Tag Archives: Martín Butera

Radio Waves: RFI rebroadcasts halted in Taiwan, City Radio, Plans to Recover Titanic Radio On Hold, and Martin visits Radio Globo and Radio CBN Radio studios

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Replica of the Titanic’s radio room at the Antique Wireless Museum (Source: Tripadvisor)

Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers.  To that end: 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, Dan Robinson, Scott Gamble, and Martin Butera,  for the following tips:

Rebroadcasts of RFI programs halt over alleged “pro-China” stance (RTI)

Taiwan’s National Education Radio has decided to stop domestic rebroadcasts of Radio France Internationale’s programs. That’s after receiving listener complaints that the station’s news programs repeated Chinese talking points that praised Beijing, belittled Taiwan, and criticized the US.

National Education Radio had rebroadcast Radio France Internationale’s French and Chinese programs for Taiwanese audiences during two daily time slots under an agreement arranged by RTI.

During a meeting of the Legislature’s culture and education committee Wednesday, KMT lawmakers said that the education ministry should investigate whether the listener complaints were justified or not. They also expressed concern about what pulling the plug of the rebroadcasts might mean for freedom of speech and the press in Taiwan.

During the meeting, Education Minister Pan Wen-chung said that the rebroadcasting agreement had been intended to foster exchanges with France. Pan said the programs originally rebroadcast were mainly focused on educational and cultural topics. However, Pan said that RTI and National Education Radio have decided to temporarily stop the rebroadcasts, since the content of the re-broadcasted programs had begun to deviate from these non-political topics.

Pan said that he had not personally listened to the rebroadcast programs. He also said that the education ministry had not been informed about the decision to halt rebroadcasts until RTI and National Education Radio had already decided to do so among themselves. However, he said that the education ministry supports the decision.[…]

Listen to radio stations from around the world with the push of a bright red button (Huckberry.com)

There’s one type of travel that’s always ready at the drop of a hat: mental vacations, or, travels of the mind. If that sounds pretty namby-pamby, wait until you see what we mean. Inside this handheld radio are 18 windows into the cityscapes of 18 international locations. Streaming live radio from whichever far-off locale you prefer, The CityRadio is a living, immediate connection to the authentic sounds, music, language, and culture of vibrant cities across the globe. Turn it on, tune in, and let your mind wander while your passport stays stowed in a drawer.

U.S. government tries to block Titanic expedition as archeologists say human remains could exist (Yahoo News)

A plan to retrieve the ocean liner’s radio received pushback as archaeologists say human remains could still be there.[…]

 

Martin visits Radio Globo and Radio CBN Radio studios

I’m sending you a PDF about my visit to the Radio Globo and Radio CBN Radio studios, all with photos, video links, lots of texts, all very complete.

It also contains an interesting interview with a quite famous journalist, here in Brazil, creator of podcast content, who worked for 2 years in international Chinese radio and currently works in CBN Radio.

Click here to download (PDF 2.5MB).

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Radio Waves: Research on Gen Z Listenership, Early Women in Radio, Carlos Latuff Interview, and “Your Next Tech Purchase Should Be a Radio”

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers.  To that end: 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 Jeb, Dennis Dura, and Dan Van Hoy for the following tips:

Edison Research: 55% Of Gen Z Listen to AM/FM Radio Every Day But… (Radio Insight)

n their latest Share Of Ear study, Edison Research notes that over 55% of 13-24 year-olds listen to AM/FM radio daily.

However the study notes that these Gen Z listeners spend 50% less of their total share of time listening to AM/FM radio than the average 13+ population meaning they spend less time with radio than older generations. They also mostly listen to AM/FM in the car with 50% of their listening coming in vehicles. The study also notes that these 13-24 year-olds use a radio receiver 50% less than the average 13+ population, and they use their phones for listening 75% more than the average 13+ population with 58% more of their total share of time listening to streaming audio than the average 13+ population. Their share of YouTube listening, which is surveyed only for music and music videos, is 98% higher than the average 13+ population.

The study also notes that 89% of their listening to AM/FM is done through a traditional radio and only eleven percent coming from streaming of broadcast brands.[…]

The Women Who Overcame Radio’s Earliest Glass Ceilings (Radio World)

Before the dawn of broadcasting, women were frequently hired as wireless operators, and so it was not a surprise that women’s voices were heard as announcers and program hosts in the early days of broadcast radio.

Sybil Herrold was perhaps the world’s first disc jockey; she played Victrola records on her husband Charles Herrold’s experimental station, which broadcast in San Jose from 1912 to 1917.

In Boston, Eunice Randall’s voice was heard on a variety of programs over AMRAD station 1XE (which became WGI in 1922). In New York City, WOR audiences regularly heard Jesse Koewing, who was identified on the air only as “J.E.K.” while Betty Lutz was the popular “hostess” heard on WEAF.

At WAHG (now WCBS), 16-year-old Nancy Clancy was billed as the country’s youngest announcer.[…]

Coffee and Radio Listen – Episode 2 Carlos Latuff (Coffee and Listen)

Carlos Henrique Latuff de Sousa or simply “Carlos Latuff”, for friends, (born in Rio de Janeiro, November 30, 1968) is a famous Brazilian cartoonist and political activist. Latuff began his career as an illustrator in 1989 at a small advertising agency in downtown Rio de Janeiro. He became a cartoonist after publishing his first cartoon in a newsletter of the Stevadores Union in 1990 and continues to work for the trade union press to this day.

With the advent of the Internet, Latuff began his artistic activism, producing copyleft designs for the Zapatista movement. After a trip to the occupied territories of the West Bank in 1999, he became a sympathizer for the Palestinian cause in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and devoted much of his work to it. He became an anti-Zionist during this trip and today helps spread anti-Zionist ideals.

His page of Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/carloslatuff/) currently has more than 50 thousand followers, where of course, you can see his work as a cartoonist and also shows his passion on the radio.[…]

Your Next Tech Purchase Should Be a Radio (PC Mag)

As the pandemic drags on, it’s time to return to a slower, older technology, one that frees you from the unending sameness served up by algorithms.

Quarantine has slowed everything down so much that it almost feels like we’re going back in time. The first few weeks were measured in sourdough starter, then in seeds sprouting from patches planted in backyards or squeezed into space on windowsills. Things are quieter now, but maybe too quiet.

Commutes used to be accompanied by music and podcasts piped in through earphones or car speakers. This casual sensory stimulation seems disposable, but it’s one of many small pleasures that have slipped away nearly—but not quite—unnoticed.

That’s why it’s time to return to a slower, older technology that can provide auditory companionship and match the new pace of your days: the radio.

Radios, more affordable and portable than TVs, used to be household staples and a more intimate part of people’s days—a companion in the bath or during a solitary drive or walk. Now they’re mostly found in go bags and as vehicle infotainment center afterthoughts.[…]

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Radio Waves: Radio Listeners Key to Economy, DXcamp Updates, Coronavirus Hospital Radio, and Hamvention QSO Party

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers.  To that end: 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, Martin Butera, and Dan Van Hoy for the following tips:

Nielsen: Heavy Radio Listeners Are Key To Restarting U.S. Economy. (Inside Radio)

With 39 states beginning to relax restrictions imposed to diminish the spread of the coronavirus, many Americans are ready to pick up the pieces and get back to their previous lifestyles. An online survey of 1,000 persons aged 18+, conducted from April 30-May 2, found nearly two thirds (63%) say they plan to resume normal activities next month. Conducted by Nielsen, the survey also shows heavy radio listeners are key to driving commerce and supporting the economy since they’re more likely to go out and shop once COVID-19 eases in their market.

Presenting the findings during a client webinar Friday afternoon, Tony Hereau, Nielsen VP of Cross-Platform Insights, summed up the top takeaway succinctly: “AM/FM radio is the soundtrack of America’s re-opening and reemergence.”[…]

Marajo Dxcamp updates

Ivan Dias and Martin Butera inform us about their most recent update on the receptions of the last DXcamp on the Amazonian Island of Marajo, in the north of Brazil.

Interesting medium wave receptions from the following link
https://dxcamp-marajo2019.blogspot.com/p/only-log.html

Be sure to visit the official website of the Dxcamp, where you will find a lot of material about this important event
https://dxcamp-marajo2019.blogspot.com/

The Tiny Radio Stations That Lift Spirits in Hospitals (NY Times)

LONDON — Last Wednesday, Steve Coulby, a D.J. for Nottingham Hospitals Radio in England, read out a request from a patient battling Covid-19.

“Brian, you’ve given me an awesome responsibly, as you’ve asked for ‘any jazz,’” Mr. Coulby said. “I have to admit,” he added, “what I know about jazz is limited.”

Mr. Coulby then told his listeners he’d spent much of the day searching jazz tracks online, looking for one that might aid Brian’s recovery, or at least lift his mood. He decided on “Let Me Into Your Heart” by the British singer Isaac Waddington.

“I hope it’s good enough, Brian,” Mr. Coulby said, with a nervous laugh. “To be honest, it’s all you’re getting.”

Britain’s hospital radio stations are one of the less well-known features of its health system: tiny operations, staffed by volunteers, that you would never know existed unless you’d been a patient here.

Patients can normally listen to the shows, which are heavy on chart music and old hits, using headphones connected to an entertainment unit beside their beds. In some cases, the shows are even played out of speakers on the wards or in the emergency room waiting area.

The end of hospital radio has been declared many times over in Britain. Some hospital stations have struggled to raise funds, while the rise of smartphones filled with music and radio apps has meant patients have less need for them. But there are still over 200 such stations, according to the Hospital Broadcasting Association, and some claim they have found themselves more useful than ever during the pandemic, providing a human connections to patients who would otherwise be alone.[…]

Hamvention QSO Party Saturday May 16! (Hamvention.org)

Let’s celebrate the many years we have all had at the Great Gathering we call Hamvention. We also want to remember Ron Moorefield W8ILC who never missed a Hamvention and contributed to our club until his recent death.Let’s light up the airwaves with our remembrances of Hamventions of the past! See you on the air! K3LR, Tim Duffy and W8CI, Michael Kalter.

Here is the deal: 12 hour event, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDST on Saturday of Hamvention May 16, 2020.  Operate CW or SSB on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meters. The exchange is a signal report and first year you attended Hamvention. If you have never attended Hamvention you send 2020.

Send your score (number of QSOs) to 3830scores.com within 5 days of the event. You can print a certificate on line via www.HVQP.org. More details will appear on the Hamvention QSO Party web site being set up now.

Special bonus: W8BI, the club call of the Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA is the host of Hamvention) will be activated by designated DARA members from their home stations. You can add 10 points for each band/mode QSO with W8BI (12 available). So you can earn 120 bonus points (like having 120 additional QSOs).

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Radio Waves: First Microprocessors, Ocean FM, SWL Interviews, and NPR’s take on All-Digital AM

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers.  To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Marty, Martin Butera, and the Radio Survivor for the following tips:

The Surprising Story of the First Microprocessors (IEEE Spectrum)

Transistors, the electronic amplifiers and switches found at the heart of everything from pocket radios to warehouse-size supercomputers, were invented in 1947. Early devices were of a type called bipolar transistors, which are still in use. By the 1960s, engineers had figured out how to combine multiple bipolar transistors into single integrated circuits. But because of the complex structure of these transistors, an integrated circuit could contain only a small number of them. So although a minicomputer built from bipolar integrated circuits was much smaller than earlier computers, it still required multiple boards with hundreds of chips.[…]

Ocean FM Was Fire: How Local Radio Done Right Can Heat A Cabin | Radio Schmaltz (Part-Time Audiofile)

[…]The cabin on a rocky peninsula in Northwest Ireland might not have had all the letters for its Scrabble set or a microwave, but it did have another marvel of 20th century technology. It was a little CB/AM/FM radio crouching behind a box of matches on top of a kitchen cabinet.

I decided to put the switch on FM and started swirling the dial. As soon as I heard a lilting woman’s voice underneath a sheet of static, I began carrying it around the tiny room while adjusting the rabbit ears.

Now the signal was as clear as the peat-rich water was brown, a farmer was being interviewed about the economic downturn. It was a quick piece — just some brogue-ish assurances that one doesn’t choose agriculture for an easy life. Then came a trio playing an Irish ballad, and then came North West Hospice Bingo: a bingo game that allows listeners from across the broadcast range of Ocean FM’s two regional frequencies to play bingo, including the residents of the hospice.

I’d bundle up for walks outside where the wind was loud, blustery, and sacred. The ocean crashed against the rocks in a way I never conceived as being real outside of movies. But when I was inside, the radio might as well have been a Soviet relic with only a volume control and no tuner because I simply couldn’t touch that dial. I learned the schedule quickly, timing walks and firewood runs so that I’d be back in time for Country Jamboree, a boy-girl-boy-girl style line-up of Irish and American country tunes.

As I’d stand by the wood-stove, taking off my cold wet socks to put on the toasted, at time singed socks that I’d been roasting, I felt the fulfillment of the promise of radio. I could hear Fessenden making history with the first radio broadcast of music, Oh Holy Night transmitted on a rocky coast on Christmas Eve of 1906 and heard by ships at sea.[…]

Coffee and Radio Listen

Coffee and Radio Listen is an investigation of Brazilian radio listener, by Martin Butera.

How they began listening to radio, the local or international stations that influenced them, the interests they have when tuning to a station, the languages they like to listen to, if they send listeners reports and collect QSLs, their antennas and receivers, and all aspects related to the radio listen both in shortwave and in other bands and modes.

Each month they will have in this blog, an exclusive interview with a Brazilian radio listen. At the end of this project, a free downloadable e-book will be available, which contains all the interviews and statistical references.

Every month there will be a new interview, this month of March launch month we start with 2 interviews

Martin is Argentinian, born in the city of Buenos Aires capital. He currently lives in Brasília DF, capital of Brazil. He is also a journalist, documentary maker and founding member of Radio Atomika 106.1 MHz (Buenos Aires, Argentina).

To know more about CREW 15.61 Radio Listeners’, please visit the following link.

Guest Post: Brazil’s newly-formed “15.61 Crew”

Collaborate on this project by Martín, our friend Rob Wagner (VK3BVW), Mount Evelyn DX Report (adapting the recordings).

Click here her to check out the Coffee And Radio Listen website.

NPR Supports All-Digital on AM, With Caveats (Radio World)

National Public Radio “generally supports” allowing stations to transition, if they wish, to all-digital AM transmission using HD Radio in the United States. But it believes the commission needs to go further on how it would handle interference complaints from neighboring analog stations in the band.

About 80 AM public radio stations are affiliated with NPR or receive operational funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, including WNYC(AM) in New York City.

NPR says it has significant interest in any measures to help AM broadcasters better serve the public by improving the listening experience.

“Facilitating the expansion of HD Radio and its additional functionality for program and public safety information and services would serve the public interest, provided the transition to all-digital HD Radio operation does not cause harmful interference,” NPR wrote in comments filed with the FCC this week.

“As it has in the past, NPR supports the expansion of HD Radio, but not at the expense of current analog AM service.”[…]

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First logs from November DXcamp on Marajó Island

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Martin Butera (left) and Ivan Dias (right) at the Marajó Island DX Camp

Many thanks to Martin Butera and Ivan Dias who inform us that their first logs from the Marajó Island DXpedition have been posted.

They provided a link to both a full story (click here) and a direct link for the logs (click here). They note that the logs will be updated monthly. They expect the process of processing the logs to be complete by August 2020. Click here to view their website.

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Radio Waves: iHeart Layoffs • Radio JK FM • 2nd Chance for Pirates • Invisible War

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio 

Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers.  To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Here’s the first Radio Waves story collection. Enjoy!

‘The Culling Has Begun’: Inside the iHeartMedia Layoffs (Rolling Stone)

The largest radio company in America cut a number of employees this week, dealing a blow to local radio across the country

“The largest radio conglomerate in the country, iHeartMedia, initiated a round of mass layoffs this week, cutting enough people that one former on-air host described Tuesday as “one of the worst days in on-air radio history.” The layoffs were concentrated in small and medium markets, where staffs had already been reduced, striking another major blow to local radio.”

AER (Asociación Española de Radioescucha) Radio JK FM

SWLing Post contributor, Martin Butera, writes:

“Proclaimed in 2011 by UNESCO member states, and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 as International Day, February 13 became World Radio Day (WRD). This 2020, on World Radio Day, UNESCO calls on all radio stations to defend diversity, both in their newsrooms and on radio waves. Martin Butera, visited an important FM of Brasilia DF, capital of Brazil and anticipates this year’s motto that will be: “Pluralism, representation and diversity.”

A report in Spanish that Martin invites you to read by clicking here.

Give radio pirates chance to go legit (The Boston Globe)

The massive fines levied last month against two unlicensed Boston stations that served the Haitian immigrant community went too far.

The Invisible War of the Cold War Airwaves (X-Ray Audio)

In the radio show below, an episode of our Bureau of Lost Culture series on Soho Radio, we meet with Russian journalist, broadcaster and writer Vladimir Raevsky to hear the fascinating story of the Soviet Radio Jammers. Vladimir tells of the extraordinary lengths people went to to listen to the music they loved and of the gigantic amount of money spent by both sides in this invisible war of the airwaves.

We also hear from BBC Russian Arts correspondent Alex Kan about the brave / foolhardy so-called Radio Hooligans – the technically savvy young Soviets who dared to risk punishment by setting up their own little pirate radio stations to broadcast themselves and the music they liked using bootlegged and adapted equipment.

And finally we hear the strange story of the signal emitted by The Duga a gigantic mysterious installation near the Chernobyl nuclear site.

 

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Videos from DXcamp Marajó Island, November 2019

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Photo: Ivan Dias & Martin Butera, during the first Dx-Camp 15.61 Crew Radio Listeners’ Marajó Island – Amazon Rainforest, North of Brazil – November 2019

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Martin Butera, founding member of the 15.61 Crew, for the following guest post:

The 15.61 Crew Radio Listeners, Martin Butera and Ivan Dias, give us a small video preview made in the first Dx-Camp on Marajó Island in the Amazon Rainforest, North of Brazil on November 2019.

There are more than 11 hours of SDR recordings and videos of the Ultralight radios, which will take much additional time to process, of course.

Crew is working on the report with a complete story that includes videos and photos of everything experienced during the DX-Camp–this will be published in several languages and the first LOG, which we estimate will be the first months of the South American summer 2020.

We recommend not forgetting to periodically visit the official site of the DX-Camp, to find updated information: https://dxcamp-marajo2019.blogspot.com/

Above, you’ll see a short stretch of the medium wave band with plenty of interesting content: 585 kHz, alternating between National Radio of Spain (Madrid), BSKSA (Saudi Arabia), 590 kHz, alternating with Poty Radio (Crateús / CE), Radio Diffuser (Boa Vista / RR) and Radio Continental (Buenos Aires), 594 kHz BSKSA (Saudi Arabia), 595.9 kHz SNRT (Morocco – operating off-frequency for years), 600 kHz Mirante Radio (São Luís / MA), Vale Radio (Barreiras) / BA) and Radio Gaucha (Porto Alegre / RS) and 603 kHz National Radio of Spain (Sevilla).

Videos

All of the following videos were captured during the November 2019 Dx-Camp:

Brazil is a country with vast continental distances. The following three videos showcase Brazilian radio from across the country.

Radio Diffuser Boa Vista (1408 km distance)

Radio Itatiaia 2191 (km distance)

Radio Band B (2747 km distance)

Photo: Ivan Dias & Martin Butera, during the first Dx-Camp 15.61 Crew Radio Listeners’ Marajó Island – Amazon Rainforest, North of Brazil – November 2019

More photos of the DX-Camp from the official site:

https://dxcamp-marajo2019.blogspot.com/p/photos.html

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