Tag Archives: KBS World Radio

Radio Waves: Nebraska Radio History, KBS Radio, AM Radio, Free Radio Preservation Webinar, and Belka Review

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

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 Mike, Jeramy Phillips, Fred Waterer, and Dennis Dura for the following tips:

Nebraska Radio History

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jeramy Phillips, who writes:

Greetings, Thomas.

I thought you might like this little bit about some Nebraska radio history:
https://history.nebraska.gov/norfolks-wjag-and-the-roots-of-political-talk-radio/

That blog post also links to an article that has a lot more in-depth information.
https://history.nebraska.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/doc_publications_NH2011WJAG.pdf

Enjoy!

KBS WORLD Radio 70th Anniversary Special (KBS World)

August 15 marks 70 years since the start of KBS WORLD Radio. For the past 70 years, KBS WORLD Radio grew and evolved with the development of Korean history, through the Korean War, the democratization of Korea and the rapid economic growth that South Korea has seen.

And to celebrate our 70th anniversary, we have prepared a special #InDepthNewsAnalysis with three public media experts to look back on the past 70 years of KBS WORLD Radio, to discuss the role of public international media and also how the next 70 years to come.

Letter: Emergency Response in Maui Fires Highlights Radio’s Importance (Radio World)

Engineer Ron Schadt says people have become way too reliant on cell phones

An interesting story from CBS News about the fires in Maui. If you read through it, nothing worked. Sirens didn’t work, cell phones were sketchy or not working at all, no electricity, etc. etc. If you read through the entire story, near the end is one line: “Emergency management had to resort to radio to communicate with the victims of the fires.”

Well, well, interesting that what we have been saying all along is really true, the oldest form of contacting people is still the most reliable and unfortunately, because people are so attached to their stupid phones, radio has to be “resorted to.” This little section of this article needs to get to these senators and congressmen who are on this AM in every car movement. [Continue reading…]

Save AM Radio? Why?!? (The Gate)

Politicians come to the rescue.

Radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation — or AM — has been used commercially for greater than 100 years. Its heyday generally ranged for decades from the 1930s through the 1970s as its programming content transitioned from dramas and comedies to popular music to talk programs, with the latest news mixed into each format. Advancements in technology has arguably rendered AM radio virtually obsolete. Why save AM radio from extinction?

Save AM Radio? Why?!?

The waning popularity of terrestrial AM radio technology is not so much the reason as to its potential extinction. Rather, the reason is due to the technology of electric vehicles — and because rental car companies such as Hertz have been increasing the number of electric vehicles in their fleets, the days of listening to AM radio in rental vehicles may be numbered.

The electric motors which power the drive wheels in order to propel electric vehicles also tend to generate electromagnetic interference with the reception of AM broadcast radio directly through the receiver. That interference can result in annoyances which range from buzzing, distortion, and fading of the signal itself to static and sounds of crackling instead of clear reception. Streaming audio of programs from AM radio stations — as well as the reception of FM stations — remain unaffected.

Always seeking to save time and money, eight of 20 of the leading carmakers in the world have removed AM broadcast radio from their electric vehicles; and manufacturers of electric vehicles are considering eliminating the option of tuning in to AM radio in their vehicles. Engineers have not found an easy way to eliminate the aforementioned interference without adding excessive weight to the car or increasing the cost of the vehicle…. [Continue reading…]

Preserving Broadcast History (NAB)

Join NAB and the Library of American Broadcasting Foundation (LABF) on Wednesday, August 23 at 2 p.m. ET for the first of a two-part series to learn the importance of documenting and preserving broadcast history for future generations.

Part One: The “Preserving Broadcast History” webinar will provide guidance for broadcasters on how to catalog your station’s history, best practices for creating an inventory and where to store this data and information. A Q-and-A will follow the webinar.

Featuring:

Jack Goodman, co-chair, LABF
April Carty-Sipp, executive vice president, Industry Affairs, NAB
Laura Schnitker, Ph.D., C.A., curator, Mass Media and Culture, University of Maryland’s Special Collections and University Archives
Mike Henry, reference specialist, University of Maryland’s Special Collections and University Archives

Click here for more information and to register for free!

Belka Review (N9EWO)

Click here to read Dave’s review of the Belka receiver. Thanks to Mike for the tip!

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Carlos’ illustrated listening reports of Typhoon Khanun from Okinawa and KBS

2 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art from two recent reports and a radiofax.

Good morning, Thomas.
My radio activity on August 10, 2023.

Attached are two illustrated listening reports about Typhoon Khanun: one from Okinawa Fishery radio station and the other from KBS World Radio.

Okinawa Fishery

Here is the audio via YouTube:

KBS World Radio

Here is the audio via YouTube:

Radiofax

Also attached a typhoon warning issued yesterday by South Korean meteorology agency via radiofax at 05h00 UTC and received in Porto Alegre. Signal wasn’t good, therefore image arrived with poor quality. Even though, it’s possible to notice the map of Korea and the path of Typhoon Lan, now a tropical storm.

Thank you so much for documenting these broadcasts, Carlos, and sharing them with us in the SWLing Post community!

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KBS World’s latest QSL card honors the 2018 Inter-Korean summit

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF) who writes:

[Here’s a] picture of the new QSL Card from KBS World Radio dedicated to the Inter-Korean Summit that took place last April 27th.

Whoever sends a reception report to KBS will be answered with this QSL Card.

Thank you, David! You’d better believe I’ll snag one of these QSL cards. Certainly a keeper!

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KBS World Radio expands services and changes frequencies on September 4

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(Source: KBS World Radio via Trevor R)

Hello listeners,

KBS World Radio English Service is carrying out a major frequency and time adjustment on shortwave as we expand our programming as of September 4.

First of all, we will start a new two-and-a-half hour broadcast on 9.770Mhz at 0800h UTC toward Southeast Asia. The one-hour broadcast on 9.515Mhz toward Europe will expand to two hours, and will start at 1500h UTC. Our broadcast toward India will be on 9.785Mhz instead of the current 9.880Mhz and expand to three hours, starting at 1400h UTC.
Unfortunately, as we add more hours and programs to several frequencies, we will no longer be broadcasting on 9.690Mhz, 6.095Mhz and 7.275Mhz.

For more information on the frequency adjustment and program schedule, please visit our website at world.kbs.co.kr.

Thank you!

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KBS World Radio test transmissions schedule

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(Source: Paul Walker)

KBS World Radio’s English Department Is Carrying Out Test Transmissions Next WeekKBS World Radio’s English Department Is Carrying Out Test Transmissions Next Week

Europe: August 21 – 23, 1500 – 1600 UTC, 9515 kHz

Southeast Asia: August 21 – 23, 0800 – 1030 UTC, 9770 kHz

India: August 21 – 22, 1400 – 1700 UTC, 9835 kHz

India: August 23 – 24, 1400-1700 UTC, 9785 kHz

If you live in target areas, please tune in and send us reception reports. Your reports are crucial in helping them find better frequency options.

Reception reports can be sent to [email protected] or on the web at https://world.kbs.co.kr/english/about/about_report.htm

If conditions are good next week, the transmission meant for Europe could be audible in the US

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The brilliant little Tecsun PL-310ET: serious DXing on a budget – part 1

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Hi there, a good friend of mine Mr Thomas Brogan mentioned to me recently that his little Tecsun PL-310ET was proving to be an excellent receiver and that it would suit my DXpedition activities. Now, as someone who likes to push the envelope of performance with sophisticated portables, usually coupled to very large antennas, a cheap little Tecsun might not have been an abvious choice for my next purchase. However, Mr Brogan (who has an excellent Youtube channel by the same name – check out his wonderful collection of vintage and modern receivers) previously suggested I buy, for similar reasons, the Sony ICF-SW100. That little masterpiece of electronics turned out to be one of the best receivers I’ve ever owned. I felt compelled to take notice because Tom never gets this stuff wrong! A few days later I found myself in Maplins – again – and there it was on the shelf at just under £40, so I bought one.

I got back into shortwave listening about 18 months ago, after many years of inactivity whilst my poor Sangean ATS-803A rotted away in the garden shed and Sony ICF-7600G long-gone via eBay. To start all over again, I bought a Tecsun PL-360. What a great little portable that turned out to be – there are over 100 reception videos on my YouTube channel demonstrating how it continually performed above and beyond the very modest price tag. I even managed to hear ABC Northern Territories 4835 kHz on it once – simply amazing for a receiver under £30. Given my extensive experience with the PL-360 and having learned the PL-310ET shared the same DSP chip, I was expecting the same, or at least very similar performance and the only real benefit to upgrading to the PL-310ET was the direct frequency access. However, I was wrong about that!

The brilliant Tecsun PL-360 got me back into shortwave radio for less than £30

About a week after buying the PL-310ET, I managed to get out on a DXpedition and with 30 metres of wire attached to it via the external antenna socket, I started tuning around the SW bands. Quite simply, I was amazed at the sensitivity and selectivity of this diminutive little portable. With the proven DSP receiver chip and a number of audio bandwidth filter options from 1 to 6 kHz, coupled with direct frequency access via the keypad, it was a joy to use and listen to. In just over an hour I had copied signals from North Korea, including their internal service KCBS Pyongyang, Zanzibar BC, ABC Northern Territories (at the first attempt!), Zambia NBC Radio 1, Radio Oromiya and Radio Amhara from Ethiopia, amongst others. Brilliant stuff and clearly demonstrating that the overall hardware/software package with the PL-310ET is a step up in performance over the PL-360 and capable of proper DX for a very modest outlay. Interestingly, in a conversation with Thomas Witherspoon regarding the PL-310ET, he reminded me that it was one of his go-to radios for travelling and confirmed it’s excellent performance. I would definitely recommend this radio to novices and experts alike.

Reception videos follow below, with more to come in part 2; I hope you enjoy them. Thanks for watching/listening and I wish you all excellent DX!

Clint Gouveia is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Clint actively publishes videos of his shortwave radio excursions on his YouTube channel: Oxford Shortwave Log. Clint is based in Oxfordshire, England.

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