Voice of America

created by mcSey
(thing) by Modnar (2.4 wk) (print)   (I like it!) Fri Sep 01 2000 at 4:15:36

The Voice of America was a US radio station that broadcast to countries in Central and South America. Broadcasting over such a large distance was accomplished by bouncing the signal off of the atmosphere.

The main bounce station for the Voice of America was located about 1 mile from my house and the signal was so strong you could hear random people talking in Spanish whenever you used the telephone.

Alas the government cut funding for the Voice of America and it broadcasts no more. The upside of this is that the 71 acres of land the bounce station site occupied is being converted into a park. The downside is that now I'll never learn Spanish just by talking on the phone.
(thing) by Segnbora-t (21.1 hr) (print)   (I like it!) Mon Sep 25 2000 at 22:54:24
The Voice of America is the U.S. government's foreign broadcasting service. It is supposed to tell the truth about American and world news in locations that may or may not have access to other news sources. Different VOA stations broadcast in different locations, not always to the pleasure of the governments of those locations, especially during the Cold War -- Robert A. Heinlein, in '"Pravda" Means "Truth,"' a description of his 1960 trip to the Soviet Union, mentions that he tried to listen to the Voice of America in Vilnius (now part of Lithuania) and it was jammed.

The web site at www.voa.gov says they currently broadcast in these languages (I know several of these are locations rather than languages):

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