Category Archives: Radio History

Listening Rewind: Radio Australia rings in the millennium

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Source: Wikimedia CommonsYesterday–New Year’s Eve, 2014–I spent some time listening to a few broadcasters as the new year passed through their time zones. While I missed hearing Radio New Zealand International (the first to welcome the New Year on the air), I did manage to catch Radio Australia, and the New Year was celebrated with no fanfare; one program merely ran into the next, and there was a brief mention of 2014’s arrival in the headline news.

Oh, but it wasn’t that way when we moved into the year 2000…

Rewind 14 years

Back in December of 1999, before setting off to visit family for the New Year, I had a sudden notion: I decided it would be fun–and a bit novel–to record radio broadcasters as each moved into the new millennium. As we were packing the car to travel, I changed my mind about using my Grundig Yacht Boy 400 to accomplish this fairly ambitious, round-the-world listening/recording endeavor; instead, I grabbed my ham radio transceiver, an Icom IC-735, and packed it, along with a hefty 12-volt power supply. While my IC-735 lacked AM filters (at the time) it had much better sensitivity than the YB400, especially when hooked up to a decent antenna. I also had the foresight to take along a few odds and ends, including a mechanical antenna tuner and a spool of long wire.

The Icom IC-735

The Icom IC-735

To record the broadcast, I used my trusty Aiwa AM F70 MiniDisk recorder–remember those? Upon arrival at our extended family’s home, they kindly permitted me to erect a long wire antenna in a sloping configuration in their yard. It did a fine job netting the airwaves. The MiniDisk recorder recorded brilliantly, allowing me to monitor levels and even edit afterward.

As a result, I spent New Year’s Eve 2000 recording station after station as the earth turned.  It was great fun, and meanwhile had very little impact on our family celebrations as I simply left the recorder running for long periods of time.

My trusty Aiwa

My trusty Aiwa AM F70 MiniDisk recorder.

While I have yet to dissect the many hours of recordings, if memory serves, I think I managed to record Radio New Zealand International, Voice of Russia, Radio France International, NHK, Voice of America, and Radio Canada International as each rang in 2000. The IC-735 performed quite well, save a lack of bandwidth filters, as I only really had two–very wide, and very narrow.

So, for your New Year’s Day listening pleasure:  I hope you’ll enjoy, as much as I did,  listening to Radio Australia ring in the new millennium yet again. In the news items, you’ll hear that Russian President Boris Yeltson has handed the reigns over to Vladimir Putin, and remarks about the (lack of) problems resulting from the infamous Y2K threat.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen below:

WG2XFQ: Brian Justin’s holiday longwave broadcasts

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Reginald Fessenden: "The Father of Radio Broadcasting" (Source: Wikipedia)

Reginald Fessenden: “The Father of Radio Broadcasting” (Source: Wikipedia)

SWLing Post reader, Tom, recently shared a link to an article on the ARRL news page which describes this annual longwave broadcast:

“As he has over the past several years, Brian Justin, WA1ZMS/4 — an active participant in the ARRL’s WD2XSH 600 meter experimental project — will transmit voice and music on 486 kHz as WG2XFQ on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and again on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Transmissions will begin at 0001 UTC and end at 2359 UTC.

Justin, who may be better known for his microwave exploits on ham radio, will use an AM audio loop modulating his vintage-style, homebrew transmitter to honor Reginald Fessenden’s Christmas Even 1906 AM voice transmission.”

Since I’m a sucker for radio history, I contacted Brian Justin and he kindly answered a few questions:

Brian Justin with his homebrew transmitter (Source: http://w4dex.com/500khz/wd2xsh31.htm)

Brian Justin with his homebrew transmitter (Source: w4dex.com)

SWLing: How did you first become interested in longwave (LW)?
Justin: Always had an interest in history of radio since becoming a ham at age 11. Early wireless had emphasis on LW and so it was a good trail to follow in my years as a ham.

SWLing: Is the process of getting a license to broadcast complicated?
Justin: Yes and No. What I hold is not a broadcast license as a TV or FM or AM station would have. I hold an FCC Part 5 license which is for The Experimental Radio Service. The LW and MF spectrum is formally US Govt spectrum that is managed by the NTIA (the US Govt Agency version of the FCC). So before the FCC can issue any license that is in non-FCC regulated bands the NTIA must first approve any license Grant. A good number of people who are involved in radio today don’t always understand the difference between FCC and NTIA spectrum. But licenses can be granted if you have the willingness to wait and know how the application process works. It’s not all that difficult once you know the context of what one is asking for.

SWLing: What is the best time to listen for WG2XFQ and how can listeners improve their chances of hearing you?
Justin: The transmissions are only a few times each year to mark historical dates in radio history. I try to make at least two each year, one for Fessenden and one for the Berlin Radio Treaty. I also ran one on the 100th Aniv of the sinking of the Titanic since wireless played a big role in the tragic event.

A loop antenna is a good antenna to try as one can at least null any loud noise source. But simple E-field probe antennas have worked for many in years past.

Anyone who copies WG2XFQ is encouraged to submit a logging of it at 500kc.com.

Thank you and good DX to all this Holiday Season. I hope I can deliver a tiny DX gift to all if the band is in good condition this year.

Many thanks, Brian!

I will be listening for WG2XFQ on 486 kHz on December 24th and 25th, then again on December 31st and January 1st. With any luck, and if conditions are favorable, perhaps I’ll hear a little longwave DX commemorating Reginald Fessenden’s Christmas Even 1906 AM voice transmission.

Readers, be sure to check out Brian Justin’s web page and the ARRL 600 meter experimental group’s website. Please log your WG2XFQ listener reports at: 500KC.com

If you would like to learn more about Reginald Fessenden, check out Fessenden.ca.

Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Free Whatever, Pearl Harbor Tribute

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960px-USS_SHAW_exploding_Pearl_Harbor_Nara_80-G-16871_2

For your listening pleasure: one hour, seven minutes of the pirate radio station, Radio Free Whatever.

I recorded this broadcast on December 15 2013, starting around 2:40 UTC, on 6,925 kHz AM. This broadcast was a tribute to WWII and Pearl Harbor and contains news clips and music from the same time period. I believe my recording begins about five or so minutes into their broadcast.

Simply click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or listen via the embedded player below:

Shortwave Radio Recordings: beHAVior Night

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Sir Scratchy (Source: Facebook)

Sir Scratchy (Source: Facebook)

For your listening pleasure: beHAVior Night, a shortwave radio show, relayed by WBCQ, dedicated to showcasing music from the first four decades of the 20th Century.

If you’re as nostalgic as I am, you’ll love the sonic combination of early records with the shortwave ether hosted by the inimitable “Sir Scratchy.” Relax, close your eyes, and indulge in a little radio time travel…

You can tune in beHAVior Night on Fridays at 17:00 EST or 22:00 UTC on 7,490 kHZ.

Though I could not find an official website for beHAVior Night, I would encourage you to “like” both Sir Scratchy and the beHAVior Night Facebook pages where show updates are often posted.

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

If you like listening to early 20th century music via shortwave, you should also check out Marion’s Attic and the occasional pirate radio station, Radio Casablanca.

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Voice of Korea

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SWRAA-Shortwave-Archive-iTunes-LogoLast week, we posted the following recording on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive; our website and podcast of current and historic shortwave radio recordings.

Indeed, our podcast is absolutely free and by subscribing (via iTunes or RSS feed), you can also help preserve these recordings. Read about the archive by clicking here.

Though I post recordings on the SWLing Post, we post many more on the shortwave archive as many of our recordings are sent in by contributors (like you!).

Pyongyang Metro Station (Original: Wikimedia Commons)

Pyongyang Metro Station (Original: Wikimedia Commons)

Indeed, I owe thanks to SWRAA contributor, Frank, for this recording of the Voice of Korea‘s English language service.

Frank recorded this broadcast from his home in Europe on November 13, 2013, on 11,645 kHz, starting at 16:00 UTC. Frank used a Kenwood R-5000 receiver and a Wellbrook ALA 1530+ antenna.

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

BBC Radio 4 Documentary: The World’s First Radio Station

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The concert room of Telefon Hírmondó (1901) Source: Wikimedia Commons

The concert room of Telefon Hírmondó (1901) Source: Wikimedia Commons

We’ve mentioned this 19th century broadcasting technology before; the “telephone newspaper.” If, like me, you found the technology fascinating, you’ll certainly love this BBC Radio 4 documentary The World’s First Radio Station.

Here is the description from BBC Radio 4:

We often think of the scheduled broadcasting of news, information and entertainment as having begun in the 1920s. But we’re wrong. It was in 1893 in Budapest that Theodore Puskas opened his Telefon Hirmondo or ‘Telephone Newspaper’.

Subscribers to this telephone service could enjoy a daily timetable of foreign, national and local news, sport, weather, fashion, stock market reports, language lessons, music, theatre and much more. It was delivered by a team of journalists, copy-writers, editors, announcers and engineers which would be familiar to any radio station today. To our ears, Telefon Hirmondo would have sounded uncannily modern. For example, there would be live relays of church services, theatre productions, concerts and opera performances and reports direct from parliament and sports events.

Laurie Taylor travels to Budapest to uncover this extraordinary story of ‘radio before radio’. He visits a special exhibition at the city’s postal museum and takes a look inside Hungarian State Opera, whose performances were broadcast live via Telefon Hirmondo from the 1890s.

Laurie explores the lengths to which Telefon Hirmondo went to market its product, hooking in not just domestic subscribers but hotels, restaurants, clubs, dental surgeries and barber shops. He also delves into the telephone’s early history to explain the confusion on both sides of the Atlantic over what the device was best used for.

How did Hungary come to lead the world in broadcasting, rather than the USA, Britain or France? The genius of Theodore Puskas is a large part of the explanation. Among the contributors, we hear from his descendant, Barbara Fally-Puskas.

Producer: Andrew Green
An Andrew Green production for BBC Radio 4.

Note that the documentary, produced by Andrew Green, will only be available online until Friday November 15, 2013. Click here to listen on the Radio 4 website.