Category Archives: Digital Modes

VOA Radiogram this weekend

Here are the details for the VOA Radiogram this weekend:

(Source: Kim Elliott)

VOA Radiogram on 30 and 31 March 2013 will feature the MFSK (multiple frequency shift keying) modes. This “menu” for the program shows the mode, center audio frequency, and duration of transmission in minutes:seconds…

MFSK4 1500Hz 0:40*
MFSK16 1500Hz 1:00
MFSK32 1000Hz 1:00
MFSK32 2500Hz 1:00
PSKR125 2500Hz 1:00
PSKR250 2500Hz 1:00
MFSK64 2500Hz 1:00
MFSK64 2500Hz 3:07 Flmsg format
PSKR500 2000Hz 0:58
MFSK128 2000Hz 0:57**
MFSK32 2000Hz 1:40 Image
MFSK32 1500Hz 0:58 Image

* No RSID. You must tune the audio frequency very carefully. (Don’t worry if it does not work!)

**The RSID might not work, so manually select MFSK128 (needs new version of Fldigi) and the 2000 Hz center audio frequency.

Transmission schedule:

(all days and times UTC):

Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz

Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz

Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz

Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz

All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

Please send reports, audio samples, screenshots, etc to [email protected].

If you are unable to listen to the program because of Easter weekend, this MFSK show will be repeated later this year.

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PCJ Radio International radiogram, March 31st

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(Source: PCJ Media)

On March 31st, 2013 PCJ Radio International will conduct a digital text through analogue shortwave broadcast of a radiogram.

Setting: MFSK32

Date: March 31, 2013

Time: 0227UTC

Frequency: 9955khz

This test will have a message in English and Spanish for listeners in Cuba and Latin America. Those in the South Eastern part of the United States will also be able to tune in and record the 2 to 3 min transmission. If all goes as planed the Cuban jamming against 9955 kHz won’t have any effect on the message we will transmit.

For information on the software needed to decode this radiogram visit the following URL:

http://www.pcjmedia.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/224-pcj-radio-radiogram-test-march-27-2013

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DRM tests from Moscow starting tomorrow morning

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drmlogo The WRTH Facebook page has noted that DRM tests from Moscow will take place on 25,900 kHz starting Friday, March 22nd (tomorrow) at 10:00 UTC and ending on Saturday, March 23rd at 10:00 UTC.

Details of each broadcast can be found here–see English version via Google Translate.

They’re asking that all DRM reception reports be logged in this online forum with a detailed description and even sound clips of audio reception, if possible.

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VOA Radiogram: March 23/24 broadcast

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(Source: VOA Radiogram)

VOA Radiogram for March 23/24 will be similar to the past weekend’s program in that it features the PSK modes. Much of Kim’s script will be the same. In this weekend’s broadcast, however, only one mode at a time will be transmitted. This should improve the signal-to-noise ratio and ability to decode each mode.

Each will be centered on 1500 Hz:

BPSK31 (1:00)

PSK63F (1:00)

BPSK63 (1:00)

PSKR125 (1:00)

PSKR250 (1:00)

PSKR500 (1:00)

PSKR1000 (1:00)

PSKR125 (3:45) Plain text

PSKR250 (2:40) Flmsg* formatted (with html)

MFSK32 (0:55) Image

*Install Flmsg. Then, in Fldigi: Configure > Misc > NBEMS > under Reception of flmsg files click Open with flmsg and Open in browser, and below that state where your Flmsg file is located.

If decoding performance is still not satisfactory, VOA Radiogram in future weekends will feature more robust modes, such as MFSK, MT63, and Olivia.

See VOA Radiogram: how to decode the modes.

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC)
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

Please send reception reports, audio samples, screenshots, etc., to [email protected]

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Shortwave Radio Recordings: The Disco Palace (in DRM)

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DiscoBall Perhaps one of the things I love the most about SWLing is the sheer variety of broadcasters out there. We can sample diverse offerings across a broad spectrum–from the BBC World Service to Radio Romania International, from pirate stations to numbers stations.

There’s even The Disco Palace: a station that plays only disco music, and each show is mixed thematically. This station broadcasts online and over shortwave radio via DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale).

Last week–specifically, on March 15, 2013–I caught about thirty minutes of The Disco Palace broadcast and was able to record it from my Bonito RadioJet IF Receiver. Reception on 17,875 MHz was excellent, although the DRM signal wasn’t quite strong enough for comfortable stereo decoding.

The following TDP recording starts around 2030 UTC (about halfway through the broadcast). Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

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VOA Radiograms Today (17 March 2013)

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(Source: VOA Radiogram)

The third airplay of VOA Radiogram is coming soon, at 1300 UTC, on 6095 kHz. Another, directed to Europe, will be at 1930 UTC on 15670 kHz.

Thanks to the many listeners throughout Europe, North America, and even in Asia, who have sent reports, audio, screenshots, spectrum displays, etc. After the last transmission today, I will summarize the results in this website.

WRMI, Radio Miami International, 9955 kHz, is transmitting IDs in the Olivia 8-1000 mode until 0400 UTC Monday (midnight EDT). These are centered on 1300 and 2500 Hz. Don’t be discouraged by the low signal level of WRMI, or by the Cuban jamming on the frequency. You might get a good decode of Olivia 8-1000 anyway.

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VOA Radiogram “soft launch” this weekend

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VOARadioGram Kudos to VOA research analyst Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott for his remarkable innovation: VOA Radiograms (i.e., digital text messages sent over shortwave broadcast radio), and for promoting this concept through the Voice of America. His persistance, with support from forward-thinking shortwave broadcasters like WBCQ, WRMI and The Mighty KBC, who have all broadcasted his digital messages, has paid off. Classic technology meets current in this new communication mode which makes internet disruption absolutely irrelevant, and which is even impervious, to a great degree, to interference.

This weekend, the VOA Radiogram will become a reality:

(Source: VOA Radiogram)

VOA Radiogram will “soft launch” this weekend. Here is the transmission schedule (all days and times are UTC):

Saturday 1600-1630 17860 kHz

Sunday 0230-0300 5745 kHz (Saturday evening in North America)

Sunday 1300-1330 6095 kHz

Sunday 1930-2000 15670 kHz

All via the IBB Edward R Murrow Transmitting Station in North Carolina.

The digital text modes to be transmitted this weekend on VOA Radiogram are as follows. Each text transmission will be one minute, unless otherwise specified. Asterisk * denotes RSID: if your RxID is on, Fldigi will automatically switch to this mode and audio frequency. The other modes you can decode from your recording.

BPSK31 on 2000 Hz*

QPSK31 on 1000Hz, BPSK31* on 2000 Hz

QPSK31 on 1000Hz*, PSK63F on 1500Hz, BPSK31 on 2000 Hz

QPSK63 on 1000 Hz, PSKR125 on 1500 Hz*, BPSK63 on 2000 Hz

QPSK125 on 1000Hz, PSKR250 on 1500 Hz*, BPSK63 on 2000 Hz

QPSK250 on 800 Hz, PSKR500 on 1500Hz*, BPSK250 on 2200Hz

QPSK500 on 800 Hz, PSKR1000 on 1500 Hz*, BPSK500 on 2200 Hz

PSKR500 on 1000 Hz, PSK63F on 1500 Hz, PSKR125 on 2000 Hz, and PSKR250 on 2500 Hz* (5 min 40 secs). The latter portions of the PSKR250 and 500 transmissions are formatted for Flmsg. (In Fldigi, Configure > Misc > NBEMS > under Reception of flmsg files, click Open with flmsg and Open in browser, and below that state the location of the flmsg.exe file.)

MFSK32 image on 1500 Hz (54 seconds)

In future weeks, after the “hard launch” of VOA Radiogram, only one mode will be transmitted at one time. This will ensure the highest possible signal-to-noise ratio and the best possible chances for a successful decode.

See also how to decode the modes.

Send reports to radiogram(at)voanews.com

Follow @voaradiogram

Keep up-to-date with all future broadcasts, digital modes and methods for decoding on the VOA Radiogram website, and by following them on Twitter: @voaradiogram.

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