The latest details of all Community Radio stations in India

The latest details of all Community Radio stations in India released a few days back is available in the following link:  Special thanks to Mr.Sajan Venniyoor

Please open/click  "Compendium-2014"

http://edaa.in/crsammelan2014/cr-compendium-2014

Via Jose Jacob,
National Institute of Amateur Radio
Hyderabad, India

Mobile: +91 94416 96043

 www.qsl.net/vu2jos    

Wavescan NWS264

* Theme - 00:00

            “Birthday Waltz” - Willi Glahe

* Opening Announcement - 00:18

            Welcome to “Wavescan”, international DX program from Adventist World Radio

            Researched and written in Indianapolis, produced in studios of shortwave WRMI

            Program outline

                        1. BBC Indian Ocean Relay Stations: Five in a Row!

                        2. On the Air Shortwave from India’s First Capital City - 1: The Calcutta Story

                        3. What is a Kilohertz?

                        4. International DX News

           

* BBC Indian Ocean Relay Stations: Five in a Row! - 01:00

            Some time ago, the BBC announced that they plan to close their Indian Ocean Relay Station at the end of the month, Saturday March 29.  This station has been on the air for more than a quarter century and it will end its international shortwave service, though the local FM relay stations will still remain on air.

            As a tribute to the lengthy service provided from this important radio station, we are planning to present two topics here in Wavescan.  Next week, you will hear the story of the BBC Indian Ocean Relay Station; and this week, we present the story, Five in a Row, the steps leading up to the erection of their relay station in the Seychelles Islands.   

            Back at the end of last year, we presented the story of the temporary BBC relay station located  at Francistown in Botswana, Africa.  This station was hurriedly pieced together in an effort to counter the political events in neighboring Rhodesia, and it was officially identified as the BBC Central Africa Relay Station.

            Four transmitters were installed, two mediumwave Continentals at 50 kW each from the United States, and two shortwave Marconis at 10 kW each from England.  This station was taken into service on December 30, 1965, and its last day of on air service was March 31, 1968. 

            Around the time when the station was closing, a question was raised in the British Parliament in London regarding this BBC Central Africa Relay Station.  According to the Hansard Report, it was stated that the Francistown station was closing, and that additional antenna systems were under installation at the BBC Relay Station on Ascension Island.  These new antennas would ensure, it was stated, adequate shortwave coverage into Rhodesia.  This of course, would form only a temporary interim service into Rhodesia.

            In June 1966, the BBC was investigating the possibility of utilizing a large ship as a BBC relay station for radio coverage into East Africa.  The ship that they were looking at was a redundant aircraft carrier, HMS “Leviathan”.

            The good ship “Leviathan” was laid down at Tynside in England on October 18, 1943 as a nuclear powered aircraft carrier for use in the latter part of World War 2.  This ship, uncompleted, was launched on June 7, 1945, just as World War 2 was coming to an end, and it simply lay around awaiting its destiny.  But, it was never fully completed. 

            At the time when the BBC was investigating the possibility of taking the ship over as a relay broadcasting station, the suggestion was to have it stationed in the Mozambique Channel and that it would give radio coverage into Rhodesia and South Africa on behalf of the BBC.  At the time, Rhodesia had made a unilateral declaration of independence, UDI, and the South African government was a strong supporter of the Smith administration in the former British colony.

            It does seem at least mildly hypocritical that all this was going on at the same time that the BBC was complaining back home about the existence of unlicensed off shore stations on board ships and forts around the British Isles.

            It is probable that this mobile shipboard radio station would transmit on mediumwave towards East Africa, though shortwave could later be considered.  However, this radio project never materialized, and the entire concept was scrapped in May 1966.  Two years later, the empty and uncompleted aircraft carrier “Leviathan” itself was sold, and scrapped. 

            However, around the same time, the BBC was also investigating the possibility of establishing a large relay station on the island of Aldabra for broadcast into East Africa.  Aldabra is a tiny uninhabited atoll 500 miles off the coast of Africa, 300 miles north of Madagascar, and 500 miles from Zanzibar.  The only personnel on the island are a few officials, caretakers and research officers.

            The Aldabra atoll is 21 miles long, 8 miles wide and it is the second largest raised coral reef in the world.  This atoll is made up of four small islets around a shallow lagoon, though no fresh water is available.  There are many unique forms of life in the area, including an estimated 100,000 Giant Tortoises.

            Back in 1966, the Royal Air Force was giving consideration to establishing an air base on Aldabra, and the American air force was interested in a joint collaboration with the RAF as a refueling station for American planes en route to Vietnam.  American investment in the project would amount to

$11 million.

            In 1966, the BBC chartered a 600 ton coastal vessel from Mombassa, the “Southern Skies” for a six week exploratory expedition to Aldabra.  The BBC survey party was in contact London via a shortwave SSB transmitter on the ship, and the BBC communicated with the ship via one of the high powered shortwave transmitters at Daventry.  However, due to the incursion of tropical storm Angela, the survey expedition to Aldabra was cut short, and this project too was abandoned.

            If the Aldabra project had materialized, it was envisioned that four high powered mediumwave transmitters at 750 kW each would be installed with four independent directional antenna systems beamed westwards towards Africa.  These transmitters would be operated separately, or in pairs, or all with combined power on one mediumwave channel.  Though not stated, if this station had been installed, it is probable that shortwave coverage would be added subsequently.  

            However, the British/American air force base never became a reality, so neither did the BBC relay station.

            The next project in this sequence was the BBC relay station in the Seychelles Islands, and that of course, is our opening topic in Wavescan next week.  So, what then were the Five in a Row?  Here is the list:-

            1. The temporary BBC relay station at Francistown in Botswana, 1965 - 1968

            2. Installation of an antenna system at the BBC relay station on Ascension Island for                     coverage into Rhodesia on shortwave, 1968

            3. Possible usage of HMS “Leviathan” as a relay station in the Mozambique Channel, 1966

            4. Projected BBC station on the island of Aldabra, 1966

            5.  BBC Indian Ocean Relay Station Seychelles, 1988 - 2014

* Program Announcement - 08:10

            Allen Graham

* Focus on Asia: On the Air Shortwave from India’s First Capital City: 09:02

     The Calcutta Story

            Quite recently, Jose Jacob VU2JOS in Hyderabad India sent us an email message in which he alerted us regarding the possible closure of VUC, the current shortwave station in Kolkata.  He stated that the shortwave transmitter at Kolkata was scheduled to close down on February 22 as per orders from the headquarters of All India Radio in Delhi.  However, the technical employees union in Kolkata protested this decision, and so the shortwave station still remains on the air, though for how much longer is uncertain.

            Two matters arise out of this information: -

                  1. If you do not yet have QSLs verifying the Indian regional shortwave stations, you should                             send reception reports to them while they are still on the air; it is known that all of these                       analog shortwave transmitters in India will one day be closed in favor of digital                         transmitters.

                  2. As Jose Jacob suggested, now would be an appropriate time to present a complete                              Station Profile on AIR Calcutta.  So, here we go!

            The city of Calcutta is located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, a branch of the Ganges River in the delta area, some 60 miles inland from the Bay of Bengal.  Back in the era before the arrival of the British, there were just three small villages in the area:-

                        Kolikata: a small fishing village

                        Sutanuti: a small weaving village

                        Govindapur

            The British East India Company was established in the area in 1690 and they bought the areas embracing the three villages, and thus the name Kolikata became the name for what became the entire city.  In its Anglicized version, Kolikata became the very familiar Calcutta.  Several different origins have been suggested for the original meaning of the name Calcutta and it would appear that the most logical would be that Kolikata, in the early Bengali language, meant the field of the goddess Kali.

            In the days of strife between the colonial British and the local Bengali people, Calcutta became notorious for what is called the Black Hole of Calcutta, a small prison in which many prisoners died overnight some 2½ centuries ago.  In 1773 Calcutta became the national capital of all India, a title that it held for more than 1¼ centuries; Delhi became the national capital in 1911.

            India’s first newspaper the Bengal Gazette was printed in Calcutta in 1780; the first Christian missionary William Carey arrived in Calcutta in 1793; Calcutta was the 2^nd largest city in the British Empire in the year 1900 (with London as the largest); the national anthems for both India and Bangladesh were composed in Calcutta by the nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore; the city name was changed from the English Calcutta to the Bengali Kolkata in 2001; the port of Kolkata stretches for 20 miles on both sides of the river; and these days 14.1 million people live in greater Kolkata, the 3^rd largest city in India.

            Among the many tourist attractions in Kolkata are the ornate Victoria Memorial that was designed in the style of the Taj Mahal; the city zoo in which successful cross breeding between tigers and lions has been achieved; and the huge Banyan Tree more than 250 years old and covering more than 4 acres.

            Most of the early wireless experiments in India took place in the Calcutta area and it was back in the year 1849, more than 1½ centuries ago, that the first wireless experiments were undertaken by Dr. Sir William O’Shaughnessy, Superintendent of Telegraphs.  He successfully transmitted wireless signals across the Huldee River ¾ mile wide with a wire along each bank of the river, and a metal plate at the end of each wire immersed in the water. 

            It seems that each succeeding Electrician in Calcutta conducted similar experiments and next came Mr. Blissett.  In 1858, he conducted similar wireless experiments with the use of a long wire on each bank of a river and in this way achieved fair success.

            Mr. Winter followed and he made some astute observations regarding cross modulation of Morse signals between parallel telegraph wires on the same poles in 1873.  Three years later, Mr. Schwendler carried out similar cross-river communications across the River Hooghly at Barrackpore, near Calcutta, using parallel wires with metal plates submerged in the water. 

            Mr. W. P. Johnston was next and he repeated the same experiments across a nearby waterway 200 yards wide on September 9, 1879.  Nine years later, he carried out many similar experiments across nearby canals in the Calcutta area, and also across the River Hooghly itself.

            Mr. Melhuish, was next and he discovered that the wires lying on the bank on each side of the river need to be at least as long as the river is wide in order to achieve reliable communication. 

            The first experimental work on the transmission and reception of radio signals in India was carried out by Dr. Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose.  Towards the end of the year 1894, Bose began his experimentation with wireless, and in November 1895 he gave a public demonstration in the Calcutta Town Hall with Bengal’s Lieutenant Governor Sir William Mackenzie in attendance. 

            In this public demonstration, Bose transmitted wireless signals at a wavelength of just ½ inch over a distance of 75 ft through several solid walls.  He also used a wireless signal to ring a bell at a distance, and to fire a gun remotely.

            India’s first wireless station was established just three years later (1902) and this was installed at Sandheads on Saugor Island out in the Bay of Bengal.  The original callsign for this station was ROS, though when regular international callsigns were mandated worldwide, this call was amended to VWS.

            During this same era, another wireless station was installed in the area, though this time much closer to Calcutta itself.  This station was licensed under the callsign VWC and it was installed a little northeast of the city itself.  When radio replaced wireless, a new location was chosen, just north of Calcutta.

            Station VWC is still in use today, around a century after its original installation and it was noted a few years ago with time signals for which QSL cards were issued.

            That’s as far as we go in the Calcutta story today, but in two weeks time, we plan to present the story of early experimental radio broadcasting.

* What is a Kilohertz? - 17:11

            In every DX program on the air, in all radio DX magazines, and in the identification announcements from shortwave stations, the technical word kilohertz is used.  So today, we ask the question:  What is a kilohertz?

            In the early days of experimental wireless development, it was common practice to calibrate electromagnetic waves by measuring the distance from one crest to the next crest in much the same way as you might measure the waves of the ocean, from one crest to the next.  This distance is called the wavelength, and because many of the prominent early experimenters were European, it came to be measured electrically in metres.  

            Thus you will find the dials of most of the very old radio receivers marked in metres.  In the medium wave broadcast band, one station in particular might be on the air for example on a wavelength of 200 metres, and another on 300 metres.  On shortwave, one station could be shown as 30.99 metres, and another on 30.96 metres.

            But, there's another way of calibrating a radio signal.  Instead of measuring the distance between crests, or length of complete wave cycles, you can count how many of those complete cycles pass a fixed point in one second.  This is known as the frequency.

            The existence of electromagnetic waves was first demonstrated by German physicist Heinrich Hertz, and in 1930 the International Electrotechnical Commission, or IEC, established the unit of frequency of one cycle per second as being one Hertz, in his honor.  This is abbreviated with a capital H and a small z.

            Following standard metric usage, a frequency of 1,000 cycles per second, or 1,000 Hz, is thus equal to 1 kilohertz.

            As time went by, it was discovered that measuring a radio signal by its frequency in kilohertz was more accurate and easier to express than its wavelength in metres.  In addition, as the broadcast bands became more crowded, it was decided by international convention to adopt on mediumwave a 10 kilohertz separation between channels in the western hemisphere, and a 9 kilohertz separation in the rest of the world, including longwave in Europe.  On shortwave, where signals have a narrower bandwidth, a 5 kHz separation between channels was adopted globally.

            In spite of this, however, radio stations in Europe continued to announce their spot on the MW or LW dial in metres, right up until June 1984.  During that month, they switched to using kilohertz instead, like most other regions had already done.

            There is an inverse relationship between metres and kilohertz of 1:300,000.  You can divide the wavelength in metres, or the frequency in kilohertz, into 300,000, and obtain the reciprocal.

            As an example, for a shortwave station such as WWV which broadcasts on 10,000 kilohertz, you can divide 10,000 into 300,000 and see that its wavelength is 30 metres (just above the 31 metre broadcast band).  Decades ago when I lived in the London area, the BBC had a 150 kW mediumwave transmitter there on 330 metres carrying Radio 4.  Today that same transmitter now carries Radio 5 Live.  You can divide 330 into 300,000 and see that the frequency being used is 909 kilohertz.

            Sometimes, instead of kilohertz, you might find a radio station channel designated in megahertz.  Longwave and mediumwave stations always use kilohertz, and VHF (FM) stations always use megahertz.  When you hear that a station is on 89.9 FM, the frequency being used is actually 89.9 megahertz.  But on the shortwave bands, between the mediumwave and FM bands, both kilohertz and megahertz are used.

            To convert back and forth between kilohertz and megahertz, all you need to do is move the decimal point by three places, remembering that 1,000 kilohertz equals 1 megahertz.  Thus for example, the shortwave channel 30.99 metres can be expressed as either 9680 kilohertz, or 9.68 megahertz.

            The standard abbreviations for these three radio terms are expressed in this way:

                        Metres             m         Small m

                        Kilohertz          kHz      Small k, capital H, and small z

                        Megahertz       MHz    Capital M, capital H, and small z

* International DX News - 22:24

            NASB Convention, May 15 & 16, IBB Greenville North Carolina

* Music of the World - 24:10

            Germany: Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra

* Closing Announcement - 24:29

            Thanks for listening to “Wavescan”, international DX program from Adventist World Radio

            Researched and written in Indianapolis

            Next week:-

                        1. The BBC Indian Ocean Relay Station Seychelles: The End of an Era

                        2. Australian DX Report

            Wavescan address:-

                        Box 29235

                        Indianapolis

                        Indiana 46229 USA

            Wavescan @ AWR.org

            QSL cards available

            Jeff White, shortwave WRMI

* Music Outrun - 25:48

* Program Ends - 28:55

Calling all ham radios for search Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER

Message from The Malaysian Amateur Radio Emergency Service Society


Dear sirs,

The Malaysian Amateur Radio Emergency Service Society (MARES/9m4CME) is calling all ham radios particularly  india, Indonesia, Sri Langka, Mauritius, Syechelles, Thailand to participate in the search and rescue of the missing aircraft, Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200ER bearing registration 9M-MRO flight MH370.

The flight has gone missing from ATC radar at 1.21am local time 8 March 2014. SAR was initially done withing the vicinity of South China Sea. However, new confirmed evidence revealed yesterday has shifted the SAR activities in the vicinity of Malacca Strait, Andaman Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean. This ia a huge area to cover roughly 21,000 sq km. To date, SAR efforts have combined assets from at least 14 countries involving more than 50 aircrafts and 30 vessels making it the single largest SAR mission ever.

In light with the multinational effort taken and also so many rumours of the plane crashing or landing in islands within the SAR area, MARES is calling all ham stations, especially those from the countries within the search area, to participate in a daily reporting session. The objective is for ham stations to provide any sightings, info or evidence that might help the authorities to find the missing MH370. Details are as follows:

Daily Check-in and reporting session will be done at UTC1300hrs - 1500hrs at 14.250 MHz and 21.250 MHz (+- QRM)

Any urgent message beyond the specified DX session time shall be communicated via email to emergency@mares.org.my

All information and evidence obtained will be forwarded to the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation and Malaysian National Security Council by MARES.

On behalf of Malaysia, MARES would like to thank in advance all participating stations for their time and effort in helping us to find the missing 9M-MRO / MH370. Let us all do our bit in this moment of crisis.

Please do spread this effort to stations and clubs you think might be helpful in our effort.

Thank you, 73
9W2FG on behalf of MARES
--
================================================
      National Institute of Amateur Radio
         Raj Bhavan Road, Somajiguda
           Hyderabad 500082, INDIA

          Tel. 91-40-2331 0287,  91-40-6516 7388
          Fax.91-40-2332 0787

        E mail: niarindia@hotmail.com
           Web site: www.niar.org
        Club station: VU2NRO 14160 kHz
         Echolink - VU2NRO-R, VU2RG-R
================================================

News reports on the Community Radio Sammelan being held in New Delhi

Here are some news reports on the Community Radio Sammelan being held in
New Delhi from 13 - 15 March, 2014.

Need to Streamline Operation of Community Radio System: I&B
Secretary,
*Economic Times, 13 March*
Community Radio Stations in Odisha and Uttarakhand bag two awards each in
annual CRS Awards,
*RadioandMusic.com, 13 March*
National Community Radio Awards 2014
presented,
*PIB Press Release, 13 March*

Sajan via CR India

National Community Radio Awards 2014 presented

Shri Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of
Information & Broadcasting presented the 3rd
National Community Radio Awards here today.The
list of awardees is as under.
i) Most Creative /Innovative Programme
Content Awards
1) Yerlavani Community Radio, run by Yerala
Projects Society, Sangli, Maharashtra, for its
programme, “Changes in cropping and agricultural
practices as per environmental change”
2) Community Radio JU, Run by Jadavpur
University, Kolkata, West Bengal, for its
programme, “Sunno Theke Suru – Typesof
Quadrilateral”
ii) Thematic Awards
1) Anna Community Radio, Run by Educational
Multimedia Research Centre, Anna University,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, for its programme, “Putholi”
2) Kumaon Vani run by The Energy and Resource
Institute, Uttarakhand, for its programme, “Bazar
Laye Bochhar”
3) Radio Madhuban, run by Prajapita Brahma
Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya, Rajasthan,
for its programme “Gruhasan Se Singhashan”
iii)  Community Engagement Awards
1) Saiyere Jo Radio, run by Saiyere Jo Sangathan,
Gujarat, for its programme, “Khaso Sashan”
2) Radio Vishnu, run by Shri Vishnu Engineering
College for Women, Andhra Pradesh, for its
programme, “Vijayapadham”
3) Pantnagar Janvani, run by G. B. Pant
University of Agriculture & Technology,
Uttarakhand, for its programme “Gaon ki Baat”
iv) Promoting Local Culture Awards
1) Voice of SOA Community, run by Siksha O
Anusandhana University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha,
for its programme, “Kandhai Katha”
2) Radio Kissan, run by Association for
Integrated Development, Odisha, for its
programme “Ama Kala Ama Sanskriti”
3) Community Radio Sarang, run by St. Aloysius
College, Mangalore, Karnataka, for its programme
“Dudi Nalike (Kunitha)
v) Sustainability Model Award
1) Radio Media Village, St Joseph College of
Communication, Kerala
The entries for this year’s national Community
Radio awards were invited from operational
community radio stations till 31stJanuary 2014. A
total of 131 entries from 68 community radio
stations were received. An Independent Jury of
peers was constituted to screen the awards.
The National Community Radio awards were
instituted by the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting in 2012 to promote better
programming on Community Radio Stations.
These awards are given in five categories.
· Most creative /Innovative Programme Content
Awards: The purpose of this award is to encourage
community radio stations to experiment/devise
new formats of programme, presentation or
adaption of traditional communication formats to
convey development concerns to the community
with greater impact.
· Thematic Awards: This award is given to the
community radio stations which create
programmes that are relevant to the community,
addressing any issues pertaining to the need or
interest of the community.
· Community Engagement Awards: This award
is given to the community radio stations which
engage community in planning, content,
production and broadcast of programme.
· Promoting Local Culture Awards:This award
goes to that community radio stations that
incorporate best local talent and tradition in its
programming.
· Sustainability Model Award: This is to
encourage community radio stations to adopt
innovate model to generate revenue for self
sustenance.Shri Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of
Information & Broadcasting presented the 3rd
National Community Radio Awards here today.The
list of awardees is as under.
i) Most Creative /Innovative Programme
Content Awards
1) Yerlavani Community Radio, run by Yerala
Projects Society, Sangli, Maharashtra, for its
programme, “Changes in cropping and agricultural
practices as per environmental change”
2) Community Radio JU, Run by Jadavpur
University, Kolkata, West Bengal, for its
programme, “Sunno Theke Suru – Typesof
Quadrilateral”
ii) Thematic Awards
1) Anna Community Radio, Run by Educational
Multimedia Research Centre, Anna University,
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, for its programme, “Putholi”
2) Kumaon Vani run by The Energy and Resource
Institute, Uttarakhand, for its programme, “Bazar
Laye Bochhar”
3) Radio Madhuban, run by Prajapita Brahma
Kumaris Ishwariya Vishwa Vidyalaya, Rajasthan,
for its programme “Gruhasan Se Singhashan”
iii)  Community Engagement Awards
1) Saiyere Jo Radio, run by Saiyere Jo Sangathan,
Gujarat, for its programme, “Khaso Sashan”
2) Radio Vishnu, run by Shri Vishnu Engineering
College for Women, Andhra Pradesh, for its
programme, “Vijayapadham”
3) Pantnagar Janvani, run by G. B. Pant
University of Agriculture & Technology,
Uttarakhand, for its programme “Gaon ki Baat”
iv) Promoting Local Culture Awards
1) Voice of SOA Community, run by Siksha O
Anusandhana University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha,
for its programme, “Kandhai Katha”
2) Radio Kissan, run by Association for
Integrated Development, Odisha, for its
programme “Ama Kala Ama Sanskriti”
3) Community Radio Sarang, run by St. Aloysius
College, Mangalore, Karnataka, for its programme
“Dudi Nalike (Kunitha)
v) Sustainability Model Award
1) Radio Media Village, St Joseph College of
Communication, Kerala
The entries for this year’s national Community
Radio awards were invited from operational
community radio stations till 31stJanuary 2014. A
total of 131 entries from 68 community radio
stations were received. An Independent Jury of
peers was constituted to screen the awards.
The National Community Radio awards were
instituted by the Ministry of Information and
Broadcasting in 2012 to promote better
programming on Community Radio Stations.
These awards are given in five categories.
· Most creative /Innovative Programme Content
Awards: The purpose of this award is to encourage
community radio stations to experiment/devise
new formats of programme, presentation or
adaption of traditional communication formats to
convey development concerns to the community
with greater impact.
· Thematic Awards: This award is given to the
community radio stations which create
programmes that are relevant to the community,
addressing any issues pertaining to the need or
interest of the community.
· Community Engagement Awards: This award
is given to the community radio stations which
engage community in planning, content,
production and broadcast of programme.
· Promoting Local Culture Awards:This award
goes to that community radio stations that
incorporate best local talent and tradition in its
programming.
· Sustainability Model Award: This is to
encourage community radio stations to adopt
innovate model to generate revenue for self
sustenance.
Courtesy: Press Information Bureau (pib.nic.in)
Via Dx India yg

Ham radio use still going strong after 100 years

he 50-some ham radio operators in the Great Falls Area Amateur Radio Club are gearing up for a big year.

They're completing the renovation and equipping of a large RV trailer seized by the Cascade County Sheriff's Office in a drug raid and turned over to the club to use to help provide mobile communications to responders during wildfires, floods and other emergencies.

Great Falls club members also are helping their national parent group, the American Radio Relay League, celebrate its 100th anniversary. The national association of amateur radio has more than 162,000 members, many of whom will be making radio contact with the Great Falls club when it has the honor of using the flagship Newington, Conn.'s station's W1AW call sign from Dec. 10 to 16.

The club also will provide mobile communications in the spring when area wildfire responders do their annual training before the summer fire season.

Vince Kolar, Cascade County Emergency Services manager, said the Great Falls ham radio club is included in the county's emergency operations plan.

It could be called in to provide backup mobile communications in a wildfire situation in which area residents are being evacuated and firefighters are having trouble communicating, particularly in a mountainous area, Kolar said. The ham radio club can bring in portable repeaters and mobile radios, he added.

"We've probably needed such ham radio support only four or five times in the 14 years I've been manager," Kolar said. "But when we need that help, we really need it."

During Field Day in June, club members will set up radio equipment with backup generators in their communications trailer and try to make contact with as many other hams around the country and world as they can.

The Great Falls club usually leads the state in such radio contacts and two years ago was fifth in the nation, said businessman George Forsyth, ARRL section manager for Montana.

"It's a challenge to reach other ham operators quickly, it's fun talking to them and it improves our proficiency," said Forsyth, 57, who runs an alarm service and an answering service. He also has another business that purchases older radios from estates to provide used equipment to folks looking to get into the hobby.

Source: http://www.greatfallstribune.com

Wavescan NWS263

* Theme - 00:00

            “Birthday Serenade” - Willi Glahe

* Opening Announcement - 00:18

            Welcome to “Wavescan”, international DX program from Adventist World Radio

            Researched and written in Indianapolis, produced in studios of shortwave WRMI

            Program outline

                        * Daylight Saving Time begins in USA

                        1. Radio Broadcasting in Albania

                        2. Canadian Radio Panorama- 4: The Intervening Years

                        3. International DX News

                        4. Philippine DX Report

* Radio Broadcasting in Albania - 01:03

Radio Tirana feature for Wavescan

            Information from Drito Cico, head of monitoring center and shortwave frequency manager of Radio Tirana; presented by Jeff White

[AUDIO – Albanian national anthem]

            Tirana became the capital of Albania in 1920. The area occupied by Tirana has been populated since Paleolithic times dating back many thousands of years ago. Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 with nearly 7.000 inhabitants. Today it has about a million. Tirana is on the same parallel as Naples- Italy, Madrid - Spain, Istanbul Turkey, and New York, and on the same meridian as Budapest-Hungary and Kraków-Poland…

AUDIO – Radio Tirana interval signal

            Radio Tirana International, founded on Nov 28, 1938 during the rule of self-declared King Ahmed Zog I, became a World Wide Broadcast Empire during the Enver Hoxha regime (from 1944-1990) with the help of the Chinese. It had daily radio programs in 22 languages with Marxist-Leninst propaganda up to 1990…

            In Albania, broadcasting started in the year 1937 with the installation of a medium wave transmitter with a power of 10 Watts as well as studio apparatus, and all of these were installed in the city of Tirana.

            On November 28^th 1938 a short wave transmitter with a power of 3 kW was put into operation at Tirana and intended mainly for communication, but it was also used to transmit 3 hours of broadcast programmes per day.

            In the year 1940 a medium wave transmitter was installed with a power of 1 kW in the old building of Radio Tirana together with studio equipment. Later on several medium wave transmitters were installed with powers of around 60-300 Watts at Gjirokastra, Kucova, Shkodra, Korca and Vlora which transmitted local programs.

            After the liberation of Albania after World War II, and with the help of the Albanian Communist Party, there were important steps in the development of broadcasting in Albania. In March 1952, at the outset of the second Congress of the Party, a medium wave transmitter was inaugurated with a power of 50 kW at Tirana, which at that time brought about a noticeable improvement in the coverage of the country.

            In November of the year 1961, at the time of the 20th anniversary of the Party, the Radiocenter in Durres (or Shijak) was opened with 3 transmitters, 2 of them on short wave with a power of 50 kW each (with the possibility of combining them to produce 100 kW). These were for broadcasting external service transmissions outside of Albania, and there was 1 medium wave transmitter with a power of 150 kW which was proposed to broadcast transmissions outside of Albania, but from the beginning it was used for the transmission of the internal program of Radio Tirana.

            Radio Tirana was heard far beyond the Albanian borders. There were even a few popular songs written about the station in Italian, like this one by Franco Battiato called “Eh Radio Tirana Transmette.”

AUDIO – Song: Eh Radio Tirana Transmette

            In fact, the place of installation of this transmitter (in Shijak) was not so appropriate to cover inside Albania, but it was installed there because it was proposed in the project to work with a directional antenna towards the Middle East for transmissions outside of Albania. Instead of the directional antenna, an omnidirectional antenna was installed with a 129 meter tall mast and the transmitter was used to broadcast the domestic programmes of Radio Tirana.

            The new building of Radio Tirana was inaugurated in December 1965 with 8 transmitting studios, 5 recording studios, 5 montage studios, and a large music studio.

            In October 1966 at Durres (or Fllaka) a medium wave transmitter was installed with a power of 500 kW, and 5 years later a second transmitter of 500kW was installed nearby with the combine the two at 1000 kW. Both transmitters broadcast the programs of Radio Tirana external services.

            In October 1967 the radio center at Elbasan (Cerrik) was opened with 16 short-wave transmitters , of which 10 had a power of 50 kW each ( with the possibility to combine them in pairs of 100 kW ) and 6 with a power of 15 or 25 kW each.

            Via this shortwave center the programs of Radio Tirana International were broadcast to world wide target areas.

            In 1987 Radio Tirana International broadcast 66 hours of programs per day in 20 to 22 foreign languages on medium & short wave -- a worldwide broadcast Empire.

AUDIO – Radio Tirana: end of press review

            A rental agreement between the Albanian Radiotelevision and the Chinese Film and Radio Television was signed in Tirana on December 16, 2003 that leased the shortwave Radio Center in Elbasan (Cerrik) to the Chinese for at least 15 years and this may be extended, depending upon the requirements of the two parties.

            The old Chinese short wave transmitters of Radio Tirana in Cerrik were dismantled

and the Chinese, in a record period, transformed the building and surroundings at Cerrik by installing 6 new short wave transmitters with a power of 150 kW.

            CRI – China Radio International started its transmissions on short wave via Cerrik on the 28^th of November 2004.

            Radio Tirana on short wave via Cerrik was closed at the end of July 2004 and on August 6, 2004 Radio Tirana started its broadcasts on short wave via Shijak, by inaugurating the 2 new Chinese Continental clone short wave transmitters with a power of 100 kW. The operational staff at Shijak is Albanian plus 3 Chinese specialists.

AUDIO – Radio Tirana: Program open and schedule announcement

            [During the years 1980-1983, there were medium wave transmitters installed with a power of 50 kW at:

                        Kukes (1980 on 648 KHz) ,

                        Korca (1981 on 1260 KHz),

                        Gjirokastra (1983 on 909 KHz),

                        Shkodra (1983 on 693 KHz) and,

                        at Saranda (1982 on 864 KHz) with a power of 30 kW.

                        (All of these medium transmitters were switched off in 2001 or 2002).

            Through these transmitters and the ones at Shijak (150 kW on 1089 KHz) and at Kashar (50 kW on 1359 KHz) the domestic program of Radio Tirana was broadcast.

            Also put into operation in the year 1980 was an FM transmitter with a power of 10 kW on Dajt mountain (at an altitude of 1613 m) on 99.5 MHz. Its FM signal serves two purposes, as a primary signal to feed the medium wave transmitters in Kukes, Korca, Gjirokastra, Shkodra and Saranda and for listeners of Radio Tirana who had FM capable receivers and lived within range of the transmitter.

            After the year 1987 it was predicted that a network of FM transmitters would be installed to broadcast in stereo the second program of Radio Tirana.

            The very mountainous terrain of Albania and its bad conductivity causes considerable absorption of the ground wave. This is the reason that in such terrain the powerful transmitters do not have the required coverage and therefore the installation of a network of medium wave transmitters was recommended instead.

            The small surface of the territory of Albania does not favor the use of short wave for its coverage.

            The sky wave propagates much farther than the ground wave reaching maximum distances of 300-450 km away from the transmitter. Because the surface of Albania is small, it is not possible to use the sky wave efficiently for its coverage. Therefore the coverage of Albania was based on ground wave propagation.

            Because in the mountainous part of Albania the ground wave undergoes considerable absorption the Fading Belt appears relatively close to the transmitters. Because the coverage of Albania day and night is based on the ground wave, a vertical antenna was selected for the transmitter. This is a mast that is supported on a ceramic isolator where the mast itself plays the role of vertical radiator.

            The Shijak medium wave transmitter on 1089 KHz radiating a power of 150 kW achieved the desired coverage for the Radio Tirana domestic program during the day in about 65% of the territory, and during the night hours about 31.9%.

            On February 3, 2006 at around 0800 UTC the medium wave transmitter on 1089 KHz at Shijak (on the air since 1961) was switched off.]

* Program Announcement - 10:58

            Allen Graham

* Canadian Radio Panorama: The Intervening Years - 14:31

            In this our next episode in the series, Canadian Radio Panorama, we cover the intervening years from the wireless era into the beginning of mediumwave radio broadcasting, a period of around twenty years.

            The earliest wireless experiments attributable to Canada took place in the year 1898.  The experimenter was the noted 32 year old Canadian born Reginald Aubrey Fessenden.  However, his earliest wireless experiments did not take place in Canada, but rather in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania in the neighboring United States where he was employed by the University of Pittsburgh.

            The 1898 Fessenden experiments involved the usage of the simple telephone equipment that was available back then, and his experimentation was an attempt to devise workable procedures for the transmission of the human voice.  During the following year, 1899, he succeeded in making voice transmissions, though quite garbled, between Pittsburgh and Allegheny City, which is now a northern suburb of Pittsburgh itself. 

            Two years later, there was a remarkable development in the long distance reception of a wireless signal and this took place on December 11 & 12, 1901.  The notable experimenter was Guglielmo Marconi, and the location was Signal Hill, near St John’s in Newfoundland; but this event took place before Newfoundland was federated into the Dominion of Canada (1949).  This first wireless signal across the Atlantic, the letter S in Morse Code, was transmitted from Poldhu in England.

            Wireless history in Canada really began a couple of weeks later, on the day after Christmas actually, when Marconi arrived at Sydney, Nova Scotia, on the steamer “Bruce” with the intent of searching for a suitable location to establish a large wireless station.  This large new facility at coastal Table Head was four times larger than the Marconi station at Poldhu in England, and it made its first test transmission on November 19, 1902 with 75 kW on 82 kHz longwave.

            Two years later, the Table Head station was dismantled and rebuilt at a new location 3½ miles distant where it was opened with an official ceremony five years later on October 17, 1907.  The receiver station was located at Louisbourg, 25 miles distant from Glace Bay.

            In the meantime, the Marconi company in Canada established a multitude of regional maritime wireless stations along the eastern and western seaboards, the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines, as well as nearby to many waterways, including the Great Lakes.  It is understood that the first of these lower powered regional maritime stations was installed at Heath Point on Anticosti Island, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1904.  This station was on the air under the callsign VCI.  At one stage in its history, Anticosti Island was the world’s largest privately owned island, 135 miles long.

            Amateur wireless stations were first licensed in Canada in 1911, and callsigns consisted of three letters beginning with XA.  However, after the end of World War 1, when amateur radio stations were again permitted in Canada, the callsign structure was modified, still with three digits, but with a number, 1 through 9, followed by two letters. 

            At this stage, experimental radio broadcasting stations were allocated callsigns with four digits, the number 10 followed by two letters.  However, quite soon afterwards, radio broadcasting callsigns were regularized into four letters beginning with the letter C.    

            The first radio broadcasting station in Canada, or in the world as some people would suggest, was established by the Canadian Marconi company in Montreal in 1919.  The callsign XWA was taken into usage for this new experimental broadcasting station, though in reality this callsign was already in use with the Marconi Company at least four years earlier. 

            An official report from the Naval Service dated March 31, 1915, lists a Marconi station under the callsign XWA, and it states also that this was the only radio telephone station on the air in Canada at the time.  The three call letters XWA stood for Experimental Wireless Apparatus. 

            Four years later, a series of test broadcasts was made, in the early part of the year 1919, to determine the viability of establishing an experimental radio broadcasting station in the Montreal area.

            During the Spring of the year 1919, the Marconi company installed a 500 watt transmitter on a truck with the antenna attached to the roof.  This transmitter model was known as the “Captain Round” transmitter, it was designed and constructed at the Marconi factory in Chelmsford, England, and it was housed in a self contained wooden cabinet.  A series of telephony tests around Montreal indicated a modest coverage area of just three or four miles.

            However, the transmitter was then installed on Tarte Pier in Montreal Harbour for a series of subsequent test transmissions that produced a much wider coverage area.  The wireless operator on board the icebreaker “Lady Grey” reported good reception at a distance of 30 miles.

            This same 500 watt transmitter was then installed on the top floor in the Marconi Building in William Street Montreal during the summer of the same year 1919.  This transmitter was licensed in November with the callsign XWA, and it made its first program broadcast from a temporary studio at the same location on December 1 (1919). 

            At the time, programming was made up quite spontaneously with station announcements, news bulletins read from the local newspapers, and music from locally available 78 disc records.  Station XWA was also in use at other hours for communication traffic and experimental transmissions.

            Regular program broadcasting from station XWA began on May 20 of the following year, 1920, and the first program was a remote broadcast from the Chateau Laurier Hotel in Ottawa.  The occasion was a special meeting of the Royal Society of Canada, and the evening program was a musical concert with orchestra and soloist Dorothy Lutton.  At this stage, the 500 watt transmitter was radiating on the longwave channel 1200 m, 250 kHz.

            As the radio historians tell us, the callsign for the Marconi experimental station in Montreal was regularized a year later, and XWA became CFCF, on May 15, 1922.  The allocation of callsigns at the time required four letter calls beginning with CF, and it is suggested that the Marconi company chose the double callsign CFCF, thus providing the slogan, “Canada’s First, Canada’s Finest”.

            A multitude of radio broadcasting stations proliferated throughout Canada quite quickly soon afterwards.

* International DX News - 11:45

            DSWCI on Shortwave

            Ukraine Radio & TV

* Philippine DX Report - 22:05

            Henry Umadhay

* Music of the World - 27:26

            Albania: From Radio Tirana, folk music, orchestral & vocal

* Closing Announcement - 27:41

            Thanks for listening to “Wavescan”, international DX program from Adventist World Radio

            Researched and written in Indianapolis

            Next week:-

                        1. BBC Indian Ocean Relay Stations: Five in a Row!

                        2. Radio Broadcasting in India’s First Capital City

                        3. European Perspective

                        4. Bangladesh DX Report

            Two QSL cards available - AWR & WRMI

            Wavescan address:-

                        Box 29235

                        Indianapolis

                        Indiana 46229 USA

            Wavescan @ AWR.org

            Jeff White, shortwave WRMI

* Music Outrun - 28:44

* Program Ends - 28:55