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CX2SA > SWL 17.03.05 06:22l 129 Lines 6818 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 23942-CX2SA
Read: DK5RAS GUEST
Subj: DX LISTENING DIG. 5-046 08/18
Path: DB0FHN<DB0FOR<DB0SIF<DB0EA<DB0RES<ON0AR<7M3TJZ<EA5RKV<EA5AKC<CX2SA
Sent: 050317/0504Z @:CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA #:23942 [Minas] FBB7.00e $:23942-CX2SA
From: CX2SA@CX2SA.LAV.URY.SA
To : SWL@WW
It's not just the folks in the Caribbean who will lose Sportsworld.
Essentially everyone in the Western Hemisphere is losing this great
program. It really is distressing that the BBC has cut so many
listeners off again (Sandy Finlayson, ibid.)
Who cares about cricket and other stupid ballgames? (gh, DXLD)
What follows is based on the current schedule ---
An educated guess for the East Coast would be 17830 from 1100 to 2100,
conditions permitting, which targets West / Central Africa. Also 15400
from 1500 to 2300. Both of those are from Ascension for most of their
times. You didn't ask, but here are some other ideas:
7160 from 0300 to 0700 might also work -- also from Ascension.
I haven't stayed up too late to monitor this one, but 11765 from 0300
to 0700 originates from South Africa targeting West Africa. We're
somewhat in the line of fire for that. Both 7160 and 11765 performed
reasonably well during my December and January French Creek
DXpeditions.
The toughest time will be the evening hours -- 2200 to 0300 UT. That
tends to be when African and European frequencies are off the air. Not
exactly armchair listening, but it's what there is (Rich Cuff,
swprograms via DXLD)
There is also 15485 and I THINK 15525 which sometimes work (Sandy
Finlayson, ibid.) You mean 15565, UK during our mornings (gh, DXLD)
We'll have to see what frequencies the BBC uses after the clock
changes, but I've had reasonably good success on the east coast with
21470 which at present targets Africa. I think that -- in the main --
it's going to take a decent outdoor antenna from here on out (John
Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.)
Maybe those on the list who are regularly near shortwave radios during
the day can do some bandscanning on European and African frqeuencies,
looking for some alternatives for us. Best place to start for
frequency lists:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/schedules/frequencies/
With two children at home and a full-time-plus job during the week, my
mornings tend not be spent near a shortwave radio. Thanks in advance
(Richard Cuff / Allentown, PA, ibid.)
Richard, I found that 7160 comes in well at times here in Ohio (Chris
Campbell, ibid.) That would be late evening (gh)
I'd be certainly willing to pay for BBCWS, but two issues comes to
mind that have stopped me so far: - If just adding an hour costs some
$30,000+ a year, I don't see how enough money could be raised from
people who would benefit from that particular hour(s) added back into
the schedule. But then again maybe the effort, however partial in
covering the costs, would be the message needed more than the raising
the full amount. I'd consider adding satellite (Sirius is the one I'd
likely choose at this point), but that doesn't provide the World
Service coverage that I'd desire (Info/Entertainment is what I'd want,
not 24-hour News) In the end, however, I feel hopeless on this one, as
we have to take what we can get. They aren't listening to us anymore
(Kevin Anderson, Dubuque IA USA, K9IUA, ibid.)
Kevin: Sirius is making a change to the BBC schedule it carries when
the clocks change at the end of the month. Up 'til then it will
continue to be the all news feed detailed on the BBCWS web site. After
the switch to daylight saving [sic] time, the schedule will be the
PRI-provided one that includes some (but certainly not all) of the
feature programs currently heard on the Americas stream on shortwave
and XM. Although the summer 2005 schedule is not posted as of yet
http://www.pri.org click on "listeners", then click on "programs",
then on "BBC World Service"], you can get an idea of what will be on
the Sirius BBC stream by eyeballing the summer 2004 and winter 2005
schedules provided there. I can't speak for "Sportsworld" as it was
carried last summer, but not this winter. We'll have to see if that's
a seasonal thing with PRI. Might not hurt to e-mail PRI about this,
though (John Figliozzi, Halfmoon, NY, ibid.)
Kevin: It certainly appears that they aren't listening but I still
think we should register our complaints, by emailing the appropriate
places. I wonder just how effective World Service is going to be with
this loss of transmission. Yes you can get SOME of their output on
local radio but NOT during the day in most cases. Maybe relays on FM
in SA and Cent. Am. are better than they are here. And if the
situation isn't great in the USA it is worse in Canada where I come
from. In Canada there is next to no local relays and no satellite
(Sandy Finlayson, ibid.)
The BBC describes the cutbacks as *adjustments* done "to reflect
global changes in audiences` use of short wave." When BBC last
released its audience figures in June 2004, the drop of its shortwave
listeners was characterized as *significant*, but weekly global
audience estimate fell only from 150 to 146 million because of a big
rise in listening via FM (DXing.info, March 13, 2005 via DXLD)
** U K. Jonathan Marks on BBC cuts/changes/whatever #Critical Distance
BV Weblog (p1 of 33) Sunday, March 13, 2005
What in the world is the BBC saying? Still a World Service? Can you
imagine an announcement printed in the Times of London warning readers
that the number of pages in the newspaper were to be reduced because
there are fewer readers of the printed page? Of course not. But BBC
World Service seems to have a strange policy of announcing its gradual
wind-down of analogue shortwave broadcasts. In 2001, former Director
of the BBC World Service, Mark Byford, got into a needless discussion/
scrap with shortwave listeners because BBCWS announced the closedown
of their English broadcasts on shortwave to North America. When the
time came, they just pulled the plug...talk about a build up to
nothing. Had they simply reduced the number of frequencies beamed in
that direction, few people (in theory) would have noticed. But to
publicize it in such a way was simply a PR disaster.
Now they are at it again. If you check the BBC World Service schedules
website it says From March 27 2005 there will be adjustments to the
BBC World Service shortwave provisions to reflect global changes in
audiences' use of short wave. The number of hours broadcast on short
wave in English, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese for South America will
be reduced. What on earth does that garbled syntax South America?
Doesn't it totally contradict other recent statements by BBC Managers
that they have a strong commitment to shortwave, albeit a digital
shortwave future - DRM? So it is a logical shift to digital - not a
closedown - they should be talking about. Or come clean and say that
their policy is a network of FM stations in capital cities, with
Internet as a fill-in and shortwave as a last resort (Jonathan Marks
3/13/2005 09:26:00 PM (via Dan Say, swprograms via DXLD)
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