The Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees the Voice of America and other such services, has issued a report on short wave radio. Bottom line: it isn’t looking great for the BBG’s commitment to the service. From the report: “The BBG must use shortwave where it is most effective. In the past, shortwave audiences were […]
Looks like the Voice of America radiogram project is super busy these days, running lots of trials with text messaging via short wave streams. When last Radio Survivor checked in on the initiative, we stopped to admire a 1938 Philco radio console rigged by a short wave operator to pick up VOA radiograms. Now there’s more […]
One of my favorite correspondents has brought the Voice of America’s Radiogram project to my attention. The venture experiments with transmitting digital text and images via shortwave broadcasting. Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott is running the show with some technical assistance from my aforementioned contact: Bennett Kobb. “These experiments are intended to establish the best mode […]
To say that my visit to college radio station WRUC 89.7 FM at Union College in Schenectady, New York was eagerly anticipated is an understatement. Rumored to be the “first” commercial college radio station, its predecessor stations have a fascinating history, making Union College an important stop for every college radio historian. Lucky for me, […]
Today, is World Radio Day. First proclaimed in 2011 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to, “celebrate radio as a medium; to improve international cooperation between broadcasters; and to encourage major networks and community radio alike to promote access to information, freedom of expression and gender equality over the airwaves.” February […]
Radioinfo of Sydney, Australia has some coverage of that country’s Community Broadcasting conference (#CBAAconf). Looks like an interesting event, and one of the panels considered what community broadcasting in 2035 will look and sound like. I can’t say I’m wowed by the excerpted comments, which pondered the state of DAB+ and “curation” two decades ahead. […]
Meet the latest innovation in digital communications technology: a radio receiver built the year that Disney released Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. It is a 1938 Philco console rigged by shortwave operator Gerhard, W6XH to pick up a Voice of America Radiogram. These radiograms are basically radio propelled text messages transmitted via the multiple-frequency shift […]
Numbers stations have been part of radio lore for decades. If you’ve ever listened to much shortwave radio at some point you would have come across an unidentified station broadcasting only a person reading off numbers, like an endless lotto feed: “21 99 36….” Sometimes this is in English, and often in Spanish or other […]
