My final station logged on Sunday evening (17th October 2021) was Radio Farda on 15690 kHz in the 19m shortwave band. The broadcast was in the Farsi language.
Radio Farda is the Persian language broadcaster at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, providing 24/7 radio programs for Iran on multiple platforms including shortwave.
Radio Farda first aired December 2002. Radio Farda broadcasts news on topics like political, cultural, social, and art with an emphasis on Iran. The name “Farda” means “tomorrow” in Persian. Radio Farda’s broadcasts have been continually blocked by Iranian authorities over the history of its programming.
Overall reception of Radio Farda was good.
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Below is a short video of my reception of Radio Farda.
I then tuned into KSDA Adventist World Radio in GUAM on 15715 kHz in the 19m shortwave band. They were broadcasting in the Mandarin language.
Adventist World Radio (AWR) is a religious broadcast station. Their website states:-
“No walls, no borders, no limits. AWR’s broadcasts travel where missionaries cannot go, transforming lives for eternity.“
Adventist World Radio commenced airing programs for the first time in 1971 from a rented shortwave station in Portugal. The main focus of the broadcasts was to carry the gospel into Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. AWR subsequently decided to build its own shortwave station on the island of Guam. In 1987 broadcasts began from KSDA-SW, covering the entire Pacific Rim: North and South Korea, Japan, China, and other neighbouring countries.
AWR broadcasts in about 80 languages via AWR’s Guam station and leased transmitters in various locations (see the map below):
Above:- Transmitter locations of AWR. Image c/o adventistreview.org
KSDA broadcasts from the island of Guam in the Pacific.
Above:- Map showing the location of Guam. Map c/o Google maps
The video below shows the AWR Guam radio towers.
I was copying KSDA well. The signal strength was strong with only minimal fading.
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Below is a short video of my reception of Adventist World Radio.
My third station in the log on Sunday evening (17th October 2021) was NHK World Japan on 7355 kHz in the 41m band.
Above:- Map of Japan. c/o Google maps
NHK World-Japan (also known simply as NHK World) is the international arm of the Japanese state-controlled public broadcaster.
NHK began shortwave broadcasting on an experimental basis in the 1930s, and began regular English- and Japanese-language shortwave broadcasts in 1935 under the name Radio Japan.
Above:- NHK Broadcasting Centre (headquarters). Image c/o Wikipedia
Here is a promotional video from NHK World.
Overall reception of NHK was good. The signal strength was good and there was slight fading of the signal. However there was interference from 7345 in the Chinese language. I experienced some static crashes on the band.
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Below is a video of my reception of NHK World Japan.
Second in the log on Sunday night (17th October 2021) was Radio Marti in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA on 7335 kHz in the 41m band.
I tuned in to Radio Marti at 1024 UTC. The broadcast was in the Spanish language.
Radio Televisión Martí is an American state-run radio and television international broadcaster based in Miami, Florida. The station transmits in the Spanish language to Cuba. Radio Marti was established in 1983 with the addition of TV Martí in 1990. The station broadcasts news and information to Cuba to promote freedom and democracy. US Congress has provided more than $660 million to fund these efforts.
Above:- Radio Marti logo. Image c/o www-radiotelevisionmarti-com
The Radio Marti website states that the station’s purpose is:-
“to provide the Cuban people with news and information without the censorship of the regime.”
Above:- Map showing the location of Cuba and Radio Marti’s HQ in Miami, Florida. Map c/o Google maps
During the early 1980s, the United States Government planned to create a radio station to be known as Radio Free Cuba. Its mission was to fight communism in the hope of hastening the fall of Cuban President Fidel Castro. The station was established in 1983 by President Ronald Reagan at the urging of Jorge Mas Canosa, a Cuban-American exile.
President Ronald Reagan. Image c/o Wikipedia
The station was renamed Radio Marti after Jose Marti who had fought for Cuba’s independence from Spain and against US influence in the Americas.
Above:- Jose Marti. Image c/o Wikipedia
Radio Marti uses three x 250, and five x 500 kW transmitters (Voice of America) in Greenville, North Carolina. It is known as the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station, named after Edward Rd. Murrow the former Director of the United States Information Agency.
Above:- Site A of the Greenville transmitting site in North Carolina. Image c/o Wikipedia.
Below is an interesting video from YouTube put together by Al Jazeera about Radio Marti. It is a little dated (2015).
I was receiving Radio Marti very well. The signal strength was strong (10dB over strength 9) and there was no interference from nearby stations. Fading of the signal was only slight.
There are reports that Radio Marti’s signal has been the subject of jamming by the Cuban Government, but I did not experience that whilst I was listening.
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Below is a short video on my reception of Radio Marti.
On Sunday evening (17th October 2021) I did a little more broadcast shortwave receiving. First in the log was Echo of Hope in SOUTH KOREA broadcasting on 4890 kHZ in the 60m band.
Echo of Hope is operated by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service. It is purported to be run by the General Union of Overseas Compatriots, North Koreans who have escaped from the DPRK.
They broadcast news and information daily to North Korea. Often these broadcasts are jammed by North Korea. The station was established in June 1973 and was previously known as the Voice of Reunification. It transmits from Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
Above:- Map showing the broadcast location of Echo of Hope. Map c/o google maps
I was receiving Echo of Hope well. The signal strength was strong, with slight interference from adjacent stations on the band. There was slight fading of the signal. There were static crashes on the band from local storms in Australia.
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Below is a short video of my reception of Echo of Hope.
VK5PAS 