[HCDX] Radio Netherlands relay station being refurbished

["Alokesh Gupta" <alokeshgupta@xxxxxxxxx>]

Makeover on Bonaire
Radio Netherlands relay station being refurbished
by Andy Sennitt
18-05-2006

 The Radio Netherlands relay station on Bonaire in the Netherlands Antilles is almost 40 years old. The existing shortwave transmitters have been in service since the station opened, and are overdue for replacement.
The Board of Governors of Radio Netherlands recently approved an investment of some four million euros in the station, which delivers shortwave broadcasts to the Americas, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

At the end of April, the Minister of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands Antilles, Burney El Hage, laid the first stone for the rebuilding project, which is scheduled to be completed in around 18 months. The refurbishment includes the replacement of the old Philips transmitters with two new AM/DRM senders. These new transmitters will not only be ready for the age of digital shortwave, but will also be much more energy-efficient when used in analogue mode.
The identity of the company that will supply the new transmitters is not yet known. A detailed technical specification has been prepared, and tenders are being invited from three or four manufacturers. The winner will be announced in due course, and a period of 14 months is being allowed from the date of the order to the completion of testing on site.

Benefit to local economy
Obviously, the transmitters have to be imported from elsewhere, but as much of the work as possible is being contracted to local companies on Bonaire, so that the local economy benefits from the reinvestment.
A new office is being constructed at the transmitter site, and replaces the office that has been located in Kralendijk, 10 km from the transmitter site, since the station opened in 1969. The office was originally located away from the transmitters as in the early years it was used as a receiving station to pick up news bulletins that were broadcast from the Netherlands on a Single Side Band link. Nowadays, everything is fed by satellite, so there's no reason to have the office in a separate location.

Less staff
The modernisation of the Bonaire facility means that less manpower will be needed to operate it in the future. Currently, there are well over 30 employees. When the refurbishment is completed, this will be reduced to 27.
But there will be no compulsory redundancies. Some of the employees have been with the station since it opened, and are due to retire shortly anyway, so this will take care of the reduction in numbers.

Dedicated staff
The dedication of the staff in Bonaire was tested to its limits six years ago. On Sunday, 23 April 2000, a major fire broke out in the generator room. The fire totally destroyed the generators, silencing the station. Initially, it was expected that the station would be off the air for several months, but an incredible effort by the staff saw the station get back on the air with a reduced service on 2 May. Some members of staff worked so hard that they had to be ordered home to rest. Local people who had no direct connection with Radio Netherlands helped by bringing food and drink to the workers.
I visited the station in the 1980s, and came away full of admiration for the staff, who would later become colleagues. They were eager to show off "their" station to visitors, and were proud that their little island was playing such an important role in delivering Radio  Netherlands programmes to listeners thousands of miles away.

Warm feeling
In recent years, budget cuts have reduced the amount of shortwave airtime needed by Radio Netherlands itself, but this has made it possible for other international broadcasters to avail themselves of the opportunity to get strong signals into the Americas.
Currently, Bonaire relays some programmes of China Radio International, Deutsche Welle, Adventist World Radio and NHK Japan.

As some broadcasters reduce their commitment to shortwave, Radio Netherlands is keeping its options open, and Bonaire will once again become a state-of-the-art international shortwave broadcasting facility. As someone who grew up in the era when international broadcasting and shortwave were synonymous, that gives me a warm feeling.

http://www.radionetherlands.nl/features/media/bon060518

---------------
Alokesh Gupta
New Delhi, India.



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