RNZ Shortwave: “Futureproofing Pacific broadcasting – transmitter replacement underway”

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia, who shares the following press release from Radio New Zealand:

Futureproofing Pacific broadcasting – transmitter replacement underway

Released at 2:34 pm on 12 December 2023

RNZ has powered down for the last time its 34-year-old shortwave Thompson transmitter, known as “Transmitter 1”, one of two shortwave transmitters that deliver analogue and digital radio broadcasts to the Pacific.

It is part of the preparation for the installation of a new Swiss-made Ampegon shortwave transmitter at its Rangitaiki site.

This project is a milestone for RNZ. For the past 75 years, it has been using shortwave radio to broadcast to the vast Pacific region.  Replacing the old transmitter marks a significant step in futureproofing of the service.

Transmitter 1, the 100-kilowatt Thompson unit, was installed just outside of Taup? in 1989, just in time for the Commonweath Games held in Auckland in 1990. Only capable of transmitting in analogue, servicing Transmitter 1 has become an increasingly challenging task with many of the parts for the transmitter now obsolete.

Its replacement, an Ampegon shortwave transmitter capable of both digital and analogue transmission is currently being shipped to New Zealand after being built in Ampegon’s Switzerland factory. However, before the new transmitter can be installed, Transmitter 1 needs to be decommissioned with any useful parts kept as spares.

RNZ’s Transmission Engineer Specialist Steve White said the challenge for the switchover is having an existing transmission building that limits space.

“It will take around four weeks to completely dismantle Transmitter 1 which was built into the building so it’s not just a case of unplugging it and wheeling it out. We need to isolate the transmitter from the main switchboard as well as drain the fluids that help cool the transmitter before breaking it into parts.”

The new Ampegon transmitter will arrive in January and take an estimated six weeks to install, six weeks to commission and a further period of training. At this stage it is expected the transmitter will be operational from 1 May 2024.

When Transmitter 1 is replaced, there will be two transmitters capable of both analogue and digital transmissions, ensuring a complete backup should one of the transmitters stop working.

In the meantime, RNZ Pacific Manager Moera Tuilaepa-Taylor said they were making sure all of RNZ’s Pacific partners were aware of the alternative ways to access RNZ content.

“While digital transmissions will continue, the decommissioning of Transmitter 1 will mean the analogue service will be reduced during the transition period. However, RNZ can still be heard via satellite, and we will be working with our partners in the Pacific on the alternative options of downloading or livestreaming through our website. RNZ Pacific also has an important role during Cyclone season, delivering critical information to the region and this will be prioritised during this period of single transmitter operation.”

RNZ Chief Executive and Editor in Chief Paul Thompson said the importance of the service for the region cannot be underestimated in terms of the content provided.

“Our voice reaches and is welcomed in all parts of the Pacific. During the Tonga eruption, when the undersea cable was cut, RNZ Pacific short wave was a lifeline source of information,” he said.

RNZ’s Charter includes the provision of an international service to the South Pacific in both English and Pacific languages. As part of Budget 2022, the Government announced $4.4m dollars capital funding for a new transmitter for RNZ Pacific.

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Chuck’s Indian music fix via AIR Port Blair

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Chuck Rippel (K8HU), who writes:

With so many SWBC outlets choosing to go off air, I find that I really miss Indian music.  This time of year was ripe for a number of regional Indian outlets on 60M to be audible on ECNA during local evening, peaking around 0100Z.  A fairly skillful DX catch was AIR Port Blair transmitting on 4760.0.

Port Blair is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and is located on South Andaman Island with the Bay of Bengal on the west coast and the Andaman Sea off the east, they are actually located a bit closer to Burma than India.  Don’t put a visit to Andaman Is on your bucket list though, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Act of 1956 prohibits travel to the island, and any approach closer than 5 nautical miles (9.3 km), in order to protect the remaining tribal community from “mainland” infectious diseases against which they (likely) have no acquired immunity.

No more shortwave but wait, the programming is still available VIA webcast, URL below. The programming heard here so far has been in Bengali and Hindi but surprise, at 2230Z and 1737Z, I was surprised to hear the news read in English.  The Andaman Islands observe Indian Standard time or UTC +5:30 which put their TOH at the EST: 30 or, our BOH.

So, treat yourself to some Naan Bread, spool up your web browser and click on:

https://onlineradiofm.in/stations/air-port-blair-pc

Thank you, Chuck!

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Jack recommends antennas from Lowbander’s Antenna Mart on eBay

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jack Dully, who writes:

Happy Holidays to Y’all!!! Thomas, I have bought about 5 antennas from the eBay seller”Lowbander” over the last few years. […]They are well constructed, strong and really bring in signals on the fringe. He has a small operation, I believe, but dedicated to making the best antennas he can. His antennas will last through storms and such but grab signals like a fly on honey, no kidding. Perhps other SWLing Post members don’t know of these excellent antennas at what I think is a good deal and worth the cost for years in the air. Thanks.

Clic here to check out Lowbander’s antenna offerings on eBay.

Note: this is an eBay partnership link–purchases support the SWLing Post at no cost to you.

Thank you for the tip, Jack!

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Announcing Don Moore’s latest book: Tales of a Vagabond DXer

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and friend Don Moore–noted author, traveler, and DXer–for sharing the following announcement about his latest book! Don is a brilliant author–you’ll enjoy accompanying him on his travels and radio journey in this latest book. I highly recommend all of his work!

 

Tales of a Vagabond DXer

Tales of a Vagabond DXer by Don Moore is a new book focusing on Latin American radio and DXing. In this 300-page volume, Don blends together stories from his radio station visits, his travels, and his experiences as a DXer. Don has been an active member of the DX listening hobby for over five decades. His interest in Latin American radio inspired him to serve in the Peace Corps in Honduras in the early 1980s.

Since then, he has traveled extensively in Latin America and visited more than 150 radio stations in the region. He has written dozens of articles on Latin American DXing for radio hobby publications including Monitoring Times, the NASWA Journal, Review of International Broadcasting, and Passport to World Band Radio. Today, Don is a regular contributor to the SWLing Post Blog.

Tales of a Vagabond DXer is available from Amazon.com in trade-sized paperback for $12.99 or Kindle eBook for $4.99, or for equivalent prices in local currencies on non-US Amazon stores.

Paperback: https://amzn.to/3t98tZt

Kindle: https://amzn.to/47O3Nak

Note: the Amazon Affiliate links above not only support author Don Moore, but Amazon shares a small percentage of the final sale with the SWLing Post as well. 

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Carlos’ Experience and Motivation for Receiving Kydodo News via Radiofax

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, friend, and political cartoonist Carlos Latuff, who shares the following guest post:

My experiences receiving Kyodo News

by Carlos Latuff

Back in the 90s, I used the fax machine a lot, I even had one in my house, sending messages and cartoons to my clients and even to live TV shows (see the video example below). Lots of fun!

But for me, the fax only worked through the phone line.

It was only in 2020, during the covid-19 pandemic, that I, by chance, during one of my radio listening sessions, came across a strange signal that I would only later discover was a radiofax.

It was then that I realized that several meteorological agencies around the world broadcast synoptic charts and satellite images to vessels on the seas by radiofax, and that there was a Japanese news agency (the only one left in the world) that broadcast daily news to fishing boats and cargo ships: Kyodo News.

I was fascinated by that!

And I started tuning to the frequency of 16971 kHz USB (16970 in fact, to properly receive images) using basically my Xhdata D-808 and its telescopic antenna (now I use a 3-meter long wire antenna).

All the weather agencies I know broadcast at 120 lines per minute, while Kyodo News broadcasts at 60 lines. When I used to have a laptop, I had programs installed where I could adjust this cadence, like MixW, however, using an Android cell phone, the only application that works for radiofax is HF Weather Fax, which only decodes at 120 lines per minute (I had some problems with the app, which, being old, sometimes generated conflicts with Android and crash suddenly or even didn’t even open. Another bug is that after around 40 minutes of continuous decoding, the app stops). When you receive a radiofax at a rate of 60 lpm and decode it at 120 lpm, it’s as if you cut the image in half, vertically, and joined the two parts into one, mixing the letters.

I noticed that, when enlarging the image with my fingertips on the surface of the cell phone, while receiving the radiofax, I was able to see the right and left side of the image at a time, in an effect known in graphic arts as “moiré pattern”.

So, using HF Weather Fax I cannot download a Kyodo News radiofax in full (except when I receive the bulletin in English, the only time Kyodo News broadcasts in 120 lpm), but I can view parts of it and make print screens. And with these prints, I open them on Google translator app translating from Japanese to English. If image is in good quality, the translation is perfect.

Results I got were obtained from radio listening in Porto Alegre, Tramandaí beach in Rio Grande do Sul, and Urca beach in Rio de Janeiro, all located in Brazil. The best time has been late in the morning/early in the morning.

I’ve already obtained digital QSL cards from some meteorological agencies, such as those in Germany, Australia and Kagoshima in Japan, but Kyodo News doesn’t even respond to my emails.

But the main question is: why go to so much work to receive news via radiofax when you can easily receive it on the Internet through the Kyodo News website–?

Firstly, I’m nostalgic, receiving these radiofax has a touch of the past that I like to remember. And second, I believe that with the advancement of new satellite data transmission technologies, it’s only a matter of time before radiofax disappears as means of communication for vessels on the high seas. This is already happening!

Remember the end of radiofax transmissions from the New Zealand meteorological agency MetService this year?

So I’m enjoying the radiofax, before it ends!

The following are reports from some of my listening/decoding sessions: Continue reading →

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Dave Zantow (N9EWO) is Silent Key

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I’ve just learned from our friends Dan Robinson and Dean Bianco that Dave Zantow (N9EWO) has died from injuries sustained in a car/pedestrian accident.

From his obituary on Legacy.com:

David William Zantow, age 66, of Janesville, WI passed away on December 6, 2023 at Select Specialty Hospital, Madison the result of injuries suffered in an auto-pedestrian accident. He was born in Janesville on November 8, 1957, the son of Diehl and Joan (Knox) Zantow. The family moved to Beloit and David graduated from Beloit Memorial High School in 1975.

After returning to Janesville, David was employed at Radio Shack until it closed. He was an avid ham radio operator. He will be remembered for being very talented at electronic and computer repair.

David is survived by his mother, Joan Zantow; sister Mary (Paul) Harding; nephews Zack Green and Nick Key. He was preceded in death by his father, Diehl Zantow; sister, Charlotte Key and brother, Richard Zantow.

No services will be held. Entombment will be in Milton Lawns Memorial Park. The family is being assisted by HENKE-CLARSON FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORY. Online condolences may be sent to www.henkeclarson.com

If you’ve been a shortwave radio listener for long, you’ve no doubt read Dave’s articles and reviews on his website Dave’s Radio Receiver Page or in the pages of the Passport To World Band Radio.

Those of us who knew Dave well are still trying to process his sudden death. Many of us had only recently been in touch with him.

From all of the SWLing Post community, we send our love and blessings to Dave’s family and close friends.

We will look into archiving his website.

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