Tag Archives: Shortwave Music

Shortwave Radio Recordings: The Mighty KBC

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tom-petty

This episode of The Giant Jukebox features one of my favorites from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

The Mighty KBC broadcast again early this morning (from 00:00-02:00 UTC) on 9,450 kHz. Their signal was quite strong into North America and there was very little interference of any sort. As we’ve come to expect, the KBC’s Giant Jukebox of music has a lot of rock-n-roll variety, spanning the decades.

And as I’ve mentioned before, perhaps what I love most about The Mighty KBC is their format; it harkens back to the day when my local radio stations had professional DJ’s behind the mic, people who loved music and loved their job.  Thanks to Eric and The Mighty KBC for blasting the Giant Jukebox across the planet! I look forward to their broadcast every weekend.

You can listen to the full recording below in the embedded player, or simply right click this link and save the MP3 file to your computer:

You’ll notice that Kim Elliott has another installation of digital text modes in this broadcast. At about 01:30 UTC, Olivia 8-2000 will be centered on 1500 Hertz, and PSKR125 centered on 2800 Hertz. At just before 02:00 UTC, images in MFSK32 will be at 1000 and 2000 Hertz, with another image in MFSK16 at 2600 Hertz.

Decode these digital modes using Fldigi from www.w1hkj.com.

Shortwave Radio Recordings: The Giant Jukebox and Kim Elliott’s digital text on The Mighty KBC

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wurlitzerJukeboxThe Mighty KBC’s broadcast from Bulgaria was mighty strong last night into North America. I recorded the full 2 hour show of The Giant Jukebox on 9,450 kHz beginning at 00:00 UTC.

As I’ve come to expect from The Mighty KBC, this show has an marvelous mix of rock-n-roll through the decades along with Eric’s professional DJing. The Mighty KBC has real people behind the music mix, a refreshing alternative to the iHeart Radio and Pandoras of the world.

Click here to download an MP3 of the entire show, or simply listen via the embedded Archive.org player below:

Of course, this recording includes Kim Elliott’s digital text modes. For those of you who would like to decode it, here are the details:

At about 01:30 into the recording, 4xPSK63R is centered on 1000 Hz and MFSK64 centered on 2000 Hz. (For 4XPSK63R, use Fldigi 3.21.65 or newer: OpMode > PSKR > MultiCarrier > 4XPSK63R.)

At just before the end of the transmission, an image will be transmitted in the MFSK16 mode. Also, MT63-2000 (long interleave) will be centered on 1500 Hz. This will be an Flmsg formatted transmission, with html. Fldigi and Flmsg can be downloaded from www.w1hkj.com.

Please comment if you were able to decode.

Shortwave Radio Recordings: All India Radio – Ravi Shankar

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Ravi Shankar passed away December 11, 2012. Like many people, Shankar was a complicated fellow, but no one can deny his talent on the Sitar. His music will live with us forever, not to mention through the musical talents of his children, Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones.

I recorded this clip of him on All India Radio some weeks ago.  Click here to download or enjoy below:

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Firedrake?

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"Who can this be?"

“Mum, this sounds like Firedrake. Quick, make a note of it in the logs!”

I’ve noticed a broadcaster that routinely transmits weekends at 11:00 UTC on 6,970 kHz.  Some mornings, it’s much stronger than others. Saturday morning, my time, I managed to record it in its typical format: music. Specifically, Chinese folk music, at least so it sounds to my untrained ear.

I searched through logs and in the WRTH, and I could find no mention of a broadcaster on 6970 kHz. It doesn’t help that the 27 minute broadcast contained no audible IDs.

So, I’ve come to the conclusion that my initial hunch is correct–that this is the Chinese jamming service, Firedrake.  Using Firedrake, the Chinese government transmits music on top of broadcasts they wish to block. It’s fairly effective (and annoying). While I’ve heard Firedrake a number of times over the bands, I can’t say I’ve ever tried to listen to the one-hour production.

The following recording contains a 27 minute broadcast of what I believe may be Firedrake on 6,970 kHz, starting around 11:00 UTC, Saturday January 26, 2013. Click here to download the MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Note that the first two minutes have some digital noises (in the lower side band) that affected my receiver’s AGC.

If you can confirm or correct my supposition, please comment!

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Voice of Greece music

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TheParthenonAthensFor your listening pleasure: 193 minutes of music, and a little Greek commentary, from the Voice of Greece. Recorded on Friday, January 18th–starting around 22:30 UTC–on 9.42 MHz.

Click here to download the MP3 of the recording, or simply listen below:

Shortwave Radio Recordings: All India Radio on the Bonito RadioJet

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The Bonito 1102S RadioJet IF receiver

The Bonito 1102S RadioJet IF receiver

After posting my latest All India Radio recording, SWLing Post reader, Pete, suggested that I check out their broadcasts starting around 21:00 UTC on 11,670 and 9,445 kHz, as they are quite strong into North America. He was right.

On Thursday afternoon, I tuned the Bonito RadioJet to 9,445 kHz, where I was greeted with a strong signal from AIR’s Bengaluru, India, transmitter site (over 8,500 miles from my home). I compared the signal on the RadioJet with that of my trusty WinRadio Excalibur to find that the RadioJet’s audio was somewhat fuller and richer. In situations where AM sync detection is not needed, I may start using the RadioJet for recordings. I’ve been using it strategically over the past few months for DRM reception and digging weak stations out of the static–something I typically don’t record, but probably should, as the RadioJet deserves even more air and recording time!

AllIndiaRadioLogo1I recorded this AIR broadcast on Thursday January 10th–around 21:30 UTC–on 9.445 MHz. This particular broadcast features news, commentary and the wonderful music I’ve come to expect from All India Radio. You can download the MP3 by clicking here, or simply listen in the embedded player below. Enjoy!

Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio Japan

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NHK-Radio-JapanThis past weekend, I recorded several stations on the 25 meter band, including (recently posted) All India Radio and Radio Nacional da Amazonia. Though I noted Radio Nacional‘s booming signal into North America, Radio Japan’s audio fidelity was simply amazing; very clear, no sign of transmitter hum nor distortion, and only the slightest QSB. Their signal emanated from the Montsinery site in French Guiana–a mere stone’s throw away in the shortwave world.

I recorded a little over an hour of their broadcast on 11.935 MHz, January 6th, 2013 starting around 02:30 UTC. The recording features Japanese commentary and a variety of music–it starts with the show tune Memory from the 1981 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats.

Click here to download the MP3 of the recording, or listen below: