(Source: blogspot.com)
Many thanks to SWAA contributor, Frank, for this recording of the Radio Havana Cuba in English and Spanish.
Frank recorded this broadcast from his home in Europe on 24 November 2013, starting around 00:15 UTC on 5,040 kHz.
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
Crete, Greece (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
I’m not sure what the future holds for the Voice of Greece. In many ways, I feel that the Greek national shortwave broadcaster is already operating on borrowed time–but perhaps I’m wrong. I’ve been recording VOG a lot lately on 9,420 kHz and 7,475 kHz; most broadcasts these days contain very little commentary, only hours of a wide variety of international music with the occasional station ID (which, by the way, has recently changed). I feel like they’re just working to keep their seats warm.
TheGreekRadio.com recently commented on the SWLing Post about the current state of the Voice of Greece:
“After the forceful eviction of the redundant ERT employees from the Radio House in Athens, the shortwave frequencies no longer transmit the normal program of Voice of Greece as there is no such service produced in Athens. This happened on the 7th of November, when you probably noticed the station ID change.
Mediumwave and shortwave frequencies have been now set to relay the radio program of “Radio Station of Macedonia” by the redundant employees of ERT3, from Thessaloniki. (This used to be the independent program relayed for a few hours before midnight on 7,450 until June’s ERT switch-off, when phone lines were cut and the “guerilla” program started). They keep doing a full program during the day, but being unemployed, it seems that they cannot carry on overnight.
The official interim public radio (one single service for entire Greece) so far does not care for [the take] over [of] the shortwave and mediumwave resources in Athens. Probably they do not have the staff to operate them, as only the necessary personnel was hired to keep the single radio service running on FM.”
Thus it looks like VOG’s shortwave service might be easily cut–and without warning. We already know that the Greek government is considering dismantling the Alvis transmitting site.
With that said, I hope you’ll enjoy a bit of this Voice of Greece (or Radio Station of Macedonia) recording this weekend. I say “a bit,” as it is nearly five hours long. I started this recording around 20:30 UTC on November 26th, 2013 (9,420 kHz).
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
Source: Sir Scratchy Facebook
For your listening pleasure: beHAVior Night, a shortwave radio show, relayed by WBCQ, dedicated to showcasing music from the first four decades of the 20th Century.
If you’re as nostalgic as I am, you’ll love the sonic combination of early records with the shortwave ether hosted by the inimitable “Sir Scratchy.” Relax, close your eyes, and indulge in a little radio time travel…
You can tune in beHAVior Night on Fridays at 17:00 EST or 22:00 UTC on 7,490 kHZ.
Though I could not find an official website for beHAVior Night, I would encourage you to “like” both Sir Scratchy and the beHAVior Night Facebook pages where show updates are often posted.
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
For your listening pleasure: two full hours of Radio New Zealand International, recorded on November 22, 2013 starting around 7:59 UTC on 9,765 kHz.
This recording begins with the The RNZI interval signal: the charming and unmistakable call of the New Zealand Bellbird.
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
This Voice of Greece broadcast begins with a piece by Burhan Öcal, with the Istanbul Oriental Ensemble (Photo: National Geographic)
I never know what to expect when I tune around on one of my shortwave radios. Perhaps that’s one of the things I find captivating about the medium; there’s no playlist, no app, no content controls, other than the tuning knob.
Sometimes, I tune to a station, and it’s as though I’ve just opened a door and walked in on a party–one in full swing, with dancing and incredible live music.
That’s exactly what I felt when I tuned to the Voice of Greece last night. I walked in on a party. And I needed no invitation; I was welcomed there.
Hear it, just as I did, starting right in the middle of this party:
Listen above, or click here to download three hours and 31 minutes of musical bliss (until they turned the transmitter off).
Marion Webster
If you’ve never heard Marion’s Attic on WBCQ, you don’t know what you’ve been missing–especially if you love early music recordings. Marion’s Attic describes the show as:
“[A] unique radio program, broadcasted on WBCQ, The Planet, [7.49] MHz (Shortwave Radio) every Sunday at 5 PM Eastern time. Hosted by Marion Webster & Kristina, and with occasional special guests.”
“Marion’s Attic is an eclectic radio program which plays original cylinder and disc records from the late 1890’s to the mid 1930’s. Having a library containing thousands of standard size cylinder records, dozens of 5 inch Concert Cylinders and an unknown amount of 78’s allows us to share unusual and forgotten music that you cannot hear anywhere else. What makes this special radio program unique is I play original records on the original phonographs when possible; many of which are over 100 years old. The theme varies from week to week; a show may feature popular songs from the early 1900’s one week, wild dance music from the roaring 20’s the next week.”
Marion’s Attic has been on WBCQ since September 21st, 1999 and is certainly one of their most popular shows. It’s quirky and authentic. I love it.
Mary tells us that each episode is recorded in her attic using simple recording equipment and original phonographs including:
Yesterday afternoon, at 16:59 EST (21:59 UTC), I tuned toMarion’s Attic on 7,490 kHz and started recording. You’ll hear about one minute of WBCQ’s interval signal and station ID, then straight into Marion’s Attic. Click here to download the show as an MP3 or simply listen via the embedded player below:
If you missed Marion’s Attic yesterday, you can catch it again tonight on WBCQ–check out the full broadcast schedule below:
WBCQ is easily heard in North, Central and South America–also in Europe.
Marion and Kristine often give shout outs to their listeners. You can contact them at marionweb@aol.com or:
Marion’s Attic
P.O. Box 583
Coventry, CT 06238
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
For your listening pleasure: More than two hours of the Voice of Greece, recorded on October 10, 2013, starting around 03:15 UTC on 9,420 kHz.
You will note noise in the first hour of this broadcast coming from an unknown source about 20 kHz above VOG. Much of this noise was mitigated using an AM sync lock on the lower side band. Without sync, the audio was almost inaudible; fortunately, most of the noise was in the upper side band.
Click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
Alcaravan Radio's transmitter site in rural Columbia
Many thanks to SWAA contributor, Hans de Zeeuw, for this recording of Alcaravan Radio radio in Columbia.
Recorded in Scotland on the 14th of September, 2013, on 5,910 kHz, starting at 4:50 UTC. Hans uses a Microtelecom Perseus receiver (with Studio One software) and a Wellbrook ALA 1530 antenna. He records using VideoPro.
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
(Image: Wikimedia Commons)
While recording Radio Casablanca Thursday night, I was also fortunate to capture Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic.
Gallifrey started the broadcast with their customary audio sweeps and Dr. Who theme, then straight into the Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Brilliant!
[I know my buddy, BJ, will enjoy this combo.]
Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic was on the air for almost 27 minutes with a mix including the Beatles, Bowie, Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and more.
Click here to download an MP3 recording of the full show, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Enjoy:
Sunday at 00:00-02:00 UTC, I tuned to 7,375 kHz to listen to The Mighty KBC. This was the first time I tuned to their winter frequency this season and wasn’t sure how strong their signal would be on a relatively noisy night on the bands.
KBC’s signal was blowtorch strength into North America. It could have been easily received on even the most simple of portable radios.
As we’ve come to expect, the Mighty KBC’s Giant Jukebox of music has a lot of rock-n-roll and Euro-pop variety, spanning the decades; DJ, “Uncle Eric” knows how to entertain and spin the tunes! Uncle Eric includes Kim Elliott’s digital text modes in this broadcast–if you missed the live broadcast, you can even decode the messages from the recording below.
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Enjoy:
Earlier this week, I noted that Cuban medium wave station, Radio Progreso, was to begin broadcasting on 4,765 kHz shortwave, beginning October 1st at 00:30 UTC.
I listened between 00:30 and 2:30 UTC on Oct 1st, but heard nothing other than the weak carrier from (possibly) Radio Emissora De Educao Rural. However, the following evening at 01:00 UTC (October 2nd) I did hear a strong signal from Radio Progreso.
For your listening pleasure: the recording I made of Radio Progreso on October 2, 2013, starting around 01:00 UTC. Click here to download the recording as an MP3 or simply listen via the embedded player below:
Confession time: one of my favorite pirate radio stations is Radio Casablanca.
Why?
For one thing the format is WWII-era music. When I hear Radio Casablanca, I close my eyes and imagine what it must have been like to hear the great bands of the era over the shortwaves...
Radio nostalgia at its best.
The signal strength is always sufficient to be heard in relatively good fidelity here in my radio room, but not so strong as to detract from the perceived distance. I believe the recording you'll hear below could very well mimic broadcasts over shortwave, heard across borders during WWII as well as listened to on classic console radios in people's living rooms and front parlors.
When my buddy Mark Coady posted that he was listening to Radio Casablanca last night on 6940 kHz AM, I immediately rushed outside to hook up my antenna, and started rolling. I didn't want to miss even one more minute (I came across Mark's post about twenty minutes into the broadcast). Though regional storms produced some static pops and crashes, overall fidelity is decent. You will hear the filter and side-band sync being adjusted at times as I attempted to eliminate adjacent noises--which, in the end, are all a part of the listening experience.
Click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Either way, prepare to go (or at least, send your ears) back in time...
For your listening pleasure: over three hours of mostly music and commentary from the Voice of Greece. Recorded Sunday, June 23, 2013 on 9.42 MHz starting around 23:00 UTC.
Click here to download the full recording, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
For your listening pleasure: almost three hours of music--ranging from modern to folk--and a little Greek commentary, from the Voice of Greece. Recorded today, May 13, 2013 on 9.42 MHz starting around 01:52 UTC.
Click here to download the full recording, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
Myke, over at ShortWaveMusic, has made his entire 2012 season of ShortWaveMusic freely downloadable on SoundCloud.
This series was recorded from December 31, 2011 – January 16, 2012 throughout the West African country of Mali. The series contains some remarkable field recordings taken from both the shortwave and medium wave bands.
Note that Myke's ShortWaveMusic series and travels are supported by Kickstarter donors. I don't know where Myke's travels will take him next year, but when the time comes we will post an announcement along with a link for supporters.
Now put on your headphones, close your eyes and you will be transported to Mali:
For full SoundCloud features, click here for the 2012 series on SoundCloud.
The Mighty KBC broadcast again early this morning (from 00:00-02:00 UTC) on their new summer frequency of 9,925 kHz. Their signal from Nauen, Germany was packing 125 kW--it was amazingly strong into North America. As we’ve come to expect, the KBC’s Giant Jukebox of music has a lot of rock-n-roll and Euro-pop variety, spanning the decades; DJ, "Uncle Eric" knows how to entertain and spin the tunes!
You can listen to the full recording below in the embedded player, or simply right click this link and save the MP3 file to your computer.
You’ll notice that Kim Elliott has another installation of digital text modes in this broadcast. Decode these digital modes using Fldigi from www.w1hkj.com. Be sure to check out Dr. Elliott's VOA Radiogram website for full details about this broadcast.
I recently discovered that the radio show L'etranger, on Radio Panik, 105.4 in Brussels, used shortwave radio recordings of pirate radio and numbers stations, from the SWLing Post and other sources, in one of their mixes of eclectic music and sound clips.
The end result is a splendid piece of sonic art.
Note that their audio is only available on archive.org until May 23, 2013. Click here to download the show, or listen via the embedded player below. You can also hear the show on the L'etranger website.
Last night, Rádio Nacional da Amazônia had a booming signal into North America on 11,780 kHz. Rádio Nacional's AM signal was very wide; I actually opened up the filter on my SDR to 16 kHz to record this broadcast. In truth, that's probably too wide, but it certainly made for great audio fidelity. So, if you’re in the mood for some Brazilian music and commentary today, this 168 minute recording of Rádio Nacional da Amazônia should satisfy.
This was recorded on Sunday, April 28–starting around 22:15 UTC–on 11.78 MHz. Click here to download the full recording as an MP3 file, or listen in the embedded player below:
Want more Rádio Nacional? Click here for other recordings.
For your listening pleasure: thirty minutes of Radio Australia’s Jazz Notes.
This broadcast was recorded today at 13:30 UTC on 9,580 kHz. As on most mornings, the signal out of Shepparton, Australia, was very strong; the audio fidelity was, in consequence, very impressive for a transmission emanating from some 9,800 miles away.
You can download this recording of Jazz Notes by clicking here, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
Radio producer and shortwave radio artist, David Goren, has recently posted his 2008 production of Shortwaveology #2 on Soundcloud. If you like the sonic texture of the shortwaves, you'll love this recording:
Perhaps if we badger David enough--say, on his Facebook page, or on his Soundcloud feed--he'll produce Shortwaveology #3? Hey, it's worth a try!
Wait a minute. You haven't heard Shortwaveology #1? Take a listen:
In the spirit of full disclosure, David's a good friend. That is, he will be, until he figures out that I'm asking readers to heckle him into producing another installment of his ongoing work, Shortwaveology. Oh, what the heck; friends come along every day, Shortwave installments don't. Let's hound him! (Whatcha waiting for, David?)
The Shortwave Radio Audio Archive (SRAA) is a collection of shortwave radio recordings that you can download or listen to as a podcast. The collection grows every day and includes both historic recordings and current recordings from the shortwave radio spectrum.
The goal of this site is for shortwave radio enthusiast to have a place to store, archive and share their radio recordings with the world.
Click here to learn how to contribute and archive recordings.
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