OBSERVATIONS: INTERNATIONAL RADIO FOR DISASTER RELIEF
OBSERVATIONS:
INTERNATIONAL RADIO FOR DISASTER RELIEF
Focused on the Jakarta Media Summit, the trial was designed to demonstrate the potential usefulness of high-powered shortwave broadcasting in disaster relief. Here's how the HFCC describes the motivation behind the IRDR tests:
The International Radio for Disaster Relief project is capable of becoming a permanent part of global shortwave coordination that is already in existence. The system is automated: It checks on any changes or additions in the database every ten minutes. If any changes are detected, the processing starts automatically, the global database is updated and any possible incompatibilities or "collisions" identified. The overview of the occupancy of the channels reserved for disaster relief will be available to all participants world-wide immediately at any point in time. Volunteering organisations will be able to start the relief broadcasting immediately after the real disaster strikes, and coordinate the time- slots among themselves.
Due to the unique long-distance propagation property of shortwave radio by means of
multiple reflections from layers in the upper earth's atmosphere a transmitter can reach easily to both relatively near or most distant world regions. This is important where other platforms such as satellite, FM or Internet are unavailable because of high cost, geographical location, lack of infrastructure or due to restrictions or disasters. Receivers are inexpensive and there are no access fees. Shortwave radio is important for travellers and isolated people and it reaches across the Digital Divide to the most disadvantaged and marginalised societies. This is in keeping with the Declaration and Action Plan of the World Summit on the Information Society.
multiple reflections from layers in the upper earth's atmosphere a transmitter can reach easily to both relatively near or most distant world regions. This is important where other platforms such as satellite, FM or Internet are unavailable because of high cost, geographical location, lack of infrastructure or due to restrictions or disasters. Receivers are inexpensive and there are no access fees. Shortwave radio is important for travellers and isolated people and it reaches across the Digital Divide to the most disadvantaged and marginalised societies. This is in keeping with the Declaration and Action Plan of the World Summit on the Information Society.
These aims and objectives are indeed noble and certainly worthy of consideration by regional disaster organisations. However, after decades of successful shortwave broadcasting history, one has to ask why it has taken so long for this idea to surface, especially when international shortwave broadcasting appears to be in terminal decline! Clearly, the HFCC sees itself as playing an important role in the coordination of frequency registrations and service implementation. And, of course, this organisation only began its operations in the 1990s.
There are certainly great benefits to the implementation of high-powered radio transmissions in emergency situation, as the HFCC has pointed out. The ability to transmit over long distances, especially in circumstances where the transmitters can be located well away from disaster zones, is a distinct advantage over satellite, FM and internet services. The recent Philippine typhoon disaster proved that the latest technology doesn't cope well with crisis situations.
The amateur (Ham) radio service has long had dedicated frequencies set aside for emergency communications, although channel allocation does vary from country to country. The role that amateur radio plays in disaster communications is well-known amongst radio enthusiasts, and to a lesser degree, amongst the general public.
There is a role for both HF SW broadcasters and amateur radio operators in disaster communications. Through international broadcasters, general messages and broad updates on disasters can keep distressed populations informed of news, rescue and relief operations, while amateur radio can provide the all-important "on-the-ground" communications on-site in and around the disaster zones.
So....how did the tests go this week? Well, as I mentioned at the start of this post, it was a mixed bag of results. Here's a few general observations:
- Audio quality was variable between some transmissions. Not sure why this should be so as technical standards should be......well.....standardised!
- Audio quality in the English version of the disaster relief program was uneven at times. Obviously, the recorded on-the-spot, out-in-the-field news reports will be of inferior quality compared to studio quality, but several interviews (notably the one with the HFCC chairman) were only average.
- A few stations created problems for other broadcasters by firing up with tuning tones and open carriers before their scheduled sign on times, resulting in clashes with programs already airing on the same frequency - e.g. IBB - Palau on June 5 and Trincomalee on June 6. This happened on quite a few occasions. In a "real" disaster situation, transmitting over the top go another broadcaster could result in vital information being lost because of interference. A better code of practice would need to be adopted for future broadcasting exercises.
- There seemed to be a big screw up for Beijing on June 5 when they transmitted about fifteen minutes of their Chinese program at a totally unscheduled time. On June 6, they appeared to continue this practice....at a different time!
- Evidence of a lack of precision with several transmitters not exactly on frequency, with the worst offender being Trincomalee which was out by 1kHz on both days.
- The Disaster Relief program in English that featured on many of the broadcasts was quite interesting and well produced. However, after monitoring the program numerous times, I was pretty tired of that song at the end of the program. :-)
- Although DRM was advertised for the 0230-0530 time slot on 15650, I didn't hear any evidence of this mode. I didn't monitor the broadcast for the whole three hours, so I don't know whether DRM was transmitted and I may have missed it. I did hear them talking about the mode and interviewing the chairman of the DRM consortium.
- Several other listeners reported two carriers from KTWR with about 3 Hz separation around 1100 on June 5. Mysteriously, one of them disappeared around 1109. One reports suggests that perhaps the two signals were on different beam headings because when one left the air at 1109, the listener could no longer hear that station at all, despite the other carrier still operating. So, rather strange goings-on at KTWR?
- Interesting to see NHK offering both English and Indonesian for their 30 min transmissions.
- IBB / R. Liberty Russian programming on June 5...was this an error?
Things appeared to run more smoothly on June 6....practice helps, I guess!
I was curious to hear how the signals would be heard here at Mount Evelyn, as well as in Asia (the target area) and in Western Europe. So as well as my own listening post, I used Global Tuners for the Hong Kong remote site and the Twente University remote site for European monitoring. As was to be expected, most signals into Hong Kong were good to excellent in strength. As also expected, the signals into Europe were, with several exceptions, mostly weak or inaudible.
I completed a summary of my observations over the two days into a MS Word Doc. Contained in the summary are Soundcloud links to recordings I made from both my Mount Evelyn receiver and the two remote sites. You can hear for yourself the differences in reception across the globe for this trial. Here' the link below::
From my point of view, it's been an interesting exercise this week. As I outlined earlier in this long post, there is a role for BOTH international SW broadcasters and the worldwide amateur radio fraternity to provide immediate and effective responses to international disasters. It would be a pity not to use these facilities and just rely on Internet, mobile phones and satellite communications....all of which rely on electricity and infrastructure for their successful operations. As we have seen in the Philippines a few months ago, these "new" technologies are of no use when entire cities and towns are knocked "offline" by catastrophic damage to local infrastructure.
73's and have a great weekend everyone,
Rob Wagner VK3BVW
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