{"id":14104,"date":"2015-07-19T09:19:35","date_gmt":"2015-07-19T13:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=14104"},"modified":"2015-07-19T10:04:50","modified_gmt":"2015-07-19T14:04:50","slug":"radio-cook-islands-guys-1993-visit-and-recordings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/radio-cook-islands-guys-1993-visit-and-recordings\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio Cook Islands: Guy’s 1993 recordings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post <\/em>contributor, Guy Atkins, for\u00a0the following guest post:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Radio Cook Islands<\/h2>\n

by Guy Atkins<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"(Photo:

A view from the driveway entrance to the Radio Cook Islands studio in 1993. Insulators on an antenna (T2FD or multiband dipole) can be seen as dark spots against the cloudy sky. A feedline is also seen rising above the left side of the building. (Photo: Guy Atkins)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"(Photo:<\/a>

(Photo: Universal Radio)<\/p><\/div>\n

In 1993 I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Rarotonga with my wife, courtesy of a nice award through my company which afforded me an all-expenses-paid trip anywhere we’d like to go.<\/p>\n

I chose the South Pacific island of Rarotonga, partly because I wanted to visit Radio Cook Islands<\/em> after listening to their “island music” on 11760 and 15170 kHz through my teenage years.<\/p>\n

During our visit to the island I recorded 90+ minutes of RCI on 630 kHz with a local quality signal using a Grundig Satellit 500<\/a> and a Marantz PMD-221<\/a> recorder.<\/p>\n

Recordings<\/h3>\n

The programming of Radio Cook Islands<\/em> is bilingual, and announcers are fluent in both English and Cook Islands Maori.\u00a0Music selections on RCI encompass all styles, to appeal to many age groups.\u00a0These recordings was scheduled to include as much local music as possible.<\/p>\n

RCI programming includes all the hallmarks of a small, non-professional station: stuck records & tape carts, dead air, poor modulation, and other miscues.<\/p>\n

However, that’s part of the flavor of local radio, and these errors are heard throughout this recording. Particularly noticeable is the bassy, over-modulation of the studio announcer during sign-on announcements.<\/p>\n

Recording 1<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/RCookIslands2\/R_Cook_Islands_1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Notes: National anthem & hymn; sign-on announcements & music.<\/em>
\nMusic; weather; sign-off announcements & national anthem.<\/em>
\nLocal & regional news; weather; ads; music.<\/em><\/p>\n

Recording 2<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/archive.org\/download\/RCookIslands2\/R_Cook_Islands_2.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

Notes: “Party Time” music request show; weather; local ads; more music.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a>

Two engineers from Radio Cook Islands, photographed during my visit in April, 1993. (Photo: Guy Atkins)<\/p><\/div>\n

Sadly, RCI will likely never be on shortwave again; a fire in the local tele-comm building a few months before my 1993 visit destroyed RCI’s transmitter. I had an amusing exchange with the secretary when I visited; she insisted that their station was still on shortwave. Of COURSE we’re on the air she said, because “the frequencies are published right here in the newspaper!” The engineer and announcer confirmed, though, that the silence on their former frequencies was for real. They indicated they were covering the outer islands just fine with FM translators and had no intention of restarting shortwave.<\/p>\n

\"Radio<\/a>

Radio Cook Islands 630 kHz antenna on the school ground of Takitumu Primary School.<\/p><\/div>\n

RCI’s headquarters is in downtown Avarua, and their 5 kw transmitter (reported at half power, 2.5 kw in Dec. 2012) and modern quarter-wavelength vertical antenna is located in the town of Matavera (northeast side of Rarotonga).<\/p>\n

\"Bing.com<\/a>

Bing.com maps view of Radio Cook Islands antenna, 630 kHz at Takitumu Primary School, Matavera.<\/p><\/div>\n

The antenna is in the yard of Takitumu primary school; see photos from Bing Maps and Panaromio [above].<\/p>\n

It sure brings back a flood of good memories when I listen to these MP3s! I’d love to visit the Cooks again sometime.<\/p>\n

\n

Many thanks for this wonderful stroll down memory lane, Guy–radio nostalgia at its best!<\/strong><\/p>\n

I, too, would love to visit the Cook Islands someday–it is on my bucket list. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy your recordings.\u00a0Again, many thanks for your guest post!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Guy Atkins, for\u00a0the following guest post: Radio Cook Islands by Guy Atkins In 1993 I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Rarotonga with my wife, courtesy of a nice award through my company which afforded me an all-expenses-paid trip anywhere we’d like to go. I chose the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[373,8,3194,3,305,288,746,43],"tags":[4002,2895,3446,4003,4001,30,4106],"class_list":["post-14104","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-am","category-articles","category-guest-posts","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","category-recordings","category-shortwave-radio","tag-cook-islands","tag-grundig-satellit-500","tag-guy-atkins","tag-medium-wave-recordings","tag-radio-cook-islands","tag-rci","tag-recordings"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-3Fu","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17017,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/01\/dxing-on-the-road-in-colombia-with-don-moore\/","url_meta":{"origin":14104,"position":0},"title":"DXing on the Road in Colombia with Don Moore","author":"Guy Atkins","date":"January 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Noted DXer and\u00a0South American radio enthusiast\u00a0Don Moore (USA) is travelling again and posting fascinating photos & commentary of DXing and life in Colombia. Don mentions: The focus is MW. My postings include photos and local recordings of stations from southernmost Colombia including the cities of Pasto and Popayan. \u00a0I'm currently\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Radio Mil Cuarenta's studio in Popayan, Colombia. (studio with station's car in front)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Radio1040Building-300x252.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":30866,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/sdr-console-version-3-a-holy-grail-sdr-application-for-the-radio-archivist\/","url_meta":{"origin":14104,"position":1},"title":"SDR Console Version 3: A Holy Grail SDR application for the radio archivist","author":"Thomas","date":"February 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Encouraged by SWLing Post contributors Guy Atkins and Ivan Cholakov, I recently installed the latest version of SDR Console on my PC. I had not tried SDR Console in many, many years, but after Guy announced that SDR Console had moved from preview to Beta, I decided it was time\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/SDR-Console-Scheduler.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/SDR-Console-Scheduler.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/SDR-Console-Scheduler.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38243,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/rnz-no-plans-to-replace-am-radio-mast-in-the-cook-islands\/","url_meta":{"origin":14104,"position":2},"title":"RNZ: No plans to replace AM radio mast in the Cook Islands","author":"Thomas","date":"June 19, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: RNZ via Michael Bird) The Cook Islands Investment Corporation says there are no plans to replace an AM radio mast that is to be dismantled on Rarotonga. The mast at Matavera, built with New Zealand aid money many years ago to provide a signal to the outer islands, is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Tecsun-GR-168-1024x848.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Tecsun-GR-168-1024x848.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Tecsun-GR-168-1024x848.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40330,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/cook-islands-restores-am-broadcast-service\/","url_meta":{"origin":14104,"position":3},"title":"Cook Islands restores AM broadcast service","author":"Thomas","date":"October 23, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"(Source: Radio New Zealand) The signal was lost in August when the main transmitter's rusty mast on Rarotonga was dismantled. Radio Cook Islands' general manager Jeanne Matenga said Blue Sky, which manages the network, reactivated a smaller transmitter near the airport late last week. She said the government seemed to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Suset-Cook-Islands.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Suset-Cook-Islands.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Suset-Cook-Islands.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Suset-Cook-Islands.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":30705,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/results-airspy-hf-vs-elad-fdm-s2-weak-signal-comparisions\/","url_meta":{"origin":14104,"position":4},"title":"Results: AirSpy HF+ vs Elad FDM-S2 Weak Signal Comparisions","author":"Guy Atkins","date":"February 3, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Looking north toward Cape Lookout, Oregon, near the site of my SDR receiver recordings. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. In my original article 10 days ago, I set up a SWLing Post reader poll to let you give your opinion on which shortwave recordings within four pairs of audio files\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DX"","block_context":{"text":"DX","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/dx\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Camp_Meriwether_Cape_Lookout_State_Park.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Camp_Meriwether_Cape_Lookout_State_Park.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Camp_Meriwether_Cape_Lookout_State_Park.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/Camp_Meriwether_Cape_Lookout_State_Park.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18540,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/recordings-paul-records-vanuatu-and-solomon-islands-from-central-alaska\/","url_meta":{"origin":14104,"position":5},"title":"Recordings: Paul records Vanuatu and Solomon Islands from central Alaska","author":"Thomas","date":"April 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who shares the following recordings of Radio Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands Broadcasting. Paul lives in Galena, Alaska, and records most of these broadcasts outside of his broadcasting studio: 7260 kHz: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=yAxa5_Oyl3M 5020 kHz: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=e9yw6GLy4Zw 5020 kHz: https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=C9Rd-Whn2pA 3945 is much weaker\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"IMG_0866","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0866-1024x304.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0866-1024x304.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IMG_0866-1024x304.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14104","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14104"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14104\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14104"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14104"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14104"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}