Sunday, December 28, 2014

Wavescan NWS305



* Opening Theme Music - 00:00
            Youtube: Malaysia Truly Asia with Yuna vocal & orchestral

* Opening Announcement - 00:59
            Welcome to Wavescan, international DX program from Adventist World Radio
            Give New Year greetings
            Researched and written in Indianapolis, produced in studios of shortwave WRMI
            Program outline
                        1. Focus on Asia: The Philippine Radio Story - 8: Press Wireless Returns to the Air
                        2. International DX News
                        3. Australian DX Report
                        3. Special QSL of the Week: Emergency Transmitter in the Andaman Islands

* Focus on Asia: The Philippine Radio Story - 8: Press Wireless Returns to the Air - 02:02
            As the opening feature in our program today, we make a return visit to the Philippines.  This is the final feature in our year long series under the title Focus on Asia.  Next year, we are planning to present a year long series of topics under the new title, Focus on the South Pacific.  Even so from time to time, we will still present interesting topics regarding the fascinating historic backgrounds of other radio stations, large and small, in other parts of the world.  
            On this occasion, we pick up the Philippine story towards the end of the Pacific War at the time when American forces made a return visit to the Philippines.  That was towards the end of the climactic year 1944. 
            But first though, lets go back to the year 1929, and that was when the American news and radio organization, Press Wireless Inc, PWI was formed.  At that time, a powerful group of news organizations in the United States established PWI in an endeavor to improve the flow of news information into and out of the United States.
            At the time, radio was quite young, and the concept of international broadcasting on shortwave was just beginning.  Thus it was that PWI began to establish their own network of communication stations around the world; in some countries they installed their own shortwave communication stations and in others they utilized the facilities of already established stations.  PWI also began to manufacture their own transmitters and associated electronic equipment.
            The first communication station established by PWI was licensed under the callsign WJK and it was established at Needham in suburban Boston in 1930.  This station at this era operated as a longwave station and it communicated with a longwave station in Halifax Nova Scotia that was receiving a news flow from a longwave Post Office station in England.
             It is probable that the London end of this news link wireless network was at Rugby, with either of the two longwave transmitters, GBT or GBY.  It is known that the Halifax station was operated by the American Publishers Committee and it was installed at the British cable station at St. Margarets Bay.  An earlier temporary station had been located at Dartmouth, across the bay from Halifax.  
            Station WJK, with its receiving and transmitting facilities, circumvented the expensive landline costs from Nova Scotia into the United States, and it also overcame the usual delay in transmission over the landline system.  In addition, there were occasions when longwave WJK was able to communicate directly with London, thus making the relay of news messages via Halifax unnecessary.
            Then in 1932, PWI began construction of their massive shortwave station located near Hicksville on Long Island together with their nearby receiver station at Long Neck.  At the height of its activity, PWI Hicksville was operating a total of 28 shortwave transmitters ranging in power from ½ kW up to 100 kW, together with a bevy of antenna systems beamed on Europe and Latin America.
            It would appear that the lone station WJK at Needham in Massachusetts was a temporary unit that closed when Hicksville became fully operational.  Hicksville itself was closed in 1957 when another more modern station at Centereach was inaugurated.
            The first PWI wireless factory was opened in the late 1930s at West Newton in Massachusetts.  Then, in 1941 a new and additional factory was opened at Hicksville in association with their shortwave communication station.  During the war years, their famous 40 kW PWI shortwave transmitter was manufactured in quantity and these units were installed at many different locations in many different countries around the world.
            Press Wireless entered the Philippines in 1933; they opened an office in downtown Manila and they installed a shortwave station on the edge of Manila.  Two years later, PWI Manila was amalgamated with two other international news agencies and the combined organization was registered as Globe-Mackay Cable & Radio with offices and a studio building in Manila. 
            The entire facility in the Philippines was shut down in late December 1941 as Japanese forces began closing in on Manila.  American forces deliberately destroyed all of these press radio facilities in Manila on December 26, 29 and 30.
            Three years later, Press Wireless returned to the Philippines with a contingent of personnel and equipment at the time of the MacArthur return invasion.  Two PWI sub-units, identified as PZ & PY, had been formed at Hollandia on the north coast of the island of New Guinea and they were shipped into the Philippines as part of the massive invasion fleet.
            The PZ party installed a radio communication facility at what was described at the time as a secret location, though subsequently it is known that it was located at Tacloban on the island of Leyte. The studio for PWI station PZ was installed in a warehouse just opposite the MacArthur headquarters, and the transmitters were installed in a nearby sandbagged bunker, together with MacArthurs military transmitters.
            The PWI shortwave transmitter PZ with 400 watts was voice capable, though usually it was on the air with high speed Morse Code transmissions via a Boehme speed sender.  Callsigns in use at PWI Tacloban ran from PZ1 up to PZ9, according to frequency. 
            The inaugural news transmission from PWI PZ took place on November 14, 1944 and it was received by the new PWI shortwave station on the edge of Los Angeles in California.  Station PZ also acted as an intermediate relay for the transfer of news reports in Morse Code from the auxiliary ship FP47 for reception in Los Angeles.
            The PWI shortwave station at Tacloban was not a mobile station installed in a group of army trucks, though it could be removed and re-installed at another location quite speedily.  On February 28 of the following year (1945) PWI PZ in Tacloban was closed down, and the equipment was then transferred to Manila; and thats where we pick up this story on the next occasion.  

* NWS Special Theme - 08:57
            Youtube: Malaysia Truly Asia with Yuna vocal & orchestral

* Program Announcement - 09:20
            Allen Graham

* International DX News - 10:15
            REE Spain returns to the air shortwave

* Australian DX Report - 14:13

* SQOTW21 Special QSL of the Week: Emergency Transmitter Andaman Islands - 22:01
            As our special QSL of the week, Jose Jacob VU2JOS in Hyderabad India tells us about a special low power emergency transmission he heard from the All India mediumwave station located in the Andaman Islands at Port Blair.  He heard this AIR transmission on 1440 kHz from his home in Hyderabad in the early morning of November 12, 1942.
             In response to his reception report, Jose states that he received a friendly letter from the Assistant Engineer who explained that this low power 1 kW transmitter was on the air only for emergency occasions.  This transmitter was located in the studio building in Port Blair, and the regular high powered mediumwave transmitter with 100 kW on 684 kHz is located several miles out of town.  The low power transmitter was also used when needed as a studio to transmitter link.
            Jose also states that the low powered 1440 kHz unit is no longer in use and has been removed from service.  On an earlier visit to the Andaman Islands for emergency relief communications, Jose states that he saw this unit when it was in regular use for AIR mediumwave programming.

* Music of the World - 23:21
            Youtube: Malaysia Truly Asia with Yuna vocal & orchestral

* Closing Announcement - 24:07
            Thanks for listening to Wavescan, international DX program from Adventist World Radio
            Researched and written in Indianapolis
            Next year: Focus on the South Pacific
            Next week:-
                        1. We begin the New Year with the story of the American radio station on the French                                            island of New Caledonia                    
                        2. The Story of Australian Shortwave Callsigns - VLA
                        3. Japan DX Report
                        4. SQOTW22 Special QSL of the Week: Cyclone Emergency in Australia
            Several QSL cards available.  Send your AWR & KSDA reception reports for Wavescan to the                            AWR address in Indianapolis; and also to the station your radio is tuned to: WRMI or                                 WWCR or KVOH, or to the AWR relay stations that carry Wavescan.  Remember too,                             you can send a reception report to each of the DX reporters when their segment is on                          the air here in Wavescan: Japan, Bangladesh, Philippines, Australia & India.  They will                             verify with a colorful QSL card.  Return postage and an address label are always                                            appreciated.
            Wavescan address:-
                        Box 29235
                        Indianapolis
                        Indiana 46229 USA
            Wavescan @ AWR.org
            Give New Year greetings
                        Thanks to staff, reporters, stations, NWS personnel
            Jeff White, shortwave WRMI
* Music Outrun - 23:21

* Program Ends - 28:55

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Wavescan NWS304



* Theme - 00:00
            “Birthday Serenade - Willi Glahe

* Opening Announcement - 00:15
            Welcome to Wavescan, international DX program from Adventist World Radio
            Give Christmas greetings
            Researched and written in Indianapolis, produced in studios of shortwave WRMI
            Program outline
                        1. Christmas Island Adventure - 2: The Radio Broadcasting Scene
                        2. Polynesian Christmas - Part 3
                        3. International DX News
                        4. Special QSL of the Week: Christmas Island Radio Beacon XMX

* Christmas Island Adventure - 2: The Radio Broadcasting Scene - 01:04
            Here in Wavescan last week, we presented the story of the early wireless and radio years on Christmas Island, the Australian island in the Indian Ocean.  That topic took us up to the war years in the middle of last century.  In our program today, we continue this Christmas Island saga with information subsequent to the war years, and in particular, the radio broadcasting scene on this lonely and isolated island. 
            The Australian Christmas Island lies off the coast of Indonesia, some 300 miles south of the island of Java.  The only radio station on Christmas Island at the time of the Pacific War was destroyed in the Japanese invasion in 1942.  Perhaps the Japanese also installed a wireless communication station on the island during their more than three years of occupation, though there is no known information regarding this possibility.            
            In the developmental years after the end of World War 2, a new communication station was installed on Christmas Island, though dates and information are uncertain.  Perhaps it was under the British after the war, or perhaps it was under the Australians after the island was transferred to Australian jurisdiction in 1957. 
            However, when the new station was installed, it was still in some way associated with the British Phosphate Commission, though the known callsign was not a British callsign, but rather an Australian callsign towards the end of the VL series, VLU.  In 1960, the British Phosphate callsign for shipping was also an Australian callsign, towards the end of the VI series, VIY.  This callsign VIY had been in use a hundred years earlier for a spark wireless station located at Mt. Gambier in South Australia.
            According to a report in the October 1961 issue of the Australian monthly magazine, Radio & Hobbies, the Voice of America conducted a feasibility test transmission on Christmas Island in an endeavor to ascertain the suitability of the location for a large shortwave station to broadcast into Asia.          This report came from the noted international radio monitor in New Zealand, Arthur Cushen.  However, though this short report seems to indicate that transmission tests were made, it is not known as to whether the Voice of America imported their own transmitter for the tests, or whether the available low powered VLU was used for this purpose.
            In 1965, the resident Communication Engineer diverted the usage of a radio-telephone communication transmitter and he broadcast music and information for the benefit of local residents.  Initially this program service in the mediumwave band was on the air without callsign.
            On September 1, 1967, the radio broadcasting service was officially inaugurated under the subsidiary callsign VLU2, with 500 watts on 1420 kHz.  Apparently a new transmitter was installed for this purpose. 
            Programming was in three languages: English, Malay and Chinese.  Usually the transmitter was left on the air with an open carrier outside programming hours so that local residents could be alerted to any important information, including shipping and aircraft movements.
            A new solid state transmitter was installed in 1978, with three units at 125 kHz each.  Any two of these units could be combined to provide an output power of 250 watts.  In November of that same year (1978), the VLU2 transmitter was modified to conform to the new international 9 kHz spacing, and the operating frequency was changed from 1420 kHz to 1422 kHz.
            Over the years, station VLU2 has also relayed programming from the BBC London, Radio Australia Melbourne, ABC Local Radio, and Radio Singapore International.  All of these program relays were taken live off the air shortwave.  Back at that time, the Radio Australia relay station near Carnarvon in Western Australia propagated an excellent signal into Christmas Island, and likewise the old regional shortwave station VLW at Wanneroo could also be heard at a good level on the island.  
            The VLU2 entries in the World Radio TV Handbook indicate that the studios of the local mediumwave station have always been located at Lower Drumsite, and the transmitter at Phosphate Hill, both sites quite near to the main settlements at the north coast of the island.  The studios and offices for mediumwave VLU2 are located in the Radio Building on Murray Road.
            Interestingly, there was one attempt at a shortwave relay from Christmas Island, and this took place under the concept of a Nordic DX Test in 1991.  At the request of a northern European DX club, a relay from mediumwave VLU2 was carried live on shortwave VLU with 150 watts SSB single side band on 11765 kHz.  There are no known reception reports of this special broadcast on shortwave.  The request for this special broadcast was lodged by Gordon Darling and it was announced by Andy Sennitt in Media Network from Radio Netherlands. 
            In 1972, serious consideration was given for the second time to the possibility of installing a large international shortwave station on Christmas Island.  On this occasion, the concept was mooted by the British government, though both the BBC London and Radio Australia participated in a preliminary feasibility study.
            The BBC was interested in installing a total of 21 shortwave transmitters, each at a power of 250 kW, together with a massive array of antennas, and an associated system of electric power generators.  The BBC suggested that Radio Australia could use up to 14 transmitters at any one time with the only cost, just paying for the electricity. 
            At that time, the lease for the BBC Relay Station at Tebrau in Malaysia was soon to expire, and the BBC needed a new transmitter location.  In addition, Singapore was interested in establishing a steel mill and a cement works on Christmas Island.  However, due to the exorbitant costs associated with the entire super station project, this massive shortwave station never progressed beyond the planning stage.  Instead an alternate location at Kanji in Singapore was chosen.   
            Both FM radio and downlink TV came to Christmas Island more than ten years ago, and these days there are six low powered FM stations on the air with a relay of ABC and commercial programming from Perth in Western Australia.  Likewise, there are five different TV channels on the air from low powered downlink relay stations at three different locations near the settlement areas; Drumsite, Phosphate Hill and Rocky Point.
            Back in December 2003, a Melbourne commercial company obtained a license for a mediumwave commercial broadcasting station on Christmas Island, identified as VZB804 with 400 watts on 1620 kHz.  However, it would appear that this station was never installed.  A longwave aircraft radio beacon is on the air on Christmas Island, XMX with 100 watts on 341 kHz.  This low powered beacon is sometimes heard in Australia. 
            Then around five years ago, the usage of the nostalgic mediumwave callsign came to an end, and VLU2 was allotted an Australian callsign 6ABCRN, indicating ABC Radio National in Western Australia.  Thus, the end of another radio era!

* International DX News - 09:30
            KVOH procures Christian Voice in Zambia, Africa
                        150 acres, 12 buildings
                        2 Continental transmitters @ 100 kW
                        2 TCI high gain long range antennas
            REE Spain, closed on October 15, is to be reactivated during December

* Program Announcement - 13:19
            Allen Graham

* Polynesian Christmas - Part  3 - 14:11
            Next Thursday is Christmas Day, and once again, we wish you all Seasons Greetings and every happiness for the Christmas season.  In our program today, we again present a broadcast from Radio New Zealand International, under the title Polynesian Christmas - Part 3.  This program was originally broadcast in New Zealand during the Christmas season back in the year 2006, and we present it here in Wavescan today by courtesy of David Ricquish at Radio Heritage in Wellington, and Adrian Sainsbury at Radio New Zealand International.  Part 1 and Part 2 of this recording from New Zealand have been presented here in Wavescan on previous occasions. 
            David Ricquish formerly served as the Consul in Los Angeles California, representing the government of New Zealand; and his wife, Jo del Monaco, is a member of the royal family in Monte Carlo over there in Europe.  We might add, that you will notice that Jo del Monaco is fluent in several European languages.
            Here now is Polynesian Christmas - Part 3,  from Radio New Zealand International.

     SPP12 - RNZI15c: Polynesian Christmas
            00:00               Theme music
                                    Mailbox intro  
                                    Silent Night music
                                    Weather forecast
                                    . . . . good conditions over Christmas.
            03:40   03:40   Cut

            24:25               Jo del Monaco, Christmas greetings, Portuguese
                                                South American locations mentioned
                                    Christmas song, same language, male singer, guitar, orchestra
                                    Jo del Monaco, Christmas greetings Italian
                                                European locations mentioned
                                    Christmas song, English, USA locations mentioned in song
                                    David Ricquish & Polynesian girl, Christmas greetings
                                    Adrian Sainsbury, greetings
                                    RNZI Mailbox theme
            33:10   8:45     Maximum
            Total  12:25     Maximum: If this item is too long, then cut or fade at any stage as needed.

* SQOTW20 Special QSL of the Week: Christmas Island Radio Beacon XMX - 24:46
            On August 28, 1977, my wife and I were flying from Perth in Western Australia towards Indonesia on our way back for another term of service in Southern Asia.  As the large passenger airliner was nearing the islands of Indonesia, the Captain invited me into the Flight Deck and he gave me the use of one of the planes radio receivers.  I tuned to the longwave channel 341 kHz and heard the aircraft radio beacon with its beeps in Morse Code, identifying the letters XMX.
            I sent a reception report together with a do-it-yourself QSL card to the airport on isolated and lonely Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.  Exactly eleven years later, I received the previously prepared QSL card, duly signed and rubber stamped, together with a note acknowledging the delay.  The do-it-yourself prepared verification information was rubber stamped onto a large double folded card from Radio Australia, showing a Tiger Cat on the  picture side of the card.  The power of the air beacon transmitter on 341 kHz is shown as 100 watts.

* Music of the World - 26:03
            Bing Crosby: Hawaiian Christmas Song

* Closing Announcement - 26:21
            Thanks for listening to Wavescan, international DX program from Adventist World Radio
            Researched and written in Indianapolis
            Next week:-
                        1. The Philippine Radio Story - 8: Press Wireless Returns to the Air
                        2. WRMI Insert
                        3. Australian DX Report
            Several QSL cards available.  Send your AWR & KSDA reception reports for Wavescan to the                            AWR address in Indianapolis; and also to the station your radio is tuned to: WRMI or                                 WWCR or KVOH, or to the AWR relay stations that carry Wavescan.  Remember too,                             you can send a reception report to each of the DX reporters when their segment is on                          the air here in Wavescan: Japan, Bangladesh, Philippines, Australia & India.  They will                             verify with a colorful QSL card.  Return postage and an address label are always                                            appreciated.
            Wavescan address:-
                        Box 29235
                        Indianapolis
                        Indiana 46229 USA
            Wavescan @ AWR.org
            Jeff White, shortwave WRMI

* Music Outrun - 28:10


* Program Ends - 28:55

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Wavescan NWS303



* Theme - 00:00
            Special Music in place of theme
            Youtube: Jimmy Buffett, Christmas on Christmas Island
                        Begin at 00:20 seconds, thus omitting his introduction

* Opening Announcement - 00:20
            Welcome to Wavescan, international DX program from Adventist World Radio
            Researched and written in Indianapolis, produced in studios of shortwave WRMI
            Program outline
                        1. Christmas Island Adventure - 1: The Early Years
                        2. WRMI Open House, Interview
                        3. Philippine DX Report
                        4. Special QSL of the Week: Christmas Island VLU2

* Christmas Island Adventure - 1: The Early Years - 01:14
            In less than two weeks, it will be Christmas time again!  In honor of this coming happy occasion, we tell the interesting story, both this week and next week, about Christmas Island Radio.  Well, in reality, there are two islands named Christmas; one in the Indian Ocean and another in the Pacific Ocean.  However, on this occasion here in Wavescan, we take a visit into the Indian Ocean, not the Pacific, for Christmas Island Adventure.
            The island called Christmas is formed in the shape of a small terrier dog, looking eastward.  It is around twelve miles long and one mile wide, and it is located 185 miles from Java in Indonesia, and 870 miles from the nearest coastline of Australia.
            Christmas Island is the somewhat flat surface of an underwater mountain standing nearly three miles high and it is surrounded by almost impassable cliffs.  It is covered with dense jungle and the highest hill is a little over 1100 feet. 
            The island offers many exotic tourist attractions, including several unique and rare forms of biological species; more than 40 caves for exploration; and wild and winding trails for walking and trailing.  The general population of permanent residents is a little over 2,000, though there is at times an influx of service personnel as required on the local scene.  The only settlements of housing and industry are small areas located on the north coast nearby to the only suitable oceanside anchorage at Flying Fish Cove.
            The most notable tourist attraction is the annual migration of the notorious Red Crab.  This remarkable event takes place soon after the beginning of the annual rainy season, usually in October or November, according to the phases of the moon and the need for a high tide. 
            It is estimated that as many as a million of these Red Crabs migrate over well worn routes from the jungle to the edge of the ocean every year.   Local authorities have constructed bridges and tunnels in some places so that the crabs can reach the ocean without crossing the actual roadway surface.  When the crabs are moving, they will attempt to climb any obstruction and they will enter housing and buildings.  If a car runs over any of these crabs, their sharp claws can puncture the rubber tires.   
            The history of Christmas Island can be traced back to the year 1643, when Captain William Mynors aboard the East India ship Royal Mary sailed past the island on Christmas Day and gave it the now recognized name.  In March 1688, the English explorer William Dampier hove to at Dales on the west coast and two of his crewmen went ashore as the first Europeans to set foot on the island.  The island was uninhabited at the time.
            Exactly 200 years later, Christmas Island was annexed by England in order to mine the extensive phosphate deposits near the north coast.  The first settlement was established at Flying Fish Cove by Mr. G. Clunies Ross who wanted timber and other supplies for his settlement on Cocos Island, which he also owned.  Subsequently, John D. Murray, who at the time was a recent graduate from Purdue University in West Lafayette Indiana, settled on Christmas Island and was sometimes honored as the king of Christmas Island. 
            The island was originally administered from the Colonial Office in London, subsequently by the Straits Settlements office in Singapore, and then after World War 2 the island was taken over by the Australian government.  Today, the two islands, Christmas and Cocos, are administered as a single Australian unit from the government office on Christmas Island.
            The first listing of a wireless station on Christmas Island is shown for the year 1924, when a station was on the air at the Phosphate Companys  factory near Flying Fish Cove.  This station, with probably a valve equipped transmitter, was licensed under the callsign VSM.
            In 1936, Mr. J. C. Baker began employment on Christmas Island as the Radio Officer.  It would appear that he was serving with a new government station replacing the previous commercially owned and operated station.   This new station was a low powered operation for communication with Singapore.  The callsign on Christmas Island is not known, though it was probably licensed with a Royal Navy callsign beginning with the letter G.
            At the time of the tragic and disastrous firefight in the Indian Ocean between the German HSK Kormoran and the Australian HMAS Sydney during World War 2, Christmas Island Radio was unaware of the event.  This wartime encounter on the high seas took place 2,000 miles to the south of Christmas Island on Wednesday November 19, 1941. 
            However, nearly three months later, a small lifeboat floated ashore at Christmas Island on February 6 of the following year (1942).  Among those who officially examined the body of the dead sailor on the lifeboat was the Radio Operator Baker.  It is understood that the dead sailor had been the only possible survivor of the Sydney-Kormoran" encounter.
            Five days later, on February 6, Christmas Island Radio lost contact with Singapore Radio at the time of the Japanese invasion of the Malay island.  Some six weeks later, on March 31, a dozen Japanese bombers attacked the settlements on Christmas Island, and they also destroyed the communication radio transmitter station.  However, Radio Officer Baker and his wife had been evacuated by boat to Perth in Western Australia during the previous week.  The surviving radio operators building on Murray Road, Settlement, is now included in the Australian Heritage List.
            One week after the bombing raid, Japanese armed personnel took over the island which they held precariously for around 3½ years.  The Royal Navy ship HMS Rother reclaimed they island for the Great Britain soon after the end of the war, in October 1945.
            More on the Christmas Island radio scene here in Wavescan next week.

     Audio Insert
            Jimmy Buffett, Christmas on Christmas Island

* WRMI Open House - 08:15
            Interview: Value of Shortwave

* Program Announcement - 19:04
            Allen Graham

* Philippine DX Report - 19:56
            Henry Umadhay

* SQOTW19 Special QSL of the Week: Christmas Island Radio VLU2 - 23:27
            On many occasions back 30 and 40 years ago, I endeavored without success to tune in to the lower powered mediumwave station VLU2 located on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean.  During that era, we as a family were on service in the various countries of Southern Asia, and my travels took me to many different exotic locations.  While at these different locations, such as in Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Maldive Islands, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, I tuned my radio receiver to the desired 1420 kHz, but alas, never a signal from the distant mediumwave station VLU2.
            However, during a visit to Carnarvon on the central west coast in Western Australia in 1977, I tried again.  During the day, I had visited the (now defunct) Radio Australia shortwave station a few miles out of town, and in the evening I took accommodation in a wooden hotel near the shoreline of the Indian Ocean.
            Around sunset on that memorable day August 23 (1977), in came a good signal from VLU2 on 1500 mile distant Christmas Island with 500 watts on 1420 kHz.  But, would you know it, my trusty Grundig Satellit radio developed an intermittent problem, thus spoiling the reception of this exotic and highly desired radio station.  It seems that a dried-out condenser was causing the intermittent reception, a problem which seems to have been a consistent difficulty with their receivers back in that era.  Nevertheless, in spite of the receiver problem, enough programming was heard in order to write a good reception report.
            In due course, a response was received from station VLU2, a nice long letter from Nick Bosely, the Assistant Broadcast Officer together with my do-it-yourself prepared QSL card, duly signed and rubber stamped.  Due to its isolation, it can be assumed that very few QSLs have ever been sent out from the radio broadcasting station located on lonely Christmas Island.

* Music of the World - 25:43
            Puerto Rico: Jingle Bells Spanish Version, group vocal & instrumental

* Closing Announcement - 26:17
            Thanks for listening to Wavescan, international DX program from Adventist World Radio
            Researched and written in Indianapolis
            Next week:-
                        1. Christmas Island Adventure - 2: The Radio Broadcasting Scene
                        2. WRMI Insert
                        3. A Regular DX Report
            Several QSL cards available.  Send your AWR & KSDA reception reports for Wavescan to the                            AWR address in Indianapolis; and also to the station your radio is tuned to: WRMI or                                 WWCR or KVOH, or to the AWR relay stations that carry Wavescan.  Remember too,                             you can send a reception report to each of the DX reporters when their segment is on                          the air here in Wavescan: Japan, Bangladesh, Philippines, Australia & India.  They will                             verify with a colorful QSL card.  Return postage and an address label are always                                            appreciated.
            Wavescan address:-
                        Box 29235
                        Indianapolis
                        Indiana 46229 USA
            Wavescan @ AWR.org
            Jeff White, shortwave WRMI

* Music Outrun - 27:54


* Program Ends - 28:55