Hi out there,
below is one of two answers I got from SW Radio Africa on
4880, and anyone familiar with reception conditions in SE Africa
could
send on their advice to Richard. I've done my best to
answer Richard's mail, but I know that there are better "experts"
around.
I thought my AOR AR7030 had gone
wild yesterday June 3, at 1730 UT...
The other and first mail came from Simon Surrey,
Technical Manager, SW Radio Africa, just one hour after sending the report.
His mail address is [EMAIL PROTECTED].
I let this correspondence speak for itself.
73 Johan Berglund
Trollhättan, Sweden
- Original Message -
From: richard
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 1:45 PM
Subject: FW: Reception report 4880 kHz
Dear
Johan,
Thank
you for this report and your observations. It is exciting to know that we can be
picked up in Sweden. In fact you seem to be able to hear us better than many
people in our target area of Southern Africa.
If it
is not too much trouble I wonder if you could explain in a few words how people
in Zimbabwe with a short wave radio might be able to get a better signal. At
this time of year there is a big problem with propagation and many people cannot hear our programmes,
which is frustrating.
Is it possible to connect a regular short wave
radio to a wire propped against a tree to get a better signal? Is there an
optimum length of Arial to pick up signals on the 60 metre band?
Again many thanks for your
e-mail.
Richard
- SW Radio Africa 4880 KHz on
the 60m
band
http://www.swradioafrica.com
-Original Message-From: simon Sent: 03 June
2003 23:54To: staffSubject: FW: Reception report 4880
kHz
I have
replied. What a nice report to have.
Steve
-Original Message-From: Johan Berglund
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]Sent: 03 June 2003 23:41To:
techSubject: Reception report 4880 kHz
Trollhättan, Sweden
June
3, 2003
SW Radio Africa;
Dear Sirs,
I congratulate you to the very fine reception of your
broadcasts on short wave
4880 kHz in the 60 metre band. Even "way up" here in western Sweden, your
programmes are heard very well, with an astonishing signal strenght,
and fine
readability. There was simply no comparision to other signals
from Africa in the
same metre band at the time. I tuned in at 17.30 GMT and stayed with
you for
an hour. June 3, 2003.
The news coverage of what is going on in Zimbabwe also stunned me,
with so many
details and perspectives of the peaceful demonstrations against Robert
Mugabe's
illegimate regime now taking place. This one hour of listening gave me
more insight
than a dozen of newspaper articles.
I do listen with a semi-professional radio, the U.K. designed and
manufactured AOR
AR7030, and a 50 metre outdoor wire for aerial, but I am very sure
that any receiver
with shortwave covering the 60 metre band would pick it up very
well - especially in
your "target area" of Zimbabwe.
On a scale 1-5 for signal strenght, you get 4, interference 4 (just
occasional telegraph beeps,
and some voice communication, in Russian, I think), 5 for noise (no
background buzz) 4 for
propagation (steady, only slightly variable signal strength) and 4+ for
overall quality of recep-
tion. SINPO 44544.
A few details from your broadcast (times are GMT) At 17.33 an interview
with a woman
who really had a horror story to tell, how she and her husband going
in their car had had a
man jumping onto the roof of the car and stabbing it with a knife (or was
it a bayonet ?), how
they had passed policemen not bothering and how they eventually escaped
that drama...
After that you spelled out you website and at 19.43 a news story how staff
members of The
Voice of the People had been beaten up by "war veteran" militiamen. Station
identification :
-You're listening to the news from SW Radio Africa, Zimbabwe's Independent
Voice. Then
about the arrests in Harare, MPs in police custody , and an interview
with the owner of a Harare
farm supply store. The news went on well beyond normal time, you
said, because of the
vast amount of things to report on. It came to a close at about
18.18, with a frequency
reminder about 4880 kHz, and the programme went on with a long and
catchy Zimbabwe
Freedom Hymn.
I will indeed listen to 4880 kHz tomorrow too, and keep in touch with
developments. I strongly
support your cause, and this broadcast that I heard made
me very much more aware of the
terrible situation that freedom and democracy is suffering in Zimbabwe. I
have not yet visited
your website, just wanted to write this letter first, with a very
fresh impression of your programme.
Thank you so much, and all my best wishes. If you have the time, please
just acknowledge that
I have heard your programme.
