Radio France International in Portuguese: much to say in just half an hour

On Friday, June 24, I was zapping on my shortwave radio and faced a dynamic transmission in Portuguese, looking like as it was aimed to Africa. The speaker had much to say – including an Interview about a new drugs reports from UNO –,  and not that much time. At least, I had this sensation. Then, between around 19h20nUTC and 19h30 there was no identification of the broadcaster, neither at the end of the transmission. As the news made mentions to Le Figaro, I deduced it would be Radio France International. However, RFI’s site didn’t mention the frequency I had tuned in. Anyway, on Saturday, a while before 19h I was ready with my radio tuned in at the same 13.675 khz. Yes, this time I could confirm that was RFI. The broadcast in Portuguese is very informative and well made.

The Fridays transmission was a bit better (SINPO code 45544), as you can listen here.

The Saturdays transmission was not so good (SINPO 45323), but could be perfectly listened to, as you can confirm on the recording below.

And if you want to compare the sound of the internet for the same broadcast from Saturday, here is a peace.

Sign the petition trying to save Radio Netherlands

Sometimes I have the sensation that this blog, in fact, will be transformed in an obituary of the international radio era. After BBC, RFI, RTP and Deutsche Welle, now it is time for radical cuts in RNW. But, while the scissors in BBC and RFI is around 25%, the government of the Netherlands has much worse intentions, showing that hasn’t idea about the capital that this traditional station represents. The euphemism is always the same: new focus. As RNW noticed on June, 24, “the figures announced today show that from 2013 Radio Netherlands Worldwide's budget will be reduced by 70 percent, from 46 million euros to 14 million euros a year”. Read the article in this link.

At this rate, in a few years, we probably can listen, between the traditional international stations, only to Radio China, Radio Havana Cuba and Ahmadinejad’s IRIB.

As the Dutch’s government decision has to be approved by the Parliament, you can sign the petition for support from RNWs staff in this link. I, of course, already signed.

Inbox: listeners of Deutsche Welle loose his voice on the radio

Some time ago, I wrote a post abou Inbox. Now I'm coming back to the issue.

After giving a tip that she was going to retire in the program from the week before, in this weekend’s Inbox program, DW’s Margot Forbes didn’t just confirm the news. She had much worse news to the listeners of the Deutsche Welle English Service: after years of integration of listeners from all around the world, the program Inbox has had last weekend its last broadcast. Definitely, a surprising and sad information for all listeners.
2011 will be remembered as a year of bad news by Deutsche Welle. After reducing the German program to half, one of the last “light” programs of the English service is being discontinued. Worse just if in a few time the English Service will be reduced to one hour each day, as the German program. DW has now a much more frowning face. It’s really a shame!
Lots of listeners wrote to Margot for her last transmission, lamenting her absence, but wishing her good times in her merited retirement. What nobody could imagine was that the whole program would disappear, as you can listen above, on the recording I made from the final broadcast of Inbox, a bit melancholic program, in my opinion.
In these sad times of radical budged cuts in the international stations, this will probably not be the last bad news by DW. It’s disappointing that the bureaucrats of Europe are killing his traditional international stations, instead of reinventing and giving them a new impulse, using the new technologies.

I can only wish to Margot a good ride on her bicycle, since she told listeners that cycling would be one of her occupations after retiring, and hope that the next bad news will not arrive that fast.

Here are Margot and her partner, Rita Oliver, in a picture from DWs site.

Listen here the tip of Margot that she would retire in the Inbox from June, 19

Listen here the last Inbox, from June, 25

The power of China, also on shortwave 2: broadcast in English tuned in in Brazil

The recording below is a complement to the previous post, whit a part of the transmission in English of China Radio International. The broadcast, whit good quality, brings the end of the program Beijing Hour, which is broadcasted twice a day, at 7h UTC and 19h UTC, from Mondays to Fridays.

 

Record:

June, 24

19h48 UTC

7.295 khz

SINPO code 55533

The power of China, also on shortwave: broadcast in German tuned in in Brazil

It’s very impressing the presence of China on shortwave. Looks like the Dragon is an exception in the international scene, where most of broadcasters are reducing dramatically or finishing the transmissions in shortwave.  In the South of Brazil, it is possible to listen to the same program of China Radio International (CRI) at the same time in different frequencies, and also different programs in different languages at same time.

In this recording, for example, I’ve received in good conditions the broadcast in German, in which the radio, during the Chinese course, explains, for example, that in this Country the soup is served at the end of the meal. In the program CRI Panorama, listeners from Düsseldorf and Obersdorf are greeted for their birthdays. After a song, which I’ve cut off of the recording, the program talks about the German colonization of Tsigtau, in China, at the end of the XIX century, where it is possible to see nowadays good conserved German style constructions.

Irony: CRI has 2 hours of German program each day. Deutsche Welle, just one!

Record:
June, 24
19H UTC
11.650 khz
SINPO  code 45333

Sex on BBC: maybe now the audience of my blog will increase

After Radio Vaticano talking about noble causes like the dealing with Aids in Africa, it’s time to a radical change of subject. Well, not so radical, indeed. This report from BBC's Global News podcast from June, 1, brings an interesting story about the debate about the use of condoms in porn movies. Made in Los Angeles, the report interviews even Hustler’s Larry Flint (do you remember the movie “The people against Larry Flint?), who, of course, is against the idea. But porn movies producers are under pressure, because people are sure that it is a public health question.

The drama of AIDS in Africa, in an interview by Radio Vaticano

While big international public radio stations are reducing their transmission time, religious programs are increasingly occupying this space in shortwave worldwide. But Radio Vaticano can’t be classified in this same group. The Pope’s radio has a long tradition on shortwave.

The transmission schedule in Portuguese for Brazil has been reduced recently, but I’ve recorded, with a good signal, an interesting program targeting Africa, in which the first lady of Mozambique talks about the fight against AIDS.

Did you know that because of this disease lots of 10 year old children are householders ins Mozambique? Keeping them in school is one of the challenges that government and NGOs have to deal with.

Record made in May 29, at 18:10 UTC, on 15.570 khz.

Location: -27.700962, -48.503506

DW in portuguese: compare shortwave and internet streaming

OK, Brazil is not the target of this Portuguese transmission of DW, actually aimed, to Africa. But sometimes I insist trying to tune it in. At weekends it’s a good probability to listen to, presenting the news, the Brazilian journalist Francis França, who studied and worked here in Florianópolis till some years ago. In the Northern Hemisphere’s Winter time I used to have a good reception of the Portuguese program through Trincomale (Sri Lanka) relay station, but in this moment the reception uses not to be good.

In this case shortwave really can’t face the dispute (if we really can say there is a competition) with the internet streaming transmission, as you can compare below.

This is a piece of the recording from the transmission in 17.610 khz, through Sines (Portugal) relay station, on June, 12, at 19:30 UTC.

And this is a piece of the podcast of the same program, downloaded from DWs Portuguese home page.

Radio Bulgaria in Spanish

Some days ago I posted an audio from Radio Bulgaria in Spanish talking about its own history. Here is another recording, which I started instants before the beginning of the program. The program has as target South Europe. It’s nice that you can listen to the interval signal of the station and the facts about the shortwave broadcasts. After a good beginning, the reception became worse. I had the impression that an amateur were transmitting very close to me, and so interfering in my reception, because all frequencies in 31 meters near were affected.

The transmission began with news about issues like discussions about a new penal code and the participation of a Bulgarian tennis player in an international tournament in Madrid.In the next few days I’ll try to record a transmission from Radio Bulgaria aimed to South America, which, as I listened some weeks ago, came here in pretty good conditions.

Day: June, 12
Time: 21:00 UTC
Frequency 9.400 khz
SINPO 32443
Equipment: Grundig Yacht Boy 80, with its respective antenna
Location: -27.700962, -48.503506

The classic DW’s interval signal is alive

Some months ago I had a very pleasant surprise while searching Deutsche Welle transmissions. After a long time, I was able to hear, in some transmissions originated from the relay stations from Kigali (Ruanda) and Trincomalee (Sri Lanka) the classic interval signal of the station before of the beginning of the broadcast. A travel in time for me.

This post is illustrated with the picture of the old General Electric  All Wave 8 (made in Brazil in the beginning of the decade of 1970) because it was with this radio I used to help my grandma to tune in Deutsche Welle in the middle of the decade of 1980. I just took the radio back from the repair and is still working.

This record was made on May 29, 2011, with the Grunding Yacht Boy 80, in 9.735 Khz, and brings the News report, in English, from 19h UTC. SINPO Code 34433. The transmission came from Sri Lanka. In some days I’ve tuned in in better conditions than the ones of this record. In others conditions are worse. But I think it’s a good reception, considering I’m in the South of Brazil.

Deutsche Welle’s Inbox: the listeners can speak

As I wrote in another post, days ago, I really like listeners feedback programs in international shortwave stations. It’s something like a travel around the world. And listeners feel they really are important. The one I hear most is Inbox, from Deutsche Welle’s English service, presented by the kind Margot Forbes and by Rita Oliver. It’s broadcasted on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays.

Two years ago, in Inbox, I discovered that I won from Deutsche Welle the Grundig radio I use nowadays for my shortwave receptions. It’s the one on the picture of the blog. For it I answered a quiz from the program Newslink. More than the monetary value of the radio (which can’t be neglected) it had a special meaning for me, and rekindled my interest in shortwave.

On this record, it is shown my e-mail exchange with the program. It was broadcasted in the weekend from April, 16, 2011. The record was made through internet.

Negative reaction to the end of transmissions from RTP in Portuguese

International transmissions in Portuguese are becoming really rare on shortwave. This time is Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) which turned off its shortwave transmissions in Portuguese. Sarmento Campos, one of Brazil’s most known dxers, is really pissed off, as you can see in his Blog. There you can watch him in his car listening to the transmission from Portugal in movement. It’s really a shame. RTPs signal was very strong and usually received with classification SINPO 55555 in the South of Brazil during the day.

History of radio in Bulgaria – in Spanish

In this transmission in Spanish, which I’ve recorded on May 29, Radio Bulgaria makes a review of its history and the history of the radio in the Country, which began with the first broadcasts in 1929, with a modest studio. The program reports about the evolution of the radio, about the moment in which the station became completely state owned and about the bombing of the studios during the World War II, when the Radio Bulgaria was known as Radio Sofia and had to use a backup studio.

Transmission from May 29, 16:45 UTC, in 15.700khz

SINPO Code35323

Reception Location: -27.700962, -48.503506

No, the Cold war hasn’t finished on shortwave: IRIBs listeners feedback program

With the greeting “in the name of God”, the Spanish service of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) begins his weekly program “Talking with the listeners”. One of my preferred sort of programs in shortwave is this, in which the stations show feedback from different parts of the World. And it is very interesting to observe that even in such situations it is possible to perceive an ideological content. In this recording pay attention on the letter from a Cuban IRIB listener who mentions news “bad intended and malicious from some networks”, in a clear intention to contrast with what he means is a reliable work: IRIBs news.

Caught my attention that two letters came from Brazil – from Sarandi and Santos. The good reception of the transmission from Tehran is probably one of the causes of it.

I’ve made the recording on May, 27 at 2h UTC, in 9.905 khz.