Guest post by Brendan in AZ

This was posted to the DRMNA Yahoo Group but is too heart-felt not to be posted here too! Do we have an answer for Brendan's final question? Who will spear-head our regulation change request with the FCC? -Regards, Fibber admin for DRMNA.

"For those of us who have logged TDF transmissions from Montsinery, this 
is a sad day. Yesterday was the final DRM transmission from there, The 
Disco Palace on 17875 at 2000UTC. Yesterday would have been the final 
day for any analog transmissions as well, since we have been listening 
to the last broadcasts of any type from there.

DRM from Montsinery has been like having the beam directed towards me - 
which is the truth actually. On both the TDP Radio and Disco Palace 
transmissions the azimuth of their signal was only a few degrees off, 6 
in fact, of being pointed directly at my location. Most days the 
propagation gods smiled on me, and reception was perfect no matter what 
equipment I used. Even going up in frequency for experiments was not a 
problem, all I had to do was re-tune, and there they were, booming in. 
It was DRM as it is meant to be, "armchair" copy, bringing the world a 
little closer and in higher fidelity.

North American "Blow Torch" to be extinguished

Sad news indeed!

http://www.franceguyane.fr/regions/guyane/mauvaises-ondes-a-montsinery-153123.php

Translation here. 

See our previous stories about this site.

Use of DRM as a utility mode

I don't know if you have been following the digital tests going on over The Mighty KBC, but they have gotten me to thinking of other uses for DRM. I've always felt that some transmissions on HF such as NAVTEX, SITOR, WEFAX and VOLMET could be incorporated into robust DRM transmissions instead.

Although there have been some tests (TDF sending photos and BBC's use of Journaline) I have never seen or heard true utility broadcasts being tried or tested.

Moreover, it seems that many of these traditional services are showing their age. Recently USCG threatened to eliminate some of their weather related HF services to which they received significant hate mail. The need is still there!

I recently read that the German military (their equivalent to AFN) were considering DRM for ships at sea and remote military installations. Why not and perhaps AFN might consider the same thing, as they seem to be phasing out the SSB feeders they have used for so long.

So once again, DRM offers the technology for service replacement, yet it is being largely ignored. OK, there is only one stand-alone receiver on the market. That could change if manufacturers thought they'd have a market. Any ideas how we can encourage these entities to investigate some of these options?

DX-Antwerp Special Broadcast for North America

2000-2100 UTC on 17875 kHz 20120512

Some fun! Three stalwart DRMNAers got themselves "announced" during the broadcast. Nice work to everyone involved in this fun transmission! Where are the mid and East continent DRMNAers? We got the West covered. Let us hope that Ludo and the TDP crew allow this sort of "special event" to occur again soon!

Will we lose both Sackville and Bonaire DRM transmitters?

Latest news from CBC/RCI is that Canada is about to leave the Shortwave business entirely for the web. If Sackville NB closes (and RNW's Bonaire site is closing) this will leave our favorite blowtorch site Montsinery to pick-up all the pieces. It seems inevitable that Shortwave is doomed, analogue or DRM.

Stay tuned [um, er, skip that] check their website for details.

Target Brazil : Montsinery with Radio Nacional de Brasilia

Gorgeous reception and music! This is what DRM is all about. What was the bitrate (16.56 kbps, AAC+, P-Stereo)? Thanks for the video Rafael.

Brazil update from Rafael Diniz:

" It's clear that Brazil will choose it's Digital Radio Standard soon. Sandro Alex, a Brazilian deputy member of the Digital Radio comission said the standard will be announced in the first semester of 2012. In this context the French Guiana TDF station is conducting DRM trials on different frequencies with the transmissions beamed to Brazil. The trials are using "Radio Nacional de Brasilia FM" audio and also Brazilian related images in a slideshow service. It's great to see that the signal can be received by consumer DRM receivers inside my home. Some DRM enthusiasts all over Brazil are able to catch dropout free DRM reception with superb audio quality. Here are some videos of TDF reception made this week (using consumer receivers or SDRs).

Using consumer receivers (Morphy Richards): [see video above]

Using SDR-based receivers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfsloYG69-c

http://www.qsl.net/py4zbz/hamdream/DRMtdf.htm "

Thanks Rafael. We are all pulling for you! It is nice to have some conclusive evidence (in the form of reception videos) why DRM is a great solution for Brazil's digital plans!

UPDATE: Find even more links about this at Digital Radio Mondiale - Brasil