Radio Romania celebrates 90 years

(Source: Radio Romania International via David Iurescia)

On November 1, Radio Romania celebrates 90 years since a first broadcast was aired in Romania. Since then, the institution has constantly coped with the challenges of a changing world.

A decade after WWI, when all the territories with a predominantly Romanian speaking population that had been under the rule of neighbouring multinational empires got under Bucharest’s authority, Romania started using the most efficient means of communication of the time – Radio – which could reach all corners of the newly united country.

On November 1, 1928, “the Romanian Radio-Telephony Broadcasting Company” aired its first broadcast, “Hello, this is Radio Bucharest” being the first words uttered on air by the first president of the institution, physicist Dragomir Hurmuzescu. Regarded from the very beginning as a means of information, education and entertainment, the Romanian public radio has practically broadcast programs uninterruptedly for 90 years. It had to permanently adjust its editorial policy, sometimes paying a dear political price, but it has overcome the challenges posed by radical changes of regime, which Romania has seen from inter-war democracy to right wing dictatorships during WWII and from Communist despotism to democracy, restored during the December 1989 Revolution.

Radio Romania addresses the whole society, all generations, catering for all tastes, and along the years it has tried to preserve unaltered the image of an unbiased national public radio. The channels with a national coverage include “Actualit??i”, “Cultural”, “Muzical” and “Antena Satelor”, that is “News and Current Affairs”, “Culture”, “Music” and “the Village Antenna”, respectively, adding to which are two online channels for children and youth. The Romanian public radio started broadcasting programs for audiences abroad in the early 1930’s. Nowadays, Radio Romania International is trying to familiarize foreign audience with current Romanian topical issues and values, and to keep the Romanian Diaspora in touch with the mother-country, helping them maintain the bond with Romania. Radio Romania International broadcasts programmes in 11 foreign languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Serbian, Spanish, Russian, Ukrainian) as well as in the Romanian language and the Aromanian dialect.

The Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation is currently considered to be the most credible and important media institution in the country, given the large number of listeners who choose to listen to its programmes on a daily basis, the campaigns it carries out and the extensive cultural projects that it develops. The daily reach of Radio Romania stands at over 4.5 million listeners, with a market share of 30%. On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the public radio station, Defence Minister Mihai Fifor, has awarded the “Defence Partner-Emblem of Merit 1st Class” to the “Current and News Affairs” Channel of the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation. The high distinction has been offered in token of appreciation for the constant support granted by Radio Romania in an effort to promote the image of the Romanian Army. Also, as a sign of appreciation for serving the public for the past 90 years, at the Film’s Gala in Bucharest, Radio Romania received a trophy from the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce.

Click here to read the full article via Radio Romania International.

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FTIOM & UBMP, November 4-10 (NOTE TIME ADJUSTMENTS)

Halloween: Listen for shortwave pirates!

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Halloween is typically the most active day of the year for shortwave pirates. Halloween falls on Wednesday, October 31st, and although this is the middle of the week, expect pirates to emerge like The Great Pumpkin!

Here are three things you’ll want to do Halloween night:

1. Hobby Broadcasting Blog

Check out Andrew Yoder’s pirate radio blog ,the Hobby Broadcasting blog.

Andrew is the author of the Pirate Radio Annual and a guru on shortwave pirate radio. Andrew has already logged some Halloween stations this weekend.

2. HF Underground

hfunderground

Follow real-time pirate radio spots and loggings on the HF Underground discussion forum. Chris Smolinski at HFU typically posts post-Halloween pirate stats on the SWLing Post as well–always a fascinating overview.

3. Listen!

Photo by Bill Patalon

Listen for pirate radio stations today and throughout the weekend! Turn on your radio anytime today, but especially around twilight and tune between 6,920 – 6,980 kHz. Pirates broadcast on both AM and SSB; you’re bound to hear a few. If you’re brand new to pirate radio listening, you might read my pirate radio primer by clicking here. I will be listening until late in the evening.

Happy Halloween to all!

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DXpeditions: Bruce remembers “hunting for rare game”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bruce Atchison (VE6XTC), who shares the following notes from a DXpedition over 30 years years ago. Bruce writes, “While going through some old blog posts, I found this one about a DXpedition I took in 1984.”

HUNTING FOR RARE GAME.

In past posts, I’ve mentioned my passion for radio. It began with my discovery of distant stations on my dad’s car radio when I was ten years old and continues to this day. Because my memoirs deal with subjects other than distant signal reception, referred to by radio aficionados as DX, I haven’t been able to write much about this infatuation.

One aspect of hunting for DX is travelling to remote locations that are free of man-made interference. When I learned that my cousin Wayne, was going hunting near Lodgepole in October of 1984, I begged a ride with him.

In a clearing along a cut line, I erected a seventy-foot-long wire antenna and connected it to my general coverage receiver which I powered with a car battery. While Wayne hunted moose, I tracked down exotic stations. Just as the fresh autumn air invigorated me, so did the crystal-clear reception of stations which I could barely hear back home.

At our makeshift camp site, I often let my cousin listen to the radio. This occasionally led to some strange situations. As we ate breakfast early one morning, I tuned in a station from Papua New Guinea. To my astonishment, the announcer began playing country music. There we were, two Canadians in the Alberta wilderness, listening to American country tunes from a station on the other side of the Pacific ocean.

Another memorable radio moment happened one night when I picked up a coast guard station in contact with a ship somewhere in the Pacific. Somebody on board it was hurt and needed a doctor. The radio man could barely speak English and the American on shore could barely understand the sailor’s accent. If it wasn’t a serious situation, it would have been comical.

My uncle Bob, who hunted in a different part of the forest, met us one evening as we relaxed by the fire. When he asked what I was doing with that fancy radio, I showed him by tuning in Deutsche Welle, Germany’s international broadcaster.

Uncle Bob gawked at the set and listened in awestruck silence for a minute. “I can understand that,” he exclaimed as a news announcer droned on in German. “I can understand everything he’s saying. How can you pick up a signal all the way from Germany?” he marvelled.

I couldn’t even begin to explain the intricacies of F2 radio wave propagation to him so I said, “Signals like that always come in like that on the short wave bands.”

I felt sad at the end of the week when we packed up and drove toward Edmonton. Though Wayne came back empty-handed, I had the fulfilling experience of listening to far away stations free of annoying buzzes from TV sets and power lines.

Thank you for sharing those wonderful memories, Bruce!

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Hobart Radio International’s three part interval signals specials

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who writes:

While listening to my recording of yesterday’s Unique Radio broadcast over WINB, I noticed that the Radio Hobart International segment featured the second of a three-part interval signals special. Brought back many nice memories of long-gone shortwave stations. All three segments in studio quality can be found on the Radio Hobart International website:

http://www.hriradio.org/

Thank you for the tip, Richard! Kudos to HRI for putting these specials together. I’ve also embedded the audio from each episode below (email digest subscribers will need to view this on our site, or HRI):