From: xberri@arecibo.aero.org (Jason E. Berri)
Newsgroups: rec.radio.shortwave
Subject: SCDX 2132
Date: 1 Jun 91 20:52:59 GMT
Organization: The Aerospace Corporation
-Message-Text-Follows-
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:: SWEDEN CALLING DXERS ::
:: from Radio Sweden ::
:: Number 2132--May 21, 1991 ::
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Shortwave and other electronic media news from Radio Sweden.
This week's bulletin was written by George Wood.
Packet Radio BID SCDX2132
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Sorry about the delay this time. I've been in Barcelona, attending the annual
conference of the European DX Council. A complete report will appear in the
next edition, that of June 4, 1991.
SWEDEN--Edition 5.0 of our booklet "Communications in Space: The DXers Guide
to the Galaxy" is hot off the presses. The last edition, 4.2, came out in
late 1989, and many things have happened in the world of space and satellite
communications since then. The booklet is free, so if you're interested in
tuning in to space, from weather and amateur radio satellites to astronauts
and satellite televison, please write. The address is Radio Sweden, S-105 10
Stockholm, Sweden.
On the other hand, things happen so quickly in the satellite world, we
already have a few updates:
SATELLITE-TV--When we reported last time about the demise of Eurosport, we
said that it might return. It did, on May 22nd. France's largest broadcaster,
TF1, rescued the channel, buying out British Sky Broadcasting's share.
However, Eurosport has only returned to Eutelsat II-F1, and not to Astra 1A.
It should be returning to Astra within the next two months. Eurosport's
teletext service (which included the Radio Sweden European schedule) has not
returned.
Last time we mentioned that Japan Satellite TV (JSTV) was moving from two
hours a day on the Lifestyle transponder on Astra 1A to its own transponder
on Astra 1B. This in preparation for several hours a day of operation,
including programs subtitled in English. Wolfgang Schultz reports that so far
there is just a test pattern for JSTV on 1B transponder 24. On transponder 33
Astra's owner SES has a video running continuously explaining in French,
German, and English what Astra is. Transponder 36 carries a list with all the
occupied channels. (Wolfgang Schultz)
A third Arab communications satellite will be launched in December. Delegates
from 20 Arab countries approved the launch at a meeting of the Arab League
space agency ARABSAT on May 8th. The satellite is to be launched from French
Guyana. (Reuters)
Mexico has signed a contract for two new communications satellites. They are
to be launched in 1992 and 1993, and besides Mexico, will cover the southern
United States; as well as the Detroit, Chicago, and New York areas; the
Caribbean, Ecuador, Peru, and Columbia. They will also reach Buenos Aires,
Montevideo, and Santiago de Chile. The new satellites will have three times
the capacity of Mexico's existing two Morelos satellites. (AP-Dow Jones)
Britain may start a satellite-TV channel with broadcasts from the British
parliament. The leader of the House, John MacGregor, has told the Commons
that 4 million people could receive the broadcasts by the end of the decade.
He added that the service may be broadcast on one of the BSB transponders on
the Marco Polo satellite. The new service, however, initially would be
relayed by a lower-powered Intelsat satellite, for relay over cable-TV
systems. MacGregor indicated that the parliament channel could be in
operation before October, to coincide with the opening of parliament.
Meanwhile, there may be more customers for Marco Polo, which is still
transmitting BSB programs in parallel with Astra 1A and 1B. The Indian
channel Indra Dnush, currently on some British cable systems, is considering
using a Marco Polo transponder. (Darren Ingram, Satnews)
Plans are going ahead for Euronews, the European news network to be operated
under the auspices of the European Broadcasting Union. Seventy journalists
and 35 translators will pool their news gathering skills with the news
organizations of member states to provide a pan-European news service.
There is to be nine hours a day of programming during the first year,
followed by 24 hour broadcasts. Visual images will be the priority, with off-
screen commentaries in different languages: English, French, German, Italian,
and Spanish. Extensive use will be made of graphics and subtitling.
Euronews will be supplied by 12 satellite signals and four terrestrial signs.
The final signal will be transmitted on Eutelsat 2-F1 at 13 degrees West.
There will be 5 mono sound subcarriers offering the various language
channels. A final decision will be taken later this month, and if the channel
is approved, it could start broadcasting later in the year. (Darren Ingram,
Satnews)
SATELLITE-RADIO--Updating the earlier report on Radio Caroline's two hour a
day broadcasts on the Lifestyle transponder on Astra 1A, Paul Rusling tells
us that this was a test, and attracted an audience of almost 20,000
listeners. Radio Caroline's management is now negotiating directly with WH
Smith Television for the subcarrier slot, 7.38 MHz. It had been used by Radio
Nova, which closed suddenly two months ago. Other transponder renters will be
approached to carry a European wide Caroline program if the talks with WH
Smith fail. The Caroline organization plans to keep the flavor of the
offshore pirate Radio Caroline alive by prerecording programs on board their
ship, the MV Ross Revenge, still anchored in the North Sea. (Paul Rusling,
England)
This has the great advantage, of course, of not being illegal. The new
Broadcast Act that became law on January 1st gave the British authorities
powers to board ships in international waters suspected of being able to
broadcast. (There's nothing illegal with using a ship as a recording studio.)
However, there may be a conflict between the British legislation and
international law. (Offshore Echo's magazine)
TELEVISION--On April 30th, the InterGront TV station "TV Station Nadezhda"
began broadcasting. This anti-separtist station is located in the vicinity of
a Soviet military base in Tallinn. (Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
newsletter "Eesti Ringvaadel" via Richard Langley)
SHORTWAVE ETC:
AFGHANISTAN--Broadcasts from Radio Afghanistan to Europe have been
rescheduled since May 5th. Broadcasts in German, English, and French are now
on 11845 and 15510 kHz 30 minutes earlier than previously, at 17:30, 18:00,
and 18:30 hrs respectively. (BBC Monitoring)
COSTA RICA--Updating SCDX-2120, Adventist World Radio has bought the unused
transmitters of Radio Impacto. Impacto's two 50 kW medium wave transmitters
are also being rebuilt for shortwave. Operations are to begin this summer,
with full operation during 1992. AWR has been allocated the following
frequencies: 5030, 5970, 6150, 9725, 11870, 13750, and 15460 kHz. (AWR via
"Eter-Aktuellt")
CZECHOSLAVAKIA--The first commercial station in Czechoslovakia, Radio
Independent, began operating on May 3rd. The frequency is 89.5 MHz FM. (BBC
Monitoring)
FRANCE--Besides expanding its presence on cable and satellite, Radio France
International is doubling its transmitter power. In France itself, the number
of 500 kW transmitters will be increased to 24 with the replacement of twelve
100 kW units and the installation of an additional four. A fifth 500 kW
transmitter is be built in French Guyana. Radio France International intends
to install a relay station with three 500 kW transmitters in Djibuti, and is
continuing with a similar project in Thailand. (BBC Monitoring)
Radio France International is currently broadcasting in English: 12:30-13:00
hrs on 9805, 11670, 15155, 15195, 21635, and 21645 kHz. 14:00-15:00 hrs on
11910, 17650, and 21770 kHz. 16:00-17:00 hrs on 6175, 11705, 12015, 15360,
17620, 17795, and 17850 kHz. ("Eter-Aktuellt")
ISRAEL--Kol Israel is cutting its overseas broadcasts by half, from 117 hours
a week to 57. According to the "Jerusalem Post", broadcasts in Hungarian,
Romanian, and Portuguese are being taken off the air, and English and French
would be cut back to just one hour each per day.
Israel Radio chief Amnon Nadav says the much of the savings would be used for
a station for new immigrants, regional road safety stations, and round-the-
clock broadcasts on Network Two. (BBC Monitoring)
PHILIPPINES--Less than a week aftger it returned to the air, Radio Veritas
suspended programming, on May 4th. Rival stations had claimed that Veritas
has an undue advantage because it uses tax-free equipment obtained by the
Catholic Church. Bishop Teodoro Buhain, chairman of the Veritas board, says
the station will stay off the air during the public hearings on its
application for a permit to operate. (BBC Monitoring)
SOMALIA--The former Radio SNM, which became Radio Hargeisa in February, has
now changed its name to Radio Somalia. It's been heard at 15:00-17:00 hrs on
7122 kHz. Radio Hargeisa was last heard on March 5th in the 6220 to 6525 kHz
range. The old Radio Hargeisa (the government regional station) used to
operate on 7120 kHz before it was destroyed during the fighting in northern
Somalia in 1988. (BBC Monitoring)
USSR--Commercial shortwave broadcasts were due to begin from Volgograd on May
20th. According to All Union Radio in Moscow, the station, to be known as
Vedo, will operate in the "42 to 50 meter band", which must mean frequencies
around 6-7 MHz. Vedo, which is to be on the air for 20 hours a day, plans to
relay programs from the Voice of America, as well as programs in German from
Deutsche Welle.
Radio Alma Ata has been heard with a new broadcast in English at 21:30-22:00
hrs on 5035 kHz. The station also announces wavelengths that correspond to
900, 5915, 6135 and 7230 kHz. (BBC Monitoring)
COMPUTERS--Here's an update to our DXers Guide to Computing:
The Dublin Users Bulletin Board System has new telephone numbers. They are
+353 288-5634 and +353 283-1908. The IACC BBS is no longer online. (Edward
Dunne, Ireland)
The Pinelands RBBS in the United States can now support modem speeds up to
14,400 bps. The number is +1-609-859-1910. (Tom Sundstrom)
There is an AMSAT BBS at +1-314-447-3003.
The Swedish DX Federation is now operating the Nemesis BBS, which includes
the Electronic Edition of Sweden Calling DXers. The system is accessible from
abroad at +468-31-51 96 47.
CompuServe has added 9600 bps access numbers for several major cities as well
as a 9600 bps toll-free number. The connect time surcharge for the new speed
is USD 22.50 an hour.
GEnie has made a major change in its rate structure for residents of North
America. There is no longer a sign-up fee, just USD 5 or CDN 6 an hour per
month. 300, 1200, and 2400 baud are all now charged at the same price. The
hourly rate is still USD 18 an hour for prime time and USD 6 an hour non-
prime. GEnie is also available in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The
rates are higher: USD 27 an hour for prime-time, USD 18 an hour non-prime.
PUBLICATIONS--Glenn Hauser continues to publish his excellent "DX Listening
Digest" and "Review of Interntional Broadcasting". The first concentrates on
shortwave time and frequency news, while the second takes up program content,
with contributions from readers, along with equipment and satellite news. The
price for an annual subscription of 10 issues for either is USD 25 in the
United States. Airmail to other parts of the world: Canada USD 26, Mexico 27,
Americas 31, Europe 34, Africa-Asia-Pacific 36. There's a discount for
subscribing to both magazines. The address is: Glenn Hauser, Box 1684, Enid,
OK 73702, USA.
Here is the schedule for Glenn's "World of Radio" program, which is carried
on a variety of shortwave stations:
WWCR Fridays at 21:15 and Saturdays at 23:30 hrs on 15690 kHz.
WRNO Thursdays at 00:30 hrs on 7355, 15:30 hrs on 15420, and 23:00 hrs on
13720 kHz. Fridays at 00:30 hrs on 7355. Saturdays at 03:00 hrs on 6185,
Sundays at 20:30 hrs on 13720 kHz. This is the schedule, actual broadcast
times may vary.
Radio for Peace International (in Costa Rica) Sundays at 22:30 hrs;
Mondays at 05:00, 11:30, and 18:00 hrs; Tuesdays at 23:30 hrs; Wednesdays at
05:00, 10:30, and 16:00 hrs, Fridays at 21:00; Saturdays at 02:30, 08:00,
13:30, and 19:30 hrs; and Sundays at 02:00, 08:30, and 15:00 hrs. Frequencies
are 13630 kHz for all broadcasts, often also on 15030. Before 00:30 hrs on
21465 kHz SSB, after 00:30 hrs on 7375 kHz, SSB weekday, AM on weekends.
(Glenn Hauser)
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Sweden Calling DXers is the world's oldest radio program for shortwave
listeners. Radio Sweden has presented this round-up of radio news, features,
and interviews since 1948. The program is now broadcast on the first and
third Tuesday of each month. RS broadcasts to North America:
15:30 hrs on 17875 and 21500 kHz
02:00 hrs on 9695 and 11705 kHz
03:30 hrs on 9695 and 11705 kHz
To Latin America:
23:30 hrs on 9695 and 11705 kHz
To Europe, Africa, and the Middle East:
17:00 hrs on 1179, 6065, and 9615 kHz
18:30 hrs on 6065 and (Middle East) 15270 kHz
19:30 hrs on 1179, 6065 and 9655 kHz
20:30 hrs on 6065 kHz
22:00 hrs on 1179 and 6065 kHz
23:30 hrs on 1179 kHz
And to Asia and the Pacific:
11:30 hrs on 11960, 17740, and 21570 kHz
13:00 hrs on 11960, 17740, and 21570 kHz
01:00 hrs on 9765 kHz
Contributions can be sent to DX Editor George Wood to Swedish telex 11738,
CompuServe (via the HamNet Forum or Easyplex 70247,3516), through the FidoNet
system to 2:201/697 or to SM0IIN at the packet radio BBS SM0ETV.
Reports can also be sent to:
Radio Sweden
S-105 10 Stockholm
Sweden
Contributions should be NEWS about electronic media--from shortwave to
satellites--and not loggings of information already available from sources
such as the "World Radio TV Handbook". Clubs and DX publications may reprint
material as long as Sweden Calling DXers and the original contributor are
acknowledged, with the exception of items from BBC Monitoring, which are
copyright.
We welcome comments and suggestions about the electronic edition, Sweden
Calling DXers, and our programs in general.
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Thanks to this week's contributors Good Listening!
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--
Jason Berri (SPEEDX USSR Editor)
INTERNET: berri@aerospace.aero.org or berri@arecibo.aero.org
[SPEEDX is a SWL club, send email to the above address for more information]