Why does Radio Havana Cuba bother on SW?

[1st of 5]

With the supposed declining number of SW listeners in North America and the termination of most major SW broadcasts to NA, why does Radio Havana Cuba even bother with bombarding the USA with their commie crap? Besides us, who is really listening to them and who really believes all the garbage they spew out? I recall the old Radio Beijing from the late '80s and early '90s, when it was a classic amateurish, crude, dull and boring commie propaganda outfit. Back then it was a novelty to listen to them and radio Moscow, just to hear THEIR twisted point of view. As for CRI, formerly Radio Beijing, it has become much more professional and polished, western round-eyed running dog style CNN-Chicom infotainment, but still spewing out the commie propaganda, but in a much more refined manner. But then again, for all of the megawatts, who is really listening over here?

 

[BRNout]

Collectively, it's probably more than you think. Sure it's not significant in the ratings sense, but potentially in the tens of thousands - especially when you add in potential listeners in Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America (English and Spanish broadcasts). If anything, business has been good for Radio Havana Cuba because Hugo Chavez has been leasing time from them to broadcast programming from his government as well.

By the way, the Chinese (both Taiwan and Mainland) spend plenty of time and expense broadcasting to North America in English. They still feel that they get more listeners to their point of view that way than they would if they did not do this. Perhaps that's so. Look at it this way: how many people would go and seek out web streams of these programs? Probably a lot fewer than who happen to catch the programming on shortwave.

Given that there's so much religious NUT-JOB programming polluting the SW bands now, the Cuban, Venezuelan and Chinese stuff actually sounds pretty good by comparison!

 

[gr8oldies]

Radio Banana Cuba probably sounds 10 times more listenable now than it did in the 70s. Then, it was the same model used by Radio Moscow, Radio Tirana, etc., a man and woman reading a script alternating paragraphs, usually "The U.S. Imperialists are criminally oppressing the people of _____________". I remember hearing Angela Davis speak live on RHC. Why do people listen? Either they agree or want to get their blood boiling would be my guess. During the Vietnam war, The Voice of Vietnam used to lease time on RHC (or whatever the arrangement was). They sent scripts that RHC announcers then read.

Keith Perron was one of RHC's announcers; he now does a revived "Happy Station" show (very NON political) reprising the show that used to air on Radio Netherlands.

 

[BRNout]

Radio Banana Cuba probably sounds 10 times more listenable now than it did in the 70s. Then, it was the same model used by Radio Moscow, Radio Tirana, etc., a man and woman reading a script alternating paragraphs, usually "The U.S. Imperialists are criminally oppressing the people of _____________". I remember hearing Angela Davis speak live on RHC. Why do people listen? Either they agree or want to get their blood boiling would be my guess. During the Vietnam war, The Voice of Vietnam used to lease time on RHC (or whatever the arrangement was). They sent scripts that RHC announcers then read.

Keith Perron was one of RHC's announcers; he now does a revived "Happy Station" show (very NON political) reprising the show that used to air on Radio Netherlands.

Not that I've invested much time listening to their propaganda, but I have heard enough lately to tell you that they've learned a thing or two about the concept of marketing. If anything, what they do now is to report the news with a socialist spin while pretending to play it 'straight'. In other words, they tell the pro-Castro, pro-Chavez side of the story but in a smoother and more sophisticated way than in the past. They use far fewer of those radioactive phrases (i.e. "US imperialists") during newscasts now. Honestly, they are much more subtle now than in years past even if they are just as biased. I guess they've figured out that all that bombastic language turns people off and that reporting the news while spinning it their way (and leaving out key details) is more effective.

Honestly, it seems that they've borrowed a few pages from MSNBC's playbook! ;D

 

[DX]

An interesting discussion about Radio Havana Cuba. Several points: A couple of the Cuba experts I know (who actually get to visit the country) have told me Fidel Castro had a "thing" about shortwave. Although Raul (apparently) has day-to-day control over the country, I don't think we'll really know RHC's future until after Fidel's death.

The "Third World" mindset may be at play here as well. The Western broadcasters' abandonment of shortwave has struck some as premature. Not everyone has a computer in every room. So much easier to pull out a portable radio to listen to stations, especially if other family members are using that computer for homework OR entertainment.

As the Voice of America, the BBC, Deutsche Welle, Radio Nederland, etc., have cut back shortwave broadcasting, the Chinese have gobbled up frequencies and airtime, even for broadcasts to North America. Maybe they know something we don't.

I can tell you a Sri Lankan shortwave enthusiast who has monitored for the Voice of America, Vatican Radio, etc., told a shortwave listening conference in Kulpsville, Pennsylvania, last winter the Chinese were gaining influence with their increased broadcasting to that part of the world, against the abandonment by the Western broadcasters. CRI (China Radio International) listening clubs have gained popularity.

But back to Cuba: Don't underestimate U.S. shortwave broadcasting to Cuba (Radio marti) as a factor in the Cuban psychology. As long as the U.S. Government targets Cuba, the Cubans have incentive to broadcast back to us. Same psychology as the Cubans periodically powering-up their A.M. medium-wave transmitters, causing periodic interference to U.S. stations.

As for Radio Havana's "sound", it always was more accessible to North American listeners, in my view, during the bad old Cold War days, thanks - in part - to some Canadians, and perhaps a U.S. "lefty" or two, on RHC's air staff.

Some U.S. listeners just listened - and continued to listen - for the Cuban music and the DX show with the Cuban radio amateur and RHC host, Dr. Arne Coro, who's also a university professor. One story has it that he has had Castro's ear, and endlessly promoted shortwave.

When a hurricane cut across Cuba, I actually telephoned him and put him on-the-air. He just reported the "facts" and made no attempt to inject any propaganda.

For that matter, Cuba has always been a bit different from some of the other communist countries during the Cold War. Sure, you could get an official letter from RHC ending with the line, "Homeland or Death, we will win!". But, if you sought QSL's from Cuban regional or local stations on A.M., a Cuban chief engineer or technican might write a long personal letter back to you, devoid of any of the propaganda.

 

[Tincap]

If I'm not mistaken, there has been a cut back of English language programming over the years. As for Spanish language programming, I would think SW is the medium of choice, due to demographics (generally less access to on-line broadcasts, amongst the large amounts of poor living in Central & South America) and (if I'm not mistaken) MW broadcasts don't carry well in the equatorial regions (don't know why, if someone with technical knowledge could explain...).

As for the Cuban and/or Chi-com propaganda...don't they make a nice counter to what is usually heard on American talk radio? Hmmmm?

~BG

 

[gr8oldies]

Well if RHC decided to take one of their high powered AMs and broadcast to the US I guess you would have your lefty talk.

 

[davideduardo]

Well if RHC decided to take one of their high powered AMs and broadcast to the US I guess you would have your lefty talk.

RHC does not have any AMs, high or low power. While all radio in Cuba is run by the government, Radio Habana is s separate group independent of the AM and FM operations.

And there have never been any true high power AMs in Cuba, although there were about 5 or 6 mediunm power ones in the 120 to 300 kw range. And there was only one 300 kw transmitter, now in disrepair. The Czech 120's, built in the late 60's, are also failing and must have been modified as Svetlana does not even make the final tube any more.

None of those AMs would penetrate anything more than the Miami and Naples markets by day, and since AM usage in the US at night is so low, and frequencies so congested, that night operation on AM would not produce any measurable benefit. On the other hand, politcasters like RHC don't use terms like "measurable" as it would ruin their belief system.

 

[davideduardo]

If I'm not mistaken, there has been a cut back of English language programming over the years. As for Spanish language programming, I would think SW is the medium of choice, due to demographics (generally less access to on-line broadcasts, amongst the large amounts of poor living in Central & South America) and (if I'm not mistaken) MW broadcasts don't carry well in the equatorial regions (don't know why, if someone with technical knowledge could explain...).

Today, there are very few SW radios in Latin Amrica... vastly fewer than there are computers.

Anecdote: in 1966, I bought HCSP1, Radio San Pedro de Amaguaña, about 60 km outside of Quito, Ecuador. It came with a tropical band SW license and a transmitter of sorts. After considerable deliberation (I was a very active DXer in that era, and loved the idea of owning a SW station) I decided to surrender the license as it was of no possible economic benefit to me. Later, I saw the raw data for many tens of thousands of radio ratings interviews in Ecuador, and not one incident of SW listening was seen in any of the major metros of the country... and this was over 40 years ago.

While SW did have some impact in the rural areas in the 60's, the higher power AMs that came on the scene in the 70's removed the need for SW, and then FM removed the need for AM or SW.

It's been decades since consumer priced SW capable radios were available in that country, and the experience is typical of most other Spanish speaking nations in the Hemisphere.

 

[davideduardo]

The "Third World" mindset may be at play here as well. The Western broadcasters' abandonment of shortwave has struck some as premature. Not everyone has a computer in every room. So much easier to pull out a portable radio to listen to stations, especially if other family members are using that computer for homework OR entertainment.

You assume that there are SW radios to be found in the Spanish speaking nations of Latin America; that assumption failed about 30 to 40 years ago. SW capable consumer radios are not common. FM radios are.

But back to Cuba: Don't underestimate U.S. shortwave broadcasting to Cuba (Radio marti) as a factor in the Cuban psychology. As long as the U.S. Government targets Cuba, the Cubans have incentive to broadcast back to us.

Most Radio Martí listening is not to SW, but to the 1180 MW station. Emigrants who are interviewed, and who have been interviewed over the decades of Radio Martí, report listening to the MW facility as in the past, ownership of an SW radio was prohibited or very suspect, while everyone had an AM radio and the 300 kw lobe of Martí covered a lot of Cuba, despite the jamming eforts.

Same psychology as the Cubans periodically powering-up their A.M. medium-wave transmitters, causing periodic interference to U.S. stations.

They have not been able to power up for 15 or 20 years at least... the few medium power transmitters are now over 40 years old and failing, and can't produce even the designed output. And the sever power shortages and rationing in Cuba would not permit this today, anyway.

 

[radioman148]

David,

When you were in South America in the 60s were you ever able to DX US MW stations?
If so, what stations do you remember hearing down there?

 

[davideduardo]

David,

When you were in South America in the 60s were you ever able to DX US MW stations?
If so, what stations do you remember hearing down there?

Hundreds of them. On the tunable loop, many. On the 280 foot vertical, many more.

Most Latin American stations were silent at night... and in Quito, there were only 3 AM's on 24/7, all of them mine. So I would often DX a while when I had maintenance periods on my own stations if I finished early... I'd take the HQ180 with me and connect it to the tower, bypassing the ATU with a shunt.

Best were several Dakotas and Montana Class IV's. Things like KFMB 540 were regulars... lots of gulf coast stations, but others like WMCA 570, KGO, and regional channel stations were tunable... different nights brought different regions of the US, sometimes with oddities like KGGF in Coffeyville or something like KOOL or KLO coming in. I never kept a log, and lost the verifications I got, but it was fun to have, save a few Mexicans that were 24/7 too, most channels vacant. Oddly, few catches from Asia, and only a few Africans. No Europeans ever.

 

[radioman148]

David,

When you were in South America in the 60s were you ever able to DX US MW stations?
If so, what stations do you remember hearing down there?

Hundreds of them. On the tunable loop, many. On the 280 foot vertical, many more.

Most Latin American stations were silent at night... and in Quito, there were only 3 AM's on 24/7, all of them mine. So I would often DX a while when I had maintenance periods on my own stations if I finished early... I'd take the HQ180 with me and connect it to the tower, bypassing the ATU with a shunt.

Best were several Dakotas and Montana Class IV's. Things like KFMB 540 were regulars... lots of gulf coast stations, but others like WMCA 570, KGO, and regional channel stations were tunable... different nights brought different regions of the US, sometimes with oddities like KGGF in Coffeyville or something like KOOL or KLO coming in. I never kept a log, and lost the verifications I got, but it was fun to have, save a few Mexicans that were 24/7 too, most channels vacant. Oddly, few catches from Asia, and only a few Africans. No Europeans ever.

Very interesting--thanks!

 

[radioman148]

David,

When you were in South America in the 60s were you ever able to DX US MW stations?
If so, what stations do you remember hearing down there?

Hundreds of them. On the tunable loop, many. On the 280 foot vertical, many more.

Most Latin American stations were silent at night... and in Quito, there were only 3 AM's on 24/7, all of them mine. So I would often DX a while when I had maintenance periods on my own stations if I finished early... I'd take the HQ180 with me and connect it to the tower, bypassing the ATU with a shunt.

Best were several Dakotas and Montana Class IV's. Things like KFMB 540 were regulars... lots of gulf coast stations, but others like WMCA 570, KGO, and regional channel stations were tunable... different nights brought different regions of the US, sometimes with oddities like KGGF in Coffeyville or something like KOOL or KLO coming in. I never kept a log, and lost the verifications I got, but it was fun to have, save a few Mexicans that were 24/7 too, most channels vacant. Oddly, few catches from Asia, and only a few Africans. No Europeans ever.

Did you ever get any of the Chicago clear channels, or anything from Chicago for that matter?

 

[DX]

To respond to a few points:

Yes, of course, we've seen a decline in shortwave broadcasting, and shortwave radios. AM/FM stations bothering to simulcast on shortwave have declined, particularly in more "advanced" countries such as Venezuela and even Colombia.

Still, a good many commercial and evangelical shortwave stations still exist in countries such as Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. I can't imagine they stay on the air just to be "DX targets" for radio hobbyists in the United States and Canada, especially during this difficult economic period. Many stations have left the air, but it's interesting to see stations that have bothered to get replacement components, and RETURNED to the air.

Eduardo raises some good points. But don't forget the evangelical broadcasters (HCJB World Radio in Quito leads the list) that distribute free, inexpensive shortwave radios to people in remote areas. In fact, HCJB gave up its external broadcasting to distant listeners in English, Japanese, etc., so it could concentrate on broadcasting within Latin America... yes, a lot of it on the A.M. medium-wave, but some still on shortwave.

Given tough economic circumstances, you can be sure HCJB did a cost-benefit analysis. It continues shortwave broadcasting in indigenous languages such as Quechua.

Yes, Radio Havana Cuba has never done external broadcasting on A.M. medium-wave, to my knowledge. However, periodiocally, the Cubans have done external broadcasting on A.M. under a different moniker, "La Voz de Cuba", "The Voice of Cuba". (Those broadcasts - on 600 kHz. - used to interfere early-mornings with WREC, 600, Memphis, Tennessee, for example.) True, the Cubans have never broadcast on A.M. with a gazillion watts, but their A.M.s have sometimes created interference for a number of stations in the U.S. Sunbelt.

 

[gr8oldies]

There was the Radio Moscow relay on 600 around 1980 and Radio Taino which for a time in the mid 90s promoted Cuban tourism

 

[DX]

Good memory! I had forgotten about those.

 

[cyberdad]

Interesting stuff, David, as usual.

I have another related question for you....

If RHC is separate from standard AM/FM broadcasting, why does R. Rebelde continue to operate the shortwave transmitter on 5025? This has always seemed a bit curious to me...now even more so, given your comment that owning a SW receiver in Cuba could make you "suspect". On the surface, this particular transmitter would seem to be fairly well maintained. Good signal and good audio...day and night...along much of the Gulf Coast (at least in and near Florida).

 

[davideduardo]

If RHC is separate from standard AM/FM broadcasting, why does R. Rebelde continue to operate the shortwave transmitter on 5025? This has always seemed a bit curious to me...now even more so, given your comment that owning a SW receiver in Cuba could make you "suspect". On the surface, this particular transmitter would seem to be fairly well maintained. Good signal and good audio...day and night...along much of the Gulf Coast (at least in and near Florida).

I always had the assumption that the SW for Rebelde was intended for the regional audience, like the DR, Colombia, Venezuela, etc. Just as the SW transmitters used by regional evangelists such as TIFC in Costa Rica, most of the interesting SW stuff in the Caribbean Basin was on the tropical and the 4.7 to 5 MHz bands on SW. But that is just a guess.

The answer could just as easily be the same as the one to the question about why a dog licks itself... because it can. It may be that having that transmitter is just tradition.

 

[Tincap]

If I'm not mistaken, there has been a cut back of English language programming over the years. As for Spanish language programming, I would think SW is the medium of choice, due to demographics (generally less access to on-line broadcasts, amongst the large amounts of poor living in Central & South America) and (if I'm not mistaken) MW broadcasts don't carry well in the equatorial regions (don't know why, if someone with technical knowledge could explain...).

Today, there are very few SW radios in Latin Amrica... vastly fewer than there are computers.

Anecdote: in 1966, I bought HCSP1, Radio San Pedro de Amaguaña, about 60 km outside of Quito, Ecuador. It came with a tropical band SW license and a transmitter of sorts. After considerable deliberation (I was a very active DXer in that era, and loved the idea of owning a SW station) I decided to surrender the license as it was of no possible economic benefit to me. Later, I saw the raw data for many tens of thousands of radio ratings interviews in Ecuador, and not one incident of SW listening was seen in any of the major metros of the country... and this was over 40 years ago.

While SW did have some impact in the rural areas in the 60's, the higher power AMs that came on the scene in the 70's removed the need for SW, and then FM removed the need for AM or SW.

It's been decades since consumer priced SW capable radios were available in that country, and the experience is typical of most other Spanish speaking nations in the Hemisphere.

Thanks for the info David. Do you think the Cubans are aware of this?

Actually, my perception over South American SW listenership, is probably based on my experiences with the Brazilian domestic SW services. I'm aware that much of South America has gone to FM (negating the MW reception problems) and suspect that much of urban South America has internet access (at a price...). However, the Cubans must think that there is a sizable percentage of the population listening to SW. This would also explain the numbers of Spanish language religious broadcasters, heard all over the SW bands.

Thoughts?

~BG