NDR - Gruss an Bord: December 24, 2023

COPYRIGHT NDR

Live, off-air, three-hour recording of the 70th anniversary broadcast of the special annual Gruss an Bord program from German broadcaster NDR, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, on 24 December 2023 beginning at 18:00 UTC. The broadcast features music and greetings to and from mariners around the world. The Christmas greetings were recorded at two events in Leer and Hamburg.

Relatives and friends had the opportunity to wish their loved ones at sea a happy holiday and a happy new year. The Leer event was recorded on 10 December in the Kulturspeiche and featured the Bingumer Shanty Choir and Anne-Fleur Gabor and her band while the Hamburg event was recorded on 17 December in the Duckdalben International Seamen's Club featured the Swedish-South African duo "Fjarill." The broadcast was primarily in German with some greetings in other languages. Many of the songs were in English, too.

In addition to being carried on the NDR Info and NDR Info Spezial networks, the broadcast was transmitted around the world on shortwave using transmitters in Nauen (NAU), Germany; Issoudun (ISS), France; Tashkent (TAC), Uzbekistan; and Okeechobee, Florida (RMI), U.S.A.; and was organized by Media Broadcast.

The schedule (in UTC) was:
1800-2100 on 6030 ISS 250 kW / 251 deg to North/East Atlantic
1800-2100 on 6080 TAC 100 kW / 301 deg to West/Central Europe
1800-2100 on 9635 NAU 250 kW / 130 deg to Indian Ocean - West
1800-2100 on 11650 ISS 250 kW / 148 deg to Indian Ocean - SoAf
1800-2100 on 13725 NAU 250 kW / 205 deg to Southern Atlantic
1800-2100 on 15770 RMI 100 kW / 044 deg to North/West Atlantic
RMI, Radio Miami International, initially had problems with the start of the broadcast and missed about the first 17 minutes.

The recording is primarily of the transmission on the frequency of 11650 kHz for the first two hours and the first part of the third and 6030 kHz for the rest of the third hour as the signal degraded slightly on 11650 kHz with some adjacent frequency interference. Since the receiver was initially tuned to 15770 kHz at the beginning of the broadcast until retuning to 11650 kHz, the first minute and a half of the broadcast was replaced in the recording with the corresponding part of the archived NDR studio recording

The program was received outdoors on a Belka-DX receiver in pseudo-synchronous (AM2) mode with a bandwidth of 50 Hz - 2.7 kHz with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada. Reception was good for the most part on both recorded frequencies.

NDR - Gruss an Bord: December 24, 2023

Richard Langley

RTÉ Longwave End of Broadcasting: April 14, 2023

Live off-air recording of some of the last day of programming from the Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) Radio 1 longwave station on 14 April 2023 beginning at 11:55 UTC on the frequency of 252 kHz. The signal originated from a transmitter located at Clarkestown/Summerhill, County Meath, in the Republic of Ireland, reported to operate with a power of 150 kW during the day (and 60 kW during the night). The transmitter was capable of operating at 300 kW. The station used a 248-metre high single-mast antenna.

RTÉ Radio 1 is a general-interest, news, talk, and music station. It now uses FM, satellite, streaming, and cable services.

The recording starts with the final minutes of the "Louise Duffy Show," followed by the "RTÉ News at One" (which featured reports on U.S. Pres. Joe Biden's visit to Ireland) and then the first 13 minutes or so of "Liveline," an interview and phone-in chat show. The recording ends with an announcement of the shutdown of the longwave service.

Reception of the 252 kHz signal was reasonably good but it suffered from slight co-channel interference from a station in Algeria and local noise at the reception site.

RTÉ Radio 1 programming on 252 kHz ended at 23:03 UTC on 14 April 2023 and was replaced with a repeated announcement of the cessation of broadcasting on longwave and information about other ways to hear RTÉ Radio 1. It begins with the RTÉ Radio 1 interval signal "O’Donnell Abú." Examples of the announcement are included in the second three-and-a-half-minute recording which starts at about 12:34 UTC on 15 April 2023. In this recording, most of the interference has been removed by an audio filtering technique. The closedown announcements ended on 18 April 2023 at 09:59 UTC and the transmitter then fell silent.

The broadcasts were received by the Web-interface wideband software-defined radio at the University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands, with a "Mini-Whip" antenna in synchronous AM mode with 5.08 kHz RF filtering.

RTÉ Longwave End of Broadcasting: April 14, 2023

Richard Langley

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RTÉ Longwave End of Broadcasting (closedown announcements): April 15, 2023

Richard Langley

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BBC World Service Annual Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast: June 21, 2023

A live, off-air, half-hour recording of the BBC World Service special Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast on 21 June 2023 beginning at 21:30 UTC. The broadcast, hosted by Cerys Matthews, featured messages and music for the 37 members of the staff of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) overwintering in Antarctica at the Rothera (Antarctic Peninsula) and King Edward Point and Bird Island (South Georgia) research stations. In addition to personal messages from family and friends, there were interviews with Professor Dame Jane Francis, Director of BAS and Nadia Frontier, a marine biologist from BAS and former winterer. The transmitter came on the air with a test tone (1108 Hz plus harmonics) about a minute before the program started. As sometimes happens, the first few words of the introduction were missed.

The recording is of the transmission first on a frequency of 12005 kHz but after a few minutes it was switched to 13810 kHz due to interference (QRM) on the former frequency. Both frequencies were from the BBC's Woofferton, England, transmitting station. The sender of the 12005 kHz frequency had a registered power of 300 kW with antenna beam 182 degrees, while that for 13810 kHz was registered as 250 kW with an antenna beam of 180 degrees. The transmission was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna outdoors in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 2.3 kHz RF filtering. Reception on 13810 kHz was quite good with little noise or fading and very good signal strength. The additional parallel frequency of 7255 kHz from Dhabbaya, United Arab Emirates, was not heard.

BBC World Service Annual Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast: June 21, 2023

Richard Langley

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RTL Longwave End of Broadcasting: January 1, 2023

RTL longwave antenna array at Beidweiler, Luxembourg

Live off-air recording of the last approximately two hours of programming from the RTL longwave station on 1 January 2023 beginning at 22:00 UTC on the frequency of 234 kHz. The signal originated from a transmitter located in Beidweiler, Luxembourg, reported to operate with a power of 375 kW at night (and 750 kW during the day). The transmitter was capable of operating at 1500 kW. The three-mast antenna beamed the signal mostly in the direction of Paris.

RTL is a general-interest, news, talk, and music station station owned by the RTL Group with its main studios in Paris. It has an extensive FM network covering France and also uses other broadcasting means such as DAB+ and streaming services.

The final two hours of programming was produced and presented by long-time French broadcaster Georges Lang, a devotee of English-language rock, pop, and blues music primarily from the 1960s through the 1980s. The first hour was a special New Year's version of the "Georges Lang Collection" followed by "Les Nocturnes," a program Lang has done for fifty years. The transmitter left the air at 00:00:05 UTC.

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 9.00 kHz RF filtering. Reception was excellent.

RTL Longwave End of Broadcasting: January 1, 2023

Richard Langley

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Radio Metropolitana: November 10, 2022

Live, off-air, three-hour excerpt of a recording of the provincial Cuban station Radio Metropolitana, CMBL, Havana, Cuba, on 10 November 2022 beginning at about 20:00 UTC. The station operates on an frequency of 910 kHz from a transmitter in the Villa Maria area of the Distrito de Guanabacoa municipality of Havana with a power of 5 kW and an omnidirectional antenna. The station also transmits on 98.3 MHz in the FM band.

The transmission was received on a Tecsun PL-880 portable receiver with its built-in ferrite-bar-loop antenna in Marathon, Florida, in AM mode with 2.3 kHz RF filtering. Reception was fairly good with some background noise due to the slightly weak signal associated with the over 200 km long-range reception.

Radio Metropolitana is part of the group of stations that make up the Provincial Directorate of Radio in Havana with studios in the FOCSA building in Havana's Vedado district. It is on the air 24 hours a day and offers cultural programming with a strong presence of music aimed at families in the capital city. Its slogan is "La radio de casa" and its theme tune is a fragment of the familiar song "El Manisero" ("The Peanut Vendor") by Cuban composer Moisés Simons. Both can be heard frequently in this recording.

The recording begins with a song by Puerto Rican singer Kany García followed by the program "De Buena Tinta" (literally "of good ink" but an idiomatic expression meaning "on good authority") beginning at 20:00 UTC. This is a news program for residents of Havana including events taking place, weather, and sports. At 20:30 UTC, there is the program "La Novela" (The Novel) with an instalment of "La Flor de los Sueños" (The Flower of Dreams). Next is "Un Amigo Cincero" (A Sincere Friend), a brief program on the literature of José Martí. The program "Por La Habana" (Around Havana) begins at 21:00 UTC. This program is mostly music with Cuban jazz, blues, and funk. Between every few musical items is a discussion of indigenous languages in Latin America and elsewhere and their impact on music. At 22:30 UTC, the program "Para Luego es Tarde" (meaning colloquially "no time like the present") begins. This edition features a discussion about corn (maize), its history and how it is grown, harvested, marketed, prepared for food and other uses. Midway through the program there is a musical interlude with a short discussion about the Bee Gees with excerpts of several of their songs. During some of the programs in the recording, mention is made of the 503rd anniversary of the founding of Havana on 16 November 1519. Public service announcements about health and other matters are also present throughout the recording.

Radio Metropolitana: November 10, 2022

Richard Langley

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NDR - Gruss an Bord: December 24, 2022

Live, off-air, three-hour recording of the special annual Gruss an Bord broadcast from German broadcaster NDR, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, on 24 December 2022 beginning at just after 18:00 UTC. The broadcast features music and greetings to and from mariners around the world. The Christmas greetings were recorded at two events on the third Advent Sunday (11 December) in Leer and on the fourth Advent Sunday (18 December) in Hamburg.

Relatives and friends had the opportunity to wish their loved ones at sea a happy holiday and a happy new year. The Leer event featured the Bingumer Shanty Choir and Anne-Fleur Schoch and her band while the Hamburg event featured Beatles experts Stefanie Hempel and The Silver Spoons. The broadcast was primarily in German with some greetings in English, Filipino, and Portuguese as well as German. A number of songs in English, too. A news bulletin (in progress when recording began) precedes the program for a few minutes.

In addition to being carried on the NDR Info and NDR Info Spezial networks, the broadcast was transmitted around the world on shortwave using transmitters in Nauen (NAU), Germany; Issoudun (ISS), France; Tashkent (TAC), Uzbekistan; and Okeechobee, Florida (RMI), U.S.A.; and was organized by Media Broadcast.

The schedule was:
1800-2100 on 6030 ISS 250 kW / 251 deg to North/East Atlantic
1800-2100 on 6080 TAC 100 kW / 301 deg to West/Central Europe
1800-2100 on 9740 NAU 250 kW / 130 deg to Indian Ocean - West
1800-2100 on 11650 ISS 250 kW / 148 deg to Indian Ocean - SoAf
1800-2100 on 13725 NAU 250 kW / 205 deg to Southern Atlantic
1800-2100 on 15770 RMI 100 kW / 044 deg to North/West Atlantic
RMI, Radio Miami International, experienced a power outage and was off the air for about the first two hours of the broadcast.

The recording is primarily of the transmission on the frequency of 11650 kHz for about the first two hours and 6030 kHz for the third hour as the signal degraded on 11650 kHz.

The program was received outdoors on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 2.3 kHz filtering. Reception was good for the most part on both recorded frequencies although, as previously mentioned, signal quality on 11650 kHz degraded during the second hour of the broadcast necessitating the switch to 6030 kHz. There was some adjacent channel interference on 11650 kHz at times. Also, there was about a one-minute dropout of the 11650 kHz frequency around the start of the second hour of the broadcast. The last minute or so of the broadcast on 6030 kHz was interfered with by a co-channel digital transmission from Radio Romania International.

NDR - Gruss an Bord: December 24, 2022

Richard Langley

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SAQ, Grimeton Radio: November 16, 2022

Grimeton Radio

Live, off-air, recording of a morse code (CW or continuous wave) transmission in English from station SAQ, Grimeton Radio, Sweden, on 16 November 2022 beginning at 16:00 UTC on a very low frequency (VLF) of 17.2 kHz. The signal originates from the historic Alexanderson alternator transmitter at Grimeton near Varberg on the southwest coast of Sweden, running at about 80 kW. The antenna is essentially omnidirectional.

The transmitter was tuned up before the broadcast with many sequences of VVV VVV VVV DE SAQ SAQ SAQ being sent. The message, titled UNESCO 50th Anniversary Telegram, began at 16:00 UTC, lasted about 9 minutes and 30 seconds, and is as follows:

CQ CQ CQ DE SAQ SAQ SAQQ <BT> THIS IS GRIMETON RADIO STATION SAQ IN A TRANSMISSION USING THE ALEXANDERSON 200 KW ALTERNATOR ON 17.2 KHZ. <BT> THE 16TH OF NOVEMBER 2022 MARKS THE 50TH ANNIVER4RY OF THE WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION. UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES ARE IRREPLACEABLE ASSETS OF HUMANITY BUT MANY OF THEM ARE THREATENED TODAY THROUGH UNCONTROLLED URBANIZATION, UNCHECKED TOURISM, ARMED CONFLICT AND CLIMATE CHANGE. TO ENSURE THEIR PROTECTION,INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION TO PROMOTE PEACE, INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER. <BT> SIGNED: LENA SOMMESTAD, CHAIR SWEDISH NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR UNESCO, WORLD HERITAGE GRIMETON RADIO STATION AND THE ALEXANDER-GRIMETON FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION. <BT> FOR QSL INFO PLEASE READ OUR WEBSITE: WWW.ALEXANDER.N.SE <AR> DE SAQ SAQ SAQ <SK>

Note that <BT> indicates the start of a new paragraph; <AR> means end of transmission; and <SK> means end of work.

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 CW mode with 0.40 kHz RF filtering and real-time noise reduction. The CW tone is about 760 Hz and the message was sent at about 15 words per minute. Reception was fairly good with some occasional atmospheric noise (QRN).

SAQ, Grimeton Radio: November 16, 2022

Richard Langley

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Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor: October 22, 1992

RIAS BUILDING IN BERLIN WITH NEON LOGOS NOW USED BY DEUTSCHLANDRADIO (AVDA, WIKIMEDIA)

Live, off-air, approximately 45-minute recording of RIAS, Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor, on 22 October 1992 beginning at about 23:15 UTC on 6005 kHz. The signal was broadcast from a 100-kW transmitter in the Britz suburb of Berlin, Germany, using an essentially non-directional antenna.

RIAS began operations as the wired station Drahtfunk im amerikanischen Sektor on 7 February 1946 and began its radio life on 5 September 1946. On 1 January 1994, RIAS was merged into DeutschlandRadio Berlin.

The recording starts with a program of jazz music in progress. Initially, there is a heterodyne of approximately 520 Hz from a co-channel transmitter. At about the 12m:30s mark of the recording, the heterodyne disappears. This might be related to receiver adjustments. At the 15m:50s mark in the recording, station identification is given as "RIAS, Berlin" followed by "Nachrichten" (news). This is followed by autobahn news (preceded by the alert tone) and the program "Nightline." At about the 22m:30S mark of the recording, a new heterodyne appears with a frequency of about 850 Hz but it lasts for only about 30 seconds. This is during a program of pop music. At about the 40m mark of the recoding, the Bow Bells interval signal of the BBC World Service begins in advance of a co-channel transmission to South America from a transmitter at Ascension followed by station identification and the Lilliburlero signature tune.

In the audio file, the 520-Hz heterodyne has been notched out and the audio levels somewhat normalized to make listening a bit more enjoyable.

Reception of the broadcast was fairly good apart from the heterodynes.

The broadcast was received in Hanwell, New Brunswick, Canada, using a JRC NRD-535D receiver operated with a 6 kHz IF filter and with a random-length wire antenna draped around the listening room.

Thanks to Wolfgang Bueschel for help with documenting this recording.

Rundfunk im amerikanischen Sektor: October 22, 1992

Richard Langley

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Voice of Greece - Final Transmission: June 15, 2022

Live off-air recording of the final two hours of the shortwave transmissions of the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation's (ERT's) Voice of Greece (I Foni tis Elladas) on 15 June 2022 on a frequency of 9420 kHz. Also known as ERA 5, the Voice of Greece broadcast its programs from Avlis about 50 km north-east of Athens using a transmitter with a registered power of 150 kW with an antenna beam of 323° towards western Europe. Avlis had a large transmitting complex with multiple transmitters and antennas but at the end of its service was reduced to just one operational transmitter.

The Voice of Greece continues to be available via Internet streaming and satellite.

The recording, all in Greek, starts with a time check, the beginning of the Voice of Greece interval (tuning) signal with station identification. Then follows two programs. The first program is Fones kai Mousikes tis Ellinikis Kardias (Voices and Sounds of the Greek Heart). It features an interview with singer Natalia Soledad Petsalis from Buenos Aires. At just after 16:00 UTC, there is news from ERA 1, the Proto Programma network, before returning to Voice of Greece programming. The second program is Kales Thallasses (Good Seas) and includes an interview with retired ship captain Georgios Mavrakis. Captain Mavrakis recounts how during his 30 years of service as a sailor, the broadcasts of the Voice of Greece kept him company at sea. At the end of the recording, there is the short interval signal and identification of the Voice of Greece just before the transmitter leaves the air.

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 synchronous AM mode with 5.08 kHz total bandwidth RF filtering. Reception of the broadcast was good with some fading at times and with some slight co-channel interference from a Chinese transmitter especially after 16:00 UTC.

Voice of Greece - Final Transmission: June 15, 2022

Richard Langley

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BBC World Service Annual Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast: June 21, 2022

A live, off-air, half-hour recording of the BBC World Service special Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast on 21 June 2022 beginning at 21:30 UTC. The broadcast, hosted by Cerys Matthews, featured messages and music for the 32 members of the staff of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) overwintering in Antarctica at the Rothera (Antarctic Peninsula) and King Edward Point and Bird Island (South Georgia) research stations. In addition to personal messages from family and friends, there were special messages from BAS personnel and others including ones from Sir David Attenborough and Maj. Tim Peake. The transmitter came on the air with a test tone (1108 Hz plus harmonics) about a minute before the program started.

The recording is of the transmission on a frequency of 12065 kHz from the BBC's Woofferton, England, transmitting station (300 kW rated transmitter power, antenna beam 182 degrees). The transmission was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna outdoors in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 2.3 kHz RF filtering. Reception was quite good with little noise and fading and good signal strength, which was better than that on the parallel frequencies of 9505 kHz from Woofferton and 7305 kHz from Ascension Island.

BBC World Service Annual Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast: June 21, 2022

Richard Langley

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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.

War Room: Pandemic via IRRS: March 16, 2020

Richard Langley

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Radio Prague International 85th Anniversary: August 31, 2021

QSL card for reception of a transmission from Radio Prague on 7 May 1964. ORL is the transmitter call sign.

Live, off-air, recording of the broadcast of two special sequential half-hour programs of Radio Prague International celebrating its 85th anniversary. The programs were broadcast via WRMI, Radio Miami International, using a transmitter at Okeechobee, Florida, on 31 August 2021 from 21:00 to 22:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 15770 kHz. The listed transmitter power is 100 kW with an antenna beam azimuth of 44°. The recording includes WRMI station identifications.

Czech Radio officially began its international service on 31 August 1936. Eventually, the service became known as Radio Prague, then for a brief time in the 1990s as Radio Czechoslovakia International and most recently as Radio Prague International. Radio Prague International is mostly an on-line service now with its own transmitters having been shut down on 31 January 2011. It continued to broadcast over the single WRMI transmitter in Miami and currently relays its daily programs in English, French, and Spanish using the WRMI transmitter complex in Okeechobee.

The special anniversary programs include archival recordings, interviews, and comments from listeners. The first half-hour program is in English followed by a second half-hour program in French.

The broadcast via WRMI was received outdoors on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver in AM mode with 2.3 kHz filtering and a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna strung to a nearby tree in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada. Reception was mostly quite good.

Radio Prague International 85th Anniversary: August 31, 2021

Richard Langley

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BBC World Service Annual Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast: June 21, 2021

Midday at Rothera Research Station in midwinter. Credit: Klara Weaver, Rothera Research Station.

A live, off-air, half-hour recording of the BBC World Service special Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast on 21 June 2021 beginning at 21:30 UTC. The broadcast, hosted by Cerys Matthews, featured messages and music for the staff of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) overwintering in Antarctica. In addition to personal messages from family and friends, there were special messages from BAS personnel and others including one from Sir David Attenborough accompanied by a blackbird. The transmitter had a "crash start" and the first two words of the introductory announcement ("This is") were cut.

The recording is of the transmission on a frequency of 7305 kHz from the BBC's Woofferton, England, transmitting station (300 kW rated transmitter power, antenna beam 182 degrees). The transmission was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna outdoors in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 2.3 kHz RF filtering. Reception was fairly good with little noise and fading and reasonable signal strength, which was better than that on the parallel frequencies of 9505 kHz from Woofferton and 6170 kHz from Ascension Island. A fourth frequency, 6035 kHz, transmitted from Dhabbaya, United Arab Emirates, was not heard. At the very end of the program, there is some slight adjacent frequency interference.

BBC World Service Annual Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast: June 21, 2021

Richard Langley

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Radio Poland 85th Anniversary: March 1, 2021

QSL CARD CONFIRMING RECEPTION OF A SHORTWAVE BROADCAST OF POLSKIE RADIO IN DECEMBER 1968

Unedited one-hour podcast of the studio recording of the English stream of Radio Poland, the external service of Polish Radio (Polskie Radio), as aired on 1 March 2021 at 13:00 UTC. The first half hour of the recording is a special program to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the external service of Polish Radio and discusses the history of the service from its founding up to the present time. The external service has been variously called Warsaw Calling, Radio Polonia, and Radio Poland. The remainder of the recording includes a segment on Polish cooking and an episode of "From the Archives" featuring the music of Chopin.

Radio Poland is no longer broadcast on shortwave directly from Poland but it is carried on on a mediumwave transmitter in Lithuania and a low-powered shortwave transmitter in Kall, Germany (German program only). It is also streamed on the Web, 24 hours per day, and broadcast by DAB+ within Poland and by other FM and DAB broadcasters around the world as well as via satellite.

Radio Poland 85th Anniversary: March 1, 2021

Richard Langley

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Shortwave Shindig in Exile via WRMI: February 27, 2021

E-QSL RECEIVED FOR RECEPTION REPORT OF THE BROADCAST

Live, off-air, recording of the broadcast of an hour-long segment of the North American Shortwave Association's Winter SWL Fest "Shortwave Shindig in Exile" session by WRMI, Radio Miami International, using a transmitter at Okeechobee, Florida, on 27 February 2021 from 02:00 to 03:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 7780 kHz. The listed transmitter power is 100 kW with an antenna beam azimuth of 44°. The recording begins and ends with the WRMI station identification.

The radio broadcast, from a recording, took place in the same time slot as its airing during the virtual 34th Annual Winter SWL Fest held 26-27 February 2021 via Zoom. The broadcast included the digital transmission of an image in MFSK32 mode centred on 1500 kHz.

The broadcast was received outdoors on a Belka-DSP receiver in pseudosynchronous mode with 50 Hz to 3 kHz filtering and a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna strung to a nearby tree in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada. Reception was mostly good but there was signal fading at times with some attendant noise.

Digital image transmitted in MFSK32 mode during the broadcast

Shortwave Shindig in Exile via WRMI: February 27, 2021

Richard Langley

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Radio Öömrang: February 21, 2021

Live, off-air, one-hour-long recording of Radio Öömrang on 21 February 2021 beginning at 16:00 UTC on a frequency of 15215 kHz from a transmitter at Issoudun, France, operating at 500 kW and beamed to North America. Radio Öömrang broadcasts once a year on the occasion of the Biakendai to the descendants of immigrants from the island of Amrum. Öömrang is a North Frisian dialect and is still spoken on Amrum. Biakendai is an annual celebration where a great bonfire is lit to dispel winter, although reportedly it was not held in 2021 due to the pandemic.The broadcast consisted of talks and interviews in Frisian, German, and English and included new and repeat material from previous years' broadcasts. It began with an introduction in German and then in English:

"Hello. We are broadcasting. This is Radio Öömrang, the Frisian voice coming from Amrum, the island in north Germany. The frequenz is 15.215 shortwave broadcasted with 500 kW. It could be heard on the 21st of February in North America and east coast. And now you can hear us. This is the tenth issue of Radio Öömrang and we are happy to send this anniversary. The initiator of this broadcasting is Mr. Arjan Koelzow, Tanenwai 24, in 25946 Nebel on the island Amrum. My name is Gernot Schrader, the leader of the free assistance school Toosbüy-Schule in Flensburg at the Danish borderline with Germany."

Although the introduction mentions it is the tenth anniversary issue, that actually occurred in 2015 and the English introduction has been reused each subsequent year.

Reception was excellent.

The broadcast was received outdoors on a Belka-DSP receiver in semi-synchronous mode with 50 Hz to 3 kHz RF filtering and a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna strung to a nearby tree in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada.

A recording of the 2016 broadcast can be found here: https://shortwavearchive.com/archive/radio-mrang-february-21-2016

Radio Öömrang: February 21, 2021

Richard Langley

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NDR - Gruss an Bord: December 24, 2020

A map of the world with the locations of the participants in the program. © NDR, photo: Joachim Hagen

Two live, off-air, two-hour recordings of the special annual Gruss an Bord broadcast from German broadcaster NDR, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, on 24 December 2020 beginning at 19:00 UTC. The broadcast features Christmas music and greetings to and from mariners around the world and a church service. Unlike in previous years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the programming did not feature the usual live events in Leer and Hamburg.

Relatives and friends had the opportunity to wish their loved ones at sea a happy holiday and a happy new year. At about 21:00, there was a church service from the Evangelical (Lutheran) Peace Church in Hamburg-Altona. The broadcast was primarily in German with some greetings in English and Filipino as well as German. Several songs in English, too. News bulletins preceded the first program segment and the second hour of the second program segment for a few minutes.

In addition to being carried on the NDR Info and NDR Info Spezial networks, the broadcast was transmitted around the world on shortwave using transmitters in Nauen (NAU), Germany; Moosbrunn (MOS), Austria; Issoudun (ISS), France; and Gavar (ERV), Armenia; and was organized by Media Broadcast.

The schedule for 1900-2100 UTC was:
6030 kHz ERV 100 kW / 305 deg to West/Central Europe
6080 kHz NAU 125 kW / 250 deg to Northern Atlantic
9570 kHz MOS 100 kW / 115 deg to Indian Ocean East
9740 kHz NAU 125 kW / 130 deg to Indian Ocean West
9800 kHz ISS 250 kW / 148 deg to Waters near South Africa
11650 kHz ISS 250 kW / 195 deg to Southern Atlantic
and for 2100-2300 UTC:
6145 kHz NAU 125 kW / 250 deg to Northern Atlantic
6155 kHz ERV 100 kW / 305 deg to West/Central Europe
9590 kHz ISS 250 kW / 148 deg to Waters near South Africa
9675 kHz MOS 100 kW / 115 deg to Indian Ocean East
9740 kHz NAU 125 kW / 130 deg to Indian Ocean West
9830 kHz ISS 250 kW / 195 deg to Southern Atlantic

The first recording is primarily of the transmission on the frequency of 6030 kHz between about 19:00 and 21:00 UTC although for the first minute or so the weaker frequency of 11650 kHz was used and for the couple of minutes or so, 6080 kHz was used. The frequency of 6080 kHz could not be used for most of the two hours due to strong co-channel interference from a special Vatican Radio broadcast. The second recording is of the transmission between about 21:00 and 23:00 UTC on the frequency of 6145 kHz.

The transmissions were received outdoors on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 2.3 kHz RF filtering. Reception was quite good for the most part for both two-hour segments although there was co-channel interference from a digital broadcast of Radio Romania International for the last few minutes of the first two-hour segment necessitating the switch to 6080 kHz.

NDR - Gruss an Bord (first two hours): December 24, 2020

Richard Langley

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NDR - Gruss an Bord (last two hours): December 24, 2020

Richard Langley

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BBC World Service Annual Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast: June 21, 2020

BAS Rothera Research Station is located on Adelaide Island, west of the Antarctic Peninsula (BAS PHOTO)

A live, off-air, half-hour recording of the BBC World Service special Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast on 21 June 2020 beginning at 21:30 UTC. The broadcast, hosted by Cerys Matthews, featured messages and music for the staff of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) overwintering in Antarctica. In addition to personal messages from family and friends, there were special messages from BAS personnel and others including one from Sir David Attenborough. The broadcast was preceded by an approximately 1100-Hz test tone.

The recording is of the transmission on a frequency of 7360 kHz from the BBC's Woofferton, England, transmitting station (300 kW rated transmitter power, antenna beam 182 degrees). The transmission was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna outdoors in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 2.3 kHz RF filtering. Reception was fairly good with little noise and fading but signal strength was not very strong although much better than that on the parallel frequencies of 5790 kHz from Woofferton and 9580 kHz from Ascension Island.

BBC World Service Annual Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast: June 21, 2020

Richard Langley

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ZNS-3, The Light: September 16, 2019

Live, off-air, approximately one-hour recording of AM radio station ZNS-3, "The Light" also known as Radio Bahamas Northern Service, Freeport, Grand Bahama, on 16 September 2019 beginning just before 17:00 UTC. The station operates on a frequency of 810 kHz with a transmitter power of 10 kW and a non-directional antenna.

The recording starts with public service announcements related to the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, which struck The Bahamas at Category 5 strength on 1 September, followed by a music selection. At 17:00 UTC (6 minute, 30 second mark of the recording), ZNS-3 joined ZNS-1, Radio Bahamas, for the "One O'Clock Report" news program. There was extensive reporting of the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian. The news was followed by sports, weather, and community announcements. At about 17:18 UTC (24 minute, 50 second mark of the recording), ZNS-3 switched back to its own religious music programming and public service announcements and warnings.

The transmission was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in ferrite-bar-loop antenna in a hotel room in Miami in AM mode with 2.3 kHz RF filtering. Reception was clear but slightly noisy and with some periodic pulsating signal interference.

ZNS-3 is one of four radio stations operated by ZNS, the Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas. It is a primarily commercial religious music station serving the northern Bahamian islands.

ZNS-3, The Light: September 16, 2019

Richard Langley

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HCJB, The Voice of the Andes: June 26, 1994

QSL card from HCJB

Live, off-air, approximately 45-minute recording of English programming from HCJB, the Voice of the Andes, on 26 June 1994 beginning just before 03:00 UTC on 9745 kHz. The signal was beamed to North America from the HCJB transmitter facility at Pifo near Quito, Ecuador, using a 100 kW transmitter.

The recording begins with the final minute or so of the "Musical Mailbag" program hosted by Curt Cole with Michaelene Tetteh, Giselle Russell, Gail Pfeffer, and Ralph Kurtenbach. The interval signal and station identification then precede the time pips for 03:00 UTC. Next, "HCJB World Radio News" is presented by Ralph Kurtenbach including items about World Cup soccer, Haiti, and Rwanda. This is followed by "DX Partyline" with Rick and Lisa McVicar. The episode featured an article on the difference between UTC and GMT by Prof. Richard Langley of the University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada (me). The recording ends just before the program concludes.

Reception of the broadcast was quite good. At times, some slight co-channel interference can be heard from, presumably, Radio Bahrain (Islamic chanting), and adjacent channel interference from Radio Moscow International / Voice of Russia on 9750 kHz.

The broadcast was received in Hanwell, New Brunswick, Canada, using a JRC NRD-535D receiver operated with a 6 kHz IF filter and with a random-length wire antenna draped around the listening room.

HCJB, The Voice of the Andes: June 26, 1994

Richard Langley

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