Hans Knot's International Radio Report - October 2009
Welcome everyone to this months report. Due to the fact there are new European rules about sending mail to people, it can happen that from next month your provider will refuse my mail and see me as a spammer. I can inform you that every new month around the 8th my new report will be published at www.hansknot.com, where also old issues can be read way back to early 2004. This is possible due to the good work of my very good friend and webmaster Martin van der Ven. So bookmark my site to your favorites and find there the reports if it goes wrong under the new conditions and rules. Already two providers put me in the ban. All reflections and news please send them in the future to Hans.Knot@gmail.com. It’s a sad thing that the real spammers make it difficult to me and other trustful people to bring their information to the readers.
Let’s
go to you the reader. First I got an email from an avid
Radio London fan from
Arnheim in Holland, Denny Jacobs. It was many years ago, so not decades,
that I copied some Radio London recordings from my archive so he had
some audio memories to Big L. I never heard anything back until late
August when he told me that he was making his own Radio London Satchels
and that he was proud to tell he carries them every day on his tour
through Arnheim on the way from and back to home. He is an honest fan!
Next Freddie Belmont
again and he’s a happy man too: ‘Hello Hans how are you keeping? Just an
Update for the Monster Hits Show. I contacted RNI on the internet a few
weeks ago and asked them if I could join the crew. They said they would
be in touch if a spot opened up. They were good with their words and
have now ask if I would do two hours on a Friday evenings. So starting
in September the Monster will come alive. I will let you know more when
they tell me. Thank you for all your help Hans. Maybe one day I’ll get
paid for the show but at least I can have some fun. All the best Freddie
Belmont.’
Mattie van der Valk
from Enschede in Holland wrote me a long e mail from with a short
abstract: ‘Dear Hans
thanks for then many radio reports and the info about the extra
retransmissions of Veronica
old shows from 1974. Since a couple of years I’m member of the
Foundation Norderney. I’ve just a question to see how many members do
remember which radio they used, way back in 1974, to listen to the
closedown programs of the then offshore radio stations. I’ve listened to
Veronica since 1961 using an old tube radio from Philips. From 1970 on
it became the Philips AM de Luxe transistor (see photo). It was a very
expensive one, costing 300 guilders in those days. I bought it via my
brother from the NATO shop in Germany. The
receiver has next to FM,
AM and Longwave, four different bands for shortwave reception. I
received the German service from Radio Nordsee om 6205 kHz. Till this
day I still have this receiver and did use it to record the last week
programs from Radio Veronica in 1974. My taperecorder was running all
day, while I was visiting an old timer even in the city of Enschede.
Near the last hour I was back home and heard them live too. Mattie van
der Valk.’
This photo shows Marttie’s receiver. So anyone who remembers which radio
was used, please sent all info to
hans.knot@gmail.com
But Mattie had more as he also sent me a photo taken from a car which
originates from Dundee, Scotland, which was from 1968. But although
Martin and I are both loving old timers, there is more as on the back of
the car is a pink sticker for Radio Veronica, which was released by the
FRC one day. But the photo wasn’t taken there but years later in
Scheveningen harbour. To be exactly in July 1973.’
Thanks to Mattie from Enschede
and please if you’ve a photo from a car with a radio sticker on the back
send it to me at
hans.knot@gmail.com
Martin van der Ven sent me the next e mail late August, which he got on
www.offshore-radio.de
Hello Dr. Martin, I just wanted to say hello and tell you that I found
your piece on Tim Gillett’s show this week very interesting. March 1964
was the birthday of Radio Caroline and also the time that I left school
at the age of just 15. I was a quite lad with few friends, if any, and I
loved the radio. I so much wanted to be a part of this truly wonderful
thing called “Pirate Radio”. I wrote to Caroline and all the other
stations as they came on the air trying to get a job as a D.J., but
without any luck. Then in November 1965 when I was just 16, I read about
Roy Bates and his new station Radio Essex. I phoned him and the next day
I was in Southend ready to leave for Knock John Fort. Sadly I only
stayed for a
couple
of weeks, but while I was there I was given the name Paul Freeman which
I hadn’t used, since then, until Tim asked me to do a show for this
years Pirate BBC Essex. I was so VERY proud and excited to have been
asked. You will see my picture on Steve Szmidt’s piece on your web site.
I’m the guy signing a piece of paper wearing a white T shirt with Vinyal
Shack on it.
Paul Peters on journey to Knock
John Collection Paul Freeman
Now, some 44 years after my Radio Essex adventure you can hear me on
Forest FM, down here in the New Forest
www.forestfm.co.uk doing my
‘Fabulous 50’s Radio Show’ and my ‘Swinging 60’s Show’. The Fab. 50’s
goes out on several stations in the U.S.A. too and can be heard anytime
‘streamed’ from KFMJ the Oldies Station in Alaska at www.kfmj.com
Three years ago I thought that I was the last person on earth that
remembered the pirates of the 60’s. Then I got connected to the
internet! I knew nothing about computers but I had been told that you
can find anything on Google. I could not think of anything to ask it so
I tapped in “Pirate Radio Stations of the 1960’s” and my life changed
from that moment on. A few month later I was contacted by Dilly Barlow,
a BBC Radio 4 producer who asked me if I would like to tell my story on
a show called “Home Truths” this had been John Peel’s show until he
died, I said yes please! The piece that you heard on Tim’s show was in
fact that same recording that he edited and added some echo to. Please
keep in touch!
All my very best, Paul (Peters
or Freeman).’
Nice to see once again one of the former players within the offshore
radio industry appearing for the first time in the Hans Knot
International Report.
Then remember the wonderful part of last issue in which Ian Anderson
went technical with us?
Hans, thanks for publishing the
masts article last month. In the
Radio Nord notes, I left
in a previous miscalculation by error. The top 70 feet of the Radio Nord
mast was lost in January 1964, not 81 feet. By the way the picture you
used for the Mi Amigo was after the visit to Zaandam in 1966, and not
before. One way to tell is the presence of the dark coloured rig behind
the mast and before the deck house. This was installed in Zaandam in
1966 in connection with the new 50kW transmitter and it was cut away
after the mast collapsed in November 1972. Another way to tell is the
group of four spacers around the insulator and feed point fifty feet up
the mast (at the height of the lowest stays). That is the point where
the 21 foot extension was added in Zaandam between the 50 foot base of
the original Radio Nord mast and the 91 feet of Sparlight erected in
Greenore in 1964. Ian Anderson.
Thank a lot Ian and if anyone thinks to have a real good photograph of
the MV Mi Amigo’s complete mast from before 1966, please don’t hesitate
to send it to hans.knot@gmail.com
Next the one who never forgets to write in: ‘Hi Hans, as always the
collection not to be missed on the history of… It’s nice to keep the
track to everyone through your report each month. Larry Tremaine was
right last time regarding the boat that rocked. It will be released
under independent distribution in the USA in a much shorter version.
Tony Prince’s mention was far too modest, he took over the world with
his mix club for deejays and is a global titan of mixing. The scope of
his reach was nothing short of record breaking. He currently has also a
TV channel and given his interest in brides. He was decided to study
weddings up close and it is appropriately called ‘The Wedding Channel’.
Also I’m happy to announce that, thanks to your many mentions we launch
on two new stations this month. Take care and hope to see you in
December. Emperor Rosko.
Well isn’t he nice to get Tony Prince such a plug! Next month Rosko will
mention which two new station will air his programs soon too in Britain.
Next one comes from Scotland: ‘Hi Folks. Thought this link might be of
interest in case some of you missed
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/bbc-archives--gone-but-not-forgotten-1778128.html
BBC archives - Gone but not forgotten. The BBC is archiving online some
of the great TV shows in their history. But what about the ones they
wiped – and the ones they should have wiped? Andrew Roberts reports.
Greetings, Graeme Stevenson.’
Then we go to Manchester with Alan Milewczyk
Hi Hans I’m quickly zipping through your latest report, which is always
great reading. I noticed that the link Tom Whestone has for his own
AFRTS Archive blog was incorrect, it should be
http://afrtsarchive.blogspot.com/ Also a great idea from Andy Cadier
to bring the idea to establish a
lasting monument or plaque to commemorate the existence of the
offshore stations. Radio changed forever in 1964 with the arrival of
Caroline and the other offshore stations and their contribution should
be recognised. ‘
Remember that one of the extra newsflashes sent out started with the
question: Do you remember where you where and what you did on
August 31st 1974? Well
Alan surely remembers it:
‘Well, my best friend, Peter (who unfortunately died in 2001) and I made
a trip to the Netherlands in 1973 which was largely offshore centered
and we had a great time. Unfortunately, we couldn’t afford a repeat in
1974 but we did the next best thing - we traveled over 250 miles to
Great Yarmouth and spent the weekend in a hotel, armed with radios and
tape
recorders, determined to capture as much as we could onto tape! Hearing
Rob Out’s final speech on Veronica and the transmitter being cut partway
through a Veronica jingle still brings a lump to my throat, I’ll gladly
admit, I shed a tear or two at the time. That was repeated when RNI
closed to the sound of the “Radio Noordzee, Radio Noordzee Radio
Noordzee” jingle with the sound effects of it drowning in water. When we
headed home on the Sunday, it was with a very heavy heart. August is
always Offshore August due to the anniversaries of the UK and Dutch
MOAs, but this year, it’s been superb listening to the Veronica192.nl
stream as they have been playing special programming commemorating 50
years since the founding of Radio Veronica. I’ve been thoroughly
enjoying these special programming, such good fun. I have to say I did
listen to Veronica a lot when the Caroline ships were towed away in
March 1968, but that largely stopped when RNI came on-air and during the
1970-74 period I was very much an RNI man. I think RNI’s programming was
more pop-oriented whereas Veronica catered for a wider family audience,
so maybe, as a pop-loving youngster in his twenties, it wasn’t too
surprising. Since I’ve been a regular listener to the veronica192.nl
web-stream in the last few months while I’ve been off work, I have
started to appreciate just what a fine station Veronica was. I’ve been
recording a lot of the output, although there are one or two gaps, which
I suspect I’ll fill on-line! I’ve put together some of my thoughts
on-line on my blog at
http://soulman1949.blogspot.com - some of it will be out of date by
the time your readers see it! Thanks a lot Alan and we see you in
November, have a good trip to Amsterdam.
Now we go to a
remarkable way of listening to Veronica and other stations in the late
sixties early seventies with a story from a guy in Berlin: ‘I’ve been
listening to offshore radios quite a bit, especially after August 14,
1967 when Radio London went off the sky, Radio Veronica became pretty
important. I was in Amsterdam, in a youth prison, listening to the
attack on the MEBO II in May 1971. My lawyer was among Veronicas
defenders at the time, if I remember right. Big L’s last hour was
repeated on Dutch radio TROS in 1980, when I taped it and recently put
it on CD. So these days I play it to my customers; is there anything
alike from Veronica ? With the jingles for instance? Love to know. Still
today I remember sitting on my grandfather’s knees in a quiet northern
village by the sea and listening to a football match being broadcast on
a Saturday afternoon. A radio with all the cities on the radio scale, on
the medium wave band that came in with the dark and left in the morning
with the sun coming up. And that set you’re imagination to dreaming;
years later - while we already had a telly set - during the evening news
broadcast and us children weren’t allowed to talk while the old man
wanted to listen. These days I’m preparing my own playlists to be played
on a friends internet radio -
www.drdvnyg.de - a quote from a book on Neil Young; back then there
was nothing much else - these days it all seems fractured, there’s a
drawer for everything, in each country. Now there are the same H&M
outlets everywhere, Chris Isaac’s new record sounding like Hank B. in
*The young Ones* in 1962. But television definitely took over, although
I’ve bought my mobile phone two years ago just because of the
fm-receiver built in. So while I was in hospital for throat cancer
treatment I listened a lot to the Berlin radios. You know, the radio
market in Berlin is very tough, lot of competition, with stations
worthwhile listening to, not just playing top 40 radio - like the dutch
service of rtl in the mid sixties. That station we could pick on the fm
band on a Sunday until 2pm - remember the ‘Teener Toppertijd’? Again
with Cliff and the Shadows performing *Red Ted*. It was a chance to
listen to new British material long before it would come available in
Cologne. Today you try amazon.com or some companies send in their
jukeboxes by mail, which I like fine, by the way.
Villa Louvigny Radio Luxembourg
Photo: Soundscapes Archive
I have no problems
talking about being in prison then. I got busted after a bank hold up in
Amsterdam - armed robbery in a gang on February 4th in 1971. It was
meant to be a training job for the future because we were having
projects - political - for resistance and urban guerilla fighting. The
group consisted of Dutch, Peruvian and German freedom fighters, attached
to Dutch third world supporters and some circles close to former Che
Guevara supporters. As my father was an army officer whose family ties
were behind the iron curtain, the separation of Germany and Europe has
always been present and an everyday topic in my parents house; and as my
father never talked to me about these things. The anti-army movement due
to the German commitment in the then newly created North-Atlantic treaty
organisation, the Easter-march movement against nuclear armament - and
since he was very authoritarian, it was discipline above all at home.
And with the spreading of Rock and Roll Music through the slowly growing
radio-market, an alternative to the boring official radio-stations,
often still ruled maybe not by old Nazis, but certainly by people whose
traditions and values slowly turned really backdated. I found myself
meeting people - smoking dope, playing theatre-plays in the streets, on
improvised stages, clubs playing music you wouldn’t hear on the radio,
both jazz, thus black music as well as white trash music, Rock and Roll
- and then of course - the blues with Eelco Gelling, Harry Muskee, the
Q65, Earth and Fire. I had these old radios that I had picked from the
garbage, from whom we built our first stereo-amplifiers, one amp for
each channel. As Germans grew more prosperous they’d throw the old
radios away. I’d connect them to my record player and imitated the
Rolling Stones in Scheveningen - on air-guitar. And in these heydays I
was elected and sent to by the cologne anti-authoritarian pupils and
students movement in 1967 and 1968 to reunions and meetings across
Germany. Hitching a ride; dope by the way was never my main concern,
girls were appreciated, but politics and Rock and Roll/Music were and
have ever since remained the main purpose of my life. These days and for
the better part of the last 35 years with the catering biz. Greetings
from Berlin Thomas. La Cabane du Pêcheur – Bistrot am Hafen’.
From Berlin we go to Denmark: ‘Dear Hans, Some news from Scandinavia:
On August 19 the newly established society
Scandinavian Offshore Radio
History invited former pirates from Radio Mercur, Radio Syd and
Radio Nord to a meeting in Copenhagen to inform on the society and the
project to set up a web site to give access to the old radio programmes.
21 persons participated from the three radio stations with some radio
enthusiast, and a lot of personal histories were shared. Jan Kotschack,
the son of Jack Kotschack from Radio Nord, is ready to publish a book on
his fathers effort to set up Radio Nord, The title is “Stick iväg, Jack”
- meaning something like “Hit the road, Jack”. To be published by
Premium Publishing, comes with a CD with samples. Best wishes from
Henrik Nørgaard, Denmark.’
Thanks a lot Henrik and good to see that also memories on offshore radio
are shared in Scandinavia too. I mentioned the book in an earlier report
and will come back to it at the end of this issue of the Hans Knot
International Radio Reports.
For
those who did hear the sad news late August, Caroline’s first voice to
be heard, Simon Dee is no longer with us. Some of the many messages I
got on this bad news:
Hi Hans, I Just read this sad piece of news, that seems
Simon Dee won’t be with
us much longer.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1209988/First-TV-chat-king-Simon-Dee-just-days-live.html
Regards, Chris Edwards’.
Caroline’s former engineer George
Saunders and Simon Dee. Photo: Pirate Hall of Fame
More can be found on:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8229429.stm
http://news.google.co.uk/news/more?pz=1&ned=uk&cf=all&ncl=d-NzE-CSczPjUwMA7eEER1Q_TBnRM
And finally a great tribute can be found at the Pirate Hall of Fame:
www.offshoreradio.co.uk/sdee.htm
Andree Bollin from Wolfsburg in Germany wrote in a nice report:’Hello,
Yesterday I was able to pick up the old
Veronica programmes via 1584khz
The signal here in Germany was weak with heavy interference from Italy.
So it will be nice when you can check it and when you can sent me a QSL
verification or an email verification (pdf qsl) I will try it again this
evening.
Thanks very much, 73 Andree
Date :2009-08-29
Time :21.15 - 21.40 local
Frequency :1584khz
SINFO :22322
Aerial :100m Lw
Receiver :NRD 525
Details :
21.15 announcement by the DJ pop musik
21.23 talk on Veronica A little thing call love (Johnny Cash?)
21.26 DJ talk on music in Dutch music Paul McCartney
21.31 talk by DJ Radio 192 and Radio Veronica instrumental Dutch organ
music
21.37 Deejay talk on program next week further Dutch music.
Well thanks a lot for this reception report Andre. I’ve forwarded to the
technical man, responsible for the AM transmissions in August. I hope he
will send you a QSL.’
Next a nice link to a website. Although in Dutch there are some very
nice memories to Offshore Radio:
http://www.robkievit.nl/portfolio/rommel/kast.html
On August 30th I took a visit to the harbour of Harlingen for a small
but nice reunion from deejays who worked for
Radio Mi Amigo in the mid
seventies. It took place aboard the radio
vessel
from Radio Waddenzee and
that Sunday the people from the internet radio Mi Amigo got permission
to use the airtime of Radio Waddenzee. It was a bit difficult to get
onboard the ship as it was at a quayside way back in the southern
harbour, which is partly locked so a lot of wandering around had to be
done. Well most of the offshore deejays remember those strange harbour
places. Anyway, as soon as I came aboard it was seeing a lot of familiar
faces and it was good to see them back. Will van der Steen and Nobert I
met again during the past years, but Bert Bennet and Frans van der
Drift, although both readers of the report, I hadn’t seen for more than
34 years. Of course a lot of memories came above and live interviews
were aired by the new Mi Amigo internet team. Other people from offshore
days aboard were Elly van Amstel (Radio Monique) and Dick Verheul (Mi
Amigo, Caroline and Monique). Also it was good to see once again Peter
Jager, former newsreader on RNI. Some of the news bulletins during the
reunion day were read by Peter too. The internet radio station Mi Amigo
will also be airing a special program from the venue where our annual
Radio Day will take place in Amsterdam on November 14th.
Soundlady VRT, Frans van der
Drift, Will van der Steen, Nobert and Bert Bennet. Photo: Hans Knot
Talking about Peter Jager, did you see already his marvelous photos
taken aboard the MEBO II in the seventies?
http://www.offshore-radio.de/RNI/images/pjager/index.htm
Talking about photos, the Radio
Day Germany was held in Erkrath in September and Martin van der
Ven has is camera with him:
http://www.offshore-radio.de/caroline/erkrath2009/pics/index.htm
Each month we bring you also an update from the
Pirate Hall of Fame:
‘Just a quick note to let you know that I have put my August Bank
Holiday Monday to good use, carrying out the monthly update to The
Pirate Radio Hall of Fame.
New this month:
• we remember a legend of offshore radio, Simon Dee who died yesterday
after a short illness (http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/sdee.htm)
• we have a fantastic home movie, shot on board three offshore radio
ships during the summer of 1967. You can see Johnnie Walker, Ed Stewart,
Mike Lennox and John Aston in action (http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/list36.htm)
• it was something of a man’s world on board the offshore stations of
the sixties but this month we hear from one of the few women to work on
a pirate station of the era - Caroline South’s Marion Cochrane (http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/album84.htm)
• former Radio City boss Dorothy Calvert pays tribute to Ian West, the
engineer whose sad death we reported last month (http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/engine2.htm#west)
• we add another piece of the jigsaw as we try to discover more about
the mysterious Kilroy (http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/djsk.htm#kilroy)
• and we hear from someone who worked with the late Ed Moreno in his
post-broadcasting career (http://www.offshoreradio.co.uk/djsmo.htm#moreno)
My thanks, as ever, to everyone who has contributed to the site. More
next month. All the best, Jon Myer
www.offshoreradio.co.uk
Last month I brought a ‘thought to be’ answer on the special commercial
played in 1991 on Caroline. (See last two reports). Jonathan Wesley, who
asked the question, came back to me after he had read the answer: ‘Hi
Hans. Sorry I haven’t got back to you sooner re my question about the
‘water’ promo. I am busy working for
WWW.CJMQ.FM doing a rock/pop show every Thursday night midnight-
0200 hrs CET ....L.A. is alive and well there! The Dawn Valley promo was
not the one I mean, I remember when I heard it that it did remind me of
Dawn Valley! this literally promoted the benefits of cold, clean
water....so the search continues....
Again
one of the lads working on the Peace ship suddenly came above water and
so let’s hear from Mike Galloway:
‘Hi Hans I was transmitter engineer on the VOP April 1988 - April 1979.
I found in the loft some aging pap
ers
(4 sheets of A4) written by a fellow Canadian engineer Bruce Sabsay on
the state of the ships wiring. I am going to copy them tomorrow but I
thought you might like to have the originals, being technical they my
not be the most interesting documents but at least they are valid. I
took these documents to Abie, who glanced at them but couldn’t be
bothered to read them. Having read them again now I think his reaction
was correct! Just seemed more important at the time. I recently obtained
a mug shot of myself taken in the Abie’s office/studio in Frugstreet,
Mike Galloway (collection Mike
Galloway)
Another engineer on
the ship with me and also a bit before was Buck, an American, I can’t
remember his surname name but I can find out. Attached is a photo of him
(with his girlfriend edited out) on Tel Aviv beach. At the same time,
there was also a chief engineer Bill (again surname forgotten) not to be
confused with a more famous Bill. That’s the engineering line-up I can
remember for 88/89 although Tony Allan was always more than helpful to
us. (in exchange for beer and brandy). There was another American,
Richard who, as I remember did the non voice jobs of playing tapes music
for the classical/peace hour etc. He was quite noticeable by the lack of
one leg, but I cannot remember his surname either. He lived in the UK
for a while and although we met up on occasions, I lost touch, and would
like to track him down. Best Wishes Mike.’
Buck (Collection Mike Calloway)
Well if anyone can fill in the surnames, of the several people
mentioned, for Mike Galloway, please send them to
HKnot@home.nl
Well although technical here is the text of the document mentioned by
Mike
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM REPORT “VOICE
OF PEACE”
1. This report is written from an engineering point of view. The facts
stated herein are based on direct observation of the conditions that
presently exist, along with notations of changes made to the system at
the time of writing. No attempt has been made to find fault with any
individual either past or present, but rather to simply state the
obvious as indicated by observable facts.
PART 1 SHIP SYSTEM INSTALLED AT TIME OF CONSTRUCTION
The writer has been led to believe that the ship M.V. Peace is now some
forty years old. Some of the original wiring dating from the original
installation is still in use, primarily in the Direct Current circuits.
Both the wiring itself and most of fittings are badly corroded by a
combination of salt air and age, along with the movement of the ship.
Many changes have been made to this system by various engineers, and as
a result there is no longer any recognizable standardization in the
original system and in the direct current system. The D.C. system is
presently used to provide lighting in the event of A.C. generator
failure, and also to power the ship’s radar and other marine devices.
The D.C. system is put into use every ten days when the main generator
is shut down for maintenance.
PART 2 ELECTRICAL
SYSTEM INSTALLED AT THE TIME OF RE-FITTING IN 1972
The generators on the ship turn out 220 Volts on a three wire system.
This current is routed via a distributor panel to the main breaker
panel. This main breaker panel ‘provides power to all of the electrical
systems on the ship.
Within the main breaker panel various faults were observed. The neutral
leg of the electrical system was grounded to the case of the breaker
panel by means of a large copper grounding lug. By grounding the neutral
to the case and hence to the hull, the potential for electrical shock,
was very high at all points on the ships’ hull. Also, the grounding lug
was badly corroded by the action of the salt air. This has been remedied
by isolating, the lug from the case of the breaker box, cleaning of the
corrosion, and covering the installation with grease. This removes some
portion of the observed shock hazard. The repair is of a temporary
nature.
It should be noted at this point that there is no effective and complete
grounding system on the ship. No proper grounding system was installed
to match up with the generation of A.C. power at the time of refitting,
and the parts and facilities required to remedy this significant
omission are not available at this time, the lack of a correct grounding
system creates electrical shock hazards as well as fire hazards. The
lack of a ground system creates hum and other noises in both studios
which affect the quality of the transmitted signals from the
transmitters. Attempts have been made to correct the hum and buzz
situation by past engineers, but only, limited success has been met with
due to the lack of a proper ground system required by any standard
electrical installation - particularly a radio station.
Inside the main breaker panel various gauges of cable have been used; to
make the required connections. This is contrary to electrical standards
and could result in overheating, system failure or fire. At the present
time the main breaker is running warm at all times. There is no way to
remedy this problem at this time,
Three large distribution transformers are wired in such a way as to take
one leg of the basic 220 Volt supply and distribute it through the ship
to operate the 110 Volt system. These transformer are running warm at
all times, indicating an overload condition. The intent of these
transformers appears to be to change the 220Volt supply to 110V. This is
not done The transformers are wired in such a manner as to have 220
volts on the input side, and 220 volts on the output side. It should be
noted that we cannot dismantle the system while in operation to verify
this since the ship must operate non stop. The output of the three
transformers is routed through a fused knife switch box to three breaker
boxes that supply 110 volts to the various parts of the ship. The 110
volt supply for the lower deck has an additional switch box located next
to the main panel. This use of switch boxes is incorrect. The required
method as used in U.S. standard installations is as ‘follows: 220 Volts
is taken from a splitter box after the main breaker panel and sent to
the three 110 Volt breaker boxes, each of which has a switch box located
no more than one foot away from the related..’ breaker box. The present
method creates an imbalance on the system with overloading in one area
and incorrect use of capacities in two other areas. Another imbalance is
that the three transformers are operating at various loads.
The three breaker panels that supply 110 volts are not the correct type.
They have no ground connections. Attempts are being made to correct this
fault, but there are no parts, and in any event, the breaker boxes are
not the correct type additions have been made to the system and these
additions have been done by people who have no knowledge of U.S.
standards Incoming cable runs have had the grounds tied to the neutral
bus bar creating an extreme shock hazard, this has been remedied.
Incorrect phasing appears to be common in both the refitting and
subsequent additions. Some of this condition has been remedied, as much
as can be done with the parts of the system not in use.
The cable runs to the 110 volt system are in the most part of the
incorrect type and gauge. It is not possible to correct this at this
time. The cables have been fastened to the walls and bulkheads, with a
form of wire staple that has not been allowed in the U.S. for many
years. This staple requires a hammer to drive them in. This system
breaks the insulation, and causes short circuits. This cannot be
repaired at this time.
The 220 volt system operates directly from the main breaker panel. The
current is distributed through the switching portion of the main breaker
panel to two breaker panels. There is a third run of the 220 volt system
which has a correct knife -switch mounted near the relevant breaker
panel on the lower deck. The other two breaker panels have no knife
switches - a
dangerous
method. The three 220V breaker panels have no grounds. This cannot be
remedied at this time. The wiring in the 220 volt system is a mixture of
various types of cables, most of which are underrated. Colour coding has
not been properly observed resulting in a shock hazard to users and
particularly to service personnel. This cannot be remedied at this time.
Included in the 220 volt system is a mixture of U.S., British, and
Israeli wiring runs. This creates a problem of various wire gauges and
colour codes, all without grounds. The result is very hazardous. The 220
volt system is in poorer condition than the 110 volt system in many
respects. This situation cannot be remedied at this time.
PART 3 ADDITIONS TO
THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
It is very apparent that from time to time additions have been made to
the system by people who have had no knowledge of U.S. standards
originally employed on the ship. The results have to make the ship a
more dangerous place to live and work in. The most obvious faults are in
the grounding and phasing. This has been remedied wherever possible, but
only in a very limited manor. Cables of various gauges and types have
been used in combinations that do not match correct standards.
Peace Ship in New York. Photo: Ed
Simeone
The most obvious fault is in the additions made to the cables located on
the middle deck, including the telex room. The basic supply starts at
the breaker panel located in the centre of the deck. All of the cable
runs have been added to a breaker panel that was already operating at
capacity. The new cable runs in all cases were laid over top of the runs
into the various breakers resulting in two or three runs coming from
each and every breaker completely contrary to U.S. standards. This
method is also contrary to the standards used anywhere in the western
world. This has been partially corrected at this time.
The wire used to feed the cabins is of the type use to make up lamp
extension cords, and must never be used for mains wiring or wiring
buried in walls. The wire is made of soft rubber and has no ground. In
some cases light gauge lamp cord has been used, this entire group of
cabins represents an ongoing hazard for shocks and fire. This problem
cannot be remedied at this time.
PART 4 SUMARY
There are virtually no spare parts on the ship. Since the wiring is done
to U.S. standards, there is almost no possibility that parts can be
obtained on this side of the Atlantic. There are very few I tools of any
kind on board the ship, and there are no tools or test instruments for
electrical work.
Fuel vapor is always present on the ship, and there seems to be no
provision in the electrical system to prevent arcing which could ignite
the fuel vapor with disastrous results. Aside from the forty year old
wiring, there is no provision for marine conditions. Corrosion is highly
visible everywhere in the electrical system, running the gamut from
staples used to hold cable runs to the walls through to the receptacle
and switch boxes.
This report has covered all of the faults observed. Examples include the
use of plastic covered cable to supply 220 volts to the fuel separator.
This cable is covered with oil and is becoming saturated and dangerous.
This should be replaced with armoured cable of the correct type. The 220
volt supply to the main extractor fan of the transmitters is rubber
covered flexible cable exposed to the outside deck and held in place
with electricians tape. This I should be replaced with the correct type
of armoured waterproof cable with the appropriate connectors. There are
dozens more like the two quoted above. Parts do not exist to correct
these faults.
PART 5
RECCOMENDATIONS:
The general of the ships’ electrical system is to a poor domestic level.
There are numerous shock and fire hazards everywhere. The situation will
run downhill as salt air, vibration from the generators, and ship
movement eats away at the system. For some five years now the ship has
been functioning with various members of the crew receiving minor shocks
but no major injuries or deaths. The potential for injury and fire is
growing; the past does not exist at this time. The future is what must
be planned for.
The first question to be resolved is not whether the ship should be
rewired and new panels be installed, but to what standards should the
work be done. Is it possible to continue the operations of the Voice of
Peace with at least a commercial level of electrical system, or should
marine standards be observed throughout. There is no question that U.S.
standards should be used since all of the broadcast equipment is of U.S.
manufacture.
In order to safeguard the people employed on the ship - a primary
consideration - and in order to assure a proper continuation of the
ships’ operations, the following changes should be made:
1. Parts be obtained to repair the main breaker panel properly and
institute a ground system in the main breaker panel and throughout the
ship.
2. New breaker panels be installed to replace the present inadequate
system. Along with the new breaker panels the related switch boxes
should be installed to make up for the complete lack at this time.
Planning should take into consideration the expansion that has taken
place since the ship was refitted plus possible future expansion.
3. All of the ships’ wiring should be replaced with the correct types
and gauges, and this should be replaced inside box and pipe conduits to
withstand salt corrosion and ship movements.
4.
All of the receptacles and switches now in use for 110 volt and 220 volt
should be replaced with types suitable for use in this environment.
5. There are at present no tools of the type used for electrical work on
the ship, Proper tools are needed firstly for repairs and maintenance,
and also for the proposed renovations.
6. Parts should be brought on the ship for future repairs, changes and
additions, and that parts supply should be maintained at the proper
level knowing the long distance involved in obtaining spares.
7. A detailed plan should be made of the wiring system and future
additions and changes be noted on the plans as they occur
8. In the past, the engineering staff have not been familiar with the
U.S. standards of electrical systems. New people coming on board from
parts of the world other than the U.S. or Canada should be trained in
the U.S System and be required to stick to the correct methods
This report is written with the aid of aver twenty three years
experience in the use of U.S. electrical standards, starting with a
degree from the Ryerson Institute of Technology in Toronto.
Submitted without prejudice by Bruce Sabsay.
Here just a small piece of the
original document
which is now safe in my archive with a lot of thanks to Mike Galloway
Well I truly don’t understand why Abie didn’t read the report. I’ve read
and reread it and it’s obvious that the ship was in a bad condition and
that there was really a change that those aboard could become in serious
danger. We know that on other ships too, the conditions were not good
but reading the report it’s like getting tears in the eyes that Abie
wasn’t bothered to read the technical support.
Another new reader is Mark Watkins, who wrote: ‘Hello Hans I’ve
rediscovered Caroline in recent years thanks to the web and on-line
streaming. I remember listening to both Caroline and Laser in the mid
80’s, much better alternatives to BBC Radio 1 at the time! In respect of
Radio Caroline, would you/colleague be able to advise me of the
programme schedule (DJ line ups) for a typical week in 1983 and 1984
respectively. I tried Bob Le-Roi recently who was very helpful but
didn’t have this info. I’d be very interested to see a schedule/s from
this period if poss. Pure nostalgia! Hope you can help with best
greetings Mark Watkins, Reading, Berkshire, UK’.
Thanks Mark for your e mail. Regarding your question I can’t give an
answer. I wrote for the Freewave Media Magazine (still do) and Monitor
Magazine in those years so I did a dive in
the
archive but no typical listing was done in those days. Also I don’t
remember any other magazine which published it. In Monitor the coming
and goings of deejays were mentioned with their first and last shows So
I will mention the question in the reports and maybe someone has the
answers wanted. So anyone who had a run down for a typical week Caroline
in 1983 and Caroline and Laser in 1984, please sent the list to
Hknot@home.nl
Next PJ from Bristol:
Thank you for the latest Report, a fascinating and welcome read as
always. I was wondering, does the Tug
Volans still exist? It’s
amazing to think 20 years has now passed since the August 1989 raid on
the Ross Revenge, I wonder is the Volans is still around and owned by
the same company 20 years on? Regards PJ.’
MV Volans Photo: Leen Vingerling
Well PJ the Volans was built as the Lady Anita in 1965 as a tendering
ship, built at Verolme Shipyards in Heusden Holland. In July 1965 it
made her first trip and the Lady Anita was owned by Offshore Marine
Services in Rotterdam and used for International Offshore Services (UK)
Ltd. Later the ship was used by International Offshore Services in
Monrovia Liberia. In 1970 the ship was sold to Rijkswaterstaat in The
Hague and renamed into Volans. In 1971 it was standby to extinguish the
fire on the radio ship MEBO II. In 1989 again the name of the ship was
mentioned in Offshore Radio’s history when it was used by Dutch
authorities during the mentioned raid on the Ross Revenge. In 1992 the
ship was sold to Roel Feenstra in Den Helder and a year later it was
sold again, this time to Seaworx from Den Helder. But that was not the
end as the ship was sold again in May 1997 to Galere Ltd with as new
home Kingstown, on St. Vincent. Three years later the ship was sold to
the now owner of the Volans, The Saigon Shipyard Ltd. In Vietnam. So if
you want to visit the ship you’ve to take a long journey.
Next
Noam Tal from Tel Aviv:
‘An event commemorating the
anniversary of Abie Nathan’s death took place in Tel Aviv. Eighty
people attended the event including past broadcasters, members of the
public, friends from different periods in Abie’s life and members of the
newly established Voice of Peace internet discussion group. An
exhibition, which included thirty
different
pictures from Abie’s life and his humanitarian activity, was displayed
in the entrance to the hall. Other items from the Voice of Peace
including a life belt, the compass, navigation and media equipment, the
microphones, the cartridges and reels of the original recordings. During
the event, jingles from the Voice of Peace were played from the original
reels and light refreshments were served. At 19:20 people began to enter
the hall. Noam Tal opened the evening talking about Abie’s final years.
Henry Alkaslasi spoke on behalf of Abie’s family and friends about
Abie’s life activities and then Gil Katzir, with a guitar and a piano
accompaniment, sang the songs: ‘Imagine’, ‘You’ve got a friend’, and ‘I
wish you peace’.
Gil Katzir Photo: Anatoli Rothman
Tim Shepherd gave a presentation about life on the ship and its
broadcasters. Tami Tzabari read a poem she wrote in memory of Abie and
greeting from broadcasters around the word were played. Then came a
twelve minute film about Abie’s life, his humanitarian activities and
the establishment of the Voice of Peace. Latif Dori, who broadcasted on
the Peace ship in 1973 talked about Abie’s endeavors to bring about
peace between Jews and Arabs. During the event a special award was
presented to Mr Avi Toyvin who, two months ago, saved the life of a
Kayak rower by diving into the polluted Yarkon river. The rower was none
other than
Abie’s
unacknowledged daughter. Toyvin was given a model of the ships lifebelt.
The participants signed up for the founding of a new organization
“Nathan” named after Abie (“Nathan” means ‘to give’ in Hebrew). The
event closed with the songs ‘And I love you so’ (one of Abie’s
favourites) and ‘Give peace a chance’ (with the active participation of
the audience). After the event, many of the people went to the nearby
pub for a drink and reminiscence of the time on the Peace ship. Best
regards to you all Noam Tal.’
Well Noam thanks a lot for this inside story about the event. Most
appreciated especially by those who worked for the Peace station and
couldn’t make it to Tel Aviv.
MV Peace Lifebelt Photo: Anatoli
Rothman
Belgian reader Gert Simon visited on August 31st the
Museum Rockart in Hoek
van Holland. Not only the Veronica exhibition is held there but on that
certain day some former people from the offshore station got together to
listen to the studiotape of the last hour from Veronica on August 31st
1974. Gert has made a blog about this get together:
www.bloggen.be/zeezenders.
But also reader Willem de Bruijn was there too: ‘Yesterday I really had
a fine day. In Hoek van Holland there is that special exhibition about
50 years Radio Veronica. I also wanted to go there as on the 31st the
last hour would be played again. Former Veronica
technicians Karel van der Woerd – together with his wife – and Ad Bouman
were a few of the other people attending. It was a very nice happening.
Also it was good to talk about offshore radio in common with other fans,
who where there. In my personal acquaintances there’s no one interested
in the subject.
Again some old transistor radio’s
special ones who could tune in to Veronica. Photo Willem de Bruijn.
Next mail is from Great Britain: ‘Hi Hans. I have been listening to some
old tapes and heard some offers advertised and was wondering if anyone
still has these items? Radio
London record of the final hour highlights offered at 12/6p
(final hour show). Radio
Caroline AM radio as advertised on the last Jerry Leighton
breakfast show for £4.00 What other offers were made and who has what?
Thought it might make a good subject and bring back some memories. All
the very best and keep up the good work. Mike Ryan.
Thanks Ryan indeed there were a lot of in house commercials on several
stations. You mentioned the special EP, which was mentioned on several
occasions during the last week of Big L. Yes, I bought that one too and
the same with the 8 mm movie, which showed action on board the MV
Galaxy. Of course the Caroline transistor was bought by several people.
It’s the same with the above shown Veronica transistor radio. And really
there were far much more articles plugged by the station. Could publish
the lists I have but first let the reader do his work. Anyone who does
remember those special offers? Please share them with us and write your
memories about it to Hknot@home.nl
and if you have a scan or photo please send to
Hans.Knot@gmail.com
Regular updates are also coming in from
Bob Le-Roi, who this
month wrote:
Welcome to the September 2009 Update. We’re back following a frantic
summer bringing you yet another giant issue. Firstly thank you for the
incredible support of Red Sands Radio, the website
www.redsandsradio.co.uk
continues to pull in 1000’s of visitors and will remain active whilst we
contemplate the future In ‘ScrapBook’ this month we continue the story
of Radio Sutch and City in Part 12 with ‘Transmitters, Antennas and
More’. With sad news of the death of Ian West we dedicate this feature
to his memory, and have a page of commemorative messages from his Radio
City colleagues, do send us your memories for inclusion. Plus we’ve a
massive selection of aerial photographs of Red Sands Fort taken on
Monday Bank Holiday in Red Sands Radio - Part 14. ‘One Subject One Link’
talks about RSL costs and with the season coming to an end we’ve Autumn
Barge Sailing dates, plus a few more CD’s and
Records
added to the sales pages. Enjoy Your Visits.
www.bobleroi.co.uk
On September 12th Jana and I, together with Rob Olthof of the Foundation
for Mediacommunication took a visit to
Bull Verweij, the former
director of Radio Veronica. He celebrated his
100th birthday. Earlier
that day he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from nowadays
Veronica. He received the award from former Veronica newsreader Arend
Langenberg and director Ab Trik from Veronica.
Arend, Bull and Ab together with
the Award. Photo: Veronica
The family had invited a selected group of people as Bulls condition is
not all that well. Lucky enough he had a very good day and enjoyed the
celebration. Other old former people from offshore Veronica included
Juul Geleick, Ad Bouman, Nobert Jurgens and more. Photos taken by Rob
Olthof can be found on
www.offshore-radio.de (go to "News").
Andy Wint sent me an email in which he mentioned a link on you tube
about a 8mm movie which shows a trip out to the
MV Caroline, way back in
May 1967:
http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=aR_ID7-Q8rc
Next is Philip Crosby who wrote: ‘Alan, who built and operates the
Radio Rewind website, has
announced he is no longer able to bear the cost of maintaining the
website. He has asked if anyone is prepared to assist him with the
costs. Although the site is not about offshore radio, it does have loads
of good stuff about early BBC Radio One, and lots about the pirate DJs
that worked there after August 1967. Maybe your newsletter readers feel
they can help? The website is
www.radiorewind.co.uk and here is some of the text: ‘Dear Radio
Rewind visitor, as an archive radio fan you have listened to and enjoyed
some of the hundreds of sounds linked on Radio Rewind which I began
constructing in 1999. The website has been a ‘labour of love’ and shares
treasured voices, jingles, theme tunes and images from early BBC
broadcasts. Visitors have never been charged to read or use any of the
content or to download some of our 4,000 archive audio clips. Due to
personal circumstances I must now consider to close the Radio Rewind
website, as the fees amount to over £500 per year. If you would like
these radio memories preserved for all in the future by helping the
website continue, please consider a donation, however small. I am
currently urgently in need of funds to support the website, however
please don’t feel you are obligated.
You
can donate through the secure PayPal scheme. Your Paypal detail
statement will show: “Donation to Alan Davies - Radio Rewind”. Please
click the link below (or copy and paste it) to transfer to the secure
Paypal.com website and make a donation using your credit card or Paypal
account.
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=6607138
Let’s go back to August 25th 1974, the day the following photo was taken
in the garden of the Veronica building at the Utrechtseweg in Hilversum
during a live recording of the very last
ABTT, which was
transmitted by the offshore Radio Veronica.
Photo: Meindert van der Meulen
Next to Lex in yellow
shirt and headphones on is Karl Braun, left to Adje Bouman in red shirt
is Juul Geleick (with bottle again without alcohol). I know this all
because I was there. It ment a lot to be there. I was living in
Leeuwarden
in
those days, so going to Hilversum was not nothing. I was 21 years of age
in 1974 and have good memories. Meindert van der Meulen.
Paul Jan de Haan sent me a link to a very nice reverb radio station and
equipment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT3Fn3X4Sp0&feature=related
high energy memories to Big L and Radio Caroline. By the way Paul has
his own sentimental journey each Monday evening.
http://www.havenstadfm.nl/SentimentalJourney/tabid/68/Default.aspx
From Theo Bakker I got an email with a photograph enclosed. It’s taken
in the small town of Franeker in the Provence of Friesland in the
Netherlands and Theo asked himself if the name of this shop was chosen
by coincidence or…?
The Local Political Party Vlissingen, LPV, wants the former radio ship
Norderney from Veronica
in the Dok harbour there. There are plans to bring in this harbour more
old ships with a story and LPV thinks the Norderney, which is now on a
quayside in Antwerp, could be a good choice. LPV did sent me an email
and asked for a contact person so they could negotiate with the owners.
I’ve was in contact with the spokesman of the owners and he told me that
at the moment there a four ideas to bring back the Norderney into a
Dutch harbour. He thinks a decision will be taken within months.
Remember we had this special question about a song about Ramsey which
was played on Caroline North
a lot but never became a hit? One of my readers wondered which song it
was. Hans Warmenhoven in Germany put the question on the board from the
internet radio station RNI and thinks the answer is here:
RAMSEY COUNTY JAIL
Last night as I lay sleeping,
I had a pleasant dream.
I thought I was in Minnesota,
Down by a quiet stream
With a charming gal beside me,
The lights would never fail
And I awoke to find myself, be God
In the Ramsey County Jail,
Then combine, ye hump and biddy,
From Tepperty town I steer.
Like every honest fellow
I like my lager beer.
Like every jolly young fellow
I take my whiskey clear.
I’ve a rambling rake of a father
And the son of a gamboleer,
They took me to the prison,
They locked me twenty and four.
They gave me all that I could eat
But I always wanted more.
The beds were of the finest
And sleeping never failed
For the feathers they did tickle me so
In the Ramsey County Jail.
From Folk Songs out of
Wisconsin, Peters
Collected from Lester A. Coffee, Harvard, IL, 1946.
Here the internet link to the station:
http://www.rni.zu5.net/
Almost forgot that a reader mentioned that
Rosko can now also be
heard on Vixen 101 since September 5th from 8.00 PM
http://public.wavepanel.net/BGLTMI2HGVPOS89G/listen/asx
Each month we have some lines from Ian Godfrey, so here we go again:
’Dear Hans, thanks very much for the September Report. The reason for
emailing at this point is to make a few comments on the wealth of radio
activity the last weekend of August. I was very impressed with
Caroline’s ‘Now That’s What I Call Radio Caroline’ broadcast and
listened for several hours at a time, about 98% of it on the Internet
although I really had to check 531 about 17.45 on Friday, both to gauge
the signal-strength and hoping to hear the last few minutes of a test
transmission, leading up to the official launch. I heard two Pink Floyd
tracks, with a brief gap between them, when I thought there’d been a
break in transmission. Due to slight interference ‘crackle’ I held the
radio to my left ear, rather than increase the volume. I suddenly
realised I was doing something I hadn’t done for several years - old
habits die hard! The general presentation was consistently upbeat and it
was clear that they were enthusiastic about what they were doing. I
hadn’t heard Dave Richards since the day before ‘The Raid!’ The
broadcast reminded me of the last couple of years or so from the Mi
Amigo, and the trips I made to the radio-ships around that time. Some of
the tracks played I hadn’t heard for well over thirty years. If it
wasn’t for the Caroline broadcast I probably would have spent more time
listening to ‘Mi Amigo’ from the ‘Jenny Baynton.’ One thing I discovered
it had in common with Caroline was a thirty-second delay between AM and
the Internet. I rang a friend just after 18.00 on Friday who was unaware
that it had actually started and immediately noticed that the record
playing, as he found 531, was completely different from what was playing
on the Internet. It didn’t take long to realise what was happening! For
me the most emotional radio event of the weekend was the re-run of the
final two hours of Veronica. I’d listened to most of the commemorative
programmes from 1st August and nearly all of the final week, from early
on the 25th. I listened to the finally week thirty-five years ago—or so
I thought - as I had virtually no recollection of it, for example, the
featuring of one particular year, and two towards the end of the week,
for each day, including records by artists such as Burl Ives, Johnny
Tillotson and Brenda Lee which I was sure I’d never heard before, plus
some clips of shows and schedules from the early ‘60s. The only thing I
could vividly remember were the mentions of the hours remaining at the
top of each hour. One of the first things I noticed was that the ID at
the top of the hour was given as ‘Radio 192’ as opposed to ‘Veronica
192,’ which was intriguing. I found this had reverted back when I tuned
in on Monday morning. For about the first three days the presentation
sounded just as upbeat and slick as was usual every day of the week but
some time on Friday there was a distinct change, as though they’d
suddenly become aware of the imminent closure, with several appropriate
records being played in the evening, such as “Law of the Land’ by The
Undisputed Truth and ‘The Music’s Over’ by The Doors. As I’d had a few
problems getting Veronica 192 over the weekend I thought I’d give
Spectrum a try (a first for me) tuning in just after 14.00, to hear
Bachman Turner Overdrive, which was about no.18 in the ‘Tipparade’. At
about the same time I found that the ‘Tipparade’ had just begun on
Veronica 192, with, interestingly, ‘Man of Action’. Rather than
listening with one record on the right-hand side and a completely
different one on the left, and that I could hear the whole chart on
Veronica 192, I decided to get a bit of fresh air. When I heard that the
Spectrum transmission hours had been changed I thought it had been done
for technical reasons but as I was walking back home two things suddenly
occurred to me - that it must have been done for the benefit of
Spectrum’s listeners without the Internet and that it was possible to
hear the final hour twice! On Sunday afternoon I was reading a magazine,
with Caroline playing in the background and suddenly, about 14.45, it
was mentioned that Simon Dee had died. It took a few seconds to absorb
what I’d just heard, mainly because I’d heard nothing about him for some
time. Just before 18.00 I tuned to BBC Kent, feeling sure that Roger Day
would at least give it a mention found I was listening to probably the
most interesting tribute show I’ve heard, with some really informative,
and at times humorous, input from Alan Turner and Keith Skues.
Radio-wise this has been by far the most eventful Bank Holiday ever - a
far cry from reliance on a couple of mentions on a SW pirate! Tuesday
was much more of an anticlimax than the usual Monday, definitely a case
of ‘withdrawal symptoms!’ only helped by KBC in the evening, with
several rare records. Very Best Wishes, Ian Godfrey.’
Another you tube shows a tender from Veronica, the
Ger Anne, making a visit
to the MV Mi Amigo in April 1973.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vefQGwsiBUE&feature=related
Next it’s Clive from Northampton who wrote: ‘Hi, Hans I am sure you know
this but I am not sure if some of your other English readers do – that
is that Arrow Classic Rock is now broadcasting on satellite Astra 1 19,2
East (full info here:
http://www.arrow.nl/rock/ ) This is free to air, also free to air on
the same satellite are Radio Veronica, Radio 10 Gold and Radio 538 plus
hundreds of other stations from all over Europe. Many thanks for the
great Radio Reports - keep them coming, best wishes, Clive.’
Per Alarud sent in the
next info to Martin: ‘There will be as special Radio Nord cruising to
Turku in Finland from Stockholm at the end of October. That is when the
new book, by Jan Kotschack, is ready. He will sign his new book. Also
Fredric Karén who wrote the book about Radio Syd; Piratdrottningen, will
be there and sign his book. He has managed to secure several books,
despite it was all sold out from the publisher. Several of the artists
that was played on Radio Nord will appear:
http://www.tallinksilja.com/sv/cruises/special/galaxy/radioNord.htm
My wife and I will be there and I hope to take some nice pictures.
Regards, Per Alarud.’
Another six weeks
before the Radio Day in Amsterdam and we just got information that
Charlie Wolf, K.C., D.L. Bogart and Paul Jackson will do their best to
come to Holland, too. For all information just go to
http://www.radioday.nl
Well another bumper edition and already 10 pages with information are
stored on the computer for next months issue. Thanks a lot for your
news, ideas and memories and let them come to
HKnot@home.nl and the attachments
please to Hans.Knot@gmail.com
With many warm greetings
Hans Knot
Offshore Radio Programme Names - Programmanamen Zeezenders 1958-1990
Read Hans Knot's former report