Listener’s Library, August 1999
Here we are in the heat of summer and I’ve shifted into lazy mode. Leave it Rich D’Angelo to come to my rescue with some important words about a new service from the DSWCI.
Domestic Broadcasting Survey
Edited by Anker Petersen
Published by the Danish Shortwave Club International
ISSN 0106-1968
Reviewed by Richard A. D’Angelo
For 26 years, the Danish Shortwave Club International (“DSWCI”) published the very popular and well-respected Tropical Band Survey (“TBS”). Periodically, the club published a survey of home service stations broadcasting above the tropical band frequencies. After many years, the club has combined the two concepts for 1999. As a result, we now have the 1st edition of the new Domestic Broadcasting Survey (“DBS”). This marks twenty-seven years in a row that the DSWCI has published its annual survey of tropical band broadcasting stations. The DBS expands that prior effort by logically incorporating all domestic shortwave broadcasting operations. The project was headed by Anker Petersen, one of Europe’s premier DX’ers and Chairman of the club, who has spearheaded this effort in recent years. The logical combination of the old TBS with the other domestic high frequency stations and the DSWCI’s extensive monitoring activities make the new Domestic Broadcasting Survey essential material in every radio monitors listening post.
The club is one of the leading DX organizations in Europe. It has about 400 members in more than 40 countries all over the world. Since most of the clubs members were devoting their DX’ing to domestic broadcasting stations, not only those on the tropical bands (120, 90, and 60 meter bands) but the higher shortwave bands as well, the club decided to expand its excellent TBS to the full spectrum of 2200 to 22000 kHz. The new DBS focuses on stations broadcasting to a domestic audience or relaying such broadcasts to expatriates abroad. Consequently, external services, clandestine stations, pirates, and harmonics were generally not included in the DBS. Nevertheless, you will find the DBS an important addition to the DX shack.
As in the past, the DSWCI bases the survey upon many official sources and DX bulletins. Each station frequency has been confirmed on the air at the time of publication by the clubs extensive array of worldwide monitors. Frequency usage is marked with an A, B, C or D to indicate “regular” or “sporadic” or “likely inactive” or “seasonal changes,” respectively. Many frequencies that have not been heard in the last year have been deleted to keep the survey as current as possible.
The DBS is very easy to use. Historically, publications from the club have been extremely reliable and I would suspect that to be the case once again. The first column provides the reception code, A, B, C, or D as previously described. The second column lists the frequency. The third column provides the station transmitter output. The fourth column designates the broadcasting country utilizing the International Telecommunications Union (“ITU”) country code abbreviations. For those not familiar with these abbreviations, a complete list of ITU country codes is given on page 43 of the DBS. The fifth column provides the station name and/or call letters and location. The final column provides transmission times and other useful information about the station such as operating schedules during Ramadan for Middle East and Indonesian stations. Also, the survey includes a listing of Indonesian provinces and special districts, which is extremely useful for DX’ers with an interest in that part of shortwave broadcasting world. See the sample extracts from the DBS at the end of this review.
No shortwave listener should be without this excellent survey. Combining all tropical band station listings with domestic high frequency operations make the new DBS extremely useful. I can highly recommend it. Shortwave listeners need resources such as the DBS in their shacks. The 44pages in A-4 size format DBS is sold by the clubs treasurer: DSWCI, c/o Bent Nielsen bentndx@post.tele.dk, Egekrogen 14, DK 3500 Vaerloese, Denmark for EUR 10, US$12, DKK 75 or 14 International Reply Coupons (“IRC”) per issue with airmail delivery. Cash notes are accepted.
Sample extracts from DBS:
| A | 3300 | 10 | GTM | R Cultural, Guatemala City | 0930-0630v in S exc. 0300-0430 (Su 2345-0430) in E | |
| B | 3305 | 10 | PNG | R Western, Daru | Provincial Service 0700-1400 in E/Pidgin E, also ID: “Voice of the Sunrise” | |
| A | 3306 | 100 | ZWE | ZBC, Gweru | R 3: 0300-0600 2000-2200 in E, R4: MF 1630-2000, E nx 1800, “ZBC, Mbare Broadcasting Corporation”, ck 5012 | |
| B | 3310 | – | BOL | R Moxochaki | r 0025-0102* in S/Quechoa or Aymara. New station in Apr 1999 | |
| A | 3315 | 50 | IND | AIR Bhopal A | Northern Sce: 0025-0215 11301741, E nx 1530 1730 | |
| A | 3315 | 10 | PNG | R Manus, Lorengau | Provincial Service: 1900-2200 0700-1200 in Pidgin E, IDs as “Maus bilong Chauka”. All Night during festivals. | |
| A | 3316 | 10 | SRL | SLBS, Goderich | 0558-2400, E nx 0700 0800 1900 2000 2200 | |
| ************ | ||||||
| B | 6604 | – | SOM | R Mogadishu | Voice of the Masses of the Somali Rep: 0330-0500(Fr-0600) 1500(Fr 1600)-2000, In opposition to the President | |
| A | 6618.2 | – | PRU | R Super Sensación, Huancabamba | 1000-1400 2200-0110v | |
| B | 6675.4 | 2 | PRU | R Ondas del Río Marañon, Aramango | 0930-0100, ex 6520, n 6660 | |
| B | 6676 | – | PRU | R Dif.Paratón,Huarmaca | 1030-0030v, ex 6670.8 & 7205.6 | |
| B | 6689v | – | VTN | Lao Cai 2 | 2200-2300 0400-0530 1000-1030 1200-1330 in Vietnamese & Vn // 5597, d 6650 – 6850 | |
| A | 6690.1 | – | PRU | R Estdio DW, Naranjos | 1000-0345, sl.:”Estudio 2000″ | |
| A | 6725.6 | 0.3 | PRU | R Satélite, Santa Cruz | 1100-1200 2300-0300v, Alt fq 4781 | |
| ************ | ||||||
| A | 9875 | 25 | VTN | National Network 1, Hanoi | 2200-1600(Fr 1700) in Vietnamese // 4960 5925, ex 10060 | |
| A | 9880 | 500 | KWT | R Kuwait, Sulabiyah | Main px: 1315-2130 in A // 9855 | |
| B | 9900 | 10 | CAF | R Minurca, Bangui | UN Mission. Back here Mar 1999 testing in F/E/Sango. Ck 5900 9500 | |
| A | 9905 | 100 | TJK | Tajik R, Yangi-Yul | TR 1: 0130-0430 1630-1800 in Tajik/Ru/Uzbek // 4635, ck 7515 | |
| A | 9910 | 250 | IND | AIR Aligarh | Domestic Feeder: 1530-1545 in E | |
| A | 9920 | 100 | CHN | CNR 4 | MS: 1000-1057 Korean // 8566 | |
| A | 9930 | – | VTN | National Network 1, Hanoi | 1400-1500 in Vietnamese // 9875 jamming R Free Asia // 15470 | |