DX LISTENING DIGEST 0-124, October 17, 2000 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 are provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission} ** AUSTRALIA. Correxion to minor but fatal error in URL for upcoming Lines of Communication program: http://www.abc.net.au/comms (gh) ** AUSTRIA. ORF B-00 program schedule shows English, daily u.o.s.: 0230, 0737(Sunday 0730), 1000-1045 Sat My Music, 1230 Mon-Sat, 1335 Sun, 1430, 1630 WNAm Sackville, 1930, 2230 Mon-Fri (via Georg Leyrer, ORF, DXLD) Frequencies still awaited, but as of Oct 17 the 1500 via Canada 17865 is *still* German instead of English, Spanish (gh) ** CANADA [non]. Do you have anything on the heterodyne that's been gnawing on RCI/9755 for the last month or so? It' apparent from 2000Z onward, varies in pitch, and there do not seem to be any nearby carriers/broadcasts causing it. Moreover, it's not generated at my QTH. Thanks for your wonderful service, and take care (Alan Bosch, KO4ALA, location unknown, Oct 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I recall both Cairo and Baghdad being reported there from Europe, one of them slightly off frequency. Also het audible here around 2330 (gh) ** CHILE. See 47-48 MHz FM DX in F2 section at end. ** LIBERIA. Jim Moats says the new GJA sked is up, and we find: 6280.0 KVOH LIBERIA 2000-1000 1029-0325A C Africa 10.0 75 11530.0 KVOH LIBERIA 1000-2000 1029-0325A C AFRICA 10.0 75 (George Jacobs & Associates B-00 schedule) We may recognize these frequencies formerly from alphabetical neighbor LEBANON. Why would anybody voluntarily go into another hellhole like Liberia? Gotta have High Adventure! This indicates a 10 kW transmitter, beamed 75 degrees. The A probably means alternate usage (to what?) (gh, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALTA [non]. Voice of the Mediterranean B00 Schedule from 29th October 2000 to March 2001 ###MORNING BROADCASTS##### Monday to Saturday 0700-0730 6010 Sunday 0900-1000 11770 ###EVENING BROADCASTS##### Saturday-Thursday 2000-2100 7440 (From VOM printed schedule via Stephen Howie, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** SWEDEN. Following a week of tests comparing 15245 with 9495 at 0330 to WNAm, the winter change to 9495 has already been made (George Wood, SCDX/MediaScan Oct 17 via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND. Swiss Radio International has dropped its Spanish language broadcasts on shortwave. What used to be Spanish at 2330, 0130, and 230, is now English. SRI Spanish remains on the Internet. The SRI shortwave schedule has been affected somewhat by the fire at the Radio France International relay at Montsinery, French Guiana, a facility that SRI uses to reach the Americas. (Kim Elliott, VOA Communications World Oct 14 via DXLD) Not quite yet. Oct 16 at 2330 check, 9885 was still in Spanish. I expect the change will be made Oct 29, as per the new B-00 sked (gh) ** SWITZERLAND [and non]. The B-00 SRI schedule English complete will be, as excerpted from overall transmission schedule: 0500-0530 9655 JUL 115 SEEu 0600-0630 9655 JUL 115 SEEu 0730-0800 9885 JUL 200 NE/Af 13635 JUL 160 NE/Af 17665 SOT 165 NE/Af 0830-0900 9885 MSY 215 Au 21770 SOT 165 NE/Af 1100-1130 9535 JUL 210 SWEu 1100-1200 9540 SNG 25 As 21770 SOT 80 As 1300-1330 9535 JUL 210 SWEu 1400-1500 12010 SNG 0 As 15185 SOT 80 As 1730-1800 9605 JUL 115 NE/Af 13790 JUL 115 NE/Af 15555 SOT 140 NE/Af 1930-2030 9605 JUL 200 NE/Af 11910 JUL 140 NE/Af 13660 SOT 165 NE/Af 2000-2030 6165 VAT 325 NWEu 13790 MSY 115 NE/Af 2330-2400 9885 SOT 230 SAm 11660 MSY 175 SAm 0100-0200 9885 SOT 295 N/CAm 9905 MSY 310 N/CAm 0230-0300 9885 SOT 295 N/CAm 9905 MSY 310 N/CAm 0400-0500 9885 SOT 295 N/CAm 9905 MSY 310 N/CAm The short music transmission to Asia 1600-1615 has been deleted. To different target areas English has been extended to a second half hour, mostly at the expense of the Spanish [totally deleted] and Arabic [remains at 1700-1730, 1900-1930] languages. Australia will be covered by Montsinéry / French Guiana transmission only. The African service will be intensified with this transmission: 21770 0830-1030 165 degrees. Since September 10 the relay station in French Guiana has been out of order. The resumption of the service is scheduled for the end of October. Meanwhile all transmissions are taken over by Issoudun / France. Until that time and depending on your location, the signal might be remarkably weaker (Ulrich Wegmüller, Frequency Management SRI, Oct 10 via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWITZERLAND. El nuevo esquema B-00 de Radio Suiza Internacional no cuenta con ninguna emisión en español. Las de las 2330, 0130 y 0230 TU se reemplazan por inglés. Hoy lunes 16 de octubre escucho todavía al idioma de Vargas Llosa a las 2330 en 9885 Suiza y 11905 Francia, que debe durar hasta el 28 de octubre. Las otras emisiones son también en 9885 y 9905, todavía desde Suiza y Francia respectivamente, proyectándose demorar la reactivación de Guiana Francesa hasta fines del mes también, según dice el gerente de frecuencias. Parece que el idioma se mantenga a formar parte del servicio internet http://www.swissinfo.org esperamos incluso programas diarios en audio a pedido. Saludos, (Guillermo Glenn Hauser, Oclajoma, Oct 16, report circulated to Latin DX newsgroups) ** U K. BBC still gets its wires crossed in feeds for streaming. Monday Oct 16 at 1930 UT I wanted to hear Brain of Britain as scheduled on the Americas stream. But on all three positions via yahoo`s broadcast.com I got World Briefing Business News which according to BBC On Air, at this hour is supposed to be only on the South Asia stream. Yahoo`s feed of the ``all-news`` stream also had the same thing in both RM and the one WMP positions. Next try, Tue Oct 17 at 1505, no Discovery on the so-called Americas Feed, but news continued. Is this a deliberate change, or simple incompetence? Besides internal communications problems, BBC have a very hard time communicating accurate info to yahoo broadcast.com (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [and non]. Something odd about AWR Wavescan files via http://www.awr.org : program wraps up only 19 minutes in, and then another 11 minutes of the half-hour file repeats part of the previous 19 minutes, as noted with #303, and previously. BTW, Dave blew the calls of Calgary, ``CVFP`` instead of CFVP (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Those interested in following the classical radio situation in Denver would be well advised to read the postings at the forum still sponsored by KVOD. KLVZ-1220 apparently backed out from switching to classical format as soon as it came out that Colorado Public Radio would be buying the 1340 station. CPR gets no respect from classical aficionados for its mainly news format. Meanwhile, there is a movement to block the transfer of KVOD to a new owner which would convert it to Spanish. http://www.kvod.com/listeners/forum.htm (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Salon: LPFM Big radio bites back! http://www.salon.com:80/ent/feature/2000/10/16/lpfm/index.html (Salon Oct 16 via Chet Copeland, NY, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. ACTION NEEDED NOW TO STOP HANDOVER OF NATION'S PUBLIC AIRWAVES TO RELIGIOUS BROADCASTERS October 15, 2000 A bill now in the U.S. Senate would dangerously alter the 1934 Communications Act, and make it easier for religious groups to acquire and operate public broadcasting stations. Disingenuously labeled the "Noncommercial Broadcasting Freedom of Expression Act" (H.R. 4201), this measure would put churches and other sectarian organizations on the same level as educational institutions and nonprofit groups when making application to obtain coveted public broadcasting frequencies. The bill would exempt religious groups from the guidelines which apply to all other institutions currently operating public broadcasting outlets. It elevates religious programming -- sermons, preaching and other forms of proselytizing -- to the same level as "educational, instruction or cultural" content. Visit http://www.atheists.org/action/hr4201.html for full report and action which can be taken (AA Newsletter Oct 16 via DXLD) F2 VHF DX (via WTFDA list): From the TV DX Weblist: Subject: - F2/TEP exceptional Sunday 15th From: Ian Roberts ITR@Nanoteq.co.za [Channel] R1 wall-to-wall on F2 late morning and TEP evening shift, propagation past Kajikistan [sic] (Dushanbe/Ashgabat) as far east as eastern seaboard of Russia, up to 45 deg antenna direction from QTH. E2 on F2 and later TEP, most of Europe, but not extreme north, also Kenya, Equatorial Guinea and 6 Thai/Malaysian outlets. USA heard for the first time this solar cycle (WB2 in ham 50 MHz band). MUF well past 80 MHz on Trans-Equatorial Propagation in evening period, plenty E4 and R2 TV. This morning 16th (7h00 local time/5h00 z) F2 already open to Iran, Syria and Spain on ch E2 48.25 MHz (Ian Roberts, Johannesburg, South Africa) Reference today's F2. The MUF across northern latitudes has been rising steadily for two weeks, and by this time next month it will be peaking on east-west paths including - many forecast- across the North Atlantic. Some European and North African 48.25 MHz video signals have already been heard as far west as California and even in the Marshall Islands (south west of Hawaii) on an antenna heading across southern USA (Bob Cooper, New Zealand) (ought to be a fun F2 season -Mike Bugaj, WTFDA) Returning home today (Sunday) I arrived in time to work some F2 DX on 6 meters (50 MHz) to Brazil & Argentina. The Brazilian contact involved an Es to F2 link-up as there was a Kansas ham, also a Kansas 6 meters CW beacon at the same time! The Chilean wideband FM muzak services were in for about an hour via pure F2 - at times in stereo on the Kenwood RZ-1 receiver: 10/15 F2 1240-1331 47.900 Chile muzak service, $ 47.880 Chile muzak service, $ 47.885 Chile muzak service, $ 48.300 Chile muzak service, $ Hopefully this a sign of more goodies to come! 73 (Mike Cherry, VE7SKA, Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada) (all via DXLD) ###