Radio HRVC

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Radio HRVC

By Don Moore
The following was prepared as a feature talk for HCJB's DX Party Line program in December, 2000.

I've been DXing for nearly thirty years now and long ago gave up even trying to count how many Latin American radio stations that I've heard. There are a few stations that stand out as different from the all the rest, and one of those is HRVC in Honduras. First, HRVC has been there as long as I remember. There are just four stations that, to my experience, have always been there, easy to hear, in the sixty meter band during my 30 years of DXing, and one is HRVC. The others, by the way, are Radio Atlantida in Peru, Radio Quito in Ecuador, and Ecos del Torbes in Venezuela. In October of 1972, HRVC was one of the very first Latin American stations that I QSLed. A decade later when I lived in Honduras, HRVC became one of the first radio stations that I visited.
Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, is a actually a twin-city. Dating back to colonial times there were two cities. On the north bank of the Choluteca River was Tegucigalpa, which is where all the government offices and main churches were located, and where all the wealthy families of Spanish blood lived. On the flat floodplain on the south bank was Comayaguela, where the the Indian and meztizo people - the working people - lived. The open-air market, an important part of any Latin American town, was located in Comayaguela, just across the main bridge from Tegucigalpa. As commerce developed, the first stores opened near the market and gradually the surrounding streets became the main retail center for the metropolis. A few decades ago, I'm not sure just when, Tegucigalpa and Comayaguela were officially merged into the single city of Tegucigalpa.
I visited Radio HRVC first when I lived in Honduras in the early 1980s and again in 1990 when I made a return trip. The station located in the center of Comayaguela's business district, just a few blocks from the open-air market. It is just across the street from La Atomica, a large appliance store. The station is located in neat little three story cement block building wedged between other similar buildings with offices and shops. At the time, they only used the second and third floors. I think the first floor was rented out.
On my first visit to the station, I remember chatting with Cindy Madraiga, the American secretary from Lewistown, Pennsylvania - less than an hour from my hometown. Cindy had come down as a short-term missionary but stayed on after marrying a Honduran Baptist. One of her jobs was answering the several reception reports that the station received each week. I got to look through the stack of reports, which was a lot of fun, seeing names I recognized and seeing how other DXers did their reception reports. A lot of DXers had included IRCs with their reports. The station was unable to redeem these in Honduras and had a policy of sending them to their office in the US. However, I was able to buy some off of them, so I was well-stocked in IRCs for the remainder of my time in Honduras. Cindy hasn't been listed as working at the station for a number of years, but a Senor Madraiga is listed as the station's program director. I suspect that is her husband.
I don't have any immediate plans for another visit to Honduras, but there will be one someday. And, when I get there, one of the first places I plan to go to will be that little three story building near the market in Comayaguela, home of HRVC, Honduras's big voice on sixty meters.

This website is maintained by Don Moore,
Association of North American Radio Clubs
DXer of the Year for 1995.
My Address Is In This Graphic

Honduras Menu	Main Menu	What's New	Best of this Site	Radio History	Clandestine Radio
Radio HRVC By Don Moore The following was prepared as a feature talk for HCJB's DX Party Line program in December, 2000. I've been DXing for nearly thirty years now and long ago gave up even trying to count how many Latin American radio stations that I've heard. There are a few stations that stand out as different from the all the rest, and one of those is HRVC in Honduras. First, HRVC has been there as long as I remember. There are just four stations that, to my experience, have always been there, easy to hear, in the sixty meter band during my 30 years of DXing, and one is HRVC. The others, by the way, are Radio Atlantida in Peru, Radio Quito in Ecuador, and Ecos del Torbes in Venezuela. In October of 1972, HRVC was one of the very first Latin American stations that I QSLed. A decade later when I lived in Honduras, HRVC became one of the first radio stations that I visited. Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, is a actually a twin-city. Dating back to colonial times there were two cities. On the north bank of the Choluteca River was Tegucigalpa, which is where all the government offices and main churches were located, and where all the wealthy families of Spanish blood lived. On the flat floodplain on the south bank was Comayaguela, where the the Indian and meztizo people - the working people - lived. The open-air market, an important part of any Latin American town, was located in Comayaguela, just across the main bridge from Tegucigalpa. As commerce developed, the first stores opened near the market and gradually the surrounding streets became the main retail center for the metropolis. A few decades ago, I'm not sure just when, Tegucigalpa and Comayaguela were officially merged into the single city of Tegucigalpa. I visited Radio HRVC first when I lived in Honduras in the early 1980s and again in 1990 when I made a return trip. The station located in the center of Comayaguela's business district, just a few blocks from the open-air market. It is just across the street from La Atomica, a large appliance store. The station is located in neat little three story cement block building wedged between other similar buildings with offices and shops. At the time, they only used the second and third floors. I think the first floor was rented out. On my first visit to the station, I remember chatting with Cindy Madraiga, the American secretary from Lewistown, Pennsylvania - less than an hour from my hometown. Cindy had come down as a short-term missionary but stayed on after marrying a Honduran Baptist. One of her jobs was answering the several reception reports that the station received each week. I got to look through the stack of reports, which was a lot of fun, seeing names I recognized and seeing how other DXers did their reception reports. A lot of DXers had included IRCs with their reports. The station was unable to redeem these in Honduras and had a policy of sending them to their office in the US. However, I was able to buy some off of them, so I was well-stocked in IRCs for the remainder of my time in Honduras. Cindy hasn't been listed as working at the station for a number of years, but a Senor Madraiga is listed as the station's program director. I suspect that is her husband. I don't have any immediate plans for another visit to Honduras, but there will be one someday. And, when I get there, one of the first places I plan to go to will be that little three story building near the market in Comayaguela, home of HRVC, Honduras's big voice on sixty meters. This website is maintained by Don Moore, Association of North American Radio Clubs DXer of the Year for 1995.