DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-091, July 1, 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] NEW JULY EDITIONS by JOHN NORFOLK: DX PROGRAMS: http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/dxpgms.html NETS TO YOU: http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/nets2you.html ** AFGHANISTAN. 7085.5, V. of Shari`a, Kabul. Welcome to EE txmn 1520, vocals 1525, political speech @1530. Fair to poor w/low level audio & occasional bursts of jamming, 10/6 (Leigh Morris-CNP [?], July Australian DX News via DXLD) {CNP answer: DXLD 1-092} ** ALBANIA. 9575.7 R. Tirana, Cërrik. Px in Albanian, hetting Medi-Un on 9575. Gave IDs & phone nos., 16/6 (Craig Seager, NSW, Australian DX News via DXLD) At 0630 heard R Tirana 1st domestic service program relay, thiny signal on 6099.95, 24322, scheduled 0300-0800. At 1605-1610 heard R Tirana's afternoon service on v5984.95 [24322] and v7269.96 [44444], scheduled 14-17. Pop mx and phone-in program (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Jun 25-26, BC-DX via DXLD) Goes out of their way to offset 30 to 700 Hz for the enjoyment of DXers, tnx! (gh, DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. v15344.89, RAE Buenos Aires announced the switch date to [European] DST, to serve the European listeners, i.e. all European block transmissions one hour earlier. RAE German 2000-2100 (RAE via Peter Böck, Germany, via WWDXC, Jun 21) That means En at 1700, It 1800, Fr 1900, Sp 2100-2300 (BC-DX editor June 30 via DXLD) You mean they did this the last Sunday in March and we are just now hearing about it?? Confirmation needed (gh, DXLD) {Reply: DXLD 1-092} ** BAHAMAS. Re: Terry Krueger's recent info about Bahamas FM stations left off 100Jamz (100.3) at http://www.100jamz.com/ (Bill Wilkins, Springfield, MO, June 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Incorrect; an alternate link for Jamz was listed as the fifth URL in my original email. Other links of minimal radio/TV interest (and certainly there are more if one searches): http://www.interknowledge.com/BAHAMAS/investment/telcom01.htm (BaTelCo) http://www.tvradioworld.com/region1/bah/Radio_Tv_Frequencies.asp (TVRadioWorld) (Terry Krueger, July 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELARUS. 7105 kHz. Radio Minsk, ul. Krasnaya 4, 220907 Minsk. Carta QSL (postal con foto de la Plaza Independencia y vista de la Catedral de San Simón y Santa Helena), calcomanía, calendario, esquema de programación, folleto sobre la historia de la emisora, carta firmada por el Editor del Servicio Inglés, Grigori Mityushnikov. Contestó en 100 días (Claudio Morales, Argentina, Conexión Digital July 1 via DXLD) ** BULGARIA. I see Bulgaria is having a problem with one of the 500 kW txers. I wonder if the problem is money - i.e., paying to keep it on air? Romania has many problems, but they don`t appear to keep their txs off air! (Noel R. Green, UK, Jun 30, BC-DX via DXLD) Ideas ... 2 x 500, 3 x 250 kW at Plovdiv, either the Russians can`t deliver spare parts for the Plovdiv site, or they need the txs to fulfill western contracts. I think the old Stolnik and Kostinbrod sites aren`t in good shape to fulfill western standards (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, BC-DX June 30 via DXLD) But good enough for transmitter.org clients, hi (gh, DXLD) ** BURKINA FASO. 4815, R. Dif. TV Burkina, Ouagadougou. Nice to hear this reactivated frequency s/on at 0600 23/6 in FF at fair level via LP (John Schache, Limekilns NSW, ADXN via DXLD) Fanfare, FF nx bulletin 1900. Good lvl 8/6 (Leigh Morris-CNP [?], Australia, ADXN via DXLD) FF 2130, occasional African-style mx, fair 4/6 (Chris Elliott, Hayes, Tasmania, July ADXN via DXLD) IS 0559, s/on routine in FF, including ID. Recently reactivated & always nice to hear them via the long route, 23/6 (Craig Seager, Limekilns, NSW, ADXN via DXLD) ** CANADA [non?]. THE RETURN OF CSIC (EXCERPTS OF AN E-MAIL FROM PIRATE RAMBO): "I've done some test transmitting and made sure the audio is clean. Things sound good and I am ready to transmit soon. Here is a listing of available frequencies to me: 10326, 11115, 11325, 11910, 13600, 13650, 13750, 13800, 14750, 14850, 14932, 15032, 15048, 15050, 16040, 17865, 20400, 20475, 20635, 20700, 22125, 22275, 22398, 22548, 22572, 22575 and 24060 kHz. Given the Viking those frequencies are +/- a few kHz. If you hear me, reports can go to either the Blue Ridge Summit or Merlin maildrops" Rambo tested 11330 on July 1 at 0300 UT. Next week we`ll find out how many people logged it. (I know that Jerry Coatsworth in Ontario and John Sedlacek in Nebraska did) (Niel Wolfish, Free Radio Weekly July 1 via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 9635, R. Dif. Nacional, Bogotá. Weak in SS, laid-back format, songs. Quite a soporific as we sat there in the sun on a rare (warm for winter) Limekilns afternoon! Dead air 0453-0456, anthem 0459 to eventual 0502*. Rare here, but reported reasonably regularly in North America, 23/6 (Craig Seager, Limekilns NSW, ADXN via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. 2479.94 harmonic, Radio Viva. June 2001 - 1025 UT. Listed station on 1240 kHz is Radio Viva in Pasto, but gave ID as "Radio Viva Cali 12-90". Harmonic from 1239,97 kHz. 2659.88 harmonic, Radio Reloj, Santander. June 2001 - 0400* UT. Harmonic from 1329,94 kHz. In WRTH QTH is noted as "San Gil" – assume that "San" means "Santander", as announced in the station ID (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 1, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** CUBA. Hasta Siempre Enrique Enrique Romeu Riaño, jefe del Departamento Técnico de Radio Habana Cuba, se ha acogido al retiro por razones personales. Será reemplazado en este tarea por Luis Pruna. Los que hemos mantenido correspondencia con él, extrañaremos sus cálidos mensajes siempre acompañados con joyitas musicales. Mucha suerte, Enrique, en esta nueva etapa de tu vida (Claudia B. Viazzo, Córdoba, Argentina, Conexión Digital July 1 via DXLD) ** ECUADOR. 2960.30 harmonic, Radio Atlántida, Alausí. June 2001 - 1120 UT. See 4440.45 kHz. 4440.45H // 2960.30H Radio Atlántida, Alausí. June 2001 - 1120 UT. Heard with about the same signal strength on the two harmonics as on its fundamental frequency 1480.15 kHz. Often a "witch doctor"- programme of the worst nature (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 1, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** ECUADOR. June 30 at 0420 with wide selectivity stepped to 15085 for music from Iran, noticed adjacent QRM, not normally the case against this isolated 15084 frequency: on 15090 proved to be religious talk in Spanish, so I instantly thought of HCJB: yes, \\ very strong 15140, and thus a leapfrog-mix with HCJB`s English on 15115, which however, was not audible on the weaker but quite readable spur (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Allen Graham, host of DX Partyline at HCJB, replied about usage of 21455. He wrote that power is now 12 kW. HCJB is very interested to know about reception quality. Reports on this frequency are confirmed with a special QSL (dx-bistro - Konstantin Gusev, Russia, DXSignal Jun 23 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** FRANCE [non]. While listening to RFI`s half hour program this morning, just before they finished, they announced that Radio Education in Mexico will also be broadcasting the programming starting July. This originates from French Guiana, Daily 1800~1830 GMT [in Spanish], Signal today s9 SIO 444. 73's Sincerely (Colonel Jon Standingbear, Army Radio Station adn3u, Beaumont, Calif, DX LISTENING DIGEST) So when is the relay, at 1800? (gh) ** HONDURAS? 5119.68, unID LA. June 2001 - 1100 UT. Maybe Honduras when "Honduras" was mentioned in an advertisement. Mostly a weak, distorted signal (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 1, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** JORDAN. After reading a recent report of the reception of Jordan`s Arabic service on 11930 I`ve been checking the other registered freqs - they have registered different times for the same freq with the HFCC and ASBU, and freqs I cannot remember ever hearing! [yes, Amman registered some channels in past and present as channel- holder, to keep for years with low sunspot numbers, but never used those channels, for example the 21 MHz --BCDX ed.] So far, this is what I`ve found: 21485 0700-1200 - not heard 17680 1000-1600 - not heard 15470 0500-0900 - not heard 15435 0300-0900, 2000-2400 or 2100-0200 - not heard 15290 0900-1300 - Ar 1100-1200 13680 1600-2100 - RL-Udorn in Turkmen here 1500-1800. Not heard 13630 0300-0900 - not heard, 1500-2000 or 1200-1600 - Dubai dominant here - another unidentified below 11960 0500-0800 or 0500-0900 - heard between 0500 and close 0810 11930 2030-2200 - heard around 2200 \\ 11810 11810 0100-2200 - heard around 0600-0800, 1200-1500, 1742- and 2200 and 0500 11805 2100-0200 - not heard. 11690 1300-1730 - usual English. 9830 1715-2030.- on air at 1716, but program feed start at 1742 9630 0300-0600 & 1300-1600 or 1430-1700 - not heard 9535 1600-1930 - BBC-Cyprus in Ukrainian / English LL 1600-1700, not heard 7155 1600-1900 - RL MOR in Arabic here 2000-2200 I heard 7155 start at 1659 today with a march tune and ID, and 9830 & 11810 opened at 1742 6105 1600-0215 - checked around 1900 and not heard through RL - not heard at 2200 So, this is what I know: 7155 1700-1830; 9830 1745-(?2010/2035?); 11690 1300-(?1630); 11810 (?? at 0456)-c0810, 1030-1500 & 1745-(??past 2230??); 11930 (?2010/2035?)-(??past 2230??); 11960 (??at 0450??)-0810; 15290 1030- 1200 [At 1201 Freq ID, 12.02.55 tx off] (Noël R. Green, UK, Jun 28) The last sched I have from Mikhail Timofeyev dated May 10 (maybe 2000?) showed: 6105 1500-2100 7155 1530-2000 9830 1700-2100 11690 1200-1630* 11810 0300-0800, 1000-1500 & 2100-0100 11930 2100-0100 11960 0500-0700 13630 0300-0500 & 1200-1530 15290 0900-1200 15435 0300-0600 & 2100-0100 17680 1000-1200* * in English - "Radio Jordan 96.3 FM" It`s "strange" how stations are not really missed until one starts deliberately checking around for them. I would guess that only two of the three transmitters are on air at any one time. 11810 is registered at 94 degrees and is usually only weak here - but was fair to good when heard at 2200. 13630 is registered 170 deg exc. at 0600-0900 when 350 deg. I`ll attempt to put together sign-on/off times where possible. I found Jordan R Amman 9830 booming in at 1900 last night. S-off was, I think, 2100 when 11960 comes up. This morning, I found 15290 on air at 1040 - it was not there at 1000, or shortly afterwards, so s-on could be 1030. Continuing with the Jordan saga - I found R Martí opening on 13630 at 1300 and audible still at 1535, then under Dubai. No trace of Amman. There is an extremely weak signal on 13630 around 0630 which I haven`t been able to ID, but I suspect this is NHK to the Americas, and not Amman. So, 13630 appears not to be used by them. I came across 7155 on air around 1730 and, when compared with 9830, which appeared c1758, programs were different. They combined at 1800 for nx and both were still in \\ until 7155 went off c1835. I cannot hear what`s on 6105 - the splash from SRI-JUL 6110 is tremendous, and the signal strength is threatening to destroy my S meter. I believe I`ve been hearing 11810 since at least 1800, but under CHN. It does seem \\ 9830. So all three senders were, in fact, on air at 1800 (Noel R. Green, UK, Jun 25) A-01 HFCC registrations: 6105 1600-0215 39-41,54,55 AKA 500 94 JOR JRT JRT 7155 1600-1900 11-14,46S AKA 500 245 JOR JRT JRT 9535 1600-1930 11-14,46 AKA 500 245 JOR JRT JRT 9600 0400-0700 6-9,27,28 AKA 500 313 JOR JRT JRT 9630 0300-0600 39,47,48 AKA 500 170 JOR JRT JRT 9630 1430-1700 39S,47,48 AKA 500 170 JOR JRT JRT 9830 1715-2200 27,28,37 AKA 500 300 JOR JRT JRT 11690 1300-1730 27,28 AKA 500 313 JOR JRT JRT 11805 2100-0200 11-14 AKA 500 245 JOR JRT JRT 11810 0100-2400 39-41 AKA 500 94 JOR JRT JRT 11810 1300-1630 54,55,58N AKA 500 94 JOR JRT JRT 11810 1745-2330 54,55,58N AKA 500 94 JOR JRT JRT 11930 2030-0100 6-9,27,28 AKA 500 313 JOR JRT JRT 11960 0500-0800 28,29 AKA 500 350 JOR JRT JRT 13630 0300-0600 39,47,48 AKA 500 170 JOR JRT JRT 13630 0600-0900 28-30 AKA 500 350 JOR JRT JRT 13630 1500-2000 39,47,48 AKA 500 170 JOR JRT JRT 13680 1600-2100 11-14,46 AKA 500 245 JOR JRT JRT 15290 0900-1300 37,38 AKA 500 287 JOR JRT JRT 15435 0300-0900 6-9,27,28 AKA 500 313 JOR JRT JRT 15435 2000-2400 11-14 AKA 500 245 JOR JRT JRT 15470 0500-0900 28-30 AKA 500 350 JOR JRT JRT 17680 1000-1600 6-9,27,28 AKA 500 313 JOR JRT JRT 21760 0600-1100 54,55,58,59 AKA 500 94 JOR JRT JRT Different A-01 ABU registrations, including Ramadan specials: 7155 1530-2100 28-30 AKA 500 350 JOR JRT JRT 7155 2100-0200 11-14 AKA 500 245 JOR JRT JRT 9600 0300-0700 6-9,27,28 AKA 500 313 JOR JRT JRT 9600 2100-0200 6-9,27,28 AKA 500 313 JOR JRT JRT 9630 1300-1600 39,47,48 AKA 500 170 JOR JRT JRT 11690 1000-1730 6-9,27,28 AKA 500 313 JOR JRT JRT 11960 0500-0900 28,29 AKA 500 350 JOR JRT JRT 13630 1200-1600 39,47,48 AKA 500 170 JOR JRT JRT 15435 2100-0200 11-14 AKA 500 245 JOR JRT JRT Comments by Noël R. Green and yours truly (WB) of Jun 26-28: WB: At 2145 armchair reception on 11930, but poor on 11810 channel. C-down 2158. ed. As in the past, and since refurbishing of the MARCONI installations occurred, about a year ago, except in 1988/1989, the station never used the 4th reserve tx unit in \\ to three transmitters in service. Station installation finished in 1988 according to TDP under the leadership of King Hussein, who was also a popular HAM operator - and Jet pilot too, - station also consisted of high power Marconi LW and MW installations. NG: 11690 English starts at 1300. Heard with news at 1600+ but on re- check at 1635 was not on. WB: Yes, usual powerhouse on 313 degrees !! Armchair listening S=9 +20 dB. Noted around 1530-, s-off around 1630, but at 1700 heard VoA Kavalla in Arabic instead, which is 1700-1900 scheduled. NG: 11810 could be detected at 1200 (very weak). CRI on channel. Jordan R s-on c1745 \\ 9830 at fair strength. Clear until CRI opens at 1800. So, I think 11810 is on air at (0500?)-c0800, 1030-1500 and 1745-(0100?). WB: Heard 0600-0800, but not on air at 0800-1200 and 1500-1745. Nothing of Jordan between 1500 and 1730, but heard in \\ to 9830 at 1900. NG: 9830 signed on c1745 (carrier present from c1715). WB: Yes, Croatia with nx 1715-1719 UTC, Deanovec switched off at 1720. But from 1716 Jordan carrier on air. CNR closed around 1730, thiny signal. When re-check at 1900 powerful signal like 11690 S=9 +10, also 300 degrees. NG: 7155 appeared to be signing on c1655 (not heard at 1600/1630+ checks). This one has a different program until 1800 - started with Qur`an and mention of Allah heard during transmission. Either a special foreign service or maybe a relay of their Qur`an HS? I hear the ID but cannot translate it - it is different to that of the General Arabic program (as heard on 9830). It joins 9830 and 11810 at 1800. (I looked for any audio links on the JRTV web site but didn`t find any). 7155 broke away from 9830 & 11810 at 1828 for own different ID then off 1829. So c1655-c1830. WB: Yes, 7155 powerful program S=7-8, easy listening. NG: 11810 is going to be a problem to copy in daytime, but I'll keep checking between 0800 and 1500. [see above]. Jun 27, I heard 9830 as late as 2010 with nx \\ 11810, but when I returned to check again at 2035, it was OFF and 11930 was ON! Changeover took place some time between 2010 and 2035. WB: Daytime reception no problem in winter B-00 season, though S=7 level only due of 94 degree azimuth towards ME/Asia, the back lobe coming to EUR. By the way, 17680, when I checked the assumed R Jordan 1000 UT s-on time today, I heard RDP Lisbon technician switching on and off the tx four times on that channel including RDP program and announcers, but this RDP outlet and Rhombic antenna/antenna mixer usage is scheduled to start at 1600, and 1700 Sat/Suns. Jordan Radio Arabic service on 15290, newsreel program at about 1101- 1127, Jun 27. Program was still in progress at 1101, much spoken nx in Arabic, then some telephone report features included, from Cairo, about ISR, Palestine, SYR, Macedonia/Albania etc. At 1127 a hymn/fanfare occurred, and then the male reader gave the 100 % ID "... Hashemite ... Amman ...". 43433. NG: 15290 carrier appeared around 1015 and went into programme at 1028 until 1204 when carrier cut today 26/6........so c1030-c1200. 11810 not on air at 0400 when Romania appeared, but Jordan heard at 0610 still in progress, I guess till 0800. Not heard between 0800- 1100, but maybe due to summer propagation though. 11690 not at 1000, when TRT is there. (Jun 28) I now have all details about JOR, except their final night time s-off - 11930 & 11810 had gone off when I checked at 0000. Timings are approximate - all start / finish daily at variable times. 7155 1700-1830 (own programme 1700-1800) 9830 1745-2020 11690 1300-1630 - English "Radio Jordan 96.3" 11810 0400-c0800, 1030-1500, 1745-2258 11930 2030-2258 11960 0500-0810 15290 1030-1200 I heard 11690 close at 1630, and the announcer said the transmission times were 1300-1630! 9830 has 15 mins of nx at 2000, followed by mx. They dropped carrier during the mx. 11930 carrier appeared at 2028 and program about 1 min later. This seems to be same transmitter / same beam heading as 9830. 11960 I did not hear until 0500 today, so I assume I was correct first time! I did not hear 11810 actually s-on this morning, but could clearly hear it during ROM IS c0358. I seem to remember you told me it wasn`t audible at 0300, so I assume s-on is at 0400. Their opening and closing at variable times is mis-leading! (Noël R. Green- UK, Jun 29, all BC-DX via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH [non]. RKI, 9650 via Sackville, July 1 at 1137 for Multiwave Feedback, encountered heavy co-channel from extremely distorted jammer, typical of China; got worse during Bill Matthews` report so that I missed part of what he said. Perhaps someone else has moved onto 9650 provoking the Chicoms; no such interference noted previous Sundays. If this keep up, RKI would be advised to go to 11715 if it be clear, or elsewhere on 25m, for the duration of the summer. Joe Matey (sp?) reaffirmed that RKI will `try to make happen` evening relays via Sackville, but nothing definite yet (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KWAJALEIN. Hi all, Latest article on the radiodx.com web-site http://www.radiodx.com/spdxr/WXLG.htm The story of WXLG from Kwajalein. Enjoy! (Paul Ormandy, Oamaru, New Zealand, July 1, DXLD) ** LITHUANIA. Right now, I am listening to Radio Lithuania [make that R. Vilnius -gh], on 11690 kHz - the mailbag program. The host just got back from Australia and his vacation. The signal is somewhat fluttery here in the Pacific Northwest. Makes shortwave more exciting -- hearing these exotic signals from across the world. Not a transmitter in the eastern part of North America, but something that is truly "over there" in another part of the world. BBC was great for reliable signals. But, shortwave is still red hot for me. Lithuania, which right now is coming in at about an s-4 before pre-amping, states that they are the biggest signal from the Baltics. Cool (Tomas Hood, NW7US, swl@qth.net via DXLD) ** MALI. Yes, it is audible at 0800 most days on 9635, but I only hear the BBC at 1700/1800. I believe this is the transmitter used at other times on 4835. The last time I checked for 11960, there was no trace of it. The channel is only clear Sat/Sun from 0810 when Jordan goes off. Mon-Fri, Portugal is there. China NR also uses 11960, but is it audible currently? 9635/4835 were off for some time, but re- appeared in my log book on March 13th. 7285v is also audible winter mornings from 0800 - this one on 4783v at other times? I also hear 5995 in winter mornings. Currently it is well audible here evenings at excellent strength - for instance, around 2130 (Noël R. Green, UK, Jun 26, BC-DX via DXLD) 11960 at 0815 shows powerhouse RDP Portugal co-channel, and splash of TRT Turkey I guess on 11955. Carlos in Portugal heard Mali 11960 too, so the technicians finished fine work to refurbish the txs at Bamako site this Feb/March, after missing on 31 and 25 mb for at least 12 months. I believe in cycles of 6 to 8 years the Chinese technicians gave aid to Mali staff too, in exchange for the CRI-Mali relay agreement. On two 60 mb channels 4783 & 4835 0550-0800, and 1800-0000. And as well on 5995, at 1800-0000 only. Daytime 7285, 9635 and 11960, at 0800-1800. 5995.0 26/6 at 2237 ... in Fr w/ px "Ballade Musicale"; lowish audio/modulation on a very strong QSA at 55444. 4835.0 26/6 at 2238 ... in Fr at 55444, surely the best QRK w/ the best audio/modulation. 4782.9 26/6 at 2239 ... in Fr at 44443; this 60 m outlet clearly denotes a different antenna bearing as QSA is almost always weaker than \\ 4835, which may be plagued by MAURITANIA at times when Nouakchott wanders around its normal QRG. 9635.0 27/6 at 1305-1345 & also later around 1700 in Fr, w/ nx till 1320, wx "Le Temps sur les Ondes", Vn at 1325, rated at 35433; RAI`s IS noted 1330 for Albanian s-on 1335, but perfectly avoidable using different aerials. Vy good audio. 11960.0 27/6 at 1309 ... in Fr w/ nx ( \\ to 31 mb [3rd daytime channel should be 7285, ed] ) at 24432, lowish audio. Here in Lisbon at least, our RDP blocks Bamako on 11960 till 1200; don`t know what it's like elsewhere in EUR as RDP 11960 is beamed 52 deg to C Europe. [powerhouse of course ! ed.] (Carlos Gonçalves, Portugal, BC-DX Jun 27) No chance on 11960. They are on 9635 seemingly until 1800 (hard to trace under huge BBC signal). No trace of MLI on 5995 at 1700-2000 ca. Always QRMed, but looks like no MLI below. 4835 good since 1900-1915 UT + At around 1820 just barely audible (MLI on guess). Decline to think they change 9635 to 4835 at around 1800. While second TX was off. No luck for daytime 9635 - just register thiny carrier, signal masked by N[oise?]. Just a guess - Mali`s (as they proved to keep odd x.00 kHz recently) it`s even worse. Earlier was easy - just measure QRG carefully, say 9633.86, and re-check later in the evening. Those off- channels are not always bad, yet. At around 1800 while checking 5995 saw aside Ethiopia 5990 booming with Vern nx, \\ 9704.2 (not bad too). (Vlad Titarev, Ukraine, edxp Jun 27 via BC-DX) ORTM or simply "R Mali", Bamako, is definitely not "back after 2 years" on 9635v! Of course, there may have been occasions in which this QRG isn`t hrd for some reason the ORTM alone can explain, but the same applies to their other HF outlets, from 11960 to 4783v. I don`t even have to check my logsheets, 9635 is regularly heard; the main question is that it may not propagate well into the rest of Eur, which is where the bulk of DX reporters come from, not Portugal. To put short, in my own case, ORTM 9635 is simply regular 365 days/year. 7285v: This is another interesting MLI outlet regularly audible here quite a number of years ago, and which I try very regularly too. I`ve zero beaten this channel today at 0808 and an extremely faint QSA on 7284.4 could be noted \\ to 9635 airing Vn. One could just not tell, if there was not a \\ QRG to actually compare the audio. Gone are the days when several other Saharan countries could be heard on 41 mb without much difficulty (Carlos L. R. de A. Gonçalves, Portugal, all BCDX Jun 28 via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. 12085.4, V. of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar. Chinese at 1026 tune-in then pleasant IS at 1029. ID in EE at 1030. The distortion of voices, which has been a feature of my recent receptions of this outlet, has apparently been eradicated. 1026 23/6 (Charles Jones-M, Australia, ADXN via DXLD) ** MYANMAR [non]. I also took another listen to Voice of Democratic Burma. 15405 was very strong from 1430 as the shortskip path from Norway was open today. On 17805 I only heard a buzzy and unclean carrier with no modulation. I suspect this was from the stn (VOIRI I think) that uses the channel before 1430, as the signal strength was rather good at times. The DTK txers switched on as usual around 1454 and Norway left 15405 at 1456. I also heard the whole program on 5945 (listed Tashkent) at an S=3 level with about two syllables delay compared to the other freqs. The delay between Norway and DTK was small (Olle Alm, Sweden, Jun 29, BC-DX via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Glenn, As announced, Radio Nationaal started regular broadcasting on 1296 kHz / Orford Ness. During the morning, there was a loop with the announcement "Vanaf the overkant van de Noordzee, dit is Radio Nationaal. Om 12 uur beginnen onzere uitzendingen op 1296 kHz AM" ["From the other side of the North Sea, this is Radio Nationaal. At 12 o'clock will start our broadcasts on 1296 kHz AM"] and a "Radio Nationaal 12-9-6 AM" jingle. At 1000 UT, the loop interrupted, and you could hear a group of people shout "one". Then the Dutch national anthem followed by a jingle and the announcer saying that the station will be on the air between 5 and 20 h (local time, that means 03 to 18 UT). Then the regular programme continued with Dutch popular music and listener call-ins (Sascha A. Zimmer, Viersen / Germany, July 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. I told Andy Sennitt I considered it "guerrilla marketing" at its best! True, those who are "plugged in" to the day- to-day comings and goings of shortwave broadcast might find all- Jonathan-all-the-time a bit tiresome; look at it this way: Better Jonathan Marks than Gene Scott, I would say! To steal a line from our favorite whipping boy, Mr. Byford, folks who are "plugged in" are not the *target audience* for the "Shortwave Showcase" (Richard Cuff, swprograms via DXLD) see more under UK ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. 15815, R Netherlands/R Vlaanderen, 2249 30 Jun, TX mixing product of R Nederland on 15315 and R Vlaaderan on 15565. Fair strength in SE USA. Both px audible. It may be audible in Europe on the grey-line. 73, (David Hodgson, TN, harmonics@yahoogroups.com via DXLD) ** PALESTINE [non]. 11870, Voice of Palestine, Kalamabad [Iran]. Poor signal 0425 with martial mx and lots of fervent speech in AA. Abruptly off 0427. This seems to be undermodulated to some degree (John Schache, Limekilns NSW, July Australian DX News via DXLD) ** PERU. 6311.8, R. Unión, Lima. Jumbled audio, but improved on recent weeks, 1012. No sign of the Argentinan feeder reported here recently, 30/5 (Craig Seager, Limekilns NSW, ADXN via DXLD) ** PERU. Björn Malm SW Bandscan 26 June 28: [More under COLOMBIA, ECUADOR, HONDURAS] 1632v, unID Peru. June 2001 - 1145 UT. Peruvian music and ID but couldn`t get it because the station vanished in noise very quickly. 3120v Radio San Lorenzo, el distrito de Cutervo, la provincia de Cutervo, el departamento de Cajamarca, región Sierra Norte. June 2001 - 0300* UT. Had this station as unID in SWB no 1461. An exciting station heard well both mornings and evenings. Weak, hard worked signal, drifting a few kHz up/down. Transmits weekdays 1110-0300 UT with comunicados, greetings, mixed music and some ads for companies in Cutervo. During the weekends probably another schedule. Does not seem to announce its frequency -- if it is a harmonic, nothing is listed on 1040 or 560 kHz. Info from "Ventanaperú": Provincia de Cutervo, cuya capital es Cutervo. Sus distritos son: Callayuc, Cujillo, Cutervo, Choros, La Ramada, Pimpingos, Querecotillo, San Andrés de Cutervo, San Juan de Cutervo, San Luis de Lucma, Santa Cruz, Santo Domingo de la Capilla, Santo Tomás, Sócota, Toribio Casanova; con una población total de 144,077 hab. Info from the Peruvian Ministry of Education: Departamento : Cajamarca, Provincia : CUTERVO, Distrito : CUTERVO, Centro Educativo : 17003, Fecha de creación : 8 de abril de 1988, Dirección : SAN LORENZO, Teléfono : Centro poblado : SAN LORENZO, Región : Sierra Norte The Peruvian education ministry -- a fantastic source for information! In SWB 1459 I tipped about a good site for us Dx-ers where valuable information about Peru can be found. At "Ventanaperú" are all "distritos" in resp. "provincia" enumerated. Very valuable when you have to find out from where a station transmits. You can read how to navigate in DXLD 1-073, May 20, 2001 and in SWB no 1459. I repeat the address: http://www.ventanaperu.com/FrmPrincipal.asp?wModo=BG Sometimes it is not enough to know the "distrito" a station transmits from. Within a "distrito" there are several "centros populados" [sic]– it might be a quarter of a town/"barrio" or a little village/"caserío" in the outskirts of the population centre. In a "caserío" or "barrio" with sufficient population you can often find both a church and a little school. Where can you find information about the names of those small villages and quarters of the towns? At the Peruvian education ministry I have found a site with a very large number of names for "barrios" and "caseríos" are listed with various other information. You can find the name of a place you have ``heard`` when struggling with the ID of a Peruvian station. Do like this: A/ Go to this site: http://www.minedu.gob.pe/web/el_ministerio/nuestra_situacion_hoy/datos/idatos.htm B/ On the map you click on a "departamento" -- for example "SAN MARTIN". C/ On the new map you click on a "provincia" -- f x. "MOYOBAMBA". You have now a list of all schools and also the name of the places in the whole of ``Provincia de Moyobamba". D/ Click on "Búsqueda por distritos" if you want to examine a special "distrito". E/ Choose the appropriate "distrito" f x "JEPELACIO". (On 5175.48, L.P.C. R. Continente, Jerillo. When I reported this new Peruvian radio station I noted the QTH as "Querillos"; Rafael Rodríguez thought they said "Guerillo" and Klemetz said "Gerillo". If we assume that the Peruvian Ministry of Education has correct entries, the station QTH is "JERILLO" instead! So we do have use of this fine site, haven`t we?) F/ In the list of the schools with addresses and names of places in "distrito Jepelacio" click on f x the school in "JERILLO". G/ You get among others the following info about the small village, or quarter of a town, "JERILLO" and its school no 00512: San Martín MOYOBAMBA Centro Educativo 00512 Departamento : San Martín Provincia : MOYOBAMBA Distrito : JEPELACIO Centro Educativo : 00512 Fecha de creación : 31 de diciembre de 1969 Dirección : JERILLO Teléfono : Centro poblado : JERILLO Región : Selva alta Norte Nivel y modalidad : Primaria de Menores Gestión : Estatal Ministerio de Educación Género de escolares : Mixto Funciona : funciona Director : MACEDO BARDALEZ, SEGUNDO Finally some notes about the two ``Flying Dutchmen``: "Radio Cielo" mentioned in a final-ID that they transmits from CHICLAYO and "Radio Tigre" says the transmits from REJOPAMPA – according to the Ministry of Education there is a place with that name in "el distrito de Cutervo". Please send comments to bjornmalm@yahoo.es (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin July 1, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 11665, V. of Tatarstan, P.O.Box 134, Kazan, Tatarstan, 420136 Russia, QSL-c f/d, schedule, v/s Ildus Ibatullin, 29 days, for US$ 1 (Nicolás Éramo, Argentina, DXplorer Jun 29 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** SPAIN [non non]. Ramón Mendezona, who directed R. España Independiente, Emisora Pirenaica, for 25 of the 31 years it broadcast from communist countries in opposition to the Franco dictatorship, has died in Madrid at the age of 87. He was also head of the Spanish Communist Party (PCE). The station began on 22 July 1940, headed by Dolores Ibárruri, PCE has reported (Esperanza Rufo, El Dial July- August via DXLD) This is only one small item I translated from El Dial, Julio-Agosto: Excepcionalmente en este mes, le ofrecemos gratis en la página http://www.aer-dx.org/gratis.htm El fichero es algo grande, pues supera ligeramente 1 Mb de tamaño. Saludos, (Pedro Sedano, Madrid, España COORDINADOR GENERAL coordinador@aer-dx.org AER http://www.aer-dx.org info@aer-dx.org July 1, DXLD) ** TURKEY. ''Voice of Turkey" Ankara 11655 LSB, O300 ID of "Voice of Turkey" with news and program in English, another ID at 0310 also in English with news from the Turkish Press, S6, very good reception (Tony Berry, Burlington Ontario, July 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Interesting; current printed schedule says this is DSB, tho at a very few other times they claim to use USB (gh, DXLD) ** UGANDA. 7195 R. Uganda, Kampala. Low level, muffled audio & unable to make out much. Played a single stanza of NA at 2100*, which I taped & compared to a midi version of the Uganda NA on the web. Not on usual 4976 & have extended use of this daytime channel, for reasons unknown, 29/6 (Craig Seager, NSW, ADXN via DXLD) ** U K. http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/media/story.jsp?story=81151 A few last words, then deadly static By Kathy Marks in Sydney 01 July 2001 The assassination was swift and savage. Without warning or fanfare, the BBC World Service pulled the plug at 10.58 GMT yesterday on four shortwave frequencies in Australasia. There was not even a mournful rendition of the Last Post. The cultured tones of the continuity announcer simply gave way to static. BBC listeners in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific, heard their last World Service transmission on 11955, one of the wavelengths consigned to radio`s graveyard. From today, they will be left with just three erratic frequencies, and the BBC will have lost some of its most loyal fans. In the US and Canada, BBC audiences are in even worse straits. At 0700 GMT today, all shortwave transmissions to North America were to be switched off, with listeners forced to rely on patchy FM rebroadcasts or an audio feed from a sluggish and congested internet. Unmoved by a tide of angry protests, the World Service has pressed ahead with its deeply unpopular decision to axe shortwave in North America and drastically curtail it in Australasia. A total of 1.2 million people will be affected. "It's appalling. It's short- sighted," said David Norrie, a listener in New Zealand. "It's like losing a friend, someone you thought you could trust." The move will save £500,000, which Mark Byford, director of the World Service, says will be used to improve the delivery of shortwave to less developed countries. But critics say that many people in the two regions do not have access to FM rebroadcasts, and point out that the other alternative suggested by Mr Byford -- the Internet -- lacks the versatility of a radio. If the World Service has misjudged its audience, other broadcasters are more canny. From today, Radio Netherlands will transmit to North America on all nine frequencies abandoned by the BBC. "Shortwave remains the only direct way to share a full range of important issues with a loyal audience in the USA and Canada," said Lodewijk Bouwens, the director-general of Radio Netherlands. The last three hours of 11955 beamed to Australasia were a painful reminder of all that listeners will miss. First came Outlook, a daily half-hour examination of human interest issues around the world. An interlude of Kurdish music and a poetry reading were followed by Right [sic] On, a weekly programme where listeners air their views about the BBC. One topic not discussed was the shortwave controversy; after being swamped by emails, the producers decreed a fortnight ago that a line should be drawn beneath the subject. Instead, listener Tim from Luxembourg, complained about the unwelcome distraction of music played during Sports World. Shortly before 9 pm local time in Sydney, a classical music request programme hosted by Edward Greenfield drew to a close. "There'll be more from Edward next time," said the continuity announcer. Not for many people in Australasia and North America there won`t (via David Norrie, NZ, DXLD) ** U K [non]. All-Jonathan-all-the-time, confirmed on ex-BBC via Sackville 5965 before 1200 July 1, and after then on much better 9515. Perhaps I`ll try to listen to this show, once, sometime, on the internet. Also after 1300 on 11865, and as expected much better here via Delano than BBC via WYFR was, holding its own better against super-splatter WEWN 11875. Earlier, as UT July 1 began, I was monitoring 9590, and BBC made the usual switch from Sackville to Delano, so I guess the end came at 0400 or 0700. From Australia, Chris Hambly tells me the morning broadcast there on 5975 was already gone UT June 30 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Have been listening to RNW as they have been using BBC's frequencies. 6135 and 6175 were still BBC last night up thru 0700 GMT; 9515 faded into the woodwork by 1500, 11865 was beat up by China on 11860 and an evangelist on 11870, and RNW audio about useless, 15220 some better and in the clear. Will try 17840 at 1700 and see how that progresses. And then like you say, Is this permanent or a flash in the pan for a week or a couple days? Good to hear from you, Take care, 73's Sincerely (Colonel Jon Standingbear, Army Radio Station adn3u, Beaumont, Calif, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The real reason they dropped broadcasts to the Pacific and North America can be summed up as (1) They`re satisfied that things are under control here, i.e. mainstream thinking is consistent with what BBC management (and to a lesser extent the British government) likes, (2) there are other avenues for BBC programming in these regions. So to get them to reconsider, we simply need to demonstrate that this isn`t the case. Here are some tactics that would probably work: 1. Have the Canadian government declare French its sole official language. 2. Better still, have the Australian and NZ governments declare French as their official language, and add that it`s "to forge a stronger relationship with Tahiti, Wallis & Futuna, and New Caledonia". 3. Organize a Million Irishman March on Washington DC - burn the Union Jack, hang Tony in effigy, and have lots of rousing speeches supporting the IRA and Shin Fein (or however it's supposed to be spelled). 4. Have George W. make a profound malapropic statement about Britain. For example, "the English should abolish the monarchy and replace it with a free market economy like ours". 5. Have a wealthy person make a large donation to National Public Radio, with the condition that they replace all BBC programs with Howard Stern. 6. Get the US government to demand membership in the Commonwealth. After all, the US is in part a collection of former British colonies. This would raise difficult questions the British government would prefer not to deal with, like "Just what is the purpose of the Commonwealth, and what does it do?" It would fall on the BBCWS to try to convincingly answer these sorts of questions without actually lying or telling the truth. 7. Have one of the London radio stations change its format to nothing but American talk shows like Rush Limbaugh, Art Bell, etc. The British will quickly find out how awful our social and political institutions really are, not to mention general level of ignorance that exists in the U.S. Someone can probably add to the list, but the key thing is to show them we aren`t the enlightened people they think we are. Hopefully, moves like these will show them we need their wisdom at least as much as the parts of the world they still serve. 73 (Bruce Portzer, WA, hard-core-dx, swl@qth.net via DXLD) HI! My two cents worth. I feel that if the BBC hadn`t adopted such a cavalier attitude concerning QSLing over the past few years, they would have probably received a few million more letters (over the years) than they did. This would have given them a much better perspective of the REAL effectiveness of their broadcasts and their audience size. But when you decide it isn`t worth the effort to answer a listener`s letter, the listeners eventually decide it isn`t worth the postage costs and time writing the station no matter how many hours you listen. I know that I can`t afford to throw my money in the toilet! Me? If I can`t find the Beeb on my usual 9740 kHz morning frequency I`ll simply find something else to listen to. So many stations, so little time... 73 de (Phil, KO6BB DX begins at the noise floor! swl@qth.net via DXLD) Bad example: 9740 continues since it is really for East Asia (gh) The Old Grey Lady of SW broadcasting didn't even have the courtesy to kiss us goodbye. (~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., Joe Buch, DE, swprograms via DXLD) Nope. From their perspective, they`re not saying goodbye. And given the way they measure their audience, they`ll never realize what they've lost (Ralph Brandi, ibid.) Here is an article in the Palm Beach Post newspaper website today about the loss of BBC World Service. (It`s pretty good in my opinion) http://www.gopbi.com/partners/pbpost/epaper/editions/saturday/accent_2.html When BBC signs off tonight, British Empire will truly fall By Michael Browning, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Saturday, June 30, 2001 Tonight, far above the Atlantic Ocean, the ionosphere will be a less lively, jostling, interesting place. The BBC, the Beeb, the British Broadcasting Corporation, will cease shortwave radio transmissions to the United States at midnight. ... (via John Townes, swprograms via DXLD) World Service Appointment http://www.waveguide.co.uk/latest/news010629.htm#WorldServiceAppointment Miles Palmer has been appointed the BBC World Service`s new Head of Business Development as part of the international broadcaster`s continuing drive to enhance radio and online relationships around the world, it was announced today. The BBC said Palmer`s new role will drive BBC World Service`s international programme distribution strategy through local partnerships. BBC World Service is expecting to increase significantly its FM listeners and online users over the next five years through its proven partnership programme. His appointment follows an extensive BBC career and recent commercial experience in online directory provider BTLookSmart. ... (via John Townes, July 1, swprograms via DXLD) A lot has been made of the fact that RealAudio and similar technology ties one to a phone line or TV cable whereas one can take a shirt pocket SW receiver to the beach. However, there IS a portable internet service. Unfortunately, the coverage is relatively limited and the fees expensive. Ricochet.com/Metricom.com is available in many larger U.S. cities. But the fee is $80/month for 128k and about $30/month for an older 28.8 technology. The 28.8 was installed, I believe, in San Francisco-Oakland-San José, Wáshington and Seattle and is not being installed in the newer markets. (Of course, you have to buy the hardware but this seems to be reasonable.) (Joël Rubin, NY, July 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. Re: DXLD 1-085: MADAGASCAR For the first time I heard the temporary broadcasts via RNW MDG relay towards CE&S Africa today. It`s a BBC/Merlin organized broadcast, but never read about the aim and organization behind this broadcast in the mail/press recently, only the announcement via Observer. 11715 1635-1655 MDG Carrier from about 1627 on air, well ahead of Vatican SMG on co-channel in Russian and Ukrainian. 200 kW and the azimuth gives a fine signal here in Europe, propagating well at winter time downunder. Sudden start, no real ID, African language, like Swahili, not religious!, rather political, nx, comments, and from 1645-1655 Radio Play program, sudden s-off at 1655. Frequent mention of TZA, also UGA and ZMB mentioned. 43333 Looks like they offer the remaining available operation time 'pauses' of the 200 kW unit to Merlin Comm. (Woflgang Büschel, Germany, Jun 26, BC-DX via DXLD) Could it be BBC Great Lakes service in Kinyarwanda/Kirundi, which I think is scheduled at 1630-1700 Mon-Fri on 11860 and 21490? Certainly these funny transmissions via MDG look like tests, but why? I think I read somewhere a (published) item by a BBC WS dignitary mentioning that they will soon need to move the Indian Ocean relay station to a new location, by the way. It wasn`t clear whether this meant a new location in the Seychelles or a new location somewhere else (Alan Davies, Thailand, Jun 28, BC-DX via DXLD) Sure they were not referring to Oman relay move from Masirah in Indian Ocean, to mainland? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. VOA Director Sanford Ungar's statement that "...Maybe there are some people who think it`s romantic to have trouble hearing the radio, but not me" is arrogant, insulting and juvenile. I enjoy some VOA programming but seldom do they acknowledge their American audience. I`d like to hear the VOA speak to us on occasion rather than always speak for us. Kim Elliott is the only VOA announcer I`ve heard address a US listener in his program (Chuck Ermatinger, swprograms via DXLD) Sandy made that comment some time ago, but reminding us of it is a fine way to send him off to his new job today (gh, DXLD) I do not agree that Ungar's statement is arrogant, insulting and juvenile. He was simply stating his opinion as one who apparently never experienced the thrill of the SW radio listening experience. He never marveled as a kid to being able to hear people talking half a world away with a receiver he built himself. He had to learn his geography in school. His loss. He deserves our pity, not our wrath. Yours truly the arrogant and juvenile, (~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., Joe Buch -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*- .,_,.-*~'^, swprograms via DXLD) You`re wrong about Sandy, Joe. I worked with him often during his short stint as VOA Director. Sandy, more than most, worked effectively to RIGHT several WRONGS he inherited when taking on the VOA Directorship ... Including an unsuccessful NewsNow format, almost complete ignorance by VOA of television and the internet and creating an 'open' working environment as opposed to one where decisions are regularly made in 'closed meetings' behind 'closed doors.' Sandy was, among other things, a journalist who worked for many years in Africa. He knew his geography by BEING THERE, not from books or listening to the radio. He was sensitive to and effectively defended the ever-present issues of how VOA covers, presents and 'sources' its news. Before you judge someone's comments or accomplishments, you really should know what limitations they have to work under. For Sandy, and any incoming VOA Director, that includes a Broadcasting Board of Governors who view VOA in the 21st century as but one of several 'tools' the U.S. Government uses to gets its view across -- the others being Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Radio/TV Martí. VOA and 'the surrogate radios' are seeing their stagnant or dwindling resources pulled in many different directions these days as the methods used to reach target audiences multiply. Sandy did a lot during his time at VOA under very difficult circumstances and will be sorely missed by those of us concerned about the direction and tenor of U.S. international broadcasting and the role of VOA in it. I am an employee of the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau. The thoughts expressed above are my own and do not represent any official policy or statement of the USG. (Bill Whitacre, DC, swprograms via DXLD) It was not my intent to smear Mr. Ungar; simply to try to explain why somebody who did not grow up listening to SW might feel as he does. To the extent that my comments led others to believe I was critical of Mr. Ungar`s performance at VOA or critical of his professional skills, I apologize to him and to the members of this list. (~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., Joe Buch, ibid.) ** U S A. Der US Kommerzsender WWFV (ex WGTG) kündigt auf seiner Heimatseite http://www.wwfv.org/ an, zu den bisherigen zwei Kurzwellensendern noch drei weitere in Betrieb nehmen zu wollen. Sender Nr. 3 soll wohl schon einsatzbereit sein und man wartet nur noch auf die endgültige Betriebsgenehmigung. WWFV dürfte als absolutes Negativbeispiel gelten, was Programminhalt und Hoererpostbeantwortung angeht. Wer sich selbst ein (Hör-) Bild von dieser Station machen möchte, kann ja mal beispielsweise diese zwei Frequenzen einschalten: 6890 kHz 2200-0100, 3270 kHz 0100-0500 (Uwe Volk, Deutschland, A-DX Jun 29, via BC-DX via DXLD) ** U S A. Music returns to WWKB: The New York Radio Message Board is buzzing about the format change at WWKB 1520 in Buffalo. Apparently, they are ditching their business format and adopting a 70's pop format at 3 p.m. this afternoon. They will also be carrying Joey Reynolds overnights. I am sure that I am not the only one on this list who has fond memories of the old WKBW with their top 40 format. Their 50 kW signal at night was better than any of the Hartford 5 kW top 40 stations (WDRC-1360 + WPOP-1410) once the sun went down. I believe they beam out east to protect Oklahoma City. I used to get a kick listening to KB during Buffalo`s many snow emergencies during the 70's. They would broadcast no school announcements during late afternoon drive time for the following day! http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20010629/1006086.asp URL of the New York Radio Message Board is http://www.musicradio77.com/wwwboard/ (Kent Plourde, Bristol, CT, June 30, NRC-AM via DXLD) You mean, there is something on 1520 besides KOMA?? (gh, OK, DXLD) The WKBW day/night pattern is a kidney bean, null to the west. They go on to note that in S. NC and N. SC is subject to interference from "CMBD". WKBW is one of the first stations I started DXing with in the 70s. They sent me a QSL for my written report in 1982, complete with form letter, day and night coverage maps and sticker (the small rectangular one with a rainbow). Mid evenings to midnight was a great screaming DJ Jim Quinn. I knew my WGSR 1570 DX-Test format would eventually catch on . This is fabulous news. I hope I can aircheck the dickens out of them while this lasts!! (or if someone closer than FL could do it as a favor/trade.) As my kids and XYL say, Stuck in the 70s (Ron Gitschier, Turks & Caicos, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Cleveland switcheroo: Here is the summary from WCLV`s web pages. It sounds sorta like KING in Seattle. You`ll notice that WCLV AM`s oldies are at least a couple of generations older than most oldies -- George Gershwin, Cole Porter, et alia. http://www.wclv.com:8080/wclv/new_detail.jsp?id=95 On July 3rd, the Great Cleveland Frequency Swap involving three radio companies and seven radio stations will take place. This is the most complex such re-alignment in Ohio radio history. Of most interest to WCLV listeners will be the move of the station`s 39-year-old classical music format from 95.5 to 104.9. This is another step in the process to preserve classical music on the radio in Cleveland, which will culminate with the donation of the station to a new non-profit foundation, the WCLV Foundation. The Foundation, whose charge will be to preserve the classical format for as long as there are listeners wanting to hear classical music, will be made up of representatives of The Cleveland Foundation, the Cleveland public broadcasters -- WVIZ/PBS and WCPN (FM) -- and the WCLV stockholders. Eventually, the profit from WCLV-FM will go to five major Cleveland area arts organizations: The Cleveland Orchestra, The Cleveland Institute of Music, The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Cleveland Playhouse and The Cleveland Foundation. Also on July 3rd, WCLV 1420 AM debuts with the classic pops format that has been a staple of WRMR for almost 20 years. Not only will WCLV 1420 AM preserve the great American standards of Gershwin, Porter and Sinatra, it will keep on Cleveland airwaves three popular Cleveland voices: Ted Hallaman, Jim Davis and Carl Reese. WCLV (AM) will remain in the hands of the WCLV stockholders, who will operate WCLV-FM on behalf of the WCLV Foundation (via Joel Rubin) Summarizing: WCLV 95.5 moves its classical music to: 104.9, present home of WAKS WAKS moves its Kiss rock to: 96.5, present home of WKDD WKDD moves its Hot AC to: 98.1, present home of WHK-FM WHK-FM moves to: 95.5 and becomes WFSM with a new Christian rock format WHK (AM) moves its religious programming from 1420 AM to: 1220 AM, present home of WKNR WKNR moves it sports/talk to: 850 AM, present home of WRMR WRMR disappears, and its format of classic pops moves to: WCLV 1420 AM (Joël Rubin, NY, July 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN CITY. Vatican Radio "Electrosmog" update: The well-known research on child leukaemia around V.R. site was finally published in its entirety, and this is what Dr. Carlo Perucci had concluded: in an area of 10 km around the station there are no differences in the rates of leukaemia. The maximum risk has been observed in a 2 km area, where one case occurred. As the Rome average is 0.16, one case is about 0.16 per 6(=0.96). Dr. Perucci had added: "Speaking of just one case, this is not statistically significant." Not so for ex-Environment Minister Willer Bordon, who based all his campaign against Vatican Radio on the dogma that at Santa Maria di Galeria the rate of leukaemia cases is six times as high as in Rome. The 6 V/meter limit imposed by the Italian law is the highest in Europe; the Czech norm allows only 5 V/m. By the way, we're not going to hear about Mr Willer Bordon and Mr Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio as before. On May 13th a General Election took place in Italy and the centre left government lost the centre right coalition of Mr. Silvio Berlusconi. Some days later, on May 18th, the results of the joint Italian- Vatican measurements showed that SW transmissions from Santa Maria di Galeria were within Italian standards. MW were still a little above. This will bring interesting developments for MW enthusiasts, as by August 31st Vatican R will start broadcasting via a European relay station which is still unknown at the moment as talks are in progress. In the joint statement, the Bilateral Commission also made clear that in the future no more houses will be built in the area surrounding the radio station. [!] Because of the change of government and the May 18th agreement, it looks as if the Vatican Radio issue will never be so hot again! MW 1530 is off the air for 7.5 h a day during daytime; it suffers from some interference during evenings from Romania but is still good here in Bologna. 4005 kHz, though scheduled continuously from 1600 to 0645 the following morning, is off the air, but has been long before the electrosmog issue, so totally independent of this (excerpted; Stefano Valianti, Italy, in BDXC-UK 'Communication' June via BC-DX via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [non]. Had not checked this for several weeks, so Sunday July 1 around 1530 reconfirmed RHC with Aló Presidente on 9820; usual declamations by Hugo Chávez (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [non]. Khmer Krom. The carrier was there already when I switched on at 1335. It was weak, about S=3, clearly indicating a Far East site. Moscow pips \\ 15770 came on at 1354 and the program at 1359. One of the Norwegian noise-makers on 15735 produced quite a bit of splash on 15725. The buzzy carrier on 15725 seems to be the same as appears on 15440 at 2200, so I guess they are using the same txer. My best guess is that the site is Tavrichanka using the same buzzy 2 x 120 kW pair that was used for VDB on 5945 and for WCNA on 15445 last winter (Olle Alm, Sweden, Jun 29, BC-DX via DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. ALGERIA/W Sahara. Heard the usual morning bc of RASD Rabuni location near Tindouf at about 0620-0630 June 25 on v7459.48, but suffered co-channel English speaking stn, US religious? (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, BC-DX via DXLD) Yes, the religious station is WWCR Tx #4. Its current sched until Aug 1st is: 7435 1000-1300 & 2200-0500 7460 0500-0900 9475 1300-2200 2390 0900-1000 At 0500-0900 7460 is carrying our old friend Brother Stair. Have you heard it also on 7385 WRMI and 7415 WBCQ. All three are in \\ . It will be interesting to see what happens now in the Sahara region. If RASD is located on Algerian territory they just might withdraw permission for it to broadcast (Noel R. Green, UK, Jun 25, ibid.) ** ZAMBIA. 6265 ZNBC, Lusaka. One we hoped to hear via longpath and we did. Very poor level from 0514 improving then f/out at 0613. Good to know our reception last year was not a once-off (John Schache, Limekilns NSW, Australian DX News via DXLD) Very strong local lang ID "Radio One" 1740, 2/6. Again 1500 on 23/6 (Jem Cullen, Springwood NSW, ibid.) Fair 0530, but vaguely audible in the half-hour or so prior to that. Vernaculars service & a very rare country here via long path. Pretty easy shortpath; 23/6 (Craig Seager, Limekilns, NSW, ADXN via DXLD) ###