For your listening pleasure: beHAVior Night, a shortwave radio show which showcases music from the first four decades of the 20th Century.
This show was recorded on Friday, January 17, 2014–last week. You can catch beHAVior Friday afternoon/evening at 17:00 EST/22:00 UTC on 7,490 kHz (WBCQ).
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
I received my copy of the 2014 World Radio and TV Handbook (WRTH) directly from the publisher a few days ago, just prior to a 24 hour power outage.
As many SWLing Post readers know, I always look forward to receiving this staple radio reference guide each year. While other reference guides have dropped out of the scene, WRTH has remained strong, somehow resistant to the economy’s negative influence upon radio–and the publication’s quality has been wonderfully consistent. It’s no wonder that WRTH has a loyal readership–not only among hobbyists, but also among commercial broadcasters, thus giving it a much broader reader base.
WRTH’s team of noted DXers from around the world curate frequencies and broadcaster information by region; while I’m not sure how they orchestrate all of this, the end result is truly a symphony of radio information. In addition to broadcaster listings, WRTH’s radio reviews, feature articles, and annual HF report make for excellent reading.
But the WRTH isn’t just a frequency guide: the publication always devotes the first fifty or so pages to articles relating to the hobby. Following, I offer a quick overview of these.
The first article always features a WRTH contributor (indeed, it’s this very network of contributors that make WRTH and its listings such a success): this year, writer Max van Arnhem tells us how he got interested in the hobby and what being a contributor means to him.
The second set of articles is always my favorite: WRTH receiver reviews. And the review in this issue is no exception. This year, WRTH reviewed the CommRadio CR-1 (which won their Best New Receiver award, and, I was pleased to see, received many of the same good marks I gave it). They also review the FunCube Dongle Pro+ (above), the new AOR AR6000, the WinRadio Excalibur Ultra (spoiler: the reviewers say it’s the best they’ve ever tested!), the AOR AR8200D handheld receiver, and the YouKits FG-01 Mk II Antenna Analyzer. As I’ve come to expect from this publication, these are all great comprehensive reviews.
The following article is “The History of Shortwave Broadcasting in a Nutshell,” written by noted radio historian and author, Jerry Berg. In just a few pages, Berg takes you through the remarkable history of shortwave radio broadcasting.
Following this, noted DXer and WRTH contributor, Victor Goonetilleke, offers a fascinating article focusing on broadcasting on his home island country of Sri Lanka. It’s a enlightening overview of some of the changes that have occurred within the Sri Lankan broadcasting scene (DXers and SWLers will likely recognize many of the stations Goonetilleke mentions).
WRTH always highlights a radio broadcaster as well, and this year, it’s the Voice of Vietnam. Despite my many years of hearing VoV on the air, I did not realize how deeply involved they were during the Vietnam War (which took place when I was a kid). The station today prides itself on responding to QSL requests and listener comments.
The final sections of articles are dedicated to the WRTH digital update–this year’s subject is “Digital Future“–and their HF propagation report/forecast.
In summary, this is another great edition of the World Radio TV Handbook. As I’ve said many times, though I use online frequency databases fairly regularly, there is just no replacement for a good printed frequency guide. For DXers who collect QSL cards, you’ll find that broadcaster contact information in WRTH is often more up-to-date than a broadcaster’s own website.
Not only does WRTH contain more in-depth information on broadcasters and schedules, but it makes for quick reference, and doesn’t require a computer or Internet connection–much like, well, your shortwave radio.
Purchase your copy of WRTH 2014 directly from WRTH’s publishers, or from a distributor like Universal Radio (US) or Radio HF (Canada). Happy reading–and listening–in 2014!
SWLing Post reader, Mike Kitchen, kindly shared this message from Radio Romania International:
“Dear friends, you can listen to us on your mobile phone, in the US. Our programs in English are available live or on demand, at the following call-to-listen phone number: 716.274.2526. This incurs no extra charge and is the equivalent of making a standard mobile call in the US.”
I just tried the service and am happy to report that each time you call, the RRI English language service begins at the top of the hour. While not nearly as fun as listening over shortwave, it does make this Romanian broadcaster even more accessible within the US.
The BBC reports that Russia has “quietly switched off nearly all of its long-wave transmitters, ending almost nine decades of broadcasting – as cost finally catches up on the medium.” Read the full story on the BBC News.
Not a huge surprise as many countries are pulling the plug on longwave, despite the medium’s large local broadcasting footprint. It does make one wonder if VOR shortwave could also be pulled with little fanfare or warning.
Indeed, check out Jonathan Marks’ comments on the changes at the (former) Voice of Russia which we’ve mentioned has at least, administratively, been liquidated and consolidated.
I can tell you that for those of us in North America, VOR is now a much harder catch on shortwave–a very strange shift from the ubiquity of the broadcaster’s signal in past decades.
But if you want to hear frank, public comments about how these changes are affecting the staff of VOR, just bookmark and listen to From Moscow With Love. Hosts Vasily and Natasha happily march to their own beat and comment openly to listener inquiries.
I’m pleased to announce that TuneIn Radio has added our Shortwave Radio Audio Archive (SRAA) podcast as a new Internet streaming broadcaster.
For those of you not familiar, TuneIn’s website and mobile apps offer the user the ability to listen to streaming audio of thousands of radio networks and radio stations worldwide, including AM, FM, HD, LP, digital, Internet stations and podcasts. Check out this post from 2012 where we review TuneIn.
Why stream shortwave radio recordings?
While most international broadcasters can be streamed directly via TuneIn or via the broadcaster’s website, listening to the shortwave archive will make your computer, smart phone or Wi-Fi radio sound like a proper shortwave radio–you’ll hear all of the noises, fading, ionosounders and things that go “bump” over the ether.
So if you like the low-fi sonic texture of shortwave radio (ahem, I do!) add the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive to your favorites on TuneIn Radio.
(Image source: BBC)
According to this article in The Independent, the international arm of the BBC plans to commercialize:
“The BBC has sparked anger with plans to commercialise the 80-year-old World Service, and to downplay the coverage of politics in its global television news output.
The changes, which one MP warned could jeopardise the future of the licence fee, are being lined up as the broadcaster prepares to take over funding of the World Service, previously paid for by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Reforms could include having advertising on the service.
In a letter sent to a member of the House of Lords, the Director of the World Service, Peter Horrocks, has also revealed plans to use private funding to support the prestigious radio network which began as the British Empire Service in 1932. “The BBC Trust is considering proposals for a wider commercialisation of World Service, which might involve launching new language services, if they could be commercially self-sustaining,” he told Lord Alton of Liverpool.” [continue reading…]
While it’s hard to imagine the World Service advertising over shortwave, I certainly believe adverts in local radio and TV markets could become a reality. The broader implication (at least, in The Independent) is that the BBC WS program offerings will shift in order to appeal to sponsors. Then again, this would come as no surprise, as every other broadcaster who relies on commercial sponsorship has done the same.
Many thanks to Jonathan Marks for the tip!
For your listening enjoyment: Radio Romania International‘s English language service.
This RRI broadcast was recorded on January 4, 2013 starting a little before 01:00 UTC on 7,325 kHz. It begins with a few seconds of RRI’s interval signal.
Be sure to also check out the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive for a two hour recording of RRI’s Romanian language service, which was broadcast simultaneously on 7,340 kHz.
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below: