Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Matt Todd, who shares the following recording and notes:
Audio recording of a MARS (Military Auxiliary Radio Service) of the establishment of a phone patch between a service member and their family member. This was recorded January 24, 2022 at 2148UTC on 13.927 MHz. It was recorded with an SRDplay RSPdx using a wire loop antenna.
Broadcaster: MARS
Date of recording: 1/24/2022
Starting time: 2148
Frequency: 13927
RX location: Hugo, MN
Receiver and antenna: SDRplay RSPdx with wire loop around perimeter of attic
In the early 1970’s, Syria was among the major shortwave broadcasters from the Middle East. The Broadcasting Service of the Syrian Arab Republic, as it was called back then, put in fairly strong signals on 15,165 khz in the 19 meter band, though not as powerful as other stations such as Radio Kuwait and Radio Cairo. In this recording from 1971, we hear a political commentary on the Palestinians, followed by station identification: “You are tuned to Damascus, the broadcasting service of the Syrian Arab Republic. The time is exactly 23 hours and 10 minutes.” While Damascus was still using shortwave, including its old 12,085 khz frequency and 9,330 khz in the first decade of the 2000s, the civil war in Syria along with decisions made to end shortwave, removed this once familiar Middle East voice from the shortwave bands.
In 2022, it is quite astounding that we still have, at least as of now, two Middle East broadcasters still on the air on shortwave: Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. Radio Cairo was making attempts to return as of early 2022 but having great difficulties resolving its longstanding modulation and distortion problems. Jordan is now gone, as is Bahrain it seems. Oman which was still on shortwave as of 2019 is now either gone or intermittent. Radio Kuwait, which returned to shortwave some years ago, began shifting to DRM transmissions though is still being heard on regular AM shortwave, though with some highly variable shifts of frequency.
Which brings us back to the good old days when Radio Kuwait was the new powerhouse in shortwave broadcasting from the Middle East, having taken delivery of 250 kilowatt transmitters. Radio Kuwait was a daily presence on shortwave for decades, with its familiar musical interval before English newscasts, and music programs. As a young SWL, I used to listen to Radio Kuwait almost on a daily basis, usually in the 19 meter band. The signal was so strong and clear that it was easy to tune in on the 1940’s T-133 receiver I used at the time. Here is a recording of Radio Kuwait from 1970. The station was also a superb reliable verifier of reception reports and sent out beautiful folder QSLs.
The shortwave listening community was stunned some 40 years ago by the sudden appearance of a new station in the Galapagos Islands. It was Radiodifusora La Voz de Galapagos HCVG-8 and broadcast on 4,810 khz in the 60 meter band. Not only did LV de Galapagos put in an excellent signal in the evening in eastern North America, but it was an excellent QSLer, sending out beautiful photo cards showing wildlife in the islands. On the back were wonderful colorful stamps. This recording was made in Washington, DC in 1980.
The Cable & Wireless Ltd point to point station at St. George’s, Bermuda was a regular signal on the shortwave frequencies in the 1960s and 1970s. This recording was made in Levittown, Pennsylvania using a Hammarlund HQ-180A receiver: “This is a test transmission for station adjustment purposes of a radio telephone terminal owned and operated by Cable & Wireless, Ltd. This transmitter is located at St. George’s Bermuda.”
Among the many point to point / utility stations on the shortwave bands was this one, ACA (Alpha Charlie Alpha) located in the Panama Canal Zone. This recording was made in the early 1970s in Levittown, PA: “This is United States Army radio station, Alpha Charlie Alpha, located in the Panama Canal Zone. We are testing for receive alignment and station identification”
In the 1960’s and 1970s, and likely earlier in the 1950s, point to point utility stations were an enjoyable part of the shortwave listening hobby. These stations, run by Cable & Wireless, Ltd, Republique Francois Post et Telecommunications, and companies, and broadcast by transmitters in many of the former colonial territories, were heard on frequencies outside of the main shortwave broadcast bands. Because they were not meant for general consumption, verifications from these stations, usually from the PTT office in the countries concerned, usually were not verifications as such but recognition of reception. Nevertheless, they offered an interesting way for hobbyists to hear countries, including some locations that had no shortwave broadcast stations. The QSL shown here was for my reception in the 1970’s of the PTT station at Cayenne, French Guiana.
Surinam, another of the three non-Spanish countries in South America, has an interesting history when it comes to shortwave broadcasting. The country was represented on shortwave by the old Radio SRS (Surinam Broadcasting Foundation) which sent out beautiful folder QSL cards and which listed frequencies as 4,780 khz, 4,850 khz and 15,450 khz and later by Radio Apintie. The QSL letter shown here was for a reception on 4,990 khz though the station was also on 5,005 khz at one point — the director at the time notes that Apintie started broadcasting on shorrtwave in 1979. The recording here is of Radio Apintie signing on in early morning. At various times the power varied, with the director saying that a 50 watt Philips transmitter had been supplemented by a 350 watt linar amplifier. But later, power on shortwave was given as 1 kilowatt with a new Omnitronics 1000 watt transmitter and six element log periodic antenna beamed to the south. Radio Apintie continued to be reported into the early 2000s.
In South America, three non-Spanish speaking countries — Guyana, French Guiana, and Surinam — were key DX targets for listeners around the world. A history of broadcasting in Guyana can be found here. DX’ers who are still surviving and whose listening stretched back into the 1950’s and 1960s are lucky to have received the classic older ZFY / Radio Demerara QSL cards, whereas later the main station GBS sent out only letter verifications. Guyana was still on shortwave as of 2015 as reported here.
In 1971, Christmas Eve, at the very beginning of my listening career, I used a 1940’s era T-133 Pilot Radio to hear Guyana on 3,290 khz. The station listed a power of 10 kilowatts. One of these two recordings has the transition to Christmas day as an announcer said: “On Action Radio, the proclamation of Guyana, the time is midnight. It is not Christmas morning 1971. On behalf of the management and staff of GBS, this is Ron Standish wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. . .” The broadcast then switched to midnight mass in the cathedral in Georgetown, the capital. A longer recording is also included here. Note the heavy interference on 3,290 khz from a utility station that made hearing Guyana so difficult for years.
Without doubt, Radio Andorra was one of the most sought after stations in the 1970s and with a bonus — it sent out one of the most beautiful QSL cards ever produced by any station. The QSL here was for a reception on 6,230 khz though the station ID, as it went into programming by Adventist World Radio said 6,220 khz. This was very early in the morning eastern U.S. time. This recording was made on a Drake SPR-4 reciver in Washington, DC
