NASB NEWSLETTER www.shortwave.org
April 2008
IN THIS ISSUE:
2008/2009
NASB-USA
HFCC
News
DRM
News
HCJB
News
Galcom International
VT Communications
Beth Shalom
WHRI
KAIJ
KTWR
EDXC
NASB
Mailbag
All Set for 2008 NASB-USA DRM Annual Meeting
Our
2008 annual meeting will take place May 8 and 9 in Cary
(just outside of Raleigh ), North Carolina
Agenda
Meeting
Venue: Trans World Radio - Cary , North
Carolina
Thursday, May 8, 2008 – USA
8:15-9:00
am – Trans World Radio Staff Meeting
– moderated by John Summerville, with the participation of NASB personnel. Is shortwave radio viable today in the midst
of all the new technologies? Meeting is
open to all.
9:00-10:00 am – Tour of Trans World Radio headquarters
9:00-10:00 am – Tour of Trans World Radio headquarters
10:00-10:30 am – Welcome Remarks from Thomas Lowell, TWR Interim CEO and Chairman of the Board of
Directors; and an update on TWR's global ministry from Tom Tatlow, TWR Global
Media Services Officer
10:30-11:00 am -
Coffee Break, courtesy of Trans World
Radio
11:00 am-5:00 pm -
USA DRM Group Meeting at TWR
headquarters building
11:00-11:15 am -
USA DRM welcome remarks - Adil Mina (Continental Electronics), Jeff White
(WRMI), Mike Adams (FEBC)
11:15-11:45 am – DRM Consortium Update from Adil Mina
and Don Spragg of Continental Electronics
11:45 am-12:15 pm
- DRM Diversity Receiver Project -
John Wineman - HCJB GTC. A joint project
of HCJB Global
Technology Center
and LeTourneau University
in Longview , TX
12:15-1:15 pm - Lunch at TWR headquarters, sponsored by
Media Broadcast (formerly T-Systems
Media & Broadcast, www.media-broadcast.com). On the menu today are traditional North Carolina
1:15-1:45 pm - HCJB DRM transmissions to Germany and Brazil
- Charles Jacobson - HCJB
Global Technology
Center Ecuador has carried out regular DRM
transmissions to Germany ,
and begun a regular transmission to Brazil
1:45-2:15 pm - DRM SDR Monitoring Receiver/Spectrum
Analyzer - John Stanley, HCJB Global Technology Center, will talk about a
low-cost spectrum analyzer/shortwave monitor that HCJB has developed using a
computer sound card and free Winrad software.
2:15-2:30 pm – Introduction to WWCR – by Jason Cooper
and Brady Murray (subject to confirmation)
2:30-3:00 pm -
Coffee break, courtesy of Trans World
Radio
3:00-3:30 pm – IBB Greenville – Presentation about the
U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau's shortwave station in Greenville, North
Carolina by Station Manager Wilfred Cooper and Deputy Manager Walter Konetsco.
3:30-4:00 pm - Experiences with Radio Frequency Exposure
Measurements at Shortwave Facilities Worldwide, by Stephen Lockwood and Matt
Folker, Hatfield & Dawson Consulting Engineers
4:00-4:30 pm –
Presentation by Tim Ayris of VT Communications about their latest
shortwave and DRM activities (subject to confirmation)
4:30-5:30 pm - Mike Adams, FEBC, leads open discussion
about plans for the USDRM platform and DRM in the United States
5:30 pm - USA DRM
Meeting ends. Departure from TWR
headquarters to Comfort Suites hotel.
7:30 pm - Dinner at O'Charley's restaurant, adjacent to Comfort Suites. Sponsored by Thomson Inc., Comet North America and WMLK/Assemblies of Yahweh. Tonight's menu includes a selection of appetizers, your choice of any two entrees (the list includes bite-size fried shrimp, barbecue ribs, grilled chicken breast, Chicken O'Tenders and butcher's cut premium steak), served with salad or soup (overloaded potato soup or soup of the day), beverage and a scoop of caramel pie ice cream for dessert.
7:30 pm - Dinner at O'Charley's restaurant, adjacent to Comfort Suites. Sponsored by Thomson Inc., Comet North America and WMLK/Assemblies of Yahweh. Tonight's menu includes a selection of appetizers, your choice of any two entrees (the list includes bite-size fried shrimp, barbecue ribs, grilled chicken breast, Chicken O'Tenders and butcher's cut premium steak), served with salad or soup (overloaded potato soup or soup of the day), beverage and a scoop of caramel pie ice cream for dessert.
9:00 pm - NASB
Board of Directors meeting in lobby at Comfort Suites
Friday, May 9, 2008
20th Annual Meeting of the
National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters
9:00-9:15 am - Welcome remarks by Jeff White, NASB President; and Mike Adams, NASB Vice-President
9:00-9:15 am - Welcome remarks by Jeff White, NASB President; and Mike Adams, NASB Vice-President
9:15-9:45 am - Fundamental Broadcasting Network - A
presentation by representatives of NASB member FBN, which operates shortwave
stations WTJC and WBOH in Newport ,
North Carolina
9:45-10:30 am - Responding to Disaster - panel
moderated by Mike Adams, FEBC.
Participants will include Scott Hollinger of Trans World Radio and Allen
Graham of HCJB. This panel will look at
how international broadcasters respond to natural disasters and crises, such as
Hurricane Katrina.
10:30-11:00 am -
Coffee break, courtesy of Trans World
Radio
11:00-11:30 am - Monitoring Times - presentation by
Rachel Baughn, editor of this popular publication geared to shortwave and other
radio listeners
11:30 am-12:00 pm
– Audience Research for International
Broadcasters – presentation by Tom Tatlow, TWR
Global Media Services Officer; Curt Detwiler and Bill Damick, also of TWR
12:00-12:15
pm - Galcom Update – The latest
receivers, transmitters and other equipment from Galcom International. Presentation by Allan McGuirl.
12:15-1:15 pm - Lunch at TWR headquarters, sponsored by
Continental Electronics. Today's menu features Italian dishes: meat lasagna, caesar salad, garlic bread, tea
and tiramisu.
1:15-3:00 pm - NASB Business Meeting. Members, associate members and visitors are welcome and encouraged to attend. Reports from NASB personnel who have attended recent shortwave conferences around the world. Allen Graham of HCJB will talk about his program “DX Party Line” and other programs especially for shortwave listeners.
1:15-3:00 pm - NASB Business Meeting. Members, associate members and visitors are welcome and encouraged to attend. Reports from NASB personnel who have attended recent shortwave conferences around the world. Allen Graham of HCJB will talk about his program “DX Party Line” and other programs especially for shortwave listeners.
3:00-3:30 pm -
Coffee break, courtesy of Trans World
Radio
3:30-4:30 pm - NASB Business Meeting continues
4:30 pm - Official
closing of NASB Annual Meeting
4:30-4:45 pm - NASB Board of Directors Meeting. This is a brief closed session for the
newly-elected Board members.
Hotel Information
The conference
hotel for the annual meetings is the Comfort
Suites hotel, located at 350
Ashville Avenue Cary ,
North Carolina (a suburb of Raleigh
Telephone +1-919-852-4318
Fax +1-919-854-4398
When making your reservation, please specify that you are with the "NASB-TRANS WORLD RADIO" group. By mentioning "NASB-TRANS WORLD RADIO," you will get the lowest available rate of $82.00 per night, and you will have until 24 hours prior to your arrival date to cancel your reservation if necessary. (If you cancel less than 24 hours prior to your scheduled arrival, they will charge your credit card one night's accommodation.) The rate of $82.00 per night will be available to NASB/USDRM meeting attendees for a few days before and after the meeting as well, in case you want to arrive early or stay late.
Our block booking will be held until April 21, 2008, or sooner if all rooms are reserved earlier. Reservations will be on a space-available basis only after April 21, or before April 21 if we exceed our block booking. So we urge you to make your reservation as soon as possible. You can always cancel it until a day before arrival if you need to do so.
Please note there is a local tax of 12.5% on hotel rates inCary
Telephone +1-919-852-4318
Fax +1-919-854-4398
When making your reservation, please specify that you are with the "NASB-TRANS WORLD RADIO" group. By mentioning "NASB-TRANS WORLD RADIO," you will get the lowest available rate of $82.00 per night, and you will have until 24 hours prior to your arrival date to cancel your reservation if necessary. (If you cancel less than 24 hours prior to your scheduled arrival, they will charge your credit card one night's accommodation.) The rate of $82.00 per night will be available to NASB/USDRM meeting attendees for a few days before and after the meeting as well, in case you want to arrive early or stay late.
Our block booking will be held until April 21, 2008, or sooner if all rooms are reserved earlier. Reservations will be on a space-available basis only after April 21, or before April 21 if we exceed our block booking. So we urge you to make your reservation as soon as possible. You can always cancel it until a day before arrival if you need to do so.
Please note there is a local tax of 12.5% on hotel rates in
Getting to Cary
The following
airlines offer service to Raleigh-Durham
Airport from numerous cities
throughout the United States Canada
has service from Toronto to Raleigh-Durham, and
American Airlines serves Raleigh-Durham from London-Gatwick (but this will be
changing to London-Heathrow on March 29, 2008) with connections to/from many
cities throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa via London
Directions
from Raleigh Durham International
Airport
Exit
airport onto Airport Blvd. Raleigh Sanford Tryon Road East Tryon Road Ashville
Avenue WakeMed
Cary Hospital Ashville Avenue
Directions
from Comfort Suites to TWR:
Bids being accepted for 2009 NASB
Annual Meeting
We
urge any NASB member or associate member who might be interested in hosting the
2009 NASB-USA DRM annual meetings in your locality to submit your proposal to
us before or at the 2008 meeting in Cary
------
NASB Present at HFCC A08 Conference
in Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia
George Ross
KTWR Trans World
Radio
On
Feb.4-8, 2008 the 5th Global Shortwave Coordination Conference took
place in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
NASB members present were Glen Tapley, ETWN and George Ross, KTWR.
Brian Coombes, VT Communications Director Broadcast, welcomed again those who were here in 2000. In 2008 there is a record number of participants. He said high frequency broadcasting is not going away. The importance of this type of coordination is equally important when DRM takes effect.
Mr. Yousef Ghadaksaz of the ABU added his welcome to the 5th Global Shortwave Coordination Conference. He mentioned the importance of this coordination was shown in how it brought coordinators from five different continents.
Oldrich Cip quickly gave a greeting, and then had to skip his usual opening remarks due to almost completely losing his voice. He asked Geoff Spells to MC the conference in his behalf.
David Astley, the Secretary General with ABU extended a warm welcome to delegates of the Global Conference. The inaugural global conference originally took place right here in 2000. Shortwave reaches beyond borders and great distances prior to satellite and internet. He stated that propagation conditions have always raised doubts previously of the service reliability on the receiving end, as well as the congestion of broadcasters. However, collisions are much less now than in years past thanks to the efforts of the frequency managers in their planning and coordination. He also mentioned the increasing involvement put in now by ABU and ASBU as part of the coordination process. HFCC has nurtured the participation of these other organizations. ABU is thankful for the assistance of HFCC and looks forward to a closer working relationship.
Jan Willem Drexhage speaking for the group of experts discussed the old requirement files from last season that were in the coordination database (because certain broadcasters had not submitted an up to date schedule). They are of no use in the scheduling from today. Their requirements will be removed from the schedule. (The schedules of Monday morning were the only ones that had these frequencies listed.)
He also made mention of at least two undersea Internet cables that had been severed. This was having an adverse impact on Internet connectivity. He asked for individuals to be considerate in their use of the Internet.
Norbert Schall gave a presentation of his upgraded wplot 2000 software for frequency coordinators. The software currently uses the REC533 prediction method. It primarily uses point to point calculations. He covered the way to work through plotted calculations of wanted transmissions in target zones and unwanted transmissions in the coverage areas. Specific antenna design is a key to getting accurate analysis. The aim is to visualize the configuration and the interference situation as accurately as possible. It shows coverage area in either CIRAF zones or by a grid of determined points called a polygon.
My conclusion from working through this software tool is that it is very effective and a great resource in the coordination process. It is a much more powerful tool and has many new fields added from the original software. It is able to use quite a few different variables to show actual coverage situations. It also has the ability to determine new desired broadcasts and changes. The majority of coordinators are using this software as a tool in the coordination process. It is quite possible that this software may become the standard for use by HFCC.
NASB members present were Glen Tapley, ETWN and George Ross, KTWR.
Brian Coombes, VT Communications Director Broadcast, welcomed again those who were here in 2000. In 2008 there is a record number of participants. He said high frequency broadcasting is not going away. The importance of this type of coordination is equally important when DRM takes effect.
Mr. Yousef Ghadaksaz of the ABU added his welcome to the 5th Global Shortwave Coordination Conference. He mentioned the importance of this coordination was shown in how it brought coordinators from five different continents.
Oldrich Cip quickly gave a greeting, and then had to skip his usual opening remarks due to almost completely losing his voice. He asked Geoff Spells to MC the conference in his behalf.
David Astley, the Secretary General with ABU extended a warm welcome to delegates of the Global Conference. The inaugural global conference originally took place right here in 2000. Shortwave reaches beyond borders and great distances prior to satellite and internet. He stated that propagation conditions have always raised doubts previously of the service reliability on the receiving end, as well as the congestion of broadcasters. However, collisions are much less now than in years past thanks to the efforts of the frequency managers in their planning and coordination. He also mentioned the increasing involvement put in now by ABU and ASBU as part of the coordination process. HFCC has nurtured the participation of these other organizations. ABU is thankful for the assistance of HFCC and looks forward to a closer working relationship.
Jan Willem Drexhage speaking for the group of experts discussed the old requirement files from last season that were in the coordination database (because certain broadcasters had not submitted an up to date schedule). They are of no use in the scheduling from today. Their requirements will be removed from the schedule. (The schedules of Monday morning were the only ones that had these frequencies listed.)
He also made mention of at least two undersea Internet cables that had been severed. This was having an adverse impact on Internet connectivity. He asked for individuals to be considerate in their use of the Internet.
Norbert Schall gave a presentation of his upgraded wplot 2000 software for frequency coordinators. The software currently uses the REC533 prediction method. It primarily uses point to point calculations. He covered the way to work through plotted calculations of wanted transmissions in target zones and unwanted transmissions in the coverage areas. Specific antenna design is a key to getting accurate analysis. The aim is to visualize the configuration and the interference situation as accurately as possible. It shows coverage area in either CIRAF zones or by a grid of determined points called a polygon.
My conclusion from working through this software tool is that it is very effective and a great resource in the coordination process. It is a much more powerful tool and has many new fields added from the original software. It is able to use quite a few different variables to show actual coverage situations. It also has the ability to determine new desired broadcasts and changes. The majority of coordinators are using this software as a tool in the coordination process. It is quite possible that this software may become the standard for use by HFCC.
Monday
night the delegates were treated to a banquet sponsored by RTM (Radio/TV
Malaysia). David Astley of ABU welcomed the delegates and gave a brief overview
of RTM. He mentioned that RTM is in the process of testing DRM.
Brian
Coombes gave a presentation on February 5. He mentioned that VTC does 5% of all
SW broadcasts globally. They have been broadcasting for 70 years and are doing
1000 hours daily, keeping a worldwide HF presence. Below is an outline of his
discussion of challenges to broadcasters:
* Audience behavior is changing.
* There are more platforms to manage.
* There is increasing pressure to do more with less.
* Shortwave is less fashionable yet still critical (183 million listeners per week to BBC). He said, “I can’t accept that shortwave broadcasting is a dying art!”
* The infrastructure is aging. (There seems to be less opportunity to invest in this infrastructure.)
* There are reducing levels of expertise. This is a specialist market and needs succession planning. Is the age of people in this room going to get younger or continue aging?
He then gave his own responses to the challenges:
New media services mean IP distribution. It also means content aggregation and management -- archiving/multiple platform/content management system/DRM.
The nature of broadcasting says we of necessity have to go digital. DRM is not just necessarily a swap out of analog to digital. It does utilize the HF part of the food chain as well as the logistics of the digital audience.
We need Global Infrastructure Solutions (look at it as industry sites and individually done sites…).
* Global capacity utilization
* Consultancy/ project management
* Design build operation
* Network /service management (what are the investment plans around the world?)
* Partnership
Brian concluded: “International broadcasting is definitely changing.”
From my discussions during the meetings, a couple of points about DRM bear mention:
* Global initialization is at a standstill. The reason for this is there are no affordable receivers available. This has proven discouraging to broadcasters. There are a few broadcasters that see analog as not being diminished in the near future.
* It is however worth noting that broadcasters are still preparing for DRM implementation. The general feeling from quite a few broadcasters is that DRM is here, and is a natural progression from current analog broadcasting (note Brian Coombes' comments.) Gary Stanley of VTC mentioned their DRM broadcasts are diminishing until there is a change in the receiver distribution. He said when they upgrade transmitters it is to DRM-compliant ones. It is a consensus that new transmitter implementation is with DRM-compliant transmitters. Mr. Jacques Gruson of TDF mentioned thatFrance
The conference took place during the Lunar (Chinese) New Year celebrations. On Thursday evening the HFCC delegation was invited to a Chinese New Year Banquet at the Saloma Bistro & Theatre Restaurant. This was a Malaysian style Lunar New Year dinner that was preceded by the traditional Chinese Lion Dance. During the meal we were also treated to some Malaysian cultural dances.
Notes from the plenary meeting:
Next conferences:
The B08 conference should be inRussia ,
25 – 29th August 2008
The A09 conference has been confirmed to be inTunis
02-06th February 2009
Articles of Association
A proposed revision of the Articles of Association had been approved at theBirmingham
Finance and Membership Fees
The Czech Koruna became much stronger against the Euro, and inflation rose in theCzech Republic
Elections
Vice Chairman: Horst Scholz (re-elected)
Finances: Geoff Spells (re-elected)
Group of Experts Meeting (GOE)
HFCC has had a new web server online. It has proven to be much more reliable and guarantees speedy access. Navid Homayouni (IRIB) has continued work on the new procedure for S/I calculated collisions. Norbert Schall has also proposed some improvements in calculation methods. These should be implemented soon.
As demonstrated by Norbert, the coverage area can be significantly influenced by the antenna design frequency so this should be included in requirements. Only a few requirements include the antenna design frequency. All coordinators are urged to include the antenna designs in their requirements.
Because CIRAF zone classification is sometimes too large for actual coverage/target areas, Norbert Schall has proposed a solution using a polygon to describe the wanted service area and to use a regular grid of points inside the polygon for calculation.
As discussed at theBirmingham
New Language codes: The ITU will be implementing ISO693-3, the most up to date language coding. This is to provide area for more language codes.
The Steering Board is putting a great effort into eliminating wooden frequencies. It was noted that a part of the HFCC database requirements are still either wooden or alternative frequencies.
Monitoring (IRUS)
There has been a lack of monitoring data for this season. There will be more effort put into the IRUS monitoring. There is hope of more consistent data coming from the new monitoring system now in the Asia Pacific region.
WRC-07:
Geoff Spells gave a summary of the outcome of additional spectrum for HF broadcasting. There was no outcome! Usually there is a spirit of compromise to reach an outcome acceptable to all. There was no discussion or willingness to do so. There was such strong opposition from administrations who were opposed to HF broadcasting that it was thrown out. The only support for the article came from theEurope region. The rest of the
world was against it. The amount of antagonism against broadcasting was
incredible! Broadcasting service was the only one that had a detailed
requirement, but it wasn’t even given a consideration. Other services are
actually out to take spectrum away from broadcasters.
As a consequence of the decisions taken at WRC-03 Article 12, from 29th March 2009 the band 7100-7200 kHz is allocated to the amateur service so cannot be used for broadcasting. However, the band 7350-7450 kHz becomes available to the broadcasting service but the use of this band in some countries is subject to a number of footnotes in Article 5 of the ITU Radio Regulations. This needs to be taken into account when planning the A09 schedule. Much of the bandwidth from 7350-7450 kHz is already being used by HF broadcasters!
Oldrich said a rather grim picture has been painted regarding any additional spectrum and the difficulty we continue to have in our process.
Membership Issues
* Audience behavior is changing.
* There are more platforms to manage.
* There is increasing pressure to do more with less.
* Shortwave is less fashionable yet still critical (183 million listeners per week to BBC). He said, “I can’t accept that shortwave broadcasting is a dying art!”
* The infrastructure is aging. (There seems to be less opportunity to invest in this infrastructure.)
* There are reducing levels of expertise. This is a specialist market and needs succession planning. Is the age of people in this room going to get younger or continue aging?
He then gave his own responses to the challenges:
New media services mean IP distribution. It also means content aggregation and management -- archiving/multiple platform/content management system/DRM.
The nature of broadcasting says we of necessity have to go digital. DRM is not just necessarily a swap out of analog to digital. It does utilize the HF part of the food chain as well as the logistics of the digital audience.
We need Global Infrastructure Solutions (look at it as industry sites and individually done sites…).
* Global capacity utilization
* Consultancy/ project management
* Design build operation
* Network /service management (what are the investment plans around the world?)
* Partnership
Brian concluded: “International broadcasting is definitely changing.”
From my discussions during the meetings, a couple of points about DRM bear mention:
* Global initialization is at a standstill. The reason for this is there are no affordable receivers available. This has proven discouraging to broadcasters. There are a few broadcasters that see analog as not being diminished in the near future.
* It is however worth noting that broadcasters are still preparing for DRM implementation. The general feeling from quite a few broadcasters is that DRM is here, and is a natural progression from current analog broadcasting (note Brian Coombes' comments.) Gary Stanley of VTC mentioned their DRM broadcasts are diminishing until there is a change in the receiver distribution. He said when they upgrade transmitters it is to DRM-compliant ones. It is a consensus that new transmitter implementation is with DRM-compliant transmitters. Mr. Jacques Gruson of TDF mentioned that
The conference took place during the Lunar (Chinese) New Year celebrations. On Thursday evening the HFCC delegation was invited to a Chinese New Year Banquet at the Saloma Bistro & Theatre Restaurant. This was a Malaysian style Lunar New Year dinner that was preceded by the traditional Chinese Lion Dance. During the meal we were also treated to some Malaysian cultural dances.
Notes from the plenary meeting:
Next conferences:
The B08 conference should be in
The A09 conference has been confirmed to be in
Articles of Association
A proposed revision of the Articles of Association had been approved at the
Finance and Membership Fees
The Czech Koruna became much stronger against the Euro, and inflation rose in the
Elections
Vice Chairman: Horst Scholz (re-elected)
Finances: Geoff Spells (re-elected)
Group of Experts Meeting (GOE)
HFCC has had a new web server online. It has proven to be much more reliable and guarantees speedy access. Navid Homayouni (IRIB) has continued work on the new procedure for S/I calculated collisions. Norbert Schall has also proposed some improvements in calculation methods. These should be implemented soon.
As demonstrated by Norbert, the coverage area can be significantly influenced by the antenna design frequency so this should be included in requirements. Only a few requirements include the antenna design frequency. All coordinators are urged to include the antenna designs in their requirements.
Because CIRAF zone classification is sometimes too large for actual coverage/target areas, Norbert Schall has proposed a solution using a polygon to describe the wanted service area and to use a regular grid of points inside the polygon for calculation.
As discussed at the
New Language codes: The ITU will be implementing ISO693-3, the most up to date language coding. This is to provide area for more language codes.
The Steering Board is putting a great effort into eliminating wooden frequencies. It was noted that a part of the HFCC database requirements are still either wooden or alternative frequencies.
Monitoring (IRUS)
There has been a lack of monitoring data for this season. There will be more effort put into the IRUS monitoring. There is hope of more consistent data coming from the new monitoring system now in the Asia Pacific region.
WRC-07:
Geoff Spells gave a summary of the outcome of additional spectrum for HF broadcasting. There was no outcome! Usually there is a spirit of compromise to reach an outcome acceptable to all. There was no discussion or willingness to do so. There was such strong opposition from administrations who were opposed to HF broadcasting that it was thrown out. The only support for the article came from the
As a consequence of the decisions taken at WRC-03 Article 12, from 29th March 2009 the band 7100-7200 kHz is allocated to the amateur service so cannot be used for broadcasting. However, the band 7350-7450 kHz becomes available to the broadcasting service but the use of this band in some countries is subject to a number of footnotes in Article 5 of the ITU Radio Regulations. This needs to be taken into account when planning the A09 schedule. Much of the bandwidth from 7350-7450 kHz is already being used by HF broadcasters!
Oldrich said a rather grim picture has been painted regarding any additional spectrum and the difficulty we continue to have in our process.
Membership Issues
There
is a new category of Associate Membership. They won’t have any part in the
coordination process. (For example, BBC would like to participate, but
VTC does the frequency management.)
Applications for membership:
Mr. Sigitos Ziliones fromLithuania
Jaap van der Leest from the Radio Communications Agency of the Netherlands (RCA) had applied for membership.
New applications fromRussia
WRTH have asked to become an Associate Member. As they are not a broadcaster, their request was questioned as to what reason there would be for membership.
At the conclusion of the conference, Sharad Sadhu Technical Director of ABU made mention that one individual, Oldrich Cip, had put a great deal of effort into making the coordination process work. In honor of appreciation for his pioneering contribution to the regional co-ordination process for shortwave radio broadcasting, he presented Oldrich with a plaque from ABU.
------
Applications for membership:
Mr. Sigitos Ziliones from
Jaap van der Leest from the Radio Communications Agency of the Netherlands (RCA) had applied for membership.
New applications from
WRTH have asked to become an Associate Member. As they are not a broadcaster, their request was questioned as to what reason there would be for membership.
At the conclusion of the conference, Sharad Sadhu Technical Director of ABU made mention that one individual, Oldrich Cip, had put a great deal of effort into making the coordination process work. In honor of appreciation for his pioneering contribution to the regional co-ordination process for shortwave radio broadcasting, he presented Oldrich with a plaque from ABU.
------
Upcoming HFCC Conferences
B08 – Russia (exact site not yet determined), 25-29
August, 2008 hosted by GFC and Voice of Russia
A09 -Tunis ,
Tunisia
A09 -
NASB members who
might be interested in representing the Association at either of these meetings
under the standard partial reimbursement plan should contact us as soon as
possible.
Other News from the HFCC
Vladislav Cip of
the HFCC Secretariat informs us of the retirement of colleague Honorio L.
Llavore of Radio Veritas Asia in the Philippines
------
BBC World Service Appointed Chair of DRM Consortium
News
release from Fanny Podworny, DRM Consortium (pressoffice@drm.org)
The
voting took place in Bonn
The
new Chair, Mrs. Ruxandra Obreja, introduced her vision to the members in a
short presentation. She stated that: “DRM is on the threshold of a new era.
Thanks to the brilliant work of our technical colleagues over the past ten
years, the DRM standard is now mature. The challenge for all of us is to ensure
that in the next few years the DRM standard is taken up on a mass scale. I see
this as both the biggest challenge for the consortium and me personally.”
The
DRM consortium greatly appreciates the offer of the BBC to take the lead in
this enterprise announcing that it is ready to host the DRM Project Office in London
DRM
also elected two Vice Chairmen – Jochen Huber of TRANSRADIO SenderSysteme
Berlin AG and Giuseppe Allamano of RAI
Way
Jochen
Huber of TRANSRADIO SenderSysteme Berlin AG is now the Executive Board Chair.
DRM elected five new companies to its Steering Board: Analog Devices, Dolby
Laboratories, RAI Way
Axión Launches DRM Spanish Website
Member
TDF, has launched a Spanish website dedicated to DRM at www.drm.org.es. Several
of DRM's Spanish members participated in the creation of the website, which
displays DRM promotional activities in Spain
The
launch of a Spanish DRM website is a key Internet source for all those
interested in
discovering
information in Spanish about DRM. This will not only increase the understanding
of the DRM system but will also describe its commercial roll out in Spain
Axión
is a broadcasting and transport networks operator and a service provider for
both digital and analogue radio and television, mobile and fixed phone, as well
as other communication services. Following its parent company, TDF, Axión has
collaborated in the impulse of Digital Radio as the only independent operator
who possesses a mediumwave broadcasting network.
Last
year, Axión took part with Cadena Ser, the University of the Basque Country and
the equipment’s supplier Vimesa in broadcasting DRM tests. These began last
June from Pozuelo tower (Madrid University of Vigo , Axión initiated broadcasting in DRM at Zamora
------
Decision Extends HCJB’s Shortwave Broadcasts; New DRM Service Starts
HCJB
Global Voice in Ecuador has
been granted an extension to continue using its shortwave radio antennas that
are scheduled for dismantling and removal from the mission’s international
transmission site near Pifo, a town 18 miles east of Quito
The
extension postpones, for at least six months, removals that the station agreed
to two years earlier with the Quito Airport Corporation (CORPAQ) to make way
for a new international airport. Once the new facility is completed, some of
the shortwave station’s antenna towers could obstruct the approach of landing
planes. “Specifically, this means that
we can continue broadcasting on two shortwave frequencies to Brazil Brazil Brazil
The
mission agreed that 30 towers would be removed by December 2007. The first
phase of dismantling, initiated in early 2006, saw 18 towers lowered. HCJB
Global’s engineering staff was poised to remove 12 more towers in the second
phase. But Weber was informed that CORPAQ granted the mission’s request for
continued use of those 12 towers, along with 18 others that will not impede
approaching aircraft. “It also means we
can continue with test transmissions of digital shortwave signals to Europe and
other countries while opening the way to digital shortwave broadcasting to Brazil Curitiba
(Source:
HCJB Global via Radio Netherlands
------
Welcome to New Associate Member
Galcom International
The
NASB is pleased to welcome its newest associate member, Galcom
International. Galcom is perhaps
best-known for manufacturing small fix-tuned radio receivers used by many
religious broadcasters around the world.
Rev. Allan McGuirl of Galcom will be at the 2008 NASB Annual Meeting in Cary
Galcom
International can be contacted at 115
Nebo Road , Hamilton , Ontario CANADA
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VT Communications on the Move
News
release from VT Communications
NASB associate member VT Communications moved their London Head
Office to the
|
The
Blue Fin building boasts a carbon emissions rating that is the lowest possible
for a deep-plan office in London
110
The
telephone and fax numbers will remain the same:
Tel: +44 (0)20 7969 0000
Fax: +44 (0)20 7396 6221
Tel: +44 (0)20 7969 0000
Fax: +44 (0)20 7396 6221
We have organised a temporary
redirection service with Royal Mail to ensure we receive any late postal
deliveries. We will be organising tours
of our Media Management Centre in due course. Please let your VTC Account
Manager know if are interested in visiting.
If you have any further questions or queries concerning our move, please
contact your VTC Account Manager or Laura Luckett (Head of Marketing and Communications)
on +44 (0)20 7344 5777 or email at: laura.luckett@vtplc.com.
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Farewell to
Beth Shalom Center Radio
Andrey Nekrasov of NASB associate
member Beth Shalom Center Radio informs us about some big changes in their
church and radio ministry. In January
this year, during a board meeting, the organization was renamed Beth Shalom
Media, and they have re-focused their radio ministry. They will no longer be involved in shortwave
radio. Their main goal is to reach out
to non- believers (Russian-speaking immigrants in the U.S. and people in Russia Cary May 8 and 9 and he
will be visiting Russian churches in Charlotte ,
North Carolina
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World
Harvest Radio Prepares to Expand Service to the Caribbean and Latin
America
March 15th, 2008 - US
religious broadcaster and NASB member World Harvest Radio is installing a
sixth transmitter at WHRI, its shortwave station in South Carolina South
America . The transmitter is already on site. The costs of
installation are around $100,000. Once on the air, the cost of operation is
estimated to be around $10,000 per month or about $120,000 for the first year.
(Source:
LeSea Broadcasting via Andy Sennitt of Radio Netherlands
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KAIJ Signs Off
George
McClintock has informed NASB Secretary-Treasurer Dan Elyea that member station
KAIJ (Two if by Sea Broadcasting) has signed off and will not be returning to
the air. George has applied for his own shortwave station near Nashville , Tennessee
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KTWR Celebrates 30th Anniversary
Shortwave radio station KTWR in Agana, Guam – a member of NASB -- held its 30th anniversary celebration with a fiesta at the station from 3 to 5 pm on 12 April. On 13 April, author and international Christian speaker Woodrow Kroll spoke at the station. The public was welcomed on those days. Kroll's “Back to the Bible” broadcasts are heard daily on about 1,000 radio stations in theUS and another 100
stations in Canada Asia
and the South Pacific and in more than 70 countries. The public is welcome on
these days.
(Source: Pacific Daily News via Andy Sennitt of RadioNetherlands
Shortwave radio station KTWR in Agana, Guam – a member of NASB -- held its 30th anniversary celebration with a fiesta at the station from 3 to 5 pm on 12 April. On 13 April, author and international Christian speaker Woodrow Kroll spoke at the station. The public was welcomed on those days. Kroll's “Back to the Bible” broadcasts are heard daily on about 1,000 radio stations in the
(Source: Pacific Daily News via Andy Sennitt of Radio
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EDXC Conference 2008 to be Held in Vaasa, Finland
EDXC
Conference 2008 to be held in Vaasa ,
Finland
Risto Vahakainu of the Finnish DX Association provides the following update on the 2008 European DX Council (EDXC) Conference. The NASB is an observer member of the EDXC.
The conference will be held 5-7 September inVaasa , Finland
The conference web pages are at www.netikka.net/edxc2008. The pages include prices of the conference packages, including accommodation at the hotel as well as without accommodation (for those willing to use other options). However, all accommodation reservation to the conference Hotel Silveria shall be made through the FDXA, as the room reservation has been centralized to us.
The pages include a description of an optional post-conference tour. There were several options for this tour, and voting was conducted to determine which would be the most popular option. The majority of potential attendees were interested in visiting theBaltic states .
Risto writes: We have then investigated the possibility of having a group flight to or fromVilnius , Lithuania Vilnius back to Helsinki
(about 650 kms) can book a flight on their own from Vilnius
The preliminary plan:
Sun 7th of September: Leave Vaasa, Finland in the afternoon, either by train or by bus. A ferry toTallinn ,
Estonia Tallinn
Mon 8th of September: A look at the old section ofTallinn Riga Riga , Latvia Riga Riga
Tue 9th of September: A little bit of time still inRiga Vilnius Vilnius Vilnius
activities (visit to a radio station, visit to the TV tower), but full details are not yet available. Overnight inVilnius
Risto Vahakainu of the Finnish DX Association provides the following update on the 2008 European DX Council (EDXC) Conference. The NASB is an observer member of the EDXC.
The conference will be held 5-7 September in
The conference web pages are at www.netikka.net/edxc2008. The pages include prices of the conference packages, including accommodation at the hotel as well as without accommodation (for those willing to use other options). However, all accommodation reservation to the conference Hotel Silveria shall be made through the FDXA, as the room reservation has been centralized to us.
The pages include a description of an optional post-conference tour. There were several options for this tour, and voting was conducted to determine which would be the most popular option. The majority of potential attendees were interested in visiting the
Risto writes: We have then investigated the possibility of having a group flight to or from
The preliminary plan:
Sun 7th of September: Leave Vaasa, Finland in the afternoon, either by train or by bus. A ferry to
Mon 8th of September: A look at the old section of
Tue 9th of September: A little bit of time still in
activities (visit to a radio station, visit to the TV tower), but full details are not yet available. Overnight in
Wed 10th of
September: The bus to Tallinn Helsinki
This tour will be offered for a price of 390 euros. This will include transportation, three nights in good hotels (double room including breakfast, extra for those wanting to have a single room) and dinners on Monday and Tuesday. The price for those taking a flight fromVilnius
We would be very pleased, if all who are interested in joining this tour, would contact us as soon as possible. Please write to risto.vahakainu@helsinki.fi.
This tour will be offered for a price of 390 euros. This will include transportation, three nights in good hotels (double room including breakfast, extra for those wanting to have a single room) and dinners on Monday and Tuesday. The price for those taking a flight from
We would be very pleased, if all who are interested in joining this tour, would contact us as soon as possible. Please write to risto.vahakainu@helsinki.fi.
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NASB Mailbag
A
new shortwave station, KTMI, has a construction permit from the FCC and is
trying to get on the air this summer in Oregon
Martin
Clancy, Midlands Engineer at RTE Ireland (martin.clancy@rte.ir), writes: I am writing in relation to some spares we
have for radio transmitters. We have 12
NEC 10KW VHF transmitters which use the 4cx15000 tubes. We also have a large number of filters and
combiners, and a large number of other radio tubes – Eimacs, etc. We have surplus spares from 100kw
Continental, and surplus spares for a 600kw LW Continental transmitter. We are located in Ireland
Thomas
Witherspoon (thomas@SWLing.com) writes: I have created a website to encourage
families and children to listen to shortwave broadcasts. Please take a
look at: http://www.SWLing.com.
look at: http://www.SWLing.com.
New AWR relay location
Dr. Adrian Peterson, DX Editor of NASB member Adventist World Radio, reports that a new relay location has just been implemented. AWR is now on relay from the Issoudun site inFrance
1630 - 1700 UTC 17575 kHz 250 kW Somali toSomalia
1700 - 1800 17575 250 Oromo toEthiopia
Dr. Adrian Peterson, DX Editor of NASB member Adventist World Radio, reports that a new relay location has just been implemented. AWR is now on relay from the Issoudun site in
1630 - 1700 UTC 17575 kHz 250 kW Somali to
1700 - 1800 17575 250 Oromo to
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NASB Members:
Adventist World Radio
Assemblies of Yahweh
EWTN Global Catholic Radio
WEWN
Family Stations Inc.
Far East Broadcasting Co.
Fundamental Broadcasting
Network
La Voz de Restauracion
Broadcasting, Inc.
Le Sea Broadcasting Corp.
Radio Miami
Trans World Radio
World Christian Broadcasting
NASB
Associate Members:
Comet North
America
Continental Electronics
Corporation
Galcom International
George Jacobs &
Associates
Good Friends Radio Network
Hatfield and Dawson Consulting
Engineers
HCJB World Radio
IBB
TCI International, Inc.
TDF
TDP
Thomson Inc.
VT Communications
National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters
Ph: (863)
763-0281 Fax: (863) 763-8867 E-mail:
nasbmem@rocketmail.com
