Tag Archives: Digital Text over Shortwave

VOA Radiogram this weekend, July 5/6

VOA Radiogram this weekend will include news about reductions to the shortwave transmissions of VOA and other stations of US international broadcasting. These cuts were effective on 30 June.

Fortunately, VOA Radiogram remains on shortwave, at least for now.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 66, 5-6 July 2014 (all in MFSK32 except where noted):

1:33 Program preview
2:45 Major reductions to US shortwave broadcasts, with image
8:10 Car fumes affect pollinating insects
10:10 Test of Mars landing craft a success, with image
14:23 India launches satellites at low cost, with MFSK64 image
20:32 Spanish: Triple black hole discovery, with image
25:59 Closing announcements

Please send reception reports to [email protected]

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
Sat 0930-1000 5745 kHz
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

The Mighty KBC will transmit a minute of MFSK64 Saturday at about 1130 UTC on 6095 kHz, and Sunday about 0130 UTC (Saturday 9:30 pm EDT) on 9925 kHz. Both frequencies via Germany. Reports to [email protected].

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STF Radio: 1 Hour Million Watt Special, April 20

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STF Radio sent the following announcement for their “1-hour Million-Watt Special”:

___________ ____ ____ __ ___ _ ___

/ ___/_ __| ___|| \| \ | \(_)/ _ \

\___ \ | | | __| | |) /| \ \| |) | | (_) |

\____/ |_| |_| |_|\_\|_|\_\___/|_|\___/

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

***ANNOUNCEMENT***

STF Radio International

1-hour Million-Watt Special

April 20, 2014 0400 UTC

–Frequency List–

5050 (The Americas) Saturday Night

5110 (N+C. America) “

7490 (N+C. America) “

7570 (N. America) “

7730 (Mex/C. America) “

9925 (N. America) “

9955 (Caribbean) “

6025 (EU) Sunday Morning

17630* DRM (EU, alternate program) “

17760 (Asia) Sunday Afternoon

21490 (Pacific Aus/NZ) “

Music

Voice

Digital Mode Text+Images

Internet Hyperlinks

….and more!

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STF Radio International this weekend via KBC

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Last week, I received an email from STF Radio International, a new venture that broadcasts digital modes over shortwave (similar to VOA Radiograms). I asked for a description of their mission–here’s their reply:

“STF Radio is primarily a narrowcasting project, a means to deliver specialized content to specific audiences in remote locations. And due to the nature of shortwave, we’re inviting the world to listen in.

The (possible) series of special multimedia broadcasts will continue the exploration of new possibilities with aging technology. We are currently preparing a 1-hour program for broadcast later in April. Depending on audience response, there may be additional programs throughout the year.

We will continue running tests leading up to the 1-hour show. The second round of tests will begin soon, with another segment of digital modes confirmed for this weekend on The Mighty KBC, same time/frequency as last weekend.”

If you would like to decode STF Radio International‘s broadcast, tune in The Might KBC on 7,375 kHz, April 6, 2014 from 00:00 – 2:00 UTC (Saturday evening in North America). STF indicates that their broadcast will be between 01:30 – 2:00 UTC.

The latest information about STF Radio broadcasts can be found on their website: http://stfradio.com

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VOA Radiogram: Battle of the 100 wpm modes, this weekend!

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If you like the VOA Radiogram, don’t miss this weekend (March 29-30)–a one year mile marker for the VOA Radiogram service on shortwave radio.

I’ve copied details of the broadcast below, but please bookmark or subscribe to the VOA Radiogram website to see the results of the 100 wpm battle and details of all future broadcasts.

(Source: VOA Radiogram)

This weekend, 29-30 March 2014, will be program 52 of VOA Radiogram. This means that VOA Radiogram has survived one year of shortwave broadcasting.

VOA Radiogram has been successful because of its audience: tuning in, decoding, experimenting, and sending in reports.

We will mark one year of VOA Radiogram with a “battle of the 100-word-per-minute modes.” The same VOA News story will be transmitted using four modes that have a speed of more-or-less 100 words per minute.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 52, 29-30 March 2014:

1:51 MFSK32: Program preview

3:28 PSKR125 (110 wpm): VOA News re Ethiopia

7:42 MT63-1000L (100 wpm): Same VOA New story

12:34 Thor25x4 (100 wpm): Same VOA News story

17:58 MFSK32 (120 wpm): Same VOA News story, with image

23:55 MFSK32: US international broadcasting FY2015 budget

25:58 MFSK32: Closing announcements, with image

Each mode will be preceded by 5 seconds of silence, followed by the RSID, 5 more seconds of silence, and the RSID again.

Please send reception reports to [email protected]

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule

(all days and times UTC)

Sat 0930-1000 5745 kHz

Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz

Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz

Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz

All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

(Many shortwave broadcast frequencies will change on 30 March with the beginning of the A14 season, but the VOA Radiogram frequencies stay the same, for the time being.)

The Mighty KBC, via Germany, will again transmit a minute of MFSK64 Saturday at about 1230 UTC on 6095 kHz and Sunday at about 0130 UTC on 7375 kHz. (KBC’s change from 7375 to 9925 planned for this weekend has been postponed until May.) STF Radio International will also have a minute of digital modes during the same hour (simultaneous MFSK32 streams at 1500 and 2100 Hz).

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VOA Radiogram this weekend includes Greek and images in MFSK64 and 128

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(Source: VOA Radiogram)

VOA Radiogram for the weekend of 21-22 September 2013 is produced using Fldigi3.21.76AB. For best results, use this version, available from www.w1hkj.com/alpha/fldigi/v3.21/

One improvement in 3.21.76AB is that it can send images in MFSK64 and MFSK128. Previously, MFSK32 was the fastest MFSK mode for sending images without the pictures appearing skewed (off center). Images do not transmit more quickly in MFSK64 and MFSK128, but they do have higher resolution.

If your decoded MFSK64 and MFSK128 images are still slanted or skewed, calibration of the receive codec might be helpful. One such method for doing this is described here: www.w1hkj.com/FldigiHelp-3.21/DigiWWV.html.

Our non-Latin alphabet of the week is Greek. You will need the UTF-8 character set for the Greek and for some of the punctuation in the English items. I forgot to change some of the typographic apostrophes ’ to typewriter apostrophes ’ , so they will not display correctly if you do not have the UTF-8 character set. In Fldigi, that adjustment is made in Configure > Colors & Fonts.

This weekend’s program includes an English VOA News item in Flmsg format. When all the text is received, the story will render, or pop up, as a new web page on your browser, suitable for saving or forwarding. To make Flmsg work with Fldigi (both can be downloaded from w1hkj.com), in Fldigi: Configure > Misc > NBEMS — Under Reception of flmsg files, check both boxes, and under that indicate where your Flmsg.exe file is located.

Much of the show this weekend is in the MFSK64 mode, which might be a bit optimistic if reception conditions are less than ideal.

Here is the lineup of modes for VOA Radiogram, 21-22 September 2013:

2:53 MFSK16: Program preview
2:40 MFSK32: Sample of Greek text
:49 MFSK32 image: VOA Greek Service logo
3:01 MFSK32: “Need to Protect the Internet”
1:45 MFSK64: Radio Free Sarawak/Discovery Channel
2:23 MFSK64 image: “Duck Commander”
:27 MFSK128: CNBC Saracens deal
:48 MFSK128 image: CNBC logo
:45 MFSK32: E-mail address
4:40 MFSK64: BBC Worldwide, Giglio TV, Voice of Greece, All India Radio
2:55 MFSK64/Flmsg: VOA News re Voyager Golden Record
2:17 MFSK32 image: Voyager Golden Record
:33 MFSK32: Closing announcements

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC)
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

Please send reception reports to [email protected]

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VOA Radiogram 3-4 August includes MFSK and EasyPal

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(Source: VOA Radiogram)

If you are an EasyPal fan, EasyPal returns this weekend with a striking image of the Las Vegas skyline. Don’t be too disappointed if you cannot decode the EasyPal image. A certain signal threshold is required, and the failure rate is rather high.

In recording the program for this weekend, I applied audio compression to my voice introduction and to the music at the end of the show — but not to the digital tones. Perhaps you will notice the difference.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram for the weekend of 3 and 4 August 2013:

2:30 MFSK16: Program preview
:45 MFSK32: VOA logo image
5:22 MFSK32: VOA News re 3D printed heart
1:00 MFSK32: Heart image
4:15 MFSK64 in Flmsg* format: VOA News re oxygen in Mars’s past
1:15 MFSK32: Mars image
7:05 EasyPal image** (4-QAM)
1:08 MFSK16: closing announcements
1:17 MFSK32: VOA Radiogram logo image
:55 Surprise mode of the week

*To make Flmsg work with Fldigi (both can be downloaded from w1hkj.com), in Flmsg: Configure > Misc > NBEMS — Under Reception of flmsg files, check both boxes, and under that indicate where your Flmsg.exe file is located.

**Download EasyPal software from vk4aes.com.

Please send reception reports to [email protected]

These would be especially helpful:

1) Audio samples of poor reception which nevertheless results in a successful decoding of the text modes.

2) Reception of the digital modes on less expensive portable radios, and any advice you have on how to feed audio from those radios to your PC and the decoding software.

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC)
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina

Thanks for listening and decoding.

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VOA, Mighty KBC and PCJ: Radiograms this weekend

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The Mighty KBC, the VOA and PCJ radio will broadcast radiograms (digital text) over shortwave radio this weekend.

Reception conditions could be challenging depending on the impact of the incoming CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) which is expected to disrupt the high frequency bands today. All the more reason to attempt to decode these messages as Dr. Kim Elliott is studying each digital mode and its ability to effectively overcome adverse conditions. Email your reports and audio files to: [email protected]

Here are details from each broadcaster:

The Mighty KBC

Broadcasting 14 April 2013 from 00:00-02:00 UTC on 7,375 kHz.

At about 0133 UTC, two slow (less than 60 WPM) but robust modes will be transmitted: Olivia 8-1000 centered on 1000 Hertz, and MFSK16 on 2000 Hertz.

At just before 0200 UTC, Olivia 8-2000, with Flmsg format, will be centered on 1500 Hertz.

The Voice of America

VOA Radiogram for the weekend of 13/14 April 2013 will feature the Olivia modes, with MFSK modes also transmitted for comparison.

The modes will be transmitted in groups of three, and all will be centered on an audio frequency of 1500 Hertz, except where indicated:

Olivia 8-1000, 58 WPM, 1:32 (program menu)
MFSK 16, 58 WPM, 1:52
Olivia 8-1000, 58 WPM, 1:44

Olivia 32-2000, 50 WPM, 2:09
MFSK 22, 80 WPM, 1:50
Olivia 16-2000, 80 WPM, 1:51

MFSK 32, 120WPM, 2:04
Olivia 8-2000, 120WPM, 2:04
Olivia 4-2000, 160WPM, 1:40

Olivia 16-1000 (centered on 2000 Hz) versus music, 2:03

MFSK 32 closing text and image, :51

Reception reports with (if possible) sample audio and screenshots would be appreciated. Audio files from outside the United States are especially helpful.

[email protected]

Twitter: @VOARadiogram

Here is the VOA Radiogram broadcast schedule:
(all days and times UTC)
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

PCJ Radio