RCI's Sackville Transmission Site
As many SWLing Post listeners know, today marks the end of an era. Radio Canada International is being forced to conclude many decades of shortwave radio services in a short-sighted attempt to cut costs. In lieu of exploring numerous cost-cutting solutions, such as implementing the newly-installed remote operations of the Sackville, NB transmission site, they have decided to cut all shortwave broadcasting and all content creation for the medium, essentially throwing out the baby with the bath water.
I have written extensively about the potential harm this will cause to those who rely upon shortwave radio as a lifeline of information, not to mention to Canadian diplomacy as a whole.
We want your RCI broadcast recordings
Nonetheless, for archive purposes, I will attempt to record as many final broadcasts today as possible. We invite listeners from around the world to participate in this process: please send us your recordings of any RCI broadcasts today–any language, any frequency.
Thanks to Glenn Hauser, here is a schedule of broadcasts today:
1500-1559 UTC: Maple Leaf Mailbag (MLMB) Finale–11,675 and 15,125 kHz
1800-1859 UTC: MLMB Finale–11,765, 9,530 and (best for N America) 17, 810 kHz
2000-2059 UTC: MLMB Finale 2–17,735, 15,330, 15235 kHz
RCI Chinese, French, Arabic, Spanish and Portugese final broadcasts should end at 2330 UTC today on 11,990, 13,760 and 15,455
As for our friends with RCI, we wish you well! Many thanks for your years of dedicated service.
Harry: I will try to record and post the audio from the web site. It will take me some time as I’m still travelling.
Greg: Very good point indeed and one I often male when interviewed by the Canadian press.
I was unable to get a decent recording from SW on Sunday. I’ll post what I have, though.
Cheers,
Thomas
I tried to listen to RCI on its final day. Couldn’t hear it on any of its scheduled frequencies. Only thing I could find was the CBC Northern Quebec Service on 9625 kHz.
And then I thought – apart from stumbling across their Spanish transmissions a couple of times recently, I haven’t actually heard RCI in years.
OK, I’m not part of their target audience. I’m in Canada. But isn’t that part of the problem? Few Canadians listen to shortwave, and for those of us that do (at least here in Ontario) RCI’s transmissions were hard to receive. It’s not like a couple of decades ago when they were easy to find. So is it any surprise that there’s no awareness of what RCI did, or even of its existence, among Canadians? And is it any surprise that few objected to the shutting down of RCI?
If anyone is capable of recording streaming audio (apparently I need to use a computer with a separate soundcard) then please grab from the archive section of the player. I especially want to have Ian Jones’ voice recorded (I think he hasn’t been on since a few weeks ago) on The Link and The Maple Leaf Mailbag. http://www.rcinet.ca/radio/index.php?language=en&type=&media=radio&id=rci
I can not believe that RCI will not be heard out there on shortwave anymore. This will be very sad and I can not believe that that has just to do with money shortage. In a time where governments go digital and try to control everything and everybody, just block “unliked” reports and messages on the internet or digital media – a free media like RCI gives up the message of freedom to the world. This was a bad decision and I am very upset not to hear your messages anymore. Time will come where the shortwave will be playing a big role in a free world again.
Greetings from germany
Probably would have to take a huge war or something drastic that cuts out power almost permanently before someone reacts.
I heard a tearful farewell the other night on RCI from a presenter. Shocking and saddening to think what the staff are going through right now and strange to think of my radio without RCI. Will see what I can pull in later on this evening.