Radio Prague 70th Anniversary Today

Today is Radio Prague's 70th birthday. On 31 August 1936, the first ever programme in English was broadcast from Prague and the date is considered the birth of the international shortwave service in Czechoslovakia. We take this opportunity to wish our friends and colleagues at Radio Prague a very happy birthday. To mark the occasion, Radio Prague's Ian Willoughby paid a visit to the place from where the first programme was broadcast in 1936; Radio Prague's original transmission centre is a very interesting building just outside the central Bohemian town of Podebrady, and is now home to a golf club. Ian's guide was Oldrich Cip, Czech Radio's shortwave expert. Among the issues that came up are why Radio Prague was established, what was the content of early programs, what jamming entailed - and much more.

To learn more and listen to the station's audio, go to: http://www.radio.cz/en/article/82638The occasion is also marked by an interview with Radio Prague's editor-in-chief Gerald Schubert who stresses that in 2006, Radio Prague is much more than a shortwave radio station.

Radio Prague's editor-in-chief on Radio Prague in 2006

(Source: R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Misuse by foreign broadcast chief

A US State Department investigation has found that the chairman of the organization that oversees most US international broadcasting misused government money on several occasions, US newspapers and news agencies reported on 29 August.According to a summary of a report by the State Department’s inspector-general released on the 29th and cited by the New York Times, Kenneth Tomlinson, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), improperly put a friend on the payroll, used his office to run a “horse racing operation”, repeatedly used government employees to perform personal errands, and billed the government for more days of work than the rules permit.

“The State Department investigation found that Tomlinson, as a political appointee to the Broadcasting Board of Governors, signed invoices worth about 245,000 dollars for a friend without the knowledge of other board members or staff, ” the Associated Press reported.

Investigators noted in the summary of the report that the US attorney’s office in Washington had decided a criminal investigation was not warranted. A civil investigation, however, on charges stemming from hiring his friend as a contractor was still pending, the summary noted.

“Tomlinson, a Republican with close ties to the White House, was ousted last year from another post, at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, after another inquiry found evidence that he had violated rules meant to insulate public television and radio from political influence,” the New York Times reported.

On 30 August the Washington Post reported that the inspector-general’s report had been made public by three Democratic members of Congress: Representatives Howard Berman and Tom Lantos, both of California, and Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut. The three legislators had requested the investigation in 2005 after being contacted by an anonymous BBG employee.

The Washington Post added that a White House spokeswoman, Emily Lawrimore, said President Bush continued to support Tomlinson’s pending renomination as BBG chairman.

In a statement, Tomlinson said he believed the investigation results were “inspired by partisan divisions inside the BBG”.

(Source: BBC Monitoring research 30 Aug 06/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Hong Kong Radio bust of pro-democracy station

An illegal Hong Kong radio station that featured regular broadcasts by pro-democracy activists has been raided by the police, a statement said today. Police swooped last night on Citizens Radio, a rebel radio station set up in October, seizing broadcast equipment and transmitters from the station's warehouse base. One man was also arrested. After months of investigations and close surveillance, we decided to take action, said a joint statement from the police and TELA, the broadcasting authority and watchdog.

Citizens Radio was launched last year with a broadcast by pro-democracy activist Tsang ôThe Bullö Kin-shing, a member of the radical April Fifth Action Group that also campaigns for the release of Chinese political prisoners. It was set up to counter what organisers see as the loss of media freedom in this southern Chinese territory since the former British colony reverted to Chinese sovereignty in July 1997.

Our freedom of expression has been severely attacked, Tsang said at the launch. ôWe are hoping this will give the general citizens a different platform to express their opinions and voice their complaints about unfairness in society. Run by a group of 10 activists, it broadcast on the same frequency as a station owned by local tycoon Li Ka-shing. The activists had applied last year for a license from TELA to operate a radio station but had yet to receive a response.

Three outspoken radio personalities were either sacked or resigned in 2004, claiming to have received threats over their on-air attacks on the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. Some of Hong Kong's media barons have been accused of compromising their editorial independence in return for offers from Chinese authorities of lucrative advertising deals and access to mainland markets.

(Source: AFP/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

New studio for LNTV Laos

Lao National Television is to get a new studio and equipment for its entertainment and sports channel, thanks to a grant from the Chinese government. The studio will be built at LNTV’s headquarters in Vientiane. The accompanying equipment will include a transmitter. “We are in the process of securing a grant from the Chinese government for the project,” an LNTV spokesman said. It is understood the grant is worth about US$8 million.

LNTV runs two main channels: Channel 1, which focuses on development, education and the economy, and Channel 3, devoted to entertainment and sports. Both channels also carry news bulletins. Channel 3 was launched in 1994, with equipment from Cambodia provided by a private investor. The Ministry of Culture and Information later took control of the channel, and in 1999 it became part of LNTV.

The national broadcaster also operates two other channels, to relay programmes from abroad. China Central Television’s international channel, CCTV 9, is carried on Channel 7, and Vietnam Television programmes on Channel 11.

(Source: Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union/R Netherland Media Network Weblog)

CRTV Cameroon workers denounce General Manager

Workers of the Cameroon Radio and Television, CRTV, have charged their General Manager, Amadou Vamoulke, with mismanaging the corporation and making things difficult for them. The indictment is contained in an open letter the workers wrote to the General Manager on August 24. The workers claim that since January 30, journalists and technicians have died in CRTV due to the negligence of management.

The writers of the letter accused management of encouraging professional mediocrity by allowing new recruits to present the news while the old hands are allowed to wallow in limbo. The letter blames the General Manager for having delegated all powers to his assistant who has not mastered the intricacies of management. The personnel decried the absence of potable water at the National Radio station in Yaounde, due to unpaid bills. The Radio House, they said, lacks functional water system toilets since December 2005. They blamed the General Manager for not visiting Radio Bamenda, Buea and Bertoua among others that suffer with dilapidated equipment.

(Source; R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Ethiopian BC Agency grants license to Radio Fana

The Ethiopian Broadcasting Agency has issued a commercial licence to Radio Fana. Broadcast Licencing Department Head Gizachew Tsegaye said that the agency gave the licence to Radio Fana based on its request of 11 October, 2004. Although the station is licenced as a commercial one, it ought to serve the society in a fair and balanced manner, he said.

Radio Fana Head Woldu Yimsel said that the station has been striving for development since its launch. The licence would encourage the station to enhance its activities to enable the nation to achieve the desired goal, he said. Woldu further indicated that the issuing of the licence has provided an opportunity for the private electronic media, which, he said, was predominantly owned by the government.

(Source: Ethiopian News Agency/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Radio Sonar set for August 31 broadcast

From DJ Dycke of Radio Sonar comes news of their upcoming shortwave broadcast. Programming will be on Thursday August 31, between 1900-2100 UTC, broadcasting between 6260 - 6280 kHz.

Programming will be in German and English. The English programming is from Led Zeppelin to the new Model Army. An August QSL map is available for either Mp 3 files or reception reports to: radiosonar@hotmail.de. Tel.: +49 (0) 176-262,171 42 during the program.

(Source: HCDX via Kein Betreff)

Morocco monitoring observations

MOROCCO 1550 Moroccan jammer, 2117-..., 21/8, audible - and this was a real surprise as I don't notice it for ages! -, as the Polisario Front was inaudible, BUT audible again on 7460 at S9+50dB; 24431, QRM de adjacent channels.

1637.9 RTM-"A", Rabat, 1128-..., 17/8, Arabic, talks; H. of 818.95 (at S9+45dB).
(Carlos Goncalves-POR, wwdxc BC-DX Aug 22)

7135 Radiodiffusion-Television Morocaine, 2302-2359* Aug 18, woman reading the nx in Arabic with various remote reports. Brief instrumental mx segment followed by ID. More talk by a man and a woman. At 2318 began long recitation from Qu'ran that continued until the station carrier was terminated. Fair to good signal.
(Rich D'Angelo-PA-USA, DXplorer Aug 19)

936 RTM-"R" (not "C"), Agadir, 1138-1306, 17 Aug, Vernacular (didn't seem Beber, an certainly not Arabic), mx; 34443, splatter de POR 927. 1187.9 RTM"C" (not "A"), Casablanca, 1135-..., 17 Aug, Berber, songs, talks; 55555.
(Carlos Goncalves-POR, wwdxc BC-DX Aug 26/WWDXC Top News BC DX # 771)

KBS World expands Asian coverage

KBS World, the international cable and satellite channel operated by the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), has inked carriage deals in the Philippines and Singapore. Beginning 1 September, the channel will be available in the Philippines via Central CATV, reaching about one million homes. KBS World will be available for all Central CATV subscribers as a basic channel. On 1 October, KBS will launch on Singaporean cable platform Starhub, reaching 300,000 households on the digital basic service. KBS has also entered a strategic alliance with ABS-CBN in the Philippines to increase cooperation in programme distribution and co-production.
Source: Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog 8/29)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty summer freq update

The following summer shortwave update for Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty should extend until the October frequency adjustments.
Gayle VH

UTC/kHz

Avari
0400-0420 9845 9855
1700-1720 11705 15255
Belorussian
0300-0500 7155 9635
1500-1700 9725 15215
1700-1900 7195 15215
1900-2100 7115 9750
Chechen
0420-0440 9845 9855
1720-1740 11705 15255
Cherkassi
0440-0500 9845 9855
1740-1800 11705 15255
Dari&
0330-0430 11820 15615 17670
0530-0630 15615 17670 17815
0730-0830 15615 17685 17815
0930-1030 15090 17685 17815
1130-1230 11805 15090 17685
1330-1430 11550 15090
Farsi *
0030-0200 7295 9805 9865
0200-0400 9775 9805 9865
0400-0600 9510 9865 15255
0600-0800 9510 15290 17845
0800-1000 15290 15690 17755
1000-1400 7125 15690 17755
1400-1500 9435 13870 17745
1500-1600 13870 15170 17745
1600-1700 13870 15170 17670
1700-1900 7105 7580 9760
1900-2000 7105 7580 9505
2000-2130 5830 7580 9505
Kazakh
0000-0100 5945 7200
0200-0400 9615 15205
1200-1300 11520 15120
1400-1600 7170 9815
Pashto &
0230-0330 11820 12140 17670
0430-0530 15615 17815 17670
0630-0730 15615 17685 17815
0830-0930 15615 17685 17815
1030-1130 11805 15090 17685
1230-1330 11550 15090 19010
Romanian
1500-1530 15380
1800-1900 11985 Mon-Fri
Russian
0000-0100 7120 7175 7220 9520
0200-0300 7175 7220 9520 15470
0300-0400 6105 7175 7220 15470
0400-0500 6105 7220 9760
0500-0700 9520 9760 11815
0700-0800 11815 11855 15280 17730
0800-0900 11855 15280 17730
0900-1000 11860 15280 17730
1000-1100 15130 17730 21530
1100-1200 11700 15130 17730 21530
1200-1300 11700 15130 15205 17730
1400-1500 11725 11875 15130 15195
1500-1600 9520 11725 11875 15130
1600-1700 7220 9520 9565 15130
1900-2000 7220 9520 9585
2000-2200 7220 9520
2200-2300 7220 9520 9590
2300-2400 7120 7220 9520
Tajik
0100-0200 9760 13760
0200-0400 9760 15525
1400-1500 9790 11895
1500-1600 9790 11975
1600-1700 7190 9790
Tatar
0300-0400 9855
0500-0600 11990
1500-1600 15410
1900-2000 9805
Turkmen
0200-0300 9555 15120
0300-0400 9555 17770
1400-1530 15255 15460
1530-1600 864 15255 15460
1600-1700 11895 13815
1700-1800 9395 11895
Uzbek
0200-0400 12110 15145 15460
1400-1500 13755 15145 15170
1600-1700 7555 9595 12150
# Radio Free Iraq
& Radio Free Afghanistan
* Radio Farda
(R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, via wwdxc BC-DX Aug 22/WWDXC Top News BC DX # 771)

CBS Radio may sell more radio stations

Here is a follow up to last week's posting of KTSA being sold in San Antonio. Besides KJXK, wonder who is next on the block.
GVH


CBS sold two radio stations in San Antonio, Texas this week and more sales are likely to come, a Bear Stearns analyst believes.

CBS (nyse: CBS - news - people ) sold KTSA-AM and KJXK-FM for $45 million in cash to Border Media, a privately held Hispanic broadcaster that owns 35 stations in Texas.

CBS still has stations for sale in Greensboro, N.C., Columbus, Ohio, Buffalo, Kansas City and Fresno, Calif., according to Bear Stearns analyst Victor Miller said in a research report.

"Given the attractive purchase multiples CBS has received, [it] is possible that CBS may decide to sell stations in other non-core markets," said Miller.

The analyst calculated that CBS sold the San Antonio stations at more than 30 times annual revenue.

"We believe the radio asset sales add further proof that CBS stock is inexpensive," Miller said. "Between the two sales announce this week, CBS will have another $242 million to $267 million in capital to return to shareholders."

(Source: Forbes/Street Talk)

208 It Was Great - a nostalgic look at Radio Luxembourg

LUXEMBOURG 208 It Was Great
Like most books, it came about by a set of certain circumstances. Working with various broadcasters, they urged me to tell them stories about my early career in broadcasting with Radio Luxembourg which they seemed to have found facinating. They convinced me that I should commit to paper an account of those early days. I thought it was a good idea because I could do it for my children and future generations of my family, a sort of family history. I set to work with my trusty pen and paper, upon completion, various other members of the broadcasting profession voiced their approval and their opinion that I should seek a publisher.

So here, dear listener, is my account of a career with Radio Luxembourg 'The Station of the Stars' as seen through my eyes between 1958 and 1975 before I left to help launch a new radio station in the East Midlands.

It's an account of my good times, my bad times, my thoughts and people I crossed paths with on that exhilarating and exciting journey. A journey of which I will be eternally proud.

'208 It Was Great' consists of a foreword by Jimmy Savile, quotes from Noel Edmonds, Dave Christian and Michael Palin, 39 pages of photos and 121 pages of wordage in ten chapters.

1. In the Beginning
2.The Early Days
3. K.E.Y.N.S.H.A.M.
4. Technical Stuff
5. Swinging 60's and Beyond
6.The Presenters
7. Jimmy Savile
8. Monty Python
9. The Highlight of my Career
10. The End is Nigh

PRICE o10.70 INCLUDES POSTAGE SURFACE MAIL WORLDWIDE

www.208itwasgreatradioluxembourg.co.uk/
(via BCDXC-UK Aug 24/WWDXC Top News BC DX # 771)

CBS Radio may sell more radio stations

Here is a follow up to last week's posting (8/25) of KTSA 550 AM being sold in San Antonio. Besides KJXK, wonder who is next on the block.
GVH

CBS sold two radio stations in San Antonio, Texas this week and more sales are likely to come, a Bear Stearns analyst believes.

CBS (nyse: CBS - news - people ) sold KTSA-AM and KJXK-FM for $45 million in cash to Border Media, a privately held Hispanic broadcaster that owns 35 stations in Texas.

CBS still has stations for sale in Greensboro, N.C., Columbus, Ohio, Buffalo, Kansas City and Fresno, Calif., according to Bear Stearns analyst Victor Miller said in a research report.

"Given the attractive purchase multiples CBS has received, [it] is possible that CBS may decide to sell stations in other non-core markets," said Miller.

The analyst calculated that CBS sold the San Antonio stations at more than 30 times annual revenue.

"We believe the radio asset sales add further proof that CBS stock is inexpensive," Miller said. "Between the two sales announce this week, CBS will have another $242 million to $267 million in capital to return to shareholders."

(Source: Forbes/Street Talk)

CVC Christian Vision adds Chile network as partner

Christian Vision's Spanish language service, CVC-La Voz, has added Chilean radio network Conquista Alas de Aguilas (Wings of Angels) to its chain of partner stations, bringing the total of partner stations in Latin America and Spain to over 200. Conquista Alas de Aguilas has 22 stations and repeaters covering all of Chile.

CVC-La Voz produces its programs in Florida and is distributed via the Panamsat 9 and New Skies 806 satellites to stations throughout Latin America and Spain, as well as to a growing number of stations in the United States. It offers up to 24 hours a day of music, news, and sports, as well as programming for men, women and youth and other.

In addition to the new stations in Chile, CVC-La Voz also is providing programming to new affiliates in Venezuela, Spain and Paraguay. CVC-La Voz programming is also heard throughout the region on shortwave and online at www.cvclavoz.com.

(Source: Inspire/R Netherlands Media Network weblog 8/27/06)

Bolivia announces new radio network

The government of Bolivia announces the implementation of a new national and international radio network - Red Radio Patria Nueva, which transmits in FM, AM and on shortwave. The network connects 30 transmitters in different points of the country.

In La Paz, the state radio will continue with the name R Illimani, whereas for the rest of the country, the network assumes the name R Patria Nueva. Until now the first four transmitters has been installed in Orinoca (Oruro) on 1030 AM, Independence (Cochabamba) 3 Kw on 1050 AM, Riberalta (Beni) and Sabaya (Oruro). Next will be the transmitters in Tarabuco and Mojocoya (Chuquisaca) and later in Totora, Lauca (Cochabamba) until completing the network.

In addition to these 30 transmitters, 8 repeaters of Illimani Radio will be part of the new network. Radio Patria Nueva transmits in the following frequencies: on 94,1 MHz (La Paz, El Alto, Achacachi and Laza (Sud Yungas), on 94.3 MHz, FM in Sucre, Cochabamba, Potoso, Tarija, Trinidad, Cobija, Montero and Yacuiba, and on Medium Waves on 1020 KHz, and on Short Waves on 6025 kHz (ex-R Illimani), in the international band of 49 meters. ("1000 Lakes DX" blog via Ritola in Dxplorer, Aug 19)

Just listened to their streaming audio (excellent sound quality and beautiful music, Aug 19, 1740) and heard the speaker say "Red Patria Nueva emite por.../frequencies/", also "Radio Illimani por la Red Patria Nueva" and "Red Patria Nueva, La Voz de Bolivia". To listen, open http://abi.bo/index.php?i=patria-nueva and click on the link on the last line of the page unless you have Winamp installed on your PC. (Klemetz)

6025, R Patria Nueva (RPN) (ex Illimani?), La Paz, 1055-1105, Aug 18, talk in Aymara, 1100 Spanish ID: "Radio Patria Nueva ......en todos los departamentos del pais....en treinta segundos comienza su red nacional"; another ID: "La Radio Patria Nueva presenta..... su canal de noticias....Bolivia, primera edicion....completa y pluralista... integrando al pais"; TC: "7 de la ma±ana, 2 minutos", national news in Spanish, 22432. (Slaen)

(Source: DX Window # 305)

DTK T-System Update for Overcomer Ministries

The following updates, effective from August 7, from DTK T-Systems via Julich, Germany should extend until the October seasonal frequency adjustments.
GVH

Overcomer Ministries
UTC/kHz English
0900-1000 6110eu (100kW) cancelled
1000-1100 6110eu (100kW) cancelled
1200-1300 6110eu (100kW) additional
1300-1400 6110eu (100kW) additional

(DX Mix News, Bulgaria via S. Hadley, TN)

Shaun Language aired at Radio Free Burma

US-based Radio Free Asia Burmese program is reporting in ethnic languages including Shan beginning this week, according to Soe Thinn, head of the program.

News in Shan language will be aired towards the end of the program every Friday evening, 19:00-20:00, Burma standard time. Each non-Burman language is given a 5 minute air time.

The weekly news in Shan will be read out by Sai Yi Hpong and Nang Ye Hawm, S.H.A.N.'s newest members.

The other Shan program from Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) can be heard every Wednesday at 06:45-07:00 and 21:45-22:00.

In addition, there are more than 10 community radio stations in northern Thailand with Shan sections, 6 in Mae Ai, Fang and Chaiprakarn alone.

For further information, please contact S.H.A.N. at:
Shan Herald Agency for News
P.O. Box 15
Nonghoi P.O
Chiangmai 50007
Thailand
http://shanland.org
www.unpo.org/article.php?id=5243

(Source: Zacharias Liangas/Cumbre DX)

Christian radio network expands in South America

With the addition of new affiliate stations in Chile, the CVC-La Voz radio network is celebrating an important milestone, reports Kenneth D MacHarg. Now, over 200 stations throughout the Americas and in Spain are carrying the Christian broadcaster's programs.

"In the mist of summer we are seeing a phenomenon," said CVC-La Voz director Juan Mark Gallardo. "An avalanche occurred at the Miami Lakes Studios of CVC."

Gallardo was referring to the addition of the Chilean radio network Conquista Alas de Aguilas to the CVC chain of stations. With the addition the affiliate's 22 stations and repeaters, the Miami Lakes, Florida,-produced programs are now available throughout the entire length of that South American country.

CVC-La Voz, is a Spanish-language programming service that originates in Florida and is distributed via satellite to stations throughout Latin America and Spain, as well as to a growing number of radio stations in the United States.

The innovative programming offers up to 24 hours a day of music, news, and sports, as well as programming for men, women and youth and other features. Included in the offerings is a daily mini-program by the popular Mexican singer Marcos Witt - A minute with Marcos.

In addition to the new stations in Chile, CVC-La Voz also is providing programming to new affiliates in Venezuela, Spain and Paraguay. CVC-La Voz programming is also heard throughout the region on shortwave and on line at www.cvclavoz.com/.

Programs are produced in the Miami Lakes studies which also shares space with a sister Portuguese programming service, CVC-A Sue Voz. The satellite signal is distributed via Pan Am Sat 9 and New Skies 806.
www.inspiremagazine.org.uk/news.aspx?action=view&id=382(Source: Zacharias Liangas/Cumbre DX)

ARO IOTA Tunisia traffic

3V8, TUNISIA (IOTA Op!). Look for Francois, F8DVD, to be active as 3V8SM
from the facilities of the Scout Houm Souk ARC on Djerba Island (AF-083),
August 28-31st.

He intends to be active on both CW and SSB, on all bands, from 80-10 meters, propagation permitting. Francois will use a FT-767 w/100w into beam and dipoles. QSL this activity ONLY to F8DVD, either direct (SAE + IRC or 1 USD for Europe, and 2 USDs for Africa and elsewhere) or via the French REF-Union Bureau. Please nothing via 3V Bureau. F8DVD's address is: FRANCOIS BERGEZ, 6 RUE DE LA LIBERTE, F-71000 MACON (FRANCE).
(Source: Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin # 772)

What is in the September MT QSL Report column ?

September is almost here and time to give our readers a preview of what I've covered in the September QSL Report.

September means better DX conditions - and if you haven't observed improved conditions by now, you will soon. DX season is right around the corner and we'll take a look at what you need to do to get your radio shack or listening post in order.

September's QSLs feature contributions from Amateur Radio, Argentina, Ascension Islands, Clandestine stations, Ecuador, Germany, Madagascar, Medium Wave, United Kingdom and Utilities.

Contributions are always welcome and email may be directed at my Monitoring Times address posted at the website.
Gayle VH

IRCA Mexican AM Log 2006 now available

MEXICO. IRCA Mexican Log, 11th Edition (Winter 2006) NOW READY!!!



The IRCA MEXICAN LOG lists all AM stations in Mexico by frequency, including call letters, state, city, day/night power, slogans, schedule in UTC/GMT, formats, networks and notes. The call letter index gives call, frequency, city and state. The city index (listed by state, then city) includes frequency, call and day/night power. The transmitter site index (listed by state, then city) tabulates the latitude and longitude of transmitter sites. This is an indispensable reference for anyone who hears Mexican radio stations. Size is 8 1/2" x 11".

Prices: IRCA/NRC members - $9.50 (US/Canada/Mexico/sea mail), $12.00 (rest of the Americas/Europe airmail), $12.50 (Australia/Japan/New Zealand airmail). Non-IRCA members - add $2.00.
(Source: IRCA website: http://www.ircaonline.org/index1.html)

Radio Mi Amigo to air via radio ship Aug 31

Hans Knot writes: “[Dutch] Internet radio station Radio Mi Amigo 192 will be ‘on air’ from a radioship, MS Fortuna, remembering the days of Offshore Radio. The station claims to be a follow up to the offshore radio station Mi Amigo. It is this year 32 years since the Dutch law against the offshore stations came in. Mi Amigo went on transmitting her programmes up till 1979. On www.radiomiamigo.eu the trip with the Fortuna can be listened to between August 30 at 18 hrs Dutch time (1600 UTC) up till late in the evening of August 31st. Known voices from then, including Peter de Vries, Ad Roberts, Hendrik van Nellestijd, Ferry Eden, Ad Roland and Erik de Zwart can be heard.”

And since Hans wrote that, Radio Mi Amigo 192 has announced that, provided the weather is good, the broadcast on 31 August will also be carried on mediumwave 1224 kHz in the Central Netherlands - that’s one of the frequencies that are still licensed to Quality Radio. But, the station says that the mediumwave transmitter cannot be used if the weather is bad. Make of that what you will.

(Source: R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Updated schedule for Albania's Radio Tirana

The following revised schedule comes from Hans Johnson of Cumbre DX.
GVH

UTC/ kHz
Albanian: to Europe
0630-0900 7105 OND 1458 3380
1400-1530 1458 OND
2030-2200 5910 OND
2300-0030 7450 3000 to NoAM

English: to Europe (Mon-Sat)
1845-1900 7465 OND 9920 3100
2000-2030 7465 OND to NoAmerica (Tues-Sun)
0145-0200 & 0230-0300 on 6115 3000 and 7450 3100

French: to Europe (Mon-Sat)
1900-1930 on 9920 3100

German: to Europe (Mon-Sat)
1800-1830 1458 3380
1930-2000 7465 OND

Italian: to Europe (Mon-Sat)
1900-1930 5920 OND

Serbian: to Europe (Mon-Sat)
1800-1815 5920 OND
2015-2030 on 1458 0040

Turkish 1530-1545 & Greek 1545-1600 (Mon-Sat) 1458 OND

Source: schedule via NRG World News/Hans Johnson - Cumbre DX)

WBBR AM 1130 news

This from Bob Janney at WBBR:

Hi Scott, Sorry for the late notice. WBBR will be off the air and also do
audio proof on Sunday morning Aug. 27th after 12:01 AM.
(Source: Bob Janney/WBBR via Scott Fybush/NRC)

Radio Netherlands Program Preview Aug 26 - Sept 1

Radio Netherlands PROGRAMME PREVIEW

Saturday 26 AUGUST - Friday 1 SEPTEMBER 2006

Welcome to our weekly guide to Radio Netherlands' English Service - a list
of the new programmes coming up on Radio Netherlands this week, beginning on
Saturday.

SATURDAY 26 AUGUST

*** Weekend Connection ***

Every Saturday, the Newsline team brings you Weekend Connection, with
thought-provoking reports on the issues making headlines in the Netherlands,
Europe and beyond.

It's a lively mix of local colour and "the big picture". One week you might
hear how Dutch farmers are doing their part to combat bird flu, the next
week it's about the worldwide attempt to punish crimes against humanity. Big
or small, Weekend Connection covers it all!

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (Australia/Asia/Far East), 12.00 (Eastern
N America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00
(Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 05.00 (Western N America &
New Zealand)

*** Vox Humana ***

"Raising Cain(e) with Mahler"

Jazz pianist and composer Uri Caine appeared twice this summer in The
Netherlands. In June he premiered his Mozart Remix at the Holland Festival.
And he was back a month later at the North Sea Jazz Festival improvising on
laptops.

Eclectic is a good word to describe his work. He took time between gigs to
talk to David Swatling about his reinvention of music by Viennese composer
Gustav Mahler - not the most likely subject for a jazz artist!

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (Australia/Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern
N America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N
America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New
Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)
Repeated: Sun 1430 (South Asia), Sun 1900 (N America, Africa)

SUNDAY 27 AUGUST

*** World Wide Jazz Sessions ***

Amsterdam Forum and Dutch Extra are taking a summer break and will be back
on Sunday 10 September.
While host Sarah Johnson prepares for a new season, join resident jazz
expert Hans Mantel on Sundays for a celebration of some of the best in world
wide jazz.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.45 (Australia/Asia/Far East), 11.45 (Eastern
N America), 15.45(South Asia), 18.45 & 20.45 (Africa), 00.40 (Eastern N
America), 01.40 (Central N America), 04.40 (Western N America), 06.40 (New
Zealand), 0740 (Australia)

MONDAY 28 AUGUST

*** Newsline ***

The latest world news and current affairs.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.00 (Eastern N
America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00
(Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 04.00 (Western N America),
06.00 (New Zealand), 07.00 (Australia)

*** The Research File ***
The Research File is a virtual Walhalla for control freaks this week with a
special about the NMI, the Netherlands Measuring Institute.

Find out all about the astonishing levels of precision and the keeping of
the famous 7 standards.

How do they do it ? Tune in to The Research File, if you want to know
exactly...

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern N
America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N
America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New
Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)
Repeated: Thurs 1500 (South Asia), Thurs 1900 (Africa)

TUESDAY 29 AUGUST

*** Newsline ***

The latest world news and current affairs.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.00 (Eastern N
America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00
(Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 04.00 (Western N America),
06.00 (New Zealand), 07.00 (Australia)

*** EuroQuest ***

"Living Apart Together"

Euroquest visits Belgrade and takes an ethnically surprising tour of the
biggest Orthodox church in the Balkans.

A filmmaker researches the history of one of Turkey's many Armenian orphans
- her own grandmother.

Cyprus has been divided ever since the Turkish invasion of the island in
1974. It is precisely this divide that was the subject of a recent musical
collaboration between Greek and Turkish Cypriot musicians

Ever since the recent riots in France, much thought has been given to what
can be done about the ennui amongst the immigrant youth living in housing
projects. One solution is boarding schools for the poor.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern N
America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N
America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New
Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)
Repeated: Thurs 1500 (South Asia), Thurs 1900 (Africa)
Repeated: Mon 1500 (South Asia), Mon 1900 (Africa)

WEDNESDAY 30 AUGUST

*** Newsline ***

The latest world news and current affairs.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.00 (Eastern N
America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00
(Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 04.00 (Western N America),
06.00 (New Zealand), 07.00 (Australia)

*** The Weekly Documentary ***

"Home Sweet Home Birth"

The Netherlands is the odd one out when it comes to child birth. It's the
only Western country where more than 30% of births take place at home.

A system of highly-trained, independent midwives and maternity aid nurses
make it all possible. And a strong belief that a healthy pregnancy is a
natural thing and not a medical condition has kept the practice alive -but
some people wonder whether it will survive.

Join Liesbeth de Bakker for a look at the Dutch tradition of giving birth at
home in this week's documentary "Home Sweet Home Birth".

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern N
America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N
America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New
Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)
Repeated: Thurs 1500 (South Asia), Thurs 1900 (Africa)
Repeated: Mon 1500 (South Asia), Mon 1900 (Africa)

THURSDAY 31 AUGUST

*** Newsline ***

The latest world news and current affairs.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.00 (Eastern N
America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00
(Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 04.00 (Western N America),
06.00 (New Zealand), 07.00 (Australia)

*** Dutch Horizons ***

The holidays are nearly over and to stretch that summer feeling for as long
as possible, Dutch Horizons has three holiday related topics this week.

We visit a stunningly beautiful little courtyard in the centre of Amsterdam,
an oasis of calm and quiet -despite the many tourists who come to visit.

We visit the smallest hotel in the world, which happens to be in the north
of the Netherlands.

And we look at the most popular way of holidaymaking amongst the Dutch -
caravanning.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern N
America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N
America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New
Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)
Repeated: Thurs 1500 (South Asia), Thurs 1900 (Africa)
Repeated: Mon 1500 (South Asia), Mon 1900 (Africa)

FRIDAY 1 SEPTEMBER

*** Newsline ***

The latest world news and current affairs.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.00 (Eastern N
America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00
(Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 04.00 (Western N America),
06.00 (New Zealand), 07.00 (Australia)

*** A Good Life ***

Medical tourism is a rapidly growing industry in India with increasing
numbers of Britons travelling to the sub-continent for treatment.

And a Buddhist temple in Thailand is giving stray cats and dogs a new lease
of life.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern N
America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N
America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New
Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)
Repeated: Thurs 1500 (South Asia), Thurs 1900 (Africa)
Repeated: Mon 1500 (South Asia), Mon 1900 (Africa)
Repeated: Tues 1500 (S Asia), Tues 1900 (Africa)

KTSA 550 AM plans sale to new market

S.A. Radio Personalities Nervous after planned Sale
Posted on WOAI by Randy Beamer
The planned sale of San Antonio radio station KTSA to a mostly Spanish-language radio company targeting Hispanics has some radio personalities nervous and listeners wondering about the station's future.

Randy Beamer talked exclusively with the new owner's top man. Tom Castro, President and CEO of Houston-based Border Media Partners, says he has no plans to change the formats of either KTSA 550-AM or KJXK-FM when the sale is finalized in the next few months.

The CBS Corporation has agreed to sell the two stations to Borders as part of its plan to get rid of radio stations in ten different markets. Castro told News 4 WOAI-TV he considers San Antonio the most important market for his company, while CBS considered it way down their list. He says the stations suffered from a "lack of love" under CBS and he plans to aggressively promote them both.

Castro says he loves the "niches" of both KTSA and KJXK. KTSA is a news/talk station that historically has competed with News Radio 1200 WOAI-AM, a sister station of WOAI-TV. (Both WOAI-AM and WOAI-TV are owned by S.A.-based Clear Channel Communications)
KJXK, also known as JACK-FM, 102.7, plays a mix of hits from the 70's through today, a genre sometimes called "random radio."

Asked about KTSA specifically, Castro called it a good solid station with a treasure trove of personalities. That should make some of those personalities breathe easier.
KTSA has been on the block for some time and we're told on-air and off-air employees have been nervous about who the new owner would be and whether they would change formats and cut staff.

With a new owner that targets Hispanics, using mostly Spanish-language formats, the uncertainty continues. But Castro tells News 4 he expects things at both stations to be "pretty much business as usual."
The acquisitions will give Border Media Partners 8 stations in San Antonio, 9 if you add in 103.1-FM in Karnes City.

Castro says he's uncertain about just how the company might consolidate operations and studios or where, but that is part of the longer-term plans.
KTSA and JACK-FM are currently run out of a building on San Antonio's Austin Highway next to several radio towers.

Castro says Borders Media Partners is planning a grand opening celebration for a new headquarters of its other San Antonio stations in the Loop 410-Interstate-10 area.
He says it's possible KTSA and JACK-FM could move there, but no decision would be made until after the deal is closed and approved by the FCC. That is expected to take several months.

Castro plans to meet with employees of the company's new San Antonio stations Thursday morning, August 24th to talk with them about his plans.

(Source: WOAI, San Antoonio, Texas)

GVH: This truly is a surprise and disappointment. KTSA 550 AM, has been been a part of the San Antonio radio scene for many decades, and in recent years has been an news/talk format. When KTSA was a Pop-40 format, many of us grew up hearing the personalities of Ricky Ware, George Lester and Bruce Hathaway. Bruce will be inducted in the Texas Radio Hall of Fame in late fall 2006, and rightly so for his many years of radio service. This truly is the end of an era for S.A.

Blog Logs - Argentine DXpedition

Arnaldo Slaen, of Buenos Aires, Argentina, shares his loggings from a recent DXpedition from Villa Loguercio. Thanks very much for your contributions.
Gayle VH

Stations logged from Villa Loguercio.This is a small town and a good place to DX at 116 kilometers to south/west to Buenos Aires city. All stations were listened by Gerardo Choren, Enrique Wembagher & Arnaldo Slaen. The equipment: two receivers Sony ICF2010; a Sangean ATS909 & a Degen DE1103; The antenna was a twenty meters longwire

BOLIVIA
3310 Radio Mosoj Chaski, Cochabamba, 2243+, August 19, Quechua, talk by male, 25342 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

4409,8 Radio Eco, Reyes, 2305+, August 19, Spanish, short local news by male in spanish, 25332 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

4545,9 Radio Virgen de Remedios, 1011+, August 20, Spanish, religious talk by male, 25342 On August 19, at 2300 UTC+, this station was listened on 4545,3 Khz (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

4901,6 Radio San Miguel Riberalta, 2233+, August 19, Spanish, romantic music, announcements by male & female, 24332 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

5580,3 Radio San Jose, San Jose de Chiquitos, 2214+, August 19, romantic music in spanish, 25332 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

BRAZIL
3235 Radio Clube, Marilia, 2222+, August 19, Portuguese,religious talk by male,25332(Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

3375 Radio Educadora (t), Guajara Mirim, 0956+, August 20, Portuguese, local music (very nice), programme conduced by male, announcement as: ôAmerica....sucesso pra voce en America.....ö, TC, 35343 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

4765 Radio Rural, Santarem, 0959+, August 20, Portuguese, many identifications, 25432(Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

4945 Radio Difusora, Pocos da Caldas, 2210+, August 19, Portuguese, local news by female, local Adv., 25442 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

5055 Radio Difusora Caceres, Caceres, MS, 1001+, August 20, Portuguese, complete identification as: ô...........Radio Difusora.....ö, 25432 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

CLANDESTINE
11530 Denge Mesopotamya, 1345-1400, August 19, Kurdish, talk by female, very nice local songs, two identifications by male as: ôDenge Mesopotamyaö, 25442 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

CLANDESTINE
15565 Voice of Democratic Path of Ethiopian Unity, 1900+, August 20, Vernacular, announcement, news or talk in amharic, 34433 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

CHINA
3900 Radio Hulun Buir, Hailar, 1055+, August 20, Mandarin, talk by male, 14341 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

5050 Guangxi Foreign BS, Hanning, 2313+, August 19, Chinese, music, announcement, talk by female, 25332 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

ECUADOR
3220 HCJB, Pifo, 0947+, August 20, Quechua,religious talk by male, 35443 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

3279,7 La Voz del Napo, Tena, 1951+, August 20, Vernacular!!!! Religious talk in indigenous language!!!, 35343 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

GUATEMALA
4780 Radio Cultural Coatan, San Sebastian Coatan, 1116+, August 20, Spanish, religious talk by male, 24442 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

INDIA
4970 AIR-All Indian Radio, Shillong, 1100+, August 20, Vernacular, interval signal, s/on, music, announcement by female, local music, 24432 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

INDONESIA
3976 RRI-Pontianak, 1050+, August 20, Indonesian, talk by male in vernacular, 14331(Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

ISRAEL
6974,5 Galei Tzahal (p), Tel Aviv, 2218+, August 19, ┐Hebrew?, talk by male and pops, 25332 Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

KYRGYZTAN
4010 Kyrgysz Radio, Bishkek, 2238+, August 19, Vernacular, local music & announcement by male, 15341 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

NIGERIA
4770 Radio Nigeria, Kaduna, 2226+, August 19, Vernacular, local music, talk by female, 25342 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

NORTH KOREA
3320 Radio Pyongyang, Pyongyang, 1030+, August 20, Korean, announcement, local music, 25342 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

3959,7 KCBS, Kanggye, 1040+, August 20, Korean, talk by male, 24342 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

PERU
3375 Radio San Antonio, Callalli, 1033+, August 20, Spanish, huaynos, TC, announcement by male: ôBueno amigos.....hoy domingo....ö, 33433 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

4755 Radio Huanta 2000, Huanta, 1110+, August 20, Quechua/Spanish, many local Adv. By male & female (in quechua and spanish), announcement as: ô....Club Deportivo Santa Maria Magdalena representa a Huanta.... el futbol huante±o....para entrar a la Copa Peruà.no se lo puede perderö, 25432 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

4790,2 Radio Vision, Chiclayo, 2309+, August 19, Spanish, religios programme by male, 25332 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

4826,4 Radio Sicuani, Sicuani, 1006+, August 20, Quechua, huaynos, short announcements by female, 25342 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

4953,1 Radio Cultural Amauta (p), 1037+, August 20, Quechua, talk by female, 15441(Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

4955 Radio Cultural Amauta, Huanta, 2248+, August 19, Spanish, talk & greetings by female, 25342 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

5070,7 Radio Ondas del Suroriente (p), Quillabamba, 2252+, August 19, romantic music in spanish, 24332 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

TAJIKISTAN
4635 Tajik Radio, Dushambe, 2205+, August 19, Tajik, news by female in vernacular, local music, 24342 (Arnaldo Slaen, Argentina)

RTA Algeria freq update

The following include summer VT Communications relays
GVH

RTA Radio Algeria again on short waves
0400-0600 7260 RMP 500 kW / 190 deg to NoAf Arabic S=3
0400-0600 9540 WOF 300 kW / 160 deg to NoAf Arabic S=5+
1900-2000 9765 RMP 500 kW / 190 deg to NoAf Arabic S=3
1900-2000 11810 WOF 300 kW / 160 deg to NoAf Arabic S=5+
2000-2100 9765 RMP 500 kW / 190 deg to NoAf Arabic S=3
2000-2100 12025 WOF 300 kW / 160 deg to NoAf Arabic S=5+
2100-2300 7150 RMP 500 kW / 190 deg to NoAf Arabic S=5+
2100-2300 9710 WOF 300 kW / 160 deg to NoAf Arabic S=5+
(wb, wwdxc BC-DX Aug 14/WWDXC Top News)

Blog Logs Ukrainian DXpedition - Part 2

Special thanks to contributor Walt Salmaniw for sharing the following loggings from his recent DXpedition to Ukraine. This continues his observations from yesteday's post.
Gayle VH

Another day and night of loggings from Kremenchuk, Ukraine. Enough to wet my appetite before leaving for Donetsk this afternoon. No more professional grade receivers nor antenna systems :-( Oh well. On the other hand I'll get the chance to dx in a small village. 4 years ago, there was 0 RF noise when I was there. I brought my Kaito/Degen 1103 with me plus about 10 meters of wire. I wish it had switchable side bands though. Can't have it all, I suppose. On to the loggings:

BELARUS 6010 1225 17 August 06 Belarus 1 hs program. I can't understand why there are so many low power channels carrying this service on 49 and 41 meters. All are easily heard during the day here. 6010 is listed with 5 kw from Brest and heard with fair strength. // are 6040 Hrodna fair/good with 5 kw, 6070 Brest with 5 kw at good levels, 6080 S9 + 20 with 150 kw from Minsk, 6115 also Minsk with 75 kw fair/good, 6190 Mahilou 5 kw good, over a cochannel, 7110 Hrodna 5 kw good reception, 7145 Mahilou 5 kw, much weaker than the rest at fair level. Nice ID at 1239 as "Belaruska Radyo Pershyi Kanal", or similar to this. Ads from 1255 to 1258. The only 2nd channel on SW is 7265 Hrodna at fair/good level with 5 kw. At 1259 5 + 1 time pips, and then "novyny na Kanaly Kultura" in Belarussian. ie: news on the cultural channel. Can anyone give a logical explanation regarding so many transmitters? (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

AZERBAIJAN 6110.8 1325 17 August 06 A most frustrating frequency to monitor. A strong carrier throughout the day, but no or virtually no audio heard. Finally heard some very weak audio in probable Azeri at 1659. IS at 1700 then talk, but too weak to understand the language. Should be English, but I have my doubts. Sounded more like Russian style, but this is listed at 1730. In fact nothing heard at 1730. This will need more investigation, but I fear my portable gear won't be up to the challenge! (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

ABKHAZIA 9494.75 1414 17 August 06. Strong S9 + 20 signal, but lowish modulation. Russian heard at this time with local weather , and ID at 14:18:35. Stronger when rechecked at 1435 or 1735 local time. Local, presumably Abkhaz music. Audio link seemed to have been lost at 14:48 during a Russian language broadcast, but resumed 5 minutes later. Radio Kuban id at 1453:40 with weather and Black Sea/Azov sea temps....very warm! 35 to 38 during the day, with sea temps of 26 to 28. A bit overmodulated. At 1500 into Radio Rossii programming. Well worth pursuing this one. I left the mp3 player running for the hour during dinner. Hopefully some nice ids in there somewhere! (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

DJIBOUTI 4780 1738 17 August 06. A big disappointment so far. A new ute has parked right on frequency and is heard all day long on both side bands ruining the previous excellent reception. Finally heard well enough in a local language, but not an enjoyable experience! Didn't stick around for an id. Wonder if this ute is heard in North America or beyond Europe? (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

KYRGYZSTAN 4010.06 1749 17 August 06. Kyrgyz Radio 1st hs program heard very well here. Good reception with local talk in presumed Kyrkyz. Occ cw on LSB so USB best to use. // to 4795 at same or sl lower level. They sign-off at 1759 with announcement also in Russian, I believe and into NA. I retuned them at 2340 at which time Bishkek is heard at very good levels, while 4795 was only poor to fair. Mostly EZL music and announcements in Kyrgyz. I left the mp3 running until 0152 to review later. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

RUSSIA 5965 1800 17 August 06. Found Radio Radonezh here with s/on and ID. This is an Orthodox service that sounds very right wing. Fair to good with some transmmitter blips. Also announce 1296 not heard. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

BULGARIA 5775 1901 17 August 06. IRRS with site presumed. Radio 6 International, Scotland program at excellent levels. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk
Ukraine)

INDIA 4860 1920 17 August 06 AIR Urdu Service at very strong level until sign-off at 1930. One of the strongest on 60 meters at this time. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

BOTSWANA 4930 1922 17 August 06. VOA in English with good reception over presumed Turkmen R. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

UGANDA 4976 1924 17 August 06. Red Channel of Radio Uganda at fair/good
reception. Better than their Blue channel on 5026. I taped the rest of the hour for later monitoring. African high-life music at 1958. OC at 1959 and nothing further. Darn! They seemed to come back with a very distorted signal a few minutes later, so must have had a transmitter fault at the worst moment! A welcome logging as east Africa is very difficult if not impossible to hear in WCNA. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

MONGOLIA 4895 2141 17 August 06. Mongolian Radio heard with better results compared to the previous night. Sometimes at almost very good level. S7 to S9 signal. Confirmed that Russian NOT heard at 2300. All 3 frequencies remained in Mongolian. ie 4895, 4830, and 7260. 7260 heard after 2200 only and is the weakest, it seems. The m/w/f Russian schedule at 0000 to 0010 fits, kind of, since in summer this would equate to 2300 to 2310 as I heard the first night, and remains m/w/f. Will check tonight if possible again. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

TURKMENISTAN 5015 2308 S9 + 10 signal with Turkmen Radio 1st hs programme in Turkmen with listed 20 kw. A very powerful signal here. Many mentions of Turkmenistan and Turkmen. I returned at 0152 on August 18th to hear an exceptionally strong signal with repeated mentions of Asgabat. These were ads. At 0200 4 + 1 time pips, and into news in Turkmen. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

PHILIPPINES 15510 0204 18 August 06 Radio Filipinas. Fair signal in the clear with English news. // of 11885 is just barely audible under a cochannel. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

BRAZIL 4885 0217 18 August 06. Probably Radio Club do Pora with fair to good reception in Portuguese with repeated mentions of Pora. Strongest Brazilian heard here so far. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

BRAZIL 4985 0221 18 August 06. Presumed Radio Brasil Central at fair/good level. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

CUBA 5025 0223 18 August 06. Radio Rebelde with a long winded Spanish program. Excellent reception. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

COSTA RICA 5030.04 0225 18 August 06. Dr. Gene Scott's University Network heard at fair level with his usual programming. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

ZAMBIA 4960 0246 18 August 06. The Voice with an S9 to S9 + 10 signal with inspirational hymns in English. Lots of static crashes, though. USB has a ute, but LSB in the clear. Absolutely no sign of ZNBC, so wonder if they have left SW for good? (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

RUSSIA 6160 0251 18 August 06. An absolutely impossible channel to monitor in Victoria. Weakly heard, presumably Arkhangelsk in Russian at fair level with Radio Rossii ID at 0300. Lots of splash from 6165 so fair level at best. Nothing local heard here, just the network feed. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

Final comments: I tried a bandscan on the MW band looking for north American MW stations, but not a peep yet. Vlad tells me this starts up within the month. A huge thank you to Vlad for his incredible hospitality once again. A DXer of the highest caliber in all respects, but get that loose coax connection fixed ;-) OM! We had the most enjoyable late evening using his WinRadio 383e which he ably demonstrated to me....got to get one of those. The DRM feature was of great interest to me. Even here in Europe. I was less than impressed with the technical limitations of the system.
With a strong signal it still took perhaps 15 seconds to lock on, sync, and start demodulating. Although the results then can be superb...fm quality from Luxembourg for example, I can't imagine the average listener being patient enough with this system. Will it ever catch on....me thinks that this may go the route of USB on SW. Remember that fiasco? Perhaps I'm overly pessimistic. Let's hope so. Time to head to Dnipropetrovsk to pick up my younger brother, and off to visit family in Donetsk. Cheers for now!..........Walt Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine, but usually in Victoria, Canada.

Blog Logs - focus on Russia

Here's a quick focus on recent loggings for Russia. What are you hearing?
Gayle VH

RUSSIA 5965 R. Radonezh on Aug 10 at *1700-1706 UT. 44444 Russian, 1700
UT sign on with opening mx, ID, Music.
(Kouji Hashimoto-JPN, JPNpremium Aug 18)

5965 at 1800 UT on 17 August 06. Found Radio Radonezh here with sign-on
and ID. This is an Orthodox sce that sounds very right wing. Fair to good
with some tx blips. Also announce 1296 not heard.
(Volodya Salmaniw-UKR, DXplorer Aug 18)

5965 IRK 250kW 290degr, 1700-1900 UT.

15660 Tensae Ethiopia V.of Unity Aug 10 *1500-1516 35443 Amharic,
1500 sign on with opening mx, ID, Opening announce, Talk,
(Kouji Hashimoto-JPN, JPNpremium Aug 18)

250 kW 188degr Armavir-RUS.

Hier sind einige Logs von 18.8. von DW Relays in Kasachstan und im Fernen
Osten Russlands.

7420 kHz DW Almaty um 2333 UTC in D. SINPO 23332
11830 kHz DW Komsomolsk-na-Amure um 2259 UTC (s/on) in Chin. SINPO 24332
11965 kHz DW Irkutsk um 2336 UTC in D. SINPO 34333
15135 kHz DW Tchita um 2318 UTC in E. O=2-1
(Patrick Robic-AUT, A-DX Aug 19)

7250 Degar Voice on Aug 15 at 1325-1329* UT. 43443 Vietnamese, Talk and
mx, 1329 IS, 1329 UT sign off.
(Kouji Hashimoto-JPN, JPNpremium Aug 18)
(WWDXC Top News)

Additional freq for Radio Taiwan International

Additional frequency for Radio Taiwan International in Chinese: 1400-1500 on 7520 (45444)
(R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, via wwdxc BC-DX Aug 15/WWDXC Top News)

Correspondence to Radio Taiwan International may be sent to:
P.O. Box 24-777
Taipei 10651
Taiwan, People’s Republic of China
(or) 55 Pei An Road Taipei 104
Taiwan, People’s Republic of China
Link to reception reports: http://english.rti.org.tw/customerservice/ReceptionForm.aspx
GVH

DTK-T Systems frequency revisions

The following frequency revisions are effective via DTK-T Systems in Jülich, Germany.

Germany/United Kingdom
Pan American Broadcasting (from August 5)
1400-1415 Sat. 15205 (to the Middle East) (NAU)

CVC International (from August 21)
1200-1500 13830 (to Europe) (JUL) in English, cancelled
1500-1700 13800 (to Europe) (JUL) in English, cancelled
(R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, via wwdxc BC-DX Aug 15/WWDXC Top News)

13620 Minivan Radio via DTK Aug 10 *1600-1606 33432-34433 Vernacular, 1600
sign on with R.Miami International ID, 1600 IS, ID, Talk.
(Kouji Hashimoto-JPN, JPNpremium Aug 18/WWDXC Top News)

Minivan Radio is a clandestine station opposed to the present government and promotes human rights in the Maldives. It is relayed via Radio Miami International. Correspondence with return postage may be sent to:
Shortwave Radio Station Jülich-T Systems International
Rundfunksendestelle Jülich
Merscher Höehe D-52428 Jülich
Germany

(or) WRMI Radio Miami International
c/o Jeff White
175 Fontainebleau Blvd, Suite 1N4
Miami, FL 33172 USA

Striking teachers occupy Oaxaca radio stations

Gunmen shot at a radio station occupied by striking teachers yesterday, prompting protesters to blockade streets, set buses on fire and take over radio stations in the southern Mexican city of Oaxaca. The early morning attack, which injured one person, was the latest in a series that has killed four protesters in recent weeks. Protesters demanding the resignation of Oaxaca state Governor Ulises Ruiz responded by blocking streets in the historic city centre with buses, setting some on fire. They also took over 12 private radio stations they consider hostile to their cause. Others blockaded bus terminals and gas stations and about 2,000 marched through the city streets. The teachers also ignored pleas to end their strike on Monday, the first day of the new school year.
1. Mexico has been engulfed in a political crisis since leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador narrowly lost a July 2 presidential vote and accused his conservative rival of fraud. The teachers’ strike predates the election but Ruiz has charged Obrador’s party of having links to the protesters. Some 40,000 teachers, who are also striking for higher pay, have been joined by Indian groups and students. The conflict has severely damaged tourism to the region. Last month, Oaxaca’s annual Guelaguetza fiesta of music, food and dancing was canceled when protesters set fire to the festival stage and barricaded tourists into their hotels.
(Source: Reuters/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Blog Logs-Ukrainian DXpedition

One of my regular contributors, Walt Salmaniw, of Victoria, Canada, recently shared his loggings from a trip to Kremenchuk Ukraine. In following blogs I'll post additional loggings. Thanks very much Walt....now that's what I need.....a DXpedition to wrap up this long hot summer!
Gayle VH

Greetings from beautiful Ukraine, from Vlad Titarev's Dx Palace! Spent a very late evening dxing the tropical bands, etc and have a few interesting observations.

CUBA 6000 03:47 16 August 2006. Tuned into RHC to hear Arnie Coro's DXers
Unlimited at surprisingly good level with an S9 + 10 signal. Thought I might here their 05 to 07 transmission to ECNA but nothing heard on 11760 except BBCWS nor 6060. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

RUSSIA 9690 0623 16 August. Tatarstan Wave. Always interesting to me to
monitor this station from Samara. Sign's on always at 10 minutes past the hour with a single IS, then ID in Tatar, then the IS again once, and ID in Russian. Most programming is in Tatar, although today, Thursday August 17th at same time, virtually the entire broadcast was in Russian when I checked at 0620. Superb signal. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

ASCENSION IS. 9525 0704 16 August. Star Radio at very good level with English news. ID at 0710. The evening broadcast is apparently cancelled. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

NIGERIA 15120 1740 16 August. Voice of Nigeria finally has it right! Very
powerful signal with excellent modulation and in the clear with English
business news, and then the news about Nigeria program from 1742. I hope they keep it up! Interesting local perspectives too. A rarity from Africa these days, so I hope they keep it up. Heard also at 0604 on 17 August with S9 + 20 signal over a relatively strong CC station cochannel. Where's the freq coordination? (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

ETHIOPIA 5500 1749 16 August Voice of Tigray Revolution. Very good reception with Horn of Africa music. // of 6350 mostly covered by ute traffic (the latter is very much more present in Ukraine then on the WCNA). (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

INDIA 3365 1821 16 August AIR Delhi with very good strength with Indian music. Best in LSB. Why doesn't the WRTH nor PWBR list these? Vlad immediately ID'd this for me. Thanks! (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)


NIGER 9705.0 2148 16 August La Voix du Sahel. Another welcome African. Very well heard here the entire evening. African music until 2150, then drums for more than a minute, and ID in French, mentioning a special program. S9 + 30 signal and great modulation. Hope they stay. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

AUSTRALIA 4835 2155 16 August. VL8A ABC Alice Springs. Don't normally hear the 60 m Northern Service Aussies in Victoria, and quite a dx catch here in Ukraine. Have to use LSB to avoid the Peruvian on 4835.4. Good morning heard, and ABC ID just before ToH. Improved over the next half-hour. Fair signal. Parallel to 4910 VL8T Tennant Creek, but poor under cochannel. Katherine not heard, though. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

TAJIKISTAN 4635 2220 16 August. Tajik Radio 1 is the most powerful 60 meter signal here from CIS countries. Presumed Tajik with mentions of George Bush, terrorism, the BBC, and Jimmy Carter. They once broadcast frequently in Russian, but no more. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

NIGERIA 4770 2226 16 August Radio Nigeria Kaduna. An S9 signal but distorted with overmodulation, so virtually impossible to follow. A sick transmitter it seems. Reminds me of Radio Son La in Vietnam! (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

TIBET 4820 2230 16 August Xizang PBS in Lhasa is very well heard, as are most of the 60 m Chinese stations. Chinese here with Very good signals. Also Tibetan on 4905 and 4920 at 2247. CNR on 4800 in Chinese is exceptionally powerful too at this time. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

MONGOLIA 4830 2232 16 August Mongolian Radio HS2. My most interesting 60 m logging. Very martial sounding music a la Pyongyang, but the language is totally different. Not at all oriental sounding. Hints of slavic words but unlike anything else. Vlad says it sounds Kazakh to him. To me it's very similar to Tatar, which makes sense, I suppose. Fair to good at times with a solid S7 signal. // to 4895 which at times is more powerful and 7260 which also is well heard except for adjacent splatter. All in parallel initially, but when rechecked at 2302, 4830 and 7260 were in Russian, but not 4895. I could not find anything showing a Russian transmission at this time. By 2310, then reverted to HS2 programming, again all in //. I'll keep an eye on this during the days to come (although very late at night here!). (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

MAURITANIA 4845 2236 16 August Radio Mauritania at "nuisance levels" with Arabic programming. The most powerful (and one of few) 60 m Africans remaining. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

BRAZIL 4885 2238 16 August. Brazilian stations start to fade in about this time, while most of South America is still in daylight. I didn't stick around to ID which of the 3 Brazilian stations this one was. Fair level. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

EQUATORIAL GUINEA 5005.0 2251 Racio Nacional, Bata. Good to very good
reception with African high-life music with a hint of Latin influence it seems. Non-stop until 2258 and directly into the NA through to 2300. I recall hearing this one regularly at excellent levels in France a few years back. (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

UKRAINE (non) 11980 0600 Despite reports of the flea-powered hobby station, Dniprovska Khvylia (Dnipro wave), not a peep has been heard from them. I did hear a brief oc this morning at 0558, but this lasted all of 30 seconds or so. Vlad tells me this may be a weekend only station as is located in or near Zaporyzhia. I'll report if I hear them...one of my goals of this visit! (Salmaniw, Kremenchuk Ukraine)

That's it for now from sunny and warm Kremenchuk, Ukraine. Tomorrow evening I'm off to Dontetsk and a village in Luhansk oblast in the very south-east of the country. Towards the end of the month I'll be in the west. Will try to report as I can. By the way, receiver used was Vlad's AOR 7030. Recorded on an external mp3 recorder. Antenna either a inverted L or his K9AY. City location. RF is much worse than 4 years ago, especially on MW during the day making this band virtually unuseable. Sign of the times, I suppose.

Freq revisions-China Radio International

The following edited frequency revisions from China Radio International, should extend until the October seasonal frequency adjustments. We begin with English.
Gayle VH

China Radio International

1500-1557 English 9800 (JIN 500kW) ex 9785

1000-1057 Chinese 9890 (XIA 500kW) ex 9740
1030-1127 Indonesian 7605 (KUN 500kW) ex 11700
1100-1157 Russian 9890 (XIA 500kW) ex 9740
1400-1457 Russian 9525 (SZG 500kW) ex 9450 to avoid Voice of Russia DRM
1500-1557 English 9800 (JIN 500kW) ex 9785
1500-1557 Hausa 7170 (BKO 100kW) ex0800-0857 on same
1500-1557 Persian 9570 (KUN 500kW) ex 6165
1600-1657 Arabic 17735 (BKO 100kW) ex 17880
1600-1757 Arabic 13790 (KAS 500kW) co-ch Deutsche Welle DRM
1630-1727 Hausa 9620 (KAS 500kW) ex 1830-1857 on same
1630-1727 Hausa 9655 (KUN 500kW) ex 1830-1857 11730
1900-1957 Czech 9760 (XIA 500kW) ex 7150
1900-1957 Romanian 6090 (BEI 500kW) ex 6145 to avoid Korean BS
1900-1957 Russian 7245 (XIA 500kW) ex 6100
(R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, via wwdxc BC-DX Aug 15/WWDXC Top News)

R Netherlands changes beam headings

To improve reception in India, as of 19 August 2006 the beam of the 1400-1600 UTC Radio Netherlands English transmission from Madagascar on 11835 kHz has been changed from 050 to 035 degrees.

(Source: R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Lanzarote Island ARO operations

EA8, CANARY ISLANDS. Frank, DH5JG, will be operating as EA8/DH5JG from
Lanzarote Island (AF-004, DIE S-007) from August 30th until September 12th.
Activity will be on 40-10 meters including the WARC bands. Modes will be CW,
SSB and RTTY/PSK31. He will also participate in the upcoming IARU Region 1
SSB Field Day and WAEDC SSB Contest. QSL via DH5JG by the bureau (DARC).
(Source: Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin # 772) (Photo courtesy of LanzaroteIsland.com)

DRM Chairman: Market to decide survival of digital system

Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union, August 14th:
With so many digital distribution systems available these days, the market will eventually decide which systems are economically viable and which will survive, Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) Chairman, Peter Senger, told broadcasters today.

Speaking at the ABU Digital Radio Convention, Mr Senger, who is also the DRM Director of DW-Germany, said budget limitations made it very difficult for broadcasters to use every new system and decide later which ones to keep.

He said systems such as Eureka-147 DAB, DRM, HD Radio and DVB-H all had their respective advantages, and their usage should not be uniform among broadcasters across the Asia-Pacific region.

Another approach to going digital, Mr Senger added, was to look for the digital replacement of existing analogue networks and operate them for some time in parallel or simulcast mode.

The analogue system would be later switched off when a certain market penetration had been reached.

"The savings in full digital mode can finance the higher operational costs
during transition and the investments," he said.

Full report:
http://tinyurl.com/ltex3
(via Mike Barraclough-UK, Aug 15/WWDXC Top News)

Voice of Vietnam broadcast first M'Nong ethnic language

Text of report in English by Vietnamese news agency VNA website

Dak Lak: Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) launched its first broadcast in the MÆNong ethnic language on 19 August. The MÆNong-language broadcast, the eleventh service of the VOV for ethnic minority groups, will be aired six times a day at 6020KHz SW (short wave), AM and FM. The 30 minute-broadcast will discuss local social-economic development and provide cultural programmes for MÆNong ethnic people.

The service is expected to help preserve the language and cultural characteristics of the Central HighlandsÆ ethnic group. VOV airs programmes in seven other Central HighlandÆs ethnic languages including Ede, Jrai, Bana, Sedang, KÆHo, HÆMong and Thai.

(Source: VNA news agency website, Hanoi, in English 20 Aug 06 via BBC Monitoring/R Netherlands Media Network weblog)

Illegal Pakistani radio broadcast causing violence

Illegal radio stations in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province were preaching religious militancy and sectarian hatred, a senior official said on Monday. Scores of illegal FM stations are broadcasting in NWFP and in the restive, semi-autonomous tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, and some have been accused of fanning violence. ”We are taking this issue very seriously. Because some stations are creating problems with their hate material which promotes violence,” said Gul Bacha Wazir, the provincial interior secretary.

This year at least 26 people have been killed in clashes between factions led by Muslim clerics in a tribal area after one of the clerics used a radio station to incite his followers to attack families loyal to a rival. Militants and clerics sympathetic to the Taliban and al Qaeda have also been making anti-government broadcasts, often using mobile units that can reach over an area of up to 15 km (10 miles). Pakistan’s Electronic Media Regulating Authority has also been taking action against illegal radio stations and has closed down about 150 of them in the past six months.

“We need to do more. As we don’t have regulation authority in many areas of the NWFP and tribal areas and can’t operate without the help of local authorities,” said the authority’s spokesman, Mohammad Saleem. Wazir said provincial authorities had asked the central government to give them more powers that would allow police to take direct action against illegal stations.

(Source: Reuters/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Moldovan Broadcasting Code takes effect

The Broadcasting Code that was adopted by the Moldovan Parliament at the end of the spring session took effect on August 18. The Code stipulates the juridical bases for regulating, conceiving, broadcasting and/or retransmitting the programmes of the broadcasters that are under Moldova’s jurisdiction through radio and television stations.

Under the Code, the Broadcasting Coordinating Council (BCC) will be formed of nine members selected by the parliamentary commission on education, culture and mass media at the proposal of nongovernmental organizations, trade unions and employers. The Parliament is to confirm the candidacies. The national public broadcaster, the company “Teleradio-Moldova”, will be headed by the president of the Company and directors of the national radio station and television station. The Observers Council, composed of nine members elected by the BCC and confirmed by the Parliament, will monitor the activity of the Company.

The notion of local public broadcaster was reintroduced in the new Code on European experts’ recommendations. Therefore, “Teleradio-Moldova” has the right to set up territorial offices. The radio and TV stations operating in Chisinau must accept the variant of becoming territorial offices or they will be privatized.

The Code is one of the documents that Moldova promised the Council of Europe to adopt.

(Source: Moldova Azi/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Koreasat-5 to launch tomorrow

KT, South Korea’s largest fixedline and broadband operator, said today that it will send its fourth commercial satellite into orbit from the Pacific Ocean this week, marking the nation’s first satellite launch from the open sea. Koreasat-5 will be launched at 12:27 p.m. Tuesday from an area south of Hawaii. The launch will be controlled by an assembly and command ship and a launch platform ship, KT said.

The satellite will replace the Koreasat-2 satellite in providing wireless communications and broadcasting services, the company said. Unlike previous KT satellites that helped telecommunications in local areas, Koreasat- 5 will cover other Asian countries, including Japan, China, the Philippines and Taiwan. The satellite will start its service after four months of testing, it added.

(Source: Yonhap/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

RTE-Radio 1 warns staff to expect further changes

20 August 2006 By Catherine O’Mahony
The new boss of RTE Radio 1 has said that her staff should be prepared for further changes, because innovation is now the station’s ruling principle.

The new boss of RTE Radio 1 has said that her staff should be prepared for further changes, because innovation is now the station’s ruling principle.

With a thorough overhaul of the station’s weekday line-up complete, further changes are likely for its weekend schedule. The first change, according to informed sources, will be the introduction of an hour-long Desert Island Discs-style programme fronted by Eamon Dunphy at 9am on Saturdays.

This show has not yet been officially confirmed but Dunphy is on board and RTE sources said the timing had been decided. Ruth Buchanan’s Playback programme will then run at 10am.

‘‘Staying the same is not an option,” said Radio 1’s director Ana Leddy in an interview with The Sunday Business Post. ‘‘We’re in an ongoing phase – at this point – of innovation. Once you change one thing, it’s almost like a domino effect. Things start to become organic.”

Leddy, who joined Radio 1 last February, said she planned to focus this autumn on bedding in the many changes she has implemented to the weekday schedule, in a bid to maintain Radio 1’s dominant position in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

The changes include the loss of daily afternoon arts programme, Rattlebag, and the addition of a new two-hour music and magazine show presented by Derek Mooney.

Responding to the charge that she had let down arts lovers by abandoning the arts show, Leddy said that this was not the case.

‘‘One thing is sure, you can’t please all the people all the time. There is more arts coverage in the schedule than we’ve ever had before. We’re just doing it differently,” she said referring to a new daily arts show at 11pm, plus coverage in other shows.

‘‘Our brief is to engage the widest possible audience. There’s a wealth of material emanating from the arts that we cover throughout the broadcast day that guarantees exposure to a wide audience.”

(Source: Sunday Business Post Online-The Post Ie.)

African broadcasting union to be revamped and renamed

The Union of National Radio & Television Organisations of Africa (URTNA) will undergo a total revamp of its structure and operations, following approval by the union’s Administrative Council meeting in Dakar, Senegal, last week.
The Administrative Council also proposed that URTNA change its name to the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB). However, this matter will be debated during the union’s General Assembly in November.
URTNA will also finalise the location of its headquarters during the General Assembly. Its operation centres such as Afro-Vision, which suspended operations from 1 April, will be transferred to the new location.
The revamp will also see the General Assembly meeting annually, instead of once every two years. The post of Secretary-General will also be replaced with Chief Executive Officer.
Other changes include forming an Executive Council of nine members to replace the Administrative Council. Those making up the new executive board are the President, three Vice-Presidents, the CEO and others from geographical zones not already represented by the top five posts.
Four directors will be appointed to assist the CEO. They will be in charge of Training and Technology; Programmes; Marketing, Sales and Communication; and Finance and Administration.
“Membership of the union will be made up of African public and private broadcasting organisations, broadcasting organisations of Africans in the diaspora as well as broadcasting organisations outside the continent,” said Kevin Ejiofor, the Administrative Council Chairman.

(Source: ABU/Md. Azizul Alam Al-Amin, Bangladesh)

Radio Netherlands Program Preview August 19-25

Welcome to our weekly guide to Radio Netherlands' English Service - a list of the new programmes coming up on Radio Netherlands this week, beginning on Saturday.

SATURDAY 19 AUGUST
*** Weekend Connection ***
Every Saturday, the Newsline team brings you Weekend Connection, with thought-provoking reports on the issues making headlines in the Netherlands, Europe and beyond.

It's a lively mix of local colour and "the big picture". One week you might hear how Dutch farmers are doing their part to combat bird flu, the next week it's about the worldwide attempt to punish crimes against humanity. Big or small, Weekend Connection covers it all!
Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (Australia/Asia/Far East), 12.00 (Eastern N America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00 (Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 05.00 (Western N America & New Zealand)

*** Vox Humana ***
"Song of a Troubled Heart"

After a series of tragic events in 1907, Gustav Mahler composed Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), a "song symphony" in six movements for tenor, alto and orchestra. With texts based on 8th century Chinese poetry, he called it his "most personal composition."

In the summer of 1910 Mahler, still suffering from deep depression, travelled to The Netherlands to meet with Dr Sigmund Freud. They spent an afternoon walking around Leiden. But did the Doctor help the Composer?

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (Australia/Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern N America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)
Repeated: Sun 1430 (South Asia), Sun 1900 (N America, Africa)

SUNDAY 20 AUGUST
*** World Wide Jazz Sessions ***
Amsterdam Forum and Dutch Extra are taking a summer break and will be back on Sunday 10 September. While host Sarah Johnson prepares for a new season, join resident jazz expert Hans Mantel on Sundays for a celebration of some of the best in world wide jazz.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.45 (Australia/Asia/Far East), 11.45 (Eastern N America), 15.45(South Asia), 18.45 & 20.45 (Africa), 00.40 (Eastern N America), 01.40 (Central N America), 04.40 (Western N America), 06.40 (New Zealand), 0740 (Australia)


MONDAY 21 AUGUST
*** Newsline ***

The latest world news and current affairs.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.00 (Eastern N America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00 (Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 04.00 (Western N America), 06.00 (New Zealand), 07.00 (Australia)

*** The Research File ***
We're in for a sweet surprise as Research File investigates the healing powers of honey and how it could serve as an alternative for antibiotics.

Ballast water in ships is often a soup of unwanted invasive species. We meet a team from Delft who have invented a ballast free ship.

And a look at the rare phenomenon of intersexuality - when children are born as neither boy nor girl. We'll be looking at how gender is selected in the womb and what happens when this selection process goes awry.
That's all on this week's Research File with Marnie Chesterton.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern N America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)
Repeated: Thurs 1500 (South Asia), Thurs 1900 (Africa)

TUESDAY 22 AUGUST
*** Newsline ***

The latest world news and current affairs.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.00 (Eastern N America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00 (Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 04.00 (Western N America), 06.00 (New Zealand), 07.00 (Australia)

*** EuroQuest ***
"Man's Best Buddy"

The Dutch Burger Buddy project pairs those in power with those on the street, in the hope that small personal contacts will help further understanding.

The peoples of the modern and extraordinarily affluent Norwegian town of Longyearbyen and the poor Russian mining town of Barentsburg have overcome economic and political barriers through an exchange of culture.

Dolphins can help children with Down's syndrome and autism to concentrate and develop cognitive and social skills. A Dutch project has begun to prove the effectiveness of this 'dolphin-aided' therapy.

For many people, nothing is too expensive, too rare or too good for their beloved pets. So when it's time to take that well-earned break, why not send your canine surrogate child on a holiday of its own.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern N America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)
Repeated: Thurs 1500 (South Asia), Thurs 1900 (Africa)
Repeated: Mon 1500 (South Asia), Mon 1900 (Africa)


WEDNESDAY 23 AUGUST
*** Newsline ***

The latest world news and current affairs.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.00 (Eastern N America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00 (Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 04.00 (Western N America), 06.00 (New Zealand), 07.00 (Australia)

*** The Weekly Documentary ***
"Families in China"

As part of this summer's theme of family on Radio Netherlands, this week's documentary goes to China - where family life has undergone radical change since the founding of the People's Republic.

The country's famous one-child policy, for example, has had a deep effect on Chinese society. We speak with some of the children born after the policy was introduced who have now just reached adulthood and themselves are of an age to marry and have children.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern N America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)
Repeated: Thurs 1500 (South Asia), Thurs 1900 (Africa)
Repeated: Mon 1500 (South Asia), Mon 1900 (Africa)


THURSDAY 24 AUGUST
*** Newsline ***

The latest world news and current affairs.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.00 (Eastern N America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00 (Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 04.00 (Western N America), 06.00 (New Zealand), 07.00 (Australia)

*** Dutch Horizons ***
In the Netherlands, children are practically born swimming. Just like the other Dutch national sports such as skating and cycling, kids pick it up at a very young age. In highly-organised lessons with a focus not just on safety but also on fun, swimming is taught well. The approach is a huge success: ninety-five percent of all Dutch children can swim.

This week in Dutch Horizons, Liesbeth de Bakker dives into the water with a bunch of kids and looks into the longstanding Dutch tradition of swimming lessons for children.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern N America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)
Repeated: Thurs 1500 (South Asia), Thurs 1900 (Africa)
Repeated: Mon 1500 (South Asia), Mon 1900 (Africa)


FRIDAY 25 AUGUST
*** Newsline ***

The latest world news and current affairs.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.00 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.00 (Eastern N America), 14.00 & 15.30(South Asia), 18.00, 19.30 & 20.30 (Africa), 00.00 (Eastern N America), 01.00 (Central N America), 04.00 (Western N America), 06.00 (New Zealand), 07.00 (Australia)

*** A Good Life ***
In a World Water Week special we look at a project trying to reduce the impact of adventure tourism on Nepal. The Everest region is suffering under the weight of trekking rubbish, including water bottles and oxygen canisters.

To see how the problem can be solved Radio New Zealand's Robyn Cubie goes to Annapurna region, where a large conservation park has been established and safe drinking water stations mean few bottles enter the area in the first place. This programme is part of our international broadcasting collaboration - Crossing Boundaries.

Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 10.27 (SE Asia/Far East), 11.27 (Eastern N America), 14.30 (South Asia), 18.27 & 20.00 (Africa), 00.27 (Eastern N America), 01.27 (Central N America), 04.27 (Western N America), 06.27 (New Zealand), 07.27 (Australia)
Repeated: Thurs 1500 (South Asia), Thurs 1900 (Africa)
Repeated: Mon 1500 (South Asia), Mon 1900 (Africa)
Repeated: Tues 1500 (S Asia), Tues 1900 (Africa)

(Source: R. Netherlands)

Blog Logs - focus on India

Here's a glimpse of what's being heard from All India Radio, from DSWCI's DX Window. Don't forget we always welcome logs, either English or non-English from any shortwave station in any country. Send me your logs via email, and let all of us know what you're hearing on the bands!
GVH

All India Radio
3223.0 AIR Shimla, 1715-1721, Indian film songs and Vernacular ann. It was found off at 1731. Fair in general. Degraded mostly by static and local noise. Faint CW-QRM. Others 90m AIR stations been heard: 3315 and 3365. (Titarev in Dxplorer)

3223, 3315, 3365, 3390 and 3945 are still going strong. (Van Delft in India)

4760, AIR Leh, one Saturday I heard them opening at 1300. (Van Delft in NW India)

5050, AIR Aizawl not heard evenings. (Van Delft in India)

6000, AIR Leh. From a location in NW India, where I could listen just briefly, I noticed it at local noon. (Van Delft)

While touring Eastern Uttar Pradesh and Western Bihar recently, I checked which domestic AIR stations I could receive in full daylight on 6 and 7 MHz. I used my Sony ICF-7600G, only with its 1 m. telescopic antenna:
5985 Ranchi (poor modulation and strong hum)
6020 Shimla
6030 Delhi (Uttaranchal Progr.)
6040 Jeypore
6150 Itanagar
6190 Delhi (Northern Service)
6195 Lucknow, weak and // 7105 (a spurious product generated by the transmitter or my receiver)
7105 Lucknow // 6195
7115 Port Blair (weak with fading, not heard daily)
7120 Jaipur
7130 Shillong
7140 Hyderabad (often mixing with China Business R or ousted by them)
7150 Imphal
7160 Chennai
7180 Bhopal
7195 Mumbai (FM Gold Service // Chennai 7270)
7210 Kolkota (sometimes slightly drifting down)
7230 Kurseong (opening at 0720, news in E at 0730)
7240 Mumbai (now and then Lhasa was dominating this channel)
7250 Gorakhpur
7270 Chennai (FM Gold Service // Mumbai 7195)
7290 Thiruvananthapuram (weak and not heard daily)
7295 Aizawl. (Van Delft in India)

7195, AIR Mumbai, was lately noted on 7190. It was corrected to 7195 within a minute after my telephone call to the station yesterday afternoon. (Jacob, Jul 28)

7360, AIR Chennai Home Service (100 kW), *0130-0430*, Jul 28, AIR FM Gold in Tamil (ex 7270, AIR FM Gold in Hindi). (Jacob)

Some external services of AIR in the 41 mb are at present:
To Sri Lanka:
0000-0045 7360 Chennai Tamil 100 kW
0045-0115 7360 Chennai Sinhala 100 kW
1000-1100 7270 Chennai English 100 kW
1115-1215 7270 Chennai Tamil 100 kW
1300-1500 7270 Chennai Sinhala 100 kW. (Jacob, Jul 28)

These AIR frequencies are dropped/not heard:
7270 100 kW Chennai 0700-1330 1430-1740 (AIR FM Gold)
7275 100 kW Chennai 0025-0430 (AIR FM Gold)
7360 100 kW Delhi (Kingsway) 0700-1330 (AIR FM Gold)
9820 250 kW Panaji 1300-1500 Sinhala (Sri Lanka). (Jacob Jul 30)

(DX Window # 304)

Media program Spotlight-Amateur Radio

Whether you're a "ham", considering becoming one, or a die-hard shortwaver, here is a media program via WBCQ on shortwave radio that should appeal to each of you.

This Week in Amateur Radio is a program broadcasting twice a week covering news of interest for radio amateurs and shortwave listeners.

This Week in Amateur Radio in on 7415 kHz on Saturday at 2000 UTC, and Sunday on 7415 at 2100 UTC. Looking for one more? The Real Amateur Radio Show can be heard on 7415 Friday's at 2100 UTC.

Next Spotlight, I'll focus on another media program to keep you informed on the radio hobby!

(Source: schedule/Media Program/ODXA Listening In/Aug 06)

Non-English Frequency Revisions

The following non-English frequency revisions, should extend until the October B-06 schedule updates.
GVH

Radio Free Asia
1400-1500 11595 Cantonese (ex 9780, 11715)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - Radio Farda
1900-2000 7580 Persian (ex 9760 to avoid China R Intl in Czech)
2000-2100 7580 Persian (ex 9760 to avoid China R Intl in Czech)
2000-2100 5830 Persian (ex 7190 to avoid China R Intl in English)
2100-2130 5830 Persian (ex 7190 to avoid China R Intl in English)
2100-2130 7580 Persian (ex 9960)

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty - Radio Free Afghanistan
(additional frequencies)
0230-0300 11820 Pashto
0300-0330 11820 Pashto
0330-0400 11820 Dari
0400-0430 11820 Dari
0630-0700 17815 Pashto
0700-0730 17815 Pashto
0730-0800 17815 Dari
0800-0830 17815 Dari
0830-0900 17815 Pashto
0900-0930 17815 Pashto
0930-1000 17815 Dari
1000-1030 17815 Dari
1130-1200 11805 Dari
1200-1230 11805 Dari
1330-1400 11550 Dari
1400-1430 11550 Dari

Voice of America - Radio Ashna
(additional frequencies)
0030-0100 7590 Pashto
0100-0130 7590 Pashto
0130-0200 7590 Dari
0200-0230 7590 Dari
1430-1500 15090, 17840 Pashto
1500-1530 15090, 17840 Dari
1530-1600 15090, 17840 Pahto
1600-1630 15090, 17840 Pashto
1630-1700 15090, 17840 Dari
1700-1730 15090, 17840 Dari
1730-1800 11565, 17840 Pashto
1800-1830 11565, 17840 Dari
1830-1900 7590 Pashto
1900-1930 7590 Pashto
1930-2000 7590 Dari
2000-2030 7590 Dari

Voice of America
2030-2100 as 15185 (ex 15730) French
1500-1530 3750 (ex 13745) Hausa. Moved to avoid Gospel for Asia
2030-2100 mtwhf 15185 (ex 15730)

1730-1800 11925 (ex 11740) Persian. Moved to avoid Radio Cairo & BSKSA Saudi Arabia from 1800.
1800-1900 11925 (ex 11740) Persian. Moved to avoid Radio Cairo & BSKSA Saudi Arabia from 1800.
1900-1930 11925 (ex 11740) Persian. Moved to avoid Radio Cairo & BSKSA Saudi Arabia from 1800.
1930-2000 9530 (ex 9705)
1030-1045 17740 Turkish (ex 1030-1100 on 17670 to avoid China Radio Intl Cantonese service \\ 15205
1830-1900 11865, 15235 Turkish (retimed from former 1800-1900)
(DX Mix News, Bulgaria via D. Hadley, TN)