Tag Archives: World Radio Day

Guest Post: International Radio Fair and World Radio Day in Bhubaneswar, India

Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ashok Shankar Das, who shares the following guest post originally published on his blog SWLDAS:

International Radio Fair and World Radio Day

by Ashok Shankar Das

For last few years Outreach International used to organize a radio fair. This year too they organized “International Radio Fair 2017” at Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Besides other participants, Amateur Radio Society of Odisha (ARSO) participated in the fair too.

Main Attractions

The main attractions of this fair was HAM radio, vintage radio collection and radio related stamp collection.

International Radio Fair 2017 Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

The Sand Art for World Radio Day in the venue

Vintage Radio collection

Mr. Ghanasyam collected several radios Most of them are vintage tube radios. Though they are non functional but for a museum it is very nice to see radios from my Grand fathers time. Around 500 to 600 radios were on display.

Mr. Ghanashyam in his 80s now a radio lover, I would say Radio Crazy man.

Vintage Radio Stall from a distance.

Few Radios with close-ups.

His collection includes several radios from Philips, Murphy, Bush and HMV to name a few…

Radio Philatelist

The other attraction is Philatelist Mr. Ashok Kumar Tiwari. his collection includes Radio inventors/researcher, development of radio, broadcast history, Emergency Communication and HAM radio. A very nice and exhaustive collection.

Alexander Popov

J.C Bose

G.Marconi

HAM radio related.

I could not put all the pictures of his collections, its huge…

Last but not the end…

The HAM radio stalls

In this category ARSO Bhubaneswar and ARCCS from Kolkata put up their stalls. Evan they have made a special call-sign for this Event(AT0IRF). In ARCCS stall, they have displayed and try to promote ON-AIR and how to reach out more people. On the other hand ARSO team focused on HAM radio Homebrew and Radio concepts.

VU2PQS(sitting) VU3XUS and VU2AOR

VU2PQS describing About HAM radio

VU2ABG from Surat came to meet ARSO team.

Concluding remarks

Though it was a very nice initiative, participation should have been more. Though it is organized jointly by UNESCO no International participation seen. hope coming year these shortcomings are fulfilled.

Ashok, thanks so much for sharing your photos and comments from the International Radio Fair and World Radio Day in Bhubaneswar.

Click here to check out Ashok’s blog SWLDAS.

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Celebrate World Radio Day 2017

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Today is UNESCO World Radio Day:

“a day to celebrate radio as a medium; to improve international cooperation between broadcasters; and to encourage major networks and community radio alike to promote access to information, freedom of expression and gender equality over the airwaves.

Radio is the mass media reaching the widest audience in the world. It is also recognized as a powerful communication tool and a low cost medium.”

In honor of World Radio Day, at Ears To Our World, we sent 60 HumanaLights and 40 self-powered AM/FM/SW radios to be distributed in Haiti through our partners, the Haitian Health Foundation.

We’ve been working steadily in Haiti since 2009, shortly before the 2010 earthquake. You may know that Haiti has most recently been dealing with the effects of Hurricane Matthew which struck on October 4, 2016. Shortly after urgent food and medical supplies started making their way to the island, we began sending radios and other supplies.

The importance of radio access in disaster situations cannot be overstated, and the results getting receivers into the hands of those in need are both immediate and enduring. According to the Knight Foundation, a non-profit organization that advances journalism in the digital age, radio was “the undisputed lifeline for the Haitian public after the [2010] earthquake.” In their report, “Media, Information System and Communities: Lessons from HAITI,” the Foundation asserted, “Of all the available humanitarian information tools, radio was the most effective means to share information with the community and to distribute information to affected populations.”

This remains true today as Haiti rebuilds after Hurricane Matthew.

If you would like to help those who ETOW serves, please consider a donation of any amount. This is unquestionably a meaningful way to give the gift of radio, as well as education on World Radio Day!

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Al Jazeera: In the internet age, radio still rules the world

World Radio Day 2016

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February 13th is World Radio Day, a day “to remember the unique power of radio to touch lives and bring people together across every corner of the globe,” as UNESCO reminds us. At the SWLing Post, we get it: shortwave radio listeners understand the unique power of information unhindered by borders, censors, or subscription fees, as supplied by radio.

This year, the UNESCO theme for World Radio Day is a worthy one: “Radio in Times of Emergency and Disaster.”

And here are just a few ways you can celebrate World Radio Day 2016…

Ears To Our World (ETOW)

GSM Bohnso School, Cameroon (Photo courtesy of ETOW partner, EduCare Africa)

Of course, at my non-profit Ears To Our World, we celebrate the unique power of radio everyday. While we use a variety of technologies in rural and remote communities, radio still plays a central role since it’s such an accessible technology.

In 2014 and 2015, for example, we distributed Sony AM/FM radios that gave children in Sierra Leone the opportunity to listen to over-the-air classes while their school system was shut down due to Ebola.

Powered by this success, we’re now in the process of putting together radio projects for rural, off-the-grid communities in Haiti, Cameroon, and Kenya, where children and their families need the education and information radio can provide.

If you would like to help, please consider a donation of any amount. This is unquestionably a meaningful way to give the gift of radio, as well as education.

Amateur Radio

The Phoenix Amateur Radio Club will celebrate World Radio Day on the 13th and 14th of February with on-air shortwave activities, as a key part of the club’s ongoing British Scientists Commemorations. This sounds like an enjoyable way to honor the day as well as the contributions of British scientists.

Click here for more info.

Radio Romania International

Radio Romania issues the following fun invitation:

On World Radio Day 2016, we invite you, dear friends, to send us short recorded messages on this [year’s] topic, by e-mail, as audio-attachments, at [email protected]. You can also send us short written messages on the importance of radio in times of disaster by e-mail or…post them on RRI’s Facebook page, on Google+, LinkedIn and Tumblr.

The most interesting texts and audio messages will be included in a special program on RRI, around February 13th, 2016.

Also, if you have royalty-free personal photos illustrative of the role played by radio in your life, or… the role of radio in times of emergency and disaster, please send them to us in electronic format, accompanied by the necessary explanations, in order to create a photo gallery on RRI’s website and to post them on our social network profiles.
Click here for the full article.

VOA Radiogram

VOA Radiogram will honor World Radio Day with text and images sent via shortwave radio; you may enjoy receiving this fun “coded” message:

Old shortwave, medium wave, and longwave transmitters can be used to transmit text and images. This can be useful when the Internet is not available for any reason.

VOA Radiogram, an experimental Voice of America radio gram, transmits text and images via a 50-year-old shortwave transmitter located in North Carolina. VOA Radiogram during the weekend on 13-14 February will include a mention of World Radio Day. Receive VOA Radiogram on any shortwave radio, patch the audio into a PC or Android device using software such as Fldigi from w1hkj.com.

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):

Sat 0930-1000 5865 kHz
Sat 1600-1630 17580 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz

All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.

Want the full WRD events list?

There are dozens of World Radio Day events happening around the world. For a full list of registered events, check out the World Radio Day website.

Here’s to WRD 2016! Enjoy!

How will you celebrate World Radio Day 2016?

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World Radio Day

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This was posted on the European broadcasting Union page:

To mark World Radio Day (13 February), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is organizing a ‘Musical Caravan’ from east to west in partnership with other broadcasting unions across the globe.

Listeners will be taken around the world in a little over two hours.

This special compilation submitted by EBU Members, Associates and its sister unions (ABU, ASBU and CBU*) and coordinated by the EBU Music Unit in Geneva consists of songs representing the musical heritage of 34 countries.

The broad list of contributions include a Richard Strauss lied recorded by Bavarian Radio, an Indonesian song for peace and friendship, a folk tune from India and carnival music from the Caribbean.

The EBU will also share key facts about radio listening compiled by the organization’s Media Intelligence Unit in the week leading up to World Radio Day 2016 on its Facebook page and Twitter account.

Another highlight of the EBU’s contribution to World Radio Day 2016 will be a special performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony by the NHK Symphony Orchestra of Tokyo and the Kunitachi College of Music Chorus. An interview with conductor Paavo Järvi can be found here.

EBU Head of Radio Graham Dixon said: “Radio plays a very significant part in all our lives. On average, we will listen to nine years of radio in a lifetime – more than any activity except breathing and sleeping! Radio provides a convenient way to encounter new ideas, new music and new ways of thinking, and also provides valuable company to counter isolation and loss. Nine years of an average lifetime is indeed an impressive figure, but the real personal impact of radio cannot be quantified. World Radio Day provides a great opportunity to reflect on the power of radio.“

– See more at: http://www3.ebu.ch/news/2016/02/ebu-takes-listeners-on-a-global

Robert Gulley, AK3Q, is the author of this post and a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Robert also blogs at All Things Radio.

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Happy World Radio Day 2015: several ways you can celebrate

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Today is World Radio Day, a time “to remember the unique power of radio to touch lives and bring people together across every corner of the globe,” UNESCO reminds us. As shortwave radio listeners, we understand this power of information without borders.

Here are a few ways you can celebrate World Radio Day 2015…

Ears To Our World (ETOW)

In Belieze, ETOW works with visually impaired children through our partner and friends at the Belieze Council for the Visually Impaired. Photo by ETOW volunteer/supporter, David Korchin K2WNW

In Belize, ETOW works with visually impaired children through our partner and friends at the Belize Council for the Visually Impaired. Photo by ETOW volunteer/supporter, David Korchin (K2WNW). Click to enlarge.

Of course, at my non-profit, Ears To Our World, we celebrate the unique power of radio everyday as well.

Indeed, we’re in the process of preparing at least another 100 radios for Sierra Leone, where children are receiving education over the airwaves as schools have been closed in an effort to stop the spread of Ebola.

If you would like to help us, please consider a donation of any amount. Certainly a meaningful way to give the gift of radio and education.

On air events

If you can get on the air today, there are a few events happening around the world you might be able to catch:

Alexanderson Alternator Station SAQ

Alexanderson alternator in the SAQ Grimeton VLF transmitter.

SWLing Post reader, Greg (VA7BC), passes along this announcement from the ARRL:

“The World Heritage Grimeton Radio SAQ in Sweden plans to fire up its Alexanderson alternator on 17.2 kHz on the occasion of UNESCO World Radio Day, Friday, February 13. The station will begin tuning at 1430 UTC, and a message will be transmitted at 1500 UTC.

A message with a theme of “peace” has been put together by more than 200 citizens of Varberg, Sweden, via the “Varberg Calling for Peace” project.

SAQ will not be issuing QSL cards nor post a list of reports, but it will accept brief listener reports. The Grimeton site’s Amateur Radio station SK6SAQ will be active, using a special event World Radio Day call sign — 7S6WRD. Frequencies: 7035 kHz or 14,035 khz, CW, and 3755 kHz SSB. QSL to 7S6WRD via SM bureau.“

Read the full article at the ARRL website. I will certainly attempt to hear this broadcast on 14,035 kHz CW.

If any SWLing Post readers are able to record the SSB transmission on 3,755 kHz, I would love to add the audio to our audio archive.

Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union relay

The Southgate ARC reports that ABU members will particiapte in a round-the-world broadcast relay:

“On Friday 13 February 2015, participating broadcasters around the globe will devote at least half-an-hour of their programming to the WRD 2015 themes “Innovation and youth in radio”.

The main organisers, the European Broadcasting Union, in partnership with the ABU and other broadcasting unions, will also offer three short optional pre-recorded radio features devoted to Radio and Youth, Radio and Innovation and the History of Humanitarian Use of Radio: UN Radio.

The segments can be used whole or in part in a time slot of each station’s choice. Most of the features will also be available with scripts in French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese, thanks to the UN.

Speeches by UN personalities will also be available ready to use on air, plus a one-hour rights-free concert live from Geneva by the UN Jazz Orchestra will be made available.

Organisers say that, as this will be a relay following the world’s time zones, there will be a succession of radio stations each handing over to the next participant throughout the day.

To give listeners around the world the chance to follow this special WRD program, the broadcasts will be put on an Internet stream, coordinated via the EBU in Geneva.

http://www.abu.org.my/Latest_News-@-World_Radio_Day_relays_round_the_world.aspx“

4U0ITU on-air for World Radio Day

Again, the Southgate ARC reports via the ARRL:

“The ITU International Amateur Radio Club station in Geneva will use the special call 4U0ITO to mark World Radio Day on Friday, February 13

The ARRL report this event also marks the kickoff for the International Telecommunication Union 150th anniversary.

International Amateur Radio Union President Tim Ellam, VE6SH, will inaugurate special call sign 4U0ITU at 0900 UT. He will be accompanied by ITU Secretary General Houlin Zhao, other elected officials and VIPs.

The IARC will use the 4U0ITU call sign until the World Radiocommunication Conference 2015, November 2-27.

World Radio Day commemorates the first broadcasts of UN Radio in 1946.”

Send listener reports to your favorite shortwave broadcasters

Many of your favorite shortwave broadcasters will dedicate a portion of their programming to World Radio Day.

This is the perfect day, as a listener, to let your favorite broadcasters know you’re listening! Send in a proper QSL report–mention the time, frequency and type of programming you heard. Give the broadcaster a proper signal report as well (click here to read about the universally accepted SINPO code). Broadcasters love to hear about any insight you pulled from their news items or reports–the more detail, the better. And thank them for broadcasting over shortwave.

You can typically find contact information on the broadcaster’s website. If you have any difficulty, please comment and I, or another reader/contributor, will try to help.