Radio Nederland, final sign off on 6065 kHz, 29/06/12 

Your welcome.

I loved the bells

@@chrisakarazor9612 Yes it had a hypnotic sound. Thanks for the comment.

They were one of the first stations I received back in the 80s when I discovered shortwave DXing, also to get a program guide from with schedules.

that's so nice...I really miss European short wave stations...

I converted an AM radio to SW and I could hear Radio Nederland on it

Thank you for the information. RNI still brings back memories of when I first started SW DXing back in the 80s when I received them with their famous interval signal.

Your welcome. Radio Netherlands was one of the stations I would write to asking for schedules when I first started listening to shortwave in the 80s. I also miss many other SW stations that has left over the years.

@@mutezone I think the purpose of shortwave was entertainment, and also distributing political matters. At home we had a big old tube receiver, and I remember how the glass plate glowed with all the names of far off stations. It is true that you couldn't listen to hifi music, with the fading and crackles, I guess folks accepted that for what it was. Maybe SW fell outta fashion..??

I agree that SW was not only entertainment but also providing political content, especially to those that were deprived of the truth. An example is clandestine stations opposing their own regimes, or those during the cold war that were so vital like Radio Berlin International. There are still clandestine stations about like for eg the ones that oppose North Korea & Iran. The thing is there are far less of those type of stations about than compared to the past. The decline of SW could be down to the end of the cold war, but also stations moving to digital media especially when internet streaming came about. Stations would be catching on knowing there are a lot less SW listeners about & to save money they just move online. With regards sound quality, I remember satellite radio in the late 80s & early 90s but it did not really catch on although I was amazed how clear BBC WS sounded when I heard it for the first time other than on SW. Cheers.

Did you learn it ?

AngryHammerite Although there is nowhere as much to receive on SW like back in its heyday, there are some things which are worth trying to catch. We can only take advantage as much as we can of this once almost everyone decides to go digital, although with Sudan & Spain returning to SW it shows there is still a future for this medium.

AngryHammerite: Nothing but religious kooks broadcasting from the USA trying to make the world more Christian. I'm so glad I sold my radio last year. I bought my first radio in the summer of '68, the height of the Cold War. Those were great times.

***** Sorry to hear that you lost interest with SW DXing. I had to invest in better antennas to get the more difficult & rarer catches. For eg, low power stations from South America, pirate stations n Europe, African stations, & some far east Asian stations are keeping things going for me which is why I still listen. I do remember when DXing for the first time 30 years ago, a lot more to catch.

mutezone The only stuff that's broadcasting on shortwave radio is renegade broadcasters, Radio Havana Cuba, EWTN and Radio Marti, not to mention Brother Stair and WWCR.

So sad. I loved it when I was a kid. In my teens I had a crystal radio that could hear shortwave

Tom Meyer on Happy Station read my letter on the air one time. 6165khz was where I listened

No problem. If you mean to like it was in the past, then I doubt it with digital technology advancing ever more. It won't go away, just different in my opinion.

Thank you for the information.

But I heard them say, from Hilversum..?

@@mikesam347 RNW gave up on its own transmitter site at Flevo in the late nineties and hired transmitters elsewhere in Continental Europe because the Dutch Military took Flevo back from RNW to keep the site for national emergencies.

@@anthonyperkins7556 Hello Anthony, Thanks for your reply. I used to listen to RN from the UK, then I was moved to the netherlands (in 1975 ) where I worked for 30 years. I regret not contacting RN while I lived there and while they still operated, I must have 15 QSL's from them over the years. Regarding the Dutch military grabbing the Airwave's, didn't the UK Gov do the same, moving us all over to DAB ? What have they done ( or plan to do ) with those reclaimed frequencies ? The Netherlands has a really advanced emergency warning system with special sirens in most towns and cities. As far as I know, the UK has nothing comparable with the Dutch warning system. In fact I think most EU states, Denmark, Germany, Sweden etc all have audible warning systems.

@@anthonyperkins7556 I'm a bit late to the party over here but just wanted to add the fact that RNW gave up on its own Flevo SW transmitter site because of budget, in 2007. Wertachtal was one of the transmitter sites RNW used after giving up Flevo. Sadly both transmitter sites are demolished nowadays. 'Flevo SW' remained unused until 2012, when the Dutch Ministry of Defence aquired it. Starting 2018, all existing antennas were demolished and the transmitter building got overhauled. New antennas are built or will be built (haven't checked for a while) which will be much shorter than the original ones. It will remain mostly unused though, as its purpose is to provide emergency communication services for the military. So lets hope it will only be on air for training missions. Finally, a side note on the nearby Flevo medium wave transmitter site, once used to transmit domestic radio stations on 747 and 1008 kHz at 400 kW each. 747 kHz was used until 2015 (marking the end of nearly 90 years of medium wave broadcasting by the Dutch public radio) and 1008 kHz was used by a religious station until the end of 2018 at reduced power. Early 2019, the entire site was demolished. It was the very last remaining high power medium wave transmitter site in The Netherlands.

Then name of their interval signal is "Merck Toch Hoe Sterck". RNW was always a strong station for me as well. It was one of the first stations I received on my portable radio back in the 80s when I started to get into shortwave. Thanks for the comment.

As the producer of RNW English's final day, I'm proud and happy to find this clip on RU-vid. It was a sad task to compile that last day's programming, but inspiring as well. Yes, it's all gone forever (including my job there). For the record, the voices you are hearing are those of Dheera Sujan, who hosted the farewell programme; Jonathan Groubert giving the radio station a very personal send-off, and finally the remaining crew of RNW English at the time shouting Goodbye! The suggestion to play the Dutch national anthem at the end of the very last Radio Netherlands broadcast in English was made by Andy Sennitt. When we came out of the little Cell 4 studio, the building was deserted. The big farewell party which had started at midday was over by then; most of our colleagues at the other language services had gone home, never to be seen again. Some of us walked to the nearby railway station, others got into their cars and I hopped onto my bike to climb the Trompenberg on my way home one last time. Many of you are missing the old Radio Netherlands on the airwaves. You're not alone in that.

A country needs to be right wing to survive. Remember what the leftist totalitarian Socialists did to Germany in the thirties and forties.