DX LISTENING DIGEST 6-164, November 3, 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 1334 [new times by UT] Sat 1530 WRMI 7385 Sat 1700 WWCR3 12160 Sun 0330 WWCR3 5070 Sun 0730 WWCR1 3215 Sun 0900 WRMI 9955 Mon 0400 WBCQ 9330-CLSB Mon 0515 WBCQ 7415 [time varies] Wed 1030 WWCR1 9985 Latest edition of this schedule version, including standard timeshifts, and AM, FM, satellite and webcasts 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 WORLD OF RADIO SUMMARIES, new one added normally by 0600 UT Fridays: http://www.worldofradio.com/wor2006.html DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS Nov 2: http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html ** ALBANIA. R. Tirana, November 2, 2006, 0245 UT. 7465 has carrier, but no audio. 6115 same as 7465 with Spanish (I believe) language station on same frequency. At 0248 audio begins on both frequencies with news in progress. 6115, SIO 444, muffled audio at times. Peak S9 +40 dB with QRM from unID Spanish station on 6115. 7465, SIO 353, muffled audio at times. Peak S9. 0249 "Radio Tirana with the news" by female. Music played. Then , "Albania under. . . the. . . European. . ." quick mouthful. Talk on Albania and NATO, modernization of Albanian army. Albanian song titled, "The Last Word" was played. 0257 hearing ident. It is from Channel Africa (positive ID in English at 0259) on 6120. R. Tirana, 6115, SIO is still 444. Signal off 0258* The female announcer needs to slow down her delivery. I realize this is only a 15 minute broadcast. She is probably rushing to fit everything into the broadcast. However, she needs to stop between sentences. She needs to pause at commas. The broadcast, IMO, was one long run on sentence. The "Albania under. . . the . . . European" title was given twice. However, it was so quick I could not understand what was being said. Why broadcast when people can not understand? The delivery and muffled audio make for unpleasant listening. I heard something, but what was it? 73, (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I notice a tendency for people speaking English as a second language with an accent to talk way too fast, perhaps to impress up with their proficiency, but in fact damaging intelligibility. E.g. Katarina on V. of Greece (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) 7530, Radio Tirana. Oct. 30 at 2100-2110. SINPO 35333. Opening music & ID in English at 2100, followed by news. Low modulation (Iwao Nagatani, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 15820/LSB, Radio Continental; 1953-2000+, 27-Oct; EZL Spanish vocals; W commentary with crowd noises; pips/tone & "Continental" at 2000. SIO=122+ (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DX- Pedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. Re 6-163: The Radio Australia English schedule posted at their website also includes these frequencies: CENTRAL/SOUTH PACIFIC 2100-2200 12080 2000-2200 11650 2000-2200 11660 2100-2300 15515 2200-0000 17785 2100-2300 13630 2200-0000 15230 2300-0900 12080 2300-0200 17795 0000-0800 15240 0200-0700 15515 0500-0800 15160 0700-0900 13630 0800-1400 9580 0800-1600 9590 1100-1400 6020 1100-1200 12080 1400-1800 5995 1400-1800 7240 1700-2000 9580 1700-2100 11880 1600-2000 9710 1800-2000 7240 (Mike Barraclough, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. HCJB, 0725 UT Nov 3, 11750 kHz. "This is HCJB World Radio, Melbourne Australia. Our program on this frequency will begin shortly." by male announcer. "Good evening. You're listening to HCJB World Radio, Melbourne, Australia on 11750 kHz in the 25 meter band" at 0730 UT by male announcer. "This is Jesus" Bible study program, "Plain Talk". 0725 UT SIO 252. 0800 UT SIO 353 until close at 0930. Checked other HCJB Australia frequencies and times. Barely hearing something between 0930 and 1000 on 15360. Unsure, if HCJB. Other times and frequencies were not heard (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, Nov 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS. 7105, Radio Belarus; 2000-2014+, 28-Oct; English news to 2011 English sked; unknown language lite vocal music at 2014. SIO=342 with occasional ute bursts -- LSB takes them out. // 7390 & 7440, both very weak (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DX-Pedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) More likely `ham bursts`. Last day of A-06 (gh, DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. 6134.77, Radio Santa Cruz; 0402-0405:50*, 28-Oct; M in Spanish with flute music; closing and ID at 0404; off with flute music. SIO=2+33, USB helps (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DX-Pedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. Gente: Me interesaría conocer vuestras opiniones pero me da la sensación que tanto Radio Nacional Huanuni como Radio Pio XII, Siglo XX, Huanuni, están fuera del aire. 73 (Arnaldo Slaen, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA, ``7:38 am`` Nov 3, condig list via DXLD) ** BOLIVIA. La antigua web de Radio Illimani ya no existe, ahora está integrada en ABI, Agencia Boliviana de Información. Tras varias tentativas al final no he conseguido conectar via internet. http://abi.bo/index.php?i=patria-nueva&j=patria-nueva/indice.html Radio Patria Nueva emite su señal desde la ciudad de La Paz en la República de Bolivia con una programación educativa que tiene el objetivo de promover el desarrollo integral de la sociedad boliviana, uniendo al país y proyectando una imagen internacional. Es la emisora del estado Boliviano que busca brindar un servicio público para las más alejadas regiones de nuestra patria, mostrando nuestros valores culturales y defendiendo nuestra soberanía nacional en el mundo. Radio Patria Nueva, emisora del estado boliviano, emite su señal en las siguientes frecuencias: 94.1 FM RADIO ILLIMANI en La Paz, El Alto, Achacachi y Laza (Sud Yungas). 94.3 FM RED PATRIA NUEVA en Sucre , Cochabamba, Potosí, Tarija, Trinidad, Cobija, Montero y Yacuiba. 1020 AM RADIO ILLIMANI - RED PATRIA NUEVA 6025 ONDA CORTA Banda internacional de 49 metros, RADIO ILLIMANI - RED PATRIA NUEVA (via José Miguel Romero, Spain, condig list via DXLD) ** BRAZIL. O programa Encontro DX está comemorando 20 anos no ar neste mês de novembro. A primeira edição foi ao ar no dia 01 de novembro de 1986, sendo apresentado por Raimundo Leonardo e pelo comunicador da Rádio Aparecida Eriberto Carvalho. A partir de 1990 Cassiano Alves Macedo assumiu o programa e no ano de 2000 passou a contar regularmente com a participação de José Moura. No próximo sábado, dia 04 de novembro, teremos um programa especial ccomemorativo ao aniversário e aproveitamos a lista de radioescutas, para cagradecer os inúmeros incentivos, cartas e e-mails que recebemos de todo o cBrasil e até do exterior, motivo pelo qual o programa consegue se manter ctantos anos no ar, sendo provavelmente o mais antigo programa sobre dexismo cno idioma português. Um abraço a todos. Cassiano Alves Macedo e José Moura. Encontro DX : Sábados: 2200 horas UT 820 Khz OM 5035 Khz - 60 metros 6135 Khz - 49 metros 9630 Khz - 31 metros 11855 khz - 25 metros (Samuel Cássio, @tividade DX via DXLD) Not only Scandinavian Weekend Radio, but now this conflicting with Radio Saint Helena Day. Shouldn`t everyone else turn off their transmitters for those 7 hours, or at least not do anything special? Me, I am torn away from a big powwow in Enid at the same time! I suspect that from the following Saturday due to DST this show will air one UT hour earlier. At 2200, both Spain and Darwin are on 9630. WYFR totally blox 11855. But then, to HFCC, all those Brazilian SW stations just don`t exist. I`ve never had any luck picking it up in NAm, but I think it is available ondemand if you know where to look (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BURKINA FASO. Hi Everyone, I read that Burkina Faso is back on air on 5030 but is anyone actually picking it up? Used to be a regular here with a good signal (Mark, Anglesey, Nov 2, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Thanks for the tip, Mark; I am hearing what is probably Radio Burkina on 5030 right now at 2230 UT with discussion in French, mixing with a Chinese station (Dave Kenny, UK, BDXC-UK moderator, via DXLD) ** CANADA. Dear Mr Pelletier, I suspect you are not aware of this: For the B-06 shortwave broadcast season which began this week, a Cuban exile station, Radio República, planned to use 7335 kHz for 5 hours each weeknight, 23-04 UT. This program originates in Miami but is transmitted from Germany back towards Cuba, and is always heavily jammed. This would have been disastrous for CHU and its 7 MHz listeners. It seems that T-Systems/Deutsche Telekom was not aware of CHU on 7335. They were also not aware that Ukraine would not be moving onto the former frequency for that transmission 5910, so thought they would have to find a new frequency. Fortunately, I found out about this last week and was able to persuade the broker, Radio Miami International, not to use 7335. They may as well have stayed on 5910 but instead are currently on 5970. This certainly ties in with your current situation, a lot sooner than next April. Of course there are other broadcasters such as Vatican Radio which have already used 7335 at certain times. In my opinion, this is bureaucratic nonsense. CHU has been on 7335 for decades, and should be registered with the High Frequency Coordinating Committee as a broadcast station, and thus giving other broadcasters no excuse for colliding with the frequency. In any event, interference to 7335 has been averted for the time being. I was among the first to hear the announcements you started airing every minute, and alerted the shortwave listening community immediately; and have covered the story periodically in DX Listening Digest. Also, I wonder if you are aware that Radio Canada International, 250 kW at Sackville NB, tested on 7310 for several days recently, around 1600-1630 UT. They had never used this band before, and apparently are getting ready to do so. If they do, they will surely avoid your frequency, but it would be a good idea to establish some contact with their frequency management if not already in place. I do hope CHU is successful in staying on the air, even if it has to change frequencies. Best wishes, (Glenn Hauser, WORLD OF RADIO to CHU, via DXLD) Hello Glenn, Thank you for the news. This is very valuable information. We are quite prepared to keep CHU in operation, and we will try and make the best case possible to present to all decision makers. You can find detailed information about the changes to CHU, technical information and a history of CHU, on our web site at: http://inms-ienm.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/time_services/shortwave_broadcasts_e.html (Raymond Pelletier, CHU, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [and non]. Forget about hearing CKZU 6160 Vancouver now in the mornings between 11 and 15, for VOA Standard Chinese via Tinang is there, and at 1438 check Nov 2, I was getting a strong signal in Chinese, which no doubt was CNR1 jamming VOA. The 6160 audio was // 6040, which is another VOA Chinese frequency, via Thailand. At least traces of CKZU were able to produce a SAH on 6160 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. RCI is still carrying one hour of Sounds Like Canada, M-F at 15-16 UT on 9515, 13655 and 17820, but which? It must be the first hour, because Nov 2 at 1631 it was SLC continuing rather than O`Reilly on the Art of Persuasion, which occupies the final half of the second hour on Thursdays from CBC Radio One; thus RCI also deprives SWLs of this terrific series, halfway thru its run. A CBC repeat on Saturday afternoons doesn`t make it to SW either. The same fate awaits the new series starting this week, Afghanada, which takes the final semihour of SLC on Fridays. But in this case, RCI has scheduled that in on Saturdays at 2330 on 6100, UT Sundays at 0030 on 9755. Here`s the CBC blurb about it: ``War through the Eyes of Canadian Soldiers: They expect to be peacekeepers but instead are sent into battle. CBC Radio proudly presents Afghanada... a 12-episode fictional drama that probes the war in Afghanistan through Canadian Soldiers' eyes. the 30-minute episode begin Friday, November 3 at 11:30 am and run to January 19, 2007.`` Its original airing is 8:30-9 pm local on Thursdays, which means 0030 UT in the Atlantic zone feed via webcasts, repeated 1/2/3/4 hours later and on RCI1 at 0430 when I listened to episode 1, soldiers including a woman in combat who`s superior to some of the guys (can you say `shit` on SW? You sure can on CBC. Sunnavabitch, bullshit, but no M.F. and only ``freakin`` or ``friggin`` --- now we know where the line is drawn; hmm, we never hear ``motherfriggin``, do we?). The Friday repeats start at 1530 UT +1/2/3/4 hours. Fridays at 1730 it`s also on the RCI1 satellite and webcast, as well as Saturdays at 2330. Add a sesquiminute to all those day-times, tho evening airings may start a minute earlier. CBC schedulers have to know exactly when each show really starts. Why is it too much trouble to publish the exact times for the rest of us? Another complaint. The CBC online schedules from http://www.cbc.ca/programguide/radio/ are too full of To Be Announced blox; it has been this way at least since August, when lots of regular shows were truncated for summer-replacement series. Is any human being monitoring this situation? Furthermore, by luck of the draw, the Thursday morning repeat of the hilarious Dead Dog in the City remains on SW, since it occupies the last quarter of the first hour of Sounds Like Canada. That would be Thursday 1644 UT on 9515, 13655, 17820, altho I was listening on webcast and did not positively confirm it on SW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ha yes, Dead Dog Café --- wish it was longer then the 15 minutes allowed (remember when it was Saturday mornings and the half hour program). I am not complaining, just glad it's back on CBC (domestic and short wave). Wish they would bring back some more of this type of programming (Edward Kusalik, Alberta, ODXA via DXLD) ** CANADA. I do wish that Maple Leaf Mailbag from RCI (which is now an hour long) would bring back even a tiny hobby segment. The SW knowledge of the two hosts is embarrassing to say the least. I can't recall how many times they've stuck their feet in their mouths --- better to say nothing than to look a fool, IMHO. The most recent is the host calling the next season, "B02" rather than B06, an admission that he has no clue what that's all about. I mentioned this to them a few months ago in a letter, but received no response which was rather surprising to me (Walt Salmaniw, MD Victoria, BC, Canada, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. On CBC Radio One's Montreal morning show "Daybreak" this morning there were several mentions made of today being the 70th anniversary of CBC Radio. In my opinion, this is quite a milestone and warrants recognition. However I find it most strange that there doesn't seem to be a single mention of it on the CBC Radio or CBC Corporate websites. A brief scan of the web pages this morning turns up nothing, unless I missed something. (Sheldon Harvey, Nov 2, Radio H.F. - Canada's specialist in radio communications See the new Nature Books Division as well! http://www.radiohf.ca President-Canadian International DX Club, Canada's national radio monitoring club since 1962 http://www.anarc.org/cidx/ Enjoy birds and birdwatching? http://www.birdprotectionquebec.org DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, the big one will be the 75 th (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA [non]. Re: "any other external SW service targeted specifically at Canada"? [besides ITALY] --- I believe I have heard REE's evening service in French to NAm make comments suggesting that Francophones in Canada are the target (Mike Cooper, GA, DXLD) O yes, any French broadcast to North America, especially from non- Francophone countries, could be assumed for Québec or even the rest of Canada. And there is precious little if any left from France itself (gh) ** CHINA. Xinjiang PBS back to their usual winter frequency usage from 2 Nov (Olle Alm, Sweden, Nov 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Olle, Tnx for the report. Could you remind us the details of this? (Glenn to Olle, via DXLD) No details checked out but basically as shown in the WRTH for the tropical bands, reduced morning/evening usage of 7 MHz, no morning/evening usage of 9, 11 MHz. A quick check showed them back with frequencies/languages as listed in the WRTH (2006 edition) in the tropical bands. 73 (Olle Alm, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [and non]. SOH back to some old frequencies: 14400 ex 14600, 10400 ex 10450. Also on 17350, but nothing on 13970. Actual audio in Chinese under the jammer on 14400, on the other frequecies only jamming to indicate the likely presence of SOH (Olle Alm, Sweden, Nov 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sound of Hope must be back on 10400, ex-10450, since Firedrake was on 10400, Nov 3 at 1411 check when it was poor with heavy flutter (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Chinese Firedrake, 10400, strong signal at 2325 3 Nov 06. Receiver: Sony ICF2010 with 15 foot indoor antenna (Leonard J. Rooney, Springfield PA, Delaware County, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. RHC continues to play a very outdated frequency announcement, heard at sign-off 1458 Nov 3 on 11760, I think referring to the next afternoon broadcast, including ``11705`` where they have not been for years. Just once it would be nice if people in the studio took the initiative to find out and confirm accurate schedule information they announce, if it is not already given to them, which it should be. This comment can apply to countless other SW stations as well (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. RADIO AND TV MARTI --- SIGN OFF EXPENSIVE AND UNSEEN BROADCASTS --- By Vincent Parascandolo October 28, 2006 http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-18forum19oct28,0,1482375,print.story Of all the resources spent on U.S. policy toward Cuba, Radio and TV Martí are probably two of the most egregious examples of wasted taxpayer money -- nearly a half-billion dollars squandered on television and radio transmissions to the island and reaching virtually no audience. Up to and including fiscal year 2007, appropriations exceeded $465 million. And they continue to get sizeable and increasing appropriations every year. Since 1990, the budget for broadcasting to Cuba has risen 87 percent. According to Lawrence K. Grossman, a former president of NBC News and PBS, a study conducted for the Broadcasting Board of Governors in 2001 showed that out of the 1,000 Cubans asked if they had watched TV Martí in the past week, 997 said they had not. In 2005, the International Broadcasting Bureau commissioned a telephone survey in which a mere 13 of 1,589 Cuban respondents said they had watched TV Martí within the past year. Even if one accepts the questionable notion that TV Martí might serve a worthwhile cause, one cannot deny that the television station has virtually no viewership, because the Cuban government jams the transmissions. In October 2000, Sen. Max Baucus of Montana declared before the deliberative body, "For nine and a half million dollars in the coming fiscal year, $139 million over the last decade, another hundred million dollars over the next decade, we ask Cubans to get up in the middle of the night to watch snow on a blank screen. This makes no sense at all." TV Martí seems to be a matter of giving the BBG and its staff extra jobs and salaries, and pandering to voters in Miami, which helps win elections in Florida. TV and Radio Martí have no perceptible positive impact in achieving U.S. policy goals toward Cuba. Every time Congress reduces budgets for education, the environment and social welfare, while providing TV Martí with increasing annual appropriations, it abets a major misguided allocation of public resources. Since August 2001, the Pennsylvania Air National Guard has been regularly beaming radio and TV broadcasts into Cuba. More recently, in December 2005, Congress approved $10 million to purchase a new Commando Solo C-130, in addition to the $28 million to cover operating expenses for Radio and TV Martí. Is this not an unnecessary diversion of resources, given our major commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan? Are not the Air National Guards across the country already stretched thin from their commitment in the Middle East? Despite the improvidence and inefficacy that the maintenance of TV Martí represents, the transmission remains most popular among the militant and vehement anti-Castro Cubans, who are also the group presidential hopefuls pander to to win the crucial Cuban vote. Ultimately, our National Security is being compromised through a serious misallocation and waste of resources to satisfy the demands of one interest group. The country deserves a serious re-examination of the merits of TV Martí. Unfortunately, there have been indications from the Bush administration that the use of expensive military aircraft for TV Martí transmission will not abate. In Roger F. Noriega's 2004 Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba report to the president, he laid out the government's long-term plan: "Over the long-term, the commission recommends making available funds to acquire and refit an aircraft for dedicated airborne radio and television transmissions into Cuba." TV Martí should at least be eliminated as a government expenditure. The Cuban exile community is known for its entrepreneurial accomplishments since the late 19th century, when they populated Tampa as tabaqueros. They also have a long record of successful fundraising; therefore, if the Cuban exile community wants to air TV Martí, let them pay for it. Radio Martí's shortwave radio beams do at least reach Cuba. And although the newscast is given little credence by the locals, according to surveys cited in the BBG annual report for 1999, 9 percent of adults (15 years and older) questioned in 1998 and 1999 reportedly listened to Radio Martí at least once a week. From these interviews, the surveys estimated that Radio Martí reached about three-quarters of a million Cubans across the island -- a market share that does not warrant the high cost to the American taxpayer. TV and Radio Marti represent an unseemly waste of national revenue and compromise our national security by diverting military and defense resources. The U.S. government ought to acknowledge that TV Martí enjoys no viewers, while its radio counterpart has a trifling listenership, not enough certainly to justify hundreds of millions of taxpayers' dollars. Vincent Parascandolo is a research assistant at the Center for International Policy in Washington, D.C. Copyright (c) 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC [non]. R. Prague relay via Sackville, 15160, Thu Nov 2 at 1500 stayed in English rather than switching to CRI Chinese as the day before; around 1512 the program Spotlight, which is on Prague`s Wednesday schedule at http://www.radio.cz/en/programme so this transmission is still running a day late. Very good reception and much more reliable than the numerous direct English broadcasts. Still problems with the R. Prague relay via Sackville, now on 15160 at 1500. Nov 3 at 1501 only open carrier. Needed to check France, but when I came back at 1504, RP in English was underway (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) R. Prague, 15160 via Sackville, Canada. 1459 UT Nov 3, carrier and tones. Program does not begin at 1500 UT! Programming started on time on 7385 via WRMI. However, 7385 signal poor to very poor. Finally, 1502 UT programming begins on 15160 with song in progress. Quickly switches to R. Prague news. Signal fair to poor. Seems 15160 broadcast is behind 7385. Difficult to check as 7385 very poor. Finally, able to hear. Yes, 15160 is a minute or so behind broadcast on 7385 (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, Nov 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Really? So far they had been 24 hours apart. Maybe the delay had something to do with Sackville trying to start running the current transmission instead. Did not try to compare them today as I was checking 7380 for France (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** FINLAND. The schedule in the YLE shortwave booklet, quoted in DXLD 6-162, omits the still existing Russian service: http://www.yle.fi/rfinland/ru_etusivu.shtml But beware, it appears that of the shortwave frequencies mentioned there, only 9600 is still in use. The 16 metre transmission (0905- 0945) now probably uses 17810 while in the evening the current slot could be 1900-1950 on 7175 now (however, http://www.yle.fi/ohjelmat/index.php?&co[]=r05&co[]=r18&span=day&co[]=r07 suggests that it is on 558 still 2005-2050?). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Nov 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FINLAND. SWR November 3-4 TESTSPECIAL --- Dear listeners, Scandinavian Weekend Radio will have many tests during this transmission day. So please tune in and send you comments how everything works. ******************************* S W R T E S T I N G ******************************* Transmitter site Virrat in Middle of Finland 62,22 N; 23,37 E Power and frequencies: -25 meter band RF output power: 100 watts, 11690 and 11720 -49 meter band RF output power: 100 Watts, 5980, 5990, 6170 -MW transmitter on 1602 kHz, RF output power 100 Watts 25 mb DX-tests: 1. DX-test towards Eastern and Southern Europe on 25 mb Saturday 4th from 05 to 10 UT. Our 3-element beam will be changed from normal 240 degrees to 170 degrees. 2. DX-test towards North-America on 25 mb Saturday 4th from 10 to 16 UT. Antenna direction will be 300 degrees. MW 1602 kHz: Our new 44 meter long vertical antenna will be taken in use during this transmission day. We are still making some final installation and tuning works but anyway please try how our signal is there. During last transmission we used that antenna during few hours in rest of our transmission and 1602 kHz was heart at least in Latvia. 48 mb: Our antenna here is towards 260 degrees in this moment. Please check how it works in your listening place. Contact info: Tel: +358 400 995 559 Live while on air and SMS Service E-mail: info @ swradio.net Web: http://www.swradio.net Scandinavian Weekend Radio PL 99 34801 VIRRAT FINLAND QSL Manager: Alpo Heinonen. All correct snailmail reception reports will be verified with our QSL-card (several NEW ONES available). Enclose, please 2 EURO/ 2USD 2IRC (correctly stamped) for handling. ********************************************************************** Time- and frequency schedule: MW 1602 kHz: Fri. 22 UT - Sat 22 UT 48 mb: Fr. 22-23 UT 6170 Fr. 23-24 UT 5980 Sa. 00-04 UT 5980 Sa. 04-17 UT 6170 Sa. 17-19 UT 5980 Sa. 19-22 UT 6170 25 mb: Fr. 22-24 UT 11720 Sa. 00-07 UT 11720 Sa. 07-12 UT 11690 Sa. 12-20 UT 11720 Sa. 20-22 UT 11690 (Alpo Heinonen, Scandinavian Weekend Radio, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE [and non]. Since the unscheduled English broadcast heard daily during October at 1400-1455 on 6120 via Japan was supposed to be in Vietnamese, and I haven`t found a replacement frequency, how about this? What are the currently scheduled frequencies for RFI`s Viet service, which may still be in English instead? RFI`s Vietnamese page at http://www.rfi.fr/langues/statiques/rfi_vietnamien.asp appears to have been updated, but with obvious errors like on the English page. Starting with what year it is currently! And I have no idea if the () have any significance. 15h-16h GMT Nghe Truy nåp Ondes courtes du 29/10/07 [sic] au 26/03/07 O.C : 41 m, 7380 Khz O.C : 19 m ( 15265 Khz ) O.M : 231m ( 1296 khz ) So 7380 and 15265 are where we should look for it. 7380 should be from a FE site, probably Taiwan, and 15265 should be clear right after R. Solh via Rampisham closes that frequency. The supposed channels for the 1400 English broadcast are 7180, 9580 and 15615. Does anyone anywhere hear anything on them? [Next day:] Checking out my theory that RFI`s missing English broadcast at 1400, which in October occupied a scheduled Vietnamese transmission, could now be on the Vietnamese frequencies, I checked those Nov 3 at the current time of 1500 and found: nothing. No Vietnamese or English audible on 15265 or 7380. So far from the target area, however, that is still inconclusive (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE [non]. Not listed in the B06 RFI sked but the Ascension relay in English, weekdays only, is audible at fair strength on 9865, 06-0630, as noted Nov. 1 (Joe Hanlon, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Baltic Music Radio, domingo día 5 entre las 1300 y las 1400 UT en su nueva frecuencia de 5965 kHz (Manuel Méndez, Spain, Noticias DX via DXLD) Site I assume, Jülich? (gh, DXLD) ** GREECE. Brief check of 17525 found VOG again confronting utility QRM from that variable-pitch chirping every few seconds, Nov 2 at 1436. Checked the 3rd quarter ITU monitoring report for clue, but nothing there. This makes 17525 unlistenable here. However, that would not be a problem on mixing products! Since we know two Avlis transmitters produce a mixing product on 6210 (15630 minus 9420) we ought to go looking for other possibilities according to the B-06 schedule: 17525 minus 9425 = 8105 at 1100-1550; 12105 minus 7475 = 4630 at 2300-0650. Those two are differences. You can also work out sums and other differences, many of which would be below 4630, from the schedule at http://www.bclnews.it/b06schedules/grecia.htm (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUYANA. V. of Guyana, 3291, 0732 UT Nov 3. "This is the World Today. BBC World Service" by male announcer. Time pips for 08 UT. "BBC World Service. This is the World Today" by male announcer. 0855 UT "V. of Guyana --- 5 o'clock" by male. SIO 353 (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, Nov 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. At my location the Indian newcomers on 4810 and 5015 are interfering badly with the old frequency "owners" Armenia and Turkmenistan, respectively, during the early evening. SAH on 4810, no SAH on 5015 (Olle Alm, Sweden, Nov 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Dear Friends, The complete B-2006 SW schedules of All India Radio (Home & External Service) in frequency order is now available at: http://www.qsl.net/vu2jos/sw/freq.htm (Jose Jacob, Nov 2, dx_india via DXLD) With changes in red, so turn up the hue (gh) ** INDONESIA. 7289.87, RRI-Nabire, Oct 21 0756-0812*, 24442, Indonesian, Music, ID at 0759, 0800 Jakarta news relay. Also Oct 26, 0800-0817, 24442-34443 Indonesian, Jakarta news relay, ID at 0813, Music (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 15150, V. of Indonesia, Nov 3 at 1714-1740 UT in Spanish with some of those spectacular Indonesian songs. ID at 1716.SINPO 35433 // 9525 with fair signal but splatter from unID on 9520 (R. Liberty ?) (José Turner, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL INTERNET. It's a shame that there have been no updates at Alex's radio page: http://www.piratedxer.com/dxprograms.htm I found it a useful resource to download several media programs including WOR. I've found alternate sources for these, except for RHC's DXers Unlimited. If anyone has any other convenient download sites, I'd like to know about them as interesting hobby programs are becoming as rare as hen`s teeth (Walt Salmaniw, BC, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, it just stopped in early October, and the forum linked had vanished. He has gone into unexplained hiatus before, so maybe will come back at a different site (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** IRELAND [non]. Checking WRMI 7385 for RTE Ireland as expected during the 14 UT hour, part of the WRN relay block M-F 13-16, Nov 2 at 1441 heard American political discussion mentioning Newt Gingrich and John Kerry. O o, has WRMI switched to domestic programming? No, they were talking to someone with an Irish accent; only fair signal here as usual (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. RAI: "RaItalia" Arriving In 2007 A new project, a new idea and a new mission for RAI International - or RaItalia as rumour has it the structure headed by Massimo Magliaro will be renamed in 2007. A six-person work group comprising representatives from RAI and the Italian premier's office are working on this new project. The RAI delegation is headed by Deputy Director General Giancarlo Leone, aided by Pierluigi Malesani and Deborah Bergamni. The government delegation is headed by the chief of the Information and Publishing Department Paolo Peluffo. The group has already met twice (on October 13 and 24) and is expected to complete the project's outline by November, Cabinet Undersecretary Ricardo Franco Levi reported to parliament. Until now, RAI International has operated on the basis of two conventions with the Italian government, which officially expired in December 2005. The first, worth 18 million euros, dates back to 1962. This covers radio and requires it to produce 11,300 hours of short- band [sic] radio time. The second convention, signed in 1975, is worth around 20 million euros and deals with TV. This requires around 700 hours of TV production (around two hours daily) and 1,380 hours of radio production. The total of 38 million euros gross represents 40% of RAI Internationals' revenue. Soon, however, things will change. Sources have told the VELINO that the two conventions will be merged into a single one and will include radio and TV programs. The convention will also be worth more in financial terms, at over 40 million euros. The government apparently plans to ask RAI International to abandon (or radically reduce) its short-wave radio transmissions and to reinvest the 18 million euros under the old convention in a better way. This will mean an end to the news in 26 languages (including Esperanto and Lithuanian) that RAI International broadcasts each day: 120 lines, totalling 15 minutes of daily news, which are translated and eventually adapted by the team to meet the needs of the country it is directed at. In the future, the news will be delivered in just five languages: Spanish, French, English, German and Arabic. It will be broadcast via satellite or, for a while, short-wave radio. This should not have a massive impact in terms of employees. Around 80 mother-tongue translators and newsreaders deal with the 26 newscasts, around 50% within RAI, who will be given other jobs within the company. There are several changes planned for the RaItalia program. The priority of the company's directors is ensuring that the satellite channel - currently not visible in Europe or the Mediterranean - can at least be watched all over Italy (possibly by asking to be represented by Sky). There is also talk of two different channels for Rai International, one in Italian and the other in English. For the future, the program will draw on the best of the public service (RaiUno, RaiDue, RaiMed and so on), and will be structured by genre, with a particular focus on target markets: Italians abroad as well as foreigners enamoured of Italy. Some 18 million euros will be saved from ending short-wave radio transmissions and the number of hours of self-produced programs will be boosted, particularly sport and news (there are rumours of blending with RaiNews 24 and RaiMed). An ad hoc programming schedule will also be studied devoted to the promotion of Italian culture in the world, which MPs elected in the foreign districts will help plan, on the basis they are in touch with the interests of local communities. (Velino via Roberto Scaglione http://www.bclnews.it http://www.fmdx.it Oct 28, shortwave yg via DXLD) ** JAPAN. NHK'S AUTONOMY IN QUESTION Yoshikazu Suzuki Yomiuri, Shimbun Staff Writer, November 3, 2006 http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20061103TDY04001.htm Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Yoshihide Suga's recent remark that he intends to order NHK to provide more coverage of the abduction of Japanese by North Korea in its international radio broadcasts, has stirred controversy over the public broadcaster's autonomy and independence. NHK is obliged to broadcast radio and television programs internationally. Its shortwave "Radio Japan" service broadcasts 65 hours' worth of programs every day, in 22 languages. This year, 8.5 billion yen is earmarked for the company's international operations, 2.3 billion yen of which will come from a government subsidy. The subsidy is provided based on a stipulation in the Broadcast Law that states, "The internal affairs and communications minister can instruct NHK on issues to be aired, and can order the company to broadcast internationally." A government missive is issued every spring to NHK based on recommendations by the Radio Regulatory Council. But the annual missive only covers three general areas--current events, important national policies, and government opinion relating to international affairs. NHK is effectively given a free hand in deciding which issues should be covered and how they should be reported. But on Oct. 13, Suga remarked that he was considering -- in his ministerial capacity -- ordering NHK to allocate more time to the abduction issue. It is rare for an internal affairs and communications minister to refer to specific topics. Suga said his reason for doing so was that the abduction issue is one of the government's most important concerns. Suga aims to ask the council to discuss his plan Wednesday, but lawmakers from the ruling camp and the opposition parties have voiced criticism and concern. Yukio Hatoyama, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, said: "The government should respect the freedom of the press and freedom of expression. If excessive intervention is allowed, it means the government can interfere with the contents [of programs]. It's a terrible story." Toranosuke Katayama, secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party caucus in the House of Councillors and a former internal affairs and communications minister, also expressed concern, saying, "Though it's necessary to let people around the world better understand the abduction issue, it's not reasonable to do so by government fiat." Hiroshi Matsuda, a former Ritsumeikan University professor who has written a book on NHK, pointed out, "In Europe, there are many cases in which state funds are provided for international broadcasts by public broadcasters. "However, although European governments provide money, they don't intervene [in broadcasting]. Thus, Britain's BBC and other public broadcasters are highly trusted and praised. "In Japan, the government order is merely nominal, and only a broad outline is presented. Minister Suga's remarks largely sidestepped custom, and run counter to the law's spirit that says programs shouldn't be interfered with or controlled by anybody." The issue stems from the government's recently minded policy to disseminate more information about Japan abroad. An agreement reached between the government and ruling parties in June, over reforms on telecommunications and broadcasting, contained measures to beef up the nation's international broadcasts. The agreement says: "A new international TV broadcasting service for non-Japanese viewers will be started. NHK will establish a new subsidiary that will accept equity from private companies, and government funds will be provided where necessary." Based on the agreement, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry set up a panel in September to discuss the future of international TV broadcasting. NHK started international TV broadcasts in 1995. The free NHK World TV service airs programs around the clock and across the globe using three satellites. As this is a voluntary operation, NHK finances the service itself -- with a budget of 2.8 billion yen this fiscal year -- from fees paid by TV viewers. However, the ministry plans to subsidize NHK's TV broadcasting starting next fiscal year, with the company operating under the ministerial remit. Matsuda said: "This issue may turn NHK's international broadcasting into a state-controlled medium. It may affect the future of the nation's international broadcasting." The Foreign Ministry's Council on the Movement of People Across Borders is also considering strengthening the nation's ability to send information overseas. In May, the council held discussions on international TV broadcasting and agreed that the right of editorial independence is essential to secure public trust in the broadcasters. How has NHK itself reacted? At a meeting of the LDP's subpanel for upgrading telecommunication and broadcasting industries on Oct. 25, NHK President Genichi Hashimoto pledged to continue reporting the abduction issue at the company's own discretion, party sources said. NHK is financed with fees paid by listeners and viewers--a system that can be seen as privileged, because the company is obliged to provide programs that serve the public interest, independent of the government, political forces, commercial activities and other factors in society. Do radio listeners and TV viewers fully understand the nature of public broadcasting? According to a 1997 NHK opinion poll, only 35 percent were able to correctly answer that NHK is a special business entity serving the public interest. Twenty-nine percent thought it was a state-run organization, and 23 percent believed it to be a jointly financed entity run by the government and the private sector. About half the respondents erroneously thought that NHK is directly related to the government in some way. To eliminate this misunderstanding and inform the public of the missions and roles of a public broadcaster, NHK needs to adopt a resolute attitude in its capacity as a journalistic organization (via Mike Terry, dxldyg via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. Up till 10/29 I`ve been hearing Voice of Korea with English at 1000/1100 on 11735 and 13650. They seem to have left either this timeslot and or frequencies. Any idea where they`ve gone to? (Don Rhodes, YarraGlen, Victoria, Australia, Nov 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No; new seasonal schedules for VOK are always slow in coming. No doubt that VOK fan in Berlin is trying to get them (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH [and non]. Saludos tropa: Estoy realmente "picado" si para alguno de ustedes habrá mejorado en algo la corrida del KBS Español de 11810 a 15575 para B-06 en su servicio (cuál?) a la 0100. Sigo sin escuchar absolutamente nada en mi Tiquicia y no puede ser que sea yo el único "salado". O nadie más se los ha hecho saber, o se me han hecho los "locos" en cuanto, qué tanto cuesta dar un servicio confiable via Sackville a la 0100, como si se lo dan (o daban en A-06 por 9560) a los gringos a las 0200. Total, usan la vía Sackville a las 1100, hora en que mayormente debemos alistarnos para salir al trabajo (enhorabuena por los no trabajadores o vacacionistas). Como no veo a nadie quejarse al respecto, me asiste la duda si será que nadie determina a KBS World en Español. 73s y DX (Raúl Saavedra, Costa Rica, Nov 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Saludos Raúl, ojo, después de quejarnos mucho de que en España a las 2100 UT por 9515 no se escuchaba nada, como solución Salomónica ha sido eliminar el servicio, cuidado pues no sea que al final también eliminen ese servicio Aquí cuando hay quejas, en vez de buscar soluciones se corta por el medio, se elimina el servicio y todo arreglado. En España para escucharlos hay que madrugar. Un fuerte abrazo, atentamente (José Miguel Romero, ibid.) 0600 6045 Sackville ** KURDISTAN [non]. Monitored 7590 October 29th and November 3rd from 1655. On both occasions Denge Mezopotamya strong and closing with announcements and anthem, carrier off, no sign of scheduled Denge Rojhelat at 1700 (Mike Barraclough, Letchworth Garden City, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I could not find a link to Rojhelat on the TDP website either (gh, DXLD) ** LIBERIA [non]. Star Radio, 0736 UT Nov 3, 9525 kHz. People giving phone greetings in English and other languages on "Star Contact". Phone number, 231 667 1425, given by female announcer. "Star R. Liberia" by female. According to EiBi this is via Ascension Island relay. SIO 454 (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, Nov 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALDIVE ISLANDS [non]. GERMANY, 11800, Minivan R. via DTK, Oct 31 *1600-1606, 25432-25332, Vernacular, 1600 sign on with R. Miami International ID, IS, ID, Talk (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) ** MONACO [non]. TWR, 9800, 0804 UT Nov 3. "Insight for Living" and "Word of Life" programs. "That brings us to the end of today's broadcast. TWR. God's word in today's World" by male at 0920 UT. Signal immediately gone. SIO 353 (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, Nov 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MYANMAR. Radio Myanma 5985.8 making a good appearance here this morning at 1250 with some slop from Radio Martí (presumed) on 5980 which goes off at 1300. Music across ToH (Myanmar is UTC + 6.5 hours). Had relatively good copy until 1340 or so (Steve Lare, Holland, MI USA, Nov 3, dxldyg via DXLD) I looked for it between 1330 and 14, but no sign of it (gh, OK, DXLD) ** NIGERIA [non]. R. Nigeria, 0748 UT Nov 3, 4990 kHz. Popular songs. 0809 UT talk by heavy accented male on reform. Mixing English with other language. SIO 353 (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, Nov 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) That`s quite late for Nigeria on 60m; sure it wasn`t Surinam? (gh, DXLD) Glenn, Sounded like an African accent to me. Similar to the accent I hear on Channel Africa. Not a Dutch accent. There was a talk on reform. I'd think this applies more to Nigeria than Suriname. Difficult to get up at 0730 UT, for me, 2 days in a row. Unsure when I'll be able to recheck. Thoughts? 73, (Kraig Krist, VA, ibid.) Nigeria 4990? Only Nigerian on 60 meterband I know is on 4770. There's been an "African" station on 4990, CVC in Portuguese via Meyerton during UT evenings. I don't know if they're still active and if on during UT mornings and if that'll propagate to VA at that hour. 73, (Jari Savolaainen, Kuusankoski, Finland, ibid.) ** OKLAHOMA. Take that, Katie and your sinewy calves! KWTV-9, the CBS affiliate in OKC, blew away more than half of the CBS `Evening` News Nov 2, for a car-chase in the country outside the city. Hey, a megadollar chopper has to get some use, screw the fuel costs. KFOR-4, NBC affiliate, hustled to get its chopper up there too, and blew away part of Brian Williams NBC `Nightly` News. Poor KOCO-5 with its shared chopper in Kansas City or somewhere, had to content itself with breaking into ABC World News (not Tonight) with map graphics and voice reports. There was also a police chopper tracking the culprit, so airspace in Canadian county was getting pretty crowded. Sure grist for Countdown --- damaged stolen SUV running on wheel rim for miles, finally won`t go any further, perp jumps out and starts running, finally surrenders. Whew. Hmm, is anything else happening in the nation or the world? (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OKLAHOMA. While I still haven`t been able to nail down the strange mixing product on 10475 producing Defunct Gene Scott, a similar case is clear: Nov 3 at 1413 on 11345 I was hearing local KCRC 1390 audio mixing with WEWN 9955. That`s 1390 plus 9955. Heard on two different receivers. So it appears that WEWN`s signal from Alabama is so strong here that it produces an external mixing product with a local MW station (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** OMAN. 15140, Radio Sultanate of Oman; 1407-1417+, 28-Oct; News to ID 1409, then reggae/rap music feature. All in English. SIO=3+43+ (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DX-Pedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) R. Sultanate of Oman, 15140 kHz, Nov 3. Terrible QRM or other noise on 15140 makes broadcast useless. I am able to hear broadcast by using +1.40 kHz PBS [PBT?]. News in English, 1400–1411. Songs. Some songs are very racy. Surprised to hear these songs from Oman. 73, (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, Nov 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Maybe they don`t understand English well enough to realize that (gh) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 7120, Radio Wantok Light; 1237-1247+, 29-Oct; Old time religious tune; tough, heard W mention Wantok, Papua & Ministry of Faith; M at 1243+ with sked and program notes; W 1244+ phone numbers. All in English. SIO=2+52. Noted covered by Chinese music at 1257 (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DX-Pedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. Just as I tuned in 11870, Nov 3 at 1457, I heard a brief IS and ``This is`` before the transmitter cut off. Way to go, people. Per listings it seems this would be R. Veritas Asia closing Urdu service. There was a het and then TIRWR Costa Rica was uncovered with Defunct Gene Scott. See my Sept 27 log when this RVA transmission was found to be on 11875 instead (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND [sic]. 9525, Radio Polonia: 1300-1306+, 29-Oct; ID as RP External Service; News to 1305 then East Euro features; computer glitch closed Poland-Kaliningrad border. All in English. SIO=43+3+, better in LSB (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DX-Pedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) This is now POLAND [non], via GERMANY, have you heard? (gh) ** POLAND [non]. R. Polonia 1300 UT 9525 kHz via Wertachtal Germany relay. Ident signal and "R. Polonia" by male. "You are listening to R. Polonia" by female. News headlines. SIO 353 (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, Nov 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) I continue to marvel at how the huge signal we get from Indonesia here is no problem whatsoever for Polonia on the east coast (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** QATAR. ANALYSIS: TEN YEARS AFTER - AL-JAZEERA THROUGH WESTERN EYES | Analysis by Peter Feuilherade of BBC Monitoring on 31 October On 1 November 1996 Al-Jazeera satellite TV launched, funded by an initial grant of 150m dollars from the Emir of Qatar. Ten years later, Al-Jazeera is the most popular channel in the Arab world as well as one of the most successful brands recognized globally. The original Al-Jazeera news channel claims an international audience of more than 40 million viewers, and has been augmented by a line-up that includes sports and children's channels and websites in Arabic and English. It also plans to launch Al-Jazeera International, an English-language channel. In October 2006, Al-Jazeera won the top spot in a list of the most admired and trusted Arab brands compiled by Forbes magazine's Arabic edition, beating its Saudi-funded rival news channel Al-Arabiya into fourth place. Breaking the mould Among media analysts, even critics of Al-Jazeera concede that the channel deserves praise for taking the first steps towards serious broadcast journalism in the Middle East, in contrast to the predictable coverage and stodgy propaganda of state-run TV channels. British Royal Navy officer Steve Tatham, in his 2006 book "Losing Arab Hearts and Minds: The Coalition, Al-Jazeera and Muslim Public Opinion", noted the station's pioneering role in breaking taboos of deference to authority in the Arab world. Al-Jazeera, he argued, "actively encouraged its journalists to shed the shackles of censorship and to say what they thought and report what they saw". Ahmed Sheikh, editor in chief at Al-Jazeera, summed up his channel's journalistic ethos: "Be accurate, factual, be there first - that's not necessarily most important - and be with the human being all the time - you don't stay at the top getting the views of politicians and diplomats." Sheikh said in an interview with David Ignatius of the Washington Post in August 2006: "People say we are the channel of the insurgents. It's not true. We are the channel of everybody. We are critical and balanced. That is what a journalist is supposed to do - not drum the official point of view but criticize, try to evaluate." Al-Jazeera's scoops have included on-the-spot coverage of the Palestinian intifada in 2000, its reporting from Kabul during the fall of the Taleban in 2001, exclusive access to videotapes from Al-Qa'idah leaders, and, this summer, extensive coverage of Israel's war in Lebanon. But contrary to repeated allegations by some Western media, Al-Jazeera has never broadcast footage of insurgent groups killing hostages. Under fire Al-Jazeera has been criticized by American officials for airing messages from Usamah Bin-Ladin and other Al-Qa'idah leaders, and for its coverage of the war in Iraq. In June 2005 US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld condemned Al- Jazeera's news coverage, accusing the channel of a lack of balance and of attacking the image of the US "day after day after day". "If you lived in Al-Jazeera's area... and you heard every day the pounding that the United States takes from a television network like that, you'd begin to think very poorly of the United States, too," Rumsfeld added. At around the same time, Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, the late leader of the Al-Qa'idah-linked group in Iraq, reportedly posted a message on an internet site accusing Al-Jazeera of being a "mouthpiece for the Americans". Al-Jazeera bureaus have also come under US fire literally - first in November 2001 during the campaign in Afghanistan, and then during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In his recent book "The One Per Cent Doctrine", American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ron Suskind wrote that US forces deliberately targeted Al-Jazeera's Kabul bureau in November 2001 to send a "message" to the station. The British Daily Mirror newspaper reported in November 2005, citing a Downing Street memo marked "top secret", that President Bush contemplated a military strike against Al-Jazeera's Doha headquarters the previous year. And in October 2006 it emerged that former British Home Secretary David Blunkett had mulled the idea around the time of the March 2003 invasion of Iraq that bombing Al-Jazeera's Baghdad transmitters might be justified. Two weeks later, US forces bombed Al-Jazeera's Baghdad office in April 2003, which resulted in the death of its reporter Tariq Ayyub, and the destruction of its facilities. "Well, I don't think for a minute in previous wars we'd have thought twice about ensuring that a propaganda mechanism on the soil of the country you were invading would actually continue being able to propagandize against you," Blunkett said when asked in an interview for Britain's Channel 4 whether Al-Jazeera was a civilian target. The revelation has added to suspicions that the station may have been deliberately targeted, said the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists. Al-Jazeera staff have also been persona non grata in many countries in the Middle East and North Africa after their governments fell out with the channel over its coverage of dissidents and Islamic militancy. And despite being such a successful brand name, Al-Jazeera is still facing a boycott in some Gulf states. Saudi Arabia's pressure on companies not to advertise on the channel has prevented it from becoming self-financing. Ten years after launching, it remains heavily reliant on financing from the Emir of Qatar. After Al-Jazeera introduced its code of ethics in 2004, it also began to tone down its broadcasts of graphic footage of carnage in the Middle East. Neither this change of tone, nor the growing number of interviews Al- Jazeera has run with US, British and even Israeli officials, commentators and guests, has diminished its success in attracting ever more viewers. While many US and UK politicians demonize Al-Jazeera, the West's few Arabic-speaking diplomats prefer instead to engage with the channel. Their hope is to persuade at least some of Al-Jazeera's 40 million listeners to listen to the "other opinion", and make up their own minds. Source: BBC Monitoring research 31 Oct 06 (via DXLD) ** QATAR. AL JAZEERA SETS ENGLISH LAUNCH DATE Wednesday 01 November 2006, 6:42 Makka Time, 3:42 GMT http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/5356DC54-DA32-4231-A178-1791CA2C5FCF.htm The channel will air from four broadcast centres Al Jazeera is to launch its English-language news and current affairs channel on November 15. The Al Jazeera Network on Tuesday announced that the channel, part of the Al Jazeera Network and the sister channel to Al Jazeera, will begin broadcasting from its Doha headquarters at 12 pm GMT on that day. The Al Jazeera English-language website, http://www.aljazeera.net/english is being relaunched simultaneously. The announcement of the channel's forthcoming launch coincides with the 10-year anniversary of Al Jazeera Arabic language channel. Wadah Khanfar, director general of the Al Jazeera Network said: "We are extremely proud of what Al Jazeera has achieved over the past ten years. "Al Jazeera today is an international media organisation. Al Jazeera English will build on the pioneering spirit of Al Jazeera and will carry our media model... to the entire world." "The launching of the English channel offers the chance to reach out to a new audience that is used to hearing the name of 'Al Jazeera' without being able to watch it or to understand its language. "The new channel will provide the same ground-breaking news and impartial and balanced journalism to the English speaking world," he said. Agenda-setting The English channel will have broadcast centres in Doha, Kuala Lumpur, London and Washington DC. The website aljazeera.net/english will showcase Al Jazeera International's agenda-setting editorial mission and will provide constantly updated coverage of news events from around the world, along with in-depth analysis and background. It will provide RSS feeds, live streams and downloadable clips from the channel, as well as interactive discussions and polling. Programme and presenter information as well as weather reports, live business data and sport will also be available (Aljazeera via DXLD) ** ROMANIA. R. Romania International, 15105, *1300 UT Nov 3, SIO 353 until 1342 when BBC began on same frequency. Then, SIO 333. Checked // 17745 SIO 353. "This is R. Romania Int. Radio Newsreel" by female. "A Challenge for the Future", item on "City of Culture 2007" contest, "Practical Guide", "Over Coffee with Artists" and "Listeners Letterbox". 1355* (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, Nov 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. VOICE OF RUSSIA ENGLISH B06 OCTOBER 29 2006-MARCH 24 2007 Africa 1700-1800 7270 1800-1900 11510 7270 1900-2000 11510 7335 Australia New Zealand 0600-0800 17665 17805 0800-0900 17495 17665 17805 Europe 0300-0500 603 0500-0600 1575 1431 693 630 603 0600-0700 11575 1431 1323 693 630 603 0700-0800 11635* 1575 1431 1323 693 630 603 0800-1000 1575 1431 1323 693 630 603 1300-1400 558 (except Saturday) English Hour to London 1500-1600 5920* 5905* 1600-1700 7320 6130 1700-1800 7320 1800-1900 7320 7105 (6175 6055 Sat-Sun) 1900-2000 7290 7105 6175 2000-2100 7330 7105 6145 2000-2100 7330 7290 [maybe 2100-2200?] *-DRM broadcast Middle East 0300-0400 5995 1500-1600 1251 (872 from 1530) 1600-1700 9470 4975 4965 972 1700-1800 9470 7270 1251 648 1800-1900 7270 1251 North America 0200-0300 15425 13665 7250 6240 0300-0400 15425 13665 7350 6240 0400-0500 15425 13665 12030 12010 9840 7350 7150 0500-0600 15425 13665 9840 7350 7150 Asia 0800-1000 15195 1251 1500-1600 9660 7350 7260 1251 (972 from 1530) 1600-1700 7305 7260 4975 4965 972 1700-1800 7125 6125 1269 1251 648 1800-1900 7295 7125 6125 1251 2000-2100 5955 English Programs NEWS Every Hour on the Hour (11 minutes) NEWS IN BRIEF On the Half Hour (1 1/2 minutes) MYR: Music At Your Request RPE: Russia People and Events 1511 Sun: SUNDAY PANORAMA. RPE. Mon-Sat: NEWS AND VIEWS. 1531 Sun: FOLK BOX. Mon: OUR HOMELAND. Tue: KALEIDOSCOPE. Wed: RUSSIAN BY RADIO. Thu: THE VOR TREASURE-STORE. Fri: OUR HOMELAND. Sat: TIMELINES. 1611 Sun: MOSCOW MAILBAG. Mon-Fri: FOCUS ON ASIA AND PACIFIC. Sat: THIS IS RUSSIA. 1631 Sun, Mon: JAZZ SHOW. Tue, Thu: MUSIC AROUND US. MYR. Wed: FOLK BOX. Fri: RPE, SONGS FROM RUSSIA. Sat: CHRISTIAN MESSAGE FROM MOSCOW. 1711 Sun: THIS IS RUSSIA. Mon, Wed: SCIENCE PLUS. Tue, Fri: MOSCOW MAILBAG. Thu: NEWMARKET. Sat: ENCYCLOPEDIA "ALL RUSSIA." 1731 Sun: TIMELINES. Mon, Wed: GUEST SPEAKER, SPIRITUAL FLOWERBED. Tue, Fri: PEOPLE OF UNCOMMON DESTINY, GUEST SPEAKER. Thu: GUEST SPEAKER, RUSSIA 1000 YEARS OF MUSIC. Sat: THE VOR TREASURE- STORE. 1811 Sun, Sat: MUSIC AND MUSICIANS. Mon, Thu: MOSCOW MAILBAG. Tue: NEWMARKET. Wed, Fri: THIS IS RUSSIA. 1831 Sun, Sat: MUSIC AND MUSICIANS continues. Mon: KALEIDOSCOPE. Tue: MUSIC AROUND US, MYR. Wed: RPE, MUSICAL TALES. Thu: OUR HOMELAND. Fri: FOLK BOX. 1911 Sun: MUSICAL TALES. Mon-Fri: RUSSIA AND THE WORLD. Sat: NEWMARKET. 1931 Sun: ENCYCLOPEDIA "ALL RUSSIA". Mon-Fri: RUSSIA AND THE WORLD. Sat: NEWMARKET. 2011 See 1511. 2031 Sun, Mon: OUR HOMELAND. Tue: RUSSIAN BY RADIO. Wed: JAZZ SHOW. Thu: THE VOR TREASURE-STORE. Fri: RPE, MUSICAL TALES. Sat: CHRISTIAN MESSAGE FROM MOSCOW. 2111 Sun: MUSIC AND MUSICIANS. Mon: SCIENCE PLUS. Tue, Fri: MOSCOW MAILBAG. Wed: NEWMARKET. Thu: THIS IS RUSSIA. Sat: ENCYCLOPEDIA "ALL RUSSIA." 2131 Sun: MUSIC AND MUSICIANS continues. Mon: RPE, SONGS FROM RUSSIA. Tue: MUSIC AROUND US, MYR. Wed: RPE, MUSICAL TALES. Thu: FOLK BOX. Fri: JAZZ SHOW. Sat: RUSSIAN BY RADIO. 0211 Sun, Mon: MOSCOW MAILBAG. Tue-Sat: RUSSIA AND THE WORLD. 0231 Sun: OUR HOMELAND. Mon: TIMELINES. Tue, Fri: KALEIDOSCOPE. Wed: RUSSIAN BY RADIO. Thu: THE VOR TREASURE-STORE. Sat: CHRISTIAN MESSAGE FROM MOSCOW. 0311 Sun, Tue-Sat: NEWS AND VIEWS. Mon: SUNDAY PANORAMA, RPE. 0331 Sun: RPE, SONGS FROM RUSSIA. Mon: RUSSIAN BY RADIO. Tue: FOLK BOX. Wed, Sat: RPE, MUSICAL TALES. Thu: OUR HOMELAND. Fri: JAZZ SHOW. 0411 Sun: MUSIC AND MUSICIANS. Mon: THIS IS RUSSIA. Tue: ENCYCLOPEDIA "ALL RUSSIA." Wed, Sat: MOSCOW MAILBAG. Thu: SCIENCE PLUS. Fri: NEWMARKET. 0431 Sun: MUSIC AND MUSICIANS continues. Mon: OUR HOMELAND. Tue, Thu: GUEST SPEAKER. SPIRITUAL FLOWERBED. Wed, Sat: PEOPLE OF UNCOMMON DESTINY, GUEST SPEAKER. Fri: GUEST SPEAKER, RUSSIA 1000 YEARS OF MUSIC. 0511 Sun, Mon: ENCYCLOPEDIA "ALL RUSSIA." Tue, Fri: MOSCOW MAILBAG. Wed: SCIENCE PLUS. Thu: NEWMARKET. Sat: THIS IS RUSSIA. 0531 Sun: KALEIDOSCOPE. Mon, Fri: THE VOR TREASURE-STORE. Tue: MUSIC AROUND US, MYR. Wed: OUR HOMELAND. Thu: FOLK BOX. Sat: TIMELINES. 0611 Sun: THIS IS RUSSIA. Mon: MOSCOW MAILBAG. Tue-Sat: FOCUS ON ASIA AND THE PACIFIC. 0631 Sun: THE VOR TREASURE-STORE. Mon, Wed: RUSSIAN BY RADIO. Tue: KALEIDOSCOPE. Thu: OUR HOMELAND. Fri: MUSIC AROUND US, MYR. Sat: CHRISTIAN MESSAGE FROM MOSCOW. 0711 Sun, Thu: MOSCOW MAILBAG. Mon: SCIENCE PLUS. Tue, Fri: THIS IS RUSSIA. Wed: NEWMARKET. Sat: ENCYCLOPEDIA "ALL RUSSIA." 0731 Sun: TIMELINES. Mon, Fri: KALEIDOSCOPE. Tue: RUSSIAN BY RADIO. Wed: JAZZ SHOW. Thu: THE VOR TREASURE-STORE. Sat: FOLK BOX. 0811 Sun: NEWMARKET. Mon: MUSIC AND MUSICIANS. Tue, Thu, Sat: RUSSIA AND THE WORLD. Wed: THIS IS RUSSIA. Fri: MOSCOW MAILBAG. 0831 Sun: RPE, SONGS FROM RUSSIA. Mon: MUSIC AND MUSICIANS continues. Tue: FOLK BOX. Wed: RPE, MUSICAL TALES. Thu: JAZZ SHOW. Fri: OUR HOMELAND. Sat: KALEIDOSCOPE. 0911 Sun-Mon: THIS IS RUSSIA. Tue-Sat: NEWS AND VIEWS. 0931 Sun: TIMELINES. Mon: RPE, MUSICAL TALES. Tue: KALEIDOSCOPE. Wed: THE VOR TREASURE-STORE. Thu: FOLK BOX. Fri: JAZZ SHOW. Sat: CHRISTIAN MESSAGE FROM MOSCOW (Voice of Russia web site typed and edited by John Norfolk, dxldyg, DXLD) ** RWANDA. 6055, R. Rwanda noted Nov 2 at 2020-2035 UT, in local language (Kinyarwanda presumed),with rap music program and many R. Rwanda ID's over the music. At 2030 UT ID+ 1 time pip, followed for more rap music. SINPO 34343 (José Turner, Portugal, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SENEGAL [non]. 12000, West Africa Democracy R., Nov 01, 0733-0800*, 34443, English, Talk, ID at 0734, etc., 0800 sign off (Kouji Hashimoto, Japan, Japan Premium via DXLD) Which means we in NAm again have a chance to hear it since they have moved down from 17 MHz in the middle of our night. This is 500 kW due south from Rampisham at 07-08; Ascension would be even better. Unfortunately their own websites in English http://www.wadr.org/english/indexang.html and in French http://www.wadr.org/ both claim WADR is still on 17875 at 07-11 UT! At 08-11 look for it on 17860, 300 kW due south from Skelton (Glenn Hauser, OK, Nov 3, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVAKIA. I also hear Slovakia well on 13715 with English at 0730. Regards (Don Rhodes, YarraGlen, Victoria, Australia, Nov 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND [and non]. Unlike 24 hours earlier, the 1400 UT English broadcast of R. Thailand on 9725 was totally blocked Nov 2 by TIRWR, DGS back on as usual. What are the hours this Cahuita frequency is nominally on? It`s coordinated for 24 hours, 50 kW at 345 degrees, uncomfortably close to the azimuth of Enid (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. Tried to listen to Live from Turkey on its new frequency 12035, Thursday Nov 2 at 1350, but reception was too poor. If the hosts would enunciate clearly it would have helped a lot. V. of Turkey`s English broadcast, tho playing vocal music in presumed Turkish, Nov 3 at 1416 had a stronger signal on 11735 than 12035, altho 11735 suffered from WYFR on 11740 while 12035 had no interference. 11735 is aimed away from us and 12035 toward us, meaning that usually 12035 is stronger here as observed the first few days of B-06. Normally I assume in situations such as this that the signal on the frequency aimed away from us, when heard, is still propagating by short path off the back of the antenna. But on this occasion I suspect it was actually long path, and the short path was degraded by comparison. That is assuming both transmissions are going out on the proper parameters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. BBCWS in English keeps showing up on brand new frequencies, such as this: 11895 at 1456 Nov 3, // 9740. 11895 had some cochannel but a good signal otherwise. This is Singapore at 25 degrees, and hence onward toward NAm, at 12-15. The QRM could be Biblis (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. BBC Bengali at 1630 UT on 6145: Strong co-channel QRM by Chinese Firedrake jammer noted on 29th & today, there are 3 stations on this frequency including BBC Beng. Regds (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, Oct 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBC Bengali moved to 6135 at 1630-1700 UT to avoid the Chinese jammer on 6145. Revised B06 sched as follows, all times UT: 0030 0100 smtwtfs 6065 A'Seela, 9575 Nakhon Sawan, 11750 Singapore 1330 1400 smtwtfs 7225 Nakhon Sawan, 7430 Dushanbe, 11835 Singapore 1630 1700 smtwtfs 6135* Singapore, 7205* Singapore, 9605 Nakhon Sawan A'Seela - 250 kW, Nakhon Sawan - 250 kW, Singapore - 250 kW, *Singapore - 100 kW, Dushanbe - 200 kW, Regds (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, Nov 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. PENTAGON UNIT TO PUSH US MESSAGE Tuesday 31 October 2006, 22:20 Makka Time, 19:20 GMT http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D76F8E5D-3FC2-4225-A95A-EE4B18B3255E.htm Rumsfeld is facing increasing criticism over the Iraq war [caption] The US defence [sic] department is setting up a special unit aimed at influencing 24-hour news outlets and websites around the world to counter what it considers derogatory publicity, according to a memo. The Pentagon plans to focus more of its resources on so-called new media, such as the internet and web logs, or blogs under the scheme. It would also include new workers to book civilian and military guests on television and radio shows. In a memo obtained by The Associated Press, Dorrance Smith, assistant secretary of defence for public affairs, said news teams of people will "develop messages" for the 24-hour news cycle and "correct the record". The Pentagon plan has been under development for months and comes as US voters prepare to vote next week with the war in Iraq as a major issue to decide whether the Republicans continue their control of Congress. Programme cost Eric Ruff, the Pentagon press secretary, did not provide the number of people to be hired or the programme's cost. He denied that the effort was set up to respond to the eroding public support for the war or that it was aimed at helping George Bush's Republican party members in next week's mid-term elections. He also said he would not call it an "information operations" programme, which is generally regarded as refering to a propaganda- type campaign. New construction began last Friday in the E-Ring, the Pentagon's outermost corridor, to accommodate new staff for the unit. The Pentagon memo describes an operation modelled after a political campaign, such as that made famous by Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential race, that use "rapid response" action to answer opponents' assertions quickly. Another branch would co-ordinate "surrogates", usually high-level politicians or key interest groups who speak or travel on behalf of a candidate or an issue in US political campaigns. Rumsfeld's complaint Rumsfeld has complained repeatedly that the press focuses too much on bad news coming out of Iraq. During a trip to Nevada this year he said he was deeply troubled by the success of "terrorist groups" in "manipulating the media" to influence Westerners. "That's the thing that keeps me up at night," he said during a question-and-answer session at a naval base. Bush says America's enemies are monitoring US public opinion Ruff said Monday the reorganisation, spearheaded by Smith, will help the department "set the record straight". Ruff said the effort grew out of Rumsfeld's criticism of the department's communications capabilities, which the secretary compared unfavourably to how quickly and effectively terrorists can get their message out. President Bush has also said recently that "terrorists" were trying to influence public opinion in the US, and called their efforts the "war of ideas". Public opinion Dick Cheney, the US vice president and one of the main architects of the war in Iraq, said Iraqi anti-US fighters had increased their attacks and were checking the internet to monitor American public opinion. "It's my belief that they're very sensitive of the fact that we've got an election scheduled and they can get on the websites like anybody else," Cheney told Fox News on Monday. US forces suffered one of the highest death tolls in October - more than 100 troops killed - since the war began in 2003. Amid bitter debate over the war in Iraq, US polls suggest that, in the November 7 elections, the Republicans could lose their majority in the 435-seat House of Representatives where all seats are being elected, and perhaps the Senate also, where 33 of the 100 senators will be elected. AP (Aljazeera via DXLD) ** U S A [and non]. VOA B-06: Afan Oromo 1730-1800 9320 9860 11675 11905 13870 (Mon-Fri) Albanian 0600-0630 9635 1700-1730 11675 1930-2000 7115 Amharic 1800-1900 9320 9860 11675 11905 13870 Arabic (Radio Sawa) 0000-2400 990 1170 1431 1548 Azerbaijani 1830-1900 9750 9800 12025 Bangla 0130-0200 11500 15160 1600-1700 1575 7280 11500 Burmese 1430-1500 1575 9325 11965 1500-1530 9325 11965 1500-1530 1575 (Sat-Sun) 2330-2400 9720 11840 Cantonese 1300-1500 1170 9705 11930 Chinese (Mandarin) 0000-0200 7190 9545 11925 15395 17645 21580 0200-0300 11925 15395 17645 21580 0700-0800 9845 11855 11965 13650 13765 15515 0800-0900 9845 11665 11855 11965 13650 13765 15515 0900-1100 9845 9855 11665 11855 11965 13650 13765 15515 1100-1200 1170 6160 9530 9680 11665 11785 12040 1200-1300 6040 6160 9530 9680 11785 12040 1300-1400 6040 6160 7295 9680 11785 11995 12040 1400-1500 6040 6160 7295 9680 9890 11785 2200-2300 6045 7140 9545 9755 9875 11655 Creole 1230-1300 9535 11890 15265 (Mon-Fri) 1730-1800 15390 17565 2200-2230 9525 9670 21540 Croatian 0530-0600 9635 1930-1945 6050 7270 Dari (Radio Ashna) 0130-0230 1296 7595 9335 1500-1530 1296 9335 15215 1630-1730 1296 9335 11840 13605 1800-1830 1296 9335 9855 11840 1930-2030 1296 5750 7595 Deewa, Radio (Pashto) 1300-1400 11510 15645 1500-1600 11510 11765 English to Europe, Middle East, and North Africa 0100-0130 1593 1400-1500 11655 15205 1500-1630 11890 15205 English to Africa 0300-0400 909 1530 4930 6080 9885 15580 0400-0430 909 1530 4930 4960 6080 9885 15580 0430-0500 909 4930 4960 6080 9885 15580 0500-0600 909 4930 6080 6105 9885 15580 0600-0630 909 1530 6080 6105 9885 15580 0630-0700 909 1530 6080 9885 15580 1400-1600 4930 6080 15580 17715 17895 1600-1700 4930 6080 13795 15580 17895 1600-1700 909 1530 4930 6080 15580 17715 17895 1700-1800 6080 13710 15580 1700-1830 909 4930 (Sat-Sun) 1800-1830 6080 11975 13710 15580 17895 1830-1900 909 4930 6080 11975 13710 15580 17895 1900-2000 909 4930 4940 6080 11975 13710 15580 17895 2000-2030 909 1530 4930 4940 6080 11975 13710 15580 2030-2100 909 1530 4930 6080 11975 13710 15580 2030-2100 4940 (Sat-Sun) 2100-2200 1530 6080 15580 English to Zimbabwe 1730-1800 909 4930 11815 17730 (Mon-Fri) English to Afghanistan 0000-0030 1296 7405 2030-2130 1296 7595 2130-2400 1296 7405 English to Far East Asia, South Asia, and Oceania 0100-0200 7200 11705 12005 1100-1130 1575 (Sat-Sun) 1130-1200 1575 1200-1300 1170 9645 9760 11705 11730 15190 1300-1400 9645 9760 11705 1400-1500 7125 9695 9760 11885 12150 1500-1600 7125 9645 12150 13735 2200-2400 7120 11725 15185 15290 2230-2400 1575 (Fri-Sat) English-Special 0000-0030 1575 1593 0030-0100 1575 1593 7130 9620 11695 11725 11805 12005 15185 15205 0130-0200 1593 5960 7405 (Tue-Sat) 1500-1530 6110 7175 9760 15460 1530-1600 1575 6110 7175 9760 15460 1600-1700 13600 15445 17640 1600-1700 1170 (Mon-Fri) 1900-2000 9785 12015 2230-2300 7230 9780 13755 2300-2330 1593 6180 7205 15150 2330-2400 1593 6180 7205 11655 13640 15150 French to Africa 0530-0600 1530 4960 5890 7265 9480 9505 (Mon-Fri) 0600-0630 4960 5890 7265 9480 9505 (Mon-Fri) 1830-2000 1530 9815 12080 13735 15220 17580 2000-2030 9815 12080 13735 15220 2030-2100 9780 9815 11775 12080 15220 (Sat-Sun) 2100-2130 5985 9680 9780 9815 (Mon-Fri) Georgian 1530-1600 9605 12005 Hausa 0430-0500 5955 6015 (Mon-Fri) 0500-0530 1530 4960 5955 6015 1500-1530 7135 9810 11705 1800-1830 1530 4940 9750 11985 12080 (Sat-Sun) 2030-2100 4940 9780 9815 11775 12080 15185 (Mon-Fri) Hindi 0030-0100 7135 9510 1600-1700 6060 9645 Indonesian 0000-0030 9620 11805 15205 1100-1230 7255 9725 15165 1230-1300 9725 15165 1400-1500 11985 13660 2200-2400 9620 11805 15205 Khmer 1330-1430 1575 9325 11965 2200-2230 1575 6060 7260 13640 Kinyarwanda/Kirundi 0330-0430 7340 9540 11915 1600-1630 11675 11965 17785 (Sat) Korean 1200-1300 5890 7235 9555 1300-1400 648 5890 7235 9555 1400-1500 5890 7235 9555 2000-2030 6060 7110 7135 Kurdish 0500-0600 5995 7115 11855 1400-1500 1593 13740 15530 17750 1700-1800 7555 9650 9815 1900-2000 7285 7475 9690 2000-2100 1593 Laotian 1230-1300 1575 7205 11930 Mandarin (Chinese) 0000-0200 7190 9545 11925 15395 17645 21580 0200-0300 11925 15395 17645 21580 0700-0800 9845 11855 11965 13650 13765 15515 0800-0900 9845 11665 11855 11965 13650 13765 15515 0900-1100 9845 9855 11665 11855 11965 13650 13765 15515 1100-1200 1170 6160 9530 9680 11665 11785 12040 1200-1300 6040 6160 9530 9680 11785 12040 1300-1400 6040 6160 7295 9680 11785 11995 12040 1400-1500 6040 6160 7295 9680 9890 11785 2200-2300 6045 7140 9545 9755 9875 11655 Ndebele 1800-1830 909 4930 11815 17730 (Mon-Fri) Pashto 0030-0130 1296 7595 9335 1430-1500 1296 9335 15215 1530-1630 1296 9335 11840 13605 1730-1800 1296 9335 9855 11840 1830-1930 1296 5750 7595 Persian 0230-0300 7200 9495 17740 0300-0330 1593 7200 9495 17740 1530-1630 7270 9595 12135 1630-1700 5850 9680 12110 1700-1730 1593 5850 9680 12110 1730-1800 1593 5850 9495 9680 1800-1830 648 1593 5850 9495 9680 1830-1900 648 1593 5850 9680 9980 1900-1930 1593 5850 9680 9980 Persian (Radio Farda) 0000-0030 1575 0030-0230 1575 9585 9795 12140 0230-0400 1575 7105 9585 9795 0400-0600 1575 9585 9795 12015 0600-0830 1575 9585 15560 17675 0830-1030 1575 13680 15690 17730 1030-1230 1575 13680 15690 17595 1230-1400 1575 9555 13680 15690 1400-1600 1575 9865 13680 15690 1600-1700 1575 7580 13680 15690 1700-1800 1575 7520 7580 9770 1800-1900 1575 7580 9595 11500 1900-2000 1575 7580 9335 9570 2000-2130 1575 7580 9335 2130-2400 1575 Portuguese to Africa 0430-0500 1530 9480 9675 1700-1730 1530 11775 15545 21495 1730-1800 1530 9805 11775 21495 1800-1830 1530 7290 9805 21495 (Mon-Fri) Russian 1400-1500 11805 11895 15130 15370 1800-2000 6105 6150 7220 9650 Serbian 0630-0645 6035 2030-2100 9505 2200-2230 9505 (Mon-Fri) Shona 1700-1730 909 4930 11815 17730 (Mon-Fri) Spanish 0030-0200 9480 9885 11840 1100-1230 9535 9885 11840 Swahili 1630-1700 17580 17705 21480 1700-1730 17580 17705 21480 (Mon-Fri) Thai 2330-2400 7215 9685 (Sun-Thu) Tibetan 0000-0100 7200 7255 9645 0400-0600 15585 17770 21570 1400-1500 7115 7255 12040 Tigrigna 1900-1930 9320 9860 11675 11905 13870 (Mon-Fri) Turkish 0430-0500 7200 (Mon-Fri) 1130-1145 9555 11870 (Mon-Fri) 1930-2000 7235 11870 (Mon-Fri) Ukrainian 0500-0530 6170 7210 (Mon-Fri) 2100-2115 7145 9865 2115-2130 7145 9865 (Mon-Fri) Urdu (Radio Aap ki Dunyaa) 0000-0100 972 0100-0200 972 5985 11820 1400-1500 972 9510 11705 1500-1700 972 1700-1800 972 7260 11500 1800-2400 972 Uzbek 1500-1530 801 9790 11590 11840 15390 Vietnamese 1300-1330 1575 9325 11685 1500-1600 1170 5955 9485 9725 2230-2330 6060 13640 (via Roberto Scaglione, HCDX via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. RADIO LIBERTY/FREE EUROPE B-06 SCHEDULE (Time is UT) Daily except where indicated From website October 31, 2006 [note: as per original layout, not strictly in time order] Afghan (Pashto and Dari) 0230-1330 12140 0230-0430 9335 15690 0430-1130 19010 0430-1030 17575 1030-1330 9990 1130-1430 9335 1330-1430 15215 Belarusian 0400-0600 6140 7190 1600-2000 9865 1600-1800 11925 1800-2200 9725 2000-2200 7165 Kazakh 0000-0100 6135 7145 0200-0400 7145 9680 1200-1300 9520 15120 1400-1600 6055 1400-1500 15120 1500-1600 9685 North Caucasus languages (Avar, Chechen, Circassian) 0500-0600 9770 17655 1600-1700 9770 11730 Persian (Farsi) - Radio Farda 0030-0830 9585 0030-0600 9795 0030-0230 12140 0230-0400 7105 0400-0600 12015 0600-0830 15560 17675 0830-1700 13680 0830-1400 15690 0830-1030 17730 1030-1230 17595 1230-1400 9555 1400-1700 15410 1400-1600 9865 1600-2130 7580 1700-1800 7520 9770 1800-1900 9595 11500 1900-2130 9335 1900-2000 9570 Romanian (Moldova) 1600-1630 9605 1900-2000 3965 MoTuWeThFr Russian 0000-0200 6115 7220 9520 12015 0300-1100 9520 0300-0700 17730 0300-0600 7220 0300-0500 6105 0500-0700 9535 0600-0900 15250 0700-0800 15285 0800-1400 15130 0900-1100 9355 1100-1400 9805 1100-1300 13745 15215 1300-1400 11895 15120 1500-1800 7220 9520 11805 1500-1600 15130 1600-1800 6105 2000-2400 7220 9520 2100-2300 6105 2300-2400 6115 Tajik 0100-0400 11795 0100-0300 7275 0300-0400 9725 1400-1500 7595 11795 1500-1700 9695 1500-1600 7260 1600-1700 7125 Tatar-Bashkir 0400-0500 7115 0600-0700 9680 1600-1700 6180 2000-2100 5860 Turkmen 0200-0400 9735 0200-0300 7295 0300-0400 5955 1400-1500 9565 11715 1500-1600 9770 9825 1600-1800 5820 1600-1700 6095 1700-1800 9625 Uzbek 0200-0400 12015 12110 15590 1400-1500 11910 12015 15235 1600-1700 7555 9725 12015 (via Bernie O`Shea, ON, Oct 31, DXLD) ** U S A. Nov 3 at 1340 UT KAIJ 9340 was overmodulated, splattering out to 9375 and 9305 at least; also putting a tone of the same pitch (het?) on about 9355 and 9325. Have not noticed this particular problem before (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Prezados amigos, Pude constatar que a CVC [via CHILE] mudou para os 15410 kHz no horário matutino e às 1100 UT tentei ouvi- la aqui no Recife/PE, mas estava fortemente ameaçada por uma outra emissora de linha francesa que aqui chegava tanto quanto a CVC. Acho que a mudança dos 15340 para 15410 para a minha região não foi um bom negócio. Lá ao menos não tinha essas sobremodulações o que impede uma boa escuta (Cezar Camillo Alves Pelzer, radioescutas via DXLD) Infelizmente também aqui para Portugal e numa analise muito breve no horário da manhã e no da tarde, efectuada ontem dia 1 de Novembro, a troca até ao momento também não foi um bom negócio. Vamos esperar uns dias para escutar com mais tempo para poder tirar umas melhores conclusões. Um Abraço desde Portugal (João Costa CT1FBF, ibid.) ** U S A. 3485-USB, New York Radio; 0033, 29-Oct; NYR Oceanic Flight Info; all airports "missing" (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DX-Pedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** U S A. Bemoaning the absence of signals --- This column hasn’t appeared in ``Messenger`` since Nov 2004 when I noted that the current sunspot low was having a more devastating effect on 25 to 30 MHz propagation than was seen in the previous cycle some 10 years earlier. No signals = no subject matter. Yesteryear --- Once upon a time, those in the know could eavesdrop on control-room monitoring signals coming from the studios of distant TV and radio stations. In north America, the frequency range 25.87 to 26.47 MHz is reserved for low power radio transmissions used mostly by TV and radio stations for short distance internal communication. When propagation is right, signals at these frequencies, be they high or low powered, swoop back down out of the sky at quite a distance from where they started. And that’s how 1 Watt monitoring signals from TV studios from Harrisburg to Tulsa could, at times, be heard in Montreal. Hunting these ``touch and go`` signals became a favourite sport and, when there was good propagation, I was able to identify between 40 and 70 of them in a year. Catching this kind of signal required a short- wave radio with narrow-FM capability, a suitable antenna and a listener with a DXer’s mentality. By 2002, although propagation was on the way down, over 30 of these out-of-town 1 Watt monitoring signals got into that year’s logs. But only 4 ID-able ones came my way in all of 2003 - the last of which, on 26.250 MHz from Pensacola, heads this month’s list of loggings. The years ‘04 & 05 gave one logable signal each. And the score for 2006 now stands at a lowly 2. All is revealed below. Loggings Done by : Alan Roberts, St Lambert, Quebec. Equipment : Lowe HF-225 and 26 MHz dipole. kHz Mode Details Date UTC 26250, nFM WEAR-TV (Ch3) Pensacola FL 11 Mar 03 1715, TV audio, ID’d by ``News Ch 3 Central Florida``. Fair signal [Pensacola is not in central FL; but the ch 3 station there is WEDU, PBS --- gh] No 1 Watt monitoring signal ID’d for a year & 7 months. 26300, nFM KRMG (740 kHz) Tulsa OK 4 Nov 04 2145, Rush Limbaugh pgm, station ID - ``News Talk 740 KRMG``. Fair. 8 months with none ID’d. 26450, nFM WHTM-TV (Ch 27) Harrisburg PA 20 Jun 05 1600, ``ABC News`` & ``ABC 27``, Harrisburg & local PA news. Poor signal. Another 12 months. 26350, nFM WAND (Ch 17) Decatur IL 30 Jun 06 2305, TV news from Champaign & Decatur, ID - ``News Center 17``. Poor. 26410, nFM WNOX (100.3 MHz) Knoxville TN 3 Aug 06 1410, IDs ``Knoxville`s big talker FM 100`` and ``100.3 WNOX``. Fair (Alan Roberts, St-Lambert QC, 25 Plus, Nov CIDX Messenger via DXLD) ** U S A. RADIO MOSIACH & REDEMPTION, Brooklyn NY (presumed); 1710 kHz, 0002, 29-Oct; Jewish "ya-ya" song. Fair peaks in USB. I hear they finally gave themselves a name so folks wouldn't call them Lubavitcher Radio (Harold Frodge, Brighton MI DX-Pedition, MARE Tipsheet via DXLD) ** U S A. 1540, KEDA, TX, San Antonio 10/16 0032 [EDT = 0432 UT], ID ``Radio Jalapeña`` (ending appears to be feminine – a to agree with feminine noun radio, not ``Jalapeño`` as listed in 2007 NRC Log. Spanish ballad, 0100 ID ``KEDA San Antonio Radio Jalapeña.`` Good over/under KMPC and possible KXEL. New (Richard E Wood, BIHI, IRCA DX Monitor via DXLD) Geez, what a name for a radio station. I assume there is a tilde on the N, never shown. May refer to Jalapa (Xalapa), city in Veracruz rather than spicy peppers. Are there enough jalapeños of either sort in San Antonio to justify their own niche radio station? The feminine ending could also imply it`s for women from Xalapa, even more specialised (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non]. VoV on 7150 in Vietnamese at 2130 UT (via Skelton? or via China - new relay?) with strong signal. Still after 2200. Moosbrunn relay on 5955 kHz seems to be cancelled since October 29th. Skelton relay is on the air at 2000-2030 in Russian on 5970 kHz (ex 2000-2130 for the B05 season) (JM Aubier, France, Nov 3, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) All I find on 7150 is Xi`an, but China has never been known to relay Vietnam before (gh, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. Hi Glenn, Hope all is well with you. I have begun my low shortwave broadcast bands (120-41 meters) DXing again as it 'tis the season. In any event with the shorter days and low sunspot numbers and therefore less daytime D layer absorption, 41 meter shortwave stations are coming in around the clock here in central Florida. I'm using my Icom IC-718 and 160 meter 1/2 wave inverted L for 120-49 meters and my 40-10 meter doublet up at 50 feet for 41 meters. Yesterday November 2, 2006 I tuned across 7260 kc at 1844 UT and heard what sounded like Arabic or Russian language programming and presume that it was from the Voice Of The Islamic Republic Of Iran. I say sounded like because there was an approximate 1/2 second delayed echo on the signal that made it hard to decipher. I presume that the echo was caused by short path/long path delay echo propagation. Today I'm sitting on 7260 again and at 1830 UTC the station has just faded in and has the same echo. I don't recall ever hearing short path/long path delayed echo propagation on 41 meters. I say presumed Iran as my Passport To World Band Radio is out of date. I use Ham Radio Deluxe to control the rig and it comes with the ILG Radio station database. I went to update the database on the ILG website http://www.ilgradio.com/ilgradio.htm and I see that the owner shut it down again mentioning "copyright violence". --... ...--, (Thomas F. Giella, KN4LF, Lakeland, FL, USA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Thomas, Glad you are back in action. I don`t have the complete new schedule from Iran, but it looks like this is actually UN Radio via Rampisham UK, which is on the air in Arabic, only at 1830-1845 M-F. 73, (Glenn to Thomas, via DXLD) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ PUBLICATIONS ++++++++++++ MEDIA NETWORK REVIEWS PASSPORT TO WORLDBAND RADIO http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/media/passport.html (via gh, DXLD) Recommends DXLD for up-to-date info instead Some noted blunders with the new Passport to World Band Radio '2007' edition: DW had a 12-14 block for North America (used in the A06 season for German) listed in the English section! Also, how could the people who choose the "ten easy catches" among broadcasters manage to list a religious station, WYFR, in the article? WYFR offers nothing but preaching and there are other stations that are more deserving that should have been featured in the section. Biggest disappointment (again): With so many options to hear BBC programs beamed to other targets in the hours when broadcasts to the Americas are not in operation, only the four hours available to the Caribbean are included in "What's On Tonight?". (Well, PWBR does include BBC frequency listings in the "Worldwide Broadcasts in English" section.) Since Passport is useful anywhere in the world it would have made sense if more BBC program listings for other areas such as Asia and Africa were included, and it would have been useful to listeners in the Americas who must rely on frequencies aimed to those above-mentioned areas, when audibility is possible in the US. Is this a matter of page space, finances, etc. that may explain why those listings have not been included in the last few years? (Joe Hanlon in NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) LATIN AMERICAN SW LOGS (as of 15 September 2006) by Mark Mohrmann & Mosquito Coast DX Team http://www.sover.net/~hackmohr/sw.htm An excellent resource that had not been updated since December 2004 (Steve Lare, Holland, MI USA, dxldyg via DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nice to see it coming back to life, but the update is hardly complete. Most come from R = Radiorama, Italy, and NONE of the yellow- highlighted updates are from L = DXLD (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES +++++++++++++++++++++++++ BOURNEMOUTH HOSTS WRC-2007 PREPARATORY MEETING The next World Radio Conference will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 22nd October until 16th November 2007. Prior to that a number of preparatory meetings will take place. Conference Preparatory Group (CPG) PT4 is the one dealing with Maritime, Broadcasting, Amateur Services and Shortwave. Their next meeting will be held in Bournemouth, Dorset from 7th - 9th November 2006 in the Menzies East Cliff Court Hotel. Dorset has many links with radio. Some of the early radio experimental work by Guglielmo Marconi took place in Dorset from places such as the Madeira House (later Royal Court Hotel) in Bournemouth and the Haven Hotel in Sandbanks, Poole. The county is home to the VT Merlin Communications HF broadcast transmitter site at Rampisham and the CPG-PT4 delegates will be taking time out to visit it on Wednesday afternoon. http://www.drmradio.co.uk/html/rampisham.html Three radio magazines, Practical Wireless, RadioUser and Monitoring Monthly are produced within a few miles of the meeting venue and the Royal Corps of Signals Museum at Blandford Forum is only a short drive away. http://www.army.mod.uk/royalsignalsmuseum/ Documents from the preparatory meetings for WRC-2007, such as the one held recently at Hilversum, are available on the European Radiocommunications Office (ERO) website at http://www.ero.dk/ On the ERO home page under the "ECC Activities" menu select "Meeting Documents" To view the meetings relating to the Amateur Services and Shortwave select CPG-PT4 for the "Group" field and "PT-4-WRC-07" for the year field. A list of the recent meetings will then be displayed. To download the documents submitted by the participants simply tick the check boxes for the documents you are interested in and then click on the "Download selected" button. A list of active E-mail reflectors within the CPG can be found at http://www.ero.dk/58A05351-A535-41CD-986B-3CECB25108A8.W5Doc?frames=0 ITU World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-07) http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/conferences/wrc/wrc-07/index.asp The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) E-Letter http://www.iaru.org/e-letter/ (Southgate Amateur Radio Club [UK] via Mike Cooper, DXLD) DIGITAL BROADCASTING see RUSSIA; CONVENTIONS & CONFERENCES above ++++++++++++++++++++ RADIO EQUIPMENT FORUM +++++++++++++++++++++ AM DIREXIONAL PATTERNS CAN BE MISLEADING One of the misleading things about AM directional patterns is that the picture is only accurate at zero degrees elevation, AKA groundwave. When the takeoff angle increases, the pattern can be very different. For example, the WDDZ-550 pattern is a cardiod aimed roughly SSE. There is a minor lobe off the back aimed at WDEV-550 in Vermont. The angle to bounce a signal off the ionosphere to WDEV is about 40 degrees at that distance. The pattern plotted at that 40 degree elevation angle resolves into a null toward WDEV. The minor lobe has disappeared. So, WDEV has a signal minima while the people who live in northern RI get service from that minor lobe, all in the same direction. It also explains why stations can be stronger via skywave than the ground patterns indicate. What is a null on the ground can be a significant amount of signal at higher elevations. That null on either side of the WDDZ minor lobe is long gone at a 40 degree elevation, and a good amount of skywave exists. The way this works is that when you look at the towers from an increasing elevation angle, the effective distance between them is shortened. The phase relationship is not changed, just the spacing. It makes a different pattern. This also can explain why some stations are weaker by skywave than the groundwave pattern would indicate. And why for DXers, the patterns in the various books and online sources should be taken with a grain of salt. What we need is a program to calculate the point to point takeoff angle, and then show the station's pattern at that distance and elevation. An interactive pattern book. If I had time, I'd take a shot at it. Maybe someday (Craig Healy, Providence, RI, Oct 26, IRCA via DXLD) PROPAGATION +++++++++++ ARNIE CORO'S DXERS UNLIMITED HF PLUS LOW BAND VHF PROPAGATION FORECAST AND UPDATE For those of you just learning about the short wave listening hobby, don't be surprised if you hear absolutely no signals on your radios both day and night on frequencies above 20 megaHertz --- there is nothing wrong with your radios, amigos. The problem is happening 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers away from us, as the Sun is going trough solar minimum, the part of the 11 years average duration solar cycle when the number of sunspots is very low. For example during the past 15 days, we have seen several days when no sunspots were seen. So the sunspot count was ZERO, and unfortunately we expect many more ZERO sunspot count days during the next several months !!! And now amigos, just before going QRT here, listen to Arnie Coro's DXers Unlimited HF plus low band VHF propagation forecast and update. Solar cycle not dependent transequatorial propagation is working once again, as reported by several Brazilian FM band DXers that are picking up Barbados FM stations in southern Brazil with excellent signals. HF propagation on the frequency range between 15 and 30 megaHertz is now extremely poor. with the number of openings going to a bare minimum and when the bands above 20 megaHertz do open up for DX the openings are of very short duration. Solar flux is at very low levels, around 75 units and the A index, planetary geomagnetic disturbance indicator is also at a low figure of 4 at 1530 UT when I was recording this show here in Havana (Prof. Arnaldo Coro Antich, CO2KK, RHC Dxers Unlimited Oct 31 via ODXA via DXLD) ###