Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Ally, who shares the following short videos of the PantronX Titus II:
Click here to view on YouTube.
Videos of the PantronX Titus II DRM receiver
3 Replies
Tag Archives: DRM
PantronX Titus II DRM receiver: HFCC posts “pre-order” form
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Aaron Kuhn, who writes:
The HFCC is now collecting “pre-orders” (really expressions of interest in purchasing/demand) for the PantronX Titus II Android Radio at http://hfcc.org/delivery/receivers.phtml
“The purpose of this form is to collect the information on the demand for pre-production samples of the Titus II receiver.
It is NOT BINDING and it does not establish any contract. The ordering party is not obliged to buy the indicated quantity and the supplier is not obliged to deliver it.
Availability: Pre-production batch – 4Q/2016, regular production – 1Q/2017.
Price: Under 100USD plus shipping and local duty/taxes not included.
Payment methods: Wire transfer for larger quantities, PayPal works too, but the buyers would need to add PayPal bank fees.
You will be contacted on the specified e-mail address and asked for a binding order when the exact price and available delivery method is known.”
As Aaron also noted, though the HFCC posted this, the pre-order request form appears to be published by the manufacturer. I’m sure this is a way PantronX can gauge market interest and also decide what first-run production numbers should look like.
Thanks again for the tip, Aaron!
The Gospell GR-216: DRM Consortium announces new DRM portable
(Source: DRM Consortium via Alokesh Gupta)
Gospell announces the imminent release of GR-216 DRM/AM/FM digital radio
Chengdu, China, September 05, 2016
Gospell, a leading supplier of pay TV system and equipment, satellite TV receiving products and microwave products, is delighted to announce the imminent release of GR-216 DRM/AM/FM digital radio, the first model in its Global Radio series range of tabletop radio. The product is designed to meet the demands of easy access to high quality information for cost-sensitive market at an affordable price.
GR-216 is equipped to receive DRM broadcast, as well as traditional FM with RDS and AM in medium wave band and shortwave band. Featuring a high performance DRM/AM/FM tuner, GR-216 provides noise-free reception of even the weakest stations. It supports the latest audio compression standard xHE-AAC and traditional HE-AAC as well as SBR and parametric stereo.
Besides the built-in whip antenna and ferrite bar antenna, dedicated AM/FM external antenna terminals with switch are located on the rear side of the radio, this will help those who live or work in a metal or concrete building and enjoy listening to a radio.
This unique radio will automatically turn itself on and initiate its emergency-tuning process when the Emergency Warning Broadcasting is engaged. The radio will enlarge its volume, flash the backlight, play siren sound and tune itself to the emergency program.
In addition to DRM program recording, AM/FM are also supported. Recorded program will be stored on the attached USB pen drive and can be played back on other devices such as a phone or a tablet. The GR216 also includes a scheduler which allows the user to schedule regular and unattended recordings for their favorite radio programme.
The built-in high-quality 3 inch full-range speaker with enlarged magnet provides outstanding audio performance and room filling sound. With the help of state-of-the-art audio processing technology, GR-216 includes separate bass, mid and treble tone controls and a graphics equalizer, users can tailor the sound to their taste. We’ve provided an output for headphones along with an audio output on the rear side of the radio for line recording or to connect GR-216 as a radio tuner to a home audio system.
As a tabletop radio, GR-216 features dual independent alarm clocks with sleep timer. The alarm clock allows for once, daily, weekday and weekend settings. The alarm can be adjusted to the volume you prefer with buzzer or radio stations.
All aspects of set-up, time and program information are clearly shown through an easy to read large LCD display with white backlight, which is paired with an intuitive rotary control, enabling quick and easy navigation. The display brightness and contrast can be adjusted for a comfortable night’s sleep.
“GR-216 is designed with the purpose and vision of providing easy access to high quality information, while utilizing a simple and intuitive user interface”. Said Haochun Liu, director of DRM development department, Gospell. “With the help of a carefully design and concrete quality, GR-216 will be a durable device that supports long-term use.”
For additional information, please visit www.gospell.com or contact Gospell sales at
[email protected]
About Gospell
Founded in 1993, Gospell Digital Technology Co Ltd (GOSPELL). is a private hi-tech enterprise with R&D, manufacturing, business consultancy and planning, trade, delivery, project implementation and after sales service, acting as a complete DTV and triple-play solution provider for Digital TV/OTT related projects. Headquartered in GOSPELL INDUSTRIAL PARK at Chenzhou, Hunan Province for CPE related production manufacturing, GOSPELL also has its office in Shenzhen for business/marketing management and administration, in Chengdu for R&D and headend/transmitter system production/debugging and Customer Service Center, and in 12 cities
in China as well as international offices in India, Africa and Mexico.
Gospell announces the imminent release of GR-216 DRM/AM/FM digital radio
Chengdu, China, September 05, 2016
Gospell, a leading supplier of pay TV system and equipment, satellite TV receiving products and microwave products, is delighted to announce the imminent release of GR-216 DRM/AM/FM digital radio, the first model in its Global Radio series
range of tabletop radio. The product is designed to meet the demands of easy access to high quality information for cost-sensitive market at an affordable price.
GR-216 is equipped to receive DRM broadcast, as well as traditional FM with RDS and AM in medium wave band and shortwave band. Featuring a high performance DRM/AM/FM tuner, GR-216 provides noise-free reception of even the weakest stations. It supports the latest audio compression standard xHE-AAC and traditional HE-AAC as well as SBR and parametric stereo.
Besides the built-in whip antenna and ferrite bar antenna, dedicated AM/FM external antenna terminals with switch are located on the rear side of the radio, this will help those who live or work in a metal or concrete building and enjoy listening to a radio.
This unique radio will automatically turn itself on and initiate its emergency-tuning process when the Emergency Warning Broadcasting is engaged. The radio will enlarge its volume, flash the backlight, play siren sound and tune itself to the emergency program.
In addition to DRM program recording, AM/FM are also supported. Recorded program will be stored on the attached USB pen drive and can be played back on other devices such as a phone or a tablet. The GR216 also includes a scheduler which allows the user to schedule regular and unattended recordings for their favorite radio program.
The built-in high-quality 3 inch full-range speaker with enlarged magnet provides outstanding audio performance and room filling sound. With the help of state-of-the-art audio processing technology, GR-216 includes separate bass, mid and treble tone controls and a graphics equalizer, users can tailor the sound to their taste. We’ve provided an output for headphones along with an audio output on the rear side of the radio for line recording or to connect GR-216 as a radio tuner to a home audio system.
As a tabletop radio, GR-216 features dual independent alarm clocks with sleep timer. The alarm clock allows for once, daily, weekday and weekend settings. The alarm can be adjusted to the volume you prefer with buzzer or radio stations.
All aspects of set-up, time and program information are clearly shown through an easy to read large LCD display with white backlight, which is paired with an intuitive rotary control, enabling quick and easy navigation. The display brightness and contrast can be adjusted for a comfortable night’s sleep.
“GR-216 is designed with the purpose and vision of providing easy access to high quality information, while utilizing a simple and intuitive user interface”. Said Haochun Liu, director of DRM development department, Gospell. “With the help of a carefully design and concrete quality, GR-216 will be a durable device that supports long-term use.”
For additional information, please visit www.gospell.com or contact Gospell sales at [email protected]
About Gospell
Founded in 1993, Gospell Digital Technology Co Ltd (GOSPELL). is a private hi-tech enterprise with R&D, manufacturing, business consultancy and planning, trade, delivery, project implementation and after sales service, acting as a complete DTV and triple-play solution provider for Digital TV/OTT related projects. Headquartered in GOSPELL INDUSTRIAL PARK at Chenzhou, Hunan Province for CPE related production manufacturing, GOSPELL also has its office in Shenzhen for business/marketing management and administration, in Chengdu for R&D and headend/transmitter system production/debugging and Customer Service Center, and in 12 cities
in China as well as international offices in India, Africa and Mexico.
August 28: BBC Atlantic Relay station special DRM broadcasts
(Source: DRM Consortium)
DRM will be part of a big anniversary on a small island in the Atlantic Ocean. On 28th of August at 1155 GMT Babcock International will ensure a special BBC digital transmission on 21715 kHz from the BBC Atlantic Relay station, marking the fiftieth anniversary of the BBC’s first short-wave radio broadcast from Ascension Island.
Since 1966, the Atlantic Relay station has broadcast BBC World Service programmes to Africa and South America, and to this day, continues to broadcast over 250 programme hours every week to East and West Africa in English, French, Hausa and Somali.
The two hour-transmission on 21715 kHz will start with the old, special sound of Bow Church Bell in east London, the sound of which, even if in DRM this time, will remind older listeners of the BBC broadcasts of many decades ago. The 21-hour transmission will be the regular BBC programmes for West and South Africa and will end at 1400.
DRM – Digital Radio Mondiale, is an international digital radio standard designed by broadcasters, for broadcasters, in co-operation with transmitter and receiver manufacturers. DRM is a high quality digital replacement for analogue radio broadcasting in the AM and FM bands.
This special transmission will be sent with greetings from Ascension Island’s BBC and Babcock International staff and visitors, who will be celebrating half a century of sterling broadcasting on August 28th.
Click here to read more about the fascinating history of the BBC’s broadcasts from Ascension Island.
Transmission Details
FREQ TIME (UTC) SERVICE TX kW Bearing Day LANG TARGET
21715 1155-1201 BBC DRM ASC 250 114 1 English S. Africa (Special Announcement)
21715 1201-1400 BBC DRM ASC 250 114 1 English S. Africa (English – ENAFW)
21715 1400-1430 BBC DRM ASC 250 250 1 English Brazil (English – ENAFW)
Additional analogue transmission will broadcast from 13.30 GMT for ceremonial purposes.
15105 1330-1430 BAB ASC 250 27 1 English W. Africa (Special Announcement)
Details Emerge: The PantronX Titus II DRM Portable Receiver
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Harald Kuhl (DL1ABJ), who shares more details about the new Titus 2 DRM receiver via the DRM Consortium Chairman, Ruxandra Obreja:
NEW DRM RECEIVER UNVEILED at HFCC MEETING IN MIAMI, FLORIDA THIS WEEK!
The HFCC meeting is being held 22-26 August in Miami and on this occasion there was a live DRM transmission form Radio Vaticana received on the new Titus2 DRM receiver (pls. see attached document with picture and details) http://www.drmna.info/.
Here is also a little testimony of how this prototype to be sold “at under 100 dollars” performed from Ray Robinson, Operations Manager at KVOH (Voice of Hope / Voz de Esperanza):
I’m currently at the HFCC conference in Miami, and reception of the DRM broadcast here this afternoon was very successful. Reception was made outside the hotel on two receivers – a NewStar DR-111 and a brand new pre-production receiver from Pantronix called the Titus 2, with a cluster of attendees gathered round taking photos and videos. The latter receiver is based on an Android tablet in a stereo radio format with one speaker each side of the central horizontal tablet. Reception on both radios was solid throughout, on a day when analog reception on 16m was plagued with a lot of atmospheric noise. We haven’t done detailed calculations, but figure there were probably at least three hops from Italy to Miami, and for a daylight path, the reception quality was nothing short of astounding.
Click here to download the Titus II PDF brochure.
The PantronX Titus II: A New DRM Receiver
I had heard rumors that a new DRM receiver was in the works, but had not yet seen any specifications. DRMNA.info has just posted a few specs:
The PantronX Titus II is actually a full SDR solution in a boombox case. Few details yet, but it is running Android, has a 100 kHz to 2 GHz receiver on-board and decodes AM, FM, SSB and DRM natively.
It uses a Quad-core Arm A53 @ 1.2 GHz, 1 Gig of RAM and 8 Gig of on-board Flash. 7″ TFT display and supports Android 5, 6 or custom remixes.
Radio World: The evolution of shortwave radio
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who shares the following article by James Careless in Radio World Magazine.
The article includes interviews with Andy Sennitt, Kim Andrew Elliott, Nigel Fry, and even yours truly. The following is a short excerpt taken from the introduction of the article:
(Source: Radio World)
OTTAWA, Ontario — With the advent of radio in the 20th century, the shortwave band (1710–30,000 kHz) soon became a hotbed of long-distance radio broadcasting. Used primarily by state-run international broadcasters, plus ham radio operators and ship-to-shore radio communications, the shortwave band was prized due to its astoundingly broad reach.
That reach was — and is still — made possible by the tendency of ground-based shortwave radio transmissions to bounce off the ionosphere and back to earth; allowing shortwave broadcasts to “hop” repeatedly, increasing a broadcast’s range while minimizing its decay.
[…]At the height of the Cold War, the shortwave bands were packed with content as the Voice of America and West Germany’s Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany) traded ideological punches with Radio Moscow and East Germany’s Radio Berlin International. This is because analog shortwave radio broadcasting was the only way for both sides to make their political cases cross international borders: There was no satellite TV, let alone any internet.
This article is well worth reading and one of the more in-depth pieces I’ve seen in a trade publication or news site recently.
I should add that I completely agree with James Careless’ conclusion:
“[T]he research that went into this article suggests that the shortwave band is sufficiently alive to be still evolving.”
The fact is, the shortwave landscape is not what used to be in the Cold War. Many of those big voices have left the scene and, in the process, left the door open to others.
The shortwaves are a dynamic communications space that continues to evolve.
That’s why I keep listening.
Want to read more about the future of shortwave radio? Click here to read Does Shortwave Radio Have a Future?