DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-144, October 9, 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] CONTINENT OF MEDIA 01-09 now also available at DXing.com: (STREAM) http://www.DXing.com/com0109.ram (DOWNLOAD) http://www.DXing.com/com0109.rm (SUMMARY) http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/com0109.html ** AFGHANISTAN. I read this in a usenet group - I have no idea whether or not it is true. In the execution of the information campaign, the first step was to disable the Afghani (Talibani) radio broadcast station. The second step was to distribute single-channel short wave radios to the people with the food, and the third step was to orbit the nation with a radio-broadcast aircraft which is broadcasting both on the frequency of the destroyed radio station, and the single-channel short-wave radios which have been passed out (Paul Crankshaw, UK, Oct 8, hard- core-dx via DXLD) Illiteracy amongst the Afghan people is about 90%, so no paper leaflets are helpful. Kabul MW 1107 kHz may be the frequency, which will be in use by the PsyOps group, when [if?] the terrestrial Kabul station be knocked down... 73 wb DF5SX (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, DX LISTENING DIGEST) I heard that the food packets are labeled in English, French and Spanish. Glad to hear there was no point in using Pashto and Dari... (gh, DXLD) NPR's "All Things Considered" ran a story on this aircraft this afternoon. It goes by the name of Commando Solo and is outfitted with complete AM/FM/SW/TV broadcast facilities. The report was mostly an interview with a gentleman from Jane's Defence Weekly, who commented that the planes has been used previously in Kosovo, Haiti, and Iraq, and typically flies in a figure 8 pattern at about 20,000 feet. He also commented that many Afghans own radios, and some of the more resourceful people use bicycles fitted with dynamotors to power their sets. If you do a web search for "Commando Solo" on google.com, you'll get back a long list of hits. Some of the web sites have photos, technical information, etc. about the plane, although not a lot is said about transmitter power & other mission specific information (Bruce Portzer, WA, hard-core-dx via DXLD) Afghanistan: (AP) Armed Forces Send Out Pro-US Message By Deb Riechmann, Associated Press [Oct 8] America is battling terrorism with messages as well as might - dropping leaflets and filling radio airwaves with words urging Afghans to shun the ruling Taliban and back the war on terrorism. The Pentagon is saying little about how U.S. forces are trying to fill the eyes and ears of the Afghans with pro-American words, but the goal is clear: sway the minds of the people to help weaken the Taliban's hold on the nation. "For the people supporting the Taliban or the terrorists, it will be a real clear message: 'You're on the wrong side and you'd better get on the right side or there's the devil to pay,'" said Chad Spawr, a former psychological operations soldier in Vietnam. The effort involves information soldiers from the 4th Psychological Operations Group at Fort Bragg, N.C., and the 193rd Special Operations Wing of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, a division of the U.S. Air Force's Special Operations Command. The psy-ops soldiers have planes to scatter leaflets, mobile print shops that can be dropped by parachute and loudspeaker systems to blare messages. The soldiers use local languages to reach people on the ground. Their motto: "Persuade, Change and Influence." "You pour the leaflets out a chute so what you have is a trail of paper coming out of the back end of an aircraft," Spawr said. "Gene- rally, they're a little bigger than a dollar bill. Usually they're black-and-white with varying messages." The Defense Department has not yet released any copies of the leaflets being dispersed but has confirmed the drops. Spawr said they will likely explain the U.S.-led bombing and urge people to support the allied forces or the northern alliance of fighters trying to wrest control of Afghanistan from the Taliban. They might also direct citizens to food or shelter or try to undermine Osama bin Laden, the Saudi exile U.S. leaders say is the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said Monday that the United States would use all forms of communication, including the Voice of America radio network, to reach citizens in the region. "We do have broadcasting capabilities to get messages to the people," he said, adding that those people need information from a source other than a "repressive Taliban regime." VOA has expanded broadcasts in five languages that are spoken in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iran and 21 countries in the Middle East and north Africa. The agency says it provides unbiased news, but takes its editorial cues from a board of governors, on which the State Department has a seat. Last week, Taliban Information Minister Qatradullah Jamal accused Western broadcasters, including the VOA, and the British Broadcasting Corp. of waging a propaganda war against the Afghan leadership. "Every night in their Pashtu and Dari service broadcasts they are talking about different options to the Taliban," he said. Voice of America was recently criticized by the U.S. government, too. Ignoring State Department objections, VOA aired a news report that included part of an interview with the leader of Afghanistan's Taliban militia. The voice of the Taliban should not be broadcast over facilities backed by U.S. taxpayers, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. The psychological war also is being waged with more than 37,000 pounds of food in packets designed to flutter to the ground to avoid injuries. The yellow plastic pouches, about the size and weight of hardcover books, are filled with peanut butter, strawberry jam, crackers and beans with tomato sauce. They have a picture of a person eating from the pouch, a stencil of Old Glory and the greeting: "This food is a gift from the United States of America." The greeting is in English since the Defense Department stockpiles the pouches for humanitarian relief anywhere in the world. Also in the air are members of the 193rd Special Operations Wing, who are flying EC-130 Commando Solo aircraft and cargo planes, filling the airwaves with pro-American messages. Retired Maj. Gen. Robert Harris of Palmyra, Pa., who has two sons currently on a mission to the region, recalls the unit's work during the Gulf War. The broadcasts urged the Iraqis to lay down their arms and surrender, he said. "Sometimes the broadcast would say things like, 'Look, the B-52s are scheduled here in an hour and 15 minutes. Why don't you give up, surrender, come out from wherever you are and we'll take care of you?'" Harris said (via Clandestine Radio Watch Oct 9 via DXLD) Monday October 8 1:46 PM ET U.S. Seeks Afghan Hearts, Minds as Bombing Continues By Jim Wolf WASHINGTON (Reuters) ...U.S. forces are also set to roll out an airborne electronic broadcasting system known as Commando Solo, which can be used in conjunction with air-dropped transistor radios. The four-propeller Air National Guard EC-130 aircraft flies day and night to broadcast U.S. messages on AM, FM, HF, TV and military communications bands. Six of the Commando Solo aircraft are in the U.S. inventory, all flown by the Air Force's 193rd Special Operations Wing. Such aircraft were deployed to Saudi Arabia and Turkey in support of the 1991 U.S.-led drive to expel Iraqi forces from Kuwait. Their ``preparation of the battlefield'' helped to minimize both enemy and coalition casualties by contributing to massive Iraqi defections and surrenders, Pentagon officials said. U.S. forces are also about to begin showering Afghanistan with anti- Taliban leaflets in local languages, defense officials said. For the millions of illiterate Afghans, Rumsfeld told reporters, ``figures and symbols'' had also been incorporated into the leaflets. Full story: http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011008/pl/attack_persuasion_dc_1.html (via yahoo news via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Guard's aircraft alter broadcasts Planes kept in state replace TV, radio signals with U.S. messages. 10/09/01 By JOHN L. MICEK Call Harrisburg Bureau http://www.mcall.com/html/news/top/a_pg001a1_planes.htm (Lehigh Valley News Oct 9 via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Some official info and good photos of Commando Solo: http://www.specialoperations.com/Aviation/EC_130/Commando_Solo/default.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Psyops Units Encouraged to Modernize Their Equipment --- by Harold Kennedy A Defense Department advisory panel`s recommendation that the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) phase out its Commando Solo psychological warfare aircraft and replace it with a range of newer platforms has sparked a debate about the command`s modernization priorities. It also has helped shed light on the role that these units play in U.S. military operations.... 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) More background on previous Commando Solo operations: Psychological Operations in Bosnia© by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas K. Adams, US Army, Retired http://www-cgsc.army.mil/milrev/English/DecFeb99/adams.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) Posted at 11:03 p.m. EDT Friday, April 16, 1999 Air National Guard plane broadcasts news on Yugoslav airwaves By BARRY SHLACHTER, Miami Herald Washington Bureau http://onlinetest.herald.com/content/archive/news/kosovo/docs/034049.htm (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) In airwave war, Pa. unit out front Over the Balkans, guardsmen beam messages with U.S. flavor. By Barry Shlachter and Kristin E. Holmes INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS BRUSSELS, Belgium -- In the skies over the Balkans, a lumbering plane full of central Pennsylvanians eating granola bars and fried chicken is one of NATO's secret weapons in the war against Yugoslavia.... http://www.philly.com/specials/99/kosovo/Raw/airwave0417.asp (via Artie Bigley, DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. V. of Shariya is back on the air. Maybe it was the electricity that put it off the air after the raids. Still 7084 kHz. VOS had its usual English sked 1530-1545, into Arabic at 1545. Somewhere between 1550 and 1610 it went off the air again. Before long a second night of bombing was confirmed. Obviously last night it was the electricity that put them off. Today too probably. Anyway tomorrow we will know whether the bombs hit the stn or not (Victor A. Goonetilleke, 4S7VK, Sri Lanka, UADX, BC-DX Oct 8) Very hard to hear VOS in the morning or 0130. Band is very noisy with many Indian hams, using AM and homebrew stuff which spews garbage. Also there is an Indian net on 7080. But will keep trying. Will check to see if the stn will come up again. There was an report from Jose Jacob VU2JOS to say Indian press reports VOS from an alternative location. I doubt that claim very much. The TX, the modulation and characteristics were identical. The stn varies in strength (Victor A. Goonetilleke, Oct. 9, ibid.) Afghanistan: Taliban Radio Targeted by Jamming and Air Strikes By Yuki Sakagami, CRW Japan Bureau and Nick Grace C., CRW Washington Bureau [Oct 9] Minutes before a hail of missiles hit targets around an area of Kabul known as TV Mountain yesterday, Taliban radio was attacked by a powerful and overwhelming jammer. During the Turkmen-language broadcast of the Kabul-based Voice of Shari'a outlet on short wave, a bubble jammer was monitored by Clandestine Radio Watch (CRW) correspondent Yuki Sakagami in Japan. The jamming began at approximately 1607 GMT, covering a wide range of frequencies and obliterating Taliban radio's audio. The signal strength of the jamming was so powerful that it also destroyed reception of the station at a remote radio receiver in Sweden. The jamming ended suddenly after 47 seconds, leaving the Voice of Shari'a free of interference. Less than a minute later, however, the station's audio was cut and then the transmission completely ended. Kabul was hit at 1609 GMT by a barrage of cruise missiles and bombs dropped from B-1 and B-2 heavy bombers. Sources on the ground in Kabul have told Reuters that an area outside of Kabul, known as TV Mountain - where radio and television broadcast towers are located, was strafed. "The explosions were much more massive than last night," a witness told Reuters. "I could see flames and debris rising from the foot of TV Mountain." Sakagami recorded what could be the final moments of Kabul's Voice of Shari'a broadcast. His exclusive recording can be accessed on ClandestineRadio.com and Radio Netherlands Media Network Web site. Pentagon officials have not confirmed reports that TV Mountain was targeted. While U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has publicly confirmed that it the American military is broadcasting psychological operations (psyops) programming into Afghanistan through specially-equipped EC-130 "Command Solo" aircraft, he has not mentioned any efforts to jam Taliban radio. According to the Associated Press, however, Pentagon sources say "other undisclosed radio messages" are being directed at the Taliban. It may be too early to say if the U.S. is jamming the Taliban's Voice of Shari'a. But after yesterday's air strikes, jamming may no longer be a necessity. ClandestineRadio.com http://www.clandestineradio.com Radio Netherlands Media Network http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/index.html (CRW via DXLD) ?? Usually there are jammers of Iranian government stations on that band range v7090 against anti-Iran clandestine stations too, like V of Mojahed and V of the People of Kurdistan! After successful air strikes, Western jamming may no longer be a necessity against VOS (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, BC-DX Oct 9 via DXLD) UPDATE Afghanistan: Taleban radio update, 8 - 9 October [Updating information on coverage from 1230 to 1330 gmt; TV transmitter on hill near Kabul reportedly hit during US air strikes] Kabul radio The Taleban radio station, Radio Voice of Shari'ah from Kabul, has not been heard since 1610 gmt on 8 October. The domestic service on mediumwave 657 kHz was broadcasting a speech by a pro-Taleban cleric at 1600 gmt condemning US attacks against Afghanistan. The speech was in progress when reception was lost. Radio Voice of Shari'ah from Kabul remained unheard during its morning broadcast on 9 October, which is usually on the air at 0130- 0400 gmt in Pashto and Dari on 657, 1107 kHz mediumwave and 7085 kHz shortwave. Between 1230 and 1530 gmt, interference from other stations made it difficult to confirm whether Kabul radio was still broadcasting or was off the air. 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 9 October; however reception was poor during the morning broadcast and the signal faded out after about 45 minutes. Balkh radio resumed broadcasting as scheduled at 1230 gmt on its usual frequency 1584 kHz. The broadcast opened with recitation of the Koran, followed by a religious talk and songs. At 1245 gmt, a religious official, a Mowlawi, answered a correspondent's questions, saying that morale was high among the mojahedin. At 1255 gmt, a cleric addressed people and urged them to remain calm. Then at 1257 gmt, the radio started to play patriotic songs. At 1330 gmt, Balkh radio carried its regular news bulletin on its usual frequency 1584 kHz. As of 1530 gmt, there was the normal interference from other radio stations on the Balkh radio frequency of 1584 kHz. It could therefore not be confirmed whether Balkh radio was still on the air. English service On 8 October, the Radio Voice of Shari'ah external service, which broadcasts from Kabul on shortwave, carried its regular English broadcast from 1530-1545 gmt followed by Arabic from 1545-1600 gmt. The transmission went off air during the 1600-1615 gmt broadcast in Turkmen. Subsequent broadcasts, which are scheduled in Uzbek from 1615-1630, Urdu from 1630-1650 and Russian from 1650-1710 gmt were not heard. Forty minutes before reception of the domestic and external services was lost, the Taleban 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 "TV transmitter" The Peshawar-based Afghan Islamic Press news agency, which is affiliated 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 carry 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." Source: Monitoring observations 8-9 Oct 01 (BBCM via DXLD) Reports Oct 9 of some civilian casualties at the village of Yakatut near Kabul perked up my ears, since `YAK` was once known as the transmitter site of the old R. Afghanistan – and V. of Shariah too? Not to be confused with Yakutat, Alaska (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN. I received this message from David Bobbett, WRTH: I have posted some Afghanistan and nearby countries information for readers on our web site at http://www.wrth.com This data is drawn from the 2001 book with some recent Afghan data added. I have not seen it yet, so I do not know if it worth mentioning in the bulletins (David Bobbett, WRTH via Olle Alm, Sweden, BC-DX Oct 4 via DXLD) I assume it is Alm, not Bobbett, who questions its WoRTH! I will confirm it is largely worthless, worse than no info at all. It`s just a single PDF page containing excerpts (not all languages) of last year`s info. Afghanistan, what there is of it, is OK, but the Iran, Pakistan and Uzbekistan schedules including English are far outdated, from last winter, or would that be three winters ago? We must wait until Dec 14 for the 2002 WRTH (gh, DXLD) ** BAHAMAS. Trivia Buffs; WHY hasn't this station become C6S-3 (and 1540 become C6S-1)?? The old ZNS call dates back to when the British were handing out licenses, many years ago (Robert Foxworth, Oct 8, NRC-AM via DXLD) The station in question *is* listed as C6B3 in the FCC Database. Presumably that callsign has been registered with the ITU. Strangely, the other two Bahamas AMs are still listed as ZNS1 and ZNS2. Still, I suspect they're also officially registered with C6B calls. ZNS is most likely a slogan, rather than a callsign. The country's people have always known the station as ZNS; changing it to C6B1 would be like changing WGN to WYBY while changing nothing else. Remember that most stations outside North America don't bother identifying by callsign (Doug Smith, NRC-AM via DXLD) ** BELGIUM/SWEDEN/SWITZERLAND. Do you think RVI, SRI, ROI,... in English anyway, would broadcast the programs they do if they had semi-annual pledge drives with goals to meet to keep broadcasting? Radio Sweden in English works four days a week and if major Swedish news happens on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, listen to BBC for details. The RS English Section covered the Gothenberg Riots which occurred on a Friday as a lead on their Monday program. It took RVI- English three days to do a feature on the Sabena (Swiss Air) Crisis and if you wanted hear how Belgians were affected you listened to SRI, three days before RVI reported on it. And YES, even with a new director of the English Section, SRI still refuses to broadcast Swiss Country Music even as filler (Larry Nebron, CA, Oct 9, swprograms via DXLD) ** BELGIUM [and non]. Dear Glenn, Thank you for your e-mail re Radio World Oct 7. Sorry about Afghan radio. As for Waver (as it is spelled in Dutch) - Wavre, you're quite correct: RTBF will continue to broadcast from there: 100 kW on 9970 kHz. It's cheaper than Jülich. They have actually shown interest in using one of our transmitters in the future. Bit of a paradox: we are moving out, and they might move back in again. We'll see how it goes. Jülich is expensive. We get 500 kW from Merlin for the price of 100 kW at Jülich. I'll check with RTBF on their winter schedule and report in Radio World this Sunday. As for EZRA: I can only repeat that nobody has ever heard of this transmission. I just chequed again with the engineer who should know, and he insists that this must have been a false rumour [that it was ever transmitted from Belgium, as John D. Hill asserts, instead of Bulgaria -gh]. All the best, (Frans VOSSEN, Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal VRT - 1043 Brussel, Belgium, Oct 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) see also UK non below for his new broadcasts via Russia ** BULGARIA. [ex-9400] Referring to your recent observations, I can tell you that the GERMAN program at 1615 and 1800 is on 11800 (not 11900). (Erik Køie, Denmark, OZ3YI, BC-DX Oct 6 via DXLD) So are the two English broadcasts to Europe also on 11800, not 11900? (gh, DXLD) ** CHINA. Ever-expanding domestic service SW schedules are compiled here, along with some live audio links, and program schedules, tnx to the Nagoya DX Circle: http://www2.starcat.ne.jp/~ndxc/cn/cnr.htm (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. 15115, HCJB seems to have given up on [fixing] the buzzy transmitter and is using it "as is". The level of the buzz varies from day to day, but it's always there and has been so for months now (0000-0200, etc.). This morning it was very disturbing. As a comparison, 15140 [Spanish] is crisp clean (Olle Alm, Sweden, BC-DX Oct 9 via DXLD) ** EGYPT. Here's the information I promised about the new tx of Radio Cairo according to Engineer SAWSAN MUSELHI, the head of the radio engineering sector. The cost of this new station was 85 million Egyptian pounds, and the output is 500 kW. It includes 6 antennas beamed to Europe, N America, S America, West Africa, SE Asia, and Australia. The station has 4 masts, and 2 towers with 110 meters height and 3 towers with 60 meters height. She added that the minister of media was paying this project all the attention to get over the problem facing the Egyptians abroad to hear the Voice of their Motherland Egypt (Source "AL JAMHURIAA" newspaper Oct 2, via Tarek Zeidan, SU1TZ, Egypt, Oct 7, BC-DX via DXLD) 10037 spur, R Cairo in Albanian 1600-1800 on fundamental 9950, and poor spurious v10037 (Rumen Pankov, Bulgaria, BC-DX Oct 3 via DXLD) ** EGYPT. 0215 UT Oct 9: The news on Radio Cairo tonight: Mubarak and Arafat hold talks and criticize "Israel's recurrent aggression" against the Palestinians; Arab League Sec. Gen. in talks with Mubarak says Israel seems determined to undermine peace process; European Union praises Bush for his statements regarding Palestinian state; Syria joins UN Security Council for 2 year term; Afghani press reports regarding U.S attacks; Blair claims attacks meeting objectives and that Afghan people will not be abandoned once they are reached; Details on humanitarian aid given by US to Afghan people in concert with attacks on Taliban; Ridge sworn in as homeland defense head; US notifies UN it may have to attack other countries for its own self-defense; Ashcroft urges US people to be extra vigilant, but not to succumb to fear; German PM to travel to US tomorrow to meet with Bush in Washington and UN Secretary in NY; Pakistani President talks with Indian PM suggesting countries should fight terrorism together, first contact since July; US/Germany/Italy/Iran meeting in Geneva over concerns regarding US policy toward Afghanistan [don't know if I have this entirely correct]; Six former Soviet states increase alerts on border with Afghanistan. Monitored on 9475 kHz. ----- (John A. Figliozzi, NY, swprograms via DXLD) ** ESTONIA. 1035 kHz [c.f. BC-DX #541]. HCJB World Radio's partner station in Tartu, Estonia, can now reach far beyond the country's borders, potentially reaching millions of listeners with gospel broadcasts, says Mark Irwin of the ministry's Euro-Asia office in Kiev, Ukraine. "The station is putting out a booming signal that reaches a wide range of territory stretching from Sweden in the north to below Kiev in the south and east to St. Petersburg and even Moscow and beyond," he says. Staff members from the HCJB World R Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind., recently refitted a 50,000-watt AM tx (donated by Christian radio station WFGW [!!] in Asheville, N.C.) and installed it in Tartu with partner Tartu Family Radio. The 24-hour-a-day gospel programs travel tremendous distances, especially during the nighttime hours. "I listened for the first time on Wednesday, Sept. 26, around 9:30 p.m. local time, and the signal was quite nice," Irwin says. "There was occasional fading typical to long-distance medium wave, but it was a very good signal. I was especially pleased to hear Russian programming from the New Life R satellite service in Moscow and to hear the dramatized New Testament in Russian produced by our partner here in Kiev. It was a banner night for those of us who have worked, and continue to work, with the satellite service." Family Radio also operates three FM stations and six repeaters across Estonia." (HCJB World Radio, 6 October 2001 via Dr. Hansjoerg Biener, Germany, BC-DX via DXLD) ** GERMANY [non]. BULGARIA, 7590, R. Eurosonor transmission on Oct 6th at 2000 UT on both 7590 and 9470 kHz only. From 13th onwards on SINGLE 7590 kHz only. We apologize for mailing you once again but the short-term character of this information didn't permit to be published on the website. We look out for your understanding (73+55 THE EUROSONOR RADIO TEAM, A-DX Oct 4 via BC-DX via DXLD) Tx site Kostinbrod, Bulgaria!! (BC-DX Oct 9 via DXLD) This was previously reported to be moving to 7600 (gh, DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM. Hi Glenn: Useful chart comparing XM and Sirius satellite radio services at http://www.skyreport.com/dars.htm 73 (Kim Elliott, DC, Oct 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** INTERNATIONAL WATERS. Hurricane Watch Net Keeping an Eye on Iris NEWINGTON, CT, Oct 8, 2001--The Hurricane Watch Net has activated to help forecasters keep an eye on Hurricane Iris--now a Category 4 hurricane and the most severe storm of the current hurricane season. The Hurricane Watch Net, on 14.325 MHz, is working in cooperation with operators at W4EHW at the National Hurricane Center in Miami to gather real-time storm data. Forecasters describe Iris as "small, but extremely dangerous." It's packing winds of 140 MPH with higher gusts and was reported continuing its westward track this morning. Mexico has issued a tropical storm warning for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, from Felipe Carrillo Puerto southward to the border with Belize. A hurricane warning is in effect for the Caribbean coast of Belize, Guatemala and Honduras, from the border with Guatemala eastward to Limon. A hurricane watch remains in effect for the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, from Cabo Catoche southward to the Belize border. As of 1500 UT, the storm's center was some 225 miles east of Belize city, moving nearly 20 MPH. The storm is expected to make landfall late tonight or early tomorrow, bringing storm surge flooding of 13 to 18 feet above normal tidal levels along with "dangerous, battering waves" and heavy rains with flash flooding coupled with mud slides over mountainous terrain. Over the weekend, Iris--then a Category 1 storm--passed the southern coast of the Dominican Republic and Haiti on the island of Hispaniola then tracked south of Jamaica and the Caymans. "The southerly jog in Iris' track last night saved Kingston from a direct hit," W4EHW Deputy Amateur Radio Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4JR, commented on Sunday. "Numerous reports from Jamaican stations, and specifically from Mike Matalon 6Y5MM, at the Kingston EOC, were very much appreciated," Ripoll added. "We were happy to learn that they had not received any local reports of flooding or damage." Hurricane Watch Net Manager Jerry Herman, N3BDW, said the Hurricane Watch Net and the operators of W4EHW began operations Saturday at 2100 UTC, although the Net took a breather before resuming this morning. "Operations with Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba and the Cayman Islands went very well over the two-day period," Herman said. Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network (SATERN) personnel have been placed on placed on standby because of Iris' dangerous potential. SATERN National Director Pat McPherson, WW9E, requested that SATERN personnel monitor the Hurricane Watch Net on 14.325 MHz. McPherson said the SATERN Net on 14.265 MHz would be activated if it becomes necessary to initiate SATERN operations. Forecasters also are tracking the progress of Tropical Storm Jerry, a currently poorly organized storm about 285 south-southeast of Puerto Rico with winds reported at near 50 MPH (ARRL via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DXLD) ** IRAN. 0036 UT Oct. 9: The news tonight as reported by VOIRI: Ayatollah Khamenei condemns US/British attack on Afghanistan. Tehran's foreign ministry expressed fears that US and British attacks on Afghanistan will only cause terrorism to increase and spread, rather than contain and eradicate it. Iran's Foreign Ministry accused Iraq's Saddam Hussein of trying to defame Iran's good standing with Islamic countries and obscure his own regime's poor record of support for Islamic causes with comments that Hussein made about Iran. bin- Laden's statement that U.S. will not feel security until Palestinians do. Reports civilian casualties from the US raids as well as an attack on Mullah Omar's residence, reporting he was not there at the time of the attack. Violent demonstrations in Pakistan against U.S./British attack on Afghanistan. Reports of U.S. activity at an air base in Uzbekistan. First commentary reported Ayatollah Khamenei's remarks condemning US and British attacks on Afghanistan. Second commentary charged that US was unsuccessful in convincing the world of the necessity of attacking "a country already reduced to ruins", but has launched a concerted propaganda exercise to attempt to justify it's decision to take the "easiest route" and to bomb Afghanistan. U.S. aim is to install a regime there more compliant to its wishes and thereby exercise greater control over the region. Monitored on 9022 kHz. —(John A. Figliozzi, NY, swprograms via DXLD) ** KASHMIR [non]. see PAKISTAN ** NETHERLANDS. LW 171 -- That was even more excellent news regarding Delta 171 loss of licence! I certainly hope neither this nor Isle of Man 279 will ever get a licence - they are not needed. The UK is absolutely swamped by too many radio stations broadcasting non stop pop music already. I find it difficult to believe that they can all be earning a profit (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Oct 3 via DXLD) Tnx for your 1st Oct tip on Delta 171, Holland. As you can imagine, R. Mediterranée, 171 kHz, Nador, Morocco, is very close to this part of Europe (RTM 207, Azilal, is Morocco's 2nd strongest LF signal), and I'm sure it will put a very strong signal elsewhere in W Europe too, so, even without knowing the planned Delta 171 power for sure, I believe many listeners will suffer tremendous QRM. Nador is close to the sea, so this enhances signals a lot; QTH for Delta is unknown, but Holland is a small country, and most of its land is probably kind of "wet" throughout the year, so both signals "take off" beautifully. I can't understand how & why the international broadcast authority allow such situations where it's more than obvious that there will be mutual QRM! (Carlos L.R. de Assunção Gonçalves, Portugal, BC-DX Oct 3 via DXLD) But 171 kHz is registered too for The Netherlands in ITU plan of 1975/Nov 1978 already, since ex-US VOA Munich-Erching/DLF Aholming moved to 209/207 kHz (BCDX ed. via DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS ANTILLES. RN Bonaire audible on 43180 kHz, 1900 UT October 9, also audible on fundamental 21590 (Ron Trotto, IL, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. Please note these times are NZT... so the UT date is: 17th October 2001, 2318:30-2330z 6095 and 2330:30-2340z 7205 kHz. Have a listen and let Adrian know... Cheers, (Paul Ormandy, NZ, ARDXC Oct 10 via DXLD) Subject: RNZI TEST TRANSMISSION. For your information - we plan to have a short Test Transmission from RNZI as follows-: 18 October 2001 1118/30 am - 1130/00 am NZDT 6095 kHz 1130/30 am - 1140/00 am NZDT 7205 kHz 1140 Test Ends RNZI is interested to learn what our coverage is like on lower frequencies around NZ. We will appreciate reports from anywhere in NZ but especially from the deep south. Confirmation QSL will be available but only if requested. Reports should be emailed to asainsbury@radionz.co.nz or posted to Adrian Sainsbury, Technical Manager, Radio New Zealand International, P O Box 123, Wellington Tel: +64 4 474 1430, Fax: +64 4 474 1433, Mobile: +64 4 25 50 45 78 Web: http://www.rnzi.com (via Ormandy, ARDXC via DXLD) ** PAKISTAN. Voice of Freedom of Jammu and Kashmir. Today reception was excellent from the Voice of Freedom of Jammu and Kashmir. and in fact better than 5027. English is broadcast daily 1400-1410. It is more or less a commentary (Victor A. Goonetilleke-CLN 4S7VK UADX, BC- DX Oct 3) Frequency? Previously reported around 5101v (gh, DXLD) Victor doesn`t give the frequency, but I think this is the one on about 5100 isn`t it? Hans Johnson reckons the transmitter is API-8 at Islamabad. The same one that carries the PBC Azad Kashmir sce. The J & K station is on air when the tx is shown to be off air on the PAK schedule, so it could be API-8. This is a 100 kW outlet --- Quetta 5027 is only 10 kW, and the Gates is now almost 40 years old, so may actually be running even less! If VoFoJaK is on air until 1500 then it cannot be via API-8, which the current schedule says opens at 1445-1810. The gap in transmission is from when 7265 goes off at 1215 until 4790 opens at 1445. Rawalpindi 10 kW is on air via 4790 at 1345-1430, so it isn`t that tx either. All of the Islamabad txs are on air at some time between 1300 and 1500. However, I cannot confirm whether 4790 actually does open at 1445 or not, and have never been able to hear 5101. Johnson suggested that 5101 could be via Islamabad as he had heard 5101 go off (at 1430) and 4790 come on soon afterwards (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Oct 4/5 via DXLD) API-8 via 7265 / 4790. This is using an aerial beamed at 68 degrees. If this is working correctly, the signal reaching Sri Lanka should be less strong than the intended target area in Jammu & Kashmir. The tx is always listed as 100 kW (Noel R. Green, UK, BC-DX Oct 6 via DXLD) I noted today that R. Pakistan has already opened its new service in Dari from 1515 to 1545 on 7375, 9395. 9395 is suffering from an exciter problem that superimposes a loud whistle on the program, and the audio of 7375 is very unpleasant to listen to. Reception on 60 mb was poor today, so I could not check 4790 and 5101 (Olle Alm, Sweden, BC-DX Oct 6 via DXLD) PAK has been noted here too carrying Dari at 1515-1545 after Russian. I suppose SW has been added as a result of the Afghan crisis, though 1260 should have been well audible throughout Afghanistan. Occasionally, the two SW transmitters had been left on and a short snippet of Dari had been audible from time to time. 9395 is pretty dreadful, and seems to have the same problem as API-5 (when on 15 MHz), while 7375 is becoming stronger now, but the audio quality leaves very much to be desired (Noel R. Green, UK, Oct 7, BC-DX via DXLD) R. Pakistan in Russian, and then Dari? extra from 1515 UT heard only on single 7375.03, nothing around 9390 kHz today!!! (WB, BC-DX Oct 8 via DXLD) I just managed to check the API 8 transmitter. Yes, 5101 went off at 1430 and AKR came on a few minutes later on 4790, on open carrier prior to audio coming on at 1445. There was no AKR signature tune, however. I wonder whether the AKR MW is operational from 1410 like those days and this just joins the chain at 1415. I have no joy on the 3666v Muzaffarabad station. Seems definitely off the air. Any information there?? (Victor A. Goonetilleke, 4S7VK, Sri Lanka, UADX, via BC-DX Oct 7 via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. Dear visitors of the Voice of Russia's Web-site, We again invite you to take part in the "Vis-à-Vis" program, hosted by the Voice of Russia Chairman, Armen Oganesyan. This time the guest of our studio will be Boris Reznik, deputy chairman of the State Duma's committee on information policy. You may put your questions via E-mail - letters@vor.ru or by fax: (095) 950-67-31. You may put your questions by telephone now: (095) 950-69-11 and your questions will be recorded on an answering machine. If you want your question to be on the air, please send us a (Voice Mail). The Voice of Russia's Russian Service will broadcast the program on October 11. The program will be available on the Internet in Real Audio on October 12 in Russian and on October 16 in English http://www.wrn.org/stations/vor.html The transcript of the program will be placed on the Voice of Russia's Web site http://www.vor.ru/vis-a-vis.html The Voice of Russia Internet Service Copyright © 2000 The Voice of Russia (via Maryanne Kehoe, swprograms via DXLD) ** SRI LANKA. SLBC's "All Asia Service of R Sri Lanka" announces 15425, 9770 and 6075. However the last frequency 6075 is really 6005. Sked 0025-0430, 1225-1600. I have an English sound clip at 0430 s-off after the morning transmission on 9770 which is off the age old Marconi 100 kW from The South East Command R circa 1945. On the English Domestic Service on Thurs and Sat 1600-1700 there is a program ``For the Night Owls``, music from the old favourites like Negro Spirituals, War Time Songs etc. Freq 4940 kHz. My brother Ralph is the compiler and presenter. If you catch it and send him a report; he will QSL you 100%! POYA-DAY-FULL-MOON DAY: all-night transmission on 4902 between 1700- 2330 consists of Buddhist chanting called "Pirith". It is chanted by a group of Buddhist monks wearing saffron coloured robes and is non stop chanting. Every 30 or 45 minutes there will be a change in the group of monks and the change over is rarely noticeable. It is about the highest form of Buddhist prayer. Pirith is chanted at any special ceremony. Such as before moving into a new building, a house, starting a business or to celebrate an anniversary, not necessarily on full-moon days. Therefore you might hear it on the radio on non Poya-full-moon days as well. The next Poyadays fall on 31st Oct, 30th Nov and 30th Dec. Sri Lanka's religious composition is about 65% Buddhist, 16% Hindu, 9% Christian (8.5% Roman Catholic), 9% Moslem. English is compulsory in all schools as a national language while Sinhala and Tamil are official languages (Victor A. Goonetilleke, 4S7VK, Sri Lanka, UADX via DXplorer Oct 7 via BC-DX via DXLD) RFE/RL/VOA via Iranawila: under AFGHANISTAN ** SWEDEN. RADIO SWEDEN--It's that time again.... Here is the upcoming Radio Sweden English broadcast schedule for the period beginning October 28, 2001 (all times UT): Europe and Africa/Middle East: 1430 17505 1830 1179 and 6065 (Sundays on 5840 instead) 2030 1179, 6065, and 9445 2230 1179 and 6065 7325 Asia/Pacific: 1330 9430 and 17505 1430 17505 2030 9445 0130 9495 North America: Overnight on WRN from NPR on local public radio stations around the US. For more information see: http://www.wrn.org/nawrnfromnpr.html Across Canada on CBC Overnight 2:05 AM local time (weekend times may vary) 1230 18960 1330 18960 1430 18960 0230 9495 0330 9495 [I suppose 9495 are RCI relays, tho not so specified -gh] This schedule is also available by e-mail, by sending a message to: english@p6.sr.se Coming up this week on Radio Sweden: We'll continue to cover the announcements of the Nobel Prizes. The Medicine Prize was announced Monday, and will be followed by Physics on Tuesday, Chemistry and Economics (in "Money Matters") on Wednesday, Literature on Thursday, and the Peace Prize on Friday. But for once the Nobels have been forced from the top of the program, as we continue to cover Swedish reaction to the attacks on Afghanistan, and the SAS crash in Milan. Tuesday sees a feature on Water Scarcity, while "GreenScan" on Thursday will be looking at a Nordic model for sustainable business, the European car-free day, and high tech forestry. Saturday sees our monthly current affairs magazine "Sweden Today", and on Sunday we'll be repeating "Sounds Nordic" with another chance to hear our interview with Patrik Isaksson (SCDX/MediaScan Oct 9 via DXLD) ** TAJIKISTAN. Tajik R. has opened a website: http://radio.tojikiston.com The server is located in Dushanbe. Many pages are still under construction; also the RealAudio link is not yet working. There is a full program schedule of the 1st program however. All pages are in the Tajik lang (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, BC-DX Oct 8 via DXLD) But Cyrillic alphabet; note spelling with O`s – why do we spell it in English with A`s, then? (gh, DXLD) Yes, Tajik uses Cyrillic script, it is an "extended" script with some additional letters with diacritics. That website however uses the Windows Cyrillic codepage 1251 which does not allow additional letters. Thus it shows "simplified" Tajik, i.e. only "common" Cyrillic letters which Tajik uses together with other languages, no special Tajik letters with diacritics. 73s, (Bernd Trutenau, MW-DX via DXLD) ** U A E. This on the Medium Wave Circle list: Last night at 2245, 8 Oct 2001, UAE Radio was an amazing signal on 1476 kHz; S9 20dB and no interference or fading. Some fading after 2300. At 2300 they had full ID in Arabic then news about Afghanistan attacks and several further references to "min Dubai". They have obviously extended their schedule but have they increased power? I have never heard them this strong before. Steve Whitt, Grimsby, UK (via Mike Barraclough, DXLD) ** U K / AFGHANISTAN. DX Information from the British DX Club (BDXC- UK). This in The Times: TUESDAY OCTOBER 09 2001. Taleban on air as World Service extends broadcasts. BY ADAM SHERWIN, MEDIA REPORTER. The Taleban have opened a line of communication through the BBC World Service in a battle to win the support of the Afghan people. The World Service has extended its Pashto broadcasts, and, with an estimated 60 per cent of the Afghan population tuning in, the Kabul leadership has altered its policy of shunning Western media. Within hours of Sunday night¹s strikes, Abdul Hai Mutmaeen, the Taleban chief spokesman in Kandahar, had contacted the BBC¹s team of Pashto broadcasters at Bush House to give a defiant response. Full article at http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2001350003-2001351618,00.html (Mike Barraclough, BDXC-UK Oct 9 via DXLD) ** U K. One of BBC Radio 4's longstanding newsreaders, Laurie McMillan, has died of cancer. We do not know her age, but we know she has given long service on BBC Radio 4, with a period on BBC Radio, where she also broadcast from some of the Promenade concerts in the past (PAUL DAVID, Oct 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. Hello Glenn, I thought you might be interested in knowing about some more BBC overnight on FM. Alabama Public Radio, which, despite its name, does not serve the entire state, but refers to a network of three stations along the western edge of the state, WUAL, 91.5, Tuscaloosa, flagship station; WQPR, 88.7, Muscle Shoals; and WAPR, 88.3, Selma, all simulcast all the time. They are carrying BBC overnight starting, I think, at Midnight. I can confirm that they finish at 5:00 AM, when they go into Morning Edition, but I am not sure if they start at 12:00 AM, or earlier [CDT]. (Tim Hendel, Huntsville AL, Oct 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K [non]. 12110, R Ezra (via Vladivostok): Surprised to hear the CIS runup tones at pretty good level at 0858. Program started at 0859, but the announcer spoke so low that I could make out hardly a word during the entire half hour until the closing anouncement at 0926 which contained some contact material which I was able to piece together with the help of their website: "You are tuned to R Ezra . . . radio broadcast. If you would like to . . . Water Into Wine Ministry, P. O. Box 16, Stockton-on-Tees, postcode TS18 3GN, United Kingdom . . . Water Into Wine Ministry, P.O. Box 16, Stockton-on-Tees, postcode TS18 3GN, the United Kingdom . . . website: http://www.water-into-wine.com . . . water into wine . . . send a FAX . . . +44 1642 887546, again . . . 44 . . . 1642 887546 . . . E-mail at faith@water-into-wine.com that's faith@water- into-wine.com . . . Next week . . . R Ezra . . ." Program ended 0929, carrier off at 0930. No music; all talk (Jerry Berg-MA-USA, DXplorer Oct 7 via BC-DX via DXLD) Sundays only thru yearend. See also BELGIUM (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. A difference of emphasis has emerged in the way the international broadcasting services of the two main allies in the War on Terrorism - the US and Britain - are handling coverage of the strikes on Afghanistan. The Voice of America (VOA) expanded its broadcasts in Afghanistan's two main languages on Monday, for the second time since the 11 September terrorist attacks. VOA now broadcasts in Pashtu and Dari for two-and-a-half hours a day each. The expanded broadcasts allow VOA to include messages aimed at convincing the Afghan people that the military operation now underway is not aimed at them, but rather Osama bin Laden. They will also draw attention to humanitarian food drops that are being conducted concurrently with the airstrikes, and send the message that the Taliban are not a proper government, according to a VOA official. VOA had earlier angered the State Department by airing an interview with Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, but now appears to be concentrating on promoting the US government line. But Letizia King, speaking to Newsline´s Anne-Marie Michel, denies that VOA is a propaganda machine. listen to the interview (3´03") http://www.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/rnw/medianetwork/voa011009.rm (RN Media Network via DXLD) Maybe, but keeps timing out on me (gh) ** VANUATU. Strike keeps state broadcaster off air | Excerpt from report by Radio New Zealand International audio web site on 9 October Vanuatu's national radio and television stations are now both off the air as a strike by staff continues for a second day. Bob Makin, the general manager of the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation [VBTC], says some of the staff took keys to the premises and the transmitters and then occupied the building overnight. Striking workers then would not allow television staff into the building, shutting down both services. Mr Makin says the VBTC board, which is yet to meet with the staff, has spoken to a lawyer about the situation... Mr Makin says he hopes the situation will be resolved quickly, but a spokesman for the striking workers at VBTC says the strike will continue until the board meets their [unspecified] demands. (?Joe Harry) says that six issues were put before the board in May and it is yet to deliver on any of the promises, which is why they decided to strike... Source: Radio New Zealand International audio web site, Wellington, in English 0501 gmt 9 Oct 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** VENEZUELA [and non]. Interesting summary of President Chávez` talk show "Aló Presidente" on the web http://www.el-nacional.com/alo/ Initially on Sun, the show is aired on Sat since July 7. Chávez is presently touring Europe. For further info, please refer to Venezuela Online News http://www.infoven.net from where the following is quoted: Before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the United States, Chávez also planned to visit Libya, a country that was dropped from the tour because of supposed scheduling problems. Chávez will visit Switzerland Oct. 7-8, France Oct. 9-12, Italy Oct. 12-13, Belgium Oct. 14-16, Austria Oct. 17, Portugal Oct. 18-20, Great Britain Oct. 21-24, Northern Ireland 21-24 and Algeria Oct. 25, returning to Venezuelan the same day. Saab said authorities had confirmed an audience with Pope John Paul II in the Vatican to discuss efforts to "contribute to peace" in the wake of the U.S. attacks and the threat of a war in Afghanistan (...) French-based journalists' organization Reporters Without Borders today denounced President Hugo Chávez's "policy of intimidation" against the media on the eve of the Venezuelan leader's visit to France. With Chávez scheduled to spend four days in Paris starting Monday, the group asked French authorities to express their concern over this policy, which "at times is accompanied by his followers' aggressions against reporters or by threats of applying restrictive measures." It added that the foreign press was also the object of the president's attacks and cited his criticism last year of the Colombian weeklies Semana and Cambio, which he accused of being the mouthpiece of "the hateful Colombian and continental oligarchy, and the daily El Tiempo of "spreading lies and hampering regional integration." (Henrik Klemetz, Sweden, Oct 9, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ##