It's a rare day when a visitor to a radio station arrives to see the
director welding the back door on. At Guatemala's TGN, there's not
much director Wayne Berger hasn't done. Maintaining the
transmitters and studio equipment is only part of Wayne's job as
engineer/interim manager. Anything that needs fixed ends up in the
shop. That day he had the help of missionary Bob Rice.
Most of the equipment and transmitters used at the station is
designed and built in the shop. "Equipment is born, repaired, and
meets its end here", Wayne states. Some is made from parts of old
commercial equipment. "Its cheaper to buy junk from the US and
rebuild it than to buy commercial equipment". Bob Rice hastens
to add "We're willing to own commercial equipment." If
anyone wants to make a donation, Bob said, their big needs are a new
jeep for going up the mountain and a new FM transmitter.
Wayne laughed and said it was too bad he was too busy to take me out
to the transmitter site on Anacoche Mountain south of town. The
road's so bad, that the twenty mile trip takes six hours. A jeep
without shock absorbers doesn't make for a comfortable ride. Not by
choice, Wayne usually has to go out at least once a week , and
sometimes once a day. If its not one transmitter acting up, its
another. TGN's big problem right now is the FM transmitter.
Everytime the power goes off, however briefly, Wayne has to go up
the mountain to readjust it. "It keeps us jumping," he
notes. And if that's not enough, after returning he has to weld the
jeep's muffler back on!
He earned his way by working as engineer for six small rural radio
stations. Every morning he was up at six am to drive around and
take readings on the various transmitters. His classes started at
eight am, so he would do whatever repairs were needed after school.
One would guess his major was radio engineering, but actually he
studied Theology. Electronics came from experience.
Also using surplus parts, he built the shortwave transmitters from
scratch. The 3300 khz transmitter is a "homemade clunker"
made out of the very worst parts, he says. Furthermore each
transmitter was built in a metal clothes cabinet - a cheaper option
than commercial transmitter cabinets. When new tubes and other
parts are bought, there is a pecking order determining which
transmitter gets the best equipment. New parts go into the AM
transmitter and those they replace are put into the 3300khz
transmitter. From 3300 khz, parts are passed down to the 5955 khz
transmitter, and finally to the backup AM transmitter.
The much maligned FM transmitter is, if nothing else, a collector's
item. It is one of only five made in the 1950s by a small company
in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1968 the FCC said these were
unstable, and had to be taken off the air. Deported, one ended up
at TGN where it's "now more or less stable," according to
Wayne.
Aside from the cost, which TGN simply cannot afford, Wayne says that
commercial equipment doesn't live through the frequent electric
power outages or the intense use it gets at TGN. Anything that
isn't built in the shop eventually passes through. Wayne has fixed
computers, televisions, tape recorders, medical sterilizers, and
heating equipment, among other things. On a typical afternoon an
engineer from a local TV station may come by to test some parts
while a Guatemalan missionary from Barillas pops in to say that
their X-Ray machine needed fixing.
One thing he hasn't fixed is the sign on by the front door. Huge
wooden letters "TGN" were mounted on the wall, lighted with a
spotlight, until they were machine-gunned to pieces five years ago.
They "weren't out to get us - it was just a nice lighted
target," comments Wayne. During those troubled years it was no
telling what soldiers driving around town in a jeep might do. Wayne
plans to put up some back-lighted aluminum letters that he hopes
would withstand bullets. I "don't want to put another target
up," he says.
Although not the tallest, the antenna tower is the most massive in
combined width and height in Guatemala. Constructed of heavy steel,
it weighs nine tons, and is 330 feet high. "Shunt fed" and
grounded, there is no RF in the tower itself. Thus it can be
climbed even when the station is on the air.
Because of interferance on the higher bands, 3300 khz is TGN's
primary SW frequency. On 90 meters their ten kilowatts is a
powerhouse, not a pipsqueak. How and why they ended up on 3300 khz
is probably one of the most bizarre cases of frequency selection in
the history of shortwave. Actually they are not even licensed for
3300 khz - it is a substitute frequency added to their 49 meter
license.
When they applied for the 90 meter band in the early 1970s,
government officials didn't want to give it to them. However at
that time the Guatemalan government was pushing its never ending
claim that Belize is really Guatemalan territory, and was trying to
to make Belizeans believe they were Guatemalans. The Guatemalan
"government wanted more programming from Guatemala to be heard
in Belize," explains Wayne. TGN claimed they would be heard in
Belize on 90 meters. Although convinced that TGN couldn't do it,
the government did assign them a 90 meter band frequency. The
frequency was 3300 khz, which just happened to be Radio Belize's
shortwave frequency at the time! "For two years we battled it
out and after a long enough time, they moved. The government here I
think on purpose put me on top, " says Wayne.
Located just inside TGN's front entrance, both stations have
seperate studios and control rooms. Additionally there are
facilities for playing prerecorded programs because very �little
of the programming is done live - most is recorded for later re-
broadcast. Up to six hours of programming can be played without
changing the tape.
Some programs are rebroadcast several times over the years. TGN has
what Wayne believes to be the largest record and tape library in
Central America. The collection is mostly reel to reel tapes of
programs made here in the past. Included are seasonal programs
broadcast annually and others which are rebroadcast less often. A
section for compact discs was recently added.
On Sunday some of the English programs are locally produced.
Sunday's schedule is longer, from 6:45-10:00 pm (0045 -0400 UTC).
Aside from an airing of Unshackled and a few short features, most of
Sunday's broadcast is a program called Music in the Post Meridian.
Since Wayne is presently the only English announcer at the station,
naturally the honors fall to him. Music in the Post Meridian is
designed to be a live program with soft music and responses to
listners' mail. But Wayne's schedule usually makes live programming
impossible, so he set it up to be automated. He recorded a variety
of generic announcements such as "Well I hope you liked that song.
Let's see what else we have here to play. Here's a favorite of
mine," so that the non-English speaking technician can play an
announcement after every two or three songs to give the impression
of a live program. "I fool a lot of people that way" Wayne
jokes.
In addition to the English program, there are also daily broadcasts
from 0430-0600 local time (1030-1200 UTC) in the four major Indian
languages of Guatemala; Quich�, Mam, Cakchiquel, and Kekch�, with a
different language each day. Broadcasting in native languages was
begun a few years ago. After the 1976 earthquake many rural people
whose homes were destroyed moved to the capital. Immigration
continued through the early 1980s as the guerilla war heated up in
some parts of the country. Typical woven wall hangings made by
listeners for the station's anniversaries demonstrate their
appreciation.
However, if money ever gets really tight at TGN, taking out a wall
and selling it might solve the problem. In a second story
conferance room (called the Sala Atitlan) one entire wall is a
beautiful colorful landscape painting done by a now famous artist.
The painting of Lake Atitlan was the work of Guatemalan artist
Deleon Campos, who starting out working at TGN in the 1950s and
painting in his spare time. Now famous, his paintings sell for
hundreds of dollars. Campos estimates TGN's painted wall is worth
$30,000.
Another interesting room in the TGN building is the recital hall,
with a baby grand piano. Students from a nearby music school
practice on it and in exchange help record music for different
programs. It was originally set up for live radio broadcasts or to
record TV programs. TGN used to make TV programs and then buy time
on local TV stations, which was discontinued because of the high
cost. In the adjoining control room, Wayne points to the console
which he built in 1967. "Haven't even changed a fuse in
it," he remarks.
Wayne checks the accuracy of every report and notes that TGN is
probably one of the few radio stations that still do. Each correct
report is answered with a QSL card, and if the report can't be
verified Wayne writes to tell the reporter why. Some-times angry
hobbyists write back complaining about their unverified report.
Wayne then responds with a QSL card with "SAMPLE" written
across it and explains that if he receives a correct report he'll
send a real QSL.
The QSL card, which pictures a Quetzal bird - the national symbol of
Guatemala - has been used for years. However it seems every new
batch that comes back from the printers looks a little fainter and
sloppier, notes Wayne. Presently TGN is also sending small pennants
to DXers. If writing, DXers should include two IRCs or a US dollar
to pay for return postage. There address is: TGN, Radio
Cultural/Apartado 601/Guatemala City/Guatemala.
This article is copyright 1988 by Don Moore. It may not be
printed in any publication without written permission.
Permission is granted for all interested readers to share and
pass on the ASCII text file of this article or to print it out
for personal use. In such case, your comments on the article
would be appreciated.
This website is maintained by Don Moore,
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TGN:
Wayne Berger's Homebrewed Radio
In Guatemala By Don Moore
A LIFETIME IN ELECTRONICS
Wayne has gift for electronics. Growing up just north of Baltimore,
Maryland, he starting out repairing radio and television sets in
grade school and high school. Later he spent time working for FM
station WADC in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, during what he calls the
"early days of FM". He spent a summer in Guatemala with
TGN, then returned to the US to attend college in Georgia. TRANSMITTERS REBUILT
When Wayne went to work for TGN in 1967, the semi-commercial AM
transmitter frequently broke down. The station was only on the air
for eight to ten hours a day. To make matters worse, the
transmitter would suddenly and unpredictably go off the air forcing
Wayne to drive out and put it back on. At times, before he got back
to the city it would go off again, he remembers. "You can't hold
listeners that way," he adds. Permission received from the
government allowed the station to close two weeks for repairs. In
just two days hard work Wayne completly stripped and rebuilt the
transmitter using army surplus and other miscellanous parts. "It
never gave any more trouble," he says proudly. POPULAR ANTENNA SITE
Although the antenna site is difficult to reach, it is an excellant
location, possibly the best in the country. At 7,200 feet, it
overlooks several major valleys. The FM signals can be received as
far away as Puerto Barrios on the Caribbean coast, and even into
Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras with an ERP of just eleven
kilowatts. Once while on top of the antenna installing a repeater,
company workers talked to people all over the country just using a
walkie-talkie. Therefore the tower is much in demand for repeaters.
Several are mounted on it, including those of the local Ham radio
club, the Guatemala City fire department, and several commercial
firms. Wayne guesses that the fee charged commercial firms is below
market value. The Ham club and fire department use the tower gratis.
FREQUENCIES NOT CHOSEN
As to frequency management, Wayne explains that the govern- ment
"doesn't let us choose where we want to be in the band", but
instead assigns frequencies. Officially the main shortwave
frequency is 5955 khz with limited usefulness because "Radio Canada
knocks me out on 49 meters," Wayne points out. TGN's ten kilowatts
can't compete with two hundred and fifty kilowatts five kilohertz
away. He says that 31 meters is worse than 49. Their assigned 31
MB frequency is 9505 khz, also used by Radio Japan. "No way I can
fight them," laughs Wayne. Raising power is out of the question as
Guatemalan law prohibits non-government stations from using more
than 10 kilowatts. Wayne has thought about applying for a 60 meter
band frequency, but that band is already over populated. PROGRAMMING VARIES
TGN actually operates two different radio stations: the AM, which is
always parallel to the shortwave; and the FM. Wayne says "there
are two audiences and they don't like each other." The FM
station attracts upper middle class listeners because its
programming is the more neutral, i.e. less religous, of the two. It
plays a lot of classical music for example. The programming on the
AM station is predominately Christian Evangelist and has more of a
lower-middle class and lower class audience. 'LIVE' ENGLISH BROADCASTS
Shortwave listeners in North America are most interested in the
English programs from TGN. Most of these are not produced locally,
but rather are transcription programs from US minis-tries, which pay
the station to run them. Monday through Saturday, English is from
9:00-10:30 pm (0300-0430 UTC) and in- cludes programs such as Back
to the Bible, Through the Bible, and Insight for Living. STATION FUNDING AND A VALUABLE WALL
TGN is owned and operated by The Central American Mission of Dallas,
Texas, also called CAM International. It is only a small part of
CAM. The mission directory lists 285 couples working with CAM, but
only two are assigned to TGN, notes Wayne. The station is funded
from several sources. About 40% is raised locally from offerings
and special collections while an additional 40% comes from CAM. The
remaining 20% is raised by selling time to American evangelists for
nightly English trans-cription programs. WRITING TO TGN
TGN's shortwave outlet is the easiest way to verify Guatemala. The
station receives about 4,000 letters a month, mainly from listeners
in Guatemala and neighboring countries. The mailing list of local
listeners' addresses is computerized. Actual SWL/DX reports number
about 80-90 a month.
1996 Addendum: TGN's shortwave frequency of 3300 continues to be
easy to hear in North American evenings and the station continues to
verify reception reports. English is on most or maybe every night
after 0300 UTC.
Association of North American Radio Clubs
DXer of the Year for 1995.