Letters to the NASB
Pastor Frantz Santiago of Reading, Pennsylvania writes: Where can I get a receiver for DRM?
Please go to the following web page for a list of dealers and ordering information: http://www.drm.org/receiversequip/receiversequip.php
Dr. Jose Negron-Soto writes: I live in the USA, in Cincinnati, Ohio, which is about 500 km southeast of Chicago. I am interested in listening to shortwave radio broadcasts primarily from Europe: Deutsche Welle, Radio France International, Radio Exterior de Espana, RAI, Voice of Russia, and if I could pick up NHK and some Middle East and Far East stations that would be great.
I am considering buying the new Himalaya 2009 DRM receiver. Will this receiver allow me to get improved SW reception within North America of the major European broadcasters, as I mentioned above? This will determine whether I should purchase this radio at this time or not.
Another question would be power. As you know, in the US we use a lower voltage than Europe. Would I be able to use this receiver in the US with the AC outlets used here simply using an adapter or would I run the risk of doing damage to the radio?
I am very excited about DRM. I started listening to shortwave when I was 13 years old, thirty years ago. I have a Grundig Satellite 800 and I just do not get the reception quality that I was expecting. It seems that DRM may change all this. Perhaps we will witness a rebirth of shortwave. I would appreciate your feedback on the specific questions that I still have.
Is there any DRM receiver that can be used as a car radio?
Anne Fechner, DRM Project Director, responds: Thank you for your email. There are several broadcasts beamed to North America but unfortunately there is a lack of broadcasts from the US to the US and elsewhere. I hope this situation will change as time goes by.
Himalaya 2009 is a very nice receiver. Some people did not get good SW results because they forgot to switch off the ferrite antenna inside which can be easily done through the menu. There will be a Himalaya 2008 coming up shortly which does not have DAB inside (a tool which makes no sense in the US). Anyway, the 2009 is a nice receiver.
During IFA trade fair in Berlin in September we will present a lot of new developments; for instance, another Blaupunkt DRM car radio which is ready to be produced, but this is of course depending on the interest of the car manufacturers. There is a converter box made by Starwaves that besides DRM can also receive analogue short, medium and long wave stations. It is controlled by a radio remote control.
Jeff White, Vice Chairman of the USA DRM Group, adds a further response: I personally have not seen the Himalaya 2009 yet, so I cannot comment on the set's performance. I have seen a few of the other receivers, such as the Morphy Richards, which seems to be a fairly good receiver for the price.
Looking at the operating manual for the Himalaya 2009 on their website, it does not say whether it operates on 110 and 220 volts, or if it is only 220 volts. You might want to send them an e-mail and ask about that. You can send them a message via their website at this address: http://www.himalaya.com.hk/index.php?option=com_contact&Itemid=3&lang=en
In any case, the receiver can be operated with batteries, and you could always buy a 110/220 volt transformer (I believe places like Radio Shack sell them) and use a plug adapter for use in the U.S.
In terms of which stations can be heard in North America, these are the transmissions which are currently beamed to this part of the world on DRM:
Frequency UTC Program
9405 kHz 0200-0300 Radio Netherlands via French Guiana (English)
9755 2300-2345 Vatican Radio (from Vatican trans. site) English
9790 0000-0100 TDP (dance music) via Canada
9800 1605-1705 Radio Canada International (Russian/Ukrainian)
9800 1705-1905 Radio Canada Intl (English)
9800 1945-2030 Vatican Radio via Canada
9800 2030-2100 Radio Netherlands via Canada
9800 2100-2200 Radio Canada Intl (English)
9800 2200-2230 various programs from Canada
9800 2230-2300 Radio Sweden via Canada
9815 0100-0400 HCJB (Ecuador)
11630 1100-1200 Vatican Radio multilingual (from Vatican site)
11675 2200-0200 Radio Kuwait in Arabic
15680 1500-0100 HCJB
17875 1300-2000 TDF-French Guiana with Radio France, etc. (Mon-Fri)
These schedules are subject to change, but you can find the latest schedules on the DRM website (www.drm.org ).
It is also possible to hear some of the DRM transmissions beamed to other parts of the world here in North America, depending on propagation conditions, but the above-listed ones would provide the best reception.
I might also note that Christian Vision in Chile and Radio Netherlands in Bonaire (Netherlands Antilles) have also been conducting occasional DRM transmissions that can be well heard in North America, but at present these are inactive.
The National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters (NASB) represents the privately-owned shorwave stations in the U.S., and we have conducted weekly DRM transmissions in the past via Canada and the UK. We hope that in the near future there may be some DRM transmissions from one or more shortwave stations in the United States, but there are no definite plans as yet.
I think you will find that as time goes on, the list of DRM broadcasts to North America will grow. (Source: August News NASB)