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Could Radio Outbackistan be the next shortwave broadcaster for rural Australia?
In response to the ABC abolishing its HF shortwave radio service, the Northern Territory Cattlemen’s Association (NTCA) president has turned to humour to propose his own broadcast alternative.
On Friday, in front of hundreds of cattle producers, Tom Stockwell addressed the association’s annual conference on the status of the beef industry, listing challenges, opportunities and grievances.
While the Bureau of Meteorology’s decision to remove the Tennant Creek weather radar and the National Broadband Network’s restrictions on download quotas for remote users were both highlighted, it was the loss of shortwave radio that Mr Stockwell took most issue with.
The NTCA has been heavily critical of the ABC for making the decision, which was made to allow for the reinvestment of funds into digital services.
Inspired by the band Roadtrippers, Mr Stockwell joked about his desire for a new broadcaster called Radio Outbackistan to fill a regional communications void.][…]
Hi there, if you’re a subscriber to the Oxford Shortwave Log YouTube channel, you will be aware that I have been using a Wellbrook ALA1530 H field antenna, for 15 months or so, with (at times) excellent results. A while back I was on the lookout for a second antenna, however at more than £250, I couldn’t justify purchasing a second Wellbrook. Ultimately I splashed out on the Bonito Boni whip E-field wideband active antenna (20 kHz to 300 MHz) and with a very compact form-factor suitable for DXpeditions/portable operation in general, the Boni whip definitely ticked all the boxes. Furthermore, with reasonable second and third order intercept points of +55 and +32.5 dBm respectively, the Boni whip, on paper at least, looked like a pretty good buy at around £100.
Initial testing at home confirmed, perhaps not surprisingly that the Boni whip could not match the SNR provided by the Wellbrook ALA1530 in a noisy, urban environment. However, less predictably, the Boni whip has proven to be a truly excellent antenna away from the ubiquitous blanket of ‘electrosmog’ at my QTH. Furthermore, it really is so compact, I simply leave it in the car in a small flight case, with a portable and connectors etc. for ad-hoc listening sessions. Since returning from my most recent trip to Brazil, I have had a chance to review my most recent catches with the Boni whip, some of which are realy pleasing and most definitely underline the excellent performance of this diminutive antenna. In particular, signals from Radio RB2 on 11935 kHz and Radio Aparecida on 11855 kHz, both low power Brazilian stations, are testament to how sensitive the Boni whip is in an electrically quiet environment. Check out also the quality of longwave signals from Poland and the Czech Republic – simply amazing for such a physically short antenna. Finally, there’s a personal first from Lusaka, Zambia, Voice of Hope Africa on 13680 kHz. All the more rewarding that this was actually copied in my work office!
I hope you found this article interesting. There are embedded reception videos below and text links for all, which will take you directly to the relevant video on the Oxford Shortwave Log YouTube channel. Thank you for reading/watching/listening and I wish you all excellent DX!
Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.
NEW DELHI — All India Radio was recently congratulated by India’s Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Venkaiah Naidu for having completed phase I of the national DRM digital radio roll-out in India. Thirty-seven DRM transmitters have been installed by AIR throughout the country, and all are now operational, according to DRM news.
Of the 37 new transmitters, 35 are medium wave and 2 are shortwave transmitters. Both SW transmitters are for international service and are broadcasting in pure DRM. […]
AIR is now in the process of launching phase-II of the DRM project by offering full features and services from these DRM transmitters and further improving service quality. When Phase-II is complete, the full-featured DRM services will be available to the audience and a public information campaign will be initiated to inform the Indian citizens of the completely new and future- oriented DRM radio platform and its many benefits. […]
Phase-III, as presented by AIR, will eventually culminate in the complete transition of radio services to the digital DRM platform, further improving the number and quality of radio services and extra features for the listeners, while also saving tremendous amounts of transmission power every year, according to the same article.
While it sounds like the broadcasting side of DRM is progressing with AIR domestically, I haven’t read anything recently about affordable DRM receivers being developed for the market in India (other than possibly the Titus II and Gospell GR-216 which, I suppose, could be imported).
Based on messages I’ve received from readers/listeners in India, any new DRM receiver must be very affordable ($40 US or so) if wide adoption is to be expected.
I believe this is an opportunity for a manufacturer like Tecsun to step in and make an affordable DRM portable for the market in India–something with a simple display and controls. Otherwise, this might be another “cart before the horse” situation for DRM. That would be sad.
I contacted Allan and asked if he could provide any details yet. His reply was almost poetic:
“It’s simple. WBCQ will be constructing one of the biggest, most powerful, most versatile shortwave transmitter and antenna systems in the world. All for free speech radio. Freedom.”
Now that is something I want to see happen! We love WBCQ!
KIMF transmitter site (Source: James Planck via Facebook)
KIMF transmitter building (Source: James Planck via Facebook)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Barraclough, who writes:
Photos of the site were posted in December. Mauno Ritola posted in the WRTH Facebook group January 26 that “James Planck informs, that KIMF Battle Mountain NV, USA plans to start operation around 1st April on shortwave. Time will tell, if the plan is realistic.”
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Servo, who writes:
While going through the FCC Daily Digest for my own hobby website, I came across the International Authorizations section and happened to take a look today. To my surprise, a license to cover has been filed for HF station KIMF in Beowawe, NV! I can’t remember the last time a new HF station filed to go on the air in the US.
Do you know anything about this station? Here is a link to the FCC’s data page on the station; I’ve attached a PDF copy of the license form, which lists both the operating frequencies as well as times, power and modes they’ve asked for. It looks like they will run a combination of AM and USB across three frequencies.
[…]I went to the license coordinates to see if anything was visible on Google Satellite View, but it’s just empty desert. So I have no idea what’s really going on, but generally once a license to cover is filed, that means the station is built and ready to go on the air. At least in the world of AM, FM and TV broadcasting!
Here’s the frequencies/times/power/mode listed in the PDF, in case you can’t view it:
6065 kHz – 01-06 UTC 50 kW AM
9300 kHz – 08-12 UTC 100 kW USB
13570 kHz – 00-04 UTC 100 kW USB
Anyway, I figure you or one of the intrepid readers of your blog will have the scoop. Thanks for your time!
Wow–many thanks, Tom! This filing catches me by surprise as well, but it does ring a bell. Perhaps an IMF representative contacted me in the past or I met someone from IMF at the Dayton Hamvention? I simply can’t remember.
Based on the application, IMF had to file for an extension due to several delays in building the transmitter site in Nevada. I’m guessing the Google satellite imagery was taken before site construction began.
Here’s a note about the Nevada transmission site from the IMF website:
In the USA we have purchased a property near Battle Mountain, NV where we are working to build a powerful Shortwave Station which will be beamed at Mexico and Asia. It can be heard also in North America. We plan to build more stations after this. We have also just built a radio control center and small studio in Corona, CA to send programs to these transmitters via satellite/internet. It is now in operation. You can hear KIMF by clicking on the IMF Missionary Radio link below.
