DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-058, April 29, 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] SELECTED ENGLISH LANGUAGE DX/SWL/MEDIA PROGRAMS ON SHORTWAVE compiled by John Norfolk, OKCOK April 29, 2001: http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/dxpgms.html ** ANTARCTICA. 15475.6, 26 Apr, 1924, LRA36 Radio Nacional Arcángel, Base Esperanza. Cannot remember hearing it so well. At 1930 nx, local weather, then good Latin music - really enjoyable - complete ID at 2000, even giving the geographical coordinates of the station. SINPO 34444 (Johan Berglund, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA. 29810-LSB, 28 Apr, 1430, Argentine Armed Forces relay of Radio Diez, Buenos Aires all afternoon. QSA peaked to wonderful QSA 4+ around 1600 UT. Slogan "Radio Diez - Siempre Noticias". So obviously it`s quite a lottery which Argentine station that might be heard here. Radio Diez is listed as LRL202 on 710 kHz in the WRTH. On USB a telephone link as reported. What should one say? Perhaps this: "That concludes today`s mystery story of 29810 kilohertz lower sideband. We will be back tomorrow and confuse you even more! About the same time, same frequency, same mode, reception conditions permitting". What about stateside reception of this one? Or elsewhere in the world. I know it`s good in Finland, Sweden, France and Spain. Regards, happy weekend and good DX. 73 (Johan Berglund, Sweden, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BAHAMAS. Splash FM is at Spanish Wells, per their webpage. It required further searching in a gazetteer to find that this is on Andros (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BULGARIA? 20700 BUL? Eurosonor Radio, German, pop, 3 x 6900, at 1640. This station is on the air on Sundays only 1600-1700 on 6900 kHz. The programme is produced in Germany and aired via a hired transmitter. German DXer Martin Elbe believes the programme is transmitted from Bulgaria. vy 73 de (Jürgen Lohuis, Germany, April 29, harmonics@yahoogroups.com via DXLD) ** CANADA. I e-mailed RCI about their absence from 5960 to the NE USA at 0100 in English. Frequency manager Gérald Théoret said the station would return to 5960 sometime in May. There is a problem with one of their transmitters, and that has prevented RCI from broadcasting on that frequency since the beginning of the new season. I also asked him about the annoying hum on 9755 kHz. He wrote: "We are quite aware that there is a problem with 9755 kHz. We hope that we will find a solution to this problem soon but, unfortunately, there is no guarantee that we will find a satisfactory solution on a short-term. The easy solution would be to move to another frequency free of interference but, as you may know, RCI listeners are used to 9755 kHz (as well as 5960 kHz) and because of that we have to think twice before doing a frequency change." (Ricky Leong, QB, April 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. In order to provide good reception, CRI`s shortwave broadcasts are nowadays also relayed to different target areas from transmitters located in Spain, France, Russia, Canada, Cuba, Brazil and Mali (excerpt of a Media Network story by Mika Palo:) http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/uschina010427.html Andy, Tell me more about the CRI relays via Brazil! Mika Palo`s info is either very new or very old. Or he confuses Brazil with French Guiana, not mentioned. 73, Glenn Glenn, Checking the HFCC list, Mika is right! Full list of HFCC registrations for CRI via Brazil: 0100-0200 9665 0300-0400 11765 The question is: are they actually on the air yet? Andy CRI`s Website gives error message when I try to access the schedule. But the Asian Broadcasting Institute at http://www.246.ne.jp/~abi/sked-chn.htm shows: 0100-0157 Spanish 17720X1 11880X1 9665BR 0300-0357 Spanish 11765BR 9560 last updated 7 April. So it has been there at least three weeks :-) (Andy Sennitt, RN, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) If these really exist, it is rather interesting that RNB manages to relay China, but could no longer relay some other stations as of years ago, let alone maintain its own external service (gh, DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. RFPI has had to shift from 7450 to 7445 due to three or four RTTY transmissions interfering on the higher frequency, which RFPI finds suspicious, but some may not be deliberate. Now feels it must remain frequency-flexible in such situations. So far has managed to stick to 15050 (James Latham, paraphrased, RFPI Mailbag April 28 via DXLD) ** CROATIA [non]. [Re DXLD 1-057]: Hi Lee and everyone-- I looked at Passport 2001, and found that the way to figure it out is by the transmitter site. I think that the "Voice of Croatia" ID came into use after Passport was printed, and I also don't see it in the 2001 WRTH. However, a check of the fine print in the Addresses Plus section on page 309 revealed what you need to know. The one to use for the foreign service via Jülich, Germany is the "Radio Croatia" address. The other address, the one for "Croatian Radio", is for a domestic service relay that is transmitted via the HRT Deanovec shortwave station for listeners in Europe and the Mediterranean. Since you heard the foreign service in several languages, you should send your report to the "Radio Croatia" address. On page 317, there is also an address for the Deutsche Telekom site in Jülich, which accepts reception reports by mail or fax only. E-mail addresses are given, but are presumably meant for business and other non-QSL purposes. Reports should be marked to the attention of technical engineer Walter Brodowsky. Their address: Rundfunksendstelle Jülich, Merscher Höhe, D-52428 Jülich, Germany. Fax: +49 (2461) 697 372. Hope this helps (Marie Lamb, NY, April 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. WLS 890 was off for maintenance starting at 0500 UT April 29; thanks to Sheldon Harvey, John Norfolk, Phil Bytheway for advance warning which was posted temporarily on the WOR Anomaly Alert page. At 0518, R. Progreso de la Habana faded up for a nice ID ... el ritmo de la alegría. Also in there was KVOZ Laredo with Spanish religion, which also bothers WLS when it is on (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) http://wlsam.com/pages/44828.asp ** GUYANA. GBC, 3291.42, April 14 0825-0940+ Hindi vocals, local English religious programming. Traditional English religious music such as Amazing Grace, Rock of Ages and others. More Hindi vocals at 0931. Poor in T-storms and static. And heard April 13 at 0320-0800+ with continuous BBC programming with opera music, news and features, radio drama (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS [non]. Subject: [BDXC-UK] "Anorak Day" April 30th Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2001 21:35:01 +0100 DX Information from the British DX Club (BDXC-UK). From: http://www.radiocaroline.de/ On Monday April 30th, Radio Caroline's webcast will go back in time on a special "Anorak Day". From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. BST you can listen to complete recordings from Radio Caroline's 37-year-long history. There will be programmes from 1964 to 1990 with Daffy Don Allan, Mark Matthews, Stuart Russell, Nigel Harris, Peter Chicago, Caroline Martin and many others. Thanks to Cees Ooms, Mike Vancouvorden, Dave Francis en Martin van der Ven for the recordings. Date Meters Programme April 1964 199 Simon Dee, Carl Conway and Chris Moore 1967 259 Test programme on 259 meter Caroline North (Studiotape) 1968 199 Daffy Don Allan's Country & Western Jamboree (Studiotape) 14-06-1970 220 Radio Caroline from the MEBO II (Mark Wesley & Carl Mitchell) April 1974 259 Schools Out: Brian Anderson 31-08-1974 259 RNI, Veronica and Atlantis closing down 13-11-1975 259 Simon Barrett after the anchor chain had broken 26-08-1976 192 Stuart Russell and Marc Jacobs 03-06-1977 319 Mike Stevens & Tony Allan 13-08-1977 319 Roger Matthews & Stuart Russell (a tour on the ship) 20-08-1977 319 Steve Kent 12-11-1984 319 Nigel Harris and Dave Richards 17-12-1984 319 Radio Monique switching to Radio Caroline 07-04-1984 319 Caroline's 21st birthday 07-10-1990 819 Nigel Harris & Caroline Martin in 1990 (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** IRELAND [non]. Emerald Radio International, from the Ballyfermott College of Further Education, Dublin will again be transmitting live via WWCR 30th April to 4th May 1000-1100 on 5070 9475 with a recorded programme 1100-1300 5th May repeated on 6th May on 5070. The press release says the timeslots this year have been "graciously yielded" by Brother Stair (WWCR press release via Mike Barraclough, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. DX Information from the British DX Club (BDXC-UK). From April 24th RAI and BBC have something in common: Crown Castle International Corporation, to which RAI sold 49 % of RaiWay, which operates all RAI radio & TV transmitters. 73, (Stefano Valianti, Italy, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** KOREA SOUTH. Esther Lee mentioned on today`s 'Multi wave Feedback' she is leaving RKI in 2 weeks. No further info given (Bill Bergadano, Freehold, New Jersey, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I heard that too, the latest in a long line of temps co-hosting with Han Hee Joo. It seems that native speakers of English are limited to a two-year contract at RKI. Said she would have more to say on her final appearance next week. They also plugged again http://www.crezio.com which has audio and video news in nine languages, staff pages. I looked and it was mostly in Korean with a little English (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KYRGYZSTAN? 20050 KGZ? Kyrgyz Radio, Bishkek (tent.) 5 x 4010, talk and music, weak, fading in and out, 1447, disappeared shortly before 1500, not sure if it was in Russian or Kyrgyz, QRM by a CW marker (Jürgen Lohuis, Germany, April 29, harmonics@yahoogroups.com via DXLD) ** MOLDOVA. DX Information from the British DX Club (BDXC-UK). From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1300000/1300811.stm Friday, 27 April, 2001, 14:57 GMT 15:57 UK The parliament in Moldova has dismissed the heads of the state radio and television stations. Communist deputies -- which hold an overwhelming majority of seats in the assembly -- said Moldovan state radio and TV programs did not reflect reality in a balanced way. Moldovan opposition supporters say it`s the latest in a series of measures adopted by the Communists -- who came to power earlier this year -- to suppress dissent and consolidate their hold on every aspect of society. From the newsroom of the BBC World Service (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** MONGOLIA. I just noticed that the Voice of Mongolia has new URL http://www.mongol.net/vom/ There are very precise instructions how to write reception report to the station. EMail -address of the VOM: radiomongolia@magicnet.mn 73 de Pentti Lintujärvi Helsinki, Finland Webmaster of 1000 Lakes DX Page http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Park/3232/dx.htm and dxlinks.com http://www.dxlinks.com/ (hard-core-dx via DXLD) Online audio offered is only a 5-minute introduction (gh) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. Guess what frequency is halfway between 15315 and the spur reported on 15815? It`s 15665 which at the time is in use for RVi relay (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. Hi Glenn, Noel. Re Noel`s report of Bonaire, I understand that there was a problem with the 50 kW transmitter at Bonaire (unrelated to DRM as far as I know), so this was probably a test in AM mode to check out that it`s working OK. Since Noel heard it, I guess it must be :-) There haven`t been any DRM transmissions yet in the new series due to problems with receiving equipment at other locations. Obviously there`s no point doing the tests if people aren't ready to do the measurements :-) 73, (Andy Sennitt, Holland, no standard disclaimer, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. Radio Taipei Int`l is looking for official monitors. Monitoring commitment starts on July 1, 2001 for one year- 3 reports per month. Monitors will receive a CD of Taiwanese music. If interested, write or email the station as soon as possible. I do not have the addresses in front of me right now (Bill Bergadano, Freehold, New Jersey, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. RUI, 13590, April 21 0300-0335+ English news, commentary, local music, IDs. Strong, very good. \\11840 weak, and \\9640 very weak under DW. 15135 not heard (Brian Alexander, PA, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 15135 was not scheduled at that hour, anyway (gh, DXLD) Glenn, The following just in from Alexander Yegorov, R. Ukraine International. "from the evening of 28 April the frequency 13590 kHz changed to 12040 with the same time schedule" 73, (-- Kraig Krist, KG4LAC, VA, April 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hi Glenn -- not sure if you`ve had this confirmed already, but I can confirm R. Ukraine Int in English at 1100 on 15135 -- heard today (29 Apr) with a very weak signal and a lot of noise. News read by OM - very indistinct and just identifiable as English -then a clear ID by YL at 1108 (Alan Roe, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. DX Information from the British DX Club (BDXC-UK). Anybody know what the station on 5805.16 kHz is, playing continuous MoR, popular classics, film music etc.?? Even played one of Winston Churchill`s speeches this morning! I've been hearing it from 1025 UT tune-in this morning (Sun 29 April) and it`s still audible as I write at 1825. Signal is fairly weak but clear here in Caversham. As it`s the frequency formerly used by Radio Free London, I`m inclined to think its their tx - the RFL website says they`re off the air for maintenance but may return in April. Anyone in London confirm if it`s // 819 kHz (not audible here). 73s (Alan Pennington, AOR 7030+/longwire, Caversham UK, BDXC-UK April 29 via DXLD) ** U S A [clandestine]. United Patriot Radio update: Station is being heard with regularity on 12182 USB. I`ve hrd UPR from 2020 to 0030 UT on 12182 weekday afternoons & evenings. Copy is generally poor due to high noise levels; possibly less power from the transmitter. At 0100 have hrd The Intelligence Report followed by The Militia Hour at 0200 UT on 3260 USB. Haven`t stuck around later than that. Signal quality and strength is noticeably reduced. Recent solar conditions haven`t helped, but still believe may be problems with transmitter. Nonetheless, the station is operating with an expanded schedule of programming (John Sedlacek, Omaha NE, Free Radio Weekly April 27 via DXLD) UNITED PATRIOT RADIO: 3260/U, 0047-0111+, 24-Apr; M telling us how to find Jesus on the cross in the stars and other creative interpretations. Px feed is very scratchy. UPR ID @0100 w/o scratch then Intelligence Report px. SIO=253- (Harold Frodge, MI) 3260/U, 0218, 4/25; talk about foundations against America, gun confiscation etc, 0332 noted in parallel with 5085 WWFV. noisy satellite receive? (Larry Russell, MI) 3260/U, 0050-0115+, 4/26; UPN ID @0100, 0101 start Intell Report but Mark from MI not there. No sign of WWFV (Russell) 12182/U; 1820-1855+, 26-Apr; Presume UPR; Genesis px w/call-in & non- mainstream ads. Caller sez he has pics of members of the Tri-lateral Commission urinating together. Running SIO=353 to inaudible, poor overall. Disappeared completely about 1855 while WWFV continued past 1900. \\12172/AM WWFV at SIO=554+ (Frodge-MI) (all: more from Free Radio Weekly via DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. Olle Alm noted UZB HS off air on 15165 and 15200 some months ago. Nothing has been heard of it since, but I heard Tashkent IS and sign on 0600 on 15165 today (April 26th) until off at 0628. The language appeared to be Turkish. I've now checked their A00 schedule and see that Turkish was listed at 0500-0530 on 15200. Obviously a time and frequency shift (Noel Green, UK, April 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VATICAN/ITALY. Vatican Radio reports latest "electrosmog" levels | Text of report in English from Italian news agency ANSA web site Vatican City, 26 April: Vatican Radio gave details today of the levels of electrosmog being measured near its transmitters outside Rome in the wake of a first set of adjustments aimed at reducing the phenomenon. Father Federico Lombardi, head of programmes at the network, admitted that electromagnetism from shortwave and mediumwave transmissions still strayed above legal limits in parts of the village of Cesano. "Obviously the legal limits have to be respected," Father Lombardi said, referring to a 1998 Italian government decree setting six volts/metre as the ceiling for electromagnetism in built-up areas. The highest level recorded so far in current tests was eight volts/ metre, compared to Italian tests earlier in the year which showed up levels as high as 20 volts/metre in fields around the antenna site. The joint measurements by Vatican and Italian experts, due to end by about 10 May, were picking up a highly localized problem with a shortwave transmitter near the edge of the transmission site, he continued. "In certain hours of the day and for short time the elecromagnetic field in the garden of a house exceeds the limits," he said. Father Lombardi indicated that the most likely solution was to move the transmitter to the centre of the extensive site, further away from public spaces. Turning to the emissions from mediumwave transmissions, he said that outside homes in the centre of Cesano they may be a few volts higher than the legal limit per metre, although the difference was not "significant". Here the solution was more complicated, he acknowledged, because moving mediumwave transmitters a few hundred metres would not significantly change the situation. The network chief stressed however that "we're looking for a solution". Vatican Radio has already cut the strength of its transmission signals twice in the wake of controversy over the Cesano site, which has been strongly criticized by Environment Minister Willer Bordon. People from Cesano and the nearby Santa Maria in Galeria have protested recently about the levels of electrosmog from the Vatican antennas, claiming their health is at risk. There is considerable disagreement in scientific circles as to how dangerous electrosmog is. Some experts say prolonged exposure to high levels can contribute to setting off cancer, others say this is not backed up by evidence. Health Minister Umberto Veronesi, a renowned cancer expert, has said that alarm over electrosmog is excessive and that it does not merit being a priority in government campaigns to improve the nation`s health. Source: ANSA news agency web site, Rome, in English 1328 gmt 26 Apr 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [non]. Sunday April 29 checked 9820 for ``Aló, Presidente`` via Cuba. At 1425 was playing music, said show would start in 3 minutes; RHC announcer talked about Edo. Amazonas, whence it presumably originate this week; 1530 recheck still (or again) playing music, and barely audible at 1600. At 1430, 11705 was audible in mix with NHK via RCI, while 9505, 11875 and 6140 were either inaudible or blocked (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED. Hi Glenn: I heard the UNID Andean station, that I reported last week, again this morning @ 1037, on 5522 USB. I heard more campesinos music, and two male announcers. Between the songs. One said "toro, toro, toro". Today the broadcast was continuous, unlike the last time I heard it. Again, the grayline is running exactly between Perú and TN. The station started fading around 1045, but was still audible @ 1100 (-David Hodgson, TN, April 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###