An exotic air

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

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

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

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

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

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

"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)