See if you can catch this test transmission on Sunday, October 7 (oo:00-02:00UTC) from The Mighty KBC in the Netherlands:
(Source: The Mighty KBC)
The Mighty KBC is testing on 9400 kHz on Sunday, October 7th, 2012 between 00.00 – 02.00 UTC with 100kW beamed to the USA, South America and Canada.
Propagation Map (Source: The Mighty KBC)
Due to budget cuts, the American Forces Network (AFRTS) has decommissioned their Key West, Florida SW frequencies of: 5446, 7811, 12133 kHz
Since the Navy provides the shortwave service as a supplementary or backup service for their ships that don’t have the Navy’s Direct-to-Sailor (DTS) capability, I’m not terribly surprised they’re downsizing. Even so, the AFN still maintains their Guam and Diego Garcia transmitters as they recognize that the, “[s]hortwave service is also an option for land-based listeners in remote locations that do not have access to local or satellite-delivered AFRTS full Satellite Network (SATNET) services.”
AFN/AFRTS Shortwave Frequencies (note: all broadcasts are in USB)
Personally, I’m a little saddened by the cuts as the Key West facility was the easiest for me to hear in the US, though I routinely hear Guam and Diego Garcia. Not familiar with the AFRTS? Check out our recent post.
Thanks to Kim Elliott for the tip.
Pirate radio is perhaps one of the most dynamic aspects of the diverse landscape of SWLing. In direct contrast with major broadcasters, many of whom are now thinning out their offerings, pirate radio just seems to adapt and grow.
I started listening to shortwave pirates in earnest only a few years ago. I had listened to pirates in the past, but had never followed the pirate scene, nor understood how to reliably find pirates on the shortwave radio dial. I now know, by the number of emails I receive from SWLing Post readers, that there are many others who feel as I did then.
Pirate radio broadcasters do not follow a regular broadcasting schedule, often operate at very low power, and are not necessarily always on the same frequency or even mode. It’s no wonder they’re hard to find.
I wish, in those early days of exploring the pirate bands, I had known about the Pirate Radio Annual, produced by pirate radio guru Andrew Yoder.
Not only is this book, which explores the pirate radio scene in North America, well written and insightful, it is chock-full of information. It’s a bit like the programming section of the former Passport to Worldband Radio, only focused on pirates. The book also comes with an accompanying audio CD. Yoder, by the way, has been covering the pirate scene for decades; he’s also the former publisher of hobbyist magazine Hobby Broadcasting.
The 2012 Pirate Radio Annual is divided into several sections:
I especially like the extensive station profiles of pirates who were active in 2011. Not only can I get more info about the more elusive stations that don’t offer many clues to their raison d’etre–such as Radio Strange Outpost–but it also makes for a handy resource to glean QSL contact info. In fact, I learned a lot about the personalities, broadcast histories and habits of many pirates we’ve featured here (like Undercover Radio, Captain Morgan Shortwave, Wolverine Radio, and North Woods Radio, to name a few). Yoder is able to provide details about these station that your average listener just wouldn’t know, including the types of transmitters used, output power, and historical perspectives.
The accompanying audio CD features clips from 78 stations, and includes audio from the transmitter comparison in the book.
For about $20.00 US (with shipping), the 2012 Pirate Radio Annual is unquestionably a great buy for those interested in pirate radio.
You can purchase the 2012 Pirate Radio Annual from:
A B24’s Hallicrafters S27 (Photo: AAFRadio.org)
One of my favorite ham radio blogs is that of John (AE5X). Like me, he’s a QRPer–meaning, as amateur radio operators, we love making contacts across this great globe of ours using very low power…typically 5 watts or less. The challenge is fun, the medium is magical.
John’s also a radio historian and shortwave radio listener. Yesterday, he posted a most fascinating look at how the Hallicrafters S27s played an important role during World War II countering very innovative radio guidance techniques by the Third Reich.
You should bookmark John’s blog, as he post many radio related topics that the SWL would find enjoyable, whether it be about numbers stations, QSLs or even his own experience learning Russian via shortwave.
But first, read: Hallicrafters and electronic warfare in 1940 on 10 meters. . .or, an ‘Aspirin’ for the ‘Headache’
(Photo: The Radio Kitchen)
So great to see a new post on The Radio Kitchen, letting us know that The Professor can DX from home again after resolving a spectrum noise disturbance. This is a post many a shortwave listener will relate to, since most of us have had to deal with spectrum noise at some point.
Click here to read:
Goodbye Neighbor, Hello Brazil!
Click here to download your copy.
Thanks to the efforts of a dedicated radio historian and author, Jeff Cant, you can download and read an excellent history of the first fifty years of the BBC’s Woofferton transmission station. Cant began his history as an internal document to the station; he later finished it in his retirement. I wish every shortwave transmitter station had such a well-documented history providing a perspective on the station’s broadcasting. We owe Mr. Cant a profound debt of gratitude.
To download the PDF, simply click here.
A special thanks to Jonathan Marks for finding and sharing this great bit of radio history.
Should the link to the PDF above ever become inactive, I’ve placed an archive copy available for download on the SWLing Post server.
The World Radio TV Handbook (WRTH) has updates their A12 International Radio Supplement as of July 13. The file is now available to download, free of charge, from the WRTH website. This is a comprehensive update and supplement to the printed 2012 WRTH.