DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-134, September 6, 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 NEXT SHORTWAVE AIRINGS OF WORLD OF RADIO 1327: Days and times here are strictly UT. Fri 2030 WWCR1 15825 Sat 0800 WRN 13865 DRM via Bulgaria Sat 1230 WRMI 9955 Sat 1430 WRMI 7385 Sat 1600 WWCR3 12160 Sun 0230 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0630 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0800 WRMI 9955 Sun 1530 WRMI 7385 Mon 0300 WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0415 WBCQ 7415 Wed 0930 WWCR1 9985 Latest edition of this schedule version, with hotlinks to station sites and audio, is at: 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 ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. R. Solh, 17700 via UK, Sept 6 at 1335 with music, still there at 1430, no news on the hour tho there was a brief announcement (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ALBANIA. My director Mehilli told me last Friday that TWR will leave ARTV and today I learnt from Financial Director that also VOA will leave ARTV from Oct 1 (Drita Cico, R. Tirana, Sept 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) More time available for China, then (gh) ** ANTARCTICA. Subject: [HCDX] Fw: [DXA-leden]. Antarctica freaken, R. N. Arcángel San Gabriel is weer van de partij op 15476 kHz, best in usb, EKD 300 rx. Time 1953 UT (Maurits Van Driessche, Belgium, Sept 6, HCDX via DXLD) As I remarked on WOR, the low countries seem to be a hotspot for Antarctic reception (gh, DXLD) ** ASCENSION ISLAND. After 1800 Sept 4 the Ascension transmitters were the only audible signals here on 16 and 13 metres, away from a silent carrier (if not something locally generated) on 17865 and a very faint signal (probably of local origin as well) on 21660. The real signals from Ascension came in with BBC English on 17830 and with BBC French on 21630 // 17885 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Re: ``Saturday I heard 11880 with an Aussie football match not // 12080. On my way out so I couldn't stick around for a TOH ID but I suspect it was a relay of DS. Jerry Lenamon, Waco Texas`` Clarification: The GMT date was Sunday Sep 03 at 0545z. 11880 was not // 12080. By the way both channels were airing sports (Jerry Lenamon, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11880 was still carrying Darwin and announcing as "105-7" today (Sept 6) and gave local time as 26 past 4 at 0656 UT. Has anyone who can hear the service better than me worked out why this transmission appears to carry different Darwin/NT broadcasts - or at least, they announce different FM frequencies? And I heard the sports commentary last weekend when 11880 was // 9710, but 9710 was carrying RA and different today (Noel R. Green, UK, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) The ABC-NT Darwin relay does continue via Shepparton on 6080. Observed Sept 6: at 1315, 6080 not // RA 6020, with two different talk shows; 6080 had music underneath, presumably R. Singapore International, which has had its external service blocked by Australia the past few months. At 1329, 6080 had ID for 105.7 ABC Darwin, and 1330 into news on their hour, starting with ABC sounder. Rechecked at 1359:30, 6080 had switched to Waltzing Matilda, and 1400 with regular R. Australia programming, now // 5995, 7240, 9590 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 2485 also heard 0900-1040, Sep 05, excellent signal with local Australian news. While this is // with 2325 it is about a half a second ahead, clearly out of synchronization. Talk about parliamentary ministers report (Robert Wilkner, FL, DSWCI DX Window Sept 5 via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA [non]. GERMANY. Music test of CVC International from August 21: 1200-1500 on 13830*JUL 100 kW / 060 deg to EaEu in Russian, ex English 1500-1700 on 13800 JUL 100 kW / 060 deg to EaEu in Russian, ex English * co-channel Radio Free Asia in Tibetan + Chinese Music Jammer (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Sept 5 via DXLD) In answer to an email inquiry, "Rick" writes: CVC began broadcasting in English from Juelich to Russia almost four months ago. As of 21st August, this was replaced by a 30 min Russian language looped program transmitting from 1200 to 1459 UT on 13830 kHz, then 1500-1658 on 13800 kHz (Henrik Klemetz, Luleå, Sweden, Sept 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I wonder if this too is played out from Queensland HQ, or where the ultimate Russian language service will really originate? (gh, DXLD) ** BELARUS. Noted two of the 5 kW transmitters in the provinces of Belarus today Sept 4: Grodno/Hrodna was rather good on 6040 until Wertachtal overrode it out of the blue at 1629 (see under Germany). Mogilyov/Mahiliou was for a few minutes dominating on 6190 until the channel became an unintelligible mess again, broadcasting an endless row of ads, followed by an advice how to book spots. A German program from Radio Belarus was on from 1800 on 7105, 7390 and 7440 but not on 1170. Seems I'm not up to date with their schedule? Audio freak observation: Dynamic compression was in use on 7105 but not on 7390 and 7440, so the compressor apparently belongs to the 7105 transmitter or is even hard-wired into it. I understand that 7105 is a rather recent 250 kW unit while the equipment they have at hand for 7390 and 7440 would be a/ 15 transmitters of 5 kW each (ex-jammers) combined to a single 75 kW, b/ one 100 kW transmitter and c/ an ancient 150 kW transmitter, reactivated in the recent years after being shut down long ago, probably already in the USSR days (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL. Sucateado - Re 6-129. Glenn, Sucateado means wreck. In this context, a beaten up transmitter of dubious quality. Regards, (Vincent Ferme, Ottawa, ON, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL [and non]. UNID: 11750 kHz. 9/5 heard station here 2245-2300 that seemed // Brazilians on 11780/11815/11830 which I believe is Voz do Brasil at this time. Fair to poor signal mixing with fair signal from Chinese station which I believe was CNR1; heard the usual 5 + 1 time pips at 2300, when Chinese station gradually getting stronger, and heard. as late as 0115. unID went into music at 2300, not // either 11780 or 11815, and 11830 signs off 2300. I also noted possible Brazilian here a couple of Saturdays ago. There was a great opening to Brazil on this band around 1630-1800. I first checked 11735 for Zanzibar after listening to gh's WOR on WWCR/12160 with the usual crosstalk, and heard the Radio Transmundial program instead with unbelievably nice signal for this time of day. Also 11780/11815/11830 coming in decent, and something in Portuguese also noted on 11750. Wasn't sure if this was just RDP Portugal on one of their extended weekend broadcasts, or a new Brazilian. Anybody have any idea what this one is? (Alex Vranes, Jr., Harpers Ferry, WV, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Alex, That would be R. Marumby, Florianópolis, which I think has been inactive. It`s not in WRTH, but it is in EiBi as 24 hours: 11750 0000-2400 B Radio Marumby P SAm PWBR has it on 11749.8, irregular, 10 kW, only at 08-21, or rather 09- 22 at midyear when DST is not on. I think I have seen an occasional report of this but I can`t find any Brazilian on 11750 in the last few months of DXLD, nor in the last few weeks of the radioescutas list. Good catch. Please keep your reports coming to me. Several Brazilians on 9 MHz were coming in nicely last night around 0500. 73, (Glenn to Alex, via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Wonder why this isn't in WRTH? Don't remember ever seeing a Brazilian listed on this frequency in WRTH going back 20 years! Thanx again (Alex Vranes, ibid.) ** BRAZIL. Radio Nacional da Amazônia is on 11783 tonight instead of usual 11780 kHz (Gilles Létourneau Montreal Canada, 0131 UT Sept 7, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BRAZIL [non]. WSM 650 Off - Results (all times EDT). At 0501 Sept 4 I heard an announcement in English followed by a possible station ID. A clip can be found at http://philcobill.com/sounds/00650-20060904-0501-WSM_off.mp3 I suspect this is WSRO. Please listen to the clip if you think you can help ID the station (Bill Harms, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Something in Portuguese is on the clip (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) Yes, Brazilian Portuguese (gh, DXLD) Bill, Although I do not hear an ID, I believe this is WSRO with an announcement in English followed by Portuguese. Most of their programming is now in Portuguese serving the very large Brazilian population in the Framingham, MA area (Marc DeLorenzo, South Dennis, MA, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. Radio Bulgaria via Padarsko on 11500, after 1700 Sept 4 with French, was almost unlistenable due to a noise gate in the audio chain shredding the voices by opening only on the loudest peaks (threshold set too high). This was in the past a rather common fault on Russian transmitters until almost everywhere these gates disappeared, presumably together with the old cable circuits. So probably not only the transmitters and antennas but also the audio equipment at Padarsko originated from the USSR? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. THE LAUGHS ARE ON CBC RADIO ONE THIS FALL AS THREE HILARIOUS COMEDIES PREMIER IN SEPTEMBER http://www3.cbc.ca/sections/newsitem_redux.asp?ID=4373 Laughter rules the national airwaves this fall, as CBC Radio One introduces three diverse comic series-THE DEBATERS, MONSOON HOUSE and MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD. Shaun Majumder leads an all-star lineup of acclaimed Canadian comic talent. These shows, rich in colour and drama, are filled with side-splitting views on the burning issues of our time. Following hot on the heels of the successful summer program So, You Think You’re Funny, the new shows are the latest in CBC Radio One’s continued delivery of some of the best comedy in the country. THE DEBATERS - Begins Sept. 9, airs Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. for 17 weeks (repeats Mondays at 7:30 p.m.) [on webcasts: Sat 2230 UT +1/2/3 hours; Mon 2230 UT + 1/2/3/4 hours] Acclaimed comedian Shaun Majumder (This Hour Has 22 Minutes) makes his radio debut as host of THE DEBATERS. The 17-week series features verbal sparring matches on the social and political issues of our time with some of Canada’s funniest people, including Majumder, who mediates and adds his own witty two cents. Is same sex marriage good for the family? Should we be investing more in the military? Should prostitution be legalized? Should freedom of expression have limits? Each show delivers two debates, with two comics going head-to-head, flaunting their insights and debating skills while whipping out their funniest one-liners. Featured comic debaters include Irwin Barker, Glen Foster, Simon Rakoff, Deb Kimmett, Al Rae, Bruce Clark, Deb Williams and Trevor Boris. MONSOON HOUSE - Begins Sept. 8, airs Fridays at 11:30 a.m. for eight weeks [webcast: Fri 1430 UT +1/2/3/4 hours] Award-winning standup comedian Russell Peters headlines MONSOON HOUSE, a hilarious eight-episode comedy written by Al Rae. Peters is Russell Page, a fledgling Hollywood producer who returns to Toronto to watch his father Kesh (voiced by Sam Moses) accept a lifetime achievement award for his work as a publisher. After a series of mishaps, Russell ends up staying in Toronto to run the family publishing business with his sister Sabrina (Pamela Sinha). Throughout the episodes, Russell juggles his movie production woes with his publishing ones, while dealing with the idiosyncrasies of his family and the monumental task of turning a 900-page biography of former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker into a hit movie. This Is Wonderland’s Michael Riley stars as Trenton Harrison, a brilliant writer and womanizer with a drinking problem and a thing for Sabrina. MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD - Begins Sept. 9, airs Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. for 17 weeks [webcast: Sat 1430 UT + 1/2/3/4 hours] Caustic comedian John Wing draws from his life’s trials and tribulations in a 17-episode series on his struggles to find his place at home and in the world at large. Each week, Wing takes a humorous look at the events of the Los Angeles-based Wing household, and family life in general. He shares insights on navigating the mysteries of marriage, raising a child and coping with neighbours and friends, while trying to decipher what it all means. Tune in to CBC Radio One this fall-the network of choice for great Canadian comedy! (via Ricky Leong, AB, Sept 5, DXLD) ** CANADA. This Week on Quirks & Quarks we begin our new season: The AIDS Special. The biggest science event of the summer in Canada was the sixteenth International AIDS Conference, held in Toronto in August. And Quirks was there to get the scoop on the latest medical research and to look at some of the global issues arising from the disease. One of the areas we examine is HIV/AIDS prevention, moving beyond the ABC's of Abstinence, Being faithful and Condom use, to the full alphabet of scientific interventions. We'll also hear about problems facing the fastest growing group of people with HIV/AIDS - women in the developing world. All this and more, as we kick off the 32nd season of Quirks & Quarks, Saturday right after the noon news on Radio One, or anytime on our web page: http://cbc.ca/quirks. Plus check out our new Quirks & Quarks blog: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/quirks-blog/ (Bob McDonald Host, Quirks mailing list Sept 6 via DXLD) That`s Sat 1506 UT + 1/2/3/4 hours on webcasts, and at 1506 via RCI 9515, 13655, 17800 (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA. PROPOSAL FOR NATIVE RADIO STATION IN SASKATOON September 4, 2006 CBC News http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2006/09/04/radio-aboriginal.html Saskatoon's two main commercial radio rivals are leading a proposal to start an aboriginal radio station - but critics are dismissing it as a circuitous bid to further their monopoly in the city. The federal telecommunications watchdog, the CRTC, recently said the two rivals, Rawlco Radio and Elmer Hildebrand's 629112 Saskatchewan Ltd., are behind a trust that has applied for permission to start the station. The companies said the idea is to get more aboriginal people working in the local media, promising they will even eventually sell the station to an aboriginal group for $1. However, potential competitors have argued that its an attempt to further dominate the airwaves and monopolize advertising dollars by the two companies, which each own one AM and two FM stations in Saskatoon as well as other stations around the province. Under the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's rules, a company can only own three radio stations in a market the size of Saskatoon. The trust would give them a way to get around the regulation. Some of the criticism has come from CJVR Radio, a small independent station based in Melfort, about 160 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. CJVR has also applied to start a new station in Saskatoon. 'I see this as an opportunity for them to just strengthen the monopoly they already have.'-Ken Singer, CJVR Radio spokesman Ken Singer, the vice president of broadcast operations for CJVR, questioned the motive behind the aboriginal radio bid, suggesting the big players in Saskatoon are trying to keep everyone else out. "I see this as an opportunity for them to just strengthen the monopoly they already have," Singer said. But Gordon Rawlinson, a co-owner of Rawlco Radio, dismissed the complaint. In the end, it will be up to the CRTC to determine whether Saskatoon needs a new commercial radio station and which application will be allowed to proceed. The watchdog will begin hearings into all the applications this fall. One of the hearings is scheduled to take place on Oct. 31 in Regina (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** CHINA. V. of China, Beijing, 5030 at 2110 4 August, SIO 322, OM in Chinese (Richard Thurlow, Ipswich, Suffolk, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ? That name is normally associated with a clandestine, not sure what it is in Chinese. EiBi lists here only CNR-1 program from Beijing, but you never know, that may be to jam V. of China (gh) ** CHINA. CRI in English via Kashi was booming in after 1730 Sept 4 on 11940 and 13760. Program with three announcers, meant to have a casual appearance by using open speech with a music bed (how I like this!). I guess the announcers indeed extemporized, or they must be extremely skilled in letting a script read-out sounding like open speech (this is really difficult, I would even say almost impossible). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. Letter sent from Ulrich Bihlmayer DJ9KR to Sound of Hope. Date: 4 September 2006 Dear Mr Yue Chen, you certainly remember my letter which I have sent to you just one month ago. It was dealing with a clandestine station in Chinese language and a Music Jammer from Hainan Island, CHN. We were not sure if the station jammed by the Music Jammer was Sound of Hope, your radio station. In your last letter you have indicated to investigate. So here again are the latest news in the attachment. Maybe the station jammed is NOT Sound of Hope but a station of Falun Gong. But, I guess, you know these things much better. I should like to read your answer soon on my screen. Yours very truly, (Ulrich Bihlmayer, Coordinator of DARC MONITORING SYSTEM Intruder Watch Germany and Spectrum Control (via DXLD) Dear friends of IARU MONITORING SYSTEM, here you find the answer of Sound of Hope Radio Network concerning the Hainan Firedragon Music Jammer. Today, after a frequency shift to 14400 kHz for two days, the clandestine station (what ever it is) and the Hainan Firedragon Jammer were back on 14050 kHz. Will you please study the answer of SOH and, if you want, send me your comments. Fraternally yours in the IARU-MS, (Ulrich (Uli) Bihlmayer DJ9KR Vice Coordinator of IARU-MS Region 1 and Coordinator of DARC-MS Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: Von: SOH Contact contact @ soundofhope.org An: dj9kr @ arcor.de Datum: 05.09.2006 20:21 Betreff: Re: Hainan Firedragon Music Jammer - Mr. Yue Chen September 5, 2006, To All Amateur Radio Community Members Cc: International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Recently, the Sound of Hope Radio Network (SOH) has received inquiries about SOH programs have triggered People Republic of China' s strong invasion into the amateur radio frequencies, which causes great distress in the communities. We have investigated the issue and hereby give our finding and positioning on this issue. Sound of Hope Radio Network is a non-profit Chinese radio network dedicated to bring most updated, truthful and independent news to people of mainland China. The media censorship in China has caused great suffering and social injustice to Chinese people, especially those who are disadvantaged, deprived and persecuted. Our program was greatly received by Chinese listeners and we have received many appreciations for our helping people speak out, get heard and get informed. Sound of Hope Radio Network mainly uses shortwave broadcast to reach to listeners in Mainland China. However, there are also many supporters of Sound of Hope or people caring about China who try to send SOH radio programs into China through various ways, including amateur radio frequencies, because they found our program is a great tool in revealing the truth. What you asked about is such a case. SOH has consistently provided coverage on various human rights issues in China, e.g. the loss of land to corrupted officials, the persecution of Christians and the most outstanding current issue -- the persecution of Falun Gong practitioners. The persecution of Falun Gong is a 7-year long government-driven campaign that has ruined the lives of tens of millions of people in China. Innocent people were kicked out of schools or work units, thrown into labor camps and mental hospitals, and even tortured to death. (Related information can be found at places like this: http://www.flghrwg.net/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=390&Itemid=78) Recently, SOH reporters also joined the investigation of systematic harvesting practitioners' organs for high profit while they are still alive by the Chinese Communist Regime. What we found is simply appalling. The number of victims was estimated to be 40,000 or higher. See http://eng.soundofhope.org/article.aspx?catID=465&newsID=38885 http://www.faluninfo.net/fdifocus_organ.asp SOH' s coverage helps expose one of the darkest areas of the Chinese Communist Regime and deters the persecution and killings that is happening in China. Many Chinese people have learned the truth via SOH broadcast. The current jamming of SOH shortwave broadcast, as well as the severe jamming of amateur radio frequencies, completely come from the Communist Party's fear for truth being revealed. They are using a nation's resource to seal off any possibility of truth delivery, and as they do that, the least they care about is the rights of amateur radio community. Through our investigation, we learned that the transmissions of SOH programs through amateur radio frequencies comes from areas around China and they each only target a local area of China with very low power, only for the intended recipients and would interfere with nobody else. Meanwhile, their purpose is always clear: help spread uncensored information to Chinese people so that more people's lives could be saved. We hereby encourage international amateur radio community to read about the related news coverage so that you are well informed about what is exactly happening inside China. We believe that the international societies including the amateur radio community members should openly urge Chinese government to stop this outrageous act of radio jamming and reports to International Telecommunication Union about such act and urge them to take measures too. While we all enjoy the free communication in a free land, there are many Chinese people are in the dark and are deprived of their rights to know the truth. The deprivation of their rights eventually spreads to the deprivation of more people' s free communication and in this case it is amateur radio communication. This is almost inevitable as the Chinese government will do whatever it takes to conceal the truth. In our view, asking those people to stop transmitting truth into China won' t be right, as that is amount to asking people to remain silent while killings are still going on. We need to address the root cause of the issue, by condemning Chinese government and demanding it to stop such outrageous jamming. We thank you for providing your feedback to SOH. We ask the community which is made up of freedom-loving people, to care about situation in China and come up with ways to make sure free information go unstopped in China and we welcome ideas and thoughts from you. Sound of Hope Radio Network http://www.soundofhope.org Some website related to the topic Falun Dafa Information Center: http://www.faluninfo.net/ The Epochtimes Newspaper: http://www.theepochtimes.com/211,111,,1.html (via Bihlmayer, DXLD) Dear Sound of Hope, I do not care about your cause - just get your transmissions off the amateur radio bands. There is more than enough radio spectrum for you to use outside of the amateur radio bands. You are in breach of the International radio regulations. If you want the support of the international community, move your transmissions into legitimate shortwave radio spectrum (G. C. Dunstan, Director, Wireless Institute of Australia, Sept 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA [and non]. Marfil Estéreo, 5910, presumed the music source, mixed with jamming at 0520 Sept 5. Sloppy Cubans did not turn it off when R. República relay via Germany was over at 0400 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CONGO DR [non]. R. Okapi 11890 via Meyerton, RSA, 1635 30/7, reports on DRC elexion including mention of Lubumbashi, Kinshasa. R. Okapi jingles, website, French, 1659 off; SIO 333 (Alan Pennington, Caversham, Berkshire, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLDO) ** COSTA RICA. TIRWR, 5030, with Mrs. DGS preaching, but barely modulated, and overshadowed by Cuba 5025, Sept 5 at 0525 check. 9725 was on again around 1330 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [and non]. Ran across the MCW letters-instead-of-numbers spy station again on 5930.0, Sept 5 at 0517; probably starts at 0500. Loud and clear this time, one of the best signals on 49m, and a bit stronger than RHC 6000. The keying of the letters reminded me a lot of the closing Morse code message on Arnie Coro`s DXers Unlimited. Maybe same hardware? No WWCR 5935 audible; probably skipping over/not propagating as can often be the case even on 6 MHz here 1 Mm from Nashville; however, WWCR 5765 was fairly audible at 0524 check, but not a solid signal, which then made me wonder if DGS 5935 was really off the air at that time (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1327, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Checked 5930 for spy letters MCW station at 0527 Wed Sept 6, as heard during that semihour the night before, but not there. WWCR, however was audible this time on 5935. These things usually have a complex schedule depending on day of week. Previous log of 5930 letters was during the 0700 semihour on Sunday Aug 20 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. R. Cadena Habana on 530 --- Last night I found a loud signal on 530, not with the usual R. Visión Cristiana religious programming, but techno-dance music in both English and Spanish. Then at 0400 UT an ID for Radio Cadena Habana with their usual slogan "La Frecuencia Popular." Huge signal -- if RVC was in there anywhere I couldn't hear it. Cadena Habana sounded all alone on the channel. Anybody else hear this? (Randy Stewart, Springfield MO, Sept 4, NRC-AM via WORLD OF RADIO 1327, DXLD) It's been pretty regular here since Radio Martí got the bump up in funding and put the airborne transmissions on Fridays again. Was weaker at first, but the last week it's clear that RCH is running whatever the max on that transmitter is (Gerry Bishop, Niceville, FL, ibid.) Randy, I noticed a monster signal on 530 kHz last night, too. Don't remember the exact time, but it was around 0400-0500 UT (I was dozing off at the time - my YB-300PE on timer). I've heard RCH before on 530 kHz. It sure wasn't RVC - the signal was WAY too strong to be them. 73 and GOOD DX! (Steve N5WBI Ponder, Houston TX USA, ibid.) In addition to 530 Cadena Habana, long dormant/irregular Cadena Habana 1140 back strong for a couple months. R. 26/Veinte Seis 1060 strongest today they've been in a while, maybe another good northern candidate. =Z.= (Dr. PVZ, manafatol'gasbag key, fl, ibid.) Just as Randy and Gerry describe, RCH and RVCI are fading in and out with each other on 530 at 8:50 pm ET, Sep 4 2006. RVCI has been dominating the channel most of the time -- always very strong here -- though RCH gets on top at times and is usually audible when it's underneath. RCH // 1100 and 1120. 1120 with terrible audio quality -- telephone with a really bad hum (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, (southeast) Florida, [Ten-Tec RX-320D; LFE H-800; GAP DSP; JPS ANS-4], ibid.) Estimado C. & IRCA - R. Cadena Habana 1120 in my tape collection of the worst. Consistently wins Trifecta of telco hum, flat audio, and overmodulation so extreme it makes burger joint speaker in Beavis & Butthead sound like Walter Gieseking playing Debussy. There is no precedent. Egregious overmod, hum and flat audio day in/day out. =Z.= (Dr. PV Zecchino, Manabigfatwindbag Key, FL, ibid.) Hi Guys: Radio Cadena Habana is also being heard here in London, Ontario CANADA 120 Miles NE of Detroit. Mixing it up with Vision Cristiana, sometimes on top, sometimes not!! Male in Spanish with Long Drawn out Droning Talks with mentions of Habana. NEW for me here. (Robert S. Ross VA3SW, ibid.) Right Rob - 530 Cadena newly back last month or two. It's don Fido's snappy retort to Air Martí. Fido's radio station 'mission statement' - to use that obnoxious BigKorpseorate phrase: 1. Block US broadcasts & deny Cubans' ability to hear them. 2. Jam US stations. 3. Provide 'news' & entertainment to Cubans. Simply put, he doesn't want anything getting through. Taking his side of the issue, it makes sense. He has a good scam going. Why allow others to muck it up? When one has it 'in the bag', one strives to keep it 'in the bag'. =Z.= (Dr. Paul Vincent Zecchino, Manafatol'gassbag Key, FL, ibid.) RCH // 1100 & 1120, has been on 530 kHz for several nights now. Strong here at times, trading places with RVCI, 0212Z 9/6/06. R. Martí has resumed broadcasting on 530 with Commando Solo, which no doubt spurred this latest retaliation from Fidel/Raul. R. Martí is on a few hours once a week at best, so they bomb the channel 24/7 (W. Curt Deegan, Boca Raton, (southeast) Florida, IRCA via DXLD) I am surprised VOA [sic] did not put in some HUGE power towards Cuba, like 2 megawatts directional that way off the Keys. Or better yet, a 2 megawatt transmitter like the Arabs use in the ME and with 6 towers directing right at Cuba having an ERP of 10 megawatts! Castro would have had trouble jamming that much power. Radio Martí is not enough power, nor is TV Martí (Patrick Martin, OR, ibid.) I just saw an AP story by Laura Wides-Muñoz that ran in the Chicago Tribune on August 22. It says that Radio/TV Martí was dissatisfied with the fact that the PA National Guard Commando Solo EC-130 aircraft were only able to provide them with 4 hours a week of broadcasts on Saturday evenings. So Martí appropriated $10 million in funding for its own broadcast aircraft, a Lockheed Martin G-1. The article says that broadcasts from the new aircraft began on August 19th and has allowed them to expand their 4 hour a night broadcasts to 6 days a week. It also mentions that this allowed them to improve the FM broadcasts into Cuba. The article makes no mention of the AM broadcasts. The article implies that the EC-130 broadcasts also continue one night a week. Another article that I just read says that the TV Marti aerostat broadcast balloon in the FL Keys was knocked out in the 2005 hurricanes and has not yet been replaced. However it says that $1.7 million has been appropriated to repair or replace it as well. There was also mention that the TV and FM jamming in Cuba originates from 4 transmitters located on the tallest buildings in Havana (Patrick Griffith, Westminster CO, Sept 5, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** CUBA [and non]. On top of 1550 kHz WRHC Coral Gables, Florida, is a whooping signal believed to be Cuban jamming. Heard since 0030Z, 09/06/2006. This sounds a little like a continuous Wobbler, but is not. The whooping sound is more audio, versus the fluctuating carrier observed with the Wobbler. Chances are this won't get out so far as the Wobbler, but it is no doubt playing havoc with reception in Cuba. Music on WRHC is pretty nice rock & roll, some EE other SS. Not terribly subversive, except to those parents who worried about Elvis and The Beatles (W. Curt Deegan Boca Ratón, (southeast) Florida, IRCA via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. 70TH YEAR COMMEMORATION LAMINATED CERTIFICATE FROM RADIO PRAGUE Dear DXers, Today I received 70th year Commemoration laminated certificate from Radio Prague. The certificate posted on 29-08-2006. The subject of the certificate like this: TO COMMEMORATE 70 YEARS OF SHORTWAVE BROADCASTING, LAUNCHED IN CHECHOLOVAKIA ON 31ST AUGUST 1936, RADIO PRAGUE TAKES PLEASURE IN PRESENTING THIS CERTIFICATE TO JAISAKTHIVEL. T [signed] DIRECTOR, RADIO PRAGUE, [signed] EDITOR-IN CHIEF, RADIO PRAGUE, August 2006 (Jaisakthivel, Chennai, India, Sept 5, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) So did I last week. And if you reported their special 70th Anniversary program on Aug. 31 they'll reply with a special QSL. See: http://www.radio.cz/en/html/70years.html 73, (Erik Køie, Copenhagen, ibid.) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 15190, R. Africa, 0940 30 July, religious programme, Son of David, English, SIO 222 (Mike G. Beach, Ramsgate, Kent, Sept BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) Sunday 15190, 0930 1 August, R. Africa No. 2, US preacher, poor audio, SIO 242 (Dave Kenny, Caversham, Berkshire, ibid.) Tuesday R. Africa, 15190, 0803 6 August, OM in English, SIO 252 (Steve Calver, Letchworth, Herts., ibid.) Sunday ** ERITREA [and non]. 7100 at 1745 15 August, SIO 333, V. of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, Asmara. African rhythms, news in vernacular at 1755, sign-off with NA at 1800 leaving weak V. of Korea on 7100 (Tony Rogers, Birmingham, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. Re 6-133: On 5 Sep at 1803 R. Fana was on 7210 // 6110 and nothing heard on 6210. Maybe it was an "engineer-on-duty-mistake" when Roberto heard them on 6210. But I'll bet R. Fana will be missing the good old days of clear channel operation 6210/6940 (Jari Savolainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1327, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. 11690, Scandinavian Weekend R, Virrat, 1100, Sa Sep 02, SWR tentatively heard with 13131 on clear channel except for CWQRM most of the time. As usual, I tried the SWR broadcasts several times that day on 6170, 11690 and 11720, but the results were extremely poor. This is in deep contrasts to the results a month ago when their frequencies could be heard throughout noon and the whole afternoon with up to 35444, cf. DX-Window 304. I asked Alpo Heinonen if SWR had changed the output power or taken down the antennas (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DXW Sept 6 via DXLD) Hi Anker, We have not made any changes. Might be that SW conditions just were quite unusual. I could not listen to it myself here in Rovaniemi during daytime. Strange! (Alpo Heinonen, SWR, ibid.) ** GABON. Hard on the heels of NIGERIA 4770, q.v., RTVG on 4777, far enough away not to produce an audible het, Sept 5 at 0529 in French mentioning Libreville, then, strangely enough a nonsensical expression in English, possibly a coded message, ``Caesar, aid me!`` or was it ``Seize her, aid me!`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ;-\ ** GERMANY. Wertachtal signed on 6040 at 1629 Sept 4 with ID loop "this is Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, Praha", followed by VOA (!) in Persian at 1630. The studio is apparently far from being ideal, there were quite much reverb and lots of background noises (a self-op booth with racks surrounding an RE20 appears before my inner eye). I guess Wertachtal takes the audio from the IBB radio transponder on Eutelsat Hotbird were such a mixture of RFE/RL and VOA feeds is common. 6040 originates from there since Kavála closed down. And to me this frequency is still VOA English to Europe via Woofferton . . . By the way, back in 2003 there were reports about Radio Industry Zagreb delivering a number of new transmitters for the Wertachtal plant. But it seems that only a single one has been purchased so far, the one now on air with DW's 200 kW DRM signal (as if DRM was never meant to save power, but we already discussed this). I guess they replaced one of the oldest transmitters by this rig. If so the current Wertachtal equipment would be 9 x Telefunken SV2500, 6 x Telefunken S4005 and 1 x RIZ OR 500. Does anybody have an explanation why TDP lists the RIZ as an ´´S4050´´ from Telefunken? (Deutsche Welle: See Portugal) (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. VOI, 9525, good on Sept 6 at 1303 with usual English ID, back into Indonesian (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL. Ramadan gets earlier and earlier, this year running from approx. 22 Sept to 23 Oct, as we are reminded in BDXC-UK Communication as it lists quite a number of Restricted Service Licence FM stations in Britain for that month. Why can`t we have some Ramadan stations in the US? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Muslim holy month of Ramadan will start around Sep 24 in 2006. The exact time is decided by local priests depending on the phases of the moon (Deutsche Presse Agentur, Sep 03, DSWCI DX Window Sept 6 via DXLD) ?? Well, the New Moon occurs precisely at 1146 UT Sept 22. Will it take two days for the Islamic officials to spot it? It`s so quaint that of all peoples, the ancient astronomical and mathematical Arabs cannot base their Ramadan on the precise moment of the New Moon in the modern era (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [and non]. Update: NASA cancelled the recent launch of the Space Shuttle because of bad weather and lightning strikes, and the approaching hurricane. They have re-scheduled the launch for Wednesday 6th at 1629 UT, 17.29 BST. [DELAYED AGAIN, till Thursday?] The next Space Shuttle launch is due on Wednesday 6th September, so here is some information for those wishing/hoping to hear the launch on HF. This is the third flight/launch since the disaster in February 2003 and NASA are keen to get maximum interest in this flight, so they have released details of the exact launch time (17.29 BST UK time on Wednesday). This is an 11-day mission, so if it launches on-time then it should return on 17th September. Of course, you're not going to hear the Shuttle on HF, as it is not equipped with HF equipment. However, you can hear the various support aircraft and ships involved in the launch. And there is a lot to hear! There are usually two USAF MC-130 aircraft orbiting in the eastern Atlantic, using the callsigns 'King 1' and 'King 2'; and there may be other 'King' callsigns either waiting in reserve or orbiting in the mid or western Atlantic. There is usually a USN Frigate patrolling the waters off the Atlantic coast of Florida, and also the SRB recovery vessels, M/V Liberty Star and/or M/V Freedom Star. A USN E-2C Hawkeye aircraft usually patrols the same area, on the lookout for aircraft and ships straying into the launch area - this uses the callsign 'Clearance 1'. Finally, there are a few Ground Stations to consider - 'Cape Radio' and 'Cape Osborne'. The launch. The launch of STS-115 is due at 12:29 EDT (1629 UT, 17.29 BST) on Wednesday 6th September. This is another ISS mission, so if it doesn't launch on-time, it will have to wait until the following day for the next suitable window. If it does not launch today, it can launch any time in the next 19 days to achieve its planned orbit and rendezvous with ISS. Since this is a trip to the ISS the flight will be using a '51 degree orbit' so there is a good chance that it will be visible from the UK. Missions to ISS If the Space Shuttle is due to visit the ISS in orbit, then the launch must occur when the ISS is in an orbit which passes over Florida (the launch site). It does not matter where the ISS is in that orbit, as the Shuttle can 'slow down' or 'speed up' to meet with the ISS as required. At the time of today's planned launch (1629 UT, 17.29 BST) the ISS will be south of Australia; its orbit crosses into the northern hemisphere in the Pacific, across Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico, and then across the US state of Georgia (the best orbit/pass available today). Also, for missions to the ISS, there is a '10 minute window' in which they like to launch, as the ISS is in the best position. NASA usually aims to launch at the start of the 'window' so that they have the opportunity to delay by a few minutes if necessary. If the Shuttle does not launch today, the next suitable time (with the ISS in a similar position with a pass over Florida) is about 1517 UTC (16.17 BST) on Thursday 7th. HF For HF listeners, the best place to start is 10780 kHz about 3-4 hours before the launch. At some point most of the aircraft and ships involved will check in with 'Cape Radio' to find out which other HF frequencies they are using for the launch. Keep listening until you hear them mention this frequency, as most of the signals will be on this other frequency rather than 10780. Once you find the other freq, keep switching between it and 10780 in case other aircraft/ships are sent to other freqs. (Update) For the attempted launch of the previous flight in July the NASA SRB recovery vessels "Liberty Star" and "Freedom Star" were using 5711 USB, in comms with Cape Radio. Cape Radio tried to QSY them to HF freq 9132, but Cape Radio could not hear them. They may use the same frequencies today, only time will tell! Amateur HF freqs The amateur station WA3NAN from the Goddard Amateur Radio Club usually do a 're-broadcast' of various signals from the launch. They can be found on the following HF freqs (all +/- 5 kHz due to interference): 3860 LSB 7185 LSB 14295 USB 21395 USB 28650 USB UHF About 15-20 minutes after launch the shuttle will pass over/near the UK, and it is possible to hear them on UHF airband. The comms are quite short, but it is definitely them! Typically, you will only hear one or two sentences, perhaps 10 seconds in total. Tune to 259.7 MHz AM, but don't expect to hear too much if you're just using a set-top rubber-ducky. They are only 'in range' for a few minutes, so don't expect to hear too much! - however, some listeners have reported hearing brief comms on this freq using simple equipment, so please try to listen just in case, you may be surprised. As the Shuttle flies across Europe after launch it only takes about 5 minutes to go from the western horizon to the south-eastern horizon, and they may only talk (on UHF) for a few seconds, so be patient. (from personal experience, I have heard them using just a small telescopic aerial on my Yupi MVT-7100 - so it can be done!). A secondary freq of 296.8 MHz AM is also available, if necessary. SATCOM If you have a good enough external aerial, ideally a beam, and maybe a pre-amp, it is possible to hear the MC-130s orbiting in the eastern Atlantic as they maintain contact with the Cape using satellite comms in the UHF airband. Tune to 261.75 MHz NFM or 263.625 MHz NFM (the commonest 2 freqs) and listen for 'King' callsigns. They have also been known to use 261.8 MHz NFM, so check that freq too. These guys seem to spend most of their time doing radio-checks with Cape. They provide a kind of 'emergency service' for the Shuttle launch, so don't expect to hear much else unless it all goes very pear-shaped in the launch. INMARSAT I do not personally have the ability to listen to these signals, but I know that some do There is a TAL site pre-launch briefing held sometime in the 24 hours prior to the launch, which should pop up in the range 1535 to 1545 MHz on AOR east. The European Space Agency may arrange a video feed of the launch via satellite into Europe as they did for the previous launch, and there should also be a relay of NASA TV for Reuters. Both will be carried on NSS K at 21 degrees west in digital format. I would recommend checking emails from John Locker, as he usually provides some good clues as to launch frequencies SHF NASA TV usually cover the launch in-depth, and I am sure that John Locker can give details of what freq(s) to listen to. Live TV coverage. Don't forget Sky Newsdigital (now with 8 interactive screens) and also BBC interactive news. The great thing about the interactive news channels is that they can carry a shuttle launch for much longer by using one of their sub channels, so it's well worth keeping an eye on those two. For those of you with access to IRC (Internet Relay Chat), a number of us meet on channel #SATCOM, and you're welcome to join us. This is usually from about 1 hour before the planned launch time, until about 30 minutes afterwards. With people all over Europe receiving signals from different stations, most frequencies are quickly reported when anything happens. Unfortunately for me I am working all day on Wednesday, so I have almost zero chance of seeing it, and no chance of hearing it! As it will still be daylight in the UK at launch time, there is also almost zero chance of seeing it as it passes overhead (weather permitting) (Graham Tanner, London, UK, Sept 5, monitoring monthly yg via DXLD) Hi Graham, Many thanks for posting your Shuttle info to the group. I've just got around to reading all of your post and I've noticed that some of the info is a little out of date. These days the main UHF satcom frequency in use is 261.875 MHz. There has been a fair amount of launch related traffic this afternoon on this channel. Also there has been some Inmarsat TAL traffic too on three frequencies in parallel. 1540.025 1540.050 and 1535.475 MHz from the AOR Inmarsat at 15.5 W. I understand that there has been no related activity on 263.625 for many years, so it might be worth deleting that one. On the IRC front, I must point out that there is little or no activity on #satcom channel; these days people have migrated to the busy and informative #hearsat channel. See http://www.uhf-satcom.com/irc/ for details of how to join the channel. Here's looking forward to a successful launch. Best regards (Kevin Nice, ibid.) ** ISRAEL. Kol Israel in English at 1900z Sep 04 on 9400 (poor) and 11590 (fair) to Eur/No Am. Nothing here from 15640 beamed to So Af. (Jerry Lenamon, Waco, Texas, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) No September changes were anticipated for this broadcast (gh) ** KOREA NORTH. Only Job in the World: North Korea, Person Who Removes Fuses on Radios --- A job to remove solders on radios! Would a job like this exist in countries other than North Korea? http://www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?cataId=nk01500&num=1061 (tribby2001, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 3250, PBS, Pyongyang, *2100-2130 fade out, Aug 17, typical IS, 2100 National Anthem with Choir, Korean ID and talks, 2111 large choir singing followed by choir with female soloist, 2123 talk, weak. 3320, PBS, Pyongyang, heard at *2100-2130, Aug 17, Korean programme // 3250, weak. 6250, PBS, Pyongyang, *2100-2150 fade out, Aug 16 and 17, Korean programme // 3250. Ex *2000, fair signal. 6398.8, PBS Kanggye, *2100-2150, Aug 16 and 17, Korean programme // 3250. Ex *2200, fair signal (Roland Schulze, Stuttgart, Germany, DSWCI DX Window Sept 6 via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH [non]. Shiokaze via Taiwan not audible on 9485, Wed Sept 6 at 1310, altho I could detect an extremely weak carrier on frequency. Nor could I hear it the day before. I was wanting to reconfirm English on Wednesdays as has been the case during August, besides Fridays. This may have been due to propagation, as other EAs signals were also absent on 31m, but lower-latitude Indonesia on 9525 was coming in well. BTW, I keep seeing an old report from DX Mix of July 31 quoted in various current bulletins saying English was on other days of the week, very misleading since thruout August it was consistently on Wed & Fri, as I reported every week. Please try to publish the latest info in fluid situations like this (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS. 4678.02, 0057 18 July, R. Nationale Lao, provincial repetitive tune on flute, 0100 five pips, then woman with announcements, final movement of Mussoirgsky`s `Pictures at an Exhibition``; news in Lao, SIO 333. First heard on this frequency 28 May at 0105 (Reginald C. Hayes, Bournemouth, Dorset, JRC NRD 545, random wire, ALA loop, Sept BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) This is not Vientiane, but Sam Neua, listed in WRTH 2006 as 1 kW at 2300-0130 & 1000-1230 (gh, DXLD) ** LIBYA [non]. V. of Africa, 9590 via Issoudun, France, 17/8 at 2114 chimes, 2115 pips, news in Arabic; 2122 English ID, 2 minute ``News Brief``, 2224 French, SIO 433 (Alan Pennington, Caversham, Berkshire, BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD) ** LIBYA [and non]. V. of Africa, 17610 via France, Sept 6 at 1355 with big motorboating noise overriding audio which at first I thought was Arabic, then decided it was Swahili as scheduled. Abruptly off at 1357:14. Then tuning around the band, at 1402 found similar signal but stronger on 17850 where English is scheduled. Now it`s a big hum, but most of the audio still understandable; gave site http://voiceofafrica.com.ly 1403 English ID, V. of Africa from the Great Jamahiriyah; mission statement(?) promoting the idea of a ``United States of Africa``. The hum and modulation levels varied; it seems this was on the program feed being picked up in France as they tried to cope with it, not a transmitter problem. 1405 YL said news would be at half past 4 and half past 5, local time, and the English schedule is at 4-6 pm local, 2-4 pm GMT. 1429 recheck, still big hum on vocal music. 1433 timecheck as 4:30 pm local, then news with top headline involving the ``leader of the revolution`` who no doubt always gets top billing, having laid the foundation for something or other. News headlines interrupted every few seconds by musical stingers in a vain attempt to make them less boring; story number 2 concerned Darfur, and number 3, the ``terrorist Zionists`` vs the Palestinians. Never any trace of the formerly heard // 17725 Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Solar-terrestrial indices for 05 September follow. Solar flux 80 and mid-latitude A-index 11. The mid-latitude K-index at 1500 UTC on 06 September was 2 (16 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) ** LIBYA [and non]. Checking for Amal and the afternoon visitors, Sept 6 at 1334, when 16m conditions had picked up, all I found in the 17645 to 17695 range was 17655, apparently two carriers with a SAH, one of them with lots of percussive music. I think it was the Arabic type rather than Firedrake. Still some music audible on 17655 at 1431 recheck. No Firedrake to be heard on usual 14, 15 or 17 MHz channels (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LITHUANIA [and non]. The IRIB relays via Sitkunai indeed continue, at least for German 1730-1830 on 7540. However, today Sept 4 the signal was weaker than 11855 and 15085 from Sirjan and Kamalabad, respectively. I also noted on this occasion that 15085 has rather narrow audio. By the way, before 1730 I heard a faint numbers station on 7540 (zero-beat on this channel as far as I can tell), with a definitely not sexy sounding female voice delivering English letters, indicating a German Bundesnachrichtendienst station if I recall correct (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR. RN, 9890, Sept 6 at 1436 heard with ``loss of service`` courtesy announcement, I think still in the voice of Jonathan Marks, and music fill. This is the English transmission at 50 degrees to South Asia, sometimes listenable here in our mornings; but WEWN 9885 is a problem, such as at 1441 when its music was splattering onto 9890 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MOLDOVA. Radio PMR on 5965 led over from English to German a bit late, at 1621 Sept 4. The German program covered the 16th anniversary of the PMR, reported that the railway line from Chisinau to Tiraspol is disrupted since March. Referred to Moldova as ´´Moldau´´, given as official German name for this country also by German authorities but nobody cares about that. Somewhat muffled modulation, rather severe interference from CRI via Albania on 5970. Frequency not shown in HFCC, probably due to legal disputes about these transmissions? I heard years ago that they were considered as illegal and closed down for this reason, not so much for lack of funds. The announced winter frequency 6205 was already in use during this first round of broadcasts in the nineties. I recall that back then it was first reported as 6025 in error and I found the transmission by chance on 6205 instead. The German service at that time was a weekly 30 minutes magazine with music, like all other Radio Pridnestrovya output fed to the transmitter in telcom audio quality (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MONACO [non]. ERF/TWR reduces 1467 usage --- Evangeliums-Rundfunk, the German branch of Trans World Radio, will cancel the 2030-2100 (summer 1930-2000) transmission via Roumoules-1467 as of B06 but keep the 0445-0515 (summer 0345-0415) for whatever reason, stating that it will save them 150,000 Euros annually, see below. They planned to abandon 1467 already for some time, stating that airtime on this transmitter is five times as expensive as on Mainflingen-1539 which now provides good nighttime coverage of Germany with a new NVIS antenna (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 4, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: [A-DX] ERF stellt Abendprogramm über Radio Monte Carlo ein Der Evangeliums-Rundfunk (ERF) in Wetzlar wird Ende Oktober seine täglichen Abendsendungen über den Mittelwellensender von Radio Monte Carlo (1.467 kHz) einstellen. Das gab ERF-Direktor Jürgen Werth bekannt. Als Gründe nannte er die verbesserten Empfangsmöglichkeiten über den Sender Mainflingen bei Hanau, die vielfältigen weiteren Empfangsmöglichkeiten sowie die Kostenersparnis von fast 150.000 Euro jährlich. Weitere Infos dazu unter http://radioskala.blogspot.com - einen schönen Sonntag, wünscht, (Tom DF5JL Kamp, Sept 4, ADX via Ludwig, dxld yg via DXLD) ** MOROCCO. Radio Liberty to Belarus via Briech on 15215 must have been the strongest signal on the whole shortwave range here around 1800 Sept 4. It truly did not sound like a transmitter more than 2000 km away but if I would listen to the output of the Belar (or whatever mod monitor they are using) at Briech, with the audio processing being the only way to immediately discernible that it is not the original satellite feed. Reminded me on the defunct Gloria site which used to put in the evenings such signals into Germany on the higher bands (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. NBC Kaduna, 4770, fair with woman talking about Nigeria in English, 0527 Sept 5. Glad to hear something above my local noise level on 60m (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) then, GABON, q.v. ** OKLAHOMA [and non]. New FM station grants: Idabel, KBEL FM 96.7 25000 h,v; 91 m; renewal application accepted for filing; assumed on in the interim, $, k(ountry) format. KBEL 1240 AM also reinstated for now. Alva, 107.1, 25000 h,v; 100 m, Champlin Broadcasting, Inc., Auction 62 winner. Transmitter ESE Alva [Champlin is based in Enid, already owns KNID 99.7 Alva-Enid --- same site? Plus KCRC-1390 Enid, KFXY-1640 Enid, KXLS-95.7 Lahoma-Enid, and spun off its original KNID 96.9 to OKC. More below ---- gh] Non-IDs, Not Just Slogans: Alva-Enid, KTTL, 105.7, Total Radio (from ``Total Hits 106``) with ``nondescript romantic soft rock,`` promoting its existence near Kiowa KS and saying ``back on the air under new management`` [this came originally from gh who only noted some of their ads were for Kiowa concerns; BTW, Kiowa is a very small place, notable mainly as the HQ of WBCQ`s Scott Becker] Call Letters Assigned or Changed: Alva, KPAK, 97.5, ``97.5 The Rock``. Its transmitter is near Kiowa KS, with ``signal not too strong`` in Enid, and no Enid ads heard (Sept FMedia! via DXLD) This item also came from gh, except I did not say its transmitter is near Kiowa KS. Indeed, FCC FM Query shows site almost due N of Alva, and due W of Kiowa, just beyond Hardtner, and on the KS side of the border. The original KTTL 105.7 in Alva was sited just E of Alva itself; wonder why the moved further into the hinterlands? The KS/OK border is a straight latitudinal line precisely at the 37th parallel and the KPAK north coordinate is 37-01-27 per FCC. The above led me to check into FCC actions, and I found something quite interesting. A concern in Ashland KS filed to have KNID 99.7 Alva OK moved to 99.9, so Ashland could have its first local radio on 99.7 (I am replacing channel numbers with real MHz in this discussion) Then the FCC proposed instead that 104.5 be allocated to Ashland KS, so Alva 99.7 would not have to move to 99.9. Then Champlin Broadcasting filed a counterproposal that Kinsley KS should get 105.5, Ashland get 99.7 as originally requested, but 99.7 Alva would be moved to Mustang OK, and instead of Alva shifting from 99.7 to 99.9, the latter would be allotted to Medford OK (North of Enid) as its first local radio service, which Champlin would then apply for and construct, as well as the Kinsley and Mustang stations. This is accompanied by the usual BS about how wonderful these little towns are, how Mustang is distinct from Oklahoma City. But we know what is really going on here --- Champlin sees an opportunity to move another of its original Enid stations into a much larger market, just as it did with 96.9 which was sold off for big bucks and is now a purely OKC station in programming, altho from its Crescent site it also covers Enid. And get two new stations in the process. Presumably the new Medford 99.9 would become a defacto Enid station to replace KNID 99.7 Alva-Enid, probably even with those call letters ultimately transferred to it, mark my words. Why can`t a station called ``KNID`` actually BE in Enid?? Apparently the FCC has not yet ruled on this counterproposal. There was already a construxion permit to move the KNID 99.7 tower slightly from its location between Enid and Alva, near Helena OK, less than 2 minutes of latitude northwards for reasons unknown, but if not already done, that would become moot (Glenn Hauser, Enid, Sept 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. R. Sultanate of Oman, 9760 at 0053+ 4 Sept in Arabic. Chants. Faint. Never heard before. Listed 2300-0200 irregular in PWBR. Very presumed (Liz Cameron, MI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PHILIPPINES. Summer A-06 for Radio Veritas Asia (RVA): Bengali 0030-0057 11965 1400-1430 11870 Hindi 0030-0057 11710 1330-1400 11870 Hmong 1000-1027 11780 Indonesian 2300-2327 9505 2300-2327 11820 1200-1227 11795 Kachin 2330-2357 9545 1230-1257 15225 Karen 0000-0027 11935 1200-1230 15225 Mandarin 2100-2257 6105 1000-1157 9730 Burmese 2330-2357 9805 1130-1157 15450 Filipino 2300-2327 9720 1500-1530 15530 Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat 1500-1600 15530 Wed/Fri/Sun Russian 0130-0227 17830 1500-1600 9570 Sinhala 0000-0027 11965 0000-0027 9730 1330-1400 9520 Tamil 0030-0057 15520 1400-1430 9520 Telugu 0100-0127 15530 1430-1457 9520 Urdu 0100-0127 15350 0100-0127 17860 1430-1457 11870 Vietnamese 2330-2357 9670 0130-0230 15530 1030-1127 11850 1300-1327 11850 Zomi-Chin 0230-0300 11895 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Sept 5 via DXLD) ** POLAND [and non]. Noted after 1800 Sept 4 a clash on 7285: Radio Polonia in Esperanto and Voice of Russia, listed as Samara, with what appeared to be their Sodruzhestvo program. And yes, both services are meant for Central/Western Europe (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PORTUGAL. Deutsche Welle in Russian via Sines was booming in after 1750 Sept 4 on 15620, with language lesson sounding rather amusing to the native ear, talking about sharks at Hamburg. At least not as terrible as a language lesson on their Chinese service I heard years ago, making me feel that they are confirming all stereotypes about Germans with this guy who spoke about his ambition to become an executive (´´Ich strebe eine Führungsposition an!´´). Transmitter rudely cut off inmidst program at 1756. ´´Some frequencies may end five minutes early´´, as Deutsche Welle used to put it years ago (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. Galbeni with Radio Romania International in Romanian had rather sorry audio after 1700 Sept 4 on 9625: Continuous crackling and hiss, louder than the actual studio audio. Who is to blame, the transmitter or the feed circuit? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Noted on 5910 Sept 4 shortly before 1615 music, followed by TWR IS and off. Apparently Czech via Russia, moved from some other frequency to this channel, or was 5910 in use from the start of the A06 season? Radio Rossii, heard via Taldom on 7120, ran until 1700 what sounded like a dedicated youth programme with suitable (so to speak) music selections and fast-paced talk with an irritating music bed under it. Strange, since it must have driven away all adult listeners. (See also Poland.) (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SEYCHELLES. BBC relay, 9630 at 2055 4 Sept with sports. Not very common anymore. Good but QRM de CBC on 9625 (Liz Cameron, MI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA. Slovak Radio about reviving shortwave --- Quoted from RSI's news in German: Slovak Radio will revive the shortwave transmissions if the authorities provide the required funds (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Sept 4, dxldyg via WORLD OF RADIO 1327, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Viz.: [A-DX] aus den heutigen Nachrichten von Radio Slowakei International STELLUNG DES SLOWAKISCHEN RUNDFUNKS ZUR AUSSTRAHLUNG AUF KURZWELLE Der Slowakische Rundfunk wird zur Ausstrahlung auf der Kurzwelle zurückkehren, wenn der Staat die Finanzmittel für diese Sendungen gewähren wird. Die ist die Stellung des öffentlichrechtlichen Slowakischen Rundfunks zu den Äußerungen des Kulturministers Marek Maïariè über die Wiederaufnahme der Auslandssendungen (Markus Weidner, via A-DX mailing list via Kai Ludwig, dxldyg via DXLD) R Slovakia International (RSI) website in German announced Aug 30 that RSI coming back on SW as from Oct 31, 2006, as the State of Slovakia had ensured its finances. The reason is its obvious importance of information about Slovakia to other countries, stated Kulturminister Marek Madaric. However, on Sep 04 the same website announced that future broadcasts will not be using SW! They only broadcast via the Internet and WRN satellites. RSI is now included in the section on the web: "INET/Web/RSI", responsible is Vladimír Slaninka, tel.: 02/57273499, email: inet @ slovakradio.sk , team leader of RSI is Jozefína Mikleová, tel.: 02/57273731, email: rsi @ slovakradio.sk (Luigi Cobisi, Italy, Sep 4, DSWCI DX Window Sept 6 via DXLD) ** SOMALIA [non]. 7175, Voice of the Somali People, 1750-1802*, long talks on Somalia, sign off with a local song (Vashek Korinek, RSA, DSWCI DX Window Sept 6 via DXLD) R Horyall? (DSWCI Ed) Date? ** SPAIN. With all the strange characters that got inserted in the message before it made it to the HCDX list, I need help figuring out just WHAT the QSL policy of REE is. Can someone decipher (in English) ?? 73 - (J D Stephens, AL, HCDX via DXLD) J. D., You could have read the original, hopefully with accents intact, via http://www.worldofradio.com/dxldmid.html Apparently my summary was not enough? Here`s a loose translation: I don`t know if you are aware, but REE has a policy of not QSLing, which is too bad. I didn`t know this when I sent them a reception report. So today I recevied e-mail from Pilar Salvador Marco, informing me that REE has not sent out QSL cards for years. Despite this, Pilar confirmed my report but only with partial data, frequency and SINPO. Even tho it was partial data, I consider myself victorious in receiving confirmation of my reception of REE. (Translated by Glenn Hauser, ibid.) Thanx, Glenn. Wasn't aware of any summary of yours, and searched back through DXLD 6-123 (the link for 6-133 doesn't work), and found nothing. However, your latest e-mail and explanation has saved the day. Didn't know REE had quit QSL-ing, although I have seen reports of REE (not RNE) QSLs within roughly the last year, so Sr. Salvador Marco's statement that they hadn't sent any out "for years" is exaggerated. Hope to have some DX info to send your way in the coming months. Hardly touched the dials all Summer, but the weather has just turned Fall-like here, and I'm starting to get the "DX itch". Thanx again and 73! (J. D. Stephens, AL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) J. D., OK. I was referring to the summary I put in the previous HCDX posting. The item is in 6-133, which being the latest issue [at that time] is found at http://www.w4uvh.net/dxlatest.txt One more thing: Pilar is a woman`s name (Glenn to J. D., via DXLD) Furthermore, listening to this weekends mailbox program from REE, it seems they do not get any letters either. They just played three different songs about flowers --- not a single letter mentioned (Mick Delmage, AB, ibid.) 0045-0054v Spain: RADIO WAVES. North America 15385 [I tend to not check this program, but on the few occasions I have there have been no DX news, only "radio songs." (John Norfolk, DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS Sept 5, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, they never had DX news as such, but used to have some radio-related items besides songs (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. Frequency changes for SLBC: to South Asia 0800-0830 Kannada, 0830-1000 Telugu, 1000-1130 Malayalam, 1130-1330 Tamil and 1330-1540 Hindi on NF 15745#EKA 035 kW / 350 deg, ex 11905 # co-channel WEWN from 1400 to Middle East 1542-1840 Sinhala NF 11750*EKA 100 kW / 350 deg, ex 11715 * co-channel BBC WS till 1600 and RFA in Uighur+Chinese Mx Jammer from 1600 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Sept 5 via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. SW Radio Station Transmitter Site Database & Archive Swedish sites --- Exact coordinates supplied by Teracom (centered at transmitter buildings): 55 48'31"N, 13 43'42"E Hörby SW 55 59'35"N, 14 40'07"E Sölvesborg 1179 kHz 58 29'13"N, 14 28'22"E ex-Karlsborg All unfortunately on low resolution in Google Earth. 73, (Mauno Ritola, Finland, shortwavesites yg via DXLD) ** TURKEY. Some of the Çakirlar transmitters suffer for many years from low modulation now. 9460 has rather weak audio and produces quite a lot of splatter, and the audio on 5980 (heard after 1800 Sept 4) is even fainter, close to being called just a trace of modulation. Years ago weak tubes were mentioned as cause of these problems, for what it's worth (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. 9/4/2006. Voice of Turkey (TRT) broadcast to Europe on 9785 heard in New Mexico 1830-1930 UT. Signals fair to medium strength with some QRM from Digital transmission on 9786.8 kHz, QRN non-existent, QSB average (medium), Overall 3.5 rating. RX: Japan Radio NRD 525 ANT: 200 foot long-wire (Bob Combs, New Mexico, USA, HCDX via DXLD) For UK, but beamed more or less toward us too far beyond the target (gh, DXLD) ** UKRAINE. Hi Alex, Altho 5810 looked good for you last spring, it will not work now!!! See http://www.ewtn.org/radio/freq.htm As WEWN is on there now between 0000 and 0500! I suggest you stay on 7440 for the time being instead of moving to 5810 Sept 10, until something else can be found in the 5 MHz band. Regards, (Glenn Hauser, Oklahoma, Sept 6, to Alexander Yegorov, RUI, via DXLD) Hello, dear Glenn! Thank you very much for your help. I am also observing the situation on 5810 kHz from some time ago. Regrettably, but this situation is unexpected for us. 5880 kHz is also unavailable for RUI because of interference to Turkmenian fixed radio service on this frequency. 7440 kHz supposed to be unstable in autumn period as it was last year. So, finally, we decided to use 5820 kHz. Change of all our frequencies has planned on September 10. Best regards, (Alexander Yegorov, RUI, Sept 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In B-06 the NAm transmission via SMF (Mikolayiv) is registered for 5820 with no co-channels registered. Currently in A-06 there are two registrations for something "NEW" out of Bulgaria. I have no idea what it is but I don't hear anything operating at 1800 as it seems there should be. Maybe you can check the channel later? If, therefore, BUL is similarly not on air at 2300-0400 maybe RUI/RRI could establish themselves on 5820 instead of 5810 and hence remain there for B-06? It's just a thought! Alternatively, 5800 should be clear when Bulgaria goes off air at 2200 for the remainder of A-06. 73 from (Noel Green, UK, ibid.) RUI had been reported recently announcing that their move would be to 5810, not 5820, which is why I brought this up now. WEWN is so strong on 5810 here, checked around 0040 UT Sept 7, that even 1000 kW from Ukraine on 5820 is likely to suffer some splatter. Would be better for RUI to shift up to 5825, but since it is also using 5830 in the other direxion, that would not work --- or would it, from different sites? So perhaps swap 5810 with 5830 instead for the rest of A-06. WEWN is conveniently combining both its NAm and Eu services on 5810, rather than the latter on previously registered 5835. However, in B-06, WHRI is supposed to be on 5835 at 01-03, so 5830 would not work then for RUI. I am not certain whether the shift from 7440 to 5820 will occur UT Sun Sept 10 in time for the NAm service, or 24 hours later (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. SPECIAL EVENT (ISWL). The International Shortwave League (ISWL), continue with their 60th (Diamond) anniversary celebrations throughout the month of September. Look for the following activities: GB6SWL - Will be active for 2 days, September 9-10th, from Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire. John, G8XTJ (ISWL President), will be the main operator. GB60SWL - Will be active for 1 day, Sunday, September 24th, from the Thornton Abbey, in Lincolnshire. The station is being run by the Grimsby ARS. (A Club Affiliated to the ISWL). GB6SWL - Will be active for 2 days, September 16-17th, from Belfast, Northern Ireland. The Station is being run by the City of Belfast Radio Amateur Society - COBRAS. (A Club Affiliated to the ISWL). GB6SWL - Will be active for 2 days, September 23-24th, from the Thornton Abbey, in Lincolnshire. The Station is being run by the Grimsby ARS (A Club Affiliated to the ISWL). GB6SWL - Will be active for 2 days, September 30th and 1st October, from Ivybridge, in Devonshire. Peter, G4VFG, will be the main operator. MX1SWL/p - Look for the International Shortwave League (ISWL) callsign MX1SWL/p to be used by Chris, M0DOL (ISWL G-21106), during the month of September. Chris will be mainly active from various castles. There will be some special QSL cards made for this callsign used in September, so listen out for MX1SWL/p. QSL via G6XOU. More information is available on QRZ.com. ADDED NOTE: The ISWL Awards Program is open to non members for a very small fee, to cover postage to any country in the world. Please see the following Web page for all details, including QSL information and the Special Diamond Anniversay Awards etc. at: http://www.iswl.org.uk (KB8NW/OPDX/BARF80 via Dave Raycroft, ODXA via DXLD) ** UNITED KINGDOM [and non]. The BBC was disturbing itself rather severely before 1700 Sept 4: 6195 was a mess of Skelton with Persian and Singapore with English. A well-known phenomenon since at least the early nineties is the ´´Singapore echo´´ on this frequency, caused by the delay of the feed to this site. With the UK and the Singapore transmitters running different programs it of course becomes a real problem. And no, this is no matter of interference outside the actual target area, since Persian on 6195 aims at Europe and is apparently meant for expatriates. Radio Azadi, the predecessor of Radio Farda, had such transmissions to Europe as well, helping me to a good quality recording of a Radio Farda promo (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. BBC Radio 3 programmes -- Glenn, Thought these press releases would interest you: Sixty years on – Radio 3 includes anniversary programming in its autumn schedule http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/09_september/06/radio3.shtml Biggest-ever Tchaikovsky celebration across BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/09_september/06/tchaikovsky.shtml (Mike Barraclough, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) And his tagline: The Internet is a new frontier in the struggle for human rights. Freedom of expression is a fundamental human right. It is one of the most precious of all rights. We should fight to protect it. http://irrepressible.info/ ** U S A. WBOH, 5920, with rather low modulation in hymn, 0524 Sept 5. This seems to be more the case with 5920 than with WTJC 9370. WBOH, 5920, very distorted at 0530 Sept 6. This transmitter is really out of whack; previously noted to be undermodulated. And undermod again, but not distorted at 0045 Sept 7 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. Noted WBCQ, 9330, Sept 6 at 1438 during [Pseudo] ``Science Rocks`` show with Rod Hembree; had a slight het on the high side because WBCQ is slightly below 9330. The only other thing scheduled on 9330 at this hour is VOA in Burmese via Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, WBCQ played two-week-old WOR 1326 at 2200 UT Sept 6 on 7415, as noted by Steve Lare, and presumably also at 2300 on 18910, inaudible here, instead of the new WOR 1327. WBCQ listeners will have to wait 4 more days to hear it, I hope, on Sunday night (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. New show on WBCQ from Sunday Sept 10: N S S 10. "Fix Your Radio by, Fred Jodry & Jay Smilkstein" Time, 3 PM E~ST (1 Hour), 7415 Kc. Listeners are invited to call in at the beginning of the hour to sell radios & parts, call in for technical advice, thereafter, & call in their wishwant list at the end of the show. Listeners can mail in circuit diagrams, questions, and other "homework & preparation" to Jay`s address. Jay Smilkstein, [deleted: Smilkstein backed out just before airtime] (Fred Jodry, Aug 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Presumably means 3 pm EDT = 19-20 UT Sundays on 7415. I have no idea what `N S S 10`` mean, but Fred likes to talk in riddles (gh, DXLD) Other recent changes include: Lighthouse Ministries, was Sunday 6-7 PM ET (2200 UT) on 7415, is now gone; this time slot is now available. Wednesday 5-6 PM ET (2100 UT) on 7415 is now available; was used for trying out "the Old Goat's Treat For Children." [another Jodry show]. Planetary Radio, currently Wednesday 6:30-7 PM ET (2230 UT), is filling another available time slot (Larry Will, Sept 6, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Trying to check out what`s going on with KAIJ, 5755, Sept 5 at 0524, only had open carrier, no DGS or anything else. FCC A-06 shows it available from 00 to 14 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WORLD OF RADIO 1327, DX LISTENING DIGEST) WWCR 5935 missing? See CUBA ** U S A. Un saludo a todos!! "Monitor DX" sale al aire ahora los dias domingo de 0045 a 0100 UT, siempre por los 9955 kHz de WRMI Radio Miami Internacional o via internet en tiempo real. Un abrazo (Daniel Camporini, Argentina, Sept 4, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Had been an hour earlier at 2345 UT Sat; really changed or timezone confusion? WRMI website still says 2345 (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. Updated summer A-06 for WEWN: Spanish to Central America 0000-1100 on 7540 EWN 500 kW / 220 deg 1100-2200 on 9885 EWN 500 kW / 220 deg 2200-2400 on 9355 EWN 500 kW / 220 deg Spanish to South America 2200-0500 on 13615 EWN 500 kW / 155 deg 0500-1100 on 9885 EWN 500 kW / 155 deg 1100-1400 on 13615 EWN 500 kW / 155 deg 1400-2200 on 15745 EWN 500 kW / 155 deg English to Central America 0000-0500 on 5810 EWN 500 kW / 285 deg English to North America 0000-0500 on 5810 EWN 500 kW / 020 deg 0500-1400 on 5850 EWN 500 kW / 020 deg 1400-1600 on 9955 EWN 500 kW / 020 deg 1600-2200 NF 6890 EWN 500 kW / 020 deg, ex 13615 2200-2400 on 9975 EWN 500 kW / 020 deg English to West Europe 0600-0900 on 7570 EWN 500 kW / 040 deg 1700-2000 on 15220 EWN 500 kW / 040 deg English to West Africa 2000-2200 on 15220 EWN 500 kW / 085 deg 2200-2400 on 15745 EWN 500 kW / 085 deg (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Sept 5 via DXLD) ** U S A. CLEAR CHANNEL TELLS FCC IT WANTS MORE RADIO STATIONS by Matthew Lasar Monday Sep 4th, 2006 12:20 PM http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2006/09/04/18305925.php Clear Channel Communications has asked the Federal Communications Commission to enact a rule that would allow the corporation to buy more radio stations in big regions of the United States On Wednesday, August 30th, Andrew Levin and Jessica Marventano of Clear Channel met with FCC commissioners Robert M. McDowell and Deborah Taylor Tate and two of their legal assistants. "At both meetings," the company's FCC filing discloses, "Clear Channel discussed the competitive position of terrestrial radio in the contemporary audio marketplace and the Company's view that local ownership limits should be raised in very large markets." Clear Channel presently owns over 1,200 radio stations in the U.S., but it would like to own more. The law says that an entity can own no more than eight radio stations in the biggest markets in the U.S. Clear Channel proposes that the limit be lifted to 10 in regions with 60 to 74 stations, and 12 in bigger areas. This would permit Clear Channel to own 12 radio stations in a market like New York City. The next day Clear Channel sent the FCC documents and statements in support of raising the cap from leading members of the House of Representatives, including Republican Fred Upton of Illinois, a member of the House Commerce Committee. "If free terrestrial radio is to remain a healthy industry capable of fulfilling its public interest responsibilities while competing against an increasing number of competitors, it must be able to grow," Upton wrote to the FCC. " . . . I urge you to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to begin this process quickly." The submission included a group letter of support coming from 23 members of Congress, among them Paul Gilmore, Gene Green, Eliot L. Engel, Ed Whitfield, Edolphus Towns, Cliff Stearns, Barbara Cubin, Mike Ross, John Shimkus, Vito Fossella, Steve Buyer George Radanovich, Mary Bono, Greg Waldon, Lee Terry, Mike Ferguson, C.L. Otter, Sue Myrick, Charles Pickering, Ralph M. Hall, Michael Burgess, and John B. Shadegg. "Given Americans' reliance on free for both local news and community- oriented programming," the Congressmembers say, "as well as essential 'lifeline' information during emergencies, natural disasters, we urge the FCC to address this evolving market situation." The August 31st Clear Channel submission also included a J.P. Morgan study on HD radio, iBiquity corporation's version of digital radio, suggesting that the relatively new technology will not boost revenues. To Clear Channel's disappointment, the FCC's June 2003 broadcast ownership rules decision did not expand the number of radio stations an entity can own beyond the current limit of eight, although it did more liberally redefine regional markets. The Commission has opened a new comment cycle on media ownership rules, which has eighteen more days to go before it enters into the "reply to comments" phase of the proceeding (via Kevin Redding, ABDX via DXLD) We're lucky if we even have 60 radio stations in our whole freakin STATE. Why on earth is our Congresswoman (Barbara Cubin) supporting this ?!?!? Man now I REALLY hope she gets ousted this November. Might have to fire off an email to her anyway just for spite. It is hard enough for ma and pa to succeed here in Wyoming. Conglomerates are gonna give local reliable news and emergency coverage ??!??!!!! So now this J. P. Morgan study is showing that HD RADIO is apparently NOT gonna help revenues. So then why are we moving forward with it???? And so this is an excuse to let the evil empire own even MORE stations ??? Aw man what a messed up mess. GRRRR (Michael n Wyo (w/smoke coming out of my ears) Richard, ABDX via DXLD) ** U S A. CITY RADIO STATION PROVIDES COMMUNITY INFORMATION The City of Fairfax [VA] recently started a new radio station, WQEL336, broadcasting at 1650 AM. The station provides emergency and non-emergency information as well as government-related information for residents, visitors and businesses in the city. The station currently broadcasts station identification and announcements from the National Weather Service and Amber Alerts (child abduction information distributed by the National Weather Service). Additional programming will be added in the future. The cost to obtain the radio station was $49,000, the majority of which was funded by a federal grant. For more information, call 703-385-7940. timescommunity.com, Fairfax (30/8-2006) (mediumwave.info Aug 31 via DXLD) ** U S A. Some day timer stations for September --- We will be publishing a list of day timer power downs, sign offs and antenna adjustment in the next edition of MWN. It will be along the same lines we ran for January, February and March. The next article will cover October, November and December. The idea is to try for the station around 15 minutes before the change over or sign off. OM Steve Whitt suggested an early taster for the month of September. Good day timer DXing. [This is primarily of DX interest to points east, such as UK and Europe, but could also be helpful within NAm. This will become more and more important as the end of September nears, with earlier and earlier sunsets --- gh] Freq Call City, State Power Sept [official sunset, UT] 760 WCHP Champlain NY 35kW 2300 830 WCRN Worcester MA 50kW 2300 890 WAMG Dedham MA 25kW 2300 1200 WKOX Framingham MA 10kW 2300 1280 WADO NYC NY 50kW 2300 1320 WDER Derry NH 10kW 2300 1500 WFIF Milford CT 5kW 2300 1520 WIZZ Greenfield MA 10kW 2300 1600 WWRL NYC NY 25kW 2300 850 WTAR Norfolk VA 50kW 2315 980 WTEM Washington DC 50kW 2315 1030 WWGB Indian Head MD 50kW 2315 1110 WYRM Norfolk VA 50kW 2315 1290 WWTX Wilmington DE 2.5kW 2315 1290 WDZY Colonial Heights VA 25kW 2315 1310 WGH Newport News VA 20kW 2315 1370 WVIE Baltimore MD 21kW 2315 1540 WNWR Philadelphia PA 50kW 2315 1580 WPGC Morningside MD 50kW 2315 1600 WRJE Dover DE 5kW 2315 680 WPTF Raleigh NC 50kW 2330 840 WCEO Columbia SC 50kW 2330 1040 WLVJ Boynton Beach FL 25kW 2330 1290 WHKY Hickory NC 50kW 2330 1390 WNIO Youngstown OH 9.8kW 2330 1070 WCSZ Sans Souci SC 50kW 2345 1190 WAFS Atlanta GA 25kW 2345 1380 WKJV Asheville NC 25kW 2345 940 WCPC Houston MS 50kW 2400 1060 WLNO New Orleans LA 50kW 2400 1430 WPLN Madison TN 15kW 2400 1600 WMQM Lakeland TN 50kW 2445 (Barry Davies, UK, MWC via DXLD) The last one caught my eye as it cannot be correct: Since this is near Memphis, very close to the 90th meridian, SS has to be very near 1800 local standard time on the autumnal equinox, and only 3 or 5 minutes later as of Sept 15, when the monthly ``official sunsets`` are calculated. I believe this entry should be 2400 UT just like New Orleans. I hope the others further up the list do not have such errors, but have not tried to check them out. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, 32 minutes west of the UT -6 central meridian, which means we should be on UT -7 but are instead on UT -5, ibid. via DXLD) ** U S A. Several stations, mainly AM, were to have [sic] broadcast five-year [sic] anniversary programs of the World Trace Center attacks of Sept 11, 2001. These included WCBS 880, WINS 1010, WNYC 820 & 93.9 FM, WOR 710, WABC 770, WWRL 1600, and some coverage was expected by WBAI *99.5. Radio historian Art Vuolo of Ann Arbor MI compiled a documentary on New York radio`s response that day. He says the audio is available to any station that wants to use it at http://www.vuolovideo.com [sic] (Sept FMedia! via DXLD) If you can`t get enough of this, I expect there will be details of NYC station specials at http://www.nyradioguide.com/specials.htm (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WCBS 880 New York will be one of several CBS owned stations to simulcast Katie Couric, who is to be evening TV news anchor as of Sept. 5. Other stations include WTOP-FM 103.5-1500 Washington DC, WTWP 107.7 Warrenton VA, WBZ 1030 Boston (Sept FMedia! via DXLD) The whole semi-hour? Another report said 880 would just run first segment (gh) ** VATICAN. Vatican Radio frequency changed in morning hours FROM 03.09.2006 MORNING ONWARDS VATICAN RADIO CHANGED ONE OF ITS FREQUENCY (12055 replaced by 7335 kHz) NEW MORNING HOUR FREQUENCY 9650, 7335 kHz 0025-0040 UTC -URDU- 7335, 9650 KHZ 0040-0100 UTC -HINDI- 7335, 9650 KHZ 0100-0120 UTC -TAMIL- 7335, 9650 KHZ 0120-0140 UTC -MALAYALAM 7335, 9650 KHZ 0140-0200 UTC -ENGLISH 7335, 9650 KHZ (K. RAJA, CHENNAI DX CLUB, 21, J.P OIL STREET, OLD WASHERMENPET, CHENNAI-600021, INDIA, WORLD OF RADIO 1327, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I`ll bet that messes up CHU reception off the back here in NAm. Believe VR was also there last winter (gh, WORLD OF RADIO 1327, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [non]. Venezuela via Cuba, 15250 on Sunday, 3 September at 2338 in Spanish. Lots of talk praising Chávez. ID as "RNV-Cadena Nacional" or "Radio Nacional de Venezuela." Loud and Clear (Liz Cameron, MI, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. ALGERIA (Western Sahara), National Radio of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic is back on SW frequency 7460.0 as follows: 0600-0800 in Arabic 1700-2200 in Arabic, co-channel Radio Free Asia in Korean 2030-2200 2200-2300 in Spanish, co-channel Radio Free Asia in Korean 2200-2230 (DX Mix News, Bulgaria, Sept 5 via DXLD) Spanish used to be at 23-24, and it has been reported signing off at 2400 after Arabic. Note that WWCR is staying on 7465 until 0300 this month, altho switching from transmitter 1 to 4 at 0000, so there may be a brief break just before the hour for Polisario to be heard clearly, if still on (gh, DXLD) ** YEMEN. "MUS'ID AND MUS'IDAH": YEMENI RADIO'S MOST PUBLIC AND FAMOUS PROGRAM FOR 18 YEARS --- Interviewed by: Fatima Al-Ajel Abdurrahman Mutaher has been an artist, writer and famed radio broadcaster for 40 years. He's known as "Baba Abdurrahman" for his great efforts in preparing and presenting numerous children's programs and songs like the famous program, "The Best Tale." Mutaher also is known as Mus`id, a beloved radio character reflecting the nature of Yemeni man - both his positive and negative aspects. He has received several international, Arab and local prizes for his great radio work. . . [much more] http://yementimes.com/article.shtml?i=978&p=report&a=2 (via Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DXLD) They never get around to mentioning times and frequencies for these programs! (gh, DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LANGUAGE LESSONS ++++++++++++++++ HOUSTON, TEXAS Here`s another the erudite BBC Radio 3 announcers, such as Louise Freier(sp?) mess up. HOOOOSE-tuhn, she said at least twice in a Prom intro to Morton Feldman`s music ``Rothko Chapel`` there, which I have visited. Another of America`s largest cities they are so unfamiliar with. It`s HEWSS-tuhn. Now, Houston, Mississippi is a different matter, as I think is a neighborhood in NYC. How can we retaliate this time? I know: mispernounce Edinburgh (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) GRAPHIC GAFFES ++++++++++++++ A History Channel show UT Sept 4, ``Lost Worlds: Secret Cities of the A-bomb`` on Oak Ridge and Los Álamos, also mentioned Hanford as in Washington state, but an accompanying map graphic a few minutes into the hour put it somewhere in California. Well, there is an unrelated town called Hanford in central CA near Fresno, but in Washington the Hanford Reservation as it is called today is not a city (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) MUSEA +++++ NEW FESSENDEN WEBSITE A new website has been launched to celebrate the contribution of pioneering Canadian scientist Reginald Fessenden to radio technology. Although Guglielmo Marconi is much better known, Fessenden could justifiably claim to have played a bigger part in the development of radio than his Italian rival. The Canadian was responsible not only for the world's first audio radio broadcast but also the first two-way voice transmission by radio, between Massachusetts in the US and Machrihanish in Scotland. Despite his enormous contribution to radio, he is nowadays largely forgotten, most of the credit for radio's early development going to Marconi. The new website aims to redress this imbalance. It features more than 100 pages about Fessenden's radio accomplishments. You can find the website at http://groups.msn.com/fessenden (RSGB via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING ++++++++++++++++++++ DRM RECEIVERS Report on the receivers at IFA now in English with links to photos: http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1485 includes this: The largest drawback of all the receivers shown at the DRM booth is battery consumption. Battery drain on these receivers is rather high, so even alkaline batteries will last only perhaps two or three hours when a DRM station is being received (Mike Barraclough, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DRM: see also GERMANY; LUXEMBOURG MORPHY RICHARDS DRM RECEIVER AVAILABILITY Poster to the digitalspy forums has noticed that T-online are now saying despatch in one week: http://www.t-online- shop.de/tonline/product.do?action=getProductDetail&ref=pangora&product=19704 (Mike Barrraclough, Sept 6, dxldyg via DXLD) Ricevitori DRM presentati a Berlino Ciao a tutti, vi segnalo che nella fiera IFA di Berlino sono stati presentati nuovi ricevitori DRM "Stand Alone" oltre al solito Roberts/Sangean MP40 che sara' in vendita da Ottobre. Ecco qualche link di report con foto e informazioni: http://radiolawendel.blogspot.com/2006/09/ich-bin-ein-berliner-hunting-for-drm.html Ottimo report di Andrea Lawendel in italiano http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1485 Report con foto in inglese http://www.funkerberg.de/drm/ifa2006/index.htm Report con foto in tedesco Saluti, Andrea IW0HK (Andrea Borgnino IW0HK, bclnews.it via DXLD) WORLD OF TELEPHONY ++++++++++++++++++ CONSUMERS GET REFUND FOR MORIBUND TELEPHONE TAX Next April, you can get $30-$60 in drinking money and whoop it up on Uncle Sam. The IRS announced a new deduction for consumers following the May repeal of a moribund long-distance telephone tax. The standard deduction starts at $30 and increases by $10 for every dependent claimed. If you think you were hit harder than $30, you can add up the federal excise tax on your old telephone bills from March 2003 to July 2006 and apply for a refund. The assessment originated in 1898 as a luxury tax to help fund the Spanish-American war. Read more: "Remember the Maine? Get a refund" http://consumerist.com/consumer/tax/consumers-get-refund-for-moribund-telephone-tax-198166.php (via DXLD) See site for further linx PROPAGATION +++++++++++ LONG-HAUL TRANS-EQUATORIAL FM DX, CARIBBEAN TO SOUTHERN BRAZIL TEP 108 MHz > Beginning of the season Hello, Info from 'fmtvbr' and 'vhf-dx' by Rubens Ferraz Pedroso, SWL from Bandeirantes, north of Paraná (PY5) with the first TEP listener log of the season. He is using one Sony ICF SW 7600GR and 9 meters of wire (for general monitoring): [I have to add the usual comments: unexplained why even-MHz logs only are given to two decimal places; times presumably UT = local evening; SINPO ratings which are usually done only for SW logs --- gh] - - - - - - - - - - - GUADELOUPE 97.00, 0157 05/09 RFO, Basse-Terre, YL/OM, talks, FF 35333 89.8, 0204 05/09 R. Haute Tension, Basse-Terre, mx caribenha, FF 35333 ANTIGUA 91.1, 0200 05/09 Observer FM, St. John's, mx reggae, EE 35333 91.9, 0207 05/09 Hitz FM, QTH??, mx caribenha variada, EE 25332 SAINT LUCIA 97.3, 0205 R. St. Lucia, Castries, retx de noticiário da BBC, OM, nxs, EE 43343 UNID 90.1, 0227 05/09 (Joy FM??, Castries??), mx, EE 25232 MARTINIQUE 94.00, 0215 05/09 RFO, Trinité, OM, FF 24332 94.3, 0242 05/09 RFO, Morne-Rouge, OM, nxs, FF 33333 BARBADOS 92.9, 0224 05/09 V, of Barbados, Bridgetown, mx caribenha, EE 35233 DOMINICA 107.9, 0229 05/09 Kairi FM, Roseau, OM/OM, talks, FF 33343 - - - - - - - - - - (via Flávio Archangelo, PY2ZX, WTFDA via DXLD) The geomagnetic field was at quiet to severe storm levels at high latitudes while quiet to minor storm levels were observed at middle latitudes. Solar wind speed ranged from a low of near 330 km/s late on 26 August to a high of 630 km/s late on 27 August. The period began with solar wind speed slowly increasing from about 420 km/s, while the IMF Bz varied between +/- 8 nT. These conditions persisted through midday on the 22nd. During this period, the geomagnetic field was at minor to severe storm levels at high latitudes with active to minor storm levels at middle latitudes. This activity was due to a recurrent coronal hole high speed wind stream. From late on 22 August until approximately midday on 27 August, wind speed decayed and the IMF Bz did not vary much beyond +/- 3 nT. As a result, the geomagnetic field was mostly quiet with some isolated unsettled periods. Around midday on 27 August, wind speed began to increase to a maximum of 630 km/s while the IMF Bz began fluctuating between +/- 20 nT. This activity was due to another coronal hole high speed stream moving into geoeffective position. Minor to major storm periods were observed at high latitudes while unsettled to active conditions were seen at middle latitudes during this time. FORECAST OF SOLAR AND GEOMAGNETIC ACTIVITY 30 AUGUST - 25 SEPTEMBER Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels. No greater than 10 MeV proton events are expected. The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 04 – 13 September and again on 17 – 25 September. The geomagnetic field is expected to be mostly quiet to unsettled for the majority of the forecast period. Recurrent coronal hole high speed wind streams are expected to rotate into geoeffective positions on 03 – 04 September and again on 23 – 24 September. Unsettled to minor storm periods are possible on 03 – 04 September while unsettled to active periods are possible on 23 – 24 September. :Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt :Issued: 2006 Sep 05 2214 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 Sep 05 # # UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest # Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index 2006 Sep 06 80 8 3 2006 Sep 07 85 5 2 2006 Sep 08 85 5 2 2006 Sep 09 85 5 2 2006 Sep 10 85 5 2 2006 Sep 11 85 5 2 2006 Sep 12 85 5 2 2006 Sep 13 85 5 2 2006 Sep 14 85 8 3 2006 Sep 15 85 5 2 2006 Sep 16 85 10 3 2006 Sep 17 80 10 3 2006 Sep 18 75 15 3 2006 Sep 19 75 8 3 2006 Sep 20 75 5 2 2006 Sep 21 75 5 2 2006 Sep 22 75 5 2 2006 Sep 23 75 15 3 2006 Sep 24 75 12 3 2006 Sep 25 75 10 3 2006 Sep 26 75 8 3 2006 Sep 27 75 5 2 2006 Sep 28 75 20 4 2006 Sep 29 75 10 3 2006 Sep 30 75 12 3 2006 Oct 01 75 20 4 2006 Oct 02 80 10 3 (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/radio via DXLD) ###