Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Ed, who writes:
Hi Thomas,
Some SWLing Post readers may be interested in seeing video of a television studio of Iranian State broadcaster Iran News Network being bombed during a live broadcast.
Click here to read the story via the AP.
Many SWLing Post readers know that radio and TV broadcast facilities are typically attacked in wartime by opposing military forces to ‘control the airwaves’ and influence public opinion. It will be interesting to see if/when the Israeli military starts clandestine broadcasts into Iran.
Reportedly U.S. Agency for Global Media’s (USAGM) is seeking to re-hire many workers it recently fired in a mass USAGM purge, now that the U.S. needs to broadcast into Middle East conflict zones and influence public opinion using Alhurra TV, Radio Sawa, and VOA.
-Ed
Encompass Digital Media Dhabayya, United Arab Emirates transmits USAGM and BBC World Service, Abu Cabi Media Company UAE @ 250 kW AM
USAGM Al Jahra Kuwait 29.31 N 47.41 E250 kW AM
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Sirjan Iran 29.27 N 55.41 E 500 kW AM
Ministry of information – State of Kuwait KABD 29.16 N 47.53 E 250 kW AM
Turkish Radio and Television Emirier Türkiye 29.29 N 32.51E 250 kW AM
Egypt Radio & TV Union Abis Egypt 31.10 N 30.05 E 125 kW AM
BBC World Service Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 41.19 N 68.17 E 100 kW AM
BBC World Service A’Sela Ethiopia 21.58 N 59.27 E 250 kW AM
They are all high frequency broadcasters with transmitters in the indicated locations.
With so much on the ground spying going on, I wonder if the “numbers stations” radio transmissions have any changes?
I involuntarily have memories of one of the USA’s greatest mistakes: the encrypted webpage communications with USA Spies, how Iran used “Advanced Google Search” to find Iranians who were viewing these distinct webpages. Iran did not immediately “pounce” on those viewing these webpages, they patiently identified USA spies without knowing what the webpages said.
In a brilliant move, Iran also told China they had discovered something uniquely valuable, and if given money, weapons, access to Chinese GPS, etc, the Iranians would disclose their discovery.
China decided to take a gamble with Iran’s offer.
A huge number of CIA spies in both Iran and China were tortured and lost their lives.
Wall Street Journal had a story about this, I think about 2010 to 2011.
@Mangosman: The closest HF broadcaster who can be paid to broadcast your signals is
As shortwave works, transmitter sites a few 1000 km away are often better because they are more difficult to jam. This was why Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty had transmitter sites in Portugal and Spain for transmissions into eastern Europe.
Like you know from a pond or so: If you look from a high angle into the water, you see the ground. Further away you see reflections of the sky. The same happens at the ionosphere and that is how shortwave works – with a twist: The higher the frequency, the “flatter” you must radiate into the ionosphere. This makes it difficult to jam the transmissions from near the receivers: Jamming only works by ground wave which reaches for 30 km or so. You need a jamming station for every town.
This shows again how shortsighted it is to dismantle basic infrastructure. Just like all hurricanes come totally unexpectedly. I remember when the US left Afghanistan in a hurry, BBC Word Service started broadcasts into this area with its own transmitter sites and with rented ones like Nauen in Germany.
Whilst USAGM disseminates their journalists’ work on line in speech and in videos, these are easily blocked , if the rescheme does not like it.
At least with high frequency (Short Wave) radio it is difficult to block these signals reflected from the ionosphere from a long distance away. The closest HF broadcaster who can be paid to broadcast your signals is
Encompass Digital Media
Dhabayya, United
Arab Emirates
(UAE)
N 24° 13’ 33.9611”
E 54° 11’ 37.7596”
The 75 full time employees within VOA’s Persian wing that the Trump administration let go could’ve demanded a 4-year non-revocable employment contract with a significant pay raise in exchange for coming back now. They have the hatchet-man-in-chief by his orange hairs now. This would be funny if it weren’t so tragic in so many ways…
Great quote from a VOA employee on administrative leave: “It just shows how idiotic they are, consistent with this firing and rehiring pattern that has cost Americans who knows how many millions of dollars,” “This is the real fraud, waste and abuse.”
Newly-appointed FCC Chair Brendan Carr is rumored to be planning to use this tactic as an enforcement tool against repeat violators of the PIRATE ACT.
To bomb Iran is a criminal disgrace aon goes against international law and international norms. Israel is a terrorist state and is not a surprise seeing what they are doing now in Iran after 80 years of tiranny against the palestine people.
NOW they’re recalling their staff?! Have they been in a cave the last 2 months???