Atmosphere brings American TV to Cubans

[Judi Lynn]

Atmosphere brings American TV to Cubans
Wednesday, June 2, 2004 Posted: 10:56 AM EDT (1456 GMT)


HAVANA, Cuba (AP) -- Cubans turning on their television sets in recent days have picked up programming rarely seen on this communist-run island: U.S. President George W. Bush defending his Iraq policy, American cartoons, news programs from Tampa Bay, Florida.

No, this isn't a U.S. government propaganda effort.

It's a regular atmospheric phenomenon that occurs for several days or weeks at the start of each summer, allowing Cubans in some coastal areas -- especially those living in tall buildings -- to tune in to regular TV and radio programming from Florida, 90 miles (about 145 kilometers) to the north.

"They're coming in a lot," Luis Batista said of the American signals picked up by his television set in the Alamar neighborhood east of Havana. "The clarity is magnificent, the transmission constant."
(snip/...)

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/americas/06/02/cuban.american.ap/

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To anyone who's interested, I think this article being published right now signals something is crumbling somewhere, and the pro-embargo forces are starting to realize the travel ban's going to be retired fairly soon, and hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Americans will be going to Cuba in the next few years, and some of them will learn you can pick up American tv in Cuba WITHOUT cable, and that we have been lead to believe otherwise.

You may remember that the Cuban hardline "exiles" are running Radio/TV Marti from Miami, at a cost of over 28,000,000 yearly, on OUR own tax funding. They claim they need to bring news of the world to a country which only hears State TV and State Radio, and reads only State newspapers. A fine Democratic Representative, David Skaggs from Colorado attempted to pry TV Marti out of the funding in Congress and got wildly attacked by Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart who, with the CANF sent articles to Colorado papers informing them that they had cut important Colorado projects and this was all David Skagg's fault. He was not re-elected due to this open war declared upon him by Miami.

To learn more fast on this Democrat's getting shot down by Lincoln Diaz-Balart, here's a link:
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/1993-07-14/feature.html

A personal experience: When I was young, living in Kansas City, before cable tv, I spent a summer in Ft. Scott, around 100 miles south, with a relative.

I used to watch KC stations on their tv at night, which came in JUST FINE. They had NO CABLE. They had NO HUGE ANTENNA.

Can you see we've been lied to about this? It's very easy to prove to yourself. 100 miles from a large tv station with no mountains in the road gets you a FINE reception, and it has NOTHING TO DO with rare atmospheric inversions.


Elián Gonzales' hometown, Matanzas

Elián Gonzales' hometown, Matanzas

Matanzas
Matanzas

[Vogon_Glory]

1. No Lie, And The Signals Go The Other Way, Too

I believe that atmospheric conditions can cause television signals to be received beyond their usual range. I used to work for an alternative radio station in Dallas and on at least one occasion, our signals were picked up loud and clear in Ontario, on the other side of la otra frontera.

This morning's print edition of the Dallas Morning News had an article saying that Cuban radio and television signals are being picked up not only in the Florida peninsula, but elsewhere around the Gulf of Mexico.

I shouldn't be in the slightest bit surprised if in the event that (G*d willing and the angels smile upon us) John F. Kerry gets elected President this November, that Freepers and other assorted right wingie-dingies will be blaming Cuban broadcasts for their darling Dubya's electoral defeat.

[Mika]

2. I've watched S Florida TV stations in Cuba

In the northern half of Cuba one can pick up S Fla TV and radio year round. Cubans living in the northern half can therefore watch all of the hysterical anti Castro propaganda they want to. (Actually most watch the Spanish language soaps.)

[Stuckinthebush]

3. Well did they vote for Diana or Fantasia?

:D

[Lydia Leftcoast]

4. When I was a teenager in Minneapolis listening to AM radio

in the 1960s, I used to get Cuban radio stations all the time late at night.

I once got Minneapolis' most powerful AM station while living in Ithaca, NY.

Living in Tokyo in the late 1970s, I could get broadcasts from China, North and South Korea, and even occasionally Russia (look at a map, and you'll see that Japan is within shouting distance of the island of Sakhalin and such major cities as Vladivostok and Nakhodka), just on the AM band without using any shortwave equipment.

Ninety miles is nothing in broadcast terms, especially late at night.

[BiggJawn]

5. At VHF and UHF, it's something.

On MF and HF, 9,000 miles is "nothing" at night.

I remember seeing things like TV from louisville, Kansas City, chicago, and one night when WLWI signed off, I saw a test pattern for a station from Virginia.

interesting stuff, that Troposhperic ducting...

[Mika]

6. The story implies that its only rarely Cubans get US TV. Not true

As my prior posts mentioned, Cubans in the Northern 1/2 (and many all over the mountainous regions) can tune in S Florida TV and radio year round. Also, Jamaican, Dominican, Haitian, and Panamanian etc TV and radio.

Only Americans are so isolated by their media and government as to believe that Cubans are isolated and lack access to media.

[Judi Lynn]

7. So glad for your comments, Mika.

I felt absolutely certain they get Florida tv all the time. I have been reading about Hip Hop Cuban performers who have picked up a lot of inspiration from hearing American radio and seeing performers, etc.

I've heard they simply use little rabbit ears in their houses for tv reception.

Osolomia, who has been there multiple times, too, once wrote here she could pick up American radio stations while she was in Cuba, using a very small radio, like a Walkman. Interesting.

Yet, the Travel Ban Lobby keeps telling us that Cubans are virtual prisoners, are kept in the dark, and are desperate to get news from the U.S. (Like from the 28,000,000.00 yearly project, Radio/TV Marti, run with our money from Florida, shooting them propaganda every day!)