Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adrian Korol, who shares the following press release from RAE and LRA 36 [note that this article has been machine-translated into English]:

New Short Wave Transmitter for LRA 36 Radio Nacional Arcangel San Gabriel

The Minister of Defense, Jorge Taiana, together with the Joint Antarctic Commander, Brigadier General Edgar Calandín, the President of Radio and Television Argentina SE (RTA), Licencida Rosario Lufrano, and the Executive Director of Radio Nacional, Alejandro Pont Lezica, participated in the act where this Monday (4-09) a short wave transmitter was donated for the radio LRA 36 “Arcángel San Gabriel”, located at the Esperanza Antarctic Base.

This incorporation -which occurs within the framework of a new collaboration between the Joint Antarctic Command (COCOANTAR) and the state company RTA- will allow the station to significantly improve the coverage and quality of the Antarctic station’s signal, maintain its international reach and fulfill the objective of disseminating the work of the Armed Forces and scientific personnel who work in the Antarctic bases of our country.

“This is an act of generosity, of solidarity with all Argentines, it is also an act of patriotism, because it will make it possible for all of us to listen to radio broadcasts from Antarctica,” said Taiana.

For the minister, “it is important for all Argentines to have in their heads and in their hearts that there is a part of our territory that is there, and that there are Argentines doing their work with great effort for a year on that continent.” , he claimed.

For his part, Lufrano said: “We have always said that our National Radio and Public TV should be broadcast by land, by sea, by air, and we are complying. It was an honor to be able to take these teams to the ARA “Almirante Irízar” icebreaker so that they could listen to all our programming, listen to our radio and watch our public television”.

In his turn, Brigadier General Calandín expressed: “For us it is a joy, an enormous satisfaction, to be able to show in this simple and emotional ceremony everything that Radio Nacional and the Ministry of Defense have done to contribute to the sovereign exercise of the antartida”.
And he pointed out: “This transmitter will allow us to arrive in a reliable way with everything that Argentine culture means in the Argentine sovereign exercise in Antarctica, it is a transcendental fact for us.”

During the act, the presence of Javier Gratz stood out, who is the donor of the transmitter equipment in a personal capacity, who informed that it is manufactured entirely in Argentina.

The donation was preceded by technical survey work carried out at the Esperanza Joint Antarctic Base by Alejandro Petrecca (Head of the National Radio Transmitter Plant in Pacheco) and Engineer Alejandro Alvarez, and driven by the relationship they maintain with RAE (Radio Difusión Argentina Abroad) entina.

The act was transmitted by AM 870 in duplex with the network of federal stations. The director of Radio Nacional, Alejandro Pont Lezica; the director of Rae, Adrián Korol; Marcelo Ayala (who traveled to Antarctica to make the federal panorama at the beginning of this year) and the conductors Mario Giorgi and Federica Pais.

LRA36 began its transmissions on October 20, 1979 and since then it has been operating uninterruptedly from the Esperanza Base in Argentine Antarctica. It is one of the most sought after stations by shortwave listening fans from all over the world, and its signal has been received in places as far away as Alasa, Iceland, Japan, most European countries, and Latin America.

It is the only public station that transmits from Antarctica in Short Wave, a characteristic that, added to the fact that it is operated by personnel from the Joint Antarctic Command, makes it unique in relation to the other National Radio stations, such as RAE.

During 2022, for the first time, the entire LRA36 team was made up entirely of women, a characteristic that is also repeated this year and, as anticipated on the spot, will be maintained in 2024.

Various areas of Radio Nacional, teachers from the National University of Quilmes, RAE and the Antarctic Joint Command participate in the training of those who make up the radio and the general coordination under the coordination of Mr. Juan Carlos Benavente.

Being a station with international scope, the objective of its programming is to disseminate Argentine culture, but above all the work of our Armed Forces in the Antarctic bases, scientific research work and, fundamentally, the support of the historical claim of sovereignty Argentina on the Antarctic territory.

The transmitter will have a power of 10 kW and it is expected to be working effectively during the 2024 Antarctic Campaign.