DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-175, November 19, 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 Check the WOR websites: http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/ http://www.worldofradio.com [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 #1105 (STREAM) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1105.ram (DOWNLOAD) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1105.rm (SUMMARY) http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/wor1105.html NEXT AIRINGS ON RFPI: Tuesday 1900, Wednesday 0100, 0700, 1300 on some of: 21815-USB, 15040, 7445 (when reactivated). NEXT CONTINENT OF MEDIA AIRINGS ON RPFI: Tuesday 2000, Wednesday 0200, 0800, 1400 RFPI NOW LIVE STREAMING FROM STUDIO, 24h on weekends, 2200-1400 M-F: http://195.210.0.134:554/ramgen/encoder/rfpi.rm NEXT WOR AIRING ON WWCR: Tuesday 1200 on 15685 ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Something unID heard at 1645 on 4775; could it be R. Afghanistan reactivated? (Chris Hambly, Victoria, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I doubt it, but who knows what will happen now. FWIW, the so-called ``2002`` PWBR, which a friend gave to me --- I wouldn`t dream of actually buying one --- shows that All India Radio Imphal is on 4775 at 1030-1230 and 1245-1700 with 50 kW domestic service including some English, irregularly extended until 1730. Jose Jacob`s comprehensive AIR schedule shows: 4775 50 Imphal 0025-0215, 1030-1700/1730 While we are at it, TWR Swaziland is shown in PWBR on 4775 only at 0320-0345, 0400-0800. There are also two Brazilians and a Peruvian; and beware of 4777 where Gabon might reappear, or Jakarta (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) See also MEXICO ** AFGHANISTAN [and non]. Media round-up Monday 19 November KABUL Radio Afghanistan BBC Monitoring has yet not observed the reported Kabul radio broadcasts. The station known as Radio Kabul or Radio Afghanistan is broadcasting via a mobile transmitter. Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mashhad, reported on 16 November that Radio Kabul (Radio Afghanistan according to other reports) had started broadcasting for three hours per day. However, a report on BBC News 24 TV said Radio Afghanistan was broadcasting for seven hours a day as before --- three hours in the morning and four in the evening. The director of Radio Afghanistan, in an interview for India's Star News TV on 16 November, also said the radio was transmitting for three hours in the morning and four hours in the evening daily. According to a correspondent of Iran's Voice and Vision in Afghanistan, "Radio Kabul" (presumably Radio Afghanistan) programmes will be broadcast on 1530 kHz frequency mediumwave. The former Taleban-controlled Radio Voice of Shari'ah was last heard by BBC Monitoring on its shortwave frequency of 7085 kHz, on 8 October. Kabul TV on the air again Kabul television began its first broadcast since 1996 at 1330 gmt (1800 local time) on Sunday 18 November. The Taleban had previously banned TV for five years. Sixteen-year old Maryam Shakiba, a former children's TV presenter, gave a live preview of upcoming programmes. The broadcast included street interviews in liberated Kabul, in which people, including several women, lashed out at the Taleban, AFP news agency reported. Speaking just before transmission, Kabul TV's director, Humayon Rawi, told reporters that he had a three-hour live broadcast planned. "We have an interview, a round-table discussion, music and news in Pashto and Dari." Rawi said engineers had managed to repair damaged equipment in time for the broadcast. "Everything was destroyed but our engineers managed to fix it in four to five days. But we still have enormous technical problems." The Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency on 18 November said "Kabul Television" engineers were busy repairing cameras and other technical equipment. The station's transmitter has the potential to reach a 60-km (36- mile) radius, but the current technical limitations have reduced the range, at least for the moment. The staff, once 120 strong, now number about 25, AFP said. AFP said "Television of Afghanistan" will broadcast a variety of programmes for about three hours a day, officials said, catering to children and teenagers, and covering religious programmes and news. Boom in satellite TV dishes in Kabul Russian TV6 correspondent in Kabul, Dmitriy Soshin, reported on 18 November that satellite TV dishes were doing a brisk trade in the capital. "The city is experiencing a boom in TV satellite dishes. The dealers on the central Pashtunistan Square [in the city centre] are not able to order enough of them. They are making the dishes out of tinplate, and together with the receiver, the complete set fetches Moscow prices: 230 dollars or nearly 8m afghanis," the correspondent said. The TV6 correspondent said a wide range of satellite TV channels were available in Kabul, including BBC World. "There's quite a good choice of channels. News programmes from Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are particularly popular here. You can also get Russian TV stations, though the signal is very weak. Apart from the news, they like to watch Indian MTV and Turkish music channels. And recently people have started watching Western news with great interest. A lot of people in Kabul speak English," the correspondent said. MAZAR-E SHARIF Balkh Radio heard on 19 November On Monday 19 November, the radio station broadcasting from the northern Afghan city of Mazar-e Sharif --- identifying itself as Balkh Radio --- was monitored by the BBC from 0310-0340 gmt. The radio was not heard on its usual frequency of 1584 kHz at 0230 gmt on 19 November. The station was finally picked up at 0310 gmt, but at 0340 gmt reception deteriorated. The evening broadcasts began on its usual frequency of 1584 kHz as scheduled at 1217 gmt. 19 November morning broadcast The 0310-0340 gmt broadcast on 19 November included the following reports: - Songs in Dari and Pashto; music - A talk about the excellence and virtue of the month of Ramadan. - The news in Pashto repeated an earlier news bulletin from 1330 gmt, 18 November. The bulletin reported: - The vice-president of the Islamic State of Afghanistan and commander-in-chief of the northern zone, Gen Abdorrashid Dostum, visited Fariab Province and called on people to unite. He also attended a meeting in the provincial capital, Maymana. - Gen Dostum received UN officials in the Northern Zone Department of Foreign Affairs. - High-level appointments have been announced, with the approval of the high military council of the Northern Zone, in Jowzjan and Fariab provinces. - The chairman of political and military affairs of Northern Zone, Ata Mohammad, had a meeting with a CNN correspondent today and answered his questions. - Meetings and appointments of military officials. 18 November evening broadcast The 1230-1506 gmt broadcast on 18 November included the following reports: Recitation of the holy Koran. Announcements that private English courses for men and women together will be organized. Song in Dari: "I fled to Murghab by your hand. Your cloth is orange and your face is orange too." Poems read by both man and woman: "Come into the garden, see the greenery"; "Light the lamp of wisdom in your house and spend your time for the comfort of others". Interviews with a woman doctor in charge of the Northern Zone Maternity Hospital; and the head of the Health Department who says he has contacted UN agencies for assistance. The 1330 gmt news bulletin in Pashto included: An announcement that the authorities in Mazar-e Sharif have announced a curfew, starting from 18 November, to run from 2200 local time to 0430 in the morning; Reports on the activities Gen Abdorrashid Dostum, including his meeting with UN officials; Reports on the activities of the chairman of political and military affairs of the Northern Zone, Ata Mohammad, including his meeting with a CNN correspondent; Volunteers take part in exercise to clean up Mazar-e Sharif; Flags and slogans erected during the Taleban period are to be removed. The news bulletins in Dari and Turkmen repeated the reports above. HERAT Radio Herat The BBC continues to monitor a station identifying itself as Radio Herat broadcasting in Dari from the western city of Herat. On 19 November, according to AFP news agency, Herat radio reported that Iran had re-opened its consulate in the city. "The consulate in Herat has taken up its activities in Herat again," Mohammad Alavizadeh, head of the consulate, told the radio. Etefaq-e Islam newspaper Etefaq-e Islam, a Dari-language newspaper, has continued publication in Herat since the Northern Alliance took control of the city last week. On 19 November, the newspaper reported that Esmail Khan had been elected the Emir of southwestern Afghanistan. US INFORMATION RADIO US PsyOps broadcasts continue US PsyOps Information Radio continues to be observed by BBC Monitoring broadcasting in Pashto and Dari to Afghanistan from 0030- 0530 gmt and 1230-1730 gmt daily. It is heard on 8700 kHz upper sideband mode and at times on the former Kandahar mediumwave frequency of 864 kHz. A third announced channel of 1107 kHz (former Kabul frequency) has not yet been observed by BBC Monitoring. The 864, 980 (reportedly a relay of Voice Of America) and 1107 kHz channels are believed to be broadcast from US PsyOps "Commando Solo" EC-130 aircraft. FOREIGN MEDIA Foreign journalists feared killed in attack east of Kabul On 19 November, Spanish newspaper El Mundo said four Western journalists and a translator had died in an attack on a convoy of reporters on the road between Jalalabad and Kabul. The El Mundo correspondent in Afghanistan, Julio Fuentes, was travelling in the convoy. El Mundo said they had not been able to contact Fuentes and feared that he had been killed. The journalists had been travelling for around two hours when the group of attackers stopped the convoy. The attackers let the drivers go, made the journalists get out of their vehicles and shot them, El Mundo said. According to eye witnesses, four people were killed, El Mundo reported. Two British Reuters journalists, the Italian correspondent of Corriere della Sera Maria Grazia Cutuli and a Spanish journalist, as well as a translator who was driving the vehicle, El Mundo reported. Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper said it was unable to contact its correspondent Maria Grazia Cutuli. "We don't know if she was in the convoy. We have been unable to contact her on her satellite phone. We are unable to confirm anything," the head of the newspaper's foreign service told AFP news agency. Italy's Foreign Ministry said it was using diplomatic channels in Kabul and Islamabad in neighbouring Pakistan to try to obtain more information. The Pakistan-based Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) news agency quoted "reliable sources" as saying that there were three British men, including two Reuters news agency staff, among the killed foreigners. AIP added that they were killed between Sarobi and (?Sorkhakan). Reuters news agency said it was "very anxious" about the whereabouts of a missing cameraman and a photographer after the convoy was attacked between Jalalabad and Kabul. "We're trying to track down what happened to them. We're trying to contact them," a Reuters spokesman told AFP, saying they had had no news so far. He could not confirm if the two were actually in the convoy. A bus driver and passengers headed for Kabul told AFP news agency that they saw bodies of three foreigners and one Afghan on a road 90 km (55 miles) east of Kabul at Pouli-es-the-Kam (name as received). One passenger told AFP news agency on 19 November that one of the foreigners was a woman. "They were killed a short while ago and apparently robbed because the zippered pockets of their clothes were open and empty," the passenger said. The bodies were stretched out along the road, according to the witnesses, who said that no one else was present when they passed. A group of French journalists working for Radio France Internationale (RFI) was robbed Sunday 18 November while heading for Kabul on the same road from Pakistan, AFP said. Russian public broadcaster sets up bureau in Kabul On 18 November, Russia TV said it had set up a mobile satellite TV station in Kabul. Compiled by Foreign Media Unit, BBC Monitoring Telephone +44 118 948 6261 e-mail: fmu@mon.bbc.co.uk Source: BBC Monitoring research, 19 Nov 01 (via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA.. VNG Running out of Time: Recent rummurs have suggested that VNG is running out of time with imminent closure (expected next year). Well, I knew it was running out of time, but I guess I didn't expect VNG to be loosing time --- but it appears to be doing just that! I note over a 3 second disparity between WWVH 10 MHz & VNG on 5 MHz; my money's on WWVH as being correct, given the financials of VNG. VNG not only running out of time, but losing it too! Doesn't anybody care? (Ian Baxter, Australia, Nov 18, ARDXC via DXLD) Waddya mean doesn`t anyone care? It`s an Aussie time signal! So it works something like this then "Wot`s the time?" "ahhh, about 4 o'oclock mate..." "Mmm, Beer-O'clock, time for a beer then!" "rightie-Oh... let`s go" Actually it should run about 10 mins slow in the mornings and about 10 mins fast in the arvos with each fifteen minutes punctuated by a loud beer burp! Seriously tho. I haven`t checked but U think it`s a bloody disgrace. I`m one of those weirdos who enjoys hearing the time signals from around the world and think it`s sad as they disappear. If nothing else they are good beacons of band conditions and to calibrate your station clocks etc. It`s always fun when you get one from one of the harder places, but I would be upset to lose such as WWV/VNG/BPM; bad enough to lose JJY (tho I did QSL it) 73 de (Jem Cullen, ibid.) ** BARBADOS. Besides DGS Anguilla, and a Martinique station on 101.3, these were logged (by T-E scatter): 92.9, 0025, BARBADOS, Voice of Barbados, Bridgetown, 3 98.1, 0043, BARBADOS, Liberty FM, Bridgetown, 3 104.3, 0142, BARBADOS, Yess Ten Four, Bridgetown, 2 (Ilha Comprida DX-Pedition, Brazil, Nov 15-18, via Rudolf Grimm, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM. OQ ACTIVITY DAYS. As reported in OPDX.535, Belgian stations are using the special prefix OQ to celebrate the birth of H.R.H. Princess Elisabeth, born on October 25th, until the end of the year. Egbert, ON4CAS/N1TOI, UBA Award Manager, reports that in order to give the many Hams and SWLs a fair chance to work/hear the required number of OQ stations, two "OQ Activity Days" are being organized. They urge all Belgian Hams to make use of their special OQ prefix and propose to make as many QSOs as possible using the following schedule dates, Sunday, December 9th and Saturday, December 22nd during the following times and bands/modes: From 0700-0800z : 80m CW only From 0800-1000z : 80 and 40m SSB From 1200-1900z : all other HF bands, all modes From 1900-2200z : 6m, 2m and 70cm, all modes (except packet radio and repeater contacts) This is NOT any kind of contest. The aim is to get everyone interested in the OQ award the opportunity to make the necessary contacts. However, the UBA Award's Manager will be sponsoring a plaque or trophy for the UBA member who, using his/her OQ call, makes the highest number of QSOs. Anyone wishing to participate in this challenge is invited to send his/her log to ON4CAS. The plaque or trophy will be handed over during the UBA General Assembly 2002. Furthermore, special certificates will be awarded to the Ham outside of Belgium and both the ONL and foreign SWL who logs the highest number of OQ stations during these activity days. Logs should be sent before January 15th to: Egbert Hertsen, ON4CAS, Postbus 85, Mechelen 2, B-2800 Mechelen, Belgium -- or via E-mail: on4cas@arrl.net -or- egbert.hertsen@pandora.be (KB8NW/OPDX Nov 19/BARF-80 via John Norfolk, OKCOK) ** BULGARIA [non]. RTTY QRM is everywhere! 9400 R. Bulgaria has it co-channel. RHC has it on 9820 past 0400. It`s heavy on 7455 which once QRM`d WWCR and now the USAF wherever it uses, whenever it uses, and it pops us elsewhere too (Bob Thomas, CT, Nov 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. Toronto's pirate TV broadcaster continues to defy CRTC shutdown order == Sun, Nov 18 11:38 AM EST TORONTO (CP) - A ring of the doorbell at the storefront studios of Star Ray TV elicits a barking welcome from Shadow the Wonder Dog. Shadow is a year-old German shepherd that is not only official mascot and security guard for the low-power UHF station, but also a neighbourhood celebrity in her own right. She co-stars with her human host on the Creature Feature movie, apparently one of the community station's most popular programs. "All I wanted to do was run a TV station. I love broadcasting," says Jan Pachul, Star Ray's founder and owner. "This cause-celebre thing came afterwards because I was just too outraged at what the CRTC was up to and I was sick of them getting away with it." Pachul, 47, is referring to his current reputation as some kind of rebel, activist or TV pirate for continuing to operate his east-end Toronto TV service despite two licence rejections since 1998 and subsequent cease-and-desist warnings from federal broadcast regulators. "I have as much right to be on the airwaves as anyone else. I'm a Canadian citizen, born in Toronto," he says defiantly. Pachul makes quick mincemeat of the argument that there would be chaos if just anyone was allowed to fire up a transmitter and go on the air. He says that as the traffic cop managing the TV spectrum, Industry Canada had no problem with him being on Channel 15, covering a 12-kilometre radius - weather permitting - with his one-kilowatt transmitter, the location of which is unidentified for security reasons. His problems are with the CRTC. But there have been no complaints about his actual program content. It's an eclectic mix of music videos, talk shows focusing on community politics and the aforementioned Creature Feature horror movie. Pachul even takes a camcorder to a nearby hockey arena to tape games. And locals come to him as a "broadcaster of last resort" with their amateur productions. He boasts an all-Canadian schedule during the prime-time hours from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., something, he notes wryly, other members of the private broadcasters' "old boys club" cannot claim. "This stuff's actually pretty good," he boasts. So if it isn't crowded airwaves or content, why is the CRTC opposed to him? For one thing, although he is content to be just an over-the-air TV operation, CRTC rules require that local channels get mandatory coverage on basic cable, too, and licensed broadcasters don't want that. Cable would cover the whole city, while he is an east-end broadcaster only. Beyond that, Pachul says the commissioners are backing cronies who now have a licence to print money by simulcasting U.S. programs. "I saw the state of TV in Canada and thought I could do better than these guys," he says. "Little did I know that the CRTC was artificially propping up a bunch of guys that never would make it if there was real competition." Does Star Ray have much of an audience? Pachul insists he has tremendous support around the neighbourhood. But his efforts at acquiring an understanding of audience demographics seem to consist of looking through the living-room window of the guy across the street who, apparently, always watches the Creature Feature. Letters of intervention submitted to the CRTC indicate a following that is rabidly loyal although of questionable benefit. "You corrupt screwheads should for once stop kowtowing to your corporate masters for jobs when your stint on the CRTC is done," wrote one Brian Peterson. "You lawyers should all burn in hell for what you've done to the art of communication." Les Nirenberg, a TV producer-director, wrote about the TV conglomerate that applied for a specialty-channel licence that would supposedly be devoted to issues of concern to senior citizens. "What we end up with is a station consisting mainly of U.S. TV reruns," he added, referring to Global's Prime TV. Pachul doesn't think the authorities will actually try to physically shut him down. He's anticipating an imminent court order accusing him of contempt, something he expects to stall indefinitely with appeals. He handles his own legal affairs. "I'm just not the type to roll over and play dead." Of course his equipment, some of which rightfully belongs in a TV museum, could be confiscated by burly Mounties breaking through the door some night. But --- speaking of not rolling over --- they'd have to deal with Shadow first. http://www.srtv.on.ca (via Brian Smith, Nov 18, ODXA via DXLD) ** CHINA. Glenn, Last night I heard several Chinese stations on Tropical Bands that were certainly not there the night before. Namely:- 4905 2350 18/11 Radio Xizang, Lhasa, China (Presumed). Chinese Music // 4920 & 5240 kHz, Chinese OM 4920 2355 18/11 Radio Xizang, Lhasa, China (Presumed). Chinese Music // 4905 & 5240 kHz. Chinese OM 4815 0000 19/11 China Radio Int'l, Unknown Site. ID & Anns in Unknown Language 5240 0010 19/11 Radio Xizang, Lhasa, China (Presumed). Western Instrumental MX // 4905 & 4920 kHz. CC OM Seems that they are making a marked return to the 60 Metre band at present. 73's (Graham Powell, Wales, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) -------------------------------------------------- Webmaster for The Online DX Logbook and 21MHZ.COM. Full Details are available at http://www.shortwave.org.uk It seems China has reactivated two transmitters in Xinjiang: 4980.0 kHz - heard NOV 17 at 1530 UT in Mongolian (or Uighur?) 5060.0 kHz - heard NOV 17 at 1530 UT in Chinese Both transmitters closed down at 1600 UT. In the past there was a parallel program on 4980+ (off channel) and 5060 kHz in Mongolian. Later the 4980 kHz channel was abandoned. I think I heard no signal on these frequencies 3 days ago... (in fact I heard no one chinese signal in the 60 mb on that day...) GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik the Czech Republic (Czechia) Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** CHINA. Dear Colleagues, You may be interested to know that fellow international broadcaster China Radio International (CRI) celebrates its 60th birthday on 3 December 2001. If you wish to send birthday greetings to CRI then please direct your messages to Mr Li Dan, the President of CRI. His address is: China Radio International, 16A Shijingshan St, Beijing 100040, China fax +86 10 6889 1059/1134/1108 Kind regards (Tim Ayris, Marketing and Rebroadcasting Manager, World Radio Network, Tel: +44 20 7896 9000, Mobile: +7747 627 607, Fax: +44 20 7896 9007 http://www.wrn.org Listen NOW to World Radio Network! Click on: http://g2.wrn.org:8080/ramgen/wrn1usa.smi (Ayris, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. Scanning 16m Nov 19, at 1421 found no CRI via Cuba on 17720, but something else weak, no doubt Romania, so figured another casualty of H. Michelle; but on it popped at 1423, first at low signal level, but quickly turned up to max, which did not help the usual poor and noisy audio input, as CRI was saying this was the first Leonid meteor storm seen in China in ages. Such irregularity is typical, regardless of disasters (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COLOMBIA. I heard about this station on "World of Radio." As maybe being originally from Italy. IDEA RADIO 7380 khz 11-19 0120z- (checked in, and heard them hours later) Spanish language music. IDs in English and Spanish. "From Colombia to the World" Weak signal with lots of QRM. Tape recorded, and possibly got an address: P. O. Box 25733, Bogotá, Colombia, South America and see them mentioned on http://www-pp.hogia.net/jonny/wmr/ about the history of World Music Radio (Scotland) as a Europirate: "In the Summer of 1992 many of the low power Euro pirates who left the transmitters on during the night were lucky enough to be heard in Australia and New Zealand. They included DLR, Radio Dublin, Jolly Roger Radio, Live Wire Radio, the 24 hour Radio Fax, as well as the flea power Radio Waves from France, Tele Radio Stereo 6012, Idea Radio 7380, and the NIRS. Weekend Music Radio made it on 2 parallel frequencies, 6296 and 7380, with only 80 and 120 watts respectively, on 16th August 92 from 05/06 UTC, as reported in New Zealand by Paul Ormandy, supported by an amazing tape." (Rian Raleigh, Lilburn, GA, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) In a following message received this afternoon Sunday 18 November, Dr. Andrea Laudicina informs me the transmitter will be off the air during the coming week for some days due to the put in operation of a new electricity line power to make more stable the transmitter facilities. Best regards from (Dario PLAY-DX-ITALY Monferini, Nov 18, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. For reasons unknown, REE Cariari relay has abandoned all usage of the 90m band, 3210, per their currently posted schedule at http://www.rtve.es/rne/ree/Areas/America.htm --- so that should allow WWCR to stay on its preferred 3210 rather than switching to 3215 at certain hours to avoid CR. However, B-01 HFCC still shows: 3210 0200 0600 10,11,12N CRI 100 0 34567 281001 310302 D SPANISH REE. 34567 would mean UT Tue-Sat only (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CROATIA. Re: very much needed due to VOA - Botswana(?) on 9885 at 0400, but 7285 is in the NAm hamband: has DTK no shame? -gh. DTK explained in another comment, that some of the broadcasters do their 'own' frequency coordination job, and DTK has nothing to do with this job. That's the job of the Croatian Radio Zagreb ... 73 wb df5sx (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I`m not letting DTK off the hook that easily. They ought to have an override for illegal frequency choices by clients. If somebody wanted to broadcast on 10000 kHz or any other out-of-band frequency not open to ISWBC, would they go ahead and do it? (gh, DXLD) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. I am sorry I have not been collaborating as I used to do some time ago, but that book I undertook to write with my friend Teo Veras about the Radiodifusión in the DR is a very heavy task; most of my time is dedicated to research for the book. I am very grateful as I have been receiving help from DXer friends from abroad who have been sending me copies of QSLs from a long time ago; that helps. Yes, thanks to all of you. Because of that I could not be at the Pittsburgh Convention, as my nephews living at Albany NY were willing to buy me a ticket to New York, but I was too much occupied on that work. I saw the information sent by Mark Connelly from MA, who said that he heard R. Monte Cristi on 580, on August 28, and precisely, the founder of that station, Rafael Octavio Moscoso Cordero (a.k.a. Don Fellito) died on September 19. The station started operation at the beginning of the 60s on 630 with 1000 watts as HIAF. Now it is on 580. Even tho Radio Visión Cristiana has a transmitter on 530 from Turks & Caicos Islands, they also have another transmitter in Santo Domingo on 1330, but it is not a relay; they have other programming. [not to be confused with 1330 in NYC! -gh] I also saw info from Pentti Lintujärvi, Finland, who said that ``An official list of AM and FM stations in DR has finally been made accessible at the INDOTEL website.`` Yes, that is true, but I do not trust that list as they usually publish a list they have on paper but not on the air; the lists I publish are taken from the air, as many of the stations are not really on the air, as they are only projected, or some others heard on the air are illegal and they are not on that list. I always make my own lists visiting as many towns as I possibly can in order to prepare a good list, or an on-the-air list, not a list on paper. My heartiest greetings to you all (César Objio, cesarobjio@codetel.net.do Dominican Republic, Musings of the Members, NRC DX News Nov 19 via DXLD) {*Just in after DXLD 1-175 was completed: DUCIE CANCELLED They are playing it safe due to the WX......30 knot winds, 12 foot waves. 73 from Bill Smith, W5USM, 2347 UT November 18} ** DUCIE ISLAND. DXCC NEWS RELEASE (November 16, 2001) from Bill Moore, NC1L..... New DXCC Entity - Ducie Island. The IARU has announced the addition of its latest member-society, The Pitcairn Amateur Radio Association (PIARA). In March 2001, the PIARA filed an application with IARU Region 3 asking for membership in the IARU. This matter went to a vote of the IARU member-societies worldwide in June, and the result of the vote was announced today. As a result of the addition of PIARA as an IARU member-society, a new DXCC Entity has been created. Under DXCC rules, an entity that is represented by an IARU society gains the status of "Political Entity." In changing from a geographic separation to a political DXCC Entity, certain distance requirements for additional separations change. As a result, Ducie Island, a part of the Pitcairn Islands, becomes a new DXCC Entity. Effective 0000Z, November 16, 2001, Ducie Island is added to the DXCC Entity List. Only QSOs dated November 16, 2001 and later will count for this Entity. QSL cards for DXCC credit will be accepted beginning June 1, 2002. ADDED NOTES BY EDITOR: Ducie Island in the South Pacific is the latest DXCC entity; the 335th. According to an ARRL DX Bulletin, ARRL Membership Services Manager Wayne Mills, N7NG, emphasized that only contacts dated November 16, 2001, and later will count for DXCC. The island has been activated previously for the Islands On The Air program (it's IOTA OC-182), but Mills says those earlier contacts will not count for DXCC. Also, by the time you read this, the VP6/D operation should be active. The VP6/D team did have some delays due to bad weather conditions. This will cut into the days of operating, and according to some press releases, the operation will not be extended. They will probably end the operation on November 22nd or 23rd, because they must be back on Gambiers on November 27th. The latest update as this bulletin was being prepared states that the team was leaving Pitcairn Island on Sunday, November 18th around 1500z. Depending of the strength of the head winds, they will arrive at Ducie sometime between just before dawn and just after sunset, which is between 1200z November 19th and 0300z November 20. The first station should come on 14195 kHz, so monitor there. Those who need the LAT/LONG information for Ducie Island, they are: 24 39'57"S 124 48'21"W (KB8NW/OPDX Nov 19/BARF-80 via John Norfolk, OKCOK) For Immediate Release At 00Z 19 Nov: the PIARA team was 265 miles from Ducie Island. They are cruising at approximately 10 mph and expect to arrive just before the sun sets at Ducie Island, about 0330Z 20 Nov. The prevailing winds will make the return journey shorter and the expect to be there 4-5 days depending on the weather. Everyone is fine and they are hoping to arrive just in time to land the first station before dark but that is only a hope. DRBILL K6GNX Ducie Pilot (DX News via Bill Bergadano, DXLD) ** ERITREA. Apparently this is a weekend broadcast. Heard last Sunday night Monday UT and checked each night during this past week and nothing heard. Nice signal again this Sunday night, Monday UT: 6965.00, Voice of Freedom, 0325-0400. At tune in mx with signal level of s7-9. Clear copy. Interesting mx, African in sound. Best in LSB due to RTTY. Church bells heard at 0331. Then to what might have been the NA. Short talks by male announcer. Then to American pop tune. 0333 w/ male announcer talking while tune playing. Continued talks after mx. Possible nx in unknown language. Occasional interludes of mx during talks. Then to what might have been commentary. Talks by two male announcers. 0346. Signal falling off a bit at this time. Nov 19 (Bob Montgomery, PA, SWBC via DXLD) ** FINLAND. In an effort to start contacting radio stations for the "freebie table" at the Winter FEST, as I have done the last 5 years now, I sent an email to Radio Finland, which is one of the first stations I contact each year; and here is the reply I just received... "I have forwarded your email to Mrs. Christina Rockstroh, managing editor for foreign language radio, We do not know at this time what the corporate policy on broadcasting to North America on SW will be next year. Our services in Finnish and Swedish will certainly continue, but the international trend- such as the example shown by the BBC- seems to get off SW". With Best Regards, Juhani Niinsto, Head of International Radio, YLE First off, let me thank Mark Byford, the inane myopic one for "setting an example". Granted, Radio Finland has the most inconvenient English to North America, but WHOSE fault is that? So guys and gals, the email address to write to Mister Niinsto at is: radio.finland@yle.fi We cannot afford losing anymore stations. Radio Finland has some very good programming, John Figliozzi has commented on it in the past. Let's show this station that Byford`s choice was quite short sighted. We literally cannot afford to lose Radio Finland, for if we do, I foresee a nasty domino effect of other stations doing the same, and in the quite near future. 73s, (Bill Bergadano, KA2EMZ, Nov 19, swprograms via DXLD) Can ANYONE honestly say they listen in English to Radio Finland on anything close to a regular basis? If you are one of the few, tell us what you like about its English programs. Finland has a large percentage of its native population whos peak English. Why, oh why do they use so much one voice translation in English programs? Even RVI with staff of 4.5 people does so much in producing interesting programs (Larry Nebron, CA, ibid.) Larry, that was my point in my original post- I have not tuned into Helsinki much of late, or really ever at all; if I recall they are still using 15400 at 8 AM EST- I am probably wrong, but it`s a very inconvenient schedule- so are the listeners to blame? I think not. It would be like NBC suddenly putting The 'Tonight Show' on at 8 AM and expect a vast audience. They have to be brought to realize, the reason listenership does not exist for them in a very large number is the absolute poor timing of the English broadcast to North America. (I still recall when they ran on 9560 at 0100 several years back- a GOOD hour, but they didn't get past anyone else- as it was the beam was located high on the great circle path and the signal was non existent!) (Bill KA2EMZ Bergadano, ibid.) I used to listen to their evening broadcast regularly and enjoyed the programming. At times the signal was not the best, but when I could hear them it was interesting learning about Finland. They had someone at the fest this year, I think. The rep, a woman, mentioned that they were scaling back the North American service and when I mentioned missing them told me pointedly that they were not shooting for Americans, rather expats, so too bad. Don't think writing will do any good. They don't care whether we're listening or not. We're not the target (Mike Wolfson, ibid.) You can probably blame me for them being on at 8 AM. When Christina Rockstroh was at the Fest a couple of years ago, I told her that when YLE had morning broadcasts, I was a regular listener (and I was), but when they switched to evenings, they lost me, because I had too many other distractions in the evening. In the morning, they had a pretty clear field, very little competition. The next season, they moved their broadcasts from the evening back to the morning, where they had been for years. (Okay, so maybe they did that on their own, but Ms. Rockstroh did listen respectfully when I made my argument....) But if NBC moved the Tonight Show to 8 AM, they'd have to replace the Today Show, which *does* get a vast audience at 8 AM. Bad example :-) It may be poor for you, Bill, but it's a good time for me. Radio Netherlands recently inaugurated broadcasts to North America in the morning hours, so someone must be listening at that hour, even if it's not you. :-) -- (Ralph Brandi, ibid.) There will also be those looking for a good excuse to make shortwave cuts who will use what the BBC has done as an "example". It gives them comfort to think that they are following a "trend". The international broadcasting industry seems to be splitting into two camps. Those, like ourselves at Radio Netherlands, who seek to explore new technology but realise its current limitations, and those who "boldly go where no man has gone before", expecting everyone else to follow. Radio Netherlands has never had the mentality of doing something just because someone else has done it. Especially when it doesn't make sense :-) From my inside knowledge of the industry, and how it reacted to the BBC's decision, I can tell you that the vast majority of international broadcasters share our view. Order books at the major manufacturers of high power shortwave transmitters are fuller than they have been for some time. Sales of shortwave radios are up. This is no time to cut shortwave broadcasts. But those of us who remain will always appreciate the extra listeners :-) (Andy Sennitt, Nov 19, swprograms via DXLD) Although I work for Radio Netherlands, I am participating here on an individual basis. Opinions expressed are my own, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Radio Netherlands. ** FRANCE. Hi, Glenn. Alan Roberts has returned from his trip to England. He did not have radio equipment with him on his trip so was unable to do any checking from there. Since his return, he has been checking out the frequency on a daily basis and has come up with the following information. He has been hearing the station on 25926 kHz in narrow FM mode sporadically, as early as 1230 UTC and as late as 1715 UTC. The content continues to be historical information with lots of talk about trade routes, world ports, river systems, canals, etc. There are several mentions of the French port city of La Rochelle. On November 17th, he heard as many as 3 mentions of the city in a period of about 10 minutes. For the past week, he has received no more than about 10 seconds of useful audio per second. On November 18th, Alan feels he made a major discovery. It appears that the transmission is a recorded tape loop. For the first time he was able to confirm 100% the repetition of content in the transmission. Prior to this he had heard what he thought were repeat transmissions, but could not be 100% sure, given the limited amounts of audio being heard. On November 18th, he heard a rather unique phrase being repeated from a previous transmission referring to someone "audaciously crossing a river". Given this discovery, Alan now believes that this might be audio related to a museum, or historical exhibit, probably in the La Rochelle region, being transmitted to visitors on some sort of wireless system. I have checked the internet for references to any sort of exhibit or museum, or related information in the city of La Rochelle. I have been unable, to this point, to come up with anything that might be tied into these transmissions. Alan has a contact at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa. He is going to check with them to see if they have any information on museums or historical exhibits in La Rochelle, France. Alan now feels quite confident, given the information outlined here, that this is originating in France, most likely La Rochelle, and is what seems to be a tape loop of some sort. He has yet to determine the possible length of the tape, but feels that it may be quite lengthy (Sheldon Harvey, QB, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Thanks to Kai for the further information concerning the Thüringen transmitters. MW broadcasting in Germany seems to become more and more a playground for the conglomerate of media companies and their related political trustees, like it is already with FM or TV. Until two years ago, MW was already death in this country for domestic radio at least. Any station on MW was also heard --- with little exceptions --- also in FM stereo, so no one had a reason to listen to a MW station. Since the FM networks cover 100 % of the ground of their target area, the particular station uses a chain of FM transmitters with overlapping reception territories. So a programme on FM is usually audible on at least three, four or even more frequencies at the same time, despite the location (e.g., I can hear the station WDR 2 on 7 different frequencies here where I live). This leads to a dramatic loss of FM capacity. Usually, the regional public broadcasting authority provides four to five, sometimes six different channels on FM, plus the two channels of nationwide public ``DeutschlandRadio``, plus one or two regional (tied to the territory of the ``Land``) commercial broadcasters plus local commercial and non-commercial stations, plus the radios of the former allied troops in Germany like BFBS or AFN plus occasionally the various FM stations out of neighbouring countries. This leads to more than 80 [sic] {sic} signals on the FM band, resulting in up to 20 different programmes. Despite this variety, the spreading of formats and special programming for different smaller audience groups is only rudimentary. This means usually one or CHR/HER and several AC stations with different focuses (Hot AC, Oldie Based AC) cover the whole commercial relevant markets. Specialists like jazz or oldie stations are found rarely, while FM is overcrowded with mainstream stations. So other ideas like talk radio or additional youth formats recovered the MW to gain their audience. A station called ``Mega Radio`` grabs one powerful MW frequency after the other, and many local MW frequencies are allocated by the particular land`s media authority. This all also under the perspective of the digitalisation of AM during the next years. In this situation, many ``old`` MW frequencies once allocated to Germany and then no more used become more and more worthy. Sometimes the coordination is a loss, like actually two stations operating on 576 kHz, both with 100 kW / 24 h just 300 km apart. We`ll wait and see how the comeback of the German MW will go on the next years... (Sascha Zimmer, Viersen, Germany, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. Checking for R. Amistad, 4700, a carrier came on 4699 at *0021 Nov 19, but could not pull any audio amid noise level. From 1100 would have been better but rechecked at 1214 to hear a man speaking emphatically in what may not have been Spanish, also on 4699 approximately. Evidently the NVI antenna is doing its job in making signal weak here in horizontal-land (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 4698.79, Radio Amistad, Lake Atitlán region, 1100 Nov 19, unmodulated carrier @ 1100. Music came up at 1107. Opening announcements by OM @ 1110. Brief song then, prayer which lasted 10 to 15 minutes. After that, music started around 1128. Nice full ID given at 1140, with the song "Jingle Bells" in the background. Solid clear signal in Nashville, with S9 peaks using 60 meter quarter-wave groundplane. Good audio fidelity (David Hodgson, TN, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDIA. Dear Glenn, Thanks for including my items in DXLD. I have not come across special broadcasts for Ramzan on other AIR stations like done by Radio Kashmir, Srinagar. Sincerely, (Jose Jacob, India, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I thought there might be, since I have heard that despite partition, there are still more Moslems in India than Pakistan (gh, DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. For years I`ve heard USAF ground to air on/near 9022.3 USB which clashed with VOIRI`s 9022. Now I hear bursts and chips on 9022.9 USB. Haven`t heard voice for a while since B-01 started up (Bob Thomas, CT, Nov 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KOREA NORTH. Yes, P5 is active. What a way to end the year and a treat for DXers around the world to hear. A station in North Korea, which ranks #1 on most everyone's most wanted list, appeared on the bands last weekend. Actually, attempts were made as early as November 4th (according to Bruce, KK5DO's Web page) but with no success. The reports indicate that Ed, 4L4FN, who works for the UN World Food Program, has tried over the last 2 years to get permission to operate. He has finally been able to get a verbal permission to operate amateur radio and to bring his equipment into North Korea. He is currently active as P5/4L4FN. However, we all know that verbal permission is not good enough for DXCC credit. The Web page states Ed is now awaiting written permission, which is expected to arrive around Christmas. At the present, Ed is only active on SSB only using a dipole and his preferred frequencies are 14205 and 28575 kHz (running split, 15-35 kHz up), but it seems to be mostly on 10 meters. Suggested times are between 1400-1500z and 2200-2300z. The reason for short operating times are Ed has a day job which occupies 12 hours of his time. Ed indicates that during the winter months there are many power outages, and he may not be able to get on the air. He will be leaving around Christmas time (December 22nd-January 18th) to return home for a short vacation. Upon his return, he will bring PSK232 modem for the digital modes. It was also mentioned that a Butternut Vertical and a Bencher Keyer will be shipped to him on November 19th. QSL via KK5DO: Bruce Paige, PO Box 310, Alief, TX 77411, USA. For updates on operating times and announcements, as well as a log search, go to Bruce's Web page at: http://www.amsatnet.com (KB8NW/OPDX Nov 19/BARF-80 via John Norfolk, OKCOK) ** KURDISTAN. Turkey: Ban on Kurdish broadcasts "violates constitution" | Text of report by German-based Kurdish newspaper Ozgur Politika web site on 16 November; subheadings as published TV 21 which used to broadcast in Amed [Diyarbakir] was closed in 2000 on grounds that "it broadcast a Kurdish song which included violent elements". Despite this however, the Gun Yayincilik [Day Broadcasting], which started broadcasting four months ago is broadcasting Kurdish songs that are not banned by the Culture Ministry. Nevzat Bingol, chairman of the board of directors of the Gun TV, noted that it is only natural to broadcast Kurdish songs in a region where the majority of the population is Kurdish. Stating that their broadcasts do not include elements of violence and that the people miss listening to music in their own language, Bingol said: "We have been broadcasting Kurdish music for a long time. We believe that there is no law that bans Kurdish music in Turkey. I think that Articles 9 and 39 of the Lausanne Agreement, which constitutes the basis of the Turkish Republic, note that the state provides the necessary aid to Turkish citizens who use and speak languages other than Turkish. We broadcast Kurdish music on this basis." "We are doing the right thing" Drawing attention to the fact that their ratings have constantly increased since the day they that have started broadcasting Kurdish music, Bingol said: "We are checking whether or not we are doing the right thing by broadcasting Kurdish music on the basis of the listening rates. Currently we are broadcasting in Diyarbakir and its surroundings. People in a great number of provinces listen to our broadcasts. I believe that 60 to 65 per cent of the people in central Diyarbakir listen to our broadcasts." Explaining that they broadcast a great number of Kurdish songs, including Ahmet Kaya's "Kervan" [Caravan] in the Kurdish language, Nevzat Bingol noted that they intend to broadcast programmes in the Kurdish language in the future. They like them very much Rustem Akkaya from Diyarbakir noted that he has been watching Gun TV since the very first day that it started broadcasting and that he likes the broadcasts very much. Akkaya said: "I watch Gun TV because it broadcasts regional songs and because it appeals to the region. I like it because I feel that it is one of us." If the laws allow, Gun Yayincilik plans to expand its broadcasting and to broadcast programmes in the Kurdish language. A suit was filed Meanwhile, the electronic equipment of Gun Radio was seized on 31 October 2001 on the grounds that "this equipment prevents wireless communications". The owner of Gun Radio filed a suit at the Ankara Sixth Regional Administrative Court on 12 November. Nevzat Bingol, owner of the Gun Radio which is currently closed, noted that he decided to file a suit because he was not able to achieve any results from his contacts with the Internal Ministry and the Radio and Television High Council (RTUK). Pointing out that under normal conditions he should have received a reply within 48 hours, Nevzat Bingol reported that he has not yet received a reply to the petition he submitted to the Administrative Court. Once Again with the Radio Ses After being closed for seven days by the RTUK on grounds of broadcasting Kurdish songs, the Radio Ses [Voice], which broadcasts on the FM 99.9 [MHz] frequency in Mersin, renewed its broadcasts as of midnight the day before yesterday. Lawyer Kadir Arikan, chairman of the Radio Ses board of directors, criticized the closure decision as follows: "Despite the fact that the phrase "it is forbidden to broadcast in a banned language" has been removed from the constitution, we were closed by the RTUK. The RTUK closed our broadcasts on grounds that we played "Kurdish music". We view the RTUK's decision as an obstacle in the way of our membership in the EU and a violation of the constitution which has recently been amended. I believe that this stand also runs counter to their customs." Source: Ozgur Politika web site, Neu-Isenburg, in Turkish 16 Nov 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** MEXICO. XERTA, Radio Transcontinental de América. Esta emisora ha estado cambiando mucho su frecuencia. El dia 11 de noviembre transmitió en la frecuencia de 4775, el dia 12 por 4760, e 13 por 4775, el 14 y el 15 por 4782, el 17 por 4900 y el 18 de noviembre por 4852 (hasta las 1900 UTC) para luego cambiar a 4861 (Héctor García Bojorge, DF, Nov 19, Conexión Digital via DXLD) ** MEXICO. Mérida in solid 2+hours. As of 2043 CST Sunday, I have been getting more or less continuous reception on channel 2 from a Mexican live concert for more than two hours. Venue resembles the Alamo. Burger King bug frequently in lower right. I was looking for network listings in tvguide.com, but it can`t find anything in Mexico City at the moment. Now I see that the proscenium is labeled Yucatán something. No doubt we have Leonidebris to thank for all the Es today. Earlier I had an Azteca-7 on 2, but this must be XHY-TV. 73, (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, Nov 18, WTFDA via DXLD) ** OKLAHOMA. Attorney Faulkner purchases Enid television station By: Robert Barron, Staff Writer, November 19, 2001 Enid's TV32 has a new owner with a vision for expanding the low-power television station into new types of programming. Enid attorney Rex Faulkner purchased the station, KXOK, which broadcasts over the air on Channel 32 and on Cox Cable at Channel 18. Faulkner and former owner Chuck Pearson finalized their sale agreement Friday. Faulkner said negotiations had been ongoing for 18 months. He did not disclose the purchase price. Faulkner plans to take over operation of KXOK within 10 days. Among the changes planned are local programming and developing alliances with other business. The station currently broadcasts MTV2 during the day and a televised auction at night. "We will be hiring several people within the next six months in programming, marketing and original programming," he said. Faulkner will attend a trade show in Las Vegas in January to look for independent programming. He would like to develop an affiliation with other television networks. He also plans to spend a lot of resources updating station equipment and facilities, located at 1711 W. Garriott. "This is my first venture in communications, but I have been interested for several years and I thought it was a good time," Faulkner said. "My greatest asset is that I know absolutely nothing about TV." Faulkner plans to integrate the station with Internet services. He also would like to do cross promotions and use the Internet to do live bidding on auctions. "It's a rich resource for content. The auctions will continue, but we will continue to go to higher-ticket items," he said. "It's also an opportunity for people to get true value at affordable prices." KXOK operates at 1,000 watts, giving it a limited broadcasting radius, plus it is carried on Enid and other local cable systems. Faulkner said he was thinking of trying to bring the station to full power, expanding its reach. The station also could be used to help promote Enid's sports teams, Faulkner said, particularly the new National Indoor Football League team, the Oklahoma Crude, and the Oklahoma Storm of the U.S. Basketball League. He discussed pre-game and post-game shows and promotions of games. "I think we can complement each other," Faulkner said. "We can't be a large-market station, but we can be more professional." He envisions the station as "people's TV" for Enid. "I want to have the kind of television people want so they have an attachment to it," he said. Faulkner, an Alva native, graduated from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and the University of Arkansas Law School. He has practiced law in Enid since 1988. "This is an exciting venture, not just for me, but for the people of Enid as they see things develop," he said. (©Enid News & Eagle 2001 via DXLD) I wasn`t aware they were rid of the original calls K32DZ. Remember when KXOK was a big rocker in St. Louis on 630? This thing has a been a big waste of spectrum for years unless you love clumsily produced local auctions hour after hour, or MTV2. For a very brief period a few years ago it did have a weekly half-hour local news production, and then carried some minor network programming such as America One, mostly old movies, and comedy from Edmonton. The ERP is supposedly much greater than 1 kW. It`s hard to tell here within a mile of the transmitter where it blocks reception even on adjacent channels (Glenn Hauser, Enid, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** POLAND. Here is the B 01 winter sked of R Polonia in English. 1300-1359, 11820, 9525, 7270, 6095 1800-1859, 7285, 5995 2030-2129, 9540, 7165, 7290, 5995 (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN. REE Madrid 6055 hit by 6050 splash, hard-driven distorted Spanish; Latin America, I`m sure. This mars North American service at 0000 and 0100 in English (Bob Thomas, CT, Nov 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) HCJB? ** SUDAN. One of the long distance MW catches at the Ilha Comprida DX-pediton, with very long wires on the beach, Nov 15-18: 1296 kHz, 0214, SUDAN, Sudan National Broadcasting Corporation, Reba, 3. 1296 Sudão, num determinado momento, o sinal estava melhor do que a Morada do Sol, São Paulo, em 1260 (via Rudolf Grimm, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWITZERLAND. Swiss(info) Radio International: I need your help Swiss Radio International's audio function has been cutting short the 1800 English 'on-demand' audio program for the last four weeks. Should I report this? I find it a shame that no one from the station's web department has noticed and no other user other than me have noticed? Maybe they have just ignored listeners` e-mails, it would 'par for the course.' Or maybe as long as they are paid, the web staff just doesn't care or maybe they have no users who care enough to report this problem to them. I wonder if this is something like the audio problems from Radio Cairo? (Larry Nebron, CA, Nov 18, swprograms via DXLD) RN had a similar problem I told them about more than once (gh, DXLD) Report it, Larry. 50 other people have probably noticed and think the same as you - it's someone else's job to tell them. Fact is, we can't check every link, every audio file, etc. every moment of every day. S**t happens. Web sites are supposed to be interactive, so go ahead and interact :-) (Andy Sennitt, RN, swprograms via DXLD) You need to tell the programming people and also the tech side. Sounds like they're using an automation system to play back the transmission and are cutting it off early. At least the effect you describe would be caused by something like that (Lou Josephs, swprograms via DXLD) ** TIBET [non]. Voice of Tibet, 17 & 18 Nov with fair signal on 15670 and stronger // 15680, carrier and tones from 1205 UT, 1211 IS (Buddhist prayer chant with dissonant musical notes, sounding like something from "2001: A Space Odyssey"). Opened 1215 in Tibetan, announcement included the words "Dalai Lama". Talks shifted into Chinese @ 1245. Clear and free of jamming. Where are these xmtrs? [DXing since 1956, ex-NNRC. RX: Icom R71A; ANTs: 80-foot Windom w/homebrew L-C tuner and 17/10 meter dual dipole boosted w/JPS ANC-4] (John Cobb, Roswell, GA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TURKEY. I am still wondering about the status of ``Live from Turkey``. Apparently it is no longer on the Tuesday 2300 UT broadcast. Has it moved to some other time, or no longer on the air? Best regards, (Glenn Hauser to Reshide Morali) Dear Glenn, My sister and I personally wish to thank you for your interest and concern. We have always been your fans because of your interesting reports which we have read in 'Monitoring Times'. Indeed you are the dean of DX-ers and your interest in shortwave has led to the popularization of the medium. As for 'Live from Turkey', it has been moved to an earlier time slot ....that is.....the 18:30 slot ...which is better but unfortunately is not transmitted to our North American listeners. However, we do webcast that program internationally but I am not sure that with the way TRT set up the webcast and the technique that they use, all can listen to it. I referred your email to my immediate superior which informed us about the difficulty in getting the webcast due to their encrypting but as far as I can tell nothing has been done about changing the situation and this makes for all the more frustration. I do think that a privately owned radio station would have seen it to their advantage to clear up the situation immediately but as you know TRT is a government-run organization which they say will most likely go through a period of re-organization. ...at least that is in the plans.... Warmest regards (Reshide Morali, Voice of Turkey, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) She must mean 1930 UT now, which is only on 7125 to Europe. I notice that publicradiofan.com has dropped listings for VOT due to all the problems, but you can still try, go looking for their website, if you dare (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** U S A. While reading the new B-01 George Jacobs and Associates sked on his website, I noticed that there were no listings for WHRI, KWHR or WHRA, so it appears that World Harvest Radio is no longer using George Jacobs and Associates for frequency management services. 73, (Jim Moats, OH, November 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. SPECIAL MARCONI ACTIVITY. THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF MARCONI'S HISTORIC TRANS-ATLANTIC RADIO TRANSMISSION. The Marconi Radio Club, W1AA and The Falmouth Amateur Radio Association Amateur Radio operators are making plans to celebrate a Marconi world historical event. December 12, 2001, will mark the 100th anniversary of the first Trans-Atlantic radio transmission by Guglielmo Marconi. That signal was a series of " S S S " transmitted on CW across the Atlantic from Poldhu, Cornwall England to St John's, Newfoundland. The Marconi Radio Club will be using the call sign W1AA/CC (between December 11-16th) and will be operating from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S.A., the location of Marconi's 1903 Trans-Atlantic radio station. Marconi's 1903 callsign was " C C ". Check out the following Web site for operating times, frequencies and modes of operation for W1AA/CC: http://www.qrz.com/database?callsign=w1aa During the month of December, Nuccio/I0YKN and Simone/IZ0BTV will be active with the special callsign IU0M in celebration of the first wireless contact across the Atlantic Ocean (one century ago) made by Guglielmo Marconi between Poldhu, Cornwall and St. John's of Newfoundland, on the date December 12th, 1901. QSL by bureau or direct to QSL Manager I0YKN, Nuccio Meoli, Via Della Stazione, SNC, 04010 Cori, Lt, Italy. Alfredo, IK7JWX, will also be active during the weekends of December with the special callsign IR7GM to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Guglielmo Marconi's wireless contact across the Atlantic Ocean. QSL via the bureau or direct to IK7JWX (KB8NW/OPDX Nov 19/BARF-80 via John Norfolk, OKCOK) ** YUGOSLAVIA. RY`s English to NAm at 0100 on 7115 is in a favorite area for 40m CW hams (Bob Thomas, CT, Nov 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) You`d think they would know that (gh) ###