As a follow-up to a previous post, many thanks to several SWLing Post readers who noted this news on the VOA Radiogram website:
The German communications regulator Bundesnetzagentur has changed its mind about allowing digital modes on shortwave broadcast transmitters in Germany. Apparently BNetzA thought that Channel 292 was transmitting the text and images in single sideband (SSB), which is how amateurs, military, etc, transmit the digital modes. Now that they know that the MFSK32 and other modes are sent as program audio on an analogue amplitude-modulation shortwave transmitter, their objections were withdrawn. (It’s similar to A2A modulated CW.)
BNetzA prefers that the term MFSK32 not be used to describe these broadcasts, but we have to specify the mode so that you can set Fldigi or other decoding software to the correct mode. In any case, the weekly MFSK32 transmission will resume on The Mighty KBC, and DigiDX will return to Channel 292.
Meanwhile, VOA Radiogram this weekend will be all MFSK32 except for the transmission schedule in Olivia 64-2000 under the closing music.
“Apparently BNetzA thought that Channel 292 was transmitting the text and images in single sideband (SSB), which is how amateurs, military, etc, transmit the digital modes.”
They “thought” ?
You mean they make regulations based on thought only, and not any practical?
You mean to tell me that one of the world’s largest economies can’t even
afford a receiver to check it, or if they do have one, be bothered to switch
it on first before firing off diktat ?
Sheesh !
Totally agree….bet they are feeling pretty silly right now.
For a communications regulator to do this without investigating (or even asking) is pretty poor show.
That’s OK as long a they can contain side-band splatter to within their assigned frequency.