Fredrikstad's final farewell

- It was a very special and sad occasion. When the final broadcast ended with "Ja, vi elsker", the Norwegian national anthem, I had a lump in my throat, said Alf Hauge (73) after the shortwave transmitter at Fredrikstad had been switched off for the very last time on Saturday, 18 October at 17.00 UTC.

Hauge spent most of his working years at the Fredrikstad transmitter, where he was employed as a technician for 37 years from 1952 to 1989. Before that, Hauge had in fact taken part when the first 100 kW transmitter was installed back in 1947, when he was working as an electrician.

Two other veterans were also present, Egil Larsen (70), with almost 30 years at the station, and Severin Otnem (64). The last manager before Fredrikstad was taken out of regular service, Joubert Kristoffersen, operated the Thomson transmitter on its last day of service.

In fact, both Larsen and Kristoffersen had worked deep into the night on the two previous days in order to get the transmitter ready. Even though it was in perfect shape when it was closed down, nine months of standing idle had taken its toll on the occasional gasket and the odd movable part.

The special programme which went out as Fredrikstad’s final farewell, was produced by Radio Norway International and presented by Andrew Glasse and Einar Lie, whose voice has been heard over the Fredrikstad transmitter for some thirty years.

DX-Listeners’ Club would like to thank everyone who contributed towards the special farewell broadcast, especially Andy and Einar at Radio Norway, and Joubert who spent so much time and effort to bring the transmitter back to life one last time.