Monthly Archives: April 2015

2015 Annual Meeting of the NASB in Washington DC

If you can make the trek to Washington DC on May 21st and 22nd, you might consider attending the 2015 NASB (National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters) Annual Meeting. Attendance is free of charge, but you must register in advance (click here for the registration form).

The meeting is being held at the Radio Free Asia headquarters at 2025 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.

I attended and even presented at an NASB meeting some years ago and really enjoyed the experience. Indeed, if this meeting wasn’t on the heels of the Dayton Hamvention, I would most likely attend this year as well. Perhaps if the stars align, I might just make it anyway.

I’ve pasted the full itinerary below, but if you’re interested in attending, you should read all of the meeting details at the NASB website.

Thursday, May 21
12:00-12:30 pm – Tour of Radio Free Asia (group one)
12:30-1:00 pm – Tour of Radio Free Asia (group two)
1:00 pm – Official Opening of 25th annual meeting of the NASB by Libby Liu, President, Radio Free Asia
1:05 pm – Opening remarks by Brady Murray, President, NASB; and A.J. Janitschek, RFA
1:15 pm – “The Peoples’ Radio: Media Expansion in Hitler’s Germany” – presentation by Dr. Jerry Plummer, WWCR
1:45 pm – FCC Update – Tom Lucey, FCC International Bureau
2:00 pm – 25 Years of the NASB – Doug Garlinger, former NASB President
2:30 pm – Coffee Break
3:00 pm – TWR Presentation, including KTWR DRM Trials – Lauren Libby, President, TWR
3:30 pm – HFCC Oman Conference – slide show by Jeff & Thais White, WRMI
4:00 pm – HFCC Brisbane Conference – slide show from Ken Lingwood, Reach Beyond Australia
4:15 pm – Finally, Some Good News from Madagascar! – Charles Caudill, President, World Christian Broadcasting
4:30 pm – Coffee Break
5:00 pm – End of Thursday afternoon presentations – break before dinner
7:00 pm – Meet at St. Gregory Hotel lobby – walk together to Irish restaurant for dinner
7:30 pm – Dinner at Irish Whiskey Public House, 1207 19th Street, NW
Friday, May 22
9:00 am – DRM Update from Calvin Carter, Continental Electronics (DRM Consortium Steering Board member)
9:30 am – IBB Engineering Update – Gerhard Straub, US International Broadcasting Bureau
10:00 am – “Ubuntu – Radio Ready” by A.J. Janitschek, Radio Free Asia
10:30 am – Coffee Break
11:00 am – Shortwave Audience Research and VOA Radiogram – Update from Dr. Kim Andrew EIllott, IBB
11:30 am – Update on KVOH, Voice of Hope – Africa and Voice of Hope – Israel – presentation by John Tayloe and Ray Robinson
12:00 pm – Lunch at Meiwah Chinese restaurant, 1200 New Hampshire Ave. NW (a short walk from Radio Free Asia)
2:00 pm – NASB Business Meeting – topics to be discussed include plans for the 2016 annual meeting, updating the NASB website, a 25th anniversary NASB QSL/contest for shortwave listeners, a possible NASB shortwave listeners meeting in Brisbane, Australia in conjunction with the HFCC Conference in August, financial reports, election of officers
4:00 pm – Brief board meeting for NASB Board members
4:30 pm – Adjournment. Dinner on your own.

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Bayrischer Rundfunk to shut down four MW transmitters end of September 2015

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Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Alexander (DL4NO), who writes:

“Today I found a message that Bayrischer Rundfunk will shut down its four MW transmitters at the end of September:

http://www.br.de/unternehmen/inhalt/technik/mittelwelle-abschaltung-radio-100.html

The two higher-powered transmitters (Munich 100 kW, Nürnberg 20 kW) are on 801 kHz. The two smaller transmitters (Würzburg and Hof, both in the northern part of Bavaria) are on 729 kHz. The message also says that the BR is intensively updating its DAB+ transmitter net.

Personally I see positive and negative aspects: the 100 kW transmitter is about 15 km from here. Ist field strength tests the large-signal capabilities of my active receiving antenna. The negative aspects should be obvious.”

This is a very good point Alexander. When I listen to clear channel MW stations here in the evenings, I often wonder what it must be like for radio listeners nd amateur radio operators living in close proximity.

Many thanks for relaying the message about Bayrischer Rundfunk.

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Greece to re-open state broadcaster, ERT

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Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Ayar (HB9EVW), who shares this news via Reuters:

(Reuters) – Greece’s parliament passed a bill on Wednesday to reopen the state broadcaster abruptly unplugged nearly two years ago, in a symbolic move to heal what Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called a “great wound” of the country’s bailout programme.

Re-opening The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) has been a priority for his leftist Syriza party, which fiercely protested the way television screens went black at midnight on June 11, 2013, after the then conservative-led government decided to shutter the 75-year-old institution.

[…]ERT’s shock closure, with newscasters cut off in mid-sentence, was one of the most drastic measures to help meet the terms of the country’s 240 billion-euro international bailout.

It sparked a wave of protests and the withdrawal of a partner from the coalition government at the time, igniting what many view as the beginning of Syriza’s rise to power.

For weeks, journalists broadcast a bootleg news channel over the Internet, defying management orders to leave the shuttered broadcaster’s headquarters. Hundreds rallied outside the building in daily protests, as musicians from ERT’s national symphony orchestra performed, some in tears. The government has said it plans to rehire the musicians.

I actually recorded the moment the Voice of Greece went off the air on shortwave, only to return (as basically a pirate radio station) only a few hours later. Click here to listen to the recording.

Click here to read the full Reuters article above.

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Norway FM Radio stations: “We’re not dead yet.”

BBC shortwave frequencies and schedule for Nepal earthquake relief

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(Source: BBC Media Centre press release)

BBC World Service broadcasts Lifeline programmes in Nepal

In response to the aftermath of the earthquake in Nepal, the BBC World Service is now broadcasting additional programming on shortwave in both Nepalese and in English.
BBC Media Action – the BBC’s international development charity – is working with the Nepali Service on BBC World Service (radio and online) and local partner radio stations to broadcast ‘Lifeline’ programming.

Liliane Landor, Controller of World Service Languages, says: “Information is vital and we are doing all we can to make sure that our audiences in the affected areas receive their local and regional news as well as ‘Lifeline’ programming designed to give practical information to help deal with the aftermath of the earthquake.”

The Nepali language programme is available on shortwave as follows:

Nepali dawn transmission (01:30-01:45 GMT)
11995 kHz (25 metre band)
15510 kHz (19 metre band)

Nepali evening transmission (15:00-16:00 GMT)
9650 kHz (31 metre band)
5895 kHz (49 metre band)

The availability of World Service English on short wave to Northern India and Nepal has been extended with the service now starting one hour earlier than normal at 23.00 GMT.

Additional frequencies for World Service in English (to S Asia) from 23:00 GMT to 24:00GMT
5895 kHz (49 metre band)
9540 kHz (31 metre band)

From 00:00GMT the broadcasts continue as normal on 12,095kHz, 9,410kHz and 5970kHz

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ARS Technica: People turn to ham radio in aftermath of Nepal earthquake

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Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, John Drake, who shares this excellent article from ARS Technica:

“On Saturday, Nepal was shaken by a massive earthquake that registered a 7.8 on the Richter scale, causing widespread destruction in areas of dense population, and preventing aid workers from reaching more isolated villages in the mountainous regions. As of Tuesday, at least 5,000 people were dead and at least 10,000 were injured. Hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless.

With any natural disaster, communication can often become a matter of life and death, and if phone lines are broken and cell towers crumble, relaying messages to the outside world and coordinating rescue efforts becomes that much more difficult. Add to that the fact that Nepal’s government is woefully unprepared to handle such a humanitarian crisis, and chaos reigns.

Still, some volunteers are trying to impose order on the chaos. After the quake, which shook cities in India as well as Nepal, volunteer ham radio operators from India traveled to the region to relay messages from areas whose communications infrastructure is broken or overloaded. Ham radio, also called amateur radio, is a means of sending and receiving messages over a specific radio frequency, and it is often used in disaster situations because it operates well off the grid; transceivers can be powered by generators and set up just about anywhere.

Amateur radio has taken a back seat with hobbyists in recent decades as other means of wireless communication have become cheaper and easier for people to use (you don’t need a special license from the FCC to operate a cell phone, although sometimes it seems like we’d be better for it if that were the rule). The decline in participation rates is unlikely to change substantially in the US, and the Times of India noted that awareness about ham radio is still low in India and nearby areas. Still, it has proven to be effective as a means of communication in Nepal in recent days.”

Continue reading on ARS Technica…

Transceivers like the Elecraft KX3 (above) are perfect for aid workers in need of communications in the aftermath of a natural disaster. Many modern transceivers (like the Kx3) can run for hours at a time off of battery packs, can be deployed almost anywhere and can easily be attached to amplifiers if needed.

It may take a license to operate amateur radio, but frankly it’s a fairly low barrier of entry. Morse Code tests are no longer required here in the US and all of the questions and answers are multiple choice and in the public domain. Indeed, I found the Technician (and former Novice) license test to be incredibly educational; especially with regard to radio propagation and basic electronic principles.

Everyone should support their amateur radio clubs who actively hone their emergency communication skills. As the ARRL often quotes: “When all else fails…amateur radio.” Even if you don’t have a license, amateur radio clubs welcome visitors. You can find a fairly comprehensive list of amateur radio clubs (in the US) via the ARRL.

Click here for a list of amateur radio organizations worldwide.

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AIR and BBC design programming for post-earthquake Nepal

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(Source: RMbiz)

MUMBAI: In the wake of recent earthquake that affected Nepal and India, All India Radio (AIR) and British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) have designed special programming for affected areas of Indo-Nepal border and Nepal respectively. AIR is also transmitting services through their External Services Division (ESD).

AIR stations in Patna, Darbhanga, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Gangtok, Siliguri, Guwahati, Delhi and others put out suitable programmes to generate awareness among the masses, particularly informing them how to tackle such situations.[…]

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