BC-DX TopNews WWDXC #945 BC-DX 945

RFE/RL Launches Radio Station in Pakistan's Pashtun Heartland Radio
Mashaal Logo January 14, 2010
Radio Mashaal will operate out of a new bureau in Pakistan and broadcast
from RFE/RL's Prague headquarters. The station will share a frequency with
VOA's Radio Deewa and transmit via FM and shortwave. Online, Radio
Mashaal's website will provide a live stream of its broadcasts.
That URL goes nowhere yet on our browsers!
Hunting thru the RFE/RL website, we find Mashaal on a list at
but of course no programs just yet. Judging from similar pages, there
should be added a WAVES button displaying the times and frequencies.
So far there is only an AFFILIATES button which shows 100.5 FM for three
cities in Afghanistan, not Pakistan, Gardaiz, Khost, Kunar, at 16-18 local
time [11-13 UT]. But the press says it will be on SW too.
(Glenn Hauser-OK-USA, dxld Jan 14)
Schedule is 1030-1230[sic, 1100-1300] UTC on 9395UDO, 11605IRA, and
13700IRA kHz shortwave.
I'm sure Radio Mashaal will do a good job. But it will do much the same
job that VOA's Deewa Radio is already doing, in the same language, to the
same target area. Put together the talent from these two stations, and US
international broadcasting would be in danger of achieving excellence.
This was not the idea of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Some senator
put some language in some appropriations bill, and Radio Mashaal was
created. Such shards of bad legislation have made US international
broadcasting the archetype of bureaucratic inefficiency.
(Kim Andrew Elliott-USA, via dxld Jan 15)
If it's really "4 pm local time", (1600), 1030 UT would make that a UT
+5:30 zone, i.e. India or Sri Lanka, not Pak which is currently UT +5:00
(1100 UT as we assumed), or Afghanistan which is UT +4:30 (1130 UT). Why
in the world don't they just give the time in UT in the first place, about
which there can be no confusion?
(Glenn Hauser, dxld)
A check on 9395, 11605 and 13700 kHz at 1045 UT today Jan 15 reveals only
the CNR-8 network in Chinese on 13700 kHz. But at about 1100 UT this went
off, and now there is lively Afghan sounding music and song in // 11605
and 9395 kHz. Talk followed. 13700 kHz is the best signal and peaking to 7
on my S meter. I'm still waiting to hear/copy the ID.
(Noel R. Green-UK, dxld Jan 15)
Add Radio Mashaal to the IBB stable. Radio Mashaal confirmed that started
at 1100UT on 9395 kHz on Jan 15.
later - I often heard ID of "Daa Mashaal Radyo" in Pashto.
(Sei-ichi Hasegawa-JPN NDXC, dxld Jan 15)
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