Tag Archives: shortwave

Radio Northern Europe International on shortwave

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Roseanna, who shares the following announcement posted on her blog:

(Source: The Girl With The Radio)

I would like to share something very exciting that I’ve been working on since May 2019:
Radio Northern Europe International

RNEI will be the station for pop and dance music from Northern Europe on shortwave playing music from Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, the UK and Ireland!

I aim to play music you haven’t heard before and the first show features a very exciting experiment: Embedded MFSK64! This means, hidden in the final song, there will be the song list sent in MFSK64 in such a way it won’t be off-putting for those of you not decoding!
My shows will mainly consist of lesser known music with a small amount of speaking and jingles. Without spoiling too much of the show I can hint that you’ll hear some Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, English and Icelandic language music if you tune in!

The first pilot show will go out on 6070 kHz Channel292 from Germany (decent reception all over Europe) at the following times:
February Saturdays 19:00-19:30 UTC (Starting Saturday 15th)

I’m also in talks with shortwaveradio.de so there is a possibility of using 3975KHz & 6160KHz as well (increased reception in the Benelux/UK/Ireland regions!)
After the broadcast, shows will be published on Mixcloud and my reception on YouTube in case you’ve missed the show!

I will respond to all reception reports sent in and, if I get enough, I’ll try and get postcards made to send out (I’ve designed one I want to get printed!)

I would like to take this space to thank RPC Audio (Jono) for the cheap jingles and Daz from HFZone for helping me with making my mic sound good!

I really hope you all get a chance to listen in and that you get decent reception!
until next time,
tgwtr

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Loss of BBC Hindi shortwave service and listener reactions

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(Photo by Elle via Unsplash)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who shares the following story from The Print:

Emotional emails & offers to crowdfund — how fans tried to keep BBC Hindi radio on air

The service fell silent last month with its last transmission on 31 January. The BBC management now plans to boost its digital and TV presence.

New Delhi: It was the BBC’s Hindi radio on shortwave that slowly carved an identity for the British broadcaster in India after its launch 80 years ago. With an estimated audience of 40 lakh across India, the radio service was the first choice for consumers of serious news and entertainment alike, particularly in the remote and far-flung parts of the country.

But the service fell silent last month, on 31 January, with the BBC management citing a dwindling audience and plans to boost digital and TV presence as reasons to call time on this chapter of history.

It came as a rude shock for its loyal audience and the dismay was evident, according to BBC insiders.

“It was heartbreaking to see the kind of emotional emails and letters we received on the days preceding the shutdown and after that,” an insider told ThePrint. “They (the audience) pleaded to keep the service afloat. Some even said they were willing to crowdfund it. But it seems the management was interested in the numbers and the BBC Hindi radio service on shortwave was not giving them adequate numbers.”

Another insider in the BBC said audience numbers for the radio service had come down from 1 crore a few years ago to about 40 lakh now, even as its presence on platforms such as YouTube thrived. The service has also established its presence on television with a tie-up with news channel NDTV.

“But in our experience the quality of news consumers is poor in digital as compared to the loyal audience that BBC Hindi radio service in shortwave enjoyed,” the second insider said, basing the assessment on feedback received from both sets of audiences.

“I would say the management was insensitive to the millions of listeners in the remote corners of India who banked on the service as their daily source of news,” the insider added.

The decision to switch off BBC Hindi radio is part of the British broadcaster’s global cost-cutting efforts. It had planned to end the BBC Hindi radio service in 2011, but changed plans owing to massive outrage and a high-profile campaign supported by eminent journalist and author Sir Mark Tully, a former bureau chief of the BBC.

It’s not just the BBC Hindi radio service that has suffered on account of this twin push to cut costs and go digital. Even BBC Urdu announced in December last year that it will end the radio broadcast of its popular news and current affairs programme, Sairbeen.

In India, BBC also has internet broadcasts in other Indian regional languages, but no associated radio services. […]

Continue reading the full article at The Print.

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Ian’s portable setup for SSB and maritime weather monitoring

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Photo by Jonathan Smith

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ian, who shared the following response to our post regarding the best shortwave receiver for you boat or yacht:

An icom M802 package can be had for less that $3k… but the installation may run up anywhere up to $5k hence the OP’s ~$8k cost and request for alternatives. The bulk of cost (for pretty much anything in a boat) is always in installation…not the cost of electronics, as boats have unique issues regarding their ground.

As a sailor, when faced with a budgetary issue of installing a marine SSB radio system, IMO the answer is most definitely not “get a ham radio and your license”…the answer is most definitely “get a good SSB portable with an external antenna input”.

To get valuable weather resources such as Chris Parker (www.mwxc.com), weatherfax and eavesdop on atlantic nets, a quality portable SSB receiver is all that is required, provided that some sort of external antenna is used.

In my case, in the Bahamas, a 25ft length of wire semi permanently rigged to the flag halyard presented a strong and clear enough signal to reliably get the morning weather, and any weatherfax data I needed (along with the laptop).

My radio back then was the Satellit 800, and this year that behemoth will be replaced with a Tecsun PL-880… such a setup is ALL that is required.

Thank you for your input, Ian! It’s been seven years since we originally posted that article about HF receivers and transceivers on boats and yachts. I’m curious if any other readers might have suggestions they would care to share. What has works for you? Please comment!

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Carlos seeks help identifying signals

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes:

Attached are two different recordings.
Both made in South Brazil.

– Florianópolis, 26/11/2019, 19h13 (Brasilia time) 12015 kHz

– Porto Alegre, 12/12/2019, 20h11 (Brasilia time) 7455 kHz

Searching on the Web I found these two frequencies related to US Navy NATO RTTY station STANAG 4481:

Are you able to confirm this?

Thanks for your inquiry, Carlos! Unfortunately, I cannot confirm this. If your radio had been in SSB mode, it would have made the RTTY pop out and we could have perhaps confirmed at least the RTTY mode with FLDIGI. I’m hoping a savvy SWLing Post reader can help you ID these transmissions. Please comment!

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Special VORW Radio International Holiday Broadcasts!

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Hello readers! I am pleased to announce that there will be special broadcasts of VORW Radio International on Christmas Day!

This special program will feature an enjoyable mix of Christmas Music and Miscellaneous Discussion. There might be a few other songs added to the playlist as well – in short, I hope for this to be a fun show for listeners on Christmas Day.

This broadcast will be sent from radio station WWCR and a QSL will be given to any and all listeners who submit reception reports.

The show will be on 4 frequencies:

Wednesday 1500 UTC (10 AM Eastern / 9 AM Central) – 7490 kHz – WWCR 100 kW – North America

Wednesday 1500 UTC (10 AM Eastern / 9 AM Central) – 13845 kHz – WWCR 100 kW – North America and Europe

Wednesday 2200 UTC ( 5 PM Eastern / 4 PM Central) – 9350 kHz – WWCR 100 kW – North America and Africa

Thursday 0100 UTC (8 PM Eastern / 7 PM Central Wednesday) – 4840 kHz – WWCR 100 kW – North America

Reception reports and feedback are most appreciated at [email protected] and I hope you can tune in!

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VE7SL explores DXing the utilities

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Photo: US Coast Guard

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who shares a link to this excellent article by Steve (VE7SL) where he explores his success DXing utility stations on shortwave:

(Source: VE7SL)

DXing The Utilities (Part 1)

After building the house here on Mayne Island, in the early 90’s, it was several years until I was able to set up a dedicated station. In the meantime, I limited my radio activities strictly to listening. I had a nice Icom R-71A set up in a hall closet and spent my radio-time, mostly on weekend evenings, listening to maritime CW, HF aeronautical traffic and, of course, NDBs below the broadcast band.

My HF receiving antenna consisted of three inverted-V’s … one for 160m, the second for 80m and the third for 40m … all fed from the same coaxial line at the top of a 70′ Balsam. It didn’t take long to realize what an exceptional radio location I had, living right at the edge of the ocean, with dozens of miles of saltwater in most directions other than due west.

I really enjoyed following evening airline flights across both the North and South Atlantic, and in the early winter afternoons, following the commercial air-traffic all over Africa. Even though listening on 5 or 6MHz, I was amazed at how strong the signals from airliners over Africa at 30,000 feet or more could become, this far to the west. In the early mornings, directions were reversed and traffic from the far east, right into India, was fairly common. Often, small single-engine planes, usually run by various missionaries, could be heard while on the ground, taxiing at remote field locations and calling in via HF radio to request takeoff and flight-following.

Now QSL’s have always been one of my top radio interests and it wasn’t long before I started sending and collecting verifications for both the aircraft and the ships I was hearing … once I had figured out how to get my reception reports to their proper destinations.[…]

Click here to continue reading Part 1 of “DXing the Utilities.”

Click here to read Part 2.

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New VORW Radio International Broadcasts this Saturday!

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Hello readers! You are invited to listen in to a new broadcast of VORW Radio International this Saturday.

The show is 1 Hour in length and will feature a variety of music from the 1960s to Present, including listener requests! It’s a very diverse show where you are guaranteed to hear music of many genres and eras!

Here’s when you can listen on Saturday:

0800 UTC – 3 AM Eastern – 1300 kHz WNQM – Targeting Nashville, TN and audible throughout the Southeast. Mediumwave DX reception reports are appreciated! 

2300 UTC – 6 PM Eastern – 6115 kHz WWCR – Targeting North America and Western Europe

0200 UTC – 9 PM Eastern Saturday – 5850 kHz WRMI – Targeting North America

If you can receive this broadcast I encourage you to submit a reception report via email to [email protected] and it will be verified with a QSL.

Happy Listening!

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