NASWA Journal Columns

Flashsheet #199, November 20, 2005

Editor: Ray Bauernhuber

Next Deadline: Sunday, November 27, 2005 at 1700 UTC (1200 EST).

NOTE NEW DEADLINE — NOTE NEW DEADLINE

All loggings to be sent to me at:

dxradio@webtv.net or by ‘snail mail’ to: 151-64 18th Avenue Whitestone, NY 11357-3102 USA.

Special DXpedition Report:

From: Rich D’Angelo Date: November 17, 2005 Re: French Creek State Park DXpedition No. 22 (November 13, 14 and 15, 2005)

Equipment: Ten-Tec RX-340 and a Drake R-8B, 500-foot wire essential north and a Bob Montgomery Active Antenna

After a nine month break between DXpeditions, it was time to venture up to French Creek for our first DXpedition of the new DX season. Although the weather was excellent, the park was overrun with folks enjoying the great fall weather, DX conditions were less than optimal.

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Tropical Loggings, November 2005

Please note the new postal address. The email address remains unchanged.

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NASWA Awards, November 2005

British Commonwealth DXer

There has been some confusion over what is required for this award. The NASWA Awards Program states that the Senior British Commonwealth DX’er Award is for verification of at least one shortwave broadcast station in each of 30 broadcast countries that are or have belonged to the British Commonwealth. The Master British Commonwealth DX’er is awarded for 40 broadcast countries.

The following is a list of the current 53 Member Countries of the British Commonwealth (Additional Broadcast Countries that are a part of the Member Countries are shown parenthetically). Additional information may be found at their web site: www.thecommonwealth.org

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Shortwave Center, October 2005

Happy October! We have for your reading pleasure a selection of interesting articles on varied topics covering the shortwave scene from sister publications–and me. That means that once again we haven’t anything to publish from you this month. Apparently, my attempts to encourage you to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) have been met with a giant collective yawn. Whst must I do to get you to contribute your intellectual property? Sit in your kitchens, eating and drinking everything in your refrigerators and belching continuously until you relent and say, “OK, I’ll write, I’ll write”? (Does create a rather unpleasant picture, doesn’t it?) So let’s avoid such a travesty and let me have your contribution to this effort forthwith. Remember, I have access to the club membership list which includes addresses–and I have gassed up the automobile.

First this month, with the various announcements at major consumer electronics shows in Berlin and Amsterdam of a concerted rollout of consumer receivers and new Digital Radio Mondiale services targeting France, Germany and the Benelux countries by December, we reprint an excellent article from the March 2005 issue of the bulletin of the Worldwide DX Club explaining in some detail and critically “handicapping” these early efforts and future prospects.

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Easy Listening, October 2005

More Podcasting News

Podcasting certainly appears to be a “sticky” innovation in Internet-delivered audio; I’ve spoken with several longtime shortwave listeners, most of whom were skeptics when Internet audio required you to be tethered to a computer, and they find podcasting to be a convenient way to listen to international broadcasts at times of their choosing.

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Technical Topics, September 2005

BPL: Some Good News?

Over the past couple of years this column has reported on NASWA’s effort to head off interference from Broadband over Power Line (BPL) technology to shortwave reception. NASWA filed comments with the FCC pointing out the danger that this technology posed for the shortwave broadcast listener. Most of NASWA’s recommendations to the FCC were ignored as the Commission charged ahead with its preconceived conclusion that BPL was the answer to increasing competition in the broadband access universe.

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Kim’s Column, September 2005

Shortwave as the failsafe

First, the government of Cote d’Ivoire evicted Radio France International was evicted from its FM frequencies because of its reporting of domestic Ivorian news. Then it managed to “interrupt” RFI on the Canal Satellite Horizons DTH service, which is received in about 25,000 households in the country. And, so, RFI has decided to increase–actually, to restore–its shortwave output to Africa.

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Shortwave Center, June 2005

DRM in the Nation’s Capital

By Richard A. D’Angelo

On 5 May 2005 (Cinco de Mayo no less for you party types), Ralph Brandi, Tracy Wood and myself were invited by Jeff White of the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters (NASB) to attend their scheduled meeting on Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) in Washington, DC. Ulis Fleming and Jeff had been in contact about involving members of the shortwave listening hobby community with the introduction of DRM in North America. It was through the efforts of Ulis and Jeff that the invitations came for us to go to Washington. When our nation’s capital calls, NASWA responds. Ulis couldn’t make the Washington trip having opted to keep peaceful family relations by visiting the relatives in Costa Rica. Travel to warm weather and beautiful beaches of this Central American country was a difficult assignment but Ulis was up to the task! Meanwhile the rest of us descended on the nation’s capital for a very interesting day getting educated about DRM, meeting many of the key players, hearing the many implementation issues and learning the status of introducing DRM as a viable method of shortwave broadcasting in Europe, North America and around the world.

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Technical Topics, December 2004

FCC Publishes BPL Report and Order

That thud you just heard was the other shoe dropping. An anonymous wag once said, “The devil is in the details.” After reviewing the FCC’s Report and Order on BPL, it is clear that the devil is alive and well and living at the FCC.

NASWA, individual shortwave listeners and radio amateurs for that matter had most of their BPL comments ignored or rejected by the FCC. About the best thing that can be said is that the FCC did acknowledge international broadcasting as a licensed service and at least did read NASWA’s comments. On a positive note, the FCC will move ahead with a national database of BPL operators with interference complaint contact points by telephone and e-mail. BPL operators are required to notch certain frequencies to mitigate harmful interference and as a last resort to shut down equipment causing interference. Beyond that there is little good news.

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Technical Topics, November 2004

FCC Approves BPL Rules

On October 14, 2004 the FCC voted unanimously to issue rules to govern the deployment and operation of broadband power line (BPL) transmission systems. Even though those rules are as yet to be finalized and published, the FCC plunged ahead in their relentless campaign to see to it that BPL is given a firm nudge by the government in spite of many demonstrations that BPL technology will disrupt reception of shortwave broadcasting and amateur radio services.

The FCC said to their engineering folks that they trusted the final rules would provide a viable mechanism for resolving interference complaints from radio amateurs. Nothing was said about protecting the rights of citizens and visitors to access foreign broadcasts beamed to the USA.

We haven’t seen a railroad operation like this since the great golden spike was plunged into the sands of Utah a century and a half ago. The FCC cheerleaders were not deterred by over six thousand comments filed in opposition to the concept.

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