[HCDX] Tristan da Cunha: News from the potato patches

["Dave Kernick" <dak@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Tristan Radio, the broadcasting service of the remote UK territory of 
Tristan da Cunha, left shortwave some time in the early 90's, dashing the 
lingering hopes of many DXers of maybe picking up the weak (400W) signal on 
3290 kHz during the few hours a week it was on air.
Nowadays the station's only on FM and is on air for even fewer hours than 
before, so the only way any radio enthusiast who doesn't have the time and 
deep pockets to visit the islands are going to hear the station is by 
"cheating" and listening to a clip just uploaded to the Interval Signals 
Online website. Kindly donated by Dutch DXer Rudy van Dalen and recorded in 
1996, this 1min 40secs clip is of various Friday broadcasts of three news 
bulletins - each very brief, with the number of items varying from 3 to... 
nil!, including a lead item appealing for borrowed video tapes to be 
returned!
The clip is in stereo and sound quality is good, obviously recorded on the 
spot, though the sound balance isn't quite right, with the announcer 
slightly struggling to be heard above a "background" track of Fleetwood 
Mac's "Albatross". You can hear the clip on the Interval Signals Online 
website at www.intervalsignals.net
A 2003 edition of Glenn Hauser's "DX Listening Digest" had some interesting 
background on the station, an interview with Alan Hemming, who set up 
Tristan Radio in the mid 1960's. You can read it here: 
www.worldofradio.com/dxld3176.txt  The territory's official website is at 
www.tristandc.com

Regards,

Dave Kernick 


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