Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia, for bringing our attention to this recent roundup of developments in Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) as the year comes to a close.
The article from RedTech.pro was written by Ruxandra Obreja, chairman of the DRM Consortium, and summarizes a range of DRM-related updates and activities in 2025, covering new broadcasts, technology progress, and announcements from stakeholders in the DRM community.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia, who shares this Radio World article, which reports that China has officially adopted the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) standard to modernize its AM radio bands.
The plan includes technical guidelines for analog/DRM simulcasting, requirements for provincial transmitters to deploy DRM systems, and a nationwide push for DRM-capable receivers in vehicles.
From Radio World: In a rare move, the FCC has approved two new construction permits and granted a full license for international shortwave broadcasting—prompting questions about their true purpose. All three applicants—DPA Mac, Parable Broadcasting, and Turms Tech—claim intentions to use the DRM standard, yet past filings and meeting summaries suggest possible ties to high-frequency financial data transmissions, a purpose not authorized under current broadcast rules. Who are these new players, and what exactly do they plan to transmit?
Nick Langan unpacks the story in Radio World. Click here to read the full article.
Photo by Brock Wegner on Unsplash
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan, for his recent article in Radio World titled “The Modernization of Broadcast Radio.” In it, Alan argues that the proposed “AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act” in the U.S. should go beyond preserving legacy systems and instead embrace Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) as the future of terrestrial broadcasting. Drawing comparisons with digital transitions in countries like Norway, Switzerland, India, and China, Alan highlights the potential to reduce transmission costs, increase coverage reliability, and enhance emergency communications — all while offering a path to modernize U.S. broadcasting infrastructure.
Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors David Iurescia, Alan, and Frank (SWL F14368) for the following tips:
Many thanks to Frank (SWL F14368), who shares the following announcement:
Hi Thomas
I have organized another SWL contest for 2025! The goal will be to listen a maximum number of DXCC entities in eight months but only in SSB mode (USB or LSB).
Best 73 de Frank SWL F14368
The DRM Consortium (www.drm.org) releases today its DRM Consumer Radio Receiver Functionality Recommendation (rxspec.drm.org). The document describes and defines the core functional parameters of consumer radio receivers capable of receiving DRM radio broadcasts. As DRM is being increasingly rolled out, adopted and demonstrated globally such a document is necessary to offer a guide to receiver manufacturers, but also broadcasters and regulators, so that consumers get a common and consistent DRM digital radio experience.
[…]The DRM Receiver Functionality Recommendation applies to all types of consumer-targeting DRM radio receivers, with detailed application-specific requirements for automotive receivers, personal mobile devices (such as mobile, feature, and smart phones or tablets incorporating built-in radio receiver functionality for terrestrial broadcast radio), and general-purpose receivers (all types of stand-alone receivers, including home and desktop radios).
The Consumer Receiver Recommendation builds upon the more technical DRM MRR – Minimum Receiver Requirements Specification (mrr.drm.org), which must be implemented and followed by any DRM receiver.
The new Consumer Receiver Recommendation covers DRM digital radio in all broadcasting bands: in the LW, MW, SW and VHF bands (Band I, II and III) and analogue AM and analogue FM radio. [Continue reading…]
Summary: At the WorldDAB Summit 2024 in Zagreb, industry leaders emphasized the importance of keeping radio front and center in the evolving connected car landscape. Gregor Pötzsch of Volkswagen Group’s CARIAD stressed the need for easy findability and engaging multimedia content, while Tomas Granryd of the EBU Connected Car Playbook highlighted the challenges posed by hidden FM/DAB buttons, voice activation inconsistencies, and increasing competition from global digital platforms. With 70% of in-car audio still coming from radio, broadcasters have the leverage to shape dashboard integration, ensuring seamless hybrid reception and intuitive voice control. Read the full article at Radio World.
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DRM Receiver Sample Screenshot
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Alan, who shares the following announcement from the DRM Consortium:
On 27 December, SE-TA 2, a private German shortwave radio station, will be on air with a 4-hour moderated music programme “Musikalischer Frühschoppen” from the Waldheim, Germany, transmitter.
The frequency will be 6195 kHz.
The two-hour programme will be played twice in succession within the 4-hour transmission windows. The DRM transmission will be in two different configurations:
09-11 UTC 16 QAM in MSC Mode B
11-13 UTC 16 QAM in MSC Mode C
Both featuring xHE-AAC audio, Journaline, DRM TextMessages with DL+ information, stations logos and Slideshow images.
Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Dennis Dura, and Alan for the following tips:
To the extent that you have an opinion on something like high-frequency (HF) radio, you probably associate it with amateur radio operators, hunched over their gear late at night as they try to make contact with a random stranger across the globe to talk about the fact that they’re both doing the same thing at the same time. In a world where you can reach out to almost anyone else in an instant using flashy apps on the Internet, HF radio’s reputation as somewhat old and fuddy is well-earned.
Like the general population, modern militaries have largely switched to digital networks and satellite links, using them to coordinate and command their strategic forces on a global level. But while military nets are designed to be resilient to attack, there’s only so much damage they can absorb before becoming degraded to the point of uselessness. A backup plan makes good military sense, and the properties of radio waves between 3 MHz and 30 MHz, especially the ability to bounce off the ionosphere, make HF radio a perfect fit. [Continue reading…]
Where have these things been all my life?
There is a new breed of RF receivers known as software-defined radios, and they are revolutionizing the way in which people listen to shortwave (SW) radio, or indeed any form of radio broadcast.
SDRs combine plug-in radio receiver dongles/boxes with personal computers, with the computer serving as the user interface. What makes this interface so useful is that the listener’s screen displays a wide swath of the bandwidth being tuned to, with each station’s signal shown as a visual vertical line that moves and grows/shrinks with its signal strength.
In other words, the listener can literally see what is happening across the band in real time, rather than having to turn the dial or push the Up/Down scanning buttons on a conventional shortwave radio, checking one station at a time. [Continue reading…]
Long Awaited and Finally Released – RTL-SDR V4 Support!
Today the new Release 1.5.1 of STARWAVES DRM SoftRadio App has been released. The following improvements can be expected:
– Added audio output device selector in settings (cog wheel icon) / audio tab,
starting with Android 12:
default, Earpiece, Speaker, Headphones, Bluetooth, HDMI, USB
– Added support for “RTL-SDR Blog V4” Receiver Dongle (all bands)
– Added support for “HackRF” Receiver Dongle (all bands)
– Improved robustness after signal loss or reconfiguration
– Improved sync status display in tuning dialog
– Unknown image formats no longer opened in external web browser window
– Updated decoder modules
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