FRS-Holland June 8th
Whit Sunday June 8th we are back on air with an evening broadcast. For full details go to our 'Latest News' section.
Whit Sunday June 8th we are back on air with an evening broadcast. For full details go to our 'Latest News' section.
2010 marked FRS-Holland’s 30th anniversary and this time Peter Verbruggen was determined to produce something special. It would become a most eventful year….
Opposed to 2009, and similar to 2007, FRS activity in 2010 already started in February. On the 28th between 08.52- 13.05 UTC FRS took to the airwaves on 7600 and 5800 kHz. Propagation was fair. A week later, Sunday March 7th, the complete broadcast was repeated . This time two hours later compared with the week before: between 10.52- 15.05 UTC. 9300 kHz replaced 5800 kHz. FRS was happy with the 40+ reports.
Already in March preparations started to commemorate 30 years of FRS-Holland later in 2010. The idea was to concentrate on this milestone. However, the time between the previous March broadcast and upcoming on air celebration would perhaps become 8 or 9 months and the idea was born to do one more broadcast before the Summer propagating the upcoming special broadcast.
May 30th– an old-fashioned 5th Sunday– FRS broadcasted from 07.52- 12.45 UTC on 6400 in parallel with 9300 kHz. The full broadcast was repeated between 13.52-18.45 UTC on 7600 kHz. Conditions were unfortunately very poor that day. Not a big surprise as May isn’t the best month for SW activity. That’s also the reason for the full afternoon repeat. But even this could not make up for the appalling SW propagation that day. FRS gave it another try a week later on Sunday June 6th with a repeat of the May shows but also this wasn’t our lucky day. Reception was more or less similar to the weekend before.
In FRS News edition 35 which was issued at the turn of 2009-2010 the first mention was made of the upcoming FRS 30 Years on air festivities. It said:
“2010 is a very special year in the long history of the Free Radio Service Holland. This year marks our 30th anniversary, a milestone. In 2000 we haven’t celebrated our 20th anniversary for sad reasons. Our 25th anniversary back in 2005 wasn’t celebrated either. This year however we are determined to celebrate our 30th anniversary. Later this year there will be at least one special broadcast to celebrate 30 years of short wave free radio broadcasts. We invite listeners and colleague stations to participate. We’d like to receive as many personal memories as possible (especially) from our listening audience! We prefer (that’s the most personal way) when you record a 1-2 minute recording (English or German/ mp3/CD/ MiniDisc or cassette) with your very own memories: when did you hear us for the first time, what was (is) your favourite show, when did you get your first QSL, how much did you listen to FRS, any special on air moments you remember?
“Of course mails or letters are also much appreciated. All these memories will be collected and become part of the FRS anthology covering 30 years of SW broadcasts. Show you are a true FRS-Holland supporter. Your involvement will turn our festive broadcast into an unforgettable event !!
Peter V. felt things were changing in the SW Free Radio scene and reflected : “The past few years have brought major changes to the SW free radio scene. Fewer stations are producing quality, listener-focused programmes with structure and purpose. Listener interaction has dropped significantly—many have moved on due to lack of quality, changing life priorities, or other interests. Meanwhile, commercial radio has grown rapidly across Europe.
This raises a key question: do SW stations still meet a need? One listener recently expressed disappointment in today’s SW scene. But turning away also discourages the few stations that still care deeply. As one FRS-Holland jingle says: “SW radio is two-way traffic.” Without feedback, it risks becoming one-way—and fading out entirely. Listener support is vital to keep quality programming ali ve.”
In March 2010, preparations started for the 30th anniversary broadcasts. At that moment, there was no clear idea of going for one or a number of broadcasts. During the broadcasts on February 28th and May 30th the future anniversary broadcast(s) were (was) already being promoted. The first promo spot was produced via Owen, and th was aired during the May 30th broadcast. It was also sent to several fellow shortwave stations.
In Spring work began on digitizing old program cassettes — after all, the 30th anniversary broadcast(s) would feature many old fragments. Jan van Dijk edited them into short digital compilation files lasting 2–5 minutes. Naturally, choices had to be made: the goal was to present a good, representative cross-section of all programs ever aired. Fortunately, much of the post-2000 material had already been digitized earlier. This process served a dual purpose: the FRS archive would finally be digitized, and at the same time, shortened compilations of all digitized programs would be produced.
Another important element was the FRS-Holland Story. The period 1980–1990 had already been documented in the fall of 1990 in the documentary “10 Years in the Life of FRS-Holland“, which marked FRS-Holland’s 10th anniversary. In the Summer of 2010, Peter began documenting the next 20 years, 1990–2010, this time digitally. He made use of old logbooks and numerous editions of ‘FRS Goes DX‘, ‘FRS News‘ and ‘FRS Newsletter‘.
Gradually, it became clear which ingredients would shape the concept of the upcoming broadcast(s). At the end of August 2010, Peter arranged a meeting with Jan van Dijk to discuss and finalize the details for the broadcast. After extensive consultation they agreed on the overall format and structure. It would be impossible to fit everything into a single broadcast — instead, there would be three 6-hour broadcasts. That justified the extensive work that needed to be done and would give them enough time in each broadcast to cover all the important aspects of the past 30 years.
The broadcasts were scheduled for October, November, and December 2010. Transmissions would be on 5800//7600 kHz, but we needed one more relay in Central Europe. Jan van Dijk suggested contacting German Radio 700. Peter did just that, and he succeeded in booking the full 6 hours for both October and November .
Preparations List of Archive px compilations.jpg of Archive px compilations.jpgressed for the first broadcast on October 31st. Meanwhile, listeners and former presenters were approached to take part in the broadcasts by sharing spoken or written memories. Several new Fact Files were also added to the existing ones. Additionally, Nolan (US voice over) and several Radio Star Int. (UK SW free radio station) staff members were asked (via Paul Graham) to record scripts.
The final concept consisted of:
• The FRS Story 1980–2010
• Program excerpts from the tape archive
• Contributions from both former presenters and listeners
• A contest
• Fact Files (informative segments focusing on a specific aspect of FRS history)
• Music from the FRS era 1980–2010
• A specially produced jingle package in German and English
Dozens of liners were produced, voiced by three different people: former FRS jock Johnny Best, Owen, and Nolan. For the first time in our history, a complete set of German jingles was produced. The entire concept was written down for the FRS presenters, and all text and audio fragments had to be sorted and distributed. It had to be determined exactly which contributions each presenter would include in their program (audio and written contributions from ex-staff and listeners), and which archive fragments, FRS History items, and Fact Files they would feature. Everything was eventually structured in a comprehensive schedule. On top of that, a set of three different QSL cards had to be designed — each one representing a decade of FRS history.
Without exaggeration, this project took literally hundreds of hours of work… for the love of radio.
This first part focused on the period 1980–1987. That Sunday marked the start of the most ambitious broadcast series in FRS’s 30-year history — a major challenge. These first 8 years was a period full of activity, especially since during the first 2½ years up to January 1983, we transmitted ourselves from the Magic Forest.
About two weeks before the first broadcast, we received news that Paul Graham couldn’t take part due to private circumstances. Mike Anderson had already dropped out some time earlier — a big disappointment! The program schedule had to be revised, with Jan van Dijk and Peter Verbruggen dividing up Paul’s airtime.
The October 31 broadcast started at 09:54 CET and ended at 16:00 CET. The program schedule was as follows:
09:52 – Opening: Theme Tune & Station IDs
10:02 – 30 Years of FRS-Holland part 1 – Peter Verbruggen [1980 & 1981]
12:00 – 30 Years of FRS-Holland part 2 – Peter Verbruggen [1982 & first half of 1983]
13:00 – 30 Years of FRS-Holland part 3 – Jan van Dijk [Second half of 1983 & 1984]
14:30 – 30 Years of FRS-Holland part 7 – Dave Scott [1994, 1995, 1996, 1997]
16:00 – Close Down
At the last moment, a change occurred regarding the 6005 kHz relay: it aired from 10:00 to 12:00 CET and then again from 13:00 to 17:00 CET, which meant it continued for an extra hour after 7600//5800 went off air.
On the morning of October 31st, a befriended Dutch station broadcasted a special message several times around the top of the hour, informing listeners about the frequencies and programs scheduled for that day.
The broadcasts on October 31st went satisfactorily, with a strong signal on 7600 kHz. However, in the afternoon, 6005 kHz suffered heavy interference from DRM transmissions by a French station on 6015 kHz — the DRM signal spanned a 40 kHz bandwidth!
In the days following the broadcast, we were offered the opportunity to re-broadcast the hours that had been affected by interference on Sunday, November 21st. This eventually became a 2-hour broadcast, featuring a full repeat of Jan van Dijk’s program, followed by an “extra half hour” with Peter Verbruggen. This transmission took place on 6005 kHz, but in the morning from 10:00 to 12:00 CET.