Hungarian Catholic Radio begins broadcasting on 1341 kHz

Magyar Katolikus Rádió (MKR, Hungarian Catholic Radio) has begun test transmissions on 1341 kHz mediumwave. Officially the station was launched on May 30. MKR is using a 135-kilowatt transmitter located in Szolnok. The station was first reported by Hungarian DXer Laszlo Tringer. The station is founded and supported by the Hungarian Catholic Radio Corporation, which in turn has been founded by the Hungarian Bishops Conference. Previously the Catholic Church has operated Magyar Katolikus Rádió-Eger on four FM frequencies. The FM station MKR-Eger is run by the Hungarian Catholic Radio Foundation, a creation of the Archdiocese of Eger. Although the AM and FM stations have nearly the same name, they are separate stations, and will mostly air separate programming. Currently AM programming is heard at 0230-2230 UTC, though eventually in 2005 MKR will be broadcasting 24 hours a day over three different transmitters on the mediumwave band. Previously the transmitters have been used by Radio Petöfi, a national network of the public broadcaster Magyar Radio. MKR can be reached at P.O. Box 879, 1385 Budapest, Hungary, or email, and MKR-Eger can be contacted by writing to: Magyar Katolikus Rádió, Széchenyi u. 5, 3300 Eger (or: Pf. 86, 3301 Eger), Hungary. The telephone number in Eger is 36-510-610 and the station can also be reached by email.
(DXing.info, May 26, 2004, updated June 1)

New X-band station from Argentina on 1610 kHz

Radio Guaviyu has begun broadcasting from the Argentine capital Buenos Aires on 1610 kHz mediumwave. Arnaldo Slaen in Buenos Aires heard the station testing on May 16, and on May 19 the station was picked up by Ole Forr all the way in Norway. Radio Guaviyu is located in Gregorio de Laferrere, Provincia de Buenos Aires. A list of the Argentinian X-band stations and a collection of station identifications are also available.
(DXing.info, May 19, 2004, spelling corrected on June 1)

Radio Fantastica new in Buenos Aires on 1400 kHz

Radio Fantastica on 1400 kHz is the latest newcomer on the ever-changing mediumwave scene in Argentina. The station operates in the town of Lujan, in Provincia de Buenos Aires, about 80 kilometers west of the capital Buenos Aires. The station is simulcasting on 90.9 MHz, and has also been heard identifying as FM Fantastica. Arnaldo Slaen in Buenos Aires was the first DXer to log the station on May 2, and reported it in Conexion Digital No. 263.
(DXing.info, May 16, 2004)

Welsh Community radio for a month on 1449 kHz

Wham! Radio from Blaenavon in Wales hit the airwaves on May 3. Blaenavon’s community radio station is broadcasting 24 hours a day on 1449 kHz mediumwave with a power of 1 watt. Programming content is said to be all local, even overnights and weekends. The station is part of the Torfaen Community Media Enterprise Company, a community media for Blaenavon, Pontypool and Cwmbran. The station is broadcasting only until May 30. Torfaen Community Media are planning another trial station in Cwmbran later this year and ultimately hope for a permanent licence. Blaenavon is an old mining town in Southern Wales, and the Blaenavon Industrial Landscape was added to Unesco's World Heritage List in 2000. Contact information: Project Manager Alan Fossey, Tormedia, 87 Broad Street Flat 1, Blaenavon, Torfaen, NP4 9NE, United Kingdom, tel. 01495 791599.
(DXing.info, May 12, 2004)

US launches new radio service to Pakistan

Radio Aap ki Dunyaa, a new Urdu-language service of the Voice of America (VOA) began transmitting 12 hours a day on May 10, providing Pakistanis and other Urdu-speakers in India and the diaspora with news, information and entertainment. Aap ki Dunyaa - "Your World" in English - features 10-minute newscasts twice an hour during prime time, and hourly newscasts throughout the night, as well as features and a mix of Pakistani, Indian, and Western music. The program runs from 7 p.m.-7 a.m. Pakistan time.
     According to a press release by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), Aap ki Dunyaa is staffed by 27 people in Washington as well as a network of more than 15 stringers in Pakistan, India and North America. Brian Q. Silver is chief of the service. All staffers from the original VOA Urdu Service are now part of the Aap ki Dunyaa team.
     The station is distributed on 972 kHz mediumwave from a transmitter in Tajikistan. It is also broadcast for three hours on shortwave (7 to 8 p.m., 10 to 11 p.m., and 6 to 7 a.m. Pakistan time), and carried for 12 hours on digital audio satellite and via the Internet.
(DXing.info, May 11, 2004)

World Music Radio begins testing from Denmark

World Music Radio (WMR) has begun test transmissions from Denmark. The first tests on 15810 kHz shortwave were aired on May 9-11, and were first reported by Jari Savolainen in Finland. Tests aired with 500 watts of power were also picked up elsewhere in Northern Europe. In the near future test transmissions will be broadcast on 5815 kHz with 10 kW of power.
      WMR offices and a new studio were completed in February 2004, and after more than 3 months of delay, the shortwave transmitters finally arrived in mid-April 2004. Meanwhile new aerials had been erected near Karup in Central Jutland, Denmark. For more information about the station see DXing.info news in August 2003. The address of WMR remains: WMR, P.O. Box 112, DK-8900 Randers, Denmark. The station can also be reached by email.
(DXing.info, May 11, 2004, updated on May 12)

A new low-power hospital station began broadcasting in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2004. Apple AM is broadcasting 24 hours a day from the Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton. For the past 35 years the station, known as Taunton Hospital Radio, has been available only through bedside headsets. As the hospital has grown, and currently has a staff on 3,500, the station is better accessible on the airwaves.
     "We broadcast request programmes, religious programmes, including the chapel services, music from shows, classical, jazz and big band. In fact music for all tastes from the last 100 years," said Apple AM chairman Tony Soley in Taunton Times on May 5. Alan Pennington of BDXC-UK was the first DXer to spot news on the station.
     The address of the station is: Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, Somerset TA1 5DA, United Kingdom. Tel: 01823 342591.

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