Many thanks to SWLing Post and Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Dan Greenall, who writes:
Hi Thomas
From the early 1970’s, where sadly, some of my original logbooks went missing many years ago.
ANTEL, the Administracion Nacional de Telecommunicaciones in Montevideo, Uruguay used to use its telephone time announcement instead of a voice mirror – so they got their name ‘La Senal’ in the 1970’s. Their voice announcements in SSB mode were in Spanish and the station could be found on frequencies all over the shortwave spectrum, including 5772 kHz (CXL20), 8037 kHz (CXL21), 10770 kHz (CXL24), 11660 kHz (CXL25), 14575 kHz (CXL26), 16047.5 kHz (CXL28), and 19525 kHz (CXL33). The accompanying recording was made on January 9, 1971 on about 13550 kHz.
La Senal Uruguay Jan 9 1971 13.55:
In those days, it paid to belong to a good DX club (such as SPEEDX) or I may not have been able to identify this station at all. I was also able to get my hands on a used copy of the Klingenfuss guide to utility stations which had very detailed frequency and callsign information. Unfortunately, I let this valuable resource go a number of years ago.
And now for the mystery……
Around the same time (early 1970’s), I heard and recorded this similar styled transmission, except it was in the French language, and which remains unidentified to this day. I have no exact date/time heard or frequency information for this one.
All recordings made in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada. (40 miles SW of Toronto)
Mystery French Time Station:
Any guesses will be greatly appreciated.
73
Dan Greenall
Readers, if you can help Dan identify this recording, please comment!
Good afternoon, Dan.
Regarding this time stamp audio in French, I think it has something to do with this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Research_Council_Time_Signal
We have something similar in Brazil:
http://pcdsh01.on.br/RadioDSHO.php
My first job in was a a radio operator onboard a cargo vessel, travellinbg between Vancouver BC and various japanese ports carrying grain. This was in the late sixties when radio communications still were analog only, and one of my tasks was to provide the first officer with a time signal every day to keep track of any deviation of the vessels chronometers.
I think this UNID sounds very like the CHU transmissions at that time. Had been a litte easier to ID if the frequency was known.
73’s
Egil – LA2PJ
This sounds like a French time station. Would have to look back in WRTH and similar sources.
Yes, Dan, that’s what I’ve been thinking too. The Bureau Internationale de l’Heure at the Observatoire de Paris used to have a time signal on 10775 kHz. I logged them in the early 70’s on CW but never heard any voice announcement. Rainer Brannolte’s utilityradio.com indicates they used that frequency for voice as well. So could be a possibility. Thanks.