Voice of Peace from Baghdad: December 29, 1990

Live, off-air, approximately twenty-minute recording of the Voice of Peace from Baghdad on 29 December 1990 beginning at 21:40 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 11860 kHz. This broadcast originated from a transmitter either in Iraq or Kuwait.

Iraq's Voice of Peace was established in August 1990 to beam programs to American servicemen stationed in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait at the beginning of the month. Programming consisted of music, initially easy-listening music but subsequently changing to a "Top 40" mix, news and commentary in a failed effort to try to demoralize the American troops. Beginning in September 1990, the broadcasts used a female announcer dubbed "Baghdad Betty" by the Americans. Reportedly, Baghdad Betty was replaced by a team of announcers sometime in December 1990. The recording is an example of the news and music programming. It is not known if the female announcer is the famous Baghdad Betty or someone else.

Reception of the broadcast was poor to fair with slight interference and fading. At 21:58 UTC, there is interference splash from WYFR starting up on 11855 kHz. The initial frequency recorded may have been 21675 kHz before switching after a minute or so to 11860 kHz as the radio teletype interference abruptly stops at this point. The recording includes frequent station identifications such as "You are tuned to the Voice of Peace from Baghdad."

The broadcast was received in Hanwell, New Brunswick, Canada, using a Sony ICF-7600D receiver and supplied wire antenna draped around the listening room.

PCJ via WRMI: November 28, 2015

Live off-air recording of the program "Rockin' with Raoul," produced and presented by Raoul van Hall in conjunction with PCJ Radio International and transmitted by WRMI, Radio Miami International, from its transmitter facilities at Okeechobee, Florida, on 28 November 2015 from 09:11 to 10:11 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 11580 kHz. The broadcast, the third and last of a special series, was directed to Europe and Southeast Asia using a 100 kW transmitter and an antenna beam azimuth of 44 degrees. The start of the program was delayed by 11 minutes due to some unknown technical problem at WRMI.

The transmission was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in telescopic whip antenna indoors in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 5.0 kHz RF filtering.

PCJ via WRMI: November 4, 2015

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, who notes:

Live off-air recording of the program "Say It With Music," produced by PCJ Radio International and transmitted by WRMI, Radio Miami International, from its transmitter facilities at Okeechobee, Florida, on 14 November 2015 from 09:00 to 10:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 11580 kHz. The broadcast, the first of a special series, was directed to Europe and Southeast Asia using a 100 kW transmitter and an antenna beam azimuth of 44 degrees.

The transmission was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in telescopic whip antenna indoors in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 5.0 kHz RF filtering.

The Mighty KBC: October 17, 2015

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, who notes:

Live three-hour-long recording of a transmission from the The Mighty KBC on 17 October 2015 beginning at 23:00 UTC on a frequency of 7395 kHz from a transmitter at Nauen, Germany, operating at 125 kW and beamed to North America. This was the first regular Saturday night transmission by KBC using this new frequency following a test on 26 September 2015.

Reception was good with negligible interference and only occasional fading. The recording starts with "It's Radio, But Not As We know It" presented by Dave Mason followed by "The Giant Jukebox" presented by Eric van Willegen ("Uncle Eric"). Both programs feature mostly "oldies" pop music with commentary and announcements in English with some announcements and commercials in Dutch.

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in telescopic whip antenna indoors in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 5.0 kHz RF filtering. 

Radio Spaceshuttle International: September 20, 2015

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, who notes:

Live hour-long recording of the "last" Radio Spaceshuttle International broadcast on 20 September 2015 beginning at 19:00 UTC on a frequency of 13600 kHz. The broadcast was from the Kostinbrod (near Sofia), Bulgaria, transmitter site. The transmitter power announced during the broadcast was 100 kW. This is consistent with the HFCC (High Frequency Coordination Conference) registration of the 13600 kHz frequency by Spaceline, Ltd., the airtime broker for shortwave transmissions from Kostinbrod, between 10:00 and 20:00 UTC. The registered antenna beam direction is 195 degrees.

Reception was poor to fair with some interference from Radio Martí on 13605 kHz and the Cuban jammer aimed at it. The broadcast, compered by "Dick Spacewalker" and originating in Finland, consisted of pop music and acknowledgements of listeners' reports. The language used is mostly English with some Finnish and Japanese announcements. The broadcast begins anomalously at 19:00:11 UTC with a sign-on announcement from the Overcomer Ministry (also a user of the Kostinbrod facility) and a wrong announced frequency. The Radio Spaceshuttle International program begins about 1m:20s later. 

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna outdoors in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 3.5 kHz RF filtering. 

Radio Reloj: August 30, 2015

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, who notes:

Live recording of Radio Reloj (CMBD), Havana, Cuba, on 30 August 2015 beginning at about 15:55 UTC on a frequency of 950 kHz. The signal originates from a 10 kW transmitter at Arroyo Arenas / San Augustin, near Havana, using the Centros Transmisores de Ondas Medias 1 (CTOM1) non-directional antenna facility.

(Radio Reloj can be heard on various frequencies in the AM and FM bands in Cuba and live on the Internet at http://media.enet.cu/radioreloj.) 

The recording, in Spanish, is a typical Radio Reloj broadcast with two announcers alternately reading news bulletins accompanied by time signals. The announcers identify the station and verbally give the local time each minute. In addition to the verbal station identification, each minute either the letters RR in morse code (using 1800 Hz tones) are transmitted or five-note chimes (D4, G4, B4, D5, B4) are played. The chimes sound like those of a dinner chime or even some door bells and are reminiscent of the U.S. National Broadcasting Company (NBC) chimes. On a couple of occasions in this recording, during a particular minute, neither the morse code nor the chimes are used and sometimes, during a particular minute, both are used. In this recording, we can also hear at some minutes pairs of tones being played going up and down the scale as news headlines are read. On other occasions, three- and four-note chimes in various sequences have been heard (perhaps at the announcers' whim).

Different tones identify each second, minute, and five-minute epochs. Based on measurements, each second is marked with a "seconds tick" consisting 10 cycles of a 1000 Hz tone (0.01 seconds duration). Minutes, except for multiples of 5 minutes, are marked by 172 cycles of a 1000 Hz tone (0.172 seconds duration). Every 5 minutes, the marker is extended to 672 cycles of a 1000 Hz tone (0.672 seconds duration). The minute and 5-minute markers are preceded by 5 cycles of a 1000 Hz tone, followed by 0.013 seconds of silence.

The time signals in this particular broadcast were well within one second of the time given by a computer's clock synchronized to the U.S. time standard using Network Time Protocol. 

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in loop antenna in Key West, Florida, using an RF bandwidth of 5 kHz. The receiver was oriented for maximum signal strength. Signal quality is generally good. However, there are repeated static crashes (QRN) from thunderstorms in the region.

Richard also notes that he was located in Key West, Florida, using  a "Tecsun PL-880 receiver with built-in loop antenna using an RF bandwidth of 5 kHz. The receiver was oriented for maximum signal strength." 

Radio Progreso: August 31, 2015

(Image Source: konstriktio)

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, who notes:

Live recording of Radio Progreso, Havana, Cuba, on 31 August 2015 beginning at about 01:10 UTC on a frequency of 4765 kHz. The signal originates from a 50 kW transmitter at Bauta, near Havana, with a non-directional antenna. 

The recording, in Spanish, begins with the program "Nocturno / Domingo de Selecciones de la Actualidad," a program of current music. At 13m:05s in the recording, there is a brief station identification ("RP") followed by a short news report and announcements of current cultural events in Havana. There is a full musical station identification at 18m:55s ("Radio Progreso, cadena nacional, la onda de la alegría, transmitiendo desde La Habana, Cuba, primera territorio libre en America"). At 19m:45s, the program "Ritmos Dominical" begins, an eclectic music program featuring selections by, among others, Nirvana and Ace of Base as well as traditional Cuban rhythms. The recording ends with the program still in progress.

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in telescopic whip antenna in Key West, Florida, using an RF bandwidth of 5 kHz. Signal quality is generally good. Occasionally, there is slight interference from what is believed to be a radar signal.

Voice of Turkey: July 20, 2015

SRAA contributor, Richard Langley notes:

 Live recording of the Voice of Turkey on 20 July 2015 beginning at 21:56:38 UTC on a frequency of 9830 kHz. The signal originates from a 500 kW transmitter in Emirler, near Ankara, Turkey, and was beamed 310° to Europe and North America. 

The recording, initially in English, begins with the tuning or interval signal with station identification, time pips at 22:00 UTC, and sign-on announcement. The announced frequency of 9820 kHz is incorrect (closing announcement has correct frequency). Then follows a news program mentioning the suicide bombing in Suruc, a review of the Turkish press, a report on the Cyprus peace operation, the program "In the Heart of Nature" on Lake Van, the program "Eco-Friendly Tips," "Question of the Month," a musical interlude, news headlines, and the closing announcement. The program proper ends at about 22:45 UTC but the transmission continues with more than 10 minutes of tuning signal filler. The tuning signal is faded down and then restarts at 22:56 UTC in advance of the German program, which begins at 23:00 UTC. The program abruptly and prematurely ends at about 23:05 UTC possibly due to a transmitter problem. 

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in telescopic whip antenna in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada. Signal quality is generally good. However, at the beginning of the recording, there is interference from a radio teletype signal believed to originate from the U.S. military.

National Broadcasting Corporation, Papua New Guinea: July 10, 2015

SRAA contributor, Richard Langley notes:

Live three-hour recording of the 2015 Pacific Games coverage of the National Broadcasting Corporation, the Voice of Papua New Guinea (PNG), via a transmitter in Australia on 10 July 2015 beginning at 07:01:21 UTC on a frequency of 12025 kHz. At the time of the uploading of this sound file, it is not clear if the signal originated from the former Australian Broadcasting Corporation's lower-power facility at Brandon (as registered with the High Frequency Co-ordination Conference (HFCC) organization; 25 kW beamed 80°) or their higher-power Shepparton site with 100 kW transmitters. 

The recording, mostly in English with some Tok Pisin, includes commentary on the games being held in Port Moresby, music, news bulletins, public service announcements, and the NBC's drum, flute and bird call interval signal near the top of some of the hours. Note that PNG time is 10 hours ahead of UTC.  

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in telescopic whip antenna in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada. Signal quality is generally good and gets better towards the end of the recording as propagation conditions improved.

Nigerian Armed Forces Radio: July 4, 2015

SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, writes:

Live recording of a test transmission of Nigerian Armed Forces Radio on 4 July 2015 beginning at 06:00:01 UTC (carrier on; audio file begins at 06:01:30; program begins at 06:01:36) on a frequency of 13775 kHz. The test was broadcast from a 250 kW transmitter of TDF in Issoudun, France. The antenna beam direction was 170 degrees towards west Africa. 

The test, which is running daily for a week, consists of Nigerian traditional and military music interspersed with brief announcements and identifications in Hausa and English. In addition to 13775 kHz, a frequency of 11825 kHz was announced. The first musical piece features the line "I remember when I was a solider." The IDs include an SMS number to which to send messages: +2348148366886. The test program ended abruptly at 06:57:17 UTC when the transmitter cuts off in mid-song.
  
The signal was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna in Hanwell, New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 5 kHz RF filtering.

CHU Canada, Leap Second: June 30, 2015

(Image: NASA)

SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, writes:

Live recording of time signal station CHU, Canada, on 30 June 2015 beginning at exactly 23:55:00 UTC on a frequency of 7850 kHz. The recording last exactly 10 minutes and 1 second, ending at 0:10:00 UTC. A leap second occurs at 23:59:60 UTC. This can be noted by the 1 second of silence between the 5m:00s mark in the recording (23:59:60 UTC) and the 5m:01s mark (0:00:00 UTC) denoted by the start of the one-second-long tone. This is followed by 9 seconds of silence. Before the leap second, the forecast difference between UT1 and UTC (DUT1 = UT1 minus UTC) to a precision of one tenth of a second was -0.7 seconds. This is indicated by CHU by using a sequence of double tones at 9 seconds through 15 seconds after the start of each minute except for the minute beginning an hour. Following the leap second, DUT1 is +0.3 seconds, marked by double tones at 2 seconds through 4 seconds after the start of the minute, again, except for the minute beginning an hour. 

The strong CHU signal was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna in Hanwell, New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 5 kHz RF filtering. There is some atmospheric noise (static).

BBC World Service, "Click": June 23, 2015

SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, notes:

Live recording of the BBC World Service program "Click" on 23 June 2015 beginning at 19:30 UTC on a frequency of 15400 kHz. The broadcast is from the BBC's Ascension Island transmitter site (125 kW transmitter power, antenna beam 27 degrees). The recording begins with the program "teaser" followed by a short bulletin of news. The program itself begins at 2m:30s. Topics discussed include the technology behind the European spacecraft Sentinel-2A; the book "Digital Gold: The Untold Story of Bitcoin; Banqer, an online educational app for teaching financial literacy; and transforming line drawings instantly into 3D models. 

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with a Tecsun AN-03L 7-metre wire antenna in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, in AM mode with 5 kHz RF filtering. The slightly noisy reception might have been due, in part, to disturbed ionospheric conditions in the wake of a geomagnetic storm along with being outside the target area (west and central Africa) of the transmission.

Many thanks for this recording, Richard! Please listen via the embedded player below and/or download the MP3 file with the link provided.

Voice Of America Science World: March 14, 2015

SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, was fortunate enough to capture this broadcast of VOA Science World where he (Richard Langley!) is interviewed. There are few opportunities for a true DXer to hear themselves over shortwave, thus this is a special recording indeed.  

Richard notes:

Live half-hour recording of the Voice of America in English on 14 March 2015 beginning at 02:56:30 UTC on a frequency of 6080 kHz. The broadcast, directed to Africa, is from Vatican Radio's Santa Maria di Galeria transmitter site (250 kW transmitter power, antenna beam 165 degrees). The African-music tuning signal is followed by VOA News and the program Science World featuring an interview with Dr. Richard Langley from the University of New Brunswick on how GPS is being used to study irregularities in the ionosphere and their effects on radio signals.  

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in whip antenna in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada. Signal quality was only fair so the recorded file was electronically filtered to reduce background noise. There is still a noticeable jamming signal on the frequency.

PCJ 6th Anniversary Special via WRMI: March 14, 2015

SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, writes:

Live two-hour recording of the PCJ Radio International special 6th anniversary broadcast in English via WRMI on 14 March 2015 beginning at 23:00 UTC on a frequency of 7570 kHz. 

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in whip antenna in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada. Signal quality was generally good. There is very slight co-channel interference from the Voice of Korea. Its interval signal can be heard near the beginning of the recording.

Reception improves a bit during the recording.

Radio Canada International anniversary special: March 16, 2015

SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, writes:

Live one-hour recording of the PCJ Radio International special broadcast celebrating the 70th anniversary of Radio Canada International in English via WRMI on 16 March 2015 beginning at 01:00 UTC on a frequency of 7570 kHz. 

The broadcast was received on a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its built-in telescopic whip antenna in Hanwell (just outside Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada. Signal quality was generally good.

Radio Ukraine International via WRMI: September 25, 2014

Many thanks to SRAA contributor Richard Langley for this recording of Radio Ukraine International's inaugural broadcast via WRMI. This is the second contribution of this broadcast, but since it is a first on shortwave, we are posting this one as heard from Richard's location. Richard writes:

Inaugural broadcast of Radio Ukraine International via WRMI, Okeechobee, Florida, on 11580 kHz on 25 September 2014 between 23:30 and 00:00 UTC. Received in Hanwell (near Fredericton), New Brunswick, Canada, using a Tecsun PL-880 receiver with its whip antenna in AM mode with a 5 kHz bandwidth.

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.

Song Of India via WRMI: October 5, 2014

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Richard Langley, for this recording of PCJ International's Song of India. Richard notes:

Off-air recording of the initial broadcast of the program "Song of India," produced by PCJ Radio International and transmitted by WRMI, Radio Miami International, from its transmitter facilities at Okeechobee, Florida, on 5 October 2014 from 00:00 to 02:00 UTC on a shortwave frequency of 7570 kHz.

Richard also notes that reception quality is only fair as Hanwell, New Brunswick, Canada, is considerably off to the side of the transmitter beam direction.

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.