Blitar is a small town in southern East Java noteworthy for being the hometown of Indonesia's first president, Soekarno. It's a sleepy place that's got a tiny business district as well as ancient Hindu temples (called Candi Panataran.) My friend Pak Rohmad of Muhammadiyah University and I took a train from Malang to visit... RKPD Blitar!
Radio Khusus Pemerintah Kotamadya
Daerah Tingkat II Blitar is in a one-room
building with a 70' vertical stacked on the roof. Walking through the entrance,
one is struck by a wall of tinted glass which divides the room. This is
where the studio sits. When I arrived, the announcer and personnel officer
were on the air but still happy to entertain my questions and pose for
pictures.
In 1997, RKPD Blitar returned to
Shortwave and now broadcasts on an 80 meter frequency with presumably 500
watts. They had apparently been off on SW for quite some time since
nothing was mentioned about it during my visit... In fact, there
was no shortwave transmitter there in August 1996!
RKPD
Blitar Building
Waiting
Area. The Studio is to the Right
Studio:
8-channel 2-bus mixer, 4 tape decks, equalizer, processor & compressor.
The
Ancient 500w MW Transmitter