100 Yeras of Radio Broadcasting in Indonesia, Part 2

 Special thanks to Ray Robinson and Jeff White for this week's edition of Wavescan.  

100 Years of Radio Broadcasting in Indonesia

Part 1 https://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com/2025/08/100-years-of-radio-broadcasting-in.html

Jeff: In our feature this week, we conclude our two-part visit to Indonesia, which this month is celebrating the centenary of radio broadcasting in their country.  Here once again is Ray Robinson at the Voice of Hope studios in Los Angeles.

Ray: Thanks, Jeff.  RRI, Radio Republik Indonesia, was founded on September 11, 1945, with headquarters in central Jakarta.  Following the Japanese occupation during World War II, Indonesia initially came under Australian administration from 1945-1946, and the AAAS, or Australian Army Amenities Service, ran a 21-station network of low power shortwave transmitters until the Dutch colonial authorities were ready to retake control of the country and its radio facilities.  After a three year period of conflict, the Dutch then finally granted independence to Indonesia in 1949.

Throughout the 1950’s and 60’s, a plethora of low power tropical band shortwave transmitters were used by RRI for local coverage.  But in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, plans were implemented to replace most of those tropical band transmitters with medium wave ones.  Interestingly, it wasn’t until the 1973 edition of the WRTH that any medium wave stations were listed, but Wavescan’s editor-in-chief, Dr. Adrian Peterson, did hear some operating during visits he made to the country as early as 1968.

Well, as part of RRI’s plans, in 1967 they decided to provide nationwide coverage for domestic programming, especially to rural areas and remote islands, using high power shortwave.  For this, they constructed a new shortwave transmission site at Cimanggis, about a dozen miles south of downtown Jakarta.  The first transmitter installed there was a 100 kW Telefunken unit, Model SST338, made in Germany.  Callsigns in Indonesia before World War II were in the Dutch ‘P’ series, and afterwards in the independent Indonesian ‘Y’ series.  Accordingly, this new transmitter was assigned the call YDF.

Unfortunately, the story of shortwave broadcasting from Cimanggis is the saga of an almost constant supply of new transmitters which replaced earlier ailing ones; brought about by the harsh tropical climate with its high temperatures and monsoonal rains, and worsened by financial shortages and poorly trained staff.

There were times also when the delivery of electricity from the national grid

was insufficient to energize the high-powered transmitters.

Classic QSL card from VOI Indonesia

In his monumental compilation of shortwave transmitter histories, “Transmitter Documentation Project 1998”, Ludo Maes in Belgium presented this following litany of shortwave transmitters that were installed over the years at RRI Cimanggis:- 

         

1967 1 Telefunken Germany 100 kW SST338

1970 4 Philips Holland 50 & 120 8FZ514 & 8FZ515

1974 2 Funkwerk Germany 100

1982 3 Harris USA 100 SW100

1983 1 Thomson France 250 TRE2320

On May 21, 1984, the completed installation at Cimanggis with four new transmitters (the 3 Harris 100’s and the Thomson 250) was taken into service,

and the then President Suharto presided at an official commissioning ceremony.

This cluster of four transmitters was intended to provide RRI Home Service programming on a nationwide basis as a national unifying factor.

The three 100 kW transmitters relayed the RRI programming to the westward islands, and the 250 kW transmitter beamed the same programming eastward.

Then in 1992, RRI announced plans for a new overseas service called the Voice of Indonesia, to provide information about Indonesia to people around the world.  For this new Voice of Indonesia, RRI ordered another seven 250 kW Marconi B6131 shortwave transmitters from England, together with 20 curtain antennas for installation at both Cimanggis and at another site on Sulawesi Island.  All this new equipment was progressively installed over the next three years, and then the new double facility was officially inaugurated on September 14, 1996.

In September 2005, international radio monitors in Australia were surprised to hear

Radio Australia programming being relayed over RRI shortwave in Indonesia.

This program relay in the Bahasa (ba-HAH-sa) Indonesian language was educational in nature and it was presented under the title Kang Guru (Kangaroo).

These days, the WRTH lists the Voice of Indonesia with just one broadcast in English, daily except Saturdays to North America at 0800 UTC on 7780 kHz with 40 kW from a site at Palangkaraya in Kalimantan on the island of Borneo.  Other languages are heard daily to South East Asia on 3325 kHz from that same site, and also on 4755 kHz from Cimanggis, south of Jakarta.

RRI has several radio channels with broadcasts for Indonesia and abroad, serving all Indonesian citizens throughout the nation and overseas.  Extensive use of medium wave transmitters is still made for the domestic audience, along with a network of FM transmitters that carry RRI’s four domestic program services.  There are also hundreds of privately-owned FM stations, and a growing use of digital radio, especially in Jakarta, on DAB+.

Over the years, many international radio monitors around the globe have been successful in logging RRI, and their reception reports have netted an invaluable QSL card.  During the past 80 years since RRI was founded in 1945, they have issued a variety of QSL cards, usually in color; some as artistic renderings of Indonesian symbols, and some showing photos of various Indonesian cities.

Back to you, Jeff.

(Ray Robinson/Wavescan)

 For an audio clip of Voice of Indonesia English service, go to: https://youtu.be/8exhkZ0w00U

Voice of Indonesia French service:  https://youtu.be/c6vLEauTs9o

100 Years of Radio Broadcasting in Indonesia, Part 1

 A special thank you to Ray Robinson and Jeff White for sharing this week's edition of Wavescan.

A classic QSL from Indonesia

Jeff: Today, we begin a two-part look at the story of radio broadcasting in the Southeast Asian country of Indonesia.  Over the last few years, a number of countries have celebrated the centenary of radio broadcasting within their borders.  Today, it’s the turn of Indonesia, where there have now been 100 years of broadcast radio, both domestically and for international audiences.  And actually, the beginning of wireless communication in Indonesia goes way back even further than that, to about 110 years.  Ray Robinson in Los Angeles has the story.

Ray: Thanks, Jeff.  Indonesia is an archipelago of over 17,000 islands, spread over an area almost as large as the United States.  The five main islands are Java, Sulawesi, Sumatra, most of Borneo, and the western half of the island of New Guinea.  It’s a predominantly Muslim country, although some islands, such as Bali, are majority Hindu.  The total population is now over 282 million, which makes it the fourth most populous in the world after only India, China and the United States of America.  Approximately half of the population lives on the island of Java, which is the most densely populated island in the world.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the area had been administered by the Dutch East India Company, but when that was dissolved due to bankruptcy in 1799, the Dutch East Indies was established as a nationalized colony of the Netherlands.

A classic QSL from RRI Palemberg

In the era just before the beginning of World War I, two spark wireless stations were established in the Dutch East Indies for navy communication.  This was in the days before internationally recognized callsigns were in general use, and one of these stations, located at Sabang, was on the air in Morse Code under the irregular callsign SAB.

Immediately after the end of the war, there were four such stations in the Dutch East Indies, and these were all designated with callsigns in the new PK series as:

        PKA     Sabang

        PKB     Weltevreden

        PKC     Sitoebondo

        PKD     Koepang

        

Soon afterwards, the Dutch government in the capital, Batavia, now known as Jakarta, announced that a monster-sized wireless station, using Telefunken arc equipment, was under installation at Malabar, near Bandoeng.  The date for the official opening of this station was set for May 5, 1923.  However, a tropical lightning strike destroyed some of the wireless equipment and the auspicious day was postponed until repairs were completed.

This massive 3.5 megawatt wireless station was established for reliable communication with the Dutch Foreign Ministry in Holland.  However, in the mid-1920’s, spark wireless transmitters were rapidly becoming obsolete, and so it was only a few years before this transmitter was replaced with one of a newer valve, or tube, design.

The first radio broadcasting station in Indonesia was installed in the capital, Batavia, exactly 100 years ago in mid-1925 under the callsign BRX.   Other broadcasting stations began to sprout throughout the Dutch East Indies and many of these were amalgamated into the newly-formed government NIROM network in 1934.

Shortwave broadcasting in the Dutch East Indies began in 1928 as a dual effort on the part of smaller local radio stations and the large communication stations.  In Batavia, the first on shortwave was station JFC.  The main communication station at Bandoeng, about 100 miles southeast of Batavia/Jakarta in the center of West Java, began to relay broadcast programming on shortwave for the benefit of listeners throughout Indonesia, as well as in Australia, other countries in Asia, and also back in Holland itself.

Over the years, a large number of stations appeared on the shortwave dial, mostly in the tropical shortwave bands.  These stations were on the air with callsigns in the P series and also the more recent YD series.

Three transmitters of Radio Batavia were installed at Bandoeng, rated at 2, 40 and 80 kW, with antennas beamed to Europe, North America and other parts of Asia and the Pacific.  Weekly music broadcasts were conducted on 15.93 metres (18820 kHz).  The three transmitters, using the callsigns PLE, PLW and PMB, took part in a round-the-world relay in June 1930, and again two years later.  These transmitters were frequently also used as intermediate stations for the relay of broadcasts from London and Holland to Australia and New Zealand.

In the pre-war era, the big shortwave stations in the Dutch East Indies, and several of the smaller stations also, were recognized as good verifiers.  The QSL cards from the communication stations were usually in the form of typed postcards in English, though the most famous card of that era was the NIROM certificate which listed complete details, including callsign.

Then, on Saturday March 7, 1942, at the end of its broadcast day on 15150 kHz, the announcer on Radio Batavia, Bandoeng was heard in Australia to sign-off with this announcement:  "This is Radio Bandoeng closing down.  God save the Queen.  Goodbye everyone until better times come."  And with that, the station left the air.

RRI Surabaya

Eleven days later, on March 18, 1942, the Dutch officially surrendered to the Japanese, and the Japanese began to take over the radio networks throughout the former Dutch East Indies.  The large colonial radio station in Bandoeng was by far the largest radio station operated by the Japanese authorities during the Pacific-Asia War, even larger than their home base at Nazaki in Japan with its three 50 kW transmitters.

A month after the Japanese had occupied the city, the shortwave service was revived, with communications beamed to Japan and Germany and with programming beamed towards Australia, New Zealand and India.  Using very high power, as it was in those days, of 40 and 80 kW, programming beamed towards Australia and New Zealand was heard under new callsigns, such as JBC and ABC.  The signals were always reported as "strong" in Australia and New Zealand.

The callsign JBC indicated Japanese Broadcasting Company, and ABC was a callsign for clandestine programming that mimicked Radio Australia.  Japanese station personnel in Bandoeng recorded off air the tuning signal, station announcements and other significant items from Radio Australia and then wove those segments into their own programming, with the intent of capturing unsuspecting listeners in Australia.

At around this time, an Australian government listening post near Melbourne took directional bearings from these transmissions and verified they were indeed coming from the 80 kW shortwave transmitter located at Bandoeng.

Several different callsigns were in use during this era. There was ABC and JBC as we have just mentioned, and then some broadcasts were identified simply as Radio Batavia, and at one stage they apparently used an earlier callsign, PMC.  The broadcasts on the air as "Radio Batavia" always signed off with the "Liberty Bell March" by John Philip Sousa, better known these days as the Monty Python theme tune.

In early 1943, the name of the city of Batavia was changed to Jakarta, with several variations in spelling.  Radio magazines ceased listing broadcasts from these stations soon afterwards, not because they had left the air, but because of wartime reporting restrictions in Australia and New Zealand.  It is known that the final Japanese broadcast from the radio station at Bandoeng was on July 26, 1945.

Indonesia 1942 via Wikipedia

During the occupation, the Japanese had encouraged Indonesia’s independence movement, and only two days after the Japanese surrender in August 1945, a Proclamation of Independence was issued by Sukarno, who was to become the country’s first president.  But there were still strong Dutch interests in the country including ownership of many plantations as well as it being rich in oil and other natural resources.  Immediately after the war the country was administered by Australia (since it had been the Australian Army which had liberated it from the Japanese), but in 1946 they transferred the administration back to The Netherlands, which wanted to re-establish colonial rule.  This led to a three-year guerilla conflict which only ended in 1949 when the Dutch, under international pressure, finally recognized Indonesian independence.

 

The first edition of the World Radio Handbook in 1947 lists all of the shortwave stations on the air in what has since become Indonesia under two series of callsigns, some in the new Y series and some in the old P series.  Not listed anywhere are the high-powered shortwave transmitters that were on the air during the occupation years.  It would appear that these units did not survive the war.

And we’ll continue the post-War story next week.  Back to you, Jeff.

Ray Robinson-Wavescan/10 Aug 2025)

Papal Vist to the Far East with radio specials

 

 From September 4 - 13, 2024, Pope Francis will visit four countries in the Far East.

In doing so, Vatican Radio will have special shortwave broadcasts,  targeted to Africa. 

The first country to visit will be Indonesia, with the following schedule:

September 4 0320-0500 UTC on 15500 in English; 0920-1030 UTC; 1035-1135 UTC: English on 17540, French on 17555, and Portughese on 21710 kHz

September 5 at 0350-0500 UTC on 15500 in English, 17555 in French, 21710 in Portuguese.

More to follow, next week.

(BDXC/Christian G., France) 

Voice of Indonesia frequency adjustment on May 13

 

Voice of Indonesia, the Overseas Service of Radio Republik Indonesia (VOI RRI) will carry out an adjustment on our shortwave frequency starting Monday, 13 May 2024 at 0000 UTC. We are moving from 4750 kHz to 4755 kHz. 

Meanwhile, our 3325 kHz will continue as usual. We are asking for your understanding. Please send your feedback to our email address voilisteners@gmail.com

Thank you. (Station Direct via WRTH Facebook)

(R D'Angelo/NASWA)

(edited or clarity)

Voice of Indoneaia website: https://voinews.id/ 

Voice of Indonesia to adjust frequency

 

Voice of Indonesia, the Overseas Service of Radio Republik Indonesia (VOI RRI) will carry out an adjustment on our shortwave frequency starting Monday, 13 May 2024 at 0000 UTC. We are moving from 4750 kHz to 4755 kHz. 

Meanwhile, our 3325 kHz will continue as usual. We are asking for your understanding. Please send your feedback to our email address voilisteners@gmail.com

Thank you. (Station Direct via WRTH Facebook)

(R D'Angelo/NASWA)

(edited or clarity)

Voice of Indoneaia website: https://voinews.id/ 

Tribute to the island of Lombok

Because of the two major earthquakes that have struck the island of Lombok in Indonesia within a few days, we interrupt the regular flow of our topics here in Wavescan, and we present instead this feature item as a Tribute to Lombok.

Two major earthquakes have struck the island of Lombok just one week apart.  The first major strike, rated at 6.4, occurred on Sunday July 29 (2018) with a death toll of at least 17.  Several hundred tourists were stranded during a hike on the volcanic Mount Rinjani due to a massive landslide, though some found an alternate route down the slopes of the mountain while others were airlifted out by helicopter.

This first quake which struck around dawn, was also felt on the neighboring island of Bali.  American TV personality and cook book author Chrissy Teigen was on vacation with her husband and two children in Bali, and she tweeted about the initial impact of this first earthquake.  She described it as a massive earthquake.

 Australian actress Teresa Palmer was vacationing in a treehouse also on Bali with her husband and their two children and she described the tremor as violent and scary.  Teresa was noted for her recent role in the Mel Gibson block buster movie Hacksaw Ridge.  She played the part of the wife of the film’s dramatic hero Desmond Doss.

The second earthquake followed just a week later, on Sunday August 5 and it was even more violent than the earlier quake, and it measured at 7.0.  More than one hundred people have died on this second occasion.  A tsunami warning was issued, but the rise of ocean level was no more than six inches.     

At the time of the second quake, Indonesia and Australia were co-hosting an international

conference on regional security and counterterrorism on both Lombok and Bali.  Radio New Zealand International, or more correctly these days Radio New Zealand Pacific, reported that none of the delegates was injured in the earthquakes.

The volcanic mountains in Indonesia make a dramatic scene as viewed from high in the air while the passenger plane passes over the active volcanic islands in Indonesia, en-route from Perth in Western Australia to Singapore Island.  The pilot ensures that the plane is high above any airborne volcanic ash, and that he chooses a route over the ocean in between whatever are the less active volcanoes.  Indonesia’s second highest volcano, Mount Ranjani, at a little over 12,000 feet is located on Lombok.

The shape of the island of Lombok is like a five-sided pentagon with feet sticking out in the  southern corners. The island is 43 miles across, and it is located about half way between North Queensland and Singapore.  There is a shortage of fresh water on Lombok.

During the year 1257 historians tell us, there was a massive volcanic explosion on Lombok that is described as one of the very largest ever recorded on planet Earth.  As a result, Mt. Samalas volcanic explosion, weather patterns all around the world were altered. 

Since the early days of settlement on Lombok, feuding among various rulers and ethnic groups, have been a part of the local political scene.  The colonial Dutch authorities were invited to intervene in 1894.  Japanese forces arrived at 5:00 pm on Saturday May 9, 1942. When the Japanese left, the Dutch took over again; and then in 1958, the island of Lombok was incorporated into the newly independent Indonesia.

These days, Lombok Island has a population of 3.3 million, people  and the capital city of the island is Mataram with one-third million.

According to Alan Davies in England with his website Asiawaves, there are some 35 FM stations on the air on Lombok Island.  Radio Republic Indonesia RRI operates two program networks on FM with a total of seven FM transmitters, and also one lone mediumwave transmitter. 

It is extremely hard to find any printed information regarding the history of radio broadcasting on Lombok Island (or all of Indonesia for that matter); accurate and reliable information is almost

nonexistent.  Annual entries in the WR(TV)HB provide a useful guide, though even here, the editors have been dependent upon the monitoring observations of just a few, though quite reliable, international radio monitors.

After the end of World War II, amateur and commercial stations began to appear on the

broadcasting scene in Indonesia and like we say, reliable information regarding these stations is almost totally nonexistent.  The amateur broadcasters were known in the national language Bahasa Indonesia as amatir stations. 

They were not licensed amateur operators known as hams elsewhere throughout the world, but rather they were small, irregular licensed or unlicensed stations doing their best to provide a needed local radio broadcasting service.  These amatir radio broadcasting stations simply chose what they could find as an open channel in the tropical shortwave bands, and they were on the air with whatever programming they could find.

From the available information, we would suggest that the first radio broadcasting stations on the island of Lombok were installed by government authorities, sometime during the late 1950s. 

The first entry in the WR(TV)HB is for the year 1960, and the first and only station listed then operated with the callsign YDX with listed 1 kW on the tropical shortwave 90 m band frequency 3223 kHz. Though shown as 1 kW, the actual power of this transmitter was less than 100 watts. 

This original station carried the programming of RRI and the location is given as Mataram, the capital city.  Subsequent editions of the WR(TV)HB show two shortwave channels in use on Lombok and at this stage, RRI Mataram is listed with new callsigns.  The frequency 3223 kHz is shown as YDV5, and a new channel 3365 kHz is shown with the callsign YDV.  Both channels are listed at the same 1 kW, so this additional outlet would seem to be the same transmitter with just another channel at a different time.

The 1973 edition of WR(TV)HB shows the installation of an additional shortwave transmitter that was in use at either 1kW or 5 kW.  The 3223 kHz frequency continued at both power levels, with 1 kW during the day and 5 kW during the evenings.  The 1975  edition lists the power on two additional channels, the new 120 m band frequency on 2390 kHz and on also on 3365 kHz as just 60 watts each.

The 1975 issue also shows an additional new shortwave station on the air, this time at Selong on the other side of the island of Lombok, the east side.  This new station was another government

operated station with just 75 watts on the out of band frequency 2854 kHz with local RKPDK

programing. 

There’s a note in the 1975 edition of the WRTVHB stating that all commercial stations in

Indonesia were required to convert from shortwave to mediumwave by March 23, 1975.  However, many of the local commercial shortwave stations were still heard on shortwave after that date.

The usage of shortwave broadcasting by government stations on Lombok Island faded out around the turn of the millennium, with the 3225 kHz channel at Mataram as the final channel in use.  Both power levels of 1 kW and 5 kW were still in use up to that time.

The RRI mediumwave channel with 10 kW on 855 kHz was introduced in the mid 1970’s and it is still on the air to this day.  Supplementary RRI mediumwave stations were also on the air beginning in the 1990s on 1194 kHz and 1251 kHz, though these have since been transferred to the standard FM band.

Beginning in the 1980s, commercial and community radio broadcasting stations began to appear on the mediumwave band on Lombok Island, about half a dozen of them.  All of the  mostly low powered outlets, have since also transferred to the FM band.

(AWR/Wavescan/NWS 394)

Indonesia's RRI Nabire, active again on shortwave

Earlier tentative log reports as RRI Nabire, have now been confirmed as Indonesia's RRI Nabire has reactivated on shortwave.

Indonesia

7289.92, RRI Nabire, reactivated on shortwave. Heard 0808-1026* UTC, on 02 August. Decent signal, but up against summertime static. Also heard at the same time today by Dave Valko (PA-USA).

Highlights:

0808-0900 UTC Mostly non-stop songs; very few announcements.

0900-0910: Reciting from the Qur'an.

0910-1013: Mostly non-stop songs, with ID at 0931 UT (able to only hear "Radio Republik Indonesia."

1013-1026*: Indigenous music, into monologue, till suddenly cut off.

There are probably two good reasons why this has been reactivated now. It will be recalled that August 17 is Independence Day (Hari Merdeka) in Indonesia.

Also Aug 18 through Sept 2, Jakarta and Palembang will host the 18th Asian Games

https:\\en.asiangames2018.id/ which will hold major sporting events. Worth checking for other

re-activations this month.

(Ron Howard-CA-USA, DXplorer via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Aug 2)

*And it is also possible the station may remain on shortwave. This would be an excellent opportunity, to log RRI Nabire, whether it is temporary, or has in fact reactivated into the RRI network. To check an SDR, go to: http://www.sdr.hu for the Jakarta receiver at: http://swloi33.proxy.kiwisdr.com:8073/

Voice of Indonesia active, though irregular on shortwave

The World Radio TV Handbook summer schedule update on 11 July 2018, is reporting that Voice of Indonesia is active, through broadcasting irregularly. The station is being relayed via Radio Republik Indonesia, Palangkaraya, using their 10 kW domestic service transmitter.

For 'Country-Counters', Palangkaraya is counted as Kalimantan/Borneo on the NASWA County List. This would be an excellent opportunity to add this to your country totals. Prior to this shift, Voice of Indonesia counted as Java.

Revised complete schedule, broadcasting daily when active

All times UTC

Arabic
1600-1700 3325do

Chinese
1100-1200 3325do
1500-1600 3325do

English
1000-1100 3325do
1300-1400 3325do
1900-2000 3325do

French
2000-2100 3325do

German
1800-1900 3325do

Indonesian
1400-1500 3325do

Japanese
1200-1300 3325do

Spanish
1700-1800 3325do

Station website: http:www.voinews.id
Station Contact Us link: http://www.voinews.id/index.php/contact-us
Email: email  : voi@voinews.id

Monitoring Indonesia's RRI Merauke

Indonesia
3905 RRI Merauke has not been heard since May 18 reception. Seems they only wanted a very brief reactivation. (Ron Howard-CA-USA, dswci DXW June 12)

Isra Miraj Nabi Muhammad was actually on May 16th, as my Indonesian calendar shows, so it seems that the ceremony mentioned was on the night before that date.

Merauke, as you certainly know, is on East Indonesia Time, which is UTC+9hrs, so the time mentioned in your log would have been 8:30 in the evening. This makes sense because traditionally in Indonesia a night is considered to be part of the following day. A good website for an
Indonesian calendar is also

http://portalseven.com/calendar/Holidays_Indonesia.jsp?year=2015

Where also some explanations as to the nature of these holidays are given. By the way, the month of Ramadan begins this year on or around June 18th (depending on sighting of the moon) and lasts until July 16th. Thus ID (or Eid)-Ul-Fitri falls on July 17 & 18 (Fri-Sat), making this a long holiday
weekend. (Gerhard Werdin-D, dswci DXW June 12)
(BCDX/WWDXC/Top Nx 1211/15 Jun)

Old radio hunters mark history

Forget vinyl. If you’re looking for unadulterated sounds from old-school technology, listen to a man who goes by the name Didi Radio talk about his collection.

“I think their designs are very artistic. Their sounds are also more natural, because they’re analog receivers and use tubes. Their resonance is far better than transistor and digital radios,” Didi Radio, whose real name is Didi Widianto, said.

He made his comments at the recent Layang Swara (Sound Messenger) exhibition, which displayed 60 vintage radios, some dating to the 1930s, at the Soedjatmoko Cultural Center in Surakarta, Central Java.

The radios came from the private collections of members of the Audio Radio Preservers of Yogyakarta (Padmaditya) in Yogyakarta and Magelang, Central Java. 

Although decades old, the receivers — mostly tube radios made by Philips, Erres, Blaupunkt, Robin and Telefunken — are well maintained and still working.

“We collect the radios for their historic value. In their times, these sets were so important for the dissemination of information. They were also a luxury,” said Didi Sumarsidi, another Padmaditya member. “In the 1960s, we had to crowd the subdistrict office to listen to the radio.” 

Additional story at: The Jakarta Post
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/10/17/old-radio-hunters-mark-history.html

Voice of Indonesia - summer schedule update

VO Indonesia QSL card

Voice of Indonesia

All times UTC

1000-1100  9526vJAK 250 kW 135 deg to AUS  English
1100-1200  9526vJAK 250 kW 010 deg to EaAS Chinese
1200-1300  9526vJAK 250 kW 010 deg to EaAS Japanese
1300-1400  9526vJAK 250 kW 010 deg to EaAS English
1400-1500  9526vJAK 250 kW 010 deg to EaAS Indonesian
1500-1600  9526vJAK 250 kW 010 deg to EaAS Chinese
1600-1700  9526vJAK 250 kW 290 deg to NE/ME Arabic
1700-1800  9526vJAK 250 kW 290 deg to WeEUR Spanish
1800-1900  9526vJAK 250 kW 290 deg to WeEUR German
1900-2000  9526vJAK 250 kW 290 deg to WeEUR English
2000-2100  9526vJAK 250 kW 290 deg to WeEUR French
(DX MIX News, Ivo Ivanov-BUL, via wwdxc BC-DX TopNews Aug 27)
(WWDXC/Top Nx 1129)

Monitoring observations on NBC Buka vs. RRI Palangkaraya

Papua New Guinea vs Indonesia on shortwave

Recently I have been noticing more logs being reported for NBC Buka on 3325, some not even listed as tentative or presumed. I am not the definitive expert on this matter and can of course only report on what I have heard here at my west coast location, but I respectfully suggest that RRI Palangkaraya might be an alternate possibility (probability?). J-Peace (Japan) www.peace-j.net/ ), like myself, is a regular monitor of Asian/Pacific/Oceania stations. His site is regularly being updated with new recordings. His last recordings for NBC Buka are back in early 2009. That corresponds to and confirms my observations. During my monitoring during the 1200 UT time period, I always hear RRI Palangkaraya. For those who wonder about the quality of my reception and how I can be sure I am in fact hearing Palangkaraya, I refer you to the recent reception in English, with several clear references to Palangkaraya:


http://www.box.net/shared/40szirkk6pakkic7cxxh

and please also listen to this series of IDs in Bahasa Indonesia:

http://www.box.net/shared/veu1umb8rb5y985kpgs0

I present this as something to think about and it is not intended as a criticism of anyone. My goal is to help improve the quality of our reporting.

Good listening to all!
(Ron Howard, Monterey, CA/Cumbre DX)

Indonesia's RRI Serui reactivates

4604.90, RRI Serui, 1156-1235 UTC, July 22 and 26 (but not July 23, 24 or 25!). Non-stop light songs in English. Top of the World by Carpenters followed by The Ballad of High Noon, ect. to 1300-1310. Interval signal - Song of the Coconut Isles and Jakarta news relay followed by choral national anthem (Indonesia Raya. Checked again at 1330 to found them off the air. Was as strong as RRI Palangkaraya on 3325. (Ron Howard, John Wilkins in Dxplorer). Reactivated! Off since Oct 2008. (DX Window 407 via Anker Petersen, Denmark)

anyone heard this since ?

Indonesia closes Falun Gong station

Indonesia has closed Radio Erabaru which has ties with the spiritual movement Falun Gong. The government in Jakarta has refused to renew the station’s broadcasting licence since 2007 and today seized its equipment.

Radio Erabaru had been broadcasting in Bahasa Indonesia and in Chinese from the island of Batam since 2005. The radio station says the government took action against it because Falun Gong has been banned in China.

Jakarta admits that China had lodged a complaint about Radio Erabaru, but denies this is the reason the radio station was closed. The Indonesian government says the closure is the result of a shortage of radio frequencies.
(Source: RNW News/R Netherlands mdia Network Weblog)

Update on Kang Guru Radio

INDONESIA

Kang Guru Radio English program on 9680, via RRI Jakarta.

Sue Rodger of KGRE has been informed by RRI Jakarta that they have a new schedule: 0800-0820 UT on Wed. and Fri. (ex: 1000-1020 UT on Wed.and Sun.), which would explain why I have not heard them on their former schedule for almost two months now. Within the past hour Kevin has updated their website with the new schedule www.kangguru.org/broadcastschedule.html . This change is an unfortunate development for me, as I had enjoyed their entertaining programming for some years now, but think the new time is too early for reception in Monterey, whereas the former time of 1000 was close to perfect for me. Jakarta sunset will not be till about 1045 UT. The only other alternative is to attempt to hear another RRI station that carries KGRE programs, but that would be a real challenge
(Ron Howard-CA, April 29)

Indonesian radio station vows to stay on the air

The director of an Indonesian radio station vowed today to stay on air following a demand to shut down, saying the government should not bow to external pressures. Erabaru (New Era) Radio director Gatot Supriyanto said the station had received a letter from the government’s broadcasting watchdog ordering it to close soon or “receive legal sanctions”.
The Indonesian Broadcast Commission said last year that the Chinese embassy had complained that the private radio station, run by members of the Falungong spiritual movement, has been airing criticism of Beijing. It prompted the watchdog to monitor broadcasts from the station, based on Batam island, south of Singapore.
“We reject any form of intervention from anyone towards the freedom of press in Indonesia, including in this case the Chinese government,” Supriyanto said. “We broadcast current events including oppression to Falungong members by the Chinese government. Maybe they are unhappy with it,” he told AFP, adding that the radio station remains on the air.
Falungong is banned in mainland China and rights groups have accused Beijing of persecuting its members. Supriyanto said although he practises Falungong, the radio station, which started broadcasting in 2005, is neutral and is not run by the movement. “I reject reports that Erabaru Radio airs programmes that discredit the Chinese government,” Supriyanto said.
(Source: AFP/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)

7.5 Earthquake Rocks Western Indonesia

7.5 Earthquake Rocks Western Indonesia

Magnitude 7.5 Earthquake Rocks Western Indonesia; 3 Dead, 25 Injured

JAKARTA, Indonesia A powerful earthquake struck western Indonesia on Wednesday, killing at least three people, injuring 25 others, and damaging several buildings, officials said. No tsunami was detected.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.6 and struck under the island of Simeulue off the western coast of Sumatra — the region worst hit in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Minutes after the quake hit, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued a bulletin saying parts of the Sumatran coast closest to the epicenter were at risk of a possible tsunami. However, it canceled the alert two hours later, saying sea gauges had not detected any large waves.
Continued story from Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,331360,00.html

Three Killed by Indonesian quake
'Mass Panic'
Local residents said Wednesday's earthquake, which hit Simeulue at 1508 (0808 GMT) according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), lasted for almost a minute.
It was felt strongly more than 300km (185 miles) away in the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, where people left their offices after buildings started shaking.
Read more from BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7254325.stm

Magnitude 7.5 - Simeulue, Indonesia
Earthquake Details at USGS: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/Quakes/us2008nran.php

Recent logging observations of Indonesia stations

RRI-Jakarta. 9680, 1000-1020, Repeat of the Feb 10 and 17 (both Sun.) Kang Guru Radio English program #5806. Pop songs by Indonesian singer Marcell (one in BI and one in English), Signal fair-poor, moderate QRM from WYFR. (R.Howard, CA)

RRI-Voice of Indonesia (presumed) 11784.90v, 0937-0959, Program of pop music. Wek signal . 9526v not heard, which recently has been more erratic than usual, even for them. (R.Howard, CA)

RRI Pontianak (presumed) 3976, 1023-1035, Jan 30, Bahasa Indonesia talks, 1028 music, some amateur QRM. (C.Bolland, FL/DX Window 343)

RRI Serui. 4604.8, 1115-1315 fade out, Jan 25 and 29, Feb 04, Jakarta news at 1200 // 4750 and 4790 (t), program of continuous Indonesian pop tunes until 1300 when time pip noted followed by presumed ID and local news. Poor and fading. (D’Angelo/FCDX, Bolland and Wilkner-River DXPedition/DX Window 343)

RRI Makassar. 4750, 2143-2232, Jan 27, music program until Song of the Coconut Islands; RRI ID and Jakarta news with several IDs during the new program National news at 2206. News ended at 2212 followed by local ID and music programming. Poor to fair at tune in with CODAR QRM but signal steadily improved to good during the news. Quite enjoyable. R D’Angelo/FCDX/DW Window 343).

RRI Fak Fak. 4790, 2138-2200, Jan 27, talk in Bahasa Indonesia with some music. Generally poor due to CODAR QRM and very faint for Song of the Coconut Islands at 2200. Next morning, Jan 28, noted again at good level around 1130 but faded down to poor by 1200. (D’Angelo/FCDX/DX Window 343)

RRI Wamena. 4869.94, 1112-1130, Jan 26, Bahasa Indonesia comments and music, fair. (C Bolland/DX Window 343)