D.A.R.C. Celebrates 100 years of Broadcast Radio in Germany with a Transmission on Medium Wave and other Activities.
/If you were in the centre of Berlin this past 29th October 2023 listening to an AM radio transmission on 400 metres at precisely 8 p.m. local time, you may have had an experience similar to one listeners enjoyed precisely one hundred years earlier - at that exact hour - when the nation's first AM radio broadcast station went on the air.
This year, the historic occasion of that broadcast was marked by radio amateurs paying tribute. Having received permission from the German regulator, BNetzA, the D.A.R.C. - the national radio society - transmitted a programme on the original medium wave frequency of 747 kHz as part of the day's celebrations. D.A.R.C. members were also present at the nearby technical museum to speak about radio and conduct demonstrations. The day's ceremonies included the unveiling of a plaque at the site where the original "vox hause" studio and transmitter were located.
The D.A.R.C. of course is no stranger to AM broadcasting. Each week its regularly scheduled news report is sent to listeners on the 49- 31- and 75-metre broadcast bands. It is, however, worth noting that this special tribute broadcast on 400 metres likely had more listeners than 100 years ago, when few households had radio sets.
