September 2010
IN THIS ISSUE:
B10 HFCC/ASBU Conference
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Shortwave
Descends on
The B10 HFCC/ASBU Conference
By Jeff
White
Our
trip to
However,
This
was the semi-annual seasonal conference where shortwave frequencies were
coordinated on a worldwide basis for the B10 (i.e. winter) season which
begins on October 31, 2010 and runs through March 27, 2011. The NASB co-sponsored the conference along
with our longtime associate member Thomson Broadcast & Multimedia, based
in Turgi, about 40 minutes northwest of
This
was not the first time the NASB had sponsored an HFCC/ASBU conference. The first time we hosted the meeting was in
We were
a bit concerned that attendance in
Most
people arrived in
From
Geoff Spells' official notes about the opening session:
“[Joseph]
followed this with a short overview of the structure of
Thomson. He said that the main business of transmission was currently
integrated into a company organisation called
To officially declare the conference open,
the delegate from Sentech in
At the opening plenary, Sergio Salvatori of
Vatican Radio gave details of the technical procedures to be used during the
week.
After a coffee break, the actual frequency
coordination process began. The NASB
sponsored the high-speed Internet service at the conference. The hotel provided a main Internet
connection to the conference secretariat room, and a server in the
secretariat was connected to a wireless network in the main conference
meeting room with the HFCC/ASBU Intranet content. Unfortunately, despite extensive tests of
the conference Intranet network during the days prior to the conference,
there were serious problems when the approximately 100 laptops began using
the network simultaneously. Internet
connectivity was sporadic at best. The
hotel's technical staff began working immediately with Vladislav, Gerald
Theoret of CBC, Sergio Salvatori and other HFCC personnel to try to find the
problem. The Movenpick chain sent its
IT expert to the hotel to work on the matter also. But after nearly four hours of trying to
resolve the matter, it was still not working.
In order to avoid a major problem, the hotel offered to let all
conference delegates connect to its wireless Internet directly, so
participants were able to upload schedules to the HFCC's duplicate server in
The HFCC/ASBU Conference ran Monday through
Friday, August 2-6. Most of the
meeting consisted of the usual uploading of frequency schedules for the B10
season, processing data, producing “collision lists” and negotiating
solutions to the collisions between stations.
But on Tuesday afternoon, there was a one-hour DRM session presented
by Ludo Maes of TDP, Horst Scholz of Deutsche Welle and Mireya Martinez of
TDP. Ludo began with an overview of
the DRM Consortium and an explanation of Digital Radio Mondiale's features,
benefits and global receiver strategy.
He explained that state broadcaster All India Radio has recently
chosen DRM for the digitalization of its vast mediumwave and shortwave
network, including the purchase of five new shortwave transmitters and a
500-watt DRM transmitter for 26 MHz trials.
Next, Ludo Maes had a presentation about
DRM monitoring systems. As he
explained, “there are many different systems
available for monitoring DRM broadcasts. Each system has its own specific
tools, advantages and disadvantages.
For incidental, free of charge monitoring, the data on the DRMrx forum
will provide the perfect solution. In case a more dedicated, scheduled
monitoring is desired, the Theseus, RFmonitor or IBB DRM monitoring systems
will certainly fulfill your needs.”
For more details, you can e-mail Ludo Maes at info@transmitter.org.
The
third major part of the DRM presentation was the results of a recent survey
of European international broadcasters about multistandard digital radio
receivers. Here is Ludo Maes' background
to the survey and summary of the results:
“A major issue regarding the success of digital radio is the
availability of cheap digital radio receivers. A digital radio receiver can only be
produced at a low price if it can be produced in large quantities. A multistandard digital radio receiver
(having the major digital standards onboard) can be sold in every country
around the world. This allows for mass
production and minimizes the risk for receiver manufacturers since they can
sell the same receiver in any market.
The appearance of multistandard digital radio chipsets is the key.
“The
intention of the survey was to find out the opinion of radio broadcasters
towards the idea of multistandard digital radio receivers. In this survey, the major European radio
broadcasters were contacted, asking them only 2 questions [Do you support the
idea that a multistandard digital receiver would be a good step forward for
digital radio to become a success?
And, if multistandard digital radio receivers would be available,
which standards should be included in your opinion?] Of the 31 countries contacted, 28 responded
to the survey. The results of the
survey can be useful to the radio receiver and chipset manufacturing
industry, as well as to the broadcasting unions and the radio broadcasters
themselves. Hopefully this will give
confidence to the industry in order to invest in the idea of multistandard
digital radio receivers.”
The
conclusions of the survey:
“Broadcasters are very much in favor of multistandard digital radio
receivers. All of them find it
important to have analogue FM aboard, but analogue MW and analogue SW not too
much. DAB+, DRM and DRM+ are
considered the most important to be included in a multistandard digital radio
receiver, followed closely by DAB and T-DMB.
HD-Radio and other digital standards (like wifi-radio, DVB-H and
DVB-T) are considered the least important to be included.”
Mireya
Martinez of TDP gave a presentation about the plan to create a European
International Broadcasters Group to promote the use of DRM. The idea is to include broadcasters which
transmit programs in six primary European languages – English, German,
French, Russian, Spanish and Italian.
“All in all,” explained Mireya, “English either as a
mother tongue or as a second/foreign language is spoken by 51% of EU
citizens, followed by German with 32% and French with 28%.” The presentation included a list of
international broadcasters in
For
example, 14 out of the 46 European international broadcasters transmit in
Spanish. But only one out of the 14
international broadcasters which transmit in Spanish is using the DRM
standard. “This means that there are
still 13 potential international broadcasters in Spanish which have the
possibility to broadcast in DRM,” said Mireya. “The proposed strategy is to get in contact
with those 13 international broadcasters and encourage them to broadcast in
DRM.”
Eleven
of the 46 international broadcasters are currently transmitting in DRM: BBC, Deutsche Welle, Radio Romania
International, the Voice of Russia, Radio Prague, Polish Radio, Vatican
Radio, RTL Luxembourg, Radio France International, Radio Exterior de España
and RAI from
The
Wednesday, August 4, coordination activities ended early so that all of the
delegates could take part in a tour sponsored by Thomson Broadcast &
Multimedia. Three large buses took the
group from Regensdorf to the Thomson plant in Turgi, some 45 minutes
away. The delegation was broken up
into five groups to visit five different parts of the vast multi-building
campus of the plant. The five tour
divisions were:
1)
An overview of antennas
and masts and a look at the rotatable curtain antennas.
2)
An overview of the M2W
mediumwave transmitter family, a presentation of the 10-kilowatt M2W transmitter,
an explanation of the DRM Skywave product line, and a live demonstration of
the new DRM application called Diveemo.
3)
RF applications for
scientific and medical installations, including an innovative RF amplifier
system for cancer therapy which is being used in
4)
An overview of the Thomson
shortwave transmitter line, a presentation of the 250/500 kilowatt shortwave
transmitter, and a PSM modulator.
5)
Historical information
about Turgi, presented by recently retired Thomson employee Sally Welter (see
sidebar story), whose presentation received applause from the group of
visitors.
After
the plant tour, the buses left for a castle in Bottstein, a small town just a
few kilometers from the German border.
Joseph Troxler explained that the
Back
in Regensdorf on Thursday, the frequency coordination process continued. On Thursday afternoon was the Plenary
Meeting. Horst Scholz reminded
everyone that the A season conference alternates between Asia and the Arab
countries, so the next HFCC/ASBU conference in February of 2011 will be in an
ASBU country, although the exact location has not been decided yet. There was also no host yet for the B11
meeting in August of next year.
Geoff
Spells reported on ITU working groups, DRM work going on in the CEPT
(European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations), a
CEPT report on the future of terrestrial broadcasting, and fears that PLT
(powerline transmission) interference on the HF bands could be much worse
than currently expected. Gerald
Theoret reported on the Group of Experts meeting which took place during the
HFCC Conference. The main topic at
this meeting was how to deal with future Internet connectivity problems such
as those experienced on Monday of this week.
Oldrich
Cip reported on the two most recent Steering Board meetings in
Oldrich
noted that the HFCC global database is the best source of information for
shortwave listeners, but the data is still not accurate enough, so steps need
to be taken to make it more accurate.
He pointed out that a decision was made at the last HFCC/ASBU
conference in
“Shortwave
and Internet will not be fighting each other, but complementing each other,”
explained Oldrich. “We are facing
critical developments in reducing the budgets of shortwave stations. We can't reinstate stations to the 'glory
days' of earlier years, but we should maintain them at reasonable
levels.”
In
his review of financial matters at the Plenary Meeting, Geoff Spells reported
that the HFCC had a relatively healthy balance of accounts at the end of
2009. “The HFCC is solvent, with a
cushion in the bank,” he said. This is
due to a recent increase in membership fees, and members responding to the
economic crisis by paying any past due amounts. For 2010 Geoff said that the financial
situation looks OK.
The
registration desk at the HFCC/ASBU Conference was staffed by the NASB –
primarily by Thais White of WRMI, who was ably assisted by Judy Tapley, wife
of Glenn Tapley of WEWN. Elena Glutz
of Thomson Broadcast & Multimedia also assisted on the opening day,
August 2.
A
popular spot at the registration desk was the NASB display, which featured
our 2011 annual meeting which will take place together with the DRM USA
annual meeting May 13-16 onboard the Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas
cruise ship sailing for three nights from
There
will be presentations by shortwave broadcasters from the
The
Majesty of the Seas accommodates over 2700 passengers and around 1000 crew
members who come from around the world.
The NASB cruise rate of US$299.00 is guaranteed for those who register
by October 27, 2010 with a deposit of $100.00 per person (i.e. $200.00 per
cabin). The price is per person, based
on double occupancy of a standard inside cabin. More information and a registration form
are available on the NASB website, www.shortwave.org. Click on “Annual
Meeting.”
Conference Opening Remarks by Oldrich Cip. HFCC Chairman
Special
thanks of all of us go to Jeff White, President of the NASB who has
volunteered as the chairman of the preparatory committee and has taken over
conference registrations, contacts with the hotel, etc. I hope that Jeff's fancy for the HFCC will
stay also after the conference since he is a great writer and we need more
content on the HFCC website.
I
have only one subject for my usual opening remarks. It follows up on our discussions in
The
programme delivery modes of audiovisual media are becoming more varied and
fragmented. The digital delivery –
so-called broadband – is widely considered as the leading technology for the
future. But there is also other
evidence: “Terrestrial broadcasting in many countries is still, and will
remain in the future, the main way to guarantee universal access to radio and
TV content for fixed mobile and portable devices. No other single platform can replicate
these benefits.” This has been the conclusion of the experts of the European
Broadcasting Union in a debate on the radio spectrum policy earlier this
year. According to that report the
maximum benefit for both broadcasters and viewers would be the combination of
terrestrial transmissions and Internet with the aim of offering the full
range of benefits of both technologies.
Unfortunately
there is no such in depth debate yet in international broadcasting. In the present rush to embrace new digital
platforms, decision makers have been moving funding from shortwave
broadcasting. Yet they are frequently
unaware of the properties of the individual platforms and even of the
existence and needs of different segments of their audience.
It
would be futile to believe that the HFCC alone will be able to keep shortwave
delivery in the forefront of options but we are certainly in a position to
provide vital information about shortwave broadcasting and about its merits
both for those who will carry on listening to shortwaves in combination with
other delivery modes – and to those who consider shortwave listening as their
hobby, and also to broadcasters who need facts and information for their
effort to keep shortwave programmes on the air.
We
decided in
Broadcast
bands are allocated internationally and a programme offered in a shortwave
band is in a much more unique position than a programme placed on the Internet
where there are huge numbers of stations and other attractions. The availability and quality of shortwave
delivery is independent of the number of listeners. New technologies frequently incur
additional costs and do not provide coverage in some locations. Shortwave delivery is free-to-air and free
of any charges.
Most
of our regular and associated members are interested in how shortwave
technology develops in the future, and what is the current state of
digitization that could introduce such a dramatic improvement in sound
quality. We are ready to collect and
publish on the web all information that will help create a balanced and
stable system of programme delivery where the distribution platforms do not
compete but complement each other.
We
are ready to promote shortwaves. But
our HFCC tools and what we do also determines quality. Very sophisticated collision processing
tools are used but some members still keep over-submitting their frequency
requirements. This is in conflict with
the spirit of co-operation that has been established over the years. We can discuss this further during the
Plenary Meeting since the HFCC management believes that now is the time to
take action beyond what we have tried in the past.
And
before I hand over to Horst and other board colleagues, and since we are in
Shortwave Station News from the HFCC/ASBU B10 Conference
U.K.
- London-based World Radio Network is selling airtime on FM networks in
Turkey (over 28 outlets in major cities like Istanbul, Izmir and Bursa),
Afghanistan (reaching listeners in Kabul, Habat, Jalalabad, Mazar-e-Sharif
and Kandahar) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (two stations – one with 30 kW and
the other with 60 kW ERP).
The History of
My
name is Sally Welter and up till the end of 2009 I was employed by Thomson Broadcast
& Multimedia AG, where I worked together with Willi Tschol. I was also
responsible for publishing the customer newsletter called Radio News, which I
am sure some of you are still familiar with. Since January I am retired.
Today I want
to tell you a little bit about the history of the town of
with a
population of around 3000 persons on an area of 1.5 square kilometres. In
addition to
the main
section here on the banks of the
areas on top
of the hill behind the train station.
Especially
young families find Turgi an attractive place to live in: it’s quiet and
rural, close to
larger urban
areas and has a very good public transportation system thanks to the train
station.
Back in the
very old days, when the
Turgi was no
more than a spot on one of the main Roman roads crossing the country from
east to west.
In 1534, a
farmer who was plowing his fields close to Turgi found a Roman milestone
dating from 99 BC. This stone had a Latin inscription on it, giving the
distance from here to the Roman city of
A Roman mile
represents 1.48 kilometres and the distance as given on the milestone was
measured later on and found to be correct.
In the
beginning there was no bridge across the river, but there used to be a ferry
which connected one side of the river with the other. And up until the beginning of the 19th
Century, the ferryman who had his house here was the sole inhabitant of the
area known today as Turgi.
Then the
industrial revolution and the invention of mills invaded
Turgi was a
perfect location for mills. The town itself is something like a peninsula
with two-thirds
of its area
being surrounded by the river Limmat which curves all around it. In addition, just around the corner, three
main Swiss rivers merge together, forming one of the largest sweet water
reservoirs in all of
In the
1820’s, the industrial family Bebié moved to Turgi, laid the cornerstone of
their first cotton spinning mill and built the canal to provide the mill with
water. Soon they built a second mill, large houses for feeding and lodging
their workers, as well as a factory school for all the children who worked at
the mill and a private school for children under 13 years of age. At that time, child labour for children
above 13 years of age was not against the law, and the mill was happy to
employ children to insert and set up the spindles.
In 1858, the
cotton spinning mill here in Turgi was the largest of its kind in
Till today
most of the buildings erected back in those days are still around, including
many beautiful mansions. The building here was the mill. The house down there
used to be the barn where the cotton was stored and just across the street you
can see the building which is called “The Farmhouse” and which was indeed a
farm grounded back then by the Bebié Family. The farmhouse was taken over by
the town and is used today as a cultural and youth center.
The buildings
situated on this factory area now stand under monument conservation. They can
be remodeled and modernized inside, but the facade must be kept the same. A
few years ago, Turgi received the highly coveted prize called “Wakker Prize”.
This is awarded by the Swiss national government to towns who have excelled
in heritage protection.
The town
annals tell an interesting anecdote about a special factory clock used in the
mill. A normal working day back in those days was 14-15 hours with a
half-hour lunch break. The mill owners were very strict about having the
working day start at 6am and end at 9pm. On the other hand, they wanted to
avoid having to light lamps, since these could easily cause a fire with all
the cotton. They solved this problem
by setting the clock weekly to match the daylight time. In July for instance,
when the clock showed 6am and time to start work, it was actually only 4.30
am, and in January, when the clock showed 6am it was already 7am. The workers were forced to set their clocks
regularly to match this factory clock which was mounted high up in a bell
tower making it visible from far. This clock by the way still exists and is
exhibited in the restaurant behind the bridge.
In the 1880’s
the mill experienced a financial crisis. The owner successfully reshaped the business
by building two power plants. The first one here in Turgi was situated next
to the mill; the second one was a little bit further down the river. They
also built a power transmission line connecting the two power plants. By the way, this power transmission line
enabled the construction of the first factory in the
region not to
be situated directly on the riverside. This factory for metal goods, which
was next to the train station, was torn down years ago.
The power
plant built back then was a little bit further up the river and consisted of
two buildings: The turbine building on top of the canal and the generator
house on the little island. The island by the way was created when they built
the canal which intersected the northernmost tip of Turgi.
The power
plant had 2 Francis turbines. Here you can see parts of the old turbine, like
the fin-set and the old gearwheel which had wooden teeth! Can you imagine: a
leather belt drive went all the way from the turbine - over the river - and
drove the generator on the island.
When the mill
closed, the electricity was used to supply the public network. About 30 years
ago a new power plant was built. This is in operation today and delivers a
maximum of 950 kW. It has a Kaplan turbine which drives the generator with
about 110 revolutions.
The Limmat
Power Plant Network supplies its regional customers with 30% of their total
energy needs using water power coming from four hydroelectric plants on the
In Turgi the
era of the mill and the Bebié Family finally came to an end in 1962, when the
expanding Company Brown Boveri of Baden took over the entire share capital of
the Bebié AG. The industrial revolution of the 19th century thus made way for
the electronic industry of the 20th and 21st centuries.
In addition
to taking over the existing spinning mill buildings, Brown Boveri – later
known as Asea Brown Boveri or ABB - built new factories on the other side of
the river and moved their entire electronic activities there. Soon the area
became known as the “Silicon Valley of Switzerland.”
In the old
mill itself, Brown Boveri installed their factory for radio broadcast
transmitters, where it has stayed until today, in the meantime better known
under the name “Thomson Broadcast & Multimedia AG”.
Swiss Gastronomy
The
conference package included a daily buffet breakfast at the Movenpick Hotel,
which included many hot and cold items such as Swiss specialties rosti (like
hash-brown potatoes) and a variety of fresh Swiss cheeses. For lunch and dinner, the hotel had a main
restaurant (where the least expensive entree was a hamburger for about $23)
and an Italian restaurant which specialized in dozens of types of spaghetti
which were very good and reasonably priced, by Swiss standards.
Those
who preferred a slightly less expensive alternative could nip into the Migros
supermarket in the shopping center right next door to the hotel. Migros had a cafeteria-type restaurant with
daily specials. Another alternative
was the Gasthof Hirschen, a small traditional guest house hotel a short walk
from the Movenpick. The restaurant
there was not any less expensive than the Movenpick, but it had Swiss
specialties like Kalbsfleisch Zurcher Art, a
Of
course many people who go to
And
before we leave this subject, I would like to share a traditional fondue
recipe which I was given by our friend Kaethy Zanotti, a resident of the
Kaethy's
Fondue Recipe
Rub a clove of garlic around the caquelon (fondue bowl).
2)
Put 150-200 grams of Swiss
cheese per person into the bowl, cut into small pieces. There are many variations, but the cheese
should be, for example, half gruyere and half another variety like
Appenzeller. Vacherin is another
variety which is often used, and makes the fondue creamy.
3)
Add two to four teaspoons
of Maizena or potato starch. Be sure
to add this before heating; otherwise it clumps.
4)
Add one deciliter of white
wine per person. Fondant is the
preferred type, but any dry white wine like Riesling will do in a pinch.
5)
Add one to two teaspoons
of lemon juice.
6)
Throw in a bit of nutmeg
and pepper to taste.
Then
heat the mixture until the cheese is melted and creamy. Cut fresh bread into small pieces and dip
them into the fondue mixture, which is set on the table with a candle or heat
canister underneath it to keep it warm.
NASB Members
Adventist World Radio
Assemblies of
Yahweh
EWTN Shortwave
Radio (WEWN)
Family Stations
Inc.
Far East
Broadcasting Co.
Fundamental
Broadcasting Network
La Voz de
Restauracion Broadcasting, Inc.
Le Sea
Broadcasting Corp.
Radio
Trans World Radio
World Christian
Broadcasting
World Wide
Christian Radio
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NASB Associate Members
Babcock (formerly
VT Communications)
Comet
Continental
Electronics Corporation
Galcom
International
George Jacobs
& Associates
Hatfield and
Dawson Consulting Engineers
HCJB World Radio
IBB
Kintronic Labs,
Inc.
TCI International,
Inc.
TDF
TDP
Thomson Inc.
National Association of Shortwave
Broadcasters
Ph:
(863) 763-0281 Fax: (863) 763-8867 E-mail:
nasbmem@rocketmail
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