Mailbox
This week in Mailbox: Reception of Radio Prague's broadcasts, climate in the Czech Republic, competitions. Listeners quoted: Bob Boundy, David Eldridge, Hidemitsu Miyake.
Hello and welcome to Mailbox. First up we have two e-mails commenting on the quality of reception of Radio Prague’s broadcasts.
Our faithful listener Bob Boundy from New Zealand writes:
“Regarding reception, I can hear Radio Prague on 9880 at 0700 UTC. The other frequencies are no good at all. It might improve when our daylight saving finishes next month.”
And Bob goes on to say:
“Regarding the competitions, I think that it’s just economic times and one prize is certainly sufficient. Many SW stations have cut back and our government has asked Radio New Zealand to cut back as well. It really amuses me to see that some listeners have been complaining about the number of prizes now. It’s a lot of fun entering the competition and even though I have visited the Czech Republic and Radio Prague twice, I’m still learning about the Czech Republic.”
Back to reception, David Eldridge from England sent us what he called a “reception report with a difference”.
“This reception report concerns your live Internet stream. The 128 Kbps stream has what in short-wave terms would be called poor modulation. The sound is not smooth. The 32 Kbps stream sounds better than the 128 Kbps stream possibly because the inherent reduced quality of 32 Kbps does not show up the faulty nature of the 128 Kbps stream so much, but the fault is still there. This has been happening for some months, at least. I do not know of any other live radio stream on the Internet that is as bad as your 128 Kbps stream.”
On a different subject, our regular listener in Japan Hidemitsu Miyake would like to know:
“What’s the climate like in the Czech Republic?”
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country located in the middle of the North Temperate Zone, shielded by mountain ranges from several sides. Europe being so small, the seas in the north and south of the continent are close enough to affect the climate in this country so it’s somewhere midway between oceanic and continental; summers are not so hot and winters are not so severe as elsewhere in the middle of vast continents. The coldest month is usually January with temperatures below freezing point and snow in higher altitudes. For example, this past winter snow was abundant all around the country. The hottest month is usually July with daytime highs often rising above 30 degrees Celsius. Rain is mostly brought by Western winds.
But now, in mild and sunny April, let me remind you that the annual listeners’ contest organized by Radio Prague is again underway. This year the competition question is:
Which Czech writer or literary work do you like best and why?
The person who sends us the best answer, which will be chosen by a specially appointed jury, will win a weeklong stay for two in Prague. There will also be prizes and souvenir items for runners-up.
The best answers will be featured in our programme and published on our website www.radio.cz on the last weekend of June.
Your entries should reach us no later than June 15, 2010 at the following address:
Vinohradská 12 12099 Prague 2
Czech Republic
or via email at: [email protected]
The main prize is being sponsored by PARKHOTEL Praha. Parkhotel Praha offers visitors a blend of comfort and history, quality and modern design, within easy reach of the city centre.
And you can, of course, also take part in our little monthly quiz.
We are looking for the name of the world-renowned tenor, born in 1873 in the North Moravian town of Šumperk, who sang on some of the world’s most famous stages, including the Royal Opera House in London, the Vienna State Opera or New York’s Metropolitan Opera.
We expect your answers by the end of April at [email protected] or Radio Prague, 12099 Prague and there will be a Radio Prague goodie bag for the lucky winner who is picked out of the hat of correct answers. For now, many thanks for all your feedback and until next week, happy listening.
