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Radio lovers in the nooks and corners of Dakshina Kannada and neighboring districts will no more encounter hisses and buzzes in Akashvani, Mangalore programmes, on Medium Wave. All India Radio, Mangalore, will air its waves in digital mode too, and listeners will be able to receive crystal clear sound even in moving vehicles and remote areas, soon.

DRM transmission

The digital broadcast is done through Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) transmission, wherein AM signals are being converted to digital signals. In the present mode of Medium Wave transmission, clear signals can hardly be received through AM receivers, said All India Radio (Mangalore) Deputy Director of Engineering G Rameshchandran. He told Deccan Herald that the introduction of DRM (Digital Radio Mondiale) will have advantage over the ordinary Medium Wave transmission with respect to the quality of signals. In digital broadcasting, listeners will be able to hear absolutely hiss-free music and spoken word programmes, he said.

The MW transmitter in Brahmavar will be technically modified so as to carry out DRM transmission, retaining the original MW transmission. Hence, the older radio sets will continue to receive AM signals as usual. However, the change will be applicable to the areas where the MW transmission is being received and FM transmission will remain unaffected. With the broadcast of digital signals, there will be an extension in the coverage area as well. Also, the disturbances caused due to thunder and electromagnetic signals will be eliminated in digital mode of transmission, Rameshchandran said.

Parts of Hassan, Chikmagalur, Kodagu, and parts of Uttara Kannada, which come under the service zone of AIR station, Mangalore, will be able to receive clear signals, after the commissioning of DRM transmission. In addition, the interior regions of the Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasargod districts, the primary zones of Akashvani Mangalore, will get noise-free signals. AIR, Mangalore programmes could be heard clean in vehicles such as buses, cars and autorickshaws plying in these places, by installing DRM receivers in the vehicles. So far, the MW signals received in these regions were weak and hence, were accompanied by hisses and noises. The problem will be solved with digital broadcasting, provided the listeners are equipped with a DRM receiver, which costs around Rs 5,000.  Prior to the commissioning of digital broadcasting, there are lots of procedures, which may take some time, he added.

SMS based programmes

SMS communication will be introduced in the public interaction programmes in AIR, Mangalore, viz., phone-in-programmes, said G Rameshchandran. For instance, if a listener wants to listen to his favourite song in a choice based film songs programme, he can send his request through SMS. On the receiving end at the radio station, the SMSs will be stored directly into the computer, through software. The list of the requested songs along with the name of the sender will be generated and the printout of the list will be obtained by the announcer, who will play the song accordingly.

AIR (Mangalore) Deputy Director of Programmes Dr Vasanth Kumar Perla said that SMS based programmes will boot the possibilities of educational and entertainment programmes. Phone-in programmes, youth oriented education programmes and other programmes with public participation will be enabled with SMS communication. However, SMSs will be an additional feature, while the tradition of letter writing which holds special significance to All India Radio, will be uninterrupted, he added.