Monthly Archives: September 2024

The Falling Sky: Can you identify this commercial transceiver?

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood, who writes:

Thomas / SWLing:

You might be hearing “Yãnoma” or “Yanomamö” spoken on the HF bands. Here’s cinematic proof.

A movie has just been released about the Yanomami people’s struggles against cattle farmers and gold miners invading their tribal lands in Brazil and Venezuela. The film is called “The Falling Sky” or “A Queda do Céu” in Portuguese. It’s directed by Eryk Rocha and Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha.

This is a multinational production with resources from Brazil, Italy and France. The movie title is taken from a 2013 book by anthropologist Bruce Albert interviewing Davi Kopenawa, shaman and spokesman for the Brazilian Yanomami people.

This film is being shown at the AFI Latin American Filmfest in Silver Spring, Maryland. “The AFI Latin American Film Festival is one of North America’s largest and longest-running showcases of Latin American cinema.”

https://afisilver.afi.com/silver/laff/

This rig is an older Icom HF commercial transceiver. I have yet to figure out the model number. Any guesses readers?

Tracy

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Yagi Aftermath: Carlos’ Shortwave Art and recording of Voice of Vietnam (September 11, 2024)

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of a recent Voice of Vietnam broadcast.

Carlos notes:

Excerpt from the news bulletin of the “Voice of Vietnam” radio on Typhoon Yagi, September 11, 2024.

Click here to view on YouTube.

(Original in Spanish and translation for English follows)

“…En la reunión del Gobierno sobre la elaboración de leyes, celebrada este miércoles, el primer ministro Pham Minh Chinh pidió a los ministerios, ramas y localidades que movilicen a todo el sistema político para actuar y adoptar todas las medidas necesarias para responder y superar las consecuencias, especialmente las inundaciones y deslizamientos de tierra provocados por el tifón Yagi.

También invitó a redoblar los esfuerzos para buscar soluciones, por todos los medios fluviales, terrestres y aéreos, para acceder y satisfacer las necesidades básicas de las zonas aisladas, con alimentos, bebidas, agua y medicinas.

Según el Departamento de Manejo de Diques y Prevención y Control de Desastres Naturales (Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural), debido al impacto del tifón Yagi y las inundaciones posteriores a esta tormenta, hasta la una y media del 11 de septiembre se registraron 296 personas muertas o desaparecidas.

Mientras tanto, la comunidad vietnamita en el extranjero también ofrece apoyo activo a sus compatriotas en el país. La Embajada de Vietnam y asociaciones vietnamitas en Japón lanzaron ayer una campaña para recaudar donaciones de apoyo a las personas afectadas por el tifón Yagi…”

“…El presidente venezolano, Nicolás Maduro, expresó su solidaridad con el Gobierno y el pueblo de Vietnam ante los graves daños humanos y materiales provocados por el súper tifón Yagi, y envió su más sentido pésame a los familiares de las víctimas de la catástrofe natural. En declaraciones al canal Venezolana de Televisión (VTV), el ministro del Poder Popular para las Relaciones Exteriores de Venezuela, Yván Gil Pinto, transmitió el mensaje del presidente Maduro al Gobierno y pueblo vietnamitas, enfatizando que su país seguirá monitoreando los acontecimientos tras el paso del tifón y está dispuesta a apoyar la nación indochina para superar las consecuencias provocadas por Yagi…”

“…Por otra parte, la Dirección Nacional de los Comités de Defensa de la Revolución de Cuba (CDR) mostró su confianza en que con el esfuerzo de todo el pueblo Vietnam se recuperará de los daños causados por el tifón Yagi. En el mensaje de condolencias dirigido al presidente del Frente de la Patria de Vietnam, Do Van Chien, la mayor organización de masas cubana expresó su profundo pesar ante la pérdida de vidas humanas y daños materiales provocados por esta catástrofe meteorológica en el norte vietnamita. A través de su misiva, los CDR transmitieron sus más sentidas condolencias al pueblo y Gobierno de ese país hermano, así como a los familiares y allegados de las víctimas. El mensaje reafirmó la solidaridad y hermandad del pueblo cubano con el pueblo vietnamita.

Hasta el momento, Yagi dejó tras su paso un saldo de más de 140 víctimas mortales y otros 59 desaparecidos en Vietnam, además dañó miles de hectáreas de cultivos y árboles e infraestructuras en varias localidades…”

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“…At the Government meeting on lawmaking held on Wednesday, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called on ministries, branches and localities to mobilize the entire political system to act and take all necessary measures to respond to and overcome the consequences, especially the floods and landslides caused by Typhoon Yagi.

He also called on them to redouble efforts to find solutions, by all river, land and air means, to access and meet the basic needs of isolated areas, with food, drinks, water and medicine.

According to the Department of Dike Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), due to the impact of Typhoon Yagi and the floods following this storm, 296 people had died as of 1:30 a.m. on September 11 or missing.

Meanwhile, the Vietnamese community abroad is also actively supporting their compatriots at home. The Vietnamese Embassy and Vietnamese associations in Japan launched a campaign yesterday to collect donations to support those affected by Typhoon Yagi…”

“…Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro expressed his solidarity with the Government and people of Vietnam in the face of the serious human and material damage caused by Super Typhoon Yagi, and sent his deepest condolences to the families of the victims of the natural disaster. In statements to the Venezuelan Television channel (VTV), the Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Relations of Venezuela, Yván Gil Pinto, transmitted the message of President Maduro to the Vietnamese Government and people, emphasizing that his country will continue to monitor the events after the passage of the typhoon and is willing to support the Indochinese nation to overcome the consequences caused by Yagi…”

“…On the other hand, the National Directorate of the Committees for the Defense of the Cuban Revolution (CDR) expressed its confidence that with the effort of all the people Vietnam will recover from the damage caused by typhoon Yagi. In the message of condolences addressed to the president of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Do Van Chien, the largest Cuban mass organization expressed its deep regret at the loss of human lives and material damage caused by this meteorological catastrophe in northern Vietnam. Through its letter, the CDR transmitted its most heartfelt condolences to the people and Government of that sister country, as well as to the families and friends of the victims. The message reaffirmed the solidarity and brotherhood of the Cuban people with the Vietnamese people.

So far, Yagi has left behind a balance of more than 140 fatalities and another 59 missing in Vietnam, in addition to damaging thousands of hectares of crops and trees and infrastructure in several localities…”

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Hurricane Francine: US Coast Guard Radio Recording and Weather Radiofax Images

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares the following recording of a USCG National Weather Service broadcast along with NOAA radiofax weather maps. Carlos notes:

Part of National Hurricane Center’s Tropical Weather Outlook Text, Hurricane Francine warning, broadcasted by US Coast Guard at Chesapeake, VA. Listened at Urca Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 13089 kHz, Sept 11, 2024, 23h15 UTC.

Bonus: Three NOAA’s radiofax on Hurricane Francine (and Tropical Depression Seven) via USCG Boston, and received at Urca Beach, Rio de Janeiro, in the same evening.

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Carlos’ Shortwave Art and recording of the Voice of Vietnam (September 10, 2024)

Skybird Radio International flies again

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Hi it’s FastRadioBurst 23 here letting you know that the Imaginary Stations crew will be bringing to you the return of Skybird Radio International via the shortwaves on Sunday 15th September 2024 at 0900/1300 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and then at 2000 UTC on 6160 kHz and 3975 kHz via Shortwave Gold. Expect some wonderful eclectic music in a true worldwide style from all of the Skybird crew.

Then on Wednesday 18th September 2024 at 0200 UTC on 9395 kHz we’ll be bringing you another episode of Skybird Radio International which is a worldwide affair as you can imagine with more tunes from around this musical globe of ours via WRMI.

We now have a Patreon page for our regular listeners here. Monthly memberships are available for exclusive audio and zines.

For more information on all our shows, please send to [email protected] and check out our old shows at our Mixcloud page here.

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Radio Waves: SWLtools App for the Belka, DAB+ Receivers To Wake Up, New RTI Arabic Podcast, and Re-archiving the National Library of Norway

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Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

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 Stefano Rampazzo, David Iurescia, and Paul for the following tips:

SWLtools App for the Belka receiver

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Stefano, who writes:

I am a proud owner of a Belka receiver and I really love it.

The Belka is small, it is simple, it works very well outdoors with its short antenna that outperforms my desktop receivers with long wire antennas

Its size allows you to put it in your pocket, take it on a trip, on vacation, anywhere.
I have often sat in my garden at night with my Belka, away from the electrical noise of the house, and made some really good listening. In these situations I realized that I needed to record my dx. I thought about buying a mini-recorder, but since I always have my iPhone with me I decided to develop an app to record the audio of my Belka. After some time I am happy to let you know that my new app SWLtools is available on the Apple AppStore.

SWLtools allows you to record, play back and share your best listening. Also, since Belka also has an additional output where the IQ signal is present, I also added a function to the app to display the spectrum and spectrogram (waterfall).

As you know, modern smartphones do not have analog inputs and outputs, so to use SWLtools it is mandatory to have a USB audio device.

I bought a cheap USB dongle with a line input and output. Its sampling rate is 44.1 kHz, it is very low, but it is enough for minimal viewing.

SWLtools is available for free on the Apple AppStore (and it is also ad-free).

DAB+ receivers to be woken up in crisis situations (World DAB)

From next year, new DAB+ receivers will have better audio and text alerts in crisis situations. The current standard for alerts is called AAS (Alarm Annoucement Switching) and was introduced in 2020. In a crisis situation, receivers will switch to the station responsible for crisis information and the screen will also provide short text information. DAB+ also allows for the creation of temporary radio channels in crisis situations, which was used during the Brisbane floods in 2011. Over the past two years, the new Automatic Safety Alert (ASA) standard has been developed by WorldDAB and Digitalradio Deutschland in co-operation with chip manufacturer Frontier Smart Technologies and electronics manufacturers such as Technisat and JVC Kenwood. Among other things, receivers with ASA can be switched on automatically in emergency situations.

Click here to check out this note and more at World DAB.

Rti to launch Arabic podcasts on September 30 (RTI)

On Wednesday, Radio Taiwan International announced that it will launch its new Arabic podcasts on International Podcast Day on September 30 at the 2024 Rti Arabic Day Forum.

Rti’s president Chang Jui-Chang (???), speaking at the event titled “Rti Arabic Day: Taiwan Steps into the Arab World – Taiwan-Arab Cultural Exchange Forum,” remarked on the historical context of Rti’s Arabic programming, which began in 1950 but was halted in 2005 due to budget constraints. It was only on Eid al-Fitr in May 2021 that Rti re-initiated its outreach to Arab audiences through social media, achieving significant success over the past three years.

The forum featured several experts, including Representative Mr. Adel Fahad Althaidi of the Saudi Arabian Trade Office in Taipei, Scholar Ouyang Wen-chin (????), Assistant Professor Tsung Pei-chen (???), Lecturer Fu Yi-hsuang (???) from National Chengchi University’s Arabic Department, and former Associate Professor Hsu Cheng-hsiang (???). Fu highlighted that Taiwanese cinema serves as a window for the Arab world to understand Taiwan, noting the frequent cultural festivals, such as film, music, and dance festivals hosted abroad by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote cultural exchange. [Continue reading…]

Rearchiving 2 million hours of digital radio, a comprehensive process (National Library – Norway)

The National Library is in the process of a major overhaul of its 2007 bit-repository, replacing it with a contemporary digital preservation system. This new solution is based on an in-house developed system called DPS (Digital Preservation Services), which uses IBM-HPSS as the underlying bit repository for data storage. This transition, which is expected to span over a couple of years, is necessary to ensure the long-term preservation and accessibility of the National Library’s digital collection.

Transition to a New Preservation Solution
In 2023, all new data archiving was transferred to the new DPS preservation solution. At this time, the old bit repository contained over 14 Petabytes of digitized and legally deposited historical material, which needs to be re-archived into DPS. A key part of this process involves analyzing and repackaging the historical data to meet the new DPS requirements.

Historical Legally Deposited Radio
Among the materials to be re-archived are 2.2 million hours of digital radio, equivalent to 2.5 million files and a total of 1 Petabyte of data. This includes both born-digital and digitized radio programs from the period 1993-2022.

In 1993, there were four radio channels delivering 16,500 hours of radio. By 2022, the number of radio channels had increased to 30, collectively delivering 150,000 hours of radio. With the phasing out of the old bit repository, it became necessary to move this data to the new preservation solution.

DSM to DPS: A Thorough Process
DSM (Digital Longterm Storage) has been the National Library’s internal management system for legally deposited radio for the past 20 years. The data has been stored in an Oracle HSM bit-repository in three instances (disk, tape, tape), and the radio material was fetched daily from various broadcasters. Some radio broadcasts were stored as mp3 and wav files, with accompanying checksum files. Other broadcasts were only stored as mp3. [Continue reading on the National Library blog…]