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 Dan Robinson, Kanwar Sandhu, Robert Carleton, Mark C. and the Southgate ARC for the following tips:

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DW launches shortwave radio service for Afghanistan (DW)

Starting September 13, DW will broadcast daily radio programs in Dari and Pashto via shortwave to provide credible information to listeners in Afghanistan.

Deutsche Welle is launching a shortwave radio service for listeners in Afghanistan. The daily programs will be in both regional languages Dari and Pashto.

“In Afghanistan, media diversity and free access to independent information are under acute threat,” said Director General of DW Peter Limbourg. “DW has an experienced and skilled editorial team for the region which will contribute to providing better information to the people of Afghanistan with a shortwave radio service in Dari and Pashto, in addition to our online and social media offerings.”

The programs will broadcast daily for 30 minutes over the 15230 kHZ and 15390 kHZ frequencies at 14:00 UTC in Dari and at 14:30 UTC in Pashto.

Director of Programs for Asia Debarati Guha said the focus of the programs will be on peace, civil society and gender and human rights issues.

“With the new shortwave program, we are also well prepared in case the internet is shut down or restricted in Afghanistan,” she said. “DW will not abandon the people there and will continue to provide them with balanced information.” [Read full article…]

Hold Off on Foreign Sponsorship ID, FCC Is Told (Radio World)

Several broadcaster advocacy groups are asking the FCC not to implement its new rule about investigating the sources of programming content, pending the outcome of a legal challenge.

The National Association of Broadcasters, the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council and the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters have asked the Federal Communications Commission to stay the implementation of its report and order that requires every TV and radio broadcaster now to independently investigate every programming lessee to determine whether the sponsor is a foreign governmental entity or its agent, “even where the leased programming poses no colorable risk of foreign sponsorship.”

The three organizations recently filed a petition for review of the FCC order in an appeals court.[Continue reading…]

Tokyo Ham Fair 2021 is cancelled

Japan’s JARL has announced the cancellation of the world’s largest amateur radio event, the Tokyo Ham Fair 2021, which had been planned for October 2-3

JARL say:

We were hopeful to have Ham Fair 2021 with possible preventative measures against COVID-19, but another wave of infection came in this Summer.

Considering the worse than expected COVID situation, JARL reluctantly decided to cancel Ham Fair 2021.

We hope that Tokyo Ham Fair can come back in Year 2022 under safer conditions.

Until then, we wish you all to stay safe and healthy.

73 de JARL International
Ken Yamamoto JA1CJP

JARL https://tinyurl.com/IARU-Japan

The real-life Bond lair… hidden in Rock of Gibraltar: 007 author Ian Fleming recruited a team to hide in cave and spy on the Nazis during WWII (Daily Mail)

• Long-classified papers reveal Fleming’s plans for tunnels inside Rock of Gibraltar
• The 30-mile network was intended as a hiding spot should the island be invaded
• It would have had viewpoints, years of supplies and bicycle-powered radio

The dastardly supervillain’s secret underground lair is a key part of many James Bond stories.

But it seems these subterranean complexes were not just the fantastical product of author Ian Fleming’s imagination.

As cinemas prepare for the delayed premiere of latest Bond film No Time To Die, newly-released papers have revealed details of Fleming’s work with a real-life hidden city – in a genuine plot to save civilisation from evil.

The long-classified government documents relate to his plan for a labyrinthine network of 30 miles of tunnels inside the Rock of Gibraltar during the Second World War.

Fleming recruited six men for a remarkable mission – in which they were to be walled inside a hidden room deep inside the Rock, with supplies to survive for up to seven years in the event the Nazis conquered Gibraltar.

From secret viewpoints in the east and west faces of the Rock, the Britons would have spied on German naval movements between the Mediterranean and Atlantic.

They would then have used a radio powered by a bicycle – with a leather chain to ensure silence –to send messages to London.

In the style of Bond’s gadget genius Q, Fleming also arranged astonishingly advanced rations for the secret team – including chemically self-heating soup. [Continue reading…]

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