Senger expressed his appreciation of the large-scale devel- opment of digital radio in China, particularly the volume of DRM tests to date, and in the future. He invited the Chinese Authority to participate in the DRM market introduction in order to facilitate the development of low price DRM receivers. MA- YAH's DRM 2010, a second-generation DRM receiver, is al- ready available on the marketplace - it is a joint development of DRM Member Coding Technologies and DRM Supporters MAYAH, Himalaya (Hong Kong) and AFG. During last week's events, local radio station Zhejiang Radio & TV Group demonstrated DRM's crystal clear audio quality and Edited by Ray Browell reception with live transmissions, using a new digital DRM transmitter for short-wave from Thales Broadcast & Multimedia e-mail: [email protected] and an existing, 10-year old Harris DX 10 medium-wave/AM radio transmitter, which was converted to DRM by Harris Cor- Afghanistan The 400kW BBG/IBB relay tx in Kabul on 1296 (for poration's Broadcast Communications Division. The live BBG's Radio Free Afghanistan) now carries a special prgr in Eng- transmissions included DRM Member Deutsche Welle's broad- lish at 1930-2330 since the start of the A04 season. casts from Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, short-wave broadcasts Mike Terry via DXLD from the BBC World Service site in Thailand, operated by VT MerlinCommunications (BBC and VT Merlin Communications Belarus Voice of Russia has expanded the lease of the transmit- are DRM Members) and China Radio International broadcasts. ter in Sasnovy on 1170 from 9 to 15 hours/daily. Most of the ad- Also, the Chinese manufacturer Zhongli demonstrated a new ditional time was assigned to VOR's Russian-language channel type of medium-wave antenna for flat radiation patterns. "Russkoye Mezhdunarodnoye Radio". The transmitter is leased via The Radio Newsletter with a power of 700kW and a directional antenna with a beam of 244 degrees. For maintenance, the transmitter is off every 1st, Estonia Tartuskoye Semeynoye Radio is the Russian lan- 3rd and 4th Wednesday of the month from 0600-1300. guage channel of the Estonian religious broadcasting com- Bernd Trutenau-LTU via mwdx pany Tartu Pereraadio. Address: Annemõisa 8, EE-50708 Tartu, Estonia. Email: [email protected], Web: Canada Application by the CANADIAN BROADCASTING COR- www.pereraadio.ee/ru. 24h in Russian on Tartu 1035kHz PORATION (CBC) to amend the licence of radio programming 50kW ND. Bernd Trutenau-LTU via mwdx undertaking CFWH Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. The CBC pro- poses to convert its transmitter CBDN-FM Dawson from the FM Finland The following article published on the dxing.info web- to the AM band. The transmitter would operate on frequency site in December gives some more details on the background 560 kHz with a transmitter power of 400 watts day time and night of the projected MW station on the Åland Islands on 603 kHz time.The CBC is requesting permission to simulcast the pro- which may bring some light into the partly confusing informa- gramming of CFWH on the FM band for a period of three months tion regarding this project in the DX press recently. It can be following the installation of its new AM transmitter. It would then noted the planned power is stated here with 2.5kW, while the cease operation of its FM transmitter CBDN-FM Dawson. The organizer's website http://www.amradio.nu is currently claiming current FM transmitter does not adequately reach the community both "2500 Watts" and "25 kW" in different versions of the text. and the connecting river valleys. New mediumwave station to be launched in Finland A new (via Deane McIntyre VE6BPO, AB, April 7, NRC-AM via DXLD) mediumwave station is planned to go on the air in Finland in spring 2004. Swedish salesman and radio enthusiast Roy China CRI English via Albania now on 1215 kHz Sandgren has received a permission to launch a radio station According to the Web site of China Radio International, the morn- in the Åland Islands, an autonomous region in Southwestern ing mediumwave broadcast in English to Eastern Europe origi- Finland. The station doesn't have a name yet, Sandgren says nally advertised for 1395 kHz is now on 1215 kHz. It was sched- to DXing.info, but it will be on the air "in spring, I hope," using uled at 0700-0900 UTC, but may have moved to 0600-0800 UTC the frequency of 603 kHz and a power of 2.5 kW. Unlike ini- with the start of summer time in Europe. This transmission is via a tially told, Sandgren says that the station will not be offshore, relay station in Albania. Media Network 29 Mar via BDXC instead, he is planning to set up the transmitter "on a pier or on shore" in Western Åland. He is planning to broadcast in AM Digital Radio MondialeÔ (DRMÔ) held its annual General As- stereo and says that he would be targeting also audiences in sembly in Hangzhou last week, at the invitation of China's SARFT Sweden and mainland Finland, as the population of the Åland (StateAdministration of Radio, Film & Television). Additionally, Islands is only 26,000. On December 17 Åland's government more than 200 experts from the Chinese broadcasting industry and administrative board approved Sandgren's application to participated in a jointly organized symposium about digital radio in set up a news and tourism station on condition that local work- China. force will be used as much as possible and that the station will In his opening remarks, Chinese Vice Minister Zhang Haitao in- broadcast in Swedish, the official language of the Åland Is- formed the delegates that China is committed to the introduction lands. According to official records, spotted by Vesa Hie- of digital radio because of its huge advantages over analogue ra- nonen, the license is valid until the end of 2008. Previously dio: better quality, new services and tremendous power savings. Sandgren has announced that he plans to set up a non- China "is in the procedure to select DRM for its use on medium- commercial offshore station near his hometown Malmö, using wave/AM and short-wave", and wants to participate in the on-air a 500-watt transmitter on board radio ship St. Paul. system's worldwide implementation. Large-scale test transmis- Bernd Trutenau-LTU via mwdx sions in China have been carried out with great success. Both China Radio International and China Radio National are commit- France A couple of weeks after Radio Nouveaux Talents was ted to DRM. launched, the second new French mediumwave station has Peter Senger of Germany's Deutsche Welle, who was re-elected begun transmissions. Cyril Grouin in France reports to last week as DRM's Chairman for his fourth consecutive 2-year DXing.info that Superloustic has been broadcasting a test term, thanked the Vice Minister for the support that DRM has re- message on 999 kHz with 5 kilowatts of power. Regular pro- ceived in China. He welcomed the Vice Minister's clear statement gramming began on March 24 at midday French time. The and assured SARFT and all parties involved of the DRM consor- transmitter, operated by Télédiffusion de France (TDF), is lo- tium's continuing support for the introduction of DRM in China. cated in Villebon-sur-Yvette, Southwest of Paris. Superloustic 10 DSWCI Short Wave News – May 2004 is targeting children of 7-11 years of age, and much of the pro- 1260 - (US-run) Radio Sawa, Rhodes, Greece, in Arabic gramming is children's music - modeled after the success of 1305 - Radio Al-Mustaqbal in Arabic Radio Disney in the United States. Later on the station plans to 1314 - (US-run) Radio Free Iraq via Abu Dhabi {NOT: 4-066} launch a transmitter in Marseille on 675 kHz (1000 kW), but an- 1323 - BBC World Service, Cyprus, in English other proposed transmitter in Nice on 1467 kHz is used by MC 1548 - (US-run) Radio Sawa in Arabic One from Monaco. Superloustic used to be a national FM network 1566 - Radio of the Land of the Two Rivers in Arabic created in 1987 in Lyon, but was shut down in 1992 because of 1575 - Continuous pop music - no announcements observed financial problems. The station is now hoping to make a come- 1593 - VoA English/Kurdish/Persian + Radio Free Iraq in back on the mediumwave band. Superloustic was licensed a year Arabic via DXLD ago (see DXing.info news in March 2003). Mike Terry via BDXC Ireland RTE on 252 heard in USA The answer is yes, this from [email protected] "I'm listening to it David Duckworth in Salisbury reports hearing French songs and NOW!.. using a Sangean AST-818 on 252 kHz and random announcements on 1314 kHz this evening (Saturday) - probably long-wire located in East Texas, local time 2030 CST or 0030 tests in preparation for the launch of Loisirs AM (originally called GMT. Reception is sporadic with fading to background to Good La Radio du Temps Libre) which was reportedly due to start on signal several times p/minute. Program content is piano music this frequency during March. 1314 is a difficult channel - com- with commentary." Mike Terry BDXC pletely blocked by Norway much of the time. David Duckworth via BDXC It appears that Irish public broadcaster RTÉ plans to offer some alternative programming on its recently-launched long- Finland . Hi from Sweden; have to correct your info about Radio wave service that normally carries the same programmes as Scandinavia having financing problem. No such problem, but it RTÉ Radio One mediumwave.