How did the idea come about?

During the major, prolonged blackout of 2023, all sorts of things went wrong.

• The FM transmitters located at Subi Rincon had no audio; the studio also had no power, so nothing was being sent to the FM transmitters.
• Most FM stations had already gone off the air, and those still broadcasting had no sound. Eventually, these stations also went off the air as their backup power ran out.
• For many, the internet was also inaccessible because the Wi-Fi modems in their homes had no power.
• Phones could still be used for quite a while; however, making calls was virtually impossible because everyone wanted to do so at the same time. But after 36 hours, the telephone connections also failed one by one.
• de officiële sites van bijvoorbeeld OLB werden niet actueel bijgehouden. En dat is te begrijpen omdat ook daar geen spanning was en er dus geen computers waren met een goede internetverbinding met de server.

The conclusion was that there was no way to inform the citizens—you and me.

In response, a few amateur radio enthusiasts put their heads together. Some already had experience setting up so-called LPAM transmitters in the Netherlands—LPAM stands for Low Power AM on the medium wave band. These LPAM transmitters achieved a remarkably wide range despite their low power output. Of course, here on Bonaire, we need a setup where the transmitter keeps running even if the mains power fails. That can be achieved with a solar power system equipped with batteries—and that is exactly the kind of system we have.

So, we set out to contact the authorities that need to grant us permission for the transmitter and are willing to collaborate with us on providing information to the public.

It soon became clear that the RDI (the agency that issues broadcasting licenses) was very positive about the initiative (the official license has since been received).

We have held meetings with the leadership of Krus Kora, and they, too, are keen to cooperate.

However, it proved impossible to make arrangements with the OLB. The OLB is responsible for crisis management on Bonaire. We have been trying to discuss this initiative with the OLB since early 2025, but unfortunately without success. Even two verbal (face-to-face) commitments have had no effect. Nothing is happening.

We are pressing ahead; we will be ready if other agencies wish to join in.