Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Shortwave blog bytes

All times UTC

Armenia
4810 Armenian National Radio. On a request from Bob Hill, I was going to check for their sign-on at 0200 as listed in the WRTH. When I rolled up on freq at 0130, they were already on in mid-programming. Got a solid ID immediately and then they went into a talk and music show with the semi-middle eastern-style music. They were definitely on already, so this bears
watching. I will continue to check on them and see if this was a special time on a Sunday or if they are now s/on at an earlier time. (Albert Muick-AFG/ HCDX Nov 16/WWDXC Top News/ BC DX # 887, wb, Germany)

Bhutan
French team of amateur radio Clipperton DX Club in Bhutan A5100A - IARU Region 1 conference in Croatia (Raymond Raymond Aupetit)SWL F-15873

Bolivia
6.155.22, 0035-0101 UTC. Radio Fides, La Paz, Spanish- Nov 18 News by male, at 0045 mentined "Radio Fides" at 0050. Interview about internal politics of the Bolivia. SINPO 35333
Audio file: www.ipernity.com/doc/denisgouveia/3455664/ (Denis Bouveia, Brazil/playdx2003)

Burma (non)
New B-08 for Democratic Voice of Burma in Burmese:
1300-1400 on 11880 HBN 100 kW / 270 deg via FCC/VTC
1430-1530 on 9415 ERV 300 kW / 100 deg via TRW, really registered 11795!!!
\\ 17495 MDC 250 kW / 055 deg via RNW
2330-0030 on 5955 WER 125 kW / 075 deg via DTK-MB
(DX Mix News #547 via ALokesh Gupta, India)

Croatia
Croatia Post issued a stamp & FDC on the ocassion of General Conference of International
Amateur Radio Union Region 1 in Catavaton 14th Nov, 2008. Details at: http://tinyurl.com/6nophc
(Alokesh Gupta, India, Raymond Aupetit)

French Guiana
Only a few transmisisons remaining from Montsinery, and only fewer audible in Europe. I heard 0200-0300 9840 Radio Taiwan Spanish very good 1130-1200 13640 RFI French ; just audible 1200-1230 15515 RFI, audible, but I even may not confirm the language Spanish 1700-2000 21685 RFI French; sign on 1657 but quick fade out after half an hour. Frequencies of Voice of Russia were announced via Montsinery: I just can confirm 7335 from 0400-0600 in English, disturbed by Vatican Radio. 7335 from 2-4 UTC VOR in Russian, not useful from South America, so I think other transmitter. [7335 2-6 UT, Ru, En] Other frq VOR from GUF to high for the season to receive in Germany (13630 0100-0300)(Udo Krueger-D, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Nov 10/WWDXC Top News-BC DX #887 via wb, Germany)

Germany (non)
Media Broadcast changes: Radio Ethiopeans For Democracy in Amharic from Nov.16:
1700-1800 new frequency 6145*NAU 125 kW / 145 deg Sun/Wed/Fri to EaAf, ex 11835
* strong co-ch Voice of Russia in German and RTI in Chinese+Mx Jammer
(DX Mix News #547 via Alokesh Gupta, India)

Germany/Madagascar (non)
New station Radio Dabanga in Sudanese Arabic from Nov.15:
0430-0525 on 7315 WER 250 kW / 150 deg to CeAf
13800 MDC 250 kW / 325 deg to CeAf
Station was launched 15 November to the Darfur region and supported by Radio Netherlands Worldwide. (Andy Sennitt, Radio Netherlands; DX Mix News #547 via Alokesh Gupta, India)

Kuwait
9335.00, 0105-0130. VOA Radio Ashna. Nov 17. Pashto comments by male with mentions of the Taliban, at 0110. Brief news items between Arabic music. Station ID at 0130 to sign-off.SINPO 45444. Audio File: www.ipernity.com/doc/74708/3449609 (Denis Bouveia, Brazil/playdx2003)

Madagascar
Update on World Christian Broadcasting -Madagascar Project. KNLS broadcasts from Alaska 20 hours per day in Chinese, Russian and English. Soon we will be broadcasting an additional 30-35 hours from our new station in Madagascar in at least three additional languages of Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese. With these additions, we will broadcast a total of as many as 50-55 hours daily in six of the eight most spoken languages on earth. The other two languages in the top eight are Hindi and Bengali. Both are Indian languages. Our plan is to use English in our broadcasts to that nation.
The construction in Madagascar is on schedule. The guardhouse and staff home are built and painted. As of September 12, the floors of the transmitter building were being poured and the walls were expected to go up shortly. Jeff Jaworski of the KNLS staff in Alaska has joined Kevin and Nancy Chambers in Madagascar to help with the construction. Two members of the Malagasy staff visited the U.S. this past summer to learn to dismantle and assemble the new transmitters. This experience will enable them to assemble and install the transmitters when they arrive in Madagascar.
Hurricane Ike has delayed the shipment of two 40-foot containers from Houston, although the containers were not damaged in the storm. (Nov. NASB)

Moldova
[Pridnestrovye] Tiraspol. Official radio in Moldova's rebel region in dire situation - paper.
The state-run radio Pridnestrovye in Moldova's breakaway Dniester region has cut its broadcasts from 23 to a bit more than three hours a day due to the lack of proper office space, the eponymous Dniester official daily reported on 5 November.
The paper said that because of the last summer's floods the station's radio equipment and personnel were evacuated from its premises in central Tiraspol, but no new office place has been allocated to it so far. The radio channel's equipment is stored in a garage, and journalists work at a canteen of the breakaway region's information ministry.
While information minister Vladimir Belyayev is still in the process of making a decision whether to repair the station's old premises or to find a new office for it, 100 out of the station's 146 staff members have been sent on an open-ended leave, with their wages cut by 30 per cent.
Commenting on the radio station's critical situation, the Russkiy Proryv! weekly said on 5 November that the situation was aggravated by disagreements between the Dniester parliament and the information ministry. According to the law on the state-run media in the Dniester region, all official radio and TV channels should list parliament and the president as founders, but the ministry took upon itself all managerial functions over the Pridnestrovye radio channel, the weekly said.
It recalled that in 2007, parliament initiated a probe into the ministry's activities linked to the radio station and unveiled numerous violations, including money-laundering. Members of the Dniester parliament tabled a proposal then that the radio station sign a separate agreement with president Igor Smirnov and radio Pridnestrovye become answerable to parliament, the paper said.
(Russkiy Proryv!, Tiraspol, in Ru Nov 5 via BBC_M via RNW MN Andy Sennitt/WWDXC Top News, BC-DX887 via wb, Germany)

Netherlands Antilles
6.165.00, 0104-0120 UTC. Radio Nederland-Bonaire relay. Nov 18. Announcer's Spanish station ID as, "Radio Nederland." News and interview about Latin America. SINPO 35343.
Audio file: www.ipernity.com/doc/denisgouveia/3455665/ (Denis Bouveia, Brazil/playdx2003)

Romania
On November 1st the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation celebrated its 80th anniversary. To mark this ocassion a postal stamp devoted to this anniversary was released & the National Bank of Romania has launched an anniversary silver coin.

Here's the Radio Romania 80th anniversary stamp/miniature sheet at: www.romfilatelia.ro/marci/colectia.php?ContentID=431&Year=2008
(click on the logo for photo of stamp & miniature sheet)

And the Radio Romania 80th anniversary coins
www.geocities.com/romaniancoins/10lei08radio.html

Here's the National Bank of Romania Press Release
www.bnro.ro/en/Press/E20081024num.htm
(Alokesh Gupta-IND, JPNpremium, Nov 14/WWDXC Top News/BC-DX #887 via wb, Germany)

Sri Lanka
9.335.00, 2116-2134 UTC. Radio Farda, via Irana Wila. Nov 17. Long Persian comments by male to mentionof web page. Station ID at 2127 as; "Radio Farda." Station sign-off at 2130. SINPO 35343. Audio file: www.ipernity.com/doc/denisgouveia/3453277/ (Denis Bouveia, Brazil/playdx2003)

St. Helena
11092.5USB. Radio St. Helena, 2227-2231 and 2246-2344*, Nov 15, reception very similar to that as reported by others. Reception began as fair, at 2229 must have changed antenna direction and became very faint, retuned to find fair reception. Enjoyed hearing Postmistress
Beverly Francis talking about the stamps issued in 2008 and a preview of 2009 stamps, she tells how to order stamps. Dr. Cronk talking about the endemic flora of Saint Helena, I especial enjoyed the ballad by Uncle Earl called "Bony of Saint Helena" ("Bonaparte is away from his wars and his fighting. He has gone to a place he can take no delight in. He may sit there and dwell on the glories he's seen, oh, While alone he remains on the Isle of St. Helena ... "),
Good number of IDs to 2330 "God Save the Queen." Non-stop easy-listening music to station sign-off. (Ron Howard, Asilomar Beach, CA, Etón E1)

The reception of Radio St. Helena here in Chennai, in south India on 15th Nov 2008.
Audio link: http://dxersguide.blogspot.com/ (or)
http://vaanoliulagam.podomatic.com/entry/2008-11-17T22_59_02-08_00
(Jaisakthive, India)

Audio clip from Zacharias Liangas, Greece:
http://images.zlgr.multiply.com/attachment/0/SSAb3QoKCHYAAFLH8PE1/RSH%201
1092%2C5%202120%20151108.mp3?nmid=135305034
(WWDXC Top News/BC-DX #887 via wb, Germany)

United Kingdom
Broadcaster Alistair Cooke recounts his first proper encounter with a native American in spring 1947. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0089htt . Audio archived online until Sunday, November 23, 2008
BBC Radio 7 is running classic episodes all week at www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00f6hbp
(Fred Waterer, Canada/ODXA)

Norman Tomalin's 1998 book Daventry Calling the World has now been made available on the BBCeng.info site as a pdf download www.bbceng.info/Books/dx-world/dx-world.htm>
(Mike Barraclough, UK)

United States
WYFR Family Radio in Tamil. New transmission from Nov.15:
1500-1600 on 9585 NAU 500 kW / 095 deg to SoAs
(DX Mix News #547 via Alokesh Gupta, India)