THE HISTORY OF SHORTWAVE RADIO IN AUSTRALIA

2003 - Private Shortwave Broadcasters

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

Background
In recent decades, very few licences have been issued to private shortwave broadcasters in Australia.

Domestic Broadcasters
At the time of writing (May 2012) only two domestic  broadcasters are operational, both from the Sydney (NSW) area – Ozy Radio on 3210 kHz and 5050 kHz, and Symban Radio on 2638 kHz.

Both operate to irregular schedules. Ozy Radio presents very long religious features, originating in the USA, Symban Radio supports the Greek speaking community in Sydney.

Aboriginal Resources and Development Services (ARDS)
A station known as the Community Development Radio Service, part of ARDS, commenced in August 2003, using a single frequency of 5030 kHz, with 400 watts, from a transmitter at Humpty Doo, south of Darwin, NT.

Its primary target area was to NE Arnhem Land, for Aboriginal communities in the region.

It went off the air in 2005, due to technical problems, and was reactivated in 2006.

However, it closed down in July 2007 and has never returned to shortwave.

The author visited the area in November 2009, but no trace of the shortwave station was found.

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HCJB Australia - S. Asia antennna 2012

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HCJB Australia - transmitters 2012

External Broadcasts
In 1997 a formal offer of a 80 hectare property situated adjacent to the Ord River and Diversion Dam, 6 km from the township of Kununurra, Northwest Australia was made to HCJB Australia.

This offer was accepted and the property transferred to HCJB Australia on June 25 1998. HCJB Australia committed to develop spiritual and other ministries from this location. It is a working farm, growing sugar, bananas, mangoes and paw-paw to create funding for the support of ministry.

The Kununurra site was assessed for suitability by international broadcasting consultant John Stanley BSEE. M.I.T.

On April 19 2001 HCJB Australia was granted 4 international broadcast licences with the opportunity to minister to the vast and needy Asia-Pacific region, containing over half the people of the world. (3.6 billion people)

Jan 5 2003 - HCJB Australia became an International Broadcaster with a broadcast service to the South Pacific. A month later on February 4, the Asian services began and the station now carries programming for the Asia Pacific region in 20 languages.

The station use two 100 kW transmitters - an additional 100 kW unit is to be installed during the latter part of 2012.

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HCJB Australia - E. Asia antenna 2012

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HCJB Australia - transmitter building 2012

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HCJB Australia - antennas 2012

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