My DX Archive: Autumn 1993

REPORTING From The Fox Tower takes you back to September 1993 as the starting point for more media memories, memories of radio broadcasts, mainly on Short Wave and Medium Wave. The Summer 1993 DX Archive can be found here. Before we begin, some housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz), MegaHertz (MHz) and/or metrebands (m). Logs transcribed from the original notes.

September 1993

• [Friday] 17 September [1993]: 1908 UTC: 6040 kHz: Voice of America 'Newsline' presented by Al Eagle [sic]. The crew of a US Space Shuttle are to collect a German telescope on Sunday. France's President Mitterrand was nearly the victim of a hitman in 1984. Man buys the home of artist Vincent van Gogh. News headlines read by Jim Herriot: Palestine & Middle East peace plan. Bosnian air lifts. Heads of state meet in Europe, concerning farming. British Nationalist Party (BNP) wins a seat in the UK.
• 17 September: 2012 UTC: 7300 / 7345 kHz: Radio Prague Press Review. Skoda Company miss out on cash help at London meeting. Prague public don't think there is life after death. Hosts: Olga Sumtavas and Suzanna Keovann.
• 17 September: 2110 UTC; 2116 to 2130 UTC: 9720 kHz: Radio Yugoslavia Strong to moderate reception. Details of the civil war peace plan. Financial news. Appeals for sanctions to be lifted. Harvest days festival on the Yugoslavia - Romania border. Radio Yugoslavia contact numbers: Fax: 3811-33-20-14, telephone: 3811-34-69-42.
• [Saturday] 18 September: 1458 UTC: 12095 kHz: BBC World Service 'SportsWorld' Football: Blackburn 0 - West Ham 1.
• 18 September: 1459 UTC: 13600 kHz: 22 metres; 100 kW broadcast. Radio Prague English to Middle East: News, From The Weeklies, Encounter.
• 18 September: 1535 UTC: 15625 kHz: Voice of Greece Political news: Russia's President Boris Yeltzin, News from Bosnia. PLO President Yasser Arafat spoke in an interview to a German magazine.

A sticker from the Radio Netherlands 'Happy Station' programme

October 1993

• 3 October: 1140 UTC: Radio Netherlands 'Happy Station' 65th Anniversary broadcasts, Tom Meyer to appear on 14 November 93. Competition: "Why do I listen on a Sunday?" 'Happy Station' Birthday T-shirt for winners. 'East of Edam': Radio Netherlands via satellite (World Radio Network), Transponder (channel) 22, Astra 1B satellite, 7.74 MHz, MTV Europe sound channel, broadcasts at 0930 & 1530 UTC.
• 3 October: 1312 to 1330 UTC: 11940 kHz / 25mBand: Radio Romania International Strong / Good to fair reception, propagation varies from slight to moderate. Listeners letters: Letters from England, including a letter from Blackpool, Lancashire. A letter concerning opera, sample of opera music, a letter from Finland.
• 3 October: 1403 - 1430 UTC, 1445 - 1500 UTC: 6295 kHz: Radio Caroline Moderate to poor reception, broadcast from Granville Docks, Dover, Chris Kennedy plays Jimi Hendrix, Fine Young Cannibals. 'Lola', 'Runaway Train', 'The Man Who Sold The World', Bonnie Raitt. Seagulls. Radio Caroline address: PO Box 963, London SW20 9XL
• [Saturday] 9 October: 1804 UTC: 6040 kHz: Voice of America News: Courthouses in Cairo are scenes of attacks. 32 Euro leaders meet in Vienna to discuss minority races in Europe, including the Welsh as an example. BCCI (Bank of Credit and Commerce International) executives go on trial in Abu Dhabi. Somalian warlord announces possible ceasefire. Boris Yeltzin announces reforms in Russia. Rob Sivek presents 'Agriculture Today': US National Biological Survey, US Agriculture Minister visits Japan.
• 9 October: 1832 UTC: 6065 kHz: Radio Sweden reports from a beer festival... Interview with the lieutenant of a boat which sails from Finland to Sweden and vice versa, interview with the navigator.
• 9 October: 1925 UTC: 9410 / 9750 kHz: BBC World Service Archeology feature programme. Animals sheltering in the shadows of dry stone walls, reporting from York. Anglo-Saxon helmet found by an excavator on site. Links to the excavations on the site of the Channel Tunnel.

• 29 October: 2315 UTC: 1458 kHz [Medium Wave]: BBC GLR (Greater London Radio) Announcement concerning closure of medium wave broadcasts on this frequency. Listeners can rejoin programmes on 94.9 MHz FM. Postal address: 35c Marylebone High Street, LONDON W1A 4LG (also heard 31 October, 1845 UTC). Telephone 071 224 2424

November 1993

• [Tuesday] 9 November: 2050 UTC: 873 kHz [Medium Wave]: American Public Radio - National Public Radio (NPR). Postal address: Washington DC 20036 USA Rock music by Aerosmith, promotion. News at 21 UTC: Sexual harassment in the workplace can be reduced. Medicine to relieve Alzheimer's Disease in women. Markets news. Protests about 'Living wills'. Senators [verbally] attack police, prisons, public laws over crime figures. Military news: Bosnian bridge destroyed by shelling. Weather report (Cloud, rain in UK). Sports news. 'Armed Forces Digest' at 2111 UTC, 'Jazz World' at 2130 UTC.
• 14 November: 1140 UTC: 5955 kHz: Radio Netherlands 'Happy Station' 65th Birthday broadcast, Pete Myers with 'Happy Station' introductions by Edward Startz (1928-1970) and Tom Meyer (1970-1992). Listeners' memories of Eddie Startz's 'Nice cup of tea'. Eddie was interviewed in the USA during World War II. Memories of the Tom Meyer era, Pete interviews Tom live in the studio. Tom sings a Jazz song "Easy Come, Easy Go".
• 14 November: 1918 UTC: 6105 kHz: Radio Romania International Questions and answers: Store shop keepers. 'Letterbox'. Broadcasting to Europe.
• 14 November: 1941 UTC: 6120 kHz: Radio Finland 'Compass North' discussing communism, the Finnish press, social workers, European co-operation, Russian elections. Weather news from Helsinki.
• 14 November: 20 UTC: 6110 kHz: Swiss Radio International to Western Europe. News: Israel-Palestine violence. Turkey & Israel agreement. Nigerian government talks with trade unions. Puerto Rico votes on independence from the USA. UN peace keepers find injured Croatian. Swiss Ambassador visits USA. 'Roundabout Switzerland'.

QSL verification from Polish Radio Warsaw, November 1993.

• 14 November: 2036 UTC: 6135 kHz: Polish Radio Warsaw Weekly request corner: Music by Chopin for listener in Philadelphia. Folk music for Antony Bowman, Blackpool, Lancashire. Rock music for 20 year old Lithuanian listener. Classical music for Phillip in Virginia, USA.
• 14 November: 2058 UTC: 6180 / 6195 kHz: BBC World Service Sports news on 'Europe Today': Wimbledon, Melbourne weightlifters win medals. New York Marathon. 'Newshour' at 21 UTC: Chinese economic reform, Nigeria, Puerto Rico.
• 21 November: 1210 UTC: 5955 kHz: Radio Netherlands Strong to good reception ["Weather here in the UK: Snow!"] 'Happy Station' on location in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. Pete Myers interviews a representative of the Bonaire Tourist Association. Caribbean music. Report from Flamingo airport by Pete. Jaime Báguena, Rosemarie Ninaber and Pete give last impressions of Bonaire. Next show is from Aruba.

Thank you for taking the time to revisit the autumn of 1993. If you intend to tune a radio over the course of 2018, may I take this opportunity to wish you good DX!

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