SHORTWAVE IN THE NEWS - No. 2
Here is a collection of new and very recent online articles relating the shortwave radio hobby. If you missed some of these, now is your opportunity to catch up!! Sit back and enjoy!
Note: If you missed the first edition of "Shortwave In The News", you can still read it at:
Shortwave In The News (dated November 20, 2014)
Nigeria's war against Boko Haram takes to the airwaves
While helicopter gunships and armoured vehicles have led the campaign against Boko Haram in northern Nigeria this year, the military hardware is now being reinforced by an unexpected new psychological weapon: radio broadcasts of soccer news and farm reports. In a bare-bones radio studio in this northern city, a small staff of broadcasters has entered the battle for hearts and minds in Boko Haram territory. Much of their work is basic reporting on mundane subjects such as farm irrigation and sports news, but it could still play a role in neutralizing Boko Haram’s propaganda and regaining support in the strongholds of the Islamist extremists.
It uses shortwave, a popular choice in northern Nigeria, where people buy cheap Chinese-made shortwave radios for a few dollars in the local markets. Read more at:
French public radio in crisis as row deepens
A fierce struggle pitting striking unions at French public radio and its cost-cutting young boss looked set to worsen after the chief executive vowed to see through a plan to cut 300 jobs. It calls for 300 jobs to be sliced from the group's 4,600-strong workforce, for webradio to take over from some of the more esoteric broadcasts, the halt of long- and shortwave transmissions, and the reduction in size of the group's two classical orchestras.
World Amateur Radio Day - April 18
On Saturday, April 18, radio amateurs worldwide will take to the airwaves to celebrate World Amateur Radio Day. Read more at the IARU website:
DW Kigali: off the air after an eventful 50 years
Deutsche Welle shut down its last remaining relay station in Kigali, Rwanda, on March 28. We bid DW Kigali farewell with a peep at the station's photo album.
How I learnt to listen to – and then think, and write in – English first
A writer looks back at the small town in Odisha she spent years in, when listening to the BBC promised a wider world.
Zenith Trans-Oceanic, The "Royalty of Radios"
With the development of tubes in the late 1930s to support portability, McDonald came up with the concept of a portable shortwave radio that he could use while at sea on his yacht. Although the series of radios was inspired by his yachting experience, Mr. McDonald correctly assumed that consumers were hungry for portables that could receive international shortwave broadcasts. By this time, the popularity of international shortwave broadcasts was growing rapidly.
Happy Birthday 783 Alice Springs
A look at the mediumwave outlet in Alice Springs, NT, which also relays on shortwave.
Radio wars: information battle heats up as Russia and China muscle in
Last December, Peter Horrocks, the BBC World Service’s former director, warned that the West was losing the “information war” with Moscow as the old Cold War foe pumped out wave after wave of pro-Kremlin propaganda on its rapidly expanding radio, TV and online platforms. Horrocks had called for a rethink on financial assistance from the UK government as, even before the grant was ended, cutbacks in 2011 forced the closure of five language services and some short-wave broadcasts. “We are being financially outgunned by Russia and the Chinese. Medium to long term there has to be an anxiety about the spending of others compared to what the BBC are putting into it,” he said.
Book: On Air - A History of BBC Transmission
The book On Air celebrates a lifetime of achievement in the world of broadcast transmission engineering and includes many anecdotes from the lives of people involved. 100 hardback and 500 paperback editions of On Air were printed in June 2003 and they were all sold by early 2004. A re-print was made available in January 2006 and they sold out in February 2009.
The idea for On Air arose in 1997 when BBC Transmission was privatised and two new companies were formed: called Crown Castle and Merlin Communications. It was the end of an era and a natural point for reflection on past achievements. The result is a book of some 80,000 words, edited by Norman Shacklady and Martin Ellen. You can now download it for free at:
AWA Saves a Piece of Delano Station
One of the three model 821A-1 Collins Radio 250,000-watt transmitters that were in daily use at the Voice of America - Delano from the mid-1960s until the facility went dark at the end of September in 2007 has been rescued.
Consider a New Way to Combat Pirate Radio Stations
Pirate radio broadcasting is something we don’t see regularly here in Australia, but it’s big in the USA. Thomas Witherspoon over that The SWLing Post has just posted a link to an FCC blog post by the FCC Commissioner, Michael O’Reilly. It’s quite an interesting perspective on what might be done to curb the “problem”. Go to Thomas’ excellent blog at:
You’ll also find the original FCC blog post at:
73 and good DX everyone!
Rob Wagner VK3BVW
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