{"id":23541,"date":"2017-01-20T10:50:32","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T14:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=23541"},"modified":"2017-01-20T11:03:19","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T15:03:19","slug":"how-power-outage-load-shedding-is-affecting-zambia-znbc-1-and-voice-of-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/how-power-outage-load-shedding-is-affecting-zambia-znbc-1-and-voice-of-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"How power outage “load shedding” is affecting Zambia ZNBC-1 and Voice of Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> contributor, Richard Langley, who shares the following message he recently received from\u00a0Ray Robinson, VP of Global Operations with The Voice of Hope. This message is being relayed with Robinson’s permission:<\/p>\n

I have seen a few messages lately, regarding the non-appearance of ZNBC-1 on 5915 kHz in their early mornings. You may be aware of the rolling power outages called ‘load shedding’ the electricity utility in Zambia, ZESCO, continues to impose daily throughout the country. The outages are at different times in different areas, but at the Voice of Hope transmitter site, the outages have been effect from 6-10am local (0400-0800 UTC) since September. The ZNBC shortwave site is only a few miles from ours, and it would be logical they are on the same outage schedule. I know from when our staff visited their site a few months ago to buy some distilled water for our transmitter cooling systems before our own still was up and running, that ZNBC’s genset is not currently operational, and I don’t believe they have the budget either to repair it, or to buy diesel for it, if it was repaired and functional.<\/p>\n

My guess is they have decided it is not really worth the effort to broadcast for the hour or so from 0245 UTC until whenever the power goes out. (This is just my speculation.) They do use 5915 later in the day after the much cheaper hydro power returns, but of course by then, the propagation conditions do not favor inter-continental reception.<\/p>\n

As for Voice of Hope – Africa, we had expected the load shedding to end by December (two months into the Zambian rainy season), but alas the outages are continuing, with no sign of any change soon. Our own weekday morning broadcasts on 9680 and 11680 kHz have been entirely powered from our genset since September. This is expensive, and unsustainable. We have therefore decided to make a schedule change from next Monday. Instead of broadcasting weekday mornings from 0500-0800 UTC, we will switch to weekday evenings from 1700-2200 UTC, extending the duration of the broadcast from three hours to five. The last two hours will be ‘Night Light’ presented by Stephen Mdoma, reprising a program he used to present late nights years ago when the station was known as Christian Voice We will be using the frequencies 4965 kHz (omni) and 6065 kHz (to West Africa), which may also afford better opportunities for reception in ECNA after local dusk. The program schedule on our website will be updated this weekend. We plan to re-launch the morning broadcasts once the load shedding ends. I thought you might like to know.<\/p>\n

Ray Robinson
\nVice President, Global Operations
\nStrategic Communications Group – Voice of Hope
\nLos Angeles and Lusaka
\nhttp:\/\/www.voiceofhope.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Richard adds that\u00a0Ray Robinson has also confirmed the weekend schedule is unaffected.<\/p>\n

Many thanks for sharing this news, Richard!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who shares the following message he recently received from\u00a0Ray Robinson, VP of Global Operations with The Voice of Hope. This message is being relayed with Robinson’s permission: I have seen a few messages lately, regarding the non-appearance of ZNBC-1 on 5915 kHz in their early mornings. You […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[56,960,3,43],"tags":[3516,2027,5486,5651],"class_list":["post-23541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broadcasters","category-international-broadcasting","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","tag-richard-langley","tag-voice-of-hope","tag-zambia-nbc","tag-zambia-nbc-radio-1"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-67H","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22438,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/11\/the-brilliant-little-tecsun-pl-310et-serious-dxing-on-a-budget-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":23541,"position":0},"title":"The brilliant little Tecsun PL-310ET: serious DXing on a budget – part 1","author":"Clint Gouveia","date":"November 28, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u00a0excellent receiver and that it would\u00a0suit my DXpedition activities. Now, as someone who likes to push the envelope of performance with sophisticated\u00a0portables, usually coupled to\u00a0very large antennas,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Antennas"","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"tecsun-pl-310et","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Tecsun-Pl-310ET.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Tecsun-Pl-310ET.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Tecsun-Pl-310ET.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Tecsun-Pl-310ET.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Tecsun-Pl-310ET.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":64381,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/voice-of-hope-africa-is-off-the-air\/","url_meta":{"origin":23541,"position":1},"title":"Voice of Hope Africa Is Off the Air","author":"Thomas","date":"October 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who writes: Hi Thomas I just heard on the latest program of Wavescan that the Voice of Hope Africa from Lusaka, Zambia is now off the air. It has been a few months since I heard them on a KiwiSDR from that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Voice-of-Hope-Africa.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Voice-of-Hope-Africa.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Voice-of-Hope-Africa.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Voice-of-Hope-Africa.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23486,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/dxpedition-antenna-testing-the-bonito-boni-whip-and-a-240-metre-barbed-wire-fence\/","url_meta":{"origin":23541,"position":2},"title":"DXpedition antenna testing: the Bonito Boni whip and a 240 metre barbed wire fence","author":"Clint Gouveia","date":"January 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Hi there, a few days ago I posted some reception videos comparing the performance of the Boni whip with a 30 metre longwire antenna at home, with a further check against the performance of the H field Wellbrook ALA1530 active loop. The conclusion of those tests was essentially confirmation\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/bwhipcrop-300x197.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":64213,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/10\/the-90-metre-band-then-and-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":23541,"position":3},"title":"The 90 metre band – Then and Now","author":"Thomas","date":"October 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who shares the following guest post: The 90 metre band \u2013 Then and Now by Dan Greenall A few decades ago, the 90 metre shortwave broadcast band used to be full of interesting and challenging-to-hear DX signals. In the 1974 edition of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PNG-radio-map-1971.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PNG-radio-map-1971.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PNG-radio-map-1971.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PNG-radio-map-1971.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/PNG-radio-map-1971.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18279,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/voice-of-justice-broadcasts-to-north-america\/","url_meta":{"origin":23541,"position":4},"title":"Voice of Justice broadcasts to North America?","author":"Thomas","date":"April 14, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who comments: It seems that the VOIRI \"Voice of Justice\" broadcast to North America may have been axed. [I] did a quick search on that phrase in the [Shortwave Radio Audio Archive] but came up empty. Might be nice if someone with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"SX-99-Dial-Nar","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/SX-99-Dial-Nar.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23130,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/01\/sony-icf-sw77-recent-dx-comparing-performance-with-the-icf-sw55-tecsun-pl-310et\/","url_meta":{"origin":23541,"position":5},"title":"Sony ICF-SW77: recent DX & comparing performance with the ICF-SW55 & Tecsun PL-310ET","author":"Clint Gouveia","date":"January 4, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Some of you might remember the extensive tests I conducted last August, comparing this great portable receiver against the model it was introduced to replace - and arguably one of the best-ever portables - the Sony ICF-2001D\/ICF-2010.\u00a0I conducted\u00a0a back-to-back series of comparison tests at the very quiet wood in Oxfordshire\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sony-icf-sw77.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sony-icf-sw77.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sony-icf-sw77.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sony-icf-sw77.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/sony-icf-sw77.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23541"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23541\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}