THE HISTORY OF SHORTWAVE RADIO IN AUSTRALIA

1948 - ABC Sydney

Home
Project Overview
1800s - Land Telegraphy
1874 - Guglielmo Marconi - a Tribute
1895 - Wireless Telegraphy
1901 - Wireless Telegraphy
1902 - Wireless Telegraphy in Australia
1904 - Australian Coastal Radio
1906 - Wireless Telephony
1912 - Melbourne Radio - VIM
1914 - Shortwave Wireless Telephony
1920s - Commercial Shortwave Telephony Development
1920s - Receivers
1920 - The huge RCA Longwave Station in New York
1920 - Wireless broadcasting in Australia
1920s - First shortwave stations in Victoria
1921 - Discovery of Shortwave Propagation
1921 - Koo Wee Rup (Victoria) Experimental Wireless Receiving Station
1923- Longwave Broadcasting in Australia
1923 - Evolution of Australian Domestic Radio
1924 - 3LO - Melbourne's Second Broadcaster
1924 - 3AR - Melbourne's first broadcaster
1924 - The Braybrook (Melbourne) Transmitting Site
1925 - First Shortwave Stations in Western Australia
1926 - First Shortwave Stations in New South Wales
1926 - RAAF Communications - Laverton (Vic)
1927 - Beam Wireless Worldwide
1927 - Beam Wireless from Australia
1928 - ABC Lyndhurst (Victoria)
1930 - AWA Receiving Station at La Perouse (Sydney)
1930 - AWA Radio Centre at Pennant Hills
1933 (to 1969) - Shortwave Radio Clubs in Australia
1936 - Ship Broadcaster - the MS Kanimbla
1939 - Belconnen Communications Station (Canberra)
1940 - RAAF Receiving Station at Werribee (Victoria)
1941 - RAAF Frognall (Melbourne)
1941 - ABC Brisbane
1942 - Army Wireless Chain - west of Melbourne
1942 - Dutch Stations in Australia
1943 - ABC Radio Australia - Shepparton (Victoria)
1943 - Army Shortwave HF Stations in Melbourne
1944 - ABC - Radio Australia - Looking Back
1945 - PMG Receiving Station - Highpark (Victoria)
1945 - Radio Australia - DXers Calling
1946 - Radio Australia - Communications Programs
1946 - VNG Time Signal Station
1948 - Radio Australia QSL Cards
1948 - ABC Sydney
1966 - ABC Cox Peninsula (Darwin)
1970 (to 2012) - Shortwave Radio Clubs in Australia
1975 - ABC Gnangara (Western Australia)
1975 - ABC Carnarvon (Western Australia)
1978 - Omega Navigation Station - Woodside (Victoria)
1985 - ABC Northern Territory
1989 - ABC Brandon (Queensland)
2003 - Private Shortwave Broadcasters
Timeline - Part One - 1839 to 1927
Timeline - Part Two - 1928 to 2012
SPECIAL - Licencing of Shortwave Broadcasters
SPECIAL - Radio Receivers for Shortwave
SPECIAL - Radio Monitoring as a Hobby
Epilogue
Bibliography, References and Resources
Links to the author's personal websites

Beginnings

December 22 1948
It was on this day that a small 2 kW shortwave transmitter was officially inaugurated at Liverpool in New South Wales under the Australian callsign VLI.  A few days earlier, local radio listeners noted test broadcasts from the new transmitter on several different channels in the international shortwave bands.

The large ABC radio station located at Liverpool on the southern edge of the city of Sydney was established in the year 1938 for mediumwave coverage of Australia's largest metropolis.  The two main transmitters carry the national and state service for the ABC, and these have been on the air under the callsigns 2BL and 2FC. 

A few years ago, the historic callsign 2FC was relinquished and the national programming for the Sydney area is now on the air under the generic callsign 2RN.  Two other mediumwave callsigns have been in use at Liverpool: 2JJ, which is now identified as Triple J on FM, and 2PB, which carries parliamentary broadcasts and news relays.

The new shortwave unit was implemented for coverage of coastal areas north and south of Sydney where mediumwave coverage was poor at the time.  Initially, two channels were in use and these were scheduled as follows:  VLI2, 6090  morning and evening, and VLI3, 9500, daytime                     

June 1 1951
The numeric designators were changed and VLI2 became VLI6 and VLI3 became VLI9.  Two years later again, the 9 MHz channel was dropped and the transmitter was on the air full time on just one channel, 6090.

Closure

October 7 1983
Quite suddenly and unexpectedly, at 1402 UTC on this day, the VLI transmitter malfunctioned and left the air abruptly. The official cause was stated to be the failure of the main transmitting tube. 

The small transmitter was soon afterwards removed from its location against one of the big 50 kW mediumwave transmitters, and all of the wooden poles, all painted white, that carried the feeder line to the rhombic antenna system were also removed.

During its 35 year history, station VLI carried a composite relay from both 2BL and 2FC, and its signal was heard quite reliably well beyond the coastal areas.  Many QSL cards were issued to confirm the reception of VLI, and they were always the regular ABC QSL cards that were in use at the time.   

Just as a matter of interest, the callsign VLI was in use back in the year 1919 for the New Zealand ship "Aorangi."  Then in January 1943, the VLQ transmitter at Pennant Hills that was on the air with the programming of "Australia Calling" was re-designated as VLI. 

Two years later, Radio Australia dropped the usage of the station at Pennant Hills, and the callsign VLI was deleted.  However, three years later again the call was taken up for the 2 kW, transmitter located at Liverpool.

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