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Wavescan 462 Script for November 9, 2003 *
Narrator: Digital Radio Broadcasting on Shortwave “There
are 25 privately-owned shortwave stations in the United States, 18 of
which are members of NASB, the National Association of Shortwave
Broadcasters,” states NASB President, Jeff White.
Jeff is also the General Manager of the commercial shortwave
station WRMI in Miami, Florida.
He states that NASB is commencing a special series of test
broadcasts in the digital mode in co-operation with the European based DRM,
Digital Radio Mondiale. NASB
in the United States was formed in 1990 and this organization joined the
European DRM in 1999, just one year after DRM was formed.
Shortwave broadcasts in the digital mode were officially launched
on June 16, earlier this year.and since then, more than 25 shortwave
stations have been on the air with digital transmissions.
The
NASB series of digital broadcasts are on the air from a VT Merlin
transmitter located at Rampisham in England.
These broadcasts are beamed primarily to Europe and they are on the
air each Sunday at 1330 - 1400 UTC on 9785 kHz.
This
digital series of shortwave broadcasts began on Sunday October 26 and they
will run through March 28, 2004.
This series of programs is under the general title, the “Voice of
NASB”, and the program each week will be produced by a different
station.
Throughout
the 23 week series of digital broadcasts, each of the shortwave stations
and organizations that form the NASB will receive their turn to present a
program.
The opening broadcast on Sunday October 26 was a special edition of
the global DX program, “Wavescan”, from Adventist World Radio.
These
special broadcasts from the North American shortwave stations over WRMI
are providing a unique once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for shortwave
listeners, international radio monitors and DXers to obtain QSL cards
verifying these relay transmissions.
In addition, NASB will offer a special QSL card to confirm the
analog or digital versions of the broadcasts.
These cards are available from Box 526 852, Miami, Florida 33152. Adventist
World Radio will honor our initial broadcast on October 26 with a special
endorsement on our new QSL card.
This NASB relay endorsement is available specifically from the
American address, at Box 29235, Indianapolis, Indiana 46229, USA. Here again is the schedule for the current series of NASB test broadcasts from Rampisham in England and Miami in Florida.
*
Voice of Prophecy Short *
The New “Passport to World Band Radio” At
the end of our program last week, we mentioned that one of the topics in
Wavescan for this week would be a feature on the Vienna QSL Collection.
However, the new 2004 edition of “Passport to World Band Radio”
has just arrived.
So, let’s postpone the story of the Vienna QSL Collection until
next week and let’s take a good look at the new edition of “Passport
to World Band Radio”. As
always, the new edition of “Passport to World Band Radio” for the year
2004 contains a wealth of valuable and interesting information for the
international radio monitor.
The regular features, shortwave schedules, advertising pages,
receiver reviews and special articles are all very useful for keeping
uptodate with significant events in the international radio world. As
you are aware, the main purpose for publishing the annual edition of
“Passport to World Band Radio” is for the updated and very reliable
bar charts presenting the schedules of all shortwave stations on all
continents around the worldl 190 pages of bar charts to be exact.
These famous “Blue Pages” give the frequency, time and language
of every shortwave broadcast in the world, as well as the power and
location of the actual transmitter.
These schedule listings are accurate for this new current
transmission period, and also for the known scheduling for the next
transmission period next year. OK,
that’s a survey of the regular contents in this new radio directory;
so let’s look now at what is new in this new edition. Well,
to begin with, the 2004 edition of “Passport to World Band Radio” is
their 20th anniversary edition.
Their first publication was issued in 1984 with the sale of only
300 copies.
Today, twenty years later, they lay claim to the largest
circulation in the world for a radio directory of this type. The
opening major article is on the Asian country of Burma, or Myanmar as it
is known today.
This first article in this two part series contains a lengthy and
interesting run-down of historical and political events.
The concluding article presents the full story of radio
broadcasting in their country, including not only the main station in the
capital city, but also regional stations in major country areas. Other
major features present a focus on the world’s most popular shortwave
programs, how to get started in world band radio, how to listen to some of
the world’s major shortwave stations, and what you can hear at different
times of the day.
The address list for shortwave stations around the world is
accurate and also very useful. One
of the major features in each edition of “Passport to World Band
Radio” is the big section on receiver reviews.
This year, 124 pages are dedicated to a detailed review of all
shortwave radio receivers currently available on the world market.
They are described, priced, reviewed and evaluated according to
observed usefulness.
Included
in this large section of paging are portable shortwave radios, emergency
radio receivers, radios with in-built cassette recorders, table top &
professional models, and even a build-it-yourself version.
Listening to radio programming on shortwave via the computer is
also presented, as is also the latest information on various types of
receiving antennas. You
will also appreciate all of the advertising pages.
Note how many pages present advertising on Grundig shorwave radios
with all of their multitudinous varieties from Eton in North America.
Many other radio brands are also advertised, such as Sangean,
Crane, Japan Radio Company, Icom, Yaesu, and many others. Well,
that’s the story of the 20th anniversary edition of “Passport to World
Band Radio” for the new year 2004.
How many of the earlier editions do you have in your radio library
since the first was printed back in 1984?
We counted ours, and we have exactly 23 copies.
The early editions are now already valuable items of historic radio
interest. *
African DX Report - Livinus Torty in Chad, Africa *
LESOTHO: Radio Lesotho is noted at 0400 UTC on 4800 kHz with an
eight minute news bulletin in a local language.
This on-the-hour feature is followed by advertisements for local
commercial enterprises.
There is an announcement in English at 0425 UTC, and reception of
this station is lost at 0430 UTC with the morning sunrise. *
CONGO: Radio Liberty in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo is heard at 2200 UTC on the frequency 7125 kHz.
At this time, the programming consists of news in French, reports
from correspondents and local music.
The programming from Radio Liberty is spoiled by severe and
presistent interference. *
CLANDESTINE: Radio South West Africa is heard from 1600 UTC to 1900
UTC on 4800 kHz.
The programming from this station appears to be produced in London
and it consists of news, interviews, and music in English and the local
Zimbabwean language. *
UZBEKISTAN: Radio Tashkent is noted with English to Europe on 11905
kHz at 2030 UTC.
The broadcast begins with the opening announcement, “Radio
Tashkent Calling”.
There is slight interference on this channel and reception is
generally fair. *
CUBA: Radio Havana Cuba can be heard with a broadcast in the
Portuguese language at 2300 UTC on 15230 kHz.
Programming is mostly spoken features, and reception in Chad is
fair. *
European DX Report - Christopher Lewis *
Program Outro
http://english.awr.org/wavescan * Theme |
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