© 2014-
Mebo off Libya
Opening Dates
February and March 1977 -
2nd May 1977 -
19th May 1977 -
29th June – mid July 1977 -
11th August 1977 -
19th January 1978 -
11th June 1978 -
end of June 1978 -
Off air for re-
September 1979 -
Closing Date
El Fatah continued to be used to relay programmes of the Holy Koran until sometime in 1980
Owners
Mebo Ltd (the two ships were on hire to the Libyan Government while Mebo Ltd were installing new landbased transmission facilities for Libyan state radio services).
From 5th April 1978 Mebo II and the Angela became the official property of the Libyan Government)
Wavelengths/Frequencies
With five transmitters on board the Mebo II (El Fatah) it is inevitable that a large number of wavelengths/frequencies were used for broadcasts. Some of these were only used for test transmissions in order to find suitable frequencies for the later relays and broadcasts from the ship.
1232kHz (243m) medium wave (AM)
1402kHz (213.9m) medium wave (AM)
1610kHz (186m) medium wave (AM)
773kHz (388m) medium wave (AM)
6205kHz in the 49m shortwave band
6210kHz in the 49m shortwave band
9810kHz in the 31m shortwave band
90mHz FM
92mHz FM
100mHz FM
Broadcasting Hours
Broadcasting hours varied depending on which service was being relayed -
The Holy Koran service was broadcast for 12 hours a day between 6.00am and 6.00pm (GMT)
Format
The Mebo II (later El Fatah) was mainly used as base to relay Libyan state radio services, although later services originating from the ship were also broadcast. This resulted in a number of different formats
(a) The original test transmissions consisted of music with the occasional announcement
(b) Relays of SPLAJBC consisted of news bulletins, music and talks about international affairs
A foreign language service of SPLAJBC started from El Fatah on 11th June 1978 with programmes in Arabic, French and English
In June 1978 a daily service, consisting of readings from the Holy Koran was broadcast for 12 hours a day
(c) Relays of LBJ consisted of music
Mebo II (in Tripoli)
Photo: Robin Adcroft
Back to Rest of the World Gallery
Landbased Address
SPLAJBC
PO Box 333
Tripoli, Libya
PO Box 119
El-
Libya
