Radio Helsinki - Association of Free Radio Styria
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| Radio station ( free radio ) | |
| Program type | Regional broadcasters |
| reception | analog terrestrial , web radio |
| Reception area | Greater Graz |
| Start of transmission | September 22, 1995 |
| owner | Free Radio Styria Association |
| executive Director | Lale Rodgarkia-Dara, Peter Petz |
| List of radio stations | |
| Website | |
Radio Helsinki - Association for Free Radio Styria is a free radio station from Graz . The non-commercial local radio has been on the air as a full 24-hour program since March 25, 2000 .
Radio Helsinki and Antenne Steiermark applied for the first private radio license in Styria . Due to a pre-trial settlement with the antenna, Radio Helsinki went on air on September 22, 1995, making it Austria's first free radio station . Until 1997, according to the agreement, a five-hour program was broadcast on Sunday evening in a broadcast window of the antenna. In the autumn of 1997 there were internal differences and as a result a rift with the antenna and Radio Helsinki lost the transmission window.
In autumn 1999 the radio broadcast a program for the Styrian autumn as an event radio for a month .
The station received a one-year educational license in 2000 and 2001, before being granted a full 10-year license in July 2002.
The program of Radio Helsinki is produced by some 200 volunteers who care for about 100 projects or programs. They reflect a very colorful spectrum - music, text content, foreign languages. Live broadcasts come from one of the two studio locations. Most of the content is prefabricated from recorded or downloaded audio files. Some programs are repeated. The program scheme has a weekly repeating schedule. Some program slots are shared by two programs every 14 days.
The radio station can be received in Graz on the FM frequency 92.6 MHz, as well as via live stream on the Internet.
Today's "Sendehaus", Schönaugasse 8, is a street bar with a level entrance, which previously housed the branch of a drugstore chain. It is located on the edge of the city center, near the Jakominiplatz tram junction. The street, which was organized as a one-way street with parking lanes for car traffic for decades, was redesigned a few years ago, now has narrow pavement gardens and is again open to bicycle traffic in both directions.
Not quite as central and cheap by public transport and with about 3 steps up to the front door, the former broadcasting establishment was located at Schörgelgasse 27 since 2000 or earlier.
The beginnings
Even before private, i.e. non-governmental organizations, were allowed to broadcast on radio tapes from 1995, activists broadcast in Graz from 1992 onwards from different antenna locations as so-called pirate stations under the names Radio ZARG and Radio Perm . "ZARG" reflects the city name Graz. The name "Radio Helsinki" was decided years later by a vote among the radio makers on a few quickly collected proposals.
Regarding the communication environment at that time: Cell phones (around 1992) weighed 1/2 kilogram and were rare because of the high purchase price and monthly and minute fees. With smaller and cheaper personal call receivers, technicians, doctors, fire brigade instructors, press photographers could only be alerted via red light emitting diode and beep, and later actively informed with a short text display. Compact cassette players (Walkman) fit in jacket pockets, mini CD players in shirt pockets, mini radio receivers with station search were the size of a matchbox. The internet came up through purely text-based discussion forums and was initially only accessible at universities.
At the pirate festival on May 12, 2017 in the "Funkhaus" in Schönaugasse on the occasion of 25 years of pirate radio in Graz, you could hear how the pirates used the top floors of higher townhouses as well as existing masts that can be climbed on the surrounding hills, such as the Plabutsch ; and how, on the other hand, employees of the state radio surveillance have repeatedly targeted, searched for, tracked down and hunted the transmitter system, which is only operated briefly at one point, and hunted with varying degrees of success.
The VHF transmission system used was typically the size of a briefcase and could be supplied with power from a car battery or the mains. For example, the broadcast content came from a cassette recorder after live moderation. It happened that the elevator in the Hafnerriegel student dormitory was blocked in order to stop the radio investigators and to be able to transmit a little longer up on the flat roof.
The logo
The logo of a pirate flag has the square format, the basic color black with white details. The shape of the white drawing in the lower left quarter of the square is reminiscent of a skull with crossed bones underneath: a (left) ear - symbol for the attentive radio listener. Including two crossed cotton swabs - as if you were brushing your ears to keep your ears free. At the bottom right the indication of the (only) transmission frequency: "92.6 MHz". In the upper half, also in two lines: "Radio Helsinki Free Radio Graz" finally clarifies the place of activity.
The three fields are only separated from the square by two fine white lines. The lettering consists of typewriter letters with serifs and graphic impurities, such as those that appear when typing on rough paper with old ribbon.
Transmission system and license
Radio Helsinki operates a VHF transmitter on the Ries hill, Riesstrasse 105. The transmitter receives the program via a leased line from Telekom Austria, and transmits 300 W transmission power via a directional antenna with vertical polarization towards the west, the city center of Graz.
After a provisional license dated March 25, 2000, which was extended once, "Radio Helsinki - Verein Free Radio Steiermark" received a 10-year license as a training radio from KommAustria on July 4, 2002 , which was also extended.
Partnerships
Radio Helsinki is a member of the Association of Free Radios Austria (VFRÖ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Radio Helsinki Korso, June 2000, accessed April 12, 2018.
- ↑ Anna Rezk: Radio für alle jakominiviertel.at, July 19, 2016, accessed April 12, 2018.
- ↑ Christoph Hofer: The "Funk-Piraten" will be 25 mein District.at, May 10, 2017, accessed April 12, 2018.
- ↑ Das Piratenfest helsinki.at, May 12, 2017, accessed April 12, 2018.
- ↑ decision KOA / 1465 02-23 rtr.at, KommAustria 4 July 2002, accessed April 12, 2018.