Shortwave Broadcast Compilation – Western Europe: Circa 1980s

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Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Paul Watson, who shares the following recording. Paul notes:

“During the 1980s I was listening to shortwave radio from my home near London, in the southeast of England. I had a cassette recorder connected to the receiver and taped anything interesting that caught my ear. Little did I know that 40 years later the majority of these stations would have disappeared and I would have the opportunity to share these recordings with the world.”

This recording is part of a five-part compilation series Paul has created, grouping international shortwave broadcasters by region. The majority of the clips are in English and feature interval signals, station IDs, and sign-ons/offs—a rich snapshot of shortwave radio during its Cold War-era heyday.

This particular compilation focuses on: Western Europe

All recordings were made during the 1980s, most in the first half of the decade. While frequencies and exact dates aren’t provided, Paul has kindly included timestamps noting when each broadcaster appears in the audio. These are listed below for easy reference.

We’re grateful to Paul for sharing this excellent audio time capsule, and for his efforts to preserve and document the golden era of international broadcasting.

  • AUSTRIA: Radio Austria International (0)

  • CYPRUS: Cyprus Broadcasting Company (1.40)

  • DENMARK: Radio Denmark (3.09)

  • FINLAND: Radio Finland (4.29)

  • FRANCE: Radio France Internationale (5.30)

  • GERMANY (WEST): Deutsche Welle (6.30)

  • GREECE: Voice of Greece (7.53)

  • ITALY: RAI (9.24)

  • MALTA: Radio Mediterranean (11.00)

  • NETHERLANDS: Radio Netherlands (12.21)

  • NORWAY: Radio Norway (13.34)

  • PORTUGAL: Radio Portugal (15.34)

  • SPAIN: Spanish Foreign Radio (16.32)

  • SWEDEN: Radio Sweden (18.17)

  • SWITZERLAND: Swiss Radio International (19.53)

  • Red Cross Broadcasting Service (20.38)

  • UNITED KINGDOM: BBC World Service (21.49)