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This morning, I re-discovered a recording I made in the early morning hours of January 25, 2015 on 6,230 kHz SSB: the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s marine weather radio service.
This was actually a new station for me and, no doubt, decent DX (though I’m sure the broadcast is quite audible when conditions are favorable). While I prefer old-school recorded voice for shipping forecasts, this nonetheless has a catchy cadence.
Yesterday, my buddy Dan Robinson posted a tip on the Extreme Shortwave Listening Facebook page that Radio Bahrain was audible in the Eastern USA (note his video below). I quickly tuned to 9745 kHz and, sure enough–though weak–the Radio Bahrain signal could be heard over the noise floor. Radio Bahrain is not the easiest catch in my part of the world–especially with propagation conditions being less than favorable as of late–so I made a recording.
This recording was made on 9745 kHz starting at 23:15 UTC on March 15, 2015. I used my WinRadio Excalibur which was already on and connected to my horizontal delta loop antenna. Click here to download as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
The transmitter building of Radio Canada International, Sackville, NB.
I spent the summer of 2012 in an off-grid cabin on the eastern coast of Prince Edward Island, Canada. That summer, I listened as two of my favorite shortwave broadcasters left the air within weeks of each other: Radio Netherlands Worldwide and Radio Canada International.
Ironically, though I was only a geographic stone’s-throw from the RCI Sackville transmitter site, I struggled to hear any Sackville signals as my location was too close for skywave propagation and a little too far for ground wave. Though I paid a visit to the transmitter site only two days prior, I was unable to hear or record RCI’s final broadcast.
Unlike RNW’s final broadcasts, RCI’s ended without fanfare and quite abruptly. This week, I heard a recording of that final RCI broadcast for the first time. My friend, Rajdeep Das, recorded it on June 24, 2012 in Kolkata, India. Rajdeep has kindly shared his recording with the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive and here on the SWLing Post.
This is a short 10 minute recording, beginning at 1550 UTC, June 24, 2012 on 11,675 kHz. Listeners will note that the broadcast ends abruptly during the mailbag program–obviously the Sackville transmitters were turned off prematurely.
“I was quite pleased with the fidelity. Of course, the skirts on a regen are quite broad, even though the nose of the selectivity curve is fairly narrow. The signal was a bit lower in level and noisier at the beginning of the show but by the time it got to this segment, it was a nice strong signal. Sorry – no S-meter here, so that is the best I can do!”
Dave, thanks for sharing this video! Sproutie did a brilliant job tuning in a program from across the continent. I’m also most impressed with Sproutie’s audio. Amazing!
This recording was made on February 2, 2015 on 9395 kHz starting at 1800 UTC. Although Radio Poland formally left the shortwaves in 2013, their service is now relayed by Global 24 Radio.
[Update: Please note that this survey has been closed, but the audio samples–labeled Radio A and Radio B–will remain to allow others the opportunity to make an evaluation prior to reading the PL-680 review.]
The results from the PL-680/PL-660 reader surveys (here and here) have been pouring in! As of this posting, well over 200 readers have participated by listening to and evaluating the two receiver comparison surveys. Thank you!
Yesterday evening, I spent time comparing the Tecsun PL-660 and PL-680 with medium wave reception in mind. I recorded dozens of samples and picked four broadcast recordings I felt best represented receiver performance. Note that this will be my final survey before I post the PL-680 review later this week.
To participate in this survey, start by simply listening, then fill out the form that follows with your choice of “Best Radio” for each broadcast. All of these medium wave samples were recorded in the evening hours, which I believe is more indicative of receiver sensitivity, selectivity and AGC. Notice that I indicate distance to target station (as the crow flies).
Audio Samples
750 AM – WSB Atlanta, Georgia, USA (171 mi/275 km)
This morning, I re-discovered a recording I made in the early morning hours of January 25, 2015 on 6,230 kHz SSB: the Australian Bureau of Meteorology’s marine weather radio service.
