SHORTWAVE RADIO ANNIVERSARIES

A reflection on some radio birthdays in 2023

Sure, birthdays come around every year. But some birthdays seem more significant than others. Especially those with a zero on the end!

In many countries, public radio broadcasts started during the 1920s. For example, in the U.S., it is reported that the first scheduled commercial radio broadcast was made on November 2, 1920, under the callsign KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA.

In Australia, the first radio licence was granted in 1921 to station 2CM, broadcasting from the Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. So, as we continue through the 2020s, we can expect to see a number of broadcasters celebrating centennial milestones.

In September, Radio Taiwan International (RTI) celebrated its 95th anniversary. The station was an early adopter of the shortwave medium with broadcasts to Asia, Europe and North America. Today, the shortwave service utilizes transmitter sites in Taiwan, Bulgaria and the USA to provide broadcasts in 15 languages. RTI is one of the few international broadcasters that still mail out paper QSLs for accurate and detailed reception reports.

Woofferton from the air.

Then, in October, a fascinating special program was broadcast in honour of the 80th anniversary of the BBC's Woofferton transmitter, the last remaining international shortwave site in England. Transmissions began from Woofferton, located on the Shropshire-Herefordshire border, on October 17, 1943, with six 50 kW RCA senders. During the 1950s Cold War period, 250 kW Marconi transmitters carried VOA broadcasts beamed to the Eastern Bloc countries and later joined by Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty programming.

These days, as well as BBC broadcasts, Woofferton relays programming for VOA, Radio Farda, KBS World Radio, Radio Northern Europe International, Reach Beyond, Radio Ndarason International, FEBA Radio Sama, IBRA Radio and Yoruba National Radio. The site is also DRM-capable, where a few broadcasts can be found beamed to Europe.

Also in October, a station with a shorter history than the above but with a higher degree of exoticness....and "coolness" celebrated its 44th anniversary. LRA 36 Radio Nacional Arcangel San Gabriel is the shortwave station from the Esperanza Base in Argentine Antarctica.

Thomas Witherspoon's LRA36 QSL

The first broadcast occurred on October 20, 1979, on 6030 kHz, featuring music, news from Esperanza and the other five bases in the Argentine Antarctic territory, and local weather reports. However, for more than 40 years, LRA 36 has operated intermittently on or around 15476 kHz with approximately 1 kW.

It has always been a challenging DX station due to the low power and remote location. Some DXers have been able to log the station from their listening posts, while others have managed to monitor the broadcasts in recent years via remote web SDRs in Argentina and Brazil.

However, the big news is that a new 10 kW transmitter has arrived at the base and should be in operation by the time the station reaches its 45th anniversary next year. It will be interesting to see if antenna modifications are required to handle the much higher power output. With any luck, LRA 36 may well be heard by many more global DXers without resorting to remote SDRs.

Finally, Radio New Zealand Pacific celebrated its 75th anniversary with its first shortwave broadcasts to Australia and the Pacific in 1948. Originally known as simply Radio New Zealand, the station has also undergone several name changes including Radio New Zealand International (1990) and the current branding of Radio New Zealand Pacific (2017). The station sees itself as having continuing obligations on shortwave into the Pacific region. Back in May, government funding was announced for a new transmitter that will take the station forward into the next two decades.

73 and good DX to you all.

Rob Wagner VK3BVW