I then found Vatican Radio broadcasting on 9610 kHz in the 31m band. The broadcast was in the Russian language.
Vatican Radio is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City. The station was set up in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, and today its programs are offered in 47 languages and are sent out on various mediums including shortwave.
Above:- Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi. Image c/o Wikipedia
On the 12th day of February 1931, Vatican Radio commenced broadcasting with the callsign HVJ on two shortwave frequencies using 10 kilowatts of power, with the pontifical message “Omni creature” of Pope Pius XI. Also in attendance was Guglielmo Marconi and Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, who would become Pope Pius XII.
Above:- Pope Pius XI, his successor Pacelli with Marconi at starting of Vatican Radio 1931. Image c/o Wikipedia
Today, programming is produced by over two hundred journalists located in 61 different countries. Vatican Radio produces more than 42,000 hours of simultaneous broadcasting covering international news, religious celebrations, in-depth programs, and music.
Above:- Administration building and radio masts at Vatican City Image c/o Wikipedia
I was receiving Vatican Radio well. Unfortunately, I tuned in right at the end of their broadcast.
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Below is a short video of my reception of Vatican Radio.
Next in my Short Wave log was KNLS, New Life Station, broadcasting from ALASKA on 9795 kHz in the 31m band.
KNLS is an international shortwave radio station near Anchor Point, Alaska, United States. The station is operated by World Christian Broadcasting, a non-profit company based in the United States. KNLS broadcasts 20 hours a day of Christian-themed programming in Chinese, English and Russian.
The target area of the broadcast was the Pacific Rim which is that part of the Eastern Hemisphere that encompasses the English-prevalent countries of the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.
Maurice Hall was the inspiration for KNLS. During the Second World War he was a young Army Signal Corps officer, and was involved in delivering shortwave radio transmitters to the Yalta Conference so that President Franklin D. Roosevelt could stay informed of news from Washington.
Hall was a devout Christian and realised that Christian programming could also be sent to the entire world in the same way. At the end of World War II, Hall became a minister, educator and missionary. He still dreamed of an international shortwave station that would reach the entire world with Gospel messages.
Above:- Maurice Hall. Image c/o christianchronicle.org
In 1976, World Christian Broadcasting Corporation was formed and work began on making the station a reality. The following year, Lowell Perry, Hal Frazier, and Ken Ferguson, three of the KNLS founders, were killed in a plane crash near the island of Martinique, during a mission to find a transmitter site. In 1979, land was purchased in Alaska and a transmitter was built.
KNLS signed on the air July 23, 1983, broadcasting ten hours a day in Mandarin Chinese and Russian and reaching roughly one-third of the world. English was added later. As the Soviet Union’s empire fell apart, listeners from those countries began writing and requesting Bibles and other religious materials. In 2005, the station signed on a second transmitter in Alaska.
Overall reception of KNLS was good for the majority of the time. The signal strength was good and there was slight fading of the signal with no interference from adjacent stations on the band. However, from about 1215 UTC, an Over the Horizon Radar came onto the frequency and wiped out the signal out from time to time. The SINPO report below is when there was no interference.
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Below is a video showing my reception of KNLS. It shows the Over the Horizon Radar.
I then tuned into Radio Mashaal on 15365 kHz on the 19m band. The broadcast was in the Pashto language.
Radio Mashaal is a member of Radio Free Europeand was launched on the 15th day of January 2010. It only broadcasts in the Pashto language and its headquarters are located in Prague in the Czech Republic . In 2018 the Radio Mashaal office in Islamabad was closed by the Pakistan Government.
Above:- Map of Pakistan. c/o Radio Free Euope.
Radio Free Europe’s website states:-
Radio Mashaal is a public service broadcaster providing a powerful alternative to extremist propaganda in Pakistan’s remote tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan.
I was receiving Radio Mashaal well.
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Below is a short video of my reception of Mashaal Radio.
Next in the log on Monday evening (18th October 2021) was Voice of Korea on 13650 khz on the 22 m band shortwave.
Above:- Map showing the location of North Korea. Map c/o Google maps.
The Voice of Korea is the international broadcasting service of North Korea. Up until 2002 the station was known as Radio Pyongyang.
The Voice of Korea’s origins date back to 1936 when the radio station JBBK was operated by the occupying Japanese Forces. In 1945 the station was founded as Radio Pyongyang. It was officially inaugurated on the 14th day of October 1945 with a live broadcast of the victory speech of Kim Il-sung.
The first foreign broadcast was on 16th March 1947. In 1950 Japanese language broadcasts commenced, followed by English in 1951. By 1960 Radio Pyongyang broadcast 159 hours of programming every week. By 1970 that had increased to 330 hours. By 1980 the station broadcast 597 hours.
Overall reception of Radio Korea was good. The signal strength was good and there was no interference at all from other stations. Every now and again the Over the Horizon Radar came onto the frequency but it was nowhere strong enough to cause any disruption. Fading of the signal was slight.
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Below is a video of my reception of the Voice of Korea.
On Monday evening (18th October 2021) I logged a number of stations on shortwave. First in the log was Radio Kuwait on 15470 kHz.
Above:- World globe showing the location of Kuwait. Image c/o Wikipedia
The station is run by the Ministry of Information and has five 500 KW transmitters in Kabd.
Radio Kuwait had a good strong signal, however, the signal appeared to be drifting in frequency and this is reported on a number of other SWL websites. I initially believed the broadcast was on 15460 kHz but it appears the signal was on 15.470 kHz.
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Below is a short video of my reception of Radio Kuwait.
On 10th October 2021 I tuned into WBCQ on 9330 kHz. I submitted an on-line reception report and received a very prompt email response. Below is eQSL Verification Card received.
VK5PAS 