DX Tests

The Courtesy Program Committee (CPC) of the National Radio Club and International Radio Club of America are proud to kick off the 2022-2023 season with another “Dual DX Test” this weekend. 

Chief Engineer Todd Clark will be doing maintenance testing starting on Saturday, November 5th at 12:01 AM Mountain Time (0601 UTC) when KJJR, 880 AM, will be testing on daytime power and pattern. 10,000 watts. Programming will consist of sweep tones, Morse Code IDs, 1 kHz “long duration tones,” etc. The test will last two hours, until 02:00 AM Mountain Time. 

Part two of the dual test is the next day, Sunday, November 6th, at 12:01 AM Mountain Time (0601 UTC) when KSEN, 1150 AM, will be testing on daytime power and pattern. 10,000 watts. Programming will consist of sweep tones, Morse Code IDs, 1 kHz “long duration tones,” etc. The test will last two hours, until 02:00 AM Mountain Time. 

** Most of the United States will “fall back” one hour into Standard Time at 0200 local times on Sunday, November 6th. This will not affect the test since KSEN is in the Mountain Time Zone. The test ends just as time changes. 

We thank Todd Clark for getting the season off to a great start. 

QSL INFORMATION

At the station’s request, the Courtesy Program Committee will be responsible for verifying reception reports and issuing QSLs. All reception reports should be emailed to: 

dx@highnoonfilm.com

The new QSL rules for CPC-coordinated tests will be in effect for this test. Please read them carefully. 

NEW QSL RULES FOR THE 2022-2023 SEASON

  • DX Tests are arranged by the Courtesy Program Committee of the National Radio Club (NRC) and the International Radio Club of America (IRCA.) Both clubs offer low-cost, online-only memberships. It is appropriate that those seeking QSLs should support the clubs financially. Please indicate in your request which club you are a member of. It may improve the response time for your QSL. 
  • QSL requests for DX Tests where the CPC will issue QSLs must be received within 30 days of the test. 
  • A brief recording of at least two (2) minutes must be submitted. .MP3, .wav, or .MP4 video formats accepted. No written reports unless accompanied by a recording. 
  • No remote receivers (Internet-based) will be accepted for QSLs. The exceptions to this rule are as follows:

A.) If you constructed the remote receiver, maintained it, or contributed money towards those purposes, you may use it to submit reception reports. Examples would be DXers who built remote receivers in low-noise locations but operate from home. 

B.) Internet-based receivers you don’t own are only acceptable if they are more than 500 miles from the transmitter of the test station. You must fully disclose which receiver was used, including its URL. If the owner is known, please provide their name so they may receive credit. Include the distance of the receiver in miles from the transmitter site. 

C.) Only one QSL will be issued per DXer, even if they operate multiple remote receiver sites or use more than one remote receiver at distances of 500 miles to receive the station. 

  • QSLs will be issued only after the conclusion of the 2022-2023 DX Season. Generally, this will occur in April. We will send out group emails when QSLs are issued. 
  • Unpaid volunteers perform all work in verifying reports and sending you a QSL. We all have jobs, spouses, kids, and lives. Be patient. Be nice. 

Les Rayburn, N1LF
les@highnoonfilm.com
121 Mayfair Park
Maylene, AL 35114

mwcircle iog (2022-11-02)

Norway

Update on The Northern Star AM stations.

AM 1611 The Sea and AM 5895 Radio Northern Star/The Sea came back on the air on Thursday, October 27th at 1702 and 2000 CET respectively after a long absence since December 15th, 2021.
A new technical team is now in place.

LLE-4 1611(400 watts of 2 kW possible) is running our Classic Country station “The Sea» through an inverted “V”.
LLE-3 5895 has a mix of Radio Northern Star(Classic and Pop favorites from both sides of the Atlantic) and The Sea(30 watts in AM mode, through another inverted «V».
The schedule is tentative for the moment and the transmissions must be considered as engineering tests:

1611 @1700-0015 CET
5895 @0530-0010 CET

The licenses runs out on New Year’s Eve, but new licenses has been applied for.
We verify correct reception reports for 1611 and 5895. And reports are very welcome, preferably with mp3 recordings and a clear ID to this email address only: 1000@northernstar.cc

The situation for LLE-2 1314 kHz is still uncertain.
Further updates as they come.

Northern Star Media Services FB group (2022-10-30)

Japan

New frequency schedule NHK World Japan from November 6, 2022
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/ja/information/brochure/pdf/radio_frequency_schedule.pdf

RBWI 1386 AM

Changes in saturday-sunday (time in UTC)
3:30 NHK World Japan (in Russian)
3:50-4:00 NHK World Japan interval signal
15:00 NHK World Japan (in Russian)
15:20-15:30 English language TV-programm NHK Newsline
17:30 NHK World Japan (in Russian)
17:50-18:00 NHK World Japan interval signal

Weeri (2022-11-02)

United States

After twenty two seasons on News 780 WBBM, the NFL’s Chicago Bears will move their game broadcasts to Good Karma Brands’ “ESPN 1000WMVP for the 2023 season.

The Bears will join MLB’s Chicago White Sox on WMVP with the station planning to add “unique content” to air on its local shows.

WBBM had served as home of the Bears since the 2000 season after previously being home to their games from 1977 to 1984. During the franchise’s history, their games have also been heard on 560 WIND, 670 WMAQ, 720 WGN, and 1160 WJJD.
https://radioinsight.com/headlines/244589/chicago-bears-to-move-to-espn-1000/

Lance Venta, RadioInsight (2022-11-01)

Lithuania

New schedules in Winter 2022/2023
(All time in UTC)

RBWI 1386 AM

13:00-14:00 Radio Poland (in English)
15:00-15:30 NHK World Japan (monday-friday in Russian (15:00-15:10 news bulletin, 15:25-15:30 technical information), every day English language TV-programm NHK Newsline (monday-friday 15:10-15:25, saturday-sunday 15:00-15:30 (the same 10-minutes bulletin three times in a row in weekend))
16:00 Radio Poland (in Russian)
16:30 Radio Poland (in Polish)
17:00 Radio Poland (in German)
17:30 NHK World Japan (monday-friday in Russian, saturady-sunday English language TV-programm NHK Newsline (the same 10-minutes bulletin two times in a row))
17:50 NHK World Japan interval signal
18:00 Deutsche Welle (in Russian)
18:30 RFE/RL Radio Svododa (in Russian)
21:00 UA:PBC Radio Ukraine International
3:30 NHK World Japan (monday-friday in Russian, saturady-sunday English language TV-programm NHK Newsline (the same 10-minutes bulletin two times in a row))
3:50 NHK World Japan interval signal
4:00 Radio Poland (in Belarusian)
5:00-5:30 Radio Poland (in Ukrainian)

1557 AM

18:00-22:00 Radio Lenta (underground radio for Russia)
In summer was scheduled in 17:00-21:00.

Monitored by KiwiSDR app in smartphones.

Weeri (2022-11-01)

United Kingdom

BBC local radio stations will have a significant number of programmes cut under new plans, the corporation has announced.

All 39 networks in England will keep their current schedule from 6am to 2pm, but after that shows will be shared.
There will be 10 local programmes between 6-10pm on weekdays, across the day on Saturday, as well as on Sunday mornings.
Live sports programming will not be affected.
There will be one “all-England” show from 10pm across the week, and on Sunday afternoons.
These changes will result in the closure of about 48 staff posts, with the BBC explaining it wants to prioritise digital content.

The BBC is also creating 11 investigative reporting teams across the country, focusing on key local issues across TV, radio and online. It also said it would deliver “a wider range of local audio programming through BBC Sounds”.

Rhodri Talfan Davies, director of Nations, said: “These are ambitious and far-reaching proposals to grow the value we deliver to local audiences everywhere.

“The plans will help us connect with more people in more communities right across England – striking a better balance between our broadcast and online services – and ensuring we remain a cornerstone of local life for generations to come.”

The most recent listening figures published show a slight change in recent audience numbers listening to local radio in England.

Rajar, the industry body, says 5.8m listened for at least five minutes in September 2022, compared with 5.6m in 2019 and 6.7m in 2012.

“That’s more than Radio 1, more than 5 Live and a little bit less than Radio 2 so there’s clearly still a desire for it,” Paul Siegert, a spokesperson for the National Union of Journalists told the BBC.

“The moment it stops becoming local it becomes less popular. It has to stay local, people in Cornwall don’t care what’s going on in Devon.”

Philippa Childs, head of the Broadcasting, Entertainment, Communications and Theatre Union (Bectu), added: “Just last month we saw how important public service broadcasting and local radio are to our democracy via prime ministerial interviews.

“This disappointing move reinforces the need for a licence fee that keeps pace with inflation and enables long-term planning and stability.”

Earlier this year the BBC’s director general Tim Davie warned services would need to be cut to make savings.

The licence fee was frozen for the next two years by the government in January.

The £159 a year sum from households pays for BBC services including TV, radio, the BBC website, podcasts, iPlayer and apps.

Wider BBC savings of £500m have previously been announced, with CBBC and BBC Four also scheduled to move online in the future.

There are also plans to replace the BBC News Channel and BBC World with one rolling news network.

Last month the broadcaster proposed ending radio broadcasts for 10 language services, although it said it will move services online.

The BBC says it will protect local news bulletin services across all local stations and will boost its online news offer.

It also announced the planned closure of distinct Oxford and Cambridge TV news programmes will go ahead.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-63455192

BBC Media – Press Release
By Daniel Rosney – Entertainment reporter
31 October 2022

Mike Terry to WOR iog (2022-10-31)