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January 31, 2015

DX Extra Shortwave News No.20 Released!

So you came for the Pirate Station Special? Click here.
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Hello fellow DXers, it is with great excitement to release the latest shortwave news programme DX Extra number 20 to the world wide web! Another jam packed show!
 In this fortnight's podcast: 
  • Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) ready for USA storm
  • Radio Vanuatu shortwave upgrades
  • German weather station to begin
  • Radio Australia schedule changes
  • Public radio overtakes TV in funding
  • Pirate Radio Logs and recordings (Audio: Zex Chettle Alien Broadcast)
  • Pirate news: YHWH closure
  • Audio Archive: Radio Thailand

LISTEN via embedded player:


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To DOWNLOAD in 320kbps format or lower formats head to: https://archive.org/details/DxExtraNo.20
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 Hear us on shortwave via Achims Free Radio blog. 6240kHz 1/2/15 Via Cupid Radio 15h27UTC SINPO 54444

TRANSCRIPT:
“Snowfall that started early this morning in the Mid-Atlantic States was just the first hint of what weather forecasters are calling a potentially historic and dangerous winter storm that is predicted to affect the entire Eastern Seaboard of the US. In addition, the gathering storm carries the threat of high winds, blowing and drifting snow, “whiteout conditions,” and possible — perhaps likely — power outages. A state of emergency has been declared in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, and Connecticut Gov Dan Malloy ordered a statewide travel ban effective at 9 PM on Monday, January 26. 
Eastern Pennsylvania Section Manager Joe Ames, W3JY, reported that the Eastern Pennsylvania Phone and Traffic Net has been put on standby/watch mode on 3917 kHz. “We anticipate no particular activation in Eastern Pennsylvania,” he said, “but if it’s as bad as predicted, we’ll assist however we can.” Snow has already begun falling in Eastern Pennsylvania.
Connecticut Section Manager Betsey Doane, K1EIC, said all ARES District Emergency Coordinators have been asked to let Red Cross offices in their areas know that ARES is available, if needed. “Red Cross shelters lately are opening after the storm settles, unless otherwise needed,” she said. “The usual activities are going on, with batteries being charged and go kits ready.”
Doane said the Connecticut Digital Mobile Radio network was up and running, with ARES officials monitoring, and the state EOC is tied in with the Connecticut ARES network.
In Maine, store traffic has been brisk in coastal areas as residents stock up on necessary food, fuel, and supplies as well as generators, additional batteries, and auxiliary heaters, in case of a power outage. Maine SEC Phil Duggan, N1EP, has placed Maine ARES on a Yellow Alert (Level 1), due to the approaching storm, which is forecast to reach the state sometime after midnight. In a Yellow Alert, ARES/RACES members are advised that they may be called up and should monitor available ARES nets and public safety radios as well as weather radios and broadcast radio and TV to stay current with the situation. Duggan said the NWS office in Caribou — in Maine’s northernmost tier — has requested that he call up some Maine ARES weather and SKYWARN nets on 75 meters to collect ground-level weather information during and after the storm for relay to the NWS offices in Caribou and Gray, Maine.
The approaching storm has caused airlines to cancel some 5000 flights so far. Schools have called for early dismissal in parts of New Jersey. New York anticipated closing the New York Thruway and the Long Island Expressway. The entire New York City subway system may be shut down by this evening."

Via ARRL.org  

We now take you to audio from Radio New Zealand International's dateline pacific program on plans to fix the state of broadcasting in Vanuatu: [Audio: RNZIdateline_048_vanuatu.mp3]

“Along with plans for new management and to shed a third of the staff of Vanuatu's national broadcaster, the government is also looking to modernise the Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation.

Despite millions of dollars of aid poured into the VBTC over the years, it is unable to provide adequate radio coverage for the outer islands, and even in areas close to the main centre.
By the government's own admission, the VBTC is hamstrung, and has not been able to move with the times, but it says it has the political will to make changes for the good.
Leilani Momoisea reports.
Just last week, worries were raised that some communities in Vanuatu could miss out on cyclone warnings due to transmission problems with the national broadcaster's Radio Vanuatu. Our correspondent, Hilaire Bule, says there's confirmation that Pentecost Island is not receiving transmissions from Radio Vanuatu, and people in Ambae and further North in the Banks and Torres island groups also have trouble getting the station. He says transmission problems with Radio Vanuatu have been ongoing for years, and it's not just the outer-islands that have issues.
HILAIRE BULE: In the Daily Post people from Efate, they are complaining about the reception of their national radio, and it's about three kilometres from the main radio station in Port Vila. It's dangerous because Vanuatu is now entering the cyclone season and people cannot receive the warning of the possible cyclone in the villages or in the communities.
In 2009, Japan, New Zealand and Australia poured millions into funding a project which allowed the VBTC to set up a new shortwave transmitter to provide a radio signal to all the Vanuatu islands. However, over the years since then, signals have failed, with some equipment now having major corrosion issues. Jean Gabriel Manguy, a private consultant who was involved in helping Radio Vanuatu improve its services back then, says it's been a pattern of millions of dollars invested into the company, going down the drain. He says that's partly due to a lack of maintenance and political interference.
JEAN-GABRIEL MANGUY: There has also been mismanagement, and in spite of a very significant aid project to help them, it hasn't helped the situation. It's disappointing to see once again there hasn't been any money allocated to maintaining transmitters. In other words, people in the rural areas, in the islands and in the remote areas, are being forgotten.
The government has set up a committee to review the VBTC, with plans to retire or make redundant about a third of the staff, and is looking for a new general manager to head the VBTC. The Vanuatu Media Association says the government needs to recruit the right person to steer the company forward, and it needs strong leadership from the top to bottom levels. It says it is perhaps a good idea for the government to down-size the company, however, the government restructured the VBTC in 1999, and some 16 years later, the same problems are happening again.
The Public Relations Officer for the Prime Minister's Office, Kierry Manassah, says the problems with the VBTC are perennial, and are partly due to a lack of political will from the national level, political interference, and people going into the company through the wrong channels.

KIERRY MANASSAH: A lot of those has caused a lot of problems for the organisation. The government still sees a lot of value in VBTC, it's like the bridge between the government and the people. And so the government still values it's contribution to the national conversations, and we still think that the government can do something about it.
Kierry Manassah also chairs the task-force that is looking at how the corporation can move from analog to digital programming, and he says there's a need to look at who from VBTC needs to go in light of new technology. He says they are currently looking for partners to help with the national digitisation of TV, and will look to these partners to also address radio transmission issues. Mr Manassah says depending on expressions of interest, there's the possibility that the government will contract out the management of the digital TV broadcast service to a private company. And in terms of fixing radio transmission issues, he says the government is considering switching to FM.
KIERRY MANASSAH: That's the way forward, a lot of those that are still there now are short-wave and medium wave transmitters, especially with the short-wave transmitters, those are quite old and it's very difficult to find spare parts and replacements. So a lot of those need to be overhauled.
Jean Gabriel Manguy says the government's committment to do something about broadcasting is welcomed and very encouraging. However, he says while in theory FM radio is a great idea, it's not really manageable.
JEAN-GABRIEL MANGUY: Instead of having one or two transmitters to manage, then you need probably 50 transmitters to manage. Not only do you have to manage them, but you have to have electricity to make them function. So there are technical issues there that limit the FM option.
Mr Manguy says new technologies need to be investigated, like perhaps making use of the substantial telephone network going across the country. Kierry Manassah says the government is not blind to the concerns and complaints about VBTC, but the taskforce is trying to address these issues, and ensure the VBTC is the national broadcaster that everybody expects.”
Via Dateline Pacific RNZI

“German Weather Service (DWD) will begin transmitting weather information for the Baltic Sea and North Sea. Broadcast will be three times a day from their site in Pinneberg, near Hamburg. Broadcast will commence on April 1, 2015 on the following schedule:
0600-0630 UTC 6040 kHz

1200-1230 UTC 6040 kHz
2000-2030 UTC 5905 kHz” via the shortwave central blog 


“Effective February 1, there are key frequency changes from Radio Australia. There will be an end of shortwave transmissions (including DRM), from the Brandon site, and a reduction in transmission hours from the Shepparton transmitter site. There are no further DRM transmissions currently planned.
In combination with the end of the HF Relay services from 14 January 2015, this represents a major change in content delivery for Radio Australia, with an increasing focus on local FM re-transmission and satellite delivery of programming.
The following revised broadcast schedule supersedes all previously published plans. Radio Australia will operate on three frequencies, on a 24 hour broadcast schedule. Earlier reports of broadcasting 0900-2100 UTC on 6080, and 6150 are incorrect.

All times UTC
Effective 01 February 2015
All programming targeted to various Pacific regions only
English
0000-0100 15240 15415 17840
0100-0200 15240 15415 17840
0200-0300 15240 15415 17840
0300-0400 15240 15415 17840
0400-0500 15240 15415 17840
0500-0600 15240 15415 17840
0600-0630 15240 15415 17840
0700-0800 15240 15415 17840
0800-0805  Sat/Sun  15240 15415  17840 
0815-0900 15240 15415 17840
0900-1000 9580 12065 12085
1000-1100 9580 12065 12085
1100-1200 9580 12065 12085
1200-1300 9580 12065 12085
1300-1400 9580 12065 12085
1400-1500 9580 12065 12085
1500-1600 9580 12065 12085
1600-1700 9580 12065 12085
1700-1800 9580 12065 12085
1800-1900 9580 12065 12085
1900-2000 9580 12065 12085
2000-2100 9580 12065 12085
2100-2200 15240 15415 17840
2200-2300 15240 15415 17840
2300-0000 15240 15415 17840

French
0800-0805  Sat/Sun  15240  15415  17840

Tok Pisin
0630-0700  Sat/Sun  15240  15415  17840
0900-0915  Sat/Sun  9580   12065  12085 
(Gary Baxter, Transmission Planning Executive/Radio Australia/RAOS B14 v3.3)”
(Via the shortwave central blog)

“Public radio is beginning to surpass public television in terms of donations, according to a report issued by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The number of individual donors to public television dropped from 3.9 million in 2003 to 3.03 million in 2013; at the same time, public radio donors grew from 2.52 million to 2.85 million from 2003 to 2013, according to the report.
The average contribution for radio is slightly higher for radio than for TV; it was $92 per person in 2003 and grew to $137 in 2013, according to CPB. The average contribution for TV was $93 in 2003 which grew to $134 in 2013.
Across the board for both radio and television, several donation categories — CPB, federal and state grants, local governments and local business — went down from 2012 to 2013, according to the findings. CPB doesn’t speculate on the reasons for the change, however RW has reported that public broadcasting has been heavily impacted by the economic downturn.
Revenue from categories like state colleges and universities, foundations and subscribers offset those losses for both public radio and television. Total support for public radio in 2013 was $1.08 billion, with public TV at $1.69 billion. That’s a 0.3% change for television and a 4.8% increase for public radio, compared to the year before, according to the findings.
The bulk of station revenue, some 29%, comes from individual subscribers, with 15% from CPB and 14% from foundations. The rest comes from a mixture of funds from colleges, foundations, business and other sources, according to CPB.”
(Via radioworld.com)

[Pirate Theme]

Yes it's time to have a look at the latest pirates logs:
Here are the Europirate logs for the end of January
Wednesday 28th Januray 2015
6300 1805 Radio Blauwe Panter. Rolling Stones "Angie," some utility QRM. SINPO 43433. Moved to 6297 at 1813. SINPO 54444.
6305 1728 Radio Merlin Int. Canned Heat "On the Road Again," ID, address, utilty QRM. SINPO 42332

Sunday 25th January 2015
4026 1729 Laser Hot Hits. The Kane Gang. SINPO 34333.
5815U 1735 Barracuda Radio. Lenny Kravitz. SINPO 44444.
6205 1715 Laser Hot Hits via Magic. KC & Sunshine Band, swamped at 1719 by Iran signing on. SINPO 44433.
6305 0956 Radio Merlin Int. Sixties music. SINPO 24332.
6320.5 1656 Wizard Radio. Short song, female singer. SINPO 23332.6401.5 1649 Radio Joey. "Swamp Thing." SINPO 34333.
6875 0916 Radio Europe. Chaka Khan "I Feel for You." SINPO 34333.
6940 0913 Radio Enterprise. "Addams Family." SINPO 34333.
7300 0906 U Boat 66 Radio. "Last Picture of You." SINPO 24332.
9865 1415 Radio Spaceshuttle via Revival. ID, "Telstar." //6035. SINPO 54444.
12105L 0948 Radio Barracuda. ID, soft rock. SINPO 45444.

(Via shortwave dx blog) http://shortwavedx.blogspot.com.au/

I really enjoy the quirky pirates on air and I'd like to share the Zex Chettle Alien Broadcast from 2008 6925USB. Reminds me of the movie “Mars attacks”. [Audio]

Heading over to North America:
6925USB 00h52 Radio Ga Ga 28th January Just signed on with unshazammable music, S7 signal. By member Chris Smolinski
6770 22h50 Old Time Radio 27th January Radio program from the golden age in process. Fair signal keeping above persistent static. QRM from adjacent UTE? By member Edward Insinger
6950 23h41 Weather Control Radio 25th January 2356 Riders on the storm, 2359 stormy monday, 022off s5 here but rather fady. By member jFarley.
11428 Channel Z 23h33 27th January S6-7 signal with Andy Walker show. By member kilokat7
North American Logs via the HF underground forum. (We also thank other members contributions to the pirate logs that may have not got a mention.)

We also have a pirate news story to share:
“The FCC has ordered an unlicensed California religious broadcaster, who sometimes broadcast on a frequency in the 40 meter phone band, to shut down his station. The FCC’s Los Angeles District Office on December 31 issued a Notice of Unlicensed Operation to Martin K. Elliott of Inyokern, California. The FCC said it issued the Notice in response to a complaint of unlicensed operation on multiple HF frequencies, including some allocated to aeronautical stations. The FCC said its agents used radio direction-finding techniques to confirm that signals on 6280 kHz and 11,595 kHz were emanating from a residence located near Inyokern, and that property records indicated that Elliott was the current owner and resident.
“The Commission’s records show that no license was issued for operation of a station on either the frequencies of 6280 kHz or 11595 kHz at this location,” the FCC wrote. “Unlicensed operation of this radio station must be discontinued immediately.”
The pirate station, which identified itself as “YHWH,” was not cited for operating on Amateur Radio frequencies, although ARRL Official Observers had monitored the station in the past on 7185 kHz LSB. One short-wave listener said the operator of YHWH changed frequencies regularly, and the station had not been heard on the ham bands for at least several months.
The FCC warned Elliott that operation of radio transmitting equipment without a valid authorization violates federal law and could subject the operator to severe penalties, including, but not limited to, substantial monetary forfeitures, equipment seizure, and criminal sanctions.
The Commission gave him 10 days to respond. The FCC said its Notice “does not preclude this office from pursuing additional sanctions based upon our investigation of this incident.””
(Via ARRL) 

DX Extra is being relayed via World FM 88.2FM in Tawa, near Wellington in New Zealand, Worldfm dot co dot nz and on shortwave via relay partners as well so look out for us on Focus International, Magic 6205 Europe, Pandora Radio, Premier Radio and Cupid Radio. A big thank you to all our relay partners. Your generosity means a lot!

Before we go it's time to get an audio clip out of the archives. This is a shortwave recording of Radio Thailand January 23rd 2015 on 9390 at 12h30UTC.

[Audio: Radio Thailand.mp3] (Via http://shortwavearchive.com/)

Until next time remember shortwave radio is still full of mysteries – keep tuning and keep reporting. Take care and stay safe

Image: Radio Australia - following more cutbacks. 

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Labels: dx, extra, shortwave, hf, news, , , , , , , , ,
Location: Hobart, Tasmania, AU Hobart TAS, Australia

January 16, 2015

DX Extra Shortwave News No.19 Released!

Hello fellow DXers, it is with great excitement to release the latest shortwave news programme DX Extra number 19 to the world wide web! Another jam packed show!
 In this fortnight's podcast: 
  • Number stations and their intelligence role
  • BBC ads three Afghan shows
  • DW frequency update
  • Radio Netherlands special shortwave show
  • Radio Australia cuts transmissions
  • Pirate Radio Logs and recordings (Audio: WFRL)
  • Audio Archive: Radio Berlin International (1990)
  • Hobart Radio International Mailbag

LISTEN via embedded player:


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To DOWNLOAD in 320kbps format or lower formats head to: https://archive.org/details/DxExtra19
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We had great reception into Europe on Friday the 16th January 2015 and are still getting reports, below is a recording of 20 minutes of the shortwave broadcast:
LISTEN via Shortwave Radio:
DX Extra No.19 via Premier Radio 6910kHz 16/01/15 21h20-21h047 heard & recorded by Gino Italy. SINPO 45433

Image: Gino's Delta Loop antenna in the backyard.

TRANSCRIPT:
“Many nights, Spooks turn on their shortwave radios and drift through the frequencies. On any given night, one can hear amateur radio stations broadcasting church sermons, utility traffic for aircrafts – with the right equipment, you can hear/contact the International Space Station. Yet one of the most eerie, mysterious uses of shortwave is that of the numbers stations: stations that feature ominous – sometimes robotic – voices saying seemingly random number patterns.

Shortwave radio boomed in the 1920s: For decades, it was the only way to receive transmissions from far way. Numbers stations, as they are called now, have been around since World War I, though many of the most famous transmissions took place during the Cold War. These mysterious stations are all, to date, unlicensed. Some feature automated voices, others have what sound like children’s voices, another with a sultry woman announcing numbers. One station – a Moscow-based broadcast during a Communist party coup – featured only the number five repeated for hours.

Numbers stations and use of shortwave have declined after the Cold War, but there are still transmissions heard every day – the shortwave decline has not been as pronounced as one would expect. Part of the reason for this is that it is a secure means of one-way communication. Since the airwaves are being released out into the ether – the intended recipient is completely untrackable. Presumably, spies would carry a one-time pad, which would have the encryption code to be used (ideally) for just one broadcast (hence one-time). This makes decryption from pedestrians and enemies nearly impossible unless that one-time pad is misused or corrupted.

Almost all of the information we have on these numbers stations is due to hobbyists listening, sourcing, and sometimes attempting to decode the stations with their own radios. The communities of hobbyists are vast – and their logging can be prolific. There is the Spooks Spy Numbers Station Mailing List, the Conet Project (which compiles recordings of shortwave), the Spy Numbers Station Database, and many others. They keep track of the frequency, the time, the numbers, and sometimes record audio each time spooks hear a Numbers broadcast. These shortwave enthusiasts sometimes spend hours trying to locate the source of these broadcasts – sometimes, to no avail.

Akin Fernandez, who started the Conet Project ,recalls his initial interest in these mystery stations. "Once you hear them, it has an effect on you," he says in an interview with BBC. "I never expected to be talking about it 17 years after hearing it for the first time – when the Conet Project first started."”

Via the high brown magazine
http://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4263-numbers-stations-shortwave-radio-and-their-role-intelligence-community



[Audio: DX Extra Promo No.4]


“The BBC World Service says it has expanded its service to Afghanistan through three new live programs.

The new BBC Afghan daily broadcasts are one-hour audience-participation programs, Word of the Day in the morning and News and Views in the evening; and Global Newsbeat bulletins in Dari and Pashto.
News and Views has now become part of the evening schedule following a successful trial run. This daily program is split into two half-hour Dari and Pashto sections.
Matin Samsoor, Gulistan Shinwari, Jawad Samimi and Sharif Walid anchor the morning live interactive show, Word of the Day (which started in December) and examines how stories are being covered by the Afghan papers.
The Pashto and Dari editions of BBC World Service’s Global Newsbeat bulletins launched in late December and target younger listeners. It is presented live from Kabul and broadcast alternately every half hour, between 10 a.m. and 4.30 p.m. local time.
BBC World Service broadcasts to Afghanistan on shortwave and FM, in Pashto, Dari, Uzbek and English.”

Via radio world dot com
http://www.radioworld.com/article/bbc-afghan-adds-three-shows/274040


“At the end  of December, some Deutsche Welle frequencies that were originally part of the October schedule plan, were terminated, or replaced. This confirms that services for English, Hausa and Amharic were not eliminated - but instead the frequencies were updated.

Germany, Deutsche Welle  (winter schedule relay revisions)

Effective: 20 Dec. 2014

All times UTC

English
0400-0500  9600af (Rwanda)  9800af (Rwanda)  15275af (UAE)
0500-0557  9600af (Rwanda)
0500-0600  9800af (Rwanda)  15275af (Madagascar)
0700-0730  17800af (Armenia)
0700-0800  9800af (Rwanda)  15275af (Rwanda)
0730-0800  17800af (Rwanda)

French
1700-1759  15275af (France)
1700-1800  9800af (Rwanda)  12005af (Rwanda) 17800af (Rwanda)”
Via shortwave central blog http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com.au/2015/01/deutsche-welle-winter-schedule-update.html



“Peter De Groot writes:
A series of special Radio Netherlands broadcasts will begin on January 17th and 18th, 2015.  Presenters will be John van den Steen, Jerry Cowan and Tim Thomasson. See frequencies and times below:
  • 0100 to 0200 UTC on 7,570 kHz
  • 0100 to 0200 UTC on 11,790 and perhaps 13700
Peter sent no more information than this, so I’m not sure where the transmissions will originate. Since RNW is no longer on the air, I’m certain these broadcasts aren’t coming from Hilversum.
Hopefully, someone will attempt to record these broadcasts in case I’m not in the broadcast footprint. Would like to add this to the SW Radio Audio Archive.” via the shortwave listening blog http://swling.com/blog/2015/01/special-radio-netherlands-broadcasts-starting-january-17-and-18-2015/



“AUSTRALIA. The ABC has announced major cuts to Radio Australia shortwave transmissions.
From 14 January all overseas relays (via Dhabaya, Kranji and Palau) will end.
From 31 January the Brandon shortwave site will close.
From Jan14 all shortwave transmissions to Asia will cease.”
From 31 January output from Shepparton will be reduced from six full time transmitters to only three transmitters, all operating 24 hours per day with the following schedule:
0900-2100 on 6080 6150 9580
2100-0900 on 15240 15415 17840
(Radio Australia via WRTH via Jan BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD)
There had been fears that the ABC might abandon shortwave completely so although output is significantly reduced, RA will retain a welcome presence on SW for the time being and hopefully some of the above frequencies will be audible in Europe. Programming includes relays of ABC National and TripleJ (Dave Kenny, ed., Jan BDXC-UK Communication via DXLD)” via the DX Listening digest

 [Pirate Theme]


Yes it's time to have a look at the latest pirates logs:

Here are the Europirate logs for the middle of January


Tuesday 13th Januray 2015
6210 16h48 Radio Experience Playing Dance Music. Fair Signal With Some Fading
4026-22,15 Laser Hot Hits Paul Stewart With Music From Oddesy And Shakatak. Good Signal


Sunday 11th January 2015
6940 10h30 Premier Radio Music From Suzie Q, Blur And Oasis. Good Signal
6205-7.50 Radio King Shortwave Rock Music Including Poison And Roxy Music. Fair Signal
6875 8h55 Radio Europe Music And Talking In Italian. Weak Signal
6255-9.35 Radio Merlin International With Music  New Order, Ultravox And Depeche Mode. Fair Signal

Via Irish Paul's Radio Blog http://irishpaulsradioblog.blogspot.com.au/



We also have an interesting studio recording of a Europirate I've never heard before but you may have catched on shortwave on 6300 and 7385 January 12th, WFRL from the United Kingdom.
[Audio: WFRL]
Recording from Achims free radio blog http://www.achimbrueckner.de/freeradio/php/wordpress/?p=37985

Heading over to North America:
6940USB 1h5UTC Radio Hummingbird 80s rap with electric guitar. Great reception.
Jive music. 0150utc, "Humbear? Radio testing" 0155 Hummingbird Radio ID
In AM mode its very crunchy or messed up by propagation. In usb its nice and understandable.

Its 0251utc, haven't heard Hummingbird in a while. It was on and off. By member Antennae

There's also been some unusual NAVTEX data messages broadcast into North America, one on 6950 2h05UTC 11th January 2015 “This NAVTEX message came across the wire shortly after Wolverine signed off tonight
VVV   VVV   FANSOME HAD YOUR DARK SUIT IN GREASY WASH WATER ALL YEAR.
DONT ASK ME TO CARRY AN OILY RAG LIKE THAT.
THEY USED  PIGMEAT TO FLAG THOUGHTLESS MOTORISTS.” Via member Kilokat7

 Another on 6928USB 2h47UTC 12th January 2015. I'm assuming it is Wolverine Radio ending their broadcast with some extra goodies.
3440 00h57UTC WHYP 12th January 2015 “Signing on now with "Whip It".  S6-S7 in NY. Really cool to hear these shows from the archives once again. Via member curious george


Logs via the HF underground forum. (We also hank other members contributions to the pirate logs that may have not got a mention.)

DX Extra is being relayed via World FM 88.2FM in Tawa, near Wellington in New Zealand, Worldfm dot co dot nz and on shortwave via relay partners as well so look out for us on Focus International, Magic 6205 Europe, Premier Radio and Cupid Radio. A big thank you to all our relay partners. Your generosity means a lot! Also an extra thanks to Pandora Radio who relayed the last DX Extra show, thanks for the out of the blue relay! 

Before we go it's time to get an audio clip out of the archives. This is a shortwave recording of the last episode of DX-tra from Radio Berlin International October 2nd 1990 at 00h45UTC on 9730khz. “RBI ceased broadcasting at the end of the day on 2 October 1990, the day before German reunification took place.” Via shortwave listening blog:
http://swling.com/blog/2015/01/shortwave-radio-recordings-radio-berlin-international-final-episode-of-dx-tra/


[Audio: Radio Berlin International.mp3]

Until next time remember shortwave radio is still full of mysteries – keep tuning and keep reporting. Take care and stay safe

----

 Ok so that's the end of the DX Extra, on Hobart Radio International it's time to look in the mailbag and read out some reports from you – “Hello HRI,  here is a quick email  to let you know I was just listening to your DX show being relayed by Cupid Radio in the Netherlands. The Australian accent got my attention !! DX Programme talking about Pirate review of the Year for 2014 and details of when stations were on on air. Show ended with details of QSL and the email address for reports.” From Iain Cameron in Scotland. Thank you.
“Dear Hobart Radio International

I listened your DX Extra No.18 via Cupid Radio.
I used Software Defined Radio at University of Twente in the Netherlands.
I heard your program on January 3, 2015 from 15:32 to 16:02 UTC on a frequency of 6240 kHz with good reception status.
Its signal were strong and there was no interference.
It was regrettable that its sound quality was not good.
Of course, I listened to you again on your website.” From Masahiro Hihara, Japan.
And we are aware of the audio quality which is a fault with the current microphone. I have an eye on a new one this weekend and also have try compressing the show lighter to try and help. Thank you for your report.


We just have time for one more, “thanks from  Gino Italy nice info on Radio Cochiguaz many thanks,     i send  mp3  audio file. .
I used  RX  Teletron TE 712S   and antenna  magnetic loop
I hope in you QSL   e-mail   and many thanks for Info SW
73s  Ciao Happy New Year 2015” From Davide Borroni in Italy.

Of course we would love to hear from you, come on send us as eQSL reception report to hriradio at gmail dot com and tell us what you think of the DX Extra show.

I don't think I've mentioned the website much today, all our shows are archived on the website, www.hriradio.org which includes transcripts photos and a whole heap more and soon to be released is an exciting Pirate Station Special which fingers crossed will be ready next fortnight when the DX Extra number 20 is released. Make sure you join us on facebook, we're up to nearly 150 likes, at facebook dot com forwardflash dx extra


Hobart Radio International is now closing on this frequency, thank you for listening and we hope you will hear us again soon on shortwave.
Image: Hobart's well-known Tasman Bridge. Remembering the 40th anniversary of the 1975-2015 bridge collapse.


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Labels: dx, extra, shortwave, hf, news, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Location: Hobart, Tasmania, AU Hobart TAS, Australia

January 3, 2015

DX Extra Shortwave show No. 18 Released!

Hello fellow DXers, it is with great excitement to release the latest shortwave news programme DX Extra number 18 to the world wide web! Happy New Year! 
 In this fortnight's podcast: 
  • Radio Australia cutbacks update
  • Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty raided
  • International broadcasters shortwave demise
  • Pirate Radio Logs and recordings (Radio Cochiguaz)
  • Audio Archive: Radio France International

LISTEN via embedded player:



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To DOWNLOAD in 320kbps format or lower formats head to: https://archive.org/details/DxExtraNo.18
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 We had great reception into Europe on Saturday the 3rd January 2015 and are still getting reports, below is a recording of 20 minutes of the shortwave broadcast:
LISTEN via Shortwave Radio:

DX Extra No.18 via Premier Radio 6910kHz 03/01/15 20h48-21h08 heard & recorded by Gino Italy. SINPO 54444

TRANSCRIPT:
“The ABC could soon abandon international shortwave radio broadcasts to China and Indonesia, ending more than 70 years of beaming news and current affairs on high frequency into Asia.
But the public broadcaster's management insist it will not flick the switch on shortwave services of Radio Australia to Papua New Guinea and tiny Pacific nations for now.
ABC international chief Lynley Marshall said the older shortwave technology was still relevant in the Pacific, despite a drive to make mobile and internet devices the ''primary'' way of delivering news.
Staff had grown increasingly alarmed in recent months that the shortwave service to the Pacific would be canned - including a popular Tok Pisin service to PNG - raising fears expats and locals would be vulnerable to dangerous news blackouts during natural disasters or regional strife.
Radio is the cheapest and most widespread source of news in poorer Pacific provinces. Most nations run only a 2G mobile network with little coverage outside capitals. When Prime Minister Julia Gillard visits Port Moresby on Thursday almost twice as many locals will hear news of the trip on radio than see it on television or read it in newspapers.
But with a contract to broadcast shortwave from a 240-hectare site near Shepparton - costing the ABC about $4.1 million this financial year - set to expire some time after 2014, fears had grown shortwave would cease in favour of streaming audio online and deals to broadcast on local stations.
The ABC has been wrangling internally for months on how to best deliver international services, as mandated under its charter to provide an Australian voice on world affairs
High-frequency services had not rated a mention in an internal ABC memo in February flagging an ''online and mobile strategy as the primary focus'' for international broadcasting.
But Ms Marshall said there was no end in sight to shortwave broadcasts in the Pacific, and the Shepparton array was part of this strategy. ''One of the things we have to look at is what is the most effective way of reaching audiences?'' she said. ''You'd have to see a significant take-up in other devices to warrant moving away from shortwave.''
But the digital revolution accompanying the economic boom in Asia has led to a dwindling audience for shortwave. China also began jamming the Radio Australia signal in January, although that interference has since stopped.
Ms Marshall confirmed the continued targeting of China and Indonesia with shortwave was up for debate. ''We haven't made any final decisions on that but a number of the staff here have questioned the relevance of shortwave into markets like Indonesia and China,'' she said.
''I think there is justification for re-evaluating what we are doing there based on the way in which audiences are consuming media.''
Social media is highly popular in Indonesia, while the Radio Australia audience in the mostly closed China market is difficult to gauge.
Radio Australia was launched in 1939 on the eve of World War II, with prime minister Robert Menzies declaring in the first broadcast: ''The time has come to speak for ourselves.''
The service is intended to provide reliable, independent news and English-language training and also win goodwill for Australia.
Ms Marshall said Radio Australia had great ''heritage'' value in the Pacific and would not be lost under plans to bring the ABC's international radio, television and online services under one brand.
A confidential ABC research report for the Radio Australia audience in rural PNG shows at least 30 per cent of people rely exclusively on shortwave transmissions to listen to the station.
A megabyte of data in Fiji costs about $3. An hour of audio streaming used about 30 megabytes.” Via The Age Newspaper Online    



WASHINGTON - The Broadcasting Board of Governors today condemned the raid and closure of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Baku office by Azerbaijani authorities.

Investigators from Azerbaijan's state prosecutor's office entered the RFE/RL bureau on the morning of December 26 accompanied by armed police officers. They searched the company safe, ransacked files and equipment, and ordered staff members to leave the building after holding them in a room for several hours without telephone or computer access. Several staff members later were summoned for questioning.
"This unwarranted action is an escalation of the Azeri government's abusive attempt to intimidate independent journalists and repress free media," said BBG Chairman Jeff Shell. "We call on the authorities to immediately allow RFE/RL to resume its important journalistic work from Baku, and to release investigative journalist Khadija Ismayilova." The government raid comes three weeks after the arrest and detention in Baku of prominent Azerbaijani investigative reporter Khadija Ismayilova, a contributor to RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service programming. Ismayilova was sentenced to two months of pre-trial detention, and if convicted could serve three to seven years in prison. Khadija's arrest has been widely condemned, including by the BBG. Amnesty International has declared Ismayilova a prisoner of conscience, "detained solely for exercising her right to freedom of expression."



"The raiding of our Baku bureau is a flagrant violation of every international commitment and standard Azerbaijan has pledged to uphold" said Nenad Pejic, RFE/RL's editor in chief and co-CEO.  "The order comes from the top as retaliation for our reporting, and as a thuggish effort to silence RFE/RL. This is not the first time that a regime has sought to silence us, and we will continue our work to support Azeris' basic right of free access to information and to report the news to audiences that need it."


"The operation of our bureau is incapacitated in Baku," said Kenan Aliyev, director of RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service. "There has been a long ongoing crackdown on the media and NGOs in Azerbaijan, including the arrest of Khadija Ismayilova, the host of our show and our contributor. We view this as part of this ongoing campaign against independent media."
The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent federal agency, supervising all U.S. government-supported, civilian international media, whose mission is to inform, engage and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy. BBG networks include the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa), Radio Free Asia, and the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and TV Marti). Via Shortwave Central Blog.       

             
“OTTAWA, Ontario — At the height of the Cold War, the BBC World Service, Radio Canada International and the Voice of America used high-power, multilingual broadcasts on the shortwave radio bands (1710 kHz–30 MHz) to blast news and information behind the Soviet Union’s “Iron Curtain.”
In turn, Radio Moscow, Radio Havana Cuba and East Germany’s Radio Berlin International pumped their own versions of reality to the world via shortwave.

 REDUCED BROADCASTS
Thanks to the nature of shortwave propagation, in which radio waves can bounce around the world by reflecting off the ionosphere, then off the ground and then the ionosphere again, these broadcasts got through.

Granted, because they were AM signals, their audio was scratchy and often interference-ridden; and even sometimes blocked by government “jammer” stations operating on the same frequencies. But nevertheless, eastern Europeans heard at least some of these international broadcasts.


In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, followed two years later by the collapse of the Soviet Union. Soon after, the Internet caught on. Collectively, these forces demotivated governments from maintaining multi-antenna/multitransmitter shortwave transmitter farms, where power-hungry 50 and 100 kW AM transmitters guzzled electricity like frat boys downing kegs of beer.


The result is that international broadcasters have reduced their shortwave broadcasts in favor of the Web, or — in the case of RCI — abandoned shortwave entirely for the Web. RCI’s massive shortwave antenna and transmitter farm in Sackville, New Brunswick, which provided stellar coverage of Europe during the Cold War, has since been torn down.  “It’s amazing how many of the major shortwave broadcasters have abandoned shortwave — completely or mostly — since the fall of the Berlin Wall,” said Jeff White, founder and general manager of Radio Miami International. WRMI is a United States-based commercial shortwave broadcaster, which covers the Americas, Europe and Africa via its 13-transmitter, 23-antenna facility located in Florida.

Mindful of radio’s continuing Third World popularity, the BBC and VOA have at least “maintained shortwave transmissions to places like Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia and Latin America,” White said. “But some of them, including the Voice of Russia, have ended all shortwave transmissions. The large religious shortwave broadcasters have more-or-less followed suit.”

SEVERAL ISSUES
There’s no doubt that money played a big role in the demise of international shortwave broadcasting, especially for cash-strapped governments.


“Shortwave transmitters are expensive to operate because of the electrical costs, and expensive to replace,” said Kim Andrew Elliott, an audience research analyst for the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau (which runs the VOA), expressing his own views. In contrast, “The Internet is a cheaper way to transmit globally — unless the audience gets really big — the signal is more reliable, and stations don’t interfere with one another,” he said.


The Web has also caught on with government broadcasters because it’s considered cool. “The World Wide Web is sexy new technology,” said White. “So the station managers have been able to say to their bosses and governments that they have saved a lot of money by eliminating the ‘old technology’ of shortwave and replacing it with the new technology of the Internet.”

As well, broadcasters like the BBC World Service have moved to FM where it is possible to deliver better audio quality and signal reliability. “For many years, the BBC World Service has been broadcasting its services through its own FM relay transmitters and by providing programs to affiliates,” said Nigel Fry, head of distribution for the BBC World Service Group.

“The oldest FMs have been in service for over 40 years, with many more coming into service from 20 years ago to the present day as markets liberalize and licenses are secured.”
In swapping shortwave for the Web, these broadcasters have put their program delivery at the mercy of hostile governments who can block their Web-based content, just by disrupting their country’s Internet traffic.

That’s what recently happened in China, as the authorities tried to prevent their people from learning what actually happened 25 years ago in Tiananmen Square.


EASY TO BLOCK
“In an effort to prevent the dissemination of information related to this event, the Chinese censorship authorities have severely blocked most Google services in China, including search and Gmail,” said the China Web traffic watchdog Greatfire.org in a June 2 email to Bloomberg News. “Our gut feeling is this disruption may be permanent.”


It is relatively simple for authoritarian regimes to block websites they don’t like. But in fairness, shortwave radio broadcasts can also be blocked by “jamming” stations. “Some BBC World Service Internet services are blocked in specific countries — most notably in China,” said Fry. “The English shortwave broadcasts to China and the surrounding countries are also being jammed by the Chinese and have been for some time. Our Uzbek broadcasts are also jammed.”


There are ways that Web-based services can get past government blocking through software programs, at least as long as some Internet traffic is getting through.

For instance, “some international broadcasters are employing technologies such as Psiphon that circumvent the blocking of Internet content,” said Elliott.“The circumvention technologies are not infallible, however, and they may fail in the face of more vigorous interdiction. They certainly will not work if a country physically cuts off Internet lines bringing in foreign traffic, or slows them down to debilitating speeds.”


To meet this challenge, VOA has an experimental program underway called “VOA Radiogram.” In this program, the station broadcasts both text and photographic information via shortwave to listeners equipped with radio-connected computers.


“VOA Radiogram is an experiment to provide information to any place where the Internet, or at least content from abroad, is unavailable due to dictators, disasters, conflict, or remote location,” said Elliott, who is leading the effort. He said that the experiment has been very successful. “We tried various modes, including PSK, MT63 and Olivia, but MFSK (multiple frequency shift keying) has been the best performer. MFSK32, at 120 words per minute, provides a good compromise between speed and accurate copy under challenging shortwave reception conditions.”

Via radioworld dot com http://www.radioworld.com/article/international-broadcasters-reconsider-shortwave/271847   
             
The pirate world has had the busiest time of the year, Christmas and New Year provide many pirates on the air.


We’re going to have a look at “Shortwave Pirate Radio 2014 - A year in review” written by Chris Smilonski
Here are the most common modes used in 2014:
“AM 944
USB 776
LSB 49
CW 32
FM 16
SSTV 46
AM beat out USB this year, last year they were virtually tied”

We all assume pirates are on air most on weekends and while that is true there’s definately ones during the week, here Chris gives statistics of logs over the year;

“Sunday 387 (20%)
Monday 155 (8%)
Tuesday 189 (10%)
Wednesday 223 (11%)
Thursday 230 (12%)
Friday 331 (17%)
Saturday 460 (23%)”


We can see that 57% of transmissions are over Friday and the weekend. “But don’t give up on weekday listening! 40% of transmissions are on a Monday through Thursday”


The top 5 frequencies in use for 2014 are: 6925, 6930, 6950, 6940, 6770 with 6925 on 50% of all logs.
That was via the HF Underground blog.

Let’s have a look at some logs for Europirates and Ameerican Pirates:

Euro:
Jan 1st
6940 1655 Enterprise Radio. "What A Feeling," then Madonna. SINPO 34333.
6990L 1702 Baltic Sea Radio. Michael Jackson "Bad." SINPO 344433.
Dec 31st
3325 1547 Misti Radio. Testing on usual freq. Rock. SINPO 24332.
6207 1603 Radio Caroline-Rainbow. Many IDs, dance mx. SINPO 34333.
6238 1710 Radio Pirana. Non-stop Latin American music, via European relay, good peaks. SINPO 34333.
6267 1554 Skyline Radio Germany. Rock. SINPO 34333.
6284 1559 Radio Black Arrow. Inst mx, signing off. SINPO 54444.
6284 1652 Radio Underground. DT song, ID, greetings, strong peaks. SINPO 44433.
6295 1611 Radio Babysitter (Black Bandit). Country and DT mx. SINPO 54444.
6305 1658 Radio Merlin Int. Supergrass, talk about NY Eve. SINPO 34333.
6803 1608 Radio Pink Panther. Country mx. SINPO 54444.
Via the Shortwave DX Blog

Radio Cochiguaz a pirate that has been off the air for some time is came back with test a test transmission on December 31st 2014 on 6238. They have also done test transmissions in October 18th and 19th 2014 but no one seemed to log them. It says on their website that “Many of you may not know that our Director and the operator of our station passed away some years back. Some of us innvolved with this grate station has decided to keep the station going on in the memory of our great friend and pioneer Cachito Mamani.” http://www.radio-cochiguaz.com/
I do not know who is relaying them in Europe them but it will be great to hear South American voices and pan pipe music.
Let’s have a listen to them via Gino Italy who heard them on New Years Eve:


American:
3440 23h35UTC Jan 2nd WHYP playing old time tunes. S9+15 into New Hampshire by DimBulb


6850.5 23h45UTC Jan 1st The Crystal Ship Sign on with the doors, ID and intro talk by John Poet and A Trip to Pirates Cove by Tom Petty SINPO 43333 by ByteBorg


6920 USB 2h30UTC 1st Jan  Radio Doctor Tim music by female artist, non-English show with Happy new year chorus S7 into Chicago by RCCI


American logs via HF undergriund forum. (We also thank other members contributions to the pirate logs that may have not got a mention.)

DX Extra is being relayed on FM via World FM 88.2FM in Tawa, near Wellington in New Zealand, Worldfm dot co dot nz and on shortwave via Focus International, Magic 6205, Cupid Radio and we welcome a new relay - Premier Radio. A big thank you to all our relay partners. Your generosity means a lot!

Before we go it was great to see so many reception reports from Europe hearing the 2014 Christmas special. We always love to hear from you and would love to give you an eQSL for hearing us on the DX Extra - send your report to hriradio at gmail dot com and join us on facebook at facebook dot com forwardslash dxextra


It's time to get an audio clip out of the archives. This is a bit of festive music for New Years heard on Radio France International’s transmission on 9665 on the 1st of January.

Until next time remember shortwave radio is still full of mysteries – keep tuning and keep reporting.

Image: Sydney to Hobart winner Wild Oats XI



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Location: Hobart, Tasmania, AU Hobart TAS, Australia
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