What is WRTH CD?

World Radio TV Handbook or WRTH is the most accurate and complete guide to the world of radio on LW, MW, SW and FM, available in any form. The CD takes part of this information: international broadcasts on LW, MW and SW and domestic SW, and displays it as a graphic colour bargraph.

bargraph-44The WRTH Bargraph Frequency Guide has been carefully designed to give the maximum information in a clear and easy to read format. It is supplied as a pdf and is available on a CD or as a Download. Click here to buy a CD and here to buy a Download.

Text columns show the frequency of the broadcasts in kHz; the names of the stations making the broadcasts or the broadcasters responsible for the broadcasts (you can tell international from domestic broadcasts at a glance, as stations making domestic broadcasts are shown in italic type); the transmitter site code for international broadcasts and the country code for domestic transmissions; and the power of the transmitter in kW.

Each entry also has a colour bar. These colour bars show the duration of each broadcast in UTC on the 24-hour clock. The colour of the bar shows the language of the broadcast. Eighteen languages are identified by different coloured bars, with the colour and language shown at the bottom of the page. Other languages, or combinations of languages, are shown above a buff-coloured bar. Information above the bar also gives the target area or country at which the broadcast is aimed; an indication of the days on which the broadcast is made; and symbols showing if the broadcast is inactive, irregular, of variable frequency, or used for DRM broadcasts.

You can use these pages to identify a broadcast you have heard on a specific frequency, or you can scan the colour bars to find broadcasts in your chosen language at a particular UTC time. You can also use the Find function in Adobe Acrobat to search the pdf for frequencies, stations, or sites.

The disk also includes a list of abbreviations used in the bargraph along with decode tables for international transmitter sites and countries or geographical areas. These are also supplied as pdfs. There is also a sortable list of transmitter sites in Excel format.

We are very pleased to be able to offer this very useful tool to industry professionals, DXers, SWLs and BCLs.

Please note – International broadcast SW frequencies change twice a year. The ‘B’ season comes into effect at the end of October each year and the ‘A’ season at the end of March. It typically takes 4-6 weeks after the start of the season for the broadcasters to settle on the final frequencies they will use, although changes do continue to be made. We monitor all the frequencies and changes before releasing our information.