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:: MediaScan ::
:: SWEDEN CALLING DXERS ::
:: from Radio Sweden ::
:: Number 2159--Aug. 4, 1992 ::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Satellite, shortwave and other electronic media news from Radio Sweden.
This week's bulletin was written by George Wood.
Packet Radio BID SCDX2159
All times UTC unless otherwise noted.
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SATELLITE BROADCASTING:
PUBLICATIONS--Radio Sweden's guide to satellite monitoring, "Communications
in Space: The DXers Guide to the Galaxy" is out in a brand new edition,
number 5.3. This is a major update over the previous edition, and is
available free of change from Radio Sweden, S-105 10 Stockholm, Sweden.
An Electronic Edition should soon be available via your favorite nework or
computer bulletin board.
FAX--There's a very good source of up-to-date satellite news, most of it in
German. It's a fax polling number in Germany. If you have a fax machine, you
just dial up the number, and automatically receive pages of news. After the
international access code from your country, for example 009 in Sweden, 010
from Britain, and 011 from the United States, you dial 49-89-418-608. Then
two more numbers for the different services.
99 gets you a list of satellite channels in the S-band, C-band, and Ku-band,
between 66 degrees East and 10 degrees East. 49 gets a similar list between 7
degrees East and 53 degrees West. 97 is for satellite programming news, and
98 for satellite industry news. 94 is for satellite data communications news,
compiled by English by Darren Ingram, editor of "Satnews". (Kauto Huopio)
EUROPEAN SATELLITE BROADCASTING:
MARCO POLO--Norwegian Telecom outbid the Swedish Space Corporation to buy the
Marco Polo 2 satellite, which is to be moved to 1 degree West, also the
position of Intelsat 512, which also broadcasts to Scandinavia. By November
it's hoped that a package of 5 high-powered channels will be available to the
Nordic region.
Tele-TV is handling the programming negotiations and they tell us that they
are still talking with broadcasters. The package is to be Nordic, either
broadcasters from the Nordic countries, or outside broadcasters who want to
aim their programming specifically at the Scandinavian market.
Marco Polo has been broadcasting in the rather unusual D-MAC system. Tele-TV
say they have not decided yet whether to continue using D-MAC or to switch to
a more accessible system, such as D2-MAC. (BBC Monitoring, Ole Hansvold,
Tele-TV)
Meanwhile, Britain's Independent Television Commission says it will not be
granting a licence for new broadcasters on Marco Polo 1, after Sky leaves the
satellite at the end of the year. "Satnews" reports that there were 20
applications, but the ITC has rejected them all. This means that Marco Polo 1
may also be sold abroad. ("Satnews")
TV ASIA--There's a new station on Astra transponder 26 at 11.597 GHz, home of
Radio Sweden. Evenings this frequency is occupied by the Comedy Channel, and
nights by the soft porno Adult Channel. But now there's a daytime occupant,
TV Asia, which serves Britain's South Asian community.
SUNRISE TV--It looks like TV Asia is going to have some competition for the
South Asian audience in Europe. There's already a London-based Asian radio
station called Sunrise operating on Astra, transponder 18. Now "In Orbit" on
Super Channel reports that Sunrise TV is to launch on Eutelsat 2-F3 in
September. A Sunrise spokesman is quoted saying it will be easy for Astra
viewers to reposition their dishes to receive Eutelsat. ("In Orbit") But the
chance of that happening is probably pretty small.
EUTELSAT--Last month an Ariane rocket launched two important TV satellites
into orbit. India's Insat 2-A is the first of a new generation of Indian
satellites. European viewers should look for much stronger signals from 7
degrees East longitude, where Eutelsat 2-F4 will soon be replacing Eutelsat
1-F4. The new satellite has been modified to include better coverage of
Central and Eastern Europe. Eutelsat 1-F4 is being moved to 36 degrees East.
OLYMPICS:
EUROPE--Coverage of the Olympics in Barcelona continues to occupy the
satellites. "Satnews" reports there are broadcasts using the HD-MAC system of
high defination television on Eutelsat 2-F3, Telecom 2A, TDF 1 and 2,
Olympus, and TVSAT-2. ("Satnews")
NORTH AMERICA--There have been a number of reports on Internet about
Barcelona feeds. Erik Kilk and Robert Smathers report Olympic feeds in North
America on Galaxy 6 transponders 9, 12, and 20; Anik 1 transponder 14 (in
French); Anik 2 transponders 16 and 24; and Morales 1 transponders 2 and 8
and Morales 2 tranponder 14 (in Spanish). (Erik Kilk and Robert Smathers via
Internet News)
TRANS-ATLANTIC--One of the most interesting reports is from Wolfgang Schultz
and Joaquin de Prada who say that NBC has leased a Ku band link on Intelsat
515 at 18.5 degrees West from the United States to Europe. They use it to
send all the promos and commercials to Barcelona for insertion in the
Olympics coverage. But the rest of the time they run the NBC network feed on
the transponder. It uses the NTSC standard, and the transponder frequency is
11.48 GHz. (Wolfgang Schultz and Joaquin de Prada via Internet News)
IN THE AIR--Meanwhile, the Olympics are appearing in a new place, live on
passenger airliners. In one example. "USA Today" magazine is relaying
coverage of the games to planes belonging to Delta Airlines across the United
States.
Altogether, 3.5 billion people are expected to tune in to the Olympics, in
175 countries.
SPAIN--In Spain, a special Olympic network is using RNE's Radio 4. News and
public service announcements are being broadcast 24 hours a day in Catalan,
Spanish, English, and French. There will also be special bulletins in Arabic,
Japanese, Chinese, and Russian. (BBC Monitoring)
MIDDLE EASTERN SATELLITE BROADCASTING:
KUWAIT--The Kuwaiti Space Channel is now on the air on Arabsat 1B at 26
degrees East, on 4.052 GHz. (Satelliten-Beobachter-Club Europa)
EGYPT--The Egyptian Space Channel, which uses 2.635 GHz on Arabsat 1B, says a
contract will soon be signed to relay the station to Europe on Eutelsat. (BBC
Monitoring)
NORTH AMERICAN SATELLITE BROADCASTING:
CORRECTION--Robert Smathers, who is the North American contributor to
"Satnews" has sent some corrections to MediaScan 2158. Concerning his item
about the American Family Entertainment Network, Robert tells us this is a
variety family programming channel, and not a religious broadcaster as we
reported. He also says that a VCII decoder is not necessary to receiver the
"Let's Talk Radio" program.
CNN--CNN International has left the Gstar 4 Ku-band satellite. It is now on
Spacenet 3 transponder 16. The audio is on 6.8 MHz, with CNN Radio on 6.2
MHz. (Robert Smathers in "Satnews")
SUR--There's a new satellite service in Spanish and Portuguese from Latin
America to North America. It's called SUR, Sistema Unida de Retransmision,
and includes broadcasts from stations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia,
Ecuador, and Peru. It transmits on Spacenet 2 at 69 degrees West, transponder
22. SUR is planning to become a subscription channel, but is currently in the
clear. (Anthony Pavick)
What would be nice is if the veteran Ecuadorian shortwave broadcaster HCJB
could uplink via SUR.
HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION:
In the United States, a team from Zenith Electronics and American Telephone
and Telegrah says it has successfully tested the first fully digital high
definition television terrestrial system. Japan's NHK is already using a
system of HDTV called Hi-vision, but that system is not digital. The European
HD-MAC system is half digital/half analog. While the European Commission is
trying to impose HD-MAC, European broadcasters have been investigating all
digital alternatives. (IPS)
Swedish Television and Swedish Telecom have developed a system called HD-
Divine, which was demonstrated recently at the IBC show in Amsterdam. It's
expected that regular test transmissions in HD-Divine could be on the air by
1995. ("Antennen")
The American FCC is trying out different systems, and their final choice will
be important for the future of world television.
SPACE:
MIR--A Soyuz spacecraft blasted off July 27 carrying two Russians and a
French researcher to the former Soviet space station MIR. So you can look for
more activity from MIR on 143.625 MHz FM. There may also be more amateur
radio activity, which usually has a downlink of 145.55 MHz.
SPACE SHUTTLE--The space shuttle Atlantis is currently in orbit on shuttle
flight STS-46, and will land on Friday. Despite the fact that more than 10
NASA astronauts are radio amateurs, none appear to be onboard the current
mission. Live video from the shuttle and other NASA reports can be found on
the NASA Select TV channel on Satcom 2R transponder 13. (NASA, Reuters)
SHORTWAVE ETC:
IRAQ--Radio Iraq International's English service to Europe at 18:00-20:00 hrs
is now heard on 13680 kHz in addition to 15210. (BBC Monitoring)
A new anti-Saddam station called the News Center of Free Iraq has been heard
on 11945 kHz between 22:00 and 23:53 hrs. The Voice of the Iraqi People
continues to be heard on 9570, 9980, 15470, and 17958 kHz.
(BBC Monitoring)
JAPAN--Radio Japan's relays from BBC transmitters in Britain began on July
1st. One hour programs in English are carried at 05:00 hrs on 9695 and 9770
kHz, at 07:00 hrs on 9670 and 9695 kHz, and at 23:00 hrs on 6025 and 6160
kHz. (Radio Japan)
This last transmission is a bit strange. It's on the air at 1:00 AM local
time in Europe, not exactly prime time. What's more mystifying is that Radio
Japan has a broadcast to Europe two hours earlier, but at that time only uses
a transitter in Gabon on 11735 kHz. It would have made a lot more sense to
use the British transmitters then.
NORWAY/BURMA--The Democratic Voice of Burma broadcasts from the Norwegian
transmitter station at Kvitsy at 14:30 hrs UTC, using 17840 kHz.
MOLDAVA--Radio Moldova International is planning to broadcast in English at
01:30 hrs on 11675 and 11730 kHz, at 12:00 hrs on 15430 and 17800 kHz, and at
18:30 hrs on 13640 and 15315 kHz. ("Contact" via Euronews)
SUDAN--As the civil war continues in Sudan, BBC Monitoring reports that the
rebel Radio SPLA has appeared on 9170 kHz at 13:00 hrs. However, Khartoum's
National Unity Radio has also moved to the frequency to block the SPLA
transmissions. (BBC Monitoring)
UKRAINE--Radio Ukraine International has become a 24 hour service in
Ukrainian, English, and German. English is heard at 00:00-01:00 and at 21:00-
22:00 hrs.
German is at 17:00-18:00, 20:00-21:00, and 23:00-24:00 hrs. The rest of the
time Ukrainian is broadcast.
Frequencies used include: 936, 5960, 7195, 7250, 7330, 9600, 9640, 9865,
10344 (USB), 11520, 11720, 11790, 12000, 12040, 12060, 13645, 15135, 15355,
15455, 15570, 17605, and 17880 kHz. (BBC Monitoring)
UNITED KINGDOM--The director-general of the BBC, Sir Michael Checkland, has
announced that a 24 hour radio news network is to be launched, using the
longwave outlet of Radio 4, 198 kHz. This is to be in operation by January,
1994 at the latest. The new radio service will also form links with the 24
hour satellite news channel currently being discussed with British Sky
Broadcasting, in other words a merger with Sky News. So it's possible the
radio service will be carried on satellite as well. ("The Independent" and
"The Daily Telegraph")
YUGOSLAVIA--Because of the war in Bosnia, Radio Yugoslavia lost electricity
at its transmitter station and disappeared from the airwaves in earluy June.
The service has returned to the air using just one transmitter, which is
generally on 7200 kHz.
English is carried to Europe at 19:30 and 21:00 hrs. At 19:30 hrs 6100 kHz is
also used. English broadcasts to the Americas are at 00:30 and 01:30 hrs on
11870 kHz and at 11:30 hrs on announced 17740 kHz.
The schedule on 7200 kHz includes: Arabic 16:30-17:00, German 17:40-18:00
hrs, French 18:00-18:30, German 18:30-19:00, Spanish 19:00-19:30, Serbian
20:00-20:30 (also 6100 kHz) and French 20:30-21:00 hrs. Spanish to the
Americas is at 23:00-23:30 hrs on 11835 kHz. Serbian to the Americas is at
00:00-00:30 hrs on 11870 kHz. (Euronews and BBC Monitoring)
CLUB NEWS--The European DX Council, which is holding its annual meeting in
three weeks, has published its 1992 EDXC Club List. This 16 page booklet
gives details of each member and observer club, along with information about
similar organizations in North America and the Sout Pacific.
It's available for one British pound or 3 IRCs worldwide, from EDXC, Box 4,
St. Ives, Huntingdon, PE17 4FE England.
(Items from Internet News via Kauto Huopio)
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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!