Shortwave Blog "Bytes"

more "bytes" from the world of shortwave radio

All times UTC

Adventist World Radio to change frequency
As you know, at the end of october, the 25th, we will change the frequency. Like last year we'll use 9610 kHz - 31 meter band starting at 1000 UTC with Studio DX http://www.studiodx.net/
(bclnews/playdx)

Argentine feeder station
11.1330 -Argentina Military Nationwide ARG Radio La Red Dic: Spanish broadcast feeders to south South America; LSB around 2231 UTC.
(Larry Van Horn)

Audio sample web link
www.achimbrueckner.de/freeradio/php/wordpress/?p=13706
(Achim/playdx)

Australian DX Report avalible for download
Episode No. 168 of the Australian DX Report audio news magazine includes propagation research analysis of current spectrum occupancy in the 9 MHz band during the Melbourne post-sunrise period, across the 2000 to 2100 window. Additional monitoring examines transmissions from Asia in the window 0900 to 1000, including some rarely reported relays.

There are also other features, news and information about shortwave broadcasting, propagation, a solar activity report, monitoring notes, new schedules, extracts from schedules, and schedule updates.

It's 15 mins duration, and may be accessed from
http://airm.edxp.org/

You may download/listen to/save the episodes as an MP3 file on your laptop/desktop, set up a Podcast, or receive/save it on your mobile phone or other portable internet-enabled digital device.

You may also subscribe via the site's RSS/Atom feed - full details are at the site.

The shows are very popular - over the past 30 days, there have been 613 downloads by subscribers, 1517 site visitors, and 165 episode hits. The episodes are also available on-air, over WWCR Nashville, 0200-0215 on Sundays, on 5070, and on Mondays 1145-1200 on 15825, and via WWCR's streaming audio (live) at http://wwcr.com/

Good listening to the Australian DX Report Episode No. 168, and enjoy the Australian music!
(Bob Padula, Melbourne, Australia/Cumbre DX)

BBC Archives releases audio collection
BBC Archives has released today a collection of 23 Tomorrow's World programs. These two may be of particular interest to radio enthusiasts: This edition is introduced in morse code. At 5 minutes 20 there is a report on controlling machines by voice commands in morse code.

www.bbc.co.uk/archive/tomorrowsworld/8009.shtml?all=2&id=8009

Trevor Bayliss unveils his clockwork radio, starts at 17 minutes 10.
www.bbc.co.uk/archive/tomorrowsworld/8026.shtml?all=2&id=8026
(Mike Barraclough, UK/worlddxclub)

BBC considers part-privatisation of BBC Worldwide
The BBC is considering part-privatisation of BBC Worldwide, the corporation's commercial arm, its Director General said.

By Urmee Khan, Digital and Media Correspondent
Published: 9:56PM BST 13 Sep 2009

BBC Worldwide sells the rights to popular shows such as Strictly Come Dancing to international buyers and also publishes magazines and licenses merchandise from popular programmes such as Top Gear. The lucrative division of the BBC had revenues of about £1bn last year.

Mark Thompson, the director general, said it was an option as part of a wide-ranging review, which will be published early next year. In an interview with The Guardian, he said: "One of the things we should look at over this period is hether 100 per cent ownership of Worldwide is essential going forward."

He stressed that the corporation was looking at a "whole range of things" including offering a stake to a rival broadcaster or even an international partner. The review was announced last week by the BBC Trust, the corporation’s governing body.

Sir Michael Lyons, its chairman, said the review would look at which activities the BBC should focus on in the future, which he said, may mean the “BBC becoming smaller". The BBC has been criticised for moving away from its core purpose of providing public service content, to compete with commercial outlets online, on radio and on television.

James Murdoch, the chief executive and chairman of News Corporation, warned last month that the scale of the BBC's ambitions was "chilling" and called for it to be radically reduced in size.

In his interview, Mr Thompson said the delivery of free online news was "utterly non-negotiable". “I would rather the BBC was abolished than we started encrypting news to stop people seeing it," he said, citing public opinion that shows increasing levels of trust and affection for the corporation."
www..telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6184991/BBC-considers-part-privatisation-of-BBC-Worldwide.html
(Jaisakthivel, India/HCDX)

Email addresses confirmed
Following are confirmed email addresses from:
Voice of Vietnam: englishsection@vov.org.vn
RAE Argentina: argentinainternationalradio@gmail.com
(H.S.Brar for GRDXC)
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/globe-radio-dx/
(Globe Radio DX Club/ODXA)

Greenland contact address
Kalaalit Nunaata Radioa-KNR, P. O. Box 1007, 3900 Nuuk, Greenland. Enclose two IRCs for return postage.

HCJB announces new website
We are excited to let you know that we have just launched our new website at www.hcjb.org
We hope that as you explore the site, you will be encouraged as you discover what God is doing around the world through HCJB Global and our partner ministries. Thank you for your interest in HCJB Global and may God strengthen and encourage you today.
The HCJB Global Web Team. Send comments to: dbirkey@hcjb.org
(HCJB Global Web Team)

Israeli monitoring
Lousy signals, no sunspots. Israel Army Forces Radio Galei Zahal, only tiny S=4-5 signal on odd 15778.28 kHz at 1145 UT.
(wb, Germany/HCDX)

ODXA - September Listening-In available online
September ODXA Listening In columns are now up on www.odxa.on.ca/ as Fred (Waterer) has mentioned in earlier e-mails. His own Programming Matters should join them soon.
Here's a snapshot of what you can read

* an explanation of hobby collectibles in Beginner's Classroom
* radio stories from Canada's north in Arctic Waves
* a list of Nunavut radio stations in Arctic Waves (we'd welcome corrections and updates, by the way)
* a review of the Kaito KA-35 Active Antenna
* history items about marine radio in Thunder Bay, Ontario in the Articles section
* also in Articles, a piece on the original thoughts behind Radio Free Europe in the late 1950s
* in Click!, listening online to Channel Africa
* and, word about a new CD: 20 Years of Shortwave Broadcasting

Enjoy and be sure to tell your friends about our online magazine.

And, also a reminder, that we welcome contributions from radio enthusiasts anywhere. Send our editors your loggings, your tips, your questions and your stories.
Good Listening!
(Harold Sellers/ODXA)

Radio Slovakia plans new competition
For the time October 2009 to July 2010 Radio Slovakia International is preparing a new competition cycle for the listeners. RSI will introduce unique historical monuments, collections, natural phenomenon, cultural heritage.Prizes will be won in every round! All entries will be put forward for the main prize, a week’s stay at one of Slovakia’s main holiday destinations.
For more latest Quizes, visit http://www.rosedwlc.tk/
(Ashik Eqbal Tokon, Rajshahi, Bangladesh/Cumbre DX)

Reception tips from Sweden
4790 11.9 0310 Radio Vision, Peru with a religious programming. No identification though, so presumed. S 3. Björn Fransson
5025 11.9 0208 Radio Rebelde enormously strong. S 4. Björn Fransson
5950 10.9 1635 Qualified guess: Voice of Tigray Revolution in Mekelle with very good reception S 4! Björn Fransson
6585 10.9 1840 UNID Italian(s), talking rubbish. It seemed like several people talking from different places + music in the background. I think I hear Italian radio amateurs having a party on the shortwave band. Björn Fransson
7165 10.9 1800 Radio Ethiopia finished its French programme with surprisingly good audibility. At 18.01 started a programme from Voice of Eritrea in Tigrinya. S 3-4. BEFF
(Björn Fransson, DX-ing on the island of Gotland, Sweden/HCDX)

South Africa DXpedition link
Our latest South African DXpedition is posted at:
www.dxing.info/dxpeditions/jongensgat_2009_08.doc
Highlight was Gary getting Falkland Island for a South African first
My excellent Kiwa MW Loop gave up the ghost and refused to work after 25
years
www.dxing.info/about/dxers/plimmer.dx
(Dario Monferini/playdx)

Uruguay's shortwave future in question
Gustavo Cirino, who worked with the plan of resuming the shortwave broadcast in SSB from 6045 kHz, CXA61 Radio Sport has just informed to me, that he no longer belongs to the Company (Mont Soleil S.A.) which is the group that manages the Grupo Sarandí stations in which Radio Sport and his shortwave were part. He doesn't know what will happen to the project, which he says was in fact operative for some weeks.
(Horacio Nigro, Montevideo, Uruguay/playdx)

Voice of Vietnam introduces new regional HF service
The Voice of Vietnam introduced a new regional HF service on August 28. This is known as the East Sea Broadcasting Project, and is from the Son Tay transmitter facility at Son Tay, a Hanoi suburb.

Coverage is advised as extending out to 3500 km from the coast, including all Vietnamese territorial waters and most offshore fishing areas. The second phase of the Project will provide high-quality news updates for Quang Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Kien Giang and central coastal provinces throughout the day, especially at night.

See the full media release at
http://english.vovnews.vn/Home/VOV-broadcasts-to-the-East-Sea/20098/107344.vov

Unfortunately, the VOV does not disclose any of its radio schedules or frequencies on its Website, for local, regional, or external broadcasts! The new service has been offering excellent reception here in Melbourne from sign-on at 2300, carrying the National Network One program, Vietnamese, using 9635.

It is about two seconds ahead of the Streaming Audio service at http://english.vovnews.vn/
The service has also been observed recently in Japan on 7435, 2300-0000, and
until sign-off at 1200.
(Bob Padula, Melbourne, Australia)

World's earliest QSO verification cards
In our continuing series of onward feature items about early QSL cards, we come to the beginning of the era of QSO cards as issued by amateur radio operators to confirm a two way contact, by Morse Code or by speech. You will remember that the first QSL cards were issued as Reception Report Cards in the United States in 1916, and they were re-introduced again three years later, in 1919.
Quite soon, QSL cards began to appear in the amateur radio world with the statement “worked” printed on them, thus confirming that a two way wireless or radio contact QSO had been achieved. The earliest QSL cards we have seen confirming a two way QSO contact were issued in the year 1921, and the earliest we hold in the Indianapolis Collection was also issued in the same year, 1921.
The message on this our very historic card was typed onto a postal card which was pre-printed with a 1 cent green stamp, dated March 15, 1921. The message states that it was a very rainy night in Yonkers New York and the operator had to close down his amateur wireless station because his spark wireless transmission was causing too much interference in the neighbor’s radio receivers. The amateur radio station was licensed as 2AAC, which is rubber stamped in large letters on the QSL card, and the QSO contact was with amateur station 3QW in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.
In addition to this early 1921 QSO card, we are also holding eight QSL cards confirming two way QSO contacts during the year 1922. Most of these cards are pre-printed postal cards with the 1 cent green stamp already printed on the address side of the card. The callsign of the amateur radio station shown on some of these cards is quite huge, either pre-printed in red or green, or rubber stamped in violet color.
All of these QSL-QSO cards mentioned thus far, were issued in the United States. However, we are also holding two QSL cards of this nature that were issued in other countries during the following year 1923. One card is from France and the other is from Canada.
The French card, dated July 22 1923, is slightly oversized with red and green print on a manila card. This card was issued by station 8EN in Marseille to another French station F2AB at an unstated location. The Canadian card carries a regular 2 cent green stamp, and the text is in black ink, with also large red lettering and a large green callsign. This card was issued by station 2BE in Province Quebec to station 1AYI in Roxbury, Massachusetts on November 11, 1923.
Well, that’s the story about very early QSL cards that were issued by amateur radio operators to confirm a two way QSO contact by wireless or radio. On the next occasion, we will tell the story about early “Applause Cards”, which were a feature of early radio broadcasting in the United States.
(NWS 29 via Adrian Peterson/AWR)