Maritime Radio HLS Seoul Korea: October 31, 1998

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

Broadcaster: Maritime radio HLS Seoul Korea

Date of recording: October 31, 1998

Frequency: 8.725 MHz

Reception location: Coe Hill, Ontario, Canada

Receiver and antenna: Panasonic RF-3100 and longwire antenna

Mode: Single Side Band

Notes: Maritime radiotelephone station HLS in Seoul, Korea continued to operate in the late 1990's on shortwave. Instead of a repeating voice mirror, this station played Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" over and over so that the receiving station could tune them in. This recording is from October 31, 1998 at Coe Hill, Ontario, Canada, and the frequency they were using was 8725 kHz upper sideband. My receiver was a Panasonic RF-3100 hooked up to a long wire antenna.

The station was identified by Richard "RD" Baker, editor of Communications Confidential, in the January 1999 issue of Popular Communications magazine. In his Reader Mailbag section, he wrote:

"Dan Greenall in Ontario, Canada, has been hearing a new (at least to folks in North America) maritime marker on 8725.0 USB: Beethoven's 9th Symphony "Ode to Joy" is repeated. In trying to track this marker down, we sent the call out over the WUN Club's listserver. Costas Krallis in Greece, Fabrizio Magrone in Italy. Alex Wellner and Robin Harwood. both in Australia. all became involved. They soon began logging the marker on other maritime frequencies. Eventually, it was noted on 6513, 8725, 8797, 13161, and 17341. Only one station has those frequencies in common: HLS, Seoul Radio. South Korea. The marker was completely IDed within 32 hours!"

Tropical Radio Telegraph Company (Point To Point): Panama City, Managua, and La Lima

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

Notes: With roots over 100 years old, the Tropical Radio Telegraph Company (a subsidiary of the United Fruit Company) used to operate a few radiotelephone stations in Central America during the years prior to the Internet. They often could be heard on various shortwave frequencies transmitting a repeating test message so the receiving station could tune them in. I managed to pick up 4 of their stations in the early 1970's. These recordings are from La Lima, Honduras; Managua Nicaragua; and Panama City, Panama. I have not been able to find the one from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, but maybe it will surface later.

Broadcaster: Tropical Radio Telegraph Company (point to point)

Date of recording: unknown

Starting time: unknown

Frequency: various

RX location: Ancaster, Ontario, Canada

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

Mode: Single Side Band

Sydney To Hobart Yacht Race HF Recording: December 28, 1998

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Neil Howard, for sharing the following recording and notes:

The Sydney to Hobart Yacht race of 1998 was tragic as huge seas & storms decimated the fleet, leaving 6 people dead and 5 boats sunk.
 

HOW this was obtained
 

This recording of the SSB HF transmissions from 1998 was recorded by me from Queensland, using a newfangled unattended recoding program on the PC and a very ordinary Sangean ATS-803a receiver using a random long wire Antenna - from memory this was on the 8 Mhz Marine band, and is the co-ordination of the search and rescue from the 28th Dec 1998 and covers from around 8:30PM till 10PM - The automated recorded stopped recording when the signal noise dropped below a certain level and thus some was lost.
The recording goes for 30 mins, as that was the limit that was set to save disk space, but there is a lot of empty noise.

I present this recording as it was recorded, warts and all for your education *** I dedicate this to those lost at sea ****

HIGHLIGHTS
(Times are approximate)
4:11 "Rescue 253" 9A helicopter) locates a life-raft
6:00 "Air force Sydney" is looking for a position of a yacht " Solo Global Challenge"
6:50 "RCC Canberra" (Who is co-ordinating) has a "hot mic" and is explaining the situation to someone locally
8:35 "Rescue 253" has sighted 2 POB on the life-raft - RTC wants to know if they are from "Winston Churchill"
9:39 Another "hot mic" in Canberra
11:56 "Tiger75" (A Navy Helicopter, I think) has the survivors on board, but still awaiting info on who they are
13:04 13:44 confirmation that there are 2 survivors of the "Winston Churchill" from the life raft, but the tragic news that 3 others had "rolled out" of the raft and are lost (Historical note- these three were listed as drowned)
14:46 Discussion about where the survivors are to be taken by Tiger 75
15:20 Info of the survivors is passed though, along with the news that the life raft they were "in" had no bottom.
16:33 Rescue 253 Says it has heard a beacon & is proceeding to the location
20:00 Another aircraft has gone to the search site from Merimbula (A town in New South Wales)
25:38 Rescue 253 updates beacon location
26;30 Rescue 253 Locates a boat at the beacon site that has been dis-masted & is in serious trouble.