{"id":50421,"date":"2021-10-04T06:40:20","date_gmt":"2021-10-04T10:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=50421"},"modified":"2021-10-04T06:40:20","modified_gmt":"2021-10-04T10:40:20","slug":"radio-waves-fm-cb-radio-listeners-in-zimbabwe-tom-clark-sk-and-saq-grimeton-un-day-transmission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/10\/radio-waves-fm-cb-radio-listeners-in-zimbabwe-tom-clark-sk-and-saq-grimeton-un-day-transmission\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio Waves: FM CB, Radio Listeners in Zimbabwe, Tom Clark SK, and SAQ Grimeton UN-Day Transmission"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio<\/h2>\n

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\u00a0SWLing Post<\/em>\u00a0readers.\u00a0 To that end:\u00a0Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s<\/em> Radio Waves<\/em>, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio.\u00a0<\/strong>Enjoy!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Biggest change for CBs in four decades as FM mode gets approved by FCC (CCJ Digital)<\/a><\/h2>\n

The biggest change for CB radios in the U.S. since the late 1970s is coming and it looks to be a good thing for improved voice quality and cutting through frustrating background noise common at the peak of day.<\/p>\n

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently approved FM to join alongside AM and single-sideband (SSB) modes on CBs. It\u2019s a big change to old technology that offers some clear advantages.<\/p>\n

On the plus side, FM will provide users with improved audio quality and greater ability to circumvent background signal noise typical on CB\u2019s long-standing AM side. The Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at U.C. Berkeley reports that FM will provide an \u201cimproved signal to noise ratio (about 25dB) with regards to man-made interference\u201d over AM. That kind of reduction in background noise could prove popular with truckers who remain among the top users of CBs in the U.S.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to bring a lot of good things for professional users of the CB radio band like truckers because a lot times when the skip\u2019s really rolling and the [solar] cycle is at its peak, sometimes it can interfere with truckers communicating up and down the highways. FM is really going to cut that down,\u201d amateur radio expert Matt Kaskavitch explained in a video that went viral on a YouTube channel named for his ham radio call sign K0LWC. [Continue reading…<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Forget TV and the internet. Radio is how you reach Zimbabweans (TechZim)<\/a><\/h2>\n

As a Zimbabwean living in an urban area I find I always overestimate the usage of the internet. It is quite entertaining watching trolls from the different political parties duke it out on Twitter. The noise Twitter users make is quite astounding.<\/p>\n

To the mind, it feels like everyone is participating in this discourse. That couldn\u2019t be farther from the truth. Only 4.2% of mobile phone users use Twitter. That is because only 50.1% of Zimbabwean households have internet access.<\/p>\n

Contrast that with the 62.7% that have access to radio. It appears to be just a 12% difference but we shall look at why it\u2019s significant.<\/p>\n

These figures were taken from the 2020 ICT Access by Households and Use by Individuals Survey by\u00a0ZIMSTAT<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The percentages in actual numbers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like I said, that 12% difference is much more significant than it looks. Let us look at absolute numbers and not percentages.<\/p>\n