AIR National Channel: September 15, 2015

All India Radio's National Channel recorded in London, UK on September 15, 2015 at 1652 UTC, on the frequency of 9380 kHz using SDRPlay with SDR# software and a 2 x 6m long wire dipole. The transmitter has a power rating of 250 kW and is located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. This is an interesting catch in Europe, as the transmission is directed southwards.

Radio Belarus (German): September 24, 2015

Radio Belarus recorded in London, UK on September 24, 2015 at 1800 UTC, on the frequency of 11730 kHz using SDRPlay with SDR# software and a 2 x 6m long wire dipole. The transmitter has a power rating of 150 kW and is located in Minsk, Belarus. The characteristic hum from the transmitter was removed using Vasili Beliakov's SDR# IF processor plugin.

The Mighty KBC Final Broadcast on 6095 kHz: 27 March 2016

Live, off-air, recording of the last four hours ever of regular programming from The Mighty KBC on the shortwave frequency of 6095 kHz on 27 March 2016 beginning at 11:00 UTC. According to a registration with the High Frequency Coordination Conference, this broadcast, which lately was on Sundays only, was beamed to Europe from a 100 kW transmitter at Nauen, Germany, with an antenna beam azimuth of 240°. The Mighty KBC is based in Ede, The Netherlands.     

The recording features the last two hours of "The LA Connection" with the DJ Emperor Rosko (Michael Joseph "Mike" Pasternak) and "Rock & Roll Rewind" with DJ Ron O'Quinn. There are many references to these being the last programs to be aired on The Mighty KBC's 6095 kHz frequency. The last words spoken were "But all good things must come to an end. And this is the end of The Mighty KBC on sixty-ninety-five. Good luck to all of you."    

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 8.09 kHz total bandwidth RF filtering. Reception was excellent with a strong interference-free signal.

Radio Reloj, San Jose, Costa Rica: Winter 1980

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Paul Harner, who notes:

In 1980, I purchased my first serious shortwave radio, a Panasonic RF-2200.  While I enjoyed listening to the international broadcasters, it was the smaller domestic broadcasters that I grew to enjoy more.  Especially the Latin American stations on 49 and 60 meters.  Stations from Colombia and Venezuela were prevalent throughout the evening hours.  Two of the most reliable stations were Venezuelans Radio Rumbos from Caracas (4970 kHz), and Ecos del Torbes from San Cristobal (4980 kHz).  
These stations would broadcast in the evenings and sign-off at 0300 or 0400 UTC. Another was Radio Reloj de Costa Rica on 4832 kHz, which would be heard in the evenings and overnight hours. 
I enjoyed the music and the style of programming these stations had, and over the years these stations became longtime friends on the airwaves to me.
Here is a 30 minute recording of Radio Reloj de Costa Rica from the winter of 1980:

Radio Belarus (Russian): March 31, 2016

Radio Belarus in Russian recorded outdoors in London, UK on March 31, 2016 at 1439 UTC, on the frequency of 11730 kHz using a Tecsun PL-680 radio and the supplied external antenna. The transmitter has a power rating of 150 kW and is located in Minsk, Belarus. The characteristic hum and low modulation typical of Radio Belarus are present in this recording.

Radio Belarus (Belorussian): March 31, 2016

Radio Belarus in Belorussian recorded outdoors in London, UK on March 31, 2016 at 1256 UTC, on the frequency of 11730 kHz using a Tecsun PL-680 radio and the supplied external antenna. The transmitter has a power rating of 150 kW and is located in Minsk, Belarus. The characteristic hum and low modulation typical of Radio Belarus are present in this recording. At 1330 UTC, BBC Bangla started broadcasting on the same frequency.

Radio Rumbos, Caracas, Venezuela: Winter 1980

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Paul Harner, who notes:

In 1980, I purchased my first serious shortwave radio, a Panasonic RF-2200.  While I enjoyed listening to the international broadcasters, it was the smaller domestic broadcasters that I grew to enjoy more.  Especially the Latin American stations on 49 and 60 meters.  Stations from Colombia and Venezuela were prevalent throughout the evening hours.  Two of the most reliable stations were Venezuelans Radio Rumbos from Caracas (4970 kHz), and Ecos del Torbes from San Cristobal (4980 kHz).  
These stations would broadcast in the evenings and sign-off at 0300 or 0400 UTC. Another was Radio Reloj de Costa Rica on 4832 kHz, which would be heard in the evenings and overnight hours. 
I enjoyed the music and the style of programming these stations had, and over the years these stations became longtime friends on the airwaves to me.
Here is a brief recording of Radio Rumbos from the winter of 1980 on 4970 kHz:

Ecos Del Torbes, San Cristobal, Venezuela: Winter 1980

Many thanks to SRAA contributoe, Paul Harner who notes:

In 1980, I purchased my first serious shortwave radio, a Panasonic RF-2200.  While I enjoyed listening to the international broadcasters, it was the smaller domestic broadcasters that I grew to enjoy more.  Especially the Latin American stations on 49 and 60 meters.  Stations from Colombia and Venezuela were prevalent throughout the evening hours.  Two of the most reliable stations were Venezuelans Radio Rumbos from Caracas (4970 kHz), and Ecos del Torbes from San Cristobal (4980 kHz).  
These stations would broadcast in the evenings and sign-off at 0300 or 0400 UTC. Another was Radio Reloj de Costa Rica on 4832 kHz, which would be heard in the evenings and overnight hours. 
I enjoyed the music and the style of programming these stations had, and over the years these stations became longtime friends on the airwaves to me.
Here is a snippet of Ecos del Torbes from the winter of 1980 on 4980 kHz:

Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran: March 20, 2016

Live, off-air, one-hour recording of the Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the external service of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, in English on 20 March 2016 beginning at 19:19 UTC on shortwave frequencies of 6040 and 7425 kHz. According to registrations with the High Frequency Coordination Conference, this broadcast, aired daily, is beamed to Europe and southern Africa. The 6040 kHz signal originates from a 500 kW transmitter at Sirjan, Iran, with an antenna beam azimuth of 313° while the 7425 kHz signal originates from a 500 kW transmitter at Kamalabad, Iran, with an antenna beam azimuth of 298°. Additional frequencies are used for southern Africa. The recording initially used 7425 kHz but switched to 6040 kHz at about 19:29:29 UTC.     

This broadcast celebrates, in part, Nowruz (نوروز -- literally, New Day), the Persian New Year, which coincides with the first day of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. 20 March 2016 is the first day of the Persian calendar year 1395.

The broadcast had a crash start and the recording begins with a religious program in progress. At 7m:43s, there is a complete station ID with times and frequencies. This is followed by the news bulletin theme music loop until the clock chimes at about 10m:47s (19:30 UTC) and then the World News. The news included items on Nowruz including reports from different cities celebrating the New Year. The news is followed by the Listeners Special program, which also features a discussion of Nowruz. The broadcast ends with a special item on Nowruz. Unfortunately, it ends abruptly in mid-sentence when the 6040 kHz transmitter left the air at about 10 seconds after 20:20 UTC.

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 total bandwidth RF filtering. Reception was good on 7425 kHz but with some adjacent frequency interference while it was excellent with a strong interference-free signal on 6040 kHz.

Recording 3 -The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt (BBC reports): August 19, 1991

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Jack Widner, who shares this third (and final) recording which includes coverage of the August 19, 1991 Soviet Coup Attempt from the BBC. Jack shares the following recording notes:

BBC news & reports.  Starts with battle at Parliament building (known as the White House)
   03:32 Kevin Connaly's on the scene report after the battle started

Recording 2 -The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt (BBC reports): August 19, 1991

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Jack Widner, who shares this second recording which includes coverage of the August 19, 1991 Soviet Coup Attempt from the BBC. Jack shares the following recording notes:

BBC reports
  • 03:35 plays R. Moscow reading TASS bulletin of Gorbachev unable to fulfill duties
  • 43:00 comments from Frank Gaffney; Gaffney was an ardent supporter of SDI under Weinberger & as late as 1996 was attempting to get new House leader Gingrich to get it going again.
  • 43:45 a clip about Gorbachev's (?) attempt to quash Lithuanian independence (report says it was not clear that Gorbachev authorised this).
The majority of this audio assumes Gorbachev will be replaced

Recording 1 -The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt (BBC/Radio Moscow): August 19, 1991

Poster of the putsch of August 1991. The confrontation between the Republican Russian Government and the Union State Government the USSR (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Poster of the putsch of August 1991. The confrontation between the Republican Russian Government and the Union State Government the USSR (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Jack Widner, who shares this recording that includes coverage of the August 19, 1991 Soviet Coup Attempt. Jack shares the following recording notes:

  • Reports from BBC, radio Moscow, and a snip at the end of Czech Radio announcing the end of the state of emergency
  • Radio Moscow--Slight interruption at 5:15-30
  • BBC 05:30 - 12:46
  • Radio Moscow 12:47 -- note the news item on Yugoslavia of Slovenia's independence moves 18:25.  This was the beginning of the dissolution of Yugoslavia
  • BBC 20:08
  • Radio Moscow 26:16 "News & Views"
  • BBC 27:10
  • Radio Moscow World service 28:11
  • Their interval signal at 38:03 the news that Gorbachev is back in control
  • BBC 40:24
  • Moscow 46:33
  • Radio Prague (?) 46:56 announces end of state of emergency

Radio Havana Cuba, Barack Obama and Raúl Castro Press Conference in Cuba: March 21, 2016

The following off-air recording of Radio Havana Cuba was made on March 21, 2016, starting a couple of minutes prior to 1800 UTC on 11,670 kHz (at an AM bandwidth of 12.5 kHz). This was a historic event: the first time a US president has visited Cuba in over 8 decades. The following recording includes the live coverage of the Obama/Casto press conference, followed by one hour of RHC's English language service and a part of RHC's French language service.

The receiver used was a WinRadio Excalibur connected to a Pixel Loop Pro magnetic loop antenna. Location received was North Carolina.

Radio Vaticana: March 12, 2016

Live, off-air, approximately twenty-minute recording of Radio Vaticana (Vatican Radio) on 12 March 2016 beginning at 19:39 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 6070 kHz. According to a registration with the High Frequency Coordination Conference, this broadcast, aired daily, originates from a 100 kW transmitter at Santa Maria di Galevia, north of Rome, and is beamed to western Europe with antenna beam azimuths of 326° and 4°.    

The program is the Rosary in Latin and is one of several liturgical programs broadcast by Radio Vaticana. The recording begins with the Radio Vaticana interval signal followed by an excerpt of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." In particular, the Rosary is the "Mysteria Gaudiorum" (Mysteries of Joy) version of the "Rosarium Beatae Mariae Virginis Corona" (The Crown of the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary). Different versions of the Rosary are broadcast on different days of the week. The recording ends with the excerpt of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and the interval signal.  

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 8.09 kHz total bandwidth RF filtering. Reception was excellent with a strong interference-free signal capturing almost all of the transmitted audio bandwidth.

Radio St. Helena, The final hour (sign-off) with Tony Leo: December 25, 2012

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Sarah Boucher, who submits this final sign-off of Radio St. Helena on 1548 kHz and notes:

Closedown begins with the last few seconds of love is everywhere by caught in the act (1995).