DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-067, May 12, 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] ** ANGOLA [non]. Estou neste momento (1845 horas TU) a ouvir a Rádio Ecclésia, Emissora Católica de Angola, na freqüência de 13810 kHz. Trata-se de uma emissão experimental em ondas curtas daquela radio angolana, destinada a cobrir todo o território daquele pais irmão. Como não possui nenhum emissor de ondas curtas (tem apenas um emissor de FM em Luanda), a Rádio Ecclésia serve-se de um emissor da DTK (Deutsche Telekom), localizado em Jülich, na Alemanha, para esse fim. Depois de um noticiário feito com grande profissionalismo (faz-se bom jornalismo em Angola), que durou mais de 35 minutos, a Rádio Ecclésia transmite neste momento uma entrevista. Quero agradecer ao ilustre dexista Glenn Hauser por nos ter dado conhecimento da existência desta emissão, através do seu boletim DX Listening Digest nº 1-064, divulgado nesta mesma lista. O sinal da Rádio Ecclésia que está a chegar ao meu receptor não é muito forte e tem algum desvanecimento. Além disso, sofre alguma interferência por parte da Rádio Noruega Internacional e da Rádio Dinamarca, que se encontram na freqüência vizinha de 13805 kHz. No entanto, escuto a Rádio Ecclésia duma forma perfeitamente clara e inteligível. Segundo a informação fornecida por Hansjörg Biener, divulgada por Glenn Hauser e que é confirmada no início e no fim da emissão, a Rádio Ecclésia transmite nos seguintes horários e freqüências: - das 05:00 às 05:55 TU, em 15545 kHz; - das 18:00 às 19:00 TU, em 13810 kHz. 73, (Fernando de Sousa Ribeiro, Porto, Portugal, May 11, radioescutas via DXLD) - Receptor Sony ICF-2001D, com antena telescôpica e controlador de antena Sony AN-1. ** ARGENTINA. 29810-LSB, Radio Planeta, 1620 May 5 with music, several IDs as this, including canned one with Earth Wind and Fire intro at 1630. Listed as being in Córdoba. Deep fades but fine on peaks. First time to hear this one after many tries (Hans Johnson, AZ, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. RA will definitely start using the Cox Peninsula site, UT Sunday May 13 at 2200-2400 on 11880, and from UT Monday 0000-0130 on 17775 both daily to Southeast Asia (Roger Broadbent, RA Feedback, first airing 2105 UT Fri via Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) He did not say anything about language, so presumed English. Is it not also to be used for other languages? (gh, DXLD) Hi folks, just been talking with Nigel Holmes; he says hello to all. He has been off work for a month, unfortunately dealing with a home tragedy. Anyway things on track again, now got a scoop. Darwin starts this Monday: now this is off the top of his head. 9845 Indonesian 2130-2330; 11880 may change freq due to TWR, English 2200-0000; 17775 0000-0130 English; 21680 three various times Indonesian 30 minute programmes (Johno Wright, May 12, ARDXC via DXLD) ** AUSTRALIA. 4835, ABC: I rang ABC in Darwin to see why Alice Springs was remaining on 4835. They replied that this was the first that they had heard of it. The guy added that everyone in the outback has satellite dishes now and that there really isn`t an audience for the shortwave anymore. He suggested that I call the private company that actually runs the transmitter, NTL. I contacted NTL, who were also unaware of the situation with 4835. Later in the day, NTL replied that there was a fault with the switching with this transmitter. It is supposed to switch automatically, but doesn`t. They will now be switching it manually until it is repaired. Given the long amount of time this occurred, it is hard to dispute ABC`s claim that there isn`t an audience for these services any longer (Hans Johnson, May 8, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Yes, heard now switching to 4835 at 2130 and to 2310 at 0730. Tnx, Hans (Chris Hambly, Victoria, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRIA. Hola, there is a VAGUE chance to hear Radio Africa via Austrian SW 5945 and 6155 kHz, Saturday 12th at 2130 UT. Addr: Lorenz Mandlgasse 33, A-1160 Vienna, Austria. Usually via MW 1476 (tx: Vienna Bisamberg) at 2330 local time. Item of Engineer Harald Süss, Austria. 73 de wb df5sx wwdxc http://www.wwdxc.de/topnews.htm ----- Original Message from A-DX Newsletter ----- From: "Ing. Suess Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2001 9:38 PM Subject: [A-DX] R. Africa via R.1476/AUT Hallo Listenteilnehmer! In einer Sendung von Radio Africa (Anschrift: Lorenz Mandlgasse 33, A-1160 Wien) via Radio 1476 (tx: Wien- Bisamberg) wurde eine weitere Sendung angekündigt, die nicht nur auf MW 1476 kHz, sondern auch auf Kurzwelle 6155 kHz via ORF-RÖI (tx: Moosbrunn, Niederösterreich) ausgestrahlt werden soll. Termin: Sa, 2330 Uhr (ich denke es war MESZ gemeint, so probiert mal um 2130 UT die beiden Frequenzen aus). Schöne Grüße aus Niederösterreich, Harald (Süss) ADXB-OE. Diese Mail wurde ueber die A-DX Mailing-Liste gesendet (via Büschel, DXLD) What is this R. Africa? Some Vienna station? Not equal Equatorial Guinea or Methodists, I assume (gh, DXLD) Hi Glenn, I don`t know -- maybe a MULTI CULTURAL chaos station for African students and N African Muslim groups living in Greater Vienna area??? I`ll ask the Austrian DXers scene tomorrow. Nnnnooo, not relay of the Guinea preacher station around 15185 kHz. 73 (Wolfgang Büschel, DXLD) Re: R. Africa: 1.476 MW from Wien-Kahlenberg puts out a daily program called "Donaudialog" ("Danube Dialgoue") - a mixture of access radio, ethnic groups radio, items provided by the School of Broadcasting etc. _plus_ a multi-language-channel for South-East-Europe (=ex Yugoslavia) before relaying ROI. Due to the heavy budget restrictions ROI relays/rebroadcasts a lot of home service stuff - mostly OE1, our culture/information channel. This selection of live/time-shifted programs is called "OE1 International" - and "Danube Diaglogue" is part and parcel of it. So what happened is just that somebody out there realized that their local programs are being relayed on SW. And somebody out there in the DX scene noted (after a half-year) that Moosbrunn puts out those strange signals... That's all there is to it. If you want a schedule, I can provide it (we relay "Intermedia" on Friday evenings, so I am member of the team). If you want a QSL: most of those groups never heard that such things exist at all. Those insisting could try: ORF/OE1 International/Donaudialog - Argentinierstr. 30A - A-1040 Wien 73 de (Wolf Harranth, OE1WHC Radio Austria International - http://roi.orf.at QSL Collection - http://www.qsl.at May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA. RADIO CANADA INTERNATIONAL Dancing the Same Dance Again by Sheldon Harvey, President, Canadian International DX Club We`ve been to this dance, already, too many times in the past; the Canadian public having to stand up and voice support for Canada`s international radio voice, Radio Canada International, now, once again being threatened by illogical and ill-advised cuts, being masterminded by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The Canadian government recently provided the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation an additional $60 million to a 2001-2002 existing budget of almost $923 million. Separate, dedicated funding for Radio Canada International is in place to the tune of $15.52 million per year. The CBC is responsible for the operations of RCI, but draws payment from the RCI funds for services which it performs for RCI. Ironically, this additional outlay of funds to CBC has coincided with an announcement that the CBC, the very same CBC mandated under the Broadcasting Act of Canada to provide an international radio service, has decided to implement a number of cost cutting measures at Radio Canada International, to be implemented as early as this coming June. These cutbacks will basically amount to the elimination of Radio Canada International weekend, in-house produced news broadcasts in Canada`s two official languages, English and French. Canadians abroad, and others tuning into RCI broadcasts on weekends, will receive repackaged, condensed CBC domestic newscasts in place of the specialized RCI product, produced for an international audience. Some foreign language services of RCI, such as the Russian and Ukrainian services, will be forced to make reductions in their international output on shortwave as well. In an interview with RCI news on May 3, 2001, after the announcement of additional funding to the CBC, Canadian Heritage Minister Sheila Copps said: ``I think the government has had a chance to understand and rethink the importance of RCI as an international voice for Canada to the world. And the investment that we`re making in RCI, is part of that permanent package...there are many, many millions of people who still depend on shortwave radio for that reliable service...`` It is unimaginable that the CBC, in the wake of this $60 million cash-cow, and public statements such as those by Heritage Minister Copps, would attempt to implement cuts to RCI that would, in effect, put the CBC in breach of contract with respect to what has been mandated by the Broadcasting Act as it relates to Radio Canada International. The RCI Action Committee, http://www.geocities.com/rciaction/ an ad hoc coalition of employees and RCI supporters resurrected from the Coalition to Restore Full RCI Funding has been formed. The Coalition was crucial to saving RCI in the numerous budget crises in the past, and succeeded in calling for a Senate Inquiry started into the 1991 budget cuts which concluded RCI should receive increased and stable funding. This all resulted in the Canadian Government securing RCI`s existence well into the new millennium, with guaranteed funding. Supporting groups like the Canadian International DX Club, Canada`s national radio monitoring club, together with international radio monitors around the world, are calling out for action, and reaction from concerned individuals and groups. Correspondence in support of a moratorium on the proposed changes at RCI being implemented by the CBC, and for a stabilization and securing of RCI services, are being solicited from supporters of RCI. Comments, reactions and suggestions should be forwarded to: The Honourable Sheila Copps Canadian Heritage Minister, Ottawa, ON e-mail: min_copps@pch.gc.ca and Mr. Robert O`Reilly Executive Director, Radio Canada International Box 6000, Montreal, QC H3C 3A8 e-mail: rci@montreal.radio-canada.ca with copies of correspondence to The RCI Action Committee at: e-mail: rciaction@yahoo.ca Sheldon Harvey, President, Canadian International DX Club http://www.anarc.org/cidx/ e-mail: cidxclub@yahoo.com Telephone: 450-671-3773 ===== Sheldon Harvey, Owner-Radio H.F., Canada's specialist in radio communications http://www.total.net/~radiohf President-Canadian International DX Club, Canada's national radio monitoring club since 1962 http://www.anarc.org/cidx/ (Sheldon Harvey, QB, May 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Just as we get a super reliable channel (probably the most reliable ever!!!!) for Radio Canada International in English (5.995 MHz via Hörby, Sweden 2000-2100 UT), mainly for those of us in the U.K., we now start to read of possible cutbacks especially at the week-ends. Seems daft; I hope none of this happens (Ken Fletcher, PRENTON, England, 12th May 2001, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA [non]. AUSTRALIA. Radio ZheJiang full data QSL letter received on May 11th confirmed my e-mail reception report on 15435, 1435-1550 UT April 8th. They verified "Today's Zhejiang" Chinese programme of Radio Zhejiang was broadcast through "Oversea Wind", a programme of Radio Australia Chinese service on 15435. It seems that R. Zhejiang and RA have a programme-exchange. Although "Today's Zhejiang" is a Chinese programme, there are many English annnoucements of "Radio Zhejiang" as well as its email address, easy identify for those non-Chinese speaking listeners. Reception report should be sent to: radiozjy@163.com Or through snail mail to: Yin Weiling, Editor of "Today's Zhejiang" for Radio Australia, The International Section, Radio Zhejiang, Mo Gan Shan Road 111, Hang Zhou 310005 P.R.China. TEL of Radio Zhejiang: +86 571 8077050 (Qiao Xiaoli, eastern China, May 11, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** EUROPE. The Eurovision Song Contest final, is this Sat night Israel Time, in Copenhagen. You can listen to all the countries` entries to the contest (including Israel`s Ein Davar sung by Tal Sondak) whenever you want. The Eurovision song contest will have a live webcast 1830-2245 UT. Most TV channels in the Europe area will have it 1900-2200 UT -- Israel's channel one will have it 10 PM-1 AM Israel Time (same time). http://www.songcontest.com (Eurovision website info from Glenn Hauser`s "World of Radio" - and in text of his show summary --- On the World Radio Network's website: http://www.wrn.org/ondemand/worldofradio.html ) I looked at Israel TV`s schedule at: http://www2.iol.co.il/tv/index.html (Daniel Rosenzweig, May 12, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Note it is on BBC Radio 2 among all the previews in last issue (gh) ** GERMANY. By the way, certainly you already received word that the politician Erik Bettermann was chosen as new Deutsche Welle director (well, a politician is certainly the most suitable choice for this job, no?). Today the ROI Intermedia show included a first statement from Bettermann: He doubts that foreign language broadcasts of 30 or 60 minutes duration are of much use. Looks like further cancellations of language services at Deutsche Welle are to be expected. Regards, (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. DW Pay-TV in North America: Future COMPLEMENTARY DW Foreign TV Channel in German language. 24 hrs [3 x 8 hrs loop] full service in USA, planned for mid 2002. Common Satelliten-Pay-TV- Channel of ARD, ZDF, DW, carrying 80% of domestic service program repeats of ARD (Nat ch 1) and ZDF (Nat ch 2), to avoid expensive international copyright costs. News on the hour will be live broadcasts. German government will invest the 'running up' phase of approx. 30 million US $ till about 2008. A total of 50.000 subscribers expected in the US after five years service. Later on, subscription will be allowed in Canada and Latin America. Present DW German and Foreign language TV programme will REMAIN. Another commercial Pay-TV subscriber channel "Studio D Bremen" will start already in summer 2001, also to East coast of Norh and Latin America (newspaper Stuttgarter Zeitung, May 8 via Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX via DXLD) ___ Artikel aus der Stuttgarter Zeitung vom 08.05.2001. Konzept für Auslandskanal. Über die Finanzierung müssen die Politiker entscheiden. Mehr als drei Jahre hat es gedauert, doch nun scheint der Durchbruch geschafft: Eine Arbeitsgruppe der ARD, des ZDF und der Deutschen Welle (DW) hat in der vergangenen Woche in Berlin Vertretern von Bund und Ländern ihr Konzept für ein geplantes gemeinsames Auslandsfernsehen vorgestellt. Die Rundfunkanstalten waren dazu von Bund und Ländern aufgefordert worden. In einem Kommissionstreffen am 16. und 17. Mai wollen die Politiker über das Projekt entscheiden. Anschließend muss es noch die Etatberatungen zum Bundeshaushalt passieren. ARD, ZDF und Deutsche Welle sind dem Vernehmen nach zuversichtlich, dass der geplante neue Auslandssender mit dem Arbeitstitel "Deutscher Auslandskanal" noch in der ersten Jahreshälfte 2002 als Satelliten- Pay-TV-Kanal in den USA starten kann - vorausgesetzt, der Bund stellt den Etat bereit. "Der Sender wird ein Vollprogramm ausstrahlen und ARD und ZDF werden achtzig Prozent des Programms zuliefern", so der amtierende DW- Intendant Reinhard Hartstein. Der neue, rein deutschsprachige Auslandskanal soll die Nachrichtensendungen aller drei Sender ausstrahlen: "Tagesschau", "heute" und die stündlichen Nachrichten des weltweit frei empfangbaren Informationskanals DW-TV. Die geplanten Dokumentationen, Magazine und Unterhaltungsprogramme werden aus Eigenproduktionen stammen, um den Etat des Senders nicht durch teure Rechte-Erwerbskosten zu belasten. Der Auslands-TV-Kanal wird sein Programm rund um die Uhr in Acht-Stunden-Schleifen ausstrahlen, die einmal täglich erneuert werden. Die Nachrichten sollen jeweils aktuell gesendet werden. Der Sender ist als Ergänzung zum weltweit frei empfangbaren deutsch- und fremdsprachigen Informationssender DW- TV gedacht. Fraglich ist noch die Finanzierung des neuen Projekts. Rundfunkgebührengelder dürfen satzungsgemäß nicht für den neuen Auslandssender verwendet werden, und mit dem knappen steuerfinanzierten Etat der Deutschen Welle kann ein solches Projekt nicht gestemmt werden. Deshalb soll der Bund die Anfangsinvestitionen übernehmen. Der "Deutsche Auslandskanal" richtet sich an Auslandsdeutsche, zunächst nur in den Vereinigten Staaten. Sie sollen den Sender zum Preis von rund fünfzehn Dollar pro Monat abonnieren können. Hartstein rechnet für das gemeinsame Projekt mit Anlaufkosten von 50 bis 60 Millionen Mark insgesamt bis zum Jahr 2007 oder 2008. "Bei steigenden Erlösen kann der Bund seine Aufwendungen schrittweise reduzieren", so Hartstein. Voraussetzung sei, dass der Sender in den ersten fünf Jahren 50.000 Kunden gewinnt. In einem zweiten Schritt soll der Sender auch in Kanada und Südamerika abonniert werden können. In Lateinamerika und an der US-Ostküste wird der öffentlich- rechtliche Auslandskanal dabei wahrscheinlich auf einen kommerziellen Konkurrenten treffen: Der Sender Channel D, der Ende April in Bremen seine Lizenz erhielt, will bereits in diesem Sommer mit seinem Abonnementfernsehen für Auslandsdeutsche starten. Von Ulrike Langer. 08 May 2001, Seite 27. © 1997-2001 Stuttgarter Zeitung online - Stuttgart Internet Regional GmbH (via BC-DX via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Douglas Adams, creator of the Hitchhiker`s Guide to the Galaxy, died suddenly Friday at his home in Santa Bárbara, California, of a heart attack. He was 49 (BBC Radio 2 news 1300 UT May 12 via gh, DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. CLANDESTINE from BULGARIA to IRAQ. 9960, Radio Forward [heard via javaradio Romania] missing when I checked several times at 1500 this week. Just inaudible here or change in sked? It`s interesting to read the continuing claims of some Bulgarian DXers that this is coming from Armenia in spite of the strong evidence that it is from Bulgaria. I sure would like to read or hear about their proof that this is Armenia (Hans Johnson, May 7-10, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** LIECHTENSTEIN. Radio Liechtenstein has a very colorful and interesting website at http://www.radiol.li It features audio-on- demand news summaries, updated frequently. Their language is Allemanian, which sounds like German. It intrigues me to find internet sites of radio we cannot hope to hear otherwise! (William Flynn, May 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MADAGASCAR [non]. Digital Radio Mondiale: My RN colleague Jan- Peter Werkman E-mailed me from Madagdascar, where he`s currently conducting DRM field trials together with the BBC`s Andy Giefer. As of 10 May, the frequency used by Jülich at 1900-1957 UT has been changed. Instead of 12015, Jülich is now using 13710 kHz. The complete schedule of transmissions in this series of tests, which concludes on 16 May, can be found at http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/madagascar.html (Andy Sennitt, MN Newsletter via Andy Cadier, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. [PIRATE] ALFA LIMA INTERNATIONAL: 15070 5-5 2219-2250 oldies and club music. (333 David Theriault, Digby NS, Free Radio Weekly via DXLD) 15070 5-6 0025-0400+ Extended broadcast with classic rock, techno and dance music. Signal improved dramatically after local sunset w/solid S7 reading; fr-gd (John Sedlacek, Omaha NE, Free Radio Weekly via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. I noted RNZI making its shift from 9885 to 11675 kHz. at 1158 this morning May 12, rather than at 1058 as published on their website. 9885 beam appeared to be to the Pacific as signal was very strong (S7 or better); 11675 was considerably weaker here (S2) perhaps indicating that beam of latter was to PNG. (I'll ask Adrian Sainsbury about all this.) (John A. Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY (165 miles due north of NYC), DX LISTENING DIGEST) Did not catch the changeover this date, but agreed on the relative signals, 11675 quite bad here (gh, OK, DXLD) ** RUSSIA. 7325, Radio Adygeya (tentative) [heard via javaradio in Sweden]. This station is listed as 1700-1800 on Mondays and Fridays. Tuned in at 1720, but audio was too weak. Better by 1739 with talk by man in language, but very deep and long fades. folk sounding tune at 1742. More talk by same man at 1745 after short announcement by woman. More music at 1750 and continuing with just a short bit here and there by same woman until 1759. Program went off in mid-song at this time. A quick search of the Internet reveals some good background info at: http://www.millennium.kuban.net/Krasnodar/Adyg.html (Hans Johnson, May 4, Cumbre DX via DXLD) Ad: GTRK "Agygeya"" ul.Zhukovskogo, 24, 352700 Maykop, Resp. Adygeya, Russia trkra@istnet.ru International broadcasting in Adygey, Arabic, and Turkish languages (Andrey Klepov, Russia, May 6, Cumbre DX via DXLD) The schedule you mention is the usual one, so I guess it`s the same old station. See WRTH 2001, p. 334, left col., region AD (Olle Alm, May 11, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5020, SIBC, 0658-0814 May 5, ID ToH followed by news read by F in EE. Just at sunset in Honiara. Ads and time check by F at 0710 followed by more news. Into pop mx at 0712 with F anncr. M in FF at 0725. F with ID at BoH. Signal greatly improved to S7 by 0732 --- Honaira in full darkness (the wonders of Geoclock :-). More pop mx for the next half hour. At 0800 ID followed by Good Evening message by F and then into music. M in EE at 08012 [sic] and F, then Mx. Solomon Islands at good levels here on the WCNA at SS Honaira time then dropping quickly back to poor levels (Don Nelson, OR, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SOMALIA. CLANDESTINE from/to SOMALIA. 6750 [heard via javaradio Sweden]. Radio Mogadishu, usb + carrier; The station that I listened to while preparing Cumbre. Nice signal 1730 May 11 with local music and male announcer in Somali. 1745 a bit of Koran and then what sounded like Friday service. 1800 fanfare then more music and talk. Quick ID at 1818 and more of the same till 1830 tune out (Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U K O G B A N I. There is a photographic exhibition at the Letchworth museum entitled The Ukogbani Quest. A former Letchworth librarian has set himself the task, over a number of years, of visiting every administrative district of the UK and taking photographs. I have only ever seen UKOGBANI, which you seem to have stopped using lately, in your news items, so someone else has been of like mind (Mike Barraclough, ibid., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [and non]. I just looked through the current operational schedule of Merlin Communications to find out about the technical side of the well-known BBC decision: What will actually happen with the Antigua frequencies? Both 15220 and 17840 use two transmitters, each running half power 125 kW into aerials aiming at 205 and 300 degrees, respectively. 300 degrees is meant for Central North America but 205 degrees for South America. Actually they now have to cancel the 300 degrees beam and to maintain the transmission through the 205 degrees antenna only to bring the engineering in match with the management decisions as good as possible. Probably they will use 205 degrees with full 250 kW, resulting in zero economy. And the case of 6195 and 5975 is even more complicated, because the Merlin file gives an azimuth of 160 degrees but the Caribbean and North America as target areas. Is it in fact a bidirectional or perhaps even nondirectional aerial? And what will happen - the Carribean is not North America, so what to do for Merlin? It seems to be quite clear that the BBC will cancel all transmissions via Sackville, because they aim at North America exclusively. I guess the BBC uses Sackville within an airtime exchange with RCI, so the question pops up what will happen with the RCI transmissions via the UK sites? (Looks like I have to withdraw the remark, that it does not affect us in Europe.) It also looks like the airtime exchange between BBC and WYFR will come to an end, too. I carefully read the discussion about this matter, just a small remark: Certainly is it expensive to run a 500 kW transmitter, but is such a high power really necessary? The standpoint of Deutsche Welle was "yes", hence they decided to do without the Jülich facilities, but the staff of this site shows day by day how successful shortwave broadcasting with transmitters of 100 kW "only" can be, also in "ancient modulation". And it is well-known that also small and smallest program production ventures are able to afford this technical service (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) If you have SAP on the remote you can get the CSPAN audio channels. However, BBC WORLD SERVICE has been known to die and be off for several weeks at a time. Audio 1 is WRN-NA. CW every Sunday at 10 AM Eastern (Lou Josephs, swprograms via DXLD) I`m pretty sure this requires the cable company to actually put the audio channels on the SAP. I asked C-SPAN about this a few years ago and that`s what they told me. My cable company doesn`t bother. I suspect most don`t (Ralph Brandi, swprograms, via DXLD) Correct! Mine does not, and wherever I travel at motels with my SAP- capable VCR, I always check and never find any SAP on C-SPAN channels. Ahem, WOR is on C-SPAN Audio 1 every *Saturday* at 10 am Eastern. Some get it direct off the satellite, such as Mickey Delmage in Alberta. While I am among those who feel that BBC should NOT cancel SW to NAm, altho it could be more efficient, I personally listen to it on SW only when for some reason I cannot get it via cable TV or internet -- such as in the car or when my internet audio is tied up with something else, the computer is off and I don`t want to fire it up for no other reason such as when the bedside radio is more convenient, or during the hours when our local access channel PEGASYS is not carrying it -- normally, PEGASYS has it until 1558 UT, always cutting off the last sesquiminute of the BBC programme in progress because they have to start rotating the same dish to downlink NASA TV by 1600! BBC used to start at 0500 UT, but lately they`ve been starting some godawful self-help series ``Recovery Network`` at local midnight, running 4 hours. As you may have noticed, I enjoy listening to BBC R2, R3 and R4 on internet, more than BBC WS, which I can also get on internet any time I want. For me, continuous high-speed access is well worth the cost for the many other radio/audio services I can now get. Tho I love shortwave, I am not such a Luddite who will not listen to a certain station unless it is on SW! (Glenn Hauser, Enid OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Like my prior message, here was another inquiry I made regarding the availability of BBCWS audio via other means. As you can see, DirecTV isn't an option -- yet. If you are (or are considering) a DirecTV subscription, and you're a BBCWS fan, if people start to ask for spoken word programming (why not WRN1 as well?) it might come to pass. Regards, (Richard Cuff Allentown, PA, swprograms via DXLD) From: "feedback@directv.com" feedback@mail.directv.com Sent: Friday, May 11, 2001 1:11 AM Subject: Re: DirecTV Feedback Dear Mr. Cuff, Thanks for your inquiry. We don't currently offer spoken-word audio channels, but we are always looking for ways to enhance our services. Your suggestions are valuable and we use them to judge interest in various programming sources. In fact, we have added channels because of viewer feedback. We have forwarded your comments to our programming department. However, as it is DIRECTV policy not to disclose information about upcoming programming until it is officially announced, we have no further information for you today. Please continue to visit our web site at DIRECTV.com for the latest information about our services (Dave, DIRECTV Customer Service via Cuff, ibid.) Just had a nice conversation with a technical manager at Service Electric CATV, the company that invented the concept of community antenna television in Mahanoy City, PA in 1948. He says it's not a problem to switch out the modulator (I think that's what he called it) they use for CSPAN-1 to one that is SAP-capable, and put the BBCWS out there. Won't cost him much if anything. Expects to have the BBCWS up & running by the end of May. A perfect solution? No, of course not. It seems silly to have the TV running just to get the audio, but the RADPRIN folks have been doing that for years. So, folks in Allentown and Bethlehem, PA have a solution. As John said, it doesn't hurt to ask. (Richard Cuff, ibid.) Since I work on cable matters in my day job, let me add my 2c. Audio services, apart from the ubiquitous 50 channels of digital music, are not a priority for cable TV companies. In most cases, even if the video service provides an SAP, the cable system will strip it out or not pass it through. This has been a bone of contention with broadcast TV stations carried by cable systems under FCC must-carry regulations. It doesn`t hurt to raise the issue with them. If they hear it enough times, they may think there`s a reason to consider it. But-- Rich Cuff`s two cable systems notwithstanding -- make no mistake about it. These are still monopolies in most senses of the word. They are feeling some heat from DBS services and will feel a lot more if/when Murdoch gains control of DirecTV. (Deep initial price cuts in DBS service to raise penetration level in suburban areas where cable is king.) But, even then, I sincerely doubt there will be any urgency to provide audio services like the BBC. In fact, we might run up against the same argument the BBC is giving us. With rollout of broadband Internet service the highest priority for cable systems, they may tell us to purchase that service and get the BBC over the Internet! (John A. Figliozzi, ibid.) I`m tired of hearing that SW listening is a fringe activity engaged in only by outcasts from society. I see it as simply a very enjoyable means of getting world news (beyond what is available on any source I have EASY access to), a great help to Spanish language study, and a source of fascinating music. These aren`t freak activities, they really have put more organization and direction in my life, and rather than isolate me they have expanded my contact with the world. I think AM mode shortwave proves its value simply by a fact I`ve brought up before, that as of now no equivalent means of wide delivery is in place to give us access to these international broadcasters. This speaks strongly for AM mode SW broadcasting and is why I feel that AM is still vital. To cut us off from this access is irrational. Thanks for reading (ChuckE, swprograms via DXLD) (Re: WWFV`s generous offer) Not sure I like sending these folks money, given the stridency of many of their programs, but, hey, it`s an idea! Little did I think, when I asked in our SWL Winter Fest survey 3 years ago if people would pay to listen to their favorite SW station, that I'd face that choice with the BBCWS! Their URL is http://www.wwfv.net/ Their call used to be WGTG and, shall we say, switched format from evangelical Christian to more of a survivalist format. They appear to be more "out there" than WWCR or WBCQ. How much would this cost, you ask? WBCQ and WRMI charge, I believe, $50 per hour. Therefore, a 24/7/365 operation would run roughly $3.1 million per year if that was one`s objective (Richard Cuff, Allentown, PA, swprograms, via DXLD) It`s only $438,000 –- you should not have multiplied by 7! And such a deal should be discounted to considerably less than that (gh, DXLD) {indeed, it is: see next issue} For comparison, the BBC says it currently spends just under $720,000 US a year on shortwave broadcasting to North America and Australia (Andy Sennitt, swprograms via DXLD) Which further underlines what a rather small sum of money this is, given the size of the WS budget. At the same time, I wonder how much it cost the corporation to (1) start up BBC Worldwide, then close it down; (2) initiate the "five zone" plan, then reduce it to three, then scrap it altogether, then initiate the current seven stream plan; (3) "reorganize" its internal structure to allow for purchase of outside (no-BBC originated) productions at greatly increased cost; (4) create the maddeningly confusing "Showcase", "Insight" and "Living" monikers; (5) hire whiz kids from the commercial sector to "manage" the enterprise at greatly increased compensation rates. (Need I go on?) (John Figliozzi, ibid.) I think this is a major policy change, not just to save a few pounds, and doubt the BBC WS would even allow SW relays to be arranged via WWFV or any other site, paid for by someone else (Glenn Hauser) I was on vacation with family to Eastern Quebec and I brought my receiver along with me. Listening on the road (I was a passenger, of course!) local FM services suffered from severe multipathing and AM services were obliterated by engine noise. But BBC WS on 9515 kHz came in just fine: no static, no deep fading, just 'normal' sounding SW radio. One-time payment, no extra charges, consistent reception (ionospheric disruptions aside)... What more could you ask for? I was listening to CW via World Radio Network's website. Two things struck me: 1) How poor the audio quality was; 2) How annoying it was to have the feed cut out evey few seconds due to (apparent) satellite feed problems. I thought listening to SW via the net or satellite was supposed to be consistently superior. What was I thinking? (Ricky Leong, swprograms via DXLD) Ricky, what then is BBC trying to have us believe? I had my first experience with downloading the 5-minute BBC news via Windows Media Player this week and yeah on four instances I did note drop-outs in the audio feed. Shortwave should complement other forms of program delivery, rather than be replaced for financial reasons. For BBC to do away with SW to our part of the world, when Sony, for instance, is coming out with a new portable SW receiver next month, is a rather shortsighted decision...that is why we are in this e-group to make our case as to why BBC's shortwave presence should continue! (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, swprograms via DXLD) I just read the Media Network report about the Ericsson H100 cordless Internet radio. http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/features/html/ericsson010327.html For some reason, I've recently developed a strong interest in standalone Internet audio devices. :-) This looks like an interesting successor to the Kerbango radio. But they may be making a fatal mistake by basing it on Bluetooth. Bluetooth doesn't seem to be catching on; industry reports have implementation being continually pushed back, to the point that by the time it becomes available, 802.11b will likely have cornered the market on wireless net connectivity. In fact, I'm writing this note on a computer connected via 802.11b (look ma! no wires!) Given that Bluetooth and 802.11b tend to interfere with each other, I doubt I'll be bringing any Bluetooth devices into my house (not until I upgrade to 802.11a, which runs at 5 GHz instead of the 2.4 GHz that Bluetooth and 802.11b both run on). I hope Ericsson produces an 802.11b-compliant version. If you didn't understand any of this, welcome to the future. This is what you'll need to understand in order to hear the BBC the way they want you to listen. :-P (Ralph Brandi, swprograms via DXLD) In this week's edition of DXing with Cumbre, Marie Lamb gave the incorrect code number when referring to the BBC's fax number. The London code is no longer 171, but instead should be 20, with a 7 then added the next set of digits. Therefore, the fax number concerned, if it heard it correctly in the first place, should read: 44 20 7555 1252 {really -1258} (Paul David, England, May 12, swprograms via DXLD) From the May 12 Communications World: KIM: As one who has listened to BBC World Service for thirty-six years, that is, since before it was called World Service, I feel compelled and qualified to comment. It seems FM rebroadcasting satisfies the needs of BBC more than it satisfies the needs of the BBC audience in the United States. It brings the larger audience numbers that look good in the annual report. Public radio listeners are likely to stumble across some content with some connection to BBC during the week. But FM rebroadcasting does not bring U.S. listeners the full diet of World Service programs. The full range of World Service programming is available via the Internet. Internet audio has been a godsend for the devoted radio listener. But, to me, there's something just not natural about listening to radio via the Net. Perhaps it is the audio compression that is subconsciously fatiguing. Radio is supposed to be the most intimate of the mass media, but listening to radio parked in front of a personal computer is not a cozy experience. Certain appliances were supposed to make Internet audio look and feel more like radio. But the most promising of these devices, the Kerbango Internet Radio, was canceled by 3Com Corporation before production even began. The entire BBC World Service schedule will also be heard here in the States through Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio, when they get started later this year. Reception will be more reliable than on shortwave, but it will also cost ten dollars per month. (So far, the ionosphere has not seen fit to impose a monthly charge.) Sirius will not have a radio for home use, so to listen to World Service via Sirius, one will have to get in the car and go for a drive. XM Satellite Radio will have a radio for home use. It`s a rather large boombox like device. Its antenna will have to be placed on the south side of the listener`s house, with an unobstructed view to the sky above the equator. I have huge majestic elm trees on my south lawn. Sorry, Bush House, as much as I enjoy listening to World Service, I`m not cutting down those trees. Shortwave, for all its faults and degradations, is a robust and time-proven medium. I can take a receiver the size of a paperback novel to any room of my house, and as long as it`s fairly close to a window, reception of World Service will be at least adequate. Add the world-famous Elliott Skydangler antenna -- about five meters of any kind of wire connected to an alligator clip -- that's about seven cents worth of parts -- and reception markedly improves. I can even connect my portable shortwave radio to my car antenna, and listen on the road. Yes, there is occasional fading on shortwave. That's part of the experience. It`s nature's way of reminding us that it is a privilege to listen to a radio station from another country, far away. Among shortwave broadcast listeners in the United States, BBC World Service is the most popular station. Many of us think the programming is better than from anything we can hear on U.S. radio stations, commercial or noncommercial. Shortwave will not be the same without BBC World Service. BBC World Service will not be the same without shortwave. (speaking for ke and not for voa.gov) ------------------------------- (Kim Andrew Elliott, Producer and Presenter, Communications World, Voice of America, via swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. Please note that, due to the forthcoming General Election, The World at One on Radio 4 is being extended to 45 minutes in length with effect from Monday 14 May 2001. Therefore the programmes listed at 1:30 pm (12:30 UT) will obviously not be broadcast. As I mentioned in my posting of 8 May 2001, other programme changes are likely to take place, some of which may make the published listings worse than useless (Paul David, England, May 11, swprograms via DXLD) This only affects the preview in 1-063, Monday 1230 MasterTeam. Well, they`ve got plenty of time to update the online listings and keep them correct; but will they? (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Glenn, Concerning the Radio Cadillac talking billboards in Chicago as reported by George Thurman in DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-066, May 11, 2001. I have traced the 1550 kHz transmission to a Cadillac billboard located at the Elmhurst Road and I-90 intersection in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. Very strong signal at that location. The was signal is still heard at my home in Wood Dale, Illinois, some 6 miles away on my car radio. I will have to search for the location of the 1710 kHz location (Christos Rigas, Wood Dale, Illinois, May 11, DX LISTENING DIGEST) George also told me the QTH on 1550 (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Paul Harvey Show Marks 25 Years http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010511/en/paul_harvey_3.html (via Bill Westenhaver, QE, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Glenn, Two new classical streams, both locally programmed for most of the day: KCME Colorado Springs, KBPS Portland OR. Also, Colorado Public Radio`s two streams are back online and much improved in quality. CPR is also expanding terrestrially: Pueblo will get both services by the end of this month (Kevin A. Kelly, Arlington, Massachusetts, USA, May 11, publicradiofan.com via DXLD) ** U S A. BBG issues its own acknowledgment -- word is that it was pressured to do so by the AFGE UNION. The BBG Newsletter May 2001 , Vol. 2, No. 4 ******************************************************** Welcome to the BBG Newsletter. The goal of the Newsletter is to keep all of you in the BBG family up to date on the Agency news. ******************************************************** A short message from the Board of Governors: The BBG has decided for now to make no changes in the existing Thai broadcasting services. The Board will also maintain 30 minutes a day in the Turkish broadcasting service and 15 minutes a day in the Uzbek service (via DXLD) ** U S A. One guess as to the main topic on this weekend's Communications World. :-) Jerry Timmins, Head of the Americas Section at BBC World Service, provides the BBC's rationale for eliminating shortwave to the United States and Canada. John Figliozzi and Richard Cuff comment about the BBC`s decision from the listeners` perspective. I have an essay of my own about this development. And other media news, including the Broadcasting Board of Governors` decision not to eliminate, after all, the VOA Thai Service. For 10 points, can anyone identify the music played at the end of the program? (A bit of it is also used as a bridge during the program.) At which historic event was that tune played? All the best, (Kim Elliott, VOA CW, May 11, swprograms via DXLD) To receive the updated Communications World schedule by auto-reply, send an e-mail to cwschedule@voa.gov See also above ** UZBEKISTAN. Hello everyone - some news to share with you! RADIO TASHKENT QUIZ : Radio Tashkent has announced a quiz titled "what do you know about Uzbekistan" which is dedicated to 10th anniversary of Uzbekistan`s independence. Those listeners who wish to take part in the radio quiz have to answer the following questions : 1. Where is Uzbekistan situated? 2. What do you know about the ancient cities of Uzbekistan? 3. What successes has Uzbekistan achieved for the years of independence? The competition closes on Dec 1, 2001 & its winners will be announced on Dec 25, 2001. As usual, the winners of the radio quiz will be awarded the memorable prizes & souvenirs. Send your answers to : Radio Tashkent, Khorzem Street 49, Tashkent, 700047, Uzbekistan REGDS, (ALOKESH GUPTA, NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 11, EDXP via DXLD) ###