THE SHORTWAVE YEAR 2001 IN REVIEW, by GLENN HAUSER
[expanded version; portions were on VOA Communications
World December 29]
TEXTO TRADUCIDO AL CASTELLANO
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AFGHANISTAN
It took the tragedies of September eleventh and their consequences to
revive public interest in shortwave radio. Grove, Universal and Grundig
all report greatly increased sales.
The Taliban`s Voice of Shariah was bombed off the air less than a month
later, promptly replaced by the airborne U.S. psychological operations`
Information Radio; and then by a more widely heard exile station based
in London, Radio Voice of Afghanistan. As the year ended, the new Radio
Afghanistan in Kabul was expecting new transmitters, and the US
Congress had approved a Radio Free Afghanistan to start within a month,
eventually via Kuwait.
LANGUAGES
Many western stations felt the need to expand broadcasts in Dari,
Pashtu, Arabic and other Middle Eastern languages. Libya added Hausa
for neighbors in Nigeria. FEBC dropped Cantonese for Mandarin. HCJB
quit Japanese, but got a license to build a transmitter in Australia.
NAME CHANGES
Christian Voice, Australia, renamed itself Voice International, for
stealthy evangelism into Asia. KHBN got a truly Palauan callsign, T8BZ.
Radio P`yongyang became Voice of Korea. And Voice of Russia slowed down
its interval signal.
NEW STATIONS
Lots of new stations emerged on shortwave in 2001.
In Chile, Radio Parinacota; in Uruguay, Banda Oriental; in Bolivia,
Radio Ayopaya; In Peru, among others, Radio Nuevo Horizonte, LPC La
Radio, Radio Americana, and Radio San Antonio; in Ecuador, Centro
Radiofónico Imbabura; in Guatemala, Radio Amistad; in the USA, WWRB; in
Somalia, Radio Baidoa; in China, Yushu PBS.
Many more new `stations` are more like programs, buying time on
existing transmitters: Voice of the Lord, from Manila via Germany;
Radio Ezra, from England via somewhere, and lately Russia; Everest
Radio, for Nepalis, from Britain, via Austria; Radio Africa
International from Austria, confusing itself with the Methodist station
of the same name already, via Germany.
NEW CLANDESTINES
There were lots of new opposition radios, mostly buying time from
existing non-clandestine transmitters in the USA, Britain, Germany,
Russia, CIS. Mathias Kropf`s annual report says there was a 4.7 percent
increase in clandestine broadcasting time. Including:
For Nigeria: Voice of Biafra International, Salama Radio. For Eritrea
and Ethiopia: Voice of Tigreans from North America, Voice of Our
Martyrs, Netsanet Le Ethiopia Radio, Tigrean International Solidarity
for Justice and Democracy, Voice of the Millennium. For Sudan, Voice of
Freedom and Renewal. For Vietnam and Cambodia, Voice of Khmer Kampuchea
Krom, Voice of Justice, and Radio Free Vietnam # 2; for Kurdistan and
Iran, Radio Bopeshawa, Denge Mezopotamya, Radio Payam-e Doost; for
Chechnya, Radio Chechnya Svovobodnaya, then Radio Kavkaz. And just
started for Zimbabwe, SW Radio Africa.
STATIONS GONE FROM SHORTWAVE
We gained many, but we also lost some stations: La Voz de la Fundación,
and I think, Colombia`s Voz de la Resistencia; HRET Honduras; CHNX,
Halifax; IBB at Playa de Pals, Spain; AWR, Forlì, Italy; Malawi and
Kenya; JJY timesignals from Japan, and VNG Australia may be next.
BACK ON SHORTWAVE
But a number of countries and stations were heard again in 2001 after
an absence: Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo-
Brazzaville, and Laos; Radio Bayrak, Northern Cyprus, Idea Radio from
Colombia instead of Italy; Radio Apintie, Suriname; All India Radio
from Jeypore; Rádio Ecclésia, Angola, this year via Germany instead of
Holland; Voice of Croatia, also via Germany; Rádio Taubaté in Brazil;
Radio Marañón and thanks to an earthquake, Radio Tacna in Perú.
MORE AND MORE RELAYS
As some national broadcasters cut back, transmitter time became
available for others wanting a closer shot at their targets, to the
benefit of everyone. For example, Sweden and Holland now via Canada;
RVi via lots of sites, but no longer Belgium itself. AWR added Austria
to Slovakia. Abu Dhabi became available for many relays, even American
missionaries, as well as Japan and Australia, which also started using
Singapore and Tinian as well as Taiwan, and even Darwin again. And
Poland`s ailing transmitters may soon give way to relays abroad.
SHORTWAVE EXPANSIONS AND CONTRACTIONS
Swiss Radio International continued its planned obsolescence of
shortwave, despite few hits at its Swissinfo website, ending broadcasts
to North America, Europe and Australia.
The biggest scandal of the year was BBC cutting off shortwave to North
America and Australia at mid-year, and, the way they went about it.
Another media program ceased broadcasts, but continued on internet,
MediaScan from Sweden.
WJCR disappeared from Kentucky, pending new ownership, and lots of
transmitter work. HCJB trimmed its programming, but added a direct
broadcast to India. Cairo has one or two new transmitters capable of
listenable audio. Adrian Peterson counts 35 new shortwave transmitters
under construction in Africa.
China has been filling up the bands with 34 new transmitters, from the
American manufacturer Continental, plus a few more for Vietnam,
allowing these countries to continue to lead the world in jamming,
along with Cuba.
Austria had to cut its staff and original programming, especially in
German, but with a greatly reduced budget remains on shortwave; Finland
is doing us a favor by retaining one broadcast in English to North
America. Canada is making a gradual comeback after unexplained cuts.
VOA was persuaded not to cut as many languages as the outgoing
administration ordered. Radio Norway stays on the air only by relaying
domestic output; ditto an overlooked gem, Radio Educación in Mexico
City.
WORST ENGINEERING
Two of its neighbors take the cake for worn out transmitters, Radio
Mexico International, with spurs stronger but more distorted than the
fundamental; and XERTA wandering all over the 60 meter band. Dubai
can`t decide which side of Sa`udi Arabia to be on 13 meters.
Some maladjusted transmitters let us hear nearby stations by mistake:
WWL via WRNO; Radio Popular, Venezuela via YVTO; China television via
French Guiana.
STRIKES AND STRIFE
Technicians on strike disrupted programming at CBC and RCI; journalists
at Radio France Internationale. Vatican Radio was absolved of
electrosmog at its transmitter site, but not before starting to reduce
output from Italy.
ANNIVERSARIES
Shortwave is showing its age, with anniversaries like these in 2001:
the Benelux DX Club reached 40; Radio Prague, Radio Warsaw/Polonia, and
Radio Yugoslavia all became 65, but Belgrade`s transmitter in Bosnia
came back on in May, went back off in December, they say for only a
month. HCJB just celebrated 70 years of Heralding Christ Jesus`
Blessings.
We marked the centennial of Marconi`s trans-Atlantic spark-gap DX, but
barely noticed the 101st anniversary of Reginald Fessenden`s first voice
transmission.
INNOVATIONS
Let`s recognise some good ideas stations have tried: European pirate,
Radio Borderhunter, tested very low power to North America,
successfully heard by David Hodgson at only 100 milliwatts on 15 MHz.
Radio Ukraine International tried to use its megawatt transmitter, but
the authorities prefer to let the Russians use several Ukrainian
transmitters again, to the detriment of RUI. Saint Petersburg testing
to North America, first with Radio Gardarika, lately Radio Center. Live
from Turkey, a weekly call-in. WWFV started broadcasts in
radioteletype. Digital Radio Mondiale continues testing the short-wave
of the future, oblivious to complaints that it`s too close to the
analog shortwave of the present.
WEBCASTING
Among the shortwave stations which added or upgraded webcasting this
year were RFPI, HCJB, Havana and Taiwan. Many of the newest stations,
especially clandestines, include internet audio as a matter of course.
COMMITTED TO SHORTWAVE
We`re happy to note a number of stations asserting or demonstrating
their commitment to shortwave, improving or expanding programming
and/or equipment: Radio Prague, Radio Netherlands, Voice of Nigeria,
Voice of Mesopotamia, Radio Vilnius, FEBC Manila. RAE Argentina revived
a second transmitter, but to little avail. Venezuelan president Hugo
Chávez got a talkshow on shortwave thanks to his pal Fidel, but not
heard lately. Radio for Peace International began a new campaign called
Stop Hate on Radio.
OBITUARIES
Deceased, William Cooper, The Hour of the Time, in a shootout with
police; gone without a trace, and most wanted, after another shootout,
Steve Anderson of United Patriot Radio.
We are saddened by a longer list than usual of broadcasters and
shortwave hobby luminaries who died in 2001: Roger Legge of VOA and the
USSR High Frequency Broadcast Newsletter; Nikolai Pashkevich in Moscow;
Vera Sarkany of Radio Budapest; Ramón Mendezona of Radio España
Independiente; Douglas Adams, Hitchhiker at the BBC; Bob Thomalski of
Media Network; Bob Beukema, the Voice of HCJB; David Briggs, who built
KCBI; Larry Shewchuk of Manitoba; and Samuel Weiner, without whom, his
son`s station WBCQ would not exist.
As the year ended, Mother Angelica of Eternal Word was under intensive
care.
PERSONNEL
Notable personnel changes include: Herminio San Román, out at Radio
Martí; Salvador Lew, in at the Office of Cuba Broadcasting. Judy Massa
retired from Border Crossings at VOA. The VOA Directorship passed from
Sandy Ungar to Robert R. Reilly with Myrna Whitworth acting in between.
At Deutsche Welle, Dieter Weirich was replaced by Erik Betterman, who
foresees a reduction to 5 or 6 major languages. Turnover too at RCI,
from Robert O`Reilly to Denis Doucet to Jean Larin. Bill Matthews is
now retiring as DX reporter for AWR and RKI.
IMAGINARY, or UNFULFILLED STATIONS
There was excitement about these new stations, except no one ever heard
them: Radio UNAMSIL in Sierra Leone, Radio Kahuzi in the DR Congo.
Still on the way, we are assured, are KBBN in Papua New Guinea; an IMF
missionary station in Piñón, New Mexico, and Al Weiner`s maritime
mobile bound for Belize. But once again this year, what is going on
with Earth One, still registering frequencies, but never appearing; and
from Radio Free Asia, we`re *still* waiting on Wu.
For VOA News Now, I`m Glenn Hauser.
P.S. from Kim Elliott:
Glenn: Thanks.
Sorry to spoil your tradition, but apparently RFA has a Wu segment
within its Mandarin broadcast. It's largely unadvertised and not listed
as a separate language. As such, I guess you can keep your Wu closing
as it is. 73 Kim