WRNO: Early 1980s

WRNO was the U.S. shortwave station founded by Joseph Costello III as described here and went on the air in February 1982 as a commercial international broadcaster. Another recording can be found in the archive but this is one of the earliest recordings of the station after it first went on the air.

As described by Wikipedia, WRNO was the first privately owned shortwave station licensed in several years at the time of its approval by the FCC: “Before Costello's efforts, there were only three non-governmental American shortwave broadcasters on the air; by the end of the decade, that number had increased to sixteen.[2]  WRNO shortwave had a rock music format, branded as the "World Rock of New Orleans" and operating from noon to midnight (GMT-6) daily. Originally a separate broadcast from the FM station, eventually WRNO turned to simulcasting WRNO-FM, which also had a rock music format. During the early 1990s WRNO turned to leasing airtime to religious and political commentators (for a time, it was the shortwave home of Rush Limbaugh's program) until a damaged transmitter forced the station off the air for several years.” In 2001 the station was purchased by Good News World Outreach, a non-profit religious broadcaster.” This article in SWLing Post shows the transmitter of WRNO as of 2009.

A bit of shortwave trivia not widely known — Joseph Costello appeared in the first pilot of “Communications World” the VOA program for shortwave listeners originated by Dan Robinson, who went on to be a foreign correspondent, congressional reporter, and chief White House correspondent for VOA through the 1980’s, 1990s and 2000s.

Bizim Radio (Turkish Communist Party): 1970s

As detailed in this article, Bizim Radio was one of the oldest clandestine stations and represented the Turkish Communist Party (Bizim means “our” radio). Bizim Radio started broadcasting in 1958 and lasted until 1989 when it was reported that the station would close after more than 30 years in operation. Bizim Radio was one of many clandestines audible on the east coast of North America and was a regular along with Radio Espana Independiente, Radio Euzkadi, and other stations often using odd frequency ranges such as the 10 and 13 mHz bands.

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following recording

Emisora Regional dos Azores: 1970s

In the 1970’s shortwave listeners were surprised by the appearance in the 60 meter band of a station that seemed to be a re-activation of Portugal’s station in the Azores islands. The frequency was 4,865 khz and the signal was quite strong as heard on the east coast of North America. What everyone thought was actually a broadcast from the Azores turned out to be — NOT. According to Jerry Berg, in his On the Shortwaves 1945 to turned out to be none other than Radiodifusao Portuguesa with transmissions on the old frequency of Azores from years before. What a disappointment for country hunters! Anyway, here is a recording of what we all thought was Azores direct, made in the 1970s. You can hear the full ID by the announcer toward the end followed by the Portuguese national anthem.

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following recording

Radio Clandestine: 1980's

Radio Clandestine was one of the main U.S. pirates on shortwave in the 1970s and 1980s — this recording was made in Washington, DC on a Hammarlund HQ-180A. I do not recall the frequency. This recording includes the famous spoof of Radio Moscow…and sign off with the equally famous R.F. Burns. At another link here in the archives, Andy Robins provides a separate recording of Radio Clandestine recorded in 1980 and notes that the station was known for using frequencies inside the regular shortwave broadcasting bands, unlike other pirates that tended to use frequencies just above or below the 40-meter amateur radio band.

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following recording:

Spanish Sahara (Radio Sahara): 1973

On the top-10 list of DX targets in the 1970s was Spanish Sahara, the broadcast service transmitting from Aaiun in what was then Spanish-ruled Sahara in West Africa. Verification cards and letters were sent to lucky listeners around the world who were able to hear the transmissions which were a mixture of local programs and material from the Spanish national radio. Frequencies on shortwave: 7,230 khz listed as 10 KW and 4,626 khz which was a SSB frequency listed a 5 kilowatts, described as a service for Aaiun and Villa Cisneros, now called Dakhla, about 330 miles south along the coast from Aaiun.

My reception of Radio Sahara was on a Hammarlund HQ-180 receiver, which due to its superb filtering and vernier tuning capability I used to hear numerous African stations. According to the QSL letter received from Radio Sahara, and signed by Amparo Martin, their programming was from “0645 to 01 horas” making this one of the few African stations with a very late (or early in the morning) sign on for listeners in the eastern U.S. (the other being Radio Gambia).

In this recording you hear music to about the 1 minute 10 mark, then station identification by a male announcer “Musica para ellos. Radio Sahara de la red de emisoras [network of stations] de Radio Nacional de Espana” and since Spain was still under the rule of dictator Francisco Franco at the time, this was heard after an military march: “Viva Franco, Viva el Sahara, Viva Espana” followed by what I believe was the Spanish national anthem.

Another frequency for Radio Sahara was 11,805 khz. In 1975, the station sent out a more traditional QSL card (see below). The history that followed saw Spain withdrawing troops from the region on January 12, 1976, and ending its presence in the territory February 26, 1976. Morocco immediately claimed sovereignty over the territory and for years a guerilla war dragged on (1975 to 1991) between the Polisario Front and Moroccan forces. This Wikipedia entry explains the complexities of the situation in what is today called a “partially recognized de facto sovereign state.”

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following recording

Voice of Kenya: Circa 1975

In the 1960’s and 1970’s, Africa was a treasure trove of stations broadcasting on shortwave. Prime time for listening was late afternoon (especially during the winter DX season) and the 0300 to 0700 UTC range. For stations in East Africa and the Indian Ocean, evening hours presented an ideal time but did not mean that these were easy catches. One evening in 1975, propagation conditions were such that listeners on the East coast of North America suddenly heard East African stations at what sounded like a local level. One of them was Voice of Kenya. The signal was so remarkable on 4,915 khz that it rivaled signals from some Latin American stations that were still on the air in the 0300 to 0400 UTC range. This was the National Service in Swahili. Other VOK frequencies were more challenging, such as the listed 41 meter band frequency and one in 31 meters. Even more difficult, was the 4885 frequency for the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. That station eluded many DX’ers and verifications of the Mombasa station are among the rarest from the continent of Africa. Here is Voice of Kenya as heard in Pennslvania in 1975:

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following recording

Emisora da Guine Portuguesa (Portuguese Guinea - Guinea Bissau): 1972

This was the classic aerogram style QSL received by many DX’ers who heard Emisora da Guinea (or Guine as it was spelled by the station) Portuguesa. One of the hardest DX catches for North American listeners, the station’s main frequency was, as this verification notes, 5,041 khz. But for a brief period in 1972, DX’ers were amazed to find that this rare African station was putting out a harmonic and being heard at strong levels on 5041 x 2 = 10,082 khz. Some of us were pinching ourselves to make sure we weren’t dreaming, but yes, this was Portuguese Guinea. What’s more, the station was actually one of the more consistent verifiers of reception reports, and sent out this beautiful folding QSL complete with fantastic local stamps.

You may notice that no mention is made by the station of its harmonic frequency that allowed so many of us to hear this small country in the west of Africa. Here’s the recording, Emisora da Guinea Bissau, made on a HQ-180 in Pennsylvania, on the frequency of 10,082 khz a harmonic of 5,041 khz, the station’s main frequency. You will hear in this recording a variety of other interesting sounds, including interference from a local amateur radio operator whose signal was coming in at 10 mHz, the sound of an old dial-up phone, and the clunk of the HQ-180’s selectivity switch as I changed bandwidths from time to time.

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following recording

Radio Myanmar: Circa 1990s

Radio Myanmar QSL

Another country and station that was considered among the rarest catches for DX’ers in North America and elsewhere was Myanmar, the current name for Burma. 5,040 khz was the frequency many us finally heard Burma on, and this was as difficult as some of the other challenging countries in the southeast Asia region, even in the days when solar conditions were favorable. When the mail arrived one day and I saw that classic BBS QSL card I was thrilled, to say the least. In later years, the BBS became Radio Myanmar and there was an updated color QSL card sent to listeners. Even now, in 2020 with shortwave on its way out, it’s quite amazing that Myanmar remains audible on SW. In the 1990s, as part of my work for Voice of America, I began traveling to Myanmar/Burma regularly — at least until I was placed on a ban list by the then military government due to my reporting for VOA. On one of those trips, I made this recording of Radio Myanmar, on a SONY ICF-SW1 receiver during a reporting trip in the capital, Yangon (Rangoon).

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following recording

Voice and King of Hope WORD/KING - Lebanon: Circa 1980s

This recording of Voice and King of Hope WORD/KING was made in the 1980’s when the station was on shortwave in the 48 meter band at 6,215 kHz. This was the High Adventures station operating from the area known as “Free Lebanon” https://bit.ly/2zqsGOd Among the interesting things in this 15 minute recording, a weather forecast for the Free Lebanon area (at the end of the recording, just before a Billy Joel song), a commercial for an American eye specialist offering free eyeglasses, and a pre-recorded jingle “WORD”. The announcer also gives a mediumwave frequency of 945 kHz. Local time of this broadcast was before 7 AM Lebanon time. ID: “You are listening to WORD and KING, that’s High Adventures the Voice and King of Hope for the Middle East here in the Valley of the Springs in beautiful free Lebanon, on AM and shortwave.” Also, mention of the Maronite town of Marjayoun.

The signal from KING/WORD had that typical sound that we all remember from the time when propagation and solar conditions permitted reception of hundreds of stations still on shortwave. This reception was on either a HQ-180A or Drake SPR-4, two receivers I was using at the time and which I still have in my shack today.

To hear this nearly 15 minute recording of WORD/KING of Hope Lebanon…

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following recording and notes:

HCJB: August 21, 2001

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Adam C. Smith, who shares the following recording which includes his name being mentioned on HCJB. Adam notes:

This is an off the air recording of HCJB: 9745kHz, 8/12/01, 0434 UTC. Recorded off air on a DX-398 and 100’ longwire.

Voice of Russia (Moscow Mailbag): March 11, 2002

Photo by Michael Parulava via Unsplash

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Adam C. Smith, who shares the following recording and notes:

Moscow Mailbag, recorded on 3/11/2002 at 0310UTC on 17,595 kHz.

Receiver: Satellit 800 with 100' random wire antenna.

Voice of Greece: March 21, 2020

The following recording of the Voice of Greece was made on March 21, 2020 starting around 22:45 UTC on 9.420 MHz. This recording was made with a WinRadio Excalibur and skyloop antenna. Reception location: Asheville, North Carolina, USA.

Radio RSA: December 31, 1979

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Jerry Johnston, who has kindly shared his collection of airchecks with the archive. The following recording and notes originally appeared on Jerry’s website.

Meyerton, South Africa 1979-12-31 2153 GMT 15380/17805 kHz English Radio RSA's 3rd annual New Year's Eve live call in program. I called in at 2320 GMT (separate cut on recoding, 19 minutes in). I was 13 years old at the time. You can hear my voice right before that cut, and again at the very end of the recording.

Duration:   46:15
Filename:  19791231_2153_Radio-RSA_South-Africa_15380.mp3
Bitrate Mode:  vbr      Channel Mode:  mono      Sample Rate:  44100 Hz
Received By:  Jerry Johnston
Receiving Location:  Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Radio Canada International (Shortwave Listener's Digest): July 26, 1982

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

Date of recording: 7/26/1982

Starting time: 2130

Frequency: 15.325

Reception location: South Bend, IN

Receiver and antenna: Realistic DX-302

Notes: Here are two more back to back episodes from my collection of recordings of Shortwave Listener's Digest from Radio Canada International, this time from July 26 and August 02, 1982. This program's highlights are: ANARC 1982 Convention promo, Larry Magne's test of the Sony ICF-6500W, a look at underseas intercontinental cables with Walter Foster of Teleglobe Canada, Glenn Hauser's DX tips. The second program highlights are: coverage of the 1982 ANARC convention with guest co-host Bab Zanotti of Swiss Radio Intl., interview with David Meisel about the solar cycle, a rundown of the awards given out at ANARC 82.

BBC World Service: April 30, 1982

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

Date of recording: 4/30/1982

Starting time: unknown

Frequency: unknown

Reception Location: South Bend, IN

Receiver: Realistic DX-302

Notes: From April 30, 1982 I submit this recording of London Calling the Falkland Islands. I failed to record the time and frequency of this recording but it likely came from Ascension Island. This recording was made during the height of the Falklands War and many mentions to the conflict can be heard in the broadcast.

Radiodiffusion Télévision Gabonaise: 1979

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Jerry Johnston, who has kindly shared his collection of airchecks with the archive. The following recording and notes originally appeared on Jerry’s website.

Libréville, Gabon
1979?     4777 kHz
French     100 kW

Music, talk, ID in French. Time and actual date unknown, possibly 1979.

Duration:   25:04
Filename:  19790000_-_Radiodiffusion-Television-Gabonaise_Gabon_4777.mp3
Bitrate Mode:  vbr      Channel Mode:  mono      Sample Rate:  44100 Hz
Received By:  Jerry Johnston
Receiving Location:  Lexington, Kentucky, USA

Radio Austria International (Romania Revolution Special Broadcast): 1990

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tim Harrold, who shares the following recording and notes:

To mark the 30th anniversary of the Romanian Revolution, a recording of "Austrian Shortwave Panorama", Radio Austria International's weekly DX programme presented by David Hermges. This was a special edition broadcast a few days after Romania's 1989 revolution originally broadcast on 31st December 1989 (although this recording is of a repeat from sometime in 1990). Contains off-air recordings of Radio Bucharest and Radio Free Europe (in English, Romanian and other languages) recounting the events of the revolution. (Sent via The Shortwave Radio Audio Archive)

Frequency: 13.730 MHz

Reception location: Birmingham, UK

Receiver and antenna: Toshiba portable, telescopic antenna

Lao National Radio: May 10, 2012

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Timm Breyel, who shares the following recording and notes:

Lao National Radio at 14.00 UTC on 6.130 kHz, 10 May 20112. An English language broadcast of Domestic and Regional News followed this station identification, which was presented by the same female announcer.

Broadcaster: Lao National Radio

Date of recording: 5/10/2012

Starting time: 14.00 UTC

Frequency: 6.130 kHz

Recption location: Subang Jaya, Malaysia

Receiver and antenna: Tecsun S-2000 / 1/4 wave

CBC Radio Nord Quebec: October 29, 2012

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Timm Breyel, who shares the following recording and notes:

CBC Radio Nord Quebec @ 22.30 UTC / 29.10.12 / 9.625 kHz. Record message includes music clip, station ID and announcer presenting news in Native American language.

Broadcaster: CBC Radio Nord Quebec

Date of recording: 10/29/2012

Starting time: 00.00 UTC

Frequency: 9.625 kHz

Reception location: Subang Jaya, Malaysia

Receiver and antenna: Tecsun S-2000/ 1/4 wave

WRNO (Glenn Hauser's World of Radio): April 11 & 25, 1982

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

Here are two back to back episodes of Glenn Hauser's World of Radio from April 11 and April 25, 1982. WOR aired on WRNO on Sundays at 2330 UTC on 11.955 MHz plus one other time slot.

Some of the program highlights are

Part 1: Monitoring the Falkland Islands situation, Adrian Peterson presents a feature of the Falkland Islands Broadcasting Service, discussion of the close-down of Radio New Zealand's SW service (note the "Russian Woodpecker" during the RNZ segment), news about Radio CBN, Bolivian radio news, an item about the highest transmitter in the world, Radio Quince de Septiembre being jammed, illegal SW broadcasts to Cuba.

Part 2: A new shortwave station to begin broadcasting during the World's Fair in Knoxville, TN, Radio New Zealand still on the air (mention of me getting a letter from the Prime Minister of New Zealand), Radio Moscow special programming for May Day, Radio Nacional do Brazil schedule, CBC's Morningside program, Radio Ghana back on the air, items from Review of International Broadcasting, items on equipment suppliers Radio West and Shortwave Horizons (Canada), Directory of World Band Radio from Sony, audio clip from Radio Solidarity from Poland, Athens Greece radio hoax.

Frequency: 11.955

Reception location: South Bend, IN

Receiver and antenna: Sony ICF-2001