{"id":33823,"date":"2018-08-31T07:00:09","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T11:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=33823"},"modified":"2018-08-30T17:17:55","modified_gmt":"2018-08-30T21:17:55","slug":"guest-post-possible-last-remaining-direct-biafra-qsl-emerges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2018\/08\/guest-post-possible-last-remaining-direct-biafra-qsl-emerges\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: Possible Last Remaining Direct Biafra QSL Emerges"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Robinson who shares this fascinating story about what has to be “one of the most important occurrences involving a SWBC station that no longer exists — the Voice of Biafra”:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

Biafra: One of the rarest of SWBC QSLs<\/h2>\n

by Dan Robinson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many SWLing Post<\/em> readers will no doubt have heard, in recent years, the \u00a0station Radio Biafra broadcasting via various relay locations on shortwave, and also on the Internet.<\/p>\n

Those of us who have been SWLs for many decades remember the history of Biafra and the story of the original Voice of Biafra<\/em>, which when the station was active on shortwave, before it was closed down by Nigerian government forces.<\/p>\n

My own SWLing career began in the late 1960’s, but alas my receivers at the time, and my knowledge of what was on the air were such that I did not hear the transmissions from Biafra (I’m one of those who regrets having missed many former tropical band broadcasters, such as Tonga, Fiji, Gilbert & Ellice Islands (later known as Kiribati) when they used shortwave, and Biafra was on that list as well).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I first learned about the original Radio Biafra from articles written by the late Don Jensen.<\/p>\n

In one of those [download PDF]<\/a>, Don re-printed a copy of one of the most famous SWBC QSLs of all time — a Biafra verification sent to DX’er Alan Roth.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Typed on a piece of notebook paper, it had “Broadcasting Corporation of Biafra, P.O. Box 350, Enugu” at the top. Three paragraphs of text followed, referring to Roth’s reception dated January 28th, 1969 of the station on 7,304 kHz.<\/p>\n

Pictured with the letter to Roth was the envelope with “Republic of Biafra” mailed from the Biafra mission on Madison Avenue, in New York City. \u00a0I will always remember the caption, which said that Roth had taken his reception report to the Biafran delegation office which:<\/p>\n

“managed to get it flown into the breakaway nation with other official correspondence, on the emergency airlift.\u00a0 Radio Biafra’s chief engineer wrote the verification letter and returned it via the same route. . . a high contrast photo was required to bring out the typing since a well-born typewriter ribbon had been used.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For decades this Biafra verification to Roth was indeed considered to be the only one in existence, though because so many SWLs and DX’ers were active through the years, it’s always difficult to state this with certainty.<\/p>\n

Those of us who collect historic SWBC QSLs, going through thousands of eBay listings, always keep an eye out for cards and letters and station materials.<\/p>\n

So it was that a few weeks ago, as I was doing my usual due diligence looking through eBay listings, I noticed something unusual. \u00a0Listed among SWBC QSLs from a seller in Ithaca, New York was something astounding — another Biafra verification letter!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Looking closely, it seemed to be exactly like the famous QSL letter sent to Alan Roth in 1969, with the exact same date, but sent to a James G. Moffitt, in Dallas, Texas.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Days ticked by — I had the QSL on ‘watch’ status on my eBay account, and as I do for any QSL of high value, I also had it on automatic bid status. \u00a0For this piece of SWBC history, my maximum bid was very high, something I rarely do unless the item has extreme historic or collectors significance.<\/p>\n

I envisioned furious bidding for this Biafra verification, but in the end only four bids were recorded. \u00a0I won the QSL at what I consider to be a very low price ($81) considering its rarity.<\/p>\n

Now, the rest of the story.<\/p>\n

It turns out that among the three other bidders was none other than Jerry Berg, DX’ing colleague and author of so many wonderful books on the history of shortwave<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As I was preparing to complete this story for SWLing Post<\/em>, I emailed Jerry who had already written up a comprehensive story about this newly-discovered Biafra verification.<\/p>\n

Jerry’s superb article also includes links to the late Don Jensen pieces (The Life and Death of Radio Biafra<\/em> <\/a>and Biafra’s Incredible Radio<\/em><\/a>), as well as a link to a recording of Voice of Biafra<\/a> made by one of the other big names in the hobby, Al Sizer:<\/span><\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Voice_of_Biafra.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

The “Undiscovered QSL of Radio Biafra”<\/a>, as Jerry calls it in his new article, now resides with me here in Maryland. \u00a0Unless\/until another of its kind emerges somewhere on the QSL market, it has to be considered the only one of its kind in the world.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As for the question of whether this previously “undiscovered” QSL is genuine, Jerry notes the similarities between the Roth QSL letter from 1969, and the one sent to James G. Moffitt, who he notes was active as a DX’er in the days when Radio Biafra existed.<\/p>\n

Jerry continues:<\/p>\n

“. . .what about the common date, and date-time-frequency details, in the two veries? If the reports had arrived in Biafra at roughly the same time, it would not be unusual for the replies to be prepared on the same day. \u00a0As to the common date-time-frequency details, perhaps whoever typed the letters thought these references were standard boilerplate rather than information that was to be tailored to the specific listener. Certainly the frequency could be expected to be the same. The common date of reception is harder to explain, but it is not difficult to see how the almost inevitable difference in dates of reception could have been overlooked. QSLers know that verifications can be wrong in their details, misdated, even sent to the wrong listener. As for the different fonts, and for Alan\u2019s letter being light in appearance and Moffitt\u2019s dark, perhaps the typist changed typewriters because one was running out of ink. We will likely never know for sure, but I think the Moffitt verie (which sold on eBay for $81) is genuine. In any event, the story reminds us how, in every endeavor, even shortwave listening, today\u2019s connected world can cast new light on old events and turn longstanding certainties into question marks.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I am quite happy with having acquired what surely is one of the rarest of SWBC QSLs. \u00a0It has been added to a collection that, in addition to my own QSLs that I carefully kept over the years, includes other unique cards, including one from ZOE Tristan da Cunha and the station at the former Portuguese Macao.<\/p>\n

\n

Amazing story, Dan! It pleases me to no end to know that someone who values our shortwave radio history–and does a proper job archiving it–has acquired this amazing piece. I especially appreciate the time that you and Jerry Berg put into sharing the history of the Voice of Biafra with the shortwave listening and DXing communities. Thank you!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Readers: As Dan suggests, I strongly encourage you to check out Jerry’s website, On The Shortwaves<\/a>. It’s a deep treasure trove of radio history.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Robinson who shares this fascinating story about what has to be “one of the most important occurrences involving a SWBC station that no longer exists — the Voice of Biafra”: Biafra: One of the rarest of SWBC QSLs by Dan Robinson Many SWLing Post readers will no doubt […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"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":false,"_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":[5935,3,305,894,288,43],"tags":[4202,7258,2635,7256,1031,3085,4110,1795,4201,4091,7255,7257],"class_list":["post-33823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dx","category-news","category-nostalgia","category-qsl-gallery","category-radio-history","category-shortwave-radio","tag-biafra","tag-biafra-qsl","tag-dan-robinson","tag-don-jensen","tag-dxing","tag-jerry-berg","tag-qsl-gallery","tag-qsls","tag-radio-biafra","tag-radio-history","tag-voice-of-biafra","tag-voice-of-biafra-qsl"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-8Nx","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14732,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/09\/shortwave-radio-recordings-radio-biafra\/","url_meta":{"origin":33823,"position":0},"title":"Shortwave Radio Recordings: Radio Biafra","author":"Thomas","date":"September 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Last week, I received a tip from SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson:\u00a0Radio Biafra, a new clandestine station, was audible on 15,560 kHz via the Universite Twente Web SDR. Despite miserable propagation conditions, I tuned my receiver\u00a0to 15,560 kHz and was surprised to hear a weak signal from Radio Biafra, here\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Clandestine"","block_context":{"text":"Clandestine","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/clandestine\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"RadioBiafra","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/RadioBiafra-300x293.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":37091,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/the-dream-of-biafra-lives-on-in-underground-nigerian-radio-broadcasts\/","url_meta":{"origin":33823,"position":1},"title":"“The dream of Biafra lives on in underground Nigerian radio broadcasts”","author":"Thomas","date":"May 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who shares the following story about Radio Biafra from the LA Times: Every evening as 5 o\u2019clock approaches, the clogged, perpetually dusty streets of this industrial city in southeastern Nigeria begin to empty. Groups of men just off work go inside, shut their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Clandestine"","block_context":{"text":"Clandestine","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/clandestine\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Republic-of-Biafra-Map-1024x787.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Republic-of-Biafra-Map-1024x787.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Republic-of-Biafra-Map-1024x787.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":50386,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/09\/radio-waves-skyworks-acquires-silicon-labs-drm-response-to-rw-article-cnn-finds-radio-biafra-and-free-online-foundation-course\/","url_meta":{"origin":33823,"position":2},"title":"Radio Waves: Skyworks Acquires Silicon Labs, DRM Response to RW Article, CNN finds Radio Biafra, and Free Online Foundation Course","author":"Thomas","date":"September 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Radio Waves:\u00a0 Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest\u00a0SWLing Post\u00a0readers.\u00a0 To that end:\u00a0Welcome to the\u00a0SWLing Post\u2019s Radio Waves, a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Tecsun-PL-310ET.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Tecsun-PL-310ET.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Tecsun-PL-310ET.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36743,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/04\/ultra-rare-tristan-da-cunha-qsl-the-art-of-the-hunter-killer-qsl-pursuit\/","url_meta":{"origin":33823,"position":3},"title":"Ultra-Rare Tristan da Cunha QSL: The Art of the Hunter-Killer QSL Pursuit","author":"Thomas","date":"April 21, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following guest post: Ultra-Rare Tristan da Cunha QSL: The Art of the Hunter-Killer QSL Pursuit by Dan Robinson Those in the QSL collecting community are likely to have noticed the recent appearance on Ebay of one of the rarest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Guest Posts"","block_context":{"text":"Guest Posts","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/guest-posts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/470D0609-61E9-4CE2-90AC-D9C41A9D232A-e1555842793567.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":50414,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/10\/rare-1968-radio-dzaoudzi-qsl-card-fetches-158-at-auction\/","url_meta":{"origin":33823,"position":4},"title":"Rare 1968 Radio Dzaoudzi QSL card fetches $158 at auction","author":"Thomas","date":"October 3, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes: In recent years, a number of records have been set for QSL cards from former shortwave stations around the world. The latest example shows that there is still strong collector demand for one of the rarest stations on the air\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/art-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Comoros-QSL-Card-Back.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Comoros-QSL-Card-Back.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Comoros-QSL-Card-Back.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Comoros-QSL-Card-Back.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":12145,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/02\/daniels-qsls-from-voa-and-cri\/","url_meta":{"origin":33823,"position":5},"title":"Daniels’ QSLs from VOA and CRI","author":"Thomas","date":"February 3, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Daniel Amoroso, for sharing the following QSL cards from the Voice of America and China Radio International:","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"VOA-Front","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/VOA-Front-1024x732.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/VOA-Front-1024x732.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/VOA-Front-1024x732.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33823","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\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33823"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33823\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}