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!

Unusual Music on DPRK Radio

Juche Tower, Pyongyang by groucho

Today, while listening to DPRK's Voice of Korea Russian Service, I heard what sounded like traditional Korean music. I found this rather unusual, since their playlist typically consists of military choir recordings, marches, solemn patriotic songs and the occasional bit of light pop music (none of which sound particularly Korean). Below is my recording of this piece, made outdoors using a Tecsun PL-680 radio and the supplied external antenna (15245 kHz on 03/03/2016 at 0918 UTC):

Indeed, my friends on Twitter, Mark Fahey of Behind The Curtain and Thomas Witherspoon of SWLing.com — both experts on North Korean radio — were equally surprised:

@LondonShortwave @SWLingDotCom @K7al_L3afta rare for me not to recognise a song from Nth Korea - but that is a new one for me. Great catch!

— realmarkfahey (@realmarkfahey) 3 March 2016

@LondonShortwave @K7al_L3afta @realmarkfahey Wow--I would have *never* guessed that came out of the VOK. Great catch!

— SWLing (@SWLingDotCom) 3 March 2016

Below is the full recording from which the above audio clip was taken (15245 kHz on 03/03/2016 at 0903 UTC):

Click here to download the recording.

Another interesting thing about this broadcast was a song in Russian by Sultan Karimov, a popular Kyrgyz singer. The song, titled "Love!" (imperative verb),  is in praise of one's wife, whom one must love very much and recognise her role in the functioning of the revolutionary socialist society. Introducing it, the presenter goes as far as to say that "the song is dedicated to beloved wives, who are not only responsible for family life but are also one of the wheels in the cart of communal life". I have not been able to find a trace of it anywhere else, which probably means that it was specially commissioned by North Korea. You can find it at 11 minutes 58 seconds into the full recording.

It appears that Voice of Korea are diversifying their playlist somewhat, though perhaps not in the way one might have expected.

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

DRM vs. analogue transmissions of All India Radio

The other day, while scanning the bands, I heard a hum on 7550 kHz that was characteristic of DRM. I fired up my NewStar DR111 (which hardly gets any use nowadays, after Radio Exterior de España ceased their digital transmissions) and tuned in to the frequency. The receiver locked onto the signal immediately and "REGULAR SERVICE" came up on the text display. I had tuned into the General Overseas Service of All India Radio. The signal was very stable without any dropouts, but the sound quality was terrible. I switched back to my Lowe HF-150 and adjusted it to the first analogue frequency of All India Radio I could remember, which happened to be 9445 kHz. I kept switching back and forth between the audio outputs of the two radio receivers and could not believe the difference in quality - the analogue signal was so much better! Below is a recording of this difference: the first 30 seconds are the DRM transmission, and the rest is the analogue signal.

I then recalled that I had encountered this discrepancy in the quality of AIR's transmissions once before and tweeted about it. Below are the tweets comparing the DRM transmission on 7550 kHz to the analogue signal on 11670 kHz back in May 2015.

@K7al_L3afta @SWLingDotCom @swlbcl the music sounds abhorrent! Compare this: pic.twitter.com/S6zBepszQL

— London Shortwave (@LondonShortwave) May 12, 2015

@K7al_L3afta @SWLingDotCom @swlbcl with this! pic.twitter.com/X3lT5z9qla

— London Shortwave (@LondonShortwave) May 12, 2015

The reason this surprised me so much was that All India Radio didn't always sound so bad in DRM. Here's a recording I made in October 2013 on a Morphy Richards DRM receiver:

It turns out that the reason for this drastic change is the fact that All India Radio now combine two audio streams in one DRM feed (one stream per language service), as noted by Andrea Borgnino on Twitter:

Perfect DRM from AIR India (25 db !!) in Roma with 2 audio channel @SWLingDotCom @LondonShortwave @Station_B_B pic.twitter.com/XoNyFhjiVc

— Andrea Borgnino (@aborgnino) December 5, 2015

It's a very cool feature of the DRM standard but unfortunately leaves around 9kbps of bandwidth per stream, resulting in rather terrible audio. The ironic part is that I don't even know how to select the second stream on my DR111 unit and would have to use one of my SDRs together with Dream to take advantage of it. I hope AIR revert to better quality DRM feeds in the future.