Saturday show from Jen & GB's Calling All Radio Nutzz (CARN)

 

Jen & GB's Calling All Radio Nutzz (CARN) Saturday Oct 3rd 

18:00 - 21: 00 UTC on Unique

It's time for a new season of the CARN show. In the first program, we commence the regular features at lesson one, or part one, and put them together in a block. 

There will be live tuning during the Oceania DX contest and hunting the 9T0MD Dxpedition to the DRC. All the usual news, diary dates, station recordings, plus music.

Contributions Of The HF of kind are welcome - please email the show.

Our Live Stream.

 

http://uk4-vn.mixstream.net:8104/index.html

Plus, our live chat room is open for you at https://libera.chat/

Click on Connect, then Web Chat

Please put in the following:

For Nick: name or like me, radionutresss

Then, next line channel, that's the following:

#eyeradiojd

And you are in the room.

For correspondence please use the email address,

JenUR@proton.me

The Bands are live

So Join Us..

Jen & GB

Sunday'sJen's Eclectic & Real Deal program

 

On Sunday, October 4, 2026 - tune in to the live stream for Jen's Eclectic & Real Deal 

17:00 - 20:00 UTC + 

http://uk4-vn.mixstream.net:8104/index.html

For contact, pleasure.

JenUR@proton.me

Thanks.

Jen In The RAD

U.K. Propagation Update-October 2, 2026

 

 RSGB

RadCom Assistant Editor | October 2, 2026

Compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Thursday, 1 October 2026.

As we enter October, we think it’s time to get excited about HF again.

Some of the best HF conditions can occur this month as MUFs rise. It might take a couple of weeks to get going but it will, we promise – there’s a good reason why the CQ Worldwide SSB contest is held in October after all.

Solar conditions have been surprisingly calm. The solar flux index has been ranging from 90 to 100 but geomagnetic conditions have been quiet, with the Kp index usually around one to two.

We had a brief excursion to a Kp index of 4 on 26 and 27 September but this was relatively short-lived.

Daytime Maximum Usable Frequencies, or MUFs, over a 3,000km path have been touching 25 to 28MHz at times, but we can expect this to improve over the next few weeks.

As long as the Solar Flux Index can stay around 100 we should see some transatlantic paths opening up on 28MHz but they may not be as good as previous years.

Ten-metre openings at the start of this month may be fleeting and unreliable.

What we do have is a massive coronal hole on the Sun’s equator, which could send the Kp index up this weekend as solar plasma impacts the Earth. Keep an eye on solarham.com for updates.

If this comes to pass, expect lower MUFs and poor DX for a day or two.

DX to be worked this week include 5W0AF from Samoa; 9T0MD from the Democratic Republic of Congo; JW6VM, JW7XK and JW9DL on Svalbard; 7P8JL, 7P8LZ and 7P8TR in Lesotho; 6O2M (Somalia), C5R from The Gambia and FW1P from Wallis and Futuna.

NOAA predicts that the SFI this coming week may bottom out at around 90, before rising again, perhaps reaching 100 to 102 by next weekend.

As mentioned earlier, we can expect the Kp index to rise, perhaps hitting four on 5-7 October. After this, it should settle to a more reasonable Kp index of 2 for the rest of the week.

VHF and up propagation news:

Compiled by G3YLA and G4BAO.

The autumn season is typically a mix of still, quiet weather with high pressure on the charts and, in contrast, a few days later deep Atlantic lows roll by with wind and rain.

The coming ten days or so will follow that script and offer a mix of propagation modes for the VHF/UHF fraternity.

The Tropo conditions will dominate in the south and should probably be in control up to the middle of next week. Northern Britain will have activity from weather fronts and possible rain scatter for the GHz bands, which becomes more general from midweek onwards.

The autumn season is also a prime time for aurora, so keep that mode on the ‘to do’ list and be aware of changes in the Kp index to values higher than Kp index 5. Meteor scatter is mostly in the realm of random activity.

Lastly, a surprise mention of Sporadic-E, which for CW and SSB modes is pretty much done, but last week on Thursday, 24 September there was some activity for FT8 within Europe.

This was mixed in with Tropo paths so it was difficult to pinpoint the exact mode being used without looking at detailed measurements from radiosondes and ionosondes.

The end result is that ‘out of season’ may still produce Es for digital modes but it’s probably a rare occurrence.

EME now, and the Moon is at maximum declination on Friday, 2 October so Moon windows are at their longest and peak Moon elevation is at its highest.

Path losses are low after perigee on 1 October but will start to increase. 144 MHz sky noise starts the week moderate, dropping back to low for the rest of the week.

https://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/gb2rs/propagation-news/2026/10/02/propagation-news-04-october-2026/

(Mike Terry, UK/BDXC)

 

Texas Radio Shortwave, October 3, 4

Month Date (UTC)  Freq (kHz)   Station Target Area/Program

All times UTC 

October 3, 2026

1400   6160   Shortwave Radio Gold Eur Michael Strah on Texas Radio Shortwave: The Music of Kacey Musgraves 

1800   3975 + 6160   Shortwave Radio Gold Eur Michael Strah on Texas Radio Shortwave: The Music of Kacey Musgraves

October 4, 2026

1200   9670   Channel 292   Eur Michael Strah on Texas Radio Shortwave: The Music of Kacey Musgraves

2300   9670   Channel 292   NAm   Michael Strah on Texas Radio Shortwave: The Music of Kacey Musgraves

texasradioshortwave@protonmail.com

 

Unless otherwise shown, programs are one hour long.

Programs for Europe (Eur) and beyond on 3975 and 6160 kHz over Shortwave Radio Gold in Winsen, Germany, are transmitted with 1 kW into crossed dipole antennas.

Programs for Europe (Eur) and beyond on 6070 and 9670 kHz over Channel 292 in Rohrbach, Germany, are transmitted with 10 kW into an inverted V antenna.

Programs for North America (NAm) and beyond on 9670 kHz over Channel 292 are transmitted with 10 kW into a 10.5 dB gain beam antenna.

Texas Radio Shortwave uses a version of The Yellow Rose of Texas as its Interval Signal/Signature Song.

Texas Radio Shortwave verifies correct, detailed reception reports by electronic QSL. This includes reports from listeners using remote receivers (SDRs). Texas Radio

Shortwave's email is texasradioshortwave@protonmail.com.

Many TRSW programs are archived at www.mixcloud.com/texasradiosw.

Texas Radio Shortwave's Facebook page is www.facebook.com/texasradiosw.

Texas Radio Shortwave's Listeners' Group Facebook page is

www.facebook.com/groups/580199276066655/.

texasradioshortwave@protonmail.com

(TRSW)

Throwback Thursday-Old Radio Australia Relay Stations in the Middle East

 

This week's edition first aired May 20, 2001

Recent research in conjunction with "Pacific Radio Heritage" in New Zealand reveals the fact that Radio Australia was on relay from at least three different locations in the Middle East back during the era of the Middle East phase of World War II. This is the story, and it goes back to the earliest origins of radio broadcasting for the benefit of Australian servicemen on duty overseas.

In the latter part of the year 1938, the PMG Department in Sydney began planning for the construction of a mobile radio studio which would be used in the production of outside broadcasts for relay by the ABC network of mediumwave and shortwave radio stations throughout Australia. Work on this project was completed in the earlier part of 1939, and the new ABC Mobile Van was assigned to the New South Wales branch of the ABC.

This new ABC Mobile Van was a state-of-the-art radio studio of the era, complete with turntables, microphones, control console, and associated equipment. Also included was a shortwave transmitter and receiver for point-to-point transmission of recorded material. The roof of the van was specially strengthened so that it could be used as an elevated platform for outside broadcasts.

During the earlier part of the year 1940, this ABC Mobile Van was modified in Sydney in preparation for shipping it to the Middle East. An additional van contained supplementary equipment which included a 32 volt generator and heavy-duty batteries. Additionally, there was a pair of high-frequency transmitters and receivers for the use of broadcast personnel in coordinating events associated with the production of remote broadcasts.

The ABC Mobile Van was scheduled to be shipped from Australia to the Middle East in early June 1940, though the departure date was delayed until the end of August due to wartime priorities. The van was set up in the Australian army base near Jerusalem.

Special Forces Programs from "Australia Calling," the early name for Radio Australia, were received off air and recorded on large discs. These discs were then taken to the local mediumwave station of the Palestine Broadcasting Service and rebroadcast for the benefit of Australian servicemen in the area. This radio station was a 20 kw unit on 668 kHz under the callsign ZJM. It had been established just three years earlier.

Unfortunately, this radio rebroadcast service in the Middle East did not live up to its high expectations. The signal from the low-powered shortwave stations in Australia was variable; there was a high degree of local static, and the programming content was considered inadequate. 

An officer in the Australian Army stationed in Jerusalem complained about these matters in a letter to his father in Adelaide, South Australia, and the information was passed on to army headquarters in Melbourne in February 1941. As a result, the overseas shortwave service was removed from the ABC and placed under the control of the Department of Information.

In the early part of the year 1941, after only a few months of service in the area, the ABC Mobile Van was shipped from Palestine back to Australia, though the radio personnel and several items of equipment were retained in the Middle East. The van was then refurbished and, together with additional electronic equipment, was divided into three segments for use in the islands to the north of Australia. 

In November of the same year, 1941, PMG engineer Reg Boyle conducted a series of test broadcasts in Jerusalem for the relay of Radio Australia programming using a 500-watt shortwave transmitter. As a result of these tests, he concluded that a 1 kw unit would be necessary in order to provide a satisfactory broadcast service in the area.

The Australian Army in Jerusalem then lodged a request with Army Headquarters in Melbourne for approval to erect a 1 kW shortwave station in Jerusalem for the local relay of radio programming from "Australia Calling." This station was projected to cost 5,000 pounds, and it would be under the control of a PMG engineer, Reg Boyle. However, even though this request was approved by army headquarters, this project was never implemented.

Recently, David Ricquish in Wellington, New Zealand, discovered a set of two photos on an Australian government website. These photos depict a building in the Gaza Strip in Palestine with antennas on the rooftop. The identification for these photos gives the date as February 14, 1942, and the station is identified as ABC Gaza.

Thus the available evidence would suggest that Radio Australia was relayed over three different stations in the Middle East during the era 1940-1942: (1) the 20 kW medium-wave station ZJM in Jerusalem, (2) a 500-watt shortwave transmitter, also in Jerusalem; and (3) an Australian Forces medium-wave station located in the Gaza Strip.

(Wavescan 334)

photo via Wikipedia

QSL Report 2.0-October 2026

 

Welcome to the October 2026 edition of QSL Report 2.0! Thank you for your comments and contributions.

QSL Report 2.0 is a revival of my former QSL Report column in Monitoring Times magazine. Each issue brings you the latest QSLing trends—what worked (and what didn’t)—along with special event QSLs and verification reports from amateur radio, mediumwave, pirate, shortwave, and utility stations.

Have you received a QSL from one of these stations? Share your results with the world!

Send your contributions and correspondence to w4gvhla@gmail.com

QSL Contact List

Bulgaria – Radio Taiwan Int’l (German service) deutsch@rti.org.tw 

Euro Free Radio - Radio Atlantis info@radioatlantis.eu 

Euro Free Radio – Radio Hercules radio819@hotmail.com 

Euro Free Radio – Radio Monique International radiomoniqueradio@hotmail.nl 

Euro Free Radio – Radio Pamela radiopamela01@gmail.com 

Euro Free Radio – Radio Tidalwave radiotidalwave@hotmail.com  

Euro Free Radio – Radio Voxtrup talkmusic@outlook.de 

Germany - Texas Radio Shortwave relay texasradioshortwave@protonmail.com 

Netherlands – The Mighty KBC Radio sales@kbcradio.nl 

Romania – NEXUS info@nexus.org reports@nexus.org online post: www.nexus.org/qsl 

Tajikistan - Trans World Radio Asia via Dushanbe relay asiafeedback@twr.org  

Uzbekistan – Bible Voice Broadcasting via Tashkent relay mail@bvbroadcasting.org  BVB, P.O. Box 95561, Newmarket, ON L3Y 8J8, Canada

Uzbekistan- NDR Gruß an Bord - Special Broadcast via Tashkent relay ndr@ndr.de  

Uzbekistan - Bible Voice Broadcasting relay mail@bvbroadcasting.org 

Vatican – Vatican Radio qsl.request@spc.va 

Euro Free Radio

4625 USB, Radio Zand (Netherlands). Full data e-QSL. Received in two days for e-report to radiozand@protonmail.com (Jouke van der Galien, Netherlands/BDXC).

5870, FRS Holland. Full data color e-QSL received in 14 days for e-report to frs@frsholland.nl (T.C. Banks, TX).

6240, Free Radio Victoria (Netherlands). Full data e-QSL. Received in eight days for e-report to freeradiovictoria@gmail.com (Dave Kenny, UK/BDXC).

6935, Enterprise Radio. E-QSL in two days for e-report to enterpriseradio@hotmail.com (Artur Fernandez Llorella, Spain).

6263, Merseyland Alternative Radio. E-QSL in one day for e-report to music@mar.me.uk (Llorella).

6925 LSB, Truth Radio International. Full data e-QSL in one hour for e-report to trlinternational@protonmail.com (Carlos Alberto Erdmann, Brazil/FB QSL.

6930, Radio Voyager. E-QSL in two days for e-report to radiovoyager@hotmail.com (Llorella).

9290, Radio Spaceshuttle. Full data e-QSL in 28 days, for English e-report to spaceshuttleradio@yahoo.com (Christian Ghibaudo, France/BDXC)

Mediumwave

Antigua

1160, Caribbean Radio Lighthouse. Full data e-QSL in one day from Nathan Owens, Station Manager/Engineer. E-report to lighthouseBIMI@gmail.com (José Maranhão, Brazil/DX Fanzine).

Argentina

1460, LU34 Radio Pigüé. Full data e-Verification letter from Hernán Tranier, jefe de locutores. Received in seven days for e-report toradiolu34@s8.coopenet.com.ar (Ariel Osvaldo Torres, Argentina/FB DX Fanzine).

Lithuania

1557, Radio Lenta. Full data e-QSL, in one day, for e-report to pagalba@telecentras.lt (Joseph Underwood, UK).

Netherlands

846, MCB Radio. E-QSL in one day from Otto de Ruig Jr. E-report and mp3 file to technical@mcbradio.nl (Roberto Taberna, Italy).

Spain

900, COPE Granada. No-data email response from Manuel Marin, Servicios Técnicos Andalucía Oriental. Received in one day for e-report and mp3 file to tecnico.granada@cope.es. (Roberto Taberna, Italy/DX Fanzine)

Shortwave

Armenia

11570, SM Radio Dessau via Gavar relay. Full data e-QSL in seven days, for German e-report to maxberger@smradio-dessau.de (Ghibaudo) 

Finland

6005, RealMix Radio. Full data color e-QSL. Received in 15 days for e-report to realmix.sw@gmail.com (Rod Pearson, St Augustine, FL).

6005, Kessisradio via RealMix Radio. E-QSL received in four days for e-report and mp3 recording to: realmix.sw@gmail.com (Alan Pennington, UK/BDXC)

Germany

3955, Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot via Channel 292. Full data e-QSL. Received in two days for e-report to tilfordproductions@gmail.com (Pearson).

6070, Asturias en onda corta via Channel 292. Full data e-QSL. Received in one day; e-report to asturiasenondacorta@gmail.com (Ghibaudo).

9670, Atlantic 2000 International via Rohrbach. E-QSL received in 11 days for e-report to atlantic2000international@gmail.com (Ian Wilkinson, UK/BDXC).

9670, Radio Waves International via Channel 292, Full data e-QSL. Received in 20 days for e-report to rwaves@free.fr (Manuel Mendéz, Spain).

Central Indonesia - Kalimantan

Voice of Indonesia 3325 kHz Palangkaraya, Kalimantan, Central Indonesia. Full data color 8x10 color photo e-QSL featuring the Papandayan Crater in Garut, West Java, plus a full data e-Verification Letter, and personal note. Received in two days from the third follow-up report, to voilistener@gmail.com  from Muhamad Suhartono, Head of English Service Desk. Originally logged this station August 30, 1995, on a Kenwood R5000, and subsequently logged it on numerous occasions and locations. For country-counting, this station’s transmitter, located in Kalimantan, counts as a separate country from Indonesia. Very pleased to have finally verified this station. (Gayle Van Horn, LA).

Malaysia

15295, RTM Kajang-Nasional FM. Full data, color scenery e-QSL. Received in three days for e-report to pnk_rtmajang@rtm.gov.my (Pearson).

New Zealand

13690, RNZ Pacific. Full data color/logo e-QSL from Adrian Sainsbury. Received in four hours from posting at the station’s webform reporting at: https://www.rnz.co.nz/international. (Pearson).

Spain

15520, Radio Exterior de España. Full-color data color QSL card. Received in 55 days by postal mail, for e-report to ree@rtve.es (Pearson).

Taiwan

15145, Radio Taiwan International via Tamsui. QSL in 39 days for a French e-report to fren@rti.org.tw (Ghibaudo).

United States

15770, Early Jazz Radio Broadcast via WRMI Okeechobee, FL. Full data e-QSL in three days, for e-report to earlyjazzradiobroadcast@gmail.com (J?gen Waga, Germany/DX Fanzine).

Vanuatu

5040, Radio Vanuatu. Full data e-QSL. Received in one day for e-report to robertw@vbtc.vu (Clement).

Vietnam

11885, Voice of Vietnam. Full data QSL. Received via postal mail, for e-report to englishsection@vov.vn (Ben Clement, OR). 

Utility

Finland

2187.5, Coastal Calling Station-MRCC - Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre Turku, Finland. Full data e-Verification Letter from Lt. Anssi Somppi. Received in one day for e-report to mrcc@raja.fi. (Llorella)

France

2187.5, Coastal Station-MRCC - Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre Belfast. Partial verification e-letter from Laura Keenan. Received in one day for e-report to zone34@hmcg.gov.uk. 

Russia

4996 CW) RWM State Time & Frequency Service of Russia, Moscow. Color e-QSL in two days, for e-report and mp3 recording (of the CW ID) to gvch@vniiftri.ru (Pennington)

United Kingdom

5450, RAF Volmet. E-Verification Letter in one day, for e-report toUKStratComDD-SecretariatGpMbx@mod.gov.uk (Llorella).

 

Jungle Radio in South America – The Terry-Holden Expedition VP3THE

 

NCN Studios, Georgetown-2009

Jeff: Today, Ray Robinson takes a look at broadcasting in the South American country of Guyana, which got jump-started by an interesting American expedition into the country’s interior.  Here’s Ray with the story.

Ray:  Thanks, Jeff.  The country of Guyana is located on the north coast of South America, squeezed between Venezuela to the west, and Surinam to the east.  It is just a small tropical country, 300 miles wide and 400 miles long, with a total population of just over one million.  About 40% trace their origins back to India, 30% to Africa, and most of the rest are either indigenous or of mixed race.  Less than half of 1% are European.  The capital city is Georgetown, with a unique floating bridge, more than one mile long, over the River Demerara.

If the noted naturalist Charles Darwin had visited this area in South America, he would have discovered a multitude of unique varieties here, more than he did in his famous expedition to the Galapagos Islands during the 1830’s.  It is stated that Guyana has 4,000 plants that are not found anywhere else in the world, as well as many unique animal species, including the Golden Frog.

n ancient times, this region was inhabited by native Americans of three different tribes; the Arawak, Carib and Warrau.  Christopher Columbus was the first European visitor to the area, sailing along the coastline in 1498.  Almost a century later, the Dutch established the first European settlement, but they ceded the area to England in 1814.  The British colony of British Guiana was formally established in 1

1831.

In 1966, British Guiana gained its independence as Guyana, and four years later, this new country became a republic.  And because of its British colonial background, it’s the only country in continental South America with English as its official language.

Back in 1937, a group of six American explorers left the United States for a season of exploration in the northern jungle areas of South America on behalf of the American Museum of Natural History in New York.  This expedition, known as the Terry-Holden Expedition, arrived in Georgetown, British Guiana, and then set off up the local river systems on September 29, 1937, in flat-bottom boats for a 500-mile journey inland.

Three weeks later, the expedition established a base camp in the foothills of the Sierra Akarai Mountains near the border with Brazil.  Here, they installed a 200 watt RCA shortwave transmitter in a grass hut; this unit was allotted the callsign VP3THE, with the letters THE in the callsign identifying the Terry-Holden Expedition.

An advance party then travelled a further 200 miles on horseback, taking with them a small 50 watt Collins mobile transmitter for regular contact with the base camp.

On October 13, the expedition station VP3THE was heard for the first time in the United States, on 13900 kHz.  On this occasion, VP3THE was also in contact with amateur station VP3BG back in the capital city, Georgetown.  And it was that station, VP3BG, along with a neighboring station VP3MR, that were to grow into the first full-blown commercial broadcasting station in Guyana.

One month after the expedition station VP3THE’s first test transmission, the party began broadcasting weekly radio reports back to the United States for nationwide coverage in the NBC Red and Blue networks.  Sometimes the programs were relayed via VP3BG and VP3MR in Georgetown, and sometimes, when propagation conditions allowed, the transmission was made direct to the RCA station at Rocky Point on Long Island.

Three months after the initial test broadcast, the expedition station VP3THE left the air, never to return again.  The final broadcast was made early in the new year, on January 15, 1938.  The operator, Orison 

Hungerford, arrived back in New York three months later, during the month of April.

Two very different QSL cards were issued to verify reception reports of the Terry-Holden Expedition.  One was a duplicated plain text card with a hand drawn microphone issued by NBC in New York.  These cards were non-specific regarding the information in the QSL text.  The other card was of a large folder design, containing three photos of the station out in the jungle, and brief information about the expedition, as well as full QSL details.

So what became of VP3BG and VP3MR in Georgetown?  Well, they had come about initially some two years before the 1937 expedition, due to the demand for cricket commentary.  They broadcast on tropical band shortwave, and in 1938 were amalgamated into a single station, ZFY.  The station’s studios were in the Post Office building until it was burnt down in the Great Fire of Georgetown in February 1945.  Later that year, they moved into a new building and also secured their first medium-wave transmitter.

In 1950, the station was renamed Radio Demerara, Demerara being the name of the river that flows past Georgetown.  The station was required by its license to broadcast BBC material for 3 hours per day, and a further 90 minutes per day of other programming provided by the UK’s Central Office of Information (in London).

Here’s a sign-on of Radio Demerara in 1974 on 395 metres, 760 kHz, and I had to smile when I heard this one, because the announcer identifies himself as being “Ray Robinson”!: Audio clip available at: 

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/wavescan

(No relation to me!)  In 1958, a second radio station was launched by Demerara's parent company, British Guiana Broadcasting Service (BGBS), with a focus on broadcasting special events and sports coverage.  Radio Demerara was on 760 kHz, and BGBS was on 560 kHz.

Two years after independence, in 1968, the government of Guyana took over the BGBS station and renamed it the Guyana Broadcasting Service (GBS).  They then built some additional studio facilities with technical aid from engineers at the BBC's Bush House in London.

In 1979, the government acquired Radio Demerara as well, and the two stations were then operated under the auspices of a new entity, the Guyana Broadcasting Corporation.  In 1980, Radio Demerara was rebranded as Channel 1, Radio Roraima, still on 760 kHz, and GBS was rebranded as Channel 2, the Voice of Guyana, on 560 kHz.  The first FM service, on 98.1 MHz, went on the air in 1998. 

In 2004, to cut costs, the radio service (Guyana Broadcasting Corporation) and the TV service (GTV), which were both operating at a loss, were combined into a single organization – the National Communications Network (NCN).

Here's a sign-on of the NCN’s Voice of Guyana from April 2017:https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/wavescan

And that 560 kHz transmitter is still on the air today, 24 hours a day, with 7 kW from Georgetown.  For many years in Guyana, the broadcasting climate was one of nationalization and tight government control, but since the early 20-teens, a number of privately-owned low-power FM stations have been licensed, although often to organizations with close links to the government.  Curiously, Guyana is one of the few British Commonwealth countries NOT to have a local BBC World Service relay on FM.

Back to you, Jeff.

The Coming of Commercial Radio to Antigua

 

Jeff: Back in 2018 and 2021, we brought you the stories of shortwave and medium wave broadcasting from the Caribbean island of Antigua.  Ray Robinson says he struggles to remember what he had for breakfast this morning, and certainly doesn’t remember those stories, so he’s been looking at the island of Antigua again, and has put together an update with some audio clips for this week’s feature.  So, here’s Ray once again, from Los Angeles.

Ray: Thanks, Jeff.  The history of radio broadcasting from and on the Caribbean island of Antigua is an interesting one.  Antigua is actually the main island of a small country called Antigua and Barbuda, which comprises those two islands and 52 other small islands, all located at the northern end of the arc of islands that form the West Indies.

Formerly part of the UK’s Leeward Islands colony, Antigua and Barbuda gained internal autonomy in 1967, and then became fully independent from the UK in 1981.  The total population is only about 106,000, and the capital is St. John’s, on the north-west coast of Antigua. 

The first radio station of sorts on Antigua was an American Forces Radio Service (AFRS) ‘amplifier station’ which was set up during World War 2.  The United States operated two naval bases on the north coast from which they could provide protection for the Panama Canal, and the station’s purpose was to serve the military personnel on those bases.  But it wasn’t really a broadcasting station per sé.  It was a wired operation, with both relayed AFRS programming and local programming played through strategically located loudspeakers throughout the American bases.  If you’ve seen the 1970s TV series ‘M*A*S*H ’, which was set during the Korean War and depicted the same type of programming with local announcements coming through a loudspeaker on top of a tall pole, you’ll have a good mental picture of what the setup was like in Antigua.

The second station was opened by the government-owned Antigua Broadcasting Service (ABS).  This station began life as a small privately-owned 40 watt shortwave station run by aviation pioneer Sir Frank DeLisle in the early 1950’s, operating on 3255 kHz in the 90-metre tropical band with a simple center-fed doublet antenna at his home in St. John’s.  But the Antigua Broadcasting Service was officially organized in February 1956, taking over Sir Frank’s shortwave programming and equipment the following year, in 1957.  Initially they planned to upgrade the shortwave transmitter to 500 watts, but instead, in 1960, a new 500-watt medium-wave transmitter was installed on 644 kHz.  Five years later again, the medium wave frequency was adjusted to 620 kHz, to fit conventional Western Hemisphere 10 kHz channel spacing, and the station began identifying as Radio Antigua.  Subsequently, the power level was increased to 5 kW, and later again, to 10 kW.

Audio Clip - 2001 10 16 - ABS R (620kHz) - Sign On, available at:  https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/wavescan

That was from 2001, but in 2012, ABS abandoned the use of medium wave in favor of more economical FM coverage.  Today they can be heard on 90.5 FM with 3 kW.

Then there came commercial station ZDK.  In the 1950’s and 60’s, there were only three radio stations in the Leeward Islands – the northern half of the West Indies.  These were:

• ZJB – Radio Montserrat with 1 kW on 885 kHz,

• ZIZ – St. Kitts with 5 kW on 570 kHz, and

• the aforementioned Radio Antigua,

all of which were operated on a part-time, non-commercial basis by the respective governments of those islands.

So, curious Antiguans regularly tuned in to broadcasts from farther afield, such as:

• commercial WSTA on St Thomas in the US Virgin Islands,

• WIBS, the Windward Islands Broadcasting Service on shortwave from Grenada much further south, 

• and an English-language request program called ‘Caribbean Matinee’ from station WAPA in Puerto Rico.

WSTA in St. Thomas even accommodated listeners on Antigua with a special daily program called Antigua Antics.

So, there was clearly a need for a commercial station in Antigua.  Local entrepreneur Ivor Grenville Bird saw the opportunity, and, using his middle name, set up a company called Grenville Radio Ltd.  After several applications to the local administration, Grenville was finally granted a license to operate a commercial radio broadcasting station.  The authorities didn’t think the company had the wherewithal to actually create the station, but with the help of a loan from the local branch of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, secured by some land that Bird’s father owned, they were indeed able to purchase a new 10 kW medium wave transmitter and studio equipment from the Harris Company in Illinois, USA.  A friend of a friend of Bird’s, Keith Edwards, provided a building on Temple Street in St. John’s, and also refurbished it to house the studios.  The property was then leased to the radio station at a low rent.

And thus, ZDK was launched on November 30, 1970, with 10 kW on 1100 kHz.  The company also had a 10 watt directional STL (or ‘Studio to Transmitter Link’) for ZDK on 99.0 MHz FM, to feed the signal from the studio to the transmitter on top of Boggy Peak, the highest peak on the island.  If you were in the right place, this was the first time programming could be heard in St. John’s on both the AM and FM dials.

In 1993, the station moved the studios into its own building at the corner of Bird and All Saints Roads in St, John’s.  Here’s another clip from 2001:

 Audio Clip - 2001 09 01 - ZDK (1100kHz) - Sign On, available at:  

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/wavescan

On May 1st, 1995, a sister station to ZDK called ‘Sun FM’ was launched with 5 kW on 100.1 FM.

Audio Clip - 2004 03 28 - Sun R (100.1FM) – ID , available at: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/wavescan

ZDK has used various slogans over the years such as ‘The Big 11’ and ‘The Big Bad Z’, and at one stage they considered installing a 50 kW medium wave transmitter, but eventually, like the government station, they also abandoned medium wave in favor of FM, where they can now still be heard at 97.1 MHz, identifying as ZDK Liberty Radio International.

Five years after the launch of ZDK, a third medium wave station on Antigua was inaugurated as the religious Caribbean Radio Lighthouse on September 7, 1975.  This station, operated by Baptist International Missions Inc., used 10 kW initially on the split channel frequency of 1165 kHz, with studios and a transmitter site at Jolly Hill, a few miles south of St. John’s.  In 2001 they adjusted their frequency to the regular 10 kHz-spaced channel of 1160 kHz, and in 2017, their studios were rebuilt and moved about a mile to the coastal town of Valley Church.  Two FM STL’s are used by Caribbean Radio Lighthouse to send their twin programming feeds from the studios to the medium wave transmitter at Jolly Hill and also to an FM transmitter on 92.3 MHz on another nearby hill top.  The medium wave transmitter, a 10 kW Nautel unit, remains on the air to this day, and is the only medium wave station still on the air from Antigua.  It’s a great catch on 1160 kHz if you can null out KSL in Salt Lake City.

Audio Clip - 2016 12 10 - Caribbean R Lighthouse (1160kHz) – ID, available at:  

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/wavescan

Caribbean Radio Lighthouse Studio

In 1976, a large new shortwave station was installed on the island of Antigua

as a joint operation by the BBC in London and Deutsche Welle in Bonn.  It was operated under the auspices of the Caribbean Relay Company Ltd., and utilized four 250 kW transmitters.  A transmission site was constructed near Seaview Farm, ironically almost in the center of the island of Antigua, and this was operational for 29 years, before being closed and dismantled in 2005.

  Audio Clip - 1981 00 00 - BBC Caribbean Relay (6195kHz) – ID available at: https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/wavescan

But as well as operating the shortwave transmitters, the Caribbean Relay Company also transmitted the BBC World Service on 98.1 FM for the local population, including the regular regional news program, Caribbean Report.  This continued after the close of the shortwave site, and is still on the air today, although the frequency is now 89.1 FM, with 5 kW.

For about 12 years, there was also a Voice of America Relay Station on Antigua.  An agreement between the United States and the autonomous nation of Antigua and Barbuda for this station was signed in 1980.  A 17 acre site adjacent to an American Air Force Base at Coolidge on the north coast of the island was acquired, construction work began in January 1981, and the station first went on the air on April 12 of that same year.  VOA identified the location as Judge Bay.

The original equipment for VOA Antigua consisted of a 50 kW medium wave transmitter on 1580 kHz and a single omnidirectional tower.  Since power on the island could be unreliable, two 200 kVA generators provided backup power as needed.  Programming was a shortwave feed from VOA Greenville, North Carolina, which was relayed in English for four hours each night for the Eastern Caribbean.

In 1983, the station implemented a two-tower directional antenna system configured for coverage to the south.  The last entry in the WRTH for VOA Antigua was for the year 1993, seeming to indicate that the station was closed after a dozen years of service.  Like a similar VOA relay station in Costa Rica at the same time, it was closed due to budget cuts.

So today in Antigua there is the one remaining station on medium wave - Caribbean Radio Lighthouse on 1160 kHz, along with some 20 government, private commercial, and religious stations on FM, and just a single FM station on the island of Barbuda, 30 miles to the north.

Back to you, Jeff.

Blog Logs - October 2026

 

Welcome to the October issue of Blog Logs. Thank you for your emails, logging contributions, and following my latest daily post on X at Shortwave Central (Gayle Van Horn W4GVH@QSLRptMT).

Have you subscribed to the Shortwave Central YouTube channel? You will find a vast selection of videos and audio airchecks, and the Playlist is growing! Join your fellow radio enthusiasts at: https://www.youtube.com/c/ShortwaveCentral 

Stay up to date with the latest radio news and developments here at Shortwave Central. You’ll find even more in my monthly Bits & Bytes column, published in The Spectrum Monitor e-zine at https://www.thespectrummonitor.com 

English unless otherwise indicated 

// denotes station heard on a parallel frequency

*Sign-on Sign-Off*/ frequencies in kHz

Monitoring  Sept 2-25, 2026   

UTC/frequencies kHz 

Mediumwave

Bonaire

1530, Radio Bonaire 0250-0305. U.S. and Euro pop tunes. Singing IDs and additional ID’s in Spanish, Dutch, and English ‘the Sound of Bonaire.” Dutch ID at 0300 into announcer’s ID and frequency quote. (G Van Horn, LA) YT video at: https://youtu.be/Z28Em2XYHzA 

Brazil (Portuguese)

720, Radio Cruzeiro, Cruzeiro, SP. 2002-2009. Announcements to male voiceovers and mentions of the city of Cruzeiro. Station ID to religious program. S4 signal. (Rudolf Grimm, São Bernardo, SP, Brazil).

880, Rádio Deus e Amour, Porto Alegre, RS, at 0216-0228. Religious sermon to English translation. (Grimm).

1200, Rádio Cultura Brasil, São Paulo, at 1842. No signal from Radio Cultura, and information indicates that this station has migrated to FM. (Grimm).

1440, Radio Comercial, Presidente Prudente, SP, relaying Radio Banderites at 0132-0144. (Grimm). 

Paraguay

1080, Radio Monumental, Chacoi 0150-0159. Studio discussion about nostalgic moments. Interference also on this frequency by Radio Deus e Amor, Juiz de Fora. (Grimm)

United States

560, WQAM-Sport Talk Miami, 2055-2100. Ad for Aussie NFL trip and game on Netflix. Traffic update, station ID/promo. Public Service Announcement, “WQAM” ID and football talk (Van Horn, LA) YT video at: https://youtu.be/f5e9sRYyzO4 

700, WLW, Cincinnati, OH 1015-1030. Old Radio Rick program segment on the Saturday edition of Gary Jeff Walker, talking about antique radios. (Gayle Van Horn, LA) YouTube video: https://youtu.be/xAxwntxms_w 

1210, WPHT-Talk Radio 0000-0010, Station ID and promo at the hour into national news and ads for Philadelphia. (G Van Horn, LA) YT video at: https://youtu.be/mAjFMndnvek

Shortwave

Algeria

15140, Ifrikya FM Ourgla. Heard at 0702 with French news on // 17600. SINPO 35433 )Manuel Méndez, Spain)

Brazil

5939.51 Radio Voz Missionária, Camboriú at 1520-1525. News bulletin, weather forecast for various regions of Brazil. Announcement from the Gideões Missionários de Última Hora…Radio Voz Missionária. Signals on 9665/11750 remain off the air (Grimm)

6150, Radio Saturno Belo Horizonte, 0445-0516. Brazilian music to announcer’s comments and station ID as “Radio Saturno” to program “Faixa Brasil.” SINPO 15422 (Méndez).

6180, Rádio Nacional da Amazônia, Brasília 2038-2102. Program comments to soccer match at 2100. Program No Mundo da Bola. SINPO 25422. Heard on 11780 at 1944-2003.* (Méndez)

China

4900 Voice of Strait (Gutian Xincheng) 1100 in Mandarin. Musical ballad for female vocalist amid poor signal quality(Tony Pavik, BC Canada).

9580 China Radio International (Beijing Matoucun) at 1159. Mandarin to 1200 CGTN News with items on the national Defense Ministry and Algeria (Pavik).

11630 CNR-17 Kazakh Radio, Lingshi-to Kazakh-speaking areas in China. Heard at 1753-1805. Sequence of instrumental music in typical style to 1805.* (Grimm)

Colombia

5910 Alcaravan, Puerto Lleras 0449-0625. English religious text, comments and Colombian style music (Méndez)

6010, La Voz de tu Conciencia, Puerto Lleras, 0451-0628. Spanish religious programming with female’s text and comments (Méndez)

Cuba

5024 Radio Rebelde at 1100. Spanish programming from a male/female duo. Brief segments of Cuban music, noting the frequency is slightly off from 5025 kHz (Pavik).

5990, China Radio International relay at 0012. Soft female vocals and instrumentals. Good signal but muddy audio (Chichorek, NJ/NASWA).

Ecuador

6050, HCJB Pichincha, 0441-0500* Spanish religious programming Vida Real en Familia. SINPO 25422. (Grimm)

Eswatini

15105, Trans World Radio relay at 1613. Listed as Kunama service with presumed religious sermon. Religious hymn to station ID, brief interval signal, and off the air for fair signal (Harold Sellers, BC Canada).

Ethiopia

6030, Radio Oromiya, Addis Ababa 1938-1957. Vernacular text and comments. East 

African music. SINPO 15422 (Grimm).

6110, Radio Fana, Addis Ababa 1833-1849. East African music to text and comments (Grimm).

Germany

15310, Bible Voice Broadcasting Network at 1650. Somali service with religious programming to tune at 1655-1659. English ID as part of closedown for fair signal (Sellers). 

Japan

7350, NHK Radio Japan at 0930. Russian service including interval signal to ID by male/female. Newscast covering US/Iran and Strait of Hormuz (Pavik).

Liberia

6050, ELWA Radio via Monrovia 1948-2015. English religious programming. SINPO 25422. Also heard *0555-0608 with signal interval into religious programming. SINPO 15421 (Grimm). (Méndez)

Madagascar

15450, Trans World Radio at 155. Urdu service with religious programming and announcer’s talk. Station contact info at 1558 to 1559.* Sellers).

Mali

5995, Radio Mali, Bamako. 1520-1736. African vernacular talk and text to African music. SINPO 35433. Also heard 1735-1759.* (Méndez)

Peru

4775, Radio Tarma. 0950-1005 with broadcast overture; after about ten minutes of additional Andean music. (Méndez)

4810, Radio Logos, Chazuta at 1136-1140. Spanish religious music, followed by Andean music tunes. (Méndez)

4820, Radio Senda Cristian, Cotahuasi (presumed). Station extremely weak. (Méndez)

South Korea

6015 KBS Hanminjok, 0959 in Korean. Signal jammed with music just rising about it. Noted time tips and speech text (Pavik).

United Arab Emirates

9540, IBRA Media, Radio Ibrahim via Al-Dhabbaya relay at 1807-1815. Comments from announcer to 1815 sign-off.(Grimm)

15635, Radio Farda via Al-Dhabbaya. Farsi service to Iran at 1607-1612. Signal fading observed (Grimm).

Vatican State

15595 Vatican Radio at 1615. Program commenced with a signature tune, statio ID, and sign-on for the English service. Very poor signal quality(Sellers).

Vietnam

11885, Voice of Vietnam via Hanoi-Sontay, 1915-1927*. Lady announcer’s business report on national growth and future expansions. Report on high tech in Vietnam and agreements on trade and new market development. (Van Horn, LA)

9840, Voice of Vietnam at 1343. English programming // 12020 with fair signal. Noted 11885 at 1600 in English. (Sellers).

A Sampling of South American Logs on Mediumwave

 Frequency

UTC 

Argentina

540    0216    Radio Nacional, Santa Fe (RG)

840    0053    Radio Salta, Salta (RG)

1070   0136   Radio El Destape, Buenos Aires (RG)

1110   0146   Radio Ciudad, Buenos Aires (RG)

1190   0140   Radio Perfil, Buenos Aires (RG) 

1220   0152   Radio Eco Medios, Buenos Aires (RG)

1230   0157   Radio Dos, Rosario (RG)

1280   0016   Radio Provincia de Buenos Aires, Mar del Plata (RG)

1310   0156   Radio Nacional, Gualeguaychu (RG)

1330   0056   AM 1330, Rosario (RG)

1350   0207   Radio Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires (RG)

1530   0024   Radio Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires (RG) 

Bolivia

1500    0139  Radio Tawantinsuyo, Laja (RG)

1560    0118  Radio Luz del Mundo, la Paz (RG)

1560    0208  Radio Luz del Mundo, la Paz (RG)

Brazil (Portuguese)

1000 Rádio Record, São Paulo, on March 1, 2026, after 97 years of uninterrupted years of radio broadcasting to a large part of the Brazilian territory, officially ended its activity on mediumwave, and following the national program for migrating mediumwave stations to FM, will henceforth operate only on FM 77.1 São Paulo.

550    0232    Rádio Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul (RG)

560    0340    Tua Rádio, Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul (RG)

590    0136    Rádio Cruzeiro da Bahia, Salvador, Bahia  (RG)

730    1642    Rádio Cidade, Jundial, São Paulo (RG)

810    1603    Rádio Difusora Jundiaiense, Jundial, São Paulo (RG)

820    0033    Rádio Cultura, Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná (RG)

830    0042    Rádio Tropical, Nova Iguaçu,, Rio de Janeiro (RG)

830    1612    Rádio Novo Tempo, Campinas, São Paulo (RG)

870    1622    Rádio Central Campinas, São Paulo (RG)

900    0124    Rádio Difusora Arco-Íris, Araputanga,  Mato Grosso (RG)

960    2331    Rádio Dues e Amor, Aparecida del Goiánia, Goiás (RG)

1010  0301     Rádio Tua Voz, Caixas do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul (RG)

1030  0027     Rádio Difusora, Franca, São Paulo (RG)

1070   1631    Rádio Metropolitana, Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo (RG)

1080   2349    Rádio Aleluia Brasília, Federal District (RG)

1150   2342    Rádio Cabugi do Serido, Jardim do Serido, Rio Grande do Norte (RG)

1260   2334    Rádio Cultura de São  Borja, Rio Grande do Sul (RG)

1290  0113    Rádio Brasil Sul, Londrina, Paraná (RG)

1290   0195   Rádio Novo Tempo, São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo (RG)

1320   0112   Rádio CBN Foz, Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná (RG)

1320   0117   Rádio Sulbrasileira, Panambi, Rio Grande do Sul (RG)

1370   0130   Rádio Mãe de Dues, Caixa do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul

1380   0916   Rádio Cidade, Brazópolis, Mato Grosso (RG)

1410   0200   Rádio Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa, Rio Grande do Sul

1420    0124  Rádio Guarujá, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina (RG)    

1490    0123  Rádio Difusora, Olímpia, São Paulo (RG)

1520   Rede Aleluia, Sorocaba,  São Paulo (RG)

1530    0104   Rádio Sulina, Dom Pedrito, Rio Grande do Sul (RG)

Colombia

570     0115    Radio Nacional, Bogotá (SW)

600   0130   Radio Libertad, Barranquilla (SW)

620    0125   Radio Colmundo Radio, Cartagena (SW)

Paraguay

560    0009    Radio Regional, Concepcion (RG)

570    0237    Radio Amambay, Pedro Juan Caballero (RG) 

680    0000     Radio Caritas, Nemby (RG)

920    0037    Radio Nacional de Paraguay, Asunción (RG)

1080   2346   Radio Monumental, Chacoi (RG)  

1140   2330   Radio Central Radio, Ypane (RG)

1330   0202   Radio Chaco Boreal, Asunción (RG)

1420   0212   Radio Guyra Campana, Horqueta  (RG)

Peru

750    0105    Radio Altura, Cerro de Pasco (SW)

790    0705    RDP Noticias, Trujillo (SW)

Uruguay

610   0602    Radio Rural, Santiago Vázquez (RG)

1010  0120   Radio Carve Deportiva, Montevideo (RG)

1050  0131   Radio Uruguay, Montevideo (RG)

1090  0141   Radio María Uruguay, Montevideo (RG)

1130  2336   Radio Nacional, Santiago Vázquez (RG)

1160  2140   Radio Agraria del Uruguay, Cervo Chato (RG)

1170  2146    Radiomundo, Montevideo (RG)

1280  0203   Radio Tacuarembó, Tacuarembó (RG)

1430  0016   Radio  Durazno, Durazno (RG)

1510  0114   Radio San Carlos, San Carlos (RG)

1580  0038   Emisora del Este, Minas (RG) 

Venezuela

670   2355  Radio Rumbos, Caracas (VH)

860   2300  Radio Enlace, Valle de la Pascura (VH)

(SM) Sam Wright, MS)

(RG/Rudolph Grimm, São Bernardo, São Paulo, Brazil)

(VH) Gayle Van Horn, LA)