Making broadcast towers safer for birds

(Source: NPR)

It’s likely the only time you really notice one of your neighborhood broadcast and cell towers is at night when they’re lit up with conspicuous bright red lights.

Those lights help pilots see the huge metal structures that can reach 1,000 feet into the air — but they can spell disaster for birds.

In 1976 in Gun Lake, Mich., one tower killed over 2,300 birds in one night, says Caleb Putnam, who works for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He says for reasons scientists still can’t quite figure out, birds kept flying headlong into towers.

“If that many are dying at one night at one tower and yet there are thousands of towers across the country and as you go across the world, the numbers are staggering,” he says.

Putnam says in North America alone it’s estimated that 7 million birds smash into towers every year. But until recently scientists didn’t know why it was happening.

[…]”We were able reduce the numbers of bird fatalities on communications towers by simply extinguishing those non-flashing lights,” she says. “Those fatalities were reduced by as much as 70 percent.”[…]

Click here to listen/read this full report on NPR.

ABC Rural interviews Garry Cratt about decision to end shortwave service

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel, who shares the following announcement from a Tecsun Radios Australia email newsletter:

Tecsun Radios Australia owner Garry Cratt was interviewed by ABC Rural this week about the ABC’s decision to end their shortwave radio transmission after almost 80 years.

Click here to listen via YouTube.

The ABC have decided that as shortwave technology is now nearly a century old, it is outdated and serves a very limited audience. They are planning on moving towards a digital focused service instead.

Garry discussed this in his interview with ABC Rural:
“A lot of the places that do receive Radio Australia, there is no power for a start, so they’re relying on batteries and solar panels. The people that are listening, that will be affected, are those people who are maybe still back in the last century, but that’s not their fault.”

Tecsun Radios Australia recently sent a shipment of 500 radios to the Solomon Islands to be given out to remote villages. Shortwave radio is often the only way to communicate in rural villages like these, this is especially important during times of natural disaster such as the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, and as recently as cyclones Yasi (2011), and Pam (2015).

The ABC are planning on building a stronger FM transmitter network to use instead of the shortwave transmission – but what will happen to the people who are out of range of FM radio?

There are many people without this equipment living in places like the Pacific Islands, where Radio Australia is one the few news and entertainment resources. Due to the sparse population and wide geographic dispersion it is extremely difficult to correctly measure the effect that turning off the shortwave transmission will have.

Here at Tecsun Radios Australia, we are asking you to help us let the ABC know that shortwave radio is a much valued service. You can do this by tweeting a photo of your shortwave radio tuned into Radio Australia, making sure you tag @ABCAustralia and @TecsunRadios and using the hashtag #saveshortwave

Additionally, we are calling on the Australian Government to restore funding to the ABC, (previously provided via the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade) to support the ABC’s international television and radio broadcasts. We acknowledge that the ABC has continued to provide international radio and television broadcasts by internally funding these programs, and now we ask the Australian Government to support our rural and Pacific Islands communities by giving the ABC the appropriate funding they require.

We are talking about $1.9 million in funding after all, which we think the Prime Minister could find if he checked under the Chesterfield seat cushions in his office…

To read the full article and listen to Garry’s radio interview, click here:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-18/abc-shortwave-cuts-tourists-operator-pacific-island/8191374

VORW Radio International now broadcasting weekly over shortwave

21 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, John, who hosts TheReportOfTheWeek channel on YouTube and writes:

My radio program “VORW Radio International” is now regularly back on shortwave, heard weekly to Europe and North America.

VORW stands for “Voice Of theReportoftheWeek” – TheReportOfTheWeek is my YouTube Channel which mainly features reviews of various items, as well as talk programs. This is the radio service thereof.

The program features a mixture of talk and music, and is a request-driven show, so the music has a great deal of variety to it. You can expect music from any time and genre to get played!

The broadcast schedule is as follows:

Thursday 2000 UTC – 2100 UTC – 6070 kHz To Europe
Friday 0100 UTC – 0200 UTC – 7490 kHz To North America

If you do listen, please send feedback and reception reports to “[email protected]“.

Very cool, John! Happy to hear you have a regular schedule to Europe and North America. We’ll be listening!

PCJ Radio International: Chinese New Years Eve special broadcast

Propagation-Triggered Spectrum Recording

4 Replies

Many thanks to Jon Hudon of SDRplay who shared the following on the SDRplay Facebook page:

One of the SDRplay user community, Jukka, has started an interesting discussion on what he has called ‘propagation-triggered recording’ – he outlines the concept, and what he is doing, on our forum – see http://www.sdrplay.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1839

The idea is that you monitor signals to determine if conditions are particularly good and can thereby trigger an I/Q recording of a whole band during that particular propagation high point -Jukka welcomes more comments on this idea.

Many thanks, Jon. I would certainly be a fan of this as so many times I’ve missed fantastic band openings while travelling. It would be nothing short of brilliant to come home to automatic SDR spectrum recordings taken during prime propagation. At the moment, propagation is so dismal, rare openings are worth recording!

As Jon points out above, check out the SDRplay forum for more details.

Ajit Pai designated as chairman of the FCC

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai (R)

(Source: Forbes)

In one of his first official acts, President Trump designated Commissioner Ajit Pai as the new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He is the first newly appointed Republican chairman since Kevin Martin nearly 12 years ago. Many have asked: how will the FCC change under Chairman Pai?

Until recent years, the FCC was not a partisan agency. Having served with commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael O’Rielly, Chairman Pai is not expected to be particularly partisan.

Chairman Pai has served as a commissioner for nearly 5 years, and his views on a wide range of topics are publicly available on his FCC website that highlights his many Commission opinions, Congressional testimonies, speeches, publications, and blogs.

It is impossible to predict exactly where Chairman Pai will go with specific future policies such as network neutrality, particular mergers, and the aftermath of the disappointing and flawed broadcaster spectrum auction. But it is easy to describe broad themes of a Chairman Pai: follow the law, less regulation, and a folksy approach to government. […]

Continue reading at Forbes.com.

March 2-4, 2017: Join us for the 30th (!!!) NASWA Winter SWL Fest!

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Broadcasting a live performance of the Shortwave Shindig at the 2015 Winter SWL Fest.

Every year, I look forward to the only event I know that brings together both my avid interest in radio and my loyal radio-listening friends: the Winter SWL Fest. This is the one place where, among the 125-plus attendees, you can talk freely about all aspects of the shortwave hobby without any need of explanation as to why you find radio so fascinating. As a result, over the course of the eight years I’ve attended the ‘Fest, it has begun to feel less like a technical hobbyists convention and more like a (most enjoyable) family reunion.

The DoubleTree hotel where the Winter SWL Fest is held. Notice anything unique about the top floor of this hotel?

This year, the Winter SWL Fest is celebrating its 30th (!!!) Anniversary. The ‘Fest organizers have added an extra day to the convention making it a special three day event.

Here’s the description from the Winter SWL Fest website:

The Winter SWL Fest is a conference of radio hobbyists of all stripes, from DC to daylight. Every year scores of hobbyists descend on the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suburbs for a weekend of camaraderie. The Fest is sponsored by NASWA, the North American Shortwave Association, but it covers much more than just shortwave; mediumwave (AM), scanning, satellite TV, and pirate broadcasting are among the other topics that the Fest covers. Whether you’ve been to every Fest (all 29, starting with the first year at the fabled Pink & Purple Room of the Fiesta Motor Inn) or this year’s will be your first, you’re sure to find a welcome from your fellow hobbyists.

For 2017, the 30th Annual (!!) Winter SWL Fest will have three days of sessions where you can learn about the latest developments in the radio listening hobbies, but there’s so much more going on. There’s a silent auction that takes place, where you’re bound to find something of interest. There’s the Hospitality Suite, where attendees partake of tuning oil and other treats and engage in spirited conversations. There is the closing Banquet, with after-dinner remarks by a luminary from the field, often one of the many broadcasters who attend the Fest, followed by the raffle, where you could win one or more of the dozens of prizes, ranging from pens from stations up to top-notch communications receivers. And of course, the infamous midnight ride of Pancho Villa that closes things out every year.

Early registration fees are available through the month of January, as an incentive to register early. We strongly urge you to do so as fees will increase for those registering January 28th and later.

Hotel Registration: The Doubletree Guest Suites offers a special $109 rate (single or double) that includes a full breakfast buffet. Reservations may be made by phone at +1-610-834-8300 or 800-222-8733 or online here; click on Special Rates and enter the group code NAS. If at all possible, please reserve hotel rooms using our group code, so we can maintain proper credit and keep costs down.

Fest Registration: A paper reservation form may be downloaded here; you may also register online via PayPal here.

Your hosts, Richard Cuff and John Figliozzi, work throughout the year to ensure that attendees have a great time over the weekend, and by all accounts, they succeed stunningly. How else could this event have lasted for 30 years (egad) and draw people from around the world to southeastern Pennsylvania? Won’t you join us?

This year, the grand prize at the Winter SWL Fest is the new Icom IC-7300 transceiver (which also happens to be an exceptional general coverage HF receiver).

If you can make a pilgrimage to Plymouth Meeting, PA, please do so. I think you’ll enjoy the diversity of programs and people who attend. I’ll be there along with a number of regular SWLing Post contributors. It’s a great time to exchange stories and ideas in person.

I always leave the Winter SWL Fest energized about a new aspect of our radio hobby. I think you will too.

Click here to register for the Winter SWL Fest online.