Radio Tirana: September 17, 2015

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For your listening pleasure: Radio Tirana's English language service.

This recording was made on September 16, 2015 at 01:30 UTC on 9580 kHz. The receiver used was an Elad FDM-S2 hooked up to a large horizontal delta loop antenna in the southeast USA. The Tirana signal is weak--and conditions quite noisy--but still quite audible.

Radio Biafra: September 4, 2015

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On September 4, 2015, I received a tip from SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson: Radio Biafra, a new clandestine station, was audible on 15,560 kHz via the Universite Twente Web SDR.

Despite miserable propagation conditions, I tuned my receiver to 15,560 kHz and was surprised to hear a weak signal from Radio Biafra, here in the eastern US. I recorded a few minutes before conditions changed and Biafra’s signal began to fade.

This was the first time I had logged Radio Biafra, so I was amazed to have copy clear enough to understand.

Wikipedia has a short entry for Radio Biafra:

Radio Biafra also known as Voice of Biafra, is a radio station that was originally founded by the government of the Republic of Biafra but is currently operated by Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Believed to have had its first transmission before the Nigeria-Biafra war, the radio station was instrumental in the broadcast of speeches and propaganda by Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu to the people of the Republic of Biafra.

[…]Radio Biafra currently transmits via the internet and shortwave broadcast targeted majorly around Eastern Nigeria. Radio Biafra claims to be broadcasting the ideology of Biafra –”Freedom of the Biafra people”.

[…]Radio Biafra has been met with mixed reactions. While some critics have criticized the station for “inciting war” through its programmes and “preaching hate messages” against Nigeria which it refers to as a “zoo”, an editor for Sahara Reporters wrote in defence of the radio station after he compared Radio Biafra with the British Broadcasting Corporation Hausa service.

On 14 July 2015, it was reported in the media that the radio station had been jammed because it did not have a broadcast license from the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission. However, the radio station in a swift reaction labelled such claims as “lies” and went on to release its new frequency details to the public.

Note that the Wikipedia entry for Radio Biafra is rather new, having only been created in August, 2015.

The following short recording was made using my WinRadio Excalibur hooked up to a large skyloop antenna:

This two hour recording, by Dan Robinson, was made via the Universite Twente Web SDR in the Netherlands:

Radio Reloj: August 30, 2015

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, who notes:

Live recording of Radio Reloj (CMBD), Havana, Cuba, on 30 August 2015 beginning at about 15:55 UTC on a frequency of 950 kHz. The signal originates from a 10 kW transmitter at Arroyo Arenas / San Augustin, near Havana, using the Centros Transmisores de Ondas Medias 1 (CTOM1) non-directional antenna facility.

(Radio Reloj can be heard on various frequencies in the AM and FM bands in Cuba and live on the Internet at http://media.enet.cu/radioreloj.) 

The recording, in Spanish, is a typical Radio Reloj broadcast with two announcers alternately reading news bulletins accompanied by time signals. The announcers identify the station and verbally give the local time each minute. In addition to the verbal station identification, each minute either the letters RR in morse code (using 1800 Hz tones) are transmitted or five-note chimes (D4, G4, B4, D5, B4) are played. The chimes sound like those of a dinner chime or even some door bells and are reminiscent of the U.S. National Broadcasting Company (NBC) chimes. On a couple of occasions in this recording, during a particular minute, neither the morse code nor the chimes are used and sometimes, during a particular minute, both are used. In this recording, we can also hear at some minutes pairs of tones being played going up and down the scale as news headlines are read. On other occasions, three- and four-note chimes in various sequences have been heard (perhaps at the announcers' whim).

Different tones identify each second, minute, and five-minute epochs. Based on measurements, each second is marked with a "seconds tick" consisting 10 cycles of a 1000 Hz tone (0.01 seconds duration). Minutes, except for multiples of 5 minutes, are marked by 172 cycles of a 1000 Hz tone (0.172 seconds duration). Every 5 minutes, the marker is extended to 672 cycles of a 1000 Hz tone (0.672 seconds duration). The minute and 5-minute markers are preceded by 5 cycles of a 1000 Hz tone, followed by 0.013 seconds of silence.

The time signals in this particular broadcast were well within one second of the time given by a computer's clock synchronized to the U.S. time standard using Network Time Protocol. 

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in loop antenna in Key West, Florida, using an RF bandwidth of 5 kHz. The receiver was oriented for maximum signal strength. Signal quality is generally good. However, there are repeated static crashes (QRN) from thunderstorms in the region.

Richard also notes that he was located in Key West, Florida, using  a "Tecsun PL-880 receiver with built-in loop antenna using an RF bandwidth of 5 kHz. The receiver was oriented for maximum signal strength." 

Shortwave Radio Audio Archive featured in The Wire Magazine

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We're absolutely chuffed to learn that our Shortwave Radio Audio Archive (SRAA) has made the pages of the October 2015 issue of the British alt music magazine, The Wire.  Following are two excerpts from the brief but powerful column by Richard Thomas:

Thomas continues in this vein, his descriptions of the varied content inviting readers to immerse themselves in the SRAA's static-infused depths.

The Wire
October 2015 (Issue 380)
Page 17

Finally, Thomas concludes by describing in terms no less than lyrical exactly why he responds–as so many do, myself included–to the recordings found in the archive:

The Wire
October 2015 (Issue 380)
Page 17

Wow...what a testament to the power of sound!  Thanks, Richard and The Wire–we're humbly grateful that someone shares our passion for this growing project.

A special thanks goes out to all of our contributors who make this archive project possible!

If you would like to contribute to the SRAA, check out this page, or contact us with your questions.

1981 & 1982: Various International Time Signal Stations

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One of four WWV time code generators in late August, 2014 (Photo: Thomas Witherspoon)

One of four WWV time code generators in late August, 2014 (Photo: Thomas Witherspoon)

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, who shares the following recordings he has transferred from audio cassette. Tom includes the following notes:

I combined several audio files of some of the common time signal stations available back in 1981 and 1982 into one clip. These were made using a DX-302 which had poor image rejection and you can hear some stations behind WWV which shouldn't be there, such as RCI's interval signal at one point.

00:00 - VNG, Australia - August 16, 1981 on 12.000 MHz at ???? UTC
03:02 - LOL, Argentina - October 15, 1981 on 15.000 MHz at 2349 UTC
07:27 - BPM, China - January 16, 1982 on 10.000 MHz at 1255 UTC
08:38 - ZUO, South Africa - December 18, 1982 on 5.000 MHz at 0329 UTC

Voice of America: July 20, 1979

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, who shares this recording of the Voice of America from July 20, 1979 at 0500 UTC on the 31 meter band. Tom notes:

The first 4:30 is from a VOA newscast that aired before the main part of the program. The main recording was presented on the 10th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. I enjoy listening to this every year on the landing anniversary.

Radio Progreso: August 31, 2015

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(Image Source: konstriktio)

(Image Source: konstriktio)

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, who notes:

Live recording of Radio Progreso, Havana, Cuba, on 31 August 2015 beginning at about 01:10 UTC on a frequency of 4765 kHz. The signal originates from a 50 kW transmitter at Bauta, near Havana, with a non-directional antenna. 

The recording, in Spanish, begins with the program "Nocturno / Domingo de Selecciones de la Actualidad," a program of current music. At 13m:05s in the recording, there is a brief station identification ("RP") followed by a short news report and announcements of current cultural events in Havana. There is a full musical station identification at 18m:55s ("Radio Progreso, cadena nacional, la onda de la alegría, transmitiendo desde La Habana, Cuba, primera territorio libre en America"). At 19m:45s, the program "Ritmos Dominical" begins, an eclectic music program featuring selections by, among others, Nirvana and Ace of Base as well as traditional Cuban rhythms. The recording ends with the program still in progress.

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in telescopic whip antenna in Key West, Florida, using an RF bandwidth of 5 kHz. Signal quality is generally good. Occasionally, there is slight interference from what is believed to be a radar signal.

Voice of Greece: November 15, 2013

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I never know what to expect when I tune around on one of my shortwave radios.  Perhaps that's one of the things I find captivating about the medium; there's no playlist, no app, no content controls, other than the tuning knob.

Sometimes, I tune to a station, and it's as though I've just opened a door and walked in on a party--one in full swing, with dancing and incredible live music.

That's exactly what I felt when I tuned to the Voice of Greece on the night of November 15, 2013. I walked in on a party.  And I needed no invitation; I was welcomed there.

Hear it, just as I did, starting right in the middle of this party:

HCJB (Quito, Ecuador): July 19, 1979

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, who sends us his first shortwave recording: HCJB Ecuador.

Tom recorded this broadcast, on 9 MHz starting around 0600 UTC on July 19, 1979 using a GE portable radio. Tom has informed us that he has a number of shortwave recordings on cassette that he will be sharing in the near future. Many thanks, Tom!

1991 cassette of shortwave IDs, interval signals and numbers stations

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SWLing Post reader and SRAA contributor, Frank, writes from Germany:

First let me say that I enjoy your blog a lot.

After a 2005-13 hiatus, I have rediscovered a childhood hobby and your reviews have helped me find my way to the post-Sony portable shortwave radio markets.

First, I obtained my “childhood dream” radio (Sony ICF 2001D), because at the time I made these recordings I was still in school and 1300 DM would have equaled over 1 year of pocket money, so a Supertech SR16HN had to do. I thought I got some fine results with this Sangean-Siemens re-branded receiver then, using a CB half-length antenna, a random wire, and much endurance.

I kept regular logs throughout the years, wrote to 50 international and pirate stations for QSL and compiled this cassette.

A few years before I got that trusty SR16HN, however, I recorded a few number stations (such as G3, Four Note Rising Scale etc) with an ordinary radio cassette recorder, and in 1991 I put them onto this tape as well. The other recordings are done with the same radio placed right in front of the SR 16HN.

Feel free to make use of these recordings. Most of it are the well-known international state-owned shortwave stations of the past; plus European pirates; plus number stations; and at the end, a few (off-topic) local Am and FM stations interval signals.

As I said, this collection I made shortly after the Wende/reunification period, when all former-GDR state broadcasters changed their names, sometimes more than once.

Please continue your good work on the blogs! Weather permitting I am often outside cycling and always have the tiny Sony ICF 100 with me (which I call my then-student’s dream radio of the later 90ies).

Cassette Side 1

Cassette Side 2