Category Archives: International Broadcasting

More from 1 Radio News developer Steven Clift

After publishing a post about the new 1 Radio News app, developer Steven Clift commented:

Thanks for the mention!

I had a private email in my draft box for Tom … here, I’ll share with all:

Thomas, Ken Reitz suggested you would be a good person to reach out to about my app.

In the days before the Internet, I can remember taking my shortwave radio up to my Grandparents in far northern Minnesota. I’d have the time to be “closer to the world” by listening global broadcasters like the BBC World Service and be intrigued by Cold War broadcasts from the Soviet Union and Cuba giving a decidedly different view.

As my Uncle gave me my first shortwave radio, what might one give to a teen today to easily expose them to the world of truly global news. Now there is an app for that: http://1radionews.com 🙂

In 1993, when I first went online, my novice thought was this might be like “reception clear shortwave.” Going to the world.

I had forgotten that early thought until a few days ago when I added 30+ live English news streams from broadcasters around the world into the pro version of my 1RadioNews.com Android radio app.

I started channel surfing … what’s on here, fun, OK how about this station. What are Radio Sputnik and Radio China International up to … oh and Wisconsin Public Radio has some great original programming. So now I can go even deeper in my explorations of the voices around the world. I could discover radio, discover the world again through the power of sound and the human voice right on my mobile – quickly and easily.

FYI – “Pro” version has 3 times more – curated and well tested – streams, but the free ad-supported version has some classics like the BBC World Service. I tied to make the app “thumbable” meaning you can just hold the phone and swipe and press a button to play. Super simple and a lot quicker than apps with literally ten of thousands of stations. Saving ten seconds to switch the station matters!”

Many thanks for the insight, Steven! Since most of us SWLs are international “news junkies,” we appreciate having a curated, simple interface to hear top of the hour news from our favorite broadcasters.

By the way, Steven, I have added 1 Radio News to our list of the best apps for Shortwave and Ham radio enthusiasts–one of our most popular all-time posts. Good luck and we look forward to hearing about any future developments!

1 Radio News equivalent for iPhone

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Regarding the new 1 Radio News App for Android devices, SWLing Post reader, Erica comments:

“I too wish 1 Radio News were available for iPhone. The nearest thing I know of however is an app called Hourly News. It allows you to listen to latest news bulletins from various news outlets.

Most news sources included are American broadcasters, but it does have Deutsche Welle, RTHK and VOA. You can also add podcast feeds to expand what you can hear. I hope this is useful to you all.

Many thanks, Erica. I use an iPhone when I’m on the move, so I’ll give this app a try!

Radio Dabanga: Sudan to launch 20 radio stations

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(Source: Radio Dabanga via Andy Sennitt)

Coming January, Sudan will launch ten shortwave radio stations in Darfur, and ten in South Kordofan

The new radio stations will present programmes in local dialects, to counter the broadcasts by Radio Dabanga, in an attempt to reduce its impact on the populations of those regions, especially in Darfur, Information Minister Ahmed Bilal Osman told Members of the national Parliament on Tuesday.

As for South Kordofan, the radio stations will aim to reach the Nuba people living in the rebel-controlled areas, the minister noted.

Sudanese MPs have criticised the performance of the official media before. They described it as “weak, and failing in the delivery of information”. On Tuesday, 25 November, the daily broadcasts by Radio Dabanga from the Netherlands were discussed in the parliament. Some MPs stressed the need “to disrupt the activity of Radio Dabanga, or completely stop it”, and demanded from the Information Minister of State to develop a plan to at least reduce its impact.

Radio Dabanga broadcasts in shortwave to the whole of Sudan and neighbouring countries. Satellite broadcasts are confined to the larger cities. (See elsewhere on this site for audio feeds.)

Follow this story on Radio Dabanga’s website.

December 13/15: Special RMRC shortwave broadcasts

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(Source: Toshi Ohtake, Japan Short Wave Club, via Sean Gilbert)

RMRC Shortwave broadcasts in December 2014 about the EDXC’14 Conference

The Rhein-Main Radio Club ( RMRC ) of Frankfurt, Germany, plans to broadcast a one-hour program in English about the EDXC 2014 Conference held in September in Nice , France. There will be three separate transmissions:

There will be taped interviews with several well-known DXers who attended the meeting. Thank-you very much to Mr. Toshi Ohtake of the Japan ShortWave Club (JSWC) for taping and providing these interviews.

QSL-verification is <only> via the RMRC and either as electronic or as paper QSL. Reception reports to either:
[email protected] or RMRC, Postfach 70 08 49, 60558 Frankfurt / Main, Germany. Return postage is not required.

See also our web-page www.RMRC.de for details (“QSL-Info”).

Via Sitkunai, Lithuania:
Target Area / Frequency / UTC / Day

J/As / 11690 KHz / 2100 – 2200/ Sat 13 Dec

Via WRMI, Okeechobee, Fl, USA:
Target Area / Frequency / UTC / Day

WNAm. / 7455 KHz / 0000 – 0100 / Mon 15 Dec
ENAm. / 5850 KHz / 0000 – 0100 / Mon 15 Dec
Car/LAm. / 5015 KHz / 0000 – 0100 / Mon 15 Dec
Eu / 15770 KHz / 2100 – 2200 / Mon 15 Dec

Radio Exterior de España will return to shortwave

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A bit hat tip to SWLing Post contributor, London Shortwave who sent a link to this article from the Spanish news site prtelevisión [click here for English translation].

According to prtelevisión and this article from La Opinión A Coruña [English translation], yesterday morning, the Board of Directors of RTVE approved a proposal to broadcast on shortwave four hours a day: from Monday to Friday (between 20:00 and 24:00 hours) and Saturday/Sunday between 16:00 and 24:00.

The following broadcasts will air:”24 Horas”, “Radiogaceta de los deportes“, “Españoles en la Mar” and “Cinco Continentes“. In addition, REE plans to cover sporting events.

It appears that the fisheries industry is to thank for this decision to bring REE back on shortwave as ships had no viable means to listen to REE while at sea. According to these sources, shortwave broadcasts will re-start in the near future.

Readers: please comment when you hear REE back on the air.

BBC & VOA collaborate to fight Ebola

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Ebola Cases Map (Source: World Health Organization)

(Source: BBC Media Centre via Andy Sennitt)

The BBC World Service and Voice of America (VOA) have entered into a ground-breaking partnership to pool resources and content about the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, so as many people as possible receive factual information about the disease.

The broadcasters are sharing TV, radio and digital content related to the outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. Editors will also share Ebola planning and identify other possible areas for collaboration, such as sharing contacts. The collaboration features content in English, French and Hausa with the scope to translate content into a range of local languages.

World Service Director Peter Horrocks said:

“This is the worst Ebola outbreak the world has seen and so we have taken unprecedented action. Reliable facts and information can literally save lives and as the two leading broadcasters in the region we have joined forces to reach as many people as possible.”

VOA Director David Ensor said: “We at the VOA and the BBC are united against a common enemy—Ebola. Our collaboration is about public service at a time when so many lives are at stake.”

BBC Relay Station handed back to Seychelles

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BBC Seychelles Relay Station (Photo: Vijay.sc)

(Source: Seychelles News Agency via Andy Sennitt)

Tuesday November 18 marked the closure of an iconic chapter of Seychelles’ history, signalling the end of an era when information was much more difficult to come by. With much of Africa joining the internet and mobile phone revolution, the times of trying to glean information about happenings in the rest of the world on a crackly AM radio station have now passed by.

Over 25 years after its establishment, the site of the BBC’s former Indian Ocean Relay Station (IORS), located at Grand Anse, on the western side of the largest inhabited island in the archipelago, was handed back to the government of Seychelles by the country’s British High Commissioner, Lindsay Skoll.

The station transmitted BBC World Service programmes since 1988 via shortwave to listeners across East Africa in a range of languages, including the BBC’s English-language output for Africa as well as programmes in Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Somali and French.

In November 2013, the BBC announced its intention to cease all its shortwave transmission services from Seychelles due to a gradual and irreversible fall in demand for shortwave radio services, and on March 29 this year, the BBC IORS retransmission services from Seychelles were officially switched off. BBC World Service broadcasts in East Africa are still available via the internet and also via various other localised frequencies.
The handing over of the site to the Ministry of Land Use and Housing (MLUH) also included the station’s buildings and equipment, all of which are still in working order. The site is spread over a 32,000 square metre property, occupied under a lease dating back to March 27, 1985.

[…]The station is equipped with 33KV high-voltage equipment and transformers which will now go into the possession of the Public Utilities Corporation, while the Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) will take over three of the BBC’s four steel communications towers and the annex building.

The SCAA will use the towers to strengthen its air communication and surveillance capabilities and the annex building will be used to house a new high-frequency aviation communications radio system to help control air traffic coming in from the west of the island.

The fourth steel tower will be allocated to the local telecommunications company Cable and Wireless for mobile based telecommunications.

Read the full article on the Seychelles News Agency’s website.