Comparing NHK broadcast in SW and Satellite

Comparing reception of NHK World for Brazil, in portuguese, by shortwave (in 17.540 khz) and Intelsat 21 Satellite in C Band.  Reception made in Florianópolis, South of Brazil, on Sunday, May 4, 2014 at 21h44 UTC. Notice that there isn’t delay in satellite reception, which indicates that the broadcast by shortwave to Brazil uses the signal generated by Intelsat 21.

The last program from Radio Canada International for Brazil

The host Hector Vilar

Last broadcasts use to be melancholic for the listeners and for the hosts of the programs. And, last times, this moments are, unfortunately, more usual than they should be.

In the “good bye edition” of the program Canadá Direto, from Radio Canada International for Brazil, the director of the program, Hector Vilar, that commanded the show since its beginning, in 2004, speaks clearly about the end of the Brazilian section of the station, that decided to finish the shortwave broadcasts in all languages and terminate the Brazilian and Russian departments.

In the program, broadcasted on June 22 and reprised on June 23, Vilar was in the studio with Cristiane Hirata and Gilda Salomone (the picture, shot by Hirata, I took from the site of the program). They revisited important moments of the eight years of the show, and talket with all journalists that worked for it. They don’t have reason for not speak in clear text, and express straightly their disappointment with the decision of the government, in an important moment of the relationship between Brazil and Canada. Vilar also explains that he received the news that he would be fired, as all his Brazilian colleagues, just when his daughter was getting one month old, and stability would be important.

The end of the shortwave broadcasts from Radio Canada was news also in Radio Havana Cuba, as you can listen to in the program below, which I’ve recorded some days before by satellite.


The second recording I’ve taken from the internet site of the program, brings the moment with the hardest critics from the team.


The third recording was made in Florianópolis in the old fashion way. The very first moments in 17.860 khz and then in 15.455 khz. Unfortunately the propagation conditions weren’t as good as usual in the program (Sinpo 35333).


Best wishes for the competent team of Canadá Direto. We will miss the program.

In higher frequencies

Reception in my house is made with a small parabolic antenna

With not that much time to dedicate to the blog, I’ve been absent for some time. But I didn’t stop completely listening to radio.  A bit disappointed with the never-ending bad news about the closing of international broadcast radio services (till the Pope is abandoning the broadcast on shortwave), I’ve been surfing in higher frequencies. More specifically, listening to radio by satellite.

In Brazil, with a small KU parabolic antenna of 90 cm, it is possible to receive an interesting range of broadcasts in the Hispasat satellite, including traditional shortwave broadcasters like Radio Exterior de Espanha, Radio Habana Cuba, and Radio France International, all with high quality.

In the audio below, made on June, 14, you can listen to parts of the broadcast from Radio Exterior de Espanha, with the end of a music peace, news about the international crisis (which, as all radio fans know, is accelerating the dismantlement of international services), the weather forecast, about the interest of the station to know her listeners, and something more.

Clear embarrassment in DW Radio's last broadcasts

Sines relay station: closed

The embarrassment of Deutsche Welle Radio’s staff became evident in the last broadcasts on October, 29. In the last edition of the program Newslink, from the English Service, it’s possible feel the sadness in the air, with the loss of jobs from colleagues and the absence of consistent reasons to abandon the medium radio. Former moderator of Newslink, Rick Demarest, wrote, in July, that for less than 500 thousand  euro/year it could be possible keep the English audience in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and USA, where radio networks like NPR used DWs content. Read the article.

Listen to the end of last Newslink broadcast:

The sadness is also clear in the special show Contrast, from Portuguese Service for Africa, about the closing of the Sines relay station. In an honest text from reporter João Carlos, and edition of Johannes Beck, DW speaks with some of the workers that lost their jobs and don’t agree with the decision of the top board.

Listen to the story of Sines (in Portuguese) or read the text in DWs site.

The silence of Deutsche Welle Radio: last broadcast in German

Trincomalee relay station: turned off



Internet streaming recording made at 0h UTC, October, 29.

Shortwave recording  from USA (Cypress Creek) in 17.820 khz, at 22h UTC.

That was the last broadcast of Deutsche Welle Radio in German. The end of an era, as the former German radio broadcaster self described it.

This last and very nice broadcast, with important moments in history of the broadcaster, is a proof of the courage of the top management of DW (to interrupt such an important service), that doesn’t see the strategic role that the radio plays.

It’s a contradiction in face of the increasing competition between international broadcasters, as alleged by the direction of DW for cutting services, giving up a loyal audience won over nearly six decades of hard, serious and competent work from a highly qualified team. So, of course, DW’s director general, Erik Bettermann didn’t convince in this last broadcast, when he told that he likes radio even more than TV. He's giving on a plate large audience to the competition. China Radio International is probably saying ‘’thank you very much”.

Beyond nostalgia, this historic program has also important information in Bettermann’s speech: after many years of heavy investment, DW has decreed, officially, the end of Digital Shortwave (DRM).

And I, probably, will try to listen to some more broadcasts in other languages, preceded by Fidelio’s Interval Signal, till, probably in not that long time, DW Radio will be completely in silence.

Below DW's notice informing that the game is over.

New paths and farewell

  

With the euphemism “new paths”, Deustsche Welle is, finally, announcing clearly to the listeners of the German radio service, since last Sunday, that the broadcast on October 29 will be the last of its history. Important moments from the station, founded in 1953, will be remembered in this last broadcast, as you can hear on the following excerpt from the end of the program “DW Das Magazin”, from Monday, October, 24. DW’s director general, Erik Bettermann (below in the official picture) will have a speech in the program. Could he convince you?

Bettermann: convincing?

The story of Sines Transmitter Park

(read more about)


To mark the end of the activities of the Sines transmitter park, in Portugal, Deutsche Welle presents next October, 29, a special edition of its Portuguese program “Contraste”, telling the story of the German transmitting station in the Iberic Peninsula. It has been informed by the chief of the Portuguese redaction, Johannes Beck, during the night broadcast of DW in Portuguese for Africa, last Saturday. As you can hear in the recording below, Beck was telling about the changes for listeners in Africa with the closure of the transmitters in Sines and Trincomalee (Sri Lanka). The Sines picture above is in a discussion forum in the internet (link).

The recording of this night program of DW in Portuguese goes to my archive of shortwave, since was broadcasted from Trincomalee, with pretty good reception in Brazil, at 19h30 UTC, in 15.640 khz. I think that a special program about the Asian station would be a good idea too. A curiosity: before beginning the Portuguese program, Trincomalee keeps using the classical “Pausezeichen” of DW.

The new scheme of transmission in Portuguese for Africa, from October 30 on, just from Kigali, Ruanda, is in DW’s site and reproduced below:

- Morning Edition - 05h30-06h UTC: 9.800 kHz (250 kW) and 12.045 kHz

- Night Edition - 19h30-20h UTC - 6.145 kHz (250 kW) and 9.735 kHz (250 kW)

And, as we’re talking about closure of transmission parks, there is an interesting  article from Victor Goonetilleke in the blog DX Asia, defending it would be technically better broadcast for Africa from Trincomalee than from Kigali. Goonetilleke writes also about the growing up of China Radio International in the vacuum from the spaces abandoned by the big occidental stations.

Part of the program of DW in Portuguese for Africa, on the October, 15:

The end of Deutsche Welle Radio: a bad decision

Read more and listen to the last broadcas here.
 
Close to complete 60 years, Deutsche Welle is, step by step, closing the operation in radio, which it began in 1953. One of the most important movement in this sad strategy will be given at the end of this Month, with the closure of most of shortwave broadcasts, except targeting Africa, and the closing of the relay station in Sines (Portugal) and Trincomalee (Sri Lanka), as announced in May. I commented about it in this post and think that, although precipitated, it is a understandable step, if you consider the technical evolution and the pragmatism that characterizes the Germans and the recent decisions from DW’s board.

What I can’t understand is that DW is giving up not just the shortwaves, but the medium radio. The image at the top of this post is in the goodbye e-mail sent to listeners of the German Service, on September, 27. There, one of most traditional international radios explains that even the linear live streaming will disappear from its web site, keeping only podcasts and some programs in audio on demand. The same text is on the site (click to read – in German).

Who follows DW’s programs in TV perceive that the German international broadcaster has a relevant investment to produce high quality programs from Berlin. Of course, investing in TV and internet is completely reasonable nowadays. But, considering the very low costs of the streaming in internet, and the big volume of content generated at DW’s quartier in Bonn, closing the offer through this medium is really a strange decision. For pessimists, this movement could give reasons to ask if it is logic to keep DW’s big structure in Bonn. The complete absence of emotion (to say the least) in the last decisions, gives fear from the answer for this question.

Above are two recordings that I’ve rescued from old reel tapes, from the times in that DW had budget to send programs worldwide to radio stations in magnetic media. “Schlagercocktail”, in German, featured the so called “Schlager”, popular songs in Germany. The edition above is from 1993. “Música de interlúdio”, was the Brazilian version of the German "Promenadenkonzert”. The recording is from 1996 and hosted by Arno Rochol, who worked long time in the Brazilian Service and then went to DW Akademie.

Schlagercocktail

Música de Interlúdio

Don't set your watch according Austrian Radio in shortwave

It’s almost nothing, but Austria still has some international shortwave broadcasts. Nothing comparable with the old Radio Austria International, that used to broadcast in many languages, including Spanish for Latin America. ORF 1, a station with national coverage in Austria, has a shortwave broadcast for South America of its news program Abendjournal, in German. The reception is quite reasonable in South of Brazil.

The transmission is a bit strange. The station doesn’t identifies itself on the beginning, simply turns on the transmitter and begins broadcasting. The end is as drastic as the beginning of the emission. If you are going to listen to this broadcast in shortwave, attention: don’t set your watch following it. ORF simply records the Abendjournal at 18h Austrian local time and plays it later in shortwave.

Above, I edited the end of a recording made on September 8, at 1h UTC, in the frequency of 9.820 khz. After 25 minutes, the news program goes to the end with information about a 2 billion euro Siemens contract in Russia for regional trains, and announces the weather forecast, and then is abruptly interrupted, as you can hear.

IRIB’s listener kit has even the Iranian flag

While moneyfor the occidental public broadcast companies is falling fast, it looks like the reality is different in Iran. Although the budget numbers of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) aren’t published in the site of the giant state-owned company, it is estimated that the annual budget is around US$ 900 million, according to an article in the site of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), which says also that IRIB has 46 thousand employees for its radio and TV networks targeting the internal and external public. It is not that much if compared with German ARD, which has a budget of 6.3 billion of euros and 23 thousand employees or BBC (US$ 5.4 billion), but is a big number considering Iran’s GDP (US$ 385 billion in 2008).

The kit sent to IRIB’s listeners also suggests that the lean times in the international stations aren’t affecting Ahmadinejad’s broadcaster. I sent a reception report to the Spanish Service of IRIB, about a transmission from May, 27 (you can listen to a part of the broadcast in this link). Beyond the Khaju Brigdge QSL card I received a CD with the Magazin “Miscelánea Persa”, the printed Magazin “El Panorama Islámico” and a flag from Iran.

Talking to “Miscelánea”, the director of the Spanish Service, Nader Edalatmanesh, says that there are no indications of a drop in the audience of shortwave in Latin America, despite new technologies like internet streaming. He says that in the long term IRIB wants to reach credibility for its programs, considering that listeners make an evaluation of the broadcasts and of the international scene. “For example, in the 22 days War in Gaza, we propagate the selvage image of the Zionist regime and his crimes against innocent Palestinians, while the occidental media tried to benumb the emission of this kind of news”, says.

In its material, the station defines itself as “designed to face the occidental media and the information imperialism in the word, which tries to restrict the public opinion”.

Unfortunately, I didn’t follow the coverage (or the lack of) of IRIB from the protests against Ahmadinejad and the charges of fraud in the elections that kept him in power.

BBC targeting Africa, but with good reception in South of Brazil

Like most of international broadcasters, BBC has reduced the shortwave transmissions in the last decade. As the station explains in its site, although there is a loyal group of listeners in the contries that have been cut from the shortwave target areas, the audience in this places doesn’t justify the high costs of the broadcasts. So, the transmissions to North America ended in 2001, to South America in 2005 and to Central America, Caribe and Europe in February 2008.

But, at least till now, BBC keeps broadcasting in shortwave to Africa, Middle East and Asia, where an important part of the population doesn’t access the new forms of content distribution, such as satellite, internet, cable or partnerships with local stations.

As the BBCs broadcasts targeting Africa usually has good reception in South of Brazil, I listened part of the transmission of the last 11 of September, when, of course, the ten years of the terrorist attacks in the USA were the central issue in the news.

In this day, something in my house was disturbing the reception. Note that in the second recording, when I took the radio and the recorder to the garden, the rumble disappears because the reception is at “open air”. Because of this kind of problem shortwave radio is losing listeners. But I keep finding fun in listening to the transmissions.

Frequency of 15.400 khz, at 18h UTC, on September 11 of 2011

parte 1

parte 2

RNW’s team with crossed fingers, but realistic

Some time ago I’ve found the interesting podcast Euro Hit 40, in Portuguese, from Radio Netherlands, a monthly program that plays the songs that make success in Europe. I also found the English version of the program, which has a differential: a competition about music with prizes for the listeners.

I couldn’t resist and, I’ve to confess, after researching the answer for the July question on Google, participate in the quiz. Tim Fisher, the host of the program, asked the Language of Veronica Maggio’s  song “Jag Kommer”., Although for me it sounded like Dutch, it’s Swedish. Last week I received a mail informing that I was the winner. Lucky guy, don’t you think? When the prize arrives in Brazil, I’ll take a picture and publish on the blog.

I took the opportunity to question Fisher about the future of the program, considering the announcement about drastic cuts on RNW’s budget. He gave me an honest answer: “No news on the future of the Euro Hit 40 show as yet. We’re all keeping our fingers crossed, but remaining realistic too. Hope you’ll go on enjoying the show for as long as it lasts!”

In this video I’ve recorded the beginning of the program and the part in which I’m announced as the winner of the competition.

A congratulation letter to Fidel Castro generates controversy in Germany

I’ve listened this news, extracted from DW’s Das Magazin, on August 23, through live streaming with my mobile phone, while going to work. I was caught by the beginning of the text, explaining that Erich Honecker, the German Democratic Republic’s Comunist Party General Secretary until 1989, wouldn’t write in a different way a letter to congratulate Fidel Castro for his Birthday. The news is about a letter written by the Left Party of Germany to Castro. The polemic is because of the uncritical tone of the text. Later I downloaded the program from Deutsche Welle’s media center.

Radio Bulgaria with the listeners’ letters and the impacts of solar activity on broadcasting

As I can’t resist to a radio mail program, I’m posting the recording of the program from Radio Bulgaria International, in Spanish, broadcasted last Sunday (August, 21). The transmission has reasonable reception in the South of Brazil and brigs letters from listeners in Germany, Spain, New Jersey, Norway, Britain, France, Russia, Greece, Japan and even Brazil. The listener from Norway praises the stile from Radio Bulgaria, because of the musical programming. As I agree, I left a piece of the music in the recording above.

The second recording in this post is about the impacts of solar activity on the broadcasting services, especially shortwave, which are transmitted against the ionosphere and, because of it, depends of its conditions. It’s a conversation for shortwave fans.This part of the broadcast was transmitted before the listeners’ letters, but I’m not concerned about the chronology in this blog.

Frequency of 9.400 khz. Recording made on Sunday, Augusto, 21, at 20h19 UTC. SINPO 44433.

Listeners program

Solar activity

Protest against hydroelectric plant in Amazonia Forest is News in China

While last Sunday (August, 21) international radios were focusing the events in Tripoli, where the rebels were beginning the end of the Kadafi era in Libya, China Radio International found time to inform about protests against a hydroelectric plant in the “Amazon Rain Forest”, in Brazil. The station reported that around one thousand protesters in São Paulo, including indigenous people, claimed that the project of Belo Monte, with a budget of US$ 11 billion for a plant of 11 thousand MW, will accelerate the deforestation. The Brazilian government says that this renewable energy project is essential for the economic growth of Brazil. It is the 3^rd greatest hydroelectric plant of the world.

China Radio International QSL card

I can’t be classified as a big dxr, like the ones that have a huge collection of QSL cards from stations from all around the world. But, recently I sent some reception reports and, this weak I was pleased by receiving an envelope from China Radio International, with a QSL card (reproduced here), two nice bookmarks (one of them on the bottom of this post) and the magazine The Messenger.

The QSL card confirmed the reception of a broadcast from July, 24, in 7.295khz. The recording of part of the transmission was posted in the blog and you can hear it in this link.

Voice of America and Chaves international reserves

If the end of the Cold War, helped by the technological evolution, is one of the reasons for the end of the shortwave broadcasts, it looks like Latin America could continue to be a relevant target for the broadcasts in Spanish for some time more, given the many countries with leftwing governments. On one hand, Radio Havana Cuba has a big range of programs with the “revolutionary ideology”. On the other hand, Voice of America (VOA) transmissions can be very well tuned in in the evening,talking about the other side of the coin.

In this post you can hear a recording I’ve made from VOA at 0:00 UTC, in 9.885 khz. Usually I don’t have good shortwave reception inside my house, but this one, made in my office, is pretty good.

Note that the news about Venezuela talks about the concern from an opposition congressman about Hugo Chaves’s intention of moving Venezuela’s international reserves from Europe and USA to countries like China, Russia and Brazil. I would be worried too. The next news is about an indigenous protest against Evo Morales, the Chaves’s friend president of Bolívia.

Like in the shortwave’s good old times, the clash between ideologies is well and alive.

Reduced to Swissinfo, Radio Switzerland International keeps shrinking

At the end of June, Swissinfo, multimedia page that followed Radio Switzerland International (RSI), announced that it will face a repositioning. As always happens in such cases, it will mean a budget reduction. In 2004, RSI was one of the pioneers between the big international shortwave stations in turning off the shortwave transmitters.

RSI, or better meaning, the internet site which replaced the station, shows that a budget that already was cut is always threatened to be cut again, when the issue is communication. For it, the content – or its quality – is always reduced. What is happening with what once was one of the most traditional international stations remembers the history of the man who, trying to teach his horse to eat less, reduced each day a bit more the food, till the animal died. Swissinfo will suppress 40 of its 126 work  positions. You can read the text with the announcement in this link. At least the Portuguese service didn’t censor my “protest” on the foot of the text with the bad news.

Although I still have fun with the shortwave, I think that the substitution from the broadcasts against the ionosphere by digital technology is a normal step. But the quality of content will always be expensive and need good professionals to be produced, independent of the means used to make its distribution. Unfortunately the big international stations are also pointing its scissors in this direction.

For people who have had the opportunity to listen to RSI make a flashback, or for the ones that didn’t  hear the station, I picked up in the site intervalsignals two recordings from the station’s “old good times”

 

In English

In German

Mundofonías – an excellent option if you like “World music”

Last Sunday was really musical on my shortwave radio. A while after listening to VOA transmitting jazz and blues I found the program Mundofonías, from the international radio of Spain (Radio Exterior de Espanha), with a very nice “World music” programming.

On the end of this post you can hear a piece of the recording I’ve made in shortwave, but it’s possible to listen to the program’s podcast in this link. Interesting is that the station looks not to be hysteric about copyright stuff, neurosis which limits musical podcasts worldwide.

Ok, but you wouldn’t think I could finish a post without talk about shortwave, would you? If the protests against the crisis in Spain won’t change the analysis, it’s possible to have some hope that the radio won’t finish it’s shortwave broadcast that soon. This is not just because of the impressing volume of transmissions maintained, but also because the site says that two out of three listeners use the shortwave radio to listen to the station. The listeners also use internet, mainly in Spain.

I tuned in the radio with good signal in the frequency of 17.715 khz, but simultaneously the same program was being transmitted in 17.755 khz, 17.850 khz, and 15.110 khz. However the reception conditions weren’t good.

Peace of the recording made on July 24, at 20h05 in 17.715 khz. SINPO code 45433.

Jazz and blues from Voice of America, transmitting in French

Last Sunday, July 24, I was tuning in my Grundig, and randomly found a good American song, with a pretty good reception. I decided to keep the station tuned in in order to discover who was transmitting. At the end of the song, there was someone speaking in French. I didn’t understand anything. But, as the song was good, I decided stay and, after two songs more, my question was answered. It was The Voice Of America transmitting from Washington in French, probably to Africa, one of the few places where shortwave probably will play an important role for some time more. Then, the program, which played also jazz, announced a Rolling Stones song. Well, the name of this band, of the radio, and of the program are understandable even for people, like me, that doesn’t speak French.
Listen to a part of the recording made at 20h UTC, in the frequency of 17.530 khz. SINPO code 45444.