Strong interest in DRM digital radio amongst Indian FM broadcasters

Mumbai, May 28 2009 - A DRM Digital Radio Mondiale session was very well received by the commercial FM broadcasters in the annual India Radio Forum held in Mumbai on Wednesday. The event's special session titled 'Digital Broadcast - Changing the World of Radio' was attended by delegates from most of the biggest Indian FM broadcast companies. The session was a first introduction for India's private broadcast industry to the many benefits of DRM digital radio. The broadcasters were particularly interested in the key features opening new commercial opportunities, including up to four services per frequency and multimedia services like EPG, Journaline text information service and Slideshow. They also experienced the 5.1 digital surround sound of a DRM+ broadcast, which was on display throughout the day. The programme makers and creative heads were impressed with the excellent audio quality and reception robustness of DRM broadcasts. The regular All India Radio broadcast from Delhi on DRM SW, officially launched in January, could be heard by delegates live on various DRM receivers. The Indian state broadcaster - All India Radio - has recently announced its decision to adopt DRM for the upcoming transition to Digital Radio. Seventy per cent of the country is planned to be covered with DRM broadcasts by the end of government's 11th five year plan. This analogue-to-digital migration plan is in line with the analogue radio switch off date of 2015. India Radio Forum (IRF) brings together all the major Indian FM players. Here the present and future of commercial FM is discussed, and best of the industry performance is celebrated. This was the first time that a digital radio session was organised during IRF. After the session, many broadcasters showed strong interest in exploring this option and taking their present analogue FM business to the next level of service offerings and revenue opportunities.

(DRM Consortium Press Release)

http://www.drm.org/news/detail/news/strong-interest-in-drm-digital-radio-amongst-indian-fm-broadcasters/

Ambika Soni is new I&B minister

Indiantelevision.com Team(28 May 2009 9:25 pm) NEW DELHI: Ambika Soni, who had served as Minister of Tourism and Minister of Culture in the outgoing UPA Government, is the Information and Broadcasting Minister in the Manmohan Singh cabinet. Soni is from the Rajya Sabha like her predecessor Anand Sharma who was widely being tipped to continue in the same portfolio.Interestingly, the present Council of Ministers has two Ministers of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting - Mohan Jatua and Dr. S Jagathrakshakan.

Read the full report here :
www.indiantelevision.com/headlines/y2k9/may/may301.php

VOA adds satellite frequencies in run-up to Iranian election

Washington, D.C., May 28, 2009 – The Voice of America has added new satellite frequencies to ensure millions of Iranians are able to watch and listen to programs on VOA's Persian News Network (PNN) in the run-up to Iran's June 12 presidential elections.The addition of new satellite paths (on Arabsat Badr-4 and Eutelsat HotBird) comes after viewers flooded PNN with reports of signal interference. VOA officials subsequently confirmed that Iranian authorities have greatly increased jamming in parts of Tehran, the capital, and some other locations."Iran is one of the most important countries to which we broadcast," said Alex Belida, acting director of VOA's PNN. "Our job is to provide people with objective and balanced information so they can make the best decision possible. The initial response to our new satellite frequencies has been very positive."PNN has launched intensive special reporting on Iran's June 12th presidential election, including "news of the day" campaign reports, background election stories, and analysis of the activities of the country's four approved presidential candidates.PNN has the largest combined radio and television audience of all international broadcasters in Iran, with one in four adult Iranians tuning in to a VOA show at least once a week. PNN broadcasts seven hours of television daily, repeated in a 24-hour format, and five hours of radio. Broadcasts are available on demand on the Internet at www.VOAPNN.com

( Voice of America Press Release)

Photo's of DSWCI AGM

Here are the first pictures of the DSWCI Annual General Meeting and DX Camp 2009 that took place from May 15th to May 17th at Vejers Beach, Denmark.

http://dswci.org/agm/2009/agm2009.html

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition 26-27 May 2009

Read the Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition dated 26-27 May 2009 here :

http://tinyurl.com/ps3wuu

Go digital to survive, small broadcasters told

Wednesday 27 May 2009 - Going digital is the best way for a small broadcaster to survive in a competitive media environment, an international conference in Macau heard today.

Read the full story here : http://tinyurl.com/qsj6u7

Deutsche Welle: New Interface on iTunes

Germany's international broadcaster makes it easier to access its audio and video podcasts. Deutsche Welle's podcast channel has been given a new interface on iTunes, the world's largest directory of podcasts. This new channel will be cleaner with improved navigation, making it easier than ever to access its audio and video podcasts.Instead of only being able to access a list of all audio or all video podcasts, users can now define parameters - like different categories or programming language - thereby simplifying the search function."We have worked with Apple to align the new Deutsche Welle channel more directly with the selection criteria used across the iTunes Store," says Holger Hank, Head of New Media at Deutsche Welle. "This will make it easier for iTunes users to navigate."Deutsche Welle is one of the largest providers of podcasts worldwide and offers more than 300 podcast feeds on its channel. All of its radio and television series that can be accessed and distributed online have been made available on iTunes.Deutsche Welle distributes multimedia and multilingual information from Germany to the rest of the world. DW-TV, DW-RADIO and the online portal DW-WORLD.DE provide the latest news and background information in 30 languages. With modern forms of media like podcasting, live-streaming, newsletters, mobile offers and RSS services, Deutsche Welle is especially important for those with an interest in Germany and Europe.

May 20, 2009

(Press Release)

CVC Test 17695 kHz to India

Screenshot of CVC test on 17695 kHz - 27th May 2009

Here's an audio file :
http://alokeshgupta.googlepages.com/cvctest_17695_1112UTC_27may2009r.mp3

URGENT: Today 27 May, DRM transmission from TDF Issoudun to Bombay

Today 27 May , 1600 - 1800 UTC, special DRM transmission from TDFIssoudun to Bombay / India.

Frequency =15335 kHz in 1600-1700 UTC

11830 kHz in 1700-1800 UTC

Azimuth = 90°

Antenna configuration = 4/4

Audio Programme = RFI

DRM parameters:

B mode

Bandwidth=10 kHz

MSC = 64 QAM

cr=0.6

Audio encoding = AAC+SBR

Prms = 150 kW

Associated datas:

Label = <>

Text message = "DRM transmission by TDF, France to India

Wishing you a good listening if possible in the target area.

Regards,

Jacques GRUSON

CVC 17695kHz to India

CVC The Voice Asia will be broadcast in DRM from Jülich to India

Date: 27th May 2009 (one day only)

Time: 0530 – 1130 UTC

1100 – 1700 Local time, India

Frequency: 17695 kHz

Language: Hindi

Any reception reports would be welcome, but especially from India.

Many thanks,

James Serpell

(via drmrx forum)

Vatican Radio to air advertising

By David Willey BBC News, Rome

Pope Benedict has given his blessing to taking adverts on Vatican RadioVatican Radio - the voice of the Roman Catholic church - is going commercial in July to meet rising costs.It is one of the world's oldest broadcasters, first going on the air as long ago as 1931.But the station now costs about $30m (21.4m euros, £18.8m) a year to run and the Vatican has been looking for ways of raising new funding.

Read the full story here :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8068680.stm

DSWCI AGM Pictures

Here are the first pictures of the DSWCI Annual General Meeting and DX Camp 2009 that took place from May 15th to May 17th at Vejers Beach, Denmark.

http://dswci.org/agm/2009/agm2009.html

Prasar Bharati Chairman resigns

Prasar Bharati Chairman Arun Bhatnagar, who has been at loggerheads with the public broadcaster's CEO B S Lalli, has resigned because he was "dissatisfied" with the functioning of the Board.

Full story at :
http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/001200905261965.htm

Radio boost for marginalised women

By Supriya Menon BBC India Business Report In the hot and arid countryside of Andhra Pradesh, T Manjula goes from house to house checking the year's harvest.Born on the fringes of Indian society, she has fought her way up through hard work and guts. A volunteer with the Deccan Development Society (DDS), she now tries to help other poor women, most of whom are Dalits, the lowest group in the Indian social hierarchy. But while food distribution is a vital part of what she does, Manjula is more excited about her role as a radio journalist. And it is in this job that she thinks she can really make a difference. The local radio station has a state-of-the-art studio in a very ordinary looking house in Pastapur, 100 kilometres (60 miles) from Hyderabad.

Read the full report with pics here :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8061327.stm

Cyclone Aila silences most of AIR Kolkata

Kolkata A 657 and Kolkata B 1008 were silenced by Cyclone Aila on 25.05.09 afternoon local time . This morning they did not sign on at 0025 UTC. Kolkata A 657 kHz started airing fillers of continuous Shehnai music from 0200 UTC. The regular local news in Bangla which starts at 0200 UTC abruptly appeared at 0208 UTC. The news briefly mentioned that except FM all other services of AIR were affected. Kolkata B 1008 kHz is still off the air. I have been logging Vividh Bharati 1323 kHz as usual. No sign of any signal on 594 kHz Chinsurah which was in directline of the storm.

Tropical Cyclone Aila which passed by Kolkata at 100 kmph speed winds on 25.5.09 at around 0930 utc silenced all the services of All India Radio Kolkata except its FM service.On 26.5.09 Vividh Bharati on 1323 kHz was the first to start. Kolkata A 657 kHz which signs on morning at 0025 UTC came on air only at 0200. Kolkata B 1008 kHz and External Service with Nepali 0130-0230 on 594 kHz (Mogra 1000kHz) were silent. Kolkata on 4820 kHz could not be logged in the morning transmission 0025 - 0220 UTC. AIR did not make any announcement on air about its disruption in services. There was only a cursory mention in the local news bulletin.There was no sign of AIR this morning 26.5.09 on 4820 kHz from 0025-0220 kHz. No signal either on 7210 kHz which is due to sign on at 0230 UTC. AIR announcements made no mention of this disruption.

(Dr.Supratik Sanatani, Kolkata )

YL YAMINI, VU2YAM ENTERS LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS-2009

YL Yamini, VU2YAM, aged 22 years member of National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR), Hyderabad became the first Indian woman to participate in an International Dxpedition conducted in an uninhabited Cocos Island of Costa Rica, Central America during 9-13th February 2008. YL Yamini, excelled in her achievements for using voice as well as digital modes of amateur radio communication technology that enables sending e-mail without internet from a remote location. Sponsored by NIAR and Austrian Amateur Radio Society, she was also among the youngest and the only woman of the 12 member team consisting of hams from USA, Europe and Asia. Several national and international organizations have recognized and acknowledged specific achievements made by YL Yamini earlier. This exceptional achievement now finds place in National Record 2009 of the prestigious Limca Book of Records as per the communication received from the Editor, Limca Book of Records. Limca Book of Records is equivalent of Guinness Book for India. YL Yamini took special interest in the field of amateur radio joining as student member at NIAR and continued to pursue this activity with outmost dedication. She continues to motivate youth to become partners in technology development by exhibiting her skills and undertaking challenging expeditions under extremely difficult circumstances in the field of amateur radio, which will remain as an inspiration to younger generation.

(Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad)

Brazil ready to evaluate the DRM standard while deciding its digital radio future

This major breakthrough for Digital Radio Mondiale was announced during the 25th ABERT Broadcasting Congress in Brasilia, Brazil (19-21 May).Seven experts representing the DRM Consortium (from BBC, Digidia, Dolby, Fraunhofer IIS, TDF, and Thomson Grass Valley) were invited to this congress and made well received presentations in the plenum. In addition, DRM in the AM bands with multimedia elements Slideshow and Journaline, DRM+ with 5.1 Surround Sound, and DRM/AM simulcasting were demonstrated during the 3 days of the congress, while live transmissions from Chile, Ecuador and French Guyana could be listened to on the latest generation of DRM receivers.During the opening session of the congress on May 19th, the Brazilian Minister of Communications Helio Costa announced an upcoming public consultation period of 180 days. The aim of this consultation is to choose the most adequate digital radio system fulfilling all broadcast requirements of Brazil.DRM has confirmed throughout the congress, attended by 1500 participants, its readiness and willingness to lead this evaluation, together with Brazilian partners and the general support of the Brazilian authorities. The preparation of these trials has already started during the congress.The DRM Consortium will contribute to the selection of the best digital radio solution for Brazil. The open, global DRM Digital Radio Mondiale standard was recently officially chosen by India and Russia for their radio broadcasting bands.

(DRM Consortium Press Release)

Transradio installs new MW Transmitter at Mauritius

TRANSRADIO has announced the completion of latest MW project, the installation and commissioning of a two frequency 10kW MW transmitting system at MCML (Multi Carrier Mauritius Ltd.) Malherbes site on the beautiful island of Mauritius (Republic of Mauritius).

Read the full story with pics here :

http://www.broadcast-transradio.com/html/mauritius.html

Live broadcast of swearing-in ceremony by AIR on 22nd May

All India Radio will broadcast live the swearing-in ceremony of the Prime Minister and the new council of Ministers today (22nd May 2009) from 1825 IST (1255 UTC) onwardsThe news services division of All India Radio will have a special live bilingual discussion in Hindi & English on the formation of new council of ministers before the swearing-in ceremony from 1230 - 1255 UTCAll the All India Radio stations & four metro FM Gold channels will relay this entire programme. All India Radio stations which have no transmission at the scheduled time will have special transmission to relay the swearing-in ceremony from Delhi. Due to above special programme all news bulletins will be re-scheduled.

BBC DRM MW Test Reports

BBC alongwith the transmission company Arqiva – trialled digital radio mondiale (DRM), the standard for digital broadcasting on medium-wave for last one year, reports of BBC's DRM MW trials are available here :

http://tinyurl.com/q4qqeo

Related news :

Digital Radio Mondiale - our medium-wave experiences

http://tinyurl.com/osc879

Digital medium-wave test runs into trouble after dark

http://tinyurl.com/qpqnvl

RTI to increase transmission in North America

Starting June 15th, RTI will add two more frequencies for listeners in North America. From 0200 to 0300 UTC on 9680 KHz to the Midwest and from 0500 to 0600 UTC on 5950 KHz to the West Coast.

(Source : RTI)

Media Broadcast (DTK) updated A09 schd (as on 19th May, 2009)

Media Broadcast (DTK) updated A09 schd (as on 19th May, 2009) is now available for download from this link :

http://www.media-broadcast.com/fileadmin/user_upload/Downloads/A09_operational_190509.pdf

Community Radio Station at Tilonia, Rajasthan

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India has signed a Grant of Permission Agreement for establishing, maintaining and operating a Community Radio Station (CRS) at Barefoot College Tilonia, in Ajmer, Rajasthan. Tilonia is a tiny village of about 2000 inhabitants situated 400 miles south-west of New-Delhi. It is best known for the success of its grassroots empowerment movement spearheaded by the Social Works and Research Centre (popularly known as The Barefoot College). Letter of Intent had been issued to the Institute after recommendations of Inter Ministerial Committee and requisite clearances as per procedure. The Community Radio Station is expected to be operational within three months as per the agreement. Tilonia's CRS would be the 45th CRS in the country. The programmes broadcast from this station will focus on issues concerning health, education, employment generation, rainwater harvesting, environmental matters and agriculture programmes for the rural community.The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting encourages setting up of the Community Radio Stations as it provides an opportunity to the local communities to get involved in various development works.

(Press Information Bureau, Govt of India)

RNZI to air New Radio Heritage Documentary on June 1

Media Release

Radio Heritage Foundation

www.radioheritage.net

Join us on June 01 2009 when the Radio Heritage Foundation airs a new radio heritage documentary on the Radio New Zealand International [RNZI] Mailbox program.You can listen via shortwave or audio on demand [for the followingmonth] with full details of frequencies and times and audio downloadat www.rnzi.com The program features the story of the six stations of the famous AFRS Mosquito Network during World War II, and how they got their name. American Expeditionary Stations in Noumea, Munda, Guadalcanal,Espiritu Santo, Bougainville and Auckland all went on air in 1944, some 65 years ago, and were staffed by professional broadcasters drawn from American radio stations. Featuring top Hollywood and music show stars, the stations entertained hundreds of thousands of Allied troops, and introduced structured radio broadcasting to the Solomon Islands and [now] Vanuatu for the first time. Join David Ricquish of the Radio Heritage Foundation on this journey back to 1944, details about the special four station off-air network broadcast, and the music of forces favorite GI Jill who joins the program.This new radio heritage documentary on RNZI complements three new stories about the Mosquito Network just released at www.radioheritage.net You'll read more about the stations and their place in Pacific radio heritage in AFRS Guadalcanal, AFRS Radio City and AFRS Mosquito Bites. The stories are based on interviews with surviving Mosquito Network personnel and extensive research by Martin Hadlow, former manager of the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service. June 01 2009, be listening to Mailbox on Radio New Zealand International for AFRS Mosquito Network, the new radio heritage documentary from the Radio Heritage Foundation.

All India Radio wins three awards at 10th International Radio Festival

All India Radio has bagged three awards at the 10th International Radio Festival of Iran organized by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), in Tehran. ‘Family No.1’ a programme on HIV/AIDS produced by Ms. Meenu Khare, Programme Executive, All India Radio, Lucknow has bagged the Best Programme Award in the category- ‘Radio Competition’. The award includes a cash prize of Euro 2000, a Trophy and a Plaque. The Presenter of the same programme – ‘Family No.1’ Mr. Vivek Srivastava has bagged the Best Presenter Award in the competition. The award carries a cash prize of Euro 1500, a Trophy and a Plaque. The script writer of the programme ‘Ripples in a Still Pond’ Ms. Anubha Mukerji Sen has bagged Second Prize in the category of ‘Script Writers’ of the programme-entries. The award includes a cash prize of Euro 1000, a Trophy and a Plaque. The programme is produced by Ms. Basudha Banerji, Transmission Executive, Central English Feature Unit of All India Radio. The awards were given away at a glittering ceremony by the President of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) and Mr. Javad Mottaghi, Director, Asia-Pacific Institute of Broadcasting Development(AIBD) today.

(Press Information Bureau, Govt Of India)

Honour for wind up radio inventor

The inventor of the wind up radio Trevor Baylis is to be presented with an Honorary Doctorate.

Read the full story here :
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/northamptonshire/8058000.stm

Hot’ transmitters keep AFN radio Naples off-air

By Sandra Jontz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Tuesday, May 19, 2009

NAPLES, Italy — American Forces Network radio in Naples remains out ofcommission while the U.S. Consulate and AFN officials lobby forItalian approval to use new transmitters. The transmitters are atop Collina dei Camaldoli, Naples’ highest point, where numerous other radio, television and cell phone towers also are located. The site is "hot [with electromagnetic field emissions], and there have been many complaints from residents in the area," according to Giuseppe D’Antonio, with Agenzia Regionale Protezione Ambientale Campania, the regional equivalent of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Read the full story here :
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=62770

KBS multimedia radio reaches 5 million listeners

KBS multimedia radio service has celebrated its third anniversary. Named KONG, KBS On-Air No Gravity (KONG literally means vegetable bean in Korean), the radio player based on internet was launched on May 1, 2006 withan aim to provide easier access for the service users to listen andparticipate in KBS' radio programs. KONG now, since the launch, has more than five million service users. The internet-based radio service provides the latest news updates threetimes a day in English and Chinese and has recently introduced a bulletinboard for overseas listeners.

How to use KONG is introduced in details at

http://www.kbs.co.kr/radio/kong/index.html

(Source : KBS)

SLBC to re-broadcast CRI Sinhala programmes

16-May-2009

The Chinese International Radio and the Sri Lanka BroadcastingCorporation has entered into an agreement on broadcasting programmes.This a result of a discussion between the Information and MediaMinister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and the Chinese broadcastingofficials. Accordingly, Sinhala programmes of the Chinese Radio willbe broadcast through the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Service. Through thisservice it scheduled to be broadcast the history and the culturalvalue programme of the two countries

http://www.slbc.lk/he_news.asp?newsid=4782

BBC Bangla Special Broadcast for Indian Election result on 16th May'09

1330 - 1430 UTC : 11795,11595, 9460 kHz
1630 - 1730 UTC : 13750, 9505, 6500 kHz

The regular 30 minutes broadcasts will be available on the scheduled frequencies

Dr.Supratik Sanatani
Kolkata

Special programmes by All India Radio for election results

The News Services Division of All India Radio has made elaborate arrangements for broadcasting election results on Saturday for Lok Sabha and three state assemblies of Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, and Sikkim. In addition to several special hourly bulletins, two special bilingual (English and Hindi) programmes would be broadcast from New Delhi. The first special, live programmes "Faisala Aapaka: Chunav-2009" from 8.30 in the morning till 5.00 in the evening would focus on trends, results, analyses and reactions. Experts, politicians and eminent personalities from Delhi Studios would be interacting with experts, politicians and AIR correspondents all over the country over emerging trends and results. The other bilingual, live phone-in programme, "After Your Verdict" from 9.30 pm to 10.30 pm, would focus on the emerging post-poll scenario. Experts in Delhi Studios would be interacting with correspondents and common people in this hour long programme. Members of the public are welcome to participate in this programme by dialling up phone number 011-23717077 . For the first time, both these programmes would be made available live on the internet at http://webcast.gov.in/newsonair/index.html and people not covered by AIR signals, specially the NRIs, would be able to listen live in real-time to both these programmes. These programmes would be broadcast all over India on National hook-up, FM Gold channels and additional frequencies. The trends and results would also be available on website of AIR news, http://www.newsonair.nic.in All India Radio News has made efforts to reach out to the maximum number of people through their own languages by broadcasting news and programmes in over 75 languages or dialects. The Regional News Units (RNUs) of AIR spread across the country are making special efforts to bring the trends, results and analyses to the people in regional languages throughout the day. The RNUs would be broadcasting 34 special programmes, 294 special bulletins and extending timings of 152 existing bulletins. During the five phases of polling, the RNUs have already broadcast about 1200 special/extended bulletins and mounted about 125 special programmes in different regional languages. Some of the programmes and bulletins would also be available on the website of AIR news.

(Press Information Bureau,Govt of India)

$50 Portable HD Radio landing this summer

Thursday, May 14th 2009 by Chris Davies
HD Radio is slowing making inroads into the US market, and this prototype could be the budget gadget that accelerates that. Expected to retail for under $50 when it launches in a few months time, the unnamed HD Radio has a full color display and standard 3.5mm headphone socket.

Read the full story here :
http://www.slashgear.com/sub-50-portable-hd-radio-landing-this-summer-1443796/

BBS Annual Report 2007

Bhutan Broadcasting Service Annual Report 2007 is now available for download using this link :

http://www.bbs.com.bt/annualreport07.pdf

Lot of interesting info & photo's of BBS, there is a photo of 100 kW SW Txer at Sangaygang,Thimpu on Page 10.

Excerpts from the Annual Report .....

TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT

Technical Department continued to upgrade and strengthen BBS's technical capacity to gather and disseminate news and programmes. New satellite technologies were successfully introduced and effectively used particularly during the mock elections and the National Council elections.

The following FM and Television transmitters were installed to enhance our Radio and TV transmission in 2007:
- 150W TV Transmitter installed at Yonphula,
- 500 W FM Transmitter and 150 Watts VHF TV Transmitter at Jabjey, Paro
- 500 W FM Transmitter and 150 Watts VHF TV Transmitter at Saureni, Samtse
- 500 W FM Transmitter and 150 Watts VHF TV Transmitter at Thonphu Gompa, Pema Gatshel
- 500 W FM Transmitter at Rameytay, Phuentsholing (accordingly the 1 KW FM Transmitter at Takti which serviced Phuentsholing was replaced with 5 watts solar powered FM Transposer to counter frequent power surge)
- 250 Watts FM Transmitter at Bumthang
- 100 Kilo Watt shortwave transmitter with Digital Radio Mondale (DRM) capability was commissioned.

With these installations most of Trashigang, some part of Mongar, most of Pemagatshel and Samtse dzongkhag could receive live TV signal for the first time using simple Yagi antenna. Similarly FM signal was strengthened in Bumthang, Pemagatshel, Paro, Chukha and Samtse. With the commissioning of the 100 KW shortwave transmitters, the Bhutanese population is able to listen to very high quality reception through short wave radio. Integration work for BBS/Kuzoo FM Audio was done using Multi Channel Per Carrier (MCPC) system. With this BBS satellite system could handle more FM audio for linking with remote stations.The BBS earth station is now transmitting three channels (BBS TV, BBS Radio and Kuzoo FM) through a single carrier of 6 MHz bandwidth via satellite.

The construction of the new TV centre with assistance from the Government of India continued during this period. Work for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of two digital studio and automation facilities for the new TV centre was awarded to M/s Essel Shyam Technologies Ltd. Noida, India. Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN) terminals, provided under Government of Japan grant aid, were used for the first time and enabled live reports from different places especially during the mock elections and NC elections. The project for installation of Television Receive Only (TVRO) systems at 172 geogs was signed. The project is funded by the Government of Japan through UNDP as part of institutional and human capacity building in preparation for the first ever democratic elections. Through this project, all 172 geogs in the country which have no access to the television network will be able to receive BBS TV signal. Phase II of JICA Technical Cooperation project started from September 2007 after the arrival of new JICA Expert. This new project will bring support to BBS in the form of content development and training along with some short term consultancies. Under Grant Aid from the Government of Japan, the basic design team finalized the main components of the project as follows:

1. Purchase of 1 4WD Satellite News Gathering Van
2. Setting up of Master Control System
3. Establishment of transmission system for Bureaus using Bhutan Telecom link
4. Purchase of News and Production Equipment for Bureaus
5. Purchase of Equipment for Continuity Studio
6. Purchase of Maintenance Equipment and Tools
Five BBS regional bureaus are included in the project: Kanglung, Jakar, Wangdue Phodrang, Paro and Phuentsholing.

New website of TWR-Asia

TWR-Asia has launched a new web site :

http://www.twr.asia/

US Armed Forces Radio WWII Mosquito Network Celebrating 65 Years

US Armed Forces Radio WWII The Famous Mosquito Network Celebrating 65 Years

The Radio Heritage Foundation has released a major new series of three articles at its global website www.radioheritage.net telling the story of the famous Mosquito Network that broadcast in the South Pacific in WWII. Some 65 years ago, the American Expeditionary Station at Guadalcanal in the British Solomon Islands Protectorate came on the air. In the following 18 months, the later renamed WVUQ entertained hundreds of thousands of allied forces who moved through the spawling military complex on the island. In these three articles, you'll learn how the Mosquito Network got its name, see how the various stations [as far south as 1ZM Auckland, New Zealand] were actually set up and run on a daily basis, read about the famous Hollywood stars of stage and screen who featured on the air and in person in remote jungle outposts, and understand just how important the stations were to the morale of allied forces. The series is authored by Radio Heritage Foundation board member Martin Hadlow, who interviewed many of the surviving broadcasters personally, and had access to historical AFRS documents. Martin is also a former manager of the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Service and understands radio broadcasting in a tropical zone from personal experience. These new articles at www.radioheritage.net outline the birth of radio broadcasting in the Solomons and Vanuatu [then the New Hebrides], from mobile radio stations in suitcases, to fully fledged 18 hours a day operations as good as any found anywhere in the USA in the 1940's. It also answers the question as to whether or not the Mosquito Network was really a network at any time, or were the stations always independently operated. Amazing what can be done with good radio conditions! This is a major contribution to understanding how early broadcasting actually came to many parts of the Pacific for the first time with the US Armed Forces Radio Service in the mid-1940's. WVUQ staff also recorded local music and broadcast programs for Solomon Islanders. You'll also enjoy our earlier major articles at www.radioheritage.net on AFRS Jungle Network and AFRS Japan, whose stories are so strongly connected to those of the Mosquito Network. As well, there are other articles on AFRS Alaska and individual stations such as WVUV American Samoa, KMTH Midway, WXLE Eniwetok, WXLF Canton Island and other AFRS stations in Alaska and the Pacific. Radio Heritage Foundation is a registered non-profit organization connecting popular culture and radio heritage across the Pacific. Our global website is www.radioheritage.net. We always welcome donations of funds, volunteers and materials to help build our radio heritage projects preserving the past for future generations to enjoy. Our donation button is on every page and we thank you for your support.

Media Release, Radio Heritage Foundation

Antarctic Radio Unfreezes - Radio Heritage Media Release

Media Release
Radio Heritage Foundation
www.radioheritage.net

The Radio Heritage Foundation has now released an introductory guide to broadcasting in Antarctica at its global website www.radioheritage.net and with some four stations at McMurdo Station alone, it seems 'global warming' is now unfreezing the Antarctic radio dial. 'Antarctic Radio Unfreezes' journeys back to AFRS radio station WASA 600 AM at McMurdo and traces broadcasting through the American Forces Antarctic Network [AFAN] on shortwave 6012 through to today's Ice FM 104.5.....where old vinyls have kept on spinning for a new audience. Local 'pirate' station 88.7 FM is heard whilst cruising around Mactown, and along the ice highway linking McMurdo with New Zealand's nearby Scott Base, techno music from Radio Scott Base 97.0 FM can blast away the icicles. Even deep down at the South Pole, it's KOLD 87.5 FM and across the continent, stations as diverse as Radio W.I.L.K.E.S, LRA36 Radio Nacional Arcangel San Gabriel, Soberamia FM, and Radio Ker 98.0 FM keep scientists and support staff entertained and informed through the seasons of snow and ice. This well illustrated article at www.radioheritage.net helps shine the light on little known radio stations across the entire 'ice' and may even result in more stations being discovered. Not all stations mentioned may still be on the air. With all kinds of music coming from over 10 radio stations, volunteer DJ's, a Wells Fargo Bank ATM, increasing numbers of adventure travellers, cafes, and more trappings of 'civilization' the Antarctic of today is very different from when explorers barely a century ago first stepped ashore. For a fascinating and unique look at radio broadcasting in the Antarctic, we warmly recommend your visiting 'Antarctic Radio Unfreezes' today at www.radioheritage.net. Radio Heritage Foundation is a registered non-profit organization connecting popular culture and radio heritage across the Pacific. We welcome donations, volunteers and materials to help us protect our radio heritage past for generations in the future. Global website: www.radioheritage.net.

BARC Golden Jubilee HF Contest

The Organising Committee of Hamfest India 2009 is conducting a HF Phone & CW Contest Commemorating the Golden Jubilee Celebration of Bangalore Amateur Radio Club (VU2ARC: 1959 - 2009)

"BARC Golden Jubilee HF CONTEST"

Phone Contest:
Start Date & Time: 23.05.09, 0600 Hrs.
End Date & Time: 24.05.09, 1800 Hrs.

CW Contest:
Start Date & Time: 30.05.09, 0600 Hrs.
End Date & Time: 31.05.09, 1800 Hrs.

ALL BANDS: 3.5, 7, 14, 21, 28 MHz.

The contest is open to and among VU Hams only. Contacts with Dx hams by VU hams are invalid.

Exchange Serial numbers:
Every QSO with Non-Bangalore Hams gives you 1 point. QSO with Bangalore Hams gives you 5 points. Only Bangalore Hams give the last three digits of their PIN code instead of serial number. Example: VU2... living in 560025 gives 5925 or 59925 for SSB or CW respectively. No duplicate QSO with the same PIN code area of Bangalore. Only one QSO is permitted in all the bands put together. Example: If you work VU2XYZ on 7 Mhz, you cannot work him on any other band again. Final Score is the sum of QSO points put together. Send log entries to reach on or before Wednesday, 10 June 2009 by post / courier to :

Hamfest India 2009
C/o Linux Learning Centre
No. 635, 6th Main Road,
Adjacent to Bank of India,
Hanumanthnagar, Bangalore 560019.

or by email to
vu2lu@yahoo.com with the subject line "HF Phone Contest" or HF CW Contest"

The contest Judges will be OM Ramesh V (VU3VRL), Member Organising Committee, HFI-2009 and OM Varadan (VU3ITI). The decision of the Judges will be final and binding in declaring the results & contest winners. All the participants sending their logs will be given "Participation Certificate". The Contest Winners will be awarded Mementos during the HFI-2009 on 7 - 8 November 2009.

73
Ramesh Kumar
VU2LU
Member, Organising Committee
Hamfest India 2009

DRM transmissions to Brazil from TDF Montsinery (French Guiana)

Hi All,

FYI, DRM transmissions to Brazil from TDF Montsinery (French Guiana) are scheduled using the following parameters:

DRM = B mode,
Bandwidth = 10 kHz
MSC = 64 QAM
CR=0,6
Audio encoding = AAC+SBR
Power = 150 kW

- From Friday 15 May to Friday 22 May 2009:
15740 kHz: 12.00 to 17.00 UTC,
17875 kHz: 17.00 to 21.00 UTC,
15740 kHz: 21.00 to 23.00 UTC.

- On Saturday 23 May 2009:
15740 kHz: 12.00 to 17.00 UTC,
17875 kHz: 17.00 to 18.00 UTC.

Wishing you all good listening!

Regards / 73.
Jacques GRUSON F6AJW

(Via drmna )

Bangalore ARDF - Tenth VHF Day Fox Hunt

Marking the Celebrations of Golden Jubilee Year of Bangalore Amateur Radio CLub - VU2ARC and Hamfest India 2009 in November 2009, the Organising Committee is pleased to announce the Tenth VHF Fox Hunt in Bangalore on Sunday, 17 May 2009. This day also happens to be celebrated as "World Telecom Day" across the Globe. The complete details of the event, entry fee, rules & regulations, etc are available at http://www.hamfestindia.com/ and http://www.barc.in/ We expect your participation in big numbers. Please feel free to write to us at info@hamfestindia. com or info@barc.in for any further information.

73
Ramesh Kumar
VU2LU
Member, Organising Committee
Hamfest India 2009
+91-9845057731

Radio and TV Martí changing formats, losing staff

By FRANCES ROBLES
frobles@MiamiHerald.com
Radio and TV Martí will lay off 20 percent of their workforce in a shake-up aimed at retooling the struggling anti-Castro stations in the face of a steep federal budget cut.

Read the full story here :
http://www.miamiherald.com/459/story/1045270.html

BBC's "The World Today" wins gold at the Sony Radio Academy Awards

The BBC World Service has won gold at the Sony Radio Academy Awards for its news and current affairs programme "The World Today". The judges said the World Today's entry bubbled over with stories of real life from around the globe.

Read the full story here :
http://tinyurl.com/q2v2mt

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty opens new HQ in Prague

PRAGUE (AFP) - US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which broadcasts to countries with restricted press rights, opened Tuesday a new highly secured headquarters in Prague.

Read the full story here : http://tinyurl.com/o9eu5u

WorldSpace India rises from ashes

Chris Forrester
12-05-2009
Now emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, WorldSpace's successor company is talking up its prospects for an all-India service. WorldSpace says it will have its own DTH service up and running next year.WorldSpace's India service has not been involved in the core company's bankruptcy. However, WorldSpace India has also to find local investors as partners in order to meet Indian broadcasting regulations. Once that hurdle has been overcome then within 10 months WorldSpace says it will roll out its service.

Read the full story here :
http://www.rapidtvnews.com/index.php/200905123828/worldspace-india-rises-from-ashes.html

Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request for U.S. Intl Broadcasting

Washington, DC, 05/11/2009
Today, the President is forwarding the budget request for Fiscal Year 2010 to the Congress including a request for $745.5 million dollars for the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), an increase of 3.9% from FY 2009 levels. The request reflects the continued critical role of BBG broadcasts in support of U.S. foreign policy goals. The FY 2010 budget supports expanded local and regional coverage on the Voice of America?s (VOA) Radio Deewa programs to Afghanistan and Pakistan and the establishment of a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) Russian language Internet Web site for Central Asia. The request also supports the continued expansion of digital audio and video capability and programming for VOA, RFE/RL, and Radio Free Asia (RFA), and establishment of a television and radio equipment replacement program for the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN). The proposed budget also continues funding for key agency initiatives to critical audiences, including:
* 24-hour streams for VOA Persian TV and RFE/RL Radio Farda to Iran;
* Al Youm, the daily three-hour Alhurra Televisin program broadcast live from the Middle East;
* Radio Deewa, the VOA Pashto program to the Afghanistan/Pakistan border region;
* VOA Urdu radio and television broadcasts to Pakistan;
* VOA and RFE/RL Dari and Pashto programming to Afghanistan;
* VOA Somali to Somalia;
* A 10-hour coordinated RFA and VOA stream to North Korea; and
* A 30-minute, 5 day a week, VOA Spanish television program to Venezuela.

The FY 2010 budget environment is one in which critical policy priorities must be balanced with budget resources. The FY 2010 budget request includes several program adjustments , including the closure of the VOA Croatian, Greek, and Hindi services, reallocation of program funding for radio rebroadcasts of VOA Persian News Network television programming and one hour daily of original VOA Persian radio. VOA regional radio and Internet programs in English will serve audiences in India and RFE/RL Radio Farda and VOA Persian TV will continue to reach audiences in Iran. The request also proposes a transition of TV Marti?s two 30-minute newscasts to news updates on the half-hour, conversion of Radio Marti to a 24/7 news and information format, closure of the VOA Paris finance office, and the consolidation of the West and East Africa regional marketing offices. The Broadcasting Board of Governors looks forward to working with the Congress toward enactment of the proposed funding levels and program proposals. Further detail on the requested BBG budget is available here. The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent federal agency, supervising all U.S. government-supported, civilian international broadcasting, whose mission is to promote freedom and democracy and to enhance understanding through multimedia communication of accurate, objective, and balanced news, information, and other programming about America and the world to audiences overseas. BBG broadcasting organizations 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 Martí). BBG broadcasts reach over 175 million people worldwide on a weekly basis.

(BBG Press Release)

CRI Hindi service celebrating 50th anniversary this year

China Radio International's Hindi service is celebrating 50th anniversary this year, they have a special webpage commemerating their 50th anniversary with video's, photo's & interviews from last 50 years at :

http://hindi.cri.cn/121/2009/04/10/Zt1s93835.htm

Pictures of CRI 50th Anniversary celebration :

http://hindi.cri.cn/121/more/4692/ZTmore4692.htm

Littoral DRM test

Littoral AM, will carry out a DRM test broadcast on May 18, according to this schedule:

0700-0800 GMT - 9610 kHz
1200-1300 GMT - 12075 kHz,
1500-1600 GMT - 9920 kHz

The transmitter power is 35 kW from the Norwegian site Kvitsøy (source Littoral AM)
Littoral AM is a regional station in Brittany (France) who carried out last year tests in medium wave DRM.

(f1tay via drmrx forum)

BBC Tamil launches morning news programme

To meet the increased flow of news about the situation in Sri Lanka and the general election in India, the BBC's Tamil service, BBC Tamilosai, has launched a 10-day special morning news programme. The special 15-minute programme will be broadcast from 07.00 Sri Lankan and Indian Standard Times every day until Wednesday 20 May. The programme is broadcast on 19 (15285 kHz) and 16 (17515 kHz) meters on shortwave and is also available via the website bbctamil.com as a special audio folder for diaspora listeners. Head of BBC Tamil, Thirumalai Manivannan, comments: "With events unfolding in Sri Lanka, as well as the general election in India, the BBC Tamil team feels that it's vital to keep our audiences up to date with latest developments outside our normal daily half-hour broadcasts at 15.45 GMT (21.15 Sri Lankan and Indian Standard Times). "As we have done in the past, we decided to add this special morning programme to our news output, to ensure our radio and online audiences are kept fully informed about developments which are directly affecting them."
BBC Tamilosai is one of the 32 language and regional services broadcast by BBC World Service. BBC Tamilosai offers a daily programme of news, current affairs and features broadcast at 15.45-16.15 GMT (21.15-21.45 Indian Standard Time and Sri Lanka time), providing an essential global insight to listeners in Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu in India, and across the world. BBC Tamilosai is broadcast across Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu in India via shortwave. The BBC's special Tamil-language info-tainment output for India's FM market includes sports, business and showbiz bulletins and is available in Chennai via partner station, Radio One. Tamil-speakers across the world can access BBC Tamil programmes in text and in audio at bbctamil.com.

(BBC World Service Publicity)

WRTH A09 Update

WRTH A09 update is now available for download from this page :

http://www.wrth.com/updates_new.asp


Or, use this direct link to download :

http://www.wrth.com/files/WRTHA09UpdateMAY2009.pdf

Win a retro KPOI t-shirt with Art of Radio Hawaii

Thanks to our good friends at RadioLogoLand, we've got another great prize for you...and don't forget to click on their logo to see what other great radio designs they've got waiting for you in their collection. To enter our second Art of Radio Hawaii Competition celebrating 50 years of Hawaiian statehood, just visit www.radioheritage.net and answer the two simple questions you'll find there..........it's easy as that..... Make sure you include your mailing address with your email entry so, if you're the winner, we know where to send the retro KPOI t-shirt. Our earlier competition was very popular, so make sure you're in to win again with the Radio Heritage Foundation....entries close at midnight on Kamehameha Day, June 11 2009. Remember, just visit www.radioheritage.net to find out the easy questions and the answers to our new Art of Radio Hawaii Competition!!! That fabulous retro KPOI t-shirt could be yours in just a few weeks...... The Radio Heritage Foundation is a registered non-profit connecting radio heritage and popular culture across the Pacific. Our website is: www.radioheritage.net.
Donations are always welcome to help support our radio heritage projects. Simply use the donation button and your credit card at www.radioheritage.net and thank you, for keeping the past alive for future generations to enjoy.

China Radio Int´l on the air in Canberra

Source: CCTV.com
05-10-2009 09:07
China Radio International is now on the air in the Australian capital of Canberra. The launch ceremony was held on Friday evening at the Australian National Museum. It was attended by senior officials from CRI, China's ambassador to Australia, and members of Canberra City Council. Carried on the frequency of FM 88, CRI Canberra will provide twelve hours of English-language content each day. Its signals will reach some 300 thousand people in the city and surrounding areas. In addition to news and current affairs, it also offers entertainment such as music and celebrity interviews. A portion of the programing will be dedicated to China's social and economic development and cultural heritage. Wang Gengnian, CRI President said "Just as I said in the speech, the operation will build a bridge of communication between Chinese and Australian peoples. It will serve the general public around the city as well as Chinese Australians. It will send a message of friendship, greetings from China. Through its introduction of China, it will help promote the exchanges between the two countries in both the economic and cultural fields." China Radio International now boasts nearly 30 bureaus across the globe and broadcasts in 38 foreign languages. Through its partnerships with major websites and print media across China, CRI aims to build a world-class news service.

http://www.cctv.com/program/cultureexpress/20090510/101071.shtml

WorldSpace eyes launch of car radio by mid-2010

Nivedita Mookerji
Monday, May 11, 2009 3:34 IST
New Delhi: WorldSpace, US-based satellite radio company, is targeting middle of 2010 for launching car radio in India. Although the company had earlier planned to roll out car radio sets in the country by 2004, absence of a government policy on satellite radio has delayed the launch. If things go according to company plans, the product should be available well before the Commonwealth Games next year.

Read the DNA story here :
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1254761

IRRS-Shortwave schedule update (A09/Summer 2009)

Dear listeners,

IRRS-Shortwave schedule has been updated effective May 1, 2009. We slightly reduced our Fri, Sat and Sun evening broadcasts by one hour, now ending one hour earlier at 2000 UTC (2200 CET) on 7290 kHz.

Please check our current frequency and program schedules at:

http://www.nexus.org/NEXUS-IBA/Schedules/IRRS-SW_A09.html

http://www.nexus.org/NEXUS-IBA/Schedules/IRRS-SW-program-schedule.html

Your help and support is greatly appreciated to keep our station alive. We are 100% member and listener supported station. If you wish to support our initiatives on Shortwave and online please check the following link:

http://www.nexus.org/FundRaising/index.html

You can also contribute by listening and sending comments to our programs to:

reports (at) nexus (dot) org

or writing directly to any of our programmer that you can hear on the air via IRRS, IPAR and European Gospel Radio. Your comments, not just bare reception reports, are most valuable to keep us on the air and help us selecting the best programs for you to hear on the airwaves.

Thank You and stay tuned,

73,

de Ron

Ron Norton

NEXUS-Int'l Broadcasting Association

http://www.nexus.org/

Congo bans RFI

Jerry Nguwa, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya

The DR Congo has banned French international radio broadcaster - Radio France International (RFI) from operating. The ban follows alleged continuous broadcast of 'provocative statements' against the government, Congolese officials say.

Read the full story here :
http://tinyurl.com/q95kaq

Grimeton Radio / SAQ planned transmissions

GRIMETON RADIO/SAQ PLANNED TRANSMISSIONS, SUMMER AND AUTUMN 2009

There will hopefully be transmissions with the Alexanderson alternator on 17200 kHz, CW (A1A) at the following dates and times during 2009:

1) Tuesday, May 19 2009 at 07:00 and 07:30 UTC.

There will be a transmission to celebrate the Japanese VLF-station Josami Radio/JND when it will be nominated to Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Milestone and also celebrate its start 80 years ago. The radio station is now a museum. No reports required and no QSL-cards are given.

2) Sunday, May 24 2009 at 10:55 UTC.

A transmission will take place to celebrate the First Swedish Coast Radio Station and 100 years of Karlskrona Radio/SAA. The station is still working on military frequencies. No reports required and no QSL-cards are given.

3) Sunday, June 28 at 09:00 and 12:00 UTC.

The annual transmission on "Alexander Day". The station is open to visitors. We are glad to receive reports and will exchange QSL-cards.

4) Saturday, October 24 at 09:00 UTC.

As last year we will transmit on United Nations Day. No reports required and no QSL-cards are given.

5) Thursday, December 24, Christmas Eve at 08:00 UTC.

The Christmas transmission as before. The stations is open to visitors. We are glad to receive reports and will exchange QSL-cards. We will start tuning up some 30 minutes before message.

Also read our web site: www.alexander.n.se

QSL-reports are, when indicated, kindly received via:

- E-mail to: info@alexander.n.se
- or fax to: +46-340-674195
- or via: SM bureau
- or direct by mail to: Alexander - Grimeton Veteranradios Vaenner, Radiostationen, Grimeton 72 S-430 16 ROLFSTORP SWEDEN

Yours
Lars Kalland SM6NM

(Ary Boender via udxf yg)

RAJAR audience figures 2009 - quarter one

- Record numbers tuning in to radio

- Radio 4 and Radio 5 Live increase reach

- Records for digital-only networks

- Moyles audience climbs after Kilimanjaro feat

Read the BBC press release at :

http://tinyurl.com/cmjrvg

IRF 2009 Session - Digital Broadcast: Changing The World Of Radio

INDIA RADIO FORUM 2009
Mumbai, 27th May, Taj Land's End Hotel

EXCELLENCE IN RADIO AWARDS
Awards Ceremony will be on 27th May after the Forum

FORUM HIGHLIGHT

Digital Broadcast: Changing The World Of Radio

As the world moves into the new digital era for almost all technologies, radio is changing too. With digital taking up much less bandwidth than the traditional analogue system, there is room for more radio stations, in much better quality and with many new exciting features. Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) has jus been adopted by India (AIR) as its choses technology to change the SW and MW transmissions and reach out to masses of radio listening population in crystal clear quality with uninterrupted transmission, easy tuning by stations (and not frequency), lots of text based features in local languages and a wide choice of content. DRM in FM bands gives the same choices, CD like sound, upto 4 services per frequency and even surround-sound. This interactive session will tell you more about digital radio, the various techonologies, their roll-out in the world and hot it can change the future of radio.

Biography

Alexander Zink

Since 2000, Dipl.-Ing., MBA, Alexander Zink works at the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (Erlangen, Germany) as vice group leader for the work group 'Broadcast Applications'. Initially he developed the mobile and location based information system UMIS (Universal Mobile Information System). In 2001 he started as project director and business development manager for the professional broadcast system "Fraunhofer DRM, DAB/DMB ContentServer™". Since 2002 he is project director of Journaline, an interactive text based information system for digital radio, and makes significant contributions to its development, standardization and market rollout. In addition he works in the fields of AudioServers, software defined radio, and transmission protocols. For Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) he acts as chairman of the work group Distribution Interfaces, vice chairman Technical Committee, and vice president of the DRM Assocication. In addition he is a member of the WorldDMB Technical Committee, various DAB and DRM work groups, and the European HD-Radio Alliance.

Vineeta Dwivedi

Vineeta Dwivedi is the Project Director of Digital Radio Mondiale – the international non-profit organisation working for adoption of the DRM gloabal standard. She is a media industry professional with experience in radio broadcasting and business development. Vineeta has worked with the BBC for many years and was BBC World Service's Business Development Manager for India responsible for distribution, marketing and developing BBC's radio and online business and has worked on a variety of distribution platforms. She worked with the BBC in London as a radio journalist and has been a broadcaster. In her present role she manages the DRM project office and contributes to the achievement of the DRM global strategy.

CONTACT
On Conference:
Contact Janet Alcantara - Conference Director
+65 6736 1472 or janet@pim-asia.com

On Sponsorship & Branding:
Contact Rajika Mittra - Special Project Director
+91 98 3611 2078 or rajikam@pim-asia.com

Sierra Leone to launch public broadcasting corporation

The United Nations has welcomed Sierra Leone's announcement on World Press Freedom Day that it will relinquish control of its state-run broadcaster, in a move to support the creation of a new, independently-governed public broadcasting corporation.

Read the full story here :

http://tinyurl.com/d45x9w

Helen Shapiro May 14, 2009 on Happy Station!

Hi Everyone,

Legionary 60's UK pop icon Helen Shapiro will be my guest on next weeks Happy Station. For listeners outside Europe who may not know that name she was one of the youngest stars to impact the change in pop music in the early 60s with people like Cliff Richard, Adam Faith and others. At the ago of 14 she had her first hit called Don't Treat Me Like A Child.

Air date: May 14, 2009
First transmission: directed to North & South America 0100 UTC/GMT
Repeated: North America 1500 UTC/GMT
Frequency : 9955 khz
Live web stream: http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.wrmi.net

Keep listening and 73,
Keith

V.O.Russia QSL for DRM txn on 9445 kHz

Collection of photo's of BBC Indian Election Express

Here's the link for collection of photo's of BBC Indian Election Express on flickr ...

http://tinyurl.com/d3nstv

Okhaldhunga FM fully licensed for broadcasting

Aafno FM is "official" now! It recently passed its government inspection so it is fully licensed for broadcasting. Sean MacKenzie, Feba's Development Director for South Asia says: "Now the real work begins."

Read the full story here :
http://www.feba.org.uk/newsbriefs/okhaldhunga-fm-fully-licensed-broadcasting

VOA Persian News Network launches interactive program 'Straight Talk'

Washington, D.C., May 4, 2009 - Voice of America's (VOA) Persian News Network (PNN) today introduced a new interactive television program which aims to promote engagement and interaction between Iranians and Americans.Roya Khat (Straight Talk), which airs Monday through Friday at 1730 UTC (10:00 p.m. local Iranian time), will look at a topic of great interest to a youthful audience for an entire week, examining it in-depth, from different angles. Accomplished guests may discuss science, technology, social issues, the environment, politics, economics, art or culture. News on the United States and information about the lives of Americans will also be featured.For its debut week, Roya Khat focuses on press freedom, highlighting World Press Freedom Day. Nobel Peace Laureate Shirin Ebadi participated live from Atlanta in today's program, discussing media restrictions and censorship in Iran.Regarding the show's format, host Mehdi Falahati said, "Subjects will be designed to generate debate and will be very interactive. The audience is expected to play a major role, contributing and voting on topics of interest through our website, e-mails, SMS, blogs and phone calls to the show." Before joining VOA's PNN last year, Falahati was previously a freelance reporter for the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) Persian service and also served as chief London correspondent, senior editor, and broadcaster for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) Radio Farda. He has published ten books in Persian in Iran and abroad, including one featuring 50 interviews with prominent Iranian authors, politicians, poets and intellectuals. VOA's PNN has the largest combined radio and television audience of all international broadcasters in Iran, with one in four adult Iranians tuning in to a VOA show at least once a week. VOA's PNN broadcasts seven hours of television daily, repeated in a 24-hour format, and five hours of radio. Broadcasts are available round-the-clock on the Internet at www.VOAPNN.com.

(VOA Press Release)

RTI Jade Mountain Competition

Radio Taiwan International has announced "Jade Mountain Competition".

Details at :
http://www.rti.org.tw/big5/2009Activity/2009jadevote/e_index.aspx

PRIZES:
Grand prize (2): digital camera
First prize (13): digital radio
Second prize (30): backpack with Jade Mountain logo
Third prize (50): T-shirt featuring the Formosan Black Bear
Consolation prize (100): heat-proof water bottle or cowboy hat with Jade Mountain logo
Additional prize (3): a souvenir each for the three language services that receive most entries

Mail to P.O. Box 123-199, Taipei, 11199, Taiwan
OR, RTI, PO Box 4914, New Delhi 110029, India.
Email to : rti@rti.org.tw

VOA special b'cast on 100 days News coverage

VOA will extend its evening b'cast at 1600-1700 hrs UTC on English on 5th May (Tuesday) on the 100 days of President Obama in office and can be heard on 6160 7575 9495 12150 kHz.

http://dxasia.info/news/archives

----
Alok Dasgupta
Kolkata, India.

More changes from Vatican Radio

Effective 3rd May Vatican Radio uses 7335 kHz and 9650 kHz (ex-5915) at 0040-0200 hrs UTC. Also 12070 kHz (ex-9310) is used at 0200-0320 hrs UTC.

http://dxasia.info/news/20090504

----
Alok Dasgupta
Kolkata, India.

Radio Free Asia begins new QSL card series

Radio Free Asia (RFA) announces a new QSL series celebrating musical instruments of Asia. The first card in the series shows a two stringed dutar.The dutar is a traditional musical instrument which is plucked by Uyghurs and either strummed or plucked by peoples of other nations. The dutar is considered one of the most common and popular instruments of the Turkmen people. The dutar pictured on this QSL belongs to one of RFA's Uyghur broadcasters and continually provides much joy and entertainment. The dutar is a pear-shaped lute characterized by its long neck and two strings; some versions have 4-strings. The dutar is primarily found in Central and South Asia. The dutar's name comes from the Persian word for "two strings." At the hands of 15th century shepherds, the strings were made from gut but with the coming of the Silk Road, the strings were then made from twisted silk. Today, dutars use silk or nylon strings. This card will be used to confirm all valid reception reports from May 1 - June 30, 2009. Radio Free Asia is a private, nonprofit corporation that broadcasts news and information to listeners in Asian countries where full, accurate, and timely news reports are unavailable. Created by Congress in 1994 and incorporated in 1996, RFA currently broadcasts in Burmese, Cantonese, Khmer, Korean to North Korea, Lao, Mandarin, the Wu dialect, Vietnamese, Tibetan (Uke, Amdo, and Kham), and Uyghur. RFA strives for accuracy, balance, and fairness in its editorial content. As mentioned on the front of the QSL card, as a 'surrogate' broadcaster RFA provides news and commentary specific to each of its target countries, acting as the free press these countries lack. RFA broadcasts only in local languages and dialects, and most of its broadcasts comprise news of specific local interest. More information about Radio Free Asia, including our current broadcast frequency schedule, is available at http://www.rfa.org/. RFA encourages listeners to submit reception reports. Reception reports are valuable to RFA as they help us evaluate the signal strength and quality of our transmissions. RFA confirms all accurate reception reports by mailing a QSL card to the listener. RFA welcomes all reception report submissions at http://www.techweb.rfa.org/ (follow the QSL REPORTS link) not only from DX'ers, but also from its general listening audience. Reception reports are also accepted by emails to qsl@rfa.org, and for anyone without Internet access, reception reports can be mailed to: Reception Reports Radio Free Asia 2025 M. Street NW, Suite 300 Washington DC 20036 United States of America Upon request, RFA will also send a copy of the current broadcast schedule and a station sticker.

(Via AJ Janitschek, RFA)

"Wavescan" DX Program to Continue from New Location

The final edition of AWR's DX program "Wavescan" produced in Singapore is scheduled for broadcast on May 31, 2009, with the usual scheduled repeats during the first few days into June. Beginning in the first week of June, "Wavescan" will be written and produced in the United States for broadcast worldwide. In the new arrangement, the scripts for "Wavescan" will be researched and written in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the program will be assembled and produced in the Miami, Florida, studios of shortwave station WRMI/Radio Miami International. QSL cards acknowledging the reception of "Wavescan" will be available from both WRMI and Adventist World Radio. At the end of May, AWR's Singapore office and studio will be transferred to nearby Batam Island, Indonesia. This move will achieve considerable cost savings for AWR. Many long-time listeners will remember that the original AWR DX program, "Radio Monitors International," was produced in the Poona (Pune), India, studios of Adventist World Radio and broadcast on the domestic and international shortwave services of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation. Beginning in 1984, North American coverage was achieved through the services of Jeff White and his original Radio Earth/Radio Discovery service. "Radio Monitors International" became "Wavescan," and Radio Earth/Radio Discovery became Radio Miami International/WRMI. The new presentations of "Wavescan" will be very similar to the earlier editions as produced in Singapore. Each edition will include a station profile on an important or a little-known shortwave station from a historical perspective. There will also be other features from the fascinating world of international radio broadcasting, as well as regular bulletins of DX news. It is intended that the regular DX bulletins from Japan, Bangladesh, Philippines and Australia will be included as usual in these new broadcasts of "Wavescan." Other radio entities are welcome to re-broadcast "Wavescan," archive the programs on Internet websites, and reprint items and articles from the scripts and archive the scripts, with the usual attribution to AWR "Wavescan" and to Radio Miami International/WRMI. As was announced in "Wavescan" earlier, the annual worldwide listener contest during the month of June will continue as planned. Listeners are invited to prepare a list and give details and photocopies of 5 QSLs from silent shortwave stations; to submit 3 reception reports on AWR transmissions; and, where possible, to submit 3 suitable radio cards to the "Wavescan" address in Indianapolis. Adventist World Radio would like to express appreciation to AWR assistant program director Rhoen Catolico for his splendid work on the production of "Wavescan" during the past three years and to wish him every success with his endeavors as he returns to his homeland in the Philippines. We would also like to express our appreciation to Jeff White at WRMI for mutual co-operation in the areas of international radio broadcasting over the past quarter century, and we are grateful for this new relationship in the production and distribution of the program in his station in Miami. Jeff White is currently the president of NASB, the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters USA, in addition to his management responsibilities at WRMI. Adrian Peterson is DX editor for Adventist World Radio and a Board Member for NASB, the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters USA. The address is:

Adventist World Radio, Box 29235, Indianapolis, Indiana 46229 USA

(AWR News Release via Dr.Adrian Peterson, AWR International Relations Coordinator)

Radio on DTH splits broadcasters

Nivedita Mookerji
Monday, May 4, 2009 3:48 IST
New Delhi: Should radio be a part of the direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting bouquet? The question has the country's media industry sharply divided.Though some DTH platforms offer radio (mainly state-owned All India Radio and satellite radio WorldSpace), the government is yet to take a decision on whether to allow such a service.

Read the full story here :
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1252658

TWR Africa Shortwave Cutbacks

Due to financial constraints as a result of the current global economic crisis, Trans World Radio has had to reduce the number of hours that we broadcast on short wave in English to southern Africa in order to wisely utilize our available resources. As a result, we have cut an hour in the morning and half an hour in the evening. From 3 May 2009, the morning short wave broadcasts will end at 10:00 and the evening short wave broadcasts will end at 22:00 except on Saturdays, when it ends at 22:30. This reduction is considered as a temporary measure and we hope to resume broadcasts as soon as we are able. Many Africans, especially in rural areas, rely solely on radio as their means of information. The short wave cutbacks mean that they will lose valuable hours of Christian teaching. Please prayerfully consider how you might partner with us to spread the gospel in Africa. Become a Friend of Trans World Radio by contributing financially to our ministry through Givengain.

(Source : TWR Africa e-newsletter April 2009)

North Korean Defectors visit VOA

Washington, D.C., May 1, 2009 - Thirty North Korean defectors, participating in a radio roundtable discussion at the Voice of America (VOA), highlighted the need for outside broadcasting to their country where there is no freedom of press. "They talked about how important it is for people inside North Korea to get information about what's happening inside and outside the country," said Dong Hyuk Lee, chief of VOA's Korean Service, about the Thursday visit. VOA broadcasts 35 hours a week in Korean, reaching listeners on shortwave and medium-wave frequencies. It is also available on Internet (www.VOANews.com/Korean/). Chul-ho Kang, founder of the Saetu Church in South Korea, said later that he listened to VOA in China after fleeing North Korea. "One VOA broadcast that I remember the most was a report about the lifestyle of the elite in North Korea, and how different it is from the daily struggles of the average North Korean," he said. Kang said that he established his church to provide worship and programs for the thousands of defectors who have fled to South Korea. Kim Young Soon, a former dancer in North Korea, recounted how she fled the country in 2001. She traveled to China, Cambodia and Thailand before reaching South Korea two years later. Kim is an adviser at the Democracy Network against North Korean Gulag. The group is visiting the United States during North Korean Freedom Week. Their trip was sponsored by the Defense Forum Foundation, a non-profit.

(VOA Press Release)

RNZI special web page to cover events in Fiji

Radio Newzealand International has a special web page to cover events in Fiji. Interviews and features can be accessed here :

http://www.rnzi.com/pages/fiji.php

The full RNZI radio service can be heard throughout Fiji and the Pacific on short-wave radio.

New website of Prasar Bharati, Civil Construction Wing

New website of Prasar Bharati, Civil Construction Wing

http://ccwprasarbharati.nic.in/

Lot of photo's of AIR Txers/Buildings in the photo gallery section :

http://ccwprasarbharati.nic.in/gallery.asp?langid=1