HAPPY 250th AMERICA

 

SAQ broadcast slated for July 5 on Alexanderson Day

 

                            The only remaining, and still fully functional, Alexanderson Alternator

The SAQ is scheduled to air on Alexanderson Day, July 5th, 2026.

The only remaining, and still fully functional, Alexanderson Alternator.

Experience the wings of history where they are really heard!

On the 5th of July 2026, the World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station and the Alexander Grimeton Friendship Association invite you to the Alexanderson Day – a unique and lively family day filled with technology, culture, and world-class experiences.

During the day, the radio station is brought to life with the legendary Alexanderson Alternator (SAQ), the only one of its kind in the world that still works.

The unique Alexanderson alternator from 1924, with the call sign SAQ, is scheduled for two transmissions over the antenna on VLF 17.2 kHz CW.

To attend one of the transmissions in the transmitter hall, a ticket will be required.

You can book you ticket here already now (recommended).

A full program of all activities on the 2026 Alexanderson Day will soon be available on grimeton.org.

SAQ transmission schedule

First transmission:

10:25 CEST (08:25 UTC) Introduction.

10:30 CEST (08:30 UTC) Start-up of the Alternator begins.

10:45 CEST (08:45 UTC) SAQ in the air VVV VVV VVV de SAQ SAQ SAQ (approx. time)

11:00 CEST (09:00 UTC) Transmission of a message.

Second transmission:

14:25 CEST (12:25 UTC) Introduction.

14:30 CEST (12:30 UTC) Start-up of the Alternator begins.

14:45 CEST (12:45 UTC) SAQ in the air VVV VVV VVV de SAQ SAQ SAQ (approx. time)

15:00 CEST (13:00 UTC) Transmission of a message.

Live Video from World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station

On this Alexanderson Day, there will be no live video from the transmissions due to staffing difficulties. Instead, the Alexander association team will fully focus on bringing SAQ out in the ether.

We ask for your understanding.

Test Transmissions

We are planning for some test transmissions, preliminary on July 2nd or 3rd between 13:00 - 16:00 CEST (we will confirm as soon as we can). During the tests, SAQ will be on air shorter periods of time, when we will be carrying out some tests and measurements.

QSL Reports to SAQ

Your QSL reports to SAQ are, as usual, most welcome and much appreciated!

For guaranteed E-QSL from us,

please report using our 

ONLINE QSL FORM.

We can not guarantee that reports by Email/mail/bureau will be confirmed.

The online form will be open from July 5thd until July 26th.

Amateur Radio Station SK6SAQ

The Amateur Radio Station with the call “SK6SAQ” will be QRV during the day on the following frequencies:

– 3 517.2 kHz CW

– 7 017.2 kHz CW

– 14 017.2 KHz CW

– 3 755 kHz SSB

– 7 140 kHz SSB

https://alexander.n.se/en/the-alexander-association/kontact/

The End of an Era: NHK Leaves Nauen

 

NHK World Japan is expected to conclude its remaining shortwave relay broadcasts from the MBR transmission facility at Nauen, Germany, on June 28, marking the end of the broadcaster's final use of the historic German relay site.

The broadcasts affected by the closure are:

UTC/frequency

Japanese to the Middle East, 0100–0300 on 9440 

Japanese to the Middle East, 0300–0400 on 11960 

Japanese to the Middle East, 0400–0500 on 13750 

Russian to Eastern Europe, 0430–0450  on 6165 

For many years, Nauen has served as an important relay facility for international broadcasters seeking coverage across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. With the departure of NHK World Japan, another chapter in the long history of shortwave broadcasting from Nauen comes to a close.

It remains unclear whether NHK will continue these services through alternative transmission facilities. Some observers have suggested that replacement broadcasts could originate directly from Japan, though no official announcement has been made regarding future frequencies or schedules.

For DXers, the period immediately following June 28 will be worth watching. Monitoring the traditional NHK frequencies, as well as nearby channels in the 16- and 19-meter bands, may provide clues as to whether the broadcaster plans to maintain service to these target areas through other transmission sites.

As always, reports from listeners will help determine what changes, if any, appear on the bands after the Nauen transmissions fall silent.

Throwback Thursday-Voice of America, Hicksville, Long Island, New York

The weekly "Wavescan," when it was produced by highly regarded DXer and radio historian Dr Adrian M. Peterson, Coordinator of International Relations for Adventist World Radio, carried a series of very interesting features containing much original research on radio history. We have added a similar series of current feature articles, "Reminiscing With A Radio," now being written by Adrian for New Zealand's "Radio Heritage" website. Thank you to Adrian Peterson and the Radio Heritage Foundation for their permission to include this material here.

 

by Dr Adrian M Peterson

Classic VOA QSL from Cold War Radio Museum

Back in those days, we were surprised, and literally amazed, at the rapid increase in the number of shortwave stations that began to carry the programming of the Voice of America.  At the time, the only shortwave receiver I owned at our family home in country South Australia was a small home-constructed battery-operated uncalibrated set that utilised the old bulbous English Cossor valves.  Thus it was that on Sunday afternoons I would sometimes cycle the three-mile distance and go over to the home of my mentor, Ern Suffolk.  He lived in a country house near Lobethal, a Bavarian migrant town with a name in German meaning "Valley of Praise."  Officially, this town was re-designated during the war years as Tweedvale, honouring its large woollen mill factory, but we as locals, always called it Lobethal.

Ern Suffolk was the guiding light for the South Australian Branch of the old Australian DX Radio Club with its headquarters in Melbourne, Victoria.  On his powerful shortwave receiver, I would often tune in to the escalating number of VOA shortwave transmitters and send reception reports to their two addresses, one in California and the other in New York.  Most of my reports were acknowledged; some with QSL card, some with QSL letter, some with a letter stating that it was against policy to verify, and the rest were ignored.

During those years of international crisis, the American stations that we would listen to were located mostly in California, though we would also hear the Eastern stations as well; and yes, we held QSL cards to prove it.  One of the major transmitter bases that was pressed quickly into VOA service was located at Hicksville, on Long Island in New York state.  This massive electronic complex was in some ways the largest communication station that was commandeered by VOA.  Well, OK, VOA did not just walk in and take the facility over, but they did arrange for the usage of many transmitters at this location to carry their programming, with who knows, maybe a score of different callsigns.

It was Press Wireless International, PWI, that constructed the Hicksville radio station for the purpose of increasing the flow of intentional news reports.  Work on the station was commenced in 1932 at two different locations, Little Neck and Hicksville.  Initially, it would seem from the available information that the smaller property at coastal Little Neck was developed as a temporary transmitter base with a couple of shortwave transmitters, and maybe even up to four.  The official 1933 list for Little Neck shows half a dozen call signs in use; five in the WJ series, such as WJO, WJP and WJQ, and also one four-letter call, WRDK.  When PWI Hicksville became functional, it would be presumed that the transmitters were transferred, and Little Neck then became their Receiver Station.

The larger PWI property on Long Island was situated in Hicksville, quite close to where the offices of the radio magazine, "Popular Communications," are now located.  The 500-acre property for Press Wireless Hicksville was developed as a massive shortwave communication radio station with, at its height of activity, 47 shortwave transmitters and 70 antennas.  It seems that the largest transmitters were rated at the time at 40 kw., though these days the power rating would likely be given as 20 kw.  The many additional transmitters were rated at lower power values, varying from 10 kw. to 5 kw. to a few hundred watts.

The Hicksville station became operational initially in 1933 with the original complement of transmitters, and these were augmented progressively during the next several years.  The purpose for establishing this station was to enable the free flow of press reports to and from overseas news bureaus and newspaper offices throughout the United States.  However, as was the custom in those days, PWI Hicksville also went on the air spasmodically with experimental program broadcasting in the shortwave bands.

During the year 1935, mediumwave station WOR in New York announced that they planned to establish its own shortwave transmitter to carry the same program feed in parallel with its mediumwave unit.  In fact, work commenced on the construction of the shortwave transmitter, which was already licensed as W2XHI.  However, before the new transmitter was completed, station WOR announced that it had abandoned its shortwave project.  Now, it so happened that around this same time period, Press Wireless inaugurated its own program service on shortwave over the transmitter W2XGB.  On many occasions, this unit carried a tandem relay from the mediumwave WOR.

A year or two before the commencement of the European Conflict, Press Wireless Hicksville became more active in the area of program broadcasting, and they began a daily two-hour service on shortwave from W2XGB.  The programming consisted of recorded music, relays from New York's WOR, and news bulletins from their own Press Wireless sources.  On Saturday afternoons, their program schedule showed opera broadcasts on relay to Latin America.  In addition, the Hicksville transmitters were noted by American shortwave monitors on several occasions with program relays on behalf of the national networks.  For example, Hicksville was heard with NBC programming beamed to local stations COCX and CMAS in Cuba in mid 1938; and East coast relays beamed to California around the same time period.  A few QSL letters and cards were issued to verify listener reports on these program relays.  The QSL cards showed photographs of their transmitter building and antenna systems, and also the operating positions at their receiver station.

In January 1942, just a few weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor, irregular test broadcasts commenced from Hicksville under the callsign WCW.  In those days, a separate callsign was issued by the FCC for each shortwave channel, and thus it was that PWI Hicksville was noted with maybe a score of different callsigns during this era.  Programming for these broadcasts was taken from the local networks, such as NBC and Mutual, and they were relayed for example to Press Wireless KJE9 in California.  Test broadcasts were also beamed to continental and islandic Europe.

A few months after the series of test broadcasts began, station WCW Hicksville New York, began to carry official OWI-VOA and AFRS programming beamed to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.  Over a period of more than four years, Hicksville was noted with this relay programming in many languages and under as many as a score of different callsigns.  Program relays were taken from the VOA studios in New York, from the studios of the nationwide networks, and from the studios of station WLW-WLWO in Cincinnati, Ohio.  In fact, wartime pilot John Willmott states that he heard about the Doolittle raid on Tokyo in April 1942 from a VOA broadcast over the Hicksville station while he was ferrying a plane to the Russian Air Force in Iraq.

In March 1943, Hicksville began the usage of regularised four-letter callsigns instead of the usual three-letter callsigns.  For example, callsign WKRX was noted on 7820 kHz. with a parallel relay from WGEO Schenectady.  The callsign on this Hicksville channel, WKRX, was previously noted as WBM4.  The internationally regarded Arthur Cushen MBE in New Zealand reported that he received three QSLs from Hicksville during this era.  His QSLs were two cards verifying WKRD and WKTM and one letter verifying WKTS.  It is not known at this stage specifically what cards Cushen received in acknowledgement for his reception reports.

It was on April 20, 1942, that station WCW Hicksville New York began the official relay of programming on behalf of OWI-VOA.  Two years later, in January 1944, the new shortwave station WOOP and WOOO was activated at Wayne, New Jersey, with the result that PWI Hicksville was no longer needed at the same level.  The usage of the lower powered and older station at Hicksville was thus diminished in the regular VOA and AFRS services to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.  The final listing of Hicksville with VOA programming occurred in the VOA scheduling in January 1945, though occasional point-to-point relays were noted subsequently.

In March 1945, WJQ Hicksville was reported in the American radio journal "Radio News," with a special program relay to SHAEF Paris on 10010 kHz.  The station known as SHAEF Paris was in reality a new and temporary Press Wireless station located out in the country near Paris.  In fact, Robert Knight of Lisbon, Connecticut, tells us that he received his technical training on the 40 kw. transmitter at Press Wireless Hicksville and that he worked on the same model transmitter that was reinstalled near Paris in France.  That's the story for next time in "Reminiscing with a Radio."

In 1965, Press Wireless was acquired by ITT World Communications and a few years later the station was dismantled.  The multitude of tall towers no longer hovered over the landscape near Canitague Lane.  What an illustrious and interesting history for such a large and magnificent shortwave station that performed so admirably, and yet was so little known during the era of its usefulness.

(Dr Adrian M Peterson/AWR Wavescan for New Zealand Radio Heritage)

Radio Taiwan International plans a test broadcast from Taiwan

 

Dear listener,

The French Service wishes to inform you that during August 2026 (August 7–30), RTI will conduct direct broadcasts from the Tamsui transmission center in northern Taiwan, targeting Europe and North Africa.

To select the most suitable frequencies, we are planning a test broadcast on Sunday, June 21. The frequencies and times for this broadcast are as follows:

Frequency 15145 kHz, 17:00–17:10 UTC

Frequency 11995 kHz, 17:15–17:25 UTC

Frequency 11995 kHz, 17:30–17:40 UTC

Frequency 9545 kHz, 17:45–17:55 UTC

The two most suitable frequencies will be selected for this summer's broadcast.

A special QSL card will be sent to confirm your reception reports, which you can submit to the French Service via email or through the station's online form.

Thank you for listening and for your continued loyalty.

(RTI French service)

Throwback Thursday - BBC Malaysia

 This week's nostalgic episode from Wavescan, originally broadcast by Adrian Peterson on October 29, 2000

BBC Malaysia

Back in the year 1976,  I took a two-week vacation in Singapore to spend time with my schoolboy son, who was attending an academy located on the edge of the populated areas.  Quite early one Sunday morning, we took a bus and a taxi out from suburban Singapore along the well-paved highway that runs north across the island. 

At the border check post, our travel documents were examined briefly and we walked across the wooden causeway that leads to the Malaysian city of Johore Bahru.  Surprisingly, there was no second check of our documents on the Malay side, so we continued our walk into the center of the first town on the Malay peninsula.  Here it was that we caught another taxi and asked the driver to take us to the BBC relay station out in the nearby countryside at Tebrau.

The modern Japanese taxi whisked us quickly through the lush, verdant Malaysian countryside with its palm trees, green fields, and plantations of rubber trees.  We soon found ourselves at the huge radio station, with its mass of tall antennas, miles of long, long feed lines, and an immaculate white building surrounded by green lawns and tropical gardens.

BBC Far Eastern  Station equipment

The BBC relay station located at Tebrau, outside the city of Johore Bahru, was constructed on a huge, rolling estate of several hundred acres in the year 1953.  The original transmitters were six in number; four new units at 7.5 kw. and two 100 kw. units transferred from the old BFBS base at Jurong on Singapore island.

In the early 1960s, a modernization plan was implemented at Tebrau.  The low-powered 7.5 kw. Units were removed and six more transmitters were installed, making a total of six at 100 kw. and four at 250 kW.

When the lease at Tebrau expired, the Malaysian authorities gave approval for the BBC to continue on air until a new station was erected at Kranji on the northern edge of the island of Singapore.  The final broadcast from the BBC Tebrau took place on March 18, 1979, and the two BBC relay stations located at Kranji on Singapore and at Masirah in Oman took over.

At the height of it power, BBC Tebrau was on the air with a total output of 1.6 megawatts, using 10 transmitters and a bevy of more than 20 curtain antennas.  The long, long feed lines exited the transmitter building and ran down into the valley and across the green fields for more than a quarter mile, the longest known feed lines in the history of shortwave broadcasting.

At the end of our guided tour, my son and I marvelled at the magnitude of this electronic wonder, and we knew that this, our first visit, would be the last time we would see the station this way.  A total of eight transmitters from Tebrau were reinstalled at the new BBC base at Kranji on Singapore, and they are still in active service today as a BBC relay into all areas of Asia.

BBC Far Eastern Relay transmitters

And what happened to the BBC Tebrau after it was closed?  The two old transmitters of 100 kW. were abandoned, the antennas removed, and the building swept clean.  The huge estate of several hundred acres is now a plantation area again, with very little to remind anyone of its one time grandeur as a powerful shortwave relay station.  The AWR Historic Collection contains two dozen BBC QSL cards verifying the reception of transmissions from the BBC Far Eastern Relay Station, the station that was once BBC Tebrau.

(Wavescan 305/Adrian Peterson)

Texas Radio Shortwave, June 18, 21-2026

 

UTC/kHz

Thursday, June 18, 2026

1900-2000, 3975, 6160  Shortwave Radio Gold to Europe - The Music of Koe Wetzel

(music requested by Roman Sass, Rostock, Germany)

Sunday, June 21, 2026

1000-1100, 6070 Channel 292 to Europe - The Music of Townes Van Zandt

(music requested by Eric Cottrell, Lynn, Massachusetts, USA)

This schedule is subject to change based on listener requests for specific Texas artists or music genres, propagation conditions, and other things beyond our control.

Texas Radio Shortwave is an independent producer of musical and topical shows, usually about Texas.

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 kiloWatts 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/.

(TRSW) 

(Koe Wetzel photo via Audacy.com)

(Townes Van Zandt photo by TVZ Records)

(TRS graphic by Gayle Van Horn)

Nostalgic pirate radio from Hans Knot's International Radio Report

 

Shivering Sands Army Fort

In the June edition of the International Radio Report, Hans Knot shares extensive memories of Radio Jackie and Sealand, among others. 

There is also a fascinating story about the Voice of Peace. Furthermore, there is Marc Jacobs' diary with notes on the summer of 1979 aboard the Mi Amigo. 

And Hans Blauwbroek is conducting research for his upcoming book about the Tros Europarade and has a number of questions. There is also more information about Offshore Echos Magazine and a new book about Radio Nord.

https://offshoreradio.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/hans-knot-int-radio-report-2026-03.pdf

(Mike Terry, UK/BDXC)

(photo via Wikipedia)

Weekly Propagation Forecast Bulletins-June 15 2026

 Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts

:Issued: 2026 Jun 15 0248 UTC

# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

# Product description and SWPC web contact www.swpc.noaa.gov/content/subscription-services

#

#                Weekly Highlights and Forecasts

#

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 08 - 14 June 2026

Solar activity was at low levels the entire period, with only C-class flares observed. There were five flares at or above the C5 level, with all but one originating from Region 4465 (N09, L=292,

class/area=Dhi/255 on 11 Jun). These included: a C7.2 at 09/0249 UTC, a C6.7/1f at 11/0026 UTC, a C9.0 at 11/0828 UTC (the largest of the period), and finally a C5.2 flare at 12/0214 UTC. The only other flare greater than C5 was a C6.1 flare at 11/0044 UTC from Region 4456 (N17, L=63, class/area=Dai/80 on 08 Jun). 

Additional activity included a type-II radio sweep at 09/1557 UTC, with an estimated velocity of 917 km/s, likely associated with low-level C-class flaring from Region 4463 (N16, L=339, class/area=Hsx/70 on 10 Jun). An associated CME was first observed in the NE quadrant of LASCO/C2 around 09/1630 UTC, which correlated to an eruption near (and south of) Region 4463. Analysis suggested glancing effects near-Earth on 13-14 June. A second type-II sweep (est. velocity = 1,127 km/s) was detected by the RSTN stations at 10/1715 UTC. An associated CME was first observed in the NE quadrant in LASCO/C2 imagery at 10/1800 UTC, with modeling and analysis indicating no Earth-directed component was likely. The third and final type-II sweep of the period was associated with the C6.7/1f flare from Region 4465 observed at 11/0002 UTC, and had an estimated velocity of 918 km/s. Additionally, a type-IV radio sweep and a partial halo CME were observed, with analysis indicating potential impact near-Earth starting early on 13 Jun. 

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached high levels on 08-10 and 13-14 Jun, with a peak flux of 4,259 pfu at 09/1525 UTC. Flux levels were low to moderate on 11-12 Jun. 

Geomagnetic field activity was at quiet to unsettled levels on 08-10 and 14 Jun under nominal conditions. Active to G1 (Minor) storm conditions were observed on 11 Jun with unsettled to active

conditions observed on 12-13 Jun under negative polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS) influences, combined with weak CME effects, likely associated with the CME that left the Sun on 09 Jun. 

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 15 June - 11 July 2026

Solar activity is expected to be at mostly low levels through 19 Jun, with increasing chances for M-class activity after 20 Jun with the anticipated return of Region 4455 (N14, L=88, class/area=Dki/360

on 03 Jun) 

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit, barring significant flare activity. 

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 15-17 Jun and 04-10 Jul. Normal to moderate levels are expected to prevail throughout the remainder of

the period. 

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels on 15, 17-24, and 26-30 Jun, as well as 01-02, 04-07, and 10-11 Jul. Active conditions are likely on 16, 25 Jun and 03

08, and 09 Jul under elevated CH HSS influence. 

:Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt

:Issued: 2026 Jun 15 0248 UTC

# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

# Product description and SWPC web contact www.swpc.noaa.gov/content/subscription-services

#

#      27-day Space Weather Outlook Table

#                Issued 2026-06-15

#

#   UTC      Radio Flux   Planetary   Largest

#  Date       10.7 cm      A Index    Kp Index

2026 Jun 15     120           8          3

2026 Jun 16     122           8          3

2026 Jun 17     135           8          3

2026 Jun 18     135           5          2

2026 Jun 19     132          12          4

2026 Jun 20     132          10          3

2026 Jun 21     130           5          2

2026 Jun 22     112           8          3

2026 Jun 23     135          12          4

2026 Jun 24     136           5          2

2026 Jun 25     138           5          2

2026 Jun 26     140           5          2

2026 Jun 27     135          10          3

2026 Jun 28     118          10          3

2026 Jun 29     130           5          2

2026 Jun 30     115           5          2

2026 Jul 01     130           8          3

2026 Jul 02     130          10          3

2026 Jul 03     136           5          2

2026 Jul 04     118          10          3

2026 Jul 05     130           8          3

2026 Jul 06     128           8          3

2026 Jul 07     128           5          2

2026 Jul 08     128          15          4

2026 Jul 09     125           8          3

2026 Jul 10     125          12          4

2026 Jul 11     120           8          3

(NOAA)

Atlantic 2000 International slated for speical Anniversary show

 

Atlantic 2000 International was on shortwave for the first time in June 1982. In June 2026, we are forty-four years old!

Our special anniversary show will be on the air on Saturday, June 13th, from 08:00 to 09:00 UTC on 6070 and 9670 kHz via Channel 292.

The stream will be available at the same time on our website: http://radioatlantic2000.free.fr

The show will be repeated on Sunday, June 14th at 19:00 UTC on 6070 kHz only.

You can receive our special eQSL by sending a detailed reception report (more than 15 minutes of listening) to: atlantic2000international[at]gmail.com

Visit our website and listen to Atlantic 2000, 24 hours a day: http://radioatlantic2000.free.fr   

And follow us on Mixcloud and YouTube 

(Atlantic 2000 Intl)

Encore classical music from Radio Tumbrill

 

Dear Listener

Regular Broadcast times of Encore By WRMI and Channel 292 are:

02:00 - 03:00 UTC Friday 5850 kHz WRMI to US

20:00 - 21:00 UTC Friday 15770 kHz WRMI to Europe

10:00 - 11:00 UTC Saturday 9670 kHz Channel 292 to Europe

01:00 - 02:00 UTC Sunday 5850 kHz WRMI to US and Canada

19:00 - 20:00 UTC Sunday 3955 kHz Channel 292 to Europe

02:00 - 03:00 UTC Monday 5950 kHz WRMI to the US and Canada

13:00 - 14:00 UTC Tuesday 15770 kHz WRMI to Europe, the east coast of US, and Iceland. (Sometimes RTTY on the lower sideband. Suggest notch out or use USB.)

Some Things to see on The Encore Website:

The Encore website is www.tumbril.co.uk, where you will find:

Important information about the funding of Encore - Radio Tumbril.

Up-to-date transmission times and frequencies.

The playlists for the most recent programmes.

An email link.

Informal reception reports as well as those requesting eQSL cards, are welcome.

(Please don't be put off by the POWR security wall when using the PAYPAL button - it is a harmless requirement of WIX the website hosting service.)

THIS FORTNIGHT'S PROGRAMME - First broadcast on FRIDAY 12th June by WRMI at 0200 UTC on 5850, and 2000 UTC on 15770 and then Channel 292 on SATURDAY 13th June at 10:00 UTC on 9670 kHz:

Is the Encore Scandinavian-inspired midsummer special? It starts with a piano piece by Oskar Merikanto, a couple of very different pieces by Hugo Alfén, and then two more piano studies by Merikanto.

After that, Taagen letter - (The Fog is Lifting), and Sommersang - (Summer Song), both by Carl Nielsen.

Next - the Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream by Mendelsson, A traditional Viking song from Iceland, and The Peat Dance - played by the Danish String Quartet.

The Programme ends with two pieces from Grieg's Incidental Music for Peer Gynt.

(This bulletin is sent by Bcc to the many hundreds of listeners who have been in contact with Encore over the last six years of broadcasting.)

Brice Avery - Encore - Radio Tumbril - www.tumbril.co.uk.

GMØTLY

Memories of Radio Broadcasting in Portuguese Goa

 

This program originally aired on October 1, 2000

The one-time Portuguese colony of Goa lies on the western coast of India, nearly half way from Bombay to the southern tip of the peninsula.  This small territory was settled by the Portuguese in the year 1510 and was re-incorporated into India in December 1961.

Goa is a fascinating place to visit, with its extended miles of wide ocean beaches, its varied coastal and inland scenery, and its tropical and sub-tropical fruits.  To this day, Goa still exudes a subtle evidence of its earlier European culture, with its Latin-style church architecture, its European style of dress, its Portuguese Konkani music, and the occasional usage of the Portuguese language.

On many occasions, I have visited favored Goa.  I have swum at its beaches, I have jogged the entire 65-mile coastline, I have shopped in its exotic bazaars, I have eaten in its restaurants, and I have visited its radio stations.

It was back on May 28, 1946, that the first experimental radio broadcasts went on the air in old Goa.  This radio program service was broadcast from a 500-watt transmitter operated by the Post & Telegraph Office.  It was on the air for only a short period of time.

A regular broadcasting service was inaugurated in 1949 using a temporary 1 kW. shortwave transmitter in Panjim, the small capital city.  This unit was located at the radio studios of what became Emissora de Goa, on a hill overlooking the city.  The current studios and offices of All India Radio in Goa incorporated the older studio buildings at the same site.

Classic AIR QSL via Goa

During the following year an additional 2.5 kW. A mediumwave transmitter was installed at the studio location, and a country transmitter base was constructed some 6 miles from Panjim.  Over a period of time, two shortwave transmitters and one mediumwave transmitter were installed at this country location.

During the year 1961, a 50 kW. A shortwave transmitter was installed, and this unit made test broadcasts on three different channels, beamed towards Africa, the Persian Gulf, and the Far East.

With the changing winds of fortune, Emissora de Goa finally left the air and closed down forever at 8:00 am on December 18, 1961.  Less than two months later, All India Radio came on the air from the same studios, though with only one transmitter, the 5 kw. mediumwave unit on 880 kHz.

It should be remembered that the first broadcasts in Southern Asia of the familiar AWR program, "Voice of Prophecy," went on the air from station CR8AA, the old Emissora de Goa, in the year 1950.  The half-hour broadcasts of the English language "Voice of Prophecy" were on the air from Goa for two years, though this programming was subsequently transferred to the Commercial Service of Radio Ceylon in Colombo.

So what happened to Emissora de Goa, R. Goa afterwards?  Well, the studios and offices on the hill overlooking Panjim have been rebuilt twice and are in use today by All India Radio.  There is a new shortwave base out in the country containing two transmitters at 250 kw. which are in use for the General Overseas Service of All India Radio.  And what about the old radio base out in the country?  I visited this location many years ago, and all that was left at that time was some wreckage from one of the old buildings and lots of overgrown grass. 

(Adrian Peterson/Wavescan)

Closing Days of Canada's CHU

 

Canada’s Time Signal Station CHU Ottawa to Cease Shortwave Transmissions in June 2026.

On June 22, 2026  the National Research Council Canada, known as the NRC, will permanently discontinue the shortwave broadcasting operations of its official time signal station, CHU.

From that day forward, the familiar frequencies of 3330 kHz, 7850 kHz, and 14,670 kHz will fall silent. For the future, the NRC points matter - of factly to modern alternatives: the Network Time Protocol (NTP) for computers, web-based clocks, and the traditional telephone service.

The history of CHU stretches back an astonishingly long way to an era when radio itself was still in its infancy. It all began in 1923 under the aegis of the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa. The initial experimental broadcasts were transmitted under the call sign 9CC on the longwave band at 275 meters.

Anyone who has not yet sent a reception report to Ottawa should make use of the time remaining until June. The NRC has confirmed that valid reports will continue to be acknowledged with the traditional CHU QSL card. Fittingly, the card features an image of Sir Sandford Fleming, the Canadian railway engineer and "father of worldwide time zones".

Reception reports may be sent via email or, in the classic tradition, via postal mail to:

Radio Station CHU, 1200 Montreal Road, Building M-36, Ottawa, Ontario,

K1A 0R6, Canada, North America.

Email: radio.chu@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca

A comprehensive report on this topic, including further details, can be found on the DARC website. www.darc.de

(DARC Deutschland-Rundspruch 21/2026, May 28)

(WWDXC-Top News 1656)

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)

Wavescan presents, Mary Texanna Loomis, Radio Pioneer

 Special thanks to the Wavescan staff for this week's feature from a Texas radio pioneer

Jeff:   Most features we present on the history of broadcast radio, and shortwave in particular, seem to feature men.  But we would be remiss in not mentioning that there were also a number of female pioneers involved in the early days of radio, and today, Ray Robinson in Los Angeles has the story of one of them.

Mary Texana Loomis and one of her transmitter projects

Ray:  Thanks, Jeff.  Yes, today’s feature is about Mary Texanna Loomis, who in 1920 founded the Loomis Radio School in Washington, D.C.  This topic was suggested by Wavescan listener Martin Dawson on Prince Edward Island in Canada, after he had read an old article in Radio World which in turn had been sourced from articles in several old magazines and newspapers of the 1920s and 30’s.

In the 1920s, if you wanted to get a job in America as a commercial radio operator or a shipboard radioman on an American vessel, you needed a Commercial Radio License, issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce.  The best way to obtain such a license was to attend one of the few radio schools that operated in principal cities around the United States.  Two of the most distinguished schools were in Washington, D.C.:  the National Radio Institute and the Loomis Radio School.  The latter was the only woman-owned radio school in the country.  Mary Texanna Loomis was the principal instructor and that rare creature in the 1920’s:  a female authority on radio.

Mary was a distant cousin of Dr. Mahlon Loomis, who in 1866 had experimented with ‘stealing current from the atmosphere’ using kites and metallic string.  In one experiment, he flew kites from two peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia and, using a galvanometer, was able to detect a change in current in one kite when he grounded the line of the other.  Subsequently, he was able to send Morse Code messages between the two locations, a distance of 18 miles.  And that experimentation in wireless communication took place a full nine years before Guglielmo Marconi was even born.

Mary Texanna Loomis was born on August 18, 1880, in a homesteader’s shack near Goliad, Texas, the second child of Alvan and Caroline Loomis.  Her middle name, ‘Texanna’, was bestowed in honor of the state where she was born.

Mary Texanna Loomis

The family moved to Rochester, N.Y., in 1883, where she had a respectable middle-class upbringing.  She was sports-minded in her youth, participating in swimming and horseback riding.  She also took voice lessons and became a good soprano.  She learned to speak three languages:  French, Italian and German.  A grandfather was a strong influence; he taught her to use tools and to build mechanical devices, and he helped develop her interest in science and the new inventions of the industrial age.

Mary Loomis married Turner Erving Howard in October, 1898, in Buffalo, NY.  Sadly, the marriage ended in divorce in 1917, and there’s no record that they had any children.  Mary then reverted to her maiden name of Loomis.

After her divorce, Mary moved to Washington, where she looked unsuccessfully for music employment.  But her life took a new turn when she attended a lecture on the emerging technology of wireless communication.  Fascinated, she read everything she could find on the subject.  At the age of 38, at a time when radio was the field of only a few experimenters and inventors, most of them men, she graduated from radio school and earned her first-class radio telegraphy license.

During World War I, she worked for the Red Cross and also as a secretary in a wireless school.  It was only then that she learned about the experiments of her distant cousin, Mahlon Loomis, and she resolved to open a radio operator’s school in his honor.

In 1920, she invested every cent she had and incorporated the Loomis Radio School. Located at 401–411 Ninth Street in the northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., it offered a six-month course preparing students for the first-class commercial radio license exam.  Most students who graduated found positions as shipboard radio operators.  Loomis was the school’s president and principal lecturer.  She taught radio using equipment she constructed herself in the school’s machine shop, and taught her students not only how to operate, but also how to build radio equipment.  “No man can graduate from my school until he learns how to make any part of the apparatus,” she said.  “I give him a blueprint of what I want him to do and tell him to go into the shop and keep hammering away until the job is completed.  I want my graduates to be able to meet any emergency or mishap that may arise someday far out on the sea.”

The Loomis Radio School in Washington, D.C.

She lived a frugal life in a boarding home, and worked 12 to 15 hours a day teaching, grading papers and writing.  In time, the Loomis Radio School offered four courses, with the main one (for would-be commercial radio operators) leading to a first-class commercial radio operator's license.  A second course for technical training taught how to build a receiving set.  A third course led to a license as an amateur radio operator, and the fourth was for operators who needed only to renew an expired license or who had been military operators and needed only minimal training.

Her students also gained practical experience operating a radio transmitter through the use of the school’s amateur station, W3YA.  Loomis was a noted lecturer and member of the prestigious Institute of Radio Engineers.  She authored and marketed the popular book “Radio Theory and Operating for the Radio Student and Practical Operator.”  This was a reference text of 886 pages with 700 illustrations.  It was advertised at a reasonable price and was offered postage-paid directly by the school.  It subsequently became a textbook used by many educational institutions and government agencies.

By 1928, the Loomis textbook was in its fifth edition, then amounting to 1,006 pages.  “Radio Broadcast” Magazine called it “one of the most comprehensive volumes in its field.”  Mary dedicated her book to her cousin Mahlon Loomis.

Loomis teaching a class of future radio operators

The depression that began in 1929 affected the school severely, as it did tens of thousands of other businesses.  Fewer students could afford the training, and larger schools like the National Radio Institute had more resources to weather the hard times.  Further, a new competitor, the Capitol Radio Institute, would open in Washington in 1932.  In 1930, Loomis reorganized the school as the Loomis Radio College, Inc., but it was dissolved in early 1933.

Not much is known about Mary’s later life.  She is known to have relocated to San Francisco in 1938; the census shows that she lived in the St. Francis Hotel and listed her occupation as a stenographer.  Mary Texanna Loomis died in that city in June 1960 at the age of 79, and was buried at the Woodlawn Memorial Park in Colma, California.

Back to you, Jeff.

Jeff: Thanks, Ray.  And in a few weeks’ time, Ray will have a story about another woman who was active in early radio – Mary Day Lee.

(Wavescan/Ray Robinson)

Weekly Propagation Forecast Bulletins

 Product: Weekly Highlights and Forecasts

:Issued: 2026 Jun 08 0243 UTC

# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center

# Product description and SWPC web contact www.swpc.noaa.gov/content/subscription-services

#                Weekly Highlights and Forecasts

#

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 01 - 07 June 2026

Solar activity reached high levels on 03 Jun when Region 4455 (N14, L=88, class/area=Dki/360 on 03 Jun) produced an M9.3/Sf flare (accompanied by Type-II (253 km/s) and Type-IV sweeps, and a 360 sfu Tenflare) at 03/0136 UTC, followed by an M7.7/1b flare (accompanied by Type-II (313 km/s) and Type-IV radio sweeps, and a 540 sfu Tenflare with Castelli-U signature) at 03/0700 UTC, and finally an

X1.0/1n flare (accompanied by a Type-IV sweep and a 180 sfu Tenflare) at 03/1128 UTC. The CMEs associated with the three significant flares from AR4455 on 03 Jun arrived at Earth on 05 Jun.

Other activity included an M1.8/2n (accompanied by Type-II (838 km/s) and 190 sfu Tenflare) flare at 06/1401 UTC from Region 4461 (S20, L=09, class/area=Dao/70 on 02 Jun). The resulting partial-halo

CME, first visible in LASCO C2 imagery at 06/1401 UTC, is anticipated to arrive at Earth around midday on 08 Jun. 

The greater than 10 MeV proton flux became slightly enhanced after midday on 06 Jun, following the M1.8/2n flare at 06/1401 UTC from Region 4461, but remained below event levels with a peak flux of 1.0 pfu observed at 06/1940 UTC. The greater than 10 MeV proton flux gradually returned to background levels on 07 Jun. 

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal to moderate levels on 01-05 Jun, with high levels observed on 06-07 Jun. 

Geomagnetic field activity reached G1-G2 (Minor-Moderate) storm levels on 05 Jun, and active levels on 06 Jun, following the arrival and passage of the CMEs from 03 Jun. The shock arrival was observed

beginning at around 05/0425 UTC, and in the hours following, the total magnetic field strength (Bt) reached 20 nT, the Bz component reached as far southward as -17 nT, and solar wind speeds increased

to a peak near 740 km/s. Quiet and quiet to unsettled levels under weak coronal hole high-speed stream influences prevailed throughout the remainder of the period. 

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 08 June - 04 July 2026

Solar activity is expected to be at predominantly low levels through 04 Jul, with M-class flare probabilities ranging from a chance to likely levels throughout the period. 

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit, barring significant flare activity. 

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on 09-10, 13-18 Jun and 04 Jul. Normal to moderate levels are expected to prevail throughout the remainder

of the period. 

Geomagnetic field activity is likely to reach G1-G3 (Minor-Strong) storm levels on 08 Jun, with G1-G2 (Minor-Moderate) levels likely on 09 Jun, due to the anticipated arrival of the CME that left the Sun

on 06 Jun. Periods of active conditions are likely on 23-26 Jun due to recurrent CH HSS influences. Quiet and quiet to unsettled levels are expected to prevail throughout the remainder of the period. 

Product: 27-day Space Weather Outlook Table 27DO.txt

:Issued: 2026 Jun 08 0244 UTC
# Prepared by the US Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, Space Weather Prediction Center
# Product description and SWPC web contact www.swpc.noaa.gov/content/subscription-services
#
#      27-day Space Weather Outlook Table
#                Issued 2026-06-08
#
#   UTC      Radio Flux   Planetary   Largest
#  Date       10.7 cm      A Index    Kp Index
2026 Jun 08     135          50          7
2026 Jun 09     132          32          6
2026 Jun 10     130          12          3
2026 Jun 11     130          15          3
2026 Jun 12     128          10          3
2026 Jun 13     128           6          2
2026 Jun 14     120           6          2
2026 Jun 15     118           8          3
2026 Jun 16     120           8          3
2026 Jun 17     122           5          2
2026 Jun 18     122           5          2
2026 Jun 19     125           5          2
2026 Jun 20     125           5          2
2026 Jun 21     128           8          3
2026 Jun 22     130           8          3
2026 Jun 23     132          10          4
2026 Jun 24     134          15          4
2026 Jun 25     134          15          4
2026 Jun 26     132          15          4
2026 Jun 27     130          10          3
2026 Jun 28     132           8          3
2026 Jun 29     130           6          2
2026 Jun 30     128           8          3
2026 Jul 01     125           5          2
2026 Jul 02     130           5          2
2026 Jul 03     128          12          3
2026 Jul 04     125           8          3
(NOAA)

Audio available for Jen's Eclectic Views & Real Deal from June 7

 

No worries if you missed the June 7 broadcast of Jen's Eclwtic Views and Real Deal!

Audio is now available for download and listening at: 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/49941icqrmhpk519arym3/Jen-s-Electic-Views-Real-Deal-For-May-.31st-17-20-heard-on-Unique.mp3?rlkey=x1kr7b44ax50huj98h51tpu3w&dl=0

Tiny URL:  https://tinyurl.com/43y68px6

Tune in to Jen's Eclectic Views & Real Deal program on June 7

 

Don't miss it !!

Sunday, June 7, 2026

17:00 - 20:00 UTC

Live Stream.

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

For contact pleasure.

JenUR@proton.me

Thanks.

Jen In The RAD

Texas Radio Shortwave, June 6, 7-2026

 

UTC/kHz

Saturday, June 6, 2026

1400-1500,  6160 Shortwave Radio Gold to Europe - Michael Strah, Texas Radio Shortwave presents, The Music of Jimmie Vaughn

1800-1900,  3975, 6160 Shortwave Radio Gold to Europe - Michael Strah Texas Radio Shortwave presents, The Music of Jimmie Vaughn

Sunday, June 7, 2026

1200-1300, 9670 Channel 292 to Europe - Michael Strah Texas Rado Shortwave presents, The Music of Jimmie Vaughn

2300-0000, 9670  Channel 292 to North America - Michael Strah, Texas Radio Shortwave presents, The Music of Jimmie Vaughn

This schedule is subject to change based on listener requests for specific Texas artists or music genres, propagation conditions, and other things beyond our control.

Texas Radio Shortwave is an independent producer of musical and topical shows, usually about Texas.

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/.

(TRSW)

(photos via Wikipedia) 

(TRS graphics by Gayle Van Horn)

Memories of BFBS Singapore

 

This edition first aired on July 23, 2000

Back in the year 1971, I was on a motor launch in Bangladesh. There had been a horrendous, devastating cyclone in the Bay of Bengal. It is calculated that one million people lost their lives in this overnight cyclone, thus making it the worst natural disaster on earth since Noah's Flood. At the time, I was on temporary loan to ADRA, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, and we were in the delta areas of Bangladesh carrying relief supplies of food and basic living needs to the homeless survivors.

One afternoon, while the motor launch was travelling from one location to another, I was tuning across the shortwave bands on my Grundig radio when I was very surprised to hear the BBC World Service news in the 60 meter tropical shortwave band. On checking the WRTVH, I discovered that I was listening to BFBS Singapore, the British Forces Broadcasting Service, with 10 kw on 5010 kHz.

On a subsequent visit to Singapore a few years later, I took a taxi one humid rainy day to the British Army base on the outskirts of Singapore City. Even though this was a high security area, I was courteously granted approval to make a visit to BFBS Radio. As I approached the building, I was dismayed to discover that workmen were in the process of dismantling the station. They were removing all of the electronic equipment and refurbishing the building for use as an office.

As I walked through the empty rooms, I visualized what used to be. I saw the old studios and control room, the offices and tape library, of what used to be BFBS Singapore. Obviously, when this station was on the air it was an efficient and modern radio station.

BFBS Singapore was launched in early 1953 with a 10 kW transmitter operating at 7.5 kw. It was on the air on the constant frequency of 5010 kHz in two languages, English and Ghurka. Some 10 years later, a 5 kW FM transmitter was added.

BFBS Singapore had a reputation as an excellent verifier, and the AWR historic collection in Indianapolis contains two QSL cards confirming the reception of both the shortwave and FM transmitters.

In mid-1971, the British Army base was handed over to the Singapore army. The FM transmitter at this location was given to the BBC, which operated it by remote control. The shortwave transmitter was located at Jurong, near the famous bird park, and it was donated to Radio Singapore, which operated it for many years in parallel with their other 60-meter band outlet on 5052 kHz.

As I walked down the stairway and out of the two-story building, I cast a backward glance at the signboard, which read, "British Forces Broadcasting Service, Singapore."

So "What Happened to them Afterwards?" Well, the studio building became an office for officers in the Singapore Army. Both the shortwave and FM transmitters have long since been removed and junked. All that remains these days are the DX reports in old radio magazines, a cluster of QSL cards in old QSL collections, and the memories in the lives of the staff who were on the air with what was BFBS Singapore.

(A Peterson/Wavescan)

New U.S. Radio Show Seeks to Foster Civil Discourse on Constitutional Issues

 

from the WRMI Facebook page

"America@250: Due Diligence" to debut this weekend on about 50 radio stations

IRONDALE, ALABAMA — No hot takes. No name-calling. That is the self-imposed guidance for a new, 

limited-run weekend one-hour radio show/podcast, America @ 250: Due Diligence.

The public service program will put into historical context key Constitutional issues being debated in American society with experts from across the political spectrum as featured guests.

The program will be co-hosted by two broadcast veterans, Steven L Herman, who is executive director of the Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation at the University of Mississippi, and Illinois-based radio talk show producer Bill Bernardoni.

Herman is a former White House bureau chief of the Voice of America. Bernardoni’s background includes work as a campaign manager and political consultant for candidates from the state to national level.

“At a time when discourse on our airwaves is often dominated by the desire to divide, America @ 250: Due Diligence offers a refreshing remedy rooted in deep research, historical context and civil conversation,” said Dr. Andrea Hickerson, dean of the School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi. “The program fosters discussion to expand civic literacy to create a more informed electorate.”

America @ 250: Due Diligence will begin airing on about 50 AM and FM radio stations from the first weekend in June with distribution via Talk Media Network, the Public Radio Exchange (PRX), the Radio Free America project and commercial shortwave broadcaster WRMI-Radio Miami.

“There are few issues-oriented or public affairs radio programs independently produced that are free of intended political bias,” said Herman, who formally announced the launch of the program in a presentation on May 28th at the annual meeting of the National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters in Alabama. “We hope more radio stations with a sincere interest in objectively informing the electorate will carry the program.”

America @ 250: Due Diligence will continue through the end of this Semiquincentennial year and a weekly online extended version will be on podcast distribution platforms.

WRMI will air "America@250: Due Diligence" on shortwave each week, beginning Saturday June 6th at 8:00 pm Eastern Time (that's 0000 UTC Sunday June 7th) on 9395 kHz going north and 5050 kHz beaming south.   Your reception reports are welcome and will be answered with a special America@250 QSL card.  Reports can be sent to info@wrmi.net.