::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: SWEDEN CALLING DXERS :: :: from Radio Sweden :: :: Number 2106--Aug. 7, 1990 :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Shortwave and other electronic media news from Radio Sweden. This week's bulletin was written by Bengt Dalhammar. Electronic Edition edited by George Wood. Packet Radio BID SCDX2106 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SPECIAL NOTE--Back in DX-Bulletin 2103, we mentioned that Bengt Dalhammar was moving to Brussels, Belgium, and thanked him for his work on this program for more than 25 years. We're very pleased that Bengt took time during his last few weeks in Sweden to make a special final guest appearance, which you hold in your hand. Bengt sends the following message: "I want to take this opportunity to thank all contributors and listeners for the good cooperation during more than 25 years, a period that has seen many changes on the radio scene. I also want to thank all the people at Radio Sweden who have been dealing with this program during the years, which have been really interesting. I hope that I will be able to keep in touch with all of you also in the future." Once again many thanks to Bengt. We'll miss him. We'd also like to send special Birthday greetings to another SCDX pillar, Ingemar Sandberg. He celebrates 50 years on August 10th. Ingemar has been away preparing for a massive party, but fortunately he will be returning to the SCDX fold soon. All the best Ingemar, and let's see 50 more good ones! (George Wood) SATELLITE-TV--We reported last week that the new Swedish satellite TV channel TV4 had begun test transmissions, using Sweden's Tele-X direct broadcast satellite. Interestingly, for a couple of days the test picture was accompanied by sound from Swedish Radio's P3 channel. The boycott of TV4 by the unions representing Sweden's writers and playwrights has ended, pending negotiations for a contract. And this weekend TV4 revealed part of its program schedule when broadcasts begin on September 15th. Patterned on Britain's Channel 4, most programs will be produced by outside production companies here in Sweden. Curiously, the station's much heralded news broadcasts will be broadcast at exactly the same times that BBC One has news, at Six and Nine O'Clock British Time, which is Seven and Ten PM Swedish Time. It looks like one out of every four Swedish households will be able to see TV4 when it goes on the air. So far the necessary antennas and receivers for home reception are not on the market here. They're supposed to show up in shops this Fall. However, many, but not all, Swedish cable subscribers will be able to watch TV4. The cable market here is dominated by six companies, which reach a little over one third of Swedish households. The largest company, run by Swedish Telecom, says 86 percent of subscribers will have access to TV4. The third largest supplier, Stjaern-TV is already feeding the TV4 test pattern to all subscribers. On the other hand, a small cable operator run by the company that owns the rival TV3, which uses the Astra satellite, is being remarkably slow in providing TV4. The new channel hopes to reach half the households in Sweden by Christmas. BELGIUM--The French Service of the RTBS Radio 4, Brussels, can now be heard heard to Africa from 05:30 to 18:00 hrs on 21480 kHz, replacing 25645 kHz. (Tarun Sethi, India) COLOMBIA--A somewhat mysterious station, heard around 00:45 hours on approximately 3500 kHz, turns out to be the 3rd harmonic of La Voz de Guaviare, nominally operating on 1170 kHz. (The 3rd harmonic would thus be 3510 kHz.) ("ShortWave Bulletin", Sweden and "Play-DX", Italy) Updating SCDX-2103 there is also a Caracol station operating as HJNV from Medellin on 6105 kHz. (World Radio TV Handbook Latin American Newsletter, Sweden) Caracol in Bogota was heard from 00:30 until complete fade out around 01:35 with weak signals on 5075 kHz. (Markus Brinker, West Germany) CYPRUS--Radio Super announced the beginning of regular broadcasts on July 23rd and invited everyone to tune in to FM 100.7 MHz. Radio Super is located in the Akropolis area of Nicosia and will be on the air 24 hours a day. It is headed by Khristos Mikhailidhis who recently worked on the Greek Service of the BBC. (BBC Monitoring) ECUADOR--Updating SCDX-2102, HCJB has begun testing on SSB. Frequencies used have been 15155, 17790, 21470 and 25950 kHz. The testing is being done on an antenna directed to Europe and the South Pacific but other areas will soon be targetted. The transmitters, with a power of 30 kW, were obtained at a very low cost through the courtesy of the Swiss PTT. (BBC Monitoring) GUAM--KTWR has a new frequency for English to India from 15:00 to 16:30 hours. This new frequency is 11785 kHz which replaces 11650 kHz. (Vidjit Vijaysanker and S. Anand, both India) ITALY--Radio Marconi International in Taranto is conducting a new series of test programs. These can be heard Mondays to Saturdays from 05:30 to 07:00 and on Sundays from 06:15 to 08:45, all on 11390 kHz. Reception reports can be sent to Antonello Napolitano, Via Argentina 78, 74100 Taranto, Italy. (R. Pavanello, Italy via Play-DX) Radio Voice of Europe in Pordenone has been reactivated and can now be heard between 09:00 and 21:00 on frequencies around 7538 kHz. (Play-DX) KUWAIT--Following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, the press has written a lot about a clandestine Kuwaiti station operating in the desert. Well, according to Richard Meesham of BBC Monitoring, that station was nothing more or less than the regular shortwave transmitters of Radio Kuwait, or "Huna al Kuwait", as it calls itself, which stayed on the air for 36 hours after the invasion began. The transmitter station is 40 km southwest of Kuwait City, and apparently they could hook up a microphone there after the studios in the capital were overrun. Radio Kuwait was heard during that period on 11990, 13610, 13620, 15495, and 17895 kHz between 21:00 and 23:00 hrs UTC. All services were in Arabic. There was no foreign language programming. The Kuwaiti transmitters finally fell silent on August 3rd at 11:11 hrs UTC. (Geir Stokkeland, Norway and Nobuaki Takahashi, Japan) The Danish Amateur Radio Association have told their members to pay special attention to signals from Kuwait and Iraq as this has often proved to be of great value in emergency cases and also a means of providing fast information when regular sources are not available says Niels Rasmussen, press secretary of the association. LIBERIA--We reported last week that the guerillas of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia had taken over the Christian station ELWA. AFP reports that government troops shelled ELWA on July 30th, causing considerable damage. ELWA began operating in 1954. It operated on many frequencies, including 4760, 7270, and 11830 kHz, and was one of the last means of information from Liberia, until it first went off the air on July 6th. After it was captured by the rebels, it was put back on the air on July 27th for a speech by the rebel leader, Charles Taylor. Three days later the government shelling put ELWA off the air for good. (BBC Monitoring) PERU--New stations appear all the time in Peru. Among the latest are Radio San Nicolas on 3860 kHz, Radio Imperial on 4195 kHz, Radio Huandoy on 4560 kHz, Radio Alto Mayo on 4705 kHz, Radio Celendin on 5085 kHz, Radio Nor Oriental on 5270 kHz, Radio Cora del Peru on 4915 kHz and Radio Saposoa on 6260 kHz. Updating DX-Bulletin 2099 La Voz de San Antonio has been heard on 13256 kHz, the second harmonic of 6628 kHz, which would seem to be the proper frequency. (ShortWave Bulletin) SOMALIA--Updating SCDX-2102, Radio Mogadishu has been heard again, 16:40 to 18:15 on 7198 kHz. (Play-DX) SRI LANKA--Updating SCDX-2105 the Colombo International Radio, a programme of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, which is on the air from 10:30 to 13:25 on 882 kHz, can be heard with a newscast in English at 12:45, with summaries at 12:00 and 13:20. (Reena George, India and BBC Monitoring) The new World Service from the SLBC to Europe has been observed in English at 18:30 on 15120 kHz. (Lars Skoglund, Sweden in ShortWave Bulletin) The domestic commercial service in English from the SLBC can be heard regularly from 03:05 to 05:00 and from 07:00 to 09:00, both on 6130 kHz. These transmissions are not mentioned in the World Radio TV Handbook. (Vidjit Vijaysanker, India) THAILAND--Radio Thailand can be heard with very good signals at 02:00 on 9655 kHz with programs in English. (Sridharok Ju, India) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. RS broadcasts to North America: 15:30 hrs on 17880 and 21500 kHz 02:30 hrs on 11705 and 15295 kHz To Europe, Africa, and the Middle East: 15:30 hrs on 21655 kHz (East Africa and Middle East) 17:00 hrs on 1179, 6065, and 9615 kHz 21:00 hrs on 1179, 9655 and 11705 kHz 23:00 hrs on 1179 kHz 22:30 hrs on 1179 kHz And to Asia and the Pacific: 11:30 hrs on 17740, 21570, and 21610 kHz 14:00 hrs on 17740 and 21610 kHz 01:00 hrs on 15405 and 17860 kHz The Electronic Edition is based on the Sweden Calling DXers bulletins which are mailed out every 4 weeks to contributors. 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 2:202/297 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to 24 contributors this week Good Listening! ============================================================================= Distributed by The Pinelands RBBS * 609-859-1910 * 24/12/3 @ 8N1 * 64 MB FIDO 1:266/32 * RBBS-Net 8:950/2 * Shortwave Listening * Ham & Packet Radio Home of PC Software by W2XQ * Receiver Control Programs for NRD-525, R-5000 English Language SW Broadcast Schedules (1988 WRTH Industry Award Winner) SYSOP Tom Sundstrom * W2XQ * MCI Mail 244-6376 * InterNet 2446376@mcimail.com TRS Consultants * 609-859-2447 * FAX 609-859-3226 * Telex 6552446376MCI UW =============================================================================