Radio Prague International 85th Anniversary: August 31, 2021

QSL card for reception of a transmission from Radio Prague on 7 May 1964. ORL is the transmitter call sign.

QSL card for reception of a transmission from Radio Prague on 7 May 1964. ORL is the transmitter call sign.

Live, off-air, recording of the broadcast of two special sequential half-hour programs of Radio Prague International celebrating its 85th anniversary. The programs were broadcast via WRMI, Radio Miami International, using a transmitter at Okeechobee, Florida, on 31 August 2021 from 21:00 to 22:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 15770 kHz. The listed transmitter power is 100 kW with an antenna beam azimuth of 44°. The recording includes WRMI station identifications.

Czech Radio officially began its international service on 31 August 1936. Eventually, the service became known as Radio Prague, then for a brief time in the 1990s as Radio Czechoslovakia International and most recently as Radio Prague International. Radio Prague International is mostly an on-line service now with its own transmitters having been shut down on 31 January 2011. It continued to broadcast over the single WRMI transmitter in Miami and currently relays its daily programs in English, French, and Spanish using the WRMI transmitter complex in Okeechobee.

The special anniversary programs include archival recordings, interviews, and comments from listeners. The first half-hour program is in English followed by a second half-hour program in French.

The broadcast via WRMI was received outdoors on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver in AM mode with 2.3 kHz filtering and a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna strung to a nearby tree in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada. Reception was mostly quite good.

Shortwave Shindig in Exile via WRMI: February 27, 2021

E-QSL RECEIVED FOR RECEPTION REPORT OF THE BROADCAST

E-QSL RECEIVED FOR RECEPTION REPORT OF THE BROADCAST

Live, off-air, recording of the broadcast of an hour-long segment of the North American Shortwave Association's Winter SWL Fest "Shortwave Shindig in Exile" session by WRMI, Radio Miami International, using a transmitter at Okeechobee, Florida, on 27 February 2021 from 02:00 to 03:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 7780 kHz. The listed transmitter power is 100 kW with an antenna beam azimuth of 44°. The recording begins and ends with the WRMI station identification.

The radio broadcast, from a recording, took place in the same time slot as its airing during the virtual 34th Annual Winter SWL Fest held 26-27 February 2021 via Zoom. The broadcast included the digital transmission of an image in MFSK32 mode centred on 1500 kHz.

The broadcast was received outdoors on a Belka-DSP receiver in pseudosynchronous mode with 50 Hz to 3 kHz filtering and a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna strung to a nearby tree in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada. Reception was mostly good but there was signal fading at times with some attendant noise.

Digital image transmitted in MFSK32 mode during the broadcast

Digital image transmitted in MFSK32 mode during the broadcast

Shortwave Shindig and Short Waves / Long Distance via WRMI: March 11, 2017

Live recording of the repeat broadcast of the North American Shortwave Association's Winter SWL Fest "Shortwave Shindig" and Wave Farm's "Short Waves / Long Distance" programs by WRMI, Radio Miami International, using a transmitter at Okeechobee, Florida, on 11 March 2017 from 03:00 to 06:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 9395 kHz. The listed transmitter power is 100 kW with an antenna beam azimuth of 355°. The recording begins and ends with the WRMI station identification.

The first hour of the broadcast is of the live program "Shortwave Shindig" as recorded at the 30th Annual Winter SWL Fest held in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, 2–4 March 2017. The following two hours are of the program "Short Waves / Long Distance," a montage of shortwave-based audio works compiled by Wave Farm in celebration of its 20th anniversary. The Wave Farm program ends with the digital transmission of an image in MFSK32-mode centred on 1500 kHz.     

The programs were first broadcast live on 4 March 2017 but due to poor propagation conditions, reception throughout North America was poor or nonexistent and so the programs were rebroadcast.

The broadcast 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 5 kHz RF filtering. Reception varied from fair to good during the three-hour broadcast with no interference. Some passages during the "Short Waves / Long Distance" program have low audio levels.
 

International Day Ecos del Torbes via WRMI: August 12, 2016

Live, off-air, half-hour recording of the special DX program "International Day Ecos del Torbes," celebrating the 40th anniversary of Club Diexistas de la Amistad (CDXA, Friendship DX Club) and the 26th anniversary of the program "América en Antena" (American Antenna) transmitted by WRMI, Radio Miami International, using a transmitter at Okeechobee, Florida, on 12 August 2016 from 21:30 to 22:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 15770 kHz. The program aired a half hour later than advertised. The listed transmitter power is 100 kW with an antenna beam azimuth of 44° directed to Europe. The recording begins and ends with the WRMI station identification.

Ecos del Torbes is a radio station in San Christóbal, Táchira State, Venezuela, which began broadcasting on 9 August 1947. Still transmitting as YVOD on 780 kHz in the AM broadcast  band, it used to also broadcast on shortwave as YVOC, 4980 kHz, and YVTX, 6190 kHz, amongst other frequencies over the years. It ceased shortwave broadcasting in March 2003.

The program is primarily in Spanish with a brief introduction in English. Ecos del Torbes station identifications are given in Spanish, English, and French. The program was aired multiple times by WRMI.

The broadcast 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 9 kHz RF filtering. Reception was excellent with no interference and negligible atmospheric noise.