The building of thhe RNW masts on Bonaire now defunct

[PA5COR]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTmAQ5MNizs

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.

Radio Netherlands Worldwide (RNW) started building the station in 1968 to improve reception for Dutch people living in North, Central and South America as well as New Zealand and Australia. The relay station, with two of the world's most powerful transmitters (300 kW) at the time, was officially inaugurated a year later.

[N8YX]

Sad to see all of the SWBC stations going away one by one. I can remember fighting the likes of Radio Moscow on 40M every evening at sunset like it was yesterday. I can also remember a time when the 120 and 90M SW bands were a hell of a lot more interesting to tune than they are now.

[w0aew]

Now the SW bands are just spanish language stations, nutso religious ranters, and spanish language nutso religious stations.

Oh, and hams.

[KJ3N]

Now the SW bands are just spanish language stations, nutso religious ranters, and spanish language nutso religious stations.

Oh, and hams.

Quite disgusting..... especially those hams. ;)

[NQ6U]

Sad to see all of the SWBC stations going away one by one. I can remember fighting the likes of Radio Moscow on 40M every evening at sunset like it was yesterday. I can also remember a time when the 120 and 90M SW bands were a hell of a lot more interesting to tune than they are now.

I agree. In particular, listening to Radio Moscow during the second Russian revolution was fascinating.

That said, the lack of SWBC stations indirectly rekindled my interest in ham radio. I've been and off-and-on SWLer for years and back in 2007, I picked up a used general coverage receiver and started listening in again. I was disappointed by the sparse pickings—even the BBC World Service wasn't what it used to be—so one night I started tuning around and stumbled onto the 40m ham band. A few weeks later, I had my technician ticket.

[XE1/N5AL]

As a kid, back in the early 1970's, I used to listen regularly to Radio Nederland Wereldomroep. I especially remember the "DX Jukebox" program, with Harry van Gelder/Jim Vastenhoud; and Tom Meijer's programs: "Happy Station Show" and "La Estación de la Alegría". Oh yeah, I also remember learning some rudimentary Dutch, through their "Dutch by Radio" program (along with the book and audio record that RN sent me). Those were the days!


Now the SW bands are just spanish language stations, nutso religious ranters, and spanish language nutso religious stations.

There are significantly fewer 60 meter, tropical-band language stations than in the good old days. I used to be facinated by the myriad of tiny stations in Central America and South America that dotted that part of the dial, with regional music and local news coverage. Many of those stations were 1 kW, or less. As the original station owners retire/pass away, or the transmitters break down and are not repared, the stations continue to fall silent, one by one.

Aside from the handful of "traditional" religious SW broadcasters, I don't know about all those nutso religious stations. Do they really have a big shortwave listening audience, sending in enough donations to cover operating expenses/airtime rental costs? Or, are their SW broadcasts just for bragging rights, so the organization can claim their word is reaching across the world?

[kb2vxa]

I'll go with the latter, if you check transmitter locations and radiation patterns you'll see they're designed to cover North America. Signals reaching beyond are nothing more than legal excuses to be licensed by the FCC.

We've come to the end of an era filled with fond DX challenge memories, Soviet jammers (now we have the Chinese Firedrake, hi) and TV PSA solicitations by Radio Free Europe... Own Browdvay. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LWSOKOqh2c What really sticks in my mind being an after dark listener of CKLW 800KHz Windsor, ON was when Radio Bonaire put a 500KW non directional signal on the frequency and wiped out "CK". It even clobbered CK's primary contour after sunset causing enormous complaints to CANDoT (Canada's FCC at the time) which in turn through ITU channels after several years convinced Radio Bonaire to do something about it. They switched to a 50KW E-W pattern which solved Canada's problem but still there was mumbo jumbo under CK at my listening post, oh well, there was still the mighty WKBW 1520 rockin' my boat.

Did that grab your attention Kel? (;->)

[WØTKX]

Utility SWL is kind of the replacement.