DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-098, July 5, 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 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 SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1321: Wed 2200 WBCQ 7415 [first airing of each edition] Wed 2300 WBCQ 18910-CLSB Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 Sat 0500 WRMI 9955 Sat 0800 WRN 13865 DRM via Bulgaria Sat 1230 WRMI 9955 Sat 1430 WRMI 7385 Sat 1600 WWCR3 12160 Sat 1732 WRMI 9955 [from WRN] Sun 0230 WWCR3 5070 [start varies 0225-0235] Sun 0530 WRMI 9955 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 2230 WRMI 9955 Mon 0300 WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 Mon 0500 WRMI 9955 Wed 0930 WWCR1 9985 Complete schedule including non-SW stations and audio links: http://www.worldofradio.com/radioskd.html For updates see our Anomaly Alert page: http://www.worldofradio.com/anomaly.html WRN ON DEMAND: http://new.wrn.org/listeners/stations/station.php?StationID=24 OUR ONDEMAND AUDIO [also CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL] http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html or http://wor.worldofradio.org WORLD OF RADIO PODCASTS: www.obriensweb.com/wor.xml DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS July 4: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html DXLD YAHOOGROUP: Why wait for DXLD? A lot more info, not all of it appearing in DXLD later, is posted at our yg. When applying, please identify yourself with your real name and location. Some applicants fail to do this and I have to write them back; some never reply. Here`s where to sign up http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dxld/ ** ALBANIA. Ian Baxter asked if a transmitter site called Kruje ever existed or if it is an error of some kind. Best regards, (Mauno Ritola, WRTH, to Drita Cico, R. Tirana, via Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) As far as I know, during the communist system in Albania, Kruja transmitter site was given as site info abroad instead of Shijak or Fllaka sites. All the best from Tirana, (Drita at Internet caffee near by Radio Tirana, ibid.) ** AUSTRALIA. While it is winter in the southern hemisphere, 19 mb frequencies have been closing earlier. RA can hardly be received on 15415 and 15515 after 0200. On the other hand, 25m is opening before 0300 on 12080 and ABC comes slightly weaker on 11880, with splattering from adjacent Radio Habana 11875 (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, July 5, dxlgyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BAHRAIN. OFF THE AIR --- FOR NOW! By Tariq Khonji, Gulf Daily News, 4 July 2006 Bahrain will not allow private commercial radio or TV stations anytime soon, Information Minister Dr Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar said yesterday. He said that the ministry was looking towards signing deals for other "more official" stations, but that commercial radio and TV would have to wait until the laws are drafted. . . http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=148311&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=29106 (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** BELGIUM. 927 kHz relays VRT Radio Donna in the morning During the three weeks of the Tour de France (cyclism), the VRT is relaying the morning programme of VRT Radio Donna between 9 and 12 local time instead of Radio 1. Incidentally, this means that in the city centre of Brussels, Radio 1 can no longer be heard (the FM frequency for Brussels is barely audible within houses and offices in the capital - the local FM band in Brussels is a total chaos, mainly due to many illegal (French and Arabic language) stations). 73 (Herman Boel, http://www.emwg.info July 3, MWC via DXLD) ** BELGIUM [non]. Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal via Russia heard well here at 0645 tune in on 13685 June 29th; the transmission ended abruptly at 0656, just before the start of the English news bulletin which could be heard on 1512 (Mike Barraclough, England, July World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. Re 6-097: ``I've been hearing CW lately on 1700. 'CRJ' is repeated continuously. Does anyone else hear this? Where does it originate? 73 (Andrew Brade, UK, July 1, MWC via DXLD)`` I found the following listing: 1700.00 CRJ CARAJAS BRAZIL at: http://www.angelfire.com/mb/exband/marine.html 73 de (Mark (WB8URH/6 - Murrieta, CA) Poss, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. The RCI 17765 2000-2200 transmission to the U.S. is still unreadable most days; perhaps further south from Sackville it may be better but it is sure disappointing here. During the morning (1300-1600 UT) I catch the RCI rebroadcast of Radio One on 13655 on a Sony 2010 and Radio Shack DX 390 with only the whip antenna(s) and it comes in like a local. Similar results most mornings for Sweden at both 1230 & 1330 UT on 15240 (Dale Rothert, OH, July 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) These are always good here; well, 1330 is when it is Canada, not so strong direct from Sweden at 1230 but still reliable. 17765 is good out here; not surprising it is skipping over you (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** CANADA. RCI, 13655, Wed July 5 at 1331:30, brought us Wire Tap, instead of the show now scheduled on CBC Radio One, Connections. This episode was about a guy upset to find out that his longtime friend was frequently conversing on the phone about him with his mother. Rechecking the CBC Radio One schedule, yes, Connections is supposed to be on now, and Wire Tap is Sundays at 1 pm local. Then I checked the CBC Manitoba feed at 1431:30 and Wire Tap was NOT on, but Connections, with the topic previewed, OCD. So why did RCI run something else? Possibly lacked SWBC rights, for this docu originating in Australia? Then took another look at the RCI schedule http://www.rcinet.ca/rci/PDF/A06_SW.pdf and by golly it does show Wire Tap on Wednesdays; I had assumed the CBC Radio One strip as on domestic radio would be identical to what RCI carried, as it usually is, but no. So make this correxion to the item in 6-097. The strip at 1531:30 does match CBCR1. Wire Tap is also on RCI1 satellite and webcast at 1631:30 instead of Connections (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. 720 CHTN is history [but still on the air] At 8:05 a.m. ADT [1105 UT], Ocean 100 [100.3] was officially launched, ending the "720 CHTN" brand and oldies format. Ocean 100's slogan is "we play everything". For CRTC purposes, it is a "classic hits" format. Songs from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and today. Transmitter site is from the CBC tower at Bonshaw/Churchill. An average effective radiated power of 33,000 watts - directional, quite a bit of height above average terrain. Yes, the days of omnidirectional FM here in the Maritimes are largely gone, although MBS Radio is trying to get CFCY's FM approval modified to allow for omni coverage, more power, and more height, even though CFCY FM has yet to take to the air. The very first song was "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones. The intent is to simulcast Ocean 100 on the 720 KHz AM frequency for 3 months - the maximum simulcast period permitted by the CRTC. However, don't be surprised if Newcap doesn't pull the plug a little earlier. Once they are convinced that everyone has switched over, they will be anxious to power down the 10KW Nautel, save the electricity, sell the Nautel or move it over to another Newcap station - perhaps in NL, where AM radio still co-exists with FM and Newcap owns 80% or so of the stations - take down the towers, and bring in the realtors to sell some potentially prime building lots. So, for any DXers trying for one last shot at 720 KHz out of Charlottetown PE, don't get thrown by the fact that there is no longer a traditional oldies format, or that the station no longer IDs with 720 CHTN every few minutes. Please update your log books/directories etc. The ID you will now be looking for is Ocean 100. There will also be references to Charlottetown, Summerside, Montague, Stratford etc. as well as PEI, Prince Edward Island, Northumberland Ferries, Confederation Bridge - all key words/phrases to listen for to "ID" a PEI station. I suspect the calls will still be CHTN [nice calls as it is an abbreviation for Charlottetown] and you may hear this once per hour, as is the custom, at least in this part of Canada. Not necessarily at the top of the hour, but often these legal IDs show up near the top of the hour. So, where do oldies fans in PEI and Northern Nova Scotia turn for oldies? Satellite radio. You have to go as far afield as Halifax NS and Saint John NB to find an oldies station. As for Halifax, 960 CHNS has been approved to go dark, and switch to FM with yet another variation on "Lite Rock". Will CJCH continue to eek out an existance on 920 with its oldies/NOS hybrid format known as "Yesterday's Favourites"? Will 930 CFBC Saint John New Brunswick remain on AM? Will Lite Rock 900 CKDH stay on AM with its 1KW site on a salt marsh? Will the remaining AVR stations 1450 CFAB, 1420 CKDY, 1350 CKAD remain on the air, or be replaced with FM sticks? (Phil Rafuse, PEI Canada, July 5, ABDX via DXLD) ** CHILE. CVC reception: see U S A [non] ** CHINA. Again looking for the CNR1 jammer on 20 meters, not found on July 5 around 1315. But propagation was below normal with the CNR1 jammers on 15265 and 15285 much weaker than usual. By 1353 they had built up to good level, but BBC was actually atop 15285, with English lessons. Still nothing on 20 meters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. CHINA vs TAIWAN. About 11605 kHz. 7/4/06, 1235- 1300. There were two stations in Chinese (probably Mandarin). One weaker station was likely R. Taiwan International (relaying CBS 1 domestic programming per some sources). The other and stronger station was likely a CNR outlet or other Chinese source run as a jammer. It didn`t sound like usual CNR 1 programming, but there weren`t any other outlets audible to check. I am not certain of which station was which, but the above seems likely based on content and respective broadcast direction per the sources I checked. The weaker station had lively talk by a M, flute music, then either poetry or a cadenced speech by a man. It faded out about 1257. SINPO 12331. This station was on 11605.00 kHz. The dominant station had a M who continued to talk throughout the period, carrier dropped abruptly at 1300 with no announcements. SINPO 13332. The interesting thing was that the stronger station read as 11605.09 on my R-75, making a serious rumble against the weaker station in addition to the talk jamming. I don`t know if the slight frequency offset was intentional or a slight mistuning at the transmitter site, but it was certainly effective here (Mark Taylor, Madison, WI, July 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA [non]. Why no relays via SRI LANKA? q.v. ** CUBA. Radio Rebelde on new frequency of 6120 kHz is being heard very well in Spanish from around 0300 UT to sign-off just after 0400. Not in parallel with 5025 which is also quite good at this time. First heard here on Thursday June 28 and then on the 29th. Not heard Friday 30 or Sunday July 1. Heard daily since Tuesday July 2. Maybe Mon-Fri only. The strong signals from Radio Rebelde's transmitters seems to far exceed those of Radio Habana Cuba. RHC on 6140 at the same time in Spanish was not nearly as good. Here in Pukerua Bay, 5025 is always heard much better then RHC on 6000, 6060 or 11760 with their English broadcasts. Currently 5025 can be heard from around 0230 to well after 1000 UT. I note that EiBi lists Radio Rebelde on 6120 KHz as 0300-0500 irregular. Keep up the good work, Glen[n]. I always enjoy reading DXLD. Regards (Dene Lynneberg, 66 Sea Vista Drive, Pukerua Bay, Porirua 5026, NEW ZEALAND, July 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Hi amigos radioaficionados, welcome to the mid week edition of your favorite radio show, now heard in New Zealand on an almost daily basis due to the very interesting propagation path on the 31 meters band around 0500 hours UT that we are seeing on the 9550 kiloHertz frequency. According to reports I have received here, our 9550 kiloHertz, 31 meters band English language broadcast on the air from 05 to 07 UT using one of the new HQ type ominidirectional antennas is been received in New Zealand with pretty good quality. A very interesting propagation path indeed. Si amigos, this is Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, and we are now testing another antenna. From 05 to 07 UT on 11760 kiloHertz our new Pacific Coast of North America antenna is in use. Again the frequency is 11760 kiloHertz, the program is in English and the antenna is beaming 310 degrees azimuth from Havana, so I expect it to be delivering a very nice signal from Northern Mexico, California, Oregon, Washington and Northwest [sic, presumably means southwest] Canada. Send your signal reports if you are located in the coverage area, and a nice special QSL card will be autographed for you and sent VIA AIR MAIL (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited July 4 via ODXA via DXLD) ** CUBA. I was able to get more of a sample of Cubavisión`s programming during the June 3 opening [1301 CDT on channel 3, 1175 mi, 1891 km). The mix is quite interesting; promos focusing on figures in Cuban history (especially the Revolution) along with a mix of local and foreign productions. I noted a film produced by France`s TDF on the channel, as well as an old Tom and Jerry cartoon! I`m sure the Cubans got the Tom and Jerry cartoons before Castro took power in 1959 (Eric Bueneman, N0UIH, Hazelwood MO, Western TVDX, July WTFDA VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) ** EL SALVADOR. ASESINAN A PADRES DE EX-LOCUTORA DE RADIO VENCEREMOS - Lunes, 03 julio, 2006 Luego de sufrir por aproximadamente tres horas de tortura, los padres de ``Mariposa``, la locutora de la Radio Venceremos, fueron asesinados con lujo de barbarie. De acuerdo con la denuncia de ``Mariposa``, sus padres identificados como Francisco Antonio Manzanares y Juana Monjarás de Manzanares, fueron apuñalados, degollados y quemados, por sicarios. ``Mariposa`` afirma que se trata de un asesinato político, ya que su familia perteneció a las filas revolucionarias del primer grupo armado del país denominado Fuerzas Populares de Liberación (FPL). El asesinato de los padres de ``Mariposa`` se registró durante la mañana del domingo, en su casa de habitación, ubicada en Suchitoto. Se presume que los señores Manzanares habrían sido asesinados alrededor de las 11: a.m., pero que los ``sicarios`` se presentaron en el lugar desde tempranas horas. ``Mis padres nos organizaron y en mi casa se fundó la primera organización clandestina de las FPL; evidentemente se trata de un asesinato político y no descansaré hasta conseguir justicia``, aseveró. La ex locutora de la Radio Venceremos, descartó el robo como móvil del crimen, ya que las pertenencias de valor de sus padres se encontraban intactas y únicamente faltaban afiches y camisetas de Monseñor Oscar Arnulfo Romero y de Schafik Handal. ``Anteriormente ya nos habían amenazado, muchas veces, pero yo pensaba que estos actos habían quedado en el pasado y aunque no puedo señalar a nadie, no descansaré hasta que se haga justicia, porque esto no quedará en la impunidad y si tengo que tomar nuevamente las armas, lo haré`` sentenció. ``Mariposa`` fue una de las fundadoras de la clandestina Radio Venceremos, donde posteriormente también se desempeñó como locutora. Asimismo, perteneció al equipo de la Radio Farabundo Martí y de la Radio Liberación. Los restos de los padres de Mariposa, serán velados en el local del Espacio Cultural Revolucionario ``Papulus`` en Suchitoto. Roxana Córdova - Redacción Diario Co Latino - El Salvador (via José Alba Z., condig list via DXLD) ** EL SALVADOR. Independence Day DX E skip was in/out of most all day long. Often there were two different directions going at the same time and multiple areas through creating a "DX buffet". 14 of these are new in my log. 89.3, YSLR SAN SALVADOR 1167 10,000 18:37 "Cool FM" - CHR, reggaeton in again at 19:18 [not explained, but I think the figures are: [statute?] miles, listed watts [ERP?], CDT [UT -5] --- gh] FM DX - Denon TU-1500RD with 150/110kHz IF filter mod and Onkyo T- 450RDS with 150kHz mod; 8 element log periodic antenna 15 ft http://www.geocities.com/kw4rz (Randolph Zerr, KW4RZ grid EM60qk, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, "The Emerald Coast" - between Pensacola & Panama City, WTFDA via DXLD) see also HONDURAS, NICARAGUA ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. Radio Africa, 15190 transmitter is active again, heard here with strong signal 0832 June 28th (Mike Barraclough, UK, July World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** EUROPE. NETWORK EUROPE GETS A WEBSITE Network Europe, the weekly European Affairs magazine produced with input from Deutsche Welle, Radio France International, Radio Netherlands, Radio Polonia, Radio Prague, Radio Romania International, Radio Slovakia International, Radio Sweden and Radio Ukraine International, now has its own website. You can listen to the latest programme, or individual items, online, as well as an archive of previous programmes. There are profiles of some of the voices on the programme, including Radio Netherlands’ Jonathan Groubert. The website is hosted by our colleagues at Radio Prague, and has RSS and podcasting facilities. Network Europe receives support from the European Commission, but the Commission bears no responsibility for content. Network Europe : http://networkeurope.radio.cz/ (July 5th, 2006, 15:14 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** FRANCE. RADIO FRANCE INTERNATIONAL – STILL ROLLING ALONG Radio France International, or RFI, doesn’t get much publicity; the only time you seem to read much about RFI is when their services are disrupted by strikes. While RFI hasn’t boomed into North America in English since the late 1980s / early 1990s, RFI continues on shortwave, particularly to Asia and Africa. Africa, in particular, has long been a programming target of RFI from France’s days as a colonial power. RFI’s English language service has always been the vastly junior sibling to RFI’s French language service, but RFI has generally put forth interesting programming with a less antiseptic delivery and style than its European neighbors to the north and west. With Africa as a prime target, news and features about Africa are quite prominent in the mix of subjects covered in RFI’s current affairs programming – each of RFI’s eight daily English language broadcasts features African subjects, with the exception of the 1400 UTC broadcast – it targets the Middle East and Asia. RFI is most audible via shortwave in North America at 0600 UT, according to those who responded to an inquiry I posted in the swprograms list. That broadcast is an Africa-focused broadcast; details on what you’ll hear in this and other broadcasts are shown below. Frequencies were most recently updated on the RFI website in 2005; the frequencies shown below are courtesy of Dan Sampson’s Prime Time Shortwave website. 0400-0430 UTC, 9805, 11700 KHz M-F African news, International news, French newspaper review, an in-depth look at events in Africa, a look at the main news event of the day in France, and Sports. 0500-0530 UTC, 13680, 15160 kHz M-F African news, French newspaper review, an in-depth look at events in Africa, a look at the main news event of the day in France, and Sports. 0600-0630 UTC, 15160, 17800 kHz M-F African news, International news, French newspaper review, an in-depth look at events in Africa, a look at the main International news event of the day, a look at the main news event of the day in France, and Sports. 0700-0800 UTC, 17800 kHz M-F African news, French newspaper review, an in-depth look at events in Africa, a look at the main news event of the day in France, and Sports; these programs comprise the first 30 minutes. The second half- hour is devoted to daily magazine programs, including French Lesson, Crossroads, Voices, Rendez-Vous, and World Tracks. 1200-1230 UTC, 17800, 17815 (from Ascension), 21620 kHz International news plus one of the daily magazine programs. In addition to those shown above, Network Europe airs Saturdays and Club 9516, RFI’s mailbag program, airs Sundays. [AFAIK, 21620 is not in use currently either at 12 or 14, but per one schedule version may return in September. Getting an accurate current schedule out of RFI has been impossible --- gh] 1400-1500 UTC, 21620 kHz targeting Asia This program is somewhat different from the pattern shown above. The program opens with a bulletin of international and Asian news. This is followed by in-depth reports on Asian and international news stories, a look at the main news event of the day in France, and Sports. On Saturday, the international report is replaced by the feature Asia- Pacific. On Sunday, there is a weekly report on cultural events in France, followed by a weekend phone-in program. All these programs air during the first half hour; during the second half-hour, you can hear one of the magazine programs mentioned above. 1600-1700 UTC, 7170 (from South Africa), 11615, 15160 (from South Africa), 15605, and 17605 kHz The first half-hour includes news and reports from across Africa, as well as an international newsflash and news about France. This is followed by one of the magazine programs listed above. 1700-1730 UTC, 15605 and 17605 kHz Weekdays, this program features news from the eastern part of Africa. On the weekend, you can hear the weekly Spotlight on Africa, as well as features on culture in France, health issues, the week in Sports, media in Africa and Sports Insight. Some might find France’s current political position, which is generally anti-American, to be tiresome, but if you sift through the rhetoric, you’ll find interesting programs that are a bit more laid back than what you’ll hear from either Deutsche Welle or Radio Netherlands. Plus, you’ll hear news about Africa and Asia that may differ in perspective from what you’ll hear from the BBC World Service or the Voice of America. In addition to shortwave, RFI is audible via on-demand webcast, either via streaming audio or via download in either RealMedia or Windows Media formats. If you choose the download version and want to listen to it on a portable MP3 player such as an iPod, you’ll want to choose the Windows Media-formatted file. This isn’t quite as hands-off as podcasting, since you must identify a location for your web browser to stash the download, and you must then manually transfer the downloaded file to your MP3 player, but in practice this process is quite easy to manage. RFI’s audio is not available as a live webcast; the programs are available on the RFI website approximately 30 minutes after they have concluded on air. Only one day’s archive is available (Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, July NASWA Journal via DXLD) ** GERMANY [and non]. Hi, Still listening to the show each week although I've not had much to contribute lately. A couple of things which may be of interest. I listen with an Icom R-75 and a random wire most of the time. I'm located about 14 miles northwest of Wheeling, WV in eastern Ohio. Recently I've been trying for the DW 2000 & 2100 UT transmissions on 15205. The 2000 transmission is usually barely readable due to a combination of poor propagation and background noise. (Probably a powerline) The 2100 transmission is heard quite well most of the time. Program content on the 2100 transmission is a puzzle. The top of the hour newscast and the World Cup report tend to be new each day but the other news (including Africa news) seems to repeat several days before it changes. Same for the feature programs in the hour. Has anyone else reported this or have you noticed same (Dale Rothert, OH, July 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) News to me, but I am not a daily listener to them, so would not notice. Certainly surprising; maybe summer vacation laxness? Have not heard of any industrial action at DW. 15205 at 20 is from Germany, while at 21 it is from Rwanda aimed by chance at us too (Glenn Hauser, ibid.) ** GERMANY [and non]. Croatia via Germany: 9470 at 0600z, (via Wertachtal 125 kW at 240 degrees) intended for Australia and New Zealand. The bearing seems counter intuitive (long path) but from Europe it isn't a lot farther and I guess the winter path has less loss. What seems odd is that they didn't use Trincomalee. It would be a shorter path but Trincomalee might be more expensive to operate. Does anyone know if Trincomalee operates from the Sri Lankan electric grid or do they use on site diesel generators? (Jerry Lenamon, Waco Texas, Drake R8B with sloper, July 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, they do use diesel generators. And diesel oil is delivered twice a year by tankers. 73 wb (Wolfgang Büschel, ibid.) Several Europeans reach Au/NZ by LP this way. Axually, for NZ it`s almost antipodal, around Portugal. Croatia is not thinking outside the European box as far as transmitter sites (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) T-Systems got the idea to run long path transmissions for this target area already some years ago, and I heard that it apparently works quite well. ``What seems odd is that they didn't use Trincomalee.`` Simply because it's not their facility. The Trincomalee, Sines and Kigali stations are run by Deutsche Welle, with no participation of T- Systems whatsoever. Kigali even does (or did) some transmissions for VT Communications, a competitor of T-Systems (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Very interesting. So DW doesn't own the facilities in Germany because there is a separate transmitter operator. But they are allowed to own the overseas facilities??? I've often imagined that they have great difficulty keeping Kigali and Trincomalee operating, considering the instability of Rwanda and the location of Trincomalee in the north of the country. But they do a good job. Especially Kigali. I don't know if it is the location near the equator or if the west or north African beams are pointed my way but here in the central US, Kigali is one of the powerhouse signals. Speaking of relay stations, even the stations that are far away from me seem to be quite effective. I usually have a better signal from Madagascar than from Flevo even though it probably twice as far. Maybe beam angles or something like that (Jerry Lenamon, Waco, Texas, ibid.) Being trans-equatorial makes all the difference, even approaching antipodal. Mad aims some beams at NAm, or almost, incidentally, after crossing Africa, and during some seasons deliberately serves LAm, while Flevo does not beam toward NAm at all; unsure if they even have any old backup antennas suitable for NAm; Andy? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The situation with DW owning only the transmitters abroad has its roots decades ago. Back then a judgement by the federal constitutional court ruled that the technical distribution of broadcasting services would be in the responsibility of the authorities (while at the same time they were flatly banned from programming any broadcasting stations), and so the shortwave transmitters of Deutsche Welle came in the responsibility of the postal office (Deutsche Bundespost). But the situation has changed much since 1990: The postal office as authority no longer exists. The departments of Deutsche Bundespost responsible for regulation became what is today Bundesnetzagentur. All other departments were turned into private companies, namely Deutsche Post for classical post office services and Deutsche Telekom for all the telecommunications service. At present the Deutsche Telekom trust consists of various subsidies, including T-Com for landline-based services, T-Mobile for the cellphone business as well as T-Systems, responsible for professional IT services but also anything that has to do with broadcasting, including the former Deutsche Bundespost broadcasting transmitters. As an authority Deutsche Bundespost had of course no responsibilities whatsoever outside Germany, and so the DW facilities in Portugal, Antigua, Ruanda and Sri Lanka were never their business. Today DW of course could sell these stations to T-Systems, but it should be safe to assume that they will never consider this only remotely. And so T-Systems can offer shortwave transmissions only via their stations in Germany; Wertachtal, Nauen and until next year also Jülich. Strong signals from Kigali in North America are entirely intended, it is in fact the target area of some frequencies like 31 metres outlets for German overnight (local time) [but not in English!]. I think time and again Kigali is also in use for transmissions aiming at Europe, just like IBB does at Botswana (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Phantom signal of VoR on 1359 kHz Hi, for some time I have been observing a strange signal of Voice of Russia on 1359 kHz // 1431 kHz (Dresden-Wilsdruff, Germany). The signal is not strong, it suffers from fast, deep and chaotic fading. This is really typical for the signal. The frequency is exactly 1359.00 kHz. It can be heard not only by me here in the west part of the Czech Republic but also by Matthias Zwoch living near Dresden, Germany and also by Tom OK1TP living in the north-west part of the Czech Republic to name at least two DXers I am in contact with. Matthias is not sure whether the signal originates from one of Dresden-Wilsdruff transmitters (1044 + 1431 kHz), he says the 1044 kHz transmitter produces a hum that could indicate a transmitter problem (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), AOR AR-7030, 80 m LW July 5, MWC via DXLD) ** GREECE. There is a 3 minute English news bulletin at 1157 Monday to Friday on Macedonias Radio Station 9935, good signal here (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth Garden City, July World DX Club Contact via WORLD OF RADIO 1321, DXLD) ** HONDURAS. Independence Day DX E skip was in/out of most all day long. Often there were two different directions going at the same time and multiple areas through creating a "DX buffet". 14 of these are new in my log. 93.9, HRIM COMAYAGUA 1106 1,000 18:26 "Cadena Radial Impacto" 90.3, HRSU SANTA ROSA DE COPÁN 1091 1,000 18:28 ads for Santa Rosa de Copán 95.5, HRNSP SAN PEDRO SULA 1036 5,000 18:29 ad for "HRM la primera cadena informativa del país" [not explained, but I think the figures are: [statute?] miles, listed watts [ERP?], CDT [UT -5] --- gh] FM DX - Denon TU-1500RD with 150/110kHz IF filter mod and Onkyo T- 450RDS with 150kHz mod; 8 element log periodic antenna 15 ft http://www.geocities.com/kw4rz (Randolph Zerr, KW4RZ grid EM60qk, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, "The Emerald Coast" - between Pensacola & Panama City, WTFDA via DXLD) see also EL SALVADOR, NICARAGUA ** INDIA. Re: ``Could you narrow down the time a bit? Why put us non- Tamil-speakers through a full hour in order to hear it? And could we recognize it anyway, as this week you don`t mention there being any bits of English? (Glenn Hauser, DXLD)`` Dear Glenn Hauser, Thank you for recognition from the experience Dxer like you. Actually, this is a 15 minutes program, which comes between on that one hour. I can`t say the correct time, because of the different announcer on the duty. So, that I gave it like that. Note: Every week there must be a English 'Dx Loggings' 73's, (Jaisakthivel, Chennai, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Sporadic E conditions meant Radio Maria in analogue, on 26000 was received here 1805 June 23rd, and for several days afterwards, well above the Crystal Palace DRM tests (Mike Barraclough, England, July World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** ITALY. Rai`s Notturno Italiano service is announced from 2200 to 0350 UT on 657, 900, 1332 and 6060 kHz, but is actually heard starting at 2300 UT (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, Medium Wave Report, July BDXC Communication via DXLD) ** MEXICO [and non]. Late yesterday afternoon (7/4) I got some good shots of an Un-Iden Channel 3 from Mexico. Programming looked and sounded like a variety show. The day before, I did see XHPN. along with K I I I . This stations seemed to have a rotating logo on the upper right. A channel 3 logo with "50" underneath in small letters and something I cant make out. This logo rotates about every 7-10 seconds with some sort of network logo. It looks some what like a flower??? I posted some pics on my web site at: http://www.amlogbook.com/tvdx/uniden/uniden.htm Any help would be greatly appreciated. There is also some audio from another UNIDEN. Regards to the group (Lee Freshwater, Ocala FL, July 5, WTFDA via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. RN Gives Good Response --- Hi Glenn! Wondered if you'd listened to RN's "Research File" this Monday? If you did, you had the thrill of hearing my name mentioned. They took that e-mail that I had sent them about an earlier program and used it as the basis for asking some more questions about species extinction. Was flattering and a good proof that listener mail is paid attention to there at RN. I sent them the enclosed response; thought you'd like to see it. Hi to all at the Research File! Thank you so much for thinking enough of my letter about species extinction to address it in the latest Research File! I appreciate it, and it was a nice ego-stroke to hear my name mentioned there and in the "Extra" in which the e-mail was read originally. Just for fun, here's a couple other questions/topics that I personally would like to hear discussed in future Research File programs, and which I think might be of broad general interest to science buffs who listen to the program: 1) We have heard & read a lot in recent years about what I think is often called "the anthropic principle" -- the fact that the universe seems so specifically arranged with the various physical constants so that things are suitable for the existence of life like us. Books like Rees' "Just Six Numbers" and the like have addressed this issue. But in all that I have come across, I have never seen a treatment of just why "c", the speed of light, is exactly what it is. Would our universe exist if "c" was 10 % faster, or slower? What differences would there be? What about more extreme variations? Is it such a critical factor that it has to be *exactly* what it is, with no variation whatsoever? In a related question, why is E = m times c-squared and not m times some other big number, like a googol or whatever? How did "c-squared" happen to be the factor there? Can this be simply explained without a page of math equations? (I was hoping that I'd see/hear something on this in the Einstein-centenary year, but nobody seemed to address it in any medium.) 2) In biology, we hear that what genes do is to tell cells to make proteins. Well, that's fine, but I can make proteins with a good lab (& the right skills!), and what I end up with is jars full of protein goop. Just what, on a cellular level, takes those cell-made proteins and turns them into actual mechanical constructs, like an eye or a pancreas? And what controls the program that governs this constructive process in an embryo or in healing an adult? Is that control program part of the non-gene part of DNA that has been called "junk DNA"? What controls the growth processes that make living organisms into the shapes they end up as? Why does a flower stem grow so long and no longer, or a petal so big but stop before it gets "too big"? And there must be some sort of overall plan structure that coordinates all the parts of a growing plant or animal so that it ends up as an harmonious whole, not just individual parts growing as much as they each can. Where is *that* in the genome? I think that not knowing the answer to things like this is what gives rise to speculations like "intelligent design", and that those could be reduced if these questions were more-commonly addressed in school science classes, even if the explanations are currently incomplete. This is a big topic here in the US; do you have the same discussions in Europe? Regards, and thanks again! (William Martin, Saint Louis, Missouri USA, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [and non]. Problem with 9845 kHz 7/4/06 Wanted to comment on the transmitter problem from Bonaire on 9845 kHz the evening of July 3 (7/4/06 UT) for the US evening transmission. The whole first hour of that two-hour transmission was basically lost, with a few words being broadcast and then the transmitter failing, over and over, and then it was off-air just about the whole length of the Research File program. In the past, you had two parallel frequencies coming from Bonaire for the North American service. I realize that the reason you're only using one now is because of budget cuts, but this is just the sort of result that should give you ammunition to take to the manager(s) that determine that budget and demonstrate to them that transmitters are fragile mechanical devices that just cannot be trusted. To serve an area, you need at least two parallel transmissions to give backup when one fails. I've been hearing what seems to me to be more and more transmitter failures, not just from RN but from all different international broadcasters. I think the problem is becoming more and more common among every one. It is interesting that it appears to me that the most reliable transmissions are those from private US international broadcasters. For example, WBCQ in Maine is a labor of love from the owner and it seems that he manages to keep the station up and running more reliably than organizations with a big staff of technicians like RCI. If your budget won't allow running multiple simultaneous transmissions from Bonaire to North America in English, please look into buying time on one or more of these private stations. Their per-transmitter-hour rate is actually pretty low and their coverage is great; having a broadcast from Bonaire and one from WBCQ or WWRB or the like would give you redundancy and backup the service to your listenership here. You'd also have something to fall back on if adverse weather takes Bonaire off-air. Thanks for your consideration (William Martin, Saint Louis, Missouri USA, to letters @ rnw. nl cc to DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NICARAGUA. Independence Day DX E skip was in/out of most all day long. Often there were two different directions going at the same time and multiple areas through creating a "DX buffet". 14 of these are new in my log. 89.3, YNF2RD MATAGALPA 1211 250 18:36 "Matagalpa, Nicaragua" in ID, weak 89.3, YNF2RD LEÓN 1244 500 18:39 "Radio Darío", local ads, phone #s 88.7, YNF3RN MANAGUA 1264 10,000 18:42 mention of Managua and phone #, weak [not explained, but I think the figures are: [statute?] miles, listed watts [ERP?], CDT [UT -5] --- gh] FM DX - Denon TU-1500RD with 150/110kHz IF filter mod and Onkyo T- 450RDS with 150kHz mod; 8 element log periodic antenna 15 ft http://www.geocities.com/kw4rz (Randolph Zerr, KW4RZ grid EM60qk, Fort Walton Beach, Florida, "The Emerald Coast" - between Pensacola & Panama City, WTFDA via DXLD) see also EL SALVADOR, HONDURAS ** NORTH AMERICA. USA (PIRATE), 6924.99, 0458- July 5, Undercover Radio. About a S7 signal with QSL details at 0500 and email as undercoverradio @ mail.com (?) Then went on to describe diving in the Solomon Islands. A fair bit of summer static too, but virtually 100% readable. Strange KIPM type programming. With the Icom 756Pro2's NR circuitry, the reception was quite good. Initially a 3-3-3 signal, but with the NR engaged, more like 4-4-4. Nice to hear a station not normally heard on the far coast! Thanks! (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORWAY [and non]. Re. HCDX discussion, quoted in DXLD 6-097, about what is being heard on 1314 now: Here on the Brandenburg-Saxonia border Antena Satelor from Romania dominates as well (and was time and again audible underneath Kvitsøy also in the past), but some transmitter(s) here is/are off-frequency, resulting in a prominent SAH. ``Kvitsøy still remains as a transmitter on website of Norking. Strange?`` --- Certainly not, unlike the referenced page deals with mediumwave in particular. On shortwave Kvitsøy is still on air, although not in audible mode. See http://www.baseportal.com/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl?htx=/drmdx/main_detail&cmd=all&Id==198 with a photo from a newspaper report about Kvitsøy starting DRM transmissions for BBCWS, with some nice equipment they could actually rip out of the rack since they are not supposed to ever run AM transmissions anymore (the Optimod, probably 9105 model, is of use only for AM, and what about the Belar mod monitor?). And, by the way, DRM on 1314 would certainly not be 1200 kW. Does coupling transmitters to pairs work with DRM at all? I guess not, and a single S4006 rig is perhaps good for 240 kW in DRM mode but not much more. Speaking about powers: Remember that at times they run 1314 at "only" 600 kW, not by switching off one transmitter but instead by running both ones at half power (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. Call changes: McAlester, 91.9, KBCW-FM, from KBCW (FM News, July VHF-UHF Digest via DXLD) Why bother? To make way for some AM station elsewhere to use the same call? Nothing found yet on FCC AM Query. KBCW-FM is the 700-watt relay of KCSC 90.1 classical in OKC, established in McAlester tnx to a local benefactor who is constantly plugged on both stations. BTW, FCC FM query as of July 4 does show KBCW-FM, but KCSC without the -FM. This does not keep the piratical students at Chico State from calling their station KCSC (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. KGOU/KROU, Norman/OKC, webcasting, mostly jazz, has updated its grid for the 3rd quarter, concerning feature/talk shows, including answering our question about when Left, Right & Center is scheduled: UT days and times: Tue 0100-0200 It`s Your World Wed 0100-0200 Living on Earth Thu 0100-0200 Calling All Pets Fri 0100-0200 Studio 360 Sat 0100-0130 War News Radio 0130-0200 Left, Right & Center Also at 11 am local, 1600-1700 UT: Mon OKC Forum & OKC Metro (from OETA, ex Tue 01-02) Tue Car Talk Wed Splendid Table Thu Zorba Paster on Your Health Fri You Bet Your Garden Two hours reserved for limited series remain Sunday 16-18, previewed: http://www.kgou.org/limited_programming.php (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. I thought I had seen somewhere that 1320 in Clinton, KCLI, was changing to a Spanish format; however, I cannot find the reference in searching DXLDs. Anyhow, July 5 at 1835 it certainly was not, talk in English instead. I think it was Rush, // 1330 Wichita (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Regarding Ken Fletcher`s comments on how DRM is mucking things up here and there, I thought that the Voice of Russia WS made a quick change from 7300 for the 1400-1900 period and the new frequency is 7370. Having scanned the 41m band I`ve noticed that 7320 also offers excellent reception throughout the afternoon transmission period (Edwin Southwell, England, DX News, July BDXC Communication via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [and non]. VOR TO CARRY PUTIN'S ANSWERS TO BBC AND YANDEX.RU The Internet–conference of Russia's President Vladimir Putin will take place on July 6th. The Voice of Russia urges its listeners and visitors of its Internet-site to take part in the upcoming press conference [at http://www.vor.ru/President/Question_eng.html ] All questions that will be put to him by the multilingual audience will be given to him. Thus, foreign visitors to the Internet network will have one more chance to put their questions to President Putin through the Voice of Russia, which carries its broadcasts to 160 countries. Paramount attention will be paid to the problems of the Russian- speaking people living in the former Soviet republics and abroad. Putin's answers will be posted on the site of the Voice of Russia Company and aired in 32 languages it carries its broadcasts in (VoR.ru, 4 July 2006 via Sergei Sosedkin, IL, dxldyg via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non?]. Today postings about Voice of Russia being heard with strong signals on 1359 appeared in the German-language A-DX mailing list. Nothing heard by yours truly tonight. 1359 is an east German frequency, so T-Systems would be the usual suspect here. Sorry, no time for any further research tonight, but perhaps it is worth to keep an ear on this frequency. By the way, Wilsdruff-1431 runs without audio processing and hereby reveals rather severe audio problems at Voice of Russia. The feed of the Russian worldservice is of good quality but the audio level too low. German appears to be at proper level, but the studio microphone quality is still as terrible as it was when they inaugurated this new studio. And Russkoye Mezhdunarodnoye Radio must put out substantially more than -9 dBfs, judging from the resulting limiting distortion (probably I already mentioned this). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SERBIA [non]. Después de la separación de Serbia y Montenegro, los programas de Radio Serbia y Montenegro para el Exterior fueron suspendidos temporalmente. Ahora se emiten desde un transmisor en la República Srpska, que forma parte de Bosnia y Herzegovina. Por Rumen Pankov, Versión al español de Venceslav Nikolov (R. Bulgaria DX via José Miguel Romero, dxldyg via DXLD) He seems to be saying that the Bijeljina site is now on the air, but no one has confirmed it for several months, long BEFORE Montenegro split. Only frequencies used were 6100 European evenings (and maybe 7200 for the Spanish broadcast). The above also implies that some site other than B&H was in use previously. Wrong again (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Saludos cordiales Glenn, si no recuerdo mal, el servicio en español también emitia en 6100, reportándose en esa frecuencia desde el 5 de Diciembre del 2005; justo antes de las elecciones también fue reportada en esa frecuencia. Desde entonces hasta ahora no ha vuelto a ser escuchada en ninguno de sus servicios por onda corta, al menos desde aquí en Valencia. 73 (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) No sign of 6100 here on fairly regular checks (Mike Barraclough, UK, July World DX Club Contact via DXLD) Checked a couple of times tonight: No signal on 6100, so certainly no transmissions from Bijeljina-Jabanusa, at least on this frequency. Did Podgorica provide anything to the operation of the station formerly known as Radio Yugoslavia? I don't think so, and so I think that the split did not affect the station in any way (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA. ESLOVAQUIA. Desde el pasado 30 de Junio el servicio en Onda Corta de Radio Eslovaquia Int fue eliminado, desde ese día entró en funcionamiento Intranet, un servicio de audio por demanda. A fecha de hoy los servicios en eslovaco y español están sin actualizar; ayer día cuatro tan sólo había un audio del día 2 de Julio. Posteriormente fue eliminado; sin embargo sí que están actualizados los archivos de audio en los idiomas, francés, inglés, alemán y ruso (José Miguel Romero, July 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOUTH CAROLINA [non]. July 5 I had a chance to tune around during Bro. Scare`s big 18-19 UT hour with multiple frequencies and sites. He was on WINB 13570, quite weak by now, at 1830 with max daytime absorption. Also 13855, which I guess is Germany, pretty weak too, but not //. Or rather not in synch. During the couple minutes I was checking, on all the frequencies, he was in his one of his incessant contact segments, so maybe same feed with different delays; does anyone not know how to spell Walterboro? Ugh. (Before you call me on this, I point out that Enid is so short I may as well spell it as say it). Also on 17815 Guiana French, 15250 & 9385 WWRB. He is also scheduled on WRMI 9955 currently, but still nothing but jamming audible here, as the Dentro-Cuban Jamming Command is slow to react to such changes, even to its own benefit (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Solar-terrestrial indices for 04 July follow. Solar flux 88 and mid- latitude A-index 13. The mid-latitude K-index at 1800 UTC on 05 July was 3 (23 nT). Space weather for the past 24 hours has been minor. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level occurred (SEC via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. Discussion of DW site as relay for others: GERMANY ** U K. Glenn, So if I go to the BBCWS homepage and dig down through Radio Schedules and Select a Region, I can display tables that show BBCWS frequencies to Central America and Caribbean, and South America. As of a few days ago I was hearing 11865 -- or so I thought -- but now it's absent. But if by one way or another we end up finding ourselves at the page at http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/schedules/frequencies/index.shtml which consists of a static table of links to the tables otherwise selected by the Select a Region process, we see that it begins with the single sentence "Please note: there are no longer services to Central and South America on short wave." No links exist in that table for Central America and South America, but a Caribbean table is still available: 11:00 13:00 Daily 11865 21:00 22:00 Daily 15390 21:00 21:30 Mon-Fri 11675 22:00 23:00 Daily 5975 -- but the CAm and SAm tables are still available via the Select a Region process. I haven't heard 11865 for the past few days. Are these Caribbean listings also fiction, perhaps as of July 1? At least I *thought* it was hearing 11865 until a week or so ago (on old radios without digital displays... :-)) -- was there yet another reduction over the past week? I sifted through recent DXLDs online without getting a clear picture. It's ironic that we used to point to the BBC as a news organization trustier than many of our domestic outlets when their coverage of the internally generated news of their own shortwave reductions is neither logical, efficient, complete, nor honest. Best regards as always, (David Newkirk, NJ, July 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I delayed replying until I could check this out Wednesday morning. No, 11865 is still on, tho rather weak, until 1300. I don`t know whether 11865 was actually missing for a few days previously. Have asked another regular BBC listener if he noticed. Would certainly not put it past BBC to cancel what is left without notice. The note about no services to C&SAm has been there since the beginning of the season. Looks like they did not clean out/update all their webpages. 73, (Glenn to David, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Had an inquiry whether BBCWS had pulled another fast one, cancelling the few remaining SW frequencies to part of the Americas, 11865 via French Guiana, which he had not heard since July began. I don`t know whether it had really been missing for some reason, but still there, checked July 5 at 1253. Not very strong compared to WYFR 11855, but no open carrier QRM from WYFR on 11865 itself, tune-up perhaps already accomplished by when I tuned in, until a few seconds of overlap at 1259. 15390 was also booming in before 2200. Have not had a chance to check out 11675, 5975 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11865 heard signing on as normal today, July 5. mc (Mike Cooper, GA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) i.e. at 1100 Glenn, Thanks for the information -- I'm still getting used to BBC to this hemisphere being audible one day and inaudible the next. On the SW bands the best frequency readout I have is an RF-2200, but I've been using a U.S. Army, WW2 BC-348 -- excellent audio, but frequency calibration markings every 50 to 100 kHz at best, generally -- for the last little while (David Newkirk, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) They finally made it: BBCWS behaving like a DX station until it`s 0400 when can be heard with good signal on 9410 Skelton // 12095 Woofferton, noisy. But not all is lost: at least they granted us the courtesy of one hour to Central America at 2100 on 15390guf. Frankly, got to check 11865guf from 1100 to 1300 to verify how things are going with that transmitter just around the bend (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, July 5, dxlgyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC WORLD SERVICE --- PROGRAMMING TARGETING AFRICA Since we were discussing Africa above [FRANCE], I thought it would be handy to briefly review the BBC’s programming targeted to the region, in part because Africa remains a shortwave target for the BBC; some of these may be audible on shortwave. Network Africa is a weekday morning 30-minute newsmagazine airing every hour on the half-hour from 0330 through to 0800. Try 7120 kHz (0400-0500) or 7160 kHz (0300-0600). Focus On Africa is a weekday early evening news magazine; the 1500 and 1900 editions run 30 minutes; the 1700 edition runs 45 minutes. Africa Have Your Say is a regional edition of the daily talkback program, Have Your Say; the African edition actually aired for several months before the global edition was launched. Africa Have Your Say airs Tuesdays-Thursdays at 1600 UT targeting Africa. African Perspective is a weekly documentary focusing on matters in Africa. A recent edition focused on the children born to rape victims in Sierra Leone. The program airs Saturdays 1906 and Sundays 1106 and 2106 in African services, and is also available for on-demand listening. Outlook Turns 40 After nearly succumbing to the ax last year, Outlook will be around for its 40th birthday on Tuesday, July 4th. In conjunction with the celebration surrounding the accomplishment, Outlook will be launching a new website that will guide listeners in recording their own stories for airing on the program – somewhat like the CBC Radio One Outfront program. Over the years, the program has morphed from a twice-day current affairs / international events program to an hour-long magazine program with considerable listener input. Outlook has been noteworthy for the caliber of its listeners; during the years of Mideast kidnappings, many victims specifically mentioned Outlook as a program that helped them keep their sanity during captivity. Terry Waite, John McCarthy, Terry Anderson, Tom Sutherland and Brian Keenan all listened on Waite’s small radio he was allowed to keep during their confinement. Watch the program’s website for updates as the July 4th date approaches; as of late June, the website had not been modified with this new information regarding listener storage submission. Outlook airs at the following times: to the Americas (and XM) Weekdays at 1306 and 2306, plus Tuesdays through Saturdays at 0306; via Sirius (and many US FM stations) weekdays 1806 and 2132 (the second half of the program); to Europe (and live webcast) weekdays 0906 and 1306 plus Tuesdays through Saturdays at 0206; to Africa Weekdays at 1006 and 1406, plus Tuesdays through Saturdays at 0206. Wimbledon coverage It appears that you’ll be able to hear a special weekday half-hour program on Wimbledon, called Wimbledon Live, during the two weeks of the tournament at to the Americas (XM Satellite Radio) at 1430, 1630, and 1830 UT; via Sirius at 1430; to Europe (and webcast) 1430, 1530 and 1830; to Africa at 1830 and 1930 UT. As the tournament, and the program, begin Monday, June 26th, this mention comes too late to catch the first week (hint – subscribe to the swprograms e-mail list or the NASWA Flashsheet to get more timely programming information), but there will be one week of coverage remaining as you receive your Journal. Other programming highlights for July include the following: BBC World Drama, the new name for Play of the Week, is scheduled to feature the following works; airtimes include, to Europe, Saturdays 1906, and Sundays 0106 and 2106; to Africa, Saturdays, 2106 and Mondays 0006; to the Americas (XM), Saturdays 1906, Sundays 0106, and Mondays 0506. Each edition is also available online for one week following the initial airing each week. Jump Mr. Malinoff, Jump!, by Toby Whitehouse, is a black comedy set in the seaside town of Margate, telling a story of arson and corruption. The play stars Martin Freeman, best known as the lovelorn Tim in the BBC TV comedy The Office. Begins July 8th. Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare, airs in two parts beginning July 15th and July 22nd. This classic is the story of two very different sets of lovers, Claudio (Geoffrey Streatfeild) and Hero (Sophie Roberts). The sub-plot features the ``merry war of the sexes`` between Beatrice (Juliet Aubrey) and Benedick (Toby Stephens). He thinks he hates her but really loves her and Beatrice, who thinks she loathes Benedick, actually loves him. This production is introduced with thoughts from actor Clive Swift, theatre directors Tamara Harvey and Declan Donnellan and critic Charles Spencer. The documentary series Close Up features a two-part series entitled Rembrandt – Sketches in Sound. Jazz musician Guy Barker takes his trumpet to Amsterdam to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt’s death (July 15). Guy finds out about Rembrandt and how he painted, beginning on Friday, July 7th, closely studying a few paintings and doing musical 'sketches' of his own in response, with a short composed piece resulting from it. Contemporary artists discuss how Rembrandt continues to influence and inspire them beginning Friday July 14th. Airs to the Americas (XM) Fridays 1530 and 1930, Saturdays 0030 and 0530, and Mondays 0130; via Sirius (and US FM stations) Sundays 0130, 0730 and 1730; to Europe (and webcast) Fridays 0830 and 2230, Saturdays 2230, and Sundays 1830; and, to Africa, Fridays 0930 and 2130, Saturdays 0030, and Sundays 0130 and 2230. The environment issues series One Planet features a two-part series entitled Witches’ Brew beginning Thursday, July 20th. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia are an environmental nightmare, used as a nuclear and biological dumping ground for decades. Their lakes are a ``witch’s brew`` of toxins. BBC Central Asia editor Firdevs Robinson explains why the rest of the world should be very afraid. Robinson focuses on the untold human cost of the environmental degradation, talking to cotton farmers and fishermen and assessing the economic and political issues that prevent clean-ups becoming a priority. Airs to the Americas (XM and limited shortwave) Thursdays 2230 and Fridays 0230; on Sirius (and US FM stations) Thursdays 0730 and Saturdays 0530; to Europe (and live webcast) Thursdays 1130, 1930 and 2330, plus Fridays 0130; to Africa Thursdays 1330 and 2230, plus Fridays 0130. The New Arab World is a new four-part series beginning July 5th that looks at changes in the Arab countries of Dubai, Qatar, Oman and Lebanon. Each week’s program focuses on an individual country. While these smaller countries are streaking ahead with modernization, liberalization and opening up to the outside world, their larger and more powerful neighbors are lagging behind. The program will focus on Dubai’s focus on tourism and the consequences of blending in Western values with traditional Arabic culture; Qatar’s influence exceeds its size courtesy of the Al-Jazeera satellite television operation, while the Emir seeks to establish a constitutional monarchy; Oman is trying to more cautiously integrate Western ideas without radically overhauling traditional life and society. Lebanon continues to emerge from the shadow of cultural strife and foreign domination. Airs to the Americas (XM and limited shortwave) Wednesdays 1406 and 1906, plus Thursdays 0006 and 0506; to Europe (and live webcast) Wednesdays 0806, 1106, 1960, and 2306, plus Saturdays 1306; to Africa Wednesdays 0906, 1306, 2106, Fridays 0006 plus Saturdays 2206 and Mondays 0206. Struggling For A Future is a new two-part program, beginning July 17th, focusing on the countries of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia as they struggle to contain an explosive mix of political, religious and ethnic tensions. With authoritarian regimes in control, opposition is marginalized or banned. Oil revenue, particularly in Kazakhstan, has brought revenue to the country but has increased the disparity between rich and poor. Airs to the Americas (XM and limited shortwave) Mondays 1406 and 1906, plus Tuesdays 0006 and 0506; to Europe (and live Webcast) Mondays 0805, 1105 and 1905; to Africa Mondays 0906, 1306 and 2106, plus Tuesdays 0006. All of the programs mentioned above, with the possible exception of Wimbledon Live, are available for on-demand web streaming for one week following the initial airing listed above. The two documentary series, The New Arab World and Struggling For A Future, will likely be made available long-term in the online documentary archive, probably for at least the balance of 2006. Most all of the 2005 and 2006 documentary series can be downloaded as MP3 files for easy portable listening. Check out the online documentary archive by visiting the World Service home page, http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice and clicking on (you guessed it) Documentary Archive. Wimbledon Live may not be available via online live or on-demand webcast, due to broadcast rights issues; you’ll need to check the World Service website to see what options are provided. Hope July brings plenty of radio enjoyment! 73 DE (Richard Cuff, Easy Listening, July NASWA Journal via DXLD) The Americas timings are also webcast, altho Rich does not specify them for some reason. Try this, altho does not work on all players: http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplaylist.dll?id=57024 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC TO OFFER 'PERSONALISED' RADIO --- 4 July 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5145236.stm The BBC wants to allow audiences to create personal radio stations from its content, its director general has said. The planned service, provisionally called MyBBCRadio, was revealed by Mark Thompson at the Radio Festival in Cambridge. It aims to give audiences more control by combining existing services such as podcasts and the BBC Radio Player. It will be part of the BBC's iPlayer, a free service which will also offer seven days of BBC TV on demand. Thompson said MyBBCRadio would use peer-to-peer technology to provide "thousands, ultimately millions, of individual radio services created by audiences themselves". The BBC hoped to share these ideas with the commercial sector, he added. The personalised radio scheme is expected to build on the success of the BBC's online radio services. In March, the corporation said people had listened to 20 million hours of BBC content online, using everything from live streams to downloaded programmes. The most requested shows include BBC Radio 4's long-running soap opera The Archers, and Chris Moyles' BBC Radio 1 breakfast show. In May, audiences downloaded 4.5 million BBC podcasts. In his speech, Mr Thompson said the corporations' governors would decide on whether podcasting would become a permanent service later this year. The decision will be based, in part, on a study of how the BBC's podcasts affect the commercial sector. The governors will also look into the market impact of Radios 1 and 2 following criticism from commercial competitors, said Thompson. However, he defended the stations, saying they had been successful "not because they've become more like their competitors but because they've become less like them". "If you've got a problem with a popular BBC, the people you're picking a fight with are the British public," he added (via Mike Terry, July 4, dxldyg via DXLD) ** U K. Disquiet among BBC Monitoring staff. And, so, a blog: bbcmonitoringwatch.blogspot.com "We have set up this blog because we are deeply concerned that, if BBCM's current top managers remain in place, the organisation's prospects after 2010 ... will be at serious risk." Update: The aforementioned blog was short-lived, but this has taken its place: http://pro-veritas.blogspot.com (kimandrewelliott.com July 3 via DXLD) Interesting, the blog's self-description does not mention BBC Monitoring, but every post is about BBC Monitoring (Kim Andrew Elliott, ibid.) ** U S A. IBB/VOA QUIT NEW EUROPE REVIEW To Our Readers --- We regret to announce that we will discontinue publication of the New Europe Review effective July 1. The Review attracted an elite readership soon after its launch in June, 2004, as we presented timely and thoughtful analyses of stories and trends of interest to our international audience. However, we occasionally must make changes at the Voice of America to ensure the appeal of our content mix to a broad international audience, and as the focus of world events has changed over the years, we have been required to refocus both our resources and our program content. These changes are not always easy, but they allow our journalists to provide coverage that is as relevant and appealing as possible to a broad global audience that looks to VOA for the best international coverage on radio, television, and the Internet. We will, of course, continue to cover important news and developments in Europe and in U.S.-European relations, and we invite you to stay informed through our web sites at VOANews.com and by clicking on the Regions/Topics link at the top of the page or go directly to news about Europe. The VOA web page also offers options to access the latest news via your mobile device and continues to offer news and information in many of the languages of Europe, including; Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Greek, Macedonian, Russian, Serbian, and Ukrainian. Thank you for your past support of the New Europe Review. The Staff of the New Europe Review Source: http://www.neweuropereview.com/ (via Sergei Sosedkin, IL, July 4, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1321, DXLD) In other words, can`t appeal to elite, must dumb down. Several scholarly, footnoted articles in English are still there; wonder if they will leave up what they have produced so far (gh, DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Re 6-097: Frequency changes for WYFR Family Radio: 1900-2000 NF 7340 SAM 250 kW / 284 deg, ex 7370 in German (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, July 3 via DXLD) Hoy 4 de Julio a las 1900 por la frecuencia de 7340 el servicio de WYFR sigue siendo en español. 73 (José Miguel Romero, Spain, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WINB, 13570, July 5 at 1307 had some YL singing gospel music with piano, definitely not The Power Hour. Has TPH already given up on this crummy signal which they just started using two days ago? Not // WWCR 7465 with TPH. 1353 recheck, however, found TPH was on 13570, with same interview topic, but not // 7465. Turned out that 13570 was running 100 seconds behind 7465, so you can`t exactly switch back and forth and maintain continuity. 13570 weak, undermodulated and distorted as usual. Besides constant CODAR swishes, 13570 also impacted by a data burst of some sort every minute or so lasting about 10 seconds (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Re the comment from Vranes in DXLD 6-096 on listening to WoR on WWCR on 12160 kHz at 1600 UT Sat and hearing crosstalk from the 15825 transmission: I've noted that myself before, but it doesn't happen every week. When it does happen, it can be quite strong -- both your voice and that of the interfering program are clearly readable. I'm guessing that it is some sort of signal transfer within the WWCR audio-board wiring; wonder if they can hear it over their headphones or if it happens after that in the signal chain? 73, (Will Martin, MO, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Another transmission problem at WWCR: July 5 at 1842, DGS on 13845 was quite overmodulated with noisy skirts extending to 13840 and 13850 (but DGS Germany 13855 was in clear); at first it seemed like a DRM transmission was co-channel. The noise could also be heard on 13845 itself. Not an uplink problem, since DGS Anguilla 11775 was clean. 13845 was extremely strong at that time, tnx to Es, as was 15825 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KWHR has started using 12130, at 12-14 UT, despite AFN Saddlebunch Key FL on 12133-USB. July 5 at 1318 I could hear AFN scratching on the upper side of KWHR, which was running a show in English with Kimberly Ann referring to God as ``she``. But can I separate AFN and make it listenable? Not on the FRG-7; a little better on the YB-400. Got out the ICF SW07, and that succeeded in getting rid of most of KWHR when tuned to 12133-USB, but rather weak (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. CHILE. CVC is not doing quite well on regular 17680 in our daytime as before, showing some fadings. 11665 for the early nighttime period is occasionally inaudible at all, while // 6070 is splattered by DW German service before 0400 on 6075. Excellent program by female announcer is on the air between 0300 and 0400 with suitable advices (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, July 5, dxlgyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Quite unusual for CVC La Voz, 17680 via Chile, to be weak. Means propagation MUF is quite depressed, as July 5 at 1311 check. Only other signal of any significance on 16m was Spain 17595, but much weaker than usual too. No WYFR frequencies were making it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Solar-terrestrial indices for 04 July follow. Solar flux 88 and mid- latitude A-index 13. The mid-latitude K-index at 0900 UTC on 05 July was 5 (70 nT). Space weather for the past 24 hours has been minor. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level occurred. Space weather for the next 24 hours is expected to be minor. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level are expected (SEC via DXLD) Solar-terrestrial indices for 04 July follow. Solar flux 88 and mid- latitude A-index 13. The mid-latitude K-index at 1200 UTC on 05 July was 2 (18 nT). Space weather for the past 24 hours has been minor. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level occurred. Space weather for the next 24 hours is expected to be minor. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level are expected (SEC via DXLD) However at 1500 a contradictory outsending from SEC: Solar-terrestrial indices for 04 July follow. Solar flux 88 and mid- latitude A-index 13. The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 05 July was 2 (18 nT). No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours. No space weather storms are expected for the next 24 hours (SEC via DXLD) ** U S A. Re 6-092. I checked WVUD Delaware webcast a week later, UT Tue July 4 at 0000, and it was back to normal with own Map of the World music show instead of WRN relay, tho apparently with a new or sub host, who was wildly taking requests (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. If you are getting FM skip from west Texas, please pay special attention to 93.5 where there is thought to be an unlicensed public radio station, ``KRTS`` in Marfa. A definite logging with tape of this would be most interesting. If someone has logged it and I have missed the report, please point it out specifically. Ditto for anyone actually in the area or visiting it. Thanks, (Glenn Hauser, ABDX, WTFDA and amfmtvdx at qth.net, July 5, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I would also be grateful for ANY information on this station. They were involved with an FCC Auction for this frequency, but to my knowledge they never got a CP. I did not know they were on the air (Lee Freshwater, Ocala FL, WTFDA via DXLD) We have discussed this several times last few months in DXLD, such as 6-081, but I brought it up again since I saw some new logs posted of DX from that area, not including it (gh) And just to stir the pot on this a bit, a visit to the infrequently- updated http://marfapublicradio.com site yields this notice: "Marfa Public Radio is making improvements that will significantly increase its signal coverage and quality. This may require the station to be OFF THE AIR for periods of time. We appreciate your patience while this work is being completed. We know you will be pleased with the results." And there's this blog posting that turned up via Google: "Later on in the week, I ended up listening to Marfa Public Radio while driving through the desert: there was nothing else to listen to, so it's not hard to see where an audience can come from." http://www.felixsalmon.com/000473.html And this, which I also found via Google: "Hello Marfa Residents.... I'm graduating from UT Austin in May and coming to Marfa for a summer internship at MPR. I'm having a bit of trouble finding housing since all those people are in town for the film production. Does anyone have a room/apartment/garage/house that I could rent or house-sit for the summer? I don't have much money and will take just about anything. Also, if you have any friends who will be out of town for the summer, please put them in touch with me. I would be happy to do plant or pet sitting for them. I thank anyone for any help they can give me! Sincerely, Rachel 312-301-3664" http://www.archibot.com/dcforum/DCForumID20/60.html#1 I get the distinct impression, when seeing the publicity the station has generated, that the people behind it are much more adept with promotion than they are at understanding the FCC rules. It truly would not surprise me if they think that having won the auction for the frequency, which they did, that they can just go on the air without all the bother of filing for a CP and building the station out according to the rules. s (Scott Fybush, ibid.) Hi Glenn, You might find the following link of interest: http://www.borderblasters.com They're a music group with a weekly show on KRTS. As a matter of fact, down the page a bit there is a link to an MP3 recording of a live broadcast they did last March, which even includes KRTS signing on for the day. I shared this with the group a while back when KRTS was a topic of discussion after a couple of the DX'ers had loggings that could only have been them. It's a large MP3 file, 33 Megs if I recall correctly, so if you're on a dial-up connection it'll take a while to download (Curtis Sadowski, Paxton IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. KCDX 103.1 / KRDX 98.5 commercial free! RADIO STATION TO MAKE DEBUT TODAY ARIZONA DAILY STAR, Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.04.2006 Fans of Florence's rock station KCDX 103.1-FM should make sure to grab a radio today. Ted Tucker Jr. has been working on launching a similar station here in Tucson, but the music has been hit and miss. Today, that station is scheduled to broadcast all day as a preview of the music that's to come on KRDX 98.5-FM. KCDX has long had a loyal following, and Tucsonans have lamented that they can't get the station here, but Tucker doesn't offer many details about when KRDX will be up and running full time. The station's Web site, http://www.krdx.com has only a logo and and the words "something new for Tucson/Happening real soon." In an e-mail, Tucker said, "Our station is what you would call a 'green station' powered only from the sun and wind. This type of project is new to us and has proven to be a bit more difficult than we anticipated." KCDX was started by Tucker and plays a wide variety of music from the 1960s, '70s and '80s without commercial interruption. The station has gathered such a following that the Los Angeles Times profiled it in May (via Kevin Redding, ABDX, via DXLD) ** U S A. Ashland, Oregon bandscan --- I spent a few days in southern Oregon last week. Here are some comments on Medford-Ashland-Grants Pass area stations, as heard from my motel in Ashland. Receivers were a Sony 2010 and a 2002 Saab car radio. All signals were local quality during day except as noted. 554.9, Spur from local KTMT-580, fair level. Since I was only a mile or so from the transmitter site, this might be a legal emission. I couldn't check 605.1 due to KRTA-610 580, KTMT Ashland, Spanish "Radio Láser" (pronounced "Lah Sehr") 610, KRTA Medford, Spanish "Radio Sensación" 730, KEZX Medford, standards, "Easy 7-30", "Southern Oregon's New Gold Standard", locally originated. Relays KOBI-TV news 1700-1730, also noted with NBC news at :18. 880, KCMX. Phoenix, "Newstalk 8-80", Live local show until 9 am, mostly national talk shows after that w/some local news blocks. News stories are often credited to TV channel 10. 930, KAGI, Grants Pass, fair // KSJK-1230. 950, KYES, Roseburg, weak // KSJK-1230 1230, KSJK-1230, Talent, "JPR", "Jefferson Public Radio", Mostly NPR programs. BBC news at ToH. Heard a few legal IDs for KSJK/KAGI mentioning Southern Oregon Univ, so they might break away from JPR network at times for local programs. Never heard mention of the other JPR AM stations (1280, 950, etc.) 1270, KAJO Grants Pass, fair-weak, standards, locally originated, "Hometown Radio Station Kay-joe", AP news at ToH. Programming reminds me of a 1970s middle-of -the-road station (that's not a negative comment). Also runs national talk shows at times. See schedule at http://www.kajo.com/schedule.html (note that they air the National Anthem daily at 5:58 am) 1274.9, KAPL spurs here and 1325.1 1300, KAPL Phoenix, Christian programs, "The Broadcast Ministry of the Applegate Christian Fellowship" 1440, KMED Medford, "Newstalk AM 14-40", mostly national talk shows, Fox news at ToH 1610, TIS, Ashland, operated by Oregon Dept of Transportation. 15 second loop ID "When flashing beacons are active, this system will provide driving conditions on Siskyou Pass southbound." 1700, TIS, Ashland, continuous relay of NOAA weather for northern CA. Weakly modulated ID every few minutes by soft-voiced woman mentioning Ashland Fire & Rescue Dept, tune-here-in-case-of-emergency type message (Bruce Portzer, July 3, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. ``TOKYO ROSE`` IS 90 TODAY http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/wp-content/uploads/2006/07/Iva_Toguri.jpg Iva Toguri, better known by her nickname Tokyo Rose, celebrates her 90th birthday today. During World War II, the broadcasts of Tokyo Rose from Japan demoralized GIs. After the War, Iva Toguri was tried for treason - but later pardoned by President Gerald Ford after the trial was revealed to be a sham. Today, she lives in a suburb of Chicago. Today’s New York Daily News tells the story of what happened to a lady who found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Read the story of Iva Toguri http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/nation/14963265.htm (July 4th, 2006, 10:26 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. SW RADIO AFRICA - THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF ZIMBABWE Our morning medium wave broadcasts have been jammed since Monday 26th June. The jamming appears to be quite localised and focused on Harare. We can still be heard in other parts of the country. This seems to follow the same pattern and began at the same time as the jamming of VOA's Studio 7 broadcasts on medium wave in the evening. The authorities jammed our shortwave broadcasts last year, ahead of parliamentary elections and the devastating Operation Murambatsvina that left nearly a million Zimbabweans homeless and with no way to earn a living. At that time we ascertained the jamming was done with the help of Chinese equipment and assistance. We have no reason to assume that this latest jamming is any different. We strongly protest this further attack attempting, once again, to deny Zimbabweans the right to freedom of speech and freedom of information. We urge the international community to take this most seriously. Gerry Jackson, Station Manager http://www.swradioafrica.com Tel: (44) (0) 2083871407 Mobile: (44) (0) 7789874019 (via David Pringle-Wood, Harare, July 4, WORLD OF RADIO 1321, DXLD) The MW jamming is localised to Harare but also whacks the VOA/IBB 909 kHz Studio 7 broadcast evenings. 73 (David Pringle-Wood, Harare, July 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Zimbabwe: Harare Calling - Broadcasters Accuse Govt of Radio Jamming UN Integrated Regional Information Networks July 5, 2006 Posted to the web July 5, 2006 Johannesburg --- The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the Zimbabwean government to stop the alleged jamming of news broadcasts by radio stations based in the United States and Britain. In a statement this week, the CPJ accused the government of jamming medium-wave signals by the Voice of America's (VOA) Studio 7, a 90- minute news programme broadcasting into Zimbabwe in English and local languages, and the London-based South-West Radio Africa. The statement quoted VOA spokesman Joe O'Connell as saying the alleged jamming was systematic and focused around Harare, the capital. "We have had reports of jamming of our Zimbabwe broadcasts in the past, but we've never been able to confirm them," he said. This time, "we've determined, and believe, that it's intentional". Home affairs minister Kembo Mohadi denied the jamming allegation. "This has been their chorus for a long time, but the truth is that we are not engaged in such diabolical acts. This country is still under sanctions, so we cannot afford to carry out such activities," ... http://allafrica.com/stories/200607050591.html (via Art Blair, DXLD) Same: http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?idCategory=33&idsub=121&id=4256&t=Zimbabwe+government+accused+of+radio+jamming (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) INTERNATIONAL PRESS INSTITUTE BLAMES CHINESE FOR JAMMING OF SW RADIO AFRICA The International Press Institute (IPI) has issued a statement condemning the jamming by the Zimbabwe government of the mediumwave signal of the London-based SW Radio Africa. The IPI says that, based on information from inside Zimbabwe, the jamming is believed to come from the broadcasting centre at Pockets Hill, rather than ZBC Gweru, which has previously jammed SW Radio Africa on the shortwave band. It is widely believed that the Chinese government has provided the Zimbabwean government with the technology that allows the signal of private radio stations to be jammed inside the country. In early June, the Zimbabwean vice-president, Joyce Mujuru, returned from a visit to China and announced a number of trade deals including a significant deal with Star Communications to provide the necessary equipment to allow Zimbabwean state radio and television to broadcast all over the country. Commenting on the apparent jamming of SW Radio Africa`s signal, IPI Director Johann P. Fritz said, ``Having brought the independent press to its knees, it now seems that the Zimbabwean government is determined to do the same with independent radio stations, both inside and outside the country. Since the beginning of the year, the government has done everything within its powers to silence the Zimbabwe-based Voice of the People radio station and it is now blocking outside signals.`` Fritz added, ``Because of the growing relationship between the Zimbabwean government and China it is hard not to see these actions as part of a concerted effort to silence all alternative radio voices in the country. If successful, this will allow the state radio and television to use Chinese funding to broadcast its own deeply prejudiced views to the Zimbabwean people unchallenged.`` (July 5th, 2006, 10:03 UTC by Andy, Media Network blog via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 4316 USB with aeronautical service mentioning weather forecast and nuts constantly but no ID at 0400. Recheck by 0442 showed a steady noise like a jet (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, July 5, dxlgyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nuts? UNIDENTIFIED. CUBA, 4545, 04/07 2250, UNID Cuba, SS comentários sobre Havana, mx YL oração "Madre de Dieus" programação religiosa, fadding na ID, fez ref na ID a algo que soa como Radio Eco Romenho transmitindo... centro de Cuba, 33222 [RU] Gravei 6 minutos da emissão em 4545 possivelmente de CUBA em: http://www.amantesdoradio.com.br/audios/dx/4545_060704.mp3 No final 05:40 min tem a ID com forte ruído devido a um ligeiro fading Nesta frequência de 4545 já foram ouvidas ainda este ano: 4545.04, Radio Norteño, Bolivia (Arnaldo Slaen 03/04 09:35) 4545.39, Radio Virgen de Remédios, Bolivia (Slaen 07/05 10:37) UIND em 2 informes do Glenn Hauser em 01/06 e 02/06 4545, R. Virgem de Remédios, Bolivia (Reinaldo Gomes 23/05 e 15/06) 4545.3, R. Paitití, Bolivia (Carlos Gonçalves 02/06 23:00) Um forte 73 e boas escutas! (PU2LZB Renato Uliana, Guarulhos - SP. TECSUN PL-230 + Antena DEGEN DE31, Conferido com ICOM IC-725, Fone: 9873-4062, DXCB - DX Clube do Brasil, July 5, radioescutas yg via DXLD) Watch out for those last few seconds which are much louder on the recording. I couldn`t make anything out, but why do you think this could be Cuba rather than Bolivia? It`s a religious program, just what you would expect from R. Virgen de Remedios, maybe relaying WEWN (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. Anyone know what the signal on 7053.5 is, a jammer? (Andy K3UK Fredonia, New York, 0300 UT July 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Could you describe it? Heard again? (gh) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS ++++++++++++++++++++++++ It really takes a nose for detail to keep track of broadcasters, programs, and frequencies -- and I appreciate the rigor you apply to the craft. Better to propagate correct information than incorrect information! Hope you enjoy the Independence Day holiday (Rich Cuff, PA) RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ BENMAR NAVIGATOR 555A MARINE DF SET Nice pic at: http://www.rigpix.com/specialized/benmar_navigator555a.htm Frequency range: 0.15-0.4 / 0.52-4.6 MHz in three bands (David Crawford [who uses one], FL, IRCA via DXLD) David, You've almost certainly seen this but your post intrigued me and a Goggle search turned up a nice collection of details on the Benmar 555A at another web site. For those who are interested: http://www.noobowsystems.com/restorations/nav555a/nav555a-e.html By the way, any opinion on the Ray Jefferson 630-RDF as a useful MW DF tool? (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, (southeast) Florida, ibid.) WiFi Radio My question (& it doesn't seem to be answered in the description of the AE unit on the CCrane website) is whether these devices work in public WiFi areas, like a coffeeshop that has WiFi (like Panera Bread) or in a geographic region that has installed area-wide WiFi *without* needing a computer to "login" or otherwise "register" or "sign in" to such a WiFi net. Has Philadelphia gotten their city-wide WiFi up and running yet? There's supposed to be a downtown-wide WiFi here in St. Louis, but I've read that you have to "register" to use it, and I don't have a computer with WiFi to go down there and test it out. Maybe somebody on the group lives in a loft in downtown StL and can report on that? (What is SW reception like in a city center loft anyway? Never read any comments about that...) 73, (Will Martin, St Louis MO, July 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ DRM RADIOS [see also GERMANY; NORWAY; USA WWCR] When discussing Thiecom offering DRM-40 sets please note also this sentence at http://www.thiecom.de/shop1/index.html?target=DigitalznEmpfaengerDRM.html ``Es wird anfänglich nur eine kleinere Menge an Geräten zur Verfügung stehen!`` Reads: At first only a smaller quantity of sets will be available (Kai Ludwig, Germany, July 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) IBOC Re Fela, 6-097: WINS' HD signal is indeed a "new version" - their programming is being heard on the HD2 subchannel of sister station WNEW-FM 102.7! No IBOC on 1010 itself...yet. s (Scott Fybush, WTFDA via DXLD) Kinda similar to how Fox 5 and WWOR-9 are sharing DTV 45 (or is it 44 ???) BN (Bill Nollman, ibid.) Yes-ish and no-ish --- putting the WWOR signal on WNYW-DT was purely an expedient measure to get SOME channel 9 signal back on the air after 9/11. The WWOR analog and digital transmitters were on WTC, as was WNYW analog, but WNYW-DT was on Empire and thus escaped any damage. Getting WWOR on WNYW-DT allowed some cable systems to resume carrying the signal, among other things. It was DT 44, by the way - and WWOR-DT is now back up on its own on 38, also operating from Empire, like most of the rest of NYC TV. A similar situation is the one underway right now in Milwaukee, where WVTV-DT is off the air and the WVTV programming is on a subchannel of sister WCGV-DT. But what's happening with WINS and WNEW is somewhat different - in this case, using a subchannel of the nondirectional, full-market (more or less) WNEW signal allows the WINS programming to reach areas of New Jersey and Long Island where its directional AM signal on 1010 simply can't go, whether analog or digital. The lesson I draw from this particular situation is that CBS Radio understands that what really matters is the programming, not the means by which it's delivered. Sure, the brand is still "1010 WINS," but an increasing number of listeners in Manhattan offices are now getting it via streaming audio instead of analog AM (which just can't penetrate those steel buildings), and perhaps someday a significant number will also get it via WNEW-HD, or via MediaFLO on their cell phones, or through some technology we can't even anticipate yet. Particularly on an impaired facility like 1010 (and yes, even with 50 kW it's a less-than-ideal facility, for several reasons), it's not that hard to imagine a day when the majority of listeners to "1010 WINS" are actually listening to something OTHER than 1010 kHz. No, there's no mystery or magic in tuning in a distant audio stream - but when I'm sitting at my computer in Rochester trying to listen to a Red Sox day game, I'd rather do five mouse clicks to get the streaming audio from MLB.com than try to dig out the faint remnants of WTIC --- which is to say that it really IS just all about the programming, even (sometimes) for a dyed-in-the-wool DXer. In fact - and yes, I'm getting off-topic here - I was down in Rockland County last night, well within WFAN's local coverage, and still found it more convenient to tune in the Yanks-Mets blowout on the MLB streaming audio on my laptop than to try to tune around the ambient electrical noise to hear WFAN "live" on 660... s (Scott Fybush, NY, ibid.) I failed to make my point. If you think this is beating things to death, what will you think when TeamBLOC renders your private property absolutely worthless, fit only for the dumpster? I'm providing polite albeit verbose, redundant, repetetive, bilious advisories. Rest assured, TeamBLOC will show us no such courtesy. If you want to see TeamBLIGHT's ultimate goal, simply demolish every receiver you own. Being irked about this is normal. Do what TeamBLIGHT most fears. Direct that ire at those who will stop this larceny of the airwaves. They've kept their great new product secret because they know better than any, people know a stinker when they see it. HD Surround Sound? Yeah, Radio World a while ago ran an article or two about 5.1, possibly as alternative to HD. Unsure. Maybe someone else knows. (Paul Vincent Zecchino, IRCA via DXLD) -Z.- Sure - there are a couple of companies promoting different schemes for doing full 5.1 surround via HD Radio. It's been a topic of some dispute at the last couple of NAB shows - Frank Foti's Omnia has linked up with the Fraunhofer folks from Germany for a discrete multichannel system, while Neural Audio is promoting what I believe is a matrixed system. I've heard Foti give long dissertations on why Neural's system can't work properly. I've heard the Neural folks explain why their system can work within the bandwidth of existing FM HDs and Foti's can't. I've listened to the opening riffs of Pink Floyd's "Money" in the back seats of several vehicles parked on the NAB show floor, demonstrating both systems. They both seem to work, if you're into that sort of thing. WZLX in Boston announced during this past April's show that they're teaming up with the Omnia/Fraunhofer camp to run surround on their HD signal, so it's apparently out there at least for testing. I certainly haven't seen any receivers yet. (Apropos of which, I just got back from a few days outside NYC, where I had the chance to see how the BA Recepter performed on the fringe of the market. I suppose I could post a review here --- or would everyone just prefer being snarky to actual on-the-ground testing? I can go either way... :-) s (Scott Fybush, IRCA via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ Re 6-097, Meteor? Now, do you mean Doppler or NexRad or Standard radar? Here in WNY, you can see the inversion building in the early evening, as the NexRad starts to spread out the ground clutter in an ever larger diameter from the transmitter site, on calm nights that are conducive to tropo "enhancement". The pattern gets bigger and bigger until if forms a large, red "Z" shape from the west end of Lake Erie over to Buffalo and then around the west end of Lake Ontario out east past Toronto. Then it may even start to fill out towards Syracuse. When I see that pattern, I KNOW I'll be hearing 1/2 watt FRS handhelds from the kids camping on the bluffs east of TO and also North of the city as well. I believe I have seen inversion following the I-90 from Erie, PA out to East of Rochester on the NexRad as well. This only happens on VERY calm days and into the evening; I think the heat and car exhaust rise up to a height and concentration high enough to appear as the dreaded "clutter". The third NexRad phenomena I've noticed is that in the early morning on very calm nights and days, you can sometimes see what appears to be a large "bubble" rising up and then dissolving as it spreads out. Imagine a balloon rising slowly and getting larger as it does until it pops and then goes away. These appear as circular in form, (the radar cuts a cross section of it) getting larger over time and then disappearing, lasting maybe 1/2 to 1 hour of time. Also, I've only seen this over city areas, not out in the farm areas. I think it is the heat/pollution plume from the population center rising up and disipatating in to the early morning air. While radar reflections may not be much use to the DX'er, it's still fun to be able to see into the atmosphere somewhat as tropo signals rise up and fade out. Maybe there will be a study done in the future to see just how these things are all related. Oh, the NexRad must be in the "Clear Air" mode to see any of this stuff (Guy in Lockport, NY Falsetti, WTFDA via DXLD) DXERS UNLIMITED'S HF PLUS LOW BAND VHF PROPAGATION UPDATE AND FORECAST Solar activity has increased during the past several days, but now is expected to remain at low to very low levels, and solar flux has reached the 90 mark after a long period of very low figures, ranging between 70 and 80 units. Sunspot number is at 38, and that's the optical sunspot count. A high speed solar wind gust coming from a coronal hole is expected to hit the Earth's magnetosphere and if this happens, high latitude propagation conditions will worsen, and AM broadcast stations from the South will provide very good signals during today's and tomorrow's evenings (Arnie Coro, CO2KK, RHC DXers Unlimited July 4 via ODXA via DXLD) Solar-terrestrial indices for 03 July follow. Solar flux 86 and mid- latitude A-index 2. The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 04 July was 4 (61 nT). No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours. No space weather storms are expected for the next 24 hours (SEC via DXLD) :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2006 Jul 04 2123 UTC # Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Environment Center # Product description and SEC contact on the Web # http://www.sec.noaa.gov/wwire.html # # 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table # Issued 2006 Jul 04 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2006 Jul 05 85 20 4 2006 Jul 06 85 15 3 2006 Jul 07 85 8 3 2006 Jul 08 85 5 2 2006 Jul 09 85 5 2 2006 Jul 10 85 5 2 2006 Jul 11 80 8 3 2006 Jul 12 75 20 4 2006 Jul 13 75 10 3 2006 Jul 14 75 8 3 2006 Jul 15 75 8 3 2006 Jul 16 75 5 2 2006 Jul 17 75 5 2 2006 Jul 18 75 5 2 2006 Jul 19 75 7 2 2006 Jul 20 75 5 2 2006 Jul 21 75 5 2 2006 Jul 22 75 5 2 2006 Jul 23 80 5 2 2006 Jul 24 85 8 3 2006 Jul 25 85 20 4 2006 Jul 26 85 15 3 2006 Jul 27 85 10 3 2006 Jul 28 85 8 3 2006 Jul 29 85 5 2 2006 Jul 30 85 15 3 2006 Jul 31 85 20 4 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via WORLD OF RADIO 1321, DXLD) ###