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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who writes:
Back in the 1980’s, KBS World Radio was known as Radio Korea, and they could be heard quite well at times here in eastern North America. Even with modest receiving equipment, their familiar interval signal, that included regular ID’s in English and Korean, made it fairly easy to spot.
The recording here (circa 1983) was made in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, using a Panasonic RF-3100 portable receiver and a long wire antenna. As a bonus, this station offered a variety of colorful QSL cards to its listeners.
Today, KBS World Radio from Seoul in the Republic of Korea continues to offer programs via shortwave in several languages including English. Transmitter power up to 250 kw is used so they should be audible in most parts of the world. “Sign on” is strikingly similar using the same interval signal with bi-lingual ID’s and opening music.
They also use some of the same frequencies, including 9570 and 15575 kHz, that they have broadcast on for decades. This recording was made using a remote SDR in Hong Kong on August 14, 2025 on 15575 kHz around 1300 hours UTC.
Radio Wewak (VL9CD), Wewak, Papua New Guinea[04:19]
Voice of Tarawa /Gilbert & Ellice IslandsBroadcasting Service (VTW2), Tarawa [07:35]
Radio CookIslands, Rarotonga, Cook Islands [12:36]
Radio Mauritania,Nouakchott, Mauritania [16:22]
Radio Andorra, Roc Des Anellettes, Andorra [18:01]
I’m wondering if any readers have a copy of this record and can share a photo of the jacket notes. I haven’t been able to find a clear image of the back cover online. I’m interested in finding out who produced the album—any information would be appreciated!
Xi Jinping: Speech at the Commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, CNR 1, 11925 kHz
“This was the ninth day this year that temperatures have reached 40 degrees Celsius or higher in Japan, breaking the record for the most days in a year.”
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who shares the following guest post:
Europe on shortwave in the 1970’s
by Dan Greenall
During the golden years of shortwave listening, many European countries had an international shortwave service and broadcast programs to North America (where I live) in English. As a result, these stations were usually among the first that a newcomer to the hobby would find. However, since there was no internet or e-mail, schedules often had to be found in the various club bulletins and hobby magazines. QSLs arrived through the postal system and could often take months to arrive.
I soon developed the habit of making a brief recording of each station as additional “proof of reception,” and many of these have survived to this day. These were typically made by placing the microphone directly in front of the speaker of my receiver. In recent years, they have been uploaded to the Internet Archive, and links to some of them from the early 1970s can be found here.
[Note that each title links to the Archive.org page where you can find more information and QSLs.]