DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-009, January 12, 2006 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 2006 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html For restrixions and searchable 2005 contents archive see http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid5.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 NEXT SW AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO EXTRA 64: Days, times strictly UT Sat 1700 WWCR 12160 [NEW from Jan 7] Sun 0330 WWCR 5070 [time varies] Sun 0400 WBCQ 9330-CLSB Sun 0730 WWCR 3215 Full schedule, including AM, FM, satellite and internet, with hotlinks to station sites and audio: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html WRN ON DEMAND [from Fri]: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL] http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org WOR Extra 64 summary: http://www.worldofradio.com/com0510.html WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml NEW: CONTINENT OF MEDIA 06-01, Jan 12: (download) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0601.rm (stream) http://www.dxing.com/com/com0601.ram (summary) not yet available ** ARGENTINA. Logged in Ireland - excellent reception of RAE FS in Spanish and Portuguese after midnights, most nights, Jan 2-7. But it was 11710 kHz, not 15345. 11710 has not propagated to Britain for a long time. Hope this is useful. 73 (Dr. Derek Lynch, University of Huddersfield, UK, Jan 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see PROPAGATION ** BRAZIL. 11829.9 kHz. R. CBN Anhangüera, Goiânia GO, 11 Jan 0942- ..., news bulletin Jornal da CBN, weather report, advertisements, TCs, music; 34433, adjacent QRM; still audible underneath WYFR (?) in Portuguese to Brazil at 1240 (Carlos Gonçalves - Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It`s rather bad form to put a SW broadcast to a country on a frequency occupied in that country, and this gets you a het to boot (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA. ON, Oneida, 89.5 ``The Eagle``, $tereo, ek (ethnic and country format), supposedly with 450 watts, 46 m, from an Indian reservation near St. Thomas ON. Believed to be an extra-legal station. ``I called and the person said they are `The Eagle` with no call letters. I would dare not drive onto that reservation, especially at night.`` (Jan FMedia via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. Re 6-006, new name planned for 5910, Garita Radio, I should explain, means signal-box, as on a railroad (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. Had not checked R. República in more than a week, to see if anything has changed, so did so UT Jan 12 around 0200. 6010 was heavily jammed at 0154 tune-in, but totally readable. At 0157 gave a frequency-change announcement to 7110 at 10 pm, but at 0158 began a new program which thus had to be interrupted when 6010 went off at 0159. Right after the QSY announcement, the previously produced ID jingle began, but by now they had finally excised ``9955`` from it, leaving a gaping hole while the music played on. This occasion, RR reception was better on 7110, but still jammed. Meanwhile, there was still lite bubble jamming audible under RHC on RR`s long-abandoned frequency 5965, and Sweden was still being collaterally damaged by jamming continuing on 6010 past 0200 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I should have tuned around a bit more! -- Radio República showed up on 7160 kHz tonight: 7160, 24332, 0112 UT ­ extended talks by the usual female and male announcers. A program starting with Cuban music at 0202. The single `piano` ID at BoH 0130, and ToH 0200. There may have been more at the ToH, but two hams were trying to QSO on ``their`` frequency and complaining ``the commies took over our frequency.`` They left to quieter parts of the electromagnetic spectrum about 0202, I had to leave from 0205 to 0238. When I returned, the signal was SINPO 44333 with extended talk by the woman announcer, to Cuban music, talk between 2 men. BBC from Ascension after 0310 made the signal unreadable. 6010: 54444, 0112 UT, Talk by usual male and female announcers. ID sequence at 0126. A program with a lot of Cuban music after 0130. Off at 0200. 7110: 22332, 0200 sign-on. 0235+ RR was getting swamped by the Cuban bubble jammer. A man speaking, but not able to make out what he was saying. Almost the opposite of what happened earlier on 6010. Observations about 7160 kHz.: 7160 was not parallel to either 6010 or 7110 during their respective times. 7160 was not delayed by a short time (e.g. 10 minutes or less). It did not seem to be offset by an hour or so either, although I could not tell if there was a 2 hour block offset. The quality of the signal on 7160 was not as good as 6010, but better than 7110. As a point of interest 7160 was the frequency of the DTK test transmission on 12/10/05, 0200­0300 UT directed toward Iceland, commented on in DXLD 5-211, 5-212 & 5-213 (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, UT Jan 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Empeora la interferencia en 6010 --- Hola, Ayer sí me dio coraje al querer escuchar Radio Mil a las 0100 UT. No es posible que yo estando a escasos 4 kilómetros de las antenas no pude escucharla por la intensa intereferncia de Radio República, pero no sólo por esa molesta emisión, si no que aparte ahora con mayor potencia el pinche jamming proveniente de Cuba. Así es como los cubanos colaboran grandiosamente a callar y a eliminar las transmisiones de Radio Mil. QUE FALTA DE RESPETO!!!!!!! Resultaron mas nefastos que la Voz de tu Inconciencia. Habiendo tantas emisoras que han dejado su frecuencias libres y mucho espectro, NO tienen que estar fastidiando y fregando en los 6010. QUE POCA! Saludos (Héctor García Bojorge, DF, Jan 12, condiglist via DXLD) ** DIEGO GARCIA. The AFN 4319 kHz usb via DIOGO GARCIA very strong this evening, 2207, but there's this very adjacent (4325.3a kHz) RTTY disturbing reception a bit (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Jan 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DJIBOUTI. 4780, R. Dif. Djibouti, 0510 Jan 11, man with qur`anic preaches, S4 2x342, best reception in the AM narrow mode. At 1723 with signal S10 and tribal music (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. V. of Ethiopia, SUPER SIGNAL 9560 // 7165, the second one a bit weaker, closing before 1700 UT, Jan 7. This was impossible when I got back to Britain. I then heard the national service, possibly Amharic, on 7110//9704v. The 9 MHz channel had a het on it (Dr. Derek Lynch, University of Huddersfield, UK, Jan 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GABON. Re 6-008: And the following day (January 11th) Libreville already was gone when tuning in to 4777 at 1750. Today (January 12th) they signed off 4777 kHz at 1657. Regards, (Harald Kuhl, Germany, Jan 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4777, RTV Gabonaise, 0513 Jan 11, talks by OM, S9, 43544 (Zacharias Liangas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4777, RTVG, Jan 12, 0537-0555, French programming, African Highlife music, good reception (Ron Howard, Monterey, CA, RX340 + T2FD antenna, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. Re 6-001. I am rather mortified by how some typos or misspellings can slip right by me, despite looking at an item several times before you see it. The 2320 harmonic, is of course, Radio Izabal, not Izabel, as Johnson reported. The stress is presumably on the last syllable, and nothing to do with a woman`s name like Isabel (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAWAII [and non]. 620, KIPA, Hilo 12/29, 0100 EST, news, temps, ID, into elevator music, low power. 2000 same but medium power, 12/30 1600 off air; roughly half time on air, alternating low power & medium power (about 1/3 the strength of other locals KHLO-850 and KHBC-1060). This has been the practice for the last 6 months; seems to be testing but never announces as testing, never apologizes for long bsences, interesting never mentioned in local newspaper Hawaii Tribune Herald, etc. Haquoli Makahili Hou from the east side of the big Island. To reintroduce myself, I am a native of Dundee, Scotland, U.S. citizen since 1984, and became a DXer in Newcastle upon Tyne, England in 1957, always primarily a MW DXer with SW second and occasional FM and TV third. I am a retired professor of European Languages and general linguistics and have also worked as an interpreter and teacher of ESL, mainly in Saudi Arabia (where I also DXed). For years, I commuted from East HI, a good DX location, over to Kailua-Kona, West HI, a poor DX location, where I operated Richard's Fruitstand in the Aewist capital, Kailua-Kona. I have now closed the physical stand and my main income is now from mail order sales of 100% pure Kona coffee, the world's best: http://www.richardsfruitstand.com (operated by a webmaster. I have no computer). After about four years' inactivity, I am now fairly active again, using the same FRG-100 as before, and a SW-NE shortwave here in the middle of Hawaiian Paradise Park, a subdivision 9 miles north of Hilo, where that fine DXer, Chuck Boehnke, also lived. The enormous real estate boom has brought big new houses on every side of me, and some of my longwires were cut by bulldozers. Man-made noise is also up. But my impression is that plenty of DX is still available, though I haven't heard Europe or Africa for the last year or two (but I didn't try hard then). Two stations which acted as beacons for conditions on the x-band seem to be absent now and I haven't seen lots of them in recent DXM's: the U. of Baja on 1630 and Winter Haven, FL on 1680. Are they off the air? But one addition with a powerhouse signal from BCN is XEPE-R. Cash- 1700, with its many San Diego ads. Does anyone know what power it runs and whether it is directional nites? If it beams west from Tecate to San Diego, it would extend this way and explain its powerhouse signal, the loudest XE here. (Richard, the FCC website shows it as 1000 watts, non- directional day and night--rce) My most wanted North American stations are KBRT-CA-740, which is, I believe, my closest unheard active station, KRML-CA-1410, my closest unheard non-GYer, and KBRW-680. My most wanted graveyarder is KIFW- 1230 [Sitka]. They Grayland results are fascinating. Looking at Chuck Hutton's list on page 11 of DXM 43-14 (Dec. 17, 2005) of the AK stns which the combined Grayland team missed, have been heard, in the past, all of them here. This is based on memory alone, as many of my past logs are lost. But I well remember that I heard 910 on the morning it first came on the air, and the QSL confirmed this fact. If 1230 is the only GYer in AK, a clean sweep of all AK stns should be possible here in east HI, though not at my current crowded, noisy mid- subdivision location. I am working on finding a less crowded place where beverages are possible. As I want to live there, not just do DXpeditions there, it takes money for real estate! It was good to note the last Cappahayden DXpedition [Nfld.] heard West Coasters like KOMO-1000. I had noticed the absence of West Coasters on previous Nfld. Logs. Now on to the Pacific, the only global region not so far reported from Cappahayden! I have heard CBA-NB-1070 here, so it should be possible. It's not that far from arctic Sweden and Finland where numerous Hawaiians like KKON-790 and KHBX-1060 produce powerhouse signals. Recent DXpedition to Sheigra in NW Scotland produced KFI-CA-640 and other West Coasters, but HI hasn't been heard in the UK or Europe south of Scandinavia since 1945. (That's what it looks like--rce) Any tips on DX I should look for are welcome, now that I'm getting active again. Aloha and 73 (Richard E. Wood, HCR 3, Box 11087, Keaau, HI 96749, FRG-1000, 150' longwire, IRCA Soft DX Monitor via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Hi Glenn, Happy New Year! The VOI "English Service" sent me a "Wishing you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2006" folder card. The attachment contains a copy of their schedule. Of course it is unfortunate that they are not actually operating at these times. Have not heard them on 9525 kHz. for some time now. Wish you all the best for 2006! (Ron Howard Monterey, CA, Jan 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Not in copyable/reproducible format; It shows English at 02-03 on 17785 9525, 08-09 9525, 20-21 15150. 17785??? Yes, typo for nominal 11785 where it has not really been heard for ages. And the same error for Indonesian at 03-04! DYB (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. CBS report on Open Source Center CBS Evening News on 10 January carried a report on the CIA's Open Source Center (known until last year as FBIS - Foreign Broadcast Information Service), the US partner of BBC Monitoring. A description of the report and the full video recording is at: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/01/10/eveningnews/main1198667.shtml Somewhat misleadingly, CBS calls open source monitoring "a surprising new way" to gather valuable information (Chris Greenway, UK, Jan 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. The Italian Dan Rather? --- I never wished I'd studied Italian more than I watched this clip on the new Google Video service, a three-minute montage of an Italian TV news anchor who seems to have, shall we say, a low boiling point. Anybody who can translate -- please help. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/harry-shearer/the-italian-dan-rather_b_13665.html (Harry Shearer, Eat the Press via DXLD) And be sure to read the blog comments! (via Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** MAURITANIA. We hear 4845 in Britain but - in Ireland - I also heard 783 AM (50 kW) from Mauritania, Jan 3/06, 2100 UT. Weak but definitely // HF. My only previous logging of this was from the Canary Islands some years ago (Dr. Derek Lynch, University of Huddersfield, UK, Jan 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONGOLIA. Say they have 250 kW (or even 500 kW). I never believed it. In decades of DXing, all I got was a very weak signal on 9610 in the 1980s. Now, they are definitely on higher power. It is still not 500 kW, but something has really improved. I heard Japanese, Chinese, Mongolian, Russian and English on 12085, from about 0830 to 1030. By 1000 UT, when the English slot began, the signal was weaker and content difficult to catch (Dr. Derek Lynch, University of Huddersfield, UK, Jan 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORWAY. For those who would like to try for a bit of European MW DX in North America, 1314 kHz from NRK is being reported all over, from east coast to west coast circa 0300 UT, give or take a several hours. Give this split a try. You may get audio, or only a carrier, which will make a 4 kHz het against 1310 and 6 kHz against 1320 (Glenn Hauser, OK, Jan 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Try this straight link: nettradio.nrk.no/default.php?kanal=europ At the moment 1314 kHz is almost 30 seconds ahead of the net stream. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, IRCA via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Now we know why owners of KINB 105.3 chose to convert 930 WKY into a relay site: according to FM Atlas, KINB counts on only 930 watts of ERP! (Glenn Hauser, Enid, CONTINENT OF MEDIA 06-01, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL [and non]. Re 6-007 of 10 Jan., item on SPAIN: Reading the article on how Spain seems to be dealing with the antennae left on site by RFE/RL in Playa de Pals, reminds me of the Portuguese counterpart, operated by RARET at Glória do Ribatejo and also Maxoqueira [mashookayra]. The Glória site was granted by the then Portuguese government along with one 50 kW transmitter, and - to my knowledge - the antennae are still there; at least they were when I visited the place back in March, 2002, as I think to remember. As I reported at the time, the Maxoqueira complex was erected on grounds of a welfare organization and it seems everything had to be removed and left without trace, so I was told. Besides that, there was also the receiving site, at Benavente, and the head office in a building not far from where I live (the tower and the link dishes were removed). Like in Spain, the "fairies" behind RFE/RL managed "switch the lights off" just like that, leaving behind a number or jobless personnel (they did so here), all with or without the blessing of the respective governments, but not before "squeezing the juice" first, i.e. taking the transmitters with them. Demolition and junk removal is therefore needed... at a cost for the Spanish taxpayers. I feel the "juice" should have been "bottled and stored away" by the local authorities until adequate handling of the grounds took place at the full expense of the above mentioned "fairies." Albeit partly for good reasons, those stations operated from friendly countries, but it would have been a lot better, if they had never used other countries' facilities. At least as far as Portugal is (or "was") concerned, that friendship did translate into cynical and damaging action on certain occasions, mainly during the 1960s, with the latest "friendly action" happening in late 1975. Why? Where? I believe many will know the reasons. Even regarding the operator of DWelle in Portugal, i.e. Pro-Funk GmbH, the situation seems not to be as it should, so I've been hearing for long. They were granted a site and, apparently, in exchange, the only compensation that was required was a stipulated amount of weekly hours of relays for the former Emissora Nacional, now RDP. A few years ago, the agreement was renewed and a similar compensation was agreed upon. I've always heard the amount of hours at the RDP disposal should be greater, but PFunk always seems to find a reason not to comply on grounds of needing them for DWelle broadcasts. Either the contract is being fully respected or the local responsibles are turning a blind eye on the situation, even if the relay is not that needed for quite, really quite some time. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Jan 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL [and non]. Re 6-008, silly ball games: Games via the radiowaves. Dear Glenn, We seem to share the same opinion!!! In certain countries - mine included - people fond of that particular game do appreciate that very much, be it via radio or TV --- preferably via both so that they feel pleased at their own will! They feel that as fanatics and sometimes behave as hooligans. It's sick. The so-called sport section in newscasts often focuses on football alone, obviously because it drives millions and certain interests... and other more sane sports are "uninteresting." This is why I'm fed up with the bloody content the RDPi airs during their special or extra broadcasts - I'm sure you've already understood what I feel about it. 73, (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, Jan 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Russian Far East/Sakha Republic: Sakha/Yakutsk (presumed), carrying Radio Rossii, with warbly transmitters on 7345 and 7200 kHz. 0800-1000 UT, although some time slots had no 7345 because of Czech interference (Dr. Derek Lynch, University of Huddersfield, UK, Jan 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SENEGAL [non]. The ID at the end of the French language transmission is "West African Democracy Radio [sic!], la radio pour le dialogue". Repeatedly, jingle-type announcements saying "WADR...". Once 12000 kHz closes, there is a move to 17860 kHz, with English at 0900, French at 1000, each transmission lasting 60 minutes. Co-channel interference by TRT, in Turkish, from 1030 UT. More info at http://www.osiwa.org/fr/programs/special/radio There are pages in English and Portuguese, too (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, DXplorer Jan 11 via BCDX via DXLD) Skelton-UK 300 kW 195 degrees (wb, ibid.) ** SIKKIM [non]. Re 6-008: ``4870, AIR Gangtok, 0317-0330, Jan 09, Indian songs with local IDs at 0330 (Kyriakos Dritsas, Thessaloniki, Greece, DSWCI DX Window Jan 11 via DXLD) Ex 3390! (DSWCI Ed, ibid.) So one of them has finally made the big QSY; how about the others? (gh, DXLD)`` Perhaps we should be a little more skeptical about this, as 0330 UT = about 0930 LMT in eastern India, well after sunrise, and there have been no reports yet of this from S Asia; strangely, PWBR ``2006`` has AIR Bhopal on 4870 altho not at this hour! O, that was the original plan which first came out in mid-August, to give you an idea of how dated stuff in PWBR is (gh, DXLD) Dear Mr. Glenn Hauser, AIR Gangtok is still on 3390. Checked it even this morning at 0100, which was very strong (Jose Jacob, Hyderabad, Jan 12, dx_india via DXLD) Dear Mr. Glenn, I too Check this morning. AIR Gangtok is still on 3390. Checked which was strong [43444]. 73's, (Jaisakthivel, Ardic DX Club, Chennai, Jan 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The station logged as AIR on 4870 might have been Voice of Iranian Kurdistan. They are using various frequencies 4850-4890 at that time in Kurdish (Jari Savolainen, Finland, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) A related question: last month some DXers in southeastern USA heard what is believed to be Bhopal on 3315, who are reported to be moving/moved to 60 mb. Are they still on 3315? This was in the typical 0030Z time period (Bob k2euh Foxworth, Tampa FL, dx_india via DXLD) Dear Glenn, I was sceptical like you when I received this logging shortly before my deadline for sending out the e-mail version of the DX-Window, so I had no chance to check it. I have done so now this afternoon (UT Jan 12) and still found AIR on 3315 and 3365 and probably also on 3223. Sikkim on 3390 has been very difficult to catch in Denmark during the past months, so I was only able to note that it was not audible neither on 3390 nor on 4870. I agree with Jari that it might have been the clandestine which I heard on 4846 this afternoon which our Greek member did hear. Because of your fine research I will drop that item in our next SWN DX-Mirror. Thank you for your concern. Best 73, (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SINGAPORE [non]. Dr. Peterson, Here are my reports on AWR Wavescan. Sorry being late, I thought it was necessary until I saw various confusions reported in Glenn Hauser's DXLD. AWR Wavescan Reports (QSL needed if any brand new ones are there for 2006) 25 Dec 2005: 1130 11915 45544 1200 15110 55555 1530 9530 45554 1600 9585 45444 1600 12065 35333 8 Jan 2006: 1602 9585 35443 1602 12065 xxxxx (No propagation here in S. India although beamed to us; better suggest 9 or even 7 MHz frequencies) 1630 11980 33333 1720 9980 35333 Hope you saw my article in WRTH 2006 which also gives credit to you and AWR. Yours sincerely, Jose Jacob (via Adrian Peterson, DXLD) ** SLOVAKIA. AMENAZA DE CIERRE DE LA SECCIÓN ESPAÑOLA DE RSI Los periódicos eslovacos nuevamente publican artículos que tratan sobre la amenaza de cierre de la emisión de RSI en ondas cortas. Asimismo, y por primera vez, apareció la noticia de la cancelación de la sección española. Esta información salió de parte de Hilda Gajdošová, directora económica de Radio Nacional que por el momento sustituye al director general. El director de programación, Vladimír Puchala, no está de acuerdo con tal paso, así que la decisión sobre el futuro de RSI todavía está pendiente. Gašparovic apoya a los eslovacos residentes en el extranjero Según el Presidente Ivan Gašparovic, el Estado presta poca atención a los eslovacos residentes en el extranjero. El primer mandatario se expresó así después de participar de la reunión de la Asociación Mundial de los eslovacos residentes en el extranjero. ``Muchos eslovacos ocupan posiciones importantes en el exterior que pueden ayudar a nuestro país``, alegó Gašparovic. ``De ello se desprende que resulta imprescindible continuar con las emisiones de Radio Eslovaquia Internacional``, añadió (via: http://www.slovakradio.sk/rsi/ via José Miguel Romero2, Spain, dxldyg via DXLD) ** SUDAN [non]. Sudan Radio Service heard with fair strength on 15575[300 kW], switching in mid-tune to stronger 11705[250 kW] at 1659:30 on both January 3 and 4. Mostly talk in African languages with many mentions of Sudan, Sudan Radio, and Sudan Radio Service, along with African music. Eike Bierwirth's list of December 6 shows all SRS broadcasts as via Wertachtal; other sites say Woofferton. But I don't see it listed on either Merlin or T-Systems schedule (Wendel Craighead, KS, DXplorer Jan 5 via BCDX via DXLD) Woofferton-UK 250/300 kW 126 degrees (wb, ibid.) No, in EiBi, G-w means Great Britain- Woofferton, whilst Wertachtal would be D-w (gh, DXLD) ** SWEDEN. SR: Seven Days a week --- Because of a change in our domestic service relays, we are pleased to announce that our broadcast at 1830 UT is now Sundays as well (and not just Monday to Saturday): 1830-1900 1179 and 6065 kHz http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/International/nyhetssidor/artikel.asp?ProgramID=2408&Nyheter=&artikel=771148 73 (via Paul Gager, Austria, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Presumably referring to English ** U S S R. Subject: Boo Hoo --- I've been listening online to the BBC Radio 2 Documentary called Rhythm of the Reich (2 episodes so far). While mostly about the German Propaganda Swing band, it mentions in passing other aspects of the Propaganda war of the time. The program referenced both Lord Haw Haw of German propaganda fame, and (Lord?) Boo Hoo his Soviet counterpart from the 1939-40 period (Phoney War, Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact). I've never heard of this latter character. Has anyone else? He apparently broadcast in English to the United Kingdom in the same vein as Haw Haw (Fred Waterer, ON, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The name "Uncle Boo Hoo" was invented by the radio correspondent of the London newspaper, the Daily Express (the same man who invented the name Lord Haw-Haw). The "Boo Hoo" name seems to have quickly faded from the public's consciousness and, I think, very few people have heard of him today (Roger Tidy, UK, ibid.) ** U S A. SAWA/AL-HURRA MASTERMIND QUITS US BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS | Editorial analysis by Peter Feuilherade http://photos1.blogger.com/hello/290/1574/640/DSC06600.jpg of BBC Monitoring Media Services on 12 January Norman Pattiz, a leading figure behind the US government's Arabic- language media outlets, Radio Sawa and Al-Hurra television, has resigned from the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), which oversees US government international broadcasting. He will leave office at the end of February. Pattiz, a radio tycoon and Democratic Party donor, was appointed to the board in 2000 by Bill Clinton, and reappointed by George W. Bush in 2002 for a two-year term which expired in August 2004. He had continued to serve, while awaiting for a decision on another reappointment. Pattiz met BBG staff on 10 January and afterwards issued the following statement: "It's been nearly four years since the launch of Radio Sawa and two years since the launch of Al-Hurra television. Since then, these Middle East networks regularly reach over 35 million unduplicated listeners and viewers throughout the Arabic-speaking Middle East weekly, according to independent research from ACNielsen and others. The same research shows that over 70 per cent of its audience finds the news to be reliable. I am proud to have played a role in that success. "Now after five years on the Broadcasting Board of Governors and with Sawa and Al-Hurra in good hands, I have submitted my resignation to President Bush and thanked him, as I thank President Clinton who originally appointed me to the Broadcasting Board, for the opportunity to serve my country. My home and business are in Los Angeles and over the last year my responsibilities as chairman of Westwood One and as a Regent of the University of California have increased, making it more difficult to commute between Los Angeles and Washington DC every month and devote the necessary time to the Broadcasting Board of Governors. I plan to leave at the end of February." Pattiz informed BBG staff that his fellow governor Joaquin Blaya would replace him as chairman of the Middle East Committee of the BBG overseeing Al-Hurra and Radio Sawa. By law, the nine-member BBG board consists of four Democrats, four Republicans and the Secretary of State. On 11 January the BBG released a statement which said in part: "We know that many of the broadcast resources and initiatives now available to the BBG and the nation would not exist without the efforts of Mr Pattiz. As the BBG's chairman, Ken Tomlinson, has often stated, `Norm Pattiz is a builder. He knows how to get things done and this nation owes him a great debt for building a state-of-the-art broadcast operation.' The Board sincerely wishes to thank Norm for his dedication to US international broadcasting over the last five years." The media industry website http://www.followthemedia.com based in Geneva, noted: "All BBG members are political appointees, with the US Secretary of State as ex officio. Bert Kleinman, brought in by Pattiz, announced his resignation in November. BBG Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson resigned last year from the US Corporation for Public Broadcasting after an internal investigation of political activity, banned by law. Pattiz is widely expected to take a role in the 2008 US presidential campaign of Democrat Senator Joseph Biden." Audience figures (subhead) As The Wall Street Journal recalled on 11 January, Pattiz drew both praise and criticism for his role in transforming US-funded broadcasting to the Arab world after the September 2001 terror attacks in America. Bringing his experience of building audiences for the domestic Westwood One group, he persuaded the BBG to replace the old Voice of America Arabic Service with Radio Sawa, a youth-oriented station broadcasting a 25-75 per cent mix of bursts of news and commentary between long segments of Arabic and Western pop music. Radio Sawa itself says "it is committed to broadcasting accurate, timely and relevant news about the Middle East, the world and the United States, to the highest standards of journalism, as well as the free marketplace of ideas, respect for the intelligence and culture of its audience and a style that is upbeat, modern and forward-looking." As for Al-Hurra TV, its audience figures in the Middle East target area, as well as the content of the channel's programmes, have been hotly debated in Washington since the channel was launched in February 2004. Alvin Snyder, who reports on issues in international broadcasting for the University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy, wrote in the Cairo-based Middle East Times on 9 December 2005: "How many people are watching the channel might seem like a point everyone could agree on, but there are no neutral zones in the great Al-Hurra debate. The numbers released by the station paint a much more optimistic picture of its viewership than do those calculated by outside sources." A survey by ACNielsen in August 2005 found that Sawa and Al-Hurra reached 35 million people a week, with Radio Sawa drawing large audiences in Jordan, Morocco, Kuwait and Iraq. However, the Wall Street Journal added, "critics say the programming on both ventures is too commercial and does little to advance US interests". Pattiz himself has commented that audience ratings are important "because the message means nothing if no one is there to receive it". Source: BBC Monitoring research 12 Jan 06 (via DXLD) ** U S A. Re 6-006: also hearing the bonker on 5070, around 0200 UT Jan 12, but much, much weaker than WWCR, and barely detectable during modulation pauses. No doubt it could be worse where WWCR`s signal is not so strong. This may be an early warning of another required QSY (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 9320, WINB, 0001-0010 Jan 12, heard an ID right after the hour as, "...WINB broadcasting on 9740...". This was followed with a religious talk by a man. Signal was poor at first, but improved to good by 0012. (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, NRD545, Dipole, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Geez, they only have a few frequencies and still can`t keep them straight (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Selected AM Happenings: NY, New York, WABC 770 gives up commercials daily 5 to 7 am during the Curtis and Kuby Show. It`s an effort to win former Howard Stern listeners. It hopes to offer more news than WINS 1010 and WCBS 880, which will have a burden of 18-22 minutes of ads each hour. ``Here, that time will be all news.`` Some of that inventory will be made up the rest of the day, and the no-ads mornings will continue through mid-March. During the recent transit strike, all three of these stations dropped almost all other programming (Jan FMedia! via DXLD) ** U S A. MD, Perryville, WMVK-LP *107.3, owned by Maryland Transit Authority, has had a good response to its mix of transit information and music. ``We provide a transit info service for commuters using the MARC Train and bus service, and work in Baltimore and Washington DC. It provides a critical source of information that directly impacts the comfort of the commuters,`` said Marc Jones, manager of broadcast operations for the authority (Jan FMedia! via DXLD) just how? ** U S A. WTOP/WTWP-1500 --- Last night I reported that WTOP-1500 was still using this call - and so they are most of the time. However I just listened to the Legal ID at 2300z and they are now IDing 1500 as WTWP - so the change is in place. Unfortunately as long as the hourly "Legal ID" gives your proper call you can basically use anything you want the rest of the time. It does appear that all of the WTOP/WTWP stations on AM & FM are still running the same all news programming and I believe the new Washington Post/Talk on 1500 will not start for another couple of months. Since this is a talk station affiliated with the Washington Post it will undoubtedly have a liberal bias. Will be interesting to see how they manage to do since most liberal talk radio over here bombs. 73, (Al Merriman, Chincoteague Island VA, Jan 11, MWC via DXLD) A few hours ago I was in BWI airport and checked 103.5, and noted no stereo indicator. Good full quieting signal at the airport, BTW (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, Jan 10, WTFDA via DXLD) ** U S A. Hello ABDX'ers, I am looking for the overnight (Eastern Time) program clocks for Fox Sports radio and ESPN sports radio. Can any one point me in the right direction? Any help appreciated (Barry Davies, Editor, North American News, MWC UK, ABDX via DXLD) Try the following URL: http://engineering.premiereradio.com/ All of Premiere Radio Networks produced and uplinked programming have their program clocks in .pdf format, ready for download. If I'm not mistaken, most if not all program clocks are in the clear, meaning you do not have to be a radio station affiliate with a username/password to access these files (Bob Carter, KC4QLP, Mid-Atlantic-Engineering- Services of Utica NY / Elizabeth City NC http://www.geocities.com/midatlanticengineeringservice ibid.) ** U S A. Radio Disney in Omaha --- As reported in DXN by Ernie Wesolowski and others, KYDZ-1180 in Omaha has essentially moved to 1020, replacing the country format of KOIL with Radio Disney. The two frequencies remain in parallel until February 28, when 1180 goes silent to follow the FCC ruling about the X-band outlet on 1620 (KOZN) being granted ten years ago. I sometimes hear Radio Disney 1020 IDs on 1180. I haven't heard any call on 1020, but I am hoping that they keep the KOIL call, dating from the 1920's, somewhere. This one has moved around a lot since the current ownership came. Omaha's radio stations don't seem to be any smarter than anywhere else. WOW-590's historic call was changed to KOMJ, then swapped with the all-sports outlet on 1490 that was losing in the ratings. The move of KOMJ made reception in Lincoln almost impossible, with the directionality protecting Lincoln's KLMS-1480. Ratings for both the Omaha stations have gone down (Robert McCoy, N0SCE, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. KDJW AM 1360 in Amarillo, TX became the 117th Catholic station on December 29th. KDJW is owned by Catholic Radio of the Texas High Plains and has come to fruition in large part because of the unwavering support of the Most Rev. John W. Yanta, Bishop of Amarillo. CRTHP is a great illustration of what can be accomplished when clergy and laity work hand in hand. The goal of Bishop Yanta and CRTHP is to completely cover the Diocese of Amarillo with English and Spanish Catholic radio. The FCC has received a Petition for Rulemaking to establish a new Low Power AM (LPAM) service. The proposal was for a new commercial service capable of being applied for in metropolitan and rural areas across the country. The Catholic Radio Association filed comments in support of the new service but advocated it be set aside as a noncommercial service. More information can be found at http://www.amherstalliance.net/html/lpam.html (Catholic Radio Association Nov-Dec newsletter, Radioactive Messenger, Jan 12, via DXLD) ** U S A. Radio Free Minturn, CO 107.9 LPFM MINTURN RADIO'S WAVES HAVE YET TO COME TO SHORE Shauna Farnell, January 10, 2006, Vail CO Daily News MINTURN - The story of Radio Free Minturn can be told much like that of the Colorado Jackalope. It's a fascinating creature, but nobody has actually seen or heard it yet. The community-run radio station has leapt about every hurdle imaginable as far as licenses and leases go. It was way back in 2000 that a handful of free radio enthusiasts in Minturn took advantage of a low-powered radio service authorized by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to launch a commercial-free station with goals of authentic, uncensored, high-variety music and talk broadcasting. But after complications surrounding Sept. 11, 2001, time-consuming fundraising efforts and a change of ownership of the Upper Dowd Junction communication tower, where Radio Free Minturn will transmit, the station's launch has been pushed back a month here, a year there, but is now setting its sights on March 15 to make its first waves. "It's more of a fact that we're all volunteers and we don't have a tremendous amount of dedicated time for this project," said Minturn's Liz Campbell, one of the pioneers of Radio Free Minturn. "Then, of course, we had the hiccups with the tower. It came down to the final hour, then we couldn't get on it. We needed to get up and running, so the FCC granted us an extension." The original launch date for the station was last September. Then Mike King, the previous operator of the Dowd tower, couldn't guarantee a lease, and the tower was bought by Traer Creek, LLC, which have since granted the station, which is established as a 501c3 nonprofit organization, a lease of a mere $100 per month. "We wanted to make it possible for them to be able to launch it," said Traer Creek spokesman Dan Christopherson. "We didn't want the cost of our lease to get in the way. It's a small, community-based organization. It's something Traer Creek felt would be a good way to make a donation to the community. It's a public-supported project." Technology doesn't come for free Still, Radio Free Minturn, like other local stations that use the tower, is responsible for purchasing its own equipment. Station organizers have estimated the start-up costs at $40,000, with annual operating costs estimated at $28,000. So far, the group has collected $16,500. Ginn Club and Resorts has offered to match fundraising efforts up to $20,000. The station has also received a pledge of $1,200 for first-year operating costs. Organizers have hired an engineer to climb the tower and install equipment, but he will likely need to travel to the tower by snowmobile. Campbell said the station will begin sending a signal via microwave to the tower beginning this weekend, and the licensing process from then on will be at least 30 days. "Our biggest concern is to buy all the proper equipment on the tower - the studio transmitter link, the antenna ..." Campbell said. "Then we need to find out how we can start spending money on the studio. It could be pretty bare bones to start." Bare bones would describe Radio Free Minturn in its days of yore, when it was operated as a pirate station from a Minturn living room from 1998 to 2000, at which point it was shut down. "It's an incredibly simple process, as far as transmission," Campbell said. "In the beginning, we were using something that looked like a breadbox. I eventually want to have a turntable, an ability for people to plug in their Ipods ... We want it to be high-tech. We want two computers. We'll probably just have one when we start." Organizers will attempt to raise the final $3,500 for the station's start-up costs through additional fundraising efforts this winter and spring. For more information on the station, visit http://www.minturnradio.org (via Kevin Redding, Jan 11, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. GUNSMOKE / SMOKEY BEAR - GEORGE WALSH George Walsh, 88; Voice of "Gunsmoke," KNX Newsman By Valerie J. Nelson, Times Staff Writer George Walsh, who became known as the voice of "Gunsmoke" after he introduced the western series on CBS radio for nearly a decade then followed the show to television as its announcer, has died. He was 88. Walsh, an announcer and a newscaster at KNX-AM (1070) from 1952 to 1986, died of congestive heart failure Dec. 5 at Garfield Medical Center in Monterey Park, said his daughter, Fran. Beginning in 1952, Walsh opened the weekly series that was broadcast live on radio with these words: "Around Dodge City and in the territory out West, there's just one way to handle the killers and the spoilers, and that's with a U.S. marshal and the smell of 'Gunsmoke.'" The radio version of "Gunsmoke," which starred William Conrad as Marshal Matt Dillon, aired until 1961. When it moved to television in 1955, James Arness took over the starring role but Walsh remained as the show's announcer. Walsh, who once said the "Gunsmoke" cast thought the radio show would last forever, had only to look at the streets of Los Angeles in the 1950s to see the future of episodic drama. "It was unbelievable. People were standing in the rain outside department stores watching television when it was new," Walsh told The Times in 2000. For 34 years, Walsh worked at KNX as an interviewer, sports reporter, newscaster and announcer for a number of shows, including a fashion show hosted by film costume designer Edith Head. One show, "Music 'Til Dawn," featured mainly classical music and aired overnight from 1952 until about 1970. The show won a Peabody Award in 1966. Another, "This Is Los Angeles," aired nightly at 8:15 and earned him a Golden Mike Award in 1961 from the Radio and Television News Assn. of Southern California. During one radio show, while Walsh waited to do a commercial, Danny Kaye pulled a prank with an egg sandwich. "He suddenly walked up and shoved it into my mouth," Walsh told the Riverside Press-Enterprise in 1998. "I don't know how, but I kept talking." Walsh's voice also reached a broader audience when he recorded "Only you can prevent forest fires," the signature line of Smokey Bear. His voice was used in the West Coast ad campaign, his daughter said. George Russell Walsh was born in Cleveland on Nov. 29, 1917. Days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Walsh joined the Army Air Forces, serving overseas with Armed Forces Radio and emceeing USO shows. Upon returning to the United States, Walsh became the program director at an ABC-affiliated radio station in Roswell, N.M., where he broke a story, which he was proud of decades later, about a UFO "landing" on June 17, 1947. When an Air Force press officer claimed that a "flying saucer" had been captured near Roswell and sent to Washington, D.C., for analysis, Walsh went with the story, which was reported around the world before the military realized that the so-called UFO was actually a radar target. Walsh came to Los Angeles to attend broadcasting school and was soon hired at KNX as a vacation relief announcer. After he retired from broadcasting, Walsh worked in the shops on Main Street in Disneyland, a place his daughter said he "just loved." A careful listener might have been able to connect the Candy Palace clerk with another part of the park ­ Walsh's voice was featured on the rides Flight to the Moon and Mission to Mars, which have since closed. His daughter recalled Walsh, a longtime resident of Monterey Park, as a "kind and gentle man" who insisted on leaving a weekly thank you atop his garbage can on trash day: a chilled bottle of Starbucks Mocha Frappuccino. In addition to his daughter, who lives in Riverside, Walsh is survived by his wife of 49 years, Charlotte; two other daughters, Janice of Fontana and Carolyn of Monterey Park; two brothers; two sisters; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild (via Pete Kemp, FL, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. And speaking of cheaters --- WDRF 1510 Woodruff SC has been on full day power of 1000 watts... I'm writing Mike Gideon of CC Nashville and Fred at the FCC Atlanta. It's not an accident to be doing this for months (Powell E. Way III, ABDX via DXLD) It's always unfortunate when DXers decide to play broadcast police. Writing to both the broadcaster and FCC is an especially bad move. At minimum should a DXer feel the need to tattle-tale, then the broadcaster should be contacted first, before contacting the FCC. Regardless, it does nothing to promote DXing and relationships with broadcasters. It's not like it's a life or death emergency, so why not let the broadcasters and FCC be? It would be far better to let DXers know when a station is operating outside license parameters so we can take advantage of the opportunity (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, ibid.) Bruce, Life might be great in NH. You may never have seen a station go on for months, literally months, on full power without an authorization by the FCC. There are two sides to the coin. This flagrant violator is covering up other DX that could be caught by the community. I understand that there are times stations have a problem to deal with. If it goes on for maybe as long as three weeks or a month, OK. I can deal with it but when it goes on three or four months, don't you think that`s a bit long? I have some friends at Clear Channel, and generally they are good people to deal with. I ask them questions when they have an anomaly and they have been really up front with what's going on. Its how we all found out a while back about KFAB's antenna replacement and why they did so well on the east coast. I know people at the FCC and 99% of the time I don't tell them about cheating stations because even if I did, they would do nothing. About the only time I tell them anything is if a station has its tower lights out for a considerable amount of time because that is a flight hazard and people could be killed. The FCC will do something about that. I don't call the FAA, the station would certainly get a fine. Bruce, I am sure that what is needed is common sense. Your side has a point. But the guys who have to deal with people who flagrantly violate the rules for month after month like WBCA in Bay Minette, AL, and have a long history of doing so, they have a point also. On this, both sides are right if they use common sense (Kevin Redding, Gilbert AZ, ibid.) BZZZZT! For me, wrong answer. The FCC HAS approached ME to be on the lookout for this stuff. As for WDRF they have been doing this since they changed format and I THINK a new owner. The automation system WAS programmed with liners and promos during this period so it was NO ACCIDENT. A NAL would end up with the words willful and repeated. They aren't even honoring critical hours. Mike Gideon will hopefully have a talk with them and if they lie about it, Fred in the FCC office will also. USUALLY, now they [the FCC] will talk to the offender, and if they keep it up then they get written up. I just don't like dishonesty. It took FOREVER to get the 1370 in Gastonia to run their correct flea power at night or cut power at the proper time. My friend owns another 1370 and he also had complained many times. BUT Gastonia is monitored out of Norfolk. They take forever to do something if they do. So I'm not doing this a DX'er, but I'm noting it here. I have a card that says (in BIG RED LETTERS) PMS Underneath Powell's Monitoring Station, YOU cheat WE tattle. YES, there is one on the wall at the Atlanta FCC office. Also Mike Gideon, CC regional director of Engineering said when he was recently in DC someone was cheating there, clobbering WSM. Might see who that is (Powell E. Way, III, ibid.) DXers, a lobbying group? C'mon now. We're a speck of dust compared to real lobbying groups like the NAB. We represent what, maybe a thousand people nationwide? And out of a thousand broadcast DXers, there are only maybe fifty to a hundred at the most who are really active. The broadcasters are responsible for making AM radio the mess that it is today, and there's nothing we DXers can do about it. Our hobby might be well outside the mainstream, but its the vigilantes that are giving DXers a poor reputation these days. If you do feel the need to go on the attack against a particular radio station, then at least do it quietly. I guess part of my problem with the vigilantes is their infantile "Cheater, cheater, cheater, I'm telling on you" public announcements on the Internet. You don't know who's lurking on these lists, and where the stuff is being forwarded. It simply makes DXers look bad, period. A more mature method might be to announce on the Internet,"1110 WPMZ is running late on what appears to be full power again. Go get 'em while you can." Then proceed to inform broadcasters and authorities without the pubilc announcements. In other words, dispense with the "Look at me everyone, I'm going after another station" attitude. You're only doing the DX community a disservice (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, ibid.) Well normally I don't say much about it. If it's someone I know I let them know. 3 months of dual disgressions [sic] is it. There was a 1520 one night from Florida boooooming in, religious programming and live. I found the number and got the guy. I informed him he was on day power and pattern. He said "OH NOOO!!" I forgot, thanks !! 10 seconds later....poof gone. The 1130 in Gainesville has been a thorn in the Atlanta office's side as has been some of their other stations. Mentioning that one gets a scowl also. There's another Georgia 810 that decided to not sign off. Well, they got a call. Also they no longer have that owner. The Calhoun GA 1030 got a "nice" call from Mark Manuelian at WBZ. The guy at the station felt he could run day power of 5000 watts and no one would notice he wasn't running 3 watts. What Mark told him (after I gave him the lowdown from another GA broadcaster), he'd better comply. Well he has for a while. Now for FM (yes, there are FM cheaters) --- the 100.1 near Florence [SC] got caught. 6000 watts with a 20,000 watt transmitter. When they put more bays up, they had to reduce power to keep the ERP the same. But they didn't. At the time my friend was engineering the Florence SC 540. On the way back we noticed the 100.1 went WAAAY too far. He called Fred in the FCC office. They got an impromptu visit. NO one there, and way over power. This was in the day before unattended was legal. I think they got some $20,000 or more fines. After the new company bought 540 that my friend used to engineer, they got a new transmitter. They bought a 1000 watt one. They decided to run it at 1 KW. I told my friend who sold them the transmitter what was going on, that they had BETTER run their allotted power or I'd call the FCC. He denied it, but I told him I had already measured them on the FIM, and verified it. Now, on their legal 126 (or whatever it is) night power, on a non auroral, it's good up to 20 miles and listenable from 30 to 40 if skip isn't wild. 250 watts doesn't do much, but on 1000 watts it gets out a pretty good bit (Powell E. Way, III, SC, ABDX via DXLD) I thought I would throw my 2 cents in on this subject. First of all - I don't feel that I am a snitch by informing the FCC of flagrant, repeat violations. License terms of broadcast stations are very clearly laid out - if a broadcast engineer feels they are above the law and violates the station's license terms, then the public has every reason to report the violation. If there is a bad allocation involved - one that causes interference - there is an initial public comment period during which the FCC welcomes reports of interference by the new station. They can then make the necessary adjustments to the construction permit to alleviate the interference. Or in extreme cases reverse their decision to allow the allocation. As for Clear Channel - I am sure there are good people working there. But their reputations are sure tarnished by their attempts to foist the faulty Ibiquity IBOC system on the public. Its shortcomings, particularly on the AM band, are being swept under the rug. And the interests of DX'ers such as myself are being marginalized - or worse yet downright insulted. Just try telling hundreds of thousands of hurricane Katrina survivors that nighttime skywave service from WWL is unnecessary and outmoded. And digital stereo musical beds and commercials for WCBS are more important than news and information about the recovery of their city. We - the DX'ers - have sat back for decades while: (1) The FCC pollutes the AM band with more and more stations interfering with clear channels. (2) Mexico thumbs its nose at American broadcasters and allows virtually all of its stations to blast daytime power at night. (3) We did nothing to protest lax standards on power line emissions on the part of power companies. (4) We did nothing to protest lax standards on new devices that potentially cause interference to AM and FM. (5) We did nothing to support mandatory AMAX standards including AM stereo in all receivers costing more than $50 or so. And I could go on and on. As a lobbying group - DX'ers are pretty lame. If we had been more forceful about the AM band in the first place, there would be no need for digital on it at all on AM - because now all premium home and auto receivers would sound excellent on both bands (Bruce Carter, ibid.) As a lobbying group, there aren't enough --- and never has been enough --- DXers for the FCC or anyone else to take us seriously. We're a fraction of one percent of the population (and that fraction is probably several places to the right of the decimal point); DXers could protest all they want and no one would take them seriously because of the lack of numbers. And --- let's face it --- our hobby is seen as unusual or weird by many non-DXers; our concerns and interests baffle most people. We're a fringe group, now and forever. There's nothing wrong with that, but it also means our ability to influence the FCC or broadcasting industry is much, much less than some of us might think (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19 http://futureofradio.typepad.com/ ibid.) Amen, Bruce. Excellent points. |rant| I have mixed feelings on the subject and tend to side more with Kevin Redding, only because I've now seen what can happen to lobbyists for a cause that go over board and become known as a bunch of quacks. I am EXTREMELY passionate about AM Stereo (analog c-quam) yet I refuse to associate myself with Kevin Tekel's group because of its reputation, which therefore has now ruined the cause and credibility of those of us that are supporters of AM Stereo. You probably have half to 3/4 of the engineers in this country that refer to "those quacks that are obsessed about AM Stereo" --- something which I don't think would have happened if Mr. Tekel was not the psycho that he is. (No, I'm not a basher and a name-caller, but anyone that has even heard of him or his group or been a part of it will surely agree). I'd hate to see DXers become (in station engineers' eyes) another group of yodels [sic] that tattletale on stations and think they're the FCC police. However FLAGRANT violations, YES. Day after day after day for no reason other than ignorance, YES --- these stations deserve to have someone report them. And I think you probably agree there and you're not gonna be on the phone to the FCC every time some station seems to be cheating. Everyone makes mistakes --- especially in this world of computer-automated stations. Sometimes it's a rare opportunity for a catch that a DXer might not otherwise be able to get. I agree whole-heartedly about NOT making a big enough stink about the quality of AM radios and the MANDATING of AMax standards and so forth. I feel exactly the same way. If good bandwidth and good standards such as AMax had been instituted and made mandatory, I really think AM would still be a competitive medium with great fidelity and music. Those of us in the biz know. I always make the example of people coming up to the station and hearing the air monitor in the AM studio --- watching their eyes pop out because they can't believe AM actually sounds THAT good! All stations can sound that good --- even 10 kHz sounds wonderful and about as good as FM to most people. And for the most part (until last year when CC invented the 5 kHz / 6 kHz standard) ALL stations sounded that good and broadcasted out to 10 kHz --- and many still do. I don't know if there's any turning back now. I don't know that you'd ever be able to get people to turn back over to AM without offering them something "improved" and guaranteeing them it sounds better than what you typically think AM does. And this is what IBOC is out to do. I think that's barking up the wrong tree --- I truly think you could still get people to turn back over by improving programming, actually widening the bandwidth a touch, and producing radios to receive that higher bandwidth. Use a DSP chip in the radio to "clean up" the sound even more and voilà --- you have better AM. Call it "HQ AM" or "AM HQ" --- "new radios featuring the new AM HQ technology, AM like you've never heard it before!" Would you buy one? I would! And I bet it wouldn't cost $500 either. These are such simple improvements that would add only pennies to the cost. These days any radio manufacturer just puts a chip in there. The chip manufacturers have AM/FM tuners right on a chip. It's one chip. How simple would it be for the "tuner on a chip" to receive higher bandwidth than 4 or 5 kHz? VERY simple. The chip cost would not be affected very much. Yet the sound would be great. I could go on all day. Bruce, you understand it like I do. It could have been a lot different. And there's always hope. We can just keep hoping that IBOC falls on its face and then they'll have to do SOMETHING and it's gonna have to be something analog ---- digital just doesn't work because of skywave --- something that no station or equipment can change. AM is AM and skywave is skywave. |end of rant| (Michael in Wyo Richard, ibid.) Michael, looks like Motorola beat you to this idea. Has anyone heard whether this went anywhere? They announced it a couple of years ago, but a Google search gives me the impression that it arrived with a big "thud". --- From the Economist: SYMPHONY FOR LOCAL RADIO Listeners could be receiving AM and FM radio with CD-quality sound sooner than even most broadcasters had expected SEVERAL months ago, iBiquity Digital was riding high. With no competitors, this two-year-old firm, based in Columbia, Maryland, had a novel technology for replacing traditional AM and FM radio broadcasting with more robust digital signals. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in Washington, DC, had officially endorsed iBiquity's terrestrial digital radio format, known as IBOC (in-band on-channel). Although the FCC stopped short of finalising the licensing terms until a later hearing, it agreed to let local radio operators begin broadcasting in the new IBOC format. It seemed only a matter of time before car owners, equipped with an IBOC radio, would be free to enjoy stunning CD-quality local programming as they cruised America's highways and byways. Meanwhile, radio broadcasters across the country would offer ancillary data (such as promotions for movie and concert tickets, or personalised share- price tickers) by piggybacking the information on the IBOC signal. iBiquity had even started to persuade radio stations to spend tens of thousands of dollars to upgrade their broadcasting equipment for the new digital signals. Then along came Motorola, with a digital-radio chipset called Symphony, to spoil the fun. Both devices turn crackly analogue broadcasting into pristine digital radio. But the similarities end there. The iBiquity scheme involves a tuner built to receive a digital bitstream from a broadcaster transmitting a signal using the IBOC format. In contrast, the Symphony chipset takes an ordinary analogue AM or FM signal and pumps it through its powerful digital processor to enhance the sound and boost reception significantly. Symphony costs the broadcaster nothing, and consumers next to nothing -- and the average listener can barely hear the difference between the two digital forms of AM or FM radio reception. Symphony has some big advantages. To create CD-quality music, it uses not only hardware (its 24-bit signal processor is similar to those found in home-theatre equipment with fancy surround-sound features) but also a software engine. The built-in software, which lets users upgrade or customise the radio with third-party applications, can generate noise-cancelling signals to eliminate engine hum and other stray sounds. It can also pick up neighbouring stations more accurately than conventional tuners and thus avoid interference. The "spectrum buffer" required by the FCC to stop adjacent stations interfering with each other could be cut in half, says John Hansen of Motorola. That could double the number of possible stations in the AM/FM bands. Motorola is selling samples of its Symphony chipset to developers for about $30 apiece. Once in volume production, the chipset is expected to cost only a few dollars. The company hopes that products based on Symphony will be on the market by Christmas 2003. Ryan Jones of the Yankee Group, a technology consultancy in Boston, expects Motorola to entice consumers who do not want to wait for iBiquity's digital broadcasting system, or are unwilling to pay monthly subscription fees for digital satellite radio. "But over the longer term," says Mr Jones, "a pure digital solution offers a number of different advantages -- such as higher sound-quality, longer range, and ancillary data features." Eventually, digital radio could evolve into an industry which, in shape if not size, resembles the television industry -- where broadcast, cable and satellite compete at the margins but otherwise share a lucrative market. Analysts at Allied Business Intelligence of Oyster Bay, New York, believe that sales of digital radios will jump nearly 50-fold to 33m by 2007. Meanwhile, Cahner's In-Stat, a technology forecasting firm with offices in Newton, Massachusetts, expects to see one in every two radios sold in America equipped with a digital decoder within four years. Whatever happens to iBiquity, the days of the squeaky AM/FM tuner are clearly numbered (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA (GMT -0800), DX-398 / RS Loop, ibid.) Once again, common sense is so important as Kevin says. I agree with Bruce that DXers shouldn't just be a nasty bunch of snitches. However, violations often are harmful to someone. Kevin has some awfully good points here. Apply the Golden Rule - how would you like to be treated if you were a chief engineer or a station owner? If there was no danger to life or limb, I'd sure appreciate it if someone told me first before calling the FCC or here IC and the CRTC. First, attempt to contact the station and let them know that there might be a problem. Give them a bit of a heads up in case there might be a problem they don't know about. If they don't respond and the problem persists, they have been warned and then let the authorities know as a radio listener, not a DXer. If it`s a tower light violation where loss of life could happen - don't delay - inform immediately. How long is too long? The ultimate question. Once again, if safety is not an issue, give them a bit of time for them to order some parts and get them in. I'll tell you this much, if I got a polite reply backing thanking me, explaining that they needed a new part, it was on order etc. I'd be pretty patient. Bizarre things have happened in these parts like coax hardline freezing, lightning damage etc. forcing a two tower array to go omni for a while. Of course, if its a deliberate violator, they are likely to ignore you, but heck, they have been warned. Keep in mind though that just because you hear something that you think you shouldn't be able to hear doesn't mean they are cheating. The aether can be pretty bizarre at times (Phil Rafuse, PEI, ibid.) Indeed. I seem to accuse a lot of stations of cheating, but after a while of DXing, you tend to have a pretty good idea of who your regulars are, and what is an unusual reception. In general, I tend to just enjoy the DX opportunity, and for the most part, the opportunity has tended to go away within days or weeks. So it's quite possible that I've been wrong in accusing them of cheating - it might have just been some short-lived conditions. Since I'm never too sure, and even if I did have a FIM, it would be useless for skywave reception anyhow. Since I'm not confident that they are cheating, I'm not about to accuse anyone - though KLPZ sure does get out well on that 58 w night power, don't they ;-) (Brian Leyton, Valley Village, CA (GMT -0800), DX-398 / RS Loop, ibid.) Not trying to start a flame war, but what's "infantile" about pointing out some station is apparently willfully breaking the law on a regular basis? The broadcast radio spectrum is about as "public" as it gets, broadcasters have absolutely no expectation of privacy when they operate, and their actions do affect other stations, so I can't quite understand why a DXer --- or anyone else, for that matter --- is supposed to be quiet when they observe something like what Powell observes. I don't recall taking a Mafia-style "omerta" oath when I became a DXer. My sympathies lie with the broadcasters who are doing their best within the privileges granted to them by the FCC, not with those few wiseasses who think they are exempt from the rules and regulations that apply to other licensees and stations. I don't understand why I am supposed to be sympathetic toward the latter (Harry Helms, W5HLH, Smithville, TX EL19, ibid.) I think a field intensity meter would have a lot of value if you are pretty near a station you suspect is not lowering power at night and get a stable reading day and at night, and watch for the change in level. I think you'd want to use a strip chart recorder to document this. I'm not sure these devices have a DC level output available to record, though in a worst-case you might be able to bring out the meter connection points. Anyone ever do this? However you might be in a certain location where the day and night fields are the same, so this test may not be reliable for your suspect station. e.g. 5 kw non- DA and 500-night with a huge lobe right at you. Wouldn't prove much (Bob Foxworth, FL, ibid.) Perhaps in my evocative language you missed the point. I'll try again, in the form of a question. What purpose does it serve to publicly announce an accusation of "cheating" and that you've registered a complaint with the authorities? The only purposes I can surmise are of malicious intentions, to attack, debase and humiliate broadcasters, or to validate some sort of superiority complex by announcing to the world, "I'm a man!" In either case, it does nothing for the health and well being of the DX community. The broadcasters are big boys and can take care of themselves, and the FCC will publicly announce when a broadcaster is found to be in violation of the rules. Lastly, you mention Powell specifically, but his initial comment only ignited a long-standing issue I've had with the DX vigilantes overall, and was not aimed at him specifically. I simply yet strongly believe that the DX vigilantes are going about their business in an entirely inappropriate manner through their public announcements, only to result in irreparable harm to the DX community. Regarding DX cults, maybe the first ABDX Convention could take place in the vicinity of Area 52. That ought to cement our reputation. Is anyone receiving poltergeists in the static? (Bruce Conti - Nashua NH, ibid.) New owner or not --- operating outside your authorization is no excuse. Pleading ignorance or the "I didn't know" card won't work here either. Every station owner, operator[s] (technical types, DJ's in the station) and the engineers must know what their station[s] are legally capable of doing at all times. It is part of insuring that they fulfill their duty to public service. In this case, causing deliberate interference is not a public service. I know the argument of having a local station on providing local service is preferred over having a station blasting in from half way across the country providing no local service to a community 3 and 4 states away --- but rules are rules. Some daytimers can get very low power authorized, but if your station is unfortunate where it cannot get night authorization, you have several choices. 1, apply for a major change during the next window filing and seek a new frequency or operating pattern if possible. 2 apply for a license or buy an existing FM station or seek another AM station in the area. 3, If steps 1 and 2 can't be done take your lumps and broadcast legally during the hours authorized, or 4, if steps 1 through 3 is too hard to bear and swallow, then sell what you have to another operator/owner who will do what is supposed to be done. Now Powell, as for the Norfolk VA district --- wow! Yeah, that district has really become more lax in my opinion. It seems to me that these turns of events occurred when that field office was what seems to have been downsized and moved from 1200 Communications Circle, Norfolk VA to probably some spare closet in a govt office building in Chesapeake VA. Mr Bowden is a great guy and gets the job done, but I think someone somewhere might look into giving that guy some more staff to work with. I remember very well when everything was still in Norfolk and the late J J Freemon, FCC District Engineer in Charge of the Norfolk region was at the reins, you didn't see or hear of many broadcasters within a 100 mile radius of Norfolk on the FCC NAL list. My my, how have times changed (Bob Carter - KC4QLP, ibid.) ** U S A. FCC FORFEITURE WATCH - SELECTED ITEM What would the FCC do with an automated or remote controlled pirate radio station, where the pirate cannot be found, and the homeowner where the transmitter is located refuses to cooperate? In the case of a San Diego pirate on 106.9 MHz, the FCC has tentatively fined the homeowner, Joni Craig, $10,000. This case is probably precedent setting and is hot off the press: http://www.fcc.gov/eb/FieldNotices/2003/DOC-262941A1.html (CGC Communicator Jan 11 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. DEBORAH TAYLOR TATE SWORN IN AS FCC COMMISSIONER, DITTO FOR MICHAEL J. COPPS (FOR A SECOND TERM) http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-263034A1.doc http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-263036A1.doc (CGC Communicator Jan 11 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. CBS OVERNIGHT STAFFED BY 9 PEOPLE From the CBS Public Eye Blog... http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2006/01/09/publiceye/entry1192301.shtml January 9, 2006 --- The CBS Nighttime News If you're the kind of person who sleeps soundly every night, never waking up and flipping on the TV in the wee hours of the morning, you probably consider yourself fairly lucky. But if you sound sleepers were to ask Bob Bicknell, he'll tell you you're missing out. Bicknell is the senior producer of "Up To The Minute," CBS' nighttime news broadcast, which bills itself as offering programming for "very late workers, very early workers, insomniacs, parents of insomniac infants, and anyone else in the growing Monday-through-Friday overnight audience." "Up To The Minute" has been around since April 1, 1992, and it has maintained the 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. timeslot ever since. What was once a relatively large staff has been reduced to 9 people, who, Bicknell says, cover the network from 7:30 p.m. until roughly 4:30 a.m. The first UTTM staffer shows up at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York around 3:30 in the afternoon; the last departs around 5:00 a.m., unless news breaks, in which the staff stays later. Each night the staff produces a one-hour show, as well as eight-minute newsblocks at the top and bottom of every hour. The newsblocks are updated with fresh as a story develops, but if nothing changes between, say, 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., the blocks will be rerun. It isn't easy to produce a one-hour show with just nine people, and, unlike most CBS News employees, UTTM staffers have to be multitaskers, writing their own material and editing tape themselves, because the staff is so small. "That's the way we have to get by," says Bicknell. In addition to its original programming, the show relies on content from other areas of CBS News, generally what producers consider the "best features" from shows like "Sunday Morning," "48 Hours," and "Face the Nation." Bicknell says UTTM is now moving away from recycled content, however, and points to original features like the "Letter From Asia." The broadcast won't soon be completely self-sufficient, but Bicknell says he's trying to feature more original content that can be fed to CBSNews.com and CBS affiliates. Working at night can be difficult, Bicknell admits. "It's hard on the rest of your life. Most of us are married, and have young children." But he says there are some significant benefits. "We can spend a lot more time on something than other shows," he says. "We can take a story of the day and dedicate 7 minutes or so to an interview on that subject. We can go longer if we need to. We get to ask the questions that aren't being asked and answered because of time on some of the other broadcasts." And there are reasons to be happy, he says, about flying relatively low on the radar screen. "There's not a lot of people walking around picking apart what it is we're doing," he says. UTTM programming is available coast to coast, but whether or not you see it - and when - is up to the local CBS affiliate. For the last quarter of December, the show averaged just short of 800,000 viewers at any given time. Bicknell says the international audience is growing. "When it's 2 a.m. here it's 10 in the morning in Baghdad, and a lot of people watch it from there," he says. Posted by Brian Montopoli at 5:03 PM : January 9, 2006 Read more posts in Behind The Scenes (via Tom Roche, DXLD) Yes, I was surprised to find an Andy Rooney piece from 60 Minutes on an overnight tape I made, AAMOF, trying to find a special middle-of- the-night play of the entire 60 Minutes, on one of the too-frequent occasions it was pre-empted in whole or in part by the local affiliate KWTV OKC. Well, if there is normally only one hour of material repeated over and over, that`s ``prime`` time for playing pre-empted shows from the previous day. Now if it were a soap opera, you could be damn sure it would get played then (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. 6155, Jan 11, 2240-2250, Pirate. Creepy Horror music, Suspense type sounds playing for a few minutes. European possible German speaking announcer male and Female. Whispering type voice with more weird sounds. Off tune flute then drumming/random beating. Again announcer commenting on the music (KY-SWL, HCDX online log via DXLD) I wonder who that is, and does that mean she is in Kentucky? Maybe a pirate, but sounds like a mix between Austria and China Business Radio, both scheduled there at this time. Or firedrake (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ A few programs bravely soldier on. Some of those that remain are superb. Although perhaps not the fastest source of up-to-the minute news they once were in pre-internet days, they are still informative and entertaining. Listen to them while you can. After all, their time slots could be more profitably be filled by another Gene Scott or Brother Stair outlet. World Of Radio Without a doubt, the best one out there. Glenn Hauser generates a sesquiload of radio information each week, much or most of it about shortwave. The variety and detail of the information presented is impressive. One of the things I like about the show is it's simplicity –though he sometimes includes tapes excerpts, for the most part it's just Glenn presenting the information, without scripting, musical interludes, words for daily living, or other irrelevancies. He packs a lot of information into the half hour. Between WOR his web publication DX Listening Digest, his Monitoring Times column, and other publications, the amount of media content he shovels out into the radio world each week is staggering. The most interesting stuff is on the World Of Radio program, so you need to listen to it each week. Fortunately, you don't have to rely on the ever-changing over-the-air broadcast schedule (I stopped following it about five years ago) to catch it. The current programs are archived on the WOR web site. You can also hear World Of Radio via the World Radio Network. But if you want to get that true shortwave experience by listening over the airwaves, Glenn keeps track of the vagaries of the broadcast schedule here. Glenn produces a companion program, Continent Of Media focusing on North American media developments. It is aired at seemingly random times (primarily over RFPI in Costa Rica) but it too can be heard via the WOR web site. Mr. Hauser also has a Spanish-language program, Radial Mundial (James Tedford, WA, http://www.radioenthusiast.com/dx_show.htm via DXLD) COMMENTARY ++++++++++ Where have all the surveys gone??? [continued from 6-008] Chuck and Andy, If you don't mind my butting in, I'm not sure there is a large audience for shortwave. I wish there was. Broadcasting is prohibitively expensive for non-religious and non-government broadcasters. Having said that, I would love to know where the audiences are for FM, MW, IBOC, and DRM. I don't listen to any FM station on a regular basis. Public FM stations often have good programs but they're all interrupted at 3pm for NPR. I'm biased against NPR for a variety of reasons but they could air their news at five like everyone else. Occasionally there are some interesting programs on MW but I don't care to hear talk shows all the time. Radio Disney, of course, is completely useless. Add an obnoxious IBOC signal, and Britney Spears destroys 900 and 920 in SE Michigan. DRM splatters, too. Some people swear they love it-whatever makes them happy. (There is something peculiarly strange and romantic about distant analog signals.) Stations that use DRM and IBOC were clear here to begin with-and who in the third world (or here) will buy and IBOC/DRM receiver? I wonder. Religious programs are often annoying to DXers but they often broadcast in unusual languages, something that interests me. So, I would like to think that there is a huge American audience for some interesting SW programming, particularly originating from within the US. Perhaps people like the same old stuff. If so, I'm unique in that I don't. 73/ (Liz Cameron, MI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi all, I usually keep my mouth shut and just sit here and take it all in. I am one of the contented SWL's who allows all of the swirling controversy to blow by. But recently I have been upgrading my diet with red meat, so I have become appropriately more aggressive in many ways. During our discussion on the demise of shortwave, I have read a number of mentions of "Surveys" which say this and which say that? I have been a SWL for more than 30 years on the outside and close to 10 years in the USN. I have only participated in one survey and haven't seen many more than that one. The survey I participated in was done by Glenn Hauser back in the 80's before we had access to the internet. I can't recall the exact topic of the survey, but the fact remains no one has every contacted me about my Short-wave preference either pro or con before or since that survey. Chris Greenway said that the shortwave community here in the USA isn't as large as I think it is? Are we talking English SWL's or are we talking all SWL's of all languages? If one wants to see the number here in Florida - go to a Ham Fest sometime. Here in Miami a quarter of the attendees are Cuban/ American or other Hispanic SWL's. Oh, you say, Amateur Radio Operators don't count? Why not? Amateur Radio Operators listen to shortwave radio probably as often as the rest of us. That KA4PRF on my email isn't just random letters. I earned those letters with a lot of studying under my belt. I enjoy shortwave as much as anyone reading this and probably more in some cases. It seems to me, that some of the larger broadcasters (and even smaller ones) feel that their entire audience consists only of those who send in letters asking for a QSL cards. Aren't they aware that one just likes to listen to the broadcast and not jot down a "thank you" to send back to the station, just to let them know that someone is listening? I know that would be the kindest thing to do, but.... Shortwave broadcasters ought to take a lesson from the internet. When the internet first became popular, internet companies were looking for a source of revenue. They asked private individuals to put theire ads (banners) on their web pages. This didn't produce too much money, I expect from the results. However, today popup ads are providing a source of income for companies using the internet and why? Because the internet guys didn't throw up their hands and shout - "nobody is listening"; instead they tried another way and stuck to it. They were MOTIVATED. They weren't acting like typical bureaucrats. You know the popular image that Bureaucrats have? An example I slightly recall is what happened at VOA last year. Didn't heads roll at the VOA news department when a new CEO showed up with some fresh ideas. He wanted the news department at the VOA to be fresh and unique, not simply a relay source for CNN. I can't comment on whether his ideas took effect or not since the frequencies that VOA uses most of the time are covered by CRI. Anyway, that's how I feel about surveys that never appear anywhere, and those who have a tendency to let the water come to a boil before jumping out of the figurative lobster pot (Chuck Bolland, Clewiston, Florida, Jan 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) For a survey to be scientifically valid, it has to be from a random sample of the general public, a thousand or two people. From that, statistical methods can be used to project to the entire population and to compute the margin of error. While our RIB surveys were a good thing to do, they were among a self-selected sample of people who were already shortwave listening, and thus no conclusions could be drawn about the audience for SW in general. There seems to be very little audience research being done now due to the costs and the difficulty of collecting info in a large number of countries. Furthermore, the waters are very muddied by all the different platforms now available. BBCWS and IBB may be the only major stations still attempting XBAR (external broadcasting audience research), but AFAIK they are not publishing the results for all to see; proprietary info, after all. BBCWS must have some basis for its claims of tens of tens of megalisteners worldwide, but they are certainly not restricted to SW alone. As tempting as they may be, hamfests and DX/SWL meetings are not the place to draw any conclusions about the overall audience for SW. We have to face it: huge amounts of advertising money are allocated based on TV ratings, and most of us have never been surveyed that way either --- or if we have, it was one time long ago (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ WORLD RADIO TV HANDBOOK 2006 The World Radio TV Handbook (WRTH), subtitled the Directory of Global Broadcasting, published its 60th anniversary edition in December 2005. This publishing milestone is celebrated in a special 24-page part of the full-colour section. Three pages are devoted to a brief history of the WRTH itself, but the rest of the anniversary section contains special articles from the perspective of both the broadcaster and listener. Indeed, WRTH has always served as a reference book for both markets, which over the years proved to be both a strength and a weakness. Ten years ago, the WRTH seemed to be losing its way, but a new publishing and editorial team have revived it, and it's now better than ever. http://www2.rnw.nl/rnw/en/features/media/wrth.html?view=Standard (Media Network newsletter Jan 12 via DXLD) February 2006 "Consumer Reports" magazine Interesting article on pages 46,47 "Satellite radio Is it worth the money?" Also historical item on page 57 "then & now radio waves" looks at radio in 1948 and in 2006. 73, (Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, VA, Jan 12, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) EVEN BETTER SCANNER SCUM SITE - We NEVER give up!!! OK, a couple of days [ago] I told folks about our new Scanner Scum Web Presence at http://www.tjarey.com/radio/scannerscum.html Well, we sorted things out with the various server farms and admins and now we are migrating this whole mess over to our very own url: http://www.scannerscum.com So I apologize to anyone who actually took the time to link to the earlier version of our site. I will keep both up in parallel for a week or so until all our articles and data are migrated. Thanks to Rich Cuff for pointing out that the term Rap Sheets might be more appropriate than Bios. See everyone at Kulpsville!!!! Meanwhile... enjoy our group`s new site (T. J. "SKIP" AREY, N2EI, http://www.tjarey.com HCDX via DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ PREPARATIVOS PARA EL ENCUENTRO DIEXISTA DE MEXICO [July-Aug?] Saludos, habitante del mundo diexisa y de las ondas cortas: Ya tenemos el sitio con informaciones básicas para el XII Encuentro Nacional Diexista, "Ascensión 2006": http://mx.geocities.com/diexismo73/encuentrodx.html El sitio se actualizará periódicamente, por lo que será conveniente visitarlo de vez en cuando... ¿vienes al Encuentro? en cuanto tengas más o menos una posibilidad de que vienes, te agradeceré me lo comuniques, para ir yo teniendo una idea de quién viene y aproximadamene cuántos vendrían. En la medida de tus posibilidades, difunde el evento y la dirección del sitio web entre tus amigos y emisoras favoritas. Para seleccionar los temas que se impartirían en conferencias, ponencias, talleres, foros, etc., es necesario que indiques sobre qué te gustaría oír o participar. Para exponentes, les recuerdo un punto en que coincidimos los clubes en la reunión Veracruz 2004: cada expositor deberá traer los utensilios o implementos para su charla en caso de que el organizador no pueda proveérselos. Por lo pronto tengo programadas dos noches diexistas, una breve en mi casa, ligera, por si alguno de ustedes desea probar alguna de mis once antenas u ocho receptores, y otra un poco más larga, en un rancho en donde podrán también ver la estructura de riego y el sistema agrícola típico de la región (Miguel Angel Rocha Gámez, XE2ITX, clubdiexistamexico yg via Dario Monferini, Jan 12, playdx yg via DXLD) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ ETÓN E1 RECALL The Eton Corporaton of Palo Alto, California issued a recall on January 11, 2006 on certain E1 units for quality control issues. Their statement from Sales Director Ryan Giordano, states that affected units are found in the range of 3067 to 5462. The serial number on this model can be found on the back of the radio under the tilt stand. The simultaneous use of batteries and the AC adapter may cause battery heat-up, leakage and possible rupture. Eton is in the process of issuing a recall notification. Affected customers may contact Eton Customer service at 800 872-2228 or 650 903-3866. Eton will make arrangements with customers for prepaid return shipping to Eton. Eton Corporation will send the customer a fully tested E1 replacement plus a complimentary FR200 emergency radio (Universal Radio http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/portable/0101recallH.html via W6SWL, DXLD) CLOSEST-FREQUENCY AM DIPLEXES 1020 and 1150 are good directional candidates in LA. Both high power, both directional, both two patterns, too (David Gleason, LA CA, NRC-AM via DXLD) FCC CANCELS WITHOUT NOTICE The FCC isn`t even giving stations warnings: Feb. 1 is D-day for stations that have not been built. That`s when the FCC`s Wireless Bureau begins using an automated feature in its computerized Universal Licensing System for wireless services that identifies licenses, locations or frequencies ``for which a timely notice of construction or a request for an extension of the construction or coverage period has not been filed by the required deadline,`` according to the commission in its Dec. 20 notice (DA 05-3143). When the licensee doesn`t file a notice of construction or seek an extension, the ULS will notify the licensee that its license, location or frequency has been automatically terminated and that information would be listed on a weekly public notice (Jan FMedia! via DXLD) AVOID CANCELLATION OF YOUR MICROWAVE AND RPU AUTHORIZATIONS Last week, we mentioned that the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau (WTB) was preparing to automatically terminate certain authorizations. Now - because of the seriousness of the matter - the SBE has issued a primer entitled, "Avoiding Automatic Termination of Broadcast Auxiliary Licenses on 2/1/06." A copy of their web posting is available at the URL below. This is a matter that should be of immediate concern to all CEs. (URL courtesy of Chriss Scherer, president of SBE) http://www.sbe.org/pub_sc.php#SC1 (CGC Communicator Jan 11 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) OVER-THE-AIR VIEWING REMAINS SIGNIFICANT Tech Notes reports the results of an Associated Press poll indicating that 22% of households do not subscribe to either cable or satellite TV, implying that about that percentage of viewers rely on over-the- air (OTA) reception. When one considers that many households that subscribe to cable or satellite also use OTA in part - for example for the kitchen TV - the argument could be made that OTA reception is very important, and must be protected against interference. http://www.tech-notes.tv/Archive/tech_notes_133.pdf (Pages 6&7) (CGC Communicator Jan 11 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) FCC LOOKING INTO NATIONWIDE WIRELESS NETWORK USING TV SPECTRUM The FCC shares the concerns of many that the United States would benefit from a nationwide interoperable radio network to connect emergency workers in times of crisis. The Commission will look into using a portion of the 700 MHz band currently used for analog television broadcasting, but also wants to find a role for commercial wireless services. http://www.fcw.com/article91846-01-03-06-Web (CGC Communicator Jan 11 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) LASER TAG BETWEEN EARTH AND OUTER SPACE HAS COMM POTENTIAL Laser communication with spacecraft has taken place for years, but it has always been one-way traffic. Now, two-way communication has taken place. NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft has exchanged laser pulses with the Goddard Observatory in Maryland over a distance of about 15 million miles. The new record is significant because it could someday enable NASA to communicate with spacecraft at data rates up to 1,000 times faster than traditional radio waves. http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/060104_laser_comm.html (CGC Communicator Jan 11 via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ BACKGROUND NOISE DURING GEOGMAGNETIC DISTURBANCE On 6-Jan at 0000 I listened to 1680; this was very interesting. Due to the geomagnetic disturbance you could hear the background noise fluctuating with the disturbance. Occasionally traces of audio of the US transmitter made it through. I suppose the longer the path got established, the louder the noise became. You could in fact "hear" the ionosphere swinging; it was quite impressive. I never heard it before. Some of you probably may have experienced this, but for those who have not, listen to the "soft noise" in this clip. The sparkle noise in the foreground is local. http://xfer.3sdesign.de/BackgroundNoise-1680.mp3 Sunday I dismantled the antenna and drove home. The good times are over. :-( (Jurgen Bartels, Denmark, MWDX yg via DXLD) FIREBALL ALERT On Sunday morning, Jan. 15th, between 1:56 and 1:59 a.m. PST (0956 - 0959 UT), a brilliant fireball will streak over northern California and Nevada. It's NASA's Stardust capsule, returning to Earth with samples of dust from Comet Wild 2. The fireball should be visible from parts of Oregon, Idaho and Utah as well as California and Nevada: observing tips. If you're too far away to see the fireball, you might be able to hear it--on the radio. The technique is called "meteor scatter." Tune an FM radio to a silent spot between local stations and point the radio's antenna in the general direction of northern Nevada. When the Stardust capsule rips through the atmosphere, it will create an electrically ionized wake that reflects radio waves. You could suddenly pick up stations hundreds to thousands of miles away reflected in your direction from the fireball's tail. http://spaceweather.com/ See the site for the full story (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, Florida, IRCA via DXLD) Not thousands (gh) BETTER DX IN IRELAND THAN ENGLAND Originally from Ireland. Living in UK since 93. Returned home over New Year period - for a week. I am absolutely convinced that Ireland is a really good DX location. Definitely better than Northern England, where I live now. Confirmed by my experience this new year AM from the United States - 1510 (Boston), 1010 WINS, 1130, among others, most nights from 0030 to 0200 UT. Also heard both RFI (Yamata, Japan) and North Korea (at different times) on 7140 in the European mornings, January 2-8. Djibouti? Audio, East African music - reasonable signal but too much ute QRM to ID it, before 1800 UT most days, January 2-8 on 4780 kHz. Colombia: 6140, 2200-0000 UT, most days Jan 2-8. IDed as a Colombian, Colombia news and news chat, with Latin music. Surprisingly strong signal in Ireland but inaudible in UK. Probably Radio Melodia. [now known as R. Líder] (Dr. Derek Lynch, University of Huddersfield, UK, Jan 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See logs above under ARGENTINA, ETHIOPIA, MAURITANIA, MONGOLIA, RUSSIA ###