This past weekend, I recorded a number of pirate radio stations; one of them was The Voice of Alex Radio Show: a tribute station for a girl whose life was taken by a drunk driver in 2011.
I recorded The Voice of Alex Radio Show on 6925 kHz upper side band on March 10th, 2013, around 23:30 UTC.
Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
This past weekend, Radio Ronin Shortwave broadcast a tribute to guitarist Alvin Lee, who passed away on March 6th.
As always, Ronin's AM signal came in loud and clear on 6.925 MHz, starting around 00:15 UTC (March 11th, 2013).
Listen for yourself by downloading the audio as an MP3, or simply listening via the embedded player below. Of course, I included Ronin's (most excellent) interval signal in this recording:
A few moments ago, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected Pope, becoming the first pontiff from the Americas, and taking the name Pope Francis I. When breaking news like this is happens, I often turn to shortwave radio to hear it "from the source;" what better station for news about the Papal elections than Vatican Radio? Right?
Hm. When I turned to Vatican Radio on 13.765 MHZ at 20:00 UTC today, here is what I heard:
After a little music and announcement confusion--including what sounds like at least three audio feeds coming in at once--Vatican Radio settles on an announcement program which states, in several languages, "Vatican Radio's programming schedule is currently being modified to cover the election of the new Pope."
It wasn't until thirty minutes later (20:30 UTC), when the Vatican Radio service to Africa started in French on 11.625 MHz, that I heard any substantive news about the new Pope:
Of course, I can find information about the new Pope from any one of two million different online sources, but it did surprise me that Vatican Radio wasn't better prepared for this event. I even wondered if there was a different broadcast running on a consecutive frequency, so I checked; all were identical, however.
Still, the radio archivist in me can't help but experience some appreciation of the confusion on the airwaves. After all, this is a genuine piece of radio history and a fascinating thirty minutes of audio in the wake of a big decision.
In my mind, I envision the Vatican Radio staff frantically stirring to assemble news--for which they had no advance notice--regarding the new Pope. No doubt, the CNNs, BBCs, and Al Jazeeras of the world had pre-prepared material on each of the papal candidates. When the white plume of smoke announcing the election was first spotted, these broadcasters were likely more than ready to pull out the appropriate material and publish.
Perhaps this is not how Vatican Radio usually operates. Indeed, I suspect their live feed of events experienced a technical difficulty which they have, no doubt, since resolved. And for what it's worth, their website was appropriately up-to-date.
History: sometimes bumpy, but always fascinating. Especially on the airwaves.
Two months ago, I posted that David Goren, talented radio producer and shortwave radio artist, created a Numbers Station installation in the Secret Wars exhibition at the Proteus Gowanus gallery in Brooklyn, NY.
David has recently published the audio that accompanies his installation.
Take note that this is not a radio documentary--rather, it's an expansion of his original piece, and part of his sound installation at Proteus Gowanus. Enjoy:
This morning, around 11:15 UTC, I caught a pirate that I had never heard on air before: Boombox Radio. Though rather weak, over the course of their 31 minute broadcast on 6,925 kHz AM, the signal did increase significantly (possibly as propagation improved).
I was very surprised to hear a North American pirate on at this time of the morning.
Click here to download the full recording, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
Boombox, great to hear you on the air!
For your listening pleasure: three hours of the pirate radio station X-FM.
This broadcast was recorded this morning, starting around 2:00 UTC, on 6,950 kHz AM. X-FM can even be received in C-Quam stereo--something I have yet to try.
This is a 10 year anniversary broadcast of X-FM and has an excellent mix of music (everything from Indie rock to trance) and Redhat's live commentary. Superb signal strength, too.
You can download the recording of X-FM by clicking here, or simply listen via the embedded player below (note that I included X-FM's full seven minute interval signal/leader):
Standard Pirate Radio Disclaimer:Though X-FM is quite a professional pirate (is there such a thing?), this is a recording of a real pirate radio broadcast, and as such, may include colorful language. In general, if you are easily offended by the words, ideas, music lyrics, or music herein, you should slowly…back… away…
For your listening pleasure: thirty minutes of Radio Australia's Jazz Notes.
This broadcast was recorded yesterday at 1:30 UTC on 11,945 kHz. You will note a little noise that bleeds over from jamming of Radio Marti on an adjacent frequency.
You can download this recording of Jazz Notes by clicking here, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
My good buddy, David Goren, directed me to the VOLMET frequency for New York Sunday afternoon on 3,485 kHz.
VOMET, for those of you not familiar, is a worldwide network of radio stations that broadcast TAF, SIGMET and METAR aviation weather reports on shortwave radio, and in some countries on VHF, too. All of the reports are broadcast in upper sideband, using automated voice transmissions.
At any rate, they must have experienced a glitch which resulted in the loss of meteorological data for most of the United States. The broadcast preamble is as usual, but as soon as specific airport regions (mostly major US cities and some islands) are mentioned, the report takes a disturbing turn. It's fodder for science fiction--one is not sure whether to be alarmed or amused by this eyebrow-raising data (or, lack thereof).
The end result becomes almost like a numbers station, sans numbers, of course. Take a listen for yourself by clicking here to download the recording, or listen via the embedded player below:
SWLing Post reader, Chris Johnson, recently sent me a message confessing his love of travel combined with shortwave radio listening. When he told me about his enviable plans to travel to the tiny islands of Truk Lagoon in the Federated States of Micronesia--and to record some of the broadcasts he heard--I asked if he would allow me to share his recordings on the Post. Fortunately for us, he agreed!
Below are two of his recordings, the first from the Voice of Mongolia, the second from the Voice of Korea. Both happen to be very difficult stations to catch here in eastern North America. His comments follow each recording:
Voice of Mongolia Shortwave Broadcast to Asia and Europe. Using a Sony ICF-SW7600G with a whip antenna. Recorded on 29 January 2013 at 1030z on 12085 khz from the Blue Lagoon Resort, Truk Lagoon, Federated States of Micronesia. The broadcast interval signal begins at 1:35
Voice of Korea; Recorded on a Sony ICF-SW7600G using a whip antenna. 7 February 2013 on 15100 khz at 0500z Location; Puka Beach, Boracay Island, Philippines. The program was scheduled for 60 minutes but due to the frequent power outages in the DPRK, the program ceased at approximately 52 minutes.
Thanks, Chris!
As on many Saturday mornings, this past weekend I sipped my morning coffee while listening to ABC’s Saturday Night Country from Radio Australia’s Shepparton shortwave transmission site on 9.58 MHz...some 9,800 miles from my home.
In this program, Emma Swift continues to fill in for Felicity Urquhart (who is on maternity leave). Swift, who is an amazing host and songwriter in her own right, focuses in this show on country drinking songs (amongst others) and on a few nostalgic country songs in the final set. Fortunately, I captured the whole show in two recordings.
Click here to download the first recording and here to download the second as MP3s. Alternatively, you can simply listen via the embedded player below:
The Archive.org download page for these recordings can be found here.
For your listening pleasure: two recordings of the pirate radio station, Radio GaGa. Both of these broadcasts were recorded on 6.925 MHz in the upper side band on February 23rd, 2013; the first one at 12:40 UTC, the second one at 04:10 UTC.
Download the broadcasts from this page, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
For your listening pleasure: two hours of music, and a little Greek commentary, from the Voice of Greece. Recorded on February 24, 2013 at 00:00 UTC on 9.42 MHz.
Click here to download the MP3 of the recording, or listen below:
For your listening pleasure: 2 hours and 46 minutes of pirate radio station, Wolverine Radio--recorded Sunday, February 17, 2013 around 2:40 UTC.
Wolverine was broadcasting on 6.925 MHz in the upper side band. Typical of Wolverine, lots of music variety which spans the decades, and no commentary other than station ID throughout.
I decoded two of the SSTV images Wolverine transmitted; the Canadian flag (see right) and this one. You can easily decode these live, or via the recording below. Per Ragnar's suggestion, I now use MMSTV to decode SSTV images.
Click here to download the full recording of Wolverine Radio, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
Earlier this week, I posted an article about wind-up (clockwork) radio inventor, Trevor Baylis.
I recently discovered a 1995 episode of RNW's Media Network, which featured Baylis--and the clockwork radio--in the context of inventions that would carry us beyond the new millenium:
(Source: Media Network Vintage Vault)
Remember Trevor Baylis and the wind-up radio? I organised a conference for Radio Netherlands at the International Broadcasting Convention IBC between September 11-14th 1995. We decided to celebrate the fact that we were 5 years away from a new Millennium by looking at the technologies that would carry us forward. That included a look at different codings for DAB, a reality check on radio by Sri Lankan broadcaster Victor Goonetilleke and a special performance about the Clockwork Radio from Trevor Baylis, the British inventor who turned up in Amsterdam and charmed the audience with his frank, funny and brilliant introduction to the concept of wind-up radios. A few weeks after the conference we produced a special CD for those who took part. This is a copy for those who missed it. It's double the length of a normal Media Network, just over an hour.
You can download this archive episode of Media Network on the Vintage Vault website.
By the way, Jonathan Mark's Media Network Vintage Vault has many, many audio treasures from the radio past. Certainly worth bookmarking!
This morning at 13:30 UTC, I enjoyed listening to 11,945 kHz, home of Radio Australia and their Wednesday music show, Jazz Notes. I recently posted a recording of Jazz Notes and described my fondness for this particular show. Moreover, I find that the sonic texture of the shortwave ether enhances the nostalgic character of one my very favorite music genres.
As on most mornings, the signal out of Shepparton, Australia, on 11,945 kHz was very strong; the audio fidelity was, in consequence, very impressive for a transmission emanating from some 9,800 miles away.
Click here to download the full recording of Jazz Notes as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
For your listening pleasure: 32 minutes of pirate radio station, WMPR.
I recorded this broadcast of WMPR on 6.925MHz AM on February 17th, 2013 at 10:00 UTC. You'll note that this recording sounds a little "brighter" than a typical shortwave radio recording. This is due to the fact that I widened the AM filter to match the bandwidth of WMPR's signal (about 17 kHz!).
Click here to download the MP3 of the recording of WMPR, or simply listen below:
The Degen DE32 is one of the latest DSP-based analog radios to hit the market. In the past, I have reviewed two others: the Degen DE321 and the Kchibo KK-9803. Tecsun had announced a version of their own--the Tecsun R-2010--which I had eagerly anticipated, but I now believe it's been dropped from their future offerings.
I purchased my Degen DE32 from this China-based seller on eBay. To my knowledge, eBay
is the only place the DE32 can be purchased, at time of posting. As with the other radios mentioned above, my expectations were quite low for this little radio. After all, at $27 US (shipped), you can't expect top-notch performance characteristics.
The DE32 comes with a carry strap, USB cable, a carry pouch, slim rechargeable battery, and operating instructions in Chinese. It does not come with a USB wall adapter (you'll have to plug it into a USB port on your PC or other USB wall charger) and it does not come with a Micro SD card (for digital audio playback).
Audio
The DE32 has a small built-in speaker. The sound is a bit tinny, but is actually better than I expected from a speaker of this size. It makes for comfortable listening at close range--especially of spoken-word broadcasts. Happily, plugging in a good set of earphones helps audio fidelity tremendously. This is the only way I would listen to music on the DE32 for an extended period of time. On FM, in fact, audio via earphones is surprisingly good (again, for a $27 radio--check out the audio sample below).
Performance
The DE32 covers three radio bands: medium wave (AM), FM and shortwave (5.6-22 MHz). Performance between bands varies greatly. The best band, by far, is FM. Again, no surprise here, as the DE321 and KK-9803 performed quite well on FM.
Here's a 20+ minute audio sample of a local classic rock radio station I recorded, 95.7FM The Ride:
From my home, I can pick up my benchmark distant NPR station quite easily if I hold the radio in my hand. If I place the radio in a window sill, its performance degrades somewhat and contains more static as the extra grounding (from holding the radio) made a positive difference. The audio, though, is still perfectly intelligible. Local FM stations come in quite clear and fidelity (through headphones) is excellent.
I found that strong local medium wave (AM) stations sound quite good on the DE32--better than its cousin, the DE321, by a small margin.
While traveling over the holidays in December, I recorded extended samples of local station (630AM WAIZ) with both the DE32 and the DE321. You can listen to audio samples below, but first it's important to note that I recorded these (and the FM sample above) with my Zoom H2N digital audio recorder, with radios at a comparable volume and via an audio patch cord.
Note that these recordings represent what each radio sounds like via headphones, not their internal speakers.
This is WAIZ on the Degen DE32:
Compared with WAIZ on the Degen DE321:
You'll note that the DE32 sounds a little fuller than the DE321, but reception is nearly identical on this local strong medium wave (AM) station. I also found that the DE32 was quite effective at nulling out local RFI (electrical noises) on medium wave. At the beginning of the recordings, above, you'll hear the static increase and fade as I null out the noise by turning the body of the radio. The DE321 couldn't null out the local noise quite as effectively as the DE32.
For medium wave DXing, though, you're better off finding a different ultralight radio. The AGC simply can't handle marginal signals. Indeed, the same AGC problems plague the shortwave bands as well. DXing would be very unpleasant as the AGC circuit simply can't cope with weak signals or fading. All in all, as with medium wave, shortwave radio reception is fine for most strong signals.
Tecsun PL-380: What a difference an extra $23 makes
On shortwave, I decided to also compare the DE32 ($27) to the Tecsun PL-380 ($50). I tuned to a Radio Australia broadcast on 11,945 kHz. The comparison between these three portables is interesting:
Both the DE32 and DE321 struggled to receive the Radio Australia signal. In fact, if you really wanted to hear those broadcasts and had to listen on either radio for 30+ minutes it would be frustrating and fatiguing. Notice, however, the difference when listening to the same broadcast with the Tecsun PL-380:
There's no comparison, really. In other words, you can hear it. The PL-380 has a lower noise floor, a fuller sound and no AGC problems as with the DE32 and DE321. Hence the reason I always take the PL-380 while travelling--and as a back-up if I plan to record a broadcast on-the-go.
On the shortwaves, as with medium wave, the DE32 is respectable when tuned to a strong signal. For comparison to the weaker signals above, here is a short recording of the DE32 tuned to Radio Havana Cuba: Not too bad, really. Keep in mind, though, that in my part of North America, Radio Havana broadcasts are so strong that I can pick them up without even extending the whip antenna on most portables.
I haven't tested the digital audio playback on the DE32 yet, although I expect the audio to be pleasant enough. Of course, it lacks a display to show any information about the audio you're playing, but it would be great to load a few podcasts or audio books on.
In summary, I've tabulated the pros and cons below from the moment I took the DE32 out of the box, below. Note that these pros and cons take into account the $27 price level of this radio:
Pros:
Cons:
If I were you, would I buy it?
If you're looking for a very inexpensive MP3/Digital Audio player with AM/FM and shortwave, and your expectations are fairly low, the Degen DE32 is a reasonable $27 piece of kit. Especially if you only plan to use the FM band.
If the digital audio playback abilities are not important to you, I would go with the cheaper ($18 US) Degen DE321.
But if you really want performance on medium wave and shortwave, and you could care less about digital audio playback, spend the extra $23 ($50 total) and buy the Tecsun PL-380, instead. As you can hear above, it's a much, much better receiver.
The Mighty KBC broadcast again early this morning (from 00:00-02:00 UTC) on 9,450 kHz. Their signal was quite strong into North America and there was very little interference of any sort. As we've come to expect, the KBC's Giant Jukebox of music has a lot of rock-n-roll variety, spanning the decades.
And as I've mentioned before, perhaps what I love most about The Mighty KBC is their format; it harkens back to the day when my local radio stations had professional DJ's behind the mic, people who loved music and loved their job. Thanks to Eric and The Mighty KBC for blasting the Giant Jukebox across the planet! I look forward to their broadcast every weekend.
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. At about 01:30 UTC, Olivia 8-2000 will be centered on 1500 Hertz, and PSKR125 centered on 2800 Hertz. At just before 02:00 UTC, images in MFSK32 will be at 1000 and 2000 Hertz, with another image in MFSK16 at 2600 Hertz.
Decode these digital modes using Fldigi from www.w1hkj.com.
Wolverine Radio was the strongest of the pirate radio stations I heard last night.
Wolverine was broadcasting on 6.935 MHz in the upper side band. Very good signal and excellent fidelity for SSB. Typical of Wolverine, lots of music variety and no commentary other than station ID throughout.
Wolverine Radio–at least each time I’ve heard them–sends an SSTV image at the end of the broadcast. Last night was no exception, though I had a difficult time decoding, and no time to tinker.
UPDATE: Thanks, Ragnar of Pirates Week, for both of the Wolverine images.
Ragnar decoded both SSTV graphics using using MMSTV in Scottie1 mode.
Click here to download an MP3 of Wolverine Radio's broadcast, or stream via the embedded player below:
Numbers stations have always been a dark oddity that pop up from time-to-time in the course of shortwave radio listening. There is unquestionably an air of mystery and intrigue which surrounds them. With the release of the movie The Numbers Station, many non-SWLers may be enticed to explore the HF bands. A good thing, as it may draw fresh interest to this classic radio hobby. I have heard numbers stations since I first started listening to shortwave radio broadcasts some thirty years ago, and I find that I often pause to listen (and to wonder) when I come across one on the bands. The numbers station I hear most often, though the country of origin cannot be confirmed, is in Cuba--well, at least, we're pretty certain of that. The same female voice, reading numbers in Spanish, has been Cuba's calling card in the spy numbers world for some time.
Two weeks ago, on a Sunday morning between 10:00-11:00 UTC, I captured the Cuban spy numbers station widely recognized as HM01 (Hybrid Mode Number 01) on 5,855 kHz. HM01 broadcasts a mixture of AM voice and digital file transfer modes intermixed within the same transmission. The voice heard is the familiar Spanish female voice described above; the digital portion of the broadcast uses a mode called RDFT, a differential phase shift keying mode that has never become popular or standard in the ham radio world. If you're feeling adventurous, the Windows software DIGTRX (download here) can decode RDFT. Let us know what, if anything, you discover...
You can click here to download the entire HM01 broadcast as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
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.
Subscribe to the archive on iTunes,
You can subscribe to the archive with any podcasting application by subscribing to our RSS feed. Simply right click and copy this RSS feed url, then paste it into your podcasting application's subscribe box.
