Deutsche Welle (Kigali, Rwanda Relay): Circa 1971

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

Broadcaster: Deutsche Welle, Kigali, Rwanda relay 1971

Frequency: 11.965 MHz

Reception location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

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

Notes: When this recording was made in 1971, the easiest way to add Rwanda to your "countries heard" totals was to log the Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany) relay in Kigali. The station could be heard quite well here in southern Ontario, Canada even though broadcasts were not directed to eastern North America. My QSL card has them using 11965 kHz, however I am not fluent in German and this recording could possibly have been made on a different frequency. This relay station was closed down in 2015 after 50 years of operation.

Radio Veritas Asia (Quezon City, Philippines): September 28, 1999

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

Broadcaster: Radio Veritas Asia, Quezon City, Philippines

Date of recording: September 28, 1999

Starting time: 1200 UTC

Frequency: 9.505 MHz

Reception location: Coe Hill, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Drake SW-8 and a very long wire antenna

Notes: Here is Radio Veritas Asia in Quezon City, Philippines as recorded at a DX camp in Coe Hill, Ontario, Canada on September 28, 1999. Part of their interval signal is heard along with a station ID in English. They give their frequency as 9505 kHz and the time as 1200 UTC.

XERH (Radio Tricolor Mexico City, Mexico): Circa 1970

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

XERH Radio Tricolor Mexico City, Mexico 1970 on 11,880 kHz

This station was often heard with a good signal in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada in Spanish with the jingle "La RH, La RH Radio Tricolor"

KWHR (World Harvest Radio): November 10, 1996

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

KWHR, World Harvest Radio from Naalehu, Hawaii: November 10, 1996 on 9,930 kHz

The station was heard in Thamesford, Ontario, Canada giving out its QSL mailing address in South Bend, Indiana.

Radio 4VEH (Cap Haitien, Haiti): Circa 1970's

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

Broadcaster: Radio 4VEH Cap Haitien Haiti 1970's

Frequency: 9.770 MHz

Recption location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

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

Notes: The first audio clip is likely a "recording of a recording." Back in the 1970's, some DX programs, notably DX Jukebox (Radio Nederland) and SWL Digest (Radio Canada International) would occasionally play "off the air" recordings of shortwave stations heard by listeners. Such may be the case here.

The second clip is Radio 4VEH in Cap Haitien, Haiti as heard on 9770 kHz in April 1970. The station only ran 2500 watts of power but could be heard most mornings local time. Received using a Hallicrafters S-52 and long wire antenna at Ancaster, Ontario, Canada.

Radio Cairo: Circa 1971

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

Broadcaster: Radio Cairo circa 1971

Frequency: 9.475 MHz

Reception location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

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

Notes: I don't recall Radio Cairo having an interval signal but this music was heard at the beginning of every broadcast. They used this frequency for as long as I can remember, and I was quite excited to receive their exotic looking QSL. My receiving equipment consisted of a Hallicrafters S-52 hooked up to an outdoor longwire antenna.

Voix De La Revolution Congolaise Brazzaville: Circa 1973

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

Broadcaster: La Voix de la Revolution Congolaise, Brazzaville

Date of recording: Circa 1973

Frequency: 4.765 MHz

Reception location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

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

Notes: One of the more consistent Africans heard in the 60 metre band shortwave during the early 1970's from here in southern Ontario, Canada was La Voix de la Revolution Congolaise from Brazzaville, Republic of Congo on 4765 kHz. Best reception usually occurred at 0430 UTC sign on, or up to an hour before sign off at 2300 hours UTC. This recording is circa 1973, and you will hear part of the anthem followed by identification in French.

KWHR (World Harvest Radio) Naalehu Hawaii: November 10, 1996

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

Broadcaster: KWHR (World Harvest Radio) Naalehu Hawaii November 10, 1996

Date of recording: November 10, 1996

Frequency: 9.930 MHz

Reception location: Thamesford, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Panasonic RF-3100 and longwire antenna

Notes: Here is World Harvest Radio with a brief English language voice announcement from their radio station KWHR, Naalehu, Hawaii as heard in Thamesford, Ontario, Canada on November 10, 1996 at 1330 hours UTC on a frequency of 9930 kHz shortwave.

XERH Radio Tricolor: Circa 1970

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

Broadcaster: XERH Radio Tricolor, Mexico City 1970

Frequency: 11.880 MHz

Reception location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

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

Notes: XERH from Mexico City, Mexico could often be heard here in southern Ontario, Canada in the Spanish language using the jingle "La RH, La RH, Radio Tricolor" to identify. They were using 11880 kHz shortwave in 1970 when this brief recording was made, and typically played "musica ranchera."

Radiodiffusion Nationale Centrafricaine: Circa 1971

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

Here is a brief recording of Radiodiffusion Nationale Centrafricaine from Bangui on 5038 kHz shortwave circa 1971. Reception was made in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada, where the best reception from African stations was usually late afternoon or early evening local time, just about the time many of these stations were signing off for their broadcast day. Programming was in the French language.

Broadcaster: Radiodiffusion Nationale Centrafricaine

Frequency: 5.038 MHz

Reception location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

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

Radio Afghanistan: Circa 1971

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

Shortwave transmissions from Radio Afghanistan from Kabul in English were difficult to hear at my location in eastern North America. Here is a brief recording, made sometime in 1971, of the station as they concluded their half hourly English broadcast at 1830 hours UTC on 15.265 MHz in the 19 metre band. The other frequency they used for this transmission is given as 17.775 MHz.

Broadcaster: Radio Afghanistan

Date of recording: 1971

Frequency: 15.265 MHz

Reception location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

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

Radio Santa Cruz: November 9, 1996

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

Broadcaster: Radio Santa Cruz Bolivia 1996

Date of recording: November 9, 1996

Frequency: 6.135 MHz

Reception location: Thamesford, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Panasonic RF-3100 and longwire antenna

Notes: Radio Santa Cruz from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia was heard here in southern Ontario, Canada on occasion when propagation favored a North-South path. This brief Spanish language recording was made on November 9, 1996 on 6135 kHz shortwave around 2300 hours UTC.

Radio Santa Cruz Brochure

Radio Japan (Interval Signal): Circa 1970

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

The majority of my vintage shortwave recordings are unfortunately quite brief. This is mostly due to the fact that they were only kept as "proof" of reception and not generally for program content.

I can still remember the thrill of hearing Radio Japan in Tokyo for the first time back in 1970. I used to pick them up on 9505 kHz shortwave around dawn local time here in southern Ontario, Canada. This is a recording of their interval signal with bilingual announcement played just prior to sign on.

Broadcaster: Radio Japan 1970 interval signal

Frequency: 9.505 MHz

Reception location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

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

Foreign AM Broadcast Band DX: Circa 1970's

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

Foreign BCB DX 1970's

Reception location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Hallicrafters S-52 or Realistic DX-150A and a longwire antenna

Notes: Although I did not focus much on foreign broadcast band (medium wave) DXing in the 1970's, I did manage to save a few brief recordings of a handful of stations logged from my location in southern Ontario, Canada.

1. Radio Margarita, La Asuncion (Isla Margarita) Venezuela 1020 kHz

2. Radio Clarin, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic 860 kHz

3. XEMO, Tiajuana, Mexico 860 kHz

4. Radio Sutatenza, Bogota, Colombia 810 kHz

5. XERF, Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico 1570 kHz (ID given by well known personality Paul Kallinger)

Voice Of Armenia (Interval Signal): Circa 1999

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

Broadcaster: The Voice of Armenia, Yerevan circa 1999

Frequency: 9.965 MHz

Reception location: Thamesford, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Panasonic RF-3100 and longwire antenna

Notes: Here is a recording I made of the Voice of Armenia from Yerevan with their interval signal and multi-lingual ID's circa 1999. Somehow, this country managed to elude me in the 1970's and 80's.

Sudan National Broadcasting Corporation: November 1996

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

Broadcaster: Sudan National Broadcasting Corporation November 1996

Frequency: 9.200 MHz

Reception location: Thamesford, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Panasonic RF-3100 and longwire antenna

Notes: In November 1996, the Sudan National Broadcasting Corporation in Omdurman was relatively easy to spot on their out-of-band frequency of 9200 kHz shortwave. In this brief recording, chanting is heard followed by time pips on the hour. Announcements are in Arabic. According to the 1996 Passport to World Band Radio, this particular transmission is listed as Republic of Sudan Radio.

Radio Prague Interval Signals: Circa 1970 and 1999

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

Broadcaster: Radio Prague: 1970 and 1999

Frequency: 7.345 MHz

Reception location: Ancaster and Thamesford, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Hallicrafters S-52 and Drake SW-8 using a longwire antenna

Notes:

Here is a brief recording of Radio Prague in Czechoslovakia circa 1970. They are heard with their interval signal and announcement in English. The frequency was 7345 kHz.

The second recording was made June 22, 1999 at 1727 hours UTC on 21745 kHz, with their interval signal and multi-lingual ID's, as the external service of Czech Radio.

In 1970, I received a beautiful cloth bookmark from Radio Prague, and I gave it to my mother as she liked to read, and I felt it would be a way to include her in my newfound hobby of shortwave listening. She used it for the next 46 years, and I recovered it in 2016 after her passing, still in amazingly good condition.

Radio Malaysia (Interval Signal): Circa 1971

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

Broadcaster: Radio Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur 1971 (interval signal)

Date of recording: 1971

Frequency: 6.175

Reception location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

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

Notes: Southeast Asia was one of the toughest areas to DX in my early years of SWLing from my receiving post in southern Ontario, Canada. Radio Malaysia from Kuala Lumpur on 6175 kHz made it through one morning in 1971 with their interval signal, then a very lengthy pause (about 35 seconds) before announcement in an Asian dialect. The lack of QRM and QRN helped to make this reception possible. For this, I was rewarded with their very attractive QSL card.

Radio Metallica Worldwide (Pirate Radio): June 4, 1997

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

Broadcaster: Radio Metallica Worldwide (pirate) June 4 1997

Date of recording: June 4, 1997

Frequency: 6.955 MHz

Recption location: Thamesford, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Panasonic RF-3100 and longwire antenna

Mode: AM

Notes: Here are three recordings of Radio Metallica Worldwide, a powerful shortwave pirate station that was widely heard all over North America and beyond during the late 1990's, using AM mode on 6955 kHz. These clips are from 1997 and were made in Thamesford, Ontario, Canada.

Listen to Doctor Tornado forget the zip code to his Blue Ridge Summit mailing address, claim to be broadcasting from a vessel in the Atlantic Ocean, use his voice reverberator mike, and send greetings out to other pirate radio stations. He certainly provided plenty of entertainment value for his listeners.

Audio Block

Double-click here to upload or link to a .mp3. Learn more

USSR Shortwave Broadcasters: Circa 1970's

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

Broadcaster: USSR shortwave broadcasters 1970's

Frequency: various

Reception location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

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

Notes: Around 1970, there were other stations in the Soviet Union (USSR) that could be found on the shortwaves besides Radio Moscow. Programming on most of these outlets was all in Russian.

Radiostansiya Rodina (Homeland) is heard here with their interval signal and identification in Russian sometime in 1971. Shortwave frequency was likely 7100 kHz.

Radiostansiya Atlantika broadcast to the Soviet fishing fleet circa 1970.

Radiostansiya Mayak (lighthouse) could also be heard on various frequencies during the early 1970's.

Radio Station Peace and Progress, the Voice of Soviet Public Opinion, had some English language programs.