Tag Archives: BBC

World Radio Day: Kentucky’s Real People Radio

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A new documentary from the BBC, produced by SWLing Post friend and contributor David Goren and presented by Maria Margaronis, is now available to listen to online.

Kentucky’s Real People Radio, from The Documentary Podcast, visits WMMT in Whitesburg, Kentucky, a small community radio station known locally as “Possum Radio,” which serves coalfield communities in Appalachia and now faces an uncertain future amid potential cuts to public funding. The programme explores why community stations like WMMT matter more than ever, providing trusted local information, emergency alerts, and a rare platform for voices often unheard in national media.

You can listen to the full documentary, with embedded audio, on BBC Sounds here:
https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/p0n0g9f2

Update: If you don’t have a BBC account and can’t access the recording above, they also make the recording available via this link, which I’ll also embed below:

DXing the Middle East – Then and Now

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by Dan Greenall

This region consists of the western part of Asia from Turkey to Iran including the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt. Decades ago, most of the countries had a shortwave broadcasting service that made intriguing DX targets for listeners like me. Some were relatively easy to hear, while others provided more of a challenge as they did not offer broadcasts to North America (where I live) or programming was not in English. Here are a few recordings that I made over the years and have uploaded to the internet archive.

Click on titles to access Internet Archive pages with additional information.

TURKEY 1970

EGYPT 1971

ISRAEL 1971

LEBANON 1971

SYRIA 1971

JORDAN 1973

IRAQ 1971

IRAN 1971

SAUDI ARABIA 1971

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (DUBAI) 1983

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (ABU DHABI) 1990

QATAR 1999

As 2025 draws to a close, only a few countries from the Middle East seem to be consistently logged by the shortwave listener.

The high powered transmitters in Turkey and programming in a variety of languages provide worldwide listeners a great opportunity to tune into this part of the world. A musical interlude accompanied by frequent identifications precedes their transmission. This recording was made on July 31, 2025 at 0254 UTC leading up to 0300 sign on in English on 7275 kHz. Reception was made using a remote SDR in the UK:

The Al Dhabbiyah tramitter site in the United Arab Emirates is used by a number of international broadcasters including FEBA Radio, IBRA Media and the BBC. This recording of FEBA made on June 24, 2025 captures their sign off just prior to 0230 UTC on 9540 kHz on a KiwiSDR in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:

IBRA Radio Ibrahim is noted using the same interval signal on June 19, 2025 around 1700 UTC also on 9540 kHz. A remote SDR in Kenya was used to make this recording.

 

Another relay transmitter is located at Al Seela in Oman and is largely used by the BBC for broadcasts into Asia. This recording, made November 20 at 2328 UTC on 11645 kHz, shows them being received by the KiwiSDR at Haida Gwaii, British Columbia off of Canada’s west coast. The effects of an over-the-pole signal path is evident here:

Other stations may emerge on occasion. For example, early in 2025, a station called Republic of Yemen Radio was being heard on 11935 kHz reportedly broadcasting in Arabic from a transmitter in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Reception was quite good in February using a remote SDR in Addis Ababa, however, in later months the transmitter seemed to develop a bad hum or buzz. You can listen to recordings made in February and then in April by following this link to the Internet Archive.

I would encourage all listeners to report reception of new stations broadcasting from this region to the SWLing Post so others might have the opportunity to try and tune in for themselves.

Carlos’ Illustrated Radio Listening Report (April 26 & 27, 2025)

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares illustrated radio listening report covering the funeral of Pope Francis from several international and local broadcasters.

Carlos notes:

Funeral of Pope Francis: BBC, Vatican Radio, NHK and Radio Mitre:

Part of news bulletins from four radio stations (BBC, Vatican Radio, NHK and Radio Mitre) about Pope Francis funeral. Listened in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on a Xhdata D-808 receiver.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Kyodo News Radiofax

Attached today’s Kyodo News Morning Edition with front page dedicated to Pope Francis funeral.”400,000 people bid farewell to Pope Francis’ funeral”

BBC Sounds and Overseas Listening: A Shifting Landscape

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Fred Waterer, who shares the following post from James Cridland’s blog and notes:

Overseas listeners could listen to BBC Domestic broadcasts, then they couldn’t, then they might be able to and then they might be able to for a fee and then who knows….

https://james.cridland.net/blog/2025/bbc-radio-overseas-what-now/

BBC Radio Abroad: Still Available — But Not Through BBC’s Own Apps

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Fred Waterer, who shares this update from James Cridland. After initially announcing that BBC Sounds and music radio stations would no longer be available outside the UK, the BBC has quietly revised its FAQ. While you still can’t access content directly from BBC apps or websites, international listeners can still tune in to stations like BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music via third-party platforms like TuneIn.

Check out the full story here: https://james.cridland.net/blog/2025/bbc-radio-overseas/

BBC Audio Access Abroad: Major Changes Coming Spring 2025

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Cuff, who shares the following news via the BBC:

Upcoming changes for listening to BBC audio outside the UK

If you live outside the UK, how you listen to BBC radio will change, starting from spring 2025.

Instead of using BBC Sounds, you’ll be able to use a new service at BBC.com and on the BBC app. BBC Studios has launched these all-new audio environments, tailored to outside UK audiences. The BBC’s content will remain available on other international podcast platforms.

International listeners will no longer be able to use the BBC Sounds app and website from spring 2025.

You can find out more about these changes on the bbc.com website. 

Advice for UK Listeners travelling abroad

For listeners who reside in the UK, you will still be able to use the BBC Sounds mobile app when you are abroad. Check our FAQ for further info: Can I use BBC Sounds when I travel outside the UK?

Why are we making these changes?

BBC Sounds is a UK licence fee funded service. To offer better value for our UK listeners, BBC Sounds will be repositioned and made available exclusively to UK audiences.

BBC Studios is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC and is focused on bringing our trusted, world class journalism and storytelling to international audiences. This includes BBC audio content on bbc.com and the BBC app, which will be focused to international listeners.

Support for listeners Outside the UK

If you live outside of the UK and have a query regarding listening to BBC radio and audio content, please visit the support page at bbc.com where you can find help and contact their support team.

Radio Waves: BBC Emergency Service for Gaza, FCC Bolstering Amateur Radio, and Crowdsourcing the Ionosphere

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Radio Waves:  Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

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 Andrea Borgnino, Paul, and Dennis Dura for the following tips:

BBC World Service announces Emergency Radio Service for Gaza (BBC Media Centre)

It will provide listeners in Gaza with the latest information and developments as well as safety advice on where to access shelter, food and water supplies

BBC News Arabic has today (1 November) announced an Emergency Radio Service for Gaza in response to the conflict in the region.

The emergency service – Gaza Daily – will broadcast vital news daily to the people of Gaza during this time of urgent need.

It will provide listeners in Gaza with the latest information and developments as well as safety advice on where to access shelter, food and water supplies.

Produced in Cairo and London and broadcast on medium wave, the service will initially run one programme a day at 1500 GMT from Friday 3 November. A second daily update will be broadcast at 0500 GMT from Friday 10 November.

The BBC World Service has a history of responding to emergency situations globally. Most recently, in May 2023 during the conflict in Sudan BBC News Arabic began an emergency radio service. In February 2022, the BBC News Ukraine service began extended TV bulletins following the invasion of the country. The BBC also previously launched a service for Gaza in 2014 following a summer of conflict.

Liliane Landor, Director, BBC World Service, says: “BBC News Arabic are extremely well-placed to offer this vital service for the people of Gaza at a time of greatest need. Their expertise and specialist knowledge of the region alongside the BBC’s reputation as the most trusted news provider, means we can reach civilians in Gaza with the information they need.”

RM3

Notes to editors: The Gaza service will be broadcast on MW 639kHz for morning and evening episodes.

FCC Wants to Bolster Amateur Radio (Radio World)

Commission will vote in November on plan to remove outdated technical restrictions

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel says the FCC plans to “incentivize innovation and experimentation in the amateur radio bands” by getting rid of outdated restrictions and providing licensees with the flexibility to use modern digital emissions.

The commission at its November meeting is expected to take action on a Report and Order that would eliminate the baud rate limitation and establish a bandwidth limitation in the amateur radio bands below 29.7 MHz.

The order being circulated for tentative consideration by the commission would remove the baud rate limitation — the rate at which the carrier waveform amplitude, frequency and/or phase is varied to transmit information — for data emissions in the amateur radio bands, the FCC says. The current baud rate limits were adopted in 1980.

The order would implement a 2.8 kilohertz bandwidth limitation in place of the baud rate in amateur radio bands. The 2.8 kHz limitation is consistent with the commission’s treatment of other wireless radio services, the FCC says.

The current rules limit the baud rate for high-frequency amateur radioteletype/data transmissions to 300 baud for frequencies below 28 MHz (except in the 60-meter band), and 1200 baud in the 10 meter (28-29.7 MHZ) band. [Continue reading…]

Ham Radios Crowdsourced Ionospheric Science During Eclipse (EOS.org)

Amateur radio operators who study space physics and the upper atmosphere probed the ionosphere’s response to the 2023 annular solar eclipse using shortwave transmissions.

On 14 October, millions of people in North, Central, and South America peered through safety glasses and other viewing aids at the partially obscured Sun. Simultaneously, thousands of folks experienced the annular solar eclipse in a different way: through transmissions sent and received over amateur radios.

Before, during, and after the eclipse, ham radio operators pinged signals off the ionosphere and connected to people hundreds or thousands of kilometers away. The experiment, part of the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI), is gathering hundreds of thousands of those contacts to investigate how the ionosphere responds to the temporary loss of sunlight during an eclipse. [Continue reading…]

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