Messages

1

Shortwave Broadcast / Re: Radio Vanuatu with a power failure, but back on the air now

« on: May 31, 2024, 1256 UTC »

VANUATU. R. Vanuatu, 0611-0720 UT, May 31. Back with audio today; also heard with heavy QRN/static.

0633 & 0657: The often heard musical ID; "Radio Vanuatu . . Kingdom of Tonga . . Solomon Islands . . Voice of Papua
New Guinea . . Radio Vanuatu, Vois Blong Yumi."

0700-0713: News/sports/weather in Bislama.

2

Shortwave Broadcast / Re: Radio Vanuatu with a power failure, but back on the air now

« on: May 30, 2024, 1459 UTC »

VANUATU. 7260, R. Vanuatu, random monitoring from 1055 to 1215 UT, May 30. Indeed xmtr is back on the air, BUT with no audio
at all. Much earlier, Mauno Ritola, via a remote, was also hearing the same (no modulation!). Keeping the xmtr on all day?

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
CommRadio CR-1, external antenna: 100 ft. long wire

3

Shortwave Broadcast / Radio Vanuatu with a power failure, but back on the air now

« on: May 30, 2024, 0213 UTC »

> Yes, on May 29, a third consecutive day with no R. Vanuatu, checking from 0610 till last check at 0810 UT. (Ron)

Thanks very much to Warren Robert for quickly replying to my inquiry (received 2250 UT, May 29).
 
"Hi Ron,

Yes there was a power failure but is back already this morning. 

Thanks,
Cordialement/ Regards,
 
Warren Robert
Senior Technical Officer/Responsible Superieur des Services Technique
VBTC Technical Services/Services Technique SRTV
VBTC/SRTV
PMB 9049
Rue de Paris
Port Vila
VANUATU
Tel: (+678) 22 999
Mob: (+678) 7109401
Email: robertw@vbtc.vu
Skype: warren.robert_1www.
vbtc.vu "

4

Shortwave Broadcast / Re: Radio Vanuatu[non-log] & recorded ID for "Programa Satu, Radio Republik Indonesi

« on: May 27, 2024, 1901 UTC »

Greetings, Paul, from California. Radio Vanuatu was fairly well heard yesterday (May 26). Ron

VANUATU. 7260, R. Vanuatu, 0625-0725 UT, May 26. Fair reception and mostly readable. My three minute
audio of various segments - https://app.box.com/s/j9x3zt98sez8agff4hxmk7d8mgaundu2 .

My favorite RV promo, which I first heard back on Feb 7, 2012: “Hello. I am Captain Jesse Wilson, the Mission
Commander for Pacific Partnership 2,011 and when I'm in Vanuatu, I listen to Radio Vanuatu”
( https://www.defense.gov/Multimedia/Photos/igphoto/2001164101/ ); a job offer by "Vanuatu Broadcasting and
Television Corporation" for a Human Resource Officer; RV ID and "frequency 3-9-4-5 kilohertz shortwave, 11-25
kilohertz medium wave, 100 megahertz on FM"; news item about the Vanuatu students who landed at Port Vila
International Airport at 10 o'clock in the morning last week, after their flight from New Caledonia, where that
country is experiencing a great deal of unrest.

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
CommRadio CR-1, external antenna: 100 ft. long wire 

5

Shortwave Broadcast / Radio Vanuatu[non-log] & recorded ID for "Programa Satu, Radio Republik Indonesi

« on: May 27, 2024, 1158 UTC »

INDONESIA. 7289.93, RRI Nabire Pro 1, tuned in at 0803 UT to find a carrier here, faded up to fair,
cutting through the QRN/static, by the time I tuned out at 0940, on May 27. Some highlights:

0815-0851: EZL songs and today more frequently heard announcers than usual. 

0851-0901: The very distinctive segment with Islamic Shalawat Tarhim prayer, followed by the Maghrib
(sunset) call-to-prayer; mostly fair.

0901-0927: Non-stop EZL songs, but now with no announcers at all.

0929: The often heard EZL instrumental intro theme music just before announcer; ID "Programa Satu,
Radio Republik Indonesia Nabire" and back to EZL songs. My four minute audio -
https://app.box.com/s/hoccipbegzdkxef1oe2mhu3tihbu6b25 (very pleased to catch two clear ID's at 0:38
and again at 1:29 on my audio).

VANUATU[non-log]. R. Vanuatu, random checking from 0755 to 0940 UT, on May 27. Not heard on
2485, 3945, 5040, 7260 nor 9960.

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
CommRadio CR-1, external antenna: 30m long wire 

6

Shortwave Broadcast / Re: 15340 SOH relay RFA 1630 UTC May 25 2024

« on: May 27, 2024, 0215 UTC »

A reminder:

Actually it is relatively easy to ID an UNID Chinese station that you think may be jamming SOH, RFA, etc. Item number 1 below is the easiest, positive confirmation if the UNID is in fact CNR1 or SOH. Perhaps my other suggestions will also help? Ron (May 26, 2024)

Identifying Sound of Hope (Taiwan) vs CNR-1 jamming Sound of Hope (SOH): http://bdxc.org.uk/asiapac.pdf  [pg. 18]  

For me, it has always been fun trying to tie down if a station heard is really a Sound of Hope reception or just the CNR-1
program jamming. Here are a few suggestions, based on my years of observations:

1) One positive way is to listen at the top-of-the-hour. CNR-1 programming always has time pips, while SOH never has any.

2) Find a known CNR-1 frequency, that is to say a non-jamming frequency (I use 6125 kHz.), then check to find if it
is // to the station in question.

3) SOH is a religious station, so has a more refined format. At ToH usually has news and then a lot of monologues. Rather
rare to hear music. While the CNR-1 format is fairly contemporary; many short segments; often with music; in general has
a much more upbeat format than SOH.

4) After many years of listening to SOH, I find their audio slightly muffled; not a lot, just enough to be noticeable, especially
when compared to the crisp audio of CNR-1.

5) It is not uncommon for SOH to be slightly off-frequency; while CNR-1 is on the exact frequency (xx.00).

6) Finally, if the station in question has fair to good reception, it almost certainly is CNR-1 jamming. SOH stations use rather low
power, hence fair-good reception would be extremely rare.
 
7) If you are fortunate enough to actually hear SOH, their top-of-the-hour ID is "Xiwang zhi sheng guoji guangbo diantai" (Sound
of Hope international broadcast station), given twice (once by OM and once by YL), then into the news. My audio of a typical ToH
SOH ID format is posted at https://app.box.com/s/kk142tja5d42nbkcvq7zvqqqokhtmfzi .
Ron Howard, 17 May 2021 via WOR iog  

7

Shortwave Broadcast / Voice of Indonesia - "shortwave 3-3-2-5 kilohertz and [new] 4-7-5-5 kilohertz"

« on: May 14, 2024, 0305 UTC »

INDONESIA. 3325, Voice of Indonesia (Channel One) from Palangkaraya, on May 13. At my local
sunrise (1301 UT) had fairly good reception, but that quickly faded down to extremely poor reception.
A few highlights:

1253-1301 UT: Japanese segment with songs and ending with contact info.

1301-1314: Intro (now announcing "shortwave 3-3-2-5 kilohertz and 4-7-5-5 kilohertz"); "National news"
(death toll for flash floods and cold lava flow in West Sumatra)
news story - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/floods-kill-43-indonesia-west-sumatra-rcna151922 .
and "International news" (Russian President Putin with leadership shakeup, etc.) and "Today's commentary."
My audio of the new frequency announcement - https://app.box.com/s/ynqaai9ke43mks778ngj11km7jyn63r9 .
The new frequency is 4754.83 kHz.(ex: 4749.95), as measured via remotes by Wolfgang Bueschel (thanks to
Wolfie!); I heard only a weak carrier, with no hint of audio; so it will take very good propagation for me to pull in
audio from the new frequency.

1314: Patriotic song “Bagimu Negeri”; extremely poor reception (unusable, so tuned out).

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
CommRadio CR-1, external antenna: 30m long wire 

8

Clandestine Stations / Korea - National Unity Radio: Nelson Mandela quotation

« on: May 09, 2024, 2115 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. 7340, National Unity Radio, broadcasting from Taiwan, 1238-1239 UT, May 9 (Thursday). Very brief English
language lesson; mostly in Korean, but repeating twice the quotation "The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling but in
rising every time we fall.” slight N. Korea jamming underneath. This segment is weekdays only.

Back in September 1998, South African President Nelson Mandela, while visiting President Clinton in Washington, spoke at a
White House reception:

“If our expectations, if our fondest prayers and dreams, are not realized, then we should all bear in mind that the greatest glory
of living lies not in never falling but in rising every time you fall.”

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
CommRadio CR-1, external antenna: 100 ft. long wire

9

Clandestine Stations / National Unity R. - English lesson: Fear not those who argue but those who dodge

« on: May 02, 2024, 1510 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. 7340, National Unity Radio, broadcasting from Taiwan, 1238-1239 UT, May 2 (Thursday). Very brief English
language lesson; mostly in Korean, but repeating twice the quotation "Fear not those who argue but those who dodge"; 
moderate N. Korea jamming underneath. This segment is weekdays only.
My brief audio - https://app.box.com/s/h80negxd1jhqi137m73199ouvr7wovu4 .

[ https://wist.info/author/von-ebner-eschenbach-marie/
"Quotations by: Ebner-Eschenbach, Marie von" - "Fear not those who argue but those who dodge."

Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach (1830-1916) Austrian writer 
Aphorisms (1905)]

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
CommRadio CR-1, external antenna: 30m long wire

10

Shortwave Broadcast / Re: Indonesia - RRI Nabire Pro 1, 7289.93 kHz., 0757-0920 UT, 21 April 2024

« on: April 22, 2024, 1553 UTC »

INDONESIA. 3325, Voice of Indonesia (Channel One) from Palangkaraya, on April 22. Wonderful to daily have VOI
with readable audio level. A few highlights of the English segment:

1300-1315 UT: Intro (frequencies of 3-3-2-5 & 4-7-5-0), news ("National" and "International" - Indonesia/Egypt relations,
PNG Prime Minister, etc.), "commentary" (about US and UN), patriotic song “Bagimu Negeri.” My local sunrise today was
at 1323 UT.

1315-1319: "Today in History":
                     * Today is "Earth Day," established after the 1969 Santa Barbara, Calif. oil still [back then, I was living there and
                        saw massive amounts of oil wash up on the beach - Ron]; Website - https://www.earthday.org/history/ .
                      * 1994 - Former US President Nixon died; brief bio. [President Nixon came to Santa Barbara to see the oil spill
                         and cleanup efforts for himself - Ron]
                      * 1955 - International conference held in Bandung, Indonesia.

1319-1323: EZL pop song.

1323-1326: Segment "Indonesia Today"; Indonesia/China continuing to have good cooperation.
(news story - https://eng.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/p/0I2VR5BL.html .)

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
CommRadio CR-1, external antenna: 100 ft. long wire

11

Shortwave Broadcast / Indonesia - RRI Nabire Pro 1, 7289.93 kHz., 0757-0920 UT, 21 April 2024

« on: April 21, 2024, 1106 UTC »

RRI Nabire Pro 1, 7289.93 kHz., 0757-0920 UT, 21 April 2024

INDONESIA. 7289.93, RRI Nabire Pro 1, tuned in at 0757 till tuned out at 0920, April 21. Back on the air again
after a brief absence after Ramadan; this is my first post-Ramadan reception and they are back to a pre-Ramadan
format of mostly non-stop songs.

0757-0854 UT: Mostly EZL songs and several announcers.

0854-0900: Now that Ramadan is over, again back to airing the normal Islamic Shalawat Tarhim prayer, before
the call-to-prayer; during Ramadan this prayer was not given.

0900-0905: The distinctive Maghrib (sunset) call-to-prayer. Right on time!

0905+: Switched over to Middle Eastern/Islamic style music/singing.
My three minute musical audio - https://app.box.com/s/3ztco39wsife6np8fusoucq8c5q0rygc .

Nabire Islamic call-to-prayer times for April 21:

Fajr - dawn                 04:40  (1940 UT)
Dhuhr - after midday   12:00  (0300 UT)
Asr - afternoon            15:18  (0618 UT)
Maghrib - sunset          18:00  (0900 UT)
Isha'a - nighttime         19:09  (1009 UT)

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
CommRadio CR-1, external antenna: 100 ft. long wire

12

Clandestine Stations / Shiokaze/Sea Breeze and National Unity Radio

« on: April 17, 2024, 1836 UTC »

KOREA NORTH[non]. 6040 // 6070, Shiokaze/Sea Breeze/JSR, via Japan, *1300, April 17. The usual Wednesday
in English; the normal intro and "Today's News Flash"; announcer's accent makes for challenging understanding of
what is being said.

KOREA SOUTH. 7340, National Unity Radio, broadcasting from Taiwan, 1238-1239, April 17. Very brief English
language lesson; mostly in Korean, but twice saying "Love the moment and the energy of that moment will spread
beyond all boundaries”; fair, with moderate N. Korea jamming. This segment is weekdays only.

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
CommRadio CR-1, external antenna: 100 ft. long wire

13

Shortwave Broadcast / Radio Vanuatu, 7260 kHz., 0630 UT, 12 April 2024 - French service messages!

« on: April 12, 2024, 2112 UTC »

VANUATU. 7260, R. Vanuatu, on April 12, from 0630 to 0640 UT; service messages given totally in French (a language not often used
at this time); distinctive intro and exit with indigenous drums. My audio - https://app.box.com/s/ug8tpinbvexyvezytfhbe53f20llb0ge .

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
CommRadio CR-1, external antenna: 100 ft. long wire

14

Clandestine Stations / Korea

« on: April 07, 2024, 2045 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. Voice of the People, 3480 (best reception) // 3910 // 3930 // 4450 // 4560 (2nd best, with CODAR)
// 6520 // 6600, on April 7, at 1135.

Echo of Hope VOH, 3985 // 4885 // 5995 // 6250 // 6350 (2nd best) // 7720 (excellent reception), on April 7, at 1130.

Voice of Freedom, 5920, on April 7, at 1140; poor, due to N. Korea super jamming.

National Unity Radio, broadcasting from Taiwan, on new 7340 (ex: 7235), 1215-1250, April 7. In Korean, with
light hearted (often laughing) announcers chatting. No language lesson today (Sunday), which conforms to my
past monitoring; language lessons given only on weekdays, which are aired after 1230 (times vary). Strong signal,
with light N. Korea jamming underneath. My audio - https://app.box.com/s/q3lv7dfnjziz2u2m0zte5p80sb3qqejh .

Website: https://www.uni-media.net/  ("Starting March 31, 2024, the frequency and broadcast time of the National
Unification Broadcasting System [UMG] have changed. Broadcast time [Korean Peninsula time] and frequency:
9-12 PM [3 hours]: 7340khz [200kw]") [1200-1500 UT - Ron]. Email: umg.info@uni-media.net
Address: National Unification Broadcasting
3rd floor, Baeyoung Building, 59 Donggyo-ro,  
Mapo-gu, Seoul, 04018 Republic of Korea

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
CommRadio CR-1, external antenna: 30m long wire

15

Shortwave Broadcast / Re: XEPPM Radio Educación 6185 AM 1020 UTC 19 MAR 2024

« on: March 19, 2024, 2053 UTC »

Here on the California coast, I was listening to 6185 kHz., at 0946 UT, on March 16. Mexico airing a nice jazz program,
which was considerably stronger than CHBC (China) underneath in Chinese and also playing music; *1000 UT, strong
start of Korea (VOK) with IS and English IDs; NA and into their English programming; distorted audio; VOK killed any
chance of Mexico/China reception!

Ron