Author Archives: Thomas

CBC/Radio-Canada to cut workforce in budget shortfall

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia, who shares the following item from Radio Canada International:

CBC/Radio-Canada to cut 10 per cent of workforce, end some programming as it faces $125M budget shortfall (RCI)

Public broadcaster says most cuts will take effect over the coming year

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada announced Monday that it plans to cut about 10 per cent of its workforce and axe some programming to cope with a potential $125 million budget shortfall.

In a news release, the public broadcaster said it plans on cutting 600 union and non-union positions across the entire organization. The corporation said about 200 vacant positions will be eliminated on top of that.

CBC and Radio-Canada, the French-language arm, will each be cutting in the range of 250 jobs, while the rest of the cuts will come from the technology and infrastructure department and other corporate divisions, said the corporation.

CBC spokesperson Leon Mar said some of the cuts will begin immediately but most will take effect over the coming year.

CBC/Radio-Canada — which received around $1.3 billion in public funding in the 2022-2023 fiscal year — also announced Monday it will reduce its English and French programming budgets for the next fiscal year and cut about $40 million from independent production commissions and program acquisitions.

Mar said that will mean fewer new television series and fewer episodes for existing shows.

The corporation said earlier this year it had begun cutting $25 million through measures such as limiting travel, sponsorships and marketing, and delaying technology initiatives.

The public broadcaster blamed its budget issues on rising production costs, declining television advertising revenue and fierce competition from the digital giants.

CBC/Radio-Canada said it’s also grappling with forecast reductions to its parliamentary funding beginning in the next fiscal year. A fund to help the public broadcaster offset revenue losses during the pandemic is also ending, it said. The fund supplied the CBC with $21 million a year for two years.

We understand how concerning this is to the people affected and to the Canadians who depend on our programs and services. We will have more details in the months ahead, but we are doing everything we can to minimize the impact of these measures, said CBC/Radio-Canada president Catherine Tait in a prepared statement. [Continue reading…]

Perry spots a Zenith Transoceanic in “The Alligator People”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Perry Lusk (KG7YC), who writes:

I spotted this on an old “B” rated film:

Might be more fun to identify the movie than the Zenith Transoceanic we all know.

The answer is The Alligator People (1959). The man is diagnosed with a fatal medical problem and try’s getting an experimental procedure that involves alligator DNA and later turns into a, you guessed it, an alligator!

Wow! That sounds like a wild ride for the protagonist!

So we may all recognize a Transoceanic when we see one, but does anyone know the exact model? Feel free to comment!

Dan spots an ICOM in the trailer for the new film “I.S.S.”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes:

An ICOM transceiver features in the new movie I.S.S. A film from the space disaster genre about U.S. and Russian astronauts and cosmonauts on the space station when nuclear war breaks out down on Earth. See if you can ID the radio, which flashes by quite quickly in the trailer for the movie:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Did you catch it? If you want to confirm, check out this screen shot from the trailer… Continue reading →

Carlos captures a number of Radiofax decodes with his XHDATA D-808

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares these recent Radiofax decodes on Twitter:

Hey Thomas my good man, have a look how good were the NOAA radiofax reception in Urca Beach, Rio de Janeiro, from USCG radio stations in Pt. Reyes, Boston and Honolulu:

Patrizio seeks information about mystery signals he’s discovering across the HF bands

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Patrizio Cardelli, who has discovered some interesting signals on the HF bands and is seeking information about them.

A little background: Patrizio asked me about these signals a few weeks ago and based on a quick glance at the spectrum and waterfall images I assumed it was DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale). I was wrong, of course. Had I looked at the actual frequency and bandwidth, I would have immediately realized is was not DRM. My email load has been so heavy as of late, and my time to reply at such a premium, I rushed through the reply–my apologies, Patrizio!

Patrizio followed up with this message:

Hello Thomas,

I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to share my recent radio exploration based on your advice. I followed your suggestion and investigated a sample signal within the 60-meter band, specifically settling on the one at 4.962 kHz.

I attempted to decode it using the Dream software but encountered no success. It seems this isn’t a Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) transmission. To rule out local QRM (interference), I tested various Kiwi SDR receivers across Europe, both to the south and north of my QTH. Interestingly, I managed to pick up this signal everywhere, with a stronger intensity noted in the northern locations.

I’m eager to publish this article to find out if other Shortwave Listeners (SWL) have been able to decode this transmission. Additionally, I’d like to mention that similar signals, either continuous or intermittent, are present on various HF frequencies.

I look forward to any insights or experiences others in the community might have regarding this intriguing signal.

Audio sample:

While I recognize these signals now, and I’m sure most of you who cruise the bands have seen/heard these as well, Patrizio is a relatively new SWL, turns out, and I thought it might be fun exploring just what these signals are. 

Readers: If you know what these signals are, please comment. Indeed, I’m sure there are a number of SWLing Post readers who have hands-on time with generating these signals as well in a past life or current career. Let’s explore!

Radio Exterior de España suspends shortwave service Dec 4-5 due to power cuts

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Radio Exterior de España transmits its programming on Short Wave from its broadcasting center in Noblejas (Toledo). Source: RTVE

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia, who shares the following announcement from Radio Exterior de España (originally in Spanish):

Temporary suspension of shortwave emission

We inform you that the next few days December 4-5 Radio Exterior de España will be forced to suspend its shortwave broadcasts.

The reason: a cut in the electricity supply, beyond our control, which will affect the shortwave emitting center that Radio Exterior has in the town of Noblejas. The break is due to work that the Unión Fenosa company has to do in the electrical substation from that Toledo municipality and that will affect our facilities.

Consequently, shortwave emission will be suspended next Monday, December 4 and will last until Wednesday, December 6, which will be when the signal resumes.

We apologize for this incident, completely unrelated to the will of Radio Exterior de España.