Category Archives: What’s On Shortwave

Shortwave Radio Recordings: All India Radio

"India (orthographic projection)" by Ssolbergj (talk) - Own work,This vector image was created with Inkscape.Aquarius.geomar.deThe map has been created with the Generic Mapping Tools: http://gmt.soest.hawaii.edu/ using one or more of these public domain datasets for the relief:ETOPO2 (topography/bathymetry): http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/global/global.htmlGLOBE (topography): http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/topo/gltiles.htmlSRTM (topography): http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/English | italiano | ?????????? | ??? | +/?Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License.. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:India_(orthographic_projection).svg#mediaviewer/File:India_(orthographic_projection).svg

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!

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Alcaravan Radio

casa trans. antena AM

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.

QSL cards: STF Radio International sets a benchmark

STF-Radio-International-Front-QSL-001

[STF Radio QSL card front (above) back (below). Original scans by Steve Yothment]

STF-Radio-International-Back-QSL-001

SWLing Post reader, Steve Yothment (WD0HGB), writes:

“I received an “audio QSL” card from STF Radio International a few days ago. Have you heard about it? [The QSL] actually has grooves on the card that you can play on a phonograph. I had a friend play the audio on his phonograph and he converted the audio to MP3 format. Then, I decoded the digital info in the file.”

Click here to download or listen below:

DigitalDecode-STFRadio

Steve decoded the digital data from the audio QSL card and documented the contents on a PDF document.  Click here to download.

Steve: this is brilliant!  Thank you not only for sharing the QSL card images, but for the audio and your excellent documentation of the digital decode!

Readers: What’s the most interesting QSL card you’ve ever received?

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio Santa Cruz

Bolivia

For your listening pleasure: twenty minutes of Radio Santa Cruz.

I recorded Radio Santa Cruz early this morning around 10:00 UTC on 6,135 kHz using my WinRadio Excalibur.

As you’ll hear in the recording, Radio Santa Cruz‘s 10 kW signal from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was very much audible here in North America–even punching through typical noisy summer band conditions (static crashes, etc.).

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

Shortwave Radio Recordings: The Mighty KBC

DX-402-KBC-2Sunday 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:

Pirate Radio Recordings: Generation Wild 100

RadioListeningFamilyFor your listening pleasure: one hour, eleven minutes of the pirate radio station, Generation Wild 100.

Generation Wild 100 started broadcasting around 2:00 UTC this morning on 6,925 kHz in the upper sideband. As you’ll hear in the recording, their signal here in eastern North America was very strong, even drowning out most of the ever-present summer static crashes.

I had never heard Generation Wild 100 before; this was a new pirate logging for me. After hearing their intro, I expected they’d play trance, techno, or punk rock…Not so. GW100 played a mix of, um, lounge music. I chuckled to hear their high-energy bumpers segue into smooth jazz.

Proves yet again that with pirates, you’ll never know what to expect. I love it!

Click here to download the full recording of Generation Wild 100, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

VOA and RFA via homemade radios in North Korea

FlagNorthKoreaMany thanks to SWLing Post reader, Anil, for sharing this article regarding the importance and inspiration radio provides to many North Koreans. This comes from our favorite North Korea independent news site, NK News.

Here’s a quote from the article from a North Korean defector known as “Park”:

“I have been listening to the North Korea Reform Radio and other outside radios since 13 years ago,” he said.

Using this homemade radio, Park could access VOA, RFA, NKRR, VOP, RFC and ONK over the past five years.

“Frankly, the ideological education in North Korea is so strong that many people including myself could not believe the content of the outside world radio,” he said of his first experience listening with the device. “I was once certain that this radio signal was sent by someone who was trying to deceive us.

“But this radio played strong role in motivating me to escape North Korea. My friends and I used to regularly listened to NKRR and other radio programs inside the underground hideout.

“Many told me to quit listening to those radio signals and start making money for myself, but with the help of this radio, I finally decided to escape the North.”

Read the full article, including a description and photos of Park’s homemade radio at NK News.

In addition, note that North Korea is the theme of this year’s San Fransisco Hackathon.

To follow other posts about North Korea, please note the tag: North Korea