The Voice of Peace Radio Ship Inaugural Broadcast with Abie Nathan: May 19, 1973

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

Aircheck of the start of the Voice of Peace radio ship. Voice of Peace was an offshore radio station that broadcast in the Middle East for 20 years from the former Dutch cargo vessel MV Peace, anchored off the Israeli coast on East Mediterranean. Founded by Abie Nathan and the New York-based Peace Ship Foundation, the station broadcast almost continuously between 19 May 1973 and November 1993. With sounds of the creaking ship, Abie Nathan talks about the struggles, challenges and problems to get the Voice of Peace on the air in an emotional broadcast.

Note: The tape was recorded in the Middle East and was provided to me. Unfortunately, what was previously recorded on the tape did not erase when the broadcast was recorded. You will hear in the background Angie by the Rolling Stones, whistling and a talking played at half speed and double speed -- none of these were part of the broadcast. We did our best to edit and filter out those background sounds.

Frequency: 1.539 MHz

Voice of Korea (English) and Voice of America: June 13, 2018

Voice of Korea, DPRK recorded in London, UK on June 13, 2018 at 1300 UTC on the frequency of 15245 kHz using a Tecsun PL-310 radio with a clip-on long wire antenna. In this broadcast, the official announcement is made regarding Kim Jong Un's meeting with the US president, Donald Trump, in Singapore. The transmitter has a power rating of 200 kW and is located in Kujang, DPRK. One hour into the recording, the radio was tuned upwards into the frequency of 15580 kHz to record the news bulletin from the Voice of America. The transmitter of the latter station is located in Selebi-Phikwe, Botswana and has a power rating of 100 kW.

Radio Canada International (9/11 Coverage): September 11, 2001 - Part 2

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Bill Hemphill, who shares the following recording from Radio Canada International made on September 11, 2001. Bill notes that he originally made these recordings on MiniDisc and believes he started the recording around 5:00-6:00 pm EST, tuned to 5.960 MHz. Bill also adds:

I recorded this after I got home from work. Having worked in Tower 2 on the 92nd floor in 1979 & 1980, this was a very emotional day for me. I flipped the radio onto RCI to hear a different view from the US stations. I recorded two hours onto a MiniDisc. There is a break at where I switched discs at about the one hour mark. I'm not sure of the exact time, but it would be around 2200 UTC.

Radio Canada International (9/11 Coverage): September 11, 2001 - Part 1

Many thanks to SRAA contributor, Bill Hemphill, who shares the following recording from Radio Canada International made on September 11, 2001. Bill notes that he originally made these recordings on MiniDisc and believes he started the recording around 5:00-6:00 pm EST, tuned to 5.960 MHz. Bill also adds:

I recorded this after I got home from work. Having worked in Tower 2 on the 92nd floor in 1979 & 1980, this was a very emotional day for me. I flipped the radio onto RCI to hear a different view from the US stations. I recorded two hours onto a MiniDisc. There is a break at where I switched discs at about the one hour mark. I'm not sure of the exact time, but it would be around 2200 UTC.

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

USS SHAW exploding in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on December 7, 1941

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, on 6,925 kHz AM. This broadcast was a tribute to WWII and Pearl Harbor and contains news clips and music from the same time period. I believe my recording begins about five or so minutes into their broadcast.

Vatican Radio: breaking news broken?

A few moments ago, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected Pope, becoming the first pontiff from the Americas, and taking the name Pope Francis I. When breaking news like this is happens, I often turn to shortwave radio to hear it "from the source;" what better station for news about the Papal elections than Vatican Radio? Right?

Hm. When I turned to Vatican Radio on 13.765 MHZ at 20:00 UTC today, here is what I heard:

After a little music and announcement confusion--including what sounds like at least three audio feeds coming in at once--Vatican Radio settles on an announcement program which states, in several languages, "Vatican Radio's programming schedule is currently being modified to cover the election of the new Pope."

It wasn't until thirty minutes later (20:30 UTC), when the Vatican Radio service to Africa started in French on 11.625 MHz, that I heard any substantive news about the new Pope:

Of course, I can find information about the new Pope from any one of two million different online sources, but it did surprise me that Vatican Radio wasn't better prepared for this event.  I even wondered if there was a different broadcast running on a consecutive frequency, so I checked; all were identical, however.

Still, the radio archivist in me can't help but experience some appreciation of the confusion on the airwaves. After all, this is a genuine piece of radio history and a fascinating thirty minutes of audio in the wake of a big decision.

In my mind, I envision the Vatican Radio staff frantically stirring to assemble news--for which they had no advance notice--regarding the new Pope. No doubt, the CNNs, BBCs, and Al Jazeeras of the world had pre-prepared material on each of the papal candidates. When the white plume of smoke announcing the election was first spotted, these broadcasters were likely more than ready to pull out the appropriate material and publish.

Perhaps this is not how Vatican Radio usually operates. Indeed, I suspect their live feed of events experienced a technical difficulty which they have, no doubt, since resolved. And for what it's worth, their website was appropriately up-to-date.

History:  sometimes bumpy, but always fascinating.  Especially on the airwaves.