Author Archives: Thomas

Slate Magazine explores how Russian spies used shortwave radio

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Slate:

It may seem like the digital era of spy technology has passed the Russians by. In the Washington Post, columnist Jeff Stein tittered that “the FBI must have been clapping its collective hands when it discovered the primitive radio techniques the Russians were using.” But they aren’t the only ones using short-wave radio for espionage. Great Britain has publicly admitted that its foreign intelligence agency, MI6, still uses “numbers” stations. And scientists have tracked numbers broadcasts to transmitters at government sites in Israel and (until they went silent in the late ’90s) the United States…

…The reason this dusty method is still ideal for espionage is that, even if you locate a spy station’s transmitter, you have no idea who’s tuning in across the hemisphere. Unlike telephone or Internet connections, receiving a radio signal leaves no fingerprint, no traceable phone connection, no IP address, and no other hint as to where the recipient might be.

Read the full article on Slate Magazine’s website and my previous post about the Russian spies who were recently headline news in the US.

Listen to the FIFA World Cup 2010 on Shortwave Radio via RNW

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The Netherlands will face Spain in Johannesburg on Sunday 11 July at 1830 UTC in the final of the FIFA World Cup 2010. Radio Netherlands Worldwide has posted the broadcast frequencies for this event and we have them listed below.

The following shortwave/mediumwave frequencies will will carry live coverage in Dutch, mind you (all times UTC):

* 1200-2200: 1296 kHz for Benelux
* 1800-2200: 5915 kHz to South Africa
* 1700-2200: 5935 kHz to Indonesia, Australia & Indian Ocean
* 1700-2200: 5950 kHz to Europe and Scandinavia
* 1700-2200: 9895 kHz to SW Europe
* 1800-2200: 11670 kHz to SE Europe & Middle East
* 1800-2200: 11905 kHz to US East Coast
* 1800-2200: 13640 kHz to US & Canada
* 1800-2200: 13685 kHz to Central & East Africa
* 1700-2200: 15310 kHz to Caribbean & Florida
* 1800-2200: 15475 kHz to South America
* 1700-2200: 17535 kHz to Atlantic Ocean & West Africa

Thanks to RNW Media Networks for this info.

UPDATE: Did you record the FIFA World Cup on shortwave? If so, please  send me your audio, I would be happy to post it on SWLing.com.

Russian Agents Used Shortwave Radio to Receive Coded Messages

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Courtroom drawing of the suspects. Source: NY Times

Many of you may have noticed in the news yesterday that shortwave radio was used by the 11 Russian agents who were carrying out espionage within the United States. An article in the New York Times noted that one of the methods they used to communicate with the S.V.R. headquarters in Russia was via shortwave radio. The article mentioned that the agents would send “coded bursts of data” via shortwave transmitter.

The NY Times article failed to mention that the agents no doubt received messages from Russia via shortwave numbers stations.

So why is shortwave radio–a rather “low-tech” communications medium–used in modern espionage? The primary reason is it’s almost impossible to trace, thus messages leave little to no breadcrumbs for one to follow back to the source.

For decades, radio listeners have been trying to figure out from where numbers station broadcasts originate. They’ve had very little success. Indeed, the only breaks we’ve had have been when the broadcasting station makes a mistake. This has happened once with a numbers station message originating from Radio Havana Cuba. Listeners heard the faint sound of an RHC broadcast in the background–they were obviously hearing noise from across the studio hall.

Of course, another reason shortwave radio is used to relay secret messages is because it’s almost impossible to block. I wrote an article called “When shortwave radio is better than the Internet” that describes why this characteristic alone is an important reason to keep shortwave stations on the air around the world. No government or local authority can prevent you from listening to shortwave broadcasts–whether you’re a spy (like this lot) or simply living in a country where the folks in charge like to  control your access to the news and information.

One small shortwave  radio can break through all of that red tape.

UPDATE: For more information on how radio was used by these agents, check out the US Department of Justice’s website. In particular, check out pages 11-12 in this document. (Thanks to David Goren for this tip.)

For more information:

RNZI says shortwave ‘will continue to play major role’ in Pacific

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In an age where shortwave listeners feel they only hear negative news from the major broadcasters, it’s refreshing to see that one of our favorite stations understands the value of shortwave radio.

In an interview with the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU),
Chief Executive of Radio New Zealand, Peter Cavanagh, said:

“We currently broadcast to the Pacific using both analogue and digital (DRM) shortwave transmitters.

“Most of our local partner stations are now using our digital transmission to provide a higher quality and more reliable signal for re-broadcast to their own audiences.

“But many individuals and those living on the more remote islands are still very much dependent on analogue receivers – particularly in times of crisis such as the cyclone season – and it’s likely that analogue shortwave will continue to play a major role in the region for many more years to come.”

Read the full article here.

Something he didn’t mention was the importance shortwave radio played in Fiji last year when the government shut down Australia’s ABC’s FM stations. Unlike the internet or FM radio, shortwave radio crosses borders without regard to who is in power.

New Shortwave Station in Central African Republic

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Source: HCJB Global ( by Jean Muehlfelt)

Imagine living in a country where you can’t access the Internet, watch television, read newspapers or even receive mail. Except in Bangui, the capital city of the Central African Republic (C.A.R.), that’s what life is like for most of the country’s 4.5 million residents. Their lifeline to the rest of the world? Radio. People in C.AR., a country about the size of Texas, depend on radio broadcasts to keep informed. Almost every village has a radio, and some have more than one. The sets are affordable, costing as little as US$6, usually coming from countries such as Nigeria and Niger. The radios typically have FM, shortwave and medium-wave bands.

Until 2005 there were only six private FM stations and one governmental shortwave station in this country where villagers have a life expectancy of just 44 years. It was then that Integrated Community Development International (ICDI), a partner of HCJB Global, was granted permission to open the country’s first privately owned shortwave radio station, Radio ICDI.

In early 2006 the ministry acquired an eight-acre tract of land on the plateau above the town of Boali. A road to the transmitter site was built, and electricity was installed. Equipment was transported in large shipping containers, and eventually one of the 20-foot-long metal containers was converted into a studio and transmitter building.A year later a team from HCJB Global Technology Center in Elkhart, Ind., spent three weeks at the broadcast site, installed the first shortwave radio station. They also put in two satellite downlinks that provided access to the Internet and made it possible to receive French-language Christian programming from Trans World Radio, another HCJB Global partner.

Last month HCJB Global engineers returned to C.A.R. to put in two additional regional shortwave radio stations in Boali, similar to the station installed in 2007. One of the new stations will help extend the broadcast hours of the existing ICDI station into the nighttime. Each station only works well during a portion of each day because of how shortwave signals travel through the atmosphere.

The new ICDI radio stations will provide more programming opportunities for broadcasting the gospel across C.A.R. in Sango (the country’s trade language), French and various tribal dialects. Additional hours will also increase the opportunity to air more community development programs on AIDS prevention, orphan care, well-water repair programs and many other relevant humanitarian topics.

Curt Bender, manager of broadcast services at HCJB Global in Elkhart, said, “I want to give the Lord recognition for sustaining our team through two difficult installations in the past three years and to praise Him for the success.”

For more information visit http://www.icdinternational.org

VOA adding new English services

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VOA Press Release:

Washington, D.C., May 17, 2010 ? Voice of America has unveiled a dynamic new lineup of interactive radio programs and Web features aimed at expanding its English-speaking audience around the world.

Three new radio programs, Daybreak Asia, Crossroads Asia, and Middle East Monitor, focus on key developments in each region, with in-depth features, more newsmaker interviews and dynamic interaction with listeners, viewers and website visitors. Another program, International Edition, provides lively, fast-paced world news coverage, and American Caf? brings you stories about life in the United States.

Listen to VOA programs and explore the new Web features at www.voanews.com

VOA English Programs Director John Stevenson describes the new programs as, “for and about the people in the regions, providing the story behind the story, with more background and analysis, increased use of graphics on our website and more social networking with sites like Facebook.”

VOA English has an estimated global weekly radio audience of more than 11 million people. VOA newscasts and programs are available on a host of platforms, including our website, via podcasting, social networking sites, radio and television affiliate stations around the world, and now on VOA’s upgraded mobile phone site http://english.voa.mobi.

Other languages are also available by going to http://www1.voanews.com/english/mobile/ and selecting from the list.

(Source: VOA)