DX-Window No. 474from the

Danish Shortwave Club InternationalTavleager 31, DK-2670 Greve, Denmark

”Friendship through Knowledge”

DSWCI 50 years in 2006 - the DX Club that had global membership 30 years before "Globalization"www.dswci.org

Editor and Distributor: Anker Petersen E-mail address: anker.petersen@mail.dk .

Next deadline is Monday March 18, 2013 at 1800 UTC. March 06, 2013

Dear friends,

On February 28, Pope Benedikt XVI abdicated for health reasons as the second Pope in the history of the Roman Catholic Church. A new Pope is to be elected by the Cardinals during March.

The Chinese Lunar New Year is over and we have just entered March, which is the first month of springtime here in Denmark after a long and cold winter. Today is +5 centigrades and nearly all the snow has melted. The first flowers are blooming and the first birds are singing. But our editor of DX-Mirror, Dmitry Mezin in Kazan, Russia, writes: “Actually, signs of springtime are only seen on a wall calendar that now shows the March page... Outside, we had 4 snowy days in a row and the temperature right now is 11 C below zero. Spring usually comes to us in April.”

Thank you for your contributions from all parts of the world to this DX-Window. Our South African member Graham Bell writes: “Summer is in full swing here and I've not been listening much. But anyway here are a few logs to fill the pages! Despite all the talk about global warming we've had a mild summer with hot, but not very hot days. Makes a nice change after the very wet summer we had in London last year. ”

Our U.S. member Richard d’Angelo writes: “The NASWA Winter SWL Festival was another good time in Plymouth Meeting thanks to the efforts of Rich Cuff and John Figliozzi and a team of great behind the scenes support Group. Next year’s dates (February 28-March 1) have already been selected.  Dan Ferguson, who has done just about everything for NASWA over the year’s, was selected as the recipient of the William P. Eddings Award as the club’s member of the year.  Next year we get to do it all again!” Our U.S. members Jerry Berg and Bob Wilkner write about our longtime member Dan Ferguson: “ Congrats to DXplorer Dan Ferguson on his selection as NASWA's member of the year, and recipient of the William P. Eddings Award at this year's Winter SWL Festival.  It's well deserved, OM! ”. From the DSWCI also go our sincere congratulations, Dan!

Highlights this time:R Symban, Australia, on 2368 back on 24 hours schedule.R Nova Relógio, Brazil, on 4905 and R Gazeta on 15325 reactivated.Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea confirmed on 4700.Many Italian MW-stations have closed.NBC Sandaun, Papua New Guinea, reactivated on 3205.Pacific R, Peru, 4975, is off the air.Review of Bonito RadioJet 1102S receiver. Best 73, Anker

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤DX NEWS¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

ALGERIA/ FRANCE7295, R and TV Algerienne, via Issoudun (500 kW / 194 degrees) new frequency from Feb 24: 0600-0605 French news bulletin to NWAfrica, 0605-0658 Arabic Holy Qura'n, ex 5865. (Ivanov, Feb 25)

ANGOLA4949.74, R Nacional de Angola, Mulenvos, 0325, Feb 24, musical programme, but low modulation, 33333. (Giroletti)

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ARGENTINA13363.5 LSB, LTA, Argentina Armed Forces, Buenos Aires, 1420, Mar 02, programme relay, 22222. (Giroletti)

AUSTRALIA2368.48, R Symban, Marrickville, 1346-1447, Feb 20, broadcasting much later than normal; signal strength and frequency indicated was them, as audio was hovering at threshold level with bits of music coming through once in a while, but too weak to tell what type of music; from 1433 had improved reception just before my local sunrise; surprised to hear songs I would call easy listening ballads; nothing resembling the distinctive Greek music andsongs I have often heard here in the past. Now on 24 hours a day! Hope they continue with this extended schedule, as itgives me a good chance to hear them before my local sunrise. Probably still 500 watts. Also heard at 1153-1250, Mar 01, DJ playing Pacific pop and easy listening Pacific songs, language Pacific vernacular? One of their best receptions ever, good signal, but heavy QRN. MP3 audio https://www.box.com/s/xhh6fq2qqp782hwk4m5z .Response to my reception report to R Symban for yesterday’s reception sent to: symban_03@hotmail.com :“Hi Ron,Yes for the time being we are back to 24 hours and the ballads you were listening to was music of the Pacific, since we are so close! Thank you for the report. Regards, Tom Tsamouras”. (Howard). Also heard at 1715-1900, Feb 28, music. (Nilsson)

2485, VL8K, Katherine, NT, 1902, Mar 02, music and talk from ABC, 23333 // 4835. (Giroletti)

4835, VL8A, Alice Springs, NT, 1034, Mar 02, live coverage of the end of the NTFL match between the Crocs and the Eagles, post game interviews; good reception. (Howard). Also heard at 1303, Mar 02, playing Bluegrass music, 45433 // 2325 (very weak), 2485 inaudible. (Sellers). Also heard at 1902-1957, Feb 22, 26, Mar 02 and 04, music and talk from ABC, radio drama, local ID and frequencies, laughs, chat, song by Ben Harper, 33333 // 2485. (Bell, Giroletti, Mille and Petersen)

4910, VL8T, Tennant Creek, NT, 2130, Mar 02, ABC news and talk, 33333 // 4835 and 5025. (Giroletti)

5025, VL8K, Katherine, NT, 2130-2141, Mar 02, ABC news and talk, interview, Sunday morning show, talk about high temperatures around the country, humorous song, 44444 // 4835 and 4910. (Bell and Giroletti)

AZERBAIJAN 9676.6v, Ädalätin Säsi Radiosu (Voice of Justice), Stepanakert (10 kW), scheduled Tu/Th/Sa 0600-0657 and Mo/We/Fr 1400-1457, was heard on We/Th Feb 27/28 with poor signal. (Ivanov, Feb 28)

BAHRAIN9745, R Bahrain, Abu Ayan, 0140, Feb 24, local music, better in USB !!!!, splash 9750!!!, 33333. (Giroletti)

BHUTAN5030 and 6035. QSL letter with BBS letterhead, full data and detailed reply received from Kaka Tshering, BBS General Manager for Dec 22, 2011 reception on 5030 (test frequency) from 0019 to 0134 (UK Perseus site) and for Jan 12, 2013 "all-nighter" reception on 6035 from 2119 to 2211 (Finland Perseus site). I used www.box.com to send Mr. Tshering the audio files, Perseus screen shots and a map of the great circle paths. After listening to audio files, he was able to confirm that both receptions were indeed BBS programs, although he indicated that the 5030 KHz transmission was notregular programming (I believe that was a part of their testing in late 2011). He did not offer an explanation of why BBS had an "all-nighter" broadcast on Jan 12. (Churchill in DXplorer, Mar 05)

BOLIVIA4716.2, R Yatun Ayllu Yura, Yura, 2324-0130, Feb 21, 24 and 25, Andean music, piano music clip, Spanish ann, adv, 25322. (Bell, Hauser and Wilkner)

5952.40, R Pio XII, Siglo XX, 2305-2340, Feb 04, program in Quechua with news about Potosí and rainfall in the highlands, bilingual advs in Spanish and Quechua, ID: "Desde Bolivia por Radio Pio XII", music, talk about the care of cancer and appropriate screening, ID: “Un aviso de Radio Pio XII", 33333. (Arrunátegui). Also heard at 1030-1100, Feb 27, Spanish talk, good signal. (Wilkner)

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6105.52, R Panamericana, La Paz, 1039-1100, Feb 20, instrumental music into flauta andina ”la esperanza...", piano solo, "la hora Panamericana” 1045, beautiful flauta andina followed by "buenas dias ". (Wilkner). Also heard in Peru at 1105-1146, Feb 12, ”Carnaval en mi Bolivia” program, comment on the customs of their carnival, saya music, one minute of love music by orquesta de Cámara de Bolivia. ID: "Por radio Panamericana", ”atención amigos dentro de unos instantes estaremos con nuestro noticiero.. Panamericana, la radio de Bolivia", El noticiero Panamericano news program, 44444. (Arrunátegui)

6134.80, R Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, 0007-0035, Feb 05, dealing with the nationalization of the oil and the distribution of goods, ID: "Escúchala.. Radio Santa Cruz. Cuando estamos a las 8:00 de la noche, estaremos junto con su programa su Revista Radiofónica en esta noche de lunes, hoy se ha iniciado el nuevo año escolar que vienen cargado de nuevo métodos de enseñanza musica lejos de ti por los hermanos Amaya del Perú”, news, message by the president, Monseñor Jesús Párraga taken as archbishop of Sucre on Saturday, 44444. (Arrunátegui)

6154.90, R Fides, La Paz, 0205-0240, Feb 21, sports comments, ID: "Del Grupo Fides", news about 12 detainees who threw a flare during a match in Oruro, that caused the death of a fan, ID: "Muchas gracias coronel por la información a los amigos de Radio Fides", football program and sports news, 444444. (Arrunátegui)

BRAZIL3364.9, R Cultura, Araraquara, SP, 0109, Feb 23, male pastor speaking slow Portuguese, 35333. (Bell)

4785, R Caiari, Porto Velho, RO, 0950-1025, Feb 27, ID: ”...onda media”, Brazilian music, good signal. (Wilkner)

4805.00, R Dif. do Amazonas, Manaus, AM, 0020-0110, Feb 13, continouos music, advs, ID: "Radio Difusora do Amazonas…" , news comment about Manaus and its possibilities, advs, ID: "Radio Difusora do Amazonas" (just audible, better heard in LSB), romantic songs, "Radio Difusora do Amazonas", advs from the city of Manaus: ”Government of Amazonas to the best of the city”, ID: "Se acerca el carnaval por Difusora do Amazonas..", music, ID: Radio Difusora do Amazonas, Manaus", 22222. (Arrunátegui). Also heard at 0928-1030 fade, Feb 19, good. (Wilkner)

4815, R Difusora, Londrina, PR, 0056, Feb 23, male pastor in Portuguese, song of praise clips, another very emotional pastor, tel. numbers, 44444. (Bell)

4865.00, R Verde Florestas, Acre, AC, 1128-1215, Feb 06, continuous romantic music, 1209 advs and news about the region, ID: “Radio Verde Florestas…onda media en los 940kHz , Onda tropical 4865kHz una emisora de la Fundación Verde Florestas, Acre, Brasil..”

, 44444. (Arrunátegui)

4885.00, R Difusora Acreana, Rio Branco, AC, 0240-0336, Feb 04, modern music, 0334 ID, 33333. (Arrunátegui)

4885, R Clube do Pará, Belém, PA, 0004-0345, Feb 24, Mar 02 and 03, Brazilian music and ID, outside reports, 33333. (Bell and Giroletti)

4894.9, R Novo Tempo, Campo Grande, MS, 0000-0100, Feb 27, Portuguese ann frequency in kilohertz mentioned under Codar. (Wilkner). Also heard at 0351, Mar 02, slow romantic pop songs, ID in Portuguese, 35333. (Bell)

4905, R Nova Relógio, Rio de Janeiro, RJ. Several Brazilian DXers reported in recent days the return of this station. The programs are religious, from " Igreja Internacional da Graça de Deus "( International Church of the Grace of God). (Cássio, Feb 24). Off since June 2008 when the schedule was 0730-0300. (Ed)

4975, R Iguatemi (p), Osasco, SP, 0110, Mar 03, romantic pop songs, time check in Portuguese, shouts, 35343. (Bell)

5035, R Aparecida, Aparecida, SP, 0930-1020, Feb 27, ann mentions Aparecida, good signal at first then fade.(Wilkner)

5970, R Itatiaia, Belo Horizonte, MG, 0050, Feb 23, male and female speakers in Portuguese with chat, laughs, jingle, funny voices, 44444. (Bell)

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6000, R Guaiba, Porto Alegre, RS, 0046, Feb 23, Portuguese talk with mentions of Porto Alegre, adv jingle, federal ann, sports talk programme, 43433. (Bell)

6010.1, R Inconfidencia, Belo Horizonte, MG, 0148, Mar 03, male singer with old-style songs, 42333. (Bell)

9645.4, R Bandeirantes, São Paulo, SP, 0357, Mar 02, male and female speakers chatting in Portuguese, jingle, advs, 42333. (Bell)

9819.21, R Nove de Julho, São Paulo, SP, 0355, Mar 02, congregation singing, male pastor in Portuguese, 35333. (Bell). Also heard at 0703-0710, Mar 01, ID, usual program of pray in Portuguese, "Ave Maria" of J.S. Bach - C. Gounod. There are no signs of stop of drop in the frequency, 35333. (Wagai)

11765, Super R Deus é Amor, Curitiba, PR, 2115-2118, Feb 26, Portuguese religious sermon, 45443. (Mille)

11780, R Nacional da Amazônia, Brasília, DF, 2111-2114, Feb 26, Brazilian song, 34333. (Mille)

11855, R Aparecida, Aparecida, SP, 0047-0118, Feb 25, Portuguese talk, 0058 ann, ID and several anns and promos. Time pips at 0100, ID and more talk. Poor to fair with a slight hum from presumed R Veritas Asia. (D’Angelo)

15189.95, R Inconfidência, Belo Horizonte, MG, 1915, Mar 02, local programme, better in LSB, 23222. (Giroletti)

15325, R Gazeta, São Paulo, SP, 1800, Feb 11, reactivated with religious programmes in Portuguese. R Gazeta on 5955 is inactive. (Cássio). R Gazeta has not been reported heard on 15325 since Nov 2009. (Ed)

CANADA6070, CFRX, Toronto, 0125, Mar 03, talk radio, advs, rock music clip, 24332. (Bell) 6160.00, CKZU, Vancouver, 1000-1100, Feb 24 and 27, mention of BBC and one of Vancouver, discussion disabilities and possible changes. (Wilkner)

CHINA4850, Xinjiang PBS, Urumqi, 1600-1800*, Feb 28, ID, music and talk in Kazakh, 45333. (Wagai)

4940, “Voice of Taiwan Strait News Radio”, Fuzhou, 1500-1530, Sa Feb 23, the weekly program “Focus on China” in English, item about online gambling addiction in China, “special report” on the first 100 days of the new leadership of the Communist Party of China, ID for “This is the Voice of Taiwan Strait News Radio”, good reception. MP3 audio athttps://www.box.com/s/d221tfmhc9naflvvsmky . (Howard)

CLANDESTINES and other Target Broadcasts1550, R Nacional del RASD, Rabuoni, Algeria, 2206, Mar 02, local programme, 33333. (Giroletti)

3930v, R Voice of Kurdistan, via Sulaimaniya, new schedule: *1500 (varying to *1510)-1550* (varying to 1625*), Feb 12-21, Kurdish and Farsi (?), tiny signal under jamming, varying 3929-3931. (Pankov)

3960v, Voice of Iranian Kurdistan, via Salah Al-Din, Iraq, *0223- 0427* and around *1230-1430v*, Feb 12-26, 0229 singing Anthem, 0232 ID in Kurdish: “ Eira dengi Kurdistana Iran “, pray and ID echo-sounded, part in Farsi (varying to 3972) and // 4861v. (Pankov). Also heard on second harmonic at 7929.7. (Bueschel)

4861v, Voice of Iranian Kurdistan, via Salah Al-Din, Iraq, *0226-0430 * and around *1230-1427*(-1433*) varying to 4876 // 3960v, but usually 2-5 minutes later. (Pankov)

4880, SW R Africa, Meyerton, 1740-1742, Feb 26, English talks, 33343. (Mille)

8989 USB, "El  Pescador Preacher", Nicaragua, 0000-0010, Feb 27, religious comments in Spanish. (Wilkner)

11510, Denge Kurdistan, via Grigoriopol (250 kW/ 116 degrees), 0400-1600 to West Asia in Kurdish, poor to fair signal. (Ivanov, Feb 20)

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11510, Denge Kurdistan, via new secret transmitter site since Feb14: 1600-2000 Kurdish, ex 7390, heard with powerful signal in Sofia 55555. (Ivanov, Feb 20)

11600, R Free Sarawak (Cf. DX-Window no.473. Ed), 1135-1253, Feb 19 and Mar 02, talk in presumed Iban, many IDs, 1204-1214 “Special News” due to the active military situation between Filipinos and Malaysians at Sabah, fair to good. MP3 audio posted at https://www.box.com/s/2z8pudnm3dzz5jmj5ata . (Hauser and Howard)

11620, no program of Idhaatu Sharoopa / R Sunrise, via Kostinbrod, Sofia (050 kW / 195 degrees), We Feb 20, only strong empty carrier *1600-1611* and then transmitter switched off! (Ivanov). Cf. DX-Window no. 473! (Ed)

15360/15365/15370/15375/15380/15385/15390/15395, E-SAT Radio, 1700-1800, monitored Feb 01-Mar 01, reveals a new schedule, where the frequency daily randomly is selected amongst these eight frequencies in order to avoid the jamming by Ethiopia with broadband DRM-like white noise. (Ivanov, Mar 02)

COLOMBIA5909.92, Alcaraván R, Puerto Lleras, 0925-0956, Feb 08, Colombia Amada tropical music, La Verdad religious tema, ID: "Alcaraván Radio", music, 33333. (Arrunátegui)

CONGO Rep.6115, R Congo, Brazzaville, 1935, Feb 22, actuality programme in French with two male speakers, mainly about west African countries, contact tel. numbers, ID as ”Radio Congo”, then into local chant music, 44444. (Bell) CUBA5025, R Rebelde, Bauta, 0100-0130, Feb 24 and Mar 03, musica Cubana, 44444. (Giroletti)

DIEGO GARCIA4319 USB, AFN, Diego Garcia, 0035-0045, Feb 24, mixing with utility, defeated by using 1.1kHz filter. (Wilkner). Also heard at 1710, Feb 23, musical programme, 33333. (Giroletti)

12758 USB, AFN, Diego Garcia, 0236, Mar 02, English talk: Secretary Defense, United States, military, information, songs, 42232. (Ashar)

DJIBOUTI4780, R Djibouti, Doraleh, 1832-1834, Mar 02, vernacular, 35333. (Mille)

ECUADOR3380, Centro Radiofónico de Imbabura, Ibarra, 1050-1115, Feb 19, 21 and 27, Spanish with utility on top, poor signal noted, transmitter issues? (Wilkner)

4815.00, R Buen Pastor, Loja, 1105-1140, Feb 13, religious music, better heard in LSB, greetings and messages, ”Hablando con Dios”, pasillo music with religious motives, ID: " Ese el aporte del informativo de radio Buen Pastor" comment on the different places where the carnival takes place in Ecuador, advs, ”El Informativo” news, 22222. (Arrunátegui)

6050.00, HCJB, Pichincha, Quito, 0430-0505*, Feb 11, Papa Dios program with religious music, ID "Agradecemos a todos nuestros amigos y estaciones que están afiliada a nuestra cadena HCJB", music, ”HCJB toca toda la música que te quieres escuchar”.., s/off ann: “HCJB toca la música que quieres escuchar para darte gozo y alegría, escúchanos en 89.3 Pichincha, 92.5 Manabí, 98.3 Esmeraldas, 96.1 Tungurahua y Cotopaxi, 690 AM y 6050 Onda Corta”, music, time ann: ”El mayor placer para todos los que hacemos HCJB la Voz de Los Andes, ha sido servirles, seguros que educar, informar en esta vez son nuestra meta primordial”, pasillo music, ”lo invitamos a sintonizarnos a partir de las 3 horas y 30 minutos cuando transmitiremos programación Quechua, hasta tanto que Dios lo bendiga y cuide, felicidades amigo, luego tocan el himno nacional del Ecuador”, 44444. (Arrunátegui)

ERITREA4700, Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea-2, Asmara (100 kW/ non-directive) (Cf. DX-Window no. 473. Ed), new frequency scheduled 0300-0700 and 1400-1800 in Amharic/Afar/Arabic/Somali to Eritrea // 7175-7195, including Ginbot 7 Dimts R in Amharic 0500-0600 and 1400-1500, variable. 4700 has probably replaced the old frequencies: 9715 or alt. 9820. All frequencies are jamming by Ethiopia with broadband DRM-like white noise. (Ivanov, Feb 28).

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Heard signing on at *0258, Mar 02, with guitar-like instrument music, male speaker over music, 0300 presumed Amharic programming, 25332 // 7185 (21331 due to HAMs). (Sellers). Also heard at 0313, Mar 01, Horn of Africa music // 7185; both unjammed. (Howard). Also heard at 1711-1750, Feb 23 and 27, local music, very low modulation, 33333 // 7180. (Giroletti and Mille)

7180,Voice of the Broad Masses of Eritrea, Asmara, 1750, Feb 23, local music and ID, 33333. (Giroletti)

ETHIOPIA5950, Voice of Tigray Revolution, Addis Ababa, *0254, Mar 02, stringed instrument IS underway, 0256 man with s/on in presumed Afar, followed by presumed news at 0257, 35343. (Sellers)

GERMANY13820, R 700, via Kall-Krekel (1 kW/non-directive), 0855-0925, Feb 27 and Mar 01, German, drifting from 13820.40 to 13820.00. Usually // 6085. (Ivanov and Pankov). Also heard at 1320-1358*, Mar 01, German ann, German, English and French popmusic with oldies like ”Pretty woman” and Harry Belafonte with ”Island in the Sun”, 1336 jingle: ”Radio Sieben Hundert”, also ID’s at 1350 and 1355, then weather and news, 45344. (Koie and Petersen)

15215, R Öömrang, via Wertachtal (Cf. DX-Window no. 472), *1559-1700*, Th Feb 21, carrier on, 1600 English ID and anns, into German interview, 35343 in Nice, 35543 in Sofia, 34433 in Goettingen. (D’Angelo, Ghibaudo, Ivanov, Kenny in BDXC-UK and Kuhl in DXplorer). Heard in Wyomissing with nice English translations enabling me to somewhat follow the conversation.  Multiple IDs, frequency/time anns and postal address at 1657. (D’Angelo). Mr. Gernot Schrader, principal on Flensburg primary school, is the Producer of this - once a year single - transmission. Technik by Mr. Soehnke Schulz. Address in Nebel on Amrum island was given. Memories of older era of 1934, 1939 and World War II, airforce monitor radio station at Hörnum Sylt island. Interview of Mr Goelzow senior. Of enrollment in the year 1934 and the beginning of the war the Luftwaffe radio radio truck in Hörnum, Sylt in 1939. Reported in upper German, and after that also same content repeated in lower German language. (Bueschel). Actually I received an e-mail reply in German that is a serviceable QSL for R Öömrang. It was received last March for the Feb 21, 2012 broadcast. It is not signed, but is from “Family Koelzow.”  I translate it from German into English as:  “I have received your e-mails. Thank you for your MP3 broadcast recordings of your listening to Radio Oomrang on 15215 kHz on 21 February. I hope you will listen next year.”  It took several e-mail follow ups to get a reply. (Jensen in DXplorer)

GUAM5765 USB, AFRTS, Barrigada, 0930-0959, Feb 19 and Mar 02, English, Promo for “AFN Wednesday”; into the Bill O’Reilly “Talking Points” show good signal. (Howard and Wilkner). Also heard on the westcoast at 1239, Mar 02, news items and Public Service Anns for Navy personnel, mentions of “AFN Spectrum” as the program, 35343. (Sellers)

GUATEMALA4055, R Verdad, Chiquimula, 0020-0030, Feb 27, Spanish with 555 signal as local to Florida. (Wilkner). Also heard in Italy at 0230, Feb 24, music, better in LSB, 23333. (Giroletti). Also heard signing on Su Mar 03, *1201-1213, 6 notes repeated every 13 seconds, four ascending and then one higher, and repeated prolonged, C-D-E-F-A-A, an IS I had not heard before, at 1204.5 the National Anthem started, which we know runs 4-5 minutes at sign off after 0600. (Hauser)

INDIA4800, AIR Hyderabad, 1736-1738, Feb 26, Hindi talks, 35333. (Mille)

4810, AIR Bhopal,1730-1740, Feb 23 and 26, programme in English, local music with Hindi ID, 33333. (Giroletti and Mille)

4840, AIR Mumbai, 1715-1717, Feb 27, local song, 34333. (Mille)

4850, AIR Kohima, 1744-1746, Feb 26, local music, 35333. (Mille)

4860, AIR Shimla, 1718-1720, Feb 27, talks, QRM CODAR, 23332. (Mille)

4880, AIR Lucknow, 0101, Feb 23, slow folk song, 45444. (Bell). Also heard at 1740-1742, Feb 26, talk, 22332. (Mille)

4910, AIR Jaipur, 1720-1722, Feb 27, local song, 25332. (Mille)

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4920, AIR Chennai, 0104, Feb 23, ann in Hindi, music clips, telephone ring, slow flute music and bird chirping, 42433. (Bell). Also heard at 1722-1724, Feb 27, local song, 32332. (Mille)

4950, R Kashmir, Srinagar, 1742-1744, Feb 26, talks, 25332. (Mille)

4990, AIR Itanagar, 0106, Feb 23, male group singing local song, ann in Hindi, 25333. (Bell)

5010, AIR Thiruvananthapuram, 0108, Feb 23, male speaker in Hindi with female caller, romantic pop, background hum, 45333. (Bell). Also heard at 1720-1728, Feb 23 and 27, local music, 33333. (Giroletti and Mille)

5050, AIR Aizawl, *1127, Mar 02, reactivated yet again after being off for a short while; 1117 noted underneathGuangxi Beibu Bay Radio (BBR) with test tone signal till on with AIR IS; not heard March 3; erratic. (Howard)

Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) was established in 1927 and is the only public broadcaster through All India Radio (AIR). The average daily listenership is above 460 million! AIR today has 326 broadcast centres and 490 transmitters (143 MW, 48 SW and 299 FM). In addition 216 new FM transmitters are to be installed. AIR is heading for full digitalization in the future. Two SW transmitters already broadcast Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) and 8 more are under construction. 99.19% of the population is covered by the AIR with 360 newsbulletins daily in many languages. The External Services broadcast in 11 Indian and 16 foreign languages. (Jacob, Feb 20)

INDONESIA3325, RRI Palangkaraya, 1325-1338, Feb 23 and 26, vernacular song "Bajing Luncat" in Tembang Nusantara program, Pro Satu RRI jingle, Lintas Borneo joint program with RRI Banjarmasin starting with report from RRI Samarinda, 44433. (Ashar and Hauser)

4749.95, RRI Makassar, 1237-1308, Tu Feb 19, Kang Guru Indonesia (KGI) program in mostly English presented by Kevin and Ana with language lessons, frequent KGI singing jingles, some pop songs; light CNR1 QRM underneath, but no Bangladesh Betar QRM. MP3 audio at https://www.box.com/s/may0dclxqrnt4ylxmlfv . (Howard)

9680.05, RRI Jakarta, 1007, Mar 02, Bahasa Indonesia program promo and ID, fair to good (pre-jamming reception) . https://www.box.com/s/ow2mhtceahm9u14lncs9 MP3 audio. (Howard)

ISRAEL6885, Galei Tzahal, Lod, 0352-0423, Feb 21, talk in Hebrew, light guitar music and some vocals. Music fanfare at 0400, ID and news. Return to music programming at 0403. Fair signal with some deep fades. (D’Angelo)

ITALYThis month of February will be remembered for the closure of many RAI MW sites/frequencies! First of all our local station on 819 kHz broadcasting the Italian national service RAI Radio1 turned off on Feb 22. The Slovenian program on 981 kHz for the moment continues to be heard. But many others stations have been closed: 567    Caltanissetta S.Anna 657 Bolzano 693    Potenza 819    Trieste Monte Radio 873    Taranto Salina Grande 936    Trapani Solina 999    Capo Vaticano 999    Perugia Torgiano 999    Rimini Viserba 1035    Lecce Specchia 1035    Pescara San Silvestro 1116    Aosta Gerdaz 1116    Cuneo Tetti Pesio 1143    Sassari 1314    Matera 1449    Biella San Paolo 1449    Bressanone

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1449    Brunico 1449    Cortina 1449    Sondrio 1575    Campobasso 1575    Gorizia Piuma 1584    Terni San Lorenzo

For sure these stations are still on the air: 657    Pisa Coltano 900    Milano Siziano 936    Venezia Campalto 981    Trieste Monte Radio 999    Torino Volpiano 1062    Ancona Montagnolo 1062    Cagliari Decimoputzu 1062    Catania Coda di Volpe 1107    Roma 1116    Palermo 1431 Foggia1449 Belluno La Costa1449 Como Monte Tre Croci1575    Genova Portofino 1575    Nuoro San Onofrio. (Groppazzi)

KOREA, North6400, Pyongyang PBS, Pyongyang, 1256, Mar 02, Korean, orchestral music and ann, 25342. (Sellers)

LAOS6130, R Nationale Lao, Vientiane. Thanks to Rajeesh, I learned, that Laos had issued a new, beautiful QSL-card before I visited Malaysia in November last year. The station is not propagating well to Denmark, so I listened to their English broadcast from my hotel in Kuala Lumpur and sent a reception report after my return back home. After 83 days arrived the QSL-card signed by Sipha Nonglath, Director General. The QSL described their current frequencies and their web site: www.laonationalradio.com which has live broadcasts in Lao from one of their FM-channels, but unfortunately not from 6130 with international languages. (Petersen)

MALAYSIA5964.7, RTM, Klasik Nasional FM, Kajang, 1950, Feb 22, slow romantic pop, song about ”Nora”, no anns, 54444. (Bell)

7295, Traxx FM, Kajang, Kuala Lumpur, 1703-1708, Feb 26, pops, 32432. (Mille). Also heard at 1951, Feb 22, US pop, female DJ in English, jingles, under China, 32432. (Bell) 9835, R Television Malaysia, Kajang, 1755, Feb 23, music and ID, 43333 // 11665. (Giroletti)

11665, Wai FM, via RTM, Kajang, 1310-1323, Feb 21, a political speech in English addressing the Chinese community at a Chinese Lunar New Year celebration // 9835 (Sarawak FM). At https://www.box.com/s/kpi2hyash8go1epybtav is a MP3 audio of my listening. (Howard)

MALDIVESI have been trying Voice of Maldives heard on the1449 MW, for more than 15 years to get a verification. Perhaps due to lack of QSL card they were reluctant to reply. No of QSLs were seen reported from Maldives since 2000. Mr. Stig Hartvig Nielsen from Denmark was on Maldives for just one night. He asked me to e-mail the report and went directly to the station and obtained station stamp and signature of the official on the reception report itself and mailed back. I am delighted to receive it. Perhaps my QSL of the decade! (Rajeesh, Feb 27). Congratulations! (Ed)

MALI5995, R Mali, Kati, Bamako, 1946, Feb 22, marimba music, short ann in French, then more marimbas, big carrier, weak audio, 34433. (Bell)

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 MEXICO6185, R Educación, Cd. Mexico, 0224, Mar 02, Spanish, easy listening style of Mexican tunes, announcer frequently mentioned “California”, 0244 ID and frequencies/meter bands, 33443. (Sellers)

MICRONESIA4755.53, PMA-The Cross R, Pohnpei, 1127-1159*, Feb 21 and 24, preaching, piano and instrumental music 1145 nice ID, contemporary Christian songs, off 1159 with no anns; regularly signing off at this time now. MP audio from Howard at https://www.box.com/s/xcuzfhsn55u89u1o20ls . Response to Howard’s reception report of today’s reception of The Cross Radio sent to: Nob & Sylvia Kalau at kalau@pmapacific.org :”Thank you Ron for your report.We are so happy to hear that our transmission is clear in California. In the last month we have introduced a tone into our daily script that turns on and shuts off the transmitter automatically for the SW hours of transmission. It's working very well. We give thanks to God for keeping our radio station going and for the islands to be able to hear their station transmitting from Pohnpei.Be Blessed today! Sylvia Kalau, Pacific Mission Aviation, PO Box 517, Pohnpei, FM 96941”. (Howard and Wilkner)

PAPUA NEW GUINEA3205, NBC Sandaun reactivated, 1125-1210, Feb 28, “News in Brief” from 1203, poor; news // 3260, 3365 and 3905. A typical ID posted at https://www.box.com/s/x7by0unv1h7qh2h0imoc . (Howard). Off since Nov 2012. (Ed)

3260, NBC Madang, Madang, Feb 20 and Mar 04 ann: “From 1973 to 2013, NBC National Radio marks forty years of service to the people of Papua New Guinea - 90.7 FM”. Audio at https://www.box.com/s/kbkyocwfik513yzbcnzo . (Howard). Also heard at 1915, Feb 28 // 3365. (Nilsson)

3345.03, NBC Northern, the Voice of Oro, 1140-1224, Mar 04, relay of “NBC National Radio, the Voice of PapuaNew Guinea” audio feed, frequent IDs as such and no local IDs heard, series of advs (BSP - Bank of South Pacific) and Public Service Anns, 1204 also ann: “From 1973 to 2013, NBC National Radio marks forty years of service to the people of Papua New Guinea - 90.7 FM” followed by bird call and news, program of pop hit songs in English (Tina Turner with “It Takes Two”), this was the strongest station of all the NBC stations today. (Howard)

3905, NBC New Ireland, Kavieng, 1203, Feb 28 being the strongest NBC station heard at 1203 with bird call and into "News in Brief". (Howard)

PERU3329.5, Ondas del Huallaga, Huánuco, 1000-1100, Mar 01, Spanish talk and music mixing with CHU notched, thanks Pedro F. Arrunátegui. (Wilkner)

4747.05, R Huanta 2000, Huanta, *1034-1105, Feb 20, with QRM from UNID utility carrier. (Wilkner). Also heard at 1140-1220, Feb 04, Noticiero sin Fronteras news, advs: Colegio Mayor, Artesanía Huanta en la Plaza de Armas de Huanta, Cooperativa de Ahorros Masterco, Cooperativa de la Federación de Mercados creciendo junto a ti and Universidad Aulas Peruana ”Come and join the best programs”, ”We are returning to the second part of ”Sin Fronteras”, advs, ID "Al Costado de Radio Huanta 2000", 44444. (Arrunátegui)

4789, R Visión, Chiclayo, 0615, Feb 19, choral music, strong. (Wilkner)

4810.00, R Logos, Tarapoto, 1140-1210, Feb 18, program in a jungle dialect, ID “Gracias a todos nuestros amigos de la provincia del Dorado que escuchan a Radio Logos", music at 6.52 am, "Siga gozado de la sintonía de Radio Logos", music, 33333. (Arrunátegui)

4826.5, R Sicuani, Sicuani, Cusco, 0000-0030, Feb 27, strong signal. (Wilkner)

4939.9, R San Antonio, Villa Atalaya (t), 0940-0955, Feb 27, deep fades in Spanish, never strong here! (Wilkner)

4975, I called the technical department of Pacific R, Lima, on Feb 07, where I was told, that for now they are not broadcasting on 4975. Justifying apparently for no output, they are performing maintenance on equipment and airing not for long. (Arrunátegui)

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5039.22, R Libertad de Junín, Junín, 1035-1100, Feb 27, Spanish ann, under local thunder storms and summer thunder storms in the Caribbean. (Wilkner)

5460.2, R Bolivar, Cd. Bolivar, 0000-0100, Feb 21 and 27, program in Spanish, occasional music, deep fades, best in USB. (Wilkner)

5980.0, R Chaski, Urubamba, Cusco, 5980, 2250-2300, Feb 28, speech by male and female voices and some music, weak and not above the local noise level. I heard the BBC come on air a few seconds before *2300, so it wasn't them on early. (Green). Also heard at 0059-0106*, Feb 19, Mar 02 and 04, talk, seems Spanish, after frequency cleared by CNR1 jammer but now marred by thunderstorm noise. (Hauser). I received a nice QSL letter from Bruce Maddux, Administrator and Broadcast Engineer for a Jan 28 reception at 2230-2259 via Perseus site in the UK. The letter had other interesting info and is quoted below: ”... We began transmissions in Nov 2012. The station was originally on the air in the mid-1990s with a tube-based transmitter and had not been on the air for many years, but with a new solid-state rig, we began transmissions once again. Most of the programming is in Spanish, but we do have live programming in Quechua from 0900-1400 UTC with the "voice" of Radio Chaski -- Pastor Valentín Quispe, who is a native speaker of Quechua and Spanish. The studios are in Urubamba and the transmitter site is on Cerro Sacro about a 25-minute drive up from Urubamba....”. (Churchill in DXplorer, Feb 25)

6173.90, R Tawuantisuyo, Cusco, 1022-1045, Feb 08, program El Pueblo, ID: "Por Radio Tawantinsuyo a través del Cusco para el Perú", sports news about el Garcilaso vs. Cenciano, ID: "Son las 5 y 25 de la mañana.. Muy buenos días amigos de Radio Tawantinsuyo", 44444. (Arrunátegui). Also heard at 0020-0030, Feb 27, usual male announcer in Spanish. (Wilkner)

The PHILIPPINES15190, R Pilipinas, Tinang, 1800, Mar 02, programme in Filipino, 33333. (Giroletti)

RUSSIA/ KYRGYZSTAN4050, R Rossii, via Krasnaya Rechka, Bishkek, heard with varying streams of relays, like Feb 20 at 1655 // 6195 (on 5905 and 567MW was another programme), on Feb 08 at 0115 // 6085, on Feb 27 1800-1900 // 5905. (Pankov)

RUSSIA/ TAJIKISTAN4960, Voice of Russia, via Yangiyul, 1724-1726, Feb 27, English programme, 25332. (Mille)

SAUDI ARABIA      11820, Broadcasting Service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, 2231-2300*, Feb 23, Holy Quran program with recitations and Arabic talk, good signal. (D’Angelo)

SOMALILAND7120, R Hargeisa, Hargeisa, 0302, Mar 02, Horn of Africa music, vernacular talk with ID, 45334. (Bell). Also heard at 1740-1750, Feb 23, 27 and Mar 02, local programme with talks, noise HAM, 54444. (Giroletti and Mille)

SOUTH AFRICA3320, SABC, Meyerton, 1838-1840, Mar 02, Afrikaans talks, 15331. (Mille)

SRI LANKA7190, Sri Lanka BC, Ekala, 0126, Feb 24, local music, noise HAM, 33333 // 11905 (44444). (Giroletti)

11905, Sri Lanka BC, Ekala, full data e-QSL in one week. Thanks to the kind assistance of Victor Goonetilleke (Sri Lanka). Copy posted at https://www.box.com/s/9c1ht799nwlbyjx3rxw4 . (Howard)

TAIWAN9773.98,  Fu Hsing BS, Kuanyin, 0845-0852, Feb 20, popular song, theme song and ID in Chinese at 0849, strong signal of CNR (China) on 9775 started at *0852. Then a new sound (around 1020Hz) was produced by two waves of different frequencies, 35333. (Wagai)

TAJIKISTAN4765, Tajik R 1, Dushanbe, 1958-2000*, Feb 22, local song and instrumental backing, abrupt s/off , 35433. (Bell) 

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TANZANIA11735, Zanzibar BC Corp., Dole, 1800-1845, Feb 23 and Mar 02, news in English, ID, Swahili talk, local song, deteriorating, 55444. (Giroletti and Mille)

THAILAND13745, R Thailand, Udon Thani, 0220, Mar 02, English talk by two women, jingle, man welcoming audience, mentioning information, management, and learn together, 34222. (Ashar)

TUNISIAFrom a more historical aspect of the Ben Ali times, please read the report in MISCELLANEOUS about the HFCC-ASBU A13 Coordination Conference in Tunis. (Ed)

UGANDA4976, UBC R, Kampala, 2002, Feb 22, high energy local pop, female singer and chorus, male speaker in vernacular speaking over music, ”Radio Uganda” ID, more songs, 35343. Also 0353, Mar 02, hi tempo Afropop, whistles, into US pop, 23333. (Bell). And at 0400-0445, Mar 01, anns and music, fair to good signal. (Wilkner). Also heard at 2108-2110, Feb 27, vernacular, 35333. (Mille)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA5109.8, WBCQ, Monticello, Maine, 0110, Feb 24, in USB mode, music, 33333. (Giroletti)

VANUATU3945, R Vanuatu, Emten Lagoon, 1051-1122*, finally heard Mar 03, DJ playing pop hit songs in English, 1119 distinctive sound of a conch shell horn followed by assume sign off ann with no National Anthem; weak at best, but still pleased to hear any audio at all. (Howard)

YEMEN6135, Rep. of Yemen R, San’a: Heard Feb 15-27, *0500-0800* and *1300 or earlier till 1500*, Arabic, the latter // 9780, which was covered by REE, Spain in DRM 0500-0900! (Pankov)

ZAMBIA5915, Zambia National BC Corp., Lusaka, 1815, Feb 23, vernacular music programme, 33333. (Giroletti)

ZIMBABWEMedia freedom campaigners said Feb 22, police in Zimbabwe are breaking the law by seizing and banning small radio receivers, that can tune in to stations not linked to the state broadcasting monopoly controlled by President Robert Mugabe's party. The Elton Microlink radio, at a cost of about $30, has channels able to receive Voice of America broadcasts beamed in from neighboring Botswana and shortwave broadcasts on Zimbabwe from Europe. They said the "specially designed radios are not compatible with state-owned radio stations" and could inflame election tensions by promoting hate speech. Penalties of a small fine for receiving satellite television, widely popular in Zimbabwe, and worldwide shortwave radio programs are only imposed, if no annually-issued radio or television license is held. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20130222/af-zimbabwe-clampdown/?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=green . (Wilkner)

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤UNIDENTIFIED¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

4974.68, UNID, 2340-2400, Feb 27, too weak to identify language, mixing with 4974.92. (Wilkner)

4974.92, UNID, 2340-2400, Feb 27, weak and mixing with second station 4974.68, USB to avoid, weak. (Wilkner)

4975, UNID, 0435-0450, Mar 01, used LSB to avoid Uganda, music, but poor/fair signal. (Wilkner). R Iguatemi ? (Ed)

6250, UNID, 1252, Mar 02, time pips every second, no corresponding anns, but there was some possible music in the background. Only thing listed is Echo of Unification in North Korea. 25332. (Sellers)

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9520, UNID, 0306-0320, Mar 02, music of a modern North African style and in a language that sounded Arabic, 35343. (Sellers)

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤MISCELLANEOUS¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Short Wave News A big SWN with 28 pages with four in colours is planned to be posted on Mar 08, and the electronic version on the following weekend at the Member Area on our website: http://www.dswci.org/members/index.html . (Ed)

Tropical Bands Monitor Owners of our Domestic Broadcasting Survey No. 14, please note that http://www.dswci.org/tbmonitor/2013. pdf was updated with the February worldwide loggings on Mar 05, as an extra service to their purchase. Any DX-er can download from http://www.dswci.org/tbm the complete view of monitoring of stations heard broadcasting on tropical bands during 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. (Ed)

DSWCI Annual General Meeting 2013As mentioned in DX-Window no. 470 our next Annual General Meeting takes place at Danhostel Ishøj June 14-16, 2013. Please read all details at www.dswci.org/agm where also later additional information can be found. You are all very welcome to participate. If you have questions, please contact the Board. (Petersen and Wernli)

New Bonito RadioJet 1102S receiver vs. AOR AR7030PlusDuring the past two months I have had the possibility as an experienced Hard-core DX-er without much technical insight to compare the new RadioJet 1102S from the German producer Bonito (web: http://www.bonito.net/radiojet/) with my AOR AR7030Plus, used with success for many years particularly on listening to broadcasting to the tropical shortwave bands.

I purchased my software-defined receiver directly from Bonito. It consists of a very small hardwarebox, which has an USB cable connection to my PC (which provides its power) and an antenna connector. A CD-ROM with the software was loaded within a few minutes and after connecting an antenna, I was ready to go! The RadioJet (RJ) then provided an icon on my PC. I can now switch from ordinary computer use to radio use in less than ten seconds at any time!

The RJ is a high performance IF-receiver which covers from 40 kHz till 30 MHz continuously. But in contrast to the wellknown wideband Perseus receiver, the RJ concentrates on a 24 kHz spectrum at any time. It has no Automatic Gain Control, but two digital output channels (RX-Channel and DX-Channel) with different signal levels. It is built to computers using Windows Vista, XP or 7 with a PC mouse with two buttons and a scroll wheel.

The price, according to WRTH 2013 page 17, is US$679, £599 or €499 plus 19% German VAT and transport. By that, it is more than $300 cheaper than the Perseus. I paid about the double for my AOR back some years ago.

How to operateAt first glance, the RJ looks very complicated to work with for the DX-er! But after having studied the manual on the software, the main functions are very simple to use. (By the way, only the main part of the manual is in English. The more technical details are not translated from German.) Here I will comment on the main functions:

On the PC screen you cannot turn the knobs, like on an ordinary communications receiver. Instead you just point with the mouse on the knob and turn its wheel up or down. Very simple! The big ”Tuning” knob in the top is a good example. But it contains many extra possibilities: You can select between 17 different frequency jumps for each tuning from 1 Hz to 500 kHz. On shortwave I normally choose the 5 kHz jump in order to scan through the meterband. On mediumwave I select 9 kHz, if I scan for European stations, but select 10 kHz for American stations. If you want to listen to a specific frequency, you just type it on your computer keyboard and press ”Enter” and the receiver is on that frequency right away! Other tuning features are to click on the frequency letters on top of the screen or to click on a neighbouring signal. It then jumps to the center of the spectrum. At the same time at the buttom of the screen is shown a huge frequency list with all current broadcasts on that frequency. It is updated regularly free of charge via an integrated online update function.

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The RJ has five wellknown listening modes: LSB, USB, CW, AM and FM. But in addition is DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) which also works perfectly well on this receiver! I will test this later in this article.

The volume can be controlled by various knobs like the Main gain control (IGC = IF Gain Control), IF Gain and AF Gain. In lack of AGC, the IGC has 15 different possibilities to choose between.

The noise reduction is also very advanced. When you switch on the NR (Noise reduction) there are no less than 30 positions to choose between. Furthermore you can select NB (Noise Blanker) where additional 15 positions can be selected. Finally the ATT (Attenuator) can tone down severe noise disturbances.

The RX-Channel is excellent for strong signals with good reception, whereas the DX-Channel has unique possibilities with the features just mentioned to get a weak signal made audible.

Furthermore the ”Filter Shift” can remove disturbing interference. An example is RTBF in Wavre, Belgium, on 621.1 kHz. It is often disturbed by a whisteling tone on 622.2 kHz here in Denmark. By using the Filter Shift knob, this QRM can be totally avoided!

The RJ also includes a recording device, so that you can send the radio station a recording or a screen shot of its signal.Furthermore a clock is provided showing correct UTC-time.

Comparison of RJ with AOR receiverI compared the RJ with my AOR by checking the SINPO for 44 stations on longwave, mediumwave and shortwave (75 – 16 mb) by using the same 28 metres outdoor longwire in two metres altitude for all stations. The RJ had the best SINPO in 25 cases (57%), the SINPO was the same in 8 cases (18%), whereas the AOR performed best in 11 cases (25%), particularly in the higher short wave bands (25-16 mb). I will send you a copy of my test loggings upon request.

DRM receptionI tried on the RJ most of the very few available stations which broadcast in DRM on shortwave. I heard 17 broadcasts at various times from eight European stations and one overseas (All India Radio). Regrettably only eight broadcasts (47%) had signal strength enough to be audible more than 90% of the time. But when audible in DRM, the quality was perfect! I used the same antenna as mentioned above.

ConclusionThe Bonito RadioJet 1102S is a unique DX-receiver with many new features which take time to learn. Its sensitivity and selectivity is excellent and when selecting the DX-Channel, one can really dig out a weak station from the disturbances. In many cases it performed better that my well tested AOR AR7030Plus. I can highly recommend this state-of-the-art receiver to DX-ers, and you can get it for a reasonable price! (Petersen)

The HFCC-ASBU A13 Coordination Conference in TunisExtracts from Jeff White’s first-hand report in NASB Newsletter, Feb 2013, from the Conference in Tunis at Le Palace Hotel on Jan 28-Feb 01, 2013:

Le Palace was one of the many properties belonging to the family of ex-President Ben Ali, who fled the country to exile in Saudi Arabia during the Jasmine Revolution in Tunisia in Jan 2011. The government seized many of these properties, and in fact a lot of the ex-president's belongings are on display at the otherwise unused casino on the grounds of Le Palace. The merchandise, as well as the casino and the hotel themselves, are for sale. One hall of the casino is full of the Ben Ali family's vehicles, which include a BMW, an Aston-Martin, a Porsche, a Bentley, some large SUV's and a German luxury car I had never heard of called a Maybach, which apparently sells for upwards of $350,000.  Another exhibit hall is filled with jewels, porcelain and various objects d'art from around the world that look like they should be in a museum, and many of which were gifts to Bel Ali from foreign leaders and friends. Yet another hall has dozens of Persian and Tunisian carpets which have price tags beginning at about $500. Many fabulous pieces of artwork adorn the hallways, and another room contains thousands of items of clothing – designer suits, dresses, shirts, ties and lots and lots of shoes – as well as electronic gadgets, refrigerators, crystal and miscellaneous household items. Workers were still opening new boxes of merchandise while we looked through the offerings. Tickets to visit the exhibit cost about $20, and the museum gladly accepts credit cards for any purchase.  You can see some of the goods at the website www.confiscation.tn.  

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Ben Ali, who was the unchallenged dictator of Tunisia when we attended the last HFCC-ASBU conference here four years ago, has few fans left among the Tunisian population today. Four years ago, his photo was plastered all over buildings, billboards and in offices, stores and just about everywhere throughout the country. This time, I saw only one large poster left, and it had been completely defaced.  Tunisians seem very happy to have the right to speak their minds now without fear of reprisal.  They were, in fact, the initiators of the “Arab Spring” which has brought fledgling democracies to a number of Middle Eastern and North African countries since 2011.

But back to Le Palace and the HFCC-ASBU conference. Over 90 representatives of shortwave stations, broadcast facilities, telecommunications administrations and others interested in shortwave radio took part in the meeting. For quite a bargain price, they enjoyed the leather-coated doors, huge Arabic paintings, gigantic crystal chandeliers, extremely spacious bathrooms and marble columns. But these were just the backdrop for all of the work that had to be done that week. Hundreds of pages of “collision lists” showing potential interference in stations' planned A13 schedules had to be reviewed, and solutions had to be negotiated among the frequency planners. As my wife Thais (NASB Assistant Secretary-Treasurer) and I were the ones who stapled together and distributed the individual collision lists for each station every night, I can tell you that each day of the five-day conference, those lists got smaller and smaller. Not all collisions can be eliminated even in the span of a week, but most of the worst of them were resolved by stations agreeing to change frequency or time or antenna pattern or whatever was necessary in order to eliminate the particular interference problem before it occurs with the A13 schedule that takes effect at the end of March. That is the primary mission of these conferences, and they usually achieve this mission quite well......

Despite all of its luxury, the television offerings in our room at Le Palace were a bit limited.  The only English-language channel was CNN International, which allowed us to keep up with world news.  There was one channel in French, and the other five channels were in Arabic.  Most of them seemed to be local, but one of them was Al Jazeera in Arabic from Qatar.  As for radio, the AM band seemed to be dead, but I noted at least 26 FM stations -- most of them in Arabic, but some in French.  Besides Arabic music and Koran prayers, there was a fair amount of French- and English-language music, and I was surprised to hear a certain amount of Spanish-language music from Latin America as well. The most interesting local station for foreigners is RTCI (Radio Tunisia’s International Channel) which airs programming in Arabic and French, as well as various news bulletins and some longer programs each day in English, Spanish and German.  Despite its name, RTCI is not really beamed to an external audience.  It is on a network of FM channels throughout the country, including 98.2 MHz FM in Tunis.  (RTCI can be listened to abroad via Internet.)  The Tunisian national radio does have a shortwave service, but it transmits only in Arabic, beamed to Europe, the Middle East and the Maghreb area of North Africa....

A DRM presentation on Wednesday afternoon was by Jean-Francois Kipp, Director of Sales for Africa and the Middle East for Transradio, the Berlin-based company that was formerly known as Telefunken.  Jean-Francois explained that as the digitalization of AM frequencies allows a huge gain in quality and a relative increase in their coverage, DRM provides them with a double solution: first a simple DRM reception with an increasing variety of DRM receivers directly to the end users, the audience. In addition, DRM provides the possibility for the broadcasters to distribute their signal worldwide without being dependent on costly satellite up- and downlinks.

With a professional DRM modulator and a professional receiver, the broadcasters can build their own network to distribute their signal worldwide that can then be rebroadcast locally on an FM network, as DRM allows up to four services at the same time that can then be rebroadcast on four different FM channels.  Broadcasters can therefore reduce their annual satellite bandwidth cost and increase their independence from other service providers by owning their own signal distribution.

The bandwidth of the antenna, which is an issue on MW or LW, isn't really relevant on SW, where the antenna bandwidth is normally sufficient, said Jean-Francois Kipp.  But a shortwave transmission system has to work with different frequencies and also different antennas, which have different characteristics. Therefore an important feature of the DRM modulator for shortwave is to have a feedback channel and an automatic equalizer during operation. The operator cannot recalibrate his modulator each time the antenna or frequency is changed. A scheduled re-equalization of the DRM parameters is one of the most important features for the DRM modulator on the SW band, such as the TRANSRADIO DMOD3... . (White)

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¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤CONTRIBUTORS¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

DSWCI-0099 Anker Petersen, Skovlunde, DenmarkDSWCI-0146 Erik Koie, Holte, DenmarkDSWCI-0298 Don Jensen, Kenosha, WI, U.S.A.DSWCI-0370 Noel R. Green, Blackpool, United KingdomDSWCI-0567 Dan Ferguson, Little River, SC, U.S.A.DSWCI-0740 Victor Goonetilleke, Piliyandala, Sri LankaDSWCI-0798 Jerry Berg/DXplorer, Lexington, MA, U.S.A.DSWCI-0894 Rumen Pankov, Sofia, BulgariaDSWCI-0974 Dave Kenny, BDXC-UK, Caversham, United Kingdom DSWCI-1331 Wolfgang Bueschel/wwdxc BC-DX, Stuttgart, GermanyDSWCI-2010 Alessandro Groppazzi, Trieste, Italy DSWCI-2026 Ron Howard, Asilomar State Beach, CA, U.S.A DSWCI-2707 Robert Wilkner, Pompano Beach, Florida, U.S.A.DSWCI-2812 Richard D’Angelo/NASWA, Wyomissing, PA, U.S.A.DSWCI-2897 Harald Kuhl, Göttingen, GermanyDSWCI-3043 Harold Sellers, Vernon, British Colombia, CanadaDSWCI-3090 Glenn Hauser/DX Listening Digest, Enid, OK, U.S.A.DSWCI-3347 Christian Ghibaudo, Nice, FranceDSWCI-3477 Ivo Ivanov/DX RE MIX News, Sofia, BulgariaDSWCI-3583 Graham Bell, Simon’s Town, South AfricaDSWCI-3607 Dmitry Mezin /Signal, Kazan, RussiaDSWCI-3619 Bruce W. Churchill, Fallbrook, CA, U.S.A.DSWCI-3696 Bernard Mille, Bailleul, FranceDSWCI-3740 Mauro Giroletti, Milano, Italy Pedro F. Arrunátegui, Chasqui DX, Lima, PeruTony Ashar, Depok, Java, IndonesiaSamuel Cássio, São Carlos, BrazilStig Hartvig Nielsen, Kousted, Randers, Denmark, visiting South AsiaJose Jacob/DX India, Hyderabad, IndiaThomas Nilsson/SWB, Engelholm, SwedenT. R. Rajeesh, Thrissur, Kerala, India Tomoaki Wagai, Wakayama, JapanDennis Walter, Bonito, Hermannsburg, GermanyJeff White, General Manager, WRMI, Miami, FL, U.S.A.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤DX-Window policy ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

The DX-Window is a bi-weekly electronic newsletter made for members of the Danish Shortwave Club International. Its content is mainly based upon loggings and other information from our own members, but in a few cases extraordinary news from other DX-ers are included. Thus we depend on YOUR contributions which should be sent to the editor. Please arrange your contributions in the same order as in the DX-Window: Frequency, station name and transmitter location, time, date, language and programme, SINPO and add your last name in brackets after each item. All times are UTC and frequencies in kilohertz.

The DX-Window primarily deals with news and loggings of rare shortwave broadcasting stations, particularly domestic services. It must be news compared to our latest Domestic Broadcasting Survey. The editor is free to ”cut hard” and bring only the hottest items, he receives. Reproduction of single items from the DX-Window is allowed, provided that due credit is given to the contributor and to the DX-Window.

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