{"id":57327,"date":"2023-07-23T07:33:35","date_gmt":"2023-07-23T11:33:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=57327"},"modified":"2023-07-23T07:33:35","modified_gmt":"2023-07-23T11:33:35","slug":"radio-botswana-barnyard-sounds-mystery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/07\/radio-botswana-barnyard-sounds-mystery\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio Botswana barnyard sounds mystery"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Many thanks to SWLing Post<\/em> and SRAA<\/a> contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following off-air shortwave radio recording and writes:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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 crowing and cows mooing too.<\/p>\n

Today, while revisiting some raw tape from an old cassette dated 1973, I came across a short [off-air] recording of some similar barnyard sounds, chickens clucking and cows mooing. No sign of the cow bells here, but perhaps they started up farther into the interval signal?<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Radio-Botswana-barnyard-IS.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

If this recording<\/a> is from Radio Botswana, perhaps they were only using the animal sounds in 1973? Maybe someone out there can help with this? Sorry but I have no other info. Many thanks!<\/p>\n

Dan Greenall<\/p>\n

London, Ontario Canada<\/p>\n

Thanks for sharing this, Dan.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you can shed some light on this recording and if Radio Botswana’s interval signal has changed over the years, please comment with details! Thank you!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 crowing and cows mooing too. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[3,288,746,43],"tags":[10271,94,10270,4106],"class_list":["post-57327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-radio-history","category-recordings","category-shortwave-radio","tag-dan-greenall","tag-interval-signals","tag-radio-botswana","tag-recordings"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-eUD","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19518,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/radio-botswana-1987-style\/","url_meta":{"origin":57327,"position":0},"title":"Radio Botswana, 1987 Style","author":"Guy Atkins","date":"June 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Zebras mingle with other animals at Chobe National Park, Botswana.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Zebras_chobe_national_park.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Zebras_chobe_national_park.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Zebras_chobe_national_park.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60019,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/can-you-help-dan-identify-this-mystery-interval-signal\/","url_meta":{"origin":57327,"position":1},"title":"Can you help Dan identify this mystery interval signal?","author":"Thomas","date":"June 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to Dan Greenall, one of our dedicated Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributors, who writes: Hi Thomas I was going over a few of my old cassettes today and discovered what seems to be an interval signal, but I cannot seem to place it. Recording: Unfortunately, all I can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo by Sai Harish on Unsplash","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Casette-Tape-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Casette-Tape-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Casette-Tape-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Casette-Tape-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Casette-Tape-1.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63399,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/07\/the-voice-of-mongolia-then-and-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":57327,"position":2},"title":"The Voice of Mongolia – Then and Now","author":"Thomas","date":"July 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who writes: The Voice of Mongolia from Ulaanbaatar was always tough to hear from my location in southern Ontario, Canada. Relatively quiet conditions and a clear frequency eventually allowed me to make a recording of their interval signal and bilingual identification (presumed\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\/2021\/08\/voice-of-Mongolia-Transmitter-Site-Mark-Fahey-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/voice-of-Mongolia-Transmitter-Site-Mark-Fahey-1.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/voice-of-Mongolia-Transmitter-Site-Mark-Fahey-1.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/voice-of-Mongolia-Transmitter-Site-Mark-Fahey-1.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":63903,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2025\/09\/kbs-world-radio-then-and-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":57327,"position":3},"title":"KBS World Radio \u2013 Then and Now","author":"Thomas","date":"September 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dan Greenall, who writes: Back in the 1980\u2019s, KBS World Radio was known as Radio Korea, and they could be heard quite well at times here in eastern North America. Even with modest receiving equipment, their familiar interval signal, that included regular ID\u2019s in\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\/2025\/09\/Radio-Korea-1983.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Radio-Korea-1983.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Radio-Korea-1983.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Radio-Korea-1983.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Radio-Korea-1983.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":65726,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2026\/04\/bbc-interval-signals-then-and-now\/","url_meta":{"origin":57327,"position":4},"title":"BBC Interval Signals \u2013 Then and Now","author":"Thomas","date":"April 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dan Greenall A half century ago, the BBC World Service used a number of different interval signals. \u00a0 A few minutes prior to the start of a broadcast, a recognizable, often repeating tune would be played that would enable listeners to more easily locate the BBC in a crowded\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\/2026\/04\/BBC-Ascension-1970-front.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/BBC-Ascension-1970-front.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/BBC-Ascension-1970-front.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/BBC-Ascension-1970-front.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/BBC-Ascension-1970-front.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6081,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2013\/03\/shortwave-radio-recordings-radio-new-zealand-international\/","url_meta":{"origin":57327,"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\/57327","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=57327"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57329,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57327\/revisions\/57329"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=57327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}