AIR-India to shut down short wave service

[Fansome]

http://www.abu.org.my/Latest_News-@-AIR-India_to_shut_down_short_wave_service.aspx

AIR-India to shut down short wave service

The Board of India’s national broadcaster Prasar Bharati is contemplating shutting down the shortwave service of the External Services Division (ESD) of All India Radio (AIR).

While a proposal to switch to more affordable internet-based radio service is under consideration, a section of the board feels that an exorbitant amount is being spent to maintain the current short wave infrastructure.

AIR began external broadcasting shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War, with a service in Pushtu for listeners across the country’s then North West Frontier to counter radio propaganda from Germany, directed at Afghanistan, Iran and Arab countries.

At present, ESD broadcasts 57 transmissions daily, with almost 72 hours covering over 108 countries in 27 languages, out of which 15 are foreign and 12 are Indian.

According to an official in the ESD, its total annual budget is $15 million (Rs 1 billion), out of which approximately $14.24 million (Rs 950 million) is spent on the maintenance of short wave transmitters and the rest on the production of programmes and staff salaries.

[Pigmeat]

I always enjoyed listening to their signal come up out of the noise on 11620 as the afternoon progressed, going from weak to kind of decent, it was a good propagation indicator for South Asia.

Now, just where have you been young Fansome? Fires, floods, and famines seem to suspiciously break out when you wander off.

[skeezix]

I listen to AIR during the day (via the Twente WebSDR) at work and enjoy the programming, esp the music.

[atrainradio]

I always tune in on 9445 for the music. I hope they do not shut it off.

[Rafman]

This is a "Stake through the Heart" of shortwave DRM...

India was clearly the driver behind DRM & was running the only dual stream DRM broadcast I've ever witnessed [41m]...

The fragility of DRM becomes pretty evident if you've ever tried to receive it... Signal to Noise ratio has to be far better than most analog signals, without room for fades, or it goes robotic!!

I will always remember 11620 being their main frequency!!!

[BoomboxDX]

Pretty sad if it happens. Second largest country in the world, with a lot of SW receivers...

One of my coolest SW listening memories was hearing the AIR outlet in Madras, broadcasting to the Indian Ocean and E Africa, coming in on my DX440 very well that morning... it was this incredibly cool sounding recording of children chanting and stomping their feet, very tribal sounding.

The combination of the propagation, excellent reception, and the hi fi quality of the signal coming through the headphones of the DX440 made it a very memorable listening experience -- it was almost like being there. Probably sometimes 2003 or so.