Radio Free Whatever (Pearl Harbor Tribute): December 15, 2013

USS SHAW exploding in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941

USS SHAW exploding in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941

For your listening pleasure: one hour, seven minutes of the pirate radio station, Radio Free Whatever.

I recorded this broadcast on December 15 2013, starting around 2:40 UTC, on 6,925 kHz AM. This broadcast was a tribute to WWII and Pearl Harbor and contains news clips and music from the same time period. I believe my recording begins about five or so minutes into their broadcast.

BBC World Service - New Year's Eve, Millennium Celebration: December 31, 1999

Big-Ben-Clock-Tower-BBC.jpg

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

New Year's Eve has always been a good night to stay home and play radio. This recording is one I won't ever have the chance to hear live again. Here are the last four minutes and forty seconds of the GMT year 1999 and the first 25 minutes twenty seconds of the year 2000. As a tradition I would always welcome the GMT New Year by tuning in to the BBC to hear the chimes from Big Ben (which I believe were heard live).
Date of recording: 12/31/1999
Starting time: 23:55:20
Frequency: 6.175 MHz
Receiver location: South Bend, Indiana
Receiver and antenna: Icon IC-725 transceiver

Radio Moscow - Soyuz 26, Day 14 (and other headlines): December 23, 1977

The+Soyuz-26+and+Soyuz-28+crews+aboard+Salyut-6.jpg

Many thanks to Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Colin Anderton, who shares a series of off-air recordings, originally made on reel-to-reel tape, of Radio Moscow in the late 1970s. This is the eighth recording in this collection. Colin notes:

As a space flight nut, I have many recordings from the 1970s from Radio Moscow. They used to broadcast on the medium wave, and I used to record the news bulletins during some of the space flights.
In particular, there was a period between December 1977 and March 1978 when Soviet cosmonauts first lived aboard the Salyut 6 space station. I recorded each days' news reports on the flights, and also some additional items about them. I have some other flights as well.
I received them all on 227 metres Medium Wave at 22.00 hrs GMT each night. I was in a village called Stetchworth, near Newmarket, Suffolk, England at the time.
In fact, an announcer gives the general daily broadcast details on this first recording.
I used a similar system with all the files, that is: where any edit takes place, I have placed a one-second break to identify the spot. No other editing of any kind has been done.

Radio Moscow - Soyuz 26, Day 13: December 22, 1977

Hammarlund-HQ-120X-DialLight.jpg

Many thanks to Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Colin Anderton, who shares a series of off-air recordings, originally made on reel-to-reel tape, of Radio Moscow in the late 1970s. This is the seventh recording in this collection. Colin notes:

As a space flight nut, I have many recordings from the 1970s from Radio Moscow. They used to broadcast on the medium wave, and I used to record the news bulletins during some of the space flights.
In particular, there was a period between December 1977 and March 1978 when Soviet cosmonauts first lived aboard the Salyut 6 space station. I recorded each days' news reports on the flights, and also some additional items about them. I have some other flights as well.
I received them all on 227 metres Medium Wave at 22.00 hrs GMT each night. I was in a village called Stetchworth, near Newmarket, Suffolk, England at the time.
In fact, an announcer gives the general daily broadcast details on this first recording.
I used a similar system with all the files, that is: where any edit takes place, I have placed a one-second break to identify the spot. No other editing of any kind has been done.

Radio Moscow - Soyuz 26, Day 12: December 21, 1977

Radio-Dial-2-e1480988790507 (1).jpg

Many thanks to Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Colin Anderton, who shares a series of off-air recordings, originally made on reel-to-reel tape, of Radio Moscow in the late 1970s. This is the sixth recording in this collection. Colin notes:

As a space flight nut, I have many recordings from the 1970s from Radio Moscow. They used to broadcast on the medium wave, and I used to record the news bulletins during some of the space flights.
In particular, there was a period between December 1977 and March 1978 when Soviet cosmonauts first lived aboard the Salyut 6 space station. I recorded each days' news reports on the flights, and also some additional items about them. I have some other flights as well.
I received them all on 227 metres Medium Wave at 22.00 hrs GMT each night. I was in a village called Stetchworth, near Newmarket, Suffolk, England at the time.
In fact, an announcer gives the general daily broadcast details on this first recording.
I used a similar system with all the files, that is: where any edit takes place, I have placed a one-second break to identify the spot. No other editing of any kind has been done.

Radio Moscow - Soyuz 26, Day 11 (EVA): December 20, 1977

Allied-2682-Dial.jpg

Many thanks to Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Colin Anderton, who shares a series of off-air recordings, originally made on reel-to-reel tape, of Radio Moscow in the late 1970s. This is the fifth recording in this collection. Colin notes:

As a space flight nut, I have many recordings from the 1970s from Radio Moscow. They used to broadcast on the medium wave, and I used to record the news bulletins during some of the space flights.
In particular, there was a period between December 1977 and March 1978 when Soviet cosmonauts first lived aboard the Salyut 6 space station. I recorded each days' news reports on the flights, and also some additional items about them. I have some other flights as well.
I received them all on 227 metres Medium Wave at 22.00 hrs GMT each night. I was in a village called Stetchworth, near Newmarket, Suffolk, England at the time.
In fact, an announcer gives the general daily broadcast details on this first recording.
I used a similar system with all the files, that is: where any edit takes place, I have placed a one-second break to identify the spot. No other editing of any kind has been done.

Radio Moscow - Soyuz 26, Day 10: December 19, 1977

Soyuz 26.jpg

Many thanks to Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Colin Anderton, who shares a series of off-air recordings, originally made on reel-to-reel tape, of Radio Moscow in the late 1970s. This is the fourth recording in this collection. Colin notes:

As a space flight nut, I have many recordings from the 1970s from Radio Moscow. They used to broadcast on the medium wave, and I used to record the news bulletins during some of the space flights.
In particular, there was a period between December 1977 and March 1978 when Soviet cosmonauts first lived aboard the Salyut 6 space station. I recorded each days' news reports on the flights, and also some additional items about them. I have some other flights as well.
I received them all on 227 metres Medium Wave at 22.00 hrs GMT each night. I was in a village called Stetchworth, near Newmarket, Suffolk, England at the time.
In fact, an announcer gives the general daily broadcast details on this first recording.
I used a similar system with all the files, that is: where any edit takes place, I have placed a one-second break to identify the spot. No other editing of any kind has been done.

Radio Moscow - Soyuz 26, Day 09: December 18, 1977

The Soyuz-26 and Soyuz-28 crews aboard the Salyut-6 station

The Soyuz-26 and Soyuz-28 crews aboard the Salyut-6 station

Many thanks to Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Colin Anderton, who shares a series of off-air recordings, originally made on reel-to-reel tape, of Radio Moscow in the late 1970s. This is the third recording in this collection. Colin notes:

As a space flight nut, I have many recordings from the 1970s from Radio Moscow. They used to broadcast on the medium wave, and I used to record the news bulletins during some of the space flights.
In particular, there was a period between December 1977 and March 1978 when Soviet cosmonauts first lived aboard the Salyut 6 space station. I recorded each days' news reports on the flights, and also some additional items about them. I have some other flights as well.
I received them all on 227 metres Medium Wave at 22.00 hrs GMT each night. I was in a village called Stetchworth, near Newmarket, Suffolk, England at the time.
In fact, an announcer gives the general daily broadcast details on this first recording.
I used a similar system with all the files, that is: where any edit takes place, I have placed a one-second break to identify the spot. No other editing of any kind has been done.

Radio Moscow - Soyuz 26, Day 08: December 17, 1977

salyut6.jpg

Many thanks to Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Colin Anderton, who shares a series of off-air recordings, originally made on reel-to-reel tape, of Radio Moscow in the late 1970s. This is the second recording in this collection. Colin notes:

As a space flight nut, I have many recordings from the 1970s from Radio Moscow. They used to broadcast on the medium wave, and I used to record the news bulletins during some of the space flights.
In particular, there was a period between December 1977 and March 1978 when Soviet cosmonauts first lived aboard the Salyut 6 space station. I recorded each days' news reports on the flights, and also some additional items about them. I have some other flights as well.
I received them all on 227 metres Medium Wave at 22.00 hrs GMT each night. I was in a village called Stetchworth, near Newmarket, Suffolk, England at the time.
In fact, an announcer gives the general daily broadcast details on this first recording.
I used a similar system with all the files, that is: where any edit takes place, I have placed a one-second break to identify the spot. No other editing of any kind has been done.

Radio Australia: June 20, 1987

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, for the following recording of Radio Australia. Tom notes:

A program from Radio Australia called Talkback recorded in June 1987. This episode looked at the story of the closing of the Lyndhurst transmitter site. The program was titled "The Lyndhurst Special". I probably recorded this around 0400 UTC or later back when the nighttime frequency of 17795 kHz put in a good signal during the summer months at night. Enjoy.

Location: South Bend, IN, USA

Receiver: Sony ICF-2001

Radio Canada International: December 28, 1981

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, for the following recording and notes:

Another one of my many recordings of Shortwave Listener's Digest from Radio Canada International. This program highlights are: Gerard Raskin and Ian McFarland with a program about the first radio broadcast on Christmas Eve 1906; Glenn Hauser's DX news; Item from Radio Netherlands on New Year's Nonsense from the Netherlands.

Starting time: 2107 UTC

Frequency: 15.325 MHz

Receiver location: South Bend, IN

Receiver and antenna: GE portable and longwire

Voice of America: December 24, 1986

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Scott Nelson, who notes:

Voice of America recorded off shortwave (15.410 MHz) on December 24, 1986 [starting around 1959 UTC].  The receiver was a Sony ICF-6500W with a random wire antenna.  Recorded to cassette tape and later transferred to an mp3 computer file.  The broadcast features Christmas music, IDs, News, and the Nightline Africa program.

Radio Luxembourg (German Language Service): February 1982

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Paul Harner, for the following recording. Paul notes:

The German service of RTL was recorded late on a Saturday/early Sunday morning Europe in either February or March 1982.  For those who speak German, there are news headlines that could pinpoint the exact date, so any help given would be greatly appreciated.

If you can help Paul ID headlines in this recording, please comment!

Radio Atlantida: October 1982

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Paul Harner, who submits the following recording and notes:

In October 1982, I logged my first short wave broadcast station from Peru.  It was during a Friday night when I heard Radio Atlantida.  The station broadcast on 4790 kHz from Iquitos.  This was recorded on a 3" reel-to-reel machine I had purchased at a yard sale that summer.

2016 BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast: June 21, 2016

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Mark Hist, who notes the following:

Thanks for alerting shortwave listeners to the British Antarctic Survey broadcast. It felt very poignant listening to a broadcast aimed at such a small number of people, with the voices of their loved ones being launched around the world.
I was able to record the broadcast from only 100 miles away from the Woofferton transmitter, so needless to say the quality and strength was very good. I imagine hearing that broadcast buried in the noise from far away with those happy birthday songs and best wishes must have been very emotional for its intended audience.
I enclose a short segment from my 30 minute recording, plus a photo (above) taken the next day of my set up (it was dark at the time of the recording).

I also recorded the broadcast from Saint-Anne-de-Beaupré, Québec, Canada. I wrote a post about this on the SWLing Post (click here to read). The following is my recording from 7360 kHz. Reception was not nearly as strong as that of Mark, above:

Note that we collected over 30 recordings--from accross the globe. You can listen to and browse them on the SWLing Post by clicking here.

Radio Moscow: September 19, 1984

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Jim Jordan, who shares this recording of Radio Moscow from September 19, 1984. This recording was made using a National Panasonic RF-2200 tuned to 9.5 MHz around 08:10 UTC. The location was South Shields, UK. 

Jim notes:

A nice cold war piece from Radio Moscow on the double defection of the Soviet journalist Oleg Bitov.
The real story behind it was revealed ten years later here: http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/he-came-he-saw-he-couldnt-take-it-he-was-a-soviet-defector-with-a-story-to-sell-and-duff-hart-davis-1383974.html

Radio Luxumbourg: March 5, 1982

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Paul Harner, for the following recordings. Jack notes:

Radio Luxembourg used two short wave frequencies for their broadcasts: 6090 and 15350 kHz.  On 6090, the station relayed their 1440 kHz service, which included their English and German language broadcasts.  The 15350 kHz relayed their French language service on 234 kHz long wave.
This recording of RTL's French service was made in the early evening in the midwestern USA on Friday 4 March 1982, which would have been the early Saturday morning in Europe.

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

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

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.