WILL RADIO AUSTRALIA RETURN TO SHORTWAVE?
WILL RADIO AUSTRALIA RETURN TO SHORTWAVE?
(This post is an edited version of an article I wrote for "The World of Shortwave Listening" column of The Spectrum Monitor magazine - August 2022 issue. Further details on this excellent publication are available at www.thespectrummonitor.com)
May 21 saw the election of a new Australian federal parliament, with the Labor Party gaining power in its own right. Going into the election, Labor’s communications policies included an Indo-Pacific Broadcasting Strategy. In it were two important statements: 1) to increase funding for the ABC as Australia’s international broadcaster, and 2) to review the potential restoration of Australian shortwave radio broadcasting capacity in the Pacific.
Many long-time shortwave listeners worldwide were excited by this news, believing that it might result in the revival of Radio Australia (RA) on the shortwave bands. I am sure the ABC will be most grateful for a boost to its coffers, given that the public broadcaster saw its funds whittled away during the previous ten years under the former conservative Liberal government.
But an investment of millions of dollars would be required for Radio Australia to rise phoenix-like from its ashes. A start-from-scratch approach would be necessary to find a suitable transmitter site and antenna system. Given that the new government has inherited a huge national debt, one wonders just how much money would be allocated by the ABC to revive the Australian shortwave service.
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| The Shepparton site, all locked away! |
Last year, I visited the old Shepparton site and learned that the land had been sold to a consortium of developers for housing. Interestingly, some of the antennas have a heritage overlay on them and are still in place. The transmitter building is mainly empty. All working transmitters have been dismantled and removed, leaving just one very old inoperative transmitter.
The local Shepparton amateur radio club has been discussing with the Shepparton Regional Council and the developers’ consortium to retain the original building as a radio museum. The response from all parties has been positive, but it could be five years before any action is taken on that initiative. So, effectively, the Shepparton site is no longer an option in the future. Photos from my visit to Shepparton can be found in a YouTube video entitled “What's Happening at Radio Australia Shepparton?”
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| The Brandon shortwave antennas as seen in 2016. |
That leaves the small facility at Brandon, in far north Queensland, as a possible option. In 2006, an upgrade of that former RA site was undertaken with the installation of two new 20 kW DRM-capable RIZ transmitters from Croatia. The status of those senders is unknown. Regular RA services from Brandon were closed in March 2015. On a visit I made in 2016, I found two dipole curtain arrays still in place - one beaming to Papua New Guinea and the other to Pacific Island communities. I posted my visit at “The Brandon Antennas”. I don't know the current operational status of the Brandon transmitters and antenna system, or if it is even possible to resurrect a shortwave service from this site, considering the amount of time that it has been lying idle.
But what about......?
There could be one possible solution to getting RA back on shortwave quickly - and I have no facts to back this up. This is purely speculation on my part! Perhaps there is an opportunity to lease time from the religious broadcaster Beyond Australia. That station has fully working 100 kW transmitters at Kununurra, in far north Western Australia, along with six impressive antenna arrays. Admittedly, those antennas are skewed mainly toward Asia, but maybe something could be done to add antennas directed to the Pacific.
It will be very interesting to see what, if anything, develops on this front.
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© Rob Wagner, Mount Evelyn DX Report, and contributors 2012-2022
I am ever hopeful to. Soft power to maintain our presence in the Pacific with our Pacific neighbours and friends. Paul VK3ZT. Albo, the ball is in your court.
ReplyDeleteI truly miss being able to listen to Radio Australia on my shortwave radio. Hopefully things will change and it will once again be broadcasting on the radio airwaves.
ReplyDeleteI was so sad and felt empty like a death of an old friend about Radio Australia (RA) at that time leaving the airwaves for good. I listened to the last transmission on the east coast of the US, North Carolina. Today there is a lot of emptiness of international broadcaster on SW.
ReplyDeleteWith the events happening in the world today like Australia being encompassed, and surrounded by China's Navy and thumbing there nose saying your military is no match and you do not have enough ships to wart off an invasion. Also the Solomon and Cook island chains are economically being invaded by China. Shortwave communication is more important than ever. It can not be stopped or filtered like the internet.
I hate to see the Shepparton transmitter site being completely stripped. Very short sightedness thinking on politicians.
I agree the more economical resurrection of Radio Australia would be to lease air time from Reach Beyond Australia. They used to be a relay for HCJB. In the US at my location it is hard to receive this station due to several things. Time, frequency, antenna angle to the target audience, propagation and signal direction being nearly 10000 miles away going across Asia, Europe and what is left of the signal to the US.
My suggestions as said in previous comments: Work with Reach Beyond Australia to see about leasing airtime and a good antenna farm that covers the Pacific and US areas. Try to achieve the same blow torch signal to the these areas like the Shepparton site had. That should not be extremely expensive for a first step. Relay existing ABC programming and news. That is already in place. Eventually once up and running and making money, work with Reach Beyond Australia to have a dedicated transmitter 100KW or more for RA programming and for emergencies. Used transmitters if maintained well are an investment that will pay back quickly.
I would like to be on this project and it would be done right and within a budget.
Look at your neighbor Radio New Zealand (RNZ), new transmitter. They are going strong with the only real broadcast communication in the Pacific on SW now. There use to be two.
Radio Australia was a great presence on the airwaves and was a joy to pick up every morning on the east coast of the USA on 9580 KHZ. That can happen again with some effort, a small budget and vision to start.
As the Egyptians agreed on something that makes sense and approved by the Pharaoh.
The order was given: "So shall it be written, So shall it be done".
Thank you for your well written and thoughtful comment. Your thoughts reflect the feelings of many. - Rob Wagner VK3BVW
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