* Theme - 00:00
"Birthday Serenade" - Willi Glahe
* Opening Announcement - 00:16
Welcome to "Wavescan", international DX program from Adventist World Radio
Researched and written in Indianapolis, produced in studios of shortwave WRMI
Program outline
1. Philippine Radio History - 8:The Japanese Era
2. International DX News
3. Australian DX Report
* FoA Philippine Radio History - 8:The Japanese Era - 00:43
At the time when the Japanese administration took over the city of Manila on January 2, 1942, there were no active radio stations on the air in the area. A few days earlier, that is towards the end of the month of December, some of the usable equipment had been removed from the radio stations and the remainder was deliberately damaged or destroyed. Just one antenna system was left intact in the Manila area, and this was located at Cubao in Quezon City. Thus all radio stations, commercial mediumwave and shortwave in greater Manila, international communication stations on the edge of Manila, and navy radio at Cavite, were all silent.
However, in the era just before the Japanese occupation, it is reported that there were 108 radio stations on the air throughout the entire Philippines, though little is known as to what happened to them under the Japanese administration.
The American army had safely removed the 1 kW shortwave transmitter at KZRH in Manila and they re-activated this as the Voice of Freedom in Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor Island on January 5. A few days later, American personnel activated another shortwave station on the Bataan Peninsula as a part time relay for the California station KGEI. The transmitter for this relocated station was a 1 kW mobile unit that had been previously in use for the original Far East Broadcasting Company under the callsign KZRB.
Then a few days later again, that is on January 14 (1942), a restored KZRH was activated in Manila under the Japanese administration. The Japanese had discovered some radio equipment hidden in the basement of the Heacock Building on Escolta Avenue and together with some of their own imported equipment, they re-launched shortwave KZRH on one of its original channels 9640 kHz. The inaugural five hour program began at 7:00 pm Manila time.
For a period of almost exactly four months, a war of words was waged between the Japanese KZRH in Manila on 9640 kHz and the American Voice of Freedom in Malinta Tunnel on the adjacent channel 9645 kHz. However, the American General Jonathan M. Wainwright addressed the Japanese General Masaharu Homma in a special series of three broadcasts in English and Japanese over the Voice of Freedom on Corregidor Island on May 6 (1942) requesting surrender. At 11:00 pm next day, General Wainwright made a special broadcast over the Japanese held KZRH in Manila, indicating that the American forces had indeed surrendered.
It was around this time also that the only other radio broadcasting station still on the air anywhere in the Philippines, mediumwave and shortwave KZRC in distant Cebu to the south, was also taken over by the local Japanese administration.
During the next two and three years, the Japanese established a whole network of mediumwave broadcasting stations throughout the Philippines and these were identified with callsigns similar in style to the sequence of callsigns in Japan. Each callsign, using the English alphabet, began with the letters PI, standing rather obviously for Philippine Islands, followed by two additional letters. The 3rd letter in the callsign indicated the sequence in which the station was established and the final 4th letter indicated the city.
Some of these callsigns were as follows:-
PIBC Philippine Islands B = 2nd station C = Cebu
PICD Philippine Islands C = 3rd station D = Davao
PIDI Philippine Islands D = 4th station I = Iloilo
Additional mediumwave stations were installed in five other cities:-
Also Naga, Baguio, Zamboanga, Cotabato, Legaspi
Projected but never installed Tuguegarao
Programming from these mediumwave stations was presented in five different languages:-
Tagalog (ta-GAH-log), Spanish, English, Ilonggo, Cebuano, Japanese
Japanese programming also included language lessons, How to Learn Japanese
In Manila itself, the callsign of the main network station was changed on October 14, 1943 from KZRH to PIAM. This was the ceremonial date for Philippine independence. Program details were printed daily in the Manila Tribune. The meaning of the Manila callsign was as follows:-
PIAM Philippine Islands A = 1st station M = Manila
On shortwave, the callsign in use for international radio programming via the revived KZRH-PIAM was PIRN:-
PIRN Philippine Islands R = Radio N = Nippon
Other programming from the Philippine radio stations was an off air direct relay on shortwave from Radio Tokyo in Japan. At one stage, the Philippine stations were under the administrative control of the larger and more powerful Radio Shonan in Singapore. The final broadcast from station PIAM in Manila was at the end of the year, December 30, 1944.
There was an interesting clandestine station on the air in the Philippines during the Japanese era. A man by the name of Malonzo stole goods from Japanese warehouses and sold them on the black market. With this illicit money he bought radio equipment and placed a clandestine station on the air. This station, mobile in nature, moved around Manila to avoid detection. It was heard in the United States and it was acknowledged in a broadcast from shortwave KGEI in California.
Shortwave station KZRH in Manila, under the Japanese callsigns PIAM and PIRN, was heard quite regularly in Australia, New Zealand and also over in the United States. Two shortwave channels were in use, 9640 & 11600 kHz, sometimes in parallel. The station identified on air as The Voice of the New Philippines.
It is reported that the only shortwave communication station in the Philippine Islands that was renovated and in use under the Japanese administration was Globe Wireless. Globe Wireless in Manila began as Dollaradio in 1929, and the name was officially changed to Globe Radio in 1934.
Thus, the Japanese era of radio broadcasting in the Philippines stretched from the beginning of the year 1942 until the end of the year 1944, a total of almost three years. As far as we know, no QSLs were ever issued from any of these stations during the era of Japanese control.
* Program Announcement - 08:30
Allen Graham HCJB
* International DX News- 09:23
Shortwave Items in Radio World
Two recent issues of the American radio publication, Radio World, contained three items of interest to the international radio monitor. Radio World for January 15 contained a two page article with illustrations under the title, "Spy Numbers Stations Still Enthrall". This article by Christopher Friesen briefly outlines the history of the intriguing Spy Numbers Stations, together with information on their current status.
The illustrations show an actual Number Pad as used for encrypting and deciphering the numbers messages that are heard from one of the Spy Numbers Stations on shortwave; and another illustration shows an aerial photo in color of the antenna field at an alleged Spy Numbers Station in Cuba.
The front page of the March 1 issue of Radio World presents a color photo of the Voice of America relay station located at Delano in California. This station was constructed in 1944 and it was closed in September 2007. In an update by writer James O'Neal, it is stated that the property is available for purchase and it will sold to the highest bidder.
In another article in the same March 1 issue, radio history researcher John Schneider presents the story "When CBS Got Serious About Shortwave". A large photo shows the 10 kW shortwave transmitter at prewar W2XE-WCBX at the time when it was located at Wayne New Jersey.
England Acknowledges the Value of Mediumwave Radio
The January issue of RadioMaailma from Finland states that the FM band is no longer available for new radio broadcasting stations in a dozen or more of the large cities in England due to the fact that no open frequencies are available. Because the FM band is completely full in their largest cities, new applicants for radio broadcasting stations are making request for mediumwave channels.
Shortwave Relay Fills in Fire Damaged Studio to Transmitter Links
A historic item found in the June 1940 issue of Radex magazine in the United States informs us that a fire on February 23, 1940, destroyed the telephone cable linking the studios of mediumwave stations WRC and WOL in Washington DC with their respective mediumwave transmitters. Station WOL left the air until the cable was repaired, but station WRC implemented the usage of a mobile shortwave transmitter WNBU on 2580 kHz as the program link, though it is stated that the on air quality was poor.
Canada Loses its Shortwave Towers
A news item in the Australian DX News for March tells the story of the demolition of the shortwave towers at Radio Canada International near Sackville in New Brunswick. This station was constructed during World War 2 as a possible back-up site for BBC programming if the shortwave stations in England were destroyed, and it was closed just last October. It is anticipated that the tear down of the antenna towers will take several months.
Recent Developments at Adventist World Radio
An advertising folder from Adventist World Radio states that more than 150 local radio stations in the areas of Central & South America are affiliated with the AWR Worldwide System. These stations are on the air in the AM, FM and shortwave bands and they are located in a total of 18 different island and mainland countries.
Four new radio studios are under construction in China for the production of radio programming that will be broadcast on shortwave from the facilities of Adventist World Radio. This programming will also be available for electronic download from the AWR website.
New QSL Card from PCJ International
The noted international radio monitor in Colombo Sri Lanka, Victor Goonetilleke has been honored in a new QSL card issued by PCJ International in Taipei, Taiwan. Victor is the Frequency Manager for PCJ and his photo appears on the picture side of the QSL card. Station PCJ is an international commercial station owned and operated by Canadian born Keith Perron and his programming is heard locally in Taiwan as well as international on shortwave.
PCJ heard via relay from SLBC, WRMI & Media Broadcast
New weekly news broadcast from Famagusta Gazette Cyprus via WRMI, beginning April 23
* Australian DX Report - 16:00
Bob Padula
* Music of the World - 26:49
American folk music: The Okeechobee Song, instrumental & vocal
* Closing Announcement - 27:23
Thanks for listening to "Wavescan", international DX program from Adventist World Radio
Researched and written in Indianapolis
Next week:-
1. The Story of the BBC Central Mediterranean Relay Station Malta
2. Book Review: The History of Radio Pakistan
3. Japan 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 - 28:11
* Program Ends - 28:55
