Category Archives: Broadcasters

Radio Slovakia International wishes to resume shortwave service

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Dominik, who points us to the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters’ latest newsletter, which mentions Radio Slovakia International’s intentions to, once again, broadcast on shortwave from Slovakia.

“The NASB organized the B13 Conference in cooperation with Radio and Television Slovakia (RTVS) and its international service, Radio Slovakia International (RSI). RSI stopped broadcasting on shortwave from Slovakia at the end of 2010, but NASB member WRMI in Miami has continued to relay the station’s English and Spanish broadcasts to the Americas since January of 2011. And RSI would like to resume shortwave broadcasts from Slovakia in the near future if funding can be restored.”

The NASB newsletter summarizes the full B13 HFCC Conference. The following is an excerpt from the NASB Newsletter newsletter, featuring Maria Mikusova, Chief of Radio Slovakia International:

[…]Tuesday morning, August 27, the HFCC Conference began with some words of welcome from Maria Mikusova, Chief of Radio Slovakia International. “As the General Director of Radio and Television Slovakia pointed out yesterday,” she said, “the fact that this conference is taking place in Bratislava is a great inspiration and impulse for us. It broadens the horizons of us — journalists and professionals from the foreign broadcast of Radio Slovakia International, on behalf of whom I’d like to welcome you to Bratislava as well.”

Mrs. Mikusova noted that RSI has received feedback from listeners in 130 countries. “The core of this feedback,” she said, “comes from broadcasting our programs via short waves. We left shortwave broadcasting only recently, at the beginning of the year 2011, and not fully.” She noted that RSI remains on shortwave via WRMI in the Americas.

Mrs. Mikusova said that RSI is busy developing a new website. “In regards to the variety of languages we broadcast in, you can listen to RSI in six languages, which is the same number as Radio Prague, our Czech colleagues and closest partners, broadcast in. This says a lot about the power of tradition and our efforts and ability to preserve this kind of a broadcast at a time of such a vast choice of communication channels opening on the internet and social networks.”

Mikusova said that RSI still receives good listener feedback from areas such as Russia, and the station still sends QSL cards to listeners. “We consider this to be a very important form of communicating with our listeners, although we know that QSLs are traditionally a shortwave communication.”

“Let me wish all the best to this coordination meeting,” she continued. “Your conference allows us to get to know better your work, and makes us feel that we are still part of the world network of shortwavers. For us, this conference is a firsthand, live encounter with the shortwave network and its significance for broadcasting. But at the same time it unveils what strategies of radio broadcasting and shortwave transmission are out there in the modern world. After all, the outlook and future strategy of Radio and Television of Slovakia is to bring RSI back to shortwave broadcasting. Although this issue has not been resolved yet, it shows just how important the HFCC Conference in Bratislava is, and why we, RSI, are so very interested in it.”

Dominik also pointed to the HFCC schedule where RSI already has a slate of broadcasts listed from the RSI Rimavska Sobota transmitter site:

Again, thanks to Dominik for sharing this hopeful news!

In the wake of disaster, BBC World Service extends shortwave service to Philippines

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Typhoon Haiyan aftermath (Source: VOA News)

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Alex, who writes:

The Philippines disaster has prompted the BBC World Service to put on a short wave service to the Philippines.

[The BBC notes:]

“We have extended the hours until next Tuesday to give a longer run in the evening, so on SW the following hours are heard.

09:00 – 11:00 GMT
11825 kHz – 25 Metre Band
12010 kHz – 25 Metre Band
17790 kHz – 16 Metre Band

There is also existing SW which is not necessarily targeting the Philippines but which they should be able to pick up as follows:

11:00 – 15:00 GMT
6195 kHz – 49 Metre Band
9740 kHz – 31 Metre Band

00:00 – 02:00 GMT
6195 kHz – 49 Metre Band
9740 kHz – 31 Metre Band
11955 kHz – 25 Metre Band

[UPDATE: Frequencies and times have been updated as of 15:30 UTC, November 13, 2013]

In Alex’s message he also noted that the info from the BBC is presently a bit vague. He will keep us updated as he receives more information.

Greek police use tear gas to empty former broadcaster ERT’s offices

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(Photo source: AP / Petros Giannakouris)

It looks like the staff protest, which has occupied ERT headquarters since June 11, has finally come to an end.

I’m not sure how/if this will have an effect on the Voice of Greece, but I will be listening for them on 9,420 kHz tonight.

(Source: BBC)

Greek riot police have cleared the headquarters of the former state broadcaster ERT, using tear gas to gain entry and arresting several people.

Police formed a cordon round the building in Athens, before going from room to room to evacuate protesters.

Former employees have occupied the building since the government closed ERT and sacked its 2,600 staff in June.

Greece’s conservative-led coalition said the state broadcaster cost too much to run in an economic crisis.

[…]The BBC’s Mark Lowen, in Athens, says the question is whether the ERT debacle again fuels social unrest here – and how much stomach the Greeks still have for a fight.[…]

Continue reading…

WRMI purchases WYFR transmission site and plans move to Okeechobee

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Radio Miami International

Several of you wrote to share this great news from Jeff White at WRMI; many thanks to Michael, Pete, Bob and Keith for the tip:

(Source: Jeff White)

Legendary shortwave station WYFR in Okeechobee, Florida, which ceased transmissions on June 30, 2013, will resume broadcasting in December as a result of an agreement between Family Stations, Inc, and Radio Miami International, Inc.

According to the agreement, Family Radio will sell the WYFR facility to Radio Miami International. Family Radio programming for the Caribbean and South America will return to shortwave via the Okeechobee site, and Radio Miami’s programming currently aired on WRMI in Miami will switch over to the Okeechobee facility. The station will also carry programs for other international broadcasters, including Pan American Broadcasting’s Radio Africa network. A target date of December 1, 2013 has been set for the resumption of broadcasts. The current WRMI transmission site in Miami will be closed, and the WRMI call letters will be transferred to Okeechobee.

“We are very grateful to Family Radio for entrusting us with this magnificent station,” said Jeff White, WRMI General Manager. “WYFR is an important part of the heritage of shortwave broadcasting, and we are very happy that it will continue to serve shortwave listeners around the world.” The station first went on the air from Okeechobee in 1977, although the origins of the station and its predecessors go back to 1927. WYFR/WRMI is the largest shortwave station in the United States in number of transmitters and antennas. The facility is comprised of 13 transmitters — twelve 100-kilowatt and one 50-kilowatt — and 23 antennas beamed to all of the Americas, Europe and Africa.

White, who is also Secretary-Treasurer of the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters (NASB), said that “many people made this transition a reality, not the least of whom was our former Secretary-Treasurer and current board member, Dan Elyea, who had been the WYFR Station Manager from the time it was built in the late 1970’s until his recent retirement. Dan presented us to Family Radio Vice President Tom Evans. Tom and the Family Radio Board have given us their confidence, and we will do our best to keep this station going for many years to come.”

(From Jeff White, WRMI, Nov 5 2013)

KVOH re-launches this weekend on 9,975 kHz

FCC championing change that could “Bolster AM Radio”

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FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai

It appears that FCC Commissioner, Ajit Pai, is pushing a plan to revitalize declining AM radio station and listener numbers in the US. Read some of the details below or the full article on the New York Times website.

Many thanks to David Goren for the tip!

(Source: NY Times)

The [The Federal Communications Commission] announced late Thursday that it would begin seeking public comment on numerous changes[.]

[…]Because of interference caused by consumer electronics, smartphones and the like, AM radio often seems to deliver mostly static. The AM audience has fallen to 15 percent of all radio listeners, down from 50 percent as recently as 1978. While the FM audience has fallen as well, it draws more than five times the audience of AM.

[Steps include] eliminating a regulation requiring stations to prove that any new equipment decreases interference with other stations — a requirement that is expensive, cumbersome and difficult to meet.

The F.C.C. has also proposed eliminating or loosening rules that govern nighttime transmissions by AM stations. Those regulations currently require many AM stations to reduce their power or cease operating at night to avoid interference with other stations.

[…]The current regulations make it difficult for AM stations to locate towers where they will not interfere with nearby stations at night. They also put conflicting requirements on stations, mandating that they still cover most of their broadcast territory even while operating at reduced power.

The proposed new rules, the commission said, aim at keeping more stations on the air at night.

[T]he F.C.C. said it was ready to make available to current FM stations what are known as FM translators — empty spots on the FM dial where AM stations can broadcast. Those are particularly valuable in urban areas, where tall buildings with steel frames or aluminum siding can block AM signals, degrading reception.

[Read the full article at the NY Times website…]

Radio Romania International celebrates 85 years on the air

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To celebrate 85 years on the air, RRI is asking their listeners: “How do you see the future of international radio broadcasting?”

Send your response and RRI might read it on the air during their November 3rd, 2013 broadcast. Read full details below.

(Source: Radio Romania International)

On November 1, 2013 we celebrate 85 years of Romanian radio broadcasting. An anniversary that we take pride in, that we think about more or less nostalgically, and which brings questions about the future.

It is an occasion for Radio Romania International to challenge you, on this year’s Listener’s Day, to answer the question “How do you see the future of international radio broadcasting?”

Ever since its first days, radio broadcasting has been subject to countless tests, on the one hand prompted by the changes in the media landscape, such as the growth of television, the development of private radio stations, the emergence of the Internet and of social networks, and on the other hand triggered by the diversifying means of reception and transmission. In response, the radio outputs and contents have also changed. Radio broadcasting and reception modernized.

Political factors, regime changes and wars also influenced the mission and programmes of radio stations, while economic factors, such as the periods of economic growth or slumps, have affected the number of stations and their broadcasts. International stations have been subject to all these influences, just like all other radio stations.

This is why, dear listeners, we invite you to tell us how you think international radio stations will develop in the coming years, and what your expectations are in this respect. What will the global supply of programmes for foreign audiences look like, and how large will it be? What means of transmission will be used by most international broadcasters? What will be the role of radio stations for foreign listeners, in a world where access to information is ever easier?

We are looking forward to your answers to the question “What will be the future of international radio broadcasting?” and will award the most interesting 20 contributions.

As usual, it is based on your answers that we will produce the “Listener’s Day” programme on RRI, aired on the first Sunday in November, that is November 3rd this year. You can send your answers in audio format, or in writing, via email, regular mail or fax, on Facebook or using the form on our website. Our contact details are: Radio Romania International, 60-64 General Berthelot Street, sector 1, Bucharest, PO Box 111, code 010165, fax no. 00.40.21.319.05.62, email [email protected].