DX Program January 27, 2012

DX Program January 27, 2012

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On the programme:
- The main moments in the history of Bulgarian broadcasting on short waves
- We continue with our Radio Encyclopedia: radio countries from A to Z
- Broadcast tips by Rumen Pankov followed by DX Mix by Ivo Ivanov.

Historical overview of short wave broadcasts in Bulgaria

Short wave broadcasting was brought to the public attention for the first time in Bulgaria after February 27, 1927, when a tender was carried out for purchasing radio equipment. It was won by the company Marconi and two transmitters were bought. In 1935, only one of the transmitters was operational, and it was rarely used. A group of technicians adapted it in order to broadcast speech and music.

On November 12, 1935, the first trial tansmission was broadcast on a frequency of 7460 kHz and it became the first shortwave broadcast in the history of Bulgarian radio. On January 19, 1936, the emissions were broadcast every Sunday, and from May 24th the same year they turned into daily brodcasts. Shortwave brodcasts were discontinued on April 15, 1938, and resumed in 1939, but the frequency was changed to 8465 kHz. The content of the broadcast was actually a relay of the medium wave broadcast in Bulgarian. On May 24, 1936, a newscast in Esperanto was added to the program, and on May 1, 1937, news bulletins in English, French, German, and from 1938 in Italian and Turkish. This was the beginning of the foreign service of Radio Sofia, later renamed to Radio Bulgaria.

During World War II, the Bulgarian authorities purchased two more short-wave transmitters and used them to broadcast two other radiostations. One was Radio United Bulgaria that started operation on February 18, 1942, on a frequency of 7490 kHz, and the other was Transmitter Bulgarian News – operational since July 1, 1944 on 8465 KHz.

After the Soviet troops entered Bulgaria and the Bulgarian army was sent against that of Germany, a new radiostation entitled Front And Homeland started transmission on both frequencies. In 1947, there was only one working short-wave transmitter at a power of 5 kilowatts, which began broadcasting news in 12 languages on 9350 kHz, but soon the equipment was damaged. The transmitter was renovated and on December 18, 1948, it resumed transmissions, intially at a power of 3 and then 15 kilowatts on the frequency 7670 kHz. In the following years, new radio transmitters were purchased from the Soviet Union with a power of of 50, later 120 kilowattrs, and in the 1970s transmitters of 500 kilowatts were introduced.

In the following years, the name of Radio Sofia was changed to Radio Bulgaria. Radio Bulgaria turned into one of the leading shortwave radiostations in the world. We should mention that from the 1960s to the 1980s, Bulgarian shortwave transmitters were used to broadcast programs of Radio Moscow and three stations of the communist parties of Chile, Spain and Iran, respectively radio Magalianes, radio Espana Independiente and radio Courier of Iran.
As of February 1, 2012, the shortwave transmitters of Radio Bulgaria will be stopped and stored in anticipation of better times for the many listeners of Radio Bulgaria on short wave across the world.

Radio Encyclopedia
In today’s Radio Encyclopedia listing the countries of the world in alphabetical order, we come to the Bahamas that has transmitters for medium waves only. So it is in Barbados. However, in the Persian Gulf, Bahrain supports two programs on short waves - in English and Arabic. Medium and short waves are used in Bangladesh, which has even purchased a new short-wave transmitter. Belarus uses long, medium and short-wave transmitters. As to Belgium, the situation with the last medium wave transmitters in this country is still unclear.

Broadcast tips
SINGAPORE: The BBC World Service in English was heard on 11 January at 14.50 h with music from Paganini on 9740 KHz via a transmitter located in Singapore and on 11890 KHz also from Singapore, on 17830 Khz via Ascension and 11760 KHz via a site in Cyprus.

RWANDA: Radio Deutsche Welle from Germany was heard on three frequencies from transmitters located in Kigali, Rwanda, on 11 January with a program in English at 06.00 h on 12945,13780 and 17800 KHz.

INDIA: All India radio from New Delhi was heard with a DJ and a concert of songs of the Carpenters band from 18h on 5015 KHz on 9 January in the tropical 60 meters band. General Overseas Service was heard with news in English at 13.30h on 9690 KHz.

ERITREA: Starting from January 1, radio Eritrea 1st program returned on the airwaves on 7205 KHz between 02.55 and 18.30 h. Their 2nd program was heard in the period till 12 January on 4770, 7140, 7160 , 7180, 9705 and 9805 KHz.

The PHILIPPINES: Radio Philipinas was heard with identifications in Tagalog, English and Spanish at 18.52 h on the new frequency of 9825 KHz and with poor signals also on 11890 and 15190 KHz on 9 January.

IRAN: Radio Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran was heard on 12 January with a program in English, starting at 10.30h on 21575 KHz, but they announced their summer frequencies for the previous radio season.

Compiled by Rumen Pankov

DX MIX
All times in Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), all frequencies in kilohertz (kHz).

In today's edition, we will introduce you to the second part of the winter schedule of radio stations using BABCOCK transmitters for their emissions:

Here are a few stations that operate in the field of Korean North Korea:
Radio Free North Korea
1200-1400 Monday to Saturday on 9380 and Sunday on 11510, Yerevan 200 kilowatts / 070 degrees

Radio Free Chosun
1200-1400 on 11,560 and 2000-2100 on 7505 Dushanbe 100 kilowatts / 070 degrees

Nippon no Kaze
1300-1330 on 9950 Taipei 100 kilowatts / 002 degrees
1500-1530 on 9975 and 1530-1600 on 9965 Palau 100 kilowatts / 345 degrees

CMI Voice of Wilderness
1300-1330 Monday through Saturday and 1300-1430 on Sunday on 9935 Dushanbe 100 kilowatts / 070 degrees

Open Radio North Korea
1400-1500 on 7560 Dushanbe 100 kilowatts / 070 degrees
1500-1600 on 7475 Tashkent 200 kilowatts / 065 degrees
2100-2200 on 7480 Dushanbe 100 kilowatts / 070 degrees

North Korea Reform Radio
1500-1700 on 7590 Tashkent 100 kilowatts / 065 degrees

Voice of Martyrs (Freedom)
1600-1700 on 7485 Tashkent 100 kilowatts / 065 degrees

Furusato no Kaze in Japanese
1330-1400 on9950 Taipei 100 kilowatts / 002 degrees
1430-1500 on 9950 Palau 100 kilowatts / 345 degrees
1600-1630 on 9780 Taipei 250 kilowatts / 045 degrees

JSR Shiokaze Sea Breeze in different languages
1330-1430 on 5985 Yamata 100 kilowatts / 280 degrees
2000-2100 on 5965 Yamata 100 kilowatts / 280 degrees
The language schedule is as follows:
- in Japanese Monday through Thursday
- in English on Friday
- in Korean and Japanese on Saturday
- in Japanese and Korean on Sunday

Polish Radio External Service
- in Russian to Eastern Europe for Russia
1400-1430 on 15,245 and 15,770 Wooferton 125 kilowatts / 062 and 070 degrees
1530-1600 on 9580 Wooferton 125 kilowatts / 066 degrees

- in Belorussian to Northeast Europe for Belarus
1430-1500 on 15245 Wooferton 125 kilowatts / 075 degrees
1900-2000 on 5920 Wooferton 125 kilowatts / 070 degrees

- in German for Western Europe
1500-1530 on 9580 Wooferton 125 kilowatts / 078 degrees

- in Ukrainian for northeastern Europe and Ukraine
1600-1630 on 11905 Wooferton 125 kilowatts / 078 degrees

- in Polish
1630-1730 on 6050 Wooferton 125 kilowatts / 082 degrees for Northeast Europe
2000-2100 on 5920 Wooferton 125 kilowatts / 070 degrees for Northeast Europe
2200-2300 on 7330 Wooferton 250 kilowatts / 282 degrees and on 15260 Sackville 250 kilowatts / 285 degrees for North America, the eastern parts

- in Hebrew to the Middle East
1730-1800 on 9545 Wooferton 250 kilowatts / 105 degrees

- in English for Western Europe
1800-1900 on 3955 Skelton 250 kilowatts / 106 degrees

Author: Ivo Ivanov, Frequency Manager of Radio Bulgaria

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DX Program January 27, 2012

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