Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Tom Gavaras, shared this studio recording of Radio Moscow from January 1, 1980. We posted this recording on the SRAA, but I also wanted to share it here as I’m sure there are readers who might have even heard this show over shortwave live back in the day.
I’m certain anyone familiar with Radio Moscow during the Cold War also remembers the voice of Joe Adamov. Enjoy:
Thank you for sharing this recording, Tom!
Happy New Year!
Image Source: CBC/Google Earth
(Source: CBC Yukon)
From Yukon to Finland: CBC’s radio signal heard from afar
Host Elyn Jones heard saying ‘this is Yukon Morning,’ about 7,000 kilometres away
A keen listener has managed to hear CBC Yukon’s radio broadcast from about 7,000 kilometres away.
Jorma Mäntylä lives in Kangasala, Finland.
On Oct.15 he was scanning the airwaves and came across the signal from Dawson City, Yukon, broadcasting CBC’s Yukon Morning show.
The signal lasted about an hour.
“It was clear to hear your Yukon Morning program led by a female journalist and the morning news,” he said.
The host that day was Elyn Jones in Whitehorse.
Upon hearing the signal Mäntylä sent an email with an attached audio clip asking for confirmation.
CBC Yukon wrote him back to confirm what he’d heard. We also scheduled an interview by videoconference to speak about his hobby.
No ordinary radio
Mäntylä doesn’t have an ordinary radio. He’s part of the Suomen Radioamatööriliitto, the Finnish Amateur Radio League.
He started listening to signals in 1967.
He uses custom-built equipment to scan for shortwave and AM radio signals.
Sometimes it takes a while, through the crackle, to determine the language being spoken and from where the signal is broadcasting.
The game is to discover new stations, identify them, and then send an email to confirm the reception.
“I very often listen to foreign radio stations. That has been my hobby for 50 years,” he said. ‘It’s given me interesting moments learning about other cultures and nations,”
Hearing a signal from Yukon is rare. Mäntylä says on Oct. 15 he also heard broadcasts from radio stations in Anchorage and Fairbanks, Alaska.
Kandersteg, Switzerland (Photo by Matt Foster)
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who shares the following note from SwissInfo.ch:
Since you’re no doubt wondering what Christmas sounds like in Switzerland’s four national languages, we’ve dusted off an old radio interview, produced in 1975 by the Swiss Short-wave Service, later Swiss Radio International and ultimately SWI swissinfo.ch:
Thanks for sharing this bit of radio nostalgia, David!
Both Radio Channel 292 and WBCQ The Planet will have New Year’s Eve specials organized by Bill Tilford (aka Uncle Bill) featuring multiple programs:
1. On December 31, Radio Channel 292 will present a 2-hour special, Neujahrsgrüsse von Radio Channel 292 featuring segments from nine different music programs with classical, jazz, rock, Cuban and volksmusik from 2300-0100 UTC on 3955 (10kw), 6070 (100kw from Moosbrunn) and 9670 (10kw) hHz. It will repeat on all three frequencies at 10kw from 0900-1100 UTC on January 1. Time for the 10kw transmissions was donated by the station.
The broadcast at 2300 will use a directional beam towards Central and South America on 9670 kHz and might also be listenable on parts of the east coast of North America depending upon propagation.
2. On December 31 from 11pm-12am EST (0400-0500 UTC January 1), WBCQ presents Escape From 2020! with a short play from Tom Call Theater and music from Marion’s Attic, The Lumpy Gravy Radio Show, From The Isle of Music and Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot. Airtime is donated by Allan and Angela Weiner.
6160 has penetrated deep into Europe in some previous nighttime transmissions from WBCQ
From the Isle of Music, January 3-9:
This week, our first episode of 2021, we present experimental music from 1980 by Arte Vivo.
The broadcasts take place:
1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100Kw, Sunday 1500-1600 UTC on SpaceLine, 9400 KHz, from Sofia, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK)
2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0100-0200 on WBCQ, 7490 kHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9PM EST in the US).
3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UTC and Saturday 1300-1400 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 kHz from Rohrbach, Germany.
Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/fromtheisleofmusic/
Our V-Kontakte page is https://vk.com/fromtheisleofmusic
Our Patreon page is https://www.patreon.com/tilford
Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot,January 3-9:
In episode 198, our first episode of 2021, we enjoy traditional and modern music from Laos.
The transmissions take place:
1.Sunday 2300-0000 (6:00PM -7:00PM EST) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 kHz from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe
2. Tuesday 2000-2100 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 kHz from Rohrbach, Germany for Europe.
3. Saturday 0800-0900 UTC on Channel 292, 9670 kHz from Rohrbach, Germany for Europe.
Our Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/UncleBillsMeltingPot/
Our V-Kontakte page is https://vk.com/fromtheisleofmusic
Our Patreon page is https://www.patreon.com/tilford
Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Paul, Dennis Dura, Wilbur Forcier, and the Southgate ARC for the following tips:
A century ago, the age of radio began in Germany. Cultural broadcasts made radio popular before the Nazis appropriated it for their propaganda.
On December 22, 1920, the first radio broadcast in Germany hit the airwaves. “Attention, attention — this is Königs Wusterhausen on radio wave 2700.” This was how a Christmas concert by the employees of the German Reichspost was announced. Featuring a clarinet, reed organ, string instruments and piano, they played in the broadcasting building of the city of Königs Wusterhausen.
Modest sound quality
Transmission quality was poor: static and crackling accompanied the musical performance. Only official agents of the German Reichspost could listen to this transmission since in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles, private citizens in Germany were forbidden from listening to radio signals.
Society on the move
Nonetheless, radio in Germany was born. Society at the time of the Weimar Republic was in transition. Painters were no longer merely depicting the natural worlds — Cubism, Dadaism and abstract art were unearthing new dimensions of the imagination that had no direct reference to reality. Musicians and composers were creating hitherto unheard-of sounds with jazz and twelve-tone techniques joining familiar rhythms and keys. Writers and poets were creating parallel plots and stories. Consumer products were being mass-produced. Aviation was connecting people over thousands of kilometers — and radio was booming.
The first official radio entertainment program in Germany was broadcast on October 29, 1923. The Allies had by then lifted the ban on listening to radio waves. The fact that we even have an acoustic record of it today is due to a coincidence: a few months after it was broadcast, the program was re-enacted and preserved on disc.
Broadcasting with a mission
Meanwhile, inflation was soaring in Germany. Poverty and misery were rampant, especially in the big cities. “Radio was welcomed in Germany like a liberating miracle, especially at a time of intense emotional and economic hardship,” Hans Bredow, considered the “father” of German radio, said at the time.
Like many radio pioneers of the Weimar years, Bredow had lofty ambitions to widen national perspectives in his position as Radio Commissioner to the German Reich’s Postal Minister. This new technology was to signal an end to the age of ignorance and prejudice.
In December 1923, there were a total of 467 listeners. One year later, there were already one million listeners within the Reich’s entire territory. And in 1932, there were more than four million paying radio subscribers — and at least as many non-paying listeners. The daily broadcasting time also increased steadily. In 1923, it was 60 minutes; by 1932, there were already 15 hours of radio programs every day.
Entertainment for the masses
It was the new possibilities of simultaneous acoustic reporting that captivated the “Radioten, ” a derogatory term that was used for radio lovers at the time. An extraordinary media event at that time, the radio achieved its exciting effect through its immediacy and “live” character. And it gave birth to a genre unknown until then: the radio play.
Meanwhile, heated debates abounded about the negative effects of radio on listeners, culture and politics. Many intellectuals and artists distanced themselves from the new medium. Among them was the Austrian composer Arnold Schönberg. “Broadcast media caters to the majority. At any time of the day or night, people are served a feast for the ears without which they apparently can no longer live today. I assert the right of the minority against this delirium for entertainment: one must also be able to broadcast what is necessary, and not only the trivial.”[Continue reading full story at DW…]
The International Space Station cost more than $100 billion. A ham radio set can be had for a few hundred bucks.
Perhaps that explains, in part, the appeal of having one of humankind’s greatest scientific inventions communicate with Earth via technology that’s more than 100 years old. But perhaps there’s a simpler explanation for why astronauts and ham radio operators have been talking, and talking, for years.
NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock was just a few weeks into his six-month mission at the space station when feelings of isolation began to set in.
Wheelock would be separated from loved ones, save for communication via an internet phone, email or social media. At times, the stress and tension of serving as the station’s commander could be intense.
One night, as he looked out a window at the Earth below, he remembered the space station’s ham radio. He figured he’d turn it on—see if anyone was listening.
“Any station, any station, this is the International Space Station,” Wheelock said.
A flood of voices jumbled out of the airwaves.
Astronauts aboard the space station often speak to students via ham radio, which can also be used in emergencies, but those are scheduled appearances. Some, like Wheelock, spend their limited free time making contact with amateur radio operators around the world.
“It allowed me to … just reach out to humanity down there,” said Wheelock, who interacted with many operators, known as “hams,” during that stay at the space station in 2010. “It became my emotional, and a really visceral, connection to the planet.”
The first amateur radio transmission from space dates to 1983, when astronaut Owen Garriott took to the airwaves from the Space Shuttle Columbia. Garriott was a licensed ham who, back on Earth, had used his home equipment in Houston to chat with his father in Oklahoma.
Garriott and fellow astronaut Tony England pushed NASA to allow amateur radio equipment aboard shuttle flights.
“We thought it would be a good encouragement for young people to get interested in science and engineering if they could experience this,” said England, who was the second astronaut to use ham radio in space.[…]
The International Space Station cost more than $100 billion. A ham radio set can be had for a few hundred bucks.
Perhaps that explains, in part, the appeal of having one of humankind’s greatest scientific inventions communicate with Earth via technology that’s more than 100 years old. But perhaps there’s a simpler explanation for why astronauts and ham radio operators have been talking, and talking, for years.
NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock was just a few weeks into his six-month mission at the space station when feelings of isolation began to set in.
Wheelock would be separated from loved ones, save for communication via an internet phone, email or social media. At times, the stress and tension of serving as the station’s commander could be intense.
One night, as he looked out a window at the Earth below, he remembered the space station’s ham radio. He figured he’d turn it on — see if anyone was listening.
“Any station, any station, this is the International Space Station,” Wheelock said.
A flood of voices jumbled out of the airwaves.
Astronauts aboard the space station often speak to students via ham radio, which can also be used in emergencies, but those are scheduled appearances. Some, like Wheelock, spend their limited free time making contact with amateur radio operators around the world.[…]
Belgian amateurs activate the following special event callsigns to remind everyone of Covid-19 restrictions and express gratefulness to medical personnel:
OS2HOPE, OT5ALIVE, OT4CARE, OR20STAYHOME, OT6SAFE, OP19MSF, OQ5BECLEVER, OR6LIFE, OO4UZLEUVEN and OT2CARE.Due to the recent stricter COVID-19 measures, many radio amateurs will be forced to spend most of the following weeks at home again. Many are obliged to telework. Teleworking is definitely becoming the new standard for several employees. COVID-19 has accelerated teleworking for almost all companies.
At the request of the Royal Union of Belgian Radio Amateurs (UBA), the BIPT has decided to once again grant permission to apply for customised special call signs. The exceptional conditions apply to special call signs with an encouraging meaning.
These appropriate special call signs may be used at the home address of radio amateurs. The conditions are the same as during the first lockdown in spring.
Radio amateurs are allowed to re-request the special call sign obtained during the first lockdown.Operation until January 31, 2021.
For QSL information see QRZ.com
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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Sorin, who writes:
Hello Thomas,
I’ve read with interest your blog and inputs about the XHDATA radio.
Now since yesterday I own such a radio, and I’ve noticed it has aspects that are superbly resolved, but I miss a complete Instruction Manual. The pdf you have there (the same as the printed one that came with my radio) isn’t describing some matters, I will highlight just those I’ve confronted:– How do you set the local time? The manual stops at saying how to switch from Automatic (I guess from the unreliable RDS clock) to Manual. What buttons are to be pressed further to set the time ?
– How do you save radio stations beyond the 10 pcs on Page 00? Ho do you go further from Page 00 to some other ? Pressing further the Page button doesn’t change anything.
– How do you call saved stations from other pages that Page 00?
best regards,
Sorin
Thank you for your question, Sorin. I’m letting a friend borrow my D-808 so, unfortunately, don’t have it handy to confirm this for you. My hope is that an SWLing Post reader can help.
Please comment if you can help Sorin with these D-808 functions!