-2400 KWTU: Lessons and Carols from Washington National Cathedral (Live) Join Robert Aubry Davis for Lessons and Carols from Washington National Cathedral, a distinctly American service that embraces the nation’s evolving musical traditions. Each Christmas Eve, the Cathedral hosts a quietly spectacular Lesson and Carols, one of its most attended and cherished events of the year. The service combines biblical readings that chronicle the story Jesus’ birth with age-old and all-new carols, from folk to ethereal polyphony. Attendees and listeners thrill to the swell of many voices and organ together, as well as to the contemplative hush of "Silent Night" as the service ends. 2300-2400 WEKU: Lessons and Carols from the Washington National Cathedral The service combines biblical readings that chronicle the story of Jesus' birth with age-old and all-new carols. (Live) 2300- WYSO: Banks of the Ohio. Wishing you a happy holiday season with an all-Christmas show. You'll hear familiar favorites, plus some rarities and special finds. Highlights include Bill Monroe, Roland White, and Kenny Baker doing "Christmas Time's a-Coming" for their dinner hosts; Ben, Rebecca, and Sonya Isaacs harmonizing "Children Go Where I Send Thee" as pre-teens, and Benny Martin's quirky "True Christmas." The second half hour is devoted to "Blue Ridge Mountain Holiday: The Breaking Up Christmas Story," a fascinating documentary from Virginia and North Carolina. UT SUNDAY DECEMBER 25: 0100-0200 KDAQ: Bluegrass Breakdown Holiday Special 0100-0500 KUNI: Christmas With Bob Dorr - 4 hours --- Bob continues his annual Christmas eve celebration with his own favorites and live requests from KUNI listeners. 0100- KUT: A Twine Time Christmas Special --- Paul Ray will serve up a sleigh full of holiday R&B goodies that will provide a perfect soundtrack for your Christmas Eve party. 0200-0300 WPLN: Nashville Unlimited Christmas Special, hosted by Dave Pomeroy and Don Henry From Christ Church Cathedral, it's the Sixth Annual "Nashville Unlimited" Christmas Concert, benefiting Nashville's Campus for Human Development's "Room In The Inn" homeless program. This year's guests include the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble, Andrea Zonn, Three Ring Circle (Rob Ickes, Andy Leftwich, and D.P.) Annie Selleck, Lorianna Matera, Kevin Whalum, Steve Conn, Don Henry and, as always, some exciting "Mystery Guests". 0200- KPBX: Christmas Music from Around the World with Michael Patoray 0300-0600 KIPO: "Sabor Tropical" Holiday Special 0400-0500 WNYCf: New Sounds #2359: A program of seasonal music, New Sounds style. Highlights include the women's vocal ensemble Kitka, with repertoire ranging from Bulgaria to Belarus, from Georgia to Greece. Also, music by pianist Iver Kleive, something from the legendary guitarist John Fahey, and a Modern Mandolin Quartet arrangement of the Nutcracker Suite. [original post had this misplaced 24 hours earlier; sorry] 0500- KSUI: Millennium of Music --- A Bohemian Christmas -- Another Millennium regular, Frederick Renz with his Early Music New York, is back with a Christmas celebration from late medieval Eastern Europe -- some of the rarely-recorded and beautiful works from Poland, Hungary, and the Czech lands. 1500-1600 WBEZ: Lessons and Carols From Washington National Cathedral Each Christmas, the National Cathedral hosts a quietly spectacular Lesson and one of its most attended and cherished events of the eyear. The service combines biblical readings that chronicle the story Jesus' birth with age-old and all-new carols, from folk to ethereal polyphony. Attendees and listeners thrill to the swell of many voices and organ together, as well as to the contemplative hush of "Silent Night" as the service ends. Among the service's many distinctions is the sound of its Girl Choristers, the finest in North America. Though their sound is in some ways similar to that of boys, the girls, ages 8 to 18, create their own unique aural beauty. Hosted by Robert Aubrey Davis. 1600- WBEZ: The Kabbalah of Chanukah: An Inspirational Program for the Festival of Lights --- A jazz-virtuoso cantor and a kabbalistic psychotherapist bring their respective talents together, to provide new inspiration for Chanukah! Weaving a tapestry of tales and teachings from the Kabbalah together with sacred music from around the world, this dynamic duo reveals some of the hidden treasures of this ancient spiritual tradition. 1700-1900 KGOU: A CHRISTMAS CAROL by Charles Dickens --- Enjoy A Christmas Carol as never before. English master storyteller and actor Ashley Ramsden takes center stage, portraying all 23 characters in the Dickens classic, each with vivid and distinctive clarity. The program embraces the original masterpiece, transporting listeners back to Victorian England and conjuring up the sinister back alleys, cobblestone streets, and ghostly apparitions that are the story's hallmarks. A Christmas Carol is profoundly relevant today. The gulf between wealthy and poor, the powerful and powerless, is as significant now as it was in Dickensian England. A Christmas Carol is a banner of compassion carried by its main character, Scrooge, as he is transformed by his sense of common decency and obligation to humanity. Sounds from around the world, including recordings made in remote European villages, recreate in convincing detail Dickens' pre- automotive/electric world. Music written by composers of Dickens' era and original music commissioned for this broadcast inspired by traditional folk lyrics and ancient Christmas poems enhance the depth, authenticity, and richness of the production. 1800-1900 KSJN: Saint Paul Sunday: Christmas with the Empire Brass 1900-2030 WUOL: WUOL`s Christmas Choral Extravaganza: Recorded by WUOL in the beautiful St. Martin of Tours Catholic Church in Louisville, host Barry Bernson (WDRB`s Fox in the Morning) welcomes the choirs of St Martin of Tours, St. Francis in the Fields and the U of L Cardinal Singers performing seasonal selections. If you missed the live performance, you won’t want to miss it now! 2100- KBYU: Classical Toys: Outside the Box [2 hrs?] 2200-2300 KVPR: Fresno Philharmonic Holiday Concert Spectacular 2300-2400 WOSU: Saint Paul Sunday --- The Empire Brass: Sleigh Ride Along with traditional tunes and carols, the celebrated quintet will play antiphonal and classical works that evoke the spirit of the time. 2300- WIAA: Island Cabin Discs -- A special Christmas with Jeff and Julie Kimpton 2300-2400 WHRV: The Itinerant Band --- Holiday music from the 17th and 18th centuries performed by the Itinerant Band made up of seven musicians from the Tidewater region of southeastern Virginia. UT MONDAY DECEMBER 26: 0000-0100 WKYU: Old Scratchy Records Christmas Special (6pm C.T./7pm E.T.) Join host and producer Nolan Porterfield for an hour of unique holiday records, from Christmas tunes to one-of-a-kind tracks you won't find anywhere else. This is one Christmas special you won't want to miss! 0000-0130 WHRV: A Pickin` Christmas --- Our Holiday rendition of the Pickin` on WHRV! 0100- WUAL: A Crooners Christmas with Dale Owen 0100- KRCU: Sunday Night at the Opera - On Christmas night KRCU’s Barb Herbert will be presenting "Vespers for the Nativity of the Virgin" by Antonio Vivaldi. This is music composed for a service of vespers that would have been performed in the Church of San Marco in Venice in the 1700's. The other work will be a solemn mass by Rossini; he wrote a number of sacred works after he stopped composing operas. 0100-0200 KIPO: "Music Of Hawaii" Holiday Special - Beginning in the 1860s, Hawaiian singers, songwriters, and musicians adopted Christmas as one of their favorite holidays. Tune in on Christmas Day for an hour of Hawaiian Christmas favorites. 0130- WHRV: A Folk Christmas --- Live holiday concert from the WHRV studio with performances by local musicians. 0200-0300 KUNC: St. Paul Sunday with The Empire Brass 0200- KRCB: Twisted Christmas --- Another edition of our new series, Page On Stage, this is an evening of holiday stories with a slightly twisted point of view. Readers include Will Durst, Diane Amos, Geoff Bolt, and John Moran with stories from Gregory Maguire, Marie Panttaja, and host David Templeton, from the North Bay Bohemian. You can also see Twisted Christmas performed live at The UUCSR Glaser Center in Santa Rosa on Dec. 10. 0300-0330 WBEZ: Ken Nordine's Word Jazz Christmas Special --- More Christmas celebration from the legendary Ken Nordine. Santa is one cool cat when he gets the Word Jazz treament—a uniques tapestry of spoken word and jazz. Pour yourself one more glass of egg nog and tune in at 9 pm. 0400-0500 WNYCf: New Sounds #2357 --- The Messiah, remixed. The compositions range from tuneful electronica to craggy modernism, from moody ambience to unbounded joy - all united by the theme of Messiah, George Frederic Handel's 1742 masterpiece of spiritual rebirth. Works by Tod Machover, Scanner, R. Luke Dubois, Nobukazu Takemura, and others [original post had this misplaced 24 hours earlier; sorry] 0500- WHRV: A Cowboy Christmas --- A Cowboy Christmas celebrates the holiday with memories, music, and poetry of people who live and work in the isolation of America's outback. Some of the stories and songs are family traditions passed down through the generations while others are new works inspired by Christmas on the lonely range. This program features poets Baxter Black, Waddie Mitchell, and Native American singer and comedian Vincent Craig (compiled from station websites by Glenn Hauser for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. MO, Bellefontaine, K268BF *101.5, having a minor facilities` change that might improve its reception of primary KDJR *100.1 De Soto MO, but recently has been heard relaying shortwave station WWCR Nashville TN (Bruce F. Elving, Dec FMedia! via DXLD) Is doing so entirely by the rules? I would not be surprised if there are *no* rules about relaying a US or other SW station (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Clear Channel plans to put a country station into New York - -- via so-called HD multicasting. John Hogan says it`s not far off. America`s largest market has been without a country outlet for over three years. Strange that they plan to resort to ``multicasting,`` rather than allowing a full FM signal to carry the format (Bruce F. Elving, Dec FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. NJ, WSNR 620 Jersey City as well as WOR 710 New York have transmitters near a former NJ dump. But the big EnCap golf course/housing development plans to build luxury high-rise apartments that the stations charge will interfere with their signals. Those stations are moving to nearby sites, but other area AM stations might come on board and complain about real or potential interference (Bruce F. Elving, Dec FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. MN, North Branch, 89.7 is a political pirate with no IDs heard. Received from Pine City to Wyoming MN (Bruce F. Elving, Dec FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. Applications and/or Rulemakings: IN, Chesteron, WBEW *89.5 6800 h,v; 151 m, with a site closer to Chicago`s Loop, but in Indiana. It would stream a second audio service for WBEZ *91.5 Chicago, and in order to reach Chicago itself, it would utilize one of the WBEZ HD channels (Bruce F. Elving, Dec FMedia! via DXLD) TX, Waskom (move from LA Oil City), KQHN 97.3C2 (from 107.9C2). This would enable the onetime KVMA-FM 107.9 Magnolia AR to return to the air. It had moved to Oil City LA but interfered with military communications at Barksdale AFB, and has been of the air. The adult contemporary format took over the former KBED 102.9 Shreveport LA. The move by a Cumulus station will affect several other stations. A vacant Longview TX allotment changes to 107.9C2 from 97.3C2. That will downgrade Clear Channel`s KTBQ Nacogdoches TX from 97.3C3 to 97.5A. Both these moves to be paid by Cumulus. KPCH Dubach LA will stay at 97.7C2 instead of changing to C2. KRMD-FM 101.1 will change city from Shreveport to Oil City. All these moves become a counterproposal to two allotment requests in Center TX and Logansport LA, but the FCC says the unusual nature of this proceeding allows it to grant the waiver. Also affected is KBLK-LP *97.3 Shreveport. That low power station will either have to change frequency or go off the air (Bruce F. Elving, Dec FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. NonIDs, not just slogans: TX, Mexia, KWGW 104.9, ``George`` (for Bush and for George Strait; from ``The Groove``). Was briefly ``The Groove``. Seeks 2850 watts h,v; 147 m, with a better signal over Crawford TX, but not strong enough to serve Waco well. Format to sr (Bruce F. Elving, Dec FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. MS, Bay St. Louis, WQRZ-LP *103.5 is a low power station that provided a service shortly after Hurricane Katrina, despite having its transmitter building flooded and an antenna damaged, but salvageable. The line was destroyed, and a new line and STL antenna installed. Because the station was doing such a vital service, the FCC allowed it to increase power under special temporary authority above the normal 100 watts. It achieved 1300 watts, limited by an antenna designed only for 1000 watts. Still, it served a radius of about 27 km. WQRZ-LP was fueled during the emergency by a generator with 10- gallon tanks having to be floated in. Mike Duke, Jackson MS, is director of the radio reading service for the blind here and ham radio operator. I have met him at several conventions. He writes in the ``Braille Forum`` for the American Foundation for the Blind that the situation with the hurricane was not too bad there. For a while there was no power, but the house was still standing. ``It`s a mess, but we`re head and shoulders above`` the people on the Gulf Coast. He had not heard form the people south of Jackson. He and other hams were assisting with such things as providing shelter and assisting with the dispatching of local emergency services. Damage to the Lighthouse for the Blind in New Orleans is believed to be extensive, and I have not heard that WRBH *88.3 there has returned to the air. Bill Price, president of the Lighthouse, was recently in Mississippi and unable to return to New Orleans to assess the situation. LA, New Orleans, WIST 690 was silent. Now on with its old format --- talk. This is the former WTIX (Bruce F. Elving, Dec FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. CO, Colorado Springs, KAFA *104.3, a low power station, said to be operating from the Air Force Academy, but not with FCC blessing. Anyway, it would have to move in order for KSTY Cañón City 104.5 to establish its on-channel booster in Colorado Springs (Bruce F. Elving, Dec FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. There is still a station off-frequency about 1600.2 causing a noticeable het to the jumble on 1600, before and after 2200 UT Dec 23. What can it be? Daytime IBAC: Buzz interfering with KMOX 1120, 2209 UT Dec 23, coming from KFAB 1110. But nothing much on 1100, tho some signs of IBAC just below 1100. Both yesterday and today I am getting a much louder and different buzz than IBAC covering roughly 660-695 and 1010-1040 kHz, which cannot be pinned on any analog signal in the middle of each range (tho, hmm, KOA 850 would be about equally between them, altho not really audible at this time on 850 itself), but makes stations like KOKP 1020, a semi- local, unlistenable, and mars KGGF-690, WHO-1040. This may be purely of local origin, unless anyone else is noticing it (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I don't know about the lower frequency (centered on 680?) but the upper range is consistent with WBZ-1030 which is a known IBAC "offender". Daytime skywave? The digital skywave from WOR and WLW during tests made it much further than the analog audio, even to Arizona (Craig Healy Providence, RI, IRCA via DXLD) Intriguing, but this is quite strong, and hard to imagine getting WBZ in daytime even in analog, almost 1500 miles away with nothing but a 100 foot longwire (Glenn, Enid) ** U S A. Re: iBiquity OK page and finding it there: http://www.ibiquity.com/cgi-bin/liststations?state=OK After reading Glenn's post, I decided to substitute "MA" for "OK" to get a list of stations in Mass that are registered with iBiquity to broadcast in HD/IBOC. The results are disturbing for Mass MW DXers as the list has grown. The following Mass AM stations are now either broadcasting in HD/IBOC or will begin doing so in the near future: WHYN-560, WTAG-580, WBZ-1030, WILD-1090, WFPB-1170, WBUR-AM-1240, WMKI-1260, & WXKS-1430. Yikes! (Marc DeLorenzo, So. Dennis, MA, WTFDA- AM via DXLD) Well, look at it this way. You could be an FM DXer stuck with 11 (eleven) locals running IBOC. That's my situation. I have 9 in CT and 2 in MA --- all locals. Keith and the Boston area guys have it worse. I wouldn't call my situation "disturbing. I'd call it a disaster! If/when WHYN goes iboc, I won't even blink. The AM band here is a hell of a lot better than FM is, despite WBZ and WTAG. Those of you with one, two or no IBOC stations. Count your blessings. :-) – (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT ICQ# 33-140-101, ibid.) ** U S A. KAVT 1680 kHz, Fresno, CA DX Test Date(s): January 21, 2006 (Late Friday night-Early Sat. Morning) Time: Midnight PST-0500 PST (0800-1300 UT) Modes of Operation: 10 KW ND [IOW, 10 kW instead of 1 kW is the only thing out of the ordinary] Programming: Normal Radio Disney Format ONLY. No codes, tones, etc. are permitted due to the stations contract with Disney. Notes: Listeners are cautioned that WDSS, Ada MI also runs the Radio Disney Format. So ID's, local spots, etc. will be needed for a QSL. A cassette or CD included with a report will be much appreciated, as it will be easier to tell for sure they heard KAVT, rather than WDSS. The use of Phasers or directional antennas such as loops will likely be needed by DX'ers in the Eastern US to null WDSS. Hopefully the long duration of the test (5 hours) will make up for the lack of Morse Code, etc. Reception reports should be sent to: Patrick Martin PO Box 843 Seaside OR 97138-0843 Cassette recording or CD is preferred to a written report. Return postage appreciated. E-Mail via: mwdxer @ webtv.net Thanks to Paul, Patrick, and the staff of KAVT for making this test possible! 73, (Les Rayburn, N1LF, IRCA-NRC Broadcast Test Coordinator, IRCA via DXLD) Since it wasn't obvious, I checked to see what was unique about the KAVT test and quickly saw it was running day power at night. That made sense as a good DX test, but something else I came across did not. KAVT is listed on Radio-Locator as: * Antenna Mode Non-Directional - 2 Patterns * Right away I had to ask, how can a non-directional antenna have two patterns. So I went to the FCC database and found there was only a single tower, further adding to my confusion, but got a slightly different listing: * ND2 - Non-directional Antenna: Different constants day and night * Since I have no idea what that means, it is easier to accept. It would be nice, though, to actually understand it. Would anyone care to take on the task of trying to explain this to me? Thanks, (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, (southeast) FL, ibid.) Curt, The FCC listings changed the past year or so now with different names, instead of the old "U1" they cal it ND1 and ND2. KAVT is 10 KW Day/ 1 KW Nights ND. They use one of the 1550 towers there in Fresno. The test will take place with 10 KW ND from 0300 to 0800 EST. 73, (Patrick Martin, Seaside OR, KAVT Reception Manager, ibid.) I apologize, it seems my question is being taken as about the test, which it wasn't. What it is I don't understand is the terminology as regards a non-directional single tower with different patterns or constants. The question is intended as a technical one, not one specific to this test. Sorry if I confused everyone else in trying to deal with my own confusion (Curt, ibid.) It's my understanding that the way the CDBS database is now set up, it pretty much has to have separate records for day and night operation for each AM station - and if anything at all is different between day and night (in this case, 10 kW day vs. 1 kW night), it absolutely will have two records. There are still a lot of "ND1" records in the database, because it's not automatically updated to reflect the new standards unless a station applies for a change of some sort. Look, for instance, at KOZI 1230 in Chelan WA - it was in the database as "ND1," but has filed a minor application to correct its coordinates. There's no actual change in the station's operation, but when the application is processed, KOZI will become "ND2" in the database. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) I've seen a lot (comparatively) of these "correction of coordinates" minor apps. Is this something as simple as people using GPS receivers to get a better fix than the old quad topo maps provided, or is there something else involved with the site itself - perhaps a way in which the actual coordinate is defined? (site mean center, xmtr location, reference tower location, other?) My estimate of D/M/S* is that the seconds are about 101 feet resolution? This could create a variation of several digits in the Sec. field in both x and y directions for a moderately large site. (*based on 69 miles per degree) What is the attribute of a site that gets described by a coordinate? Thanks for the explanation of the ND1/ND2 business, which I never fully understood before. Oh well. Hope to get smarter when I grow up. Merry Christmas, all - (Bob Foxworth, FL, ibid.) In many cases, the coordinate correction has come about because the tower owner had to register the tower for an ASRN (Antenna Structure Registration Number), which has been mandatory for pretty much anything above 200 feet for a few years now, and they've found in the process that the coordinates that were supplied by the one-eyed surveyor who built the site back in 1947 don't quite match what the GPS now tells them. (There's the added confusion that the ASRN database uses the NAD83 datum, while the FCC is still stuck on NAD27, and that can throw things off by a second or two each way as well, not to mention making for a royal pain when trying to match ASRN numbers to FCC license records at a site with multiple closely-spaced towers!) In other cases, I suspect the errors are getting noticed when someone wants to add something (a cell site, let's say) to the existing tower. The actual filing is very easy to do and pretty much a rubber stamp, and it's better to do it when you notice it than to wait for the FCC to come calling later on. ``What is the attribute of a site that gets described by a coordinate?`` For a nondirectional AM, it's simply the tower. For an AM DA, it's supposed to be the center of radiation in the DA. In practice, that seems to usually mean the reference tower in the array; otherwise, you could easily imagine an array in which the day and night coordinates are slightly different as the station switches pattern. The only array I know of where that's actually reflected as such in the database is WCKY 1530 in Cincinnati, which is a four-tower DA at night and which uses only one of those towers by day. There's something weird with that whole database record, though, and I suspect it goes back to the storm damage about 15 years ago that led to the almost complete reconstruction of the site. Only one of the current towers is original, and the others were rebuilt in different locations. There are old tower piers in places on that property that I wouldn't have expected at all, including at least one behind the building. (The current array consists of four towers, not quite in line, in front of the building.) s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) I appreciate the info on the nomenclature, but what I'm really asking about is the idea that a single tower can have two patterns, or as the FCC puts it, two constants. Is this just saying that because there is lower power at night this in itself constitutes a different pattern? I had in my head that an antenna pattern was the directional shape, not the power contours. Is that where I'm confused? Now that I say it to myself I guess that's all an antenna pattern is, the power contours, either in a circle around a single tower, or in some more complicated form involving multiple towers. Based on this logic then, the only way to have a single pattern would be to have only one power level, whether it involved any directionality or not. Am I getting close? (Curt Deegan, ibid.) ** U S A. 1710 RADIO TOP INTER, MASSACHUSETTS I am told this Boston-area Haitian-format station is in High Park MA, a Boston suburb. It's so strong tonight at Burnt River ON I was able to copy an advertiser's number, and called them, and got a contact at the station. They even want to interview me. That'll be rough, as my French is fairly rusty, but we'll give it a shot. Anyhow, packing a good signal tonight. Helps to have Radio Moshiach in NYC area off for the Jewish Sabbath. Conditions also enhanced to the east (NS, NB and some strong hets indicating 891, 1098, 999, 621, 711, etc...) (Saul Chernos, Burnt River ON, Dec 23, IRCA via DXLD) I'm not so sure they're off. I have a carrier that is covering Boston most of the time with up to an s9 signal. That open carrier may be NYC. It's not my imagination (I hope). – (Mike Bugaj, Enfield, CT, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) You may mean Hyde Park, MA. Anyhow, I believe I had them, when listening with Bill Dvorak over/under NYC on my 97 degree BOG from Grafton WI. Please ask them if they sometimes carry religious music Sunday late evenings. 73 and congrats. KAZ (Neil Kazaross, ibid.) Could anyone please measure the exact frequency now? I have a faint carrier on 1709.976 kHz right now and Boston booming on 1510.02 kHz. 73 and Merry Christmas, (Mauno Ritola Finland, 0026 UT Dec 24, ibid.) ** VIRGIN ISLANDS US. unID X Bander with NWS Loop forecast Hello; I have an unID that I need some help with. Last night I was really sick and could not sleep so I went to my comfy chair and turned on a recent thrift store find, an old 1970 vintage Standard Radio Corp. (Japan) 4 bander (FM, SW, MW and LW). I'm sorry, folks but I'm not sure of exact frequency as 1) it was dark and 2) since I don't DX a whole lot anymore I lost track as where I was, in the X-Band. Does anyone know of low x-banders who run NWS loops? This radio's coverage suposedly ends at 1605 but it goes to 1670. 1610-1630 kHz, unID, 12-20 2108 [EST?] Poor with loop of National Weather Service forecast. Temps were in Fahrenheit and sounded warm for December. The high temps were mentioned as "79-85" and I heard "Regional Outlook," "Coastal areas" and "higher elevations," while "numerous showers" were also mentioned. Finally I heard "East Coast of the United States" mentioned. This may have been describing the location of a storm system, front or it may just be a National weather roundup. Thanks and next time that I DX, I'll have the light on! (Dave Hascall, Indianapolis IN, Dec 21, WTFDA-AM via DXLD) Hi Dave, That was 1620 WDHP Frederiksted, VI. I logged them the other night here in Southeastern NJ with the exact same programming. That's a great catch from that distance inland! Coincidentally I even put a clip up on the forum the other day with the log: http://www.wtfda.info/showthread.php?t=257 Right in the beginning you can hear the NWS segment; at first I thought I had a local TIS until I heard some of those temps and locations (Michael Temme-Soifer, Egg Harbor City, NJ, Yamaha T-80, APS-13 at ~35', FM29QM; Visit the WTFDA Forums: http://www.wtfda.info ibid.) Thanks Michael: Wow! I don't know what to say. I really didn't think that the $6 radio had it in it. 1,979 miles! I listened to Michael's clip and that is it! Exactly the same style of NWS loop with "coastal areas," "lower elevations" and all. I never got to hear any other programming that would have sealed it but after hearing the clip, I am counting it. I was hoping that it was tropical and it sure was! I am getting a new S350 for Christmas but until then I might play with this little guy. Although I've heard KFI and KNBR, I think that this one might get them both, too. Thanks again! (Dave Hascall, ibid.) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. RADIO STATION BOSS HELD HOSTAGE IN ZIM Still holding Masuku last night, demanding that his fellow directors surrender Broadcasting chief charged with operating without licence By Basildon Peta http://www.zwnews.com/issuefull.cfm?ArticleID=13456 Zimbabwean police are holding an arrested broadcasting executive hostage until five of his colleagues at a private radio station surrender. The executive director of Voice of the People (VOP), John Masuku, was due to appear in court yesterday after his arrest on Monday on charges that he operated his radio station without a government licence, his lawyer Rangu Nyamurundira said. But the police changed their tune and were still holding Masuku last night, demanding that his fellow directors at VOP surrender to them, the lawyer said. Nyamurundira condemned the police action as illegal. Zimbabwean police are allowed to detain people for a maximum of 48 hours before charging them in a court - the exception being economic crimes, which allow for police detention of up to a month. By last night, none of the five VOP directors had surrendered. Nyamurundira said the police had seized computers and documents after raiding the offices of the VOP in Harare last week. Masuku's three other junior staffers were arrested but were released without charge after the attorney-general's office ruled that they could not be charged because they were not owners of VOP. Under Zimbabwe's Broadcasting Services Act, it is illegal for Zimbabweans to own signal- transmitting equipment or to broadcast from the country without first seeking permission from the state-run Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe. VOP compiles reports from within Zimbabwe and broadcasts its signals via a Radio Netherlands transmitter off Madagascar. Since VOP does not broadcast from a transmitter rooted in Zimbabwe, it argues that it does not need a government licence to operate. Masuku's arrest comes in the wake of a threat by Information Minister Tichaona Jokonya to crack down on media organisations and journalists accused of conniving with foreign powers against Zimbabwe. Just like the banned Daily News, whose printing press was bombed and destroyed in 2001, the offices of VOP were bombed in 2001, and the radio station lost its equipment. The perpetrators of both bombings are still at large and the police never opened a docket to investigate. Masuku's arrest comes in the wake of a renewed onslaught on the media by the Zimbabwean government, which last week seized and then later released publisher Trevor Ncube's passport (via Zacharias Liangas, Greece, Dec 23, DXLD) VOICE OF THE PEOPLE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FREED A Zimbabwe court today granted bail to John Masuku, Executive Director of Voice of the People (VOP). Mr Masuku was arrested on Monday following a police raid on the station, which gathers news in Zimbabwe and broadcasts it into the country via the Radio Netherlands Madagascar relay station. Three other journalists who were earlier arrested in a separate raid on VOP premises had already been released. Masuku's lawyer Rangu Nyamurundira said Mr Masuku was not asked to plead at Friday's court appearance, where he was charged with violating strict media laws that require radio stations in the country to obtain a licence from a government committee. He was freed on a $4 million Zimbabwe dollars bail, and ordered to report to Harare's central police station weekly, Nyamurundira said. He will appear again in court on January 13. "Mr Masuku is now out after being granted bail. The state has indicated that they will be pursuing this case in the new year, but we don't know when the case will actually go to trial," Nyamurundira told Reuters. "Mr. Masuku will be pleading not guilty," he added. Under Zimbabwe's laws radio and television firms seeking to operate in the country must obtain licences from a state licensing authority. The government maintains a monopoly on radio and television services within the country. Because VOP does not broadcast within Zimbabwe, although it maintains offices and reporters there, it argues that it technically does not need a government licence. # posted by Andy @ 16:30 UT Dec 23 (Media Network blog via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [non]. Re: ``UK/MADAGASCAR [to SUDAN] Sudan Radio Service, via UK, 11705, [...] Strange that either of these transmitter sites would be off-frequency, or maybe that low het was actually caused by jamming (Glenn Hauser-OK, dxld Dec 16) 11705 1659-1757 47E,48,52E,53 MDC 50 265 Eng MDG NEW RNW 11705 1700-1800 47E WOF 250 126 Mon-Fri USA MNO MER (wwdxc BC-DX Dec 15)`` I seem to recall that Wolfgang already noted a behaviour of RNW's 50 Kw transmitter at Madagascar to be slightly off-frequency? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Getting a Spanish female numbers station over WHRI 7520 at 0900 to past 0930. About 75/25 mix numbers station's favor. Must be running some serious power almost override the Cypress Creek, S.C. station in Atlanta GA. But who are these people who use a frequency of a major broadcaster who has an established (and published!) schedule on that frequency. Covert intelligence at work! (Lou Johnson, KF4EON, Dec 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Let`s watch whether ``FEMA`` gets WHRI off 7520 (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Hi Glenn, Merry Christmas [or whatever]. Hope the new year brings you health and happiness. Do you have a book in the works? Alas DXLD, is excellent, but is like a daily newspaper, well written --- but may tend toward quickly being dated. Think you spoke in a letter of your legacy. A book might be an excellent legacy. Just a thought. 73's (Bob Wilkner, FL) Hi Bob, Same to you. No, I don`t. It`s pretty hard to pull away from the ``daily news`` cycle, and to have any time for a new project I would have to do that. 73, (Glenn to Bob, via DXLD) Would like to take this opportunity of extending Best Wishes, Season`s Greetings and a Merry Christmas to you, and hopefully the New Year will bring the unity and knowledge we have in our listening pleasure (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, Dec 23) Thanks also for a check from Terese M. Sorenson & Michael J. Gorniak PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ Re: Applause Card, visit http://www181.pair.com/otsw/AppCards.html and posted here is the one I have in my collection: http://www181.pair.com/otsw/applause.html 73 (Horacio Nigro, Uruguay, DX LISTENING DIGEST) POWERLINE COMMUNICATIONS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ MASSIVE INSTALLATION ANNOUNCED FOR DALLAS-FT WORTH TEXAS IN 2006 Broadband Over Powerline Internet access will be coming to the Dallas - Ft. Worth Metroplex area of Texas in 2006, as a subsidiary of energy provider TXU Corporation announces a 10-year, $150 million deal today to build a smart power grid that will make high speed service using power distribution lines available to millions of its customers. Construction on the smart grid system will begin early next year along TXU`s 14,000 miles of transmission and 100,000 miles of distribution lines. Residential Internet service is expected to start up in the second half of 2006. While Internet access will be a major part of the business scheme, TXU Energy Delivery spokesman Chris Schein says that BPL is actually secondary to the overall smart grid capabilities. He says that once completed, the grid will let company check meter consumption remotely and pinpoint problems before they become major blackouts. Proponents of the plan say BPL could be especially significant for rural areas, where traditional broadband access has lagged. Opponents fear that it will cause massive interference to all radio communications on the nigh frequency bands because the powerlines will act as gigantic radio antennas to transmit the BPL signal as unwanted noise and interference to nearby radio receivers. The only bright spot for ham radio was the decision by TXU to drop Amperion based BPL and going with Current`s gear and technology. Current`s BPL deployment in Cincinnati has so far caused very few problems for the radio amateurs in that community. (Houston Chronicle, WA5KRP, K1ZZ via Amateur Radio Newsline™ Report 1480 December 23, 2005 via John Norfolk, dxldyg via DXLD) AUSTRIAN MEASUREMENTS CONFIRM THAT PLC CAUSES HF INTERFERENCE The Austrian government has published a report about disturbances caused by Power Line Communications (PLC) in the HF bands (2000–30000 kHz). In Austria, broadband services via PLC are being provided in one region (approx. 250,000 inhabitants). Since the first trials of this technology in this region, which commenced in 2001, radio amateurs and various public safety organizations periodically reported disturbances in the frequency bands below 30 MHz, which were, according to the opinion of the spectrum users, caused by PLC operation in the concerned region. In order to verify the complaints of the various spectrum users, the competent Austrian authority (the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology, Telecommunications Authority) investigated the reported disturbances. The measurements carried out in May 2004, April 2005 and November 2005 clearly showed that the cause of the disturbance reported by users of the HF band in the concerned region is the operation of PLC. In particular, the measurement proved that the emission of PLC installations is up to 16,000 times (42 dB) higher than the relevant limit (according to CEPT ECC/REC/(05)04). Details of the measurement results are available in the annex to the following document (in German and English): http://www.bmvit.gv.at/telekommunikation/publikationen/downloads/inf022005v3.pdf # posted by Andy @ 14:17 UT Dec 23 (Media Network blog via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING [see also UK for DRM; USA for IBAC] ++++++++++++++++++++ HDTV - CRYSTAL CLEAR PRESS RELEASES Harry Shearer Thu Dec 22, 5:48 PM ET Huffington Post: This is going to be a long one, so settle in. Now that both the House and Senate have passed the bill mandating the end of analog television in February 2009, it's too late to start worrying about what this really means. The coverage of this story so far has focused on the many uses that can be made of the analog spectrum, once broadcasters give back their analog channels. But, wait a minute -- those same first responders and third-generation wireless users could use the spectrum given to broadcasters for their digital channels, and they could have been using them ever since the original giveaway of those channels in the mid-1990s. But, goes the reply, much like the one about Iraq, we're here now, all we can do is stay the course. Fine, but at least understand the course we're on. Most reporting on the digital changeover repeats the mantra that digital television "promises" "crystal-clear pictures" and "CD- quality sound." That's like saying that political candidates offer more government services for lower taxes. Of course, that's what's being promised. But journalists have been woefully inept/lazy/ignorant in peering behind the promises to look at the reality of digital television. That reality is this: unlike analog, which adheres to one transmission standard, digital TV occurs in a variety of formats and flavors -- which one is chosen determines the quality of picture transmitted. Then, what happens to that picture on the way -- through your satellite or cable provider -- determines the quality of picture received. Here, for example, is part of a dialog among users of a TV satellite discussion forum of the quality of digital (primarily digital HD) pictures: [italics] I get major pixelization from my local PBS affiliate in Dayton. They're running 2 standard definition signals along with PBS HD. It's beautiful as long as there's no fast motion. When there is, the picture really breaks up. Signal strength's fine and no other Dayton station has that problem. (The only other one that's multicasting is the NBC affiliate and that's just a 480i version of the same signal.) I don't know why they even bother with that. (SNIP) Eck... around here PBS is the best. They only have 1 SD on their HD and both look great. On another channel they got 4 SD's. (SNIP) You bring up a good point and one that should be carefully considered by the consumer -- all digital TV is not created equal. I get a big kick out of the pizza dish remarking that they provide 100% digital signals. They don't mention the fact there is no way that they could provide an analog signal given the limitations they are forced to deal with -- and include the many channels. Honestly, there was a time when broadcast engineers would be hesitant to broadcast a VHS tape on TV because of the poor quality. Now studios are using expensive video equipment and are overcompressing the signal to such a point that what they are broadcasting on some of these digital channes is not much better than what you would find on a webcast. Digital was marketed as something better that what analog had to offer. The truth is -- it depends. It is sad that many sports fanatics are spending thousands of dollars to buy a plasma, DLP or LCoS TV only to find an inferior signal when they get it home and hook things up to ESPN HD either over cable or a DBS service. The public should be outraged. [/italics] Not that hard, not that much digging to do, once you decide you're going to do more than regurgitate industry press releases. Of course, the big whoop come February 2009 will be from people with analog TVs that have suddenly gone dark right after the Super Bowl. But the longer, slower surprise will be from folks who wonder where the crystal-clear pictures went. Hint: Preston Padden of ABC gave the game away years ago when he told a Congressional hearing that broadcast networks would very likely want to use their digital channels for more than one stream of programming. NOTE FOR LAZY JOURNALISTS: A digital channel can contain one high- quality HD channel, or up to six, lower-quality SD (standard definition) channels. Ask yourself: what entertainment company would consistently prefer to have one profit center on its channel, rather than up to six? Additionally, as I can see when I switch between my (pardon me) crystal-clear analog picture from a large satellite dish and the digitized than re-analog-ized picture from my cable company, not only is the picture degraded to mush by all the processing, but all my channels are now delayed by about eight seconds, compared to the analog feed. The FCC requires television stations not to lie when they put up a "LIVE" bug. Will they now require cable companies to slap a "delayed" bug on all their channels? Even my home radio station is now similarly delayed on air, for a similar reason -- to make the analog radio feed correspond in time with the new HD Radio digital feed of the station. The digital wonderland means, in a real sense, the end of live broadcasting. Finally, you may have noticed that recently, for the first time in fifty years, there have been an increasing number of cases in which audio and video on a television signal appear out of sync. Another artifact of the digital wonderland. It may be CD-quality sound (not the proudest boast in the audiophile's lexicon, anyway), but it's late. Yet you can read reams of coverage about the digital changeover, and be exposed to none of this information. I told you this would be long. Copyright © 2005 HuffingtonPost.com (via Tom Roche, DXLD) ###