As it is certainly well known the CBC kept relaying NHK World, KBS World and Voice of Vietnam only until the summer season was over this Saturday. But the control system at the apparently unmanned station still powered the transmitters up until at least today, 9:40 local time (have not seen later observations so far). The NHK feed still had program audio (picked up by Montréal master control from satellite I guess), the KBS feed only a test tone anymore and the Vietnam feed only the music loop which Babcock (who had arranged the Sackville transmissions for Vietnam) at its London master control puts on unused audio circuits.

This sloppiness can not even be considered a funny anecdote or welcome last reprive, since some of the former Sackville slots have been moved without changes to other transmission facilities (TDF French Guiana, WHR Furman/USA) and got ruined by these Sackville ghost transmissions for two nights in a row, at least so far.

Should emergencies ever arise short wave is the perfect back up to the internet which could easily be compromised.

These guys know what works when the going gets tough. And not just when it gets tough in the Pacific. Their CE wrote about the KISS principle for homeland broadcast disasters. http://www.mediauk.com/article/34214/am-radio-beats-a-smartphone-any-day

Radio Japan just bought four new 250 kw shortwave transmitters so they are not stupid either.

I wouldn’t trust a for-profit business with that charter. The current status of for-profit radio in the USA should be proof positive of that!

What I find most distressing was that the Sackville site was the best way for shortwave to reliably reach eastern North America from outside the USA and thus not subject to Smith-Mundt censorship.

Countries like Canada that voluntarily give up their international voice are also giving up their stature on the world stage.

While I can certainly access the CBC via the Internet, it’s my opinion that shortwave use needs to be a “backup of last resort” if nothing else.

Não destruam o parque de transmissão de Ondas Curtas de Sackville, porque mesmo com os avanços tecnológicos as Ondas Curtas ainda é um meio de transmissão segura e eficaz. Se não querem mais o parque o aluguem para outras emissoras que tem interesse em utilizar este meio.
Não destruam pois já é patrimônio cultural do povo canadense.

No other medium is as efficient at mass communication, or as reliable. Internet connections are far more easily compromised than any of us may believe.

Shortwave radio, as was demonstrated during the cold war, is almost impossible to block or jam, even with the best of technology and efforts.

DRM (digital shortwave) makes analog shortwave sound like FM radio and would increase its usefulness significantly. Sackville was doing some phenomenal DRM broadcasts, but dropped them all.

An efficient and sophisticated shortwave transmission site installation like Sackville is a public investment and resource that should not be dismantled like yesterday’s sweaty shirt or last year’s government. The government should not waste the investment that has been made over many decades by destroying it. If it is not a priority at this time, at least preserve its usefulness for the future.