This station was a surprise on a difficult frequency, namely 800. A frequency dominated by MEC in Rio de Janeiro during cx towards La Plata and Brasil and TWR Bonaire during more northerly cx. This tends , at least for me, to mostly “skip over the frequency” when searching for something new. In early February 2011 I heard a station in Lemmenjoki heavily disturbed by TWR which turned out to be R Maria transmitting from Vina del Mar in Chile. Fortunately María carried an id also including the magical word “Chile”. During the time of reception I also heard, e.g., R Cooperativa, Valparaíso on 730 and BBN R, Vina del Mar (note, NOT Bogotá!) during a short and selective opening towards the middle coastal of Chile. I just recently got a short Facebook confirmation of this encounter with Radio Maria. Interestingly enough, Hannu Niilekselä managed to catch R María in El Salvador on 800 a couple of years ago. This shows that no frequency should be left non-scrutinized. Magic happens! Thanks Henrik Klemetz and Jari Ruohomäki for listening to my audio of this rare station from Chile.
americadx 