DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-037, March 18, 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] ** BELGIUM. Contrary to all published frequency schedules, which show English at 2230 for A-01, Frans Vossen continues to announce it as 2300 on 15565-Bonaire, on RVI Radio World March 18 at 2230 on 13660- Bonaire. Of course, it has already appeared a couple of times recently at 2300 instead of 2230, presumably by mistake. Furthermore, he says from next week, there will be a new interval signal and jingles, and a taped ID says ``RVI, Flanders International Radio,`` after which Frans said, ``That`s right, Flanders Radio International``. So, which is it? And which time is it?? (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELIZE/USA. See USA/BELIZE. More about Weiner`s plans ** BRAZIL. R. Cultura, São Paulo, 17814.7; a surprise to hear this here \\ 9615 at 0749 Feb 6. Poor level but it had the frequency all to itself (John Schache, Limekilns NSW, Australian DX News via DXLD) Extremely pleased with this, rare fish here! Laid-back vocal group 0750 Feb 7, Portuguese announcements, identical to 9615. Never heard this before (Craig Seager, Limekilns NSW, Australian DX News via DXLD) ** CAMBODIA [non]. Glenn, the clandestine ``Voice of Justice``, opposing the government of Cambodia, heard today on 15455 at 0957 UT with IS, ID by YL, OM with news, commentary, speeches (with applause), etc. Program in Khmer. S/off 1044. Very good reception (Samuel Cássio, DX Clube do Brasil, March 17, translated by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) Sat only via Taiwan Voice of Justice noted on 15455 on 17 March, carrier already on at first check around 0935; Cambodian music began shortly after 0955 followed by opening announcement. SINPO 33433 here -- signal strength and propagation similar at this location to adjacent Voice of Russia on 15460 which signed off at 1000. As far as I could tell, this transmission failed to materialise on previous Saturday, 10 March (Alan Davies, Cebu City, Philippines, Electronic DX Press via DXLD) ** CANADA. Hello Glenn, I just got the new RCI schedule in the mail today -- not the brochure, but the photocopied technical schedule. It was also just posted on the RCI website today. Some salient points: - 2-step schedule change to accommodate the different dates of DST implementation: > Programs appear to remain on same local time throughout the change > Frequencies to the Americas change twice: March 25, then April 1 - Extra hour of French (domestic relay) to USA on weekends at 8 a.m. EDT (starting Apr. 1) > This pushes CBC weekend programs to the 9 a.m-12 p.m. time slot - Russian and Ukrainian only one hour per day, to Central/Eastern Europe > 1700 UT Russian to C/E Europe dropped > 1800 UT Ukrainian to C/E Europe dropped > 2200 UT Russian to East Russia dropped - Arabic increases to four 30-minute broadcasts a day - Chinese replaced by Language Lessons @ 1430 UT - RCI French reintroduced to Asia @ 2200 UT for one hour a day - A new edition of Canada Today @ 1200 UT Monday-Friday to Asia (preceded by CBC World Report) - RCI and Radio Sweden now swap two hours: > Sweden gets 9495 kHz/250 kW/268 deg at 0200 to 0400 UT from Sackville > RCI gets 5865 kHz/350 kW/135 deg at 0230-0300 UT (Arabic), 17630 kHz/350 kW/135 deg at 1915-1944 UT (Arabic), and 5995 kHz/300 kW/230 deg at 2000-2059 UT (English) from Hörby Later: Just did a quick comparison of the paper version of the new RCI sked I got in the mail and the one on the Web, and they conflict! Mar. 25 @ 2200 UT; Apr. 1 @ 1600 UT [? gh] That's all I can see for now. Regards, (Ricky Leong, March 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [non]. Listened to a bit of R. Vancouver International via live365.com; The Happy Station happened to start in the loop cycle at 0032 UT March 18. Keith Perron hosted both this and the previous program. Just DJ music shows, no evidence of listener contact tho he frequently gave E-mail of rvi@mybc.com (I think, never spelled out), nor did he ever say anything about shortwave -– and of course, nothing there at brief check around 1310 on 9735 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA. Noticed RFPI came on 7450 shortly after 0000 UT March 19, instead of scheduled 0200, due to 15049 being down (tho 21815-USB was booming in) (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. I just had a more detailed look at the A01 schedule of Radio Prague and found that they increase the transmitter usage at Litomysl from the current two to three units; they still use not more than two frequencies from Litomysl but in some cases one of them with 200 kW, i.e. a transmitter pair. It is also quite interesting that they added a fifth transmission of the German programme (1630 on 5990), aired from Rimavská Sobota, indeed a well- founded choice because 49 metres from RSO still performs well in Germany when LIT already skips. Regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Hi! from Trollhättan, Sweden. 5010, 17 and 18- Mar 0200 Both mornings, Radio Cristal Internacional here. This morning fabulous signal. Guitar picking the Dominican way, that is bachata music, and I have come to love it. At least half a dozen cassettes in the rack here, bought in a Santiago de los Caballeros street market, just one year ago, at $2 a piece (Johan Berglund, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. On HCJB`s transmitter site move: this still is not certain, as construxion on Quito`s new airport has not begun, but if HCJB does have to replace Pifo site near Quito, with Santa Elena west of Guayaquil on the coast, the plan is to move transmitters one by one, in order to keep some frequencies on the air, and hopefully to add two new transmitters. Towers at the new site come from VOA- Greenville, and the antennas will be log-periodics, instead of curtains at Pifo. HCJB maintains its commitment to serve the three Americas, and the new site will cover the Southern Cone much better than at present, but probably will not have antennas for Europe or South Pacific (Allen Graham, HCJB, interviewed at Kulpsville by Kim Elliott, on VOA Communications World March 17, notes by gh for DXLD) BTW, the 17660 41 degree A-01 English at 2300-0100 for India does cut right across the middle of that country, conveniently the same beam as from Pifo to Western Europe (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. "Elektrosmog": That's a quite familiar term in German already for years, as old as the discussion about electromagnetic fields, and Holzkirchen is really not the only involved site here in Germany. The former high power mediumwave site Uhlenhorst in the Köpenick district of Berlin is only usable for modest power transmitters up to 5 kW (Voice of Russia on 693) anymore; years ago ERF, the German TWR branch, planned to use the old RBI frequency 1359, but the administration of Berlin prohibited Deutsche Telekom from testing for ERF the ancient 250 kW transmitter, which was at this time still functional. The former RIAS site in the Britz district was obliged to cease transmitting through a special skywave antenna, resulting in dramatically impaired reception on 990 at night, and there are fears that further attacks could finally result in a complete closure. There was action against the 828 mediumwave transmitter of Norddeutscher Rundfunk at Hemmingen near Hannover, resulting in a power reduction to 20 kW (once 100 kW was used). At Wachenbrunn in Thuringia a shut-down of the 1000 kW transmitter on 1323 was demanded, without results but accompanied by nice press headlines about the "radiation village", which is disturbed by the evil Radio Moscow. In short, there is no lack OF "Elektrosmog" action here in Germany (Kai Ludwig, March 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GUATEMALA. 5955, Radio Cultural: Engineer Wayne Berger had this to say about his station. 5955 is on for a few hours each night. Several years ago it was dropped from our local/Central American service because of very few listeners and extreme interference from the Canadian interior service [sic]. The 10/5 kW transmitter was sold to a local broadcaster and is now in use on the medium wave band 1210 kHz. After about a year off the air, I put a homemade 1 kW on the frequency to occupy it because of government requirements to avoid losing it. I also wanted to give the shrinking DX crowd something "rare" to go for. QRP is usually considered a bigger challenge. It is on the air from just before sunset until about 10:30 at night (before 0000 to 0430 GMT). Obviously it is only of use during dark hours. The Shut down at 10:30 (usually) is because the operator goes to bed and doesn`t like to get up at midnight when he really should shut it down. The management doesn`t want to keep it on even that much because of the electricity it uses and the very few listeners that may be hearing it. Our other frequencies [3300] are all 24 hours a day (DIRECT via Johnson Mar 12) While Wayne's Radio Cultural is still on shortwave, the medium is in bad shape in the rest of Guatemala. I asked Wayne about some of the stations that haven`t been heard in a while. Here are his views: Here is what I [Berger] understand to be happening: 3370/4835, Radio Tezulutlán: They may be off the air for good. They, like many other stations here have gone to FM (88-108 MHz) for local coverage. They never were trying to get out of Guatemala but rather trying to serve a rather local (50 km) radius (the "tropical band") in an Indian language not even spoken outside of Guatemala. As for low power operation, I haven`t heard anything. [Tezulutlán has previously told us they are operating at low power on shortwave and that is why they haven't been heard in the USA. According to Mohrmann's LA-DX, I believe that 3370 was last heard Dec 99 and 4835 in Sep 2000 --Johnson] 4780, Radio Cultural Coatán: These people have used our name for years without permission. They have never been part of our group (We are RADIO CULTURAL in all of Guatemala). We identify each station for our group as Radio Cultural and the name of the town it is in. We have some 12 stations named that way. Coatán is not one of them. This has always been a marginally legal or as we say a "pirate" station. It was a result of a disgruntled group that pulled out of our Radio Maya de Barillas and started a "competition". I understand that they are now on FM. There is no record according to the government of any sort of license. [Last report is LA-DX is May 2000-Johnson.] 4800, Radio Buenas Nuevas transmits mostly in Mam and is often called (incorrectly) Radio Mam. I am in the process of installing their large FM transmitter on a mountaintop in Huehuetenango. They are already very happy with the response from their small FM installation and are considering discontinuing the shortwave to save on costs. 4825, Radio Mam: I have no idea except that they too may have passed over to FM. They have installed an FM transmitter on a mountain near one of my repeaters. [LA-DX is Sep 2000-Johnson.] 6180, Radio Nacional: No, it is not on, and may never return. They used it for coverage in the rural area of Guatemala. There have been many changes in the government and the service is no longer considered important. They have not bought parts nor wanted to do any maintenance on the short wave equipment for at least the last sesquidecade. I have been the "consultant" for TGW for over 25 years. I have kept the old Collins 10 kW shortwave on the air when possible using whatever tubes/spares parts I could find. After several years of silence, I got it back on the air for a while in 98 - 99, with old tubes and some parts from TGN and other sources. I had it on more or less but at about 3 kW. I also asked Wayne about Radio Verdad's strange 4052 frequency and he had this to say- 4052, Radio Verdad: This is in Chiquimula, near the border with Honduras. The strange frequency is because about three years ago the Guatemalan government changed the system of licenses. It is now on an open auction system. Any frequency for any purpose to the highest bidder (forget international treaties!). He bid for and won a 5 kHz bandwidth in a communications band. Then he decided to go into short wave broadcasting. I still don't know how long he will be able to occupy the wider bandwidth before someone complains and the government intervenes. He is in a very rural place and the government has not been able to enforce any of the radio rules anyway. So he is probably safe for many years. He has spoken to me several times to try to get me to pay him to rebroadcast some of our programs. I have a 10 kW FM repeater on a mountain overlooking him, so I have not been interested in his offers (Wayne Berger, R. Cultural, Mar 14 via Hans Johnson, all Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** ITALY. Dear Glenn, I have just heard SWRS Italy now on the air; the freq is 11470 at 12.30 UT In English, SIO 433. Programme called Treasure island oldies show. E mail is swrs@usa.net Sked is Sunday 18th March 0830-1900 UT. Good luck. 73,s (Costa C., Cyprus, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. The original word is "elettrosmog", coined by joining the Italian word "elettronico" (electronic) with the English one "smog". This may sound a little odd, but the word "smog" is very used in Italian, so that in this occasion it has been considered as an Italian word altogether. Nowadays the new word is commonly used in newspapers, on TV and in conversation: much easier and shorter than "inquinamento elettromagnetico" (electromagnetic pollution). 73 and thank you for your very interesting bulletin (Fabrizio Magrone, Forli', Italy, March 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also GERMANY ** ITALY/VATICAN. Here are some more stories, somewhat repetitive but first time I`ve seen the actual volts/meter figures. More under VATICAN (gh) Saturday, 17 March, 2001, 14:52 GMT | Vatican Radio row continues The Vatican has reacted angrily to a threat by the Italian Government to cut off electricity supplies to Vatican Radio. On Friday, the government said it would take action if the Vatican Radio did not reduce the level of electromagnetic emissions from its transmitters. A Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the threat was unacceptable, as the Vatican remained willing to reach an agreement. He said the emissions were in line with international standards, which are less strict than those adopted by Italy in 1998. The Vatican has argued that the transmitters, which are outside Rome, are not covered by Italian law as the Papacy owns the site. The Italian government says the magnetic emissions may the the cause of higher-than-average levels of cancer in the area. From the newsroom of the BBC World Service http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1226000/1226618.stm Friday 16 March, 2001, 19:33 GMT | Italy threatens to silence Vatican Italy has threatened to cut off electricity supplies to the Vatican's radio station because it says the station's transmitters are causing magnetic pollution. People living near the radio station have complained of a series of health problems, including cases of leukaemia. The Vatican has been ordered to reduce the magnetic fields from 18 volts per metre to six per metre in accordance with Italian law - even though the radio station is on land considered to be international territory. When the 440 hectare (960 acre) opened in 1951, the area was sparsely populated - but now, about 100,000 people live nearby. Environment Minister Willer Bordon has given the Vatican 15 days to cut the pollution at the station, based in Santa Maria di Galeria, 30 km (19 miles) north of Rome. "It's an extreme decision I hope I won't have to take," Mr Bordon told reporters. Mr Bordon said electric lights in homes near the site come on by themselves, and if someone opens a refrigerator, or the doorbell rings, they hear a Vatican Radio broadcast. La Repubblica newspaper quoted figures from Lazio public health authority which said children living near the transmitters were six times more likely to get leukaemia than those living in the rest of the region. The Vatican has argued that the radio station does not have to comply with Italian law because of the 1929 pact with Italy that established Vatican City as an independent city-state. But Mr Bordon said it was legally possible to take action against the station because local people were at risk. The Vatican has denied any scientifically proven link between electro-magnetic waves and illness. Vatican Radio said it was "astonished" by the threat to cut the station's power supply and that it did not contribute to the "calm climate" needed to resolve the dispute. Legal proceedings against three Vatican Radio executives were due to start in Rome on Monday but have been postponed until September. A forest of antennas beam Vatican broadcasts around the world. Italian ministers do not know whether the radio would still reach all its listeners with reduced transmission. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1225000/1225555.stm (via Sergei Sosedkin, DXLD) ** MOLDOVA. NORTHERN REGIONS WITHOUT RADIO MOLDOVA BROADCASTS "Existence in an information vacuum," this is how the manager of a radio relay station in northern Moldova described his region on 7 March. For over five years the area has had almost no access to Moldovan radio broadcasts because the country's wire radio network was destroyed after the authorities decided to replace wire radio transmissions with over-the-air broadcasts in 1994. The government made few efforts to modernize transmission facilities and did not implement plans to provide the population with 700,000 wireless sets. According to the Audio-Visual Coordinating Council, some 1.1 million Moldovan homes used to have wire radio sets, but some 70 percent do not work any more. Most Moldovans cannot afford to buy modern radio equipment (Moldova Media News, 9 March, via RFE/RL Media Matters March 16 via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. Glenn: I heard Alfa Lima from the Netherlands last night (UT Sunday) from about 0345 on 6935 kHz. The signal was just a little over the noise level here, which tends to be a little high, but the audio was quite good. Using the sync detector on my Grundig Satellit 800, I found that the lower sideband is where most of the audio output is going. They were playing music that I would characterize as "rave music". Funny, before the ID, Tina commented that this would be the type of music that we`d hear "op de radio" in Amsterdam. There was a good lengthy ID at 0400, with an address, website info, and a phone number. The website is http://www.alfalima.net I tried giving them a call, but the phone just rang and rang. At 0436, the music changed to some traditional Dutch music as one might have heard on Happy Station years ago, or from a barrel organ in front of Amsterdam`s Centraal Station. The male announcer said "Finally, again live on the air...", so it seems that everything prior was on tape. He mentioned getting a little sleep, and apologized for missing a phone call, which presumably might have been mine. At about 0438, the familiar "Man of Action" used by Radio Nordzee was heard. Shortly thereafter, as my eyes were closing, I tuned over to an interesting program on the BBC (7160 kHz, not the NA stream that was on 5975) about the spread of Christianity and Islam over history. According to the Alfa Lima website, Sunday is a good time to listen, but they mention 6920/6960 kHz, so if anyone is trying for them it is probably a good idea to just check the whole range, rather than just one frequency (Daniel L. Srebnick, NJ, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, Radio Alpha Lima International heard as follows. Date: March 18, 2001. Time: 0425-0502 UT. Frequency: 6936 kHz. Program Details: Disco music. At 0437 the male announcer said hello to regular listeners. The web site URL was given at 0438. At 0440 the announcer said "Radio Alpha Lima International from the Netherlands". He then tried to take a phone call, but lost the caller. I believe the announcer said "What can we do now? Nothing." At 0448 the address and phone number were given. At 0452 the announcer said, "OK friends, this is Radio Alpha Lima International". I believe the announcer also said he hoped listeners in New York were still awake. At 0454 the announcer said, "Greetings from Radio Alpha Lima International in the Netherlands". Then more disco music played. Radio Conditions: SINPO 25222, Deep fades. At times reception was fair for a few minutes, but then faded. 73, (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. As of 18 March, Radio New Zealand International has made significant changes to its frequency schedule. RNZI is keenly interested in finding out how these changes affect reception in North America. North American listeners wishing to assist should send reports to RNZI via e-mail to info@rnzi.com or by postal mail to Box 123, Wellington, NZ. Please include information pertaining to your location, receiver and antenna. If you are a regular listener, it would also be helpful if you included an assessment as to how (if any) reception has changed for you beginning this week. It might be best to include reports over a the period of a few days to account for variable propagation conditions. Reception in eastern North America is usually best beginning at about 0000 or 0100 UT and continuing until 1105. (For those requiring a QSL, information appears below.) RNZI Transmission Schedule (effective 18 March) UT kHz Target (Beam) 1650-1850 [M-F] 6095 NE Pacific, Samoa, Cook Islands (35') 1851-2050 15120 All Pacific (0') [Daily] 2051-0458 17675 All Pacific (0') [Daily] 0459-0705 15120 All Pacific (0') [Daily] 0706-1105 11720 All Pacific (0') [Daily] 1106-1305 15175 NW Pacific, Bougainville, East Timor, Asia (325') [Daily] 1305-1650 6095 All Pacific (0') [Usual Closedown is 1305 UT - this frequency is for occasional over- night broadcasts to the Pacific for Sports commentaries or Cyclone Warnings.] QSL Info: Listeners wishing to receive verification must include pertinent program information. E-mail reports are verified by e-mail only. Postal reports are verified by QSL card only if 2 IRCs or US$2 cash is included. This policy is necessitated by RNZI's limited budget (via John A. Figliozzi, March 17, Volunteer Publicist, Radio New Zealand International, DXLD) ** PHILIPPINES. 3345, Radio Mindoro, DZB2: R.I.P. Although still listed in references here and there, this one has been dead for quite some time. It was a religious station, a joint venture between FEBC, OMF, and a local group. According to OMF officials familiar with the station, Radio Mindoro - DZB2 began regular broadcasts on 4 Aug 1985 and went off in June 1991. It was on and off sporadically for the next 3 or 4 years, with increasingly longer off's than on's. It was not on the air after 1995 (DIRECT via Hans Johnson, Mar 9, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Voice of Russia stopped relaying UN Radio news in Russian. Here is an extract from VoR mailbag program of 19 March: Concerning UN Radio, its programs are produced in New York UN Headquarters, and currently they are not relayed for technical reasons. You know, our frequency plan and program schedule are still under revision. They will stabilize in a month or two. Let's wait. (DX-bistro -— Sergei Sosedkin, USA) Relay was carried out by request of UN Radio, free of charge. Source audio was received from New York by Internet. Its quality did not satisfy required technical specifications. Moreover, UN Radio could not provide real-time program content -— their news covered the events of previous day. That`s why the relay was stopped. When UN Radio solves those issues, Voice of Russia will again be able to transmit their programs (DX-bistro -- Pavel Mikhaylov, Moscow, Russia, Signal March 17 via DXLD) ** SOMALIA. 6985, Radio Galkayo: Both the station`s amplifiers went bad as well as the station`s transceiver. They have gotten another Yaesu 747 transceiver to remain on the air, but they are at greatly reduced power. They also tell me they now have a website- http://www.radiogalkayo.ca but I haven't been able to get it to work yet (DIRECT via Hans Johnson, Mar 11, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SOUTH AMERICA. Pirate, 14540.03 USB, Radio Corsario Internacional, 0338-0345 Mar 17, Indian Music, ID by man mention Radio Corsario, Very weak signal (practically unreadable) (Nicolás Éramo, Argentina, SWBC@topica.com via DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND [non]. Your comparison between SRI and VR is especially interesting, because SRI still uses Santa Maria di Galeria on 6165, although only a few days anymore, meaning that it would be pointless to discuss the co-channel interference, especially from Croatia which jumped into this channel only a few hours after the SRI transmitters at Lenk were switched off for good in 1998. With the end of the B00 season 6165 will be history at all for SRI; instead in A01 6110 will be used from Jülich 1725-1930 through antenna #406 (a log.- periodic), aiming at 290 degrees. This is quite interesting, because our fellow friend from Walterboro is scheduled to use 6110 1230-1724, and yes, through antenna #406 with the very same azimuth, suggesting that there will be no carrier break in between, instead just a audio cut-over from Stair in full action to SRI. I expect it to become a nice experience (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Mar 17, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Glenn, Radio Radio Nova International heard as follows. Date: March 18, 2001. Time: 0300-0400 UT. Frequency: 9290 kHz. Program Details: Music played (for example U2, Peter Gabriel`s "Sledgehammer", Bruce Springstein, etc). At 0337 male announcer said, "This is RNI Radio Nova International on 9290 kilohertz..." At 0351 "Love Shack" by the B52s was played. At 0346 the announcer said, "Nova the hottest tunes.". 0356 "Radio Nova" jingle played. Lou Christie's "I'm Gonna Make You Mine" played. 0359 "Take A Chance" by ABBA was played. 0402 announcer said, "You're listening ... test transmission being conducted by Radio Nova International 9290 kilohertz. Reception reports may be sent to confused@onmail.co.uk That email address again confused, that's charlie oscar november foxtrot ... sierra echo delta @onmail.co.uk" At 0405 UT "Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets was played. Radio Conditions: SINPO 15111 Deep fades. For a while at 0400 SINPO 35233 73, (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UNITED NATIONS. See RUSSIA ** U S A/BELIZE. Allan Weiner gave some more details about the M/V Katie plans. Probably will have two transmitters covering any frequency. Licensed to Belize and transmitting in other countries` territorial waters. Hoping for an early spring in Boston, to start outfitting in April. Has 6-cylinder diesel engine, rebuilt 3-4 years ago, with no more than four hours of time on it. Was used for offshore long-line fishing, weeks at a time. Built in 1990-1993. Very heavy, large displacement, like a tub, stable, which is good. Big fish hold in the center, where transmitters, studio and lounge to be installed. SWBC onboard will not be operated while in US waters, but TimTron always likes to operate ham maritime mobile, and he is authorized to do that. At Monticello this summer also plan to put up one or two more antennas. A couple of new programs were arranged at Kulpsville: ``WDCD`` for Wanton Display of Control and Disruption, produced by Ed Cummings, may be monthly, Mondays 6-6:30 pm ET. And ``Juliette`s Wild Kingdom``, with free radio spice and accent, Tuesdays 6-6:30 pm ET. This one is sponsored by TimTron and Scott Becker. It was fun to hear gh mention the limo WBCQ had at Kulpsville. Actually, that was Dr Scott Becker`s, who likes to travel in style (Allan Weiner Worldwide, WBCQ, March 17, notes by gh for DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WINB (presumed), 12160 0018 3/18 Strong signal, distorted audio. Wideband spurs noted around 12120 and 12200 (Larry Russell, MI, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [clandestine]. Another K.S.M.R. broadcast UT March 17 *0300 on 3260-USB. Taped but did not monitor closely. Seemed to follow same old pattern of opening with ``Cold Dead Hands`` and later in hour the militia list yet again. However, tuning in a few minutes early, I found two-way USB contact in English on 3261, apparently unrelated, and this went on at least during the opening theme, apparently oblivious of it. At 0400 I noticed audio was still coming out of my turned-down speaker, and it was a repeating loop. Turned up, it proved to be ``Get Fucked; Goddammit`` over and over. It stopped in a couple of minutes and Anderson came back on saying he didn`t know where that obscenity came from, but ``Jesus loves you too``. What a non sequitur. Still not busted UT March 18, but I did not pay any attention until 0400, when he was still going on 3260-USB with the usual listing of militias, state by state, including http://www.militiaofmontana.com At 0407 said he is going to work all day Sunday[!] and hopes to have satellite going by Monday morning, to relay Genesis network in daytime, but will do own programming at night. Finally 0410* and no talkback heard this time (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Glenn, I heard Kentucky State Militia Radio on March 18, 2001 3260 USB 0300 - 0400 UTC. Terrible buzz in the signal. Announcer acknowledged the buzz, but said he could not fix it now. Announcer also said they do not QSL! "If you are an amateur radio operator and hear us, we don't QSL." "If you are a shortwave listener, we don't QSL." Announcer said they could not explain their policy he just kept repeating they do not QSL. He also said if signal comes down on foreign soil, they don't QSL. He said transmission is intended for Americans. He then went on to give his definition of American. IMO there is much self-denial going on in the broadcast. Have we become a nation of Bill Clintons? 73, (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, DX LISTENING DIGEST0 KSMR WON'T ISSUE QSLS. By Nick Grace C., Clandestine Radio Watch - Washington Bureau, Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX. CLANDESTINE to/from USA. KSMR announced tonight that the station will not issue QSL cards or verify reception reports. "Major" Steve Anderson said that while they appreciate the signal reports, KSMR would not issue any QSL cards. Stating that an explanation was not necessary, he added that the station was targeting "sovereign shore citizens" residing in the United States of America. (Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. I took my 12-656A Radio Shack TRF to bed and monitored the KRLD silent period on 1080, March 18 at 0600 UT. KRLD said nothing about a special silent period for DXers, just that it would be back on the air shortly. Only heard two Spanish speaking stations when they faded up, but never any IDs, more often from the SE, presumably Cuba`s R. Cadena Habana, which was playing romantic music, such as Bésame Mucho at 0615 and around 0605 gave EST TC, so not Venezuela. Name of the program mentioned almost every break was ``Amigos de la Madrugada``, including 0615, 0620. Took turns with a station from the SW, presumably Mexican, with more upbeat tropical music, such as at 0617 Cómo se mueve esta morena. Mostly the two stations took turns fading up, but easily separable when both were in. Same pattern as I dozed, but by 0654 KRLD carrier was back on, and joined CBS news in progress at 0701. Only traces of other signals were heard, possibly WTIC before 0630. BTW, KRLD`s show before s/off about lost records was somewhat interesting (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The KRLD 1080 kHz maintenance down time at 0600Z 18 March was replaced by a loud Spanish classical music playing station with no ID. KRLD put their carrier back on at 0650Z unmodulated. I had been hoping for a hint of the Kiwi 1080 right along the Grayline +/- 15 minutes of 0649Z. Disappointing. I pulled the plug at 0700 with KRLD`s carrier suddenly modulated in mid sentence by the CBS news. 73 from (Bill Smith, W5USM, The Metroplex, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. You can find combined summer schedules of US radio stations at: http://www.fcc.gov/ib/pnd/neg/hf_web/hfff0z01.txt (DX-bistro -- Konstantin Gusev, Moscow, Russia, Signal March 17 via DXLD) The first thing one notices, also on the WWCR website, is, as previously reported here, a great reduxion in usage of 2390, the Brother Scare Service. Until April 1 it will be 0500-1200, then cut back to only one hour at 0900-1000, and from September 1 back up to two hours at 0800-1000. WGTG still shows, not WWFV, making us wonder if the call change is for real? And no registration for 3270, but that won`t necessarily stop them from using it. I see WMLK is still registered on 15265 at 1600/2200, where they have yet to appear (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A [non]. Glenn, Interesting article in the April 2001 QST by David L. Hollyer, W4SG, "Winds Aloft: When Radio Free Europe Flew Balloons" about RFE using balloons to drop leaflets to people living behind the Iron Curtain. 73, (Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, March 17, DXLD) ** URUGUAY. 6125.17, SODRE, Montevideo, 0211-0218, Mar 14, Spanish, talks by female and man announcer & Musical program, ID "Espero que te sientas bien aquí en el SODRE", 343, (Nicolás Éramo, Argentina, SWBC@topica.com via DXLD) ** VATICAN [see also ITALY]. I think what the Vatican omits to say is that although they have used the Santa Maria site for 40 years, the power used there has progressively increased from the old 80-100 kW transmitters to the 5 x 500 kW units now in use. Plus a 10 kW TX on the out of band frequency of 1611, which was upgraded to 100 kW. If the Vatican lose this case it could start a chain reaction concerning all people that live in proximity to any high power TX site. In Holland and the Isle of Man there has been recent resistance to new high powered masts. I don`t suppose I would fancy living near one, would play havoc with my DXing! 73's (Andy Cadier, UK, BDXC-UK) http://www.vaticanradio.org/inglese/enarchive/13marzo01_elettrosmog_Lombardi.htm VATICAN RADIO AND THE ELECTROMAGNETIC POLLUTION COMMENT BY VATICAN RADIO'S DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMMES, FR. FEDERICO LOMBARDI, ON THE ISSUE OF ELECTROMAGNETIC POLLUTION (aired on Vatican Radio's newscast) Following the adjournment of the trial against three Vatican Radio officials for allegedly polluting the air with electromagnetic waves emitted from our Transmission Centre of Santa Maria di Galeria, there has been a surge of comments and rumors that often present the situation in a distorted and unfairly negative manner in our regard. It is therefore appropriate to reaffirm some of the issues: First: The Transmission Centre of Santa Maria di Galeria has been operating for more than 40 years; its existence, activity and designation as a radio transmission centre at the service of the Holy See were recognized by an Italian Parliamentary law of 1951, in application of the Lateran Pacts. Therefore the problems that concern it are problems of an international nature, that are to be dealt with on a level of relations between Italy and the Holy See. For this purpose -- with the full concordance of the Holy See and Vatican Radio -- a bilateral commission has already been set up and this is where the issue should be discussed. Second. As far as the electromagnetic waves emitted by our transmissions are concerned, it must be reaffirmed that Vatican Radio has always followed the standards of the ICNIRP, the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection, a long time before Italy had formulated any norms in this regard. The Commission's standards were accepted by unanimous vote by the Council of the European Union, with the only exception of Italy, which in 1998 established its own more restrictive norms. This is when the problem of our centre's emissions began: we were suddenly being measured against new Italian norms lower than the international standards established on the basis of a vast experience of the international scientific community. Third. There is no scientific proof of a connection between the electromagnetic waves emitted by our transmissions and danger to public health. This is the explicit conclusion of an epidemiological investigation undertaken by the Health Department of the Lazio Region that has been frequently cited during these months, but unfortunately only cited in a partial and incomplete manner. On the other hand, the fact that international recommendations held the limits respected by Vatican Radio to be amply precautionary, says a lot about the reliability of the accusations repeatedly made against us, asserting that our activity is harmful to (public) health. These are accusations without any serious scientific foundation, which cause undue and serious alarm among the population in the surrounding area. Fourth. The Holy See and Vatican Radio have every intention of following up a serious and in-depth review of the issues relating to Santa Maria di Galeria, but as said before, they expect to do so in the proper place, with serious and competent interlocutors designated for this purpose by the Italian government, and not in inappropriate, incompetent places on the wave of emotions unjustly provoked by rumors. We consider it immoral to foment unjust accusations and cause alarm in the population. Fr. Lombardi And comment from a newspaper: Lombardi`s comments reported in Milan`s "Corriere della Sera" of March 15, 2001 "Vatican Radio is doing everything and will do everything in its power to solve the problem of electromagnetic pollution that is worrying the population of Santa Maria di Galeria. We hope to be able to do that while maintaining the efficiency of our broadcasts." "Invoking extraterritorial (immunity) does not mean that we are shirking our responsibility, but it only signifies that the right place to define every aspect of the issue is that of the bilateral commission established Sept. 28th. Since February 1st, Vatican Radio has already begun to lower its emission level, in order to verify how far this can be done without compromising the signal reception". When asked if this could be the solution, Fr. Lombardi responded. "Our technicians doubt that we can fall within the standards fixed by Italian law without damaging the signal of at least some of our transmissions." Fr. Lombardi says other paths can be pursued: "We are attentively following the development of digital technology that has given good experimental results for transmissions in Medium and Short wave, allowing for a substantial power reduction and consequently (a reduction in) electromagnetic pollution." Another way to reduce electromagnetic pollution is to make a wider use of the Internet: "Our Short wave broadcasts to Japan terminate as of March 25th, but we will continue to inform in Japanese via Internet." A consistent reduction can also be obtained by increasing satellite transmission of our broadcasts: "This allows for the rebroadcasting of our programmes from locations situated in other parts of the world. For example, from Radio Veritas of Manila for the Far East." There are many potential solutions to the problem but "for a solution that is suitable to both parties, it is reasonable to take into account a certain lapse of time, which is commonly foreseen by law, and the application of which would require technological adjustments and updatings. Also for this reason, we maintain that it is necessary to work in a climate of serene collaboration, without undue alarm having no scientific foundation." (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Subject: [BDXC-UK] Threat to pull plug on radio angers Vatican From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=002549632124328&rtmo=weKjMMMb&atmo=rrrrrrrq&pg=/et/01/3/18/wvat18.html ISSUE 2123 Sunday 18 March 2001 By Julian Coman The Vatican yesterday denounced as "unacceptable" a threat by Italy's Environment Minister to cut off electricity to Vatican Radio if it continues to "pollute the air" with electromagnetic waves. Safety hazard: Radio Vaticana insists there is no evidence that the antennae are causing illness The statement, by Joaquín Navarro-Valls, a Vatican spokesman, was the strongest reaction yet from the Holy See to the battle being waged against it by Italian prosecutors who accuse radio officials of violating Italy's very strict standards on electromagnetic emissions. Willer Bordon, the Environment Minister, said on Friday that he could order the Italian electricity company to pull the plug within 15 days if the Vatican kept ignoring Government demands. Mr Navarro-Valls insisted that the transmitter is in line with international standards which are less strict than those adopted by Italy in 1998. Mr Navarro-Valls said: "It is necessary to reiterate that the accusations that Vatican Radio is carrying out an activity harmful to health are without any proven scientific evidence." The Vatican has argued that the radio station is shielded from Italian law by the extra-territorial status granted to the Vatican and its properties under a 1929 pact with Italy that established Vatican City as an independent city-state. Radio Vaticana has beamed religious music and talk shows across the globe for more than 20 years, but protesters in the suburbs of Cesano and Santa Maria di Galeria, where the transmitters dominate the landscape, have complained for more than a year that the service is at the expense of their children's health. The number of cases of infant leukaemia in both suburbs is more than six times the national average. Residents also complain of a far greater incidence of tumours and of constant headaches. For months a technical argument has rumbled on, as scientists attempted to establish a connection between the children's illnesses and the pylons. Last week, however, what had previously been a local issue blew up into an unprecedented national row over the right of the Vatican to defy the wishes of the Italian state, which has ordered that emissions be reduced drastically while studies continue. The argument began when the director of Radio Vaticana, Frederico Lombardi, a Jesuit priest, pointed out that since the pylons stood on territory belonging to the Vatican state, they fell outside the jurisdiction of Italian law. Only the Vatican, he said, was entitled to make decisions about the pylons. In the corridors of the Italian parliament and senate, jaws dropped. For as long as anyone can remember, the "independence" of the Vatican state has been seen as a quaint indulgence of little political consequence. In the mind of the ordinary Italian, Vatican autonomy has meant little more than a different coinage and a papal entourage of brightly-uniformed Swiss guards. Father Lombardi's assertion was therefore seen as a challenge to the authority of the Italian state in a matter where the well-being of its citizens was possibly at stake. The result has been a ferocious row between Rome's secular and religious powers. Willer Bordon, the minister of the environment, has announced plans for a civil court action against Radio Vaticana. This is likely to be heard next autumn. Mr Bordon said: "It is true that these pylons are technically outside Italian territory, but I don't think that gives the Vatican a licence to poison people. Health is not something that can be reduced to a question of territories." It was the Foreign Ministry which ruled that the transmitters were on Vatican soil, but it's not the Foreign Ministry's job to concern itself with health matters. Mr Bordon added: "This is interference with the free will of a sovereign state. It is the Italian people, via an elected parliament, who decide which laws apply in this country." The Minister has been aided by a media onslaught on the Vatican, led by the Left-leaning newspaper Il Manifesto, which depicted a radio pylon on its cover, twisted into the form of a cross and accompanied by the words: "Listen to us Lord." The centre-Left La Repubblica decided to lead one article with the headline: "Not even the Vatican has the right to poison." The Church has not been slow to respond. Its own house organ, L'Osservatore Romano, published a letter signed by some of Italy's most prominent scientists, which stated that the supposed link between cases of leukaemia and Radio Vaticana's transmitters "wholly lacked scientific foundation". Last Friday, it broadcast an hour-long programme entitled: "Listen to believe" - explaining its position. The Vatican intends to use European Union regulations on electrical emissions to justify the Radio Vaticana output. For furious government Ministers, however, this is an argument between church and state that has only just begun. (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** VATICAN. There`s been some talk about a Vatican Radio shutdown due to high EMF levels in and near residential areas. The following excerpt is the latest on the situation from Reuters: Saturday March 17 2:06 PM ET Italy Threatens to Pull Plug on Vatican Radio By Jane Barrett ROME (Reuters) - An ecological battle between the Vatican and Italy heated up when Italian Environment Minister Willer Bordon threatened to cut off the electricity to Vatican Radio. Vatican Radio, which has been charged with exceeding Italian laws on electromagnetic radiation, said it was ``astonished`` by the threat, which would effectively pull the plug on the station which broadcasts Pope John Paul`s words around the world. ``If within 15 days the broadcaster does not get back down under the limits, I will order the national electricity provider to suspend supply to the transmission centers,`` Bordon told a news conference Friday. ``If the supplier continued to provide electricity, it too would be held responsible for committing a crime.`` (via tom2000, rec.radio.shortwave March 17 via via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** VENEZUELA. Hi, Ecos del Torbes was on 4830 kHz last night (MAR 16/17) with its usual strong signal known from 4980 kHz. Still announcing 4980 kHz at the end of transmission at 0356 UTC (MAR 17). GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic, hard-core-dx via DXLD) 4830 is the R. Táchira frequency; isn`t there some relationship between these two stations? (gh, DXLD) Ecos del Torbes and Radio Táchira are co-owned. They do have different transmitter sites, about 2 km apart. Maybe a mix up on the studio feed or maybe a special broadcast they wanted on 4830 for some reason. March 18, 4830, Radio Táchira 0340-0352* pops, s/off ID, into anthem. Fair. Someone on HCDX had mentioned hearing Ecos del Torbes on this FQ the night before. 4980 off tonight (Don Moore, IA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Don, I am quite sure it was the original Ecos del Torbes transmitter retuned from 4980 kHz. There was no signal on 4980 kHz. Radio Tachira is constantly much weaker, this signal was strong, a typical E.d.T. which I know since many years from 4980 kHz. GOOD DX, (Karel Honzik, the Czech Republic, March 18, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [non]. Checking ``Aló, Presidente``, March 18, 9820 via Cuba came on at 1400, at first mixing with FE station in Chinese(?); at 1402 AST TC, ID as R. Nacional de Venezuela. This week`s A,P would come from Palacio de Miraflores, Caracas. Then during music interlude RHC announcer came on with frequency list, and I noticed that this week 9820 was designated not only for NAm but also SAm; antenna change? Recapped last week`s show from the DR, where the president renewed relations between those two countries. At 1408, Circuito Nacional de RNV announced that A,P has a new schedule, 10 am to 1 pm, so they`re trying to keep it to only three hours, 1400-1700, instead of four hours plus. Mentioned it is transmitted via Intelsat 806; phone number, I think, is 802-601. 1410 join musical prélude. 1413, Circuito Nacional RNV ID for 1050 kHz, 16-note IS repeated, and formal opening of A,P, which is also on Venezuela de Televisión (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** WALES [non]. Glenn, From Wales Radio Int. website: A01 schedule Fri 2030-2100 7325, Sat 0200-0230 9795, Sat 1230-1300 17810. 73, (Ivan Grishin, Ont., DX LISTENING DIGEST) So the usual timeshifts: Eu and NAm one hour earlier, AuNZ one hour later; via Merlin, England (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. Dear Glenn, I am a DXer from Cyprus I have heard an unID station and would like to know if anyone can identify it. Date heard, 16th March 2001. Frequency 6.350 MHz. Time 0444 UT till 0501. SINPO 32333. Radio Sony ICF 7600. Antenna Long wire 30 metres long two stories high. Programme details were: 0444 Greetings in German.... ....Good morning.... 0449 Interlude of music. 0452 DJ speaking in German..... 0452 Music continued.... 0458 RTTY QRM on and off again a whistling sound. 0500 Announcement then news, but very weak and full of QRM making listening difficult. I came off night shift 30 minutes early today and got rewarded with this unID station. I will get out the NRD 515 on Sunday pm and try and have a better listen on Monday morning. Also heard today Saturday 17th March but there was too much RTTY QRM. Also note an Arabic station was heard on the same frequency, SIO 444. The language is German spoken on the unID station. Thank you, 73,s (Costa Constantinides, Cyprus, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Most likely a pirate. No doubt Euro-pirate experts will have some ideas (gh) UNIDENTIFIED. Glenn; Odd 3.39 MHz signal is back this morning (Sun Mar 18) as of 5 am PST. New features of signal: Alternating weak and strong pulses at intervals of about 12 seconds, weak simple tone with slight ' wow' heard immediately after strong pulses. Overall, signal still very strong. Main pulse length about 8 to 9 seconds. Signal has tended to fade out around 6 to 7 am PST lately (Michael Watson, CA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###