Tag Archives: Shortwave Radio Recordings

All India Radio: A Welcome Voice

Many afternoons, I’m drawn to All India Radio on 9,445 kHz. I love what the ether does to their Bengaluru transmitting station’s signal as it travels at the speed of light over 8,700 miles to my home here in the southeastern US.

I enjoy, too, the way All India Radio announcers speak the news, in slow cadence, honoring the fine tradition of radio: “This is the general overseas service of All India Radio. It’s time now for the news. Please stand by…” I also delight in their English language news bulletins, which begin with “Namaskar.” I appreciate this–it makes it much easier for me to identify the station when listening on an analog radio like my BC-348-Q. I’m sure this makes a difference for many other listeners seeking their station, too.

I also love All India Radio–like I do the Voice of Greece–for their superb music. Where else on the shortwave dial will I hear the sitar sing, as on AIR?

But don’t take my word for it. If you live in North America and Europe, when conditions are favorable, All India Radio is a favorite listening experience for many–myself obviously included.

For your listening enjoyment, here is a 30 minute recording I made of All India Radio only an hour ago on 9,445 kHz, starting at 22:00 UTC. Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

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Shortwave Radio Recordings: KVOH test transmission

Introducing The Shortwave Radio Audio Archive

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I used a photo I took of the large slewable curtain antenna at the Edward R. Murrow Transmitter Site for the iTunes cover art of the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.

I transformed this photo I took of the large slewable curtain antenna at the Edward R. Murrow Transmitter Site into the iTunes cover art for the new Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.

SWLing Post Readers,

I am very happy to announce a project to share and archive our shortwave radio recordings: The Shortwave Radio Audio Archive.

Many of you probably already know that I believe archiving our shortwave radio broadcasts is vital now. Many broadcasters are leaving the air, and many target areas are being removed altogether. Meanwhile, over the past two years there have been new broadcasters coming on the air, often doing test transmissions before beginning broadcasting in earnest. These, too, are significant in radio history.

I have already populated the site with more than eighty recordings, most of which I’ve posted here over the past two years. I still have thirty or more to add. Already in the archive: Radio Bulgaria (now silent), Radio Netherlands Worldwide, The BBC WS special broadcast of the Diamond Jubilee, and a very interesting Vatican Radio broadcast announcing the selection of the new pope.

If you subscribe to the SW Radio Audio Archive’s podcast, you’ll be able to see and download the entire existing collection and new recordings as they are added.

To make this project work, we need your participation! You can help in two ways:

Share your shortwave radio recordings! Simply create an Archive.org account, upload your recording, and share the link with us (we have a nifty web form for submissions). Full details are available on this page.
Simply subscribe to the podcast, download the recordings…and save them. By doing this, you’ll be making an archived copy of all of the recordings. Here are two ways to subscribe to the podcast:
- Use your podcast application to subscribe to our RSS feed. Here is the feed URL: http://shortwavearchive.com/archive?format=rss
- or subscribe via iTunes by clicking here

Donations and radio-related, commercial sponsorships are also welcome.

On the site, we state that “Multiple archives in multiple storage locations ensure the integrity of this collection over time.” This is very true of all archives: the more forms of back up, the better. Especially since archive-quality digital storage does not yet exist. Safety and integrity come with redundancy.

Remember, this project is a collective, community effort, so I hope you will consider sharing your recordings with the rest of the world!

Feel free to share this post and the site http://shortwavearchive.com via social media, your radio groups and message boards. Thank you!

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Shortwave Radio Recordings: Rádio Nacional da Amazônia

Shortwave Radio Recordings: NHK Radio Japan

Propaganda from the source: Listening to the Voice of Korea on shortwave radio

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One of the countries dominating the headlines of global news lately is North Korea. As Kim Jong-un raises tensions and rattles his nuclear saber, the rest of the world is attempting to determine if this is a egotistical show of power for the benefit of all observers (as with previous leaders) or if there is real intention behind the rhetoric.

Just this morning Pyongyang has warned that Tokyo would be a primary strike target if war were to break out, or if their test missile is downed; they’ve even moved their missile launch pad into position.

Regardless of outcome of these provocations, I know that the bulk of the North Korean population will suffer. North Korean mainstream “news” consists of images of military parades in the immaculate capital city of Pyongyang; but the reality is that most of the population live in rural North Korea, which is subject to severe food shortages and extreme poverty.

We know North Korea is a country that carefully controls and manipulates their media internally; they also broadcast the same flavor of propaganda externally on shortwave radio via the Voice of Korea.

As shortwave radio listeners, we have the distinct advantage of being able to listen directly to the case of North Korea. We can actually hear (and analyze for ourselves) the North Korea propaganda directly from the source. Note that it’s not uncommon for the Voice of Korea to unexpectedly go off air, likely due to power shortages: this fact is much more suggestive of the of general conditions in the country than the “news” itself.

Depending on where you live in the world, your ability to hear the (relatively weak) Voice of Korea will vary. If you live in the Asia/Pacific region, the station is very audible.

Yesterday morning at 10:00 UTC, I recorded an hour of their English broadcast to South America on 11.71 MHz. You can download an mp3 of the recording by clicking here, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Below, you’ll find the current broadcast schedule for the Voice of Korea English service courtesy of North Korea Tech:

VOK English (time in UTC)

04:00 on 7220, 9445, 9730 kHz to Northeast Asia
04: 00 on 11735, 13760, 15180 kHz to Central & South America
05:00 on 13650, 15105 kHz to Southeast Asia
06:00 on 7220, 9445, 9730 kHz to Northeast Asia
10:00 on 11710, 15180 kHz to Central & South America
10:00 on 11735, 13650 kHz to Southeast Asia
13:00 on 13760, 15245 kHz to Western Europe
13:00 on 9435, 11710 kHz to North America
15:00 on 13760, 15245 kHz to Western Europe
15:00 on 9435, 11710 kHz to North America
16:00 on 9890, 11645 kHz to Near & Middle East; North Africa
18:00 on 13760, 15245 kHz to Western Europe
19:00 on 7210, 11910 kHz to South Africa
19:00 on 9875, 11635 kHz to Near & Middle East; North Africa
21:00 on 13760, 15245 kHz to Western Europe

For a full schedule of the Voice of Korea, please visit this page on North Korea Tech.

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Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio Australia Jazz Notes

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This episode of Jazz Notes starts with a piece by the Australian band, The Catholics. (Photo: Bugle Records)

This episode of Jazz Notes starts with a piece by the Australian jazz band, The Catholics. (Photo: Bugle Records)

For your listening pleasure: thirty minutes of Radio Australia’s Jazz Notes.

This broadcast was recorded today at 13:30 UTC on 9,580 kHz. As on most mornings, the signal out of Shepparton, Australia, was very strong; the audio fidelity was, in consequence, very impressive for a transmission emanating from some 9,800 miles away.

You can download this recording of Jazz Notes by clicking here, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

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