GUIDE TO BROADCASTING STATIONS TWENTIETH EDITION Philip Darrington Guide to Broadcasting Stations Twentieth Edition Edited by Philip Darrington Heinemann : Newnes Heinemann Newnes An imprint of Heinemann Professional Publishing Ltd OXFORD LONDON MELBOURNE AUCKLAND SINGAPORE IBADAN NAIROBI GABORONE KINGSTON First published by Butterworth & Co. (Publishers) Ltd 1946 Nineteenth edition first published by Heinemann Professional Publishing Ltd, 1987 Twentieth edition, 1989 © Heinemann Professional Publishing 1987, 1989 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Guide to broadcasting stations. - 20th ed. 1. Radio stations - Directories I. Darrington, Philip II. Wireless world guide to broadcasting stations 621.3841'6'025 TK6555 ISBN 0 434 90309 4 Typeset in Great Britain by Scarborough Typesetting Services Printed and bound in Great Britain by Biddies Ltd, Guildford and King's Lynn Contents 1 Choosing a short wave receiver Richard Lambley, Communications Editor, Electronics & Wireless World 2 A guide to listening Pat Hawker, Engineering Information Officer, IBA 18 3 Writing useful reception reports Jonathan Marks, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep 40 4 New indoor short wave aerials George Short 49 5 Long, medium and short wave broadcasting stations in order of frequency 55 6 Short wave stations of the world - geographically 171 7 Standard frequency transmissions 193 8 Useful information for DXers 194 9 Programmes in English directed to the United Kingdom Richard Lambley, Communications Editor, Electronics & Wireless World 212 10 The software connection Jonathan Marks, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep 224 1 Choosing a short wave receiver Richard Lambley Communications Editor, Electronics & Wireless World Few people in Britain have any grasp of the enormous scale and scope of world broadcasting. Like other European audiences, British radio listeners can choose from a wide variety of programmes from local and national services, and in general they enjoy reliable reception from powerful trans- mitters nearby. With so much information and entertainment so easy to find, there is little reason for most listeners to look further. Only one foreign station at present attracts a sizeable audience in Britain, Radio Luxembourg's evening disc -jockey programmes on medium wave. Beyond this, foreign radio stations are unknown territory. Yet international broadcasting is one of the world's big growth industries. In Europe, where so few have access to radio with adequate short wave coverage, it mostly passes straight over our heads. But in other parts of the world, radio listening on the short waves is often the norm. Poorer countries rarely have television or FM radio outside the main cities - nationwide networks giving full coverage of the population are simply too expensive to set up. On the other hand, in the tropics our familiar medium wave band is susceptible to static interference which makes it un- attractive for broadcasting. To cover the wide -open spaces, radio stations are therefore forced to depend on the short waves for their basic output. From an audience's point of view, a service on short wave lacks con- venience. On a simple domestic receiver, the short wave station you want can be difficult to find. And even when you have tracked it down, its service may be unreliable because of varying reception conditions. But in countries where listeners are equipped to receive a national service on short wave, they can also pick and choose from a mass of foreign stations competing for their attention. International radio Nearly every country of any size runs an international service on the short waves; indeed, with many newly- emerging countries, the appearance of a pair of 250 kilowatt transmitters carrying broadcasts for foreign con- sumption is often the first sign of their presence on the stage of world affairs. As a basic minimum, an international service can consist simply of an extra transmitter or two carrying a short wave relay of the home service, for the benefit of émigrés or citizens working abroad. This is the case with, for example, Radio Denmark, which broadcasts only in the Danish language. But having installed the necessary hardware, many countries seize with enthusiasm the opportunity to address a wider audience. Operating an external service is by far the cheapest way for a country to make its voice heard. Radio programmes cost little to make and dissemi- nate; and, though it may surprise us, acclimatized as we are to the domi- nation of the small screen, experience has shown that they can be highly influential. Several of the world's principal broadcasters transmit many hundreds of hours of programmes per week and can be heard right around the clock in scores of languages. Smaller stations may manage only a quarter of an hour per day, or even per week, in your language. But all have information and ideas to put across, and all are worth sampling. The staple of these international services is almost always news; or, shall we say, that part of the news which the station wants you to be aware of. Most international broadcasting is run (or at least financed) by govern- ments; and although a good deal of it consists merely of harmless image - building, some stations have a definite political message and make no secret of it. Try Albania's Tirana for an example. Observant listeners soon notice that certain stations tend to interpret world events in different ways for different target audiences. It can be quite instructive to compare, say, a station's news bulletin for North America with those carried in its African or Asian service. But it would not be fair to imply that international broadcasting is all political manipulation and aggression. Many stations confine their atten- tions exclusively to friendly countries - such as Radio New Zealand, which broadcasts principally to Australia, the East Indies and the Pacific islands. It is noticeable, though, that other governments can in exactly the same circumstances decide that a short wave service is not worth the expense. It was for this reason that the British Foreign Office ceased a few years ago to fund BBC vernacular broadcasts to countries such as Spain and Italy. However, with the help of a short wave radio, listeners with an interest in current affairs can follow events in the world's trouble -spots at first hand: in between trading insults, the radio stations involved often provide the first signs of newsworthy developments. When you listen to the BBC's foreign news reports, note how frequently you hear phrases such as 'According to Radio XYZ ...'. Even the professionals are forced to depend on radio monitoring in a crisis: when fighting breaks out or disaster strikes, it can take them hours to fly their correspondent in. But the local radio station is there on the spot. In a coup d'état, invariably the first action of the insurgents is to take over the microphones; and naturally the listener gets a ringside seat from which to follow the action. An intriguing factor in many long- running conflicts is the emergence of clandestine broadcasting - undercover stations pressing the cause of one side or the other. These undercover stations have little in common with the unlicensed pop broadcasters we encounter at home. Some participants in the game complicate matters for the listener by flaunting misleading titles (such as the Voice of the Islamic Revolution of Iraq, which during the recent Gulf War appeared on schedules issued by the Voice of the Islamic Republic of /ran). Feature programmes In addition to news and current affairs, many stations broadcast feature 121 programmes about their corner of the world, their history, customs, culture and way of life, giving opportunities for pleasurable armchair travelling. Besides promoting tourism, this type of material helps them to create the climate of goodwill in which an export trade can flourish. Radio also gives a nation a showcase to display the talents of its local artists to a world -wide audience. One regular example (and I could have quoted dozens of others) is the engaging country music from Switzerland on Swiss Radio International, 1000 -1030 GMT and 1600 -1700. Recognizing the popularity of listening to short wave radio as a pastime, larger stations - and a good few tiny ones - feature special programmes for hobbyist listeners. Often these programmes are among their biggest audi- ence- pullers. Tune to them for technical tips, equipment reviews, details of rare stations to listen out for, and up -to -date news of comings and goings on the wavebands. A list of programmes of special interest to short wave listeners (s.w.ls) appears at the end of this book. Several stations circulate useful information sheets and bulletins for hobbyists (among them are Radio Netherlands and, especially, Radio Sweden); and some (such as Radio Budapest and Radio Bucharest) run listeners' clubs. But all stations like to hear from their audiences, and they welcome letters. However, bear in mind that an established station will usually be more interested in learning your reaction to its programmes than in reading yet another reception report from someone who is merely trying to extend his collection of pennants and QSL cards. (QSL is jargon for a formal acknowledgement issued by a station to confirm an accurate reception report of one of its transmissions.) Note that domestic stations are not normally interested in reception reports from listeners abroad, since their programmes are intended solely for the local audience; but of course, if you do achieve some special feat of reception, it may just happen that your letter will land on the desk of an engineer who appreciates it and will respond. Governments, however, do not have the international airwaves entirely to themselves. Another major group of programmers consists of religious organizations: examples are Trans World Radio broadcasting from Monaco, Radio HCJB from Ecuador, Radio ELWA from Liberia, and the World Christian Broadcasting Corporation from KNLS at Anchor Point, Alaska.