Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Sheldon Harvey, who shares the following:
The Canadian International DX Club, Canada’s national radio monitoring club, has prepared a special 10-page feature article “Focus on Ukraine”, providing dozens of links to information sources on the conflict in Ukraine, including a lot of radio information. The feature is available through our webpage at https://cidxclub.ca/ukraine/
You can also request a free sample copy of the CIDX monthly publication “Messenger”. Simply send an e-mail to sample (at) cidxclub (dot) ca
As a member of the CIDX, I encourage you to check out this information page and also grab a sample of the CIDX newsletter for free. Become a member for as little as $10/year. Lots of great info in the Messenger!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rafael Rodríguez R., who writes:
Greetings from Colombia!
In a Chinese film called “The Captain” (2019) or in its Spanish title “Terror in the Air” that recreates the situations experienced in 2018 by Sichuan Airlines flight 3U8633, when on their trip from Chongqing to Lhasa, they lost pressure due to a broken windshield on the passenger side.
In a scene where an aviation fan finds out about the situation of the plane, a Tecsun model S-2000 appears; which inherited the design and technology of the Grundig Satellit 750, and has also been produced under the Eton brand. It can be seen that the radio is tuned to the 11465 kHz frequency and although it is not a frequency assigned to air mobile traffic, it is very close to a range established for this purpose.
The film also shows what appear to be actual air traffic control centers in China and shows the deployment of airport emergency services in China under the administration of the CAAC.
A little error in the scene is that the radio does not have an external antenna connected, only the telescopic antenna is extended.
Thank you for sharing this, Rafael! Sounds like a great film, especially for us aviation geeks.
Radio Angela, WBCQ’s new music and entertainment service on 4790 kHz, retains the same
eastern us hours after the change to daylight savings time (the hours will be 10pm-Midnight EDT nightly), meaning that UTC will change to 0200-0400 UTC nightly beginning March 14 0200 UTC (March 13 10pm EDT). A schedule for the second half of March will be published Saturday.
Radio Angela can be heard in much of Europe with varying conditions depending upon location. In the Americas it can be heard well in Eastern and most of central North America as well as parts of Central and South America and the Caribbean.
From The Isle of Music and Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot are now broadcast exclusively on WBCQ & Radio Angela and follow the station’s practices regarding changing UTC rather than local hours. For the following week this means:
From the Isle of Music, March 13 & 19, 2022 (NEW UTC):
This week we enjoy a new release by Orquesta Maravilla de Florida, 70 y mas Maravilla, along with some of their earlier recordings.
The broadcasts take place:
1. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0000-0100 UTC on WBCQ, 7490 kHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9PM EST in the US).
If you don’t have a shortwave or are out of range, you can listen to a live stream from the WBCQ website here: http://splatterbox.us/wbcq1
2. For North America and Europe the following Sunday 0300-0400 UTC (11:00pm-12:00am Saturday) on the Radio Angela service of WBCQ, 4790 kHz from Monticello, ME, USA.
Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, March 13 & 19, 2022 (NEW UTC):
Episode 259 presents a brand new album by Tome Iliev, a Macedonian jazz and folk clarinetist working in Switzerland, titled Trinaiska. We also listen to some of his earlier recordings plus some recent music by Milan Zavkov.
The transmissions take place:
1.Sunday 2200-2300 UTC (6:00PM -7:00PM EST) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 kHz from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe
If you don’t have a shortwave or are out of range, you can listen to a live stream of 7490 kHz from the WBCQ website here: http://splatterbox.us/wbcq1
2.The Sunday that follows 0300-0400 UTC (Saturday 11:00pm-12:00am EST in the Americas) on WBCQ’s Radio Angela service to the Americas and Europe on 4790 kHz
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Vlad, who lives in Ukraine and shares the following video/recording of Ukraine’s state radio on 549 kHz. Vlad notes:
I recorded this for history where the announcer says that, “due to an air raid alert, the staff is in hiding and the live broadcast will continue after it ends.”
Click here to view on YouTube.
He adds:
On 549 kHz, the broadcast was discontinued and never resumed.
This is official web site of Ukrainian radio.
This transmitter is located near the war zone and we have no information about its damage or capture. The situation is changing every day. The enemy troops closest to me are about 30 kilometers away. Rockets and planes shoot down right above the city, but unfortunately, when they fall, they destroy houses and there are victims.
Vlad, we’re hoping you and all who are in Ukraine stay as safe and healthy as possible. I can only imagine what it must be like living through this horrible situation.
Thank you, sir, for taking the time to share this.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mangosman, for sharing the following press release from Radio Exterior de España. Please note that the original press release was in Spanish and can be viewed at RTVE Comunicación. What follows is a machine translation:
Radio Exterior de España transmits its programming on Short Wave from its broadcasting center in Noblejas (Toledo). Source: RTVE
Radio Exterior de España, the international channel of Radio Nacional de España, offers an open window to truthful information in times of war through Short Wave. The Russian attack on the Kiev communications tower has silenced several television channels. The Internet and social networks are easily controllable, and the telecommunications infrastructure that provides Internet service is highly vulnerable to attack.
True to its commitment to public service, the Short Wave broadcasts of Radio Exterior de España, in Spanish and Russian, are the only Spanish ones that can publicize the reality of the invasion, its repercussions, the testimonies and the demonstrations of solidarity to the Ukrainian population directly. They can be easily received with affordable receivers and you cannot control who is listening to them, unlike online radio broadcasts.
Radio Exterior de España transmits its programming on Short Wave from its broadcasting center in Noblejas (Toledo) to Ukraine and Russia, thus preventing any type of control or censorship by the Russian army. Any citizen from the war zone can access a proven, serious, truthful and honest source of information.
With broadcasts in English, French, Arabic, Portuguese, Sephardic and Russian, Radio Exterior de España offers its listeners the transmission of all the national and international events that arouse the interest of world public opinion regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine and its global consequences. A work that is enriched by the live testimony of the correspondents and special envoys of Radio Nacional de España to the conflict zone and its area of ??influence.
Radio Exterior de España’s short wave broadcasts for Ukraine and Russia are broadcast in Spanish from 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Spanish time (4:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. UTC) and in Russian from 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Spanish time (6:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. UTC time).
Photo: US Coast Guard
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post:
By Jock Elliott KB2GOM
Wandering the vast expanses of YouTube, I encountered an episode of “Coast Guard Alaska” on DangerTV’s Protecting Our Waters/Coast Guard Rescue Series playlist. One episode led to another, and before long, I was binge-watching the series.
Why? Because the courage, dedication and performance of the “Coasties” is just extraordinary. They dangle from hoist cables to pluck survivors from the water, injured sailors from the decks of ships, mariners from sinking vessels, and even incapacitated hikers from mountains. They medevac sick and injured men, women, and children out of remote Alaskan villages; provide medical support while flying them to higher levels of care, and intercept drug smugglers in southern waters. I stand in awe of these men and women. (And – woe is me – it turns out there are similar series for Coast Guard Pacific Northwest and Coast Guard Florida.)
So, I wondered, could I hear the US Coast Guard on the radio? The answer, it turns out is a mixed bag.
The U.S. Coast Guard ceased monitoring all High Frequency (HF) shortwave voice distress frequencies within the contiguous United States and Hawaii on 7 February 2022. HF voice distress watchkeeping continues unaffected in Alaska and Guam. See below for the Alaska and Guam USB frequencies.
| kHz SHIP STATION | kHz COAST STATION | Station and Schedule (UTC) NOJ (Kodiak AK) |
| 4125 | 4125 | 24 HRS |
| 6215 | 6215 | 24 HRS |
| 8291 | 8291 | 24 HRS |
| 12290 | 12290 |
| kHz SHIP STATION | kHz COAST STATION | Station and Schedule (UTC) Guam |
| 6215 | 6215 | 0900-2100Z |
| 12290 | 12290 | 2100-0900Z |
Note: 12290 kHz is available under NOJ upon request
Note: 16420 kHz is available at NOJ and Guam upon request
So, if you have a good radio capable of upper sideband (USB) reception, a decent antenna and your location and/or propagation favors you, you might have a shot at hearing USCG Alaska or Guam HF communications.
You have a much better chance of hearing the U.S. Coast Guard broadcasting National Weather Service high seas forecasts and storm warnings from six high seas communication stations. See table below for station locations and schedules. Transmission range depends on operating frequency, time of day and atmospheric conditions and can vary from only short distances to several thousand miles.
For example, I have heard a weather forecast from the US Coast Guard Communications Command in Chesapeake, including a forecast of tropical weather from the National Hurricane Center, on 4426 USB at my home in upstate New York.
Here are the schedules:
Chesapeake (NMN)
|
||||||
| 4426, 6501, 8764 kHz (USB) | 0330Z1 | 0515Z2 | 0930Z1 | |||
| 6501, 8764, 13089 kHz (USB) | 1115Z2 | 1530Z1 | 2130Z1 | 2315Z2 | ||
| 8764, 13089, 17314 kHz (USB) | 1715Z2 | |||||
| 1 Offshore Forecasts, hurricane information
2 High seas Forecast, hurricane information Broadcast of hurricane and other weather broadcasts from this station may on occasion be preempted, as the frequencies are shared with other USCG stations. |
||||||
New Orleans (NMG)
|
||||||||
| 4316, 8502, 12788 kHz (USB) | 0330Z1 | 0515Z2 | 0930Z1 | 1115Z2 | 1530Z1 | 1715Z2 | 2130Z1 | 2315Z2 |
| 1 Offshore Forecasts, hurricane information
2 Highseas Forecast, hurricane information Broadcast of hurricane and other weather broadcasts from this station may on occasion be preempted, as the transmitters are shared with the radiofax broadcast. |
||||||||
Pt. Reyes (NMC)
|
||||
| 4426, 8764, 13089 kHz (USB) | 0430Z | 1030Z | ||
| 8764, 13089, 17314 kHz (USB) | 1630Z | 2230Z | ||
| Broadcast of hurricane and other weather broadcasts from this station may on occasion be preempted, as the frequencies are shared with other USCG stations, and the transmitters are shared with the radiofax broadcast. | ||||
Kodiak (NOJ)
|
||
| 6501 kHz (USB) | 0203Z | 1645Z |
Honolulu (NMO)
|
||||
| 6501, 8764 kHz (USB) | 0600Z | 1200Z | ||
| 8764, 13089 kHz (USB) | 0005Z | 1800Z | ||
Guam (NRV)
|
||||
| 6501 kHz (USB) | 0930Z | 1530Z | ||
| 13089 kHz (USB) | 0330Z | 2130Z | ||
The other place in the radio spectrum where you might hear voice transmissions from the Coast Guard would be on the maritime VHF channels. Urgent marine navigational and weather information is broadcast over VHF channel 22A (157.1 MHz) from over 200 sites covering the coastal areas of the U.S., including the Great Lakes, major inland waterways, Puerto Rico, Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. Broadcasts are first announced over the distress, safety and calling channel 16 (156.8 MHz) before they are made. All ships in U.S. waters over 20m in length are required to monitor VHF channel 16, and must have radios capable of tuning to the VHF simplex channel 22A.
Although VHF signals are generally short range, here at El Rancho Elliott, I can clearly hear the announcement on channel 16 on a scanner and then I can switch to channel 22A to hear the broadcast, even though my location is at least 140 miles from the nearest large body of water. In addition, propagation sometimes opens up so that VHF signals can be heard at long distances.
