Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

June 2025 Schedule Updates: From the Isle of Music & Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot

Leave a reply

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Tilford, who shares the following update:

From the Isle of Music, June 2025

June’s program will be the first of several episodes featuring the best of Cubadisco 2025, Cuba’s most important discographic awards.

Friday, June 13:
6070 kHz at 1700 UTC
3955 kHz at 2100 UTC

Sunday, June 15:
9670 kHz at 1700 UTC using booster beam E to eastern Europe and Eurasia (repeat of June 13 episode).

Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, June 2025

June’s theme will be Bollywood vs. Lollywood, some of my favorite songs from India’s and Pakistan’s film industries (make music, not war, say I, and there will not be any losers in this episode) and will air as follows:

Friday, June 20:
6070 kHz at 1700 UTC
3955 at 2100 UTC

Sunday, June 22
9670 kHz at 1700 UTC using beam E (repeat of June 20 episode).

For those of you who were avoiding 3955 due to mixing product issues at the station, we have been informed that this has supposedly been fixed.

**In addition to direct radio reception, we do honor reception reports using remote SDRs as long as the whole program is described and which SDR is specified.

IRCA Reprints Index Adds More DXing Resources

3 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Nick Hall-Patch, who writes:

The International Radio Club’s Reprints list continues to expand, now approaching 1200 separate articles. The club has recently published an update to the Reprint index, at https://dxer.ca/images/stories/2025-DA/irca-reprint-index.pdf and at https://www.ircaonline.org/editor_upload/File/reprints/irca-reprint-index.pdf, so that everyone can get access to the latest addition to this resource.

The Reprints are from the back issues of IRCA’s DX Monitor, as well as from other valuable sources in the Medium Wave DXing hobby, and describe antennas, radio propagation, receivers, accessories, plus other technical topics, as well as many items of general interest to the DXer.

(if you’ve used the index before, you may need to refresh your browser page to see the latest update, dated June 2024)

You Can Help: BBC Seeks Archived Recordings of Antarctic Midwinter Broadcasts

Leave a reply

Halley VI Research Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica (Source: British Antarctic Survey)

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Richard Hollingham, Executive Producer of the BBC World Service Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast, who reached out with a special request to the SWLing community:

“It turns out that it’s now 70 years since the BBC partnered with the forerunner of the British Antarctic Survey to commence broadcasts, and we’re planning to include some archive in the podcast version of this year’s broadcast.”

Here’s the problem:

“Unfortunately, it turns out that the only recordings of the programme we—or the BBC—have are the ones that we have made [since about 2005]. Pre-2005 programmes have not been archived (tape was typically recycled).”

Richard is hoping that SWLing Post readers might have off-air recordings of the Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast from the 1970s, 80s, or 90s. If you’ve been collecting or archiving shortwave audio over the decades, please check your tapes, reels, or digital archives—you just might have a piece of lost radio history!

If you find a recording or think you may have something of interest, feel free to comment on this post and they’ll follow up with you directly.

Let’s help the BBC reconnect with this remarkable tradition and fill in the missing chapters!

Texas Radio Shortwave: Test Broadcasts for Europe on May 18 and 21, 2025

2 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Terry (N5RTC), who writes:

Texas Radio Shortwave Tests for Europe on May 18 and 21

On Sunday, May 18, and Wednesday, May 21, we’ll test to Europe over Shortwave Radio (shortwaveradio.de).

We want reports comparing the reception of the two frequencies each day and between Sunday and Wednesday, since the broadcasts are at different times. If you have time, note how Channel 292 is received on 3955 and 6070 kHz.

We’ll have a nice QSL for correct reception reports, and maybe some other goodies if you send a really detailed report.

Our email is [email protected].

73.

Terry N5RTC

We know our groceries daddy-oh

Leave a reply

Greetings to all SWLing Post community from the Imaginary Stations crew. This week we are dropping out from the normal world man and bringing you a show called From Beatles to Beatniks.

Don’t be a shortwave square, get yourself a radio or an SDR that picks up some of the shortwave spectrum. Spin that dial on Saturday 17th May 2025 at 1100 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and then again for Sunday 18th May 2025 at 0900/1300 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and at 2000 UTC on 3975 kHz and 6160 kHz (via the services of Shortwave Gold). You won’t be needing any bread for this transmission either, it’s all free via the ionosphere!

The experience won’t be dullsville, it’ll be a mop-top beatnik hootenanny. Expect some cool poetry read straight from a battered notebook, covers of the Fab Four’s greatest tunes and general beat madness.

On Wednesday 21st May 2025 via WRMI  at 0200 UTC we’re bringing you a retail relay station in the form of KMRT. In the words of our (aisle) controller, it’s “Your official shortwave supermarket station” and it truly is, loyal shopping fans! Tune in for blue light specials and tunes about shopping. There may be the odd refund, a reduction for something that looks a bit battered and bruised but remember our show is fully guaranteed to cheer you up (*normal T+Cs apply).

More on KMRT here:

For more information on all our shows, please write to [email protected] and check out our old shows at our Micoud page here.

FastRadioBurst 23

Dan Tunes into Tibet: “Hello Xizang” in English

3 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Greenall, who writes:

Many years ago, I used to enjoy listening to distant stations that broadcast a regular English language program to Eastern North America (where I live). They would generally have a newscast and commentary, which was often followed by a daily feature that would help a listener better understand what life was like in other parts of the world.

This type of programming is harder to find these days, but I was recently pleasantly surprised to find that the Tibet Autonomous Region of China (or Xizang in Chinese) has had a couple of daily broadcasts in English for some time. The programs are called “Hello Xizang”. According to their website, Hello Xizang “covers everything from social issues to traditional culture. It brings you news, stories and in-depth reports happening in Xizang. Check it out to gain an insight into modern Xizang and feel the pulse of contemporary Xizang.”

Hello Xizang is an hour long program in English between 0700 and 0800 UTC, and again from 1600 to 1700 UTC (most convenient time for me). A few frequencies to try are 4905, 4920, 6200 and 7255 kHz.

This schedule may not work too well for listeners in North America but quality reception can be had through the use of various SDR’s located closer to the transmitter site. I often use the Kiwi SDR of VE3HLS (Ken) who has retired in northern Thailand, from which I made the attached recording of their switch over from Tibetan to English programming:

Happy Listening!

Dan Greenall, Ontario, Canada