Radio Friends of Assam

Radio Friends of Assam
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Saturday, August 18, 2012

Akashvani Dibrugarh- 43 Glorious Years On the Air Waves

Commissioned on February 15, 1969 by the then Union Information & Broadcasting (I&B) minister Nandini Satpathi, the station began working individually in a temporary studio at Lepetkota, near Dibrugarh. The station finally started full-fledged programme production from its present campus at Moloshubacha in 1974 and now playing a role of mirror to the people and culture of Upper Assam. This station is also associated with the lifeline of a major part of Arunachal Pradesh as before the establishment of the AIR station here, people in Arunachal Pradesh used to hear transmissions by Chinese radio which they could receive easily. However, after the establishment of AIR, Dibrugarh, people got to hear something Indian on their radio sets.

All India Radio Dibrugarh has now become like backbone for the cultural and educational practices in Upper Assam. With its variant entertaining and informative programs this station is providing excellent radio taste to the people of Assam. Many of the emerging musicians, play artist and journalists in Assam have began their professional journey from this station and many of the emerging artists are now associated with AIR Dibrugarh. Eminent personalities like like Lutfur Rehman, Syed Sadullah, Munin Bhuyan and Shyamananda Baishya once dedicated their entire for this station. The radio station here has earlier won national awards for legendary radio plays like Hati Aru Phandi by Munin Bhuyan, Rajani Bidur by Lutfur Rahman, Setu by Tarun Chandra Pamegam and Urukha by Syed Saadullah. During these 43 years, the radio station here has also aired several much-listened interviews with leading personalities like Khushwant Singh, BBC editor Rita Payne and drama personality Habib Tanvir, among others. In order to conserve the cultural ethnicity of the region, AIR Dibrugarh has collected samples of folk and tribal music of this region to preserve
them at National AIR Archive, New Delhi. 

Amidst the gradually growing threat of 'spicy' matters romping the airwaves, the Dibrugarh AIR station still maintains its public broadcasting identity by dwelling on need-based and people-oriented programmes. Of late, the station is embarking on revenue generation through public broadcasting. There is also a farmers' phone-in programme which is gaining popularity as it offers expert solution on various agricultural problems faced by farmers. Among the missionary programmes, "Aajir Dintoo" broadcasted every morning at 7:30 A.M. has established good rapport with listeners by targeting youth restlessness. This programme has a sub-component called Projujokor Chinta attempting employment generation among the rural youths by implementation of strategic and timely farming methods. Among other popular programs of Akashvani Dibrugarh some are Swastha Charcha (health related discussions), Hindi Sikkhar Pathdan (Hindi Learning class), Bidyarthir Onusthan (Educational program for students relayed from AIR Guwahati), Karpungpuli (Program for Missing listeners) and other ethnic language programs in, Kromsoh (series of Novel reading) and some of its entertaining musical programs like Gitanjali (program of Sugam Sangeet), Antara (program of Hindi film songs), Suror Satsori (program of popular Assamese songs), Hindi film song program for Defence persons and Indian Army, Western Music program at the afternoon are are very popular among listeners.

AIR Dibrugarh can be heard on 567 kHz mediumwave with three transmissions daily. The morning transmission of this station begins at 5:30 AM IST and run till 9:35 AM IST (Sundays 10:20 AM IST); Afternoon transmission begin at 12:00 PM IST and lasts till 15:00 PM IST and the evening transmission begins at 15:30 PM IST and ends at 22:30 PM IST. All India Radio Dibrugarh or Akashvani Dibrugarh with its 300 KW medium wave transmitter is one of the most powerful MW station in north east India and they frequently receives letters of appreciation from HAM radio operators as far as Netherlands and Finland. We hope in the coming years AIR Dibrugarh can be able to reach more milestones in the history of broadcast in India.....


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

AIR Independence Day Transmission Observation 2012


Dear Friends,

Wishing You all a Happy Independence Day. 



Here is my observation on All India Radio's special transmission of live commentary of Independence Day celebration and Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh's speech at Red Fort, New Delhi. 

Receiver Used: Sangean ATS-909
Antenna: Kestral W31MS Actice Loop
Monitoring Time: 0135 to 0240 UTC. 

On Shortwave: 

4775 Imphal: Heard with SINPO 35443; Here is a video:






4800 Hydrabad: Heard but very weak
4810 Bhopal: Not heard.
4820 & 7210 Kolkata: Not heard, China very strong. 
4830 Jammu: Not heard.
4835 Gangtok: Not heard
4850 Kohima: Heard with SINPO 55444; Here is a video:


4870 Delhi: Not heard.
4880 Lucknow: Not Heard.
4895 Kurseong: Heard with SINPO 24222
4910 Jaipur: Not heard. 
4920 Chennai: Not heard, China very strong. 
4940 Guwahati: Not heard. 
4950 Srinagar: not heard.
4960 Ranchi: not heard.
4965 & 6020 Shimla: not heard.
4970 Shillong: not heard.
4990 Itanagar: not heard.
5010 & 7290 Trivandrum: not heard
5040 Jaypore: not heard.
5050 Aizawl: Not heard. 
7430 Bhopal: Heard with SINPO 33333
7390 Port Blair: Not heard. 
7335 Imphal: not heard. 
7420 Hydrabad: Not heard. 
7380 Chennai: Not heard. 
9870 B'lore: Heard with SINPO 55444
11620 B'lore: Heard with SINPO 35333
9595 Delhi: Heard with SINPO 54444
6155 Aligarh: Heard but very weak.
6030 Delhi: Not heard.
13620 B'lore: Heard with SINPO 55555
15050 Delhi: Heard with SINPO 55555
17510 Delhi: Heard with SINPO 42232 

On Medium Wave:

567 Dibrugarh: Heard with SINPO 55555
639 Kohima: Heard with SINPO 55444

73,

Prithwiraj Purkayastha


Tuesday, August 14, 2012

AIR Special Transmission of President's Address to the Nation



Warm 65th Independence Day greetings from Assam to all. 

Here is my monitoring observation for AIR special transmission of eve of Independence Day address to the nation by the Honourable President of India His Excellency Pranab Mukherjee for the first time after he is being elected as President last month. My QTH location is JORHAT, ASSAM (Latitude: 26° 45' 0 N, Longitude: 94° 13' 0 E.) and for this observation I have used Sangean ATS 909 and Kestral W31MS active loop antenna.


On Shortwave: Between 1330-1345 UTC

4760 Leh - Not Heard
4760 Port Blair- Heard with SINPO- 22222
4775 Imphal- Heard with SINPO- 55444
4800 Hyderabad : Strong Chinese signal, station was almost inaudible.
4810 Bhopal: Heard with SINPO- 33333
4820 Kolkata: Not heard. Strong Chinese signal.
4835 Gangtok: Heard with SINPO- 34333
4840 Mumbai: Heard with SINPO- 35333
4850 Kohima : Heard with SINPO- 55455 (Very strong and clear reception)
4880 Lucknow: Heard with SINPO- 45444
4895 Kurseong : Heard with SINPO- 44334
4910 Jaipur: Heard with SINPO- 32233
4920 Chennai : Not Heard, Strong Chinese signal.
4940 Guwahati : Heard with SINPO- 44444
4950 Srinagar: Heard with SINPO- 24222
4965 Shimla: Heard with SINPO- 45343
4970 Shillong: Heard with SINPO- 55444 (Here is a voice file recorded:https://www.box.com/s/5eac4df9115c09fd0546)
4990 Itanagar : Heard with SINPO- 45434
5010 Thiruvananthapuram: Heard but with strong noise and almost unreadable.
5015 Delhi : Not Heard.
5040 Jeypore: Heard with SINPO- 35333
5050 Aizawl : Not Heard. Strong Chinese station instead of AIR Aizawl.
6030 Delhi : Heard with SINPO- 22222

9425 Delhi: Heard with SINPO- 54444 (Here is a recording of the first few minutes of President's speech recorded on this frequency- https://www.box.com/s/8be21a26898739da6815
9470 Aligarh : Not Heard.
9870 Bangalore: Heard with SINPO- 22222 (CRI English was strong)

On Mediumwave: Between 1345-1410 UTC


567 Dibrugarh: Heard with SINPO 54555. Interestingly while checking this station at 1400 UTC I heard Lao National Radio with its English language transmission interfering with AIR Dibrugarh. Here is a recording of this interesting log: https://www.box.com/s/d3ecb73c6633caed218b.
639 Kohima: Heard with SINPO- 33333
657 Kolkata A: Heard with SINPO- 45444
675 Itanagar: Heard with SINPO- 44444
828 Silchar: Heard Hindi translation of President's Speech with SINPO 43444
864 Shillong: Heard Hindi translation of President's Speech with SINPO 54555
882 Imphal: : Heard Hindi translation of President's Speech with SINPO 54444
954 Najibabad: Heard Hindi translation of President's Speech with SINPO 34333
972 Cuttack A: Heard Hindi translation of President's Speech with SINPO 35333
1062 Pasighat: Heard Hindi translation of President's Speech with SINPO 24222
1125 Tezpur: Heard Hindi translation of President's Speech with SINPO 44344
1179 Rewa: Heard Hindi translation of President's Speech with SINPO 23232
1233 Tura: Heard Hindi translation of President's Speech with SINPO 33333
1512 Kokrajhar: Heard Hindi translation of President's Speech with SINPO 24222
1584 Diphu: Heard Hindi translation of President's Speech with SINPO 25333


By clicking the below link you can listen to that eve of Independence Day address to the nation by Honourable President of India His Excellency Pranab Mukherjee transmitted via most of the national and regional channels of All India Radio today between 7:00 - 7:30 PM (IST) on 14th August 2012.  


73,

Prithwiraj 


Bangladesh DX Report on AWR Wavescan Next Sunday


Listen Bangladesh DX Report on Wavescan of AWR next Sunday, 19th August 2012, written and presented by our good friend Salahuddin Dolar of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. A special qsl will be issued for correct reception report.

                                                        
  Schedule for AWR Wavescan:

1200 1230 English NE-India,  Bangladesh 17535
1530 1600 English Nepal, Tibet 15255
1600 1630 English C-India 15360
1600 1630 English S-India 11825
1630 1700 English N-India 11740

For e-QSL please send report to dxbangla@gmail.com



For Printed QSL please send report with 1 IRC or 1 US dollar as return postage to: 

Bangladesh DX Report, C/O Salahuddin Dolar Vill+P.O. Chaumahani,  P.S. Motihar, Rajshahi-6000,  Bangladesh

Saturday, August 4, 2012

INDIAN DX REPORT: Part-4

INDIAN DX REPORT: Part-4 (Date of Broadcast: 29th July 2012)

Written and Edited by: Prithwiraj Purkayastha
Presented by: Jeff White
Program: Wavescan 
Station: Adventist World Radio & WRMI


The first broadcast in India had started through the Radio Club of Bombay in 1923 and it was only on July 23, 1927 that the Indian Broadcasting Company Ltd was set up as a collaborative venture by the Government of India, which later evolved as All India Radio. On 23rd July this premier radio broadcast organization of Asia has celebrated its 85 th anniversary and so we would like
to dedicate this edition of Indian DX Report to All India Radio. Here are some updates from stations of AIR.


1. The north eastern states in India got some very nice Shortwave stations and AIR KOHIMA is one among them. Situated in the state capital of Nagaland, this 50 kilowatt station was inactive during last couple of months, but in recent days AIR Kohima being heard regularly on 4580 kHz, which may definitely a subject of interest for you. The present schedule of AIR Kohima is on 4850 kHz between 0000 to 0415 UTC and 1000 to 1700 UTC // and on 6065 kHz between 0430 to 0510 UTC and 0700 to 0900 UTC. Here is a recent recording of that station......<Voice File>

Meanwhile a sad news from this same station is that the station director Mrs Neizokhonuo Nakhro passed away on June 20th after a prolonged illness. She was 59. Born on December 1, 1953, she joined AIR, Kohima as assistant script editor in 1977. On behalf of all listeners of AWR and Indian DX Report I pray for the peace of diseased soul and convey our condolence to her family.

2. Recently a team of Indian DX Club International has visited the AIR Kolkata transmitter site located at Amtala near Kolkata. One 50 kilowatt SW transmitter, one 200 kilowatt, one 100 kilowatt and one 20 kilowatt Medium Wave transmitters enriched this AIR station. Few days back the 100 kilowatt medium wave transmitter mast was badly damaged due a severe storm leaving Kolkata B MW transmissions effected. Now this Kolkata B medium wave transmission is broadcast through its SW frequency 4820 kHz which can be heard till 1840 UTC as an extended schedule. So you have every possibility to catch AIR Kolkata on 4820 kHz during this extended schedule for next few weeks until that transmitter mast problem is resolved. And a good news from AIR Kolkata is that a new high power DRM transmitter reached the site and
will be fully functional as soon as it commissioned.

3. AIR Rajkot is testing and will be on air at the end of July. A Super Power Transmitter is testing during day times on 1071 & 1080 kHz in AM & DRM modes.Once test are over the total hours of broadcast will be 14 hrs 15 minutes per day. The transmission timings will be from 0015 UTC to 0430 UTC, 0830 UTC 1130 UTC and from 1230 UTC to 1930 UTC beamed to Pakistan in Urdu, Sindhi & Baluchi. The DRM will be 1080 kHz with Vividh Bharathi Service.

4. And here is some good news from AIR. All India Radio has opened its doors to foreign broadcasters recently after a long wait. Reports are coming that NHK World Radio Japan Hindi Service is already on the AIR FM Network. FM Rainbow Hyderabad is running TEST transmissions of Radio Japan Hindi programs on daily basis from Sunday, July 1. The schedule is from 1600 to 1630 UTC on 101.9 MHz. Hyderabad will be followed by Jaipur, Mumbai, and some other major cities across India. NHK is planning to increase the number of the stations by Oct. 28th.

5. Monitoring Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation's transmissions for last few days and found that the Hindi service of SLBC which is scheduled to begin at 0020 UTC on 11905 kHz was not heard until 0200 UTC. From 0200 UTC onwards this transmission heard with very weak signal and severe interference. And on 7190 kHz nothing was heard during that scheduled
transmission time. Again the All Asia English language transmission of SLBC has been heard from 0200 UTC with disturbed reception condition on 15745 kHz. This transmission suppose to begin at 0030 UTC. Meanwhile broadcasts in Hindi from SLBC at 1330-1530 UTC on 6005, 7190 & 11905 kHz has been discontinued.

And with this we came to the end of this edition of Indian DX Report. For this edition I would like thank our friend Victor Goonetilleke of Sri Lanka and all members of Indian DX Club International and news sources of DX-India.

Two beautifully designed QSLs are ready to be distributed among our listeners who send us a correct reception report for this edition of IDXR. For sending a printed paper QSL by post we request our listeners in India to send 1 IRC or Mint Indian stamps worth Rs. 25/- (for each QSL) as return postage and all listeners in abroad are requested to send 2 IRCs or mint Indian Stamps of same value as return postage with the reception report for a paper QSL by post. Reception reports without return postage will be awarded eQSLs. Please send your comments and reception reports to:


THE "INDIAN DX REPORT"
C/o. Prithwiraj Purkayastha
PUB BONGALPUKHURI
JORHAT 785001
ASSAM, INDIA.

Or email your reports to <indiandxreport@gmail.com>

Thank you all for listening.

Please listen the recorded file of Indian DX Report here: 


73s.