My DX Archive: July 2003

RADIO broadcasts from the preceding months of March and May 2003 can be found here.
The broadcasts in this post were heard on the Short Wave radio band, 15 July 2003.
Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz). Transmission power in watts or kiloWatts (kW). Logs transcribed from the original notes.

July 2003: Short Wave

• 15 July [2003]: 1910 UTC: 12060 kHz: Voice of the Mediterranean English broadcast from Malta. Good to fair reception. English to Europe via Moscow, 240 kW. Male host talking to Alfredo regarding Italian opera performed in Malta. Interference from Russia.
  [This would be the last broadcast I heard from Malta]

Voice of the Mediterranean [Malta] frequency table, March - October 2003

• 15 July: 1935 UTC: 12070 kHz: Voice of Russia World Service English stream, cultural news on 'This Is Russia' Anniversary of twinning of St Petersburg & Manchester, UK. German art show in Moscow. Russian Institute of Sciences. Strong to good reception.
• 15 July: 2006 UTC: 13580 kHz: Radio Sweden Swedish language stream, news: Iraq, mobile phone market regarding Ericsson, Sony Ericsson and Phillips. Male and female hosts. Music. Strong to good reception to Europe, Africa, Middle East, 220° transmission. 500 kW transmission.
• 15 July: 2030 UTC: 13610 kHz: Radio Damascus Good reception 'News and views from Radio Damascus' Male host reviews events in or surrounding Iraq. Music. 'Press Review' Male host. 500 kW transmission. Middle East affairs.
• 15 July: 2103 UTC: 13630 kHz: China Radio International Strong to good reception. Music to East & South Africa via Mali.
• 15 July: 2119 UTC: 13665 kHz: Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran Arabic Service. Good reception. Two male voices.

Thank you for your visit to Reporting From The Fox Tower!

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My DX Archive: Spring 2003

MARCH and May 2003 are the months from which these memories of radio broadcasts originate from. Memories of broadcasts from Winter 2002-03 can be found at the foot of the previous post, titled Magnificat.
The following broadcasts were heard on the Shortwave radio band.
Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz). Transmission power in watts or kiloWatts (kW). Logs transcribed from the original notes.

March 2003: Shortwave

• 7 March [2003]: 2058 UTC: 5900 kHz: Radio Prague // 5930 kHz. Strong to fair reception. English to Europe // Asia, Australasia. 21 UTC broadcast with Jan Bellinger. News: Czech Republic has a new President. Rob Cameron with in depth look at news: Human rights commissioner attacked. Student sets himself alight in Prague.
• 7 March: 2134 UTC: 5950 kHz: Voice of Russia English to Europe, America. 'The Jazz Show' Good to fair reception.

May 2003: Shortwave

• 18 May: 0656 UTC: 6075 kHz: Deutsche Welle Strong to good reception. German language. Visit of Queen Elizabeth II. 0700 UTC News.
• 18 May: 0747 UTC: 6140 kHz: Deutsche Welle 'Concert Hour' Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. Strong to good reception.
• 18 May: 0756 UTC: 6155 kHz: Radio Austria International Fair reception. German to Europe via Moosbrunn. Male and female hosts. ID. Signature tune. News at 0800 UTC: Casablanca, Washington. Snippet of speech by President Bush. To 0804 UTC.

• 18 May: 0948 UTC: 9605 kHz: Voice of the Mediterranean Female host mentions Malta, music. Good reception. 'News Review' in the Maltese language to 10 UTC, 10 UTC 'Valletta Calling' French broadcast. To 1008 UTC.
• 18 May: 1430 UTC: 9645 kHz: Vatican Radio Interval signature music 'Christus Vincit', Europe 1st Programme, Music programme, operatic male vocalists, Italian. Strong to good reception.
• 18 May: 1522 UTC: 11660 kHz: Radio Australia Female host, Margaret Thursby, speaks to a male guest regarding East Timor. Good to fair reception.
• 18 May: 1625 UTC: 11660 kHz: Radio Australia Male host with a male guest discussing university education. Good to fair reception. Interference from oriental / Chinese music, opening chimes of Radio Netherlands and birdcall of RAI - Italy.
• 18 May: 1655 UTC: 12080 kHz: VOA Special English Voice of America Special English to Africa via Botswana. Female and male hosts, 'Fuller's geodesic dome'. Fair reception. 'People in America' to 17 UTC. 17 UTC: Portuguese service.

Thank you so much for once again visiting Reporting From The Fox Tower.

I do hope you are enjoying these posts, looking back to the days when shortwave broadcasts were heard from all over the world - Some still are.

I hope these posts also provide a fitting tribute to some of the stations, presenters, transmission sites no longer on air - Voice of the Mediterranean [VoM], as featured in this post, was based in Malta, originally broadcasting via a Deutsche Welle facility on Malta, until that closed in the mid 1990's. The above broadcast from VoM was most likely to have been heard via transmitters in Rome.

Broadcasts from Malta fell silent early 2004, but I do hope the texts and images from the likes of VoM in these posts do give you a feel for those broadcasts.

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My DX Archive: Summer 2002

JUNE-July-August 2002 is where this post will be going to in a moment, to bring you some more memories of radio broadcasts from years gone by.
The previous post, Spring 2002, can be found by clicking here.
Housekeeping notes: Times in UTC (GMT), frequencies in kiloHertz (kHz). Transmission power in watts or kiloWatts (kW). Logs transcribed from the original notes.

June 2002: Short Wave

• 12 June [2002]: 2004 UTC: 9410 kHz: BBC World Service Excellent to good reception. English to Europe and North Africa via Cyprus. News headlines: India - Pakistan, Afghanistan. FIFA World Cup: Sweden and England qualify for last 16, Nigeria and Argentina out. 'Newshour': India - Pakistan, Afghanistan.
• 12 June: 2025 UTC: 9440 kHz: China Radio International Male host talks of FIFA World Cup 2002: Senegal, England. Report from Hong Kong financial markets. Poor to fair reception. Music. English to West and North Africa.
• 12 June: 2056 UTC: 9630 kHz: BBC World Service Sport: Golf, Cricket, tennis, rugby union, football World Cup: Argentina out at first group stage. Fair reception, English to East and South Africa via Seychelles to 2058 UTC.

BBC World Service Sport logo.

• 12 June: 2110 UTC: 9725 kHz: Radio Romania International Fair reception. English to Europe 'Newsreel' Expansion of the European Union, including Romania. Report: Elections in Bucharest.
• 12 June: 2135 UTC: 9990 kHz: Radio Cairo Excellent to good reception. English to Europe. News: Female host. Israel, Palestine, European Union. Donald Rumsfeld visits India and Pakistan. EU envoy to Afghanistan speaks to the Afghan interim government. G8 summit in Prague. NATO role in war on terror. To 2150 UTC.
• 12 June: 2154 UTC: 10000 kHz: WWV Time Signal. Excellent to good reception, interference from Cairo. Quickfire pips, tone. To 22 UTC.
• 15 June: 1903 UTC: 12060 kHz: Voice of The Mediterranean Excellent to good reception. English to Europe via Moscow 'Contemporary Mediterranean Writers' The writer is Andreas, who is a guest in the studio. 'The Wonderful World of Opera': 'La Traviata' To 1930 UTC.

July 2002: Short Wave

• 18 July: 1910 UTC: 10000 kHz: WWV Time Signal station. Excellent to good reception. Double tone on 30 second mark of each minute, long tone.
• 18 July: 1929 UTC: 12060 kHz: Voice of The Mediterranean 'Malta's Ways & Music with Joseph Izzo'. Website: vomradio .com [website now closed] and Valletta postal address. 'Malta Memories' with Mike Roberts. English to Europe.

Voice of the Mediterranean QSL card, 18 July 2002.

• 18 July: 2018 UTC: 12070 kHz: Voice of Russia English to Europe. Boris Bolinski: Medical matters. Letter from Chris Scott, UK, regarding digital radio in Russia. Excellent to good reception 'Science & Engineering' Postal address, email, website. Estelle Winters.
• 18 July: 2035 UTC: 12085 kHz: Radio Damascus, Syria. English to Europe 'Thought of the Day' Israel. Music. Good to fair reception 'Local Press Review' Deaths of Israelis and Palestinians, Criticism of Washington DC and the United Nations.
• 21 July: 1928 UTC: 12060 kHz: Voice of The Mediterranean Good to fair reception. English to Europe via Moscow. Sunday programme: 'Valletta Calling' Margaret and Manuel talk of movies made in Malta.
• 31 July: 0930 UTC: 9475 kHz: WWCR-1 'Glenn Hauser's World of Radio' Fair to poor reception. English to Europe and America. 'World of Radio' edition recorded July 24, 2002 [Transcription available here]. Arnie Coro of Radio Havana Cuba, station runs short of fuel. Radio Yugoslavia. New WRMI (World Radio Miami International) Service.

August 2002: Short Wave

• 15 August: 2026 UTC: 15825 kHz: WWCR-1 'Glenn Hauser's World of Radio' Recorded August 14, 2002 [Transcription available here]. Arabic broadcast heard on 12085 kHz, 12195 kHz and 12115 kHz, 'Voice of the Homeland' clandestine aimed at Syria. Good to fair reception. English to Europe, North America. Radio Afghanistan, PO Box 544, Kabul.
• 23 August: 1858 UTC: 11900 kHz: Radio Bulgaria Opening signal, ID by male and female voices, times and frequencies. Excellent to good reception. English to Europe. News: Bulgarian tobacco sale / merger.

[Right: "All of you who have tuned in to our station from August 15th to Sept 10th, will receive a small souvenir from us.  This modest present is a typical leather article of the Bulgarian handcraft. We hope it will be a pleasant reminder from your friends at Radio Bulgaria."]

• 23 August: 1934 UTC: 11965 kHz: Deutsche Welle to Africa via Trincomalee, Sri Lanka 'Africa Report' Spread of AIDS in Burkino Faso. Good to fair reception. News at 1940 UTC: Mugabe dissolves cabinet. Zambia refuse GM food aid. Meningitis outbreak in Rwanda.
• 23 August: 2010 UTC: 11965 kHz: Radio Canada International Excellent to fair reception. English to Europe, Africa, Middle East via Wertachtal, Germany 'Canada Today' / Theme Programs (RCI productions) Report regarding refugees in Canada. Report from Ontario.
• 23 August: 2048 UTC: 11990 kHz: Radio Kuwait "11:50 pm local time" News: Israeli forces battle Palestine, fighting between India and Pakistan in Kashmir. Russian - Chechnyan cross-border raids. Mugabe dissolves cabinet. Good to fair reception. English to Europe.
• 23 August: 2140 UTC: 12160 kHz: WWCR-3 Good to fair reception. English to Europe, America, via Nashville TN USA 'The National Intel Report' (Live) with John Stadtmiller.
• 23 August: 2215 UTC: 13620 kHz: Radio Australia Excellent to good reception. English to Asia, Australasia, America. Report marking the end of World War 2, Mary Robinson of the United Nations gives an interview. 'Asia Pacific'. 2230 UTC: 'Saturday AM': Rugby.
• 23 August: 2246 UTC: 13670 kHz: Radio Canada International Excellent to good reception. English to America 'As It Happens' CBC production. Nuclear materials recovered in the Balkans. World Air Guitar Championships in Finland. Music: Jimi Hendrix - 'Voodoo Child'.

As it was featured on the above Radio Canada International broadcast...

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My DX Archive: Spring 2002

YOUTUBE is where we start, on this retrospective post, with Tuning tips for Shortwave radio for the beginner, courtesy of OfficialSWLchannel. Enjoy this video.

This post brings you logs of Shortwave radio broadcasts heard Spring 2002: March-April-May 2002.

For logs of broadcasts heard New Year 2002, click here.

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

March 2002: Shortwave

• 4 March [2002]: 2136 UTC: 3965 kHz: Radio France Internationale Strong to good reception. French to North Africa (RFI 1 Afrique) via Issoudun, France. Male with business news, Dow Jones, New York. Female speaking of Croissants in the 'Rendezvous' programme, Music.
• 4 March: 2218 UTC: 3995 kHz: Deutsche Welle via Wertachtal, Germany. Strong reception. German 'Journal' male speaks of Kosovo, followed by a sports update from the Bundesliga. ID at 22:28 UTC. Music. 2230 UTC news: US forces fight Taliban in Afghanistan. News of Israel - Palestine relations from Jerusalem.
• 17 March: 0938 UTC: 6310 kHz: Radio Valleri Republic of Ireland. Music: P P Arnold 'First Cut Is The Deepest', Rolling Stones 'Street Fighting Man', male speech, big band music: 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B'. Music: Donovan. Male speech. Fair to poor reception "40 watts power" Music: Alvin Stardust. Male with ID at 10:02 UTC.

April 2002: Shortwave

• 11 April: 1914 UTC: 4950 kHz: Voice of America via Sao Tome. Music: Nelly Furtado. Scorpions 'Wind of Change'. Fair to poor reception. English to Africa via Sao Tome. Beatles 'Yesterday' on 'Border Crossings'. Female host with frequencies and ID. Instrumental version of 'Whole Lotta Love' Rita Rochelle.

May 2002: Shortwave

• 4 May: 1909 UTC: 12060 kHz: Voice of The Mediterranean Strong to fair reception via Moscow, 250 kW. Female host with music. Report regarding Middle Eastern female writer. Male host with 'Wonderful World of Opera'. VOM ID, VOM news with Joseph Cutajar: President of Malta tours Valetta. Postal address for Valetta. E: info @ vomradio.com

Voice of the Mediterranean QSL card, April 2002.

• 5 May: 1854 UTC: 12060 kHz: Voice of The Mediterranean Malta via Moscow, 250 kW. Tune-in signal, on air with Manuel and Margaret, ID. Strong to good reception, English. May Day holidays. Music: Elton John 'Daniel'. Touring Gozo with Manuel and Margaret. Music: Maltese Eurovision entry. 'News from the past': 1851, 1901, 1951, 1988.
• 7 May: 1844 UTC: 5920 kHz: Radio Slovakia International Female host with details of online competition, report of the Slovak International Ice Hockey team. Strong to fair reception, English to West Europe.
• 7 May: 1904 UTC: 6005 kHz: BBC World Service Good to fair reception, English to East and South Africa via Seychelles. News, male host, plane crash, Liberia. United Nations Security Council.
• 7 May: 1918 UTC: 6025 kHz: Radio Budapest Good to poor reception. English to Europe. 'Hungary Today' female reporter in Hungary, male reporter in UK. Address and web site.
• 7 May: 1932 UTC: 6065 kHz: Radio Sweden Good reception. English to Europe 'Sixty Degrees North' Also to Africa and Middle East. Male with weather report and news headline: Murder of Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician. King and Queen of Sweden in Estonia. Bill Schiller reports.
• 7 May: 1957 UTC: 6195 kHz: BBC World Service Good to fair reception. English to Europe via Cyprus 'Newshour' Murder of Pim Fortuyne, Dutch politician. News headlines.

BBC World Service 'Newshour' logo.

• 7 May: 2020 UTC: 7120 kHz: Radio Netherlands Fair to poor reception. English to Africa via Madagascar 'Newsline' Pim Fortuyne, murdered in the last 24 - 48 hours. Male host.
• 7 May: 2048 UTC: 9410 kHz: BBC World Service Strong to good reception. English to Europe via Cyprus 'Newshour' Russia's Vladimir Putin two years in power. Live report from Israel - Explosion, suicide bomber in a club, large number of casualties.
• 12 May: 1859 UTC: 12060 kHz: Voice of The Mediterranean Good to fair reception. English to Europe, Middle East via Moscow 'Valletta Calling' Margaret and Manuel. Music: 'Seventh Wonder' the Maltese Eurovision entry 2002. A walk in the Maltese countryside. Music: Times Three 'Believe 'n' Peace'. 'Journey of Inspiration' Linda.

Thank you for reading these memories of Spring 2002.

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