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To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/hard-core-dx or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to hard-core-dx-requ...@hard-core-dx.com You can reach the person managing the list at hard-core-dx-ow...@hard-core-dx.com When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of Hard-Core-DX digest..." ________________________________________ Hard-Core-DX mailing list Hard-Core-DX@hard-core-dx.com http://montreal.kotalampi.com/mailman/listinfo/hard-core-dx http://www.hard-core-dx.com/ _______________________________________________ THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE IS FREE. It may be copied, distributed and/or modified under the conditions set down in the Design Science License published by Michael Stutz at http://dsl.org/copyleft/dsl.txt Today's Topics: 1. Glenn Hauser logs July 17-18, 2013 (Glenn Hauser) 2. LOgs 14+15 (Zacharias LIangas) 3. How to Modify an AM Radio to Receive Shortwave Broadcasts (link only ) (Zacharias LIangas) 4. New TV station for Zimbabwe to launch tomorrow (Zacharias LIangas) 5. Shortwave Radio Oddities Roundup (Zacharias LIangas) 6. Pirate Radio Thrives in Internet Age (Zacharias LIangas) 7. Hamburger Lokalradio & Radio City this weekend (TOM TAYLOR) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 08:42:50 -0700 (PDT) From: Glenn Hauser <wghau...@yahoo.com> To: d...@yahoogroups.com Cc: s...@mailman.qth.net Subject: [HCDX] Glenn Hauser logs July 17-18, 2013 Message-ID: <1374162170.69906.yahoomailba...@web161302.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 ** CHINA. 9410, July 18 at 1155 and still at 1241, big blob of totally incomprehensible distorted modulation. Harry Smith in Shanghai reported ``lots of crackle in the modulation`` from CNR5, July 10 at 1245. Ron Howard, California found this had been fixed as of July 14 at 1025, but very poor unusable modulation resumed July 15-17. Aoki shows the site for this is Beijing 491. Apparently not self-imposed to jam Fu Hsing, Taiwan also on 9410 which is maybe not active (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CHINA. Firedrake July 18: 13795, very poor at 1236 CNR1 jamming instead: 15870, poor at 1232; none in the 17s, 16s, 14s, 13s, 12s (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** CUBA. 6125, July 18 at 0523, RHC English sports report, marred by eruptions of buzzes every few seconds, sounds like something arcing, not present on the // frequencies. Congrats to RHC for coming up with yet another new anomaly. Never a dull moment, unlike with the programming (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MALAYSIA. 9835, July 18 at 1259 I am standing by to clock the 2-pip 1300 timesignal from RTM Kajang, peninsular, relaying Sarawak FM back to Borneo. It`s 4.5 seconds late, far more than a satellite feed delay would cause (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** MEXICO. Monitoring channel 2 for signs of skip from 1400 UT July 17, with antenna southward: 1427 on 2, brief signal in and out; maybe just meteor scatter 1604 on 2, now sporadic E definitely fades in, peaking southwest, a studio news(?) show; bug in UR has the word CANAL in the middle, something else above it, and below it clock 10:04 = MDT/CST an hour earlier than here and most of Mexico. AFAIK, the only ch 2 axually using the word CANAL in its logo is XEPM-TV in Ciudad Ju?rez, Chihuahua, so I take a look at the image on http://tvdxtips.com/mexlogosch2.html I see that the font and everything match. The full slogan is TU CANAL, but the TU is in a dark blue color, low contrast vs the CANAL in light color with dark background, which explains why I couldn`t make out the TU --- but I keep looking at my screen and finally see it too, as below. Above CANAL is the temp and a sun-symbol. Lower left part of the current program at 1604 has a lower-case j surrounded by a jagged area, which I could not recognize as the outline of Chihuahua, but I bet the j stands for Ju?rez. Maybe it`s the outline of the city limits? No, here it is, for `Hola Ju?rez` show: http://www.televisaregional.com/juarez/video/148719645.html two offset superimposed screens(?) as background to the j. XEPM has been seen lots of times, despite Ju?rez being only 588 miles = 947 km away, city to city Enid. Yet it was not an extremely strong opening, nothing above channel 2. 1634 on 2, now fades in station with a different bug in UR --- pretty sure it`s Grupo Pac?fico, italic number in an oval, but I can`t tell whether it is a 2 or a 3, i.e. one of the two XHI`s, or the XHQ relay in Sonora or Sinaloa: Ciudad Obreg?n, Los Mochis or Guam?chil. There is also a small bird in flight in the lower right corner of the oval, presumably seagull, hard to see except on Danny`s illustrations. Obreg?n is 937 miles, Los Mochis 984, Guam?chil 967, all ideal skip distances, and somewhat less than double the distance to Ju?rez. 1644 on 2, signals in and out, same offset (which fits for XEPM and XHHMA, both zero). But also zero-offset per http://www.dxinfocentre.com/TV2.pdf are XHGWA, XHPDT, and XHI, with offset uncertain/unshown for XHQ. So all that is inconclusive. 1654 on 2, now there is a novela on XEPM, and I can make out the TU CANAL bug in UR, time 10:54 AM; good video but no audio, as the MUF is somewhere between 55.25 and 59.75 MHz 1655 as I continue to watch XEPM, its own bug is suddenly replaced by the Televisa net-2 star bug in UR, but only briefly before a commercial with no distracting bugs. Now there is no color much of the time, as the MUF is also below the color burst frequency for ch 2 zero-offset: 58.829545 MHz (3.579545 MHz above the video carrier). 1658 on 2, now color is back from another station with the Gala TV swirl bug = Televisa net-9 in LR during `Despierta Am?rica` originating from Miami, and the co-anchors have big U`s on their mikes. Tried a few photos, none good enough to link. In fact, it`s also on Univisi?n at 11-15 UT as we get it on cable in OK. Looks like it`s delayed at least two hours on this. XHHMA-TV, Gala in Hermosillo is in exactly the same direxion as Ju?rez from here, but much further at 913 miles. The Pac?fico stations are all a bit more to the south. Next day I laboriously look up XHHMA programming on slow-loading TV Guide (Gala on cable 23 in Hermosillo, presumably this altho they hate to show X-callsigns), and NO match ? instead `Verdicto Final` courtroom show? at 9-10 am MST July 17. A further fishing expedition will be too time-consuming. No other ch 2 stations in NW Mexico are known to be on net-9, so maybe a part-time relay. 1700 on 2, above starts to mix with something from net-2 in UR, probably XEPM again; fade out and nothing further (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** PERU. 5980, July 18 at 0104, R. Chaski carrier until cutoff at 0105:33.5*, five point five seconds later than yesterday (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** SUDAN [and non]. 15400, July 18 at 0512 check, 1 kHz tone jammer atop R. Dabanga via Madagascar, which has become the new normal here. Also lower-pitched tone jammer against their other frequency, 11650 via Vatican (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. 5050, UT Wednesday July 18 at 0106, WWRB is missing again from 5050 and 3195. I suppose it all depends on whether time is sold/committed any given hour of the evening (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ** U S A. WORLD OF RADIO 1678 monitoring: first airing confirmed on WRMI webcast, UT Thursday July 18 at 0330; and detectable on 9955 at 0342 check with jamming; tnx a lot, Arnie! Next: Thursday 2100.5 on WTWW-1 9479 UT Friday 0326v on WWRB 5050 UT Saturday 0130v on Area 51 via WBCQ 5110v-CUSB (supposed to shift to 0200 if and when a new 01-02 show starts, but so far unconfirmed) Saturday 0630 & 1430 on HLR 7265-CUSB, 1 kW from Germany Saturday 1500 & 1730 on WRMI 9955 Saturday 2328v on WTWW-2 9930 UT Sunday 0400.5 on WTWW-1 5830 (off the air last week) Sunday 0730, 1030, 1430, 1830 on test from HLR 15785-CUSB Sunday 2330v on WTWW-2 9930 (also off the air last week) Tuesday 1100 on WRMI 9955 Wednesday 0630 & 1430 on HLR 7265-CUSB Wednesday 1630 on HLR 15785-CUSB if testing again (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) UNIDENTIFIED [non]. 11980, July 18 at 0515 check, TRT poor signal is back unlike last night missing, but now absent is the 11979 single-number CW intruder sending 7 or 3 (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST) ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 07:52:34 +0300 From: Zacharias LIangas <zlia...@ath.forthnet.gr> To: hard-core-dx@hard-core-dx.com, cumbre...@yahoogroups.com, playdx2...@yahoogroups.com, mrd...@yahoo.com, dario.monfer...@playdx.com, wghau...@yahoo.com; Subject: [HCDX] LOgs 14+15 Message-ID: <201307190452.r6j4qym0012...@mx-in-11.forthnet.gr> Content-Type: text/plain Please reply to zlian...@yahoo.com http://zliangaslogs.blogspot.gr/ Logs sun 14/7 9526 RRI 1343 with pop songs S3 only 11835 PCJ 1346 with poo signal mean S3 11860 V wilderness 1351 with talks in Korean S4 15785 HLR notted on 1355 with mag antenna with marginal signal Logs Mon 15/7 http://zliangaslogs.blogspot.gr/ 15615 salam watandar 1356 -1402 with signal S2 ma x 12015 V o korea 1403 with hymn etc treid to listen to V o Mogoliaa 15205 PAB? 1418 wth religious prg 15505 bangladesh betar 1420 with old hindi songs (50-60 ) 1430* http://delicious.com/gr_greek1/zak (all my pages ) ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 08:06:05 +0300 From: Zacharias LIangas <zlia...@ath.forthnet.gr> To: hard-core-dx@hard-core-dx.com, cumbre...@yahoogroups.com, playdx2...@yahoogroups.com, mrd...@yahoo.com, dario.monfer...@playdx.com, wghau...@yahoo.com; Subject: [HCDX] How to Modify an AM Radio to Receive Shortwave Broadcasts (link only ) Message-ID: <201307190506.r6j565dd021...@mx-in-05.forthnet.gr> Content-Type: text/plain Please reply to zlian...@yahoo.com http://survivalandbeyond.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Listen-to-Shortwave-Broadcasts- on-an-AM-Radio.pdf http://delicious.com/gr_greek1/zak (all my pages ) ------------------------------ Message: 4 Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 08:06:53 +0300 From: Zacharias LIangas <zlia...@ath.forthnet.gr> To: hard-core-dx@hard-core-dx.com, cumbre...@yahoogroups.com, playdx2...@yahoogroups.com, mrd...@yahoo.com, dario.monfer...@playdx.com, wghau...@yahoo.com; Subject: [HCDX] New TV station for Zimbabwe to launch tomorrow Message-ID: <201307190506.r6j56rln018...@mx-in-01.forthnet.gr> Content-Type: text/plain Please reply to zlian...@yahoo.com https://www.facebook.com/100496510110904/posts/194823300678224 A PRIVATE television station, 1st TV, is expected to be launched in Zimbabwe tomorrow using the free-to-air channels formerly used by South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) channels on Wiztech decoders. The station, which will start broadcasting at 6pm tomorrow, would end the monopoly by State broadcaster Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC). In an interview yesterday from South Africa, the televisions senior presenter/producer Temba Hove said they were ready to roll local and international programmes on the station and would not be biased towards any political party. We will be airing on Wiztech where SABC was broadcasting on. We are taking over and we will be on Wiztech, Hove said. 1st TV will provide impartial, factual news to the people of Zimbabwe as well as broadcasting popular soap operas and comedies. The team comprises Hove, a former ZBC staffer, Shortwave Radio Africas Violet Gonda and executive producer Andrew Chadwick. Thousands of Zimbabweans own Wiztech decoders and the move will come as good news to them. With the recent loss of SABC from the platform, Zimbabweans have once again been at the mercy of the dire production standards and biased reporting of the State media. 33 years after independence, it is high time that the people got what they demand and deserve in respect of their right to information and that is the role that 1st TV will play, the statement read. http://delicious.com/gr_greek1/zak (all my pages ) ------------------------------ Message: 5 Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 08:07:52 +0300 From: Zacharias LIangas <zlia...@ath.forthnet.gr> To: hard-core-dx@hard-core-dx.com, cumbre...@yahoogroups.com, playdx2...@yahoogroups.com, mrd...@yahoo.com, dario.monfer...@playdx.com, wghau...@yahoo.com; Subject: [HCDX] Shortwave Radio Oddities Roundup Message-ID: <201307190507.r6j57qxr024...@mx-in-05.forthnet.gr> Content-Type: text/plain Please reply to zlian...@yahoo.com http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbhCeWtX9sg http://delicious.com/gr_greek1/zak (all my pages ) ------------------------------ Message: 6 Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 08:10:01 +0300 From: Zacharias LIangas <zlia...@ath.forthnet.gr> To: hard-core-dx@hard-core-dx.com, cumbre...@yahoogroups.com, playdx2...@yahoogroups.com, mrd...@yahoo.com, dario.monfer...@playdx.com, wghau...@yahoo.com; Subject: [HCDX] Pirate Radio Thrives in Internet Age Message-ID: <201307190510.r6j5a1gm001...@mx-in-11.forthnet.gr> Content-Type: text/plain Please reply to zlian...@yahoo.com http://www.radioworld.com/article/pirate-radio-thrives-in-internet-age/220315 OTTAWA, Ontario Unlicensed pirate radio stations are thriving in the Internet age, despite the fact that most people can now operate their own Web-based radio stations without risking arrest. A vibrant pirate radio scene continues in the United States, and also in Europe and to a lesser extent in South America, said George Zeller, a pirate radio listener/journalist for the past four decades. This includes a very energetic pirate radio scene on shortwave, and also a stunningly resilient pirate radio scene on FM and to a lesser extent on medium wave, despite the frequent busts by the FCC of FM pirates. STILL A NEED There is most certainly a place for pirate radio today although I would debate the word pirate, said Gerry Jackson. She is the founder and station manager of SW Radio Africa, a pro-democracy station broadcasting into Zimbabwe from an out-of- country transmitter. We are a normal radio station, producing news and information to help inform Zimbabweans in-country. So why does SWRA pay hefty electricity bills to broadcast on 4880 kHz, rather than just streaming its content to Zimbabwe via the Web? The age of the Internet is far from global, Jackson said. Zimbabweans have access to very poor bandwidth, unless they are very rich. Plus 90 percent of the population lives in rural areas where there will be virtually no access to the Internet. She added that there is 90 percent unemployment in Zimbabwe, which effectively bars the majority from using whatever Web access is available. In contrast, shortwave radio reaches all parts of the country, said Jackson. If one person in your village has a radio, then everyone can listen. Famed pirate broadcaster Allan Weiner. Credit: Allan Weiner WHY THE PIRATES DO IT There are many kinds of pirate radio stations. They run the gamut from hobbyists broadcasting to their apartment buildings using a low-powered transmitter, MP3 player and cheap microphone to full-blown professional operations, such as SWRA. Pirate radio stations are also big in major urban centers such as New York and London, where they tend to lurk at the bottom of the FM bands. Many pirate stations have been on-air for decades, said Pat Murphy. He is a long-time mainstream radio/TV broadcaster in Washington, D.C., pirate radio listener and volunteer with the Free Radio Network pirate radio fan website, which has merged with HFU HF Underground. Long-running pirate stations include Undercover Radio, WBNY(AM) (Radio Bunny), Radio Jamba, Wolverine Radio, Channel Z, Blue Ocean, Rave on Radio, Red Mercury Labs, [shortwave station] WMPR, Radio Free Speech, Captain Ganja, Southern Relay Service to name just a few, Murphy said. PERSISTENCE Some stations specialize in music, others in commentary and talk. WBNY(AM) is run by a pirate operator who calls himself Commander Bunny and has a rabbit-sounding voice, has run for president with bumper stickers to boot and is actively sending out QSL cards (station confirmation of listener reception reports). So why do pirate broadcasters risk fines and even jail to broadcast without a license? A QSL issued by Weiners Radio Newyork International/RNI on shortwave radio. Credit: Allan Weiner I think the motives are different for each person, Murphy said. Some do it for the thrill of it, others to lend a voice to something they feel the mainstream media has ignored, and others do it for the fun of it. In the case of legendary pirate broadcaster Allan Weiner operator of Radio Newyork International, which broadcast off the New York Atlantic coast using ship-based transmitters in the 1980s the motivation was exercising his U.S. right to freedom of speech. My friends and I had tried to open our own station legally, but were laughed off by the FCC because we were young and not rich, Weiner said. Pirate radio was the only option not just for exercising this right, but allowing other ordinary Americans to speak their minds on the radio, and to let everyone have the chance to hear them. Ironically, after decades of pirate broadcasting, in 1998 Weiner succeeded in attaining FCC licenses for shortwave radio station WBCQ and WREM(AM), now WXME(AM); both in Monticello, Maine. Today, he legally owns and operates these two stations, plus WBCQ(FM) in the same town. In large U.S. conurbations such as Miami, New York/New Jersey and the Boston area, the majority of pirate radio stations are operated within communities that have been effectively priced out of access to the legal airwaves, said John Anderson, an American academic who has extensively studied pirate radio and operates the site www.dyimedia.net. Many of them are commercial, providing an affordable advertising outlet for local businesses, he said. Teenage pirate Weiner broadcasting as Free Radio WXMN(AM) in 1971. Credit: Allan Weiner. BOOST FROM THE WEB As for the risk of being caught? At least in the U.S., the FCC is really a paper tiger, Anderson said. Field offices are woefully understaffed, and busting pirates is just one small duty that field agents are responsible for. U.S. fines for unlicensed broadcasting can go as high as $25,000, but since the FCC is mandated to reduce fines for people who can prove they cant pay, five-digit forfeitures get whittled down to $1,000 or less, he said. Add the fact that the FCC doesnt have the same collection teeth as the IRS, plus a five-year statute of limitations on FCC fines, and it's not unheard of for forfeitures to simply expire. At first blush, one would expect to have cut into the pool of potential pirate broadcasters. After all, sites such as Ustream.tv and Justin.tv let anyone produce and stream their own audio and video content, for free. That said, the Web cant match radios ability to provide one-to-many coverage immediately and accessibly, said Weiner. There is also a magic to just going live on-air that the Web doesnt deliver. Thats the magic of radio, and there is nothing like it. Meanwhile, the Web has proven to be a boon to pirate radio broadcasters in a number of ways. For instance, they no longer have to risk either locating their studio with their transmitter or antenna because the latter is what gets found and seized when regulators track down pirate signals or using STL links to tie the two together, said Paul Riismandel. He is a noted pirate radio journalist and co-founder of www.radiosurvivor.com, a radio news site. WBNY(AM) Radio Bunny souvenirs and QSLs. Credit: Pat Murphy. With the Web, a pirate broadcaster can simply stream his or her content to the transmitter. If it gets found and seized, the pirates production center remains undiscovered and secure. The Web is a great place for pirate radio listeners to band together in chat rooms, to share information about stations that are popular, or even on-air right now. For broadcasters, the Web is also a source of easy-to-access, cheap and complete radio stations. You can now buy a full setup from the Internet for $200, said Weiner. When I started as a teenage pirate in the 1970s, broadcasting equipment was nearly impossible to find, and what was available was prohibitively expensive. Finally, the Web has made it much easier and far safer for pirate radio broadcasters to respond to listener reception reports the only proof these broadcasters get that someone is actually tuning in to their signals. It brought about e-QSLs, said Murphy. Instead of sending your report to a mail drop, you would send it to an email address and in return get a verification via email as an e-QSL. WBNY(AM) Radio Bunny logo. Credit: Pat Murphy Mail drops were anonymous locations where listeners could send their written reception reports. They were used to prevent giving out pirate radio station addresses over the air, where the FCC might hear them. The moral to this tale the Internet age has not reduced potential pirates urge to broadcast. After all, going online requires an expensive device and a monthly connection plan, some of which come with data caps, Anderson said. Contrast that to radio, which I can get with an inexpensive receiver and no recurring charge, he said. Even today, nothing can touch radio for its reach, immediacy and intimacy, said Weiner. This is why the Web is a boon to pirate radio broadcasters, not a bust. James Careless reports on the industry for Radio World from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. http://delicious.com/gr_greek1/zak (all my pages ) ------------------------------ Message: 7 Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2013 09:01:48 +0100 From: TOM TAYLOR <emrs...@gmail.com> To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: [HCDX] Hamburger Lokalradio & Radio City this weekend Message-ID: <caa_ct2x0ecwpncdpnffavsqr45tgov0btmsarx66afroblv...@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hamburger Lokalradio & Radio City this weekend Radio City: Friday 19th: 18.00 to 19.00 UTC on 7290 kHz via IRRS, and MW 1368 kHz from Padova, Italy Saturday 20th: 08.00 to 09.00 UTC on 9510 kHz via IRRS, also at 19.00 to 20.00 UTC on 1485 kHz via R Merkurs in Latvia with a weekly separate programme. Every 4th Saturday: 12.00 to 13.00 UTC via Hamburger Lokalradio on 7265 kHz Due to very poor propagation the June HLR programme will be repeated. The email address remains citymorec...@yahoo.ca Thank you! Hamburger Lokalradio via MVBR Saturday and Wednesday: 06.00 to 08.00 UTC on 7265 kHz 08.00 to 11.00 UTC on 6190 kHz 11.00 to 15.00 UTC on 7265 kHz All reports to: redakt...@hamburger-lokalradio.de Thank you! Good Listening! 73s, Tom End of Hard-Core-DX Digest, Vol 127, Issue 21 *********************************************