DX NOTES

New Zealand Listener, Volume 30, Issue 756, 15 January 1954, Page 9

DX NOTES

"HE British Broadcasting Corporation, the world’s best-known and most popular shortwave broadcaster, has just been celebrating the 21st anniversary of the beginning of its overseas service. On December 19, 1932, the Empire Service began ‘broadcasting news bulletins to the Pacific, Indian, African, West African and Canadian zones. The original service was meant to provide an English service to remote areas and a means of communication with local broadcasting services. ° Within a few weeks it was realised that Englishspeaking people all over the world were listenine to the service, but the main object of the service remained the building of fuller understanding among the peoples of the Commonwealth. Today the General Overseas Service-succes-sor of the Empire Service-is recognised as a valuable link between Britain and the rest of the Commonwealth. English was the only language used in overseas broadcasts up to the end of 1937. By this time other nations were operating shortwave stations, and in the interest of upholding British prestige, it was deécided to add more languages to. the BBC’s service. In 1938 services in Arabic (to the Middle East) and Spanish and Portuguese (to South America) were started. With world tension growing, a few hours before Mr. Chamber-

lain’s return from*Munich in September, 1938, the BBC started broadcasts in German, French and Italian. In 1939 the overseas and European services were expanded and broadcasts started to Spain and Portugal, and in Afrikaans. The BBC’s broadcasts during World War II are history. Today more than 40 different language services are still in operation, including a Russian service started in 1946. Postwar transmitting has been complicated by the need to counter Communist jamming of broadcasts to Eastern Europe. Two high-pawered shortwave stations and several of lower power began operating in 1951 in Southern Johore, in Malaya. The stationsknown as the British Far Eastern Broadcasting Service-are designed io improve the strength of BBC broadcasts to the East and Far East. Your Hit Parade The National Broadcasting Company’s popular Hit Perade programme is back on shortwave from the Armed Forces Radio Service at 10.30 p.m. on Thursdavs. Best freauencies are 9570 kcs., 9600 kés. and 9700 kes. (all 31metre band). The orchestra of Raymond Scott is featured. Brussels Good Brusse!s, Belgium, broadcasting to the Far East, Australia and New Zealand, is heard at good strength with interesting programmes from 10.0 p.m. daily on

17760 kcs. (16-metre band). Strength is’ better than most stations, on the band, the only louder signal being Ankara, Turkey, on 17820 kes.. broadcasting in Turkish to troops in Korea: Verifying Paraguay Henry T. Tyndall, Jun., of Burlington, Vermont, is a determined man, which explains why he has the world’s biggest log of broadcast band stations. The latest count shows 3778 stations, verified from 88 countries. For, years "Hank" has been trying to verify a "station in every South American country that has a broadcasting station. This is how he achieved that ambition. "On February 21, 1950, I copied a special carnival programme from ZP9 Asuncion, Paraguay, on 970 kilocvcles. I reported, enclosing an international ren!v coupon, end when no confirmation came wrote a follow-up and enclosed another coupon. I really stuck with it. I wrote at least 20 letters, sent used stamps, IRC’s and air mail, and probably spent 2 dollars 50 cents in all. I finally cone tacted the U.S. Embassy and the long’ contest ended when an attache of the Embassy went to the station and sat right in the office while Atilio C. Bajec typed out a verification. The attache said my letters were all over the place, but no one seemed to know what I wanted. I value this as one of my outstanding verifications of all time, and surely earned it," ‘