The rare 5 day existence of DXCR on 2654 Khz: September 11th, 1975

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Hello! I am Colin Newell, the new editorial assistant to Thomas Witherspoon of SWLing.com.

I have been DXing and SWLing since 1971 and have amassed something of an unusual audio archive going back to around 1975. In the upcoming months I will be sharing many of these snippets with our readers. Enjoy!

On September 11th, 1975 while tuning around for Papua New Guinea stations on my DX150B, I discovered a loud signal on 2654 Khz - playing bouncy big band and instrumental music. Much to my amazement, many station ID's would soon pop out of the noise. This would turn out to be one of the shortest lived shortwave broadcasters ever!

I believe I phoned a few DXer's out west to report this station but this is one of the only known recordings of this 2 X harmonic of a Philippines religious station (that had only been on the air 2 or 3 years. The 2nd harmonic on the "120 meter band" would live for another couple of days and be gone forever. One of the joys of Short-wave listening that has captivated me all these years is the pure randomness and unpredictability of the experience.

Like a box of chocolates... you never know what you are going to get!

BBC World Service report of Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster: January 28, 1986

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, who submits these notes with his timely off-air recording of the BBC World Service from January 28, 1986:

Thirty years ago today the US Space program came crashing down with the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
I was a student at Purdue University at the time, living in a dormitory.
I decided to make some recordings knowing this would be a historic event.
This is a recording I made of the BBC on the evening of Jan 28 (0200 UTC on January 29). The frequency was most likely 5975 kHz or 9590 kHz.  The dorm environment didn't make a great place for SWL reception and the recording is noisy but still of decent quality.
Recorded using a Sony ICF-2001 with a wire attached to a window screen for an antenna.

Click here to download as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Radio Canada International: November 2, 1981

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, who notes:

Radio Canada International recorded on November 2, 1981. This is another from my archive of old recordings of Radio Canada International's Shortwave Listeners Digest. This contains part three of Larry Magne's interview with Perry Ferrel from Gilfer Shortwave, Glenn Hauser's DX tips and an item from Jonathan Marks about HAP. Recorded using my Sony ICF-2001 likely on 15.325 MHz around 2100 UTC. Again, the audio quality isn't the greatest. Enjoy!

Media Zoo tribute to Howard Rose: July 26, 2002

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, David Malins, who notes:

This is a scheduled repeat of "The Media Zoo" tribute to Howard Rose (founder and editor of "The Radio Magazine"), re-airing archive footage of mainly radio discussion that Howard Rose was involved with. Received in South West Herefordshire, United Kingdom, using a Sharp Shortwave Radio Cassette Corder on 5935kHz Shortwave at 2200UTC approx. Presented by Eric Wiltshire in Riga transmitting the program at 100kW power.
Audio is semi-incomplete due to breakages in the tape, but is for the most part complete, with the intro added at the beginning of the recording that was repeated at least twice during the recording.
The recording in the main is full of banter from various broadcasters, discussing radio broadcasting as part of their tribute to the late Howard Rose, who was the founder and editor of the radio magazine - and being a custodian for promoting deregulation of the UK radio industry.

Voice of Mongolia in English: December 24, 2015

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Voice of Mongolia broadcasting in English to Southeast Asia.  Transmitted from Ulaanbaatar-Khonkhor at 250 kw.  Interval signal, sign on, news, music, a commentary on climate change in Mongolia, more music and sign off with schedule and addresses.  Received in Sydney, Australia, using a Degen DE1103 (the old, good one) and a 40 meter longwire.

Radio Canada International, Shortwave Listener's Digest: October 26, 1981

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, who notes:

Radio Canada International recorded on October 26, 1981. This is another from my archive of old recordings of Radio Canada International's Shortwave Listeners Digest. This contains part two of Larry Magne's interview with Perry Ferrel from Gilfer Shortwave (part one aired on October 19, 1981, see previous program) and Glenn Hauser's DX tips. Recorded using my Sony ICF-2001 likely on 15.325 MHz around 2100 UTC. The audio quality isn't the greatest. Enjoy!

Radio New Zealand International, December 1, 2015

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Radio National programme "Global Village", featuring the (great) music of Alain Toussaint.  Broadcast at 50 kw from Rangitaiki.  Received in Sydney, Australia, using a Nooelec RTL-SDR with R820T tuner, a Nooelec Ham-it-Up Upconverter, a 10 meter longwire strung inside, and SDR-Radio Console.

Radio Canada International, SWL Digest: October 19, 1981

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, who notes: 

Another episode of RCI's SWL Digest, this one from October 19, 1981.

This broadcast was recorded in South Bend, IN, USA, on October 19, 1981 starting at 2100 UTC on 15,325 kHz. The receiver used was a Radio Shack DX-302

Radio Canada International: October 11, 1981

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A poster of RCI's propagation map which was found hanging in the foyer of the RCI Sackville transmitting site. This photo was taken by Thomas Witherspoon in June, 2012; only months before the site was shut down.

A poster of RCI's propagation map which was found hanging in the foyer of the RCI Sackville transmitting site. This photo was taken by Thomas Witherspoon in June, 2012; only months before the site was shut down.

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, who notes: 

My first contribution of many recordings I have of Radio Canada International's Shortwave Listener's Digest hosted by Ian McFarland.
The first 12 1/2 minutes is Bonsoir Africa. The recording was made using a cheap GE portable. The audio quality isn't great but it's still very nostalgic listening to a program I recorded 34 years ago.