Category Archives: Broadcasters

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Last week, I discovered this amazing set of photos, via Flashbak.com, of the BBC Broadcasting House from 1932: click here to view the full set of photos.

Channel 292: Amateur Radio group broadcasts on former DW frequency

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Channel 292 propagation map (Source: Southgate ARC)

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Harald Kuhl (DL1ABJ) for sharing this article from the Southgate ARC:

“When the ‘Deutsche Welle’ decided to close down one of their 500 KW short wave broadcast transmitters near Munich at the end of 2012, a group containing some German radio amateurs applied for and were allocated the then available short wave frequency of 6070 KHz in 2013.

This group now have an operational 10KW station on the frequency, using the driver stages from the old Deutsche Welle transmitter. The rest of the transmitter was built by and is run by Rainer DB8QC . The [license] allow transmission 24/7 but at present most transmissions are on a weekend during daylight hours.

Content is mainly provided by existing Internet Radio stations wanting to get their material “on-the-air” this includes several soceities that remember the days of the Pirate Radio pop music stations in the North sea between England and Holland and a lot of their music content is from the 60’s and 70’s.

Additional content is being sought and at only 15 Euros an hour, this is not a corporate big business rather a facility where smaller groups can afford to buy time to transmit their content. One such group is the Deutsche Amateur Radio Club, the National Amateur Radio Society in Germany, who hope to have a weekly 2 hour slot on the station from mid-March to send a DX orientated program, probably from 6pm local time on Sundays.

The DARC DX magazine will be in the German language and targeted towards German speaking listeners. Amateur radio is an international medium however so there are thoughts of also producing an international / English hour in addition, to reach out across Europe not only to radio amateurs but also to short wave listeners and the general public.”

Continue reading on the Southgate ARC website…

Thanks again, Harald! Even though Channel 292 isn’t a blow-torch station, at 15 Euros per hour, nearly any group could afford to broadcast on shortwave. Now to put Channel 292 in the logs!

For more information, click here to view the Channel 242 website.

Happy World Radio Day 2015: several ways you can celebrate

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Today is World Radio Day, a time “to remember the unique power of radio to touch lives and bring people together across every corner of the globe,” UNESCO reminds us. As shortwave radio listeners, we understand this power of information without borders.

Here are a few ways you can celebrate World Radio Day 2015…

Ears To Our World (ETOW)

In Belieze, ETOW works with visually impaired children through our partner and friends at the Belieze Council for the Visually Impaired. Photo by ETOW volunteer/supporter, David Korchin K2WNW

In Belize, ETOW works with visually impaired children through our partner and friends at the Belize Council for the Visually Impaired. Photo by ETOW volunteer/supporter, David Korchin (K2WNW). Click to enlarge.

Of course, at my non-profit, Ears To Our World, we celebrate the unique power of radio everyday as well.

Indeed, we’re in the process of preparing at least another 100 radios for Sierra Leone, where children are receiving education over the airwaves as schools have been closed in an effort to stop the spread of Ebola.

If you would like to help us, please consider a donation of any amount. Certainly a meaningful way to give the gift of radio and education.

On air events

If you can get on the air today, there are a few events happening around the world you might be able to catch:

Alexanderson Alternator Station SAQ

Alexanderson alternator in the SAQ Grimeton VLF transmitter.

SWLing Post reader, Greg (VA7BC), passes along this announcement from the ARRL:

“The World Heritage Grimeton Radio SAQ in Sweden plans to fire up its Alexanderson alternator on 17.2 kHz on the occasion of UNESCO World Radio Day, Friday, February 13. The station will begin tuning at 1430 UTC, and a message will be transmitted at 1500 UTC.

A message with a theme of “peace” has been put together by more than 200 citizens of Varberg, Sweden, via the “Varberg Calling for Peace” project.

SAQ will not be issuing QSL cards nor post a list of reports, but it will accept brief listener reports. The Grimeton site’s Amateur Radio station SK6SAQ will be active, using a special event World Radio Day call sign — 7S6WRD. Frequencies: 7035 kHz or 14,035 khz, CW, and 3755 kHz SSB. QSL to 7S6WRD via SM bureau.“

Read the full article at the ARRL website. I will certainly attempt to hear this broadcast on 14,035 kHz CW.

If any SWLing Post readers are able to record the SSB transmission on 3,755 kHz, I would love to add the audio to our audio archive.

Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union relay

The Southgate ARC reports that ABU members will particiapte in a round-the-world broadcast relay:

“On Friday 13 February 2015, participating broadcasters around the globe will devote at least half-an-hour of their programming to the WRD 2015 themes “Innovation and youth in radio”.

The main organisers, the European Broadcasting Union, in partnership with the ABU and other broadcasting unions, will also offer three short optional pre-recorded radio features devoted to Radio and Youth, Radio and Innovation and the History of Humanitarian Use of Radio: UN Radio.

The segments can be used whole or in part in a time slot of each station’s choice. Most of the features will also be available with scripts in French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese, thanks to the UN.

Speeches by UN personalities will also be available ready to use on air, plus a one-hour rights-free concert live from Geneva by the UN Jazz Orchestra will be made available.

Organisers say that, as this will be a relay following the world’s time zones, there will be a succession of radio stations each handing over to the next participant throughout the day.

To give listeners around the world the chance to follow this special WRD program, the broadcasts will be put on an Internet stream, coordinated via the EBU in Geneva.

http://www.abu.org.my/Latest_News-@-World_Radio_Day_relays_round_the_world.aspx“

4U0ITU on-air for World Radio Day

Again, the Southgate ARC reports via the ARRL:

“The ITU International Amateur Radio Club station in Geneva will use the special call 4U0ITO to mark World Radio Day on Friday, February 13

The ARRL report this event also marks the kickoff for the International Telecommunication Union 150th anniversary.

International Amateur Radio Union President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, will inaugurate special call sign 4U0ITU at 0900 UT. He will be accompanied by ITU Secretary General Houlin Zhao, other elected officials and VIPs.

The IARC will use the 4U0ITU call sign until the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015, November 2-27.

World Radio Day commemorates the first broadcasts of UN Radio in 1946.”

Send listener reports to your favorite shortwave broadcasters

Many of your favorite shortwave broadcasters will dedicate a portion of their programming to World Radio Day.

This is the perfect day, as a listener, to let your favorite broadcasters know you’re listening! Send in a proper QSL report–mention the time, frequency and type of programming you heard. Give the broadcaster a proper signal report as well (click here to read about the universally accepted SINPO code). Broadcasters love to hear about any insight you pulled from their news items or reports–the more detail, the better. And thank them for broadcasting over shortwave.

You can typically find contact information on the broadcaster’s website. If you have any difficulty, please comment and I, or another reader/contributor, will try to help.

Happy World Radio Day!

It’s been fun to see how World Radio Day has grown over the years. I believe it’s a wonderful reason to celebrate all that we love about radio.

To celebrate World Radio Day 2013, UNESCO asked me to record why I believe radio is relevant today. Here was my response:

Click here to read more about World Radio Day.

Radio Australia antenna azimuth settings

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SWLing Post reader, George, recently asked about the new Radio Australia antenna settings accompanying the modified (trimmed) broadcast schedule.

The following are the new azimuth settings for the antennas at the Shepparton transmitter site:

9,580 kHz: 070 degrees 0900-2100 UTC
12,065 kHz: 355 degrees 0900-2100 UTC
12,085 kHz: 030 degrees 0900-2100 UTC
15,240 kHz: 030 degrees 2100-0900 UTC
15,415 kHz: 355 degrees 2100-0900 UTC
17,840 kHz: 070 degrees 2100-0900 UTC

Voice of Guyana back on the air

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Many thanks to David Goren who shares this dialog between Jamie Labadia and Glenn Hauser via the DX Listening Digest:

** GUYANA. Hi Glenn, I have the Voice of Guyana on the air at, don’t laugh, 400 watts. 3.290 MHz is the freq. I am going to repair a few more amplifiers and get them up to about a kilowatt for now. Have to reconfigure the combiner though. The antenna is in rough shape, but surprisingly being heard well down into interior Guyana, which is the main purpose. (On a portable no less!!) I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going. It’s 80 degrees and very “tropical” here now. Best Regards (Jamie Labadia, visiting Guyana, 0147 UT Feb 2, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

Checking around 0300 UT Feb 2, I do have a JBA carrier on 3290- via the DX-398 but not the PL-880 – could be it. Slightly on the lo side; much weaker than 3320 S Africa, 3330 Canada. Will it be on all-night?

After local noise sources diminish, Feb 2 at 0629 I try again, and now a very poor signal on 3290- in English sounds like BBCWS, but not // or not synchro with 9460.

Meanwhile after I post this news ASAP on the DXLDyg, reports come in: Brandon Jordan in TN had it at 0333 on 3289.973, 0359 switching to BBC overnight feed just like they used to do. Bruce Portzer in Seattle also had a carrier around 0500. Daniel Wyllyans in Brasil was already hearing it as an unID. Forwarded these reports to Jamie and he replies at 1127 UT Feb 2:

“Yes, That’s us!! That was a repeat of the Sunday afternoon program. Made for great listening while working on the amplifiers — Nat King Cole, Glenn Miller, Woody Herman. Thanks to all of the great DXers out there. I will be working on the transmitter until just after local sundown, then leave it on the air until the next morning. Glenn, thank you very much for this great resource. Surprised more engineers aren’t using it as their “remote S meter”!! Jamie“

He said he planned to put V of Guyana on a higher frequency for better domestic coverage. 5950 used to be the daytime channel on the originally 10-kW transmitter, and it might be OK in the daytime now with possible het from Bolivia on 5952+, but at night there would be clashes from Germany, Iran, Ethiopia; and R. Pio XII until it closes (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)

If you like to follow DX news closely, consider joining the DX Listening Digest email list and make sure you listen to World of Radio with Glenn Hauser. Many thanks to GH for permission to re-post this.

Additional note (06 Feb 2015): SWLing Post reader, Harald DL1ABJ, writes:

Dear Thomas,

Guyana was active on 3290 kHz till June 2012 when the transmitter went faulty. It was a new 10 kW unit installed only in April 2010.

Before 2010 the station was inactive on shortwave for a longer period.

Reception on 3290 kHz was quite ok during good dx conditions here in Central Europe. I even managed to catch their signal on 5950 kHz once during the 1980s or 1990s.

Kind regards

Harald DL1ABJ