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 Markku Koskinen, David Goren, Troy Riedel, and David Iurescia for the following tips:
No matter what happens in the future, I will always love AM radio (Global News)
It’s been a tough couple of years for anyone who loves AM radio.
Things began to wobble before the pandemic as new, younger media buyers — people who did not grow up with radio — started shuffling advertising dollars towards digital platforms away from traditional media. That hurt all terrestrial radio, but AM in particular because it tends to attract an older demo.
Things got worse when it became apparent that big foreign tech companies — Google, Facebook, and so on — sucked more ad dollars out of the Canadian ecosystem.
Next, manufacturers of electric vehicles claimed that they couldn’t offer AM radio in their dashboards because of the electromagnetic interference caused by EV motors. Depending on who you talk to, this claim may or may not be bogus. [Continue reading…]
AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act moves forward in House (Inside Radio)
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has advanced the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act with a 45-2 vote. The bill, which aims to preserve AM radio access in vehicles, saw lawmakers emphasize AM radio’s critical role during emergencies, with Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., and others highlighting its importance in the Emergency Alert System. The legislation would require automakers to include AM radio or face fines, with a phased compliance timeline. The Senate version has gained broad support but awaits a final vote. [Continue reading…]
Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine’s drone defense (MIT Technology Review)
Since Russia’s invasion, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov has become an influential, if sometimes controversial, force—sharing expert advice and intel on the ever-evolving technology that’s taken over the skies. His work may determine the future of Ukraine, and wars far beyond it.
Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov hates going to the front line. The risks terrify him. “I’m really not happy to do it at all,” he says. But to perform his particular self-appointed role in the Russia-Ukraine war, he believes it’s critical to exchange the relative safety of his suburban home north of the capital for places where the prospect of death is much more immediate. “From Kyiv,” he says, “nobody sees the real situation.”
So about once a month, he drives hundreds of kilometers east in a homemade mobile intelligence center: a black VW van in which stacks of radio hardware connect to an array of antennas on the roof that stand like porcupine quills when in use. Two small devices on the dash monitor for nearby drones. Over several days at a time, Flash studies the skies for Russian radio transmissions and tries to learn about the problems facing troops in the fields and in the trenches.
He is, at least in an unofficial capacity, a spy. But unlike other spies, Flash does not keep his work secret. In fact, he shares the results of these missions with more than 127,000 followers—including many soldiers and government officials—on several public social media channels. Earlier this year, for instance, he described how he had recorded five different Russian reconnaissance drones in a single night—one of which was flying directly above his van. [Continue reading…]
Radio pollution from SpaceX’s new Starlink satellites poses threat to astronomy, scientists say (Space.com)
Radio pollution from Starlink satellites could mar the hunt for mysterious signals from the early universe.
SpaceX’s new Starlink satellites produce 32 times more radio noise than their predecessors, causing concerns among astronomers about their interference with radio astronomy observations.
Radio astronomy uses supersensitive antennas to detect faint radio signals emitted by stars, black holes and other objects in the universe. Researchers working at the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) in the Netherlands, one of the world’s most sensitive radio observatories, have now found that SpaceX’s growing megaconstellation of internet-beaming satellites is blinding their instruments. During a series of observations conducted in July, the researchers found that Starlink satellites crisscrossing the sky above the array appear up to 10 million times brighter than some of the most precious targets of radio astronomy research.
Jessica Dempsey, the director of the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy, which manages LOFAR, said the satellite radio pollution interferes with measurements of distant exoplanets and nascent black holes. It might also obscure the faint radiation coming from the Epoch of Reionization, one of the least-understood periods in the history of the universe, she added. [Continue reading…]
TWR Celebrates 50th Year Broadcasting from Roumoules, France (TWR)
TWR (Trans World Radio) is commemorating a significant milestone today: the 50th anniversary of broadcasts from the Roumoules radio station. These broadcasts have enabled the gospel message to reach countless listeners across borders and barriers.
In 1960, TWR began airing from a 100-kilowatt shortwave transmitter in Monte Carlo. At that time, audio tapes had to be physically delivered to transmitter sites. On occasion, they even had to be smuggled across national borders to Monte Carlo for transmission back into the originating countries. This is considered TWR’s first transmitting site under the name Trans World Radio.
Through radio waves beamed from Monte Carlo, Christ’s message reached behind the Iron Curtain to eager listeners. Specific areas reached from Monte Carlo were Spain/Portugal, the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Middle East/North Africa, the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Central Europe and Southern Europe.
On July 14, 1974, Radio Monte Carlo established new transmitters in Roumoules, France, actualizing the vision of its technical director, Lucien Allavena. This new site, now managed by Monaco Media Diffusion, set the stage for future advancements.
In 1987, TWR started airing medium- and long-wave broadcasts from Roumoules, extending previous coverage by over 1.5 million square miles.
Through TWR’s partnership with Radio Monte Carlo, millions of people have been able to access biblical teaching. Radio Monte Carlo overcame any attempts at signal interference, ensuring the broadcast remained uninterrupted. [Continue reading…]
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While I am all for supporting AM radio, I see the proposed legislation as one sided. If people simply stop listening to AM radio, broadcasters will leave. There is no reason for supply if there is no (or insufficient) demand.
What can be done to create demand?
From the SKA organisation themselves https://www.skao.int/en/news/478/new-observations-confirm-unintended-emissions-satellite-constellations and more
https://www.science.org/content/article/worst-nightmare-elon-musk-s-starlink-satellites-could-blind-radio-telescopes.
I note that the interference is not the wanted transmissions to users but interference at lower frequencies.
One of the possible causes is to drive the downlink transmitter to an excessive power level so that the reliability of reception is maximised. This excessive output is produced by intermodulation distortion.
One of the few innovative things that the https://crtc.gc.ca/eng/home-accueil.htm has done is introduce DAB from 1999 – 2006. Unfortunately they could not use the 174 – 230 MHz band because it contains TV channels 6 – 13. Instead they had to use 1452–1479.5MHz which has a much reduced coverage area. In addition it was the old DAB which had poor error correction and inefficient audio data compression and since then had not tried any pure digital radio. Which leaves HD radio which has a very weak digital signal to the point that on the main channel the receivers switch to analog as soon as the digital error rate exceeds what the receiver can correct.
In 2009 Australia started high power continuous DAB+ broadcasts in major cities with around 18 programs per transmitter which is still broadcasting to this day. Canada is like Australia in that the population is concentrated in a small area within the country. This makes Digital Radio Mondiale more appropriate because it will operate on any broadcasting frequency between 525 kHz and 230 MHz. This includes the high frequency (Short Wave) bands. The CBC closed their AM transmitters in this band.
Also I own a BYD which is the biggest selling electric vehicle in China, it has an DAB+/FM/AM radio. Now the Chinese are mandating for domestic consumption that all new vehicles must be able to receive DRM. They already have high powered DRM in the HF band for domestic listening.
Lastly I should add that AM radio commenced when the ‘T’ Model Ford, the first mass produced cars hit the dealers. It would be better not to legislate for AM in all vehicles but DRM which can use the vacant TV channels 2 – 5 which can accommodate all existing broadcasters at a much lower operating cost. DRM can also cover the whole of Canada with near FM quality sound from a single high powered high frequency DRM transmitter.
DRM does not provide ‘near FM quality sound’ – with bitrates not greater than 30 kbps, it’s more like ’90s dialup-quality’ sound, but even that’s not 100% accurate – dialup could deliver up to 56 kbps, while there’s not a single DRM station on shortwave that exceeds 30 kbps. But that’s not the worst one can get, because even with such abysmal performance, DRM still allows putting more than one audio channel on a single frequency, and some people in India apparently thought (for some unknown reason) it’s a good idea . There are lots of demos on a YouTube channel called DRM GOA-INDIA, where they show real-world examples of their broadcasts with MONO 8 KBPS (!!!!!!!!) audio, they sound absolutely horribly distorted, even the old 2G GSM phone calls had better quality.
I should also add that DRM radio commenced in 2003, that it at the same time when the latest available smartphone was the Nokia 6600 – needless to say there’s been a significant progress in the field of smartphones, but not so much in the field of DRM. What other technologies introduced 2 decades ago should be (re-)introduced worldwide today? DSL? Windows XP? UMTS? DVDs? iPods? They’re roughly the same age as DRM and none of them is around anymore. Why should DRM be an exception?
As long as there are no widely available and affordable receivers, I would not call DRM ‘appropriate’ for any market, as long as we would like anyone to actually be able to receive it. With the current pace (no such receivers have been introduced throughout 2 decades) I would rate the chances of such product appearing as neglectable.