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HFCC Expands Focus Beyond Shortwave
by Jeff White
on 12.08.2011
http://www.radioworld.com/article/hfcc-expands-focus-beyond-shortwave/50832
Jeff White of Radio Miami International is president of the National
Association of Shortwave
Broadcasters and chaired the HFCC/ASBU B11 Conference Committee.
>From left: Dowell Chow, president of Adventist World Radio; Horst Scholz, HFCC
>vice
chairman; Lauren Libby, president of Trans World Radio; Oldrich Cip, HFCC
chairman; and
Jeff White, NASB president
The B11 Seasonal High-Frequency Coordination Conference took place in Dallas in
September, organized by Continental Electronics and the National Association of
Shortwave
Broadcasters. In my mind, four significant points came out of the conference.
First was the fact that this was the first HFCC Conference to take place in the
United States
since the organization starting meeting in 1990. The HFCC, now in combination
with the Arab
States Broadcasting Union, meets twice each year in various countries; but it
had never met
in the U.S. In 2004, the NASB attempted to organize the A05 HFCC Conference in
Miami,
but Arab attendees were afraid that they would not be able to get visas, and
the meeting was
moved to Mexico City.
But the worlds of 2004 and today are different. This year the Arab countries
and Iran
supported the idea of having the HFCC in the U.S., and delegates attended from
Algeria,
Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. Now that the precedent has been
set,
hopefully some of the future meetings of the HFCC can take place in the U.S.
again. Major
thanks need to be expressed to the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau and
to Trans
World Radio for their sponsorship of the meeting, along with that of
Continental and the
NASB.
The second significant fact about the Dallas conference was that the attendance
was fairly
similar to that of other recent HFCC meetings.
Many people thought that recent reductions in shortwave transmissions by some
of the major
international broadcasters would lead to a much-reduced attendance at the HFCC
in Dallas.
But some 100 delegates from 32 countries and 40 frequency management
organizations
around the world took part.
And it was obvious from the "collision lists" produced at the conference that
even though a lot
of stations have cut back on their shortwave frequencies recently, the HF bands
are still quite
crowded and it can still be difficult to find a clear frequency amidst the
congestion of the
shortwave bands.
`Wake Up and Smell the Coffee´
As noted in Jeff White´s accompanying commentary, the High-Frequency
Coordination
Conference is expanding its scope. The following summary of the event is
excerpted from an
HFCC wrapup.
"There are some compelling reasons for doing this," stated Chairman Oldrich
Cip. "TV and
radio organizations for home listeners and their unions are busy discussing the
future of
distribution of the media content and the use of new - mainly digital -
technologies. We
would like to become a forum for such debate in international broadcasting. ...
We believe
that the debate should help develop a stable and effective system of content
delivery and the
synergy and cooperation between the old and new technologies."
Lauren Libby, president of broadcaster Trans World Radio, told the September
gathering:
"Digital vs. traditional broadcast platforms are vying for audiences.
Medium-wave vs. FM vs.
shortwave ... the list just gets bigger every day ... We live in a world where
change and
competition for the media consumer is getting fiercer monthly."
He exhorted delegates to "wake up and smell the coffee ... It´s time to not do
things
`business as usual.´ Shortwave platforms will remain viable with new awareness
campaigns
and cross-promotion from the digital platform being employed. Quality content
and quality
delivery can help keep this multinational content delivery platform viable and
appreciated. ...
Shortwave has a future ... if we are willing to once again make it an
attractive platform that is
easily accessible to the general public that is cross-promoted from other media
platforms."
Charles Caudill, president of World Christian Broadcasting, which operates KNLS
shortwave
in Alaska, said his organization remains dedicated to shortwave and is planning
to open a
new station in Africa, Madagascar World Voice.
"That new station and the some $11 million we are spending on expansion is the
reason I
have been asked to speak to you today," said Caudill. He said only 1 percent of
people in
Madagascar have access to the Internet. "Millions and millions do not have
satellite
receivers." Areas like Siberia have little or no Internet or cell phone
capability. Organizations
that cut back shortwave hours, he said, "have just left a larger audience for
World Christian
Broadcasting."
NASB member Adventist World Radio hosted a trip for delegates to Southwestern
Adventist
University in Keene, Texas. AWR has a network of shortwave, AM and FM stations,
as well
as podcasts and an LPFM. It recently upgraded its shortwave station KSDA in
Guam.
Attendees also visited Continental Electronics´ facilities, where they saw DRM
transmitters
under construction and witnessed a DRM exciter test.
Two new members were admitted to the HFCC: the Voice of Russia and Spaceline
from
Bulgaria.
Broader scope
The third important news item from Dallas was the decision by HFCC members to
expand
the scope of their organization.
Chairman Oldrich Cip made it clear that this will still be primarily a
shortwave frequency
coordination conference, but members voted to amend the articles of
incorporation to expand
the scope of the HFCC to include so-called "alternative delivery platforms" for
international
radio - things like the Internet, satellite, podcasts, local AM and FM radio
relays, etc.
Chairman Cip suggested that future meetings might devote one day of the
week-long
conference to these alternative delivery methods. In part, this move is
intended to counter the
outflow of HFCC members who have ended or might end their HF broadcasts for
budgetary
or other reasons.
Finally, DRM - Digital Radio Mondiale - stood out as a highlight of this
HFCC/ASBU
Conference.
While some people had written off DRM as a "savior" of shortwave due to the
lack of mass-
market, low-priced DRM receivers, DRM Consortium Vice Chairman Ludo Maes showed
up
at the HFCC in Dallas a few days after helping to introduce some new low-cost
(under $100)
DRM receivers at the IBC in Amsterdam.
Maes showed three of these new receivers at a DRM presentation at the HFCC in
Dallas,
and he told delegates that more of these types of receivers are coming soon. He
told the
HFCC that the governments of Russia and India have decided to undertake major
expansions of their domestic and international transmitter networks, all using
the DRM
system.
Adil Mina of Continental Electronics, the only manufacturer of high-powered
shortwave
transmitters in the United States, said that while many stations have reduced
their shortwave
transmissions, others are investing in new, modernized DRM-capable units. He
said that all
new orders for HF broadcast transmitters are requiring DRM capability.
So things are not as bleak as some would suggest in the shortwave industry. And
if new low-
cost digital receivers appear on the market in the near future, DRM could still
spur a
renaissance of shortwave radio. Some cynics will say "We´ve heard all this
before," but Adil
Mina proclaimed that "Now our promises are coming close to reality." Standard
rig : ICOM
R75 / 2x16 V / m@h40 heads Sennheiser
Please read and distribute this 15 year research article
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________________________
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Zacharias Liangas , Thessaloniki Greece
greekdx @ otenet dot gr ---
Pesawat penerima: ICOM R75 , Lowe HF150 , Degen 1102,1103,108,
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Antenna: 16m hor, 2x16 m V invert, 1m australian loop
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