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Statement on newly announced Government funding of the World Service
Tony Hall, the Director-General of the BBC, said:
“I warmly welcome today’s announcement. It’s fantastic news.
“This new funding is the single biggest increase in the World Service budget ever committed by any government.
“The millions announced today will help the BBC deliver on our commitment to uphold global democracy through accurate, impartial and independent news reporting.
“The World Service is one of the UK’s most important cultural exports and one of our best sources of global influence. We can now further build on that. The funding will also help speed us on to our target of reaching half a billion people globally.”
Enhanced TV services for Africa
New radio services for audiences in North Korea; radio and digital services for Ethiopia and Eritrea
Additional language offers via digital and TV in India and Nigeria
More regionalised content to better serve audiences to the BBC Arabic Service
Dedicated TV output for Somalia and a fully digital service for Thailand
Enhanced digital and TV services for Russian speakers, both in Russia and surrounding communities
A video-led digital transformation of Languages services
To expand the impact and future-proof World Service English
BBC director general, Tony Hall, said the corporation will become an “open BBC for the internet age”.
While Hall was quick to add that funding cuts would equate to “the loss or reduction of some services” he also highlighted several efforts that would include shortwave and mediumwave broadcasts, including:
“Significant investment” in the BBC World Service, including a daily news programme for North Korea and more broadcasts to Russia, India and the Middle East
A news service for Ethiopia and Eritrea on medium wave and short wave
Of course, we can expect more cuts to BBC World Service shortwave broadcasting over the next ten years even if it wasn’t specifically mentioned in Hall’s speech. If we’re lucky, the BBC will continue to broadcast into those parts of the world that still rely on shortwave. Specifically mentioning North Korea, Ethiopia and Eritrea appears to be a nod in that direction.
In the week when Apple’s Beats 1 radio station was launched – “Worldwide. Always on . . . It broadcasts 24/7 to over 100 countries from our studios in Los Angeles, New York and London” – there was also discussion of the BBC’s latest global audience measurement figures. The most striking thing in the report, which tracked listening habits and how they had changed over the past year, was how short-wave radio – in rural and poorer areas where there is no FM, no cable and no electricity, it’s still the only way of tuning in – is under increasing threat from something as basic as jamming.
Apple’s idea of radio as digital and impermeable never felt more breezily First World. Listeners to the English-language programmes on the BBC World Service, for example – in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, in particular – have almost halved in number because of deliberate disruption on the short-wave signal, apparently from China, forcing stations to rotate frequencies on the same band to at least attempt a slot.
“Tune around . . . You’ll find us. We will be there,” advised a technician on Over to You (4 July, 5.50pm). It conjured that most antiquated and urgent of images: a person clutching their temples, coaxing a dial, trying and trying to find a signal.
“I grew up with short-wave radio,” insisted a caller to the show, “and I got to understand the world, got to understand life. If you don’t know short-wave radio, you don’t know life.” Only moments later, there was talk of the closure of all the non-state-run radio stations in Burundi (one of the poorest and least connected countries in the world). Before the recent coup attempt, independent radio stations played a huge role in holding the government to account but many radio journalists are now forced to report using what social media is available.
“The exercise of making radio matters,” said a caller. “It’s a symbol of resistance.” And another, with some disdain, said: “Doing it on the internet is just a way of keeping it on record.” The more than century-long act of turning a dial and finding a signal, with a human voice hitching a ride on electromagnetic energy through space, is something it seems our species now feels in the bones. But worldwide? Always on? Only for some.
We gathered in the Comms Office to listen to the audition, during which our loved ones sent us their messages. Even though we all can talk to our families and friends on the phone with relative ease today, it was still a very touching moment. (Credit: Michal Krzysztofowicz, Halley VI Research Station)
This is one of my favorite annual broadcasts, and I endeavor to listen every year. This year, the SWLing Post called upon readers to make a short recording of the broadcast from their locale. We received a total of thirty (!) recordings, from every continent (save Antarctica, that is; I’m sure the BAS team were too busy celebrating)…Wow! Thank you, participants!
Below are the entries, roughly organized by continent and country/region, including reader’s photos if provided. (If I’ve somehow missed including your entry, please contact me; I’ll amend this post.)
So, without further ado….
The Recordings
Africa
Morocco
SWL (Shortwave Listener):@K7al_L3afta Location: Chaouia-Ouardigha, Morocco Notes: The BBC World Service Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast. Woofferton transmitter.
Receiver: Tecsun PL-660 + 15m wire antenna.
Asia
India
SWL: Babul Gupta Location: Barasat, West Bengal, India Notes: Babul listened to the broadcast with his ICOM IC-R75 receiver, connected to a 176 meter long beverage antenna oriented in a West South direction.
Malaysia
SWL: Timm Breyel Location: Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia Notes: Here is a sound file of the broadcast monitored in central Malaysia, using the frequency 5.985 kHz via Ascension Island at 21.30 UTC.By 21.35 UTC, QRM from presumably Myanmar Radio overwhelmed this frequency. Worst of all, reception on 9.590 kHz via Wooffeton was in audible due to strong QRM from PBS Xizang. Transmission on 5.905 via Dhabbaya was the only audible signal after 21.35 UTC, and it was a paltry (SINPO) 15341, best heard in USB.
Australia
Australia
SWL:Rob Wagner (VK3BVW) Location: Mount Evelyn, Victoria, Australia Notes: All three freqs noted here at Mount Evelyn, southeastern Australia: 5905.1 – Off freq and with a slight hum but a good signal, 5985 – Best of the three freqs, strong and clear, 9590 – Good signal but with moderate QRM from PBS Xizang co-channel. Pity! I suspect that freq would not have been as good down south either. Overall, a reasonable success this year.
Australia
SWL: Michael Stevenson Location: Port Macquarie, NSW on the east coast of Australia Notes: “5905 kHz Dhabbaya was only just fair and rather noisy while 5985 Woofferton was fair and still noisy with 9590 kHz Woofferton was the strongest signal but was marred by CRI China here in Port Macquarie, NSW on the east coast of Australia!”
New Zealand
SWL: Chris Mackerell Location: Motueka, New Zealand Notes: Receiving setup: Elad FDM-S2 SDR, Wellbrook ALA-1530S+ loop. QTH Marahau, Tasman District, New Zealand 41.00S 173.01E
Europe
Cyprus
SWL: Arjen Huisman Location: Kissonerga, Cyprus Notes: Attached my recording of the BBC Antarctic Midwinter broadcast on 5985 kHz. last Sunday June 21st. Something about my listening conditions: I have been listening with a JRC NRD-535DG to which a 13,5 longwire has been connected, hanging outside on the (large) uncovered balcony of my apartment, 3rd (top) floor.
I live about 500m from the coastline of the western part of Cyprus, about 8 km. north of the city of Paphos in a village called Kissonerga. Generally reception conditions are very good here, so close to the sea with no high buildings around.
Denmark
SWL: Willy Andersen (OZ4ZT) Location: Soeborg near Copenhagen, Denmark Notes: Willy used an Icom IC-756 Pro with an inverted V antenna. He noted that 9590 kHz and 5985 kHz were equal in signal strength and quality.
Germany
SWL: Gunther Rose Location: Wetter, Germany
Notes: Here is my recording of the last 1,5 minutes of the Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast 2015 on 5985 kHz. My receiving-setup: Tecsun PL-880 with telescope antenna (indoor near a window on the 4th floor), line out to Macbook (audacity-software) Unfortunately I got lots of RFI from my neighbour’s powerline adapter so the signal from Wooferton was strong but not noise-free.
SWL: Gabriele Somma (IZ8094SWL) Location: Salerno Roccapiemonte, Italy Notes: recorded the broadcast on his Icom IC-PRC1500 with an antenna at 10 meters high.
Italy
SWL: Giuseppe Morlè (Joseph) Location: Ponza island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy Notes: I heard the BBC broadcast with my AOR AR 3030 receiver and Mini Whip antenna, and Tecsun PL-660.
Netherlands
SWL: Jonathan Marks Location: University Twente, Netherlands Notes: Here’s a clip from the University Twente SDR reception from Woofterton 5985 from 2145 onwards.
SWL: Sérgio Pimenta Location: Porto, Portugal Notes:[H]ere is my reception in Portugal (Porto, northern of Portugal), using a Tecsun PL-310ET with just the telescopic antenna on my kitchen window, very strong signal.
SWL: Dennis Location: Moscow, Russia Notes: BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast 2015 – for SWLing.com. Moscow. Grundig Satellit 1400 built-in mini whip.
Spain
SWL: Michael Haun Location: Menorca, Spain Notes: Please find 2 recordings from your special Midwinter broadcast: 5905 kHz (S9+10, rapid fading, quite noisy) and 5985 kHz ( S9+40, fantastic signal).
Receiver used was a PERSEUS SDR and a 5×10 meters active loop antenna. Keep up the good work and 73 also to all in the Antarctica!
Turkey
SWL: Oktay Egi Location: Istanbul, Turkey Notes: I am located in Istanbul, Turkey. I used Sony ICF-SW77 for listening with internal antenna on 5905 KHz. The sound was not clear but understandable. Time was 21:35 UTC.
United Kingdom
SWL: Mark Harper (MW1MDH) Location: Saltney, England Notes: “I’m running an IC-R75, on an internal, RF systems Windom, the ATU isn’t connected in the attached video. I’m located in Saltney, which is about 2 miles west of Chester, but just over the Welsh border by about 200 yards, I’m also just north of Wooferton! Hope the audio is ok, I’m running my 75 on an external speaker, just off to the side.”
United Kingdom
SWL: “Driverfilms” Location: Newcastle Under Lyne in Staffordshire, England
United Kingdom
SWL: Andrew Svonja Location: Hinckley, Leicestershire in the Midlands in the UK Notes: On Sunday 21/06/15 at 21:30 UTC I recorded a segment of the BBC Winter Solstice broadcast to the Antarctic–SINPO reading was a complete 5 across the board
United Kingdom
SWL: Stephen Cooper Location: Southport, England, Notes: 9,590Khz on the Elad FDM-S2 with a 15m random wire.
North America
Canada
SWL: Fred Location: London, Ontario Notes: The recording was made using a camera in AVI format, which has been converted to MP3. The time stamp on the video is 17:46 EST. The recording is from a Grundig Yacht Boy 400. The best reception was by laying the Grundig flat with the radio antenna facing North East. No longwire or external aerial was used. I was also able to receive the signal on my Tecsun PL-380, but the signal was very muffled with excessive static.
Canada
SWL: Richard Langley Location: Hanwell, New Brunswick, Canada
Richard’s Tecsun PL-880 and Tecsun digital recorder in a protective plastic case outdoors.
Notes: Richard listened to the broadcast on 9,590 kHz. He notes that it was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna in AM mode with 3.5 kHz RF filtering.
United States
SWL: Dan Robinson Location: Potomac, Maryland, USA Notes: using a JRC NRD-515 receiver, with Wellbrook 1530 loop antenna.
Dan also included the following audio recording:
United States
SWL: Frank Colella Location: Westchester County, New York Notes:Sangean ATS-909 receiver
United States
A screen capture of the TitanSDR Pro as I recorded all three frequencies of the BBC Midwinter broadcast simultaneously.
SWL: Thomas Witherspoon Location: North Carolina, USA Notes: I recorded the broadcast on a total of three SDRs simultaneously: the TitanSDR Pro, Elad-FDM-S2 and the WinRadio Excalibur.
Screen capture of the Elad FDM-S2
I was very pleased to hear the broadcast on 9590 kHz. Since North Carolina was not in the path of this broadcast, it was a weak signal. All three receivers were using the same large outdoor horizontal delta loop at 60′ above the ground.
Screen capture of the WinRadio Excalibur
The following embedded audio player, should contain all three recordings. Note that the FDM-S2 recording (which is perhaps the best of the three) starts in the middle of the broadcast.
South America
Brazil
SWL: Flavio PY2ZX Location: Brazil Notes: Also noted the three frequencies in Brazil but 9590 kHz sounds better despite the presence of PBS Xizang. Great to hear such friendship spirit through the shortwaves! Congratulations BBC and BAS team. My recording:
Colombia
SWL:Rafael Rodriguez R. Location: Bogota, Cundinamarca, Colombia Notes: Greetings from Colombia. I could only hear the signal at 9590 KHz. The location is [at] a park close to my house (aprox. Lat 4 72 62 N Long 74 02 85 W; alt 2577 m over level sea).
Once again, many thanks to all of you who submitted your recordings of the BBC Midwinter Broadcast! We’ll be sharing this post with both the British Antarctic Survey and the BBC World Service. And to all of you, from the SWLing Post: Happy Midwinter! Happy Summer/Winter Solstice!
Please note that any map graphics used in this post were originally designed by NuclearVacuum and Ssolbergj–they have been modified for this post under a Creative Commons License CC BY-SA 3.0.
I’m putting together a post with all of the recordings to publish by mid-week. If you haven’t yet sent in your recording, please do so today! Simply contact me with a link to download.
As a reminder: I’m calling on all SWLing Post readers and shortwave radio listeners to make a short recording (say, 30-60 seconds) of the BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast and share it here at the Post (frequencies and time below).
The recording can be audio-only, or even a video taken from any recording device or smart phone. It would be helpful to have a description and/or photo of your listening environment and location, if possible.
If you submit your recording to me, I will post it here on the SWLing Post–and insure that the BBC World Service receives the post, too. The recordings will be arranged by geographic location.
Halley VI: The British Antarctic Survey’s new base (Source: British Antarctic Survey)
The broadcast will take place today at 21:30 UTC on the following frequencies:
5,905 kHz, Dhabayya, 203 degrees
5,985 kHz, Woofferton, 184 degrees
9,590 kHz, Woofferton, 182 degrees
I will (hopefully) be in the SWLing Post chat room during the broadcast. Please sign in and share your report!
In the title of my last post, I noticed that I’ve incorrectly stated that the Friday, June 19 BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast tests were to take place “today.” While the post content was correct, the date in this title was not. My apologies for the mix-up–I’ve since corrected and noted this in the original post.
To be clear, the transmission tests for Sunday’s Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast will take place on Friday, June 19 2015from 21:30-21:45 UTC on the following frequencies:
7,425 kHz, Ascension, 207 degrees
5,985 kHz, Woofferton, 184 degrees
9,590 kHz, Woofferton, 182 degrees
5,905 kHz, Dhabayya, 203 degrees
Apologies for any confusion.
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(Source: BBC Media Centre via Jonathan Marks)
SWL: Babul Gupta
