Special thanks to Ray Robinson and Jeff White for sharing the latest Wavecan feature. Another great feature!!
Jeff: Some years ago, the editor-in-chief of Wavescan, Dr. Adrian Peterson, was sent a document by listener Richard Chen in Trinidad, with some of the radio history of the islands of Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies. We’ve searched back through the Wavescan archives, and as far as we can see, we have never covered the topic of broadcasting in that country. So to put that right, and partially using the information from Richard, here’s Ray Robinson in Los Angeles.
Ray: Thanks, Jeff. The islands of Trinidad and Tobago can be found at the extreme southern end of the chain of islands known collectively as the West Indies, with Trinidad at its closest point lying less than seven miles off the coast of Venezuela. Trinidad is by far the larger of the two islands, roughly rectangular in shape, about 50 miles long from north to south, and 37 miles wide from east to west. The other main island, Tobago lies off the northeast corner of Trinidad, separated by a 20-mile-wide straight. Tobago is 25 miles long, and approximately 7 miles wide. The total area of both islands combined is just under 2,000 square miles, with a population of about 1½ million.
Initially, the islands were colonized by Spain after the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498. In 1797, the Spanish governor surrendered the islands to a British fleet, and they were formally ceded to Britain in 1802. They were unified as a single country in 1889, obtained independence in 1962, and became a parliamentary republic in 1976.
Interestingly, the largest ethnic grouping in Trinidad and Tobago is Indian (not West Indian, but East Indian, from India), followed by African and then people from various other backgrounds. And unlike most Caribbean nations and territories which rely heavily on tourism, the economy in Trinidad and Tobago is primarily industrial, with much of the nation's wealth being derived from its large reserves of oil and natural gas. The official language is English, but the most common spoken language is a type of Creole.
Richard Chen informs us that radio, of a sort, first came to Trinidad in 1935, when Rediffusion (Trinidad) Ltd. acquired the rights to wired radio distribution in Trinidad. This was a small single-program wired relay company that covered the capital city of Port of Spain and the surrounding areas. The service was later expanded to cover the entire developed northern area of the island, plus the principal town in the south, San Fernando.
In 1946, Rediffusion (Trinidad) Ltd. formed a subsidiary, the Trinidad Broadcasting Company Ltd. (TBC), and through that company on August 31st, 1947, Radio Trinidad was inaugurated. Radio Trinidad operated on shortwave with the call sign VP4RD using 500 Watts on either 9625 or 6085 kHz. Initially, it was on the air from 7-9am, 12-2pm and 4-11pm local time, and its programming contributed much to local community service. It always endeavored to provide ample coverage of special national functions, as well as relays of international events ‘live’ via satellite.
In 1950, a medium wave channel was added, with 2 kW on 1295 kHz, and broadcast hours expanded to 7am-11pm daily.
In 1952, the medium wave channel was changed to 790 kHz, and given a power boost to 5 kW. Also, a 90 meter tropical band frequency was added on 3275 kHz for the evening programming.
In 1957, the medium wave channel was changed again. Two Redifon G162 10 kW transmitters were installed operating in parallel on 730 kHz, so that together they produced a power output of 20 kW, sufficient for coverage of the whole country. Shortly after the power increase on medium wave was implemented, the use of shortwave frequencies for coverage of Trinidad and Tobago was abandoned.
The program format of Radio Trinidad saw many changes over the years. Initially it mainly relied on British content with many BBC variety, music and drama programs filling the schedule, as well as BBC News four times daily. After independence in 1962, the station started to reflect a more national concept, with local steel-drum and calypso music, call-in shows, much more local news, locally-produced gospel programs, Indian music and programming built around local personalities. Here’s a DX catch of Radio Trinidad on 730 from December 1966:
Meanwhile, a second program was added to the wired service, as well as Reditune Music and a Public Address system. But, the two-program wired service was finally terminated in 1974, when Rediffusion (Trinidad) Ltd. decided to focus more on the sale and rental of television sets, video recorders, and other electronics.
In 1958, TBC had launched the very first FM transmitter in Trinidad, with programming of Radio Trinidad with 250 Watts on 95.1 MHz in parallel to the medium wave outlet 730 kHz. The following year, the power of the FM was increased to 1 kW.
The medium wave transmitters were located at Caroni, about 10 miles from Port of Spain, and the FM one was sited on Cumberland Hill at an elevation of 1,080 feet above sea level.
And then on March 14th, 1976, TBC used the FM frequency to split programming and launch a second station, Radio Nine Five FM Stereo. This second station was intended to provide hi-fi stereo music as an alternative to Radio Trinidad’s AM service. It initially used a mostly automated system with no presenters other than for the hourly newscasts. In 1982, the FM transmitter power was also increased to 20 kW, to give broad area coverage.
Then on January 1st, 1991, TBC launched a second FM station called Tempo 105, to cater to local music and sports.
Beginning in 1993, many more FM stations were launched, and the market became quite crowded. In consequence, TBC modified the formats of all three of their stations:
• Radio Trinidad became more exclusively gospel-oriented, and changed its name to ‘Inspirational Radio 730 AM’.
• On Radio Nine Five, presented shows with local personalities were introduced, with mainly Rhythm and Blues (R&B) music. The name was changed to Rhythm Radio 95.1 FM, and it was the most listened-to station in Trinidad in the early-mid 1990’s. But in 1998, the station switched format again, this time to soft rock & pop, which it felt was underserved in the market, thus presenting a commercial opportunity. Along with the format switch came another name change, this time to 95.1 FM The Rock.
• And in 1993, the third station, Tempo 105, became Caribbean Tempo 105 FM, with more Caribbean music included for a broader appeal.
In 1995, TBC bought the 106.1 FM frequency from the Caribbean Communications Network Group of Companies, and on September 26th, 1995 Sangeet 106.1 was launched with 25 kW with programming to cater to the needs of the Indian population. This station also used the Maraval Road studios of TBC, and played all the current hit Indian music.
Thus, at the turn of the century, TBC with a permanent staff of some 50 employees, was operating four stations:
• 730 AM – gospel / religious / Christian programming
• 95.1 FM – rock & pop music
• 105 FM – Caribbean music/sports
• 106.1 FM – Indian ethnic programming
Richard Chen’s information only covered the TBC group, but we can also add that:
In 1954, an American ‘Armed Forces Radio Service’ (AFRS) station began operating from a U.S. Naval base in Trinidad, on 600 kHz with 50 Watts. This station is identified as WVDI, Trinidad.
Also, in 1958, a second private commercial station, Radio Guardian, was given a license to operate with the call sign VPL6 from Port of Spain on 610 kHz AM with 10 kW and on 89.9 MHz FM with 250 Watts (which changed the following year to 98.9 MHz FM).
Given the proximity of the channels (Radio Guardian on 610 kHz and AFRS on 600 kHz), the latter chose to move to the other end of the AM band, switching to 1550 kHz with 1 kW. But, the last listing for the AFRS station in Trinidad appears to be in 1967.
Radio Guardian’s transmitter was later increased to 50 kW, becoming a powerhouse flame thrower at the southern end of the West Indies. They also added a secondary FM frequency on 100 MHz in Trinidad and a 20 kW FM transmitter on 91.1 MHz in Tobago for national coverage on FM.
By the year 2000, other stations on the FM band were:
• Gem Radio Network on 93.1 FM,
• WE-FM on 96.1,
• Music Radio 97,
• Power 102,
• An Indian community station on 103, and
• Prime Radio on 106.
In the early 2000s, most stations adopted 24-hour programming, and the BBC World Service opened stations in both Port of Spain, Trinidad and Scarborough, the principal town on the island of Tobago. Both stations were launched on 98.7 FM, and are still operating today.
The last listing for Radio Guardian’s medium wave transmitter on 610 kHz was in 2007 when it was shown as inactive. And the last listing for Radio Trinidad on 730 kHz was in 2016.
These days, all radio broadcasting in Trinidad and Tobago is on FM. The 2024 WRTH lists 8 national private networks and more than 20 individual single transmitter stations with output powers ranging up to 100 kW.
Right from the start in 1947, Radio Trinidad was a reliable verifier of reception reports, sometimes by QSL card and sometimes by letter, and later, Radio Guardian also issued its own QSL cards.
Back to you, Jeff.
(AWR/Wavescan)
