08 May 2003

Radio Farda on 1170 kHz from UAE From today, the IBB's Radio Farda service to Iran is broadcasting 24 hours a day on a new mediumwave frequency, 1170 kHz, from Dhabayya in the UAE. I was monitoring Radio Farda on shortwave yesterday and noticed bubble jamming on 13680 kHz, but not on parallel 21530 kHz. That was probably due to propagation. It will be interesting to see if they try to jam 1170, especially as it's also the frequency used for the Iraq Media Network/Radio Iraq broadcasts from Umm Qasr. That transmitter is apparently only 20 kW and the signal is weak in most of Iraq, though they advertise it as a "nationwide" service. The fact that the Iraqis are complaining about the lack of a decent radio service, and the availability of high power mediumwave facilities that could get a decent signal to them, does make me wonder about the US government's priorities when it comes to the rebuilding of Iraq and other issues affecting the Middle East. 11:42:01 AM     comment on this entry []

Good news week It's been good news the past two days. Yesterday, Salman Pax reappeared with his blogs from Baghdad for the first time since 24 March. It's funny how you can get so concerned about the wellbeing of someone you've never met, but this guy writes in such a way that everything seems like it's personally addressed to you. We still don't know a lot about him, but he did refer to his "boss in Beirut" so he appears to work for a multinational company of some sort. You can catch up with the events of the past six weeks at http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/ The other bit of good news is that Ladysmith Black Mambazo have released a new album - their first for 10 years. And they've been in Amsterdam recording a track with a Dutch artist. This country was at the forefront of the anti-apartheid campaign, and I guess they wanted to express their thanks in a musical way. I fell in love with the music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo when I heard them playing with Paul Simon on Graceland. The Guardian has published a story about them today. I'm off to check out the new album. 9:21:08 AM     comment on this entry []

© Copyright 2003 Andy Sennitt.