HCJB

Last updated

HCJB, "The Voice of the Andes", was the first radio station with daily programming in Ecuador and the first Christian missionary radio station in the world. The station was founded in 1931 by Clarence W. Jones, Reuben Larson, and D. Stuart Clark. [1] HCJB now focuses on Ecuador with unified programming on FM at 89.3 MHz in Pichincha, at 92.5 MHz in Manabí, at 96.1 MHz in Tungurahua and Cotopaxi, at 98.3 MHz in Esmeraldas and with separate programming on AM at 690 kHz. [2] Broadcasts in Spanish and indigenous languages on 6.05 MHz (1 kW), continue on an intermittent basis with a new solid state transmitter which in 2017 replaced an older (5 kW) transmitter. These broadcasts were not listed on the HCJB English website as of February 2016.

Contents

History

Radio station HCJB started as the vision of Clarence Wesley Jones (1900–1986), [3] a musician, graduate of Moody Bible Institute, and the son of a Salvation Army minister. Following his graduation from Moody, Jones worked under evangelist Paul Rader and was part of the founding staff of the Chicago Gospel Tabernacle where Jones assisted in leading music, working with youth and overseeing Rader's weekly radio ministry called "WJBT" (Where Jesus Blesses Thousands) [4] : 31  Impressed by the impact Rader's radio ministry had made, Jones felt called to establish missionary radio in Latin America. As a result, Jones traveled to Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Cuba on a seven-week trip in 1928 looking for a suitable location for his envisioned radio station, but was unable to obtain the necessary government permits. [4] : 54  Back in Chicago nearly two years later, Jones met Christian & Missionary Alliance (CMA) missionaries from Ecuador - Reuben and Grace Larson, John and Ruth Clark and Paul and Bernice Young. These missionaries encouraged Jones to consider Ecuador as the place to start his missionary radio station.

As the first step in fulfilling his vision, Jones needed to obtain a contract of approval from the Ecuadorian government for setting up the radio station. Reuben Larson and D. Stuart Clark, along with Ecuadorian lawyer Luís Calisto, worked to procure the initial contract. On August 15, 1930, the Ecuadorian Congress approved a bill which granted Jones a 25-year contract to operate a radio station in the country. [4] : 67 

As with all countries having a governing body over broadcast operations, the call letters HCJB were obtained through the government of Ecuador, beginning with the internationally allocated prefix for Ecuador's broadcast stations (HC). Station co-founders Jones and Larson advocated for, and were granted by the government, call letters that were an acronym indicative of the stations' agreed upon purpose. The result was Heralding Christ Jesus' Blessings. In Spanish (one of the original broadcast languages of the South American station) the call letters represent Hoy Cristo Jesús Bendice. [4] : 77 

Jones incorporated the World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc. (WRMF) on March 9, 1931 as a non-profit entity and overseeing organization over HCJB. Jones was also the non-profit corporation's first president. The corporation's first officers were Adam Welty as treasurer, Ruth Churchill, secretary, and Lance Latham and his wife, Virginia, along with Howard Jones and Reuben Larson serving on the board of directors. [3]

HCJB's first broadcast on Christmas Day, 1931 had the potential of being heard by the six radio receivers capable of receiving the program and existing in the country at the time. [5] The inaugural program was broadcast in English and Spanish from a studio in the Joneses' living room and powered by a 200-watt, table-top transmitter. The antenna used was a simple, single wire antenna strung between two makeshift telephone poles. The broadcast lasted 30 minutes. [6]

Frequencies, QSLs, and programming

The grounds of radio station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador Hcjbquito.jpg
The grounds of radio station HCJB in Quito, Ecuador

Initially, HCJB only broadcast programs in English and Spanish. In 1941, however, live programs were added in Russian, Swedish and Quichua. By 1944, the station had aired programming in 14 languages including live programs in Czech, Dutch, French and German. Programs in languages such as Arabic, Italian and Hebrew were recorded elsewhere and sent to Quito on large acetate coated aluminium transcription discs. By 1967, live programming would be added in Portuguese and Japanese.

Following the first years of HCJB's broadcasts on 50.26 meters (5.986 MHz), the shortwave frequencies utilized by HCJB for its broadcasts from Quito were 6.05 MHz, 9.745 MHz, 11.775 MHz and 15.155 MHz. [7] As the station's transmitting power increased, shortwave radio enthusiasts in North America started receiving the station's broadcasts, submitting reception reports in order to provide the HCJB engineers feedback on the station's signal strength and quality.

An HCJB envelope with a 1938 postmark which contained a QSL card sent to the addressee Hcjb envelope 1938.jpg
An HCJB envelope with a 1938 postmark which contained a QSL card sent to the addressee

Since a popular practice in the hobby of shortwave radio listening was to request a QSL card, HCJB started creating its own QSLs in 1932. By the 1970s, the station was one of the most powerful and most readily received shortwave stations. HCJB was heard around the world and received hundreds of letters each week with reception reports from shortwave DXers. The correspondence department of HCJB would respond in kind to its listeners with QSL cards and Christian tracts. As requests for QSLs became more frequent, HCJB missionary and radio engineer Clayton Howard suggested a shortwave listeners' club be created. In 1974, the Andes DXers International, (or "ANDEX") began. Members would receive a membership certificate and membership card with the member's name and individual member number, along with Howard's signature. A monthly bulletin, (later bi-monthly) was sent to members. [8] ANDEX eventually had a membership in the thousands and continued as a service of HCJB until 1996.

Since the station's first year of broadcasting, staff members produced the HCJB's own original radio programming. HCJB's original programming has ranged from programs completely in Quichua (the primary language of the people of the Andes), Andean-music programs, Christian music programming, talk and mail-reading programs featuring mail received from listeners around the world, Bible study and teaching programs, and programming featuring information about shortwave radio listening. Some of the most popular HCJB-produced programs over the years have been "Morning in the Mountains," "Musica del Ecuador", "Musical Mailbag," "Happiness Is" and "DX-Partyline." "DX-Partyline" was hosted from its inception by HCJB missionary Clayton Howard and his wife, Helen. The program was heard for more than 40 years, twice a week, and included the reading of letters from shortwave listeners around the world as well as DX and reception reports sent to the station. "DX-Partyline" also included shortwave radio listening tips, information on antennas, and equipment reviews. Programs not produced by HCJB were also broadcast from the Quito station. [9] Typically of a religious nature, some of the non-HCJB produced programs broadcast from the station were the Pacific Garden Mission's "Unshackled!", the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Hour of Decision, the Salvation Army's "Wonderful Words of Life" and Moody Bible Institute radio station WMBI-FM's "Nightsounds" with Bill Pearce, [10] among many others. Much of HCJB's original programming also included music recorded, produced and performed by HCJB missionaries. [11] Much of the HCJB-produced music broadcast on the station was also available on LP record albums and later on cassette tapes.

In December 1995, Radio Netherlands the Media Network programme visited the transmitter site at Pifo with two members of the HCJB production team. The programme can be found in the Media Network vintage vault. The Media Network Vintage Vault 2023-2024: MN.07.12.1995 - BBC World Service Cuts announced and visit to HCJB Quito Ecuador

Milestones and achievements

A Siemens single side-band transmitter at Radio Station HCJB's international transmitter site in Pifo, Ecuador Siemenstransmitterhcjb.jpg
A Siemens single side-band transmitter at Radio Station HCJB's international transmitter site in Pifo, Ecuador

HCJB Global Technology staff members are involved in research, development, training and technical support for AM, FM and shortwave radio stations as well as satellite distribution and satellite-based Internet services. In recent years they developed station automation systems and a fixed-tuned, solar-powered SonSet radio that can be pre-tuned to pick up a specific Christian radio station. HCJB Global staff have been active in pioneering equipment and software for a form of digital radio broadcasting called DRM.[ citation needed ]

End of long-range broadcast

HCJB's steerable "mixer-antenna" in Pifo, Ecuador. Mixerantenne.jpg
HCJB's steerable "mixer-antenna" in Pifo, Ecuador.

After nearly 80 years of shortwave broadcasting from Ecuador, Radio Station HCJB ended its extensive worldwide shortwave transmissions on 30 September 2009. [16] The international transmitter site in Pifo was dismantled to make way for the city of Quito's new airport. According to HCJB Global President Wayne Pederson, the change was made because

“the way people consume media has changed, so we have the opportunity to change to delivery systems such as satellite, AM/FM and the Internet. The closing of shortwave in Latin America is strategic because of the planting of local radio stations across the region and around the world. These stations are staffed and programmed by local Christians who can speak to the culture in their own communities.” [17]

HCJB Global's focus is now on “radio planting” – assisting local Christian ministries in beginning implementing their own Christian radio ministry. Worldwide, more than 350 local stations have been assisted in this type of endeavor, including nearly 60 stations in Latin America alone. Although the historic station and transmitter sites in Ecuador will no longer operate on the shortwave bands, Shortwave broadcasts continue from HCJB Global Australia's site in Kununurra, [18] Australia and from commercial broadcast sites and partner ministry broadcast sites around the world.

HCJB's broadcast from Mt. Pichincha, near Quito, can still be heard on 6 050 kHz with Spanish and indigenous languages of Ecuador. The double dipole (CT2/1/0.3) antenna [19] : 4–5, 17–18  is designed to cover only Ecuador, but the 5 kW signal is heard worldwide from time to time. [20] After replacement of the 40 year-old 5 kW transmitter with a new 1 kW solid state transmitter in 2017, it became even more of a challenge for DX listeners, but is still heard within Ecuador.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shortwave radio</span> Radio transmissions using wavelengths between 10 m and 100 m

Shortwave radio is radio transmission using radio frequencies in the shortwave bands (SW). There is no official definition of the band range, but it always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz ; above the medium frequency band (MF), to the bottom of the VHF band.

International broadcasting, in a limited extent, began during World War I, when German and British stations broadcast press communiqués using Morse code. With the severing of Germany's undersea cables, the wireless telegraph station in Nauen was the country's sole means of long-distance communication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longwave</span> Radio transmission using wavelengths above 1000 m

In radio, longwave, long wave or long-wave, and commonly abbreviated LW, refers to parts of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave broadcasting band. The term is historic, dating from the early 20th century, when the radio spectrum was considered to consist of longwave (LW), medium-wave (MW), and short-wave (SW) radio bands. Most modern radio systems and devices use wavelengths which would then have been considered 'ultra-short'.

TV DX and FM DX is the active search for distant radio or television stations received during unusual atmospheric conditions. The term DX is an old telegraphic term meaning "long distance."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skywave</span> Propagation of radio waves beyond the radio horizon.

In radio communication, skywave or skip refers to the propagation of radio waves reflected or refracted back toward Earth from the ionosphere, an electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere. Since it is not limited by the curvature of the Earth, skywave propagation can be used to communicate beyond the horizon, at intercontinental distances. It is mostly used in the shortwave frequency bands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shortwave listening</span> Hobby of listening to shortwave radio

Shortwave listening, or SWLing, is the hobby of listening to shortwave radio broadcasts located on frequencies between 1700 kHz and 30 MHz (30 000 kHz). Listeners range from casual users seeking international news and entertainment programming, to hobbyists immersed in the technical aspects of long-distance radio reception and sending and collecting official confirmations that document their reception of remote broadcasts (DXing). In some developing countries, shortwave listening enables remote communities to obtain regional programming traditionally provided by local medium wave AM broadcasters. In 2002, the number of households that were capable of shortwave listening was estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.

CBLA-FM is a non-commercial radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the station is the flagship station of the CBC Radio One network, broadcasting a mix of news and talk. In addition to the Toronto market, CBLA also reaches much of Central Ontario with a network of twelve rebroadcasters. The studios are in the Canadian Broadcasting Centre.

DXing, taken from DX, the telegraphic shorthand for "distance" or "distant", is the hobby of receiving and identifying distant radio or television signals, or making two-way radio contact with distant stations in amateur radio, citizens band radio or other two-way radio communications. Many DXers also attempt to obtain written verifications of reception or contact, sometimes referred to as "QSLs" or "veries".

WRMI is a shortwave radio station broadcasting from Okeechobee, Florida, United States. WRMI is a commercial radio station that sells airtime to businesses and organizations.

MW DX, short for mediumwave DXing, is the hobby of receiving distant mediumwave radio stations. MW DX is similar to TV and FM DX in that broadcast band (BCB) stations are the reception targets. However, the nature of the lower frequencies used by mediumwave radio stations is very much different from that of the VHF and UHF bands used by FM and TV broadcast stations, and therefore involves different receiving equipment, signal propagation, and reception techniques.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBU (AM)</span> CBC Radio One station in Vancouver

CBU is a Canadian non-commercial public radio station, in Vancouver, British Columbia. It carries the programming of the CBC Radio One network. The station broadcasts on 690 AM and on 88.1 FM as CBU-2-FM. CBU's newscasts and local shows are also heard on a chain of CBC stations around the Lower Mainland.

WRNO is a commercial shortwave radio station which began international broadcasting on February 18, 1982 and continued regular broadcasting through the early 1990s from Metairie, Louisiana, with a continuation of periodic broadcasts starting in 2009. These call letters are still in use by the New Orleans station WRNO-FM; both were founded and originally owned by Joseph Costello III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clarence C. Moore</span> American missionary (1904–1979)

Clarence C. Moore was an engineer and minister at Radio Station HCJB with primary transmitters in Quito, Ecuador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Radio Ukraine International</span> International broadcasting service of Ukraine

Radio Ukraine International, abbreviated RUI, is the official international broadcasting station of Ukraine, with foreign language news and programming being produced by Ukrainian Radio's main editorial department for broadcasting in EBU languages. RUI broadcasts in Belarusian, Bulgarian, English, German, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian and Slovak. The Ukrainian language programming aired on RUI is produced by the domestic First Channel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CFGB-FM</span> CBC Radio One station in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador

CFGB-FM is a radio station broadcasting at 89.5 MHz (FM) from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and is the local Radio One station of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, serving as that network's primary outlet in Labrador. A shortwave relay, CKZN rebroadcasts CFGB's signal to remote areas of Labrador.

A reception report is a means by which radio stations receive detailed feedback from their listeners about the quality and content of their broadcasts. A reception report consists of several pieces of information which help the station verify that the report confirms coverage of their transmission, and usually include the following information:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KJAY</span> Radio station in Sacramento, California

KJAY is a commercial AM radio station in Sacramento, California. The station is owned by KJAY, LLC. KJAY airs a World Ethnic radio format consisting of mostly Hmong language programs with some Russian language shows and religious programming on Sundays.

WWRB was a shortwave international broadcasting station known as both "World Wide Religious Broadcasting" and "World Wide Radio Broadcasting" broadcasting from Morrison, Tennessee. It was a subsidiary of Airline Transport Communications Incorporated. The station featured primarily Christian religious programming.

World Radio Missionary Fellowship, Inc., also known as Reach Beyond, is a corporate entity and nonprofit, noncommercial, interdenominational worldwide missionary organization with headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

References

  1. ↑ "HCJB, Quito, Ecuador". Ontheshortwaves.com. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Horario de Programacion (Programming schedule, in Spanish)". HCJB. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Billy Graham Center Archives – Papers of Clarence Wesley Jones – Collection 349 Archived 2009-12-13 at the Wayback Machine
  4. 1 2 3 4 Come Up To This Mountain, Neely, Lois - Tyndale Publishers, 1980
  5. ↑ "www.raidio.com - News Archive". www.raidio.com.
  6. ↑ Preparing the Soil for Global Revival: Station HCJB's Radio Circle, 1949-59; Timothy H.B. Stomenman - March 2007
  7. ↑ Shortwave DX frequency guide
  8. ↑ "ANDEX - Andes DXers International".
  9. 1 2 http://www.ontheshortwaves.com/HCJB/Literature/Newscript-Aug-1941.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  10. ↑ "Nightsounds Radio with Bill Pearce". www.nightsoundsradio.org.
  11. ↑ http://www.ontheshortwaves.com/HCJB/Literature/The_Radio_Missionary_Log-1945.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  12. 1 2 3 "Twenty-Five Years of Progress", HCJB
  13. ↑ Newscript (August, 1941), HCJB
  14. ↑ Patent information on quad antenna Archived 2012-01-27 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ↑ "World Scene", Christianity Today, January 21, 1981. Retrieved October 12, 2022.
  16. ↑ MacHarg, Kenneth D. (24 September 2009). "From Ecuador to the world – missionary radio station broadcasts the Gospel for nearly 6 decades" (PDF). On the Shortwaves. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "HCJB Global Voice moves up end-date of shortwave broadcasts from Ecuador". Archived from the original on 2009-09-22.
  18. ↑ Register of radiocommunications licences. web.acma.gov.au (Report). Australia.
  19. ↑ "Antenna code" (PDF). International Telecommunication Union. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-03-16. Retrieved 2014-01-23.
  20. ↑ HCJB Quito 6 050 kHz from Ecuador received in Germany on Tecsun PL-660 (video) – via YouTube. Radio HCJB from Quito, Ecuador on 6 050 kHz received in Germany during a DXpedition to the fields on 14 April 2013 at 02 11 and 02 29 UTC. Receiver: Tecsun PL-660 with 35 meter longwire antenna. Distance: 9 912 km.Power: 10 kW (37 kW directional)
HCJB official sites

0°06′48″S78°21′31″W / 0.1133°S 78.3586°W / -0.1133; -78.3586

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.