DX International radio

So long Sofia...

2012-01-31T13:53:00.001+04:00

So after 76 years it is goodbye to Bulgaria on shortwave.

From 1 February we will have to listen online, via:

http://bnr.bg/sites/en/FullEmissions/Pages/default.aspx

Hopefully http://www.bnr.bg/ will suffice.

Here are a few classic Radio Sofia QSL cards as a tribute...

Short Wave facts- sw is still needed...

2012-01-24T15:54:00.000+04:00

From the Save Radio Bulgaria campaign and petition http://www.saveradiobulgaria.com/
come some very wise words that seem to be forgotten by far too many, especially those decision makers in governments and broadcasting around the world...

"Over six and a half billion people live in our world today. They’re scattered throughout a complex maze of geography, languages, national boundaries, and diverse cultural backgrounds. Although you have access to the Internet, most people do not. Of course, the numbers are always changing, but more than likely, less than twenty percent of the world’s population can access this page on the Web and only those who know English can read it.

However, estimates say that there are about three billion shortwave receivers worldwide. In years past, many of those were in China and the old Soviet Union. Once those governments opened the window to the rest of the world—and with the rise of the Internet—many people predicted that shortwave broadcasting would sharply decline.

In fact, the reverse has happened. The International Broadcasting Bureau estimates that at any given time of the day or night, one billion shortwave receivers are turned on. In some places in the world, car radios come equipped with shortwave bands. For millions of people around the world, shortwave radio is the only means they have to listen to the rest of the world. And for millions more, though they have local AM and FM radio available, they tune in to shortwave radio to listen to programs that originate outside their own countries.

Unlike other forms of mass media such as satellite, television, AM/FM radio, printed material, and the Internet, only shortwave radio signals can be sent without program content being restricted in any way. Shortwave radio transmissions are directed up, not out. They bounce off the ionosphere, hit the ground, bounce back up to the ionosphere, back down to earth—each of these “bounces” is referred to as a “skip”.

Shortwave signals cross political, social, racial, economic, and cultural barriers. This means that shortwave is the perfect medium for carrying our words to the international community. "

Save Radio Bulgaria - Act Now!

2012-01-18T12:38:00.002+04:00

Many people do not want to listen to international radio stations via the Internet. I am stuck at a computer most days for work and do not wish to spend my leisure times chained to a pc too or restricted to one room- one of radio's strengths is its portability.

The Third World does not all have cheap Internet access and of course many people do not even have access to water and electricity, so there is at the very least a strong case for keeping shortwave broadcasts to Africa and Asia...

Please sign the petition at: http://www.saveradiobulgaria.com/

The message below is from Ivo Ivanov, Radio Bulgaria’s frequency manager.

Dear listeners and friends of the short waves and Radio Bulgaria,

With a huge regret to inform you very bad news. After more than 75 years in the world broadcasting from January 31, 2012 at 2200 UT, Radio Bulgaria cease broadcasting on short and medium waves.

The solution is that Radio Bulgaria is not necessary now its short waves and medium waves listeners. The reason – no money for broadcast on short and medium waves. And who listens to short waves today? Already has internet.

Maintaining the short waves was “Mission Impossible”! Hope dies last. As a frequency manager in the last 19 years my main task was to provide best quality signal of Radio Bulgaria in worldwide coverage. There will be no short waves, there will be no frequency manager. For all people who work in Radio Bulgaria that bad news is shock and horror Beginning of the end. But expect your moral support. Please send e-mail to:

English section: english@bnr.bg

Please sign the petition too at: http://www.saveradiobulgaria.com/

Radio New Zealand International

2012-01-10T15:39:00.000+04:00

I sent a report to Radio New Zealand International by email (qsl@rnzi.com) and received a link to an online QSL card prepared for me, after about two weeks.

It was good to see that Adrian Sainsbury is still the frequency manager and he states that

“You may also hear us on 9765 from 0800 UTC. Your winter is a good time for hearing New Zealand!”

I have logged them on 11725kHz 0715 to 0758 UTC with a SIO 444, the strongest I have ever heard RNZI.

I was fascinated to hear the Sounds Historical programme on Sundays. It made a nice change from the usual Asia and Pacific news type programmes I usually hear and assume it is a broadcast of a domestic programme.

Radio New Zealand International still use their familiar and mesmerising interval signal of a Kiwi bird.

Website is http://www.rnzi.com/ with programme schedules at http://www.rnzi.com/pages/schedules.php

Radio Bulgaria

2012-01-03T21:06:00.002+04:00

Being Orthodox Christians Bulgarians celebrate Christmas on 6th January. Tune in to Radio Bulgaria’s shortwave broadcasts in English each day this week - and beyond- for fascinating folk music and features, culture and history.

0730 to 0800 UTC to Europe on 7400 and 9400kHz
1830 to 1900 UTC to Europe on 7400 and 9700kHz
2200 to 2300 UTC to Europe on 5900 and 7400kHz

The station’s history is at: http://bnr.bg/sites/en/About/Pages/RadioBulgaria.aspx

Meet the English service team at: http://bnr.bg/sites/en/About/Pages/EnglishService.aspx
Their QSL card policy is quite unusual and complex. It’s at http://bnr.bg/sites/en/Pages/ReceptionReport.aspx but basically you need to send three reception reports to obtain one QSL card.

Their email address is english@bnr.bg

DW The Voice of Beethoven?

2012-01-01T06:30:00.000+04:00

Deutsche Welle broadcast in English to Africa via the Kigalitransmitter site in Rwanda. These informative and entertaining broadcasts canbe picked up in the UK and Europe.

A full schedule is at: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/0,,1453,00.html and

http://www.dw-world.de/popups/popup_pdf/0,,9496577,00.pdfis where you’ll find the full schedule for B2011 (until March 2012), or onlineat: http://www.dw-world.de

Try 2000 to 2100 UTC on 9655, 9735 and 12070kHz for starters.Many more options at the above schedule.

New Year radio plans

2011-12-28T13:04:00.008+04:00

A very good article which spins through the radio dial on New Year’s Eve is by Fred Waterer and was published in the US equivalent of Radio User, Monitoring Times in the January 2006 edition. “Happy New Year- A round the world in 24 hours” takes you on a wonderful audio journey with programme and station suggestions, frequencies and web links. http://www.monitoringtimes.com/Around-in-24-hrs.pdf

Praha calling

2011-12-23T06:42:00.000+04:00

prague-pictures.cz

Radio Prague not being on shortwave has not stopped me from listening, although I do so far less often than when it was simply a case of tuning in. I do listen online periodically via http://www.radio.cz/ or through the World Radio Network relay http://www.wrn.org/

The station has always covered Christmas and the New Year holidays very well, conjuring up a magical atmosphere that can take you back to childhood in some ways, while retaining a 21st century edge to proceedings.

Try some of these links for a direct route to Wenceslas Square in Prague, where the snow will doubtless be laying deep, crisp and even. A Czech Christmas and its traditions at http://www.radio.cz/en/static/christmas/

A fascinating background to Czech carols is at http://www.radio.cz/en/section/special/czech-carols-from-christmas-past-and-present and the Radio Prague choir, consisting of broadcasters rather than choristers, is a lovely festive offering. They sound rather good to me http://www.radio.cz/en/static/christmas/carols If you think so too then drop them an email to thank them english@radio.cz

Winternet radio

2011-12-22T16:37:00.010+04:00

From my Radio Websites column for Radio User, January 2012 http://www.radiouser.co.uk

I always like to pay a virtual visit to some frozen tundra or other at this time of year and invite you to join me on trips to Canada, Norway and Lapland.

Hans is of Swedish origin and works for Coastal Radio station in Vardø on Vardøya Island which is in Finnmark county in Norway. Located on the Barents Sea he specialises in tropical and medium wave DXing. Read about how he gets on in the most easterly of Norwegian towns. He writes “you will find my reflections regarding DXing in a location this far north, recordings and logs of radio stations received here as well as thoughts regarding receivers, antennas and other equipment needed for this amazing hobby.” His post of 19 November is a rather moving story of finally hearing KJNP in North Pole, Alaska after many years of trying. http://barentsdx.wordpress.com

The Edmonton Broadcaster website in Canada interests me. As you would imagine it is a social network for those involved in broadcasting past and present in this Canadian city. Although it’s not somewhere I have visited or even listened to, I enjoyed browsing through the information on members’ careers, events and the many links to stations. http://edmontonbroadcasters.com Amongst the stations mentioned were CHFA-AM, a 10,000 watts station on 680 KHz just east of the North Saskatchewan River. 1950s QSL cards and a snowy photo adorn the link. http://edmontonbroadcasters.com/stations/chfa-am/

Mika Makelain reports on new DXpeditions to Lapland on the DXing Info website. http://www.dxing.info/ Mika’s publicity makes it hard to resist: “Two DXpedition reports from the Arctic, another one spanning two countries. Want to know how hungry bears can destroy Beverage antennas? http://www.dxing.info/dxpeditions/aih10rep.dx Or how hungry DXers can focus on eating, drinking and being merry, instead of DXing?” http://www.dxing.info/dxpeditions/aih7rep.dx

Links to radio advent calendar 21-24 December

2011-12-21T17:47:00.004+04:00

Here are the links to last year's Radio themed Advent calendar for the days 21st to 24th December (2010) or you can navigate to it in the date side panel on the right:

http://dxinternational.blogspot.com/2010/12/december-2010-radio-advent-blog-21.html
http://dxinternational.blogspot.com/2010/12/december-2010-radio-advent-blog-22.html

http://dxinternational.blogspot.com/2010/12/december-2010-radio-advent-blog-23.html
http://dxinternational.blogspot.com/2010/12/december-2010-radio-advent-blog-24.html

North Korean radio in English

2011-12-20T12:44:00.004+04:00

Follow the news straight from Pyongyang- it will be a fascinating few weeks ahead. Here is The Voice of Korea (North Korea) B11 schedule

0100 GMT (10am local) to North East Asia on 7220kHz, 9345kHz and 9730kHz
0100 GMT (10am local) to Central and South America on 11735kHz and 15180kHz
0200 GMT (11am local) to Southeast Asia on 13650kHz and 15100kHz
0300 GMT (12pm local) to North East Asia on 7220kHz, 9345kHz and 9730kHz
1000 GMT (7pm local) to Central and South America on 11710kHz and 15180kHz
1000 GMT (7pm local) to Southeast Asia on 11735kHz and 13650kHz
1300 GMT (10pm local) to Europe on 13760kHz and 15245kHz
1300 GMT (10pm local) to North America on 9335kHz and 11710kHz
1500 GMT (12am local) to Europe on 13760kHz and 15245kHz
1500 GMT (12am local) to North America on 9335kHz and 11710kHz
1600 GMT (1am local) to Near and Middle East, North Africa on 9990kHz and 11545kHz
1800 GMT (3am local) to Europe on 13760kHz and 15245kHz
1900 GMT (4am local) to Southern Africa on 7210kHz and 11910 kHz
1900 GMT (4am local) to Near and Middle East, North Africa on 9975kHz and 11535kHz
2100 GMT (6am local) to Europe on 13760kHz and 15245kHz

North Korean radio recordings in English are also online at: http://northkoreanradio.com/

Thanks to The Shortwave Post http://swling.com/ and PCJ Media and the BDXC www.bdxc.org.uk amongst others.

It will also be worth tuning to South Korea in English, KBS World is online at: http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/
and shortwave to Europe from 1600 to 1700 UTC on 9515 and 9640kHz
1800 to 1900 on 7275kHz
2200 to 2230 on 3955kHz

Christmas at Bush House 1984-85

2011-12-16T16:28:00.006+04:00

I spent two pre-Christmases working at the BBC World Service HQ at Bush House (above) on the Strand in London. These were way back in 1984 and 1985 when I worked as an assistant and then an interim manager at BBC World Information Centre and Shop.

It was a wonderful time to be there-although frantically busy from when the shop and Information Centre opened at 9.30 a.m. until it closed at 7.00 p.m. From 1st December to Christmas Eve anything that we put on the shelves was snapped up. BBC golf balls, Images of Britain and other traditional style Christmas cards, umbrellas and tea-towels.

More conventional items such as BBC records and audio cassettes, sweatshirts, pens, pencils, T-shirts and diaries sold well needless to say. Christmas 1984 was the year that Fawlty Towers was released on video (VHS and Betamax!) Videos were horrendously expensive in those days, retailing at £24.95 or £99 for the boxed set of Fawlty Towers, but they sold nonetheless.

All the frantic activity was accompanied by the piped live feed from the Bush House Studios, mostly the English service, from Richard Baker’s classical choices to John Peel, DLT to Edward Greenfield, Bob Holness to the World Radio club team, with the news read by the likes of Meryl O’Keefe and John Wing. We could also switch to any of the language services that visitors wished to hear.

Carol concerts at the local churches of St Mary Le Strand and St Clement Danes (below), the latter built in 1682 were another festive feature of December on the Strand.

All in all they were wonderful preparations for Christmas. For more of my tales from Bush House, go to:
Coffee Break at Bush House: http://dxinternational.blogspot.com/2011/08/coffee-break-at-bush-house.html
and my 2002 article for Monitoring Times at: http://dxinternational.blogspot.com/2009/08/tales-from-bush-house.html

There is also a two part series on the BBC WS's departure from Bush House next year, at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00m98kf

A Swiss Christmas

2011-12-14T13:03:00.000+04:00

Switzerland in Sound is a wonderful programme, packed full of Swiss info and presented by the lovely Bob Zanotti. Bob was on shortwave with Swiss Radio International for over 30 years and it’s great that he now produces a regular podcast (via PCJ Media in Taiwan.)

Join him preparing for Christmas and baking some Christmas cookies with unpronounceable names at his home in the Emmental region, 750 metres up in the mountains (3rd December 2011 podcast).

So, if it’s as cold with you right now as it is here in north-west England, I suggest you make yourself a hot chocolate, curl up on the sofa and indulge yourself with a virtual visit to Switzerland- a different place or topic in every podcast and they are always of interest: http://www.pcjmedia.com/switzerland-in-sound-bob-zanotti

Radio Advent calendar links for 11th to 20th December

2011-12-11T17:42:00.005+04:00

Here are some links to last year's Radio themed Advent calendar for 11th December, or you can navigate to the entire calendar via the side panel on the right- click to Dec 2010.

http://dxinternational.blogspot.com/2010/12/december-2010-radio-advent-blog-11.html

Festive internet radio

2011-12-10T13:08:00.003+04:00

A few festive internet radio stations for you to try out include http://www.allchristmasinternetradio.com/ which has scheduled programmes thus eliminating repeated music too often.

There are also lots of portals which list festive music stations, such as http://www.shoutcast.com/radio/Christmas

I have been writing Christmas cards to the sounds of a station by the name of The Christmas lounge-chilled holiday groove, at http://somafm.com/ and some classic sounds from http://www.classicholidayradio.com/ which is less classical and more US crooners such as Tennessee Ernie Ford singing “Joy to the world”. Well worthy of a listen for entertainment value alone.

What to buy the radio fan at Xmas?

2011-12-08T13:04:00.000+04:00

Here are a few ideas for last minute presents for the radio enthusiast.
How about a “I love Radio 4” hooded top? I am sorely tempted by this to see me through the winter, although some of the other clothing options on offer are less tasteful. Check for yourself at www.printedclothing.com with the Radio 4 merchandise at http://www.printedclothing.com/shack/contents/en-uk/d91.html

Scott Fybush has been producing a calendar of US transmitter sites for over ten years now, and it is always an artistic piece of work that would grace any radio shack
http://www.fybush.com/calendar.html
It’s time to buy a new diary as well. National radio stations producing 2012 diaries include LBC and Classic FM. The LBC Londoners’ diary http://www.lbc.co.uk/order-your-2012-lbc-londoners-diary-today-45628 and also at the Book Depository www.bookdepository.co.uk and Amazon, from around £8. 12 LBC 97.3 presenters including James O’Brien and Steve Allen share their Ultimate London Landmarks

The Classic FM diary is only a click away at http://www.classicfm.co.uk/shop/classic-fm-diary/ and also at the Book Depository and Amazon. It includes humorous classical music anecdotes on every page, composers' birthdays and on-this-day facts.

Santa Andy

2011-12-04T19:25:00.018+04:00

Andy Walmsley is already in the festive mood at his always rather splendid radio blog:
http://andywalmsley.blogspot.com

with packages of classic Christmas jingles at: http://andywalmsley.blogspot.com/2011/12/jingle-all-way.html?showComment=1322839432742#c3973667579102611623

...plus an advent calendar of Radio Times covers on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Random-Radio-Jottings/113123188769904 , and more fascinating all year round features to read than you can shake a striped candy stick at.

Radio Themed Advent Calendar

2011-12-02T15:05:00.001+04:00

Radio themed advent calendar

2011-12-01T00:01:00.010+04:00

Last December (2010) I ran an radio themed advent calendar on this blog.

As I am a great one for re-using I'll signpost you to that so you can enjoy -or endure- it once again. Start at:
http://dxinternational.blogspot.com/2010/12/december-2010-radio-advent-blog-1.html

I'll also try and post regular Christmas radio themed links and infotmation throughout this December too, as a Christmas gift to my loyal readers ;-)

BDXC Broadcasts In English guide for the B-11 sw season

2011-11-27T14:55:00.022+04:00

The British DX Club (BDXC) "Broadcasts In English" guide for the B-11 shortwave season is out now.

It covers all English broadcasts from the end of October 2011 to end of March 2012, in UTC time format, with frequencies and target areas, along with other useful information.
A handy A5 guide to take away with you on your winter travels as well as using at home.

You can purchase a copy for £2.50 (5 Euros to Europe and US$7 to rest of world) by sending a cheque to BDXC BIE, 10 Hemdean Hill, Caversham, Reading, RG4 7SB, UK.

It is also available as a pdf version for the same cost. More details at www.bdxc.org.uk

Texas questionnaire

2011-11-26T15:40:00.015+04:00

Michael Nevradakis is a PhD student in Media Studies. I was one of many contacted by him for a research study being conducted by him and Joe Straubhaar of The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Radio, Television & Film.

The goal of the study is to ascertain characteristics of DXing which its participants find appealing, the cultural and community aspects of DXing, the experiences DXers have had as part of their involvement in this hobby, and the views of DXers as to the future of DXing in light of the rapid pace of technological change and development. As part of this study, he conducted interviews with DXers about their specific involvement in the hobby and their views about DXing. I thought I’d share my response with my blog readers, and hope that Michael and Joe get the volume and quality of questionnaires that they need, It’ll be fascinating to read a summary of the whole study.

I’m flattered as it’s the second time recently a student has asked for my input. A young German lady, Sabine, doing an MA in radio at Goldsmiths College in London interviewed me over coffee in September for her thesis on Radio Berlin International.

QUESTIONNAIRE:
1. Describe your involvement in the hobby known as DXing.

Mostly I listen to broadcast stations on shortwave, mw and longwave. I am general editor for the British DX Club monthly journal “Communication”. I also write the “Long, Medium and shortwaves, Broadcast Matters” column for UK monthly magazine RadioUser.

2. Do you attempt to DX broadcast radio signals? Ham and amateur radio signals? Or other types of transmissions? Why did you choose this particular type of transmission to focus on as a DXer?

Just broadcast radio signals, I started decades ago in pursuit of different sources of news entertainment and music when I was a teenager. I am intrigued too by numbers stations but do not really follow them. Not actively interested in hams or utility myself.

3. What initially drew you to become a DXer? When did you first begin DXing?

I used to listen to BBC World Service on medium wave for comedy shows, then realised they were on shortwave and got a sw radio. I then stumbled upon Radio Sweden, Moscow, etc. and all the other delights of English and other language broadcasts and other languages. I started when I was very young, in the mid 1970s.

4. Were any family members also DXers and did they influence your interest in this hobby?

Not really- my father was a wireless operator in the Air Force during his national service in the 1950s but I’m not aware of that really having any impact on my radio interest. There was always a radio on in the house when I was growing up though (BBC Radio 2, Radio 4 and LBC-London Broadcasting Company) so I suppose that had a positive effect on me.

5. What appeals to you about the hobby? What aspects of DXing do you enjoy the most?
I enjoy hearing news and views from different sources- the British mainstream media is narrow minded and does not cover many areas that interest me. I like to hearing views from Romania, Canada, Thailand etc. I enjoy the international news from shortwave stations that enlightens me, and also local and national news and culture, such as local music and travel programmes. I also enjoy just tuning to frequencies and listening to different music genres and languages.

6. How would you characterize the act of listening to and tracking down distant signals?

I think it is a fascinating thing to do- you feel part of a privileged group of people, hearing sounds and information that the mass population are not really aware of. Sometimes you feel as if the broadcaster is speaking almost solely for your benefit.

7. How do you keep track of the distant signals which you have received?

I tend to write them down in a logbook (This is nothing fancy-I reuse incomplete school exercise books or buy recycled note books). Although I do have periods of time when I don’t do this methodically.

8. Describe the cultural and community aspects of DXing. Do you feel that DXers together comprise a community? Do you interact with other DXers?

There is definitely a large and active DX community, yes. I interact with many other DXers by email with some of those in other countries, websites, blogs, through internet forums such as Yahoo groups and World of Radio DX Listening Digest, Social Media (FaceBook and Twitter) and also through my own radio blog.

More importantly to me I socialise with other members of the British DX Club and am in regular contact with many members through my club activities. Likewise through my writing for Radio User magazine and interacting with readers.

9. Would you describe DXing as a form of “social networking” because of your interaction with individuals from other locations and cultures or because of your ties with other DXers?

Yes, it has been a form of social networking for many decades, before the term was ever thought of. However, Facebook and other forums do enable me to make contacts with DXers in other countries and in my own country that I previously would not have been able to do.
I would be interested to know what percentage of DXers belong to a DX club though, and how many DXers operate in isolation. The advent of the internet certainly enabled anyone to get in contact and be part of the DX community at no cost. Belonging to a club requires an annual subscription, but these are cheap and well worth the camaraderie, information and pleasure that it brings.

10. How would you describe the intercultural communication that you have been exposed to as a result of your involvement with DXing?
Very positive, just gaining a glimpse of other people’s lives in other cultures, as well as their DXing.

11. Does the DXing community have any events or gatherings where you meet other DXers face-to-face? If so, have you attended any such events?

There are regular meetings in the UK. The Reading International Radio Group meets every two months and there are British DX Club Meetings too. There are others around the UK on a more informal basis that I also attend when I can. As a busy woman, in a full time job and with a family it is difficult to make the time I would like to get to these events as most are 200+ miles/kms from where I live.

12. In your estimation, is DXing a “gendered” hobby—in other words, do you feel that DXing is a male-dominated activity? If so, why do you believe this is the case.
Speaking as a woman I am aware of others women in the hobby, although we are in the minority. Sadly it is very much a male-dominated hobby. But many hobbies are. I think this is rooted in gender stereotypes when growing up- which hopefully have changed for current generations of children.

Boys were perhaps encouraged to have “technical” hobbies and play sport whilst girls were encouraged to do more practical activities such as cooking, and fashion. Music is the one area that united us, but there were many overlaps even in the 1970s, with some girls enjoying DXing and cycle maintenance and some boys enjoying cooking and craftwork.

13. How is DXing responding to the growth and rapid pace of technological development, such as internet broadcasting/webcasting and digital over-the-air broadcasting?
I don’t like to generalise but DXing is reacting well in the main- it has to. DXing has always been in a state of evolution, like all technology. From cats whiskers, to the advent of FM, transistor radios, digital readout receivers etc. Broadcasters and policy makers are not always aware of what they are doing though and those that eschew shortwave for internet only are shortsighted, losing listeners as a result. Broadcast stations need to use shortwave and the internet in tandem.

14. Has new technology, such as the Internet, aided your efforts as a DXer in any way?
Yes, the internet offers wonderful ways of communicating and sharing DX tips, QSL card collections etc.

15. What do you foresee for the future of DXing? Is it a hobby that is, in your view, dying off?

There is still a sizeable and active DX community around the world. Some are leaving the hobby because of electrical interference, for instance in the UK the British Telecom (BT) broadband home hub has been proven to interfere with shortwave signals but the regulatory body Ofcom appears to not take it seriously enough.

DXers themselves die and unless younger people get into the hobby it will be gone in another 50 years. It has always been a minority interest- which surprises me as radio is such a fundamental mainstream activity that most people listen to daily, They just need to witch away from the dull local FM station and hear the other wonderful signals that are still out there.

Many international broadcasters are leaving shortwave- mistakenly, but many remain, and there are so many other exotic an interesting signals to be heard when the bands are less crowded. Middle Eastern and African music for instance.

16. Are young people still being attracted to DXing?

I am not sure that they are- as I stated before. I believe all DXers have a responsibility to try to pass the hobby on- to young family members and local youth organisations (such as scouts and guide movements in the UK.).

17. Please share any final comments and thoughts about DXing or your involvement in the hobby.

It has given me decades of pleasure. I have been enlightened, educated and entertained by so many diverse radio stations. Sharing my interest with fellow DXers has been rewarding and being able to write about the hobby too has been a great privilege. To paraphrase the John Miles’ song “Music”, “Radio was my first love, and it will be my last.”

Canada choice of champions

2011-11-25T17:22:00.001+04:00

Today to Canada, and if you are looking to discover some entertaining podcasts you should head straight for the CBC. The website http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/ has what seems an endless choice of quality programmes to choose from.

From Alberta at Noon to Quirks and Quarks, White Boat Black Art to Sportology and Zukerman on Brahms. Other great shows include Thunder Bay -the Great North West, Stranger than Fiction and the Age of Persuasion.

I have been a long time fan of Stuart McLean’s Vinyl Cafe which is amongst the dozens of shows on offer too.

“CBC Radio presents the stories and misadventures of Dave, the owner of the Vinyl Cafe, the world's smallest record store, where the motto is ‘We may not be big, but we're small.’ The show also features Dave's wife, Morley, their two children, Sam and Stephanie.”

It's all enough to convince me that had I ever emigrated then it would have been to Canada!

VoA for Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T15:36:00.000+04:00

The Voice of America website is often worth digging around in, with some interesting features aside from the current affairs you would expect to find http://www.voanews.com

The programme Africa Beat is one I enjoy and can be heard on shortwave, but there is an online option as well. David Vandy is your host and "African Beat is Voice of America’s hottest African music show which showcases the best in African music from the continent. From Benga to Juju, Hip Life to Bongo Flava, Afro Beat to Ndombolo, Bubu to Soukous and Makossa to Kwaito, African Beat has it all from across the continent – the show that brings happiness into your homes.” http://www.voanews.com/english/programs/radio/65173007.html

Mozambique Radio

2011-11-23T12:28:00.002+04:00

I have been listening to a country via the internet that I don’t hear on shortwave- Mozambique Radio, which is in English online at http://lmradio.net/

Mozambique's English language “Happy Music Station” began a year ago and I have really enjoyed some of the music and chat. LM Radio broadcasts 24 hours a day on FM to listeners in Maputo, Matola and their surrounding areas, surrounding areas which cover the world if you are online. They are looking for English guest presenters at the time of writing, so if I am not here next month you know where to find me! The site also links to a wonderful radio museum at http://www.lmradio.org/

LM used to stand for Lourenco Marques Radio , which was the first commercial radio station in Africa, back in 1936, but these days LM is for Lifetime Music.

First published in my monthly Radio Websites column in Radio User http://www.pwpublishing.co.uk

Radio Romania International’s schedule for western Europe

2011-11-21T19:59:00.004+04:00

Radio Romania International’s schedule for western Europe is as follows:

0630 to 0700 UTC on 7310kHz
1200 to 1300 UTC on both 15460 and 17530kHz
1800 to 1900 UTC on 11955kHz
2130 to 2200 UTC on 7305kHz
2300 to 0000 UTC on 6015 and 7220kHz.

Programmes worth listening out for are the Cooking Show, Travellers Guide, Romanian Without Tears and Inside Romania.

As well as English, Radio Romania International (RRI) broadcast in ten other languages, including Romanian, and also in the Macedo-Romanian dialect. You can contact the station at their website which includes an online reception report from. http://www.rri.ro

Their 2011 monthly QSL card series feature buildings by Romanian artist Vitalie Butesc (see photo above).

The Radio Romania International Listeners club is a great way to keep up with the station and to hear about fellow listeners in a traditional way. Diplomas and prizes are often on offer from this free to join club. Facebook and Twitter are also available.

For the RRI full schedule see their website or the wonderful Monitoring Times blog:
http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/2011/10/radio-romania-international-b11-winter.html

A vintage QSL card from RRI's previous incarnation, which I adore.

Austria Calling

2011-11-16T17:20:00.000+04:00

A signal usually very easy to pick up is from the Moosbrunn transmitter on 6155kHz. Radio Austria 1 International (ORF) only carry the news in English for a few minutes a day around 0600 UTC but even if you miss that they can play a wide selection of musical genres, especially classical and jazz which creates a good vibe.

Let the station know how you get on by emailing them at roi.service@orf.at
Current QSL cards being sent out included one depicting the beautiful city of Salzburg, somewhere I have happy memories of visiting a few times, and once even camping on the outskirts of in my youth. That was the only time we were forced to pitch our tent n a steep slope, so busy was the campsite. By morning I had slid down to the bottom of the hill but luckily I was still in my sleeping bag, as was my trusty little Panasonic radio...

Polish Radio Warsaw B11

2011-11-15T16:33:00.000+04:00

I tracked Polish Radio down on 3955kHz on Sunday 13 November at 1800 UTC. This is their only broadcast on shortwave at present. I prefer to listen on shortwave as that is more convenient than via the internet. I am working at a computer most days so do not wish to spend much leisure time at a computer too.

I disagreed with the Multitouch programme listeners who sing the praises of DRM. DRM is never going to take off- there are no receivers. Stick to analogue shortwave please.

Hoping they remain on shortwave so I can hear what Poland thinks about the world and plan my future trips there... I tried contacting the station via their website form but it would not send ...

Modern Mechanix blog

2011-11-08T18:00:00.001+04:00

The Modern Mechanix blog will keep you amused for hours, (or I will want to know why!). Full of “yesterday’s tomorrows today” it features old magazine adverts and articles for gadgets and inventions. Some came to fruition, many didn’t, but all will raise an eyebrow. The options on the left of the home page enable you to search the back catalogue by subject, “radio” includes a 1962 Sony, an article from 1958 on “What the sputniks said” and a 1929 guide to taking your radio on a camping trip. Al l in all it provides some perfect reading for a damp autumnal evening: http://blog.modernmechanix.com/

From Radio User's Radio Websites column Nov 2011 www.radiouser.co.uk/

Radio Canada International B11

2011-11-04T17:33:00.001+04:00

The new frequencies and times for Radio Canada International in English are:

1800 to 1859 UTC on 9740kHz, 9770, 11845, 15365 and 17790kHz.
These are aimed at Africa but hopefully can be heard in Europe.

The station also broadcasts English to Asia, which you are less likely be able to hear, at:
0000 UTC for one hour on 9880kHz
1500 UTC for one hour on 9635 and 11975kHz.

If you are a Francophile then try their French broadcasts to Africa as well, which are:
1900 to 1959 UTC on 9510, 9770, 11845, 13650, 15365 and 17790kHz
2100 to 2159 UTC on 11845 and13650kHz
and
2300 to 2329 UTC to Asia on 6160kHz.

I've not had the chance to try out these new frequencies yet but hope to do so at the weekend.

Amsterdam radio day 12th November

2011-11-01T17:37:00.000+04:00

Photo from: http://mrjoz.com/showcase/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/wpid1020-amsterdam-80.jpg

The annual Radio Day takes place in Amsterdam on Saturday 12^th November. This year it includes presentations and speaks on the forgotten stations from former wartime defence forts, the enticing sounding session called “Get your kicks on 266 - Radio London memories”, and top of the bill for me, the story of Radio Netherlands’ Media Network with Jonathan Marks and Andy Sennitt. Read more about it at www.radioday.nl

The very first Radio Day of this kind started decades ago, way back in 1978: http://www.radioday.nl/1978/index.htm

The end of the world as we know it (Family Radio, again)

2011-10-10T12:36:00.003+04:00

Taken from my column Long Medium and Short, Broadcast Matters, Radio User Oct 2011 http://www.radiouser.co.uk/

There is no Radio St. Helena Day in 2011, due to repairs needed to their antenna mast, which are too expensive to be undertaken on the island. Manager of the St Helena project Robert Kipp hopes that the broadcasts will return another year.

We may miss out on a Radio St. Helena broadcast but an event that is hard to miss will be the end of the world, which is re-scheduled for on 21 October 2011. I shall tune again then to WYFR (Family Radio) broadcasts as that is the revised date for the Rapture and end of the world, according to the station’s President, 89 year old Harold Camping.

I heard one of their evening broadcasts on 15195kHz at 2110 UTC which arrives via Ascension Island. Programmes seem to just consist of various Biblical readings. Mention was made of the Passover, burned offerings, the House of Israel and the 7th day of the month.

American veteran rock band REM have an interest in radio, with songs such as “Radio Free Europe” and “What’s the Frequency Kenneth?” I hope another of their songs will see us right this time, namely “It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”

Radio Afghanistan

2011-10-06T12:41:00.000+04:00

Photo from CERF website http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1719
Radio and telecommunications equipment in Afghanistan Photo: IRIN

Taken from my column Long Medium and Short, Broadcast Matters, Radio User Oct 2011 http://www.radiouser.co.uk/

Radio Afghanistan returned to shortwave as an international broadcaster in August, with transmissions in Urdu and English. Other languages will follow, namely Arabic and Russian and then French and German. Programmes are aimed to Asia, Africa and Europe.

It has been logged in Europe on 6100kHz from 1525. One of the first loggings was made by Mikhail Timofeyev in St Petersburg using a Drake R8A and 30m long wire. (source Hard Core DX). He reported the following: Radio Afghanistan from Kabul with local singing then English with news at 1530, Afghan traditional song, a talk about Ramadan, and one western pop song.

There was a tentative identification at 1556 UTC of "The International service of National Radio of Afghanistan." It was also logged in Austria, Bulgaria, India, The Netherlands and the UK in the first days of its return to the airwaves.

Radio Free Libya with news in English was also being logged on 1449kHz at 2030 UTC from Misurata by Guido Schotmans in Belgium and Max van Arnhem in The Netherlands (source Medium Wave Circle). At the time of writing the so-called rebels are surrounding Tripoli. As a consequence it looks likely that there will soon be changes afoot at the Libyan state broadcaster Voice of Africa. Currently you can hear their daily English transmissions at 1400 to 1500 UTC on 17725kHz.

Four-ward thinking

2011-09-26T19:00:00.001+04:00

BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) plans its schedules three months ahead, so it was not too much of a surprise when last week’s newsletter asked listeners for their preferred Christmas programme options.

As much as I do not like to think about Christmas much before early December, I can understand the need in this case. So my suggestions, in order of preference, were as follows:

Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion- all of the recent years’ festive programmes- the ones broadcast the Saturday before Christmas Day, that is. (NPR)
Any Vinyl Cafe from Stuart MacLean with a festive feel (Canadian BC)
Tony Hawks’ 12 Days of Christmas
Just A Minute
After Henry (the two Christmas specials)
I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue
Flying the Flag (any series not already broadcast on BBC7)

The first two were regulars on BBC 7 and so should be at home on BBC 4 Extra.
You can e-mail your requests/suggestions to Radio4extra@bbc.co.uk with 'Christmas titles' as the subject. They are already placing bets on the top 3 titles most of us might request, and I imagine they think the majority will want:
Hancock’s Half Hour and various versions of A Christmas Carol, plus Sherlock Holmes. I’m happy with those three too...

Radio Websites September 2011

2011-09-08T15:51:00.007+04:00

First published in Radio User, Sept 2011 PW Publishing www.radiouser.co.uk

Chrissy Brand looks at a wide range of websites with a radio connection. Amongst the websites this month she chooses some radio blogs from three continents, some Big Band and 1940s internet radio stations and finishes in Taiwan where PCJ Media are sharing the old and pushing ever forwards with the new.

It never ceases to amaze me how many high quality websites there still are that appertain to all things radio. Every month I stumble across something new, sometimes through painstaking research, often through a chance diversion on my way to a different website. Here’s a selection of what I have recently been reading, watching and hearing online, and that I think many readers might find useful too.

Blogs of the month
Prithwi’s World is the blog of a DXer in Assam, India. Prithwiraj Purkayastha gives links to schedule and QSL card updates (such as Radio Free Asia) and competition winners (including Radio Prague). These, together with a photo gallery of his DX memories and other radio snippets with an Indian slant, make for an intriguing read. http://prithwisworld.blogspot.com/

Adam Brasher is a young man from Alabama, whose blog details various aspects of his life i words and pictures, be it following local baseball matches or meeting South African volunteers at his local zoo. Needless to say there is a radio element to the blog too, with a simple section on Adam’s QSL card collection (see QSL count). Why not drop by and encourage him in his DXing- it is youngsters like this whose hands the radio hobby will be in come a decade or two. http://adambrasher.blogspot.com/

“Puppies and Flowers , for when you need to think of something else in a hurry”is the strange name of a blog which pulls together a wide range of mostly advertising video and clips, from the Sopranos to the Simpsons http://www.puppiesandflowers.com/ The 18 July 2011 spoof video of a 1960s look at how life would be in 2000 is entertaining (it woman award at the New York Comedy film festival) , as is the song of the day for 10 July: The Walker Brothers’ track The Electrician.

With a retrospective look at QSLing the World Bands Postcard blog is a bright and cheerful place to brighten up your day. One Helmuth W Kump in Pennsylvania is your host for a trawl through scenic views of mountains and cities, from Finland to Monte Carlo, via some classic QSL artwork that was surely inspired by the flower power generation. http://wbqsls.blogspot.com/

Over in Santiago Chile, Hernan hosts a passionate blog that majors on collecting postcards. There are many colourful examples, and some QSL cards are included. I appreciate that it is a slight aside from pure radio but as a QSL aficionado I enjoyed this slight diversion into what is after all a parallel hobby. http://mellegounapostal.blogspot.com/ Herman’s definition is rather charming too: “A postcard is a testimony of a distance travelled, a priceless greeting from somebody far away. Somebody chose it, took their time to write some words and mailed it...A postcard always affixes a smile on your face.”

A radio ham blog worth whiling some time away at is at http://ct2-1swl.blogspot.com/ Captain Luis de Barros is ready to take you on a tour of some international broadcast stations' propagations forecasts for the bands and some amateur radio information. Plenty to click on and learn about here.

Radio Green Earth is a station with a difference and one that is trying to make a difference to the planet, at http://radiogreenearth.org/blog/ They broadcast from Florida on FM with documentaries and features with an environmental nature (pun intended). The station can be heard lonline as well. It is thought provoking material that we should all lend an ear to. For example one recent programme I heard covered the drought in south Florida: “The rains have arrived, but no one is sure how long they will stay – or if they will help offset reported water shortages. Are our water troubles caused by unavoidable droughts – or because we misuse and lose the water we have?”

Internet radio past and present
Alan Wilcox found that as expected the Jazz 24 website I mentioned (http://www.jazz24.org/ ) contained mostly modern jazz. I suppose it depends on how you define “modern”, but certainly that website would not have held many surprised of the diehard jazz fan. I mentioned it more as a starting point for those developing an interest. My own jazz favourites range from Portico Quartet (see them at the London jazz festival in November) http://porticoquartet.tumblr.com/ to the veteran trio of Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack De Johnette. They are still touring even as I write. With Jazz FM now going national on DAB radio there should be a good range in some of their specialist programmes. http://www.jazzfm.com/

Online, http://www.live365.com/ channels such as Gallery 41 and New Renegade Radio are sites I often tune into for my evening jazz, and sometimes blues, fix. Just search for the station names or artistes you like in the search box and you can be transported. Gallery 41 also has a great You Tube channel with documentaries and some bizarre robotic commentaries on the genre, as well as music at http://www.youtube.com/user/ihhavec In particular I mean the “Free Jazz: The Jazz Revolution of the '60s” by Robert Levin piece from Justin TV and Alan Silva at http://www.justin.tv/ihhavess/videos

Back to Alan Wilcox though and he writes that his “main music interest is the Big Bands and I have found a very good source. If you go to http://www.gotradio.com/ and click on music, there is a wide range of categories available and I use Big Band and Swing.” There are many other genres available here and I agree that it is a useful website. It is certainly one that I shall explore further myself at some point.

Other Big Band radio stations and shows I have found include Rat Patrol Radio which has sounds from World War II, from Torgen Magnusson in Tampa, Florida at Live 365. www.live365.com/stations/torgen_magnusson

The rather old looking website http://www.bigbands.org/ also has a lot of links and flashing clipart, in a very 1990s html internet style. It might lead you to the sounds of yesteryear live today, The Big Band Broadcast with Chris Valenti at http://www.wyyr.com/

“The 1940s radio station” is one I have listened to before. It is on FaceBook as well as at http://www.1940sukradio.co.uk/ With music form the 1920s to the 1950s, jazz, jive, big Band and swing, there is plenty of variety to be heard. You can even hire the station to come along to provide live sound and visuals at events. Worth exploring. Their website links to a radio station in a genre I know little of , that of rockabilly at
http://www.big-daddy-o-radio.com/ I rather enjoyed an excursion into what for me was a new type of music.

On FM on the Isle of Wight and online to the world Angel Radio also plays music from the past http://www.angelradioisleofwight.moonfruit.com/ / It is a “unique nostalgic radio station broadcasting music recorded from the real beginnings circa 1900 up to a cut off point of the end of 1959, plus documentaries on the artistes and musical styles of this era. The cut off date of the end of 1959 is to allow the station to remain unique with a library of currently 65,000 songs, the majority never heard anywhere else. People who like music from the 1960s onwards are well catered for by other stations.”

Finally this month, a quick visit to the PCJ Media Archive in Taiwan. www.pcjmedia.com Among the recent finds that are there to share are a 1960s Radio Sweden Saturday Show broadcast, from a live studio tape. Also video and audio of the 50th anniversary of the Radio Netherland’s Happy Station Show. If you remember these stations and programmes then you are in for a treat. If you don’t, you may well want to have a listen to hear some inventive, innovative and plain good spirited radio from a bygone era sounded. For the other side of that same vintage radio coin, how about some Radio Moscow Transcription Service tapes from the 1960s that are there are and worth a listen as well. http://www.pcjmedia.com/archives

More up to date news is that the Media Network Plus Show from PCJ Media is now also broadcast on the World Radio Network www.wrn.org

Summer shortwave sojourn

2011-08-31T19:15:00.028+04:00

This is an extracct from my column Long Medium and Shortwave Broadcast Matters, first published in Radio User September 2011, PW Publishing: www.radiouser.co.uk

I can understand the feelings of unease, to put it mildly, that we are all experiencing when we hear of so many broadcasters giving up shortwave, and often for all the wrong reasons.

Despite this I still feel there is still so much to be heard and so many signals to detect. I really can’t see a future where the High Frequency bands are bereft of broadcast stations with both interesting programmes to hear and a decent quality signal. Call me naive or blinkered but I remain optimistic.

Looking at the logs in this column each month [see the magazine itself] also reminds me that there are no shortages of exciting DX opportunities right now. Whether you are a DX newbie or an old hand these logs are a good place to start a journey around the bands. I always enjoy comparing what I can hear to others’ findings, and invariably discover a new frequency or time slot that I don’t usually tune to.

Either way, in the meantime I am making the most of what is out there on the bands. I feel pleased with the balance I have managed on these long summer evenings between socialising and relishing the delights of shortwave. I have been enjoying the Manchester International Festival, its fringe event and the Manchester Jazz festival, as well as being fortunate enough to be regularly wining and dining in town. http://mancunianwave.blogspot.com/

Balancing that out have been some quieter evenings where I enjoy settling down with some famous names of the broadcast bands. If the signal is proving to be a tricky one to pull in then I’ll use a radio such as my trusty Sony 7600D, Sony SW100E with an indoor antenna, or my newest addition, the Tecsun PL380 . Where the signals are clear, which many have been for much of my summer evening listening, I prefer the deeper sound from the larger speakers on my 1970s Prince and Fidelity radios. I am often checking on eBay for other vintage radios that take my fancy but my apartment is small and as much as I love radio, I am wary of crowding every nook and cranny with a set. One in, one out, may be a policy I have to adopt in the near future.

Anyway, here’s a typical shortwave summer evening, preferably with me sitting by an open window open watching passersby in the street below, and a cool drink to hand. At 1900 UTC I’ll tune to 11610kHz for Radio Netherlands from Kigali in Rwanda. 7425 and 15495kHz are also in operation at this time, with 7425 and 11610kHz continuing for two hours until a 2100 UTC sign off.

A programme which has maintained high standards for many years is The State We’re In, with Jonathan Groubert. Not only does it have a clever title, it features some clever people and stories to make your hair stand on end. One of these concerned FBI undercover Bob Hamner whose exploits including talking his way out of being caught with a recording device while having dinner with a Mafia gang. Another featured Anas Aremeyaw who is an investigative journalist from Accra in Ghana. He is also a household name there despite the fact that very few people know what he looks like. He has successfully disguised himself as a white man and a woman in his time. The Bridges with Africa programme on Thursdays is a lesser known but equally rewarding listen, with music and features covering the full range of the arts, including contemporary dance.

Do write to them at P.O. Box 222, NL-1200 JG Hilversum, The Netherlands. Or you can find their various Facebook pages and comment there, or via their website: http://www.rnw.nl/

As the Dutch national anthem (The Wilhelmus) fades I’ll turn to 15330kHz at 2000 UTC for an hour of Radio Canada International. 15235 and 17735kHz are the other frequencies at this time, with all three emanating from the Sackville transmitter site in New Brunswick, and the SIO varying from 323 to 444 at best. Although aimed at Africa the signal is perfectly acceptable in the UK.

The Link is a 60 minute feature programme traversing tremendous variety. I especially enjoyed their coverage of the child-friendly Montreal jazz festival, and they cover Canadian musical talent as well as international. Madison Violet are a folk and pop duo of Brenley MacE8uachern and Lisa MacIsaac who I recommend. Adam Karch is another good musician, whose blues recordings include Cotton Fields and Crossroad Diaries. Contact the programme and the station by writing to The Link, Radio Canada International, P.O.Box 6000, Montreal, H3C 3A8, Canada. Or you can simply email info@rcinet.ca

All India Radio, as I mentioned in the June column, is a favourite station of mine. The intelligent and independent commentaries, exotic Hindustani music and the unique acoustics of the studio make it a pleasure to turn to 7550kHz any time between 1745 and 1945 UTC and 2045 to 2230UTC. Other shortwave frequencies include 7400, 7410, 9415, 9445, 11580 and 11670kHz. You can write to them post at The General Overseas Service of All India Radio, Broadcasting House, Parliament Street, New Delhi, India. Or there is a reception report form you can complete online at http://www.allindiaradio.org/recepfdk.html

The Voice of Russia is available throughout the evenings with 9800kHz at 2200 to 2300UTC from the Russian transmitter at Krasnodar being a late night port of call for me. 12040kHz at 1800 to 2100 UTC is another good option. I also enjoy the Russia Today tv station in English (channel 85 on Freeview). Both have excellent programmes although radio station has the historical pedigree. I am still unsure however about the music played underneath the news bulletins that they introduced late last year. The Musical Tales programme more than makes up for this though, on Sundays at 2030 UTC. You can contact the station by email world@ruvr.ru or by post to Voice of Russia, 25 Pyatnitskaya St., Moscow, 115326, Russia.

Should I get restless with any of these stations, I will turn to Radio Kuwait on 15540 (from 1800 to 2100 UTC) which has been putting out a 555 SIO here in north-west England of late. It plays a real mixture of musical genres, interspersed with regional and international news. It’s a relay of the domestic station on 96.3 MHz FM and 963kHz medium wave. On shortwave you can also catch Kuwait on 11990kHz. The station address is Radio Kuwait, Safat P.O.Box 193, Kuwait City, Kuwait, 13002.

South Korea’s international broadcaster KBS World is another solid performer with news and lifestyle programmes which leave me feeling I really have learned something. Each time they sign off from a broadcast I reflect on how privileged I have felt to go on a tour of what appears to western eyes and ears to be an exotic far off country. This is a quality which I am sure many of us will agree to be one of the most alluring aspects of tuning to the shortwave and medium wave bands.

I have always found KBS World‘s coverage of what is termed “K Pop” to be an amusing aside from more serious musical styles. I was surprised to read online and in the press that it seems to have become quite widely popular in other parts of the world- a trend that has developed this summer. K Pop, for the uninitiated, is a genre of bouncy, rather fluffy pop music, usually with a catchy hook line or two. The lyrics can be in Korean or English, or quite often just a series of vocal noises. A song that has stuck in my head is “Hot summer” by FX, along with Bo Peep’s “Poppy”. The K Pop programme is hosted by a team which includes Sarah Jun, Angie Park and DJ Young.

Also in the 1800 UTC broadcast on Saturday comes the KBS World Worldwide Friendship programme which starts at ten minutes past the hour. (7325kHz). Other South Korean times include 1600 to 1700 UTC on 9515 and 9640kHz; 2100 to 2130 UTC on 3955kHz; and 2300 to 0000 UTC on 1440kHz mw from Luxembourg. The station email address is english@kbs.co.kr. They also appear to have an English postal address. I have not tried this yet but would be interested to hear if you get responses. KBS World, Unit 93, Kingspark Business Centre, 152-178 Kingston Road, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 3ST. Tel: 020 8605 1331. info@kbsworld.co.uk

Finally this month, the latest Radio Romania International contest is based on the 2011 George Enescu Festival. This music festival takes place throughout September across Romania. You need to submit answers to the following questions by 30 September, (answers which you can find at the Radio Romania International website http://www.rri.ro/ ):
1. When and where was George Enescu born?
2. Name at least three compositions by Enescu.
3. Name at least three prestigious musicians attending this year’s edition of the festival (soloists, conductors or orchestras).
4. Which edition of the “George Enescu” International Festival is running this year?

You can answer by mail, fax, e-mail, on the Radio Romania International Facebook page, or by the form at: http://www.rri.ro/ The postal address is: Radio Romania International, 60-64, G-ral. Berthelot Street, sector 1, Bucharest, Romania. The email address is: engl@rri.ro

The times and frequencies for Britain and western Europe are 1100 to 1200 UTC on 15120 and 17510kHz:: 1700 to 1800 UTC on 11735kHz; 2030 to 2100 UTC on 11880kHz; and 2200 to 2300 UTC on 5960 and 7435kHz.

Coffee break at Bush House

2011-08-29T01:09:00.000+04:00

First published in the Collectors’ Corner column of the British DX Club’s monthly journal Communication, July 2007. To download a free sample copy of the journal and to read more about the club and membership please go to: www.bdxc.org.uk

Is collecting coffee cups a mug’s game? Probably not, but it is one of the many offshoots that a radio hobbyist might veer into, quite by chance. Many radio stations give away cups and mugs depicting their logos and frequencies, and it is quite easy to end up with a cupboard full.

The 2005 BDXC visit to World Radio Network in London also saw all attendees receiving a rather nice WRN mug. And if you are visiting BDXC HQ in Caversham you would be very unfortunate not to sup a cup of tea from one of many varied radio station cups that are amassed there.

Other, less celebrated, radio souvenirs might include paperweights. During building renovations in the mid 1980s a popular sales item in the BBC World Information Centre and Shop were paperweights made of chunks of Portland stone from the building, encased in plastic, bearing the legend. “A piece of the BBC. Bush House is being rebuilt.[actually it was being partially repaired and refurbished] This Portland stone came from its walls.” (pictured). This was a supreme piece of recycling / marketing dreamt up by Mike Cronk, (now on the BBC WS Management Board).

When the shop opened, (originally for one year only as part of BBC External Service’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 1982), it stocked a conventional line of merchandise, which in time became quite an esoteric range. BBC pens, diaries, bags, towels, bookmarks, baseball caps and tee-shirts were joined on the shelves by furry insects, umbrellas and golf balls bearing BBC logos.

An over optimistic order of cups created a six foot high pyramid in the stock room: 2,000 white china cups with the BBC crest and “Nation shall speak peace unto Nation” and 2,000 with “BBC World Service-a world of difference.” If you have one of these it is more of sentimental value rather than a valuable rarity. However, the Dunoon ceramics bone china cups (pictured) with drawings of Bush House were a limited edition.

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Tuning in the longwave bands, Monitoring Times 2002

2011-08-15T23:48:00.000+04:00

I wrote this article nine summers ago, for the North American audience who read Monitoring Times www.monitoringtimes.com
It was published in the October 2002 issue. Stumbling across a copy of it in my archive recently, I thought it may be of interest to readers of my blog. Some stations I mentioned remain the same today, some have changed, and some projects never got off the ground...

In Europe radio listeners have an added choice of listening as a number of radio stations use the long wave broadcast band. These stations are mostly domestic and located in European counties, with a couple in North Africa and the Middle East. If there is nothing of interest to be heard on medium wave, short wave or FM, then you can be spoilt for choice by scanning through the 17 allocated long wave frequencies from 153kHz to 279kHz. Long wave broadcast stations can currently be found in 25 countries, covering geographical extremities from the far north-west of Europe in Iceland, down to North Africa in Morocco and Algeria. Eastwards the band is used as far away as Georgia, Jordan and Azerbaijan.

Although long wave reception cannot match the clarity of FM, just as with the rest of the AM band (medium wave and short wave), what it sometimes lacks in sound quality is made up for by the programme content quality and variety. Many of the big boys broadcasting on long wave, such as Germany’s Deutschlandfunk and Luxembourg’s RTL have such strong signals that there is no difficulty in hearing them throughout western and central Europe.

As most of the radio stations are aimed at a domestic audience, they understandably broadcast in the vernacular language. But, just as on short wave, sometimes you don’t need to understand a language to be able to enjoy the atmosphere generated by local music and to form an accurate impression of a station, region or country.

What’s on Tonight?

So, what’s to be heard on a typical tuning across the long wave dial? There are a number of long wave stations that come in loud and strong here in the north-west of England using even the simplest and cheapest of receivers.

A personal favourite of mine is France-Inter, from Allouis in the centre of France, on 162kHz. They have a good variety of music programmes in the evenings, so you can tune into light classical on a Thursday, or jazz at the weekends presented by Julien Delli Fiori. I recently enjoyed a concert entitled Festival Jazz in Marciac that featured Gilberto Gil and Kenny Barron’s Brazilian project. If you can’t receive France-Inter on long wave, try it on the Internet at: http://www.radio-france.fr/

The BBC has always used a long wave transmitter at Droitwich in the English midlands to broadcast one of its domestic stations. BBC Radio 4 has been on 198kHz since the late 1970s, in parallel to its FM frequencies. The long wave programme carries opt-out programming at certain times of the day, such as religious broadcasts, cricket commentary and the shipping forecast, and the BBC World Service is relayed overnight.

Both the cricket and the Shipping Forecast have become two great British radio institutions. The Shipping Forecast carries thrice-daily reports from the Metrological Office on conditions at sea. It has a gently lilting theme tune called Sailing By, evoking the waves and motion of the sea (incidentally a different version of the same tune is used in the maritime programme Seascapes, heard on RTE1 Radio Telefis Éireann, on 567kHz medium wave. Have a listen via www.radio1.ie/infocenter/ ).

Although aimed at fishermen and trawlers at sea off of the British Isles, France and Northern Spain, many a landlubber tucked up in bed listens with fascination to the mystical language used. Strange sounding sea areas include Rockall, North Utsire, Dogger and Sole are followed by a forecast ‘easterly veering northerly, 5 or 6, wintry showers, good’.

Cricket commentaries are also broadcast on BBC Radio 4 long wave. International matches (Test Matches) last for up to 5 days, (and there might still not be a winner!) and the ball-by-ball commentary is just as popular with cricket aficionados as those with little knowledge of the game. The best broadcasting comes when rain has stopped play, and English gentlemen commentators discuss the merits of chocolate cake sent to them by listeners, and observe all aspects of the gentile side of English life, from spotting buses to charity balls. Such is its place in English culture that even former Prime Minister John Major spoke out against proposed cuts in the service when he was in office. www.bbc/radio4

From Kalundborg, Denmark you can hear Danmarks Radiok's first programme on 243kHz, and on medium wave 1062kHz. Like BBC Radio 4 this has opt-outs for weather and religious programming. It also carries more unusual programming such as Fish Prices and gymnastics. If your Danish language skills let you down then you can always listen out for some of the light classical music often broadcast in the evenings. www.dr.dk/p1

If you can receive the Danish station at your location you will be hard pressed to hear TRT Erzurum Radio and TRT-4 from Turkey, on that same 243kHz frequency. The 2 other longwave frequencies used by the Turks also clash with stronger signals at my western European listening post. TRT 4 uses 162kHz, as do France Inter and Radio Bashkortostana in Russia. TRT 1 competes on 225kHz with Radio Polonia, which has English and German news at 1000 UTC. So for a tantalising Turkish taste I use the Internet instead http://www.trt.net.tr/

On 216kHz Azerbaijani Radio 1 broadcasts in Azeri from Gyandza. However its 500 KW signal is swamped in the U.K by Radio Monte Carlo’s news and music format. This comes via Roumoules, Plateau de Valensole, France with a 1400 kW directional antenna. http://www.rmc.mc/ TWR (Trans World Radio) 0200 to 0300 UTC and Radio Evangile also use the frequencies for half hour segments when Monte Carlo is off the air, which is overnight European time.

Germany has a major presence on long wave. At the top of the dial on 153kHz comes Deutschlandfunk. Deutschlandradio programmes out of Cologne are broadcast under the historical name of Deutschlandfunk and are mostly news and talk format, with Berlin programming under the name of Deutschlandradio on 177kHz with a music format. Deutschlandfunk from Aholming can be found on 207kHz any time of day or night. http://www.dradio.de/

There is also an independent commercial station in Germany called Europe 1 on 183kHz. This broadcasts in French from the south-west German town of Saarlouis or Saarbrucken, close to the French border. It can usually be relied upon to play some interesting music in the European evenings or American afternoons. http://www.europeinfos.com/

The tiny country of Luxembourg, sandwiched between France, Belgium and Germany may have a population of well under half a million, but it packs a strong radio punch. A 2000 KW transmitter pumps out programming in French 24 hours a day on 234kHz. http://www.rtl.fr/

Eastern European
Eastern European stations also have a strong presence on longwave. Romania Actualitata broadcast 24/7 from the Transylvanian city of Brasov on 153kHz, as do Radio Yunost in Taldom (just north of Moscow), with youth music and programmes.

The Czech Republic has a music station called Cesky Rozhlas 1 on 270kHz, and a website at http://radiozurnal.cro.cz/

From Sofia, capital of Bulgaria you might strain to catch the 60 KW of Radio Horizont broadcasting the Bulgarian parliament on 261kHz.

Other long wave stations are not as fortunate at the rich ones in western Europe. At the time of writing Georgia’s Gruzinskoye Radio on 189kHz in Tbilisi is unable to afford to use the 500 KW transmitter, and it is only used occasionally for events such as President Edward Shevardnadze’s weekly address to the nation. It is also scheduled to carry a daily 30 minute VoA relay in Georgian. www.geotvr.ge/radio_erti/

Politics are also at the forefront of a station set up by the Voice of Russia, namely Radio Chechnya Svobodnata (Radio Free Chechnya) on 171kHz. This broadcasts predominantly in Russian with a couple of Chechen broadcasts each day. They have a bi-lingual website in Russian and English. http://www.chechnyafree.ru/

Amongst other ex-Soviet republics now doing their own thing on longwave are: Belarus (White Russia) with Belaruskaye Radio on 171 and 279kHz and Ukraine from Kiyev (Kiev) on 207kHz.

The long and short of it
I haven’t been able to tune in two other stations on 189kHz, namely Iceland’s Ríkisútvarpið Radio 1 and 2. They share the frequency, with Radio One broadcasting documentaries and classical music, and Radio 2 covering pop music and current affairs. For a taste of what you are missing you can hear them live in Reykjavík via audio streaming at http://www.ruv.is/

Norway fits a lot of programming onto its 153kHz frequency, with Norsk Rikskringkasting national programming (NRk 1 and NRK 2), sharing the frequency with regional stations NRK Finnmark in VadsØ, NRK IngØy and Radio Norway International. www.nrk.no/p1 www.nrk.no/p2

Moving south to Italy, if you are in the vicinity of Sicily then you can hear one of the lowest powered long wave stations. RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana) Radio 1 is on 189kHz, from Caltanissetta with just 10KW. www.radio.rai.it/radio1/

In the Middle East Radio Jordan can be heard in Arabic on 207kHz, transmitting from Al Karanah, south-east of the capital Amman. http://www.jrtv.com/

Some stations that you are unable to pick up on long wave or the Internet also broadcast on shortwave. Amongst these are 177kHz Deutschlandradio from Berlin on 6005kHz and Deutschlandfunk from Aholming on 207kHz and 6190kHz.

The two North African long wave broadcasters can also be heard on shortwave. Morocco’s Radio Mediterranee Internationale broadcasts in Arabic and French on 171kHz and 9575kHz, from Nador in north-east Morocco. A second, all-Arabic Moroccan station is Radiodiffusion-Television Marocaine on 207kHz.

Radio Alger International used to be an easy catch before Atlantic 252 used its 252kHz frequency in the 1980s. It broadcasts in French, English, Spanish and Arabic on 252KHz and primarily in Arabic on 153kHz.

Armenia’s Radio 1 and the Voice of Armenia use 234kHz for multi-lingual broadcasts, including their English transmission. TWR and Radio Polonia are others who broadcast on short wave as well as long wave.

Current developments
The 252kHz frequency has seen a lot of change during the past 12 months. Atlantic 252 was a joint venture from RTE (Radio Telefis Éireann) and Radio Luxembourg which broadcast from the late 1980s to the end of 2001, from Trim, County Meath, Ireland, with a transmitter at Clarkestown, and a London office. Its format was music aimed at an 18 to 34 year old age group. http://www.atlantic252.com/

However it was replaced by sports station Teamtalk 252 whose parent company Teamtalk Media Group bought Atlantic 252 in December 2001. After a series of test transmissions early in 2002, Team Talk 252 came on air in March. Many radio professionals and enthusiasts were doubtful that the station could survive, as sports in the U.K were already well covered by BBC Radio 5 and TalkSport. The latter two were well established and also had the advantage of medium wave frequencies, whereas coverage of the Teamtalk long wave frequency was patchy in some parts of the target area of the U.K and Ireland. http://www.teamtalk.com/

Perhaps the biggest concern of the sceptics was that the programme content had no actual live sports rights, and consisted mostly of phone-ins and reports from sporting venues. During the soccer World Cup in Korean and Japan in the summer, Teamtalk (and TalkSport for that matter), had no rights to actually commentate live from the matches. Instead, both stations had a commentator in the studio describing matches off the television, with an artificially generated soundtrack of the crowd.

Both stations had to publicise that this was how they were covering the World Cup. I can’t imagine many listeners tuning in when they could receive real live match coverage from BBC radio just along the dial. It certainly did not help Teamtalk’s cause, and the station went off air at the end of July, with over 370 people in danger of losing their job. A plus side of the stations short life was that Teamtalk donated Atlantic 252's 9000 strong CD library to a good cause; the U.K Student Radio Association.

As to the future, as I write (August) 252kHz is relaying the Magic radio network, a pop music format. Other rumours as to its future include UBC Media, owners of Classic Gold and digital service Oneword, broadcasting Oneword on the frequency, and Chris Cary wanting to bring back Radio Nova on 252, a station that ‘changed the face of Irish radio in 1981’.

Next year [2003] on long wave
Cruisin' 216 the AMazing AM is the working name for a new commercial radio station being developed in Norway these past seven years by Northern Star International Broadcasters AS. Personally I think the name Northern Star is a more distinctive branding. It is due to come on air in 2003 on 216kHz and will cover Scandinavia & Northern Europe, broadcasting a ‘mature’ music format, in English. Programmes will include Norwegian and Scandinavian music, international news and weather reports and Northern Lights Christian programming. http://www.northernstar.no/

There is also a second long wave commercial station set to come onto 279kHz later next year.[2003] The Isle of Man International Broadcasting plc (IMIB) will broadcast from the Isle of Man, which is an island dependency of the British Crown located off the north west coast of England, in the Irish Sea. The station working title is MusicMann 279 . This will target Britain and coastal western Europe, and primarily an audience of women aged 25 to 55. There are also plans to make it available on short wave , satellite and the Internet. http://www.longwaveradio.com/

There will be a wide range of music and a news service. The approximately 50 strong workforce is expected to be mostly female and recruited from island residents. There are a number of celebrity presenters in the pipeline, such as rock keyboardist and showman Rick Wakeman. Paul Rusling, Chief Executive of IMIB told me ‘The station will have a Christian ethos and not include profane lyric content music etc. in output. We are also most likely to carry a bit of evangelical programming - Very likely to be The World Tomorrow and one or two selected others’.

Paul is also excited by the transmitter ‘being a CFA (Cross Field Antenna) atop a platform, and one of very modern design’ Developed by engineers Professor Maurice Hately and Dr Fathi Kabbary, it has been used in its initial format by the Egyptian Radio and TV Union since 1994. It is small, stays in tune, does not require constant adjustment and has a much reduced induction field around it, thus reducing interference. This transmitter will be located offshore, and the studios will be in the town of Ramsey.

Conclusion
So as you can see, (and hopefully one day you might be able to hear), the long wave broadcast band in Europe is crammed full of varied and often interesting programmes. Certainly there are many frequencies where 4, 5 or even 6 stations are broadcasting at the same time, albeit it from different parts of the continent. Long wave is a useful part of the spectrum for broadcasting signals over distances, and many a French holiday maker in Spain might be grateful to hear a radio station from home; likewise an Englishman in Bordeaux might still be able to pick up the Saturday afternoon play whilst he sips a glass of claret in his farmhouse.

It is rare for a new longwave station to come on air, but if things go according to plan, there could be 2 English speaking ones within the next few months. Either way, the community of long wave broadcasting is thriving and worth investigating further, either with a long wave receiver or via the Internet. Happy hunting.

References.
Herman Boel’s European Medium Wave Guide also contains details of long wave broadcast stations at http://go.to/emwg
British DX Club www.bdxc.org.uk

In this article we will look at a selection of the radio stations currently heard on long wave, along with recent information on some stations hoping to hit the airwaves in 2003.

Radio Websites August 2011

2011-08-07T15:42:00.006+04:00

First published in Radio User PW Publishing: www.radiouser.co.uk

Chrissy Brand looks at a wide range of websites with a radio connection. Amongst the websites this month she investigates Family Radio’s end of the world proclamation, shudders at the thought of climbing a transmitter tower and prepares for some summer radio reading, e-book style.

Oddities
You will doubtless have heard about the end of the world predictions from Family Radio in May. The BBC World Service interviewed the man behind the claim, Harold Camping, who stuck to his guns and said who he had taken five years of intense study of the bible to reach this prophetic claim. To watch video footage of this elderly man in action, along with other items including two fascinating informal 20 minute home video tours of their California studios and offices, go to http://www.bibleandscience.com/otherviews/camping.htm You can read about and hear WYFR, who have been on shortwave since 1973, but on the US radio dial for longer, at http://www.familyradio.com/

The Online Engineer is a long running website that I have only just stumbled upon at http://www.theonlineengineer.org/ Another Californian based operation, they host video tutorials, applications, basic to expert information and a blog, to name but a few parts of the website. The reassuring strap line of “We Know Broadcasting” and “Nuts and bolts” give confidence even to someone with very little engineering knowledge like myself. Their blog will be of interest to some readers http://www.theonlineengineer.org/TheOLEBLOG/ Of course they also have links to their social media pages, including Twitter, Facebook and a You Tube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/TheOnLineEngineer

Their You Tube channel used to host the most terrifying video I have ever seen, that of an engineer climbing an 1800 ft tall transmitter tower, but for some reason (copyright?) it is not there anymore. Mark Palmer of the British DX club managed to track it down however at the Merwix channel http://www.youtube.com/user/merwix where it is hosted, or click the following to get there directly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A_h2AjJaMw&feature=share Called “Tower climbers working” watch it if you dare. It is not for the fainthearted.

Perhaps also not for the fainthearted are the English programmes of Radio Ukraine International. They are now only available online, with an audio stream at http://89.187.1.165/NRCU4 Or you can listen via the website in several languages at http://www.nrcu.gov.ua/

More mainstream perhaps, but not to be forgotten about are the following three BBC World Service podcasts, which between them offer entertainment, education and even enlightenment: The Strand, Discovery and Science in Action. Many more excellent podcasts free for you at http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice

Blogs and podcasts
Radio User reader and Air Traffic controller Tony Roper writes a good blog which includes some of his radio listening habits and technical information, at http://atcmanch.blogspot.com/ Tony also has a website celebrating his aviation photos http://www.rogdabbit.co.uk/

Robin Emery is another Radio User reader who posted the following information to the Radio User Yahoo group. You can click to join the group at the foot of the Radio User home page. http://www.radiouser.co.uk/ “Today I discovered a new video podcast on the TWiT network called "Ham Nation", a programme dedicated to ham radio. It's hosted by Bob Heli and is aired live each Tuesday at 2300 BST / 2200 UTC. The programme is available after transmission via the TWiT website if you are unable to catch the live show. Here is the link to the show: http://twit.tv/hn/ You can watch TWiT live 24/7 at http://live.twit.tv/ . An enjoyable view or listen.”

I certainly second that. TWiT Tv is a channel with many interesting podcasts and netcasts all with a solid identity and a robust feel to the site. “You'll find over 15 different shows here, all covering some aspect of technology. As the network expands new hosts and participants are added all the time. You can learn more about a show by clicking its name on the left side of this page. You can listen to any show by pressing play on the player built into each show's page. If you like a show you can subscribe to it using iTunes or other netcast/podcast programs.”

Robin also has his own website at http://www.radiorobin.com/ and its an internet radio station that pays tribute to the music and television shows of the of the 1980s. Robin also has a YouTube channel which includes a review of the free BBC News smartphone app. http://www.youtube.com/user/robinjuste76

Helmuth W Kump had a great world band blog at http://worldbandblog.blogspot.com/ Although not having any entries for some time there is plenty of archive material that deserves to be read and enjoyed. Also the 21 February 2010 entry has a good set of links to websites that cover the contents of Passport to World Band Radio, which sadly ceased with the 2009 edition. http://worldbandblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/ replacing-passport.html Helmut is also an amateur radio operator KT3L, It would be nice to see his blog spring back to life soon.

Books
German DX club ADDX (Assoziation Deutschsprachiger Kurzwellenhörer) based in Mönchengladbach has its website at http://www.addx.de/ Although in German, you can navigate easily enough to the sections. For instance the QSL card gallery, which has dozens of examples new and old from around the world. They have also instigated a very useful service, that of reproducing radio publications on CD. A few years back, in collaboration with the World Radio TV Handbook, they digitised all editions of the WRTH from 1947 to 1970. These cover two CDs and more details are at the following link http://www.addx.de/Service/CDreprint.php

Talking with the WRTH publisher Nicholas Hardyman recently, I understand the ADDX and WRTH are hoping to digitise editions from the past 40 years to bring the collection up to date. I will keep you updated on this exciting development. As well at the WRTH website they have a Facebook page. They have also started to produce their own CDs with frequency bar graphs which are useful as a supplement to the WRTH which can only print the winter schedules of international broadcasters. Other schedule downloads and updates are also available. http://www.wrth.com/

Just think of the room you could save on your bookshelves with a three CD set of every WRTH since 1947, although personally I feel there is nothing to beat thumbing through a book in its paper format. It’s one of the reasons why I have been slow to buy Amazon’s Kindle or other e-book reading device. Sony, Samsung and Google are amongst other well known names manufacturing such devices. Wikipedia has an interesting review and comparison of these, including many I had not heard of. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_readers

Cost and environmental reasons and the guilt of having yet another electronic piece of kit also play their parts in my hesitancy to buy. But having borrowed a Kindle I can see the attraction, and the ability to carry 250 books at once and download many classics free of charge is a definite plus.

The e-book readers are certainly to be seen everywhere this summer. While on the tube to Wimbledon this past week I saw a man with a Kindle in each of his combat trouser side pockets- his and his girlfriend’s. I just wonder how e-book devices cope with a summer on the beach and by the swimming pool?

If the price comes down to around the £40 mark I would be tempted but in the meantime I am content enough to read publications in pdf or other formats on my laptop. I have just noticed too that Amazon offer a free version of Kindle for your laptop or desktop computers, and presumably tablets too. I have downloaded this and will have some fun over the next few weeks, doubtless reporting back here.

If you are looking to download some free reading material though I recommend this Australian website. The University of Adelaide enables you to download by title, author or subjects, which cover literature, travel and exploration, philosophy, science, history and cookery Most of the publications are classics that are out of copyright but there is bound to be something that you will relish reading. http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/ and you can also interact via their Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/ebooks.adelaide Another good website for this kind of material is the Open Archive http://www.archive.org/ The search facility enables you to look by media type, be it video or text, or audio, I have found a few interesting volumes of a US publication Broadcasting Stations of the World , from the 1960s and 1970s, which downloaded as a pdf are something to peruse on my laptop. The first quarter century of broadcasting the in the USA by Edward PJ Shurrick was another good find. http://www.archive.org/details/firstquartercent00shurrich

The website titled 22 words is packed full of weird and wonderful technology with a twist. It is at http://twentytwowords.com/ It includes videos of a robot able to play pool and a new i-phone app which tells you if you are dominating a conversation (the talk o meter) http://www.talk-o-meter.de/e/ Other great robot technology is at the Bot Junkie Gerbil God You Tube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/GerbilGod7

Radio Canada International- a loyal listener

2011-08-05T16:43:00.000+04:00

An example of how easy it is to contact a radio station by email with your heartfelt comments, followed by their equally warm, and fast, response. You can simply email info@rcinet.ca

Dear friends at RCI

Just a quick line to say how much I enjoy and appreciate RCI on shortwave. After working at a computer most days the last thing I want to do in my own time is to spend the evenings at a computer too, even if it were for listening online.

So shortwave is the best option for me. I can sit in an armchair, on the balcony, or even at the end of the garden and enjoy!

I have been a listener for years and try and listen at least 3 nights a week.

I enjoy all aspects of the Link, especially the more in-depth features and the local music scene, such as the Montreal jazz festival and up and coming musicians like The Stars and Madison Violet. Your programmes make ever keener to spend some holiday time travelling around your vast and varied country.

I tend to listen from 2000 UTC on 15235kHz, although the other two frequencies of 15330kHz and 17735kHz are fine too. Usually a SIO of 344 or 444.

I hope you continue on shortwave for many years to come. Internet and shortwave should be used in tandem, not a case of forsaking the latter for the former.

Best wishes to all at RCI

Chrissy Brand

RCI response, within a few hours:
Dear Ms. Brand

Thank you very much for your e-mail of the 4th. It is truly a pleasure to read!

I've passed it along to our weekday program "The Link," and also to the host of the "Maple Leaf Mailbag, so don't be surprised if you might hear it mentioned on air. I'll also include it in a selection of listeners' comments which is circulated among our staff.

Any comments, good or bad, which you might have about our programming will always be welcome.

Good listening!

Yours very truly,

Bill Westenhaver
Audience Relations/Relations avec l'auditoire
Radio Canada International
http://www.rcinet.ca

An exotic air

2011-08-01T01:08:00.008+04:00

First published as part of "Long, Medium and Shortwave Broadcast Matters" in Radio User, PW Publishing, June 2011, www.radiouser.co.uk

If I have a summer evening indoors then I find a good way to relax is to tune to the General Overseas Service of All India Radio (AIR) at 2045 UTC (1945 BST).

I sit in my favourite chair sipping a cup of Darjeeling, and am transported to the very country where that tea originates from.

7550kHz is a good frequency which usually guarantees an all 4 or even all 5 SIO. The other frequencies at this time are 9445 and 11670kHz. You can also catch a two hour broadcast to Europe earlier in the evening at 1745 to 1945 UTC on 7550 and 11670kHz.

You can contact them by post at GOS AIR, Broadcasting House, Parliament Street, New Delhi, India. There is a reception report form you can complete online at http://www.allindiaradio.org/recepfdk.html

A recent broadcast was typical, starting with a news summary then one of the station’s intelligent commentaries. This was on the challenges faced by India from the Somali pirates. A programme of Hindustani classical music followed, then a programme on Indian pop music.

Next a feature that I think had the unlikely title of “Persons spaces and things”. There was then an interview with an archaeologist before closing at 2230 UTC. An hour and three quarters of sheer shortwave quality.I enjoy All India Radio due to its uniqueness- the ambience in the studio does not seem to have changed for as long as I have been listening (and that is more decades than I care to admit).

Some Summer shortwave schedules

2011-07-30T16:00:00.024+04:00

First published as part of "Long, Medium and Shortwave Broadcast Matters" in Radio User, PW Publishing, June 2011, www.radiouser.co.uk

A reminder that the British DX Club (BDXC) "Broadcasts In English" guide for the A-11 shortwave season covers all English broadcasts from end of March to end of October 2011, in UTC time format, with frequencies and target areas, along with other useful information. A handy A5 guide it’s easy to take away with you on your summer travels too. Available from BDXC (BIE), 10 Hemdean Hill, Caversham, Reading, RG4 7SB. It costs £2.50 in the UK for a paper copy (cheques to British DX Club) and it is also available as a pdf version for the same cost. More details at http://www.bdxc.org.uk/

Radio Bulgaria have a range of music and entertainment, DX and listener programmes for your delectation over the summer months. With an audience that stretches from Denmark to New Zealand, Peru to the UK you can contact them by post at English Section, Radio Bulgaria, Sofia, Bulgaria or by e-mail to english@bnr.bg

They are easily heard on 7400 and 9700kHz at 1730 UTC and 5900 and on 7400kHz for an hour from 2100 UTC. The “Answering your letters” programme does what you would expect, compiled by Rossitsa Petkova. It's nicely seasonal too, way back at Eastertide I heard about the Paschal celebrations in Bulgaria, and how to prepare the special sweet bread called kozunak.

Radio Romania International’s summer schedule for western Europe is quite straightforward, with a morning broadcast on 15210 and 17510kHz from 1100 to 1200 UTC. In the evenings you can tune in on 11735kHz from 1700 to 1800UTC and a half hour from 2030UTC on 11880kHz. You could also try their broadcasts to the east coast of North America for an hour from midnight UTC on 7385 and 9580kHz.

To follow Japan’s post earthquake progress you can turn to NHK Radio Japan at the following times for Europe and Africa until the end of October. 0500 to 0530 UTC on 5975 and 11970kHz and 1400 to 1430 on 21560 kHz.

Mediterranean summer shortwave sounds

2011-07-29T00:53:00.016+04:00

Photo: Chrissy Brand: Dorset flag at Lyme Regis beach

First published as part of my monthly column "Long Medium and Shortwave: Broadcast Matters" in Radio User, PW Publishing, July 2011 www.radiouser.co.uk

Mediterranean sounds
The Mediterranean is a region that northern Europeans quite understandably flock to from May until October. Whether you take a portable radio on your holidays or prefer to tune to the sounds of the Mediterranean from your radio shack, here’s a round-up of some of the English broadcasts you can hear.

Albania is an up and coming tourist destination these days, although I am not sure that their radio station always reflects this. Broadcasting form two transmitter sites in Shijak and Fllake you can hear English to western Europe from 1430 to 1500 UTC on 13625kHz; 1845 to 1900 UTC on 7520 and 13735kHz; 2000 to 2030 UTC on 7465 and 13735kHz. Incidentally, if you fancy hearing Radio Tirana in its mother tongue there are two Albanian broadcasts to western Europe, at 0630 to 0800 UTC on 1458kHz mw and 2030 to 2200 on 9860kHz.

Radio Portugal has been heard easily on shortwave for many years and I often enjoy the music they play on their Portuguese programmes. They send QSL cards too, although recently announced a temporary suspension of shortwave. If you want check on this progress or to see if anyone else jumps into their place, the frequencies allocated to RDP in the current season include 7420, 9715, 9820, 11850, 11905,11940, 11995, 12020, 12060, 13755, 15160, 15180, 15295, 15560, 17575, 21655 kHz. Their address is RDP Internacional, Av. Marechal Gomes da Costa, 371849-030, Lisboa, Portugal.

Syria is still very much in the news and you are not alone if you have been tuning to state broadcaster Radio Damascus to follow developments. Radio Damascus is keen to hear from its listeners. You can write to them at Radio Damascus, P.O. Box 4702, Damascus,

Syrian Arab Republic or send your comments by e-mail to radiodamascusenglish@yahoo.com Before you can write you’ll need to be able to hear them.

Their English schedule is currently a one hour evening broadcast to Europe on 9330kHz and the irregularly used 12085kHz to North America. Programmes start with a lively Syrian song and a full schedule check with some technical details not given by other stations. There is a surprisingly friendly feel about the station, with the announcers introducing themselves and the technicians on duty, and jovial programme handovers that are more akin to the BBC World Service hour long newscasts.

Once the music finishes the evening proper commences in the form of a news bulletin, complete with a military signature tune. News, as you would expect is from the regime’s point of view and includes sentences such as “The victims and martyrs defending the homeland.”, “the imprisonment of rioters.” and “attacks by arms smuggling groups terrorising the locals and forcing the army to intervene.” Current day news from Palestine as well as historical features on the neighbouring country certainly pull no punches about the Syrian regime’s support of Palestine in their struggle with Israel.

However, I must say I greatly enjoy the music on Radio Damascus- to my British ears it has a very exotic sound, with Middle Eastern instruments and vocals. Musical instruments you will hear coming together to form hypnotic pieces include the oud, rabab, nev, violin and the tableh, or goblet drum. The weekly “From Our Literature” programme with its strange echoes and western classical music background rounds off an interesting hour of programmes.

Mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands are always a popular place to soak up some sunshine and sangria, and I find this is often reflected in the broadcasts of Radio Exterior de España. Reader Geraint Gill heard them in English on 9665kHz at 1920 UTC but there was bad co-channelling with Radio Rossi in Russian on this frequency at that time. You might have better luck if I give the full schedule. If you are burning the midnight oil then the 0000 to 0100 UTC broadcast on 6055kHz to the Americas might be a good place to start. Next up are weekday afternoons with a short news bulletin from 1435 to 1438 UTC on 5970, 11815, 15585, 17595, 17755, 21540 and 21610kHz. We are well served in the evenings however, with an hour long broadcast from 1900 to 2000 UTC on weeknights using 9665 and 11610kHz.

On Saturdays and Sundays this is an hour later and just on 9560kHz. The station states that “The English Language Broadcast of Radio Exterior de España has been on the air since 1944. Our daily broadcasts seek to inform listeners about goings-on in Spain, as well as offer a Spanish perspective on world events. News, sports and weather, presented live, are followed on weekdays by a variety of different programmes on subjects ranging from art and culture to history, politics, and the latest trends.”

The Voice of Turkey is another station that still faithfully transmits its English language programmes into the ether. They are always a good catch and you can be entertained for a good hour or so each night. From the Emirler transmitter you can hear them from 00300 to 0400 UTC on 6165 and 9515kHz. A lunchtime listen is always a nice way to break the day from 1230 to 1330 on 15450 to Europe and the Americas. You may not be able to catch the 1630 broadcast to Asia on 15520kHz but the 1830 to 1930 UTC to Europe on 9785kHz should present few problems. There is a 2030 to 2130 UTC broadcast on 7205kHz for Asia and Australasia, then one for Europe and the Americas from 2200 to 2300TC on 9830kHz. This has been logged by Geraint Gill with a 555 SIO so a good one to aim for.

Programme-wise The Voice of Turkey airs its “DX Corner” on alternate Saturdays but that is just one of many diverse and high quality programmes. “Hues and colours of Anatolia” is one such example, covering history and folklore. I only have to hear its jaunty theme tune to be transported on dusty trails across ancient parts of Turkey.

The Letterbox programme is well received by its listeners and correspondents write from as far away as USA, Italy, Bangladesh, Indonesia, China and India. They are also plagued with many begging letters, or rather begging emails, that they mention on air. I know all stations get these but I don’t know of any that mention them on air!

So why not give the Voice of Turkey something more interesting to talk about in their listeners’ programme, and drop them a line with your brickbats and plaudits, plus your reception reports and questions about Turkey. Email them at englishdesk@trt.net.tr or write to Voice of Turkey, PO Box 33306443, Yenişehir, Ankara, Turkey.

St. Petersburg summer nights

2011-07-28T11:49:00.001+04:00

It’s worthwhile tuning to the Voice of Russia as they cover the summer cultural festivals in St Petersburg. The White Nights festival celebrates the long light evenings in the city at this time of year. Programmes such as Music and Musicians with presenters Olga Fyodorova and Olga Shapovalova provide over 45 minutes of interesting material, just one of many musical programmes. See also: http://www.saint-petersburg.com/weather/summer.asp

Try the following times: 0600 to 0700 UTC on 1323kHz mw and 15405kHz; 0700 to 0900 UTC on 1251, 1323 and 15405kHz; 1400 to 1500 UTC on 1251, 4975 and 11500kHz; 11985 and 12040kHz should see you through the rest of the afternoon and evening, then at 2200 UTC try 9800kHz.

You can contact the station by email world@ruvr.ru and by post to Voice of Russia, 25 Pyatnitskaya St., Moscow, 115326, Russia. If you go to the contact page on their website you can even print out a Freepost envelope to send a letter free of charge. Although not sure why yu would do this - if you can communicate by email then surely you would, or you would write a traditional letter and just post it. Anyway... http://english.ruvr.ru/

Radio Websites July 2011

2011-07-08T10:16:00.001+04:00

First published in Radio User http://www.radiouser.co.uk/

Chrissy Brand looks at a wide range of websites with a radio connection. This month she chooses some lesser known stations, looks at the Seattle radio dial, hears some suitable summer sounds, picks some podcasts and finds curious cameras down under.

Are you looking to get away from it all to somewhere you can appreciate stunning scenery and wildlife, and also enjoy unrivalled radio reception? If so, then Lapland awaits you. DX veteran Mika Makelainen, informs us that the Aihkiniemi cabin in northern Finland, built last summer by DXers is now available to rent out. It is equipped with kitchen, bathroom, bedroom for two and a radio room, plus an array of one km long Beverage antennas. Check it out at www.dxing.info/dxpeditions/aihkiniemi_dx_cabin_for_rent

Radio near and far
Domino records is an international record label with an interesting blend of global musical artistes. In June they ran a one week radio station on an RSL (restricted service licence) in London. www.dominorecordco.com/uk/news/ A week of live, independent and international radio was promised and hopefully there will more in the future, as their ethos certainly is a deserving case for a longer licence. The radio station online, which hopefully will continue regardless of the RSL, is at http://dominorad.io/ "In the spirit of such stand-alone broadcasting giants as Radio Caroline, The Peel Show, Rinse FM, The World Service and Women's Hour - and dispensing with such orthodoxies as play lists and compliance - Domino Radio featuring non-stop twenty four hour music, conversation and good times."

IRIN Radio is a station I recently stumbled across on one of my forays into the great unknown that is the worldwide web. http://www.irinnews.org/radio.aspx They “give a voice to vulnerable communities and provide them with information to make better-informed decisions about their own lives. IRIN Radio produces high-quality programming in local languages on humanitarian issues, ready for broadcast by local stations. The service also provides hands-on training to journalists, developing their production and reporting skills, allowing local radio to serve communities more effectively.” Weekly podcasts are available in English and they make for an educational listen to people’s lives in countries such as Somalia and Uganda.

Whilst on the subject I read a very interesting report on a Rwandan radio station, Radio Salus, at the UNESCO website. Set up with UNESCO and EU funding it is listened to by almost two third of the Rwandan population in addition to a big audience also in neighbouring Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo. The article is a few years old but interesting nonetheless, at http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.phpURL_ID=23502&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Or you can search under the “themes” drop down menu for “radio” at http://www.unesco.org/ or put “Radio Salus” into the search box there. Salus is derived from the Latin word "salut", meaning salvation. (left).

Onto Israel next with a retrospective visit by Trudy and Miko Schwartz. Their travels in Israel many decades ago are presented tin several parts. Part 3 includes some fascinating black and white photos of Jerusalem broadcasts in World War II. www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3878149,00.html It’s part of the “Y Net news Israel at your fingertips” website. http://www.ynetnews.com/

Australian spies
Radio Australia carried a fascinating feature on an espionage museum in the middle of nowhere. The ABC Rural reporter programme is a unique piece of radio that always fascinates me. If you don’t hear it directly on Radio Australia or World Radio Network, you can get an audio link via the website http://www.abc.net.au/rural/programs/ ABC Radio's Bush Telegraph is another programme worth tuning into or clicking on a link for. The Spy camera museum I referred to is located in the small town of Herberton in northern Queensland. It may be a long way to travel in person but you can manage a virtual visit by going to http://www.spycameramuseum.com.au/

Cameras from around the world are featured, with some used for aerial surveillance and others disguised as pocket watches, including the 1904 Ticka Watch camera used by Scotland Yard and the US Police. The website blog is a good read with photography related tales. Herberton itself is well worth a virtual tour via the historic mining site http://www.herbertonhistoricvillage.com.au/links

Radio for all
I have mentioned some of the Radio 4 All podcasts before but as I’m always dipping into this website see what is new I thought I would share some findings http://www.radio4all.net/

Also known as the A-Info Radio Project, it started way back in 1996 when “grassroots broadcasters, free radio journalists and cyber-activists provided found a way to share radio programmes via the Internet. Their mission statement is “to support and expand the movement for democratic communications worldwide. We exist to be an alternative to the corporate and government media which do not serve struggles for liberty, justice and peace, nor enable the free expression of creativity. The archived material is available to anyone who wants it free of charge.”

It’s a very worthwhile and useful website and resource, that although may not have the bells and whistles of some similar sites, certainly enables the individual to hear a wide range of non-mainstream radio and views. There are lots of ways to find podcasts on this site, and searching by topic gives you a staggering choice. Just work your way around until there’s a podcast you like the sound of. I enjoy The Sunrise Ocean blender, Radio Curious, Radio Free Kansas, Latin Waves and Mellow Madness, amongst many others.

At the other end of the spectrum we have Carmarthenshire Community Radio at http://www.cvcradio.co.uk/ The station gets out and about and has film reviews in a programme called “Good Film Hour”. Local music also makes it an interesting online listen with rather a laid back relaxed atmosphere to it all. This is probably due to the less pressurised time slots that many stations have. Community radio can allow people to voice their views in the time that they need.

Also relaxed but in a different way is Frisky Radio, which is on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/friskyRadio and http://www.friskyradio.com/

Online for a decade now and with over 90 exclusive shows hosted by artists from bedroom DJs to international superstars they aim to “deliver cutting-edge dance music fuelled by our passion for the genre both online into your living rooms and offline on the dance floor.” It may not sound like they’ll be your cup of tea but some of the music is very lively, thoughtful and listenable. It’s always good to tick another box in the “genres of music I know something about” category.

Performing a similar role is Dance Radio at http://www.danceradio.gr/ This Greek online stations plays a blend of laid back music that you often hear emanating from restaurants and bars on Greek Island resorts. There are three formats to choose from: tech house, chill out and trance and they are all the kind of sounds that you can enjoy whilst sipping a cocktail at a Mediterranean beach bar- for me it generates an instant sunshine feeling.

If you are more of a traditionalist in your musical tastes, then try these 100 popular jazz standards at http://www.jazz24.org/jazz100.html
Thousands of people voted for the quintessential Top 100 jazz songs of all time. If you like and know jazz you will find yourself disputing some of the choices, and if you don’t know much jazz then it’s a perfect introduction. Along with the list you can listen to some of them and even see performances of all one hundred. It’s a thoroughly entertaining way to while away an hour at a time. It just illustrates once again, for me at least, how radio and the internet dispense the need for 99% of what is aired on television. The main website http://www.jazz24.org/ is also good for day to day listening to world class jazz music.

KEXP in Seattle was recommended to me via a friend’s Facebook thread, and a very good station it is too. http://kexp.org/ All sorts of sounds for and from the Pacific North West coast that gave us the grunge scene in the early 1990s. There are playlists and podcasts of the day, and all in all I embarked upon an enjoyable new music experience.

Seattle certainly sounds like a lively city and the station is involved, from its presence at the Memorial holiday weekend through the summer festivals. Other Seattle stations I have tried out and want to return to in time include many I found at the community web portal for the area. http://www.therainiervalley.com/radio_web_sites.html

This has an early web feel to it and the vintage radios scattered around helps maintain the sense that a diehard radio buff has a large hand in this fine effort. KKNW is a local news station at http://www.newschannel1150.com/ Puget Sound Public radio from KOUW at http://www.kuow.org/ and live streaming of Native American programming at http://airos.org/AIROS_Live_Stream

Finally for this month, I know I’ve banged on about the Bratislava Radio building over the years, but I was surprised when it came up in conversation at an interview I had this week for a BBC web project. The upside down pyramid casts a long shadow, and I was delighted to watch its construction on YouTube at the following channel www.youtube.com/user/jaffarski There amongst almost 100 historic videos of all manner of Slovakian live is a four minute clip called Bratislava - Stavba obrátenej pyramídy (1976).

Don’t forget to let me know of any websites you recommend- just drop an email to me at chrissylb @ hotmail.co.uk

Radio Websites June 2011

2011-06-11T17:24:00.001+04:00

First published in Radio User http://www.radiouser.co.uk

Chrissy Brand looks at a wide range of websites with a radio connection. This month she chooses a selection of online radio stations, some interesting radio blogs and picks out a set of must see videos from You Tube.

Rocking all over the world
I have been listening to a variety of online radio stations in the past month and thought I would share some of them with you. Community Radio in Milton Keynes might not sound like your cup of tea but CRMK is a professionally run station and covers music and chat from Christianity to progressive rock (the latter is called “Between Two Worlds” show on Monday evenings at 2000 BST), all spiced with real local news. You can listen online at www.crmk.co.uk

The World Radio Network is always a reliable way to hear international stations. Especially useful for stations you cannot pick up on the radio in the UK, such as the English language service of Radio Tunis International. If you go to the stations section at www.wrn.org you can find a list and may be in for a pleasant surprise at just what is available to hear, live online or via the listen again facilities. YLE Finland, Radio Sweden, United Nations Radio and Radio Algeria are amongst the many radio stations there.

Over in Canada I have been enjoying some evenings of summer jazz courtesy of Canada Jazz FM http://www.jazz.fm/ . There are documentaries and archive concerts as well as the listener request shows that you would expect, from Leonard Bernstein to Artie Shaw. The archive is at http://www.canadianjazzarchive.org This not for profit community station has an audience of half a million listeners a week, but why not boost that figure further and give them a try one evening?

WICN is a similar station in that it majors in jazz and folk, from its New England base http://www.wicn.org The time difference in listening to North American stations online can be strange, as our European evenings coincide with their lunch times and so the music may reflect a different mood and time of day. However for me that just adds to the atmosphere of listening to a regional station across a distance of several thousand miles.

Back in the north to Alaska and KMXT is a public radio community station in Kodiak. Once you have heard the varied programmes which include a progressive music show on Tuesday evenings (2100-2300 Alaska Time) you can even buy a coffee mug promoting the self-deprecating station’s “35 years of mostly good radio.” http://www.kmxt.org

KAMU FM is a station based in a Texas university and offers a good variety. I have heard some very good classical music and they air National Public Radio output in addition to the local programming. Archive programmes that you can hear live or at your leisure include Exploring Music with Bill McGlaughlin features an in-depth look at classical music and Garden Success with Doug Welsh. This is a phone-in gardening show with very different plants and problems than those discussed on BBC Radio 4’s Gardeners Question Time! http://kamu.publicbroadcasting.net

Paul River Gibbs has a long history as a musician, spanning punk to blues, jazz to progressive rock. He has played at festivals from Stonehenge and the Isle of Wight to Europe. He has now put together a multimedia network to promote new music and new radio presenters with River Gibbs FM. This London based station is only a click away at http://www.rivergibbsfm.com/ and a myspace page at www.myspace.com/rivergibbsfm

The Live 365 station I have been listening to a lot lately is Fusion 101, which plays a mixtire of jazz fusion and jazz rock, all the way from the town of Frederick in Maryland. It features such bands as Trace, Frank Zappa, Jean-Luc Ponty and Maneige. I have heard lots of music and artistes for the first time here and I recommend you giving it a listen for half an hour or so one evening. www.live365.com/stations/ifuse

Another Live365 channel worth your time is the Raised on Canadian Radio channel. The easiest way to fins them is to go to their blog, which is updated often and links to the station. http://raisedoncanadianradio.blogspot.com The Live 365 station profiles Canadian artists that are featured each day in the blog, http://RaisedOnCanadianRadio.blogspot.com . You can follow the Canadian Song of the Day on Twitter www.twitter.com/CanadianRadio An interesting mix of modern and classics, from Blinker the Star to Martha and the Muffins. Once again, you may not have heard of many of these but that’s the beauty of radio on the internet- the chance to be adventurous and stumble across new sounds and stations that can soon become favourites.

“Echo Beach” was a hit UK single for Martha and the Muffins. It came out when I was working at the BBC Equipment Department, dealing with paperwork for redundant BBC studio equipment that made its way to radio stations in Africa. The Echo Beach song was great in its own right and deserves revisiting, as does their back catalogue (1977 to 2002). The lyrics that used to bounce around my head at my BBC job were apt to me at the time “From 9 to 5 each day I spend the day at work, my job is very boring I’m an office clerk.”

Blogs
There is a nice blog from Samira Ahmed who is a journalist for ITN and Channel 4. Her blog includes postings and ponderings on her work and travels. It’s a rich resource with musings on films she has seen and places she has stayed. A review of her childhood and her mother’s happy days working at the centre of the universe for the BBC is at http://www.samiraahmed.co.uk/?p=271&preview=tru (or search the blog for the 2 February 2011 entry) is entitled “My secret playground in the Bush House Hindi section.”

“I must confess, there were long stretches, especially when I was only 5, when I was bored. But there were those fabulously exotic English meals to look forward to in the Bush House canteen when it was all over. Fish and chips and spongy things with custard. But over time it came to mean much more. I grew up completely at home with reel-to-reel tape machines; sitting with the Studio Managers, watching them rock the reels and edit with a flick of the china graph pencil and razor blade. Scripts were painstakingly typed and carbon copied. Words in beautifully written Hindi were amplified round the booth. I even got my first broadcast experience there being interviewed for a children’s programme about second generation Indian immigrants growing up in Britain. (And learned that it was never a good idea to drum one’s fingers on the table during a recording).”

Another related and useful website on Indian radio and media is www.medianewsline.com

John Marsyla in Holland writes a blog on TV Dx and transatlantic mw DXing as well, and I often wander over to his website to read about his latest catches. At the time of writing he was listening to stations from the Dominican Republic: “This morning while listening to the overnight recordings of a part of the mediumwave band my first impression was that there were again very bad TA conditions. But I was surprised to hear two Dominican Republic radiostations in the X-band around 0400 UTC. On 1640 kHz Radio Juventud Don Bosco from Santo Domingo and on 1680 kHz Radio Senda from San Pedro de Macoris. Both of them are personal firsts.” http://johnmarsyla.blogspot.com/

Stuart Pinfold is a freelance audio engineer at the BBC and his website is a good read to find out what a working day behind the scenes in televisions and radio can be like. http://www.stuart-pinfold.co.uk/broadcast/

You Tube
You Tube- where do you start? So much to view and an awful lot of decisions to make unless you want to fritter away your evenings in a frustrating haze. Millions of videos to sift through so the best way is to set up your own account and subscribe to the channels that catch your eye. Then you can return to those subscriptions and have some method in your madness on future occasions. You don’t have to ever upload videos yourself to have an account. For the record my own is at http://www.youtube.com/user/chrissylb100 and my subscriptions that will be most of interest to readers include friends’ music videos, tram journeys in Europe and, of course, plenty of radio catches from DXers around the world.

Channels I recommend this month are http://www.youtube.com/user/senderjaeger This features all kinds of radio goodies, 288 videos worth to be exact. From listening to SW Africa outdoors in Germany to Radio Nacional da Amazonia.

How about a glimpse of an actual machine that generated the content for the infernal numbers stations or spy stations? Watch in amazement at the six part video at http://www.youtube.com/user/PeterStaal01

Another entertaining channel is that of Radio Ham guy at http://www.youtube.com/user/RadioHamGu y It’s very American with amateur radio call ups and conferences, equipment guides, tornado and storm watches.

Adventist World Radio Annual DX Contest - runs throughout June 2011

2011-06-08T00:09:00.000+04:00

"Choose a Channel" - AWR 40th Anniversary DX Contest

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Adventist World Radio, our DX program "Wavescan" is conducting a big worldwide DX contest, "Choose a Channel". It was back on October 1, 1971, that AWR made its first broadcast on shortwave in a service originating out of Portugal and beamed towards various countries in Europe.

Here are the details of the 2011 "Choose a Channel" DX Contest:-

A. Choose a Channel
We invite you to choose any shortwave channel, just one channel, anywhere in the world upon which Adventist World Radio is broadcasting, during the month of June 2011.

B. Prepare Reception Reports
You are invited to listen to the shortwave channel that you have chosen at any time, day and/or night, during the month of June 2011, and see how many different stations, including Adventist World Radio, that you can hear on that one specific channel. You are invited to prepare a standard reception report for each station, one sheet of paper for each station.

C. Photocopies
You are invited to search your QSL collection, and where possible, provide a photocopy of a QSL that you already hold in your collection from each of the shortwave stations that you hear on that one channel. These photocopies should be in color if possible, but black & white is also acceptable. If you do not already have a QSL from any of the stations you select, then you should state so in your contest entry.

D. Three Radio Cards
Where possible, you are invited to include three radio cards for the Indianapolis Heritage Collection with your contest entry. These cards may be old or new, and they may be QSL cards, reception report cards, or picture cards of radio stations, etc. (Not valid for this contest are amateur cards nor CB cards.)

E. Assemble Your Contest Entry
Post your entry with all items to Adventist World Radio in Indianapolis, remembering that the total number of stations you hear on the channel, and neatness and preparation, will all feature in the judging procedure. Remember also, that we will then post your reception reports to the other shortwave stations involved, requesting them to issue QSL cards to you in response.

Other Contest Details

Well, there you have it, the details for our Wavescan 2011 "Choose a Channel DX Contest". This contest will run through the month of June 2011, and all contest entries should be postmarked at your local post office anywhere in the world on any date up to the end of the month of June, and they should be received at the AWR post office address in Indianapolis no later than the end of the month of July 2011. Return postage in the form of currency notes in an international currency, or mint postage stamps, or IRC coupons would be welcome. Where possible, a self addressed return envelope, business size or half quarto size, would also be welcome.

The awards for this year's contest will be similar to all previous contests. There will be a special award for the world winner, one of the Jerry Berg radio history books; and World Radio TV Handbook 2012 for each continental winner. In addition, there will be other special awards as well as AWR souvenirs and radio curios for many participants.

You can remember that all AWR reception reports will be verified with a specially endorsed AWR QSL card. Please remember that it will take a period of many months, well into the new year 2112, to process all of the contest entries and reception reports, but each will in due course be processed.

The only address for the AWR "Choose a Channel" 2011 DX Contest is:-
Choose a Channel DX Contest
Box 29235
Indianapolis
Indiana 46229
USA

(Dr.Adrian Peterson, Adventist World Radio)

WY Family Radio proclaim end of the world....

2011-05-20T22:25:00.000+04:00

WYFR (Family Radio)’s prediction that the world ends on 21 May 2011 is not the first- they along with others have predicted the world will end in the past, and have thankfully been proven wrong.

However, this time the world’s media seems to have picked up and run with the story more than before. Maybe interest and a slight apprehension has peaked this time around, due to the amounted of natural disasters and people’s revolutions that have plagued (in the former) and liberated (in the latter case)parts of the planet this tear- the massive floods in Brazil and Australia, major earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan , the Arab Spring with its uprisings throughout North Africa and the Arab world,.

BBC World Service interviewed the man behind the claim, Harold Camping, who stuck to his guns and said who he had taken 5 years of intense study of the bible to reach this prophetic claim. Let’s hope it is 5 years wasted. If you want to see videos of this elderly man in action go to: http://www.bibleandscience.com/otherviews/camping.htm
In the DX community the most amusing aside I heard was a question as to whether WYFR has therefore gone ahead and registered their shortwave frequencies for the B-11 period (October 2011- March 2012). Presumably there’s no need if the will be no-one left to broadcast to.
If you ate quick, you can read about and hear WYFR, who are located in Okeechobee, Florida, USA and have been on air since 1973, on http://www.familyradio.com/
Tune in while you still can- amongst their many times and frequencies – they broadcast round the clock-are:

0700 to 0800 UTC on 5950 5985 6875 7520 9385 and 9505kHz
1600 to 1700 UTC on 6085 11570 11830 11850 11865 13695 15210 17545 17555 17795 18980
1900 to 2000 UTC on 6020 6085 7270 7395 9610 9775 13615 13690 17795 17845-18930 18980kHz
etc.

With thanks to the British DX club for frequency information: www.bdxc.org.uk
Hopefully see you back here soon...

Radio Websites May 2011

2011-05-05T11:37:00.001+04:00

First published in Radio User, PWP May 2011 www.pwpublishing.ltd.uk/

Chrissy Brand looks at a wide range of websites with a radio connection. This month she covers some offbeat musical programmes, sounds of Syria, blogs from the Far East and more.

A date for your diary is the annual National Vintage Communications Fair on Sunday 15 May 2011. Held on the outskirts of lovely Leamington Spa it is “an antique-type collectors fair specialising in early technology and featuring thousands of rare and collectable items such as early radios, television receivers, gramophones, telephones, classic valve hi-fi and all manner of electrical and mechanical antiques & collectables.”

I have visited a few times and always had an enjoyable (and sometimes expensive!) day out. More details are at http://www.nvcf.org.uk/

Musical mystery tours

I am a great one for hunting down and enjoying all kinds of esoteric music and programmes online, and I am glad to discover I am not alone. Let me introduce you to Andy Preece’s World of Pop website, which has more to it than you might think from the name alone. Its guide to international music shows is very useful but there is even more to discover. http://www.andypreece.co.uk/music/

Amongst his preferences are BBC Radio 3’s Early Music show, which is more about early musical instruments than the time of day it is aired. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006tn49 Another BBC programme he recommend is Radio Foyle’s Electric Mainline. This is a weekly alternative show promoting unsigned bands and new talent, presented by Stephen MacCauly. www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/radiofoyle/programmes/electric/ But these are just the tip of a very large iceberg of Andy’s tastes. You really need to explore it for yourself, but who could resist clicking on links such as The Britney Spears Guide to semiconductor physics. http://britneyspears.ac/lasers.htm Or the Saw Lady, which is Natalia Paruz’s website, promoting her musical talents with the Austrian pitched cowbells, English hand bells and, yes, a carpenter’s saw. It’s not a spoof, as she has played with orchestras and at venues around the world. http://www.sawlady.com/

Whilst following the crises in Japan I stumbled across this rather good Japanese music website, which is helpfully written in English, being based in Denver, Colorado. It is called “Japan A Radio” but is not somewhere to turn to for the latest news from Japan. However it is a good place to visit for the Japanese pop classical and chart music. If you are intrigued by the sound of acts such as Ayumi Hamasaki, Kirito and Hikaru Utada then click your way over to http://www.japanaradio.com/

Perhaps more familiar sounds will be heard when you go to the rather ominous sounding Delicious Agony website. This internet-only radio station concentrates on progressive rock music and was established over ten years ago. http://deliciousagony.com/

Syria is the latest country to hit the headlines as I write this and the state broadcaster
Radio Damascus can be heard on shortwave and via a website at http://www.radio-damascus.net/ with podcasts and QSL cards. There is also a Yahoo group for listeners at http://www.radio-damascus-listeners-club.tk/

If you want to hear more stations from Syria I recommend the always excellent and regularly updated Live Radio Net. This website has links to thousands of broadcast radio stations (rather than internet-only stations) from all around the world and is the perfect place to start an online audio odyssey. Just head for http://www.live-radio.net/ and click your way to the continent and countries you want to hear.

Syrian Stations you can hear are Al Madina FM (The City FM) with Arabian pop and oldies http://www.almadinafm.com/ ; Arabesque with a variety format at www.arabesque.fm/ , Rotana Style with music and talk http://rotanastyle.com/rotana/ and Sawt el Shabab (Sound of the young). You can support and promote the Live Radio Net website by buying badges and sew on patches too.

Books and blogs
A book that recently came my way is entitled Hitler’s Radio War. Written by Roger Tidy, it is a very good read and has had me enthralled as a bedtime read for the past couple of weeks. It certainly has led to some strange but vivid nightmares, in black and white, about propaganda radio stations. With background to all the strange stations that were on air and the miscellany of ex-patriots and disaffected prisoners of war who became the on-air talent, it is gripping stuff.

It covers stations such as Workers Challenge and the New British Broadcasting Station and presenters like Rita Zucca (Axis Sally) and Joe Scanlon. There are also useful explanations and definitions, including this: “The Second World War expert Sefton Delmer identified three types of radio propaganda: black, white and grey. ‘White’ stations such as the BBC and the RRG [German state broadcaster of the time] were open about their allegiance; ‘black’ stations pretended to represent one side while surreptitiously serving another; and ‘grey’ stations – probably the most subtle of all-typically made no claims about their origin.”
Published by Robert Hale earlier this year it has a recommended retail price of £20 but if you search online you can get it cheaper. http://www.halebooks.com/

Amongst the blogs I have been reading this past month are these fine five, which include three from Asia. We start with Md. Azizul Alam Al-Amin in Bangladesh who writes a Radio Listening blog and peppers it with good photography, insight and information on international radio. Still in his 30s he is also published regularly in the radio press around the world. http://sw-radio.blogspot.com/

TL Beyel in Malaysia runs a blog with a south-east Asian perspective ”dedicated to the bona fide radiohead.” It’s a glimpse into what stations can be heard in that part of the world and beyond, both nowadays and in the past. The blog is amply supported by a good QSL gallery and a nostalgia section which includes a wonderfully atmospheric piece on stations picked up in the USA in the 1970s.

I’ll include a taster for you here and leave you to read the entire blog. “Aside from KFML, another great station was KVOD. With its transmitter located high atop Ruby Hill in Denver, announcers John Wolfe and Gene Amole introduced me to the classical music world of Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Rossini et al. I remember especially well Amole broadcasting in Larimer Square. He called his segment In The Square at Café Promenade and birds twittered in the background while he chatted up his audience. ...These guys had panache, and were just as classy as the music they played for their listeners. In the Seventies, both AM and FM radio listeners in Denver had a choice of non-English speaking stations too. The city’s diverse ethnic demographics created a niche radio market for Spanish, Greek and German programming. Daily broadcasts over KBNO, Denver’s first Spanish language station, served a sizeable Hispanic community and provided a voice for Hispanic music artists. On Sundays, an hourly Greek language programme opened and closed its show with a lively bouzouki rendition of Zorba the Greek. Aside from topics of interest to the Hellenic community, listeners heard Greek pop music and commercials for The Athenian restaurant. Gunter Auerbach hosted Musical Greetings from Germany on Sundays as well.” http://shortwavedxer.blogspot.com/2010

As a big fan of Radio Taiwan International I complement my listening to their shortwave broadcasts by subscribing to their blog, called Hear in Taiwan It offers a tantalising glimpse into life in Tawain , from grocery shopping and 24 hour bakeries in downtown Taipei to remote villages. The posts are short and succinct yet manage to conjure up vivid imagery and tastes for me. http://blog.rti.org.tw/english/

“From the Radio Shack” is the name of a blog in Sweden. To be more exact it is a group of some radio enthusiasts who share a DX shack in Hälsingland, 350 kms north of Stockholm. I like the fact that anyone who happens to be there will post a blog of their findings, be they humdrum or rare. For example “A sunset opening towards Peru about 22.30 UTC and good signals from some Puerto Rico and later on Colombian stations. But at our dawn and sunrise it was a great disappointment. Nothing from the Andes, nothing from the West Indies. Nothing from North America. The only remaining station in the morning was Radio Vibración (and a week signal from Puerto Cabello).” www.radioenthusiasts.blogspot.com/

Nathan Morley is a journalist based in Cyprus and contributes to radio stations as diverse as Vatican Radio and LBC. His blog can be a good read and is at the Cyprus Mail newspaper
www.cyprus-mail.com/blogs/nathan-morley

BDXC Broadcasts In English guide for A11 launched

2011-04-24T10:23:00.000+04:00

The British DX Club (BDXC) "Broadcasts In English" guide for the A-11 shortwave season is out now.

It covers all English broadcasts from end of March to end of October 2011, in UTC time format, with frequencies and target areas, along with other useful information.

A handy A5 guide it’s easy to take away with you on your summer travels too.

Available from BDXC (BIE), 10 Hemdean Hill, Caversham, Reading, RG4 7SB. It costs £2.50 in the UK for a paper copy (cheques to British DX Club) and it is also available as a pdf version for the same cost. More details at www.bdxc.org.uk

Broadcast Matters: Long, Medium and Short

2011-04-19T12:04:00.001+04:00

April 2011, first published in RadioUser (written in Feb 2011) www.radiouser.co.uk

QSL card of the Radio Australia transmitter site at Shepparton

Chrissy Brand brings you a round up of the broadcast bands. This month the need for shortwave is emphasised again as crises hit Egypt and Australia, and she looks at the wide variety of the international and national signals being heard by readers.

Tuning to Tunisia
There was turmoil in Tunisia as the jasmine revolution took place in January and February. If you understand Arabic you would have been able to hear what the state broadcaster said via Radio Tunisienne. Sadly they only broadcast in Arabic, although they do accept reception reports in French as well. They broadcast to Europe daily from 0400 to 0625 on 7275kHz from a transmitter at Sfax. Broadcasts to North Africa can be heard from 0200 UTC on 9725 and 12005kHz; 0600 to 0810 UTC on 7335kHz; 1600 to 2000 UTC on 9725 and 12005kHz; 1700 to 2100 UTC on 7225; and 1900 to 2100 UTC on 7345kHz. Reception reports are accepted in Arabic and French, according to the 2011 World Radio and TV Handbook, and the station address is Radio Tunisienne, 71 Ave de la Liberte, TN 1012, Tunis, Tunisia. Email ittisal@ertt.nat.tn

Whilst not able to hear the news directly from Tunisia’s broadcasters, other English language stations covered the events in Tunisia. There was a interesting discussion on the BBC World Service (0730 UTC on 12095kHz) a month after the revolution took place, with a Tunisian activist and a politician. It was agreed that the hard part of consolidating the revolution is yet to come, that of instigating change and democracy. A democratic mechanism already in place which outstrips the western world is the employees of the state television service voting for who should sit on the state television’s editorial board. Other innovations include a union for school children.

Floods and cyclones on shortwave
Australia, especially the state of Queensland, suffered terribly with floods swiftly followed by Cyclone Yasi in February. Shortwave was mobilised via the Shepparton transmitter site in Victoria and became an invaluable supplement to failing FM and medium wave networks as an emergency channel for Australians in peril. “Tune to 9701 or 6080kHz if your local ABC transmitter goes off air. Shortwave radio might be crackly but it works"‏ became an ABC mantra during the crises, as 5995, 6080, 7240, 9475, 9710 and 11660 kHz carried updates and warnings.

ABC Brisbane on 612kHz medium wave relayed programming onto shortwave 6080kHz, and with the transmitter in Cairns expected to be damaged by the cyclone, again shortwave was lined up as a safer transmission method, relaying the ABC’s northern Queensland regional radio service. These shortwave broadcasts were also picked up by the DX community, who tuned in with concern. The lesson to be learned and adhered to is one which DXers already know, but seems to have been forgotten by many international broadcasters, is the power of shortwave, in times of crisis, and the need to maintain it in times of stability.

Actual programme content covered the flood areas, the calls to evacuate Brisbane, how to prepare livestock and how they react to floods, and phone callers from Barrier Reef islands with updates on conditions as the cyclone weaved its way westwards. All in all it was harrowing enough listen from the other side of the world, let alone being caught in the heart of it.

Radio Australia later covered the history of floods in the country in their Rear Vision programme (9500kHz). There was an emphasis on the need to pay more attention to history as previous lessons in floods have not been learned. Melbourne based writer Richard Evans is an expert on Australian natural disasters and was interviewed, in a programme which contained 1950s and 1970s archive material from previous major floods. The programme mentioned that there were major floods in Brisbane and Ipswich throughout the 19th Century but the building of the Somerset dam in the 1950s improved the situation in the area.

Egalitarian Egyptians
The Egyptian revolution brought up some interesting observations on broadcasting. With the revolution evolving through social media such as Facebook and Twitter, the Mubarak regime found a simple solution. Deny the citizens their main communication tool by shutting off internet, mobile phone and satellite television access. There were ten days when the internet was blocked, but by then the anti-Mubarak momentum was unstoppable. The cities of Alexandra and Cairo were packed with people demanding chance, and broadcasters from all over covering these events.

The state broadcaster Radio Cairo is part of ERTU (Egyptian Radio and Television Union). It usually produces a good signal in English to western Europe on 6270kHz from 2115 to 2245 UTC, but was noticeably silent for a couple of weeks, even when its other services were back on air. It will be worth monitoring over the coming months. Daily broadcasts were still going out as I checked and heard them online via the World Radio Network. Arabic can be heard with a strong signal on 9305kHz in the evenings and 17510kHz by day. During the turbulent times the station often resorted to an emergency broadcast playing Arabic music, with the occasional news bulletin. Radio Cairo’s address is Egyptian Radio & TV Union, ERTU Building, Masspiro, Korniche El Nil St, Cairo, Egypt.

Brian Buckley in London was quick off the mark to follow Egyptian events live from the source. He writes: “I have a motorised satellite system in addition to Sky, and because the interference on the radio where I live is just so high, I like to go through all the satellites trawling for radio stations - amazing what's available and so clear too - I'm watching events in Cairo on the tv at the moment, with Radio Cairo's European Service playing in the background as clear as a bell! I remember many years ago when I used to listen to Cairo regularly on SW, it had a sort of exotic feeling to its sound, an atmosphere, like you could almost feel the heat of the Cairo evening coming across the airwaves. It sounded faint and sort of muffled which added to its mystery and charm - Radio Cairo on satellite is not like that.”

The Cairo crisis proves how shortwave is still necessary to reach some audiences, and runs another huge hole through the repercussions of BBC World Service proposed cuts in shortwave to places such as Egypt and China in favour of internet-only streaming. Chinese authorities already block the internet, so BBC internet broadcasts are unlikely to reach their audience. There is also the argument that internet access in some parts of the world is non-existent, unreliable, slow or expensive, and it is only the western world which has a profligate number of computer users.

In Egypt there are an estimated 400,000 listeners to BBC Arabic on shortwave, part of a 3.4 million BBC audience in the country (out of a population of 82 million). Admittedly BBC Arabic is set to continue on local medium wave and FM outlets in Egypt. The Guardian reports that with short wave broadcasts of the BBC Arabic service also due to cease in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank, Libya, Iraq and the Maghreb region of North Africa, it is expected to lead to the loss of around 5.7 million listeners across the region. "The Egyptian government's attempt to close down the internet and mobile phone network demonstrates how short sighted the current World Service transmission policy is," said an NUJ BBC World Service official."In a volatile world the World Service needs to maintain its own network of transmitters beyond the reach of dictators so it can continue to reach its audience."

It would also be far better if the BBC continued shortwave in Mandarin to China, as even the Chinese jamming of shortwave signals is far from 100% successful. I am hardly the first person to express these views and I have said them before, but it is timely to reiterate them.

SW Round up
I have been enjoying a good signal from Tibet of late. The Tibet People's Broadcasting Station broadcast from Lhasa on 4905, 4920 and 5240kHz from 2230 UTC. Although this is aimed at Asia it is picked up easily enough in Europe. One of the more interesting programmes included an item on Tibetan festivals, mentioning “the happy moment when people are celebrating”, such as a festival in Lhasa each August and International Women’s Day in March. This Chinese led station started in 1959 and the address I have written to them at is Tibet People's Broadcasting Station, Lhasa, Beijing Middle Road No.41,Tibet Autonomous Region, Postal Code 850000, China. The two email addresses I found bounced back, so I will keep you informed if I receive a reply via snail mail.

Fred Wilmshurst in Northampton comments that he has monitored Radio Thailand “during both English schedules, 1900 to 2000 UTC on 7570kHz and 2030 to 2045 on 9535kHz. On each occasion a strength 5 unmodulated carrier was evident for some time prior to the scheduled opening. After a five minute late start ethnic music only was played and continued long after the scheduled English transmission was due to close. No announcements of any kind were made during the period monitored. The music was ok though. So much for automation!”

Simon Rudd picked up a Swedish speaking station on 630kHz mw at a little after midnight, using his Eton 750. It was playing some classic Roxy Music with Bryan Ferry and Phil Manzanera. “Great stuff!” Simons says, but he was unable to identify the station itself. The best guess I can come up with is that it was one of thw Norwegian NRK stations, perhaps with a late night Swedish broadcast.

Keeping up with the developments in Egypt, Simon shrewdly tuned into Libya and the Voice of Africa, on 17725kHz at 1455 UTC with a 343 SIO. There was a discussion on the legend of Nelson Mandela and coverage of the Egyptian popular unrest. With the unrest spreading around the North African region, it will be worth keeping an ear on the Voice of Africa over coming months, for its unique perspective. Will Libya’s Colonel Gaddafi be one of the next leaders to topple?

Simon also writes that he has been “having a lot of fun with the Eton Satellit 750, especially when tuning into German medium wave broadcasting. I can’t speak German, though I’m thinking of learning. I do have a German dictionary and can of course identify the times when referred to in newscasts. I have also discovered the Eton 750 to be more than adequate when tuning into the HF Maritime Band. The clarifier makes fine tuning an easy option. Just now I tuned into RN Plymouth data channel on 2834kHz and it is adjacent to Radio Benghazi in far away Libya.”

Bradley Allen in Whitstable heard Radio Gloria International on 6005kHz. This is one of the Sunday free radio stations and it operates via the facilities of Radio 700 in Germany. At 1030 UTC it was playing various music and also a commercial for the Offshore Echoes magazine. Bradley has also been listening to Free Speech Radio News on Friday evenings on 6090kHz via the IRRS (Italian Radio Relay Service). He tells us that their programmes commence at 1900 UTC, whilst on Saturday evenings at the same time you can hear Glenn Hauser’s World of Radio. On Sundays he has been listening to a feature programme called 39 Dover Street from 1917 UTC. He would also like to know the title of the piece of classical music used by IRRS when it signs on, something which I hope to find out for next time. You can write to the station at IRRS, PO Box 10980, 20110, Milano, Italy.

Bradley poses a couple of questions. Firstly he would like to know how long TRT the Voice of Turkey’s DX Corner has been on the air. Looking through my reference books and station literature I find a mention of it back in 1984 on Saturday nights, but imagine it goes back much further than that. I have vague recollections of hearing it when I started DXing in the 1970s. These days you can hear it on alternate Saturdays at 1345 UTC on 11735 and 12035kHz; 1945 UTC on 6050kHz; 2315 UTC on 5960kHz, and a final repeat, for the Americas, on Sundays at 0415 UTC on 7240 and 9655kHz. If you know the origins of DX Corner, can help out with the IRRS theme or have any other broadcast band news, please do contact me. By email chrissylb@hotmail.co.uk

Richard Cooke was a worried man during the February gales. He was up at 0415UTC to check the antennas but “all were erect and 100% A ok which was a blessing.” The early start was made more bearable by the postal service delivery a few hours later, which brought a pile of QSL cards. “These included a nice letter from Radio Pula Croatia which was very informative. They sent CDs and stacks of stickers and info on Radio Pula - a very kind gesture .” He heard Pula which is part of the Voice of Croatia, on 6165kHz with a five minute English news bulletin at 0700 UTC. Richard writes that The Voice of Croatia broadcasts from three national channels and eight regional stations-Dubrovnik, Knin, Osijek, Paula, Rijeka, Split, Zandar and Sljeme. In 1966 Radio Pula became a part of Radio Zagreb,Radio Pula is a unit inside of Croatian radio television (HRT).

Richard also mentions that Radio Taiwan International are issuing a new QSL card mentioned on Tuesdays “Hear in Taiwan”. I think is a postcard from the 2010-2011 Taipei Flora Expo. As you will probably know by now. 1800 to 1900 UTC on 3965kHz is the place to tune. Other hugely enjoyable programmes to listen to are “Soundwaves” on Mondays, “Time traveller” on Wednesday and “Instant Noodles” on Thursday. The standard and variety of programme, as well as the signal strength via the French transmitter at Issoudon, is always high. There is also an RTI Plus audio channel that gives an extra 30 minutes each day via their website http://english.rti.org.tw/ If you write to the station there is an abundance of pens, pennant and other memorabilia that you might be sent. Email rti@rti.org.tw and the postal address is Radio Taiwan International, 55 Pei- An Rd. Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.

Radio Prague’s Czech Radio’s shortwave broadcasting expert for the past 40 years has been Oldřich Číp, who also chairs the international High Frequency Co-ordination Committee. He reflected on Radio Prague’s changes, via the station website as well as on the air. “I think that all shortwave stations have some importance still, although the era of shortwave broadcasting has of course changed. It still has value for specific segments of the audience. The delivery methods of international radio have diversified, with the internet and satellites, but shortwave has some specific properties, and it is my very strong belief that there will always be a specific segment of the audience that prefers shortwave broadcasting from terrestrial transmitters to other delivery methods. I am afraid that some of the decision makers in some of the big organisations may cause a domino effect, whereby when they start reducing then the smaller ones follow suit. So I am afraid that the reduction of shortwave broadcasting around the world was made quite hastily and is not a good development...Because shortwave broadcasting bands exist and I believe they will always be used. I think this particular group of listeners will stay tuned to shortwave, and it’s a pity that Radio Prague will not be there.”

Regarding the cuts at Radio Prague and the BBC World Service I feel it is important not to always be over critical of the broadcaster in question. Instead we must remember that the broadcasters’ hands are usually forced by their government’s slashing of the budgets.

Radio Prague does still maintain a presence on shortwave in English, albeit a small one. This is via WRMI Radio Miami International on 9955kHz, daily at 0700 UTC, weekdays at 1000 UTC, and weekends at 1930 UTC. Jeff White, WRMI General Manager, said that "Radio Miami is happy to be able to help Radio Prague stay on the air, just as we did with Radio Slovakia International when its shortwave transmissions were scheduled to end last December 31. We have had close cooperation with Radio Prague for many years now, and we hope this cooperation will continue for many more years.” WRMI is difficult to hear in Europe though. WRMI Radio Miami International, 175 Fontainebleau Blvd., Suite 1N4, Miami, Florida 33172, USA. Email radiomiami9@cs.com

50th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's space flight

2011-04-12T11:20:00.000+04:00

Today is 50 years since cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's first space flight.

BBC World Service's Discovery broadcast a very good programme on this- you can get the podcast at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/discovery

The Voice of Russia is covering the event of course as well, check times and programmes at: http://english.ruvr.ru/radio_broadcast
The Military and Space Review programme in particular:http://english.ruvr.ru/radio_broadcast/36564197/

For my own part, my new blog Mancunian Wave- a glimpse of Greater Manchester, notes the visit of Yuri Gagarin to Manchester in July 1961, at: http://mancunianwave.blogspot.com/

Radio Websites April 2011- first published in Radio User

2011-04-08T12:08:00.005+04:00

Radio Websites April 2011- first published in Radio User www.radiouser.co.uk

Chrissy Brand looks at websites with a radio connection, this month looking at some off-beat CDs, interval signals on video, the varied uses of blogs about radio, and a selection of internet stations from across the globe.

Sound and vision
If you want to hear some music with a difference I recommend a CD called Music for DXing, by a band called Spunkle. Its 16 tracks have enticing titles such as Sunspots, Hi-Lo and Wax Paper Capacitor. It cleverly mixes “the sounds of shortwave with primeval electronica in a drumless, bassless, trebleless midrange landscape of anticipation.” Originally released for friends and fans in 2003 it is now available on the First Fold Records label www.firstfoldrecords.com/?page_id=1321 There is plenty of background reading about the CD, including “Nine questions about DXing”, which is actually a fascinating backdrop to how such an esoteric CD came about. See also Spunkle’s MySpace page for samples of music and links to other likeminded souls at www.myspace.com/spunklemusic

First Fold, as you might expect, is an independent company specialising in electronic and experimental music www.firstfoldrecords.com Along with a Facebook page and Twitter account they have a YouTube channel to showcase some of their many talented performers, at http://www.youtube.com/firstfoldmusic

Another artiste on their books is Papa November, named after an infamous numbers stations. A MySpace page exists for this Birmingham based band at www.myspace.com/papanovembermusic but for the numbers station of the same name I suggest you start at Simon Mason’s website, which has audio as well as a potted history http://www.simonmason.karoo.net/page9.html

Amongst the radios and DX catches you can see and hear at the You Tube channel of one K9RZZ is a three part interval signals quiz http://www.youtube.com/user/k9rzz and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqwSaET1NHE How many can you guess correctly? I was distracted by the third in the series when two cats wandered into shot to sit by the warm lamp next to the radio. In similar vein Harrald’s channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/harre67 includes an eight minute sequence of classic interval signals, with the answers given just under the video frame if you need them. Look for the clip labelled “Various interval signals broadcasted (sic) on shortwave” but you have to view them in the main YouTube section rather than directly from Harrald’s channel to see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFRYKDF2kxs&NR=1 Some beautiful sounds.

Blogs and logs

Blogs can of course be used for whatever the author chooses, be it opinions on world events or baking recipes. In the world of radio sometimes the most simple blogs can be the most effective. For instance, the Sami DX blog simply list the latest DX logs of a Finn. He also adds the occasional QSL card and the briefest of information about himself. Based in the city of Joensuu, Finland, the equipment used is a Sony ICF-SW-7600GR, Eton Satellit 750, Akai AT-VO4, Tecsun PL-310, Eton G3 and a Tangent Quattro. http://saminblogger.blogspot.com/

It is a good example of how easy it is for anyone to blog and to share their radio findings with the world.

At the other end of the blogosphere we have a busy looking site that has a myriad of information boxes. They are well laid out with lots of photos and links to world radio. The latest news merges with archive views on radio from countries from Mexico to Bulgaria, along with maps, videos and news clips. http://yimber-gaviria.blogspot.com/

It is in Spanish when you arrive at the link but a quick click on the union flag should take you to an English language version, for most items anyway.

A more conventional, and therefore wordy, blog is that of M6RDP in Torquay. I particularly like the photo which demonstrates his QSL cards. They are cleverly displayed in a large plastic wallet which hangs on the back of a door. The cards are therefore protected and can also be changed for others when you tire of them. http://qrpstationm6rdp.blogspot.com/2010 This will give you a flavour of this interesting blog , which includes photos of restoration projects along with other everyday thoughts: “It never fails to amaze me that my 5W or 10W signal can travel up into space at the speed of light and bounce back to earth hundreds or even thousands of miles away.... I have been a SWLer for almost 30 years, and with a short break to explore the world of amateur radio (which is now my second-favourite branch of this terrific radio hobby of ours) I am just as interested, if not more so, in SWLing as I was when I was 15. My first SW radio was a, what looked like, half-finished homebrew receiver lent to me by the next door neighbour on my parents’ farm who was a licensed radio amateur very keen on CW. It had no lid or sides and I remember all the coils inside and being so inspired by the way signals could travel so very far. Listening that Christmas to Swiss Radio International was one of the most exciting and inspiring experiences of my life. It set me out on a path I have never, for one moment, regretted and have always, without fail totally enjoyed. The hobby is a real joy and blessing and I can't imagine life without it.”

Another blog which I like to simply sit and stare at contains beautiful classic French receivers http://collectionneurdetsfetradio.blogspot.com/ This is the blog of Jean-Pierre Mallard in Marne. There are some amazing examples of classic 1950s design here, with my favourite being a 1954 Sonolor. Although to be honest each time I have a look at the dozen or so radios I have a new favourite. What I find even more remarkable is that these have all been unearthed at flea markets and brought back to their original condition.

Radio requests

Bradley Allan asks if there any websites that document Radio New York Worldwide (call sign WNYW) which was a commercial shortwave station from the 1960s and 1970s. There are several and I’ll start with a timeline of the station along with other similar ones from that era at the Northern Star website in Norway, specifically http://www.northernstar.no/wnyw3.htm

Northern Star were an organisation who hoped to broadcast internationally on long wave about a decade back but their plans did not come to fruition. Spearheaded by Father Svenn Martinsen they still have plans for a similar venture.

But back to WNYW, there is a “where are they now?” blog with links to audio at http://wnywradio.wordpress.com/ The link also goes to a Lou Joseph podcast from the station, and to the website of broadcaster Les Marshak http://www.lesmarshak.com/audio_radio.html

There is also a vintage Media Network page dedicated to WNYW as well, which includes a link to the Radio Netherlands tribute programme http://criticaldistance.blogspot.com/2010/04/media-network-tribute-to-radio-new-york.html

Bradley also asks if there is a specific website for Radio 390 International, which was a former offshore pirate, or free radio, station. The short answer is that there are plenty! The Offshore Radio website has a page of photos and memories at

http://pages.123-reg.co.uk/themuffinman9837-1143188/offshoreradiomemories/id4.html This is part of an in-depth website covering many other similar stations, in contrast to the Wikipedia simple overview of offshore pirate radio http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_radio_in_Europe

Bob Le Roi’s website “The audio-visual scrapbook of radio then and now” gives plenty of coverage too of the offshore stations including Radio 390, at http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ Finally, although there are many more links toRadio 390 online, Herman Boel’s ever useful medium wave a website has a history section including a link to a brief audio identification at http://www.hermanboel.eu/radiohistory/countries-intwaters.htm

Radio Slovakia International has revamped its website and it looks very slick and modern, be it in Slovak, English or any of the other language services. To hear live broadcasts online go to the “program” calendar to find the language and times of broadcast, and then decide when to listen live http://www.slovakradio.sk/radio-international-en

Now for a quick look at a radio portal with a twist, or in this case with a shake

http://www.radioshaker.com/ There are links here to a huge variety of local radio from around the world. But what makes it a bit different from many web portals is the novelty aspect of clicking on the “shaker” icon. Each time you do so, it randomly selects a new grid of 45 station logos for you to explore. It is a good way of ensuring you always investigate new radio stations.

In doing so WILK 103.1 News Radio from Pennsylvania was an entertaining lunchtime listen (lunchtime in the UK, breakfast time in the US east). MDR Sputnik was a electronica and dance station in Germany, which I would never have tried had it not popped up at the shaker, and which provided an interesting audio excursion. Radiocale in Milan proved to be an ‘80s retro station which played some familiar and some less familiar tunes, which was a nice listen. Radio Tora is religion from Israel, Alfa Fado was a world music station in Paris http://radioalfa986.net/ , WUAK was the University of Alabama radio station and Radio Tamaulipas 107.9 in Mexico which is a public and community station.

An interesting US college station is WFMU http://wfmu.org/ that broadcast in New York and the Hudson Valley. They are an “an independent freeform station” and create an entertaining blend of music and talk with programmes and features that include the history of skate rock, Seven second delay and Coffee break for heroes and villains. They also run a very readable blog entitled WFMU Beware of the Blog along with archive audio and podcasts at http://blog.wfmu.org/

NHK World Radio Japan A11 shortwave schedule

2011-04-05T12:58:00.002+04:00

Don't forget the Radio Japan desk top calendar- a fantastic photo each month at:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/info/wallpaper/index.html

NHK World - Radio Japan English schedule for A11
27 March to 29 October 2011

All times UTC/GMT

0500-0530 UTC: 5975, 6110, 11970kHz
1000-1030: 9605, 9625, 9840kHz
1200-1230: 6120, 9695kHz
1300-1330: 15735 or 15660kHz
1400-1430: 11705, 15660 or 15735, 21560kHz

Voices from Libya

2011-03-21T18:01:00.005+03:00

The Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation Voice of Africa's English service has two hours of English each afternoon on 17725kHz and 21695kHz (sometimes 21660kHz is used instead) from 1400 UTC. Swahili is broadcast before (1200 to 1400 UTC) and French afterwards at 1600 UTC, then Hausa at 1800 UTC. This is of course the state broadcaster, at: http://en.ljbc.net/home.php

The rebel opposition radio station is called The Voice of Free Libya. It has been logged on mw 675 and 1125kHz, including some announcements in English. Best of all is a frequency of 1449kHz which has been picked up in the UK, and is thought to emanate from a transmitter in Misurata, which at the time of writing is a besieged rebel-held city in western Libya. (with thanks to BDXC UK http://www.bdxc.org.uk/

Listen to BBC WS Outlook (7 March) for an item on the Voice of Free Libya http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00f2frv

"VOICE OF FREE LIBYA. One of the technicians behind one of Libya's only uncensored radio stations describes the fear and excitement he and his colleagues felt when they launched the station and could speak freely for the first time in 42 years."

NHK Radio Japan

2011-03-15T12:39:00.003+03:00

NHK Radio Japan broadcasts in English to Europe, via the Skelton transmitter in Cumbria from 0500 to 0530 UTC on 5975kHz and via Germany for a 30 minute broadcast on 9790kHz from 1200-1230 UTC. (This schedule is until the changes on the last Sunday of March 2011).

They have been two easy catches this past B-10 shortwave season, be it waking you up or as an audio accompaniment to your lunch.

Their coverage of the earthquake and tsunami have been excellent, with measured news bulletins, reports and updates. They have been factual and informative, without the near hysteria that I have witnessed on certain television networks. Updates on the missing thousands in various coastal towns and the mounting casualty toll.

On Saturday 12 March, 24 hours after the earthquake struck, they reported that South Korea were the first nation to arrive with help, and that the nuclear power plants were in danger of meltdown and potentially contaminating land, air, sea and population. They hoped that things were under control but by their next broadcast were reporting that this was sadly not the case.

On Monday 14 March they also reported on German chancellor Angela Merkel’s concerns that if a safe and secure nation like Japan cannot guarantee nuclear power safety then no country can, and that she would immediately be scaling back on Germany’s nuclear power dependency.

NHK’s Helen Lewis and David Crystal carried a moving report from a Japanese female reporter who had been covering an unrelated story in the field, literally- with some farmers, for two days before the earthquake. She recorded live as the earthquake hit and 30 minutes later the town she was in was swallowed up, making her and hundreds around her refugees. They survived on scallops and shellfish thrown inland by the tsunami.

She asked “How could it possibly be restored as the town it was?”

Surviving residents were stoical: “I have lost everything in an instant.” “But we must do what we can.”

On the horror of the tsunami- “It was over in an instant. It was too fast to escape if you waited till the sea came over the wall. There was a roaring sound like I had never heard before.” “It became very cold at night even with the bonfire. Many have lost everything- their work, their homes, their way of life.”

Also the daily sw broadcasts, along with live audio & tv in English at the NHK Radio Japan: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/index.html

Tear jerking and deeply depressing stuff.

100 years of International Women’s Day

2011-03-08T12:03:00.000+03:00

As thousands of women across the world link together on bridges for peace in 48 countries today, it’s good to hear the BBC World Service are marking the 100th anniversary of International Women’s day .

Their Heart and Soul Conquering Holy Ground programme covers three women who broke into traditionally male leadership roles.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p00dzl8z/Heart_And_Soul_Conquering_Holy_Ground/

Also they are covering Rosa Luxembourg in their wonderful “Witness” programme: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00f32rc

My local station BBC Manchester appears to be doing nothing that I can see – just the regular programmes and local live football this evening. Hopefully I will be proven wrong.

Another local station, Gaydio, a community station, is having a female-only presenters day, which I shall listen to with interest if I can. http://www.gaydio.co.uk/

ALL FM (ALL = the Ardwick, Levenshume and Longsight areas of Manchester) is always all-encompassing all year round, so I am sure that will be covering IWD in its usual excellent variety of quality programming. It sometimes knocks spots off stations with far bigger purses: http://www.allfm.org/

Mardi Gras radio

2011-03-07T14:56:00.000+03:00

The most famous Mardi Gras celebrations are, I think, in River of January, Brazil / Rio de Janeiro Brasil, and New Orleans, Louisiana in the US of A.

The current Rio celebrations and listings are at: http://www.rio-carnival.net/

Why not listen in via local radio - Try the Brazil and Louisiana USA sections via the clickable maps at the always excellent radio portal Live-Radio Net (which only features "real" radio stations, not internet-only): http://www.live-radio.net/

From Rio stations include:

94FM

JB FM: http://www.jbfm.com.br/ Adult contemporary and quite nice in small doses and quite a mixture-e.g. Gilberto Gil, 1970's Al Stewart and the ubiquitous Mariah Carey. A little more local fayre would improve this station IMHO.

From New Orleans stations include:

WEZB, covering Mardi Gras live: http://www.b97.com/

WLNO

Bayou 95.7 http://www.bayou957.com/ is a classic rock station but still promoting Mardi Gras, seems all communities and genres get involved in the partying!

Broadcast Matters: Long, Medium and Short wave. March 2011

2011-03-06T11:22:00.001+03:00

with Chrissy Brand, published in RadioUser March 2011, PW Publishing Ltd
www.pwpublishing.ltd.uk

Chrissy Brand brings you a selection of the best from the broadcast bands with news and readers’ logs. This month she proves that there is still plenty of diversity and quality to be heard on the bands, from Taiwan Fisheries Service radio to the news from Zambia; North American medium wave catches and some of the regular giants of shortwave.

Good news on shortwave
Radiodifusion Argentina al Exterior (RAE) was reported to be closing on shortwave, but the good news is that it will remain on air. The proposed closure (which was expected as last month’s issue went to press) was not strictly due to financial pressures that have applied to other stations leaving the bands, but rather for technical reasons. Their 100kw shortwave transmitter at General Pacheco near Buenos Aires, contained PCBs (Polychlorinated Biphenyl), a refrigerating material used for electric circuits which had recently been banned by the Argentinean authorities (It is banned in Europe and North America) However, government funding has been allocated for either treating the transmitter, or to use another one, so make the most of this and try tuning to RAE’s English service at 1800 UTC on weekdays on 15345 kHz. The station can be contacted by email at these two addresses: radioundergroundsw@gmail.com and dxrae2010@gmail.com (the latter was set up when rumours of a closure began).

Such instant communication means are a far cry from its founding days in April 1949 by President Juan Peron, when the radio station was known by another acronym: SIRA (Servicio Internacional de la República Argentina). After the 1955 coup RAE replaced SIRA and these days it broadcasts in French, German, Japanese, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese as well as English.

Radio Mexico International was relaunched in January and plans to add English, French and some indigenous South American languages to accompany its current Spanish broadcasts in due course. Mexico was previously on shortwave until 2004. Monitoring Times Shortwave Central and Radio Netherlands’ Media Network reports that “a special radio station was launched in 2009 to mark the 200th anniversary of Mexican independence. Now the technical base of this channel has become the basis for the resumption of the new Radio México Internacional.” The signals will mostly be heard in the Americas and are carried on 5985 and 9705kHz from 1300 to 1700 UTC and 2000 to 0500 UTC.

Also aimed mostly at the Americas is the resurrection of Radio Slovakia International, which left shortwave at the end of last year. This is due to an agreement with Radio Miami International (WRMI) which relays many other programmes and stations such as the PCJ Happy Station Show and Adventist World Radio’s Wavescan. A transmission slot for Radio Slovakia’s English broadcast has been found from 0130 to 0200 UTC, and is aired Tuesdays to Saturdays on the WRMI frequency of 9955 kHz. There is a special QSL card being issued for these Radio Slovakia relays, and reports can be posted to Radio Miami International, P.O. Box 526852, Miami, Florida 33152, USA, or by email to info@wrmi.net But it’s unlikely to be heard in Europe as it is on a beam of 160 degrees aimed at the Caribbean and Latin America.

The British DX Club report that in Africa the Zambian National Broadcasting Corporation is back on shortwave, reported on frequencies of 5915kHz in local languages and 6162kHz n English. Try tuning in from 1700 UTC for Newsreel in English, which is part of their 0250 to 2200 UTC English broadcast, on 6162kHz. The station address is ZNBC, Mass Media Complex, Alick Nkhata Road, P.O. Box 50015, Lusaka, Zambia.

Radio Free Asia has brought out a new QSL card. The current one is its 35th and will be issued for correct reception reports until 31 March. It features the Chinese Year of the Rabbit which commenced in February. The station has been logged recently on the following frequencies and times by members of the British DX Club: 5860kHz at 1500 UTC in Korean, 7490 and 9875kHz at 2130 in Chinese, 11590kHz at 1215 in Tibetan. You can email reception reports to qsl@rfa.org or write to Reception Reports, Radio Free Asia, 2025 M. Street NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036, USA.

Readers’ Reports: Medium Wave
Paul Barnett from Loughborough reports that conditions for MW transatlantic DX were very good around the turn of the year. He pulled in a quite a few Canadian and American stations which included CTFR all news radio in Toronto on 680 kHz just after midnight.

Other catches included CFZM 740 from Toronto, which is known as Zoomer Radio and is perhaps the only remaining adult standards formatted station in North America that broadcasts on a 50,000-watt clear channel signal. A good one to listen out for. Paul also caught WWZN 1510 from Boston, which describes itself as a progressive new voice. Its all-talk format has three strands: 1510 Revolution Radio is standard talk radio by day, sports coverage is called 1510 The Zone and overnight (local time) carries religion, known as 1510 Victory Radio. Pete writes that he has not “been lucky enough to hear any signals on the extended MW band as yet though.” This is the 1610 to 1700 kHz stretch of the band. He did however hear Anguilla’s Caribbean Beacon on 1610 kHz. This religious station is owned by the University Network in the USA and is on-air with talk, music and preaching 24 hours a day.

Paul signs off with information on the receivers he used which were “a Sony ICFSW55 and my 25 year old Sony ICF2001D with its 32 memories, wow! It just goes to show how technology has moved on since then.”

Tim Bucknall has sent in a lot of impressive mw logs for use in this column. This month I will just look at some of the Asian catches. The logs are actually a joint effort, as they were made by John Faulkner in Skegness on a Perseus, which he passed onto Tim for analysis. The Perseus is a software defined receiver used in conjunction with a personal computer. Logs include these South Korean stations: KBS 2 from Namyang on 603 kHz at 1500 UTC, KBS 1 from Gungneung on 864kHz at 1400 UTC, CBS from Seoul on 837kHz at 1500 UTC and KBS 1 from Jinju on 1098kHz at 1500 UTC. A Voice of America broadcast with the familiar Yankee Doodle Dandy signature tune was picked up emanating from Poro Point in the Philippines on 1170kHz at 1700 UTC, and on 1143kHz at 1500 UTC BEC3, the Taiwan Fisheries Service from Baisha was heard with a clear identification albeit a weak signal. One of the interesting stations yet to be identified, but which could possibly be Radio Thailand, was on 891kHz at 1500 UTC, where an Asian station above Radio Netherlands was heard with a pan pipe version of “Whiskey in the Jar.” Tim also got some huge signals from China including 1521kHz at 1500 with China Radio International from Urumqi in China which was “almost as strong as local BBC Lincolnshire!”

Simon Rudd in Stretford has also had an ear out for medium wave signals and his catches include Deutschlandfunk on 756 and 1269kHz, the Voice of Croatia from Zadar on 1134kHz in Croat, Dutch stations Radio 5 from Zeewolde on 747 kHz and Radio Maria Nederland on 675 from Lopik, and Radio Algerienne in Arabic on 531 kHz.

Readers’ Reports: Short Wave
Richard Cooke was pleased to receive his 2011 Voice of America calendar in the post but surprised to also receive four late QSL cards for reports he had sent to VOA back in June 2010. He also had his calendar from Radio Taiwan International arrive early in the year.

A QSL card from Radio Cotton Tree News from late October popped onto his door mat six weeks later and as Richard comments “it pays never to give up on these far flung small stations.” Cotton Tree News is a partnership between the NGO Fondation Hirondelle and the University of Sierra Leone, funded by the European Union and the Governments of Germany and Ireland. It broadcasts in FM in Freetown Sierra Leone and on shortwave too- try 15220kHz, with a range of programmes such as Earth Talk, and Focus on Education.

Vic Prier in Devon found propagation to improve at the end of 2010 with a variety of stations coming in from Africa, “not all of them identifiable but better than it was at the beginning of the month with just noise.” He also updates us with some views on the receivers he uses. “I find the Ten Tec SDR receiver is boring so I set it up to watch a particular frequency via the spectrum analyser and use the Fairhaven to trawl through the bands. I dread the day when the Fairhaven goes ‘phutt’ for I have yet to see a receiver that I can afford with so many facilities built on, with 12 reception modes plus 6 sub modes and no less than 26 VFOs. The one thing I do hate about it is the horrid little multi function push buttons suitable for a 5 year old’s tiny fingers but not mine. I can push two buttons at the same time with one finger!”

Fred Wilmhurst in Northampton has sent in a set of logs showing the breadth of the stations out there if you are patient. He picked up Radio Taiwan International on their reliable 3965kHz at 1800 UTC, a signal which booms in via Issoudon in France and is my own regular six o’clock mealtime accompaniment. You can contact Taiwan with your views on their programmes and reception reports on a form at their website www.english.rti.org.tw. At the time of writing the station is gearing up for Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations.

Radio Australia on 9475kHz at 1530 with a 444 SIO, Radio Pakistan at 1100 on 15100 kHz and the Voice of Greece (in Greek) with a 555 SIO on 9420kHz at 1905 were amongst the other logs from Fred. He also heard Radio PMR, the rather enigmatic station from Moldova. He heard them at 2050 UTC on 6240kHz clearly with a 455 SIO in English. If you pick them up remember to drop them a line. Radio PMR is currently asking for listeners to send correspondence via ordinary mail, and not giving their email address on air, which I must say is rather a refreshing change. They do however request a self-addressed envelope when you write and presumably an International Reply coupon is also required. Radio PMR, Rozy Lyuksemburg 10, MD-3300 Tiraspol, Moldova.

Owen Rutherford in London reports that Moldova’s neighbour Romania are always an easy catch. See the logs for various frequencies. He adds that he was amused to hear that Radio Romania International’s personality of the year for 2010 was split- 33 ways! The Chilean miners rescued last October won the radio station’s annual award.

Simon Rudd in Stretford has sent me many pages of excellent logs that would fill a column all on their own, so I am selecting a few. Simon was delighted to pick up Iran’s state broadcaster VOIRI, the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in German. It was swamped at first by a China Radio International broadcast but that signed off on the hour, leaving VOIRI German to identify itself with clear station IDs and references to Iran. English from Iran was picked up by Vic Prier and Lindsey Branigan from 2000 UTC on 6010kHz and these evening broadcasts are a nice shortwave staple these days. Simon also enjoyed three hour log broadcast from the Voice of Nigeria, which he describes as “fascinating.” Tune into 15120 kHz. He has also enjoyed some weekend DXing to the sounds of free radio station Mersey Alternative Radio on 1314kHz with broadcasts up until midnight, and HCJB Global on 15440kHz.

Thanks as always to all contributors and readers.

Steve Allen live at the Mermaid

2011-02-28T17:29:00.005+03:00

www.photochris.co.uk

Steve Allen has been a presenter at LBC since 1979 and has built a considerable fan base over the decades. In recent times he has also taken to putting on a few stage shows a year around London.

He and his entourage held court at the Mermaid Theatre at Puddle Dock in London for two such shows on Saturday 26th February. Mr Allen started off with some entertaining observations on ITV’s current Sunday night extravaganza- Dancing on Ice. Like most of the audience, he is not against the show at all, but grates at the exposure given to some of the so–called celebrities that feature on it. After warming to the theme and berating the tabloid press and ‘celeb’ magazines, he introduced the first act of the evening.

This was the mind reader Graham P Jolley, an acquaintance that Steve bumped into on his Las Vegas flight last year, and he proved to be popular. People were selecting words from thesauri, names and numbers from phone directories, random numbers etc. and he accurately predicted what they had chosen. There were too many random audience volunteers for them all to be stooges, and of course, no obvious hidden cameras or microphones.

Graham P Jolley is good at what he does, but like all these type of acts, I think it is sometimes a case of knowing the trickery behind the glitz and with that and enough practice, many more of us could do it. (N.B. added Summer 2011- He also went onto fool Penn & Teller on national tv in the UK so he is obviously at the top of his game and far better than I had appreciated- my apologies Graham!)

He concluded with a clever number prediction act, which I have seen a street entertainer do in Covent Garden. But nice for this mature gentleman to be given this opportunity, and a fun act: http://www.mindreader.org.uk/

With Steve’s producer Amanda and two of his part time co-hosts, John Warrington and Paul Savory, handing out sweets in the interval, there was a convivial atmosphere for the second part of the show.

Steve showed just why he is a legend, or maybe that is a cult, with his sparkling chat (not to mention his three sparkly jackets), and seamless friendly chat about a wide range of issues- from the daft labels on some food ingredients (“Weetabix- contains wheat” etc.) through to his childhood days in Hong Kong.

A straw poll of the audience revealed who their favoured LBC presenters were. Personally I was horrified how many appear to find little wrong with the reactionary Nick Ferrari and James Whale. I was pleased that there was less approval of Steve’s adversary, the even more reactionary James Max (I believe they had a spat a while back when the ex-Apprentice candidate got an LBC slot?).

The name of my own favourite, Ken Livingstone, got a mixed reception but another of my faves, travel guru Simon Calder, was not even mentioned.

Steve gave us a slide show of LBC’s history which was very good, nothing overly intellectual but a chronological run through of the station’s Gough Square days, and previous presenters such as Bob Holness, Therese Birch and Douglas Cameron.

We heard about Steve’s own start on the overnight show, through to the current day freelance contractual wrangles, and tales of his colleagues past and present. We came up to date with the current day operations and studio set ups in the Global Radio building on Leicester Square, which hosts other radio stations and holds 600 people.

All too quickly the show had reached an end. I was disappointed that the Q and A session alluded to at the start did not occur. My one big question before I went was “How much of the Steve Allen persona on the radio is Steve Allen in reality?”.

What we saw on stage was the same no holds barred Steve, railing against those non-deservers put on too high a pedestal. I believe that the real Steve Allen when relaxing with friends over a post-show breakfast, shopping for Jo Malone candles in the City or cooking Brussel sprouts in his Twickenham home, is not that much different. Hooray for that!

Steve Allen is live on LBC weekdays 0500 to 0700, Sundays from 0800. Plus the pre-recorded “In Conversation" on Sundays from 0600 to 0700. Worth waking up early for, or pay for the podcasts at the LBC website: http://www.lbc.co.uk/

Over 500 photos from the February 2011 Mermaid shows at: http://www.photochris.co.uk/