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Shortwave

In order to understand a little about international broadcasting, it helps to understand a little about shortwave broadcasting. If you are a novice listener, or would like to become a listener, here are some frequently asked questions to help you get started.

Q : What is Shortwave?

Shortwave is a term used to describe the high frequencies (HF) which are used by international broadcasters to send their programs over long distances. As the frequencies get higher, the wavelength (measured in metres), gets smaller – or shorter. Generally the wavelength between 10 metres and 100 metres would be the range for shortwave bands.

Q : How does it travel such long distances?

Shortwaves have a unique property in that they reflect (actually they refract) off a region in the earth’s upper atmosphere called the ionosphere. This charged region is formed by ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Shortwaves then bounce off the ionosphere and off the earth’s surface in a series of what is known as “hops”. This ability to travel by reflecting off the ionosphere is called shortwave propagation.

Q : How come my local FM station cannot travel long distances?

Generally these types of radio waves are line of sight, meaning they can not travel over the horizon and follow the curvature of the earth. They do not have the unique property of reflecting off the ionosphere like the shortwave frequencies do.

Q : Can I use my regular AM/FM radio to hear shortwave broadcasts?

No. You need a shortwave radio, sometimes known as a world band radio to tune in shortwave frequencies. The good news is that most shortwave radios also include the regular AM/FM bands as well, making them very versatile.

Q : Will I need a special antenna?

A shortwave receiver, or world band radio comes with an antenna which should be fine for strong stations. Some even include an additional reel-up antenna for weaker stations along with instructions for ideal placement. For general listening this should be all you need.

Q : I was looking at a shortwave schedule and it listed all of the broadcast times in UTC. What is UTC?

UTC stands for Universal Time Coordinated. This time is set from the prime meridian (zero degrees longitude). Formerly known as Greenwich Mean Time, this serves as means for expressing international schedule times to a constant reference. If you do not have access to a clock displaying UTC time, you can usually find a table to convert your local time to UTC.

Q : Why does the broadcast schedule list different frequencies at different times? Why not use just one frequency like my local AM station?

The ionospheric propagation conditions change depending on the season, sunspots cycle, and time of day. If a broadcaster used only one frequency, it would only propagate for a portion of the day to any given target area. The frequencies take into accounts all of the mentioned factors as well as the location of the transmitter and the target location of listeners.

Q : Why shortwave? Why not just use satellites or the Internet to reach listeners?

Great question! First of all, the internet is a great way to go, except that a great number of people in the world do not even have phone service let alone access to the internet. Satellite transmission is excellent too, but often requires expensive and elaborate equipment. The fact is, shortwave has been around for a long time and still has some great advantages which make it a relevant and cost effective medium today. Shortwave receivers are affordable and are in wide use in many parts of the world. Today’s international broadcasters have a wide range of options open to get their programs heard. Satellite, Internet, cable, local AM/FM program placement are all excellent choices used by RCI depending on the location and target audience. However, in many cases, shortwave is still one of the best choices for many parts of the world.

Q : What happens when everything goes digital? What will happen to shortwave?

More than likely, shortwave will go digital too! In fact Radio Canada International is a member of a worldwide consortium called the DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) which is committed to establishing a worldwide standard for digital shortwave transmission. The benefits will be better reception, better sound quality, easier to use receivers, and the ability to imbed text data in the transmissions. For more information about the DRM, go to http://www.drm.org.

Satellite

Q : Can I receive RCI from my TV satellite dish?

A simple dish and receiver can receive the Hotbird 4 feed over Europe. The feeds from the AsiaSat-2 (for Asia) and the Intelsat 702 (for Africa) satellites are transmitted in digital format. As such, they are intended for professional downlink and rebroadcast, rather that for home reception.

RCI-1 offers programming in English, RCI-2 offers programming in French, and RCI-3 offers multilingual programming.

Listeners in North Africa, Europe and the Middle East can pick up RCI-1, RCI-2 and RCI-3 via Eutelsat's Hotbird-6 satellite as follows:

Hotbird-6 - 13 degrees E
Frequency: 12.597 GHz
Vertical polarization
SR: 27500 Msym/s FEC: 3/4
Network ID: RCI1 - RCI2 - RCI3

Listeners can also tune in to RCI-3 on AsiaSat-2 in Asia; Intelsat-707 in Africa; and Telstar-12 in Latin America:

Asiasat-2 - 100.5 degrees E
Frequency: 4.000 GHz
Vertical polarization
SR: 28125 Msym/s FEC: 3/4
PID: 2313

Intelsat-707 - 359.0 degrees E
Frequency: 3.9115 GHz
Polarization: RHCP
SR: 8022 Msym/s FEC: 1/2
PID: 647

Telstar-12 - 15.0 degrees W
Frequency: 11.974 GHz
Vertical polarization
SR: 3400 Msym/s FEC: 3/4
PID: 31520 Channel 75

A good electronics reseller will be able to tell you what unit best meets your needs and provide you with an installation kit explaining how to locate the satellite, hook up your antenna to the receiver, and connect the receiver to your television. Even if you only want to receive radio programs, you still need a television to display the menus and information generated by the satellite receiver.

Schedules and Frequencies

Q : Where can I find schedules for shortwave, Internet and/or satellite broadcasts?

You can write us at steve_lemay@radio-canada.ca or, better still, subscribe online!

Cyberjournal

Q : What is the Cyberjournal?

Once you sign up for this free and valuable service here, you'll receive via e-mail a daily summary of the top Canadian and international news stories.
 
The CyberJournal provides a user-friendly link with Canada for people living or travelling abroad. It takes only a few minutes to catch up on the latest Canadian news. As well, the CyberJournal includes sports and business news, the daily weather forecast, and a brief outline of the top international news.

Q : How do I subscribe to the Cyberjournal?

To subscribe to the Cyberjournal, you only need a valid email address and visit the section called Cyberjournal. Type your email in the field, select your language and click on the Send button. In 24 hours, you will receive a confirmation letter that you must reply to start receiving the Cyberjournal.

Q : How do I cancel my Cyberjournal subscription?

At the bottom of every Cyberjournal received, there is a link that you can click to cancel your subscription. You must be connected to your Internet service provider to unsubscribe.
 
If you have any problems to unsubscribe, send an email at bill_westenhaver@radio-canada.ca and we will help you.