Article from Radio World, see www.rwonline.com
>U.S. Moving Away From Shortwave?
>
> Unfortunately, the IBB and the State Department¹s younger computer
>generation seem to believe shortwave radio broadcasting is now passé.
>
> by Jack Quinn
>
> For a different perspective
> see Brian Conniff's commentary
> ?
>
> There must be something in the water that causes some of Washington¹s
> high-level political appointees to ignore good engineering practices and the
> laws of physics.
>
> First, despite the failed example of the Italian FM deregulation
>free-for-all,
> the FCC has decided that the creation of low-power FM will not degrade
> decades of the agency¹s careful spectrum management. Secondly, the U.S.
> Department of State and the International Broadcasting Board appear to
> believe they can substitute FM, the Internet and satellites for high-power
> international shortwave broadcasting.
>
> The Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty have provided the
> world¹s closed societies with the truth about what goes on in
>their own country
> and in the rest of the world. Ex-USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev admitted
> that these radios gave hope to the oppressed and were instrumental
>in bringing about social change and
> democracy to countries that were previously under the Soviet
>Union¹s domination.
>
> Unstable world
>
> While there is no longer a so-called Cold War, the planet is not
>entirely peaceful, and the world press is not
> free. It is still unstable perhaps more so than ever and there
>is a desperate need to continue our powerful
> beacons of truth and hope.
>
> In 1995, all the U.S. radio services VOA, Radio Free
>Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and Radio Marti
> were combined under the new IBB with an oversight board of
>governors comprised of presidential appointees
> and a director.
>
> Since October 1999, they report to the U.S. Department of State
>directly instead of the U.S. Information
> Agency, thanks to Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C. He insisted that the
>USIA be eliminated effective Oct. 1, 1999, as
> part of his negotiations creating the 1995 Department of State
>Reorganization Act.
>
> I believe the USIA is the first agency in the history of the
>United States government to be terminated. It was
> created at the outset of the cold war to combat USSR propaganda
>against the United States. The USSR was
> dissolved in the late 1980¹s. Now there was no reason for it to exist.
>
> With all due respect, none of the IBB board members or the present
>IBB director has had hands-on broadcast
> experience, especially in high frequency shortwave.
>
> Unfortunately, the IBB and the State Department¹s younger computer
>generation seem to believe shortwave
> radio broadcasting is now passé. So misguided is their thinking,
>they recently replaced the director of
> engineering an honest world-renowned engineering authority
>because he wouldn¹t support their misguided
> technically deficient conceptions.
>
> Only FM?
>
> During the Kosovo war (fall of 1999), State Department officials
>decided that young people of today listen only
> to FM. When the crisis arose, they insisted on the immediate
>installation of five stations distributed
> throughout Romania, Bosnia, and Kosovo mainly targeting Belgrade
>and Novi Sad, the two major Serbian
> population centers.
>
> As FM broadcasting is limited to line-of-sight, borders cannot be
>penetrated further than a few dozen miles,
> depending upon the transmitter site elevation and the mountainous terrain.
>
> For example, the radio horizon is only 100 miles from the Romanian
>5,000-foot mountaintop installation.
> Belgrade is 80 miles away, but it only takes a 100-watt jammer to
>lock on to every FM receiver in the coverage
> area.
>
> Although the IBB uses Harris 10 kW transmitters with eight stacked
>Scala log-periodic arrays having 14.5 dB
> total gain for an effective radiated power of 300 kW, President
>Slobodan Milosevic¹s Serbian government can,
> and has, jammed these broadcasts at will.
>
> The State Department and IBB argue that we need new methods to
>deliver programs in this 21st-century. Why
> not the Internet or satellites instead of shortwave? They are not
>yet viable substitutes by any means. Some of
> these techniques are now in limited use by IBB, but further
>expansion must first be subject to the availability
> of such new technologies in the third world countries.
>
> The vast populations of the world are still in under-developed
>countries. The Third World has historically relied
> upon medium-wave and shortwave transistor radios. To them, the
>recently introduced BayGen hand cranked
> radio made in South Africa (which does not require expensive and
>scarce batteries) is a significant
> development.
>
> It¹s anyone¹s guess as to when these countries will have new
>technological capability, but it is safe to say that
> it won¹t be for another decade or two, at least. In the meantime,
>we have no choice but to maintain our
> existing time-proven broadcasting system.
>
> No substitute for high power
>
> FM, the Internet or satellite transmissions cannot substitute for
>a network total of 144 high-power, 250,000-
> and 500,000-watt medium- and shortwave stations worldwide. And
>even these facilities need to be upgraded
> in order to adequately cover today¹s international hot spots.
>
> The dollar value of all IBB technical facilities is in the order
>of $3 billion to $4 billion. They could probably not
> be duplicated today for that amount, and the engineering talent
>required for such a tremendous effort no
> longer exists.
>
> The present U.S. government¹s 10-year foreign transmitting site
>lease agreements are irreplaceable, and
> because of political changes, it is doubtful that they could all
>be renegotiated at all, or on the same terms.
> What has taken several decades to build must be carefully
>maintained for the foreseeable future.
>
> To avoid irreparable damage to our international broadcast
>services, the State Department and the IBB board
> of governors must proceed with caution. If there are any doubts
>that medium- and shortwave broadcasting are
> the only practical delivery systems, then Congress should demand a
>review by an independent professional
> advisory group from both inside IBB and outside technical
>experts to avoid irreparable damage to our
> international broadcast services.
>
> Jack Quinn has been involved with the VOA and RFE/RL throughout
>his career, including stints as Manager of Technical
> Operations, RFE, Munich, 1952-1956 and 26 years as director of
>marketing for EIMAC/Varian supplying high-power
> vacuum tubes and applications assistance to both organizations and
>their suppliers.
>
> Reach him at (707) 526-6769 or via e-mail at W6MZ@worldnet.att.net
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