I produced this weekend's VOA Radiogram yesterday (Thursday), during the administration of Barack Obama. It will be broadcast during the administration of Donald Trump.
The show will include one item about past inaugurations, and the final image will show the National Mall, site of the inauguration, with the VOA headquarters also in the picture.
One science news item this weekend will be in Olivia 64-2000, which may be helpful if reception is poor.
Mid-winter propagation continues to provide challenges and opportunities. Some listeners in northern Europe heard and decoded last weekend's broadcast Saturday 0930-1000 UTC on 5865 kHz. And the Sunday 1930-2000 UTC broadcast on 15670 kHz, lately difficult to hear in Europe (the nominal target), was received last weekend in New Zealand. (See images below.)
A few operating notes:
- For best Olivia 64-2000 performance, turn Fldigi's squelch (SQL) off.
- The RSID at 1500 Hz sometimes mixes with the transmitter hum, most noticeable at 360 Hz, to move your receive audio frequency down to 1140 Hz, resulting in no decode. To prevent this, in Fldigi: Configure > IDs > RsID > unselect Searches passband. Your center audio frequency will wander no more than +/- 200 Hz.
- Fldigi automatically saves your decoded MFSK images as png files in the folder \fldigi.files\images\ (in Windows; folder names might be different with other operating systems). You can attach those png files with your reception report.
- The VOA Radiogram Twitter account @VOARadiogram is especially active before, during, and after the broadcasts. You don't need a Twitter account: just go to https://twitter.com/voaradiogram and refresh it occasionally.
1:46
Program preview
2:58
Presidential inaugurations in history*
8:18
Micronesia hopes Trump reconsiders climate change*
13:01
First freight train from China to UK*
18:24
Olivia 64-2000: Milky Way looting stars from near galaxy
24:44
Closing image and announcements*
* with image
Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com
VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC):
Sat 0930-1000 5865 kHz (To the Americas, try also in Asia-Pacific and Europe)
Sat 1600-1630 17580 kHz (To Europe, try also in the Americas and Asia-Pacific)
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz (To the Americas, try also in Europe)
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz (To Europe, try also in the Americas and Asia-Pacific)
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.
Sat 0930-1000 5865 kHz (To the Americas, try also in Asia-Pacific and Europe)
Sat 1600-1630 17580 kHz (To Europe, try also in the Americas and Asia-Pacific)
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz (To the Americas, try also in Europe)
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz (To Europe, try also in the Americas and Asia-Pacific)
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.
DigiDX transmits DX news in MFSK32 and sometimes other modes:
Sunday 2030-2100 UTC on 11580Khz (Via WRMI Florida, to Europe)
Sunday 2330-2400 UTC on 11580kHz (Via WRMI Florida, to North and South America)
Monday 2000-2030 UTC on 3975 kHz (via IBC)
Wednesday 2100-2130 UTC on 3975 kHz (via IBC)
Italian Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) has digital modes as follows:
EVERY WEDNESDAY ON 3975 KHZ 20.30-21.00 UTC in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500
EVERY FRIDAY ON 9955 KHZ 02.25-02.30 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SATURDAY ON 1584 KHZ 21.25-21.30 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SUNDAY ON 7730 KHZ 00.55-01.00 UTC in MFSK32
EVERY SUNDAY ON 6070 KHZ 11.30-12.00 UTC in MFSK32 and OLIVIA 16-500 (VIA RADIO BCLNEWS)
For the complete IBC transmission schedule, including voice broadcasts, visit http://ibcradio.webs.com/
Winter SWL Fest. I am planning to attend the Winter SWL Fest, March 2-4, 2017, at Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia.
Hope to see you there. Information at http://www.swlfest.com .
I hope you can tune in and write in this weekend.
Kim
Kim Andrew Elliott, KD9XB
Producer and Presenter
VOA Radiogram
voaradiogram.net
Twitter: @VOARadiogram (especially active just before, during, and after broadcasts)
