Tecsun sessions in a London park: Radio Fana, Voice of America, AIR National Channel

On August 6th, 2018, while recording the 22 and the 19 meter bands outdoors using my ultra-portable spectrum capture set-up, I decided to dust off my trusty Tecsun PL-680, hook it up to a simple long wire external antenna and use this rather sensitive radio to venture out to the opposite end of the shortwave spectrum: the 49 meter band. After tuning around for a few minutes I came across Radio Fana on 6110 kHz, which is one of Ethiopia's national stations broadcasting in the Oromo language. Below is my recording of it, starting at 1800 UTC, which I have also shared on the Shortwave Archive.

Radio Fana's transmitter is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The transmission is non-directional and typically has a power rating of 100 kW. Reception improves markedly around the 30 minute mark in the recording.

At 1900 UTC China Radio International's blowtorch signal eclipsed Radio Fana's transmission, so I continued exploring the nearby frequencies. By chance, I stumbled across an English news bulletin from the Voice of America on 6080 kHz that alluded to what Radio Fana had just been reporting in Oromo (namely, the unrest in the Somali province of Ethiopia that resulted in the resignation its regional leader):

After listening to this news bulletin I decided to jump across to the 31 meter band and quickly found myself listening to this rather nice song on All India Radio's National Channel on 9380 kHz:

After spending the past few months mostly recording portions of the shortwave spectrum outdoors with my various software defined radios I had forgotten how much fun it is to use the Tecsun PL-680 radio, the sensitivity of which easily rivals that of most of the SDRs I have used so far. I'll be sure to use it more often to discover what's happening on the bands while I'm making outdoor spectrum recordings.

Shortwave gems: July – August 2018

All India Radio, recorded outdoors on 11560 kHz in London, UK on 31/07/18 at 1658 UTC with GPDWin, AirSpy R2, SpyVerter 2 and Bonito GI300 and Bonito MA305 portable active antenna. Audio only:

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Radio Japan, recorded outdoors on 15445 kHz in London, UK on 06/08/18 at 1833 UTC with GPDWin, AirSpy R2, SpyVerter 2 and Bonito GI300 and Bonito MA305 portable active antenna. Audio only:

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Radio Oromiya (Ethiopia), recorded outdoors on 6030 kHz in London, UK on 11/08/18 at 1856 UTC with Gole1, AirSpy HF+ and Sony AN-LP1 portable active loop antenna. Audio only:

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The Ghoul (UK pirate station), recorded outdoors on 6316 kHz in London, UK on 11/08/18 at 1902 UTC with Gole1, AirSpy HF+ and Sony AN-LP1 portable active loop antenna. Audio only:

Submission to the Shortwave Archive: Channel Africa

Channel Africa recorded outdoors in London, UK on July 31, 2018 at 1700 UTC, on the frequency of 11885 kHz using GPDWin, AirSpy R2, SpyVerter 2, Bonito GI300 isolator and Bonito MA305 active antenna. The transmitter is located in Meyerton, South Africa. This transmission had a power rating of 500 kW and was directed towards Central and West Africa. The recording contains a news bulletin discussing contested election results in Zimbabwe and Mali.

Submission to the Shortwave Archive: Radio Japan (English)

Radio Japan in English recorded in London, UK on July 26, 2018 at 0500 UTC, on the frequency of 9860 kHz using, SDR#, AirSpy Mini, SpyVerter and DX Engineering NCC-1 phaser connected to two Wellbrook ALA1530S+ antennas (positioned indoors) to mitigate severe local man-made interference. The transmitter is located in Santa Maria di Galeria, Italy. This transmission had a power rating of 250 kW and was directed towards West Africa.

The recording contains the news bulletin announcing the execution of the six members of a Japanese doomsday cult, Aum Shinrikyo (including its leader, Shoko Asahara -- real name Chizuo Matsumoto), who were held responsible for the deaths of dozens of people.