The offshore radio ships | Aegir | Aegir II = Martina | Apache | Aurora | Awatea | Bon Jour = Magda Maria = Mi Amigo | Borkumriff | Boys’ Own | Calypso | Caroline (Fredericia) | City of Panama | Chatham and others | Cheeta | Cheeta II | Columbus | Comet | Communicator | Courier | … Read more
Taken together, the history of offshore radio amounts to well over one hundred failed projects. On this occasion I would like to mention a few that were written about during the 1960s. One of these projects was said to involve “Leeds University”, although the name “Radio Rag” was also used. The initiators planned to broadcast … Read more
A detailed review by Martin van der Ven (March 2025) Radio stations on ships in international waters (often incorrectly called pirate stations) have been associated for decades with radio stations in the North Sea that broadcast pop and rock music, such as Radio Caroline or Radio Veronica. Accordingly, countless publications deal with the well-known phenomenon. … Read more
Een gedetailleerd overzicht door Martin van der Ven (maart 2025) Radiostations op schepen in internationale wateren (vaak ten onrechte piratenstations genoemd) worden al tientallen jaren in verband gebracht met radiostations in de Noordzee die pop- en rockmuziek verspreiden, zoals Radio Caroline of Radio Veronica. Daarom behandelen talloze publicaties het bekende fenomeen. Maar in 1993 ontstond … Read more
Ein ausführlicher Rückblick von Martin van der Ven (März 2025) Radiostationen auf Schiffen in internationalen Gewässern (oft fälschlich Piratensender genannt) werden seit Jahrzehnten mit Pop- und Rockmusik verbreitenden Rundfunksendern in der Nordsee wie Radio Caroline oder Radio Veronica assoziiert. Entsprechend beschäftigen sich zahllose Publikationen mit dem hinlänglich bekannten Phänomen. Doch im Jahr 1993 tauchte mit … Read more
Jeff: This week, Ray Robinson in Los Angeles brings us the interesting story of a U.S. military radio ship which saw service in the Pacific in the 1940’s and was used to broadcast news of the American atom bomb tests on Bikini atoll in the Marshall Islands in 1946. Ray: Thanks, Jeff. Our editor-in-chief, Dr. … Read more
Jeff: This week, we bring you the concluding part of our short series on radio broadcasting in the Scandinavian country of Denmark. Last week, Ray Robinson noted that it was on April 1, 1925 that all Radio broadcasting in Denmark was nationalized under the Danish State Broadcasting Service. After the Second World War, there were … Read more
Jeff: Once again, we are indebted to Dr. Martin van der Ven in Germany for the research he has done to bring us this item, mainly sourced from two 1934 radio magazines – ‘Short Wave Craft’ and ‘Radio News’, and a 1985 article in Popular Communications. We include it now to round out our comprehensive … Read more
Jeff: This week, we have a story about a shortwave station that was setup during World War II in a French Overseas Territory controlled by Vichy France. And once again we thank Dr. Martin van der Ven for contributing to this item. Ray: Thanks, Jeff. Following the Nazi invasion of France that began in May … Read more
Jeff: Just over 20 years ago, shortwave radio regained strategic importance in 2004 and 2005 during the so-called “Global War on Terror.” Here’s Ray Robinson in Los Angeles to remind us of what happened. Ray: Thanks, Jeff. This is a story that I must admit passed me by at the time, but Dr. Martin van … Read more