Radio Kinnekulle from Sweden temporarily on 1584 kHz

Radio Kinnekulle, a small Swedish FM station, is celebrating its 20th anniversary by broadcasting for at least one week on 1584 kHz mediumwave. The official launch date is December 1, but test transmissions are planned for November 30 at 1200-1300 and at 1700-1800 UTC, says Radio Kinnekulle webmaster David MacMathan to DXing.info. The anniversary broadcasts will begin daily at 0800 UTC and run until late in the evening. Transmitter power will be around 200 watts, although their license - valid up to mid-December - would permit a power of up to 500 watts. Radio Kinnekulle is using an old transmitter taken from a submarine. The MW program is a combination of the regular feed on 102.6 MHz and special programs aired only on the mediumwave band. Radio Kinnekulle is located in Götene in Central Sweden. Radio Kinnekulle verifies reception reports, which can be sent by email, by using a Swedish-language form on the station website or by writing to Järnvägsgatan 13, S-533 30 Götene, Sweden. You can also contact the station by telephone at +46-511-51660.
(DXing.info, November 17, 2002)

The foreign shortwave service of the Austrian national broadcasting company Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) is to be phased out gradually in 2003. According to plans aimed at cutting costs, Radio Austria International (ROI) should be closed down almost entirely in March 2003, leaving only a few programs on the air. The final decision will be taken by the Foundation Council, the top governing body of ORF, in its meeting on December 2. Already on November 15 the ORF management is expected to submit the budget for 2003, including the cost-cutting measures affecting ROI. Foreign service programming on shortwave is to be replaced largely by a news service on the Internet.
    Several top politicians have expressed their concern over the plan. Conservative People's Party (VP) Foreign minister Benita Ferrero-Waldner says she regretted the closure. Also Wolfgang Petritsch, the Social Democratic candidate for the foreign minister's post, said the shortwave service was of the greatest importance.
    Until last year ROI was funded by the government, but in 2001 financial responsibility was given to ORF. Currently ROI broadcasts in German, English, French and Spanish. ROI has already cut costs by ending programming in Arabic and Esperanto, and by replacing much of the ROI German programming by ORF domestic service programs.

City Hospital Radio new from UK on 1287 kHz

After more than a year in the planning, City Hospital Radio from St. Albans officially began broadcasting on 1287 kHz on November 10. The original membership disbanded the station in September 2000 and donated the equipment to other hospital stations in the area. The studio itself was returned back to the ward and is now a private room, but the station has managed to get new equipment. City Hospital Radio even provides a QSL report form which actually is more for song requests. The station can be contacted at City Hospital Radio, The Studio, Hemel General Hospital, Hillfield Road, Hemel Hempstead, Herts HP2 4AD, United Kingdom or by email.
(Mike Barraclough/BDXC-UK and DXing.info, November 10, 2002)

Peruvian station Radio Willkamayu from Cusco is testing on 10354.2v kHz. Transmitter power is only 20 watts, says station manager Julio C. Tello A. The station was first logged on shortwave by Alfredo Benjamin Cañote B. near Lima in Peru on October 30 and November 2 after 1100 UTC, and later already after 1000 UTC. OBX7L Radio Willkamayu also broadcasts on 940 kHz. Willkamayu is a Quechua name referring to a sacred river of the Incas, better known by its Spanish name Vilcanota-Urubamba. Radio Willkamayu programming consists of huaynos and other folk music as well as news and mensajes, announcements of the audience. The station is located in the old center of Cusco, in the same neighborhood as for example Radio La Hora. Radio Willkamayu can be reached by writing to Avenida Infancia 527, Wanchaq, Cusco, Peru, tel. +51-84-246391.

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