Brazil’s national public broadcaster has announced an extended reduced operating schedule for its Rádio Nacional da Amazônia shortwave service.
The station is operated by Empresa Brasil de Comunicação. The station’s transmission site is northwest of Brasilia, within Rodeador Park in the Federal District.
It is heard on two frequencies: 11780 kHz and 6180 kHz.
“Due to technical problems and energy costs, the Rádio Nacional da Amazônia service will have reduced operating hours through at least the end of the year,” according to an EBC release shared with the website SWLing Post.
The service’s transmitters are aging. According to Paul Walker, a longtime shortwave observer and the news director and operations assistant of four Wolf Creek Radio Broadcasting stations in Wyoming, Rádio Nacional da Amazônia uses Brown Boveri and Cie transmitters that are approximately 50 years old.
Under the temporary schedule, 11780 kHz will operate weekdays from 0745 UTC to 2000 UTC, and 6180 kHz will operate weekdays from 2000 UTC to 0300 UTC.
On weekends, 11780 kHz will operate from 0900 UTC to 1800 UTC, while the 6180 kHz frequency will remain off-air.
Walker caught the station in Wyoming earlier this year on 11780, beamed at 312 degrees azimuth, and shared this audio clip. “This is a relatively normal signal for them here, too,” he told us.
He observed that Rádio Nacional puts a strong signal into the U.S. and Canada, where it is highly respected by shortwave enthusiasts for its lively programming and activity.
Walker wrote on SWLing Post in the fall that 11780 kHz had been running at 50 kW of transmitting power instead of its usual 100 kW.
The service began in 1977 and its antennas in the transmitter park were installed in 1979. You can read a detailed history of the service from Martin Butera of the British DX Club here.
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