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 radiogram@voanews.com

Check out Ragnar’s Pirates Week podcast

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If you like pirate radio, you should subscribe to the Pirates Week podcast.

Pirates Week is hosted by Ragnar Daneskjold and is chock-full of pirate radio news, events and off-air recordings.

I subscribe to the podcast via iTunes by using the Pirates Week RSS feed url: http://piratesweek.info/feed

You can also listen to each episode and read show notes on the Pirates Week website.

Montsinéry transmitter site in French Guiana to close early April

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(Photo: TDF)

According to the French language newspaper France-Guyane, the TDF transmitter site in Montsinéry, French Guyana, will shut down in early April.

Citing a lack of listeners, newer communications mediums (like the Internet/satellite) and the fact that much of the developing world is now politically “stable,” [obviously discounting Zimbabwe] delegate René Iafrate explained that it no longer makes sense to keep the site open:

Mais il n’est plus au goût du jour. « Il y a plusieurs raisons : la concurrence d’internet et des plates-formes satellitaires, et aussi le fait qu’un grand nombre de pays en développement qui constituaient nos cibles principales soient de plus en plus stables politiquement » explique René Iafrate.

The six employees who currently work at Montsinéry will be trained and given jobs in broadcast fields plus porteurs (more promising). The site itself will be dismantled within six to nine months.

Click here to view the original article in French or click here to view it in English via Google Translate.

This news was announced in mid-February, but it appears the closure is still on-track. Montsinéry relays a number of international broadcasters, so it’ll be interesting to see where they go for shortwave service to the target areas Montsinéry once covered.

Global News Dashboard: BBG news networks share a front door

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The BBG has made a step toward consolidating their news networks–well, at least superficially. All of their news agencies now have a consolidated web presence on the new website called the Global News Dashboard.

Positives? It’s searchable and has a nice, clean interface. Excellent layout for a news portal.

Negatives? I dislike the large pop-up windows that appear when you click on a news link–indeed on my MacBook Air running Chrome, I can’t even scroll to the bottom of each window. When you click on the “read more” link you’re simply taken to the content on each respective network’s website. That’s a lot of clicking compared to other news portals.

With that said, I think it’s a step in the right direction.

I tend to agree with Kim Elliott who has long-argued for the consolidation of the news networks under the flag of the BBG. In fact, he recently posted his thoughts on the matter in both the MoutainRunner and, in reaction to the GAO’s recent findings, his own website; both worthy reads.

Own a piece of National Public Radio history

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STUDIO 2A - THE HOME OF BOTH NPR FLAGSHIP PROGRAMS MORNING EDITION AND ALL THINGS CONSIDERED,

NPR Studio 2A, home of NPR’s Morning Edition and All Things Considered, is one of the lots up for auction.

National Public Radio (NPR) is moving to a new building in Washington, DC. They’re auctioning off all of the studio equipment and furniture they’re leaving behind.

Here’s your chance to own a piece of radio history–and, perhaps, start your own radio station or recording studio!

Click here to view the list of items up for auction.

Zimbabwe: More police raids in search of shortwave radios

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In this case it’s not a child who was targeted in the raid, rather, the Prime Minister’s Principal Director:

(Source: SW Radio Africa)

A top lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, is being held by Harare police after she reacted to early morning raids leading to the arrest of Thabani Mpofu, Principal Director in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Office, a day after Zimbabweans voted in a constitutional referendum.

Thabani Mpofu, the Principal Director for Research and Development in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s office, was taken from his home at 6am.

The police, led by Inspector Mirimbo from Law and Order Harare Central, later raided the Prime Minister’s office in Bath Road in Belgravia, leading to the arrest of feisty human rights lawyer. The police, who did not have a search warrant, are said to have been looking for shortwave radios. [Continue reading on SW Radio Africa’s website…]

Shortwave Radio Recordings: The Disco Palace (in DRM)

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DiscoBall Perhaps one of the things I love the most about SWLing is the sheer variety of broadcasters out there. We can sample diverse offerings across a broad spectrum–from the BBC World Service to Radio Romania International, from pirate stations to numbers stations.

There’s even The Disco Palace: a station that plays only disco music, and each show is mixed thematically. This station broadcasts online and over shortwave radio via DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale).

Last week–specifically, on March 15, 2013–I caught about thirty minutes of The Disco Palace broadcast and was able to record it from my Bonito RadioJet IF Receiver. Reception on 17,875 MHz was excellent, although the DRM signal wasn’t quite strong enough for comfortable stereo decoding.

The following TDP recording starts around 2030 UTC (about halfway through the broadcast). Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below: