Category Archives: Recordings

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Voice of America, circa 1968

Many thanks to David Firth, who is kindly sharing shortwave radio recordings he made on reel-to-reel recording equipment in the late 1960s.

Firth is uncovering and digitizing these off air recordings as time allows and, thanks to his generosity, we will be posting these recordings on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.

The following is a recording of the Voice of America, which Firth recorded in 1968.

This seven minute recording will surely bring back memories with clips from VOA Jazz Hour (Willis Conover), the VOA Breakfast Show, and VOA Special English.

[Confession: the first time I heard this recording, the Willis Conover clip gave me chill bumps.]

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

Check out more recordings on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive, also check out David Firth’s channel on YouTube.

Want to know more about Willis Conover? Check out David Goren’s podcast for Jazz At Lincoln Center.

Radio New Zealand’s Peter Fry will take you on a musical journey

4 Replies

Peter Fry, host of Saturday Night on Radio New Zealand

If you’ve ever had the distinct pleasure of tuning to Radio New Zealand International when their musical request show, Saturday Night, is on the air, chances are that you’ve become, like I have, addicted to this show.

The show’s inimitable host, Peter Fry, has one of the best radio presences in the business. His warm personality and penchant for playing absolutely anything back-to-back will captivate you. You’ll hear songs and genres (including comedy skits) spanning the decades, and Fry offers his excellent commentary between sets.

What amazes me, too, (when I stop to think about it) is the relatively robust audio fidelity from RNZI’s shortwave signal here in eastern North America, especially considering that this broadcast originates in Rangitaiki, on the north island of New Zealand, and is powered by only 50 kilowatts, a modest signal by international broadcasting standards. RNZI’s signal crosses the Pacific at the speed of light–and at 6 watts per mile, by my calculations–delivers my Saturday Night as clearly as if it originated…well, locally.

The RNZI signal travels a full 8,249 miles (13,276 kilometers) to reach my home.

The RNZI signal travels a full 8,249 miles (13,276 kilometers) to reach my radio.

Yes, shortwave radio is magic. And so is Peter Fry’s show: Enjoy.

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

This broadcast was recorded on February 8, 2014 on 9,765 kHz, starting at 07:59 UTC.

Nothing on shortwave? I still disagree.

4 Replies

One of the most popular posts on the SWLing Post is one published nearly two years ago: “Is there anything to listen to on shortwave?“

In that article, I posted recordings made on the 31 meter band of eight different broadcasters, all of which I found within a 250 kHz chunk of bandwidth on a Friday afternoon.

On February 8th (this past Saturday), I recorded a 160 kHz chunk of spectrum on the 31 meter band with my WinRadio Excalibur, starting around 1:00 UTC and lasting for about 9 hours. I made this spectrum recording in attempt to capture the Voice of Korea on one of their three scheduled frequencies.

While VOK wasn’t audible enough to make a good recording, I did log the following stations all within this thin slice of radio spectrum (click on links for recordings):

Radio France International (9,790 kHz)
Radio New Zealand International (9,765 kHz)
BBC World Service
Voice of Iran
- Dari (9,740 kHz)
- Hebrew (9,755 kHz)
Afia Darfur (9,845 kHz)
Voice of Turkey (9,820 kHz)
NHK Radio Japan (9,770 kHz)
KBS World Service (9,805 kHz)
Though not logged, I also heard Radio Havana Cuba, China Radio International, WRMI, China National Radio, WWRC, Deutsche Welle, Voice of Korea (faint) and many others.

I’m guessing that I only logged 50% of what I heard as this list was put together from a quick scan through the recording. In fact, I’m systematically making recordings of each of these broadcasts, from the spectrum file, and adding them to the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. I may actually discover more stations in the process.

My point is, if you think there’s nothing to listen to on shortwave, you’re simply not listening!

Now back to my radio…

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Voice of Indonesia French language service

Listening to beHAVior Night on the Elecraft KX3 QRP transceiver

1 Reply

Last year, I reviewed the Elecraft KX3 transceiver as a fantastic radio to consider if you’re an amateur radio operator who also happens to love SWLing.

Tonight, I used my KX3 to tune in one of my favorite weekly programs: beHAVior Night, a shortwave radio show, relayed by WBCQ, which showcases music from the first four decades of the 20th Century.

What’s so pleasant about the KX3 is the robust AM audio it delivers, even though its AM filtering is limited to a maximum of 4.2 kHz in width. That’s a very narrow width, by SWLing standards, but the audio sounds wider.

Listen for yourself: click here to download a recording of beHAVior Night made with the Elecraft KX3 (via my Zoom H2N digital recorder) or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio Station of Macedonia (VOG)

1 Reply

For your listening pleasure: 1 hour 29 minutes of The Radio Station of Macedonia (formerly Voice of Greece). This broadcast was recorded on January 28, 2014 around 1:50 UTC on 9,420 kHz.

During much of the month of December (2013), the Avlis transmitter on 9,420 kHz was off line. Since its return, modulation (as you’ll here) is not quite as good as before. Still, the signal is strong and I’m happy it’s active, even though purely a relay of ERT 3, the Radio Station of Macedonia.

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

Shortwave Radio Recordings: beHAVior Night

2 Replies

For your listening pleasure: beHAVior Night, a shortwave radio show which showcases music from the first four decades of the 20th Century.

This show was recorded on Friday, January 17, 2014–last week. You can catch beHAVior Friday afternoon/evening at 17:00 EST/22:00 UTC on 7,490 kHz (WBCQ).

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

Check out beHAVior Night on Facebook by clicking here.