A: This week we received a special guest, Gerry Neumann from England. Gerry has regularly visited Vietnam’s Hue city in the summer to teach English as a volunteer. Before leaving Hanoi for Hue on May 31, he visited VOV’s office and we had Bun cha for lunch at Huong Lien Bun cha eatery where US President Barack Obama and celebrity TV chef Antony Bourdain ate last week. The shop has become crowded with customers from early morning until late at night. Gerry and I discussed Bun cha and Gerry’s experience of Vietnamese food.
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Gerry Neumann from Britain and VOV5's staff Viet Anh and Cam Thi have Bun cha at Huong Lien Bun cha eatery.
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B: Now let’s read other listeners’ letters and reception reports we received during the week. From the US, Richard Nowak informed us that he listened to the May 26 show covering President Obama’s visit. Reception was perfect on a Lafayette HE-30 hooked up to a magnetic loop antenna.
A: Richard said the Letterbox was awesome. “Thanks for reading my letter and answering in detail my question about President Obama’s meal with Anthony Bourdain. It was great to hear about what type of dish they ate and the Hanoi Beer, the pork dishes, the restaurant name, the beer scene in Hanoi, and the quote from the Swedish blogger about Hanoi’s beer scene. “Hanoi is heaven for beer lovers.” I’ll have to check out Hanoi one day!”
B: We know you work at a brewery so beer is of particular interest to you. We’d be very glad to welcome you to VOV’s office some day, Richard, and introduce you to Vietnamese beers.
A: For the transmission on May 26, Richard rated SINPO at all 5s, but there were problems on May 27. He wrote: “I enjoyed tonight’s show at 1:30 UTC on 12005 kHz. The signal was strong, but cut out very often. For example, the announcer would be loud and clear and all of a sudden, silence. Then back on in 5-8 seconds. Repeating this often throughout the show.”
B: Luckily the problem didn’t recur. Richard told us on May 28: “Just a quick note to say I enjoyed tonight’s show. The culture segment on the lotus was very nice. Reception was solid. No gaps or silent spots, strong the whole way through the show.”
A: Thank you so much, Richard Nowak, for your daily report on VOV’s program. It really helps us monitor our transmission abroad. Richard Lemke of Canada reported the same problems on 12005 khz on May 19 and 26. He uses a JRC NRD-535 HF radio with random long wires hanging in trees.
A: He said on May 19 the audio went silent intermittently. It must have been a computer glitch at the relay station. On May 26 the audio was like a broken record, scratchy and full of static noise.
B: We appreciate your patience in listening to the program under such difficult conditions. We’re looking forward to receiving more feedback from you soon. We’ll verify your reports with some of our 8 new designs.
A: Atish Bhattacharya, a government employee in the Higher Education Department of the state of West Bengal, India, sent us a number of reports in May. In his most recent report, on May 22, Atish rated SINPO at 54444 on the frequency of 7280 KHz. He wrote “I was eager to hear about the election in Vietnam and VOV fulfilled my expectation. May 22nd 2016 was the day on which all the people of Vietnam exercised their right and duty to cast their vote in the 14th National Assembly and People’s Council Election. The news coverage of the event provided by VOV was too informative. I got a detailed picture of voter turnout in the whole country. It was good to know that there was no case of law violation or any other unexpected event during the election. I learned from the news about how the Prime Minister, Ministers, top leaders, religious leaders and above all, the common populace, cast their vote. Thanks to VOV for the comprehensive coverage.”
B: Other stories on May 22 were also about the national election, which gave Atish a full picture of the democratic election in Vietnam. Atish said he loved the music played at the end of the broadcast.
A: He wrote: “I am very happy that I have been hearing VOV English loud and clear, particularly on the frequency of 7280 Khz and 9730 Khz at 1900 UTC beamed to Europe and Central Asia. The signal on 7280 Khz rated at 54444 on the SINPO scale, while the signal on 9730 Khz was only fair, with SINPO 53443. There was slight interference from a CRI station.”
B: Thank you all for your feedback on VOV’s programs. We’ll verify all your reception reports as soon as possible. Before we go, we’d like to play a song about the beautiful summer in Vietnam.
A: Before signing off, let us remind you of our address: English Section, Overseas Service, Voice of Vietnam, 45 Ba Trieu Street, Hanoi, Vietnam. Our email address is englishsection@vov.org.vn. Good bye until next time.