My Short Wave Archive: November 2011

XENODOCHY, or Welcome, to another post in the continuing thread of memories of radio broadcasts, heard via Short Wave Radio.

Apologies for my absence!

The previous post featuring Short Wave broadcasts, My Short Wave Archive: September 2011, can be found here.

This post brings memories of Short Wave radio broadcasts heard Monday, November 28, 2011.

Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz). Transmission power in watts or kiloWatts (kW). Logs transcribed from the original notes.

Receiver used: Roberts R881.

November 2011 : Short Wave

• [Monday] 28 November [2011]: 1951 UTC: 7485 kHz: Voice of America  Special English
  Excellent to good reception.
  'VOA Special English' with a male and female host, with a programme regarding 'rhetoric', with speech regarding the Presidential TV debate between Nixon and Kennedy; Martin Luther King 'I Had A Dream' speech, Ronald Reagan speaking at the Berlin Wall, with words directed to Mr Gorbachev.
  Speech by Eleanor Roosevelt, recorded December 9, 1948.
  Content from the American Rhetoric website.
  President G W Bush speaking in Florida on September 11, 2001.
  Off suddenly at 20:00 UTC.
• 28 November: 2040 UTC: 7550 kHz: All India Radio  Vocal singing by a female and a male with guests on All India Radio.  Good atmosphere.
  Excellent to good reception.
  Vocal singing; No instruments.
  Announcement of frequencies at 2048 UTC: 7550 kHz; 9445 kHz; 11670 kHz. Broadcasting to Australia on 9910 kHz.
  Review of the Indian Press. Proposal to liberate visa regimes between India and Pakistan.  India - China border talks, with respect of the border between India and China.  India treats the Dalai Llama as a spiritually respected leader.
  This is the English Service of the General Overseas Service of All India Radio. ID. Music.
  2100 UTC: Male host: 'Please stand by for the news': Parliament was adjourned regarding an issue. India and Bulgaria have signed an agreement regarding medical services. Court proceedings in India. Elections taking place for the 'Lower House' of Egyptian Parliament. Resignation over corruption in Kuwait. Nineteen killed by suicide bomb outside prison in Iraq.
  Headlines. ID. Political commentary: Justice has been done over the Mumbai attacks - The men who carried out the attacks are in Pakistan. News read by female; Political commentary by male host.
  ID. Hindustani instrument and music. 'Faithfully Yours' feature; Postal address: P O Box 500, Post Code 110001. All India Radio email address also announced.
  Logged to 2110 UTC.
• 28 November: 2116 UTC: 7560 kHz: Voice of America  English to Afghanistan.
  Feature at 2140 UTC: Programme regarding the life and music of Johnny Cash!
  Music included 'Jackson', 'Hurt', 'I Walk The Line'.
  Fair reception.
  Logged to 2200 UTC.
• 28 November: 2212 UTC: 7580 kHz: Radio Farda  Music, female voice with ID, music.
  Excellent to good reception.
  Female speaking over music bed, with a telephone ringer at beginning and end of item. Male speech with ID, speech in Persian language, music.
  Logged to 2220 UTC.
  
• 28 November: 2250 UTC: 9420 kHz: The Voice of Greece  Music, female host with fast speech.
  Excellent to good reception.
  Female host, Greek language, continued speech between female and male, news at 2300 UTC, music. Time check, ID.
  Greek language to Europe and America (Atlantic Ocean).
  English language ID!
  Logged to 2310 UTC.

Thank you for visiting Reporting From The Fox Tower!

My Short Wave Archive: March 2011

 TAKING time to reflect on memories of Short Wave radio broadcasts, heard Spring 2011.

The previous post featuring Short Wave broadcasts, My Short Wave Archive: January 2011, can be found here.

Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz). Transmission power in watts or kiloWatts (kW). Logs transcribed from the original notes.

Receiver used: Roberts R881.

March 2011 : Short Wave

• [Monday] 7 March [2011]: 1352 UTC: 11735 kHz: Voice of Turkey  Music with male vocals.
  Good reception. English to Asia.
  Male speech with music. Profile of Alexander Linokov. Music, speech. Reference to World War 1, 'Turkish war of independence'. Close of programme.
  Voice of Turkey ID.
  'Did You Know That?' Question of the month.
  Food recipe. Female speech. Music. Female speech.
  Logged to 1411 UTC.
  
  

  

  Sticker from Voice of Turkey, March 2011.

  
  
• 7 March: 1420 UTC: 11750 kHz: Radio Farda  Music in a Middle-Eastern style and language, this is Radio Farda via Germany, in the Farsi language.
  Music with vocals, whistling and scratching!
  Male speech with email address and ID.
  Excellent to good reception.
  Music with male vocals. Female host with ID. Music with male vocals, a ballad.
  Logged to 1430 UTC.
• 7 March: 1444 UTC: 12150 kHz: Voice of America  Female host with speech regarding Indonesia, male host 'Asia is most disaster-prone area' quote.
  Europe: France: Jacques Chirac to stand trial for fraud.
  USA: Washington: Federal agency spending. Senator John Kerry appeared on CBS 'Face The Nation'.
  Good to fair reception.  English to Asia via Iranawila, Sri Lanka (IBB transmitter).
  Male reporter: Californian 'Humming Bird' drone planes; The 'Nano Humming Bird'.
  Female host with programme credits.
  'Editorial' regarding the USA finding common interest with the World.  The President is due to visit Latin America.
  Postal address and website contact details.
  ID "From Washington, this is VOA News".
  1500 UTC: Libyan airstrikes on a coastal city.  Handover of security to Afghan agencies.  South Korean internet activity disrupted - by North Korea.  Western Somali militants flee.  Ivory Coast protests and violence.  Buildings burned in Sudan.  Jacques Chirac to stand trial, regarding allegations of corruption, when Mayor of Paris.  NASA Discovery to return from space.  Indian corruption.  World markets. 'VOA News Centre'.
  Now on air: 'Border Crossings' on 'VOA Music Mix': Music: Justin Bieber. Male host: Larry London. Justin Bieber spoke to 'People' magazine about his relationship with Selena Gomez.  Request for a Justin Bieber song.  Request from Kuwait for Hootie and The Blowfish.  Promotion for the 'Border Crossings' Facebook page.  Request for Celine Dion.
  Logged to 1520 UTC.

[Cup of tea at 1520 UTC]

• 7 March: 1552 UTC: 13640 kHz: Radio Tirana  'Sports Roundup' Football results include a Quarter Final of a competition.  Tirana football team.  Penalty kicks.  Preview of the 'Semi Final round of the Cup of Albania'.  Goals and scorers in other fixtures.
  Female host.  Music.
  Good to fair reception.  English to America.
  "You have been with our English programme for today; Goodbye from Albania" (Female speech).  Signature tune.
  Off air at 1559 UTC.
• 7 March: 1623 UTC: 13845 kHz: WWCR-3 Nashville TN  Male host speaks of the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, with male telephone caller.  Male host speaks of the threat of terrorism in the United States;  Male host hopes God will protect Israel.  Male telephone caller speaks his views on Israel, comments on Egypt and Palestine.
  Ad break: 'John' speaks of his health; Military surplus supplies; Sports water filtration systems; Food ordered direct; e-books.
  ID 'GCN Radio Network'.  Male host introduces male telephone caller.
  Good to fair reception.  English to Europe and America.
  'Genesis Communications Network' (GCN) Radio Network + University Network.
  Male telephone caller speaks his views on Middle Eastern matters, Condoleeza Rice, Israel and Palestine.
  Ad break: Health support; gold brokers; Offshore asset management; Protect yourself from violence and terrorism in the USA; 'Heart and Body Extract' Blood pressure.
  Logged to 1650 UTC.
• 7 March: 1704 UTC: 14670 kHz: C H U  Canadian Time Signal station CHU emitting one second ticks, with a male voice 'C H U...' changes in tone, possible co-channel interference.  Some of the clicks include a double click.
  Good to fair reception.
  Possible spurious co-channel interference from Voice of America.
  Logged to 1714 UTC.
• 7 March: 1721 UTC: 15000 kHz: W W V  American Time Signal station WWV Fort Collins Colorado USA.  One second ticks, followed by rapid-fire ticks.  Co-channel interference from amateur radio users?
  Fair reception.
  Logged to 1733 UTC.

WWV QSL card, March 2011.

• 7 March: 1744 UTC: 15235 kHz: Channel Africa  Male host, recording of a male in a room with a good echo, combined with speech hard to follow due to signal levels.  English speaking males.
  ID for Channel Africa, Johannesburg.
  Female host 'You're listening to Africa Digest'  Male with news headlines.  Programme email address.  Music.
  Fair to poor reception.  English to Africa via Meyerton, South Africa (Sentech transmitter).
  Logged to 1751 UTC.
• 7 March: 1803 UTC: 15365 kHz: Radio Canada International  Discussion regarding obese Canadian children.  Report regarding Canadian soldiers who served in Afghanistan 2003-2006.
  ID for Radio Canada International; News desk in Montreal.
  Female host with 'The Link'  Homelessness; Longest winter road.  Promotion for a feature with Marc Montgomery.  Government study to help Canadian homeless, including submission from the Mental Health Commissioner of Canada to be included in the study.
  Good reception.  English to Africa via Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.
  Music from Arcade Fire.
  Logged to 1815 UTC.

[Supper break: 1820 UTC]

• 7 March: 1950 UTC: 15365 kHz: Radio Canada International  Good to fair reception.  French language service to Africa.
  Report from an outside broadcast: Females speaking.  Speech from male in studio.
  Off air at 1959 UTC.
• 7 March: 2007 UTC: 15400 kHz: BBC World Service  BBC Arabic Service correspondent tells male host of the military situation in Libya.
  Excellent to fair reception.  English to West Africa via Ascension Island (BBC transmitter).
  Residents of Benghazi speak to BBC correspondent.  Studio guests discuss the 'pros and cons' of a Libyan no-fly zone.  'Newshour'  Sarah Palin, USA.  News headlines at 2020 UTC: Libya;  Police Chief of Mexico dismissed.
  Logged to 2020 UTC.
• 7 March: 2032 UTC: 15520 kHz: WYFR Family Radio  Male host reads passages from Genesis (The first book of Moses, Old Testament).
  ID.  Jonah's message to man, the land was flooded.
  WYFR via Ascension Island;  Good to fair reception;  To Africa.
  Reading from the Book of Jonah  'May God have mercy on you'.
  Postal address for Family Radio;  Email address;  Also international postal addresses and PO Box numbers for Family Radio, accessible for listeners in South Africa and India.  Music.
  Programme: 'Teaching Book Reading Programme': 'I Hope God Will Save Me' by Harold Camping.
  Logged to 2045 UTC.
• 7 March: 2053 UTC: 15580 kHz: Voice of America  Up-tempo music for Africa from Voice of America via Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles (RNW transmitter).
  Excellent to good reception.  English to Africa.
  'African Beat'  Voice of America ID.  Link to the close of the programme from the male host.
  Off air at 2059 UTC.

[Cup of tea break: 2105 UTC]

Letter cover from WEWN (EWTN) March 2011

• 7 March: 2116 UTC: 15610 kHz: WEWN  Birmingham AL (EWTN - Catholic programmes) to Africa.  Fair to poor reception.
  Speech from both a male and a female; Female reads out a telephone number by which you can contact the show.  Music.  Male speech regarding Church.  Male speech with website details.
  Logged to 2125 UTC.

Thank you for visiting Reporting From The Fox Tower!

Short Wave on the Sangean ATS-405, May 2018

ANOTHER sunny, Sunday afternoon, the day after Harry and Meghan's Royal Wedding at Windsor, which was followed by Chelsea Football Club's FA Cup victory over Manchavster United at Wembley later in the day.

Before all that took place, I spent the evening of Friday 11 May 2018 tuning the Sangean ATS-405 on the Short Wave band. The logs in a moment, but first, housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz). Transmission power in watts or kiloWatts (kW).

Short Wave: May 2018

• [Friday] 11 May [2018]: 1841 UTC: 3320 kHz: Radio Sonder Grense, Afrikaans language via South Africa. Speech / vocals, female. Poor reception. To 1845 UTC.
• 11 May: 1849 UTC: 3330 kHz: CHU Canada, male voice, Time Signal broadcast. Poor reception. To 1853 UTC.
• 11 May: 1905 UTC: 3975 kHz: Shortwave Radio, broadcasting to Europe via Winsen, Germany. Good to Moderate reception. 'Stafford's World': Music from Bob Dylan; Bee Gees 'Nights On Broadway'. Male host [Mark Stafford] speaking about the history of the Bee Gees in the USA and UK up to Saturday Night Fever. Music: Talking Heads 'Take Me To The River'; Ray Stevens 'Get Down To Business, Mr Businessman; Agnetha Fältskog; Deep Purple. To 1922 UTC.
• 11 May: 1924 UTC: 3985 kHz: Radio Slovakia International, music, female speech. Moderate reception. ID for Slovakia, contact details including email, listen via shortwave, also listen online. Radio Slovakia International to Europe [English service] via Kall-krekel, Germany (Shortwave Service). To 1930 UTC.

• 11 May: 1932 UTC: 3985 kHz: ID in German for Shortwave Service; Radio Tirana International in German. Male speech, soft music. Web address. Good to Moderate reception. ID, music. Radio Tirana via Kall-Krekel, Germany. To 1953 UTC.
• 11 May: 1958 UTC: 3995 kHz: HCJB Germany, 1.5 kW transmission. Music from clarinet and piano; Female and male speech in German. HCJB via Weenermoor, Germany. Music and speech. Moderate reception. To 2009 UTC.
• 11 May: 2034 UTC: 4653 kHz: Presumably Air Traffic - Speech between males, with details of numbers - 3, 5, 2, with references to the phonetic alphabet 'Romeo' and numbers '3, 7, 5, 0' and various sounds on the transmissions. Male voice sending transmissions with frequencies - Sometimes other voice is heard. Could be Shannon Aeradio, Ballygirreen, Co Clare, Ireland. Moderate reception. To 2056 UTC.
• 11 May: 2113 UTC: 4800 kHz: Music, followed by female speech, Chinese? Possibly CNR-1, Golmud, China. Female Chinese speech over a music bed, into a song. Strong to good reception. Music with female speech in Chinese. To 2122 UTC.
• 11 May: 2125 UTC: 4820 kHz: Music, Good to Moderate reception, continuous music. Possibly PBS Xizang, Chinese, 20-2230 UTC, 100 kW via Lhasa-Baiding, Tibet; - or - Voz Evangelica, Spanish, 10-05 UTC, 5 kW via Honduras.
• 11 May: 2216 UTC: Unlisted frequency of 5845 kHz carrying BBC World Service - Spurious broadcast? 'News Room' with news stories including Donald Trump and John McCain, British citizens taken hostage in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Eurovision Song Contest takes place this weekend. Sport: Nadal knocked out of latest tennis tournament. Good to moderate reception. Sport: Tennis, golf: Report by Ian Carter at the golf. To 2225 UTC.

• 11 May: 2230 UTC: 5860 kHz: Music: Toni Braxton 'Unbreak My Heart' to time pips (Time Signal) at 2230 UTC, male speech, audio 'stab', two males speaking, male speech continues. Female speech. Good to Moderate reception. Male speech. This broadcast could possibly be Radio Farda, Persian, 15-00 UTC, 250 kW via Kuwait. To 2236 UTC.
• 11 May: 2244 UTC: 5930 kHz: Strong, clear, male speech, in what I believe to be Arabic - Predominantly speech broadcast, music at 2253 UTC. Strong to good reception. Speech and music up to 2259 UTC - Off air at 2300 UTC. Possibly Radio Algerienne Chaine 1, Algeria, 2211-23 UTC, Arabic, 500 kW via Issoudun, France. To 2300 UTC.

📻

DX Extra: Friday 11 May 2018: 2314 UTC: 107.5 FM: Eden FM, Penrith. 25 watts via Penrith. ID: 'This is your community radio station, Eden FM'. Music: Bryan Adams (+ Chicane?) 'Don't Give Up'; Richard Ashcroft 'Fill The Night With Colour'. ID: 'Your community radio station, your 107.5 Eden FM'. Music: 'Never Can Say Goodbye'. Moderate to poor reception. 25 watts via Penrith. Music: Tim McGraw & Faith Hill 'The Rest of Our Life'. To 2324 UTC.

All for now.

Short Wave logbook, January 2016.

TIMES in UTC (GMT); Frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz); Transmission powers in kiloWatts (kHz):

Friday 15 January 2016:

• 2125 UTC, 5865 kHz : Radio Farda : Male speech, time signal on the half hour, female speech. Persian language. To 2130 UTC.
• 2133 UTC, 5885 kHz : Voice of America : Male speech, French / Bambara languages to Africa via Santa Maria di Galeria (Vatican State), 250 kW.
• 2140 UTC, 5900 kHz : Overcomer Ministry via Spaceline Bulgaria to the Middle East and Europe. Brother R G Stair's speech is to remind the USA of terrorism, listing Presidents past and present - Reagan, Bush Snr, Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama - Presidential candidates: Mrs Clinton, Donald J Trump. Brother Stair states this speech was recorded at 10:30 on Monday 4 January 2016.
• 2154 UTC, 5950 kHz : IRIB World Service (also known as the Voice Of the Islamic Republic of Iran). Female speech with music, male speech. Music: 'Axel F' by Harold Faltermeyer. Signal strength good; Interference levels moderate; Overall signal fair. Male speech. Bosnian language service. To 2205 UTC.
• 2218 UTC, 6060 kHz : IRIB World Service : Male speech, instrumental, classical music. Arabic service via Zaheda, Iran.
• 2240 UTC, 6090 kHz : Caribbean Beacon (also known as the University Network), Anguilla. Recording of the Late Dr Gene Scott, speaking in praise of the Lord. Signal strength fair; Interference levels moderate to poor; Overall signal poor. English to the Americas. Music and speech. Interference from a morse code style transmission. To 2250 UTC.
• 2310 UTC, 6175 kHz : China Radio International : The Spanish language service, via Cerrik, Albania, 150 kW. Male speech, female speech 'Radio Internacional de China'. Signal strength strong; Interference levels slight; Overall reception good. Music. To 2325 UTC.

Those are all the Short Wave logs for January 2016. Please note, you may require the services of a translation programme for some of the web links featured in the station names.

December 2011 update!

APOLOGIES for not keeping RFTFT up to date during November, so I'm using today's entry to catch up with everything that has been going on. As with the previous post below, I'm beginning with Carlisle United's results for November:

Sat 5th: npower League One: Exeter City 0 - United 0
Sat 12th: FA Cup Round One: Alfreton Town 0 - United 4
Sat 19th: npower League One: Sheffield United 1 - United 0
Sat 26th: npower League One: United 1 - Colchester United 0

And those are the results for November 2011.

Introducing Eden FM...

EDEN FM is the new community radio station for Penrith and the Eden Valley, broadcasting on a Restricted Service Licence (RSL) from 25 November to 23 December 2011 on 87.7 MHz FM and continuously online at edenfmradio.co.uk . I am pleased and honoured to be part of Eden FM, I do hope you will take some time to listen to our programmes.

From FM to Short Wave...


I spent the evening of Monday 28 November 2011 listening to the Short Wave band of my Roberts R881 and heard a variety of broadcasts, listed here. Times in UTC (=GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz):

1950 UTC, 7485 kHz : Voice of America, English Service 'Special English' programme regarding 'rhetoric' speech, references to the Presidential television debate between Nixon and Kennedy; Martin Luther King.

2040 UTC, 7550 kHz : All India Radio, General Overseas Service, including the English Service programme.

2115 UTC, 7560 kHz : Voice of America, English service to Afghanistan. Music programme taking a look at the life and work of Johnny Cash.

2210 UTC, 7580 kHz : Radio Farda, music, female host with 'Radio Farda' ID, music, speech from female and male hosts.

2250 UTC, 9420 kHz : Voice of Greece, Greek language service to Europe, Atlantic Ocean territories, North America. Music, female host.

New music from Lindi Ortega...


I am currently listening to the album 'Little Red Boots' by Canadian musician Lindi Ortega. Ortega, 32, released the album in the summer of 2011 and plans an extensive UK tour in the new year of 2012. Here is the album sleeve, so keep a look out for it. I highly recommend this great album.

And finally...


This edition of RFTFT closes with a 'Wallpaper of the week', which is where I post an image which I allow you to steal and post as your wallpaper on the desktop of your PC or laptop. This image is of Wain Wath Falls, to the west of Keld, North Yorkshire, on the B6270 road. Enjoy.

Thanks for visiting!

Short Wave DX: March 2011

I SPENT THE AFTERNOON of Monday 7 March 2011 listening to the Short Wave band of the Roberts R881. Here are the broadcasts I heard (Time in UTC; Frequencies in kHz):

• 1352 UTC, 11735 kHz : Voice of Turkey English to Asia, music, male host with profile of Alexander Linokov.
• 1420 UTC, 11750 kHz : Radio Farda Farsi/Persian language service, music, male host, email contact details.
• 1444 UTC, 12150 kHz : Voice of America English to Asia via Iranawila, Sri Lanka (IBB transmitter). Female with 'VOA News Now' broadcast, followed by 'Border Crossings' music programme.
• 1552 UTC, 13640 kHz : Radio Tirana English to America 'Sports Roundup' female host, music, close of broadcast.
• 1623 UTC, 13845 kHz : WWCR-3 Nashville TN English to Europe, America 'GCN Radio Network' / 'University Network' broadcast.
• 1704 UTC, 14670 kHz : CHU Canada Canadian Time Signal station.
• 1721 UTC, 15000 kHz : WWV Fort Collins Colorado USA Time Signal station.
• 1744 UTC, 15235 kHz : Channel Africa English to Africa via Meyerton, South Africa (Sentech transmitter). 'African Digest' programme.
• 1803 UTC, 15365 kHz : Radio Canada International English to Africa via Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada. 'The Link' programme. Also 1950 UTC, 15365 kHz : French to Africa, two females speaking from an outside location.
• 2007 UTC, 15400 kHz : BBC World Service English to West Africa via Ascension Island. Libya is the top story on 'Newshour'.
• 2032 UTC, 15520 kHz : WYFR Family Radio English via Ascension Island, to Africa? Male preacher reads passages from the Old Testament, The First Book of Moses, Genesis.
• 2053 UTC, 15580 kHz : Voice of America English to Africa via Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles (RNW transmitter). 'African Beat' music programme.
• 2116 UTC, 15610 kHz : WEWN Birmingham AL English to Africa. EWTN - Catholic programmes.

Enjoy your week and avoid the Springtime snow...!