Shortwave Center, August 1997
This first article comes to us via Wolfgang Bueschel of Germany.
National Association of Broadcasters 1997 Radio Engineering Achievement Award Technology Luncheon
April 9, 1997, 1230 PM, Barron Room, Las Vegas Hilton, George Jacobs, P.E. Acceptance Speech
Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow Broadcasters: Being in the broadcast business for 56 years there are a lot of people to whom I am grateful for this award and to whom I owe thanks for helping me realize the achievements for which you honor me today. If I mentioned them all we would probably miss our luncheon speaker, and perhaps lunch as well. But, there are some that I must acknowledge today.
Firstly, I owe thanks to my father. He was a civil engineer, but interested in radio. I can still remember my first encounter with the Morse Code when I was about six years old. I also clearly recall at about the same age his excitement when he built his first superhet radio. He clamped oversized earphones on my head and said: ” listen to that broadcast, it’s coming all the way from Toronto”. Since we lived in NYC at the time, that was my first introduction to DX. This probably was when the radio bug first bit me !
I also owe a great deal of thanks to a name well known in this industry, the late Sol Taishoff, founder and first publisher of BROADCASTING and CABLE Magazine. It was Sol who encouraged me 17 years ago to retire from Government after nearly 35 years of service, and to “do it on my own”, as he so often urged me. It was not easy for me since I had what was probably the best and one of the most interesting jobs in Government with the Voice of America and later with the Board for International Broadcasting. One that gave me a great deal of both professional and personal satisfaction. But Sol’s guidance prevailed. I retired from Government and set up my own consulting company. Seventeen years later, I am still doing it on my own. Sol, as you look down on us today, you have my everlasting thanks.
A special thanks goes to my wife Beatrice, or Bea, for not only being a loving spouse and devoted mother and grandmother, but also my closest and dearest friend. As my bride for fifty years she has stood by my side through thick and thin. This award is hers as much as it is mine.
I would also hope that this award is not only a tribute to me, but that it also recognizes and documents the important role of shortwave broadcasting in winning the “Cold War”. Recently I was asked by a young person who noted that the second World War was fought in Europe and Asia, the Korean War in Korea, the Vietnam War in Vietnam, but where, she asked was the Cold War fought? Well, I replied, it was fought on the airwaves with words as its weapons. The populations behind what was then called the “Iron Curtain” themselves overthrew their Communists governments in an historic bloodless revolution. This spared the world the nuclear holocaust that had been predicted by the experts. But, deprived of all normal contacts with the free world, what gave them the courage and encouragement to keep going for more than forty years and to finally realize this amazing accomplishment? Many will tell you, as they have told me, that it was the shortwave broadcasts of the BBC, VOA, Radio Free Europe, Radio Liberty, Radio Vatican, Kol Israel and others that kept the spark of freedom alive. Shortwave radio was the only link that remained open to the west throughout most of the Cold War period. It pierced the electronic curtain of Communist jamming , and could be listened to in the privacy of one’s home. The arena for the Cold War was truly the shortwave broadcast bands. It was a victory of words over nuclear weapons, for which the entire world can now breathe a sigh of relief.
Incidentally, the role of shortwave broadcasting during the Cold War is a story which has not yet been fully told! A footnote to the ending of the Cold War. One of my achievements that I am most proud of is the role I was able to play in having a former jamming transmitter converted into a 75 kW broadcast transmitter. This served as the basis for establishing the first independent radio station in Moscow five years ago. We named it OPEN RADIO in contrast with the closed society of the Soviet era. It is run entirely by young professional Russian journalists, programmers and marketers, and it now has an FM and even a TV outlet.
Just this past month we signed an agreement to lease time on a jamming station in the Republic of Georgia which has been converted into a large radio broadcast center. Its shortwave signals are exceptionally strong throughout Europe, the Near and Middle East and northern Africa. It is already being used successfully by several of my clients at a considerable savings in both operational and overhead costs. We have just begun discussions with another ex-Soviet Republic, where shortwave and mediumwave transmitters, with some in the megawatt range, may be available for leasing. How is that for turning swords into plowshares!
Finally, I want to extend my thanks to the many professional associates with whom I have worked in both Government and the Private Sector over the past five decades, and who helped make this award possible. I want also to express my gratitude to you my peers for this award which I will especially cherish because it is from you. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!
MEDIA: The Voice of Kanak Independence in New Caledonia
By Kalinga Seneviratne
NOUMEA, New Caledonia, Apr 1 (IPS) - Ten years since it first began broadcasting, Radio Djiido, the Voice of Kanak Independence, has seen more than its share of problems - lack of funding, jammed signals and Molotov cocktails aimed at driving it off the air.
Today, Radio Djiido - a station run by the indigenous Kanak people of this South Pacific territory - remains the voice of the Kanak struggle for independence against the French.
On a regular day the radio, the highest-rating station here apart from the French government-run RFO, broadcasts news and commentary that it hopes will educate the Kanak people in the run-up to a vote on self-determination in 1998. The station also promotes Kanak music, including a new form of contemporary music called “Kaneka” which was born out of the independence struggle and was popularised by Radio Djiido itself.
“When we started, the military tried to jam the signal. When we presented news, there was no radio,” said Nicole Waia, manager of Radio Djiido said in an interview with IPS. Although its mission is to be the Kanaky people’s voice, the station broadcasts news and commentary in French.
This use of the colonial language to further an indigenous cause might appear odd, but the reason is purely pragmatic - there are 32 different Kanak languages.
Waia said: “I come from Mare (Loyalty Island). I can talk to my people, but other Kanak people can’t understand me then. So we can’t present our programmes in Kanak languages, it’s too difficult. It’s a good strategy too, as other people can understand what I say.”
Since colonisation in 1853, the French have used the media in New Caledonia to drum up support for colonial rule. The media has been tightly controlled by the French, with French media tycoon Robert Hersant owning various publications and a radio station.
Radio Djiido’s creation in 1985 was the first attempt by the indigenous Kanak people to challenge French colonial propaganda, as they had no media voice of their own for a long time. Its early broadcasts were transmitted within the boundaries of Noumea by unskilled voluntary staff, driven by little else but political commitment to the independence cause.
The French expected Radio Djiido to have a short life span, especially since it during its first year it was targetted by right-wing groups opposed to independence. Even the French military joined in the campaign to end Radio Djiido’s broadcasts.
At one point, critics used bomb attacks and Molotov cocktails to try to silence the radio.
Today Radio Djiido has not only survived for over a decade, but broadcasts nationally and has two small sister stations in Lifou in the Loyalty Islands and Hienghene in the Northern Province.
Since the signing of the 1988 Matignon Accord between the pro- independence Front de Liberation National Kanak Socialiste (FLNKS) and the pro-French right-wing party, Rassemblement pour Caledonie dans le Republique (RPCR), Radio Djiido became part of the cultural arm of the Kanak independence struggle known as “Editions Populaires”.
“After the signing of the Matignon Accord, it is now better for us. We can now broadcast all over the country,” said Waia.
Radio Djiido gets funding from the local governments of the Northern Province and Loyalty Island, which are FLNKS controlled. It was also assisted by the Australian union movement’s foreign aid agency, or Australian People for Health, Education and Development Abroad. The RPCR has its own daily newspaper ‘Les Nouvelles Hebdo’ and a private radio station called ‘Radio Rhythme Blue’.
Radio Djiido’s plan since the Matignon Accord is to make economic development and education more equitable, preparing the Kanak people for a national vote for self-determination in 1998. That vote is a key part of the Matignon agreement.
“This is why it was important to have our own radio, to educate our people, and others too, on the political, economic and social reality” Waia added. But the divisions among the Kanak community ahead of the 1998 vote is also affecting Radio Djiido’s economic future.
Recently, FLNKS changed its strategy from a purely political campaign to win a vote on independence next year, to an economic struggle to first gain control of New Caledonia’s nickel and tourism resources.
In the wake of this change, FLNKS’s attempts to work out a compromise with RPCR on the independence vote has split the Kanak community. Many Radio Djiido listeners want their leaders to explain to them the FLNKS’ change in strategy for independence.
But Waia says the leadership has been reluctant to use the radio to do so, and is pressuring the station to tone down its criticism of some FLNKS policies.
“Sometimes we have a lot of problems with FLNKS leaders, because Radio Djiido is a community radio station and we have to respect the people” said Waia. “When I don’t agree with what they decide now, I have to tell them ‘listen I don’t agree, you have to explain to the people’. It’s not my role, it’s your role because you are a political leader”.
This is why Waia wants Radio Djiido to be financially independent, though the station gets annual subsidies from the two FLNKS-controlled provincial administrations. The station is now aiming for a bigger slice of advertising revenue - not easy for a community-based news-oriented station.
“The grants from the provinces are not enough for all of us here” says Waia. “Our salaries are not high and have remained the same since we started. But it is not a problem for us because it’s our choice to come here and work for our people”.
Located in a small house in a southern Noumea suburb, the station has basic but modern studio and editing facilities and a small transmitter powerful enough to cover most of the country. There are no satellite feeds or other expensive communication technology. Its permanent staff of six are all Kanaky people.
Waia believes radio can play a very important role in the political process towards independence - if the FLNKS leaders know how to use it.
“The problem in this country is that the Kanak leaders don’t know how to use the media” argues Waia. “If they have confidence in the staff who works in the newsroom, I think the message they want to give could be understood by the militants and a lot of people”.
This next item is via Bob Padula’s EDXP. This is a KTWR media release that was provided to EDXP by Alok Das Gupta.
The History of KTWR
The Trans World Radio - Guam shortwave station KTWR began broadcasting to Asia in September 1977 with two Harris SW100 transmitters (100 kW) and two curtain antennas. In 1981 two additional SW100 transmitters and two curtain antennas were added to the facility, and in 1985 a fifth curtain antenna was installed for coverage to Australia and the south Pacific.
KTWR transmitters are on the air 34 hours with daily Gospel broadcasts in 18 languages. China is KTWR’s major target area with other target areas being Indonesia, south Asia, southeast Asia, east Asia, south Pacific, Japan, India, and the CIS.
The KTWR shortwave station, located on the island of Guam, is in the process of expansion with the addition of a fifth 100 kW shortwave transmitter and a sixth curtain antenna. The expanded facilities will provide additional broadcast outreach to Asia.
A fifth transmitter, yet to be installed at the KTWR station, was designed and manufactured by HCJB Engineering in Elkhart, Indiana USA. The HC100 was designed and developed by missionary broadcast engineers who have had many years of operational broadcast experience. The HC100 design incorporates many features which makes the equipment efficient and easy to operate, such as an autotune system, dynamic carrier control, and a solid state modulator. Only two tubes are used in the HC100: the RF power amplifier (PA) uses an EIMAC 4CV100000C and the RF driver uses an EIMAC 4CX3500A. The HC100 will be installed at the KTWR transmitting site after the FCC Construction Permit is granted. Curtain Antenna Technology for Communications International (TCI) is designing the sixth curtain antenna for the KTWR facility. The TCI 611 curtain antenna will provide an operating frequency range of 5.8 to 12.1 MHz. The curtain array will consist of a network of horizontal dipoles three high and two wide for a total of six dipoles. The lowest dipole will be one-half wavelength off the ground. The antenna is designated as an HR2/3/.5 with a bearing of 320 degrees. It will use a reflecting screen to enhance the radiated signal toward northern China (Beijing). Antenna gain is 17.72 dBi at the design frequency of 8750kHz. Towers used to support the TCI 611 curtain antenna will be 75 meters high. Frequent Guam typhoons create a rather stringent requirement for the structural design. The antenna will be designed to meet the Guam 155MPH wind velocity specification.
The antenna design drawings are to be completed by April 1997. Trans World Radio’s goal is to have TCI start manufacturing the antenna during September 1997. Antenna and transmitter installations are expected to be completed toward the end of 1998.