Thursday, April 27, 2006

POST CARD WITH AD OF BBC HINDI


Recently India Post released a meghdoot post card with advertisement
of British Broadcasting Corp, Hindi service. Have a look at :
http://www.geocities.com/alokeshgupta/bbc_hindi_pc.jpg

Background : India Post introduced Meghdoot Post Card on September 2,
2002. Meghdoot is priced at 25 paise that is half the cost of the
regular post card. The writing space available on the address side of
the regular post card is made available for advertising in multicolor
in case of Meghdoot. The rate of the advertisement is Rs. 2 per card
and the minimum order for print is 100,000 cards. Meghdoot is printed
by Security Printing Press at Hyderabad in sheets of 8 cards, although
some have been supplied to post offices by the press in sheets of 4
and pairs of 2 cards.

Being a postal stationery article with an advertisement, its area of
distribution is determined by the advertiser, as its design and copy.
In addition to the post offices in the area of its distribution the
Meghdoot is also made available in limited quantity of 2000 cards at
select 8 philatelic bureaus that handle postal stationery, namely
Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, and
Mumbai (Alokesh Gupta, New Delhi, India, radiostamps yg via DXLD)

Saturday, April 22, 2006

AIR CHENNAI CELEBRATE THE MARCONI’S BIRTH DAY



Dear DXers, World`s First Tamil language DX program `Vaanoli Ulagam`
(Radio World) going to celebrate the Marconi`s Birth Day. For that
purpose, they are going to broadcast a special program on 23-04-2006
(Sunday). On that day program Marconi, voice cuts will be broadcast
in English. So do not miss the program.

Those who are want to get the special limited edition World Smallest
QSL card (6x3.5CM), send your Reception Report with 1 New IRC to the
following address.

N. C. Gnanaprakasam,
Vanoli Ulagam
Thiraikadal Adaivaram Thamiizh Naatham
All India Radio
Kamarajar Salai
Chennai 600004
Tamilnadu, India

The schedule of the Tamil DX Program `Vaanoli Ulagam`
(Radio World) is as follows:

Sundays between 1115-1215 UT (for about 10 minutes)

To Sri Lanka:
1053 kHz Tuticorin
15260 & 17860 Delhi (Kingsway)
15050 Delhi (Khampur)

To SE Asia:
13710 Bangalore
15770 Aligarh
17810 Panaji (Ardic DX Club, Chennai, India,
http://www.dxersguide.blogspot.com DX LISTENING DIGEST)

Monday, April 17, 2006

Amateur radio operators meet

Fifteen months after their heroic exploits in the aftermath of the tsunami that claimed several hundred lives and wreaked unprecedented havoc in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a team of amateur radio operators is back in Port Blair.

Recognising the critical role played by the Hams in the emergency communication between Port Blair and the mainland after the earthquake-triggered tidal waves hit the islands, the government has agreed to sponsor the "Hamfest (VU4) India 2006" from April 18 to 20.

The ministries of information technology and tourism are sponsoring the festival along with the Andaman and Nicobar administration. Lieutenant-governor Ram Kapse will inaugurate the event, which is also supported by ministries of defence, home affairs and human resources development.

The chairman of the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Amateur Radio, Mr S. Suri, said the members of the "Dx-pedition" in Port Blair in December 2004 mobilised their resources to provide humanitarian service to support essential rescue and relief operations. "[Since then] several requests were forwarded to NIAR from international amateur radio organisations, ‘Dx’ forums and individual Hams to organise a suitable event in a befitting manner to highlight the benefits of amateur radio for social and scientific development," he said.

"The services of these amateur radio operators were appreciated by several agencies at home and abroad," Mr Suri added. "The conference will serve as a forum for presentation and discussion on emergency communication and latest technological developments in amateur radio."

A participant, Bharathi Prasad, told this newspaper from Port Blair that about 38 Hams from Italy, Germany, Japan, the United States, Poland and France are participating besides 60 Hams from India. She says one of the several objectives of the festival will be to promote tourism. Ms Prasad and four others, including her husband and son, were in Port Blair when the tsunami struck.

Author: Ramesh Ramachandran
Source: The Asian Age.

FM radio broadcasters have opposed the satellite radio company WorldSpace’s proposal to offer terrestrial radio broadcast. They have written to the mi

FM radio broadcasters have opposed the satellite radio company WorldSpace’s proposal to offer terrestrial radio broadcast. They have written to the ministry of information and broadcasting against issuing ‘terrestrial repeater’ licence to WorldSpace.

A terrestrial repeater will enable WorldSpace to provide its broadcast in cars, directly impacting the business model of FM radio operators. Satellite radio, on the other hand, beams signals directly to home via satellites.
Currently, there are no guidelines for regulating satellite radio in India, while FM radio is highly regulated and has gradually opened up after suffering heavy losses under the licence fee regime.

The Association of Radio Operators of India (AROI) in its letter said, “We fail to understand why government of India is working on WorldSpace application, even when proper guidelines on satellite radio are still not available.”

According to sources, WorldSpace moved its application for terrestrial repeater in one month. “It is trying to get licence for L-Band terrestrial repeater (1452; 1492 MHz) ) from I&B ministry,” sources said.

Once the licence is provided, WorldSpace will beam its radio stations including news, sports and music stations directly to listeners in cars, thereby making FM radio non-viable. Registering protest, Rajiv Mishra, coordinator, AROI and CEO of Radio Masti said FM Radio in India is in its nascent stage and the broadcasters had paid exorbitant one-time-entry fee. “Government will have to protect FM radio industry for at least next 10 years. The ministry is already making plans to welcome new players into the terrestrial radio arena, directly threatening the existence of the FM radio licencees. This is not acceptable,” he said.

Expressing concern, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in its consultation paper said, “Absence of a licensing policy causes several problems, including absence of a ‘level playing field’ with respect to FM operators, regulatory uncertainty on the part of the existing and potential satellite radio operators and haphazard development of this important industry.”

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=123662

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

The latest cause celebre: Community Radio

The latest cause celebre
BY SEVANTI NINAN
'Media Matters', Apr 09, 2006

FOR more than a decade some of us have been pleading the cause of
community radio, lobbying for a policy that gives licences to local groups
to run their own radio stations. All these years neither the media at
large nor bloggers nor civil society have shown the slightest interest in
the subject. It simply never caught on as an idea. Without any public
demand, the government has dragged its feet, coming up with a policy
only designed to hamstring the whole effort.

But six weeks ago somebody discovered that a little guy in Bihar has
been running a radio station out of a village in Vaishali district and
poof! You had an instant cause celebre. It was illegal but so what? The
poor fellow did not even know it was illegal. Such enterprise in rural
Bihar! The blogosphere was ecstatic. "Raghav FM Mansoorpur 1 rocks."
Everybody copied the story off the BBC site, photographs and all. CNN-IBN
picked it up. The Times of India wrote about it. A blogger in Canada
celebrated the idea. Google sprouted many pages on the subject as all
kinds of bloggers got into the act. Widespread ignorance on the policy in
this matter only served to whip up a huge romanticisation of Radio
Raghav FM Mansoorpur 1. The story acquired a life of its own.

SENSATIONAL STORY

Admittedly it was a wonderful story. The creator of this FM station,
Raghav Mahato, was a mechanic in a village repair shop which didn't even
have a pucca roof. In 2003 he created a radio transmitter out of
locally made battery-powered tape recorders, some wires and a cordless
microphone. He hooked the transmitter to an antenna atop a bamboo pole on the
third floor of a hospital. His buddy Sambhu was the radio jockey.
"Namaskaar, main apka dost Sambhu. Aap sun rahe hain, FM Mansoorpur 1"
(Namaskar I am your friend Sambhu. You are listening to FM Mansoorpur 1).
They played Bhojpuri, Bollywood and devotional songs over this FM
transmission and delivered messages on AIDS. That made Mahato an instant good
guy for the media.

The first story said he earned Rs. 2,000 a month from his venture.
Since the BBC reporter had been there and taken pictures, his story was
possibly the most accurate. He said Mahato earned Rs. 2,000 as a
electronic repair mechanic and ran the radio for free. There was no mention
initially about his schooling but as the story got romanticised he became
"an illiterate mechanic". Then he became "an electronic whiz". The most
saleable detail was the station's cost: Rs. 50. It instantly became
known as the one-dollar radio station. And thereafter, as "the world's
cheapest radio".

The very first story, on bhojpuria.com, had drawn, amidst a lot of
gush, a single dry comment from a Prasar Bharati executive pointing out
that the station was illegal and punishable with imprisonment. It did not
dampen anyone's ardour. As the story flew around cyberspace, more
journalists discovered Radio Raghav, and the story grew bigger. What was the
range of his transmitter? The first story said 15 km. The BBC website
said 20 km. Then it was "hundreds of villages" and "thousands of
people". Hundreds of villages in a 15 km radius? Raghav's fame, you were told,
had spread to neighbouring districts. Strange then that the District
Magistrate of Vaishali only heard of this three-year-old radio station
when the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in Delhi informed him that
there was an illegal radio station running in his district.

THE AFTERMATH

Five weeks after the story broke, nemesis dawned. Government officials
swooped down upon FM Mansoorpur 1, seized its equipment and lodged an
FIR against its owner for violating the Telegraph Act. Talk of
unintended media power! That triggered another torrent of headlines. In Delhi
Sagarika Ghose railed against the closure on CNN-IBN. The channel's
reporter said, "CNN-IBN was the first to report when the station was set up
with an investment of just Rs. 50 rupees." That's a bit rich
considering that the radio station is three years old, and CNN-IBN just over
three months old.

Media audiences have discovered activism, and they are not going to let
go so easily. So what if India does not allow unlicensed private radio?
The Hindustan reported that NRIs from England now want to fork out the
money needed to pay for a license for Mahato. Who says he is eligible
for a licence? Who cares if he isn't? Don't let the facts get in the way
of a cause. We are told that Reporters Without Borders has said that FM
Mansoorpur1 should be granted a temporary licence to allow it to
broadcast. Really? On what grounds?

The community radio movement has been lobbying for at least three years
to change current government policy which only allows educational
institutions to run community radio. It has had no success, but who knows
Raghav Mahato may do the trick.

http://www.hindu.com/mag/2006/04/09/stories/2006040900160300.htm

Shortwave and DX meetings 2006

Hello everyone,

here is a list of bigger sw and dx meetings and gatherings of 2006 and
early 2007 (version 4). Updates and additions are most welcome, send
them
either to risto.vahakainu at helsinki.fi or directly to this list.

April 29-30
XXIV AIR DX Meeting 2006 (the annual meeting of Associazione Italiana
Radioascolto), Sacile near Pordenone, Italy. www.arpnet.it/air

May 5-7
The 50th anniversary and annual general meeting of Danish Short Wave
Club
International in Jutland, Denmark. www.dswci.org.

Jun 9-11
The AGM for the Swedish DX Federation "DX-Parlamentet" on the island of
Aland, Finland. www.sdxf.org.

Jul 28-30
The National Mexican DX Meeting in Ascension, Chihuahua, Mexico.
www.wrmi.net.

Jul 28-30
The summer meeting of the Finnish DX Association at Korpilahti in
Central
Finland near Jyv?skyl?. www.sdxl.org.

Aug 19
The Madison-Milwaukee Get-Together for DXers and Radio Enthusiasts will
take place on Saturday, August 19, in the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) area.
Additional details are pending, and we hope to make a full announcement
in
March. E-mail: DXing2 at aol.com.

Sep 22-24
The annual IRCA Convention (International Radio Club of America) in
Seaside, Oregon, USA at the Comfort Inn. mwdxer at webtv.net

Sep 30
The 50th anniversary of the Swedish DX Federation in Stockholm, Sweden.
www.sdxf.org.

Oct 19-22
The European DX Conference by European DX Council in St. Petersburg,
Russia. www.edxc.org.

best 73's

Risto Vahakainu
The Finnish DX Association
--
Risto V?h?kainu
koordinaattori
Helsingin yliopisto
Tietotekniikkaosasto/sovelluspalvelut
p. 09-191 23133
mp. 050-529 2909

Win a trip to Germany for two people: DW Radio

What do you associate with Germany? Win a trip to Germany for two people!

Germany is hosting the soccer World Cup this summer. For this reason Deutsche Welle is offering its listeners a chance to win a trip to this country for two people!

All you have to do is tell us what you associate with Germany.

Write to us at Deutsche Welle, English Service, Postcode 53110 Bonn, Germany. Or email us at english@dw-world.de. You can also send a fax to 49-228-429-4583. Good luck!

Previous Winners of the monthly Newslink current affairs quiz:

January:
Bennaboy Mustafa - Morocco
Hossen Abed Ali - Bangladesh
Suzy Taylor - Canada
Angelina Kissiva - Tanzania
Juandi Siahaan - Indonesia

Radio Winner:
George Subramaniam - Australia

Congratulations!

"Pocket Beijing 2005 - 2006", is available for free:CRI

Chinastic has just released the "Pocket Beijing 2005 - 2006", a guide to make your stay in Beijing much easier and happier.
With "Pocket Beijing" in your pocket, you won't be lost in the giant capital city of the Middle Kingdom. Your trip will be much smoother than those who don't have one in their pocket. You will find yourself unlike a first-time visitor, though you may indeed be one.

"Pocket Beijing" can be your best guide even after you have just landed at the Beijing airport. It helps you catch the right shuttle bus or taxi, rent a car, and find shops to buy Beijing-style souvenirs. It leads you to restaurants where you taste all kinds of cuisines, and pubs where you can check out the real nightlife of Beijing.

Also, it provides plenty of useful information on exchanging cash and traveler's checks, as well as tips on using ATMs and making phone calls in China. You can also pick up some Mandarin basics from the guide.

"Pocket Beijing" wraps all that you need in your pocket!

"Pocket Beijing 2005 - 2006" is available for free. It can be shipped internationally, though you will have to pay for postage.
Email Chinastic@crifm.com
to order!

The first prize is a week free tour in Prague

For this year's competition you need to listen carefully. RP are asking you to identify three sounds from their archive.

If you have visited the Czech capital, you are almost certain to recognize the first sound, and even if you have never been here, you might well be able to guess:

Listen in RealAudio: Streaming - Download
Listen in MP3: Download http://www.radio.cz/en/html/soutezrp06.html

The second sound collage captures one of the most dramatic moments in Prague's 20th century history, a moment when the building from which Radio Prague broadcasts played a major role:

Listen in RealAudio: Streaming - Download
Listen in MP3: Download http://www.radio.cz/en/html/soutezrp06.html

And the third sound comes from one of the symbols of Prague's Old Town:

Listen in RealAudio: Streaming - Download
Listen in MP3: Download http://www.radio.cz/en/html/soutezrp06.html

If you recognize all three sounds, please send us a few sentences inspired by each of them, and even if you recognize just one or two, do get in touch: you still have a good chance of winning a prize. Send your answer by 18th June 2006 to:
Radio Prague
120 99 Prague
Czech Republic
or to our email address: cr@radio.cz.

The first prize is a week for two here in Prague - enjoying the comfort of the Hotel Falkensteiner Maria Prag in the heart of the old city.

Radio Prague's monthly competition

This month RP are asking you to list all Czech Nobel Prize winners. I won't tell you how many there are but we want the complete list. Please send your answers to Radio Prague, 12099, Prague, Czech Republic or English@radio.cz by the end of April.

World's Tallest Building Contest

Do you where the world’s tallest building is located? According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, the building boasts several world superlatives: it is tallest to the structural top, tallest to the roof, and has the highest occupied floor. It also holds the Guinness World Record for world’s fastest elevator, and at 508 meters tall, it is the first and only building in the world to surpass the half-kilometer mark!
Now, just by telling us the name of this building, you will have an opportunity to win one of several great prizes!
Send us the name of the world’s tallest building (described above) to one of the following addresses:


Mail Address: PO Box 24-38, Taipei, Taiwan, 10699

Email Address: rti@rti.org.tw


.Which building, in which country, has been verified as the world's tallest building?
1.Taipei 101, in Taipei, Taiwan
2.The Sears Tower, in Chicago, USA
3.The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Grand Prize 3 First Prize 13 Second Prize 40 Third Prize 40 Fourth Prize 70
Digital Camera Digital All-Band Radio Taipei 101 T-Shirt Taipei 101 Athletic Cap (Adult Size) RTI Bookmark