RADIOMAGAZINE AWR del 3 febbraio 2002
Salve amici al microfono Dario Villani …
Era proprio alla vigilia dell’invenzione da parte della
Philips del registratore a cassetta, negli anni ’70, che il programma in
inglese dedicato al radioascolto della Radio Nederland, cominciò a dedicare
spazio al cosiddetto “Handicapped Aid Program”, un aiuto cioè per quanti
vogliono dedicarsi alla radio ma hanno delle difficoltà oggettive nel poterlo
fare. Stiamo parlando dei non vedenti,
anche se altre patologie possono
essere un ostacolo alla pratica del radioascolto.
Si sente molto spesso parlare di barriere architettoniche,
ma forse è difficile immaginare che ne esitono numerose anche per chi vuole
soltanto semplicemente ascoltare la radio o inviare un rapporto di ricezione.
Ad accorgersene per primo, fu Arthur Cushen, noto Dxer neozelandese che per il
fatto di essere un non vedente, ha provato in prima persona tutte le
difficoltà della condizione, ma che una
volta superatele, ha voluto aiutare gli altri con numerosi scritti che ancor oggi, a oltre due anni dalla sua
scomparsa, possiamo leggere. In particolare abbiamo trovato un suo articolo
sull’edizione del 1981 del Manuale Mondiale di Radio e Televisione, era quello
l’anno dell’hanicappato, dove venivano raccontate tante difficoltà che oggi, con le nuove tecnologie, ci sembrano
esagerate e ormai sorpassate. Arthur
spiegava come aveva dovuto imparare ad usare la macchina da scrivere, per
inviare la corrispondenza alle radio, e poi a poter usare un registratore per
prendere appunti o per registrare le trasmissioni. E ancora gli accorgimenti
per poter leggere la frequenza sugli
ormai sorpassati ricevitori a lettura analogica. Oggi esiste la sintesi
vocale: un apparecchio, dal quale una voce legge la frequenza. In quel 1981 a
seguito delle trasmissioni di Radio Nederland, furono numerose le iniziative
che si moltiplicarono tra i club europei di radioascolto, per dare un aiuto ai
non vedenti o chi aveva altre forme di handicap.
L’ing.Salvatore Placanica da Cairo Montenotte in provincia
di Savona, per molto tempo nostro collaboratore, è stato per anni in contatto
epistolare con Arthur: ci scambiavamo cassette, ricorda ancora Salvatore,
mentre lo chiamiamo al telefono proprio il giorno del suo compleanno e non
riusciamo a strappargli un appuntamento per fare quattro chiacchiere in
trasmissione. Salvatore adesso è a riposo, ha 91 anni. Purtroppo la memoria non
mi aiuta più come una volta, dice, però ricordo che Arthur è divenuto famoso
nel suo Paese, tanto da ricoprire una carica ufficiale molto importante.
Una amicizia nata con le cassette, quelle che oggi producono
un po’ tutti per aiutare i non vedenti a leggere testi e libri che non sono ancora tradotti in braille.
--------In prima linea in questo campo, c’è l’ARACI Associazione
per la tutela e lo sviluppo delle comunicazioni dei non vedenti già Associazione Radioamatori Cechi
Italiani. Dall’altro capo del telefono da Roma la dott.sa Irene MASCIOTTA,
presidente dell’Associazione Radioamatori Cechi.
Quale ruolo svolge la sua associazione sia nei confronti
delle case costruttrici di apparecchi riceventi, per far in modo che questi
tengano conto delle esigenze dei non vedenti, e del vostro ruolo nei confronti
di di riviste e pubblicazioni specializzate per far sentire la vostra voce e
come fate sentire la vostra voce presso
le autorità….
Beh, è un lavoro
molto arduo chiaramente… Diciamo che sono lotte che si fanno da tantissimi
anni. Noi ci interessiamo soprattutto di radioamatori, ovvero di non vedenti
che vogliono diventare radioamatori e prendere il patentino. Per le case
costruttrici abbiamo contatti con un po’ tutte: la Kenwood, la Casio, la Yaesu;
che mettono in vendita gli apparecchi e per cercare in tutto e per tutto di
creare apparecchi utilizzabili dai non vedenti. Chiaramente la cosa non è molto
facile da realizzare in quanto i costi di produzione, e l’acquisto di questi
apparecchi sono molto diversi. Ci sono dei costi molto alti e gli acquisti
sarebbero minimi e quindi lottiamo un pochino con le case costruttrici.
Riguardo ai giornali, non facciamo una grossa pubblicità per tutto questo, in
quanto per lo più ci interessiamo di far arrivare i giornali specifici per il
radioantismo per i non vedenti cioè ai non vedenti, quindi cerchiamo di
reperire i giornali di registrarli su cassetta o di scriverli in braille
proprio perché lì troviamo più notizie importanti. A livello di autorità
diciamo che anche qui la lotta è molto ardua, in quanto essendo una
associazione alquanto piccola con non tantissimi soci, diciamo che ci sentono
poco, è un po’ una forza piccolina. Chiaramente abbiamo lo scopo di aiutare i
non vedenti ad una loro indipendenza.
Prima parlavamo di un vostro rapporto con le autorità, si è
mai parlato in qualche modo di andare incontro ad un non vedente per l’acquisto
di un apparecchio…
Diciamo per
l’apparechio di radioamatore no, in quanto radioamatore viene inteso come hobby
dalle nostre autorità italiane…
Non è un ausilio medico…
Diciamo di no,
perché essendo un hobby…
Vogliamo anche parlare della funzione sociale della vostra
associazione per mettere in contatto tante persone che hanno lo stesso
problema.
La funzione
sociale è proprio questa, organizzare più cose possibili per aiutare il non
vedente ad uscire dalle proprie problematiche, quindi cercare con l’ausilio di
tanti amici che molto spesso ci aiutano ad aiutarli a risolvere i piccoli
problemi della vita quotidiana che sono piccoli, ma sono comunque grandi…
Irene Masciotta della ARACI, in questa trasmissione abbiamo
tre interviste a non vedenti, vorrei un attimo fare una domanda con
delicatezza…
Faccia….
Come possiamo parlare a quanti ci seguono del fatto di
essere un non vedente, cosa significa vivere al buio?
Vivere al buio
può significare tante cose. Può significare non vedere tante cose, come le vedono
chi vede. Ma vivere al buio può significare anche non capire tante cose, il che
è diverso. E’ un po’ profonda la cosa… Dare una risposta a ciò che Lei mi ha
chiesto non è facile, può avere tante spiegazioni ma saremmo qui giorni a
spiegarle cosa significa vivere al buio, per un non vedente, non perché non si
possa capire la cosa, ma perché chi non vive al buio non si rende conto
facilmente di cosa può significare.
Vogliamo fornire un recapito dell’associazione per chi
volesse mettersi in contatto con voi?
ARACI
Via Rivarola 54
16043 CHIAVARI GENOVA
dove c’è la sede
nazionale.
E da Livorno
sentiamo anche Maurizio CAMPEOL vicepresidente della stessa associazione Radioamatori Cechi d’Italia, su
quali servizi offre l’associazione.
Cercare
apparecchi adeguati ai non vedenti, tradurre in braille e cassetta o dischetto
floppy i vari corsi radioamatoriali sia tecnici che di normativa, corsi di CW,
per poter preparare il più possibile i nostri soci a dare gli esami e prendere
facilmente la patente com i vedenti fanno. L’esame lo diamo oralmente anziché
per iscritto. Una volta l’anno ci incontriamo tutti facciamo una assemblea di
tutti i soci e ogni quattro anni facciamo il congresso per rieleggere il
direttivo.
Ci sono numerose occasioni per incontrarsi…..
Telefonicamente
di media una volta al mese facciamo un giro telefonico per sentire se hanno
idee da darci, se hanno problemi, e si hanno rapporti di amicizia coi soci.
Parlavamo del fatto che levate la vostra voce presso le case
costruttrici in modo che queste adeguino gli apparecchi alle esigenze dei non
vedenti, ma a che punto siamo, queste vengono incontro alle vostre esigenze o
no?
Non sono molto
sensibili, la più vicina è la Kenwood che negli ultimi anni fa degli apparecchi
con sintesi vocali o accorgimenti per facilitarne l’uso, le altre non si sono
sentite molto.
Al telefono da Milano, abbiamo Mario AMBROSI presidente
dell’Associazione Italiana Radioamatori. Pronto mi sente?
Si,
Cosa fa l’ARI per i non vedenti?
Non fa abbastanza
evidentemente… Dovrebbe fare molto di più, il problema è essenzialmente quello
economico direi, noi facciamo per i radioamatori un certo tipo di attività che non sono destinate spicificatamente
ai non vedenti, ma che possono andare bene anche ai non vedenti. Le
problematiche sono molte, in particolare in questi giorni stò cercando di
ottenere a risolvere il problema al fatto che fra i servizi dell’associazione
c’è la rivista “RADIORIVISTA” che per i non vedenti è poco utile, quello che
stiamo cercando di fare è di trasferire su CD i contenuti, le cose principali
della radiorivista in modo che i soci non vedenti possano ricevere un CD. Il
problema, che stiamo affrontando è di compatibilità di programmi che possano
essere trasferiti sui computer usati dai non vedenti che possono poi col
sintetizzatore di voce leggere le cose principali.
Questa sicuramente è una buona notizia….
Sto lavorando con
un socio non vedente di Milano per riuscire a trovare una soluzione. Abbiamo un
grosso problema perché i programmi che vengono utilizzati non sono leggibili da
questi computer e programmi: speriamo di riuscirci.
Ecco la
considerazione migliore che possiamo fare è di non considerarli nonvedenti,
perché riescono con accorgimenti tecnici, con la pazienza e l’esperienza a
supplire a tutte quante quelle che sono le loro manchevolezze. C’è un club
internazionale per i non vedenti radioamatori che si chiama “white steker”
“Bastone bianco”. Noi ci scambiamo le
cartoline a conferma dei collegamenti che avvengono e le posso assicurare che
ogni tanto si riceve una cartolina di un radioamatore non vedente ma nella
maniera più assoluta quando gli abbiamo parlati ci siamo resi conto del fatto
che fosse un vedente. Direi che la considerazione massima che possiamo avere di
non accorgerci nemmeno che siano diversi da noi.
Dott.Ambrosi, quello che dice è molto bello, ma io vorrei
aprire una parentesi sul conseguimento della patente per radioamatori per i non
vedenti, come fanno ad averla?
Ci sono delle
caretteristiche particolari: il radioamatore non vedente sviluppa delle
capacità che per persone normali sono incomprensibili, cioè l’esame che viene
svolto per il conseguimento di radioamatore consiste in due fasi. La prima che
è una fase teorica, è chiaro un radioamatore non vedente invece di leggere
delle domande e dare risposte, lo fa con un colloqui. Ma da questo punto di
vista non c’è bisogna di un trattamento particolare perché un radioamatore non
vedente normalmente è molto più preparato di quello normale su queste cose. Poi
c’è l’aiuto deve averlo quando deve affrontare la prova di radiotelegrafia. Ma
i non vedenti sono capaci di scrivere a macchina, e la capacità di recepire il
morse molto meglio di noi perché hanno lo sviluppo dell’udito di interpretare
punti e linee del morse che generalmente è molto maggiore dei radioamatori tra
virgolette normali, per cui sono molto più bravi. La considerazione che devono
avere durante gli esami è soltanto quella che la commissione li aiuti a
superare i piccoli ostacoli che ci sono. Ma non c’è una necessità di avere un
trattamento speciale.
E sorgono anche tante nuove iniziative per i non vedenti
come il progetto legato al gruppo internazionale Sierra Tango di PRATO di cui ci parla Giovanni URSO da Napoli.
Io praticamente
sono della provincia di Napoli, sto a Quarto, e con un gruppo di amici della
zona di cui facciamo parte del SIERRA TANGO INTERNATIONAL RADIO un gruppo
mondiale con sede a Prato, che iniziò le attività nel 1986 negli 11 metri, poi
ultimamente lo stiamo trasformando aprendoci anche a questo tipo di attività di
cui mi sto interessando in prima persone ovvero il progetto “RADIO”. Un
progetto di diffusione della radio nel mondo giovanile, e dal titolo “La radio
ascolta chi ascolta la radio”, un po’ uno slogan col quale noi attraverso dei
progetti presentati a delle scuole locali, siamo partiti con le scuole medie a
Quarto, stiamo portando tra i giovani queste esperienze del radioantismo a 360
gradi. Parlando della storia della radio, un po di radiotecnica, la radio nella
società, di come si inserisce coi vari
aspetti, la ricetrasmissione, il radioascolto. Grazie alla possibilità avuta in
quest’ultimo periodo di usare il computer, come la sintesi vocale e altre
apparecchiature, potendo scannerizzare alcune pagine da varie fonti ho potuto
mettere su un progetto che ho creato io in prima persona, con un opuscolo che
diffondiami tra i ragazzi e dove c’è tutto quello che andremo a fare nelle
scuole. Ci incontriamo tre o quattro
volte, la prima volta facciamo la storia della radio, da Guglielmo Marconi,
cercandodi riadattarci ai ragazzi senza appesantire la cosa. Nel secondo
appuntamento invece facciamo radiotecnica, spiego la propagazione, come avviene
il circuito oscillante per spiegare come si genera una onda elettromagnetica e
poi mi faccio aiutare in questo dagli amici del gruppo, alla lavagna facendo
dei grafici per dimostrare ai
ragazzi anche in modo visivo, perche il
vedere in loro imprime meglio nella memoria il tutto. Diciamo che sul mondo
della radio e radioantismo, non c’è molto per noi non vedenti, da poco ci
interessiamo su questo piano. Qui a Napoli abbiamo un istituto per non vedenti
dal quale provengo, e ho studiato da fisioterapista, ma nel passato c’era una
scuola per telescriventisti, dove negli anni ’50 molti non vedenti si sono
diplomati, allora ci sono dei testi ma non attuali.
Che consiglio daresti a chi si trovasse nella tua situazione
e volesse avvicinarsi al radioascolto?
Io ho superato,
parlo della mia esperienza, tutto utilizzando un ricetrans TS850 Kenwood con
sintesi vocale e mi trovo bene dal ’98 e faccio radioascolto abbastanza bene
con semplicità.
Lascio la mia
e-mail:
C.P.
5 – 80010 quarto napoli
APPENDICE
By Arthur Cushen 
Although I
was interested in radio listening in the mid 1930's, it was not until 1937 that
I joined the N.Z. DX Club. The N.Z. DX Club was part of the Radio Record
magazine, which was a private company. Editor Earl Reid realised that as well
as publishing weekly programmes from the many B Class or private radio stations
throughout New Zealand, there was an opening for radio listeners to contribute
what they had been hearing. Those were the days of silent nights on some
broadcast band frequencies and so there were a lot of North American signals
being reported. This continued until 1939 and by that time the government had
purchased all the private radio stations except two. And it also launched the
NZ Listener, incorporating Radio Record. As The Listener was not interested in
the DX Club, it eventually became a non-profit organisation, with Auckland and
Southland being the main areas of the organisation.
The first
magazine of the privately operated NZ DX Club was published in September 1939.
It was called The NZ DXTRA and was published here in Invercargill. My first
column appeared in that feature and since then has been carried in The DXTRA
and the N.Z. DX Times over these past nearly 60 years. During the war years it
was difficult to obtain paper but the Southland Branch of the DX Club was very
active and we had up to 30 members attending meetings in the late 1940's. In
1945 the DX Club President Ted Andrews and committee member Bill Masson from
Auckland visited Invercargill to discuss the future of the club. It was obvious
from discussions that the Auckland Branch, although being our Headquarters,
were not radio listeners and in fact the National President did not even own a
radio and they were more interested in running dances and getting in funds to
keep the DX Club going. This continued and the position deteriorated, and in
1947 members of the Otago Branch of the DX Club and the Southland Branch joined
for preliminary talks about a new DX organisation. This was eventually formed
on August 15th 1948, when the NZ Radio DX League came into being. Since then it
has promoted the hobby all these 50 years.
I should
return to those years between 1939 and 1954 and the magazines and the various
publications that I contributed to, including the Lamphouse Annual. This was a
Cornish publication, published in Manners Street, Wellington. As well as giving
details on the radios they sold, Hikers 1 and crystal sets and the like, there
was an article on radio listening which I compiled and also a list of all the
Australia and New Zealand broadcast stations, and shortwave stations that could
be heard. In the early 1940s the interest in the Lamphouse Annual was such that
it was decided to publish a monthly magazine called the Radiogramme. Here again
I contributed a monthly column. The Radiogramme was the magazine of a radio
hobbies club and each member was known as a Rahob and allocated a membership
number. That continued in some sort of competition with the DX Club. Though of
course being an annual publication and the magazine monthly, it didn¼t focus on
DX listening but more on radio theory, kitsets and the like. It continued until
the early 1950's when the Lamphouse Annual became a thing of the past.
In the early
days, the Southland members generally journeyed to Riverton Rocks near
Invercargill where Merv Branks had a crib or house, and using long aerials we
heard some good North American signals. Members of the Otago Branch listened to
out-of- town reception at Long Beach, which was also an excellent location for
North American signals. Listening at home at 105 Princess Street Invercargill
in the 1940's, my logbook shows over 50 North Americans heard in a matter of
2-3 weeks and signals were excellent. 105 Princess Street, was in the southwest
corner of the bluff and there was a house at the north west corner, so that I
had a complete length of a city block for an aerial system. I used my English
Echo purchased in 1939 for all this listening during the war years and up to
1954. The Otago and Southland Branches both began to increase in membership and
in fact the Southland Branch annual meeting was always held in a hall as one
could expect 30-35 members present. The strength of the branch was shown when
we had a DX Convention in Dunedin, when there were cars leaving the city every
30 minutes to take over 30 members to this early convention of the DX League.
In 1950 the
new editor of the NZ Listener decided that it would be good to run a shortwave feature
and so I conducted a column for some 38 years. The column had the DX League
logo on the top, and that brought in many requests from listeners for
information on radio listening and we saw the League's membership grow to well
over 700.
Going back to
the formation of the DX League, those in the original committees were:
Administrative Committee - Jack Fox, Des Lynn, Peter Thorn, Ken Mackey &
Jim Martin. The Invercargill Magazine Committee was made up of Merv Banks,
Arthur Cushen, Alex Allen, Lloyd Warburton and Dudley Carter. The first
National President was Lloyd Warburton and National Secretary was Des Lynn. In
those days the publication was copied on a Gestetner Duplicator, but later the
Wellington Branch with Bryan Clark and Tony King put forward the idea to become
an offset publication and this of course is the style of the NZ DX Times we
have today.
In the field
of hobby promotion by radio, DX sessions commenced in the 1950's, particularly
over 4XD, Dunedin. Later with the advent of private commercial radio in New
Zealand, there was a programme on Radio Pacific and another one on 2YB, Access
Radio Wellington. Features on ZLXA Levin and Radio Rhema were being contributed
to on a weekly basis. In the late 1950s, Cleve Costello had a programme called
This Radio Age on Radio NZ's Shortwave Service, and in 1960 he asked if I would
contribute some DX material each month. Later Cleve gave up the session but it
continued as a full 15 minute DX programme and in the 1970's it was carried not
only by our shortwave service but by National Radio on Sunday evenings at
10:30pm. In January 1966, I commenced my first programme on Radio Netherlands
in DX Juke Box with Harry van Gelder. That continued until 1982 when Jonathon
Marks took over the programme, and it became Media Network. My contributions
were heard on the first or second Thursday of each month. There have been some
memorable broadcasts on Radio Netherlands promoting all aspects of electronics
and communication but they haven't forgotten radio listening which is still
paramount in the Third World. Locally I continued to write a column for the Southland
Times newspaper called "It's on the Beam" which started in 1957 and
concluded after 39 years in 1996. Across the Tasman, I started writing a column
in 1952 for Electronics Australia and it will celebrate 45 years with a special
feature in the October 1997 edition of that publication. It has had several
name changes in that period - it was Wireless Weekly, then it became Radio and
Hobbies, then Radio, TV and Hobbies and now Electronics Australia. I also
contributed to some of the more recent publications in North America, such as
Monitoring Times, which has run several articles about my listening in the
South Pacific, which has been of particular interest to North American radio
listeners.
September 1997
Arthur Cushen MBE 1920-1997
Funeral & Tributes
REPORT ON
ARTHUR CUSHEN'S FUNERAL - 23 SEPTEMBER 1997
====================================================
A full church and strong singing of hymns chosen by Arthur, set the scene for
the funeral service held last Tuesday morning at St Peters Methodist Church in
Invercargill, less than 100 metres from the famous address of 212 Earn Street.
After the
minister's message, family member Doug Brown gave an excellent reprise of
Arthur's life and achievements, including his radio exploits dating back to the
mid 1930s. He pointed out the significance of Earn Street and St Peter's
church in the lives of both Arthur and Ralda, for they both grew up in Earn
Street and following their marriage at the church at the end of Earn Street in
1946, they moved into a new house next door to Arthur's parents. Doug spoke of
the 'spiders web' of antennas that spread out from the Cushen home over the
ensuing years, and how he would climb trees to reconnect wires brought down by
the occasional storm.
Doug Brown
read several extracts from Arthur's book "The World in my Ears"
during his tribute. He recalled Arthur's incredible memory and recall,
his work for the NZ Security Intelligence Service monitoring and, without the
aid of tape recorders, accurately transcribing radio messages from some 6000 allied
prisoners of war during World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, for passing
to grateful next-of-kin. In fact an astonishing record of community
service that would put most sighted people to shame.
Tributes were
then made by a representative of the blind community and Bryan Clark on behalf
of the NZ Radio DX League and the international DXing fraternity. The
extent of Arthur and Ralda's involvement in work for blind and partially
sighted people would be a surprise to many who marvelled at how much time and
effort Arthur put into DXing and shortwave monitoring. At the time of his death
he was the longstanding Treasurer of the local Association for the Blind &
Partially Blind, and a member of the Advisory Committee of The NZ Foundation
for the Blind. He was National Vice President from 1968 to 1979. Queen
Elizabeth personally presented Arthur with his award as a Member of the Most
Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1970, as recognition for his
services to the blind, as well as his radio work. He and Ralda set up New
Zealand's first telephone news service in Invercargill back in 1962, and only
recently has a nationwide operation of this type been established.
Bryan Clark
described Arthur as "a tower of strength in the New Zealand and world DX
scene, and the fact that the NZ Radio DX League is the strongest such
organisation in the southern hemisphere is very much a tribute to Arthur's
efforts and influence. For more than 50 years Arthur selflessly
shared his interest and expertise with countless thousands of people around the
world - it was through his longrunning shortwave column in the NZ Listener weekly
magazine that Arthur introduced me and many other New Zealanders to the
fascinating hobby of radio listening...", Bryan said.
"Arthur conquered his sight disability and was a true world citizen.
He excelled in all that he did - he left his mark for all to see."
There was a
good contingent of DX and SWL enthusiasts at the funeral, including Paul
Aronsen, Laurie Boyer, Arthur de Maine, Arthur Finch, Jack Fox, Peter
Grenfell, Edgar Macaskill, Eric McIntosh, Paul Ormandy, Noel Parry, Lindsay
Robinson, Arthur Williams and Bruce Williams. Radio NZ International's Mailbox
presenter Myra Oh was also present to farewell Arthur. Bryan later
presented Ralda Cushen with a portfolio of the eMail messages of condolence
received from many countries and well known names this past week. It was
wonderful to see the support being given to Ralda from her family, Arthur's
secretary Dawn Beckingsale, and the local church and blind communities.
Commenting in an obituary on Arthur's death and Ralda's supporting role over 50
years of marriage, the Southland Times newspaper highlighted their
"remarkable partnership". At time of completing this
report (26 September) Dawn reports that Ralda is coping well.
On behalf of
everyone connected with the World Radio TV Handbook, I would like to offer my
sincere condolences on the passing of Arthur Cushen.
Arthur was
small in physical stature, but in the hobby of DXing he was a giant. Some of
his achievements will never be equalled, and he is assured of a unique place in
the DXing Hall of Fame.
I had the
great privilege of meeting Arthur and Ralda when they came to Europe for the
EDXC Conference in Stockholm. They were delightful company, and great
ambassadors for New Zealand.
Arthur's
contribution to WRTH over almost 50 years, both as a collaborator and as an
official representative of the publication, is immeasurable. We will always be
grateful for what he did to promote our publication in the Pacific.
But Arthur
himself would have wanted much of the credit for his achievements to go to his
devoted wife Ralda, and we are thinking of her at this difficult time.
The DXing hobby
has lost a unique character, and many of us have lost a personal friend. I am
sure that in due course, we will be able to find a suitable way of honouring
Arthur's memory in perpetuity. He deserves nothing less.
Andy Sennitt
Editor-in-Chief
World Radio TV Handbook
The passing
away of one of Radio's best known personalities comes with sadness for many of
us who knew Arthur very closely. For some time Arthur had been ill and his
advanced age drew him closer to his last days on this earth. Inevitable as it
had to be, for those of us with a passionate love for our hobby, Arthur in many
ways was the embodiment of what a very personal hobby meant, and his leaving
removes a link with the pioneering days of SW Radio listening. As long as
Arthur was in the hobby we felt that continuity even though those early days of
radio were romantic tales from a bygone era.
I remember my
early days as a teenage dxer in the sixties when the name Arthur Cushen
inspired awe in us. He was famous, and no DXer or SWL who called himself such
failed to respect that name. The articles about Arthur were many, and his
dx-tips floated through the ether to our small domestic radio sets through many
dx-programmes. Radio Netherlands and DX Juke Box with Arthur's Pacific DX
Report along with Sweden Calling DXers were the most valuable sources of
DXinformation for us in Asia. His voice giving those dx-tips both hard to hear
and new frequencies for better known stations always helped us. Those were the days
when World Radio TV Handbooks were rare and being members of foreign dx-clubs
was unthinkable due to their high cost.
Arthur showed
us that even though he lost his sight in the prime of his youth, life could be
lived happily and meaningfully and with it came more and more dedication to his
work on radio. His work during the second world war, picking up messages of
prisoners of war and passing the information to the authorities to be passed on
to families will stand as a memorial to him. And his work for the blind for
which he received the order as a Member of the British Empire shows how he took
his hobby beyond personal enjoyment to mean much to his community and it also
brought joy to many others.
He was a good
man and in many ways showed that the respect we showed him, or the fame he
enjoyed didn't distance him from us SWLs. My first letter to him as a
relatively unknown dxer brought an immediate response and in the last 25 years
he never failed to send us a Christmas greeting. Ralda and Arthur were special
people and close friends of many all over the world. Last year when I asked
Arthur to mail me a copy of his book "Radio Listeners Guide" he sent
it to me personally autographed as a gift with a beautiful letter and a
photograph with Ralda taken on their Golden Wedding Anniversary. When ever I
wrote to Arthur and Ralda I felt that here was history of radio. A man who was
there at the start, experienced those early days and I felt we too belonged to
that era which hadn't ended because Arthur was still there. With him an era has
suddenly ended. His life as a DXer Broadcaster and an SWL should inspire any
one who has a love for radio.
He was
fortunate to experience and enjoy those fine times and even more to have a
constant companion in his wife Ralda. We are sad for Ralda for whom it must be
very difficult times. While extending our deepest sympathies to Ralda we also
thank her for the fine example of love and to-getherness that she displayed and
the great support she herself gave for us to receive the gift of Arthur in his
fullness. Even as you grieve may you be surrounded with fond memories of a man
who was respected and loved by friends all over the world. Arthur gave much to
the world of radio, brought so much joy to us dxers. May his soul be raised in
to the heavens that was so much a part of his daily life. Goodbye friend. May
your soul rest in peace.
A Friend.
G.Victor
A. Goonetilleke 4S7VK
Kolamunne, Piliyandala.Sri Lanka.
I can
remember being interested in radio from a child. My first memory is at the age
of 8, sneaking into my parents room after being put to bed, and quietly
listening to my Dad's Philips transistor portable. Those shortwave signals
sounded magical! In my early teens, I started bying old valve radios and this
lead to the reading of Arthur's Shortwave Radio column in the New Zealand
Listener. I wrote letters to him and the questions within were always answered
promptly by Arthur and his support staff. Arthur introduced me to the New Zealand
Radio DX League, which has allowed me to enjoy this radio hobby to the fullest.
Arthur was the
best ambassador the radio listening hobby ever had, and his will be sadly
missed. My thoughts go out to Ralda at this time. Ralda, you worked very hard
assisting Arthur and I really appreciate your effort as do all the other
members of the New Zealand Radio DX League. You can be very proud of Arthur and
rest assured, he will never be forgotten.
Andy Gardner
Webmaster, New Zealand Radio DX League and Chief Editor, NZ DX Times
On behalf of
all the Media Network team around the world and in Hilversum, we'd like to echo
the sentiment expressed on air and via the Internet this weekend. Arthur was a
great promoter of the shortwave listening cause and shared his love for radio
with thousands around the world. He was a faithful contributor to Media Network
and its predecessor, DX Juke Box, starting in 1966. The advent of the better
quality phone lines around 1990 meant we could record his sessions over the
phone and turn his contributions into a proper conversation. He had plenty of
stories to pass on and his memory for frequencies was amazing. His pioneering
spirit lives on.
Jonathan
Marks, Diana Janssen, Ehard Goddijn, Jan-Willem Drexhage, Radio Netherlands.
It was with
great sadness that I learned this morning of the death of Arthur Cushen.
Although I never met Arthur, he was a friend and colleague who selflessly
provided SW Dxing information and advice to a struggling young producer at
KTWR, Trans World Radio's Guam SW station for the five years it was my
privilege to serve there. It's been a number of years ago that I last
corresponded with Arthur, but I remember fondly receiving the packets with his
reports and taped segments for Pacific DX Magazine.
On behalf of
all of the Trans World Radio family, please accept my condolences and thanks
for a remarkable life and for a faithful friend of missionary radio.
Sincerely,
Bill Damick
Assistant Director, Broadcaster Relations
Trans World Radio
Cary, North Carolina 27529
USA
Just
yesterday I received the message (in fact several messages) about the death of
Arthur Cushen, perhaps the best known shortwave listener and DXer of the whole
world. He was a legend also here in Europe, and I myself recall having read his
book "Shortwave Voices of the World" nearly 30 years ago, when I
started my DX hobby.
I noticed
that the funeral will take place already tomorrow, and I hope that you can
attend on behalf of the whole short wave community. On behalf of the European
DX Council and the Finnish DX Association I want to express my condolences to
Mrs. Ralda Cushen, and to thank for the magnificient job Arthur did for so long
a time to the benefit of the shortwave listeners of the whole world.
yours
sincerely
Risto Vahakainu
Secretary General
European DX Council
I donot know
how to express myself at this moment of grieve. I've no word to express my
sorrow and deep anguish. He is FATHER TO all the present DXers who was in touch
with him during our teens. Always helped by his long letter to each individual.
It is a great shock to all of us here and we lost not only a greatest DXer of
the World but a good friend also.
In the late
sixties when I started DXing I heard his name and got his address from FEBC
Radio International's SW Mailbag program. I wrote a letter to him with great
fear whether this great man in this hobby will ever reply to me - a very new to
dxing. Immediately I got a long encouraging letter. After 2 months I received a
surprised packet containing an edition (1966) of World Radio TV Handbook. That
was the first time I saw WRTH and even at that time I was not aware of such a
book.
Since then I
received every year Ralda and Arthur's new year best wishes to me and my
family. I used to correspond with him 2/3 times a year.
Personally
his work, letters and radio news over the air helped and inspired me much and
despite several odds I continue in this fascinating hobby. Still I kept all the
letter and books he sent me - specially the autographed edition of 'The world
in my Ears'.
The last
letter I received from him on receipt of SOUTH ASIA RADIO GUIDE(#10). He always
encouraged me in publishing the book every year.
While
extending our deepest sympathies to Ralda we could not think of how her life
will be without Arthur.
We'll be
missing his words on the world of radio in our ears.
Alok Dasgupta
Calcutta - INDIA
I met Arthur
and Ralda in 1986 in Montreal, at ANARCON '86. The conference was a wonderful
experience. Arthur was a speaker at the meeting and I was amazed at his
experience and knowledge of all things radio. It was a pleasure to talk with
Arthur and Ralda about their home and life in New Zealand. I kept up a
correspondence with Arthur, sending him my latest column or article about collecting
radio stamps. Later when I started teaching, he was a great supporter of my
projects for shortwave listening in the classroom.
I will
certainly miss Arthur. Please pass on my condolences to Ralda. I'll always
remember our meeting in Montreal.
Neil Carleton
Eh com muita
tristeza que eu retransmito esta noticia encontrada ha pouco em minha caixa
postal Para que nao o conhece, Arthur Cushen era um simbolo no DXismo
Neo-Zelandes. Com sua morte fica um exemplo de que ainda fazemos pouco pelo
hobby. O Clube DX-ista do Para tambem se solidariza com outras entidades
mundiais a familia deste que foi, memso sem o termos conhecido um exemplo para
nos.
Djaci Franklin Silva
Presidente do CDXPA
Brasil