*
Theme
- 00:00
“Birthday
Serenade” - Willi Glahe
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Opening Announcement - 00:15
Welcome
to “Wavescan”, international DX program from Adventist World Radio
Researched
and written in Indianapolis, produced in studios of shortwave WRMI
Program
outline
1. Focus on
Asia Philippines - 6: Navy Wireless Station at Cavite
2.
NASB Report: Jerry Plummer WWCR, Shortwave Transitioning
3.
Bangladesh DX Report
4.
Review: Australian Radio History, Dr. Bruce Carty
*
Focus on Asia Philippines - 6: Navy Wireless Station at Cavite - 00:48
The
Cavite Peninsula on the edge of Manila Bay in the Philippines has played a
pivotal role throughout the lengthy eras of Philippine history. The Cavite Peninsula is located on the edge
of modern Metro Manila and the name comes into the Spanish language from an
ancient word in the Tagalog language, Kawit, meaning a hook, which is the
geographic shape of the peninsula.
The
earliest settlers on Cavite came from Borneo Sulu some time during the dim
distant past; and because of its deep water anchorage, this location became a
moorage for ocean going Chinese junks involved in international trade. The Spanish began their rule of the
Philippines at Cavite in 1571; and ¾ century later, the Dutch came and made
their attack against the Philippines at this same location. The British followed in 1672 with an attack
on the Philippines at Cavite, though their rule lasted for only two years.
The American era began on May 1,
1898 with an attack against the Spanish at Cavite. Nearly ½
a century later, the Japanese invaded the Philippines and their attack
against Cavite itself began on December 10, 1941, just three days after Pearl
Harbor. A little less than three years
later, the Americans returned to Cavite; and ultimately the area was officially
handed over to the Philippine government on September 1, 1971.
It was back in the Spring of 1903
that the American navy procured 20 sets of Slaby-Arco wireless equipment from
Germany, both transmitters and receivers.
One of these sets of wireless equipment was installed at the American
navy base at Cavite, and a year later
the station was taken into regular service for Morse Code traffic, on September
5, 1904.
The original callsign back then was
UT, though this was changed on October 1, 1908 to the more familiar
internationally recognized callsign NPO.
Back then, the transmitter was described as a composite unit rated at 5
kW and radiating on 500 kHz.
During
the year 1915, two tall towers were erected at the American navy base at Cavite
and these were 141 feet and 134 feet tall.
The operating power was increased from 5 kW up to 25 kW and station NPO
identified as Radio Sangley, honoring the name of the American Naval Station,
Sangley Point.
In
the early 1920s, three new self supporting radio towers were erected at Cavite,
each at 600 feet tall. When these came
into use for supporting the antenna system at NPO, this naval radio station was
sending out in Morse Code 2,000 words daily on longwave13900 metres (21.5 kHz)
to the navy receiver station in San Francisco.
It is stated that these three tall towers were visible from Manila City,
ten miles distant.
The usage of shortwave
for international radio communication was implemented at the Cavite radio
station in the early 1920s. For example,
it is recorded in the year 1926 that station NPO was utilizing two shortwave channels
3548 and 4283 kHz. Then, in 1929, an
additional six shortwave transmitters were installed at NPO, each at 10 kW.
During
the 1930s, the PanAm Seaplane Clippers, passenger and freight service, called
at Cavite once each week in their flights between the United States and several
Pacific locations. A color postcard from
this era shows the PanAm Clipper moored at Cavite, with the skyline in the
distance.
On
December 10, 1941, a Japanese air raid badly damaged the radio station at
Cavite setting the radio station building on fire, and damaging one of the tall
towers.
Beginning
just five days later, on December 15, 1941, eight daily special programs were
beamed to the Philippines on shortwave for rebroadcast via 12 mediumwave and
shortwave stations in Manila. Some of
these relay programs were picked up at Cavite and rebroadcast on their
transmitters also. Then when the
Japanese took over Manila, Cavite continued to re-broadcast the program information from California for a few
additional days, apparently from temporary facilities.
Soon
afterwards, on January 2 of the next year, 1942, the order was given to
evacuate Cavite. When the Americans
returned three years later, they found the three towers still standing.
The famous wireless station at
Sangley Point, the American navy base at Cavite in the Philippines, is an
example of the widespread network of
huge wireless stations established by America in strategic locations around our
globe. As the well known writer and
editor stated in Popular Communications a few years ago, “The Cavite station
was a most historic wireless facility, a well known landmark.” That statement came from the pen (or maybe
the typewriter) of the late Tom Kneitel, writing under the pseudonym Alice
Brannigan.
*
Program Announcement - 06:45
Jeff White
*
NASB Report
- 07:17
Dr.
Jerry Plummer WWCR: Shortwave Transitioning
*
Bangladesh DX Report - 13:41
Salahuddin Dolar
*
Australian Radio History - 18:19
A
most remarkable compendium of radio history comes from Dr. Bruce Carty, under
the title, Australian Radio History.
This lively and colorful presentation of more then 100 pages is amply
illustrated with early radio memorabilia that vividly portrays the more than
100 years of collective wireless and radio history throughout the continent of
Australia.
An
introductory timeline, stretching from the ancient 1906 right up to the modern
2009, gives a progressive view of wireless and radio events throughout the
Commonwealth, beginning with Australia’s first official wireless communication
(across Bass Strait to Tasmania) and ending with the introduction of digital TV
in five state capital cities. Also
listed is a brief life sketch of many of the leading radio personnel in the
early days of radio history in Australia,
Several
feature articles tell the story of early significant events in full
detail. Among these interesting feature
articles is one that lists and describes early radio receivers manufactured by
the well known radio company in Australia AWA.
This listing in the year 1926 describes the crystal set receiver as well
as the more recently developed superheterodyne receiver.
Another
feature article tells the story of a portable shortwave transmitter in use for
remote broadcasts by mediumwave station 2UW in Sydney in 1932. This transmitter with its associated
equipment was carried by two men, and the occasion was the long list of
celebrations for the official opening of one of Australia’s major tourist
icons, the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Another
feature article tells the story of an important amateur radio broadcasting
station in Brisbane back during the 1920s.
This station, 4CM, was owned and operated by Dr. Val McDowell with 20
watts on 800 m (375 kHz longwave) and it was heard throughout eastern Australia
as well as in New Zealand, and also on Ocean Island out in the Pacific some
2,000 miles distant.
Every
mediumwave callsign ever in use in Australia, all 700 of them, is listed
chronologically by state, with an outline history of each station;
experimental, amateur broadcast and fully licensed radio broadcasting
stations. We take a look at some of the
interesting facts that Dr. Bruce Carty has listed in his new book:-
* Australia’s first licensed radio
broadcasting station was not 2SB-2BL as often quoted but rather station
2CM which was granted License No 1.
* All the fish in the aquarium at 2KA
died during the first day of operation at their new studios in Penrith,
New South Wales.
* Radio station 6WF in Perth opened
with the use of a 10 kW transmitter obtained from Radio Luxembourg in
Europe. The original 6WA transmitter
also came from Radio Luxembourg.
* Australian personnel have
established radio broadcasting stations at 6 different locations in Antarctica.
* Station 2UW in Sydney operated a
relay station 2UX in Wagga Wagga with all programming on relay from 2UW via the well known shortwave
station VK2ME.
*
Station 2BH in Broken Hill relayed some of the programming from 5AD in Adelaide
which was recorded and sent by train to Broken Hill.
*
In 1946, station 2XL in Cooma reported that a railway train was lost and they
asked any listeners if they knew where the
train was located to report the information to the radio station.
*
In 1933, 3KZ in Melbourne used all available hair dryers from one of their
client advertisers in order to keep their transmitter on
the air during floods.
* The announcer at 3AK in Melbourne
lowered a rope from the open studio window to which the morning newspaper was
tied. He retrieved the paper each
morning and from its pages read
the bulletin of early morning news.
* All local train services were
suspended when the tower at 3WR Shepparton fell across the railway
line in 1934.
* The announcer at station 5CL in
Adelaide held the microphone outside the studio window to broadcast
the hourly chimes from the clock on the GPO building.
Throughout the book, there are many
illustrations, some in black & white and some in color. On an introductory page, you will find the
reproduction of the front page of a brochure
advertising Australia’s first serious attempt at radio broadcasting from a
train; the Great White Train with station 2XT aboard. There is a photo of the good ship “Kanimbla”
with its 50 watt broadcasting station 9MI aboard.
You
will also find a QSL card in color from Australia’s first radio broadcasting
station station 2CM; a photo of 3YB aboard the motor vehicle and the railway
train; a reproduction of the motor vehicle license plate showing 7HO on 864
kHz; and a photo of the mobile broadcasting station “in the islands”, 9AO.
The
author of “Australian Radio History”, Dr. Bruce Carty, has spent a lifetime in
Australian radio in several different states and he writes from a rich
knowledge and experience in the radio scene.
We are grateful also, Dr. Carty, for your acknowledgement of our DX
host, Dr. Adrian Peterson, in your
informative pages. Dr. Carty may
be contacted at Bruce.Carty@bigpond.com.
*
Music of the World -
25:10
Brazil:
Rhythms of Brazil, instrumental & vocal
*
Closing Announcement - 25:35
Thanks
for listening to “Wavescan”, international DX program from Adventist World
Radio
Researched
and written in Indianapolis
Next
week:-
1.
Tribute to Shortwave WYFR - 8: The Final Years with Walter Lemmon
2.
Australian DX Report
Two
QSL cards available - AWR & WRMI
Wavescan
address:-
Box
29235
Indianapolis
Indiana
46229 USA
Wavescan
@ AWR.org
Jeff
White, shortwave WRMI
* Music Outrun - 26:44
* Program Ends - 28:55
