Category Archives: Specials

VOA Radiogram: March 23/24 broadcast

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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Annual C.Crane sale on “orphan” radios

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I just received an email announcing a sale on C. Crane “orphan” products; customer returned products that C. Crane inspects and gives a full 60 day money-back guarantee and full 1 year warranty. This sale has almost become an annual one and offers great bargains.

I have purchased C.Crane orphan products in the past and have never been disappointed.

The Orphan Sale lasts until February 19th and includes both of their excellent shortwave radios (the CC-Radio SW for $119.95 and the CC-Radio SWP for $34.95). That’s a very low price for both—especially the CC-Radio SWP (check out our review here).

I’m very tempted to buy their CC Witness Plus ($119.95) simply so I can record medium wave with an all-in-one device. (It would be a dream machine if it could record shortwave as well.)

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The relevance of shortwave radio for UNESCO’s World Radio Day 2013

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Student in Uganda tunes an Ears To Our World self-powered shortwave radio. (Photo: ETOW partner, The Empower Campaign, Uganda)

Wednesday, February 13th 2013 is World Radio Day. UNESCO describes World Radio Day as “a day to celebrate radio as a medium; to improve international cooperation between broadcasters; and to encourage major networks and community radio alike to promote access to information and freedom of expression over the airwaves.”

A worthy cause.

UNESCO asked me to record a segment about our non-profit, Ears To Our World, and the relevance of radio in honor of World Radio Day.

Here’s my (brief) contribution:

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Mark Your Calendars: PCJ Media tests new shortwave transmitters February 16

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While so many broadcasters are cutting or eliminating shortwave broadcasting, there is one who has built a new transmission site in Taiwan and has ambitious goals for the future: PCJ Media! Mark your calendars–though no frequencies yet, PCJ has announced a date and time for their first test:

(Source: PCJ Media)

PRESS RELEASE

The first phase of PCJ’s own relay is completed. There are four phases to be completed until the station will be up and running to full capacity.

Technical Data:

1 /20kw

1/5kw

2/1kw

2/curtain type antennas

2/horizontal dipole type antennas

4/Orban Optimods

On February 16, 2013 we will conduct our first test. It will begin at 1600UTC until 1800UTC. The test will be done using the 2/1kw transmitters. Both will be directed to South East China. One frequency to be directed to Fujian Province and the second frequency directed to Guangxi Province.

Frequencies for this test will be published closer to the date of transmission. We have been given permission to use out of band frequencies. At the moment we are looking at around 12100 to 12500khz and 11400 to 11500khz. This was decided since these will be running 1kw and to reduce any type of interference it would be better to transmit in this range.

For more information please contact [email protected]

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The Mighty KBC testing on 6150 kHz January 10 & 11

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wurlitzerJukebox The Mighty KBC will be doing special broadcasts to test modulation on 6,150 kHz. They will broadcast old shows of The Giant Jukebox. Here is the schedule with dates/times in UTC:

Thursday, 10 January 2013 from 10.00 – 12.00 UTC on 6,150 kHz
Friday, 11 January 2013 from 13.00 – 15.00 UTC on 6,150 kHz

Mail your reception reports to [email protected]

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Radio Exterior de Espana rings in 2013 with a dance music marathon

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Madrid-New-Years-Eve For a broadcaster that was rumored to be extinguished last year, REE sure knows how to ring in the new year. I managed to record hours of their live broadcast over the 31 and 49 meter bands.

The first recording starts at 00:00 UTC (Jan, 1st 2013) on 9.535 MHz following a few seconds of the REE interval signal. I then moved my spectrum recording lower in the band and was able to hear them on 6.125 MHz despite very strong adjacent signals. I recorded over three hours on 6.123 MHz before starting a new recording for the remaining 2 hours of their broadcast.

You can also listen to the recordings in the embedded player below (though they are listen in reverse order, chronologically):

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WBCQ: variety and open source on New Year’s Eve

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(Source: Stephen Kellat)

As long as our “i”‘s are dotted and our “t”‘s are crossed, there will be a New Year’s Eve special on WBCQ on 5.110 MHz from the production team at Erie Looking Productions in concert with the team behind the Ubuntu UK Podcast.

The Joint New Year’s Eve Special will be airing at 7 PM Eastern on New Years Eve, 12 AM UTC New Year’s Day. The show is a variety hour with a retrospective on the world of Linux and Ubuntu more specifically, poetry and music by Ashtabula-area musician Mike Kellat, and a policy essay on global communications in the aftermath of the World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 in Dubai. Other PSAs such as “Profile America” from the US Census Bureau and some silliness is included as well as a music break. Cleveland-area life studies artist Big Ed Kellatis assists Mike Kellat with the poetry reading.

The show is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 3.0 United State License which is further explained athttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/us/ with the show to be attributed with “Joint New Year’s Eve Special” as title and “Gloria D. Kellat” as the responsible producer. Sharing and posting of airchecks is encouraged especially by sites like SWLing Post. [Gotcha!]

Erie Looking Productions produces “LISTen: An LISNews.org Program” at http://lisnews.org/podcast to cover the realm of library & information science as well as “Ubuntu Ohio – Burning Circle” at http://ohio.ubuntu-us.org/burningcircle to cover the activities of the Ohio Local Community team of the Ubuntu Linux project. The Ubuntu UK Podcast production team releases programs athttp://podcast.ubuntu-uk.org/ covering the world of Ubuntu more specifically and Linux more generally. Gloria D. Kellat, producer at Erie Looking Productions, served as overall producer for the joint effort this year.

Much like last year’s shortwave special produced by Erie Looking Productions alone, this is done to highlight the impact of dangerous trends towards a fractured and broken Internet that have grown ever larger since the start of the Arab Spring. It is far too easy in today’s world for the Internet to simply go away whether by human intention or the intervention of natural circumstance as seen in the multiple failures of Netflix during 2012. This remains yet another drill to show that message content rather than transport medium is key to communications viability.

Shortwave is most certainly not dead yet…