Low-power Radio Gramox launched on shortwave in Finland

Radio Gramox has begun transmissions on 25760 kHz in the 11-meter shortwave band. The Finnish station broadcasts music from the 1920's to 1960's. The first test transmissions began today Sunday at 1000 UTC, and soon programming should be 24/7. Radio Gramox operates on a license that limits transmitter power to a maximum of 50 watts, although currently only 20 watts is being used, says station owner and founder Pasi Komsi to DXing.info. The transmitter and a 7-meter-long whip antenna are located at his home in Hämeenkyrö in Western Finland. Transmissions are in the AM mode, but eventually we plan to use DRM, Komsi says. Right now programming is in Finnish, but Komsi tells that English-language programming will be needed for an international audience. Earlier this year the station launched a 50-watt transmitter in Tampere on 106.8 MHz FM. Radio Gramox can also be heard on the Internet. You can contact the station by email.
(DXing.info, September 1, 2013, edited on September 2)

Voice of Russia to leave shortwave by 2014

Russia's international radio service, the Voice of Russia (Golos Rossii) will stop its shortwave broadcasts on January 1, 2014. According to digit.ru website, the decision to leave shortwave has been taken because of decreased funding. Digit.ru says that ending shortwave transmissions was revealed in a letter from Natalia Zhmay, Deputy Chairman of the Voice of Russia, to Andrew Romanchenko, head of the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRN), dated August 15. Neither Voice of Russia nor RTRN have officially commented on the matter.
     According to Digit.ru, starting next year Voice of Russia will continue to use only mediumwave transmitters in Transnistria, Sakhalin and Kaliningrad, and FM transmitters in foreign countries. The Voice of Russia will however continue to relay foreign broadcasters on shortwave, using RTRN transmitters located in Russia, honoring previous agreements on rebroadcasts.
     The Voice of Russia has already implemented cuts affecting broadcasting hours. Since the beginning of 2013, the station has aired 26 hours of shortwave broadcasts per day, compared to more than 50 hours daily in 2012. The Voice of Russia is the biggest international broadcaster so far to announce the complete closure of its shortwave transmissions.
(DXing.info, August 22, 2013)

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