Mangalore AIR goes crisp & clear

MANGALORE: All India Radio, Mangalore, has gone digital. Thirty-eight years after the station was set up, its listeners can listen to their favourite programmes in digital clarity. This marks a major shift in transmission technology - something similar to the high-definition broadcast technology that television viewers across India are getting used to.
Announcer Narayani Damodhar did the honours of putting the coastal city on All India Radio's digital map at 12.30pm, minutes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi finished his 'Make in India' speech. At stroke of noon, B V Padma, station director, accompanied by station engineer G Rameshchandran, switched on a console to mark the inauguration of the digital transmission studio.
Rameshchandran, the brain behind the digitization, said AIR's engineering team provided the hardware. A phone-in facility will shortly be launched. Listeners will get an opportunity to seek songs of their choice through SMS, besides calling in their requests.
Lauding the efforts of the engineering team, Padma said listeners of All India Radio Mangalore will get to hear 'Devi Sthuthi' in digital quality in the Vandana programme, aired from 6.30am to 6.40am as part of the Navaratri festivities.Devotional music of the 'Dasara pada' genre will be aired in this slot in the days ahead, in recognition of efforts AIR artists like Ustad Rafique Khan in mastering the new technology and recording tracks for Vandana.With digital outdoor recording equipment in place, Rameshchandran promised to get the programme executives a digital mixer for their outdoor recording assignments. This will add to the digital listening experience. Recalling his experience of having installed a digital console in Thiruvananthapuram, Rameshchandran said it's the use of such technology that will keep people glued to the radio.
Vasanth Kumar Perla, assistant director (programmes), said AIR has seen a transition from medium wave to short wave to frequency modulation. A listener with a good radio set will now be able discern every single instrument in a programme.Ahead of the rollout, the programme executives recorded 20 new devotional songs using the digital technology.