AM DX NewsFlash 2-8-96
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AM DX NewsFlash 2-8-96



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Selected parts from:

          *******************************************************
            WELCOME TO IRCA's AM-DX NEWSFLASH - February 8 1996
          *******************************************************

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Mike Prindle - New Suffolk NY - MechMike1@xxxxxxx

KTRK - 1670 AM - Fort Meade, Maryland is on the air testing - 2301 UT id
said they were testing for 24 hours.  Requested DX reports from outside 50
mile radius from Baltimore.  Send to ABS, Room 340, 601 N. Fairfax St.,
Alexandria, VA 22314 and put DX on envelope.

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Robert S. Ross VA3SW - London ON - radiorob@xxxxxxxxx

Subject: KTRK AM  1670 Khz.

Hey Guys....They're on the air!!!  This is their first night.  It's 8:00 PM
EST and they're smokin' in  with a doo-wop program.  Catch them now before
they're gone!!
ID's as KTRK and K- TRUCK.  73 ROB.

    Well I trust everyone has heard the new experimental AM station KTRK on
1670 KHz.  Well they have changed call letters all ready!!!!  This evening
since about 6 PM EST they have been using the call ARMY!!!  I called the stn
to ask them why and the private first class that I spoke to says that they
had to change calls because the call KTRK is actually registered to a
Houston TV station on Channel 13!!!  When I asked him if the FCC had
actually issued the call KTRK to the experimental stn on 1670 khz. he
said... " Hell NO... we just made it up!!!!! 'cause it stood for K-TRUCK...
which is what we are b/casting from!!!"  We both had a real good laugh
before I asked him some more questions about the stn!!!
    He says they will be on til Friday morning with no snags with the
equipment.  They should be using the call ARMY until the end of the
mission... I guess someone is going to catch proper hell for using the KTRK
call without it being issued to them legally!!!  The furthest reports to
date were Hawaii, Sweden, and Moscow!!!!  The guy I called said they would
still verify any reports they got using the KTRK call sign... but we'll have
to wait to see about that??????
    So... for those of you who did not log KTRK last night or earlier
today... I guess you'll have to settle for ARMY!!!  What a hoot eh????
Strange things sure do happen in the DX radio world.  Catch them tonite
before they change calls again!!!  HIHI

2-8-96
    Well as I speak KTRK/ARMY/ABS 1670 Khz from Ft. Meade, Md. is now
history.  While driving home in my car this afternoon I noticed they were
ID'ing with yet another Callsign... namely ABS/Alpha Bravo Sierra.  Not sure
if this is a legitimate call sign or just an acronym for Army B/cast Service
or ????  At 1638 EST, the on air DJ said they were winding down the tests
from this station.  He played a song at 1640-1646 EST then said... "Testing
is now completed on this government B/cast station.  Alpha Bravo Sierra is
owned by the United States of America and operated by the United States
Army.  The DJ then thanked all the people who were associated with the stn.
and also thanked the many listeners who had called and written.  He gave a
phone # of 703-4280401 for a Major Messersmith?? who was in charge of the
whole mission??  The DJ was Don Brown who at 1649 said "this is the final
song from Alpha Bravo Sierra".  After the last selection at 1652-1654 EST
they went off the air with only a carrier remaining when I tuned out at 1654
EST. 
    Thanks to the United States Army for providing us with this interesting
bit of listening!!!! 

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Mark Connelly  WA1ION - Billerica, MA - MarkWA1ION@xxxxxxx

Receiver: JRC NRD-525; Antenna: two 37-m wires, DL-2 phasing unit
Dates: 1996  -=-  Times: EST (UTC-5)

1670  KTRK a.k.a A-R-M-Y, Fort Meade, MD (NSA-land) - I heard this first on
       the evening of 5 FEB with a strong signal equal to, or better than,
       adjacent WJDM (NJ) on 1660.  E-mail messages from Dave Yocis (via
       hard-core) and Al Merriman had tipped me off to this.  On 6 FEB from
       0005 to 0052, I taped a section of the broadcast.  Two male
       announcers gave ID as "KTRK, K-Truck" and a pre-recorded announcement
       by a woman gave the mailing address as "ABS, 601 N. Fairfax St., Room
       340, Alexandria, VA 22314".  A telephone number of 1-301-677-1377 was
       also given.  Hard rock from the '70s and early '80s was played: this
       included AC/DC, Rush, and Deep Purple.  The following evening (6 FEB,
       around 1900 EST), the station was identifying as A-R-M-Y and a black
       DJ (I think) was doing a show of dance and soul hits, mostly from the
       '80s.  I called their phone number and the operator on duty said that
       the "KTRK" call had to be dropped because a TV station in Arizona
       owned it. (That shows the degree of non-communication among various
       government agencies !  We live in the "age of information" but you
       wouldn't know it from this.)  I told them that the station had a
       great signal here 15 miles / 24 km outside Boston.  At the time I
       called, they had already gotten reports from all over the USA and
       Canada as well as one report from Sweden.  [Connelly-MA]

Greetings all.  The KYUK-640 Alaska DX test from 0400-0430 EST (0900-0930
UTC) on 3 FEB 1996 was a no-show here in Billerica, MA. Before I went to
bed, I set up the receiver and a 6-hour video tape (on audio-record) and
tweaked the delay-line phasing unit for a cardioid pattern with a fairly
broad null to the south.  Not only did this get rid of all slop from
WRKO-680 (50 kW, 3 miles south of here), but it also got rid of any
co-channel QRM from the Caribbean and South America.

When I reviewed the section of the tape covering 0400-0430 EST, the
following was observed: CBN (St. John's, NF) dominated most of the time with
a fair to good signal.  At 0400 EST, it mentioned "CBC St. John's" and then
went into CBC Overnight's presentation of a newsmagazine program from Radio
Australia.  This ran until 0430, at which time CBC news came on.  During the
occasional fades of CBN, the channel seemed to be an incomprehensible jumble
of many signals.  On one occasion, a second audio appeared for about 5 to 10
seconds: it was a US newstalk station with a monotone, business-like male
announcer reading news at a fast clip.  Perhaps this was KFI Los Angeles
(itself a good DX catch), but that's just a guess.  A 1 kHz heterodyne
believed to be from La Coruna, Spain (639) was very evident at 4 AM EST /
0900 UTC; it had pretty much faded away 20 minutes later.  At no time did I
hear any evidence of polka music or KYUK ID's on voice or code.

So that's it for KYUK "not"; maybe I'll do better with Sunday morning's
KFQD-750 and KYAK-650 tests.

After the non-receipt of KYUK on Saturday morning, I was hoping for better
from the other two Alaska tests held Sunday morning. Unfortunately, they did
no better and no evidence of either station was noted here in Billerica, MA.

Set-up: Stereo VCR with 6-hour tape fed by audio from NRD-525 tuned to 650
(left audio channel) and Sony ICF-2010 tuned to 750 (right channel).  The
650 set-up used the phased wires adjusted for a cardioid pattern nulling
south to eliminate usual channel-dominant HJKH ("Antena Dos") from Bogota,
Colombia.  Doing this also removed slop from local WRKO-680.  The 750 set-up
ran from a loop aligned for northwest / southeast reception (nulling CBGY to
the northeast and WSB from the southwest).

KYAK-650 test - 4 FEB - 0400-0500 EST (0900-1000 UTC): WSM was atop most of
the time, although its signal was not particularly strong.  It surprised me
that a station of WSM's stature would be running a satellite-fed C&W show
rather than something using local talent from their own studios.  A bit of
classical piano music, possibly from CKGA, emerged briefly. Once, a few
seconds of Colombian music leaked through from nulled HJKH: the null of this
powerhouse had been set up four hours earlier when I went to bed; it held up
surprisingly well through the period of the test.  During fades of WSM, some
mains-borne electrical noise was in the background.  I'm not sure that a
dead-quiet location would have made a difference, though.  Most of the time,
there was a baseline carrier level from WSM, HJKH, and others that probably
weren't the desired DX.  Some WFAN-660 slop got in the act on one or two
occasions. Only a very directional Beverage antenna would have given a DXer
in my area a chance at this test.

KFQD-750 test - 4 FEB - 0400-0430 EST (0900-0930 UTC): WSB and CBGY were off
the ends of the ferrite loop, but other interference was still a spoiler.
This came mainly in the form of CKGB Timmins, ON.  This was right in the
main loop lobe and not too far off the bearing line to KFQD.  CKGB's country
held sway through the lion's share of the half-hour period: sometimes it was
quite loud.  A few times, a bit of WSB leaked through the null and traces of
Spanish (from YVKS or HJDK) rattled around in the background.  Nothing
resembling KFQD programming, voice or code ID's, etc. was ever noted in two
plays of the tape.

I hope that some of you had better luck with these than I did.

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1996 M STREET RADIO DIRECTORY

The IRCA Bookstore is proud to announce that the 'M Street Corporation' has
agreed to offer a discount on their 1996 'M Street Radio Directory' to
NewsFlash members ordering through the IRCA Bookstore.  The Directory
contains a complete listing of over 15,000 radio stations (AM/FM, US/Canada)
including the following information:  facilities, ownership, formats, LMAs,
station personnel, phone numbers (and FAX), addresses, ratings, as well as
information on almost 400 radio markets in the US and Canada.  Stations are
listed by location (complete info), frequency (frequency, call, location,
power and pattern) and call (call, frequency, location) and market
(frequency, call, location, rating, format).  It also includes a former call
reference (old call, location and current call).  Major network information
(addresses/phone numbers/etc) and several interesting radio articles are
included as well.

The pre/post-publication price to US and Canadian NewsFlash members ordering
through the IRCA Bookstore is $38.00 post paid (UPS address required).  The
book is expected to be out by the end of February (usual disclaimer on date
'cause we can't be sure!).

Europe - add $5.00 for surface, $19.20 for airmail delivery.
Australia/New Zealand - add $5.00 for surface, $27.25 for airmail delivery.

IRCA Bookstore, 9705 Mary NW, Seattle WA  98117-2334
   Please make checks payable to:  Phil Bytheway.

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        phil bytheway - Seattle WA - bytheway@xxxxxxx

        Tabulated from WWV at ~0500 GMT nightly

        Gomagnetic Summary February 1 1995 through February 7 1996

           GEO - Geomagnetic activity     pca - polar cap absorption
           maf - major flare              SA  - Solar Activity
           mas - major storm              spe - satellite proton event
           mis - minor storm              ss  - severe storm

        Date    FLUX    A    K    SA          GEO                 OTHER

         2/ 1    75     3    3    very low    quiet-unsettled     swa
            2    76     9    2    very low    quiet-unsettled     swa
            3    74     3    1    very low    quiet               swa
            4    74     4    3    very low    quiet-unsettled     swa
            5    71     3    1    very low    quiet               swa
            6    71     2    2    very low    quiet               -
         2/ 7    70     7    1    very low    quiet-unsettled     -

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 INDIVIDUAL LOGGINGS

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Andrew P. Gardner - Wellington, New Zealand - andyg03@xxxxxxx

DX down her in NZ has been great the last few days, so you guys might be
able to catch 1YA on tone tests. Generally, whn NZ stations do maintenance,
they'll switch off the Tx first, to clean stuff and make adjustments, then
they'll fire up with carrier only, then start doing tone tests of varying
frequencies. No ID's are usually given.

Transpacific DX seems to be improving by the day at present. I found
conditions extremely good on Saturday night, especially in the new band. All
times in UTC:

1YA 756kHz 20kW Auckland NZ is doing maintenance between 1105 & 1600 UTC on
   6 Feb.
1228 1642 Aerobeacon MOR
1230 1656 Carrier noted here. Possibly a new Australian on the high band.
   Could be a 2nd harmonic of 2XS Palmerston North 828kHz. I'll check this
   out.
1019 1660 WJDM NJ. Weak (audio only copyable when R8A's preamp on). Fairly
   steady signal with occassional peaks and fades but unfortunately spoiled
   by continuous static crashes :^(. Running some weird format I've never
   heard before, aimed at children. Does anyone know the QSL address for
   WJDM?
1242 1660 WJDM still hanging in there.
1245 1647 Weak carrier detected. Another new Aussie? This one couldn't be a
1233 1689 Aerobeacon MH
1236 1691(approx) Aerobeacon 3BXU
   2nd harmonic!

Does anyone have a list of the aerobeacons running between 1600 & 1710kHz?
That would be a handy thing to have. There is a beacon in New Zealand on
1630kHz if any of you are keen to listen out for it.

Lastly, from the really dumb question department, who is it that says "East
of the Rockies, you're on the air". I guess it's Larry King. Or maybe it's
not. Someone please tell me!  (sounds like Art Bell - phil)

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Kent Winrich, NI9U - Waukesha, WI - kent.winrich@xxxxxxxxxxxx

Radio - GE Superadio III

Special

1670 KTRK  Md Ft Meade 2/6 0108 - Strong signal with rock, and address
  asking for loggings outside of 50 miles of Washington, DC.  Also "IDed" as
  K-Truck radio.  Stange nulling, station seemed to null to the south west,
  not the south east as expected.  Strong enough in many instances to go
  'wide' on the Superadio.

DX Tests
 640- KYUK 2/3 0400 - Just KFI

 690- HCJB 2/4 0100 - WTIX and a mess, no sign of it.

 750 KFQD 2/4 0400 - Nothing noted execpt WSB.

1480+ WABB MS Mobile 2/5 0300 CID WABB Mobile, again at 0307 and 0315.
       Strong Hets mixing in as well.

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Tim Hall - Chula Vista CA - MSNL77A@xxxxxxxxxxx

Sony ICF-2010, KIWA Loop

DX TESTS:
----------------
 650  KYAK- AK, Anchorage  2/4 0400-0500  No trace of them.  (TRH-CA)
 750  KFQD- AK, Anchorage  2/4 0400-0430  No trace of them.  (TRH-CA)
1670  KTRK+ MD, Ft. Meade  2/5 2253- 2/6 0038  Poor-fair but faded up nicely
                at times.  Classic rock (Smoke on the Water, Nights in
                White Satin, etc.).  Finally caught a nice ID on tape at
                0038.  Was stronger than WJDM tonight, but the following
                night WJDM was much stronger.  New, MD #2. (TRH-CA)

TIS and Other Stuff
----------------------------

1120  KZSJ  CA, San Martin  2/3 1955  Fair-good with Spanish
                programming, "La Zeta" slogans, tons of ads for local San
                Jose businesses.  What a boneheaded move on the part of the
                FCC, putting this new station in KPNW's daytime coverage
                area!  New, CA #248.  (TRH-CA)
1400  KSRR  UT, Provo  1/28  0254  Fair with legal ID by man, talk about
                the Mormon Tabernacle choir.  Not heard since high school,
                so wasn't in my totals.  UT #42.  (TRH-CA)
1620  WPGC527  CA, Lakewood  2/4  0505 Tape loop with info about City of
                Lakewood, non-IDs as "KLWD".  (TRH-CA)
1660  WJDM  NJ, Elizabeth  2/6 2350 - 2/7 0300  Fair, but faded up very
                nicely at times.  Radio Aahs programming, local weather at
                :23 and :53 past the hour, slogan "16-60 AM Radio Aahs".
                Was playing a lot of uptempo oldies and classic rock so the
                "kids format" wasn't completely obvious at first.  Finally
                caught an ID at 0300.  New, NJ #1.  (TRH-CA)
1700  HAR   CA, Anaheim  2/7 0304 Fair with test broadcast.  Automated
                time announcements by female voice, then male voice with
                "12345, 54321; this is a test."   Also mentioned "Highway
                Advisory Radio, owned by the city of Anaheim."  Male voice
                had heavy southern accent.  New, CA #249. (TRH-CA)

Not a bad week!  The strong electrical noise that usually blankets 1600-1700
kHz here was not as prevalent as usual this week.   73,

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Bruce W. Bacon KE6GLS - Brentwood CA - bwb@xxxxxxxxx

RX:  R390A, HQ180C, R2000, SP200, Mod FRG-7
ANTS:  200' Horizontal Loop, 50' Attic Wire
Accessories:  JRC ANC-4 Noise Reduction, Phasing Unit, MFJ 946 Tuner

 532 Turks and Caicos Islands.  Audible nightly in Brentwood. (Northern CA,
       not OJ-land)
1660 WJDM Elizabeth NJ.  Heard since began broadcasting, however, last night
       (02/06 2200 EST) they ran well past their traditional 2200 signoff.
       Generally weak, but readable.  Especially loud last night.  Power
       increase to 5kw?  Audible after local SS.
1670 KTRK/ARMY Heard this the last two nights.  First night (02/06) they
       were announcing as KTRK and requesting reception rpts.  Last night
       (02/07) IDing as ARMY.  Terrific signal to WCNA.  Classic rock
       format.  Audible after local SS, all night.

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 MISC ITEMS

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Guy Kudlemyer - Springfield, OR - kuddles@xxxxxxx

OVERDRIVE RADIO NETWORKS

OVERDRIVE is a magazine for and about truckers.  Each week, OVERDRIVE
produces at least two radio shows geared to and aimed at truckers.  These
lists were taken from the January, 1996 issue of OVERDRIVE.

OVERDRIVE TOP TEN COUNTDOWN
The blurb reads, "Tune into Overdrive Top Ten Countdown on any of these
radio stations for the biggest hits of the week as voted for by the men and
women behind the wheel.  The latest news from Nashville, a classic country
hit and Over-the-Road requests are only part of what the Overdrive Top Ten
Countdown has to offer."   No broadcast times are given.

OVERDRIVE TRUCKING NEWS
"News For Truckers in the Know.  Tune into Overdrive Trucking News and hear
what they have to offer.  The news truckers want to hear-when they want to
hear it.  24 hours a day on your favorite radio stations.  Information that
helps truckers make better decisions."  No broadcast times are given.

BEWARE: These lists have been only minimally checked for call/frequency
accuracy (obvious errors, such as WFSR being listed as being on 972 Khz and
KGYN being located in "Amarillo, Texas" were corrected).  For the most part,
these lists were taken verbatim from the magazine.  All FM's have been
omitted.

ALABAMA
Bay Minette                  WBCA  1110  Top 10 only
Calera                       WBYE  1370  Top 10 only
Carrollton                   WLDX   990  Top 10 only
Centre                       WEIS   990  Top 10 only
Demopolis                    WXAL  1400  Trucking News only
Geneva                       WGEA  1150  Top 10 only
Opp                          WOPP  1250  Both
Pell City                    WFHK  1430  Top 10 only
Russellville                 WJRD   920  Top 10 only
Sumiton/Dora                 WRSM  1540  Both
Tuscaloosa                   WACT  1420  Both

ARIZONA
Bullhead City                KFLG  1000  Both
Flagstaff                    KAFF   930  Trucking News only

ARKANSAS
Camden                       KAMD   910  Both
Conway                       KFCA  1330  Both
Fayetteville/Springdale      KAMO  1390  Trucking News only
Nashville                    KBHC  1260  Top 10 only

CALIFORNIA
Barstow                      KSZL  1230  Trucking News only
Burney                       KAVA  1450  Top 10 only
Crescent City                KPOD  1240  Both
Sacramento                   KRAK  1140  Trucking News only
San Francisco                KNEW   910  Trucking News only

COLORADO
Delta                        KDTA  1400  Top 10 only
Denver                       KYGO   950  Trucking News only
Sterling                     KSTC  1230  Trucking News only

FLORIDA
Orlando                      WFIV  1080  Top 10 only

GEORGIA
Cairo                        WGRA   790  Top 10 only
Calhoun                      WJTH   900  Top 10 only
Cochran                      WVMG  1440  Top 10 only
Cuthbert                     WCUG   850  Top 10 only
Eatonton                     WKVQ  1520  Top 10 only
Hazelhurst                   WVOH   920  Both
Montezuma                    WMNZ  1050  Both
Sandersville                 WSNT  1490  Both
Summerville                  WGTA   950  Trucking News only
Swainsboro                   WJAT   880  Both
Thomaston                    WTGA  1590  Both
Tifton                       WTIF  1340  Top 10 only
Vienna                       WWWN  1550  Both

IDAHO
Bonner's Ferry               KBFI  1450  Trucking News only
Old Town                     KMJY   700  Trucking News only
Osburn                       KWAL   620  Trucking News only
Sandpoint                    KSPT  1400  Trucking News only

ILLINOIS
Clinton                      WHOW  1520  Top 10 only
Jacksonville                 WJIL  1550  Trucking News only
Lincoln                      WPRC  1370  Top 10 only
Mattoon                      WLBH  1170  Top 10 only
Olney                        WVLN   740  Top 10 only

INDIANA
Huntington                   WPDJ  1300  Both
Mount Vernon                 WPCO  1590  Top 10 only

IOWA
Atlantic                     KJAN  1220  Top 10 only
Denison                      KDSN  1530  Top 10 only
Ft. Dodge                    KWMT   540  Top 10 only
Newton                       KCOB  1280  Top 10 only
Waterloo                     WXEL  1540  Trucking News only

KANSAS
Wellington                   KLEY  1130  Both
Winfield                     KKLE  1550  Both

KENTUCKY
Columbia                     WAIN   850  Top 10 only
Harlan                       WFSR   970  Top 10 only
Louisa                       WVKY  1270  Both
Louisville                   WHAS   840  Trucking News only
Madisonville                 WFMW   750  Both
Manchester                   WKLB  1290  Top 10 only
Marion                       WMJL  1400  Top 10 only
Paintsville                  WSIP  1490  Both
Pineville                    WANO  1230  Both
R.L.Providence/Madisonville  WFMW   750  Top 10 only
Whitesburg                   WTCW   920  Both
Williamsburg                 WEZJ  1440  Top 10 only

LOUISIANA
Chipley                      WBGC  1240  Top 10 only
Jena                         KJNA  1480  Top 10 only
New Orleans                  WWL    870  Trucking News only
Shreveport                   KWKH  1130  Both

MARYLAND
Hagerstown                   WHAG  1410  Trucking News only
Lexington Park               WPTX   920  Trucking News only

MICHIGAN
Alpena                       WATZ  1450  Trucking News only
Bad Axe                      WLEW  1340  Top 10 only
Grayling                     WGRY  1230  Both
Marquette                    WJPD  1240  Top 10 only

MINNESOTA
Minneapolis                  WMIN   740  Trucking News only
Redwood Falls                KLGR  1490  Trucking News only

MISSISSIPPI
Columbia                     WFFF  1360  Top 10 only
Greenwood                    WABG   980  Trucking News only
Monticello                   WMLC  1270  Both
Picayune                     WRJW  1320  Top 10 only

MISSOURI
Carthage                     KDMO  1490  Both
Caruthersville               KCRV  1370  Top 10 only
Charleston                   KCHR  1350  Top 10 only
Fredricktown                 KFTW  1450  Top 10 only
Houston                      KUNQ  1250  Top 10 only
Kansas City                  WDAF   610  Trucking News only
Sedalia                      KDRO  1490  Top 10 only
Springfield                  KTTS  1260  Trucking News only

MONTANA
Miles City                   KMTA  1050  Both
West Yellowstone             KWYS   920  Top 10 only

NEBRASKA
Ainsworth                    KBRB  1400  Top 10 only
Broken Bow                   KCNI  1280  Top 10 only
Lexington                    KRVN   880  Trucking News only

NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park                  WJLK  1310  Top 10 only

NEW MEXICO
Raton                        KRTN  1490  Trucking News only
Ruidoso                      KBUY  1360  Both

NEW YORK
Albany                       WGNA  1460  Trucking News only
Booneville                   WBRV   900  Top 10 only
Buffalo                      WWKB  1520  Trucking News only
Lancaster                    WXRL  1300  Top 10 only
Port Jervis                  WDLC  1490  Both
Pulaski                      WSCP  1070  Trucking News only
Ticonderoga                  WIPS  1250  Both
Trumansburg                  WPIE  1160  Trucking News only

NORTH CAROLINA
Ashville/Black Mtn.          WZQR  1350  Top 10 only
Henderson                    WIZS  1450  Top 10 only
Hickory                      WIRC   630  Top 10 only
King                         WKTE  1090  Trucking News only
Reidsville                   WREV  1220  Top 10 only
Rocky Mount                  WRMT  1490  Trucking News only
Newland                      WJTP  1130  Top 10 only
Shelby                       WAFA  1390  Trucking News only
Taylorsville                 WTLK  1570  Top 10 only

NORTH DAKOTA
Fargo                        KFGO   750  Trucking News only
Grafton                      KXPO  1340  Top 10 only
Jamestown                    KSJB   600  Trucking News only
Minot                        KHND  1470  Top 10 only
Wahpeton                     KBMW  1450  Trucking News only

OHIO
Cincinnati                   WLW    700  Both
Conneaut/Cleveland           WWOW  1360  Top 10 only
Ironton                      WIRO  1230  Trucking News only

OKLAHOMA
Duncan                       KRHD  1350  Trucking News only
Enid                         KGWA   960  Trucking News only
Guymon                       KGYN  1210  Both
Hobart                       KTJS  1420  Top 10 only
Pauls Valley                 KULH  1470  Trucking News only
Tulsa                        KVOO  1170  Trucking News only
Vinita                       KITO  1470  Both
Wewoka                       KWSH  1260  Top 10 only
Weatherford                  KWEY  1590  Top 10 only

OREGON
North Bend                   KBBR  1340  Trucking News only
Reedsport                    KDUN  1030  Trucking News only
Toledo                       KZUS  1230  Top 10 only

PENNSYLVANIA
Bloomsburg                   WCNR  ????  Trucking News only
Hazelton                     WAZL  1490  Trucking News only
McConnellsburg               WVFC  1530  Both
Phillipsburg                 WPHB  1260  Top 10 only
Selinsgrove                  WYGL  1240  Both
Troy                         WHGL  1310  Both
Waynesburg                   WANB  1580  Top 10 only

RHODE ISLAND
Providence                   WHIM  1110  Top 10 only

SOUTH CAROLINA
Greenville                   WFIS  1600  Top 10 only
Holly Hill                   WJBS  1440  Both
Loris                        WLSC  1240  Top 10 only

TENNESSEE
Chattanooga/Pikeville        WUAT  1110  Top 10 only
Dyersburg                    WTRO  1330  Top 10 only
Greenville                   WSMG  1450  Top 10 only
Johnson City                 WGOC   640  Both
Knoxville                    WAEW  1330  Trucking News only
Nashville                    WZYX  1440  Top 10 only
Nashville                    WLAC  1510  Trucking News only
Ripley                       WTRB  1570  Top 10 only
Springfield                  WSGI  1100  Top 10 only

TEXAS
Dimmitt                      KDHM  1470  Both
Fort Worth                   WBAP   820  Trucking News only
El Paso                      KHEY   690  Trucking News only
Hemphill                     KAWS  1230  Top 10 only
Lampasas                     KCYL  1450  Top 10 only
Livingston                   KETX  1440  Both
Midland/Odessa               KJBC  1150  Top 10 only
Monahans                     KLBO  1330  Top 10 only
Orange                       KOGT  1600  Top 10 only
Robstown                     KGLF  1510  Top 10 only
San Antonio                  WOAI  1200  Trucking News only
Sherman/Denison              KJIM  1500  Both
Texarkana                    KCMC   740  Top 10 only

UTAH
Price                        KOAL   750  Trucking News only
Salt Lake City               KRGQ  1550  Both
Salt Lake City               KSL   1160  Trucking News only

VERMONT
Barre                        WSNO  1450  Top 10 only

VIRGINIA
Floyd                        WGFC  1030  Top 10 only
Lebanon                      WLRV  1380  Top 10 only
Mt. Jackson                  WSIG   790  Trucking News only
Saltville                    WXMY  1600  Both

WASHINGTON
Colville                     KCVL  1240  Top 10 only
Forks                        KVAC  1490  Both
Longview                     KBAM  1270  Top 10 only
Prosser                      KARY  1310  Both
Puyallup                     KJUN  1450  Top 10 only
Seattle                      KMPS  1300  Trucking News only
Tri-Cities                   KORD   870  Top 10 only
Wenatchee                    KPQ    560  Trucking News only

WEST VIRGINIA
Huntington                   WTCR  1420  Trucking News only
Pineville                    WWYO   970  Both
Ravenswood                   WMOV  1360  Both
Richwood                     WVAR   600  Top 10 only
Sutton                       WSGB  1490  Top 10 only
Weston                       WHAW   980  Top 10 only

WISCONSIN
Amery                        WXCE  1260  Both
Appleton                     WRJQ  1570  Trucking News only
Durand                       WRDN  1430  Trucking News only
Green Bay                    WGEE  1360  Trucking News only
Platteville/Shawano          WTCH   960  Top 10 only
Shell Lake                   WCSW   940  Trucking News only

WYOMING
Buffalo                      KBBS  1450  Both
Worland                      KWOR  1340  Trucking News only

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Doug Smith W9WI/4 - Nashville TN - desmith@xxxxxxxxxxxx

             Telecommunications Act of 1996 - Broadcast provisions
                       Doug Smith - desmith@xxxxxxxxxxxx

    There was a fair amount of publicity last week for Senate Bill 652, the
Telecommunications Act of 1996.  After considerable debate (mostly over
telephone and cable-TV provisions) both houses of Congress have approved
this law.  President Clinton has said he'll sign it.  This law will lead to
some important changes in broadcasting in the USA, but the news stories
didn't go into any details. (face it, the average American doesn't know or
care what "duopoly", "LMA", and "multiple ownership regulations" are!)  I'm
hitting some of the highlights of the Act below.  If you want to see the
entire document, I'm told it's available at:

     ftp.loc.gov: /pub/thomas/c104/s652.enr.txt

Or on Compuserve, in BPFORUM, DL1, SB652.ZIP.  Uncompressed, it's about 400K
in size.  If you read these, remember that corporations are legally regarded
as "persons".  And note that at least half the text applies to telephone and
cable TV companies, and competitive local telephone service.
    In the short term, multiple-ownership changes will be most obvious to
the DXer.  SB652 requires the FCC to totally eliminate the national cap on
radio station ownership - one firm could own 100 or more stations.
Restrictions within a particular market will remain, but will be relaxed:

Number of stns in market:     Number co-owned:     Number on same band:
-------------------------     ----------------     --------------------
45 or more                    8                    5
30-44                         7                    4
15-29                         6                    4
14 or fewer                   5                    3

In the last case, no firm may own more than half the stations in the market.
"Number on same band" means how many FM (or AM) stations one firm may own.
For example, in a market with 23 stations, one firm could own 4 FM and 2 AM
stations.  However, they could *not* own 5 FMs and 1 AM or 1 FM and 5 AMs.
Non-commercial stations don't count towards these regulations.  A provision
of SB652 allows the FCC to waive these limits if the Commission determines
it "...will result in an increase of the number of radio broadcast stations
in operation." Geez, just what every DXer needs <G>!
    Congress had more trouble arriving at an agreement on TV.  SB652 does
lift the national numeric cap on TV ownership; again, one firm could own 100
or more TV stations.  It does not, however, repeal the cap on the proportion
of the national viewing audience reached by commonly-owned stations.
Currently, no firm may own stations reaching more than 25% of the homes in
the U.S..  This figure has been relaxed to 35%.  No concrete action was
taken to allow ownership of more than one TV station in the same market.
However, the FCC is required to review TV duopoly regulations and consider
relaxing them. One-to-a-market regulations theoretically prevent one firm
from owning both radio and TV stations in the same market.  These
restrictions are routinely waived; SB652 basically orders the FCC to
continue to waive them in the 50 biggest markets.  Finally, a provision
requires the FCC to review its ownership restrictions every 2 years and
repeal any unnecessary restrictions. The Commission could potentially
further relax TV (or radio) ownership restrictions on its own motion.
    In the longer term, advanced television (ATV) will be critical to the
DXer.  The new law urges (but does not require) that ATV licenses be first
granted to those already holding NTSC licenses or CPs.  It requires that any
second channels be granted only on the condition that one of the two
channels (either the NTSC or ATV channel) be surrendered to the FCC for
reallocation. No phase-in period is stated.  If a broadcaster carries a
subscription program, or leases part of its ATV spectrum to another firm,
the FCC is required to collect fees.  10 years after the first ATV licenses
are issued, the FCC is required to conduct a study of the ATV program.  They
are to determine the extent to which consumers are willing to spend money on
ATV receivers, the value of TV spectrum for other services, and the degree
to which the FCC has been able to recover TV spectrum.  While SB652 doesn't
say it, presumably the FCC could backtrack and allow continued NTSC
broadcasts indefinitely if viewers aren't buying ATV receivers.
    A modification to Section 312 is important to AM DXers.  No longer will
stations be able to remain dark for years.  An added clause states: "If a
broadcasting station fails to transmit broadcast signals for any consecutive
12-month period, then the station license granted for the operation of that
broadcast station expires at the end of that period, notwithstanding any
provision, term, or condition of the license to the contrary."  In other
words, if a station goes silent for more than a year, it loses its license.
This change also applies to FM and TV stations.
    In the past, when a station applied for renewal of its license, the FCC
was required to consider whether the public interest would be better served
by denying the renewal and granting a new license to a competing applicant.
In practice, the FCC only denied renewal if the renewing station had
committed serious violations of the regulations.  But on several occasions,
existing licensees spent large amounts of money on legal fees to defend
themselves from renewal challenges.  SB652 now prohibits the FCC from
considering competing applications at renewal time.  If the station has
served the public interest, has committed no serious violations, and doesn't
have a pattern of abuse, the FCC must renew its license.  If there *have*
been serious violations, the FCC can deny the renewal. Only after the
renewal has been denied on the Commission's own motion can they accept
competing applications for the (now vacant) frequency.  On a similar
subject, the term of broadcast licenses has been extended from 5 to 8 years.
    The so-called "V-chip" is now law.  TVs with screens larger than 13"
(the same sets now mandated to contain closed-captioning decoders) must
contain circuitry allowing set owners to block certain rated programs.
There probably won't be a chip as such - the Act specifies that the rating
code will be transmitted on Line 21, the same line used by closed-captions -
and the rating code will presumably be part of the caption data.  The same
chips currently used to display captions will be modified to also allow
blocking of programs.  Set manufacturers will have, at most, two years to
begin adding this equipment.  Ironically, I don't see anything in the Act
(unless it's well hidden) requiring stations to broadcast the rating codes.
    Finally, I see one paragraph that *seems* to preempt local zoning
restrictions on receiving antennas.  Section 207 gives the FCC 6 months to
enact regulations that "prohibit restrictions that impair a viewer's ability
to receive video programming services through devices designed for
over-the-air reception of television broadcast signals, multichannel
multipoint distribution service ("wireless cable"-ds), or direct broadcast
satellite services."   The exact meaning of this paragraph isn't explained
though, and it may well not mean what I think it does!

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If you note any AM changes (call, format, slogan, etc), please send them to
the NRC Log coordinator (Wayne Heinen) @ nrclog@xxxxxxxxxxxx and the IRCA
Almanac coordinator:  Rich Toebe, 2550 Hilborn Rd  #34, Fairfield CA
94533-1070.

IRCA's MEXICAN LOG coordinator is Chris Knight.  If you note any changes in
Mexican radio, please drop him a note at: ??

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END of February 8 1996 IRCA's "AM DX NewsFlash" - bytheway@xxxxxxx



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