Category Archives: Broadcasters

Radio Waves: BBC Monitoring Story, Police Comms Backdoor, LRA 36 Inclusion, and New 1000 kW Transmitter in Pakistan

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Ulis Fleming, Mark Hirst, Mangosman, and Adrian Korol for the following tips:

The story of BBC Monitoring (BBC World Service)

The Global Jigsaw is brought to you by BBC Monitoring, a part of the BBC you may not have heard of. This team of journalists reports on media from 150 countries in up to 100 languages and provides information and analyses to BBC newsrooms and the UK government, as well as commercial clients including universities and thinktanks. It also has an intriguing and, at times, dramatic history dating back to the eve of World War Two. This bonus episode is all about us.

Audio Player

Researchers find deliberate backdoor in police radio encryption algorithm (ARS Technica)

Vendors knew all about it, but most customers were clueless.

For more than 25 years, a technology used for critical data and voice radio communications around the world has been shrouded in secrecy to prevent anyone from closely scrutinizing its security properties for vulnerabilities. But now it’s finally getting a public airing thanks to a small group of researchers in the Netherlands who got their hands on its viscera and found serious flaws, including a deliberate backdoor.

The backdoor, known for years by vendors that sold the technology but not necessarily by customers, exists in an encryption algorithm baked into radios sold for commercial use in critical infrastructure. It’s used to transmit encrypted data and commands in pipelines, railways, the electric grid, mass transit, and freight trains. It would allow someone to snoop on communications to learn how a system works, then potentially send commands to the radios that could trigger blackouts, halt gas pipeline flows, or reroute trains.

Researchers found a second vulnerability in a different part of the same radio technology that is used in more specialized systems sold exclusively to police forces, prison personnel, military, intelligence agencies, and emergency services, such as the C2000 communication system used by Dutch police, fire brigades, ambulance services, and Ministry of Defense for mission-critical voice and data communications. The flaw would let someone decrypt encrypted voice and data communications and send fraudulent messages to spread misinformation or redirect personnel and forces during critical times. [Continue reading…]

Radio from Antarctica: sovereignty, identity and inclusion (télam – Translated from Spanish)

The station aims to inform about the Antarctic activities that are carried out in the different Argentine bases, to disseminate the country’s culture to the rest of the world and also to “Malvinize from Antarctica”, highlighted its coordinator, Juan Benavente, in dialogue with Télam 

Antarctic identity, sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands and inclusion are the axes of the programming carried out by LRA 36 Radio Nacional “Arcángel San Gabriel”, installed at the Esperanza Base in Argentine Antarctica , from where almost 44 years ago it began broadcasting on different frequencies to around the world and that this year it has been developing a series of technical and content innovations to amplify its dissemination strategy.

Regardless of the national situation, the station aims to inform about the Antarctic activities that are carried out in the different Argentine bases, to spread the country’s culture to the rest of the world and also to “Malvinize from Antarctica”, reflecting not only testimonies of war veterans but also of stories that unite sports and education with the archipelago, indicated its coordinator Juan Benavente.

As in the case of the “historic” communication made on March 15 with the Argentine marathon runner Daniela Badra when she was in the Malvinas to participate in a competition and which was broadcast to the world via short wave band during the “Uniendo Voces” program. . “This was something that filled us with emotion, it is something that had never been done before,” said Benavente, in dialogue with Télam.

Its inauguration in October 1979
LRA 36 broadcasts to the world on shortwave and is currently the only station on that band in the country. It works jointly with Radiodifusión Argentina al Exterior (RAE) – in charge of the experienced producer Adrián Korol – and they are listened to from places as far away as Alaska, Iceland or Japan, according to the latest reception reports. It also transmits by modulated frequency with local reach and a few years ago added streaming over the internet. [Continue reading in English, or in the original Spanish version…]

A new 1000 kW transmitter commencing construction to match the Indian one on the other side of the common border

Many thanks to Mangosman who writes:

It’s now happened https://www.radio.gov.pk/30-07-2023/marriyum-aurangzeb-performs-groundbreaking-of-pbcs-digital-transmitter-in-rawat

$US 14 million is the price

Location: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Rawat,+Islamabad,+Islamabad+Capital+Territory,+Pakistan/@33.4953825,73.192091,16z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m6!3m5!1s0x38dff190effb3607:0xd69db1f7c3dccba4!8m2!3d33.4951028!4d73.1969108!16s%2Fg%2F11bc5zzsz6?entry=ttu

 

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Radio Waves: AM Vehicle Act Passes Committee, iHeart Supports AM, Swan Island and Equatorial Guinea

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dennis Dura and Tracy Wood for the following tips:

Senate Committee Passes “AM For Every Vehicle Act,” Sends It to Senate Floor (Radio World)

Committee gives the legislation a green light

On Thursday morning, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation officially passed the AM For Every Vehicle Act on to the Senate floor. The executive session was broadcast live and facilitated by committee chair Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat representing Washington state.

The ranking Republican, Sen. Ted Cruz, supports the measure, saying in a statement that “AM radio is vital to free expression and viewpoint diversity” and “allows Americans, especially conservatives, to communicate their points of view and help free speech flourish.”

The legislation was passed via a voice vote, and, while not every senator’s vote was recorded, the National Association of Broadcasters said Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat from Michigan, asked that he be recorded as a ‘no.’” Michigan is home to the U.S. automaker industry, which opposes the AM For Every Vehicle Act. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which has a base in Michigan, recently said, “Congress has never mandated radio features in vehicles ever before.” It called the bill unnecessary. [Continue reading…]

“iHeart Is Still Focused on AM as a Medium” (Radio World)

Littlejohn and Mullinax describe recent projects to protect and extend its investment

At a time where the viability of the U.S. AM broadcast band has come under the microscope, what’s the prevailing attitude of iHeartMedia and the 250 AM properties it owns and operates?

Continue to invest, says Jeff Littlejohn.

“iHeart is still focused on AM radio as a medium,” said the company’s executive vice president of engineering and systems integration. “We see the importance AM has not only as an entertainment medium, but for news and information.”

Among other things, Littlejohn strongly believes in AM’s importance for emergency weather coverage. Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in South Florida.

In addition to being an iconic AM signal dating to the 1920s, iHeartMedia’s news/talk 610 WIOD in Miami has received notoriety and awards — including regional recognition from the Associated Press — for its breaking news and weather coverage, notably during Hurricanes Andrew, Katrina and Wilma. [Continue reading…]

Notes about two Spanish language stations (Tracy Wood)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood, who writes:

I continue to enjoy the blog. Yes, those radio sets that appear in Spanish TV (and in the movies) are great! Lots of Grundigs, Philips, Telefunkens, and national brands.

Here are the two items

(1) Swan Island

At one time this was the home to Radio Swan, the US-funded anti-Castro clandestine radio station on AM and shortwave of the 1960s. Now Honduras wants to convert it to a prison island

https://time.com/6295724/honduras-islas-del-cisne-prison-island/

For more details see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Swan

(2) Equatorial Guinea

Thanks to WorldRadioMap for originally posting this audio link [note that this playlist must be downloaded and used with an audio streaming application]: https://rrsatrtmp.tulix.tv/tvgeradio/tvgeradio/playlist.m3u8

Yes. Radio Nacional de Guinea Ecuatorial, Malabo, is now streaming on the Internet. The main language is Spanish but I suspect other languages may be heard. The hosting company (out of Atlanta) handles both their TV and radio streams. The TV channel’s website is https://tvgelive.gq/ but there is no radio-specific website yet.

As a reminder, the country’s other station is commercial – Asonga Radio. It is owned by the president’s son. Audio is at https://asongaradio.com/

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Radio Waves: FCC Issues FM Pirate Warnings, Shortwave Modernization Petition Comments, Morse Code Love, and The Art of Listening with BBC Monitoring

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Caversham Park (Photo source: BBC)

Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to John Smith and Chris Greenway for the following tips.

FCC Issues Nine Warnings To Miami Area Landowners And Property Managers For Illegal Radio Broadcasts (FCC Press Release)

The PIRATE Act Prohibits Landowners and Property Managers from Aiding Pirate
Radio Operations
—
WASHINGTON, July 21, 2023—The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau today issued nine warnings to landowners and property managers in the Miami area for apparently allowing illegal broadcasting from their properties. The FCC may issue a fine exceeding $2 million if it determines that a party continues to permit any individual or entity to engage in pirate radio broadcasting from any property that they own or manage.

“Providing a safe haven for pirate radio operations that can interfere with licensed broadcast signals and fail to provide emergency alert system notifications can have serious consequences for landowners and property managers that allow this conduct to occur on their properties,” said Loyaan A. Egal, Chief of the Enforcement Bureau. “I want to thank our field agents for their continued efforts to ensure compliance with federal law in this area.”

The Notices of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting sent today target properties identified by
Enforcement Bureau field agents as sources of pirate radio transmissions. These notices formally notify landowners and property managers of the illegal broadcasting activity occurring on their property; inform landowners and property managers of their potential liability for permitting such activity to occur on their property; demand proof that the illegal broadcasting has ceased on the property; and request identification of the individual(s) engaged in the illegal broadcasting.

The PIRATE Act provides the FCC with additional enforcement authority, including higher
penalties against pirate radio broadcasters of up to inflation-adjusted amounts of $115,802 per day with a maximum of $2,316,034. In addition to tougher fines on violators, the law requires the FCC to conduct periodic enforcement sweeps and grants the Commission authority to take enforcement action against landlords and property owners that willfully and knowingly permit pirate radio broadcasting on their properties.

The Notices of Illegal Pirate Radio Broadcasting are available at:
https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-issues-warnings-allowing-illegal-radio-broadcasts.

Shortwave Modernization Petition Comments (FCC)

Readers note that the number of comments on the Shortwave Modernization Petition have surpassed well over 600 at time of posting. No doubt, this particular petition is getting more visibility and notice than expected.

Click here to view comments.

Falling in love by morse code (ABC Radio)

You may know someone who met the love of their life through writing letters, and these days you’d be hard pressed to NOT know people who’ve met online… but have you ever come across someone who’s met her husband in Morse code?

Ulla Knox-Little knew that getting to do an expedition to Antarctica as the radio room operator would be a life-changing experience, but she never expected it to lead to her meeting the love of her life.

Hosted and produced by Helen Shield.

Click here to listen to this short radio piece.

The Art of Listening: BBC Monitoring and the Historical Significance of the Transatlantic Open Source Intelligence Relationship [VIDEO] (Readex)

Last month, Readex welcomed librarians to a special breakfast presentation at this year’s ALA Annual Conference in Chicago, IL. Dr. Alban Webb, lecturer of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Sussex, captivated the audience in attendance with his talk on “The Art of Listening: BBC Monitoring and the Historical Significance of the Transatlantic Open Source Intelligence Relationship”

Dr. Webb—a noted historian of BBC World Service—gave a fascinating and informative overview of the history of open-source intelligence (OSINT) and the role of BBC Monitoring, highlighting perspectives these newly digitized archives represent for the study of the 20th century history. Click here to read the full article.

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Radio Waves: RTI Test Broadcast Today, Messages to North Korea, Exploring Space Weather Book, Vintage Radios at Auction, and WMLK

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Dennis Dura, Sten Odenwald, Paul Walker, and David Iurescia for the following tips:

RTI test broadcast July 1, 2023

Many thanks to David Iurescia who shares the following announcement (translated from French):

Dear listener,

The French service of Radio Taiwan International is pleased to inform you that during the month of August 2023, we will be broadcasting directly from the Tamsui transmission center in northern Taiwan to Europe and South Africa. north.

In order to better prepare for this radio activity in French, a test broadcast will be carried out on Saturday July 1 on short waves, at the following times and frequencies:

    • Frequency 11995 kHz (325°), 5:00 p.m.-5:10 p.m. then 5:30-5:40 p.m., universal time
    • Frequency 9545 kHz (315°), 6:00 p.m.-6:10 p.m., universal time
    • Frequency 7240 kHz (315°), 6:20 p.m.-6:30 p.m., universal time
    • Frequency 7250 kHz (315°), 6:40 p.m.-6:50 p.m., universal time

Your listening reports on these 10-minute segment tests will help us identify the two optimal frequencies for August’s “Live from Tamsui” broadcast under the best possible listening conditions.

Thank you for your valued input!

A special QSL card is produced for all the listening reports that you will send us by post, email to the French service or via the stations’s online form, both for the test broadcast and during the August broadcast.

Thank you for listening and for your loyalty.

Cordially,

French Service, RTI

fren@rti.org.tw

Abductees’ relatives record radio messages for broadcast to North Korea (NHK)

Family members of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea have recorded encouraging messages for a radio broadcast aimed at the country.

The messages were recorded in Tokyo for Free North Korea Radio, a shortwave broadcaster. Its daily radio program is run by a group of people who defected from the North to South Korea.

The abductees’ relatives called on their loved ones never to give up until they are rescued.

The leader of the relatives’ group, Yokota Takuya, is a younger brother of Yokota Megumi, who was abducted in 1977 at the age of 13. He asked his sister how she is doing. He also said he is sorry that she has had to spend a long time in North Korea without freedom.

He added that the relatives will never give up until they achieve the return of all the abductees.

His twin brother, Yokota Tetsuya, told his sister about their parents. He said that their father, who died three years ago, thought about rescuing his daughter every day.

He added that their 87-year-old mother often falls over, but is doing well. He vowed to get back his sister and asked her to stay healthy until she can be reunited with her mother.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said last month that he wants to start high-level talks under his direct control to hold a summit with North Korea at an early date.

Yokota Takuya said after the recording that he wants the Japanese government to continue its steady diplomatic efforts until all the abductees are returned.

He expressed hope that a Japan-North Korea summit can be held and that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will decide to hand over all the abductees. [Read the full story and watch the video here…]

New Book: Exploring Space Weather with DIY Magnetometers (Amazon)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Sten Odenwald, who writes:

Hi Thomas!

Thanks so much for your contribution to the History of Space Weather book I published several years ago!

I have just published a new book I think you might be interested in. It’s called Exploring Space Weather with DIY Magnetometers, and it’s now available at amazon.com (see below). It provides step-by-step designs for building six sensitive instruments for under $60.00 that can measure real-time changes in Earth’s magnetic field.

If you are interested in such a building project, or you know of a family member, teacher, or even a student looking for a science fair project, this book will show you how to build these instruments. I also provide examples of storm events that were actually detected by each design so you can see what typical data looks like. For additional examples and updates, visit my blog page at http://sten.astronomycafe.net/diy-magnetometers/

Thanks again for your help!
Sten Odenwald
Astronomer

Click here to check out this book on Amazon.com (SWLing Post affiliate link).

Schulman Auction Radios

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dura, who notes that a number of vintage and late model radios are up for auction at Schulman’s:

WMLK on the air (Paul Walker)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who shares the following tip:

It appears they are now operating at US night times now. For the longest time, as you may be aware, they were only on 9275 kHz during the day.

Sometime around mid last week, they were being reported on 15150 kHz as well.

And I finally logged them too.. nice signal on 15150 kHz here just after 0400!!

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Radio Waves: Pirating Putin, Refuge Hosted Radio in South Sudan, Drivers Still Love Radio, and TIS Request

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post contributors including John, Andrea, and Dennis Dura for the following tips:

The pirate-radio DJ who took on Putin (The Economist)

Tens of thousands of ordinary Russians are joining the resistance

n a bedsit in Vologda, a Russian city 500 miles north of Moscow, a man sat at a desk surrounded by recording equipment. In his early 60s, tall and thin with long grey hair, glasses and a moustache, he looked like an ageing rock star making a new album. His name was Vladimir Rumyantsev. He lived alone, and his day job was as a stoker, tending a furnace in a factory boiler-room. In the evenings he was the dj of his own pirate-radio station, broadcasting anti-war diatribes against Putin’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Rumyantsev set up the station before the war as a hobby. Radio Vovan (a play on a nickname for Vladimir) mainly broadcast music from the Soviet era that he found in online archives. He said he needed a break from oppressive state propaganda. “Some kind of ‘patriotic’ hysteria started on the airwaves, and as the sole occupant of the flat I voted unanimously to ban the broadcasting of federal tv and radio channels in my home. Well, I had to create something of my own to replace it,” he wrote to me. [Continue reading. Note that this article may be behind a paywall from your location…]

In South Sudan, Refugees Train as Radio Hosts to Keep Residents Informed (VOA News)

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — 

Jabrallah Tia was a teacher in Sudan in 2011 when a brutal war forced him to flee to a refugee camp in newly established South Sudan. Thirteen years later, Tia is still in a camp but with a new career: journalist.

The Ajuong Thok camp in the Ruweng Administrative Area is home to almost 40,000 refugees and displaced people, most from Sudan. Another influx is expected soon, after a fresh conflict broke out in April.

“It’s terrible now when Sudan has started another war. … We’re expecting more people to come from Sudan, as they’re fleeing the war there,” Tia told VOA in a video interview over Zoom.

He knows what that’s like. Tia had to leave everything behind when he fled his home in South Kordofan state. But he said he has found new meaning in his journalism work. Continue reading →

Radio Waves: Sri Lanka DRM, Czech Radio, Ham Radio Ops Ready for Disaster, Space Pirates, FM Not Far Behind AM, and AM Hearing Live Today

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Dennis Dura, David Iurescia, John Palmer, Gareth Buxton, and Mangosman for the following tips:

Sri Lankan Broadcaster Goes DRM Following Listeners’ Request (DRM Consortium)

The international service of the Sri Lankan Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) recently doubled its Tamil Service airtime to two hours, on 873 kHz AM (medium wave) from Puttalam transmitter. The new schedule is 0130-0330 UTC (7.00 am to 9.00 am IST). This is partly in response to individual efforts of listeners, many in the southern part of India, in Bengaluru. Introducing this change, Colombo International Radio also announced that shortly they are going to use DRM on 1548 kHz! This will be done by is using the old transmitter of Deutsche Welle located in the north of Sri Lanka at Trincomalee. The Sri Lankan public broadcaster has started airing the DRM announcement:

Audio Player

The publicity for the new DRM service is in full swing. See video:

Video Player

Czech Radio centenary: Listeners send congratulations (Czech Radio)

On the occasion of Czech Radio’s centenary, we asked our listeners to let us know where they heard our special programme on that day in order to map Radio Prague International’s broadcast reach today. Here are at least some of the many letters and photos which you have sent us. Thank you to all our loyal fans.

George Jolly, who was listening to our special programme over the internet, wrote from Houston, Texas:

“Thank you so much for the special program today celebrating your 100 years of radio. If I were not so far away, I would surely visit you on Saturday. It means a lot to me that you continue the tradition of the ‘radio magazine’. Hearing the opera excerpt and other recordings from the past was wonderful!

“I love old music and old technology like radio, and I love that you are keeping their spirit alive and new again for today’s world. I am so grateful to celebrate your centenary with you from afar.”

Another listener from the United States is Timothy Marecki, who wrote us from New Port Richey in Florida: Continue reading →

Don Moore’s Photo Album: Western Venezuela

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Don Moore–noted author, traveler, and DXer–for the latest installment of his Photo Album guest post series:

Don Moore’s Photo Album: Western Venezuela

by Don Moore

I started this series several months ago with pictures of Ecos del Torbes and other stations in San Cristóbal, Venezuela. This time I want to take you to the other places I visited on that trip to Andean Venezuela in January 1995.

When I started DXing in the early 1970s, Venezuelans were the most commonly heard Latin American shortwave stations. The 90- and 60-meter bands were full of them and there were more than a few to be heard in the 49- and even 31-meter bands. But the Venezuelans began abandoning shortwave before other countries in the region and by the late 1970s their numbers had been considerably thinned. Only a handful remained in the early 1990s.

This radio dial [click to enlarge] goes back to a time when Latin American stations were found all over the radio bands.

One of the last Venezuelan stations to leave shortwave in the 1990s was Radio Valera in the busy commercial city of Valera.

For decades, Radio Valera was one of the best heard and most consistent Venezuelan stations on 60 meters. Roque Torres Aguilar, waving on the left side, was station manager at the time of my visit.

I’ve found listings in DX publications for their 4840 kHz frequency as far back as 1946.

I was given this 59th anniversary key chain when I visited Radio Valera in January 1995. So the station must have begun around 1935.

Station studio in 1995.

A second shortwave station in the state of Trujillo was Radio Trujillo in the nearby town of the same name. Broadcasting on 3295 kHz, they were one of the easier catches in the 90-meter band in the early 1970s but were gone by the late 1970s. Continue reading →