Cuban Spy Numbers Station HM01

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:

Radio GaGa

For your listening pleasure: 28 minutes of pirate radio fun, courtesy of Radio GaGa.

Recorded on Saturday, February 2nd, 2013–starting around 00:10 UTC–on 6.925 MHz (USB).

Click here to download the MP3 of the recording, or simply listen below: Standard Pirate Radio Disclaimer:This is a recording of a real pirate radio broadcast, and as such, may include strong or colorful language or lyrics. In general, if you are easily offended by the words, ideas, music lyrics, or music herein, you should slowly...back... away...

Radio Australia's Jazz Notes

One Radio Australia music program I make a point of listening to each week-- besides Saturday Night Country--is a wonderful show called Jazz Notes.

Jazz Notes showcases the best in Australian jazz, often featuring new and original recordings made in ABC's studios. The show is hosted by Ivan Lloyd and has been offered on Radio Australia for several years.  I listen to the show every Wednesday morning at 8:30 am EST.  If you've never heard of Jazz Notes, I can understand why, since it's only a 30 minute show and begins at the half hour--but it's certainly worth hearing.

Next week, make a point to tune your shortwave radio to 5940, 9580 or 11945 kHz on Wednesday at 13:30 UTC.  As you will hear in the following recording, listeners in North America will be most impressed by the strong signal out of Shepparton, Australia, on 9,580 kHz. Even an inexpensive portable receiver can pick up this robust broadcast.

Click here to download the full recording of Jazz Notes as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Rave On Radio

While Rave On Radio's upper side band signal was fairly weak, at least in my part of the world, on Friday night, I managed to record it just the same.  The broadcast started around 23:15 UTC (February 1st) on 6,925 kHz.

I believe I recorded the entire broadcast; if not, I at least captured the majority of it. This is not "armchair" copy, of course, but it doesn't take seasoned ears to hear the IDs and music through the static, either. (Indeed, I rather appreciate this skill-dependent aspect of the listening hobby).

Click here to download an MP3 of the entire show, or simply listen in the embedded Archive.org player below:

Note:This is a recording of a real pirate radio broadcast. Though I don't think this broadcast applies, if you are easily offended by strong lyrics and offensive music, you should slowly back away.

The Mighty KBC

The Mighty KBC's broadcast from Bulgaria was mighty strong last night into North America. I recorded the full 2 hour show of The Giant Jukebox on 9,450 kHz beginning at 00:00 UTC. As I've come to expect from The Mighty KBC, this show has an marvelous mix of rock-n-roll through the decades along with Eric's professional DJing. The Mighty KBC has real people behind the music mix, a refreshing alternative to the iHeart Radio and Pandoras of the world.

Click here to download an MP3 of the entire show, or simply listen via the embedded Archive.org player below:

Of course, this recording includes Kim Elliott's digital text modes. For those of you who would like to decode it, here are the details:

At about 01:30 into the recording, 4xPSK63R is centered on 1000 Hz and MFSK64 centered on 2000 Hz. (For 4XPSK63R, use Fldigi 3.21.65 or newer: OpMode > PSKR > MultiCarrier > 4XPSK63R.)

At just before the end of the transmission, an image will be transmitted in the MFSK16 mode. Also, MT63-2000 (long interleave) will be centered on 1500 Hz. This will be an Flmsg formatted transmission, with html. Fldigi and Flmsg can be downloaded from www.w1hkj.com.

Please comment if you were able to decode.

Bust A Nut Radio

Bust A Nut Radio's AM signal came in fairly strong last night sometime around 5:45 UTC (February 2nd) on 6,940 kHz.

You'll hear a great variety of music--from classic rock to electronica--complete with originally produced ID's and bumpers in this pirate radio recording.

Click here to download an MP3 of the entire show, or simply listen in the embedded Archive.org player below:

Note:This is a recording of a real pirate radio broadcast. If you are easily offended by strong lyrics and offensive music, you should slowly back away.

Red Mercury Labs

Last Saturday night, I caught the shortwave radio pirate, Red Mercury Labs, on 6.9251 MHz in the upper side band. This broadcast, which started around 1:57 UTC, contains a great mix of rock music with some commentary throughout.

You can download the full recording as an MP3 file by clicking here, or listen via the embedded player below. Enjoy:

Radio Havana Cuba's DXers Unlimited

If you live in the Americas and you regularly listen to a shortwave radio, you have no doubt heard Radio Havana Cuba across the shortwave spectrum. When I travel in North or Central America, I can easily hear RHC, often without even extending the telescopic antenna on my portable. A long-running program on RHC's English hour is Arnie Coro's DXers Unlimited.

Tuesday night, I recorded the DXers Unlimited segment from RHC's The English Hour on 6 MHz, and offer it here for your listening pleasure.  If the recording doesn't sound typical of shortwave radio, it's because: a) RHC's signal is exceptionally strong into North America, and b) I recorded this with an AM filter 24 kHz wide.  In other words, I widened my DSP filter to match RHC's bandwidth on my spectrum display--and to put this in perspective, I regularly record between 7-9 kHz wide. (This results in the crisp, high-fidelity audio you hear in this recording, though unfortunately at the compromise of any adjacent stations abiding by HF broadcasting etiquette.)

You can download the MP3 directly by clicking here, or simply listen in the embedded player below:

Voice of Greece music

For your listening pleasure: 193 minutes of music, and a little Greek commentary, from the Voice of Greece. Recorded on Friday, January 18th–starting around 22:30 UTC–on 9.42 MHz. Click here to download the MP3 of the recording, or simply listen below:

Radio Romania International

Radio Romania International is on of my favorite international broadcasters. I routinely listen to their broadcasts in English and French. With the demise of Radio Bulgaria in 2012, I turn to RRI for news not only about Romania, but Eastern Europe in general. I do fear for the future of Radio Romania International on the shortwaves as so many broadcasters are pulling out of the spectrum and putting all of their faith into online "broadcasting." If you enjoy RRI as much as I do, consider submitting a reception report and letting them know that you're listening.

Tuesday, I recorded RRI's English broadcast from Tiganesti on 9.435 MHZ (21:30 UTC)--quite an easy and reliable catch in eastern North America. You can click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Renegade Radio

Friday night (late) I caught Renegade Radio on 6.93 MHz in the upper side band. Renegade's signal was consistently clear for unusually noisy conditions, though the station was occasionally plagued with transmitter problems.  I did not edit these out in the recording because dead air never exceeded a few minutes. So, if you hear dead air, simply fast-foward a minute or two. Total broadcast exceeds one hour and, near the end, Renegade informs us that his transmitter was getting hot.  I'll bet: I don't know Renegade's set-up, but many pirates use modified ham radio transceivers that were never intended for those 100% duty cycles, often at full power. Keeps a pirate warm on a winter night, though!

Feel free to listen to the recording of Renegade Radio in the embedded player below, or right click and save this link to download the MP3 directly:

All India Radio (on the Bonito RadioJet)

After posting my latestAll India Radio recording, SWLing Post reader, Pete, suggested that I check out their broadcasts starting around 21:00 UTC on 11,670 and 9,445 kHz, as they are quite strong into North America. He was right.

On Thursday afternoon, I tuned the Bonito RadioJet to 9,445 kHz, where I was greeted with a strong signal from AIR's Bengaluru, India, transmitter site (over 8,500 miles from my home). I compared the signal on the RadioJet with that of my trusty WinRadio Excalibur to find that the RadioJet's audio was somewhat fuller and richer. In situations where AM sync detection is not needed, I may start using the RadioJet for recordings. I've been using it strategically over the past few months for DRM reception and digging weak stations out of the static--something I typically don't record, but probably should, as the RadioJet deserves even more air and recording time!

I recorded this AIR broadcast on Thursday January 10th–around 21:30 UTC–on 9.445 MHz. This particular broadcast features news, commentary and the wonderful music I've come to expect from All India Radio. You can download the MP3 by clicking here, or simply listen in the embedded player below. Enjoy!

Rádio Nacional da Amazônia

This past weekend, Radio Nacional da Amazonia had a booming signal into North America on 11,780 kHz. I recorded their broadcast throughout the night, assuming it would eventually fade; however, it did not. So, if you're in the mood for some Brazilian music and commentary today, this eight-hour recording of Radio Nacional da Amazonia should satisfy.

This was recorded on Sunday, January 6th–starting around 02:30 UTC–on 11.78 MHz. Click here to download the full recording as an MP3 file (276 MB!), or listen in the embedded player below:

Note to those subscribed to our podcast: I was a bit reluctant to include a link to the podcast feed as this file is so large; I rarely make eight-hour recordings. I did offer it up, however, based on the fact that there are so many other podcasters who regularly serve up files in excess of 250 MB. If you believe this file is too large to be included as a podcast, please comment; I certainly don't want to choke up your bandwidth or overwhelm your iPod!  But it's wonderful listening.

Radio Nacional Argentina

Last night, the 25 and 19 meter bands were alive with signals from across the globe into the early morning hours. I recorded several broadcasters, including Radio Nacional da Amazonia, Radio Japan, All India Radio and Radio Nacional Agentina who had a strong signals into North America. In this recording of Radio Nacional Argentina you'll hear Spanish commentary and a variety of music (including The Beatles). Recorded on Sunday, January 6th–around 02:30 UTC–on 15.345 MHz.

Click here to download the MP3 of the recording, or listen below:

Voice of Greece music

For your listening pleasure: ninety minutes of music, and a little Greek commentary, from the Voice of Greece. Recorded on Friday, January 4th--around 22:00 UTC--on 9.42 MHz. Click here to download the MP3 of the recording, or listen below:

Dit Dah Radio

Being a fan of Morse code (or CW), I have a special affinity for pirates that use "the sacred language" in their broadcasts.

Last night, around 00:30 UTC (only a few minutes after WKND began broadcasting) I heard Morse Code on 6.935 MHz USB.

If you, too, love Morse code, you'll love "Dit Dah Radio;" after their preamble in Morse code, they follow with The Capris' 1960's hit, Morse Code of Love.

You can download the full recording as an MP3 file by clicking here, or listen via the embedded player below:

Saturday Night Country takes you 'down under' for the holidays

If you've been reading the SWLing Post for long, you'll know how much I love ABC's Saturday Night Country, which I tune to every Saturday morning starting on 9,580 kHz.

Yesterday, host Felicity Urquhart produced another great mix of interviews and music, including some uniquely Australian Country Christmas songs.

You can download the recordings of the show as MP3s by clicking here for the first hour of Saturday Night Country on 9,580 kHz and here for the rest of the show on 11,945 kHz, or by simply listening via the embedded player below:

Radio Casablanca

On Sunday, December 17th, around 22:00 UTC, I happened to pick up the last thirty minutes of Radio Casablanca; a pirate that plays a nostalgic mix of music from the 1930's and 1940's. They were broadcasting on 6939 kHz in AM. Close your eyes, and you can imagine what it must have sounded like back in the day Phyllis Jeanne Creore Westerman graced the shortwaves.

You'll hear me tweaking the receiver in the first three minutes while, in the background, I was entertaining my children. I though about cutting it out but, on second thought, simply uploaded it as-is. I switched from a very wide AM bandwidth to AM sync and then AM sync with only the lower sideband (to kill some noise in the upper side band) after adjusting the center slightly below 6940 kHz.

I love how the recording starts on a tone and then morphs into Close as Pages in a Book by Benny Goodman and his Orchestra.

You can download the MP3 by clicking here, or simply listen in the embedded player below:

Radio Australia: Saturday Night Country

Yesterday, like most Saturday mornings, I sipped my coffee while listening to ABC's Saturday Night Country from Radio Australia's Shepparton shortwave transmission site on 9.58 MHz. In this program, SNC's host, Felicity Urquhart, shuffled in some holiday tunes with her normal mix of country music, news and interviews. Fortunately, I captured the whole show in two recordings (starting on 9.58 MHz for the first hour, then moving to 11.945 MHz for the rest of the show).

Enjoy:

Voice of Greece music

For your listening pleasure: over three hours of music, and a little Greek commentary, from the Voice of Greece. Recorded on  November 26th, on 9.42 MHz. In the last half of the recording, after an adjacent station went off the air, the audio fidelity is simply amazing--especially for a station over 5000 miles from my receiver.

Click here to download the MP3 of the recording, or listen below:

Need more Voice of Greece music in your day? Click here for more.