Kim Jong-il is dead, but not Voice of Korea

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This morning, we learned that North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, has died–perhaps as much as two days ago. That’s the difficulty about information coming from countries under totalitarian rule–the “facts” are whatever is decided upon by those in power. North Korea, especially, is known for being secretive and even paranoid about the free flow of information on either side of their borders.

When it comes to radio, North Korea is certainly one of the most informationally-isolated places on our planet. Hence, governments around the world spend a good deal of resources aiming broadcasts at those who live in North Korea. The hope is that in a country where the average citizen doesn’t even know what the internet is, information via radio broadcasts will penetrate the borders, allowing those within the country to hear outside voices, outside opinions, and enjoy (however briefly) the breath of freedom. That’s what I love about radio, specifically the shortwave variety; it has very little regard for national borders and, unlike the internet, listeners can’t be readily traced or tracked–or punished. This is a common theme at the SWLing Post.

Of course, radio information flows both ways, so the Voice of Korea sends its own message to the rest of the world. VOK is–to say the least–an oddity in the international broadcasting community. Its propaganda is pure, its bias is obvious and determined, but it does allow outside listeners to read between the lines, thus getting a glimpse into the rigid, restrictive culture of this state.

So, over the coming days, I challenge you to find Voice of Korea on the radio dial (see frequencies below) and listen to their biased perspective on history in the making. As I’ve suggested, sometimes you learn more about what’s really going on by listening between the rosy lines. For example, today even the VoK website makes no mention of their leader’s death (see this morning’s screen capture); that fact, alone, tells you something about how this event has disrupted their flow of information.

This is what I’ve always loved about shortwave radio and international broadcasting–you can listen to different perspectives, and draw conclusions yourself. It’s your own interpretation of events, thus you’re not entirely reliant upon news media for your views and ideas. Unfortunately, this is becoming a lost art here in the modern world, where people generally find it easier to subscribe to one media outlet and often develop blind faith in the sound bites they receive–a form of self-subscribed propaganda.

So that you can form your own opinions, we’ve provided the Voice of Korea’s full B11 schedule (courtesy of PCJ Media) below. See if you can catch this most interesting (and elusive) DX. Listen carefully…

VOK Pennant (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

Voice of Korea B11 Schedule (via PCJ Media)
0100 GMT (10am local) to North East Asia on 7220kHz, 9345kHz and 9730kHz
0100 GMT (10am local) to Central and South America on 11735kHz and 15180kHz
0200 GMT (11am local) to Southeast Asia on 13650kHz and 15100kHz
0300 GMT (12pm local) to North East Asia on 7220kHz, 9345kHz and 9730kHz
1000 GMT (7pm local) to Central and South America on 11710kHz and 15180kHz
1000 GMT (7pm local) to Southeast Asia on 11735kHz and 13650kHz
1300 GMT (10pm local) to Europe on 13760kHz and 15245kHz
1300 GMT (10pm local) to North America on 9335kHz and 11710kHz
1500 GMT (12am local) to Europe on 13760kHz and 15245kHz
1500 GMT (12am local) to North America on 9335kHz and 11710kHz
1600 GMT (1am local) to Near and Middle East, North Africa on 9990kHz and 11545kHz
1800 GMT (3am local) to Europe on 13760kHz and 15245kHz
1900 GMT (4am local) to Southern Africa on 7210kHz and 11910 kHz
1900 GMT (4am local) to Near and Middle East, North Africa on 9975kHz and 11535kHz
2100 GMT (6am local) to Europe on 13760kHz and 15245kHz

If you do not succeed in finding Voice of Korea on the air, check out this website which contains hours of recorded VOK broadcasts.

Radio Australia increases shortwave broadcasts into Papua New Guinea on 17,750 kHz

John Cusack to star in new movie: THE NUMBERS STATION

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In the new movie, The Numbers Station, John Cusack will play a former black ops agent who is assigned to protect a code operator (Malin Ackerman) for an isolated covert CIA broadcast station–the two characters fight for survival after a surprise attack.

There are few details about the movie released at this point, but we will keep you updated when we receive new information.

I can say this: prepare for a lot more interest in numbers stations in 2012.

A new Degen portable in the works–the Degen DE1128

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Preliminary drawings of the Degen DE1128

It appears that Degen is working on a new dual speaker portable shortwave radio–the Degen DE1128.

It looks like the DE1128 will have MP3 recording features, including a built-in microphone. The footprint and layout seem strikingly similar to the new Tecsun PL-398MP.

We will post more information on this radio as it becomes available.

Universal Radio now offering Tecsun shortwave radios

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Good news: Universal Radio is now offering Tecsun radios for the US market. So far, they have the PL-360, PL-606 and PL-660 listed among their offerings.

Check out the direct links above or look at their full selection of portable radios by clicking here.

A review of the Kchibo KK-9803 shortwave radio

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The Kchibo KK-9803 portable shortwave radio

Admittedly, my expectations were quite low when I ordered the re-engineered Kchibo KK-9803 for a mere $14.90 from a seller on eBay. It is, without a doubt, the least expensive portable shortwave receiver I’ve ever purchased new. Now I know why.

Indeed, I found it hard to believe that this was actually a DSP radio, and even asked the seller to confirm this in advance of purchase. Part of my doubt arose from the fact that the Kchibo KK-9803 has been on the market for a few years as a no-frills analog radio. At some point this year, Kchibo “enhanced” this model with a DSP chip, to be much like the recently reviewed Degen DE321.

I purchased the Kchibo KK-9803 on a whim. Could this cheap radio offer enhanced performance with its new DSP-enhanced engineering? The short answer: No.

You pay for what you get

I was completely underwhelmed by the Kchibo KK9803. While the idea of affordable DSP performance is a good one, the implementation of the DSP chip in this unit is, unfortunately, poor.

My primary criticism is that the shortwave band segments are much too close to one another on the dial–hence, when tuning, the digital tuning steps (perhaps 5 kHz?) are too narrowly-spaced to offer any sort of tuning accuracy. Barely moving the tuning wheel, one may pass over even a strong station undetectably. The only hint of the station’s existence may be a quick blip or audio buzz.

I must confess that the experience of band-scanning (tuning) this radio offers is the worst I’ve ever known. One basically cannot tune and “hear” station presence like one would on practically any other radio product. While comparing this radio to the Degen DE321 and Tecsun PL-380 (two other DSP portables I had on hand), I had difficulty locating even benchmark stations like China Radio International, Voice of Greece, RCI, and others; in fact, I couldn’t even tune in Voice of Greece on 9420 kHz because that part of the 31M band is chopped off of the KK-9803’s dial. Tuning across the band produces a very strange choppy sound, mostly void of the typical sounds you hear as you tune past stations while band-scanning on most other radios.

I did manage to tune in a few stations with considerable effort. How one finds a strong station at all is by locating the spots on the band where sound is dead, and then meticulously fine-tuning around these areas. I use the phrase “fine-tuning” quite loosely, as there is no actual fine-tuning wheel–by this, I mean making the slightest possible movements of the tuning wheel and just hoping for the best. This demands great fine-motor skills–but even greater patience.

Perhaps more annoying, once you actually manage to lock in a station, within the next five seconds the DSP chipset increases the volume in three overly-dramatic steps–from soft, to medium, to OUCH. Tuning this radio requires not only patience, but if using good earphones, instant readiness to adjust the volume for fear of its increasing to the point of discomfort.

Clearly, finding positive points about this radio was a challenge:

Pros:

Inexpensive (see con)
Plastic body is fairly durable
FM performance acceptable (see cons)

The KK-9803's band selection slider switch is loose and sloppy.

Cons:

Cheap (see pro)
Shortwave performance is dismal and DSP-lock unreliable
Shortwave bands are chopped up into too-small segments–active portions of the 41M and 31M bands, for example, are altogether missing
None of the shortwave bands include a WWV frequency
Tuning, via the tuning wheel, is very difficult even in FM; frequency steps are too narrowly packed, and thus difficult to access
FM stations are all-or-nothing: weak stations are barely audible, strong stations have overly-dramatic (and uncomfortable) stepped volume increases to accompany station-lock
AM band slider switch feels quite flimsy, selection ability is loose and sloppy
Radio defaults to FM when you turn it on

Verdict

One more positive: The back stand feels pretty durable--it's even designed to be shock-absorbing. Too bad the radio doesn't perform as well as its back stand.

If you really want a DSP radio with an analog face, spend an extra $6 and purchase the Degen DE321, or wait for the Tecsun R-2010 to be released. The only benefit I see to the Kchibo KK-9803 is its FM performance, which is acceptable. But if it’s only FM you’re looking for, my advice is to purchase a better-quality, comparably-priced radio like the Sony SRF-59 which, though without shortwave bands, has incredible AM (mediumwave) performance as well.

The Kchibo KK-9803 is a radio that should have remained in the all-analog realm; I imagine its performance in that form was more reliable and tuning much easier. Adding the DSP chip to this radio was an unfortunate upgrade–really, a downgrade, in my opinion. In conclusion: do yourself a favor and use the $14.90 to buy rechargeable batteries or anything else besides the Kchibo KK-9803.