Radio Nederland's "What's New": November 6, 1976

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Paul's reel tape containing this Radio Netherland's recording

Paul's reel tape containing this Radio Netherland's recording

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Paul Harner, who notes:

Radio Nederland's "What's New" was a Saturday night program that featured hits from the weekly Dutch Top 30.  The show was co-hosted by American Bruce Parsons and Australian Graham GIll.  Based on the charts from that week, this show aired on 6 November 1976.  Shows like "What's New" introduced me to pop/rock artists that didn't receive airplay in the USA.  It also introduced me to other shows on Radio Nederland later on, such as "His And Hers," "Happy Station," and especially "Media Network."

Radio Uganda: December 11, 1981

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, who notes:

Radio Uganda English Service recorded on December 11, 1981. 8:45 in length. I logged this after a hearing a tip on RCI's SWL Digest program of December 7, 1981. They had a strong signal this night and I managed to get a QSL from this broadcast. The disappeared again from shortwave a few days later and I never heard their NA service again.

Radio Canada International: December 7, 1981

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, who notes:

Radio Canada International recorded on December 7, 1981. This is another from my archive of old recordings of Radio Canada International's Shortwave Listeners Digest. This episode contains discussion of a new mediumwave and longwave broadcasting plan; Who's on the Air featuring Azad Kashmir Radio presented by Adrian Peterson; DX News with Glenn Hauser. An item in the DX news mentions the return of Radio Uganda's North American Service. I logged this a few days later and am also including a recording.

Marconi Radio International: April 16, 2016

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Live, off-air, approximately one-hour recording of the "free radio station" Marconi Radio International (MRI) on 16 April 2016 beginning at about 22:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 7690 kHz in upper sideband (USB) mode. According to the station, this broadcast originated from a 100 watt transmitter in southern Italy and was one of the first transmissions by MRI on 7 MHz using a new transmitter capable of operating between 3 and 30 MHz. This was the second of two transmissions on this day with the first running from 20:30 to 21:30 UTC. MRI broadcasts on a roughly weekly basis.  

The first half of the recording is the program "Italian Shortwave Panorama" in English with the remainder of the hour being primarily in Italian. There are frequent English, Italian, and German station identifications and background instrumental music from the movies and the ballet.

The broadcast was received by the Web-interface wideband software-defined radio at the University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands, with a "Mini-Whip" antenna in USB mode with 2.49 kHz RF filtering. Reception of the broadcast was fair with negligible fading and although the signal was not strong (only about S5 to S6) and accordingly a bit noisy, the broadcast was almost completely intelligible. 

Radio Tashkent: November 11, 1982 (death of Leonid Brezhnev)

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Jack Widner, who notes:

The announcement by Radio Tashkent, Uzbek SSR, of the death of Leonid Brezhnev. It includes funerary music between two annoiuncements of the passing of Brezhnev, followed by an English news broadcast, and a commentary later.

This broadcast started around 1200 UTC on 5,985 kHz on November 11, 1982. It was recorded in Indianapolis, IN USA with a Hammarlund HQ-180 connected to a 100 ft v-shaped longwire.

Radio Free Gambia: April 22, 2016

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Live, off-air, approximately one-hour recording of the clandestine station Radio Free Gambia on 22 April 2016 beginning at about 19:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 15465 kHz. According to a registration at the High Frequency Coordination Conference, this broadcast, aired on Fridays in the time slot 19:00-20:00 UTC, originates from a 100 kW transmitter of TDF in Issoudun, France. The antenna beam direction is 207 degrees towards the western part of west Africa.    

The broadcast begins with the Gambian national anthem, "For The Gambia Our Homeland," followed by a recorded political monologue in English. The program ends in mid-sentence at about 19:56 UTC.

Radio Free Gambia is associated with the Gambia Broadcasting Project (www.facebook.com/GBroadcastProject), "[s]haring facts and truth about Gambia over Short Wave Radio." 

The broadcast was received by the Web-interface wideband software-defined radio at the University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands, with a "Mini-Whip" antenna in AM mode with 5.09 kHz RF filtering. Reception was fair with some noise, improving slightly towards the end of the broadcast. 

Medi1: May 26, 2016

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Medi1 Radio, Morocco recorded in London, UK on May 26, 2016 at 0249 UTC on the frequency of 9575 kHz using a Lowe HF-150 radio with the Lowe PR-150 preselector and DX Engineering NCC-1 phaser connected to two Wellbrook ALA1530S+ antennas (positioned indoors) to mitigate severe local man-made interference. The transmitter has a power rating of 250 kW and is located in Nador, Morocco. 

All India Radio (Urdu): May 23, 2016

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All India Radio Urdu service recorded in London, UK on May 23, 2016 at 0055 UTC on the frequency of 11620 kHz using FunCube Dongle Pro+ and SDR# with the Lowe PR-150 preselector, DX Engineering NCC-1 phaser connected to two Wellbrook ALA1530S+ antennas (positioned indoors) to mitigate severe local man-made interference. The transmitter has a power rating of 500 kW and is located in Bengaluru, India. 

Voice of Greece: May 16, 2016

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I Foní tis Elládas : Elliniki Radiofonia/ The Voice of Greece : Hellenic Radio

I Foní tis Elládas : Elliniki Radiofonia/ The Voice of Greece : Hellenic Radio

Voice of Greece recorded in London, UK on May 16, 2016 at 2300 UTC on the frequency of 9420 kHz using a Lowe HF-150 radio with the Lowe PR-150 preselector, DX Engineering NCC-1 phaser connected to two Wellbrook ALA1530S+ antennas (positioned indoors) to mitigate severe local man-made interference. The transmitter has a power rating of 170 kW and is located in Avlis, Greece. 

Voice of Mongolia via Shortwave Service: May 1, 2016

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Live, off-air, half-hour recording of the Voice of Mongolia in English as transmitted by Shortwave Service (shortwaveservice.com) in Euskirchen, near Bonn, Germany, using a transmitter at Kall-Krekel, Germany, on 1 May 2016 from 15:00 to about 15:30 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 6005 kHz. The transmitter power is 1 kW with an essentially non-directional antenna.

The recording begins with the interval signal of Shortwave Service and an introduction to the Voice of Mongolia program in German. This is followed by the interval signal of the Voice of Mongolia and an edition of the "Sunday Music Program." The frequencies of the shortwave transmitters announced are only those of the Voice of Mongolia itself. The relay by Shortwave Service is not mentioned. The recording ends with the interval signal of Shortwave Service.

The broadcast was received by the Web-interface wideband software-defined radio at the University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands, with a "Mini-Whip" antenna in AM mode with 5.09 kHz total bandwidth RF filtering. Reception was reasonably good with some noise and fading.

Swiss Broadcasting Corporation's "Swissinfo" via Shortwave Service: May 1, 2016

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Live, off-air recording of the inaugural weekly broadcast of the "Swissinfo" program in English from the international service of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), swissinfo.ch (SWI), and formerly known as Swiss Radio International and before that, the Swiss Shortwave Service. The program was transmitted by Shortwave Service (shortwaveservice.com) in Euskirchen, near Bonn, Germany, using a transmitter at Kall-Krekel, Germany, on 1 May 2016 from 14:45 to about 15:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 6005 kHz. The transmitter power is 1 kW with an essentially non-directional antenna. The program begins and ends with the familiar music box interval signal formerly used by SBC for its own shortwave transmissions and the recording concludes with the interval signal of Shortwave Service. The edition of "Swissinfo" that was broadcast on 1 May 2016 (on fruit fly research and the science of smell) was the one posted on line on 24 April 2016.

The broadcast was received by the Web-interface wideband software-defined radio at the University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands, with a "Mini-Whip" antenna in AM mode with 5.09 kHz total bandwidth RF filtering. Reception was fair to good with some noise and fading.

Radio Canada International's "The Link" via Shortwave Service: May 1, 2016

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Live, off-air recording of the weekly Radio Canada International (RCI) program "The Link" transmitted by Shortwave Service (shortwaveservice.com) in Euskirchen, near Bonn, Germany, using a transmitter at Kall-Krekel, Germany, on 1 May 2016 from 14:00 to about 14:30 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 6005 kHz. The transmitter power is 1 kW with an essentially non-directional antenna. The recording begins with the interval signal of Shortwave Service. The edition of "The Link" that was broadcast was the one posted on line on 16 April 2016.

The RCI broadcasts over Shortwave Service began on Saturday, 2 April 2016, with "The Link" being transmitted at 14:00 UTC on 7310 kHz, while the equivalent French-language program "Tam-Tam Canada" is transmitted at the same time on 6005 kHz. Beginning 1 May 2016, a second airing of "The Link" occurs on Sundays at 14:00 UTC on 6005 kHz. The program has also been known as "The Link: Online" since the demise of RCI's own shortwave broadcast facility.

The broadcast was received by the Web-interface wideband software-defined radio at the University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands, with a "Mini-Whip" antenna in AM mode with 5.09 kHz total bandwidth RF filtering. Reception was fair with some noise and fading.

Rádio Nacional da Amazônia: May 12, 2016 from TwenteSDR in the Netherlands

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Wideband online SDR receiver at the University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

Wideband online SDR receiver at the University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

Following Thomas Witherspoon's excellent recording of the special presidential impeachment coverage on Rádio Nacional da Amazônia, below is another recording of the same transmission as heard via the TwenteSDR online shortwave receiver located in Enschede, The Netherlands. The receiver was tuned to 6180 kHz at 0047 UTC on May 12, 2016. Propagation from the western hemisphere was weak, with heavy static crashes at the start of the recording that subsided towards the middle part. There are several seconds of co-channel QRM from Vatican Radio on 6185 kHz, 1 hour and 22 minutes into the recording, before the passband filter was adjusted to exclude it. A narrow audio filter was used to reduce the risk of subsequent interference from adjacent stations, as the recording was left unattended most of the time. The recording ends when the propagation path becomes completely broken (shortly before 0600 UTC).

P.S. Although I normally only upload recordings I make with my own equipment and the intelligibility of the above capture leaves a lot to be desired at times, I decided to upload it because of the historical significance of this event (combined with RNA's recent return on 6180 kHz after being out of service on that frequency for more than one year, enabling stable reception in Europe in the early hours of the morning).

Rádio Nacional da Amazônia: May 12, 2016 (breaking news of Dilma Rousseff facing impeachment trial)

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Last night, my buddy John Figliozzi shared the following tip regarding Rádio Nacional da Amazônia:

Both frequencies active tonight — 6180 and 11780 — with lots of discussion as well as excerpts from speeches in the Brazilian Senate on the impeachment of the President.  All in Portuguese of course.  ID around 0155 with announcement of shortwave frequencies.  Excellent armchair quality signal on 6180; audible with considerable QRN on 11780.

After reading John's message, I immediately tuned to 6180 kHz where Rádio Nacional da Amazônia was quite strong. I recorded almost two hours of their broadcast which includes news about the impeachment and music as well. This recording was made in North Carolina using a WinRadio Excalibur receiver and a Pixel Loop Pro magnetic loop antenna, starting around 02:20 UTC on May 12, 2016:

Ecos del Torbes: March 1980 (2 Parts)

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Paul Harner, who notes:

Broadcasting from San Cristobal, Venezuela on 4980 kHz, Ecos del Torbes was well heard in midwestern North America in the evenings and early mornings.  Here is a recording of the station from the 11 PM hour (local time) in the spring of 1980.
There is a pleasant mix of English and Spanish language pop, featuring several Venezuelan artists in this aircheck.  There is also a brief newscast in the second half of the recording.  If anyone out there has a better understanding of Spanish than myself, I would like to know the specific headlines, as it would help me get the precise date this recording was made.

Radio Polonia: post martial law declaration 1981 (Part 3)

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Jim Jordan, who shares this three part recording of Radio Polonia and notes:

After the declaration of martial law in Poland on December 13, 1981 Radio Polonia ceased broadcasting. Broadcasts in English instead continued from a military base near Warsaw Airport. The staff of Radio Polonia returned to the air soon afterwards and here are three broadcasts from that period in Poland's history. Of some of the presenters that you will hear, Konrad Gocman is in retirement and works as a translator. However Benny Ludkiewicz (aka "Bengt Scotland") unfortunately passed away a couple of years ago. Anyone who is interested in the old North American service from Warsaw may like to read have a read of this. The writer used to work with the late Sol Flapan and his wife Anna, who used to deal with the English section's correspondence right up until the 1990s http://www.tc.umn.edu/~marqu002/Chap10.pdf

Jim made the following recording in South Shields, UK, using a National Panasonic RF2200 and a random long wire on 6.135 MHz: