beHAVior Night celebrates 8 years on WBCQ

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Gramophone

beHAVior Night’s host “Sir Scratchy” writes:

“This coming Friday marks the 8th anniversary of beHAVior Night on WBCQ! We will celebrate with an encore presentation of episode number one! Yes the first progamme to air on WBCQ. A blast from the past this Friday at 5:00pm Eastern on WBCQ The Planet. On the NEW WAVE at 7490 kHz or on the internet at WBCQ.com…”

I hope the propagation path to my home will open this Friday, as I would love to hear and record the show live (click here to listen to past recordings). WBCQ is an easy catch for me after daylight savings time ends in November.

The Japan Radio Company NRD-383 SDR carries a hefty price tag

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JRC-NRD-383Many thanks to Dave Zantow (N9EWO) who relays this info regarding the new NRD-383 via Takahito Akabayashi:

[The JRC] NRD-383 is sold by “Defense Systems Sale Division” of JRC, so this SDR receiver is especially for military use.

The price is more than $50,000 [each].

Recent JRC products [have] nothing to do with amateurs.

Takahito Akabayashi
Tokyo, Japan

OK, I think I can safely remove the NRD-383 from my wish list. At $50,000 each, this is indeed a receiver intended for government and commercial use.

RTÉ underestimates need for longwave service

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rte-logo-web1(Source: The Irish Post)

WITH fewer than three weeks to go until RTÉ Radio 1 brings its historic longwave service on 252 to an end, the Irish community in Britain has responded with fury and dismay.

The move, which was announced with just over a month’s notice, is part of the Irish broadcaster’s new focus on digital platforms.

But the decision to cease transmission, from October 27, was described as a “bitter blow” to Irish people in Britain as well as parts of the North of Ireland.

Eddie Walsh, who is PRO of The Workers’ Party (Britain) in Nottingham, said: “Other options are not open to all of us. I cannot get RTÉ on my car radio except on longwave and I certainly do not want to listen to it on my computer. The current radio ads only refer to the island of Ireland, thus not even mentioning those of us on this side of the Irish Sea.”

He added: “I would suggest that the station has underestimated the number of listeners.”

Meanwhile Irish Post reader Sean O’Rinn said: “I have a small radio beside my bed and listen to RTE on 252 every night. There is no way that I can use any digital apparatus in its place. There must be thousands of Irish people here in England who are in a similar position — we will become completely isolated from our native home.”

The loss of the longwave service comes after the broadcaster closed its London offices in 2012. Tom McGuire, Head of RTÉ Radio 1, estimates that no more than 2,000 people use its service.

RTÉ said that 98 per cent of its Radio 1 listeners would be unaffected by the move. It added that to measure longwave listening numbers in Britain would prove “a prohibitive service cost”.

Continue reading online…

Building the Ozark Patrol regenerative receiver kit

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Ozark-Patrol-In-ProgressLast week, I received the Ozark Patrol regenerative receiver kit that I had only ordered a few days prior. I was so eager to get started on the build, that I read the instructions, lined a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and began placing the parts on the board within an hour of bringing the package home from the post office!

This was my first time building a “Pittsburg” type kit, where through hole components are surface-mounted on soldering pads. It’s a brilliant technique which is very forgiving if the kit builder accidentally mounts the wrong part or mounts a component with the incorrect orientation.

I had hoped to have the kit finished the following day, but other priorities took precedence: I’ve been preparing for my presentation tomorrow at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, preparing a shortwave radio buyer’s guide for the November issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine, and putting together the results of the Virtual Radio Challenge II (which will be published early next week). Fortunately, I love doing this stuff in my spare time!

I’m eager to pick the Ozark back up early next week and finish the build. It’s become somewhat of a dangling carrot–a reward for finishing other projects in advance. I can’t wait to hear this simple regen receiver come to life!

VOA Reduced TV to China during Hong Kong protests

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VOA-Weishi-TV

The website BBG Watch recently posted a guest commentary from an anonymous VOA reporter regarding the loss of VOA Weishi TV during the Hong Kong protests. Here is an excerpt from BBG Watch:

“On Monday, September 29, the loyal viewers of Voice of America (VOA) “Weishi,” the VOA Mandarin TV program, were surprised to see their TV screen turned into a blue graphic during some hours when the original program previously aired was repeated. In the place of the professionally produced VOA TV broadcast, audiences received radio signals from Radio Free Asia (RFA).

Audience surveys, although underestimating the viewership because many Chinese are reluctant to share sensitive and potentially dangerous information with strangers, show that the popularity of the 2-year-old VOA “Weishi” is growing by leaps and bounds in China. Some of its segments, including “History’s Mysteries,” “Pro&Con” and “Issues and Opinions,” already also attract many millions of viewers on YouTube. The management’s decision to take away some of the repeat hours from the “Weishi” programs will be devastating to VOA’s Mandarin broadcasting. Meanwhile, it will not help RFA, since very few people listen to radio via TV. If they do, there are existing channels leased by the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) to broadcast radio programs via satellite to China and Tibet. IBB reports to the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the federal agency and the bipartisan Board in charge of all U.S. taxpayer-supported media for audiences abroad.”

Read the full commentary on the BBG Watch website.

I listened to China Radio International a few times during the peak of the protests and–no surprise–there was absolutely no mention or even hint of an uprising. Indeed, China has been actively blocking international TV news outlets like CNN and social media sites like Instagram.

China-WPFI-001

China is ranked as one of the worst countries in the world in terms of press freedoms–175th out of a possible 180 countries on the 2014 World Press Freedoms Index.