EDXC Conference 2017

Mika Mäkeläinen and Chrissy Brand talk with Liu Hengyi in China via FaceTime (Photo FDXA)

The EDXC 2017 conference was a smoothly run affair, with plenty of informative sessions and a busy social programme. I enjoyed the talk on space weather given by Dr Kirsti Kauristie of the Finnish Meteorological Institute. She explored how the ionosphere and other layers impact on distant radio reception. She also spoke about the approaching solar minimum. A visit to, and presentation about, local AM and FM low-powered station Pispalan Radio was of great interest.

The traditional EDXC Banquet was an entertaining affair, thanks to the excellent compere and DXer Vesa-Jussi Rinkinen. The conference incorporated the annual Finnish DX Association summer meeting and various awards were given out for international services to DXing. I particularly enjoyed another aspect of the social programme; a swim in a lake, followed by a sauna and lakeside part. It was lovely to meet some fellow DXers, male and female, and to talk of all manner of things besides radio.

More reports in November's RadioUser magazine but, before then, you can read reports at the British DX Club website and the Finnish DX Association (FDXA /SDXL) plus the EDXC blog.

Sporadic post, Sporadic E

Enjoying hearing various European stations on FM this summer on the UK south coast. Along with the usual Radio France Inter, Musique, Bleu Nord, Europe 1, Rire et Chansons etc. I've picked up Italy, Netherlands and Spain this month, just on a simple car radio. RNE Clasica was a first for me. 

Those with sophisticated equipment have managed to hear North Africa, eastern Europe and, depending on their location, Scandinavia. Still a couple of months of the Sporadic E season to go- and hopefully some good conditions too, though I don't pretend to understand this phenomenon.

Also, a pirate/free radio station based in East Sussex? Sharp FM- an RDS but just an empty carrier when I parked and took the photo.

Govorit Tirana!

Radio Tirana lives on! After announcing the closure of its short wave service at the end of the B16 season (RadioUser, June 2017: xx), it can still be heard, thanks to WRMI and the Shortwave Service. Both stations now relay Radio Tirana's daily broadcasts via Kall Krekel in Germany and Okeechobee in the US.

The schedule for the Albanian state broadcaster is Monday to Saturday to Europe on 6005kHz via Kall Krekel from 1800 to 1830 UTC in Italian, 1830 to 1900 UTC in French, 1900 to 1930 UTC in English and 1930 to 2000 in German, which is also heard on 3985kHz. North American audiences can tune into a daily English broadcast from Monday to Friday on 5850kHz via WRMI in Okeechobee at 2300 UTC. 

If that news doesn't tempt you, then maybe the programme details will. Each broadcast commences with a news bulletin and, on weekdays, a press review. On Saturdays, you'll hear Mosaic of the Week. Monday's transmission has programmes on culture, sport and Albania in a Week. An interview is carried on Tuesday, while Wednesday looks at integration with the EU and has a music programme called Hits Through the Years. Facts and economics abound on Thursday along with tourism. There is a profile of individuals and organisations on Friday, while Saturday consists of tourism, culture and the popular folk music programme.

Radio Tirana's daily programmes in English, German, French, Italian, Greek, Serbian and Turkish can now also be heard online from Monday to Saturday.

Apologies for the lack of posts in recent months. I was the editorial assistant at RadioUser for six months, which didn't work out but took lots of time, Along with that, I had a house move and lots of political activity too. I hope to retain the blog and update more regularly but cannot promise anything!

How does your Radio Garden grow?

There have been many radio portals that have come and gone in this internet age. Some still exist, successfully or otherwise, but the new kid on the block possibly knocks spots of all others.

Radio Garden has taken the internet by storm- and it's the mainstream world that saw 5 million site visit in the firsts week, I believe I read. It's not just for us radio geeks!

A globe, dots for locations, radio stations in a list, rotate your way around the world and listen from a choice of thousands of live stations. I'm almost speechless at its simplicity and effectiveness.

It could do with some additional stations in most African and Asian countries and medium wave and shortwave everywhere would be great additions, as most stations are FM so far. But I'm sure that will evolve over the months.

Many friends have asked if I'd heard about it, expressing great pleasure. Even the younger generation I showed it too rated it as pretty cool. What do you think?

Autumnal update

Bratislava

Apologies for the paucity of posts recently but bizarrely, that's kind of due to radio. I have a new freelance writing and editing job at RadioUser and had to juggle my old RNCM research manager post for a couple of months at the same time. A nice position to be in though, if stressful for a while.

A quick catch up of radio events etc. The EDXC 2016 conference in September was a great success, as these reports show. In BDXC Communication and on the EDXC blog by Anker Peterson of DSWCI.

I was in Bratislava in November and was interviewed on Radio Slovakia International. I also went to Vienna for the World DAB General Assembly and had a tour of ORF. Read more about these in January's RadioUser, out a week before Christmas.

I hope to resume a few posts a month here at DX International from now on!

Radio Prague celebrates 80 years today, 31 August, with special transmissions

Radio Prague celebrates 80 years today, 31 August 2016, with special transmissions via the Shortwave Service in Germany.

1630-1700 UTC on 9535kHz Russian

1800-1830 UTC on 11845kHz German

1830-1900 UTC on 11845kHz French

1930-2000 UTC on 9885kHz Czech

2000-2030 UTC on 9985kHz English

2100-2130 UTC on 9405kHz Spanish

BDXC UK report that "The schedule at shortwaveservice.com gives 9885 for Czech and 9985 for English I am not sure which is correct – try both".


Radio Prague also held an essay competition as to what Radio Prague would be like in 80 years time? The winning entry is here. Congrats to Anna Kochergina from Russia. It’s far more detailed and imaginative than my own effort, I didn’t get a place in the final this time around, and what I write wasn’t very original. I bashed it out in too much of a hurry really, as I distracted by  RadioUser and BDXC UK commitments, EDXC 2016 organisation and the day job, but here it is anyway.

"Hello and welcome to Radio Prague's English language videocast for 30th August 2096. You can find us by asking for Radio Praha on your virtual reality implant or on your smart screen. Watch us live every day at 1800 Universal Time, or at your leisure from our list of past broadcasts. As always our hour long transmission begins with world news. Today's programmes also include My Czechia Republica which features an air-powered car designer originally from Cambodia, an item on the Moravian wine festival, previews of the Prague summer jazz concerts and listeners' comments.

But first the news headlines: The president of the United Countries of Europe, Zelma Lassnig has confirmed that she will be standing down at the end of her term in 2097. Czech Green Party leader Alena Železný has announced her intention to stand.

The Czech cruise liner Boleslava III arrived in the port of Genoa with 2,000 Pacific Islanders. This is one of the final boat loads of climate change refugees to arrive in Europe. The 2,000 will join other Pacific islanders in the community of Nový Ráj, just outside of Brno. There are now half a million Pacific islanders that have established themselves and integrated across Europe since their atolls and homes started to become inhabitable due to the rising sea levels some half a century ago.

The Czech exploration team to Mars headed by Jana Balek is due to take off from Woomera in South Australia in three days' time. You can join Jana and her team in an exclusive Q&A session run by Radio Prague on the air at this time tomorrow night. Sign up on our vlogcast page with your contact details and your questions and we will select people to take part...

Carp is back on the menu at a top Czech restaurant and it's causing concern. Carp, like all fish and meat, had been banned on cruelty grounds throughout Europe since the mid 2060s but the recent explosion in heritage dining experiences is challenging this. Helene Velinger reports...

...The weather for the Czech capital today - and it's been another hot one, with this summer looking like it will be the hottest year on record in the country. We may possibly break last year's record high of 41C come Saturday. A reminder that the water rationing collection times for Malá Strana and Staré Město return to their regular four hour evening pattern, from 8pm to midnight, from tomorrow.


...Join us tomorrow when we are at the Prague zoo, where they welcomed its most recent addition yesterday, a Sumatran orangutan, born in captivity. We'll also be previewing the new soccer season and asking if European Champions Varnsdorf can also retain their domestic league title. The 400 million Euros that they paid in the summer for India's World Cup winning defender Jag Naleem will certainly aid their chances.

...Listeners' letters this time include Anna Kesten from Ohio, USA who complements us on the live coverage of the European Literature festival last month. Anna says she has been using an app called Czechtech to translate the wining entrants' works straight into English on her audio player. Tomas Collingwood from New Zealand contacted us to say how much he enjoyed the programme aired from the retro shortwave transmitter based in Germany and being run by the European Broadcasting Union. He said it was just like back in the day of his great grandparents who used to listen on shortwave last century. It will certainly get him a special QSL card - this years' series feature great Czech architecture of the mid 21st century.

...And finally, a reminder that this year is Radio Prague's 160th anniversary. As part of celebrations we would like to invite our audience to take part in a competition. Let us know what you think Radio Prague will be like in another 160 years, in the year 2256! Airbox your entries to us by the end of the month to be in with a chance to win one of our prizes. This is Khrista Willoughby signing off from all of us in Studio 8 until the same time tomorrow ..."

EDXC 2016 Conference comes to Manchester 9-13 Sept

 

Firstly, apologies for the lack of posts here of late. I've been uber busy, with the day job, my RadioUser columns, editing BDXC Communciation each month, plus family commitments, a relationship and a busy social life, not to mention all of my campaigning activities and a holiday in Nice, one in Tywyn and other summer travels too. I'm not complaining though, far from it- I can only function if I'm busy.

Anyway, another reason for the tumbleweed blowing across this blog is my preparation for the EDXC Conference, which has distracted me from posting here. The DX publicity machine is doing its job though, with the Radio-Kurier journal in Germany the latest I've seen to mention EDXC 2016 (photo above).

The latest programme and details of how to join us at what should be a very exciting conference are at the EDXC site, with this link taking you to all the conference related posts.