RCI Sackville land sold to Mi’kmaq group

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View of the western cluster of curtain antennas from the roof of RCI Sackville’s transmissions building. I took this photo in 2012 while the site was still in operation. (Photo: The SWLing Post) –Click to enlarge

(Source: CBC News)

A Mi’kmaq group has bought the land outside Sackville where 13 Radio Canada International towers stood for decades, CBC-Radio Canada confirmed Friday.

Five years after the Tantramar Marsh site was put up for sale, the New Brunswick non-profit Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn bought it for an undisclosed price.

“This transaction closes the book on an interesting chapter for CBC/Radio-Canada and Canadian broadcasting in the world of international shortwave broadcasting,” CBC’s Martin Marcotte wrote in an email.

A long broadcast history

The shortwave service ran for 67 years, and the site’s towers facilitated the service around the world until budget cuts in 2012.

The 90-hectare property was initially listed with the towers, to avoid the high cost of dismantling the facility, but in 2014, CBC began dismantling the towers in hopes the blank slate would entice more buyers.

“It’s tough to take something down that served such a purpose for the country, you know, during the Second World War,” Larry Wartman, CBC’s senior manager of transmission operations for Western and Atlantic Canada, told CBC News in 2014. “There’s just not that many of them around the world anymore.”

Building the future

The New Brunswick Mi’kmaq group Mi’gmawe’l Tplu’taqnn purchased the land Thursday but has yet to announce any plans or comment on the purchase, other than to confirm it. The non-profit group’s members are the nine Mi’kmaq communities in the province.[…]

Click here to read the article on CBC News.

The Eton Satellit: a poignant recording of ABC Northern Territories & further DX…

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Hi there, I’ve just returned from a business trip to Genoa, Italy and took the Eton Satellit with me. Now, I’m sure many of you know from your own experiences that DXing from a noisy hotel room can be just about impossible – and so it was in the main. I did however manage to copy a very nice signal from BBC Radio 5 Live on 693 kHz medium wave and Chaîne 3, from Tipaza, Algeria on 252 kHz – the latter is a much more difficult catch back in the UK. Reception videos for these two signals also follow below and I have to say that given the very noisy environment, this was a pleasing result using the Eton’s internal ferrite antenna. Prior to my trip this week, I recorded a really nice signal from Radio Nacional Brasilia on 11780 kHz and the best signal from North Korea (Voice of Korea KCBS) I’ve ever copied on the 41 metre broadcast band. Both are testament to the Eton Satellit’s performance as an excellent portable reciever per se and it’s hard-core DXing capabilities. Finally, what now feels a very poignant recording, I managed to catch – ABC Northern Territories on 2325, 2485 and 4835 kHz during the same session and on one reception video. Embedded videos and text links to these videos on Oxford Shortwave Log follow below, along with a brief video review of the main functions and features of the Satellit.

With regard to the closure of ABC on shortwave, my full support goes out Senator Nick Xeonophon and his quest to introduce new legislation to force the ABC to reinstate their shortwave transmissions. There, I’ve said it and that’s enough politics for now lol. In the meantime, my plans to test the Eton Satellit against more established DXing portables remain in place and work commitments allowing, this should happen soon. Thanks for reading/watching/listening and I wish you all great DX!

 

Click here to view on YouTube

 

Click here to view on YouTube

 

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Click here to view on YouTube

Click here to view on YouTube

Click here to view on YouTube

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

Radio Romania International on World Radio Day 2017

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who shares this message from Radio Romania international:

World Radio Day 2017

On February 13th the radio community celebrates World Radio Day, which over the years has had themes such as “Gender Equality” and “Women’s Empowerment”, “Youth”, and “Radio in Times of Emergency and Disaster”

This year, UNESCO focuses on encouraging radio stations around the world, be they a community, private, or public radio station, to have the tools to be the best radio stations they can be. And that means ensuring they are having continued dialogue with the industry, its audience and the public in general.

In 2017 major themes used along the years, such as gender equality, women’s empowerment, youth and radio in times of emergency and disaster have been brought together under the theme of “public participation” with the tagline “Radio is You!”

It’s important for radio stations to have the conditions that create great programming – in addition to entertainment and information – to find creative ways to promote freedom of expression and address the key issues of today in local communities and across the globe.

So, dear friends, if you are interested in the topic and you would like to contribute, we are looking forward for your thoughts.

Click here to view this post at RRI online.

Video: VL8A Alice Springs’ parting message in CW

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley who shares the following video of VL8A Alice Springs signing off for the final time on January 31, 2017:

This video was originally posted to Twitter by Tom Maddocks. You might have also noticed this clip in a previous ABC video we posted.

Thanks for the tip, Richard!

Tom checks out the new Eton/Grundig Executive Satellit

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Stiles, who writes:

I was sent a new Eton Executive Satellit Shortwave Radio to review and here are my initial findings:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Here is the link to my Playlist of the predecessor radio which they appears to be very similar in functions:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Many thanks for sharing, Tom!

As SWLing Post contributor, Clint, recently pointed out, the Eton Satellit is quite the DX machine.  I prefer the black chassis of the original Satellit, but the leather cover is certainly a handsome addition.

The overall design of the Grundig Executive Satellit reminds me of the 1990s era Grundig G2000A designed by F. A. Porsche (see photo above).

FYI: At time of posting, Universal Radio is pricing the Executive Satellit for $199, Ham Radio outlet for $199, and Amazon for $194.01 (though Amazon pricing can shift from day-to-day).

The Tecsun S-8800 tuned to Radio Guinea

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Yesterday, while comparing the new Tecsun S-8800 with the PL-880 and ICF-SW7600GR (on the tail gate of my truck) I tuned to Radio Guinea and was instantly reminded why I love music over shortwave.

Here’s a clip I kept rather short for fear that YouTube might note the off-air music and pull the video for copyright infringement (happens all the time). I shot this with my mobile phone, so you can’t hear the bass notes:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Some of my favorite stations for music over the shortwaves are the Voice of Greece, Radio Guinea, Radio Havana Cuba, All India Radio, Radio Romania International, Medi 1 and Zanzibar Broadcasting Corp. Not to mention all of the private broadcasters like WRMI, The Mighty KBC and Bill Tilford’s productions!

Of course, there are so many more stations that play wonderful music! I keep a copy of Alan Roe’s music guide handy!

Though it’s still early days with the S-8800, I can say that it does a fine job reproducing music in full fidelity. Receiver-wise, it mops the floor with my S350DL.

UPDATE: Click here to read our full Tecsun S-8800 review.