Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

Myke shares 2012 season of ShortWaveMusic

Myke, over at ShortWaveMusic, has made his entire 2012 season of ShortWaveMusic freely downloadable on SoundCloud.

This series was recorded from December 31, 2011 – January 16, 2012 throughout the West African country of Mali. The series contains some remarkable field recordings taken from both the shortwave and medium wave bands.

Note that Myke’s ShortWaveMusic series and travels are supported by Kickstarter donors. I don’t know where Myke’s travels will take him next year, but when the time comes we will post an announcement along with a link for supporters.

Now put on your headphones, close your eyes and you will be transported to Mali:

For full SoundCloud features, click here for the 2012 series on SoundCloud.

The Age National Times: Radio Australia may cut broadcasts to China/Indonesia

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Thanks to Richard Cuff for bringing this item to my attention:

(Source: The Age – National Times)

The ABC could soon abandon international shortwave radio broadcasts to China and Indonesia, ending more than 70 years of beaming news and current affairs on high frequency into Asia.

But the public broadcaster’s management insist it will not flick the switch on shortwave services of Radio Australia to Papua New Guinea and tiny Pacific nations for now.

ABC international chief Lynley Marshall said the older shortwave technology was still relevant in the Pacific, despite a drive to make mobile and internet devices the ”primary” way of delivering news.

Staff had grown increasingly alarmed in recent months that the shortwave service to the Pacific would be canned – including a popular Tok Pisin [a service we recently mentioned] to PNG – raising fears expats and locals would be vulnerable to dangerous news blackouts during natural disasters or regional strife.

Radio is the cheapest and most widespread source of news in poorer Pacific provinces. Most nations run only a 2G mobile network with little coverage outside capitals. When Prime Minister Julia Gillard visits Port Moresby on Thursday almost twice as many locals will hear news of the trip on radio than see it on television or read it in newspapers.[…]

Richard also posted this relevant comment in the SW Programs discussion list:

[…]I believe this would be the service more audible in Western Europe.

However the Pacific service – which is the service we’re more likely to hear in North America – appears to be safe for now, as mobile/Internet technologies aren’t adequate enough in that region.

Radio Australia has become my staple, reliable shortwave radio news and entertainment source. I certainly hope RA does not cut services in the same manner as RNW or RCI.

Radio Free Sarawak takes a break

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The clandestine station Radio Free Sarawak—who we most recently mentioned in connection with the Malaysian elections–has announced that they are going off the air. There is a note of finality in their announcement (below), yet they do leave some ambiguity by declaring, “We will be taking a break until further notice.”

[UPDATE: Radio Free Sarawak back on the air 12 August 2013]

Listen to their final broadcast (studio copy) embedded below:

(Source: Radio Free Sarawak)

While most PR supporters are still reeling from the results of the GE13 amidst widespread rigging that are essentially acts of treason, activists and ordinary people alike are not giving up on booting out the BN government The have set their sights on the 11th state election that will have to be conducted latest by early 2016.

Meanwhile, take a listen to the analysis of Dr Mohd Faisal Syam Abdol Hazis from the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak of the results in the state.

Last but not least, we hear the sadness, anger, frustration and nevertheless, determination of RFS and PR supporters to realise the dream of changing the government in the near future.

p/s Today’s show will be our last. We will be taking a break until further notice. Thank you for your support. It will be a memorable 18 months! We hope you had enjoyed the experience as much as we did.

Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Cinco De Mayo

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“What better way could we celebrate this day than listening to Radio Cinco De Mayo?”

Radio Cinco De Mayo made its annual broadcast on (you guessed it!) May 5th, 2013, starting around 00:17 UTC on 6925 kHz USB.

Early Saturday morning, the band’s condition sounded like that of summer, with atmospheric noises (a few static crashes, produced by local thunderstorms), but propagation was steady and the overall quality very respectable.

You can download an MP3 of the full recording by clicking here, or by listening via the embedded player below:

Check out Ragnar’s off-air recording of Radio Cinco De Mayo (and more!) on his PiratesWeek podcast.

UPDATE (May 08): Just received my Radio Cinco De Mayo QSL:

May and June test transmissions from PCJ Radio International

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pcj From May 19th until June 9th, 2013, PCJ Radio International will be conducting a number test transmissions from Trincomalee, Sri Lanka. Here are the details:

Dates: May 19, 26; June 2, 9th – 2013
Time: 1300 to 1400UTC
Frequency: 11,750 khz (25 meter band)
Target area: East and South East Asia
Power: 125 KW
Azimuth: 45 degrees

Use the PCJ contact page for reception reports, unless the broadcast specifies otherwise.

Jonathan explores the past and present of the Radio Netherlands Madagascar Relay Station

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Madagascar Transmission Towers (Source: Critical Distance)

Many thanks to former RNW Media Network host, Jonathan Marks, for sharing this insightful look at the Radio Netherlands Madagascar Relay Station—a must read!

Indeed, check out this article and many more on Jonathan’s Critical Distance Weblog.

If you were a fan of Media Network, you should also bookmark Jonathan’s Media Network Vintage Vault.

Shortwave Radio Recordings: The Mighty KBC

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The Art of Noise kicks off this Mighty KBC broadcast. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

The Mighty KBC broadcast again early this morning (from 00:00-02:00 UTC) on their new summer frequency of 9,925 kHz. Their signal from Nauen, Germany was packing 125 kW–it was amazingly strong into North America. As we’ve come to expect, the KBC’s Giant Jukebox of music has a lot of rock-n-roll and Euro-pop variety, spanning the decades; DJ, “Uncle Eric” knows how to entertain and spin the tunes!

You can listen to the full recording below in the embedded player, or simply right click this link and save the MP3 file to your computer:

You’ll notice that Kim Elliott has another installation of digital text modes in this broadcast. Decode these digital modes using Fldigi from www.w1hkj.com. Be sure to check out Dr. Elliott’s VOA Radiogram website for full details about this broadcast.