DRM Tests in Brazil

Tests with DRM (MW and SW) and DRM + (VHF-FM) in Brazil are extraordinary

1st March 2010
"Extraordinary" I who am saying, but according to information obtained by telephone Flávio Ferreira Lima from the Ministry of Communications and coordinator of the engineering team to manage the tests with both DRM systems in Brazil, both the DRM in the range OM as DRM + the FM band are showing amazing results, above our expectations.

The fact is that the situation of digital radio trials in Brazil has a 180 degrees this year. Since the beginning of 2010 the DRM is doing tests on Short Wave, Medium Wave and also on VHF (FM) and never had in our country. The tests will continue throughout the month of March. I think these tests in Brazil are currently the most complete tests with existing DRM system in the world.

OM in the range have been tested, and OM IBOC Simulcast with Radio Cultura AM 1200 kHz and 1210 kHz in DRM in Sao Paulo - Fundação Padre Anchieta. NOTE: In the same radio as there were tests HDRadio. On January 14, 2010 I was personally in Sao Paulo and I had the honor of being together and with the team of engineers in the acceptance tests in the Greater Sao Paulo. I live over 800 km from Sao Paulo but I have had the opportunity to decode the audio signal of Culture in both DRM 1210 kHz in Simulcast but also in 1200 kHz digital only.

In the VHF range, tests are being made in the region of Belo Horizonte on 104.5 MHz FM with 1500 watts and 104.4 MHz with DRM + 70Watts. Flávio said that even with this low power level digital signal, the signal is excellent within a radius of 40 km which is much higher than was estimated a radius of only 16 Km I found this amazing result, fantastic.

By testing the DRM is doing away with some myths that exist here and proved that:
1) works in Simulcast and IBOC;
2) that has full system for Medium Wave, Short Wave and also for VHF (FM);
3) they are doing tests for at least 2 months in Brazil;
4) that the DRM and DRM + is an excellent strength and that meet the needs of coverage of television partners;
5) that has a group of experts able to develop specific solutions for Brazil;

The tests will continue in March with DRM and IBOC Simulcast on the Medium Wave Radio CBN 780 kHz and DRM + on Radio Cultura FM 103.3 Mhz both in Sao Paulo.

Congratulations to all the people who are involved in the tests with the DRM and to choose the best standard for digital radio in Brazil.

São José-SC, 01 March 2010.

Ataliba Zandomênego Filho
Graduating in Electrical Engineering Telematics
Amateur: PP5AZF Range and the Citizen: PX5B8091

http://www.drmrx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1972&page=3

(Via drmrx forum)

New website of All India Radio, Allahabad

New website of All India Radio, Allahabad ( Still under construction) : http://air.iiita.ac.in/

For a complete list of AIR websites visit : http://www.qsl.net/vu2jos/links.htm

Community Radio Station to Start at Tamil Nadu

Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India has signed a Grant of Permission Agreement for establishing, maintaining and operating a Community Radio Station at M. Kumarasamy College of Engineering, Disttt Karur, Tamil Nadu. Letter of Intent had been issued to the Institute after recommendations of Inter Ministerial Committee and seeking requisite clearances from various Ministries. The Community Radio Station is expected to be operational within three months as per the agreement. With this, the number of CRS will increase to 65 in the country.

The M. Kumarsamy College of Engineering was established in the year 2000. The aim of setting up of Community Radio Station is to promote and provide education to the economically backward people and create awareness among the local community on child and human rights, culture and tradition, health hazards etc.

The Ministry encourages setting up of Community Radio Station, as it promises to provide an opportunity to the local communities to express themselves, share their views and particularly empower the youth and women.

(Press Information Bureau, Govt of India)

BBC Bangla to explore Bangladesh connectivity in special series

Channel i to broadcast TV content - multimedia series to run across radio, text, audio and video via BBC As the government of Bangladesh has announced its ambition to digitalise the country by 2021, in time for the nation's 50th anniversary, BBC Bangla investigates the project's chances for success in a special series of programmes.

In Jogajog Bangladesh (Connectivity Bangladesh), from Wednesday 10 to Friday 19 March, BBC Bangla provides audiences with an insight in all things digital in Bangladesh - and the country's digital future. The multimedia content will be broadcast on radio, online on bbcbangla.com - in text, audio and video - as well as by Bangladesh's Channel i television.

Head of BBC Bangla, Sabir Mustafa, says: "Arguably, full digitalisation of Bangladesh, where less than one per cent of the population is currently connected, is a tall order. "On the other hand, mobile phone use has expanded phenomenally in the past 15 years, and development organisations and private companies have stepped in to connect the rural population to the internet through a network of centres and direct-to-home services. "The BBC Bangla team is exploring the subject from a range of angles, to offer audiences an in-depth and comprehensive look at the extraordinary task."

Presented by Akbar Hossain and produced by Pulak Gupta, the eight BBC Bangla video news stories about digital connectivity in Bangladesh will be broadcast by Channel i in its prime-time news bulletin from Wednesday 10 to Wednesday 17 March, thanks to a special agreement with Channel i. In addition to television, the BBC Bangla series will also be available on shortwave and FM radio and online.

What does e-governance mean for Bangladesh's bureaucracy and public sector services? BBC Bangla follows an upazila (sub-district council) official and two members of the public who are seeking the council's assistance to establish whether digitalisation is changing the way bureaucracy works.

BBC Bangla also assesses whether the government's ambition to link hospitals across the country through internet video, thus giving patients in remote areas the opportunity to be consulted by top doctors in the capital, is realistic.

Bangladesh is mainly an agricultural country - how is digital connectivity being used to improve the lives of farmers? BBC Bangla follows a farmer to a rural 'tele-centre' where he requests information on fertilisers and pesticides, and asks him what difference the use of the internet has made to his work.

BBC Bangla also documents how information delivered via SMS is helping farmers get better prices and deliver their produce to the markets at the best possible time. Another highlight of Jogajog Bangladesh is InfoLadies - the 'digital foot-doctors of Bangladesh' - who ride the length and breadth of the country on their bicycles. With netbooks connected via mobile internet cards, hey visit rural households to bring the internet to their doorsteps. The BBC Bangla crew follows one such InfoLady, documenting her day, and also talks to the scheme's benefactors to find out if it is bringing any change to their lives. BBC Bangla also looks at how the internet has affected Ghataks, the traditional Bengali matchmakers. The BBC reports from a Ghatak's office, following the matchmaker's interaction with clients over the internet. BBC Bangla is also following another Ghatak who comes to a tele-centre, seeking information about a potential groom's employment situation... Jogajog Bangladesh culminates on Friday 19 March on all platforms with a live Have Your Say debate.

Produced and presented from the Channel i studios, the programme will hear multimedia audiences' views on whether Bangladesh can leapfrog into the digital age by 2021.

BBC Bangla is a multimedia service, offering news and current affairs, sports, science, and cultural features to the Bengali-speaking community worldwide and is regarded as a reference point for accuracy and impartiality.

BBC Bangla radio is available in Bangladesh on BBC 100 FM in Dhaka, 101.2 FM in Comilla, 102 FM in Khulna, 105.4 FM in Chittagong, 105 FM in Rajashahi, 105.4 FM in Rangpur and 105 FM in Sylhet.

Bangla speakers across the world can also access BBC Bangla programmes in audio at bbcbangla.com.

Radio programmes include the daily morning news and current affairs programmes Provati at 6.30am and Prattyusha at 7.30am (Bangladesh Time), the daily evening programme Probaho at 7.30pm and late-night programme Parikrama at 10.30pm.

Audiences can also take part in phone-in programmes each Monday and Saturday evening. The in-depth current-affairs programme This World is broadcast on Tuesdays, Interview Of The Week on Wednesdays, and the science programme Bigyaner Ashor on Thursdays. On Fridays, there is a documentary series Dharabahik, and at the weekends there is the sports magazine programme Mathe Maidaney (Saturdays) and the listeners' letters programme Pritibhajoneshu (Sundays).

(BBC World Service International Publicity)

Community Radio Carves Out Space for Itself

By Malini Shankar

BANGALORE, India, Mar 3, 2010 (IPS) - Community radio is moving from the margins to the mainstream in many countries in Asia, carving out spaces from where they respond to public needs ranging from disaster management to gender awareness, cultural identity and belonging.

More at : http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50530

Malawi state radio taken off air

By Nyasa Times
Published: March 2, 2010
National broadcaster MBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 were on Tuesday off air after electricity was disconnected from the state controlled media, Nyasa Times understands.

Full story at :
http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/malawi-state-radio-taken-off-air.html

BBC boss Mark Thompson to meet unions over review cuts

Mr Thompson wants to put more money into programme-making BBC director general Mark Thompson will meet union leaders later to discuss his planned shake-up of the corporation.

Read the story here : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8546696.stm

Better content 'the key to digital radio'

"The real challenge for the broadcaster is to motivate the listeners to replace their analogue receivers with digital receivers," R Narasimha Swamy of Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd (BECIL) said.

Read the full story at :
http://tinyurl.com/yzj6ygw

BDXC Updated Guides

Following updated guides from BDXC are now available for download at :
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/bdxcuk/articles.html

DX and Media Programme Guide
A club-compiled list giving times and frequencies for programmes of interest to DXers and radio enthusiasts. Updated March 2010.

Africa on Shortwave - by Country
A comprehensive country-by-country guide to domestic and external broadcasts from Africa, including selected opposition and target broadcasts to the African continent. The document is in pdf format. Updated March 2010.

External Services on Medium Wave
New! A frequency-order guide to external services on medium wave from stations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Also includes some foreign-language programming carried on domestic MW services. Updated March 2010.

Middle & Near East on Shortwave - by country
A comprehensive guide to shortwave radio stations in the near and Middle East. In country order, pdf format. Updated March 2010.

South Asia on the Tropical Bands - by frequency
A handy guide to shortwave tropical band radio stations in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. In frequency order, pdf format. Updated March 2010.

UK on Shortwave
An hour-by-hour guide to shortwave broadcasts from UK transmitter sites. Updated March 2010.

Somalia war moves to the airwaves

By MALKHADIR M. MUHUMED (AP)

http://tinyurl.com/ycmka8k

BBC Bangla to explore Bangladesh connectivity in special series

By: RnM Team 02 Mar 10 17:59 IST
MUMBAI: As the government of Bangladesh has announced its ambition to digitalise the country by 2021, in time for the nation's 50th anniversary, BBC Bangla investigates the project's chances for success in a special series of programmes. In Jogajog Bangladesh (Connectivity Bangladesh), from Wednesday 10 to Friday 19 March, BBC Bangla provides audiences with an insight in all things digital in Bangladesh – and the country's digital future. The multimedia content will be broadcast on radio, online on bbcbangla.com – in text, audio and video – as well as by Bangladesh's Channel i television.

Read the ful story here :
http://www.radioandmusic.com/content/editorial/news-releases/bbc-bangla-explore-bangladesh-connectivity-special-series

Community Radio Station to start at Uttaranchal

Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India has signed a Grant of Permission Agreement for establishing, maintaining and operating a Community Radio Station at "The Energy Resources Institute", Disttt. Mukteshwar, Uttaranchal. Letter of Intent had been issued to the Institute after recommendations of Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC). The Community Radio Station is expected to be operational within three months as per the agreement. With this, the number of CRS will increase to 64 in the country.

The Community Radio Station named "Kumoun Vani" will bring the local communities on a common platform and enable better communication and flow of resources between them. This Community Radio Station will enable them to generate content based on local issues as well as technical knowledge about operating a radio station. Local organisations will be invited for content sharing through radio spots and programmes, music bands or music groups can be invited to play and create radio jingles. Workshops/seminars sessions can be narrated on the radio creating awareness, discussions on technique and method to improve horticulture practice and comments from experts/panel discussion. Experts from various backgrounds will be invited to discuss issues related to environment protection, emancipation & development of society to afford an all-round rapid healthy development and also to meet the social responsibilities.

The Ministry encourages setting up of Community Radio Stations as it promises to provide an opportunity to the local communities to express themselves, share their views and particularly empower the women, youth and the marginalized groups to take part in local self governance and overall socio, economic and cultural development in the area.

(Press Information Bureau, Govt of India)

BBC cutting digital radio

Read the story here :
http://westminstermediacomment.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/bbc-cutting-digital-radio/

The BBC's digital radio stations

A guide to what, when, who and how many people listen John Plunkett , guardian.co.uk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/mar/02/bbc-digital-radio-stations

VU2JOS completes 25 years in Amateur Radio

Heart felt congratulation to Jose Jacob,VU2JOS for completing 25 years in Amateur Radio. Jose got his license on 2nd March 1985 & since then has been very much active on amateur bands, took part in numerous disaster relief operations & DXpeditions. A well deserved Silver Jubilee of amateur radio operations. Keep up the good work Jose !!