When reliable ways of communication were absent, many people deemed it practical to keep in touch with relatives and friends by means of low-cost

message services of shortwave radio.

In the 1980’s we monitored message programmes from stations in the Ecuadorian, Peruvian and Bolivian jungle as well as the savannah areas east of the

Andean cordillera, but also from stations on the Ecuadorian coastline, the southwestern part of Colombia, southern Chile and in Paraguay. Less frequently

such messages were also heard on Argentine outlets in the interior.

Radio Río Amazonas, Radio Iris and Radio Zaracay, were typical examples of shortwave stations in Ecuador where you would find message programmes.

In 2010, these three stations have been absent from shortwave for many years. This confirms that message programmes were useful as long as telephone

lines were scarce. Now Ecuadorians, as most other Latin Americans, can communicate with one another by way of cellphones, by voice or text messages

(mensajes de texto).

In Bolivia most of the stations in the Beni used to carry message programmes, for instance Radio Santa Ana with its “Mensajero de la Mosquitania”,

Radiodifusoras Trópico, with its “Mensajero Tropical” etc. In Peru, many stations in the Andean highlands offered the same kind of service in Quechua or

Aymara.

For a small medium wave station of, let’s say, 2kW power, daylight reception is possible with a radius of some 20 to 30 km only. By night, dependable

reception is even more limited due to enhanced long-distance reception, which will produce unexpected co-channel interference.

If the station is very powerful and has a clear channel, a medium wave frequency can be used for long-distance transmission of messages. Radio Cristal, in

Guayaquil, Ecuador, 870 kHz is one example. In Peru, Radio Santa Rosa, 1500 kHz, and shortwave 6045 kHz, and in Chile, Radio Colo Colo, 1380 kHz.

Located in big capitals, these stations offered messages from local listeners to their relatives living in the countryside.

Interestingly, Radio Cristal, which operates around the clock, had a widely listened-to message slot just prior to sunrise, which is a suitable time for

listening (in the equatorial area you rise with the sun) as well as for propagation. At that particular time medium wave is known to propagate very far and

with a minimum of fading.

Other early risers are the Paraguayans. Several stations carry mensajero rural (rural messenger) programmes between 0500 and 0600 local time.