Topics

61

Shortwave Broadcast / Voice of Indonesia (3325 kHz.)

« on: April 26, 2022, 1557 UTC »

INDONESIA. 3325, Voice of Indonesia, via Palangkaraya. As Bruce Churchill noted yesterday (Apr 25) in
WOR iog, VOI is having serious issues regarding their audio feed from Jakarta; partially fixed today (Apr 26);
heard from 1246 UT till audio feed ended at 1329. Today had decent signal strength and was mostly readable.
My local sunrise was at 1319 UT.

1246-1300 UT: In Japanese.

1301-1317, start of English segment; news; at 1310, "Commentary," with a message that the gov't has given
permission for people to be able to return to their hometown for the celebration of Eid al-Fitr (official holiday to
celebrate the end of the month long dawn-to-sunset fasting of Ramadan), still some concerns about COVID-19
and gave vaccination requirements; 1315-1317, the national song “Bagimu Negeri.”

1317: Program "Today in History"; this date in 1959, Soewardi Soerjaningrat died, who was the father of Indonesian
national education; this date in 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster happened; this date in 2000, the first
World Intellectual Property Day was observed.

1321: COVID PSA given in a multitude of languages (Indonesian, Arabic, Japanese, English [help stop the spread of
COVID by wearing your mask properly] and many other languages).

1327: Program "My Indonesia."

1329: Audio feed lost; just a strong open carrier heard; dead air. Randomly checked through 1404, but audio never
returned, just the open carrier heard.

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey), USA
Etón E1, external antenna of 30m long wire

62

Clandestine Stations / Korea

« on: April 18, 2022, 2140 UTC »

Monday - April 18: This weeks Echo of Hope - VOH frequencies: 3990 // 4885 // 6000 // 6250 // 6355 // 9100;
noted at 0953 UT, with Britney Spears song "Oops!...I Did It Again"; all frequencies good-fair with no jamming,
but by 1121, all were jammed except 6000 & 9100. Programming is on a four hour loop, so will be repeated
again in four hours. Frequencies should be good through Sunday (April 24).
 
Voice of the People with no changes this week (as usual):
3480 (not jammed, so always with the best reception) // 3910 // 3930 // 4450 // 6520 // 6600, at 1125 UT.
 
Voice of Freedom is now on 5920 (ex: 6045), at 0907 UT and also with pulsating jamming from N. Korea;
while ex 6045 continues with their long standing super jamming (never changes).

63

Shortwave Broadcast / A great day for Radio Vanuatu!

« on: April 15, 2022, 1841 UTC »

VANUATU. 7260, Radio Vanuatu, 0541-0559* UT, on Apr 15. Poor reception; mostly C&W songs in English; 0558,
start of a radio drama.

11835 (3rd harmonic), Radio Vanuatu, started *0559 UT till tuned out at 0730, on Apr 15. Best recent reception so far;
mostly readable; also // 7890 (2nd harmonic), but not as good. Here are a few highlights:

0628: PSA for applying for the "Australia Awards Scholarships"; due to COVID, closing date for applications has been
extended to April 29 ( https://australiaawardsvanuatu.org/ ).

0630: Musical montage ID; "Radio Vanuatu . . Kingdom of Tonga . . Solomon Islands . . Voice of Papua New Guinea . .";
followed by ID for "Vois Blong Yumi." My audio is at https://bit.ly/36fw0fI .

0659: Commercial announcement for "IDA Pacific" pharmaceutical company, distributor of "IDA Foundation" products;
into the news/sports/weather in Bislama ("one more COVID death"; now seven deaths due to COVID, with 184 new
cases in the last 24 hours; etc.). News audio is at https://bit.ly/3EjKveV .

Of course they played plenty of wonderful island music. My two minute audio is at https://bit.ly/3xzgMgP . Very enjoyable!

64

Latin American Pirate / Colombian pirate 6017.20 0344* UTC 6 Apr 2022

« on: April 06, 2022, 1244 UTC »

COLOMBIA [pirate]. Thanks to Bill Harms (New York) for the tip in WOR iog. Heard on 6017.20 kHz., on
Apr 6, from 0333 till cut off in mid-song at 0344* UT; signal slowly improving the whole time; non-stop LA ballads;
never heard any announcers; poor reception. Fortunately no signal today was heard from Zanzibar on 6015. My
audio is at http://bit.ly/3NQv56t .

Compare that audio to this one also recorded today from the presumed Colombian on 4940 kHz. -
http://bit.ly/3uW1wYs .

Am very grateful to Rafael for his informative comments about the pirate station on 6017.2 kHz. Ron
 
"Greetings from Colombia, yes the signal on 6017,20 kHz it`s a Colombian pirate station identified as
"Organización Radial El Prado." They have been operating irregularly for a year, always with long
musical sessions without announcers, they don't even report TC. It has an irregular schedule opening
round 2230 or 2330 UTC and closing 0200 or 0300 UTC even later. It is not every day, sometimes
during the week days and other times only Fridays and Saturdays. I heard an identification a couple
of months ago, then there hasn't been much talk, it's called "Organización Radial"  because it
mentioned operating two signal more, on 88.1 MHz as Prado Stereo and 98.1 MHz as Musical
Stereo, I guess also without an operating license. It seems to be transmitting from the municipality
of Palermo in the department of Magdalena, although very close to the cities of Soledad and
Barranquilla in the department of Atlantico, where I think they direct their broadcasts. They have
been very careful not to mention any means of contact. the signal has moved from 6016.3 to
6017.2 KHz for which it has come out late.

Rafael Rodriguez R.
Bogotá D.C. - COLOMBIA"

65

Shortwave Broadcast / Radio Vanuatu (7260 kHz.) - Tropical low advisory

« on: April 04, 2022, 1337 UTC »

VANUATU. 7260, R. Vanuatu, 1045 UT, Apr 4. Fairly readable; weather info for tropical low first given in
English and repeated again in Bislama:

"Information Number 2 on tropical low issued by the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department,
Port Vila at 6:48 pm VUT, Monday, 4 April 2022.

At 5:00pm local time, the tropical low (998hPa) was located near 16.4S 162.7E. The tropical low is positioned
near the center right of square letter C, number 7 (C,7) in the Vanuatu tropical cyclone tracking map. This is
about 505 km west of Malekula [second largest island in Vanuatu - Ron]. In the past 12 hours, the system was
moving in a west, south westerly direction at 17 km/hr. The potential for the system to develop into a tropical
cyclone and move towards Vanuatu in the next 12 to 24 hours remains low to moderate.

At this stage, the tropical low does not pose any significant threat yet to the islands of Vanuatu. However, isolated
heavy rainfalls are expected over parts of the Northern and Central Islands of Vanuatu. Possible flash flooding is
expected over low-lying areas and areas close to the river banks, including coastal flooding. People in these areas
are advised to take extra precautions.

Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department is closely monitoring the system and will issue the next information
at 6:00 am tomorrow or earlier if the situation changes. People over Northern and Central Islands are advised to listen
to Radio Vanuatu and other radio outlets to get updated information on this system.
 
This Information bulletin is also available on VMGD's website: wwww.vmgd.gov.vu and on its facebook page:
www.facebook.com/vmgd.gov.vu . You can also call VMGD's free toll number 116 to get the same information."

1050 UT: Religious program in Bislama with some English words ("Thank you for this opportunity . . . We the people
of Vanuatu . . ."; audio ended at 1101, after the National Anthem; then dead air/open carrier.

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 100 ft. long wire

66

Clandestine Stations / Korea

« on: March 30, 2022, 0417 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. Echo of Hope - VOH, at 0902 UT, on March 29 (Tue.), only on 3985 // 5995 // 6350. Later at 1002, heard
all six frequencies; 3985 // 4880 // 5995 // 6245 // 6350 // 9095; frequencies good through April 3 (Sunday).

Voice of the People, at 0905 UT, on March 29, only on 3910 // 3480 // 6520. Later at 1008, heard all six frequencies; 3480
(best reception) // 3910 // 3930 // 4450 // 6520 // 6600; another week with no changes.

6045, Voice of Freedom, at 1013 UT, on March 29. Continuing to mix with N. Korean super jamming on frequency and now
with additional pulsating jamming.  

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 100 ft. long wire

67

Clandestine Stations / Sound of Hope

« on: March 30, 2022, 0415 UTC »

TAIWAN. 6214.94v, Sound of Hope, 0955 UT, on March 29. Unusual to hear SOH with music/singing as was heard today. My
audio is at https://bit.ly/3Nv01c9 ; ToH the usual ID and into the news. At my location, this doesn't sound like a low powered
station!

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 100 ft. long wire

68

Clandestine Stations / Clandestine stations

« on: February 23, 2022, 2028 UTC »

The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) operates both Voice of the People and also Echo of Hope - VOH. Before 1973,
Echo of Hope - VOH, was the Voice of Unification.

- - - - per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortwave_radio :

"Sporadic or non-traditional users of the shortwave bands may include:

Clandestine stations. These are stations that broadcast on behalf of various political movements such as rebel or insurrectionist forces.
They may advocate civil war, insurrection, rebellion against the government-in-charge of the country to which they are directed. Clandestine
broadcasts may emanate from transmitters located in rebel-controlled territory or from outside the country entirely, using another country's
transmission facilities."

69

Clandestine Stations / Korea: 6250 kHz. - VOH vs VOP

« on: February 21, 2022, 1318 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. 6250, Echo of Hope - VOH and Voice of the People mixing together, 0941+ UT, Feb 21 (Monday).
Seems the S. Korean National Intelligence Service got their signals mixed up today (operates both VOH & VOP);
VOH with program of pop songs in English (Michael Jackson - "Billie Jean," etc.), while VOP had announcers (0957,
"Bodo" [news]); VOP was possibly testing here, as there were extended periods being off the air and on the air.
Brief audio (VOP with announcer and VOH with Michael Jackson song) - https://app.box.com/s/z2m7bkdsuc0h6c7fgiur401rsds2vhx7 .

VOH, observed Feb 21 (Monday) with new frequencies good through Feb 27: heard 3990 // 4885 // 6000 // 6250
(VOP QRM) // 6355 // 9100, from 0915+ UT.

VOP,  observed Feb 21 (Monday) with new developments: heard 3910 [3930 off the air] // 3480 // 4450 [6520 off the air]
// on new 6250 (VOH QRM) // 6600, from 0920+ UT. Unable to locate the VOP 6th frequency today!

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 30m long wire

70

Clandestine Stations / Korea

« on: January 27, 2022, 0744 UTC »

KOREA NORTH[non]. 5930, Shiokaze/Sea Breeze, via Yamata (Japan), 1346 UT (scheduled 13-14), on Jan 26; their first day back to this
alternate frequency; Wednesday in English; fair-good with no jamming (yet!), while // 7335 (heavy CNR2 QRM); "Today's News on North
Korea Issues"; at 1354 the segment "Message from the Japanese government," mentioning both “Nippon no Kaze” and "Furusato no Kaze."

KOREA SOUTH. only 3985 // 5995 // 6350, Echo of Hope - VOH, at 0956 UT, Jan 25. pop song (Donna Summer - "Hot Stuff"); at *1000 start
of additional frequencies 4880 // 6245 // 9095; these six frequencies should be good through Jan 30.

only 3910 // 3480 // 6520, Voice of the People, at 0902 UT, on Jan 25; at 1002, heard additional 3930 // 4450 // 6600. These six frequencies with
no change from last week.

6045, Voice of Freedom, *0753 UT, Jan 25. Heard along with N. Korea super jamming.

6115, National Unity Radio, 1258* UT, on Jan 26. Recently have not been hearing their usual language lessons?

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 30m long wire

71

Shortwave Broadcast / WRNO 7505 kHz AM 0843+ UT 14 Jan 2022 (Friday) in Arabic

« on: January 14, 2022, 1941 UTC »

U S A. 7505, WRNO, 0843+ UT, on Jan 14 (Friday). Sounded like stilted Arabic. Certainly not in English, or Hindi, nor Chinese;
at 0900, WRNO contact info in English, then back to Arabic; decent reception past 0910+. My audio is at http://bit.ly/3qtDaEB .

I first heard Arabic via WRNO back in 2010. Sent a report to Larry Thom (engineer at WRNO), along with an audio file of a portion
of my June 10, 2010 reception on 7506.20 kHz. Here is a portion of his reply back to me, regarding the Arabic programming:

“I didn't even know about this until I read your email. I made a call to confirm and it seems this is something they have just started
doing in the last hour of the broadcast. Apparently they have some audience in the Middle East. . ."

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 100 ft. long wire

72

Shortwave Broadcast / Some Asian receptions on Jan 11-12, 2022

« on: January 12, 2022, 2137 UTC »

CHINA. 6200, Voice of Jinling, 1218, on Jan 11. Listening to Xizang PBS (Lhasa, Tibet) till VOJL's double
sign on (*1228* *1229+ UT); in Chinese; started with several commercial announcements; the first ad seemed
to be about buying a new house and remodeling; company provides design, materials, and construction. They
also can provide furniture and kitchen appliances. [It should be noted that new houses in China are not livable,
and buyers need to install bathrooms, a kitchen, etc.]. while the second ad was about Chinese music, inviting
people to listen to their music; at 1230, the start of “Jīngdiǎn yīnyuè qǐng fāxiàn huárén shíshàng pīntú“
(program titled Chinese Fashion Mosaic Music Edition); VOJL totally covering up Tibet. My audio is
at http://bit.ly/3rfLExZ . Thanks very much to a native speaker of Chinese for the details!

KOREA SOUTH. 6015, KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1, at 1200 UT, on Jan 11. Time pips; audio feed from the TV KBS news
at 9 (1200 UT = 9:00 PM KST); ID after each news item as "K-B-S News"; these news programs are posted to YouTube
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgVMWA2SUC4 ); lead story was of a building that partially collapsed during
construction in Gwangju, S. Korea; light jamming underneath KBS.

MYANMAR. 5985, Myanmar Radio, 1230-1345 UT, on Jan 12. Outstanding reception today; about the best ever; expected
to hear the Wednesday edition of "Say It In English" language lesson, but was not aired today; 1328+, usual BoH
format (their local ToH); nice three "kilohertz" station's singing jingle, with 5985 kHz. (Ngarr koe shit ngarr
kilohertz), 576 kHz. (Ngarrrar hkunait s y hkyawwat kilohertz) and 594 kHz. (Ngarrrar koe s y layy kilohertz);
thanks very much to Amano (Japan) for making out these frequencies. My audio is at http://bit.ly/33x1TyN .

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 30m long wire

73

Clandestine Stations / Korea observations Jan 10 (Monday)

« on: January 10, 2022, 2042 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. Observations on Jan 10:

Echo of Hope - VOH: 3985 // 4890 // 5995 // 6255 // 6350 // 9105, at 1210 UT; these changes should be good through Jan 16 (Sunday).

Voice of the People - no change from last week; 3910 // 3930 // 3480 (continues to be the best reception!) // 4450 // 6520 // 6600, at 1215 UT.

Voice of Freedom, 6045, at 1220 UT; heard along with N. Korea super jamming on frequency, while ex 5920 is a clear frequency with no jamming.
So they moved to a frequency that was already being jammed, from a frequency that was not jammed. Seems their broadcasts are not actually
monitored there in S. Korea, as the frequency assignments make little sense.

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 100 ft. long wire

74

Clandestine Stations / Korea observations January 5-6, 2022

« on: January 06, 2022, 1143 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. Observations on Jan 5 (Wednesday):

Voice of Freedom, on 5920 (next day noted they moved up to 6045 - see log below)

1157 UT - Closing ID for "Aneun geos-i him-ida" (Knowledge is power).

1200 - Single tone; "Jayu-e solibangsong-eseo bam 9 (ahob) sileul allyeodeulibnida." (In English - Voice of Freedom
has announced 9pm); singing station jingle - "jinsil-e soli, huimang-e soli, jayu-e soli bangsong!" (Voice of Truth,
Voice of Hope, Voice of Freedom broadcast); "Bodo gwangjang" (News Plaza). My audio is at https://bit.ly/3pVipRL .

1210 - Program "Nalssi Jeonmangdae" (Weather Observatory). My audio is at https://bit.ly/3n0RLFa .

1215 - Program "Dodbogilo boneun sesang" (The world through a magnifying glass). My audio is
at https://bit.ly/3qROs4q .

1340 - With the 20 minutes program "Sigan-yeohaeng, yeogsa tamheomdae" (Time travel, history exploration party),
with the theme music by South Korean electronic group Idiotape - "Melodie" ("6 synthesizers and 1 drummer formed
an electronic band Idiotape to play synth playing rock music" -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emoadwiK4TM&feature=youtu.be ). My audio is at http://bit.ly/3eTiejC .

Observations on Jan 6 (Thursday):

Echo of Hope - VOH, 3980 // 4885 // 5990 // 6250 // 6348 // 9100, early reception at 0724 UT; start of the weekday
audio feed from a TV program called "Wang cho bo yeong-eo" (translated into English - Beginner's English); intro &
exit theme song is the "Party Will Come Alive" by Wizardz Of Oz (with Ruben Martinez); the usual intro with announcer
saying "English trainer" and gives his name ("Mayu"), then the woman announcer says her name ("Mini"), then they both
say in English, "Good morning everybody." "I am starving. I am hungry. Do you want to go to a convenience store?";
as it was so early, reception was rather weak.

Voice of Freedom, noted starting at *0753 UT; first day back on alternate frequency of 6045 (ex 5920),
heard along with N. Korea super jamming currently operating here. A very poor frequency assignment!

Thanks again to Amano (Japan) for his wonderful ongoing guidance with the VOF details and program names!

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 30m long wire

75

Clandestine Stations / Korea

« on: January 04, 2022, 0537 UTC »

KOREA SOUTH. 9095, Echo of Hope - VOH, 0545-0600* UT, on Jan 1. New Year's show of all pop songs in English
(Britney Spears - "Oops!...I Did It Again," etc.); fair-good. At *0600 UT, heard VOH start on 5995 // 6350.

VOH, 5995 // 6350, at 0724, Jan 2 (Sunday). Start of the weekend only English lesson, with reading of a "Harry Potter" story.

Jan 3 (Monday) observations:

Echo of Hope - VOH: 3980 // 4885 // 5990 // 6250 // 6348 // 9100, at 1005 UT; these frequencies should be good through Jan 9.

Voice of the People: 3910 // 3930 // 3480 (best reception!) // 4450 // 6520 // 6600, at 1010 UT; these frequencies do not change.

Ron
Asilomar State Beach, Calif. (near Monterey)
Etón E1; external antenna of 30 long wire