FRS goes DX & Newsletters

Within the history of FRS, there is a distinct role reserved for ‘FRS goes DX’ magazine. ‘FRS goes DX’ has its own history that is inseparably linked to Free Radio Service Holland. A little explanation: in 1982 the FRS Listeners Club was founded. Main purpose was to strengthen the bond between station & listener. In those days FRS-Holland was active with monthly 3rd Sunday broadcasts, the station had been building up a considerable listening audience justifying the idea of setting up a listeners club. And so the FRS Listeners Club was founded publishing a monthly club newsletter. Peter Verbruggen discussed the idea with Gerd who gave some good advice. The club magazine ‘FRS Goes DX’, named after the on air ‘FRS Goes DX’ programme, was the perfect communication tool between station and the listener. It became the “mouthpiece” of the Free Radio Service Holland.

What’s interesting here is the evolution from a simple news sheet to a fully-fledged, mature, good-looking, and informative magazine. There were developments on multiple fronts, primarily aimed at producing a better magazine. This included improvements in print quality, layout, and most importantly, content. It’s worth noting that the frequency of publication also changed, largely due to time constraints.

FRS goes DX magazine: A potted history

Edition #1 came out in June 1982 and was nothing more than a few A4 sheets with an overview of DX Shows in English & German from major International shortwave broadcasters. Edition #3 was the first one including shortwave free radio news. With the September 1982 issue, ‘FRS goes DX’ acquired its own identity: in the top (upper part) of the front page, a fixed logo. It was a monthly publication containing in average 6- 8 A4 pages. Print quality was moderate: the info sheet (there was still no talk of a real magazine) was replicated by means of a stencil machine. In the starting period a six month membership costed 7.50 in Dutch guilders or German marks and the club welcomed members from various European countries. Apart from FRS-Holland news, Offshore News and Shortwave News were the main radio related subjects being featured. Gradually, there was also room for background articles about radio stations or radio-related topics. In some cases articles were authored by guest authors.

After nearly three years it was the April 1985 issue #34 being the first one in a fresh A5 format. ‘FRS Goes DX’ had now become a true magazine. Printing quality was still not brilliant but most important was the content. The number of pages was expanded to 12 to 14. A new and welcome column was ‘Alternative Thoughts‘ put on paper by FRS jock Joop ter Zee. The price for an annual subscription became 15 Dutch guilders/ 15 German marks.

As from November 1986 onwards- issue 53- a further improvement: the stencil machine was replaced by a photocopier, resulting in (much) better print quality.

The Summer of 1988 brought another facelift. As from edition 73/74 the familiar fixed cover was replaced by a fresh new image or photo every month, linked to an article in the respective magazine. The first ‘new’cover was a photo of the first FRS studio. Although in black and white, but nevertheless… In addition content of the magazine was upgraded. Columns such as FRS Newscorner, Sounds from Offshore, SW Survey, Alternative Thoughts and Mailbox 41 along with a number of ‘specific’ articles made the magazine attractive to the Free Radio enthusiasts. Each monthly edition contained some 20 pages. A month later, the distribution was done from neighboring country Belgium. This meant a considerable cost saving.

In the course of 1990 time pressure made it more and more difficult to produce a monthly magazine. A series of bi-monthly double editions came out between July 1990 and April 1992. As from May 1992 onwards ‘FRS Goes DX’ became a bi-monthly magazine and that would remain (almost) until the final edition #143 Spring 1997.

Edition 121 volume 11 January 1993 saw a completely restyled ‘FRS Goes DX’ in a three column A4 format and improved print quality. From now on some 32 to 36 pages were produced comparable with 64 to 72 pages in the old 1992 format! And: more photos in the magazine and a much improved lay-out! Finally ‘FRS Goes DX’ had developed into a good-looking, serious and moreover informative and versatile magazine read by many European radio enthusiasts. Annual subscription fee was DM 35.00 or 35 Dutch guilders. New columns were News from around the World, FRS Satellite Telex and Made in Holland. Also Russian and US Free Radio News were included! But it was unique for covering the European Free Radio shortwave scene.

Just over 4 years later – March 1997– it was over. During the final 12 months the magazine had been published quarterly. After nearly 15 years ‘FRS Goes DX’ came to an end. It had been very hard work to turn the magazine into what it was in 1997. For almost 15 years ‘FRS Goes DX’ was published on a regular basis without any major interruption. Remarkable: some of the first FRS Listeners Club members were still subscribers in 1997. Main reason for quitting the magazine was that Peter Verbruggen wanted to spend more time on other aspects of radio. Producing the magazine simply became too demanding.

It has been mentioned before: the most important thing for the reader is the content. What might have helped ‘FRS goes DX’ is that the magazine could cover the turbulent offshore years of the 80s. Think of Caroline’s comeback from the Ros Revenge in August 1983, the launch of Laser 558 in May 1984, Laser Hot Hits in December 1986, and not to forget Radio Monique from the Ross Revenge in early 1984. Always good for interesting stories. All of these were extensively covered. Another strong point was the extensive coverage of the free radio scene in Europe, including comprehensive loggings. Of course, all of this was aided by the fact that an extensive network of reliable sources and contributors had been built up. From this place, heartfelt thanks to everyone who played a role in this.

Finally some facts

Between 1982 and 1997, 143 editions of ‘FRS goes DX’ were published.
The vast majority of content was written by editor-in-chief Peter Verbruggen.
Contributors (among others) included Joop ter Zee, Artiom, Ian Biggar, and Gerd. Hans Knot often provided offshore news.
In addition to regular sections, numerous interesting background articles were published. Some examples include:
Caroline 25 years, the return of confiscated Caroline equipment, the launch of Virgin 1215 AM, the German shortwave scene in the late 1970s, the end of the Voice of Peace, Holland FM from the Communicator, the history of shortwave free radio in Europe, Radio ABC Denmark, and Jam Creative Productions. Too many to list…
Of all editions ever published, at least one copy is preserved, with several having multiple copies. Digital files of later editions are also available.
You can still obtain a (digital) copy! Interested? Contact us via POBx 2702 or e-mail: frs@frsholland.nl .

FRS Newsletter & FRS News

Already 4 years before ‘FRS Goes DX’ disappeared, the first edition of a new publication under the name ‘FRS Newsletter‘ was produced. That was in January 1993 at the same moment the restyled ‘FRS Goes DX’ was out. The ‘FRS Newsletter’ focussed on informing the listening audience about typical FRS-Holland news. The publication was sent free of charge to those responding to an FRS broadcast. After 14 editions it was June 1997 when the ‘FRS Newsletter’ turned into ‘FRS News’. From now on the ‘FRS Newsletter’ was for subscribers only and its content changed from covering FRS-Holland only to emphasizing on Free Radio News. Indeed it was a kind of compact follow-up of ‘FRS Goes DX’ with Shortwave News and News from Around the World, each edition contained 6 to 10 A4 size pages. Where the ‘FRS Newsletter’ ended as a free publication, ‘FRS News’ continued informing the listening audience with news from the Free Radio Service Holland. After 7 years, the final ‘FRS Newsletter’ edition # 39/40 was published in December 2003.
‘FRS News’ continued as a free publication aiming to optimize the flow of information from the station to the listeners. The actual format contained information about past and future broadcast(s). Columns were Mailbox 2702, FRS-Holland News, Uplink and Fact File. ‘FRS News’ was being irregularly published and some of the later editions were in colour.

So far edition 36 from August 2011 (vol. 15-issue 36) was the last published edition. It’s a special FRS-Holland 30th Anniversary edition  all about FRS-Holland 30 years on short wave: a potted history, the FRS 30th Anniversary broadcasts (and how it came about…), FRS presenters 1980- 2010, the 1983 raid, the beginning, listener’s letters and much, much more. This 24 page edition contains colour phtos as well. Many copies have been sold over the past years and are still available. Contact us!
Because of the introduction of the FRS website, future FRS related news items were (are) shared only digitally. At least, that was our intention. However, starting in 2013 a renewed ‘FRS Newsletter’ was launched. Each edition is published shortly after a broadcast and sent by e-mail to those sending in a reception report. Most of the content covers the recent broadcast and listener’s e-mails/letters but also interesting stories from FRS’ past and radio news as well. Very few listeners receive a printed copy because of being inactive in the digital world. Over time, the current ‘FRS Newsletter’ has evolved into a 10+ page, small yet informative digital medium. Still free of charge, although FRS-Holland can be pleased with small donations (Paypal or via POBox 2702) that always benefit radio-related matters. Thanks in advance!