STATION NEWS AND THE LOG BOOK - August 18, 2017

STATION NEWS AND THE LOG BOOK

August 18, 2017

STATION NEWS

AUSTRALIA
The final report from the Senate Committee looking into the ABC shortwave enquiry is at:
http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/Shortwaveradio/Report

The real meat is in "Chapter 2" of the report.

The committee has recommended that the Senate not pass the bill to have shortwave reinstated. Although this is only a recommendation, it is highly unlikely that the Senate would go against the findings of the committee and try to pass the bill - they don't have the numbers to do that. Eventually, the bill will fail in the Senate and be dismissed.

It is clear, however, that the committee's decision was not a unanimous one. See dissenting comments from Sen. McKenzie and Sen. Xenophon in the above report. As I wrote in the SWLing.com blog, I thought Sen. McKenzie's “additional comments” were particularly insightful. She also highlighted the ABC’s rather opaque and contradictory statements throughout this whole enquiry. ABC has been less than honest about its audiences. It is more interested in getting rid of something it is no longer interested in delivering, regardless of audience needs!

This is also reflected in other domestic programming decisions made recently by ABC execs and their leader Guthrie. There have been some shockers recently, and there’s more to come. ABC is trying to make the best of it with greatly reduced funding. But it has proved time and again that it just doesn’t have the TOTAL Australian audience in mind when making changes to policy and programming. The view through the lens of the Corporation’s Sydney headquarters is quite distorted.

So, from the Senate committee's report, the final summary in the section titled "Committee View":

2.50      The committee is of the view that the measures proposed in this bill are not an appropriate way to address the concerns raised by some submitters about the cessation of the ABC's shortwave services.

2.51      In relation to the cessation of domestic shortwave services, the committee considers that the recommendations made in its report on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Amendment (Rural and Regional Advocacy) Bill 2015 will address many of the concerns raised by those living in rural and regional communities. The committee also notes the ABC's commitment to the delivery of improved services through the allocation of funding for up to 80 new content roles in regional Australia.[74]

2.52      Regarding concerns about the cessation of the international shortwave service, the committee notes that the ABC is working to ensure its continued presence in international broadcasting by developing a new international strategy across all its content divisions. The ABC is also expanding the provision of broadcasts through an array of technologies and investing in more FM transmitters in Papua New Guinea. The new strategy will enable the ABC to align its services to the way in which audiences access news, current affairs and other programs. The committee supports the ABC's approach to ensuring that it remains a recognisable source of independent, high quality broadcasting in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific.

2.53      The committee acknowledges the concerns expressed by some submitters that emergency broadcasts will no longer be received by certain domestic and overseas audiences. However, it is not the sole responsibility of the ABC to ensure that communities, especially communities outside Australia, are briefed on weather warnings. Rather, this responsibility lies with government authorities with ABC broadcasts serving as an alternative source of emergency information. 

2.54      The committee is also concerned that the measures in the bill would, if enacted, impinge on the independence of the ABC and could lead to increased costs. While the committee notes that the proposed amendments do not affect the ABC's editorial independence, the committee is not convinced that dictating the broadcaster's choice of technology is in line with the established tradition and understanding of independence that has been fostered over many decades. The ABC has made the decision to terminate its shortwave broadcasts, and is seeking a modern and efficient way forward for the dissemination of content, which are legitimate activities for the broadcaster to undertake.

2.55      The committee therefore does not support the bill. However, the committee emphasises that it will continue to monitor developments in this area. In particular, the committee's Senate estimates hearings will facilitate ongoing scrutiny of the ABC's commitment to the delivery of improved services to regional Australia and the effectiveness of the ABC's new international strategy.

Recommendation 1

2.56      The committee recommends that the Senate not pass the bill.

The upshot of all this? No return of Radio Australia to shortwave nor the Northern Territory Shortwave Service.


FIJI
There’s an interesting YouTube documentary released by the Fiji Broadcasting Corporation on the refurbishment of both transmitters and antennas for the mediumwave outlets of 558 and 990 kHz. This was completed with the financial and technical assistance of the Japanese government. It will be very interesting for MW DXers to see how well the new facility will be heard beyond the Fijian borders.



There is also a somewhat less interesting YouTube video of the Fijian dictator Prime Minister Bainimarama at the official launch of the revitalized service, which can be found at https://youtu.be/kOza_Ov7f48

It was fascinating to hear Prime Minister Bainimarama talking about democratic freedoms in the broadcasting media….This from a man who for many years has done his level best to suppress and control the Fijian media on countless occasions! My thanks to Mauno Ritola and Bruce Portzer for alerting me to the above links.

KASHMIR
Ron Howard (CA, USA) reports: AIR Radio Kashmir, Srinagar (presumed) on 4950 kHz, 1341, Aug 11. Nice surprise to actually catch some audio above threshold level; clearly in Hindi. Rather a rare event for me, as most days only hear their open carrier!

MONGOLIA
Ron Howard (CA, USA) writes:
Mongolian Radio 2 (presumed), heard on 4895 kHz  (reactivated) at 1246, Aug 10 and again Aug 11, at 1131, through subsequent checking till 1350; heard only an open carrier; unable to detect any modulation/audio at my QTH. Thanks to feedback from Dave Valko and Hiroyuki Komatsubara, who were also hearing this, but they had faint audio that indicated Mongolia and not India. Mongolia not on their other frequency of 4830; while 7260 is now being reported with a het from a third station, which might also be Mongolia (plus China & Vanuatu). Needs more monitoring! Website - http://www.mnb.mn/


MYANMAR
5985, Myanmar Radio, 1211-1259, Aug 11. Special live coverage of the Myanmar U18 vs Inter Milan U18, with friendly soccer match held at YTC Thuwunna Stadium (Yangon); 1221 noted half time break with filler music, till coverage started up again; seemed to perhaps be a TV audio feed, as less than full spoken coverage; usual background sounds of the fans. (Ron Howard)


SRI LANKA
Victor Goonetilleke 4S7VK advises that the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation has just started a new Tamil service on 11835 kHz between 1700 and 1800 UTC. The station is looking for reports and you can send these to Victor at Victorg.broadcaster@gmail.com. However, there will be a delay in replying as Victor is currently in Australia for several months visiting family, so please be patient when waiting for a QSL.

FROM THE LOG BOOK

Some observations from the past week, as heard here at Mount Evelyn:

👍👍5980   BOTSWANA. VoA - Moepeng Hill. English language lessons at 2120 in the 30-min French service to Af. Fair signal until s/off 2130, Aug 11.

👍👍5995   MALI. RTV du Mali - Bamako. Afro instrumental music at 2155, ID in French at 2200, then intro into a new talk program, a weak signal on Aug 11.

9390   THAILAND. R. Thailand - Ban Dung. Pop song at 2110 in the Thai service to Eu. Fair signal, English IDs and gongs chiming at 2113 till s/off 2115, Aug 11.

9490   KUWAIT. VoA - Umm al-Rimam. The weekdays-only French service to WAf with news at 2103, poor on Aug 11.

11680   D.P.R.KOREA. KCBS - Kanggye. The domestic service at 2210, plenty of rhetoric, fair signal and still heard going past 2300….has she paused to take a breath yet? Fair signal on Aug 11.

12030   TAIWAN. RTI - Tanshui. S/on 1100 for the Russian service to EAs, a weak signal with the news on Aug 13.

12034.88   MONGOLIA. VoMongolia - Ulaanbaatar. Japanese to As at 1045 with pop music and talk. Some distortion on the audio, fair signal and monitored until s/off 1100 on  Aug 13.

13760   D.P.R.KOREA. VoK - Kujang. English service to Eu coming in well with little bother from the low-level jamming at 2215. Then into Spanish at 2230, Aug 11.

13810   UNITED ARAB EMIRATES. Dandal Kura R. - Dhabayya. To WAf in Kanuri at 0715 with news programming. According to HFCC, it's a new site for this service 0700-0800 (ex Woofferton as of Aug 7). Poor signal and seemed to be some technical issues with modulation, Aug 12.

15215   GUAM. KSDA - Agat. AWR programming in Mandarin to EAs with a pop hymn at 2250, fair signal Aug 11.

👍👍15260   AUSTRIA. IBRA R. (Radio Sama) - Moosbrunn. S/on 0800 in Arabic to ME with ID and preaching. This seems to be part of IBRA Media (according to WRTH), not FEBA as appears in Eibi listings. It also has its own website: www.radiosama.net. Weak signal and f/out 0815, Aug 12.

15515   KUWAIT. R. Kuwait - Sulaibiyah. A fair to poor signal at 0735 with long Arabic discussion. A quick ID at 0741 and into Arabic pop song. Beams to EAs at 59˚, Aug 12.

15690   GERMANY. R. Farda - Biblis. Farsi music program at 0750 beamed to Iran, weak signal, Aug 12.

👍👍17860   TAJIKISTAN. Voice of Khmer M'Chas Srok - Dushanbe. Very weak signal at s/on 1130 with a long talk in the Khmer language. Faded out by 1140 - this is a tough one with winter nights and low sunspots both conspiring to make it through to Mount Evelyn! The schedule is Sun and Tues only. Aug 13. The website is: http://www.khmer-mchas-srok.org/index.php?lang=en

73 and have a great weekend everyone,

Rob Wagner VK3BVW

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