Tag Archives: Shortwave Logs

Carlos’ Shortwave Art and Recording of Radio Amhara “From the Battlefield”

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares another example of his radio log art, this time for Radio Amhara.

Carlos notes:

Radio Amhara, 6090 kHz, broadcasting in Amharic language from Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

Interview about the current civil war in Ethiopia.

Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) is mentioned.

The conflict in the region turned one year old.

Signal listened in countryside Anapolis, Goias, Brazil, November 25, 2021, 04h10 (UTC).

Thank you Mr. Abel Work for the translation of what is said in this audio clip:

“I just listened to the audio clip and 95% of it is just noise and from the couple of sentences that I got, they are talking about that the TPLF has created a lot of people displaced from their home and they need all Ethiopians to help these people with everything including food and shelter”.

Click here to listen on YouTube.

Carlos posts many of his shortwave logs on his Twitter feed–definitely check them out!

Many thanks, Carlos!

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Carlos’ VOK Shortwave Log Art and Audio Clip

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares one more example of his radio log art, this time for a Voice of Korea broadcast in Spanish.

Here’s Carlos’ clip of the Voice of Korea which accompanies the log art at the top of this post:

Carlos has been posting his shortwave logs on his Twitter feed–definitely check them out!

Many thanks, Carlos!

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Carlos Latuff’s shortwave radio logs are a work of art

For those who don’t know, our friend and SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, is not only a devoted radio enthusiast, but also a prominent political cartoonist in Brazil and throughout the world.

Recently, Carlos has been posting his shortwave logs on his Twitter feed and they’re pretty amazing.

Carlos’ shortwave logs not only include comments and notes from each broadcast, but also his own artwork.

Here’s Carlos’ recording of Vatican Radio which accompanies the log at the top of this post:

Click here to check out Carlos’ Twitter feed where he posts his political cartoons and, yes, even the occasional shortwave listening log!

If you’ve been a reader of the SWLing Post for long, you’ll notice that we’re not a space for political discussions; there are much better options out there on the Internet. Here, we stick to the world of radio, but we can’t help but highlight this intersection and Carlos’ creative logs.

In fact, Carlos, I might nudge you for that Vatican Radio recording and your artwork to post on the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive!

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Shortwave Logs from Alaska: June 25 – July 16

Alaska-Paul-Walker-Wellbrook

Conditions haven’t been so great lately and combine that with just being a bit tired and worn out means I haven’t DX’ed as much as I’d like. But I have spent a little time at the radio dials and when I do, I usually pull out a few good logs, so here we go:

3325 kHz, July 12 at 1025UTC. NBC Radio Bouganville with an absolutely LOUD, STELLAR signal. Audio was excellent and there was only light fading with no interference or noise. Survivor’s 1984 hit, “High On You” was playing during my recording. They seem to favor 80s and 90s rock or adult contemporary music when they play tunes. Audio of 3325kHz here:

5835 kHz AM (July 15, 1621UTC, 10871.70kHz USB (July 12 2049UTC) & 10861.90kHz USB(2052UTC). Russian Channel Marker. I’m not really sure where in Russia these come from or what their purpose is, as i am not very “up” on the utility type broadcasts on HF. The 5835 kHz beeping is pretty clear and evident, but it sounds like there’s a little interference coming from somewhere or someone else. The signal from the 10871kHz signals is pretty weak but the beeps do make it above the fading/noise,  5835kHz audio

here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEZMo5DziCI. 10871.70kHz usb audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIhn7MIHMR4 and 10871.90kHz USB audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ9BeqosLtc

5857kHz, July 15 at 1626UTC. “HLL Seoul” with a weather broadcast by a woman speaking Korean. Poor to fair signal with some noise and interference. Audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBNmrdyDDI4

7260 kHz, July 12 at 1001UTC. Radio Vanuatu in their local language with talk in the local language, a little preaching and some Christian music. The audio quality isn’t too great (sounds like it’s full of digital artifacts) but the modulation level is better then usual.  Around 14 minutes and 35 seconds in, a female announcer comes on and talks for a bit then begins reading a sign off message then plays the Vanuatu national anthem. The carrier is left on for 10-15 minutes before being shut off. 7260 audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTnudTRmduk

7485 kHz, July 13 at 1636UTC. BBC Bengla service in Bengali language with a news broadcast. An absolutely stellar, steady signal with almost no noise whatsoever and no fading or interference. 7485kHz audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRDZKSDkSMk

7210 kHz & 9730 kHz, July 13 at 1628UTC and July 15 at 1643 UTC respectively. 7201 kHz is their broadcast in Vietnamese with 20kw via Daclac, Vietnam. Vietnamese music is heard at fair levels but with lots of noise and fading. Pretty decent considering what and where it is. As for 9730kHz, it’s The Voice of Vietnam in what appears to be the Russian language. A poor to fair signal with fading/noise and what appears to be interference from another station. 7210kHz audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xUpmAbpOW4 and 9730kHz audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2CE2QCgiD0

9515 kHz & 9640 kHz, July 11 1644UTC to 1652UTC. The 9515 signal is a bit stronger with slightly fess fading and noise. both are broadcasting the KBS World Radio english service with talk about travelers and tourists. 9515kHz audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0k77cY4DLA and 9640kHz audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhBxIPGHMh8

9526kHz, July 15 at 1645UTC. Voice of Indonesia with Arabic language speech and music. Fair to good signal with low modulation and some noise/fading but comparatively speaking, this is a VERY GOOD signal for what is usually heard on 9526 kHz! And yes, they are about as close to 9526 as can be. Zero beating them in USB with my PL880 produces a whine/noise till I’m right at 9526 kHz. One website, Eibi’s schedule says that are at 9525.9.. I suspect they may be even closer then that! 9526 kHz audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4WdKewnyWM

9665kHz, July 16 at 1715UTC. The Voice of Korea is heard here all day everyday but the audio is usually noisy and fairly poor(usually overmodulated) but this is a case of not only good audio but a pretty solid signal! 9665kHz audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMBLYV4icBQ

9770 kHz, July 11 at 1653UTC. KBS World Radio in Korean with men talking and a pretty steady, GOOD signal. Fair amount of noise and light fading. Audio of 9770kHz here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyXb3sg-1-o

9890 kHz, July 11 at 1729UTC. The Voice of Korea signing on in Arabic. Starts off as usual with a dead carrier, the interval signal and announcers mentioning the name of the signal. Noisy signal, but a much better signal then I’ve ever had from VoK on 9890kHz and the first time I’ve heard them here with log worthy audio! You can somewhat hear another station under them in this recording, and normally, that staion is usually on top VoK on this frequency. 9890 kHz audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftVaztXipTg

10005 kHz, July 12 at 1705UTC and July 16 at 1718UTC. For the 2nd and 3rd time in 6 months, I’ve heard the Chinese Firedrake jammer on 10005 kHz. The first time several months ago, it was so strong it was interfering with WWV & WWVH. These last two times it was fairly weak but what made it even more interesting both times is I heard time pips underneath the jammer. If you listen closely in the two following clips, you can hear the tips and you can clearly hear a longer louder tone signifying the minute mark.  July 12th clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3X3iIs41PE. July 16th clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dClTJkpat30

11665 kHz, July 13 at 1647UTC. RTM Wai FM with an overall very good reception,  good audio and steady signal. Only a slight bit of fading. This is by far the best I’ve ever heard this frequency here! 11665kHz audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw4oVv1hzOI

11735 kHz, July 11 at 2033UTC. Zanzibar Broadcasting Corporation with music and talk in Swahili. This is about the usual kind of signal I get from them, fair to the low side of good with some fading and noise. At times, there signal is even steadier, stronger and less noisy then this. They are listed as being on till 2100UTC but I’ve heard them sign off anywhere between about 2045 and 2058UTC in mid song with no announcement of any kind. In this nearly 19 minute recording, they sign off at 17 minutes and 33 seconds in. Some type of RTTY/data broadcast has recently appear in the last few months on 11735kHz causing interference, severe at times, with Zanzibar on 11735kHz. Audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZiG_nslSi0

12015 kHz, July 11 at 1703UTC & July 13 at 1652UTC. In the July 11th clip, you can hear CRI & VOK fighting it out together, with the two trading places back and forth. If either has a silent carrier, you can clearly here one of them. In the Jul 13th clip, Voice of Korea is on the frequency alone. 12015kHz audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyKCnQ8DLCQ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LF3PNWT69Fw

12035, July 12 at 0859UTC. The Voice of Mongolia. The signal is incredibly weak and this is a good catch if their beam is headed straight south from the transmitter site in Mongolia. Their interval signal pops up out of the noise a few times and you can hear a male announcer say the name of the station in Mongolia before the English language service begins at 0900UTC. Audio of 12035 kHz here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH3ibgLLAg4

13605kHz, June 25h, 1058UTc. All India Radio with fair signal but lots of fading and noise, this is better then what I usually get from AIR. 13605 audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d03wQHXB-dA

13710kHz & 15435kHz, 1705UTC & 1705UTC. Radio Saudia/BSKSA. The 13710 signal was a bit better strength wise with chanting/Arabic music. The 15435 signal had men talking, like a news or interview program and was a bit weaker. 13710 audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0t3YP8RCZY8 and 15435 audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr3tgnRBSn4

15235 kHz, July 14 1649UTC to 1710UTC. Channel Africa, first their news service in French followed by the English broadcast. Signal is good with some fading but very steady and listenable. 15235kHz audio here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtFZxeh468k and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD5lToK7Pdc

15275 kHz, July 16 at 1724UTC.  Deutsche Welle in French, a very noisy signal with lots of fading. Sounds like a news or interview program with a man and woman speaking. Any DW signal is pretty rare here! Audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lChqqJH2crc

17730 kHz, July 13 at 1658UTC. Eye Radio, broadcasting to South Sudan. A very very weak signal with tons of noise and fading. I can barely make out a man speaking before the carrier drops at 1700UTC, which is Eye Radio’s sign off time. Audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-CphVmuJSA

17740 kHz, July 16 at 1732UTC. Deutsche Welle in French with a signal even noisier and worse than 15275kHz. It very well may have been the same broadcast as what was on 15275kHz that I heard minutes earlier. Any DW signal is pretty rare here! Audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lChqqJH2crc

17775 kHz, July 13 at 1706UTC. KVOH which a preacher speaking in Spanish. Weak and noisy but steady signal. This may be the first time I’ve heard KVOH here and I consider this a good catch since they beam to Mexico and Central/South America. Audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqegTkffahA

17850 kHz, July 13 at 1702UTC. Radio France Internationale with a weak, noisy, fading signal. Women talking in French during a news broadcast. Audio here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujnbGMo8Tww

17850 kHz, June 25 at 1048UTc. Radio Thailand, they are a somewhat regular visitor but this is a bit better then usual signal. However, there is a lot of fading and noise. Audio of 17850 kHz here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOuoZM00XmI

Paul Walker is an avid Shortwave DX’er located in Galena, Alaska working at “Community Radio For Alaska: KIYU” as Program Director and is a regular contributor to the SWLing Post. Be sure to check out Paul’s YouTube channel and SoundCloud channel where everything he logs is recorded and posted. Click here to read his other contributions on the SWLing Post.

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Alan seeks help modifying the NewLog logging application

NewLog Entry Screen

SWLing Post reader, Alan Lever, writes:

“Although not new, NewLog is excellent for all breeds of radio listener.

It has separate opening screens for Amateur, SWL, Broadcast etc. all fully adaptable as to layout, renaming boxes etc.

The developer, Tom Lackamp (AB9B), gives full permission to alter and further develop it. I’ve had no success contacting him.

To make this program perfect, can anyone tell me how to set up drop boxes in the various set boxes. I have no idea how to do this myself so would appreciate any help, please.

Readers: Please comment if you can help Alan modify NewLog or if you have current contact information for the developer, Tom Lackamp (AB9B). Thanks!

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23 January 2015: A Friday morning 31 meter band scan

31-Meter-Waterfall-SpectrumThis morning, I tuned around the 31 meter band and was surprised with favorable propagation out of Asia (see spectrum waterfall above–click to enlarge).

I started logging a few stations, but the effort quickly turned into a full band scan/survey.  I logged everything I could easily hear between the 9,390-10,000 kHz portion of the 31 meter band.

I logged 52 stations and omitted eight that I considered too weak for good copy.

I used my WinRadio Excalibur SDR connected to a large horizontal delta loop wire antenna.

The number of broadcasts originating in or targeting China is pretty phenomenal: the 31 band is your oyster, if you speak Chinese.

31 Meter Band 1200 – 1300 UTC, all frequencies in kHz

  • 9390 Radio Thailand Malaysian (1200Z) then English (1230Z)
  • 9410 China National Radio 5 Chinese
  • 9430 FEBC Radio Chinese
  • 9440 China Radio International Cambodian
  • 9460 China Radio International English
  • 9475 Radio Australia English
  • 9490 Voice Of America Korean
  • 9500 China National Radio 1 Chinese
  • 9515 China National Radio 2 Chinese
  • 9530 Voice Of America Chinese
  • 9540 China Radio International Chinese
  • 9550 China Radio International Vietnamese (covered by CRI Cantonese distortion)

    Note the CRI signal on 9,570 kHz which is blanketing the surrounding spectrum with noise.

    Note the blowtorch CRI signal on 9,570 kHz which was blanketing the surrounding spectrum with noise.

  • 9570 China Radio International Cantonese (transmitter spewing distortion 50 kHz wide)
  • 9580 Radio Australia English (covered by CRI Cantonese distortion)
  • 9590 China Radio International Russian (covered by CRI Cantonese distortion)
  • 9600 China Radio International English
  • 9620 China National Radio 6 Chinese
  • 9635 Voice of Vietnam 1 Vietnamese (slightly below freq)
  • 9640 Radio Havana Cuba Spanish
  • 9645 China Radio International English
  • 9655 China Radio International Chinese
  • 9660 Radio Taiwan International Chinese
  • 9680 Radio Taiwan International Chinese
  • 9700 Lower Sideband communication (UNID)
  • 9710 China National Radio 1 Chinese
  • 9720 China Radio International Filipino
  • 9730 China Radio International English
  • 9735 Radio Taiwan International Indonesian
  • 9740 BBC English
  • 9745 Guanghua zhi Sheng Chinese
  • 9750 Radio Kuwait Arabic
  • 9730 China Radio International English
  • 9770 KBS World Radio Chinese
  • 9775 China National Radio 2 Chinese (vy weak)
  • 9785 China Radio International Laotian
  • 9790 Voice Of Islamic Republic of Iran Pashto
  • 9810 China National Radio 2 Chinese and All India Radio Telugu
  • 9820 Radio Havana Cuba Spanish
  • 9825 Voice Of America Chinese
  • 9830 China National Radio 1 Chinese
  • 9840 Voice of Vietnam English
  • 9850 Radio Habana Cuba Spanish
  • 9855 China Radio International Chinese
  • 9860 China National Radio 1 Chinese (vy weak)
  • 9880 KSDA-AWR Guam Korean (vy weak)
  • 9900 Radio France International Chinese
  • 9920 FEBC Radio Bahnar (w/Jamming)
  • 9940 Reach Beyond Australia (HCJB) Indonesian
  • 9955 Radio Slovakia International English (via WRMI/WRN)
  • 9975 KTWR Guam Chinese
  • 9990 Radio Farda Persian
  • 10000 WWV Fort Collins English

I recorded two broadcasts during the scan–both at 12:30 UTC: Radio Thailand (9,390 kHz) and Radio Slovakia (9,955 kHz). I will post them soon.

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Capturing spectrum and logging band openings last night

My 31 meter band spectrum display last night. Strong signals across the board.

Waterfall display of the 31 meter band last night.

Last night, band conditions were superb above 7 MHz. Both the 31 and 25 meter bands seemed crowded with stations; for a moment, it felt like a true solar peak.

This morning, solar flares have dampened down the excitement but I imagine conditions could favorably change at times this weekend, so stay tuned!

I recorded the entire 25M band for a couple of hours yesterday evening and a large portion of the 31 meter band throughout the night. Fortunately, I had just invested in another Western Digital Caviar Green 3 TB SATA drive, so there was ample space to make these (very) large recordings. I think this brings my overall spectrum storage up to 12 TB!?!

I love the fact that these SDR band captures will make for good listening sometime this winter when the sun isn’t being so cooperative. I liken it to radio time travel, but I believe David Goren (of shortwaveology.net) said it best in a comment he posted in “Confessions of an SDRaholic: when 4.5 terabytes is not enough“:

“My approach to recording SDR band captures is like assembling a collection of fine wines. I tend to record captures when there are unusual propagational openings…and while recording a whole swath of frequencies for an hour or so you can still tune around and make discoveries and even record them singly.. And then once the capture is done, you have it as long as you want to keep it.. So, on a static-y summers day I can go to the shelf and pull down “Ye Olde Auroral MW Opening 10/15/11? or “Hot Bolivian evening on 60 meters.” and I can make discoveries to my heart’s content. Since I can listen to an hour’s worth of each frequency it will take a long time to exhaust the potential of any particular capture, esp. with the ability to refilter and change. multiple parameters of reception.”

See? (I tell my wife) I’m simply building my collection of fine wines!

Below, you’ll find some of the stations I logged last night (actually, this morning in UTC).

Logs:

31 meter band beginning 00:00 UTC, 25 OCT 2014

  • 9410 BBC English Nakhon Sawan
  • 9420 ERT Open/VOG Greek
  • 9455 China National Radio 1 Chinese
  • 9470 AIR National Channel Hindi/English (vy wk)
  • 9475 WTWW English
  • 9510 China Radio International Russian
  • 9520 PBS Nei Menggu Chinese AND Radio Romania International Romanian
  • 9565 Radio Tupi/Super Radio Deus e Amor Portuguese (QRM from CRI 9570)
  • 9570 China Radio International English
  • 9586 Super Radio Deus e Amor Portuguese
  • 9590 China Radio International Spanish
  • 9630 Radio Aparecida Portuguese
  • 9645 Radio Bandeirantes Portuguese
  • 9660 Radio Taiwan International Chinese
  • 9665 China National Radio 5 Chinese or possibly KCBS Pyongyang Korean
  • 9690 All India Radio English
  • 9700 Radio Romania International English
  • 9705 All India Radio English
  • 9710 China Radio International Portuguese
  • 9730 Adventist World Radio Manumanaw Karen or possibly 9730 Myanmar Radio Burmese
  • 9740 BBC English (vy weak)
  • 9800 China Radio International Spanish
  • 9810 Radio Havana Cuba Spanish
  • 9820 Radio 9 de Julho Portuguese
  • 9855 Voice of America Tibetan
  • 9860 Voice of Islamic Rep. of Iran Spanish
  • 9870 AIR New Delhi Hindi
  • 9880 Voice of America Chinese (vy weak)
  • 9935 ERT Open, VOG Greek
  • 9965 Radio Cairo Arabic
  • 10000 WWV Ft. Collins

25 meter band beginning  0100 UTC, 25 OCT 2014

  • 11520 EWTN (WEWN) English
  • 11580 SOH Xi Wang Zhi Sheng Chinese/Cantonese
  • 11590 Radio Japan Hindi (vy weak)
  • 11620 China National Radio 5 Chinese
  • 11640 Radio Free Asia Uyghur
  • 11650 China Radio International Chinese
  • 11670 Radio Havana Cuba Spanish
  • 11695 Radio Free Asia Tibetan
  • 11710.7 Radio Cairo Spanish (transmitter noise)
  • 11760 Radio Havana Cuba Spanish
  • 11780 Radio Nacional da Brasilia Portuguese
  • 11825 Bro Stair
  • 11840 Radio Havana Cuba Spanish
  • 11855 Radio Aparecida Portuguese
  • 11870 EWTN (WEWN) Spanish
  • 11905 Sri Lanka BC English/Hindi
  • 11955 Radio Romania International French
  • 12020 VoA Deewa Radio Pashto
  • 12025 UNID
  • 12070 Radio Cairo Spanish (jammed or transmitter noise?)
  • 12105 WTWW Spanish
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