The Scented Garden: March 9th & 16th, 2022 via Channel 292

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Fastradioburst23, who shares the Scented Garden flyer above announcing broadcasts on Sunday, March 9th and 16th, 2022 at 1700 UTC on 3955 kHz (Channel 292). I’m under the impression this station may be a tribute to John Peel’s Perfumed Garden show on the pirate Radio London. Brilliant!

Thanks for the tip!

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Video Presentation: WLW Radio -100 Years – Behind The Scenes by Dave Snyder

A view of the iconic WLW tower taken from the neighboring VOA Bethany site and museum.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Snyder, who shares this presentation outlining the history of WLW for the National VOA Museum of Broadcasting YouTube channel.

Video description:

Behind the scenes pictures from the efforts of Powel Crosley, Jr. creating the famous WLW Radio Station, including the largest USA AM broadcast transmitter at 500,000 watts.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Most excellent! Thank you for sharing this, David.

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NY Times: “BBC revives shortwave radio dispatches in Ukraine, and draws ire of Russia.”

Woofferton Transmitting Station (Photo by Shirokazan via Wikimedia Commons.)

Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post contributors who share the following news item from the New York Times. I’ve included an excerpt below, but the full article article can be found on the NY Times website. You may need a NY Times account to read this article if you’re not a paid subscriber; the account is free and allows you a limited number of free articles each month:

BBC revives shortwave radio dispatches in Ukraine, and draws ire of Russia. 

As Russia is trying to cut off the flow of information in Ukraine by attacking its communications infrastructure, the British news outlet BBC is revisiting a broadcasting tactic popularized during World War II: shortwave radio.

The BBC said this week that it would use radio frequencies that can travel for long distances and be accessible on portable radios to broadcast its World Service news in English for four hours a day in Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, and in parts of Russia.

“It’s often said truth is the first casualty of war,” Tim Davie, director-general of the BBC, said in a statement. “In a conflict where disinformation and propaganda is rife, there is a clear need for factual and independent news people can trust.”

On Tuesday, Russian projectiles struck the main radio and television tower in Kyiv. Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister, wrote on Twitter that Russia’s goal was “to break the resistance of the Ukrainian people and army,” starting with “a breakdown of connection” and “the spread of massive FAKE messages that the Ukrainian country leadership has agreed to give up.”

Shortwave radio has been a go-to vehicle to reach listeners in conflict zones for decades, used to deliver crackling dispatches to soldiers in the Persian Gulf war, send codes to spies in North Korea and pontificate through the Iron Curtain during the Cold War. But more modern forms of radio along with the internet eventually pushed shortwave out of favor; the BBC retired its shortwave transmissions in Europe 14 years ago. [Continue reading the full article…]

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The Guardian: “BBC website ‘blocked’ in Russia as shortwave radio brought back to cover Ukraine war”

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Chris, who shares the following report from The Guardian:

BBC website ‘blocked’ in Russia as shortwave radio brought back to cover Ukraine war (The Guardian)

Website reportedly available at only 17% of normal levels in Russia, hours after broadcaster revives radio technology to reach Ukraine and parts of Russia

Access to BBC websites has been restricted in Russia, hours after the corporation brought back its shortwave radio service in Ukraine and Russia to ensure civilians in both countries can access news during the invasion.

State communications watchdog Roskomnadzor restricted access to BBC Russia’s online presence, as well as Radio Liberty and the Meduza media outlet, the state-owned Russian RIA news agency reported on Friday.

According to Globalcheck, a service that tracks internet censorship in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the availability of the entire BBC website was at 17% of normal levels in Russia, which suggests some services have been blocked.

BBC Russia also reported that Meta, formerly known as Facebook, also appeared to be blocked, as was Google Play.

The signs the BBC was being blocked emerged hours after the BBC’s decision to revert to a mostly obsolete form of broadcasting, broadcasting four hours of its world service, read in English, to Ukraine and parts of Russia each day.

“It’s often said truth is the first casualty of war,” BBC director general Tim Davie said in announcing the move on Thursday. “In a conflict where disinformation and propaganda is rife, there is a clear need for factual and independent news people can trust … millions more Russians are turning to the BBC.” [Continue reading at The Guardian…]

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Ukraine: ORF adds two German language shortwave services

Image by Thomas Ledl

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Jamet, who shares the following notice from ORF Austria:

Please note that ORF – Austria makes two new transmissions in German towards Ukraine as follows:

    • 1100-1200 UTC 13730 kHz and
    • 1700-1730 UTC 5940 kHz

The 17H00 UTC transmission lasts 25 minutes from Monday to Thursday. On Friday it lasts 20 minutes and on Sunday it lasts 15 minutes.

There is no broadcast on Saturday. It is a relay of the 1st ORF program.

Many thanks for the tip, Paul!

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Ukraine: BBC World Service propagation map and Czech Radio adds dedicated stream

BBC World Service to Ukraine

(Source: The BBC World Service via Twitter)

You can listen for updates on the Russia-Ukraine war on BBC World Service live online http://bbcworldservice.com

And the map shows our shortwave radio reach in #Ukraine

    • 15735 kHz 16:00 – 18:00 GMT +2
    • 5875 kHz 22:00 – 00:00 GMT +2

Czech Radio adds audio stream for Ukraine

Many thanks to Andrea Borgnino who shares the following news via Twitter:

Czech Radio responded to the request of the Ukrainian public broadcaster. They launched a stream of their radio show in Ukrainian on the audio portal and in the mobile application http://mujRozhlas.cz.

Czech Radio will also launch a new podcast called “News for Ukrainians”

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FTIOM & UBMP March 6-12


From the Isle of Music, March 6-12, 2022:

This week we enjoy two brand new Cuban dance music albums, Evolution 6.5 by Elito Revé y su Charangón, and Mucho by Giraldo Piloto and Klimax.
Remember that Channel 292 is having a special FTIOM & UBMP Marathon 0700-2300 UTC on 6070 kHz March 8
The broadcasts take place:
1. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0100-0200 UTC on WBCQ, 7490 kHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9PM EST in the US).
2. For the Americas and Europe, Saturday on WBCQ’s Radio Angela service, 4790 kHz from 0400-0500 UTC (Friday 11:00pm-12:00am EST in the Americas)

Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, March 6-12, 2022:
Episode 258 explores the world of dangdut, a genre of modern Indonesian popular music.
** Note that this week, Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot will be part of a special 16-hour marathon of it and From The Isle of Music on March 8 from 0700-2300 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 kHz from Europe
The transmissions take place:
1.Sunday 2300-0000 (6:00PM -7:00PM EST) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 kHz from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe
2.The Sunday that follows 0400-0500 UTC (11:00pm-12:00am EST Saturday in the Americas) on WBCQ’s Radio Angela service to the Americas  and Europe on 4790 kHz
Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/UncleBillsMeltingPot/
Our V-Kontakte page is https://vk.com/fromtheisleofmusic
Our Patreon page is https://www.patreon.com/tilford

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