Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation

by Dan Robinson

Not as much has been written about the history of broadcasting in Sierra Leone in comparison with other countries in Africa — see Wikipedia for this summary. The SLBC broadcast on shortwave on 3,316 khz, one of those odd frequencies that one remembers. Although the power of the station was 50 kw as of 1978 it was exceedingly difficult to hear, with the best time being in the afternoon/early evening in eastern North America. According to the World Radio TV Handbook of that year, the 250 KW transmitter that had been installed for use as a relay of international broadcasters was designated for 5,980 khz but it’s hard to recall any DX’ers ever reporting that frequency. Normal sign off according to the WRTH was 2335 UTC, a bit later on Saturdays.

This reception occurred in Pennsylvania, where I used a Hammarlund HQ-180/A receiver which had numerous capabilities for dragging difficult DX signals out of the mud due to its fine vernier tuning, notch filter, and multiple crystal filter bandwidths. You can hear “Leaving On a Jet Plane” and some talk by an announcer. There was heavy CW interference on the frequency — the 90 meter band in these days was no picnic and always presented a challenge in hearing the African countries that used it. Sierra Leone verified with an aerograme type letter, similar to verifications received from Voice of Kenya over in eastern Africa.

Voice of Zaire (La Voix du Zaire) 1970s

by Dan Robinson

The former Zaire, later the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), was a focus of radio activity for decades, including many shortwave stations comprising both the national radio in Kinshasa and regional stations that became targets for radio listeners around the world. Zaire which had that name from 1971 to 1997 was controlled for a very long time by Mobutu Sese Seko who seized power in a coup in 1965. Geographically the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa (after Sudan and Algeria, and 11th-largest in the world, DRC has a population of more than 23 million. As Wikipedia notes, Mobutu set out to “[rid] the country of the influences from the colonial era of the Belgian Congo . . . [but] weakened by the termination of American support after the end of the Cold War, Mobutu was forced to declare a new republic in 1990 to cope with demands for change. By the time of its downfall, Zaire was characterised by widespread cronyism, corruption and economic mismanagement.”

“Zaire collapsed in the 1990s, amid the destabilization of the eastern parts of the country in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and growing ethnic violence. In 1996, Laurent-Désiré Kabila, the head of the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (AFDL) militia, led a popular rebellion against Mobutu. With rebel forces successfully making gains beyond the east, Mobutu fled the country, leaving Kabila's forces in charge as the country restored its name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo the following year. Mobutu died within four months after he fled into exile in Morocco.”

Zaire was one of the most radio active of all countries in Africa. Only Angola had more regional stations using shortwave frequencies, and some of these were exceedingly rare to be heard by foreign listeners. The main national station Voix du Zaire was frequently heard on its 15,245 khz frequency (see Jack Widner’s superb recordings here on the archive) and during the 1970’s until transmitters started encountering problems, Zaire was easy and enjoyable listening on that frequency. As noted by Jerry Berg in his excellent Broadcasting on the Shortwaves, the status of smaller lower power stations including Radio Mbandaka, Radio Kananga, and Radio Mbuji-Mayi, was often unknown. Radio Bukavu in the east, and Radio Kisangani were more frequently heard, along with Radio Lubumbashi.

The SWL QSL Card Museum shows QSL cards/letters from four stations in Zaire, three from DRC — so this does not include verifications from some of those extremely rare other stations. Radio Candip, which was widely heard abroad on its 5,066 khz frequency, was still on the air into the 2000s, while Radio Kahuzi, the U.S. missionary-run station in Bukavu, was on and being heard via SDR receiver sites in Europe as of 2020, but after that has remained off as of early 2022.

Voice of the Revolution/Guinea - Funeral Observances for Kwame Nkrumah: 1972

by Dan Robinson

In 1972, the Voice of the Revolution, Guinea’s national radio carried the funeral ceremony for Francis Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president after independence. Quoting from the history: “Nkrumah was born in the Gold Coast (later Ghana) in 1909 and was educated there before going to the United States in 1935 where he attended Lincoln University and later, the University of Pennsylvania. Nkrumah spent 10 years in the U.S., and later went to England to study at the London School of Economics. At the same time, he intensified his political activities for the independence of his homeland, which he led to full nationhood on March 6,1957. He was toppled in 1966 in a coup by army officers and remained in exile in neighboring Guinea until his death in April 1972 in Bucharest, Romania, where he had gone for medical treatment.

As reported by AFP from Accra: “The body of Kwame Nkrumah was flown back here today in a special Guinean Air Force plane. The military government or declared all flags to be flown at half‐staff until the former President is buried in Nkroful, a village 190 miles southwest of here where he was born on Sept. 1, 1909.

Return of the pan‐African leader's body to Ghana marks the culmination of protracted negotiations between the governing National Redemption Council here and President Sékou Touré of Guinea. Mr. Nkrumah died on April 27 in Rumania, where he was receiving medical treatment, and his body was taken to Guinea.

At first, President Touré refused Ghanaian requests for the body and gave Mr. Nkrumah a state funeral in Conakry, the Guinean capital. The Ghanaian had spent most of the years of his exile in Conakry, following his overthrow in 1966 in Ghana's first military coup. He was given the symbolic title of Co‐President of Guinea by President Touré.

Radio Conakry, also known as The Voice of the Revolution, was frequently heard by listeners around the world, usually on its shortwave frequencies including 9,650 kHz and 7,125 kHz. Nkrumah had used the station to make speeches from Guinea to the people of Ghana in 1966.

In this recording, made in Pennsylvania in 1972, you hear part of what appears to be a funeral observance held in Conakry, mostly in French but some English. Radio Conakry remained on shortwave into the 2000s, but later was intermittent. After repairs to its transmitter, it returned to shortwave in 2016 and was still being heard as of early 2021, though at weaker levels than before, and mostly in European locations.

Civil Air Patrol Net 1 Message: January 24, 2022

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Matt Todd, who shares the following recording and notes:

Broadcaster: Civil Air Patrol

Date of recording: 1/24/2022

Starting time: 2001

Frequency: 14914 kHz

Receiver location: Hugo, MN

Receiver and antenna: SDRplay RSPdx with wire loop around perimeter of attic

Mode: Single Side Band

JOUF-AM (C-Quam Stereo): March 23, 2021

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Anthony Messina, who shares the following audio clip and notes:

Notes: Short recording of JOUF-AM heard in full C-Quam Stereo. Note the wide stereo separation that C-Quam can achieve. Shame it never fully took off in the U.S or most other places.

Date of recording: 3/23/2021

Starting time: 11:27PM EST, UTC unknown

Frequency: 1.314mHz

Receiver location: Via Japanese KiwiSDR

Receiver and antenna: Via Japanese SDR

Wolverine Radio (Shortwave Pirate) Clip: December 25, 2021

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Matt Todd, who shares the following recording and notes:

Audio recording of Shortwave Pirate going by Wolverine Radio. This was recorded December 25, 2021 at 0056UTC on 6969khz in Hugo, MN. The broadcast consists of a few minutes of the Barenaked Ladies song Testing One Two Three being play and then a male voice announcing a frequency change.

Broadcaster: Wolverine Radio (Pirate)

Date of recording: 12/25/2021

Starting time: 0056 UTC

Frequency: 6.96 MHz

Your location: Hugo, MN

Receiver and antenna: SDRPlay with a wire loop antenna around the perimeter of the attic

Mode: Single Side Band

BFBS London: February 16, 1991

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Roberto Ciappi, who shares the following recording and notes:

Notes: BFBS Special daily broadcast to the British troops in the Persian Gulf area, during the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq. They were using BBC transmitters in the UK.

Broadcaster: BFBS London

Date of recording: 2/16/1991

Starting time: 0920 UTC

Frequency: 21.59 MHz

Reception location: Northwest Italy

Receiver and antenna: Sony CFD-444S Stereo cassette recorder with telescopic antenna

Radio Romania International: December 23, 2021

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Matt Todd, who shares the following recording and notes:

Date of recording: 12/23/2021

Starting time: 0058

Frequency: 7.325 MHz

Reception location: Hugo, MN

Receiver and antenna: SDRPlay with a wire loop antenna around the perimeter of the attic

Notes: Program Information:

0:00 Interval Signal
1:57 Intro
3:00 News
6:45 Story about prime minister in discussion with EU about pandemic
10:05 Story about 1989 uprising
14:35 Personality of the Year
15:50 Music
18:50 Society Today
25:25 Visit Romania
30:00 Sport
32:30 Folk/Christmas Music
44:05 Happenings in Romania
53:25 Music
57:00 Information and Sign off

Radio Piepzender, December 26, 2021: 7445 kHz

Recording of Radio Piepzender, December 26, 2021, at 1320 UTC (shortwave frequency of 7445 kHz)

Station: Radio Piepzender
Place of reception: Europe
Language: English & Dutch
Frequency: 7445 kHz shortwave
Date: December 26, 2021
Time: 13.20 UTC
Transmitter location: Zwolle, The Netherlands
Transmitter power 0,2 kW
Receiver: SONY ICF SW1 portable
Location of receiver: outdoor (far away from buildings to limit the man-made noise interference)
Antenna: internal telescopic 0,5 meter long
Recording device: SONY portable cassette tape recorder

Telstar Radio, December 25, 2021: 6045 kHz

Recording of Telstar Radio, December 25, 2021, at 1353 UTC (shortwave frequency of 6045 kHz)

Station: Telstar Radio
Place of reception: Europe
Language: English & Dutch
Frequency: 6045 kHz shortwave
Date: December 25, 2021
Time: 13.53 UTC
Transmitter location: Nauen, Germany
Transmitter power 100 kW
Receiver: SONY ICF SW1 portable
Location of receiver: outdoor (far away from buildings to limit the man-made noise interference)
Antenna: internal telescopic 0,5 meter long
Recording device: SONY portable cassette tape recorder

Radio Austria International in German, August 3, 1996: 6155 kHz

Recording of “Kurzwellenpanorama” programme, a German language media show of Radio Austria International, transmitted on_August 3, 1996 on the shortwave frequency of 6155 kHz. Recording has been made in Europe, using SONY ICF SW 77 receiver and the 20 meter longwire antenna located in the urban downtown city, with the balloon, mount only around 2 meters above earth level close to the building’s walls. For the recording of the programme a small SONY cassette recorder was utilized, with a modified cable connecting the line-out socket of SONY SW 77 receiver and the MIC socket of the cassette recorder.

In the recording you can hear the voice of Mr. Wolf Harranth known to DXers all over the world from his programmes on Radio Austria International (e.g. “Kurzwellenpanorama”, "DX Telegram"). Wolf Harranth died on August, 3, 2021 at the age of 80 years.

VOA Ashna Radio, 11 December 2021: 9835kHz

Recording of VOA Ashna Radio in Pashto & Dari on December 11, 2021 at 1430 UTC (shortwave frequency of 9835 kHz)

Station: VOA Ashna Radio
Place of reception: Europe
Language: Pashto & Dari
Frequency: 9835 kHz shortwave
Date: December 11, 2021
Time: 14.30 UTC
Transmitter location: Woofferton, United Kingdom
Transmitter power 250 kW
Receiver: SONY ICF SW1 portable
Location of receiver: indoor
Antenna: outdoor 15 meter wire
Recording device: portable wav file recorder

Radio France International (Mandarin): May 10, 2002

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andy Wang, who shares the following recording and notes:

Notes: The content of this recording is a news: North Korean defectors seek asylum from US consulate in Shenyang.

Broadcaster: Radio France Internationale

Date of recording: 5/10/2002

Starting time: 10:00UTC

Frequency: 12.025MHz

Recption location: Shenyang, China

Receiver and antenna: MeiDuo Radio Receiver and Casette Recorder CP6941 with antenna on it

Radio IRRS (relaying "Wavescan"), December 5, 2021, 9510 kHz

Recording of Radio IRRS Italy, December 5, 2021 at 1158 UTC (shortwave frequency of 9510 kHz)

Station: IRRS Italy
Place of reception: Europe
Language: English
Frequency: 9510 kHz shortwave
Date: December 5, 2021
Time: 11.58 UTC
Transmitter location: Romania
Transmitter power 100 kW
Receiver: SONY ICF SW1 portable
Location of receiver: indoor
Antenna: outdoor 15 meter wire
Recording device: portable wav file recorder

The Voice of the Voyager (Pirate Radio): August 20, 1978

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Tom Gavaras, who shares the following recording and notes:

Voice of the Voyager pirate shortwave radio station transmission starting with interval signal, opening with "We will Rock You/We are the Champions," introductions of staff including RF Wavelength, AF Gain, Disco Dan, Disco Dave and others. Broadcast included The Minnesota-Ohio Corporation Mystery Theater: The Heath Heresy, Nighttime Melodies, beer reviews and more. August 20, 1978 on 5,850 MHZ at 0355 UTC. 100 watts.

The Voice of the Voyager had been broadcasting on Saturday nights for about eight months. One week later on August 28, 1978, a yellow car pulled into the driveway of the house where the Voice of the Voyager had been broadcasting from and two official-looking men got out and walked up to the front door. They flashed credentials identifying them as being from the St. Paul, MN office of the FCC. Since R. F. Wavelength held a ham license for the address, he had no choice but to admit the men to the house. At first, he denied all knowledge of the Voyager but it soon became clear the FCC knew all about the station and had definitely traced it to that location. R. F. Wavelength finally admitted to being behind the Voyager and with that confession the atmosphere immediately changed. The FCC agents became quite friendly, and told the operators how they managed to track down the station. The Voyager operators were surprised to learn the FCC had planned to bust the station during the previous weeks broadcast on August 20, but that plan was aborted when the Voyager left the air earlier than usual. A special monitoring van had been brought in from the FCC’s Chicago office to help trace the station’s location.

More information and some of the background posted above: https://sites.google.com/site/napiratehof/2010-inductees/voiceof-pancho-villa

Broadcaster: The Voice of the Voyager

Date of recording: 8/20/1978

Starting time: 0355 UTC

Frequency: 5.850 MHz

Reception location: Minneapolis, MN area

Receiver and antenna: Sony ICF-5900W with whip antenna

Bonus Tracks - Radio Sutatenza - Colombia - September 1975 - 5075 Khz

This was one of the bigger and more reliable Colombian voices on the tropical bands in the 1970’s and 1980’s - and according to my crusty and trusty old copy of Passport to World Band Radio from 2007 - Colombia was no longer an entity on the tropical bands of shortwave — or anywhere else on the HF dial from my cursory glance. Received on the DX150B attached to a 60-meter half-wave dipole. Living the dream!

Radio Sutatenza - 5075 Khz from September 1975

NY and Gander, Newfoundland VOLMET AERO Weather

A popular (and interesting) listening option in the 1970’s were the AM VOLMET weather broadcasts from, well, everywhere… they were low powered (typically 5 kw or less) and hearing them from a great distance was quite the thrill. Most common on the West Coast was Honolulu, Tokyo, Hong Kong and (I think…) Bangkok Radio… heard most mornings. Here are a couple of less heard ones from the West Coast; NY Radio and Gander Radio from Newfoundland.

These broadcasts are still on the air (link)- different frequencies and single sideband as opposed to AM.

This capture was from September 1975 on my trusty DX150B with one of the many dipoles I had - this one likely a 25 meter 1/2 wave dipole.

Image below is a QSL card from Shannon, Ireland - this was a VOLMET weather-cast that was audible here in the West Coast quite frequently.

NHK World Radio Japan: November 24, 2021

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Bachtiar Aditya, who shares the following recording and notes:

Every morning I listen to NHK radio here we can learn Japanese live and listen to Japanese cultural music with enthusiastic announcers. I really like listening to NHK radio since 2010. Here I use a cheap radio for only 4 dollars type Radio international F-100 . The signal is quite good from the Indonesian metro, Especially in the morning

Received : Metro, Lampung, Indonesia .

Broadcaster: NHK World Radio Japan

Date of recording: 11/24/2021

Starting time: 04:35 UTC

Frequency: 17810 kHz Shortwave

Reception location: Metro, Lampung, INDONESIA

Receiver and antenna: Cooper Wire 10 metres outside

Radio Rumbos on 4970 khz and Ecos Del Torbes on 4980 Khz - one night in September 1975

What’s not to love! Latin American music and fast talking DJ’s - life always seemed more exciting down there. From my spot in the NorthWest where it rained for 4 months of the year, the endless sunshine and non-stop party of the tropics seemed irresistible. It always felt like a celebration when one tuned in a station from Venezuela, Colombia or Peru on the tropical bands. Heck, even Ecuador knew how to shake their Quetzal tail feathers with some rocking pan pipes! 1975. It was a bygone era. The radio dial was pure gold from 3 MHz to 10 Mhz at night time. One by one they would slip away into the jasmine memories of time. Thank heavens for cassette tape!

Radio Rumbos - 4970 Khz on the 60 meter band! Hola Amigos!

At the time I had a DX150B (Radio Shack) - classic table top radio and (amongst others…) a 60-Meter band half-wave dipole that kind of favoured East and West - still, when there were Latins to be had on 90 and 60 meters, it was night after night reception for weeks on end!

Those were the days my friends - we thought they’d never end.

Ecos Del Torbes - another popular Venezuelan station on the 60 meter band.

TGNA Guatemala City on 3300 khz from October of 1975

As something of a follow-up to some of my previous posts about life in Latin America - well, Guatemala was not much different or better in 1975. Some months after this clip was recorded in October of 1975, there was a devastating earthquake in Guatemala claiming over 25,000 lives. Government inaction lead to more civic unrest fuelling more resistance to the government of the day.

Interestingly, the mission behind TGNA dates back to the late 1800’s and exists to this day - their network of radio stations in Central America play a valuable role in spreading news of the World (from a biblical and Christian perspective I guess as well…) to the rural areas of Guatemala.

The station TGNA was a regular visitor to the West Coast at my Canadian listening perch - most commonly on 3300 khz - and I have an original QSL card. It was, by some comparison, a “mini-HCJB…” - and regular DXers from that time period will know exactly what I am talking about!