CHILE Santiago closing? Hi Andrew, I note that you have been reducing
Santiago transmissions step by step, and that Portuguese on SW is to be
eliminated at the end of April. I wonder if this also applies to Spanish
and thus whether you are going to close down the Calera de Tango facility
completely?

Have the transmitters reached the end of their useful life? (Sound fine to
me as far as modulation and reliability.) Is CVC selling the site? Thanks
for any info you can provide about what is in store. Regards,
(Glenn Hauser-OK-USA, WOR, to Andrew Flynn, Christian Vision, via dxld)

Hi Glenn, good to hear from you. We don't have any plans to close Calera
de Tango.

The global economic situation has forced CVC, in common with other
international broadcasters, to seek cost efficiencies in its operating
budget. In particular we have been hit hard by recent increases in the
cost of power, and unfavourable exchange rates. Clearly budget savings can
be made by cutting transmission hours at the times and (and places) fewest
people are listening.

Nonetheless shortwave remains an important medium for CVC to reach its
audiences across the world, and we remain hopeful that DRM will also
become useful in the future to reach certain targets.

I've been following the recent gossip about the site in DXLD, so now is a
good opportunity to set the record straight on a few points.

Firstly, when we took over the site in late 1996, none of the transmitters
were close to working since the site had fallen into total disrepair since
its closure as Radio Nacional. We had 6 transmitters operational by the
time of our launch (as Voz Cristiana) in 1998. The remaining 2
transmitters were up by 2000. All 8 are still used in service, although,
obviously, not concurrently. Several have now been converted to operate
DRM.

Regarding the comments on the photos - especially
http://www.cvclavoz.cl/im/im12.jpg

The sticker on Tx2 - left over from the RN days?
I hate to shatter the nostalgia but nothing so romantic I'm afraid.
It's a safety sticker pointing out the location of the nearest
fire extinguisher.The bottles in front of the transmitters indeed contain
distilled water, for topping up the cooling system - correct analysis by
Jerry Lenamon. I hope this helps. Regards,
Andrew Flynn, Director, International Broadcasting

Christian Vision The Pavilion Manor Drive Coleshill West Midlands B46 1DL
United Kingdom

Direct: +44 (0)1675 435502 Tel: +44 (0)1675 435500
Fax: +44 (0)1675 435501 Mob: +44 (0)7881 908425
(dxld Apr 6)

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