Tag Archives: Radio Prague

Ukraine’s Radio Culture: When Radio Is the Only Voice Left

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(Source: Radio Prague International via Paul Jamet)

Everywhere – even under Russian occupation – radio waves still find their way

To mark World Radio Day, Radio Prague International spoke with Iryna Slavinska, Director of Radio Culture – the third channel of Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne. What role does radio play in war-torn Ukraine? And what can a station focused specifically on culture contribute?

Iryna Slavinska joined Radio Culture in 2018. A philology graduate, she also brings extensive experience in education and cultural work, and is fluent in French.

“For me, radio remains something very powerful, very influential and very transparent. Radio has no borders,” she describes.

This has become particularly evident since the full-scale invasion in February 2022, when, as Slavinska notes, radio often became the only Ukrainian media outlet accessible to people under Russian occupation. [Continue reading…]

Radio Taiwan International and Radio Prague Recent Highlights

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor David Iurescia, who shares two stories from the world of international broadcasting:

First, Radio Taiwan International highlights a recent long-distance shortwave exchange between students in Taiwan and Norway. The project combines broadcasting, media literacy, cultural exchange, and disaster-resilient communications, and even prompted reception reports from listeners across northern Europe. Click here to read the full article: https://www.rti.org.tw/en/news?uid=3&pid=188096

Second, Radio Prague International is marking 90 years of international broadcasting this year. To commemorate the anniversary, RPI has released a new series of QSL cards. Click here to read the full article: https://english.radio.cz/90-years-air-radio-prague-international-marks-anniversary-qsl-cards-8875728

Dan Shares Recordings of the Golden Days of European Shortwave Listening

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Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who shares the following guest post:

Europe on shortwave in the 1970’s

by Dan Greenall

During the golden years of shortwave listening, many European countries had an international shortwave service and broadcast programs to North America (where I live) in English. As a result, these stations were usually among the first that a newcomer to the hobby would find.  However, since there was no internet or e-mail, schedules often had to be found in the various club bulletins and hobby magazines.  QSLs arrived through the postal system and could often take months to arrive.

I soon developed the habit of making a brief recording of each station as additional “proof of reception,” and many of these have survived to this day.  These were typically made by placing the microphone directly in front of the speaker of my receiver.  In recent years, they have been uploaded to the Internet Archive, and links to some of them from the early 1970s can be found here.

[Note that each title links to the Archive.org page where you can find more information and QSLs.]

Radio Moscow

Deutsche Welle, Cologne 

Radio Berlin International 

Belgian Radio

Radio Belgrade

RAI, Rome

ORTF, Paris

IBRA Radio via Radio Trans Europe in Portugal

Radio Sofia Bulgaria

Austrian Radio

Radio Prague

Radio Denmark

Radio Luxembourg

Vatican Radio

Radio Sweden

Trans World Radio Monte Carlo

Radio Kiev

Radio Free Europe

Radio Nordsee International

Radio Prague Interview: Jeff White on Why Shortwave Still Matters

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Speaking from Prague at the latest HFCC (High Frequency Coordination Conference), Jeff White—chairman of the HFCC and founder of Radio Miami International—shares why shortwave broadcasting still matters now more than ever. He reflects on decades of shortwave listening, recalls how Radio Prague hooked him in as a kid, and shares the practical work the HFCC does to keep global broadcasts interference-free.

White also reminds us why shortwave endures: it reaches places with little or no internet, rural areas where AM/FM won’t cut it, and listeners who simply love hearing signals from halfway around the world. Despite funding challenges and broadcast cutbacks, he believes shortwave has a bright future—and a fascinating story behind it.

Read the full article at Radio Prague International

Many thanks to David Iurescia for sharing this tip!

“What connects the Finnish YLE station and Prague?”

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Professionals at the station often had a background as radio amateurs or radio electricians. Photo from YLE’s archive.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adid, who writes:

Hi Thomas, a post on Reddit with a picture of radio stuff lead me to Google for its source.

It led me to this page https://yle.fi/a/3-11502533

My Finnish is not as good as Google’s, but even with its poor “auto” translation, the story can be fairly understood and bring to life the 1968 Soviet’s invasion to Prague from the YLE side.

That article was written in a book by an YLE broadcasting engineer for 40 years. A few pages of his book can be viewed here with more nice pictures.

As a child I do recall that event in the local news coverage and it was also immortalized few months later, in the Israeli music scene with an amazing song, very popular till today.

I’m sure many of SWL’ers can share some of their memories of that Soviet’s invasion to Prague in 1968.

Best regards, adi

Radio Prague’s 2024 QSL Card Series

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QSL 2024 | Source: Kristýna Marková, Radio Prague International

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia, who shares the following article from Radio Prague:

Radio Prague’s 2024 QSL card series will be musical – and digital

To this day, Radio Prague International has kept up the decades-long tradition of QSL cards – postcards confirming receipt of reception reports to listeners. Every year, we have created a new series of postcards to send to listeners. In 2024, there will be something else new – in addition to the traditional printed versions, we will also start producing and sending digital QSL cards.

2024 is the year of Czech music – and so is the theme for next year’s QSL card series.

With a different QSL card for every quarter, Kristýna Marková’s graphic designs will bring you images inspired by the most famous Czech classical music names – Antonín Dvo?ák, Bed?ich Smetana, Leoš Janá?ek and Ema Destinnová.

The Times They Are A-Changin’

Many international radio stations, as they muted their shortwave broadcasts, also stopped issuing QSL cards. However, Radio Prague International continues to preserve this tradition.

Unfortunately, significant price hikes by the Czech postal service have forced us to make a few changes. From 2024, we will only send printed postcards to listeners who send us a printed postcard or letter themselves. Otherwise, we will send digital QSL cards to those who send us a message by email or via our web form.

We hope that our digital QSL cards will delight you as much as our printed ones have and that you will continue to be among our loyal listeners for years to come.

Click here to read the original article and to view more images at Radio Prague online.