DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-135, September 27, 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] ** AFGHANISTAN. 7085, Voice of Shariah: Mahendra has sent along a recording of nx in English, made around 1535 UT Sep 25. "Jihad" is mentioned [:1.7 and :14.6], and at the end of the nx there is an ID as Voice of Sharia, Afghanistan [:49], "and after that . . . maybe war cry!" In a separate message already sent around, Mahendra noted that they were off since Sep 20, but heard today (Sep 25) at 1430 on 7085 with long speech my man in unknown lang., mentioned America, Musalman, Pakistan (many times). (Mahendra Vaghee, Mauritius, to DXplorer Sep 25 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Balk radio changes broadcasting times | Text of report by Afghan Taleban radio from Balkh Province on 26 September An announcement by the Radio Voice of Shari'ah [Radio Balkh]: Because of seasonal changes, the broadcasting time of the Radio Voice of Shari'ah will change from tomorrow, Thursday, 10 Rajab [Solar year, 27 September]. 1. The morning programmes which started at 0600 [local time, 0130 gmt] in the morning, will be broadcast at 0700 [0230 gmt] from tomorrow morning and will continue until 0900 [0430 gmt] in the morning. 2. The evening programme which used to start at 1800 [1330 gmt] in the evening, from tomorrow will start at 1700 [1230 gmt] and will continue until 1900 [1430 gmt] in the evening. 3. The Pashto and Dari news bulletins, which were broadcast at 1900 and 1930 [1430 and 1500 gmt] will be broadcast 2000 and 2030 [1530 and 1600 gmt] from tomorrow. Also, the news bulletins which were broadcast at 1900 and 2000 will be broadcast at 1800 and 1900 [1330 and 1430 gmt]. The other programmes are scheduled as before, dear listeners of the radio take note. [Balk radio broadcasts on 1584 kHz medium wave] Source: Radio Voice of Shari'ah of Balkh Province, Mazar-e Sharif, in Dari 1430 gmt 26 Sep 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Found this interesting article on BBC services to Afghanistan in Daily Telegraph of September 23rd: http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/09/23/wafg 223.xml (Mike Barraclough, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ARGENTINA Please, if you know some DX-List in Germany, RAE would appreciate very much your comments about the following item: RAE, Radiodifusión Argentina al Exterior is wanting a good time for use in the next period, the freq of 9690 kHz in 31 mb, with a power about 50 kW. Then, we must to know the best times for broadcasts to USA/Canada, and for Europe. Please, do not consider times between 0400-0900. Also, your suggestions for 6060 kHz will be considered, currently with about 50 kW, in use only by LRA1 at 0900-1200 (Gabriel Ivan Barrera, Argentina, barrera@arg.sicoar.com via BC-DX Sep 25 via DXLD) Im Frühsommer gab es eine ähnliche Anfrage wegen 15345, da habe ich betreffs Ausbreitung nach Europa, und fester Frequenz, nur den bestehenden Zeit- und Sprachdienstrahmen ab 1800 UT bestätigen können. Eventuell konnte RAE mit RTM Marokko die 15345 anders koordinieren. Für 9690 wäre 0400-0800 UT ja die beste Zeit, -- ja wenn die Techniker dann nicht in ihren Betten liegen würden [siehe unten], und Bukarest dort nicht zugange wäre ... und 6060 ??? 6060 ?? 1800-2230 Radio Schweden auf 6065 zugange, morgens auch Radio Schweden um 0500-0700 (Sonntags bis 1000), dann noch Spanien und Finnland auf 6055 kHz, wie soll das gehen ?! Bitte schreibt mal Gabriel Eure Meinung. Danke. 73 (wb df5sx, A-DX Liste via BCDX via DXLD) ** ARMENIA / U A E. Re BBC on 1314 kHz in Middle East "Bolshaya Zarya" DXLD 1-131: I can confirm that the antenna used in Armenia on 1314 kHz is the 2 km long high gain antenna which your correspondent referred to as a "Bolshaya Zarya" antenna. It points south, evidently at or very near 180 degrees true. I have not seen or heard the "Bolshaya Zarya" term for the antenna. I have pictures and some technical data on this antenna. If anyone has any additional technical data I would certainly be interested in seeing it. The antenna is fed by a transmitter which is allegedly 1 megawatt, but I suspect its actual output power is less. It is located at Kamo, Armenia, same very extensive site as the 1 Megawatt transmitter used by TWR on 864 and 1350 (Ben Dawson, USA (26/9-2001) via Ydun M. Ritz, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also U A E / ARMENIA... ** AUSTRIA. Danke für Eure Unterstützung für "Eine Stimme für Österreich". Nachdem im August die Sparmassnahmen des ORF für seinen Auslandsdienst R Österreich International bekannt wurden, rief ich hier spontan zur Aktion "Eine Stimme für Oesterreich" auf, mit der die Verantwortlichen ein Lebenszeichen der Hörer bekommen sollten. Diese kleine Internetaktion, die auch von den grossen deutschsprachigen Hörerklubs ADDX und AGDX unterstützt wurde, erreichte eine ungeahnte Wirkung. Tausende (!) eMails und Postkarten meines PDF-Files trafen beim ORF ein, grosse internationale Rundfunkdienste wie R Netherland, die Voice of America, R Schweden und andere Auslandssender berichteten über diese Aktion ebenso wie zahlreiche Newsdienste im Internet und Tageszeitungen im In- und Ausland. Die Salzburger Nachrichten, eine der grossen österreichischen Tageszeitungen berichtete beispielsweise prominent auf Seite 2 in grosser Aufmachung über "Den Aufstand der ROI Hörer". Und dafür möchte ich mich bedanken. Wir Hörer haben den Entscheidungsträgern des österreichischen Rundfunks UNSERE STIMME FÜR RADIO ÖSTERREICH INTERNATIONAL gegeben und somit auch zur jetzt getroffenen Entscheidung die deutschsprachigen Programme in wenig veränderter Form fortzusetzen beigetragen, auch wenn hier noch einige Dinge im Unklaren liegen, wird es weiterhin einen eigenständigen internationalen Auslandsdienst aus Österreich geben. Dafür ein herzlichen Dankeschön (Christoph Ratzer, A-DX Mailing-Liste via BCDX Sept 28 via DXLD) ** BIAFRA [non] Subject : Update on Voice of Biafra International Hello everyone! I just discovered that the clandestine broadcaster VOICE OF BIAFRA INTERNATIONAL now has a new web page at http://www.biafraland.com/vobi.htm At this address you can also listen to their weekly programmes. I also noticed from the VOBI web page and from other reports that my ears had earlier heard the postal address announced on shortwave inaccurately - instead of "3700" it turned out to be "Suite 700". Sorry! The complete correct postal address and other information is copied below from the VOBI web page. 73 de (Mika Palo, Tomar, Portugal, Sept 27, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ---------- Voice of Biafra International (VOBI) A SHORTWAVE Radio Broadcast Service. A project of Biafra Foundation, Ekwe Nche and Biafra Actualization Forum. The goal of VOBI is to provide and disseminate news and information of relevance and pressing import to Igbo-Biafra, and to the rest of the world, using SHORTWAVE Radio.. On September 1, 2001, the maiden broadcast was made. --------------------------------------------------------- Please support VOBI. Send contributions and donations to: Voice Of Biafra International 733 15th St NW Suite 700 Washington DC 20005 PH: 202 347-2983. E-mail: biafrafoundation@yahoo.com (via Mika Palo, Portugal, Sept 27, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Where you been? We resolved the Suite 700 address weeks ago by listening carefully to the announcement. I noticed another major DX bulletin neglected to publish this correxion, but instead all the ``3700`` mishearings (gh, DXLD) ** BRAZIL. 4785.08 Radio Caiari 0857-0928 Sept 27, Sign-on ID over "Brazil" instrumental, canned ID's, ads, ballads. Good signal. 4824.99 Radio Educadora 0902 Sept 27, Sign-on ID into live announcer, Portuguese pops, weak audio, good signal (Mark Mohrmann, VT, DX Listening Digest) ** CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC. 6100 R Centrafrique, Bangui heard at 1841-1900* in Vernacular airing an Afropops px, frequent French IDs. 53443 w/ adjacent QRM only (Carlos L.R. de Assunçăo Gonçalves, Portugal, Sep 24, BC-DX via DXLD) ** CHINA / U S A. http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,47017,00.html China Quietly Unblocks U.S. Sites By Steve Friess 2:00 a.m. Sep. 21, 2001 PDT BEIJING -- Chinese Internet censors quietly unblocked several major U.S. media websites this week in a surprise move that one Chinese expert said may have been prompted by a demand for news about the U.S. terrorist attacks. The change grants China's Web-using public access to the previously unviewable sites of The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Boston Globe, which were blocked as recently as Sunday. It was unclear exactly what day the unblocking occurred. Among those still blocked are the sites of CNN, Voice of America, Time magazine and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as well as a slew of Western human rights groups including Amnesty International. China unblocked The New York Times site in August. While the government has not stated why, the Times itself reported in passing in a story on proxy servers that the change happened as a result of the paper's top editors and reporters raising the issue during a July interview with Chinese President Jiang Zemin. An official at the Ministry of Public Security, which oversees Internet control, refused to discuss why it blocks or unblocks any sites. Yet one key Chinese expert said the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on the United States may have provided the impetus. "Opening such websites is a statement that the Chinese government wants to allow people to get true access to the information about this," said Zhu Feng, director of the international security program at Peking University in Beijing. "It is a constructive action my government took at this critical time because they feel people have a right to know what is going on around the terror attacks." Western observers were skeptical, though, noting that most Chinese people can't read English anyway. "I wonder how many people really look for news in English on the Internet in China," said Sophia Woodman, research director for the New York-based group Human Rights in China. "The point of opening these sites may not have anything to do with domestic expression so much as getting China better press internationally." Bureau chiefs for the affected sites were unaware of the change, because most have been consumed in recent weeks by news of the Sept. 11 suicide attacks. Despite the switch, it remains impossible on even the unblocked media sites to search terms such as Falun Gong, the banned spiritual movement targeted by the government here as a cult, or Taiwan, the breakaway province China insists is still a part of its territory. Additionally, searching such terms on engines such as Yahoo and Google yield errors either during the search or in attempts to access the sites that are found. Yet critical articles about China are easy to locate on those websites if they are top news of the day or if other search words are entered. A search for "Jiang Zemin" on the San Francisco Chronicle's site, for example, found a biting satire by columnist Jon Carroll on Aug. 14 mocking the Chinese president's answers in the July Times interview. The United States has taken an increasing interest in helping the Chinese people overcome the censors. California's Safeweb, which creates technology to circumvent such blocks, received $1 million from the CIA via a venture capital firm it uses to fund startups working with intelligence-related technology. And Congress last year allocated $800,000 for Voice of America's Internet news operations in an effort to boost VOA's ability to reach the Chinese people. The Chinese censors are savvy, though, blocking proxy servers when necessary and keeping on top of new ways to get to blocked sites. Earlier this year, for instance, users could read CNN.com by going to Europe.CNN.com, but that was halted in February. The continued blocking of the Atlanta news service may reflect the unevenness of the government's site-blocking efforts. Even before the Times was unblocked, for example, Internet users could read much of the paper -- including stories on China -- through Yahoo's New York Times section. And the International Herald Tribune, an overseas collaboration that chiefly reprints New York Times and Washington Post stories, was accessible. Furthermore, a lot of syndicated content from the blocked sites, including anti-China commentaries, could be found on a host of other Western media sites that were never blocked. Among those outlets were the United States' two largest dailies, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal, as well as the Chicago Tribune and ABCNews.com. Reporters from those publications often joke that their goal, in fact, is to get blocked. "In The New York Times case, it takes the top leaders to unblock it, which makes me wonder whether it's a totally thought-out censorship system," said CNN's Beijing bureau chief Jaime FlorCruz. "It has a very erratic nature. Sometimes I attribute that to an ad hoc approach to censorship. It's almost a bungling erratic approach. There's no rhyme or reason." Copyright © 1994-2001 Wired Digital Inc. All rights reserved (via Tom Roche, DXLD) In the Chinese doghouse: Authorities lifted a ban on the BBC, but not for long, writes John Gittings, The Guardian - United Kingdom; Sep 27, 2001 Britain has appealed to China to lift its ban on internet access to the BBC website, but the rules under which Beijing blocks a number of foreign media sites remain as obscure as ever. Access to http://www.bbc.co.uk, blocked for several years, was lifted for a day last week and then re-blocked. At least four previously unviewable US media sites were 'liberated' at the same time. Denis McShane, the Foreign Office's parliamentary under-secretary responsible for Asian affairs, who was visiting Beijing at the time, has appealed to China to end the BBC ban. He raised the problem while discussing the international crisis with vice foreign minister Wang Guangya. 'I logged on to AOL,' he told Wang, 'to send a birthday greeting to my daughter, and then tried to call up the BBC site. I was very surprised to find it blocked - although I had no difficulty accessing the New York Times.' Wang said he would look into it - the standard reply given to British protests. The ban on the New York Times was lifted last month, after the issue had been raised in July by the paper's editors during an interview with President Jiang Zemin. President Jiang also professed ignorance and said he would look into the matter. China's Ministry of Public Security, responsible for internet control, has never commented on why it blocks foreign websites. Some observers have suggested that the ministry enforces the ban partly to embarrass the more outgoing Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Another theory is that a token selection of foreign media are blocked to satisfy old-guard Communist Party leaders who have no idea of the potential number. Proxy servers are widely used in China but the more popular ones are also liable to become blocked. A more practical reason for blocking the BBC site is that it allows access to both text and audio versions of its Chinese-language service. Other sites appear to be blocked because they are well known and carry a larger volume of China-related material. The four US sites unblocked on or around September 19 - at the same time the BBC became temporarily accessible - included the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Boston Globe. A week later, the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times could not be accessed, but the other two papers remained free. Last week's temporary lifting, one diplomat suggested, could be a trial run for a more general easing next month when a big Asia- Pacific conference is held in Shanghai - with President Bush scheduled to attend. There have been similar variations previously in the list of blocked foreign media, particularly during 1998 when Bill Clinton visited China. The high-profile Voice of America, CNN and Time magazine and most human rights organisations including Amnesty International stay permanently in the Chinese webdog-house. In another example of haphazard Chinese blocking, the banned Falun Gong religious sect cannot be searched for either under this name or under the related name of Falun Dafa. However, the name of its controversial founder, Li Hongzhi, for whom China has unsuccessfully sought an Interpol warrant, is unblocked. Articles on the Falun Gong can be located easily on the official People's Daily and other Chinese media websites. And what about other British media websites? One must hope it is not tempting fate to draw attention to their accessibility now. All Material Subject to Copyright (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** CONGO DR. 6713.2, R Bukavu, Aug 19-Sep 9, *0300-0601 and 1827- 1838, but was off at 2200. Swahili talks about the events in Congo. Interview of young people who might have been recruits. No ID's heard on top of the hour or half past the hour. Poor reception in Central Uganda like 13221. 6828.2, R Bunia, Bunia, Aug 19-Sep 8, 0603-0610 and 1755-1839, Lingala and a local Vernacular talks. No ID on top of the hour. Audio is rather distorted and it is barely audible in Central Uganda (Samuel Casio, Uganda, DSWCI, DXW Sep 26, via BC-DX via DXLD) Not to be confused with the Samuel Cassio in Brazil...? (gh) ** CUBA. CLANDESTINE from USA to CUBA 7315 La Voz de Fundacion regarding the demise of this one on shortwave; apparently, the Cuban jammer guys don't read the Miami Herald :) as they were still jamming away at 0006 on Sep 25 as WHRI played music instead of La Voz. WHRI schedule now listed as news at 0000 followed by music. 9955 [via WRMI] La Voz de Fundación, also jamming here against dead air at 1137 (Hans Johnson, WY, Sep 25, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. CLANDESTINE from USA to CUBA - CANF's VOICE TO CUBA MUTED Officials pondering alternative to short-wave transmissions to dissidents, BY ELAINE DE VALLE Two months after Ninoska Pérez Castellón left the Cuban American National Foundation over the fate of her shortwave radio transmissions, leaders at the influential lobby have pulled the plug on La Voz de la Fundación. ``They came to the office to say it was being closed, that it was the last day we would be transmitting to Cuba,'' said Ileana Curra, who has worked there since 1998, recording interviews with dissidents and independent journalists for later broadcast. ``I can get another job. What worries me is those who oppose the government in Cuba,'' said Curra. ``They are more repressed than ever today and now they have no voice. Nobody will hear them.'' But CANF Executive Director Joe Garcia said the group had not turned its back on island dissidents and that the Voice of the Foundation would still exist -- just not on shortwave. He declined to give details about other venues. ``There are other alternatives to reaching Cuba, and we're going to try to exploit all those alternatives,'' García said. Other sources said the foundation may try to buy airtime on AM radio stations that reach Cuba and will transmit a daily news program with the same The Voice of the Foundation name. The shutdown of the shortwave arm of the foundation, which began broadcasting in 1989, comes as the foundation struggles to redefine its role in Miami's exile community after the public departure of at least 20 board members. They resigned last month saying they disagreed with the organization's direction after Jorge Mas Santos took over the reins when his father, founder Jorge Mas Canosa, died from cancer in 1997. The split was over issues like Mas' support of the Latin Grammys move to Miami -- subsequently switched back to Las [sic] Ángeles and scratched after the terrorist attacks on the nation -- his ``dictatorial'' style and control over the organization's funds. Members said the group has deviated from its principles, and its mission. Although Pérez Castellón had cited the decision to stop or decrease transmissions as the main reason for her resignation July 19 -- a decision García and other leaders denied at the time -- she did not feel vindicated. ``This is not the kind of situation where you can feel good about being right,'' Pérez said. ``It hurts so much, and it's worse that they did it on the day of Jorge Mas Canosa's birthday,'' she said. ``This project meant so much to him. They have destroyed the labor of Jorge Mas Canosa and so many other men and women who dedicated their lives to the foundation.'' García said the decision was made after much consideration. ``It's something we had a committee working on for quite a while. It was simply not effective for such a huge use of resources, and we decided we had to move to another format.'' The shortwave radio branch cost the organization between $500,000 and $600,000 a year, García said, including salaries, office space, equipment, long distance telephone calls to Cuba and the transmissions themselves. ``We shouldn't be pouring good money after bad,'' Garcia said, explaining that the transmissions were not getting through to much of Cuba and not at all to Havana. ``It's being jammed. It has a very small audience in the last two years. And therefore we need to engage our resources in things that are effective.'' The election of President Bush helped leaders reach the decision, he added. ``We feel very confident about the leadership at TV and Radio Martí and the fact that this administration is very committed to getting information into Cuba, and that affects how we use the Voice and its resources,'' García said. ``We need to make sure that when we're doing things, it shouldn't be duplicative or repetitive and it should be effective. García said the foundation needs to dedicate resources to projects that are having an effect in Cuba: legislative work, lobbying work and publications. The Voice of the Foundation was once ``a very effective tool,'' García said, before the Cuban government began interrupting transmissions. ``In the last two years, we have dedicated a number of resources and we increased staff. We made more phone calls to Cuba than ever before. But it was not being as effective as it should be for that kind of expenditure. It's a major, major expense. Pérez said it was untrue that the transmissions had stopped reaching an audience. ``That is a lie. He doesn't know how to measure the audience nor has he ever tried. We were reaching people and, more important, we gave the Cuban people a voice,'' Pérez said, adding that it was not wise to count on future transmissions by Radio Martí. Curra said she believed the decision was financially motivated because her last two paychecks from the Jorge Mas Canosa Freedom Foundation had bounced. The $16,000-a-year employee said the foundation then paid her in cash for the first check and she expected the same for the second. The last check will come next Friday for her and the other employees, who were paid on the 15th and 30th of the month. García said that of seven employees, only Ómar López Montenegro, who was the voice on the Voice since the day Pérez Castellón left, would stay on. ``Omar works also on human rights and other issues related to the foundation,'' García said (via Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** CZECH REPUBLIC. Minister confirms security around Radio Free Europe stepped up | Excerpt from report in English by Czech news agency CTK Prague, 27 September: Four armoured carriers will guard the Radio Free Europe building in Prague's centre from noon today, Interior Minister Stanislav Gross told journalists after a meeting of the Inter-Ministerial emergency committee today. The safety measures will also affect traffic around the building. "We cannot underestimate the possibility of an attack on the Radio Free Europe compound," Gross said. One lane of the main road around the building will be used by the police to stop and check the passing cars, he added. The lane will be separated by concrete blocks, police chief Jaroslav Kolar said. "The barriers are to prevent a car or any other vehicle from getting into the immediate vicinity of the building," Kolar said. Along with the police, who are already guarding the compound, paratroopers from the rapid deployment brigade will be used. Chief of Staff Jiri Sedivy said that the armoured carriers had left for Prague from the south Moravian town of Hodonin and were to reach their destination at 2-3 p.m. [1200-1300 gmt]... "The place in Prague's centre is a critical place in terms of traffic and movement of people. In this moment we want to minimize the risks," Gross said. The police started guarding the buildings of US and other institutions after the terrorist attacks in the USA on 11 September 11. The Czech Republic has said that it will join the struggle against terrorism... Source: CTK news agency, Prague, in English 1214 gmt 27 Sep 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** ECUADOR [non]. Glenn, By publishing quotes from the Hard Core DX Mailing List out of chronological order you have given the impression (inadvertent, I'm sure) that I am the 'Andy' being addressed by Björn Fransson in the quote [about QSLing] that appears after mine. It looks as if he is replying to me, when in fact it was the other way round. The person he was addressing is Andy Schmid. I would appreciate a clarification in the next edition. Thanks. 73, (Andy (Sennitt) DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EQUATORIAL GUINEA. 7189.7, R Africa at 2147. Presumed this one with sermon in English (heard a "Hallelujah!" or two). Terrible slop from Deutsche Welle on 7185; finally wiped out at 2156 by V of Turkey 7190 s-on (Bob Hill, MA, DXplorer Sep 19 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** ESTONIA. According to your request about more information of the tx on 1035 kHz, we would like to informe you in following: location Tartu (not Laitse, as mentioned in your e-mail) geographic co-ordinates 58N2503; 27E0600 programm SEMEINOJE RADIO (Christian program in Russian) owner Tartu Family Radio Corpor address Annemoisa 8, Tartu, ESTONIA phone +372 7488 458 mr Paavo Pihlak e-mail paavo@pereraadio.ee (Birgit Valgma, Specialist of the Radio Permits Office, Estonian National Communications Board, +372 693 1178 via Bengt Ericson, Sweden, BC-DX Sep 26 via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. 2960, RRI Manggarai (Presumed). Audible the last two days. No ID noted over the top of 1300 or at any other time. Decent level on music, poor on speech. Nice to at least hear them again. (Hans Johnson, WY, Sep 21/22) 1212-1230 F with News feed in BI, parallel with other RRI. (Nelson, Sep 21) 1227-1300 Excellent strength with Local anncr and music. SCI at ToH (Don Nelson, OR, Sep 23, all Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** INDONESIA. Up-to-date list of Aug 28th-Sep 3rd: Signing-on time in UT for morning programs, some noted with IS by s- on: 3214.9 RRI Manado 2130 3264.7 RRI Gorontalo 2100 3325 RRI Palangaraya 2158 3344.8 RRI Ternate v2000 v3960.1 RRI Palu presumably s-on 2030, strong QRM by KRE at 2132. 3976 RRI Pointianak 2200 4000 RRI Kendari 2100 4003.1 RRI Padang 2155 4606.4 RRI ? sporadic txions here, can't find out s-on time. 4753.3 RRI Makassar 2130, at about 2300 \\ 9553.2. 4777.1 RRI Jakarta \\ 9554.2, s-on approx. 1800, mornings only. 4874.6 RRI Sorong varying 2125 ... 2140. 4925 RRI Jambi 2155. 9741.7 RRI Sorong, very weak, ID, 25332, -0758*. 9552.3 RRI Makassar, very weak on Sept 15th, like Sorong. Signing-on time in UT for evening programs, from 1000 UT onwards: 2899.1 RPDT2 Ngada only carrier, best from 1130 UT onwards. 2960.1 RRI Manggarai fade-in at 1100, til 1345* 3214.9 RRI Manado s-off at 1248* 3264.7 RRI Gorontalo 3325 RRI Palangaraya 3344.8 RRI Ternate 3355.4 RRI Jambi. \\ 4925, around past 1200 UT, if PNG s-off. 3904.96 RRI Merauke again active, at 1113 ID, 1200 Jakarta relay, nx til 1225, National song "Programa Satu", RRI Merauke ID, 35433 at 1205 UT Sep 18th. v3960.1 RRI Palu, S=9 +20/30 dB at 1240. 3976 RRI Pointianak, S=9 +40 dB at 1355. 4000 RRI Kendari again active, 34433 at 1402. 4003.1 RRI Padang 4606.4 RRI Serui , sporadic active, \\ 7171.43 from approx. 0730 past 1200 UT. v4753.3 RRI Makassar 4789.1 RRI Fak Fak 4855.4 spurious signal of RRI Sorong, 4874.6, take care. 4874.6 RRI Sorong -1230* 4925 RRI Jambi, S=9 +30 dB. \\ 3355.5, latter past 1200, if PNG is s-off. v6069.7 RRI Jayapura, around 0900-1000, irregular heard in August. 6153.4 RRI Biak, sporadic active. 7171.43 RRI Serui, fade-in 0730 .. til 0812*, on Sep 2nd extended past 1200 UT. 9525 V of Indonesia, /0800-0900 English 9741.7 RRI Sorong -0800*, difficult reception, spoilt QRM. 11760 & 15125 RRI Jakarta. 15150 VOI, 1800 German. v3015, an unID Indonesioan, at 1145 UT, small talks in BI, 1200-1230 relay of RRI Jakarta "Warta Berita", then again local program. Sports report on "Malaysian-Asian sports games" from K-L. At 1300 economic nx relay from RRI Jakarta, s-off 1315 on Sep 8th, 24332, very bad modulation. Again heard on Sept 14th from 1120 UT onwards, but silent at 1220. Not heard between Sep 9-13. No positive ID. But, if I compare the modulation characteristics, is like v3160 RSPDT2 Halmahera Tengah, Soasio. +/-3602 fade in past 1500 UT, an Indonesian pirate relay a 7Hpx[?] in AM modulation, at 1200 relay RRI Jakarta "Warta Berita", a lot of Dangdut mx, mentioned "FM Dua", also presumably "RRI Cirebon" - this stn was many years active in the 120 mb. 34532, modulation problems. Stn heard again Sep 5th to 9th. Now inactive again (Roland Schulze, Philippines, Sep 16, BC-DX Sept 28 via DXLD) ** IRAN. I have been following Mr. Figliozzi's lead and listening to VOIRI nightly since 11 September. I am hearing another Middle Eastern type of station on the same frequencies as VOIRI, sounding almost like a Koranic chant background to the VOIRI programming. I believe it sounds like the same station on all three VOIRI frequencies, at least for the 0030-0100 English transmission; that is 9022//9835//11970. What am I hearing? (Scott Walker, New Cumberland, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania USA, Sept 26, swprograms via DXLD) Without having heard it, my guess: cross-modulation in the VOIRI audio input from another of their programs, especially if it is really identical and parallel. BTW, from previous discussions, I gather it is politically incorrect to refer to `chanting` the Qur`an. Say ``recitation``. BTW2, those who would like to express solidarity with Islam may use a USPS stamp which came up quite by chance when I was getting some commemoratives, a 34 center celebrating EID Greetings, with some Arabic calligraphy, currently available (gh, ibid.) ** IRAN [non]. 9/26, V of Mohajed, 10220-10260 kHz at 1432, SIO 333, Jammed intermittently then would skip to a different freq; never heard this one here [before] (Patrick Buckingham, Northern California, JRC NRD 535D, Wellbrook K9AY Wellbrook ALA 1530 200 foot "Urban" Beverage, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. This should be the correct English schedule now: 0500-0515 9435, 15640, 17545 1130-1135 15640, 17545 1700-1730 15615, 17545 2000-2025 11605, 15615, 15640, 17545 (Daniel Sampson, Prime Time Shortwave, via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. Galei Zahal at 1000 UT Hebrew nx on v15785.25, wandering few Hertz during 20 minutes check (Wolfgang Bueschel-D, BC-DX Sep 23 via DXLD) ** ITALY. - RADIO SPERANZA: A GNAT AMONG EAGLES by Giampiero Bernardini, writer, Avvenire, the Italian Catholic daily. From the May 27, 2001, issue. Ó Copyright 2001 by Avvenire, and translated and reprinted with the permission of the author. Modena, May 27 (Avvenire)- In the epoch of globalization and concentration in the sector of the mass media there is still space for the small. Nonpowerful voices but capable of touching the heart and the intelligence. It was 25 years ago, in that pioneering time of private radio, that in Modena a station was born, Radio Speranza, which has a characteristic that renders it special in the panorama of national stations: It is the only Italian Catholic Radio station that broadcasts on shortwave, on the frequency of 6231.5 kHz. "It began at home, with few means and a cassette player," recalls the founder and director, Father Luigi Cordioli, a Redemptorist who wears his 82 years with enthusiasm. Today I have 4 FM repeaters that permit me to cover the Province of Modena and Reggio Emilia. Besides this, every morning from 7 until 8 o'clock we are on the air with two television programs from Telestudio Modena and Studio Europa, a satellite channel received all over Europe. More appropriate in these days," he continued, "another initiative is taking off- the Internet site of Radio Speranza. We are archiving 1,600 hours of audio material and it will be possible to listen to the broadcasts directly" (That website is up and running at http://www.radiosperanza.com -editor). The flower in the lapel of his small but efficient multimedia holding is nevertheless the presence on shortwave, a field forgotten by Catholics in Europe, the exceptions being, naturally, RadioVaticana, comparable to a "battleship," and the dynamic Radio Maria Polska. The Modena station transmits with a power rather reduced, 100 watts, nothing in comparison with the radio broadcasting colossi "firing out" kilowatt and kilowatt. The antenna is a simple dipole, in practice a simple wire attached to a pole. The technical staff is composed of only two volunteers, Roberto Barbolini and Alessandro Cavicchioli. These are really poor means, but Radio Speranza con count on faithful listeners in various countries. Many letters have come from northern Europe, but also from South Africa, from the Far East and Siberia. Padre Cordiolli remembers one in particular: that one arrived from Peking with a photo of four Asian young men who are listeners. "I have thought of testing a shortwave transmitter also to try and cover so large a territory without repeaters," explains the religious. "It has cost me a lot of work, but when one speaks of spreading the Good News I believe it is worth the trouble, no matter how few or how many are the listeners." Database Modena, Italy: Radio Speranza, on 4 FM transmitters and 6231.5 kHz shortwave (100 watts). Padre L. Cordio, CSSR, director. Largo S. Giorgio, 91; 41100 Modena, Italy. Tel. & Fax: 059.23.03.73. E-mail: radiosperanza@speranza.com Website: http://www.radiosperanza.com. Audiostreams on Internet. Founded 1976 (Mike Dorner via Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX Sept 27 via DXLD) ** JAPAN. Radio Tampa. Como ustedes recordarán en el anterior número, les presenté el siguiente reporte: Japón. 9.595 kHz. Radio Tampa: captada entre las 1110 y 1140 UTC el 23 de Agosto, con programación en idioma japonés así como con algunas canciones de carácter clásico. SINPO de 33333. (JGR). Bueno, gracias a un e-mail que le envié a la emisora un día después de haberla escuchado, conteniendo el correspondiente informe de recepción, en menos de un mes pudimos confirmar a la única emisora comercial japonesa que transmite a través de la onda corta. Se trata de Radio Tampa, la cual fue fundada el 27 de Agosto de 1954 con el objetivo de promover el entendimiento y la buena voluntad entre la gente. La misma tiene en estos momentos seis frecuencias en operación, difundidas en dos servicios: Programa 1 y Programa 2. El primero transmite 140 horas por semana, y el segundo 2,98 [sic – debe ser 49 por el esquema abajo –gh] horas. Emite con un transmisor de 50 kilowatios de potencia, permitiéndole cubrir en su totalidad todo el archipiélago japonés, incluso más allá cuando las condiciones se las permite. Radio Tampa ofrece a su audiencia, una balanceada programación representada básicamente en: educación, entretenimiento, deportes y música. El Programa 1 sale al aire diariamente entre las 2020 UTC hasta 0100 horas, y de 0800 a 1500, en las frecuencias de: 3925, 6055 y 9595. El Programa 2 va desde las 2300 a 01, y de 0800 a 13 horas por las frecuencias de: 3945, 6115 y 9760 kHz. Aunque esta emisora emite solamente en idioma japonés, no hay problemas para confirmarla enviándole el informe de recepción a la siguiente dirección: Radio Tampa. 9-15, Akasaka 1 Chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo. Japan. Su e-mail es: web@tampa.co.jp --EDITOR DX (Jorge García Rangel, Venezuela, Banda Tropical, Club Diexistas de la Amistad via DXLD) ** KURDISTAN [non]. CLANDESTINE from SITES to IRAN/IRAQ Some sign-on times of Middle East clandestine stations: *0157 Voice of Kurdistan Toilers on 4250 kHz *0215 Voice of Iranian Kurdistan on 3985 kHz *0245 Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan on 7090 kHz *0255 Voice of the Iraqi People on 3897v and 5890 kHz (Robert Petraitis, Lithuania, via Mathias Kropf via Hans Johnson, Cumbre DX Sept 27 via DXLD) ** LIBYA. 17725, Radio Tripoli, 2330 Sept 24, "Voice of Africa" with nx EG with reports about Afghanistan, Pakistan, former Soviet states surrounding Afghanistan plan to participate with US, US military action imminent against Taliban, mention of Taliban's oppression against Afghani people, repeated st id; into FR at 2345 // 15415 inaudible due to cochannel QRM (David Martin, GA, Cumbre DX via DXLD) So, only you are calling it Radio Tripoli? ** NIGERIA. Glenn, as I predicted earlier this week, Radio Nigeria Kaduna on 4770 kHz is on extended schedule tonight covering the Semi Final match between Nigeria and Burkina Faso. 73's (Graham Powell, Wales, Sept 27-28, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Definitely a signal there at 0039 check UT Sept 28, but I cannot summon up any interest to try to listen to a broadcast about such a stupid subject. I left a rx on it, however, and noticed a slight improvement during the hour until 0129* (gh, DXLD) ** NIGERIA. 16 set 2001 7255 // 7275 - 0531 - VO Nigeria - EE, nx OM, 'first the news about Nigeria, call for peace, Zimbabwe ...", YL abt economy nx - 54455 (Al Archangelo, PY2ZX, Brazil, radioescutas via DXLD) 7275 previously reported as Kaduna. Would not expect it to be parallel to the external service on 7255 (gh, DXLD) ** NORWAY. Glenn: Regarding the Hard Core DX UKE senderen item I found this information on the webpage (Mike Barraclough, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UKE senderen 2001 feedback: We are very interested in feedback, especially on SW and MW. Send e-mail to ark-ukesender@stud.ntnu.no and include frequency, time heard, your location and anything else you would like to say about UKEsenderen. For a QSL-card, please send your report to UKEsenderen 01 c/o ARK Elgesetergt. 1 N-7030 TRONDHEIM NORWAY (via Barraclough, DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. 17520 \\ 21460 R. Pakistan. I noted news in the Eastern Balochi before the English news bulletin for the past 3 days now. It is not customary for the station to have newscasts in minority languages. I relate this to the news that there was a huge stream of refugees coming from Afghanistan not only to Peshawar but also to Quetta (Balochistan). It may be that those (presumably Balochis) from Afghanistan were the target. As to the time of the English news, over this week I noted them at 1100 as well as at 1055. On Thursday, Sept. 20, RP signed off well before 1100. Also, on Thursday and Friday, I didn't hear any mention of "Alami Service" (International Sce.) in the Urdu IDs. It may be that it was the domestic service relayed (Christian Mocanu, Romania, Sep 21, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. 7100, Even co-channel with Eritrea at 1700 the reception was much better that s-on at 0123 UT. The program at s-on was mostly religious and could easily taken for V. of Sharia as the religious chant [sic] was the same format (without musical instrument). Not sure due to bad reception but I think the (religious program was) \\ to 5027. anyway I will check it again (Mahendra Vaghjee, Mauritius, DXplorer, Sep 23 via BC-DX via DXLD) I checked this again on Sep 23 when it signed on at 0123 and signed off at 0217 on 7099.87, 22332 with HAM QRM. It appeared to be R Pakistan in Urdu on a new freq and heard \\ Islamabad on 15485 (15332) with its Foreign sce. At 0200 the usual Typewriter signature was heard followed by ID. The program mostly consisted of talks about the Taleban, Bin Laden and Pakistan and monotonous chanting. R Voice of Shari'ah was off the air around 7087 (Anker Petersen, Denmark, DSWCI DX Window, Sep 23 via BC-DX via DXLD) ** PALAU. 13590 (Cumbre DX correction) High Adventure. My mistake, I assumed that this service was via Palau, it is not. This is their China Beacon service and I am trying to get confirmation on where this is coming from. Some at High Adventure said Germany, someone else said Russia. Many thanks to Ian Cattermole, who contacted High Adventure- Palau and confirmed that 13590 is not coming from Palau. Ian also received a nice letter from that included the following: Station Name: High Adventure Ministries, Palau Station Call Sign: T8BZ Address: P.O. Box 66, Koror PW 96940, Republic of Palau Telephone: (680) 488-2162, Fax (680) 488-2163 Email: hamadmin@palaunet.com Website: To be announced Chief Engineer: Bentley Chan bentchan@hotmail.com Transmitters: RCA HBF-100B, Harris SW-100 Location of Transmission Station: Medorm, Aimeliik State, Republic of Palau Transmission Station Coordinates: 144.42 east, 13.28 north Broadcasting Schedule (changes expected): Frequency (KHz) Antenna Direction UTC Language Program 15725 270 degrees 0900-1000 Vietnamese Vietnamese Christian Program 15725 270 degrees 1000-1100 Indonesian Indonesian Christian Program 12160 270 degrees 1200-1300 Vietnamese Vietnamese Christian Program (Test) 9965 318 degrees 1030-1500 Mandarin Chinese Chinese Christian Programs (via Cattermole, NZ, Sep 26, Cumbre DX via DXLD) I talked to High Adventure Ministries about their current involvement in Palau. It seems that the Chinese Church that was reported to have purchased the station a few months ago is handling a lot of the station's affairs now, but that High Adventure can still place programming there (Hans Johnson, Sep 27, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** PERU. 5995.27, Radio Melodía, 0925 Sept 27, Announcements, announcer with long talk. Female voiced canned time checks every minute over program. 0939 ``Radio Melodia`` jingle, into ads. Fair signal. 6816.79, La Voz de las Huarinjas, 0959 Sept 27, Announcer with ID over Andean instrumental. Weak signal but in the clear (Mark Mohrmann, VT, DX Listening Digest) ** RUSSIA. Awoke at 1040 UT Sept 27 so tuned around during disturbed propagation conditions. Some low-latitude signals were fluttery, but rock-steady and totally in the clear was high-latitude Yuzho- Sakhalinsk on 11840-USB, in Russian with a dramatic reading, complemented by music. Perhaps a classic children`s story, from the sound of it (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOLOMON ISLANDS. 5019.91, SIBS, 0739-0820 Sept 20, Excellent strength with local islands guitar music (with vocals) into ID at Toh and news in EE by M after 0800. At 0816 there was a very interesting ad for a kitchen mixer. Solomon Islands always has great ads -- I kept listening for the "IBM construction company -- IBM, a name you can trust" but came up empty this evening (Don Nelson, OR, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** SUDAN. 7200, R Omdurman 0150 Sept 20, jaunty IS on xylophone-like instrument played over and over (and over and over); pips at 0200 and ID in Arabic. Fair amid high QRN levels (Bob Hill, MA, DXplorer via BC-DX via DXLD) ** SYRIA. R. Damascus, 13610 at 2124 Sept 22, Arabic song, nx or commentary on US actions against terrorism, followed by a song by Whitney Houston. Good level but poor audio quality (Harold Sellers, Ont., DXplorer Sep 22 [not ODXA!] via BC-DX via DXLD) ** THAILAND. For some reason, the IBB technical schedule has been incorrect about the schedule of Ayutthaya 1575 kHz for at least a year now. I haven't checked the full schedule foe 1575 within the last couple of weeks, but I don't expect there will have been any changes. Radio Saranrom, operated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Thai Govt (abbreviated RTG in the IBB sched) now operates entirely in the Thai language for Thais abroad, at the following UT days/times: Sun-Thurs 2230-2400, Mon- Fri 1030-1130, Mon-Fri 1200-1230, Mon-Fri 1500-1530. (Saranrom Palace in Bangkok used to be the location of the Ministry, and I think it still belongs to them, hence the name). At weekends VOA in English is carried on 1575 at these times, except that the tx signs on at 1100 on Sat-Sun instead of 1030. It's usually News Now, but my possibly incorrect recollection is that Special En is carried Sat-Sun 1500-1600 (Alan Davies, Malaysia, Sep 25, BC-DX via DXLD) ** UKRAINE. Glenn, RUI is experiencing intermittent tx problems where the signal goes off and comes back. If anyone hears the tx problems, please inform (providing usual info -- time, date, frequency, duration) Alexander Yegorov of RUI at egorov@nrcu.gov.ua I heard 2 during the September 27, 2001 bc on 12040 from 0000 to 0059 UT. First was at 0016 UT. Back on at 0017 UT, but no audio. Audio returned a few seconds later. Second was at 0034 UT. Signal back on with audio in 30 seconds. Thanks. 73, (-.. . Kraig, KG4LAC, Krist, Sept 27, DX LISTIENING DIGEST) ** U A E / ARMENIA. Re: 1314 kHz clash: The Gavar txer in Armenia is scheduled for several hours in the evening, including IBB Arabic to Iraq relays, so the chance is that there will be a large collision zone. Gavar is beaming due south. When the BBC think that they will reach into TKM, TJK and UZB from Dhabayya 1314, they seem to have taken a large step or two into the realm of wishful thinking (Olle Alm, Sweden, BC-DX Sep 22 via DXLD) ** U K. From a diarist column of the Evening Standard http://www.thisislondon.co.uk The Evening Standard (London) September 26, 2001 SECTION: Pg. 51 HEADLINE: IN THE AIR The new chairman of the BBC is a careful, calculating man, and Corporation insiders say there was a lot of deliberation behind one of Gavyn Davies's first acts in the post last week. On the morning after his appointment was announced, Davies visited the newsroom at Bush House and assured staff that in him they had a warm supporter of the World Service. "He just turned up totally out of the blue," says one toiler in Aldwych. "We really believe that it was more than just a gesture." Optimists at Bush House hope that he will persuade Greg Dyke to restore World Service shortwave broadcasts to North America, which were axed a couple of months ago in an example of cultural vandalism that seems foolish now when the continent is so hungry for news. .... [other items deleted ] (via Daniel Say, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. From the Evening Standard (London) background for listening in and interpreting (language and meaning) X-URL: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/dynamic/news/story.html?in_review_id=459889&in_review_text_id=411886 News: Picking up the news in Caversham By Melanie McDonagh, Evening Standard When a Qatari satellite channel reported on Monday that Osama bin Laden had faxed over a statement of defiance calling Islam into battle against the new Jewish and Christian crusader campaign that is led by the Chief Crusader Bush under the banner of the cross the broadcast was seized upon in a former boarding school in Caversham. From there, it was translated and transmitted to the rest of us for the campus is home to the BBCs media-monitoring unit, and the Al-Jazeera satellite channel is one of hundreds that it keeps under scrutiny. In a global crisis such as this, BBC Monitoring is among the first to know what the world is saying. From its base just outside Reading, the unit monitors publicly accessible radio and television broadcasting, newspapers and internet transmissions from around the world in about 150 languages, which it then republishes. It has 350 staff and five overseas offices. The priorities at any time broadly reflect the needs of the moment. Which means that at present its all go in Tashkent in Uzbekistan: the work of transmitting reports from Afghanistan is divided between the local office there and the team in Caversham. .... Even before 11 September, Afghanistan was a high-priority area, says Lewis Macleod, who covers the region. But as the gentle Afghan who monitors broadcasts in the office confirms, ever since the US attacks its been hectic. He came to Britain from Kabul as a student just before the Russians invaded, and still has family there. You try and stay detached and professional-at this time, he says, but its difficult. .... Its strange to think that some of the best information-gathering in the conflict will be from suburban Reading. © Associated Newspapers Ltd., 26 September 2001 (via Daniel Say, swprograms via DXLD) ** U S A. [BDXC-UK] AstroAlert: Future of WWV and WWVH From: shortwave@yahoogroups.com FUTURE OF WWV AND WWVH TIME SIGNALS The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is conducting a survey of WWV and WWVH listeners to find out how they use the standard time and frequency broadcast services. September 30th is the deadline for completing the survey, which is available on the Web at http://www.timesurvey.nist.gov/ -- and that deadline is fast approaching. John P. Lowe, leader of NIST's Time and Frequency Services Group, insists that a shutdown of WWV is not imminent. But he confirmed to Sky & Telescope reader Bob Konior that the data collected could ultimately be used to determine whether WWV and WWVH remain on the air -- especially given the popularity of NIST's other outlets. (For example, its Web-based time server gets in excess of 3 million hits a day.) The last WWV-WWVH user survey was conducted in 1985. "Those amateurs who use this radio time service to time events will be left to their own devices if this service is removed from the air," comments Konior. We urge amateur and professional astronomers who rely on highly accurate shortwave time signals to participate in the survey so their views will be known. Roger W. Sinnott, Sky & Telescope ================================================================== AstroAlert is a free service of SKY & TELESCOPE magazine, 49 Bay State Rd., Cambridge, MA 02138, U.S.A. This e-mail was sent to AstroAlert subscribers. If you feel you received it in error, or to unsubscribe from AstroAlert, please see our unsubscribe form at http://www.skypub.com/news/astroalert/unsubscribe.html or send a plain-text e-mail to majordomo@skypub.com with the following line (and nothing else) in the body of the message: unsubscribe asteroid e-mail@address.com replacing "e-mail@address.com" with your actual e-mail address. ================================================================== (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) I finally sent mine in today, emphasing I *only* use their services via shortwave, and encouraged addition of at least low-power transmitters on 25 and 30 MHz (gh, OK, DXLD) ** U S A. Two more amateurs reported lost at World Trade Center: ARRL has learned that two more amateurs were lost and presumed dead in the World Trade Center attack September 11. Gerard J. "Rod" Coppola, KA2KET, was a transmitter engineer for WNET, channel 13. He was 46 and lived in New York City. Winston A. Grant, KA2DRF, was a computer technician with Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield. He was 59 and lived in West Hempstead, New York. A fund has been established to assist the families of broadcast engineers. Send checks made out to "Ennes Educational Foundation Trust" to The Society of Broadcast Engineers Inc, 9247 N Meridian St, Suite 305, Indianapolis, IN 46260, ATTN: Broadcast Engineer Relief Fund.--some information courtesy of Paul Sanchez/Emmis Broadcasting (ARRL September 27 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** U S A. Vietnam War veteran Bill Ruth, W3HRD, among those lost in Pentagon attack: The terrorists' attack on the US has claimed another ham and ARRL member. Vietnam and Gulf War veteran and retired Chief Warrant Officer William Ruth, W3HRD, of Mount Airy, Maryland, is the fifth ham known to have died as a result of the terrorist attacks. The Army announced September 19 that Ruth, who worked at the Pentagon, was among the 30 people confirmed dead. He was 58. (ARRL September 27 via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** U S A. The following is from Shoptalk 9/27/01... __________ State Department Muzzles Voice of America This is the latest letter written by the VOA News Director to the staff. "Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." - Thomas Jefferson, 1786 During the past few days, there has been a systematic attack on the Voice of America - more specifically, an attack on Article One of our charter, which states that we should be a "reliable and authoritative source of news" and that our news should be "accurate, objective and comprehensive." In its quest to provide both sides of the story, the VOA landed a worldwide scoop - an interview with Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taleban. I don't need to explain how important that is. Networks, newspapers and wire services can only dream of such an interview - we got it. Instead of praising the work of VOA journalists (you don't get an interview such as this overnight, you need to cultivate sources for a long, long time) we got muzzled - big time. The State Department quashed the interview, using the dubious reasoning that "you don't give a platform to terrorists." Of course you don't - and the journalists here agree. But Mullah Omar's statements were important strictly for their newsworthiness aspect and we were obliged to get them out. The State Department's decision is a totally unacceptable assault on our editorial independence, a frontal attack on our credibility. As you know only too well, it takes a long time to build up credibility - and an instant to lose it. This certainly was a dark, dark day for those of us who have - for years - fought to uphold journalistic ethics, balance, accuracy and fairness. The State Department's big foot approach begs the question - where was our much heralded firewall? The silence is deafening. Having said that, I want to commend you for the sterling work all of you have done during these trying times - and I urge you NOT to fall under the spell of "self-censorship." If you do, "they" have won. All of you have an important job to do: continue to present balanced, objective reports - and continue to interview ANYONE, ANYWHERE. It is essential for us to do so (via Fred Vobbe, NRC-AM via DXLD) VOA Airs Report Over Objection of State Department Segment Includes Interview With Head of Taliban Militia From News Services and Staff Reports Thursday, September 27, 2001; Page A25 Ignoring State Department objections, the Voice of America aired a news report Tuesday that included a segment of an interview with Mullah Mohammed Omar, the leader of Afghanistan's Taliban militia. The federally supported international broadcasting organization decided Friday not to air the report after Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage and senior National Security Council officials contacted members of the VOA's board of governors to express concern. But the report was broadcast hours after State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that interviews with Omar should not be carried over the station so long as the Taliban is in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. The report also included comments by President Bush and an Afghan opposition leader. The U.N. resolutions demand that the Taliban deport suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden so he can be tried in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa. Bin Laden also is a prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The VOA charter prescribes that the station present the news in an "accurate, objective and comprehensive" manner. The station also broadcasts editorials that reflect U.S. government views and are identified as such. Boucher said that, unless Omar "was going to accept the requirements of the United Nations, then there was no news or anything newsworthy" in an interview with him. The VOA takes its editorial cues from a nine-member board of governors, on which the State Department has a seat. A VOA spokesman said the broadcast was held up while the VOA tried to get an interview with the exiled Afghan king; when that did not materialize, the VOA went ahead with its report. Boucher said the State Department recognizes the VOA's editorial independence. "The VOA works according to its charter," he said. "Its charter says that they should explain U.S. government policy and present responsible discussion about it. We don't consider Mullah Omar to be responsible discussion." There was no immediate State Department comment on the VOA decision to broadcast the report. The VOA report also broadcast segments from Bush's address to Congress as well as an interview with a spokesman for an anti-Taliban Afghan group. The quotations by Omar used in the report do not address the Sept. 11 attacks. At one point, he discusses his contention that the United States undermines Islam. "America controls the governments of the Islamic countries," he said, according to a translation from the Pashto language. "America keeps after them until they do its bidding. But these governments are very distant from their own people." © 2001 The Washington Post Company (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. FLASH NEWS!!!!!! VOA Delano-California will run a test on 28 September at 0415 GMT on the frequency of 19.840 MHz in USB and LSB using Radio Martí and or VOA News jingles. Power will be from 10 to 12 KW!!! Reception reports are wanted to John Vodenik, Chief engineer VOA Delan: k9hsp@juno.com. Hope that the signals can flow across the pacific rim and that a good many of you can hear the transmission and send an email reception report to John. Now is the time to DX! (WDX6AA, swl@qth.net via DXLD) ** U S A. WJCR: I've gotten a couple of e-mails from people who sent QRP QSL requests to WJCR and got just a letter in reply. It seems the people who normally route QSL request to me are no longer working at the station. If listeners who didn't get their QSL card can please advise me via e-mail - I'll mail their card out from here. 7490 WJCR is now running at 25 [kW while???] 13595 kHz was still running just the exciter at 1250 watts. The replacement tube for 7490 was defective so we put the final from 13595 in its place - but it would only come up to half-power. Shipped bad tube back for re-build (Larry Baysinger, KY, Sep 27, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** U S A. 9465, WMLK tells Cumbre DX that they still don't have their 250 kW transmitter on, but hope to in a few weeks. They added that they are operating on 9465 using low power Sun-Fri at 1500-2100 (Cumbre DX Sep 26) It sounds as though they are really struggle to put this transmitter on the air. They didn't really want to talk about what low power is, but I suspect that it is well below 50 kW. (Hans Johnson, Sep 26) I've listened to WMLK quite often over the last few weeks - fairly good signal strength but VERY low level modulation, thin audio quality and hum or buzz (Harold Frodge, MI, Cumbre DX Sept 27 via DXLD) ** U S A. Re new 1680 station: A Finnish website http://www.pp.clinet.fi/~ejh/radio/koje.htm (scroll down to 1680) seems to have information to confirm that: 1680-3 KBJE Monroe LA has new calls KRJO. They have B/GOS format. The new calls is now KYEA. -AMNF FCC 24.09.01 (via Doug Smith, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** U S A. Star Trek Enterprise: Watched the premier episode mentioned in DXLD 134. Two things intrigued me. The "bad guys" in the show are a race called the "Suliban" ...sounds suspiciously like taliban to me. Also, the woman who plays the Vulcan science officer/2nd in command is a lot easier on the eyes than Leonard Nimoy ever was! (Fred Waterer, Ont., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Dear Glenn, I don't know if this is relevant, but I have to vent somewhere. I'm getting sick and tired of supposedly reputable, and not so reputable, newspapers, news services, broadcasters (CNN among others) and talk shows and their callers (Art Bell -- perhaps not so surprising here) actually giving this so called prediction of the destruction of the WTC by Nostradamus any credibility at all. The story was shot down in the Toronto Sun on Sunday...but here is "the rest of the story" as Paul Harvey might say. Perhaps a reflection of the marginal importance of the St. Catharines Standard, our local newspaper, but over a week ago there was a front page story about these so-called Nostradamus predictions. Some have figured out that the year they were allegedly written was over 80 years AFTER Nostradamus died and offer this up as evidence that the story is fake. As per the Standard article, they were written by (a now mortified) student at a Niagara Falls high school in 1997, as part of a creative writing assignment to show how easy it was to write a fake Nostradamus prediction, to make him say whatever you want him to. It was written two or three years ago. The student, Neil Marshall, now at Brock University in St. Catharines, was bewildered at how his little essay, which he posted on the internet at the time, clearly stating that it was his work of fiction, has taken off. Others had added to his original work, and twisted it "like a game of telephone", he added. He was also clearly shocked that his "prediction" came close to the reality of the situation. The reporter suggested that it was he who was the seer and not Nostradamus. Marshall didn't neccesarily go along, but did venture that Denver would win the Super Bowl. Have not seen this reported anywhere else. The article could not be found on the Standard web site http://www.scstandard.com which I tried a few minutes ago, but I have the actual newspaper article here at the house. I'm going to do some clipping later and will send you a copy of the article. (Fred Waterer, Ont., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. CSO airs last broadcast --- September 26, 2001 At 1 p.m. Sunday the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will close its 25- year run of weekly concert broadcasts on WFMT-FM (98.7) with the Verdi Requiem from last season conducted by Daniel Barenboim, with soloists including Deborah Voight and Rene Pape. The orchestra hasn't been able to find underwriting to continue the nationally syndicated shows, which cost more than $1 million a year. The orchestra will continue to look for funding to resume the broadcasts, said CSO Association President Henry Fogel. ''However, in these economic times, I am not optimistic,'' he said. Until two years ago, Amoco was the CSO's longtime radio sponsor. Earlier this year the Elizabeth Morse and Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trusts gave the CSO a $1.2 million, three-year grant for the broadcasts, but the CSO was unable to come up with sponsors or grants to cover the remaining costs. Through the end of the year, WFMT will broadcast compilations of CSO commercial recordings in the 1 p.m. Sunday slot. Next week at the CSO's annual meeting, Fogel is expected to report a sizable deficit, the second since he arrived as executive director in '85 and the first since '92. (Wynne Delacoma, Chicago Sun-Times via Mike Cooper, Sept 26, DXLD) ** VIETNAM. 5034.7, Hmong Service, remaining steady on this frequency for a number of months now, but usually just a het. Better signal today with music and talk by woman at 1242 Sept 22, all parallel to 6165 (Hans Johnson, WY, Cumbre DX via DXLD) ** VIETNAM. News on small regional stations: v7155, Ha Giang is inactive, nothing heard on several check ups. 6497.8, Cao Bang, s-on at 1155, in Vietnamese and Vernaculars, ID, nx, hill tribe mx, strong tone growl, at 1230 ID again. 45544, S=9 +20 dB, Sep 15+16. 6380.3, R Lai Chau, s-on at 1140. nx in Vn, female tlk on terrorist attack on WTC-NY and Pentagon Wash DC, mentioned Talibans in AFG, and "nervous talks in China", soft modulation, 35432, Sep 15+16. 5598.1, Lao Cai is active. Tuned in at 1210 UT, and noted on both 5598.1 and 6643.8 with hill tribe mx, signed-on later than listed, Sep 15+16. (ex 6695 or 6724.4 on July 26th). On Sep 16th heard signing on at 1055, til 1103*, 35543 on both channels. On Sep 17th was on air at 1045 UT. S-on time 1142, at 1145 program audio started, ID by female, tlks in Vernac, tx problems, modulation was terrible (Roland Schulze, Philippines, BC-DX Sep 15/16/17 via DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. CLANDESTINE? from ? to VIETNAM (Cumbre DX correxion) 15750, New Horizon or Chan Troi Moi in Vietnamese: I thought this was via Palau; it is not. I also found another address: P. O. Box 957 Cypress, CA 90630, USA. Their schedule of 1330-1430 is listed as being "new hours" from July 29th. Also see PALAU above (Hans Johnson, Sep 27, Cumbre DX via DXLD) UNIDENTIFIED 2257.3 unidentified (harmonic?) 1012 Sep 27, Brief pieces of Andean music. Raspy carrier. Malm has logged the Peruvian harmonic R La Mejor, Tumbes AM1130 here in the past (Mark Mohrmann, VT, DX Listening Digest) DIGITAL RADIO MONDIALE Q&A After visting the DRM website http://www.drm.org I posted them some questions to find out more details about the DRM technique. Here are the Q&As: Q 1. The reception examples available on the DRM website sound quite good compared to standard analogue AM reception. The problem of listening to all long, medium and short wave transmissions is mainly due to atmospheric and man made disturbances, especially interference generated by TV sets, PCs etc. How does this affect the quality of a DRM signal? > In common with most digital systems, the effect of interference on the transmitted signal is to increase the bit error rate (BER) of the received signal. The higher the level of interference the higher the number of errors in the received signal. Due to the very powerful error resistance of the digital signal the effect of these errors on the received audio will be entirely or largely inaudible until the BER exceeds a certain critical threshold. Once this threshold is continuously exceeded the quality of the audio degrades very rapidly. Eventually the audio can no longer conceal such a high level of errors and will mute. With very powerful error correction the threshold between 'perfect' audio and audio muting is quite small and so in planning the transmissions it is necessary to make sure that there is sufficient margin between the digital signal and any potentially interfering signal. This is similar to the way that analogue transmissions are planned. The effect of interference on analogue signals must be minimised by ensuring that the level of the transmitted signal is sufficiently high when it reaches the receiver to overcome these interfering signals. However, whereas there is often a small and unavoidable level of interference audible when receiving analogue AM signals, this will be entirely absent on the digital signal, up to the point where interference to an analogue signal would have been severe and disturbing. There is however some difference between planning an analogue and a digital AM service. With the analogue service, only the power and frequency of the transmitted signal can be changed in order to minimise interference. With the digital signal there is also the opportunity to change the transmission mode. The DRM system has a number of different modes and choosing a more robust mode will ensure a higher level of resistance to interference, albeit at the cost of reducing the maximum bit rate and therefore the audio quality. However even at the lower bit rates the DRM signal can still sound better than the analogue equivalent. Q 2. And what about fading? An analogue AM signal almost seems to disappear throughout heavy fading, so what's about the capability to perform long-distance coverage with a DRM signal? Sometimes fading occurs also in the near are of a transmitter. > The same mechanics that protect the DRM signal from interference are also very effective in providing protection against signal fading. One of the problems with skywave propagation [...] is that there will usually be multiple reflections caused by the ionosphere. This leads to more than signal arriving at the receiver. These signals are nominally the same but arrive at slightly different times due to small differences in the path lengths occurring at different levels in the ionosphere. These multiple reflections are countered by the Guard Interval which forms part of the digital signal. The signal can also be suffer from momentary complete loss at the receiver. This loss could be caused by blockage from a bridge or a building, from unfavourable sky-wave propagation or from impulsive interference. In all cases the receiver becomes momentarily unable to resolve the signal. To counter this, the data representing a given moment (e.g. the audio signal) is spread out over a longer length of time before transmission and additional error correction data is used to correct for moments when it was imperfectly received. The longer period over which the data relating to a given moment is spread the more the receiver will be able to continue to provide audio even when the signal is being lost for short periods. This process is called data interleaving. The interleaving process ensures that momentary errors bursts, which occur in the transmission channel, will be spread out in time when the signal is de-interleaved in the receiver decoding process. This enables the errors to be corrected in the receiver due to the additional error correction bits that were added to the audio data before transmission. The drawback is that the longer interleaving time is made the longer it takes for the receiver to produce audio when you first switch it on. For this reason a compromise has to be made between immunity to fading or signal loss and audio access time. In the case of the DRM mode normally used for ground-wave transmissions the audio delay due to interleaving is about 0.8 s and for the sky-wave modes the delay is around 2.4 s. Q 3. During IFA in Berlin, a single frequency network was erected with three 1 kW transmitters on 1485 kHz. What are the experiences of that? Does such a DRM SFN operate the same way as a DAB network? > Any COFDM system, such as the DRM system or Eureka 147 DAB, which provides a high degree of immunity to multi-path signals [...] also has immunity to the arrival, at the receiver, of multiple identical signals received from geographically diverse transmitters. This high degree of immunity to multi-path propagation stems from the insertion of a Guard Signal into the transmitted COFDM signals. The special case of transmitting the identical signals from several transmitters is called a Single Frequency Network (SFN). In the case of the DRM system the Guard Interval can take several values depending on the type of propagation expected (e.g. ground- wave, sky-wave). In the mode appropriate for ground wave propagation the DRM system can support a SFN with transmitter spacing up to several hundred kilometres, and this covers the planning requirements of a domestic AM network. For the Berlin SFN demonstration the transmitters were spaced up to 60 km apart, which is well inside the maximum distance for which the system is designed. However as the transmitters are individually fed via a telecommunications network it is important to provide a common time reference at each transmitter the signals radiated are identical and synchronised. Q 4. And finally, what about two DRM signals on adjacent channels in the AM bands? What about two different DRM signals on the same frequency? > The interference performance of a DRM receiver due to the presence of digital signals in adjacent channels will always be, to some degree, dependent on the performance of the respective transmitters, in terms out of channel radiation, and on the receivers, in terms of their adjacent channel selectivity. However calculations (of the protexion ratio) based on currently attainable transmitter performance and typical receiver performance show that DRM signals at the same time can co-exist in adjacent channels. Two analogue signals at similar levels in adjacent channels will generally produce marginally worse results, as the adjacent channel signal will usually cause some slight interference. If transmitter out of channel performance can be improved in the future then the result could be still better protection in the receiver against adjacent channel signals, as these signals could than be at a higher level (perhaps 10 dB or more) than the wanted signal but still not cause interference. However other local sources of noise (e.g. electrical noise from ADSL or power line telecommunications) in the adjacent channel could then become the dominant factor in receiver performance. If a wanted and interfering DRM signal occupy the same channel then that interfering signal must be received at a level more than 17 dB below the wanted signal for reliable reception. This is a more relaxed requirement than that which is used for planning current analogue services in the MW band, where 30 dB is the normal ITU-R requirement. Again, whilst in the case of analogue signals interfering with analogue signals there will usually be some audible interference, this will not generally be the case with the digital signals. Providing the interfering signal or signals remain below the required protection level there will be no audible disturbance to the wanted signal. [end from DRM] Quite feuilletonistic, huh? But some useful informations, IMHO, and quite easy to understand also for non-technicians. best 73, (Sascha A. Zimmer, Viersen, Germany, Sept 27, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###