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"Wavescan" is a weekly program for long distance radio hobbyists produced by Dr. Adrian M. Peterson, Coordinator of International Relations for Adventist World Radio. AWR carries the program over many of its stations (including shortwave). Adrian Peterson is a highly regarded DXer and radio historian, and often includes features on radio history in his program. We are reproducing those features below, with Dr. Peterson's permission and assistance.


Wavescan N591, June 21, 2020

Another look at the Shortwave Scene in Paraguay, South America

As the opening topic in our program today, we come to the fourth episode in this miniseries on the radio scene in the South American nation of Paraguay. The focus today is on four or five events associated with radio broadcasting on shortwave, and we present these interesting items in chronological order.

During the era of the European War in the middle of last century, the German administration established a small network of spy radio stations in several countries of South America under the code name Operation Bolivar. Early in the year 1943, one of these small transceivers, a combination shortwave radio transmitter and receiver, was sent by air mail from Buenos Aires in Argentina to Asuncion in Paraguay.

This transmitter was in use in Asuncion for a few weeks for communication with other similar stations in the Bolivar Network in South America, and perhaps on occasions even for direct communication with the authorities in Berlin. However, in May (1943), the authorities in Berlin ordered the equipment in Paraguay to be removed and reestablished back in Buenos Aires. You can see pictures of this type of transceiver, a combination transmitter and receiver, on the internet.

During the 1970s and 1980s, several international radio monitors in North America and Europe noted a series of radio programs on shortwave coming from Radio Nacional in Asuncion in Paraguay. This shortwave relay served as a program feed from the capital city in Asuncion to local mediumwave stations in country areas throughout Paraguay.

One of the most reported shortwave channels that carried this program feed was callsign ZPG4 on 10413 kHz USB, Upper Side Band. During the nearly twenty years that this form of shortwave relay service was in vogue, many different frequencies and callsigns were noted, all in the USB mode. Among other callsigns and frequencies noted in the United States during that era, for example, were ZPN7 on 11485 kHz, and ZPJ74 on 17470 kHz.

These shortwave transmitters, all quite low powered, were operated by Antel Communication in Asuncion, and a dozen or more callsigns were noted, all beginning with ZP, followed by another letter, and a number. These callsigns generally identified a specific shortwave channel, rather than a specific transmitter.

During the year 1984, an international radio monitor in Argentina, Emilio Pedro Povrzenic, noted three different shortwave channels in use by Radio La Voz de Misiones-ZP35 in San Juan, Paraguay. This regional mediumwave station, which is located in Paraguay towards the southern border with Argentina, was installed in 1977.

At the time of the monitoring observations (1984), Radio La Voz de Misiones-ZP35 in San Juan was operating with 2.5 kW on a very irregular mediumwave channel, 1413.3 kHz, and these shortwave emanations were noted on 4241 kHz, 8480 kHz and 9896 kHz. However, these three very unusual shortwave channels were not propagated from a set of shortwave transmitters, but rather they were, in reality, three very unusual harmonics from a malfunctioning main mediumwave transmitter.

In August of that same year 1984, Adventist World Radio gave consideration to the installation of a radio broadcasting complex in Paraguay. This new station was to be located near the capital city Asuncion, and it would contain two shortwave transmitters at 50 kW for international coverage, a mediumwave transmitter for reception throughout Paraguay, and an FM transmitter for city coverage.

Site work was expected to commence in January of the following year 1985; and in mid-year the government of Paraguay gave formal approval. However, this projected AWR multiple radio complex never eventuated, due to the difficulties encountered in transferring major funding from another country in South America into Paraguay.

We might also add that back around that same era, available evidence would suggest that another well-known shortwave station, FEBC, gave consideration to establishing a radio broadcasting complex in Paraguay. However, likewise, neither did this radio project come to fruition.

Radio station FEBC, the Far East Broadcasting Company in Manila in the Philippines, began the installation of a network of mediumwave and shortwave stations in the Philippines soon after the end of the Pacific War in the middle of last century. In addition, FEBC also procured the well-known American shortwave station KGEI in San Francisco, California. and they were on the air to South America with programming in South American languages.