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Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Blog Logs


The following represent what shortwave DXers are hearing on the bands. Contributions are a sample from the latest Michigan Area Radio Enthusiasts newsletter. Thanks to the fine folks at MARE! We begin this edition with RAE-Argentina
Gayle VH

ARGENTINA: 11711 Radio al Exterior; 0220 SIO-343, classical music byKachaturian played by Buenos Aires orchestra, news items about Argen-tinian military attaches & participation in Cyprus and Haiti peace-keeping. (Racenis 13-JAN)
15400 BBCWS; 1042 SIO-242, Images & Culture of Japan interviews withJapanese performers, new 16 skyscraper development in BrooklynNY. (Racenis 14-JAN)

CANADA: 6160 CKZN St. Johns NL; 2112 SIO-222, maritime weather reportfor Gulf of St. Lawrence. (Racenis 12-JAN)

ECUADOR:3279 LV Del Napa (Tena): 0347-0352, 1-20; SS Ballads. Fair (Wood, TN)3279.7 La Voz del Napo(p); 0405 SIO-222. (Racenis 14-JAN)

GUATEMALA
4779.9 Radio Cultural Coatan; 1226 SIO-333, Buenas Dias pop jingleby woman, man talking in SP @1229, mentions of Barreros, timecheck @1230, ID @1231, RTTY QRM on LSB. (Racenis 14-JAN)

ISRAEL:6985 Kol Israel; 2036-2046+, 25-Jan; News in FF to ID/pips @2045, thennews in HB. SIO=453 (Frodge-MI))7545 Kol Israel; 2055, 25-Jan; M in HB & HB pop music //6985. SIO=534w/squeak QRM. (Frodge-MI)

LATVIA: 9290 Latvia Today Relay via Ulbroka; 1338-1400* SIO-232, W inEG with Latvia Today program about Latvian folk music, playing songs& discussing key elements, gave address & e-mail (Racenis 14-JAN)

NEW ZEALAND: 17675 RNZI; 2009 SIO-311, news, then Dateline Pacificwith reaction from Fiji government about controversial inaugurationafter military coup. (Racenis 12-JAN)NORTH


KOREA: 9335 Voice of Korea; 1330 SIO-322, military march fol-lowed by man babbling in EG about victory & great leader Kim Jong Il.(Racenis 14-JAN)


OMAN: 15140 Radio Oman; 1410 SIO-222, Michael Jackson pop song, womantalking in EG, chimes @1430, ID & local time check of 6:30. (JAN)

RUSSIA:6240 Voice of Russia (Armavir): 0329-0339, 1/20. YL/OM in English withnews followed by programs Stroll

SOUTH AFRICA
3345 Channel Africa (Meyerton): 0419, 1-20; Afropop music & YL ancrin English. Fair (Wood, TN)3345 Channel Africa; 0341 SIO-433, African folk song, then interviewwith Natal musician,

THAILAND: 9535 Radio Thailand; 2040 SIO-333, man talking in EG aboutHis Majesty the King of Thailand, abrupt off @2044, back on @2045 inlang with frequency anmt. (Racenis 12-JAN)


UKRAINE: 5820 Radio Ukraine Int’l; 0107 SIO-433, Ukrainian

ZAMBIA: 4965 The Voice; 2240-2250+, 23-Jan; End rlgs advice pgm; IDpromos @2241 & 2248; pop-style music. All n EE. SIO=322, LSB helpsw/swiper, covered by clatter burst @2242. (Frodge-MI)


ZIMBABWE: 3396 Zimbabwe BC; 0350 SIO-222, M&W talking in lang, choralanthem @0355, woman with anmts @0400, ID. (Racenis 14-JAN)

(Source: MARE Tip Sheet # 436)

DXers Unlimited mid-week edition Jan 30-31


Radio Havana Cuba Dxers UnlimitedBy Arnie Coro CO2KK
Hi amigos radioaficionados around the world and in space !
Welcome to the mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited that is reaching you when a geomagnetic disturbance may be making reception of this program a bit difficult for those of you located at latitudes above 40 degrees North ….
Yes, another high speed solar wind gust is the cause of this most recent disturbance and scientists are learning more and more about how to forecast the arrival of the stream of charged particles ejected from the solar corona…. More about HF plus low band VHF propagation conditions as always at the end of the program
Now here is item one:At the request of many Dxers Unlimited’s listeners is the very easy to understand description of the Inverted L antenna, and how you can install one at almost any location . Ready to copy, here is a Dxers Unlimited special …THE EVER-POPULAR INVERTED 'L' ANTENNAHave you ever wanted to install a shortwave receiving antenna FAST?!!! Then I am almost sure that you will want to learn more about the 'Inverted L' antenna... About the easiest effective skywire that you can try to build ...
Just two supports... they may be two masts, a mast and a tree, a mast and a nearby building... it need not be perfectly horizontal above ground... as a matter of fact if the inverted 'L' is installed in a slightly tilted angle, of around 20 to 30 degrees , it seems to work better for Dx signals.Although strictly speaking a true inverted L has the downlead connected to one end of the horizontal section... my version calls for connecting the downlead (a single wire) to a point about 20 percent from one end. So for a 20 meters long horizontal section, the down leg of the Inverted L is connected to a point four meters from one of the two ends, the one that is nearest to your listening post or amateur radio station.
The antenna should be connected to your receiver via an antenna tuner with a real wide matching margin. For a 10 to 15 meter horizontal section, strung between two masts of about 5 to 7 meters each, you may expect very nice performance on frequencies extending from about 6 to 30 megahertz."Don’t forget that this is an antenna that MUST, and I repeat MUST be used with an antenna tuner and a ground connection if you are going to transmit with it, but that will work OK when connected to a radio without the tuner, although , the difference between not using and using an antenna tuner is really outstanding …
Si amigos, yes my friends, the Inverted L one of the first antenas used by radio pioneers is still a very useable system that should be considered when you cannot access the center of a dipole for bringing down an open wire or a coaxial transmission line…I always keep my Inverted L antenna ready , and it has proven to be an excellent performer and also a very sturdy system under very high wind conditions, something that may not be said of my multiband dipole, that has broken down twice in the middle of a storm, while the Inverted L stood up like a champ and allowed my amateur radio station CO2KK to stay on the air providing much needed emergency communications relays during a hurricane several years ago.According to good engineering practice, your inverted L antenna must be made using at least number 12 copper wire, and care must be taken to bring in the downlead into the shack using a well designed trough wall insulating system.
Do remember that this antenna must work against a ground system, and the prefered option is to install several wire radials, cut to the lowest frequency band that you want to use .Any questions ? … Just send them to arnie at rhc dot cu, again arnie at rhc dot cu, and I will be more than happy to answer it as soon as possible to help you to install and begin to enjoy your Inverted L antenna very soon…
Si amigos, yes my friends…You are listening to Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited and here is our next item for today… it’s an e-mail from a listener , pointing at the fact that during the weekend edition of the program I said that FM broadcast stations used horizontal polarization, while he says that in the USA and in Canada too , FM stations use circular polarization to make reception possible for car radios that use a vertical antenna for picking up the signals.Well amigo, what I was trying to explain is that the YAGI antenas for receiving FM broadcasts are usually configured to receive the horizontally polarized component of the signal transmitted by the FM station, and so the boom of those antennas is drilled so that the clamp used to hold it to the mast will put the antenna with the elements parallel to the ground…that is to receive horizontally polarized radio waves.
So, when those antennas are modified to work on the 2 meters amateur band for operating on the FM mode , the boom must be drilled so that the antenna will have its elements in a vertical position, in order to be able to pick up the amateur radio signals using the FM mode that are vertically polarized….Ham stations doing weak signal work do operate using horizontal polarization, and they use the low edge of 2 meters for their long haul DX operations that include Earth Moon Earth communications, extended tropospheric propagation and sporadic E layer contacts…And another listener wrote also to ASK ARNIE, wanting to know how he could at least reduce the very high noise level that he is picking up on his short wave radio when his family is using the two desktop computers that they have. Well amigo Erik, as you told me during our e-mail exchange, one of the computers is located right next to your short wave radio, and I am almost sure that the very high speed microprocessor working in the microwave frequency range is not the cause of the interference.
I will recommend that you run a test using a liquid crystal display connected to the computer and then observe what happens to the noise level… In many situations like yours, the main cause of the high noise is the cathode ray tube monitor… Once the CRT monitor is replaced by a liquid crystal display screen, the noise level will go down dramatically. This is why radio amateurs have prefered using laptop or notebook computers for log keeping and the digital communications modes, because even older machines are less noisy than very up to date desktop ones that still use a CRT monitor…
Another very practical and easy to implement test is to homebrew a magnetic loop antenna and use it to cancel the main noise source, a technique that has proven to be very effective for short wave listeners and radio amateurs living in large apartment buildings…Do remember that higher operating frequencies will almost always be less noisy than the lower ones… That’s why radio amateurs that are apartment dwellers have good success operating on the VHF , UHF and Microwave bands… The same holds for VHF-UHF scanner enthusiasts that will be discouraged when trying to pick up DX on the AM broadcast band or the short wave bands, because of the high noise levels prevalent in large apartment buildings while noise in the VHF and UHF bands may be quite acceptable .………
And now as always at the end of the program, here is our exclusive and not copyrighted in the public domain, so that you may reproduce it anywhere for the benefit of the radio hobby enthusiasts… here is Arnie Coro’s Dxers Unlimited’s HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast… Solar flux around 90 units and Tuesday morning local time in Havana, almost at noon, that is 17 hours UTC the A index was at 42, yes 42, indicating geomagnetic storm conditions that as I said at the start of the program may be making reception of our station difficult at latitudes above 40 degrees North.
We may even see some Auroral Sporadic E openings in Northern Canada and Europe too. But conditions will slowly go back to normal by Wednesday. Hope to have you all listening to the weekend edition of the program next Saturday and Sunday UTC and don’t forget to set a little time aside to send me your signal report and comments about Dxers Unlimited, that certainly help to make it a better program the next time I am on the air amigos ¡
(Arnie Coro/R Havana)

Voice of America launches on cable in Nicaragua


TheUS Embassy in Nicaragua has sent out a press release announcing that, since December 2006, the cable company Estesa has been carrying Voice of America TV programming on channel 71. The same company already carries Telesur, the TV channel backed by President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, a close ally of Fidel Castro. The new President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, has pledged to maintain close relations with both the US and the leftist governments of Cuba and Venezuela. In the 1980’s, the US backed a guerilla war against Orrtega’s Sandinista government, but is now a major investment partner in Nicaragua.

(Source: R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

SES New Skies announces NSS-8 satellite launch failure


SES New Skies has announced the failure of the launch of NSS-8, the sixth satellite in its fleet, onboard a Zenith-3SL launch vehicle, and the resulting total loss of the satellite. SES New Skies says it is currently not in a position to comment on the possible causes of the mission failure and is awaiting the results of the official investigation which is in the process of being installed.
NSS-8 was built by Boeing, with launch services from the Odyssey Platform in the equatorial Pacific provided by Sea Launch. The spacecraft was intended to operate at SES New Skies orbital position of 57° East to replace the existing NS-703 satellite. The launch failure of NSS-8 means that NSS-703 will now stay at 57° East in order to continue to serve existing customers until at least 2009.
SES New Skies has already initiated the construction of NSS-9 for launch in 2009 into the Pacific Ocean Region. NSS-9 is intended to free up NSS-5 which in turn will then be free to relocate to 57° to replace NSS-703. The NSS-8 launch failure is thus not expected to have an impact on existing customers or revenues.
(Source: SES/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Radio Burkina cancels news due to lack of resources



Burkina Faso’s public radio station Radio Burkina cancelled its lunchtime news broadcast yesterday because it had run out of practically everything needed to make the programme. “We are unable to give you the news because of a lack of petrol, meaning we were unable to make a single report,” the programme’s presenter told listeners. The station was also suffering from a “recurrent lack” of batteries for its recording equipment and even paper on which to write the stories, said the apologetic presenter. Listeners were given half an hour of music instead.
(Source: News24.com/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Eritrea: Radio Bana observed on shortwave

BBC Monitoring observed a station identifying as “Radio Bana” on 5100 kHz shortwave at 1455 gmt on 30 January 2007. Vernacular-language programming was observed at tune-in, followed at 1458 gmt by an English programme titled ‘Academia’, which was a profile of Nelson Mandela. The programme concluded with the following announcement:

“Radio Bana is set to announce two new programmes in English, as well as new times for our existing programmes, ‘Academia’ and ‘Eritrean Teachers Forum’. The new programmes are: ‘Focus on English’, to practise English-language skills, and ‘Teaching World’, a programme for teachers in Eritrea.

Both these programmes include materials from the BBC. So, from Monday the 5th of February, you can listen to one of our four radio programmes in English every evening from seven till seven-thirty [local time, equivalent to 1600-1630 gmt]. We are also broadcasting on a new shortwave test frequency, 5.1 MHz, in addition to our regular mediumwave frequency of 1089 kHz. Remember to listen at seven every evening.”

The station went off the air at 1531 UTC, following a closing announcement in Tigrinya and the national anthem.

Radio Bana (Dawn) is operated by the Eritrean government, with programmes in English and local languages produced by the Adult Education and Media department of the Ministry of Education.
(Source: BBC Monitoring Research 31 Jan 07/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog )

VT Communications Schedule, Part 2


Part 2, continues our earlier edition of schedules, posted via World Wide DX Club. The following schedules, will remain current to 26 March 2007. Please refer to the Jan 30 posting for VT information.
U.K. [and non] B-06 of VT Communications Relays.
Last update Jan 15, 2007
Part 2
RTA Radio Algeria
0400-0500 on 6125 WOF 300 kW / 172 deg to NoAf Arabic Holy Koran sce
0400-0600 on 6090 RMP 500 kW / 190 deg to NoAf Arabic Holy Koran sce
0500-0600 on 6025 WOF 300 kW / 172 deg to NoAf Arabic Holy Koran sce
1900-2000 on 9825 SKN 300 kW / 180 deg to NoAf Arabic Holy Koran sce
1900-2100 on 11815 RMP 500 kW / 190 deg to NoAf Arabic Holy Koran sce
2000-2100 on 9455 WOF 300 kW / 170 deg to NoAf Arabic Holy Koran sce
2100-2300 on 6055 WOF 300 kW / 172 deg to NoAf Arabic Holy Koran sce
2100-2300 on 9850 RMP 500 kW / 190 deg to NoAf Arabic Holy Koran sce
Radio Okapi
0400-0600 on 11690 MEY 250 kW / 342 deg to Congo French/Lingala
1600-1700 on 11890 MEY 250 kW / 330 deg to Congo French/Lingala
WYFR
0500-0600 on 3955 SKN 250 kW / 106 deg to WeEu German
1400-1500 9855 DHA 250 kW 90 deg SoAs Nepali(tent),x7340 IRK 250 kW
1400-1500 on 15520 DHA 250 kW / 090 deg to SoAs Hindi
1500-1600 on 12015 DHA 250 kW / 090 deg to SoAs English
1600-1700 on 12010 DHA 250 kW / 090 deg to SoAs English
1600-1700 on 17660 ASC 250 kW / 124 deg to SoAf Portuguese
1700-1800 on 3955 SKN 250 kW / 106 deg to WeEu English
1700-1800 on 9530 SKN 300 kW / 110 deg to ME Arabic
1700-1800 on 21680 ASC 250 kW / 085 deg to SoAf English
1800-1900 on 7240 SKN 250 kW / 090 deg to ME English
1800-1900 on 9660 SKN 300 kW / 180 deg to ME Arabic
1830-1930 on 17660 ASC 250 kW / 085 deg to CeAf French
1900-2000 on 5965 RMP 500 kW / 105 deg to ME Arabic
1900-2000 on 7160 DHA 250 kW / 330 deg to WeEu English
1900-2000 on 9660 MEY 250 kW / 007 deg to EaAf Swahili
1900-2000 on 9685 DHA 250 kW / 285 deg to NoAf French
1900-2100 on 3230 MEY 100 kW / 005 deg to SoAf English
2000-2200 on 15195 ASC 250 kW / 085 deg to WeAf English
2030-2130 on 11985 ASC 250 kW / 027 deg to WeAf French
2115-2315 on 11875 ASC 250 kW / 065 deg to CeAf English
Radio France International
0630-0658 on 9865 ASC 250 kW / 027 deg to WeAf French
1700-1758 on 6045 DHA 250 kW / non-dir to WeAs Persian
1700-1758 on 5995 TAC 100 kW / 255 deg to WeAs Persian
KBS World Radio
0700-0800 on 9870 SKN 300 kW / 110 deg to WeEu Korean
1430-1500 on 9750 RMP 035 kW / 095 deg to WeEu English Fri DRM
1800-1900 on 7235 WOF 250 kW / 074 deg to EaEu Russian
1900-2000 on 7180 SKN 300 kW / 180 deg to NoAf Arabic
2000-2100 on 3955 SKN 250 kW / 106 deg to WeEu German
2100-2200 on 3955 SKN 250 kW / 175 deg to WeEu French
2200-2230 on 3955 SKN 250 kW / 106 deg to WeEu English
Star Radio Liberia
0700-0800 on 9525 ASC 250 kW / 027 deg to CeAf English
West Africa Democracy Radio
0700-0800 on 12000 SKN 300 kW / 180 deg to WeAf English
0800-1100 on 17860 WOF 300 kW / 170 deg to WeAf French/English/French
Radio Vlaanderen Internationaal:
0800-0857 on 9790 SKN 250 kW / 180 deg in Dutch
1900-1957 on 6040 SKN 250 kW / 180 deg in Dutch
UNMEE
0900-1000 on 17670 DHA 250 kW / 240 deg to EaAf English/Others Sun
1030-1130 on 17565 DHA 250 kW / 240 deg to EaAf English/Others Tue
(Source: WWDXC -Top News BCDX # 792 via Wolfgang Bueschel)

Sri Lanka BC celebrates 40 years in broadcasting


Daily News Colombo-

SLBC celebrates 40 years in broadcastingBy Ivan Corea

SLBC: The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation reached yet another historic milestone, the station recently celebrated 40 years in broadcasting on January 5, 2007. On that day the then Prime Minister of Ceylon, Dudley Senanayake, the Minister of Broadcasting Ranasingha Premadasa and one of Sri Lanka's finest civil servants, SLBC Director General, Neville Jayaweera lit the oil lamp on January 5, 1967 at the auspicious time of 7.18 a.m. - the Kandyan drums heralded the re-branding of Radio Ceylon, the oldest radio station in South Asia.


The Prime Minister Dudley Senanayake unveiled the plaque which can be seen to this day in the foyer of the radio station.Broadcasting on an experimental basis was started in Ceylon by the Telegraph Department in 1923, just three years after the inauguration of broadcasting in Europe. Gramophone music was broadcast from a tiny room in the Central Telegraph Office with the aid of a small transmitter built by the Telegraph Department engineers from the radio equipment of a captured German submarine.


The results proved successful and barely three years later, on December 16, 1925, a regular broadcasting service came to be instituted.On December 16, 1925 the then British Governor Sir Hugh Clifford inaugurated the broadcasting service - It was first known as Colombo Radio. The name was changed to Radio Ceylon and the radio station shifted to Torrington Square on October 5, 1949.Radio Ceylon broadcaster Gnanam Rathinam in her book 'The Green Light' (Memories of Broadcasting in Sri Lanka) notes: 'In 1943 the Broadcasting Station premises was sited in a bungalow named The Bower, in Cotta Road, Borella (in the city of Colombo). In early days the programmes in all languages were scheduled and produced by announcers who covered airtime as well.The Colombo radio station at 'The Bower' ceased broadcasts by midnight on December 31, 1949 and Radio Ceylon came into being on January 1, 1950. On January 5, 1967, it became a state corporation - the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.


The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation produced some of the finest broadcasters in the world, among them - Livy Wijemanne, Vernon Corea, Pearl Ondaatje, Greg Roskowski, Tim Horshington, Claude Selveratnam, Jimmy Bharucha, Thevis Guruge, A.W. Dharmapala, Karunaratne Abeysekera, H.M. Gunasekera, S.P. Mylvaganam, Gnanam Rathinam, Nihal Bhareti, Eric Fernando, Leon Belleth and Vijaya Corea to name a few.


I grew up in a world of broadcasting. My father, Vernon Corea joined Radio Ceylon in 1956 as a relief announcer during the Clifford Dodd era of the Commercial Service. Clifford Dodd, an Australian administrator was seconded to Radio Ceylon via the Colombo Plan. Working with Livy Wijemanne they transformed the Commercial Service making it a lucrative arm of the radio station.The Hindi Announcers - Gopal Sharma, Vijay Kishore Dubey, Shiv Kumar Saroj, Manohar Mahajan, Sunil Dutt (who went on to become a massive Bollywood icon), Hamid Sayani, Amin Sayani, Vijaylaksmi de Saram played a pivotal role - millions across the Indian sub-continent tuned into Radio Ceylon and subsequently the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation - making the SLBC 'King of the Airwaves' in South Asia.


The SLBC was unbeatable.I remember so well as a child growing up in Sri Lanka, visiting the SLBC, entering the grand foyer - you hear the hum of the generators, the massive reception desk was your first port of call. There is only one SLBC receptionist I remember and she is Ranjini Wickremasinghe who had a 'broadcasting romance' and married my uncle, Vijaya Corea who went on to become the Director-General of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.


The studios harked back to the golden days of Radio Ceylon - and they are preserved to this day - it was a privilege to join forces with Nihal Bahreti and Clifford Basanayake and record a whole series of radio programs for the SLBC when I last visited Sri Lanka in 2003.I interviewed Cliff Richard at the Greenbelt Festival in the UK - the first ever interview with Cliff for the SLBC which was broadcast in 1981 on a special program. Cliff told me that he would love to visit Sri Lanka - his wish will soon be a reality - when Cliff visits Sri Lanka- for a concert in Colombo in February, I believe, Cliff told me that he only visited the airport in 1972 and he was given a wonderful cup of Ceylon tea - he sent his best wishes to all his fans in Sri Lanka through that interview broadcast on the SLBC.


The SLBC has featured some of the finest talents of the nation - Pandit Amaradeva, H.R. Jothipala, Nanda Malini, Premasiri Khemadasa, Nimal Mendis, Bill Forbes, (who starred with Cliff Richard in 'Oh Boy' the television show in London) Cliff Foenander (who went on to sing in Las Vegas), Des Kelly, Mignonne Fernando and the Jetliners, Clarence Wijewardene, Annesley Malewana, A.E. Manoharan, Desmond de Silva, C.T. Fernando and a whole host of artistes became household names through the airwaves of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation.I have always maintained that the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation is a national treasure of Sri Lanka - I was delighted to hear that a museum, a linguistic library, a disaster communications unit and a magazine launch commemorated this epoch making day.


Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, the Minister of Mass Media and Information appreciated the successful achievements of the SLBC for the last 40 years.Minister Yapa pointed out the importance of maintaining a 'Linguistic Laboratory' and requested the authorities to let the public to get access to it, which he believed could serve in its best capacity of the purpose of maintaining such a unit.Sri Lanka can be proud that she is up with the great broadcasting nations of the USA, UK and Germany - it was Edward Harper, a British engineer, who, together with Ceylonese radio enthusiasts carried out the first radio experiments when her arrived in Ceylon in 1921 as Chief Engineer of the Telegraph Office in Colombo. Sri Lanka celebrated 80 years in broadcasting in 2005.


The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation needs to lead the way in digital broadcasting and I am convinced that with the right financial support, the SLBC will be a shining beacon in the world of broadcasting - in the years to come. They will still be talking about the SLBC in another hundred years.http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/01/09/

(Source: Asia Radio News)

All India Radio begins DRM transmission

India starts tests on Digital Radio Mondiale transmissionSatyen MohapatraNew Delhi, January 31, 2007Since Jan 26, 2007, India has started tests on Digital Radio Mondialetransmission which is qualitatively much superior to the existing analogtransmission and also supports text-data transmission.In an exclusive interview with Hindustan Times Director (Engg)

All India Radio Yogendra Pal said, "DRM will be available only on special DRM receiverwhich will allow us to provide the listener number of Programme AssociatedData. So while a listener is listening to a song we can let the listener seethe name of the movie, the name of the singer, composer, on the LCD screenon the Radio."

He said that the government would liaison with Railway, Civil Aviation andother Ministries whose messages could be flashed on the radio 'screens'whether it is on train and airlines arrival, departures or other generalmessages. News headlines and stock exchange rates could also be regularlytransmitted, he added."

This can also give us additional revenues and we can also generate more revenue by transmitting advertisements," he added.In the Eleventh Plan the government has proposed to go in for digital radio, he added."We have given the government the proposal to first start digital broadcastservices for External Services and in our Regional Services," he said.Digital Radio Mondiale technology is supposed to be the latest technology which does not require additional spectrum allocation and is felt to be more suitable for Indian conditions. Experiments on digital transmission have been going on for the past some years on eureka technology which requiresadditional spectrum.

A decoder has been installed at the AIR transmitter at Khampur, Delhi forthe broadcast of digital transmission.The government is importing a number of DRM receivers for testing theirquality under Indian conditions.One such receiver which can take upto 128 text characters at a time in asingle frame will be displayed at the Broadcast Expo at Pragati Maidanbeginning on Thursday, he added. www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1916500,0008.htm
(Source: Alokesh Gupta, India)

Pirate station Crystal Ship resumes on shortwave


Greetings, Pirate Radio Fans! Long time, no write...

The Crystal Ship has been off the air since Jan. 1st due to a breakdown of 1/2 (one channel) of our PC sound card, complicated by the fact that it is still under a variety of warrantees... Finally I discovered that sound cards are down to $20, might have spent more than that on shipping this darn thing back to HP... so we're on again. There may be a burst of activity from us on 6875/3275 over the next few days.
Response to the TCS CD offer was very positive, so we will be doing those in the near future. Stay tuned for details.

Tonight, we are doing technically a "test transmission" on 3276 kHz with the Johnson Viking 2. Programming will consist of "all-new" awful seventies music which we just aquired. (Well, it isn't all awful, but most of it is, so bad its FUNNY! But I grew up then so it takes me back to the days I was running 100mw AM into an illegal antenna playing Foghat in the trailer in the backyard... covered about half my block... them was the days...)

Transmission commencing at 0230 UTC so we'll be staying on fairly late for you nightowls. If you missed it tonight, well, we'll be having fun with this stuff for awhile I think...

Cheers!

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

BLOG LOGS


Today's shortwave BLOG LOGS, represent those recently cut from my SWBC Logs column in Monitoring Times magazine, due to space constraints. Contributions are always welcome for the magazine or blog, and may be directed to: gaylevanhorn @ monitoringtimes. com
Thanks very much to all the contributors for your kind words and support
Gayle VH

Freqs in kHz, all times UTC. English unless otherwise stated // parallel frequencies. * sign-on - Sign-off *

Australia
VL8K 5025, 1655. Almost armchair signal quality despite Chinese blowtorch on 5030 kHz w/ call-in game show. No ID to 1700 // 2310, not on // 2325. (W Salmaniw, CAN)

Brazil
Radio Brasil Central 4985, 0618-0631. Brazilian music w/ harmonies & accordions. Station ID at 0620. Rare to hear this station at my location. (J Wood, TN)
R. Clube do Para 4885, 0531-0552. Portuguese. Accoustic music to DJ's text and promo by Spice Girls tune. Station ID at 0540. ( J Wood, TN)
R. Educacno de Tefe. 4926, 1029. Portuguese. Spiritual/inspritional music of fair signal quality to announce. (Turnich, PA/NASWA)
R. Educacno Rural, Campo Grande. 4755, 0445+. Portuguese announcements at tune-in. Fair signal despite co-channel interferences. (F Hillton, SC).

China
CNR 2, Beijing 7140, 2257-2300. Tentative log for presumed Mandarin service, off at 2300. (Taylor, WI/NASWA)
PBS Nei Menggu (Hot Hot) 7270, 2315-2333. Listed as Mongolian. Announcer's pauses between briefs. String of announcements w/ music voice-overs. Fanfare at 2330 to "Nei Menggu". Fade out by 2333. Overall poor signal quality. (Taylor, WI/NASWA)

Germany
Freie Volksmission 9490, 1631. Rambling evangelical talk, targeted to the Middle East. Signal gradually degraded from fair to poor quality. (Turnick, PA/NASWA)

Greece
Feeder failure noted for ERT Avlis. Morning ERA 5 w/ English/French/Spanish program at 0700-1000. Noted today on 12105 instead of nominL 15630. Greek program remained on 9420, 15630. 12105 much stronger signal level than 15630. (Wolfgang Bueschel, GER)

Guatemala
R. Cultural 4780, 1020. Excellent reception despite local blackout. Full ID audible. (W Salmaniw,m CAN)

India
All India Radio 9425 (Bangalore) 1426-1438. Hindi. Announcer to musical fanfare and "Prasar Bhrah." Talk to time pips signal to station ID. Fair signal quality. (Taylor, WI/NASWA)
All India Radio 10330 (Bangalore) 1520-1545. Female text to 1530 w/ time pips & ID. Indian music w/ female voice-overs & phone number quote. Good Signal. (J Wilkins, CO)

Japan
R. Nikkei 3925, 1250. Japanese service w/ vocals and easy-listening tunes at tune-in; // 6055 of fair quality w/ brief announcer break at 1300. (F Hillton, SC)

Moldova
Radio DMR 6235, 1710+. Station via breakaway Republic of Pridnystrovya, and just barely audile. Utility QRM, and barely audible for tentative log. (W. Salmaniw, CAB)

Netherlands Antilles
R Netherlands Bonaire relay 17810, 2030.Interviews w/ two males on pharmaceutical companies in developing countries // 11655 via Madagascar relay & 17785 via Canadian relay. (S MacKenzie, CA)

Niger
LV du Sahel 9704.5, 2003-2023. French. Male's local talaks into native music. Fair signal following Ethiopia's sign-off. (S Barbour, NH)

North Korea
Voice of Korea 9335, 1311-1342. Difficult to copy w/ announcer's news mention of "South Korea." Items on the "Great Leader Kim Il Sung" and "world revolution." Martial music w/ fair signal quality w/ minimal noise. (Comeau, MA/NSWA)

Suriname
R Apintie 4990, 0441. Pop music program w/ S6 signal quality. (Strawman, IA/NASWA)

Turkey
Voice of Turkey 5960, 2220. Letterbox program w/ good-fair signal & QRM from Cuba. (B Fraser, ME) 5960, 2310-2307 w/ news. (J Wood, TN)

Turkmenistan
Turken Radio 5015, 2056-2120. Tentaive log w/ vernacular service. Male/female anncouncers w/ talk-overs & regional style music. Poor copy, improved by tune-out. (S Barbour, NH)

Ukraine
Clandestine-Radio Zamaneh 6245, 1713+. Fair reception w/ presumed Farsi talk. (W. Salmaniw, CAN)

USA
KNLS-Alaska 6150, 1652+. Superb reception in Russian w/ full Russian ID w/ addresses for Alaska & St. Petersburg. Russian service at 1710 rechech. (W Salmaniw, CAN)

Vatican State
Vatican Radio 9645, 0734-0747. News on extradition of Rwandan criminals from the U.K. to Rwanda. Talk on relations of Belarus/Russia. Good signal. (J Wood, TN)

China to launch two satellites for Olympics 2008



Text of report in English by official Chinese news agency Xinhua (New China News Agency)
Beijing, 30 January: China will launch two satellites dedicated to radio and TV relay services for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in June and October this year, the China Satellite Communications Corporation (CSCC) said Tuesday [30 January]. Manufacturing of the two satellites is under way under strict quality control to ensure the timely and smooth launch of them, said Guo Hao, deputy general manager of CSCC.
CSCC has been contracted to provide broadcasting and TV signal transfer and traffic monitoring and navigation services for the 2008 Olympic Games. China launched an Olympic weather forecasting satellite, the Fengyun-2D, last December. China Meteorological Administration (CMA) announced early this month the Fengyun-2D satellite had successfully connected with the ground control and was operating normally.
Chief designer Li Qin said: “The satellite will provide accurate and timely information about weather changes to help us with weather forecasts during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, especially the opening and closing ceremonies and important contests.” Besides monitoring weather changes in China, the FY-2D will also monitor weather changes in neighbouring countries.
(Source: Xinhua news agency, Beijing, in English 1202 gmt 30 Jan 07 via BBC Monitoring/ R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Windows Vista to offer XM Radio on U.S. version



XM Satellite Radio has announced that XM Radio Online will be included in the US version of Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows Vista, which becomes generally available today. Windows Vista will offer XM Radio Online as part of its digital music hub. XM Radio Online delivers more than 80 radio channels, including commercial-free music, the Oprah & Friends talk and lifestyle channel, “The Bob Edwards Show,” “Opie & Anthony,” stand-up comedy, and children’s programming.
Web users can sign up for a free, three-day trial of XM Radio Online. Unlimited listening is available for $7.99 a month. Those who subscribe to XM Satellite Radio for the car, home, or portable listening can enjoy XM Radio Online for no additional charge.
(Source: XM Satellite Radio/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

USC Center suggest extending Radio and TV Marti to whole of Latin America



The University of Southern California (USC) Center on Public Diplomacy is advocating a plan to extend the broadcasts of Radio and TV Martí beyond Cuba to the whole of Latin America in a post-Castro world. In USC’s Public Diplomacy Blog, former executive of the US Information Agency Alvin Snyder says that the proposal is receiving guarded reaction in Washington, DC.
According to Snyder, “Worldcasting has learned that while at least one of the BBG’s nine members endorses our concept of broadening TV and Radio Martí programs to include lands beyond Cuba, we were reminded that Voice of America already has a broadcast service for Latin America. While this is so, VOA’s Latin American service operates with a meager annual budget of $4.6 million, which “includes a popular Creole service to Haiti,” says the BBG, compared to the $37.5 million budgeted annually for the Office of Cuba Broadcasting.”
Read details of the proposal

(Source: R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

VT Communications Schedule, Part 1


The following schedules, will remain current to 26 March 2007. VT Communications is a part of the VT Group. It consists of two of VT Group's existing business, VT Merlin Communications and Vosper Mantech. VT Communications, formerly Merlin Communications, is essentially the company formed from the privatization of BBC World Service transmitter sites. It now provides transmission services to over twenty clients from four main sites in the United Kingdom
VT Communications does not verify reception reports, however general correspondence
may be directed to:
VT Merlin Communications
20 Lincoln's Inn Fields
London WC2A 3ED United Kingdom
(Source: Gayle Van Horn TP NC)

U.K. [and non] B-06 of VT Communications Relays
Last update Jan 15, 2007
Part 1
Radio Prague
0000-0027 on 11665 ASC 250 kW / 245 deg to SoAm Spanish
1300-1327 on 6065 RMP 035 kW / 095 deg to WeEu German Sat DRM
1330-1357 on 6065 RMP 035 kW / 095 deg to WeEu English Sat DRM
1330-1357 on 9750 RMP 035 kW / 095 deg to WeEu German Fri DRM
1400-1427 on 9750 RMP 035 kW / 095 deg to WeEu English Fri DRM
2330-2357 on 6000 SAC 250 kW / 212 deg to CeAm Spanish
China Radio International
0000-0057 on 9745 BON 250 kW / 290 deg to CeAm Spanish
1100-1357 on 15540 SGO 100 kW / 045 deg to SoAm Portuguese/Chinese/English
1500-1757 on 6100 MEY 100 kW / non-dir to SoAf English
1800-1857 on 6100 MEY 100 kW / non-dir to SoAf Chinese
2100-2157 on 17645 SGO 100 kW / 045 deg to SoAm Portuguese
Gospel for Asia
0000-0130 on 6145 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg to SoAs SoEaAs langs
1230-1500 on 15325 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg to SoAs SoEaAs langs
1600-1630 on 9820 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg to SoAs SoEaAs langs
2300-2400 on 6040 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg to SoAs SoEaAs langs
Bible Voice Broadcasting Network
0015-0030 on 6020 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg to SoAs Hindi
0030-0045 on 6040 DHA 250 kW / 090 deg to SoAs Bengali
0030-0045 on 6020 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg to SoAs Telugu Sat
0030-0100 on 6010 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg to SoAs Hindi Mon-Fri
0030-0100 on 5955 DHA 250 kW / 085 deg to SoAs English Sat/Sun
Voice of Vietnam
0100-0128 on 6175 SAC 250 kW / 212 deg to NoAm English
0130-0228 on 6175 SAC 250 kW / 212 deg to NoAm Vietnamese
0230-0458 on 6175 SAC 250 kW / 212 deg to NoAm En/Sp/En/Sp
0430-0528 on 6175 SAC 250 kW / 240 deg to NoAm Vietnamese
1800-1828 on 5955 MOS 100 kW / 300 deg to WeEu English
1830-1928 on 5955 MOS 100 kW / 300 deg to WeEu Vietnamese
1930-1958 on 5955 MOS 100 kW / 300 deg to WeEu French
2000-2028 on 5970 SKN 300 kW / 110 deg to EaEu Russian
2030-2058 on 3985 SKN 250 kW / 175 deg to WeEu French
2100-2128 on 3985 SKN 250 kW / 175 deg to WeEu German
2130-2230 on 7150 SKN 300 kW / 110 deg to EaEu Vietnamese
Adventist World Radio
0100-0200 on 15445 TAI 100 kW / 250 deg to Asia Vietnamese Sat
Moj Them Radio
0100-0130 on 15260 TAI 100 kW / 250 deg to Asia Hmong Wed/Fri
Hmong Lao Radio
0130-0200 on 15260 TAI 100 kW / 250 deg to Asia Laotian
Radio Solh/Radio Peace
0200-1200 on 11675 DHA 250 kW / 045 deg to WeAs Dari/Pashto
1200-1500 on 15265 RMP 500 kW / 105 deg to WeAs Dari/Pashto
1500-1800 on 9875 RMP 500 kW / 105 deg to WeAs Dari/Pashto
Sudan Radio Service
0300-0330 on 7280 SKN 300 kW / 140 deg to EaAf En/Ar/Others Mon-Fri
0330-0500 on 7280 DHA 250 kW / 240 deg to EaAf En/Ar/Others Mon-Fri
0400-0600 13720 DHA 250 kW 240 deg EaAf En/Ar/Others Mon-Fri new freq.
0500-0600 on 9525 DHA 250 kW / 240 deg to EaAf En/Ar/Others Mon-Fri
0600-0630 15215 DHA 250 kW 240 deg to EaAf En/Ar/Others Fri>>cancelled
1400-1500 on 9660 KCH 300 kW / 175 deg to EaAf En/Ar/Others Wed
1500-1700 on 9840 MSK 200 kW / 190 deg to EaAf En/Ar/Others Mon-Fri
1700-1800 on 9840 DHA 250 kW / 240 deg to EaAf En/Ar/Others Mon-Fri
(Source: WWDXC -Top News BCDX # 792 via Wolfgang Bueschel)

Monday, January 29, 2007

Reel-to-reel tapes almost obsolete ?

Open-reel magnetic recording tape, once used by every broadcaster, is almost obsolete. The only remaining manufacturer of professional audio tapes is based here in the Netherlands. After more than 60 years, Quantegy Recording Solutions has discontinued producing tapes due to falling demand, as most broadcasters have switched to Hard Disks for storing their programmes. Quantegy itself produces a family of hard drive storage systems, and plans to continue with that technology.
For about two years, Quantegy was the only manufacturer of open-reel tape in the world. Last year, Netherlands-based RMG International began manufacturing Emtec tape products. RMGi says that “The discontinuation of Quantegy’s Professional Analogue Audio Tape is NOT the end of Analogue Audio Tape. RMG International BV will continue their dedication towards Professional Audio Tapes. ”
On its website, the company explains that “RMG International BV has a slim organizational structure, which enables low overhead & efficient operation. Due to this small company size (compared to Quantegy), RMG International BV has been able to produce and market these analogue audio products in an economical way. ”
(Sources: Quantegy, RMG International/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Voice of America to begin daily broadcast to Somalia


Starting on 12 February, the Voice of America (VOA) begins a new daily radio broadcast in the Somali language to the Horn of Africa. A group of Somali broadcasters at VOA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. will team up with freelance reporters in Africa and elsewhere around the world to provide millions of Somali speakers with accurate, up-to-date news and information.
“We look forward to joining the information community in Somalia,” said VOA Director Dan Austin. “Providing accurate, objective, and timely news and information to the people of Somalia is vital during this critical time in the region’s history,” he added.
The new half-hour VOA programme will air seven days a week and will include world news as well as news of Somalia and entire Horn of Africa region. The broadcast will also offer music and discussion features that will allow leaders and ordinary listeners alike to express their opinions on topics of interest.
VOA’s Somali-language service is being funded by a grant from the US Department of State. The new service will supplement VOA’s current broadcasts to the Horn of Africa in Amharic, Afan Oromo and Tigrigna. VOA previously broadcast in Somali between 1992 and 1994.
The VOA Somali broadcast will air on AM, FM and shortwave radio at 1600 UTC and repeats at 1700 UTC. The 1700 UTC broadcast will also air on HornAfrik (88.8 FM), a VOA-affiliated station. The programmes will also be available live and on demand on the service’s website.
Frequencies:
1600-1630 UTC: 13580, 15620 , 1431 kHz
1700-1730 UTC: 13580 Khz, 15620 kHz
(Source: VOA/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

India Rising on BBC


Between 3 and 11 February, BBC World Service will be broadcasting a special season of programs dedicated to discovering how India is changing.

India is home to one sixth of the world's population and is poised to overtake Japan as the world's third largest economy. As its burgeoning middle class becomes increasingly consumer-orientated, are traditional values being eroded? A week of special programming will go under the skin of contemporary India , examining the political, cultural, economic, religious and scientific landscapes of this vast country.As India rises, who is being left behind?
3-11 February - programme times to be announced in next week's Email Network.
(Source: Mukesh Kumar, The Cosmos Club, Muzaffarpur, India)

Pirate radio monitoring on shortwave


If you haven't tried your hand (or your dial!) bandscanning for the bizarre world of unlicensed pirate radio stations, here's a sampling of what has been logged from January 20-26.
Thanks as always to the fine folk from Free Radio Weekly for this weeks newsletter.
For more information on pirate radio consult their website
at www.frn.net/
Gayle VH
KTrain
00:35 UTC 01202007 on 6925 kHz USB. The train mentioned by announcer Casey. Jones was going to Philadelphia at a speed of 79 mph. Lots of train whistles and RR bell sounds. Very brief broadcast.(Windel-Mo)
MAC Radio
MAC 3276am 1/28/7 2:14 sio232 Paul Starr playing Hendrix, now The Doors(Fansome)
My New Underpants
6925/U, 2241-2243:42*, 26-Jan; Underpants song & You're listening to my new underpants. Format needs a bit more elastic. SIO=3+43, weak chirp QRM. (Frodge-MI)
Random Radio
6925 usb 1/20/07 01:30-01:52 into a famous tune about a the Mexican beauty. Hurdy Gurdy Man. Station ID and mention that this is part 2 of a program (SIO 212, RD)
Undercover Radio
3275am sio 333 6:40 sio 333 very good signal. Broadcasting from the middle of nowhere. Mention of the FRN. Talking about traveling down the California coast. This is just too cool to deal with, and I don't even like to use the word "cool". Just a great signal here. (Fansome)
WORI
6925U 2150-2154 1/20/07 SIO=222. Poor level, but once again I got an ID that sounded like WORI on this one. Talk by a bunny voice that was poorly copied, given the weak level. No addr hrd. (Zeller-OH)
WTCR
01202007 *WTCR in LSB mode on 6925 kHz at about 00:40 UTC with some great guitar solos and other songs including "Time and the Season for Loving" by the Zombies.(windel-mo)
(Source: FRW # 572 via Bill Finn)

Radio Cairo multilingual schedule update


All times UTC
EGYPT Updated B-06 schedule of Radio Cairo:
0030-0430 on 11950 ABZ 500 kW / 330 deg Arabic NoAmEa
0045-0200 on 7270 ABZ 500 kW / 330 deg Spanish NoAm
0045-0200 on 9360 ABZ 500 kW / 270 deg Spanish CeAm
0045-0200 on 9415 ABS 250 kW / 241 deg Spanish SoAm
0200-0330 on 7270 ABZ 500 kW / 330 deg English NoAm
0700-1100 on 15115 ABZ 100 kW / 250 deg Arabic GS WeAf
1015-1215 on 17775 ABZ 500 kW / 090 deg Arabic ME/AFG
1100-2300 on 12050 ABS 500 kW / 315 deg Arabic GS WeEu
1215-1330 on 17835 ABZ 500 kW / 090 deg English SoAs
1230-1400 on 15810 ABS 250 kW / 106 deg Indonesian SoEaAs
1300-1600 on 15365 ABS 250 kW / 241 deg Arabic WeAf
1330-1345 on 17835 ABZ 500 kW / 090 deg Bengali SoAs
1330-1530 on 15490 ABZ 100 kW / 070 deg Farsi TJK
1400-1530 on 11655 ABS 250 kW / 061 deg Azeri AZE
1430-1600 on 9975 ABS 250 kW / 061 deg Pashto AFG
1500-1600 on 9990 ABS 250 kW / 325 deg Albanian ALB
1500-1600 on 11530 ABZ 100 kW / 070 deg Uzbek UZB
1500-1600 on 13660 ABZ 500 kW / 090 deg Hindi SoAs
1530-1730 on 17810 ABZ 100 kW / 170 deg Swahili CeEaAf
1600-1700 on 15155 ABZ 100 kW / 160 deg Afar EaCeAf
1600-1800 on 6230 ABS 250 kW / 005 deg Turkish TUR
1600-1800 on 9365 ABZ 500 kW / 090 deg Urdu SoAs
1600-1900 on 11740 ABS 250 kW / 196 deg English CeSoAf
1700-1730 on 15155 ABZ 100 kW / 160 deg Somali EaCeAf
1730-1900 on 15155 ABZ 100 kW / 160 deg Amharic EaCeAf
1800-1900 on 7460 ABS 250 kW / 005 deg Russian WeRUS
1800-1900 on 9988 ABS 250 kW / 325 deg Italian WeEu
1800-2100 on 9420 ABS 250 kW / 241 deg Hausa WeAf
1900-1930 on 15375 ABZ 100 kW / 250 deg Wolof WeAf
1900-2000 on 9990 ABS 250 kW / 325 deg German WeEu
1900-0030 on 11665 ABZ 100 kW / 160 deg V of Arabs CeEaAf
1930-2000 on 15375 ABZ 100 kW / 250 deg Bambara WeAf
2000-2030 on 15375 ABZ 100 kW / 250 deg English WeAf
2000-2115 on 9990 ABS 250 kW / 325 deg French WeEu
2000-2200 on 7210 ABZ 500 kW / 090 deg Arabic AUS
2030-2230 on 9470 ABS 250 kW / 241 deg French WeAf
2115-2245 on 9990 ABS 250 kW / 325 deg English WeEu
2215-2330 on 9360 ABZ 500 kW / 241 deg Portuguese SoAm
2300-0030 on 11950 ABZ 500 kW / 330 deg English NoAmEa
2300-0300 on 12050 ABS 250 kW / 325 deg Arabic GS NoAm
2330-0045 on 9360 ABZ 500 kW / 270 deg Arabic SoAm
2330-0045 on 9735 ABS 250 kW / 241 deg Arabic SoAm
(R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, via wwdxc BC-DX Jan 22)
(Source: WWDXC -Top News BCDX # 792 via Wolfgang Bueschel)

Czech Republic releases five new Web radio stations

In a move to beef up its audience and test new advertising sales channels, the Czech branch of the French radio group Lagardere launched five Web radio stations in mid-January and has plans to continue expanding its online presence.
On 16 January, Lagardere launched Web radio stations Frekvence 1 Legendy and Frekvence 1 Romantika – exclusively airing oldies and love songs, respectively. Just two days later, the company introduced three more with Evropa 2 Heavy, Evropa 2 Lowrider and Evropa 2 Movin’. The Evropa genres are varied, with Heavy devoted to rock, Lowrider providing a mix and Movin’ reserved for dancing. The stations are accessible through Frekvence 1 and Evropa 2 Web sites.
Read more from Czech Business Weekly
(Source: R Netherlands Media Network weblog)

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Zimbabwe may issue first license to independent broadcaster

Zimbabwe could issue the first licence to an independent broadcaster before the end of this year, Leo Mugabe, chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Communications, said on Wednesday. Mugabe said the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe (BAZ) had assured the committee that the airwaves would be opened up by the end of the year to allow independent players to participate. “We were told that BAZ would, by the end of August, advertise for independent players to establish broadcasting companies, a process that is expected to be completed by November, leading to the granting of the licences then,” said Mugabe.
He said BAZ would flight new advertisements in the media for applications for national television, national radio stations and community radio stations. Mugabe said, however, that BAZ still needed to address “legislative hitches” within the Broadcasting Act, citing sections that were unclear on foreign funding. No comment was immediately available from BAZ.
In 2004, BAZ invited applications for 15 national commercial free-to-air radio broadcasting licences, but no licences were issued. Of the five applicants, four - Matopos FM, Media Integration, Voxmedia Productions and Radio Dialogue - were disqualified, mostly on the grounds of ownership.Only MABC Television was shortlisted, but it also failed to make the grade reportedly due to lack of proof of adequate funding to undertake the project.
(Source: Financial Gazette/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

ABU launches monitoring network for SW frequency collision

The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) is pushing for more of its members to join the Asian Monitoring Network (AMN), to monitor collisions in frequency usage among shortwave broadcasters in a move which could save millions of dollars in wastage. Through its ABU-High Frequency Coordination (HFC) Committee, the ABU is hoping to establish the network to cut costs arising from wastage, said the ABU-HFC Steering Committee Chairman, IRIB Iran’s Yousef Ghadaksaz.
Currently, DW-Germany, IRIB-Iran and TRT-Turkey have already installed the software. PBC-Pakistan, AIR-India and RTPRC-China have expressed interest in becoming a part of the network.
Mr Ghadaksaz said monitoring reports were important to alert frequency managers in various organisations of collisions and help them work out an interference-free solution. He said all broadcasters needed to set up a simple monitoring system are a radio receiver, a schedule recording software and Internet access. The SIOFT software can be downloaded free at www.Nschall.de.
“We need to promote shortwave monitoring among our members. It is desirable to involve as many ABU-HFC organisations in the monitoring process as possible so that they put in place their own bilateral monitoring arrangements,” he said during the ABU-HFC (High Frequency Coordination) Conference in Kuala Lumpur, which ended today.
The five-day coordination conference organised by the ABU was held to enable shortwave broadcasters in the Asia-Pacific region and other parts of the world to coordinate frequency channels on a seasonal basis. This is done with a view to reducing interference in their services caused by clashing frequency usage. The ABU-HFC group includes some 40 shortwave broadcasters who broadcast some 5,000 shortwave services every day, totaling over 10,000 hours of transmissions.
(Source: Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Polish Radio to begin Hebrew broadcast


Polish Radio will begin broadcasting news in Hebrew in March in an attempt to strengthen Poland’s links with Israel and help it cast off what it believes is an unfair reputation for anti-Semitism. Poland had the biggest Jewish population in Europe until World War Two, but the murder of millions in the Holocaust by the occupying Germans and hostility from the postwar communist authorities left only a few thousand Jews in the country by the 1990s.
Polish governments since the collapse of the Soviet bloc have tried to rebuild relations with Israel and the Jewish community overseas, and many thousands of Jews visit the land of their parents and grandparents each year. ”We want good relations between Poland and Israel and to provide the worldwide Jewish community with information about Poland’s Jewish minority,” Adam Burakowski, deputy Director of Polish Radio’s foreign department, told Reuters on Friday. “These programs are another battle in the war to disprove the unfair opinion that Poland is anti-Semitic,” he added.
Polish Radio spokesman Tadeusz Fredro-Boniecki said the broadcasts, initially for just a few hours a day, would be capable of reaching Israel and the whole of Europe. Details of bands and frequencies would be announced soon.
(Source: Reuters/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Thursday, January 25, 2007

U.S. postal rates to increase...AGAIN ?


Oh, no, not again.
Yes, again. The U.S. Postal Service, which raised the price of a first-class camp to 39 cents in January, wants to boost it again — to 42 cents.

But this time, there's a twist. As early as next spring, if the Postal Service has its way, you could buy a roll of 42-cent "forever stamps" that would remain valid for, well, forever.
USA Today

To learn more, and let's hope it's not another government ploy to scrape the American taxpayers once again, read on at:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-05-03-stamp-usat_x.htm
GVH

Radio Netherlands program preview Jan 27 - Feb. 2


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 27 JANUARY

*** 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): 1000 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1200 (Eastern N America), 1400 & 1530 (South Asia), 1800, 1930 & 2030 (Africa), 0000 (Eastern N America), 0100 (Central N America), 0500 (Western N America) *** Vox Humana *** "Kala Ramnath: The Singing Violin" As part of our special week focusing on India, Vox Humana profiles one of the country's most talented musicians. Thirty-nine year old violinist Kala Ramnath is a celebrity in North Indian raga music. She hails from a family that has specialised in music for many generations. Kala combines brilliant technique with a deep emotional quality and is widely acclaimed for her 'vocal style' of violin playing. Hence her nickname: "the singing violin." Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1027 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1227 (Eastern N America), 1430 (South Asia), 1827 & 2000 (Africa), 0027 (Eastern N America), 0127 (Central N America), 0527 (Western N America)Repeated: Sun 1400 (South Asia), Sun 1900 (N America, Africa)


SUNDAY 28 JANUARY

*** Amsterdam Forum *** In a live debate from New Delhi, Amsterdam Forum asks if India has what it takes to be the next superpower? India is now the world's largest democracy and its second most populous country. It also has one of the world's fastest growing economies. But in these heady times it's easy to forget that behind the successes, there's still a huge gap between the rich and the poor. Can a superpower be built on such foundations? Have your say on the topic at www.radionetherlands.nl/features/amsterdamforum/. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1004 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1204 (Eastern N America), 1504 (South Asia), 1804 & 2004 (Africa), 0000 (Eastern N America), 0100 (Central N America), 0500 (Western N America) *** Echoes *** Our new listener feedback programme. Mindy Ran responds to your comments, queries and complaints about our programmes. And featuring every week A Critical Eye - commentary from Perro de Jong. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1004 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1204 (Eastern N America), 1504 (South Asia), 1804 & 2004 (Africa), 0000 (Eastern N America), 0100 (Central N America), 0500 (Western N America)


MONDAY 29 JANUARY

*** Newsline *** The latest world news and current affairs. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1000 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1200 (Eastern N America), 1400 & 1530 (South Asia), 1800, 1930 & 2030 (Africa), 0000 (Eastern N America), 0100 (Central N America), 0400 (Western N America) *** The Research File *** Do you know what makes the difference between male and female? In the natural world, such matters are not always entirely straightforward. And the discovery of a new type of female has got insect experts busy, with possible economic benefits for the biological control of pests. Meanwhile, shaggy Scottish sheep have been revealing the biological basis for the annual cycles of the body clock. And a new sound-guided method for positioning anaesthetic syringes could make epidural injections both simpler and safer. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1027 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1227 (Eastern N America), 1430 (South Asia), 1827 & 2000 (Africa), 0027 (Eastern N America), 0127 (Central N America), 0527 (Western N America)Repeated: Thurs 1500 (South Asia), Thurs 1900 (Africa)


TUESDAY 30 JANUARY

*** Newsline *** The latest world news and current affairs. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1000 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1200 (Eastern N America), 1400 & 1530 (South Asia), 1800, 1930 & 2030 (Africa), 0000 (Eastern N America), 0100 (Central N America), 0500 (Western N America) *** EuroQuest *** "Best of the Quest" Jonathon Groubert selects his highlights from 11 years of Euroquest. Jonathan will be returning in May at the helm of a new Radio Netherlands programme. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1027 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1227 (Eastern N America), 1430 (South Asia), 1827 & 2000 (Africa), 0027 (Eastern N America), 0127 (Central N America), 0527 (Western N America)Repeated: Mon 1500 (South Asia), Mon 1900 (Africa)


WEDNESDAY 31 JANUARY

*** Newsline *** The latest world news and current affairs. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1000 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1200 (Eastern N America), 1400 & 1530 (South Asia), 1800, 1930 & 2030 (Africa), 0000 (Eastern N America), 0100 (Central N America), 0500 (Western N America) *** The Weekly Documentary *** "Driving out the Filth in Zimbabwe" In May 2005, the Zimbabwean government launched Operation Murambatsvina, which means "drive out the filth". Officially it was designed to eliminate crime, clean up the streets and regularise the informal sector, the backbone of the country's collapsing economy. In actual fact though, the operation destroyed the livelihoods of nearly 2½ million Zimbabweans. It also left 700,000 people homeless. Over a year and a half later, the evictions are continuing, and despite government pledges, almost no new dwellings have been built. In "Driving out the Filth in Zimbabwe", Eric Beauchemin looks at Operation Murambatsvina and its consequences. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1027 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1227 (Eastern N America), 1430 (South Asia), 1827 & 2000 (Africa), 0027 (Eastern N America), 0127 (Central N America), 0527 (Western N America)Repeated: Fri 1500 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1900 (Africa), Sun 14:30 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), Sun 1930 (Africa, N America)


THURSDAY 1 FEBRUARY

*** Newsline *** The latest world news and current affairs. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1000 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1200 (Eastern N America), 1400 & 1530 (South Asia), 1800, 1930 & 2030 (Africa), 0000 (Eastern N America), 0100 (Central N America), 0400 (Western N America) *** Dutch Horizons *** In Dutch Horizons this week you'll hear about a small city car that gives disabled people mobility, we visit an art school that helps mentally disabled people develop and stimulate their creativity, and we spend a day with a music therapist who helps autistic children communicate. The sessions take place not at a clinic, but at the children's homes. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1027 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1227 (Eastern N America), 1430 (South Asia), 1827 & 2000 (Africa), 0027 (Eastern N America), 0127 (Central N America), 0527 (Western N America)Repeated: Wed 1500 (South Asia), Wed 1900 (Africa)


FRIDAY 2 FEBRUARY

*** Newsline *** The latest world news and current affairs. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1000 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1200 (Eastern N America), 1400 & 1530 (South Asia), 1800, 1930 & 2030 (Africa), 0000 (Eastern N America), 0100 (Central N America), 0400 (Western N America) *** Network Europe *** Take a dash of entertainment, add a measure of information. Swirl in a hint of irreverence and mix well for a thoroughly European flavour. An enticing cocktail that offers more than a taste of events on the continent this week. We call it Network Europe: served up every Tuesday and Friday by a partnership of Europe's leading broadcasters. Broadcast times on SW (UTC): 1027 (Asia/Far East/Pacific), 1227 (Eastern N America), 1430 (South Asia), 1827 & 2000 (Africa), 0027 (Eastern N America), 0127 (Central N America), 0527 (Western N America)Repeated: Tues 1500 (South Asia), Tues 1900 (Africa)

(R Netherlands)

DXers Unlimited - 23-24 January


Dxers UnlimitedDxers Unlimited’s mid week edition 23-24 January 2007

By Arnie Coro-CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados , its nice to have you all listening to this mid week edition of this radio program that is entirely , absolutely devoted not to one specific aspect of the hobby, but to all the more than 80 ways that you and I enjoy it !

I am Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK , your host here in sunny Havana and here is today’s menu: 7040 kiloHertz,yes write it down, because 7040 kiloHertz is the QRP spot frequency where low power enthusiasts gather to challenge operator’s skills while running extremely low power transmitters on the 40 meters amateur band, the one that does remain open during the local evening hours.

Then moving ed up a bit to the 41 meters international broadcast band, sure enough ! several nice DX stations provide armchair copy too. And by the way, late in the evening listening or operating HF ham radio equipment is also much better due to a general reduction in man made noise !!!

Item Two: Monitoring the low band TV channels provides very early warning of an Sporadic E event in progress and do remember that sporadic E events may happen at anytime, not just during the two peak seasons .

Item Three: One of the main topics discussed by Cuban hams is “Amateur radio operations during emergency situations”, and there are some very interesting comments from Cuban amateurs that have had first hand experience keeping communications operating even during the middle of a category four hurricane... Now as the hurricane season approaches, Cuban radio amateurs are getting ready to participate in a nation wide emergency drill, in order to test the readiness of our stations to handle weather related and emergency traffic in case we are hit by a storm.Next item coming up: Yes, I won’t forget of including ASK ARNIE in every Dxers Unlimited that goes on the air, because, according to your e-mail messages and letters, it is certainly the most popular section of the program closely followed by Arnie Coro’s Dxers Unlimited’s HF plus low band VHF propagation updates and forecast..

If time permits, I will also include today our tips and techniques section, as it is becoming quite popular too..Standby for more radio hobby related information, coming to you from Havana…I’ll be back in just a few seconds … I am Arnie Coro in Havana...….You are listening to Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, and yes, we do encourage listener’s feedback, as a very effective way of improving this program, send your comments, opinions, and ideas on how to make Dxers Unlimited better directly to my computer … send mail to arnie@rhc.cu, again, slowly and phonetically, arnie@rhc.cu, and if you are not yet in cyberspace, just drop me a postcard to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba.Now here is ASK ARNIE… THE most popular section of this show.

Today ‘s first question came from England.. listener Pat wants to know if he can adapt a discarded cellphone for amateur radio use. Well amigo Patrick, thanks for a very nice question, as first, second and third generation cellular phones are now becoming an environmental problem in many countries, because technology evolves into much more sophisticated systems that require different cellphones to operate with them. The only amateur radio band that is near to the older and still in use cellphone band around 900 megaHertz is not authorized by telecommunications administrations at a worldwide scale, as a matter of fact, only a few countries authorize their amateur radio operators to use the 900 megaHert band, the one that is close enough to the first cellphone band to make a conversion practical. According to what I have seen inside discarded cellphone sets, the only possible approach for converting them into ham radio transceivers for the 900 megaHertz band is by means of software access to the programming of the cellphone set, and apparently some radio amateurs have already achieved positive results with some specific types of older technology cellphones… By the way amigo Pat, a much easier conversion from new information and communications technologies professional equipment to amateur radio applications can be achieved with the so called WI-FI wireless networking equipment, that can be easily adapted for ham radio use !!!

Question number two: Came from Norway, where listener Olaf is picking up our 6000 kiloHertz and 6180 kiloHertz transmissions just after midnight his local time.Olaf wants to know why is it possible to pick up Tropical Band stations from Latin America at his QTH near Oslo with such good signals, and he mentions picking up Radio Rebelde on 5025 kiloHertz very clearly after the station installed its new transmitter and antenna. Well amigo Olaf, Tropical Band signals will continue to propagate better and better as solar activity continues to move down towards the end of solar cycle 23. When solar flux figures between 70 and 80 units prevail for many days, ionospheric absorption is at a minimum and that will certainly help signals below 5 or 6 megaHertz propagate much better. Another important factor regarding low frequency propagation is the connection between geomagnetic latitude and signal attenuation, something that has puzzled scientists for many years. So, the good news for you up North, is that lower solar activity will improve your reception of Tropical Band stations for at least the next three or four years amigo !!! When old man Sol comes back into high activity, ionospheric absorption will increase and Tropical Band signals will not propagate so well during solar maximum years . Closely following the pattern seen on the 60 meters Tropical Band, international shortwave broadcast stations operating on the 6 megaHertz or 49 meters band will be achivieng much better coverage during the local evening hours, and all along the night path from their location.

Question number three: This one came from Kansas, USA, listener Barry ASKs ARNIE about static electricity charging his antenna all the time, and the problems associated with sudden sparks coming from the antenna even when its disconnected… Well amigo Barry, here is my advice… install a good ground system at your location, even a single ground rod , well driven into the soil of the garden will work, and then buy a pair of 10 kiloOHms two watt carbon resistors and connect them between the antenna and ground… The 5 kiloOhm effective resistance will continuosly drain the static electricity picked up by your antenna to ground, saving your radio receiver’s front end solid state devices from a quick death, caused by the static discharging trough the radio, as it has unfortunately happened to you already… My advice is that you connect the antenna to the radio only when you are using it, and at any signs of even a far away thunderstorm or the presence of CUMULUS NIMBUS type of storm clouds, disconnect the radio and start reading or assembling your new homebrew radio project !!!Static electricity discharging to ground trough your radio’s very delicate solid state devices will burn them up, as many solid state receiver users have learned the hard way. My latest HURRICANE TWO ham radio transceiver, intended to operate during emergencies has a unique front end protection, provided by the use of a vacuum tube radio frequency amplifier stage, that is much more immune to static damages than solid state transistors of any type.Although the vacuum tube stage requires an additional 24 volts DC power supply, the protection provided is well worth the additional components required !!!By the way amigos, don’t forget that specially during the summer thundestorm season,and at anytime, it is always a very good practice to keep all your radio and electronic equipment disconnected from the antennas, ground systems and power line when they are not in use, and as I said a while earlier, it is also extremely good practice to disconnect all radio equipment whenever a thunderstorm is approaching !!!…

.TIPS and TECHNNIQUES is fast becoming popular among Dxers Unlimited’s worldwide audience and cybersurfers that read my scripts via the INTERNET… so, I am trying to include this section in almost every program.

Today’s Tip : When you are going to use any radio equipment connecting it to an automobile or truck electrical system as a power source, STOP, STOP, STOP, before doing it, and build yourself or ask an electronic hobbyst friend to assemble for you a well protected interface… I have seen too many radios, handie talkies, cellphones and CD portable players killed by connecting them directly to automotive electric systems that may generate , under the worst case scenario conditions, voltages as high as 17 or even 20 volts from alternators that are not properly regulated…

The typical automotive electric system goes normally up to 15 or 16 volts to be able to charge the battery, so any electronic device that is not properly protected against such high voltage will simply be killed sooner or later by the overvoltage damage.Before connecting any radio or electronic equipment to a car, truck , airplane or boat electric system run a very exhaustive check of the system while it is operating and be sure that your equipment is capable of handling the highest voltages that are generated by the particular system. My practical solution to this problem for the typical 12 to 14 volts required by amateur radio equipment , is to assemble an interface that provides both reverse polarity and overvoltage protection , and install such interface in the car, truck, mobile home, boat or aircraft, so that the radios are always safe from both reverse polarity connection and overvoltage accidents !!!And now amigos, here is my exclusive, at the end of the show Arnie Coro’s HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast…

Very quiet geomagnetic field now, with very low solar activity prevailing for the next several days…Solar flux is expected to stay very near 80 units, and the effective sunspot number is 20 …I do Hope to see you all at the upcoming edition of Dxers Unlimited amigos !!! And don't forget to send your signal reports, comments about the program and radio hobby related questions to arnie@rhc.cu or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba

(Arnie Coro/R Havana)

Family Radio seeks reception reports for new shortwave frequencies


Dear Dxers,

Family Radio/WYFR have begun their test broadcast in three new shortwave frequencies to India in the Tamil, Teluguand Marathi languages to South Asia. They request the Reception Reports from their listeners request for some assistance.

The signals are:* Tamil 7475 kHz at 1400-1500 UTC
* Telugu 5880 kHz at 1400-1500 UTC
* Marathi 6135 kHz at 1400-1500 UTC

Please send all the reception reports to:
Family Radio <intl@familyradio.com>
(or) Family Radio <familyradio@familyradio.org>
(or) Family Radio <international@familyradio.com>
(Source: Sakthi Vel, India)

RFA releases QSL card series to celebrate Year of the Pig


Thanks to A. J. Janitschek, Director - Production Support at Radio Free Asia (“RFA”), we learn that RFA¹s Technical Operations Division announced the release of its thirteenth QSL card commemorating 2007 as the Year of the Pig.

On 18 February 2007 one fourth of the world's population will celebrate the Chinese New Year; with that, it will usher in the Year of the Pig based upon the Chinese calendar.

This QSL will be issued for all valid RFA reception reports from January 1 ­ February 28, 2007. RFA encourages listeners to submit reception reports. Reception reports are valuable to RFA as they help them evaluate the signal strength and quality of the station¹s transmissions. RFA welcomes all reception report submissions at www.techweb.rfa.org <http://www.techweb.rfa.org (follow the QSL REPORTS link) not only from DX'ers, but also from its general listening audience.

Reception reports are also accepted by email at: qsl@rfa.org, and for anyone without Internet access, reception reports can be mailed to:

Reception Reports, Radio Free Asia, 2025 M. Street NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036, USA

(Source: NASWA Flash Sheet # 260 via Rich D'Angelo)

Special broadcast for India's Republic Day


AIR Special programs on Republic Day

All India Radio will broadcast special programmes inconnection with the Republic Day Celebrations-2007, 25th Jan 2007 - Broadcast of President's Address to the nation - 1400 UTC onwards.Freq's : 9835,9575, 5015, 6030, 6085. 25th Jan 2007 - Sarva Bhasha Kavi Sammelan - 1630 - 1830 UTC Freq's : 7140, 9835, 9575, 6085.26th Jan 2007 - Running commentary of Republic Day Parade - 0350 - 0645 UTC Freq's : See below.29th Jan 2007 - Radio report on Beating Retreat ceremony - 1630 - 1700 UTC Freq's : 7140, 9835, 9575, 6085.


On 26th Jan 2007 at 0350-0645 UTC the running commentary on theRepublic Day Parade and Cultural Pageant will be broadcast as follows:

Hindi - 6155, 9595, 11620, 15050

English - 6030, 9950, 11585, 15020

Note : 9950 is via Aligarh, others are via Delhi. Look out also for 10330 (Bangalore)All regional stations of AIR will relay at least one of these programson shortwave.

The following changes will be there to the External Services of AIR on that day:9910 at 0215-0415 UTC in Pushtu & Dari will be cancelled.15135, 11830 at 0335 - 0350 UTC in Hindi/English will be cancelled. The Urdu Service will carry the Hindi commentary from 0350UTC onwards.

Reception reports to: spectrum-manager@air.org.inOr can be submitted online at :www.allindiaradio.gov.in/recepfdk.html

(Source: Alokesh Gupta, India)

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Saudi radio closes Turkish language broadcast


Beirut, 24 January: The Saudi Arabian government ended Turkish broadcast by Jeddah radio, according to Saudi Arabian officials. The officials indicated that the radio broadcast in Turkish for 2 hours on short wave for 35 years. Turkish citizens living particularly in Saudi Arabian cities of Medina and Al-Dammam, and Turkish-speaking republics in Central Asia were listening to this programme.
Reason for the decision on ending Turkish broadcast has not been announced. Turkish citizens said tens of thousands of Turkish citizens have been working in Saudi Arabia for years and they were listening to the broadcast in Turkish. Meanwhile, sources said that Turkish embassy officials launched initiatives at Saudi Arabian government for resumption of the broadcast.
(Source: Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1239 gmt 24 Jan 07 via BBC Monitoring)
Media Network adds: According to the 2007 World Radio TV Handbook, the broadcast was on the air at 0400-0600 UTC on 15275 kHz.

(Source: R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

FEBC to begin medium wave radio station in Philippines


The Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC) is starting its 9th radio station in the Philippines. President of FEBC Gregg Harris says: ”What’s so exciting about this particular project is it is specifically designed for an evangelistic outreach to 14 different tribal groups in the northern part of Luzon Island.”
According to Harris they’re currently raising $300,000 for this 10,000 watt AM radio station. “Our goal is July 1, 2007 to be on the air with four language groups initially. And, as we’re able to develop the support for the station and get the right kind of people producing the programmes, the ultimate goal is 14 different languages from that one location.”
A dollar for dollar grant challenge has been established to get the project started, says Harris. But, He says, “The on-going operational costs are designed to be borne by the Filipino Christians and by the local churches.” In fact, this project is truly a partnership. Harris says, “FEBC is providing the leadership in terms of the hardware and the operation of the station, but the programming is going to be done in cooperative partnerships with many different mission groups and local churches.”
(Source: Mission Network News/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Tanzania state-owned TV and radio to be reorganized



Televisheni ya Taifa (TvT) and Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam (RTD) are to be reorganised within the next 18 months, in a move designed to enhance competitiveness of the state-owned institution in dissemination of programmes, it was announced in Dar es Salaam yesterday. Tanzania Broadcasting Services (TUT) Managing Director Dunstan Tido Mhando said the reorganisation also entailed improvement of working conditions by provision of better working tools.
“TvT and RTD are currently operating in unpleasant and difficult conditions,” Mr Mhando told a news conference at the Tanzania Information Services auditorium. He said the two institutions were operating from dilapidated buildings that need refurbishment and better working tools.
“I promise that all these problems will be solved within 18 months,” Mr Mhando, a renowned broadcaster and the former head of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Kiswahili Service, told journalists. He said he would launch an exclusive Kiswahili Service Channel to be used in promoting Tanzania’s image locally and abroad. The new TUT chief expressed concern over professional standards at the institutions, saying they leave a lot to be desired.
(Source: Daily News, Tanzania/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)