DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-145, October 10, 2001 edited by Glenn Hauser, wghauser@hotmail.com {Items from DXLD may be reproduced and re-reproduced only if full credit be maintained at all stages and we be provided exchange copies. DXLD may not be reposted in its entirety without permission. For restrixions and searchable 2001, 2000 contents archive see} http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/Dxldmid.html [NOTE: If you are a regular reader of DXLD, and a source of DX news but have not been sending it directly to us, please consider yourself obligated to do so. Thanks, Glenn] WORLD OF RADIO #1100, available early UT October 11: (FIRST BROADCASTS on WBCQ 7415) Wed 2330 and Thu 0415 UT (STREAM) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1100.ram (DOWNLOAD) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1100.rm (SUMMARY) http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/wor1100.html ** AFGHANISTAN. Windup Radios: A link from the BBC's web site (see, we really don't need BBC SW in North America!) about American psyops via radio: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1589000/1589318.stm (Harry Helms, Co-founder, LLH Technology Publishing, Now Part of the Reed Elsevier Technical & Scientific Publishing Group, Oct 10, ACE Pirate Radio via DXLD) Glenn, The BBC News website has a story today about the wind-up radios being dropped into Afghanistan and Commando Solo broadcasts. No hint of frequencies, of course, even when they mention the Radio Democrat [sic] (Democracy) operation in Haiti and say it was on the 4VEH freq. See "Clockwork warfare" at [same as above] 73, (John Cobb, GA, DX LISTENING DIGEST)(also via Dave McDonald) ** AFGHANISTAN [and non]. For a contrary view of the war, check Mike`s Messages (Michael Moore`s latest comments), such as http://www.michaelmoore.com/2001_1008.html And for more fun reading, go thru the archive at the bottom of the home page (gh, DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Glenn, Great reporting on the events in Afghanistan! Though not necessarily DX-related here is a response to an article Artie Bigley sent today... "Entire article (long): http://nationaldefense.ndia.org/article.cfm?Id=425 (via Artie Bigley, Oct 9, DXLD) I see no date on it, so not sure if recent, but lots of info about the system (gh, DXLD)" The first EC-130J aircraft, replacing the old EC-130E's, was delivered to the Pennsylvania Air National Guard by Lockheed Martin on October 17, 1999, so it's safe to say that this article was written before then. (Nick Grace, Oct 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) EC-130E Commando Solo: Back in 1998, Terry Krueger, David Crawford and I toured the inside of this aircraft when it was open to the public for 2 days during the Airfest at MacDill AFB Tampa, during a kinder gentler era for us. We met a crew member who had been onboard during the airborne phase of the Spice Island Radio operation in Grenada. We saw the control operators position and some of the transmitting gear. Photos were not permitted. It was not there during the 1999 and 2000 air shows (I missed the 2001 air show). Somewhat fewer people lined up to tour this aircraft than did for the C5A, or other widely known types. - (- Bob Foxworth, FL, Oct 10, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Dear friends, Yes, the V of Sharia on approx 7085v, is now off the air and one more intruder was taken off the air by the action. The Region 3 MS work notes this carefully. de VU2UR ARASU. (B. L. Manohar, Oct 10, dx_india via DXLD) Somehow I suspect that its being an intruder in hamband was not the reason for taking it off (gh, DXLD) Friends, No trace of any signals from Afghanistan today evening around 7085 kHz (Jose Jacob, Oct 10, Somajiguda, Hyderabad, India, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN. Taleban radio update - 10 October Kabul radio The Taleban radio station, Radio Voice of Shari'ah from Kabul, remains unheard by BBC Monitoring since 1610 gmt on Monday 8 October. At that time, the domestic service on mediumwave 657 kHz was broadcasting a speech by a pro-Taleban cleric condemning US attacks against Afghanistan. The speech was in progress when reception was lost. Radio Voice of Shari'ah from Kabul, which is usually on the air from 0130-0400 and 1230-1800 gmt, has remained unheard on any of its three frequencies - 657 kHz and 1107 kHz mediumwave and 7085 kHz (variable) shortwave - since 1610 gmt on 8 October. Balkh radio Although the Kabul-based broadcaster appears to be off the air, Radio Voice of Shari'ah of Balkh Province - the provincial radio station based in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif - continues to be observed on 1584 kHz mediumwave. It was heard from sign-on at 0230 gmt on 10 October; however, reception was poor during the morning broadcast and the signal faded out after about an hour. The programme began with a recitation and interpretation of verses from the Holy Koran. This was followed by a talk on Islamic justice; chanting; and a sermon enjoining zealous Afghans to defend their soil and believe in God. Radio Voice of Shari'ah of Balkh Province was heard again at sign-on at 1230 gmt on 10 October. Its 1330 gmt news bulletin carried reports on a delegation of the Council of Minister attending a meeting of officials in Jowzjan Province on 9 October; a meeting of officials of Balkh Province, chaired by the deputy governor, held on 10 October, discussed the military and political situation in the country and called on people to be ready to defend their country; other meetings of clerics held to discuss the US attack and stress the need for "jihad"; announcements followed by a commentary. The commentary said the "international terrorist and the murderer of Muslims of the world", America, thought that it would destroy the military bases of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and undermine the fighting morale of the Afghan people by launching a first strike. The former Soviet Union and Great Britain had also thought so, but it had been proved on the battle-front that Afghans are ready to defend their country by all means. External service The Radio Voice of Shari'ah external service has not been heard since reception was lost on Monday 8 October during the 1600-1615 gmt broadcast in Turkmen. It is usually on the air from 1530-1710 gmt on 1107 kHz mediumwave and 7085 kHz (variable) shortwave with short broadcasts in English, Arabic, Turkmen, Uzbek, Urdu and Russian. Forty minutes before reception of the domestic and external services was lost, the Kabul radio broadcast in English on 8 October at 1530 gmt, contained a report that Taleban commanders in Kabul Province would "fight until their last drop of blood against the United States and other invaders". Air strikes hit "radio masts" Al-Jazeera, the Qatar-based satellite TV channel, at 1556 gmt on 9 October interrupted a live relay from Washington of a news conference by US State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher to report the renewal of air raids on Afghanistan. The presenter said: "As I have just said a short while ago, the bombing of Kabul has been renewed for the third consecutive day. The footage we can see now was taken by Al-Jazeera cameras a few minutes ago and was just received. We could not air the footage live before relaying the news conference by US State Department Spokesman Richard Boucher. The bombing started 10 minutes ago." The television linked up via satellite with its correspondent in Kabul, Taysir Alluni. He said the bombing had stopped, as had anti- aircraft artillery fire. He added that the power supply had been cut off to Kabul about an hour previously, in anticipation of aerial attacks. Later in his report, Alluni said: "We can hear explosions in north- east Kabul. By the way, the masts of the Afghan radio station there were bombed yesterday [Monday 8 October, when Radio Voice of Shari'ah from Kabul was last heard by BBC Monitoring]." In earlier reports, the Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press news agency, which has close links to the Taleban, reported on 8 October at 1750 gmt that in the second wave of US air attacks on Kabul, a hill on which a TV transmitter is located, known as Asmaii Mountain, was "bombarded". AIP had earlier reported at 0510 gmt on 8 October that Taleban radio "offices" in Kabul had been hit during air strikes. There has been no domestic TV broadcasting in Taleban-controlled areas since the Taleban banned TV in 1998. Associated Press and Reuters carried similar reports on communications being targeted in the 8 October air strikes on Kabul. Associated Press reported that an office near a Taleban "communications tower" was hit during the attacks. A spokeswoman for the United Nations in Pakistan, Stephanie Bunker, said four workers for the Afghan Technical Consultants, which had an office in a village near the communications tower, located two miles (three km) east of Kabul, were killed in the attacks. On 9 October Reuters news agency quoted a witness in Kabul as saying the 8 October attacks were concentrated around the airport and on a landmark known as "TV Mountain", the site of radio and TV transmission towers. Power was immediately cut and the Taleban's radio stopped broadcasting. "The explosions were much more massive than last night," one witness said. "I could see flames and debris rising from the foot of TV Mountain." Resistance media Northern Alliance-controlled media are a key source of news from within Afghanistan. There are no Northern Alliance-run radio stations but news is broadcast by loudspeaker in the towns of Charikar, Jabalosaraj and Golbahor, which are located in Parvan Province neighbouring Kabul. The Northern Alliance also runs the on-line only Radio Voice of Mojahed http:///www.payamemujahid.com/radio/index.htm which broadcasts via the Internet three days per week in Pashto and Dari. However, this site was not accessible when checked by BBC Monitoring at 1100 gmt on 10 October. In the past, the Northern Alliance operated Takhar Radio, in Taloqan, northeastern Takhar Province. Its current status is unknown. According the USA's Philadelphia Inquirer, China has recently donated two shortwave transmitters to the Northern Alliance, which are scheduled to arrive in November. The Northern Alliance publishes an on-line weekly magazine Payam-e- Mojahed from Parwan, Afghanistan, in Pashto and Dari. Source: BBC Monitoring research 9-10 Oct 01 (via DXLD) FM radio station operating north of Kabul | Text of report by anti- Taleban Radio Voice of Mojahed web site on 10 October An FM radio station has started to operate north of Kabul. Reports from areas north of Kabul say that the radio station has been founded with the help of a France-based organization, which supports freedom of speech, and will be broadcasting three hours a day on the FM waveband. The radio can cover an area within a 40 km radius. The radio operates in [eastern] Parwan Province. Source: Radio Voice of Mojahed web site in Pashto 1630 gmt 10 Oct 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) WTFK??!! ** ARMENIA. Re DXLD 1-135 and 1-136: Bolshaya Zarya is the term for this certain mediumwave antenna of 2 km length. A picture of a Bolshaya Zarya (in this case Popovka / St. Petersburg, 1494 kHz) can be found in WRTH 1995 on page 579. The Zarya design exists also in smaller (i.e. shorter) versions, hence "Bolshaya Zarya". Regarding the actually used power on 1314: This parameter is certainly part of the contract with IBB, so anybody there should know whether full 1000 kW or less are currently in use. Regarding the HFCC: They actually do not know shortwave from Gavar, since all output from Armenia is registered was Yerevan, although the transmitters (at least the 1000 kW beasts and most of the 100 kW units, too) are indeed located at Gavar, together with the high power 234/864/1314 transmitters (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AUSTRALIA. I think perhaps Nigel Holmes may be able to answer this for me. I have in the past e-mailed RA but, they deign to even reply. VOA 17740 kHz. RA (Radio Australia) on 17750 kHz. 1030 UTC. Why is it that the RA signal spreads out 10 kHz from its frequency of 17750? Even when using an Icom IC-R71A this is still a problem and, the problem is caused by the extra wide frequency of RA. It is the only major SWBC that gives me this problem. Even if my QTH was in a bounce area it should not give me a strong signal 10 kHz wide down from 17750 and around 5 kHz up. This tends to suggest a transmitter adjustment. On the downside even PBT and Notch facilities are not enough. As I say, this seems to be almost unique to RA as a major SWBC. Perhaps Nigel can shed some light? Anybody else have a probable cause? I thought that International Broadcasters were required to keep within 5 kHz of allotted frequency? Maybe this is not so? Anyone know? Using an antenna tuner/coupler helps considerably (National Panasonic RD-9810). 73 (Tony Smith, Member: ARDXC, North Rockhampton, Qld. Australia, Oct 10, ARDXC via DXLD) I assume the carrier is actually on 17750... (gh, DXLD) ** BELGIUM. Re DXLD 1-144 and earlier: Perhaps it is worth to mention that there is for my knowledge a rather sharp separation of studio and transmitter facilities of VRT and RTBF, so the shortwave transmissions of RTBF from Wavre (also the location of the main RTBF MW transmitter on 621) are indeed beyond the scope of VRT/RVI. The transmitter currently in use by RTBF is an ancient one from 1952, so it is hardly a surprise that they are interested in taking over one of the VRT units. By the way, one can even hear the mentioned separation: RVI from Waver has a quite narrow, almost phone-like audio bandwidth, but not so RTBF on 9970 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CANADA [non]. I meant to send you this a long time ago: Regarding that "Newsworld International" Canadian-based news service that Home Shopping Network put on their channels during the Sept. 11 crisis: They said that it was somehow "affiliated" with them. Since they are both Florida-based, is this Canadian news service something directed to Canadian snowbirds wintering in Florida in normal times? (Will Martin, MO, Oct 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I think not, but perhaps some Canadian reader can explain the relationship (gh, DXLD) ** CUBA. Subject: [MediaMentor] A Cuban journalist gets e-mail A Cuban journalist gets e-mail (October 8) The high price of technology is turning into the newest type of censorship in Cuba. There is finally more Internet access in Cuba, but it comes at a high cost - literally, as a Cuban journalist discovered. http://dfn.org/focus/cuba/expensive.htm (via Georges Lessard, CAJ list via Ricky Leong, DXLD) ** CUBA [non]. You may have read the news about Ana Belén Montés, the DIA analyst arrested recently on charges of spying for Cuba. The FBI affidavit in support of her arrest warrant gave details on how she received instruxions from Cuba s 5-digit number groups, transmitted over shortwave radio. To read the full affidavit, visit http://www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/Montes_092101.pdf (Harry Helms, The Monthly A*C*E, Oct via DXLD) ** CUBA. Re DXLD 1-140: The balloon of TV Martí is quite widely known here in Europe, too. I really wonder which frequency range is actually in use; WRTH used to claim that TV Martí is on channel 13 but we know the discussion about UHF capability of TV sets sold in Cuba, suggesting that actually any UHF channel is in use. [I think it was originally on 13, but we have reported previously the three UHF channels in use, which I do not recall exactly -gh] [non] Regarding the TV system: Is it actually possible to combine SECAM with 525 lines / 60 frames? Probably this is possible with PAL; at least old WRTH editions suppose us to believe that Brazil has 525/60 with PAL colour. By the way, late in the eighties the PTT authority of the GDR started to consider giving up SECAM and replacing it by PAL. At this time most colour TV sets were PAL- capable anyway while GDR TV used PAL equipment and converted the signals into SECAM on the feed circuit outputs, resulting in a considerable loss of picture quality. The collapse of the GDR only expedited this measure, so the PAL/SECAM converters at the Berlin- Adlershof TV centre were ultimately removed on Dec. 15 1990 (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** DIEGO GARCIA. NOTAM: [DAFIF AND/OR FLIP CHANGE] ...REQUEST ALL CIVILIAN AND MILITARY AIRCRAFT CONTACT DIEGO GARCIA TOWER PRIOR TO REACHING 300 NM FROM NKW VORTAC COMMUNICATIONS WITH DIEGO GARICA TOWER SHALL BE ESTABLISHED VIA HF ON 13254 KHZ. IF UNABLE ON HF, ATTEMPT CONTACT ON VHF 126.2 MHZ OR UHF 340.2 MHZ. RADIO CHECK-IN SHALL INCLUDE FLIGHT NUMBER, ALTITUDE, ORIGIN, DESTINATION AND AIRCRAFT NUMBER. REQUEST ALL CIVILIAN AIRCRAFT REMAIN OUTSIDE OF 200 NM FROM NKW VORTAC. COMMERICAL AND PRIVATE AIRCRAFT FLYING WITHIN 200 NM OF NKW VORTAC THAT DEMONSTRATE HOSTILE INTENT WILL BE SUBJECT TO BEING FORCED DOWN BY ARMED MILITARY AIRCRAFT. IF NECESSARY, THE MILITARY HAS INDICATED THAT DEADLY FORCE WILL BE USED TO PROTECT THIS AREA FROM UNAUTHORIZED INCURSIONS. THE MILITARY WILL USE DEADLY FORCE ONLY AS A LAST RESORT. AFTER ALL OTHER MEANS ARE EXHAUSTED. THIS NEW POLICY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. OFFICIAL CHARTS OUTLINING AIRWAY CHANGES WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. IN ADDITION, ALL AIRCRAFT OPERATING IN THIS AIRSPACE. IF CAPABLE, WILL MAINTAIN A LISTENING WATCH ON VHF GUARD 121.5 MHZ OR UHF 243.0 MHZ. END PART 1 OF 2 08 OCT 18:00 UNTIL 08 DEC 18:00 (via Ary, Netherlands, Oct 8, Benelux DX Club via DXLD) ** EGYPT. 0215 UT Oct 10: The news tonight from Radio Cairo: Mubarak says Egypt supports all US measures in the fight against terrorism because Egypt has suffered from terrorism, expresses its confidence that the campaign is aimed against terrorists not Islamic people and that the US will do all it can to avoid civilian casualties, stresses that solving the Palestinian question is imperative, calls on Israel to respect the cease fire, says Palestinian Authority is doing all it can to prevent attacks on Israelis; Organization of Islamic Countries "not likely" to issue a statement on US attacks in Afghanistan; Secretary General of the Arab League rejects US statement that it reserves the right to attack other countries in its war on terrorism; [Various reports on the Afghanistan situation, at one point refers to international coalition against terrorism as "fragile" and "cobbled together"]; Palestinian police shoot and kill two Palestinians while breaking up a demonstration in support of bin-Laden in Gaza; Violent demonstrations in Quetta, Pakistan, situation "by and large under control, but tensions are high", most parts of the country calm including Islamabad--city of 12m had only a small quiet demonstration of a few hundred people; Reports of defections from Taliban forces to Northern Alliance; NATO and Russia building a closer cooperation on security issues, according to officials of both; UN Secretary General Annan expresses concern over US statement reserving a right to attack other countries in self-defense. [Although Cairo has supported US campaign in general terms, tonight was the most unequivocal statement of support yet. Cairo has appeared reluctant to issue a strong statement, preferring to stress the volatility of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its potential to further radicalize some Islamic populations--presumably most importantly within Egypt which has had some problems with its own fundamentalist groups. Last night's news did not mention the terrorism campaign or Afghanistan until more than halfway through the newscast, preceding it by several stories on the seriousness of the situation in Palestine. Apparently, the recent statement by Bush about support for a Palestinian state and renewed concerted US diplomatic efforts in the region have put the Egyptian government at sufficient ease to allow it to be more vocal in its support of US actions.] Monitored on 9475 kHz. [Personal comments/observations in brackets.] (--John A. Figliozzi, NY, swprograms via DXLD) ** ETHIOPIA. Paper says new president's daughter runs rebel radio station | Excerpt of report by Ethiopian newspaper The Press on 10 October Addis Ababa: The daughter of the new Ethiopian president, Lt Girma Woldegiorgis, Mrs Genet Girma and her husband Mr Eyasu Alemayehu are currently running the EPRP [rebel - Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party] radio station, Voice of the Democratic Path of Ethiopian Unity. It has been learnt that both Genet and her husband Eyasu, who are top EPRP officials, are currently living in Europe. Mrs Genet in 1985 [Ethiopian calendar, 1993] representing the EPRP came to Ethiopia to take part in the conference organized by the Ethiopian Peace and Democracy Forces and she was arrested together with Mr Abera Yemaneab [former member of the Coalition of the Ethiopian Democratic Forces], Ibsa Gutema [former member of the Coalition of the Ethiopian Democratic Forces] and Lencho Leta [former secretary- general of the Oromo Liberation Front]. With exception of Mr Yemaneab the rest were released on the orders of Prime Minister Meles after begging for a pardon... Meanwhile, the son of the new president, Mr Solomon Girma, is currently in exile, in the USA, opposing the EPRDF [ruling coalition - Ethiopian People's revolutionary Democratic Front] regime... Source: The Press, Addis Ababa, in Amharic 10 Oct 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. Re DXLD 1-144: Andreas Volk reports that Eurosonor-Radio announced on air and also claimed when asked via phone that they now use [RUSSIA] "Krasnodar 100 kW". Needs a monitoring check next Saturday (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INDONESIA. 4789.09 RRI Fak Fak, 09.03 powerhouse signal tonight, full Identification in BI 8th October; 4874.62 RRI Sorong(presumed), 0908 call to prayer, weak [audio?] but strong carrier 8th October. Regards (David Norrie, Auckland NZ, AOR 7030, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** IRELAND. Glenn, The Irish Independent online reports: "Teamtalk Media, the British-quoted internet and radio group, is set to buy the Co Meath-based radio station Atlantic 252. RTE is a 20pc (shareholder in the station (NM))which broadcasts throughout the UK on the long wave band. The biggest shareholder is RTL Group, the German media conglomerate which owns 80pc. It is understood that Teamtalk Media Group has won the bidding competition for the station. It was put up for sale earlier this year. A spokeswoman for Leeds-based Teamtalk said that she could not comment at all on speculation about any acquisition, but it is believed that an announcement is imminent. Atlantic had been linked to a possible deal with Oneword radio station, which is part-owned by the Guardian Media group, but the deal fell through. Oneword was rumoured to be planning to turn the youth/music station into a 24-hour talking book station. The station was originally put on the market four years ago when UK media company Emap bid stg£30m for it, but the owner at the time, CLT, decided not to sell. The value of the Teamtalk deal is not known, but industry estimates have varied from stg£5m to stg£10m." This is well below the kind of price tag which was being talked about in the industry before the current economic slowdown cut advertising cash." Teamtalk provides internet information services about English football clubs. The reporting is of such a standard that it is known amongst fans as "Teamtosh", "Teamtripe" etc. It should sit well on the same waveband as BBC Radio 4 (Nicholas Mead, UK, Oct 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MAURITANIA. Is still very strong (SIO 544) on 4845, heard on 10/7/01 at 2206 with a male announcer in French; at 2236 heard an Arabic song with female vocalist accompanied by what sounded like a sitar; f announcer and more unique and interesting music followed. Heard m announcer at 2244; "Mauritania" mentioned at 2258 (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MIDDLE EAST [and non]. Has anyone noticed any increase or other change in numbers station activity before or since the terrorist attacks? The general consensus is that there has been no appreciable difference. This does certainly appear to be a strange occurrence, since one would think that intelligence agencies would be passing enormous amounts of traffic to their agents. One thing that we can assume about ``normal`` numbers traffic is that most messages are dummies, or message groups sent to cover the lack of normal traffic and to make the enemy waste time on decryption efforts. The E3 ``Lincolnshire Poacher`` station (as well as her sister station E4 ``Cherry Ripe``) send numerous messages on a daily basis, each consisting of 200 groups. It`s hard to imagine that every message is valid. This is one way to hide messages, as opposed to remaining silent until a high number of messages need to be sent. Anyone attempting traffic analysis won`t notice anything different. L.P. is located in Cyprus, broadcasting presumably to agents in the Middle East. Since all the evidence points to ME terrorists, it may be worth keeping an ear on number stations broadcasting to/from the ME in the near future. There`s no guarantee that there will be any difference in message traffic, but it`s worth looking out for. Lincolnshire poacher (E3) --- Frequencies used are 5746, 6959, 8464, 9251, 10426, 11545, 12603, 13375, 14487, 15682, 16084, 16314, and 16475 kHz. Transmissions are normally used on parallel frequencies. Different frequencies are used at different times of the year. Messages are always 200 groups long, each group sent twice. 4XZ (M22) --- 4XZ is listed as Haifa Naval, Israel. Supposedly this station is used to transmit messages in CW to Israeli naval vessels, but transmissions are always one-way broadcasts consisting of 5L groups. Occasionally some Hebrew plaintext is noted. Most of the time the VVV DE 4XZ marker is sent. Messages are sent at random times. Message numbers in the preamble are sent backwards. Frequencies used are 5911, 6920, 6417, 9256, 10046, 12984, 16317, 17050 and 18481 kHz. Mossad (E10) --- The Mossad stations consist of a female voice reading 5L message groups consisting of international phonetics. Messages are sent twice. Various callups are used on different frequencies, and callups with a ``2`` after the three-digit call mean that no message will be sent. Occasionally, message strings will be sent in place of messages. For example, I once heard one of the stations repeating SYN28P14F553. One can only guess what these strings mean. Some E10 frequencies used are 4560, 4880, 6840, 6912, 10125, 10352, 12950, 14750, 15980, 17170, 17410, and 19715 kHz (Tom Sevart, KS, Covert Comms, The Monthly A*C*E, Oct, retyped by gh for DXLD) Significance of E3, E4, E10, M22?? (gh, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS [non]. From: Globe-radio-dx@yahoogroups.com (Karl Kruger) Special Announcement 9 October 2001: Following the commencement of military action against Afghanistan by the US-led coalition, Radio Netherlands has added additional frequencies for transmissions in Dutch to the region as follows: 0457-0800 UT Madagascar 21485 kHz 350 degrees to Middle East 0457-0800 UT Madagascar 21470 kHz 045 degrees to South Asia On Saturday the transmission starts half an hour later, at 0527. These additional frequencies continue through 15 October, then a decision will be made whether to prolong the arrangement (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. Since NZDT is UT plus 13, as absurd as that may be, the tests previewed in DXLD 1-144 should have been converted to around 2230, not 2330, of the previous UT day (Glenn Hauser, DXLD) ** NEW ZEALAND. We have already run RNZI`s new schedule, but append these comments from BBCM: Radio New Zealand International (RNZI) operates from a 100-kW transmitter at Rangitaiki near Taupo. News bulletins are broadcast on the hour. Some programming is relayed from National Radio - the main domestic service of Radio New Zealand. Certain transmissions are also available via the World Radio Network. RNZI programmes are also carried on many rebroadcasters in the Pacific. Live RealAudio is available between these times (GMT): Sunday 1000-1205 and 1900-2230; Monday to Friday 0300-0400, 0800-0900, 0900-1205 and 1700-2230 Friday 1700-2010 Saturday 1100-1205 Web Site: http://www.rnzi.com Broadcasts may be affected by summer/winter time changes (BBC Monitoring Oct 10 via DXLD) ** NIGERIA. Glenn, The 4 MHz propagation continues to be very good here lately, especially in the late afternoon and early evening. At 2210 on 10/7/01, Nigeria (tentatively) was heard on 4770. They were playing mellow seventies pop and disco music, sounding very much like Earth, Wind and Fire; mellow US disco-pop followed; the m announcer, in English, then spoke about "golden oldies or whatever you want to call them", tells of a letter received from a very long distance away, says "don't you touch that dial" and plays more disco music, including Rick James' "Super Freak". Another report of letters received from afar followed, then the music sadly faded into the static at around 2230. Overall SIO 233 at best (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGERIA? 6099.95, Unidentified African 0630-0645, eventually clear of co-channel Tirana, with news in English on "Information minister", reported as Liberia but they seem to be IDing as "Nigeria", references to "South Africa and Angola", needs more work; anyone hearing this clearly? (David Norrie, 8th and 10th October, Auckland, New Zealand, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria, used to be on 6100, but I think has been inactive for years. Liberia has been reported recently. Central African Republic also newly on 6100, but would not expect them to be in English (gh, DXLD) ** NORWAY. Even though the UKE week in Trondheim, Norway, doesn`t commence till tomorrow, the UKE-Senderen is already on the air. Heard today at fairly good level on 7215 kHz until 1300 UT when a very strong station on 7220 signed on and destroyed reception. Is on 7215 kHz with 1 kW and 1485 kHz (also reported to be at 1 kW) till November 3rd - and I believe 24 hrs a day. Btw: UKE in Norwegian means "week", so this student-week does indeed take quite some time: From October 11th till November 3rd. Hi! Best 73s, (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, Oct 10, Hard-Core-DX mailing list via DXLD) ** QATAR. Glenn, There is an interesting article in the October 9 edition of the Washington Post about Qatar's 24-hour satellite TV network, al-Jazerra, ``Qatar TV Station a Clear Channel to Middle East``. This is the network that broadcast the Osama tape immediately following the start of the US military strikes against Afghanistan. Most curious is the historical information linking the station's genesis to a similar, but failed, venture between the BBC and the Saudis in 1996, and Qatar's bloodless coup in 1995. The hyperlink is http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28526-2001Oct8.html. Best regards, (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, Oct 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** QATAR. Analysis: Al-Jazeera TV - inside the Afghan crisis - 10 October Exclusives As the US-UK bombing campaign against Afghanistan continues, the popular Arab satellite TV channel Al-Jazeera remains the only foreign broadcaster to show exclusive live footage from the capital Kabul. The station, which is based in the Gulf state of Qatar, has a permanent 24-hour-a-day satellite link to Kabul. On the first night of the attacks on 7 October, its live footage of the skies above Kabul was shown on TV stations worldwide via CNN. Since the US-led attacks began, Al-Jazeera has provided news of civilian casualties and damaged facilities from Kabul. Kabul correspondent Taysir Alluni reported on 8 October that at least four civilians, who were working for a mine clearance outside Kabul, were killed during US air strikes aimed at broadcasting transmitters atop a hill. Access to Bin-Ladin For several years, Usamah Bin-Ladin and Al-Qa'idah have used Al- Jazeera as a platform to communicate their views to the world, preferring to send videotapes to the Kabul office. Although the Taleban has granted interviews to international broadcasters such as the BBC and Voice of America, Al-Jazeera remains the only foreign broadcaster with access to Usamah Bin-Ladin and his Al-Qa'idah network. A few hours after the US-led attacks on 7 October, the station broadcast a pre-recorded video message by a defiant Usamah Bin-Ladin and his commanders. He described the battle between the United States and Al-Qa'idah as one between the West and Israel against the interests of Muslims. And again on 9 October, Al-Jazeera broadcast another exclusive taped statement, this time by Al-Qa'idah spokesman Sulayman Abu-Ghayth. The spokesman said: "The Crusade war, promised by Bush, has been launched against Afghanistan." He added that "the terrorism" claimed by America is a kind of deception, noting that "Jihad for the sake of God now is a must for every Muslim". The spokesman praised the 11 September suicide attacks against America and warned of similar reprisals to follow: "The Americans should know that the storm of plane attacks will not abate." US complaint In the United States, extensive coverage on TV networks of Usamah Bin-Ladin and Al-Qa'idah's statements, supplied by Al-Jazeera, has prompted the US government to lodge a complaint. The US State Department on 9 October said Al-Jazeera had carried inflammatory rhetoric and inaccurate reports and raised concerns over the station's access to Usamah Bin-Ladin and Al-Qa'idah. "We've expressed our concerns about some of the kinds of things we've seen on their air, particularly inflammatory stories, totally untrue stories, things like that," US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. "We would certainly like to see them tone down the rhetoric," he told a daily briefing. The United States had complained to the Qatari Emir a week earlier after the station had rebroadcast its 1998 interview with Bin-Ladin. In response, the Emir said his government wanted media freedom in preparation for a parliamentary system. Media group criticizes United States The International Press Institute (IPI) on 8 October criticized US attempts to influence Al-Jazeera, Agence France Presse (AFP) reported. "In the opinion of IPI, the attempt to curtail the news reporting of an independent television station, based in another country, is an infringement of editorial independence," IPI said in a letter sent to Colin Powell. IPI expressed concern that the United States could be attempting to develop a "two-tiered approach" to reporting of the crisis. "An approach which enables balanced news stories to be reported in Western countries while trying to prevent similar news stories being aired in the Middle East," IPI said. IPI urged the United States to examine the "dichotomy between acknowledging the rights of the free press in the US while seeking to suppress this fundamental right in other countries". Some Arab newspapers, including the London-based Al-Hayat, Qatar's Gulf Times, Jordan's Al-Arab al-Yawm and Lebanon's The Daily Star, have also criticized the United States' attempts to influence Al- Jazeera. Al-Jazeera maintains independence Despite the US complaint, Al-Jazeera has refused to tone down its coverage, but at the same time, it has played down media reports of US pressure. News editor Ahmed Shaykh told the Russian newspaper Vremya Novostey on 9 October: "There has been no pressure. We are operating in a customary way and communicating with all parties to the conflict and we intend to continue to do so... We uphold in the Arab world the principles of democracy about which the United States is continually talking. Why should we retreat from them?" The station continues to air the views of analysts hostile towards the United States and its campaign against the Taleban. On 8 October, a member of Lebanon's Shi'i Muslim group Hezbollah went on air to condemn the strikes on Afghanistan as "savage" aggression. Husayn al-Haj Hassan urged "governments in the Muslim world to take the appropriate stand". The US State Department has listed Hezbollah as a "terrorist organization". Western leaders use Al-Jazeera to reach Muslims The United States government, like its Arab counterparts, has regarded Al-Jazeera as a double-edged sword. They recognize the value of using Al-Jazeera to convey messages to Arabic speakers in the Middle East, the United States and Europe, but cannot influence its controversial news coverage. The White House said on 9 October that President George W. Bush would consider giving an interview to the station. US Secretary of State Colin Powell was interviewed by Al-Jazeera on 17 September. On 9 October, a day after Al-Jazeera aired Bin-Ladin's message, it broadcast a taped interview with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Blair issued a direct message to Muslims throughout the Arab world that Britain and America's war against terrorism was not directed against them. Blair, whose words were simultaneously translated into Arabic, explained that US-British strikes were launched on Afghanistan because of its refusal to hand over Bin-Ladin. Al-Jazeera defends access to Bin-Ladin Some analysts and UK newspapers have raised concerns that Al- Jazeera's journalistic scoops may have brought it a little too close to Bin-Laden and Al-Qa'idah. The UK newspaper The Guardian noted that an Al-Jazeera subtitle during the 7 October air strikes talked of the Taleban firing at "the enemy's planes". Other UK papers have described Al-Jazeera as a "mouthpiece" of Usamah Bin-Ladin and his Al-Qa'idah organization. The Daily Telegraph called the station "bin Laden TV". However, Al-Jazeera has stressed that it is not a propaganda tool of Bin-Ladin. When asked whether rebroadcasting the 1998 interview with Usamah Bin- Ladin was promoting terrorism, news editor Ahmed Shaykh told the Russian newspaper Vremya Novostey on 9 October: "Bin Ladin's image has been extraordinarily inflated. Both President of Russia Putin and US President Bush - they are all obsessed with Bin Ladin, as though he were an entire empire, like the former USSR. How are journalists to ignore him? We need to film him to understand what he is, what he is after. He himself has not confessed to having organized the acts of terror in the United States." "Everyone, incidentally, has pounced on us, although our tape with Bin Ladin's speech has been energetically shown by the American CNN. Why do you not complain to the latter? CNN and ourselves have a commercial agreement on cooperation: we purchase and show their material, they, ours," Shaykh told the paper. US networks in row over Al-Jazeera footage CNN's commercial deal with Al-Jazeera came under fire from rival US TV networks during the 7 October air strikes. CNN got into a dispute with other US networks over its exclusive use of Al-Jazeera's footage of the attacks against Afghanistan. On 6 October, CNN issued a notice to its rival broadcast and cable news channels that it had reached an agreement giving it exclusive rights to broadcast any Al-Jazeera video for the first six hours. But on 7 October US networks, including ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News, decided to ignore the CNN embargo and used Al-Jazeera's footage of the attacks and an apparently pre-recorded statement from Usamah Bin- Ladin. They argued that as the Al-Jazeera film was the only footage available from Afghanistan it was in the national interest for all broadcasters to be allowed to use it. On 8 October, Al-Jazeera faxed a statement to the US networks threatening legal action if they did not stop using its footage of the US-led attacks on Afghanistan, exclusive to CNN. "Although this [7 October] usage is considered an act of piracy, CNN and Al-Jazeera made a decision to ignore it for one day only. This note shall serve as notice to all Al-Jazeera clients and affiliates that the CNN-Al-Jazeera exclusive agreement is still in place and if we have to, we will enforce it through our legal departments," the fax said. CNN later apologized to the other networks for the threat of legal action by Al-Jazeera. It also issued a statement saying: "Yes, we believe that we have an exclusive on this footage, and we believe that the exclusivity is enforceable, but we're not going to enforce it in this unique circumstance because of the compelling national interest." The Los Angeles Times said CBS, Fox News Channel and MSNBC were prepared to use Al-Jazeera footage again if it was in the national interest. World's attention on Al-Jazeera As the only channel with a live link to Kabul, Al-Jazeera will continue to capture international attention through its exclusive coverage of the crisis in Afghanistan. The Qatari government is expected to stop funding the station in November. Al-Jazeera's increasingly high-profile reputation may help attract enough commercial revenue from broadcasters such as CNN and advertisers. Since its launch in 1996, the station has relied principally on advertising from its Gulf neighbours, which have criticized its coverage in the past. In an interview with Yusri Fouda, deputy executive director of Al- Jazeera, The Guardian said the station was confident of surviving as a private station. "Advertising is looking up, they have a new deal with BskyB to be included in its digital package, and they're talking of floating the company. Meanwhile, the royalties are pouring in from their exclusive Afghan footage," the paper said. However, the challenge for Al-Jazeera will be providing live, exclusive coverage from Afghanistan while keeping its editorial independence. If the station is perceived as a "mouthpiece" of Bin- Ladin and Al-Qa'idah, it risks losing commercial revenue and its credibility. Source: Monitoring research, 10 Oct 01 (BBCM via DXLD) ** RUSSIA [non]. Re DXLD 1-138: The VoR schedule still shows 693, and that's what they continue to announce occasionally (although not always). This is the Berlin outlet, which was already a couple of months ago moved from this frequency to new 603 (still Uhlenhorst 5 kW). 693 is now allocated to MEGA-Radio and to be used with 200 kW from Zehlendorf, i.e. the 177 longwave site, but not on air yet due to delayed transmitter installation (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. Russian Public Television (ORT) has inaugurated an English web-site at http://www.ortv.ru/eng/ Thus, ORT has become the first Russian TV channel with such an extensive English-language presence. The site contains a rather good selection of translated articles and TV program scripts but all video reports are still in Russian. ORT is not a public TV station in American or Western European sense. It's basically a commercial TV station whose major "shareholder" is Kremlin (Sergei Sosedkin, IL, Oct 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SLOVENIA. Re DXLD 1-140: It seems that Radio Slovenia International is actually the former Radio Maribor International; at least it uses the very same satellite outlet now. If so it should actually go out on mediumwave 1170, too (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SOMALIA. Radio Banaadir. Main Studio: Mogadishu. Comments: According to the newspaper 'Xog Ogaal', Radio Banaadir was inaugurated on 21st February 2000 after two months of testing. The report added that the radio station "is said to be independent; some reports, however, link it to faction leaders." Banaadir is the name of the region encompassing Mogadishu and its immediate environs. Language: Somali. --------------------------------------------------------------------- 1500-2100 Daily SOMALI Domestic Ter: 7.002-variable (Timing varies) 100.5 2000 Daily News --------------------------------------------------------------------- (© BBC Monitoring Oct 8, condensed for DXLD) ** SWITZERLAND. Larry, let me say this about SRI... recently I did hear their programming, and I noted that they no longer have a newscast to start it off--a matter of cost-cutting, no doubt! To me, the value of SRI's programming has gone way downhill in recent years. I've heard your views and I agree with them. It's not as good as what the BBC or VOA offers today (even if the VOA's News Now format is thought of as "rolling news" like Passport tells you). And you're right on this: why is SRI playing "smooth jazz" to listeners and not traditional Swiss music, which has such an identity to Switzerland itself... and used to be so much a part of what one would expect to hear from SRI in the past (i.e. "The Two Bobs", or that old mailbag show hosted by Rob Brookes and Paul Sufrin which I enjoyed listening to)??? (Joe Hanlon in Philadelphia, Oct 9, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K. It seems that the special BBC Worldservice news coverage during these times has pre-empted all the regular BBC feature programming. Could you tell the listenership (whenever Write On itself returns to the air) just what happens to the feature programming and the people who produce it during these sort of instances? Are the programmes actually made but just sit un-aired? Or do the producers get laid off or re-assigned to some other news- related tasks? I, for one, certainly miss the arts and sciences programming that I feel are the BBC's crown jewels, but I also understand the desire to give the best news coverage to the events under way. Is it a day-to-day decision whether to pre-empt features with news, or have you made a long-term decision to drop all features for a week at a time, or even longer? Thanks! (William Martin, Saint Louis, Missouri USA, Oct 10, to writeon, cc to DXLD) ** U K. World Service seeks extra £3m Matt Wells, media correspondent, Wednesday October 10, 2001 The Guardian The BBC World Service is asking the Foreign Office for £3m to meet the extra cost of covering the war on terrorism. Additional expense has been incurred in extending the Pashtu and Persian language services in central Asia, and discussions are being held with the Foreign Office to boost the World Service's annual government grant, worth £183m this year. There are about 70 staff working in the Persian and Pashtu sections at the service's Bush House headquarters in London, about 10 more than normal. These are supplemented by about 30 reporters in central Asia and key world capitals. The Pashtu language service has been boosted from three to four and a half hours a day, while broadcasts in Persian have been increased from six and a half hours to nine and a half. Arabic, Urdu and Hindi programmes have also been extended. A recent UN survey showed that 72% of Afghan men listen to the BBC Pashtu service every week, and it receives 2,000 letters a month from Afghans. Most come from people outside the country, but some are passed on by aid workers. As well as broadcasting news bulletins, the Pashtu service transmits drama and educational programmes to Afghanistan. A series modelled on The Archers called New Home, New Life is immensely popular and has just broadcast its 1,000th episode. Baqer Moin, head of the Persian and Pashtu service, said: "When one of the characters died, people held services in mosques because they thought he was real. It was like 'who shot Phil Mitchell' in EastEnders." [is BBC doing more harm than good, then??? -gh] Another programme, Our World, Our Future, aims to give a perspective about the world to the young people of Afghanistan. It discusses fables, history, culture and basic science, such as the composition of water and how the earth revolves around the sun. Health and Hygiene for Women raises issues that Afghan women would not otherwise have the opportunity to discuss, such as medical matters and infant mortality. The main stumbling block is the lack of an office in Kabul. The World Service maintained a bureau there from 1988 until the Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas in March. The Taliban, furious that the BBC had reported unease about the move among ordinary Afghans, expelled the correspondent, Kate Clark. Mr Moin said he hoped the office could be reopened. "I hope that the Taliban would change their mind. We are the only radio station who kept a reporter in Kabul for more than 10 years. We have had a regular presence there. They closed it, not us." Lines of communication with Taliban officials are tentatively being reopened. Abdul Hai Mutmaeen, the Taliban's chief spokesman in Kandahar, called the Pashtu-speaking staff in London after the coalition strikes on Afghanistan, and has given interviews. Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2001 (via Daniel Say, swprograms via DXLD) ** U K [non]. We were bored here with domestic coverage of the start of US military action by mid-afternoon on Sunday 10/7/01, and were pleased that BBC World TV was yielding a surprisingly clean feed via our local ISP dial-up at 2000 UT or so. The video was choppy at times but audio never missed a beat. It appears that BBC has configured their video feeds to end after fifteen minutes, which necessitates a reload; perhaps this helps mitigate the effect of people who treat real video feeds like television and forget that it's on after a while. We are also fortunate in the Washington DC area that a half hour BBC World TV is broadcast on Northern Virginia's WNVC TV 56 (and on our local cable) weeknights at 10PM local time. This *almost* makes up for the fact ubiquitous World Service reception via shortwave here is sorely lacking. With best regards, (Larry Will, Mount Airy, Maryland, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. [BDXC-UK] Jim Moir - Engineer of the Radio 2 turnround From: http://news.ft.com/ft/gx.cgi/ftc?pagename=View&c=Article&cid=FT3419FMLSC&live=true&query=radio By FT Creative Business staff --- Published: October 9 2001 12:35 Jim Moir has succeeded where Marks and Spencer has failed. The controller of Radio 2 turned round a dowdy, ageing brand and made it popular again. BBC Radio's second station is rejuvenated with a new line-up of DJs led by Steve Wright and less obvious presenters Jonathan Ross and Mark Lamaar. It is now the country's most popular station and was voted Sony Radio Award's station of the year. According to the last set of Rajar figures released in August, Radio 2 had 11.7m listeners, an improvement of 1.5m on last year. Audience share rose 14.3 per cent from 12.9 per cent. Admirers say Jenny Abramsky, the BBC's director of radio and music, should share in what Times critic Peter Barnard described as "a triumph of instinct over feasibility study, of broadcasting creativity over painting by numbers". BBC radio has retained its edge over commercial radio in both reach and share (as it should, given its ability to ignore the profit and loss account) and Radio 4 is London's most listened to station. But Radio 2's transformation stands out from the pack. Some older listeners are irked by the introduction of "pop music cacophony and endless prattle" and Moir also had to contend with a tabloid campaign to save 78-year-old broadcaster Jimmy Young. But, sensitive to ageism himself, having been passed over for the job of BBC1 controller at the age of 52, Moir is sticking around past his 60th birthday to launch Network Y, a new digital channel approved by the government, which will broadcast material from the BBC's archives, including album tracks, concerts and sessions. The network, aimed somewhere between Radio 1 and 2's audiences, would provide what he called "a relevant, entertaining and authoritative guide to music" (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** U K. Re DXLD 1-140: BBC Radio London is only on FM 94.9 anymore. Until six years or so ago they were on MW 1458, too, but then had to withdraw from this frequency (I still have a record of the "retune"-loop they aired before finally vacating the transmitter), which is now in use by Sunrise-Radio. If this rings a bell: Sunrise-Radio temporarily used also shortwave from Jülich (5850) (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Oct 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. VOA again increases broadcasts to Afghanistan | Excerpt from press release by Voice of America on 7 October Washington, DC, 7 October: In the wake of today's air strikes against the Taleban regime by the US and Britain, the Voice of America will again expand its broadcasts to Afghanistan, starting 8 October. In the second such expansion since last month's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, VOA will add 30 minutes to its Dari and Pashto language broadcasts, bringing each to a total of two hours and 15 minutes daily. Pashto will add a half hour from11 p.m. to 11.30 p.m. [1900-1930 gmt] Kabul time, and Dari will add a half hour from 11.30 p.m. to midnight [1930-2000 gmt] Kabul time. Research conducted last year showed that 80 per cent of Afghan males listen to VOA broadcasts regularly... In addition to its correspondents in Islamabad, Pakistan, VOA is moving two reporters into northern Afghanistan from other areas of the world. VOA reporters will meanwhile continue their coverage of the White House, Capitol Hill, the Pentagon and the State Department. For additional information, please contact the Office of External Affairs at (202) 619-2538 or send email to pubaff@voa.gov. Source: Voice of America press release, Washington, in English 7 Oct 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** U S A [non]. Special frequencies of IBB to Afghanistan effective Oct. 9, 2001: 0000-0100 RL Persian 9450 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg 9505 UDO 500 kW / 305 deg 15250 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg 0100-0130 VOA Urdu 9450 UDO 500 kW / 305 deg 15250 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg co-ch VOA English IRA 500 / 004 0130-0200 VOA Pashto 15250 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg co-ch VOA English IRA 500 / 004 0200-0230 VOA Dari 15250 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg co-ch VOA English IRA 500 / 004 0230-0300 RL Tajik 9505 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg 15250 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg co-ch VOA English IRA 500 / 004 0300-0430 VOA Persian 15250 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg 0430-0500 RL Persian 15250 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg 17855 IRA 500 kW / 334 deg 1200-1215 VOA Pashto 7235 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg 15355 IRA 500 kW / 334 deg co-ch VOA English KAV 250 / 095 1215-1230 VOA Dari 7235 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg 15355 IRA 500 kW / 334 deg co-ch VOA English KAV 250 / 095 1230-1300 VOA Persian 7235 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg 15355 IRA 500 kW / 334 deg co-ch VOA English KAV 250 / 095 1300-1400 RL Uzbek 7235 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg 15355 IRA 500 kW / 334 deg co-ch VOA English KAV 250 / 095 1400-1415 RL Persian 7235 UDO 500 kW / 300 deg 9645 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg co-ch VOA English IRA 500 / 020 1415-1515 VOA Pashto 9645 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg co-ch VOA English IRA 500 / 020 1515-1615 VOA Dari 9645 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg co-ch VOA English IRA 500 / 020 1615-1700 RL Turkmen 7235 UDO 500 kW / 300 deg 9645 IRA 500 kW / 340 deg co-ch VOA English IRA 500 / 020 IRA=Iranawila, Sri Lanka RL=Radio Liberty UDO=Udorn Thani, Thailand VOA=Voice of America 73 from Ivo and Angel!, Observer, Bulgaria, Oct 10 via DXLD) Surely most if not all of these co-channel conflicts will not exist, by deleting the former service! (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Mona Charen skewers VOA: ``Is VOA on Board?`` http://www.townhall.com/columnists/monacharen/mc20011009.shtml (via Kim Elliott, DC, DXLD) RFE Insists on Independence: http://www.praguepost.cz/news071101b.html (Prague Post Oct 3 via Kim Elliott, DC, DXLD) ** U S A. This is why we fight? Tuned into Armed Forces Radio shortwave at 1:30 (1730 UT) to see what they're up to. News of the war? The Braves playoff game? NO....Dr. Laura! (Brock Whaley, GA, Oct 10, DX LISTENING DIGEST) 12689.5 USB? And the deafening Rush no doubt to follow (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. Subject: WWFV phase out. Greetings Friends and foes: Radio Station WWFV/WGTG has been on the air every day for the last 7 years. This past summer, WWFV has received 3 massive direct lightning strokes. As a result much damage has been done to our antennas and switching matrix. In addition, we need to do some heavy maintenance on our transmitters after well over 40,000 hours of operating time we need to disassemble and clean, align them very carefully (overhaul). Some of them will be moved to the new SW station WWCV. Effective October 23, 2001 we will be suspending operations during the day light hours in north America to repair our antennas. Our proposed broadcasting schedule is: 6:00 PM to 3:00 AM eastern time Freq: 5.085 MHz 6:00 PM to 3:00 AM eastern time Freq: 6.890 MHz (this may change due to military QRM) We are moving forward with our plans to get rid of PAY-triot programming. CHEERS!!!!!!! ("Roadranger," rec.radio.shortwave Oct via and slightly edited by John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** U S A. Greetings from Sactown once again, Glenn! Hope I posted this tidbit before your recording this week's "World of Radio". We had a KPFA Listener's Advisory Board meeting Sunday here in Sactown. The KPFA rep who came down gave us the rather disturbing news that the Pacifica Foundation in Washington now manipulates the purse- strings! Since Pacifica has incurred massive legal bills these last two years, it means Pacifica isn't paying the 12 union members of KPFA, like chief engineer Jim Bennett; nor are they paying the P.G. & E. (electric & gas) bills! Because of that corporate jack move, KPFA suspended their September fund raiser! Used to be Pacifica got 14 cents of every donated dollar; now they get it all! Which means that KPFA might be taken off the air in less than a month's time, the station rep told the drop-jawed L.A.B.! Further info can be accessed from http://www.savepacifica.org ! Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11, Nevada City's KVMR, 89.5 MHz fm, now broadcasts B.B.C. World Service news at the top of nearly every hour! They also recently added Amy Goodman's "Democracy Now" to their weekday morning programming schedule! That's a -30- for now! P.S.: Recently bought a used ICOM IC-R71A as a shackmate for my Sony 2010! Now I feel like a real SWL snob!!! 73's from Sactown-n-Ed Gardner! Oct 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ###