Radio History

Argentina

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LU28 DEFINITELY OFF THE AIR ON AM
LU28 RADIO TUYÚ, an AM station that operated on the 1540 kHz frequency from the town and district of General Madariaga, Province of Buenos Aires, apparently belongs to the group of stations that have ceased AM broadcasts, as its transmitter has been dismantled and the station is now reportedly only audible via its FM channel at 92.5 MHz (LRM403, FM TUYU) – a circumstance we have not yet confirmed – and through its social media channels. In its early days, the station served as a bridge between the countryside and the city, filling the gap left by the lack of telephone lines that would have allowed contact between the farmhand in the fields and the employer living at home with his family. Thus began the catchphrase: “Radio Servicio LU28. In the countryside, in the city, LU28 at the service of the community.” The station went on the air on November 7, 1970 , having been granted the license to operate on the 1540 kHz frequency. Over time, it became a major media outlet on Argentina’s Atlantic Coast, with a studio located in the city of Pinamar. Thanks to the initiative of one of its most renowned General Directors, Mr. Hugo Killamet, it eventually merged with the local channel “Canal 4 CAVIMAD,” which was later shut down due to the 2001 crisis. RADIO TUYÚ’s studios were located at 366 San Martín Avenue, while the AM transmission plant was situated on a plot of land at the intersection of Pte. Carlos Pellegrini and Calle 14 (Coordinates: 37°01’03.1“S, 57°07’28.5”W), where there was a 42-meter-high mast and a transmitter authorized to broadcast under Category VII, equivalent to a power of 0.25 kW (Daytime/Nighttime).
Upon checking the location of said antenna, it was observed that it had been dismantled. This development may be explained by the fact that, for several years now, LU28 has ceased broadcasting on its traditional AM frequency, initially due to technical issues that affected the regularity of its broadcasts, compounded by a lack of financial resources to resolve them, and possibly also due to legal issues related to its license, given that there is no regulatory record indicating that the regulatory authority has renewed or extended the validity period of its license.

Argentina en AM y FM Facebook group (2026-03-28)

Canada

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Radio Town – CKNX 920 Wingham ON history dramatised
CKNX 920 KHZ is one of Canada’s oldest and most successful radio stations.

The station is located in the small town of Wingham in western Ontario. In 1926, Doc Cruikshank, proprietor of the town’s radio store, believed he could increase sales of his radios if the town had its own radio station. Up until then, the people had to rely on reception from the US or southern Ontario. So Cruikshank built his own transmitter in his garage and went on the air.

The station’s history is now being dramatized in a play at a summer theatre in the nearby town of Blythe.
https://blythfestival.com/radio-town-the-doc-cruickshank-story/

Doug Brown, London ON via Glenn Hauser, WOR iog ( 2025-09-05)

Argentina

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Today, Saturday 16 August, marks the 100th anniversary of one of Argentina’s most important AM radio stations, which in recent years has remained the national audience ratings leader. The station is LR6 RADIO MITRE (AM 790 KHz), with studios in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Although the station was officially inaugurated on 6 November 1925, it formally began broadcasting on 16 August of that same year, identifying itself with the call sign LOZ. Some time later, on 2 February 1928, the signal was assigned to ‘Sociedad Anónima La Nación’, at that time owner of the ‘Diario La Nación’ newspaper, founded in 1909 by Emilio Mitre, and was christened ‘LOZ The Nation Broadcasting’. Its first studios were located in a building in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Flores. In the 1930s, the station changed its call sign and name to ‘LR6 Radio La Nación.’ During the presidency of Juan Domingo Perón, LR6 was nationalised and operated by the state, an intervention that continued until the advent of democracy in the early 1980s. In this regard, Resolution 441 of the former Federal Broadcasting Committee dated 30/07/1982 called for a public tender to award the LR6 signal (AM 790 KHz) to private hands, and by means of Decree No. 2008/83 dated 09/08/1983, the licence in question was granted to the company ‘Radio Cultura S.A.’, which operated the station until 1992, when it was acquired by ‘Radio Mitre S.A.’, a company belonging to ‘Grupo Clarín S.A.’, the largest media holding company in Argentina. Currently, LR6 RADIO MITRE has its studios located at 2668 Gral. Mansilla Street in the Recoleta neighbourhood; Telephone: (11) 3003-0790 and 5168-0790 (Listeners); Email: info@radiomitre.com.ar; Website: www.radiomitre.cienradios.com. It is officially assigned Category II on AM, equivalent to a power of 100 kW (daytime) and 50 kW (nighttime), and its transmitter plant is located at 3050 El Chasque Street in William C. Morris, Hurlingham District, Province of Buenos Aires (Coordinates: 34°34’53.5‘S, 58°40’10.4’W), where its 200-metre-high omnidirectional antenna is located. It also has a Category ‘A’ Complementary Frequency Modulation Service at 99.9 MHz, which went on air on 17 August 1985 and has been known as ‘La 100’ since September 1987, in addition to another FM station at 91.5 MHz, awarded by Resolution No. 4558-ENACOM/19, which is not currently operational. It is worth noting that it has an important network of stations in the interior of the country that rebroadcast both the AM and FM signals. RADIO MITRE has been a benchmark in Argentine radio broadcasting, with a history marked by important historical events and prominent figures in journalism, hosting and broadcasting.
(Translated from Spanish)

Argentina en AM y FM Facebook group (2025-08-18)

Argentina

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Translated from Spanish:
Over the last few months, we have repeatedly referred to the significant decrease in the number of AM radio stations in Argentina, particularly in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA). This time, it is the turn of a station that broadcast from the town of Lobos, specifically RADIO ANTENA (AM 1560 KHz). The city of Lobos is a small town and the capital of the Buenos Aires district of the same name, located just 98 km from the city of Buenos Aires. It is characterised by being a rich and fertile agricultural area, notable for its dairy industry and dairy products. On 8 September 2008, the first AM radio station in the region, RADIO ANTENA, began broadcasting there. The station operated on the 1560 KHz frequency and was created by Mr Oscar Agustín Gardenal, a true leader in communication in that city. At that time, Gardenal had been organising musical and cultural events in the area for some time and felt the need for a station that would report on local events. The station had its studios at 23 Aristóbulo del Valle Street, Telephone: (02227) 42-1211, E-mail: info@amradioantena.com and website: www.amradioantena.com. It broadcast with a 1 kW M31 transmitter, and its transmission plant was located on Provincial Route No. 41, Km. 169, Cuartel ‘Las Chacras’, on the outskirts of the city of Lobos (Coordinates: 35°08’56.7‘S, 59°08’29.1’W), where a 60-metre-high omnidirectional antenna was located. It should be noted that RADIO ANTENA was registered in the Media Census implemented by Resolution No. 001-AFSCA/2009. The station remained in regular operation until the last quarter of 2022, when it went off the air as a result of the death of its founder and general director, Mr Gardenal, on 3 November 2022, at the age of 90.

Argentina en AM y FM Facebook group (2025-06-30)

Sweden

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SAQ to air at 100th anniversary on July 2nd 2025.
On July 2nd, 1925, Grimeton Radio Station was officially inaugurated. The radio traffic did already start on December 1st the year before, but now it was time the official ceremony. The king of Sweden, Gustav V, the inventor of the amazing 200kW Alternator and the massive six tower antenna, Ernst F.W. Alexanderson, as well as the leader of Radio Corporation of America, David Sarnoff was there, together with several other prominent guests. The large and shiny Alexanderson Alternator was put to life and a message to the American president Calvin Coolidge was transmitted to the receiving station at Riverhead, Long Island NY, USA. The american president replied and assessed the new radio installations as crucial for relations between Sweden and the USA.

Celebrate SAQ 100 years
Now we welcome all for the 100th Anniversary at Grimeton Radio Station, Sweden, Wednesday 2nd July 2025. 
The site is open, free of charge for all visitors with an extensive program all day. 
Download Swedish program here.
Download English program here.
Please see grimeton.org for complete visitor’s information.

The unique Alexanderson alternator from 1924, with the call sign SAQ, is scheduled for two transmissions over the antenna on VLF 17.2 kHz CW. 
To attend one of the transmissions in the transmitter hall, a ticket will be required. 
You can book you ticket here already now (recommended).

SAQ transmission schedule
First transmission:
10:20 CEST (08:20 UTC) Live YouTube broadcast begins.
10:30 CEST (08:30 UTC) Start-up of the Alternator.
11:00 CEST (09:00 UTC) Transmission of a message
Second transmission:
14:20 CEST (12:20 UTC) Live YouTube broadcast begins.
14:30 CEST (12:30 UTC) Start-up of the Alternator.
15:00 CEST (13:00 UTC) Transmission of a message

Test Transmissions
We are planning for some test transmissions on Tuesday, July 1st, 13:00 – 16:00 CEST (11:00 -14:00 UTC). SAQ will be on the air shorter periods of time during this interval, when we will be carrying out tuning, tests and measurements. Your comments are welcome to info@alexander.n.se.

QSL Reports to SAQ
Your QSL reports to SAQ are most welcome and much appreciated!
For guaranteed E-QSL from us, please report using our ONLINE QSL FORM.
We can not guarantee that reports by Email / mail / bureau will be confirmed.
The online form will be open from July 2nd until July 27th.

Alexander SAQ Grimeton (2025-06-15)

United Kingdom

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Radio Redhill 1431 kHz
Hospital radio marks 50 years of entertainment.
A radio service that has been entertaining patients and staff at the East Surrey Hospital has marked its 50th anniversary. The first experimental broadcast took place on Christmas Day 1974 at the former Redhill General Hospital, with regular programmes starting the following year.
The station acquired a studio in the then new East Surrey Hospital, with Jean Metcalfe, host of the BBC radio show Two Way Family Favourites, performing the opening ceremony in February 1985.
A week of programmes to mark the anniversary will begin on 13 April.
[….]
The station became a 24-hour operation in 1988.
In the early years, patients would listen on an in-house intercom system but, in 2000, the station began broadcasting on AM medium wave [1431 kHz]. It can also be heard now on FM, online and via smart speakers.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy0yn70rx7ko

Ydun Ritz (2025-04-06)

Philippines

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Tinang VOA station survives, but for how long? The Philippines has been a host land for the Voice of America for 80 years. Crazy this is actually the last year!
In 1945, a transmitter center was acquired, on the outskirts of the city of Manila. The station was equipped with two 5 kW transmitters: one on medium wave and the other on short wave. This was a temporary relay.
The second center was located at Mojon-Malolos north of Manila Bay.
Installed three 15kW shortwave transmitters. Two more 50 kWs were added in 1954 and two 100 kW transmitters in 1957.
In 1963, a bilateral agreement allowed the United States to deploy two transmitter centers.
One in Poro for medium and short waves and the other in Tinang for short waves. In 1969, they were broadcasting 24hrs/24 in O.C. from Tinang and 16hrs/day in AM from Poro.
The Poro Transmitter Center had recovered short wave transmitters from the former VOA station in Liberia. On medium waves, the 2 500 kW Continental 105B transmitters came from the old plant built in 1954 in Okinawa.
In 1999, following a volcanic eruption, the short wave facilities were abandoned. A new Harris DX-1000 medium wave transmitter was installed in 2005 at 1143 kHz until 2011, then at 1170 kHz.
Tinang site is the only one standing in operation. It is located 120 kilometers away from Manila, covering an area of approximately 9.6 km2. The first 3 50 kW portable OC transmitters had come into service in May 1968. Over the following years, twelve 250 kW transmitters were gradually put into service. Since 2006, the station has had a trans-Pacific optical link with the United States. She even assumed responsibility for remote control operations at the Poro, Saipan and Tinian site. This activity has ended today: Poro was out of service in 2018 and the other two stations in 2024.

The situation is not bright for Tinang station. It no longer has the strategic importance of controlling other stations in the region, the facilities are outdated, its operation is priceless compared to Kuwait’s IBB station where energy is, so to say, free.
Just wait to see what she could broadcast.
The VOA broadcasts are reduced to grief.
It cannot broadcast Free Asia Radio for diplomatic reasons.
Relays of other international stations are a thing of the past.
Three hours a day left on three frequencies for broadcasting of the global service of Radyo Pilipinas as part of the installation agreement in Tinang. Unfortunately USAGM cares about this detail.

Michel Fremy, Radio Magazine FB group (2025-03-19)