Month: March 2024

New Zealand

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Hearing our local RNZ National AM outlet at degraded level yesterday, I queried the situation with RNZ.  There was no information of any scheduled transmission outages on their website.

As I suspected, RNZ have confirmed the 837 transmitter at Otaika south of Whangarei is off air while they replace the mast.
RNZ hopes to have the AM service back on into the new mast by late Thursday 21 March at this stage. 

This provides a rare opportunity for DXers to positively hear the (usually) synchronised 837 transmission from Waipapakauri near Kaitaia. 
Good DX!

Bryan Clark, Mangawhai, New Zealand (2024-03-18)

Space Weather

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EQUINOX AURORA ALERT: Northern Spring begins tomorrow, and almost immediately a CME is expected to graze Earth’s magnetic field. The impact could spark a display of equinox auroras fueled by the Russell-McPherron effect. NOAA is forecasting G1-class geomagnetic storms on March 20-21. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

Ydun Ritz (2024-03-18)

Colombia

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I inform you that the Colombian station HJAX La Voz de Antioquia 1080 AM with 10 Kw belonging to the Júpiter Radio Network, can also be heard in a test signal as a repeater from Medellín (Antioquia) on channel 1530 Khz, which was occupied by the religious station HJDN The Voice of Jesus Christ Yeshu’a with 5 kW.
Some changes in this regard could come in the next few days.

Ruben Medina CLM (2024-03-17)

Czechia

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Re.: https://mediumwave.info/2024/03/17/czechia-27/

Since I did not see it mentioned here yet, the Ostrava-Svinov MW transmitter mast was demolished a week before Praha-Zbraslav – on 28. february 2024. It used to broadcast ČRo Dvojka on 639 kHz/30kW, ČRo Plus on 1071kHz/5kW and Radio Dechovka on 1233kHz/2kW – all 3 from the same mast. Radio Dechovka stopped broadcasting on 28.2.2021 (coincidentally exactly 3 years before demolition, ČRo Dvojka and Plus switched off together with all other ČRo transmitters at the end of 2021. I don’t know about any pictures or video from the demolition, but there is a short czech report: 
https://www.televizniweb.cz/2024/03/ostravsky-vysilac-svinov-sel-k-zemi-z-lokality-se-uz-delsi-dobu-nevysilalo/

The Praha-Zbraslav transmitter masts were demolished a week later on 6.3.2024. I don´t know what happened to the Tesla transmitters, but maybe someone more knowledgeable will show up and tell us. There is also a video report from the demolition (begins on 22:12):  https://www.ceskatelevize.cz/porady/10101491767-studio-ct24/224411058290306/

Jakub Fabo (2024-03-17)

Colombia

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I tell you that there has been a name change in the following Colombian stations and that they are now owned by AWR:

Now kW Before (Ex-) City
HJOP AWR Colombia 1010 AM 10 Cardenal Barranquilla System
HJDZ AWR Colombia 1020 AM 15 Esperanza Colombia Radio Bucaramanga
HJUO AWR Colombia 1360 AM 5 Sistema Cardenal Cartagena
HJII AWR Colombia 1470 AM 5 Esperanza Colombia Radio Medellín
HJRM AWR Colombia 1580 AM 5 Sistema Cardenal Sincelejo

Ruben Medina CLM (2024-03-15)

Pakistan

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Financial constraints have badly affected Radio Pakistan’s Medium Wave (MW) transmitter’s performance in Larkana shrinking its coverage to about 20 per cent.

It was learnt that the coverage of the 100-kiloWatt High Power Transmitter (HPT), installed in 2017 in the Chuharpur area, gradually shrunk over the last few years owing to frequent faults. Delays in the repair work, apparently caused by financial constraints, have now restricted the transmission coverage from 300-400 kilometres radius until a few years ago to just 100 kilometres radius now.
Saeed Ahmed Shaikh, the Director General of the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), speaking to Dawn on Thursday, said not only Larkana’s, but HPT of Hyderabad had also become ‘underpowered’, the terminology used to define weak signal strength and reduced coverage.
Sources in the PBC said that originally three HPTs were imported from Canada and installed at Multan, Hyderabad and Larkana. The output of Hyderabad has now shrunk to 50 to 60 per cent.
Sources said that due to defects in the Larkana HPT, its signals had fallen weak causing feeble and broken sound being received by listeners.
Administratively, 100 kiloWatt HPTs are under the control of PBC Headquarters but looking after the one in Larkana has been entrusted to the division’s Broadcasting House which is an administrative lacuna. As a routine practice, faulty instruments are sent to the PBC Headquarters for repair, which ultimately causes ‘weak signal strength’ until the repair work is completed.

Normally, the MW transmission’s on-air time is 8am to 12noon and 3pm to 10pm.
For the last three years, the ‘monitor’ of the Larkana HPT has turned black, hence not readable. The staff concerned cannot see the status of on-air transmission, according to the sources.
The whole story
https://www.dawn.com/news/1821505/larkana-radio-stations-coverage-shrinks-to-20pc-due-to-faults-in-transmitters

Ydun Ritz (2024-03-15)

Colombia

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HJEI Radio Guadalajara 1410 AM Colombian station that broadcasts its signal from the municipality of Guadalajara de Buga in Valle del Cauca has been reactivated and authorized to operate with 5 kW of power. (translated from Spanish)

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Ruben Medina (2024-03-14)