Category Archives: Pirate Radio

Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic

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The Citadel of the Time Lords on Gallifrey (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

The Citadel of the Time Lords on Gallifrey (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Last night, I recorded pirate station, Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic.

RGI appeared on 6,935 kHz USB and started their broadcast with a set of audio sweeps (which looked rather distinctive on my SDR’s waterfall), followed by tones and then straight into the Dr. Who theme.

What followed was a free-form set of spacy electronic music; from ambient to trance. You’ll hear their station ID in Morse code.

Click here to download an MP3 of the full broadcast, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

twGallifrey-QSL

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Newsweek: Can radio turn the tide in Syria?

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Syria_(orthographic_projection)Thanks to The Professor for sharing this brilliant article by Mike Giglio in The Daily Beast:

“Twenty minutes—this was the small window of time that Majid (not his real name) usually gave himself to broadcast his radio dispatches and then flee. The Syrian was making a name for himself as a bold, young journalist in Damascus, venturing into contested neighborhoods in the capital’s war-torn suburbs to deliver his reports. The broadcasts were low tech and old-fashioned, produced for an upstart radio station called Al-Watan FM, or “The Homeland FM,” and went out on the local airwaves, crackling into a sphere otherwise tightly controlled by the regime. Any Damascus resident scanning the dial could tune in.

It was dangerous work. Pushing into the capital’s FM frequencies meant transmitting an easy-to-track signal from within the city. Government soldiers or regime thugs often came looking for Majid when he went on the air, so he tried to be quick—setting up, going live, then packing up and disappearing within the span of 20 minutes.”[…]

Continue reading the full article in Newsweek’s The Daily Beast online.

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Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Casablanca

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1-RadioListening2Confession time: one of my favorite pirate radio stations is Radio Casablanca.

Why?

For one thing the format is WWII-era music. When I hear Radio Casablanca, I close my eyes and imagine what it must have been like to hear the great bands of the era over the shortwaves…

Radio nostalgia at its best.

The signal strength is always sufficient to be heard in relatively good fidelity here in my radio room, but not so strong as to detract from the perceived distance. I believe the recording you’ll hear below could very well mimic broadcasts over shortwave, heard across borders during WWII as well as listened to on classic console radios in people’s living rooms and front parlors.

RadioCasablancaQSL

When my buddy Mark Coady posted that he was listening to Radio Casablanca Tuesday night on 6940 kHz AM, I immediately rushed outside to hook up my antenna, and started rolling.  I didn’t want to miss even one more minute (I came across Mark’s post about twenty minutes into the broadcast). Though regional storms produced some static pops and crashes, overall fidelity is decent. You will hear the filter and side-band sync being adjusted at times as I attempted to eliminate adjacent noises–which, in the end, are all a part of the listening experience.

Click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Either way, prepare to go (or at least, send your ears) back in time…

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Pirate Radio Station BOCHF (Boards of Canada HF) back on air

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QSL from BOCHF

QSL from BOCHF

Again this morning at 2:20 UTC–and last night, during a very active night of pirate radio activity–BOCHF crept onto the airwaves, this time on 6,920 kHz USB.

Yesterday, BOCHF played the Boards of Canada album Tomorrow’s Harvest; this morning, they played their album In a Beautiful Place Out in the Country.

And how did it sound?  Combining the music of the Boards of Canada with the sonic texture of the shortwave ether is a winning combination, in my opinion. Thanks, BOCHF!  But don’t take my word for it: take a listen yourself.

Click here to download the full broadcast as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

By the way, I recorded several other pirate stations last night–look for them in upcoming posts!

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Pirate Radio Recordings: BOCHF Radio (Boards of Canada HF)

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(Source: HF Underground)

(Source: HF Underground)

Just last night, I came across a new shortwave pirate radio station: BOCHF.

BOCHF started broadcasting around 23:10 UTC on 6,925 kHz USB, and after about a twenty-five minute set, took a five minute break, then returned with a  forty-two minute set, ending with an SSTV QSL. The signal, as you can hear below, is fairly strong, but interference was also strong at times; especially from SSB pescadores (fishermen) and the usual summer static crashes.

The entire mix consisted of Boards of Canada music from Tomorrow’s Harvest. There were no vocal ID’s, but there were messages in CW (Morse code) which clearly identifies this pirate as BOCHF.

The artists Boards of Canada have always had an affinity with shortwave radio, so I find a shortwave pirate station playing their music to be an appropriate tribute. Due to sound card problems, I was unable to decode the SSTV QSL, but thankfully a great copy was posted on HF Underground’s pirate radio forum (see above) by forum contributor, Chris Smolinski.

Click here to download MP3s of Part One and Part Two from the full broadcast last night or simply listen via the embedded audio players below:

BOCHF Part One:

BOCHF Part Two:

As I mentioned yesterday, Labor Day weekend is a great weekend to catch a few pirate stations on shortwave. Happy listening!

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A great weekend to catch some pirate radio action

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Most pirate radio stations will send you an electronic or paper QSL. This is one I received from All Along The Watchtower Radio. (Click to enlarge)

Most pirate radio stations will send you an electronic or paper QSL. This is one I received from All Along The Watchtower Radio. (Click to enlarge)

Monday, September 2nd, is Labor Day throughout most of North America; shortwave pirates love to operate on long holiday weekends (though you can hear them most any weekend for that matter).

So, if you’ve never heard a live pirate station on shortwave radio, this is a great opportunity to catch your first pirate!

Where to find pirate stations

In a nutshell: In North America, you can usually find pirate radio broadcasters in AM or upper side band (USB) between 6,920 – 6,970 kHz from early evening into the night. 6,925 kHz is one of the most popular frequencies. Pirates broadcast elsewhere–especially in Europe–but this is the best watering hole in North America.

Pirates transmit at much lower power than commercial broadcasters, so it takes a good ear and, sometimes, a little patience to hear them through the static.

Let us know if you hear any pirate stations this weekend! Weather permitting, I’ll be listening and even tweeting pirates/frequencies when I hear them. Also check the HF Underground forum for live pirate radio loggings.

Good luck and good listening!

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Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Free Whatever

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1924VintageTorontoLast night, I caught pirate radio station Radio Free Whatever; a new one for me.

Pirate radio listening has been difficult this summer between travels and thunderstorms, so I was happy to hear a carrier on 6,945 kHz AM, starting around 01:55 UTC.

Though a tad weak, with AM sync detection enabled, the signal to noise ratio tilted in my favor and made for pleasant listening through the turbulent summer ether.

Click here to download the entire broadcast of Radio Free Whatever, or simply listen via the embedded player below:


Standard Pirate Radio Disclaimer: This is a recording of a real pirate radio broadcast, and as such, may include colorful language. In general, if you are easily offended by the words, ideas, music lyrics, or music herein, you should slowly…back… away…

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