Radio Apintie / Surinam

Surinam, another of the three non-Spanish countries in South America, has an interesting history when it comes to shortwave broadcasting. The country was represented on shortwave by the old Radio SRS (Surinam Broadcasting Foundation) which sent out beautiful folder QSL cards and which listed frequencies as 4,780 khz, 4,850 khz and 15,450 khz and later by Radio Apintie. The QSL letter shown here was for a reception on 4,990 khz though the station was also on 5,005 khz at one point — the director at the time notes that Apintie started broadcasting on shorrtwave in 1979. The recording here is of Radio Apintie signing on in early morning. At various times the power varied, with the director saying that a 50 watt Philips transmitter had been supplemented by a 350 watt linar amplifier. But later, power on shortwave was given as 1 kilowatt with a new Omnitronics 1000 watt transmitter and six element log periodic antenna beamed to the south. Radio Apintie continued to be reported into the early 2000s.

Guyana Broadcasting Service (GBS)

In South America, three non-Spanish speaking countries — Guyana, French Guiana, and Surinam — were key DX targets for listeners around the world. A history of broadcasting in Guyana can be found here. DX’ers who are still surviving and whose listening stretched back into the 1950’s and 1960s are lucky to have received the classic older ZFY / Radio Demerara QSL cards, whereas later the main station GBS sent out only letter verifications. Guyana was still on shortwave as of 2015 as reported here.

In 1971, Christmas Eve, at the very beginning of my listening career, I used a 1940’s era T-133 Pilot Radio to hear Guyana on 3,290 khz. The station listed a power of 10 kilowatts. One of these two recordings has the transition to Christmas day as an announcer said: “On Action Radio, the proclamation of Guyana, the time is midnight. It is not Christmas morning 1971. On behalf of the management and staff of GBS, this is Ron Standish wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. . .” The broadcast then switched to midnight mass in the cathedral in Georgetown, the capital. A longer recording is also included here. Note the heavy interference on 3,290 khz from a utility station that made hearing Guyana so difficult for years.

Radio Andorra International (1970's)

Without doubt, Radio Andorra was one of the most sought after stations in the 1970s and with a bonus — it sent out one of the most beautiful QSL cards ever produced by any station. The QSL here was for a reception on 6,230 khz though the station ID, as it went into programming by Adventist World Radio said 6,220 khz. This was very early in the morning eastern U.S. time. This recording was made on a Drake SPR-4 reciver in Washington, DC

Radio Condor International (1970s Europirate)

In 1978, Radio Condor International was among a number of pirate stations operating from Ireland. I heard the station twice, on 6,243 khz and on 11,463 khz. Claimed power was 100 watts. As can be seen the station verified with a letter QSL that listed another shortwave frequency of 6,200 khz and a mediumwave frequency of 1000 khz and had a return address in Dublin, Ireland. This recording was made in Washington, DC using a Hammarlund HQ-180A receiver.

Radio Euzkadi (The Voice of the Basque Underground)

Radio Euzkadi, the Voice of the Basque Underground, was a clandestine station representing the struggle of the Basque people for autonomy. Much has been written about the station. Radio Netherlands Media Network did an expansive 30 minute program on the station, and the article by the late DX’er Don Jensen is one of the best on the subject. For many shortwave listeners, Radio Euzkadi was a familiar station, usually heard in the 13 mHz band on 13.250 khz though it varied quite a bit due to jamming directed against it. These recordings were made in Levittown, Pennsylvania using a Hammarlund HQ-180 receiver. The station’s familiar “B.P. 59, Paris 16, France” address can be heard. The content of the English commentaries is especially notable for historical reasons. Radio Euzkadi verified with two types of cards, one a map card with a letter on onion skin paper, the other the well-known actual QSL showing a photo of the station’s antenna, either in the Pyrenees or in Venezuela where the transmissions came from later on.

Radio Enoch (Late 1970's Europirate)

Radio Enoch was one of many Europirate stations active in the late 1970s. As this QSL card shows, Radio Enoch broadcast on 6,248 khz using SSB at a claimed power of 4,000 watts. This reception was between 0800 and 0900 UTC in December in the eastern U.S. which was 3:00 to 4:00 AM eastern time. This was pre-Internet so QSL verifications came in the mail. The approximately 4 minute recording consists of a commentary against Marxism and Communism and a station ID at about the 3:55 mark as “This is Radio Enoch, the Voice of People Against Marxism”

South Dublin Radio (1980s Europirate)

In the 1970s and 1980s the 48 meter band was full of European pirate stations, usually making “test transmissions” in the early morning hours, and usually on weekends, notably on Sundays. SWLs in the United States hunted these Europirates, which required rising at early hours in order to hear them. One of the stations in 1981 was South Dublin Radio, with a power of 1,000 watts on 6,243 khz. This recording of the station was made in Washington, DC using a Hammarlund HQ-180A receiver. The station verified with a plain white QSL card — in those days, eQSLs did not exist.

ELBC / Liberia (1970s)

by Dan Robinson

For shortwave listeners, if there was one station that became a favorite it was ELWA in Monrovia, Liberia. But whereas ELWA was extremely easy to hear, the real DX catch was ELBC, the Liberian Broadcasting Corrporation. Its frequency was 3,255 khz in the 90 meter band and during the “golden” years of tropical shortwave broadcasting, that band was full of stations from Africa and Latin America, which created interference issues. With a power listed as 10 kilowatts, in comparison to 50 kilowatts for most of ELWA’s transmitters, ELBC was a definite challenge for DX’ers, but occasionally was heard before its listed 0000 UTC sign off. This recording was heard on a Hammarlund HQ-180A in Levittown, Pennsylvania. There is a female announcer, perhaps concluding a news segment, followed at about the 10 second mark by drums, followed by an ID: “This is the ELBC, Monrovia”

Dan Robinson

Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (1970s)

by Dan Robinson

With a transmitter power listed as 100 kilowatts, Malawi should have been one of the easiest African stations to hear during the “golden” years of tropical shortwave broadcasting. But that was not always the case as the 3,380 khz frequency in the 90 meter band was often plagued by interference from Latin American stations that were being heard at the time.

The 1978 WRTH listed Malawi as using 3,380 khz, 5,995 and 7,130 khz. Best time to attempt to hear Malawi was in the evening in eastern North America just before its 0300 UTC sign on. When conditions were good for central Africa, other stations could be heard, such as Rhodesia, as well as Indian Ocean signals from Zanzibar and Reunion and Comoros.

In 1974 I had the opportunity of living in Swaziland as an exchange student, and brought with me my Drake SPR-4 receiver for which I erected a 75 foot longwire antenna on a hill near Mbabane, Swaziland. This recording of MBC in Blantyre was made there, from actual air and is not a studio recording.

Central African Republic (1970s)

by Dan Robinson

Another from the golden era of tropical band shortwave broadcasting, the Central African Republic was among the easiest stations to hear on its 5,038 khz frequency, especially in early to late afternoon as heard in eastern North America. The 1978 WRTH listed two shortwave frequencies including 7,220 khz which was shown as being for 0730 - 1630 UTC. And that 1978 listing had the country identified as “Central African Empire” instead of CAR. The 5,038 frequency made for quite a mash up in the area above WWV on 5.0 mHz as there were a number of stations in that range, including Cabinda/Angola on 5,033 khz, Sudan on 5,039, and Togo on 5,047 khz, Benguela/Angola and Mocamedes/Angola and Niamey/Niger, along with numerous other Latin American stations. This recording of Bangui as it signed off was made in Levittown, PA using a Hammarlund HQ-180A receiver.

Emisora Regional da Cabinda

by Dan Robinson

During the golden days of shortwave broadcasting, there were more than a dozen stations on the air in Angola, in addition to the main government station in the capital Luanda. In the 1978 WRTH, 14 regional stations are listed, and one of them Emisora Regional da Cabinda, broadcasting from the enclave between Democratic Republic of the Congo and Congo Republic. This station was among the most rarely heard by listeners in North America, but occasionally atmospheric conditions permitted some decent reception of its 5,033 khz frequency which varied quite a bit. This reception took place in Levittown, Pennsylvania using a Hammarlund HQ-180A receiver — the recording has had a bit of noise reduction applied. You can hear the steady interval signal that the station used, consisting of a drum, before a national anthem and sign on announcements as “Aqui, Republica popular da Angola, Emisora Regional da Cabinda….”

Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation

by Dan Robinson

Not as much has been written about the history of broadcasting in Sierra Leone in comparison with other countries in Africa — see Wikipedia for this summary. The SLBC broadcast on shortwave on 3,316 khz, one of those odd frequencies that one remembers. Although the power of the station was 50 kw as of 1978 it was exceedingly difficult to hear, with the best time being in the afternoon/early evening in eastern North America. According to the World Radio TV Handbook of that year, the 250 KW transmitter that had been installed for use as a relay of international broadcasters was designated for 5,980 khz but it’s hard to recall any DX’ers ever reporting that frequency. Normal sign off according to the WRTH was 2335 UTC, a bit later on Saturdays.

This reception occurred in Pennsylvania, where I used a Hammarlund HQ-180/A receiver which had numerous capabilities for dragging difficult DX signals out of the mud due to its fine vernier tuning, notch filter, and multiple crystal filter bandwidths. You can hear “Leaving On a Jet Plane” and some talk by an announcer. There was heavy CW interference on the frequency — the 90 meter band in these days was no picnic and always presented a challenge in hearing the African countries that used it. Sierra Leone verified with an aerograme type letter, similar to verifications received from Voice of Kenya over in eastern Africa.

Voice of Zaire (La Voix du Zaire) 1970s

by Dan Robinson

The former Zaire, later the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was a focus of radio activity for decades, including many shortwave stations comprising both the national radio in Kinshasa and regional stations that became targets for radio listeners around the world. Zaire which had that name from 1971 to 1997 was controlled for a very long time by Mobutu Sese Seko who seized power in a coup in 1965. Geographically the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa (after Sudan and Algeria, and 11th-largest in the world, DRC has a population of more than 23 million. As Wikipedia notes, Mobutu set out to “[rid] the country of the influences from the colonial era of the Belgian Congo . . . [but] weakened by the termination of American support after the end of the Cold War, Mobutu was forced to declare a new republic in 1990 to cope with demands for change. By the time of its downfall, Zaire was characterised by widespread cronyism, corruption and economic mismanagement.”

“Zaire collapsed in the 1990s, amid the destabilization of the eastern parts of the country in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and growing ethnic violence. In 1996, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, the head of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) militia, led a popular rebellion against Mobutu. With rebel forces successfully making gains beyond the east, Mobutu fled the country, leaving Kabila's forces in charge as the country restored its name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo the following year. Mobutu died within four months after he fled into exile in Morocco.”

Zaire was one of the most radio active of all countries in Africa. Only Angola had more regional stations using shortwave frequencies, and some of these were exceedingly rare to be heard by foreign listeners. The main national station Voix du Zaire was frequently heard on its 15,245 khz frequency (see Jack Widner’s superb recordings here on the archive) and during the 1970’s until transmitters started encountering problems, Zaire was easy and enjoyable listening on that frequency. As noted by Jerry Berg in his excellent Broadcasting on the Shortwaves, the status of smaller lower power stations including Radio Mbandaka, Radio Kananga, and Radio Mbuji-Mayi, was often unknown. Radio Bukavu in the east, and Radio Kisangani were more frequently heard, along with Radio Lubumbashi.

The SWL QSL Card Museum shows QSL cards/letters from four stations in Zaire, three from DRC — so this does not include verifications from some of those extremely rare other stations. Radio Candip, which was widely heard abroad on its 5,066 khz frequency, was still on the air into the 2000s, while Radio Kahuzi, the U.S. missionary-run station in Bukavu, was on and being heard via SDR receiver sites in Europe as of 2020, but after that has remained off as of early 2022.

Voice of the Revolution/Guinea - Funeral Observances for Kwame Nkrumah: 1972

by Dan Robinson

In 1972, the Voice of the Revolution, Guinea’s national radio carried the funeral ceremony for Francis Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president after independence. Quoting from the history: “Nkrumah was born in the Gold Coast (later Ghana) in 1909 and was educated there before going to the United States in 1935 where he attended Lincoln University and later, the University of Pennsylvania. Nkrumah spent 10 years in the U.S., and later went to England to study at the London School of Economics. At the same time, he intensified his political activities for the independence of his homeland, which he led to full nationhood on March 6,1957. He was toppled in 1966 in a coup by army officers and remained in exile in neighboring Guinea until his death in April 1972 in Bucharest, Romania, where he had gone for medical treatment.

As reported by AFP from Accra: “The body of Kwame Nkrumah was flown back here today in a special Guinean Air Force plane. The military government or declared all flags to be flown at half‐staff until the former President is buried in Nkroful, a village 190 miles southwest of here where he was born on Sept. 1, 1909.

Return of the pan‐African leader's body to Ghana marks the culmination of protracted negotiations between the governing National Redemption Council here and President Sékou Touré of Guinea. Mr. Nkrumah died on April 27 in Rumania, where he was receiving medical treatment, and his body was taken to Guinea.

At first, President Touré refused Ghanaian requests for the body and gave Mr. Nkrumah a state funeral in Conakry, the Guinean capital. The Ghanaian had spent most of the years of his exile in Conakry, following his overthrow in 1966 in Ghana's first military coup. He was given the symbolic title of Co‐President of Guinea by President Touré.

Radio Conakry, also known as The Voice of the Revolution, was frequently heard by listeners around the world, usually on its shortwave frequencies including 9,650 kHz and 7,125 kHz. Nkrumah had used the station to make speeches from Guinea to the people of Ghana in 1966.

In this recording, made in Pennsylvania in 1972, you hear part of what appears to be a funeral observance held in Conakry, mostly in French but some English. Radio Conakry remained on shortwave into the 2000s, but later was intermittent. After repairs to its transmitter, it returned to shortwave in 2016 and was still being heard as of early 2021, though at weaker levels than before, and mostly in European locations.

Civil Air Patrol Net 1 Message: January 24, 2022

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Matt Todd, who shares the following recording and notes:

Broadcaster: Civil Air Patrol

Date of recording: 1/24/2022

Starting time: 2001

Frequency: 14914 kHz

Receiver location: Hugo, MN

Receiver and antenna: SDRplay RSPdx with wire loop around perimeter of attic

Mode: Single Side Band

JOUF-AM (C-Quam Stereo): March 23, 2021

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Anthony Messina, who shares the following audio clip and notes:

Notes: Short recording of JOUF-AM heard in full C-Quam Stereo. Note the wide stereo separation that C-Quam can achieve. Shame it never fully took off in the U.S or most other places.

Date of recording: 3/23/2021

Starting time: 11:27PM EST, UTC unknown

Frequency: 1.314mHz

Receiver location: Via Japanese KiwiSDR

Receiver and antenna: Via Japanese SDR

Wolverine Radio (Shortwave Pirate) Clip: December 25, 2021

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Matt Todd, who shares the following recording and notes:

Audio recording of Shortwave Pirate going by Wolverine Radio. This was recorded December 25, 2021 at 0056UTC on 6969khz in Hugo, MN. The broadcast consists of a few minutes of the Barenaked Ladies song Testing One Two Three being play and then a male voice announcing a frequency change.

Broadcaster: Wolverine Radio (Pirate)

Date of recording: 12/25/2021

Starting time: 0056 UTC

Frequency: 6.96 MHz

Your location: Hugo, MN

Receiver and antenna: SDRPlay with a wire loop antenna around the perimeter of the attic

Mode: Single Side Band

BFBS London: February 16, 1991

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Roberto Ciappi, who shares the following recording and notes:

Notes: BFBS Special daily broadcast to the British troops in the Persian Gulf area, during the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq. They were using BBC transmitters in the UK.

Broadcaster: BFBS London

Date of recording: 2/16/1991

Starting time: 0920 UTC

Frequency: 21.59 MHz

Reception location: Northwest Italy

Receiver and antenna: Sony CFD-444S Stereo cassette recorder with telescopic antenna

Radio Romania International: December 23, 2021

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Matt Todd, who shares the following recording and notes:

Date of recording: 12/23/2021

Starting time: 0058

Frequency: 7.325 MHz

Reception location: Hugo, MN

Receiver and antenna: SDRPlay with a wire loop antenna around the perimeter of the attic

Notes: Program Information:

0:00 Interval Signal
1:57 Intro
3:00 News
6:45 Story about prime minister in discussion with EU about pandemic
10:05 Story about 1989 uprising
14:35 Personality of the Year
15:50 Music
18:50 Society Today
25:25 Visit Romania
30:00 Sport
32:30 Folk/Christmas Music
44:05 Happenings in Romania
53:25 Music
57:00 Information and Sign off

Radio Piepzender, December 26, 2021: 7445 kHz

Recording of Radio Piepzender, December 26, 2021, at 1320 UTC (shortwave frequency of 7445 kHz)

Station: Radio Piepzender
Place of reception: Europe
Language: English & Dutch
Frequency: 7445 kHz shortwave
Date: December 26, 2021
Time: 13.20 UTC
Transmitter location: Zwolle, The Netherlands
Transmitter power 0,2 kW
Receiver: SONY ICF SW1 portable
Location of receiver: outdoor (far away from buildings to limit the man-made noise interference)
Antenna: internal telescopic 0,5 meter long
Recording device: SONY portable cassette tape recorder