From news.cs.tut.fi!news.funet.fi!funic!nic.funet.fi!CompuServe.COM!70247.3516 Thu Dec 17 15:15:54 EET 1992
Article: 16689 of rec.radio.shortwave
Newsgroups: rec.radio.shortwave
Path: news.cs.tut.fi!news.funet.fi!funic!nic.funet.fi!CompuServe.COM!70247.3516
From: 70247.3516@CompuServe.COM (George Wood)
Subject: SCDX 2168
Message-ID: <921217103345_70247.3516_EHB24-1@CompuServe.COM>
Sender: root@nic.funet.fi (The FUnny NET guru)
Organization: Finnish University & Research Network
Date: Thu, 17 Dec 1992 12:33:46 +0200
Lines: 390
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:: MediaScan ::
:: SWEDEN CALLING DXERS ::
:: from Radio Sweden ::
:: Number 2168--Dec. 15, 1992 ::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Satellite, shortwave and other electronic media news from Radio Sweden.
This week's bulletin was written by George Wood.
Packet Radio BID SCDX2168
All times UTC unless otherwise noted.
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NORDIC MEDIA NEWS:
SWEDEN--We begin on a sad note...coming budget cuts are having their effect
on Radio Sweden. The most obvious change listeners will notice is that our
extra half hour in English at 22:00 hrs will be discontinued, as will the
half hour in Swedish at 18:30 hrs, probably from January 18th, the day the
new Swedish Broadcasting Corporation schedule goes into effect. Broadcasts in
Estonian and Lativan on weekends will be shortened to 15 minutes.
We'd also like to mention that because of problems with working conditions,
members of the Radio Sweden English Service may be ill during the next two
weeks. It is possible that some programming will be affected.
NORWAY--On the other hand, it looks like Radio Norway International's English
Service won't be vanishing completely from the airwaves, with the impending
cut-off of funds from the Norwegian Foreign Ministry. The station has
announced that beginning in February, Saturday broadcasts will be cut and
Radio Norway International will be back to one program a week, on Sundays
only. (BBC Monitoring)
FILMNET--FilmNet has now started its second channel, FilmNet the Movie
Channel. The original FilmNet on Astra is now called FilmNet Plus. The two
channels have identical programming, only time-shifted a bit. The new channel
is available on the Tele-X satellite, which FilmNet recently bought, on
12.673 GHz, Eurocrypt decoded in D2-MAC. (Paa TV)
PATRICK MEYER, MARKETING DIRECTOR OF "PAA TV", A MEDIASCAN INTERVIEW:
"P TV" is one of Scandinavia's best TV guides, offering something for
everyone from the casual cable viewer to the advanced satellite monitor. It
not only includes coverage of some 60 terrestrial, satellite, and cable
channels, but also every week carries the latest news from Bertil Sundberg,
Sweden's satellite-TV guru. At the recent satellite-TV show here we met with
the marketing director of "Paa TV", Patrick Meyer.
Q--Why did the magazine get started, considering that there are so many TV
listings available here, ranging from the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation's
own weekly magazine to regular newspaper supplements.
PM--Well, we have a different target group. We have all the satellite
channels, and we are unique in that regard.
Q--Your company is also owned by the same company that operates TV3, one of
Sweden's major satellite broadcasters, and TV1000, the pay movie channel.
Does that create any problems editorially? Do you have to treat TV3 or TV1000
differently?
PM--No we don't. We make sure that FilmNet, the other movie channel, gets the
same attention in the magazine. That's very important to us, we have to be
believable in the advertising market.
Q--How is the magazine doing? Is there a lot of interest in what you are
doing?
PM--Yes, enormous interest. Especially in Norway. We're getting a lot of
reponse from the Norwegians. So it's doing very well.
Q--Are your readers mostly interested in the Swedish channels, more than in
the foreign channels?
PM--That depends. If they only have cable channels, they are very interested
in our Swedish channels. But if they have their own satellite dish, they're
very interested in all European channels.
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY:
BBC--This month BBC World Service celebrates its 60th anniversary. In
December, 1932 the Empire Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation was
inaugurated. Its aim at the time was simply to link expatriates around the
British Empire with home. It was the outbreak of war seven years later that
drew the BBC's overseas services into the mainstream of international radio
broadcasting. The British government pressed the BBC to start an Arabic
service which would broadcast what the Foreign Office suggested would be a
little "innocent propaganda" to counteract the fascist propaganda of Italy
and Germany.
Lord Reith, the Director-General of the BBC, did not accept this. On January
3rd, 1938, the Arabic Service was inaugurated, with editorial control firmly
in the hands of the BBC. As the world slipped further into the depths of War,
other language services began. The European services included, amongst
others, German, French, and Italian. The invasions of Denmark and Norway led
to the formation of Scandinavian language services.
By the end ot World War Two, the BBC was broadcasting in 45 lanuages. As one
war came to an end, another began, this time the Cold War. Proposganda from
the East flowed westwards, and vice versa, and jamming started.
Broadcasts of the BBC beamed to the Soviet Union and its empire were
routinely blocked, just like the transmissions of the Voice of America and
Radios Free Europe and Liberty. Despite the noise, and the possible
repercussions by the authorities, listeners tuned to the news from London.
Even so, the British government's support of the BBC's Exteranl Services
waned. During the 1950's and 60's, investment in capital plant, transmitters
and studios, nearly ground to a halt. The number of broadcast hours was
reduced and some languages, including those of the Scandinavian countries,
were closed completely.
The cutbacks forced by government continued through to the beginning of the
1980's, despite the constant protests of programme staff. The believed in the
long term benefits of international broadcasting, and they were proved right.
On March 31st, 1982, the Spanish Service to Europe was closed and Spanish to
Latin America was reduced. Two days later, the Falkland Islands were occupied
by Argentine forces.
The 1980's saw capital invstment increased, new transmitters at sites around
the world improved audibility, and the overall output grew. Perhaps the most
important competitor for World Service at the time of the Gulf War was not
another radio station, but the American CNN television, beamed by satellite
to all continents. World Service Television finally became a reality in 1991,
as a commercial venture, not funded by the British taxpayer.
And World Service radio is for the time being, at least, expanding. A
Ukrainian service was started in June, the first new language service since
1981. Soon to follow will be Albanian, stopped with the cuts of the 1960's.
And there are plans for Uzbek. Things seem to have come full circle--the
transmitters in the former Soviet Union which used to jam the BBC are now
used to transmit programmes made in Bush House to China, the Indian
subcontinent, and other parts of Asia. (Janne Olsen)
ASIA--Meanwhile, politicians in India are blaming the BBC and CNN for
spreading the recent Hindu-Moslem riots by actually reporting what was
happening, including the destruction of a mosque by Hindus. The official
broadcast media in India try to avoid flaming communal violence by playing
down coverage of such events. The "Times of India" wrote recently "The
credibility of Doordarshan (India's official television) and All India Radio
have hit an all-time low. The BBC is now accepted to be the last world on
authenticity." (Reuters)
EUROPE--Many home dish owners in Europe were gladdened earlier this year when
BBC World Service Television announced it would be switching its
transmissions on the Intelsat 601 satellite to D2-MAC, using a subscription
system.
A company called TV Extra in the southern Swedish city of Motala is handling
the subscriptions for the BBC. Here in Scandinavia and in the Benelux they've
turned everything over to FilmNet, which makes sense since they'll be using a
FilmNet-style smartcard with the decoders, and current FilmNet subscribers
can just have the BBC added to their existing cards.
We were surprised when we discovered that FilmNet wanted just under 5 pounds
a month for the service, plus just under 20 pounds as a one time fee to
start. They blame the price on TV Extra, who says they are taking just about
the same amount, 70 pounds for the first year, for subscribers in other parts
of Europe as well, after discussions with the BBC.
They say subscriptions are coming in from around 25 countries, and hope to
have 4000 to 5000 subscribers from the parts of Europe outside Scandinavia
and the Benelux, by the time the subscription system begins on January 25th.
(FolmNet, TV Extra)
Considering that on the largest cable system in Stockholm, the same amount of
money buys not just BBC World Service, but also four other channels, five
pounds a month seems like a lot of money. Especially since World Service
isn't even including a subcription to their new monthly program guide, "BBC
Worldwide". (And in the United States, viewers can subscribe, for example, to
five satellite "superstations" for just over half as much, USD 66 a year.)
As Julian Clover of "Cable and Satellite TV Europe" magazine once remarked,
if you can watch Sky News and UK Gold for free, why subscribe to BBC World
Service? All you need to watch UK Gold is a videocrypt decoder that costs the
same as a year and half of subscribing to the BBC.
The current World Service transponder on Intelsat 601, 10.995 GHz, will be
switching to D2-MAC on January 25th. BBC is also using a second transponder
on 11.643 GHz for D2-MAC transmissions between January 11th and February
10th, to ease the transition.
EUROPEAN SATELLITE BROADCASTING:
RADIO CAROLINE--The famous offshore pirate station Radio Caroline has
announced it will return to broadcasts on the Astra satellite, via Euronet on
transponder 20, subcarrier 7.56 MHz. Programs are to be produced on the radio
ship "Ross Revenge" and then taken to London for broadcast. ("In Orbit")
SPAIN--Spain's direct broadcast satellite Hispasat has begun test
transmissions from 30 degrees West in the 12 and 12.5 GHz band. So far all
we've seen is two transponders in use, one with a test pattern, the other
with just a blank signal. (Bertil Sundberg in "Paa TV")
VATICAN CITY--The Vatican says it will begin satellite broadcasts today, with
daily programs between 16:00 and 16:30 hrs, offering a summary of the Pope's
doings for television networks, as well as videos of important rites, and
other Papal coverage. There's no indication what satellite will be involved,
but as the program are said to reach Europe, the Middle East, and North
Africa, Eutelsat will probably be used. (AP)
It's also possible Vatican Radio may show up on an audio subcarrier.
POLAND--Meanwhile, there's more news about the new satellite station from
Pope John Paul's homeland of Poland. The station, which is privately owned,
is called Polsat. It operates on Eutlesat 2-F3, at 11.678 GHz. Michal
Jankowski and Jurgen Bartels, via Internet News)
EBU--The European Broadcasting Union is moving to four transponders on the
Eutelsat 2-F4 satellite on January 3rd, for program distribution.
CBS--CBS newsfeeds from Somalia have been seen on Eutelsat 2-F1, on 11.658
GHz, using the NTSC system. (Jurgen Bartels, via Internet News)
AMERICAN SATELLITE BROADCASTING:
CARIBBEAN--The Caribbean Satellite Network has begun tests via the Galaxy 3
satellite (93.5 degrees West), transponder 7. Regular broadcasting is to
begin in January. (BBC Monitoring)
SHORTWAVE:
AZERBAIJAN--Azerbaijani Radio has started an English service, at 17:00-18:00
hrs on 6175 kHz. (BBC Monitoring)
IRAQ--The new Radio Iraq International schedule includes:
English to East Asia at 14:00-17:00 hrs on 13680 kHz, and to Europe at 22:00-
24:00 hrs on 15210 kHz. Russian to Russia at 16:30-17:30 hrs on 6105 kHz.
(BBC Monitoring)
LITHUANIA--Lithuanian Radio has reduced transmitter hours on 666 and 9710
kHz, due to the shortage of energy supplies at the main transmitter center.
The 50 kW transmitter on 9710 kHz is now only used for four hours a day, from
19:00-23:00 hrs, instead of 24 hours as previously. The formerly 24 hour
medium wave transmitter on 666 kHz is now switched off between 23:00 and
04:00 hrs. This also affectes the private station Radiocentras, which had
used the transmitter on 9710 kHz once a month for programs in English,
German, and Esperanto. Those programs seem to have gone off the air. (Sigitas
Zilionis. Lithuaniam Telecommunications Department, via Radio Vlaanderen
Internationaal and BBC Monitoring)
Radio Vilnius is now broadcasting in English on medium wave (presumeably 666
kHz) at 20:00 hrs. (Radio Vilnius via BBC Monitoring)
RUSSIA--Radio Irina, which broadcasts programs from Moscow critical of the
government of Vietnam, held a press conference early this month to mark its
first 100 days of broadcasting. The station broadcasts for one hour a day,
using a transmiter in Irkutsk. It is supported by donations from Vietnamese
living outside their country, and staffed by Vietnamese students in Moscow.
According to station spokeswomen Irina Zisman:
"Our radio station has an absolutely open character. We tell Vietnamese how
human rights are being violated, what Russian citizens and the citizens of
other countries think about this, and about the existence in the civilized
world of certain norms, of pacts, and of international conventions on human
rights."
Because of material difficulties, Radio Pamyat has reduced its schedule. It
is now on the air once a day, 14:30-16:00 hrs on 7230 kHz.
Radio Ala has moved from 3995 kHz to 5900 khz, where it is scheduled to
broadcast 24 hours a day. Shortwave transmissions by the St. Petersburg
station Radio Polis and by Radio Shark in Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan,
have disappeared. (Voice of Russia via BBC Monitoring)
USA--Radio Free Europe is splitting the hitherto joint Czechoslovak section.
>From the beginning of the year there will be a separate Slovak service. (BBC
Monitoring)
PUBLICATIONS:
UTILITY GUIDE--For those of you who like to tune the shortwave bands in
between the broadcast stations, there's a new edition of your bible, the
Klingenfuss "Guide to Utility Stations". This book lists thousands of non-
broadcast and non-amateur stations between 1600 kHz and 30 MHz, including
marine stations, news agencies, fax weather photo stations, and much more.
There's a separate call sign list, radioteletype press services and weather
fax outlets both by country and by time of transmission, and much explanatory
information.
The new 11th edition is said to cover the latest political events such as the
impacts of the Gulf War and the war in the Balkans. In fact, the "Last Minute
Information" section includes frequencies for the UN forces in Zagreb and
Sarajevo, and for UN flights from Mobasa to Somalia.
At the same time, Klingenfuss publications is also publishing the 12the
edition of their "Radioteletype Code Manual", a very specialized book for
those who want to be able to interpret just about any kind of digital
transmission on the air.
For more information, write to: Klingenfuss Publications, Hagenloher Str. 14,
D-7400 Tuebingen, Germany.
RADIO SWEDEN--Once again a reminder that the most recent edition of our book
"The DXers Guide to Computing" is now two years old, which in the computer
world is a very long time. So we're giving away the remaining copies on our
shelves. There's still some useful information there, so if you don't have a
copy of "The DXers Guide to Computing", by all means write in now.
On the other hand, we're almost out of the most recent edition of
"Communications in Space: The DXers Guide to the Galaxy". But an updated
version will be available in the new year.
And that's all the time we've for this edition of MediaScan. We'll be back
with more next time. Don't forget our upcoming MediaScan look at the year
gone by. Our English Service will be presenting a special hour long review on
Tuesday December 29th. Until next time, good listening and take care.
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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 on 21:30-22:30 hrs:
on medium and shortwave: 1179, 6065 and 9655 kHz
via satellite: Astra 1B (19.2 degrees East) channel 26 (Sky Movies Gold/TV
Asia/Adult Channel) at 11.597 GHz, audio subcarrier at 7.74 MHz,
Tele-X (5 degrees East) (TV4 transponder) at 12.207 GHz, audio subcarrier
7.38 MHz.
We're also relay our half hour program at 13:30 hrs on satellite
The rest of the Radio Sweden English schedule is (half hour programs):
Europe:
23:30 hrs on 1179 and 6065 kHz
Middle East and East Africa:
16:00 hrs 15270 kHz
Asia and the Pacific:
13:30 hrs on 15240 and 21625 kHz
21:30-22:30 hrs on 11955 kHz
01:00 hrs on 9695 and 11820 kHz
North America:
16:00 hrs on 17870 and 21500 kHz
02:00 hrs on 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!
Distribution:
Internet >INTERNET: REC.RADIO.SHORTWAVE@nic.funet.fi
Jonathan >mcimail:338-2983
Terry INTERNET> tstader@aol.com
Tom >mcimail:244-6376