Two shortwave antennas a backup antenna at the Brandon RA transmitter site. (Image: Mount Evelyn DX Report)
My buddy, Rob Wagner (VK3BVW), has just posted an article with detailed photos of the Brandon Antenna farm on his excellent blog, the Mount Evelyn DX Report.
Rob introduces his article:
During our recent two month trip north from Mount Evelyn through Queensland and New South Wales, we had an opportunity to visit the former Radio Australia transmitter site near the little town of Brandon, about 85 km southeast of Townsville in Far North Queensland. Well, actually I visited the site while my wife Jan sat in the car, exhibiting a state of relative boredom!
Officially, I had not made arrangements to inspect the transmitters. We were just passing through the town one warm Sunday afternoon. The site is only 5km out of Brandon on Jack Road. The topography is quite flat, making it ideal land for the sugar cane plantations that grow vigorously throughout this region. Here you’ll find the powerhouse 50 kW mediumwave outlet of 4QN Townsville on 630 kHz with local programming from the ABC North Queensland studios. This frequency is well heard across a 250 km radius during the daytime, and easily heard throughout most of Queensland (and well beyond) in the evenings. Indeed, 4QN has been broadcasting reliably from the Brandon site to its local communities throughout all sorts of weather including many tropical cyclones since 1958.[…]
Click here to read the full article on the Mount Evelyn DX Report.
Ouch. The Irony that just mere months after this post and that hopeful comment that the service was shuttered and all sites became Former.
Thanks Tom. Several days ago, my sources confirmed that the shortwave transmitters and antennas are still being maintained, and that there is always a possibility that they could be fired up in the future. Fingers crossed, eh?
That, Rob, is certainly hopeful news! Maybe they’ll let you come up there sometime and hook your transceiver up to one of those dormant antennas!?! Talk about serious gain!
Yeah, thanks for posting this. Love the pictures. I vaguely remember Brandon and believe I may have heard it a few times here in the US right before it shut down.
Great article
Thanks Ian. I really enjoyed visiting the site!