Category Archives: Recordings

Shortwave Radio Recordings: All India Radio

One of my favorite shortwave stations for music, besides ERT Open (former Voice of Greece), is All India Radio (AIR).

Since their broadcasts originate on the other side of the planet (from my North American location), their signal bounces off the ionosphere many times before I ever hear it. I actually like the result of this; the static of space makes their already beautiful music sound even more textured, enhancing the distance of its source, and heightening the music’s sense of mystery and nostalgia.

I recorded this AIR broadcast on August 14th, 2014–around 20:45 UTC–on 9,445 kHz. You can download the MP3 by clicking here, or simply listen in the embedded player below. Enjoy!

Field Recording with the Tecsun PL-380 and Transcend MP330

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SWLing Post reader, London Shortwave, shared photos of his portable recording kit on Twitter yesterday. It consists of a Tecsun PL-380, Transcend MP330, in ear headphones, and a simple clip-on antenna (supplied with the PL-380). He recorded Radio New Zealand International with this gear.

listen to ‘Radio New Zealand Int. received in London, UK’ on Audioboo

I love the compact form factor of the Transcend MP330–ideal for field recording. I’m curious if there are other high-capacity USB memory/recording sticks on the market.

The PL-380 is a superb ultralight radio; my favorite small travel radio, in fact. The PL-380 can be found for about $42 US shipped via Amazon; an impressive value.

Many thanks to London Shortwave for sharing images of his ultralight DXing & recording kit!

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Alcaravan Radio

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Alcaravan Radio’s antenna site and transmitter house.

Yesterday, August 8, I was able to record Alcaravan Radio out of Puerto Lleras, Columbia. Alcaravan Radio broadcasts domestically on medium wave and also on 5.91 MHZ shortwave, from 23:30-12:00 UTC.

Though typical summer conditions meant for a higher noise levels, Alcaravan’s 1 kW signal still punched through the static and made for pleasant listening. In this recording, I was using the WinRadio Excalibur, but I listened for a couple of hours on the Elad FDM-S2 as well–both did an equally good job while connected to my large sky loop antenna.

To be clear, 1 kW is low output power by international broadcasting standards. Alcaravan Radio was not audible on the Tecsun PL-660 nor the Sony ICF-SW7600GR, though I have heard them on portables in the past during the late fall and winter months. Still, you might be able to snag them on a portable when summer conditions are favorable!

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

Click here to view an Alcaravan Radio QSL and transmitter site images.

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio Santa Cruz

Shortwave Radio Recordings: The Mighty KBC

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Sunday at 00:00-02:00 UTC, I tuned to 9,925 kHz to listen to The Mighty KBC.

KBC’s signal was clean and blowtorch strength into North America. Though I used my WinRadio Excalibur to record the broadcast, I stepped outside with my recently acquired RadioShack DX-402 (above) and heard KBC as if were a local station.

As we’ve come to expect, The Mighty KBC’s Giant Jukebox of music has a lot of rock-n-roll and Euro-pop variety, spanning the decades.

This broadcast begins with a tribute to Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 which had a large number of passengers from the Netherlands, where The Mighty KBC is produced.

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