BBC World Service reporting on the death of Queen Elizabeth II

The recordings below were made on September 8, 2022 at 1928 UTC on 7445 kHz, and at 1959 UTC on 12095 kHz, using GPD MicroPC, AirSpy Mini, SpyVerter 2, Wellbrook UMB130 balun and a 2x6m dipole. Demodulation and additional signal audio enhancement was performed in SDR#.

North Korea officially announces its first COVID-19 outbreak

 

Quoting The Diplomat:

For the first time, North Korea has confirmed a positive COVID-19 case within the country. The state-run Korean Central News Agency reported on May 12 that a “specimen from persons with fever” in Pyongyang had come back positive for the Omicron BA.2 variant, a particularly contagious strain of the virus. The phrasing of the announcement makes it unclear how many people are infected. KCNA called the development a “most serious emergency case of the state.”

By complete chance, I found this very announcement in the Voice of Korea's English language transmission that I managed to record during one of my regular outdoor spectrum capture outings:

I made this spectrum capture on May 12, 2022 using GPD MicroPC, AirSpy Mini, SpyVerter 2, Wellbrook UMB130 balun and a 2x6m dipole.

Submission to the Shortwave Archive: All India Radio

All India Radio recorded in London, UK on August 5, 2019 at 1759 UTC on the frequency of 9445 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 has a power rating of 250 kW and is located in Bengaluru, India. The news bulletin mentions the presidential order under Article 370 relating to Jammu and Kashmir, issued on the day of the broadcast.

Submission to the Shortwave Archive: Radio Thailand (English)

Radio Thailand's English service recorded in London, UK on August 2, 2019 at 1900 UTC on the frequency of 9920 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 has a power rating of 250 kW and is located in Udon Thani, Thailand.

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.

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.

Radio from the Korean peninsula

With tensions flaring up on the Korean peninsula once again, here are some Korean broadcasts I have extracted from my recent spectrum recordings:

KBS World Radio (English): April 6, 2016

KBS World Radio recorded in London, UK on April 6, 2016 at 1559 UTC, on the frequency of 9515 kHz using AirSpy, SpyVerter, SDR# software and a 2 x 6m long wire dipole antenna. The transmitter has a power rating of 250 kW and is located in Kimjae, South Korea. In the news: a possible new nuclear test planned by DPRK, as suspected by South Korean intelligence services, GPS jamming by North Korea.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

Voice of Korea: April 9, 2016

Voice of Korea, DPRK recorded in London, UK on April 9, 2016 at 1638 UTC, on the frequency of 11645 kHz using AirSpy, SpyVerter, SDR# software and a 2 x 6m long wire dipole antenna. SDR#'s IF noise reduction plugin was used to mitigate the severe levels of static arising from poor propagation conditions. The transmitter has a power rating of 200 kW and is located in Kujang, DPRK. In the news: North Korea's testing of a new intercontinental ballistic missile component, the ability to mount nuclear warheads on such missiles.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

KCBS Pyongyang: April 9, 2016

Korean Central Broadcasting Station, Pyongyang recorded in London, UK on April 9, 2016 at 1601 UTC, on the frequency of 11680 kHz using AirSpy, SpyVerter, SDR# software and a 2 x 6m long wire dipole antenna. SDR#'s IF noise reduction plugin was used to mitigate the severe levels of static arising from poor propagation conditions. The non-directional transmitter has a power rating of 50 kW and is located in Kanggye, DPRK. This is a domestic service targeted at North Korea's local population. Soothing North Korean music is being broadcast, presumably to put the listeners at ease after the incendiary war-time rhetoric.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

Very Weak Signals: Hearing Xi Wang Zhi Sheng

AirSpy SDR and the SpyVerter upconverter

As you may have read in one of my previous posts, I enjoy using my portable SDR setup to record entire portions of the shortwave spectrum for later analysis and extraction of individual broadcasts. I am currently evaluating the AirSpy / SpyVerter SDR combination for this purpose (I shall be covering my experience with this radio in more detail in one of my next posts). One of the nice things about this SDR is that it lets me record an entire shortwave band reliably onto my tablet without maxing out the latter's processor. This evening I used it to capture one hour's worth of the 31 meter band in my local park, and once I got back home I immediately started poring over the recording in SDR# on my laptop. Late afternoons and early evenings are an exciting time to be tuning around the bands in Western Europe as many broadcasts from the Far East, South East Asia and the Pacific come in quite clearly:

— London Shortwave (@LondonShortwave) 6 April 2016

I managed to pick up New Zealand quite well despite their signal being unusually weak (I confirmed this whilst out in the field by comparing my reception of it with TwenteSDR's, using my smartphone). However, the real surprise came when I ventured just below the start of the band and stumbled upon a very faint signal at 9155 kHz. Being able to rewind and fast forward through the spectrum recording is a fantastic feature of SDR#: using it I quickly found the part of the transmission where the station ID was announced. I had tuned into none other than Xi Wang Zhi Sheng ("The Sound Of Hope" in Cantonese), a clandestine station with a 100-watt non-directional transmitter located in Taiwan, according to short-wave.info, regularly jammed by China.

Assuming the short-wave.info listing is accurate, 100W is a tiny power rating by shortwave listening standards and is more suitable for ham radio operators (most international broadcasters start at 50 kW). To reach far, hams typically employ directional antennas that can concentrate the radio signal into a narrow beam. By contrast, The Sound of Hope is reported to have a non-directional transmitter, which ought to make reception even more challenging. And challenging it was, until I turned on SDR#'s noise reduction feature that made the sound pop out from the static:

I am quite pleased with this catch. I have uploaded the full recording to the Shortwave Archive and you can listen to it in the embedded player below:

The Sound of Hope: April 6, 2016

The Sound of Hope (Xi Wang Zhi Sheng) recorded in London, UK on April 6, 2016 at 1600 UTC, on the frequency of 9155 kHz using AirSpy, SpyVerter, SDR# software and a 2 x 6m long wire dipole antenna. The transmitter has a power rating of 100W and is located in Taiwan. This transmission is usually a difficult catch in Europe due to its low power rating and non-directional nature. SDR#'s IF noise reduction plugin was used to make speech more intelligible.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

Farewell to Radio Belarus

As reported by the SWLing Post and other shortwave radio news outlets, Radio Belarus will cease broadcasting from midnight tonight (April 1, 2016). Their announcement reads as follows:

Due to the fact that National Government Broadcasting Company of Belarus Republic refused services of the Belarus Radio and TV Transmitting Center, since April, 01 transmission of radio programs of “1 National Channel of Belarus Radio” and “Radiostation Belarus” on LW, MW and SW bands will stop: 

– by transmitting center in Kolodishci:
– “1 National Channel of Belarus Radio” on 7255 KHz, 250 KW
– “Radiostation Belarus” on 11930 KHz, 250 KW
– “Radiostation Belarus” on 11730 KHz, 150 KW
– “1 National Channel of Belarus Radio” on 6080 KHz, 150 KW
– by Osipovich transmitting center in Sosnovy:
– “1 National Channel of Belarus Radio” on 279 KHz, 500 KW
– “Radiostation Belarus” on 1170 KHz, 800 KW

(Translation courtesy of Igor at SWLing Post, read the original announcement in Russian here).

I can't say that I had been a regular listener of Radio Belarus in the past but I was sad to see yet another national station leave shortwave. I headed to my local park and tuned into 11730 kHz using my Tecsun PL-680 (actually slightly off frequency, to 11726 kHz, so as to cope with co-channel interference; synchronous single sideband wasn't an option — using it exacerbated the station's trademark hum for some unknown reason). Below are my recordings:

Radio Belarus (Belorussian)

Radio Belarus in Belorussian recorded outdoors in London, UK on March 31, 2016 at 1256 UTC, on the frequency of 11730 kHz using a Tecsun PL-680 radio and the supplied external antenna. The transmitter has a power rating of 150 kW and is located in Minsk, Belarus. The characteristic hum and low modulation typical of Radio Belarus are present in this recording. At 1330 UTC, BBC Bangla started broadcasting on the same frequency.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

Radio Belarus (Russian)

Radio Belarus in Russian recorded outdoors in London, UK on March 31, 2016 at 1439 UTC, on the frequency of 11730 kHz using a Tecsun PL-680 radio and the supplied external antenna. The transmitter has a power rating of 150 kW and is located in Minsk, Belarus. The characteristic hum and low modulation typical of Radio Belarus are present in this recording.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

I wanted to record the station's final English language broadcast at 2200 UTC but my tests from yesterday indicate that by the time it is aired there will no longer be a good enough propagation path to hear it here in London. I hope someone else can record it!

Antena Satelor: Winter Reception

Below is my most recent recording of Antena Satelor on 153 kHz out of Brașov, Romania. Receiving it is slightly more challenging during winter here in London. The signal was captured using a Lowe HF-150 radio with a Lowe PR-150 preselector and a Wellbrook ALA1530S+ antenna on 15/02/2016 at 0200 UTC.

Click here to download the recording or check my previous recordings of this station.

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Update (26/02/16): A few days later the propagation from Brașov was much better and I managed grab another recording. Here's a snippet from it that I particularly like:

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Update (29/02/16): Since the recording mentioned in the previous update is the best one of Antena Satelor I've ever made, I've uploaded it in full to the Shortwave Archive (almost 4 hours long!):

Some recording details:

Antena Satelor, Romania recorded in London, UK on February 25, 2016 at 0143 UTC on the frequency of 153 kHz using a Lowe HF-150 radio with the Lowe PR-150 preselector, 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 Brașov, Romania and has a power rating of 200 kW. This is a local service targeted at the domestic audience. At about 0530 UTC (0730 local time in Brașov; 3 hours 46 minutes into the recording) the night-time skywave propagation path is finally completely disrupted by the sunlight reaching into Romania (26 minutes after sunrise).

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

This recording is yet another reward for having invested some time and effort into urban RFI mitigation.

Submission to the Shortwave Archive Part 5: Voice of Turkey

One of my favourite morning signals is the Voice of Turkey's 15350 kHz transmission. Starting at 0700 UTC and concluding at 1400 UTC (yes, seven hours of uninterrupted programming on one frequency!), it sounds excellent all the way through, thanks to the 500 kW signal directed towards Western Europe from their transmitters at Emirler.

Voice of Turkey transmitters at Emirler, Turkey

Below is a recording of the station made in London, UK on February 18, 2016 at 0900 UTC, on the frequency of 15350 kHz using a Lowe HF-150 radio with Lowe PR-150 preselector and a Wellbrook ALA1530S+ antenna.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

Submission to the Shortwave Archive Part 4: Radio Habana Cuba and Radio Rebelde

More recordings from Cuba this week. My favourite of the two has to be the Radio Rebelde recording, as it contains the nightly Nosotros programme, brimming with Cuban music. These recordings don't sound particularly crisp — a combination of rather poor propagation conditions (making Rebelde's signal too jumpy even for my trusty Tecsun PL-660 and knocking its sync detector sideways a few times, until I switched to normal AM mode) and the wrongly adjusted input volume on my recorder in the case of RHC. However, it infuses the recordings with a certain vintage flavour, which seems appropriate. I will post some of my better quality recordings of Rebelde in the future; as for the clips below, the content certainly compensates for the less than ideal reception conditions!

Radio Rebelde: March 6, 2015

Radio Rebelde recorded in London, UK on March 6, 2015 at 0600 UTC on the frequency of 5025 kHz using a Tecsun PL-660 radio with a 4m long wire antenna, positioned outdoors. The transmitter is located in Quivicán, Cuba and has a power rating of 100 kW. This signal was received under poor propagation conditions, resulting in strong fading (QSB).

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

Radio Habana Cuba (English): June 12, 2015

Radio Habana Cuba (English service) recorded in London, UK on June 12, 2015 at 0300 UTC on the frequency of 6000 kHz using a Tecsun PL-680 radio with a Lowe PR-150 preselector, two Wellbrook ALA1530S+ antennas (positioned indoors) and a DX Engineering NCC-1 phaser. The transmitter is located in Quivicán, Cuba and has a power rating of 250 kW. The recording has mild distortion because of an incorrect audio gain setting on the recorder.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

Submission to the Shortwave Archive Part 3: Polskie Radio Jedynka and Antena Satelor

This week's theme is Long Wave DXing. Long wave signals usually do not travel very far, even at night, so I am quite pleased with both of these catches, particularly with Antena Satelor, whose transmitter is five times less powerful than Jedynka's whilst being almost twice as far.

Polskie Radio Jedynka: December 25, 2013

Polskie Radio Jedynka recorded in London, UK on December 25, 2013 at 0004 UTC on the frequency of 225 kHz using a Lowe HF-150 radio with a Lowe PR-150 preselector and a Wellbrook ALA1530S+ antenna (positioned indoors). The transmitter is located in Solec Kujawski, Poland and has a power rating of 1000 kW. This is a local service targeted at the domestic audience. The recording is of the Polish Christmas service that was broadcast nationally.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

Antena Satelor: September 14, 2015

Antena Satelor, Romania recorded in London, UK on September 14, 2015 at 0100 UTC on the frequency of 153 kHz using a Lowe HF-150 radio with a Lowe PR-150 preselector and a Wellbrook ALA1530S+ antenna (positioned indoors). The transmitter is located in Brașov, Romania and has a power rating of 200 kW. This is a local service targeted at the domestic audience. The recording ends with the Romanian national anthem.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

Submission to the Shortwave Archive Part 2: Radio Damascus and Radio Habana Cuba

This week's theme is "countries in the news". With the decision by Russia to start its pro-Assad military air campaign in Syria and Pope Francis's recent visit to Cuba, I chose the following two recordings:

Radio Damascus, Syria: October 23, 2013

Radio Damascus, Syria recorded in Moscow, Russia on October 23, 2013 at 2242 UTC on the frequency of 783 kHz using a Tecsun PL380 portable radio. The transmitter is located in Tartus, Syria and has a power rating of 600 kW. This is a local service targeted at the domestic audience. There were several short poor propagation spells throughout the recording, after which the signal would recover.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

Radio Habana Cuba: September 13, 2013

Radio Habana Cuba recorded in London, UK on September 13, 2013 at 0232 UTC on the frequency of 6060 kHz using a Tecsun PL380 portable radio with a 4 meter clip-on long wire antenna extension. The transmitter is located in Bauta, Cuba and has a power rating of 100 kW. This broadcast was a relay of Radio Rebelde's live coverage of the Cuban Artists' "Concert for the Five" that took place at Havana Jose Marti Anti-Imperialist Plaza. "The Five" referred to the four Cuban nationals remaining in US custody of the five originally imprisoned in the US in the early 2000s. They were released on December 18, 2014 in exchange for the freeing of Alan Gross by the Cuban authorities, as part of a deal that marked the beginning of the restoration of the US-Cuban relations.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

Submission to the Shortwave Archive Part 1: Furusato No Kaze and KCBS Pyongyang

This post marks the start of my weekly submissions to the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive. This week's theme is North Korea.

Furusato No Kaze: September 17, 2015

Furusato No Kaze recorded in London, UK on September 17, 2015 at 1600 UTC, on the frequency of 9960 kHz using SDRPlay with SDR# software and a 2 x 6m long wire dipole. The transmitter has a power rating of 100 kW and is located in Palau. From NorthKoreaTech:

Shortwave radio remains a vitally important way to reach into North Korea because of the total lack of international communications offered to its citizens.

Furusato no Kaze (ふるさとの風, Hometown Wind) is run by the Japanese government and targets any Japanese citizens that were abducted by North Korea and remain alive in the country. There are two programs: Furusato no Kaze in Japanese and Nippon no Kaze (il bon ue baram, Japan Wind) in Korean. The first and last broadcasts of each day come from transmitters in Taiwan while the rest are from Palau.

You can also hear what appear to be North Korean jamming attempts in the background.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission

KCBS Pyongyang: September 17, 2015

Korean Central Broadcasting Station, Pyongyang recorded in London, UK on September 17, 2015 at 1605 UTC, on the frequency of 9665 kHz using SDRPlay with SDR# software and a 2 x 6m long wire dipole. The non-directional transmitter has a power rating of 50 kW and is located in Kanggye, DPRK. From NorthKoreaTech:

The Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS) (Korean: 조선중앙방송, Chinese: 朝鲜中央放送, Japanese: 朝鮮中央放送) is the main domestic radio network in the DPRK. It sits under the Central Broadcasting Committee of the DPRK (called the Radio and Television Committee of the DPRK until 2009). 

KCBS broadcasts from 5am to 3am local time via a network of mediumwave and shortwave transmitters that cover the nation. The powerful transmissions can easily be heard in neighboring countries, including South Korea where some of its frequencies are jammed. 

A central program is broadcast from Pyongyang on most transmitters through the entire broadcast day, but some are reported to carry regional programming between 2pm and 3pm. 

All programming is in Korean and includes music, talk and news.

The station appears to be a difficult catch in Europe because of the relatively low power and the non-directional mode of the transmission, and because of frequency clashes with China Radio International, Radio Cairo and Radio Voz Missionaria of Brazil. Indeed this recording was made in the small time window between CRI's Pashto and Hausa broadcasts, the latter of which can be heard starting at the end of the recording.

Click here to download the recording // Link to the original SRAA submission