DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-183, November 26, 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 Check the WOR websites: http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/ http://www.worldofradio.com [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 #1106: (STREAM) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1106ram (DOWNLOAD) http://www.worldofradio.com/wor1106.rm (SUMMARY) http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/wor1106.html Final 1106 broadcast on WWCR: Tuesday 1200 on 15685 Final 1106 broadcasts on RFPI: Tuesday 1900, Wednesday 0100, 0700, 1300 on some of: 7445-USB, 15040, 21815-USB YAHOO PROBLEMS. If not already doing so, please use my address wghauser@hotmail.com rather than wghauser@yahoo.com (gh) UNSOLICITED TESTIMONIALS I would like to send many thanks to you for the very clear coverage of media related matters since the tragic events of September 11th and that you will continue to put together what is the best source of DX news, reports and quotes from well known broadcasters (Mr Adrian Childs, Corscombe, Dorchester, Dorset, England, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) [While we were discussing Loren Cox`s off-the-cuff remark about Arthur being Take It Easy Radio, since corrected, he was posting this elsewhere, leading to further gh-bashing by ignorant, anonymous posters; nice guy, huh?:] Int'l DX Digest [sic] 1181 accuses ME of being Take It Easy Radio - by name! No self-respecting pirate Op should have anything to do with Hoser any more. He's in a league with Radio Bob now... Of course, he sez someone else wrote the article... Be careful! Watch your back! Jta (John T. Arthur, FRN Grapevine Nov 25 via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Re report of 9950 time as *1430 instead of 1330: Hi Glenn, no strange times. Just an error, sorry. Sometimes it happens also to me. But do you know any perfect DXer? As I know God doesn't need radio listening... I'll try to be more careful. In these days I wrote about radio end TV in Afghanistan on my national daily paper, the Italian Avvenire. Of course I mentioned you and your DX Listening Digest. 73, (Giampiero Bernardini, Avvenire, Milano, Italy, Nov 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Radio Voice of Afghanistan "broadcasting from London" On Sunday 25 November, a radio station identifying as "Radio Voice of Afghanistan" was heard broadcasting again in Pashto and Dari from 1330-1430 gmt on 9950 kHz shortwave. The station announced that it was broadcasting from London. Programme in Pashto At 1330 gmt, Radio Voice of Afghanistan began with a programme in Pashto and announced that it was broadcasting from London: "Test programmes of Radio Voice of Afghanistan [Pashto: "Da Afghanistan Ghaq Radio"] will be heard on the 31-metre shortwave band, corresponding to 9950 kHz, and will be broadcast every day from London at 1800 Kabul time [1330 gmt] in Pashto and Dari." An announcer then said: "Dear listeners, you are listening to our test programmes of Radio Voice of Afghanistan from London." A news bulletin, recitations of the Koran and songs followed. The news bulletin reported on the surrender of the Taleban to United Front commander Gen Abdorrashid Dostum's forces in the northern city of Konduz. The report said Taleban soldiers would be allowed to return home after handing over their weapons. It added: "The Afghan Taleban brought with them 8 tanks, 5 air defence guns, 7 rocket launchers and 40 vehicles and surrendered..." The bulletin said a Pakistani leader had ordered officials to disarm Afghans in refugees camps. The bulletin also reported the arrival of Northern Alliance representative Yunes Qanuni, and Mostafa Zaher, grandson of the former Afghan King Zaher Shah, in Bonn for talks on the future government of Afghanistan. The talks are scheduled to begin on 27 November. It said some Taleban officials were willing to attend the talks. "Speaking in a news conference in Kabul, Mola Mohammad Khakhsar, who was [Taleban] deputy interior minister, said he was prepared to participate in the conference. He said that he would like to attend the conference as an Afghan," the report said. After the news, the radio aired a commentary on UN efforts to bring peace to Afghanistan. It said Afghans had pinned their hopes on the Bonn conference, which may open the way for the establishment of a broad-based government in Afghanistan. Programme in Dari At 1345 gmt, the station began broadcasting its programme in Dari. An announcer said: "We are at your service, presenting test programmes of Radio Voice of Afghanistan [Dari: Radio Sada-e Afghanistan]. My colleague will present the latest international and Afghan news." The announcement in Dari did not mention that the radio was broadcasting from London. Recitation of Koranic verse, and news on Afghanistan and sports followed. The news bulletin included a shorter version of the earlier Pashto report on the Taleban surrender in Konduz, quoting Reuters news agency. It did not mention the weapons surrendered by the Taleban. The bulletin repeated the Pashto reports on Pakistani officials being ordered to disarm Afghans in refugees camps and on the Bonn talks. The Dari programme then broadcast an interview with an Afghan expert, Dr Abdorrahman Olfat, about the Bonn conference. Olfat said representatives to the conference should be the true representatives of the nation. However, this was not possible at present, he said. Replying to a question about four groups with different views attending the conference, Olfat said: "This is the problem. The problem is that His Excellency the King has been isolated at least in the last 30 years. I do not want to talk about the way he has been conducting discussions and making contacts with Afghans recently." On the United Front, Olfat said: "...I should say that their arrival in Kabul is parallel with the foreign forces in Afghanistan. This by itself reduces the importance of the group and the honesty of the group." He suggested that politically independent Afghans should be allowed to take part in the conference. The announcer then introduced a sports news programme: "We are happy to present to you our first sports news programme. With the help of God Almighty we will do our best to bring to you the latest international reports and developments." Repeats of the programmes in Pashto and Dari followed until sign off at 1430 gmt. Source: BBC Monitoring research, 26 Nov 01 (via DXLD) ``Broadcasting from London`` obviously refers to claimed studio location and still tells us nothing about transmitter site. However, it raises the possibility that World Radio Network and\or Merlin be involved in the distribution, as they are in a number of other clandestine operations (gh, DXLD) One can't help thinking that the BBC WS itself has been drafted in to get something up and running, without the potential diplomatic embarrassment of admitting that it is behind it? Anyone else got any thoughts. Certainly, I can't imagine many broadcasters being able to get a newsy, professional service up and running so quickly although I suppose Afghan TV managed it fairly well last week. It is interesting to note that it did not come on air yesterday until after the fall of the final Taliban outpost (MARK Savage, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN. Media round-up Monday 26 November - Radio Voice of Afghanistan "broadcasting from London" - Balkh Radio on the air - Kabul TV/radio broadcasts not yet observed by BBC - US PsyOps broadcasts continue - Afghans ignored Taleban's TV ban - US paper Radio Voice of Afghanistan "broadcasting from London" On 25 and 26 November, a radio station identifying as "Radio Voice of Afghanistan" was again heard broadcasting test programmes in Pashto and Dari from 1330-1430 gmt on 9950 kHz shortwave. On 25 and 26 November, Radio Voice of Afghanistan announced that it was broadcasting from London: "Test programmes of Radio Voice of Afghanistan [Pashto: "Da Afghanistan Ghaq Radio"] will be heard on the 31-metre shortwave band, corresponding to 9950 kHz, and will be broadcast every day from London at 1800 Kabul time [1330 gmt] in Pashto and Dari." An announcer then said: "Dear listeners, you are listening to our test programmes of Radio Voice of Afghanistan from London." On both days, the station's Dari-language programme did not mention that the radio was broadcasting from London. An announcer said: "We are at your service, presenting test programmes of Radio Voice of Afghanistan [Dari: Radio Sada-e Afghanistan]." . Recitation of Koranic verse, and news on Afghanistan and sports followed the announcements in Dari and Pashto. On 26 November, the station announced in both languages that normal programming would resume soon. "Radio Voice of Afghanistan has been established by Sayd Jalal Afghan's charity organization. It hopes to start its normal programmes very soon." The announcement said tomorrow's broadcast would include a speech by founder Sayd Jalal Afghan. "He will talk about this radio and about the developments in the country." The station then carried a programme in Dari on surveillance equipment being used to track down Usamah Bin-Ladin in Afghanistan. The radio said heat and movement sensors were being deployed. "In order to find Usamah Bin-Ladin, sensitive equipment has been placed in Afghanistan's mountains and valleys. It is the most advanced type of equipment... Because this equipment is only used by special forces, information will remain secret. The equipment can be buried in the ground or air dropped. Another use of this equipment is its psychological impact. Even if the enemy finds some of the equipment, they will not know how many of them are around and to what extent their activities have been revealed," the radio said. Balkh Radio Balkh Radio, which is based in the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif, Balkh Province, was observed broadcasting as scheduled from 0230-0430 gmt (0700-0900 local time) and from 1142-1510 gmt. All broadcasts are on the usual frequency of 1584 kHz. Kabul TV/radio broadcasts not yet observed by BBC BBC has not yet observed radio and TV broadcasts in the capital Kabul. Kabul radio is broadcasting daily for three hours in the morning and four hours in the evening via a mobile transmitter. Kabul TV is broadcasting via a 10-Watt transmitter, which is very low power in terms of TV broadcasting, so range would be limited, probably to central Kabul. The station is on the air three hours a day. US PsyOps broadcasts continue US PsyOps Information Radio continues to be observed by BBC Monitoring broadcasting in Pashto and Dari to Afghanistan from 0030- 0530 gmt and 1230-1730 gmt daily. It is heard on 8700 kHz upper sideband mode and at times on the former Kandahar mediumwave frequency of 864 kHz. A third announced channel of 1107 kHz (former Kabul frequency) has not yet been observed by BBC Monitoring. The 864, 980 (reportedly a relay of Voice of America) and 1107 kHz channels are believed to be broadcast from US PsyOps "Commando Solo" EC-130 aircraft. TV viewing continued during Taleban years - US paper A feature article by Michael Hedges in the Philadelphia Daily News on 23 November 2001 said that many people in Kabul continued to watch television in secret during the Taleban era, despite the ban on TV viewing that the movement issued in 1996.... [article already linked in previous DXLD] Compiled by Foreign Media Unit, BBC Monitoring Telephone +44 118 948 6261 e-mail: fmu@mon.bbc.co.uk Source: BBC Monitoring research, 26 Nov 01 (via DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. On Sat Nov 17 I was able to faintly hear Commando Solo on 8700 USB between 0330 and 0400 with QRM from utility users (Mr Adrian Childs, Dorset, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** AFGHANISTAN. Afghans Embrace a Subtle Change Traditional Practices Persist, but Are Not Enforced, After Taliban Bilawar, 19, a cobbler, shaved off his beard as soon as the Islamic Taliban movement fled his city last week. By Pamela Constable, Washington Post Foreign Service Monday, November 26, 2001; Page A01 JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Nov. 25 -- In the moldy studios of the local TV and radio station, staff members stare transfixed by old videos of Persian singers in slinky sequined dresses. The tapes were hidden five years ago when the radical Islamic Taliban militia took power, smashing the station's equipment and banning all television.... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A14258-2001Nov25.html (via Fred Waterer, DXLD; only part of the article is about TV; mostly about burqas lingering) ** AFGHANISTAN. November 26, 2001 Washington Times Music in Jalalabad awaits official OK, hits shaky note JALALABAD, Afghanistan Mohammed Zubir Khasar celebrated what he called "freedom day" when the Taliban left town by playing music for the first time in five years on Jalalabad's only radio station. That happened not quite two weeks ago, Nov. 14, when the Taliban pulled out and local tribal warlords formed a new government for Jalalabad and the surrounding province. Today, Mr. Khasar waits for the new leadership, under Gov. Abdul Qadeer, to give its approval to play music during the daily 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. broadcast, the only time the little station with its limited funding is able to turn on its tiny transmitter. "Music is part of our culture. Afghan music, that is, not Western music," said Mr. Khasar, a former comedian who had been the lone announcer on Radio Jalalabad since shortly before the Taliban came to power in 1996. Today, he has reason to be hopeful. The new government has already moved to lift a number of onerous Taliban restrictions, such as one banning girls from going to school. Likewise, homemade kites can be seen flying above mud-walled villages, breaking yet another taboo that was a product of the Taliban's fanatical interpretation of Islam. But music is another issue. "I'm concerned now because a small group of military commanders in the new government opposes music," Mr. Khasar said. "I'm still waiting for their decision. If they don't mind, I'm ready to start playing." The official weight of a seemingly simple decision to allow music illustrates that the new government shares many of the strict Muslim beliefs of the Taliban. That means that any loosening of restrictions is likely to come in measured degrees instead of a wholesale abandonment of Taliban restrictions. Locals say women will probably not be forced to wear the face- covering burka. But head scarfs will, in all likelihood, be required, and most women will go on living their lives without speaking to men other than their fathers, brothers and husbands. Afghanistan's tradition of music comes mainly from its Persian- speaking people in the east and the north, not the ethnic Pashtun areas that dominate the south. Even in Pakistan's Pashtun areas along its border with Afghanistan, one rarely hears music in public except for an occasional lone musician playing soothing tunes on a mandolinlike instrument in an upscale restaurant. Among public officials, one senses ambivalence toward the question of whether boys and girls should be singing inside classrooms. Abdul Ghani Hidayat, the new education secretary for Nangarhar province, said music will be introduced in boys schools and newly opened girls schools by way of the Afghan national anthem, which will be played every morning. As far as singing in the classroom, he said, "We have never had that sort of tradition in the classroom. It's not part of our culture." One of the world's most famous converts to Islam, pop singer Cat Stevens, stopped singing for more than 20 years, believing that music was un-Islamic. Only recently did he sing again for a charity event for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. "Before the Taliban came, there were no restrictions on music, so I don't expect any now," said Mr. Khasar, 34, whose broad smile often emerges from behind his thick black beard, softening the lines of worry around his eyes. "Young Afghans men, women, boys and girls they all want to hear music. It's the older people who are divided," he said. "Under the Taliban, they had so many rules. You couldn't do this. You couldn't do that. You couldn't play music. There was a joke that you couldn't even laugh. The only thing you could do was go to sleep." Much of his two-hour show is devoted to reciting verses from Islam's holy book, the Koran, interspersed with news reports. Now, Mr. Khasar finds himself dusting off a library of reel-to-reel music tapes that have been locked away for the past five years, hoping for the chance to play the tapes once again. "I love music," he said. "This is the fruit of the inspiration of the Afghan people." All site contents copyright © 2001 News World Communications, Inc. (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** AFGHANISTAN [non]. Published Monday, November 26, 2001 Can Afghan language find speakers here? BY STEVE HARRISON, Miami Herald Pashto is a language spoken by a very small slice of humanity, but since the Sept. 11 attacks, many more people have discovered a need to speak the primary language of Afghanistan and the Taliban. Miami-Dade Community College Professor Steven Donahue has struck while the iron is hot, adapting existing language-education software into a Pashto primer. Donahue, of Hollywood, hopes to sell his language program to the U.S. military and to universities that are considering offering courses. Donahue teamed up with a Pashto speaker who works for the Voice of America, the U.S. government's worldwide radio station. The result is a quick-hit guide to 1,000 Pashto words that is available on video, the Internet and CD-ROM. No American university currently offers Pashto classes, Donahue said, but the University of Pennsylvania is planning one for 2002. Nova Southeastern University and Florida International University are exploring options. ``The study of Pashto really has been a dismal science,'' said Donahue, an adjunct professor of linguistics at MDCC. How dismal? Donahue says he owns every English-Pashto language book in existence -- all three of them. The first was published in 1867 by the British, who were at war in Afghanistan. The second came after the Soviets invaded the country in 1979. Another was written in the early 1990s by Donahue's partner Habibullah Tegey, who is the senior editor for Pashto Services with the Voice of America. The U.S. State Department and military have few Pashto speakers, and have often relied on Pakistanis for translating. The videos that Donahue has produced are not fancy. They flash words superimposed over a photo of the subject. Tegey pronounces each word correctly. A video geared for the military includes the words for soldier -- askar -- and prisoner -- bardi. Nova Southeastern's Language Institute is trying to find materials to supplement Donahue's vocabulary builder. The school may offer an online Pashto class if it can't find enough local interest, said Alejandra Parra, an academic director at Nova Southeastern's Language Institute. FIU would like to start a traditional Pashto class, but hasn't found a professor or a textbook. ``We've discussed it, and we think there is a market there, for journalists and aid workers,'' said Tallulah Brown, an FIU arts and sciences program director. ``But we're a university, and we can't hold a class without a teacher.'' Brown said Donahue's vocabulary program would supplement a class, but might not be enough for a full course. NSU's Parra doesn't know whether there will be interest in Pashto in a year, especially because of the fast pace of the military campaign in Afghanistan. Will students still be interested in learning Pashto if the U.S. focuses somewhere else? ``We'll get this organized, do the marketing and see what happens,'' Parra said. Copyright 2001 Miami Herald (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** ALASKA. KNLS, 1300-1400 [English] 9615 ex-11765, starting November 25, 2001 (Primetime Shortwave via GRDXC via DXLD) ** BELGIUM [non]. RVi is using 13685 and 13710, which according to the printed schedule, originate from Rampisham in the UK and Jülich in Germany respectively and are beamed to Europe. However, 13685 is also shared by China Radio International which carries its Arabic service via Mali for North Africa between 1830 and 1930 whilst 13710 suffers co-channel interference from VOA directed to Africa. As I live some three miles from Rampisham, I have tuned to 13685 and found signal strength to be poor with the CRI signal over-riding Brussels, so one would suggest that Skelton or Woofferton in the UK is in use rather than Rampisham as at 1800 RTE Ireland can be heard with SIO 555 on 9895 here in Dorset. I have also heard R. Korea International in Russian between 1900 and 2000 on 7105 also with SIO 555 as well as R. Canada International 1600-1700 on 13650 with excellent strength; so one should truthfully state the transmitter site when preparing the schedule. Frequency 9925 has the distinctive deep modulation used on all Voice of Russia transmissions with a slight hum, hence its origin from a Russian site. The receiver I use is a Yaesu FRG 8800 with a six-element dipole which can be rotated, as well as a long wire for all AM listening, both MW and SW. The above info on RVi reflects signal quality since the end of DST in the UK on Sunday Oct 28. I hope very much that you find this info of use, as I have carefully listened to the 22m band frequency and without the aid of direction finding discovered that RVi is not originating from Rampisham on 13685. RVi should make better frequency planning before embarking on use of frequencies more vulnerable to interference. Yours Faithfully, (Mr Adrian Childs, Corscombe, Dorchester, Dorset, England, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** BOLIVIA. Stations monitored in September 2001, in the 0800-1100 period (weekends and holidays checked until 1130), and in the evenings between 0000 and 0200 UT. [gh extracted and translated info from a statistical display, fine-print photocopy, not completely legible in case something doesn`t add up. If there is sufficient interest we could do the same for PERU and a few other countries] Radio Mosoj Chaski, 3310.0, was heard on 30 mornings and 25 evenings (inaudible Sunday evenings) in September; sign-on 27 days at 0800; 2 at 0900 and 1 at 0830. Radio Ayopaya, 3344.0, logged in September thanks to info from Fontenelle and Klemetz via Hauser, Radio-Enlace: Of the 30 days in Sept, it was audible on 25 mornings and 13 evenings. Nominal sign-on time of 0900 varied as follows: 12 days at 0900; 11 days at 0930; 1 day each at 0915, 1000. Radio Movima, 4471.8, heard on 11 mornings and 18 evenings in September. Sign-on time varied from 1010: 4 days at 1010; 3 at 1000; 2 at 0950; 1 at 0945 and 1030. Radio Yura, 4716.8, was heard on 28 mornings and 29 evenings in September. Sign-on varied from 1000: 13 days at 1000; 5 at 0950; 4 at 1030; 3 at 1010; 1 each at 0945, 1015 and 1020. Radio Mallku, 4796.5, was heard on all 30 mornings and evenings in September. Sign-on variations from 0930: 15 days at 0930; 7 at 1000; 3 at 0945; 2 at 0950/55; 1 each at 0940, 1030, 1045. Radio Centenario, 4865.0, Santa Cruz, was heard only one morning in September, s/on at 0930; and no evenings. La Cruz del Sur, 4876.9, distorted, during September was not audible morning or evening on Saturdays and Sundays. It was heard on 20 other mornings and evenings, signing on at 0930 on 18 days; 0945 and 0950 the other days. Radio San Miguel, Riberalta, 4925.2v, was heard on 13 mornings and 26 evenings in September. Sign-on was at 0900 on 10 days; one each at 0930, 1000 and 1010. Varied to 4925.9. Separate entry follows for a slightly different base frequency. Radio San Miguel, Riberalta, 4926.0v, was heard on 16 mornings and 2 evenings in September. Sign-on was at 0900 on 8 mornings; 1000 on 5, 0930 on 2 and 1010 on 1. Varied to 4926.6. See entry preceding. Radio Minería, Oruro, 5927.4, was heard on 7 mornings in September, always s/on 1100. [Radio? Emisora?] Pio Doce, Siglo Veinte, 5952.5, was heard on all 30 mornings and evenings in September. Sign-on at 1000 varying to 0955 on 17 days; 0945 on 5; 1045 on 4; 1015 on 2; 1030 on 2. (Starting on the 8th it opened at 1000, due to spring and summer time) [was there a clock change then? -gh] Radio Nacional, Huanuni, 5964.7 was heard on 2 mornings in Sept from *1000, and no evenings. Radio Illimani, 6024.9, was heard on 27 mornings and 30 evenings in September. Sign-on 1000 varying to 0955 on 16 days; 1010 to 1020 on 4; 0900 on 3 Mondays; 2 days each at 0945 and 1030. Tangos: For a couple of years, this Bolivian station has been broadcasting on Sunday evenings a program of tangos, of such great quality that it does not need to envy those who do so over here in Argentina. Radio Juan Veintitrés, San Ignacio de Velasco, 6054.3, was heard on 17 mornings and zero evenings in September. Sign on was at 1030 on 11 days; 1045 varying to 1050 on 4; one each at 1020 and 1100. Radio San Gabriel, 6085.2 distorted, was heard on 30 mornings and 25 evenings in September. Sign-on 24 days at 0900; 5 Sundays and 1 Wednesday at 1000. Radio Panamericana, 6105.5, was heard on 18 mornings and 1 evening in Sept. Sign on 11 days at 1000; 5 at 1020 to 1010; 2 at 1030. Radio Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, 6134.8, was heard on 29 mornings and 24 evenings in September; Sign-on 20 mornings at 0900; 5 Sundays and 1 Wednesday at 1000; 3 Saturdays at 0800. Radio Fides, 6155.0, was heard on 22 mornings and zero evenings in September. Sign on 16 days at 1050 varying to 1040; 5 at 1045; 1 at 1015. Following stations were never heard in the mornings in September, but in the evenings, checked 0000-0200 nightly: Radio Camargo, Camargo, 3392.3 (4 nights) Radio Eco, Reyes, 4409.9 (3) Radio Santa Ana, Santa Ana del Yacuma, 4649.0, 23 nights (and one morning from *1045) Radio Paitití, Guayaramerín, 4681.5, (17) Radio Eco, San Borja, 4702.1 (6) Radio La Palabra, Santa Ana del Y., 4732.4 (19) Radio Trópico, Trinidad, 6034.5 (1) Radio Impacto Cristiano, La Paz, 6882.8 (2?) (Emilio Pedro Povrzenic Nawosat, Villa Diego, Santa Fe, Argentina, Sept Latinoamérica DX, of the Asociación DX del Litoral, Rosario, via Nov Radio Nuevo Mundo via DXLD) ** CANADA. RCI has another new Director General, who took over from Denis Doucet on 20 November. Click on http://www.rnw.nl/realradio/html/medianews.html :-) (Andy Sennitt, Nov 26, swprograms via DXLD) Viz.: Another New Director General for Radio Canada International 26 Nov 2001 Radio Canada International has a new Director General. He is Jean Larin, whose appointment was effective 20 November, 2001. Larin steps up from Head of News at RCI to replace Denis Doucet (pictured) who has moved back to Radio-Canada, the domestic French-language network. Doucet came in only a few months ago to replace Executive Director Robert O`Reilly, who took early retirement shortly after announcing major cuts in RCI´s output. Some of the cuts were subsequently restored, but many RCI staff feared that Doucet´s arrival heralded a process which would see RCI lose its distinct identity within the corporate structure. The appointment of Jean Larin is apparently low key. RCI´s Web site makes no reference to it, and still carries a message to listeners written by Doucet in which he outlined what his priorites would be. Larin has publicly stated his belief that RCI performs a vital role in reporting Canada´s international involvement. Last year he said that if he had the budget, he'd have reporters out in the field with Canada's peacekeeping troops in East Timor and covering the work of agencies such as the Canadian International Development Agency in Africa and elsewhere. "Canada is more active abroad than Canadians are aware of," he said. "The national media are not covering that because it costs too much. If we don't cover it, no one will." But the new Director General´s most urgent task will be to restore battered morale amongst the staff, and establish a period of stability within RCI (© Radio Netherlands Media Network, via DXLD) ** COMOROS. Radio Comoros, newspapers go online Several Comoros newspapers have set up web sites and carry a selection of articles. http://www.comores-online.com/Comores-infosweb contains links to six Comoros newspaper and news web sites: Al-Watwan (government newspaper) - last updated on 23 November 2001. La Gazette de Comores (leading independent newspaper) - last updated on 16 November 2001. Mayotte Hebbo - last updated on 13 July 2001. WEWU - last updated on 20 December 2000. Comores-Infos - last updated on 18 November 2001. MweziNet - (has links to Comoros newspaper web sites as well as general information about Comoros) - not known when last updated. Radio Comoros available on internet in December 2001 The web site mediakom.free.fr carries a notice saying that Radio Comores and RMK (Radio Munganya Komor) can be downloaded using Real Player software. A link from this site http://mediakom.free.fr/docson/pgesinfo/referendum.html says daily broadcasts of Radio Comores and RMK (Radio Munganya Komor) will be available from December 2001. Source: BBC Monitoring research, 26 Nov 01 (via DXLD) ** COSTA RICA. UT Monday Nov 26 around 0600, RFPI was again active on 7445, but USB, not AM, while 15040 was inaudible, off or MUF suppressed. 15040 was still off the following morning, but on by 1800. UT Tue Nov 27, 7445-USB and 15040 were both on after 0300. What about the 30 kW AM transmitter? RFPI may be sticking with USB for the time being to avoid WWCR-7435 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA [non]. Re 21550: After 1330 I could not detect any hint of a carrier on 21550, at least within the local noise, but if there was indeed a signal then it was insufficient to get audio outdoors, too. Regarding the transmitter site: Wolfgang already pointed out the Woofferton registration, so I would guess that they broadcast via a hired transmitter in the United Kingdom although Jülich also has a transmission into the same target area on 21550 (Sundays only 0700- 0759, who?). (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Nov 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** FRANCE. I often read the DX Listening Digest (thanks a lot for all these news) and here is my first contribution to these DX-news... I am from France, so I thought I could made an easy search about the mysterious 'museum-like' transmissions on 25925 kHz of these last days... I immediately thought about a text issued by the French 'CSA' (media authority) a few months ago. I easily found this text on http://www.csa.fr and then I accessed the official text on the French 'Journal Officiel'. Here are the results: About the 26 MHz French transmissions: all these programmes are pre- recorded comments for tourists about spots of historical / geographical interest. The owner of these frequencies is the 'Comité Departemental du tourisme de la Charente-Maritime' (the local tourism office for departement Charente-Maritime, in La Rochelle). They are broadcast from 37 different sites (that can explain the different voices heard on a same channel) on 5 different frequencies: 25845, 25880, 25925, 26000 and 26035 kHz. The radiated power of each transmitter is (only) 1 W. Tourists can listen to these pre-recorded comments on each spot, simply using an especially-made receiver. This system is, as far as I can remember, used only by the tourism office of Charente-Maritime, because it's a departement of many interesting spots... You can access to the official French text about this (including all the transmission sites) on the following web-addresses (.TIF format !) : http://tif.journal-officiel.gouv.fr/2000/12561001.tif http://tif.journal-officiel.gouv.fr/2000/12562001.tif http://tif.journal-officiel.gouv.fr/2000/12563001.tif (they are copies of the French Journal Officiel that publishes laws and that can be accessed on http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr ) I hope that answered to all your questions about these transmissions... I didn't try to catch these broadcasts, so I'm going to do this soon! (Stephane VERON ( student, France ) Nov 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Stephane, many thanks for solving the mystery! (gh, DXLD) ** FRANCE. Glenn, I have now linked the North America maps to the RFI coverage maps page. Some good openings are to be expected, mostly to the East Coast. 73s (Jari Perkiömäki, Finland, Nov 26, DX LSITENING DIGEST) See link in previous issue ** GREECE. Before Thanksgiving I received mailings from the Voice of Greece with their current broadcasting schedule of SW operations along with their foreign language broadcasts schedule which I am enclosing herewith. I also revised my schedule to fix a few changes that differed from their schedule. My alignment of Avlis 1 and 2, and Kavala 11 and 12 are based on an educated guess in putting the right frequencies under the proper heading and are not necessarily so in some cases. You can no longer depend on the broadcast order or their printed schedule to determine if they are in the proper order. Ever since they realigned the ERA-5 service, they have evidently clamped down on the frequency manager giving out any info regarding transmitter frequencies or antenna azimuths --- what you see is what you get; the old proprietary information jazz. The 1200 UT program begins on VOA-USA on 11900 kHz with news in Greek simulcast from ERA-1 (Next) on FM 105.8 MHz, which features news, talk and current affairs. ERA-4 (Sports) is simulcast from 101.8 MHz on FM and SW. The VOG also uses pick-ups from ERA-2 which is mainly in the music department. Not to be confused with ERT-3 (Radiophonikos Stathmos Makedonias in Thessaloniki, Greece), there is ERA-3 with classical music, arts and drama. A new engineer must have been breaking in on Sunday, Nov 18 at the transmitter beaming the ERT-3 SW broadcast --- at 1950 UT he is supposed to shift form 9935 to 7430. Nobody touched that dial, so the broadcast continued on 9935 until sign-off at 2250 --- still with a great signal. Since Nov 14, the 0000-0350 service to NAm, etc., has had splash-over from R. Norway which also opens up at 0000 with its 500 kW also to North America, severely damaging the VOG signal on 7475. I step up to about 7479 to get away from Norway, but it is tough for a 100-kW signal to overcome 500-kW adjacent-channel interference to the same service area. Perhaps you can send them an e-mail at bcharalampopoulos@ert.gr (Tehcnical reports) concerning the interference from Norway on 7470. From the current e-mail address, it seems as though B. Charalampopoulos has taken over some of Dionisios Angelogiannis` frequency management duties (John Babbis, Silver Spring MD, Nov 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) We had not published John`s previous presumed-site transmission schedule, because it is difficult to reformat, but let me extract the frequencies he now flags as providing best reception in his area, covering 22 hours a day of the 23 ERA-5 is on the air: 0000-0400 7475, 0400-0800 9420, 0800-1000 15630, 1200-1500 11900, 1500-1600 15630, 1600-2200 17705, 2200-2300 7475, 2300-2400 12110. Copies of the printed schedule sent out by VOG confirm that the ``Orientations`` ERA-Interprogram – Foreign Language Information Zone is aired in English at 1930 on 12110, and also MW 1386 --- is this one new? Only 379 is in the column for meters. The rest of the languages: 1400 Arabic 15650 792 1386 1430 German, 1500 Russian, 1530 Spanish, 1600 Romanian, 1630-1657 Turkish, all on 11645 792 1386 1700 Serbian, 1730 Bulgarian on 12110 792 1386 1800 Albanian, 1830 French, 1900 Polish on 12110 1386 In a separate category (not ``Orientations``) is an English News Bulletin at 0930 to Europe and Atlantic Ocean on 9420 15630 732. Another sheet for the entire broadcast day no longer shows any English to be involved in mainly Greek broadcasts, where 5 to 10 minute newscasts used to appear until this season. (But then it does not reveal the weekly hours in English Sat 1700 or Sun 1900!). This generally confirms previous versions published here, so will not laboriously retype it now (Glenn Hauser, from info via John Babbis, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** HAITI. Found a web-site for Haitian AMer R Liberté 1360 and sent an e-mail follow-up for a 1994 report to the station. Received a very quick reply from Serge Beaulieu from the address fmliberte@aol.com (also using cnsnewsun@aol.com ) This is an interesting situation with Serge based in the United Nations and still broadcasting to the Caribbean. They hope to soon establish streaming audio on their web-site www.cnsnewsu22.com Cheers, (Paul Ormandy, New Zealand, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Quote from Serge: Thank you for your email, which we just received. I hope you continue to go to cnsnews22.com to be informed of our activities. Radio Liberté is still on 1360 kHz AM and 94.1 FM. We have been having difficulty from time to time with our 1360 frequency due to electrical failures in the country where we broadcast --- Haiti. Although we have music on our website, we are now in the process of broadcasting directly on the website, so keep checking. In the meantime, you can send us email at cnsnewsun@aol.com or fmliberte@aol.com. Our stories on the website are printed in English as well as French, and from time to time we print in Spanish. We are still number 1 on the airwaves, and my radio show is heard by 3 million people in the Caribbean region. I will be reading your letter on the air. I do remember answering your letter back in 1994. There was a story in Radio World at that time about the destruction of our 1360 AM station by political foes. I will send it to you by mail. I am presently in New York at the United Nations and broadcast, nevertheless, every night to the Caribbean. Good luck to you, and thanks. Serge Beaulieu, Radio Liberte, fmliberte@aol.com cnsnewsun@aol.com cnsnews22@aol.com Website cnsnews22.com http://www.cnsnews22.com Radio Liberté call letters 4VLS 4VSB 94.1 FM 1360 AM (via Paul Ormandy, Host of The South Pacific DX Report http://radiodx.com Nov 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** JAPAN. Hello Glenn, I don`t know if this fit your pages but anyway, as Japanese TSF-station JJY/5000 8000 and 10000 kHz disappeared, another new Japanese came instead, namely JAPAN: according to a QSL (beautiful colored and with full details), for my listening and report August 8th, 2001 informed following: Sugadaira Space Radion Observatory, The University of Electro- Communications (U.E.C.), 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu-shi, Tokyo 182-8585, Japan transmits on 5006 and 8006 kHz with a power of 200 W, call sign JG2XA. More information can be found from URL http://ssro.ee.uec.ac.jp/lab_tomi/HDF/HFD.html (Torre Ekblom, Finland, Nov 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** TAIWAN. Glen[n]: Here's latest B01 sked translated from CBS website. Miller de Taiwan CBS RADIO TAIPIE INT'L B01 schedule as follows: (Dec 01, 2001 till Jun 01, 2002) NOTICE : CBS IS AUTHORIZED TO SHIFT FREQ WITHIN THE SAME METERBAND TO AVOID CNR HEAVY JAMMING. IT APPLIES TO VARIETY AND NEWS NETWORKS. SEE ALT CH. Voice of Asia QRT since Dec 1, 2001 !!! 1. VARIETY NETWORK (in CH) 2200-0200, 0400-1700 (local Mo-Fr 0600- 0900 stop tx) 927 1000-1600 C CHN S TWN 1008 0400-0500 0700-0800 C CHN C TWN 1098 1300-1700 C CHN S TWN 1206 0400-0600(-0900 Sa Su) S CHN S TWN 1422 1600-1800 S TWN S TWN 6085 0800-1500(-0900 Sa Su) C&S CHN alt ch 6125 6150 2230-0000 C CHN alt ch 6160 7415 0900-1700 N CHN alt ch 7425 11615 1100-1400 N CHN alt ch 11735 11645 0000-0200 0400-1400(0600-0900 Sa Su) C CHN alt ch 11625 11665 1300-1700 N CHN alt ch 11830 11725 0900-1300 N CHN alt ch 11775 11730 0400-0900(Sa Su) N CHN alt ch 11765 11970 11855 1400-1700 N CHN alt ch 11640 11865 0000-0200 N CHN alt ch 11815 11885 2230-0000 N CHN alt ch 11970 11985 0400-0600 N CHN alt ch 11870 15060 0400-0600 N CHN alt ch 15050 15245 0000-0200 N CHN alt ch 15345 15265 1500-1700 SEAs 15330 0400-0900(Sa Su) C CHN alt ch 15190 15350 0400-0800(Sa Su) N CHN alt ch 15050 15430 0400-0600 C CHN alt ch 15190 2. NEWS NETWORK (in CH) 2200-1800 603 0900-1600 2200-0000 N&C CHN C TWN 747 1000-1200 CHN C TWN 1008 2200-0000 0800-1700 CHN C TWN 1422 2300-0500 0700-1600 S CHN S TWN 1521 1200-1700 N CHN S TWN 1557 0300-0800 C&N CHN 7365 0900-1800 C&N CHN alt ch 7355 9610 1100-1200 AUS NZL 9650 2230-0100 0900-1800 C&N CHN alt ch 9630 9640 0700-1800 C&S CHN alt ch 9735 9790 2300-0000 SEAs 11635 2200-0000 SEAs 11905 0100-0500 N CHN alt ch 11880 15290 0200-0500 SEAs 15215 0200-0800 N CHN alt ch 15175 15235 15395 0900-1300 N CHN alt ch 15525 15645 5950 2200-0000 ENAm 15440 2200-0000 WNAm Note: Additional features "Date with Taipei" scheduled as follow: 0600-1000 11795 1400-1800 3335 6040 2300-0300 9690 3. DIALECT NETWORK (in Amoy Hakka Cantonese Mongolian Tibetan Uighur) 1) Amoy (mainly spoken in Taiwan, Fujian) 0000-0100a 15440.11875 WENAm SEAs 0100-0200b 11875 SEAs 0500-0600b 1008 1422 CHN 0600-0700a 15580 1422 1008 S CHN TWN SEAs 0700-0800b 585 15580 SEAs TWN 0800-0900a 585 11715 TWN PHL 0900-1000b 1206 CHN 1000-1100a 1206 11605 15465 As CHN 1300-1400b 11635 15465 SEAs 2) Hakka (mainly spoken in Taiwan, E Guangdong, S Fujian) 0000-0100a 5950 ENAm 0300-0400b 11875 SEAs 0600-0700a 585 S TWN 0900-1000b 15465 585 SEAs CHN TWN 1000-1100b 6105 6145 CHN TWN 1100-1200a 6145 6165 11635 15465 SEAs CHN TWN 1300-1400b 1206 9780 SEAs CHN TWN 1400-1500b 11915 1206 SEAs 1700-1800a 11875 EAf 3) Cantonese (spoken in Hong Kong, Guangdong) 0100-0200a 5950 15440 NAm 7520 15290 Eu SEAs 0200-0300b 11855 SEAs 0300-0400a 11740 CAm SAm 0500-0600b 5950 9680 NAm 15320 15580 SEAs 1000-1100a 9610 9780 11635 15525 SEAs AUS NZL 1100-1200b 15405 9780 1206 SEAs CHN TWN 1200-1300a 11915 6145 6105 1206 SEAs CHN 1300-1400b 6105 11915 SEAs CHN 4) Mongolian 1000-1100 11985 Mongolia Tibetan 1000-1100 9540 Tibet Note: a-PROGRAM A b-PROGRAM B 4. EXTERNAL NETWORK: * Skelton-UK, # WYFR Florida relay En 0200-0300a 11740 9680 5950 NAm CAm 15320 15465 SEAs 0300-0400b 5950 9680 NAm 11875 15320 SEAs 0700-0800a 5950 WNAm 1100-1200a 11985 N CHN b 585 7445 SEAs 1200-1300a 9610 7130 NEAs AUS NZL 1400-1500a 15265 SEAs 1600-1700a 11550 INDIA S CHN 1700-1800b 11550 INDIA S CHN 2200-2300a 9355# 5810# EUR Fr 0700-0800 9355# EUR 1800-1900 17760# EUR NAm 2000-2100 9955 9355# EUR NAf NAm Sp 0200-0300 15215 11825 WSAm 0400-0500 11740 CAm 0600-0700 5950# WNAm 2000-2100 11760# EUR 2100-2200 9955 EUR 2300-0000 11720 9690 ESAm Jpn 0100-0200a 15310 JPN 0800-0900b 15465 JPN 1100-1200a 7130 11605 JPN 1300-1400b 7130 11605 JPN German 0600-0700 9355# EUR 1800-1900 9955 EUR 1900-2000 6180* EUR 2100-2200 9355# 5810# EUR Ru 0900-1000 11985 E CIS 1300-1400 15695 11745 CIS 1700-1800 9955 W CIS INSn 0800-0900a 15580 INS 1000-1100a 11550 15580 INS 1100-1200b 11550 15580 INS 1200-1300b 585 7445 11635 SEAs 1400-1500a 11745 SEAs 1600-1700a 585 7445 11745 SEAs 0400-0600ba 585 S TWN Korean 0300-0400 15345 Korea 1400-1500 7130 15465 Korea Thai 0600-0700 15320 15405 THA 1400-1500 11635 15405 THA 2200-2300 585 7445 THA Vietn 1500-1600 11915 15405 VNM 2300-0000 11875 9960 VNM Burmese 0700-0800 15405 MMR 1500-1600 11635 MMR Arabic 1600-1700 11955 NAf ME 1800-1900 11610 NAf ME Ch 0100-0200b 17845 SAm 0400-0500a 5950# 9680# 15320 15405 SEAs Am 0900-1000b 9610 11605 15320 15405 15580 SEAs Au NZ 1200-1300a 11605 15405 15465 SEAs NEAs 1900-2000a 9955 RUS b 15600# 17750# (6.7) EUR Note: a-PROGRAM A b-PROGRAM B Relay stn via CBS: WYFR (World Family Radio): B01 CHINESE 1200-1600 1900-0300 1557 0900-1200 1521 1000-1300 1098 1200-1500 747 2100-0000 1002-1602 6300 9280 CANTONESE 0800-0900 1557 ENGLISH 0500-0800 0900-1200 1600-1900 1557 0100-0200 15060 1302-1502 11550 1500-1600 6280 1500-1700 15525 Hindi 0000-0100 15060 1502-1602 11550 Russian 1502-1702 9955 R. AUSTRALIA: A01 ENGLISH 0800-1130 15240 (co-ch with VoA English after 1000) 2200-2330 15240 INDONESIAN 0500-0530 11745 0800-0830 11550 2130-2330 11550 11935(alt) CAMBODIAN 2300-2330 17805 WSHB-KHBI: B-01 ENGLISH 1000-1100 11780 VOICE OF CHINA (clandestine): CHINESE 2200-2300 15280 (via Miller Liu, Taiwan, Nov 26, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** THAILAND. Thailand´s Military May Loosen its Grip on Media 26 Nov 2001 Big changes could be on the way in the Thai radio scene. At the moment, a vast number of frequencies are `owned` by the country`s armed forces, which operate many of them on a commercial basis. In Bangkok alone, 12 FM stations are owned by the military. But all that could be about to change. According to a report in the Bangkok Post, the country`s Defence Minister, General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, has told the armed forces that they must produce good reasons to retain ownership of all the 200 radio stations and two TV channels that they currently operate. According to Yongchaiyudh, many of the stations run at a loss. A committee will be set up to decide which frequencies will be retained by the military, based on security and public service considerations. More than half the stations could well be turned over to the new National Broadcasting Commission, which will have to reallocate them to other public or commercial broadcasters. (© Radio Netherlands Media Network via DXLD) ** U K. One regret I have is that BBC World Service ceased SW transmissions directed to North America on shortwave as not everyone is able to have internet access at reasonable cost. Thanks to cost cutting measures, BBCWS have let down a huge audience who now listen to other stations, especially RNW of Hilversum, The Netherlands which is now using former BBC frequencies (Mr Adrian Childs, Corscombe, Dorchester, Dorset, England, Nov 19, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Norm Pattiz, chairman of Westwood One and a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, submitted interesting testimony November 14 to the House International Relations Committee. In the testimony, he provided the (his) philosophy of the new Middle East Radio Network and advocated a similar 24/7 Arabic-language television service. But, without being very specific, he also indicated that he would like to replace the present blocks of programming used by the language services of U.S. international broadcasting (now typically 30 or 60 minutes in length) with "24/7" services. I would be interested in reactions from the group. http://www.house.gov/international_relations/patt1114.htm (Kim Elliott, VOA, Nov 26, swprograms via DXLD) Here is what he said about that: "We`re going to be a force in the market -- on the air 24/7 on multiple channels that the audience uses and that we own. Being on around the clock establishes a fixed, prominent profile as opposed to sporadic broadcasts at different times during the day. We want to maintain a constant on-air presence and be available whenever the audience wants us. If they listen to AM, then we need to be on AM; if FM, then FM. The last thing we want is to be inaccessible. Which is why we must also have sufficient redundancy as a hedge against host government interference. Owning the channels precludes sharing or leasing arrangements whereby programming incompatible with our format and profile would air before or after ours." These comments are right on in my opinion. I think that one of the things that made the BBC such a strong force in international broadcasting is/was their ability to dominate and camp on a frequency for long durations. If one wanted to listen to the BBC, regardless of what the exact time was, it was easy to dial in the BBC frequency. I still remember how 15070 could be counted on all day here in the USA as long as the ionosphere was cooperative. 12095 has a similar status today in Europe and in North America during the daylight hours if your radio can trap out the digital interference on the high side of this frequency. Your average listener will not adjust his life schedule to listen to a radio station and there are even fewer who will go to the trouble of keeping a list of times and frequencies. People are trained today to simply select a channel and they expect their station to be there whenever the listener feels like listening. He also said: "We`re going to attract an audience by creatively using entertainment and music. We have to be realistic. The target audiences for the Middle East Radio Network will be young adults 15-30. They are not news-seekers first and foremost. We have to attract them with the programming they want to hear and drop in the news and information we want them to get. This means strategic use of music and entertainment. A major competitive advantage of the Middle East Radio Network is access to specialized music researchers who use state-of- the-art techniques to stay up to the minute on changing audience preferences. Since music will be a vital to our programming appeal, it must be absolutely current." Again, I think he is on the mark. I am old enough to remember back in the early 1950`s when a representative of the VOA (maybe George Jacobs?) addressed the Nassau Radio Club (a ham radio club) on Long Island about the things happening at VOA. I still remember my shock when I heard him say that the VOA had decided to drop music programming because shortwave radio with its severe audio limiting (and even RF peak clipping in those days) combined with selective fading just did not do justice to musical programming. The new philosophy did not last long. We learned decades later that the favorite program on VOA with listeners in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union was Willis Conover`s jazz show. People risked their freedom to hear his show and in the process learned something about the soul of the USA and the culture of freedom that produced this music. In my opinion, the subliminal message communicated by that music was a greater force in capturing and holding listeners minds than any dreary lectures, news reports, or government propaganda could have been. Listeners hearing that music were temporarily liberated from their dreary lives and enticed to wonder about the people who produced such free and uninhibited music. Of such wonder, loyal listeners and even converts are made. I hope Mr. Norm Pattiz`s plans will be fulfilled. VOA learned the lesson he is teaching almost a half century ago but apparently the corporate memory is short. ~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-., (Joe Buch -- Infidel and proud of it, Nov 26, swprograms via DXLD) -*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^'~*-.,_,.-*~'^ ** U S A. HISTORIC COAST RADIO STATION WILL CELEBRATE MARCONI EVENT Stations KPH and K6KPH will be on the air on 12 December 2001 to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first wireless signal to cross the Atlantic, received by Marconi on 12 December 1901 at St. John's Newfoundland. Both stations will use the original transmitters, receivers and antennas of famous ex-RCA coast station KPH. The transmitters are located at the transmitting station founded by the American Marconi Co. in 1913 at Bolinas, CA. The receivers and operators will be at the KPH receiving station about 20 miles north at Pt. Reyes, CA. KPH will be active on commercial frequencies 500 and 425 kc with most activity taking place on 500kc (600m). Power output will be 4.3kW. The antenna is a Marconi T. These frequencies have been made available through the generous cooperation of Globe Wireless, current holders of the KPH license. K6KPH will be active on amateur frequencies 3545, 7050 and 14050 kc. Power output will be 1.5kW. Antennas will be double extended Zepps on 3.5 and 7Mc, H over 2 on 14Mc. K6KPH will begin operations at 1700Z (0900PST). KPH will begin operations at 0000Z (1700PST) 13 December 2001Z Commercial practices and procedures will be used on all frequencies to give amateurs the experience of working a real coast station. Traffic lists will be sent and messages for stations that have worked us in the past and sent reception reports will be awaiting in the message rack. All operators will be ex-commercial ops from KPH, KFS and other coast stations. Amateurs and shortwave listeners are invited to contact or monitor KPH and K6KPH. Maritime stations may call KPH on 500 kc. KPH reception reports may be sent to: Tom Horsfall, 1862 Tulare Ave., Richmond, CA 94805, USA K6KPH reception reports may be sent to: Dick Dillman, 435 Utah St., No. 4, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA KPH and K6KPH are operated by the Maritime Radio Historical Society in cooperation with the Point Reyes National Seashore, part of the US National Park Service. Further information may be found on the Maritime Radio Historical Society Web site at http://www.radiomarine.org or by contacting Dick Dillman +1 415-255-9221 x 317 or Tom Horsfall +1 510-237- 9535. Dick Dillman, W6AWO, Member of the Maritime Radio Historical Society http://www.radiomarine.org Collector of Heavy Metal: Harleys, Willys and Radios over 100 lbs. -- The Worldwide UTE News (WUN) mailing list. WUN is a non-profit, dues-free club established in 1995 to share information on shortwave utilities. For more information: http://www.wunclub.com (WUN via Pim Ripken, Nov 26, Benelux DX Club via DXLD) ** U S A. WFMT Celebrates 50 Classic Years Chicago's Classical Fine Arts Station Marks 50 Years of Broadcasting On December 13, 2001 CHICAGO, Nov. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- On December 13, 1951, Bernard Jacobs and his wife Rita, having pawned their car and luggage, acquired full ownership of a struggling radio station - now called WFMT. At first, they are the entire staff: Bernie, the engineer, Rita, the announcer. Broadcasting eight hours a day, their vision was to create a station they themselves could enjoy and respect and share with others. Nearly fifty years later, that same vision still guides 98.7WFMT, Chicago's Classical Fine Arts Station. While virtually every other station has changed format or call letters, WFMT has remained dedicated to presenting the best of classical music and other fine arts entertainment to the widest possible audience. Respect for its listening audience is key, and WFMT has sought to demonstrate that respect by keeping the highest possible standards in programming, in engineering and in advertising. Those efforts have resulted in a loyal and growing audience for the station. As WFMT approaches the half-century mark, it is enjoying the largest audience, and highest ratings in its history. As with most radio stations, recorded music makes up most of WFMT's broadcast hours. Unlike most American radio stations, WFMT devotes enormous resources to performing artists in live and taped presentations. Performances are heard from the station's state-of- the-art Fay and Daniel Levin Performance Studio, from venues around the city and from concert halls and opera houses in cities around the world. Live music has been a cornerstone of WFMT's programming since the studio recitals of the Fine Arts Quartet in the early 1950's and now encompasses not only soloists and ensembles, but also orchestras and opera companies. WFMT is the radio home of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera of Chicago and, through the creation of the WFMT Radio Networks, has been able to share these treasures, along with the work of other major symphonies and opera companies to national and international audiences as one of the world's largest distributors of cultural programs. Over the next few weeks, listeners will hear a number of special programming features, including: -- The voices of listeners old and new, sharing special anecdotes and remembrances about the station in brief interviews complied by special assignment producer Mara Tapp. -- Music, performance, humor and spoken word gems from the WFMT archives featured on WFMT Retrospective, airing Friday evenings from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. -- Friends of WFMT will celebrate the upcoming anniversary with a gala event at the Four Season Hotel. The evening's program, hosted by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Henry Fogel, will feature Samuel Ramey, Sir Andrew Davis, Bonnie Koloc and students from the Merit School of Music and will be broadcast live on WFMT, beginning at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, November 26. -- Special live programming will mark the anniversary day on December 13, 2001. A number of area performers will join WFMT program hosts live from Ganz Hall at Chicago College of Performing Arts of Roosevelt University in a broadcast that can be enjoyed on the radio, or live, free and in person, from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Later that night, The Midnight Special will continue the celebrations with a host of special guests in the WFMT Fay and Daniel Levin Performance Studio, including Ed Trickett, Kat Eggleston, Lee Murdock and Small Potatoes, joining host Rich Warren beginning at 9:00 p.m. Whether heard locally at 98.7 FM, nationally through cable and syndicated programming or internationally through the Internet, WFMT is a cultural resource that continues to become more vibrant each year. All of this has been made possible through the remarkable loyalty of WFMT's listeners, advertisers and the community. Everyone at WFMT is profoundly grateful to them as we enter our 50th year of classical fine arts broadcasting (via Mike Cooper, DXLD) ###