Radio Australia and 8DR Darwin (Coverage of Cyclone Tracy: December 25, 1974

A picture taken by the ESSA-8 satellite that shows Cyclone Tracy on December 25, 1974 (Source: Wikipedia via NASA)

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

Announcement explaining the reason for a reduced signal strength. Cyclone Tracy put the Darwin transmitter site off air. News bulletin plus other selected items that were broadcast relating to the evacuation of Darwin. Because the local 8DR MW transmitter was damaged a microwave link was set up between Darwin and Shepparton with the programme transmitted back to Darwin on shortwave.

Date of recording: 12/25/1974

Starting time: 2100 UTC

Frequency: 9.58 MHz

Your location: Lower Hutt, New Zealand, 26 December NZDT

Receiver and antenna: Trio 9R59DSM communications receiver with a random length long wire

Radio Australia (Coverage of Richard Nixon's Resignation Speech): August 8, 1974

37th President of the United States, Richard Nixon

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, who shares the following recording and notes:

Notes: Radio Australia shortwave broadcast with coverage of President Nixon's resignation speech on August 8, 1974.

RX location: Plymouth, Minnesota

Receiver and antenna: Hammarlund HQ-180, longwire

Fall of Saigon Shortwave Coverage: RSA, Radio Netherlands, Radio Japan, Radio Moscow: April 30, 1975

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, who shares the following recording and notes:

Shortwave coverage of the fall of Saigon as heard on Radio South Africa (RSA), Radio Nederland, Radio Japan and Radio Moscow on April 30, 1975. Voice of Vietnam coverage has been posted previously.

Date of recording: 4/30/1975

Starting time: Various

Frequency: Various

RX location: Plymouth, Minnesota

Receiver and antenna: Hammarlund HQ-180, longwire

1980 ANARC Convention Broadcasters Forum (Live Recording): July 20, 1980

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, who shares the following recording and notes:

Broadcasters forum at the 1980 ANARC (Association of North American Radio Clubs) convention held in Irving, CA. Panelists included George Wood, Radio Sweden; Tony King, Radio New Zealand; David Monson, Belgian Radio and TV; Alfonso Montelegre, Radio Netherlands; Ian McFarland, Radio Canada International; Bob Zonati, Swiss Radio International; and Clayton Howard, HCJB. Also participation from Glenn Hauser, World of Radio.

Please note this is not an off-air/aircheck recording, rather a live recording from the convention floor in Irvine, California, USA.

BBC World Service (British Troops Land on Falkland Islands): May 21, 1982

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, who shares the following recording and notes:

BBC shortwave newscast during the Falklands War reporting that British troops have landed on the Falklands Island.

RX location: Plymouth, Minnesota

Receiver and antenna: Hammarlund HQ-180, longwire

Voyager Experimental Aircraft Flight Communications with Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager in 1986 - First Aircraft to Circle Around World Without Stopping: December 1986

Tom Gavaras’ QSL card reply from the Voyager team.

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, who shares the following recording, QSL card (above), and notes:

Rutan Model 76 Voyager Experimental Aircraft was the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. It was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base's runway in the Mojave Desert on December 14, 1986, and ended 9 days later on December 23, setting a flight endurance record. This shortwave recording is a sample of some of the communications between Dick Rutan and his ground crew including a debate if Dick should walk out of the aircraft after it lands.

Note: Best estimate for date of recording is December 22, 1986

RX location: Minnetonka, MN

Receiver and antenna: ICOM R71A

Voice of America (Apollo 8): December 24, 1968

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Stephen Spicer, who shares the following recording and notes:

Reception location: Melbourne, Australia

Receiver and antenna: AWA CR6A with end feed antenna

Notes: A broadcast by Apollo 8 of the first views of the moon in 1968. The broadcast was transmitted by the Voice of America, and received in Melbourne, Australia on an AWA CR6A communications receiver. The transmission frequency and exact time are unknown.

Radio Kuwait (start of Iraqi invasion): August 2, 1990

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, who shares the following recording and notes:

Recording of Radio Kuwait during the start of the invasion by Iraq. My understanding is that the broadcast originated from the Radio Kuwait transmitter site, which had not yet been occupied by Iraqi forces. Transmission consisted of music and announcements in Arabic. If anyone can translate/summarize some of the announcements, it would be appreciated.

Reception location: Minnetonka, MN

Receiver: ICOM R71A

Voice of Vietnam (announcing the fall of Saigon): April 30, 1975

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, for the following recording and note:

The Voice of Vietnam, broadcast over Radio Havana Cuba, announcing the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam war.

Reception location: Plymouth, Minnesota

Receiver and antenna: Hammarlund HQ-180, longwire

Radio Moscow (Coverage of end of coup attempt): August 22, 1991

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, who shares the following recording and notes:

Radio Moscow coverage of the end of the coup attempt. Per Wikipedia: The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, was an attempt made by members of the government of the Soviet Union to take control of the country from Soviet President and General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev. The coup leaders were hard-line members of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) who were opposed to Gorbachev's reform program and the new union treaty that he had negotiated, which decentralized much of the central government's power to the republics. They were opposed, mainly in Moscow, by a short but effective campaign of civil resistance led by Russian president Boris Yeltsin, who had been both an ally and critic of Gorbachev. Although the coup collapsed in only two days and Gorbachev returned to power, the event destabilized the USSR and is widely considered to have contributed to both the demise of the CPSU and the dissolution of the USSR.

Date of recording: 8/22/1991

Starting time: 0300 UTC

Frequency: Unknown

Reception location: Minnetonka, MN

Receiver and antenna: ICOM R71A

Radio Beijing (Tiananmen Protests): June 4, 1989

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, who shares the following recording and notes:

During the Tiananmen Protests in 1989, a courageous announcer at Radio Beijing went on the air with the following announcement:

“This is Radio Beijing. Please remember June the third, 1989. The most tragic event happened in the Chinese capital, Beijing. Thousands of people, most of them innocent civilians, were killed by fully armed soldiers when they forced their way into the city. Among the killed are our colleagues at Radio Beijing. The soldiers were riding on armored vehicles and used machine guns against thousands of local residents and students who tried to block their way. When the army convoys made a breakthrough, soldiers continued to spray their bullets indiscriminately at crowds in the street. Eyewitnesses say some armored vehicles [inaudible] foot soldiers who hesitated in front of the resisting civilians. Radio Beijing’s English department deeply mourns those who died in a tragic incident and appeals to all its listeners to join our protest for the gross violations of human rights and the most barbarous suppression of the people. Because of the abnormal situation here in Beijing, there is no other news that we could bring you. We sincerely ask for your understanding and thank you for joining us at this most tragic moment.”

The above announcement was followed by a regular newscast.

According to some sources, the announcer was apprehended by the authorities almost immediately and detained for several years where he was separated from his family and underwent extended reeducation campaign.

Broadcaster: Radio Beijing

Date of recording: 6/4/1989

Starting time: 0400 UTC

Frequency: 11695 kHz

Reception location: Minnetonka, MN

Receiver and antenna: ICOM R71A

Radio Austria International (Romania Revolution Special Broadcast): 1990

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tim Harrold, who shares the following recording and notes:

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Romanian Revolution, a recording of "Austrian Shortwave Panorama", Radio Austria International's weekly DX programme presented by David Hermges. This was a special edition broadcast a few days after Romania's 1989 revolution originally broadcast on 31st December 1989 (although this recording is of a repeat from sometime in 1990). Contains off-air recordings of Radio Bucharest and Radio Free Europe (in English, Romanian and other languages) recounting the events of the revolution. (Sent via The Shortwave Radio Audio Archive)

Frequency: 13.730 MHz

Reception location: Birmingham, UK

Receiver and antenna: Toshiba portable, telescopic antenna

BBC World Service (20th Anniversary of Apollo 11): July 20, 1989

Apollo 11 Eagle (Image Source: NASA)

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskoski, who shares the following recording and notes:

I thought this might be an appropriate file to upload considering we are about to mark the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. I recorded this program thirty years ago on July 20, 1989, the 20th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Omnibus takes a look back at the historic Apollo mission and how and why it happened. Another SWRAA program on Apollo 11 from VOA can be found at https://shortwavearchive.com/archive/voice-of-america-july-20-1979?rq=apollo

Starting time: about 0400 UTC

Frequency: 5.975 MHz

Location: South Bend, IN

Receiver: Sony ICF-2001

Radio New Zealand International: March 16, 2019

Auckland, New Zealand by Dan Freeman

The following recording of Radio New Zealand International—primarily in English with service to the Pacific islands—was made on March 16, 2018 starting at 13:40 UTC on 6115 kHz. The receiver was a KiwiSDR located in Canberra, Australia.

Note that the news headlines (10 minutes into the recording) mention the Christchurch mosque shootings massacre.

Radio South Africa (RSA) New Year's Eve Broadcast: December 31, 1977

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, who shares the following recording of Radio South Africa which was originally recorded on December 31, 1977 from his home in Plymouth, MN using a Hammarlund HQ-180:

During the late 1970s, Radio South Africa (RSA) would broadcast a New Years call-in show. This recording is from 1/1/1978 (12/31/1977 in the US). At two minutes into the recording, you can hear the interval signal for RAI (Italy) in the background. I have scoped (edited) the music. Unsure how long RSA carried on this tradition, but heard a similar call-in broadcast the following year on 1/1/1979.

WTWW (2018 ARRL Field Day Live): June 23, 2018

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Bill Hemphill, for the following recording and notes:

I recorded the first two hours of the WTWW Field Day live broadcast off the air on 9930 kHz.  I edited the audio file to remove most of the music.  This shortened the audio file to about 80 minutes in length.  Reception was on a Tecsun S-8800 with indoor wire antenna at my home in Smithville, NJ (5 miles north of Atlantic City).

Voice of Korea: April 30, 2018

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Mark Fahey, who shares the following recording of the Voice of Korea English language service covering the Panmunjom Summit. This recording was made on April 30, 2018, starting at 06:30 UTC on 9730 kHz.

Mark writes:

An off-air shortwave recording of North Korea's External Radio Service - The Voice of Korea - Announcing the visit and activities of Kim Jong Un during his historic visit to Panmunjom. The broadcast also includes a full reading of the Panmunjom Declaration.

Recorded at the "Behind The Curtain" remote satellite and HF receiving site near Taipei, Taiwan (the site is remotely operated from Freemans Reach in Australia and was specifically established to monitor North Korean radio & television 24x7).

Voice of Korea – Panmunjom Summit: April 28, 2018

Live, off-air recording of the Voice of Korea broadcast in English on 28 April 2018, beginning at 13:30 UTC on 13760 kHz. The broadcast was transmitted from Kujang, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), with a transmitter power of 200 kW. The broadcast had an antenna beam direction of 325°.   

The news program in the first part of the program has an extensive report on the historic summit meeting in Panmunjom between Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in on 27 April 2018.

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 quite good with some fading and was accompanied by the sound of jamming, likely originating from the same transmitter plant that is used to jam broadcasts from the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and other countries, and is likely due to a technical fault. There was also some minor interference from a China Radio International transmission on 13755 kHz up until about 14:00 UTC.
 

Sir Winston Churchill (MIT Mid-Century Convocation-Part 2): March 31, 1949

CAMERA STUDY BY ARTHUR GRIFFIN, WINCHESTER, MASS.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF THE MIT MUSEUM.

Many thanks to SRAA contributor Bill Hemphill who submits the following unique recording of the MIT Mid-Century Convocation by Sir Winston Churchill.

Bill notes:

This was found on a paper back tape at a flea market. The description on the tape was that it was originally recorded on a wire recorder from a local radio broadcast and was transferred to the paper backed tape in 1951.

Click here for the full transcript of Churchill's speech on the MIT website.

Sir Winston Churchill (MIT Mid-Century Convocation-Part 1): March 31, 1949

Camera study by Arthur Griffin, Winchester, Mass.
Photograph courtesy of the MIT Museum.

Many thanks to SRAA contributor Bill Hemphill who submits the following unique recording of the MIT Mid-Century Convocation by Sir Winston Churchill.

Bill notes:

This was found on a paper back tape at a flea market. The description on the tape was that it was originally recorded on a wire recorder from a local radio broadcast and was transferred to the paper backed tape in 1951.

Click here for the full transcript of Churchill's speech on the MIT website.

Note that this recording begins with applause: