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The GE 7-2990A (left) and Panasonic RF-B65 (right)
This has been a very crazy and radio-active weekend!
It started with a busy Friday that was capped off with the BBC Midwinter Broadcast and then continued into Saturday with a Parks On The Air activation and Field Day at Mount Mitchell State Park.
The Midwinter Broadcast has never been an easy catch here in North America–after all, the BBC aim their signals to Antarctica–but I always manage to receive the program with only a portable and I’m almost always travelling on the day of the broadcast.
This year, I was actually at home and could have used one of my SDRs at home to snag the broadcast, but it’s become a bit of a tradition to listen in the field, so that’s what I did.
Knowing how difficult it would be to receive the broadcast–especially given the poor propagation–I reached for one of my “Holy Grail” portables: the Panasonic RF-B65.
The Panny RF-B65 is a portable DX hound!
I never take only one radio to the field, though, so I decided it was time to give the hefty GE 7-2990A a little outdoor time on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The GE 7-2990A
I’ve only had the GE 7-2990A for a few months. It came from the estate of my dear friend Michael Pool (The Professor) who passed away earlier this year.
This particular radio has quite an amazing history–remind me to share the story someday–but I’ll always cherish the 7-2990A because it was one of Michael’s favorites.
I knew the GE was one of Michael’s favorite mediumwave receivers, but I wasn’t sure how well it would perform on the shortwaves. Turns out, it’s quite an amazing HF receiver!
Out of the the three Midwinter Broadcast frequencies (5875, 7360, and 9455 kHz), I could receive the 7,360 kHz signal from Ascension Island best.
I was quite surprised with the 7-2990A’s ability to pluck this weak signal from the ether. Although the video doesn’t do it justice, the GE’s excellent audio fidelity made listening more enjoyable compared with the much smaller RF-B65.
And, yes, that’s my faithful brown and white listening companion, Hazel, in the background. In truth, she was less interested in the broadcast and more interested in finding squirrels!
Your Midwinter recordings–stay tuned!
Halley VI Research Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica (Source: British Antarctic Survey)
I’ve already received about twenty emails from SWLing Post readers with audio and video recordings of the Midwinter Broadcast. Thank you!
If you would like to submit your recording, and you haven’t yet, please do so by email (thomas *at* swling.com) so I don’t overlook it. Remember to link to your video so that I can easily embed it on the upcoming post. Please don’t send me duplicate emails as it makes the sorting process more difficult.
I’ll try to find recordings linked via Twitter and Facebook, but it’s much more difficult to sort those in comments and know for sure that I’ve discovered them all.
Please note that, due to my schedule, it will likely be two weeks before the final post is published. I appreciate your patience and understanding!
Halley VI Research Station on the Brunt Ice Shelf in Antarctica (Source: British Antarctic Survey Team)
Every year, the BBC broadcasts a special program to the scientists and support staff in the British Antarctic Survey Team. The BBC plays music requests and sends special messages to the small team of 40+ located at various Antarctic research stations. Each year, the thirty minute show is guaranteed to be quirky, nostalgic, and certainly a DX-worthy catch!
After successful listener events from years past, I’m once again calling on all SWLing Post readers and shortwave radio listeners to make a short recording (say, 30-60 seconds) of the BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast today and share it here at the Post.
The broadcast will take place at 21:30 UTC today.
Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Richard Langley and Alan Pennington who confirm the following broadcast frequencies:
5875 kHz
7360 kHz
9455 kHz
If you would like to participate in our BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast recording event, please read our original post which includes all relevant details.
Every year, the BBC broadcasts a special program to the scientists and support staff in the British Antarctic Survey Team. The BBC plays music requests and sends special messages to the small team of 40+ located at various Antarctic research stations. Each year, the thirty minute show is guaranteed to be quirky, nostalgic, and certainly a DX-worthy catch!
After successful listener events from years past, I’m once again calling on all SWLing Post readers and shortwave radio listeners to make a short recording (say, 30-60 seconds) of the BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast today and share it here at the Post (frequencies and time below).
Halley VI: The British Antarctic Survey’s new base (Source: British Antarctic Survey)
The recording can be audio-only, or even a video taken from any recording device or smart phone. It would be helpful to have a description and/or photo of your listening environment and location, if possible. Please only submit recordings made from your location–since this is all about how you’re able to receive the broadcast at your location, we would rather not include WebSDR recordings.
Audio should be in the MP3 format and videos either hosted on YouTube or Vimeo so that I can easily embed them without having to convert and upload myself.
If you submit your recording to me, I will post it here on the SWLing Post–and insure that the British Antarctic Survey receives the post, too. The recordings will be arranged by geographic location. Note that due to my schedule this year, it might take a few weeks before I can curate all of the recordings (the process typically takes 8+ hours!).
Frequencies
UPDATE (June 21, 2019): Broadcast frequencies have been confirmed by the BBC as 5875, 7360, and 9455 kHz.
Please note that the broadcast begins at 2130 UTC on (Friday) June 21, 2019.
The following frequencies were provided by The Bulgarian DX Blog and were used in the BBC test broadcast. Typically, the same frequencies are used during the live broadcast—we will update this post with any last-minute changes.:
2130-2145 on 5875 WOF 300 kW / 184 deg to Antarctica English-very good 2130-2145 on 5990 DHA 250 kW / 203 deg to Antarctica English-fair/good 2130-2145 on 7360 ASC 250 kW / 207 deg to Antarctica English-very good 2130-2145 on 9455 WOF 300 kW / 182 deg to Antarctica English-very good
The Midwinter broadcast is one of my favorite programs of the year. I suppose, in part, this is because it happens on June 21–the Summer/Winter solstice–which also happens to be my birthday! Woo hoo!
Halley VI: The British Antarctic Survey’s new base (Source: British Antarctic Survey)
On Thursday, 21 June 2018, the BBC World Service officially transmitted the 2018 BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast–an international radio broadcast intended for a small group of scientists, technicians, and support staff who work for the British Antarctic Survey.
This is one of my favorite annual broadcasts, and I endeavor to listen every year. Once again, the SWLing Post called upon readers to make a short recording of the broadcast from their locale.
Below are the entries, roughly organized by continent and country/region. We had a total of 28 recordings submitted this year–simply amazing! If I’ve somehow missed including your entry, please contact me; I’ll amend this post.
So, without further ado….
The 2018 BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast Recordings
Europe
Austria
SWL: Gerald LANDL (OE5TET) Location: Eidenberg, Austria Notes:
Preperations with my 6y old son – highly professional with clip board, frequency setting on equipment, adjusting the antenna tuner. setting the alarm clock and preparing cups for warm drinks.
Wonderful broadcast with heaps of feelings and good music – I reckon the crew in Antarctica enjoyed it.
I used to listen with my dad to Norddeich Radio – also broadcast for crews and sailors out on sea.
2018-06-21 2130 UTC antarctic midwinter broadcast 2018 of BBC
from QTH
Longitude : 14.23225 E (14° 13? 56” E)
Latitude : 48.44367 N (48° 26? 37” N)
QTH locator : JN78CK
5.985 – Woofferton – via FT 991 + HiGain 640 vertical
7.360 – Ascension – via FT 817 + MLA-M magnetic loop
9.890 – Woofferton – via FT 2000 + Diamond W8010 – multi band trap
enjoyed the slight time delay between Woofferton and Ascension – broadcast (echo you hear)
looking forward to record the whole broadcast from Ascension via FT2000
SWL: Gabriele Barbi Location: Ferrara di Monte Baldo Notes: Received in Ferrara of Monte Baldo (Verona) 850 msl, with Sangean 909 receiver and 30 meter row antenna, good signal on all 3 frequencies 5985 7360 9890 hours of reception (Italian) 23.55 today 21062018. Good Radio
Note that the audio file of the 3 frequencies is divided by the beep signal respectively from the beginning to the end of the file 5985 7360 9890:
SWL: Grabriele Sommas Location: Roccapiemonte, Italy Notes: Hi Thomas, like every year attached I send you the youtube link of the broadcast BBC MIDWINTER 2018 with the hope of seeing it published also this year on swling. Receiver is an SDRplay RSP2 and Antenna a Wellbrook ALA 1530.
I am Davide Borroni from Origgio (VA) Italy. On 21 June 2018 at 2130.-2200 UTC on 5985 kHz AM, i listened BBC Winter Radio with SINPO 54444
I use my Hallicrafters SX 42, Siemens E 401, Collins HF 2050 and Teletron TE 712S receivers with a magnetic loop antenna.
73s
Davide Borroni
SWL: Giuseppe Morlè (IZ0GZW) Location: Formia, Italy Notes:
I’m Giuseppe Morlè, iz0gzw, from Formia, central Italy, on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
I send you 2 videos about the Antartic Midwinter 2018 to be included on the Swling Post.
You can see how you listened to from my house on my 3 receivers the transmission and as the only Tecsun pl660 with its antenna on my balcony.
Thanks for everything and I always wish you excellent listening.
Listenined yesterday (21 June 2018) at 21.30 UTC from Malta 5985 kHz SINPO 53553 using a Tecsun PL-660 and a longwire antenna 27 metres.
Wonderful programme and good job.
SWL: Mark Hirst Location: Basingstoke, England Notes:
QRM levels at my QTH were noticeably higher this year than last, continuing a years long trend in my area.
Woofferton is only 100 miles from Basingstoke in Hampshire, and while it doesn’t lie in the direction of the transmission, the signal was strong and steady, overwhelming almost all of the interference.
SWL: Gareth Buxton (M6VOV) Location: Belper, England Notes:
This is my recording. Fair reception on 7360khz. I was out in the garden using a Tecsun PL 880 connected to a homemade active loop antenna. My location is Belper, Derbyshire, UK
SWL: Paul Capewell Location: London, England Notes:
Three 1-minute clips of the BBC World Service Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast on 5985kHz, 7360kHz, and 9890kHz, recorded on a Tecsun PL-380 in north west London at 2230 (2130 UTC) on 21 June 2018.
All three signals were good at my location in Ayrshire, Scotland.
The best of the two Wooferton signals was 5985 AM.
Here is a youtube video of my reception of the signal from Ascension Island on 7360 AM.
Rx = Trio R-1000
Ant = End fed Wire, 20 meters long and ATU.
Thank you.
HAPPY MIDWINTER !
73
Steven
SWL: Rawad Hamwi Location: Turaif – Northern Borders Province – Saudi Arabia Notes:
Date/Time: 21/6/2018 @ 21:30 UTC | 22/6/2018 @ 00:30 Arabian Standard Time (UTC+3)
Frequency: 9890 kHz
Receiver: Sony ICF-SW7600GR / Sony ICF-SW11
Antenna: 30 LM Longwire Antenna
Location: Turaif – Northern Borders Province – Saudi Arabia
SWL: Richard Langley Location: Hanwell, New Brunswick Notes:
I obtained decent recordings of the BAS broadcast both here in NB on 7360 kHz using a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna strung to a nearby tree and using the U. Twente SDR receiver on 5985 kHz. Attached are two two-minute clips, one from the start of each recording. Also attached [above] is a photo of the “listening post” at the back of my yard. Note the mosquito spray!
SWL: Ivan Cholakov Location: New York and Florida Notes:
This year’s Midwinter Antarctic broadcast from the BBC was a special opportunity for me. I thought I would share the story because it has something to say about the state of technology in today’s world of radio. On the day of the broadcast, June 21, 2018 I was on a business trip to New York City. I had brought with me three very useful and very portable items: an SDRPlay receiver, a W6LVP portable amplified loop and an Eton Satellit shortwave radio.
I was able to receive the broadcast in the following order:
By remotely accessing my home station;s kiwiSDR receiver via the internet
By remotely accessing my amateur radio station that I maintain in Michigan using a remotehams.com server
By using the SDRPlay receiver and the amplified loop from the 35th floor hotel room in Manhattan
By using the Eton Satellit pocket sized shortwave radio from the hotel room in Manhattan
I created a youtube video with the four modes of reception above. it is amazing how connected the world has become!
I was able to get 2 different videos of the BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast. One video is of the broadcast coming through an KiwiSDR channel and another is a recording of BBC through my Tecsun PL-380.
SWL: Stan Horzepa (WA1LOU) Location: Wolcott, Connecticut Notes:
Here in Wolcott, Connecticut, USA, I heard the full 30 minute broadcast
on all three channels using my ICOM IC-R8600 and an 80-meter inverted
Vee antenna. 9890 was very good, 7360 was good, while 5985 was poor.
(The broadcast reminded me of The Beatles Fan Club Christmas recordings.)
SWL: Bill Hemphill (WD9EQD) Location: Smithville, NJ Notes:
I got good copy on 9890 here in Smithville, NJ (5 miles north of Atlantic City).
Readable copy on 7360 and almost readable copy on 5850.
Used a combination of Tecsun Radios: PL-310et, PL-880, and S-8800.
Used the telescoping antenna and a long wire antenna strung up in the house.
SWL: Thomas Witherspoon (K4SWL) Location: Huntsville, Alabama Notes:
I managed to listen to a bit of the broadcast myself in the parking lot of the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. I only brought my C. Crane CC Skywave SSB along. The signal was quite weak, but I did log the 9,890 kHz broadcast from Woofferton, UK. Pretty impressive considering the modest portable receiver and the fact the broadcast’s target was Antarctica! Pure shortwave magic.
My recording of 9890 kHz in Pennsylvania was much weaker.
SWL: DanH Location: Northern California Notes:
Just awful reception here in Northern California suburbia near three in the afternoon. I can just make out “Jingle Bells.” BBC Woofferton has been coming in well here from 04:00 – 06:00 UTC on 9915 kHz on some nights.
Once again, many thanks to all of you who submitted your recordings of the BBC Midwinter Broadcast!
We’ll be sharing this post with both the British Antarctic Survey and the BBC World Service. And to all of you, from the SWLing Post: Happy (Belated) Midwinter! Happy Summer/Winter Solstice!
Once again, SWLing Post readers did an amazing job of capturing off-air clips of the BBC Midwinter broadcast to Antarctica! Thank you so much for submitting your recordings!
I managed to listen to a bit of the broadcast myself in the parking lot of the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. I only brought my C. Crane CC Skywave SSB along. The signal was quite weak, but I did log the 9,890 kHz broadcast from Woofferton, UK. Pretty impressive considering the modest portable receiver and the fact the broadcast’s target was Antarctica! Pure shortwave magic.
I hope to have a formatted post with all reader recordings published next week. It’ll actually take me a few dedicated hours to put it all together, so I appreciate your patience.
These arevery busy days for me, so if you’ve contacted me via email, I apologize for taking so long to reply. So far in the month of June, I’ve only been home perhaps a total of three nights. July will be equally as busy, plus I’ll also present at the Circle of HOPE 2018 conference in NYC. Really looking forward to that!
Every year, the BBC broadcasts a special program to the scientists and support staff in the British Antarctic Survey Team. The BBC plays music requests and sends special messages to the small team of 40+ located at various Antarctic research stations. Each year, the thirty minute show is guaranteed to be quirky, nostalgic, and certainly a DX-worthy catch!
After successful listener events from years past, I’m calling on all SWLing Post readers and shortwave radio listeners to make a short recording (say, 30-60 seconds) of the BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast today and share it here at the Post (frequencies and time below).
Halley VI: The British Antarctic Survey’s new base (Source: British Antarctic Survey)
The recording can be audio-only, or even a video taken from any recording device or smart phone. It would be helpful to have a description and/or photo of your listening environment and location, if possible.
Audio should be in the MP3 format and videos either hosted on YouTube or Vimeo so that I can easily embed them without having to convert and upload myself.
If you submit your recording to me, I will post it here on the SWLing Post–and insure that the British Antarctic Survey receives the post, too. The recordings will be arranged by geographic location.
Frequencies
This year, there have been few details about the broadcast announced in advance–I’ve seen no test broadcast announcements as in years past–so my fingers are crossed that it’ll take place on the air, on schedule.
Please note that the broadcast begins at 2130 UTC on (Thursday) June 21, 2018. The following frequencies were provided by Mauno Ritola who sourced them from a German SWL list serve:
From ASCENSION
7360 kHz
From DHABAYYA
6035 kHz
From WOOFFERTON
7230 and possibly 5985 kHz
UPDATE via Richard Langley:
Updated frequency list from BBCWS Audience Relations via World of Radio list:
I’m sure there will be live reports in the SWLing Post chat room during the broadcast. Please sign in and share your report as well!
I hope I’ll be able to receive the broadcast this year–I’m traveling again, but will have a receiver in tow. Worse case, I’ll snag the broadcast from a WebSDR in Europe (which is a pretty easy catch).
The Midwinter broadcast is one of my favorite programs of the year. I suppose, in part, this is because it happens on June 21–the Summer/Winter solstice–which also happens to be my birthday! Woo hoo!
Every year, the BBC broadcasts a special program to the scientists and support staff in the British Antarctic Survey Team. The BBC plays music requests and sends special messages to the small team of 40+ located at various Antarctic research stations. Each year, the thirty minute show is guaranteed to be quirky, nostalgic, and certainly a DX-worthy catch!
After successful listener events from years past, I’m calling on all SWLing Post readers and shortwave radio listeners to make a short recording (say, 30-60 seconds) of the BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast today and share it here at the Post (frequencies and time below).
Halley VI: The British Antarctic Survey’s new base (Source: British Antarctic Survey)
The recording can be audio-only, or even a video taken from any recording device or smart phone. It would be helpful to have a description and/or photo of your listening environment and location, if possible.
Audio should be in the MP3 format and videos either hosted on YouTube or Vimeo so that I can easily embed them without having to convert and upload myself.
If you submit your recording to me, I will post it here on the SWLing Post–and insure that the British Antarctic Survey receives the post, too. The recordings will be arranged by geographic location.
Frequencies
This year, there have been few details about the broadcast announced in advance–I’ve seen no test broadcast announcements as in years past–so my fingers are crossed that it’ll take place on the air, on schedule.
Please note that the broadcast begins at 2130 UTC on (Thursday) June 21, 2018. The following frequencies were provided by Mauno Ritola who sourced them from a German SWL list serve:
From ASCENSION
7360 kHz
From DHABAYYA
6035 kHz
From WOOFFERTON
7230 and possibly 5985 kHz
I’m sure there will be live reports in the SWLing Post chat room during the broadcast. Please sign in and share your report as well!
I hope I’ll be able to receive the broadcast this year–I’m traveling again, but will have a receiver in tow. Worse case, I’ll snag the broadcast from a WebSDR in Europe (which is a pretty easy catch).
Listening for the Midwinter test transmissions last week with the Elecraft KX2.
The Midwinter broadcast is one of my favorite programs of the year. I suppose, in part, this is because it happens on June 21–the Summer/Winter solstice–which also happens to be my birthday! Woo hoo!
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