The first construction works began a couple of weeks ago at Radio St Helena in Pounceys, St Helena, with the pouring of the concrete slab, which holds the base to the shortwave transmission antenna. This antenna will be erected later this month when the man behind the revival of the Radio St Helena Day (Sat. Nov. 4), Robert Kipp, arrives from Germany.

This project was made possible entirely by generous donations. The antenna was funded by overseas shortwave enthusiasts and the concrete slab holding the base was sponsored by local building contractors and friends.

After this year’s revival, Radio St Helena plans to continue this annual worldwide transmission, which is very popular with shortwave radio enthusiasts and local listeners - who can hear peoples’ greetings from all parts of the world. Next year will be an extra special shortwave transmission, which will coincide with Radio St Helena’s 40th anniversary. More information of the Revival of Radio St Helena Day, including the schedule, can be found at www.sthelena.se/radioproject.

Andy Sennitt comments: This is one of these rare occasions when the local people are getting as excited as the shortwave hobbyists. St Helena has traditionally been one of the most isolated places on earth. With a population of around 4000, this tiny island in the South Atlantic has no airport (though that’s about to change), and access has been via the Royal Mail Ship St Helena, which takes 5 days from Cape Town and about half that time from Ascension Island.