Tag Archives: Ampegon

Radio Waves: The Enduring Appeal of Shortwave Radio, Ampegon Ships 100kW Transmitter, 4,270 km FM DX, Emisión Sefarad, and the Eswatini Transmitter

Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers.  To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors David Goren, Tracy Wood, and David Iurescia for the following tips:


Deep in the dial: Lawrence English on the enduring appeal of shortwave radio (The Wire)

To mark The Wire’s Radio Activity special issue, the Room40 label head examines the uncanny sonic properties of high frequency transmission

100 years ago this December, voices spoken on one side of the Atlantic shot through the atmosphere and materialised on the other side of the ocean. It was a moment of jubilation for those involved and proof of concept that formalised the possibilities of an emergent zone of signalling and communications called radio. It also helped to bring into focus the unrealised potential of this technology as a mechanism for access to, and transference of, signals of all sorts from around the globe.

These first transatlantic voices were carried on wavelengths of around 200 metres. At that time, which was before the creation of the International Telecommunication Union who coordinate the use of various frequency bandwidths on the radio spectrum, the length of the waves sat at the cusp of two bandwidths: the lowest end of medium wave and the highest end of shortwave. Not only had this amateur broadcast achieved new distances over which communication might pass, but it also demonstrated the process of skywave propagation. This method, whereby radio signals are bounced off the ionosphere (the electrically charged upper layer of Earth’s atmosphere), extends the range of transmission of a radio signal considerably.

What made skywave propagation especially interesting was that, as a technique, it was being actively explored by both amateur radio enthusiasts (the so-called ham radio movement) and commercial interests alike. In fact, throughout the 1920s experimental approaches to radio (broadcast and otherwise) were an area of intense interest and research. This attention was aided by booms in broadcast hardware and a growing understanding about how the technology could be deployed to radically reconfigure the ways in which transmission of voice, music and other signals might be achieved over greater and greater distances.[]

Ampegon Ships First of Four 100kW Shortwave Transmitters (Ampegon)

Ampegon has shipped the first of a series of four new 100kW shortwave transmitters from its factory in Kleindöttingen, Aargau, Switzerland. The transmitter RF and PSM sections were carefully moved out of the factory and onto a lorry for transfer to our shipping partner. There it will be securely packed in shipping crates and prepared for onward transport.

Ampegon’s TSW-2100 100kW shortwave transmitter is an economical and reliable transmitter system intended for regional to international broadcasting. Its relatively high output power provides good signal strength hundreds of kilometers away from the transmitter when attached to a good antenna, while it is still of sufficiently low power to allow operation from standard low voltage three-phase electrical connections.

Almost all shortwave transmitters currently in production feature digital DRM capabilities, since they are specified with DRM modulators and content servers. This permits the delivery of stereo FM-quality sound and a digital data channel over the same 9/10kHz broadcast band as an analogue transmission. Additionally, when used in DRM mode, power consumption is reduced by approximately 40%-50%, saving broadcasters hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in electricity costs!

With this transmitter safely on its way to its new home, attention turns to completing the next two systems currently under testing. All transmitters undergo rigorous factory acceptance testing to ensure installation and commissioning can be completed with minimum possible disruption.

For further information about Ampegon’s high power shortwave transmitter range, please see our product pages at: www.ampegon.com/products/sw-tube-transmitters/

To learn more about DRM transmissions, please visit the DRM consortium here: www.drm.org[]

FM radio station on 90.7 MHz near Quebec is heard across the Atlantic in Ireland – 21st June 2021 (EI7GL)

21st June 2021: This was a remarkable day for VHF propagation with a very rare trans-Atlantic opening on the 88-108 MHz FM band.

As outlined in a previous post, Paul Logan in the north of Ireland managed to hear a radio station from Greenland on 88.5 MHz from roughly 13:00 to 14:00 UTC on the 21st of June.

Near the end of this opening, Paul also managed to hear a radio station near Quebec in Canada, a distance of approximately 4,270 kms !

The radio station in question was the 100 kilowatt transmitter of CBRX-FM-3 ICI MUSIQUE which is located at Riviére-du-Loup just to the east of Quebec City in Canada.

A short audio clip from Paul is embedded below…

 

[Click here to continue reading this post on EI7GL’s blog…]

For 35 years, mother-daughter duo has run a radio show on Ladino and Sephardic Jewish culture from Madrid (South Florida Sun Sentinel)

Matilde Gini de Barnatán and her daughter Viviana Rajel Barnatán didn’t set out to make Jewish history in Spain.

In the 1960s and ’70s, Matilde, now 85, established herself in Argentina as a prominent researcher, teacher and scholar of the history of Sephardic culture and the Spanish Inquisition in Ibero-America. Her extensive expertise and recognition in Argentine intellectual circles helped her become a close friend of the renowned writer Jorge Luis Borges.

Viviana Rajel, now 55, studied acting in Buenos Aires.

But in April 1986, as Israel was establishing its diplomatic relations with Spain, so did the Spanish government with its Jewish ancestry. Through its state-owned public radio service, the country set out to develop a cultural project in the form of a radio show to reintroduce Ladino — or Judeo-Spanish, an endangered Romance language spoken by past generations of the Sephardic Jewish Diaspora — as a vital piece of Spanish heritage.

It was “a gesture of friendship between Spain, Israel and the Sephardic communities around the world,” according to Viviana Rajel.

Due to the lack of native Ladino speakers in Spain at the time, there was virtually no one available to take on the endeavor. Through academic networks of Sephardic scholars that linked Spain with Argentina, Matilde was found and asked to relocate and be the project’s primary role — which its developers pitched as a way to redress the historical wrong of the Spanish Inquisition, the 15th-century expulsion of Jews from the country.

Viviana Rajel followed her mother because she wanted the show to portray the matriarchal essence behind the oral tradition of Ladino, which traditionally passes from generation to generation through the women of the family.

Hence was born “Emisión Sefarad” (or “Sepharad Broadcast”), a weekly radio show available online and on shortwaves in Judeo-Spanish that broadcasts every Sunday on the Spanish National Radio’s overseas service. April marked 35 years of the program, which has aired uninterrupted since its launch.

Click here to continue reading, noting that this article is behind a paywall.

The incredible reach of the Eswatini transmitter (Evangelical Focus)

TWR Africa has been spreading hope throughout the African continent since 1974 engaging millions in more than 50 countries.

Radio, the internet, mobile devices, TWR360, and other media sources open doors to allow the gospel to spread to countries where Christianity is legally forbidden, to animistic tribes in the Nuba Mountains who are cut off from the rest of civilization, and to displaced people fleeing war in northern Mozambique. We have been equipped with powerful media tools to take the Good News into places where we physically cannot go. Through the power of the Spirit, we can use radio and other mass media to accomplish the task Jesus gave us to make disciples of all nations.

TWR broadcasts from various transmitter sites in Africa including TWR Eswatini and the Middle East on shortwave, and TWR West Africa on medium wave (AM). In addition, TWR broadcasts programs via several TWR partner FM radio networks and a satellite channel that offer direct-to-home services to various parts of the continent.[]

 


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Radio Waves: Free Magazine from URE, C-19 Effect on Listening, Ampegon Focuses on Transmitters, and EU Directive for Car Digital Radio

(Source: Ampegon)

Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers.  To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Mike, Paul Evans,  Josh Shepperd, and Mike Terry for the following tips:


Spain’s URE makes June magazine PDF available (Southgate ARC)

In response to the ongoing Coronvirus situation Spain’s national amateur radio society URE is allowing everyone to download the PDF of the June edition of their magazine Radioaficionados

A translation of the announcement on the URE site says:

One more month, and we have already been three, with the aim of accompanying its readers in the exceptional situation caused by the spread of COVID-19, the URE in its commitment to collaborate and help to cope with the complicated situation we are currently experiencing in our country, has decided to offer free access to the magazine of the month of June and we remind you that magazines prior to December 2019 are also available to you. In this way, citizens who wish to can read these publications for free.

A small gesture so that nobody feels alone at home in the face of this global challenge.

Access is through the website download area, click on “Descargas” under “Junio 2020 – Revista” at:
https://www.ure.es/descargas/

URE in Google English
https://tinyurl.com/SpainURE

Ampegon Puts Focus on Shortwave Transmitters (Radio World)

Ampegon Power Electronics highlights progress on the company’s third-generation solid-state shortwave transmitters, which it says will offer “significant advances in efficiency.”

The company says this work will pave the way toward higher-power broadcast outputs and meet current expectations of a shortwave equivalent to medium-wave and FM transmitters. “Combined, these two developments will bring FM-quality broadcasts with all the benefits of shortwave,” said Simon Keens, Ampegon sales and business development manager.

Ampegon has also developed a retrofit upgrade to current UCS generation control systems for previous generation 100 kW, 250 kW, 300 kW and 500 kW transmitter systems.[]

Listening together, listening alone: A music professor sounds off on his shifting industries (CBC)

Brian Fauteux reflects on the way COVID-19 is affecting his two passions: music and teaching

A lot of great songs effectively reflect the feelings that accompany isolation. The experience of being alone, however, is often constructed in opposition to a longing for togetherness. Heart’s “Alone” (1987) — maybe the greatest power ballad ever recorded — confidently asserts, “‘Til now I always got by on my own.” But this is no longer the case when the song’s protagonist meets and develops undeniable feelings for another: “And now it chills me to the bone.” In another iconic 80s anthem, “Dancing in the Dark,” Springsteen grows tired and bored with himself against the desperate urge to join up with “something happening somewhere.” The act of dancing in the dark can be fun, sure, but it’s much more fun with others. Inspiration in isolation is insubstantial.

I’m an Assistant Professor of Popular Music and Media Studies, and I teach and write about the role of music in society. I’m interested in how our listening practices shape, and are shaped by, issues of sustainability in the music industries — that is, how artists make (or struggle to make) a living in this day and age.[]

EU directive on digital radio in cars (Times of Malta)

Directive (EU) 2018/1972 of the European Parliament and of the Council of December 11, 2018, establishing the European Electronic Communications Code (‘EECC’) entered into force on December 20, 2018. Member states have two years to incorporate it into national law, except where specifically mentioned.

Radio is an important medium through which citizens access a diverse range of information news and entertainment services. The EECC leverages on the ever-increasing connectivity of new generation cars as well as on the digital platforms of radio broadcasters to guarantee a more robust radio experience to all drivers, ensuring good coverage, a wider choice of radio stations and more effective access to information at all times. The EECC ensures that car drivers have access to the benefits of digital terrestrial radio wherever in the EU they have bought their new car.

On April 21, the minister responsible for communications, in consultation with the Malta Communications Authority, published Legal Notice 151 of 2020 amending the Electronic Communications Network and Services (General) Regulations, implementing the provision of the EECC dealing with the interoperability of car radio devices. In line with the regulation, any car radio receiver integrated in a new vehicle of category M which is made available on the market for sale or rent in Malta from December 21, 2020, shall comprise a receiver capable of receiving and reproducing at least radio services provided by digital terrestrial radio broadcasting of type DAB+. Radio programmes in Malta are broadcast terrestrially on DAB+.

The car radio requirement only applies to new cars.[]


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WAGM features WBCQ’s multi-million dollar shortwave station installation

(Source: Ampegon)

(Source: WAGM via Richard Cuff)

MONTICELLO, Maine – The town of Monticello will soon be home to one of the largest short wave radio stations in the world, according to those involved. In this week’s Aroostook 2020, Newssource 8’s Ashley Blackford finds out what this major project could mean for the area.

Click here to view this video at WAGM.

Click here for archived posts about WBCQ.

[Note: If the embedded video function wdoes not function properly, click here to view at WAGM.]

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Ampegon Group encourages use of shortwave for “secure data transmission and high-speed communications”

(Source: Ampegon)

(Source: Radio World via Mike Hansgen)

The author [Dr. Simon Keens] is head of sales and marketing for the Ampegon Group.

TURGI, SWITZERLAND — There are many innovative ways the industry can use shortwave broadcasting to provide secure data transmission and high-speed communications.

The modern world increasingly requires available real-time secure communications between centralized locations and often to many receivers in unknown locations thousands of kilometers away.

[…]Information transfer via the internet or via fiber optic cable was once the reference. However, the use of such technology means that the information is only delivered to fixed points. In addition, the use of third-party infrastructures provides a security risk and increases transport cost.

Today, near-instant communication to unknown, remote receivers using shortwave is being developed as a new secure means of communications without the need for external providers, delivering signals directly to multiple, or even mobile, destinations regardless of fixed infrastructure. Messages may be dispatched much faster, thus for situations where time is critical, each additional second could be profitable and even save lives.[…]

Click here to read the full article at Radio World.

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WBCQ builds 500 kW transmitting station

Here at the Winter SWL Fest, there has been much chatter about the new Ampegon rotatable antenna and transmitter system at WBCQ.

WBCQ made the following press releasee yesterday:

(Source: WBCQ)

For Immediate Release: March 2, 2018

WBCQ The Planet Announces New Showcase Radio Facility

Plymouth Meeting, PA:

WBCQ The Planet announced today that it is building one of the most powerful and versatile radio stations in the world. WBCQ’s new shortwave radio station, now under construction in Monticello, Maine, features a new 500-kilowatt transmitter from Continental Electronics and a state-of-the-art antenna system from Ampegon Antenna of Switzerland.

The new station, funded by private investors, will be able to direct a powerful shortwave signal to any country on Earth. Our new facility is planned to be a showcase for the radio world and is dedicated to our free speech mission.

The new station is planned to commence operations in fall 2018.

Obviously, the investor has deep pockets and I understand is affiliated with a religious organization. The new antenna and transmitter building is being built on land adjacent to the existing transmitter site.  WBCQ actually broke ground last summer and the massive antenna’s foundation is already in place. The antenna is on site now, but has not been assembled. Most of the construction is on hold during the winter, but WBCQ plans to have this 500 kW station on the air by Fall 2018.

Follow developments by bookmarking the tag: WBCQ

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Ampegon to install its first rotatable array antenna at WBCQ

(Source: Radio World via Andrea Borgnino)

Ampegon says it is about to deliver and install its first rotatable shortwave high-power array antenna on the North American continent.

The system, which will be installed WBCQ in the United States, is designed for the transmission of shortwave signals of up to 500 kW, the high-power antenna offers different radiation patterns, an antenna gain of up to 23 dB and uses a technology characterized by a single-shaft structural design.

Continue reading at Radio World…

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Kuwait Radio updates shortwave transmitters

(Source: Radio World via Andrea Borgnino)

Swiss-based company Ampegon has accepted a contract from Al Rashed to handle the upgrade of five analog shortwave transmitters that are more than 20 years old for the Kuwait Ministry of Information in Al Kabd station.

[…]Ampegon will refurbish all of the transmitters, and in addition upgrade three of them to full digital DRM integration and converted to the new transmitter control system UCS[…]

Read more at Radio World online…

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