My next station heard on 8th November 2021, was another South Korean ‘clandestine’ station. This time it was the Voice of the People broadcasting from SOUTH KOREA in the Korean language on 3910 kHz.
Again, this is a station believed to be run by the South Korean National Intelligence Service.
The overall reception of Voice of the People was poor. There was significant ‘jamming’ of the signal. It has been reported that this comes from North Korea.
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Below is a video of my reception of the Voice of the People.
On Monday 8th November 2021 I did a little more broadcast shortwave listening. First in my log was a station that I have tuned into before, but this time on a different frequency. It was Echo of Hope broadcasting from SOTH KOREA in the Korean language on 3985 kHz.
Above:- Map showing the location of South & North Korea. Map c/o Google maps
The station was initially launched as Voice of Reunification and was renamed Echo of Hope in 1973. It is operated by the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS).
Above:- NIS logo. Image c/o Wikipedia
Below is a video showing my reception of Echo of Hope on 3985 kHz.
My final station logged on 7th November 2021 was a very interesting one. It was Republic of Yemen Radio broadcasting in the Arabic language on 11860 kHz in the 25m band.
Above;- World globe showing the location of Yemen. Image c/o Wikipedia
Yemen is a country in Western Asia, on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast and shares maritime borders with Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia.
Yemen is currently six years into an armed conflict that has claimed over 18,400 civilian lives. It is reported that Yemen is the largest humanitarian crisis in the world.
The World Radio TV Handbook reports that Republic of Yemen Radio broadcasts in support of Yemeni President Hadi and the Aden based provisional government. It is believed that transmissions are aired via transmitters in Saudi Arabia.
I was receiving Republic of Yemen Radio quite well. The signal strength was good and there was only slight fading on the signal.
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Below is a video of my reception of Republic of Yemen Radio.
My next station logged on 7th November 2021 was another special station. I had tuned into this station many times during the 1980’s. It was KTWR in GUAM in the Pacific. They were broadcasting in the English and Chinese languages on 9910 kHz.
Above:- World globe showing the location of Guam. Image c/o Wikipedia.
KTWR is part of Trans World Radio (TWR), a multinational evangelical Christian media distributor. It is the largest Christian media organisation in the world. TWR has major transmitting sites around the world, including Guam. KTWR has broadcasted for about 40 years with programs in numerous languages.
The TWR Asia website states:-
“The mission at KTWR is clear—to provide the most effective and reliable radio services possible to TWR Asia, and to do it in a God-honoring way so that Christ may be known throughout the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.”
The KTWR Guam site sits on a mountainside overlooking the Pacific Ocean. KTWR uses six (6) TCI curtain antennas. In recent years, KTWR has received upgrades which include the replacement of two of the aging 100-kilowatt transmitters were replaced in July 2013 with refurbished 250-kilowatt ones. Solar panels have also been installed to reduce the cost of keeping KTWR on air.
Above:- KTWR transmitting site. Images c/o KTWR
I was receiving KTWR well. The signal strength was strong and there was only slight fading on the signa. I did experience an Over the Horizon radar on the frequency from time to time.
After WRMI, I logged another new station for myself. It was Radio Taiwan International broadcasting in the Vietnamese language on 9425 kHz. I tuned in at 1105 UTC.
Radio Taiwan International (RTI) is the English name and call sign of the international radio service, the Central Broadcasting System (CBS) of the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan. RTI is a government-owned station that broadcasts in 14 languages around the world. There is an emphasis on Mandarin and Taiwanese-language broadcasts over shortwave into Mainland China.
Above:- Central Broadcasting System (the white structure). Image c/o Wikipedia
The Central Broadcasting System was founded in 1928 by the Kuomintang (KMT) government. During the Japanese invasion, the KMT was forced by Japanese advances to relocate the radio station first to Hankou in the central Hubei Province and then to Chungking in south-central China.
After the conclusion of the Second World War, which saw the surrender and withdrawal of Japanese forces, the KMT and the Communist Party of China resumed their civil war. The defeated KMT retreated to Taiwan in 1949 and the Central Broadcasting System moved with them.
The Central Broadcasting System merged with the international department of the Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) between 1996 and 1998, broadcasting to listeners around the world under the call signs “Radio Taipei International” and “The Voice of Asia.” Programs were later combined under a unified call sign, “Radio Taipei International,” and eventually “Radio Taiwan International”.
My overall reception of Radio Taiwan International was good. The signal strength was good and there was only slight fading on the signal, with no interference on the frequency or from adjacent stations.
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Below is a video of my reception of Radio Taiwan International on 9425 kHz.
Next in my log on 7th November 2021, was a station I have logged previously, WRMI Radio Miami International broadcasting from Florida, USA. However, this was a new frequency for me of 7730 kHz
Their broadcast consisted of a religious program from Brother Stair.
I was receiving WRMI well.
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Below is a short video of my reception of WRMI on 7730 kHz.
My next station on 7th November 2021 was another new one for me. It was Radio Vanuatu broadcasting on 5040 kHz in the Bislama language.
Above:- World globe showing the location of Vanuatu. Image c/o Wikipedia
Radio Vanuatu is the national broadcaster’s front line station. It broadcasts the latest national and international news, sport, weather, social and current affairs, culture, talkback, and is also Vanuatu’s emergency broadcaster. The station broadcasts on short wave, mediumwave and FM in Bislama, English, and French.
Radio Vanuatu commenced broadcasting in 1966 as Radio Vila, then Radio New Hebrides. It became Radio Vanuatu at Independence in 1980.
In 2016, Radio Vanuatu celebrated its 50 years of broadcasting.
Above:- Some of the former surviving staff of Radio Vanuatu. Image c/o radioheritage.net
The overall reception of Radio Vanuatu was poor. But this was mostly due to the very severe static crashes on the band due to storms around Australia.
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Below is a short video of my reception of Radio Vanuatu.
On 7th November 2021, I then tuned in to Radio Nikkei in JAPAN, broadcasting in the Japanese language on 6055 kHz. I tuned in at 0947 UTC.
Above:- World globe showing Japan. Image c/o Wikipedia
Radio Nikkei is Japan’s nationwide free-to-air shortwave commercial radio station. The language is almost exclusively in Japanese, except for an English language learning program. The station is operated by Nikkei Radio Broadcasting Corporation and commenced broadcasting on the 27th day of August 1954.
The overall reception of Radio Nikkei was fair. The reception was severely impacted by severe static crashes due to storms in Australia.
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Below is a short video of my reception of Radio Nikkei.
My next station logged on 7th November 2021 was a very interesting one. It was Radio Educación in MEXICO, broadcasting in the Spanish language on 6185 kHz.
Above:- World globe showing the location of Mexico. Image c/o Wikipedia
Radio Educación is a cultural radio station that broadcasts Spanish language cultural and educational programming. The primary broadcast is on 1060 kHz, but Radio Educacion also broadcasts also operates a shortwave station, XEPPM-OC on 6.185 MHz
Radio Educación is based in Mexico City.
Above:- The Radio Educacion studios in Mexico City. Image c/o Wikipedia
On the 30th day of November 1924, Radio Educación commenced broadcasting, at the initiative of the then Secretariat of Public Education, José Vasconcelos The purpose was to harness the potential of radio for the benefit of educational and cultural tasks in Mexico. The new radio station began broadcasting with the inauguration of President Plutarco Elías Calles, under the acronym CYE Culture and Education.
Above:- Jose Vasconcelos. Image c/o Wikipedia
The program consisted of music including Pineapple Rag, music from Francis Lai, and Simon & Garfunkel. The reception however was overall poor. Radio Educacion’s signal was fair and there was no interference, but the static crashes were extremely loud and made listening very difficult.
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Below is a short video of my reception of Radio Educacion.
VK5PAS 