For your listening pleasure: the Voice of Greece.
Recorded on August 5, 2015 starting around 04:20 UTC on 9,420 kHz. Receiver used was a WinRadio Excalibur, hooked up to a large horizontal delta loop antenna. Reception location is North Carolina, USA.
SRAA contributor, Richard Langley notes:
Live recording of the Voice of Turkey on 20 July 2015 beginning at 21:56:38 UTC on a frequency of 9830 kHz. The signal originates from a 500 kW transmitter in Emirler, near Ankara, Turkey, and was beamed 310° to Europe and North America.
The recording, initially in English, begins with the tuning or interval signal with station identification, time pips at 22:00 UTC, and sign-on announcement. The announced frequency of 9820 kHz is incorrect (closing announcement has correct frequency). Then follows a news program mentioning the suicide bombing in Suruc, a review of the Turkish press, a report on the Cyprus peace operation, the program "In the Heart of Nature" on Lake Van, the program "Eco-Friendly Tips," "Question of the Month," a musical interlude, news headlines, and the closing announcement. The program proper ends at about 22:45 UTC but the transmission continues with more than 10 minutes of tuning signal filler. The tuning signal is faded down and then restarts at 22:56 UTC in advance of the German program, which begins at 23:00 UTC. The program abruptly and prematurely ends at about 23:05 UTC possibly due to a transmitter problem.
The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in telescopic whip antenna in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada. Signal quality is generally good. However, at the beginning of the recording, there is interference from a radio teletype signal believed to originate from the U.S. military.
Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Brian Smith, who notes:
Beginning in 1990, Radio St. Helena was known for transmitting an international shortwave radio broadcast only once a year -- and sometimes not even that -- on a frequency of 11092.5 kHz USB. I managed to hear its 2006 broadcast to North America for about an hour on Nov. 4 and 5 UTC (straddling the 0000 hour).
Because of its relatively low power, it was never an easy catch in the American Midwest. That's why this recording, which lasts just over an hour -- I spliced together both sides of a cassette -- captures a signal quality that is merely fair at best. But that was typical of Radio St. Helena, whose 1 kw signal in 2006 (it was 1.5 kw in the 1990s) seldom packed much of a punch.
I was listening on the borrowed rig of a now-deceased friend, Mike Koss, W9SU, and have long since forgotten the type of radio (probably a ham rig) he let me use. However, if memory serves, it was attached to a Beverage antenna that stretched across his 10-acre property in the heart of Indianapolis.
Mike deserves the lion's share of the credit for the creation of this recording.
Thanks for sharing such a rare recording, Brian!
Radio France International in English recorded in Europe on July 25, 2015 at 0600 UTC, shortwave frequency of 13725 kHz (transmitter site: Issoudun, France, 500 kW transmitter power)
Two engineers from Radio Cook Islands, photographed during my visit in April, 1993. (Photo: Guy Atkins)
The following is the second recording of Radio Cook Islands by SRAA contributor, Guy Atkins. Click here to read the recording description and original post.
Notes: “Party Time” music request show; weather; local ads; more music.
A view from the driveway entrance to the Radio Cook Islands studio in 1993. Insulators on an antenna (T2FD or multiband dipole) can be seen as dark spots against the cloudy sky. A feedline is also seen rising above the left side of the building. (Photo: Guy Atkins)
SRAA contributor, Guy Atkins, writes:
In 1993 I was fortunate to have the opportunity to visit Rarotonga with my wife, courtesy of a nice award through my company which afforded me an all-expenses-paid trip anywhere we’d like to go.
I chose the South Pacific island of Rarotonga, partly because I wanted to visit Radio Cook Islands after listening to their “island music” on 11760 and 15170 kHz through my teenage years.
During our visit to the island I recorded 90+ minutes of RCI on 630 kHz with a local quality signal using a Grundig Satellit 500 and a Marantz PMD-221 recorder.
Sadly, RCI will likely never be on shortwave again; a fire in the local tele-comm building a few months before my 1993 visit destroyed RCI’s transmitter. I had an amusing exchange with the secretary when I visited; she insisted that their station was still on shortwave. Of COURSE we’re on the air she said, because “the frequencies are published right here in the newspaper!” The engineer and announcer confirmed, though, that the silence on their former frequencies was for real. They indicated they were covering the outer islands just fine with FM translators and had no intention of restarting shortwave.
The programming of Radio Cook Islands is bilingual, and announcers are fluent in both English and Cook Islands Maori. Music selections on RCI encompass all styles, to appeal to many age groups. These recordings was scheduled to include as much local music as possible.
RCI programming includes all the hallmarks of a small, non-professional station: stuck records & tape carts, dead air, poor modulation, and other miscues.
However, that’s part of the flavor of local radio, and these errors are heard throughout this recording. Particularly noticeable is the bassy, over-modulation of the studio announcer during sign-on announcements.
Notes: National anthem & hymn; sign-on announcements & music.
Music; weather; sign-off announcements & national anthem.
Local & regional news; weather; ads; music.
Recording 2 follows in the next post....
Radio France International in English recorded in Europe on July 17, 2015 at 0600 UTC, shortwave frequency of 13725 kHz (transmitter site: Issoudun, France, 500 kW transmitter power)
Radio ERT Greece broadcasting in Greek, recorded in Europe on July 17, 2015 at 0356 GMT from shortwave frequency of 9420 kHz. Ending abruptly after one hour without relaying foreign language programme segments which recently used to be transmitted soon after 0500 GMT during the following one hour of broadcast.
International Radio Serbia in Italian, Russian, English, Spanish and Serbian languages recorded from shortwave frequency of 6100 kHz on July 15, 2015 at 1730 GMT (transmitter site: [bij], 250 kW of transmitter power)
Radio ERT Greece broadcasting in Greek and several other languages, including Romanian, Polish and Arabic, recorded in Europe on July 2, 2015 at 0459 GMT shortwave frequency of 9420 kHz
Voice of Korea [North] in English and Spanish recorded in Europe at 2100 UTC on July 12, 2015, shortwave frequency of 13760 kHz (transmitter site: Kujang in North Korea, transmitter power of 200 kW)
SRAA contributor, Richard Langley notes:
Live three-hour recording of the 2015 Pacific Games coverage of the National Broadcasting Corporation, the Voice of Papua New Guinea (PNG), via a transmitter in Australia on 10 July 2015 beginning at 07:01:21 UTC on a frequency of 12025 kHz. At the time of the uploading of this sound file, it is not clear if the signal originated from the former Australian Broadcasting Corporation's lower-power facility at Brandon (as registered with the High Frequency Co-ordination Conference (HFCC) organization; 25 kW beamed 80°) or their higher-power Shepparton site with 100 kW transmitters.
The recording, mostly in English with some Tok Pisin, includes commentary on the games being held in Port Moresby, music, news bulletins, public service announcements, and the NBC's drum, flute and bird call interval signal near the top of some of the hours. Note that PNG time is 10 hours ahead of UTC.
The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in telescopic whip antenna in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada. Signal quality is generally good and gets better towards the end of the recording as propagation conditions improved.
Radio Cairo in English and Arabic recorded on July 10, 2015, shortwave frequency of 9965kHz at 2300 GMT (250 kW of transmitter power)
Deutsche Schallplatten Sender (free radio station) recorded in Europe at 1520 GMT off the shortwave frequency of 6423 kHz on 4 July 2015. Recording made using SONY ICF SW77 receiver ('sync U' button switched on) and 33m longwire antenna with magnetic baloon.
At 06:00 UTC this morning, I recorded one hour of the Nigerian Armed Forces Radio test on 13,775 kHz. This broadcast was transmitted from a 250 kW transmitter in Issoudun, France.
Hypothetically, this may have been the last test transmission of the NAFR as WRMI's announcement stated the test period would last only one week, beginning June 30th.
Click here to download this recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
Deutsche Welle in English, recorded in Europe on July 7, 2015 at 0700 UTC, shortwave frequency of 15275 kHz (transmitter site: Issoudun, France; transmitter power: 500 kW)
Radio Tirana in English recorded in Europe at 2000 UTC on July 8, 2015, shortwave frequency of 7465 kHz - transmitter power: 100 kW
Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributor, Brian D. Smith, recently contacted me; I was enthused when he described the recording he was sharing:
"This recording captures the last 5 minutes of WWV’s old format (giving the time every 5 minutes) and the first 5 minutes of the new format (giving the time every 1 minute), which took place on July 1, 1971 UTC.
Apologies for the less-than-stellar audio quality, but I recorded this as a 15-year-old fledgling SWL with limited knowledge of audio recording techniques. So I simply placed the microphone from my cassette tape recorder next to the speaker on the receiver and hit the record button. The signal quality wasn’t the greatest, either — lots of QSB and QRM — but I still managed to get what I was going for.
The resulting recording has accompanied me everywhere since then, preserved only on its original cassette, until 2008, when I finally decided it was time to learn how to transfer it onto my hard drive, burn it onto a CD and stop having to rely on the integrity of 37-year-old audio tape.
Even as a teenager, I regarded the WWV changeover as historic, and felt I should attempt to record it for posterity. Consider yourself posterity!"
Brian received this broadcast on 10 MHz care of a Hallicrafters S-108, with random length of wire attached to the back of the receiver serving as an antenna. Location was Franklin, Indiana.
As Brian mentions, the audio quality is a little rough, but this is still quite a treasure of a recording!
Click here to download as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:
Hamburger Lokalradio in English recorded in Europe July 4, 2015 at 1400 GMT, shortwave frequency of 7265 kHz (transitter site in Göhren, Germany, transmitter power: 1 kW). Recording made using SONY ICF SW77 receiver ('sync U' button switched on) and 33m longwire antenna with magnetic baloon. Transmission consisted in relays of "Media Network Plus" programme and "World of Radio" recorded on July 1, 2015
SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, writes:
Live recording of a test transmission of Nigerian Armed Forces Radio on 4 July 2015 beginning at 06:00:01 UTC (carrier on; audio file begins at 06:01:30; program begins at 06:01:36) on a frequency of 13775 kHz. The test was broadcast from a 250 kW transmitter of TDF in Issoudun, France. The antenna beam direction was 170 degrees towards west Africa.
The test, which is running daily for a week, consists of Nigerian traditional and military music interspersed with brief announcements and identifications in Hausa and English. In addition to 13775 kHz, a frequency of 11825 kHz was announced. The first musical piece features the line "I remember when I was a solider." The IDs include an SMS number to which to send messages: +2348148366886. The test program ended abruptly at 06:57:17 UTC when the transmitter cuts off in mid-song.
The signal was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna in Hanwell, New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 5 kHz RF filtering.
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