Tuesday, June 30, 2020

New Religious Shortwave Broadcaster from Illinois to use DRM

The FCC accepted for filing on May 27 an application from Parable Broadcasting, LLC, a company based in Norfolk, Virginia, to build an international shortwave broadcasting station in Batavia, Illinois, specifically, "to serve areas of Europe that may be authorized by the Commission. 

The planned broadcast content includes religious and educational programming as well as data content provided by third parties. The applicant is positioning the proposed station to take advantage of the recent push by the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters to develop and provide content for the growing DRM [Digital Radio Mondiale] market."

According to the filing, the station will use two 15 kW transmitters from Amplifier Systems, Inc. and utilize a two-section log-periodic antenna of 18.0 dBi gain, mounted 184 feet above ground. The transmission line, made by Comscope, will be 5-inch diameter 50-ohm coaxial cable 550 feet long. The document states that the station will broadcast only in DRM mode. The filing indicates the station will "operate between 5.9-15.8 MHz international shortwave bands coordinated with the FCC and HFCC [High Frequency  coordinating Committee]."

According to drawings submitted by the engineering firm, the log-periodic antennas will be a wire configuration supported by two towers that will allow, a small area of land that replaces a rhombic antenna twice the size and achieves a low take-off angle while operating on a wide frequency bandwidth (4-30 MHz), achieving over 18 dBi power gain.

Parable Broadcasting Company's HF application submitted to FCC can be forund here :

(Source : The Spectrum Monitor, July 2020 )

You can subscribe to "The Spectrum Monitor" magazine here :  https://www.thespectrummonitor.com/ 

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Atlantic 2000, 38th Anniversary show this Saturday, June 20th, 08:00 UTC


Atlantic 2000 will be on the air this Saturday, June 20th, from 08:00 to 09:00 UTC, with our 38th anniversary show, on 6070 and 7440 kHz via Channel 292, streaming at the same time on their website: http://radioatlantic2000.free.fr

Only detailed reception reports will be confirmed by a special anniversary eQSL.

Good listening!

Listen to Podcasts and follow us: https://www.mixcloud.com/atlantic2000

DRM Education Webinar

Under the Title of "Digital Radio Mondiale DRM – Delivering Distance Education," the DRM Consortium in collaboration with Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) and Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) hosted an interactive webinar session on June 18th which enjoyed the participation of over 165 participants, on par with previous two April webinars organised with the great support of ABU .

During the 120 minute webinar today participants saw how Digital Radio Mondiale DRM can be as effective or even more effective than the internet in delivering rich and targeted teaching material to millions of students who have no access to IP connections and devices.


The webinar main presenters (Alex Zink, Thimmaiah Kuppanda Ganapathy and Ruxandra Obreja) went through the planning and programming stages of getting education audio and text content to the listeners or rather users. The presenters looked at the transmission chain, the content server configuration (the teacher), the DRM software radio receiver (the student) and the DRM distance learning content, with a live demo at the end. During the webinar the questions kept coming and they were answered on the spot or will be answered in writing very soon. A selection of these will be posted on the new Q@A page of the www.drm.org website.

Next series of three webinars by DRM consortium will be organised with AIBD and will start on July 8th. If you wish to be a presenter in August or September please contact DRM consortium.

In September DRM consortium will be organising an "IBC Townhall Meeting" (DRM organised webinar) where you will be able to update colleagues and guests on your DRM activities and products. More information always available by writing to :    projectoffice@drm.org

Thursday, June 11, 2020

DRM-ABU-ASBU WEBINAR ON DRM – DELIVERING DISTANCE EDUCATION


Under the Title of "Digital Radio Mondiale DRM – Delivering Distance Education," the DRM Consortium in collaboration with Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) and Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU) will host jointly an interactive webinar session on June 18th. 

During the 120 minute webinar participants will learn how Digital Radio Mondiale DRM can be as effective in delivering rich and tailored teaching material to millions of students who have no access to IP connections and devices. The webinar will be mainly practical and interactive and prove the great advantage of digital over analogue in delivering education and information in today's world.


Radio Chitkara FM 107.8, the community radio of Chitkara University, launches World’s First 24/7 Community Radio Broadcasting On COVID- 19

Radio Chitkara FM 107.8, the community radio of Chitkara University, has become the first radio station in India and the world to broadcast round the clock programs on COVID-19 awareness for the community in the region, including five adopted villages, of Chitkara University in Punjab state.

Broadcasting from March 2020, Radio Chitkara's aim is to disseminate information regarding the spread of coronavirus, its symptoms, and possible preventive measures to avoiding community transmission in India.

Full story at :

Saturday, June 06, 2020

Texas Radio Shortwave announces broadcast schedule for June - Dec '2020

Texas Radio Shortwave- Broadcast schedule for June - Dec '2020

GULF OF MEXICO, May 29, 2020 — Texas Radio Shortwave, an American free radio station, today announced its formal broadcast schedule for the rest of 2020. These broadcasts are aimed at European listeners and usually will feature music by Texas artists.  The first three programs will highlight Buddy Holly, Willie Nelson, and Roy Orbison.

Channel 292 in Germany will transmit the hour-long programs at 0900 UTC on 6070 kHz with a power of 10 kW.  Broadcasts are scheduled on the third Saturday of each month.  Those dates are June 20, July 18, August 15, September 19, October 17, November 21, and December 19.

Channel 292 will broadcast a special program at 1900 UTC on December 25, 2020, on the same frequency.

Texas Radio Shortwave will schedule programs on other dates, times, and stations to reach listeners in North America and Europe.
Texas Radio Shortwave verifies 100 percent of all correct, detailed reception reports.  The station often issues special, limited-edition eQSLs for its programs.  
Reception reports must include times, song titles, the text of announcements, a SINPO/SIO signal rating, information on receiver and antenna, and comments on the program content.
Listeners using remote software-defined receivers (SDRs) should mention that.  Texas Radio Shortwave would like to receive audio clips of the broadcasts along with the detailed reports. 

Reports should be sent to texasradiosw@gmail.com.

Texas Radio Shortwave is located on a ship anchored in the Gulf of Mexico off the South Texas coast.  Its programs are broadcast in North America and Europe.


Global Radio Guide (Summer 2020) Now Available

During times of emergency and crisis, radio hobbyists worldwide turn on their radios and tune to the shortwave radio spectrum for context, perspective, and insight into what is happening around the globe. As tensions heat up in the world's hotspots, you can follow these events on radio, and you need an accurate and comprehensive radio guide to hear the action.

Teak Publishing is proud to announce the release of that all-important radio resource – the Global Radio Guide (GRG), 14th edition (Summer 2020) e-book, by Amazon bestselling author Gayle Van Horn, W4GVH. The book was formerly known as the International Shortwave Broadcast Guide.

Teak Publishing co-founder and GRG author, Gayle Van Horn, says that for this 14th edition, they have brought back the popular SDR Buyers' Guide and expanded their coverage of SDR information, by popular demand.

"Based on the responses from our readers of the 13th edition of the GRG, we have expanded the coverage of SDRs in this 14th edition", says Van Horn. "SDRs are truly the future of our hobby and DXers need a source they can trust for information on this booming industry."

SDR coverage in this edition includes direction finding HF stations using the SDR.hu network of radios by Mike Chace-Ortiz. Tom Witherspoon takes an AirSpy HF+ Discovery into the field and shows us how we can truly operate a portable receiving station. There is also an introductory article on Software Defined Radios, an updated SDR buyers guide, and an in-depth equipment review on the new SDRPlay RSPdx SDR.

"The SDR Buyers Guide is unique to our publication and something that readers really responded well to in our last edition," says Teak Publishing co-found and GRG editor, Larry Van Horn. "The Global Radio Guide is the only place you will find this type of in-depth information on what has become an integral part of the radio monitoring world."

Beyond SDR information, this Amazon 'electronic' book is your ticket to travel the Global Radio bands. The heart of this publication is a 24-hour station/frequency guide with the latest Summer 2020 schedules for selected AM band, longwave, and shortwave radio stations. This unique resource is the only radio publication that lists by-hour schedules that include all language services, frequencies, and world target areas for over 500 stations worldwide. There are listings of DX radio programs and Internet websites addresses for many of the stations in the book. There are also entries for time and frequency stations and a few other intriguing shortwave radio stations.

The 13th edition of the GRG was widely well received by readers and reviewers alike. David Harris of Radio User magazine said of the 13th edition: "I defy anyone with an interest in SW radio not to find something of interest in this fine publication."

Now in this 14th edition of the GRG is included an article on monitoring worldwide weather facsimile transmissions on shortwave. The Spectrum Monitor's Fred Waterer checks in with a feature on summer shortwave radio programming. This edition also has introductory articles on Traveling the World via Shortwave Radio Broadcasts, Monitoring the Shortwave Action Bands, and a completely updated Teak Hot 1100+ worldwide utility station HF frequency list.

"This truly is a comprehensive guide for any DXer," Gayle Van Horn says.
"I think the bottom to top coverage of the spectrum is what readers will be most excited about," says Larry Van Horn. "We have worked very hard, especially on the utility side, to make this edition vastly more comprehensive. HFACARS is a great example as people have wanted to know where they can hear airline activity on HF and this is it. We have the information on how you can decode these messages - which run an average of 150,000 messages a day on the network from 80 plus airlines - either on your own SDR or even on Web SDRs, to allow you to track these flights in real-time on HF.

Global Radio listeners are routinely entertained with unique perspectives to events, music, culture, history, and news from other countries that you will not see or hear on your local or national broadcast channels. Global Radio broadcasts are not restricted by country borders or oceans and can travel thousands of miles, reaching millions of listeners worldwide, now in over 300 different languages and dialects.

Listeners can hear shortwave broadcast stations from China, Cuba, France, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, New Zealand, North/South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam, and many other counties. If you have a shortwave radio receiver or Internet connection, and this unique radio resource, you will know when and where to listen to your favorite radio broadcast station.

This publication will have wide appeal to amateur radio operators, shortwave radio hobbyists, news agencies, news buffs, educators, foreign language students, expatriates, or anyone interested in listening to a global view of world news and major events as they happen.

Whether you monitor shortwave radio broadcasts, amateur radio operators, or aeronautical, maritime, government, or military communications in the HF radio spectrum, this book has the frequencies to help you to hear it all. Teak Publishing's Global Radio Guide brings the world to you.

You can find this edition of the Global Radio Guide, along with all of our titles currently available for purchase, on the Teak Publishing Web site at www.teakpublishing.com

The 14th edition of the Global Radio Guide e-Book (electronic book only, no print edition available) is available worldwide from Amazon and their various international websites at

The price for this latest edition is US$8.99. Since this book is being released internationally, Amazon customers in the United Kingdom, Germany, France Spain, Italy, Japan, India, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and Australia can order this e-Book from Amazon websites directly servicing these countries. Customers in all other countries can use the regular Amazon.com website to purchase this e-Book.

You can read any Kindle e-Book with Amazon's 'free' reading apps on literally any electronic media platform. You do not have to own a Kindle reader from Amazon to read this e-book. There are Kindle apps available for iOS, Android, Mac and PC platforms. You can find additional details on these apps by checking out this link to the Amazon website at 


New firmware update R3.0.7 for Airspy HF+ Dual Port and Discovery

Dear friends,

We are glad to announce a new firmware release for the Airspy HF+ series: 3.0.7
This release improves the streaming performance along with the addition of extra sample rates: 912 and 456 ksps. It can be applied to the HF+ Dual, HF+ Discovery BB and CD.

You can get the update package from the product page of your device under the section "Firmware Updates":


The change log can be found, as usual at:


Enjoy!

The Airspy Team

Notes :

1) You MUST connect the unit DIRECTLY to the PC. Not via a hub.  
2) Always check your current firmware before upgrading. 
3) Check your firmware version, if it ends in -BB, you need to use BB firmware. If it ends in -CD, use CD firmware.  
4) All HF+ Dual Port units are the BB version.

Installation procedure :

Pre-requisites:

1. Windows 10 or Windows 7

Standard Firmware Upgrade Procedure:

1. Connect the unit to the PC
2. Double click on flash.bat
3. Disconnect the device from the PC
4. Connect the device again
5. Done

Recovery Procedure:

Due to a bug in the first firmware, this procedure must be used for the first firmware upgrade.
Subsequent updates should work with the standard procedure above.

1. Open the HF+ enclosure
2. Connect the device to the PC
3. Short the Erase pins for one second (see the photo)
4. Disconnect the device from the PC
5. Connect the device again
6. Double click on flash.bat
7. Wait until it flashes and verifies the data
8. Disconnect the device from the PC
9. Connect the device again
10. Done



(via airspy list)