The following article was published in Radio World.
It is published, by permission of the author, here. It underscores the variety of problems facing our government as our "leaders" make decisions without thinking through the consequences. There are, an in other industries, wise men to whom should, perforce, be listened. Jack Quinn is one of these wise men in the radio industry.
Don’t Close Shortwaves, Improve Them
Instead of Closing Valuable Stations Like Kavala, BBG’s Engineers Should Recommend Improvements
By Jack Quinn and Nick Olguin
U.S. International Broadcasting is dysfunctional and it is time to initiate vast changes. The Broadcast Board of Governors (BBG) has done enough damage to the U.S. Public Diplomacy.
The authors have been associated with both VOA and RFE/RL their entire professional lives. We have been openly critical of many decisions reached by government policy-makers affecting U.S. international broadcasting operations. But never more so than during the last eight years since a Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) was created in 1999 and placed in charge of delivering our nation’s public diplomacy messages. Members are appointed by the current President and given full responsibility for oversight of all U.S. non-military International Shortwave Broadcasting. The Board consists of 4-Democrats and 4-Republicans plus the non-voting U.S. Secretary of State.
Rather than remaining an oversight committee, it wasn’t long before the BBG basically took over day-to-day operational control of all the radios. None, repeat none, of the board members has any experience in international programming or in the technical operations of shortwave broadcasting. A few had experience in commercial U.S. AM/FM markets, also with the Internet, and with Satellite TV. One such appointee was founder and Chairman of Westwood One, a 1,000 AM/FM station nationwide network. It became immediately evident to interested observers that the BBG considers high-powered shortwave as something from medieval times. Neither did they appreciate, nor understand the technical properties, capabilities, and value of mainstay shortwave facilities. The Board began eliminating stations almost immediately, and started re-allocating associated funding to create technology with which they were more familiar. One needs only look at the U.S.’s failed public diplomacy programs around the globe, but particularly in Russia, to see what catastrophic results these efforts have wrought.
The BBG has already eliminated the following irreplaceable shortwave facilities:
Number of Sites: 8
Number of Transmitters: 71
Total KW’s 22,500
Total Effective Radiated Power in KW’s: 2,400,000.
Unfortunately, once you relinquish foreign government leased sites, and simultaneously forfeit all assigned frequencies back to the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) in Geneva, Switzerland, they are nearly impossible to regain.
There is no doubt in the minds of experienced shortwave broadcasters that the internet, satellite TV, medium and shortwave can all play a role taken together in an effective public diplomacy program. BUT…you must have the technical knowledge and expertise to calculate which combination produces maximum results for a given area. Contrary to BBG beliefs, there are millions of people in the world who do not have access to either the Internet or Satellite TV. They still depend upon their World Band Shortwave Radios for outside information and news.
A prime example of the need for dependable, strong shortwave radio can, once again, be found in our old nemesis, Russia. Freedom of the press has been extinguished and there is a crying need for the free world to broadcast unbiased news to the masses of Russia. Shortwave has always been the only medium capable of reaching a maximum numbers of ex-Soviets. The irony in all of this is that the BBG recently cancelled the unexpired lease on the one shortwave location that would have guaranteed our nation’s ability to impact and affect events in Russia. The facility was the irreplaceable site located at Playa de Pals, in eastern Spain. The station stood on a pristine beach with an unobstructed one-hop signal path straight into beautiful downtown Moscow. The most ideal transmitting site for this purpose on the planet! With its abandonment, the Spanish quickly emptied the buildings and last spring demolished the station’s mammoth 530’ towers supporting 28db gain curtain antenna arrays. (See YouTube ).
Save Kavala
Once again, the BBG is readying to close another valuable U.S. property, the only one still capable of putting strong shortwave signals into Moscow and much of Russia with existing equipment. Instead of closing this valuable station located in Kavala, northern Greece, engineers serving the BBG should, for once, stand up to the board and strongly recommend improvements instead. The station now has 12 - 250kW transmitters. These should be replaced with 12 - German designed ALLISS transmitter/antennas systems. The ALLISS system consists of a 360 degree continuously rotatable curtain antenna array including either a 250 or 500 kW transmitter installed inside the concrete bunker supporting the antenna. Kavala, with new, total directional flexibility to cover other trouble spots, could hit the entire Middle East, North Africa, Russia to the Urals on one hop. It could also provide excellent coverage of Central Africa, Pakistan/India, and Central Russia on 2nd hop. Consider this: The Chinese have adjudged shortwave very important because they recently purchased 13 - ALLISS systems just to jam VOA broadcasts! Hopefully, there remains enough judgment in the Administration and motivation in the Congress to stop the Kavala station from being closed down.
The BBG may rebut this Guest Commentary. They have stables full of taxpayer funded P.R. experts, lawyers, and writers all at their disposal. Therefore, rebuttal costs are of no concern, if it saves their status quo.
It has been proven time and again that a government agency cannot be as cost-effective as private industry. Federal agencies, are hampered by complex Federal procurement laws, unionization, and bureaucratic regulations. All U.S. non-military international broadcasting should be Privatized. The successful RFE/RL Cold War format was a winner, and should be seriously considered.
Wake up America! It’s time for change!
Quinn was an engineer or engineering manager at G/E. KGEI Belmont, Calif.; CBS Hollywood; CBS/VOA Delano; and RFE Munich. He spends 30 years with Eimac Power Tube Division and was a VOA/RFE/RL consultant. Olguin worked for the U.S. Army Strategic Communications Command in the United States, Erirtea, and Iran; as a VOA plant supervisor and station manager in Greece, Germany, the Philppines, and Thailand; and as a station manager with RFE/RL in Germany and Spain.
Instead of Closing Valuable Stations Like Kavala, BBG’s Engineers Should Recommend Improvements
By Jack Quinn and Nick Olguin
U.S. International Broadcasting is dysfunctional and it is time to initiate vast changes. The Broadcast Board of Governors (BBG) has done enough damage to the U.S. Public Diplomacy.
The authors have been associated with both VOA and RFE/RL their entire professional lives. We have been openly critical of many decisions reached by government policy-makers affecting U.S. international broadcasting operations. But never more so than during the last eight years since a Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) was created in 1999 and placed in charge of delivering our nation’s public diplomacy messages. Members are appointed by the current President and given full responsibility for oversight of all U.S. non-military International Shortwave Broadcasting. The Board consists of 4-Democrats and 4-Republicans plus the non-voting U.S. Secretary of State.
Rather than remaining an oversight committee, it wasn’t long before the BBG basically took over day-to-day operational control of all the radios. None, repeat none, of the board members has any experience in international programming or in the technical operations of shortwave broadcasting. A few had experience in commercial U.S. AM/FM markets, also with the Internet, and with Satellite TV. One such appointee was founder and Chairman of Westwood One, a 1,000 AM/FM station nationwide network. It became immediately evident to interested observers that the BBG considers high-powered shortwave as something from medieval times. Neither did they appreciate, nor understand the technical properties, capabilities, and value of mainstay shortwave facilities. The Board began eliminating stations almost immediately, and started re-allocating associated funding to create technology with which they were more familiar. One needs only look at the U.S.’s failed public diplomacy programs around the globe, but particularly in Russia, to see what catastrophic results these efforts have wrought.
The BBG has already eliminated the following irreplaceable shortwave facilities:
Number of Sites: 8
Number of Transmitters: 71
Total KW’s 22,500
Total Effective Radiated Power in KW’s: 2,400,000.
Unfortunately, once you relinquish foreign government leased sites, and simultaneously forfeit all assigned frequencies back to the ITU (International Telecommunications Union) in Geneva, Switzerland, they are nearly impossible to regain.
There is no doubt in the minds of experienced shortwave broadcasters that the internet, satellite TV, medium and shortwave can all play a role taken together in an effective public diplomacy program. BUT…you must have the technical knowledge and expertise to calculate which combination produces maximum results for a given area. Contrary to BBG beliefs, there are millions of people in the world who do not have access to either the Internet or Satellite TV. They still depend upon their World Band Shortwave Radios for outside information and news.
A prime example of the need for dependable, strong shortwave radio can, once again, be found in our old nemesis, Russia. Freedom of the press has been extinguished and there is a crying need for the free world to broadcast unbiased news to the masses of Russia. Shortwave has always been the only medium capable of reaching a maximum numbers of ex-Soviets. The irony in all of this is that the BBG recently cancelled the unexpired lease on the one shortwave location that would have guaranteed our nation’s ability to impact and affect events in Russia. The facility was the irreplaceable site located at Playa de Pals, in eastern Spain. The station stood on a pristine beach with an unobstructed one-hop signal path straight into beautiful downtown Moscow. The most ideal transmitting site for this purpose on the planet! With its abandonment, the Spanish quickly emptied the buildings and last spring demolished the station’s mammoth 530’ towers supporting 28db gain curtain antenna arrays. (See YouTube ).
Save Kavala
Once again, the BBG is readying to close another valuable U.S. property, the only one still capable of putting strong shortwave signals into Moscow and much of Russia with existing equipment. Instead of closing this valuable station located in Kavala, northern Greece, engineers serving the BBG should, for once, stand up to the board and strongly recommend improvements instead. The station now has 12 - 250kW transmitters. These should be replaced with 12 - German designed ALLISS transmitter/antennas systems. The ALLISS system consists of a 360 degree continuously rotatable curtain antenna array including either a 250 or 500 kW transmitter installed inside the concrete bunker supporting the antenna. Kavala, with new, total directional flexibility to cover other trouble spots, could hit the entire Middle East, North Africa, Russia to the Urals on one hop. It could also provide excellent coverage of Central Africa, Pakistan/India, and Central Russia on 2nd hop. Consider this: The Chinese have adjudged shortwave very important because they recently purchased 13 - ALLISS systems just to jam VOA broadcasts! Hopefully, there remains enough judgment in the Administration and motivation in the Congress to stop the Kavala station from being closed down.
The BBG may rebut this Guest Commentary. They have stables full of taxpayer funded P.R. experts, lawyers, and writers all at their disposal. Therefore, rebuttal costs are of no concern, if it saves their status quo.
It has been proven time and again that a government agency cannot be as cost-effective as private industry. Federal agencies, are hampered by complex Federal procurement laws, unionization, and bureaucratic regulations. All U.S. non-military international broadcasting should be Privatized. The successful RFE/RL Cold War format was a winner, and should be seriously considered.
Wake up America! It’s time for change!
Quinn was an engineer or engineering manager at G/E. KGEI Belmont, Calif.; CBS Hollywood; CBS/VOA Delano; and RFE Munich. He spends 30 years with Eimac Power Tube Division and was a VOA/RFE/RL consultant. Olguin worked for the U.S. Army Strategic Communications Command in the United States, Erirtea, and Iran; as a VOA plant supervisor and station manager in Greece, Germany, the Philppines, and Thailand; and as a station manager with RFE/RL in Germany and Spain.
UPDATE: More on shortwave radio at KimAndrewElliot. And, thanks for the link.
3 comments:
Olguin worked for the U.S. Army Strategic Communications Command in the United States, Erirtea, and Iran; as a VOA plant supervisor and station manager in Greece, Germany, the Philppines, and Thailand; and as a station manager with RFE/RL in Germany and Spain.
please support the strategic communications command in the united states.
Thanks for the background on Mr. Olguin.
When I read the article I wanted to share the author's frustration. For those of you who are not involved in the radio industry let it be enough for me to note that the "gadgeteers" are infiltrating the decision making core. Both at the corporate level and at the federal level, common sense is being replaced with a rush to turn radio into a gadget. Like your Walkman or Ipod.
Nothing against Walkmans or Ipods. But how many of you own a Walkman today?
The BBG is making a fundamental mistake. It would be groovy if everyone had access to the 'net. It would be keeno if everyone had an HD player. But they don't. Shortwave works because of its unique properties to cover long distances. Analog radio works because even a child can make one.
As AM station owners struggle with issues over increasing trash in the AM band, stations are being forced to step away from HD broadcasting. The last, best example is the destruction of AM stereo through the actions of the FCC. Why "smart guys" want to gadget up radio is beyond me.
But why the BBG would want to "gadget up" RFE/RL is beyond the ken. Losing these shortwave stations is beyond stupid. Even if...even if there is some kinda plan to airdrop Ipods into remote areas controlled by folks who want to continue their domination over their own people through threat and extortion. And denying them access to news and information in the Real World.
At work is psychological and cultural projection at its worst. Sure, you and I can board a plane and visit Asia, Africa, even the Antarctic. But for people who live in Africa or Asia their only communication with the outside world is through their shortwave world-band radios. Sometimes you have to go with the tech you have, not the tech you wish you had.
When the BBG will need future large scale diffusion they will have to go by foot, near to target and inflate plastic globes with hélio and hope that the winds are with good direction. Pobrecitos!!
Now they can not transmit from Pals, with the posiblity to use group D antennas (D9/11 o D15/17), in separated bays, with 2x500Kw each one and tranmit to 52º with a 1MWatt shortwave radio signal(1.000.000W)!!
Nick, thanks for everything!!
Has been worked with you is a big honor, both professional and personnel.
Valentí Carbonell
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