Staying on the island Curaçao for two weeks I couldn’t resist to bring my small Grundig G6 aviator with me. And send some reception reports of course. The e- QSL TWR Bonaire 800 kHz is for the strongest station in the Caribbean.
In 2021 the transmitter power was increased to 440 kW. The decision to boost power was made when it was recognized that “a large regional station in Latin America was needed to supplement the small FM operations on air in that region”, according to Lauren Libby, president and CEO TWR. The station went on air in 1963 with 500 kW. But the costs of running a high power tube type rig forced them to cut back power to 100 kW in 1998.
The station can be heard in Europe, although it is not as easy as the power might suggest given that the frequency is only 1 kHz away from European 801 kHz with some Spanish stations. Worse at my QTH is LPAM station Radio Jong Europa from Alphen aan de Rijn. Only 100 Watt, but also only 20 kilometers away they spoil reception with broad band non stop music. In Curaçao, at only 80 kilometers away from Bonaire, it is an easy catch obviously.
Nice detail is that you can write the station directly at 800am@twr.org and get a dedicated QSL, rather than the more generic QSL via the TWR webform. And, together with Saba and St. Eustatius, Bonaire is a separate radio country!
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