Taking Down A Radio Tower…

Posted on July 30, 2013 by | Comments Off on Taking Down A Radio Tower…

…don’t get these guys to do it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLQPxRQo17I

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Posted in Antennas, Technical

Arthur Cushen Audio Tribute

Posted on July 10, 2013 by | Comments Off on Arthur Cushen Audio Tribute

ATCushen

I have been combing through the Media Network archive at Radio Netherlands, trying to rescue as much as possible before a lot of the station history is thrown out.

You’ll be pleased to know that I found the studio copy of our tribute programme to Arthur Cushen broadcast on Sept 25 1997, 15 years ago. I’ve put it back on the web for others to listen to.

Media Network Vintage Vault 

Access to the archives is free. I believe that the stories that we shared in the 80’s and 90’s are definitely relevant in broadcasting circles today, even though the distribution channels have changed.

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Posted in DXers, History

Navtex DX

Posted on July 8, 2013 by | Comments Off on Navtex DX

David Headland of Maheno (near Oamaru) has been dabbling in receiving Navtex signals. So, what are are they?

Navtex stations exist to provide shipping with weather and navigational information. They operate on 490kHz and 518kHz. Its a digital mode transmission and you’ll need some software. David recommends a program called “YAND” – Yet Another Navtex Decoder.

You’ll also need a receiver capable of picking up 490 & 518kHz and a cable from your receiver’s Line Out or headphone jack plugged into your PC’s sound card.

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Posted in Utility

Comprehensive Solar Radio Site

Posted on July 6, 2013 by | Comments Off on Comprehensive Solar Radio Site

solarham

If there was one site to go to for all matter of solar material for radio DX, SolarHam is it. You’ll see tabs and links along with plenty of real-time images letting you just what Ol Sol is up to.

 

 

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Posted in Space Weather

KVTK Bites the ah.. Grass

Posted on July 4, 2013 by | Comments Off on KVTK Bites the ah.. Grass

Listeners to KVTK-AM of Yankton, South Dakota,
were recently without the station for a few
days. This is because an accident caused the
stations broadcast tower to fall to the ground.

The tower, which was 309 feet tall, was situated
in the middle of what was described as a small,
grassy field located about five miles west of the
town of Vermillion. Reportedly, a man cutting
the grass Monday afternoon June 10th clipped one
of the tower’s guy-wires, causing it to collapse
shortly after 4 p.m. local time.

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Posted in Medium Wave, Stations

Happy Birthday WWVB

Posted on July 4, 2013 by | Comments Off on Happy Birthday WWVB

 

Then: Engineer David Andrews and technician Robert Oase are shown by the WWVB transmitter in 1963. Oase is relaying instructions to an engineer in a different location tuning the antenna.
Credit: NIST

Every day, electronic gear across the world locks on to a radio signal  beamed from Fort Collins, Coloradio at the base of the Rocky Mountains in the USA. The signal contains  a message that keeps the devices on time, helping to make sure their owners  keep to their schedules and aren’t late for work the next day. 

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Posted in History

The Curious Case of the Jamming of Uncle Scrim

Posted on July 4, 2013 by | 2 comments

Colin “Uncle Scrim” Scrimgeour

When we think of the jamming of broadcasts we would normally associate such practices with cold-war politics and despot nations. So it may surprise you to know that politically-motivated jamming has occurred in New Zealand.

The year is 1935, Colin “Uncle Scrim” Scrimgeour a well-known broadcaster and Methodist minister implored the masses to vote for the opposition Labour party in the upcoming election.  The jamming was carried out at the behest of the then Minister of Broadcasting in the governing National Party and rumour has it an amateur radio operator and civil servant provided the necessary skill to do so.

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Posted in History