Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

Don Moore’s Photo Album: Guatemala (Part Six) – Huehuetenango

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Don Moore–noted author, traveler, and DXer–for the latest installment of his Photo Album guest post series:

default

Don Moore’s Photo Album:
Guatemala (Part Six) – Huehuetenango

by Don Moore

More of Don’s traveling DX stories can be found in his book Tales of a Vagabond DXer [SWLing Post affiliate link]. If you’ve already read his book and enjoyed it, do Don a favor and leave a review on Amazon.

I first heard of Huehuetenango in February 1974. I had gotten my first serious receiver, a Barlow-Wadley XCR-30, a few weeks earlier. Now I could try for stations in the 120-meter band. The first one I heard was Radio Maya de Barillas on 2360 kHz from a place named Barillas in Guatemala. And Santa Cruz de Barillas (the town’s full official name) was in a department named Huehuetenango. The name sounded exotic and magical.

In my mind, Radio Maya de Barillas was the ultimate DX target. The Evangelical Protestant station used a tiny amount of power in 120-meters, the shortwave band that provided the most challenge to DXers. The programs were in Mayan languages with mostly hard-to-pronounce names. And my map showed that Barillas was literally at the end of the road. There was nowhere to go beyond Barillas.

That sense of Huehuetenango being on the edge of civilization was totally correct. The department contains the rugged Cuchumatanes mountains, the highest non-volcanic mountains in Central America. It’s the only place in Central America where it’s too cold to grow corn. Instead, people get by raising sheep and planting potatoes. The mountains explain why eight different Mayan languages (belonging to three different language families) are spoken in this one department. Steep rugged mountains are a barrier to communication. A lack of communication causes a common language to diverge into multiple languages over just a few centuries.

The Mam, numbering about half a million, are the fourth largest Mayan group in Guatemala and their homeland extends into other departments in the south. But the other seven languages are only found in Huehuetenango with maybe a little spillover across the borders. The largest of those is Kanjobal, spoken by about 80,000 people today. The Tectiteco (Tektik) number just a little over two thousand.

As noted on the back of my QSL from Radio Maya de Barillas, that station broadcast in six of the region’s languages, including Mam and Kanjobal, the language spoken in and around the town of Barillas. For about a decade Radio Maya was the only radio station to broadcast in the region’s languages. Then in 1975 the Roman Catholic church opened an educational station, Radio Mam, in Cabricán to the south in Quetzaltenango department. But Radio Mam only broadcast in the Mam language. (And, unfortunately, I never got to visit the station.)

Visiting Huehuetenango (or not)

When I was traveling to Guatemala while living in Honduras in the early 1980s, one of my goals was to visit as many Guatemalan shortwave stations as possible. Yet I never once considered going to Barillas. Sure, I knew that the dirt road from the town of Huehuetenango to Barillas was one of the worst in Central America and that the bus ride took twelve hours. That wasn’t going to stop me.

Photo from SantaCruzBarillas.com

What stopped me from visiting Radio Maya was that Barillas was right in the middle of the area of the heaviest fighting between the government and the guerrillas. This may surprise you if you’ve read the previous parts of this series, but there really were some things back then that I knew better than to do. Going into the worst part of a war zone was one. The closest I came to Barillas was passing through the southern part of the department on the Pan-American Highway on my way to Mexico in December 1984. That was just a few weeks after a guerilla band had ventured south and blown up four bridges on the road. Continue reading →

Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report and Recording of Radio Nacional de España (April 29, 2025)

2 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening report of a special Radio Nacional de España broadcast. Note that the Spanish version of this post follows the English version:

This illustrated radio listening report was particularly special to me. It’s a radio station’s acknowledge of the importance of a battery-powered radio in emergency situations.

Spain went through a massive blackout, which left the population used to mobiles without knowing what to do. But then along comes the simple battery-powered AM-FM radio, a device that in developed countries ends up being despised and overlooked, since with a cell phone you can have access to news from all over the world.

However, there’s one *tiny* detail.

No matter how modern (and expensive) a mobile is, it can only work with electricity and, of course, a cell phone signal. And, in a massive blackout like the one Spain, Portugal and parts of Europe were facing, with no cell phone signal or Internet, mobile is useless.

Well, I can speak about this subject with authority, since last year in Porto Alegre, where I live, a flood left me without electricity, telephone and Internet for 6 days.

But back to Radio Nacional de España. They broadcasted today a compilation of audios from news aired by the station during the blackout, and what draws attention is the fact that it highlights the importance of radio in critical situations. One of the phrases in this compilation is pithy:

“Es el dia de los transistores, los viejos, los de pila.”
(It’s the day of radio receivers, the old ones, the ones with batteries).

And there are testimonies from people who said they gathered their neighbors to listen to the news on the radio, or even put a radio on their balcony connected to a speaker so that the neighbors could hear the news from Radio Nacional de España. I believe this was the first time I heard a major broadcaster making such a clear recognition of the importance of the radio.

The younger generations will have to learn that they cannot depend solely and exclusively on the Internet.

For better or for worse.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Informe Ilustrado de Escucha de Radio y Grabación de Radio Nacional de España de Carlos (29 de abril de 2025)

Muchas gracias al colaborador de SWLing Post y reconocido caricaturista político, Carlos Latuff, quien comparte el siguiente informe ilustrado de escucha de una emisión especial de Radio Nacional de España:

Este reportaje ilustrado sobre la escucha de radio fue especial para mí.

Es el reconocimiento de una emisora ??a la importancia de una radio de pilas en situaciones de emergencia.

España sufrió un apagón masivo que dejó a la población acostumbrada a los móviles sin saber qué hacer. Pero entonces apareció la sencilla radio AM-FM de pilas, un dispositivo que en los países desarrollados acaba siendo despreciado e ignorado, ya que con un móvil se puede acceder a noticias de todo el mundo.

Sin embargo, hay un *pequeño* detalle.

Por muy moderno (y caro) que sea un móvil, solo funciona con electricidad y, por supuesto, con señal. Y, en un apagón masivo como el que sufrieron España, Portugal y partes de Europa, sin señal ni internet, el móvil es inútil.

Bueno, puedo hablar de este tema con total autoridad, ya que el año pasado en Porto Alegre, donde vivo, una inundación me dejó sin electricidad, teléfono ni internet durante seis días.

Pero volvamos a Radio Nacional de España. Hoy han emitido una recopilación de audios de noticias emitidas por la emisora ??durante el apagón, y lo que llama la atención es que resalta la importancia de la radio en situaciones críticas. Una de las frases de esta recopilación es concisa:

“Es el día de los transistores, los viejos, los de pila”.

Y hay testimonios de personas que dijeron haber reunido a sus vecinos para escuchar las noticias por la radio, o incluso haber puesto una radio en su balcón conectada a un altavoz para que los vecinos pudieran escuchar las noticias de Radio Nacional de España. Creo que fue la primera vez que escuché a una gran emisora ??reconocer tan claramente la importancia de la radio.

Las generaciones más jóvenes tendrán que aprender que no pueden depender única y exclusivamente de internet.

Para bien o para mal.

Haz clic aquí para verlo en YouTube.

Rádio Exterior de España returns to shortwave one day after the massive blackout that affected Spain and other regions of Europe. Porto Alegre, April 29, 18h13 UTC.

RNE Addendum

Carlos also originally confirmed that Radio Nacional de España was operational again on April 29, 2025. He noted:

Rádio Exterior de España returns to shortwave one day after the massive blackout that affected Spain and other regions of Europe. Porto Alegre, April 29, 18h13 UTC.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Destination Earth

Pedro’s Report from Madrid During the Blackout

7 Replies

In the comments section of this recent post about the massive blackout in Europe, SWLing Post contributor Pedro Moreno shared an insightful firsthand account from Madrid. He captured the value of radio during a communications outage so effectively that I wanted to give it more visibility by highlighting it in its own post:

Listener Report from Madrid During the Blackout

By Pedro Moreno

I live in Madrid, and yesterday, after the blackout started, I began to wonder if this was due to a problem with my home electrical installation. Then I expanded my research outside my home to the community premises and discovered that there was a mains shortage as well. So I went further afar and came out to the street to note that there were no noises of electrical tools, and most of the people walking in the street were absorbed looking at their phone screens—only to see there was no data connection.

So I came back home and took my Tecsun H501x radio to scan, first on the FM band, just to find out there were some missing stations—for instance, RNE1, RN2, RN3, and Radio Clásica, also a Spanish government broadcaster. Then I knew there was something really bad going on.

Next, I switched to the 7100 kHz band in LSB/USB, where some Spanish radio enthusiasts were commenting on the blackout. There, I found out the blackout was going on in Portugal, Spain, and France. Also, a German radio amateur was commenting on his station about a “blackout in Spain, Portugal, and France as well.” So then, I knew what was going on.

Then I began to search for more information, scanning up and down all the shortwave spectrum looking for more information regarding what was causing the blackout—alas, without finding any specific information about the causes or the expected time for the restoration of the power supply. But I noticed something really new and surprising: the shortwave noise across all the bands was gone, and I could tune into a large number of commercial and amateur stations without noise and quite clearly. That was amazing.

Thank you, Pedro, for sharing this firsthand account. Yes, the only positive in a blackout situation like this is the complete lack of radio interference on portions of the radio spectrum.

I’ll add that in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Helene, my experience was very similar: the only widely available forms of communication in our region were AM/FM radio and amateur radio.

As SWLing Post contributor qwertymax so perfectly put it:

“In such situations, there are two crucial things needed to get the info delivered, namely: a capability to cover vast distances and the possibility of receiving the signal with a device that uses as low energy as possible – and these are the main traits of analogue radio.”

Blackout in Europe: Portable Radios Deliver News — REE Falls Silent During Outage

12 Replies

Today, parts of Spain, Portugal, and France experienced widespread power outages, knocking out electricity, internet, and mobile networks for hours.

One BBC article captured a personal account of how radio became a vital lifeline. SWLing Post contributor Balázs Kovács shared this note from the BBC Live Update:

Meanwhile, a friend of our family living in Barcelona reported that her Sony ICF-SW100 proved invaluable during the blackout.

While phone and internet services were unavailable, her SW100 kept her connected to critical news and updates.

In another update, our friend Carlos Latuff noted that Radio Exterior de España — Spain’s external broadcaster — was off the air on shortwave frequencies, likely due to the blackout.

Carlos shared this video from Porto Alegre at 20:26 UTC:

Click here to view on YouTube.

Closing Thoughts…

I’ll keep this simple: When the grid goes down and the internet disappears, local radio often endures.

Millions of us have experienced this first hand.

Demolition of the Rimavská Sobota Transmitter Site in Slovakia

1 Reply

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Jamet, who shares the following information. However, I want to acknowledge that we are late in posting this message that Paul originally shared on April 14, 2025.

Hi Thomas,

Following the demolition of the rotary antenna at Moosbrunn near Vienna, Slovakia has announced – in its French-language program of April 10th, 2025 – the demolition of the antennas at its Rimavská Sobota transmitter center!

Here is the (automatic) translation of the script for the announcement, which was rebroadcast yesterday, Sunday April 13, in the mailbag program:

The Transmitter Used for RSI Broadcasting to Be Demolished

https://frrsi.stvr.sk/clanky/gros-plan/398432/lemetteur-qui-a-servi-a-la-diffusion-de-rsi-sera-demoli

The transmitter near Rimavská Sobota, located in the cadastre of the municipality of Uzovská Panica, awaits demolition. The mid-twentieth-century infrastructure enabled broadcasts to be made all over the world, but it has fallen into disrepair in recent years. The transmitters will be blown up in the coming months. So says Marek Marcinov, head of Towercom, a company providing radio and TV broadcasting services.

The transmitter site east of Rimavská Sobota has been unused since 2022 due to the advent of more modern technologies. “Analysis has shown that a facility of such dimensions can be considered an unnecessary economic burden on society. Finally, the masts were frequently the target of adrenaline enthusiasts who, despite a strict access ban, climbed the structures and often risked serious injury or even death,” explained Marek Marcinov to justify the transmitter’s demolition.

The transmitter near Rimavská Sobota consists of 12 pylons, between which the antennas of the shortwave transmitter are strung. The area also includes three directional short-wave antennas and a medium-wave antenna mast. All transmitters will be demolished as part of the removal of unnecessary infrastructure.

“The mast and transmitter structures will be destroyed by a controlled and safe explosion. The work will be carried out in three phases, from April to July 2025. The area will then be redeveloped and the rubble removed. The project is scheduled for completion in October 2025,” explains Marek Marcinov. He added that further plans for the use of the area had not yet been specified.

The history of transmitter construction near Rimavská Sobota dates back to 1952, with the first test runs beginning in 1956. In the 1980s, the area was renovated. “The Rimavská Sobota transmitter can be considered a unique technical innovation. Shortwave broadcasting from Rimavská Sobota was intended for the whole world. With two transmitters, we covered the Atlantic coast of South America, territories in the USA and Canada, parts of Australia, Iran, India and, of course, the whole of Europe,” recalls Marek Marcinov.

Since 1993, Radio Slovakia International has been broadcasting worldwide on shortwave precisely thanks to this transmitter.

TASR, RSI
Zuzana Borovská; Foto: Facebook/P?átelé AM

Summary :

Demolition of the RSI Transmitter Site

The shortwave transmitter near Rimavská Sobota, Slovakia—used for broadcasting Radio Slovakia International (RSI) since 1993—is set to be demolished by controlled explosion between April and July 2025. The facility, built in the 1950s and inactive since 2022, is now considered an economic burden. It once transmitted Slovak broadcasts worldwide, including to South America, North America, Australia, and Asia. After demolition, the site will be cleared by October 2025.

Best wishes

Paul JAMET