Monthly Archives: March 2014

VOA Radiogram: Battle of the 100 wpm modes, this weekend!

VOARadioGramIf you like the VOA Radiogram, don’t miss this weekend (March 29-30)–a one year mile marker for the VOA Radiogram service on shortwave radio.

I’ve copied details of the broadcast below, but please bookmark or subscribe to the VOA Radiogram website to see the results of the 100 wpm battle and details of all future broadcasts.

(Source: VOA Radiogram)

This weekend, 29-30 March 2014, will be program 52 of VOA Radiogram. This means that VOA Radiogram has survived one year of shortwave broadcasting.

VOA Radiogram has been successful because of its audience: tuning in, decoding, experimenting, and sending in reports.

We will mark one year of VOA Radiogram with a “battle of the 100-word-per-minute modes.” The same VOA News story will be transmitted using four modes that have a speed of more-or-less 100 words per minute.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 52, 29-30 March 2014:

  •  1:51  MFSK32: Program preview
  •  3:28  PSKR125 (110 wpm): VOA News re Ethiopia
  •  7:42  MT63-1000L (100 wpm): Same VOA New story
  • 12:34  Thor25x4 (100 wpm): Same VOA News story
  • 17:58  MFSK32 (120 wpm): Same VOA News story, with image
  • 23:55  MFSK32: US international broadcasting FY2015 budget
  • 25:58  MFSK32: Closing announcements, with image

Each mode will be preceded by 5 seconds of silence, followed by the RSID, 5 more seconds of silence, and the RSID again.

Please send reception reports to [email protected]

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule

(all days and times UTC)

  • Sat 0930-1000 5745 kHz
  • Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
  • Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
  • Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz

All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

(Many shortwave broadcast frequencies will change on 30 March with the beginning of the A14 season, but the VOA Radiogram frequencies stay the same, for the time being.)

The Mighty KBC, via Germany, will again transmit a minute of MFSK64 Saturday at about 1230 UTC on 6095 kHz and Sunday at about 0130 UTC on 7375 kHz. (KBC’s change from 7375 to 9925 planned for this weekend has been postponed until May.) STF Radio International will also have a minute of digital modes during the same hour (simultaneous MFSK32 streams at 1500 and 2100 Hz).

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BBG’s 2015 budget: VOA to increase services to Asia/Africa, but cut others

The new budget would expand Leaning English (a.k.a. Special English) programming.

The new budget would expand Leaning English content, but reduce, “low-impact, long-form English language radio created for shortwave.”

The Broadcasting Board Of Governors is requesting a reduced budget from congress for FY 2015 and re-focusing efforts on services to Asia and Africa.

Of course, this will be at the expense of Azerbaijani, Georgian, Persian, and Uzbek language programming and a complete cut of programs to Serbia, Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Macedonia. Programming to Cuba will be reduced as well.

The FY 2015 Budget Request also outlines the closure of VOA’s bureaus in Jerusalem and Houston.

For a quick summary, read the VOA News article below.

After the article, I’ve clipped quotes where the BBG specifically mentions shortwave radio in the 2015 budget, so continue reading.

(Source: VOA News)

The Broadcasting Board of Governors, the U.S. government entity that oversees the Voice of America, has released details of a 2015 budget request that will cut Balkan language services but add spending aimed at Asia and Africa.

The BBG is asking Congress for $721 million, a reduction from a $731 million budget in the current fiscal year. Agency officials say their goal is to reach a new generation of audiences through media that global listeners and viewers increasingly use.

The 2015 budget request includes youth-oriented video and digital initiatives for Cambodia, Vietnam, and Burma – also known as Myanmar.

In China, the BBG plans to increase the use of social media and programs to fight Internet censorship.

The BBG is also planning to set up a new satellite television channel and expand FM radio in the Sahel region of north-central Africa. A new Lingala language service is planned for the Democratic Republic of Congo.

VOA’s English Learning programs would also be expanded.

But the 2015 budget would eliminate the VOA language services for Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Serbia. The Azerbaijani, Georgian, Persian, and Uzbek services would see reductions and broadcasting to Cuba would also see a very significant cut.

The proposal also calls for the closure of VOA news bureaus in Jerusalem and Houston.

Dave Allison, acting president of the union representing many VOA employees, said with the cuts in services VOA is “retreating” from its historic mission that began in 1942. He said Balkan broadcasters had tears in their eyes when they were told their shows face elimination.

[View this article on the VOA News.]

Shortwave radio in the 2015 budget?

If you take a look inside the FY 2015 Budget Request (click here to download it as a PDF) you will see how they perceive shortwave radio in the media mix moving forward.  I particularly find the mention in their summary insightful.

Here are a few highlights:

From page 9 of the FY 2015 Budget Request:

“The FY 2015 Budget Request reflects a host of distribution changes. In the mix of technology and distribution platforms, the BBG sees clearly the global adoption of digital media. Actively underway is the migration from legacy distribution platforms such as shortwave and medium wave (AM) to the media platforms audiences are using today, including satellite TV and audio, FM radio, mobile phone technologies, and social and other digital media. In many of our markets, use of the Internet overall and as a source of news already exceeds radio, and in some cases by a wide margin. The BBG is adapting to this fundamental shift by taking, where appropriate, a digital-first approach and combining digital and traditional media into one integrated strategy.

That said, the BBG remains platform-agnostic, meaning we will use the media on which our audiences prefer to receive information, engage with media and connect with one another.

Shortwave radio will still play a role in selected countries such as Nigeria, Burma, and Afghanistan, among others.”

No money has been budgeted for shortwave radio capital improvements in 2015:

CapitalImprovementsBBG

On page 45, the BBG mentions regions where they believe shortwave radio is still an important information medium:

“Audiences accessing VOA using mobile devices and social media grew exponentially in the past year; and VOA has a global network of FM affiliate partners as well as wholly owned FMs. Meanwhile, VOA’s long-standing role as a shortwave broadcaster remains at the forefront in markets where
shortwave is still viable, including the Sahel, where Islamist extremists have carried out terrorist attacks in the past year, and in information-deprived societies such as North Korea and Tibet.”

Then on page 64:

“Capitalizing on current research on audience media habits, TSI will continue taking steps in FY 2014 to move away from less effective legacy distribution systems, such as shortwave and medium wave transmission, toward use of more modern technologies, where appropriate, to reach larger and younger audiences. Where shortwave remains important, TSI is building a more cost-effective transmission infrastructure to support continuing broadcast requirements. In addition, where available, transmitting stations will receive their broadcast content through lower cost digital services, instead of the more expensive satellite distribution. TSI also is using satellite radio in China, including in Tibet, – for just a fraction of the cost of shortwave or medium wave transmissions to that country – as a means of leveraging the widespread use of satellite receive dishes in remote locations or where local cable and Internet access is restricted.”

Burmese broadcasts mentioned on page 74:

“RFA’s Burmese Service is preparing for comprehensive radio and TV coverage of the 2015 national elections, Burma’s first opportunity for truly free and fair elections. At the same time, RFA is reporting on the numerous domestic problems which could derail the move to democratization, especially the need for constitutional reform prior to the elections. RFA
provides a platform for civil, civic dialogue where the people of Burma can express opinions on their problems and possible solutions. RFA will also address religious and ethnic divides,
and more programming will be targeted toward Burma’s rural population, providing basic education in areas such as health, agriculture and basic human rights. Shortwave radio, which still dominates in rural areas where most of the population lives, is the best medium to present such programs.”

Afia Darfur‘s programming on page 78:

“Afia Darfur is broadcast into Darfur via shortwave each evening at 9:00 p.m. local time and targets all people in Darfur and eastern Chad, and it is heard in Khartoum. The 30-minute program is rebroadcast two additional times, once in the evening (10:00 p.m. local time) and again the following morning (6:00 a.m. local time).”

Cost savings through shortwave broadcasts from Kuwait (page 82):

“BCI funds will be used to reconfigure the shortwave broadcast infrastructure at the Kuwait transmitting station to enhance coverage of Iran and achieve cost savings for shortwave
broadcasts. Because of the very low cost of electrical power in Kuwait, the IBB Kuwait Transmitting Station is the least expensive station to operation in the IBB global network. This project will allow the Agency to shift scheduled transmissions from other stations in the IBB network to Kuwait, especially those transmissions from high cost leased facilities wherever possible.”

But, perhaps this clip from the 2015 budget summary provides the best insight:

“In order to serve audiences in less developed areas of the world, the BBG must continue to broadcast via traditional technologies such as shortwave and maintain capability on these platforms by replacing antiquated equipment. But to stay relevant in competitive news markets and serve both current and future audiences, the BBG must also invest in new cutting-edge technology. In areas where the BBG has ceased to broadcast, or where ownership and usage of shortwave radio has declined significantly, the BBG has closed transmission stations, repurposed equipment, and invested these savings in digital media technology and new high-priority programming.”

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The Mighty KBC to remain on 7,375 kHz until May ’14

DJ Eric van Willegen, "Uncle Eric" hosts The Giant Jukebox.

DJ Eric van Willegen, “Uncle Eric” hosts The Giant Jukebox.

I’ve just heard from The Mighty KBC that they will not move to their summer frequency of 9,925 kHz until May 2014.

Until then, you will still hear the KBC’s Giant Jukebox show on Sundays (Saturday evening in the Americas) at 00:00 UTC on 7,375 kHz. Note that this only applies to KBC broadcasts to North and South America.

If you’ve never heard The Mighty KBC’s Giant Jukebox, listen to what you’re missing!

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1945: Radio Canada International’s first broadcast

RadioListeningMany thanks to Mark for sharing this bit of radio history from the CBC Digital Archives:

“In February 1945, the “Voice of Canada” spoke to the world for the first time. The CBC International Service was founded to broadcast to Canadian Forces overseas in the Second World War. At war’s end the radio service focused on telling the world about Canada in over a dozen languages. Despite budget cuts and critics who accused it of employing communists or operating as a government mouthpiece, the service now called Radio Canada International has persevered. CBC Archives looks back on RCI’s six decades on shortwave.”

Based on this recording, I believe RCI used the same version of O Canada until their very last days as a shortwave broadcaster.

Click here to listen to the clip on the CBC Digital Archives site.

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My Raspberry Pirate is now radio-active

RaspberryPirateRadio

Two weeks ago, Make Magazine published a simple hack that turns your Raspberry Pi
into a low-powered and portable FM transmitter/radio station.

For those of you not familiar, the Raspberry Pi is a single-board computer developed in the UK by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The RasPi is a cleverly-designed, useful device–especially if you like tinkering with mobile computing. Best yet, the Raspberry Pi is very inexpensive; the basic computer costs a mere $40 US, though there are starter kits that include common accessories for $70-80.

One of the first things I did upon returning home, following nearly two weeks of US east-coast travel (which included the Winter SWL Fest), was to build my own Rasberry Pirate Radio. I had hoped to make the radio before my trip, but thought I wouldn’t have enough time. Had I known what I know now–that the Raspberry Pirate Radio is a super simple and easy hack–I would have made it anyhow and taken it along for the ride.

My antenna wire connected to pin 4. (Click to enlarge)

My antenna wire connected to pin 4. (Click to enlarge)

To be fair, what makes this project so simple is the fact that Make Magazine so beautifully documents the procedure on their website.  It also helped that I have a little familiarity with creating disk images–still, I’m certain that if I were a total newbie, I could have done all of this within 30 minutes…Which is just what I did.  And I’ll bet you can, too.

There are really only three steps required to make your own Raspberry Pirate Radio:

  1. Make a simple FM antenna and attach it to pin 4 on the Pi’s board. In my case, I had a small dual conductor connector attached to about eight inches of twisted pair wire. I simply connected one side of this connector to pin 4. Since my FM antenna is not cut to a resonant length, I know I’m compromising the FM transmitter’s range a bit…Still, it’s what I had on hand, and it works!
  2. Download Make Labs‘ disk image and flash it to your SD Card.
  3. Add music to the “Pirate Radio” partition of the SD card and edit the config file to your preferences. If you have the option to do this step on Mac OSX or Linux, the process is much easier than on Windows. But Windows users, fear not: Make Magazine describes, in detail, how to add files.

After I finished these steps, I simply plugged in my Raspberry Pi and tuned one of my radios to 89.9 MHz (the frequency I chose and saved to the config file). The Pi booted and started the Raspberry Pirate Radio script automatically.  Brilliant!

RaspberryPirate-FMRadio

It’s alive!

Being a shortwave radio nut, of course I loaded my Raspberry Pirate Radio with a few gigabytes of my off-air recordings that are a heavy on music (all of which you, too, can pull from our Shortwave Radio Audio Archive). It’s kind of fun tuning my bedside Tivoli Audio Model One to 89.9 MHz and hearing the Voice of Greece, with all of its shortwave audio characteristics. If I close my eyes, I can pretend the Model One has a shortwave band. Love it!  Just the thing to drift off to…

I’ve kept the Raspberry Pirate Radio running nearly 24/7 here at home. I’ve also had excellent luck running the radio mobile by using my Eton Rechargeable Battery Pack as the power source (Universal Radio also sells a higher capacity version, if you like). I’ve yet to test how long the power block will run the Raspberry Pi, but I imagine it will last for a couple of hours, at least.

RaspberryPirate-EtonBlock

If you want to take your Raspberry Pirate Radio in the car, it’s a simple matter to power it with a 5VDC USB power plug. You probably already have what you need, especially if you charge your mobile phone in the car.

If you’ve never experimented with the Raspberry Pi, this is a perfect first project for you. Just think about it: for under $50, you can make a simple-yet-effective FM radio station which shuffles your favorite music or recordings from any source–from obscure radio pirates to far more distant stations. Besides, once you have a Raspberry Pi, you’ll find there are thousands of other radio projects to occupy your rainy weekends.  Enjoy!

Many thanks to Make Magazine for posting this simple project!

Update: Several people have written concerned that the Raspberry Pirate Radio has no output filtering of its RF signal.  This is true. Though I have not tested it, I would have to assume that it could radiate on harmonic frequencies and potentially interfere with other radios. Though the broadcast footprint is very small, if you live in a high-density neighborhood, you will need to keep this in mind. I live in a very rural area and my nearest neighbor couldn’t possibly hear my Raspberry Pirate Radio.

I’m very curious if there’s a simple mod to filter the output RF. If you can think of one, please comment!

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1976 recording of RNW added to the Shotwave Radio Audio Archive

IMG_0135Greg Shoom, a new contributor to the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive, has just submitted a 1976-1977 off air recording which includes:

  • The Happy Station Show hosted by Tom Meijer (Christmas 1976 edition),
  • an unidentified program called “Why Join a DX Club
  • and several longwave radio beacons.

Click here to listen to this recording on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.

Remember, you can subscribe and download the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive collection (free!) as a podcast via iTunes or the SWAA RSS feed.

Many thanks to Greg Shoom for sharing this excellent recording!

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Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio Station of Macedonia (Voice of Greece)

greeceFor your listening pleasure: two hours, fifteen minutes of the Radio Station of Macedonia (a.k.a. Voice of Greece) recorded on March 6, 2014 starting around 01:50 UTC on 9,420 kHz.

Click here to download as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

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