Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bruce Atchison, who writes:
Randy Bachman featured the music played on Radio Caroline in two shows
broadcast on CBC during the spring of this year. Check out both on
www.randybachman.com and scroll down until you find the pirate radio
shows.Both programs of Randy’s Vinyl Tap brought back so many good
memories.
Thanks for the tip, Bruce!
In response to our recent items about monitoring the Sydney to Hobart yacht race, SWLing Post contributor, Neil Howard, shares the following:
In 1998 this race was decimated by massive seas and storms, which sunk 5 boats and tragically lives were lost.
I happened to be recording frequency of the Race controller.
After almost losing the recording , I posted it to YouTube back in 2011:
Click here to view on YouTube.
Description of recording:
HOW this was obtained
This recording of the HF transmissions from 1998 was recorded by me from Queensland, using a newfangled unattended recoding program on the PC and a very ordinary Sangean ATS-803a receiver using a random long wire Antenna – from memory this was on the 8 Mhz Marine band, and is the co-ordination of the search and rescue from the 28th Dec 1998 and covers from around 8:30PM till 10PM – The automated recorded stopped recording when the signal noise dropped below a certain level and thus some was lost.
The recording goes for 30 mins, as that was the limit that was set to save disk space, but there is a lot of empty noise.
I have had this on a disk for 13 years now ( WOW!) and I had a serious disk crash, recently and almost lost everything….. I place this here on youtube so it is not lost to prosperity – The race is on again right now, so This was good timing! I present this recording as it was recorded, warts and all for your education *** I dedicate this to those lost at sea
Highlights — (Times are approximate)
- 4:11 “Rescue 253” 9A helicopter) locates a life-raft
- 6:00 “Air force Sydney” is looking for a position of a yacht ” Solo Global Challenge”
- 6:50 “RTC Canberra” (Who is co-ordinating) has a “hot mic” and is explaining the situation to someone locally
- 8:35 “Rescue 253” has sighted 2 POB on the life-raft – RTC wants to know if they are from “Winston Churchill”
- 9:39 Another “hot mic” in Canberra
- 11:56 “Tiger75” (A Navy Helicopter, I think) has the survivors on board, but still awaiting info on who they are
- 13:0413:44 confirmation that there are 2 survivors of the “Winston Churchill” from the life raft, but the tragic news that 3 others had “rolled out” of the raft and are lost (Historical note- these three were listed as drowned)
- 14:46 Discussion about where the survivors are to be taken by Tiger 75
- 15:20 Info of the survivors is passed though, along with the news that the life raft they were “in” had no bottom.
- 16:33 Rescue 253 Says it has heard a beacon & is proceeding to the location
- 20:00 Another aircraft has gone to the search site from Merimbula (A town in New South Wales)
- 25:38 Rescue 253 updates beacon location
- 26:30 Rescue 253 Locates a boat at the beacon site that has been dis-masted & is in serious trouble.
It is interesting (and harrowing) listening.
They still use HF , but after the 1998 debacle, when they found they had little idea of actual positions for S&R, they introduced regular scheds.
Wow–what an amazing and sobering recording, Neil. Thank you for sharing and giving us an opportunity to remember those who lost their lives.
Note that there’s a documentary about the 1998 Sydney to Hobart yacht race on YouTube. Click here to watch Part 1 and here to watch Part 2.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Terry Cominos, who shred the following story following our recent post about the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Terry writes:
Here is my story…
It must have been 20 plus years ago whilst monitoring the Sydney to Hobart yacht race on my AOR AR3000.
Around midnight the yacht “Mem” announced a man was lost overboard. They were turning back to find him. The Captain of the oil tanker “Ampol Serel” on his way to Sydney declared he was turning back to assist in the search.
It was a long night with several yachts searching and the “Young Endeavour” providing radio relay support.
More than an hour passed before the “Ampol Serel” arrived on the scene with its powerful search light.
The search was hampered by a swell yet before first light “Ampol Serel” picked up a reflected flash off a life vest.
The sailor was eventually found by a competing yacht and taken on board where he was examined and treated for hypothermia by a doctor onboard.
Several years later I visited the Australian Maritime Museum where the life vest is on display.
That morning I learned a lot about the sea, radio and human nature…
Thank you for sharing this, Terry, and reminding us that those of us who monitor radio sometimes have a front row seat to events as they unfold.
Source: OneTubeRadio.com
I recall this 1957 Hallicrafter ad from Boy’s Life magazine which of course implies that we may even be in a position to help.
The thought of hearing or assisting–remote as it may have been–certainly had an influence on me when I first started exploring the shortwave bands from my bedroom with a Zenith Transoceanic some forty years ago.
Thanks again for sharing, Terry.
Post readers: Have you ever been witness to events as they unfolded on the air? Please share your story!
Please consider supporting us via Patreon or our Coffee Fund!
Your support makes articles like this one possible. Thank you!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor,Randy (KS4L), who shares the following update via Tom Blahovici of Win4K3Suite:
There is a new release of Win4K3Suite.
This release adds a number of new features. One of these is bound to bring you back in time…Win4K3Suite now includes the ability to search and display Shortwave radio stations if you have the general coverage option in your radio. This is made possible by supporting the EiBi database (eibispace.de) which is published 4 times a year. Here is an example of this in use with the built in Panadapter of Win4K3:
In addition, there are a number of additional new features and improvements such as a 1kHz snap in the spectrum and quicker resets of the ClubLog window.
You can find out more about Win4K3SUite here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=win4k3suite and at the website va2fsq.com.
There is a free 30 day fully functional trial.
73 Tom
Thanks for sharing this, Randy! Since the KX3 and KX2 are some of my favorite portable broadcast receivers, this is a most welcome development. I may have to give Win4K3Suite a try!
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Al Holt, who writes:
Your readers may be interested in tuning in the daily (except Sunday) broadcasts of Marine Weather Center on 4045 and possibly 8173, 12,350 kHz. These broadcasts use upper sideband mode. https://www.mwxc.com/index.php
It’s described as, “custom weather and routing information for small vessels in the Caribbean Sea, Bahamas and United States East Coast,” and is based near Lakeland, FL.
As a subscription weather service for pleasure craft, but they provide an interesting roundup and forecast of weather in this area of the world. They do take questions and traffic from subscribing vessels at the conclusion of their broadcast.
I am usually am able to receive the omnidirectional broadcast on 4045 kHz here in northern Florida. But, their coverage at greater distances is pretty good I think.
The chart below (taken from their ‘Services’ page https://www.mwxc.com/marine_weather_services.php ) shows this broadcast starting at 1100z, but I usually hear them closer to 1200z and that may be due to atmospheric conditions. I haven’t had much success catching their later transmissions. I’m not sure how often their webpage gets updated and schedule changes are probably relayed privately to their subscribers.
Wow! Thank you so much for sharing this information, Al.
Post Readers: I know there are a number of SWLing Post readers who sail and cruise (some on very long voyages)—I’m curious if any use the Marine Weather Service regularity. Please comment!
From the Isle of Music, December 30-January 5:
This week, we celebrate the new year with a Cuban dance party including some new music that most of you have not heard before plus great music from past decades.
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 Kostinbrod, Bulgaria (1800-1900 MSK)
2. For the Americas and parts of Europe, Tuesday 0100-0200 UTC (New UTC) on WBCQ, 7490 KHz from Monticello, ME, USA (Monday 8-9PM EST in the US). This has been audible in parts of NW, Central and Southern Europe with an excellent skip to Italy recently.
3 & 4. For Europe and sometimes beyond, Tuesday 1900-2000 UTC and Saturday 1200-1300 UTC (New CETs) on Channel 292, 6070 KHz from Rohrbach, Germany.
SPECIAL: Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot AND
Uncle Bill’s Rockless New Year’s Eve Special:
1. Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, Dec 30 2018 & Jan 1, 2019
Episode 94 presents music from Senegal
A. Sunday 2300-2330 UTC (6:00PM -6:30PM Eastern US) on WBCQ The Planet 7490 KHz from the US to the Americas and parts of Europe
B. Tuesday 2000-2030 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 KHz from Rohrbach, Germany for Europe. If current propagation conditions hold, the broadcast should reach Iceland AND Western Russia due to a long skip.
2. Uncle Bill’s Rockless New Year’s Eve Special:
Unusual new year’s customs and music from around the world.
A. For Europe: Monday, December 31, 1800-1900 UTC
on Spaceline, 9400kHz from Bulgaria
B. For the Americas and portions of Europe: Midnight, December 31 (0000-0100 UTC Tuesday, or 7-8pm Eastern Time US) on WBCQ 5130 kHz
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jerome van der Linden, who writes:
I just found after reviewing a 16 page PDF of regulations etc from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, some relevant information for listeners who may want to try to hear the boat to shore communications of yachts participating in this annual yacht race, which is quite famous in this part of the world.
This race will commence at 1300 Sydney time 26th December, which is 0200 UTC, by my reckoning (today, down here). The race normally runs for about 3 or 4 days depending on conditions. It’s not clear to me just when the boats are expected to report their positions, other than that shown below for Green Cape, which is in southern News South Wales. Perhaps someone else can add the time schedule if they know it.
“Boats shall be capable of transmitting/receiving, as a minimum, on the following frequencies:
– VHF – International Channels 16, 72, 73, 80 and 81
– HF/SSB – 4483kHz and 6516kHz and such other frequencies as the Organising Authority may determine”“Boats shall maintain a 24 hour listening watch for the duration of their race on VHF Channel 16.
For radio communications, a boat’s name may be limited to not more than two words. The Race Committee may alter names where appropriate. The Sailing Instructions will require that boats report by radio when they are in the vicinity of Green Cape and make a declaration confirming their time of passing as well as the following:
- The HF radio is fully operational
- Liferaft(s) are on board
- Engine and batteries are operational
- Boat and crew are in a satisfactory condition to continue
- The skipper has comprehensively considered the most current weather forecast and the boat and crew are fully prepared for the conditions forecast.”
[Note that] I just found, from a post a couple years ago, that the time for reporting may be 0735 and 1905 Australian eastern time, which would mean 2035 and 0805 UTC while the race is in progress. It also suggests the 6516kHz frequency is the main one, with 4483 being the backup.
Brilliant, Jerome! Thank you for sharing these frequencies—how I would love to listen to some of the craft report in on HF. I think I’ll be spending some time down under on the KiwiSDR network the next few days!
