Update on All India Radio's Vividh Bharat

Flash News
Vividh Bharati transmission on 9380 kHz via Aligarh 250 kW has been taken off air from Friday 4 Sept 2020. The entertainment channel Vividh Bharati (translated roughly as Indian variety) is still available on many AIR stations on FM & MW and also on Live Streaming, DTH, DRM etc.

 It seems it is for the very first time that the Vividh Bharati is not on shortwave after it began in 1957 to meet the competition offered by Radio Ceylon (Now SLBC). For some time AIR stations in Chennai, Guwahti, Mumbai and New Delhi even transmitted on a single SW channel (10330 kHz?) with Vividh Bharti Service. From New Delhi also on SW there used to be Vividh Bharati Service in DRM a few years back.


Live Stream: http://prasarbharati.gov.in/playersource.php?channel=1 
https://www.vividhbharti.org/http://prasarbharati.gov.in/playersource.php?channel=1 https://www.vividhbharti.org/


Yours sincerely,


Jose Jacob, VU2JOS
National Institute of Amateur Radio
Hyderabad, India

Trincomalee transmitter update

Trincomalee, Sri Lanka

   Two of three transmitters at Trincomalee are out of service The transmissions of Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation / SLBC and some transmissions of Adventist World Radio / AWR are suspended, as follows:

All times UTC

0030-0100 on 11905 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs Bengali SLBC
0200-0230 on 11905 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs Hindi SLBC
1115-1158 on  9695 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs Telugu/Malayalam SLBC
1200-1230 on 15715 TRM 125 kW / 045 deg to EaAs Min Nan Chinese Sun-Thu AWR
1200-1230 on 15715 TRM 125 kW / 045 deg to EaAs Chinese Fri/Sat AWR
1230-1300 on 15715 TRM 125 kW / 045 deg to EaAs Cantonese Sun-Thu AWR
1230-1300 on 15715 TRM 125 kW / 045 deg to EaAs Chinese Fri/Sat AWR
1300-1330 on 15550 TRM 125 kW / 075 deg to SEAs Khmer AWR
1330-1400 on 15550 TRM 125 kW / 060 deg to SEAs Hmong Thu/Fri AWR
1330-1400 on 15550 TRM 125 kW / 060 deg to SEAs Assamese Sun/Wed AWR
1330-1400 on 15550 TRM 125 kW / 090 deg to SEAs Indonesian Mon/Tue/Sat AWR
1400-1500 on 15705 TRM 125 kW / 045 deg to EaAs Chinese AWR
1500-1530 on 15530 TRM 125 kW / 060 deg to SEAs Manumanaw Karen AWR
1630-1700 on 11805 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs Pashto Mon/Wed/Fri AWR
1630-1700 on 11805 TRM 125 kW / 335 deg to SoAs Sindhi Sun/Tue/Thu/Sat AWR
1630-1700 on 11750 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to N/ME Sinhala City FM SLBC
1702-1800 on 11835 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs Tamil Thendral FM SLBC

Check which of the others transmissions of AWR via Trincomalee are on air or not
0000-0030 on  9810 TRM 125 kW / 075 deg to SEAs Thai
0100-0130 on 11925 TRM 125 kW / 060 deg to EaAs Min Nan Chinese Sun-Thu
0100-0130 on 11925 TRM 125 kW / 060 deg to EaAs Chinese Fri/Sat AWR
0100-0130 on 15630 TRM 125 kW / 025 deg to EaAs Min Nan Chinese Sun-Thu
0100-0130 on 15630 TRM 125 kW / 025 deg to EaAs Chinese Fri/Sat
0130-0200 on 11925 TRM 125 kW / 060 deg to EaAs Cantonese Sun-Thu
0130-0200 on 11925 TRM 125 kW / 060 deg to EaAs Chinese Fri/Sat
0130-0200 on 15630 TRM 125 kW / 025 deg to EaAs Cantonese Sun-Thu
0130-0200 on 15630 TRM 125 kW / 025 deg to EaAs Chinese Fri/Sat
0200-0230 on 15410 TRM 125 kW / 355 deg to CeAs Kazakh
0230-0300 on 15410 TRM 125 kW / 355 deg to WeAs Dari
0300-0330 on 15305 TRM 125 kW / 285 deg to EaAf Tigrigna
0300-0330 on 15410 TRM 125 kW / 270 deg to EaAf Oromo


Active transmissions of Adventist World Radio, BBC and SLBC via Trincomalee
0330-0400 on 15410 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to CeAs Uzbek
0400-0430 on 15410 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to CeAs Kirgyz
0430-0500 on 15410 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to WeAs Farsi
0500-0600 on 17790 TRM 250 kW / 300 deg to CEAf Arabic
1130-1200 on 15610 TRM 125 kW / 045 deg to SEAs Shan Shoshoni
1200-1230 on 15610 TRM 125 kW / 060 deg to SoAs Dialect Mon
1230-1300 on 15430 TRM 125 kW / 025 deg to SoAs Meitei Sun/Wed/Fri
1230-1300 on 15430 TRM 125 kW / 025 deg to SoAs Bengali Mon/Tue/Thu/Sat
1300-1330 on 15430 TRM 125 kW / 025 deg to SoAs Bengali
1330-1400 on 15430 TRM 125 kW / 025 deg to SoAs Khasi
1400-1500 on 11870 TRM 125 kW / 005 deg to CeAs Chinese
1500-1530 on  9740 TRM 125 kW / 015 deg to SoAs Nepali
1530-1600 on  9470 TRM 125 kW / 015 deg to SoAs Oriya
1600-1630 on 11755 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to SoAs Urdu
1630-1700 on  7410 TRM 125 kW / 015 deg to SoAs Bengali BBC (former 9580, now SNG)
1702-1828 on 11750 TRM 125 kW / 345 deg to N/ME Sinhala City FM SLBC, ex 1630-1830
1830-1900 on 11790 TRM 125 kW / 255 deg to CEAf English
(DXB/Ivanov 04 Aug 2020)

Sri Lanka to close Ekala transmitter site

Sri Lanka

This historic station which started at Ekala with the wartime South East Asia Command Radio (SEAC) is now on its last legs. Out of the 3 VOA 35 kW transmitters only 2 are working, the NHK transmitters are both still in good conditions, but for spares and they are too expensive to repair and run. The old 10kW Phillips transmitters are almost gone.

The old Marconi 100 kW from Radio SEAC is rusty and with cobwebs and is gone for ever. The final nail in its cofin came, when DW packed up from Trincomalee handing over the station to SLBC. Trincomalee is a fine station and the MW transmitter is also capable of DRM and it did run DRM 1700-1800 for DW for a while. The 4 SW transmitters at Trincomalee need to run at least 45 hours to make it viable to use the hige Diesel Generators which need about a $1000 a day to run and maintain. Ekala is on prime land close to the city and it is quite logical to close it down taking the state of the station.
If you want a QSL from SLBC Ekala, you will have to do so, before Apr 01, as plans are afoot to close down Ekala,  if the Trinco station gets the power from the National Grid as planned before the end of the B12 season. During the 30 year war with the Tamil Tigers it was not possible to take the national grid power lines, as this area was in the front lines. DW had tacit agreements therun without interference from the LTTE. But now the North and East, which have been freed, are making rapid progress and electricty is reaching most parts.
Ekala schedule as of now:
0012-0330 7190(10kW) / 11905(35kW) Hindi to Asia, English news at 0215.
0125-0300 (Sun 0500) 6005( 10kW) / 9770 (10kW) / 15745(35kW) English to Asia.
0930-1215 6005(10kW) / 11905(35kW) Vernaculars to South  India.
I will get you your QSLs, like I have in the past 10 months or so. The SLBC's above services will move to Trincomalee in A13 and the relays from Trincomalee for other clients will continue. (Goonetilleke in DXplorer, Feb 12). Victor kindly showed me the Ekala transmitter site from nearby distance in March 1999.
(Anker Petersen/DSWCI-DX Window 473)

SLBC revises external service

Victor Goonetilleke writes: As of June 4, the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) has temporarily discontinued its service to Sri Lankan expats in South Korea on 15120 at 1030-1130 UTC via DW Trincomalee. Instead, SLBC has started another hour of Hindi to India on 11905 kHz via Trinco (azimuth 355 degrees) with 200kW at 1530-1630 UTC.


Reception reports will be welcome to:

Engineer AM Services
Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation
PO Box 574
Colombo

SLBC in association with the Union of Asian DXers (UADX) will QSL all reports on all its shortwave broadcasts during June. If the project is successful we will extend it. The full schedule is:

0055-0330 (Sun 0430) UTC on 6005, 9780, 15745 kHz (English to Asia)
0020-0500 and 0830-1230 UTC on 11905, 7185 kHz
1530-1630 on 11905 kHz
1615-1830 on 11750 kHz
SLBC is also progressing with the installation of a 50kW mediumwave transmitter in Puttalam on 1125 kHz to beam to South India where there are large numbers of Sri Lankans who fled the war over the last 30 years, and also to strengthen the coverage to the North of Sri Lanka.
(Source: Victor Goonetilleke, UADX)

Sri Lanka's SLBC slated for improvements on July 29

Empowering the new transmitters and opening the digital archives in the national radio will takes place this morning.

Wednesday, 29 July 2009 07:50
Empowering the new transmission equipments and opening of the new digital Archives at the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation will be taken place under the patronage of Minsiter Anura Priyadarshana Yapa this morning. SLBC has increased its broadcasting capacity by fixing 6 new transmission machines in the Colombo premises. Main Engineer of the SLBC Wimal Priyadarshana says this heighten the listening quality of national radio. New digital archives has also been set up in order to conserve old and important tapes and records of the national radio. SLBC archives is the leading electronic media archives in the Asian Region.

Meanwhile SLBC Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe says media can achieve an enormous task in enhancing relationship between the Sinhalese and Tamil communities. National radio has started several projects in order to achieve this responsibility. MR.Samarasinghe revealed these facts at a media briefing held Colombo to introduce the latest radio drama series produced by Young Asia Television Company. These dramas will be broadcast on Wednesdays and Fridays both Sinhala and Tamil National Services. He further said that measures have been taken to increase quality of broadcast by fixing modern equipments. The national radio will give priority to enhance relationship among the ethnic communities.
(SLBC Press Release)
Alokesh Gupta
New Delhi, India

SLBC continues BBCWS English programs

The BBC World Service announced on Tuesday that it has stopped providing programmes to the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) because of “deliberate interference” by government censors. However. SLBC Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe says that so far he has not received any official information to that effect from the BBC World Service. SLBC therefore continues to broadcast BBC English programmes for 3.5 hours as day. However, the Tamil and Sinhala programmes have been dropped by SLBC.
Mr Samarasinghe told the Asian Tribune website that the BBC entered into an agreement with the SLBC to have 4.5 hours of airtime daily for broadcasting their services, for which the BBC pays US$185,000 annually to the SLBC - 3.5 hours a day in English and half an hour each in Sinhala and Tamil. He pointed out that for every thirty minutes of broadcasting time the BBC pays one quarter of what the SLBC charges to local sponsors for a thirty minute programme.
Mr Samarasinghe added that “The BBC has entered into an agreement with SLBC for airtime and if they want to renege on the agreement let them do it.”
(Source: Asian Tribune/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Sri Broadcasting Corporation begins new radio service

The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) recently commenced a new radio service called Sandya Guwanviduliya (evening radio). This new service which starts everyday at 6.30 pm will broadcast discussions and documentary helpful for the rural farmers and community development programs. At present, SLBC’s domestic FM network broadcasts six regular programme channels on a nationwide basis.
(Source: Colombo Page/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

Changes recommended at SLBC

Anusha Palpita, the outgoing chairman of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) who is also a qualified accountant, has produced his government-commissioned report on ways to make the financially ailing state media unit viable. Anusha Palpita has recommended the voluntary retirement of hundreds of SLBC employees as a measure to make the corporation viable. The survey reveals that there are 1037 employees on the payroll of the corporation. Anusha Palpita has indicated that nearly 400 staff are more than enough to run the corporation. As an immediate measure the report has suggested the voluntary retirement of 400 staff.
Palpita has recommended that SLBC could easily survive with seven main channels. He has also recommended cutting the Childrens’ Service and all Provincial Services from 18 hrs to 6 hrs daily. At the Rajarata, Kanthurata and Ruhuna services, there are more than 40 employees in each service, and according to the survey the staff actually needed per service is around 15. Therefore it has been decided to transfer the balance of the staff to the main office in Colombo.
Another financial problem is the corporation’s electricity bill, which has shot up by 80 percent this year. With the view to reduce the electricity bill by 40 precent, it has been proposed to appoint a committee consisting of two SLBC engineers and an accountant.
The charges for relaying BBC services are to go up by about 400%. At present the BBC is paying just US$ 35 per hour, and SLBC provides daily 10 hours of broadcasting time to the BBC. Other than that, SLBC gives free air time for Sinhla Sandeshya service and for Tamil Osai. The agreement with the BBC ends in August and it has been agreed to charge US$125 per hour. The Sandeshay Sinhala Service channel and Tamil Osai, which for years have been allowed to broadcast free of charge, are to be charged US$150 and $100 daily.
(Source: Asian Tribune/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)