Private Radio allowed
Dec. 1993

Licence Approval on 11th August 1994

Meeting TWR-Bav. Mission in Feb. 1994

Donation of small transmitter September 94

Visit James Burnett (transmitter engineer TWR) Sep31st, 1994

Test transmissions started First Advent 1994

Official LCS Project Writeup July 1996

Arrival of the Booster- transmitter in Feb.1998

July 1998 stat building foundation antenna mast Kidia

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So the staff of the studio in Moshi looked for a possibility to make a long dreamt dream true that own transmitter for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania! Since the times of the big short wave transmitter of the LWF in Addis Ababa in 1962, the studio had to ship its programmes fare, until they got aired (in 1978/79 to FEBA on the sychelles, since 1979 to TWR in Swaziland).

It had been announced by radio and newspapers, that starting December 1993 application forms for private radio candidates will be available in Ndugu Josephat Qorro´s office in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Since many years the ELCT was cooperating with Trans World Radio in airing its programmes. So every one was very enthusiastic when TWR agreed on the first meeting about an local radio station in the Uhuru Hostel in Moshi on October 21st, 1993. Participans were: on the Studio side:  Rev. E.Macha(director), Mr. C. Lyaro(Secretary), Mr.S.Kitange, Mr.E.Kiwia, Mr.A.Mmbandow(Engineer), and on the side of TWR:  Mr. J. Kamau, Rev. H. Marquardt (Executive Director)

Many meetings of the Adhoc Comittee on Communication followed together with TWR. One big question was: If TWR is paying for the station, TWR wants to be the owner as well! But according regulations the owner of the station needs to be an Tanzanian!

Long lists of staff, equippment needed, were compiled. So the estimated sum needed was at US$400,000 !

On 11th August 1994 the studio got the "Radio Communication Licence for Broadcasting (Sound)"

A survey showed, that many radios used in the proposed listening area, already can receive FM-stations, even though no FM-station was there yet!

On February 24th 1994 there had been a meeting between TWR (ERF) and a deligation of Bavarian Mission including Dr. Hildenbrand (techn. consultant) about the question sponsoring the transmitter and it's power supply in Moshi.

In September 1994 the congregation of St. Nicolai in Neuendettelsau(Germany) donated a small FM-transmitter (20 Watts), which arrived on October 31st 1994 at KIA.

End of September 1994 James Burnett came to help to find the best transmitter location, and write a detailed report of items needed to set the staion into air for a wider audience.

On the first Advent 1994 testtransmissions started to be on air on three days a week. The transmission started in the morning at 6:00-8:00, at noon from 12:00-14:00 and in the evening from 18:00-20:00.

Starting April 1995 the FM-Programme could be heared for two hours in the morning, and two hours in the evening. The main menu menu being the SW programme for Manzini. Habari Maalum Studio at Arusha supplied 30 minutes of programming at 18:30 daily. National/World News at 19:00 and 20:00.

Many meetings followed. One of them was i in Nairobi on 27th January 1995.  Focus was on the Ownership/Management Structure of the station.

Between March  and September 1995 Markus Horn spent his practical semester in the studio in Moshi, to write a computer programme to remote control the transmitter.

In July 1996 finally a project was written by Dr. Mshana to ask LCS for support for the FM-Radio station. We received the approvel from Bavaria for the first phase on Wednesday 27th 1996.

In December 1996 the studio technicians constructed a 9.5 dB gain transmitting antenna for the booster site. On Christmas 1996 the first test transmission was carried out, using this antenna, from a auxiliary booster place in Machame. The studio got letters from listeners up to Babati, many hundret miles away!

End of January 1997 we got the reply for the price quotations from WEM-Hamburg. It took up to July 1997 until the Solar system of the booster arrived at WAMA Dar Es Salaam. We could fetch the generator, but up to end of the year the solar system was still in Dar. until the director went to WAMA and organized a lorry himself to bring the batteries and solarpanels!

A 22 meter steel Antenna mast wa constructed June-July 1997 next to the studio.

In July 1998 time limit set by FM-board chairman Set Kitange: Kidia needs to bee on air on Advent 1st!

Starting August 1998 bricks were made for the mast base at Kidia. Starting September the hole was dug at kidia Forest.

At October 1998 El-Nino heavy rains started, making it impossible to transport stones, gravel and Zement to building site.

Since Christmas 1997 the solar system had been ready to operate at a auxiliary booster place in Machame, since the licence to build at Kidia site was still not there yet from the National Forest Department in Dar Es Salaam!

After some bad misunderstanding finally the programme director Africa of TWR (Tom Tatlow) came to Moshi to clear things out. The meeting took place in the Uhuru hostel on 17th July 1997. Main goal of the meeting was to sign a agreement between TWR and the ELCT.

Starting  October 1997 e-mails went back and forth between Moshi and HCJB-engeneers in the US. about the transmitter. In February 1998 finally the transmitter arrived, and the new director from TWR Nairobi could say a word of prayer, when we opened its box. The transmitter was on air the next day from the auxiliary booster place in Machame!

In February 1998 the first Lorry with gravel, from the Diaconical Centre Sabuco,   went up to Kidia forest. The bricks followed, but unfortunately the lorry´s gearbox broke, and it was not available any more there after.

After the rainy season in July 1998, Mlomi from Kiboriloni made the impossible possible: He took the roof off of his 109 Land Rover Station waggon, putted on 4 good tyres with snow chains, and transported all the stones, gravel and sand up to the site, on the still soft  and muddy way through the woods.

Start buiding the foundation of the antenna Mast in July 1998

Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania