The "High-Frequency Parties" return!

You might remember our previous input on SWBC matters several years back. Now, with this pending application containing potentially "spurious emissions", we have decided to say our piece. We are known as the High-Frequency Parties, consisting of Benn Kobb, Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott and myself, Christopher Rumbaugh.

We're filing an objection with the FCC to an application for International Broadcast Station being proposed in Illinois. Do we want and support DRM? Of Course we do! Do we believe that latency arbitrage in International Shortwave Broadcast Bands is a deleterious intruder? You bet your sweet bippy we do! Read our take here.

Once again, antiquated rules are hindering radio technologies. In this case, latency arbitrage is certainly a reasonable use of radio waves - but it does not belong in-band with International Broadcast stations. International Broadcast bands are global-village shared public resources for the promotion of culture, ideas and mutual understanding - not encrypted financial trading data.

UPDATE 20200708 1830 UTC : Here is an article in Radioworld on the "High-Frequency Parties" objection filing.

The demise of Yahoo DRMNA list

UPDATE: Join our new Discussion Group!

Not sure what to do about the DRMNA list. I have downloaded all the emails of subscribers and have requested a download of the posts. In the meantime, please follow @drmna_info on Twitter and stay tuned. Groups.io wants $110 to transfer the group to them. With this domain and the associated costs, I'm not willing to pay that at this point. It is possible we can start up a DRMNA list there without transferring. That would require you all to subscribe (probably through some kind of invitation to your email).

WBCQ in the news

Reference this video from a Monticello Maine TV station. Allan Weiner of WBCQ is interviewed and (as previously reported) the funding is "World's Last Chance". This group aligns with Adventist movement, uses Hebrew derived names for God and Jesus and uniquely believes the world is flat.

In the video you will see some clips of the enormous ALLISS antenna being constructed as well as onsite buildings. This will be the first ALLISS installation in North America.

On the positive side, this will be a great DRM resource here in North America. On the negative side... I'll let you decide about the optics of an End Times, Flat Earth group being the spokespeople for North American DRM technology. Editorial comment: Ugh.

UPDATED: WINB and DRM

Please find below, Brother Zyg's VOACAP work related to WINB DRM testing (updated with information from Hans about their Rhombic being terminated). 

- DRMNA Admin

WINB reports : 

"We are testing in DRM 15670 kHz M-F 

try between 1100-1700 UTC"

Here is a preliminary view of the WINB 15670 kHz DRM coverage at 1600z for June 2018.  The coverage is for a receiver using only a 6 foot whip antenna.  Higher gain antennas may produce better results.

The WINB Rhombic antenna parameters are taken from the HFCC files.  Although the transmitter has been stated as "being rated for 15 kW", I'm using a conservative estimate of 10 kW DRM power for the plot. From SWL reports the transmitted bit rate has been monitored as being 8.28 kbps, which should help it to be decoded at lower signal levels.

A report in the DRM RX forum indicated that the signal was relatively strong in Newfoundland at this time but with deep fading and then disappeared some minutes later.  This agrees with the plot which shows the listeners location just on the edge of stronger signal coverage.  The propagation does move the stronger signal area eastwards as time progresses.  There were also reports from the UK and France at a little earlier time when the signal would have been at a somewhat higher level in those areas before moving eastwards.

On Friday, I monitored the KiwiSDR web network of receivers at 1600z and found 15670 kHz DRM "waterfall" signals in Houston, Miami (stronger), and Iceland (weak).  I did not encounter any DRM signals in Europe at that time, but Radio France International has a 500 kW broadcast from Issoudun, France, beaming south to Africa on the same frequency and at the same time!  There was also a much weaker, but still noticeable, signal in the Atlanta area (as received on my Kenwood R-1000 receiver and a long wire antenna).

The plot only shows signals that are stronger than S6 (on an S-meter).
Finally this coverage is for "normal" propagation conditions which just happen to have a zero solar sunspot number as we are in the bottom of the 11 year solar cycle.  Conditions have been less than normal in the past few days.


73,
-Zyg

RNZI moves to a one-transmitter operation

Sad news, but we may notice little change to their DRM service. RNZI has been a DRM mainstay for the Pacific and much of CONUS via their "feeder" system for the Pacific Islands.

"The move to a one-transmitter operation will result in a reduced service to current individual short-wave listeners in the region. RNZI will still broadcast in analogue short-wave for extensive periods of each day, but there won't be a 24 hour service as there has been. This is likely to be most felt during breakfast hours when we will need to broadcast a digital signal for relaying stations, rather than an analogue one."

More info RNZI's use of DRM may be found in an interview we did with Adrian Sainsbury in 2012.

Avion gets mixed reviews from DRMNAers

The Avion DR-1401 has been out awhile, and the overall word on the street is not great. As with the Newstar DR-111, the Avion can have firmware upgrades. Let's hope that improves the situation.

So far we have heard about units arriving fully-bricked and units with serious sensitivity issues. Analogue appears lackluster too.

Often it appears that the ergonomics of DRM receivers to date have been user-hostile at best. Perhaps only engineers make radios, not radio enthusiasts! It has been suggested that dongle based receivers to be used with mobiles and tablets may be the answer? I guess we need to wait and see.

NAB to forge ahead with daytime AM HD all-digital

DRM is not even on their radar. NAB is pushing for FCC approval of all-digital HD for daytime AM. Not that this is unexpected, but when you won't let superior technological competitors (DRM) even have a chance...Read more about it here.

By the way, where is the research? I haven't seen one thing about the technical details of these tests, other than anecdote. Show us the money details involved!

REE leaves shortwave (and DRM)

Well, another one bites the dust! They think everyone that cares already has satellite equipment.

"Radio Exterior de Spain suppress shortwave broadcasting in the next 15 October." 

"Therefore Exterior modernizes its radio emissions with better sound quality from zero hours, peninsular Spanish time, from the next day 15, offering its programming via satellite, Internet and DTT."  

So apparently one "modernizes radio emissions" by leaving radio?

Bad news from BBG

It looks like the worst for VOA and affiliated US government shortwave broadcasting. Per their recent report, the listening situation is dire - further causing reductions to most of these services. In addition, the axe falls for BBG using DRM:

"Digital shortwave, or Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM), is unlikely to become an established mass media distribution methodology in enough of the BBG’s current or future markets to justify the costs."

I suggest you  save yourself time, by reading this brief synopsis, but if you are into self-harm here is the full report. I'm beginning to think that shortwave in general and DRM in particular need some strong medicine to be successful, and FAST!

As a side note, the report indicates that India is backing away from it "wholesale" conversion to DRM. India has been touted as the one case where DRM could really make a difference. Let's hope that the writers of this report are just plain wrong on that score, but I have no reason to question their understanding of the situation.

sts."

More shortwave casualties in the Pacific (and around the world)

Bad news comes in threes. Radio Australia is about to be impacted by huge reductions which will leave Pacific islands without regional content. Here is an interesting article which lays out the cuts.

A week or so ago, I noted that Radio New Zealand schedule shows that they are reducing their DRM broadcasts that serve as feeders for local FMs on these same islands.

Why is it that none of the "smartest people" in the developed world are able to understand that they remain the privileged around the globe? Just over one-third of the population of our "big blue marble" has Internet connectivity. The US government just made this same mistake with HR 4490 whereby IBB/BBG will be reducing shortwave.

I'm too small and too close to shortwave (a hobbyist) to be of any use to these wonks. Why isn't there outrage from on high? You'd think the old-time hawks in the US government would recognize these cuts for what they are - weakening our ability to spread the "gospel" of democracy and freedom. In addition, the cuts to services by our English speaking friends "down under" weaken their impact to Pacific island neighbors.

Ugh!

The fox to guard the hen house...

IBiquity's comments about why the FCC should allow all-digital with AM-HD IBOC. I'm for all-digital operations, but I'd like to see DRM get a crack at it!

Does anyone out there have access to any scientific research showing that AM-HD can survive the rigors of skywave propagation (even half as well as DRM30)?                            

-crickets-

That is what I thought! I call to your attention again a RadioWorld article I linked to last year.

Another one bites the dust...

R.I.P. WYFR

Will we see a "revival" or is it gone for good?

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.

"Why are they in such a hurry?"

UPDATE 20121023: Sign the petition to stop the destruction of Sackville!

"In the next few days the transmission lines that allow Canada to broadcast to the world will be taken down one by one. For more than 67 years Radio Canada International’s shortwave transmitters have guaranteed that Canada’s voice would be heard despite the Cold War, despite natural disasters, and Internet blocking. Now this efficient, cost effective communications tool will be dismantled by Canada’s public broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada." 

Read more at the RCI Action Committee Blog. They are asking concerned individuals to contact Canada’s Heritage Minister James Moore james.moore@parl.gc.ca and lodge their complaints.

Where is my multi-format receiver?

With several companies touting multi-format chipsets, why aren't we seeing any multi-format radios? DRM continues to suffer the Chicken or Egg problem. 

I'd love to see some manufacturer pony-up and build a nice analogue SW, AM, FM-RDS, DRM, HD (throw in Wifi too) set for the North American market. For that matter, it needs to have a solid external antenna connector (BNC) and be powered from AC or with batteries. Since I don't see any such device right now, we can check out these chipset manufacturers while we wait:

• STMicroelectronics

• Frontier Silicon

• Analog Devices

• NXP

NAB pushes for AM digitization tests in USA

NAB is interested in testing all-digital on the AM/MW band in the USA. I say the only way to be able to make the right decision as to what method is best for AM digitization is to permit DRM broadcasting on MW during this test phase. DRM  has been OK'd for SW by the FCC but iBiquity has locked down AM and FM bands with the IBOC HD format.

Problem is, iBiquity HD AM has been shown to be a real dog, with many stations attempting to use it shutting it off due to poor performance. The iBiquity HD AM simply can't stand up to the rigors of skywave propagation. DRM on the other hand is ideal for groundwave and skywave conditions alike. HD is fine for FM but DRM30 is THE solution for digital conversion of the LW, MW and SW bands, hands down! We have years of research worldwide to prove this point. Who can we rally to challenge iBiquity on AM in the United States?

CVC in Chile Goes Dark

Although I have not heard them for several years, Radio Cristiana cvc la voz from Chile is calling it quits. Once a serious DRM experimenter, Christian Vision cites dropping listener numbers amongst its reasons for ending shortwave broadcasting entirely. More here courtesy of Alokesh.

Fighting Being Sacked

Alf Walker of the Sackville transmitter site

Here is a link courtesy of Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott regarding the ongoing battle to bring back Sackville and the CBC. The link contains both a news story from the Telegraph-Journal of Saint John and a fine Radio New Zealand National interview of CBC journalist Wojtek Gwiazda. O Canada indeed!

No good news from Australia!

I was trying to get over the news of the imminent break-up of the Wiggles, (just saw them in Portland and they were AWESOME!) but now this!

Nigel Holmes responded to my inquiry about RA DRM and indicated that one of Australia's digital partners is concerned about the prospect of Radio Australia in DRM!

WHAT?
This may stem from a lack of understanding of both mode and audience. Radio Australia is known throughout the shortwave community as an excellent international broadcaster. Someone forgot to tell those working on digital conversion in-country that
Radio Australia running DRM on International Short Wave Frequencies is no competition to local Australian VHF/UHF digital services!

Nigel commented that "If RA gets up a DRM service from Shepparton you'll hear about it..." I appreciate his openness and hope to hear good news in the near future.