"Reactivate the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) shortwave rotating transmitter, the largest in Africa"
"Add three new languages to its broadcast lineup: Chinese Mandarin, Bahasa Indonesia, and Portuguese, bringing the total to 11 languages"
From the DRM Consortium website:
Solar Grove Solutions a leading innovator in consumer electronics based in Florida, USA, known for making accessible devices, has just announced the commencement of manufacturing its All-Band (MW, SW, VHF – FM) Analog and Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) receiver model N88 in India. This is a significant step towards delivering cutting-edge technology at accessible prices to a global audience.
The N88 is developed in close collaboration with CML Microcircuits (UK) Ltd, renowned for their expertise in mixed-signal integrated circuits, and Alongside Tech, LLC (USA) that is providing design and application development. Douglas Gregson from Alongside Tech, a recent member of the DRM consortium, says that “this revolutionary radio boasts four key, game-changing differentiating features. They are: small size, low power consumption, as N88 it extends the 3x AA battery life, low cost and seamless integration with a dedicated Android app opening the way to data applications and additional features.
“We are incredibly excited to bring this innovative DRM radio to market, manufactured right here in India,” said Mr. Templeton, CEO of Solar Grove Solutions. “This project is a testament to the power of international collaboration, combining the expertise of CML Microcircuits and Alongside Tech with Solar Grove Solutions’ commitment to delivering exceptional products at accessible prices. Our partnership with Shemish Grove Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., our affiliated company in India, has been instrumental in making this vision a reality.”
For the DRM chairman N88 is “the kind of product made in India for Indians. It is thus fulfilling the DRM Consortium vision of offering a new kind of digital radio services at affordable prices, in line with the policy, ambition and tastes of each individual country adopting DRM.”
https://hobbyradio.se/ is now available. Terje Isberg (SK) is the developer behind DRM-Log Plotter software, and other DRM related analysis software. Terje passed away in 2022. He was a brilliant person, a polyglot (Swedish, German, English, Japanese), an incredible electrical engineer and an all-around great guy!
I had the great pleasure to spend several days in Terje's company in 2019 on a trip to Japan. One of my regrets was not being able to rescue his website - a must visit for radio and DRM enthusiasts.
I will help Mike by sending him files Terje sent me on a flash drive in 2021 - specifically to be able to maintain or rebuild his excellent website. I am so thankful to Mike for taking the time and energy to honor the memory and work of our friend Terje.
For those following the HFT "High Frequency Trading" on HFBC/Shortwave frequencies debate, I have news! The FCC has sided with legitimate users of the frequencies (eg. SW Broadcasters) this time! A win for #SWL
https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-25-70A1.pdf
Above: Image of emergency broadcast test 17700kHz coverage simulation
Lots of DRM activity going on in China!
It was reported via a Japanese listener on WOR that on 29 October 2024 an emergency broadcast test occurred on 17700 kHz in DRM mode, broadcasting weather in Sichuan Province.
<https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/VIoFE3zpt1H8ncTAlCY86A>
B24 DRM schedule of CNR release 8 November 2024:
Beijing 13825 kHz 0100-0900 30kW 175deg.
Dongfang 17770 kHz 0100-0900 30kW 16deg ID:27FA
Kunming 15180 kHz 0100-0400 0800-1100 30kW 32deg ID:3EB
17800 kHz 0400-0800 30kW 32deg ID:3EB
Urumuqi 9655 kHz 2200-0100 0800-1200 30kW 98deg ID:3FC
17830 kHz 0100-0800 30kW 98deg ID:3FC
Additional frequencies registered in HFCC B24 but not officially announced
Beijing 6030 kHz
Dongfang 11695 kHz (and possibly 21530 kHz)
Qiqhar 11990 kHz
13710 kHz
13850 kHz
It is thought that the Qiqhar transmitter has been converted to jamming. Also 21530 kHz (30kW 341deg Dongfang), which was registered as an irregular frequency in A24, is reported to have been still used in B24.
<https://cahcn.github.io/drm/>
Another set of frequencies using the CUC-ECDAV ID (corresponding to the Research Center for Radio-Television Digitization Engineering of the University of Communications of China) have been spotted on:
6185 kHz
7500 kHz
9500 kHz
11500 kHz
Lastly, on 2 November 2024 the ID DRM broadcast from Fuzhou was seen.
<https://kbysradio.wordpress.com/2024/11/03/%e4%b8%80%e5%91%a8%e7%ae%80%e6%8a%a5%ef%bc%882024-10-27-11-2%ef%bc%89/>
With all these frequencies and activity, we can hope that the great propagation conditions result in North American decoding for many of these signals!
