WBOH testing from North Carolina on 5920 kHz

The Fundamental Broadcasting Network (FBN) has launched a new shortwave station. WBOH Newport NC has begun testing on 5920 kHz. Initially tests were conducted with only 15-20 watts of power. Ralph Brandi was the first DXer to log the station on September 30, when power had been raised to 30-40 watts. FBN tells DXing.info that they expect to be on the air with 50 kW of power within a couple of weeks, but they are still waiting for the main transmitter to arrive from Canada. WBOH - which according to FBN stands for Worldwide Beacon of Hope - is located on a new transmitter site in Newport, some 4-5 miles away from the transmitter of WTJC, FBN's first shortwave station. During the testing period WBOH mostly retransmits WTJC programming (heard 24 hours a day on 9370 kHz), but some Spanish content is added as well. Pictures of the new station can be seen on the FBN website. The antenna of WBOH is directed south. By launching WBOH, FBN aims to improve reception in Central and South America with programming in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
(DXing.info, September 30)

Radio Pakistan testing from Mirpur on 936 kHz

Radio Pakistan has begun test transmissions from Mirpur on 936 kHz. According to Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) news agency, a 100-kilowatt transmitter in Mirpur went on the air on September 24. Khalid Mahmood Chohan, station director of the newly established Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) Radio Mirpur, says that test transmissions include verses from the Holy Koran, Hamad-o-Naat and Arifana kalam (poetry) of Mian Muhammad Buksh. The station has been heard well in many parts of Pakistan, but has not yet been reported by DXers abroad. Regular programming will be broadcast in four different languages: Urdu, Kashmiri, Gojri and Pahari.
(BBC Monitoring via R Netherlands via DXing.info, September 28)

Radio Krishnaloka on shortwave from Ukraine

Hare Krishna station Radio Krishnaloka began test transmissions on 7415v kHz shortwave on September 1. Regular broadcasts are scheduled from the beginning of October. According to an E-mail, they are broadcasting from Eastern Ukraine, but the exact location is not revealed. The staff is interested in reception reports, which my be sent (also in English) by email to Aradhana Priya. Russian Hare Krishna website gives the frequency as 7410 kHz and advises the audience about the basics of finding a shortwave station, while a reply received from Shammohan says 7415 kHz. Actual monitored frequency has however varied around 7413-7418 kHz, first heard by Mikhail Timofeyev. Radio Krishnaloka transmits at 0300-0500 and 1300-1500 UTC. Postal address for the station is given as ul. Avtozavodskaya, dom 6, kvartira 24a, Moscow. During the 90's, the station was heard on the mediumwave band on 963 kHz (Moscow) and 1323 khz (St. Petersburg).
(DXplorer via DXing.info, September 28)

Radio Yugoslavia returned to shortwave

Radio Yugoslavia resumed shortwave broadcasts on September 19 after a long suspension during which its programs were only available on the Internet. Radio Yugoslavia's programs over shortwave transmitters in Biljeljina, Bosnia-Hercegovina, had been disrupted in December 2001. Following an agreement between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Ministerial Council of Bosnia-Hercegovina, the Central Regulatory Agency for Communications (CRA) has issued a long-term permit to Radio Yugoslavia to continue broadcasting from Bijeljina. Radio Yugoslavia broadcasts in Serbian and 12 foreign languages. The Jabanusa transmitter center near Biljeljina was inaugurated in 1987, but in 1992 part of the transmitters were moved to Serbia because of war.
(R Netherlands via DXing.info September 28)

Radio Imperial from El Salvador on 17833 kHz

Radio Imperial from Sonsonate, El Salvador, has again been logged widely on 17833.1 kHz. First reported in March 2002 around 17837 kHz, but not heard during the summer, the station was logged by George Maroti on September 17 and subsequently by others in North America. Sign-off reported around 0100 UTC. YSDA Radio Imperial broadcasts also on 810 kHz at 1100-0300 UTC.
(DXplorer via DXing.info, September 28)

VOA Belize closed down

The IBB relay station near Punta Gorda, Belize, ceased operation on September 15 at 0500 UTC. It consisted of two 100-kilowatt medium wave transmitters operating on 1530 and 1580 kHz. It was used for Voice of America (VOA) Spanish and English (News Now) to Central America and southern Mexico. There was also a low power FM transmitter at the site, which relayed VOA News Now.
(Kim Elliott/VOA via DXLD 2-146 via DXing.info September 28)

Dutch government cancels frequency auction

In Netherlands, the government is sticking to a plan to assign frequencies to commercial radio stations on the basis of a comparative assessment instead of an auction. According to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Frequency Decree will be amended so that interests such as pluriformity and assurance of program quality are also allowed to play a role. Previously it was ruled that the frequencies would have to be auctioned. The courts will be asked to address the matter again. According to the government plans, the applicants would be reviewed by the end of 2002, although current frequencies will remain available until September 1, 2003.
    According to a source in NOS, eventually 9 or 10 commercial networks will be given a nationwide coverage on FM. To make room for new transmitters, also public service frequencies change gradually. The so-called Zero Base operation involves only FM stations, but - for various reasons - changes are taking place also on the MW band. Q the Beat (1224 kHz) was commercially unsuccessful and has recently vacated the frequency. Business Nieuws Radio (1395 kHz) is in trouble with its environmental license, its proximity to a harbor causing trouble for boaters, but has managed to stay on the air (at 06.00-20.00 local time) for the moment.
(DXing.info, September 12, 2002)

German DXers launch campaign to save Radio Finland

German DX club ADDX has begun to collect petitions against the closure of the German service of Radio Finland (YLE). Club members are appealing to YLE's leadership, the Finnish Embassy in Germany and the Finnish Tourist Board. ADDX (der Assoziation deutschsprachiger Kurzwellenhörer)
members are worried that from the end of October daily news in German will no longer be available from any source, and also that the decision of YLE to close down its foreign service will set an example and have wider implications in the international broadcasting scene. ADDX provides an online form to collect signatures to reverse YLE's decision. A source at YLE tells DXing.info that activity from listeners' part only serves to assure YLE's leadership that the decision to drop German was right, if it is perceived that only DXers are interested in maintaining the German-language service. To be viewed as a mainstream service in the eyes of YLE leadership, and to guarantee funding, Radio Finland has been careful to distance itself from radio hobbyists also in the past. (DXing.info, September 11, 2002)

News about sharp cuts at Radio Finland (June 2002)

    In the near future France will also introduce new AM stations. Tentative listing of locations (pending authorization): Rennes (Littoral AM on 1071 kHz, 100 kW), Paris (Ciel AM on 981 kHz), Nancy, Marseille, and Toulouse (Equi Radio 1485 kHz).

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