Tag Archives: Australia

Radio Australia closes shortwave service to Asia

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, David, who passes along this announcement from Radio Australia via Pacific Beat:

On Sunday, Radio Australia’s shortwave signal to Asia will be turned off, another result the ABC says of recent government funding cuts.

Shortwave broadcasting into the Pacific will continue, but signal strenth outside Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji may be degraded.

Alex Oliver from the Lowy Institute has contributed evidence to Australian parliamentary inquiries and committees on foreign affairs, defence and trade for many years.

So does she view the switch off as a big step back from international broadcasting by Australia, or simply the retirement of some old technology.

Presenter: Adam Connors

Speaker: Alex Oliver from the Lowy Institute

Listen to audio of the full interview by clicking here.

Cuts to Radio Australia shortwave broadcasts

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(Source: WRTH Facebook Page via contributor, Mauno Ritola)

“According to information from Radio Australia, there will be a drastic cut to their shortwave schedule starting 1st February 2015.

Only these transmissions from Shepparton will remain to the Pacific:

2100-0900 UTC on 15240, 15415, and 17840 kHz

0900-2100 UTC on 6080, 6150, and 9580 kHz

Their web site hasn’t yet been updated:
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/

Radio Australia is a staple news source for many in the Pacific islands. Fortunately, RA plans to maintain shortwave services 24 hours per day via the frequencies above. I’m happy to see that 9580 kHz–which is a morning blowtorch signal into much of North America–will still be transmitted.

“The Gutting of Radio Australia”

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(Source: Inside Story)

We’re sitting on the grass in the village of Matangi on the island of Futuna. This is one of the more isolated communities in Vanuatu, a small group of houses on a small island at the southeastern extreme of the archipelago.

“We rely a lot on Radio Australia when there’s a cyclone coming,” says Miranda, a member of the island’s Community Disaster Committee. “We have no telephone on this side of the island and we often can’t hear Radio Vanuatu.”

As Australia debates budgets, debt and deficits, we rarely hear the views of communities affected by planned cuts. Whether it’s the size of the aid budget or the resourcing of the international services of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, or ABC, our neighbours have little input into decisions that affect their lives.

The latest blow is the planned redundancy of eighty staff from ABC International following the Abbott government’s decision to take Australia Network television away from the ABC. Revoking the $250 million TV contract – with just ninety days’ notice – has had an impact well beyond television. Given the integration of TV, radio and online services within ABC International, the decision affects not only Australia Network but also the other international services providing crucial information to the islands region.

Continue reading at: http://inside.org.au/the-gutting-of-radio-australia/#sthash.4cwXhev9.dpuf

View other posts related to Radio Australia cuts by bookmarking the tag RA Cuts.

Lynley Marshall defends ABC overseas broadcasts

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Lynley Marshal (Source: ADNews.com.au)

(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald)

“The chief for the ABC broadcasting into the Asia Pacific insists the taxpayer funded network has a growing audience with better programs on the way – despite reports the service is for the chop in the May budget.

ABC International boss Lynley Marshall stoutly defended overseas broadcasts as a way of promoting Australia, saying the spread of social media and mobile devices in Asia has vastly extended the potential audience.

She told a Melbourne audience on Monday evening the service had more than 1 million supporters on its Facebook page for learning theEnglish language.”

[Continue reading…]

While this article doesn’t mention shortwave radio per se, it’s most interesting to see where Marshall must both defend Australian international broadcasting as a form of diplomacy while also defending the news agency when its reports are critical of the government.

There’s an inherent tension all international broadcasters face–at least, those that are tax-payer supported–as many try to transition from being purely a mouthpiece of the government to an example of free press and democracy.

Radio documentary on history of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Bob Padula’s history of Australian shortwave broadcasting

ABC video highlights the Dooen transmitter on World Radio Day

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The Dooen tower "hat" (photo: ABC)

(Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Standing 201-metres tall with a 19-metre wide capacitive ‘top hat’, the 3WV mast in western Victoria stands out in the vast flat landscape that stretches below it.
Celebrating 75th years of service, the occasion of World Radio Day seemed a worthy time to pay tribute to this impressive technological structure.

“It really meant a lot to us. It must’ve been a big undertaking in 1936 to build it because cranes and things that are about today weren’t even heard of,” says long time Horsham resident James Heard.

And while the locals are proud of the trusty Dooen mast, its power reaches far wider than just this wide brown land.

In fact 594 AM has even been heard as far as Canada, Japan and South Africa.

The staggering reach is aided by the distinctive ‘top hat’ and the low frequency of the AM band. While obviously a success, the antenna was the first of its kind in Australia and acted as a prototype for other services.

“It’s the first solid-state 50-kilowatt broadcast transmitter installed for the ABC and it was the test bed for the installations across the rest of the country,” says Tim Hughes, Transmission Coordinator for ABC Victoria.

So whether you’re tuning in from snowy Canada or just down the road, thanks be to the 3WV transmitter.

I’m sure many an ultralight DXer would like to snag this transmitter! Watch the 3+ minute video on the ABC website.