The 11780khz antenna beaming at 312 degrees

(compiled, posted and edited by Paul Walker, KSKO-FM McGrath Alaska Program Director and Avid SWL’er)

UPDATE: On November 13th, I was told that 11780khz is operating with 50,000 watts transmitter power output instead of it’s usual 100,000 Watts. It was also shared with me that new tubes are in the process of being ordered and they hope to be back to normal about in about a week from the date of this update.  This story was originally published November 9th.

Over the last few years, many of us who enjoy listening to Radio Nacional da Amazônia have noticed the 11780 kHz signal coming and going. It’s had several breakdowns, mostly because the transmitter is about 50 years old now. They’ve been running it at 100 kW instead of the full 250 kW, but even then, it’s been showing its age.

The weekend of November 8th, 11780 kHz was off again. But this time, 6180 kHz was sounding unusually good up here in Alaska — stronger and clearer than I’ve heard it in a while. That one usually beams at 239 degrees toward South America, so it really caught my attention.

Curious about what was going on, I reached out to Manoel Caetano, Radio Engineering Manager at Empresa Brasil de Comunicação, which runs Radio Nacional. Here’s what he told me:

“We had a problem with the logic unit of the 11780 transmitter, but that’s been resolved. However, we’re still having issues with the 4CX5000 tubes, so 11780 is running at reduced power until we get replacements. Also, 6180 kHz has been switched to the 11780 kHz 312° antenna because of the COP30 event taking place in Belém, Brazil.”

Always interesting to get a peek behind the curtain like that. It’s good to know the folks at EBC are keeping these classic shortwave services going, even if it means juggling transmitters and antennas from time to time. Thank you to Manoel for answering my questions and providing the picture.