On the programme:
- Sombre pages in the history of radio broadcasting in Bulgaria
- Radio calendar
- Broadcast tips
- DX mix
Sombre pages in the history of radio broadcasting in Bulgaria
On November 24, 1941 the State Protection Act took force in Bulgaria, which penalized the listening of foreign radio stations. To that date Bulgaria knew only restrictions that had been introduced in the 1920s and that were related to high excise duties, subscriptions and registrations. In 1939 when World War II broke out, the German troops headed for the Balkans. Without any resistance from their allies in Hungary and Romania they occupied Yugoslavia and reached the Bulgarian borders. However, the pro-German affiliations took over among the Bulgarian authorities, and Bulgaria joined the Pact set up by Germany, Italy and Japan. At that time there were a few thousand radio sets, the majority of them receiving on long, medium and short waves, located mostly in the cities but also in some of the bigger villages, and especially those that had electricity. In the smaller villages only the village pub, the mayor’s office and the wealthier villagers had wireless using electricity from batteries. The radio broadcasts included programmes of Radio Sofia, but there were certain slots in which Radio Varna and Radio Stara Zagora also aired their own broadcasts. After the Bulgarian troops entered Skopje the local radio station joined the network of Bulgarian radio programmes on medium waves on April 20, 1941. By November 24 that same year the Bulgarian radio listeners could tune in freely to any foreign radio station. After that date they could no longer do that because of the legal ban. The punishment for listening to radio broadcasts from abroad or lending their wireless to third parties to listen to such broadcasts was more than 5 years in prison and confiscation of the radio set plus a huge fine. To that end special committees toured the country and sealed the tuners with red wax so that listeners could only receive Radio Sofia, Radio Varna, Radio Stara Zagora and Radio Skopje. What is more they collected tax from the radio listeners for the kind of service the state had just performed. However, there were people who broke the law and listened illegally to the foreign radio stations. The interval signal of radio London or BBC, which represented the Morse coding of the letter V for Victory, was used as a password for exchanging commentaries on what they had just heard on the wireless. When they met they tapped each other three times on the elbow and one time on the wrist, which was the equivalent of the Morse code for the letter V. The ban on listening foreign radio stations included also the allied German stations for the Balkans, such as Voice of South East Radio and Radio Danube. The Soviet authorities found an original way to broadcast their propaganda. On October 7, 1941 they started broadcasting programmes of Radio Voice of the People on the wavelengths of the Bulgarian radio stations, and in the intervals between Radio Sofia’s news bulletins a voice was heard that disproved what had just been reported. The ban was dropped in 1944. But then radio listeners were ahead of even harder times which ended in late 1989.
Radio calendar
On December 1, 1951 the most powerful transmitter on short waves began broadcasting on 7670 kHz 15 kW. On December 1, 1925 Radio Budapest, Hungary aired its first broadcast. On December 3 China Radio International celebrated its 70th anniversary.
Broadcast tips
MADAGASCAR: The test transmissions of Radio Netherlands in Dutch and English from the Swedish transmitter located in Madagascar were received here from 21 to 25 November from 7 and from 14 hours on 21480 KHz with strong signal.
RUSSIA: On 24 November during the break of Radio Rassii broadcast on 9840 KHz here was observed radio Voice of Russia in English. Heard also on 12030 KHz. It was between 4 & 6 h from transmitters located near Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskii in Far East.
ALBANIA: China Radio International using transmitters located in Albania was heard on 24 November on harmonic frequencies as follows: at 9 h on 18920&14570 KHz during its program in Romanian and also at 11 h on 14440 KHz in Bulgarian.
INDIA: All India Radio Local News Studio was heard with news in English on 23 November from 15.30 h on 4895 , 4910 , 4920 , 4950 , 5010 and 9425 KHz. Another program in English was noted on next day at 14.15h on 9690, 11620 and 13710 KHz.
CUBA: Radio Havana Cuba with news bulletin in English was heard from 06.00 h on 6060 KHz. The frequencies announced were 6000, 6050, 6060 and 6150 KHz but only 6060 was noted here on 23 November.
LIBYA: Libya is again on short waves and was heard at 16 h with the beginning of program on 11600 KHz until end of the broadcast at 18.10 h. All of the program was in French on 23 November.
Compiled by Rumen Pankov
DX MIX
All times are in Universal Time Coordinated (UTC), all frequencies in kHz.
We begin with the winter schedules of radio stations that use transmitters of TDF:
The Korean KBS World Radio in French:2000-2100 on 5915 kHz Issoudun 250 kW / 182 degrees to Northwestern Africa
RTV Algeria / Holy Qura'n in Arabic via Issoudun 500 kW:-under an azimuth of 162 degrees to Central and Eastern Africa0400-0500 on 5865 kHz0500-0600 on 7295 kHz1800-2000 on 9390 kHz until February 25 and on 11955 kHz as of February 262000-2200 on 7455 kHz until February 25 and on 9390 kHz as of February 26
- under an azimuth of 194 degrees to North and West Africa0500-0600 on 5865 kHz0600-0700 on 5865 kHz until February 25 and on 7295 kHz as of February 261900-2300 on 7455 kHz
Radio Taiwan International-via Issoudun 500 kW1400-1458 on 15225 kHz / 060 degrees to Russia in Russian1600-1658 on 12055 kHz / 085 degrees to Southeast Asia in English1700-1758 on 7465 kHz / 55 degrees to Russia in Russian1700-1758 on 15690 kHz / 160 degrees to South Africa in English1900-1958 on 11875 kHz / 190 degrees to North Africa in French
-via Issoudun 250 kW1800-1858 on 3965 kHz / 345 degrees to the United Kingdom in English2000-2058 on 3965 kHz / 215 degrees to South Europe in Spanish2100-2158 on 3965 kHz / 50 degrees to West Europe in German
-via Montsinery 500 kW0200-0300 on 11995 kHz/ 195 degrees to South America in Spanish
Radio Vatican announces the following changes in the frequencies of its broadcasts to South Asia:-in Urdu Monday to Thursday, as follows:0025-0040 on a new frequency of 5890 kHz Tashkent 100 kW / 186 degrees, instead of on 5895 kHz and on a new frequency of 7410 kHz Santa Maria di Galeria 500 kW / 85 degrees, instead of on 7335 kHz-in Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam and English0040-0200 on a new frequency of 5890 kHz Tashkent 100 kW / 186 degrees, instead of on 5895 kHz and on a new frequency of 7410 kHz Tashkent 100 kW / 131 degrees, instead of on 7335 kHz
Adventist World Radio in Oromo and Amharic announces the following change:0300-0400 on a new frequency of 9610 kHz Wertachtal 250 kW / 135 degrees to East Africa. The replaced frequency is 7370 kHz.
RTV Marocaine in Arabic announces the following changes:0900-1500 on a new frequency of 15349.2 kHz Nador 250 kW / 110 degrees to Africa with mighty jamming until 1400 h from the Voice of Turkey in Turkish on 15350 kHz.The replaced frequency is 15341.2 kHz.1500-2100 on a new frequency of 15349.2 kHz Nador 250 kW / 110 degrees to Africa with mighty jamming until 1600 h from Radio Veritas Asia in Tagalog on 15350 kHz. The replaced frequency is 15344.2 kHz.
South Africa: Radio Channel Africa broadcasts in English, as follows:0300-0355 Monday to Friday on a new frequency of 6155 kHz Meyerton 250 kW / 19 degrees to East Africa. The replaced frequency is 6120 kHz.
Radio Australia in Indonesian broadcasting via Al-Dhabbaya 250 kW / 105 degrees to South East Asia announces the following changes in its frequencies: 0000-0030 on a new frequency of 9490 kHz, instead of on 9620 kHz2200-2330 on a new frequency of 9525 kHz, instead of on 9630 kHz
Author: Ivo Ivanov, Frequency Manager of Radio Bulgaria
English version by Radostin Zhelev
Radio Bulgaria website
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