DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-080, May 31, 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] WORLD OF RADIO 1082: (stream) http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/wor1082.ram (download) http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/wor1082.rm (summary) http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/wor1082.html NETS TO YOU: new June edition by John Norfolk, is now posted: http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/nets2you.html RADIO ENLACE: Comienza nuestra serie de informes DX para junio el viernes 1 y domingo 3 en Radio Nederland ** AFGHANISTAN. Voice of Sharia, 7088.2v, tentative around 0100 May 15, weakish signal in what sounded a bit like Farsi, probably Pashto. [It`s Afghanistan`s other main language, Dari, which sounds like Farsi -gh]. No sort of s/on; it just arrived on fqy as I listened. Initially a man with a steady paced monologue, couldn`t make out any key words at that time, but he got a little more animated as time went on, and it seemed to have a lot of ments. of Iraq, Iran/Teheran and numerous references to Filistina or similar. By 0124 it had drifted to 7087.4, and by 0142, when it faded into the murk, it had reached 7086.6. Only light QRM and slight QSB throughout, but the signal never got above SINPO 23322. On 7089.1, noted again on May 20 at the earlier time of 0040, similar content, still quite audible when fqy had drifted to 7088.2 at 0106. SINPO 23232 at best, with not much ham QRM, but still unable to hear any key phrase. There is one aspect of the Shariah saga which puzzles me, and that is the inference that it is the Kabul signal which is deemed to drift between 7070 and 7090. I find this odd, if there is also a regional Shariah stn which used to operate at low power from Takhar Province on 7070v as a completely independent and intermittent outlet. The Kabul outlet remains on nominal 7085 as far as I understand it (Ray Merrall, UK, DSWCI DX-Window May 27, 2001 via NU via CRW via DXLD) ** ARGENTINA. Emisora de San Luis en onda corta! El 29/5/01 nuevamente sintonicé a LRJ-241 Radio Dimensión de San Luis, capital de la provincia homónima, en su segunda armónica (940 x 2) 1880 kHz a las 2245 TU cuando se transmitía el programa "El musical y lo mejor de ayer y hoy". Esta emisora opera en paralelo con su FM 94.5 MHz y su identificación es "Desde San Luis, República Argentina, transmite LRJ-241 Radio Dimensión en 940 Khz en amplitud modulada", justamente en esa jornada utilizaban el lema "29 de Mayo día del Ejército Argentino". La señal tenía pronunciados desvanecimientos pero en los momentos de estabilidad podía escucharse con buena intensidad. Su dirección es Av. Presidente Illía 128, 5700 San Luis, Argentina. Según el WRTH`01 es su Director General el Sr. Jorge Altamirano (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, May 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. NEW TRANSMITTER FOR HCJB. A recent newsletter from HCJB Australia says they have had a 100 kW transmitter donated by HCJB's Board of Trustees in the US. This is for use in the Asia/Pacific region, once the Western Australia site is on the air. They still need adjacent land for the antenna farm, and this is the next step (Don Rhodes, Yarra Glen, Vic, Australia, in Shortwave Australia via EDXP via DXLD) I wonder if they actually plan to ID by the Ecuadorian callsign their station in Australia? If not, as what? {`Voice of the Andes` would be even less appropriate!} (gh, DXLD) ** BELARUS`. Some reference lists/database have started to list two separate main SW sites in Belarus - "Minsk-Kalodzishchy" and "Minsk- Sasnovy". This is not correct, as confirmed i.a. by material from R Belarus`. There is only one large SW site in Belarus` - in Kalodzishchy, some few km NE of Minsk. Sasnovy is located not "near" Minsk, but about 100 km SE of the capital, and there are only (highpower) LW + MW txs at this site (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, May 27, BC-DX via DXLD) ** BELARUS`. Radio Minsk heard in English on 7210 1930-2000 Tuesdays and Thursdays with a good signal and Soviet style propaganda. The announced schedule, last time I heard it, is wrong (Susan Evans, UK, June World DX Club Contact via DXLD) ** BULGARIA [tent.]. 13850, R Ezra, quite good *1100-1115*, but the recorded sound was not always easy to understand. A plug for http://www.transmitter.org at the beginning; apparently the Belgian animator of that site arranged the use of a tx for him. Sounds like an expensive hobby. Religious talk; taken separately, most of the small pieces were quite literate and coherent, but the overall point wasn't clear (John Campbell, UK, NU May 20 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** CANADA. A lengthy article appeared this morning in the Montreal Gazette, finally, about the situation at RCI. Hopefully this is going to draw the attention to this story in the general public; attention that it truly deserves, particularly here in Canada. Here is the URL, if you would like to read it: http://www.montrealgazette.com/entertainment/pages/010530/5077512.html Note the interesting comments about a "conspiracy theory" about a connection to the BBC cuts (Sheldon Harvey, PQ, swprograms via DXLD)(also via Bill Westenhaver) New Foreign Minister, the high-tech John Manley would be a factor. Axworthy, now retired to academia and corporate boards, was much more friendly to RCI (Daniel Say, BC, swprograms via DXLD) From what we have been able to determine, there may have been no actual money changing hands between RCI and BBC for Sackville and Merlin site access. RCI was the pioneer in swap time agreements between broadcasters. If BBC no longer requires access to Sackville, then RCI might very well have to spend money to get access to other transmitter sites overseas, that is of course, if they don't find someone else to swap with first (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) Yes, that is also my understanding of how RCI works with all the broadcasters they relay. So if BBC decides to reduce its need for Sackville relay, they decide to cut their usage by X channel hours and the Skelton half of the swap by the same X channel hours. Now RCI has to purchase or find a new swap mate for X channel hours to Europe, Africa, and Asia. Barring the appearance of a new swap mate, RCI has to purchase X channel hours on Skelton or Deutsche Telekom or Russian transmitters. Any way you slice it you now have a direct budget impact that did not exist before. The swap arrangements were essentially no cost to either party as they had already sunk their facility and labor costs. The technical staff was going to be on hand anyway. The towers still required paint regardless of how many hours a day they were used. The electricity costs are in the noise given the quantity discounts they would be entitled to. So as a result of the BBC decision, CBC found themselves facing a budget shortfall if they were to purchase the X channel hours from somebody else. The alternative is to cut the programming back and reduce the number of channel hours that need to be leased. It all makes sense to me when viewed in this context. Now that you understand where RCI may be coming from, see if you can devise a better way. "Your challenge, should you decide to accept it, Mr. Phelps." (~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.- *~'^'~*-., Joe Buch, DE, ibid.) This would make sense if the changes at RCI were decided only after the BBC announcement to pull out of Sackville. But what we are seeing is that, first off, there is currently a budget SURPLUS at RCI, and the $15.52 million annual budget has already been approved for 2001/2002. No one seems willing to say just what that surplus amount is, nor have they stated what the dollar figure saving is of these proposed changes. There were already meetings and discussions going on, and people within RCI knew that cuts and changes were coming well before the BBC story ever broke, so I strongly caution against trying to link these two stories together. I think it is very important that one thing be made very clear about RCI and its $15.52 million budget. This small amount of funding, in relation to what other similar sized broadcasters receive in other countries, is money well spent. I don't think many people realize that from this amount, not only the Montreal head office operation is funded, but also the full cost of the Sackville transmitter site, the full cost of the RCI Monitoring Station in Stittsville, Ontario, and all satellite offices of RCI across the country. Also, a chunk of the funds are given back to CBC to pay for services which CBC staff perform for RCI. All this while still being able to produce and distribute programming in 7 languages. Pretty good bang for the buck if you ask me. RCI is a bare bones operation. Many other services around the world could learn something about money management from RCI. Given this small budget, and all the operations which are conducted within its boundaries, RCI was able to complete the year with a SURPLUS! All this leads us to believe that these most recent developments at RCI probably have nothing whatsoever to do with money. There are much more sinister forces at work here (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) I have posed a series of very tough questions to RCI management; questions which need to be answered, if we are to fully understand what is going on at RCI. These have been directed to RCI Executive Director Robert O'Reilly, and others. No answers have been received to date. In fact, I have yet to receive an acknowledgment of receipt of these questions by anyone at RCI. 1) How much of the $15.52 million RCI annual budget is returned to the CBC in payment of services supplied by the CBC? 2) What is the detailed breakdown, in terms of types of services and costs of each? 3) Did RCI have a budget surplus at the end of the last fiscal year, and has the budget for RCI been approved for the new year? 4) Should the priority for RCI not be production and distribution of its programming, above and beyond all other expenditures? 5) Will the proposed cuts, particularly English and French weekend newscasts, not compromise the ability of RCI to fulfill its mandate? 6) Has the Heritage Department been consulted on these proposed changes to RCI? Were they even made aware that cuts were being considered? 7) Have CBC management fully examined the impact of these changes, and were the changes discussed with RCI staff prior to decisions being taken? Is the experience and input of this valued group of international broadcasters worth anything? 8) Why doesn't CBC simply take on the role of an administrative service provider, collect their pay cheque, and step aside and let international broadcasters and administrators operate the international service? 9) There is a lot of attention being given to the importance of making RCI services available to the world on the Internet. I would want to have those in the computer department at RCI/CBC tell us honestly just how many people on-line could access an RCI real audio stream simultaneously. This figure will obviously show everyone the extreme limitations of the reach of on-line radio, compared to that of conventional on-air broadcasting. 10) If things were to remain as they are now, how much of a budget shortfall is anticipated for the 2001/2002 budget year? 11) What is the anticipated amount of savings to be achieved by the implementation of the proposed changes? 12) Is the Heritage Department, which mandated CBC to operate RCI, and which funds the service, fully aware of the impact of the changes about to be implemented, and has any reaction been received from them? 13) What was the total cost for staging the 2000 Challenges conference in Montreal? 14) Did the funds required to stage the conference come from within the $15.52 million operating budget of RCI? 15) What is the anticipate budget figure for the 2002 Challenges conference in southern Ontario scheduled to be organized by RCI? 16) Where will the funding for that conference come from, and is it anticipated to have a budget shortfall as well? I already know the answers to some of these questions, but having them answered, hopefully honestly, by RCI/CBC management will paint the true picture of what these cuts are really all about. (Sheldon Harvey, ibid.) If I was a party to a contractual relationship I would expect to be required to give a specific advanced notice to the other party if I wanted to terminate the contract. BBC could have made the decision to terminate long before the public announcement. RCI was put on notice when the BBC decision was finalized and that is when the meetings and discussions at RCI began. After some time delay, both BBC and RCI announced within a few days of one another their individual cuts. I believe the time coincidence is not accidental but rather flows from the same root cause, BBC's decision to eliminate the need for Sackville relay services. I can't prove it but I think William of Ockham would concur (~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., Joe Buch, ibid.) ** CANADA. 6130: There is little news from here - I note CHNX 6130 USB is back on air, and heard around 0630. The engineer told me a lightning strike on the antenna put it off for a while. The tx is running just 41 watts! I usually compare it with CKZN 6160 listed with 500 watts and both signals are similarly received - maybe CKZN is slightly better (Noel R. Green, UK, May 26, BC-DX via DXLD) 6130, CHNX, Halifax. Playing pop/soul oldies such as "Itchycoo Park", "Midnight Hour" 0758 tune-in, ID 0801, which gave slogan and location as Halifax. Fair signal, in USB, but loss of continuity with frequent drop-outs mid-song (Craig Seager & John Schache 30/5/01, Limekilns NSW DXpedition, ARDXC via DXLD) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. State radio still unheard -- Radio Centrafrique, the state broadcaster, remains unheard in Bangui as of 0720 gmt on 30 May, two days after a failed coup. However its transmission centre, damaged after being seized by the mutineers, is now reported to be under the control of troops loyal to President Ange-Felix Patasse. The United Nations-run station Radio Ndeka Luka continues to be heard on FM and is gradually resuming normal broadcasting. Source: Monitoring research 30 May 01 (BBCM via DXLD, WORLD OF RADIO 1082) ** CHINA [non]. I also took a listen to 12075 last night (May 28th) around 2205 when the stn was already on. The signal here was good, peaking to 9+ on my S meter. Jamming was very strong and severe, but what I could hear of the audio, appeared of good quality. I tried 12140 too and on there I heard what seemed just a carrier at strong level - no jamming or voice. With this level of jamming, hearing any ID seems impractical - for me, anyway! I found it difficult to get even the gist of what the broadcast was all about (Noel R. Green, UK, May 29, BC-DX via DXLD) ** CONGO. R Congo seems off on Sunday 28. Monday 29, it started after 2000 (no signal) as 1930 QRG was vacant and about 2020 signal was S9+10 to 15. Most other stations on the band that time had levels at least S9 (Zacharias Liangas, Greece, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. Castro inaugurates multimedia Internet site | Text of report by Cuban news agency Prensa Latina Havana, 26 May: Cuban President Fidel Castro inaugurated here today the LatinCuba.com virtual store, a site of the island's media on the Internet created by the Genesis Multimedia Publishing House of Prensa Latina news agency. [ http://www.latincuba.com ] With LatinCuba.com and LatinCuba.cu we hope to better present our ideas and make a modest financial contribution to the technological development of the media, said Genesis Director Pedro Rioseco during the presentation of the new product. The brand new commercial portal, containing all kinds of topics and news on this country, was presented at the capital city's Conventions Palace, site of the fourth expanded plenary meeting of the Union of Cuban Journalists (UPEC). According to its creators, this department store will be available on the Internet in Spanish and English, and its main competitive advantage is that all its products are purchased and received virtually in a matter of minutes via a computer connected to the network of networks. Besides not involving intermediaries, payment for each transaction is collected in advance in a foreign bank and is later deposited in a Cuban stock-exchange institution in US dollars. This site offers multimedia products designed especially for the Internet, small CD ROMs, photo collections, books, magazines, music, videos, animated children's stories, fashions, Cuban paintings, among other things. This incursion into worldwide electronic commerce, the first one in which the media of the Caribbean nation is generating resources, could equal the offer of similar Latin American sites in a few years, Rioseco noted. Source: Prensa Latina news agency, Havana, in Spanish 27 May 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) Reference to US dollars above caused me on WOR 1082 to mention that as the proper currency, what else? But website actually quotes prices in Canadian dollars! Starting with Che memorabilia. Gosh, will we ever get enough of him? (gh, DXLD) ** ECUADOR. Subject: Novos Horários do DX-HCJB. Queridos amigos dexistas: Um anuncio bem rápido porém importante, Novos horários do programa DX-HCJB> Sábado às 05:30 (Hora. de Bras.) em 9745 kHz (31 M); Sábado às 22:00 (Hora. de Bras.) em 11920 kHz e 12020 kHz (25M); Domingo às 14:30 (Hora. de Bras.) em 15295 kHz (19M); também por Internet http://www.hcjb-brasil.org Abraços, (Eunice Carvajal Muthre, HCJB, radioescutas via DXLD) I checked this show out some months ago, and there was nothing in it that could be classified as DX news. Add 3h for UT (gh, DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. Radio Fana, Addis Ababa, 6940 kHz, *1500-1535 UT, May 28. Weak signal but extremely low noise level allowed for audible reception. Presumed news followed by intermittent impassioned talks. Man and woman announcer presented interesting selections of "Horn of Africa" style music. No clue on the language but presumed to be Amharic or Somali. No clear ID but frequency, time, programming and band conditions make Fana a pretty good lock (Ed Tilbury, near Anchorage, Alaska, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA [non]. CLANDESTINE TO ETHIOPIA 12110 Netsaner [sic] Radio(?) *1700 Strong again at sign on, opening announcement seems to be something like Netitsiya Radio, I will let the language experts confirm the identification on this one. Not on yesterday so schedule seems at least Wednesdays only at the moment (Mike Barraclough, UK, May 30th) This station was mistakenly listed under KURDISTAN non in DXLD 1-079, quickly corrected in the archive copy and index (gh) ** GEORGIA. R Kara, per E-mail from Nino Berdznishvili, Manager of the program, at league@geoconst.org.ge founded on Apr 1999. Addr: Rustaveli Ave. 52, II floor, apt. 211-212, Tbilisi, Georgia. Is b/c four times a week, 40-45 mins. each. Programming includes World Today, Criminal Chronicle, nx, Cultural Chronicle, Sport Chronicle, Literary Page, Gossip from Hollywood, Horoscope, Modern Music, etc. Avoids concentrating only on the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. Author of the program is Mr. Zourab Shengelia (CRW via BC-DX) Radio Hara: "It`s nice to know that you are interested in our radio founded on April 1999. In the information on your website [QIP -CRW] the contact address of our institute is mentioned to be unknown. Our address is: Rustaveli Ave. 52, II floor, apt. 211-212, Tbilisi, Georgia. Author of the program is Mr. Zourab Shengelia. Radio "Hara" is broadcasted more then two years four times a week. Duration of each program is 40-45 minutes. To specify areas of hearence and quality of signal received from the beginning was broadcasted only Abkhazian music. From April, 1999 several regular rubrics are broadcasted: "world today", "criminal chronicle", "news", "cultural chronicle", "sport chronicle", "literary page", "gossip from Hollywood", "horoscope", "modern music", etc. Radio "Hara" deals with nearly all the problems but consciously avoids only the theme of Georgian-Abkhazian conflict. In case of interest, please do not hesitate to contact us. With respect, Nino Berdznishvili, Manager of the program. The station name is "Hara". "Hara" is an Abkhazian form of "We" (N. Berdznishvili, R Hara May 22 & 23, 2001 for CRW via DXLD) This was spelt `Kara` in the previous item! And often as `Khara` evidently Russian-influenced, tho they often convert H to G instead, despite that making no phonetic sense (Glenn Gauser, DXLD) ** INDIA. All India Radio, 10330 kHz, 1626-1730* UT, May 28. AIR National Commercial Service. According to VU2JOS's web site at http://bcdx.qrzindia.net/ this is broadcast from Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati and Mumbai all on the same frequency, although no indication is given whether it is broadcast simultaneously from all locations or individually at separate times. Signal was fair to good with some atmospheric flutter. Audio seemed generally superior to the GOS audio, however. Programming was mostly continuous Indian classical and folk music (Ed Tilbury, near Anchorage, Alaska, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 7171.15, RRI Serui. Jakarta relay 0800-0845, also taken by Biak 6153. Don`t believe the WRTH schedule which shows this channel (nom. 7173) until 0925. In fact signs off a couple of hours prior, normally. Noted on 4607 at re-check 0900 (Craig Seager & John Schache 30/5/01, Limekilns NSW DXpedition, ARDXC via DXLD) ** INDONESIA/KALIMANTAN. RRI Pontianak, 3976 kHz, 1309-1341 UT, May 28. Very strong and clear signal. Sounds like 10 KW, at least. Talks mostly by a woman announcer along with music of various types. Also local news with numerous mentions of Pontianak and Kalimantan. RRI Palangkaraya, 3325 kHz, 1346-1419 UT, May 28. Strong signal to start but weakened significantly as time went on. 1400 is getting a bit late for 90 meters here in May. Mostly continuous bizarre drumming music. I`ve heard this before from Palangkaraya so it must be a local thing. If you`ve ever heard it you know what I`m talking about. Also some news and a lengthy talk by a man. This and Pontianak are both heard reliably here with strong signals. Unfortunately I can`t get either one to respond to a report! (Ed Tilbury, near Anchorage, Alaska, WORLD OF RADIO 1082, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. Troops deployed to guard Jakarta TV stations | Excerpt from report by Indonesian Detikcom web site on 26 May Jakarta: The chief spokesperson for the Jakarta metropolitan police, Senior Commissioner Anton Bachrul Alam confirmed that troops have been positioned at television stations in accordance with police plans. He added that troops have also been deployed at economic centres and vital facilities. "The placement of security forces is designed to safeguard the conduct of the DPR [House of Representatives] plenary session and the G15 summit. Apart from television stations, we are also guarding economic centres and other vital facilities," Anton told reporters in Jakarta, 26 May. As reported earlier, security forces have been positioned at six television stations in Jakarta - Anteve, Metro TV, RCTI [Rajawali Citra Televisi Indonesia], Indosiar, TPI [Televisi Pendidikan Indonesia] and SCTV [Surya Citra Televisi]... "The places just mentioned are being guarded by troops from the Jakarta Military Area Command, while the police have been deployed on the ground in case of mass actions," Anton said. Source: Detikcom web site, Jakarta, in Indonesian 26 May 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. I took a listen to The V of Mesopotamia this afternoon on 15770 at 1400. There were tones audible at 1355, then silence from c1358 until music and speech from 1400. It's another Ludo Maes operation so maybe Bulgaria? Signal here only fair with slop from stronger Israel 15760. I didn`t hear the programme end, but after 1600 there was another lang on the freqy - mention of Azardi, etc. Signal strength was about the same as at 1400. I haven`t found this one in my files yet - it doesn`t appear in the latest DTK sched (Noel R. Green, UK, May 28, BC-DX via DXLD) CLANDESTINE TO KURDISTAN. 15770, Voice of Mesopotamia, May 30 *1400. Fair signal at sign on today with announcements by four speakers, perhaps the four different languages, with Mesopotamia noted on two of the announcements. Also heard yesterday 1520-1600* so is not just Mondays. No jamming noted last two days (Mike Barraclough, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Voice of Mesopotamia: De Voice of Mezopotamya begint vanaf maandag 28 mei 2001 met dagelijkse uitzendingen op korte golf in het Koerdisch. Het zendschema is als volgt: 0800-1000 UT: 15230 kHz; 1400-1600 UT: 15770 kHz (L. Maes, TDP, Belgium, May 27, DXA-ML via CRW via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. 30 May 2001: The Director General of Radio Netherlands, Lodewijk Bouwens, has reaffirmed this station`s commitment to its shortwave audience in the light of recent developments at the BBC. Speaking on the domestic programme Radio Online, Mr. Bouwens pointed out that there are 800 million radio sets in the world capable of receiving shortwave broadcasts. He also referred to RN`s active involvement in the development of digital shortwave broadcasting. Dutch-speaking readers can listen to the interview online at http://www.omroep.nl/cgi- bin/streams?/tros/r_online/290501radio_isdn.ra (© Radio Netherlands Media Network via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. Today I tried RNW via Jülich on 5955 and noted a delay of a full second compared with 9895 from Skelton. Of course no big deal but I wonder how both sites were fed; ISDN vs. satellite? (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 29, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA. Sunday May 20 tuning around at 2100 UT I caught V. of Nigeria, Lagos, English on 7255. S = 3 to 4. I don`t see frequency listed in magazines. It has to do battle with hams -– some were on exact frequency but on AM. The group then went to normal LSB on 7258.5 to QSO. On Sunday it was English, a portion in local language, then back to English. I think it is different on weekdays. Tuesday it was all in English. I could not check Monday due to a vet appointment with my doberman. Tuesday, appeared to start up around 2035 UT, heavy QRM with hams. There is an ECARS net (East Coast Amateur Radio Service) that starts up much earlier. It runs through at least first half hour. S/off is at 2300 UT. No service given. Gave parallels 15120 and 11770. I don`t hear either. Addr: Director of Programming, Voice of Nigeria, PNB [sic] 4003, Ikoyi, Lagos, Nigeria (Bob Thomas, CT, May 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7255 has been VON`s main and only frequency for ages, normally heard here in the 0500+ period. I`m surprised you were getting it so well as early as 2030 this time of year (gh, DXLD) ** NIGERIA. Radio Nigeria testing shortwave frequency | Text of "Wavescan" report by Adventist World Radio on 27 May ["Wavescan" reporter in Nigeria] Test transmissions from the national service of Radio Nigeria were noted recently at 1400 UT on 7275 kHz in English and local languages. The station was previously heard on 909 kHz mediumwave. Reception of the new shortwave outlet is good and reports are invited. You can send them to Radio Nigeria Test Transmission, Private Mail Bag 71, Garki, Abuja, Nigeria. Source: Adventist World Radio, Bracknell, in English 1530 gmt 27 May 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** OMAN. 15140, R Sultanate of Oman, beautiful, large folding card, stn name and logo on front, info about Oman, control room scene and full-data "letter" inside, building (maybe outside of stn) on the back. One sesquiyear. Total for taped rpt, 2 wks. after 2d E-mail follow-up to Salim Al-Nomani at abulukman@hotmail.com V/S illegible but is Director of Frequency, and it must be Salim because that is his title in his E-mail (Jerry Berg, MA, NU May 27 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. Radio Western, Daru, 3305 kHz, 1236-1305* UT, May 28. Very strong and clear signal. Man announcer mostly in Pidgin but some English. Bad music. Two Tony Orlando's in less than half an hour! At least no "Feelings!" Sign off included many IDs plus program, schedule, and frequency info. Many PNGs audible with strong signals on 90 meters this morning. No Milne Bay, however, which is the one I was looking for. I'm reasonably certain they were not on the air or else there would have at least been some trace of them (Ed Tilbury, near Anchorage, Alaska, WORLD OF RADIO 1082, DX LISTENING DIGEST) But it`s in the survey below, two days later ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3290 R.Central, Boroko. Country & Western mx 1153, followed by anncts. in local dialect. An extraordinary signal on 22/4 (Phil Ireland, Bathurst NSW, Australian DX News via DXLD) Maybe they pushed the txer a bit too far - as subsequently seems to have gone off (again) (Craig Seager, ADXN ed., via DXLD) ** PAPUA NEW GUINEA Occupancies noted during a mini survey of 1000 UT on 30/5 2410 R. Enga. Active 3205 R. West Sepik. Active 3220 R. Morobe. Not observed - only HCJB here. 3235 R. West New Britain. Active 3245 R. Gulf. Not heard. 3260 R. Madang. Absent. 3275 R. Southern Highlands. Not heard. 3290 R. Central. Inactive for last few weeks. 3305 R. Western. Active 3315 R. Manus. Active 3325 R. North Solomons. There but swamped by utility station. 3335 R. East Sepik. Absent - CBS Taiwan only heard here. 3345 R. Northern. Inactive - RRI Ternate dominates channel. 3355 R. Simbu. Inaudible. 3365 R. Milne Bay. Active. 3375 R. Western Highlands. Active. 3385 R. East New Britain. Not heard. 3905 R. New Ireland. Active, but under RRI Merauke 4890 Port Moresby. Active from 0700 daily (9675 prior to that) WRTH listings for Port Moresby 9520 and 11880 are so old they are laughable (Craig Seager & John Schache 30/5/01, Limekilns NSW DXpedition, ARDXC via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Glenn, First question on Joe Adamov's "Moscow Mailbag" May 28 UT 0210, "Will the Voice of Russia eventually leave shortwave, in favour of the internet?" Jolly Joe's reply: When radio came along, people said that newspapers would disappear. Have they? When television came along, people said that radio would disappear. Has it? Each new technology has not resulted in the demise of the older, rather the old has adapted and continued. And so I predict the same for shortwave. (Not a verbatim quote, Glenn) (Ivan Grishin, Ont., DX LISTENING DIGEST) And hardly definitive ** RUSSIA. Mayak launches new 24-hour news radio | Text of report by Russian news agency RIA Moscow, 28 May: The Mayak 24 radio station earlier called Mayak FM will go on the air at the frequency of 103.4 FM on 29 May. Mayak 24 is a part of the Mayak state radio company [GRK Mayak] that also affiliates the Mayak and Yunost [English: Youth] radio stations. Mayak 24 will be the first round-the-clock information channel, Sergey Kurokhtin, the programme director of the new station, told journalists on Monday [28 May]. The "Chas novostey" [English: News hour] programme to go on the air every three hours will become the core of Mayak 24. Moreover, feature programmes on economy, culture, politics and social problems will be broadcast. Politics will not dominate the station, Kurokhtin said. Mayak 24 follows the model of BBC 24, with which Mayak 24 has entered an agreement on the use of British information products. Mayak 24 will use satellites to relay its signal in Russian regions. According to Irina Gerasimova, the Mayak chairperson, active negotiations are under way now with Novosibirsk, Omsk, Naberezhnyye Chelny, Samara, St Petersburg, Kaluga, Togliatti and Nizhniy Novgorod. The new radio channel will aim at the audience aged 35-50, Kurokhtin said. Within the first year, Mayak 24's Moscow listeners should make at least six to seven per cent of the total audience and equal 400,000 - 500,000 people. Advertisements should not exceed 10 per cent of broadcast time. "Mayak 24 will become the first state-owned news radio station with the broadcast structure tailored to be as close to the international standards as possible," Kurokhtin added. Source: RIA news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1132 gmt 28 May 01 (via BBCM, WORLD OF RADIO 1082, DXLD) ** SIERRA LEONE. Radio UNAMSIL is operated by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone. Languages: English, Krio. Address: UNAMSIL HQ., PO Box 5, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Tel: +232 273183/4/5 ext. 6297 --------------------------------------------------------------------- 0000-2359 Daily ENGLISH Domestic 6.140 103.0 0700-0715 Daily News (UN news from New York) 0715-0730 Daily Local news 0800-0815 Daily News (UN news from New York) 0815-0830 Daily Local News 0900-0905 Daily News headlines 1100-1115 Daily News (KRIO) 1300-1315 Daily News 1400-1415 Daily News (KRIO) 1600-1615 Daily News (KRIO) 1900-1915 Daily News 2000-2015 Daily News (KRIO) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (© BBC Monitoring May 30 via WORLD OF RADIO 1082, DXLD) Where are the DX reports of this one?? (gh) ** SIERRA LEONE. Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service (SLBS). Comments : The 100.0 MHz frequency is announced as 99.9 MHZ. Languages: English, Temme. Address: Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service, New England, Freetown, Sierra Leone. Tel: +232-22-240123/241919/24017. Fax: +232- 22-240922. Web Site: http://www.sierra-leone.org/slbs.html --------------------------------------------------------------------- 0600-0830 Daily ENGLISH Domestic 3.316 100.0 0600-0630 Daily News (MENDE/TEMME/KRIO/LIMBA 0700-0715 Daily News 0730-0800 Daily People and Events 0800-0815 Daily News (rpt of 0700 broadcast) 0830-1700 Daily ENGLISH Domestic 100.0 0900-0930 Daily People and Events (rpt) 1400-1430 Daily Newsfile 1600-1630 Daily Newsfile (rpt) 1700-2000 Daily ENGLISH Domestic 3.316 100.0 1700-1745 Daily Focus on Africa (BBC World Service) 1745-1800 Daily Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (RUF Amnesty prog.) 1800-1830 Daily News (MENDE/TEMME/KRIO/LIMBA rpt of 0600 broadcast) 2000-2359 Daily ENGLISH Domestic 100.0 2000-2015 Daily News 2100-2130 Daily Newsfile (rpt of 1400 broadcast) 2130-2200 Daily Magazine programme 2200-2215 Daily News (rpt of 2000 broadcast) --------------------------------------------------------------------- (© BBC Monitoring May 30, condensed for DXLD, WORLD OF RADIO 1082) So per this the SW 3316 is not on all the time the FM is, just 0600- 0830 and 1700-2000 –- or do they mean until 1830? (gh) ** SLOVENIA. Slovenia`s English language news broadcast at 2030 on 918 never seems to get reported, perhaps because it is an easy catch and keeps a regular schedule, 2030 summer, 2130 winter on 918 kHz mediumwave (Susan Evans, UK, June World DX Club Contact via DXLD) Not so easy outside Europe. A station ripe for a SW relay; wonder why they have shown no such interest? (gh, DXLD) ** SOMALIA. Radio Gaalkacyo, 6985 kHz, 1543-1615* UT, May 28. Extremely weak signal just barely peaking above the noise level. Virtually no intelligibility but definitely a man announcer with talks and periodic selections of "Horn of Africa" style music. Could not tell if there was an English segment prior to sign off. Sign off was exactly an hour earlier than listed in the 2001 Passport. Hard to believe this station was coming thru but given the details and the conditions, I think Gaalkacyo is a pretty safe bet. There was no sign of Mogadishu on any of the various frequencies I've seen listed for it. I suspect if it was on at this time I probably would have heard at least something (Ed Tilbury, near Anchorage, Alaska, WORLD OF RADIO 1082, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALIA. 6750-USB, R. Mogadishu. Strong with political commentary in Somali dialect 1830. At 1845 shocked to hear announcement "Radio Hargeisa Telecom Somalia" (7530 noted @ poor level with some other px). Still confused!!! Then into Afro chorus, 19/5 (Leigh Morris, Coorong National Park, SA, ADXN via DXLD) Good w/local mx 1740, mentions of Somalia 1745 then speech excerpts. This is the pro-Aideed station, & I don`t think there is any link with the station on 7530, 15/5 (Seager, Australian DX News via DXLD) ** SOMALIA. HornAfrik Radio denies propagating Christianity | Excerpt from report by Somali HornAfrik Online text web site on 30 May Mogadishu: The management of HornAfrik Radio has strongly refuted the fabricated and baseless allegations by the attorney-general which claimed that HornAfrik is propagating the Christian faith. The management of HornAfrik is baffled by the irresponsible comments attributed to the attorney-general published in one of the Mogadishu papers [Dalka newspaper which is the mouthpiece of the interim government]. It is unfortunate that the attorney-general, whom we regarded a member of the Somali intelligentsia, cannot distinguish between the programmes of HornAfrik Radio and those of the BBC in English being broadcast in the country. The question to ask oneself is since when have newspapers become a court of law. The management of HornAfrik wishes to make clear that 43 per cent of the programmes aired on HornAfrik Radio are religious programmes which reflect the noble values and faith of the Somali people. The management of HornAfrik however wishes to state categorically that HornAfrik Radio has no control over the programmes aired by the BBC, CNN and Al-Jazeera, which can all be heard [on HornAfrik Radio and TV] in the city of Mogadishu. We find it strange that national leaders for whom we have great esteem should criticize the work we do. It is only proper that we are first informed of the charges against us, as the law states. We thought that the era when the judiciary used to flout the law is over. Since we have gone through 10 years without respect for any law or authority it is only proper that those responsible for the law should first respect the law themselves and become role models for society... The HornAfrik management, with all due respect, calls on the High Court to put the statement of the attorney-general before the law so that HornAfrik Radio can defended itself against the baseless charges levelled against it. Source: HornAfrik Online text web site, Mogadishu, in Somali 30 May 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) FM, not SW; godforbid the BBC should be propagating Christianity either (gh) ** SOUTH AMERICA. EMISORA PIRATA. Una pirata con buen sonido... Otra vez Radio Piraña Internacional está emitiendo en la onda corta. La escuché con buena señal aunque intermitente el pasado 25/5/01 a las 2345 TU en 11420.20 kHz. Mis mensajes electrónicos fueron recibidos por su conductor Jorge García quien los leyó al aire. La emisora, según comentaba García, está operando con 50/60 vatios y no dispone todavía de un compresor ni limitador de audio. "Estamos queriendo aumentar nuestro equipo", dijo. Además, el transmisor es de fabricación casera y lleva dos válvulas y, según expresó García, hace falta algunos componentes adicionales para instalar alrededor de cada válvula. En su respuesta vía e-mail, García me dice que ``fue verdaderamente extraordinario lo de ayer!,`` refiriéndose a mi captación. ``Con el correr de los tiempos, estaré aumentándolo a ver si eso ayuda......`` dijo respecto al transmisor. Además no tiene un sked determinado. ``De vez en cuando estaremos saliendo... entre 11410-11430 kHz,`` expresó.. La dirección donde remitir los reportes a Radio Piraña Internacional es Casilla 159, Santiago 14, Chile. E-mail: rpi@writeme.com WEB http://www.geocities.com/radio_piranha (Rubén Guillermo Margenet, Argentina, May 31, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SPAIN/U S A. Radio Liberty: Playa de Pals erected in 1959/1960 [1 x 100 / 4 x 250 kW], and increased in 1968 - according to German Radio Magazine 'Funkschau' - but missed in Maes- list -, when four new 250 kW tx units combined to either 1000 or 500 kW pairs, the most powerful western 'combined' SW station at this time, using 6170, 7220, 9520, 9625, 11885, 15290, 15370, 17725 and 17750 kHz channels, which were always target of the powerful Soviet jamming network; even two channels on the lower/upper side of the channel were UNUSABLE in Central Europe then. P1 - P6 = 250 kW. "P1&P2 or P3&P4 can be combined to a single 500 kW, P1 thru P4 can be combined to a single 1000 kW." as described in RL 1994 Broadcast schedule legend. The combined RL 1000 kW operation used 9520 at 0400-0700, and 15290 0700-1300, both in Russian lang at 52 degrs azimuth, but other Ukrainian/Central Asian freqs used 63 degrs antennas instead (Wolfgang Büschel, BC-DX May 30 via DXLD) Noel wrote: It`s sad to read of the demise of another radio txing stn, but I guess there is ample capacity within the IBB network for this stn to close. I was surprised at how few bcs there were via Pals (acc to Kai's extract) -- it makes a difference when looked at like this. In Ludo Maes TDP it`s interesting to look at the transmitter complement: 1 x 100 kW TEL of 1959 scrapped/dismantled {Telefunken} 4 x 250 kW CON of 1960 {Continental} 1 x 250 kW GEN of 1964 {General Electric?} 1 x 250 kW MAR of 1987 {Marconbi} 5 x 250 kW CON of 1997 transferred from Glória, Portugal. On looking at the last schedule it seems there were a maximum of 5 txs on air at any time. Perhaps those from Glória? And maybe the others have already been scrapped -- kept as standby. I wonder what the future is for the three sites in Germany. Especially the one at Holzkirchen now that the MW facility has closed and due to the hostility of its neighbours! When the IBB web site is updated it could be interesting to extract the txing schedules of these stns. Recent descriptions of the Playa site have not mentioned the ex- Glória txs, only the old ones, so it is possible (or likely) that the planned transfer never took place (Olle Alm, Sweden, May 27, BC-DX via DXLD) Yes, all printed separate Pals schedules of the Nineties shows 6 x 250 kW units (BC-DX ed.) Today the IBB master schedule was finally updated and now reflects the closure of the Playa de Pals facilities. A large amount of former Pals-outlets are now on air from Germany, not only the Biblis and Lampertheim twin sites (they are only a few kilometres away from each other) but also the disputed Holzkirchen- Oberlaindern station: 5955 0000 0100 RL RL-1 RU HOL 04 059 9520 0300 0400 RL RL-1 RU HOL 02 077 11725 0400 0500 RL RL-1 RU HOL 01 057 15130 0600 0800 RL RL-1 RU HOL 04 059 15215 1300 1400 VOA D RUSS HOL 04 059 15215 1400 1500 RL RL-1 RU HOL 04 059 11825 1700 1800 RL RL-9 UZ HOL 02 077 9665 2100 2300 RL RL-1 RU HOL 01 077 7120 2300 0100 RL RL-1 RU HOL 03 059 9555 0730 0800 RFE RL-8 SC BIB 04 105 11795 1300 1330 RFE RL-8 SC BIB 04 105 9855 1700 1800 RL RL-7 UK BIB 06 088 11895 1700 1800 RL RL-7 UK BIB 03 088 9625 1830 1900 RFE RL-8 SC BIB 08 105 11895 1830 1900 RFE RL-8 SC BIB 10 105 9595 2000 2100 VOA G UKRA BIB 03 088 7245 0200 0300 RL RL-1 RU LAM 09 055 9520 0200 0300 RL RL-1 RU LAM 04 075 7245 0300 0400 RL RL-7 UK LAM 07 075 12345 7245 0400 0500 VOA G UKRA LAM 03 080 7245 0500 0600 RL RL-7 UK LAM 03 080 12345 9705 2000 2100 RL RL-1 RU LAM 05 075 Also Kavala operates now quite a lot ex-Pals frequencies and is the new home of the long-established 5955 and 9520 channels of Radio Liberty in the evening: 9760 0100 0200 RL RL-7 KA KAV 02 088 9805 0200 0330 RL RL10 TA KAV 02 088 6000 0200 0400 RL RL-1 RU KAV 06 026 15205 1100 1300 RL RL-1 RU KAV 04 051 11895 1400 1600 RL RL-1 RU KAV 01 026 11995 1500 1600 RL RL-8 TB KAV 02 051 11815 1600 1700 RL RL-1 RU KAV 02 026 9520 2000 0100 RL RL-1 RU KAV 03 026 5955 2100 0000 RL RL-1 RU KAV 01 026 9625 2300 0000 RL RL-7 KA KAV 06 056 Some further frequencies are now on air from Tanger-Briech and Woofferton: 9560 0300 0400 RL RL-7 UK MOR 02 051 12345 9560 0400 0500 VOA G UKRA MOR 02 051 9555 0500 0600 RL RL-7 UK MOR 07 051 12345 11815 1500 1600 RL RL-1 RU MOR 03 043 11905 1600 1630 VOA E ALBA MOR 05 067 9705 1930 2000 VOA E SERB MOR 02 059 11885 0400 0600 RL RL-1 RU WOF 01 075 15215 1500 1700 RL RL-1 RU WOF 03 075 9615 1700 1900 VOA D RUSS WOF 01 066 15370 1700 1800 VOA D RUSS WOF 03 075 11865 1900 2030 RL RL-4 BR WOF 07 070 Especially interesting: Radio Liberty in Tajik now the other way round from Tinang: 15370 1500 1630 RL RL10 TA PHT 07 315 Following frequencies were canceled altogether: 15190 1300 1330 RFE RL-8 SC PAL 03 063 9660 1600 1630 VOA E ALBA PAL 04 063 15325 1800 1900 RFE RL-6 RO PAL 05 063 12345 15125 2000 2100 RFE RL-8 SC PAL 06 063 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, May 30, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SWEDEN [non]. R. Sweden 0330 English to NAm is only on 11895 now (Bob Thomas, CT, May 22, DX LISTENING DIGEST) via Sackville ** TURKEY. Those who would enjoy hearing digs at the management really ought to listen to Live from Turkey. Reshide keeps complaining about having to stay up past 1 am local to do this show, even when she is ill as no one can substitute; and to boot, this week the phone was locked up in a closet by the German department, and no one could call in even if someone were to try. Read letters from listeners in UK and Greece wanting it an earlier hour, such as 1830 UT. For now it is still Tuesdays 2210-2255 UT on 11845, http://www.trt.net.tr (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UGANDA. Following last night`s missing transmission from Radio Uganda on 4976 kHz, I am glad to report that this transmitter has returned this evening 29th May. Audible with good signals at 1800 UT. 73 (Graham Powell, UK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Hello, Radio Uganda was really absent yesterday, but luckily it`s back today 29/5 on 4976, now at 1735 with strong signals. Also on 5026 but this has problems with Radio Pakistan on 5027 at this time. Hope this will now stay as it seems Africans on 60 mb vanish too fast nowadays... 73 (Jarmo Patala, Hyvinkaa, Finland, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** U K. I just got off the phone with Jo Legood, who is with the British Consulate here in Atlanta. She tells me the Consulate here has had ``a lot of calls and letters`` in regards to the suspension of BBCWS programming to North America. We talked on the phone for a little over 5 minutes (as I said I was conscious of how busy she must be -- I think that made her open up and start talking) ...she said that what she has heard is the BBC is ``heavily relying`` on the survey where it was said there were only 330,000 active SW listeners in the United States. She also discussed with me some other comments from calls/letters that she had namely that a lot of people listen at work (who don`t have computers at home) or who do not have internet access at all, which would preclude listening over the `net, among other issues that were brought up to her. She said that the letters that the Consulate here in Atlanta is getting are being forwarded to the BBC in London -- I asked her if she knew offhand who that person was, she said no, but she could look it up for me. I imagine a log of telephone calls is also being made. Jo also told me that she thinks ``if enough people call and write`` that this decision ``could possibly`` be reversed. She said that she ``had not seen anything like it`` in the number of callers to the Consulate who were concerned about the impending cessation of services to this area. She apparently had read the report and just assumed that it was correct. I had briefly touched on what we on the swprograms list had been discussing about the numbers being flawed and some of the factors involved. I also mentioned that her colleagues up in Philly had also been getting a lot of comments on this and that the consular officer up there ``had not even known`` about the decision to drop broadcast services to this part of the world. I then concluded the call by asking what address I should write to. Jo said she is leaving for the UK in 2 days so it would be better for me to email her and she would forward the letter. I said that I would follow up with her in about 1 month about any additional info/direction/etc. I thanked her for her time and she genuinely seemed interested in my concerns and I think we definitely had a good call. 73 to all, (Maryanne Kehoe, May 29, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. Here`s the transcript of last week`s Marketplace item previously audio linked: Copyright 2001 Minnesota Public Radio. All Rights Reserved MARKETPLACE (6:30 PM ET) May 23, 2001, Wednesday LENGTH: 379 words HEADLINE: BBC TO END SHORTWAVE RADIO BROADCASTS TO US AND CANADA ANCHORS: DAVID BRANCACCIO REPORTERS: STEPHEN BEARD BODY: DAVID BRANCACCIO, anchor: The end of an era is looming for many diehard shortwave radio files, spinning their dials at night looking for the BBC's venerable World Service?. The service will remain, but shortwave broadcasts will stop in six weeks; yet another casualty of the Internet. Loyal listeners and companies that market shortwave radios are urging the BBC to consider clemency for the staticky medium. From London, MARKETPLACE's Stephen Beard reports. STEPHEN BEARD reporting: That tinny sound crackling and fading over a shortwave radio has gladdened the heart of many a British expat, but that sound will soon be denied to World Service listeners in the United States and Canada. The BBC is pulling the plug on its shortwave broadcast there, because North Americans now expect something that`s technically better, says BBC chief, Jerry Timmons. Mr. JERRY TIMMONS (BBC Chief): It`s a recognition of the major shift that is going on in the most developed markets in the world and the way that people are rece--you know, want to receive their programming. BEARD: Only a quarter of a million in the US now listen to the World Service exclusively on shortwaves, says Timmons. Eight times as many American hear it rebroadcast on FM stations or over the Internet, and those audiences are growing. So from the end of next month, the shortwave transmissions to the US will cease. Mr. BILL OLIVER (North American Shortwave Association): We consider it a disaster. It`s a total disaster. BEARD: Bill Oliver of the North American Shortwave Association says the BBC's decision is a slap in the face for tens of thousands of loyal listeners. Mr. OLIVER: Most of the shortwave listeners in this country usually pick the BBC as their fir--first choice. BEARD: Rebroadcasting on FM is sporadic, claims Oliver, and the Internet can`t match the portability of radio. Ismail Hozor of Northern California, is even more furious with the BBC. He`s the boss of Grundic [sic] North America and supplies a large slice of the one million shortwave sets sold in the US and Canada every year. He says the BBC has got its figures wrong; support for shortwave is not fading away. Mr. ISMAIL HOZOR (Grundic [sic] North America): We who have had double-digit growth in the past 10 years, we are not doing anything other than shortwave radio in US and Canada. And I could not survive if it was not be the growth. [sic] BEARD: Hozor is begging the BBC to change its mind. But back in the British capital, the corporation remains unmoved. Shortwave is out of date in a high-tech country like the US, says a spokesman. The American [sic] transmitters will be switched off at the end of June. In London, this is Stephen Beard for MARKETPLACE. LOAD-DATE: May 24, 2001 (via Daniel Say, BC, swprograms via DXLD) No, you're not the one making the mistake; BBC is. In general, streaming audio over the net scales miserably, requiring an individual connection for each listener. The alternative, multicast IP, which *would* scale similarly to radio, has never caught on. I`ll take Lou Josephs` word for it that Sprint and UUNet support multicast IP; nobody you`re likely to have an account with does, though. This is why I think that the claim of being able to listen on the net is simply a sop to attempt to fool the public into thinking they can still hear the full World Service through their computers. It just isn`t credible given the current state of deployed technology, and if Mark Byford believes it is, then someone has lied to him. Bill Whitacre makes the point that people don`t listen to the live feeds, they listen on demand, and that`s true to a point. But for copyright reasons, many of the programs the BBC airs are not available on demand (or, for that matter, on the net at all in the case of sportscasts, which I actually *like* to listen to). I`m not convinced that all listening on the net is now or will in the future be on demand. I believe there`s demand for both live and on demand listening; but I also know that the technology to support it is not mature enough to support the kind of audience BBC gets on shortwave - (Ralph Brandi, NJ, swprograms via DXLD) [Re: not the latest Write On show at the URL in last issue] I saw this with Tom Sundstrom as we were chatting on IRC on Monday, as well. I don`t understand what's happening here; I got the correct program on Saturday morning when I listened, and again just now when I tried. Try entering the following URL in your RealPlayer: pnm://rm.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/writeon.ra This should bring up a program that starts "One subject and one subject only has dominated the Write On mailbag this week." That's the correct program. If you get something about India, that's the previous week's program (Ralph Brandi, ibid.) Without trying to capture all that has been flying around in the newsgroups and on the radio shows, this link may be useful in pointing to some of the latest information on the BBC World Service cuts to NA/Aus/NZ. http://www.trsc.com/musings.html#BBC We have the BBC engineering schedule, links to the first scripts of Communications World and World of Radio, an audio link to the Write On show of this past weekend (with Mark Byford), the FCO offices, links to lists of the FM rebroadcasters and more. Suggestions are welcome. I hope I have all the credits in place. Regards, Tom Sundstrom (Might as well do something while recovering from the broken foot... can`t sleep...) Glenn, You carry this comment from the "Daily Telegraph in "DXLD 1079" concerning the cutback in short-wave services by the BBC: "Ah well, now they can write out more vast cheques to the likes of Jonathan Ross. Isn't this a wonderful country?" I fail to see the relevance of this, and the discussion that follows, to the matter in hand - namely the reduction in short-wave services by the World Service. The World Service is funded by the Foreign Office (therefore out of general taxation - which means I pay for it); domestic TV and (oddly) radio services are funded from the TV license fee (which I also have to pay - regardless of whether I partake of BBC services). Whilst I agree that Mr Ross's salary is excessive it is certainly not the case that it could be diverted into maintaining transmissions to the US etc. He is working for a different organisation. From this it follows that there is no reason to suppose that Mr Byford's explanation: "All the savings will be ploughed back into FM and internet investment across the world" is anything other than the truth. You may not like the decision, but any suggestion that the money saved is being diverted to the over-paid, under-talented luvvies who hang around Broadcasting House is a red herring. John Figliozzi's comment "Eventually, there will be no distinction between a commercial broadcaster and a public service one" is correct but out of date. Other than in the matter of funding (coercion versus choice) the BBC domestic services have been functioning as commercial broadcasters for many years (Nicholas Mead, Helston, Cornwall, England, DX LISTENING DIGEST) BBC Foreign Office 1999-2000 Report: This has some interesting stuff about BBC World Service: http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmfaff/507/507ap05.htm One particular piece I found interesting: QUESTION 10: HOW IS THE WORLD SERVICE PRESENCE ON FM PROGRESSING; IS IT HAPPENING AT THE EXPENSE OF SHORT WAVE? [...] expansion of FM broadcasts is not happening at the expense of short wave, which remains a critical delivery platform for millions of people around the globe. The graph illustrates how each delivery platform is likely to develop over the next five years, with short wave, although in decline, still providing the vast majority of the audience. This was linked to from another document http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmfaff/507/50706.htm (Geoff White, swprograms via DXLD) Today I called and spoke with the British Tourist Authority. They suggested that if I e-mailed something about BBC World Service cuts, they might be able to pass it along to other interested people at BTA. Here's what I sent them: Dear British Tourist Authority, BBC World Service (BBC WS) announced May 8 that all shortwave radio broadcasts directed to USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific region will be terminated July 1. I feel this will have a negative effect on British tourism and should be of interest to British Tourist Authority. BBC WS press statements indicate listeners in those regions should listen, with better quality, on FM radio or via the internet. They claim that they have numbers showing that this is what people are already doing. I certainly agree that BBC is reaching a new audience via internet and FM, but I can't agree that very many people are switching from shortwave to those other methods. That may happen in the future, and it may very well be appropriate for BBC WS to cut shortwave in the future, but it's premature to do it now. Shortwave radio sales in N. America are growing, and there are millions of listeners here. (Contact Grundig, Sony, Sangean or Radio Shack; they know this because they sell the radios!) The BBC is the "top draw" for shortwave listeners both because of the excellent content, and also because the broadcasts can be heard very clearly across the continent. This is something BBC WS has learned to do better than any other broadcaster in the world! I am afraid BBC WS is making a big mistake by cutting the shortwave broadcasts so soon. They will lose millions of listeners. Here are some observations about this, first about money, which I think is clearly not the real issue. BBC World Service is funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). (The funds do not come from the BBC license fees.) The BBC World Service budget is about 175 million pounds a year, and growing at 7 million a year. BBC WS claims to be saving about a half million pounds with the cuts. This is little more than a quarter percent of budget. Budget is growing 14 times the amount "saved" each year. BBC WS numbers indicates only about a million people in North America that listen to BBC WS on shortwave radios, and that only about a half million or less listen exclusively on shortwave. But even if that were true, consider the facts... BBC WS claims 154 million listeners worldwide, and has a budget of 174 million pounds a year. That gives a "cost per listener" of over a million pounds a year.* So, there's no surprise here that by throwing away what they say is only half million listeners, they save a half million pounds. *{a slight miscalculation here: 1 pound a year! Fortunately, the writer`s other points seem to be on target -gh} They could save all 174 million pounds simply by throwing away the other 153.5 million listeners, eh? But I think there are in fact many more than a half million BBC WS shortwave listeners in USA, Canada, Australia and Pacific region. Next, comments regarding the BBC WS suggestions that shortwave listeners listen instead to local FM radio rebroadcasts or via internet. There just aren't that many FM stations that do any BBC WS rebroadcasts. Of 50 United States, 7 have no FM rebroadcasts, and more than half the States have fewer than 3 cities with FM rebroadcasts. (There are around 6,000 FM stations in USA, and only a couple hundred carry BBC WS, typically just a few minutes of news per day, or else they fill a few hours in the middle of the night.) The point here is that the shortwave broadcasts are available 21 hours a day, and offer a much wider variety of programming than available on FM stations. And an extremely large number of people are not within range of any FM rebroadcast. Regarding listening via internet, that assumes everyone has an internet connection, and that they are willing to tie up a telephone line for even more hours to "listen to radio." For those that DO have an internet connection, it's still not feasible for many of them to use it to listen to radio. For example, many people listen to radio in bed, at the breakfast table, at the park, etc., using a portable shortwave, or even in the car. These listeners will not have a computer in those places. For people who are able to listen to BBC WS at work on their radio, it will be awkward to have to try use their employer's computer (if they have one at work, and even if they do then they'll need to install headphones on their employer's computer). In summary, I feel quite sure that a great many people in the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Pacific will really miss listening to BBC World Service. I can't see how this will not be a big loss for the BBC, for Britain, and for British Tourism, as well. BBC World Service is Britain's best "ambassador to the world." It will be a shame to turn it into the BBC Half-a-World Service, or the BBC Third World Service. Most Sincerely, (Geoff White, GA, May 31, swprograms via DXLD) Dear Sir: Rachel at Monitoring Times suggested I send this to you. It is a letter I sent to 9 London newspapers. If you can use it, please feel free. ----------- Dear Sirs: I am not a professional writer. This will be very obvious to you. I am, however, passionate about certain things -- passionate enough, in fact, to attempt to write an editorial about the upcoming move on the BBC to cease broadcasting to N. America via the shortwave bands. If you feel that what follows is worthy of your newspaper, you have my permission to print it. The title is: "It doesn`t say `London` on the dial anymore." ------------- When I was a kid growing up in 1960s rural mid-Michigan, my first exposure to shortwave radio was my great grandmother`s old Philco upright. It was huge. And though it took a while to come to life, that wonderful warm sound that you can only get from a tube radio made it worth the wait. It didn`t have FM, but in the gorgeous glow of the dial`s light I could read the names of various cities from around the world: Rome, Paris, Berlin, Moscow.............and London. Like so many other radios of its time, it tuned the shortwave bands. That radio made quite an impression on me, as years later I decided to join the millions of others around the world, and thousands around the United States, who listen to international shortwave broadcasts on a regular basis. And, like millions of my fellow hobbyists, the BBC has always been my favorite. Of course a lot has changed since my childhood. The receivers are proportionately much less expensive, smaller, and digital now. Thus, the glowing dial with the names of cities around the world is a thing of the past. Yet, the principle has remained the same, and if they wanted to, the manufacturers of today`s digital sets could easily inscribe the names of the world`s leading cities next to the readout: Rome, Paris, Berlin, Moscow....................London. That is, they COULD have done this up to now. As of July 1 of this year, however, a very significant change will take place. The BBC in its wisdom has decided that due to the availability of web-based access to its programming, and selected re-broadcasts on local FM partner stations, North American listeners no longer need access to Great Britain`s social, political, and cultural views via the shortwave bands. In short, after July 1 the dial will read: Rome, Paris, Berlin, and Moscow..............but not London. Of course, those in charge of counting beans at the BBC have pointed out that there is a buck or two to be saved by doing this (as corporate budgets go, this is practically ALL that will be saved!). Yet, even a first year business student would question the wisdom of totally turning one`s back on a product`s traditional, loyal market in the process of developing new markets, when catering to multiple markets simultaneously would seem to be the wiser option. What can possibly be gained by disenfranchising thousands of loyal shortwave listeners overnight? We lose on this side of the pond, but the real losers are the people and views of Great Britain. In a single move your voice on the international stage will be silenced. Left with the alternatives of "pointing & clicking," or relying on a 60 minute nugget from a local FM station, that formerly loyal North American audience will simply choose to listen to other alternatives on the shortwave bands. What I am unable to reconcile is the fact that on one hand Great Britain is a nation of SO MANY traditions -- traditions which, to some on the outside, may not seem worth holding onto, but they`re important to you. From the traditional clothing worn by your judges, to the Queen`s Guard, to your magnificent cathedrals, and ultimately to the Monarchy itself, you are a nation which prides itself on retaining its traditions. Yet on the other hand, the tradition of broadcasting to North America over shortwave was so easily jettisoned. It doesn`t add up. Yet, with that in mind, we in the shortwave hobby have known for some time that our days are numbered. Technology is changing at such a rapid pace. The days are coming when we who collect older receivers will have nothing left to tune in. Imagine our surprise, though, when we learned that the world`s most traditional broadcaster, from a nation which takes such pride in retaining its traditions, is among the FIRST, rather than the LAST to leave us. Not seeing London on the dial will take some getting used to (Tim Manwell, Fort Wayne IN, May 31, cc to DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Dear Glenn, enclosed are three pictures of a shortwave transmitter site south of Ft. Worth, TX on I-35W. In all my research I have not been able to find out what SW station this belongs to. A telephone call to KAIJ about this site to their main engineer proved to me this was not theirs, as their engineer told me their SW transmitter site is north of Dallas (Richard Swanson, San Antonio, May 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I have been on that highway not too long ago, and did not notice the towers, but judging from the photos, would be hard to miss now, immediately adjacent to the Interstate. A mileage sign next to them shows they are on the east side, 4 miles S of Burleson, 14 mi S of Ft Worth. At least seven towers have wires strung between them, meeting at least at two center points (multiple dipoles?) Perhaps someone will recognize this configuration, or this site. It`s certainly not a SW broadcasting station, but some government, military or commercial user (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 1680 "KJACK" AZ Flagstaff - 5/24 1550 EDT - Student radio station for Northern Arizona U. with mindless music. Slogan "K-Jack, the alternative" and "Student voice, student choice". Gets out very well. Seems like 10 watts with very clean audio. Thanks Doug Martin for tip (Tim R. Hall, visiting Flagstaff AZ, IRCA via DXLD) ** U S A [clandestine] Subject: UPR Freq change announced From: "Rafman©" rafman2u@yahoo.com Date: 5/29/01 10:45 PM Central Daylight Time Message-id: g1_Q6.116$S2.5637@newsread2.prod.itd.earthlink.net Col. Steve Anderson announced tonight during the LIVE "Militia Hour" that United Patriot Radio would stay on 6.900 USB & drop 3.260 USB as of Saturday 6/2/2001. He is getting tired of waiting, from the sounds of it. He wants to get it over with, isn't issuing any warnings. He did warn everyone to be "aware of your surroundings" & stressed staying in communications "using CB, FRS or 2 meters." (via John Norfolk, DXLD) {What is `it`?} ** U S A. Extension 720 on WGN, and http://www.wgnam.com THURSDAY 31ST MAY -- ``COMMIES`` 9:05-11 pm CDT = UT Friday June 1 0205-0400 Will Rogers once commented, "Communism is like prohibition, it`s a good idea but it won`t work." The political evolution of our guest, RONALD RADOSH, revealed to him the bitter truth of this statement. Radosh began his political life as a radical leftist and became a major radical activist in the 1960s. After much soul-searching and, perhaps more importantly, research, Radosh concluded that he and his allies on the left had been gravely mistaken, though, in the main, altruistically motivated. Radosh visits tonight to discuss his memoir COMMIES: A JOURNEY THROUGH THE OLD LEFT, THE NEW LEFT, AND THE LEFTOVER LEFT (via gh, DXLD) ** WESTERN SAHARA [non]. 7470 National Radio of Democratic Saharan Arab Republic (Cland). Tx site believed to be in neighbouring Algeria. Now on this NF ex 7357. Address in AA re Koran, good until off at 0659 5/5 (Charles Jones, Cataract Dam near Wollongong NSW, Australian DX News via DXLD). Nx 0648, ID 0652 to eventual s/off w/anthem 0700*, 17/5 (Craig Seager, NSW, ibid.) 7357, National Radio of the Saharan Democratic Republic (Cland). Back here ex 7470, ID 0647, AA mx, anthem & 0700*, 22/5 (Craig Seager, Bathurst NSW, Australia DX News via DXLD) Back and forth... Subject: Re: RASD and RTM, and het of ARG ! Hi, observed both programss last evening, between 2100 and 2200 UT. RTM Sebaa-Aioun [I guess] was on fundamental v7470.78 at 2110, and the harmonic of 14941.56. \\ was RTM Nador site 250 kW at 110 degrs on even 15345 21211, signal a little fraction of a second behind 7470. Nador was het by Argentina on odd 15344.89 !!! But cause of the RTM occupation of the 7 MHz frequencyy was 11 kHz away on even 7460.00 kHz, RASD with typical Western Sahara style program. 7470 was stronger today, 44444, and RASD 33333. 73 de wb df5sx (Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany, June 1, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** YUGOSLAVIA. Dear Glenn, I heard Radio Yugoslavia on frequency 6.100 at 18.30 UT on 28/5 and 27/5 with fair signal SIO 323 / 443. English news read by woman. Mentions transmission is for Europe and Australia. For full programme sked go to http://www.radioyu.org/schedule-nova.htm 73,s. (Costa Constantinides, Cyprus, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ZAMBIA. 9865, Christian Voice, Lusaka. Not reported in OZ previously on this daytime channel, fairly certain would be the one, UK accented religious format 0628, songs etc. Virtually faded by 30/5 [sic] (Craig Seager & John Schache 30/5/01, Limekilns NSW DXpedition, ARDXC via DXLD) ** ZIMBABWE [and non]. Radio Voice of the People - jamming From: rec.radio.shortwave Adrian J aj@iafrica.com I DX in Durban, South Africa on a Grundig Satellit 1400. Recently I have started listening to Radio "Voice of the People" on 7215 kHz from 1700 to around 1750 utc. There is some type of jamming taking place. This makes 'political' sense since the Zim government has a broadcast monopoly, and the opposing party MDC is unable to get domestic broadcast rights. Some internet research indicates that the Radio "Voice of the People" is emanating from the Radio Nederland facility at Valata [sic] in Madagascar on a 50 kW transmitter at a beam of 265 (i.e. straight at Zim). Info found at http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/schedule.html Further internet surfing reveals that Zimbabwe has main transmitter site at Gweru (South West of Harare about 400 kms). They have four 100 kW transmitters, and some smaller ones. Info at http://www.broadcast.be/co-zwe.html Can anyone explain how jamming is done? Do they use a power higher than the incoming transmitter? How to overcome it? Surely if there were more incoming broadcasts than the domestic government had transmitters, they would be overwhelmed? And does anyone have Zimbabwean reception reports? Is it audible in Zim? (adrian, rec.radio.shortwave via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ###