The technical team was very experienced in all things radio. The practical aspects of television were still mysterious. Fortunately, there is a training and consulting company in Singapore, Beyond Broadcast, that continues to provide their one week intensive course in “PAL (Analog) Engineering Principles and Practice.”

Kit Siew and Siu Yin were not interested in conducting the course in Kabul. The pleasant alternative was Dushanbe. The photo above is the tech team in front of the largest landmark in Dushanbe, the Somoni Monument on Rudaki Avenue. Dushanbe was a convenient site for the team from Kabul and provided the opportunity to spread the training to some of the Internews Tajikistan staff that are also involved in video production.

Far from being a course in obsolete technology, the grounding in analog television fundamentals is the best place to start even if the transition to digital is fast approaching. We had a chance to use GNUplot to explore quadrature amplitude modulation, saw numerous practical examples that developed an appreciation of PAL quality standards, and got hand-on experience with our own test equipment. We came back with the course materials in soft copy with permission from Beyond Broadcast to present the materials to other Internews or community television staff who otherwise could never access this information.

Internews Dushanbe provided their conference room, logistics support, and generous hospitality throughout our stay.

The accommodations for the trip were quite spacious but the building exteriors betrayed their Soviet design and construction.