KIMF transmitter site (Source: James Planck via Facebook)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ethan Best (KC9YDN), who notes:
KIMF’s schedule has been posted on the HFCC’s website:
Thank you for sharing this, Ethan!
KIMF has actually been in the HFCC listings since at least 2014, even though they only recently received FCC approval to operate.
(Source: Journal News via Howard Bailen)
WEST CHESTER TWP. The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting will host “Celebrate the Voice of America under the Stars,” a romantic, Big Band dinner-and-dance party on Sept. 23 from 6 to 11 p.m. at the VOA museum.
The event will mark the 75th anniversary of the Voice of America and commemorate the Sept. 23, 1944 dedication of the VOA-Bethany Station.
Carmon DeLeone and his New Studio Big Band will provide entertainment and record a program for later broadcast on public radio station WVXU.
[…]For 50 years, the VOA-Bethany Station transmitted Voice of America broadcasts to countries worldwide that lacked a free press, first in Europe during World War II and to South America during the Cold War. It was decommissioned by the federal government in 1994.
The iconic art deco building has been developed into the National VOA Museum of Broadcasting with the help of the entire community, mostly with volunteer labor. Contributions and grants have been secured from local, regional and national companies and foundations.[…]
(Source: Deutsche Welle)
Internet and mobile phone users in South Sudan are not able to access the websites of at least four independent media outlets. The government has grown increasingly hostile to the media since civil war began in 2013.
The South Sudanese government has blocked access to the websites of Dutch-backed Radio Tamazuj, as well as the popular news blogs Nyamilepedia and Paanluel Wel. Internet users said that the website of the Paris-based Sudan Tribune was also affected on some mobile phone and Wi-Fi networks.
Radio Tamazuj and the Sudan Tribune are reputable sites which have been critical in their coverage of South Sudan’s government, which has grown increasingly hostile towards the media since civil war broke out in 2013.
The government is justified in blocking the websites to protect citizens from outlets that “disseminate subversive material,” South Sudan’s Minister of Authorities Michael Makuei Lueth told the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).[…]
Continue reading at Deutsche Welle online.
Fortunately, the South Sudan communities I’ve worked with through Ears To Our World have access to shortwave radio which is not affected by an Internet block.
No doubt, shortwave radio is the ultimate free speech medium, as it has no regard for national borders, nor for whom is in power (or not in power) at any moment.
Shortwave radio may be a sunsetting technology, but it’s also the most accessible and effective vehicle of the free press. What other technology can thoroughly blanket the globe with news and information yet can also be be received with a simple $20 battery-powered portable device?
This photo was taken in South Sudan, after Ears To Our World distributed radios in this rural community for the fourth year running. We’ve been distributing radios in South Sudan through our partners there since 2009.
Check out these recent comments from the head of DW regarding the importance of international broadcasting. Thanks for the tip, Rich!
A few months ago, long-time SWLing Post contributor, Cap Tux, designed a simple shortwave schedule application for his Android phone. Though he never intended to make the app public, he shared it with me to test on my Moto G5 Plus.
Cap has recently decided that if others in the SWLing Post community would like to Beta test his app, they’re welcome to do so. He notes:
The app was created initially to meet my own requirements as at the time I was travelling a lot for my job and other apps I tried didn’t meet the requirements e.g. Broadcast stations only, filter by Station, Freq, Time, Language and more recently ‘Target Area’ which was added to the app very recently as I was initially using the AOKI list but found that EIBI was updated more frequently and tended to be more accurate.
I do miss some of the features and simplicity of the AOKI list as programming some of the code to respond to the amount of info in the EIBI list was challenging and there is still more that can be done. There is a bug on Android v4.4 (not my bug but the frameworks bug) which I have fixed in v1.1.10 which I can send through later.
I wrote this app as I needed a phone app for my portable radios (PL-660/PL-365) so I could search for shortwave stations using any combination of Station, Frequency, Language, Time (Specific, Real-time incl. day or Any!) or Target Area. The search can even take account of the day of broadcast so if it’s a Friday and the broadcast is only a Saturday, then it won’t show it.
Shortwave List Features:
- Search the list using any combination of Station, Frequency, Time, Language, Time or Target Area
- Only broadcast stations are included in the list
- Scrollable list of stations based on search criteria
- Get Station, Frequency, Times, Language, Target, Days on-air, Transmitter location and the Broadcasters country of origin of the selected broadcast by a tap on a station
- Powerful search features with a simple interface
- Search for specific broadcast times with any combination of Station, Frequency or Language, Target area with future or past times being searchable, although this lists all stations irrespective of the day (as you may want to know a time for a broadcast tomorrow, or yesterday)
- Search for stations in real-time with any combination of Station, Frequency, Language or Target Area, so the app only lists broadcast stations on-air now (also takes the day into account, so, for example, a station listed as only on-air on a Friday will not show if today is a Saturday)
- Search for stations transmitting at any time with any combination of Station, Frequency Language or Target Area
Future features in active development:
- Update shortwave list from the internet
A few examples of use:
- You hear a station in an unknown language, Select ‘ON AIR’ and enter the ‘Freq’, ‘SEARCH’ and the app will list the possible stations
- You hear a station in English, select ‘ON AIR’ the ‘Language ‘ set to ‘English’ and enter the ‘Freq’, ‘SEARCH’ and the app will list the possible stations on that frequency right now
- Want to know when a station is transmitting at a specific time? select the specific time by selecting the UTC time, set the Hour/Minute and enter the station name in the ‘Station’ box and ‘SEARCH’
- You are listening to a SDR recording from last week and trying to identify a station, enter the ‘Freq’ and the specific UTC time (or ‘Language’ if known), ‘SEARCH’ and the app will list the possible stations
- Want to tune into broadcasts right now in your language? no problem, just select ‘ON-AIR’ and select your ‘Language’ and ‘SEARCH’
- List all broadcasts from a specific station, just enter the ‘Station’ name and click ‘SEARCH’
- List all broadcasts on right now by selecting ‘ON-AIR’ and ‘SEARCH’
Phones that have been tested and will work (You will need Android v5.0.1 or above):
- Samsung Galaxy S4/S7 (I think all the S series from S4 above should be fine as all have a good screen resolution)
- Samsung Galaxy J3
- Google Nexus 4
- Moto G5 Plus
It should be noted that due to the number of low resolution display phones out there some will not be able to operate the app correctly at present due to the current layout of the components and recommend you use a phone with a decent screen resolution around 1080×1920. I plan to address the screen res issue soon.
What I need from Beta-testers who want to file bug reports:
Phone Make/Model:
Android version:
Shortwave List version in use:
Ease of use:
Speed/Performance:
What would you change/remove/add:
Any screen issues, layout problems or difficulty using a feature:
Thank you, Cap!
Readers, please keep in mind that this application is not in the Google Play store because it’s in Beta. You’ll need to download the application to your phone, temporarily allow “Unknown Sources” (here’s a short tutorial), then install the app. It’s very important to only temporarily allow “Unknown Sources”–once this app is installed, please reinstate this security measure.
Please note: If you’re not comfortable downloading and installing an app that is not in the Google Play store, please simply wait for this app to hit the Google Play market possibly at some point in the future.
Click the following link to download the application file to install:
http://www.filedropper.com/shortwavelist-v119-no-permissions
This app requires no permissions. The trade-off is that updates to the schedules cannot be initiated without re-installing an updated app with new schedules embedded.
For what it’s worth, I really like this app! Very simple, effective and works offline.
Here are a few screenshots–I love how he’s kept the interface clean and simple:
Thanks again, Cap, for opening Beta testing to our community.
Please submit your feedback on Cap’s Twitter account: @swbcdx
(Source: BBC Media Center via Larry W)
BBC News and CBS News announced today a new editorial and newsgathering relationship that will significantly enhance the global reporting capabilities of both organisations. The announcement was made by BBC Director of News and Current Affairs James Harding and CBS News President David Rhodes.
This new deal allows both organisations to share video, editorial content, and additional newsgathering resources in New York, London, Washington and around the world. The relationship between BBC News and CBS News will also allow for efficient planning of newsgathering resources to increase the content of each broadcaster’s coverage of world events.
James Harding, BBC Director of News and Current Affairs, says: “There’s never been a more important time for smart, courageous coverage of what’s happening in the world.
“This new partnership between the BBC and CBS News is designed to bring our audiences – wherever you live, whatever your point of view – news that is reliable, original and illuminating. Our ambition is to deliver the best in international reporting on television. We’re really looking forward to working together.”
David Rhodes, CBS News President, says: “CBS News is completely committed to original reporting around the world – a commitment clearly shared by the BBC.
“There’s no better partner to strengthen and extend our global coverage than BBC News. I look forward to working with James Harding as we increase the capabilities of both organisations.”
Sharing of content between BBC News and CBS News will begin immediately. Additional newsgathering components will be rolled out in the coming months.
The partnership builds on a relationship that dates back to the early days of television and radio news. Legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow delivered many of his famed reports from Studio B4 at BBC’s London headquarters. Murrow discussed his fondness for his work at the BBC’s studio B4, including a microphone he kept in New York with the BBC logo he used covering World War II.
This new partnership replaces the BBC’s current arrangement with ABC News.
James Harding says: “Our relationship with ABC has been long and fruitful. We have worked side by side on some of the most significant stories of our time on both sides of the Atlantic, from the attack on the Twin Towers to the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. We wish ABC well and would like to thank them for many years of hard work and expertise.”
Many thanks to Mauno Ritola who shared the following news on the WRTH Facebook group:
Voice of Indonesia [has added a] new language service: Dutch between 1500-1600 on 9526 kHz.
Many thanks for the tip, Mauno!
(Source: The Guardian)
[Radio Erena founder, Biniam Simon, writes:] “You have to understand: Eritrea is completely closed. No information is available there at all, about the outside world or what is going on internally. So if you’re an Eritrean journalist, and you make it to a place where so much information is available, the first thing you think is: why not tell people all this? It was the obvious thing to do.”
[…]The station broadcasts a two-hour programme in Arabic and Tigrinya seven days a week, repeating it several times a day, giving listeners inside Eritrea multiple opportunities to listen (they may do so, in the privacy of their own homes with the shutters closed and the sound turned down, only when electricity is available – which it often isn’t). As well as news about what the regime may be up to, it provides a detailed picture of what is happening to the refugees who are travelling to Europe – when a boat carrying 360 Eritreans capsized off Lampedusa in 2013, a correspondent was immediately dispatched to Italy – as well as features about diaspora success stories, footballers and athletes among them.
It runs smoothly. There is always a lot to tell. Making sure it can be picked up in Eritrea, however, remains a constant struggle. In 2012, the government managed to block it – seemingly unbothered by the fact that in doing so, it also blocked its own television channel (both broadcast on one satellite frequency). It has also successfully jammed it on shortwave, and on at least one occasion has hacked into the Radio Erena website, destroying it completely. “It’s a nonstop challenge,” he says. “We’re constantly fighting them, and it’s getting harder and harder because they are now employing new experts from China and Indonesia.”
But if this is exhausting, it’s also hugely encouraging: “It means that what we’re doing is working. We know this because the government wants us to stop.”[…]
Readers: this is only an excerpt from this excellent article in The Guardian. Click here to read the full article.