__ __ __ / /\ / /\ / /\ / /_/_/ / / / / / / ____ / / / / / / /\__/ / / / /_/___ /_/ / /_/ / /_______/\ \_\/ \_\/EARD \_______\/AST WEEK ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ v1#3 Capsule summaries of DX, Shortwave, and Media Programs heard the week starting UT Monday, July 18th. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- o MEDIA NETWORK REVIEWS THE SONY ICF-SW7600G (see below) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- MediaScan R. Sweden Local radio changes in Sweden with airchecks. Moon+25 years: shuttle communications, and detailed Jupiter review. Lots of satellite news, mostly for Europe, with an interesting underlying theme of ever increasing video feed encryption. Murdoch cans his plans for a global news network (a la CNN); will work instead with the QVC-less CBS instead. See George Wood's more-than-complete program transcript (SCDX 2204) on rec.radio.shortwave. DXers Unlimited, mid-week edition R. Havana Cuba At last, the first "radio" results from Jupiter - Arnie says reports of early radio observations of the comet collision are disap- pointing compared to visual effects seen this week but we will have to wait for spectral analysis to be sure. Modern (fast scan) amateur TV (ATV) is relatively cheap and easy, so try it. Description of the recent record ATV hop from Hawaii to California on 70 cm. On the utility of the cheap and easy to use three-terminal regulator IC (i.e. 780X) for supplies up to 3 amps (with proper heat sinks). On Bob "VE3SRE" Chandler's new "QRZ" column in the ODXA's "DX Ontario" maga- zine. Ham Radio Today HCJB Amplifier basics: history, tubes (valves), and transistors. Pro- pagation Notes #20: On radio transmission distance. Key factors (fre- quency, angle of incidence, etc.) with hop/layer examples. Minimum takeoff angle and effect on signal convergence/divergence. Historical notes on H. Hertz with references to Popov and Edison. Cabinet dril- ling tip (drill bit sleeve). Waveguide BBC Given Jupiter events and the Moon landing anniversary: a visit to the Jodrell Bank radio telescope (world's 2nd largest). Dish and receiver room descriptions and cryogenic LNA's. This dish has been used to discovered about 350 of the 600 known pulsars. Pulsar record- ings. On aperture synthesis for radio astronomy. Amateur radio astronomy. The Latest Catch HCJB Ken subs for Rich. Kazakhstan English schedule. Morroco, other Turkey stations: Police R. and Ismir U. American SW Listeners Club address and phone number. AWR Guam schedule and QSL address. More Quito Logbook: Paraguay 09735 @23:50, Peru 17800 @23:55, Columbia 06165 @15:37, Guatemala 04800 @01:20, Brazil 04765 @01:00. Media Network R. Netherlands Int. Changes at Deutsche Welle: incorporation of DDR R. organizations, new Berlin TV service, going digital, downsizing, onto satellites but still on SW to Africa and China, Rwanda relay still important - Malta less so, Asiasat distribution agreement, budget 450M dm for radio, 160M dm for TV, moving to Bonn. Australian AM compatible SSB tests on 15425: voice quality reports requested with address. Crisp's Haiti freqs: 4090 and 6515.5 USB. USA's "R. Democracy" (Haiti AM & FM broadcasts from US aircraft) ineffective on first attempt due to bad frequency selections. Previous RMI(WHRI/WRNO) broadcasts to Haiti going on for some time. VOA adds China broadcasts. More Jupiter radio news: confirmation of Coro's earlier finding that the radio aspects on the Jupiter collision were not heard (via reports from Aus- tralia radio telescope and Solar Observatory sites). Sony ICF-SW7600G review: some '7600 series history, $200, dual conversion, synchronous detection primer and demo recording, 1 kHz tuning, "arc" tuning pad like SW100, USB/LSB with clarifier - good SSB stability, power lock, 150-29999 kHz & 76-108 MHz with 9/10 MHz FM switch, LCD - time only when radio off, mono line out, stereo jack, 10AM/10FM/2wake-up memories, no AC adapter included, tighter filter (single?), performance said to be similar to ICF-SW-100, full paper review to be available later from R. Netherlands and on the net. World of Radio WWCR/WHRI/KWHR/RFPI #755. International email to WOR (please not from USA & Canada): gst@gagme.wwa.com. Full WOR schedule. Listeners looking for program tapes (final Swiss Shortwave Merry-Go-Round). Portugal DX program now every Friday? {nope, Collector's corner was on this week}. Denmark hosting DX competition - applications due by August 10th. Un- identified on 11915 was R. Liberty (USA) from Portugal. Looking for documentation of WEWN frequency splatter. R. Miami Int. service expanding to 4 hours. R. Democracy started July 15th on frequencies 1035 kHz and 91.9 or 96.1 MHz. Honduran now believed to be R. HREC, still 0-2 and 12-15 UT. R. Bulgaria Calling R. Bulgaria Propagation outlook: 2 more months of the same. DXpedition update. Singapore, Bangladesh, Honduras, Pakistan, Tahiti, Australian Defense Forces, Mozambique, Iran. FEBC's DX program "Communication": Thu 11995 @15:40, Fri 11690 @10:15, Sat 11995 @14:00. RadioWorld R. Vlaanderen Int. R. Vlaanderen Int. on new satellite to N. America (G5/#6/125 degrees W/6.8 MHz) and other satellite news including Morocco dish tax (~$565). Satellite and cable price elasticity in Europe. Changes: R. Netherlands: 07310->07395/DD @05:30 & 06:30 (Russian relay), Congo: 04185->04765 signoff @21:30 with aircheck of national anthem. DX Partyline HCJB A special edition with all the gang: "Introduction to the Hobby of DXing". DX, DXing, DXer, etc. defined. A simple outdoor antenna (longwire). Tips for getting a good ground. What goes in a logbook? QSL's and how to write a reception report. A SINPO code primer. Why not join a DX club? Some of HCJB's best introductory segments all in one place. Communications World VOA Microsoft settles with Justice and Europe including Gates' com- ments. Cracks in Clipper - alternatives to be considered because of vocal opposition. Internet usages for business expands: public (mark- eting) information, international email, plus indirect advertising (i.e., caches of product information on the net). Introduction to online services (with 3M American users). More tidbits on the informa- tion highway. DXers Unlimited, weekend edition R. Havana Cuba Poor propagation outlook. Slow-scan amateur TV (SSTV): color pic- tures only, but works at voice bandwidths over long distance HF paths. Morse code and computers: decoders, keyers, and practice generators, hardware and software options. Coax cable good, but must be installed properly (i.e. weatherproofed). DX Corner Voice of Turkey Good music. Georgia Tech's flat antenna technology. General call for user DX tips (mail, cassette?). Distance Unknown R. Exterior de Espana Catholic and Russian Orthodox station in Moscow: R. Maria. R. Cayman overview: 5 kW FM (105.3 MHz), 10 kW (1555 kHz), and 1 kW (1205 kHz) with coverage radius of 600 miles. Home Satellite Int. R. Show WWCR {missed 1st 14 minutes of program} Gary Bourgois: repeat segment from July 10th, 1994 (HLW v1#1). DX News R. Budapest Int. German listener Peter's catches (all in German): HCJB, Albania, Swiss R. Int., R. Budapest Int., Riga, Poland, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, S. Korea, and Ukraine. Spectrum WWCR A "Best of" show with two segments: About 40 minutes of some of Gary Bourgois' classic pieces on satellite audio services (SCPC, etc.) and the interview with Mike Vendeti (sp?) on the Mexican Border Blas- ter radio Stations. Media Roundup R. Japan China: new schedule for Voice of the Strait. Japanese station to broadcast data over TV: QPSK at 8 kbps to deliver news, weather, stock market info, and popular song lyrics. Red Cross Broadcasting Service (RCBS via SRI) European schedule for March to August in many languages (English: last Sunday, 06165 @07:00 and 13:00). Intriguing "Survey" segment on broadcasting with paper: Paper Bombs, propaganda using air-dropped leaflets. Details on history, methods, and value. ABC's of DXing: Using IRC's, the how's and why's. Don't forget to get them stamped when purchased. HCJB now to be 24 hours in English. R. Copan Int., Honduras, Jeff White's DX program "Vito Miami" on 15675 @1:41- 02:07 with aircheck, may be a daily program. AWR news: AWR to issue "Morse" commemorative QSL - available mid-July. AWR Africa expands with Slovakian transmitter to 12 hours, and three new African produc- tion centers. DX Corner KOL Israel On the legalities of monitoring and recording non-broadcast transmissions in Israel (and Germany). Israel's "monitor license". Marginal reception of KOL in N. America? ... either get a better receiving system or move to Israel (and hear KOL Israel in FM). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The schedules and frequencies for these and other shortwave programs can be retrieved using "anonymous" ftp from thumper.bellcore.com (128.96.41.1) in the directory /pub/radio/shortwave. Mosaic users can get these files via the Mosaic URL: file://thumper.bellcore.com/pub/radio/shortwave/ HEARD LAST WEEK's purpose is *not* to provide detailed transcripts of program contents, but is to encourage and assist shortwave listeners in identifying those programs which might match their interests. My own comments and/or observations are enclosed in brackets "{ ... }". ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Mea Culpa * v1#1,2/Spectrum: Kulpsville, Kulpsville, Kulpsville, Kulpsville, ... (1000 times). * v1#2/DX Partyline: Fred's segment actually focused on a catalog of reprints of the best articles from the National Radio Club's "DX News Magazine". Comments and suggestions (and corrections) on content and format always welcome. Chase ----- Chase Cotton Hopatcong, NJ, USA