Category Archives: International Broadcasting

If elected, Labor commits to provide $2 million to restore ABC shortwave radio

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ian P, who shares the following story and interview via ABC News Northern Territory Country Hour. I strongly suggest listening to the full seven plus minute interview via the embedded audio player below:

Click here to download audio.

If elected next year, Federal Labor says it will provide the ABC with $2 million in funding to help re-establish shortwave radio services across the Northern Territory.

The ABC controversially switched off its shortwave service in January 2017, and defended the decision by saying it would “only affect a very, very small amount of people” and save taxpayers up to $1.9 million.

The decision was heavily criticised by industry groups such as the NT Cattlemen’s Association (NTCA) and the NT Seafood Council.

NTCA president Chris Nott welcomed today’s announcement by Labor and said the ABC’s decision was short-sighted.

“What people take for granted in the cities is a luxury for those of us in the bush,” Mr Nott said.

“We rely on the HF shortwave radio transmitters because we don’t have mobile and data coverage for AM and FM radio stations.

“The ABC can expand its modern day platforms all it likes but the truth is we don’t all have access to it and the ABC did not care at all about the impact of its decision.”

Federal Member for Solomon Luke Gosling, said the axing of shortwave had angered a lot of people and community groups.

“Many thousands will benefit from this [bringing back shortwave],” he told the Country Hour.

“I was lobbied by a really large cross-section of the community that spends time in remote areas and when shortwave was cut there was a lot of angst, so it will be a good thing to bring it back to keep people on the land and waters connected.”

Click here to read via ABC News.

Many thanks, Ian!

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Celebrating ten years of the SWLing Post––and a chance to win a piece of broadcasting history!

Ten years ago, I created a blog.

I designed the SWLing Post as a simple site where I could share a few links and articles about my favorite topic: radio.  And maybe educate a few new listeners about the hobby.

Never would I have imagined that within a few years, the site would grow to over 7,000 daily readers.

It’s still hard for me to comprehend. It’s also hard to believe that ten years have passed since I started the Post. Incredible.

Of course, what makes this site so special is the community of dedicated SWLing Post readers, contributors and supporters. People who show up to share in the radio discussion everyday.

For this reason, I want to make the following twelve months special for the SWLing Post community.

And so…let’s have some fun!

Starting this month, until November 2019, we’re going to put together a series of contests and activities to help celebrate ten years of the SWLing Post.

Let’s get started today!

Our first prize is phenomenal…

RCA Window from MI-7330 (note that wooden base is not included)

This exceptional prize, an RCA transmitter window has been generously donated by our long-time friend and contributor, Dave Porter (G4OYX). Thank you so much, Dave!

Dave describes this unique prize as “a piece of broadcast history” from the Wooferton Transmitting station in the UK;

Click to enlarge

At 75 years old it is a round plate glass window that was fitted in the central main door of the RCA senders, installed in 1943.

The window is 12.25,” 315 mm in diameter, and is 5 mm thick. The glass is tinted in a shade of light blue and the RCA trademark letters are etched out in sunken relief.

It was one from the last pair of senders, either Sender 85 or Sender 86, both retired and removed in 1980. (S81 – S84, the previous four were removed in 1963.)

The pair of windows were retrieved by Jeff Cant and one was presented to long-time BBC/VOA staffer Mr Dick Lett on his retirement in 1988. Jeff kept the other. Mr Lett has recently died and his daughters returned the plate to Jeff. It is this plate that is the [prize] gift in this competition.

Jeff gave it to Dave Porter who thought [that] rather than keep it himself, it would be a good donation to this celebration of ten years of the SWLing Post.

Wow…when Dave volunteered this as a prize for the SWLing Post, I almost fell out of my seat. Frankly, I’m already envious of the lucky winner!

Here’s how you can enter to win this piece of shortwave history!

Each week, starting today–at the bottom of this page–we’ll post a question about the Woofferton Transmitting Site. There will be a total of five questions with the final question posted on December 10th. The contest will close on December 14 and a winner will be announced shortly thereafter.

We’ll embed a Google quiz form with each question, and provide a space for you to answer the question. This is the only way to enter the contest as the Google form exports the results to a spreadsheet that we’ll use to pick a winner. Note: Please don’t email or comment with your answer, as the system won’t count it as a valid entry.

Each correctly answered question will count as an entry in the contest. Since we’ll have a total of five questions, this means you could have a total of five contest entries.  Good luck, Post readers!

Details & Fine Print

This contest is open to all SWLing Post readers and contributors, with the obvious exception of myself and Dave Porter, who donated this piece.

Each entry will require your name, email address, and shipping address. These details will be used to contact you and ship your prize to you, should you win. These details will also be one means of making sure multiple entries aren’t being made by one individual for each question (if we suspect someone of doing this, we would simply delete all of their associated entries.).  But I’m sure we’re all good sports here.

All email addresses, names, and shipping addresses will be deleted once a winner is selected, to protect your privacy.

All correct entries will be entered on a spreadsheet, which will assign each entry a sequential number. We will then pick a random number with the random number generator and thus choose the winner.

Please note: If you read the SWLing Post email digest, you will need to view our prize questions on the web to see the embedded form.

Ready?  Let’s get started! (FYI: Question #2 will be posted next week.)

If the form below does not display, click here to open it in a new window.

Our first question:

Many thanks again to Dave Porter for his generosity in offering us this wonderfully unique piece of broadcasting history and for kindly agreeing to ship it to the winner! 

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Radio Romania celebrates 90 years

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(Source: Radio Romania International via David Iurescia)

On November 1, Radio Romania celebrates 90 years since a first broadcast was aired in Romania. Since then, the institution has constantly coped with the challenges of a changing world.

A decade after WWI, when all the territories with a predominantly Romanian speaking population that had been under the rule of neighbouring multinational empires got under Bucharest’s authority, Romania started using the most efficient means of communication of the time – Radio – which could reach all corners of the newly united country.

On November 1, 1928, “the Romanian Radio-Telephony Broadcasting Company” aired its first broadcast, “Hello, this is Radio Bucharest” being the first words uttered on air by the first president of the institution, physicist  Dragomir Hurmuzescu. Regarded from the very beginning as a means of information, education and entertainment, the Romanian public radio has practically broadcast programs uninterruptedly for 90 years.  It had to permanently adjust its editorial policy, sometimes paying a dear political price, but it has overcome the challenges posed by radical changes of regime, which Romania has seen from inter-war democracy to right wing dictatorships during WWII and from Communist despotism to democracy, restored during the December 1989 Revolution.

Radio Romania addresses the whole society, all generations, catering for all tastes, and along the years it has tried to preserve unaltered the image of an unbiased national public radio. The channels with a national coverage include “Actualit??i”, “Cultural”, “Muzical” and “Antena Satelor”, that is “News and Current Affairs”, “Culture”, “Music” and “the Village Antenna”, respectively, adding to which are two online channels for children and youth. The Romanian public radio started broadcasting programs for audiences abroad in the early 1930’s. Nowadays, Radio Romania International is trying to familiarize foreign audience with current Romanian topical issues and values, and to keep the Romanian Diaspora in touch with the mother-country, helping them maintain the bond with Romania. Radio Romania International broadcasts programmes in 11 foreign languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Serbian, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian) as well as in the Romanian language and the Aromanian dialect.

The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation is currently considered to be  the most credible and important media institution in the country, given the large number of listeners who choose to listen to its programmes on a daily basis, the campaigns it carries out and the extensive cultural projects that it develops.  The daily reach of Radio Romania stands at over 4.5 million listeners, with a  market share of 30%. On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the public radio station, Defence Minister Mihai Fifor, has awarded the “Defence Partner-Emblem of Merit 1st Class” to the “Current and News Affairs” Channel of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation. The high distinction has been  offered in token of appreciation for the constant support granted by Radio Romania in an effort to promote  the image of the Romanian Army. Also, as a sign of appreciation for serving the public for the past 90 years, at the Film’s Gala in Bucharest, Radio Romania received a trophy from the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce.

Click here to read the full article via Radio Romania International.

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Radio Exterior de España: More details about shortwave expansion

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who writes with an update to our previous post regarding the Radio Exterior de España shortwave expansion:

Listening to [Monday] night’s recording, I note that during the English program, they mentioned that the foreign language programs in English, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Russian, and Sephardic (Ladino or Judeo-Spanish, I presume) all will be returning to shortwave. They gave the English schedule as Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 23:00 UTC with a repeat on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 03:00 UTC.

Thank you for sharing this, Richard. I’m impressed that REE has added so many language programs back to their shortwave services.

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Hobart Radio International’s three part interval signals specials

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who writes:

While listening to my recording of yesterday’s Unique Radio broadcast over WINB, I noticed that the Radio Hobart International segment featured the second of a three-part interval signals special. Brought back many nice memories of long-gone shortwave stations. All three segments in studio quality can be found on the Radio Hobart International website:

 

http://www.hriradio.org/

Thank you for the tip, Richard! Kudos to HRI for putting these specials together. I’ve also embedded the audio from each episode below (email digest subscribers will need to view this on our site, or HRI):

HRI Interval Signals Special: Part 1

HRI Interval Signals Special: Part 2

HRI Interval Signals Special: Part 3

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Why shortwave radio makes an idea “a powerful weapon”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Rich Cuff and Mike Hansgen who share the following Op Ed piece from the Sydney Morning Herald:

Warning: put down any power tools and ensure you’re not operating heavy machinery before you read the next sentence. We’ve been outflanked!

Of course, unless you’re completely benighted or under some sort of strange, personal news blackout that prevents you even glancing at the front pages of newspapers, you’ll probably have already realised that China is extending and developing its relations with our close Pacific neighbours. This was, after all, only to be expected. Beijing and Taipei have long recognised the value of these countries’ votes in the United Nations; it’s not much of a step from there to glance at the map and recognise the islands’ have other significance as well. As China began expanding its international reach it was only natural it would similarly strengthen other relationships, including defence links.

[…]Nature abhors a vacuum and so, as we’ve been demonstrating less and less interest in this region, others have occupied the space.

The clearest example of this has been the strategically idiotic, fiscally-driven and wilfully blind destruction of Canberra’s lone voice in the region, the (once vital) ABC shortwave service, Radio Australia.

Sure, the internet’s better than a crackly radio signal. But simply to access the net requires computers and bandwidth, neither of which are readily available to the audiences in the South Pacific. And even if someone can manage to obtain a connection, the next problem is finding services, particularly news and information ones, that are relevant to your situation.

Someone in Apia (Samoa) is unlikely to be transfixed by events in Adelaide (South Australia) unless, of course, it’s their Seven’s team playing at the oval. Similarly a person in Buka (Bougainville) is likely to be bored by reports from Belgrade or Bulgaria, although not information about BHP Billiton. RA provided an independent, reliable news service specifically dedicated to the needs of its audience. Critically, it offered a vital, secure and trusted way of connecting islanders to their capitals and, through that, to the world.

The big advantage of shortwave services was that they could be heard; were relevant; and formed a starting point for a community. But as far as the ABC was concerned the broadcasts were nothing more than a big bag of money to raid in order to boost its domestic budget.[…]

Read this full article at The Sydney Morning Herald.

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