{"id":19518,"date":"2016-06-18T19:56:26","date_gmt":"2016-06-18T23:56:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=19518"},"modified":"2017-03-01T21:36:39","modified_gmt":"2017-03-02T01:36:39","slug":"radio-botswana-1987-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/radio-botswana-1987-style\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio Botswana, 1987 Style"},"content":{"rendered":"

No seasoned shortwave DXer can forget one of the most distinctive interval signals ever–the “barnyard animals” which marked the beginning of the broadcast day of Radio Botswana<\/a><\/strong>, Gaborone, for decades.<\/p>\n

On its long-time frequency of 4820 kHz, Botswana was an occasional catch for me from the Seattle USA area. I yearned for clearer, more reliable reception of this station and other Africans which\u00a0my East Coast USA DXer pals enjoyed!<\/p>\n

\"Zebras

Zebras mingle with other animals at Chobe National Park, Botswana.<\/p><\/div>\n

It was always fun–and a DXing challenge–to catch Radio Botswana’s interval signal and sign-on announcements, but it was typically mid winter for reception in Seattle. Propagation on 60 meters needed to be favorable to enjoy anything other than a weak, barely listenable signal. Imagine my surprise and excitement when on the evening of December 27, 1987 I came upon the following signal booming in on 4820 kHz, far, FAR better than any previous Botswana reception. Indeed, their signal that evening surpassed in clarity even the Papua New Guinea and Indonesian “regulars” I would hear\u00a0on the tropical bands from the Northwest USA.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/R_Botswana_12-27-87.mp3<\/a><\/audio>
\nThis recording begins with the famous barnyard animals interval, the beautiful Botswana national anthem (Fatshe leno la rona<\/em>, or This is Our Land<\/em> in English) and is followed by a full list of broadcasting frequencies and times in English and the (presumed) Setswana language. That information is followed by a flute instrumental version of the Christian hymn Beautiful Savior<\/em>, which introduces a short devotional or scripture message. The 10 minute recording wraps up with an a cappella children’s choir.<\/p>\n

\"Great<\/a>

Great Circle route from the Gaborone transmitter to Seattle receiver location.<\/p><\/div>\n

My receiving setup for this 1987 recording was an ICOM IC-R70<\/a><\/strong> and a 300 foot long random wire antenna. Such a long antenna is unusual for the middle of an urban area, but I took advantage of living in a 3rd floor apartment across from a small city park<\/a><\/strong>. One midweek day, while most folks were at work, I managed to string out this long antenna with very small diameter braided steel wire from the 3rd floor apartment balcony to a distant treetop. This “sloper” antenna had significant directivity to the northeast, which happens to be the bearing for many African stations heard from the Pacific Northwest USA. The small diameter wire was suspended so high that it was virtually invisible from ground level.<\/p>\n

\"Antenna

Antenna orientation for 1987 reception of Radio Botswana. I’m sure this urban location is plagued by QRM and radio frequency interference now in 2016! My ICOM IC-R70 receiver handled the strong signals from nearby MW & FM broadcasters surprisingly well with the addition of a Grove Tun3 Mini-tuner preselector.<\/p><\/div>\n

I continued to log Radio Botswana occasionally on 60 meters until the station eventually left the air (early 2000s I think), but I never heard them again with such a strong, clear signal as in late December 1987!<\/p>\n

Guy Atkins is a Sr. Graphic Designer for T-Mobile and lives near Seattle, Washington. \u00a0He’s a regular contributor to the SWLing Post.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No seasoned shortwave DXer can forget one of the most distinctive interval signals ever–the “barnyard animals” which marked the beginning of the broadcast day of Radio Botswana, Gaborone, for decades. On its long-time frequency of 4820 kHz, Botswana was an occasional catch for me from the Seattle USA area. I yearned for clearer, more reliable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[56,305,288,746,43],"tags":[5184,5180,5181,3446,5182,4106,5183],"class_list":["post-19518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-broadcasters","category-nostalgia","category-radio-history","category-recordings","category-shortwave-radio","tag-60-meters","tag-botswana","tag-gaborone","tag-guy-atkins","tag-ic-r70","tag-recordings","tag-tropical-band"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-54O","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":57327,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/radio-botswana-barnyard-sounds-mystery\/","url_meta":{"origin":19518,"position":0},"title":"Radio Botswana barnyard sounds mystery","author":"Thomas","date":"July 23, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post and SRAA contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following off-air shortwave radio recording and writes: In all of the recordings of Radio Botswana\u2019s famous barnyard interval signal I can find, the barnyard sounds are accompanied by the sound of cowbells. There is usually a rooster\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/HalliDial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/HalliDial.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/HalliDial.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/HalliDial.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":65166,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/01\/a-dxer-looks-back-at-the-voice-of-america\/","url_meta":{"origin":19518,"position":1},"title":"A DXer Looks Back at the Voice of America","author":"Thomas","date":"January 13, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dan Greenall 50 years ago, Voice of America broadcasts could be found all over the shortwave dial. In addition to a number of transmitter sites located stateside, the VOA used to broadcast from a number of other facilities located in overseas countries in order to help get its signal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "International Broadcasting"","block_context":{"text":"International Broadcasting","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/international-broadcasting\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/VOA-Rhodes-1971.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/VOA-Rhodes-1971.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/VOA-Rhodes-1971.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/VOA-Rhodes-1971.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/VOA-Rhodes-1971.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50130,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/09\/guest-post-mediumwave-dxing-in-botswana\/","url_meta":{"origin":19518,"position":2},"title":"Guest Post: Mediumwave DXing in Botswana","author":"Thomas","date":"September 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Peter Wilson, who shares the following guest post and recordings from his listening post in Botswana: MWDX from Australia and the USA received in Botswana by Peter Wilson Hello Thomas. I moved my 16.2 metre random wire slightly farther away from the house, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Peter-Wilson-laptop-e1630666902213.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Peter-Wilson-laptop-e1630666902213.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Peter-Wilson-laptop-e1630666902213.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Peter-Wilson-laptop-e1630666902213.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":62421,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/03\/silent-signals-recordings-from-shortwave-stations-affected-by-recent-shutdowns\/","url_meta":{"origin":19518,"position":3},"title":"Silent Signals: Recordings from Shortwave Stations Affected by Recent Shutdowns","author":"Thomas","date":"March 23, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who shares the following recordings and writes: Hi Thomas As a result of recent actions by the Trump administration, a number of shortwave stations have recently gone silent. Whether or not this will change is anybody's guess, but the situation is currently\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/1-IMG_0353.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/1-IMG_0353.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/1-IMG_0353.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/1-IMG_0353.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12004,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/01\/interval-signal-ringtones-via-pcj\/","url_meta":{"origin":19518,"position":4},"title":"Interval signal ringtones via PCJ","author":"Thomas","date":"January 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"PCJ International has sent a press release regarding a series of interval signal ring tones they are selling on their web site. PCJ states: Package one includes 35 interval signals from the past and present. In a few months the second package will be released. The price is $1.99 US.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "New Products"","block_context":{"text":"New Products","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/new-products\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Apple-iPhone","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Apple-iPhone-175x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6081,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/shortwave-radio-recordings-radio-new-zealand-international\/","url_meta":{"origin":19518,"position":5},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio New Zealand International","author":"Thomas","date":"March 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"One of my favorite shortwave radio broadcasters is Radio New Zealand International. RNZI has authoritative news--with a focus on NZ and the Pacific islands--music, sports and their own unique character, though they operate on a very modest budget by international broadcasting standards. The RNZI interval signal is charming and unmistakable:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The New Zealand Bellbird (Anthornis melanura) provides the interval signal for RNZI (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/New_Zealand-Bellbird-300x240.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19518\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}