Voice of Korea: April 30, 2018

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Mark Fahey, who shares the following recording of the Voice of Korea English language service covering the Panmunjom Summit. This recording was made on April 30, 2018, starting at 06:30 UTC on 9730 kHz.

Mark writes:

An off-air shortwave recording of North Korea's External Radio Service - The Voice of Korea - Announcing the visit and activities of Kim Jong Un during his historic visit to Panmunjom. The broadcast also includes a full reading of the Panmunjom Declaration.

Recorded at the "Behind The Curtain" remote satellite and HF receiving site near Taipei, Taiwan (the site is remotely operated from Freemans Reach in Australia and was specifically established to monitor North Korean radio & television 24x7).

Listeners record final moments of the Radio Australia shortwave service: January 31, 2017

Many thanks to all of the SRAA contributors who have shared their recordings of the final moments of Radio Australia. Below, you'll find a number of recordings from around the world.

If you have a recording you would like to share, please submit it to us and we'll add your recording.

The first SRAA contributor, Mark Fahey, lives near Sydney, Australia. Mark recorded the shortwave service and RA satellite feed simultaneously. Mark shares the following recordings and notes:

Recording 1

This is RA’s final few minutes on shortwave – it was recorded on 17840kHz.
The file picks up the regular program ending, then into a Promo for RA “Pacific Beat” (a Pacific current affairs program), then the classic RA Interval Signal then the transmitter clicks off and the void is heard.

Recording 2

The file starts at exactly the same time as the first file, but in this example we are monitoring the Network Feed from Intelsat 18 at 180.0 degrees east (above the equator right on the international date line). This satellite feed is the way Radio Australia gets to the network of FM Transmitters they have scatted around the Pacific Region (which is why they feel they don’t need shortwave anymore for – most populated areas of Radio Australia’s target area now is covered by a network of Radio Australia FM transmitters).

Ian P notes:

Recorded from A Global Tuner in Broome, WA, Australia
Receiver: Icom PCR-1000 Antenna: Discone
Last 30 Minutes Of Radio Australia On Short Wave

Phil Brennan writes:

I managed to catch the last 45 seconds of the NT ABC broadcast on 5025 kHz. Unfortunately it's from my phone and not of great quality, but it may be the only recording of it given the time of day and propagation conditions.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Dan Hawkins writes:

I set up the 909X (also my favorite travel radio) on a chair in a backyard and ran the little ANT-60 reel-up antenna up to a pear tree. This is a recording of Radio Australia Pacific Service on 17840 kHz that includes the last top of the hour newscast at midnight, 1-31-2017 UTC. It includes promos, an ID and a news story on the shortwave closure. Less than a hour later there was no more RA on shortwave. RA came in very well for northern California on several frequencies. Conditions were fantastic for this one considering the 7,800 mile transmission distance. Birds and traffic are also heard in this hand-held field recording. I didn’t bring the tripod. I’ll miss Radio Australia, but I still have excellent reception of RNZI.

Click here to view on YouTube.

Rádio Bandeirantes: November 5, 2016

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Mark Fahey, who notes:

Rádio Bandeirantes, São Paulo, Brazil broadcasting the Saturday evening (5th November 2016, starting at 2209 UTC) football commentary on their shortwave radio outlet of 6090 KHz. The signal was received on a KiwiSDR receiver in Pardinho, Brazil.

The recording captures the artistry of the play-by-play commentary by sportscasters on Brazilian radio. The chorus of ‘Goooooool,’ is the siren song of the soccer broadcast with the announcer’s voice rising and falling harmoniously and continuously whenever any team scores.

In 1946, 14 years after the first soccer game was broadcast live on Brazilian radio, Rebello Júnior, an announcer at São Paulo’s old Rádio Difusora, stretched his call of “gol” on the air until he was almost out of breath, legitimizing the celebratory scream.

The scream has since become a requirement. Among sportscasters, the verdict is unanimous: There is no future in sports radio for announcers who do not know how to bellow an impressive, long and loud cry of “gol.” So they work at it daily, in much the same way that classical singers do before a big performance.

All India Radio (DRM): April 14, 2014

Shola highlands are found in Kudremukh National Park, Chikmagalur which is part of the Western Ghats. (Photo source: Karunakar Rayker)

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Mark Fahey, who has shared this Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) recording of All India Radio.

Mark explains:

"Almost every morning at 5:45AM (Sydney time) I have my first cup of coffee and eat breakfast and listen to the All India Radio Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) Hindi language evening broadcast to Europe. At this time of year in Australia (April) the broadcast starts in darkness and ends as the sun is rising. The broadcast originates from the Khampur (Delhi) transmission facility. 

I have a deep love for India and have spent a large part of my life working and living there, so I take every opportunity to listen to All India Radio in both DRM and analogue mode.

Digital DRM provides the opportunity for fade and noise free reception. But as you can hear on this recording, AIR introduces plenty of unintended noise into their programs even before the broadcast reaches the transmitting antenna. The 50Hz hum is a feature I notice in all AIR DRM broadcasts. On some occasions (perhaps every few months) they "forget" to patch the audio path correctly to the transmitter and all that is heard is the hum without any programming for the hour!"

This recording was made on April 14, 2014 starting at 19:45 UTC on 9,950 kHz. Mark received this broadcast at Freemans Reach, NSW, Australia (60 km North West of Sydney), on a WinRadio WR-G31DDC Excalibur Receiver and Wellbrook ALA1530 Loop antenna.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Please subscribe to our podcast to receive future recordings automatically.

ABC Far North, Emergency Broadcast Service: April 11, 2014

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Mark Fahey, who has shared this special recording: a shortwave relay of the ABC Far North radio service. Mark explains:

"ABC Radio (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Far North (Queensland, Australia) Emergency Broadcast Service during the period that Severe Tropical Cyclone was making landfall in Australia's Far North Queensland region. This capture of the shortwave broadcast was made near Sydney, Australia on 6.15MHz at 2119 Queensland Time (1119 UTC) on the 11th April 2014. The broadcast was being transmitted via a re-purposed Radio Australia transmitter in Shepperton, Victoria.

Severe Tropical Cyclone Ita is a tropical cyclone that crossed the coast of Queensland, Australia on 11 April 2014. The system was first identified over the Solomon Islands as a tropical low on 1 April 2014, and gradually moved westward, eventually reaching cyclone intensity on 5 April. On 10 April, Ita intensified rapidly into a powerful Category 5 system on the Australian Scale, but it weakened significantly in the hours immediately precedinglandfall the following day. At the time of landfall at Cape Flattery at 12 April 22:00 (UTC+10), Dvorak intensity was approximately T5.0, consistent with a weak Category 4 system, and considerably lower than T6.5 observed when the system was at maximal intensity. Meteorologists noted the system had, at such time, developed a secondary eyewall which weakened the inner eyewall; as a result, the system was considerably less powerful than various intensity scales predicted. Ita's impact on terrain was attenuated accordingly."

Click here to download this recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Please subscribe to our podcast to receive future recordings automatically.