DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-041, March 25, 2001 edited by Glenn Hauser, wghauser@hotmail.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. For restrixions and searchable 2001, 2000 contents archive see} http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/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] Updated for the Week of Confusion, as of 0430 UT March 25: WORLD OF RADIO, CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL SHORTWAVE ONLY MASTERSCHEDULE http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/wormassw.html WORLD OF RADIO, CONTINENT OF MEDIA, MUNDO RADIAL, RADIO ENLACE MASTER SCHEDULE http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/wormast.html CONTINENT OF MEDIA 01-03 March STREAM: http://www.freespeech.org/hauser/sounds/com0103.ram SUMMARY: http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/com0103.html ** ARGENTINA. 11369 kHz, Ezeiza Radio, Buenos Aires, 13 de Marzo a las 1930 utc, con información climática de varias localidadaes anunciando próxima emisión para las 2015 (Gabriel Gómez, Uruguay, Radio Mundo, DX Club Montevideo via DXLD) i.e. VOLMET ** AUSTRALIA. Alice Springs stayed on 4835 24 hours, instead of 2310 at night, perhaps computer error. Should make it better to NAm that way (Chris Hambly, Victoria, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. Glenn, Victoria, SA, ACT, TAS, and NSW reverted to Standard Time this morning. WA stays the same, as does NT. VIC, ACT, TAS, QLD, and NSW are UTC+10; ACT and NT are UTC + 9.5, WA UTC+8 "Grandstand" comes from the ABC`s Domestic network and is extremely popular here. However, it excludes the nags and dogs, which are covered on "Sport 927" on relay across Australia over MF and VHF. "Sport 927" is our local MF sporting station in Melbourne, with formal callsign 3UZ. Regards (Bob Padula, Victoria, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Last time I said RA had transmitters in NSW, and nobody has contradicted this, so I must: really in Victoria and Queensland, so NSW is the compromise (gh) ** AUSTRALIA. ABC stranded as Seven drops Asia TV link By Mark Robinson The ABC is scrambling to find another way to maintain its Radio Australia broadcasts into Asia after the Seven Network's decision to drop its international television service. The national broadcaster has until now broadcast its programs by satellite in conjunction with Seven. Unless new arrangements can be made before tomorrow, it would leave only Radio Australia's shortwave broadcasts, which do not reach large parts of northern Asia. [?? That would be sparsely-populated Siberia, Russian and native languages, which hardly any SW broadcasters even try to reach specifically -gh] The ABC`s director of technology and distribution, Mr Colin Knowles, said he was holding discussions with the satellite provider used by Seven to see if an audio signal could be broadcast. The Government has offered subsidies of up to $10 million a year for an operator to provide the satellite service into Asia. A spokesman for the Foreign Minister, Mr Downer, said that Seven/SBS had been the preferred tenderer but Seven's decision meant that negotiations would now take place with the second choice - Australian Vision International (Sydney Morning Herald March 22 via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. The ROI webpage mentions following new times for "Intermedia" (the separate "DX-Telegramm" airplays are omitted): Fri 1703 on 6155; Fri 1830 on 1476, 5945, 6155 [sic, I guess in fact on 1476 only] Sat 1903 on 5945, 6155; Sun 1630 on 6155, 13755. "Intermedia" is not scheduled for the Sackville outlet at all; it was merely a feed mess-up which brought "Intermedia" on 17865 for a while (the special "ROI SAC" feed channel within the ORF bouquet on the Astra satellite did not carry scheduled "Report from Austria" 1630- 1700 but stayed with the ROI main output instead). The whole tentative Moosbrunn schedule is quite interesting, because it suggests that at times five transmitters are on air: 6155 0400-2300 18,27-29,37-39 MOS 300 0 AUT ORF ORF 7165 1500-1600 18,27-29,37-39 MOS 300 0 AUT AWR AWR 9745 1400-1515 28-30 RUS MOS 100 55 -30 AUT TWR TWR 13730 0400-1800 17-19,27-29,36-40 MOS 100 0 AUT ORF ORF 17560 1500-1530 48 MOS 300 145 AUT AWR AWR However, with only two S4005 they cannot operate three frequencies with 300 kW. This regards also the 0700-0800 period: 6155 0400-2300 18,27-29,37-39 MOS 300 0 AUT ORF ORF 7230 0700-0800 18,27-29,37-39 MOS 300 0 AUT AWR AWR 17780 0700-0830 46 MOS 300 215 AUT AWR AWR I guess that 6155 will use only 100 kW anymore, probably with the exception of the evening hours. Regards, (Kai Ludwig, March 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The RCI schedule of foreign relays for A-01 still shows ROI 1500-1559 17865 250 kW 272d to USA, and March 25 confirmed at 1505 in German, tho not a good signal; did not check at 1530 to find out if English, but off after 1600 (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** AUSTRIA. Austria is now using 21780 for SE Asia and since it`s a back-beam signal it`s coming in quite well as I checked at 1300 with the "Österreich 1" ID, gong and then a newscast in German. English is heard at 1330 (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. Heard one of the first AWR-Austria broadcasts, 0400 with fair/poor results on 17635, but BBC via Cyprus was nearby on 17640 and was very strong at my location (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 11710, Adventist World Radio, 0300-0330 listed as Amharic language. Fairly good signal into Northeast Ohio despite some interference from Cuba on 11705. Signed on at 0300 with multi-lingual identifications, then presumed audio problem from 0301-0305 as carrier seemed to still be present. Music returned at 0305, then possible child talking in presumed Amharic at 0306. 0307-0319 had music with occasional child and/or female announcers for a minute or two at a time. Presumed adult male announcer at 0319. Very Nice music! SINPO = 33453 (Lee Silvi, OH, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM. Well, the WRN audio file for Sunday`s RVI program has "RVI - Flanders Int'l Radio". (Joël Rubin, NY, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [non]. Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal was heard via Russia at 1200 on 17690 in Dutch. They now have a new tuning signal and ID in all transmissions (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) *2227 March 25 on new 15565 via Bonaire, 2230 ``RVI, Flanders International Radio`` and still in English at unchanged time, contrary to what Frans has been telling us. Now he says Radio World is now available as an ondemand audio file via http://www.rvi.be (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. The RCI A-01 schedule of foreign relays covers BBC, RTE, CRI, DW, KBS, NHK, ROI, RMC, RNW, RSI and VOV. Details concerning Austria, China, Korea South, and Sweden are in this issue under those headings. No big surprises are involved in the others (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [non]. United Arab Emirates, 17820, Radio Canada relay in English scheduled 1800-1900. 17820 good and getting stronger when I sent this at 1840 and // 21570 via Rampisham fair but not as strong as 17820. 13690 via Skelton and 15200 via Armavir not audible here in northeast Ohio (Lee Silvi, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hey, Lee, your mail comes in blue; how about plain text? I also checked this, and found 21570 better than 17820, others inaudible (Glenn Hauser, OK, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. The RCI A01 Final Schedule for Foreign Relays, valid from April 1, has finally reached us by P-mail. It is dated March 13, so further revisions before going into effect are still possible. Of particular note is the addition of three hours of relays of China Radio International in the morning. As usual in this version, languages are not specified, but we expect some or all of them will be in English. These are former RCI/CBC program frequencies, so habitual listeners may be in for a rude awakening: 1200-1259 11855 250 kW 240d to USA 1300-1459 13650 250 kW 285d to USA It will be interesting to compare these (delay times, modulation quality etc.), to the still unacknowledged relays presumed to be via Cuba that we have been receiving for the past few months at 1400-1600 on 17720 (if they continue; frequency could change), as well as 1200- 1400 on 9570. If the ``Cuban`` relays vanish at the same time, will we be forced to conclude they were really from Canada all along? We hope not, due to their poor technical quality. Later, March 25: 13650 CRI relay is already on before and after 1400; unfortunately it confronts off-frequency V. of Korea producing het, 1357 ID in Spanish as ``Aquí Pyongyang``. More commies clashing with commies tnx to chicomsymp Canada! Also had adjacent from 13655, guess what –- RCI! Still here instead of scheduled 15305 for Week of Confusion, that being \\ 17710 and 9640. The CRI relays via Cuba continue on 9570 before 1400 and 17720 afterwards, running about a second behind 13650. The CRI relays via Sackville in the evening continue as usual: 0300-0359 9560 250 176 LAm [Spanish] 0400-0459 9560 250 277 USA [English; replacing winter timing one hour later; see how many places, including from CRI yourself, you still see the old timing shown!] (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 2955.40 harmonic, Tricolor Radio, Unknown QTH in Colombia. March 12, 2001 - 0210* UT. Came up from "nowhere" with good signal this date and after that heard now and then. Announces 1480 kHz –- maybe a new station because it is not listed in WRTH. ID "Siga con nosotros, nosotros seguimos con Usted - somos Tricolor Radio". (2 x 1477.7) (Björn Malm, Ecuador, SW Bulletin March 25 translated by Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. Ah, springtime! RFPI still on 21815-USB and audible March 25 at 0609 for WOR 1073 starting late, also 7450 but 15049 not on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Taking a closer look at the RHC spreadsheet schedule, overlapping the usual Spanish broadcast at 2100-2300 and other languages at 2300-2400 on other frequencies there is now another Spanish transmission at 2200-2400 labeled ``M/Redon.`` which I assume means Roundtable, i.e. a discussion of some sort: to Washington on 6000 250 kW Titán followed by an hour of ordinary Spanish, then English; and on 11875 250 kW Titán to Chile followed by ordinary Spanish 0000-0500. In the separate transmitter schedule the 15230 250 kW Titán toward Buenos Aires [sic] in Portuguese at 2300-2400 is also labeled ``mesas red.`` Trouble is, the two grids do not match in that the transmitter schedule has the words ``mesas redond.`` nearby but no actual blocks for that in the 2200-2400 period. As usual, figuring out what RHC is really doing remains a challenge, even with the seemingly more detailed info it has circulated. It could be that the Roundtables are not daily, even one day a week. Another oddity of this schedule is that the Spanish 2100-2300 on 11705-USB 20 kW Bauta is aimed at Tbilisi, while 13680 AM 100 kW Bejucal is aimed at Rome; 11760 100 kW Bauta for the Mediterranean in general; and 15230 250 kW Titán for Buenos Aires. For English at 0100-0500 the same Bauta transmitter 9 on 11705 is designated for Europe, not merely Tbilisi. Despite all the info, a significant detail is missing throughout, antenna azimuths. Instead we just get cities or general target areas. The transmitters listed under each of the three sites are numbered, but not consecutively, and with some numbers missing, making us wonder if the ones not shown are out of service, dedicated to CRI, or reserved for jamming! Bauta has transmitters numbered 1, 2, 5, 8, 9 and 12. Bejucal has 2, 1, 6 and 9. Titán has 2, 4 and 3. Another column gives Canales, C1 through C7, presumably individual program feed circuits. Tnx again to Volker Willschrey for forwarding these schedules (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. Glenn, Radio Prague heard 03/25 1400 on 21745 with good reception but with another station in Arabic co-channel. 13580 was not heard (Ivan Grishin, Ont., DX LISTENING DIGEST) Must be among those stations which may not get around to enacting changes until Mondayish (gh) Radio Prague has announced a new competition to coincide with its 55th anniversary. The listeners are invited to briefly (in just a few sentences) answer two questions: 1. How did you become a listener to Radio Prague? 2. Imagine that Radio Prague is a human being and then describe him or her. The replies could be sent by regular mail and e- mail. Deadline is June 30th. The results will be announced on July 27-29. The grand prize is a one-week all-paid trip to Czech Republic for two (incl. air fare). Other winners will receive radios, hip bags, T-shirts and so on. Every participant will receive a souvenir (Andrei Tavrizov in Moscow DX Bulletin 208 via Sergei Sosedkin, DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC? 2700.09 (Harmonic?) unID LAm "Ondas del....". March 2001 - 1100 UT. Probably a harmonic from MW –- heard now and then but with a weak signal, heavily disturbed by splash from a utility signal. Varies in frequency +/- 1/100. This is actually the first time that I myself publish my own logging, but Henrik Klemetz was acting fast and already said that it is "Ondas del Yuna" in Dom. Rep. Not listed in WRTH –- a harmonic Henrik logged in 1998 at the approximate frequency 2700 kHz (see Dateline Bogota 1998: http://www.algonet.se/~ahk/Dline98.htm ). If it turns out not to be "Ondas del Yuna" there is another listed "Ondas del...." in WRTH which ``fits``, namely "Ondas del Sur" in Nicaragua at 1350 kHz. But that is merely a guess! (Björn Malm, Ecuador, SW Bulletin March 25 translated by Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Here in Quito we have got a dramatic weather change –- after 3-4 months with warmth and a shining sun we have suffered from rain, cold, thunder and lightning during the past week. The lightning often strikes just in the neighborhood, especially late afternoon/evening, affecting my DX-ing in a very negative way. I just not dare to listen! I can still remember when the lightning struck the electric system here at Avenida La Prensa. The extension cord, where my radio was powered, was completely torn to pieces up to one meter from my radio! Furthermore I was half deaf for several minutes after the bang –- was listening just when it happened. Just like TN I think it is very positive that our members, like HK does, are engaged trying to find solutions for various problems. The most important for me is not to present 100% loggings, but as fast as possible ``press the alarm`` when something new and exiting pops up. The normal is that something "is missing" like the exact QTH, address, full name, etc. I even might hear ``incorrectly`` sometimes. 73 from BM in Quito! (Björn Malm, Ecuador, SW Bulletin March 25 translated by Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) BM`s March 19-25 loggings appear under COLOMBIA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, GUATEMALA, PERU ** ECUADOR. Something strange at the HCJB website: under English program schedules there is a link to India, and at the top it says 2300-0100 on 17660 –- but the program schedule immediately below it covers 0700-0900 UT. The A-01 ``International Schedule`` in English fails to mention this 2300 broadcast at all, tho others appear to be updated as previously reported, including the 1100 broadcast to the Americas ending at 1430 now, while another version of A-01 English schedules linked from ``Our frequencies`` shows 21455 closing at 1530, 15115 and 12005 at 1630. So which parts of the HCJB site are we supposed to believe? Indeed, when we checked at 1457 March 25, all three were missing. New 2300 broadcast on 17660 fair here, and should be better eastwards, an alternative in ENAm for those who want to hear HCJB before 8/9 pm local (Glenn Hauser, March 24-25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. The HCJB web site http://www.hcjb.org/english/ has posted the A-01 program schedule but it is now in columns which makes it impossible for me to download as a text file. The time of the new India release on 17660 kHz is given at one spot as being at 2300- 0100 UT but then in the columns as being at 0700-0900 UT! DX Partyline is listed during the first hour of the Saturday release, followed by Saludos Amigos, and Ham Radio Today for the second half hour on Wednesday. Musical Mailbag is during the first hour of the Sunday release (John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Info on R Interocéanica 4840, including station logo and staff pictures can be found at http://home.swipnet.se/sm7bua/HCRI.htm Station building can be seen at http://home.swipnet.se/sm7bua/bilder/dcp00049.jpg Responsible for the web page is Mats Gunnarsson, ham operator SM7BUA, who helped set up the SW facilities in the mid-80s. The station is run by Iglesia del Pacto Evangélico del Ecuador, Ecuadorian Evangelical Covenant Church, and initial funding was requested from their Swedish parent church and facilitated by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. There are pictures of Edwin Riera, and his wife Janeth Castro de Riera, responsible for the Santa Rosa operation today, and also of Swedish technican Olof Häggmyr, who appears to be in charge of a relay facility of R Interoceánica, at Baeza. Mats Gunnarsson lives in Ljungby, Sweden, and is no longer involved in the operation. However, as a ham operator (see two of his Ecuadorian QSL cards on the web site), he may be able to tell us how to obtain a HCRI QSL which I have tried twice. Despite mailing my reports from within Ecuador, I had no luck myself in obtaining a QSL either in 1994 or in 1998; see 4840 entries at http://www.algonet.se/~ahk.Dline94.htm and http://www.algonet.se/~ahk/Dline98.htm There is a clickable address at the bottom of http://home.swipnet.se/sm7bua (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FALKLAND ISLAS. 530 kHz, Falkland Island Broadcasting Station, 9 de marzo a las 04 ut, la BBC de Londres con el World Service en inglés con información sobre la situación procesal en Chile del General Augusto Pinochet (Gabriel Gómez, Uruguay, Radio Mundo, DX Club Montevideo via DXLD) ** FINLAND. Aside from the 1230 UT broadcast to North America, the only other English broadcast on shortwave from Radio Finland is at 0630-0658 to Europe and Asia/Australia on 15135 and 21670 (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. Checking the listed RFI frequencies for English at 1600 March 25, 17605 was slightly better than 15605, both only fair, whilst 17850 was blocked by Spain with sports in Spanish (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. WRN feeds: Radio France International still on for an hour a day, according to the new WRN schedule -- even though the bulk of this broadcast is now generic feature material. The Saturday broadcast includes only 10 minutes of fresh news and feature material before beginning the pan-European "Weekend" show. [IRELAND, CANADA] Also, there was a two-hour block of RTE Dublin from 5pm to 7pm Eastern time every day. That's been cut to 30 minutes, with a 5pm Eastern airing from Radio Canada International -- which previously was only available in the middle of the night (Mike Cooper, GA, DXLD) Last Sunday March 18 I checked RFI at 1630 via WRN, but no more 9516 mailbag show; something else was on (gh, DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. 5954.98, Radio Cultural, Guatemala City, March 16, 2001 - 0000 UT. Listed as inactive in WRTH on this frequency. Was heard \\ 3300.00 with pretty decent signal. I checked the frequency after reading comments by Jan Edh in SWB #1454. JE says: ``In connection to mailing Wayne Berger a thank you for the QSL from Radio Cultural, I got this mail answer in return: "Dear Jan! Glad to help. Now you should try for a much harder one. I am keeping our 5955 kHz outlet on the air from 1700 to 2400 local time for the DX hunters. It is only 1 kW so it is "rare DX". It has the same program as the 3300 outlet. I would love to send you another one of our QSL cards if you can hear and report it. E-mail Wayne Berger, Manager, chief engineer: tgna@guate.net ``. (Björn Malm, Ecuador, SW Bulletin March 25 translated by Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** GUATEMALA. PANORAMA DE LA OM LOCAL En Guatemala las emisoras importantes han formado cada vez cadenas más grandes, y se han trasladado de la AM hacia la FM; actualmente existen cerca de 4 grandes cadenas, RCN, Tajin, Nuevo Mundo, entre otras y operan casi exclusivamente en FM. El 90% de las emisoras son en estéreo. En AM se ha dado un incremento en el número de emisoras religiosas, las cuales compiten en audiencia, aunque la misma es baja. Operan casi exclusivamente para el área central del país, y no se escuchan más allá del área de la Ciudad de Guatemala. En el interior existen las emisoras locales, pero estas aún son de más baja potencia. Entre las emisoras no religiosas podemos contar: Radio Progreso en 580 kHz con programación variada, noticias, música, reportajes, etc. Radio Nacional TGW, es la emisora gubernamental en 640. Radio Mundial, 700, forma parte de una cadena; es de las más escuchadas en el interior del país. Radio Emperador, 910, es otra de las más escuchadas. También es parte de una cadena, Radio Sonora, 1060. Esta emisora forma parte del conjunto de canales de TV y radio que pertenecen a un grupo mexicano, que actualmente no es muy bien vista a nivel periodístico (transmite mayormente noticias), por estar ligada al actual ministro de comunicación de Guatemala, por lo que se considera un ente indirecto de propaganda del gobierno. También pueden encontrarse 18 emisoras de programación totalmente religiosa, 2 de ellas de la iglesia católica, el resto perteneciente a iglesias evangélicas. Normalmente es posible escuchar a la XEW (Mexico) en 900 desde las 18 horas locales (0000 TU) la cual se reporta como la Cadena Azul y Plata transmitiendo con 250 kW. Algunas veces también se escucha Radio Mil de México, aunque deficientemente. Esta emisora transmite programas de arte y entrevistas. En 1390 puede escucharse aunque no muy bien a HRVC, la Radio Evangélica de Honduras (Sergio Eduardo Santos Tejeda, Guatemala, Conexión Digital March 25 via DXLD) ** INDIA. Last night, All India Radio had a good signal on 13605 up to signoff at 0045 UT, in English to SE Asia (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. March 22nd at 1445 noted a drifting AIR station on 4783.2 with rather strong signal. They had English newscast and Hindi ID at 1459, some music and a sudden sign-off at 1502. By then they had drifted down to 4782. Later checking the tape, ID sounded pretty much like "Akashvani Kohima". Listed on 4850, AIR Kohima is not easy here due to Uzbekistan on the same frequency. Some of you may remember the reports of unID (possibly Leh) AIR station recently heard on this portion of the 60 mb. March 23rd checked the 4760 frequency at 1555 and there were two AIR stations with equal signal strength. One, I guess Port Blair, in parallel with 4800 and the other, I think Leh, in parallel with 4950 (Srinagar) nicely on their nominals. Port Blair has been rather easy catch here alone on the frequency, but now Leh seems to be back in business. 73 (Jari Savoläinen, Kuusankoski, Finlandk, March 25, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. ESCUCHANDO AL PLANETA JUPITER/INTERNET: Radio JOVE, Escuchando a Júpiter. El planeta Júpiter es una fuente inagotable de potentes emisiones de radio que producen exóticos sonidos que llegan a nuestros receptores de onda corta. Los científicos de la NASA han escrito lo siguiente para ayudarnos a sintonizar las emisiones de Júpiter. Todo es parte de un revolucionario programa educativo que en EEUU se conoce como RADIO JOVE. Más información en http://www.ea1uro.com/radiojove.html (Internet, via Horacio A. Nigro, Mar 23, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** IRAN. Hi-- Just noted the English Service of IRIB, Tehran on 13730 kHz, apparently from 1930 to 2025 UT. I heard this from about 1905 UT [you mean 2005? -gh]. Frequency appears to be new and was not announced in the list of frequencies mentioned by IRIB just before closedown. Reception was SIO-555, the best I`ve heard Iran here in upstate NY in some time. Could this be a relay? (John A. Figliozzi, swprograms via DXLD) I heard VOIRI with a very strong signal on 13730 for their usual English hour 1930-2030 March 25. I assume this is in parallel with 9022 which was inaudible (Ivan Grishin, Ont., March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 13730 0230 0330 12-15 KAM 500 280 SPANISH IRN IRB 13730 1830 1930 27,28 SIR 500 304 FRENCH IRN IRB 13730 1930 2030 27,28 SIR 500 313 ENGLISH IRN IRB (HFCC via DXLD) ** ITALY. As it became known from the internal sources, RAI`s management backed down from its initial decision to introduce a new program schedule on March 25. Supposedly, the External Service director got scared of a full-blown crisis after he learned about the inevitable acts of disobedience planned by RAI`s foreign-language broadcasters. To buy some breathing time, at the last minute the interim schedule was introduced. It will last for at least two weeks while intensive secret negotiations between RAI`s management and representatives of foreign-language services go on. This secrecy is due to management`s fear of the Italian domestic mass media getting involved in this matter. In the past, the local mass media were often sympathetic to RAI`s External Service. The journalists at RAI view introduction of an interim schedule as their first small victory. However, they are resolved to fight to the very end. Broadcasters are convinced that a proposed program structure of five-minute news bulletins in various languages is complete nonsense. Besides, they don`t want to lose their precious work hours. It remains to be seen how this labor conflict will be resolved (DX LISTENING DIGEST March 25) ** KOREA SOUTH [non]. When RKI announced there would be ``no changes`` for A01 relays via Sackville, we doubted it based on past years. But if the RCI Foreign Relay schedule is to be believed, in fact for the first time the morning RKI relay in English stays at the same UT instead of one hour earlier, and on 9650 instead of 11715. At least, we think so, as languages are not given. The two entries are: 0959-1059 11715 250 176 LAm 1059-1159 9650 250 240 USA This would be a great improvement, with the English at 1130 an hour later by the local clock when more of us are awake –- 7:30 am EDT, 6:30 am CDT. However, in deep summer 9650 may be fading into the noise by then. I was not up in time to check March 25 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MÉXICO. Hola amigos: En esta oportunidad les comento sobre las primeras pruebas de la XERTA, Radio Transcontinental de América en un intento más de reactivarse. Ya desde el año pasado se había comentado su "reactivación" en los 4810 kHz, pero no se volvió a saber nada desde entonces. El día de hoy por la tarde pude captarla con una muy irregular señal fuera de frecuencia en los 4812.6 (más ó menos). Se identificó como Radio Transcontinental de América, la voz comercial de México, la única emisora comercial de o.c., trasmitiendo desde el corazón de la ciudad de México. En otra identificación se dijo que emite en tres idiomas: Inglés, Francés y Español [como siempre dicen -ggh]. No fue posible escuchar la frecuencia exacta que mencionan debido al gran ruido que la acompaña. Finalmente no se mencionó ninguna dirección postal, electrónica ó teléfono para comunicarse, al menos en la sesquihora que la estuve monitoreando. Por ahora son los datos que tengo disponible. Trataré de comunicarme con su gerente el Ing. Roberto Nájera y/o el buen amigo Carlos (Charlie), operador que es la persona que siempre me atiende cuando voy de visita a la emisora. Reciban 73 y buenos dx desde Tepic (IVAN LOPEZ ALEGRIA, NDXC-001, March 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also GUATEMALA ** NETHERLANDS. PIRATAS. 9300 kHz, Free Radio Service Holland (FRSH) estuvo probando el fin de semana pasado en esta fq. entre 0530-0730, así lo informa Peter Verbruggen (SW-pirates 17/3 via Enrique A. Wembagher, 18/3, Conexion Digital March 25 via DXLD) 9295v kHz, FRS Holland, 0628-0743, 18 Marzo 2001, Dionne Warwick mx. A 0630 ID. "Mixed Emotions" por The Rolling Stones a 0659 y anuncios, mx Aretha Franklin. (Dave Valko, PA, ibid.) A new pirate band developing... (gh) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. Hi Glenn, I had a chat with Jan-Peter Werkman, my RN colleague who arranges the DRM tests. He says a new 25-minute test program is currently in production at RN, and this will be used for the long-term tests. The language used in the actual test sequence is not so important. As far as I know, we'll be using the voice elements already recorded and used in the shorter test sequence used hitherto. The elements of the test program are designed to simulate as accurately as possible typical program content, i.e. it includes quiet and loud passages of music of various types. But of course, to comply with current international regulations it`s necessary to give standard IDs in analogue mode before and after the digital portions. The main purpose of the long term tests is to test the reliability of the DRM technology on specific circuits over a whole broadcast period. Various characteristics of the signal have to be measured and recorded. The frequencies chosen have, of course, been coordinated through the HFCC. 73, (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, March 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERÚ. 4552.83v, unID Radio San Juan, Unknown QTH in Peru. March 17, 2001 - 0055 UT. I don`t know if this one is one of the "Radio San Juan" I logged earlier in this frequency area: Sallique and Chiclayo. Places mentioned: San Ignacio, Bagua Grande and Chiclayo. 4574.64v, Radio Independencia, Provincia de Chiclayo. March 16, 2001 - 0005* UT. Heard for the first time Feb 12 on 4573.63v (see SWB #1453). After that off air until this date, March 15. Close down at this time after a music px called "Por los caminos del Perú". Often very ``crowded`` in the area below 4600. For instance the evening of March 17, there were 3 stations, all with decent signals, lousy audio and frequency drift: 4520v, 4553v and 4576v. 5586.69, Radio Sorochuco, Sorochuco. March 21, 2001 - 0130* UT. A station listed on 5760 kHz and never logged by me until now. A loud voiced, screamy, male DJ with a distorted microphone managed the programme which consisted of Peruvian, domestic music, among others from the Cajamarca-area but also modern music, like Enrique Iglesias among others. Several IDs. Besides "Radio Sorochuco" I also think they give IDs like "Radio L.M.(?) de Sorochuco". Was heard for the first time this date. Close down at 0130 UT. 5637.26, Radio Perú, San Ignacio. March 22, 2001 - 1140 UT. Reactivated after being off air for a longer period. ID: "Ésta es la señal de más alta calidad, Perú tu radio! Ahora en 97.7 frecuencia modulada y estéreo digital y siempre en onda corta 5635 kHz para llegar más lejos". 6304.32v, ex-6115, Radio Unión, Lima. March 2001 - 0100 UT. The station was not heard on its listed frequency 6115. The day before they were on 6386.06v, so obviously Radio Unión suffers from technical problems. IDs: "Unión la radio" and "Unión la más potente del país". (all: Björn Malm, Ecuador [q.v.], SW Bulletin March 25 translated by Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** PERU. Glenn: I don't have the original log handy, but Nicolás Éramo has pointed out to me that the log I sent to him for Radio Unión had an incorrect frequency of 6404. The correct frequency is 6304 (Mark Mohrmann, VT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So correct item in DXLD 1-040 too 6304.06, Radio Unión, 2345-0000, Mar 24/25, Spanish, man announcer, Horrible Modulation (BAD), religious program, gospel music, ID "Radio Unión la radio" 333, (Nicolás Éramo, Argentina, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ROMANIA. An undated English schedule as found March 25 at http://www.rri.ro/language.htm Northern America 02.00 - 03.00 11,940 ; 15,340 Japan 02.00 - 03.00 15,105 ; 17,735 New Zealand 02.00 - 03.00 15,180 ; 17,790 Northern America 04.00 - 05.00 11,940 ; 15,365 India 04.00 - 05.00 17,735 ; 21,480 Northern America 06.00 - 07.00 11,940 ; 15,180 Western Europe 06.41 - 06.56 11,775 ; 15,365 Northeast Africa 07.00 - 08.00 17,735 Western Europe 14.00 - 15.00 15,250 ; 17,735 Western Europe 17.00 - 18.00 15,380 ; 17,805 Northern Europe 17.00 - 18.00 11,740 ; 15,365 Western Europe 21.00 - 22.00 11,940 ; 15,365 Northern Europe 21.00 - 22.00 9,725 ; 11,740 Western Europe 23.00 - 24.00 9,750 ; 11,775 Northern America 23.00 - 24.00 11,940 ; 15,105 This one almost matches Kraig`s below –- did he get it by P-mail? ** ROMANIA. Subject: R. Romania Int sked. Glenn, I received the R. Romania Int English schedule valid from March 25, 2001 on Saturday March 24, 2001. Their address is The English Service, 60-62 G-Ral Berthelot Street, Bucharest, Romania. The email address is engl@rri.ro For Western Europe 0640-0700 UTC 15365, 11365 kHz [sic; see above] 1400-1500 UTC 17735, 15250 kHz 1700-1800 UTC 17805, 15380 kHz 2100-2200 UTC 15365, 11940 kHz 2300-0000 UTC 11775, 9750 kHz For Northern Europe 1700-1800 UTC 15365, 11740 kHz 2100-2200 UTC 11740, 9725 kHz For North America 2300-0000 UTC 15105, 11940 kHz 0200-0300 UTC 15340, 11940 kHz 0400-0500 UTC 15365, 11940 kHz 0600-0700 UTC 15180, 11940 kHz For the Pacific area and Japan 0200-0300 UTC 17790, 15180 kHz and 17735, 15105 kHz (Japan) For South Asia 0400-0500 UTC 21480, 17735 kHz For Africa 0700-0800 UTC 17735 kHz Radio Romania International broadcasts home and world news, reports and commentaries within our daily "Radio Newsreel", programmes and features on current events from this country, as well as music. Our programmes include such regulars as: Pro Memoria - Mondays; Business Club - Tuesdays; Society Today - Wednesdays; Cards On The Table - Thursdays; A Challenge for the Future and Terra 2000 (once a month) - Fridays; The Week and World of Culture - Saturdays; Focus - Sundays. We also recommend such features as: - Political Flash; Pages of Romanian Literature; Romanian Hits - Mondays. - European-Horizons; Mother Nature; Youth Club - Tuesdays. - Partners in a Changing World; Romanian Musicians - Wednesdays. - Listener's Letterbox; The Skylark (Romanian folk music) - Thursdays - Cultural Survey; Romanian Folk Music at Its Best - Fridays - Radio Pictures; Bucharest Along the Centuries; DX Mailbag; Romanian Itineraries - Saturdays. - Sunday Studio (including Letterbox, interviews, reports and music); Romanian By Radio; Romanian Itineraries (repeat) - Sundays. Some of the above shows I recall from the R. Bucharest days. Namely, "The Skylark", "Cultural Survey" and "Radio Pictures". The English Service: Mihai Babic, Daniel Bilt, Eugenia Chira, Alexandra Dragomirescu, Mihaela Ignatescu, Cristine Lescu, Ioana Masariu, Cristina Mateescu, Iulian Muresan, Ana Maria Palcu, Lacramioara Simion, Silviu Stefanescu, Diana Vajeu, Giorgiana Zachia. In addition, like the R. Bucharest days, R. Romania Intl still has their "International Listeners Club". Join the club simply by sending one report per month for the next 12 months. There are four diplomas (including an Honorary Diploma for the 5th year of reporting and a Loyalty Diploma for the 10 year) and 2 old timer labels. 73, (-.. . Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The above is greatly at variance, in times, frequencies and even target areas with the supposedly A-01 schedule in DXLD 1-033: I am inclined toward this one since it generally has higher frequency bands appropriate for the summer. Of note is the absence of an English hour to Europe and NAm at 1300, when we used to listen on 17805, but instead to Europe at 1400 (gh, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Voice of Russia returns to 11675 for our afternoons, heard March 25 with a program of operatic selections until their 2100 sign off. Very good reception. (Ivan Grishin, Ont., March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Voice of Russia Broadcast schedule from March 25 till October 27, 2001. All times are Universal Time (UT), also known as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). English to North America (Satellite broadcasts via WRN) TIME (UTC) FREQUENCIES (kHz) 01.00-02.00 17595 12000 11825 9665* 7180** 02.00-03.00 17595 12000 9665* 7180** 03.00-04.00 17690 17660 17650 17565* 15455** 12000 11750 9665* 7180** 04.00-05.00 17690 17660 17650 17565* 15455** 12000 11750 9665* 7180** *- from 29.10.2000 till 06.03.2001 ** - from 06.03. till 25.03.2001 [this is obviously wrong but that`s the way it appears -jn] {perhaps same key as in entries below with current/future dates -gh} English to Africa (Satellite broadcasts via WRN) TIME (UTC) FREQUENCIES (kHz) 17.00-18.00 11985 11510 9745** 9495* 18.00-19.00 11980 11510** 9745** 9495* *- from 25.03. till 01.09. ** - from 02.09. till 27.10. English to Australia New Zealand (Satellite broadcasts via WRN) TIME (UTC) FREQUENCIES (kHz) 05.00-06.00 21790 17685 17635 06.00-07.00 21790 17685 17635 15490 07.00-09.00 17685 17635 17525 17495 15490 English to Europe (Satellite broadcasts via WRN) TIME (UTC) FREQUENCIES (kHz) 03.00-05.00 1548 693 05.00-09.00 1323 693 14.00-15.00 1386 1323 1215 693 15.00-17.00 9730 1494 17.00-18.00 11675*** 9890 9820*** 9775 9685* 9480*** 7420*** 7310** 1494*** 18.00-19.00 11675* 11630* 9890 9820** 9775 9685* 9480 7420** 7310** 7300 1494**** 19.00-20.00 12070* 11675* 9890 9820** 9775 9685* 9480* 7440** 7420** 7400** 7310** 1386 20.00-21.00 15455* 12070* 11980** 11675* 9890 9820** 9775 9480* 7420** 7400** 1494 *- from 25.03. till 01.09. ** - from 02.09. till 27.10. *** - Sat Sun ****- from 30.04. till 10.08. English to Middle East (Satellite broadcasts via WRN) TIME (UTC) FREQUENCIES (kHz) 15.00-16.00 11985 7325 4975 4965 4940 972 16.00-17.00 15540 12055 11985 648 17.00-18.00 1251 18.00-19.00 11695 English to Asia (Satellite broadcasts via WRN) TIME (UTC) FREQUENCIES (kHz) 07.00-09.00 1251 14.00-15.00 15560** 15510* 12055 9745** 9495* 1269 15.00-16.00 11500 16.00-17.00 12055 9875* 7305** 17.00-18.00 1269 1251 *- from 25.03. till 01.09. ** - from 02.09. till 27.10. (VOR web site via John Norfolk OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. REE wasted no time in adopting new 15385 for English to ENAm, already there UT March 25 from 0000, very nice signal ex-6055. On this date, another musical edition of Radio Waves started at 0042:30 and ran just past 0055, including two radio songs sandwiching a recording of Nehru speaking Hindi in 1949y. Restart at 0100 said 15385 is for NAm and the Pacific. So how is it near noon in NZ and eastern Australia? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN [non]. The RCI final schedule of foreign relays for A-01 apparently has a mistaken entry which we have now seen for ourselves, concerning the RSI relays at 0200-0359, on 9495 250 kW, 268d to USA. Perhaps at one point R. Sweden planned to have Sackville use 9495, instead of keeping it from Sweden, but later decided to keep this one direct from Sweden and use 9755, 11895 via Sackville as in DXLD 1-038 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN [and non]. Sweden is now heard via the RCI-Sackville relay with more transmissions, 9755 at 0230 and 11895 at 0330... very easy to hear but audio quality from this broadcast, via WRN feeds, isn`t as good as it is direct from the Hörby site on 9495 at both times; worse, the difference in the programs in Swedish is about a minute apart (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWITZERLAND [and non]. Swiss Radio International is on 21770 (Sottens) and 13735 (Singapore) for Asia with English at 1100. 21770 is quite good and improves as the program in English continues; 13735 has a good to fair result here (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. VOT *2155:30 on new 11845 English to NAm March 25; only fair, not as good as 9655 was at 2300 when I checked for the call-in last Tuesday (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. R. Ukraine Intl on March 25, 2001. Glenn, Initial reception not good at all. 0000 UT 5905 kHz - not heard 7320 kHz - not heard 9640 kHz - not heard 13590 kHz - not heard 0300 UT 7320 kHz - not heard 7410 kHz - I can barely hear the ident signal, otherwise useless. Strong QRM from WBCQ on 7415 kHz. Frequency just about useless. 9640 kHz - not heard. QRM from Deutsche Welle on 9640 kHz makes frequency useless. 11840 kHz - I can barely hear the ident signal, otherwise useless. 13590 - not heard. 1100 UT 15135 kHz - I can barely hear the ident signal, otherwise useless. Strong QRM from HCJB on 15140 kHz. 73, (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Ukraine's IS heard at 2100 on 13590 March 25. A strong carrier, but the low audio level made listening difficult (Ivan Grishin, Ont., March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I also have had disappointing results with 13590 (gh, OK) Ukrainian Radio has announced that it plans to start broadcasting in Arabic, Russian, Polish, French, Spanish (Vladimir Gudzenko, MIDXC via Signal March 25 via DXLD) ** U K. I just listened to A World in Your Ear on BBC R 4, and at the end they said they would be back in April at new times of Friday afternoon, and Sunday evening. So may as well delete the Sat 2000 UT/BST listing (Glenn Hauser, March 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. DX Information from the British DX Club (BDXC-UK). From: http://www.waveguide.co.uk/ Here`s some good news, but will it match the standard of the original: A new version of The Goon Show is to be produced for BBC Radio 2 to mark the golden jubilee of the classic radio show. Jon Glover will play Spike Milligan`s roles in the recording with Harry Secombe`s son, Andrew, recreating his father`s roles. The parts played by Peter Sellers will be voiced by Jeffrey Holland and Christopher Timothy will follow in his father Andrew`s footsteps by taking the announcer`s role. The recreation of the 1953 episode Goon Again will be broadcast on May 28 (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U S A. Searching the FCC Call Sign database I found this info for WWFV http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/genmen/cdb/call_res.hts?db_id=11&rows=&callsign=WWFV (Pete Costello, NJ, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) That is, WWFV as the callsign now licensed to Blueridge Communications, Copper Hill TN. Not WGTG. So the FCC HF schedule still showing WGTG for A-01 was wrong (gh, DXLD) ** VATICAN. Anyone interested in the reporting about the elettrosmog debate might also visit the http://www.radiovaticana.com website for their view of the issue. Already on the front page you will find references to the day-to-day developments. Unfortunately for international readers the material is in Italian (Hansjörg Biener) RADIO VATICANA E I PROBLEMI DELL'ELETTROSMOG 12 marzo 2001: INTERVISTA CON IL DIRETTORE GENERALE P. PASQUALE BORGOMEO 13 marzo 2001: DICHIARAZIONE DEL DIRETTORE DEI PROGRAMMI, P FEDERICO LOMBARDI 13 marzo 2001: Scienziati italiani denunciano la campagna di disinformazione sui presunti danni dei campi elttromagnetici 14 marzo 2001: Intervista con il Prof. Saraceni, Assessore alla Sanità della Regione Lazio. Cosa dice veramente l'indagine dell'Osservatorio dell'Agenzia della Sanità del Lazio 14 marzo 2001: Lettera aperta di scienziati italiano al Presidente Ciampi sulla presunta pericolosità delle onde elettromagnetiche 15 marzo 2001: P. Lombardi al Corriere della Sera: E' necessario un clima di collaborazione serena; ridurremo l'elettrosmog con Internet e Satelliti 16 marzo 2001: Commento di P. Lombardi a seguito della conferenza stampa del Ministro dell'Ambiente W. Bordon 16 marzo 2001: Nota Informativa del Ministero degli Esteri italiano sulle emissioni elettromagnetiche della Radio Vaticana 17 marzo 2001: Il parere del Professor Paolo Vecchia, Direttore del Settore Radiazioni Non-Ionizzanti dell'istituto Superiore Di Sanità, sui dati della ricerca epidemiologica della Regione Lazio 17 marzo 2001: Dichiarazione del Direttore della Sala Stampa della Santa Sede, Navarro Valls, sulla questione della Radio Vaticana 17 marzo 2001: Commento di P. Lombardi alla Nota Informativa del Ministero degli Esteri italiano 20 marzo 2001: Comunicato stampa dell'Associazione Dipendenti Laici Vaticani contro gli attacchi strumentali 20 marzo 2001: Tra allarmismi e dati scientifici: le vere conclusioni della ricerca sanitaria nell'area di Santa Maria di Galeria 21 marzo 2001: Risposta di P. Lombardi sul Corriere della Sera 23 marzo 2001: Comunicato al termine della riunione della Commissione bilaterale Italia - Santa Sede. Nuovo incontro la prossima settimana (via Dr Hansjörg Biener, Germany, March 25, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non]. Meyerton is not the only new site for Voice of Vietnam; they had also no transmissions via Skelton so far, which now appears 2000-2100 on 15390 amongst the registrations. Probably this will be an outlet like 12070 from a CRR-1 site which is not carried directly from Vietnam (Kai Ludwig, Germany, March 24, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM. At the homepage http://www.vov.org.vn in Vietnamese 1500- 1600 is indicated as a time for audio stream, and on the English page 1600-1630. Also ondemand are the last few mailbags, 16 minute file heard here including music. Beware of the heavy-handed commie propaganda on the page (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) THIS DAY`S FRENCH LESSON: CHOCOLAT : I`m going nuts fending off all the butcherings of this film title (which, BTW, I enjoyed and am surprised at some critics` panning). Most Americans and Brits haven`t a clue about basic French pronunciation (which is certainly called for from the spelling, even though it is not a film made in France.) Even producer David Brown said on CBS Sunday Morning, ``I`m told the T is not pronounced`` but then pronounced the CH as TCH instead of SH!! So please note: it is ``sho-ko-LAH``. The O`s are not real long, but not short ``aw`` as these ignorami also sometimes say (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Chocolat! Not only an oddible atrocity, but an edible one too! Now, how do you pronounce "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in Chinese? (Ivan Grishin, Ont., March 25) ###