Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, William Lee, who shares the following video from the BBC:
The radio station bringing worried Tongans together (BBC News)
The volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami in Tonga cut communication between the island kingdom and the rest of the world.
A community broadcaster in suburban Brisbane is bringing information and support to Tongans around the world as they wait for news of their families and homeland
Filmed, edited and produced by Simon Atkinson.
I wonder, out of the 100,000 people in Tonga, how many actually have SW receivers anymore?
There is no mention of Radio Australia which has an FM transmitter on 103 MHz but the power is unknown.
This transmitter is satellite fed, which means it is likely to fail if the signal has to go from a satellite at 0 degrees, 180 East then through the ash cloud. This signal is in C band 4.07 GHz. (2400 km @ 347 degrees) and the satellite will be 36000 km above the ocean.
Radio New Zealand Pacific broadcasts on https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/listen shows both DRM and AM transmissions in the HF band. These signals feed Letio FM 87.5 MHz power unknown.
The fibre optic cable from Fiji has been cut by the eruption and will be a considerable time to fix! They now have limited communications via satellite.
Re-connecting families after a regional natural disaster is one of the best things about radio, be it SW, MW, or ham.
Amen to that!
Jock Elliott, KB2GOM