Shortwave Radio Recordings: The Mighty KBC

This episode of The Giant Jukebox features one of my favorites from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

The Mighty KBC broadcast again early this morning (from 00:00-02:00 UTC) on 9,450 kHz. Their signal was quite strong into North America and there was very little interference of any sort. As we’ve come to expect, the KBC’s Giant Jukebox of music has a lot of rock-n-roll variety, spanning the decades.

And as I’ve mentioned before, perhaps what I love most about The Mighty KBC is their format; it harkens back to the day when my local radio stations had professional DJ’s behind the mic, people who loved music and loved their job. Thanks to Eric and The Mighty KBC for blasting the Giant Jukebox across the planet! I look forward to their broadcast every weekend.

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. At about 01:30 UTC, Olivia 8-2000 will be centered on 1500 Hertz, and PSKR125 centered on 2800 Hertz. At just before 02:00 UTC, images in MFSK32 will be at 1000 and 2000 Hertz, with another image in MFSK16 at 2600 Hertz.

Decode these digital modes using Fldigi from www.w1hkj.com.

Pirate Radio Recordings: Wolverine Radio

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“It’s time for some Wolverine Radio!”

Wolverine Radio was the strongest of the pirate radio stations I heard last night.

Wolverine was broadcasting on 6.935 MHz in the upper side band. Very good signal and excellent fidelity for SSB. Typical of Wolverine, lots of music variety and no commentary other than station ID throughout.

Wolverine Radio–at least each time I’ve heard them–sends an SSTV image at the end of the broadcast. Last night was no exception, though I had a difficult time decoding, and no time to tinker.

UPDATE: Thanks, Ragnar of Pirates Week, for both of the Wolverine images.

Ragnar decoded both SSTV graphics using using MMSTV in Scottie1 mode.

Click here to download an MP3 of Wolverine Radio’s broadcast, or stream via the embedded player below:

The Mighty KBC is moving the Giant Jukebox to 7.375 MHz, March 3rd

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Nauen Transmitter Station (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

The Mighty KBC is moving their regular Sunday (00:00 to 02:00 UTC) Giant Jukebox broadcast from 9,450 to 7,375 kHz on Sunday, March 3rd, 2013.

The new broadcast will come from Nauen, Germany, packing 125 kW. The KBC noted that they may move back to the 31 meter band for the summer period.

We will post updates when available.

Annual C.Crane sale on “orphan” radios

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I just received an email announcing a sale on C. Crane “orphan” products; customer returned products that C. Crane inspects and gives a full 60 day money-back guarantee and full 1 year warranty. This sale has almost become an annual one and offers great bargains.

I have purchased C.Crane orphan products in the past and have never been disappointed.

The Orphan Sale lasts until February 19th and includes both of their excellent shortwave radios (the CC-Radio SW for $119.95 and the CC-Radio SWP for $34.95). That’s a very low price for both—especially the CC-Radio SWP (check out our review here).

I’m very tempted to buy their CC Witness Plus ($119.95) simply so I can record medium wave with an all-in-one device. (It would be a dream machine if it could record shortwave as well.)

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Listen to Cuban Spy Numbers Station HM01

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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.

Three things you can do to honor World Radio Day 2013

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Children in South Sudan listen to their favorite shortwave program, VOA Special English. (Photo: ETOW partner, Project Education Sudan)

From my previous posts today you’ll already know it’s UNESCO World Radio Day–a day to celebrate the relevance of radio in the 21st century. Here are some ideas of how you can celebrate and make a difference with radio:

Send a shortwave radio, care of Ears To Our World. You can send one self-powered shortwave radio to a classroom or community in the third world for as little as a $40.
Sign the petition to keep RCI Sackville from being dismantled–Senator Hugh Segal is in the process of holding the CBC accountable for slashing RCI’s budget. Add your voice to support this cause.
If you’ve heard my recording for UNESCO regarding the relevance of radio, you may also like to visit World Radio Day’s webpage and listen to what others have to say about the relevance of shortwave radio. Share this page with your friends.

…Oh, and one more thing: you can turn on your radio, and listen. World Radio Day is a young international holiday, but I’m most encouraged to see how it is receiving increased media attention each year. This is a wonderful, meaningful hobby–and a worthy cause–so, enjoy!

Happy World Radio Day!

Cheers,
Thomas