For your listening pleasure: beHAVior Night, a shortwave radio show which showcases music from the first four decades of the 20th Century.
This show was recorded on Friday, January 17, 2014–last week. You can catch beHAVior Friday afternoon/evening at 17:00 EST/22:00 UTC on 7,490 kHz (WBCQ).
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
For your listening pleasure: beHAVior Night, a shortwave radio show (relayed by WBCQ) dedicated to showcasing music from the first four decades of the 20th Century.
This show was recorded on 7,490 kHz, starting at 22:00 UTC on December 8, 2013.
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
Sir Scratchy (Source: Facebook)
For your listening pleasure: beHAVior Night, a shortwave radio show, relayed by WBCQ, dedicated to showcasing music from the first four decades of the 20th Century.
If you’re as nostalgic as I am, you’ll love the sonic combination of early records with the shortwave ether hosted by the inimitable “Sir Scratchy.” Relax, close your eyes, and indulge in a little radio time travel…
You can tune in beHAVior Night on Fridays at 17:00 EST or 22:00 UTC on 7,490 kHZ.
Though I could not find an official website for beHAVior Night, I would encourage you to “like” both Sir Scratchy and the beHAVior Night Facebook pages where show updates are often posted.
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
If you like listening to early 20th century music via shortwave, you should also check out Marion’s Attic and the occasional pirate radio station, Radio Casablanca.
(Source: WBCQ Facebook Page)
Check out this Navy receiver model REH, that the good folks at WBCQ The Planet have electrically restored. The REH was an “amenities” receiver used by the United States Navy in World War II for troop entertainment. WBCQ, however, has given this one a second life as a station monitor.
No wonder that glowing green magic eye is so bright–it’s tuned to a broadcast that’s being transmitted from WBCQ’s back yard in Monticello, Maine! WBCQ says it “sounds great.” No doubt!
Thanks to WBCQ for sharing this on their Facebook page!
Marion Webster (Source: Marion’s Attic)
If you’ve never heard Marion’s Attic on WBCQ, you don’t know what you’ve been missing–especially if you love early music recordings. Marion’s Attic describes the show as:
“[A] unique radio program, broadcasted on WBCQ, The Planet, [7.49] MHz (Shortwave Radio) every Sunday at 5 PM Eastern time. Hosted by Marion Webster & Kristina, and with occasional special guests.”
“Marion’s Attic is an eclectic radio program which plays original cylinder and disc records from the late 1890’s to the mid 1930’s. Having a library containing thousands of standard size cylinder records, dozens of 5 inch Concert Cylinders and an unknown amount of 78’s allows us to share unusual and forgotten music that you cannot hear anywhere else. What makes this special radio program unique is I play original records on the original phonographs when possible; many of which are over 100 years old. The theme varies from week to week; a show may feature popular songs from the early 1900’s one week, wild dance music from the roaring 20’s the next week.”
Marion’s Attic has been on WBCQ since September 21st, 1999 and is certainly one of their most popular shows. It’s quirky and authentic. I love it.
(Source: edisonphonology.com)
Mary tells us that each episode is recorded in her attic using simple recording equipment and original phonographs including:
Yesterday afternoon, at 16:59 EST (21:59 UTC), I tuned to Marion’s Attic on 7,490 kHz and started recording. You’ll hear about one minute of WBCQ’s interval signal and station ID, then straight into Marion’s Attic. Click here to download the show as an MP3 or simply listen via the embedded player below:
If you missed Marion’s Attic yesterday, you can catch it again tonight on WBCQ–check out the full broadcast schedule below:
WBCQ is easily heard in North, Central and South America–also in Europe.
Marion and Kristina often give shout outs to their listeners. You can contact them at [email protected] or:
Marion’s Attic
P.O. Box 583
Coventry, CT 06238
Many thanks to Marion and Kristina for sharing your wonderful collection of early music recordings! I’d also like to thank SWLing Post reader, Mike, who is a big fan of Marion’s Attic and unknowingly gave me a nudge to mention their show here.
Kudos to VOA research analyst Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott for his remarkable innovation: VOA Radiograms (i.e., digital text messages sent over shortwave broadcast radio), and for promoting this concept through the Voice of America. His persistance, with support from forward-thinking shortwave broadcasters like WBCQ, WRMI and The Mighty KBC, who have all broadcasted his digital messages, has paid off. Classic technology meets current in this new communication mode which makes internet disruption absolutely irrelevant, and which is even impervious, to a great degree, to interference.
This weekend, the VOA Radiogram will become a reality:
(Source: VOA Radiogram)
VOA Radiogram will “soft launch” this weekend. Here is the transmission schedule (all days and times are UTC):
Saturday 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sunday 0230-0300 5745 kHz (Saturday evening in North America)
Sunday 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sunday 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the IBB Edward R Murrow Transmitting Station in North Carolina.
The digital text modes to be transmitted this weekend on VOA Radiogram are as follows. Each text transmission will be one minute, unless otherwise specified. Asterisk * denotes RSID: if your RxID is on, Fldigi will automatically switch to this mode and audio frequency. The other modes you can decode from your recording.
- BPSK31 on 2000 Hz*
- QPSK31 on 1000Hz, BPSK31* on 2000 Hz
- QPSK31 on 1000Hz*, PSK63F on 1500Hz, BPSK31 on 2000 Hz
- QPSK63 on 1000 Hz, PSKR125 on 1500 Hz*, BPSK63 on 2000 Hz
- QPSK125 on 1000Hz, PSKR250 on 1500 Hz*, BPSK63 on 2000 Hz
- QPSK250 on 800 Hz, PSKR500 on 1500Hz*, BPSK250 on 2200Hz
- QPSK500 on 800 Hz, PSKR1000 on 1500 Hz*, BPSK500 on 2200 Hz
- PSKR500 on 1000 Hz, PSK63F on 1500 Hz, PSKR125 on 2000 Hz, and PSKR250 on 2500 Hz* (5 min 40 secs). The latter portions of the PSKR250 and 500 transmissions are formatted for Flmsg. (In Fldigi, Configure > Misc > NBEMS > under Reception of flmsg files, click Open with flmsg and Open in browser, and below that state the location of the flmsg.exe file.)
- MFSK32 image on 1500 Hz (54 seconds)
In future weeks, after the “hard launch” of VOA Radiogram, only one mode will be transmitted at one time. This will ensure the highest possible signal-to-noise ratio and the best possible chances for a successful decode.
See also how to decode the modes.
Send reports to radiogram(at)voanews.com
Follow @voaradiogram
Keep up-to-date with all future broadcasts, digital modes and methods for decoding on the VOA Radiogram website, and by following them on Twitter: @voaradiogram.
VOA Radiogram is a new Voice of America program experimenting with digital text and images via AM shortwave broadcasting. One might say this is the crossover point between classic shortwave and current technology. It’s fun and fascinating stuff, and also has real utility.
If you’ve been an SWLing Post reader for very long, you’ll be familiar with the digital messages, otherwise known as radiograms, included in broadcasts from The Mighty KBC and, earlier, from WBCQ. We’ve also offered a small primer on decoding.
In the near future, Dr. Kim Elliott’s digital radiograms will be broadcast through VOA via the Edward R. Murrow Transmission Station in Greenville, NC.
The new VOA Radiogram website contains time and frequencies and all of the information you’ll need to decode VOA radiograms.
Incidentally, Kim Elliott and I will be presenting on the topic of VOA Radiograms and digital modes at the 2013 NASWA Winter SWL Fest. If you’re interested, it’s not too late to register! Meanwhile, stay tuned for more information about radiograms.