READING INTERNATIONAL RADIO GROUP The next meeting will be on February 27 in Room 3, Reading International Solidarity Centre, 35-39 London Street, Reading at 2.30 p.m. Please note that this meeting has been re-scheduled from the previously announced February 6. Other meeting dates for 2010 are April 10, June 5 and July 24.
ALBANIA Radio Tirana has made some frequency changes to its English broadcasts. At 2100-2130 they are using 7430, replacing 7520; at 0130-0145 and 0245-0300 they are using 6130, replacing 7425. (Glenn Hauser, DX Listening Digest)
ASCENSION ISLAND Unless the Ministry of Defence pays millions of pounds in unpaid taxes for its RAF airbase, Ascension Island will be bankrupt by June. The only school will have to close, the hospital will have no doctors, the few shops, one hotel and fledgling tourist trade will be unviable. Even the conservation programme will have to be abandoned.
The threat comes because the MoD is determined to cut costs to pay for Afghanistan. Its refusal to pay back-taxes on the airbase that Britain shares with the US has left Ascension with a £900,000 deficit on its £6 million budget.
The row pits the MoD against the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, which has a keen interest in Ascension's viability, not only because of international obligations to protect the island's ecology, but also because Ascension houses a key listening post for GCHQ, Britain's electronic intelligence service. It also has one of the world's most powerful relay stations, broadcasting BBC programmes in dozens of languages across Africa and Latin America.
The BBC World Service depends on Ascension, and the 50 specialist engineers who maintain the power station and vast array of transmitters, antennas and satellite dishes would leave overnight if they were forced to send their families off the island. Without the BBC relay there would be no power generation or desalination plant. There would be no water for anyone on the island except the Americans, who operate their own power and desalination plants. The quarrel stems from the establishment of a proper administration in 2002 to replace the ad hoc services reluctantly provided by the BBC and other users of the island. It is also the result of Britain's decision to keep Ascension a closed island, inaccessible without a permit and with no right of abode for those working there. The reason is that Ascension is one vast listening station, packed with radar, antennas and military intelligence personnel. The Americans, who own the two-mile runway have no interest in outsiders prying into their affairs. (The Times, October 22)
The issue is now being raised in Parliament and the House of Lords. On November 12 Baroness Taylor of Bolton said in response to a written question:
The decision by the Ascension Island Government to remove a variation in the Ministry of Defence's annual property tax liability, which had the effect of almost doubling the tax payable, is still in dispute. Discussions are still ongoing to resolve the issue and we await the outcome of the HMRC-led study, supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, into tax arrangements on Ascension Island.
On the same day Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead said:
In line with government policy on the overseas territories, it is not envisaged that Ascension Island will receive budgetary support or grant aid but that it should remain self-financing- that is, with costs met by those using the island.
The Ascension Island newspaper reports that the Ascension Island government commissioned the tax expert from HM Revenue and Customs to advise them, he visited the island last month. They are now in the process of issuing redundancy notices to some Government employees. (Mike Barraclough)
BBC World Service via Ascension on 17640 now provides quite good reception in North America contrary to their best efforts to cut us off from shortwave. On November 3 at 1435 during Newshour it was good enough to hear a bit of continuous hum in the background, attributable to the generators? I wonder if the sound will change once windpower is up and running, if not dashed by the financial crisis on the island. Now scheduled 1300-1700, 250 kW at 114 degrees. (Glenn Hauser, DX Listening Digest)
AUSTRALIA The October HCJB Australia newsletter says that:
The rapid closure of HCJB's shortwave facility in Ecuador means plans for the arrival of a third HC100 transmitter sometime in 2010 are underway. A co-ordinator has been put in place to oversee its removal from Ecuador to our technology centre in the US where it will be overhauled and eventually find its way to Kununurra. (Wolfgang Bueschel)
Australian Broadcasting corporation (ABC) chief Mark Scott argued in a speech last month for a massive expansion in the broadcaster’s overseas services in an effort to rival the BBC, CNN and the emerging Chinese media offensive. He said that Australia’s new-found influence as a member of the G20 group of nations means it needs to expand its ‘’soft diplomacy” campaign to win support not just in the Asia-Pacific region but around the world. This would include expanding its broadcasts to reach 53 countries in Africa, 22 in the Middle East and up to 21 in Latin America
He pointed out that Britain spends $868 million on the BBC’s overseas services; France more than $600 million and Germany $532 million on their overseas broadcasters; while China is in the midst of an $8 billion media expansion that will involve its bilingual Chinese-
English television service going global by the end of next year. He contrasts this with the $34 million funding for the ABC’s overseas broadcasts. (The Age via Media Network)
Radio Australia has started a new service in Burmese. The Aoki B-09 online listing gives the schedule as 0100-0130 Monday to Friday on 17665 and 2300-2330 Sunday to Thursday on 12010. (Mike Barraclough)
CVC Australia say that they are currently on shortwave and online but in the first quarter of next year CVC will become exclusively online media with live web streaming. From that I understand that shortwave broadcasts from Australia will be discontinued. (Thomas Drescher, Germany via Wolfgang Bueschel)
AUSTRIA The Moosbrunn transmitter site has now for the first time two transmissions for Media Broadcast on air at 1400-1500. On 6110 is The Overcomer Ministry with Brother Stair. The low bitrate of the satellite feed is even more obvious on this Moosbrunn transmission than it was from Julich where the speech-optimised audio processing made the swirling artefacts less prominent. And on 6180 is the Raeren-produced Radio Traumland. Both are listed as non-directional. 6155 Radio Austria International is off air now at 1400-1600 as there is no suitable antenna available. (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DX Listening Digest)
Radio Traumland is on the air on Sundays only. (Mike Barraclough)
BANGLADESH Bangladesh Betar have extended their schedule on 4750, heard November 1 from 1437 in English with news and commentaries, 1500-1600 in assumed Bengali with programme of sub continental songs, news in English at 1600, still on at 1608 tune out. (Ron Howard, California, Cumbre DX)
Bangladesh Betar External Service heard on 7250 November 5 at 1232, English news after interval signal and pips, well atop co-channel CRI also in English. Unfortunately broke down 1240 and did not return for remainder of transmission scheduled to close 1300. Vatican Radio did not appear on this frequency until 1302. (Martien Groot, Netherlands, DXLD)
BELARUS Belarus Radio on 7280 is now being now heard regularly all day long. Weak signal indicates use of 5 kW transmitter. (Robert Foerster, Germany, DX Listening Digest)
BELGIUM My colleagues in Programme Distribution at Radio Netherlands tell me that RTBF said at HFCC that the shortwave broadcasts would stop at the end of the year. (Andy Sennitt, DX Listening Digest)
BURKINA FASO RTV Burkina noted back on 5030 from around 1730, local music and French talk, co-channel interference later in the evening. (Edwin Southwell)
CANADA Radio Canada International English at 0100-0200 is now on 6040 via Skelton replacing 7255. (DX Mix News Bulgaria via Cumbre DX)
CHILE Voz Cristiana schedule in Spanish is now 1100-2200 on 9635, 1200-0100 on 17680 and 2200-0100 on 9745. (Wolfgang Bueschel)
CHINA Although it's been around for a month or two now, Beibu Bay Radio only launched officially on October 23, so presumably they'll now also be broadcasting in Thai. The canned identification I've heard at the top of the hour remains trilingual in Mandarin, Vietnamese and English, though the English version is slightly amended with the insertion of "Guangxi" immediately before "Beibu Bay Radio". Their multilingual website is at www.bbrmedia.com but the English version merely switches to the CRI English website. (Dave Kernick, UK, DX Listening Digest)
Xizang PBS Lhasa heard on 6200 at 1630-1700 November 1 in English; “This is China Tibet Broadcasting English program, Holy Tibet. Holy Tibet will take you to visit the roof of the world. Holy Tibet is the window into life in Tibet"; usual recorded promo for medical massage clinics in Lhasa. This recording that they use so often is many years old and the prices quoted must be very out of date. Played a lot of Tibetan music; poor to fair; parallel to 6110. (Ron Howard, California, Cumbre DX)
The Aoki online B-09 listings give the Holy Tibet English programme schedule as 0700-0730(not Tuesdays) on 4905 4920 5240 6110 6130 6200 9490 9580, 1630-1700 on 4905 4920 5240 6110 6130 6200 7255 7385 and 2330-2400 on 7240. (Mike Barraclough)
Gannan PBS, Tianshui heard on new 3990 at 2305-2400 November 2 and 4, Tibetan announcement, instrumental music, but not parallel to CNR-8, SINPO 34444. (Anker Petersen, Denmark, PLAYDX via DX Listening Digest)
Voice of Strait heard on 4940 1500-1530 on November 8 with the Sunday only programme in English, “Focus on China”; usual theme music; woman with items about China; musical bridges between items; poor to very poor reception as AIR Guwahati was stronger than VOS; only one identification noted at 1529: "This is the Voice of Strait from Fuzhou, China". (Ron Howard, California, Cumbre DX)
Aoki also lists this programme Sundays 0532-0557 on 9505. (Mike Barraclough)
Voice of Tibet is using 17550, replacing 17650, for the 1330-1430 transmission via Madagascar. At 1330-1400 13695 via Dhabbaya replaces 15430. (DX Mix News Bulgaria via Cumbre DX)
CONGO Radio Congo, Brazzaville, observed on 6115 on October 12 and 13 from about 1730 fade-in until apparent close around 1840. Difficult reception under co-channel Belarus, but several clear identifications heard. Programming in vernaculars with soukous music, news in French at 1800 followed by various political reports until abrupt close around 1840 (Dave Kenny, Alan Pennington, Sheigra, Scotland, BDXC Communication)
CUBA Juanita Castro, a sister of Fidel Castro and the fifth-oldest of the seven Castro siblings, has revealed in her memoirs that she passed on information to the CIA from 1961 until she left the island in 1964. (Deutsche Press)
"Enrique," whom Castro says she later learned was a CIA officer in Cuba named Tony Sforza, asked her to smuggle messages, documents and money back into the country hidden in canned goods. He told Castro she would receive information through shortwave radio communications. Castro chose a waltz and a song from the opera Madame Butterfly as the signals her handlers would use to let her know if they had information for her. (Associated Press via DX Listening Digest)
A numbers station noted on 5900 signing on at 0750 causing co-channel interference to Radio Bulgaria. Location? (Edwin Southwell)
It’s from Cuba, had the phone ringing continuously in October at the same time as the Radio Havana frequencies. Report it to Radio Bulgaria. (Mike Barraclough)
ECUADOR HCJB German was scheduled to change from being transmitted via Wertachtal to Sitkunai 1630-1730 on 3955 as of December 1 due to the contract with Media Broadcast running out. The Sunday Russian programme will move to 1530-1630.
German via the Calo de Tango, Chile transmitter is now 2300-2400 on 9835.
The Sitkunai slot was reserved for Radio Racja once new funds were found but now Iran and HCJB occupy the Sitkunai transmitter 1430-2130. (Kai Ludwig, Germany, DXLD)
HCJB is now using the Santiago, Chile transmitter site for Kulina 2245-2300 and Portuguese 2300-0045 both on 11920. (DX Mix News, Bulgaria via Cumbre DX)
ETHIOPIA Radio Democracia in Amharic is a new station brokered through TDP and scheduled 0900-1000 Sundays on 21555.
Also new is Meleket Ethiopia Radio 1600-1645 on 15195 Wednesdays.
Radio Bilal is 1730-1800 on 9605 Sundays. All these broadcasts use the Samara, Russia transmitter site. (DX Mix News, Bulgaria via Cumbre DX)
Sagalee Bilisummaa Oromoo (Voice of Oromo Liberation) has been heard here with a new broadcast on 5060 1500-1630. This new SBO broadcast is jammed by the Ethiopian government, but the transmitter location is uncertain . Their Berlin Office states that this particular transmission comes "from East Africa". (Ilpo Parviainen, Finland, DXLD)
The jammer is usually active only at 1500-1600. (Jari Savolainen, ibid)
FRANCE Improved propagation meant that I heard some 13 meter band broadcast signals for the first time in quite a while. Radio France International heard on 21690 at 1950 October 27 with African service with a pop music programme, good signal, off abruptly at 2000. The pop music programme announcer spoke mostly French but also some English as well. (David Hodgson, Tennessee, DX Listening Digest)
Frequency is from French Guiana beamed at 75 degrees. (Glenn Hauser, ibid)
English from Radio France International is currently at 0400-0430 on 7315 9805, 0500-0530 on 7425 9805, 0600-0630 on 7315 11995 13680, 0700-0730 on 11725, all these broadcasts Monday to Friday and daily at 1200-1230 on 21620 and 1600-1700 on 15605. (HFCC listings via Mike Barraclough)
FREE RADIO Radio Amica is on new 7610, schedule maybe 24 hours Saturday and Sunday only. (Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria, DX Listening Digest)
Wireless Waffle has an interesting article on reasons for raids on shortwave broadcast pirates at www.mf2fm.com/blog. There is a long list of stations giving date of complaint, time of complaint, frequency and the monitoring station. Mystery Radio has had complaints filed from monitoring stations as far away as Egypt, Laser Hot Hits has had complaints filed from a monitoring station in South Korea. (Mike Barraclough)
When I was school-boy during the 1970's I tuned and reported hundreds of pirate stations on shortwave and mediumwave. A few weeks ago I had interesting e-mail-contact from Zender Ricardo from Oude Pekela, NE Holland. He is ex-pirate operator from the 70's. He recognized one of my old recordings from 1976 posted on my website and identified it as female pirate Zendster Mira, also from Oude Pekela, she broadcast music programmes for 5 years on 1620.
Zender Ricardo invited her to his home. She listened her voice from my internet page and wrote and posted to me a QSL 33 years after listening to the broadcast. (Harri Kujala, Finland, hkdx2.blogspot.com)
GERMANY Deutsche Welle heard in German with sports coverage at 0539 on October 25 with huge echo. They are using two sites running at once, unsynchronised. Sines, Portugal is in use 0400-0743, -0755 on weekends, and Skelton, UK also starts at 0500, switching to Woofferton at 0600. However at 0612 check there was no echo so perhaps Woofferton is synchronized with Sines, while Skelton is not.
DW have done this before, doubling up transmitter sites on their favourite frequency to Europe, but it seems they have to re-learn each new season that feed delays need to be adjusted to avoid echoes! Even so they are likely to interfere with each other depending on skip distances and locations. (Glenn Hauser, DX Listening Digest)
Gospel to Asia in various South East Asian languages is now 2330-0030 on 7240 via Wertachtal as of November 2. They were initially broadcasting on 7200 but moved due to complaints from the DARC Ham Radio Bandwatch. (Wolfgang Bueschel)
Hamburger Lokalradio is testing with 1kw from the Kall-Eifel site used for the Radio 700 broadcasts at 1000-1200 on 5980. On December 24, 25 and 26 schedule will be 0600-1200. Reports to Hamburger Lokalradio, c/o Michael Kittner, Max-Eichholz-Ring 18, D-21031 Hamburg, Germany. The station is non commercial so return postage appreciated, email is redaktion@hamburger-lokalradio.de. (Thomas Voelhner, Kai Ludwig Germany, DXLD)
GREECE As well as the 1105 broadcast mentioned last month Greek in Style English programme is heard Mondays 0105-0200 on 9420 12105. (John Babbis, Maryland, DXLD)
GREENLAND KNR Tasiilaq heard on 3815 USB November 1,2, 3 and 4 at 2138 to sign off around 2215, Greenlandic talk, announcement and music, 2200 KNR News jingle, news and reports in Danish, music and song at close, SINPO 24232 - 34333 with occasional utility interference from Russian stations. (Anker Petersen, Denmark, PLAYDX via DXLD)
GUYANA Guyana's National Communications Network (NCN) is revamping its shortwave transmission system that will see the return of radio signals to interior locations and nearby countries. NCN Chief Executive Officer Mohammed Sattaur told Stabroek News that the process is being facilitated by the relocation of the company’s radio transmitter. The relocation process should be officially completed before the end of the year. He said the company will use the relocation opportunity to revamp and modernise shortwave radio, making it more powerful on the air. It has also moved to procure new equipment for this purpose. The new move means that people in interior locations would again hear radio and at different periods of the night countries close by would also be able to listen to NCN. The shortwave system was down for some time and so service to those locations were suspended. (Storebroek News November 21 via kimandrewelliott.com)
ISRAEL Kol Israel’s only remaining External Service in Persian is now 1500-1630 (-1600 Friday and Saturday) on 11595 and 13850, excellent reception of 11595 here at 1500 November 25, 13850 not as strong with some fading. (Mike Barraclough)
KURDISTAN Radio Voice of Kurdistan via Sulaimaniya, Northern Iraq heard on 3931.8 at 0325-0405 November 2, Kurdish commentaries and folk songs, identification 0333, SINPO 45343, Farsi programme started at 0400 as did jamming. (Anker Petersen, Denmark, PLAYDX via DX Listening Digest)
LAOS Hmong Lao Radio reactivated via WHRI 11785, now Saturday and Sunday at 1300-1400. (Glenn Hauser, DX Listening Digest)
Lao National Radio heard twice in Sheigra, on 7145 only just above threshold October 14 1330 to 1400 off though clear English identification then, on October 16 was SIO 232 at 1350. (Dave Kenny, Alan Pennington, BDXC Communication)
LIBERIA ELWA Monrovia heard on 6070 November 5 at 2154-2158, when blocked by Romania in Castilian, with English religious programmes, SINPO 34432. (Carlos Goncalves, Portugal, DX Listening Digest)
MADAGASCAR Radio Mada International noted November 1 with an identification in French at 1530 on 15670 followed by an interview, transmission ended 1600, is 300kw from Grigoriopol, SINPO 35433. (Jorge Freitas, Brazil, Cumbre DX)
MALAYSIA Voice of Malaysia heard on 15295 November 11 in English, 0850 tune in local pop music with female announcer in, 0900 News bulletin with all items being about Malaysia, 0910 seemingly patriotic song with many mentions of Malaysia followed by lady announcer with talk on the history of the country, tuned out 0915. 0945 re-check Qu'ran followed by brief announcement ending bye bye at 0952, two more songs, dead air, brief announcement in Chinese 0959 followed by dead air to 1006 tune out, carrier still on but no audio at 1045 recheck. Fair strength with slight fading on clear channel, not heard here for some time on fairly regular checks. Audio seemed slightly overmodulated. Per Aoki B09 the schedule on this frequency has now changed to: 0400-0600 Malaysian, 0600-0800 English, 0800-1000 Voice of Islam English programme, 1000-1200 Chinese. English on 6175 is shown as 0400-0800 and on 9750 0600-1000. (Mike Barraclough)
Klasik Nasional FM via RTM heard on new 5952.2 at 1504 November 28, ex 5964.2. In vernacular; news from RTM News Centre, followed by commentary; reciting from the Qur'an; ID; pop music show till 1533 tune-out. (Ron Howard, California, Cumbre DX)
MAURITANIA Radio Mauritanie noted back on 4845 around 2100 after having been off for some months. (Arthur Miller, Edwin Southwell)
MONACO News bulletins from Radio Monaco are now broadcast Monday to Friday 1200-1203 on 4363 8728 13146 17260 22768 all in USB. Power of the transmitters is 10 kW. (Christian Ghibaudo, France, PLAYDX via DX Listening Digest)
MYANMAR Defence Forces Station on 5770 heard with a new morning service at 0028 to past 0200, evening service is 1130-1530. (Victor Goonetilleke, Sri Lanka, Dxplorer via Wolfgang Bueschel)
NIGERIA Bodo Fritsche, 5N0OCH (DL3OCH in Deutschland), who was building up the new shortwave station of Voice of Nigeria until the end of last month posted a picture of the fully rotatable curtain antenna with 32 stocked dipoles, 16 for 6 to 16 MHz and 16 for 16 to 26MHz. The antennas are 80 metres height, give more than 20dBi gain on each band, weigh 280 tons and are rotated by 20kw motors and completely remote controlled. (Wolfgang Bueschel)
NORTH KOREA There are not that many days that Shiokaze suffers from heavy North Korean jamming. Normally they are totally in the clear or only have very light jamming. I routinely provide COMJAN with audio recordings of random clear days and jammed days.
It has been two years now since they changed the transmitting station to Yamata. Their annual expense for transmission costs is about $63,157. At least $157,894 for production and management cost. All the expenses are covered by donations and contributions. More information is available at www.chosa-kai.jp/SWR.html “COMJAN is planning to transmit Shiokaze until abduction issue would be concluded.”
Recently both Wednesday and Friday are in English. Wednesday giving personal data on the Japanese abductees taken to North Korea and Friday presents “Today’s News Flash” and “Today’s News on North Korean Issues” and sometimes has “Today’s Editorial”. (Ron Howard, California, DX Listening Digest)
Current schedules of various broadcasters targeting North Korea:
Radio Free Chosun: 1200-1300 11560 via Yerevan, 1230-1300 12085 via Tashkent, 1545 1615 9940 via Yerevan, 2000-2100 7515 via Tashkent.
Radio Free North Korea: 1100-1200 12150 via Dushanbe, 1300-1500 7490 via Dushanbe, 1900-2100 7530 via Yerevan
Open Radio for North Korea: 1400-1430 7550 via Tashkent, 2100-2200 7510 via Yerevan.
CMI: Voice of Wilderness: 1300-1400 9850 via Yerevan, 2000-2100 Sunday 5915 via Wertachtal.
North Korea Reform Radio: 1500-1600 7590 via Tashkent.
Voice of Freedom 1600-1700 6240 via Tashkent. (Sei-ichi Hasegawa, Japan via Wolfgang Bueschel)
Furusato no Kaze in Japanese at 1300-1400 is now using 9950 via Taiwan, ex 9810. (DX Mix News, Bulgaria via Cumbre DX)
PAKISTAN Radio Pakistan is heard via new 17700, replacing 17835, with news in English at 1100. The 1600 news broadcast is being heard on 7535 and 15100. (Allen Dean)
15100 is still listed for the 0830-1104 broadcast to Western Europe but is not on air, and wasn't in the latter part of the previous broadcast season. 17700 is via Islamabad-Rewat, no sign that the two new transmitters at Karachi-Landhi are on air yet. (Noel Green, DXLD))
PAPUA NEW GUINEA Wantok Radio Light heard on 7325 November 13 at 0739-0802, English (presumed) interview, praise songs to past 0800. Very slightly off frequency as usual, wobbly carrier. Clear channel after BBC Arabic off 0659. (Martien Groot, Netherlands, DX Listening Digest)
PHILIPPINES Radio Pilipinas 0200-0330 English broadcast now heard on 11880 15285 and 17770. (Supratik Sanatani, India, DX Listening Digest)
POLAND VT Group has secured a contract to broadcast 20 hours a day of analogue and digital output from the Polish public broadcaster Polskie Radio using its network of European and global transmission sites. VT will deliver the programming on shortwave to listeners in Europe and Israel in Polish, English, German, Hebrew, Russian, Belorussian and Ukrainian. The four-year contract with Polskie Radio, which started in late October, is worth some £1.5 million and means VT now has nearly 40 customers for its transmission services. (Media Network)
PRIDNESTROVYE Radio PMR is using 6240 Sunday to Thursday for English 2315-2330, French 2330-2345 and German 2345-0000, not from 2230 as reported via the Aoki list in last months magazine. Very strong reception here. (Mike Barraclough)
RWANDA Radio Rwanda heard on 6055 at 1745 with an English commentary on projects and agriculture. Good reception. The time of the English portion of the transmission keeps varying. (Manikant Lodaya, India, DX Listening Digest)
SLOVAKIA IRRS is now using 6170, ex 7290, for the Friday, Saturday and Sunday broadcasts at 1900-2100. Good reception here 1900-1950 November 27.
Radio Slovakia International is using 6040, ex 7230, for the 0100-0130 English broadcast to North America. (Edwin Southwell)
SOLOMON ISLANDS The Solomon Islands shortwave transmitter on 5020 is back on the air thanks to the technical assistance from Adrian Sainsbury who was able to tweak the transmitter back to 5020 from previous 5018v. It's the very old 9 MHz transmitter tuned down to 5 MHz. (Walt Salmaniw, visiting New Zealand, DX Listening Digest)
SIBC has been heard almost every day lately on 5020, very strong at 1425 November 7 with English programme. (Thomas Nilsson, Sweden, SW Bulletin via DX Listening Digest)
SOUTH KOREA KBS World Radio is now broadcasting its English programme at 0000-0100 via Luxembourg on 1440. (Paul Gager, Austria, Cumbre DX)
SPAIN Radio Exterior de Espana co-official token language segment is now Mondays to Fridays at 1340-1355 on numerous frequencies, noted October 27 at 1349 on 15170 via Costa Rica, concluding Galician segment with strong Castilian accent, sea-shanty theme, 1350 into Basque segment which of course after the intro in Euzkadi, is really safely in Castilian so it can easily be monitored to prevent anything pro-ETA being conveyed. First is Catalan at 1340. (Glenn Hauser, DX Listening Digest)
The schedule on their website says that the programme is carried on 9765 15585 17595 and 21570. 15170 is shown as Spanish only. (Mike Barraclough)
SUDAN Sudan Radio Service schedule is now 0400-0500 on 7280, 0500-0600 on 13720, both via Dhabbaya, 1500-1700 17745 via Sines and 1700-1800 9840 via Dhabbaya.
Their service to Darfur is at 1600-1700 on 11785 via Meyerton Sunday to Thursday. (www.sudan radio.org, HFCC registrations via Mike Barraclough)
SWEDEN Radio Sweden is now broadcasting on 7465 in English to East Asia at 1330-1400, replacing 7405. (Alokesh Gupta, Cumbre DX)
SWITZERLAND Continuous tones were noted late September on 558 from the Monte Ceneri transmitter, which until summer 2008 carried the Swiss-Italian programme. These were experimental propagation measuring tests carried out by Europaische Funk-Rundsteuerung GmbH, a German company operating in the Ripple control of electricity supply. They have been issued with a temporary test license, a switch to long waves is planned to comply with the remote control of electric consumption and devices developed by the company. (Luigi Cobisi, Italy, DX Window)
TAJIKISTAN Voice of Tajik heard on 7245 at 1301-1314 in English, opening identification, frequency announcement, then into 8-minute news. About equal strength to co-channel CNR-2. (Martien Groot, Netherlands, DX Listening Digest)
UNITED KINGDOM Premier League football commentaries in Mandarin to China are now being broadcast on Saturday and Sunday afternoons or evenings on 6230 via Tashkent at 90 degrees with 100kw. They cover two games each weekend but the times and days of transmission vary from one weekend to another. (World Radio Network via DXLD)
Latest RSL’s via Ofcom:
Alderney: Quay FM 87.7 December 12 to 28
Amersham: Radio Africa 87.7 December 21 to 24
Ballymoney: Fuse FM 106.2 November 21 to December 18
Banbridge, County Down: Bounce FM 106.2 November 28 to December 23
Banff/Macduff: Deveron FM 87.7 November 23 to December 20
Belfast: Shankhill Radio 105.2 December 7 to 23
Bradford: Radio Muharram FM 87.7 December 9 to January 5
Brownlow, Co.Armagh: Xtreme FM 103.9 November 27 to December 18
Bury: Bury FM 87.9 November 21 to December 18
CarrickFergus: CarrickFergus FM 107.6 December 2 to December 24
Cheltenham: Cheltenham Radio 87.7 December 11 to December 12
Glasgow: Camglen Radio 87.7 November 17 to December 14
Kilmarnock: Bonnet FM 105.7 November 30 to December 24
Larne: Chaine FM 106.3 November 28 to December 24
Leeds: KB FM 87.9 December 15 to January 11
Limavady: Roe Valley Christian Radio 106.4 December 30 to January 1
Liverpool: KVfm 87.7 December 4 to 18
Merstham: Spin FM 87.7 December 19 to January 3
Newport: Newport Radio 87.9 November 27 to December 24
Omagh: Strule FM 106.8 November 26 to December 23
Rugby: Cracker FM 87.9 November 27 to December 24
Skipton: Craven College Radio 87.7 December 14 to 18
Southall: Sewadar Radio 87.7 January 7 to February 3
South Oxhey: Youth Radio 101.8 December 18 to 24
Southport: Southport Community Radio 87.7 December 1 to 28
Whitehead: Tune FM 105.3 December 21 to 24
UNITED STATES Radio Ekho Kavkaza, the newest service from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty is now on shortwave as well as online. Shortwave frequencies are 9525 and 9780, time given in local, assumed to be 1800-1900. English translation of station name is Echo of Caucasus Radio. (Sergei Sozedhkin, Illinois, DX Listening Digest)
The FCC B-09 schedule lists the new WTWW station as 1200-1900 and 2200-2400 on 9480, 0000-0700 on 5755. Tests were planned to start at the end of last month (Mike Barraclough)
WHRA in Greenbush, Maine has signed off the air for good. All equipment has been dismantled. Former frequencies for WHRA have been reassigned for WHRI useage.(Gayle Van Horn, Monitoring Times)
Voice of America observed on 9930 at 1400-1600 in English, fair with some adjacent channel interference. (Edwin Southwell)
Is via Iranawila, Sri Lanka replacing 11885 at 1400 and 9485 at 1500. (Mike Barraclough)
Radio Marti continues to be very loud and clear in Oklahoma aimed at Cuba from Greenville on reactivated 15330 at 1418 October 26; no jamming detectable, while vacated 11845 still bore pulses. However at next check 1522, there were signs of noise jamming beneath Radio Marti on 15330. A standard tactic of jammed services is to be sure to use the highest frequency that will propagate to the target, as jamming is less effective against it. Remember when Radio Marti used 17 and even 21 MHz? All Cuba can do is run multiple short-range groundwave jammers in every possible city, as the skip distance on skywave at 15+ MHz is too great to jam effectively from one end of the country to the other, although that does not keep them from trying. (Glenn Hauser, DX Listening Digest)
Radio Marti schedule is now 0000-0300 6030 7365 9825, 0300-0500 6030 7365 7405 (Tuesday to Sunday), 0500-0700 6030 7405 (Tuesday to Sunday), 0700-0900 5980 6030 (Tuesday to Sunday), 0900-1100 5980 6030, 1100-1200 5745 5980 6030, 1200-1300 5745 5980 7405, 1300-1400 5745 7405 11930, 1400-2000 11930 13820 15330, 2000-2200 9565 11930 13820, 2200-2400 6030 7405 9565. (Dragan Lekic, Serbia, DXLD)
A few nights ago, down in Death Valley, I was listening to WWV on 15000. They would give their standard announcement - "at the tone, the time will be xx:xx coordinated universal time." However, approximately 10 seconds after this announcement, I heard the very same announcement - only - it was much fainter. Would this be WWVH in Hawaii? (Kevin Molander, DX Listening Digest)
No, WWVH announcement always comes first at about 15 seconds before the minute, and WWV announcement follows immediately, at about 7-8 seconds before the minute. WWVH always woman’s voice and WWV always a man. (Glenn Hauser, ibid)
Federal regulators announced November 25 that they have charged money manager Trevor Kiley and radio personality Patrick Kiley with running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded at least 1,000 people out of more than $190 million in a bogus currency investment scheme. Kiley pitched the investment on his radio show, "Follow the Money," which was broadcast in more than 200 markets and on shortwave station WWCR. (US press reports)
VANUATU Radio Vanuatu 3945 will shortly be adding 5050 for the day frequency, and plan 7260 during the winter. (Walt Salmaniw visiting New Zealand via DXLD)
ZIMBABWE SW Radio Africa is the subject of much publicity. However, a survey in Zimbabwe, June/July 2009 shows that VOA's Studio 7 dominates among international broadcasters with a weekly audience of 16%, followed by two percent for BBC, one percent for Voice of the People (shortwave via Madagascar), and rather less than one percent for SW Radio Africa. VOA's medium wave relay in Botswana is obviously helpful. (Kim Andrew Elliott via kimandrewelliott,com)
The way the West has poured money for the MDC’s election campaigns in Zimbabwe in the last ten years was a form of rigging. Beaming anti-Zanu PF propaganda through short wave radio to rural voters who did not receive the signal of the country’s own national broadcaster, was a form of rigging. (Southern Times via kimandrewelliott.com)
Zimbabwe Community Radio is using 5865 via Meyerton, ex 3955, for its 1755-1855 broadcast. (DX Mix News Bulgaria via Cumbre DX)
CONTRIBUTORS: Germany: Wolfgang Bueschel, UK: Allen Dean, Arthur Miller, Edwin Southwell, United States: Gayle Van Horn. Until next month,
MIKE
