DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-011, January 23, 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. For restrixions and searchable 2000, 2001 archive contents see} http://www.angelfire.com/ok/worldofradio/Dxldmid.html ** AUSTRALIA. {Re: Fire at RA} Glenn, The date of the Radio Australia item was 17 January, but the news report did not specify the exact times. The timeline of the report was a little after 2100 local time, so I guess it happened earlier that day. 73, (Andy Sennitt, Media Network, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHECHNYA [non]. This morning I heard R Chechnya Svobodnaya opening at 0300 on 9810. This appears to be a new freqy, as Popovka 5935 and 7335 both were active as usual. No daytime companion found so far, so 9810 may be a compensation for the late start of the Moscow txer on 9470 at 0600. The Tbilisskaya txer on 9810 with VOR Russian went off at 0300 now instead of the previous closing time at 0400. (Olle Alm, Sweden, Jan 21, BC-DX via DXLD) ** COLOMBIA. January 21st 2001. I just received a new edition of Glenn Hauser`s DXLD and tried to catch the Colombian clandestine station - La Voz de Resistencia - which was mentioned in DXLD and yes there they were - not exactly loud and clear - but with a perfectly readable signal and lots of nice danceable music from tune in at 2220 UT. By 2230 a couple of station identifications followed by a revolutionary march and sign off at 2233. Frequency was 6233.72 or 6233.73 kHz (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, hard-core-dx via DXLD) La Voz de Resistencia heard with a perfectly readable signal and lots of nice danceable music from tune in at 2220 UT on January 21. By 2230 a couple of station identifications followed by a revolutionary march and sign off at 2233. Frequency was 6233.72 or 6233.73 kHz. Also noted on the same frequency January 22nd from fade in around 2215 - but a lot weaker - and disappearing again soon afterwards, around 2220 UT (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** COSTA RICA/USA. RFPI will be broadcasting live from the 4th annual Homelessness Marathon beginning UT Thursday 25 January 0000 until 0600 (Wednesday evening January 24 in the Americas 7 pm - 1 am Eastern). This will be the third year RFPI has been proud to participate. For further information on the marathon, visit their web site: http://www.homelessnessmarathon.org The Homelessness Marathon is a 14-hour live radio broadcast which originates from the streets of a different city each year. In its first three years, it has leapt from being on one station to being on 23. The fourth marathon is slated to originate from Boston this year. For most hours of the marathon, host "Nobody," has two co-hosts who are experts on some aspect of homelessness and poverty (e.g. the impact of welfare reform, the availability of housing, access to health care, anti-homeless legislation, etc.). Two hours each year are devoted to panels of homeless people (e.g. homeless mothers, homeless vets, homeless youth, homeless "mentally ill," etc.) Throughout the night "Nobody" takes calls from the general public and especially from homeless people who are reached in a variety of ways. A special number is reserved for homeless people and circulated through shelters, homeless papers and others. Some shelters set aside a listening room where the normal lights out policy is suspended on the night of the broadcast. And the broadcast booth is situated in an area frequented by homeless people with a microphone out on the street that they (and others) are invited to speak into. "To me the existence of homelessness in the richest country on earth is a dead-canary-in-the-coal-mine warning that something is deeply wrong," says Nobody, a radio and print journalist whose work has appeared in The Columbia Journalism Review, Parents, and Harper`s Bazaar. "Homelessness is an emergency because people are freezing to death, homeless women are being victimized, and homeless children are being traumatized. The whole point of the marathon is to get homo sapiens to realize that homeless sapiens are the same as them, and that if we help them, we'll be helping ourselves. And the best way to accomplish this is by just examining the issues and letting homeless people speak for themselves." Please join us on the 25th from 0000 - 0600 on the frequency 15050 Khz (19 meters) -- Radio For Peace International, PO Box 88, Santa Ana, Costa Rica Central America info@rfpi.org http://www.rfpi.org On-demand RealAudio: http://www.rfpi.org/webcast.html Live Webcast (MP3 format): http://www.boinklabs.com/ifpi.html (RFPI Jan 23 via DXLD) ** CUBA. See you on 40 meters; I will be operating between 7050 and 7060 kiloHertz, and listening on the same transmitting frequency and also between 7160 and 7200 for split frequency contacts... Enjoy radio, and join your local radio club too!!! (Arnie Coro CO2KK, Havana, Cuba, January 20, 2001, DXers Unlimited via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Incidentally today HCJB - Voice of Andes announced a frequency of 17660 kHz but on checking at 2137 UT there was no HCJB on that frequency. This frequency is also listed in the WRTH 2001. Hope this is useful. Regards (Vinay Ahuja, Belgium, Jan 23, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ECUADOR. Checking HCJB 17660 just before 2200 UT Jan 23, it was there in English, but much weaker than \\ 21455. While 17660 signed off, an open carrier stayed on 21455 for an entire hour; then 2259 re-opened in Spanish with 2300 Informativo Vozandes. This has got to be a lot more than 1 kW, and is now compatible USB, the carrier reduced, but only slightly, and listenable in AM mode. If they would quit wasting watts like this, Allen Graham could come back a week earlier (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EGYPT. I`ve lost track already - at least 8-10 years that R. Cairo is horrendous on SW, and nobody cares. To ENAm at 2300, 9900 is blasted by 9895; to WNAm at 0200 9475 poor-fair, with VOR Spanish on 9470. R. Cairo should sound as good as VOR does on 9475 in English at 0400 \\ 7180 7125 (Bob Thomas, CT, Jan 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** EL SALVADOR [and non]. Earthquake health & welfare info updates and traffic on emergency net 7090; 3780 OSHA [sic] El Salvador. Now and then I hear info on/about 14165 concerning affected areas giving instructions on where HF traffic is being handled. These are one or more individual operators (Bob Thomas, CT, Jan 16, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ERITREA. DX Information from the British DX Club (BDXC-UK). Re: UNMEE. Just to note that the frequencies mentioned are all those of the Eritrean state radio, Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, which has obviously given over some air time to the UN. This station can sometimes be heard on shortwave outside the region - including Europe - but won`t be audible on 7 MHz here in the middle of the day (the times cited). (Chris Greenway, BDXC-UK Jan 21 via DXLD) ** GABON. Glenn, You will recall I lamented Africa No. 1`s lack of webcast a few months ago in these pages, and had intended to report back that ANO was first webcasting via the Windows Media format about 12 weeks ago. They then added a RealPlayerG2 feed soon after. There are only a handful of webstreaming stations in Africa, and the connections are often tentative at best. But the ANO webcast is at a high baud rate and always solid, and I suspect this is due to the webcast originating in Paris, where ANO is satellite-fed from Gabon and rebroadcast on the Paris FM band. There is an outstanding block of fresh African music each weekday at 1700-1900, great stuff, the real deal. Their website http://www.africa1.com has not been updated in some time, and as far as I can tell still has no reference to the webcast. (The website is all in French of course, and is a good opportunity to use the handy webpage translator function at http://www.altavista.com. Find the "translate" icon on the AltaVista home page, then load in the http address and select "French To English" among many other language options, even Chinese. The webpage is then displayed with full graphics still intact, but all text translated to English, albeit roughly. The AltaVista site also accepts plain text to translate, but again will only do a B minus job, especially if you've thrown in any idiomatic expressions. Still, not bad for free.) As for ANO`s current link mentioned in DIGEST 1-009, it is part of the http://www.comfm/com site, originally just in French at http://www.comfm/fr. This is by far the best collection of radio webcast links I`ve found. Rather than direct you to the station`s website, as the MIT Radio List used to do, forcing you to waste time navigating through distant graphics to find the feed, the http://www.comfm/com/live/radio/ site lists the countries, cities, and then just the webcast link itself to simply click and play. The link indicates if it is Windows or RealPlayer or MP3 or others, and the baud rate of the webcast. So if you have fat access you can go directly to the international sites feeding @ 100+kbs -- true local FM quality -- although it might not surprise you, Glenn, that the quality of the programming itself is often inversely proportional to the high baud rate... Africa Number One excepted of course! (Tom Roche, Atlanta, Georgia, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** GERMANY. Demonstrators demand closure of US transmitter | Text of report by German Deutschlandfunk radio on 20 January Three hundred people have demonstrated outside the US general consulate in Munich. They demanded the closure of a US transmitting station in the southern part of the Bavarian capital. According to a study by the Bavarian Environment Ministry, the cancer rate in the direct vicinity is 40 per cent above average. Source: Deutschlandfunk radio, Cologne, in German 1400 gmt 20 Jan 01 (via BBCM via DXLD) ** GERMANY. Hi, In a QSL-letter Michael Kittner on the Hamburger Lokalradio tells me that they have a special programme in English on January 27th, featuring The Sea Pirate Stations. Hamburger Lokalradio transmits via DTK, Juelich, 100 kW, on 6045 kHz at 1000-1100 UT. Address: Hamburger Lokalradio, Kulturzentrum LOLA, D-21031 HAMBURG, Germany. 73 from (Björn Fransson, Gotland, Sweden, Jan 23, hard-core- dx via DXLD) ** GREECE. Glenn, The information appearing below (as included in DXLD 1-010) is a direct copy of one of my older reports to several DX organizations, including the Chicago Area DX Club. Unfortunately the author fails to give any credit to the original author (me). excerpt from DXLD 1-010 [which was not credited to Rigas]: ------------------------------------------------------------- ERA-5 - THE VOICE OF GREECE TRANSMITTER SITES: AVLIDA (Avlis) 23.36E/38.23N SW: 2 x 100 KW 3 SERIES OF CURTAINS; 2 LOG PERIODICS 0-360 DEG. DELANO, USA 119.17W/35.45N SW: 1 x 250 KW GREENVILLE, USA 77.25W/35.35N SW: 1 x 250/500 KW KAVALA 24.50E/40.53N SW: 2x250 kW MW: 1 x 500 kW DIPOLE CURTAIN ANTENNAS MAILING ADDRESS: ERA-5, VOICE OF GREECE GENERAL DIRECTORATE OF TECHNICAL SERVICES c/o S. Kalaitzis, D. Angelogiannis 402 MESSOGION AVENUE 15342 ATHENS, GREECE PHONE: 30 (01) 6014700 FAX: 30 (01) 6009608 WWW: http://ert.ntua.gr/era5 E-MAIL: skalai@leon.nrcps.ariadne-t.gr RADIOPHONIKOS STATHMOS MAKEDONIAS, MACEDONIA RADIO STATION: SITES: PIERIA-NEA MALGARA (THESSALONIKI) 22.59E/40.31N SW: 3 x 35 KW DIPOLE - 315 DEG. (7430 kHz) DIPOLE - 315 DEG. (9935 kHz) RHOMBIC - 115 DEGREES (11595 kHz) ADDRESS: RADIOPHONIKOS STATHMOS MAKEDONIAS ANGELAKI STREET 14 54621 THESSALONIKI, GREECE PHONE: 30 (31) 244-979 FAX: 30 (31) 236-370 WWW: http://www.ert3.gr/ E-MAIL: mouzounis@usa.net, geconomou@hotmail.com (web site via Dr. Juergen Kubiak-D, Berlin, WWDXC Germany "DX Magazine" Jan via BC-DX via DXLD) -------------------------------------------------------------- On another note, I can confirm that the R.S. Macedonia SW transmitters and the AM transmitter for 1044 kHz share the site at Perea. The site is located within the Macedonia International Airport, which also serves as a military base. For that reason picture taking at the airport and from the airplanes is strictly prohibited (Christos Rigas, Wood Dale, Illinois, Chicago Area DX Club (CADX) - Editor http://www.mindspring.com/~ttmdoc/, DXLD) ** GREECE. Some changes for ERT: ERA-3 / Radiophonikos Stathmos Makedonias in Greek: 1100-1700 9935 ONLY <<<<<<<< RETIMED, ex 0600-1400 on 9935, 11595 1700-2300 7430 ONLY <<<<<<<< RETIMED, ex 1400-2200 on 7430, 9935 (Observer, Bulgaria, Jan 23, via DXLD) ** GREECE. Thessaloniki 9935 came on at 1100 this morning and went off at 1702. 7430 came on at 1704. There was no measurable frequency offset (less than 5 Hz) on either channel. The signal on 9935 was 3 to 5 S-units below Kavalla on 9420, but that may be due to different azimuths. In the period 1400-1600 9420 and 9935 carried the same sports commentary with a large echo between them. 9420 was observed s-on a few minutes before 1200. It was gone by 1650, when the VoHope was heard until 1700. The Avlis (presumed) txer came on at 1704 with VOG English. There appears to be no processing of the 9935/7430 audio. Since transmitting antennas are designed for a certain maximum allowed power they have to be reconstructed before new txs with a higher power can be connected. Otherwise there will be arcing and overload. This means that a site like Thessaloniki will have to be partially off the air for a period of time while the antennas and feed lines are rebuilt (unless of course they build new replacement equipment in advance). The city of Thessaloniki stretches along the inner (eastern) shore of a large bay. Perea is located on the southern side of this bay and the SW station seems to be located near the shore east of Perea, just west of the airport according to the Tactical Pilotage Chart. The VOA Salonika MW tx went on the air on March 15, 1950, as The Greek- American Radio Station (SCDX #110). Shortwave, 4 x 35 kW [Collins units], was added some time in 1952 or 1953 (WRTH), when the site became a VOA relay base. The VOA left this site from March 4, 1973, when Kavalla was operational (Olle Alm, Sweden, Jan 20, BC-DX via DXLD) ERT/ERA Thessaloniki SW, in addition to the absence of dedicated SW audio processing like Optimod 9105 (not really a lack as the modulation is deep enough, I think a simple limiter/compressor wiring is in use) I also note that the audio frequency response is flat, while the old Collins txs had emphasis on the higher range. I also note a slight 50 Hz hum in the audio, from the feed circuit I guess. Anyway it is really pleasant listening until 2200, then co-channel RFI via Novosibirsk causes some interference. So there seem to be hardly doubts that now an ex-Gloria tx is operational at Thessaloniki. The gap between 1702 and 1704 suggests that 9935 and 7430 shares the tx; I wonder if also the same antenna is used on both freqs and if the aerial(s) can endure 250 kW or if the tx is running on reduced power. The Continental was a gift, but high power antennas are also rather expensive (Kai Ludwig, Germany, Jan 20, BC-DX via DXLD) ** INTERNATIONAL VACUUM [non]. DX Information from the British DX Club (BDXC-UK). From: sat-nd@sat-nd.TBS-satellite.com The aborted launch of the XM 1 radio satellite aboard a Sea Launch Zenit 3 SL on 8 January has probably cost millions of dollars, but it`s still unclear who`s going to pay for it. In order to avoid a repetition of such an accident, Sea Launch reportedly plans to set a time limit after which a countdown can`t be canceled. The request to cancel the launch attempt was made about 25 seconds before lift-off, but apparently it took about twenty seconds to actually stop the procedure. As a consequence, the rocket has to be taken back to the home port, have its first-stage engine refurbished, and shipped back for another launch attempt. This will delay the launch of XM 1 (and XM 2) by about seven weeks. The countdown was aborted because there seemed to be a problem with the satellite, but it later turned out to be caused by an erroneous reading. So who is to blame? In this case, it was the mission manager for Boeing Satellite Systems who asked the Sea Launch mission director to abort the launch. Meanwhile, Boeing has set up a review team that will assess the current launch proceedings. The team is also to set a "last second" for launch abort requests. Judging from the events on 8 January, it seems that 20 seconds is the technical limit (although it may actually be set by what seems to be a rather complicated procedure to halt the countdown, which includes at least 15 seconds of various people shouting "stop, stop, stop." What could not be heard during the transmission of the launch attempt, however, is that three different people have to type in five commands each to stop the launch.) Related Links: New launch date for XM 1 http://sat-nd.com/news/news.asp?d=20010111&n=02 Satellite blamed for aborted Zenit 3SL launch http://sat-nd.com/news/news.asp?d=20010110&n=02 XM 1 "Roll" http://sat-nd.com/news/news.asp?d=20010109&n=01 (via Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) ** IRAN [non]. TADJIKISTAN [non] 7480, R Sedaye Iran via Dushanbe, has a new address for those seeking QSLs: KRSI, 9744 Wilshire Blvd (Suite 207), Beverly Hills, CA 90212, U.S.A. Their old address (PWBR- 2000) was in Santa Monica, but has been invalid for the past six months (Dan Henderson-MD-USA, NU, Jan 21, via BC-DX via DXLD) ** IRAQ [non]. CLANDESTINE/IRAQ: Voice of Iraqi Kurdistan in Kurdish and Arabic noted on Jan 21-23 0300-0800 on NF 5860.0, ex 7390.0, re- ex 7375.0 // 4085.0 (Ivo and Angel, Observer, Bulgaria via DXLD) ** ISRAËL. Dear Glenn, Kol Israël didn`t bother to wait till January 24th for the change from 6280 to 11605 kHz. Today January 22nd both transmissions - 0500-0515 and 2000-2030 UT were on 11605 kHz leaving 6280 empty. Best 73s (Stig Hartvig Nielsen, Denmark, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ISRAËL. FWIW, IBA at 2025 Jan 23 concluding English on 9435, also audible on 11605, said at 0500 they would be using 11605, 9435 and 17545; and at 2000 on 11605, 9435, 15640 and 15650. I was confirming something similar Chris Hambly told me (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** ITALY. Rai, R. Roma to NAm in English at 0050-0110: 6010 has not been propagating well lately, either so low or not active. 9675 very good, 11800 so-so at times (Bob Thomas, CT, Jan 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** KASHMIR/INDIA. New Station in India. This is from Leh on 4770. 4760 is used both by Leh and Port Blair, Andaman Islands. At 1530 both normally carry nx in English from Delhi, but at 1545 Port Blair on 4760 carries English program SPOTLIGHT, while Leh carries nx in Urdu. But to me this 4470 [sic, more wrong punching! -gh] from Leh is a result of wrong punching. A few weeks back AIR Calcutta used 4825, instead of 4820. After my report to Delhi they switched back to 4820. That was a wrong punching indeed. Let`s see how long Leh is on 4770 instead of 4760. Judging from the signal strength here, it seems this is the same tx on a wrong freq. AIR Imphal is on 4775 with 50 kW and it is likely that AIR will not use the adjacent 4770 from Leh (Alok Dasgupta, India, Jan 20, BC-DX via DXLD) Dan Henderson: Several listeners have detected what appears to be a new stn in India operating on 4770 only in the evening. We think the stn is in Leh with possibly a new tx; it is surely a new frequency. All the other AIR regional stns are in place and are being heard each evening; this is an additional stn. It has been heard in the S Indian Ocean, in Finland, and with some marginal reception in the US. We need assistance of GRDXC members in India to monitor this station and determine its location. To date no one has been able to get an ID from the stn, although the mx patterns, the nx bcs, and other items from the stn seem to match that of a possible Leh tx. If so, this is a major find for DXers all over the world. Leh was previously almost unreported during its entire lifetime. Can anyone give us some assistance, particularly those listeners in the Western part of India? (Alok Dasgupta, India & Dan Henderson-MD-USA, Jan 20, BC-DX via DXLD) AIR Leh IS operating on 4770, but they are announcing 4760 still! Mahendra and I believe it is a technical error, and when they find out that they are off freq, they will correct it. Meanwhile, they are audible (at some level) from time to time in the US, and almost daily in Europe for their evening bc (Dan Henderson, MD, Jan 21, BC-DX via DXLD) ** KOREA NORTH. 13748.89, Radio Pyongyang, 23 Jan 0109. In Spanish, talk alternating by man and woman. Music program at 0125. Station identified by noting parallel on 15180.07 at 0136. Strong, but very unstable and varying signal. Note that nominal frequency for RP is supposed to be 13760. Guess the gerbils are really asleep at the generator again, even if they moved to (intended) 13750. (73, Mark J. Fine, Serving the Shortwave Community since 1988: - Owner/Proprietor, FineWare: http://www.fineware-swl.com hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** MALAYSIA. RTM is currently absent from 4845 (as of 23 Jan). This frequency carried their Radio 6 service in Tamil 24 hrs. Other domestic frequencies from Kuala Lumpur via Kajang are still heard as previously on 5965v, 6025 and 7295. It will be interesting to see whether this disappearance turns out to be permanent. As far as SE Asia is concerned, the tropical bands are now sounding decidedly empty. The number of active tropical band stations in the region, excluding Indonesia, is now down into single figures, most of which operate for only a few hours a day. Several of the remaining transmitters don't sound as though they are in very good shape, unfortunately. Regards, (Alan Davies, Bangkok, Thailand, Electronic DX Press via DXLD) ** NEPAL. Text of report by Nepal News web site on 18 January Kathmandu, 18 January: The parliament's development committee has summoned the minister for communications, Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta, on 24 January to explain this week's controversial government decision that banned news broadcasts by independent FM radio stations. The government move came after the formation of a committee to review and oversee the functioning of popular FM radio stations. The committee has asked Gupta to provide copies of conditions and licences for operation of FM radio stations. According to the reviewing committee, the stations were broadcasting news and opinions in the clear absence of guidelines on what constituted news and opinions. A government official said FM radio stations were not permitted to broadcast news which is a monopoly of state owned Radio Nepal. The Chinese embassy last year had protested the broadcast of news on the Falun Gong movement by an FM radio station. However, member of parliament and also member of the development committee Raghuji Panta said: "The move of the government is undemocratic and should not restrict operations of FM radio stations." Another communications expert, who preferred anonymity, added that the government`s initiative was a form of censorship and that it would have negative effects. Broadcasts of Radio Sagarmatha that was relaying BBC newscasts have been affected by the government decision. FM radio stations have come under criticism from conservative sections of society for their lacy [as published] broadcasts. The government has been issuing licences for FM radio stations elsewhere after successes in the capital. Source: Nepal News web site, Kathmandu, in English 18 Jan 01 (BBC Monitoring/ © BBC via DXLD) ** NEPAL [non]. Sorry ! The URL For Globe Radio DX Club should be http://pages.about.com/coollinkers/GRDXC/index.htm There was an error in displaying the Link! And not as the one mentioned in DX LISTENING DIGEST 1-010, January 21, 2001 under Nepal. 73's, Harjot Singh Brar (Globe Radio DX Club, Punjab, DXLD) ** NETHERLANDS. Ongoing technical work at our Bonaire relay station means that over the next few days some Bonaire transmissions may be transferred to Flevo. Others may be off the air, or broadcast at reduced power. Radio Netherlands apologises for any inconvenience. Our live and on demand audio streams are available 24 hours a day as normal (c) Radio Netherlands Media Network January 22 (via John Norfolk, OKCOK, and Andy Sennitt, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NEW ZEALAND. Radio New Zealand International was noted in English on 15175 kHz on Monday January 16th [?] at 0951 - 1100 UT with programming in English: Late Edition followed by a commentary on a warning from the UK atomic agency on depleted uranium shells. This was followed by the news at 1000 and then an interview of a company which gave across the board bonuses to its employees. Programme Financial focus at 1045 and news again at 1100. Signal was excellent and measured 55445 at 0951 and 55545 at 1030. This was announced as a special transmission to the NZ peace keeping forces stationed in East Timor (Vinay Ahuja, Belgium, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** NIGER. Niamey v9705.02 ... 9705.03 La Voix du Sahel from Niamey heard on a Niger window to Europe at 0700-0900, Sahel/Saharan typical mx. Kavalla co-ch at 0730-0830, but on equal level both stations. Today came across an - undoubtly - African origin signal. On Ethiopia channel 9705 around 0715 UT heard a "Speech to the Crowd" followed by a short broadcasting house announcer announcement, and then Saharan type music like the RASD WestSahara / Mauritania type. Despite the channel having been registered to REE Madrid European service in Spanish at 0600-0800, REE decided to stay on 9735 kHz in B-00 season instead. So the channel is free for a NIGER WINDOW at least from 0700 til fade-out in mid January at about 0900. I discovered TWO transmission spikes of two seconds each from Kavalla transmitter at about 0723 and 0728, playing the usual IBB feeder circuit orchestra jingle. I guess the computer at Kavalla set the transmitter or the antenna mixer circuit to proper adjustment. VoA Kavalla Arabic had crash start at 0730, but Niger still underneath and readable. Further checks at 0802 had both on equal level Kavalla and Niger. S=1 signal of Niger heard at around 0854 in LSB mode switch, when tremendous opening pips signal of Sitkunai, Lithuania from 9710 made reception on 9705 impossible, even with the 2.7 kHz COLLINS filter (Wolfgang Büschel, Stuttgart, Germany, Jan 21, BC-DX via DXLD) ** RUSSIA. R. Cairo should sound as good as VOR does on 9475 in English at 0400 \\ 7180 7125 (Bob Thomas, CT, Jan 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) VOR English 9475 still on at 0500, poor with QRN. Great on 7125, VG-G on 7180, both parallel (Bob Thomas, CT, Jan 15, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** RUSSIA. 9890 / 9717 / 10063. 9890 V of Russia in English, playing symphonic mx, Verdi- Nabucco - Prisoner Chorus between 1800 and 1900, BUT produced two SPURIOUS signals, heard on three different communication rxs on 9717.01 kHz hetting Deutsche Welle Russian service on 9715, and 10063.01 kHz, both approx. 173 kHz away from nominal frequency. Program of 9890 / 9717 / 10063 was satellite fed, remarkable delay against English program parallels 9775 and 9830 at same time (Wolfgang Büschel, Germany, Jan 21, BC-DX via DXLD) Two spurious signals of 9890 kHz. At 2110 on Sunday evening I can confirm Wolfgang`s observations. The spurious signals have moved slightly and are now near +/- 175 kHz. They are in synchronism with 9890 and the strength also varies with 9890, so there is no doubt that the problem is with Popovka 9890 (Olle Alm, Sweden, Jan 21, BC- DX via DXLD) Two spurious signal of 9890 kHz, tx St. Petersburg Popovka. By the way, I just checked some Irkutsk RMS sound files. There was a strong heterodyne during DW Russian on 9715 at 1800-2100 last evening (in Siberia!). Iraq on 9717 at this time - but it is very likely our spurious signal was a real interfering source on 9715 yesterday (Mikhail Timofeyev, Russia, Jan 22, BC-DX via DXLD) Two spurious signal of 9890. I just checked 9890 with the following results: *1740- opening with an empty carrier, 1747- tone signals, 1800-1814+ VOR English as usual. Not any spurs or 9717/10063 at least. I had a talk with our "Technical building No. 2" manager of our Popovka txing center about this problem earlier today. Apparently they checked its pairs of txs last afternoon. According to our engineers there were exciter problems of one of our 200 kW txs 9890. By the way, these two txs with the following freqs in use during this B-00 period: 9890 1800-2200 VOR English 9480* 0000-0100 VOR Port, 0100-0200 VOR Sp, 0200-0400 VOR Ru. 9475 0400-0600 VOR English. *- two more transmitters on this frequency at this time (=800 kW). (Mikhail Timofeyev, Russia, Jan 22, BC-DX via DXLD) [not any spurs anymore on 9475 at 0500, and on 9890 at 1900, both Jan 23, -Büschel] ** RUSSIA. A week or so ago I was also able to confirm that R Miks Master 4940 goes off at 0930 (Olle Alm, Sweden, Jan 21, BC-DX via DXLD) Radio Miks-Master in Yakutsk (4940) is frequently misinterpreted as a private radio station. This is not the case. This station is a radiochannel of NVK "Sakha" which is the national state broadcasting company of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutiya). It is financed by the republic`s administration and is included in the structure of VGTRK (All-Russian state radio & TV broadcasting company) as the regional broadcasting company for Yakutiya (Bernd Trutenau, Lithuania, 22 Jan, BC-DX via DXLD) ** SOMALIA. Baydhabo "tense" as radio station changes hands | Excerpt from report by Somali newspaper Ayaamaha on 21 January Reports from Baydhabo [southcentral Somalia] say that the town is very tense as rival militia groups are facing down each other. One militia group supports the interim government, the other is loyal to Hasan Muhammad Nur Shatigadud [chairman of the Rahanwein Resistance Army]. The Baydhabo-based pro-Shatigadud radio station broadcasting in Mamay [dialect of Somali] has been seized and taken to Iidaale by the pro-government militiamen. In another development, Baydhabo has been flooded with leaflets calling on Gen Said Hirsi Morgan [militia commander of the Somali Patriotic Movement faction] supporters to leave the town immediately... Source: Ayaamaha, Mogadishu, in Somali 21 Jan 01 p 2 (BBC Monitoring via DXLD) ** SOMALIA. Mogadishu radio station refurbished | Text of report by Somali newspaper Xog-Ogaal on 23 January Husayn Muhammad Farah Aydid has refurbished the pro-SNA [Somali National Alliance] radio, the Voice of the People of the Somali Republic, and has appointed Abdirazzaq Bahlawi as the new manager. Mr Aydid has also procured transmission equipment and a big power generator. According to Mr Aydid, the station will carry out its operations today, Tuesday. Source: Xog-Ogaal, Mogadishu, in Somali 23 Jan 00 p 3 (BBC Monitoring via DXLD) ** SOMALILAND. Radio Hargeysa available on internet | Excerpt from report by Somaliland`s Hargeysa radio on 21 January Ali Muhamad Waran-Ade, the minister of information, has announced that Radio Hargeysa is available on the internet beginning today. The minister said the scheme was mainly meant to enable Somaliland nationals living abroad to keep abreast of events and development activities taking place in their country. The minister thanked Somaliland nationals living abroad for making it possible for the project to succeed... [The web address is http://www.radiosomaliland.com ] Source: Radio Hargeysa, Voice of the Republic of Somaliland, in Somali 1700 gmt 21 Jan 01 (BBC Monitoring via DXLD) I believe we had news of this website some months ago already (gh) ** SOUTH AFRICA. Subject: [HCDX] Radio Lusofonia I have just spoken to Dario, who I think is the programme director. As I am sending a copy to him as well, I am sure he will notify me if any info is incorrect. Saturdays 17:00 to 17:15 Portuguese 17:15 to 18:15 English 18:15 to 19:00 Portuguese Sundays 17:00 to 17:30 Portuguese 17:30 to 18:45 English 18:45 to 19:00 Portuguese All times are in UT. The e-mail address for dario is dario@mweb.co.za Best wishes from South Africa, (André du Toit, Meyerton, hard-core-dx Jan 21 via DXLD) Dear Costas, We are carrying out tests for Radio Lusofonia on Saturdays and Sundays, 1700-1900 UTC, 7155 kHz. Programming is Portuguese. Contact address: Radio Lusofonia, P O Box 1267, Rosettenville 2130, South Africa. Regards (Kathy Otto, SENTECH, Jan 23 via Costas Constantinides, Cyprus, DXLD) Hi, The contact address I heard via Radio Lusofonia was correct: P O Box 1586, Alberton 1450, South Africa. The email address and contact person is: Dário Bettencourt dario.bettencourt@tollink.co.za Tel. +27 12 3618833 Fax. +27 12 348 3713 73 from (Björn Fransson, Gotland, Sweden, Jan 23, hard-core-dx via DXLD) This [Alberton] is the address of Swaziland Commercial Radio, per current WRTH, and is/was also announced as the contact address of a service called Radio Cidade Internacional which broadcasts (or used to) in Portuguese on 1377 kHz using SCR facilities. Regards, (Dave Kernick, hard-core-dx via DXLD) ** TIBET [non]. TAJIKISTAN/KAZAHSTAN: Voice of Tibet noted on Jan. 21-23: 1212-1300 on NF 15705 Almaaty, NF 15655 Dushanbe, ex 15695 and 15595 (Ivo & Angel, Observer, Bulgaria, via DXLD) ** TURKEY. I have been hunting around the Voice of Turkey website for their current English feature program schedule, which probably changed on January 1. PROGRAMMES is a dead link, but under REVIEWS we get this, but I am suspicious it may not be up-to-date as some of the other pages are not. Nor does this give exactly when each program is scheduled, or explain what the difference is between English I and English II (perhaps refers to first and second quarters of a 6-month period) http://www.tsr.gov.tr/en/reviews/ingiliz.shtml (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** UKRAINE. RUI heard announced sked: Eu [2200?] 5905 9560 11770, and 1200 on 15520. Russia & Tajikistan [sic - Kazakhstan? both are in the weird target zone category, i.e. a non-English-speaking country broadcasting in English to another non-English-speaking country -gh] at 0100 on 7420 9610 11840, 0400 9610. As of Dec 5, to NAm 0100 & 0400 9385. I`ve found 9385 poor to quite good lately, 4-5 out of 7 at 0100. Site: http://www.nrcu.gov.ua (Bob Thomas, CT, Jan 14, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U K. The South Asian Radio Guide reports that BBC World Service is retiming its Hindi service in the morning as from 26th January. A new 30 min broadcast is being added at 0230-0300 UT on 11760, 15380, 17615 and 17690 kHz. The transmission at 0045-0100 is being retimed to 0100-0130 (c) Radio Netherlands Media Network January 22 (via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. INFO FROM THE DUDE: The holidays were kind of cool!!! While doin` relays of other stations, we just made it to Germany on 11M on 26.015 MHz USB and made it good to Italy and Colorado relaying Radio Garbanzo #4 on 13M on 21.860 MHz USB!!! Cool, huh??? Unfortunately, propagation towards overseas seems to have really taken a nosedive lately... That part sucks...So we`re lookin, for not only another FREQ to try, but a little used whole spectrum!!! And we think we`ve found it!!! It`s the rarely used and [un]congested 15M band that stems from 18.900 MHz to 19.020 MHz. So far I`ve heard 3 major stations on this band during the daytime, Deutsche Welle, Family Radio, and a Spanish station, all above 20 over 9 in "S" readings!!!. I also hear that dreaded Foghorn belchin` in there and what I believe may be drug runners. It seems pretty quiet on 19.000 MHz even!!! I`ve checked it out for the last two weeks, and except for drug runners on USB and the Foghorn, it sounds clear!!! Do you know of anyone who has pirated on this band??? 19.000 MHz looks promising, but I`m afraid that I might stick out too much to the FCC on that FREQ. What do you think??? At night that band is totally dead... But I believe it may stay open longer than 13M and certainly 11M. Do you have any more info to add on the 15M band??? Any info would be appreciated!!! (some pirate op, Free Radio Weekly via DXLD) ** U S A. I see that WWCR`s Specialty Program Guide has finally been updated, as of Jan 10, replacing the August version. It still does not match 100% the program schedule, e.g. WOR is missing from UT Monday 0100 on 3215, where we just reconfirmed it. A quick way to find DX, musical, entertainment and information programs other than preachers and far-right talkshows: http://www.wwcr.com/cr_specialty_pgms.html (gh, DXLD) ** U S A. I`ve checked and the link to the audio stream as written on http://wbcq.net index page might not work for most browsers. The best way to see if streaming audio is there is to log onto live365.com and do a search on "wbcq". If, it is there, it will show up on the list. Launching from this menu is foolproof, Live 365 has taken the bugs out, UNLESS your PC isn't configured to play mp3 audio. Then follow the instructions on my page, (see below), and/or on the live365.com help page. The easy way to get to the menu and have the search completed in one automatic step is to go to my "listen" page at my website: http://www.dorsai.org/~bigsteve/listen.htm then click on WBCQ Programming. I submit the search for you. =or= You can explore my site by using http://bigsteve.wbcq.net From the main page click on the "button", (The "no frames" Moose picture may not work, the site needs updating). On the left side menu click on "Streaming Audio" to get to the same webpage described above. YES, my site is behind a week, but that page never changes. – ("Big Steve" Coletti, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Later: The audio link at wbcq.net is now functioning properly. You won`t need the workarounds, but I would still love you to bookmark my site and check it weekly. ("Big Steve" Coletti A Different Kind Of Oldies Show on WBCQ, 7415kHz Shortwave Saturday Evenings at 8:00 ET, 0100 UTC-Sunday or 24/7 on www.live365.com, open MP3 player to http://216.32.166.82:7970 bigsteve@dorsai.org bigstevecole@email.com http://bigsteve.wbcq.net US Mail: P.O. Box 396, New York, NY 10002, via DXLD) ** U S A. The Struggle for Iran, narrated by Walter Cronkite, previously previewed here, has already aired on some public radio stations, but another repeat is scheduled for UT Thu Jan 25 at 0400- 0500 on KQED (Glenn Hauser, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. Colin Powell's Son to Lead F.C.C. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/23/business/23FCC.html January 23, 2001 By STEPHEN LABATON WASHINGTON, Jan. 22 President Bush today appointed Michael K. Powell, the oldest son of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, to be the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Mr. Powell, 37, has served since autumn 1997 as one of the two Republican commissioners at the five-member agency, and since that term runs until July 2003, his selection as chairman does not require Senate confirmation. He is expected to push the commission in a significantly different direction from that of recent years. Mr. Powell decided to become a lawyer after a nearly fatal car accident on a German autobahn in 1987 forced him to undergo 17 operations and spend nearly a year in a hospital. The accident led to his retirement from the Army, where he had been a platoon leader and executive officer in a unit in Amberg, Germany. As a commissioner at the F.C.C., he has exhibited a far more limited view of the government`s role in regulatory issues, and a far greater faith in the marketplace, than his Democratic colleagues. He has also inherited his father`s political skills. A darling of leading Congressional Republicans, who have promoted his career, Mr. Powell has worked easily with Democrats. Before joining the commission, he worked briefly as chief of staff to Joel I. Klein, the Clinton administration assistant attorney general who was the architect of the antitrust prosecution of Microsoft. Mr. Klein had been one of Mr. Powell's teachers at Georgetown University Law Center. At the F.C.C., Mr. Powell has managed to be a forceful member even though he was a member from the minority party, and often carrying more influence in shaping opinions and orders than some of the three Democrats. Officials said it was a sign of his adroit political skill that he was able to issue what appeared to be dissenting opinions as concurrences, thus gaining influence over the final product. A regulator at an agency that makes choices and enemies in competing industries like cable operators and broadcasters, local telephone companies and long-distance ones, Mr. Powell`s tenure as a commissioner has been notable for having created few political opponents. "It's rare that you have somebody in public office who is so favorably regarded by all constituencies and competing industries," said Robert Sachs, president of the National Cable Television Association. "It shows that Michael Powell is so very independent that everybody knows that they have a fair shot on the merits to persuade him, but that nobody can take him for granted because he thinks for himself." But now that he is in charge, Mr. Powell, who declined today to discuss his appointment, is expected to bring a far different agenda to the F.C.C. than William E. Kennard, who stepped down as chairman last Friday, or his predecessor, Reed E. Hundt. Industry lobbyists and lawmakers said today that they expected a significant retrenchment in a wide array of telecommunications areas. Mr. Powell has challenged the agency's authority to impose conditions on corporate mergers, dissenting on the most important provision of the recent order imposed on the merger of America Online and Time Warner. He questioned the Clinton administration`s ambitious $6 billion program to wire public schools for the Internet and has spoken in favor of limitations on a government role of promoting universal telephone and Internet services. He has agreed with major broadcasters in challenging efforts to create more than 1,000 new low-power FM radio stations for schools, churches and community groups. Mr. Powell has also been critical of the agency for moving too slowly in granting the regional Bell telephone companies access to the highly lucrative long-distance market. And he has expressed skepticism over regulations that have effectively imposed limits on the growth of the largest broadcasters and cable operators. Mr. Powell has staked out a different position from his father on the treatment of minority groups. Even though he has hardly suffered from being the son of a hero figure in Washington, Mr. Powell has decried "handouts" and affirmative-action programs, and questioned whether diversity of ownership of television and radio stations really leads to diversity of programming. His father, the former general, has alienated some Republicans by his calls for better treatment by the government of minorities and the downtrodden. In a speech almost three years ago at the Douglas Policy Institute, the younger Mr. Powell said, "We all can prosper in this brave new world, but we must remember that, as it has always been, freedom also brings with it new challenges we will have the freedom to fail. "The famed riders of the Underground Railroad were not naysayers," Mr. Powell said, adding: "They needed help along the way, but never a handout. They just wanted a fair chance to succeed." Mr. Powell enjoys strong support from Republican lawmakers like Senator John McCain of Arizona, chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, who worked to get him a seat on the F.C.C. And Senator McCain`s counterpart in the House, Representative Billy Tauzin of Louisiana, has also been an important backer. "The more he does," Mr. Tauzin said today, "the less we have to do through the House and Senate process. When a guy agrees with you a lot, you really do like him." The rise of Mr. Powell at the F.C.C., coming to some extent in tandem with the ascent of his father in the private sector, has created its share of awkward moments. The younger Mr. Powell decided to participate in the review of the merger of AOL and Time Warner even though his father, as one of AOL`s directors, had a significant stake in the company. Ethics officials at the F.C.C. said Mr. Powell`s participation posed no ethical violations. Some others seem cognizant of the relationship, and since Mr. Powell joined the commission, the National Association of Broadcasters has been a generous contributor to the foundation started by his father, America's Promise: the Alliance for Youth. F.C.C. officials say there is no evidence that Mr. Powell has changed his views on regulatory issues because of those contributions. Richard Wiley, a former F.C.C. chairman and a Bush transition team adviser, said Mr. Powell "is well regarded, in part because he hasn`t had to take positions." "That may change," he said, "now that he`s chairman." Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. White House Names Michael Powell to Chair FCC NEWINGTON, CT, Jan 22, 2001 -- As expected, President George W. Bush has named Michael K. Powell to become FCC chairman. Powell, a Republican and an FCC member since 1997, is the son of Secretary of State Gen. Colin Powell. "I am deeply honored and privileged to have received President Bush`s designation to be Chairman of the Federal Communication Commission," Powell said in a statement today. "I look forward to working with the new administration, Congress, my fellow Commissioners and the very talented FCC staff on the important and challenging communications issues facing our nation." Powell succeeds William Kennard as the head of the FCC. Kennard`s last day on the job was January 19, the day before President Bush's inauguration. Kennard, a Democrat and a Clinton appointee, was the first African-American to serve as FCC chairman. Earlier this month, Powell voted with the majority to approve the AOL-Time Warner mega-merger. In a statement, Powell called the deal "unquestionably one of the most significant mergers in history" and said he was pleased to support it. "It has presented challenging issues." During his tenure on the FCC, Powell has served as the FCC`s Defense Commissioner, responsible for overseeing National Security Emergency Preparedness functions for the Commission. He also served as the FCC representative to the President`s Council on Year 2000 Conversion, established by former President Bill Clinton to address the Y2K computer problem. Powell came to the FCC from the Department of Justice, where he served as the chief of staff of the Antitrust Division. In that capacity, he advised the assistant attorney general on antitrust matters, including policy development, criminal and civil investigations and mergers. Prior to that, he was in private law practice. A graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center, he served as a judicial clerk to the Hon Harry T. Edwards, chief judge of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He holds a degree in government from the College of William and Mary. Powell also serves on the Georgetown University Law Center`s Board of Visitors and is also a 1999 Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute, where Kennard is now serving as a senior fellow in the Communications and Society Program. Powell, his wife Jane and their two children live in Fairfax Station, Virginia. The other members of the FCC are Susan Ness, Harold W. Furchtgott- Roth, and Gloria Tristani. Among names mentioned as possible Bush appointees to the FCC is that of Texas Public Utilities Commission Chairman Pat Wood (ARRL via John Norfolk, OKCOK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) Bush picks Powell's son for top communications post To learn more, visit http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2001-01-22-powellson.htm (via Bill Westenhaver, DXLD) ** U S A. From: http://www.ibb.gov/pubaff/massa.html Washington, D.C., Jan. 22, 2001 - The Voice of America (VOA) and VOA listeners around the world will say goodbye to Judy Massa during her final broadcast as host of Border Crossings next Friday, Jan. 26. After more than 37 years as America`s overseas voice, Judy Massa will hang up her hat as Music Director and host of two of VOA`s most popular music programs, Country Hits USA and Border Crossings. Known around the world for her personal touch and ability to connect with listeners, Judy will continue her work as a musical ambassador to nations around the world and will pursue a career in performing artist management. Judy began her tenure at VOA as an intern during the Kennedy Administration during studies at DePauw University in Indiana. After graduation, she returned to VOA as a Studio Director for Latin American radio broadcasts. In 1984, Judy was named VOA`s first Music Director and host of VOA`s top country hits program, Country Music USA. In 1996, VOA`s audience was introduced to a new program, Border Crossings, a live music request and call-in show, created and hosted by Judy Massa. Over the past 20 years Judy has taken her passion for the power of music on visits to over 30 different countries. Her trips have included traveling with artists Garth Brooks and Dan Seals and judging international musical competitions and festivals, and emceeing last year's Fourth of July concert at the U.S. Embassy in Vietnam. Judy also conceived and orchestrated an unprecedented musical event in honor of VOA`s 50th Anniversary in 1992. The concert, held at the VOA Washington headquarters was co-hosted by Judy Massa and country artist Kenny Rogers, and featured such internationally-known talent as Garth Brooks, guitarist Chet Atkins, violinist Mark O`Connor, and the late saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr. The concert was broadcast live on VOA airwaves. Listeners around the world have expressed their sadness at the news of Judy`s departure. Their e-mails and letters are testament to her success as a broadcaster. A listener from the Czech Republic wrote: "There aren`t many people like you in the world. I am glad that Border Crossings exists and I hope it will (continue) for a long time yet." And, from Nigeria: "Border Crossings has been a paragon to so many of us around the world, you've touched so many of us and created a family." Another listener in India said: "You have done a great job by putting Border Crossings on the air-believe me, Judy, no one will ever forget you." (via John Norfolk, OKCOK, Jan 23, DXLD) ** U S A. To view the entire article, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27547-2001Jan21.html Noncitizen Employees Could Bear Brunt of VOA`s Latest Round of Layoffs The Voice of America, the government`s worldwide radio and broadcasting service [sic], has announced it will lay off 34 employees and stop programming in three languages. The cutbacks were approved by the Broadcasting Board of Governors, a bipartisan group of presidential appointees, and announced at VOA headquarters Friday, the day before President Bush took office. A high-ranking official of American Federation of Government Employees Local 1812 said that the layoffs were a "cruel and inhumane way" to reallocate budget dollars and reorganize VOA operations. A number of the employees targeted for layoffs are noncitizens "who helped win the Cold War" and will probably be forced to leave the country under the terms of their visas, the official said. The board decided to eliminate VOA services in Thai and Uzbek and in Portuguese to Brazil, as well as reduce VOA broadcasts in Bulgarian, Romanian, Slovak, Armenian and Turkish, said Douglas G. Rivlin, the public affairs adviser to VOA Director Sanford Ungar. Rivlin said VOA does not expect to see its $110 million budget grow in the near term, and perhaps not even keep pace with inflation. Under a 1994 law, the board must review broadcast operations each year and set priorities. Last year`s review led to the elimination of about 50 jobs. Because VOA must consider employee seniority, veterans preference and other factors under federal layoff rules, Rivlin said he did not expect the job cuts to take effect until August. He said VOA has asked the Office of Personnel Management for permission to offer early retirements as a possible way to reduce the number of employees who will be fired. The board's decision came after consultations with the State Department and Congress. No more layoffs are likely this year, Rivlin said. VOA has about 1,100 employees and broadcasts about 900 hours a week across the globe to 91 million listeners. (Washington Post, via Bill Westenhaver, Mike Cooper, DXLD) ** U S A. Subject: Posting: NEW HOT PATRIOT NETWORK!! Here's the latest posting from WWFV (beginning of original message) Subject: NEW HOT PATRIOT NETWORK!! From: "Radio Station WWFV" wwfv@ellijay.com Date: 2001/01/22 Newsgroups: rec.radio.shortwave Starting February 1, 2001 the American Freedom Network will begin shortwave broadcasting via global-1. please see our web page http://www.wwfv.org for more details as we update our broadcast sked. this will bring to over 1000 hours a month of hot action packed Christian patriot talk shows on WWFV facilities. Global-1: 9.400 mhz ; 9.320 mhz; 5.085 mhz ( american freedom network) Global-2: 12.172 mhz; 6.890 mhz; 3.270 mhz ( genesis communications network) Global-3: can`t tell you who is using it right now; cool of cool to be sure!!! we are going to add freq's around 14.900 mhz and 3.290 mhz all Christian / patriot broadcasting on WWFV will be in the upper band mode of operation so you will need a side band shortwave radio to hear! you can now get a full featured side band shortwave radio for $112.00 shipping included! the SANGEAN model 505 from the American freedom network! see our web page for more details and the link to the American freedom network! (via John Norfolk, DXLD) ** VATICAN. Details on the 37 Cardinals http://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/22/world/22LIST.html January 22, 2001 By REUTERS VATICAN CITY, Jan. 21 The following is a list of the 37 new cardinals named today by Pope John Paul II. Except where noted, all are archbishops. [excerpt:] The Rev. Roberto Tucci, 79, Italian, president of Vatican Radio and main organizer of the pope`s foreign trips (via Bill Westenhaver, QC, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** VIETNAM [et al.] A reminder that the Chinese New Year falls on 24 Jan. This might be an opportunity to look for special programming from the E & SE Asia regions, and maybe some extended schedules from 23 Jan UT. This will be an official holiday in a number of countries outside China, notably including Vietnam where it`s celebrated as Tet (Alan Davies, Bangkok, Electronic DX Press via DXLD) DIGITAL RADIO MONDIALE ====================== What would you like on the DRM web site http://www.drm.org Catherine will be pleased to oblige so please post your requests (I really did not "complain"): (Mike Terry, BDXC-UK via DXLD) Dear Sir, We have received several email messages from you asking / complaining about the lack of updates on the DRM Website. I really wonder which part of the website you are interested in because despite of your complain I am regularly updating the pages (not all the pages of course!) and I am wondering what type of information you are seeking. May I just summarize the major updates in the last 3 months: 9 Audio files and pages on the Field trials undertaken last Summer, recent articles from different Trade Press, Presentations delivered at the last Japan Symposium, new DRM calendar for major Committee meetings, new members. Could you be so kind to let me know what are the topics you are interested in. Looking forward for your response. Many thanks & Kind regards, Catherine Charras-Devillard, DRM Project Office Trade Fairs & Events Co-ordinator Tel: (+41.22) 717.2716 Fax: (+41.22) 747.47.18 mobile phone: (+41) 78 689.40.40 Email: Projectoffice@drm.org or Charras@ebu.ch Tel: (41.22.) 717 2718 - Project Administrator. Do not forget to visit our website http://www.drm.org for recent updates. (via Mike Terry-UK, hard-core-dx Jan 22 via DXLD) Some words of explanation may be appropriate here: DRM is a consortium of broadcasters, equipment manufacturers and other media-related organisations. It is, of necessity, run by committees since its membership is worldwide. The content of the DRM Website is determined by what these committees, and individual members, choose to submit. When the DRM Web site first started, it was run on behalf of DRM by Radio Netherlands, and I was the Webmaster. My experience showed that it`s not easy to get people to submit updates in a timely manner. I remember waiting 6 weeks for a report of one of the meetings. All the people involved have full-time responsibilities within their own organisations. The DRM Administrator/Webmaster cannot generate his/her own material as it`s all highly technical stuff. The current site is essentially a business-to-business site to attract more members to the consortium. But now that the tests have reached phase 3, some of the DRM members (including Radio Netherlands) feel it`s time for the consortium to start spreading the gospel to the "general public", i.e. the listeners for whose ultimate benefit all this is intended. I am having an ongoing dialogue with colleagues working within DRM with a view to presenting end-user information in a more easily accessible manner. The feature we published last week in the Media Network Webzine was a first step to finding out what SWLs and DXers want to know about DRM. I think Catherine`s response shows that she too is aware of the wider public interest in DRM. So now is an excellent time to let DRM know of your interest (Andy Sennitt, Media Network, Radio Netherlands, hard-core-dx Jan 23 via DXLD) ###