Many thanks to several SWLing Post readers who shared this RadioWorld article about the new Avion AV-DR -1401 portable DRM receiver. According to RadioWorld, the AV-1401 will be sold through Amazon India as of October 2015 for approximately $175 US.
(Source: VOA Radiogram via Richard Langley)
VOA Radiogram will participate in European Researchers’ Night 2015, specifically to the Notte europea dei ricercatori at Frascati, near Rome. There will be a special broadcast of VOA Radiogram Friday, 25 September, at 1830-1900 UTC, on 17880 kHz, via the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station in North Carolina.
This broadcast is in addition to regular VOA Radiogram schedule:
(days/times UTC):
Sat 0930-1000 5745 kHz
Sat 1600-1630 17870 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via North CarolinaMore information:
http://ec.europa.eu/research/researchersnight
http://www.frascatiscienza.it/pagine/notte-europea-dei-ricercatori-2015
Are you an application developer?
The VOA Radiogram is seeking a developer to create software for PCs and mobile devices “to simplify the decoding of text and images transmitted by VOA and other radio stations.”
The RFQ and Statement of Work from the Broadcasting Board of Governors can be dowloaded by clicking here.
Note that there is a very short deadline–September 26–to submit your proposal.
One Post reader notes that, “although BBG will make the software available for free, and will provide the source code, this is a paid procurement. Respondents are expected to state their fee.”
The category is $15,000 – $25,000 as can be seen here:
http://www.bbg.gov/partnerwithus/doing-business/
Again, responses are due September 26, 2015!
Many thanks to Mauno Ritola who shares a link to the following schedule from the DRM Consortium via the WRTH Facebook page:
During IBC, Babcock will be transmitting DRM service from the UK, towards Europe.
[Friday September 11, 2015 to September 15, 2015]
1600-1700 local Amsterdam time (1400-1500 GMT), BAB Woofferton, 100 kW, 6040 kHz, 114 degrees (Programme TBA)
1700-1800 local Amsterdam time (1500-1600 GMT), BAB Woofferton, 100 kW, 6040 kHz, 114 degrees (BBC WS English)
Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, David Iurescia, who shares this news and audio report via the Radio Praha website:
“10:55 on Thursday morning was an important occasion in the history of radio in the Czech Republic as it was the exact moment that full digital broadcasting was launched in the country. The new network carries nine Czech Radio stations, some of which were previously only accessible online. For now the service is just available in the capital and Central Bohemia, but there are plans to roll it out to other parts of the country in the next few years.”
Many thanks to my buddy, Dan, who shares this article from the Daily Mail:
“It was supposed to be the technology that would transform the way we listen to the radio.
But audiences condemned DAB – or Digital Audio Broadcasting – as a disaster yesterday because of the poor quality of the signal.
They complained that it cuts out in the middle of broadcasts, while others claim the technology is already out of date.
One even joked on Twitter that while we can now receive close-up photos of Pluto taken billions of miles away, he ‘still can’t get a good signal on DAB’.
DAB had been heralded as less prone to interference than AM or FM, but household appliances including microwave ovens, laptops, mobile phones and TVs have all been found to affect reception. Power lines and the weather can knock out digital signals, while signal strength can be reduced in built-up areas, in basements and inside buildings with thick stone or reinforced concrete walls.”
This is a VHF news item, not shortwave, but many SWLing Post readers have wideband SDRs, HT’s and scanners that cover this portion of the VHF band. Unique opportunity:
(Source: AMSAT bb)
40 years ago this week, the historic joint Apollo-Soyuz mission was conducted. Apollo-Soyuz (or Soyuz-Apollo in Russia) represented the first joint USA-Soviet mission and set the stage for follow-on Russia-USA space collaboration on the Space Shuttle, Mir Space Station and the International Space Station. The Soyuz and Apollo vehicles were docked from July 17-19, 1975, during which time joint experiments and activities were accomplished with the 3 USA astronauts and 2 Soviet Cosmonauts on-board. Apollo-Soyuz was the final mission of the Apollo program and the last USA human spaceflight mission until the first space shuttle mission in 1981.
To commemorate the 40th anniversary of this historic international event, the ARISS team has developed a series of 12 Slow Scan Television (SSTV) images that will be sent down for reception by schools, educational organizations and ham radio operators, worldwide. The SSTV images are planned to start sometime Saturday morning, July 18 and run through Sunday July 19. These dates are tentative and are subject to change. The SSTV images can be received on 145.80 MHz and displayed using several different SSTV computer programs that are available on the internet.
We encourage you to submit your best received SSTV images to:
http://spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/submit.phpThe ARISS SSTV image gallery will post the best SSTV images received from this event at:
http://spaceflightsoftware.com/ARISS_SSTV/index.phpAlso, as a special treat, on Saturday July 18 the ISS Cosmonauts will take time out to conduct an ARISS contact with students attending the Moon Day/Frontiers of Flight Museum event in Dallas Texas. This Russian Cosmonaut-USA Student contact is planned to start around 16:55 UTC through the W6SRJ ground station located in Santa Rosa, California. ARISS will use the 145.80 MHz voice frequency downlink (same as the SSTV downlink) for the Moon Day contact.
For more information on ARISS, please go to our web site: www.ariss.org
The ARISS international team would like to thank our ARISS-Russia colleague, Sergey Samburov, RV3DR, for his leadership on this historic commemoration.
Frank H. Bauer, KA3HDO
ARISS International Chair