Tag Archives: Radio Waves

Radio Waves: HEBA Antenna Approval, Eclipse Time Signal Shift, A Novice’s Guide to Amateur Radio Astronomy, and Voyager 1 Sending Data Again!

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 Alan, Dan, and Rich Cuff for the following tips:


WQVR(AM) Is Granted CP to Use HEBA Antenna at Night (Radio World)

Developer believes antenna’s smaller footprint can help reduce property needed for AM operators

The FCC in March granted an application for a construction permit filed by WQVR(AM) 940 in Webster, Mass., requesting licensed nighttime operation.

This is noteworthy because WQVR has been licensed to operate during daytime hours with a High-Efficiency Broadband Antenna or HEBA, developed by Worldwide Antenna Systems. [Continue reading…]

Global ‘time signals’ subtly shifted as the total solar eclipse reshaped Earth’s upper atmosphere, new data shows (Live Science)

During the historic April 8 total solar eclipse, a government radio station in Colorado started sending out slightly shifted “time signals” to millions of people across the globe as the moon’s shadow altered the upper layers of our atmosphere. However, these altered signals did not actually change the time. [Continue reading…]

Nathan Butts: A Novice’s Guide to Radio Astronomy (YouTube)

NASA’s Voyager 1 Resumes Sending Engineering Updates to Earth (NASA JPL)

An artist’s concept of NASA’s Voyager spacecraft. Credit: NASA

After some inventive sleuthing, the mission team can — for the first time in five months — check the health and status of the most distant human-made object in existence.

For the first time since November, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is returning usable data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems. The next step is to enable the spacecraft to begin returning science data again. The probe and its twin, Voyager 2, are the only spacecraft to ever fly in interstellar space (the space between stars).

Voyager 1 stopped sending readable science and engineering data back to Earth on Nov. 14, 2023, even though mission controllers could tell the spacecraft was still receiving their commands and otherwise operating normally. In March, the Voyager engineering team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed that the issue was tied to one of the spacecraft’s three onboard computers, called the flight data subsystem (FDS). The FDS is responsible for packaging the science and engineering data before it’s sent to Earth.

The team discovered that a single chip responsible for storing a portion of the FDS memory — including some of the FDS computer’s software code — isn’t working. The loss of that code rendered the science and engineering data unusable. Unable to repair the chip, the team decided to place the affected code elsewhere in the FDS memory. But no single location is large enough to hold the section of code in its entirety.

So they devised a plan to divide the affected code into sections and store those sections in different places in the FDS. To make this plan work, they also needed to adjust those code sections to ensure, for example, that they all still function as a whole. Any references to the location of that code in other parts of the FDS memory needed to be updated as well.

The team started by singling out the code responsible for packaging the spacecraft’s engineering data. They sent it to its new location in the FDS memory on April 18. A radio signal takes about 22 ½ hours to reach Voyager 1, which is over 15 billion miles (24 billion kilometers) from Earth, and another 22 ½ hours for a signal to come back to Earth. When the mission flight team heard back from the spacecraft on April 20, they saw that the modification worked: For the first time in five months, they have been able to check the health and status of the spacecraft.

During the coming weeks, the team will relocate and adjust the other affected portions of the FDS software. These include the portions that will start returning science data.

Voyager 2 continues to operate normally. Launched over 46 years ago, the twin Voyager spacecraft are the longest-running and most distant spacecraft in history. Before the start of their interstellar exploration, both probes flew by Saturn and Jupiter, and Voyager 2 flew by Uranus and Neptune.

Caltech in Pasadena, California, manages JPL for NASA.


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Radio Waves: International Symposium Focuses on Broadcasting, Last Morse Station, Yaesu FRG-7 Digital Frequency Kit, and Remembering Bob Heil,

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 Paul Jamet, Bob Butterfield, and NT for the following tips:


International symposium: Université Toulouse Capitole, 14 and 15 November 2024

From COVID-19 to armed conflicts: radio faced with a multiplicity of crises

https://radiography.hypotheses.org/files/2023/12/Appel-a-communication-Colloque-international-Radio-et-crises-Toulouse-2024-version-anglaise.pdf

Deadline: April 25th, 2024

America’s Last Morse Code Station (The Atlantic)

Maritime Morse code was formally phased out in 1999, but in California, a group of enthusiasts who call themselves the “radio squirrels” keeps the tradition alive.

Calling all. This is our last cry before our eternal silence.” With that, in January 1997, the French coast guard transmitted its final message in Morse code. Ships in distress had radioed out dits and dahs from the era of the Titanic to the era of Titanic. In near-instant time, the beeps could be deciphered by Morse-code stations thousands of miles away. First used to send messages over land in 1844, Morse code outlived the telegraph age by becoming the lingua franca of the sea. But by the late 20th century, satellite radio was turning it into a dying language. In February 1999, it officially ceased being the standard for maritime communication.

Nestled within the Point Reyes National Seashore, north of San Francisco, KPH Maritime Radio is the last operational Morse-code radio station in North America. The station—which consists of two buildings some 25 miles apart—once watched over the waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Both KPH sites shut down in 1997, but a few years later, a couple of radio enthusiasts brought them back to life. The crew has gotten slightly larger over the years. Its members call themselves the “radio squirrels.” Every Saturday, they beep out maritime news and weather reports, and receive any stray messages. Much of their communication is with the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, a World War II–era ship permanently parked at a San Francisco pier. [Continue reading, noting that much of The Atlantic’s content is behind a paywall…]

Yaesu FRG-7 Digital Frequency and S-meter Readout Kit

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Butterfield, who writes:

Readers who own a Yaesu FRG-7 and are interested in a digital frequency readout/S-meter kit that replaces the original analog S-meter may be interested in this item from Marcel Jacobs, PA8MA, Netherlands. It is available on eBay:

https://ebay.us/ji2zp7 [Note: this eBay partnership link supports the SWLing Post.]

I have not personally tried out this unit, however, it does look pretty slick. Further information can be found in the FRG-7 groups.io user group.

A video is also available on YouTube:

Audio Innovator Bob Heil Dies (Radio World)

Gave a unique sound to Frampton and was known in radio, audio and ham radio

Bob Heil has died, according to the company he founded. He was 83.

“Bob fought a valiant, year-long battle with cancer, and passed peacefully surrounded by his family,” Heil Sound posted on Facebook.

“Driven by a lifelong passion for sound, Bob’s pioneering work revolutionized how concertgoers experienced live sound.” [Here’ his official obituary.]

Heil was the inventor of the famous Heil Talk Box used memorably by musicians like Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton, Slash, Richie Sambora and others. He was invited to exhibit his innovations at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also was an active member of the amateur radio community.

In 2022 Bob and Sarah Heil transferred ownership of their company to President/CEO Ash Levitt and Director of Operations Steve Warford, Radio World reported at the time. “Sarah Heil has retired, but Bob will continue to do outreach work and product design within the amateur radio space under the title Founder and CEO Emeritus,” it stated then. [Continue reading…]


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Radio Waves: Audacy Files for Bankruptcy, WBCQ’s Ampegon Antenna, and FM DRM in India

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 NT, Dennis Dura, Alan, and Rich Cuff for the following tips:


WSJ Report: Audacy Close to Filing for Bankruptcy (Radio World)

Facing deadlines this year to pay back some of its $2 billion in debt, Audacy appears poised to file for bankruptcy protection, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

The WSJ says all that debt is about to trigger a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, possible within weeks, with senior lenders assuming ownership of the radio company following the reorganization. (Chapter 11 is the type of bankruptcy that allows a company to maintain operations while creating a plan to repay creditors, rather than Chapter 7, which involves liquidation of assets.)

Audacy has been slow rolling payback of its massive debt, which was mostly accumulated back in 2017 when the former Entercom Communications merged with CBS Radio. The broadcast company rebranded as Audacy in 2021.

The publicly-owned radio company has been skipping loan interest payments since late last year in efforts to facilitate talks with its lenders, according to reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchanges Commission. The broadcaster has blamed a softness in the ad markets for its inability to pay back the loans.

The WSJ says Audacy — which has $632 million in first lien debt due in Nov. 2024 — has reached agreement with its lenders for a “pre-packaged bankruptcy plan.” The business and economy-focused newspaper reports lenders will help finance the reorganization. It’s unclear if Audacy CEO David Field will remain with the company following the reorganization.

Audacy, which is one of the biggest U.S. radio owners with 230 radio stations in 46 markets, has gone through recent format reorganizations that have resulted in significant job losses through consolidation of on-air positions. [Continue reading…]

WBCQ Relies on High-Power Shortwave Antenna (Radio World)

One of the more unusual facilities featured in our recent Radio World ebook about interesting RF plants is at WBCQ. It uses what is believed to be the only rotatable shortwave antenna in North America.

The station operates from Monticello in northern Maine; it’s owned and operated by Allan and Angela Weiner, who also are licensees of WXME(AM) 780 kHz and WBCQ(FM) 94.7 MHz at the site.

Installed in 2018, the AHR 4/4/0.5 antenna was manufactured by the former Ampegon AG and can transmit signals up to 500 kW. It is used to broadcast “World’s Last Chance,” a ministry that believes “the return of Yahushua is only a few years away” according to Bible prophecy.

The program is heard on 9.330 MHz in various languages for target areas in both the western and eastern hemispheres. (The program has posted reception reports.)

The turnkey installation was done by Cestron International of Germany, with work led by Winfried Zimmer. Lance Cook was project manager for WBCQ.

“The high-power antenna offers different radiation patterns and an antenna gain of up to 23 dB and uses a technology characterized by a single-shaft structural design,” Cestron said in a project summary.

The tubular shaft has a diameter of four meters. Its support design will absorb static and dynamic forces originating from the antenna components, allowing the system to function even under extreme weather conditions, according to Cestron. [Continue reading…]

Roadmap 2024-DRM digital radio services in FM band in India (Broadcast and Cablesat)

All India Radio (AIR), the public service broadcaster in India, is providing terrestrial radio services in all the radio broadcast bands – MW, SW, and FM. Commercial broadcasting in FM band is licensed to private radio stations, and community radio stations are also permitted for non-commercial use.

At present, most of the terrestrial radio services in India are in analogue, except for some services of AIR in MW and SW bands, which are in DRM digital.

Keeping in view the advantages of digital radio broadcasting, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the regulator for broadcasting, on Feb 1, 2018, had recommended to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (M/o I&B), Government of India, that digital broadcasting in FM band (VHF band II) should also be allowed, without disturbing the existing analogue transmissions. [Continue reading…]


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Radio Waves: What Listeners Like, Renaissance of Radio, WOR in Photographs, DIY Faraday Cage

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 Dennis Dura, Mark Erdle, and Jock Elliott for the following tips:


‘It’s what listeners like’: AM radio purveyors on the Palouse hope automakers heed call to keep their medium alive (The Spokesman-Review)

The rolling, green-turning-golden hills just outside Steve Shannon’s studio window at the offices of Inland Northwest Broadcasting north of downtown Moscow aren’t just pretty to look at.

They’re also the reason the AM radio dial remains important in this expansive, rural stretch of the country.

FM broadcasting is based on line-of-sight, but the pesky thing about AM waves is that they pass through anything, Shannon explained. And they reach a monthly audience that’s still more than 82 million strong across the country, most of them in areas just like the Palouse, according to a fall 2022 survey by broadcast tracking company Nielsen.

“People are tuning in to AM because they are listening to content they can’t get anywhere else,” said Shannon, operations manager for the group that is behind six stations on both the AM and FM dial broadcasting in Moscow and Colfax.

The future of the format seemed in jeopardy just a few short weeks ago, when broadcasters convened in Washington D.C. and pushed federal lawmakers to pressure carmakers who were pondering an end to AM receivers in new cars. Electric vehicles, growing in popularity and headed for a likely continued boom, especially with Washington outlawing the sale of new gas-powered cars beginning in 2035, create interference with a signal that can make AM transmissions difficult to hear, according to automakers.

That pressure, which included the introduction of legislation that would have required manufacturers to install AM receivers in new cars, appears to have made the point. In late May, Ford’s chief executive officer announced on social media it had reversed course and would provide the service in all 2024 Ford and Lincoln models after planning to remove it from some models because of higher costs and lack of listeners. [Continue reading…]

The renaissance of AM radio: a confluence of social, regulatory and technical revitalization (Cardinal News)

AM radio, a pioneering force in the world of broadcast communications, has for several decades been an essential medium for disseminating information and entertainment. However, its appeal has been progressively diminishing due to social, regulatory and technical challenges. Nevertheless, this scenario presents an opportunity for a significant revival.

The decline of AM radio can be traced back to significant changes in content, notably the reduction in locally focused programming. Many AM station owners made strategic decisions to move away from content that directly catered to local communities, often replacing local news, events and issue discussions with syndicated programming. These changes left a void of locally relevant content, reducing listeners’ connection with stations.

The Federal Communications Commission’s abolition of the Fairness Doctrine in 1987 exacerbated the situation. This doctrine, which required broadcasters to present contrasting views on controversial issues of public importance, ensured a balanced discourse on the airwaves. Its repeal led to increased broadcasts favoring extreme political views, either heavily liberal or conservative. While this trend may have appealed to specific audience segments, it risked alienating listeners seeking balanced discourse.

Compounding these programming shifts, religious content on the AM band has considerably increased. While serving an essential audience, the sheer volume of these broadcasts reduced the variety and balance of programming, possibly leading potential listeners to turn away. [Continue reading…]

Radio Station WOR in Photographs – 1939 (AWM on YouTube)

In 1939 photographer Ralston B. Collins made a photo album of metro New York radio station WOR. This album is from the J. R. Poppele Collection at the Antique Wireless Museum.

Building a Simple Faraday Cage, by OhioGalt (SurvivalBlog.com)

This article describes the effects of EMP and CME and how to build a simple inexpensive Faraday cage.

Most readers of the SurvivalBlog are aware of the potential damage from either a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) or an Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) and the impact on everyday electronics. With an EMP, an electromagnetic pulse is generated at high altitudes from a nuclear explosion damaging sensitive electronics. A CME damages electronics in a similar way with the release of a large solar flare from the sun reaches carrying magnetic fluxes and plasma toward earth. These magnetic fluxes interfere with Earth’s magnetic fields and create current surges in power systems and electronics. As of this writing, there is several C and M class flare activity causing some Amateur Radio blackouts on the lower bands. To follow active solar weather visit Spaceweather.com. [Continue reading…]


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Radio Waves: DW Launches “Sudan Now” on Shortwave, Mayor Saves AM Station, Tape Measure Turnstile Antenna, and Where Does AM Go From Here?

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 Dennis Dura and David Iurescia for the following tips:


“Sudan Now” – DW Arabic launches new radio program for Sudan (DW)

DW is now broadcasting a 30-minute daily Arabic-language radio program entitled “Sudan Now” on shortwave, Hotbird and SES-5 satellites and via the DW Arabic website.

As an unbiased radio program, “Sudan Now” will provide listeners in the target region with unbiased coverage of current issues in the region and will promote political, social and cultural dialogue through interviews, talk shows and reports.

Given the lack of independent information sources in Sudan and the limited ability of established media to broadcast due to internet outages and ongoing fighting, “Sudan Now” was specifically designed to be broadcast on shortwave and via the Hotbird- and SES-5 satellites. The satellite broadcast enables listeners in the target region to receive the program via their TV sets.

DW Managing Director Programming Dr. Nadja Scholz: “The conflict in Sudan is ongoing and has far-reaching effects on the entire region. It is absolutely necessary to provide the people there with a dedicated program that enables them to access independent, current and in-depth information. With shortwave radio, we further increase our ability to reach as many people as possible.”

Manuela Kasper-Claridge, DW editor-in-chief, said: “The humanitarian situation in Sudan remains catastrophic. There is a lack of everything – including free, independent information. This Arabic-language radio program is therefore urgently needed.”

The program broadcast will begin on Monday, June 26, 2023. It will air daily from Monday to Friday at 2:30 pm (local time, GMT+2) for a duration of thirty minutes. A repeat of the radio program will air daily at 8:30 pm.

“Sudan Now” can be heard in the afternoon on shortwave 15275 kHz/17800 kHz and in the evening on shortwave 15275 kHz/17840 kHz.

In addition, all broadcasts will be available on the DW Arabic website.

AM Matters: This CO Mayor Saved His Town’s Station (Radio Ink)

[…]Radio Ink: When Justin Sasso briefly mentioned KLMR’s story at Hispanic Radio Conference, it piqued the room’s interest. That’s a powerful AM story. How did this come to pass with you both?

Dan: So about a year ago in late July, KLMR was blown off the air from a micro-downburst. The previous owners couldn’t fix it and they were in danger of losing the license. When I saw the building, half the roof was gone and the antenna was dangling in the wind.

I’ve been in the radio business in Colorado for 40 years, with the last 20 in Colorado Springs, but I’ve never owned a radio station. And so when this opportunity came about, I reached out to Kirk. We had talked about possibly buying a company in Lamar previously. He’s not just the mayor, he’s my brother-in-law, but it was great that the mayor wanted to get involved in it too. So we’re off and running.

Radio Ink: For a mayor to step up and say, “This AM station is so important to my community that if nobody else will save it, I will,” is a huge testament to AM radio’s power and value.

Kirk: It’s vital. That’s what I had mentioned to Justin in that meeting about AM. When we look at rural Colorado and the ag market there, there’s a necessity for that. [Continue reading…]

A Quick And Easy Tape Measure Turnstile Antenna For Milsat Snooping (Hackaday)

The number of satellites whizzing by over our heads at any moment is staggering, and growing at a rapid rate as new constellations are launched. But sometimes it’s the old birds that are the most interesting, as is the case with some obsolete but still functional military communications satellites, which thanks to a lack of forethought are largely unsecured and easily exploitable. And all that’s needed to snoop in on them is a cheap ham radio and something like this simple and portable satcom antenna.

As proof of the global nature of the radio hobby, the design in the video below by Brit [Tech Minds] borrows heavily from previous work by Italian ham [Ivo Brugnera (I6IBE)], which itself was adapted to use 3D-printed parts in a German blog post a few years ago. [Continue reading…]

Not just cars: Where does AM radio go from here? (YouTube)

Joe and Jeff Geerling discuss AM radio station ownership, emergency use, rural listeners, and more.


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Radio Waves: RTI Test Broadcast Today, Messages to North Korea, Exploring Space Weather Book, Vintage Radios at Auction, and WMLK

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 Dennis Dura, Sten Odenwald, Paul Walker, and David Iurescia for the following tips:


RTI test broadcast July 1, 2023

Many thanks to David Iurescia who shares the following announcement (translated from French):

Dear listener,

The French service of Radio Taiwan International is pleased to inform you that during the month of August 2023, we will be broadcasting directly from the Tamsui transmission center in northern Taiwan to Europe and South Africa. north.

In order to better prepare for this radio activity in French, a test broadcast will be carried out on Saturday July 1 on short waves, at the following times and frequencies:

    • Frequency 11995 kHz (325°), 5:00 p.m.-5:10 p.m. then 5:30-5:40 p.m., universal time
    • Frequency 9545 kHz (315°), 6:00 p.m.-6:10 p.m., universal time
    • Frequency 7240 kHz (315°), 6:20 p.m.-6:30 p.m., universal time
    • Frequency 7250 kHz (315°), 6:40 p.m.-6:50 p.m., universal time

Your listening reports on these 10-minute segment tests will help us identify the two optimal frequencies for August’s “Live from Tamsui” broadcast under the best possible listening conditions.

Thank you for your valued input!

A special QSL card is produced for all the listening reports that you will send us by post, email to the French service or via the stations’s online form, both for the test broadcast and during the August broadcast.

Thank you for listening and for your loyalty.

Cordially,

French Service, RTI

[email protected]

Abductees’ relatives record radio messages for broadcast to North Korea (NHK)

Family members of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea have recorded encouraging messages for a radio broadcast aimed at the country.

The messages were recorded in Tokyo for Free North Korea Radio, a shortwave broadcaster. Its daily radio program is run by a group of people who defected from the North to South Korea.

The abductees’ relatives called on their loved ones never to give up until they are rescued.

The leader of the relatives’ group, Yokota Takuya, is a younger brother of Yokota Megumi, who was abducted in 1977 at the age of 13. He asked his sister how she is doing. He also said he is sorry that she has had to spend a long time in North Korea without freedom.

He added that the relatives will never give up until they achieve the return of all the abductees.

His twin brother, Yokota Tetsuya, told his sister about their parents. He said that their father, who died three years ago, thought about rescuing his daughter every day.

He added that their 87-year-old mother often falls over, but is doing well. He vowed to get back his sister and asked her to stay healthy until she can be reunited with her mother.

Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said last month that he wants to start high-level talks under his direct control to hold a summit with North Korea at an early date.

Yokota Takuya said after the recording that he wants the Japanese government to continue its steady diplomatic efforts until all the abductees are returned.

He expressed hope that a Japan-North Korea summit can be held and that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will decide to hand over all the abductees. [Read the full story and watch the video here…]

New Book: Exploring Space Weather with DIY Magnetometers (Amazon)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Sten Odenwald, who writes:

Hi Thomas!

Thanks so much for your contribution to the History of Space Weather book I published several years ago!

I have just published a new book I think you might be interested in. It’s called Exploring Space Weather with DIY Magnetometers, and it’s now available at amazon.com (see below). It provides step-by-step designs for building six sensitive instruments for under $60.00 that can measure real-time changes in Earth’s magnetic field.

If you are interested in such a building project, or you know of a family member, teacher, or even a student looking for a science fair project, this book will show you how to build these instruments. I also provide examples of storm events that were actually detected by each design so you can see what typical data looks like. For additional examples and updates, visit my blog page at http://sten.astronomycafe.net/diy-magnetometers/

Thanks again for your help!
Sten Odenwald
Astronomer

Click here to check out this book on Amazon.com (SWLing Post affiliate link).

Schulman Auction Radios

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dura, who notes that a number of vintage and late model radios are up for auction at Schulman’s:

WMLK on the air (Paul Walker)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who shares the following tip:

It appears they are now operating at US night times now. For the longest time, as you may be aware, they were only on 9275 kHz during the day.

Sometime around mid last week, they were being reported on 15150 kHz as well.

And I finally logged them too.. nice signal on 15150 kHz here just after 0400!!


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Radio Waves: Loss of AM in Cars, AM Radio Op Ed, BBC Sues Over Loss of Service, and Czech Radio Celebrates Centennial

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 Dennis Dura, Dave Porter, and David Iurescia for the following tips:


NASBA on Loss of AM in Cars: “1,300 AM Stations Could Be Left in the Dark” (Radio World)

State association questionnaire finds one in three AM stations have no FM translator

The National Alliance of State Broadcasters Association (NASBA) is reporting insights it discovered after polling AM stations about the removal of over-the-air AM in new cars.

The data collected from more than 1,000 AM stations shows that many do not have an FM translator and/or do not stream their signals over internet connections, NASBA says. The group is hoping to use the information to rally proponents of AM to help convince companies like Ford, Mazda, BMW and others to keep reception of AM in their new vehicles.

NASBA says the automakers “are cutting corners on expensive new electric vehicles” by eliminating AM radios, which means more than 4,000 AM stations in the United States are at risk. But its survey results show that AM radio across the country provides a diverse mix of music and talk and is a vital link for millions of listeners. [Continue reading…]

Letter: AM’s Downfall Is Poor Programming, Not Audio Quality (Radio World)

“It was the music without the spots, that made FM,” says a reader

The comments written by Dave Bialik in the latest Radio World hits the nail right on the head. The average person, which is about 95% of the population, couldn’t care less about audio fidelity. The days of “audiophiles” are gone. The downturn of AM listenership is almost exclusively due to poor programming, poor content. Yes, FM in its early days was mostly easy listening, beautiful music and classical music. It catered to the audiophiles, and had a very limited audience even though it sounded great and in 1963 by offering multiplex stereo.

Once a few of the FM guys realized people were fed up with the 45 minute commercial breaks on AM stations with popular music, the format was adopted on FM, but with none or few commercials (because no one wanted to advertise on FM). Once people found out they could get the rock and pop music on FM without all the talk, the band switch started taking place. It had nothing to do with audio — remember at this time people were buying 8-track tapes by the millions and they were technically several steps below AM radio. It was the music without the spots, that made FM. Once that happened, most of the large and middle market stations threw all of their eggs into the FM basket and put something on the AM just to hold the license.

I once worked for an AM station owned by one of the large groups. In its heyday, in the 50’s–70’s, it was THE top 40 station. In a market of 40 stations, it had a 60 share. Once the group owners bought a big FM signal, they blew the AM away and loaded it with satellite talk. After a few years, that 60 share was .5 — yes point 5. After a few years of this, and it becoming unsellable, one of the staff suggested to management that they should go back to a music format playing the hits of the 50’s and 60’s (this was in 2002). [Continue reading…]

BBC sues over fire that left one million licence fee payers without TV (The Telegraph via MSN)

The BBC is suing the owner of a huge telecoms mast that burnt down almost two years ago, leaving more than one million households without TV or radio services.

A blaze destroyed the Bilsdale transmitter on the North York Moors in August 2021, sparking chaos across the region.

More than one million homes in North Yorkshire, Teesside and County Durham were unable to access FM radio or Freeview, with many disconnected for months.

The BBC has now filed a lawsuit against Arqiva, the company which owns the mast, saying it has failed to fully restore services more than 18 months later.

The public service broadcaster has accused the infrastructure group of breach of contract and is seeking tens of millions of pounds in damages. [Continue reading…]

A hundred years is just the beginning. Czech Radio celebrates its centennial (Czech Radio)

Czech Radio celebrates a significant anniversary this year. 18 May 2023 marks exactly 100 years since the start of regular radio broadcasting in the Czech Republic, then Czechoslovakia, when the private company Radiojournal began broadcasting from a humble scout tent in Prague’s Kbely.

For the occasion of its monumental jubilee, Czech Radio has prepared a rich programme for the public, new broadcasting highlights and a unique exhibition at the National Technical Museum. Celebrations throughout the year will illustrate the remarkable journey of the most trusted public service media in the Czech Republic.

“Czech Radio will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the start of regular broadcasting. It is an honour for me to be at the helm of this public institution at a time when we are recapitulating important past moments, revisiting our history and remembering outstanding radio personalities. But this extraordinary anniversary is also an opportunity for us to show that 100 years of radio broadcasting is only the beginning. We are ready to launch the next century of our existence with new programming projects and technological innovations. The entire project of our anniversary celebrations aims to support the position of Czech Radio on the media market and also to show that it is an important partner for other institutions. I believe that with an imaginative programme we will not only delight current listeners, but also attract new ones,” said René Zavoral, Director General.

The celebrations will officially commence on 10 March with a formal ball at the Municipal House in Prague, where the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Gustav Brom Radio Big Band and musical guests Ewa Farna, Mirai, Dara Rolins and No Name will perform.

On the day of its 100th birthday, Czech Radio will hold a grand concert in the Riegrovy Sady park for listeners and the general public. The concert will include performances by the band Chinaski, as well as musicians Aneta Langerová, Mirai Navrátil and Marek Ztracený, who will be the first performer broadcast on Czech Radio in its second century of existence. [Continue reading…]


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