ELWA Monrovia, Liberia, January 24, 1979 0625 UTC 11930 Khz

Living on the West Coast of North America meant not hearing Africa much - a few times a year - particularly near the equinoxes, we would get some astounding openings on 60 and 49 meters in the early afternoon prior to 2300 UTC when a lot of African regional stations were signing off for the night. It was awesome. It would still be light outside and we were hearing low powered 60 meter West African signals in French, Portuguese and others native African tongues. It was a treat. Here is a not often heard station on the 25 meter band on my DX150B.

To the best of my knowledge, there are not a lot of recordings of ELWA from that period in radio history.

War Room: Pandemic via IRRS: March 16, 2020

Special IRRS Pandemic QSL card

Live, off-air, one-hour recording of the audio of Stephen K. Bannon's "War Room: Pandemic" podcast episode no. 46. The program was broadcast by IRRS Shortwave, the Italian Radio Relay Service of the NEXUS International Broadcasting Association in Milano, Italy, on 16 March 2020 from 20:00 to 21:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 9660 kHz from a transmitter believed to be in Kostinbrod, Bulgaria, and beamed to Africa. IRRS does not identify the locations of the transmitters it uses. The transmitter was switched on several minutes before 20:00 UTC but the usual IRRS sign-on music was not broadcast and the first few seconds of the program audio were skipped.

This episode of "War Room: Pandemic," entitled "Black Monday Deuce (Pt. 1)" concerned the effect of the pandemic on the economy on the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 3,000 points or about 13% of its value. The program lasts about 49 minutes with the rest of the hour being music fill. During the podcast, Bannon mentions the stations carrying the show including IRRS. There is an IRRS identification at the end of the recording before the transmitter signs off. IRRS broadcast "War Room: Pandemic" several times per day for a number of weeks in March and April 2020.

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 synchronous mode with 5.08 kHz total bandwidth RF filtering. Reception was generally good although there is some noise possibly due to local interference.

1977 - Jamming, we're jamming - I hope you like jamming too - IBA in Russian

Back in 1977, when we were still in the throes of the Cold War, there was not only a psychological battle on the ground - there was the war on the airwaves to squelch public opinion. One such example of silencing the opposition was “jamming” - it was immensely popular in the 1960’s and 1970’s. It consisted of one nation switching on transmitters on (or slightly off frequency) and blasting the smaller broadcaster with noise and interference. The USSR, for example, poured megawatts of electricity into silencing the voice of Israel on its scheduled broadcasts to he jewish diaspora in Russia. Like Radio Free Europe at the time, the jamming was merciless - and this is an excellent example of how it worked and what it sounded like… way back in the bad old days of May 1977!

KOL Israel - Israel Radio - Jerusalem - on the 19 meter band

1977 The year of fun, freedom and radio listening - sound byte series

By 1977, I had become and old hand at DXing and digging out some incredible signals on the West Coast - it was the best of times. I had almost finished high school and the future looked bright. I had my sights on a career in Electronics - and as it would turn out (as I look back on that career…) that I lead a truly charmed life. Starting in 1972 I began recording bits and pieces of what I was hearing on the radio dial - it was a modest attempt using some pretty basic gear. By 1974 I had figured out how to tap into the line audio of most receivers and capture superior (all things considered) audio from the source. Between then and the early 1990’s I likely recorded over 20 hours of sound bytes (well cataloged) of World Band radio - now is the time where I am making more of an effort to digitize that material as the cassettes age. In this clip we feature a Christmas Eve recording of WWVH on 5000 khz, the Solomon Islands on 5020 and Noumea, New Caledonia on 7170 Khz. All of these recorded on a “Transonic Executive” tape recorder and a DX150B tabletop communications receiver.

1977 - the year of dreams and endless listening - part 2

Nothing compares to the carefree pathway of youth. Not a worry. Not a concern. The future is endlessly bright. And at the radio dials in 1977, this idealism could not be closer to the truth. Our solid-state and tube type radios glowed in the waning light of sunset and revealed an endless expanse of fully utilized radio spectrum. The voices were often hard to separate and determining a radio frequency often came down to guesswork or crafty use of band spread dials, crystal calibrators and interpolation charts. But that was our youth and the approaching salad days of International Broadcasting. I had been finding my voice in clubs like CIDX, SPEEDX and the IRCA - learning the ropes of journalistic hobby contributions. Half the fun of the radio hobby was the sharing with the sisters and brothers of the hobby. And here we were. And here I was - at 17. That sounds like a song by Janis Ian and I guess it was. At 17 my ears were full and my heart was well stocked with hope for the future.

Here is part two of my 1977 “Greatest Hits” Interval Signal Series - recorded in Victoria B.C. Canada on my DX150B table-top communications receiver.

Radio Luxembourg - 6090 and bonus CFRX 6070 December 1978

It was another time and place. The 1970’s. Radio was alive and well with no sense whatsoever than the decade to follow would not be exactly the same - well, it was in part… but change would come. Even in the late 1970’s, many old stations had a folksy feel to them - Radio Luxembourg was no exception. Based on whatever they were playing you had no idea what was coming next. In this little recording, we have RTL on 6090 playing a mixed bag of what sounds like light German big band music - or folkie pop - or what have you. Station ID at the end…. drifting into a snippet from our old friend CFRB in Toronto on 6070 Khz. All received on a DX150B and an Inverted-L antenna located on the West Coast of Canada.

Voice of America in English, November 7, 2021: 15580 kHz

Recording of Voice of America in English, November 7, 2021 at 13.58 UTC (shortwave frequency of 15580 kHz)

Station: Voice of America
Place of reception: Europe
Frequency: 15580 kHz shortwave
Date: November 7, 2021
Time: 1358 UTC
Transmitter location: Botswana
Transmitter power 100 kW
Transmission direction: Africa
Receiver: SONY ICF SW1 portable
Location of receiver: outdoor (far away from buildings to limit the man-made noise interference)
Antenna: internal telescopic 0,5 meter long
Recording device: SONY portable cassette tape recorder

Radio RNZ Pacific, November 11, 2021, 7390 kHz

Recording of Radio RNZ Pacific, November 11, 2021 at 1303 UTC (shortwave frequency of 7390 kHz)

Station: Radio New Zealand Pacific
Place of reception: Europe
Language: English
Frequency: 7390 kHz shortwave
Date: November 11, 2021
Time: 13.03 UTC
Transmitter location: Rangitaiki, New Zealand
Transmitter power 100 kW
Receiver: SONY ICF SW1 portable
Location of receiver: outdoor (far away from buildings to limit the man-made noise interference)
Antenna: internal telescopic 0,5 meter long
Recording device: SONY portable cassette tape recorder

Radio Europa 24, October 31, 2021; 6150 kHz

Recording of Radio Europa 24 in Dutch made in Europe on October 31, 2021 broadcasting on 6150 kHz shortwave

Station: Radio Europa 24
Place of reception: Europe
Language: Dutch
Frequency: 6150 kHz shortwave
Date: October 31, 2021
Time: 13.29 UTC
Transmitter location: Datteln, Germany
Transmitter power 0,25 kW
Receiver: Kenwood R-5000
Location of receiver: outdoor
Antenna: 30-meter longwire
Antenna location: outdoor, around 8 meters above Earth level
Recording device: wav portable recorder

Radio OZ-Viola, July 5, 2020, 5825 kHz

Recording of Radio OZ-Viola, July 5, 2020 at 12.40 UTC (shortwave frequency of 5825 kHz)

Station: Radio OZ-Viola
Place of reception: Europe
Frequency: 5825 kHz shortwave
Date: July 5, 2020
Time: 12.40 UTC
Transmitter location: Denmark
Transmitter power: 0,15 kW
Receiver: Kenwood R-5000
Location of receiver: outdoor
Antenna: 30-meter longwire
Antenna location: outdoor, around 8 meters above Earth level
Recording device: wav portable recorder

Radio Free Waves Bay, October 24, 2021, 7298 kHz

Recording of Radio Free Waves Bay, October 24, 2021 at 13.19 UTC (shortwave frequency of 7298 kHz)

Station: Radio Free Waves Bay

Language: Russian
Place of reception: Europe
Frequency: 7298 kHz shortwave
Date: October 24, 2021
Time: 13.19 UTC
Transmitter location: unknown
Transmitter power: unknown
Receiver: Kenwood R-5000
Location of receiver: outdoor
Antenna: 30-meter longwire
Antenna location: outdoor, around 8 meters above Earth level
Recording device: wav portable recorder

Dimtsi Weyane (Tigrinya language, Clandestine): October 21, 2021

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares the following short recording and translation, along with his artwork above:

Dimtsi Weyane, 17750 kHz, broadcasting in Tigrinya language to Tigray region in Ethiopia, from Issoudun, France.

Region is facing a civil war since November 2020.

Signal received at Catacumba Park, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, October 21, 2021, 16h57 (UTC).

This recording was translated my Saba Tsen'at Mah'deromt via Twitter:

KCBS Sinuiju (North Korea) 873 kHz: October 21, 2021

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Paul Walker, who shares the following recording and notes:

873 kHz KCBS Sinuiju, North Korea at 1633UTC on Thursday, Oct 21, 2021 with instrumental North Korean music. Signal held out pretty decently for over 6 minutes. 250KW 3500 miles.

Receiver location: McGrath, Alaska

Receiver and antenna: C.Crane CC Skywave and Gary DeBock 5" FSL antenna

Radio Mystery 21, October 15, 2021, 4870 kHz

Recording of Radio Mystery 21, October 15, 2021 at 1827 UTC (shortwave frequency of 4870 kHz)

Station: Radio Mystery 21
Place of reception: Europe
Frequency: 4870 kHz shortwave
Date: October 15, 2021
Time: 18.27 UTC
Transmitter location: unknown
Transmitter power: unknown
Receiver: SONY ICF 2001D (running on batteries - to evade noise from power mains)
Location of receiver: in the building
Antenna: 1,2 meter CB-radio antenna
Antenna location: outdoor, around 4 meters above Earth level, 3 meters away from the building
Recording device: wav portable recorder
Additional equipment: RF-Systems AA-1 antenna adaptor for portable receivers

Radio Delta from the Netherlands, October 10, 2021

Recording of Radio Delta, October 10, 2021 at 12.59 UTC

Station: Radio Delta
Place of reception: Europe
Frequency: 6020 kHz shortwave
Date: October 10, 2021
Time: 12.59 UTC
Transmitter location: Elburg, the Netherlands
Transmitter power: 1 kW
Receiver: Kenwood R-5000
Location of receiver: outdoor
Antenna: 30 meter longwire
Atenna location: outdoor, around 8 meters above Earth level
Recording device: wav portable recorder

Radio Africa Network via WRMI, October 10, 2021

Recording of Radio Africa Network via WRMI, October 10, 2021

Station: Radio Africa Network
Place of reception: Europe
Frequency: 21525 kHz shortwave
Date: October 10, 2021
Time: 1359 UTC
Transmitter location: Okeechobee, Florida, USA
Transmitter power: 100 kW
Receiver: Kenwood: R-5000
Location of receiver: outdoor
Antenna: 30 meter longwire
Antenna location: outdoor, around 8 meters above Earth level
Recording device: wav portable recorder

Channel 292 Radio in English on radio history, October 2, 2021

Radio Channel 292 recorded in Europe from shortwave frequency of 9670 kHz on Oct. 2, 2021 at 1220 UTC. The transmitter location is in Germany. The power of transmitter is 10 kW. The recording contains part of a programme on radio history. The recording has been made using portable receiver SONY ICF SW1. The receiver was placed outdoor (far away from buildings to limit the man-made interference). During the recording only the internal telescopic 0,5 meter antenna was used. To make the recording old SONY portable cassette tape recorder has been utilised (to evade additional noise usually produced by mp3 portable recorders).

AWR "Wavescan" via WRMI, October 2, 2021

Radio WRMI recorded in Europe from shortwave frequency of 15770 kHz on Oct. 2, 2021 at 1259 UTC. The recording contains "Wavescan"programme of AWR (it is a programme concerning various aspects of shortwave broadcasting and listening).

The recording has been made using portable receiver SONY ICF SW1. The receiver was placed outdoor (far away from buildings to limit the man-made interference).

During the recording only the internal telescopic 0,5 meter antenna was used. The quality of signal shows that also with very simple antenna quite good reception can be achieved when no local noise interference is disturbing the reception.

To make the recording an old SONY portable cassette tape recorder has been utilised (portable wav or mp3 recorders usually produce some noise disturbing the shortwave signal but the old cassette tape recorders are much better in this regard and practically produce no noise interference). At the left side of the receiver SONY ICF SW1 has a special socket for making recordings onto the tape recorders. The level of audio signal output provided on SONY ICF SW1 recording socket seems to be perfectly matching the microphone input socket of cassette tape recorders (I tried two different ones with good results for shortwave recordings). The actual audio quality of SONY ICF SW1 is however much better than the audio of the recording because of poor audio frequency range being recorded on portable casette tape recorders (in this aspect modern mp3 recorders are much better, but using them one must accept some additional noise from recorder, especially annoying when recording weaker shortwave signals).