Media Network Vintage Vault 2018-2019

The programme was recorded in 1982 after the first stone laying ceremony on the site of the new transmitter site for Radio Netherlands on the Flevo polder. I remember it well because the fog came down that day and it was almost impossible for the coach to find its way back to the road. The Flevo polder wasn't as developed as it is today. The late Joop Acda, then DG of Radio Nederland Wereldomroep, explains the thinking behind the new station. Jim Vastenhoud, Director of Technical Services, talks about energy saving technology to reduce the collosal power bill. Four 500 kW transmitters used 3.2 Megawatts of energy from the mains.

A new time signal station has appeared on 6450 kHz operated by the Australian Navy, replacing the service that has been provided until now by VNG.  Paul Ballster reports power cuts to both BBC domestic and commercial networks. BBC has trouble restoring power to its 648 kHz service in Oxfordness. Shortwave radio stations used to get a huge postbag before email made correspondence so much easier. The bulk of the mail was often a request for a QSL card or a programme schedule. Can correspondence with Eastern European stations in 1987 get you in trouble with Western authorities? Austrian Radio (ORF) has discovered that they have to send letters to listeners in the GDR with a handwritten envelope. Remember Earl Hunter of Radio Morania? (a parody creation from Kim Andrew Eliott) Tony Hackley at the real VOA reports an upward surge in mail response. Graham Mytton of the BBC IBAR says listeners get the best chance of an answer by writing in English. Least likely is Hindi! At Radio Australia they make sure the letter

Media Network didn't only cover broadcast technology. Occasionally we ventured into other areas where radio played a role, like radio astronomy. It was an opportunity to visit the only radio telescope facility in the Netherlands at Westerbork.  This programme from 1986 also includes the voice of Arthur Cushen and Fred Osterman of Universal Electronics in Reynoldsburg, Ohio. 

This programme revisited a recurring topic; what is the future of radio? In 1999 it was clearly going to be DAB as well as the web. In other words we thought it was going to hybrid back then. This edition of the programme looked at major changes rumoured at the BBC World Service as well as Radio France Internationale. Radio Netherlands Bonaire relay station has been having delay problems. Jim Cutler also has the dig-deeper jingle which always brings a smile. I believe this is yet another example of how Radio Netherlands made maximum use of the resources sent in by its community of listeners. They were not letter writers, they were collaborators. The photo below shows the digital editors (Dalet) that we used to produce the programme on. 

At the end of 1999 I made a trip to Australia and New Zealand. This programme includes an interview with Adrian Sainsbury, the technical frequency engineer at Radio New Zealand International. Feels like yesterday. The photo shows Adrian when I met him on that trip to Auckland.

Despite the fact that ham radio is over 100 years old, this hobby was still very much alive in 1999. About 15,000 people in The Netherlands had a radio ham licence. The many aspects of this fascinating hobby are highlighted in this museum, which now even has a DIY corner for the youngest soon-to-be amateur radio operators.   Diana Janssen and I were at the opening of this museum in Budel in February of 1999. As of February 2014 I'm pleased to report  is still there, open twice a month. 

This news edition of the programme discussed your letters. We caught up on peace keeping radio, and the sale of Harry Helms shortwave website. In his farewell message, Harry predicted the demise of shortwave radio because they didn't understand the communications business. Of course, he was right. Fast and cheap web access is going each shortwave's lunch. We also had receiver news about Grundig. Grundig used to be a daughter organisation of Philips.

This edition ot the programme recalled the old and new versions of the Radio Ham sketch made famous by British comedian Tony Hancock. Later re-recorded by Paul Merton and released in 1997. We also reviewed a new program called EuroDx from Jan Nieuwenhuis.  There's also the annual Media Quiz context with Jim Cutler. Don't try those numbers or email addresses today though. Lou Josephs has been looking at push content technology. Philips was putting a lot of money into Web TV. Love those descriptions of high-speed technology. 

It was someone's birthday during this show in 1999. Can't recall who. I do remember the feature on broadcasting in Congo from the late Richard Ginbey. I don't believe anyone had such a more complete collection of off-air recordings. 

This programme includes a contribution from Richard Jackson who was working in Bangkok at the time and updated us on what the radio scene sounded like at the start of the new Millennium. Thai radio was always difficult to hear in Europe. Now, many of the stations are available on the web. Like Radio Thailand's English Service. The  looks like they haven't redesigned the site since we made this programme. The photo in the blog is of the BBC shortwave relay station a few years back when it want under water due to flooding.

I remember driving to Radio Kootwijk for the final farewell of Scheveningen Radio on shortwave. It was ironic because the satellite video link broke down during the ceremony. This was the first show in 1999.

In 1999, there was a lot of interest in listening to satellite transmissions and trying to overhear analogue links that probably were not meant for public consumption. In this edition of Media Network we talked to Dr Dish, a German satellite specialist who gave several insights in what could be done in those days. This is another episode on the Media Network radio series that ran from 1980-2000 and is scheduled to resume transmission shortly.  

Very much an "island" edition of Media Network. A station in Anguilla was testing and we talked to Barry Ferber, and Australian radio consultant who went in to Radio Fiji to shake things up. There's another chance to hear Jim Cutler's impossible radio contest. Martin Roos opens Talk Radio on 1395 kHz from Holland. VOA Europe now becomes VOA Express.  

Found this Media Network edition from November 1992 in which we incorporated a story from Rosella Strom who'd been visiting Vatican Radio. I will always remember the bumper sticker slogan at that time - Vatican Radio - Listen for Heaven's Sake.

This was Media Network edition 749. And this time we review the Sony ICFSW40 and the Grundig Yacht Boy 360. We looked at the subject of diversity in the Dutch media. Arthur Cushen has the Pacific media news and Mike Bird has the propagation outlook. 

The photo shows the BBC Czech service which I visited on one of my many trips to Prague long after this edition of Media Network was made. This was almost two years after the Velvet revoltion and changes were afoot at Radio Prague as well as the Czech radio domestic service. We also talk to Bob Horvitz, formerly of ANARC, now resident in Prague. 

A Media Network news edition from early November 1992 when we called up Radio Australia to find out why they were launching a service targeting listeners in Cambodia. Nick Meanwell has news about how All India Radio plans to use shortwave to serve audiences in Asia. Radio Miami International WRMI starts testing. Radio Netherlands is hiring 17 frequency hours a day via Russian transmitters as part of an expansion. David Ward in Norwich thinks that something should replace the International Listening Guide which has disappeared. We also hear the challenges facing visually handicapped shortwave listeners. Philips has designed a set of low-energy Christmas lights for the Lopik transmitter site. Radio France Internationale is expanding with a 6% increase in its budget. RFI is also adding Cambodian language broadcasts.

This Media Network from November 1999 includes a fascinating interview with Aidan White (pictured) who at that time worked for the Brussels based International Federation of Journalists. He discusses what goes wrong when governments control the radio waves, especially in politically instable regions like the Balkans. We also hear more Memories of the Millennium, recollections of listening in the 20th century sent in by Media Network listeners. We learn about the discussion that the BBC should cover adverts. Henry Stokes, writes from Green Bay and notes that films no longer have radio in their theme. He notes that the recent film "Jakob the Liar" staring Robin Williams. In Nazi occupied Poland, poor Jewish café owner Jakob (Robin Williams) overhears a forbidden radio news bulletin signaling Soviet military victories against German forces. To raise the spirits of those in the ghetto, Jakob relays fictitious news bulletins.  We also hear about the how the impact radio made on a shortwave listener in China.   An

This early edition of Media Network included the story of how a TV show in the Netherlands blocked the phone lines when it asked for viewer response, we review the book Border Radio about the high power stations from across the US-Mexican border and (the late) David Monson previews the Antwerp EDXC Convention which he organised in Belgium. Actually, that was one of the most interesting European DX Council meetings I ever went to. David was incredibly chaotic, creative and an acomplished musician. He worked for several years hosting the programme Brussels Calling on BRT (not VRT) in Belgium. He should have had a producer! Thanks to Jinterwas for the photo os Antwerp Zoo. Check out .