DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-143, October 8, 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] DX PROGRAMS updated October 8, at our new site (change bookmarks): http://www.worldofradio.com/dxpgms.html OUR CURRENT AUDIO: http://www.worldofradio.com/audiomid.html includes CONTINENT OF MEDIA 01-09: (STREAM) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0109.ram (DOWNLOAD) http://www.worldofradio.com/com0109.rm (SUMMARY) http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/com0109.html ** AFGHANISTAN. Glenn, I am listening to "The World at One" on Radio 4. They had a five-minute interview with someone from BBCM. It was mentioned that Voice of Shariah was back on the air this morning with Recitations from the Koran. The lack of foreign correspondents in Afghanistan was mentioned. They said that they would be talking to BBCM again (Ivan Grishin, Ont., Oct 8 1241 UT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Heard a report on BBCWS early Monday UT, that BBC Monitoring said Voice of Shariah had been off but was back on the air. 73, (John Cobb, Roswell, GA, Oct 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) As usual, vague about whether referring to SW frequency or not (gh, DXLD) Dear DX Friends, I could get Radio Shariya, Afghanistan today on 7084.8 Khz around 1430 UT onwards but signals are very weak than before (I could not get any clear ID announcements). The frequency is slowly drifting down as was the case before also. I heard a report in our local media that it is broadcasting from another alternate site now. 73 (Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, India, Oct 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 7089v was inaudible when checked here for English UT Oct 8 at 1530 (Chris Hambly, Victoria, DX LISTENING DIGEST) According to own ears on Oct 8, Monday local afternoon they are ON (at least they were - one hour back, 1530 English news) Freq 7084v Noted as early as 1430. Weak, but quite readable if no ham. Friends from S Asia report that MW 1107 is also ON, but different program feed 73, (Vlad Titarev, Kremenchuk, Ukraine, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Reports last night said the station had been destroyed, but these were incorrect. Voice of Shariat came back on the air this morning. Victor Goonetilleke E-mailed me to say he was hearing them today (Monday) on 7084 at 1530 UTC. Now there are reports that the station went off again, but I suspect this is due to power failure rather than attack (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, 1835 UT Oct 8, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Every time V. of Shariah goes off the air, it is a precautionary measure, and power has also been interrupted (CNN correspondent in Afghanistan, 1615 UT Oct 8 via gh, DXLD) It was just mentioned on PM, BBC Radio 4 at 1600+ UT, that "Taliban Radio" had again gone off the air with today's renewed bombing. (I assume she means Voice of Shariah). (Ivan Grishin, Ont., 1629 UT Oct 8 DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN [and non]. Afghan, regional media coverage in wake of attacks Taleban radio coverage Morning broadcasting on the Taleban's Radio Voice of Shari'ah from Kabul resumed transmission at its usual time of 0130 gmt on Monday 8 October with a programme preview and recitation from the Koran, which was still continuing at 0215 gmt. No mention was made of the US-British strikes on 7 October until the first news bulletin in Pashto began at 0230 gmt, which said that there were no casualties or damage. The same bulletin was broadcast in Dari at 0330 gmt. Between the news bulletins, the radio broadcast announcements and advertisements, a press review, commentaries and songs. After the news, a commentary in Pashto was broadcast saying that bravery, heroism and sacrifice were the factors which help a nation protect independence. The commentary discussed the failed Afghan invasions by the USSR and the British. This was followed by a commentary in Dari saying that large countries wanted to bring small countries under their control, and again discussing the failed Afghan invasions of the USSR and the British. Songs began after the commentaries. From 0345 gmt to 0700 gmt, Radio Voice of Shari'ah from Kabul ended its morning broadcasts as scheduled. At 1230 gmt, Radio Voice of Shari'ah from Kabul commenced its regular evening programming on 657 kHz mediumwave and 7087 kHz shortwave. Taleban media confirm radio targeted The Taleban-affiliated Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) agency, based in Pakistan, reported on 8 October 0510 gmt that people were killed when a bomb fell near the Taleban Radio Voice of Shari'ah office in Kabul. This follows similar reports by the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and Agence France Presse on 7 October that the Taleban radio office in Kabul had been hit by US-British air strikes. Bin-Ladin supporters go on-line Some supporters voiced admiration and concern for Usamah Bin-Ladin on Internet chatrooms following the US strikes, Reuters reported. Several political Arabic-language chatrooms registered bursts of activity after Al-Jazeera broadcast Usamah Bin-Ladin's statement on 7 October. "How strong this man is! He has a solid faith and power of will. With those, he can accomplish the impossible," an Egyptian woman told a chat room originally devoted to discussion of the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, Reuters said. An English-language chat room called "Bin-Ladin fans..." was closed by service administrators, who had said they would not tolerate rooms that expressed what they called terrorist or racist comments, Reuters reported. South Asia Pakistan At 2000 gmt on 7 October, Pakistan TV-1 began direct relay of BBC TV's live coverage of the events. On 8 October, Pakistan TV-1 discontinued its live relay of BBC reports on the attacks at 0100 gmt to broadcast a regularly scheduled Koran recitation programme. The station carried its regular "News Morning" programme with hourly and half-hourly newscasts interspersed with live discussions on the attacks and its implications for Afghanistan and Pakistan. The station broadcast live President Pervez Musharraf's news conference in Islamabad at 0511 gmt. Radio Pakistan continued its normal programming from 0045 gmt on 8 October with on-the-hour newscasts in Urdu and English alternately to report on the situation. The news bulletins carried details of the US strikes on Afghanistan, repeated the Foreign Office statement on the US attacks on Afghanistan and carried a live statement by President Pervez Musharraf. Internet versions of the English-language Pakistani dailies The News and The Nation and the Urdu-language daily Dawn (Ausaf) on 8 October carried news updates on the attacks, mostly attributed to Agence France Presse (AFP). India The national broadcaster All India Radio reported on the US attacks, saying that military action by the international coalition must remain controlled even if it is prolonged. Middle East Egypt Egyptian radio and television news highlighted on the morning of 8 October the attacks against Afghanistan. News of the attacks preceded reports of expected meetings between Egyptian President Mubarak, Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat, and the Lebanese prime minister. All interviews and correspondents' reports dealt with the US attacks and different reactions. The Egyptian TV programme "Good Morning Egypt" allocated most of its interviews and discussions to analyses of the attacks against Afghanistan. On 7 October, Egyptian television cancelled the scheduled live transmission of the ceremony attended by Mubarak in celebration of Egypt recapturing the Suez Canal on 6 October 1973. Iran Military operations in Afghanistan have not affected the normal broadcast of programmes on Iranian radio and television networks. All news bulletins were heard on schedule with factual reports on the US- led attacks. Monday morning newspapers which were available on the Internet gave extensive coverage to the events. Conservative newspapers Resalat and Jam-e Jam, the reformist Aftab-e Yazd and the centrist Iran carried factual reporting on the events. The conservative Siyasat-e Ruz condemned the attacks and Entekhab, a conservative newspaper, argued that the USA was using the United Nations as an instrument for its own foreign diplomacy. Iraq At 2100 gmt on 7 October, Iraqi TV broadcast a government statement on the strikes against Afghanistan and then resumed regularly scheduled programming. On 8 October, Iraqi TV broadcast President Saddam Husayn's condemnation of US-led "aggression" against the Taleban and Usamah Bin-Ladin. "The true believers cannot but condemn this act, not because it has been committed by America against a Muslim people but because it is an aggression perpetrated outside international law," said a communiqué read out on television after Saddam chaired a meeting of his closest aides. The official Republic of Iraq radio national service carried scheduled programmes. The newspaper Babil, run by Saddam Husayn's elder son Uday, called the US attacks a "form of organized terrorism". Kuwait Al-Watan newspaper expressed sympathy for Afghans and the hope that Iraq would be the next target of US air strikes, AFP reported. "We pray to the Almighty that the US strikes will include the Iraqi regime, to oust it once and for all," the paper said. Lebanon Lebanese newspaper web sites Al-Safir, Al-Mustaqbal, Al-Nahar, Al- Anwar and the English-language newspaper The Daily Star extensively covered the attacks on Afghanistan and the statement by Usamah Bin- Ladin which was broadcast by Al-Jazeera satellite TV channel on 7 October. Al-Safir, an independent and leftist newspaper espousing Arab nationalist views, said the attacks were "unjust". Al-Anwar, a moderate, centrist, and independent newspaper, analysed the implications of the US strikes. One columnist called for an "unified Arab position" to protect pan-Arab identity against "Islamic extremism" and Bin-Ladin's views. Qatar: Al-Jazeera TV At 2041 gmt, 7 October, Al-Jazeera TV from Doha broadcast a live satellite interview with Mohammad Qasim Halimi, an official from the Afghan Foreign Ministry in Kabul. Halimi said the Taleban had no accurate figures on casualties and losses after the attacks. The official added that the missiles had fallen at random and losses were negligible. He mentioned that a plane had been hit by the Taleban at 0115 gmt. The Taleban, he said, would release a statement the next morning. At 0545 gmt, Al-Jazeera reported that life was back to normal in Kabul. The Taleban army's general command building was hit, as well as the airport, some radar stations, and some missile bases near the Afghan capital, the TV said. It reported that although there were no concrete figures for casualties as yet, "the number of people killed was smaller than expected", because the raids were targeted. The correspondent said that some people had begun to leave the city, and that more attacks were expected. "Kabul was the target of four air raids yesterday, the latest of which was just before dawn," the correspondent said. At 1107 gmt, Al-Jazeera said that it now needed permission before interviewing Taleban officials. "Now, we have been officially told that we cannot interview any Taleban official without prior official permission from the concerned parties," Al-Jazeera's Kabul correspondent Taysir Alluni said in remarks broadcast on the TV. "In Kabul, we can convey to you what we see and what we are able to film," he said. "We took pictures of one house that was destroyed by a US bomb or missile," Alluni said, adding that "the owner of the house started to throw dust at journalists, weep over his bad luck, and curse everybody who carry weapons in the world, the Americans and even the Afghans." "As regards the military losses, we were unable to reach any military position, because the Taleban imposed restrictions on the entry into military positions," he said. Asked how he gets his information, Alluni said: "We get our information through personal contacts and by travelling on the street and asking some people." He added: "When a great number of people confirm a certain report, we relay it to Al-Jazeera." "There are times when we receive so many conflicting reports. We find it really difficult to get news, especially since the phone service here is very bad, and our contacts have now been cut, especially with the officials," he said. Saudi Arabia Al-Watan daily called for the war to be against all terrorists, including Israel, AFP reported. "Let it be a war against terror, (against) state terrorism being practised by Israel against the women, children and old men of the people of Palestine." United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi and Dubai The Abu Dhabi government daily Al-Ittihad blamed the Taleban for their own impending downfall in the wake of the US air strikes. It said the Taleban had not helped to defuse the crisis by handing over Usamah Bin-Ladin. AFP quoted the Dubai government's Al-Bayan newspaper as saying: "The Taleban did not understand the regional and international developments, and stuck to their extremist views until the last moment, letting slip by the chance to avoid the horrors of war for the Afghan people." But it added that the war on terror "must not let pass unpunished the state terrorism practised by the mafia in power in Israel." West Bank and Gaza The Voice of Palestine, the official radio station in Ramallah of the Palestinian National Authority led by Yasir Arafat, signed off at 2300 gmt on 7 October after carrying scheduled programmes. As of 0047 gmt, 8 October, Palestine Television, the official station of the Palestinian National Authority in Gaza, was continuing its programmes with a panel discussion on the repercussions of the 11 September attacks against the United States. Source: Monitoring research, 8 Oct 01 (BBCM via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Subject: 193rd Special Operation Wing. Hi, Deutschlandfunk reported today, that the US Forces dropped small spring-operated radios (I think that means the Baygen-Freeplay) over Afghanistan to allow the local people to listen to broadcasts aired from an aircraft cruising in high-altitudes above Afghanistan. So, the 193rd Special Operation Wings are back with their EC-130E aircrafts and the 10 kW mediumwave transmitter. Anybody out there who knows the frequency? -- 73's (Martin Elbe, Germany, MWDX via DXLD) Those aircraft have the ability to generate a HUGE signal, which would punch through whatever feeble jamming the Taliban could possibly put out. Remember that it's a C-130 in its TACAMO configuration that is able to communicate with nuclear missile subs underwater via VLF, so it should be no trouble at all for it to put out a decent signal into a wind-up transistor radio despite whatever jamming the opposition might be putting out (Steve Silverwood, KB6OJS, Fountain Valley, CA, Oct 8, swprograms via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Psyops Radio Confirmed By Nick Grace C., CRW Washington Bureau [Oct 8] U.S. Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld, speaking to reporters from the Pentagon as the campaign was being waged yesterday, confirmed that psyops radio broadcasts from the Air National Guard EC-130E aircraft "Command Solo" have already commenced. He refused to elaborate, however, on ongoing operations. Q: As part of the effort today are you dropping leaflets? Have you begun radio broadcasts from Commando Solo and some of the other assets that you have that can do directed messages to the people who may not understand what you're doing? Rumsfeld: Yes Q: Both of these? Rumsfeld: Yes. Transcript of Oct 7 press conference: http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Oct2001/t10072001_t1007sd.html Wind-up portable radios are reportedly part of the humanitarian packages being dropped into Afghanistan. These radios, which can last for 30 minutes after less than a minute of winding, receive only one frequency. Psyops radio programs are calling upon people to stay in their villages, according to Frank Sesno, CNN Washington Bureau Chief, and to remain calm. Broadcasts are promoting awareness of future air drops of food rations and medicines, which the station announces are "a gift from the American people." The U.S. Agency for International Development crest, which traditionally graces the rations packages, has been replaced with the American flag. Leaflets that underscore the radio station's programming are also being included with the air drops. Sesno reported that the leaflets are telling Afghanistan that the U.S. military has arrived to help them. Psychological operations (psyops), including radio broadcasts in Pashto and Dari, are seen as a key element to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people. With Taliban radio silenced, Command Solo programming will reach its intended target as evidence that life will be better once the Taliban have been removed. ClandestineRadio.com analysis on psyops in Afghanistan: http://www.clandestineradio.com/dossier/afghanistan/psyops.htm (Nick Grace C., Clanestine Radio Watch Oct 8 via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Analysis: US starts radio propaganda broadcasts to Afghanistan | Text of editorial report by BBC Monitoring's Foreign Media Unit on 8 October US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on 7 October confirmed that a US special forces aircraft designed for psychological operations has dropped leaflets and begun radio broadcasts to Afghanistan. He was speaking to reporters from the Pentagon hours after the start of the aerial campaign against Taleban targets and the infrastructure of Usamah Bin-Ladin's organization, Al-Qa'idah. Previous US broadcasts from airborne transmitters, including to Iraq in 1991 and Serbia in 1999, were prepared by the US army's psychological operations units and transmitted from EC-130E "Commando Solo" aircraft operated by the US Air National Guard. As well as broadcasting, these specially equipped aircraft can also monitor and jam electronic transmissions. Soldiers from the 4th Psychological Operations Group at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which operates Commando Solo's radio and TV equipment, had "almost certainly" been sent to the region weeks ago, according to the USA Today newspaper. The use of leaflets and broadcasts aimed at undermining support for enemy leaders proved effective during the Gulf war, inducing thousands of Iraqi soldiers to surrender without firing a shot. Radio Free Afghanistan The next few weeks are likely to see renewed calls for US government funding for a "Radio Free Afghanistan", similar to the Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty and Radio Free Asia services used to propagate US values during the cold war and later years. California Republican Congressman Ed Royce has drafted a bill which would allocate 14 million dollars over two years to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty to begin surrogate broadcasts into Afghanistan. His bill has attracted bipartisan support and he predicts it will soon be passed by the House of Representatives. A previous US-funded Radio Free Afghanistan broadcast between 1985 and 1993 in Dari and Pashto for up to two hours a day on shortwave. Role of Voice of America Meanwhile, a vigorous public debate is under way in the US about the role of the Voice of America in the war on terrorism. On 21 September, the US State Department put pressure on VOA officials not to broadcast an exclusive interview with the Taleban leader, Mola Muhammad Omar. Officials said it was inappropriate to spend taxpayers' money to broadcast his voice. VOA later broadcast an updated version of the interview, over the objections of the State Department. The debate about whether putting Washington's message across to the Afghan people should be entrusted to the VOA or a surrogate broadcaster is likely to continue for months. VOA claims to be a leading source of news for listeners in Afghanistan. But its journalists will not want VOA's independence to be compromised again by political pressure. The anti-Taleban Northern Alliance are reported to be awaiting the delivery of two new shortwave radio transmitters donated by China. This could herald either the launch of a new radio station, as predicted by the Clandestine Radio Watch newsletter http://www.clandestineradio.com or the revival of the Alliance's former station, Takhar Radio, which was based in northeastern Takhar Province. It's raining radios Yesterday's remarks by the US Defence Secretary confirm that the US military have begun their own propaganda broadcasts. CNN last week quoted Pentagon sources as saying the US was considering airdropping radios - possibly wind-up radios capable of receiving only one frequency - into Afghanistan to allow citizens to hear broadcasts produced by the State Department or the US military. The thrust of the broadcasts is to publicize the food aid drops and stress the message that "the people of Afghanistan are not the enemy". Source: BBC Monitoring research 8 Oct 01 (via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Opposition to Launch "Major" Radio Station By Nick Grace C., CRW Washington Bureau [Oct 8] The Afghan opposition is set to wage a sophisticated radio war against remaining Taliban forces, Clandestine Radio Watch (CRW) has learned, preparing the stage for the return of King Zahir Shah and an end to the immediate conflict. A source close to the project tells CRW that the radio station, which has not yet been given a name, will be an "instrument of national reconciliation." "Although the Northern Alliance is the main partner," he says, "we are making every effort to include all Afghan groups (excluding the Taliban)... Should elements start using the station purely for their own propaganda we would put it to a vote to all the contributors as to whether the feed should be switched off." Although the majority of Afghanis are ethnic Pashtuns, the Northern Alliance is comprised of ethnic Tajiks and Uzbeks. The United States Government has been reluctant to provide overt support to the Alliance because analysts fear that the group will be unable to unite the country. Alliance representatives, meanwhile, assert that they will continue with or without American aid. The station, which has been described as a "major" radio operation, is being organized by non-governmental organizations in Europe with support from local Afghan communities. It has been in development for over four months, the source says. Programming will be recorded from the front lines in Afghanistan with "a suitcase studio" and also from studios in Europe and the United States. Remote-controlled AM/FM combo transmitters, which are being scattered throughout the mountains, will be linked to the main studio via satellite and prompted by an online scheduler. Since the Web will be used to feed the programming broadcasts will also be available on the Internet as streaming Windows Media files. A site has not yet been made public. Current plans are to devote 10% of the schedule to Northern Alliance journalists in northern Afghanistan, 20% for BBC World Service, Voice of America and "Arab media" programming, and 70% to the coalition of Afghan opposition groups. Music will be the mainstay "until the content comes up to speed" with educational programs and feature presentations recorded in all of Afghanistan's major dialects. Since 1996, 20 Taliban-run "Voice of Shari'a" radio stations have dominated the airwaves in Afghanistan. Outlets located in Kabul, Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif have been blown off the air, according to numerous media reports. A low-powered television station maintained by the Northern Alliance in Fayzabad, TV Badakhshan, continues to operate however its signal cannot penetrate over the country's impenetrable ranges. It has operated in Alliance territory purely as a symbol of hope to the people that the future will bring a return to the previous government, the Islamic State of Afghanistan. For a country where there is no telecommunications infrastructure nor a national electrical grid the opposition's radio station is seen as a major and vital resource. One that is a necessity to prepare the people for a post-Taliban period by filling the mass media vacuum left in the wake of the airstrikes on Taliban radio outlets. "We are aiming to blanket the air around the Voice of Shari'a," he said before the military campaign. "(But) the best scenario would be if the National Alliance should capture any of their broadcast towers, now that would be fun." (CRW via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Let's briefly turn our attention to DXing and the post-September 11 situation. As Afghanistan is now the eye of the storm, much attention goes to the only shortwave sound coming out from that country, that's the Taliban's station, Voice of Shari'a. It is a network of radio stations and is likely to be an early target in any military campaign. In the latest edition of DXA-Bulletin, the journal of the Antwerp DX Club, I found the following bit of information: DXA says that according to Nick Grace's Clandestine Radio Watch via DXLD, sporadic monitoring by listeners in Germany, the Czech Republic and Australia, the latest [sic] schedule of the Voice of Shari'a, Kabul, appears to be as follows: 7085 to 7088 kHz highly variable with 100 kW; from 0100-0300 UTC in Pashto and Dari; 1500-1520 UTC in a non- identified language; 1520-1530 UTC in English; 1530-1650 UTC in unidentified; 1650-1710 UTC in Russian. Other sources hear the signal from 7082 kHz upwards. European Dxers also hear Afghan stations on the mediumwave frequencies of 657, 864, 1107 and 1584 kHz, from Kabul, Kandahar, Kabul and Mazar-i-Sharif respectively (Frans Vossen, RVI Radio World Oct 7 via John Norfolk, DXLD) NOTE to Editors: do NOT republish the above! I am including it here only so I can append: would it be too much to ask Frans Vossen to check the latest DXLD, rather than some third-hand info almost a month old in this fast-breaking situation? The SW schedule referred to emerged shortly after Sept 11, based on very old info before new info was researched. English time, as we should all know now, is nominally 1530-1545, not 1520; and it should not have been too late to include the new sign-on time of 0130 (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ANGOLA. 11955.80, 1514-, R. Nacional Angola 1, Oct 7, A possible logging. Carrier, but not much else audible, until the moment I was typing this! Some Portuguese talk came up briefly at 1417, so I am assuming this is Angola, but would appreciate confirmation that Radio Nacional has drifted up. I used to hear them just below 11955. Lots of splash from Turkey on 11955.0 (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BELGIUM [non]. http://www.rvi.be/uk/hoeontvang/world/index.htm It's October once again, and you know what that means: at the end of the month, that's on the last Sunday, we put the clock back to winter time. Traditionally we then broadcast most of our regular programmes one hour later in universal time. But the most drastic change is that there will be no more transmissions from Waver, our transmission site south of Brussels. All shortwave broadcasts will henceforth be coming your way from relays in other countries. RVI has decided to suspend all investment in shortwave technology. The transmitters will be maintained and could be re-activated at any time deemed necessary. Maybe one day, if the DRM project is successful, we could adapt the transmitters and start broadcasting digital shortwave signals, at a fraction of the present cost. In the new season RVi will be broadcasting from transmitters in Jülich, Skelton, Rampisham, Meyerton, Krasnodar, Samara, Tashkent, Petropavlosvk-Kamchatkiy, Bonaire and Madagascar. This gives Dxers an opportunity to add new QSL verifications to their collections, as there will be programmes in Dutch, English, French and German from new locations. But first: don't forget the last transmissions from Waver. According to the present schedule, the last programme to be broadcast from Waver is the Dutch-language magazine "Het Dak van de Wereld", from 2000-2100 UT on Saturday October 27. So, at 2100 UT it's all over. The last edition of Brussels Calling to go out from Waver is on that same Saturday from 1730 UT on 5910 and 9925 kHz. Let's take a look at the new schedule then: first broadcast of the day is a repeat of the previous evening's programme. That's at 0400 UT for listeners in North America from Bonaire on 11985 kHz; at 0800 UT to Western Europe from Jülich on 5985 kHz; at 1130 UT to East Asia from Petropavlovk-Kamchatkiy on 9865 kHz; at 1230 UT on MW and in our live stream; at 1830 UT to South east Europe on 13710 kHz from Jülich, 13685 kHz from Rampisham and 9925 kHz from Krasnodar, and on mediumwave 1512 kHz. At 2030 UT to North south Europe on 9925 kHz from Krasnodar and mediumwave 1512 kHz. And finally, the first broadcast for listeners in North America, at 2230 UT from Bonaire on 13685 kHz. There could be last-minute changes in the schedule, and I'll keep you informed in time in the next two editions of Radio World, on the 14th and 21st of this month. For details about our presence on satellite and the internet I suggest you ask for a new programme schedule which we will send to you as soon as it comes from the printer's. Hopefully, all details will also be on our website in time, just check http://www.rvi.be shortly before Sunday 28th October. It would take us too long to go into details for our programmes in Dutch, the bulk of RVi's output. I refer to the same sources: our printed programme schedule and website. However, I'm going to add the new tentatively valid details of our daily programmes in German and French. Hier ist Brüssel and Ici Bruxelles will be broadcast at 1730 and 2000 UT on mediumwave 1512 kHz and to listeners in Europe from Krasnodar on 9925 kHz. That's half an hour on both occasions: at 1730 UT there's French first, followed by German; it's the other way round at 2000 UT: German first, and then French at 2015 (Frans Vossen, RVI Radio World Oct 7 via John Norfolk, DXLD) But, I reiterate, what about RTBF, RVI`s Walloon rival? Won`t they continue to use Wavre? (gh, DXLD) ** CANADA. RCI programming changes Oct. 7: 15325 and 17870 Mailbag/CIDX preempted with call-in program about today`s events on the war on terrorism (Pete Costello, NJ, 2009 UT, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Well, it`s there in the archive ondemand, the first time I have managed to listen since Ian Jones took over. Seems he cannot figure any other way of opening it than his predecessor, with silly nonsense. Now planned are four new half hour thematic programs as part of Canada Today. Mapleleaf Mailbag is not going anywhere. Marc Montgomery was back as a guest on this Oct 7 show. Marc will host new program starting next week, Spotlight, an arts program, with a nationwide team of reporters, with more of a documentary approach, such as film festivals, painting, theatre, native literature. Wojtek Gwiazda is also doing a new show, Focus, on political issues, starting Sunday 14th, and from then on Fridays, repeated Sundays. And David Blair hosts the new show Business Sense, concentrating each week on one industry in Canada --- aerospace, forestry, manufacturing, energy, etc. Fourth new program is Media Zone, starting Friday, also hosted by Ian; and Stéphane Parent is doing the same in French, Zone Média (notes by gh, for DXLD) New thematic programs will begin rolling out on Oct. 13 (See RCI's website for details on these: http://www.rcinet.ca RCI support and distribution services to be integrated into CBC (CKUT International Radio Report Oct 7 via Ricky Leong, DXLD) Where, exactly? I saw no obvious link to info about new programs there (gh, DXLD) ** CHINA. 5075, 1424-, VOICE OF PUJIANG, Oct 7, Shanghai Taiwan Program. Heard with quite good signal this AM, with parallels of 3280 (poor-fair) and 4950 (fair). Chinese EZL music (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA [non]. ESTIMADO GLENN: Desde la puesta al aire de Radio Martí en Mayo de 1985 es la primera vez en su historia que no cierra sus emisiones a las 0400 UT de un dia Domingo [en realidad, lunes universal! -gh]. Esto ocurrió hoy Domingo 7 de Octubre /2001. Como consecuecia del ataque de los Estados Unidos a Afganistán en respuesta a los atentados del 11 de Septiembre Radio Martí, continó operaciones en sus diferentes bandas y frecuencias. Normalmente Radio Martí concluye sus emisiones a las 0400 UTC de los domingos [sic] e inicia nuevamente su programación a las 11:00 UTC del lunes. Durante esas seis horas los emisores son ajustados y se procede a mantenimiento. La programación especial conducida por los periodistas Amado Gil y José Luis Ramos brindaban informaciones con relación a los ultimos sucesos. Jamming cubano presente también. Cordiales 73's (Oscar, FL, Oct 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Bye, bye, CFVP, but maybe only this week (gh, DXLD) ** ECUADOR [non]. Since I have already published your entire B-01 schedule that Allen sent me a few days ago in DXLD 1-137, would you mind detailing what the changes are in the Oct 5 revision? Thanks, Glenn Hauser Hi Glenn, No problem and sorry about that. The changes are only to our transmissions from the U.K. That part of our broadcasts are not under my responsibility. Apparently the changes had been made some time ago, but no one advised me so I could correct things in our schedules. There is also a time change which I didn't know about until I sent out the original schedule. Anyway, the only part that has changed is as below.... [basically one hour later than before] Note: HCJB's shortwave broadcast schedule also includes these programs transmitted from the United Kingdom. Tatar 1700 1715 11760 500 62 Central Asia 1000010 Georgian 1700 1715 11760 500 62 Central Asia 0100000 Uzbek 1700 1715 11760 500 62 Central Asia 0010100 Tajik 1700 1715 11760 500 62 Central Asia 0001000 Russian 1700 1715 11760 500 62 Central Asia 0000001 Russian 1715 1800 11760 500 62 Central Asia 1100111 Russian 1715 1745 11760 500 62 Central Asia 0011000 Ukrainian 1745 1800 11760 500 62 Central Asia 0011000 Again, sorry for the inconvenience. Doug Weber, Quito Operations Director, HCJB World Radio dweber@hcjb.org.ec Casilla 17-17-691 Phone: +593 2 266 613 x4627 Quito, Ecuador Fax: +593 2 267 263 (via DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ETHIOPIA. The French Service could be heard here with quite good signal on 7165 from 1730 onwards: (Beginning at 1700 not heard because of IRIB), Music till 1730, ID: Ici Radio Ethiopie, News till 1742, then music nonstop till 1800, abrupt sign-off, no further ID (Thorsten Hallmann, Münster, Germany, Oct 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) DX Information from the British DX Club (BDXC-UK). What was presumably Radio Ethiopia heard on 5990 kHz on 8th October from 1905 UT tune-in. News & reports in presumed Amharic (including recording of PM Tony Blair's comments on Afghanistan), followed by programme of Ethiopian-type songs and music with male announcer. What may have been news headlines at 1957, then sign-off at 1959 with National Anthem. Weak on clear channel but splash from 5985 and 5995. Radio Ethiopia's other frequencies of 7110 and 9705v kHz were both covered by other stations (Tony Rogers, Birmingham - UK AOR 7030+/LW, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** FINLAND. 11720, 0408-, Scandinavian Weekend R., Oct 6 Seemingly dead air until 0408 when very weak music heard on 11720.30, but exact frequency difficult to be sure due to very weak signal. Hoping for a fade up! Not enough to comment on by 0421. :(. (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Following up our previous report, another Solar Transit Outage affecting a different satellite directly in front of the sun, Monday Oct 8 peaking at 2020 UT obliterated the following cable channels in Enid OK, without substitution or apology from Cox Cable: CNN, ESPN1, ESPN2, WGN, USA, TNT, TNN, HN, FAM, TBS, SCIFI, A&E, DIS, LIFE, CNBC, BET, and evidently tho they are already scrambled, HBO and SHOW (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRAN. Subject: [SWL] VOIRI heard tonight on three frequencies The Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran was heard in English tonight at 0030 on 9022, 9835 and 11970. The last one was the strongest in Central New York, but seemed to have some bleed-through from audio of the domestic service. All three frequencies were announced. After Koran chanting followed by an English translation, the "VOIRI Newsdesk" had no actual mention of the U.S.-British attacks on Afghanistan, so perhaps it had been taped earlier in the day. The news mentioned Iran's "objective" (their words) stance in the events since September 11th, use of foreign investment to improve Iran's economy, and a former U.S. Congressman who is claimed to have said that the September 11th attacks could have been brought on by U.S. support of Israel. There were two commentaries. One said that Iran would not allow use of its airspace in any U.S. action against Afghanistan due to U.S. support of Israel, that the U.N. should support a fight against all terrorism, and that Iran wants to prevent another catastrophe. The second commentary lamented the death of an Iranian in Tabriz due to Iraqi chemical weapons, and mentioned that the weapons were made from chemicals furnished by the U.S. and European countries in the 1980s. After a religious feature, "The Path Toward Enlightenment," there was an interview with an Iranian in the U.S. The rhetoric here was pretty strong. The interview subject said that Americans are "asking for blood," and that "Americans are cowboys" who shoot first and ask questions later. He also said that Americans "hate Islam and hate the Arabs because the Jews control their media." I will not elaborate further, but the tone was not exactly friendly to the U.S. or to Israel, and the interview subject was literally shouting. At 0125, 11970 left the air in the middle of a talk by a woman. 9835 and 9022 stayed on for the closing frequency announcement. The station address they gave was P.O. Box 19395-6767, Islamic Republic of Iran. The interval signal came on at 0128, and only 9022 stayed on the air for the Spanish broadcast at 0130. 73, (Marie Lamb, NY, Oct 7, swl@qth.net via DXLD) ** ISRAEL. After catching up on World of Radio broadcasts which were broadcast over the past few weeks... In the Sept 12th edition, it said that there will be Israeli TV programs/news broadcast 24 hours a day via EchoStar's satellites. The info was originally from the Jerusalem Post. I just spoke to Dish Network. To receive the Israeli Channel, which is currently broadcasting, you must have a separate satellite [dish] than the one installed for regular programming. All International programming, including the Israeli Channel are on Satellites 61.5 and 148 - while the regular programming is on 119 or 110 [degrees west?]. The programming itself is $19.99 a month or $239.88 a year. As of yet, I don't have any background as to where this programming originates (as DishNetwork doesn't advertise it to be one of the actual Israeli TV channels) or any other details. If anyone else know of any details, please let me know... and I'll post here if I find anything out... I came with this DishNetwork URL, which includes the below description: http://www.dishnetwork.com/content/programming/alacarte/international/isrli/index.asp?viewby=1&packid=888&sortby=1 Description: The Israeli Network provides immediate access to Israeli news and culture 24-hours-a-day. Programming includes a daily newscast in English, movies, documentaries, Israeli sitcoms, dramas, live and recorded sporting events, music, and children's educational programs geared toward teaching the Hebrew language. Here is more information about "The Israeli Network". Their website homepage: http://www.theisraelinetwork.com/ (Daniel Rosenzweig, NY, Oct 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LAOS. 7145, 1354-1359, Lao National Radio, Oct 7 External Service, tentative but probable! Snippets of audio from 1354 tune-in with Laotian sounding music, and talk weakly by a YL. Can't be sure of language but ended with a national anthem starting at 1358 and carrier off about 1359. First morning I've heard anything more than a carrier! (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA. 17725, 0326-, Voice of Africa, Tripoli, Oct 6, Voice of Africa Strong signal, but weak modulation in Arabic. Parallel 15435 same problem. Arabic talk by soft spoken male. Later heard in Arabic with stronger modulation at 1449, // 15435 (cochannel R Australia in Mandarin via Kranji). (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** LIBYA. The English news from Libya a few moments ago...they start with Gabon - neither Afghanistan nor the SAS (Scandinavian Airlines System) crash in Milan. 73, (Erik Køie, Denmark, 1259 UT Oct 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NETHERLANDS. 15070, 2250-, Alfa Lima International, Oct 6 Heard with fair+ strength at 2250 tune-in with numerous call-ins. Heard my name mentioned after I called and e-mailed them. One of the better receptions. Faded gradually over the next 1 + hours (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** QATAR/USA. Journalists concerned by US pressure on Al-Jazeera TV | Text of press release by the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on 5 October New York, 4 October: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is deeply concerned by reports that US officials pressured Qatar in an attempt to influence the news coverage of the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera satellite channel. Following a meeting yesterday in Washington, DC, with US secretary of state Colin Powell, Qatari ruler Shaykh Hamad Bin-Khalifah Al-Thani acknowledged that US officials had asked him to use his influence to rein in Al-Jazeera's news coverage. The US government apparently feels that Al-Jazeera's programming has been unbalanced and anti-American, particularly in the aftermath of the 11 September terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, DC "We heard from the US administration, and also from the previous administration," the emir was quoted as saying by CNN. "Naturally we take these things as a kind of advice". A State Department official told CNN that Secretary Powell and the emir "had a frank exchange" on the issue and "there should have been no mistake of where we are coming from." On 2 October, the, US embassy in Qatar filed a formal diplomatic complaint with Qatari authorities regarding Al-Jazeera's coverage. Founded in 1996, Al-Jazeera is the most widely watched news channel in the Arab world. The 24-hour channel has revolutionized the Arabic news industry through uncensored news programs and open debates. Although the Qatari government subsidizes Al-Jazeera, the station has been widely praised for its editorial independence. Over the years, Al-Jazeera has drawn a steady stream of complaints from Arab governments angered by its reporting. "The US administration is effectively urging Qatari authorities to interfere with what is essentially an independent news station," said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. "Arab government attempts to influence Al-Jazeera have garnered widespread attention over the years. We are disheartened to see US officials adopting similar tactics". CPJ sources and press reports indicate that US officials were particularly disturbed by Al-Jazeera's frequent airings of its exclusive December 1998 interview with Osama bin Laden. The US government was also irked by airtime given to analysts who expressed anti-American views and by an unconfirmed Al-Jazeera report that Taleban forces recently captured US Special Forces troops inside Afghanistan. CPJ is a New York-based, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization of journalists that works to defend press freedom worldwide. For more information on press conditions worldwide, visit the CPJ Web site at http://www.cpj.org. More Information For further information, contact Joel Campagna (x 105) or Hani Sabra (x 104) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, USA, tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: mideast@cpj.org jcampagna@cpj.org hsabra@cpj.org Internet: http://www.cpj.org/ Source: Committee to Protect Journalists press release, New York, in English 5 Oct 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. 15425, 1501-, SLBC COLOMBO, Oct 6, SLBC with English international news with fair+ reception, cochannel Russian DW via Wertachtal (best on my T2FD antenna, while others favour DW). Parallel to weaker 9770. Local sports. 'And that was the news' at 1512, then music, followed by brief announcement to tune in every Wed at 735 am for a very special program. At 1515, time pips, tc for 845, and ID as Radio Sri Lanka, then into American accented Christian program (truth for the world) and hymn (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SYRIA. A slight error in your new 'Afghanistan' schedule page: Syria is in English at 2005-2105z. Looking forward to your 1100- anniversary edition!! Congratulations! 73, (Erik Køie in Copenhagen, Oct 6) I thought Syria had two consecutive hour-long English broadcasts, slightly offset from the top of the hour...? (gh to Erik Køie) Well, I MUST ADMIT that I am not a keen listener to Syria, so I actually only was aware of the 2005 broadcast, but I see in the WRTH that they have a North American 2105 Xmission...will check. So I guess it is YOU who is right!! Sorry... 73, Erik Køie, Denmark, Oct 6, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Later: R. Damascus: Dear Bill, I cannot but repeat that you are RIGHT and I was WRONG! Enclosed, please find their opening at 2110 UT on the NOT announced 13610 kHz. There is slight hum, but this is due to their very low modulation level. The audio itself is very good (Erik Køie, Denmark, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Nice recording; think I will use on next WOR. It`s the opening of the 2110-2210 UT broadcast announced as 12085 – were they also on that? - - for ``Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan`` -- conspicuously omitting USA. Congrats, Canada; it`s usually the other way round (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING IDGEST) ** SYRIA. Got some talk from Radio Damascus on 13610 at 2032 UT. They said nothing directly about the U.S. bombing in Afghanistan. However, they did have commentary talking about terrorism and then about Israeli occupation of Arab lands. After a few minutes of music, they went to a feature in memory of the Syrians and Egyptians who were killed in the 1973 war against Israel, talking of how they challenged Israeli superiority. Nothing specific about today, though; I think this program was taped in advance. 73, (Marie Lamb, NY, Oct 7, swl@qth.net via DXLD) ** TAIWAN. Dear Radio friends, There will be a live programme from R Taipei Int`l (CBS) on 10th October 2001 on the eve of Taiwan's 19th National Day. Sked as follows: N America 0200-0300 UT, 5950 & 9680; SE Asia 0100-0300 UT, 15320. Regards, (Swopan Chakroborty, Kolkata, India, Oct 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. 12040, 0320-, R. Ukraine International, Oct 6, Very strong and without flutter, with musical program. Mild interference from 'space zapper'. // 7150 poor (Walt Salmaniw, Victoria, BC, Canada, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. Glenn, Near the start of "PM", Radio 4's hour-long newscast at UT1600 Oct 8, had a recording of Voice of Shariah from BBCM and discussed what was broadcast. Here is a list of major news programs on Radio 4. 0500-0800 Today 1200-1300 The World at One 1600-1700 PM 1700-1730 Six O'clock News 2100-2145 The World Tonight 2300-2330 Midnight News I haven't listened enough to WS to hear if the BBCM item was used there. 73, Ivan Grishin, Ont., DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. During this phase of operation Enduring Freedom, the Brits have the best news coverage. While the US networks interview "consultants" about their opinions, the ITN and BBC have people on the ground reporting on what is going on. Both ITN, the independent television network in Britain, and "Auntie Beeb", the BBC from London. Click on ITN News: first for breaking and headline news http://www.itn.co.uk/index.shtml For the BBC, click on BBC News Online - Front Page http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ (Tom McNiff, Burke, Virginia, USA , Oct 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Voice of America Under Pressure to Toe U.S. Line By FELICITY BARRINGER http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/08/business/media/08VOA.html?ex=1003535191&ei=1&en=85f0418324cb37eb The Voice of America, born during World War II, nurtured in cold war propaganda and remade in the 1990's as a source of objective information for a global audience, is under renewed pressure to be a salesman for government policy in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Suddenly, as attacks on Afghanistan begin, people all over Washington have opinions on the mission and quality of an agency often ignored as a bureaucratic backwater. That is because in countries whose people have limited access to objective news, radio services like the BBC and the Voice of America attract substantial audiences. But as the V.O.A. reaches out to distant countries, the hatreds fed by those countries' wars reach back into the V.O.A.'s studios. Its Pashto-language broadcasts are under constant attack by anti-Taliban émigrés, who call the service the Voice of the Taliban. The State Department, sympathetic to the critics, tried, unsuccessfully, to stop the V.O.A. from broadcasting any of its recent interview with Mullah Mohammad Omar, the Taliban leader. After that quarrel, the Bush administration replaced the agency's acting director last week with another Voice of America official with strong conservative credentials. Its governing board awaits the appointment of three new members. Congress is also considering legislation creating a new service, Radio Free Afghanistan. Its need for experienced Pashto- and Dari- speaking broadcasters could drain resources from the V.O.A. In the midst of these developments, a core question is being asked: what role should the agency, with its credo of dispassionate reporting, play now, when the Bush administration is passionate about fighting terrorism with every available weapon? It is a question likely to frame a hearing on Wednesday of the House Committee on International Relations. The Voice of America's core work for the last six decades has been broadcasting news, sports, entertainment and official government opinions around the world via shortwave radio. Some V.O.A. broadcasts are in English, but most of its 800 journalists work for the services that broadcast to tens of millions of people in 53 languages. The agency's corner of the diplomatic bureaucracy has undergone two major changes the last six years. In 1995, its governing board was reconstituted as a firewall between the agency and the administration. In 1999, the Voice of America was spun off from its parent, the United States Information Agency. The broadcast group's 1,200 employees are used to having international and bureaucratic controversies seep into their daily lives. But there is a new intensity to today's debate. In a recent e- mail message to his staff — before his boss was replaced last week — the V.O.A.'s news director, Andre deNesnera, wrote, "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.'" Mr. deNesnera's probable new boss, Robert R. Reilly, seemed to echo these sentiments last week. Mr. Reilly, a conservative in the information agency's policy division -- essentially, the government's editorial page -- was named last week to replace the acting director, Myrna R. Whitworth. (His appointment is expected to win quick approval by the board of broadcasting governors.) In staff meetings and a later interview, he said, "I would not allow the integrity of our news operation to be compromised." To do so, he said, "would be a devastating blow to the public diplomacy of the United States and a squandering of the fund of trust that has been developed over the decades in our overseas audiences, who turn to V.O.A. for accurate and objective news." The words, which Mr. Reilly used at a staff meeting and repeated in the interview, were welcomed by the journalists. But some expressed concern about a 20-year-old memo reflecting Mr. Reilly's onetime view of V.O.A. The memo, written to Charles Z. Wick, the Reagan-era head of the United States Information Agency, concluded, "It is time we recaptured the words `balance' and `objectivity' from the rhetorical excesses of the left and re-established them to stand for the full truth about this country — the last and best hope of freedom in the world." Asked about the memo last week, Mr. Reilly said: "It's a wonderful document of the cold war era. This is a different war and a different era." But some are still willing to make the same case. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Florida Republican who is chairwoman of the subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights, said of V.O.A. broadcasts, "If we turn this into a PBS documentary -- seesawing on every side and being balanced — that's not promoting democracy." One of the most visible critics of the agency has been the New York Times columnist William Safire, who has urged the creation of a Radio Free Afghanistan. Questions of objectivity have always dogged the Voice of America because it is a government agency and because its foreign-language services have always had to deal with echoes of homeland conflicts when they recruited broadcasters multiethnic states. For years, broadcasts in Pashto, the language of Afghanistan's central region, from which the Taliban emerged, have been attacked as pro-Taliban by followers of the Northern Alliance. The rebel coalition is dominated by ethnic Tajiks, for whom the V.O.A. broadcasts in Dari. In 1999, a Pashto reporter fanned claims of bias when he disrupted a news conference, yelling at young women who had recently left Afghanistan and were discussing their physical and psychological oppression by the Taliban. The reporter, who loudly accused the women of lying, was disciplined by V.O.A. officials. Both Mr. deNesnera and the agency's former director, Sanford J. Ungar, now president of Goucher College in Maryland, praised the overall work of the Pashto service. "It does a good job under very difficult circumstances," Mr. Ungar said. The service's contacts with the Taliban government gained it the interview with the Taliban leader. Its critics within the V.O.A. quickly let the State Department know. Within two hours, members of the board of broadcasting governors were hearing the State Department arguments that the mullah's words should not be aired. Divided, the board did nothing. Four days later, the V.O.A. defied the diplomats and broadcast parts of the interview. Asked Friday if the service should be free to interview anyone, its prospective director, Mr. Reilly, said: "Of course. That's part of a journalist's job." But, he added, "Andre and I will insist equally that those interviews be placed in a broader context." (NY Times Oct 8 via Tom McNiff, DXLD) ** U S A. The Columbus [OH] Dispatch has an interesting article on ham radio in its local and state part for today: Low-tech ham radio still a vital link in times of war Monday, October 8, 2001 George Myers Jr. Dispatch Connect Editor http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/news/news01/oct01/881569.html (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Nice publicity, but don`t you believe the Taliban prohibit radio -- close, but it`s television (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Here, in Washington DC, there is a monthly radio program that is very helpful in dealing with annoying problems on your PC or MAC. Their web page includes a list of resources that you might find useful. Click on WAMU: The Computer Guys: As Mentioned http://www.wamu.org/computerguys/mentioned.html (Tom McNiff, Burke, Virginia, USA, Oct 7, DX LISTENING DIGEST) It`s on ``Public Interest``, second hour, first Tuesday of every month, so wait until Nov 6, 1 pm EST, 1800 UT. I`ve heard it a few times on webcast. Every Tuesday at this time the show is about technology of some sort – 1706 UT currently (gh, DXLD) ** UZBEKISTAN. Glenn, I tried to listen to Radio Tashkent EG xmsn on Sunday 10/7 at 1200 UT, and found 9715 kHz blocked by RN in Spanish ("Radio Mundial"). This has always been the best frequency for them here; higher freqs were not audible. 73, (John Cobb, Roswell, GA, Oct 8, DX LISTENING DIGEST) The Tashkent/RN 9715 clash goes back a sesquidecade at least (gh, DXLD) ** VIETNAM [non]. Re DXLD 1-141: They simply know, that the raining seasons ends at the end of October in Vietnam and that the weather becomes better in early November since the dry season starts. (But didn't know that this affects SW propagation) (Martin Schöch, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) HARMONICS 14540 ALB 1506 R Tirana, 2x7270 (maybe this is your 21810 unID Vlad?) 19590 D? 1349 Evangeliums RF, German rlg px, Huge pk 2x9795 19690 CHN 1346 CC Unid, 2x9845 19730 ?? 1345 BBC WS, (in Afghan lang?), 2x9865 19770 ? 1335 Unid 2x9885 24010 RUS 1508 R Rossi, 2x12005 24030 RUS 1508 Vo Russia in Unid Language 2x12015 24070 ?? 1513 Unid 2x12035 vv wk 24080 RUS 1517 RR Unid//7360khz 2x12040 24130 CVA 1515 Vatican R. in Hindi, 2x12065 29079 ALB 1505 R Tirana, 4x7269.75 29430 RUS 1458 Vo Russia, 3x9810 29650 ? 1047 Unid 5x5930 vv wk , 30000 BUL 1537 R Bulgaria Intl 4x7500khz 30168 IRN 1008 VOIRI, Mashad 2x15084 30210 ROM 1010 R Romania intl, 2x 15105 30420 CHN 1011 CRI, EE Px 2x15210, poor 30430 ??? 1534 Unid V wk, 2x15215, RFE was on 15215 could not match the audio 100% 30540 ROM 1457 R Romania intl 2x15270 30690 ? 1042 Unid vwk 2x15345 30760 ? 1314 Unid, The weaker of the 2 AA Stns on 15380, but couldn't find // for either 30870 LBY 1038 Voice of Africa, AA om then into test tone mid sentence at 1038! 2x15435 30920 RUS 1311 Vo Russia, 2x15460 30940 ?? 1035 CC unid 2x15470 poor 31260 GRC 1330 Foni Tis......., 2x15630 31300 ISR 1331 Kol Israel German px, 2x15650 [?? Yiddish, maybe -gh] 34860 ? 1110 Unid, 3x11620 v poor 35940 EGY 1305 R Cairo, 3x11980 fpks It's great to see some Good MUF's again. Here`s a thought: Is it possible that some of the FM Tx's in The OIRT Band could radiate subharmonics? some of them must be pretty old? 73's (Tim Bucknall, UK, harmonics yahoogroup via DXLD) ###