Translated from French:
60 years ago, TWR – Trans World Radio put the most powerful radio station in the Caribbean into service on medium waves. Bonaire is a Dutch island 150 km from Venezuela. This is where TWR got permission to broadcast. Under Dutch sovereignty, the radio was not supposed to comply with American power limitations. So she installs 1 Brown-Boveri 500kW on 800kHz (375 meters) mediumwave transmitter, a 250kW and a 50kW transmitter, and wins the title “America’s Most Powerful Mediumwave Transmitter! ”.

The installation is located along salty swamps in the municipality of Belnem south of the capital.
The station began testing in 1963 with a power of 500 kW.

In 1964, the success of this plantation was not expected, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep asks to rent the transmitter for broadcasts to Central, North and South America on medium-waves. The programs were broadcast in Dutch, English and Spanish. They were produced in Hilversum and flown on strips by plane. The news bulletins were relayed live from the programs broadcasted from Loopik. Very soon Radio Nederland decided to set up its own station on this very island.

But the costs associated with operating and maintaining a high-power tube facility ultimately forced TWR to rethink its strategy and short waves were halted in 1993. TWR also wanted to reduce its emissions to medium waves: the 500 kW transmitter and its electric generator were too high charges.

In 1998, TWR reduced its medium-wave power by installing a more economical transmitter: a 100 kW NX100 from Nautel – AM FM Broadcast

The operating license for the 500 kW medium wave transmitter has been revoked and a new license (PJB3-AM) has been issued for 100 kW. 500kW transmitter sold and leaving the island.

Twelve years later, in 2012, the transmitters have evolved again and TWR is making the decision to increase the station’s power to close to its original level. The radio wants to become a major regional station in Latin and Central America, to complement the small on-air FM operations in the region.

Authorities allow TWR to increase its power to 450 kW.
From 2012 to 2016 TWR is raising funds to allocate the necessary capital.

In 2016 Kintronic Labs is commissioned by TWR to provide a door-key new directional antenna system consisting of 4 231 meters poles arranged in parallelograms. This new multidirectional antenna system allows the station to target specific audiences at different times of the day.

In July 2017, the new RF system came into service using their existing 100kW transmitter.

During the installation of the antenna, TWR ordered its new transmitter with more than 90% efficiency: a semiconductor transmitter. This is the Nautel NX400 model that was selected for the project. The forecasted economy was double, compared to the first issuer: an economy of nearly 30% on energy and a much fewer personnel.

January 31, 2018, the new 450 kW medium wave transmitter Nautel Broadcast is inaugurated. It represents a $3.8 million investment. On this occasion TWR which used the name Radio Trans Mundial becomes Shine 800 AM.

Improving power and coverage helps to spread Christian programming on a wide area, but it’s also helpful in other ways. In case of an emergency, nothing beats medium waves, for example, when hurricanes have hit the Antilles.

At this time programmes are modified to inform people about weather, encourage disaster relief and to speak to local residents live or to be made available to the governments of the West Indies.

Michel Fremy, Radio Magazine Facebook page (2024-08-13)

History of Longwave in Finland
https://arcticradio.net/history-of-longwave

Ydun Ritz (2024-08-11)

 ‘Droitwich Calling‘ Exhibition
“The last part of the re-engineering of Droitwich Transmitting Station was nearing completion at the end of the 1980s. This was the replacement of the original Diesel Alternators by new, more efficient machines. The four English Electric sets, admired by so many visitors in the past were scrapped and their place has been taken by two high-speed turbo-charged machines which take up half the space of the originals and provide more power! These new engines are fully automated, running themselves up in a few seconds when required in a power failure. In comparision the old machines, being manually controlled, took about twenty minutes to prepare for service with a consequent break in programmes of this duration if a failure of incoming power occurred.
The completion of the re-engineering meant that the front part of the 1934 building, now empty, had become redundant. After remaining an empty shell for some time, it has now been demolished.”
Droitwich Calling, John F. Philips 1994

Full article
https://www.bbceng.info/Operations/transmitter_ops/Reminiscences/Droitwich/droitwich_calling.htm

Mike Barraclough – BDXC via Mike Terry to Longwaveradiolistening iog (2024-08-04)

Translated from French:
The USAGM has just stopped its medium and short wave station on the island of Sao Tome. An unannounced stop, which the agency wanted discreet.
The end of 34 years of history: The VOA was installed in Liberia, in 1990, the civil war made the station totally unusable. The United States wanted to find another site in the region.
The US government’s request for the installation of a Voice of America relay station has garnered the greatest interest locally. The agreement was quickly reached: IBB leases a 140-hectare plot on the east coast, three kilometers from the capital of the Republic, which is also called São Tomé. Construction of the Pinheira site began in 1992, on the ruins of the former Radio Nacional transmitter who had surrendered. A few months later, the first transmitter, a 100 kW Harris VP-100B is installed for broadcasting on 1530 kHz medium waves. Four 100 kW Thomcast shortwave transmitters mounted to broadcast between 6 and 21 MHz.
The IBB had to build its own power plant, consisting of five diesel generators developing 5MW. The diesel is delivered by a tanker that anchored a kilometer from the site. A pipeline connected the ship and the power plant. Another facility provides the necessary water to the center: domestic and sanitary consumption and for cooling the transmitters.
The IBB Relay Center in São Tomé was established to ensure the dissemination of VOA programs in English, French, Portuguese, Hausa, Kirundi and Swahili to Africa. Subsequently the medium-wave transmitter the 100 kW “Harris” transmitter was dedicated to broadcasting on tropical waves in the 60-meter band.
In 2003, a new building was installed on the seafront to house a new 600 kW transmitter that took over the Harris at 1530 kHz. Two trellis antennas ensure broadcasting as the old antenna was already out of use, ravaged by corrosion following the marine climate. IBB staff also operate a medium-wave transmitter “Harris” of 20 kW at 945 kHz connected to an omnidirectional antenna for Radio Nacional de São Tomé e Principe.
Enormous directional antennas form a circle pointing in NNO directions from NE to SE. Beams can rotate up to +/- 24°, adjust height and width of beam by changing the phase. There are 15 dipole curtain antennas supported by 18 rows.

Radio Magazine FB group (2024-07-29)

Uploaded yesterday to YouTube:
VOWR [800 kHz / Ed] in St. John’s is turning 100 years old. Dedicated volunteers have kept the AM station, which operates out of the Wesley United Church of Canada on Patrick Street, humming for a century. Its first broadcast — in July 1924 — came 25 years before Confederation and just 23 years after Marconi received the first wireless transmission from Signal Hill. The CBC’s Carolyn Stokes stops by the studio.  3 minute video

Mike Barraclough to MWlist iog (2025-07-21)

June 13, 1924, 100 years ago. Article in the Long Beach Press radio page. Hometown radio station KFON at 1280 on the dial with 100-watts, put a local Boy Scout on the air at 9 p.m. to sound taps on his bugle, for the Boy Scouts of Long Beach at the summer camp on Catalina Island.
The Boys Scouts of Long Beach, CA had a licensed amateur radio station in 1924. They also started broadcasting station KFMY on 1310 kilocycles with 20 watts of power. But that station lasted only from January until June of 1924. Hal Nichols, owner of KFON, the Echophone Radio Shop station, had allowed the local boy scouts to broadcast their own program of Boy Scout news on KFON every Friday for 30 minutes since March of 1924.

Jim Hilliker to The Boss Radio Group FB group (2024-06-14)

Translted from French:
60 candles for Manx Radio, The National Radio Service of the Isle of Manx under its official name. Manx Radio was the first commercial radio station in the British Isles. Was this a loophole in the BBC’s monopoly? No: the Isle of Manx has never been part of the United Kingdom. It is a possession of the British Crown, an island located between Great Britain and Ireland. It has a very high degree of autonomy, it does not depend on OFCOM and has its own audiovisual authority.
The station began broadcasting 60 years ago, on June 5, 1964. At the time, broadcasts were carried out from a trailer in Onchan, on land next to the transmitter and antenna.
At its inauguration, the station broadcast only in FM. From October 1964, a medium wave transmitter was put into service on 1595 Khz and to further improve reception a second transmitter was added on 1295 Khz.
Since 1978, in application of the Geneva Convention, the station has broadcast on 1368 Khz.
The 20 kW medium wave transmitter is located at Foxdale, in the center of the island. It is still active, in addition to FM on 89 97.2 and 103.7 MHz and in DAB+.
Manx Radio became famous for broadcasting some Radio Caroline North programs since it had to stop broadcasting from its ship, they are still programmed today and produced from the Radio Caroline ship.

Radio Magazine FB group (2024-06-05)

ABC Radio Perth will celebrate 100 years of radio in Western Australia on Tuesday, 4 June 2024 with special broadcast plans set to roll out across the week.
Radio 6WF – still the call sign of 720 ABC Radio Perth – made its first transmission on the evening of June 4, 1924, with a speech from then-Premier Philip Collier and a program of light music and live entertainment.
Established by Westralian Farmers’ Co-operative Ltd (Wesfarmers), 6WF was the first high powered radio station in WA, broadcasting agricultural information to farmers and to provide contact with the wider world.
“This year marks a massive milestone for the wireless in Western Australia.On the 4th of June 1924 the transmitters of 6WF were turned on for the very first time and this station eventually became ABC Radio Perth you love today.”
https://www.abc.net.au/perth/slwa-mornings-ob-100-years/103794718
https://maitai.com.au/food-dining/375-top-5-traditions-that-every-australian-follows-on-their-birthday

Yimber Gaviria via Kari Kallio to nordx iog (2024-05-31)