Shortwave listening and everything radio including reviews, broadcasting, ham radio, field operation, DXing, maker kits, travel, emergency gear, events, and more
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor David Iurescia, who shares this fascinating article from The Gazette:
Arthur A. Collins Legacy Association celebrates 100th anniversary of major radio breakthrough in Cedar Rapids
CEDAR RAPIDS — Years before the first trans-Atlantic phone call, and decades before international direct dialing would become available, a Cedar Rapids teenager had a direct line to one of the most remote places on earth.
And decades before companies like Collins Radio and Rockwell Collins became multibillion dollar enterprises, a 15-year-old’s ham radio was connecting Arctic explorers with the world from an attic on Fairview Drive.
On Aug. 3, 1925, Arthur A. Collins made headlines as the first person to communicate with MacMillan scientific explorers in Etah, Greenland on short-length radio waves — what The Evening Gazette in Cedar Rapids hailed as “a new chapter into the history of radio.”[…]
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Greenall, who writes:
In the 1970s, the powerful signal from radio station HCJB, the Voice of the Andes, in Quito, Ecuador, could be heard with station identifications (similar to this one circa 1971) being given between programs.
I am led to believe that they were made by the late Bob Beukema (1928-2001), since his resonant radio voice was often referred to as the “Voice of the Andes”. My listening post at the time was Ancaster, Ontario, Canada.
Today, the station can still be heard broadcasting from Ecuador, albeit with much lower power, perhaps 10 kW at the most, and a much simpler antenna arrangement.
The accompanying recording was made July 30, 2025 on 6050 kHz around 0200 hours UTC using a Kiwi SDR located in Lima, Peru. Even though programming is only in Spanish and indigenous languages, some of that wonderful Andean music can still be found here.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who writes:
Hi Thomas
Before the days of the internet and e-mail, handwritten or typed reception reports mailed out to broadcast stations would often net the lucky DXer other goodies, including station brochures, program schedules, frequency guides, station stickers, blank reception report forms, pennants, booklets, and other items in addition to that coveted QSL verification.
The QSLs were stored carefully away in albums or shoe boxes, while much of the other paper ephemera eventually (over the years) made its way into a recycle bin. Recently, while cleaning out some storage boxes in the basement, I came across a number of envelopes containing some of the aforementioned items from the early to mid-1990s. To preserve these newly discovered pieces of radio history, I have scanned much of the material and included it here.
Radio Australia from the collection of Tom Gavaras
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Tom Gavaras, who recently reached out with an update:
“I want to make you aware that I have posted almost all of my shortwave QSL cards online, representing more than 210 broadcast countries. They can be viewed at: https://radiotapes.com/qsl/”
What an incredible achievement! Tom’s QSL collection spans decades of shortwave radio history and includes verification cards from a vast range of international broadcasters.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes:
Thomas,
You might remember that a year or so ago, Lego released a retro radio set aimed at the 18+ age group.
I had an opportunity to visit a Lego shop recently because a company away day meeting was set in Birmingham city centre.
Seeing this set on the shelves was too tempting, and since my birthday was imminent made an impulse purchase!!
I can tell you it was a joy to build, and it’s very clever in how it fits together and functions.
Turning the power knob on the left engages a mechanism which is then turned by the tuning dial on the right. The little red tuning marker moves back and forth and a custom brick plays random bursts of audio lasting a few seconds.
These are in keeping with the retro aesthetic of the radio itself, adverts for ham, sports commentary and nostalgic music.
A little bit pricey but I don’t regret buying it. I bought a Tecsun PL-990x the week before in anticipation of my birthday, so it’s been quite a radio centric celebration this year !
Mark
This is brilliant, Mark! The top image of the Lego Radio was one I took at Charlotte Douglas International Airport in February. I came so close to buying it then, and indeed, I would have if I weren’t such a hardcore one-bag traveler. Had I purchased it, I would have had to carry it for the rest of my multi-day trip. After reading your article, I regret passing it up! I might have to go on the prowl for one! Thank you for sharing!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Greenall, who writes:
In years gone by, many Pacific island nations relied on shortwave radio to air their programs across the vast expanses of ocean. These included countries such as Kiribati, Tahiti, Fiji, Saipan, New Caledonia, the Marshall Islands, Cook Islands, and Papua New Guinea. There are recent reports that the latter is seriously looking at a return to shortwave by 2030. https://swling.com/blog/2025/05/papua-new-guinea-plans-shortwave-comeback-by-2030/ Even in Hawaii, the licence of World Harvest Radio KWHR expired in 2009.
While the above nations can no longer be found on shortwave, a handful of other stations are still operating in 2025 and make excellent DX targets for listeners around the world. If you prefer optimal quality reception, choose to listen through a remote SDR closer to the transmitter site.
Click on the various links below to hear samples of audio from some of the remaining broadcasters located in the South Pacific region.
I recently received a fascinating message from long-time SWLing Post reader Paul, who has graciously shared a remarkable collection of shortwave radio recordings he made from his home near London in the 1980s. Here’s what he wrote:
Hi Thomas, I have been following your excellent blog for many years. I have noticed that sometimes you feature archive recordings. I have some that might interest you.
During the 1980s I was listening to shortwave radio from my home near London, in the south east of England. I had a cassette recorder connected to the receiver and taped anything interesting that caught my ear. Little did I know that 40 years later the majority of these stations would have disappeared and I would have the opportunity to share these recordings with the world.
I have put together a collection of five audio files of recordings from many of these international shortwave broadcasters, consisting of IDs and interval signals. The majority of these recordings are in English. I’ve grouped the files geographically:
I’ll also embed the audio players below with Paul’s notes:
Western Europe
AUSTRIA: Radio Austria International (0)
CYPRUS: Cyprus Broadcasting Company (1.40)
DENMARK: Radio Denmark (3.09)
FINLAND: Radio Finland (4.29)
FRANCE: Radio France Internationale (5.30)
GERMANY (WEST): Deutsche Welle (6.30)
GREECE: Voice of Greece (7.53)
ITALY: RAI (9.24)
MALTA: Radio Mediterranean (11.00)
NETHERLANDS: Radio Netherlands (12.21)
NORWAY: Radio Norway (13.34)
PORTUGAL: Radio Portugal (15.34)
SPAIN: Spanish Foreign Radio (16.32)
SWEDEN: Radio Sweden (18.17)
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Radio International (19.53)
Red Cross Broadcasting Service (20.38)
UNITED KINGDOM: BBC World Service (21.49)
Eastern Europe and the USSR
ALBANIA: Radio Tirana (0)
BELARUS: Radio Minsk (1.18)
BULGARIA: Radio Sofia (1.41)
CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Radio Prague (2.29)
ESTONIA: Radio Tallin (2.50)
GERMANY (EAST): Radio Berlin Int (3.49)
HUNGARY: Radio Budapest (5.22)
LATVIA: Radio Riga (6.31)
LITHUANIA: Radio Vilnius (7.14)
POLAND: Radio Polonia (8.30)
ROMANIA: Radio Bucharest (9.37)
UKRAINE: Radio Kiev (10.41)
USSR: Radio Moscow World Service (12.17)
Radio Station Peace & Progress (13.35)
Radio Station Rodina (13.59)
YUGOSLAVIA: Radio Yugoslavia (14.21)
The Americas
Bonaire: Trans World Radio (3.31)
Brazil: Radio Nacional do Brasil (4.32)
Canada: Radio Canada Int (6.58)
Chile: Voice of Chile (8.48)
Colombia: Radio Nacional (11.06)
Radio Sutatenza (12.00)
Cuba: Radio Havana (12.48)
Dominican Republic: La Voz del CID (14.20)
Radio Clarin (15.01)
Ecuador: HCJB (15.43)
Grenada: Radio Free Grenada (17.36)
Nicaragua: Voice of Nicaragua (18.42)
USA: Voice of America (19.54)
Radio Earth (20.33)
KCBI (21.39)
WHRI (22.13)
WRNO (22.38)
WYFR (22.49)
Venezuela: Radio Turismo (23.22)
Radio Tachira (24.06)
YVTO (24.41)
Asia and the Pacific
Afghanistan: Radio Afghanistan (0)
Australia: Radio Australia (1.55)
Bangladesh: Radio Bangladesh (3.18)
China: Radio Peking (4.23)
India: All India Radio (6.16)
Japan: Radio Japan (7.29)
Korea (North): Radio Pyongyang (9.02)
Korea (South): Radio Korea (12.26)
Malaysia: Voice of Malaysia (14.22)
New Zealand: Radio New Zealand (15.49)
Pakistan: Radio Pakistan (16.13)
Saipan: KFBS & KYOI (16.44)
Taiwan: Voice of the Free China (18.14)
Tajikistan: Radio Dushanbe (19.01)
Uzbekistan: Radio Tashkent (19.22)
Vietnam: Voice of Vietnam (20.16)
Africa and the Middle East
ALGERIA: Radio Algiers (0)
EGYPT: Radio Cairo (1.03)
IRAN: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran (2.33)
IRAQ: Radio Baghdad (4.17)
ISRAEL: Kol Israel (6.33)
KUWAIT: Radio Kuwait (8.00)
LEBANON: Voice of Lebanon (9.29)
LIBYA: Radio Jamariyah (10.18)
NIGERIA: Radio Nigeria (12.15)
QATAR: Qatar Broadcasting Service (13.53)
SAUDI ARABIA: Broadcasting Service of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (14.21)
SOUTH AFRICA: Radio RSA (15.45)
SYRIA: Radio Damascus (17.37)
TURKEY: Voice of Turkey (18.40)
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: UAE Radio (19.50)
Many Thanks to Paul!
A huge thank you to Paul for not only preserving these recordings, but also for taking the time to digitize and share them publicly. This is a nostalgic treat for many of us and a valuable reference for future generations of listeners.
If any readers have similar recordings they’d like to share, feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to help preserve and feature them on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.
— Thomas
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