Trans World Radio to close KTWR

[yeoldeschool]

Sheesh! Talk about a false prophet. That's what my church warns us about. And the Bible warns us about false prophets and teachers (see Matthew 7:15-16).

There's a long biography of him at https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/225367020/brother_ralph-gordon-stair. It's a wild read.

In any case, for someone who spent his life insisting the world would end in the years following his death, he sure picked an ominous date to die: 4/3/21.

It's not like fire-and-brimstone-the-end-is-nigh preachers aren't all over YouTube. Yes, I know not everyone has access to the internet or computers, but it would be free to post one's sermons there and it would seem to be vastly more cost-effective than buying airtime on shortwave to pump out thousands of watts to an audience of dozens.

I think the reasoning of these broadcasters is that Youtube and the like won't put their sermons in front of people who aren't searching specifically for them, while radio dial scanning will force people into head-on collisions with their messages, leading to "more souls that didn't know they should be searching for anything, finding it."

 

[boombox4]

Woofferton and Issoudun are serious, professional operations catering to serious, professional broadcasters.

You really think that WRMI isn't a serious, professional operation? As an operation, it no less serious than any other commercial or non-com broadcaster. So you don't like the programming. Fine. A lot of Americans don't like the programming on public radio, including NPR, something they are partially paying for. Does that make public radio or NPR any less professional?

The people behind the stations and the operations themselves are professional, despite the fact you dislike the programming.

When “hobbyist” shows are all that’s left on SW, then the medium is dead.

You could say the same for a lot of non-com stations, with specialty shows that are often little more than hobbyist operations.

 

[Chad-Stevens]

I think the reasoning of these broadcasters is that Youtube and the like won't put their sermons in front of people who aren't searching specifically for them, while radio dial scanning will force people into head-on collisions with their messages, leading to "more souls that didn't know they should be searching for anything, finding it."

True, but I keep running across these sorts of YT videos in the right-side column of recommended videos even without looking for them. I think the AI slop is starting to crowd them out, but they're still very much in abundance on YT.
There's also the fact that listeners in remote areas with no internet nor computers are unlikely to offer much in the way of financial support, even if they want to.

 

[Mediafrog+]

Thread bump: Being reported on SWDX forums that the last day of broadcasting for KTWR will be Saturday, October 25, coinciding with the end of the A-25 broadcast season.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Thread bump: Being reported on SWDX forums that the last day of broadcasting for KTWR will be Saturday, October 25, coinciding with the end of the A-25 broadcast season.

Sad to see any transmitter go dark, but obviously understand why. I don't pay any attention when Dxing though, to sitesin Japan, the pacific, China, etc even when they beam west.. because theyre not really DX. The only pacific transmitter i pay attention to is RNZP which is often 100 dbuv+ signal wise here

 

[CTListener]

Is KTWR an easy catch in New England? I don't recall ever hearing it in my SWLing days, but then, I wasn't seeking It out, as its programming didn't interest me and I already had heard Alaska many times on the ham bands.

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

Is KTWR an easy catch in New England? I don't recall ever hearing it in my SWLing days, but then, I wasn't seeking It out, as its programming didn't interest me and I already had heard Alaska many times on the ham bands.

KTWR is on Guam, KNLS is in Alaska

 

[Mediafrog+]

KTWR is on Guam, KNLS is in Alaska

Guam will still have KSDA on shortwave, but anyone’s guess as to how much longer. Adventist World Radio cut back on its output and transmitter leases last year, with the only non-Guam transmissions being two one hour broadcasts in Malagasy from the MGLOB Madagascar facility, and a 3.5 hour single frequency block from Nauen, Germany beamed to Africa.

The same reasons that resulted in the KTWR shutdown are likely pressuring KSDA.

I have heard both stations here in Texas many times, but most of the output is not in English.