| |
G3VGW > SWL 26.07.04 07:51l 101 Lines 4801 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 259_GB7NOT
Read: GUEST DK5RAS
Subj: VLG Lyndhurst historic station
Path: DB0FHN<DB0RGB<OK0PPL<DB0RES<ON0AR<GB7CIP<GB7COV<GB7NOT
Sent: 040726/0604Z @:GB7NOT.#23.GBR.EU #:259 [Arnold Nottingham] FBB7.00i
From: G3VGW@GB7NOT.#23.GBR.EU
To : SWL@WW
From: G3VGW @ GB7NOT.#23.GBR.EU 26 July 2004
Hello SWLs,
Here is news about the historic short wave station VLG at
Lyndhurst, Australia, by courtesy of Wolfgang, DF5SX......
-------
AUSTRALIA. AUSTRALIAN RADIO ANNIVERSARY - VLG LYNDHURST
Another nostalgic callsign during the Lyndhurst radio era in
Australia was VLG, a callsign that was in use by both the ABC Home Service
on SW as well as by Radio Australia in its external sces to Asia & the
Pacific.
The Lyndhurst radio station, as was mentioned here in Wavescan a
few months back, traces its earliest beginnings to the year 1928 when a
small locally made tx was installed in a galvanized iron shed on the top
of a small hill in rolling grazing country near Lyndhurst, east of
Melbourne in Victoria. A more substantial building was constructed in
1935,
For a period of 14 years, the VLR tx was the sole occupant at
Lyndhurst until a new 10 kW unit was installed. The inauguration date for
this new SW unit was June 21, 1941, just a little over 63 years ago.
In the original planning, this new 10 kW tx was intended to be a
replacement unit for the original and lower powered VLR. However, because
of the pressing needs of World War 2, both txs were needed for national
and international coverage.
Back in mid 1941 when the new tx was taken into regular sce, it
was operated on air under the same callsign as the first original unit,
VLR. For a period of a little over a month, it was noted on air in
Australia, New Zealand and the United States with a relay of programming
from "Australia Calling", Radio Australia.
This unit, constructed by STC-Australia, was heard initially on
11880 kHz as VLR3 and on 15230 kHz as VLR4. The usage of these callsigns
was rather confusing due to the fact that the other VLR was also on the
air with the same programming, and also because the other unit had also
been identified previously as VLR3 & VLR4, though on different channels.
Because of this confusion, the new tx was re-identified on air a
month later under a new callsign, VLG, beginning on August 24, 1941. At
this stage, VLR3 became VLG5 and VLR4 became VLG6. It was on the air part
ime for both organizations, the ABC Home Service and "Australia Calling".
In the late 1950s, a new tx building was constructed over the old
building and three new txs at 10 kW each were installed. These units had
been manufactured by RCA in the United States for use in American navy
vessels. It is probable that the original 10 kW STC tx with the callsign
VLG was removed from sce in 1958, and the VLG broadcast sce was now
carried by any of the three available units.
It was on June 1, 1951, that the numeric designators were changed
so that the number following the callsign indicated the freq band. Thus,
for example, VLG7 on 15160 kHz became instead VLG15. In 1961, Radio
Australia dropped the on air usage of callsigns, though the ABC still
announced them in their programming.
Some ten years later, the ABC discontinued the usage of the VLG
sce and they used just two SW units on air, VLR & VLH. In 1966 a total of
eight new SW txs were installed at Lyndhurst and the usage of the three
battleship units was phased out.
It was on June 12, 1987, that the last ABC broadcast was heard
from Lyndhurst, though Radio Australia had closed out the usage of this
relay station a few months earlier. The broadcast callsign VLG was in use
in era just after World War 1 by two coastal steamers in New Zealand,
the "Maunganui" (MAUN-ga-NOO-ee) and the "Mangaia" (man-GUY- a), and it
was in use as a broadcast sce from Lyndhurst for a period of 47 years.
Many QSL cards were issued over the years to verify the reception
of the VLG sces from Radio Australia and the ABC. From the ABC, the
original QSL card was a simplified text card in black print. Radio
Australia issued four different cards for the specific callsign VLG, and
these were:-
The famous kangaroo card in orange The large circular map with
Melboune as the centre of the world The well known yellow & blue map card;
and Another map card with the Kookaburra (COOK-a-BUR-ra) superimposed.
(Adrian Michael Peterson, AWR Wavescan July 11 via John Norfolk, DXLD)
-------
Danke Wolfgang!
(Please note I am not the author of the above, just the packet postman!)
73, Richard G3VGW @ GB7NOT (Ambergate, Derbyshire, UK)
(Edited & sent using a BBC Micro)
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
