Radio Free Sarawak takes a break

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RadioFreeSarawakThe 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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"Dad, what better way could we celebrate this day than listening to Radio Cinco De Mayo?"

“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:

radiocincodemayo 2013-2 qsl

DXtreme Software releases new versions

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Screen shot: DXtreme Station Log (Click to enlarge)

Screen shot: DXtreme Station Log (Click to enlarge)

Bob Raymond, NE1I, owner of DXtreme Software, has just informed me of the release of DXtreme Station Log, Version 10.0 ($89.95 US).

While the station log was designed with the amateur radio operator in mind, Bob also noted that his DXtreme Reception Log — Advanced Edition, was designed for the shortwave listener in mind (also $89.95 US).

If you use logging programs, you might want to check these out. Bob’s site also offers guided tours of both products. Click here for a PDF of the press release.

May and June test transmissions from PCJ Radio International

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pcjFrom 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)

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 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.

Pirate Radio Recordings: Shrimp Boat Radio, WSBR (a.k.a. Freakin’ Awesome Radio, WFAR)

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(Original source: Wikimedia Commons)

“No shrimp? No problem!” Pirates on board! (Original source: Wikimedia Commons)

“We’re shrimpin,’ but they’re not bitin’!”

Last night, a very unique pirate radio station emerged from the static on 6,925 kHz USB: Shrimp Boat Radio. It seems a shrimp boat radio pirate found himself bored on board, due to a lack of shrimp–but his boredom became our gain with an offer to talk shrimpin,’ fishin,’ or just take music requests…live.

This is the stuff great pirate radio is made of.  He started with a request for the Rolling Stones; next Black Cat Radio‘s Greaser Bob chimed in with a request for GNR.  And there began an evening of pirate radio with live on-air requests.

You can tell that this was a completely impromptu production–and it was all the better for it.  Not too long into the show, he took on the alternate name Freakin’ Awesome Radio (WFAR).

Hearing a live pirate radio request show was a first for me, and the sort of thing that gets this “content DXer” enthused. I’m glad I had the tape rolling!  I hope he reappears on the band in the future.

Note that I start the recording at the very first announcement from WSBR. If you want to skip to the first music request, fast-forward to about 11 minutes into the recording (you’ll miss some great banter, though). There are a few long breaks of static in the recording where this pirate scrambled to find and play music requests, but this just adds to the authenticity.

Click here to download the full recording of Shrimp Boat Radio, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Enjoy!