DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-155, October 21, 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] WORLD OF RADIO #1101: NEXT BROADCASTS on WWCR: Mon 0500 on 3215, Tue 1100 on 15685 NEXT BROADCASTS on RFPI: Tue 1900, Wed 0100 on 15050, 21815-USB (STREAM) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1101.ram (DOWNLOAD) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1101.rm (SUMMARY) http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/wor1101.html ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. I've seen reports of the 8700 programming being heard, which imply that this signal is coming from the Solo aircraft. This does not make a lot of sense to me, as who on the ground there would be able to get this signal? I suggest the possibility that the programming is being produced stateside, sat-fed to a base in the region (Incirlik would be one plausible possibility, or at-sea) and xmitted FROM the base on 8700 to be rcvd by the aircraft and then re- xmitted FROM the aircraft on 864 and 1107 MW, which ARE available to refugees etc. This would insure the program feed is up-to-date with political events, and frees the aircraft crew from having to originate programming. To examine this idea further would require hearing a good-enough signal on MW to examine the audio quality for artifices of SSB-type modulation characteristics, which I suppose is out of reach for most of us. Also some one in the ME area examining 8700 itself for an indication of being local-like. Discussion? - (Bob Foxworth, FL, Oct 21, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Yes, I agree. The signal on 8700 kHz USB is very strong here in Finland. I doubt it is coming from an aircraft. Listeners in Afghanistan simply don't have JRC-NRD or Icom -receivers to hear SSB mode signals. In 1999 Commando Solo used 1003 and 1270 kHz with clear AM signal for ordinary receivers in Yugoslavia & Kosovo. Incirlik in Turkey is a possible location, another might be Diego Garcia where the military base is very active now according to press reports. Has anyone heard AFRTS Diego Garcia recently on SW? (Jorma Mantyla, Kangasala, Finland, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Well, their website says, that they do carry a shortwave transmitter on board, along with MW, FM and TV. So at least there is the technical setup to operate on SW. Second point: I can't imagine that the broadcasts are targeting towards refugees only. This is not an altruistic information campaign, we are talking about psychological warfare. The programmes are aimed towards Taliban troops, telling them why the USA is fighting against them and telling them to surrender, lay down their weapons etc. The information for the public is just a spin-off. If 8700 kHz USB would be the main Taliban operating frequency it would be very clever to use it. My guess is, that the programmes are taped and repeated all over again. Of course, the SW can come from Uzbekistan or elsewhere in the area, not necessarily from the aircraft, but I'm not convinced, that it is a classical feeder. Of course, at this point it's just my personal speculation. -- 73's (Martin Elbe, Germany, Oct 21, Hard- Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) Diego García. I would like to subscribe to Glenn Hauser's and others' guess here: the 8700 kHz broadcasts could well originate from Diego García or other location in that region. This guess is supported by numerous listener observations from USA, Japan, New Zealand, Argentina and Europe (thanks to DX Listening Digests) since the signal propagation from DG to different parts of the world at the times observed during the past few days is very likely. Also my own observations in Finland seem to support this theory. 73 (Jari Perkiömäki, Vaasa, Finland, Oct 21, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) There is a greyline between Seattle and Indian Ocean going roughly along the 70th meridian between 0100-0125 UT. It corresponds nicely with location of Diego Garcia which lays in that area: 6 dgr. South, 72 dgr. East (est.) The greyline bends a little bit to north-east, so there is no greyline between Seattle and Afghanistan at that time of the day. So I would really suppose that the feeder is located in Diego García. This is supported by propagation charts for path between central Europe and Indian Ocean. The chart says that signals on 8 or 9 MHz should improve rapidly between 1300-1400 UT. And that is really true - I am just observing the signal on 8700 kHz coming up stronger and stronger during last 30 minutes from nothing to very good level (it is 1345 UTC at the moment). So I would bet on Diego García. BTW - this morning I saw on our Prima TV a shot about psycho war in Afghanistan. They showed some American aircraft and radio technicians tuning their transceivers (around 21400 kHz :-) ). In the shot the speaker (not the technicians) was talking about dropped radios with "permanent frequency and battery" - but what was interesting was a guy from the BBC Monitoring (maybe Dave Kenny would know him) who said they were pessimistic about airborne broadcasts to Afghanistan. He said that the way how the texts and comments were written could easily irritate people in Afghanistan and the music played is not the one which would fit today's situation in Afghanistan. It seems to be similar to a character of airborne broadcasts in 1999 in Kosovo which I have been happy to receive daily from an aircraft flying above Serbia/Kosovo almost 1000 km (700 miles) from my location and broadcasting on 1003 kHz. I understand Serbian and I found the broadcasts a very strong propaganda against Miloshevich, repeated again and again by angry voices and bad language (probably the speakers were Serbs living for a very long time in the U.S. - they had a strong American accent). Such a broadcast sounds more like an enemy broadcast than anything else... I am a bit suspicious that the U.S., a big nation living more or less within its own world, have a problem to find a way how to speak to smaller nations, living in distant locations of the Globe... But that was not what I wanted to write about... I think the greyline was the matter...sorry... GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic (Czechia), Oct 21, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. USA/Afghanistan: Excerpt from US broadcast to Afghan people | Excerpt from US-run Information Radio broadcast to Afghanistan [Announcer in Dari] "The noble people of Afghanistan. We want through coalition countries to offer our best wishes to you on the occasion of the Night of Ascension [Shab-e Meraj]. In this way we want to express our support for and show our respect to you. We know that this is a holy day and a time for thinking and prayers. We would like to express our support and backing for Muslims throughout the world to honour this holy day. The coalition countries do not wish to see your religious beliefs being undermined. As the doors of the heaven were opened to Prophet Mohammad [on the Night of Ascension], those doors will be also be open to you. Taking advantage of the opportunity, please think about the situation which has caused problems in the world for some times; and pray so that God Almighty bring an end to these frightening days. The coalition countries want to demonstrate to you and other Muslims in the world that the aim of this war is not to eliminate Islam but to bring to justice those who have shown disrespect to the name of Prophet Mohammad, may God peace and blessing be upon him and his family, and to God Almighty and Islam."... [Above item was then repeated in Pashto. Other speech was also heard on the frequency, 8700 kHz upper sideband, which did not appear to be part of the broadcast. An unidentified man spoke in one side of what could have been a conversation in Dari using swear words and criticizing the Northern Alliance and their support for American forces. The source of the speech is unknown.] Source: Information Radio in Dari and Pashto 1330 gmt 20 Oct 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) WAR BRINGS SURGE IN RADIO SALES! Similar to what we saw during the Gulf war, the response to the Afghanistan Taliban has stimulated an increase in sales of shortwave radio receivers and Monitoring Times subscriptions are going up by the hundred's. Grove Enterprises reports sales doubling or tripling since the September 11th World Trade Center tragedy, with high sales continuing in spite of the generally-soft economy. Shortwave purchases seem to be equally distributed among entry-level portables and high-end tabletops. Grove reports record-high web site visits as interested Americans learn that they can hear world broadcasters reporting events, and can even tune in to the military two-way activity on single-sideband (Grove radio rumors page via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Donald Rumsfeld interviewé au sujet des frappes aériennes en Afghanistan répond à Hafadh Merazi de la chaîne Al- Jazira: ``Considérez-vous Radio Charia comme une cible militaire ou civile?``. Le secrétaire à la défense répond sans détours: ``Sans doute les multiples radios sont sous contrôle des talibans, on ne peut pas les considérer comme des médias libres. Ils sont la voix de la propagande des talibans et de ceux qui soutiennent le terrorisme et Al-Qaida (l`organisation d`Oussama Ben Leden).`` Pour marquer l`empreinte d`Al-Jazirza, le journaliste n`hésite pas à enfoncer le clou: ``Donc, les civils qui travaillent pour la Voix de l`Amérique, la radio du gouvernement américain, peuvent être considérés par les taliban (s`ils en avaient les moyens) comme une cible militaire?``. Sans laisser apparaître le moindre signe d`agacement, Donald Rumsfeld rétorque: ``La Voix de l`Amérique est financée par le gouvernement des Etats Unis, mais elle bénéficie de la liberté. Elle dit ce qu`elle veut, elle n`est pas sous le contrôle du département d`Etat``. (Rewfik Hakem via Le Monde du 18 Octobre 2001) Le Pentagone a fait diffuser des messages par les émetteurs placés dans quatre avions EC130 affectés aux opérations de guerre psychologique: ``Attention peuple d`Afghanistan, les forces des Etats Unis vont arriver dans cette zone. Nous sommes ici pour Oussama Ben Laden, Al-Qaeda et ceux qui les protègent. Pour votre propre sécurité, merci d`éviter les ponts et les routes, et ne gênez pas nos troupes et nos opérations militaires. Si vous suivez ce conseil, vous serez saufs….`` Les Afghans recevaient déjà des tracts largués par avion où figure une antenne grossièrement dessinée ainsi que les fréquences sur lesquelles caler sa radio pour écouter la Voix de l`Amérique. Les opérations de guerre psychologiques (Psy-Ops) sont l`un des modes d`action des forces spéciales. Elles disposent, par exemple, d`une escadrille d`avions EC130 Commando Solo, qui sont en fait de véritables studios de radiotélévision volants. Ils diffusent aujourd`hui des émissions (sur 864, 1107 et 8700 kHz) afin d`expliquer aux Afghans le bien fondé de l`opération Enduring Freedom. (Libération 20 octobre 2001) Interrogé en milieu de journée (19 octobre) sur CNN, M. Rumsfeld a confirmé que les émissions radio diffusées grâce à des émetteurs transportés par des avions, invitaient les miliciens talibans et leurs alliés à ``se rendre``, sans que cela, a-t-il dit, signifie qu`ils doivent se rendre à des troupes américaines. (Le Monde 20 octobre 2001) (tous via Bernard Chenal, France, Oct 21, DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Radio Sol émet en français deux heures par jour en Afghanistan Par Laurence Girard, Le Monde 18 octobre 2001 (page 21) Lundi 8 octobre, quelques heures après le début des frappes américaines, une radio française bénévole est née en Afghanistan. Ce projet baptisé Radio Sol est soutenu par l`association Droit de parole. ``Nous essayons de monter cette radio depuis 1996, nous voulions l`appeler Paroles de femmes, mais nous nous sommes heurtés à l`indifférence face aux problèmes de l`afghanistan. Les événements nous ont amenés à modifier quelque peu notre projet, mais nous souhaitons toujours promouvoir le rôle de la femme`` souligne Dragica Ponorac, qui anime l`association Droit de parole. L`émetteur FM de 150 watts, installé avec le studio rudimentaire à Jabul Saraj, dans les territoires contrôlés par l`Alliance du Nord, diffuse pour l`instant deux heures d`émissions quotidiennes, l`une le matin et l`autre l`après-midi. L`objectif est d`établir très vite une grille de programmes de huit heures en dari et en pachtou. ``Nous voulons proposer des programmes d`éducation en liaison avec l`Unesco, des programmes culturels, des cours de prévention maternelle infantile avec des ONG, et bien sûr un programme musical``, précise Dragica Ponorac. Des bulletins d`information réguliers seront également diffusés. Recherche de partenaires Pour mener à bien ce projet, une équipe d`une dizaine de personnes d`origine afghanes, dont deux femmes, s`est constituée. Parmi eux, Fahim Dashty, un journaliste blessé lors de l`attentat qui a coûté la vie au commandant Massoud le 9 septembre. Limitée aujourd`hui par la faible puissance de son émetteur, Radio Sol tente de trouver des partenaires pour étendre la portée de ses ondes. Dragica Ponorac a d`abord frappé à la porte de Télédiffusion de France (TDF) pour obtenir un soutien technique et concrétiser l`installation d`un émetteur de 50 kW sur la montagne de Darban, nécessaire à la couverture de Kaboul. ``Nous avons prêté du matériel lors de la première opération de Droit de parole lors de la guerre en ex- Yougoslavie. Des liens se sont créés et nous sommes prêts à renouveler l`opération``, déclare Thierry Bernard, directeur de la communication de TDF. Dès 1993, un bateau émetteur sillonnant la mer Adriatique le long de certaines côtes de l`ex-Yougoslavie, était devenu le siège de Radio Brod , une station pluraliste et multi- ethnique qui a diffusé ses émissions pendant un an (Le Monde du 9 novembre 1993). Lors de cette première expérience, certains avaient crié au gâchis –Radio Brod a bénéficié de 19,4 millions de francs d`aides européennes - pour une radio que ``presque personne``» n`entendait. Aujourd`hui, Radio Sol espère trouver un appui auprès de Radio France Internationale (RFI). ``L`initiative mérite d`être encouragée, mais nous ne souhaitons pas transformer notre média en instrument de propagande. Nous réfléchissons à la façon dont nous pouvons les aider, en délimitant bien les choses``, affirme Erlends Calabuig, directeur des antennes en langues étrangères de RFI. Cette dernière est, avec la britannique BBC et l`américaine Voice of America, l`une des trois radios occidentales que l`on peut capter en Afghanistan, en langue persane. Depuis le 11 septembre, le dispositif a été renforcé et l`heure de programme habituelle s`est transformée en une heure et demie d`information. Des journalistes ont été envoyés au Pakistan et en Afghanistan, où ils travaillent avec les correspondants, et la rédaction de RMC Moyen-Orient, autre filiale de RFI (via Bernard Chenal, France, Oct 21, DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Media round-up, 21 October 2001 Balkh radio heard on 21 October A technical issue prevented BBC Monitoring from confirming that Radio Voice of Shari'ah of Balkh Province - the Taleban-controlled provincial radio station based in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif - was broadcasting during its scheduled morning transmission from 0230 and 0430 gmt on 21 October. BBC Monitoring had no access to possible output from the station during that period. The radio was heard later on 21 October during the scheduled evening transmission. It signed-on at 1230 gmt on 21 October broadcasting recitations from the Koran. Yesterday, 20 October, the station had behaved normally and signed- off at approximately 1610 gmt following a programme in Uzbek. Balkh radio Following are items from the evening Dari broadcast at 1330 gmt on 20 Oct 01 1. The coordinator of the northern zone and governor of Balkh Province met a number of military and civilian officials in Sholgara District today 2. The head of the Balkh Province transport department met a number of counterparts from Baghlan, Samangan Provinces. 3. The head of the agriulture department of Balkh Province chaired a staff meeting today. 4. The head of the crime department of Balkh Province had a meeting with mola imams of the 5th and 11th Districts today. 5. A delegation of the military department for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice attended a meeting of thousands of scholars and elders of Keshendeh District recently. 6. Ulema, scholars and the religious people of Zari District held a meeting in support of the goals of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan yesterday. 7. A delegation of the department for the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice of Balkh Province attended a meeting of scholars and religious people of Charbolak and Balkh Districts. 8. Commentary: Almost two weeks have passed since the US government attack on Afghanistan. Political commentators thought that as the USA attacked, anarchy and disorder would be created in the ranks of the Taleban army. (Reception poor at end). Source: Radio Voice of Shari'ah of Balkh Province, Mazar-e Sharif, in Dari 1330 gmt 20 Oct 01 US troops landed but "ran away" - Afghan Taleban A Taleban commander based in northern Balkh Province said on Saturday that American troops landed in the foothills of Afghanistan on Friday but fled when Taleban forces attacked them, Mola Dadollah Akhond was asked by Afghan Taleban Balkh radio to comment on "reports that America has put ground forces into Afghanistan and that they are carrying out an operation". "Last night the Americans landed some people clandestinely in the foothills of the mountains," Dadollah said, but Taleban fighters learned about the landings. "They made an attack and the Americans ran away," Dadollah said. "That was the first time they landed, next time, with God's help they may not come down at all." Asked by the radio what he thought American ground forces would achieve if they entered Afghanistan, Dadollah replied: "America going into Afghanistan will be a graveyard for the Americans just as it turned into a graveyard for the Russians." Dadollah dismissed claims that the US forces have destroyed Taleban military might. "The Taleban military might remains in place," he said. "No danger has been caused to the Taleban, nothing of the Taleban has been destroyed. These airports which they hit or some other places which they hit - let them not rejoice at that, for this will not demoralize anybody. All Taleban mojahedin and all Muslim mojahedin have risen up. Before there was one person was fighting in the way of Islam, whereas today, God willing, men and women are fighting together along the way of Islam. Let them come and see whether the military might of the mojahedin of the heroic army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan exists or not." Source: Radio Voice of Shari'ah of Balkh Province, Mazar-e Sharif, in Dari 1345 gmt 20 Oct 01 Following are items from the evening Uzbek broadcast at 1550 gmt on 20 Oct 01 1. The team of the Northern zone office for promotion of virtue and prevention of vice held meetings in some areas to inform the population on the situation about the US-led attack on the country. 2. Another group of Balkh Province officials visited Charbolak and Balkh districts and briefed the residents on the policy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. 3. The Balkh provincial department for agriculture announced at a meeting that the peasants will be provided with wheat seeds and fertilizers during autumn sowing season. 4. At a meeting held in Zari District yesterday, local scholars and elders voiced their support for the policy of the IEA and condemned the aggression of the USA and other enemies. 5. A meeting held in Sholgara District discussed the current political and military situation in the country. The readiness for holy war, jihad was expressed at it. (Reception worsened) 6. A commentary says that the Prophet Mohammad was sent to the people to lead them to the true path. It also says some western radio stations, particularly VOA, BBC and others, by justifying the US-led attack, try to divert the true Muslims from jihad. They even say that Mola Mohammad Omar mojahed is not authorized to declare a jihad war. (Reception very poor; duration about 6'45") Source: Radio Voice of Shari'ah of Balkh Province, Mazar-e Sharif, in Uzbek 1550 gmt 20 Oct 01 [NOTE: news reports indicate Mazar-e Sharif may fall soon to the Northern Alliance; this would leave BBC without any Taleban radio to Monitor! Tsk. Actually, this station could have been blown off the air at the outset like Kabul`s, but was evidently spared for a reason -gh] Kabul radio still unheard The Taleban radio station, Radio Voice of Shari'ah from Kabul, has remained unheard by BBC Monitoring since Monday 8 October. Radio Voice of Shari'ah from Kabul, which is usually on the air from 0130- 0400 and 1230-1800 gmt, has not been heard on any of its three frequencies - 657 kHz and 1107 kHz mediumwave and 7085 kHz (variable) shortwave - since 1610 gmt on 8 October. US-run psychological operations "Information Radio" continues BBC Monitoring continues to hear broadcasts on shortwave believed to be directed to the people of Afghanistan: USA/Afghanistan: US radio for Afghan people ; unidentified voice in Dari also heard Excerpt from US-run Information Radio broadcast to Afghanistan [Announcer in Dari] "The noble people of Afghanistan. We want through coalition countries to offer our best wishes to you on the occasion of the Night of Ascension [Shab-e Meraj]. In this way we want to express our support for and show our respect to you. We know that this is a holy day and a time for thinking and prayers. We would like to express our support and backing for Muslims throughout the world to honour this holy day. The coalition countries do not wish to see your religious beliefs being undermined. As the doors of the heaven were opened to Prophet Mohammad [on the Night of Ascension], those doors will be also be open to you. Taking advantage of the opportunity, please think about the situation which has caused problems in the world for some times; and pray so that God Almighty bring an end to these frightening days. The coalition countries want to demonstrate to you and other Muslims in the world that the aim of this war is not to eliminate Islam but to bring to justice those who have shown disrespect to the name of Prophet Mohammad, may God peace and blessing be upon him and his family, and to God Almighty and Islam."... [The above item was then repeated in Pashto. Other speech was also heard on the frequency, 8700 kHz upper sideband, which did not appear to be part of the broadcast. An unidentified man spoke in Dari in what could have been one side of a conversation. He used swear words and criticized the Northern Alliance and their support for American forces. The source of the speech is unknown and it is not clear if the interference caused was deliberate. The shortwave frequency used for these broadcasts is in a group or band of frequencies normally reserved for point-to-point or marine two-way voice communications, not broadcasting. Afghan Taleban radio itself has never operated on 8700 kHz, but had used 7080 kHz in the past.] Source: Information Radio in Dari and Pashto 1330 gmt 20 Oct 01 Other media stories related to Afghanistan and Middle East UK Arabic paper views Al-Jazeera's airing of Al-Qa'ida statements Text of report by London-based newspaper Al-Sharq al-Awsat on 17 October headlined "Broadcasting Calls for Instigation on TV" Can media, like radio and television, broadcast instigating statements and organize hostile seminars? The dispute is always revived over the boundaries of freedom, especially in times of crisis like today. Al-Jazeera Space Channel [independent Arabic-language TV station financed by the Qatari government, based in Qatar] has renewed the discussion by broadcasting the full texts of statements by Al-Qa'ida and repeating them many times. It was accused of giving almost complete domination to views defending that movement and broadcasting instigating statements even though it can be noted that the station has lessened the exposure of these in the past few days. The channel has had a clear opinion, which is that it adopts the concept of freedom of expression where anyone can voice their opinions. This is a concept that is hard to object to, especially by countries that declare their support for freedom of expression. However, this proposal did not receive much support in the West, not even from the supporters of the freedom of expression, based on the concept that freedom of expression is allowed and guaranteed according to basic foundations that must not be violated, and - in their opinion - broadcasting Al-Qa'ida statements represents calls instigating violence and justifying terrorist acts. In their opinion, there is a big difference between allowing dialogue between people with different political ideologies in a peaceful manner and leaving the microphone open for armed groups that commit murder to spread their ideology. The arena is closed to those groups in societies that adopt almost full freedom in their press. An example of this is the case of the famous terrorist Timothy McVeigh, who was responsible for the attack on the federal building in Oklahoma under the cause of defending white people, whom he considered oppressed in their country, the United States, and objecting to what he called the United Nations' conspiracy to dominate the United States. Despite the fact that these statements are mere nonsense, they are popular among a group of disillusioned individuals such as the young man who perpetrated that crime and as a result gained popularity amidst racists and ignorant people. All factions of the US media, specifically popular media like radio and television - both cable and satellite - avoid giving these groups, which have a legal existence on the ground, a chance to defend their stands. It even deprived McVeigh from talking to the media except on a few occasions. The channels that broadcast is final interview before his execution accompanied them with many interviews responding to him and making his proposals a minority in the hours dedicated to discussing the issue. This is called responsible freedom, which means refusing to give those with racist, ethnic, or religious issues that instigate discord or hatred the chance to assume a position in popular media. The boundaries of freedom are undoubtedly not as clear as mathematical equations except in the framework of major issues that harm social security and safety. It is not given to those who call for killing, instigation, and excommunication because such actions will be reflected on our region and affect it more than it affects distant societies. The greatest thing these groups want is to appear on the media and spread their word to the biggest possible number of listening ears. Source: Al-Sharq al-Awsat, London, in Arabic 17 Oct 01 UK/USA/Afghanistan: Credibility of BBC, VOA "dwindling" - says Afghan Islamic Press Text of report by Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press news agency Peshawar: Inside Afghanistan, the credibility of the BBC and VOA [Voice of America] is dwindling among the people and confidence in Iranian radio is increasing. According to details, during the past week the credibility of the BBC and the VOA inside Afghanistan and in Pakistan was also dwindling among refugees with every passing day. According to Afghan Islamic Press reports from Jalalabad [capital of eastern Nangarhar Province], the capital Kabul and Kandahar [capital of southern Kandahar Province] the people are disappointed in both corporations for having concealed the realities in Afghanistan. Obaydollah, a Kabul citizen says: "From the very beginning the BBC and VOA have concealed the civilian losses and tried not to give any reports about the losses among the civilians." Qari Mohammad Taher, an Afghan trader in Peshawar said: "A large number of the people do not listen to the BBC and VOA because they are lying." He said: "During last week both corporations have lost approximately 30 per cent of their listeners." Professor Masud Nekbakht, a lecturer at Nangarhar University said: " Some people still listen to the BBC and the VOA but they do not trust them. We have seen for ourselves the civilian casualties but both corporations do not comment on this. You can think about this for yourself. All people in a village were killed as a result of an American attack but both corporations claim that nothing has happened. How could the people then trust these corporations?" He added: "Day by day most of the people are listening increasingly to Radio Tehran and Radio Mashhad and some people who speak Arabic are listening to Radio Iraq." Source: Afghan Islamic Press news agency, Peshawar, in Pashto 0610 gmt 18 Oct 01 Middle East/France: Popular RMC Middle East radio says its output is "neutral, credible" Text of report by French newspaper Le Monde web site on 18 October headlined "RMC [Radio Monte Carlo] Middle East cultivates its French identity"; sub-heading as published The station, a subsidiary of Radio France Internationale [RFI], is playing its card with information considered to be "neutral, credible" with listeners in the Arab world. Since the 11 September attacks, the pan-Arab editorial board based in Paris is taking the diversity of cultural and political positions into account. In the chaos of the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September, RMC Middle East provided one of the first versions of the portrait of Usama Bin Ladin, a multibroadcast interview with Abdulbari Atwan, the last journalist to have met the US's future "public enemy number one." On RMC Moyen-Orient's air waves, and starting the day of the attacks, Mr Atwan was saying that he had been struck by the seriousness of Usama Bin Laden's entourage, made up of scientists, doctors, and pilots trained in the US. In the days that have followed, the Arabic-language French public radio station has devoted round-the-clock coverage to the event. The make-up of its pan-Arab editorial staff and its French identity have made it a station of a certain genre with Arab listeners. It nuanced Iran's condemnation just as it quickly denied the demand from a small Palestinian group: "We rushed to verify the information, not to broadcast it," said Bechara El-Bonn, the director of the RMC Middle East station in Paris. The tone is a sober one. "We have long since been made sensitive to these issues," he said. In Paris, its 30 journalists have worked with the 30 correspondents in the region and with the support of the correspondents from Radio France International (RFI), the mother radio station. On the Arab media landscape, RMC Middle East has emerged unscathed: "Every time there are conflicts in the region, the potential for listeners increases, they are hungry for information," explained Bechara El-Bonn, who said he thought he had been helped in his work by the French position, which was "neither American nor British nor state radio," on the conflict. "We are a French radio station and our information is considered to be neutral, credible; we did not hesitate to provide different opinions." Every day RMC Middle East broadcasts a special news report from a major Arab capital, sent "over a major signature." There are always debates and differences of opinion among the journalists of different backgrounds but these questions are healthy, said Noureddine Khelassi, the station's director and its editor-in-chief. "Calm" coverage Directed at Middle East countries, this radio station was born on 1 May 1972 with the collaboration of the Office of French Broadcasting and Television [ORTF] and Radio Monte-Carlo (RMC). Following a long period of audience erosion, accentuated by the Gulf war which was much discussed on the station - which was not perceived positively at the time-and by the explosive growth of Arab radio stations which won market shares, in September 1996 RMC Middle East became a totally RFI-owned subsidiary. In September 1997, a very badly received restructuring plan blocked the rescue process. One month afterward, the appearance of the new "information and music" grid smoothed things over and stimulated audiences. In 1998 RMC Middle East announced major increases in audiences in Syria and Lebanon. In Syria, it is the country's second biggest radio station, far ahead of its international competitors, the BBC and the US Voice of America. In Lebanon, RMC Middle East is reportedly the top international radio station (Le Monde, 2 September 1998). Today, with a niche in one of the innumerable corners of Radio House, the station seems to have forgotten the convulsions in its history. Its "calm" coverage of the crisis and the conflict express the rescue then the consolidation of the audience for this French media in a region of the world that currently bristles with local FM radio stations and "traditional" international competitors such as the BBC, the German Deutsche Welle or Voice of America. With a 36-million franc (5.49 million euros) [about 5m dollars] budget provided by the French state, the radio station is entirely digitized, with broadcasting on local FM bands, of course. The grid is a fine one and officials are contemplating a new model for the Internet site. "We are harvesting the fruits of our labour," Bechara El-Bonn continued. RMC Middle East claims 15 million listeners. Since its acquisition by RFI, it enjoys an expanded listening area thanks to Arabsat satellites, which cover a portion of Pakistan or Afghanistan, and Eutelsat. In 1999, to capture its programmes which arrived on satellite, RMC Middle East obtained room on the transmitter belonging to Qatar's national radio station, in Doha, the headquarters of the Al-Jazeera television station. RMC Middle East broadcasts better still on mediumwave. That is how it can also be received as far as Pakistan on certain nights when these waves travel the best. "The only instruction that we should apply to ourselves is to be responsible and not to add crisis to crisis," said Gilles Schneider, the director of the RFI group. "We try to give the image of France, not France's voice." So, next to RFI, RMC Middle East carried the appeal by the director of Paris-Match, Alain Genestar, translated into Arabic, on behalf of journalist Michel Peyrard, who was held by the Taleban in Afghanistan. [RMC Middle East is a commercial service broadcast from studios in Paris. Since 1996 its has been part of Radio France Internationale. The main target audience is in the Middle East, particularly the Levant and the surrounding area, which is served by a a 600-kW mediumwave transmitter at Gap Greco, Cyprus (on 1233 kHz).] Source: Le Monde web site, Paris, in French 18 Oct 01 Compiled by Foreign Media Unit, BBC Monitoring Telephone +44 118 948 6261 e-mail: fmu@mon.bbc.co.uk Source: BBC Monitoring research 21 Oct 01 (via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]/COSTA RICA. Note: Freespeech Radio News airs on Radio For Peace International at 0000, 0600 and 1200 UT daily [Tu- Sa?], right after Democracy Now! in Exile. PLEASE DISTRIBUTE WIDELY --- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 20, 2001 CONTACT: Pacifica Reporters Against Censorship: Randi Zimmerman, 813-238-8205 Strike Background: http://www.fsrn.org FREE SPEECH RADIO ANNOUNCES UNPRECEDENTED WAR COVERAGE Daily Cast Challenges Information Black-Out Led By Mainstream Press NEW YORK: Free Speech Radio News (FSRN) says that with hundreds of Afghani citizens killed in the first weeks of U.S./British-led bombing, it has positioned reporters across the Middle East and South Asia to cover this potentially global conflict--much of which is not accurately reported in the corporate press. Flying routinely under government censors, and anchored by former Pacifica Network News veteran Verna Avery Brown, the newscast challenges the information blackout sweeping the mainstream media with a pool of over 100 progressive journalists around the world--filing from every continent except Antarctica. In a climate of increasing political repression, FSRN is one of the few remaining independent sources for real information about the U.S. government's so-called war against terrorism--information not owned by a corporation, controlled by the Pentagon or vetted by the White House. This daily, ground-breaking, half-hour newscast, airing on more than 50 community radio stations, over the Internet and beamed to 120 countries via short-wave, is proud to bring you: --Fariba Nawa in Islamabad, providing first-hand accounts of U.S. air strikes, plus coverage of the Pakistani refugee crisis. --Jeremy Scahill, the youngest-ever Polk Award winner offering critical analysis of the political alliances being sought by the U.S. --Sputnik Kilambi reporting from South Asia, with deep contacts among Indian and Pakistani peace activists. --James Smoot on the ground in Istanbul, reporting on violent police repression of civilian protest. Other international coverage includes Rafael Krafft in Occupied Palestine; Steve Negus in Egypt; Rory Mulholland in Turkminestan; Rupert Cook in the Sudan and Sam Olukoya in Nigeria. Kata Mester on Capitol Hill covers the clampdown on civil liberties. An impressive pool of journalists, including Polk-Award winner Robert Knight, Geoff Brady, Miranda Kennedy and Eileen Sutton bring daily news from *the first ground zero* in New York. Susan Wood weighs in from the United Nations, while FSRN is also keenly focused on the U.S. peace movement and other domestic issues. *This daily newscast is breaking new ground with fresh, tough-minded reportage,* said media critique and syndicated columnist Norman Solomon. *Born out of the censorship of Pacifica's top managers, Free Speech Radio News shows that radio still has a chance to live up to its potential as a source of news and views connecting people--from the grassroots--across the country and around the world.* FSRN, which supporters say features the best of progressive reporting from around the country and around the world, is twenty months old and was first created by dozens of freelance reporters who struck Pacifica Network News (PNN) last year over rampant censorship. Critics say PNN has long-abandoned its progressive mission in tone and content, often sounding indistinguishable from mainstream media. Most of the stations carrying FSRN are Pacifica affiliates, and most have cancelled PNN. (For a list of those stations, see http://www.fsrn.org ) FSRN will continue to uplink to a satellite at 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, at coordinates A72.7M [b67.4]. MP3 and Real Audio files are posted to the strikers' web site daily at http://www.fsrn.org FSRN is produced in Washington D.C., San Francisco and Tampa. Aaron Glantz produces the cast, Randi Zimmerman is Headlines Editor. FSRN also receives critical production support from the Independent Media Center in New York http://www.nyc.indymedia.org and community station WMNF in Florida (via Rfpi-announce mailing list, Oct 21 via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. 29810-LSB, 14.10 1550, Radio del Litoral, Concordia was the very surprising ID when I thought I was listening to Diez. Three very clear IDs 1557, 1600 and 1605 which I taped. Checked WRTH and found the station, LT15, on 560 kHz. Not a trace from Diez. May this be the "second" station mentioned by BEFF in SWB 1468? Also heard Oct 15, but silent the rest of the week. Play-DX logs Continental at the same time Oct 14. Are Continental relaying LT15 or what? 3-4. BE 29810-LSB, 20.10 1400, unID, "Informativo Continental" was the news at this time and in that case it is probably Continental here. 20276 was silent. Q 4 BE (Börge Eriksson, Sweden, SW Bulletin Oct 21, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** CANADA [and non]. Sorry. Glenn, the 2200-2229:30: Frequency for the World at Six, Media Zone etc. should be 9.770 but Yes, from Sackville 60 Degrees, which I understand is W. Europe. I suspect it will be 'clobbered' but hope that I am wrong (Austria, VOA ????????), don`t remember 5.925 being used for Main 2100 to Europe; it was certainly used to USA at 2300 though. Anyway it will be interesting in view of comments to see if 5.995 Ex Hörby returns on 31st March 2002 at 2000; we may have to wait until then to 'discover' whether RCI have 'abandoned' Europe. The whole saga is MOST odd, whoever is right or wrong!!! I DO agree with you strongly about 5.995 from Sackville at 2100, most probably being swamped by noise. (If I could 'have my way' B-01 would be 3.955 [I DON`T expect BBCWS to use this, same as B-00] at 2100 from HORBY, but I think that may cause some controversy. Nuff said!!!!!) (Ken Fletcher, UK, 21st October 2001, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Some notes from RCI schedule winter 1996/1997 as described in WRTH: 5925 from Sackville to Europe 2000-2100 French, 2100-2200 English. Skelton 5995: 1700-1900 and 2000-2230; English, French, Russian, Ukrainian. Extensive transmissions for Europe on 7200, 7235, 9555, too. And at this time RCI also used Sines to serve Europe: 1430-1500 11915 and 15325 (English), 1500-1600 single 11915 (French). In winter 1993/1994 Skelton-5995 was on through 1645-0100. In this season they had 5960 from Sackville 2200/2230-0100. And a look into the "Sender und Frequenzen" book for 1991: Both 5995 and 7235 are shown as Daventry (not Skelton yet; when was Daventry closed for good, was it 1992?), German was carried 1730-1800. [continued at bottom, A BIT OF NOSTALGIA] (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. 3080.61 harmonic, La Voz del Valle, unknown QTH. Oct. 19 2001 - 0200 UT. Several clear "La Voz del Valle" IDs but can`t find any listed with this name on the announced frequency of 1540 kHz. UTC -5. Might be the listed Radio Valle de Pubenza in Popayán? Steady signal but weak during almost two hours up to close down at 0211 UT. Another "wild" theory: "Valle del Cauca" is in everyday speech called "El Valle" – there is listed on 1540 kHz "Radio Sevilla", Sevilla/Valle del Cauca. Harmonic from 1540 kHz (2 x 1540.31) (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Oct 21, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** COLOMBIA/DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. 2700.06 (Harmonic?) and 2700.10 (harmonic?). I have worked with the frequency of 2700 kHz for nearly a year now without catching the name of the station – all the time until now certain that it is the same station drifting some 1/100 parts back and forth. I don`t know much yet but it is two different stations: 2700.06: UT -5 and probably Colombia – ID-ing as "Ondas.....". Maybe "Ondas de la Montaña" in Medellín? 2700.11: Seldom speech and often has (colombian?) "rocolera" music. In "Dateline Bogotá" (1993) Klemetz has a logging of "Ondas del Yuna", Bonao in Dom. Republic on 2700 kHz. Both stations can be heard at about the same time and best heard around 1000-1045 UT. ** COLOMBIA/ECUADOR. 2279.61 harmonic, Radio Regional Independiente, Anserma. Oct 2001 - 1030 UT. Mostly weak but peaked just when ID-ing, 40 minutes before sunrise: "Radio Regional Independiente - mucha emisora". Sometimes QRM from a Quito-station giving away a weak harmonic on 2279.91H kHz: "Raíz 1140 AM" --- new name, was before "Colorín ColorRadio". Otherwise unusual that local MW-stations in Quito have harmonics. Harmonic from 1140 kHz (2 x 1139.81). ** CONGO DR. (République démocratique). Le ministre de la Communication et de la Presse a signé, le 13 octobre 2001 dernier, l`arrêté portant levée de la mesure de mise sous tutelle gouvernementale des chaînes de radio et de télévision privées Télé- Kin-Malebo (TKM), Radio-Télé-Kin-Malebo (RTKM) et Canal Kin. Ces deux chaînes, propriétés de M. Aubin Ngongo Luwowo (ancien ministre de l`information de Mobutu actuellement exilé en France), avaient été confisquées le 22 septembre 2000 sur décision de Dominique Sakombi Inongo, ministre de la communication de l`époque. La première raison invoquée à l`époque était la présence de leurs propriétaires dans les rangs de la rébellion. Le 30 octobre 2000 les deux chaînes privées confisquées devaient être ensuite débaptisées; RTKM et Canal Kin devenant RTNC 4 (Radiotélévision nationale congolaise) et RTNC 3, faisant ainsi de l`Etat congolais le plus grand promoteur du secteur de l`audiovisuel. Les grilles des programmes furent dictées par le ministre de la communication avec comme particularité le retour en force du culte de la personnalité (Sources: Le Phare, 15/10/01, repris par All Africa) http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200110150440.html (+ Journaliste en danger (JED), 14/10/01) http://www.jed-congo.org/Communiques/2001/1410.htm (via Bernard Chenal, France, Oct 21, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. Glenn, I am observing RFPI on 10/21/01 on 15040, from 1610 to 1700+. "Music Medicine" show, clear but very weak signal, until blasted off the air by a very strong nearby aviation weather broadcast from 1625 to 1635 on 15034 USB. Utility traffic is also interfering with 15040 on occasion. RFPI's signal is parallel on 21815.10 USB, which is about the same signal quality as 15 MHz this time of day. They're inaudible on the YB400PE but I was able to dig the signal out of the noise on the R-75 with a 250 foot long wire. On 10/20/01 from 1320 to 1340, heard the latest COM on 21815.10 USB. Noted that 15045-15050 was silent, but I didn't check below 15045 then. COM ran a bit late, and WOR 1101 started at 1337. With best regards, (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Yes, RFPI has been trying 15040 instead of 15045 or 15050 in the local mornings, as I posted a few days ago at Anomaly Alert, but not in DXLD. Nominally 15040 is on air 1200-1800, but as usual actually starting considerably later; Sun Oct 21 at 1200 was still on 15050 forcing WOR to clash with China/Taiwan. 15045, the previous morning shift, was allegedly suffering some utility QRM (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE [non]. RMC Moyen-Orient cultive son identité française La station, filiale de Radio France Internationale, joue la carte d`une information considérée comme ``neutre, crédible`` auprès des auditeurs du monde arabe. Depuis les attentats du 11 septembre, la rédaction panarabe basée à Paris rend compte de la diversité des positions culturelles et politiques. (Par Bénédicte Mathieu –Le Monde du 18 octobre 2001 --- page 21) Dans le chaos des attentats de New York et Washington du 11 septembre, RMC Moyen-Orient a donné l`un des premiers coups de crayon au portrait d`Oussama Ben Laden, un entretien multidiffusé avec Abdulbari Atwan, le dernier journaliste à avoir rencontré le futur ``ennemi public n 1`` des Etats Unis. Sur les ondes de RMC Moyen- Orient, m. Atwan déclarait, dès le jour des attentats, avoir été marqué par le sérieux de l`entourage d`Oussama Ben Laden, composé de scientifiques, de médecins, de pilotes formés aux Etats Unis. Dans les jours qui suivent, la radio française publique arabophone se consacre 24h sur 24 à l`événement. La composition de sa rédaction panarabe et son identité française en font une station d`un genre particulier auprès des auditeurs arabes. Elle a nuancé la condamnation de l`Iran comme elle a rapidement démenti la revendication d`un groupuscule palestinien: ``Nous nous sommes précipités pour vérifier l`information, pas pour la diffuser``, dit Béchara El-Bonn, directeur de l`antenne RMC Moyen-Orient à Paris. Le ton est sobre. ``Nous sommes sensibilisés à ces questions depuis longtemps``, lâche-t-il. A Paris, ses trente journalistes ont travaillé avec les trente correspondants dans la région et avec l`appui des correspondants de Radio France Internationale (RFI), la radio mère. Dans le paysage médiatique arabe, RMC Moyen-Orient a tiré son épingle du jeu : ``Chaque fois qu`il y a des conflits dans la région, le potentiel d`auditeurs augmente, ils sont assoiffés d`informations``, explique Béchara El-Bonn, qui estime avoir été aidé dans son travail par la position française ``ni américaine, ni britannique, ni radio-étatique`` dans le conflit. ``Nous sommes une radio française et notre information est considérée comme neutre, crédible ; nous n`avons pas hésité à donner des opinions différentes``. Tous les jours, RMC Moyen-Orient diffuse une chronique à partir d`une grande capitale arabe, envoyée ``par une grande signature``. Il y a toujours des débats, des divergences de vues entre les journalistes de différentes origines, mais ces questions sont saines, estiment le directeur d`antenne et son rédacteur en chef, Noureddine Khelassi. Une couverture ``sereine`` Destinée aux pays du Proche Orient, cette radio est née le 1er mai 1972 avec la collaboration de l`ORTF et de Radio Monte-Carlo (RMC). Après une longue période d`érosion de l`audience accentuée par la guerre du Golfe très discutée à l`antenne – ce qui n`est pas perçu positivement à l`époque – et par l`explosion des radios arabes qui gagnent des parts de marché? RMC Moyen-Orient devient en septembre 1996 une filiale à 100% de Radio France Internationale. En septembre 1997, un plan de restructuration très mal accueilli bloque le processus de redressement. Un mois après, l`apparition de la nouvelle grille ``information et musiques`` arrondit les angles et dope les audiences. En 1998? RMC Moyen-Orient annonce des hausses d`audience fortes en Syrie et au Liban. En Syrie, elle est la deuxième radio du pays, loin devant ses concurrentes internationales, la britannique BBC ou l`américaine Voice of America. Au Liban, RMC Moyen-Orient serait la première radio internationale (Le Monde du 2 septembre 1998). Nichée dans l`une des innombrables courbes de la Maison de la Radio, la station semble aujourd`hui avoir oublié les soubresauts de son histoire. Sa couverture ``sereine`` de la crise et du conflit traduit le redressement puis la consolidation de l`audience de ce média français dans une région du monde aujourd`hui hérissée de radio FM locales et de concurrents internationaux ``historiques``, comme la BBC, l`allemande Deutsche Welle ou Voice of America. Avec un budget de 36 millions de francs (5,49 millions d`euros) accordé par l`Etat français, la radio est entièrement numérisée, la diffusion sur les bandes FM s`étend. La grille est affinée et les responsables réfléchissent à une nouvelle maquette pour le site Internet. ``Nous récoltons les fruits de notre travail``, poursuit Béchara El-Bonn. RMC Moyen-Orient revendique 15 millions d`auditeurs. Depuis sa reprise par Radio France Internationale, elle bénéficie d`une zone d`écoute élargie grâce aux satellites Arabsat, qui couvre une partie du Pakistan ou de l`Afghanistan, et Eutelsat. En 1999, pour capter ses programmes qui arrivent sur le satellite, RMC Moyen-Orient obtient une place sur l`émetteur de la radio du Qatar, à Doha, siège de la chaîne de télévision Al-Jazira. RMC Moyen-Orient diffuse encore beaucoup sur les ondes moyennes. C`est ainsi que l`on peut aussi la recevoir jusqu`au Pakistan, certaines nuits, quand ces ondes voyagent mieux. ``La seule consigne que nous devons nous appliquer à nous mêmes, c`est d`être responsables et de ne pas ajouter la crise à la crise, dit Gilles Schneider, directeur du groupe RFI. Nous essayons de donner l`image de la France, pas la voix de la France.`` RMC Moyen Orient a aussi diffusé, au côté de RFI, l`appel, traduit en arabe, du directeur de Paris-Match, Alain Genestar, en faveur du journaliste Michel Peyrard, détenu par les taliban en Afghanistan. (via Bernard Chenal, France, Oct 21, DXLD) [English version above under AFGHANISTAN non] ** GERMANY. I downloaded the Deutsche Welle program schedule for the week beginning October 22 and found these times for their monthly DX program: Saturday 27 October at 2115 and 2315, Sunday 28 October at 0215. I finally entered these into the DX programs list; I hope the times remain for ST (John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, as I reported a few weeks ago, when last heard it was around :35 past the hours after a shortened Mailbag; changed now? (gh, DXLD) ** GERMANY. Südwestrundfunk, 7265, 2148 Oct 20, U.S. and German pop and dance music, including some possible Whitney Houston. ID and news in German by woman at 2200, with mentions of Germany, Pakistan, Kabul and Kandahar. Station promo after news; return to pop music at 2206. Fair signal, co-channel with North American hams (Marie Lamb, NY, swl@qth.net via DXLD) ** IRAN. Oct 21, 30168.03 (2 x 15084) at 0733 UTC HQ, W reciting Qur`an; in German weak signal, fair reception (Vlad Titarev, Kremenchuk, Ukraine, harmonics yahoogroup via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. 7480, 20.10 1730, Barabari Radio, or whatever the name is, finished its programme with a web address. S 3-4 (Björn Fransson, Sweden, SW Bulletin Oct 21, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) 7480, 20.10 1800, Bahaa´i Radio very strong with announcement and ID in Farsi. Transmissions from where? Does not feel "uptodate"... for Bahaa´i (Hans Östnell, Sweden, SW Bulletin Oct 21, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** ISLE OF MAN. From: http://www.exidy.co.uk/html/about_us.html Exidy Media Services is currently involved in developing a long wave broadcast facility on the Isle of Man, which may later develop into the new Radio Nova. Alternatively this facility may be made available to any other organization which has the right to broadcast from the Isle of Man. Exidy Media Services is currently applying for planning permission for an 860ft antenna system and ATU with the addition of a transmission facility. Exidy Media Services will probably use Thomson Broadcast (now known as Thales Media) to supply the two 250 kW solid- state transmitters required. A conventional antenna system will be installed. Exidy Media Services as a company which undertakes to research and develop radio projects throughout Europe. We provide a full range of broadcast services from equipment installation to radio programming. We help our clients to effectively reach their target audiences through dynamic, well-designed and cost effective products and solutions. Based on the Isle of Man, Exidy Media Services is dynamically led by C.E.O. Chris Cary. Chris has a wealth of experience in the broadcast media, and his personal profile is available at www.chriscary.com We hope that you find the solutions that you seek within our site. (via Mike Terry, Oct 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Mr. Cary plans to run two 250 kW senders; one can but wonder what frequency he intends to use (as there is none allocated to HIM and I rather doubt the IOMIBC would give THEIR allocation away). Ah well, if he really insists on throwing his money (or is it BskyB's?) away, so be it. I would be amazed if he (or anyone else) got permission for such a structure on the island. Still it keeps people employed I suppose pushing paper around (Ray Woodward, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH [and non]. RKI tech changes B-01: (A) Radio Korea International advises the following relays will be on the air from the B-01 transmission period: Canada (Sackville) Spanish 1000-1100 11715 Korean 1100-1130 9650 English 1130-1230 9650 (extended from 30 minutes) 0200-0300 9560 (new time and new frequency) United Kingdom (Skelton) Korean 0700-0800 9535 Russian 1800-1900 7235 German 2000-2100 3955 French 2100-2200 3955 English 2200-2230 3955 Singapore (Kranji) - Note: ONLY until end of December! Indonesian 1200-1300 9705 (new time and new frequency) (B) Newly constructed antennas at Kimjae, Korea in use: A3 - targeted to Indonesia Indonesian 1200-1300 9570 English 1300-1400 9570 Indonesian 1400-1500 9570 A4 - targeted to South East Asia and South Asia Indonesian 2200-2300 9750 Chinese 2300-2400 9750 'Radio Canada International' relay 0000-0100 9750 (via Bill Matthews, OH, Oct 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. Late tip. Hello All, Try this new catch now. Tune to 15070 at 0437 via Alpha Lima International / Holland, Relay of Mystery Science Radio USA w/mysterious music and station ID. You are tuned to Mystery Science Radio w/ address given as Box 69, Elkhorn Nebraska 68022, USA. heard till fade / QRM at 0452. SIO 433. heard on a SONY ICF 7600 and long wire antenna. 21/10/2001. Good luck and 73,s. (Costa Constantinides, Cyprus, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Re UT Sun, just missed last issue (gh) ** NIGERIA. If VON is running 15120 in the mornings, would expect it also in the afternoons/evenings as scheduled 1900-2300; several checks between 2030 and 2230 Oct 20 did not find it. I thought Habana was there, and maybe it was the weak and barely modulated signal, if not Nigeria, under the American religious outlet, I think WYFR but did not catch an ID. Last time I checked for Habana on 15120, which was added a few weeks ago, there was no WYFR co-channel (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NORWAY. 7215, Uke Senderen, 0615 Oct 21, first traced at this time though weak and suffering splash from both sides. Very distinctive avant-garde music styles. Signal peaked around 0645 and at 0700 there was a female announcer was heard, followed by an audio clip in American accented English. Another very brief announcement heard at 0717. Will need to send a tape (Paul Ormandy, Waianakarua, New Zealand, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 6410 // 6634 Radio Oriente, Yurimaguas. Oct. 8 2001 - 2310 UT. Very strong signal but unclean and impossible to stabilize in SSB. Maybe Oriente also on 6643 and 6423 kHz where I have noted stations with similar problems. Listed on 6188v kHz where it was off air. Announcing 6190 and FM 95.7 MHz. Several stations in this bandscan with names but no QTH. Latest WRTH- 2001 seems to be very badly updated for LA. It will be exciting to see if "Radio Viva" and "La Voz del Valle" will be found in WRTH- 2002, which according to certain sources, will be considerably more actual (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Oct 21, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) ** PORTUGAL. La RDP Internacional (Rádio Portugal), posee este completo esquema en português, vigente del 28/10/01 al 30/03/02: Lunes a Viernes: HORA TU KHZ DESTINO 0600-0800 11675 USA/Canadá 0600-0850 9755 Europa 0600-1300 9815 Europa 0745-0900 11660 Europa 0900-1300 11875 Europa 1100-1300 21655, 21725 Venezuela 1100-1300 21830 África 1300-2400 15540 USA/Canadá 1400-1600 15490 Medio Oriente/India 1700-2000 11800, 11860, 13585 Europa 1700-2000 17680 África 1700-2000 21655, 21800 Brasil/C. Verde/Guinea 2000-2400 13770 Venezuela Martes a Sábados: 0000-0300 9715, 11655 USA/Canadá 0000-0300 11890, 13770 Brasil 0000-0300 13700 Venezuela Sábados y Domingos: HORA UTC KHZ DESTINO 0800-1455 11875, 15575 Europa 0800-1755 21830 África 0800-2100 21655 Brasil/C. Verde/Guinea 0930-1100 11995 Europa 1300-2100 15540 USA/Canadá 1300-2100 17745 Venezuela 1300-2100 21800 Brasil/C. Verde/Guinea 1500-2100 13660, 13790 Europa 1800-2100 17680 África 2000-2400 11800 Europa 2000-2400 13770 Venezuela QTH: RDP Internacional, Av. Eng. Duarte Pacheco 6, 1070 Lisboa, Portugal (Esquema de la emisora via Marcelo Cornachioni, Conexión Digital Oct 16 via DXLD) ** ST. KITTS & NEVIS. A few evenings ago I noticed a strong religious broadcaster (US accent in English) on 820 kHz, but nothing on 830 kHz except R. Sensación. The station was frankly too obnoxious to listen to, so I didn't. However, I suspect strongly this is Trinity Broadcasting from St. Kitts & Nevis on a new frequency. (My antenna was aimed south, and the rest of the band was Caribbean and South American.) (Jean Burnell, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, Oct 15, Freeze DX Forums via DXLD) You should have tried paralleling TBN on TV or KTBN 7510 for a millisecond to confirm, both turned down so low you could not understand the obnoxiousness (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. WBCQ will be changing frequency to 9,335 kHz from 9,330 kHz effective October 28, 2001 (wbcq.net via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** U S A. Hear Yea, Hear Yea [sic]. Be ye prepared to listen to shortwave pirate radio type activities on frequencies of 6925, 15065, and 21500 kHz. At least one station from the United States will go forthwith the signal during this season Halloween. Towny (Willy Jackson, Oct 20, swpirates yahoogroup via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. On 10/20/01 from 2143, I noticed someone broadcasting Latin American music on 26665 AM, interrupted occasionally by a male announcer communicating with much female at a much more distant location or weaker transmitter. Continued for several minutes with music. Strong and clean signal, SIO 444, s5. Would you have any idea who this is? With best regards, (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) No, but likely some freebander or CBer playing around. In such cases, you really need to listen for an ID or clues as to location (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED. 2141.62 harmonic, Radio Viva, unknown QTH. Oct. 19 2001 - 1100 UT. No idea of the country. Religious, soft touch with female DJ. Said their telephone number, reservation for hearing it correctly: 20 85 23. The only location I noticed was "Santa Rosa", but every country in South America have their own little "Santa Rosa"! Disappeared abruptly 1105 UT - close down? Gave ID as "Transmite Radio Viva 10-70 amplitud modulada" and thus is a harmonic from 1070 kHz (2x 1070.81). Not listed in WRTH (Björn Malm, Quito, Ecuador, SW Bulletin Oct 21, translated by editor Thomas Nilsson for DXLD) A BIT OF NOSTALGIA [continued from CANADA] ================== Well, let me continue reading in this book, published 11 years ago: [Sender und Frequenzen] Albania: Gjirokaster 5057 shut down late in 1989. Australia had domestic services from Brisbane on 4920 and 9660, from Perth on 9610 and 15425. RTBF used amongst others 9925 and 21460, relayed BRF Eupen (broadcasting institution of the German community) 1130-1200. Radiobrás relayed Deutsche Welle (6075/9545/11810), SRI (0130-0300 17730) and "Radio Suriname International" (Mon-Fri 1700-1745 17750 or elsewhere on 16 metres); BBC relays were just discontinued. Radio Nacional de Chile was on 9550 and 15140. Deutsche Welle used 6115 and many other former RBI frequencies. Reminds me of another report I recently read: The RBI staff awaited information on how things would continue after October 2nd 1990. Finally they had to learn that the Federal Government ordered nothing but the establishment of three (or six or so) feed circuits from Cologne to Berlin to put DW stuff on RBI frequencies. Some kind of "unification". RFE/RL used 3960, 3970 and 3990 from Germany, VoA still Munich- Ismaning on 3980 (was later operated from Biblis). Radio Free Afghanistan: 0230-0330 9555, 11770, 15370, 17835 and 1330- 1430 15170, 15440, 17895. Djibouti was still on 4780; RFI planned to erect three transmitters of 500 kW each. Falkland Islands: Transmissions on 2370/3958 discontinued. Finland: Vaasa 1242 and Turku 1278 shut down but Lahti 252 still on with foreign service. Greenland: 3999 off in January 1990. BFBS had 30 minute transmissions via BBC facilities. Haiti: 4VEH still on 4930. REE Canarias from transmitters in mainland Spain: Sundays 0930-1900 17815, daily 2200-2300 17715. [previously 15365 from Canarias -gh] Yes, Radio Habana Cuba via USSR transmitters, the other way round Radio Moscow via Cuba 2200-0400 on 6000/11710, 1330-2200 on 11840, Mayak via Cuba on 4765. Kuwait: Transmitters carry Radio Baghdad programming on usual frequencies. Laos had a broadcast via USSR facilities: French 1100-1130 on 11870/11960, 15190/17595. Liberia: VoA relay still on air, 15600, 17870, 21485 and many others. Libya already used to call English broadcasts "Voice of Africa". Radio Nicaragua was on varying 6000. In 1990 Radio Polonia carried for a couple of months broadcasts of Radio Scandinavia. I remember they later announced a new mediumwave transmitter somewhere in the Baltics which was never built? Sines/Portugal carried IBRA-Radio and AWR. Sweden: Motala 189 still operational. Switzerland: Red Cross Broadcasting had broadcasts on 7210 once a month, UN-Radio had a SSB transmission on Fridays 1830-1840 on 7443. Radio Prague "Interprogramm" still 0700-1300 on 1287, 6055, 7345, 9505. Otherwise 1287 now RFE instead of Radio Prague foreign service. USSR: Facsimile of the Radio Moscow program schedule with an invitation to visit the station at ul. Pyatnitskaya 25, commented with "we are curious if any of our readers will travel to Moscow, tell us about his visit by Radio Moscow and perhaps send us a photo?!". Radio Kishinev on shortwave: 0315-1800 6075, 1800-2000 15360. Of course they still had access to Grigoriopol`. (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 21, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###