Tag Archives: Radio Waves

Radio Waves: SAQ UN-Day Broadcast & Test Transmission, Radio Bulgaria QSL 10, Liblice Transmitter Masts Demolition, and Source for Streaming Station URLs

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 Paul Jamet, David Iurescia, and Alon for the following tips:

SAQ Grimeton scheduled to air on UN-Day, Oct 24th 2026 (SAQ)

SAQ was put into commercial radio traffic on December 1st 1924, at first on 16.2 kHz. In mid December 1924, the frequency was changed to 16.1 kHz and on Dec 24th 1926 it was changed back to 16.2 kHz. On March 10th 1927 SAQ’s frequency was again changed, this time to 17.0 kHz, a frequency previously used by Italian station IRC in Rome.

Only two weeks later, on April 3rd 1927 SAQ’s frequency was again changed, now to 17.2 kHz, a frequency previously occupied by LPV in Buenos Aires, in order to provide “suitable noninterfering wave channel for new Belgian station ORU Ruysselede”, according to the traffic manager at RCA.
17.2 kHz has since then, except for a short period in the 1950’s when SAQ was transmitting on 17.25 kHz, been the frequency we all now belongs to the historical Alexanderson alternator SAQ at Grimeton Radio Station in Sweden.

On UN-Day, October 24th, 2026, SAQ is scheduled* to spread a peace message to the World on 17.2 kHz CW.

[Click here to view full broadcast and test transmission schedules]

QSL No. 10: 1950 – Establishment of the Bulgarian National Radio’s Golden Fund (BNR News)

Throughout 2026, Radio Bulgaria is confirming listeners’ reception reports with a new series of 12 QSL cards. Each card highlights a significant moment from the history of the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and Radio Bulgaria, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. At the beginning of each month, we present the story behind the image featured on the latest card.

The tenth QSL card for 2026 is dedicated to the establishment of the Bulgarian National Radio’s Golden Fund

The idea of preserving valuable recordings for future generations dates back to the first director of the National Radio, Sirak Skitnik. At his initiative, tape recorders were purchased specifically for this purpose in 1938. In 1950, an order was issued to establish the Bulgarian National Radio’s Golden Fund, but it began operating systematically and in its current form as a specialized archive in November 1957.

[Continue reading…]

Central Bohemian skyline to lose distinctive landmark when Liblice transmitter masts come down (Radio Prague International)

The two 355-metre-high masts of the Liblice transmitter near ?eský Brod are due to be demolished by controlled explosions in October 2026. In its time, the complex, built in 1976, was the most powerful medium-wave transmitter in Central Europe, with an output of 1.5 megawatts. Czech Radio broadcast from the site until the end of 2021, after which the transmitter was temporarily used by Country Radio. Broadcasting from Liblice finally ended in March 2025.

[Continue reading…]

Free CC0 M3U files of working stream URLs for WiFi radios

Hi Thomas,

Your April post on finding and fixing missing streams on Skytune radios prompted this. I keep a free, open project that may help readers with “add by URL” WiFi radios (CCWiFi3, Ocean Digital, Sangean and others), and with VLC or Kodi.

https://github.com/AlonDrilich/radio-playlists (browsable site: https://alondrilich.github.io/radio-playlists/) publishes M3U playlists every week, built from the public Radio Browser directory: one file per country (170) and per genre (60), only stations that passed the directory’s latest stream check. The data is CC0 and the script is MIT, and you can open any file in a text editor to copy a single stream URL. About 40% of the entries are plain http://, which helps older radios that cannot play https streams.

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Radio Waves: Radio Prague Support, AirDrift, and AM Radio Mandate Faces Congressional Clock

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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 David Iurescia and Aaron Hughes for the following tips:

Your support means the world to Radio Prague International (Radio Prague International)

All of us here at RPI would like to thank our listeners for the wave of support and solidarity you showed in response to news of the threat of closure earlier this year. Without you, our broadcasts could not fulfil their most important mission: building a bridge between Czechia and the world.

To highlight the strong bond that has survived and grown over the 90 years of our existence, we are publishing excerpts from some of the many letters, emails and audio messages we received.

[Continue reading…]

AirDrift Internet Radio Browser (Airdrift)

SWLing Post contributor, Aaron Hughes (author of AirDrift) writes:

Air Drift is internet radio the way it used to be: open the page, pick a station, and it plays. There’s no account, no app, and no signup. If you don’t know what you want, press Drift. It spins a globe, hunts through the dial, and lands you on a random live station somewhere in the world.

There are about 50,000 stations from the Radio Browser directory, and you can browse by country, genre, or a 3D globe. It’s made for people who just want to turn on the radio: quick, easy and simple.

[Check it out here!]

Can the AM Radio Car Mandate Beat the Congressional Clock? (Radio World)

As the U.S. Senate adjourns until after the November midterm elections, a familiar concern for backers of the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act has surfaced: Will time run out?

The next step for the legislation, as we’ve covered, is for it to move through the Senate. There was palpable momentum after the bill cleared the house in September. And previously, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) secured filibuster-proof majority with 61 senators supporting it.

[The] bill has to reach the Senate floor for a vote first, and there’s a scant few days left in this current congressional cycle. The 2023 version failed to pass in the Senate after efforts that December fell short.

[Continue reading…]

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Radio Waves: UVB-76 Activity, 90 Years of Broadcasting in Former Czechoslovakia, FM Diversity Reception, and Rescuers use QRP Labs QDX in Cave

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Czechoslovak Radio in the mid-1930s, photo: Czech Radio

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 Dan Robinson, Rich Cuff, Dennis Dura, and Mike for the following tips:

Russia’s ‘Doomsday Radio’ erupts with coded messages after CIA chief’s Moscow visit (Ynet Global)

The secretive UVB-76 station interrupted its trademark buzzing at least 25 times a day after John Ratcliffe’s visit, reviving speculation over its military role as Baltic states seek to calm fears of a possible Russian attack

[Continue reading…]

90 Years of International Broadcasting in Former Czechoslovakia – Culture – Rádio RSI English – STVR (Radio Slovakia International)

In 2026, Slovak Radio is marking 100 years since broadcasting began in what was then Czechoslovakia. For most of that time—90 years, in fact—broadcasting to audiences abroad has been an essential part of its story. While Radio Prague International is celebrating its 90th anniversary, Radio Slovakia International is marking 33 years since launching its own international service. This program is dedicated to this shared 90th anniversary.

[Continue reading…]

Diversity Mode Helps You Unlock Lost FM Channels – Radio World (Radio World)

In 2019, I was about ready to give up the long-distance FM radio listening hobby.

All right, maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration. FM DXers in particular are known in our small circles to go through phases of frustration. The hobby is not for the faint of heart. There are only so many opportunities in a calendar year to catch unique propagation events such as E-Skip, even if your dial conditions are optimal!

And for FM DXers, the best analogy I’ve heard applies the concept of fishing lines to the conditions that make our hobby run.

[Continue reading…]

Rescuers use new tech to save caver trapped vertically in Alberta’s ‘Psych Squeeze’ | CBC News (CBC)

A caver has been rescued after being trapped vertically underground at the Rat’s Nest Cave in Canmore, Alta., in an operation that deployed volunteer-built underground radio technology for the first time.

Search and Rescue Alberta says the man became pinned in a tight spot known as the “Psych Squeeze” around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

[Continue reading…]

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Radio Waves: Georgia LPFM Wants More Power, Radio Bulgaria QSL #8, Preserving Radio Mogadishu, Shortwave HQ Updates, and Joining the CIDX

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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 Dennis Dura, David Iurescia, and Michael Smith for the following tips:

Georgia LPFM Asks FCC to Raise Power Due to Atmospheric Conditions (Radio World)

Valdosta operator says “suspicious phenomenon” is preventing LPFM from reaching potential

[…]WFAG(LP) operates on 89.7 FM with 100 watts of ERP in Valdosta. “Supra 89.7” is licensed to the nonprofit Valdosta Alliance.

In a letter addressed to Chairman Brendan Carr, the alliance’s general manager, Paula Greer, said that the “serious, suspicious phenomenon of apparent ‘ducting’” or “illegal broadcasting” has been preventing the community project from maximizing its potential. [Continue reading…]

QSL Card No. 8: First Bulgarian radio manufacturing factory (Radio Bulgaria)

The eighth QSL card for 2026 is dedicated to Svetozar Prenerov’s first Bulgarian radio manufacturing factory.

In 1925, Svetozar Prenerov, an engineer who had just completed his education in France, received an invitation to take part in the Philips project to manufacture radio sets in the Netherlands. However, the young engineer turned down this tempting offer, deciding instead to manufacture radio sets in his homeland. Thus, in 1925, the ‘Elektron’ craft workshop began operations under the leadership of Svetozar and his brother Veselin, producing ‘Universal’ linear radio sets. [Read more at Radio Bulgaria…]

Safeguarding memory before it disappears – Preserving the Radio Mogadishu archive (UNESCO)

Click here to watch on YouTube.

ShortwaveHQ Database Updates

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael (KM7FMJ), who notes that his ShortwaveHQ directory has recently received a number of updates. Most notably, the site’s search now draws from the full EIBI A-26 schedule, with more than 4,800 entries covering 309 stations. Check it out here!

Join the CIDX

If you aren’t already a member of the Canadian International DX Club (CIDX), one of the many excellent international shortwave radio clubs, here’s a good example of what you’re missing. The August 2026 issue of the CIDX Messenger runs an impressive 73 pages and includes a feature asking, “Do People Still Listen to the Radio?“, a look at why young Africans continue to listen to radio, Canadian Radio News, and much more. The CIDX also hosts monthly Zoom meetings, with the next scheduled for August 16. All of this is available to members for a very modest membership cost. If you’re not a member, consider joining and supporting one of the organizations that continues to keep the international DX community connected. Click here to check out the CIDX!

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Radio Waves: Origins of PRI’s The World, Hona Ghazza, and Vatican Radio at 95

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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 Richard Cuff, Carlos Latuff, and David Iurescia for the following tips:

How The World launched 30 years ago ‘to connect Americans to the rest of the globe’ (WGBH)

For three decades, The World, the public radio program from GBH and PRX, has crossed time zones to tell the stories that matter. For 30 years, it has delivered captivating global journalism — the first of its kind, and still the only program dedicated to bringing international news to U.S. public radio audiences every day.

Marco Wermen, host of the World, joined GBH’s All Things Considered’s Arun Rath to celebrate the milestone anniversary. This is a lightly edited transcript of their conversation. [Continue reading…]

New Radio Station Breaks the Silence from Gaza Ruins (SAFA News Agency)

From the rubble of a territory that has endured years of siege and devastation, a new independent radio station has begun broadcasting once again, offering a voice to residents after a prolonged blackout of local media. For the first time in over two years, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip can tune in to Hona Ghazza, meaning Here Gaza, on FM radio, a milestone in communication after all 23 local stations were destroyed during Israel’s genocidal war.

Broadcasting from makeshift studios and supported by collaborations between local media groups and university centres, the station is designed to serve as more than just a source of music or news. [Continue reading…]

Vatican Radio at 95: English Africa Service approaches 76 Years (Vatican News)

Founded in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi at the request of Pope Pius XI and placed under the guidance of the Jesuits, Vatican Radio continues its global service. For its part, the English Africa Service has been broadcasting to the continent for 76 years

12 February 2026 marks the 95th anniversary of Vatican Radio, a pioneering voice in global broadcasting and one of the Church’s most historic media institutions.

Established on 12 February 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, inventor of wireless telegraphy, at the request of Pope Pius XI, Vatican Radio began its mission with the first papal radio message. This event began a new era in the Church’s use of modern communication to proclaim the Gospel. [Continue reading…]

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Radio Waves: 35 Years of RNZ and Bulgarian National Radio’s New QSL cards

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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 contributor David Iurescia for the following tips:

RNZ Pacific – 35 years of broadcasting to the region (RNZ)

January 24, 1990, the same day the Auckland Commonwealth Games opened, RNZ International (RNZI) began broadcasting to the Pacific region.

Its news bulletins and programmes were carried by a brand new 100kW transmitter. The service was rebranded as RNZ Pacific in 2017. However its mission remains unchanged, to provide news of the highest quality and be a trusted service to local broadcasters in the Pacific region.

Although RNZ had been broadcasting to the Pacific since 1948, in the late 1980s the New Zealand Government saw the benefit of upgrading the service. Thus RNZI was born, with a small dedicated team.

The first RNZI manager was Ian Johnstone. He believed that the service should have a strong cultural connection to the people of the Pacific. To that end, it was important that some of the staff reflected parts of the region where RNZ Pacific broadcasted. He hired the first Pacific woman sports reporter at RNZ, the late Elma Ma’ua. [Continue reading…]

The BNR’s QSL cards for 2025 present the beauty of Bulgaria (BNR)

Dear friends, we are happy to announce that the Bulgarian National Radio’s QSL cards for 2025 are now available. The two series – one with 6 postcards and the other with 12 postcards – are entitled “The Beauty of Bulgaria.”

The series of 6 cards confirms that you have listened to Radio Bulgaria’s programming in any of its languages.

To receive this series, you need to send reports, indicating the date and the language of the programme you have listened to, as well as content details. QSL cards are sent upon receipt of the necessary number of reports, irrespective of the language in which the programmes were heard on our website. [Continue reading…]

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Radio Waves: RTI Receives Top-Rank, Vatican Radio interview, and the Complications Communicating with Voyager I

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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 David Iurescia and Mike Robinson for the following tips:

Rti secures top ranking in global popularity among Japanese-language shortwave broadcast (RTI)

Radio Taiwan International (Rti) has been recognized in the 2024 JARL Ham Fair by securing first place in both the popularity ranking for shortwave stations and the best regular Japanese language broadcasting service.

The JARL Ham Fair is an annual event held during the summer, celebrating radio and broadcasting activities. Rti’s top rankings in both categories mark a major shift from its pre-pandemic standing, where Rti consistently ranked third.

Rti’s President Chang Jui-chang , who led a delegation to Japan last month to foster bilateral exchanges, expressed that this victory not only reflects Rti’s continuous efforts to improve its Japanese-language programming but also underscores the long-standing support and affection from its Japanese listeners.

One of the key developments this year was the resumption of the Double Ten National Day shortwave broadcast in Japanese, which further enhanced Rti’s service to its Japanese audience. Chang stressed that listeners are the lifeblood of any radio station, and Rti will continue its commitment to excellence in its Japanese programming to strengthen Taiwan-Japan ties and deepen mutual friendship.

Vatican Radio, a reference point for international broadcasting. History, facilities and broadcasts (exclusive interview) (FM-World)

Designed personally by Marconi, Radio Vaticana has been a key player in international broadcasting since the early 20th century, particularly in terms of technology. FM-world discussed this with Costantino Pacifici, who was Technical Director of the station for many years.

As the centennial of the radio approaches, the director of this publication asked us to do a quick overview of amplitude modulation stations. We had the opportunity to interview Centrale Milano, AM Italia, and OMItaliane.

But we immediately had the idea to talk about the most prestigious of all European radio stations: the station of Radio Vaticana.

With the help of RAI, we managed to secure a direct contact that led to this exclusive interview, focusing on the peak “broadcast” years of Vatican Radio: when broadcasts from the Holy See were joined by those from Santa Maria di Galeria, and when stereo transmissions began on 96.3 MHz. Here’s the report of the interview with Dr. Costantino Pacifici, which took place in mid-October 2024. [Continue reading…]

NASA is now talking to Voyager 1 with a radio that hasn’t been used since 1981 (BGR)

NASA can’t catch a break when it comes to Voyager 1, apparently. That’s because the US space agency has now revealed that the only thing keeping Voyager 1 communications running at the moment is a radio that hasn’t been used since 1981.

If that sounds like a bit of a nightmare, well, you aren’t wrong. But, it also isn’t the first stop that NASA has had to make on the nightmare train that has been its attempts to keep Voyager 1 working as optimally as possible over the past year.

In fact, this is just the latest in several Voyager 1 communications hiccups. The last hiccup began to show its ugly head in December 2023, when NASA revealed that Voyager 1 was sending back garbled data in its daily communications. That issue persisted for months, with some even believing that Voyager 1 was lost to us as far back as February. [Continue reading…]

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