Radio Nikkei simulcasting local radio from Fukushima

Due to the nuclear emergency in Fukushima, Japan, Radio Nikkei - the country’s only private shortwave broadcaster - has begun to simulcast some programming from a local radio station in Fukushima - Radio Hukuzima - which is broadcasting a 24-hour emergency service. The simulcasts are carried on Radio Nikkei’s 1st Programme, which operates on 3925/6055/9595 kHz. Simulcasts over the next few days are tentatively scheduled as follows:

17 March: 0930-1055 UTC
18 March: 0605-0700 & 1045-1130 UTC
19 March: 0930-1030 UTC
20 March: 1035-1130 UTC
21 March: Extended broadcast planned
Radio Nikkei points out that the scheduled transmissions may be modified depending on events in Fukushima.

(Source: Radio Nikkei website via Google Translate/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Countdown to summer schedule updates

As many of you are aware, most shortwave broadcasters will update their broadcast frequency schedules, commencing 27 March 2011.

In the coming days, I will post selected summer schedules, as I am currently processing and updating the Monitoring Times database.

Complete by-hour broadcast schedule of all worldwide schedules, are available as a free download to all MT ExPress subscribers. The new online Shortwave Broadcast Guide has more than 11,000 station entries that include all languages being broadcast via shortwave radio worldwide, sorted by time and updated monthly.

For additional subscription information, please refer to www.monitoringtimes.com
Gayle Van Horn/Frequency Manager, Monitoring Times

Voice of Russia to assist with messages to Japan

Text of report in English by Japan’s largest news agency Kyodo

Moscow, March 13 Kyodo - Voice of Russia, the Russian government-run international radio station, said Saturday it will air a special programme to convey messages from overseas residents facing difficulty contacting their families and friends in Japan in the aftermath of a massive earthquake.

The station will accept such messages in Japanese, English and Russian on a 24-hour telephone hotline and will deliver them in its Japanese-language programme aired daily between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Japan Time, as well as on its website pages featuring some other Asian and European languages.

The phone number for the services is 7-495-9506484. The broadcaster also accepts messages via e-mail at letters@ruvr.ru .

(Source: Kyodo News Service, Tokyo, in English 0142 gmt 13 Mar 11 via BBC Monitoring/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Radio Japan English service

All times UTC / target areas: af (Africa) as (Asia) eu (Europe) na (North America) pa (Pacific)

0500-0530 5975eu 6110na 9770af 15205as 17810as
1000-1030 9605as 9625pa 9840pa 11780as
1200-1230 6120na 9625pa 9790eu
1200-1300 9695as
1300-1330 9875as
1400-1430 5955as 9875as 21560af
(Alexey Zinevich, Bulgaria/BCDX 986/Top News)

Media Broadcast schedule updates, Part 3-4

Transmitters via French Guiana and Germany

Updates for Winter B-10 schedule of Media Broadcast (MBR)


Part 3 of 4:

All times UTC

Radio Dardasha 7 (Clandestine)
0300-0330 7325 WER 125 kW 120 deg to NE/ME in Arabic
0500-0530 6100 NAU 125 kW 190 deg to WeAF in Arabic
1700-1730 9440 WER 125 kW 120 deg to NE/ME in Arabic
1900-1930 9430 WER 125 kW 180 deg to WeAF in Arabic

Radio Farda
0400-0500 9430 WER 250 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian
0500-0600 12015 WER 250 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian
0600-0700 17840 WER 250 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian
1230-1600 13680 WER 250 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian
1800-1900 9850 WER 250 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian

Radio Liberty
0400-0500 6105 WER 250 kW 060 deg to EaEUR in Belorussian
0400-0600 6120 WER 250 kW 060 deg to EaEUR in Belorussian
1600-1800 7220 WER 250 kW 055 deg to EaEUR in Belorussian
1600-1700 11980 WER 250 kW 075 deg to EaEUR in Russian
1400-1500 9595 WER 250 kW 060 deg to CeAS in Uzbek
1400-1500 12015 WER 250 kW 075 deg to CeAS in Uzbek
1500-1530 11790 WER 250 kW 075 deg to CeAS in Kyrgyz
1600-1700 9485 NAU 250 kW 103 deg to CeAS in Azeri

Radio Mashaal
0500-0900 15715 WER 250 kW 090 deg to WeAS in Pashto

Deewa Radio
1400-1500 9565 WER 250 kW 090 deg to WeAS in Pashto

Radio Ashna
1530-1730 9770 WER 250 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Dari/Pashto

Voice of America (VOA):
2030-2100 9780 WER 250 kW 180deg to CeAF Hausa Mo-Fr,ex11705 NAU
1630-1700 15620 WER 250 kW 135 deg to EaAF in Somali
1630-1700 9785 WER 250 kW 150 deg to EaAF En"Focus"to Sudan Mo-Fr
1630-1700 11905 WER 250 kW 150 deg to EaAF En"Focus"to Sudan Mo-Fr
1630-1700 13635 NAU 250 kW 150 deg to EaAF En"Focus"to Sudan Mo-Fr
1800-1830 9805 WER 250 kW 150 deg to EaAF in Arabic "Hello Darfur"
1900-1930 9815 WER 250 kW 150 deg to EaAF in Arabic "Hello Darfur"
1730-1800 9485 NAU 250 kW 140 deg to EaAF in Afan Oromo Mon-Fri
1730-1800 11905 WER 250 kW 150 deg to EaAF in Afan Oromo Mon-Fri
1800-1900 9485 NAU 250 kW 140 deg to EaAF in Amharic
1800-1900 11675 WER 250 kW 135 deg to EaAF in Amharic
1900-1930 9485 NAU 250 kW 140 deg to EaAF in Tigrigna Mon-Fri
0230-0330 7205 WER 250 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian
0230-0330 9495 WER 250 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian
1630-1730 9540 WER 250 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian
1730-1830 9825 WER 250 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian
1730-1930 9680 NAU 125 kW 100 deg to WeAS in Persian
1830-1930 9825 WER 125 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian
0500-0600 9430 NAU 250 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Kurdish
1400-1500 13735 WER 250 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Kurdish
1500-1530 5930 WER 250 kW 075 deg to CeAS in Uzbek
1600-1700 7390 WER 250 kW 090 deg to CeAS in Georgian
1700-1800 11840 WER 250 kW 090 deg to CeAS in Georgian
1830-1900 9495 WER 250 kW 090 deg to CeAS in Azeri

Brother Stair/The Overcomer Ministries
1400-1600 9460 WER 100 kW 300 deg to WeEUR English
1400-1600 13810 NAU 100 kW 129 deg to NE/ME English
1400-1600 17580 WER 100 kW 170 deg to CeAF English

Radio Dabanga (Clandestine)
1530-1630 13740 WER 500 kW 150 deg to EaAF in Sudanese Arabic
1630-1730 11615 WER 500 kW 150 deg to EaAF in Sudanese Arabic

FEBA Radio
1900-1930 7235 WER 250 kW 105 deg to NE/ME in Arabic

Voice of Russia
2300-0100 11605 GUF 250 kW 181 deg to SoAM in Portuguese
0100-0300 9875 GUF 250 kW 195 deg to SoAM in Spanish
0300-0600 7335 GUF 250 kW 318 deg to NoAM in Spanish

Democratic Voice of Burma (Clandestine)
2330-0030 5905 WER 125 kW 075 deg to SoEaAS in Burmese
(R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Mar 8)
(DX Mix News 667, Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany & Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria)



Transmitters via France, French Guiana and Germany


Part 4 0f 4

Updates for Winter B-10 schedule of Media Broadcast (MBR).



Voice of Croatia
0000-0400 7375 WER 100 kW 300 deg to NoEaAm in Croatian/English/Spanish
0200-0600 7375 WER 125 kW 325 deg to NoWeAF in Croatian/English/Spanish
2300-0400 7375 WER 100 kW 240 deg to SoAM in Croatian/English/Spanish

Gospel For Asia
0030-0130 7215 WER 250 kW 090 deg to SoEaAS in South East Asian langs
1230-1500 15285 WER 250 kW 090 deg to SoEaAS in South East Asian langs
1330-1530 12005 WER 250 kW 090 deg to SoEaAS in South East Asian langs
1530-1630 11645 WER 250 kW 090 deg to SoEaAS in South East Asian langs
2330-0030 7240 WER 250 kW 075 deg to SoEaAS in South East Asian langs

Radio Japan NHK World
1200-1230 9790 WER 250 kW 300 deg to WeEUR in English
0330-0400 6130 WER 250 kW 045 deg to EaEUR in Russian
0530-0600 9850 WER 500 kW 195 deg to WeCeAF in French
1430-1500 12045 WER 500 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian
2200-2300 9620 WER 500 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Japanese

Lutheran World Federation Voice of Gospel
1830-1900 9800 WER 500 kW 180 deg to WeCeAF in Fulani

WYFR Family Radio
1800-1900 3975 WER 250 kW non-dir to CeEUR in Hungarian
1800-1900 6120 NAU 250 kW 230 deg to SoEUR in Spanish
1700-1900 6140 WER 250 kW 060 deg to EaEUR in Russian
1800-1900 6050 WER 100 kW 090 deg to SoEaEUR in Romanian
1900-2000 3975 WER 250 kW non-dir to SoEaEUR in Serbian
1700-1800 11690 WER 100 kW 180 deg to NoAF in Arabic
1800-1900 9845 ISS 250 kW 134 deg to NoAF in Arabic
1900-2000 9500 WER 250 kW 150 deg to NoAF in Arabic
1900-2000 9695 WER 500 kW 210 deg to WeAF in French
2000-2100 9515 NAU 250 kW 210 deg to WeAF in Arabic
2000-2100 9830 NAU 250 kW 202 deg to WeAF in Bambara, new exEnglish
2100-2200 6010 WER 250 kW 210 deg to WeAF in Arabic
2200-2300 5960 WER 250 kW 210 deg to WeAF in Arabic
1800-1900 9535 WER 500 kW 183 deg to WeCeAF in Hausa
1800-1900 11665 WER 500 kW 180 deg to WeCeAF in English
1900-2200 9925 WER 500 kW 180 deg to WeCeAF in English
2000-2100 9595 NAU 500 kW 180 deg to WeCeAF in French
2100-2200 7305 NAU 500 kW 180 deg to WeCeAF in French
1600-1700 13660 NAU 500 kW 125 deg to EaAF in Oromo
1600-1700 11975 ISS 500 kW 131 deg to EaAF in Amharic
1700-1800 11975 ISS 500 kW 131 deg to EaAF in Swahili
1800-1900 12015 ISS 500 kW 155 deg to SoAF in En(Sesotho*)
1800-1900 13660 WER 500 kW 165 deg to SoAF in En(Setswana*)
1800-1900 12140 WER 500 kW 165 deg to SoAF in En(Xhosa-Zulu*)
1900-2000 11955 NAU 500 kW 177 deg to SoAF in Kikongo
1900-2000 12140 WER 500 kW 150 deg SoAF Kinyarwanda-Kirundi
1600-1700 11995 WER 250 kW 120 deg to NE/ME in Arabic
1700-1800 9850 WER 250 kW 120 deg to NE/ME in Arabic
1600-1700 11885 NAU 500 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian
1700-1800 6105 NAU 500 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Persian
1700-1800 9630 WER 500 kW 105 deg to WeAS in Kurdish
1400-1500 13605 WER 250 kW 075 deg to CeAS in Uzbek Mo-Sa
1400-1500 13605 ISS 250 kW 070 deg to CeAS in Uzbek Sun
1300-1500 13820 NAU 500 kW 085 deg to SoAS in Bengali
1400-1500 15325 WER 500 kW 090 deg to SoAS in Oriya
1400-1500 15315 WER 500 kW 105 deg to SoAS in Malayalam
1400-1500 13655 WER 500 kW 090 deg to SoAS in Sindhi
1500-1600 13655 WER 500 kW 090 deg to SoAS in Kannada
1400-1600 13700 NAU 500 kW 095 deg to SoAS in Hindi
1500-1600 9800 NAU 500 kW 084 deg to SoAS in Gujarati
1500-1600 11935 NAU 500 kW 094 deg to SoAS in Tamil
1600-1700 9405 NAU 500 kW 094 deg to SoAS in Hindi
0100-0200 11730 GUF 250 kW 306 deg to CeAM in Creole
2200-2400 9465 GUF 500 kW 215 deg to SoAM in Spanish
2200-2400 7360 GUF 500 kW 170 deg to SoAM in Portuguese
0000-0100 7360 GUF 500 kW 170 deg to SoAM in English
0000-0100 7395 GUF 500 kW 215 deg to SoAM in Spanish
0200-0300 5930 GUF 500 kW 215 deg to SoAM in English
* future plan
(R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Mar 9)
(DX Mix News 668, Wolfgang Bueschel, Germany & Ivo Ivanov, Bulgaria)

Hot Spot DXing - NHK Japan in English

Japan, NHK World/Radio Japan - B10 English schedule
Effective: 31 October 2010 - 27 March 2011

All times UTC
broadcast daily unless otherwise indicated

English
0500-0530 5975eu 6110na 9770af 15205as 17810as
1000-1030 9605as 9625pa 9840pa 11780as
1200-1230 6120na 9625pa 9790eu
1200-1300 9695as
1300-1330 9875as
1400-1430 5955as 9875as 21560af
(Alexey Zinevich, Bulgaria/BCDX 986/Top News)

E10 Mossad HF Numbers Stations - SK!

Our good friend Ary Boender is reporting on the UDXF newsgroup that after about 45 years, the well known Israeli Mossad numbers (Enigma E10) transmissions have disappeared from the HF spectrum. The stations have been silent since March 1st. Callsigns include YHF, CIO, VLB, etc.

According to the March 2011 E2K newsletter the night of Feb 28-Mar 1 was the last time a E10 transmission was logged. Despite intensive monitoring of all the current and previous known frequencies since, nothing has been heard.

So where has this activity moved to? Satellite? Landlines? Has the E10 transmissions gone digital? Is the E2K editorial staff theory that the extra traffic that has been observed over in Europe on the HEW ALE network related? There just is no way to know at this time.

But I can say that this is truly an end of an era. I still remember all the legwork that Havana Moon and others did many years ago to confirm the locations of these transmissions and the originating agency - the Israel Mossad.

E10 transmissions SK!

Weekly Propagation Forecast Bulletins

The daily sunspot number (SSN) has reached 137 and the daily solar flux index (SFI) 166.7, both new record high's for solar cycle 24.

The UTC day ended with five M class solar flares, the largest being an M5.3. All five solar flares resulted in radio black outs on the sun facing side of the earth.

A >(10+0) energetic proton flux storm is still underway and continues to create increased D Layer RF signal absorption on 160 and 80 meters on paths at high latitudes (polar cap absorption) on the day light side of the earth.. You can see it at ttp://www.swpc.noaa.gov/drap/index.html .

73 & GUD DX,
Thomas F. Giella, NZ4O
Lakeland, FL, USA
nz4o@tampabay.rr.com

Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts
:Issued: 2011 Mar 09 0004 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center
# Product description and SWPC web contact www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly.html
#
# Weekly Highlights and Forecasts
#
Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity
28 February - 06 March 2011

Solar activity ranged from very low to moderate levels during the period. Activity was at moderate levels on 28 February. Region 1164 (N24, L=165, class/area Fkc/770 on 05 March) produced an M1.1 flare at 28/1252UTC. Region 1164 also produced a C2.4/Sf flare with an
associated Type II sweep, with an estimated shock velocity of 1038 km/s. Activity decreased to low levels for the rest of the period. Several C-class flares occurred; the most significant of these was a C5.4/1N at 03/1419 UTC from Region 1164.

No protons were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal to moderate levels during 28 February - 01 March. High levels occurred during 02- 06 March.

Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to severe storm levels during the period. Activity was at quiet levels on 28 February. Activity increased to quiet to active levels, with isolated minor to severe levels on 01 March. Activity decreased to quiet to unsettled levels, with isolated active to major storm levels on 05 March. Activity decreased to quiet to unsettled levels, with isolated active levels to major storm levels at high latitudes on 04 March. The elevated activity was due to a co-rotating interaction region (CIR) and a following coronal hole high-speed stream (CH HSS). The Interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) Bt reached 17 nT at 01/0645 UTC, while the southward IMF Bz reached a maximum deflection of -15 nT at
01/0645 UTC, and wind velocities reached 703 km/s at 02/0314 UTC. Activity decreased to predominantly quiet levels during 05 - 06 March.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity
09 March - 04 April 2011

Solar activity is expected to be at high levels on 09 March as Regions 1164 and 1165 (S20, L=184, class/area Fko/420 on 09 March) rotate around the west limb. Very low to low levels are expected, with a chance for M-class events during 10 - 22 March. Activity is expected to increase to low to moderate levels during 22 March - 04 April, as old Region 1165 returns.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 09 - 10 March. Normal to moderate levels are expected are during 11 - 18 March. High levels are expected to return on 19 - 21 March. Normal to moderate levels are expected from 22 March to 28 March. Normal to moderate levels are expected for the rest of the period.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active levels, with isolated minor storm levels at high latitudes from 09 March to early on 11 March. The increase in activity is expected due to an Earth-directed CME observed on 07 March. Predominantly quiet levels are expected from late on 11 March through 27 March. Quiet to active levels, with isolated minor to major storm levels are expected on 29 March. Quiet to unsettled levels, with isolated minor
storm levels at high latitudes are expected during 30 - 31 March. The increase in activity is expected due to a recurrent CH HSS. Predominantly quiet levels are expected during 01 - 04 April.

Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt
:Issued: 2011 Mar 09 0004 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center
# Product description and SWPC web contact www.swpc.noaa.gov/wwire.html
#
# 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table
# Issued 2011-03-08
#
# UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest
# Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index
2011 Mar 09 150 25 5
2011 Mar 10 150 22 5
2011 Mar 11 145 12 3
2011 Mar 12 140 5 2
2011 Mar 13 135 5 2
2011 Mar 14 135 5 2
2011 Mar 15 130 5 2
2011 Mar 16 120 5 2
2011 Mar 17 110 5 2
2011 Mar 18 110 5 2
2011 Mar 19 105 5 2
2011 Mar 20 100 5 2
2011 Mar 21 110 5 2
2011 Mar 22 120 5 2
2011 Mar 23 120 5 2
2011 Mar 24 130 5 2
2011 Mar 25 135 5 2
2011 Mar 26 140 5 2
2011 Mar 27 145 5 2
2011 Mar 28 150 7 2
2011 Mar 29 150 19 4
2011 Mar 30 145 7 2
2011 Mar 31 140 5 2
2011 Apr 01 135 5 2
2011 Apr 02 130 5 2
2011 Apr 03 120 5 2
2011 Apr 04 110 5 2
(NOAA)

Monitoring Liberia on shortwave

In recent weeks, DXers are hearing what is believed to be a reactivation of Liberia's Radio Veritas as noted from this week's DX Window. Any additional monitoring observations are always appreciated.
Gayle VH

5470.00, Radio Veritas, Monrovia (presumed), 1940-2201*, Feb 24, 25, 26, 28 and Mar 06. Still testing in French. Interview, 2000 news about Libya, Nigeria and Europe. Hymns, no ID heard and audio varying quickly from fair to nil, when best: SINPO 33333, modulation good to poor, at times utility interference present. (Milan ARI DX night and Petersen)

6070, ELWA, Monrovia. Just came across this of ELWA Liberia shortwave. The video shows SW transmitter (ELCOR 2 kW is it?). Shot taken summer 2010. Possibly still running on 6070, if the transmitter works.
http://www.elwamausa.org/mt/mt-search.cgi?IncludeBlogs=1&tag=Bill%20and%20Betty%20Thompson&limit=20
(Savolainen in Dxplorer)
(DX Window 423 via Anker Petersen)

WRTH 2011, reportes ELWA was inactive at press time on 4760, 6070 kHz. When active operates in English and local languages 0600-1000, 1730-2300 UTC and Sat/Sun to 2230UTC.

Asia in Focus at DRM General Assembly 2011

Asia was in the focus during the 23rd General Assembly of Digital Radio Mondiale held for the first time in Malaysia with the support of the Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union. At this annual meeting of the Consortium, members from around the world discussed reports on all the DRM activities undertaken during the past year and agreed on strategy and plans for the year 2011-12.

India remains the main focus of DRM activity in the region. Several other markets were discussed including Russia and Korea. Russia is on the brink of launching a massive digitisation program using DRM technology. A report from Voice of Russia shed light on their plans of converting a vast transmitter network to digital. New DRM member KETI (Korea Electronics Technology Institute) released its positive findings from the recent DRM+ assessment in that country.

Members also heard reports from the Asia Sub Group which had success with the Sri Lanka DRM+ trial and is focusing on facilitating the DRM process in India. The extensive work done by the DRM Receiver Group in bringing information and DRM equipment manufacturing companies together was also presented to the members.

The annual General Assembly also welcomed new members Frontier Silicon, Silicon Laboratories Inc. and KETI. The General Assembly was an opportunity for members to learn more about DRM trials in Brazil and the progress made in the DRM+ trials currently on-going in Scotland. A special event to be held in Edinburgh on 29 March will give a full view of the measurements and positive findings of the most comprehensive DRM+ trial to-date.

The General Assembly rounds off a month of successful events in Asia, including Broadcast Engineering Society annual conference and Radio Asia in India, where DRM was showcased and important DRM issues were addressed.
(Source: DRM Consortium/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

BBC to create online archives for axed foreign-language service

An archive of broadcasts from BBC World Service radio stations due to be axed is being made available online. Services involved in the archive plans include BBC Para Africa, the Portuguese service for Africa, which has made audio and photos from its 72-year-history available on its website.

A number of language services are being cut as part of last year’s comprehensive spending review, which saw the BBC agree to take over the funding of the World Service from the Foreign Office. BBC Para Africa ceased broadcasting on February 25 along with BBC Mundo, the Spanish service for Latin America, which has retained a news website. The Macedonian service ceased last week, the Serbian and Albanian services the week before, and the English for the Caribbean service is due to shut later this month.

Radio programming in seven languages - Azeri (the official language of Azerbaijan), Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Spanish for Cuba, Turkish, Vietnamese and Ukrainian - will be closed as part of the plans.
The World Service will also cease shortwave transmission of five more services in March:, Indonesian, Kyrgyz, Nepali, Swahili and the Great Lakes service (for Rwanda and Burundi).

The broadcaster’s Hindi service was due to be among those five services, but it was announced yesterday that it will retain an evening news radio broadcast “for an interim period” while commercial funding opportunities are explored.

The World Service cuts are expected to cost the broadcaster around 650 jobs and 30 million listeners. The Foreign Affairs Committee will begin an inquiry tomorrow into the impact of service closures and other cuts on the BBC World Service.
(Source: journalism.co.uk)

Blog Logs - South America

All times UTC // parallel frequencies

Argentina
6060, Radio Nacional, General Pacheco, Buenos Aires, 2304. Interview in Spanish, some background hum and interference.(Bell/FRW 422)

Bolivia
3310, Radio Mosoj Chaski, Cotapachi, 1010-1020. Quecha religious talk. Good signal strength, but utility interference was making reception difficult. (Wlodarski). Also heard at 2324-0105 with Spanish talks followed by lots of Bolivian music. At 0100 a clear mentioning of Mosoj Chaski, SINPO 25432. (Van Arnhem/DXW 422)

4409.8, Radio Eco, Reyes, 2330-2350. Noted with good signal. (Wilkner/DXW 422)

4451.13, Radio Santa Ana, Santa Ana de Yacuma, 2330-0110. Choral music, ID as ”Radio Santa Ana”, string of vocals and comments. On late for Radio Santa Ana. (Wilkner/DXW 422)

4699.96, Radio San Miguel, Riberalta, noted 1015 already in progress with male's Spanish talks repeatedly mentioning Bolivia. Occasional GMT-4 t/c,s. Seemed news show with remote actualities being played. 1028 ". . . ustedes en sintonia con Radio San Miguel . . . programacion del campo y patrimonio nacional . . . las seis de la manana . . . nuestro amigos . . ." 1029 program ends. Female announcer crooning with guitar, orchestra rift, then back into announcer's Spanish again. Decent signal and clear frequency but a bit boomy. (Ralph Perry, IL/pladx)

Brazil
3375, Radio Municipal, São Gabriel da Cachoeira, 935-1050. Local music to Portuguese announcement. Poor signal. (Wlodarski/DXW 422)

4754.85, Radio Imaculada Conceição, Campo Grande, 0950-1005. Portuguese talk echoing over orchestral background music. Live studio announcement followed, mentioning several times "Santa Maria" (three times in five minutes). Good signal. (Perry in Dxplorer/DXW 422). Also heard at 2314 with preacher in Portuguese. Choir music and slow song of praise. Fair signal. (Bell/DXW 422)

4865.071, Radio Verdes Florestas, 1030-1045. Noted at 1030 Portuguese singing, music was soft and may have been religious. At 1032 between songs, noted a brief comments. Signal continually improved during the period from poor to good. (Chuck Bolland, FL)

4985, Radio Brasil Central, Goiânia, GO, 2309-0010. Ballad type music, ID jingle at 2312 in Portuguese. Fair signal // 11815 which had good signal strength. (Wilkner and Wlodarski/DXW 422)

5045, Radio Cultura do Pará, Belém, PA, 2228-2240. Portuguese advertisements. Station ID at 2229. Local news for fair signal quality.
(Wlodarski/DXW 422)

9654.35, Radio Bandeirantes, Sao Paolo, 2300. Fair signal getting splattered by interference. Two males in Portuguese dialogue. Sentimental station for me, whenever I hear it, as Bandeirantes was my first Brazilian logging (and QSL!) almost 35 years ago. (Ralph Perry, IL/pladx)

9665.10, Radio Voz Missionaria, 2310. Christian Portuguese pop music, then into male announcer's long, inspirational speech in Portuguese at 2314. Could pick up references to God, the family, the Bible, etc. "Amen, alleluia!!" at 2310 several times, then female's intoning in a somewhat ecstatic Portuguese with music building behind her. Able to tune the // frequency of 5939.85, though at a much lower level. Nice signal and no interference. (Ralph Perry,IL/playdx)
9820, Radio 9 de Julho, Sao Paulo, 0827-0840. Male/female with religious comments and Portuguese time check as, "5 horas 35 minutos." Religious songs. SINPO 23322. (Méndez/Cumbre)

15190, Radio Inconfidencia, Belo Horizonte, 0920-1005. Brazilian songs. Portuguese, program Trem Caipira. Station identification: "Inconfidencia, trem caipira, 6 y 39", "Voce está na Rede Inconfidencia de radio". SINPO 24332. Also 0845-0852, 08-03, Brazilian songs. 24322. (Manuel Méndez/Cumbre)

Colombia
6035.02, LV del Guaviare, 1003-1035. Presumed with Spanish talk. Ads. Religious recitations. Local Spanish music. Poor in noisy conditions. (Brian Alexander, PA)
　
Peru
4747, Radio Huanta 2000, Huanta, 0957-1035. Spanish ID at 0958, advertisement to time pips at 1000. Quecha announcement to local music. STation ID at 1029 over music. Fair signal. (Wlodarski/DXW 422)

4789.91, Radio Visión, Chiclayo, 0510-0750. Spanish talk, religious program La Voz de la Salvación, Gloria a Jesús, La palabra del Señor, SINPO 14321. (Liangas and Méndez). Also noted at 0910-1125, Spanish preacher in front of a live crowd with religious talk, “la iglesia..en busca del Dios..Iglesia Pentecostal”, 1120 time check: "...las seis de la manana . .programa de noticias". Good Signal. (Otávio, Perry via Dxplorer, Wilkner and Wlodarski/DXW 422)

4824.47, Radio La Voz de la Selva, Iquitos. Noted 1058 with big carrier though lower modulation. Peruvian folklorica vocals by male with guitar and quenas. Male's yelling at 1101 in Spanish in echo chamber followed by program of more musica del campo. Also reliably noting Radio Huanta 2000 most mornings around 1030 on steady 4746.97 (Ralph Perry, IL/playdx)

4955, Radio Cultural Amauta, Huanta, Ayacucha, 2320-2330. Spanish announcement and ad. SINPO 34433. (Van Arnhem/DXW 422)

4974.8, Radio Pacífico, Lima, 0815-0825. Spanish religious comments. Very weak, LSB, SINPO 14321. (Méndez/DXW 422)

5039.235, Radio Libertad, 1046-1100,. Signal here with music, at 1051, between melodies, a male commented in Spanish. At 1052 noted canned ID with some echo effect. Signal was poor. (Chuck Bolland, FL)

5120.39, Ondas del Suroriente, Quillabamba, 1030-1050. Andean music, ID and local announcement in Quecha. Local flute music with male announcer speaking over music at times, better than usual signal. (Wilkner and Wlodarski/DXW 422)

5921.26, Radio Bethel, Arequipa, 1100. Spanish programme. (Wilkner/DXW 422)

6019.24, Radio Victoria, Lima, 0545-0556. Spanish religious program La Voz de la Liberación, SINPO 24322.(Méndez). Also heard at 1010-1025, usual preaching by David Miranda and music. The signal improves from a poor to good level. (Bolland). And at 0040 with male speakers interchanging in rapid, emotional Spanish, weak. (Bell/DXW 422)

China to spend US $8 million to increase international reach

Keith Perron of PCJ Media writes: “As you may or may not know March 5th was the start of the annual National People’s Congress in China. At a meeting Sunday night with the head of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China which is headed by Li Changchun. This department is directly controlled by the Politburo Standing Committee have called the cuts at the BBC World Service and the proposed cuts to the Voice of America as a victory for “the Communist Party of China and the fight against the West”, in a speech to members of his department.

“In the unpublicised speech he said with the Western media outlets losing the media war, it will give China a chance to dominate the international airwaves. Li Changchun also announced that China will spend 52,000,000 Yuan (US$8 million) starting this year to expand its reach to international audiences. This includes satellite broadcasts, “taking over AM/FM stations in the west”, and expanding China’s use of shortwave to the Americas, Europe, Africa and South East Asia. China will also be looking at taking over relay stations once used to broadcast to the PRC by the West “who have misinformed the people of China to create an unstable society”.

“A proposal by the Politburo Standing Committee will be submitted to the high level officials of the Communist Party of China on March 8th to combine CCTV 4 and 9 (international) and China Radio International into one, to “take over the airwaves of the imperialist aggressors of stations like the BBC and the Voice of America”.

“This information comes to me from a source I cannot name to protect their identity as they work in the documents office at Zhongnanhai, the main headquarters of the CPC. I got this information this morning March 7th.”
(PJC/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Radio Nepal to reduce height of Khumaltar transmitter

Radio Nepal is reducing the height of its Khumaltar-based transmitter tower to ensure air safety. The tower stands in the way of planes’ take-off route. “Radio Nepal is reducing its tower’s height to 45 metres from existing 97 metres,” said Mahendra Singh Rawal, director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN).

“The height has been creating trouble as it is on the secondary air route of Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA),” he said, adding that CAAN, Radio Nepal, and Qatar Airways have recently reached an agreement to reduce the height of the tower. Aeroplanes are compelled to fly carrying less weight than its capacity since they have to take height within a couple of minutes of take-off due to the tower in their route. The compulsion of reducing its weight is called load penalty.

Qatar Airways has provided Rs 20 million to Radio Nepal to purchase equipment to maintain its quality and CAAN has assured to pay the customs duty for import of equipment, Rawal said. “Radio Nepal is expected to reduce the height of the tower by this month,” he said.

The Radio Nepal Khumaltar transmitting station has three 100 kW shortwave transmitters.
(Source: Himalayan News Service/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Radio Nord revival on shortwave, March 8

We just got the confirmation from The Swedish Post and Telecom Agency (PTS) that our application for MW 1512 kHz and SW 6060 kHz has been approved. On March 8 at 0848 UTC/GMT (0948 CET) we will start by broadcasting the opening of Radio Nord just as it was aired on this date in 1961. We will also make some short test transmissions on these frequencies before our regular programme starts.

If you catch our signal please comment in this blog and let us know how well you can hear us in your area. QSL cards will be available later.

Additional post
Bernt Nyberg of Sala reports that the aerial for the SW transmitter will have to be moved as it was probably the fact that the antenna was located too closely to his workshop that caused the transmitter to shut itself down.

The aerials for both SW and MW will now be moved out into a logging coupe some 150 metres from the house and if everything goes well test transmissions could take place in the evening on Monday, March 7. We should be on the air as planned on March 8 at 0848 UTC/GMT (0948 CET). Below a pic of the SW transmitter. It is a Collins 208U-10-A with exciter TD90 from Swedish SRT.
http://www.radionordrevival.blogspot.com/

BBCWS to retain Hindi service while it seeks commercial funding

The BBC World Service has announced it will retain an evening news radio broadcast in Hindi "for an interim period" while it explores funding proposals from commercial parties.

News and current affairs output in Hindi was due to be shut down as part of a number of closures resulting from the government's spending review and the BBC's licence fee settlement.

Additional story at: Journalism.Co. UK
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/world-service-to-retain-hindi-broadcast-while-it-seeks-commerical-funding/s2/a543103/

pirate radio logs

a sampling of what the pirate chasers are logging.

All times UTC

Crystal Ship tcsshortwave@gmail.com
6815, 2223, SIO 121. I can just tell that he's there, lots of noise and data pulses, coming in much better SIO 323, still noisy, with Dylan at 2322. Music- Fortunate One. Signal seems to be coming mostly out of my left speaker (Al Fansome, PA/FRW 786)

KARR Radio radiokarr@hotmail.com
6925USB, 0024-0105.+ With heavy metal music, synthesized ID at 0030:45 “…RR mobile transmitter.” Fair signal with some fading. Please QSL, have recording. (Foltz-CA, martinfoltz@cox.net ).(FRW 786)

Radio GaGa radiogaga6925@gmail.com
6925USB, 2355, SIO 333. Weird "tunnel" effects from the propagation or perhaps a modem or CODAR. ID - "Radio GaGa" at 2356, Tune, Pressure, Live from Zipper Lake, and Another One Bites the Dust (Al Fansome. PA/FRW 786)

Radio Jamba International
6925.1, 0321-0344.+ Folk-like music then what sounded like rap. An ID by male and female announcers, followed by a mention of the Northern Radio Relay Service. SIO 352very noisy S-7 over S-5 noise. Also, some distortion. (Ron Hunsicker, PA/FRW 786)

Radio Mushroom radiomushroom@gmail.com
6925USB, 0042, SIO 534. Strong signal but some noise and data interference. Tune, Sledgehammer to ID at 0046 with comments about mushroom clouds. Music - Born On the Bayou to ID at 0051, "tapped into a nuclear reactor." Music - Cinnamon Girl. (Al (Fansome, PA/FRW 786)

Voice of Sex
6950.3, 2235-2242. Signal fair/poor S-8 max. Urban contempory dance music to old phone company spoof ad ("we don't know what we're doing"). Sound of toilet flushing, to, "this is the Voice of Sex from the United States of America, este es el voz de sex desde los Estados Unidos de America." Mentioned Box 109 BRS, PA 17214. (Hassig-IL/FRW 785)

WPOD/White Punks on Radio
6930USB, 0114-0137. Heard repeated IDs by man and woman, mentioned Worldwide Web. Jimi Hendrix's Fire and many other tunes and many IDs including some that were computer synthesized. Signed off at 0137. (Martin Foltz, CA/FRW 785)

Wolverine Radio
6925USB, 0034-0141.* Fair/good signal. A show with music about falling in love. Nice theme show with music from the forties to the present. Ended with a SSTV transmission (Greg Majewski CT/FRW 785).

The Famous SW Pirates Forum
http://www.alfalima.net/
**
Place photo's or look at photo's of radio shacks,transmitters,station operators, listeners, Studio's,QSL cards or just ad a new photo album with a new item. http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/SWpirates/lst
**
Create a pole or vote on them!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWpirates/polls
**
If you have audio (mp3/ra files) to share or want to take a listen, go here:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SWpirates/files

Euro pirate logs

freq/UTC time

Radio Northcoast, 3930
Overijssel Radio, 3905
Radio Scotland, 6291, 0950
Radio Underground, 6375, 0945
Mike Radio, 6950, 0935 UTC
Radio Thunderbird, 5835, 0920
Laser Hot Hits, 4025
Zender Quintas, 3900
Radio Altrex, 6313, 1440
Radio Lowpower, 6313, 1440
Radio Pluto, 6310, 1420
Radio Transeurope, 6204, 1345
Radio Rainbow, 6310, 1005
Misti Radio, 6220, 1000
(Achim BrecknerGermany/FB)

MV Baltic Radio announces test

GERMANY

9480 kHz, MVB Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Baltic Radio.

MV Baltic Radio testing on 9480 kHz. MV Baltic Radio http://www.rrms.de/ today announced tests from their own transmitter. Currently they transmit on each first Sunday of the month via Wertachtal on 6140 kHz from 1000-1100 UTC.

Today they said they have a licence from the German frequency authority for using 9480 kHz from 0800 till 1600 UTC. During the coming weekends they will start testing using low power.
(Harald Kuhl-D, DXplorer Mar 6)

According German Frequency Authority BNetzA 9480 kHz 0800-1600 UT at 230degr to Central- and Southwestern Europe via 700type dipol antenna to zones 18,19,27,28,29,37N, from {strange placeholder} BRE Bremen entry {not Goehren on Settin Lake} 1 kW on Half Wave Dipol, antenna type 700.

http://www.itu.int/ITU-R/terrestrial/broadcast/hf/refdata/reftables/site.txt former ITU entry til 1999: BRE Bremen (ex Radio Bremen/SFB Berlin site, transmitter now at Madagascar site).
Former 53 05N 08 50E. Now changed to Radio Bremen Oberneuland site MW 936 kHz from Feb 1, 1999, at 53 06 31.80 N 08 56 09.38 E

New ITU registration on 01-MAR-2011 Global HF Transmitter Site Table. 01-MAR-2011: add: GOH Goehren, D, 53 32N 11 36 E, registered MVB Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Baltic Radio - from Goehren on Settin Lake.

#700 curtain antenna, arrays of horizontal half-wave dipoles, centre fed, without reflector.

Designation: CH m/n/h. CH 1/1/0.3, 1 kW at 230 degrees
m number of half-wave dipoles in each horizontal row
n number of \\ rows spaced half a wavelength apart
h height above the ground in wavelengths

Possible slew and the design frequency are entered in separate requirement fields.

Wonder whether the Bremen registration entry is reality, or only early replacement of the new ITU entry at "Goehren on Settin Lake", as of ITU Geneve list on March 1st.

Strange main lobe antenna azimuth at 230 degrees from Bremen Oberneuland via Kleve, Brussels, Paris, and towards Lisbon Portugal.

Or instead from Goehren on Settin lake via lobe at Bielefeld, Cologne, Paris, Bordeaux, and towards Algarve Portugal.
(wb, wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Feb Mar 6)

Tajik ruling party to begin party-controlled radio station

Tajikistan’s presidential ruling party will soon begin broadcasts on its own party-controlled radio station, according to an order by party chairman and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon on Friday. The radio station is expected to begin broadcasting later in March, the Tajik news agency AsiaPlus reported the head of Propaganda and Media for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Usmon Soleh as saying. The station will broadcast news, analytical pieces as well as literature and music.

“According to our plans originally, PDP radio will broadcast to residents of Dushanbe and the surrounding areas, and then gradually cover the whole territory of the republic,” AsiaPlus reported Soleh as saying.

The PDP radio station will be the first station operated by a political party. Three parties publish periodicals, but none have television or radio channels, according to the report. The main opposition party, the Islamic Renaissance Party (IRP), has been trying for years to get a station off the ground, but has so far failed. “Despite the bureaucratic obstacles, we do not leave hope open [sic] for an IRP channel,” AsiaPlus reported IRP leader Muhiddin Kubiri as saying on Friday.

Broadcasting to the entire republic, however, may not be feasible until 2020, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty noted in a Monday report. Portions of the northernmost Sughd province are still out of transmitter range for television and radio.
(Source: Central Asia Newswire/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Closure of Czech Radio on shortwave was a mistake, declares HFCC Chairman

Prague (Feb. 15, 2011) - The closure of the external service of Czech Radio on shortwave was a mistake. The broadcasts will not reach a large part of the listeners, said the chairman of the HFCC (High Frequency Coordination Conference) Oldrich Cip to the Czech News Agency CTK, on occasion of the coordination conference for international shortwave transmissions which is taking place in Prague. So far Czech Radio has not responded to Cip's statement.
The broadcasts of Czech Radio 7 -- Radio Prague -- on shortwave were terminated at the end of January. The reason was the reduction in the budget for external transmissions from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So the Internet is now the primary platform to transmit these programs. Besides the Internet, they can still be heard via the Astra 3A satellite in the CS Link package and via the broadcasts of some foreign stations that rebroadcast the programs of Radio Prague.

"Listener reactions from well-known stations like the BBC show that in some areas half of the listeners continue to use shortwave," said Cip. And in the case of the Czech transmissions the situation is no different. Reducing the broadcasts to the Internet and limited satellite distribution, which in comparison with shortwave only cover a small part of Central Europe, is a mistake. In this sense the HFCC has also contacted the head of Czech diplomacy Karel Schwarzenberg [Minister of Foreign Affairs]. Up to now, there has been no response.

The CTK news agency has for the moment received no official reaction from Czech Radio as to whether listener response has increased or decreased since the closing of Radio Prague's shortwave broadcasts. "The majority of listeners follow the newscasts of Radio Prague on the Internet. On the webpage radio.cz we get around a million visits per month. While we may lose some [shortwave] listeners, the situation will not be so dramatic," said Radio Prague's director Miroslav Krupicka at the end of January.

The HFCC is a member of the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva. It coordinates the frequencies used for shortwave radio transmissions. The conference in Prague is dealing with primarily technical matters regarding shortwave station operations.
(NASB/March 2011)

Shortwave remains a vital link to international broadcasting

If any lasting message can be drawn from the HFCC/ASBU A11 Conference, it is that international broadcasters may be well on the path to expanding to new delivery platforms besides shortwave, but without a doubt shortwave radio still plays a vital role in international broadcasting in general, and it must remain an important part of the multimedia mix for international broadcasters who want to reach a global audience.
(Jeff White NASB/March 2011)

Two new stations receive HFCC approval

A portion of Jeff White's recent NASB report, included the following station updates.

There were two new applicants for HFCC membership. Radio CJSC from Armenia had two representatives present. Various organizations use the shortwave (including DRM) and mediumwave relay facilities in Yerevan, Armenia, which are now privatized and owned by a company in Switzerland. The main client is the Voice of Russia. CJSC was applying for associate membership in the HFCC.

Nashville, Tennessee-based World Christian Broadcasting – an NASB member – operates FCC-licensed shortwave station KNLS in Alaska. It is currently constructing a new shortwave station off the southeast coast of Africa called Madagascar World Voice, and it asked for a separate FMO (“WCB” for World Christian Broadcasting) so it can begin registering frequencies for the B11 season. Engineer Kevin Chambers came to the meeting from Madagascar, and he requested full membership for WCB in the HFCC. Both requests for CJSC and WCB were unanimously approved by HFCC members.
(NASB Newsletter/March 2011)

New Solar Cycle 24 first on amateur radio

Contributor, Thomas Giella reports his observations in amateur radio. Kudos on nabbing South Cook Islands !

Gayle VH

The daily sunspot number (SSN) has reached 114 and the daily solar flux index (SFI) 136.6, both new record high's for solar cycle 24. Like Paul McCartney once sang in the 1970's, COMING UP!!!

As I predicted yesterday 10 meters opened up with E-W F2 layer radiowave propagation on a global scale. At one point yesterday afternoon I was simultaneously working into Europe, Africa, South America, east Asia and Australia/New Zealand, simply amazing.

I snagged a new DXCC entity on 10 meters and all bands for that matter, E51CG Raratonga, South Cook Islands.

Today 10 meters could be even better, however a partially geoeffective (Earth facing) coronal mass ejection (CME) may arrive later today UTC 03/06/2011 and create minor (Kp-5) geomagnetic storming conditions at high latitudes. This could reduce the maximum usable frequency (MUF) below the 10 meter band for a time.

73 & GUD DX,
Thomas F. Giella, NZ4O
Lakeland, FL, USA
solarcycle24@tampabay.rr.com

NZ4O Solar Space Weather & Geomagnetic Data Archive:
http://www.solarcycle24data.org/
NZ4O HF/6M Radiowave Propagation Forecast: http://www.solarcycle24.org/
NZ4O HF/6M Frequency Radiowave Propagation Email Reflector:
http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/spaceweather
NZ4O Daily Solar Space Weather & Geomagnetic Data Archive:
http://www.wcflunatall.com/nz4o1.htm
NZ4O Solar Space Weather & Geomagnetic Data In Graphic & Image Format:
http://www.wcflunatall.com/nz4o2.htm
NZ4O Solar Cycle 24 Forecast Discussion & Archive:
http://www.wcflunatall.com/nz4o4.htm
NZ4O 160 Meter Radio Propagation Theory Notes:
http://www.wcflunatall.com/nz4o5.htm
NZ4O Solar Space Weather & Geomagnetic Raw Forecast Data Links:
http://www.wcflunatall.com/nz4o6.htm
Harmful Man Induced Climate Change (Global Warming) Refuted:
http://www.globalwarminglie.org/

Cyclone Radio in Australia: The Afternmath of Cyclone Yasi

During the months of December and January, the three eastern states of Australia, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, endured massive floodings which submerged many areas even in one state capital, the city of Brisbane (BRIZ-b’n) in Queensland. Multitudes of people had to evacuate, and local radio was used as a very important means of communication, informing people with significant news of events and developments, and it was also a source of encouragement to the bewildered.
Then, in early February, a massive cyclone struck the flood ravaged areas of North Queensland, adding fury to the already existent wide spread flood problems. For a few days, Cyclone Yasi with its wind speed somewhere around 200 miles per hour, wreaked havoc along coastal areas, and inland for several hundred miles. Once again, radio was a lifeline to the people, informing them of power outages, strong wind areas, and availability of supplies and emergency necessities.
The twin events, the intense Cyclone Yasi on top of widespread flooding, have been described as the worst natural disasters in the entire history of Australia.
The government radio service, ABC Local Radio in Queensland, provided a remarkable service to the stricken areas from their studios in Brisbane, and also in regional Townsville & Cairns. However, due to the fact that the floods and the cyclone damaged the electrical distribution systems, some of the many ABC local stations were off the air.
As a result, Radio Australia was asked to co-operate once again and provide widespread coverage on shortwave. It should be noted that Radio Australia has provided a similar service on previous occasions when cyclones have attacked the northern areas of Australia, in the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia.
With information that was provided by Radio Australia, the ABC in Queensland, Bob Padula in Melbourne, Jerry Berg in suburban Boston, and our own monitoring observations in Indianapolis, we build up the following picture of events during the onslaught of Cyclone Yasi.
At 12:45 pm, Australian time, on Tuesday February 1, Radio Australia in Melbourne received a request from the ABC in Brisbane to relay the programming of ABC Local Radio in Queensland on shortwave for the benefit of listeners in the northern areas that were affected by Cyclone Yasi. In response, states Nigel Holmes, Transmission Manager for Radio Australia, the Queensland local programming was on the air shortwave just 31 minutes later. The recent experience at Radio Australia was based upon their similar earlier programming involvement during Cyclone Larry back in the year 2004.
Radio Australia committed the usage of one of their shortwave transmitters for Yasi coverage, operating on 9710 kHz during their day and 6080 kHz at night. It is stated that the specific transmitter in use for this purpose was a newly installed Continental transmitter.
It would seem then that this Continental transmitter was actually in use on Guam in earlier years for the shortwave service of Adventist World Radio under the callsign KSDA. A few years ago, the two Continental transmitters at KSDA were removed from Guam and taken over by Christian Voice in Darwin; and when the Darwin shortwave station was closed and dismantled, the two Continental transmitters were taken over by Radio Australia for installation at Shepparton in Victoria.
However, even though it was stated that only one transmitter was diverted for Yasi coverage, it became evident that Radio Australia diverted much of its programming for a few days in order to give wide coverage to the events associated with the cyclone in Queensland. On the morning of Wednesday February 2, for example, three transmitters were noted at Indianapolis in parallel with live coverage from Queensland about the impact of Yasi. Around 1315 UTC, these three transmissions in parallel were noted on 6020 kHz, 9580 kHz & 9590 kHz, all at an almost perfect level and clarity.
Interestingly, none of the these three channels was from the specially dedicated transmitter which was allocated two other channels, 6080 kHz or 9710 kHz. However, at that time, this Continental transmitter was not audible in Indianapolis, not on either channel. This same program stream was also available in perfect clarity via the internet, though the internet stream ran several seconds behind the shortwave stream.
The programming during these few days of live broadcasts from Queensland was identified on air as ABC Local Radio in Queensland, with both pre-recorded identification announcements and also by the announcer on duty. Many phone calls were taken, mainly from the affected areas, though with some calls coming in from interested listeners in other countries, including the United States.
This live programming was co-ordinated by the ABC state headquarters in Brisbane, station 4QR, with their 50 kW transmitter near Bald Hills on 612 kHz. At times, there was also input from the ABC regional station 4QN located at Townsville, with its 50 kW mediumwave transmitter on 630 kHz. In addition to mediumwave, the ABC regional service in Queensland is also relayed through a large network of local FM stations throughout the state.
On the Tuesday afternoon, orders were given to evacuate the ABC studio building in Townsville, and three of the staff took accommodation in a nearby hotel. With them was an accumulation of electronic equipment for use in on air news bulletins and on the spot interviews. However, much of the equipment became inoperable when the power at the hotel went out.
Their one remaining instrument for communication was a mobile phone with which they filed voice reports about the cyclone. Due to the fact that laptop computers were no longer functioning, regional news bulletins were written out by hand and read into the mobile phone, while sitting in the hotel fire escape stairways with small candles providing the only light at night. The announcer gave station identification from this primitive emergency location, as “ABC Local Radio in Queensland, here in Townsville”.
Some programming from Cairns, was also spliced into the emergency programming, and the announcer up there stated that they had transferred their live program production from the regular in town studios to the Boardroom in the City Council Building. The local ABC mediumwave station in Cairns, which is the large most northerly city in Queensland, is 4QY with 2 kW on 801 kHz.
Cyclone Yasi stormed ashore from the Pacific soon after midnight at a small coastal community located between Townsville & Cairns, known as Mission Beach. As it meandered inland, it lost its power, but heavy rains followed. A few days later, it became no more than a regular rain storm as it crossed the state border from Queensland into the Northern Territory.
(AWR Wavescan/NWS # 106 via Adrian Peterson)

Radio Serbia to discuss international radio on March 7

On 8 March International Radio Serbia marks its 75th anniversary. The importance of shortwaves will be a topic of the round-table discussion entitled “The future of world radio services and attitude of the state towards them”, to be held on 7 March in the Serbian Parliament.

Speaking at the round-table discussion will be national and foreign renowned experts, representatives of state institutions and radio broadcasting organizations. Among the participants are the President of the Voice of Russia, representatives of Radio Bulgaria, Voice of Croatia, ItalRadio etc. It is an opportunity to exchange the experience in the functioning of shortwave broadcasters, primarily those from the region, says the editor-in-chief of International Radio Serbia, Milorad Vujovic.

The idea is to have the participants present their experience in the functioning of these services that are aimed at the foreign listeners and diaspora. “For us, it is especially important in the situation when our status and legal framework should be resolved, and the position of the founder, i.e. the state, towards the functioning of the shortwaves regulated”, he notes.
(R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

FRS-Holland repeats special on March 6

Dear FRS Friend,

Due to the rather weird propagation conditions last Sunday, FRS-Holland will repeat he final & 3rd FRS 30th Anniversary broadcast next Sunday March 6th 2011. Next Sunday March 6th we will feature the period 1998- 2010. Mind you: we will once again kick off at already 07.52 UTC=08.52 CET.
On an alternative 48 mb frequency, the final hour will be repeated plus an additional hour. Frequency is yet unknown.
We are understandably curious to receive your letters and mails. That's very important for us and that's the only way in which you can show your respect and interest. So far we are happy with last Sunday's response.
All Anniversary mail will be handled in the upcoming period.

Be sure: all correct reports will be verified and all letters answered.

Here's the schedule:
07.52- 14.00 UTC 6221 kHz
09.00- 11.00 UTC 48 metres

Webstream: the stream will be on between 14.52- 21.00 UTC. Surf to nednl.net:8000/frsh.m3u .

A special thank you to each and everyone spreading the news about our Anniversary broadcasts (people who run blogs etc.).

Finally a question: is there anybody whose report/letter for October 31st and/or November 28th was returned to sender? One of our loyal listeners tried twice to send a letter (with the correct address!) and this was for completely unknown reasons returned to sender! If so, please let us know by mail!!

73s, on behalf of the FRS staff
(Peter V., Jan van Dijk, Paul Graham, Dave Scott, Brian & Bobby Speed)

a Balance between Music & Information joint to one Format....

FRS-Holland
POBox 2702
6049 ZG Herten
The Netherlands

e-mail: frs.holland@hccnet.nl
e-mail: frs@frsholland.nl

a Balance between Music & Information joint to one Format....

Radio Netherlands Program Preview, March 4-10

Hello,
'Small is beautiful' - I've been trying to convince myself of that all my life. But in this week's Earth Beat it's not about my height (or lack of it...). Find out about the small things that can make our footprint (even) smaller.
Hilary



The State We're In
Jonathan Groubert and his team look at current events from an unexpected perspective.

This week: Who am I?

One American writer knew exactly who she was, but didn’t know who was using her name and her image to promote a porn site that thousands were flocking to. A single mother of four in South Africa discovers photography to recreate herself. And a philosopher-theologian speculates that robots could maybe do have souls.

First airing: Saturday 02:00 UTC

Earth Beat
Marnie Chesterton and her team look at the footprint we’re leaving on our planet.

This week: Small is beautiful

Not just things like seeds, bugs and macro photography, but footprints as well. We take a look at the small things and small solutions that make a difference to our ever-changing world.

First airing: Friday 02:00 UTC

Bridges With Africa
We're giving the microphone to Diaspora groups in Europe and are linking up with stations in Africa.

This week:

Revolutionary Africa? While uprisings linger on in North Africa, what can be done to bring peace and stability?
A bunch of hot air - we tell you about the Malawi farting ban that never came into force.

First airing: Friday 00:00 UTC

Africa in Progress
Inspiring round-table discussions with guest speakers and in -depth interviews give listeners food for thought.

This week: Africa is lined with silver!

Tom Dietz says that our continent is lined with silver. Our economies are booming, our population is young, and lives longer.

Prof. Dietz is the director of the Africa Studies Centre which is attached to Leiden University in the Netherlands. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious centers for the study of Africa in the world, where many African scholars are being trained. With him we find out what makes the continent so fascinating for the rest of the world.

First airing: Monday 18:00 UTC

South Asia Wired
Programme in which South Asians get to talk to each other, hosted by Dheera Sujan.

This week:

Burma is generally a pretty unfunny place and its rulers have no sense of humour especially when it comes to themselves - but this week, South Asia Wired features the comedians who risk prison to bring satirical commentary to their people.

(There'll be a new edition of the programme on Thursday 10 March)

First airing: Thursday 15:14 UTC

Commonwealth Story
A selection of winning stories chosen from the large number of entries for the 2010 Commonwealth Short Story Competition.

This week:

A whiff of Bleach by Suelin Low Chew Tung (Grenada). Loneliness and despair in the dry season.

First airing: Tuesday 00:55 UTC

Hear the World
Listen to the world’s musical heartbeat on RNW. A brand new world music series hosted by Dheera Sujan.

Programme presenting live highlights from Dutch world music podia.

First airing: Monday 03:00 UTC

RNW Classical
Classical concerts from the Royal Concertgebouw as well as studio recordings of Dutch performers, presented by Hans Haffmans.

A relay of part of the music programming of our sister web station RNWclassical.com.

First airing: Monday 01:00 UTC

Radio Netherlands English service

All times UTC

1000-1057 9720as 12065as
1400-1500 12080as 15595va
1500-1557 15595as
1800-1857 6020af 11655af
1900-1957 7425af 9895af 11615af 11655af
2000-2057 5935af 7425af 11655af
(R Netherlands/Leo van der Wounde)

Schedule update from Media Broadcast, Part 1 and 2

Part 2 of 4

All times UTC

Transmitters via Germany

Adventist World Radio
0500-0600 5975 WER 100 kW 120 deg Daily to EaEUR in Bulgarian
1600-1630 6100 WER 100 kW 120 deg Daily to EaEUR in Bulgarian
1000-1100 9610 NAU 100 kW 180 deg Sun to SoEUR in Italian
0700-0800 11975 WER 100 kW 210 deg Daily to NoAF in Arabic
0800-0830 11975 WER 100 kW 210 deg Daily to NoAF in Kabyle
0800-0830 12010 WER 100 kW 210 deg Daily to NoAF in French
0830-0900 12010 WER 100 kW 210 deg Daily to NoAF in Tachelhit
1730-1800 9595 WER 100 kW 210 deg Daily to NoAF in Kabyle
1900-1930 11760 WER 100 kW 210 deg Daily to NoAF in Arabic
1930-2000 11760 WER 100 kW 210 deg Daily to NoAF in Tachelhit
2000-2030 9805 WER 100 kW 210 deg Daily to NoAF in French
1900-2000 9535 NAU 125 kW 215 deg Daily to NoAF in Arabic
0300-0330 7370 WER 250 kW 135 deg Daily to EaAF in Tigrigna
0300-0330 7315 WER 250 kW 135 deg Daily to EaAF in Oromo
0330-0400 7315 WER 250 kW 135 deg Daily to EaAF in Amharic
1630-1700 17575 ISS 250 kW 125 deg Daily to EaAF in Somali
1730-1800 11795 WER 250 kW 135 deg Daily to EaAF in Oromo
1200-1230 15495 NAU 250 kW 085 deg Daily to SoAS in English
1230-1300 15495 NAU 250 kW 085 deg Daily to SoAS in Bangla
1500-1530 11955 WER 250 kW 090 deg Daily to SoAS in Punjabi
1530-1600 11895 WER 250 kW 075 deg Daily to SoAS in Hindi
1500-1530 11675 WER 250 kW 075 deg Daily to SoAS in Nepali
1530-1600 11675 WER 250 kW 075 deg Daily to SoAS in English
1300-1330 13755 NAU 250 kW 070 deg Mon-Fri to EaAS in Chinese
1300-1330 13755 NAU 250 kW 070 deg Sat/Sun to EaAS in Uyghur
1330-1500 11725 NAU 250 kW 070 deg Daily to EaAS in Chinese

Bible Voice Broadcasting Network BVBN
0800-0830 7220 NAU 100 kW 280 deg Sun to WeEUR in English
0800-0845 7220 NAU 100 kW 280 deg Sat to WeEUR in English
1900-1930 6030 WER 125 kW 060 deg Tue to EaEUR in Russian
1900-1915 6030 WER 125 kW 060 deg Thu to EaEUR in Ukrainian
1900-1915 6030 WER 125 kW 060 deg Fri to EaEUR in Russian
1915-1945 6030 WER 125 kW 060 deg Sat to EaEUR in English
1900-2000 6030 WER 125 kW 060 deg Sun to EaEUR in English
1800-1830 7425 WER 100 kW 240 deg Sun to SoEUR in Spanish
0900-1000 17545 WER 125 kW 135 deg Fri to NoEaAF in Arabic
1930-1945 9510 WER 125 kW 180 deg Sat to WeAF in French
1945-2000 9510 WER 125 kW 180 deg Sat to WeAF in Adja
1830-1845 9510 WER 100 kW 150 deg Sun to WeCeAF in Swahili
2045-2115 6145 WER 125 kW 210 deg Daily to CeAF in French
1630-1700 11875 WER 100 kW 150 deg Daily to EaAF in Nuer
1700-1730 11875 WER 100 kW 150 deg Daily to EaAF in Dinka
1600-1630 11965 ISS 100 kW 131 deg Mon/Thu to EaAF in Oromo
1600-1700 11965 ISS 100 kW 131 deg Mon/Fri to EaAF in Amharic
1700-1730 11965 ISS 100 kW 131 deg Mon/Tue/Fri to EaAF in Tigrinya
1730-1830 11965 ISS 100 kW 131 deg Mon/Tue/Fri to EaAF in Amharic
1630-1700 11965 ISS 100 kW 131 deg Tue to EaAF in Amharic
1630-1800 11965 ISS 100 kW 131 deg Wed to EaAF in Amharic
1630-1830 11965 ISS 100 kW 131 deg Thu/Sat/Sun to EaAF in Amharic
1600-1630 11965 ISS 100 kW 131 deg Fri/Sun to EaAF in Oromo
1800-1830 11965 ISS 100 kW 131 deg Fri-Sun to EaAF in Somali
1800-1900 6110 WER 125 kW 120 deg Sat/Sun to NE/ME in English
1715-1730 7355 WER 100 kW 120 deg Mon/Wed/Fri to NE/ME in Arabic
0430-0500 7410 WER 250 kW 120 deg Tue/Wed/Thu to NE/ME in Arabic
0500-0515 7410 WER 250 kW 120 deg Fri to NE/ME in Arabic
1645-1700 9460 NAU 100 kW 130 deg Mon/Wed to NE/ME in English
1645-1720 9460 NAU 100 kW 130 deg Tue to NE/ME in English
1800-1815 9460 NAU 100 kW 130 deg Tue to NE/ME in English
1815-1900 9460 NAU 100 kW 130 deg Tue to NE/ME in Hebrew
1645-1745 9460 NAU 100 kW 130 deg Thu to NE/ME in English
1645-1715 9460 NAU 100 kW 130 deg Fri to NE/ME in English
1645-1830 9460 NAU 100 kW 130 deg Sat to NE/ME in English
1630-1915 9460 NAU 100 kW 130 deg Sun to NE/ME in English
1700-1720 11915 WER 250 kW 120 deg Mo/Tu/Th/Fr to NE/ME in Arabic
1700-1735 11915 WER 250 kW 120 deg Wed to NE/ME in Arabic
1800-1830 7365 WER 100 kW 090 deg Mon/Wed/Fri to WeAS in Persian
1800-1900 7365 WER 100 kW 090 deg Tue/Thu to WeAS in Persian
1800-1815 7365 WER 100 kW 090 deg Sat to WeAS in English
1830-1900 7365 WER 100 kW 090 deg Sun to WeAS in Persian
1530-1545 9410 WER 250 kW 105 deg Sun to WeAS in Persian
1900-2000 9470 WER 250 kW 105 deg Sat to WeAS in English
1900-1915 9470 WER 250 kW 105 deg 1st Sun to WeAS in English
1915-1945 9470 WER 250 kW 105 deg Sun to WeAS in English
1630-1830 9925 WER 100 kW 105 deg Daily to WeAS in Persian
0030-0100 5950 WER 250 kW 090 deg Mon-Thu to SoAS in Hindi
0030-0100 5950 WER 250 kW 090 deg Fri-Sun to SoAS in English
1500-1515 12035 WER 250 kW 090 deg Sun to SoAS in English
1430-1500 13635 WER 250 kW 090 deg Sat to SoAS in English
1345-1415 13635 WER 250 kW 090 deg 1st Sun to SoAS in English
1415-1430 13635 WER 250 kW 090 deg Sun to SoAS in English
1530-1600 13670 WER 100 kW 090 deg Wed-Fri to SoAS in English
1515-1545 13670 WER 100 kW 090 deg Sat to SoAS in English
(R BULGARIA DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Mar 01)
(DX Mix News 666 via Ivo Ivanov & Wolfgang Bueschal, Germany)

Part 1 of 4 (previous post 22 Feb 2011)

All times UTC

Clandestine - Hamada Radio International

0530-0600 on 7350 WER 100 kW / 180 deg Mon-Fri to WeAf in Hausa
0530-0600 on 9460 NAU 100 kW / 185 deg Mon-Fri to WeAf in Hausa
1930-2000 on 9840 WER 100 kW / 180 deg Daily to WeAf in Hausa

Radio Netherlands Worldwide
0600-0655 on 6120 NAU 500 kW / 195 deg Daily to SoEu in Dutch
0600-0655 on 6120 NAU 500 kW / 195 deg Daily to NWAf in Dutch
0600-0655 on 9830 WER 500 kW / 120 deg Daily to N/ME in Dutch
0600-0655 on 9830 WER 500 kW / 120 deg Daily to SEEu in Dutch
0800-0855 on 9895 NAU 500 kW / 220 deg Mon-Sat to SEEu in Dutch
0800-0855 on 5955 WER 500 kW / 210 deg Daily to CWEu in Dutch
0900-1055 on 5955 WER 500 kW / 210 deg Mon-Fri to CWEu in Dutch
0900-1055 on 6120 WER 250 kW / 240 deg Mon-Fri to SEEu in Dutch
0900-1555 on 5955 WER 500 kW / 210 deg Sun to CWEu in Dutch
1600-1755 on 9895 WER 500 kW / 240 deg Daily to NoAf in Dutch

Trans World Radio Europe
0745-0920 on 6105 NAU 100 kW / 285 deg Sun to NoEu in English
0815-0850 on 6105 NAU 100 kW / 285 deg Sat to NoEu in English
0800-0850 on 6105 NAU 100 kW / 285 deg Mon-Fri to NoEu in English
1500-1530 on 7300 WER 100 kW / 060 deg Mon to EaEu in Belarussian
1500-1530 on 7300 WER 100 kW / 060 deg Tue-Fri to EaEu in Russian
1500-1600 on 7300 WER 100 kW / 060 deg Sat/Sun to EaEu in Russian
1630-1700 on 6120 WER 100 kW / 105 deg Sat to EaEu in Romanian
1630-1700 on 9685 WER 100 kW / 090 deg Mon-Fri to CeAs in Armenian
1630-1700 on 11695 WER 100 kW / 090 deg Mon-Fri to CeAs in Armenian

Hamburger Lokalradio
1000-1100 on 6045 WER 100 kW / non-dir 1st Sun to CeEu in German

Mecklenburg Verpommern Baltic Radio
1000-1100 on 6140 WER 100 kW / non-dir 1st Sun to CeEu in German

European Music Radio
1000-1100 on 6140 WER 100 kW / non-dir 3rd Sun to CeEu in Music

Radio Gloria International
1000-1100 on 6140 WER 100 kW / non-dir 4th Sun to CeEu in Music

Evangelische Missions Gemeiden
1130-1200 on 6055 WER 125 kW / non-dir Sat/Sun to CeEu in German
1200-1230 on 11840 NAU 250 kW / 020 deg Sat to FE in Russian
1600-1630 on 9605 WER 250 kW / 060 deg Sat to EaEu in Russian

Missionswerke Arche Stimme des Trostes
1200-1215 on 6055 WER 250 kW / non-dir Sun to CeEu in German

RTL Radio Europe(RTL 2 + RTL 1), ex Radio Traumland
1300-1500 on 6180 WER 100 kW / non-dir Sun to CeEu in German

Pan American Broadcasting
1400-1415 on 13645 WER 100 kW / 090 deg Sun to SoAs in English
1415-1430 on 13645 WER 100 kW / 090 deg Daily to SoAs in English
1430-1445 on 13645 ISS 250 kW / 083 deg Sun to SoAs in English
1930-2015 on 6020 WER 250 kW / 150 deg Sun to NoAf in English
1930-2030 on 6020 WER 250 kW / 150 deg Sat to NoAf in English

Clandestine - Voice of Oromiyan Liberation Front
1600-1630 on 11760 WER 500 kW / 135 deg Sun/Thu to EaAf in Oromo

Clandestine - Radiyo Y'Abadanga Ababaka
1700-1715 on 17725 ISS 250 kW / 140 deg Sat to EaAf in Swahili

Clandestine - Ethiopians for Democracy-Voice of Ethiopian Unity
1700-1800 on 11775 NAU 250 kW / 145 deg Wed/Sun to EaAf in Amharic

Clandestine - Ethiopian Liberation Front-Voice of Democratic Eritrea
1700-1800 on 11775 NAU 125 kW / 145 deg Thu to EaAf in Tigrinya/Arabic

Clandestine - Voice of Oromo Liberation
1700-1800 on 11810 NAU 100 kW / 144 deg Sun to EaAf in Oromo
1700-1800 on 11810 NAU 100 kW / 144 deg Wed to EaAf in Oromo/Amharic

Christian Science Sentinel
1900-2000 on 5960 WER 100 kW / 075 deg Sat to EaEu in Russian

(DX Mix News)

Weekly Propagation Forecast Bulletins

Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts
:Issued: 2011 Mar 01 2122 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center
# Product description and SWPC web contact: www.swpc.noaa.gov/weekly.html

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity
21 - 27 February 2011

Solar activity ranged from very low to moderate levels during the period. Numerous C-class flares were observed on 21 February. The largest of these was a C7 x-ray event at 21/1012 UTC from Region 1158 (S21, L=036, Ekc/600 on 15 February). Activity decreased to very low levels on 22 February, with a few B-class events from Region 1161 (N11, L=331, Ekc/260 on 20 February). Activity increased to low levels as Region 1161 produced a C1 x-ray event at 23/1223 UTC. Activity increased further to moderate levels when Region 1163 (N17, L=177, Dai/120 on 25 February) was numbered on 24 February and produced an M3 event at 24/0735 UTC. Associated with this event was a Type IV Radio Sweep, a 180 sfu Tenflare, and a Type II Sweep with an estimated shock velocity of 1283 km/s. Activity decreased to low levels on 25 February with three C1 events observed during the day. Region 1164 (N28, L=162, Hkx/250 on 25 ebruary) was numbered on 25 February. A 24-degree filament (centered near N34E40) was observed lifting off the disk at 25/0637 UTC, as viewed on SDO/AIA171 imagery. Activity remained at low levels with a few C-class events from Region 1164. New Region 1165 (S22, L=181, class/area Bxo/020 on 26 February) emerged on the disk on as a simple bi-polar spot group. No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at high levels on 21-22 and 24 February. The flux was at moderate levels on 23 February and 26-27 February.

Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to active levels during the period. Activity was at predominantly quiet levels, with isolated active periods observed at high latitudes on 21 February. his elevated activity was due to residual effects from the CMEs associated with the M and X-class events of 13-15 February. During
the period, solar wind velocities reached a peak of 444 km/s at 22/1158 UTC. The Bz component of the interplanetary magnetic field did not vary much beyond +/- 5 nT during the period.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity
02 March - 28 March 2011

Solar activity is expected to be at predominately low to moderate levels through the forecast period. A slight chance for high-level activity is possible from 05-22 March due to the return of old Regions 1158 (S21, L=31), 1161 (N11, L=334) and 1162 (N17, L=338).

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels on 02 March. High levels are expected from 03-13 March due to a recurrent coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS). A decrease to normal to moderate levels is expected through 18 March. Another increase to high levels is expected from 18-23 March due to a second CH HSS. Normal to moderate levels are expected for the remainder of the period.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be unsettled to active with a chance for isolated minor storm periods from 02-05 March due to a recurrent CH HSS. Mostly quiet levels are expected from 06-07 March. Quiet to unsettled conditions are expected from 08-09 March due to another CH HSS. Mostly quiet levels are expected for the remainder of the period.

Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt
:Issued: 2011 Mar 01 2122 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center
# Product description and SWPC web contact: www.swpc.noaa.gov/wwire.html
#
# 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table
# Issued 2011-03-01
#
# UTC Radio Flux Planetary Largest
# Date 10.7 cm A Index Kp Index
2011 Mar 02 95 15 4
2011 Mar 03 98 15 4
2011 Mar 04 98 12 3
2011 Mar 05 98 10 3
2011 Mar 06 100 5 2
2011 Mar 07 100 5 2
2011 Mar 08 100 8 3
2011 Mar 09 98 8 3
2011 Mar 10 100 7 2
2011 Mar 11 105 5 2
2011 Mar 12 105 5 2
2011 Mar 13 110 7 2
2011 Mar 14 110 7 2
2011 Mar 15 110 5 2
2011 Mar 16 110 5 2
2011 Mar 17 105 5 2
2011 Mar 18 105 5 2
2011 Mar 19 100 5 2
2011 Mar 20 95 5 2
2011 Mar 21 95 5 2
2011 Mar 22 95 5 2
2011 Mar 23 95 5 2
2011 Mar 24 95 5 2
2011 Mar 25 90 5 2
2011 Mar 26 90 5 2
2011 Mar 27 90 5 2
2011 Mar 28 90 5 2
(NOAA)

World Radio TV Handbook 2011 Review

The 2011 World Radio TV Handbook, the quintessential reference book for broadcast radio hobbyists, is now available from Grove Enterprises and other Monitoring Times advertisers.
This year’s 65th edition begins with receiver reviews for the AOR ARD5001 and the Winradio G31DDC Excalibur; and the Tecsun PL-310/PL-380, Kchibo KK-D6110, and Degen DE-1103/Kaito KA-1103 ultra light portable radios. Two software defined receivers are also reviewed: Medav LR2 and the Flexradio FLEX-1500. There is also a one-page guide to HF radios currently available in the marketplace that gives an objective comparison for each receiver based on size, selectivity, dynamic range and overall value.
Vintage collectors will enjoy the feature on 80s and 90s Classic Receivers, which includes one of my favorites – the Watkins-Johnson 8711A. Other classics mentioned include the AEG-Telefunken E1700/E1800, Plessey PRS2282A, and the Racal RA3701 high end receivers.
Another feature is entitled QSLing Then and Now, in which author Jerry Berg takes a look at the long-standing fascination in collecting verification cards from shortwave and medium wave stations. The art of receiving station verifications via the postal system is alive and well, even in this new age of electronic QSLing.
Freelance writer Hans Johnson has a feature on the Armed Forces Network station on Saddlebunch Key in the Florida Keys. The Digital Update feature summarizes the latest news from the world of digital radio and TV over the past year. Two features of special interest to shortwave broadcast DXers are a profile of Radio St Helena and an article on the Ears To Our World charitable group.
As in past editions of the WRTH, George Jacobs analyzes likely listening conditions for the new year in the HF Broadcast Reception Conditions During 2011 feature. He delves into how Solar Cycle 24 will affect your listening habits.
The national radio section of the WRTH covers worldwide domestic radio services. Listings in this section are arranged by-country and include stations broadcasting to a national listening audience on medium wave, shortwave, and FM, and include contact information and a website (if known) for each station.
The international radio section contains listings of stations broadcasting to an international audience in the shortwave and medium wave bands. Information on each station includes station name, contact information, broadcast schedules, and website, if available.
The clandestine and other target broadcast section includes stations broadcasting politically motivated programming or those targeted at zones of regional or local conflict.
The by-frequency section of the WRTH cover medium wave and shortwave frequencies in this year’s list, plus by-hour listings for transmissions in English, French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish.
For the Digital Radio Mondiale monitoring enthusiasts, the DRM International Broadcast section provides by-hour schedules of stations broadcasting in this digital broadcast mode.
The by-country terrestrial television section brings readers up to date on terrestrial TV stations and accompanying radio programs also broadcast on those systems.
Finally, there is an extensive reference section that includes global transmitting sites, radio clubs, and standard time and frequency transmission schedules.
The World Radio TV Handbook has consistently set the gold standard in broadcast reference information and it remains the very best, most authoritative, and comprehensive reference book in the broadcast world. Quite simply, it is an exceptional annual guide that should be in every radio hobbyist listening post.
The 2011 World Radio and TV Handbook (BOK03-11) is available from Grove Enterprises http://www.grove-ent.com/ for $29.95 plus S/H. To place an order, call 1-800-438-8155, email order@grove-ent.com, or mail Grove Enterprises, 7540 Highway 64 West, Brasstown, NC 28902 USA.
Review by Gayle Van Horn/ Monitoring Times, March 2011

Al Jazeera Live Video Stream

As unrest continues from the Middle East, we remind our readers you may access Al Jazeera's English video stream from:

http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/
(Gayle Van Horn)