Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Listen to Cuban Spy Numbers Station HM01

Numbers stations have always been a dark oddity that pop up from time-to-time in the course of shortwave radio listening. There is unquestionably an air of mystery and intrigue which surrounds them. With the release of the movie The Numbers Station, many non-SWLers may be enticed to explore the HF bands. A good thing, as it may draw fresh interest to this classic radio hobby.

I have heard numbers stations since I first started listening to shortwave radio broadcasts some thirty years ago, and I find that I often pause to listen (and to wonder) when I come across one on the bands. The numbers station I hear most often, though the country of origin cannot be confirmed, is in Cuba–well, at least, we’re pretty certain of that. The same female voice, reading numbers in Spanish, has been Cuba’s calling card in the spy numbers world for some time.

Two weeks ago, on a Sunday morning between 10:00-11:00 UTC, I captured the Cuban spy numbers station widely recognized as HM01 (Hybrid Mode Number 01) on 5,855 kHz. HM01 broadcasts a mixture of AM voice and digital file transfer modes intermixed within the same transmission. The voice heard is the familiar Spanish female voice described above; the digital portion of the broadcast uses a mode called RDFT, a differential phase shift keying mode that has never become popular or standard in the ham radio world. If you’re feeling adventurous, the Windows software DIGTRX (download here) can decode RDFT. Let us know what, if anything, you discover…

You can click here to download the entire HM01 broadcast as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Finally: Official trailer for the movie The Numbers Station with John Cusack and Malin Akerman

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The long-awaited trailer for the new movie, The Numbers Station:

We first mentioned the The Numbers Station in 2011, when it was still being filmed.

In this film, John Cusack’s character, Emerson, has been given the task of protecting Katherine (Malin Akerman), the operator of a shortwave numbers station that broadcasts encrypted messages to operatives. When the station is compromised in a surprise attack, they must work together to secure it and prevent distater.

According to the website The Digital Spy, The Numbers Station is scheduled for release in the US on April 26, though a UK release date has not yet been confirmed.

If you’re new to shortwave radio and wish to listen to numbers stations, follow the category Numbers Stations–we will post updates on the movie as well as several recordings of real numbers stations still in existence.

The relevance of shortwave radio for UNESCO’s World Radio Day 2013

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Student in Uganda tunes an Ears To Our World self-powered shortwave radio. (Photo: ETOW partner, The Empower Campaign, Uganda)

Wednesday, February 13th 2013 is World Radio Day. UNESCO describes World Radio Day as “a day to celebrate radio as a medium; to improve international cooperation between broadcasters; and to encourage major networks and community radio alike to promote access to information and freedom of expression over the airwaves.”

A worthy cause.

UNESCO asked me to record a segment about our non-profit, Ears To Our World, and the relevance of radio in honor of World Radio Day.

Here’s my (brief) contribution:

Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio GaGa

Radio Australia’s Jazz Notes

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Jazz Notes presenter, Ivan Lloyd (Photo: Radio Australia)

One Radio Australia music program I make a point of listening to each week– besides Saturday Night Country–is a wonderful show called Jazz Notes.

Jazz Notes showcases the best in Australian jazz, often featuring new and original recordings made in ABC’s studios. The show is hosted by Ivan Lloyd and has been offered on Radio Australia for several years. I listen to the show every Wednesday morning at 8:30 am EST. If you’ve never heard of Jazz Notes, I can understand why, since it’s only a 30 minute show and begins at the half hour–but it’s certainly worth hearing.

Next week, make a point to tune your shortwave radio to 5940, 9580 or 11945 kHz on Wednesday at 13:30 UTC. As you will hear in the following recording, listeners in North America will be most impressed by the strong signal out of Shepparton, Australia, on 9,580 kHz. Even an inexpensive portable receiver can pick up this robust broadcast.

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

Steven Roberts cycled the US with a Sony ICF-2010

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N4RVE working the world from BEHEMOTH, somewhere in Wisconsin. (Photo: Steven Roberts)

Steven (N4RVE) working the world from his bike BEHEMOTH, somewhere in Wisconsin. (Photo: S. Roberts)

One of the most fascinating responses I received after posting the story of my buddy Vlado’s incredible thrift store find (a Sony ICF-2010 for just $5) came from Steven Roberts, who told me that, in the 1980s, he cycled across the United States with the Sony ICF-2010 in tow.

Indeed, Steven carried much more than just the Sony on his memorable trip: he had a custom designed computer (circa late 80s), a fully-functioning ham radio station, as well as all of his camping and living supplies, mounted on his custom-designed recumbent bike…Wow.

Talk about someone with vision! I asked Steven if I could post this for SWLing Post readers, to which he replied:

Thanks! I have a pretty good summary of the whole crazy adventure at this link, and the bike is now in the Computer History Museum. Fast-Forward two decades, and I’m geeking-out a 44-foot steel sailboat (including a wrap-around rack console for audio, comms, and electronics lab). Here’s the bike: http://microship.com/resources/technomadic-tools.html

You’re most welcome, Steven–and many thanks, for the inspiring story! We look forward to hearing about your adventures on the water…

If you have a story you’d like to share, please contact me.

Wired: Listen to a Solar Flare Drown Out Radio Communications on Earth

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(Photo: NASA via Wired)

(Source: Wired)

Over the weekend, a tiny spot on the sun erupted into a moderately sized solar flare that was particularly loud in radio waves. With the sound of a roaring wave, it completely drowned out radio communication all over the Earth between 28 MHz and 21.1 MHz.

The recording [found on this page] comes from either a short wave radio station or a Ham radio transmission, said amateur radio astronomer Thomas Ashcraft, who works with NASA’s Radio JOVE project. It’s interesting to hear the voices get “swallowed up as the solar wave passes through,” he added in an e-mail to Wired.[…]

Read the full article on Wired.