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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.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares the following illustrated radio listening reports of recent Radio Nacional and Voice of Vietnam broadcasts.
Carlos notes:
Brazilian Supreme Court backs ankle monitor, social media ban for former president Bolsonaro
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.
Typhoon Wipha makes landfall in Southern China. CGTN Radio, 11770 kHz
Typhoon Wipha makes landfall in Southern China. CGTN Radio, 11770 kHz, listened in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on a Tecsun R-1012 receiver.
“…China’s Central Authorities are offering emergency relief supplies as typhoon Wipha makes landfall in Southern China. They include folding beds (…) for people who have to leave their homes. Guangdong and Hainan provinces are facing strong winds and heavy rain…”
Voice of Mongolia Transmitter Site (Photo by Mark Fahey)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who writes:
The Voice of Mongolia from Ulaanbaatar was always tough to hear from my location in southern Ontario, Canada. Relatively quiet conditions and a clear frequency eventually allowed me to make a recording of their interval signal and bilingual identification (presumed Mongolian and English) on November 1, 1998. This was on 12085 kHz at 1230 UTC. I was using a Panasonic RF-3100 portable receiver and a very long wire antenna.
Recording #1 November 1, 1998 1230 UTC 12085 kHz sign on in English (received in Ontario, Canada)
Today, reception of their programs still seem to be challenging, even with the use of remote SDR’s. Their schedule runs from 0900 to 1100 UTC on 12085 kHz, and again from 1300 to 1500 hours on 12015 kHz. Half hour English language segments begin at 0900 and 1430. Their distinctive interlude tune has remained the same through the years.
Recording #2 July 11, 2025 1300 UTC 12015 kHz sign on in Japanese (used Korean SDR)
Recording #3 July 12, 2025 1430 UTC 12015 kHz Chinese ending then sign on in English (used Korean SDR)
Typhoon No. 5 (Nari) has made landfall in Hokkaido: NHK+Japan Meteorological Agency (radiofax)
Typhoon No. 5 (Nari) has made landfall in Hokkaido, Japan. Part of NHK news bulletin (in Japanese), 11625kHz + radiofax (partial) from Japan Meteorological Agency.
