Wolverine Radio: April 27, 2014

For your listening pleasure: 1 hour and 7 minutes of pirate radio station, Wolverine Radio–recorded April 27, 2014 starting around 1:10 UTC.

Wolverine was broadcasting on 6,945 kHz in the upper side band. Typical of Wolverine, lots of music variety which spans the decades and no commentary other than station ID throughout.

I decoded Wolverine’s SSTV QSL (see right) with Chris Smolinski's SSTV app for iPhone.  As you'll hear, overall signal strength and audio fidelity were excellent.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3 or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Wolverine Radio: April 27, 2014

Thomas

Chairman of the Board Radio: April 12, 2014

For your listening pleasure: a short 20 minute broadcast from the pirate radio station, Chairman of the Board Radio–recorded Saturday, April 12, 2014 starting around 3:30 UTC.

Chairman of the Board Radio was broadcasting on 6,935 kHz in the upper side band. As you’ll hear, the signal was quite strong, with just a little compression noise.

I really enjoyed this short set of Frank Sinatra tunes. You’ll hear the station ID at the end with a shout out to listeners in Chicago.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3 or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Chairman of the Board Radio: April 12, 2014

Thomas

Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic: March 22, 2014

Last night, after returning from nearly two weeks of travel, I recorded pirate station, Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic. It was great to hear their strong USB signal on the air.

RGI appeared on 6,930 kHz USB around 2:45 UTC (or so) and started their broadcast with a set of audio sweeps and then straight into the Dr. Who theme. At the end of the broadcast, I captured RGI‘s SSTV QSL via the CQ SSTV iOS app.

Click here to download their broadcast as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic: March 22, 2014

Thomas

Radio Amica: March 13, 2010

Many thanks to SWAA contributor, Frank, for this recording of Radio Amica: a free radio (pirate) broadcaster broadcaster. This broadcast was recorded on 7,610 kHz at 19:55 UTC on March 13, 2010. It's believed that Radio Amica used/uses a 1kW transmitter located in Italy.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Radio Amica: March 13, 2010

Frank

Captain Morgan Shortwave: February 13, 2014

For your listening pleasure: thirty eight minutes of the pirate radio station, Captain Morgan Shortwave. 

I recorded this broadcast on February 13, 2014 starting around 1:35 UTC, on 6,924 kHz. This broadcast sounds more like a test transmission than a programmed show. 

Simply click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or listen via the embedded player below:

Captain Morgan Shortwave: February 13, 2014

Thomas

Wolverine Radio: January 19, 2014

For your listening pleasure: 1 hour and 17 minutes of pirate radio station, Wolverine Radio–recorded Sunday, January 19, 2014 starting around 1:40 UTC.

Wolverine was broadcasting on 6,94o kHz in the upper side band. Typical of Wolverine, lots of music variety which spans the decades and no commentary other than station ID throughout.

While reception was waning when I decoded Wolverine’s SSTV QSL (see right), signal strength and audio fidelity were excellent as always.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3 or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Wolverine Radio: January 19, 2014

Thomas

Radio Free Whatever, Pearl Harbor Tribute: December 15, 2013

Destroyer USS Shaw exploding after her forward magazine was detonated. (Source: Wikipedia)

For your listening pleasure: one hour, seven minutes of the pirate radio station, Radio Free Whatever. 

I recorded this broadcast on December 15 2013, starting around 2:40 UTC (Dec 14, 9:40 PM EST), on 6,925 kHz AM. This broadcast was a tribute broadcast to WWII/Pearl Harbor and contains news clips and music from the same time period.

Simply click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or listen via the embedded player below:

Radio Free Whatever: Dec 15, 2013

Thomas

Download

Pirate Radio Recordings: Wolverine Radio

Wolverine Radio's SSTV eQSL transmitted at the end of this broadcast.

For your listening pleasure: 1 hour and 44 minutes of pirate radio station, Wolverine Radio–recorded Saturday, October 12, 2013 starting around 1:15 UTC.

Wolverine was broadcasting on 6.945 MHz in the upper side band. Typical of Wolverine, lots of music variety which spans the decades–staring in the 30s and 40s, ending with present day tunes–and no commentary other than station ID throughout.

Wolverine Radio typically has a blowtorch signal which makes for great audio fidelity, especially for an upper side band broadcast. This broadcast was no exception.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3 or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Wolverine Radio

Thomas

Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic

 (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

While recording Radio Casablanca Thursday night, I was also fortunate to capture Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic.

Gallifrey started the broadcast with their customary audio sweeps and Dr. Who theme, then straight into the Beatles, “Strawberry Fields Forever.” Brilliant!
[I know my buddy, BJ, will enjoy this combo.]

Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic was on the air for almost 27 minutes with a mix including the Beatles, Bowie, Hendrix, Jefferson Airplane and more.

Click here to download an MP3 recording of the full show, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Enjoy:

Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic

Thomas

Radio Casablanca, October 10, 2013

Thursday night, I received word from Richard Blaine at Radio Casablanca:

“We plan to be on the air tonight on 6940 kHz AM, starting sometime around 2300 UTC, and running until the plane to Lisbon has departed.”

So at 23:00 Zulu, I started recording…

Radio Casablanca: October 10, 2013

thomas

Though the noise level was particularly high on the lower HF bands, and Casablanca’s signal wasn’t quite as strong as previous nights, I could still enjoy Blaine’s nostalgic mix of WWII era music through the static. What a treat.

You can listen to the full recording via the embedded player above, or simply click here to download the MP3.

Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Casablanca

Confession time: one of my favorite pirate radio stations is Radio Casablanca.

Why?   

For one thing the format is WWII-era music. When I hear Radio Casablanca, I close my eyes and imagine what it must have been like to hear the great bands of the era over the shortwaves...

Radio nostalgia at its best. 

The signal strength is always sufficient to be heard in relatively good fidelity here in my radio room, but not so strong as to detract from the perceived distance. I believe the recording you'll hear below could very well mimic broadcasts over shortwave, heard across borders during WWII as well as listened to on classic console radios in people's living rooms and front parlors.

When my buddy Mark Coady posted that he was listening to Radio Casablanca last night on 6940 kHz AM, I immediately rushed outside to hook up my antenna, and started rolling.  I didn't want to miss even one more minute (I came across Mark's post about twenty minutes into the broadcast). Though regional storms produced some static pops and crashes, overall fidelity is decent. You will hear the filter and side-band sync being adjusted at times as I attempted to eliminate adjacent noises--which, in the end, are all a part of the listening experience.

Click here to download an MP3 of the recording, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Either way, prepare to go (or at least, send your ears) back in time... 

Radio Casablanca v2

Thomas

Radio Strange Outpost 7 and Shrunken Head Rad

While attending the Winter SWL Fest this year in Plymouth Meeting, PA, I left my WinRadio Excalibur running day and night back home, recording spectrum in the pirate radio watering hole. I always find that while shortwave pirate activity is slightly lower during the SWL Fest (because many pirates are in attendance), there are always some interesting stations I miss.

This year, I was chatting with famed Pirate Radio enthusiast/author, Andrew Yoder and mentioned how I love rare pirates like Radio Strange Outpost 7. He then told me that he'd just noticed a logging of RSO7 on a pirate radio forum. I quickly logged into my home computer (via smart phone) and could see that my receiver had been capturing the right frequencies at the right time. When I returned home, I dug through the spectrum and found the broadcasts of RSO7 and Shrunken Head Radio (possibly the same pirate?) via the WBNY relay service. Woo hoo!

RSO7 is semi-cryptic, quirky and always fun (check out my off-air recording from last year). Though this broadcast contains no real music content from RSO7, Shrunken Head radio does.

Click here to download the full recording, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Radio Strange Outpost 7 and Shrunken Head Radio

SW Radio Audio Archive

Radio Cinco De Mayo

Radio Cinco De Mayo made its annual broadcast on (you guessed it!) May 5th, 2013, starting around 00:17 UTC on 6925 kHz USB.

Early Saturday morning, the band's condition sounded like that of summer, with atmospheric noises (a few static crashes, produced by local thunderstorms), but propagation was steady and the overall quality very respectable.

You can download an MP3 of the full recording by clicking here, or by listening via the embedded player below.

Check out Ragnar's off-air recording of Radio Cinco De Mayo (and more!) on his PiratesWeek podcast.

UPDATE (May 08): Just received my Radio Cinco De Mayo QSL:

Radio Cinco De Mayo

SW Radio Audio Archive

Shrimp Boat Radio, WSBR (a.k.a. Freakin' Awesome Radio, WFAR)

"We're shrimpin,' but they're not bitin'!"

Last night, a very unique pirate radio station emerged from the static on 6,925 kHz USB: Shrimp Boat Radio. It seems a shrimp boat radio pirate found himself bored on board, due to a lack of shrimp--but his boredom became our gain with an offer to talk shrimpin,' fishin,' or just take music requests...live.

This is the stuff great pirate radio is made of.  He started with a request for the Rolling Stones; next Black Cat Radio's Greaser Bob chimed in with a request for GNR.  And there began an evening of pirate radio with live on-air requests.

You can tell that this was a completely impromptu production--and it was all the better for it.  Not too long into the show, he took on the alternate name Freakin' Awesome Radio (WFAR).

Hearing a live pirate radio request show was a first for me, and the sort of thing that gets this "content DXer" enthused. I'm glad I had the tape rolling!  I hope he reappears on the band in the future.

Note that I start the recording at the very first announcement from WSBR. If you want to skip to the first music request, fast-forward to about 11 minutes into the recording (you'll miss some great banter, though). There are a few long breaks of static in the recording where this pirate scrambled to find and play music requests, but this just adds to the authenticity.

Click here to download the full recording of Shrimp Boat Radio, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Enjoy!

Click here to download the full recording of Shrimp Boat Radio, or simply listen via the embedded player below. Enjoy!

Shrimp Boat Radio (WSBR)

SW Radio Audio Arcive

Hard Tack Radio

For your listening pleasure: a 24 minute recording of the pirate radio station, Hard Tack Radio.

Hard Tack Radio plays US Civil War era songs "celebrating the Blue and the Gray."

I caught Hard Tack's broadcast Friday night (April 12) around 23:10 UTC. Their upper side band signal was pretty strong and well above the active noise floor, though there was a heterodyne/data noise located right around 6926.8 kHz. You won't hear this noise in the recording below, because I effectively used the WinRadio Excalibur's notch filter to eliminate it. At the very end of the recording, I turn off the notch and you'll hear the noise a few seconds before the broadcast ends.

Click here to download the full recording of Hard Tack Radio, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Hard Tack Radio

Radio Ronin Shortwave

If you can't tell from the number of recordings I posted today, last night was a busy night for pirate radio.

I heard no less than five pirates: AATW Radio, Red Mercury Labs Radio, Rave On Radio, Black Cat Radio and Radio Ronin Shortwave.

Though many had great signals, the strongest was Radio Ronin Shortwave on 6.925 MHz (AM). Ronin's broadcast started around  22:15 UTC (March 22, 2013) and lasted for more than an hour. Near the end, you will hear some interference from maritime mobile stations in the upper side band of 6.925--that just ads character in my book.

Click here to download the full recording by clicking here, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Standard Pirate Radio Disclaimer:This is a recording of a real pirate radio broadcast, and as such, may include strong or colorful language or lyrics. In general, if you are easily offended by the words, ideas, music lyrics, or music herein, you should slowly…back… away…

Radio Ronin Shortwave

All Along The Watchtower Radio

One short pirate broadcast I caught last night was All Along The Watchtower Radio.

AATW Radio's USB signal on 6.955 MHz started around 00:24 UTC (23 March 2013).

The (robo voice) host, Alex Jobs, played a great mix of music starting with a version of Video Killed the Radio Star by The Presidents of the United States of America. It actually sounded pretty good in upper side band!

Hear for yourself! Click here to download the MP3 recording of the full broadcast, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

All Along The Watchtower Radio

Black Cat Radio

Last night, I heard a new pirate on the air: Black Cat Radio.

Black Cat signed on 6,925 kHz USB around 23:45 UTC. After sending in a reception report, I received a reply with a cool eQSL card (see right) and learned that this was, in fact, show number one.

Here's the show #1 play list, courtesy of Greaser Bob:

• The Genders- Horatio
• Blitz- 45 Revolutions
• Queens of The Stone Age- Go With the Flow
• Nirvana- Anueurysm
• Black Flag- Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie
• Betty Blowtorch- Strung Out
• The Misfits- Angel F**k
• Suicidal Tendencies- You Got I Want
• MC5- Kick Out the Jams
• Corrosion of Conformity- Who's got the Fire
• Phil X and the Drills- You're not Happy till Im not Happy
• The Vandals- Urban Struggle
• The Bloodhound Gang- Pennsylvania
• Betty Blowtorch- Rock and Roll 69

Click here to download the full recording of Black Cat Radio Show #1 as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

Standard Pirate Radio Disclaimer:This is a recording of a real pirate radio broadcast, and as such, may include strong or colorful language or lyrics. In general, if you are easily offended by the words, ideas, music lyrics, or music herein, you should slowly…back… away…

Black Cat Radio

The Crystal Ship

Looking through some of my archived recordings from the past month, I found this broadcast from The Crystal Ship, on the TCS Relay Network.

Conditions were a little tough at the time and you'll hear some some SSB interference near the end, but the mix is worth it. I started this recording around 1:15 UTC on February 26th, 2013, on 6.9255 MHz, capturing the last third of the show (based on HF Underground logs).

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

The Crystal Ship

Standard Pirate Radio Disclaimer:This is a recording of a real pirate radio broadcast, and as such, may include strong or colorful language or lyrics. In general, if you are easily offended by the words, ideas, music lyrics, or music herein, you should slowly…back… away…

The Voice of Alex Radio Show

This past weekend, I recorded a number of pirate radio stations; one of them was The Voice of Alex Radio Show: a tribute station for a girl whose life was taken by a drunk driver in 2011.

I recorded The Voice of Alex Radio Show on 6925 kHz upper side band on March 10th, 2013, around 23:30 UTC.

Click here to download the recording as an MP3, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

The Voice of Alex Radio Show