Friday, June 24, 2016

VOA Radiogram Weekend Schedule


Hello friends,

VOA Radiogram this weekend will include the Olivia 16-1000 mode with a center frequency of 2000 Hz. If you happen to experience co-channel interference consisting of voice and/or music, the robustness of the Olivia 16-1000 mode in combination with the higher audio frequency might allow a successful decode. At 40 words per minute, Olivia 16-1000 is faster than Olivia 64-2000.

Here is the lineup for VOA Radiogram, program 169, 25-26 June 2016, all in MFSK32 except where noted:

1:35  Program preview
 2:45  Pluto may have liquid ocean*
10:17  Fiery re-entry for junk from ISS*
16:33  Olivia 16-1000 (2000 Hz): Zuckerberg PC security*
22:06  MFSK32: Image, mobile app transmitted by shortwave*
26:04  Closing announcements*

* with image

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com

VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
Sat 0930-1000 5745 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.

The Mighty KBC will transmit to North America Sunday at 0000-0100 UTC (8-9 pm EDT) on 9925 kHz, via Germany. A minute of MFSK32 will be at about 0030 UTC. KBC will also broadcast to Europe Sunday at 0900-1000 UTC on 6095 kHz. A minute of MFSK32 will be at about 0930 UTC. Reports for KBC reception and decode to Eric: themightykbc@gmail.com .

DigiDX will provide DX and media news in MFSK32 and a mixture of other modes:
Sunday 2130-2000 UTC, 15770 kHz, via WRMI Florida
Sunday 2330-2400 UTC, 11580 kHz, via WRMI Florida
Monday 2000-2130 UTC, 6070 kHz, via Channel 292 Germany
Look for any additions or changes to the DigiDX schedule at http://www.digidx.uk/ or https://www.facebook.com/digidx/

IBC (Italian Broadcasting Corporation) has a broadcast to Europe on 6070 kHz, Wednesdays, 2000-2200 UTC, with MFSK32 and Olivia 16-500 at 2030-2100 UTC. See http://ibcradio.webs.com/ for the complete schedule and contact information.

Download apps via shortwave? A recent transmission of a mobile app from shortwave station KTWR in Guam, to a DRM receiver in Thailand, has caused much discussion. See coverage at drmna.info and The SWLing Post. While DRM offers more bandwidth and faster download speeds than the VOA Radiogram method of digital modes via analog radio, VOA Radiogram data can be received on any radio.

Software to decode VOA Radiogram includes Fldigi from w1hkj.com and, for Android devices, TIVAR.

Thank you for your reports from last weekend. Reception conditions were generally good, so the Olivia 64-2000 did not get much of a workout. Decodes were good even in Perth, Western Australia.

A reminder that Fldigi saves decoded MFSK images as .png files in the folder \fldigi.files\images\.  If convenient, please attach those .png files to your reception reports.

I hope you can tune in and write in this weekend.

Kim Andrew Elliott
Producer and Presenter
VOA Radiogram
Twitter: @VOARadiogram (active especially before, during, and after broadcasts)