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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 427, March 2, 2003
AWR Mediumwave Relays - Europe
This year, 2003, forms the 80th anniversary of the first radio broadcast from the Seventh-day Adventist denomination. This first official radio broadcast was the inauguration of a new radio station located at Emmanuel Missionary College in Berrien Springs, Michigan, and it took place in the evening of April 23, 1923.
A young radio amateur, John Fetzer of Lafayette in Indiana, was invited to establish a radio station at the college in Michigan, which has since grown into a university. Using his own amateur equipment under the callsign 8AZ, he transmitted broadcast programming from his dormitory room in Maple Hall towards the end of the year 1922.
Amateur broadcaster 8AZ then became radio station KFGZ, which soon afterwards became WEMC; and Emmanuel Missionary College became Andrews University, which is on the air these days with a 100 kW FM station, WAUS.
The first mediumwave broadcast from the Adventist denomination in Europe went on the air from Radio Luxembourg in 1947, with the broadcast of the “Voice of Prophecy” over their large 150 kW transmitter on 232 meters, 1293 kHz. Over the years, there have been several series of Adventist broadcasts from Radio Luxembourg on mediumwave, and also on shortwave as well.
However, in January 1979, the mediumwave broadcasts from Radio Luxembourg were taken over officially as part of the international radio ministry of Adventist World Radio. At the time, AWR was just eight years old.
Next on the list of AWR relays on mediumwave in Europe is Radio Algeciras in Spain. AWR began a series of test broadcasts from the 5 kW transmitter of station EAJ55, Radio Algeciras, located near Cadiz, in September 1982.
Originally, this series of test broadcasts was intended to be on the air for just three months, but instead they continued for nearly four years. Radio Algeciras on 1260 kHz is located quite near Gibraltar, and the intended coverage for the AWR broadcasts was nearby areas of North Africa.
In 1995, a whole series of radio programs, emanating from Radio Moscow in Moscow and from the AWR studios in Tula, were relayed nationwide throughout Russia on almost 1,000 radio stations. Included in this vast electronic network were 119 mediumwave stations. Several of these programs are still on the air to this day.
Back again to the Iberian Peninsula and this time to Gibraltar itself. The Gibraltar Broadcasting Company operates a 2 kW mediumwave station on 1458 kHz, and this facility carried a series of test broadcasts on behalf of Adventist World Radio with, again, nearby areas of North Africa as the designated coverage area. This programming was on the air in mid-1995, and AWR produced a special QSL card to honor the introduction of these broadcasts.
Next on this mediumwave list is Radio Monte Carlo, with 40 kW on 702 kHz. This station carried a series of test broadcasts on behalf of Adventist World Radio during the last half of the year 1999.
And finally we come to Manx Radio, which is located at Douglas, the capital city on the quite unique Isle of Man. This island is located between England and Ireland, and it claims a very ancient heritage, as well as a certain amount of independence. Manx Radio, with 20 kW on 1368 kHz, carried the AWR news program “N7News” for a year or two, back right at the end of this past century.
Over a period of many years, QSL cards have been issued for five of these six different mediumwave locations in Europe that carried AWR programming, with the exception of the long list of 119 stations in Russia. However, any of these QSL cards confirming the reception of AWR on mediumwave in Europe would be considered these days as quite rare. The AWR collection in Indianapolis does hold QSL cards for the broadcasts on mediumwave from Luxembourg, Gibraltar and the isle of Man.