The Co-operative Global Radio Memories Project
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The Co-operative Global Radio Memories Project
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On the other side of town a mysterious looking car pulls up at a corner. The driver reads the street names, marks the spot on a map, then snaps on a complicated looking receiving set hung from the roof behind his seat. No sound comes forth. Instead, the needles of two meters swing across the scales. Rotating the loop aerial protruding through the roof, the driver secures maximum reading, makes a note of it, then goes on down the street...
Shetland Islands Broadcasting Company
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As the presenter reads news items coming in from Shetland to Japan and Ecuador, I realise there's no heirarchy.
It's 8am on the island of Bressay and the news on 18 April is of the earthquake in Ecuador; then a report on today's fish landings across the Shetland area (1,800 boxes)...
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In the late 1930s the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Publicity produced a series
of radio programmes to encourage New Zealanders to holiday within New Zealand rather
than travelling overseas.
> read & listen more
RADIO fans take pride in the number of stations they can "log" and verify, especially if these are at a great distance. Contests for the most successful listening are as popular, now that one may hear Australia or South America, as they were in the days when people sat up in the hope of hearing Pittsburgh or Schenectady. However, the prize for the world's most systematic listening should go to Mdlle. Marianne (the personification of the French Republic, as Uncle Sam is that of the United States). She has erected the world's most elaborate receiving station for the purpose of listening to and recording broadcasts, as illustrated here.
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CHamoru radio trailblazer Isla 63 AM to cease broadcasting on May 1st
KUAM Isla 63 AM will cease broadcasting on the radio on May 1, according to KUAM Communications.
For over 66 years, KUAM AM radio has informed and entertained local audiences through Isla 63. It's provided a community connection for quality local programming and it's been advocate, influencer and media trailblazer for CHamoru language and culture through entertainment.
> read more
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Radio Trinidad Station Transmitters |
Rediffusion in Trinidad was a fundamentally different proposition from it's service in England which was primarily a matter of diffusing BBC programmes so that listeners could hear them better and more easily than they could on an ordinary radio receiver.
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PONAPE Eastern Caroline Islands WSZD – March 1967
Radio Station WSZD was a government owned broadcaster serving Ponape in the US Trust Territory of the Pacific.
> read more
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The KL Rediffusion Building c1960 |
Rediffusion (Malaya) Sdn Bhd
17, Jalan Pahang
53000 Kula Lumpur
Malaya Tel : 603-4424544
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Manx Radio is the national public service broadcaster of the Isle of Man and broadcasts from its own studios at Broadcasting House in Douglas.
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Rediffusion House, Broadcast Drive, HK. (1968) |
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Rediffusion ( Hong Kong ) Limited
Rediffusion House 81 Broadcast Dr
Kowloon Tong
Hong Kong Tel: 4424544
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KZOO Radio is proud to celebrate 50 years of radio broadcasting in Hawaii, and now our main focus is on the future and evolving so that KZOO is around another 50 years!
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Rediffusion House in Gwardamangia. |
In 1935, radio broadcasting began in Malta by a company called Rediffusion (Malta) Limited, which had been given the power and authority by the Government of Malta to operate sponsored radio programmes as well as ordinary commercial radio programmes. The station: Rediffusion Radio was initially launched, with the aim of countering Fascist propaganda from Italy. It had been given a complete monopoly of broadcasting of news, features, music and entertainment to about 50,000 subscribers...
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Deutsche Welle relay station near Cyclops, Malta. |
The origin of broadcasting in Malta dates back to the first broadcast transmitted from the Naval Wireless Station at Rinella in 1933. In 1934 an agreement was reached between the Government of Malta and the Rediffusion Group of Companies to set up a sound wired system in Malta and Gozo. Rediffusion (Malta) Ltd inaugurated its broadcasting services in Malta on November 11, 1935...
> read more
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Lewis Pass Canvas Art Print, Linelle Stacey. prints.co.nz |
In the late 1930s the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Publicity produced a series of radio programmes to encourage New Zealanders to holiday within New Zealand rather than travelling overseas.
In the latest episode we travel the Lewis Pass..
> read more & listen
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The new building which will house radio stations KJQR on Saipan and WSZO on Majuro are straightforward, functional, and typhoon-resistant. Design and engineering is being provided the Trust Territory government by Honolulu-based Hawaii Architects & Engineers, Inc. |
Construction of two new radio stations in the Trust Territory will begin early this year. They are scheduled for completion in April, 1969.
The stations are KJQR, located on Navy Hill in Saipan, Marianas Islands, and WSZO near the Mobil Oil Bulk Plant on Majuro, Marshall Islands. The broadcasting operations are currently housed in old and obsolete buildings...
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From the Channel Island of Guernsey, the thoughts of Island FM radio presenter, journalist and Douzenier (councillor) Richard Harding. |
In 2015 the Bailiwick's newest radio station took to the air although you may not know it unless you live in Alderney. On the 12th February, following a series of short-term trial licences, Quay FM became the Channel Islands first Ofcom-licenced community station broadcasting on 107.1MHz. It was founded by broadcasting veteran and island resident Colin Mason. Licences were advertised for the whole Bailiwick and although there were rumours several groups had shown an interest only Quay FM applied by the closing date in March last year...
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Radio Vanuatu logo. Image: SWLing.com |
Port Vila, August 3, 2016
The Vanuatu Broadcasting and Television Corporation (VBTC) is celebrating its 50 years of broadcasting in the then New Hebrides, and today the Republic of Vanuatu...
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Gibraltar from the air © 2020 VPNFan website |
Newstatesman Gibraltar 20 January 2015
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Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) is Gibraltar's public broadcaster, and has been providing the Rock's community with television and radio programmes since the 1960s. Its head, Gerard Teuma, takes us behind the scenes to discuss the early days of the station and some of the unique challenges of being a journalist on the Rock...
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The Radio Seychelles 50-year anniversary exhibition displays various photos of well-loved former radio personalities (Louis Toussaint, Seychelles News Agency) |
Victoria, Seychelles July 24, 2015
This week marks fifty years since the first radio station in Seychelles began broadcasting - Radio Seychelles, presently part of the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), made its maiden broadcast from the station in July 1965.
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The AWA BTM-P5 was a 500 Watt broadcast transmitter manufactured in Australia
in the 1960s. The P5, and its big brother the BTM-2J, were produced by
Amalgamated Wireless (Australasia) Limited for more than a decade starting in mid-1961.
Many of this model were used throughout Australia...
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The growing Northwest Queensland mining town of Mount Isa had by 1958 a population approaching 15,000 but radio reception was virtually non existent. The nearest stations in the medium frequency band were 4QL and 4LG at Longreach, 350 miles away. Few people were aware of, or listened to the Brisbane short wave stations VLQ9 and VLM4...
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Franklin Township's Information Radio Station WRBX 655 AM 1630 logo. © Township of Franklin |
During the pandemic a source of local information for residents in certain areas of the country can be found on Emergency Advisory Radio stations that dot the country and provide 24/7 information pertinent to a community. Not all communities have these stations, which can be found from 1610 - 1710 kHz and operate at varying power outputs...
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It was where seven worlds could collide, from big bands to punk. Durham Street West was ground zero for popular music in Auckland for many decades: it was the heart of Auckland's music precinct in the central city. Durham Street was more of an alley than a street, and the narrow space was dominated for nearly 50 years by an Art Deco masterpiece: Auckland's Broadcasting House, purpose-built and designed with great flair in 1939 when radio promised a brave, new world.
For most of its life, Broadcasting House overlooked His Majesty's Theatre, beloved from First World War concerts to the Split Enz extravaganzas in the 1970s. In that decade, the radio hub was adjoined on Durham Lane by Granpa's, a nightclub that once hosted the Rolling Stones before evolving into Zwines, punk mecca. Across the street was Record Warehouse, the hippest store of the era.
Broadcasting House was a modernist statement, designed in Art Deco style by architect Alva Bartley. His client was the National Broadcasting Service, established in 1936. The director-general James Shelley wanted a building that epitomised the goals of public broadcasting: to enlighten, educate, and entertain. All to the highest possible standards.
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- Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 915-Album-148-1 |
Besides being the home of 1ZB and 1ZM for many decades, Broadcasting House contained the Radio Theatre, where countless concerts, plays, variety shows, quizzes and musical comedies were broadcast live or recorded for later airplay from an acetate or magnetic tape...
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Tristan da Cunha, the main island of the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, is situated in the south Atlantic Ocean, 2 805 km from Cape Town and 3 353 km from Rio de Janeiro.
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Google Earth Image of Tristan da Cunha showing Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, the only major settlement on the island. |
ZOE Radio Tristan, from the island of Tristan da Cunha in the south Atlantic, will probably be remembered as an elusive radio station that many DXers used to dream about receiving. I guess that I was among the many long distance radio enthusiasts who tuned to 3290 kHz in an attempt to hear the local broadcasting service of Radio Tristan during their tropical band broadcasting days. I was not able to hear the station's low-power 40 watt signal, despite many attempts over the years...
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Bridgetown, Barbados. © Windstar Cruises |
BRIDGETOWN, Dec 2 1997 (IPS) - When the clock struck midnight Monday, signaling the climax of celebrations of the 31st anniversary of independence in Barbados it also marked the loss of a significant portion of the island's history.
It was the end of the line, and the end of an era, for Barbados Rediffusion or Star Radio as it was also called - one of the two remaining original cable radio services in the world.
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'SoCal-Sports-Talk' format, summer launch planned for rebranded San Diego station
Planning to relaunch San Diego radio station 1090-AM but with less sports content, the owner of an Arizona advertising agency has obtained broadcast rights to the far-reaching radio signal that beams from Baja California...
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ANGUILLA - This year staff at Radio Anguilla are celebrating the 48th Anniversary of the station. On Sunday, April 9, members of staff attended the Palm Sunday service at the St. Gerard's Catholic Church...
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Road Bay, Anguilla. Photo: www.navalia.com Navalia Srl - Tour Operator |
What do Radio Anguilla and the Anguilla Revolution have in common? The answer is: they are inter-related. The broadcasting station, as limited as it had been at its inception, and now set to observe its 48th Anniversary next week, was a critical necessity at a time when the island was facing a most serious and complex challenge in its political and constitutional history. Hence, there was a need for an effective means of communication by the intervening British Government with the rebelling people, who simply wanted to be free. They desired freedom from an unpopular and demeaning yoke they had endured since Anguilla's convenient annexation with St. Kitts in 1825...
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All formalities and loose ends are expected to be tied by July 31 regarding the closure of the cash-strapped state-owned Radio Saint Lucia (RSL), according to Broadcast Minister Dominic Fedee...
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Enjoy this YouTube report on the 79th Anniversary celebrations of ZNS Radio...
> watch video
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Image of times past: The old Radio Demerara |
The origin of radio broadcasting in Guyana is located somewhere in the 1920's and the first evidence of radio is credited to several local 'buffs'. The introduction of short wave broadcasts was preceded by a modest wired service that relayed broadcasts from the BBC over the telephone system in Georgetown. The subsequent short wave service which was reportedly provided for a few hours each week lasted until 1931 when it ended abruptly...
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The Radio Netherlands' relay station on the Caribbean island of Bonaire lies a few hundred metres off a narrow road. A white patch on a rock is a reminder of the dynamite that was used to make enough room to get the transmitters to the site. The last regular shortwave transmission from Bonaire was on 30 June...
> watch video
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The name ZIZ is not new to St. Kitts. In the mid 1930s the sons of Administrator Douglas Roy Stuart and their friend, Kittitian radio enthusiast Kenneth Mallalieu, applied for permission to conduct experimental commercial broadcasting on the island and were issued with the call-sign ZIZ. The transmissions were heard mostly by residents in the Basseterre area. When Stuart died, his family left the Caribbean and the radio station went silent...
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The remote Atlantic Relay Station transmits critical radio broadcasts to millions in Africa and beyond .
ENGLISH BAY, Ascension Island - A six-mile stretch of volcanic rock in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean is home to the BBC's Atlantic Relay Station...
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In celebration of Trinidad and Tobago's Independence, we take a look at T&T's Firsts. Events in our history that helped shape the nation into what it is today...
> view video
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Forces Radio BFBS' Fiona Weir & Rachel Cochrane on board a Chinook |
SUFFIELD, Alberta - Drive to Suffield - just east of where the Canadian Rocky Mountains rise up - tune the car radio to CKBF on 104.1 FM, and you can enjoy the latest in contemporary British pop radio (music and witty talk) with a military twist...
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Even though the formal inauguration of Radio Havana Cuba did not happen until a few days later, on May First, during a mass rally of Havana residents that filled to capacity the huge Plaza de la Revolución, Revolution Square, in celebration of the victory over the U.S. sponsored invasion, our Radio Station had its baptism of fire as the mercenaries were smashingly repelled at Playa Giron. We carried news and information about the fighting, and duly announce Cuba's victory over the invaders, armed, trained, financed and led by the United States. Our Radio Station had received its baptism of fire...
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Radio Antilles, Montserrat BWI 930 AM © David Ricquish Collection, Radio Heritage Foundation |
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George FM is one of two MediaWorks-owned Māori radio stations in Auckland. Photo: CHRIS MCKEEN/STUFF |
The bright green building sticks out in the middle of Auckland's Ponsonby Rd.
At all hours of the day, everyday, DJs are drawn in through the small door marked "George". Upstairs, in a street-side studio below the numbers "96.6", they play their own mixes and some of the "biggest club bangers" around.
But what does this all have to do with te reo Māori, which is, after all, the reason why 96.6 George FM broadcasts in Auckland city?
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Radio announcer and comedian George McKesey broadcasting from his studios in the 1950's. It was located behind Paslow Building. |
Pinned down in a green and mahogany sofa set near the radio my father made from his own hands in our small but neatly arranged living room, the captivating voice of the Belizean storyteller, George McKesey, that Belizeans of the 1960s and 70s had come to know as the true theater of the mind, explodes in the best Kriol lingo.
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IF any Caribbean or even South American country has had a rich history in radio broadcasting then it has to be our very own Guyana. And from its humble beginnings in the 40's, radio broadcasting has been building over the past decades leading to the eventual establishment of the Voice of Guyana (VOG) and the National Communications Network. But my research tells me that radio broadcasting was one of its first in the Caribbean and was started as early as the 1920's. British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) programming was dominantly being aired for the first, but more programmes ensued not long after. Radio Demerara came to reality in 1951; The Guyana Broadcasting Service (GBS) in 1958; Action Radio in 1968, and the GBC in 1979. The changes did not end there. The Guyana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) was divided into two factions with a new motto: "One station, two channels". Channel One and Channel Two later became Radio Roraima and The Voice of Guyana respectively. Then, finally in March 2004, National Communications Network (NCN) emerged out of the Guyana Television Broadcasting Company Limited (GTV) as a new company.
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Radio is a vital part of Jamaican life. Since the first official broadcast on Radio Jamaica on Monday, July 10, 1950, Jamaican radio has become an increasingly essential avenue for mass education, entertainment and information on a variety of issues relevant to Jamaican life. From daily talk shows to newscasts, radio is by far the most popular medium for news and views in Jamaica. In fact, Jamaica has been at the cutting edge of developments in radio in the Caribbean region and Commonwealth since the technology’s very inception. Through RJR, Jamaica was the first country in the British Commonwealth to broadcast regular scheduled programmes on the FM band...
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Lockdown for the prevention of Covid-19 spreading has not deterred East Auckland's community radio station from broadcasting.
East FM is continuously transmitting through the Coronavirus crisis, albeit with fewer of the regular live shows presented by all of the station's 30 volunteer DJs and hosts...
> read more
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Talking about it still gives Jason Pine goosebumps.
The veteran broadcaster, who up until Monday was the host of Radio Sport's nine to noon show, has plenty of highlights to choose from when it comes to his most memorable broadcasting moment.
As the excitable voice of New Zealand football, Pine has called bizarre on-field bust-ups, shock losses and historic wins...
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 "Jeypore AIR")
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Jeypore: It is not a very popular method of entertainment anymore since the advent of TV and more importantly laptops and mobile phones. But even then the instrument called the 'radio' has survived all storms...
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Penpals John Watson and Rainer Bradtke have met face to face for the second time after more than 50 years of written correspondence between Germany and Timaru.
Bradtke lived behind the Iron Curtain in Buckow, about 50 kilometres east of Berlin, when he got hold of a Radio Canada contact booklet in 1967.
 "John Watson and Rainer Bradtke")
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John Watson, left, and Rainer Bradtke have been penpals since 1967. Photo: JOHN BISSET/STUFF |
The booklet was contraband in East Germany at the time and in it was Watson's name and home address in Timaru...
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The 24th of January 2020 marked the 30-year anniversary of RNZ Pacific, formerly called RNZ International.
 "RNZ staff")
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(L-R) Linden Clark, Elma MaUa and Ian Johnstone preparing for the launch of RNZ International now RNZ Pacific in 1990. Photo: RNZ Pacific |
On 24 January 1990, Radio New Zealand International beamed into the Pacific, on a new 100 kilowatt transmitter...
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A tour of the KOA-TV and radio studios soon after their construction in 1959. Hosted by Pete Smythe with an introduction by Today Show Host Dave Garroway and narrated by Ed "Weatherman" Bowman
> view
On the morning of 7 December 1941, the day the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the war, The New York Times published one of its regular shortwave reports from W.T. Arms. A Japanese radio station based in Shanghai, he told the paper's readers, ended its daily English-language broadcast with the words 'V stands for victory, a German victory over the enemies of Europe'. The shortwave broadcast was aimed at listeners in North America.
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"Tokyo Rose" broadcasting from studios of Radio Tokyo.
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Tokyo Rose and Lord Haw-Haw have become part of the folklore of radio during the Second World War, but there are many other stories that have been largely forgotten. And, as in so many aspects of the conflict, the Allies were often caught napping on the radio wars because they had not been paying attention to the growing potential of the medium...
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The late Mark Nicholls kept a series of scrapbooks containing newspaper and magazine clippings relating to the broadcasting scene in New Zealand. These books provide an interesting look back at NZ broadcasting at the time.
You can browse an interactive PDF-based version of the first of these scrapbooks (you can click
on the articles to view in more detail), or use the direct links to
each scanned article...
> read more
 "Archivist Amy Moorman")
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Archivist Amy Moorman holds original recording. |
Archivist Amy Moorman says the recordings are primarily Iowa shows including farm shows, news reports, entertainment shows, and some sports broadcasts by former President Ronald Reagan who worked there for a time as sports director.
> listen & read more
The couple who fell in love over the ABC's Radio Australia more than 50 years ago
 "Anita and Humphrey together")
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Anita and Humphrey Chang married after falling in love with each others' letters, read out on Radio Australia. |
They were from two different countries and had never met or heard the other's voice.
But over a number of years Anita and Humphrey Chang fell in love through the radio as their words, written in letters and read out over the airwaves, reached each other across the ocean.
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On the 100th anniversary of broadcast radio it's still possible to hear an AM radio station on all 118 AM North American Medium Wave channels from 530 kHz to 1700 kHz. Listen to stations on all frequencies as recorded off the air with a simple wire antenna in Eastern Massachusetts and see information on every station heard...
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1930s Lake Waikaremoana Travel Poster
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In the late 1930s the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Publicity produced a series
of radio programmes to encourage New Zealanders to holiday within New Zealand rather
than travelling overseas...
> listen & read more
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The latest edition of Bruce Carty's book Australian Radio History is
now available as a free download...
> read more
 "CJCD AM 1240 logo")
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 "CJCD FM Moose logo")
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On November 13, 1979, CJCD first broadcast on 1240 AM in Yellowknife. Now on FM and under different ownership, the station - which retains the same callsign - celebrates its 40th anniversary...
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QSL card from RIAS for reception in New Zealand of their 6005 kHz shortwave
signal in 1976. |
Enjoy this 1994 short two-part film, produced by Deutsche Welle TV, about the West Berlin radio station, RIAS (Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor)
> view here
 "Opening Self Help store, Lambton Quay")
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Unidentified man, with celebrities Sir Edmund Hillary and Selwyn Toogood, with give away products of Rinso at the opening week of the Self Help store, Lambton Quay, Wellington. Evening post (Newspaper. 1865-2002) :Photographic negatives and prints of the Evening Post newspaper. Ref: EP/1956/2503-F. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. |
If you were growing up in New Zealand in the 1960s, and listened to any commercial radio
at all, chances are you will remember the classic slogan "Self Help are Cheaper, Cheaper, Cheaper"
for the Self Help chain of grocery stores...
> listen & read more
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 "Modern KNX logo")
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The well known powerful mediumwave station KNX in Los Angeles California is heard regularly in season at night throughout the western areas of the United States and Canada, as well as across the Pacific in Hawaii, Japan, the exotic South Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Australia. Station KNX radiates 50 kW on 1070 kHz from a single tower, and it celebrated 99 years back in September (2019). This is their story...
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The lighter side of farm metrics with MAF's Bill White.
 "Metric Moments")
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In 1972 New Zealand was changing to using the metric system of measurements...
> Listen & read more
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Posters for early air services to Auckland. Images from pinterest.com | |
In the late 1930s the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Publicity produced a series
of radio programmes to encourage New Zealanders to holiday within New Zealand rather
than travelling overseas....
> Listen & read more
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The website of the Imperial War Museums contains this rare 1961 film about
Radio Sarawak in Malaya.
> read more
 "Carwyn Henigan")
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Ex-radio engineer, musician and vineyard machinery operator Carwyn Henigan's passion is the community radio station, KAOS FM 88.2, he runs out of a spare bedroom in suburban Blenheim. |
From a spare bedroom in small-town New Zealand, a tiny independent rock radio station has made waves nationally.
> read more
Meet the Mosquito Network
Inside the U.S. effort in a battle of the airwaves during the Pacific campaign of World War II
Mark Durenberger
RadioWorld
September 2019
 "PCAN")
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Possibly the earliest military station in World War II - this one located in the Panama Canal Zone. |
During 2004-2014 the Radio Heritage Foundation produced a series of audio documentaries that aired on Radio New Zealand International's (now rebranded as RNZ Pacific) "Mailbox" programme.
Some of these features subsequently aired on other international broadcasters...
> listen to the features
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Read a 1960s profile of the UK GPO's Rugby Radio Station...
> read more
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More broadcasters than you might realize are helping keep the ionosphere warm (and the power companies happy)
James E. O'Neal
RadioWorld
September 2018
In the May 9 issue of Radio World, I reported on a recent power upgrade at TWR's Bonaire AM facility that brought that station close to the half-megawatt level (440 kW), allowing the station to make the claim that it is the most powerful medium-wave (MW) operation in the Western Hemisphere. After the dust settled, I thought it might be interesting to poke around a bit in the data available to see if they have a close (or even not-so-close) contender for second place for this title...
> read more
 "Captain Cook display")
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Vintage map of the Coromandel Peninsular. Image from pinterest.com |
In the late 1930s the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Publicity produced a series
of radio programmes to encourage New Zealanders to holiday within New Zealand rather
than travelling overseas....
> read more
CKLW and other Jingles from the Past
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Many broadcasters saved money by moving from high-power shortwave transmissions to the web. But at what cost?
OTTAWA — During the height of the Cold War (1947–1991), the shortwave radio bands were alive with international state-run broadcasters; transmitting their respective views in multiple languages to listeners around the globe.
 "Two Bobs QSL")
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A QSL card sent to SW listeners confirming their reception of “The Two Bobs” on Swiss Radio International. Credit: Bob Zanotti. |
 "WOR antenna sketch")
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The advent of the directional antenna made it possible for co-channel stations to operate in close proximity
In the early years of AM radio broadcasting, all stations utilized non-directional antennas. Most all of these were wire antennas suspended between towers or buildings. Interference, especially at night, was severe. An interfering signal of 5% or less in signal strength was enough to disrupt reception of the desired station, and if the frequencies of the two stations were slightly separated, there would be a heterodyne beat note. As a result, only a few widely-spaced stations could operate on each of the AM broadcast channels in the entire country at night. This limited the number of stations that could coexist to about 500 nationwide, with many of them sharing time on a single frequency...
> read more
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‘Voice of America’ exhibition is a fascinating look at early shortwave radio
Long before cell towers started sprouting up everywhere, the federal government commissioned telecommunication companies to build five massive fields of shortwave radio antennae. The structures, which reached up to 450 feet, were located in out-of-the-way places in California, Ohio and North Carolina. Each was designed to bounce radio waves off the ionosphere, allowing federally produced programming to be transmitted all over the globe....
> read more
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Planned closure of the South African station comes after years of financial losses
 "The switch house building at Meyerton")
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The switch house building at Meyerton. |
MEYERTON, South Africa — South Africa-based public broadcast signal distributor, Sentech, shutdown its shortwave station in Meyerton at the end of March. The closure was planned and follows years of financial losses...
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Radio station 4GG's thrilling ride to success
 "4GG sticker")
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It has been more than 46 years since the Gold Coast tuned in to its first radio station but strong memories of 4GG remain...
> read more
On the Near North Coast during the late 1950s and early 1960s, a shift in population towards the beachside towns becomes apparent as tourism began to take off.
Many families from the farming communities, mostly in the hinterland region, also enjoyed the coastal beaches of the region and became surf lifesavers.
As the sport of surfing became popular, many took up surf board riding as well.
 "Moffateers Nose Riding surfing competition")
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Evening entertainment included picture theatres and drive-in theatres, but the teenagers and younger generations at that time wanted to dance and listen to the music of their generation...
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Tucked away in a shed in a northwest Seattle neighborhood was perhaps the tiniest radio station that I’d ever seen: community radio station KBFG-LP. Part of the most recent wave of low power FM stations, it launched in December, 2017 and broadcasts for a 2.5 mile radio to a potential FM audience of around 250,000 people in the Ballard, Fremont and Greenwood neighborhoods (thus the B-F-G call letters)...
> read more
“We’ve come a long way from being that crazy ‘Tiger Radio’ back in the 1960s and ’70s playing top 40, to being a more responsible station that talks about today’s news,” says Program Director John Quincy. “WTMA(AM) is still here and thriving.”
 "WTMA van")
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A station vehicle is parked in front of WTMA’s offices and studios on Church Street in downtown Charleston in a photo from a 1950s promotional postcard. The building also housed the historic Dock Street Theatre, so the station jocks reportedly had to minimize the volume on their control room monitors when a play was being performed. The small sign above the door reads “Radio Station WTMA, N.B.C.” |
Our story begins 80 years earlier...
> read more
Veteran broadcaster Lawrence McCraw is about to launch his fifth private radio station.
 "Lawrence McCraw")
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Lawrence McCraw in the studio he is developing for his Happy Days 88.3 FM Radio station in Palmerston. Photo: Bill Campbell. |
The Palmerston-based station, to be called Happy Days 88.3 FM, will have low-power FM repeaters at Oamaru, Waimate and Waikouaiti and will begin broadcasting in June.
In his time Mr McCraw (64), of Palmerston, has been involved in running five radio stations as well as several short-term stations....
> read more
SHANGHAI — Located on China’s Pacific coast, Shanghai is the country’s biggest city with a population exceeding 26 million people; three times that of New York City (8.55 million). It is also a city that loves its music, and no radio station captures that idea more than Love Radio 103.7 FM.
 "Ming Zheng")
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Ming Zhang recording a show at the Love Radio studio. |
Launched by the Chinese government’s Shanghai Media Group (SMG) on Aug. 8, 2005, this 24-hour advertiser-supported station plays “local Hong Kong/Taiwan/Mainland music, as well as some international favorites from the ’80s and ’90s and a bit of the 2000s,” explained Love Radio DJ Ming Zhang, who broadcasts on the station under the name ‘David.’ Love Radio’s listeners are males and females 30 to 55 years old, who are “mainly intellectuals” with “above average income,” he said. “Their preference is for more ballads and love songs.”
> read more
 "Radio Bosom QSL 1977")
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Radio Bosom QSL Card for 950 kHz in the 1970s.
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The story of Radio B’s pirate broadcasts in the 1970s has been all
but lost until now – in part because the pirate adventures were
officially nothing to do with B at the time – but they played a
remarkable role in the culture of New Zealand radio...
> read more
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Early photo of the Morere Hot Springs |
In the late 1930s the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Publicity produced a series of radio programmes to encourage New Zealanders to holiday within New Zealand rather than travelling overseas.
This episode visits the Morere Hot Springs thermal resort on the East Coast of the
North Island...
> read & listen more
 "Franz Josef Glacier poster")
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 "Franz Josef Airfield 1938")
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In this episode our intrepid traveller spurns the mountains of the Austrian Tyrol to take the
motor highway from Hokitika and travel south to the Franz Josef & Fox glaciers...
> read & listen more
Roger Carroll and Los Angeles radio were the same thing. From 1948-58 at KABC and 1959-79 at Gene Autry's KMPC.
Roger brought his sound to McCadden Av. and AFTRS. Part of the reason he related so well was that he was one of the few network personalities that were a veteran...
> read & listen more
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Enjoy our first story to be published in collaboration with the AFRTS Archive Blog.
The American Forces Radio and Television Service touched a lot of people. Whether talent, support or listeners it touched many in ways that stateside media could only dream of.
> read & listen more
Enjoy this short film on the NZ On Screen website.
Bill mentions American Forces Radio via shortwave as the driving force behind his success and how Hawaiian music via radio was so important to him when he listened in NZ as there was no radio in Tonga, and from these inspirations his Pacific dreams music developed.
Music for dreamers of the Pacific.
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Music for dreamers of the Pacific.
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 "Early Te Anau poster")
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 "Early Te Anau poster")
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Early Te Anau excursion posters © Pinterest | |
In the late 1930s the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Publicity produced a series
of radio programmes to encourage New Zealanders to holiday within New Zealand rather
than travelling overseas....
> read more
 "Early Westland poster")
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 "Early Westland poster")
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Early Westland tourism posters © Pinterest | |
In the late 1930s the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Publicity produced a series
of radio programmes to encourage New Zealanders to holiday within New Zealand rather
than travelling overseas....
> read more
James Stewart has sent us this photo of a QSL flyer from WSSO in 1944 and writes:
In going through some of my Dad's papers, I was reminded of his wartime service. About all I know about it was that he reached the rank of Tech Sergeant by the end of the war.
 "WSSO QSL flyer 1944")
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WSSO QSL flyer from 1944 |
3WKA - 92.1 FM - Chatham Islands - 11 December 1991 |
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The Australian Antarctic Division operates broadcasting stations, originally with 20 watt A.M.
transmitters, (now F.M.), at each Antarctic base, to entertain staff. All operators are
volunteers. The A.C.M.A. denies that these stations exist. Interestingly, the Australian
Antarctic Division doesn’t deny they exist, but refuses to acknowledge the presence of these
stations at their bases.
> read more
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4IP Colour Radio 1960s logo © http://www.radio4ip.com.au |
Ron Williams has kindly sent us these promotional postcards that were
given out by radio station 4IP (located in
Ipswich, Queensland, Australia) in the 1960s...
> read more
 "Early Milford Sound poster")
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 "Early Milford Sound poster")
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In the late 1930s the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Publicity produced a series
of radio programmes to encourage New Zealanders to holiday within New Zealand rather
than travelling overseas.
> read more & listen to rare audio
Shortwave Radio - Radio Australia, 1969 |
Glory Days of Shortwave - Interval Signals and QSLs |
 "Record")
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In the late 1930s the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Publicity produced a series
of radio programmes to encourage New Zealanders to holiday within New Zealand rather
than travelling overseas.
> read more & listen to rare audio
A tribute to Sydney radio station 2UW and its dee-jays during the late 60's.
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It's back to the 80's for this Mark and Kim hosted video written and produced by then KOST Program Director Jhani Kaye. This video gives listeners an inside look at how radio works. Originally distributed for free by Warehouse Music. KOST 103.5 has won all the major radio awards for programming and personalities in it's 30 year history.
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In 1980, Honolulu radio station KORL 65 switched from a long period of colorful personalities playing Top 40 hits, staging outrageous stunts, and giving away cash and prizes in complex contests -- to a computerized (disc jockey-less) system playing Big Band music of the 1940s and '50s. On the last day of Top 40 programming, each of the disc jockeys on "KORL, the Station That Makes You Feel Good" said goodbye in distinctive fashion -- none more distinctively than afternoon host Lee Baby Simms. He had recorded his final bit, on a small cassette tape recorder, at home earlier that day. Just before 7 p.m., he held the speaker of the cassette player up to the main studio microphone and hit "play." While it's possible that he was not smoking pakalolo as he recorded these stream of consciousness ramblings, it is highly unlikely.
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A glimpse into early Australian broadcasting, with a tour through Ballarat station 3BA, "The Voice
of the Garden City", then broadcasting on 1320 kc/s with 500W of power. |
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4CA logos © radioinfo.com.au |
Read historical reports of Broadcasting Station Inspections carried out by
the Australian Broadcasting Control Board on 4CA's 1950s locations
in Cairns, Northern Queensland, Australia.
> read more...
Silent U.S. War Department Bureau of Public Relations film no. 1205.
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"What's in the air?" This question by one Westbury wireless enthusiast to another provoked a radio hunt on Saturday night. It showed to what lengths amateurs may now go, and that even the remotest part of the world is no longer isolated, but, on the other hand, one may "be in several other places at the same time."
 "Early Westbury")
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Before the Days of Radio. |
The fascination of wireless lies, not only in the excellent programmes broadcasted regularly
every night by the broadcasting companies. Equally, if not more interesting, is the reception
of numerous amateurs, who transmit all varieties of music from gramophones, player pianos,
etc...
> read more
 "XWRA On The Air")
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© Collection of William Casson |
William Casson writes:
The above picture, from the Army Signal Corp, shows my dad, we believe, sitting at the table. He served in Merrill's Mauraders on the Burma Road Campaign. He was later sent to Shanghai to set up a radio station. He claimed that he was the first American to enter resulting in the Japanese general in charge surrendering to him. He became part of organizing the triumphant entry of Chiang Kai Shek. His name was Harry G. Casson, Jr.
 "Record")
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In the late 1930s the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Publicity produced a series
of radio programmes to encourage New Zealanders to holiday within New Zealand rather
than travelling overseas.
> read more & listen to rare audio
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We have been sent a publication listing Australian Radio Calls from 1926...
Jeff Klepper writes:
My late father, Larry Klepper, served in the US Army Air Corps, 1945-46, and he worked at WKLI in Fukuoka toward the end of 1946. That's him, standing, in this photo. (Don't know the identity of the other fellow.)
 "Larry Klepper WKLI")
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© Collection of Jeff Klepper |
In common with other early broadcasters, the engineering staff at 6WF were concerned about unreliable night-time reception - with broadcast signals subject, at times, to fading and/or distortion every few minutes beyond 50-100 miles (80-180km) from the transmitter. Depending on the season, prevailing conditions and transmission wavelength, such effects could limit the dependable night-time range of medium wave stations, in particular, to less than their daytime coverage.
 "Listener confirmation card from 6WF Wanneroo in 1934. 5kW, 690kc. © Eric Shackle Collection, Radio Heritage Foundation.")
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Listener confirmation card from 6WF Wanneroo in 1934. 5kW,
690kc. |
Keen to collect and correlate data in their own environment, Wally
says that 6WF staff organised two transportable
listening centres which could be set up,
typically 300 yards apart, in any available
level field. By way of communication, both
teams were equipped with a hurricane lamp
which could be turned up or down in brightness
as the signal strength varied.
> read more
 "2CCC logo")
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2CCC logo © Radio Heritage Foundation, Bruce Carty collection |
In September 1993 DJ Bruce Carty on 2CCC-FM made an attempt on the world
record for continous broadcasting by one DJ.
> read more
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WFMT Chicago Commences HD Radio™ Broadcasting with Nautel NV40
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A fine-arts station since its debut, WFMT-FM Chicago has always had a reputation for classical
music and utmost audio quality. Station engineers once designed their own audio processors because
nothing on the commercial market was acceptable to them, nor did they air commercials on tape cartridges.
> read more
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Timely and Meticulous Tech Support gets VS300LP On-Air after Hurricane Irma
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Hurricane Irma knocked out a ton of radio stations in Florida, some with serious issues keeping them
off the air for going on a week after the storm. My little FM survived quite well by comparison, but
did go off the air for what was initially an audio loss. It was accompanied by the internet connection
at the transmitter site shutting down, and remaining down until five days after mother nature spent her
fury in Florida.
> read more
.jpg','','resizable=yes,scrollbars=yes,width=500,top=20,left=100') "Record")
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In the late 1930s the New Zealand Department of Tourist and Publicity produced a series
of radio programmes to encourage New Zealanders to holiday within New Zealand rather
than travelling overseas.
> read more & listen to rare audio
In 1945 the band the Pacific Ramblers were entertaining listeners on radio station KTOH, located in Kauai, Hawaii.
 "Pacific Ramblers on KTOH")
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The Pacific Ramblers performing on KTOH |
 "Hawaii Radio Station KIPA letterhead")
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Kauai, Hawaii, 1945
Local newspapers report that local radio station KTOH is under
attack! No, the attack is not coming from the Japanese, but
from local musicians...
> read more
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A Tight Squeeze of an Install at K-LOVE
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Jack Roland, EMF K-LOVE/Air1 Engineer, shared with us some great photos from the delivery of his
Nautel GV40 HD transmitter to the K-LOVE Mt. Chief, CO, facility. It was a tight installation;
he only had 31" to work with!
> read more
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Our International Voice
by Bob Edlin
JANUARY 24, 1990. In Auckland, the Commonwealth Games would open and Kiwis would be preparing to run, jump, swim, peddle... whatever.., in competition against athletes from around the globe. In Wellington, a small team of broadcasters would be making their own preparations. They would be setting out in pursuit of international competitors who had left them far behind in the race to spread influence and foster goodwill in the South Pacific.
That was the day Radio New Zealand International – with a new, much more powerful transmitter
and $1.1 million a year from the Ministry of External Relations and Trade – began broadcasting
an expanded programme.
> read more
Travel back in time to the Australian mediumwave band in the early 1970s with the commercials from this 7" sampler record produced by the Australian Radio Advertising Bureau.
)
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QSL card from 2AY |
Listen to 1970s commercials from 5RM, 2AY, 2DU, 4RO, 6PR, 2NX, 4AK, 2GO, 2QN, and 2AY, then
read more about the history of some of these stations on our website, or see
details of the modern stations in our Australian
Radio Guide.
> read more
Our Chairman, David Ricquish, is currently recovering from major health issues.
During his recovery our website may not be updated as frequently as normal, but rest assured, the Radio Heritage Foundation is still here and intends to remain so.
To reduce David's workload while he recovers we have arranged a temporary alternative postal address for large, heavy donations, such as collections of QSL cards, books, LP records etc.
Please send such donations to:
Radio Heritage Foundation
c/o Chris Mackerell
PO Box 2213
Stoke
Nelson 7041
New Zealand
Chris, our webmaster, will process these donations while David recovers.
Normal postal items such as letters, cheque donations etc, can continue to be sent to our current Newtown, Wellington, address.
Please note that it may be some time before we can respond to our normal email address as usual.
We thank you for your understanding and look forward to your on-going support.
From our New Zealand radio archives we present a selection of items, mainly LPFM-related, that have appeared in the New Zealand press in years gone by.
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This feature is brought to you by |
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Great Seal of the USA |
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USA greetings stamps © www.theus50.com |
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© www15.uta.fi |
The most powerful and influential AM broadcasters of this region are essentially represented
by the cities of Chicago, Cincinnati and Cleveland with a slight touch of Detroit.
> read more
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We are a small non-profit organization doing what we can to protect, preserve and promote what we call 'radio heritage' or things, memories and places associated with radio broadcasting. This website is a very small window into our global project.
Sometimes we fail. Like when the original studios of 3ZB Christchurch NZ recently burned down in an arson attack. We tried to get people interested to do something to make future use of the building from the 1930s, but ran into the brick walls of no interest and no money, made worse by damage in the earthquake of 2011.
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© Hamish Evans via Facebook |
In these final days before the current financial year ends on March 31, we have raised over 90% of the budgeted costs we pay others. We get no funding from any government or broadcasting networks anywhere in the world. Unpaid volunteers do all the work as time permits. A small group of people in New Zealand, Australia, USA, and Europe make irregular donations to our costs...... without them we would have closed down years ago and much memorabilia destroyed, lost or forgotten.
If you're using one of our radio guides today or enjoying one of the hundreds of features prepared by our volunteers, would you make a donation towards the 10% of funding still needed by March 31:
We'll be pleased to add you to our Roll of Honor this month, and you'll be pleased to see more radio heritage protected, preserved and promoted by our project. You'll be helping us keep the memories alive, even after the studios of stations like 3ZB are long gone.
And there are thousands of stations and many thousands more people who worked in them for almost a century now remaining to be remembered.
On behalf of many long forgotten voices, thank you.
 "Broadcast building")
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BROADCAST IN ICELAND
CONSTITUTION:
The Iceland State Broadcast Service was established in the year 1930. Its offices
and studios are in Reykjavik, occupying the fourth and fifth floors of the Telephone
and Broadcast Building. It is conducted entirely by the State as an independent
establishment, under the control of the Ministry of Education. It is directed by
a General Director. The programs are supervised by a Program Council, consisting
of five members chosen by the Althing (The Icelandic Legislative Assembly),
promptly after each general election The Minister of Education appoints one of
them Chairman.
> read more
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Icelandic flag © Wiki |
By Bruce Carty
After spending Christmas and New Year in London at 23 years of age, I visited Heathrow airport in 1973, purely for something to do. Two hours after arriving at Heathrow, I was on a plane to Iceland.
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By Mike Vanderkelen
Like one of more than 100 listener clubs which mushroomed during Australian radio’s golden era, the Sunpolishers Club was a “must listen to” program on Radio 7SD Scottsdale says former ABC Tasmania radio journalist Brad Saunders who, like several of his cousins, was not only a Club member but sang on air.
 "7SD QSL 1954")
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7SD Scottsdale Tasmania issued this card to a New Zealand listener for reception in 1954, the year the station officially opened. © Keith Robinson Collection, Radio Heritage Foundation |
“I recall my first time on radio doing a slightly squiffy version of “This Old Man he played One” in the
1950s before I was introduced to a Nagra tape recorder and the business of interviewing people for a
living on radio.”
> read more
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