Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of a recent Radio Havana Cuba broadcast.
Carlos notes:
News bulletin from Rádio Habana, Cuba, on 11760 kHz, heard in Florianópolis, Brazil.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of a recent Voice of Vietnam broadcast.
Carlos’ goal is to vividly illustrate the broadcaster’s message in his own unique artistic style and is not a reflection of his own beliefs or those of the SWLing Post. His objective is for his artwork to add historical context and put a visual with the news, reporting, and broadcast content:
Carlos notes:
Voice of Vietnam (in Spanish) describing the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares this special dive into the world of radio both in and targeting the Korean peninsula. His report includes off-air recordings along with his own original artwork.
by Carlos Latuff, a special for the SWLing Post
The war that divided Korea in two began in 1950. A truce was signed by both sides in 1953, but a peace agreement never came to fruition. Therefore, North Korea and South Korea remain at war. And this war is not just happening on the ground, but also over the airwaves.
Every day, a battle for hearts and minds takes place on AM, FM and shortwave. Whether the DPRK broadcasts are directed to South Korea, or South Korean broadcasters (including clandestine ones) broadcast to the DPRK.
I bring here a small collection of radio listenings made between February 29th and March 17th, all of them happened in Porto Alegre, Brazil, using a XHDATA D-808 receiver, with long wire antenna (outdoor), except for Radio Free Asia, listened with a Toshiba TR 486 receiver, using a telescopic antenna (indoor). Translations from Korean to English were made using transcription and translation apps.
KBS World Radio was created in 1953, the year the truce was signed between the two warring Koreas, under the name “The Voice of Free Korea”, and today, as a public radio station, it broadcasts to several countries in different languages. Its programming includes news, music, variety, and of course, opposition to the DPRK government.
As part of the effort to promote “regime change” in the DPRK, the Seoul government, through its intelligence service, maintains clandestine radio stations (“Echo of Hope” and “Voice of the People”) whose role is basically broadcast 24 hours a day anti-Communist propaganda to North Korea, along South Korean and American pop music.
Created by the CIA in 1951, at the height of the Cold War and the conflict in Korea, Radio Free Asia has undergone changes throughout its history, but continues to be operated by the United States government and aims, in its own words, to “provide independent, uncensored and accurate local news” for countries like China, Vietnam and, of course, North Korea. Content directed at the DPRK follows the same principle as South Korean clandestine broadcasters: basically anti-Communist orientation, in order to achieve a “regime change”. The articles broadcasted on the radio are the same as those published on the Radio Free Asia’s website.
Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) Pyongyang is the DPRK’s domestic radio station, whose programming reaches North and South Korea, even being heard in Japan. News about the achievements of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, music and attacks on Seoul government, seen by Pyongyang as a puppet regime.
On October 14, 1945, the year Japan was defeated in World War II, KCBS Pyongyang and Voice of Korea were founded (domestic and international radio stations respectively). Voice of Korea broadcasts programming in several languages ??to the world via shortwave. The content is not much different from KCBS Pyongyang: achievements of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, attacks on Seoul government and the United States, and traditional/patriotic music.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Jamet, who writes:
Hi Thomas,
Near my home, there’s a small pond where shortwave reception is often very good…
Receiver: XHDATA SIHUADON R-108 with single telescopic antenna (No external antenna)
Recording with a smartphone placed close to the receiver, which explains the ambient noise, especially the wind noise in the microphone.
Here are two recordings:
1 – The Voice of Korea in English; at the end of the recording, the frequencies are announced. Note that the Voice of Korea broadcasts to Europe in English from 3 pm to 4 pm UTC on 12015 kHz … But I got the best reception on 12020 kHz; this is not due to a defect in the receiver. At the same time, I also received 5/5
2 – RFA (Radio Free Asia) in Tibetan from the island of Tinian precisely on 12125 kHz; Cf. attached file; very strong signal
[…]Voice of Korea is becoming commonplace, but what’s interesting is to be able to pick up these distant stations with a little 45€ receiver! I’m very happy with this little receiver for listening to shortwave.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Colegrove, who shares the following guest post:
Reviewed by Bob Colegrove
L87 Voice Recorder (Source: Amazon)
Whenever I read a radio product review, the author invariably says whether the device has a line-out port. This seems to say a lot about the importance attached to this feature by a great number of our fellow radio enthusiasts. Besides audio recording, the port can be used for computer processing of facsimile and teletype signals. For basic recording, it seems to boil down to three purposes:
There was a time before cassettes (BC) when I used a mini reel-to-reel tape deck to record radio broadcasts. This was not much bigger than a cigar box. It used 3-inch magnetic tape reels. There was no capstan. The take-up and supply reels rotated at constant speeds to provide tape motion for recording and rewinding. Thus, the tape would gradually accelerate past the heads as the diameter of the take-up reel increased. Consequently, a recorded tape did not travel at a constant speed and could only be played on the original recorder. I never used it much, and when it stopped working, I never bothered to replace it.
This winter I seem to be focused once again on medium wave DXing, and I began to think a recorder would be useful to help identify stations. I couldn’t get much of a consensus as to what recorders other hobbyists were using, so I went on the Internet to explore the market. Long story short, I wound up with an unbranded voice recorder. Neither the hardware nor the manual gives much of a clue as to who made it. The state of today’s small electronics market is replete with anonymous items. Anyway, the price was reasonable, and I have it.
There are probably a dozen or more equally capable recorders currently available, including those from Sony. So, this is not a model versus model comparison, but rather an enumeration of salient features of the Model L87 Voice Recorder and a conclusion as to its usefulness as an accessory for radio listening.
My recorder is marketed by Amazon [affiliate link] under the brand name of “G” (http://gtoptc.com/). It has 8 GB of system storage and 64 GB on a removable SD (TF) card. If you Google “L87 Voice Recorder” you will see that Amazon, Walmart, and eBay sell, what are by all appearances, identical recorders with greater or lesser system memory and different size SD cards. Some include an external microphone.
To say the voice recording industry has come a long way since my reel-to-reel experience is an understatement. Digital media, miniaturization, and functionality pretty much sum up the improvements.
This device is billed as a voice recorder. It is intended to be used in dictation or brought into a classroom, conference, or other meeting to gather an audible transcription of the proceedings. Attaching it to the line-out jack of a radio is not an application that is listed in the promotional literature. So, in selecting a device a radio enthusiast must be assured that line-in capability is available.
Also, there is a matter of compatibility. The L87 voice recorder works very well with the Eton Elite Executive, Tecsun PL-880, Sony ICF-SW7600GR and Grundig Satellit 800. The recorder was tested on a Sony ICF-2010 and did not work. Apparently, the 2010s were designed to operate with older recorders having high-impedance microphone inputs.
Being quite small, ergonomics is a consideration, and may take some practice. As I am right-handed, I unexpectedly realized that I grabbed this little device in my left hand, like a cell phone. That leaves my right hand free to press buttons, but I also tend to operate the controls with my left hand. Like many small travel radios, many buttons are dual purpose, and one must get used to short presses, long presses, and correct button sequences.
As an example of complexity, a change in volume requires a quick press of the VOL button, then repeated presses of the up/down buttons to arrive at the desired level. Fast forward and rewind are somewhat problematic. A short press of either button will quit the file you are listening to and queue up the preceding or next file, while a long press will incrementally rewind or fast forward the file you are listening to.
As it is marketed, this is a “voice recorder.” It provides a line-in capability, but you will have to supply your own stereo patch cord. Once programmed to line-in, you will not have to reset it when making follow-on recordings. Although it comes with an internal speaker, you can also swap out the patch cord with earphones for playback without changing any settings. Just to try it out, I used the built-in microphones to record a radio at normal volume. While the recording was acceptable, it was prone to any noise produced in the room or pressing recorder buttons.
L87 Buttons and Ports (Source: L87 Voice Recorder Instruction Manual)
Battery and storage capacity will not likely be a problem, as this device will continue to operate for many hours when properly prepared for use.
The device records in stereo, which likely doubles the file size for our purpose of generally needing only monaural recording. I have not found a way to change it. On the other hand, I recorded some classical music content from a local stereo FM station and connected the recorder to a nice set of shelf speakers for playback. The sound quality of the MP3 file at 128 kbps was excellent, at least to my ears.
The display is quite small, but very sharp and colorful showing essential information such as file name, time, file format, bit rate, and volume setting.
File management is neither intuitive nor very versatile. I could not find a way to create new folders or move files using the recorder. Connecting the recorder to the computer, I could create new folders which were recognized in the recorder’s folder function, but the display would indicate an incompatible format when I tried to save a new file to the computer-created folders. The recorder would however play prerecorded files transferred to the new folder by the computer. Lesson: just stick with the basic file functionality and save the manipulations for the computer.
The recorder comes with a USB-C cable which is used to recharge the battery and transfer files to or from a computer. Or, if the included SD card is used for storage, it can be removed and used on the computer for file transfer.
As a retired technical writer, I tend to be quite critical of user manuals that come with appliances and electronic gear. This one is only fair – no better or worse than most others I have come across recently. We’re not just talking picky grammar issues here. Some explanations are entirely missing, for example how to properly set the recorder input gain.
A few years ago, I used an open-source audio file processing program called Audacity to digitize our collection of vinyl and tapes. Such applications serve as a quick way to process or edit the recorder files, for example, trimming the files to a desired size or normalizing their amplitude.
In retrospect, there are some things I should have recorded off the radio back in the ‘60s and ‘70s. But the fact that I’ve enjoyed the radio hobby without a recorder all these years probably does not qualify it as essential equipment in my radio shack. Useful? Yes. If you are interested in recording from your radio, and are a frequent traveler, these recorders are convenient, requiring very little space in the bag. Because of its small size, hand dexterity and attentive thought processes must be developed to use it effectively. This recorder has amazing capability, is well constructed, and appears to work as intended.
The Model L87 Voice Recorder on Amazon.com (Note: This affiliate link supports the SWLing Post at no cost to you.)
Many thanks to SWLing Post and SRAA contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following guest post:
by Dan Greenall
Many of us can remember the many radio telephone stations that could be found outside the regular SWBC bands during the 1970’s and 80’s and even into the 1990’s. They often ran repeating “voice mirrors” to help the receiving station tune them in prior to handling actual traffic. Some of these also operated within the designated maritime (ship to shore) frequencies.
One such station was coastal radio VIS from Sydney, Australia and they could frequently be heard here in southern Ontario, Canada on both SSB or CW modes. I received their attractive QSL card for reception in 1972.
However, with the advent of satellite and internet communications, these type of stations began to disappear from the HF shortwave bands.
On Christmas day in 1998, I happened to tune into the attached repeating transmission. This station is presumed to be maritime radio VIS in Sydney, Australia on 13083 kHz. The recording was made at Thamesford, Ontario, Canada on December 25, 1998. The repeating message was “The number you have called is not in service. Please check the number you have dialed. If you require further assistance, please call 1225.” 1225 was the number for International Directory Assistance in Australia.
Audio:
Internet research indicates that VIS discontinued its CW service in 1999. I believe the station completely closed down in 2002.
Many thanks to SWLing Post and Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following post:
Midway Island Radio Terminal 1971 – digging up the pastIt was a brief “military style” transmission on approximately 14.85 MHz shortwave, logged sometime during 1971. And I still had a recording of it!
I wondered if there was any chance of confirming what exactly I had heard way back then, so I recently decided to try a little bit of detective work. My first contact was with Nick England, K4NYW, who runs a “hobby” website about U.S. Navy communications in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He was good enough to put me in contact with a Midway navy vet, Charles E. “Chuck” Kinzer, who writes:
“…it could be a “long count” test for one of the transmitters at the Naval Communication Unit transmitter site where I worked.
When I was there (1966-1968) they installed two log periodic fixed antennas, one pointing generally east (Washington DC) and the other generally west (toward Vietnam).
Each was connected to an AN/FRT-39 10 KW transmitter. And for the most part, always connected to the same two transmitters. (We had an antenna patch panel and could mix and match most any transmitter to most any antenna.) It is my understanding that they were used by the Security Group on Eastern Island (one of the two Midway Islands which are Sand and Eastern). They were set up for single sideband voice. (Most of the other AN/FRT-39s were set up for multiplexed TTY tones on both sidebands with suppressed carrier. 16 channels on each sideband.)
From time to time, they would tell us they wanted to do a “long count” and we would set the power level of one of the transmitters. As they did the count, we would set the power level of the peaks of the voice close to the maximum transmitter power. You could see the various meters flail up and down to near maximum along with the voice. This would be mainly the “PA Plate Current”, “PA Plate RF”, and PA Output” meters on the 10 KW final.
We couldn’t hear the voice, just see the meter activity. It would help if the person knew the frequency. If it was NOT an amateur radio frequency, it might have been one of those long count tests on one of those Navy transmitters. ….”over 50 years ago” sounds reasonable for that exercise. I assume the usage of that particular transmitter/antenna setup lasted to the end of the Vietnam war, at least.
Incidentally, when this was first set up, we had instructions to put X transmitter on Y antenna and so forth when they started testing the two new antennas. They would ask to do a “long count” test where we would set the power levels. Then shortly after they would start shouting into the microphone raising the power level too high and the transmitter would trip off. We asked them exactly what they were trying to do and, for secrecy I guess, they would not tell us. After a while, they figured out they were using the two antennas backwards. For example, they were trying to transmit east off the back side of the west facing antenna. These were VERY good antennas and very little power was wasted in the envelope going backwards.
I don’t know if this helps. Rather amazing that there is a recording existing like this. You never know what is going to pop out of the woodwork.”
Chuck later added that he might ask someone else for a little help. In the 1970’s, I used to own a guide to utility stations by Joerg Klingenfuss, that had lots of great frequency information, but sadly, I decided to part with it a number of years ago.
Please listen to the audio file of the transmission above from 1971, maybe some readers might weigh in with their thoughts on this? Please feel free to comment.