Features
Radio buff brings world to living room
By Jim Fltzroy
At the first news that a Korean
Air Lines flight was shot down by
the Russians, Peter Dehart went
to his short wave radio. From ex
perience he knew just where to
tune to get Radio Korea, out of
Seol. He later monitored broad
casts by Radio Moscow and BBC
International while collecting
several hours of tape on the inci
dent for his library.
“Those of the Russians and
Koreans,” he says, “have been
carefully worded official
statements, while the BBC has
been more direct.”
He regrets he doesn’t speak
Russian, and would like to know
what the Soviets are telling their
own people about the disaster.
His radio makes him privy to
those programs too.
With all the world trying to
send out messages ranging from
cultural to propagandistic, from
emergency to the frivilous, the
airwaves are indeed flooded with
information.
When he's not involved with
this political and cultural diversity
of his radio monitoring, Dehart is
Capitol Campus’ Instructional
Services Audio-Visual Scheduler.
He is responsible for dispatching
audio-visual equipment, projec
tors, and tape recorders available
for use by students and faculty.
After work, Dehart can be
found at his short-wave receiver
at home. He now uses a Radio
Shack DX-220 almost exclusively,
hooked up to two antennae - one
seventy feet long strung from
house to tree, and another 35 feet
long running from tree to ground.
He moves the antennae from time
to time in order to receive broad
casts from various countries.
“Strictly trial and error,” he
says, “atmospheric conditions can
play havoc with reception. Broad
cast strength is a factor, too, and
sometimes there is intentional
jamming.”
This arrangement, tempered
with his patience, has allowed
Dehart to receive broadcasts from
as many as 90 countries on every
continent.
“The list will certainly grow,”
he says, “for virtually every
country has government
sponsored short-wave facilities
and there are numerous
clandestine operations that spring
up to serve a short term purpose,
then disappear. The channels are
always alive.”
All stations precede their
broadcasts with distinctive 'inter
val signals’ that can last up to
fourty-flve minutes to allow
listeners to adjust their sets.
These introductions are often a
national anthem or some native
music, though Radio Botswana
announces itself with a unique
Peter J. Dehart, Audio-Visual Scheduler for Instructional Services, searches the
band for an interesting broadcast (above), while he locates the sender’s country on a
map (lower left). Dehart has monitored broadcasts from around the world, including
foreign reports on the recent downing of Korean Airlines' flight 007.
combination of barnyard animal
sounds and cowbells. Radio
Tashkent relies on the musical
signal, playing melodious tradi
tional instrumentals.
Because of the ability to bring
the world into the home, interest
in short-wave radio monitoring
has spawned many clubs, a few
specialty magazines and the
firmest evidence of popularity -
the first modern commercial
short-wave station, WRNG
Worldwide, out of New Orleans.
The range of a typical set is so
great and new technology so
sophisticated that an enthusiast
like Dehart always has a pot
pourri of programs to pick from.
They come in from across the
globe, an insomniac’s delight.
Though not so afflicted, the
father of two will rouse himself
in the middle of the night or
especially early in the morning to
tape a favorite cultural broadcast
or an unfolding political drama.
A visitor senses, though, that
Dehart’s main reason for time
spent monitoring and taping, is
his curiosity about people and
their way of life. The feeling is
borne out when he tells of his
fascination for travelogues, for
broadcasts of indigenous music
and those of a cultural nature in
general. When his interest is pi
qued by a particular program or
when he comes across a new voice
or an unfamiliar language, he
heads for the library. Depending
on the question, he may consult
an atlas, the Reader’s Guide to
Periodic Literature, and a series
of “Area Handbooks” that deal
Page 9
with specific countries, providing
detailed information.
The library of tapes collected
so far by the Middletown resident
covers four major categories:
cultural, news, media programm
ing, and some programming
suitable to the study of
propaganda.
From Voice of Turkey, one can
learn about wedding customs in
rural Turkey; Radio France Inter
nationale will entertain you with
music of African origin; Radio
Tahiti features native music; and
the highly respected BBC will tell
“Virtually every country
has government-sponsored
short-wave facilities . . .
The channels are always
alive.”
Peter Dehart
Inst. Services Audio-Visual
Scheduler
you “The Story of Stonehenge.”
Once you’ve listened, it’s ob
vious why Peter Dehart strongly
believes in the educational aspect
of short-wave monitoring.
“The world is getting smaller,’
he says, “because of advances in
communications technology and
increased availability of
information.”
His way of keeping abreast is
by turning on his set and tuning
in the world.