The Radio Kitchen

The BCL-2000 is really better for AM than shortwave, although strong medium wave stations can cause the same problems. For example, I live near WQEW which blasts all sorts of images on a number of bands around my house on a radio like the Tecsun and others. There’s an especially loud image at 650kHz that eliminates the possibility of ever hearing WSM in Nashville near my place with the BCL.

Anyway, it’s not a contest. The Degen is obviously superior in most practical ways. But I was interested in general reception comparisons and how the images would pop up along the dial on the BCL. As I recorded these I was alternating between each radio, moving up to the next signal on one, then on the other. So, each scan is also a little bit different in that segments of a broadcast often start up or end at separate times. However, in my descriptions the Degen is the reference. The scan recording from the BCL-2000 is really only for those who are interested in hearing the differences.

As I mentioned in previous posts, there’s wasn’t much action that weekend on the bands I often haunt, 41 and 31 meters. But there was some stations popping up in lower bands than I usually listen to, so this time around you get to hear a bit of that– stations broadcasting late at night on the 90 and 60 meter band. Here’s the first scan segment from each radio.

The DE1103 scan…

90 Meter Band – 0344 UTC 09-30-06 – Degen 1103  14:48

(download)

And the BCL-2000 version…

90 Meter Band – 0344 UTC 09-30-06 – Tecsun BCL-2000  17:59

(download)

3185 – WWRB – Manchester, TN

The first solid signal I found coming up the shortwave bands. Some Bible parable on camels, water and servants. Kind of sad that people in Europe might hear this and it would confirm how ignorant they really think we are in here in the states.

3215 – WWCR – Nashville, TN

I actually thought this was Pastor Peters, but he just has a similar white guy delivery. The show is "Viewpoint," a fountain of ignorance hosted by a bible-brained attorney, Charles Crismier. On the official Viewpoint website it says the show is "Not Conservative…not Liberal…but CHRISTIAN!

You hear some advice on how to get ready for the end of time, more on that pillar of salt tragedy, and how homos generally ruin the world. It’s mildly amusing how he uses the fact that evangelicals as a whole have a higher divorce rate as a way of selling the lifestyle to listeners anyway.

3320 – Radio Sonder Grense – Meyerton, South Africa

Well, here’s Mary Hopkins big hit riding on a signal from eight thousand miles away. RSG is South Africa’s national Afrikaans cultural service. As you probably know, the Afrikaans language is like Dutch but kind of African, or something like that. And along with English, it’s an official language of South Africa.

Not a bad copy on this station with the Degen. However, with the BCL-2000 it’s quite noisy and indistinct. First "Those Were The Days," by Hopkins and then a female announcer, and I turn the station right after the annoying keyboard bumper music.

3350 – Radio Exterior Espana – Spain

In Spanish. Female announcer, and then a pop song. The BCL recording starts earlier, with another pop song before the announcer. Again, the Degen pulls in a much more robust signal out of the noise floor.

Now up the dial a bit. Here’s the Degen…

60 Meter Band – 0414 UTC 09-30-06 – Degen 1103  14:49

(download)

And what I recorded on the Tecsun…

60 Meter Band – 0414 UTC 09-30-06 – Tecsun BCL-2000  19:32

(download)

5025 – Radio Rebelde – Cuba

The clip kicks in with some kooky "la la la" number with an epic flair, sounds like it could be from a movie. I hear some dance steps in there somewhere. Then an interview. All in Spanish.

5050 – WWRB – Manchester, TN

It’s funny how now and then you can definitely hear a shortwave station that’s broadcasting in English, and even without that much noise it’s still difficult to hear what’s actually being said. That’s the case here and the signal is only coming from a few hundred miles away (at fifty kilowatts). Listening to the bandscan recorded on the Degen, I can tell it’s a discussion of aircraft hitting towers. Most likely this a conspiracy type of show.

However, the reception on the Tecsun is quite a bit different. For one, the reception of WWRB is even more indistinct and it’s being eaten by a heterodyne. The whine is being caused by the image of another station, which I eventually tune in although the whine never goes away. The image sounds to be Japan’s NHK, broadcasting from a relay in Canada at 5960kHz.

And then moving up the dial on the Tecsun I come across another image at 5065kHz, which is actually Radio Netherlands (speaking Dutch?) at 5975 (along with another heterodyne). Neither of these images appear on the Degen.

5070 – WWCR – Nashville, TN

More Christian mumbo jumbo, this time correlating biblical stuff with power politics. The idea being that "we," the "great unwashed," are kept from the technology of freedom because we’re not responsible enough to be free. Or something like that.

5110 – WBCQ – Monticello, ME

Some corny country gospel, followed by a more saccharin Jesus tune.

Then at 5145kHz I come across Spain’s shortwave service on the Tecsun, which is an image of their broadcast at 6055. And then I come upon an image of Radio Netherlands at 5255, which is actually an image of 6165. It’s a news magazine program in English. Again, the Degen picked up nothing but static at these frequencies. Which is all there really was there in the first place.

That’s all for now. Thanks for listening.

(This post originally appeared in Beware of the Blog.)

1570 – (a hopeless mess)

Lots of talking.

1560 – WQEW New York, NY

Back home in Brooklyn, this waste of a booming clear channel AM signal (carrying the moronic Radio Disney) that lays waste to most of this end of the AM dial. Here’s it’s just an annoyance I can just pass by. Some urban greasy vocoder number on the subject of loneliness.

1550 – CBE Windsor, ON

It’s the news on CBC One. A BBC story on Brazilian politics, and a report of a horrific airline crash there as well. And a tropical storm watch for Newfoundland!

As I’ve complained before, it’s a damn shame that CBC sold their English Language clear channel station in Toronto (at 740kHz) a while back. As much as I appreciate what CHWO does there now, it would be great to have a full service CBC English language station covering the northeastern US on the AM band by night. While everyone is all abuzz over satellite radio, digital radio, streaming radio, and all these new audio broadcast technologies, they seem to have forgotten that AM radio is still so much more efficient, and almost everybody has a receiver that’s ready to go. It just seems like with all this continuing interest in talk and news on AM that it ought to make some national media outlets like NPR, CBC and BBC reconsider snatching up some clear channel AM frequencies in North America, where they would get far broader coverage per transmitter than on FM, and more oomph than any new audio delivery system currently offers. And jeez, they could start with WQEW at 1560 in Queens. Although they squander fifty-thousand watts on mindless kiddie crap, the transmitter is actually owned by the prestigious New York Times.

And another good example of what the Times could do with WQEW, would be the in-depth news and issue radio station the Washington Post offers at 1500 AM in the DC area. But obviously the New York Times doesn’t respect or understand the power of AM radio, and especially the broadcasting potential they’re sitting on (and the NYC market!), and they lease all those kilowatts out to Mickey and Goofy. Just like the way NYC radio powerhouses sellout primetime hours to infomercials on the weekend, it’s really stupid and short-sighted.

After the news, it’s CBC Overnight, a rebroadcast of a Radio Netherlands feature. Of course, there’s not a chance I could pick up this station in New York City because WQEW’s RADIO DISNEY eats up anything near it on the dial, but I can pick it up OK in New Jersey.

1540 – KXEL Waterloo, IA

Weather and a Jim Bohannon promo from Iowa. It’s a 50 kilowatt clear channel signal broadcasting from over nine hundred miles away.

By now I’m noticing a trend in this DX session– Windsor, Coldwater, and Waterloo are almost all in a line straight west from the Catskills. I don’t know enough about propagation to tell you why, but I’ve seen this before when listening to distant AM and shortwave. If I’m picking up some faraway signals from a certain part of the continent or globe I often end up coming across other distant broadcasts from that same direction. It must be some radio "wind" out there.

1530 – WCKY Cincinnati, OH

It’s the culty and crusty Christian geezer, Brother Stair (or Brother Scare as he’s known by people who’ve actually seen the guy). I wrote briefly about this dark Rumpelstiltskin-like codger before (here). The old fart seems to always be carrying on over several shortwave frequencies at any given time. However, this Clear Channel owned Cincinnati 50kW station sells him a few late hours every night. Not only that, but after Brother Stair, an even more disturbed character comes on WCKY, Roy Masters. Masters is so creepy, he makes cult leader Stair actually sound kind of avuncular, and almost normal.

1520 – WWKB Buffalo, NY

It’s "The Joey Reynolds Show," originating from WOR in New York. It’s the number two overnight radio show in America, after Coast to Coast AM. So as an overnight radio listener, I run across Reynolds show quite often. And, I confess I’ve tried to like it.

Reynolds is a consummate broadcaster, originally a Top 40 DJ who had gigs in a number of big radio markets in the 60′s through the 90′s. Supposedly, Reynolds was a key figure in the early “shock jock” scene, although hearing his late night yuk-it-up show you’d never know it (on his page at WOR’s site they call him the “Mr. Nice Guy of Night Radio”). When Reynolds gets on a good rant, he can be quite entertaining. And if he has a good guest, Joey has a personal and quirky interview style that often works quite well. However, most of the time the show is just a messy free-for-all where Reynolds holds court with TOO many co-hosts, or panelists, all talking over each other and carrying on in a less than compelling fashion. And a good example is what you hear in this clip. I believe it’s a repeat of Joey’s weekly “Jewish Hour” (look at the crew here) where there’s usually plenty of kvetching and kooky conversation as they pass the pastrami, but not much more.

And perhaps more significantly, in this piece of his program you hear Joe and the gang discuss what it’s like to be Joey Reynolds, a quasi-celebrity– almost famous, almost great, and almost invariably infatuated with yourself– and mildly insulted that more people don’t feel the same way.

Reynolds show isn’t bad, it’s just not great very often, and every now and then it’s just plain sloppy. I hear a need for some discipline, some tighter formatting and better co-hosts.

Although Reynolds is mostly apolitical (although he does oppose the Iraq war), here he’s on WWKB, one of those Clear Channel “progressive talk” stations ("Buffalo’s Left Channel”). And significantly this particular station features absolutely NO Air America programming. I often listen to WWKB from midnight to one AM when the final hour of Lionel’s show is cut off on WOR (by an extra local hour of Joey Reynolds). And for listener’s in the New York City area who haven’t heard the Ed Schultz show (the biggest liberal talk show in the country now), with the sun is setting so early now you can often catch the last couple hours of most nights on any decent radio (from 5 to 7 PM). However, the local host they rebroadcast from 7 to 10, Leslie Marshall, is a bit shrill and has a rather exuberant gym teacher approach to talk radio which really isn’t my cup of tea.

1510 – WWZN – Boston, MA?

It’s the most likely suspect. It’s sports, that’s for sure. Superbowl hysteria, etc.

1500 – WLQV Detroit, MI & WTWP Washington, DC?

Another broadcast from the direct west. A Detroit religious station. At first there a spot advising listeners to avoid all those awful secular snowman and reindeer holiday cards, and order up a bunch of official Jesus Christ type Christmas cards. Let your friends know just how holy you really are! The show itself is “Walk in the Word,” where there’s a discussion of some super-Christian boy scout type organization and a day in a car pool.  Sorry I didn’t catch the whole thing. In the background there’s a Geico commercial, probably WTWP which normally comes in fairly well in the city.

1490 – (a big throbby mess)

This is one of the infamous graveyard frequencies (along with 1230, 1240, 1340, 1400, and 1450kHz, where all the stations are VERY local, and are only allowed tiny transmitters. Unless one of these babies is fairly close to you, or you get lucky, this is what you usually hear at one of these stops on the dial– LOTS of far off stations, all at once.

1480 – (Joey Reynolds again)

Don’t know what this might be. In looking for a Joey Reynolds affiliate at this frequency I did find WABB in Mobile, AL, but that seems a bit unlikely. Then oddly, the bumper music on Joey Reynolds (going into a Tanya Roberts Vegas ad) is the Four Tops, and then turning the radio brings in another Four Tops song, which might be an oldies station in Canton, OH (WHBC).

1470 – (Coast to Coast AM)

It’s Coast to Coast, with Art Bell. Which can be found on dozens of stations any night of the week, almost anywhere in America. However, looking through the CTC affiliate list I found a few possibilities for this frequency– three in the Midwest and one in Georgia. Hard to say.

1460 – (mess)

Music, and somewhere in there, Art Bell again. In fact, I think Art Bell can be heard somewhere in the next two indecipherable heaps of reception as well.

1450 – (mess)

If you like cacophony, you got it here. You can hear why I say this end of the band can be a real morass.

1440 – (mess)

More pulsing noise and voices. One talk show rides on top with of the confusion, but never breaks out into anything very readable. 

1430 -  CKYC Toronto, ON?

Another jumble to be sure, but it sounds like Chinese is spoken throughout, and this ethnic Toronto station seems like a likely suspect. Reception is poor.

1420 – (another stinky mess, with one station dominating)

Lots of advertising, invitations to go online, etc. A very hazy collection of low power AM stations in competition here too. If I was more patient I could have stuck around figured out where the dominant station (featuring a set of ads) was probably coming from.

1410 – KQV Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh news station rebroadcasting old radio shows in a late night segment called “When Radio Was.” Here you get a segue from “The Adventures of Sam Spade” to “The Shadow.”

Well, that’s as good a place to stop as any. As I look at my log here, there’s really not any decent reception until I get up into the 1300-1200kHz range. But you get the idea, lots of local stations and less important outlets in larger markets. The few big clear channel AM’s in this part of North America are mostly in the 1500′s. If I continue on with this scan in another post, it will start further up where you can actually hear what’s being said without eight other stations pulsing in the background.

I must admit that I would still love to hear some AM scans from across the country. I’m really only familiar with the AM radio scene east of the Rocky Mountains, and I’d sure like to hear (and post) some recordings of medium wave scans from way out west, and from other places as well. I kinda set out what I was looking for in general, if any readers would be so kind to record their adventures in amplitude modulation and send them my way. I’m still interested in other ears, other radios and other parts of the world, if you’d like to chip in you can email me here.

And as always, thanks for listening.

(This post originally appeared in Beware of the Blog.)

Speaking of that, tracking the stations in this particular listening expedition has more troublesome than usual. I have very few frequencies and times committed to memory and my logs are quite sloppy and temporary (kept primarily just to put these posts together). I’ve been depending on the internet as a source to lookup frequencies, and the best online database out there (hfradio.org) has been down this last weekend as I’ve worked on this post. While it isn’t perfect, I’ve found that the lookup page at hfradio seems to be correct at least 85% of the time. No other site I’ve found provides the service of simply entering a frequency to generate a list of broadcasters and times. Another site, Prime Time Shortwave has very up to date lists of English language broadcasts, but other than that discovering the origin of a foreign language broadcast on shortwave can get much more difficult. Sure, the information is probably out there, but there’s no organization to all that data that is simple or logical to navigate. It can involve quite an elaborated sequence of advanced Google searches., and occasionally still get almost nowhere. In other words, just trying identify some of the broadcasts featured in this post took me the better part of an hour (or more) to ID.

I know, I need to get those big guidebooks that come out every year (Passport to World Band Radio" and "The World Radio TV Handbook.") I’ve been thinking about buying these for a while, but they’re not cheap and you really should buy a new one every year. Up until now, I haven’t felt the need. Now I’m probably going to end up investing in these things. I still hope hfradio comes back online soon.

Now and then I’ve put out a request for other DXers to contribute their dial journeys here (both shortwave or nighttime AM). So far, only reader Ralph has come through with a viable scan (again, which you can read and listen to here). I discussed some of the kind of stuff I’m looking for in this post if you’re interested. While Ralph has offered to do it again some time (and I hope he does, it was a nice post) I’m hoping others can offer up their radio adventures here as well. If you think you’d be interested, you can email me here.

That said, I did get a bit of a donation of another sort along these lines. Reader Dan in Kentucky and his friends have been messing with shortwave radios in a more loose and sonic fashion, including making music using radios as instruments. There is a tradition of using radio receivers to create music and audio art for quite a while, and analog shortwave radios make such a variety of sounds, tones and noises that a deft manipulator can turn one into an offbeat analog synth with a bit of tweaking and fooling. Dan favors the musical wonders of the Panasonic RF-2200.

Anyway, instead of sending me the audio to scratch my head over, Dan went ahead and created a four CD set (as MP3s with JPG covers) which you can download and savor on this webpage. Not very much of these recordings is actually music (there are a couple "songs" by his band "The Belgian Waffles"), and it’s obvious by listening that he’s as interested in the noises and anomalies of shortwave reception as he is the actual programming content. But I’m sure some readers will find some entertainment value in these recordings. Thanks Dan.

Okay, enough blather. Let’s get to the gooey cream center, the audio itself. As a city guy, I love those inexpensive efficiency cabins you find in the mountains of Pennsylvania and upstate New York. It’s like having your own cottage in the woods for a couple days. And that’s the kind of place I was staying up in the Catskills, where I had turned the little kitchen table into a radio listening post. In this instance I stuck with the Degen 1103 (and as usual just using the built-in whip antenna). I did an extended co-scan with the Degen and the Tecsun BCL-2000 which was interesting. While the BCL is fun to use and much of the reception was comparable to the Degen, I did come across some strong and annoying images not heard on the 1103.

This scan starts out just after 4 in the afternoon, which is 2000 UTC shortwave time. Have a listen…

Segment 1 – 25 meter band 10-01-2006  31:06

(download)

11625 – Vatican Radio

In English. A feature on breast feeding. I guess in some countries feeding a child from a naked breast in public is considered normal. What are we anyway? MAMMALS? Bad keyboard bed under content.

And then the (occasionally) musical sound of turning stations digitally at 1kHz intervals as I come to…

11640 – China Radio International

It’s English, poor reception from a relay in Mali. Something about Argentina, and money from China I think. A bit of hissy static here with a very quiet signal.

11680 – BBC World Service

Broadcasting in Arabic I believe. Again sounding quite distant.

11695 – (unknown)

Here is a loud fairly clear read of a station broadcasting in what sounds like Farsi or Arabic to me, but it could be another language from that region. It sounds like serious stuff. Perhaps he’s discussing the Koran. This is a good solid read from a station that is certainly coming from a distance. I would like to know what this is.

11720 – (unknown jazz program)

Again, I’ve spent way too long trying to figure this one out. It’s a jazz program, and it sounds like it’s part of a big national broadcast network. VOA? France? Russia? BBC? Israel? After looking through a couple dozen webpages I can’t match this frequency to this time online. At least not easily. It is coming in quite well, however. I believe the announcer is speaking French. And it also sounds like he has an America accent. The host appears to be featuring the work of Ben Allison.

11735 – Radio Tanzania Zanzibar

Also covering the 25 meter band in the afternoon in his scan, Ralph talked about his station at length in his post as well. Apparently it’s a regular stop for him when listening to shortwave around the house. They carry an eclectic stew of regional music. This song is sweet and cosmic. It’s my bet this was a big hit somewhere. I let it play for a while here before moving the dial.

11740 – The Broadcasting Service of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia & Radio Farda

Again, this parallels with Ralph’s reception from just an hour or two earlier in the day, with the world headquarters of Islam battling US propaganda to Iran on the same frequency. I believe Saudi Arabia is broadcasting the Koran. What you get is just a messy mix of the two stations.

11760 – Radio Habana Cuba

This is as good as reception gets from Cuba. It a LOUD clear signal, probably intended for Europe. We get the news with US ex-pat Ed Newman. The guy’s got a great voice. He sounds more professional and personable than half the people I’ve heard on Air America.

And that’s the thing too. Radio Habana Cuba, once a steadfast defender of everything Communist and Soviet is now more like a viable "alternative" news source for us in the states. It used to be that you listened to Cuban shortwave to hear the other side during the cold war, but now we have such a criminal and corrupt government here in the states they seem to often just be just telling it like it is, instead of pumping out purple anti-US propaganda like in the old days.

For example, the lead story in this review of the week’s news is a report on a minor armada the US has sent to the Persian Gulf to cause trouble. And maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention, but this was the first time I heard this story (which I’ve heard repeatedly since that time). And at the time of this writing, our forces are in the Gulf are all ready to start something. Maybe a big October boom boom surprise.

11775 – Caribbean Beacon

The eternal Dr. Gene Scott. Something about "living meat."

11780 – Radio Nacional da Amazonia?

Sounds like Portuguese to me. But I’ve been wrong before. If I’m right, it’s a good catch from Northern Brazil.

That’s it for this week. I would like to humbly request corrections and assistance in identifying a couple of these broadcasts. More than usual, I’m left putting this post out in a slightly less than informed fashion. While always appreciated the hfradio site, I didn’t realize how much I depended on it to write these posts.So, I’ll I’d like to amend this entry when I become a little smarter. And if you can help me out I’ll gladly credit you for doing so.

And finally I have a question my own medium wave question for some of you DXers out there. I’m wondering about two Latin music stations that have popped on my AM dial (here in the NE of the US) at 840kHz and 890kHz? The music on one at 840 is much more contemporary and schmaltzy, but the station at 890 plays some wonderful old stuff and more authentic Latin jazz. They both dominate the clear channel stations at those frequencies now and then, and 890 comes in rather strong in the city, despite the power of WCBS at 880. If I have heard them before a few months ago, they didn’t have the kind of power they do now. I always assume these Spanish DX intrusions into the American AM dial are coming from Cuba, but I am truly curious if anybody has more information on either of them.

Thanks for listening.

 (This post originally appeared in Beware of the Blog.)

Here’s part one of the audio…

Segment 1-41 Meter Band (6855 to 7345 kHz) 06-04-06  22:28

(download)

6855 – WYFR – Family Radio – Open Forum

It’s old weird Harold Camping again, the commander in chief over at Family Radio in Oakland, California. It’s hard to believe, but this call-in talk show has actually been on the air for forty-five years. And in all of its glory, it can be heard on well over a hundred radio stations and worldwide via shortwave (and now the internet). The format is simple– People call up Harold and ask questions about the bible, or ask his interpretation of what the bible says about certain events, issues or activities. And Camping’s counsel is quirky and harsh, filtered through his strict Calvinist and apocalyptic beliefs and his dogmatic adherence to the King James translation of the good book.

Counter to the sharp edges of Camping’s grim advice, is his slow tranquilizer baritone which plods through each call with a a sad hypnotic cadence as solves all worldly problems and concerns with his dim and robotic “chapter and verse” responses. I have yet to hear an entertaining dust-up with an apostate caller on Open Forum, but I imagine might be fun. A really good prank call could make me really love this show one day.

However, the particular call that kicks off this dial scan is an interesting one. The caller has a thick accent, perhaps Pakistani, and he asks Camping some rather pointed questions about Islam and Camping’s odd beliefs. While the gentlemen couches his inquisitiveness by saying that he’s a faithful Christian, his questions seem to be aimed at gently unbuckling Harold’s sturdy bible belt for us all to take a peak at Camping’s tight and twisted undergarments. And the caller seems to do a pretty good job.

His first question is about the Prophet (Mohammed), how he honored Jesus in the Koran and said a lot of the same kind of stuff as the Christian savior. Hmm. I just try to imagine ANY radio evangelist saying saying something overtly positive about the Prophet (especially these days).

According to Camping, the bible was just around back then, and the guy who wrote the Koran probably borrowed a few of the bible characters to give his book some authority. According to Camping, the Koran and every other holy book ever written are just the “writings of men” not the “word of god” like the King James Version of the bible. And of supernatural events described in the Koran? Camping says that either the writer made them up OR if such events actually occurred they had to be the work of the devil. And according to Camping and other like-minded KJV enthusiasts, the founding of any other religion or utilizing any other texts (or bibles) is just plain Satanic anyway. Not a lot of wiggle room there– the whole world is evil, except for Harold and his flock.

Then he asks Mr. Family Radio about this “Church Age” thing. What is it? It seems a little disingenuous when the caller says he hears all these "Christians" talking about it all the time, since it’s Camping’s personal theory and isn’t all that popular. You see, Camping likes to predict the end of the world. He’s done it several times, and so far it hasn’t worked out for him. His last big doom date was 1994 (I think he’s up to 2011 these days), and when the world didn’t go up in smoke he came up with another idea. Instead his 1994 moment became the “end of the church age,” and Camping said all right-believers should quit attending church, and get their holy teaching from broadcasters, like him. Of course, the churches that carried on doing what they do, despite Campings pronouncements are, of course, Satanic.

Okay, it’s more complicated than that. WAY more complicated. Mr. Camping has neatly divided all of history into seasons, chapters and epochs, and added all sorts of other stuff for fun. (If you’re curious, take a look at his convoluted discussion of such matters here.) For a guy with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, Camping does a lot of thinking. And he has plenty of other odd theories as well.

So, as Camping just starts to get up a little head of steam with his cockeyed epitemology I turn the dial and move on. Listening to him is like taking a bad tranquilizer, it makes you feel calm and uneasy at the same time. Although the call was interesting, Camping himself is just so dull and depressing. (Also briefly discussed Camping in a previous post.)

7105 – BBC World Service

Broadcasting from Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. Not sure of the language. But you can taste the anticipation for the upcoming World Cup.

7120 – BBC World Service

Broadcasting from South Africa this time, in English. A impassioned discussion on the need for fuel efficiency and conservation of petroleum products. Reception here is poor but listenable. Well maybe not to some ears, but you can hear what they’re saying. Sure would be nice if there was some spot on the dial where this broadcast was loud and clear from the U.S.

7125 – Voice of Russia?

Maybe. That’s all I could come up with that matches the time of this broadcast. It’s just a snippet of pop song here. VOA broadcasts on this frequency as well, and I wondered if this might be Radio Farda or Radio Sawa, VOA’s Middle-Eastern propaganda outlets.

7135 – Radio France Internationale

Energetic discussion, French Females.

7150 – Radio France Internationale

More French, possibly about “cinema.”

7160 – BBC World Service

In English, from Ascension again. Poor reception. I think this might be a continuation of the earlier discussion regarding our planet’s petroleum problems.

7170 – Deutsche Welle

In Arabic I believe, from Germany. Accompanied by a rather thick buzz.

7220 – (Not sure…)

While I could find no online documentation that “Voice of the Democratic Path of Ethiopian Unity,” a Clandestine service, is broadcasting at the time of the recording (just before 0500 UTC), this does sound to my ears something like that. The accent is African, and the announcer sounds rather serious. Anyone have any insight on this. The clip is short.

7225 – Deutsche Welle

Germany, broadcasting from Rwanda. It sounds like Arabic pop to me.

7235 – RAI (Italy)

In English, from Rome with some adjacent broadcasting (SSB?) making it difficult to listen to. Some news about Italian troops leaving the American created nightmare in Iraq. I wish this came in better, I don’t hear English broadcasts from Italy all that often.

7250 – Vatican Radio

Sounds like some Catholic information, in French.

7260 – Radio Algerienne International (Algeria)

A man speaking in Arabic, I believe. And a signal relayed from the UK.

7275 – Radio Tunis

Some spirited Arabic pop music, with an interjection from a young and slightly sassy female announcer/DJ. Good signal from North Africa.

7315 – WHRI – World Harvest Radio

Some contact information from Christians in Indiana.

7325 – BBC World Service

Sounds like news (In Arabic?), from the UK.

7335 – CHU – Ottawa, Ontario

It’s the official time, Canadian style. It’s 0459 UTC (almost 1am EDT)

7345 – Deutsche Welle

Their Interval signal, warming up for a new broadcast coming up at 0500 UTC. I don’t stick around for the curtain to rise.

And here’s part two.

Segment 2-41 Meter Band (7405 to 7780 kHz) 06-04-06  50:44

(download)

7405 – Radio Marti

It’s US propaganda for the Cubans. It would be easier to understand if Cuba wasn’t broadcasting all that electronic gurgling on top of it.

7415 – WBCQ

It’s “Shortwave Overnight,” a relatively new program on WBCQ, running from 1 to 3am EDT (0500 to 0700 UTC) on Saturday night, or Sunday morning. (I’ve always thought that the next day should start around 6am instead of midnight.)

The hosts, LF Midwood and Miss Gina, have just taken over the show at this time, and before this WBCQ’s Timtron was a host (and perhaps others have taken a turn as well). I like the idea of this program a lot– an offbeat late night call-in show on international shortwave. And it’s not bad, although I could do without some of the classic rock interludes. A stoned Texan calls in to report a possible UFO he’s watching out in his yard, and recounts being followed by a saucer on a drug run one night, and a retired country DJ calls in to make radio small talk in this clip. (There’s also a one second silent spot from when the tape ended.)

An old associate of WBCQ stalwarts (and Radio NewYork International alums) Allan Weiner and Johnny Lightning, LF Midwood has since ended his relationship with WBCQ, at least professionally. Don’t know the details, but Johnny Lightning’s RNI site (which I had linked to here) has been replaced by this new one, which briefly recounts the falling out. (As I’m writing this, Johnny’s new site, or blog, is still rather bare bones.)

While this isn’t the greatest radio I’ve ever heard, it’s good. And it sure would be swell if more shortwave programming had a little tiny bit of the the adventuresome spirit of WBCQ. Really.

7465 – WHRI – World Harvest Radio

Let’s pray for young Jeff, the rebel.

7475 – Voice of Greece

Sounds ritualistic, with holy type reverb. Orthodox, I suppose. I let the music play here for a few minutes. Kinda soothing.

7505 – KTBN  Salt Lake City, UT

“All we need are a few volunteers to start a revolution. It might as well be us.”

It’s Max Lucado, author and inspirational minister speaking at “The Promised Land,” the Austin mothership for a franchise of Texas megachurches. Have you heard of these things? These giant mall-like suburban worship centers are sprouting up like monster mushrooms, especially in the south. Thousands of folks attend the services at these “churches.” This particular megachurch sits on twenty-six acres? And did I mention that Mr. Lucado has a Texas megachurch of his own?

Anyway, it’s all about finding “the sweet spot.” And I did think it odd that such an important fella as Lucado hadn’t heard the word “eclectic” until just recently. And then to wrap it all up Lucado requests the Promised Land band play a fast number. And instead of a gospel stomper, you hear a hard rock Texas funky (almost hip-hop) Jesus rave-up that I have a hard time explaining. Suffice to say it’s kind of an audience participation number with a lot of "feeling". And from what I understand this is typical megachurch entertainment– Christian rock for the masses.

7250 – WYFR – Family Radio

Not sure of the language here, eastern European I think.

7540 – EWTN

Catholic programming, for our Latin American friends.

7780 – WYFR – Family Radio

More of Harold Camping’s warped Christianity, in German this time.

Thanks for listening.

(This post originally appeared in Beware of the Blog.)

Most (but certainly not all) of what I did capture in English on shortwave during this were those damned US Christian shortwave broadcasters, as well as some decent AM DXing scans, which I have yet to revisit.

In this post I’m offering a late night scan of the 49 meter band (from June 30, 2006), which is primarily a ghetto of Jesus-casting in the US at that time. The 49 meter band (the frequencies directly surrounding 6000 kHz or so) is the most popular shortwave broadcast band overnight, but after midnight very few international broadcasters aim their mighty transmitters toward North America with English broadcasts (except Cuba and perhaps China, which never seems to stop broadcasting in English and dozens of other languages on shortwave). What you typically get in the wee hours are a few distant stations intended for other continents in between the stronger signals spewing English language Christian evangelism and propaganda, most originating from the US.

Although there have been rare instances where I’ve heard something actually inspirational or original from a Christian shortwave broadcast, I can’t think of any right now. In this scan, you get the usual– heaping helpings of righteous ignorance, lots of authoritarian blather, and some creepy xenophobia thrown in for good measure. At its worst, shortwave bible-banging is full of intolerance and disdain, if not hatred, for those who are the wrong color or don’t embrace the beliefs of the particular sect transmitting the propaganda at hand.

In this sampling you’ll hear a bit of that. So, let’s scrape the bottom of the 49 meter barrel, starting out just before 2:30 AM (0624 UTC) on Friday night (or Saturday morning) June 30, 2006 (or July 1 if you’re a stickler).

49 Meter Band (5765 to 6160 kHz) 07-01-06  49:05

(download)

5765 – WWCR (Nashville, TN) – Scriptures For America

It’s the “Scriptures For America” program, with Pastor Peter J. Peters of LaPorte, Colorado. Tonight he’s offering a replay of his Martin Luther King holiday special broadcast from January of this year. And what a tribute it is.

Okay, it’s not a tribute at all. This is a venomous indictment of MLK. Pastor Peters is a leading figure in the American “Christian Identity” movement, a racist theology based on the rather kooky theory that white folks, or “Aryans” (or just generally pale Americans) are descendants of the "lost tribes of Israel." That said, it doesn’t stop these bizarre Caucasoid practitioners from despising Jews (who one would assume they believe are actually their ancient cousins), and of course, loathing African-Americans (and basically all brown and black people). And that’s not all. Christian Identity types really HATE homosexuals, and many aren’t too fond of Catholics either. No surprise, a similar theology has been quite popular in South Africa as well.

Anyway, you get the idea. To make a long story short, Pastor Peters is a hateful little racist asshole who happens to have an international radio show. Funny how Peters barely mentions the civil rights movement (or any need for such a thing in America during MLK’s era) in this nasty diatribe. Nothing original here. It’s basically a restatement of the John Birch Society case against Martin Luther King that’s been passed around in racist circles for decades. Much of it is based on rumors based around the infamous FBI surveillance of King, under the pasty guiding hand of J. Edgar Hoover.

What made King such a bad guy to Peters and the Birchers? Well, apparently he was a naughty person first and foremost. But more importantly, they’re outraged that anyone would honor a communist sexual deviant, who was also a false prophet (whatever that means). And what really pisses off Peters? King’s “wild interracial sex orgies,” of course. (Of course, when Jeff Gannon, Karl Rove and George W all locked themselves up in the White House bathroom for an hour, that wouldn’t technically be "interracial.") To Peters the group sex thing is kinda bad, but it’s the skin color stuff that is almost too sinful for words. “Interracial marriage is a violation of god’s law,” Peters says. It’s “a ploy to weaken America’s strength!” No mention of bodily fluids.

What I felt was mildly amusing in all the hatred and spite, was that Peters actually decries the policies of torture and our loss of privacy rights under Bush, despite the fact that Bush seems as close to Peter’s beliefs as any US President in our lifetime. Perhaps he’s only concerned that government sponsored torture might not be used exclusively on black and brown people. Peters doesn’t seem to find any problem with the FBI snooping on King’s every move for years.

5850 – EWTN – Eternal Word Television Network (Vandiver, AL)

From scary racist Protestant blather, to equally frightening crap from this huge Catholic shortwave station in Alabama. On the phone is nasty old Phyllis Schlafly, who made a name for herself by fighting equal rights for women and public school sex education for decades. She also once said the atomic bomb was a gift from god. And lately she’s been promoting the idea that an independent judiciary is just a plain bad idea. According to Schlafly, some judges have too much power (i.e. independence), especially on the Supreme Courts. According to her recent book, these judges are “supremacists,” which is her terminology for what other rabid right-wingers refer to as judicial activists. It’s shorthand for judges who make decisions Phyllis and her ilk find distasteful, or somehow not Christian enough, whatever. It’s a catchy term, right?– supreme court, supremacists, super-bad… Easy to remember. However, if you happen to look up the word “supremacist” you’ll notice that it a tern defining certain humans who believe that their race, religion, belief system or culture is superior, or are more deserving of certain rights, privileges and freedoms than people who are not like them. So, Rowe vs. Wade was a matter of supremacy? Of what, secularism? Please.

Make no mistake about it. Half-wit theocrats like Schlafly and Peters are TRUE supremacists, and these days like-minded people who want to scrap our secular representative republic for something more like Taliban rule are working overtime behind the scenes to make this country a religious state. It’s happening within the Catholic and Protestant church in this country, and it oughtta scare the hell out of you. That is, unless you’re a zombie too.

5920 – The Fundamental Broadcasting Network

Holy singin’ in a big room. How much joy can you handle?

5935 – WWCR – Gene Scott

Hearing an old-fashioned money grubbing (dead) preacher is kind of a relief after all that hate and prudish garbage. Even if it is a bunch of tired gobbledygook about how HE us gave his son, and that makes us givers, or something "axiomatic" like that. Amen.

5950 – WYFR – Family Radio

Spreading Harold Camping’s warped Christian message around the world in Español.

5965 – Radio Exterior de Espana

The first secular broadcast here. Lots of weather noise. Some guitar action.

5985 – WYFR – Family Radio

More Jesus for all garbage, in a Chinese language I believe. With the contact information given in slow distinct English.

6005 – BBC World Service (from Ascension Island in the South Atlantic)

If there was one blip in the news cycle that seemed to eventually snowball into what has become a huge ongoing human disaster in Lebanon, it was the capture of the young Israeli soldier mentioned in this newscast. That already seems so long ago.

And what is really irritating, especially in a time of a major world crisis, is that the BBC World Service is now difficult, and at times impossible, to hear in North America on shortwave. The BBC has decided that American shortwave listeners just aren’t worth the time or money. Sure, it’s still a great news source (much better than NPR), but it’s really not the world service it once was. I wonder if the planet really starts to go up in a ball of flames if the BBC might butch up and offer North America the English service they need and deserve via shortwave again. After all, If things get really bad shortwave could again become the only way to hear what’s happening around the globe.

Gosh, am I pessimistic today or what?

6030 – Radio Marti

It’s freedom lovin’ America, spreading democracy to Cuba via radio instead of using good old fashioned warfare and torture. Broadcasting from North Carolina, I believe this signal is being jammed by Cuba with their infamous “havana gurgle” machine.

6070 – Radio Mundial Mahanaim (Santiago, Chile)?

One thing for sure, this is NOT CFRX (a shortwave simulcasting relay of talk station CFRB in Toronto, which I did hear at other times at this frequency while in Michigan).

It’s a pop song, in Spanish with guitar (and perhaps flute) with hip hop overtones. Not that I’m crazy about this song, and the reception is piss poor, but in my opinion this one stop on the 49 meter band had more humanity and sanity than any other signal I came across that evening. However, the clip is short here.

6090 – Gene Scott

Beggin’ for money from the grave again. I wonder how many years it will go on?

6110 – RAI – Radio International Italy (Rome)?

Or maybe a Christian station in Chile. Not sure. Very poor signal.

6160 – Radio Habana Cuba

In English. AWFUL reception.

Thanks for listening!

(This post originally appeared in Beware of the Blog.)

So, after a rainy, splashy, traffic-tangled drive out of the city and up the New York Thruway I set up camp on my friend’s porch by 10:30 Friday night and powered up the Degen. After noodling around a bit, I decided the 31 meter band sounded promising. So I switched on the recorder and started up from the bottom of the band. And there was PLENTY to hear. Although I scanned and recorded through the night and Saturday late as well, this was the best stretch of reception I ran into the whole weekend. Have a listen…

 This recording starts at 10:34 pm EDT (0234 UTC)

Segment 1-31 Meter Band (9345 to 9610 kHz) 06-02-06  31:19

(download)

9345 – KOL Israel

It seemed like a good omen hearing soulful old Albert King at the onset of this scan. A solid (though phasey) signal from Jerusalem. After Mr. King plays the blues, and then there’s a brief announcement in Hebrew (mentioning John Lee Hooker) which leads into a 70′s groove rock number.

9365 – (Not sure)

Very faint, and not in English. Sounds Chinese perhaps, certainly not English. China does broadcast on this frequency, but not at this time as far as I can tell. Another suspect might be a VOA in Kuwait, and other Middle Eastern countries have supposedly been found on at 9365 kHz as well. Any readers have a clue on this one?

This is difficult listening. Turn it up and drive somebody out of the room. As the announcer drones on, a distorted adjacent station is all over the signal. As I turn the dial, you hear the distortion become clear American hyperbole, just 5kHz up…

9370 – WTJC – Fundamental Broadcasting Network
(North Carolina, USA)

Wow. This is some heavily stylized preachin’ here. While it saddens me that shortwave in the U.S. is overrun with evangelical claptrap and Bible content, there is certainly some compelling content (like that Adam & Eve soap opera in my last post).

The first thought in my head when I hear this character’s bizarre phrasing and hyperbolic delivery is it sounds like some over-the-top parody or cartoon (and what a muscular larynx!). But it’s for real. It’s easy to miss the authenticity in this kind of thing when you’ve just heard the reverberations as dramitic and comedic cliches over the years. Like an auctioneer or carnival barker, this guy is practicing a long standing oral craft. But to be fair, the purpose is to scare the shit out of you and drive you to succumb to an alleged higher power (and not to lure you into taking a peek at the pig-boy in the booth).

9420 – Voice of Greece

Greek pop, I guess. Folky and funky. A nice signal beaming in from almost 5000 miles away. Then there’s an announcer for a minute or two, and I turn to…

9440 – Radio Slovakia

Sounds like a male and female team giving schedule information in an Eastern European language.

9505 – WFYR Family Radio

It’s Harold Camping, a co-founder of Family Radio, and the leader of the Christian radio network for nearly fifty years. Along with Gene Scott and Brother Stair, Mr. Camping’s voice is instantly familiar to anyone who spends a little time listening to shortwave radio in North America (and perhaps the Western Hemishpere). Without the histrionics of fire and brimstone  provided by the old coot we heard a few minutes before this, he’s still offering the same choice to the listener– you want Jesus or this lake of fire?

Although once popular with many Christian broadcasters and assorted church leaders and their flocks, Camping’s Family Radio doesn’t have so many friends in the broader Jesus community these days. Seems it all started when he started prognosticating the end of the world. When one particular predicted apocalypse didn’t occur (September 15, 1994), Camping put his own significance on the date anyway, claiming the “church age” was over, and right-thinking believers should get their preachin’ and prayin’ via the radio from now on (and now the internet as well). Well, this pissed off a LOT of believers. And since Camping has gotten progressively more goofy, Family Radio seems be suffering from a bit of financial trouble and has lost a few stations. Churches who used to broadcast on Family Radio are long gone now, and the stern lectures and reprisals of Harold Camping have filled the gaps. A few times I’ve heard at least two separate Camping broadcasts on simultaneous shortwave frequencies at the same time.

And he never sounds very happy.

9515 – WHRI (World Harvest Radio)

A loud clear boring contemporary Christian pop song (in English). The Jesus rock stuff tries hard to sound so MOVING. Barf, I say.

9520 – VOA (Voice of Ameica)

From a relay site in Hungary. Some European language.

9535 – Radio Exterior de Espana (Spain)

Classical music, then the ID in Spanish. Quite clear and snappy from across the Atlantic.

9550 – Radio Habana Cuba

A lousy signal here in upstate New York. In Spanish.

9560 – (Not sure, CRI?)

Cute music box.. an interval sound perhaps, but for what station? As you hear, it suddenly died. Probably the end of a broadcast. I suspect this was China, or some other country relaying their signal from Sackville, Canada. While it lasted, it was VERY clear.

9570 – China Radio International

From Albania, or Cuba this time, in a Chinese language.

9590 – Radio Netherlands

In Spanish.

9600 – RNV (Radio Nacional de Venezuela)?

Either that or Radio Rebelde, either way it’s Spanish, and probably originating from Cuba.

9610 – (Not sure)

Don’t know what this is, and it’s an English language broadcast with narrative content and a station in another language is munching on the signal. From what I can ascertain, it may be the BBC coming from the Republic of Seychelles, an island Nation in the Indian Ocean. Or maybe something else. Anyone have a clue?

There you go, that was one side of a sixty minute cassette. This scan goes much longer, and I’ll continue it next week.

Thanks for listening.

(This post originally appeared in Beware of the Blog.)

And me? I’m still fooling around with my new receiver, a Degen 1103. I was finally was able to record a couple of decent shortwave dial scans with it. Not fascinating samples of international broadcasting, but viable samples of shortwave reception from the middle of this massive megalopolis. Scroll down for some MP3s from a scan of the 41 meter band from last Friday.

It’s been several months since I’ve had a chance to do some DXing without struggling with the dense radio noise floor of city life. But next weekend I’m going to spend a couple days 100 miles or so north of New York, and I look forward to lots of silence between frequencies and hopefully pulling in some stations I’ve never heard before.

And in this dial scan you’ll hear some of the RF noise you can’t escape on AM and shortwave around here. After a couple weeks of playing with this portable, I can tell you that twirling the tuning knob of the Degen 1103 IS similar to an analog setup. However, as I mentioned in the last post there are some quirky digital artifacts audible as you move through the numbers. And what I’ve also noticed is that some RF noise is just WORSE with this digital receiver. It’s like a nasty buzz or roar coming out of the speaker gets an added jagged digital edge that even grates on MY nerves, and I’m fairly immune to the static, buzzes and crashes inherent in shortwave listening.

All that said, there have been some nights when I’ve had a few minutes to step outside and quickly skip through the bands, and this little Degen just throbs with reception across the dial. It’ll be nice to sit out on that porch upstate and take some time to find out what’s out there.

And lastly, I’d like to solicit some readers of this blog for some audio content. While I’ll continue to post my own radio recordings here, I’d like to have a wider variety to offer. If you have some interesting shortwave or AM DX recordings to share OR have the ability to make some I might be able to use here, please send me an email. Off the top of my head, here’s some of the kinds of radio recordings I’d be very interested in checking out for possible inclusion here:

1. Historic shortwave recordings. Any compelling shortwave radio from the past, especially from the cold war era and before. Strange, historic, or rare recordings would be nice, but not necessary. Please include ID’s of stations or logs if you have them.

2. Interesing shortwave or AM radio (or long wave) recordings from around the country or the world. ID’s or logs would be very helpful. Let me know what you have, or can get.

3. Bandscans. Anybody with a decent receiver who can scan the bands from other parts of the country or the world, it would be great if you could offer a sampling of what can be heard where you are, or have been. I would prefer if you would spend some time on interesting broadcasts you come across, and again logs for these recordings would be ideal. I’d like to get some AM dial scans of the AM dial from other areas of North America especially. It would be nice to get complete journey’s of the dial, from 530 or 540, up toward 1700 kHz. Contact me if you have questions or ideas. Any dial scans from decades ago would be VERY welcome here.

I can’t promise I’ll use anything for sure, but it would be great if you could offer your listening experiences for consideration. Ideally, I’d like it to be in an mp3 format I could snatch from you over the internet, but CD’s or cassettes via snail mail would be fine as well. If I could just get even a few DXers to regularly contribute it would really add a lot to this little funhouse. I’ll certainly credit you if I post your recordings. If you think you might be able to offer something, please DO send me an email.

Meanwhile, here’s a partial scan of the 41 meter band I recorded in Jersey City last Friday just after 7 p.m. (2300 UTC). There is some raw noise from time to time and reception wasn’t fantastic, but there was a variety of international content in between the domestic bible bangers. And here’s what it sounded like…

Segment 1 – 31 Meter Band 05-26-06  16:14

(download)

9330 – WBCQ – “The Good Friends Network”

And a big chorus of Caucasian hallelujah to you too!.

9345 – KOL Israel

In Hebrew. "Nel blu dipinto di blu" (Volare) however, is definitely Italian. I’m surprised I don’t hear more English content from Israel.

9355 – (unknown)

I thought this was the Catholics on EWTN, but it doesn’t sound like religious content. Russia broadcasts on this frequency as well. Any DXers or Spanish speakers have a clue on this one?

9370 – WTJC – The Fundamental Broadcasting Network

Oh boy. You hear this kind of thing a lot on Christian shortwave, a dramatization of bible “history.” Typically, these are “news” constructs, with a make-believe correspondent at the crucifixion or something. But this is different. It’s a soap opera (or sitcom) set at the VERY beginning of humanity. And in this clip you’ll hear the first quarrel EVER. I guess that’s what can happen if you ascend to a higher state of existence– You can disagree. 

In mainstream monotheistic theology, it’s how we “fell from grace.” Apparently, Adam and Eve could have frolicked forever in happy-go-lucky ignorance, but a certain snake came along and led them to snack on the fruit that imparted them with the weighty knowledge of good and evil. Oops. I guess one way to piss off a power hungry supernatural being is just to get smarter.

The Gnostics, on the other hand, had a completely different interpretation of this story. They saw this act of rebellion against god as the first act of human salvation against a cruel and oppressive creator. And the snake– a GOOD guy. While I don’t personally look for guidance from bible myths and allegories, the Gnostic interpretation of this narrative makes a lot more sense to me.

As I said, these reenactments are popular fodder on religious shortwave stations. I guess these religious dramas make the bible more REAL for believers. And you wondered why the fundamentalists are so frightened by that DaVinci code movie. Fictional entertainment. It’s powerful stuff.

And my god, the AWFUL noise scanning out of this frequency.

9415 – Radio Prague

VERY faint. A song and a lotta noise. Not really listenable.

9420 – Voice of Greece.

A slightly anthemic pop song. Female singer. Greek I assume.

9500 – Radio Bulgaria

Extremely faint. Scanned right past it.

9525 – Radio Netherlands

With all the monks and reverb that popey sound in the background, I figured it was EWTN. But, perhaps it’s a documentary feature on Catholics. I don’t know, but I think it’s Dutch.

9535 – Radio Exterior de Espana

Sounds like news, delivered at a rapid pace in Spanish.

9545 – Deutsche Welle

The same as above, in German.

Segment 2 – 31 Meter Band 05-26-06  12:17

(download)

9700 – Radio Bulgaria

Commentary in English. A bit muddy and a lot of fading.

9715 – Radiodifusao Portuguesa

Loud and clear. A cheery pop number. Sounds like the 1980′s. A funky little toe-tapper with complimentary shortwave phasing effects.

9725 – Gene Scott

Mr. Scott bragging about his huge broadcasting presence. This particular broadcast is coming from Costa Rica, by the way.

Although Gene Scott no longer walks the Earth, he seems to have found immortality on shortwave. As long as the money keeps coming in.

Ouch! The NOISE after moving past this frequency is nasty.

9840 – WHRI (World Harvest Radio) – Radio Liberty

Old Stanley Montieth. Barely readable.

9855 – Radio Kuwait

A drama of some kind, in Arabic. I wonder if snakes are involved?

9875 – Radio Vilnius

The beginning of the Friday English language program from Lithuania. This is old fashioned international broadcasting. Quite listenable, with a little throbbing as the radio waves bounce over the Atlantic. In general, countries that used be part of the eastern bloc are more likely to maintain an English language service to North America than the rest of Europe.

The news focuses on an ongoing Lithuanian corruption scandal. I guess we have more in common with the E.U. than I thought.

9895 – Radio Netherlands

In Spanish…

9925 – Hrvatska Radio

Croatian folk rock, I guess. Spooky with a flute.

9975 – EWTN

Everything you need to become a do-it-yourself Catholic apologist by simply utilizing your internet browser. A very slick promo.

9985 – WYFR (Family Radio)

Just a few seconds of Protestant profundity, prophets and persecution. It’s palpable.

That’s it for now. Ane to those of you who have linked to this site, I thank you. I really appreciate it.

As usual, thanks for listening.

(This post originally appeared in Beware of the Blog.)