My Short Wave Archive: December 2009

 WELCOME to memories of international radio broadcasts, heard on the Short Wave radio band, on the 4th Sunday in Advent, 2009.

[ Reading: Whatever Happened to Shortwave Radio? ]

The previous post featuring Short Wave broadcasts, My Short Wave Archive: October 2009, 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.

December 2009 : Short Wave

• [Sunday] 20 December [2009]: 1014 UTC: 15575 kHz: BBC World Service  Good to fair reception. English to Middle East via Cyprus.
  News programme includes dogs stolen to order and pregnant female soldiers in Iraq.
  Logged to 1025 UTC.
• 20 December: 1033 UTC: 15585 kHz: Radio Exterior de Espana  Excellent to good reception.
  Two or three males speaking of football. Spanish language. Speech by female.
  Spanish to Europe.
  Logged to 1050 UTC.
• 20 December: 1100 UTC: 15595 kHz: Vatican Radio  ID. Good to fair reception.
  Angelus (Liturgy) with The Pope to 1115 UTC.
  Angelus was broadcast to Asia and Europe 1st Programme. ID, music.
  Logged to 1120 UTC.
• 20 December: 1126 UTC: 15650 kHz: Voice of Greece  Music from the 'Greek In Style' music programme to Europe, Middle East, Asia,
  Good to fair reception.
  Logged to 1138 UTC.

Verification card from The Voice of Greece.

[Lunch Break at 1200 UTC]

• 20 December: 1249 UTC: 17760 kHz: Radio Romania International  Music: 'Corinthian Swan'.
  Excellent to fair reception.
  Next piece of music: 'Playing in the Snow'.  'All That Jazz' is the name of the show.  Music: 'Jingle Bell Sleigh'.
  English to Europe and Africa.
  Close of programme, close of transmission at 1255 UTC.
• 20 December: 1346 UTC: 11675 kHz: Polish Radio External Service  Excellent to good reception, English to Europe via Moosbrunn, Austria.
  Male and female speak of the Christmas traditions in Poland, including visits from Santa Claus with presents for the children and the Christmas meals, including the Carp and the keeping of the Carp until the day of the meal. Soups and preparation of Christmas Eve dishes.  With Best Wishes for 2010.  English Section of the External Service.
  Web contact details. Music.
  Logged to 1400 UTC.

A log for Radio Station WWV Boulder CO USA on 5000 kHz was noted, though also noted as unlistenable due to noise on the band.

Thank you for visiting Reporting From The Fox Tower!

My Short Wave Archive: December 2008

 AN extended break has been taken, during which I hope you have enjoyed the Summer of 2022.

Welcome to a post listing Short Wave radio broadcasts, heard December 2008.

The previous post featuring Short Wave broadcasts, My Short Wave Archive: October 2008, 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.

December 2008 : Short Wave

• [Monday] 15 December [2008]: 2108 UTC: 4975 kHz: Vatican Radio  Female host, in conversation with a lady who lost her daughter to cancer. Also conversing with friends and carers.
  Female also speaks with Daniel, representing the Christian Aid charity. Daniel speaks of work undertaken by the charity, including working with the people of Bangladesh, following flooding.
  Good reception.
  Broadcast comes to a close at 2120 UTC.
• 15 December: 2128 UTC: 5000 kHz: WWV  Boulder  CO  USA  Time signal station.
  Excellent to fair reception.
  One second ticks with rapid-fire ticks, alternating with longer tones and continuous tones.
  Deterioration of signal at 2131 UTC.

Spurious out of band broadcasts: Radio Romania International in English; Mighty KBC in English from Holland; Radio Serbia in English [See QSL from The International Radio Serbia below].

QSL from The International Radio Serbia.

• 15 December: 2223 UTC: 6055 kHz: The Mighty KBC  Holland, via Sitkunai, Lithuania.
  Wolfman Jack on the air.
  Excellent to fair reception.
  Rock music. Ad for the Isle of Bute, Scotland. Ad for KBC Import.
  ID. Wolfman Jack signing off.
  Close of broadcast at 2230 UTC.

Thank you for visiting Reporting From The Fox Tower!

My DX Archive: October 1992

MAY I begin by saying a big 'Thank you!' to all who viewed my previous DX Archive post, which took us back to the Summer of 1992. One hundred views in one week is a great achievement. Thank you.

Continuing the visit to my DX Archive, I present a very productive month: October 1992. As with the previous post, here are the logs from that time, with QSL verifications and images. The broadcasts were received on a Hitachi TRK-5854 E.
[Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz), MegaHertz (MHz) and/or metrebands (m). Logs transcribed from the original notes.]

• 20 October [1992]: 1832 UTC: 6045 kHz / 6195 kHz (49m): BBC World Service "Discovery"
• 20 October: 1844 UTC: 9525 kHz: Polish Radio (Warsaw) "Cookery programme followed by News Headlines from the Newsdesk, Weather -9°c in East to 13°c in West".
• 20 October: 1858 UTC: 9700 - 9760 kHz: Voice of America "Science Programme. News at 19UTC".
• 20 October: 1914 UTC: 11630 kHz: Radio Moscow World Service "Press Reviews - 'Update' show".
• 20 October: 1931 UTC: 11940 kHz: Radio Romania International "Youth Programming".
• 20 October: 2011 UTC: 13 MHz / 25m: Radio Canada International "Broadcasting to Canadian Peace-keeping forces in Croatia, Somalia & Cyprus".

WCSN QSL verification, March 1993

• 20 October: 2027 UTC: 13770 kHz: Christian Science Monitor (WCSN, Scotts Corner, Maine, USA) "Monitor News on APR (American Public Radio)".
• 20 October: 2053 UTC: 13650 kHz: Radio Canada International "Spectrum".
• 20 October: 2109 UTC: 15205 kHz: Voice of America "News (World Report)".
• 20 October: 2116 UTC: 13770 kHz // 15665 kHz: World Service of The Christian Science Monitor "Curtain Call".
• 20 October: 2129 UTC: 15 MHz: Deutsche Welle ID : "Caribbean Relay Station - Antigua".
• 20 October: 2140 UTC: 15150 kHz: Radio Canada International English to Africa: "Spectrum".

• 20 October: 2144 UTC: 15590 kHz: BBC World Service "British News: The BBC, Neil Kinnock".
• 20 October: 2148 UTC: 15270 kHz: HCJB, Quito, South America "Featuring a programme from a Broadcast Center, Texas, USA: 'Mountain Meditation'."
• 20 October: 2209 UTC: 15150 kHz: Radio Canada International 'CBC News'.
• 27 October: 2130 UTC: 1179 kHz MW Radio Sweden : News with Alan Pryke, weather: -17°c in the far north to +2°c in Stockholm. "60° Degrees North": News & Current Affairs show: Yugoslav Prisoners of war in Sweden. Ikea purchases Habitat (Retail chain). "Mediawatch" segment: European DX Council meet in Finland. News headlines at 22 UTC, "60° Degrees North" continues with a review of current publications, to programme close at 2230 UTC.

That concludes this visit to my DX Archive - I do hope you enjoyed reading this selection of logs, originally broadcast almost twenty five years ago. Until next time, 73s and Good DX!

📻

31 metres, August 2017

WELCOME to another collection of radio broadcast logs, here on Reporting From The Fox Tower.
The title of this post, 31 metres, refers to the 31 metreband on short wave radio, where you will find transmissions of 9000 kHz / 9 MHz onwards. 31 metres is also the length of each wave released on a 9 MHz frequency.

On to the logs of broadcasts received August 2017. Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) and transmission powers in watts or KiloWatts (kW).
A log of broadcasts received on the Short Wave band of the Roberts R881, Wednesday 16 August 2017:

Snapshot of the Bible Voice Broadcasting website.

• 16 August: 1740 UTC: 9400 kHz: Bible Voice Broadcasting, Canada. Strong to moderate reception, 100 kW via Kostinbrod, Sofia (Bulgaria) [Spaceline]. Male speech, Persian, music. Female speech, email address, off air at 1759 UTC.
• 16 August: 1804 UTC: 9400 kHz: Overcomer Ministry, USA. Moderate to poor reception, 100 kW via Kostinbrod, Sofia (Bulgaria) [Spaceline]. Brother R G Stair, speech with music. To 1812 UTC.
• 16 August: 1813 UTC: 9410 kHz: BBC World Service, UK. Good to moderate reception, 250 kW via Al Dhabbaya, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. English to East and South Africa. Male speech, studio and on location, female speech with a report regarding trade deals that the United States has, looking at the deal the US has with Canada. Male speech, speaking of a writer? Noise disturbance. UK borders with Republic of Ireland after Brexit. To 1827 UTC.
• 16 August: 1905 UTC: 9410 kHz: BBC World Service, UK. Strong to moderate reception. English to East and South Africa via Al Dhabbaya, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. 250 kW. Top of the hour news bulletin comes to an end with news from India, the feature programme is looking at the affairs of Eastern Africa. Focus moves to South Africa, with the impact of Manchester United Football Club expanding their brand into South Africa. Female reporter speaks to African women about how they feel about their safety, following some high profile crimes. How women use the internet in Africa. To 1935 UTC.
• 16 August: 1942 UTC: 9420 kHz: Voice of Greece [ERT / Helliniki Radiophonia], Greece. Strong to good reception, 170 kW via Avlis, Greece. [Best reception conditions of the night!] Continual music: Female vocalists. Male vocalist, male and female vocal group. Instrumental in the style of Jazz. Speech from a male, Greek, ID. To 1953 UTC.

• 16 August: 2016 UTC: 9440 kHz: China Radio International, China. Strong to moderate reception, English to Europe, Middle East, Africa via Kunming, China, 500 kW. China Radio International appears to have branched off into an audio 'soap' - Male, appears to be on a night out with 'Barbie / Miss Lee', he steps on her foot and she ends up in hospital, then in a taxi to go home... To 2024 UTC.
• 16 August: 2040 UTC: 9600 kHz: China Radio International, China. Strong to good reception, English to Europe, Middle East, Africa via Kashi, China, 500 kW. Narration of a literature; Narrator is named Ian [Sounds British]. This is a celebration of Chinese literature. Butcher Li Ang [with a West Country accent] deals with an agitated customer, who calls him a 'pig fucker'! The customer kills him... To 2049 UTC.
• 16 August: 2053 UTC: 9610 kHz: Radio Romania International, Romania. Strong to good reception, English to Europe, America via Tiganesti, Saftica, Romania, 300 kW. Tourists visiting the UNESCO heritage site in Romania, Moldovan Ministries and caves, tourists like to visit music festivals. Programme identifies as 'This is Romania'. Male has transmission details for Western Europe and North America. Also listen online. Email address. Close of broadcast at 2056 UTC; Interval signal. Transmitter off at 2057 UTC.
• 16 August: 2105 UTC: 9620 kHz: Voice of Turkey, Turkey. Strong to moderate reception, English to Asia, Australasia via Emirler, Turkey, 500 kW. Female speech, male speech, music. Female speech with frequencies, times, contact details, 'Questions of note'. Music: Male and female vocals. Female and male speech, speaking over the music. ID by male: "You have been listening to the Voice of Turkey English Service..." with details of forthcoming transmissions on short wave - Announcement made at 2122 UTC - Also listen online. Music. Off air at 2129 UTC.
• 16 August: 2141 UTC: 9730 kHz: Voice of Vietnam, Vietnam. Good to poor reception, English to Europe via Hanoi-Santay, 100 kW. Music, followed by female speech: "You are listening to the Voice of Vietnam". Result of an election: President celebrates victory. Other news: Ministers hold an emergency meeting. News update from Latin America. Speech from male and female - Speech from male includes details of programme schedules. Deterioration of signal. To 2150 UTC.

Voice of Vietnam QSL, April 1993.

That concludes the log of short wave broadcasts for August 2017. Thank you for visiting Reporting From The Fox Tower and please feel free to leave any comments below this post!

📻

A Midsummer Night's DX (June 2017)

FIRST of all, I recently found the above spinning globe on the internet and thought it would decorate a post about radio broadcasts traveling the world quite nicely, so I have given it the privileged position at the top of the post.

The previous post of radio activity, logging Medium Wave, can be viewed here. That post opened with "It is raining!" - The weather cannot be anymore different, as this weekend is the hottest days of the year so far!

Let us move on to the subject of this post: A log of broadcasts received on the Short Wave band of the Roberts R881, Monday 12 June 2017.
Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz) and transmission powers in watts or KiloWatts (kW).

A QSL from Radio Peking, which would become Radio Beijing, latterly China Radio International.

• 12 June: 1908 UTC: 7385 kHz: China Radio International, China. Good to moderate reception, 500 kW via Kashi-Saibagh, China. Albanian language including male and female speech, current music (Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake). To 1922 UTC.
• 12 June: 1927 UTC: 7395 kHz: China Radio International, China. Good to moderate reception, 500 kW via Kashi-Saibagh, China. German language including male speech, music, female speech, instrumental music (Vanessa Carlton 'A Thousand Miles'), live music. To 1945 UTC.
• 12 June: 1950 UTC: 7415 kHz: China Radio International, China. Good to moderate reception, 500 kW via Urumqi, China. Czech language 'Learn to speak Chinese' programme, off at 1955 UTC.
• 12 June: 1957 UTC: 7415 kHz: China Radio International, China. Strong to moderate reception, 500 kW via Kashi-Saibagh, China. English language with 20:00 UTC news: Leaders of China and the Philippines meet; New military award created; EU are ready to discuss Brexit with the UK, though a new UK Government is yet to be formed, following the June 8 election; President Macron takes control in France; UK Government announces Cabinet reshuffle. Other news: Military plane crash. Chinese passenger plane returns to Sydney airport, following discovery of engine casing damage. Weather: Hong Kong gale warning. Feature: Paul James presents 'Chinese Theatre', touring China, looking at a Chinese television series. To 2012 UTC.
• 12 June: 2037 UTC: 8700 kHz: Spurious broadcast from Radio Romania International! English language, male speech, Romanian ties with US President Donald Trump - The Romanian President visited Trump at the White House. To 2042 UTC.
• 12 June: 2056 UTC: 9420 kHz: Voice of Greece [ERT / Helliniki Radiophonia], Greece. Strong to moderate reception, 170 kW via Avlis, Greece. Greek language including female speech, music - A Zither! Female vocals. Male and female speech, music. Male speech. To 2120 UTC.

A QSL from ERT The Voice of Greece.

Until the next time, enjoy!

📻

Short Wave logbook, September 2012

SHORT WAVE RADIO broadcasts heard on my Roberts R881 on Sunday 16 September 2012:

• Radio Romania International, 1150 - 1156 UTC, 15430 kHz, English to Europe and Africa, 'The Cooking Show'.
• Voice of Turkey, 1226 - 1248 UTC, 15450 kHz, English to Europe. Introduction to broadcast launch at 1230 UTC, Time Signal, station ID, news, press review.
• Radio Exterior de Espana, 1311 - 1328 UTC, 15585 kHz, Spanish to Europe, 'Mundofonias 2' [World music programme], female and male hosts.
• WEWN Birmingham AL USA, 1335 - 1350 UTC, 15615 kHz, English to Asia, 'EWTN Bookmark' [Author speaks about their work].
• WWCR Nashville TN USA, 1450 - 1520 UTC, 15825 kHz, English to Europe, Middle East, America, 'A Temple of Jesus Christ' with Cleveland Waters.
• WHRI Indianapolis IN USA, 1526 - 1545 UTC, 17510 kHz, English to Europe, Middle East, Africa, 'MFC Worldwide'.

A nice afternoon with the short wave radio!

New Year's Eve DX 2010

WELCOME to 2011, Happy New Year!

Let's begin with the results of listening to the Short Wave band on New Year's Eve, Friday 31 December 2010 ( All times in UTC / GMT; All frequencies in kiloHertz; All include an internet link) :

• 2050 UTC, 6030 kHz, Radio Ukraine International, English to Europe, Female continues visit to a University complex (see Christmas Eve DX). Click HERE for programmes in the English language.
• 2113 UTC, 6030 kHz, Radio Romania International, French to Europe, Female reporter with female guest. Click HERE for the broadcast schedule.
• 2137 UTC, 6075 kHz, Deutsche Welle, German to Europe via Sines transmitter, Portugal, 250 kW. Report from Africa. Click HERE for DW World, the Deutsche Welle website.
• 2205 UTC, 6100 kHz, International Radio Serbia, English to Europe via Bijelina (Jabanusa) transmitter, Bosnia Hercegovina, 250 kW. Female host speaks of visitors to Serbia. Click HERE for the International Radio Serbia English home page.
• 2231 UTC, 6155 kHz, Radiostation Belarus, English to Europe, Female and male hosts, range of feature programmes. Click HERE for the Radiostation Belarus English home page.
• 2304 UTC, 6175 kHz, China Radio International, Spanish service, male host with news from China and the Pacific. Click HERE for the China Radio International Spanish website.
• 2327 UTC, 7220 kHz, Radio Romania International, English to Europe & Asia, male host with station ID, female host with 'The Cookery Show' (Cottage cheese pie). Click HERE for the Radio Romania International English website.

Enjoy your New Year celebrations!

Christmas Eve DX 2010 and a Boxing Day Birthday

THE evening of Friday 24 December 2010 was spent listening to the Tropical and HF bands of my Short Wave radio, here are the broadcasts I heard, with links to the broadcasters webpages (Times in UTC/GMT; Frequencies in kHz):

• 1920 - 1936 UTC, 4005 kHz : Vatican Radio, German language to Europe. Europe & Mediterranean Schedule.
• 1948 - 1955 UTC, 4780 kHz : Radio Djibouti, Arabic language service. Radio Djibouti Frequencies (French language; may need to be translated).
• 2022 - 2036 UTC, 5960 kHz : China Radio International, English to Europe, Middle East and Africa via Albania. 'China Drive' programme. Shortwave Frequencies in Europe.
• 2057 - 2100 UTC, 6030 kHz : Radio Ukraine International, English to Europe. Programmes in the English language.
• 2107 - 2118 UTC, 6030 kHz : Radio Romania International, French language service. Schedule effective 31 October 2010.

THE Boxing Day Birthday is the 28th Birthday of Carlisle's finest, Miss Roxanne Pallett:

Happy Birthday Roxy, I hope you have had a great day!

Finally, The Ashes cricket series is under way. Give England a helping hand by voting 3-1 England on the ABC Grandstand Sport poll HERE. Show your support for England to win the Ashes in Australia!

That's the over... Enjoy Christmas and the New Year 2011!