Photo: DRM Consortium
Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post contributors who share the following news from the DRM Consortium:
DRM broadcasts from a locally produced transmitter will be originated for the first time in Latin America, as Brazil will officially start digital (DRM) shortwave transmissions through The National Radio of the Amazon towards the vast area of the northern Amazon region, mainly inhabited by indigenous populations.
In another first, Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC), the public broadcaster, placed the order for the high-powered transmitter with a local manufacturer, the BT Transmitters company from Porto Alegre. BT Transmitters signed a contract with EBC for the production of a 100 kW transmitter in the DRM digital system.
The equipment will be used on the 11,780 kHz frequency in the 25-meter band, which is one of the shortwave channels used by Rádio Nacional da Amazônia since 1977.
The purchase for R$3.5 million is the result of an auction held in August 2020, in which other equipment for EBC’s public radio broadcasts is planned to be acquired.
At the end of last year, Nacional da Amazônia carried out tests with the DRM technology using a transmitter of 2.5 kW with the digital power of just 1 kW. EBC demonstrated then, for the first time in the country, the use of multi-programming and the transmission of interactive multimedia applications.
Despite this low power of the transmitter supplied by BT Transmitters, recordings were reported from different regions of the country and even from North America and Europe (Radiolab – Começam transmissões de rádio digital DRM em onda curta no Brasil).
The results of the tests were published last month by the DRM Consortium.
The DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) standard provides power savings of up to 80% in electricity consumption, a sound quality equal or superior to FM, as well as allowing images and other data to be sent to the radio receiver.
DRM is a worldwide consortium, and more information can be found at www.drm.org.
This story was also noted in Radio World:
National Radio of the Amazon orders a 100 kW BT transmitter
National Radio of the Amazon plans to use DRM shortwave transmissions to serve indigenous populations in the northern Amazon region, according to the Digital Radio Mondiale Consortium.
Public broadcaster Empresa Brasil de Comunicação (EBC) ordered a 100 kW BT transmitter to broadcast in DRM at 11,780 kHz in the 25-meter band, a shortwave channel used by Rádio Nacional da Amazônia.
The purchase, valued at about $650,000 USD, was the result of an auction held a year ago for purchase of equipment for EBC public radio broadcasts.
This is believed to be the first domestic DRM installation on a locally produced transmitter in Latin America.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who shares the following video of his open-air DX shack in McGrath, Alaska. Paul notes:
This past weekend, Radio Nacional da Amazonia had a booming signal into North America on 11,780 kHz. I recorded their broadcast throughout the night, assuming it would eventually fade; however, it did not.