Shortwave Blog "Bytes"
All times UTC
Angola Nacional update
Radio Nacional de Angola has been missing from 4950 for a couple of months, at least during our afternoons. If it has permanently shut down, I guess that means no more Angola on shortwave except flea-power 7216.8 kHz, which is never more than a tiny heterodyne here. (Bob Hill, Massachusetts DXplorer Jan 28 via Wolfgang Bueschel)
Czech Republic
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty made it's first broadcast from its newly completed headquarters in Prague at 1800 February 3 when Radio Free Iraq broadcast a news bulletin. This was the first step in re-locating all of RFE/RL's 500 employees to the facility is in Hagibor, ten minutes from the city centre. The five-story, 236,000 square foot broadcast centre features multimedia recording studios, interlinking offices, and a modern newsroom. It is also energy-efficient and one of the most secure buildings in Europe. (RFE/RL website via Zacharias Liangas)
Denmark DR Radio
DR Radio has moved to "DR Byen", and the address for reports for the analogue transmissions on mediumwave 1062 is now: DR, Emil Holms Kanal 20, DK-0999 København K, email teknikinfo@dr.dk. Transmissions on medium wave are at 0445-0507, 0730-0807, 1045-1130 and 1645-1735. (Herman Boel, Belgium, Medium Wave Circle)
Ireland and WRN
A QSL back from World Radio Network says that RTE plans to start regular transmissions to Africa, I think they will replace the now defunct service on Worldspace. (Christian Ghibaudo, France, ibid) I believe the Irish government supplied Worldspace receivers to many of their missionaries in Africa so that they could hear the RTE Worldspace broadcasts. (Mike Barraclough)
Nigeria
The Nigerian Minister of State for Education, Hajia Aishatu Dukku, has commissioned the National Teachers' Institute (NTI) Radio Station Radio at the NTI premises in Kaduna. however, the FM station has limited reach, and the minister appealed to the authorities of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to approve the expansion of the station from FM to shortwave in future, for the sake of all teachers in the country. (Guardian, Nigeria via Media Network)
Pakistan
Every night around 8 o'clock, the terrified residents of Swat valley crowd around their radios. They know that failure to listen and learn might lead to a lashing or a beheading. Using a portable radio transmitter, a local Taliban leader, Shah Doran, on most nights outlines the newly-proscribed "un-Islamic" activities in Swat, like selling DVDs, watching cable television,singing and dancing, criticising the Taliban, shaving beards and allowing girls to attend school. He also reveals names of people the Taliban have recently killed for violating their decrees and those they plan to kill."They control everything through the radio," said one Swat resident, who declined to give his name for fear the Taliban might kill im. "Everyone waits for the broadcast." Soldiers largely stay inside their camps and have not destroyed mobile radio transmitters mounted on motorcycles or pick-up trucks that Shah Doran and the leader of the Taliban in Swat, Maulana Fazlullah, have expertly used to terrify the residents. Being named in one of the nightly broadcasts often leaves just two options: fleeing Swat, or turning up headless and dumped in a village square. (TheNews.com) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Athar Abbas yesterday said the military was acquiring the latest technology to jam the illegal radio transmissions of the Swat Taliban, a private TV channel reported. The ISPR spokesman told the channel that the Taliban's FM radio transmitters were mobile and could not be destroyed immediately. However, Abbas said, the acquisition of the technology would help block the illegal transmissions. (Daily Times via Media Network)
Ukraine
Radio Ukraine International(RUI) has laid off its DX editor Alexander Yegerov who writes: The farewell broadcast of my DX-programme, Whole World on the Dial 1616, will go on the air February 21/22. Its future will depend mostly on whether I'll be able to negotiate a part-time work at RUI. Of course, I feel very sad about closing the programme after almost 13 years. But one can't survive just on moral satisfaction from his hobby when he only has a meagre state pension to lean on. In these difficult times we all are forced to think about our daily bread and survival.
It's unclear what awaits us ahead. I have to say that producing an English language program has never been easy for me. I am not a linguist or professional narrator.
The most unfortunate part is that RUI's director publicly spoke against my DX-programme. In reality he never listened to it since he doesn't understand English. But he confidently pronounced that no one needs it and that my position should be taken up by a specialist in politics and information. (Open DX via Sergei Sosedk)
(Contact - March DX News)
