Conferences and On-line Co-ordination
The close co-operation of all participants from the very beginning and further improvements of working methods had shown that the management of all frequency requirements in one single, global database was realistic. At present about 85 percent of the overall amount of global shortwave frequency requirements used for broadcasting is kept in this database. The missing 15 percent comprises some smaller stations in Africa and Latin America, as well as stations in the so called tropical broadcasting zone that employ shortwave transmissions for local listeners and are not interested in international co-ordination.
Face-to-face conferences facilitate the resolution of thousands of frequency collisions that are detected in the schedules at the start of every season. Informal personal contacts are established and they are extremely useful for effective and amicable agreements on the resolution of incompatibilities. Unfortunately some parts of the shortwave spectrum are so overloaded that a complete solution of all problems during a conference is only rarely reached. This is one of the reasons why co-ordination has to be ongoing.
Tools for ongoing co-ordination after - and during - the periods between conferences have been developed over the years. An automatic web-based system of processing and identification of collisions in seasonal databases is in place. It is located on the HFCC server and available to all co-ordinators. The results of the schedule updates and of new frequency submissions can be viewed by all, as soon as each of a number of processing cycles is finished. An automated system checks for any changes or additions every ten minutes. If any changes or additions are detected, the processing then starts automatically, and amends the database as well as the lists of frequency incompatibilities or "collisions".
The ongoing, web-based processing is especially useful for the members in the Asia-Pacific region for example. They organise e-mail co-ordination meetings for the "B" seasons of the year and they can use the on-line system for the solution of frequency incompatibilities. The flexibility of this system is beneficial for yet another reason: the possibility of updating frequency schedules at any time during a given season makes the existence of so-called "wooden", or reserve, frequencies that complicate co-ordination, completely unnecessary.
Another co-ordination feature that improved the accuracy of the frequency collision calculations was introduced in 2008. Software has been developed that is based on a direct comparison of signal-to-interference values calculated for every test point in each Ciraf zone of world broadcasting and for every hour of the transmission that is involved in a given frequency collision.
The severity of the collision is graded as a result of this. This can be useful during the the conferences for example, and co-ordinators are able to address the most important collisions first. The feedback has already indicated that the new method is capable of discovering hidden collisions undetected by the old system while some of the less severe collisions were left out.
What's New
[6-Sep-2023] - eHFBC - new ITU online platform for HF broadcasting (under development)
[10-Aug-2023] - Follow up on the questionnaire on transmitter tubes and table by CPI
[8-Aug-2023] - B23 initial tentative data snapshot
[26-May-2023] - Encompass Digital Media Ltd are broadcasting Democratic Voice of Burma (DVOB) 1230-1300 UTC (daily) from Dhabayya utilising IRDR frequency 21840kHz transmitting from 29th May for approximately 1 month, providing special programming to Myanmar in response to the recent cyclone
[20-May-2023] - Sad news about Tom Lucey
[5-May-2023] - Summary of the questionnaire on transmitter tubes. The Questionnaire remains open for further responses
[5-May-2023] - Steps to apply for standard (non-ETA) visa added to the B23 webpage
[1-May-2023] - Encompass Digital Media Ltd are broadcasting Agricultural Voices Syria 0300-0330 UTC (weekdays) from Dhabayya utilising IRDR frequency 11840kHz transmitting from 24th April for 2 weeks of special programming educating farmers on how to grow and manage crops within the disaster zone
[9-Mar-2023] - Deadline for answering the Questionnaire on Transmitter Tubes has been extended
[1-Mar-2023] - A23 GOE report
[28-Feb-2023] - A23 plenary minutes
[20-Feb-2023] - Reference tables updated (new station RAC)
[10-Jan-2023] - A23 initial tentative data snapshot
[15-Dec-2022] - A23 upload opened. Please review and confirm your contact details prior to uploading the initial version of your A23 data.
[17-Oct-2022] - FMO code FPU changing to JRC
[12-Oct-2022] - A23 Tunis and B23 Australia registration opened
[11-Oct-2022] - B22 operational data snapshot
[31-Jul-2022] - HFCC Announces the Passing of Dr. Jerry Plummer
[27-Jun-2022] - B22 upload opened. Please register for B22 coordination prior to uploading the initial version of your B22 data. This applies to all FMOs, including those already registered for B22 conference.
[18-May-2022] - B22 registration and hotel booking opened
[8-Mar-2022] - MBR will act as FMO for DWL from April 1st onwards. Migration of A22 schedule will proceed on March 9th
[24-Jan-2022] - RFP - Radio For Peace International have applied for membership. ITU Reference Tables updated
[17-Jan-2022] - A22 Coordination starts today with the Opening Plenary Meeting. An invitation link has been sent to participants registered.
[13-Dec-2021] - A22 Upload opened
[13-Dec-2021] - Please register for A22 coordination here
[8-Dec-2021] - You will be asked to register for A22 coordination prior to uploading the initial version of your A22 data. This will apply both to those coming to A22 conference and to those coordinating on-line. A simple registration form as well as the A22 upload itself will be opened on 13 December.
[15-Nov-2021] - A22 registration and hotel booking opened
[9-Sep-2021] - B21 data snapshot
[6-Sep-2021] - GoE Report B21
[29-Aug-2021] - B21 data snapshot
[16-Aug-2021] - Basic practical information to manage data for the HFCC Conference document available on the Basic Technical Reference webpage
[27-Jul-2021] - B21 and A21 data snapshots
[24-Jun-2021] - EUR Radio Europe Netherlands, Offshore Music Radio and ICON BV have applied for membership. ITU Reference Tables updated
[21-Jun-2021] - HFCC Report on Shortwave International Broadcasting 2020
[10-Jun-2021] - B21 upload opened
[8-Jun-2021] - B21 upload will be opened on Thursday, 10 June
[26-Apr-2021] - Please register for B21 coordination on the B21 webpage in the Members' area
[8-Mar-2021] - A21 operational data snapshot
[24-Feb-2021] - A21 plenary minutes and A21 GoE report
[18-Feb-2021] - A21 coordinated data snapshot. Deadline for A21 Operational Data: 8 March
[25-Jan-2021] - A21 tentative data snapshot. Old converted A20/B20 data removed from main combined schedule
[21-Jan-2021] - A21 webpage in the Members' area has been updated
[8-Jan-2021] - A21 tentative data snapshot. A20/B20 data uploaded for some FMOs.