A Century-Old Transmitter Sends a Message of Peace on United Nations Day

Some stories in this hobby connect you straight back to the earliest days of radio — this is one of them.

When United Nations Day is marked on 24th October, a message will go out to the world via a VLF frequency transmitted from Sweden. Inside the Grimeton Radio Station, the historic Alexanderson alternator — more than a century old — will be tuned to 17.2 kHz, where it will transmit in CW, under the callsign SAQ, words promoting "peace, unity and global partnerships."

How to Watch

Visitors to the station will experience the transmission in person, but anyone around the world can watch it live on the YouTube channel of the Alexander SAQ Grimeton Friendship Association. The transmission is scheduled for 12:20 UTC on 24th October. The same channel also holds last year's transmission, if you'd like to see and hear it before the day itself.

Youtube Link - https://www.youtube.com/c/AlexanderSAQ

A Genuine World Heritage Site

Grimeton operates the world's only transatlantic transmitter from the pre-electronic age, and it's not just a curiosity for radio enthusiasts — it was formally classified as a World Heritage Site in 2004 by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

A rare chance to hear a piece of radio history carrying a genuinely timeless message, over a century after it first went on the air.