Nova car sticker from the period on 738 kHz (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
By the summer of 1984, Radio Nova was riding the crest of a wave. Having endured the storm of the RTÉ jamming, the station was now broadcasting a massive 50kW of power on AM, allowing it greater penetration of the northwest of Britain. After using various FM and AM frequencies to avoid the jamming, in May 1984 Nova switched to 738 kHz and 102.7 FM only, opened an advertising office in Liverpool and began including references to England in news, weather and traffic reports.
Base of the Nova AM mast in January 1984 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
This recording was made in the English midlands near Birmingham, south of the area being targetted by Nova in the northwest of England, southern Scotland and the Isle of Man. There is plenty of co-channel interference from the Spanish broadcaster on the same frequency of 738 kHz and deep fading consistent with night-time propagation. Transmitter power would also have been turned down to 10kW at night to minimise interference. On air is Chris Barry, a well-known DJ from the pirate era and later licensed independent radio. News on the hour is read by another familiar Nova voice, Sybil Fennell.
The recording was made on 6th July 1984 from 2137 to 2307 and is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England.
Eddie Caffrey in the Boyneside studio in 1986 (photo courtesy of Eddie).
By the mid-1980s Boyneside Radio was calling itself the ‘biggest regional radio station in Ireland’ and could be heard over a large area from Dublin to Belfast. From humble origins in Drogheda, Boyneside developed into a network of stations in Counties Meath and Louth, including a Northern service based in Carrickcarnon right on the border. This recording from 1986 features two well-known DJs presenting early afternoon shows. First up is Kieran Murray with the end of the People’s Choice requests programme. He is followed by one of the station’s founders Eddie Caffrey with Afternoon Delight and the Golden Hour. There are plenty of local adverts in the busy pre-Christmas period.
Original cassette label from Anoraks Ireland Collection.
The recording was made between 1350 and 1438 on 25th November 1986 from Boyneside’s Dublin FM relay transmitter on 105.5 FM. It is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
One of the characteristics of the super-pirate Radio Nova was its high-powered broadcasts on medium wave aimed at listeners in Britain. By 1985, the station was broadcasting 50kW of power on 738 kHz AM and reaching cities such as Liverpool and Manchester but the frequency was prone to interference at night. Longwave – capable of covering larger distances and using a less crowded band – seemed like an option to reach Britain more effectively and was tested by Radio Nova in late 1985 and early 1986.
Nova began broadcasting on 254 kHz on 6th December 1985, relaying the main service on 738 kHz. The audacious move was noted by the Media Network programme on Radio Netherlands International but the initial broadcasts were intermittent and on low power. Signal strength improved in the first fortnight in January 1986 but no mention of longwave was made on air and it is likely that few listeners were aware of the broadcasts. Separate longwave broadcasts did not begin until 28th January, when Nova was relayed until 1400, followed by a programme presented by Chris Barry until 1800. The same schedule continued for the following two days until the transmitter was switched off on Thursday 30th January at around 2215. It is estimated that power output was in the region of 15 kW at the time. The reason for the switch-off of longwave is not known but Nova was by this time in deep trouble and would close down completely on March 19th.
254 kHz (later 252) was the longwave frequency allocated to Ireland by the International Telecommunication Union and would later be used by the joint RTÉ and Radio Luxembourg venture, Atlantic 252 (1989-2002). Atlantic 252 broadcast from Co. Meath but was aimed at the UK market and covered most of the British landmass with its 500 kW of power. From 2004 to 2023, RTÉ used the frequency to broadcast Radio 1 into Britain, but power was reduced significantly in later years and there were problems with co-channel interference from an Algerian station.
This recording of Radio Nova on longwave was made in the English midlands on 22nd January 1986 from 254 kHz between 1254-1326 and is a relay of the main service. It features the usual high-level adverts from agencies and for large businesses and the ABC Network News is presented by Bob Gallico and Sybil Fennell. After the news, Electric Lunchtime is hosted by Tony McKenzie. The recording is from the Leon Tipler Tapes Collection, donated to us by Steve England, and background information is courtesy of DX Archive.
Q102 logo as seen in studios in 1985 (Anoraks Ireland Collection).
This recording of Dublin super-pirate Q102 was made on bank holiday Monday 1985, eight months after the station had entered the capital’s competitive radio market. It includes a syndicated show by the US ABC Radio Network, featuring the band Huey Lewis and the News who were enjoying chart success at the time.
Original cassette inlay from the Anoraks Ireland Collection.
There’s the usual mix of commercials for medium-sized and large businesses in the city. News on the hour is read by Martin O’Neill, aka Niall Martin, who would go on to have a career as an RTÉ journalist. The syndicated show is followed at midday by John Kenny, who would become an RTÉ sports journalist.
Part 1 above runs from 1054-1139 and Part 2 below from 1142-1227.
Part 2 from 1142
The tape was made on 28th October 1985 from 102 FM and is from the Anoraks Ireland Tapes Collection, donated to us by Paul Davidson.
Paul Barnett at WABC in 1990 (courtesy Ken Baird and Ian Biggar).
Paul Barnett (RIP) was involved in pirate radio in Donegal and since the late 1990s was the operator of the long-running AM station Radio North until his death in October 2023. Another station associated with Paul was WABC, which he launched on FM in September 1987. WABC left the airwaves along with the other pirates at the end of 1988 but returned in mid-1989 from the village of Greencastle. The signal was beamed across Northern Ireland and could also be heard in parts of Scotland. The station even had two separate channels for a time, WABC Hot Hits and WABC Gold. Paul left Donegal in 1991 to pursue radio interests in the UK but returned to Ireland in the late 1990s when he revived WABC for a time and took over operation of Radio North.
WABC sticker from the late 1980s (courtesy DX Archive).
This recording of WABC from 101.7 FM was made between 1019 and 1105 on 7th July 1988 and features Paul on air, using the name Paul Bentley. It is courtesy of Ian Biggar.
