UAE Radio Dubai: Circa 1983

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following recording and notes:

Broadcaster: United Arab Emirates Radio from Dubai

Date of recording: circa 1983

Frequency: 21.655 MHz

RX location: Brantford, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Panasonic RF-3100 and longwire antenna

Notes: By the 1980's, UAE Radio stations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi were using high powered transmitters and could often be heard nice and clear here in Southern Ontario, Canada with English language programs.
Here is an aircheck circa 1983 from United Arab Emirates Radio from Dubai broadcasting on 21655 kHz.

Radio Moscow (Moscow Mailbag with Joe Adamov): 1978

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, who shares the following recording and notes:

Broadcaster: Radio Moscow

Date of recording: Unknown

Starting time: Unknown

Frequency: Unknown

Reception location: Plymouth, MN

Receiver and antenna: Hammarlund HQ-180

Notes: Radio Moscow's Moscow Mailbag hosted by Joe Adamov from 1978. Questions ranged from why a woman asks the questions on Moscow Mailbag and a male (Joe) gets to answer them, why does the Soviet Union ignore positive aspects of Western society, dissidents in the Soviet Union, and more.

Radio Romania International (Hebrew Language Service): November 20, 2022

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Paul Walker who shares this recording of Radio Romania International’s Hebrew Language Service. This recording was made in McGrath, Alaska, on 7,370 kHz at 17:31 UTC on November 20, 2022. Paul notes. “this is RRI with their once weekly 30 minute broadcast in Hebrew on 7370 from Galbeni, to the Middle East

Voice of America (English): November 22, 2022

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Paul Walker, who shares the following recording of VOA made on November 22, 2022 at 20:34 UTC on 11,850 kHz in McGrath, Alaska. Paul notes that this was actually a program feed error because the Kirundi Language Service is normally broadcast at this time and on this frequency.

Voice of America (via Okinawa, Rhodes, Philippines, Greenville, & Woofferton): Circa 1970's

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following recordings and notes:

Broadcaster: Voice of America Okinawa Rhodes Philippines Greenville Woofferton 1970's

Date of recordings: various

Frequency: various

Reception location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Hallicrafters S-52 using a longwire antenna

Notes: In the 1970's, Voice of America relay transmitter sites often gave their location between programs. Some VOA programs were relayed via the BBC site at Woofferton, England (audio from 1971).

Reception of Rhodes in the 41 metre band was not easy here in Ontario, Canada as evidenced by that recording.

The transmitter at Greenville, North Carolina was their largest operation. That recording is circa 1973.

The Okinawa relay was heard on 7165 kHz, and Philippines relay 15185 kHz, both recorded in 1971.

The Yankee Doodle tune was played during most of these interludes.

ETLF, Radio Voice of the Gospel (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia): March 23, 1971

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Photo by Rich Post

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following recordings and notes:

Broadcaster: ETLF, Radio Voice of the Gospel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Date of recording: 3/23/1971

Frequency: 11.890 MHz

Reception location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Hallicrafters S-52 using a longwire antenna

Notes: Here are two brief recordings from Radio Voice of the Gospel, station ETLF, from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In the first one, from 1971, there is significant QSB (fading) but they are in the clear. Listen for their four note drum interval signal, ID in English, and mention of the date Tuesday 23rd of March.

The second recording, also in English, is from the early 1970's during a transmission to West Africa in the 25 metre band where they are heard signing off.

Radio Netherlands (Death of Pope John Paul I): September 28, 1978

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Ioannes Paulus I, by Fotografia Felici, 1978

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, who shares the following recording and notes:

Broadcaster: Radio Netherlands

Date of recording: 9/28/1978

Starting time: Unknown

Frequency: Unknown

Reception location: St. Cloud, MN

Receiver and antenna: Sony ICF-5900W using a whip antenna

Notes: Radio Netherland's shortwave transmission announcing the death of Pope John Paul I in 1978. I had tuned in to listen to DX Juke Box and heard that the show was being preempted due to the unexpected passing. Pope John Paul I was head of the Catholic Church for only 33 days, the shortest in papal history.

NDR - Gruss an Bord: December 24, 2022

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Live, off-air, three-hour recording of the special annual Gruss an Bord broadcast from German broadcaster NDR, Norddeutscher Rundfunk, on 24 December 2022 beginning at just after 18:00 UTC. The broadcast features music and greetings to and from mariners around the world. The Christmas greetings were recorded at two events on the third Advent Sunday (11 December) in Leer and on the fourth Advent Sunday (18 December) in Hamburg.

Relatives and friends had the opportunity to wish their loved ones at sea a happy holiday and a happy new year. The Leer event featured the Bingumer Shanty Choir and Anne-Fleur Schoch and her band while the Hamburg event featured Beatles experts Stefanie Hempel and The Silver Spoons. The broadcast was primarily in German with some greetings in English, Filipino, and Portuguese as well as German. A number of songs in English, too. A news bulletin (in progress when recording began) precedes the program for a few minutes.

In addition to being carried on the NDR Info and NDR Info Spezial networks, the broadcast was transmitted around the world on shortwave using transmitters in Nauen (NAU), Germany; Issoudun (ISS), France; Tashkent (TAC), Uzbekistan; and Okeechobee, Florida (RMI), U.S.A.; and was organized by Media Broadcast.

The schedule was:
1800-2100 on 6030 ISS 250 kW / 251 deg to North/East Atlantic
1800-2100 on 6080 TAC 100 kW / 301 deg to West/Central Europe
1800-2100 on 9740 NAU 250 kW / 130 deg to Indian Ocean - West
1800-2100 on 11650 ISS 250 kW / 148 deg to Indian Ocean - SoAf
1800-2100 on 13725 NAU 250 kW / 205 deg to Southern Atlantic
1800-2100 on 15770 RMI 100 kW / 044 deg to North/West Atlantic
RMI, Radio Miami International, experienced a power outage and was off the air for about the first two hours of the broadcast.

The recording is primarily of the transmission on the frequency of 11650 kHz for about the first two hours and 6030 kHz for the third hour as the signal degraded on 11650 kHz.

The program was received outdoors on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 2.3 kHz filtering. Reception was good for the most part on both recorded frequencies although, as previously mentioned, signal quality on 11650 kHz degraded during the second hour of the broadcast necessitating the switch to 6030 kHz. There was some adjacent channel interference on 11650 kHz at times. Also, there was about a one-minute dropout of the 11650 kHz frequency around the start of the second hour of the broadcast. The last minute or so of the broadcast on 6030 kHz was interfered with by a co-channel digital transmission from Radio Romania International.

Russ Edmunds' Mediumwave DX Airchecks 2: 1996-2013

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Russ Edmunds, who has kindly shared another collection of mediumwave airchecks (click here to check out all of his contributions).

Russ notes that the reception location was Blue Bell, PA using a Hammarlund modified HQ-150 and a 4' air core amplified loop.

Russ also shares details about each recording in the following table. All recordings have been embedded below:

KSKO Paul Walker's Christmas Special: December 23, 2022

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The following recording of Paul Walker's Christmas Special on KSKO was recorded on a live relay from Space Line Bulgaria on 5900 kHz on Friday, December 24, 2022 starting around 00:10 UTC.

This recording was made on the U Twente WebSDR in the Netherlands.

New Star Broadcasting Station V13: November 22, 2022

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Ian Pillar, who shares the following recording and notes:

Notes: Number Station Recording

Location Taiwan
Enigma ID V13
Name New Star Broadcasting Station
Voice Female (Mandarin Chinese)
Mode USB + carrier

Broadcaster: New Star Broadcasting Station V13

Date of recording: 11/22/2022

Starting time: 0100

Frequency: 13974

Reception location: NSW Australia

Receiver and antenna: KiwiSDR Loop Antenna

VLT4 ABC Radio (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea): May 3, 1971

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QSL courtesY of The Radio Heritage Foundation

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Greenall, who shares the following recording and notes:

"You are tuned to ABC Radio in Papua New Guinea; 9PA, VLT, and VLK..." This is the announcement from VLT4, the Australian Broadcasting Commission station in Port Moresby on 4890 kHz shortwave, on May 3, 1971 at 1100 hours UTC. A musical request program is ending, then station ID as above and into ABC national news. This was before independence in PNG. The station used a 10 kw transmitter on this frequency and could sometimes be heard in eastern North America with a readable signal.

Broadcaster: VLT4 ABC Radio Port Moresby Papua New Guinea

Date of recording: 5/3/1971

Starting time: 1100

Frequency: 4.890

Recption location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Hallicrafters S-52 using a longwire antenna

Halloween 2022 Pirate Radio Recordings (Various): October 30, 2022

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Matt Todd, who shares the following pirate radio recordings and notes:

Audio recordings of numerous Shortwave Radio Pirates recorded around Halloween 2022. This is typically the most active time of the year for Shortwave Radio Pirates.

Location: Hugo, MN

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

Mode: Single Sideband

Please note that pirate radio broadcasts often contain adult language.

Voice Of Christmas (Pirate Radio): December 8, 1996

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor Dan Greenall who shares the following recording and notes:

Broadcaster: The Voice of Christmas (pirate radio)

Date of recording: 12/8/1996

Starting time: 1610 UTC

Frequency: 6955 kHz

Reception location: Thamesford, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Panasonic RF-3100 and longwire antenna

Mode: Single Side Band

Notes: Pirate radio station The Voice of Christmas as heard in Thamesford, Ontario, Canada on December 8, 1996 at around 1610 hours UTC. The frequency was 6955 kHz USB.

Here are a few blended airchecks with Christmas music and frequent station ID's by the Pirate Elf stating they are "the only pirate radio station broadcasting from the North Pole." P.O. Box in Providence, Rhode Island given for reception reports. Concludes with their "interval signal" tune.

Radio Nacional Arcangel San Gabriel LRA36 Base Esperanza Antarctica: February 20, 1999

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Esperanza Base seen from Hope Bay (Image source: NOAA)

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Dan Greenall, for sharing the following recording and notes:

Notes: After many tries, this one was finally logged while on a "DXpedition" to a cottage near Bancroft, Ontario. Here is LRA36, Radio Nacional Arcangel San Gabriel from Esperanza Base, Antarctica as recorded in Coe Hill, Ontario, Canada on February 20, 1999 at 2257 hours UTC on 15476 kHz shortwave. They are heard giving announcement in Spanish including station ID, frequency used and transmitter power (10 kilowatts). This station was usually not audible at all or too buried under the noise level, however, on this occasion, the signal came up enough to get a clear ID.

Broadcaster: LRA36 Radio Nacional Arcangel San Gabriel, Base Esperanza, Antarctica

Date of recording: 2/20/1999

Starting time: 2257

Frequency: 15.476 MHz

Reception location: Coe Hill, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Panasonic RF-3100 and longwire antenna

XFM (Pirate Radio): October 30, 2022

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Bryce Belcher, who shares the following recording and notes:

Broadcaster: XFM

Date of recording: Oct 30, 2022

Starting time: 8:45 EST

Frequency: 6865 MHz

Your location: Columbus, Ohio

Receiver and antenna: Tecsun PL-880 with just the telescopic antenna

Mode: Single Side Band

Safe for children?: No

Notes: Some RF noise—the signal gets stronger but was weaker in the beginning of the recording. Recorded October 30, 2022

Please note that pirate radio recordings often contain adult language.

SAQ, Grimeton Radio: November 16, 2022

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Grimeton Radio

Live, off-air, recording of a morse code (CW or continuous wave) transmission in English from station SAQ, Grimeton Radio, Sweden, on 16 November 2022 beginning at 16:00 UTC on a very low frequency (VLF) of 17.2 kHz. The signal originates from the historic Alexanderson alternator transmitter at Grimeton near Varberg on the southwest coast of Sweden, running at about 80 kW. The antenna is essentially omnidirectional.

The transmitter was tuned up before the broadcast with many sequences of VVV VVV VVV DE SAQ SAQ SAQ being sent. The message, titled UNESCO 50th Anniversary Telegram, began at 16:00 UTC, lasted about 9 minutes and 30 seconds, and is as follows:

CQ CQ CQ DE SAQ SAQ SAQQ <BT> THIS IS GRIMETON RADIO STATION SAQ IN A TRANSMISSION USING THE ALEXANDERSON 200 KW ALTERNATOR ON 17.2 KHZ. <BT> THE 16TH OF NOVEMBER 2022 MARKS THE 50TH ANNIVER4RY OF THE WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION. UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITES ARE IRREPLACEABLE ASSETS OF HUMANITY BUT MANY OF THEM ARE THREATENED TODAY THROUGH UNCONTROLLED URBANIZATION, UNCHECKED TOURISM, ARMED CONFLICT AND CLIMATE CHANGE. TO ENSURE THEIR PROTECTION,INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION TO PROMOTE PEACE, INTERNATIONAL UNDERSTANDING AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER. <BT> SIGNED: LENA SOMMESTAD, CHAIR SWEDISH NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR UNESCO, WORLD HERITAGE GRIMETON RADIO STATION AND THE ALEXANDER-GRIMETON FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION. <BT> FOR QSL INFO PLEASE READ OUR WEBSITE: WWW.ALEXANDER.N.SE <AR> DE SAQ SAQ SAQ <SK>

Note that <BT> indicates the start of a new paragraph; <AR> means end of transmission; and <SK> means end of work.

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 CW mode with 0.40 kHz RF filtering and real-time noise reduction. The CW tone is about 760 Hz and the message was sent at about 15 words per minute. Reception was fairly good with some occasional atmospheric noise (QRN).

Radio Taipei International (Russian Language Service): January 22, 2002

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Andy Wang, who shares the following recording and notes:

Notes: Radio Taipei International was the old name of Taiwan's internation radio service. Its name changed to Radio Taiwan International on 2003. There are many online services which can transcribe voice to text, but with mistakes. I don't understand Russian, could not correct the mistakes. Shenyang is located near the Russian Far East region. I could clearly hear the Russian language broadcast.

Broadcaster: Radio Taipei International

Date of recording: 1/22/2002

Starting time: 11:00

Frequency: 9.490

Recption location: ShenYang China

Receiver and antenna: MeiDuo Radio Receiver and Casette Recorder CP6941 with antenna on it.