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:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:: MediaScan ::
:: SWEDEN CALLING DXERS ::
:: from Radio Sweden ::
:: Number 2158--June 16, 1992 ::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Satellite, shortwave and other electronic media news from Radio Sweden.
This week's bulletin was written by George Wood.
Packet Radio BID SCDX2158
All times UTC unless otherwise noted.
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NOTE: This is the last edition of MediaScan before I go on my vacation. The
next one will be dated August 4.
EUROPEAN SATELLITE BROADCASTING:
INTELSAT K--The Intelsat-K satellite was launched into orbit on June 10th.
Designed to last 11 years, the new satellite will be placed at 21.5 degrees
West, in order to relay signals across the Atlantic. It will initially be
used to relay signals from the summer Olympics. The satellite carries 32
high-powered television channels, which can be directed to North America (as
far as the Midwest), Europe (as far east as Greece), and selected parts of
South America.
All beams on this all-Ku band satellite will use 11.45-11.7 GHz, while
11.7-11.95 GHz will also be used to the Americas, and 12.5-12.75 GHz to
Europe. (AP, Reuters, "Eletronikvaerlden", "What Satellite", "World Satellite
Almanac")
SUPER CHANNEL/ITN--Having lost its contract to relay BBC World Service News
at 20:00 hrs, Super Channel is now relaying 30 minutes of ITN World News at
that time. There's also a morning newscast from ITN at 06:00 hrs. (Super
Channel) Ted Turner's CNN is hoping to buy a 20 percent share of the London-
based ITN. This would help CNN improve its European coverage. ("Satnews")
COMEDY CHANNEL--"Satnews" reports that British Sky Broadcasting is planning
to redefine or close down its Comedy Channel on Astra, once the relaunch of
Sky One has been completed. Observers say the Comedy Channel (which is free
only to subscribers to either of BSB's pay-film channels) has continually
failed to secure satisfactory ratings. ("Satnews") Radio Sweden uses the
Comedy Channel transponder for our broadcasts on Astra.
EURONEWS--Eleven European TV networks officially agreed to set up the pan-
European Euronews channel on June 9th. It's to begin broadcasts in five
languages from a Eutelsat II satellite in January. There are to be separate
sound channels in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. (Reuters)
THE GAMESHOW CHANNEL--The Gameshow Channel is set to launch on Intelsat 601
at 27.5 degrees West. ("What Satellite")
BRIGHTSTAR--Brightstar, which relays news feeds across the Atlantic, has
taken over the former Children's Channel transponder on Intelsat 601 at 27.5
degrees West. Most programs are in the American NTSC standard.
("Elektronikvaerlden")
NAMASTE--An Asian oriented general entertainment channel called Namaste has
received a licence from the British authorities. It will broadcast from a
low-ppowered Intelsat. ("What Satellite")
KABELKANAL--The German language Kabelkanal has been seen on Eutelsat II-F1 in
D2-MAC. This duplicates the PAL feed on 11.055 GHz on the same satellite.
("Satnews") On May 25th, the sound channel for the PAL feed was moved to the
Kopernikus 1 satellite on the 1 Plus transponder, 7.38 and 7.56 MHz, in order
to make it harder for non-cable subscribers to monitor the channel.
("Elektronikvaerlden")
SWISS-ALPINE--A new German language entertainment channel directed to
Switzerland and the adjoining alpine regions of Austria, Italy, and Germany,
is reported likely to be appearing on Astra by the end of the year. It would
broadcast for 8 hours a day. ("In Orbit")
There's a rumor that RTL Plus is to uplink a special service for Switzerland
on Intelsat 602 at 60 dgrees East. ("What Satellite") Meanwhile, "Satnews"
reports that RTL Plus will launch a second channel to compete with Kabelkanal
for the 18-24 year old audience. ("Satnews")
ARTE--The Franco-German cultural channel Arte is using the La Sept
transponder on TDF 1/2 (11.881 GHz) evenings, along with 11.548 GHz on
Kopernikus 1. (Helmut Vahlbruch in "Satnews")
LA SEPT--Meanwhile, "What Satellite" reports that La Sept is discussing the
possibility of leasing a transponder on Astra 1B. ("What Satellite")
RTP--The Portuguese RTP International service has begun broadcasts from
Eutelsat II-F3 at 11.573 GHz. There are also transmissions to Africa on
Ghorizont 12 at 40 degrees East, at 3.925 MHz. It relays programs from both
RTP channel 1 and channel 2. (BBC Monitoring, "Satnews" and
"Elektronikvaerlden")
EUROPEAN SATELLITE RADIO:
NEW STATIONS--There are a number of broadcasters reported to be moving to
satellite:
Religious broadcaster Trans World Radio has signed a one year contract to
relay its programming on Quality Europe FM, which operates on Astra, on the
Sky Movies Plus transponder.
The BBC is trying to put pop channel Radio 1 and talk channel Radio 4 on
satellite. Because of legal restrictions, the application may go through BBC
Enterprises.
The mostly rock music American Forces Network is going to be relayed on
satellite to Europe.
The former Irish private station Radio Nova has booked a Eutelsat transponder
and should begin broadcasts by the end of June. ("The Radio Magazine")
RADIO CAROLINE--We reported last time on the two groups claiming to represent
the former offshore priate Radio Caroline, both on Astra. Now Britain's Radio
Authority has intervened to establish who has the legal right to use the
name. ("In Orbit")
TESCO--The British supermarket chain Tesco is to start an in-store radio
service, using the Sky Sports transponder on Astra (11.508 GHz), audio 7.92
MHz. This follows the launch of a similar service by rival Asda last year.
Another British supermarket station, Giant FM, has ceased its broadcasts to
the Gateway chain stores. These were on the Sky News transponder, audio 7.74
GHz. (James Robinson, England)
MIDDLE EASTERN SATELLITE BROADCASTING:
ARABSAT--Arabsat 1C is now carrying the following stations from 31 degrees
East in the C-band: CNN, Saudi TV1 and TV2, four channels of Indian
television, and Omani TV. (Maurice Hillier in "What Satellite")
CNN is also reported to be broadcasting from Arabsat 1B at 26 degrees East.
On April 1st, all services on Arabsat 1A transferred to Arabsat 1B. ("What
Satellite")
AFRICAN AND MIDDLE EASTERN SATELLITE RADIO:
NETHERLANDS--Radio Netherlands has signed a contract with the Washington-
based Afrispace corporation to provide sound broadcasting by satellite 24
hours a day to Africa and the Middle East. Digital signals would be
receivable on new portable receivers expected to cost around USD 100 each.
The recent World Administrative Radio Conference approved digital audio
broadcasting from satllites at frequencies around 1.5 GHz. Afrispace hopes to
be operating by late 1994. (Radio Netherlands via BBC Monitoring)
NORTH AMERICAN SATELLITE TELEVISION:
SCOLA--Scola, which relays international news broadcasts (including Sweden's
TV4), has moved to Spacenet 1, transponder 24. (Robert
Smathers in "Satnews")
FAMILY NETWORK--The American Family Entertainment Network has moved
transponders on the Galaxy 6 satellite from number 22 to number 17. With the
move, this religous broadcaster is now 24 hours a day. (Robert Smathers in
"Satnews")
MONITOR CHANNEL--The Christian Science Church's Monitor Channel is to close
on June 28th, after rejecting four possible saving bids.
("Satnews") The Church says it lost more than 327 million dollars on its
television venture. (Reuter)
NORTH AMERICAN SATELLITE RADIO:
LET'S TALK RADIO--The popular "Let's Talk Radio" audio service on the
Spacenet 3 satellite transponder 21, audio 6.2 MHz, has been sold to a group
of radio amateurs. Programming will be divided between three origination
points, to allow participants to have lives of their own besides sitting in a
studio 12 hours a day as Jim Bass has done during the past year.
Programming on the service will be increased, and most of the programs will
continue. New programs may be added before the usual start-up at 9:00 PM
Eastern time.
Jim Bass sold the service in order to pursue other interests, including a TV
program on amateur radio called "QSO Amateur Radio" on the Galaxy 6
satellite. (Gary Bourgois, via Internet News via Kauto Huopio) Unfortunately,
to tune-in to Let's Talk Radio, listeners need a VC II decoder.
ASIAN/PACIFIC SATELLITE BROADCASTING:
STAR-TV--There are rumors that Star-TV intends to launch a 6th channel, in
the Hindi language, following the success of its first 5 offerings. Star-TV
now reaches at least 1.8 million homes from Asiasat 1.
("Shortwave Magazine" and "What Satellite")
CNN--CNN International is to start broadcasting on the Japanese Superbird
satellite at 158 degrees East. This satellite, which was launched in
February, will enable reception on 20-24 cm dish antennas. ("What Satellite")
This satellite carries 10 Ku-band transponders and 10 Ka-band transponders.
There are many Pacific satellite services being planned:
AUSSAT--China is to try to launch Australia's Aussat B1 in August. The first
attempt was aborted on the launch pad in March. (Reuters) This satellite
carries 15 Ku-band transponders, and is to be placed at 160 degrees East.
AUSTRALIAN PAY-TV--Assuming the launch of Aussat B1 is successful, Australia
is to have a 6 channel subscription satellite TV service. The service is
expected to start operation in early 1994, with viewers using 60 centimeter
dishes to watch four channels. The estimated USD 8 monthly fee would include
rental of the receiving equipment. The 5th and 6th channels would begin
operations one year after the initial service starts, presumeably after the
launch of Aussat B2.
In addition, the Australian government has ended the moratorium on all pay-
TV, opening the door to a flood a new services. (AP, "Satnews")
Following the success of Star-TV, the Australia Broadcasting Corporation is
planning a Pacific and southeast Asian TV service, offering the best of
Australian TV. Once the direction for the proposed service is known, plans
will be put before the federal government. ("What Satellite")
NEW ZEALAND--New Zealand is also planning a satellite TV service across the
West Pacific and East Asia. ("Shortwave Magazine")
ALPHA LYRACOM--Alpha Lyracom, the company behind the trans-Atlantic satellite
PanAmSat, is preparing to cover the Pacific with OrbX-2. When launched in
late 1994, this will have up to 14 individual beams for transponders in both
the Ku and C bands. ("What Satellite")
PACIFICOM--The American company TRW has filed to launch Pacificom 1 in 1994,
to operate in both the Ku and C bands from 172 degrees East. The footprints
would reach from the American West coast into Asia and Australasia. There
would be 11 high-powered Ku band transponders for DBS services, along with 8
C-band transponders. ("What Satellite")
PACSTAR--Pacific Satellite Company hopes to launch Pacstar 1 into an orbital
slot at 167.5 degrees East in late 1994. This will cover the US West Coast,
Pacific islands, and East Asia. ("Shortwave Magazine")
TONGASAT--Unicom intends to operate two Tongasat satellites on Tonga's
behalf, first at 138 degrees East in 1994 and then at 170.8 degrees the
following year. Coverage would be from Asia across the Pacific to the Western
US. Each satellite would carry 12 C-band and 6 Ku-band transponders. "What
Satellite")
LOCAL BROADCASTING:
EL SALVADOR--The former guerilla station Radio Venceremos has begun
broadcasts on FM to San Salvador. The frequency is 100.5 MHz. (BBC
Monitoring) The other guerilla station, Radio Farabundo Marti, began FM
broadcasts a few weeks ago.
SHORTWAVE AND MEDIUMWAVE:
BELGIUM--Belgium's BRTN is to broadcast to the Belgian soldiers in the UN
peacekeeping force in Croatia. Broadcasts in both Dutch and French will be at
17:00-17:55 hrs on 11695 kHz. (BBC Monitoring)
LITHUANIA--Radiocentras is broadcasting on 1485 kHz from Vilnius with a 2.5
kW transmitter. On Mondays there's a program in English at 22:00-24:00 hrs
local time. A second MW transponder in Kaunas is under contruction. (Arctic
Radio Club via Euronews)
Radio Vilnius is broadcasting in English 21:30-22:00 hrs on 666, 9675, and
9710 kHz and at 23:00-23:30 hrs on 11780, 13645, and 15580 kHz. They have
also been heard on 10344 kHz in upper side band, presumeably feeding to
transmitters in the Far East. ("Contact" via Euronews)
A British-based company plans to open a station in Lithuania called Baltic
Radio International. It would be heard especially well in Scandinavia, and
would include relays of English-language broadcasts from Radio Vilnius.
(Estonian Radio via BBC Monitoring)
MONTSERRAT--The BBC has been awarded the contract to manage the soon-to-be-
reactivated Radio Antilles. The station is expected to return to the air in
mid-June, with a 150 kW signal to cover the entire Caribbean from Venezuela
to Belize and the Bahamas.
Radio Antilles was popular through-out the Caribbean for more than two
decades, until it was knocked off the air by Hurricane Hugo in September,
1989. Airtime is to be sold to the BBC and the Voice of America, while the
BBC would officially run the station. (BBC Monitoring) Radio Antilles is
currently listed on 930 kHz.
UNITED KINGDOM--Asian Sound Radio opened in April with a 24 hour service in
English and Urdu on 1602 kHz. It is located in Manchester. ("Contact" via
Euronews)
USA--Updating the report last time, Radio Miami International expects to have
its new transmitter testing on 9955 kHz in three to four months. The official
schedule for 24 hour operation on that frequency goes into effect on Sept.
27th. (Radio Miami International)
The religous broadcaster WHRI, which is located in Indiana, plans to build a
SW transmitter in Hawaii. The evangelical organization which ownsd WHRI
already owns a television station in Hawaii called KWHR. Programming will be
fed from Indiana by satellite, and they hope to be on the air with a 100 KW
transmitter beamed due West by end of 1993.
("Media Network" via BBC Monitoring)
BOOK REVIEW:
FACSIMILE--With the spread of computers in radio shacks, many people are
getting interested in monitoring various digital modes, from news agencies on
radioteletype to bulletin boards on satellite using packet radio. One popular
mode is fax or facsimile, used for weather photos from satellites, as well as
on shortwave for both weather maps and news photos.
The hard part is finding out where to look for these stations. There's a new
edition of the best reference guide around, Joerg Klingenfuss' "Guide to
Facsimile Stations". The new 12th edition is more than 400 pages long.
Besides an extensive frequency list, from VLF to HF, there's also information
on weather satellites, and a guide to fax equipment, including inexpensive
computer programs for fax monitoring. There are also 358 sample charts and
pictures.
"The Guide to Facsimile Stations" is available for DM 50. For more
information, ocntact Klingenfuss Publications, Hagenloher Str. 14, D-7400
Tuebingen, Germany.
HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION:
HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION is the so-called TV of the future. This differs
from today's TV in that there are at least twice as many lines on the screen,
and the screens are wider, with the same proportions as a movie screen.
The problem with television today, is that there are three different systems
used in the world: Secam in France, the former Soviet Union and parts of
Eastern Europe; NTSC in the United States, Japan, and parts of Latin America
and Asia; and PAL in Western Europe and in most of the rest of the world.
So, with the arrival of HDTV, broadcasters hoped to find one standard for the
whole world. Unfortunately, that won't be easy. Japan was the first to
develop an HDTV system, which it calls Hi-Vision or MUSE, and it's been
trying to sell it to the rest of the world.
The European electronics industry, not wanting to lose more ground to Japan,
has been pushing an alternative called HD-MAC. The industry has put pressure
on the European Commission to make HD-MAC Europe's future satellite
television system, with the current system called D2-MAC as a transition.
Many European satellite broadcasters have been broadcasting in D2-MAC, and
more are expected to follow.
The problem is that both Hi-Vision and HD-MAC are analog systems, and in a
digital age, they are growing increasingly obsolete, even before they've
really been introduced. The American Federal Communications Commission is
deciding what HDTV system to adopt for the United States, and the
alternatives there are much more advanced digital systems.
So the battle goes. European broadcasters have been against having HD-MAC
imposed on them. And Britain seems to have stalled a European Commission plan
to spend around one billion dollars to promote HD-MAC. All 12 EC members have
to agree to the plan, which is being pushed by France, Germany, and the
Netherlands. British Technology Minister Edward Leigh said after a meeting of
EC communications ministers that his government does not see the benefits of
EC subsidies to an HDTV format. Britain has been supported in its opposition
to some extent by Italy, Spain, and Denmark.
Meanwhile, in the United States, Zenith and AT&T have held the first over-
the-air trial of an all-digital HDTV signal. A Milwaukee television station
broadcast the signal 75 miles to Zenith's technical center.
Zenith says that less than a tenth of the power required to transmit a
standard TV signal was used, yet its Digital Spectrum Compatible HDTV service
signal went farther than normal full-power signals. The HDTV signal was
compressed onto a 6 MHz channel, and did not suffer from co-channel
interference from another station located 10 miles away on the same
frequency.
In Japan, where NHK has just begun broadcasting in Hi-Vision, to very select
and very expensive receivers, a new generation of television beyond Hi-Vision
is being developed. Called Ultra High Definition Television, or UDTV,
engineers say it will offer a twofold increase in picture resolution compared
to HDTV, with 3000 picture lines per screen. More than 100 million American
dollars have been allocated to the project, which expects to have
commercially-available systems on sale by 1999.
The digital UDTV signals will be able to be transmitted into computer systems
for onward transmission over Group 4 fax networks and ISDN circuits, the new
international digital telephone system.
All of which means, the future of HDTV is unclear. The chances are, however,
that both Hi-Vision and HD-MAC will be out-of-date before they ever get off
the ground. (BBC Monitoring, "Satnews")
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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 on Tuesdays since 1948.
Radio Sweden broadcasts to Europe in English at 20:30-21:30 hrs on medium
wave 1179 kHz, as well as shortwave 6065 and 9655 kHz, and via satellite on
Astra 1B (19.2 degrees East) channel 26 at 11.597 GHz, audio subcarrier at
7.74 MHz, and on the Tele-X direct broadcast satellite (5 degrees East) at
12.207 GHz, audio subcarrier 7.38 MHz.
That program is also broadcast to the Pacific and the Far East on 17730 kHz.
We're also relay our half hour program at 12:30 hrs on satellite, otherwise
it's being carried to South Asia, the Pacific and the Far East on 15170 and
17740 kHz.
The rest of the Radio Sweden English schedule is (half hour programs):
To Europe:
22:30 hrs 1179 and 6065 kHz
To the Middle East and East Africa:
15:00 hrs on 15270 kHz
To Asia/Pacific:
12:30 hrs 15240 and 21625 kHz
01:00 hrs 9685 and 11730 kHz
To North America:
15:00 hrs 17870 and 21500 kHz
02:00 hrs 9695 and 11705 kHz
Contributions can be sent to DX Editor George Wood by fax to +468-667-6283,
from Internet, MCI Mail or CompuServe (to the CompuServe mailbox 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!