Sydney To Hobart Yacht Race HF Recording: December 28, 1998

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Neil Howard, for sharing the following recording and notes:

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht race of 1998 was tragic as huge seas & storms decimated the fleet, leaving 6 people dead and 5 boats sunk.
 

HOW this was obtained
 

This recording of the SSB HF transmissions from 1998 was recorded by me from Queensland, using a newfangled unattended recoding program on the PC and a very ordinary Sangean ATS-803a receiver using a random long wire Antenna - from memory this was on the 8 Mhz Marine band, and is the co-ordination of the search and rescue from the 28th Dec 1998 and covers from around 8:30PM till 10PM - The automated recorded stopped recording when the signal noise dropped below a certain level and thus some was lost.
The recording goes for 30 mins, as that was the limit that was set to save disk space, but there is a lot of empty noise.

I present this recording as it was recorded, warts and all for your education *** I dedicate this to those lost at sea ****

HIGHLIGHTS
(Times are approximate)
4:11 "Rescue 253" 9A helicopter) locates a life-raft
6:00 "Air force Sydney" is looking for a position of a yacht " Solo Global Challenge"
6:50 "RCC Canberra" (Who is co-ordinating) has a "hot mic" and is explaining the situation to someone locally
8:35 "Rescue 253" has sighted 2 POB on the life-raft - RTC wants to know if they are from "Winston Churchill"
9:39 Another "hot mic" in Canberra
11:56 "Tiger75" (A Navy Helicopter, I think) has the survivors on board, but still awaiting info on who they are
13:04 13:44 confirmation that there are 2 survivors of the "Winston Churchill" from the life raft, but the tragic news that 3 others had "rolled out" of the raft and are lost (Historical note- these three were listed as drowned)
14:46 Discussion about where the survivors are to be taken by Tiger 75
15:20 Info of the survivors is passed though, along with the news that the life raft they were "in" had no bottom.
16:33 Rescue 253 Says it has heard a beacon & is proceeding to the location
20:00 Another aircraft has gone to the search site from Merimbula (A town in New South Wales)
25:38 Rescue 253 updates beacon location
26;30 Rescue 253 Locates a boat at the beacon site that has been dis-masted & is in serious trouble.

Radio Canada International, Shortwave Listener's Digest: November 9, 1981

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Laskowski, who shares this 1981 recording of Radio Canada International's Shortwave Listeners Digest from November 9, 1981. Tom notes:

This is another from my archive of old recordings of Radio Canada International's Shortwave Listener's Digest. This episode contains Ian McFarland's editorial comment on the ANARC Convention of 1981; Steve Webster's Who's On The Air - Radio Kuwait; Larry Magne's final part of his interview with Perry Ferrell of Gilfer Shortwave; Glenn Hauser's DX news.

This recording starts at 2100 UTC on 15,325 kHz on November 9, 1981. The receiver was a Sony ICF-2001 and the location was South Bend, Indiana:

Radio Öömrang: February 21, 2016

Live, off-air, one-hour-long recording of Radio Öömrang on 21 February 2016 beginning at 16:00 UTC on a frequency of 15215 kHz from a transmitter at Issoudun, France, operating at 500 kW and beamed to North America. Radio Öömrang broadcasts once a year on the occasion of the Biakendai to the descendants of immigrants from the island of Amrum. Öömrang is a North Frisian dialect and is still spoken on Amrum. Biakendai is an annual celebration where a great bonfire is lit to dispel winter.

The broadcast consisted of talks and interviews in Frisian, German, and English. It began with an introduction in English:
"Hello. We are broadcasting. This is Radio Öömrang, the Frisian voice coming from Amrum, the island in north Germany. The frequenz is 15.215 shortwave broadcasted with 500 kW. It could be heard on the 21st of February, 2016, in North America and east coast. And now you can hear us. This is the tenth issue of Radio Öömrang and we are happy to send this anniversary. The initiator of this broadcasting is Mr. Arjan Koelzow, Tanenwai 24, in 25946 Nebel on the island Amrum. My name is Gernot Schrader, the leader of the free assistance school Toosbüy-Schule in Flensburg at the Danish borderline with Germany."

Reception was fair with some noise and occasional fading. 

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in telescopic whip antenna indoors in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 5.0 kHz RF filtering. 

CKCM Grand Falls, Newfoundland: Oct 1, 1976

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Ray Robinson, who shares this mediumwave recording of a station ID and notes:

"This was my first ever transatlantic DX catch of a North American station, while I was living in England. I was so excited! The radio bug truly bit me, and I have been an avid radio enthusiast ever since!"

Broadcaster: CKCM, Grand Falls, Newfoundland

Date of recording: 10/1/1976

Starting time: 0156 UTC (2326 local Newfoundland time)

Frequency: 620 kHz

Received in Luton, England, using a Russian Vega 206, medium wave loop

Uganda Diaspora P10 Radio: February 18, 2016

Live, off-air, 30-minute recording of the clandestine station Uganda Diaspora P10 Radio on 18 February 2016 beginning at 16:30 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 15405 kHz. The daily broadcast is believed to come from a transmitter site brokered by Media Broadcast GmbH*. 

The station is an outlet of Uganda Diaspora P10, an organization working for political change in Uganda and which supports the opposition politician Dr. Kizza Besigye. "P10" refers to the organizational power of each person enlisting 10 other people ("power to the power 10"). The recorded broadcast, in English, was on election day in Uganda and included voter instructions. 

The broadcast was received by the Web-interface wideband software-defined radio at the University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands, with a "Mini-Whip" antenna in AM mode with 5.09 kHz RF filtering. Reception was generally good.

* Added 2 March 2016: Media Broadcast GmbH has confirmed that this broadcast was transmitted from Issoudun, France, using a 250 kW transmitter with an antenna beam direction of 140°.

One winters evening - Winter 1975 - Halifax, Nova Scotia

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40 years ago during the Winter of 1975 I was a member of the IRCA and exchanging "DX Cassettes" with a couple of very successful DXers in North America. Before the days of the internet and e-mail, all we had were cassettes and snail mail and the occasional local phone call when DX was happening. This extremely rare live recording from Halifax, Canada features DXer and Ham, Michael Dunn during one of his busier evenings capturing armchair reception of European stations on the medium-wave dial. This recording is in stereo no less! Michael used an HQ180 with a random wire antenna. He was in one of the most ideal locations in North America for Transatlantic reception. To the best of my knowledge this is the only recording of its kind from the mid-70's! Enjoy.

Voice of Turkey: February 18, 2016

Voice of Turkey recorded in London, UK on February 18, 2016 at 0900 UTC, on the frequency of 15350 kHz using a Lowe HF-150 radio with Lowe PR-150 preselector and a Wellbrook ALA1530S+ antenna. The transmitter is located in Emirler, Turkey and has a power rating of 500 kW.

All India Radio on 31-meters November 13th, 2006

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Here on the West Coast of Canada or as we affectionately call it, The Wet Coast, India is one of the hardest countries to hear - largely because it is the farthest away - literally on the opposite side of the planet. In the "old days" as in the 1970's I could hope to hear India on my DX150B once at the equinoxes - nowadays, with better receiving gear and arguably better signals from the source, it is somewhat easier - in fact, at any given day of the year at sunrise or sunset it is possible to hear India... conditions being reasonably favourable that is. Here is an example of good conditions from the Point no Point cabins near Jordan River on Vancouver Island.

Bonus Track - 52 years ago today - Beatles arrive in Miami Florida

So much as been written about the Beatles, the 60's in general and the importance of AM radio at the time. If not for massive air play of a lot of these artists it is arguable that they ever would have been as huge as they were. Here is a 2 minute snapshot of the raw excitement of a British pop band arriving on our shores and the immediacy of the action... on WQAM Radio 560 Khz in Miami, Florida. February 14th, 1964 - from a private audio collection.

1975 A moment in time on the SW bands.

1975 was a good year for Shortwave listening - It would, arguably, be years before the Shortwave medium reached its peak (in the 80's) and start its slow decline we are experiencing today.

In these 3 audio snippets we give you a sense of what the bands sounded like then and how they have and haven't changed. See if you can guess which one sounds exactly the same. Check out some things that were happening or popular in 1975!

• Mood Rings, Rubik’s Cubes, Pet Rocks, Hip-huggers, bellbottoms, leisure suits, 8-Tracks and  Disco were popular that year.

• Song of the Year was Captain and Tennille,
  with “Love Will Keep Us Together” The album of the Year: Paul Simon, “Still Crazy After All These Years” 

• A couple of popular movies that year were “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and “Jaws,”

• The TV show “Saturday Night Live”
  premiered on NBC in 1975 with George Carlin hosting the first show. 

• “All in the Family” was America’s top television show for the fifth straight year. 

• The U.S. President was Gerald R. Ford and Nelson A. Rockefeller was his Vice-President.
  
   

In the recording of Radio Pyongyang below we demonstrate how some things never change.

Voice of Indonesia (Spanish): February 13, 2016

Voice of Indonesia recorded outdoors in London, UK on February 13, 2016 at 1700 UTC, on the frequency of 9525 kHz using a Tecsun PL-680 radio and the supplied external antenna. The transmitter has a power rating of 250 kW and is located in Jakarta, Indonesia.

China Radio International, The Beijing Hour: February 8, 2016

Live, off-air, one-hour recording of the Chinese (Lunar) New Year's Day 7 p.m. edition of "The Beijing Hour" from China Radio International on 8 February 2016 beginning at 19:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 7295 kHz. According to the filing with the High Frequency Co-ordination Conference, this broadcast came from a 500 kW transmitter in Urumqi, Xinjiang, in western China, with an antenna beam azimuth of 270°, targeting North Africa and the Middle East. A recording made simultaneously on the parallel frequency of 9440 kHz is also available on request.

"The Beijing Hour" is produced by Beijing 1008 AM, Discover Plus Radio, a division of China Radio International, and is identified as such at the beginning of the recording. "The Beijing Hour" includes the segment "People in the Know" in the second half of the program, beginning around the 29-minute mark. In addition to reports on New Year's celebrations, the program includes a discussion of future Chinese space missions, while the "People in the Know" segment is on the growth model of the Chinese economy. Following station identification for "News Plus Radio" and promos at minute 54, the recording ends with a "Chinese Studio" Chinese language lesson.

The broadcast was received by the Web-interface wideband software-defined radio at the University of Twente in Enschede, The Netherlands, with a "Mini-Whip" antenna in AM mode with 5.09 kHz RF filtering. Reception quality was generally quite good with some minimal interference from one or more stations occasionally noted.

Radio Uganda - 15325 Khz - 0320 UTC - October 1, 1979

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Living on the West Coast of Canada, catching Africa on any band was always a bit tricky - Getting India or Pakistan was generally a once a year event (which has changed with better listening techniques and antennas - but that is another story!) RSA in South Africa was pretty much a daily reception but apart from the there was not a lot to pick from. Occasionally there would be a good mid-afternoon opening on 60 or 49 meters to West Africa and that was always a treat. In the Fall of 1979 I had enrolled in the first of a series of college courses in Electronics that would shape the career of my working life (which I am still benefiting from today!). And at the time, even though I was buried in textbooks, I still found some time for radio listening. Enjoy this high quality reception as received on my venerable DX150B and inverted-L untuned antenna.

Bonus Friday Track - Green River Radio May 26 1980 7350 Khz

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The 80's (and late 70's) were kind of the the beginning for really active pirate radio operations in North America. One may wonder what took them so long but they were not generally received with open arms... by a long shot - by active SWL's or the Federal government. Either way, it was an interesting time. Here is a snippet of a not-so-well run operation - Green River Radio. Note the crappy audio quality and overall polish. The above graphic I cooked up with "GIMP" as I was lacking a more suitable anchor photo. Enjoy!

CFAX 1070 Victoria May 18, 1980 1700 UTC

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Nobody could have expected Mt. St. Helens to explode in the fashion that it did in the Spring of 1980 - although scientific analysis and research certainly pointed in that direction. This radio clip was taken on the first news hour after the explosion which was heard in Victoria B.C. as a series of loud thuds, booms accompanied by window rattles. The devastation at the site and fall-out to the Northeast and in central Washington state would prove to be problematic - and despite the tragic loss of life, this event helped us better understand the nature of semi dormant volcanos in the region.

Bonus Track - Here is a sample of some 80 meter ham traffic within 1 hour of the initial series of blasts.

Bonus Track - WARG Pirate Radio 1980

1980 was a red hot year for Pirate radio in North America - it was something of a new phenomenon for many listeners - many of whom did not appreciate the newcomer to the highly organized SW spectrum. The likes of Voice of the Voyager, KVHF and the Voice of Clipperton (RX4M) ruffled many a feather. Here is a sample of a short lived pirate on 6960 Khz in AM Mode - soon to be over run by sideband operators.

This one was received on my DX150B on April the 20th, 1980.
 

San Francisco - October 17, 1989 at 5:04 p.m.

The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred in Northern California on October 17 at 5:04 p.m. local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park approximately 10 mi (16 km) northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of the San Andreas Fault System and was named for the nearby Loma Prieta peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains. With a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), the shock was responsible for 63 deaths and 3,757 injuries. The Loma Prieta segment of the San Andreas Fault System had been relatively inactive since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (to the degree that it was designated a seismic gap) until two moderate foreshocks occurred in June 1988 and again in August 1989.

Like many people I was watching the game but quickly started tuning the amateur radio bands and KGO San Francisco on 810 Khz the moment the sun started to sink on the horizon. I have about 1/2 hour or more of live audio from KGO that evening and the following evening. Here is some of the most breath taking audio from shortly after the quake.

The Voice of Chile - 1979 - received in Victoria B.C. Canada

The 70's were a tumultuous time in Chile but one of the more positive things to come out of that era was a powerful and professional sounding National voice under the Pinochet regime. The Voice of Chile was a byproduct of that era and I was blessed to find a very clean recording of them from the Spring of 1979. Received on the west coast on my DX150B and a simple inverted-L antenna - recorded on an old mono cassette recorder from Sears that was bought in 1971!

Sunday bonus track - Radio Kiev - October 20th 1977

From a powerful far-east relay station on 15180 kHz, Radio Kiev was a significant voice to the West Coast of North America. In this sound byte on my venerable (and still operating) DX150B, Radio Kiev transmits their interval signal with a station identification and intro to the news.

Radio Korea from July the 3rd 1977

Living here on the West coast, I have always been fascinated by Asia - particularly the coastal Asian countries of Korea, Japan, Vietnam and China - in part because we are only separated by a vast salt water ocean between us.

And countries like Korea fascinate me even more because of the intricate, complicated and often globally impactful instabilities that occur in the region on a regular basis. In this recording I capture the essence of the Korean broadcasting centre in Seoul, Korea. Professionally produced, the media out of Korea during the late 70's was on a par with any other broadcaster on the World stage - in stark contrast to what was coming out of Pyongyang to the North (featured in future recordings!)

Enjoy this snippet recorded on a 1973 DX150B receiver attached to an inverted-L antenna in my backyard - in a quieter time where the only interference was from an old TV set or a furnace motor!