Thursday, December 31, 2015

New Year's Eve/Day 12/31/15-1/1/16

Happy New Year!

Advice: Stay off the roads & away from the drunk drivers; hang by the radio instead.

Cold Country Canada: 6969L, 12/31, 1939+ Allman Bros "Ramblin' Man," the entire Rush song "2112" (which I haven't heard too many times on the radio), DJ making lots of comments over the song & he seems to be having a good time. Into Rush "Hemispheres," which I'm not sure that I've heard on the radio.

WBOG: 6950, 12/31, 2115+ Tuned into hear tones & ID. New wavish/punkish song, into bluegrassy song about a wide variety of substance abuse ("We Love Beer"). Good signal with occasional light RTTY QRM. Rockabilly song. Nice to hear WBOG again; I think it's been a year or two since I've heard it, Flintstones Busch Beer ad

Radio Azteca: 6900, 12/31, 2212+ Old program from about 25 years ago with Mail Scrotum program with letters from Chris Cuomo, Don Spooner, Mike LeClerc, Ken Vicci, John Fischer, Alex Vranes, and much more. Good signal with some fades. Bullwinkle between segment music. Bunji Condoms ad, Cantilevel Bras ad. "Your station for all that is gross, but tasteful." IDs, Wellsville address in Spanish

6925.2, 12/31, 2320+ Dance song, fair signal. Maybe Liquid Radio?

Wolverine Radio: 6940U, 1/1, 0115+ IDs around 0115 and at 0134. A variety of music, including "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." Fair signal, but copy is tough because the signal is so watery. Sounds about like it's under water

WDDR: 3440U, 1/1, 0228+ Nice signal: Blondie. Shoutouts to everyone with DJ singing IDs, "We're here to please," Red Ryder song

Monday, December 28, 2015

Post Christmas/Pre-NYE loggings: 12/28-12/29/15

Wow, a decent amount of activity already!

Old-Time Radio unid: 6770, 12/28, ca1500 Hallmark cards ad, presentation of "My Friend Flicka"

6925, 12/28, ca 1500 fairly strong dead carrier. Checked back around 1945 & audio was here now, but I moved up for the time being to check on Cold Country Canada. From 2058, I've been hearing instrumentals from the late '50s/early '60s + "Something's Gotta Give." Occasional jamming for some reason: dead carrier + someone swishing a tone on their VFO. Not sure why anyone would be jamming this?

Cold Country Canada: 6969L, 12/28, 1941+ Fair signal strength, but clear & listenable. Album rock with George Thorogood "Bad to the Bone," Molly Hatchet "Flirtin' with Disaster," ELO "Don't Bring Me Down," Scorpions "Rock You Like a Hurricane,"

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Christmas Loggings: 12/24-25/15

I'll be doing lots of things with family over the next few days, so I probably won't hear or log much here. But I'm hearing a few stations this morning, so they're worth logging on here.

Cold Country Canada: 6969L?, 12/24, 1405+ The last I'd checked HFU, I didn't see any loggings, I did a couple of things outside, then tuned the dial. I could hear something that sounded like SSB around 6968. I tuned across a few times in USB & LSB and couldn't tune it in. Then I checked HFU & it's evidently CCC. Maybe I need to get my SSB ears checked? After the fade out of PRB, I checked back to 6969L and could clearly hear SSTV data--it was strong enough to trigger a decode in MMSSTV, but not clear enough for me to decypher what it was. BTW, the problem with my decoding CCC's signal seems to be because of a local bit of noise on the frequency (6969.5).

Pirate Radio Boston: 6976, 12/26, 1409-1415+ "Let It Snow" and then it mostly faded out.

Old-Time Radio unid: 6770, 12/24, 1420+ Hallmark cards ad, into Nightbeat with Randy Stone. NBC promo for Duffy's Tavern.

Cold Country Canada: 6969L, 12/24, 2031-2040* TRex "Bang a Gong" Animals "House of the Rising Sun," Pretenders "Brass in Pocket," clear IDs by woman. Fair signal in computer noise. Off mid-song

unid: 7590, 12/24, 1800+ I've had a decent carrier here for a while. Starting to get some tiny bits of audio here. My guess is that it's THX 1138 running extremely low power, but I really don't know

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Pre-Christmas Loggings: 12/22-12/23/15

Got up this morning to do some baking & there's Christmas Radio on the air! Nice way to start the day. As always, I'll probably update here when/if I get the chance (and also if there's enough activity to warrant updates).

The Crystal Ship: 6876, 12/22, 2320+ Very nice signal & audio with 1968 retrospective. RFK speech concerning the MLK shooting

Christmas Radio: 6925U, 12/23, 1358+ Weak with "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree." I think I heard a male announcer talking, but I'm not sure if it was ID/announcement or some other programming (like a song intro). ID per HF Underground. My 1st time hearing this station. After the show ended or faded out, someone's been on with a strong signal, whistling, playing "dots" (think WWV), etc.

Amphetamine Radio: 6925U, 12/23, ca1430-1528* Excellent signal. CW IDs, at least one SSTV image, The Doors "LA Woman," Velvet Underground "Run Run Run," off with National Anthem. Requested signal reports & SSTV captures for an eQSL.



unid: 7590, 12/23, 2005+ I'm hearing WWV being relayed here with a very weak signal. Possibly THX 1138 testing with low power?

Channel Z: 6150, 12/23, 2236- Beautiful S9+20 signal with great audio. Ramones "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)." I grabbed the 1934 RCA 5T tombstone that I restored a few years ago, brought it upstairs, clipped on a longwire antenna, and clearly heard Channel Z on it. This is the 1st pirate I've heard on it because it only covers up through 48m. Also, it's pretty cool to clearly hear a pirate on it because it's only a 5-tube receiver--not exactly a top performer (and I didn't realign it . . . and I just swapped tubes until the signals sounded better/stronger)

Monday, December 21, 2015

Pre-Christmas Weekend Loggings 12/19-12/20/15

Wow, there was a ton of activity over the weekend. Maybe it was a warm-up for Christmas Eve & the weekend . . . or maybe this was it for a lot of stations. I guess we'll see. Unfortunately, I was away or at a Christmas party or baking stuff most of the weekend. So, I only caught a fraction of the broadcasts, but at least I did get the chance to hear a few stations.

Pirate Radio Boston: 6925.7, 12/19, 1408-1443 Good signal for the PRB annual Christmas show. Songs "No Place Like Home for the Holidays," Chuck Berry "Run, Run Rudolph," "Frosty the Snowman," "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas," "Deck the Halls," "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," Guest IDs by PJ Sparx of WREC & Dick Weed of Radio Free Whatever. Charlie Loudenboomer said they have a special QSL for this broadcast.

Partial India Radio: 6925.7, 12/19, 1443-1508+ Interval signal, into the General Underseas Service of Partial India Radio, tribute to Jay Smilkstein "Jay certainly gave a lot to the hobby . . . and we'd like to give him some attention here" gmail address for reports with phonetics. "Tears of a Clown" Long "homegrown" I Love Lucy skit including canned laughter with a trip to the Smilkstein hotel, including Uncle Schleckstein.

Amphetamine Radio: 6925U, 12/19, 1538-1613* Excellent signal with music by Neil Young, The Adverts "Gary Gilmour's Eyes," Ultravox "Sat'day Night in the City of the Dead," X "Adult Books," Siouxsie & the Banshees "Hong Kong Gardens," The Clash "Know Your Rights" IDs in CW, SSTV images (see below). I'm not sure if the music is being played through the mic, but you can hear whenever the op picks up the mic for the IDs. Live time check at end, then US National Anthem & off.




Pirate Radio Boston: 6873, 12/19, 2213- Repeat of the Christmas show. VG signal strength, but hammered by QRM from the ice cream maker AND dishwasher.


Girl Scout Radio: 6910, 12/19, 2300-2334* Fair/good with some bad local noise at times. Some songs that sound more indicative of "bad Girl Scouts" (like what you might expect from women who dress up as Girl Scouts for Halloween parties): Heart "Barracuda," Blondie "Call Me," Warrant "Cherry Pie" & a few hip-hop songs. Male & female computer-voiced IDs

Liquid Radio: 6925.1, 12/20, 0045- Fairly good signal at times with a variety of techno. Bad QRM at times from OTH radar & from the pescadors. Between the two + fade outs, there might have been some IDs, but I didn't hear them. ID from HF Underground


Pesky Party Radio: 6950L, 12/20, 0157 Faint signal

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Weekend Pirate Radio Loggings: 12/11-12/13/15

I've put in more than 10 hours of research about pirate stations over the past few days, but I haven't done much listening. But I'm catching a few stations tonight:

X-FM: 6975, 12/12, 0245-0410* Led Zep, Black Sabbath, The Teddy Bears, 60 Channels, Washed Out, etc. Lots of shoutouts from Redhat to HFU listeners and to those who e-mailed (a lot of people were tuned in). Said he'd rather upgrade the transmitter than change bands. Excellent signal and audio. email address: xfmshortwave /a/ gmail.com. "X-FM . . . Somewhere under the stars."

THX 1138: 7540, 12/12, 2105+ Excellent signal & audio. Metallica, Bob Seger, Jim Croce, etc. Sounded like the op was adjusting the audio levels at times. "coming to you live . . . at 25 watts." Said using a commercial transceiver with the audio modified. Mentioned 7540 and that there isn't a frequency you can go to without hitting some interference. Thanked listeners on HF Underground: "I like broadcasting as much as you like listening"

Radio Fusion Radio: 6955U, 12/12, 2206+ Christmas program with blues songs & also one by Alvin & the Chipmunks. Fantastic signal. Same deep-voiced IDs as were on back in '97 or '98. Announced reception reports to radiofusionradiopirate /a/ gmail.com

Liquid Radio: 6925.2, 12/12, 2250+ Clash "Rock the Casbah" Nice signal, pushing S9. A bunch of pescadors hit the freq around 2300 & really messed it up. I think I heard a shoutout to me around 2300 between the interference.

Pee Wee: 6925U, 12/13, 0116-0127* Excellent signal with blues rock & 2 SSTV images

Wolverine R: 6950U, 12/13, 0153+ Sounds like old blues with harmonica. Weak & a "distant" sound to the signal. ID per HFU.

Saturday, December 5, 2015

New Project: Midwest Radio 16-37

My Philco 87 is not yet finished, but the cabinet is back in the house and looking pretty good. I'm done with the lacquer, I spraypainted the inside of the cabinet brown, and I replaced the grille cloth. Over the Christmas season, I put the chassis back in so that I'm not constantly moving it around the house to keep it out of the way. I'm down to melting the wax out of the capacitor block and recapping it (which I keep putting off because I'm afraid I'll mess it up).

I have more radios than space, so I have to move one of my projects out of the house and into a workspace so that I can put my Philco 87 in its place. Because of the work that I need to do on this year's Pirate Radio Annual and the Corsette that I've been trying to build, they take priority. I really need to get that stuff done first. But I thought that while I'm pulling out the chassis and moving the cabinet, I should take some photos and start the page for the next radio: the Midwest Radio 16-37.

Midwest Radios have been high on my list of radios to pick up for years because it seems like they were somewhere between a consumer radio and a communications receiver. Often boasting 16 or 18 tubes, by tube-count alone they surpassed most communications receivers even into the '50s and '60s. Fact is, Midwest often doubled up on tubes in their circuits to make the receivers appear more robust for the "tube counters." Regardless, I've seen comments from many people who swear by the quality of their Midwest Radios (as compared to other brands from the '30s).

Another aspect of Midwest Radio that made me consider them as being somewhere in between the realm of the consumer console and the communications receiver is that they took out full-page ads in RADEX, typically either the back cover or the inside back cover. I have a few dozen issues of RADEX from 1929 to 1941, and I'd consider it to be somewhat of a hybrid between the NASWA Journal and Popular Communications (or The Spectrum Monitor). It was a great magazine that set the pattern for what future DX newsletters and magazines should be.

After occasionally searching eBay for Midwest Radios, I found a 16-37 console. One great thing about this particular radio is that it came with the console cabinet. It's strange, but Midwest was maybe the only major receiver company that regularly sold their radios without cabinets. It just seems like there should be a great story behind the Midwest Radio company because their business model was so weird: In an era when Philco, Zenith, and Crosley had their own dealerships around the country and when Hallicrafters was marketing radios to radio amateurs, Midwest Radio was mailorder only. You could buy just the receiver or also have a cabinet shipped. They proclaimed that they cut out the middleman so that you'd save money and get a better radio.

I drove about 100 miles through a snowstorm to get to this Midwest 16-37. Unlike the Philco product numbers, which don't mean anything, Midwest's tell a lot: 16 tubes, built in 1937. This was a true '30s dream receiver, 16 tubes and hardcore art deco styling. Beautiful. Appropriately, the radio was in a neighborhood of Johnstown, PA, that had decayed and needed even more restoration than the radio. I talked for a while to the seller and her friend, who could remember when the console was sitting in the house during better years and not relegated to a garage filled with junk.

I haven't seen any other Midwest Radios, but the 16-37 is a study in contrasts. From photos, the gaudy art deco front panel looks amazing. But when you actually try it, well, there's no dial glass and the tuning knob is right in the middle of a flimsy plastic dial. What would possess someone to make the tuning, of all things, so shoddy? The front panel isn't walnut; it's just metal painted to look like walnut. I thought that was slightly disappointing, but the problem is that it's thin sheet metal. For a few cents more, Midwest could've had a solid front panel.



Fortunately, the cabinet is more physically solid than the front panel, but it's relatively plain. In what I guess what the style of Midwest Radio, they used a lot of lacquer toner in the design and the radio's edges to try to "dress up" the cabinet and also to cover nail heads.


Also, I should mention that this radio cost $49.95 without the cabinet or tubes in 1937. I wonder how many young DXers saved up paper route money for one of these sets, then saved to buy the tubes, one by one, 'til he could listen to it? At a time when the Hallicrafters SX-17 cost $149.50 with a speaker, the 16-37 must have looked like a viable alternative to some.

I'm really looking forward to working on this radio and to see how everything goes because the positives and negatives are just so extreme. In some ways, this radio seems to be in the same general league as some excellent Zenith, Hallicrafters, and maybe even McMurdo-Silver radios from the time period. In other ways, the 16-37 looks more shoddy than the cheapest Philco or Crosley radio of the time. It'll be interesting to see what my opinions are by the time I finish it.



Weekend Pirate Loggings: 12/5-7/15

I want to work on the basement, but there's been so much activity this morning that I wanted to at least get some loggings listed.

WABC relay: 6955, 12/5, 0310+ Nice signal & audio with some oldies, old ads + I think some fake ones worked in, and DJ patter from, I think, the '70s. Timechecks were about two minutes off. I'm not sure when this recording was from, but it's a nice example of what pop radio used to sound like--very different from today's automated stations.


THX1138: 6925, 12/5, 1337-1730* Very nice signal & audio with mostly '70s rock and pop: "Green-Eyed Lady," "One Night in Bankok," "Breakfast in America," "Jessie's Girl," etc. Standard ID, said 25 watts & off at 1730.

Undercover Radio: 6950, 12/5, 1643-1652* Test broadcast "from the middle of nowhere" undercoverradio /at/ gmail.com announced. A couple of songs by Boston. Pretty good signal

Unid: 6950, 12/5, *1658+ Big dead carrier on a few times around 1655+, then on at 1658 with music. Low levels on the audio, then transmitter off & on some more. KC & the Sunshine Gang "Shake Your Booty" at 1704, then "That's the Way I Like It." Audio got much stronger during the 2nd song

Old-Time Radio unid: 6770, 12/5, 1800+ An episode of Ft. Laramie where Lee Quince works with a Cheyenne warrior to take a physically abused boy to the fort. Frontier Gentlemen, with promo for The World Tonight on CBS Radio. Lone Ranger episode with digital glitches. Everyone sounds like Max Headroom. Pretty fun

Shortwave Ghost: 6873, 12/5, 2006+ Rock song with flute, Hendrix "All Along the Watchtower." Solid signal

unid: 6930U, 12/6, 0003-0005* Fair signal in terms of strength, but no interference & no fading, so nice copy. I thought the song was an older crooner duet from the '40s or '50s, but, nope, on the HF Underground, refmo IDed the song as "Lady is a Tramp" by Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

Tuesday pirate loggings: 12/1-2/15

I've heard a decent number of stations recently, but just haven't had the time to post lately. But today's been really active, so it's time to start. What a Tuesday night!

THX1138: 6925, 12/1, Beautiful signal with a variety of mostly '70s rock: Heart "Barracuda,"a remix of AC/DC "Back in Black," Don McClean "American Pie." Nice IDs, announced 25W @QRT. That's a great-sounding 25 watts!

Liquid Radio: 6925.1, 12/1, Pretty good signal with dance music, but absolutely hammered by pescadors

Timberwolf Radio: 6940U, 12/2, 0004+ Bluegrass, country, & maybe rockabilly songs? Heard an announcement a few minutes ago, but could only make out a few words. Weak but improving. Wolf howling at end of show was much stronger than anything else

The Crystal Ship: 3431, 12/1, 2355+ Fair/weak, wanted to hang here longer, but I bounced up to listen to Timberwolf Radio

Unid: 6925U, 12/2, 0055* Gobbling Turkey sound effects repeated a few times, like an interval signal. Thought a late Thanksgiving show might be coming on, but nothing else materialized. VG signal, though

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Weekend Pirate Loggings: 11/6-11/8/15

Last night, I was out to see a football game--the real football night in America, high school football on a Friday night. That ate up almost the entire evening, but I did manage to hear one of the first broadcasts from WJD. It's interesting that the broadcast that I heard wasn't logged on HF Underground. That must be about one of about 1% of the pirate shows that's not logged there. I need to start posting more of my loggings there, but I've been trying to keep my head above water with the projects that I'm working on. Speaking of which, I've now finished the Philco 87 cabinet and I'm just waiting for some grille cloth to arrive so that I can put some of it back together.

WJD: 6940U, 11/6, [need to check the time] Recent rap/hip hop music with overdriven audio. At end, two female computer-voice IDs. Excellent signal.

Rave on Radio: 6925U, 11/7, 2256+ Playing a lot of music by the Grateful Dead, including "Truckin'." A few clear IDs.

BBC Pirate Radio: 6850, 11/7, 2310+ Huge signal with BBC relay, clear in-program BBC IDs. Too much going on for me to catch everything.

WJD: 6919, 11/7, 2310+ Dance music, then apparent old-time radio show or clip with mention of Orson Wells. According to Skipmunk on HFU, this is WJD

unid: 6880, 11/7, 2310+ Can hear some music here, but this one's a bit weaker than 6919, so I set the recorder running there instead. After I got the ID on WJD, I tuned back to this one, and it was gone. After seeing that WMID was active on 6880 on 11/8, I wonder if this was WMID?

Old-Time Radio unid: 6770, 11/8, 2238+ Excellent signal with Tales of the Texas Rangers "Blood Harvest" episode from January 21, 1951

Captain Morgan: 6925, 11/8, 2310-2311* Caught the end of the show with an older-style Captain Morgan "Pirate Zone" recorded ID & "Twilight Zone" theme. Excellent signal. Nice to hear CM again!

Europirate Loggings via Twente

?: 1636, 11/7, 2015+ Huge signal with lots of old country music + a '60s ska song, Eagles "Hotel California,"  and some schlager. After a long set of music, surprised to hear a woman announcer with a lot of echo on her voice. I've heard about a few female Dutch MW pirates, but this is the first one that I've heard. Very wide signal, probably at least 15 kHz wide.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Pirate Logs + Europirate Logs via Twente: 11/2-11/3/15

Not much to report locally because conditions weren't too great, but I also logged a few stations via the Twente web receiver, so altogether, I have a bit to report.

unid: 6945, 11/3, 0030-0032* Faint signal with light music. I don't think it was a Europirate, but it had that sort of trans-continental sound to it. I don't think it was a pescador because the signal was in AM.

The Crystal Ship: 6850.5, 11/3, 0035+ Another faint signal tonight. I recorded it, but for the time that I was listening, I could hear but not copy most of the audio.

A few logs via the Twente web receiver:
Unid: 1640, 11/2, 1930+ Dutch light pop and schlager. One song sounded like the Dutch equivalent of Roger Whittaker. “The Green, Green Grass of Home” This type of music for about 30 min., then Toto “Africa,” older yodeling song. Male DJ talking a lot at 2000 UTC, but I can’t understand it. ID sounded kind of like “Radio Pironia” Gave out a phone number

6290, 11/2, 1534+ Commercial radio or TV ad, announcement for Annie Schilder, I think, so I guess the next song was her singing in a country duet. A few more light pop duets. Sounds like these are all segments of Annie Schilder/BZN songs clipped from German or Dutch commercial stations. Maybe something to entertain Dr. Tim this morning?

Unid: 6395, 11/2, 1618-1644* Good signal, Dutch country, polkas, a techno dance song. 20+ min, no IDs

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Halloween Weekend Loggings: 10/30-11/1/15

I was away on Thursday night (made it back in time for all of the activity to be gone), then last night, I committed radio-listening sacrilege and went to the local football rivalry football game and missed almost everything. Again, I came home to almost nothing left on. But despite my extreme negligence, I did hear a couple of things:

The Ghost SW: 6873, 10/30, ca. 2200-2300 Excellent signal with Halloween music.

unid: 6925U, 10/31, 0215+

Radio Ronin SW: 6924, 10/31, 0255 ID per HFU. Just the carrier here for a few min.

unid: 6925U, 10/31, 1240 Heard some older cartoony music for less than a minute before being wiped out by dishwasher noise. Good signal

Wolverine Radio: 6955U, 11/1, 0005+ Huge signal. We had company, so I recorded the show & plan to listen to it later on. A couple of nice-quality SSTV images at the end.

X-FM: 6975, 11/1, ca. 0130-0305 Redhat with fantastic signal here. I listened on both the R8 and the Philco 44, depending on where I was in the house. Taking requests and reports both via e-mail and by telephone, which reminds me of the old call-in shows from the pirates of the early '80s. Doors "Riders on the Storm," Marilyn Manson "Tainted Love," Black Sabbath "War Pigs" and much, much more. I think Redhat said that he received 83 e-mails and 44 postings on HF Underground for the broadcast!

Radio True North: 6955, 11/1, 0305+ Was listening here for a bit & heard a clear ID. Signal decent, but not nearly as strong as X-FM and Pee Wee, so I've been bouncing around across a few stations

Pee Wee Radio: 6950U, 11/1, 0325-0330* Jim Croce "Operator" excellent signal, no voice IDs, but Morse code at end. IDs by HFU

Classic Pirate Radio Relay Service: 6955U, 11/1, 1332-1334* Caught CPRRS theme music, IDs, and e-mail address. Excellent signal and audio. According to HFU, the station had just relayed an old show from the Voice of Laryngitis.

unid: 6924.9, 11/1, 2146+ Off and on the air with AC/DC "Hells Bells" The Who "Baba O'Reilly" "My Generation" Excellent signal & audio when all's working properly

Rave on Radio: 6925U,  11/1, 2313+ Radio broadcast segments from "Night of the Living Dead." Pretty good signal, some QRM from pescadors, but not too bad. IDs, announcing Halloween 2015 show. Rolling Stones "Sympathy for the Devil" Talking Heads "Psycho Killer." Around 2330, someone testing & asking "How copy?" overtop. Testing station had a VG signal, but the pescador QRM started getting really bad. I gave up on the signal & stopped recording, but then had really nice copy on the signoff announcement, with shoutouts to me (thanks!), Chris Smolinski, RAFman, & a few other people that I missed  




Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Mid-week, Pre-Halloween Pirate Loggings: 10/27/15



WREC: 6873, 10/27, 2253+ Halloween show with PJ Sparx. Excellent signal. Offering special QSL, “AC/DC “Hells Bells,” Ozzy Osbourne, standup comedy (maybe Cheech Marin?) about why there aren’t any black or Hispanic ghosts, etc. “You’re listening to the Halloween special from Radio Free East Coast” over Munsters theme, Ramones “Pet Cemetery” live, The Titanics “Stayin’ on the Right Side of Satan,” Misfits “Ghouls Night Out” “It’s me Beelzebub on the radio” Ad for “A Nightmare on Sesame Street,” CCR “Bad Moon Rising” Ad  for “The Texas Chainletter Massacre” from RNCI, Story: “do you ever think of the undead?”

The Crystal Ship: 6850.5, 10/28, ca. 0005-0050* Another excellent signal.  “let the darkness take you away” ID; quotes from Mr. Grady (from The Shining), The Decemberists “The Rake Song,” clip from what might be “An American Werewolf in London,” Bob Seger “Werewolves of London,” radio emergency clip from “Night of the Living Dead,” BOC “Joan Crawford,” “The Raven” reading—kind of hard to copy with the echo, Arthur Brown “Fire” Juliana Montana with the gmail address, EBS announcement into educational bit from the ‘50s about nuclear fallout, nuclear attack messages, nuclear attack sirens, & gone.

unid: 6945L, 10/28, 0105+ Weak. Piano music: some jazzy, some sounding like at a recital. Now an EZL song with lots of flute solos. Some of the posters on HFU think this might be a pescador who's been inspired to pirate, and that definitely seems like a possibility here.

Europirate Loggings via Twente: 10/27/15

These were heard via the University of Twente webreceiver today:

Unid: 1620, 10/27, 1812-1817* Johnny Cash "I Walk the Line" & more old country music. Off without any talk

1630, 10/27, 1822- Very weak with some music and talk. Lots of reverb on the male announcer


1650, 10/27, 1835+ Very weak, not sure if any audio is here or if someone was testing an antenna or transmitter. Same thing on 1655 at the same time

1670, 10/27, 1830 Very weak with a male announcer. Gone in a few min

Unid: 6285, 10/27, 1440-1445* Dutch country music, polkas, schlager. Off with no talk of any type

6309.8, 10/27, 1400+ Light instrumental jazz, much like what would be played in a dentist’s office or on the telephone when you’re put on hold. Weak; heard as early as 1300, but audio was hard to detect at that time. Signed off by 1430

Monday, October 26, 2015

Europirate loggings via the Twente web receiver: 10/26/15

1620, 10/26, 1700+ Polkas. Fair/poor with complete fadeouts

1630, 10/26, 1730+ Signed on around 1730

1635, 10/26, 1700+ Male announcer in Dutch, but I couldn’t understand any IDs. A Hawaiian song (!), then a few old (‘50s or  ‘60s) country songs, and schlager. Fair signal. At about 1718, “Aloha `Oe” (possibly in Dutch?)

Radio Digital: 1650, 10/26, *1733-1830* Strong carrier on around 1730. About a second of music at 1733. Instrumental song on at 1735, with modulation level slowly rising. A bunch of instrumental guitar songs that sound like they could be from a ‘60s spaghetti western--Maybe a Ventures album? At least 40 min. with no IDs. Talk in Dutch at 1813. ID per Iann’s chat. Aside from those instrumentals, station played one song that sounded like a Dutch version of Slade, then signed off at 1830.

1680, 10/26, 1830+ Weak signal, sometimes fading up above the noise. Deep-voiced male announcer with some reverb and folk music. Evidently, this is a Greek pirate because it seems like the only stations that use this frequency are from Greece, and they are commonly heard in Western Europe. I guess not many European DXers know Greek because, when searching around the Internet, it seems like no one knows the name of the station(s) that use 1680; it’s always just “unid Greek pirate.”

6295-> 6290, 10/26, 1615+ Op talking over instrumental organ schlager. Sounded like he said “Hollandia” for the station ID, but I’m not sure

Radio Enterhaken: 6303, 10/26, 1615-1626+ Lots of talk in German. Comedy segment with laughter in background at 1624 UTC with phone caller.

Radio Odynn: 6321, 10/26, 1700+ Bowie “Let’s Dance”

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Weekend Pirate Loggings: 10/23-10/26/15

Just getting warmed up for next weekend. . . .

CKUT Shortwave: 6925.2, 10/23, 2247+ Unlicensed relay of the International Radio Report which is aired on CKUT, Montreal. Signal was good, but there's a lot of QRM from various pescadors on and around 6925. FCC looking for input on their website, US AM stations in decline, weather report, but locally and internationally, guy (Steve McCoy) from a station in Atlanta who, I think, rebroadcast an old interview with Donald Trump and claimed it was his. In the UK, BBC refuses to fund switchover to digital, which would cost 40-45 million pounds/year (!). In Burkina Faso, the state radio stations were taken over in a coup. Activists took over and broadcast a pirate/clandestine called “Radio Resistance.” At the end of the show, e-mail address, etc., for CKUT Shortwave.

unid: 6930U, 10/25, 0220-0400+ Heard some music, sound effects, etc., mixing in with pescadors and other (?) talk. Kind of a mess.

Northwoods Radio: 6935U, 11/25, 1139+ Beatles "Ticket to Ride," Wilson Picket "Mustang Sally" Foghat "Slow Ride." Nice signal & audio

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Back to the Future Day: 10/21/15

By now, if you've been following online news sites or social media, you've seen that today's Back to the Future Day. If you don't follow either and you only hang out on radio web pages or if you are located outside of North America and don't watch many American movie, here's a short explanation:

Back to the Future was a popular series of three movies that were produced between 1985 and 1989. Because of an accident involving terrorists, the main character winds up traveling back in time from 1985 to 1955. Problem is that he affects the events in his neighborhood, altering the future; one of the drastic effects is that he causes his parents to never meet, which results in him never being born. The rest of the movies in the series all involve time travel and fixing events in the future.

In Back to the Future II, Marty and Doc Brown travel from 1989 to fix the events on October 21, 2015. Today. A number of sites have discussed the events of the movie, what aspects of the "future" have come true, and the culture of the day. Even 26 years ago, there was plenty of talk about the failure of the Chicago Cubs to win a World Series since 1908 . . . and that's still true. In the movie, the Cubs win the World Series on 10/21/15. The Cubs actually made the playoffs this year and, after beating the Cardinals in the second round, were the hands-down favorites to win the National League. Now, having lost three straight to the New York Mets, ironically, the team might get eliminated on the same day that they were projected to win the World Series in Back to the Future II.

On the real October 21, 2015, a great pirate radio way to go back in time is via the unidentified station on 6770 kHz. Although not many of the programs are from 1955, the programming does range from about 1947 to 1954.

Maybe it's a stretch, but one station that really makes me think of Back to the Future (the first movie) is the brand new station Classic Pirate Radio Relay Service, which has made three broadcasts in the past week. During these broadcasts, CPRRS has relayed Radio Dead Man, The Crooked Man, and Radio Morania. I haven't dug too far into the archives, but all three of these stations were reported in 1985.

Radio Dead Man, a spliced-up program of punk, metal, and new wave music, and stories, all involving death, was first reported in August 1985. The station had an interesting photo QSL that was a clip-and-paste parody of a Red Man tobacco package.

The Crooked Man was a single program that was occasionally aired, starting in 1985. From the sound of it, someone recorded a paranoid-schizophrenic ham, saved the most interesting parts, and added in their own songs and IDs. The Crooked Man never responded to reception reports or anything else, making it one of the more mysterious stations.

Radio Morania was a parody of the communist shortwave broadcasters of the Cold War era. It was recorded in the late '60s and sold in cassette form in electronics magazines around 1972. Someone discovered (or rediscovered) the program in 1982 and it was occasionally aired without relay station IDs between 1982 and 1985, although it is still re-aired from time to time.

So, CPRRS might not be on the air tonight, but it was on last night with the Radio Morania relay; almost on October 21, 2015



Friday, October 16, 2015

Weekend Pirate Loggings: 10/16-10/18/15

unid: 6925U, 10/17, ca. 0030 Initially tuned back and forth between this station and RFW a few times, but went back to 6925 kHz and this one was gone. Good signal with rock. I didn't see anyone else logging this, so I don't know who it was.


Radio Free Whatever: 6950U, 10/17, 0036- Dick Weed is looking for a new sidekick because Stavin doesn't show up very often: "We're an equal opportunity offender." Throughout most of the show, the signal was fair. Lots of pescador QRM in there and another station was on the frequency for a few min around 0055.

KIPM: 6950U, 10/17, 0120+ Could hear Allen Maxwell's voice, but signal was under pescadors and someone sending CW for a few min.

Burn It Down Radio: 6962U, 10/17, 0238+ Faint signal, but I can hear music down under the noise and occasional static crashes. ID per HFU

unid: 6930L, 10/17, 0324+ On and off with Latin dance music. QRM from other pescadors. Assuming that this is just a pescador playing around, but maybe one day one will be inspired by the pirates and actually broadcast with IDs

Classic Pirate Radio Relay Service: 6925U, 10/17, 2234+ Nice signal. I missed the station's first show, with a relay of Radio Dead Man from about '85-'87, but I tuned in in time to catch station IDs, a song, more station IDs, and then a relay of the Crooked Man. To the best of my knowledge, only one Crooked Man show was ever produced and it was aired for the first time in 1983 . . . and rarely through about 1987 or 1988. I think it's been relayed by a few others since.

Wolverine Radio: 6945U, 10/17, 2312+ Excellent signal and audio, with a animal theme: Elvis "Hound Dog," "Rockin' Robin," etc.

Liquid R (tent.): 6925.2, 10/18, 0115+ I saw a log of this on HFU and listened to its carrier for about 45 minutes or so. Every now and then, some dance music would fade up for about four or five min.

Old-Time Radio unid: 6770, 10/18, ca. 1600 Nice signal with an episode of Richard Diamond, detective

Loggings via the Twente receiver

Unid: 1611, 10/17, 1305+ HUGE signal, off and on with apparent technical problems. Schlager and older Dutch pop. Haven't heard any talk at all.

Unid: 1628, 10/17, 1305+ Another huge signal, spreading from about 1620 to 1643 kHz. Schlager, older Dutch pop, and The Carpenters "Sweet, Sweet Smile." No talk here, either, so far

Radio Spaceshuttle International: 6304, 10/17, 1320+ Fair/good signal. IDs. I think Dick said this song was by The Rebels

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Europirate Logs via Twente Online Receiver: 10/15/15

unid: 1620, 10/15, 1442-1444* Dutch music that sounds like '50s or early '60s American country music. Male announcer came on with feedback. Some talk in Dutch & I could hear a few IDs: "Radio ----," but my Dutch is nonexistent, so I couldn't figure it out.

unid: 1625, 10/15, 1554+ What sounds like older Dutch music. Pretty good signal

unid: 1639, 10/15, 1741-1744* Very strong with Schlager. I was listening to 1671 and I saw this one sign off within about 10 seconds of the 1671 station.

unid: 1671, 10/15, 1741-1744* Country & polka. "Roll Out the Barrels." Dutch announcement at end. I thought it sounded like he said "Radio Madonna," but I searched & didn't find a station with that name.

Radio Spaceshuttle International: 6304, 10/15, 1408+ Fair with a lot of band hiss. Computerized IDs, male announcer with mailing address, 31m frequency, etc. IDs in a number of different languages. RSI announced its last show a few weeks ago, so maybe this is a relay from a friend or fan of the station? spaceshuttleradio/@/yahoo.com, pirate radio song, Lots of '60s rock: "Do the Locomotion" Troggs "Wild Thing" Kinks "Sunny Afternoon""The Lion Sleeps Tonight" Dick Spaceshuttle said this is a '60s music show.

Radio Goofy: 6325, 10/15, 1710+ Pop song in either German or Dutch. Fair signal. IDs about station causing orgasms, with a gasp in the background

unid: 6360, 10/15, 1447-1503* Instrumental organ Schlager that sounds like old rollerskating music. Techno with a theremin. Nice signal. Off without ID.

Radio Supersound: 6383, 10/15, 1425+ ID per Iann's chatroom. '80s pop: Duran Duran "Wild Boys," Michael Jackson, etc. Male announcer just started to talk when the Twente receiver glitched out for about 10 seconds or so. When the audio came back, the station was back to music

Pioneer AM: 6390-->6393, 11/15, 1520+ Instrumental synthesizer music--in more of a Kraftwerk way than a techno style. Into lots of Schlager, mostly instrumental. Barry Mann "Who Put the Bomp?" ID per Iann's pirate chat, but I haven't heard any announcements here

Mike Radio: 6955, 10/15, 1715+ Bits and pieces of audio coming through. ID per Iann's chat, but I didn't hear one




Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Pirate Radio Loggings: 10/15/15

I heard Pirate BBC Radio a few weeks ago, but I didn't log it on here . . . and then Windows crashed on my computer and knocked out my recording. So, I thought I should log it here before anything happens (regardless of whether I hear any other pirates tonight)

Pirate BBC Radio: 6850.2, 10/15, 0022+ Unlicensed relay of the BBC World Service. Business Matters program. Programming is coverage of the debate between Hillary Clinton & Bernie Sanders. Great signal. One commentator said that Hillary is stuck in the '90s, talking about pushing for women's equality when colleges are graduating only 40% males. BBC news headlines: Israeli troops fighting Palestinians, ebola can linger 7-9 months, 14-year-old forced to kill someone in Mexico, Benin (I think?) leader dies. Interview with Vicki, who spent the last three months in North Korea.

Liquid Radio: 6925.2: 10/15, 0045+ Fair, but a better signal than I often get from LR. The Animals "Paint It Black" Pretty bad QRM from pescadores. Peter Gabriel "Big Time," Asia "Only Time Will Tell"

Auds'n'Ends 10/14/15: Kmart audio

I finished the oscillator for my Corsette project last night. It won't oscillate. I consider that a problem. Time for some troubleshooting . . . I've evidently done enough trouble causing.

Lately, I've seen a few articles around the Internet about a guy who worked at the service desk of a Kmart in the '80s and '90s. He handled the in-store audio, but unlike most service desk workers, he saved all of the cassettes that were produced for the "in-store radio station." He has since digitized them and posted the recordings. The early recordings are really Muzak-y. And as I mentioned back when the Old-Time Radio unid station was playing Muzak in the mornings, the Muzak phenomenon has totally disappeared and people in their 20s can't relate.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Project Updates: 10/11/15

With autumn setting in, I've started doing more radio-related activities again. A month or two ago, I strung up a decent random longwire for my Philco 44, so it's nice to listen to old-time radio shows on a '30s-era cathedral.

I also started listening more to the radio again. I logged a few broadcasts last night (and also posted the logs here). And over the past few days, I picked up some radio projects again. Here are the updates:

Philco 87: Today, I pulled it back onto the porch sanded, retaped some areas, and stained some parts of it. A couple of new photos and some text is up.

Corsette: I don't have a thread up for it, but I soldered a bit more yesterday and I almost have the oscillator portion finished.

Goldentone: Still sitting out in the garage. Pretty radio, but it's the closet thing you'll find to a disposable radio from the '30s.

I have a few other projects that I've done just a little bit with, but haven't written about on the blog. We'll see if they're worth writing about in the upcoming months.

Saturday, October 10, 2015

Some Pirate Loggings: 10/11/15

Unid(s): 6925U, 10/11, 0043 Heard what sounded like a loop of the opening call of SCTV's "Great White North." Another station came on with a deep-voiced announcer that reminded me of the announcer from Satan Radio, then the song "Things that Go Bump in the Night" by Allstars (per PghScanner on HFU). Still later, I heard B-52s "Private Idaho" before Liquid Radio came on.

Liquid Radio: 6925, 10/11, 0115+ Techno with a weak signal (but better than I've heard in a while). Just checked their web stream and it's definitely Liquid Radio (same song on the radio & on the stream). BTW, the song I'm hearing right now is E-Zee Possee "Everything Starts With An E" Now, he's playing Ecstacy Club "Jesus Loves The Acid" and I could hear "How ya doin' Andrew?" over the stream, but I couldn't pull that out over the air (I was listening to both at the same time to try to hear how much of a time delay there is between the two). BTW, I think the web stream is delayed by 10-15 seconds

Sunday, October 4, 2015

PARI DXpedition

If you follow SWLing.com very closely, you know about the 1st annual (?) DXpedition that's planned for the upcoming weekend at the the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI), "a 200-acre radio astronomy observatory and former NASA tracking station located deep in the mountains of western North Carolina." How deep in the mountains? Well, it's not far from either Tennessee or Georgia, and it's about 30 minutes from any towns of appreciable size. It's not a total radio blackout area, like Greenbelt, WV, but it's definitely radio limited. And for fans of radio and DXing, that's great news.

I'm not sure if there's still time to sign up, but it's worth looking in to if you have a chance. It's definitely worth checking out if you have a can attend. It's not looking good for me this year, but I'm hoping that I can next time.

As electronic noise has dramatically increased all over the bands, DXpeditions to a less noisy area are increasingly useful, whether for DXing or just more comfortable listening. And when those DXpeditions are organized events, it's a great way to forge relationships with other listeners while learning more about this fascinating hobby of ours.

Even if you can't make it to the PARI DXpedition this week, it could be a great time to consider organizing your own DXpedition with a few local or somewhat local listeners to a quiet location.




Tuesday, September 29, 2015

The Spectrum Monitor: October Issue

I've had a few things to write about recently, but I haven't gotten around to putting fingers to keyboard. And today, the October issue of The Spectrum Monitor arrived in my in-box, so I think it's worth mentioning a few bits of the content.

For anyone who doesn't know about The Spectrum Monitor, it's essentially the successor to Monitoring Times, but only in PDF format. The October issue contains 87 pages in an 8.5"-x-11" format. Some of the articles in this issue include Norden clandestine programming from World War II, stealth antennas, a tour of radio & TV stations in the West, a look at the Zenith Trans-Oceanic G-500 (with restoration tips), marine radio technology,  longwave radio, a look at the Sun’s chromosphere, building the Ramsey Part-15 AM transmitter (+ a listing of other available AM low-power transmitters), amateur radio on 60 meters, SW utility loggings, easy digital-mode catches, and my 3X/year pirate radio column (including bits on Kort Maar Krachtig, Halloween pirate DXing, Northwoods Radio, Burn It Down Radio, Amphetamine Radio, Pirate Radio BBC, Cold Country Canada, and a recent unid on 18145 kHz USB).

And I've been listening to the OTR station while typing this:

Old-Time Radio unid: 6770, 9/29, 2245+ Red Skelton show and ads for Avalon cigarettes. Skit with Caesar, Octavius, etc. It definitely sounded like it was recorded live because there were a few mistakes throughout the show. Red Foley and the Avalon Chorus.

Monday, September 21, 2015

2014 Pirate Radio Annual Sold Out

Just a note that the 2014 PRA is officially sold out. I just sent the last batch left to Universal Radio and the last one to an individual. Throughout the year, I've been working on a combined 2015-2016 annual, which will hopefully get everything caught up (2014 was a full year behind schedule and 2013 was about 6 months behind). I'm hoping to have it ready in March 2016, but something always seems to turn up and slow me down.

And speaking of things turning up, I need to leave now, so I can't write anymore for at least the next few hours. . . .

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Pirate logging(s): 9/3/15

I've been missing far too many stations lately, but here's a log of one that's not too difficult for me to hear:

Old-Time Radio unid: 6770, 9/3, 1200+ The Damon Runyon Theatre, then The Adventures of Frank Merriwell "The Stolen Masterpiece" from June 19, 1948. Safe driving PSA: "The next life you save could be your own." The Hallmark Playhouse "Mrs. Union Station" from June 17, 1948.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

The Spectrum Monitor: September issue

It's been far too long since I've adding anything to the blog. But, a connector broke on the riding mower and it won't start. So, I've been mowing acres of land with the pushmower . . . that is until the bolts of the handle pulled completely through the mower deck. So, I'm left with more energy than mowing ability and it seems like a good night to type in here.

I just received my September issue of The Spectrum Monitor. Lots of monitor- and DXer-related material for the radio hobbyist.

The first shortwave station that I received a QSL from in 1981 was AFRTS . . . and the lead feature in this month's TSM is on AFN. Nice to see a feature on a historic operation that's still around. Speaking of whether stations have closed or not, Jeff White's "World of Shortwave" column is about the last days of International Radio Serbia, which closed on July 30. Jeff also describes the current no-win stand-off between DRM transmitter and receiver manufacturers. Fred Waterer spends a few pages on shortwave programming, including Radio Tirana, Deutsche Welle, Radio Austria International, CKZN, Radio Havana Cuba, and broadcasts to Africa. Something a bit different that interests me nonetheless is an article on the restoration of the Heathkit AA-151 audio amplifier. There are also articles on amateur radio satellites, the history of WOWO, building a roof-mounted loop antenna, longwave radio, and much more.

A subscription to The Spectrum Monitor is $24/year, which works out to about $2/issue for a wealth of timely shortwave radio information.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Sad news on Alfa Lima International

At noon today, I hopped onto HFU to see if anything interesting had happened over the weekend. There, I saw the stunning news that Alfred Zoer of Alfa Lima International had died at the age of 46 on May 21.

It's been about 10 years since Alfa Lima International was on the air on a regular basis, so I'd imagine that a number of listeners these days don't know who Alfred is. Alfa Lima was originally an 11m outbander station. In 1998, Alfred made his first broadcast on shortwave. From this point through 2005, Alfa Lima International was one of the best-heard shortwave pirates around the world. Over the course of those years, ALI sent out more than 1200 QSLs.

ALI was a trendsetting station. Although Radio USA and Live Wire Radio had used 13m in the early '90s, Alfa Lima was the first to do it on a regular basis. He was so successful on those frequencies, thanks in part to his Rohde & Schwartz SK-050, being reported in North America nearly every weekend for weeks at a time.

To put this service into perspective, still one of the best pirate signals I've ever heard was from Alfa Lima International on 13 meters. In the fall of 2001, I went out to a baseball field in the afternoon to roll up an antenna that I'd left out from the night before. While I was checking, Alfa Lima came on the air and the signal was so strong and clear that it literally sounded like Alfred was in the next room. There was no noise whatsoever and I could even hear background sounds in his attic studio.

For a comparison of operation types, ALI was very similar to Cupid Radio, except even more active.

Back in the late '90s, the FRN was one of the only pirate websites around. Alfred was active there, but he decided that Europe needed a general pirate forum, so he created www.alfalima.net, which is still active today.

Alfred was extremely open about his activities and he frequently signed his QSLs as "Alfred" or with his full real name. In fact, he set up a webcam on alfalima.net and whenever he was on the air, the webcam was showing it. I remember seeing his toddler in the studio with him. For a look at the Alfa Lima studio when the station was on the air, here's a video that Alfred posted to YouTube years ago.

I have more to say about the station--especially if I had more time to look up some information.

I e-mailed Alfred a number of times in the years that he was active and he was always friendly and helpful. About a month ago, I was thinking about him and wondered what he was up to. I looked him up on Facebook and it seemed like he was doing well, showing plenty of happy photos of him with his daughters and also some of his muscle cars. I was thinking that it was great that he was doing well and that I'd have to drop a line to him sometime.

It's too late to drop a line to him now and I regret it. My lesson learned is: when I think it's a good time to say hi to someone, I need to do it.


Goodnight Alfred. It was a lot of fun.




Saturday, May 30, 2015

Homebrew Transmitters

It's been a while since I've added any posts that weren't just lists of loggings.

As I wrote in my column for The Spectrum Monitor, I'm about to start building a Corsette transmitter with crucial guidance from Z from Channel Z. I'm not sure if I'll write about it here on the blog, for an edition of the Pirate Radio Annual, or for somewhere else. But I am planning to write about it somewhere.

If you haven't been following the low-powered transmitters that people in the pirate radio community have been building over the past few years, the Corsette is a tiny AM-modulated shortwave transmitter with an output of just a bit more than one watt.

What's the point of such a low-powered transmitter? Well, for starters, Channel Z has been reported across a number of states in the East with just the Corsette. Also, the transmitter is the base for the the Corsair which can output approximately 10 watts, so it has been used by a number of pirates with good results. I haven't heard of amateurs using Corsair or Corsette transmitters on 40m, but that would be a possibility, too. Finally, I'm planning to either back off the power or use it into a small dummy load so that I can transmit audio to my antique radios around the house.

I can't speak for everyone else who has an interest in radio, but I can't just pick up a schematic and understand it. I don't know substitute components and I don't know proper kit construction techniques.

I had wanted to get some good transmitter articles in the Pirate Radio Annual, so I've asked Fearless Fred, Z, and James Brownyard about writing. Everyone expressed interest, but Z said "Why don't you build a transmitter and write about it?" He said that he'd also build one at the same time and help guide me through the process. Well, I couldn't really refuse an offer like that!

I've ordered most of the parts, so I think I'm about ready to get started. I feel as though my utter lack of knowledge in combination with all that Z knows and has experienced, will result in a how-to article that will help newbies be able to successfully build a working Corsette.

*    *    *

Ironically, as I was finishing ordering parts on Friday and thinking about starting the Corsette transmitter project, I received an anonymous hand-written letter at my mailbox. It's a tube transmitter schematic. I won't reprint it here because the designer didn't say whether it was intended for public consumption. I will reprint the note that came along with the schematic:

"A first look at a transmitter we have firing into an array of dummy load cables. Here's a circuit diagram close enough to make up a parts list and hit the bench. Will have more info (and fun results) in a couple of months. Out of ink."

Interesting stuff!

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Memorial Day logs: 5/24-5/25/15


WAZU: 9275.2, 5/24-25, 2345+ Checked out HFU logs, tuned in, & am hearing Stones "Let's Spend the Night Together" at 2345, with a fair signal. My 1st time hearing the station outside of 43m & my 1st time hearing a North American pirate on 31m in a long time. Sounds like Ratt at 0002, a bit earlier, I heard The Seeds "Pushin' Too Hard," which I'm not sure if I've ever heard on a pirate. Fun to hear this test, apparently with low power, and on an odd (but very effective) band.

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Weekend Logs 5/17-5/18/15

I've been remiss in posting logs here, so I thought I'd give it a shot with a couple tonight. I spent most of today at a graduation (Congrats, K!), wrote a couple of entries for the Pirate Radio Annual while experiencing the all-thumbs Pirates of the diamond blow another game as it was pouring here. After it cleared, I ran the weedeater for an hour and checked the radio. I'm hearing:

Radio Cinco de Mayo: 6935U, 5/17, 0005-0021* Lots of  Spanish-language Mariachi music and IDs & e-mail address from a male announcer who might not be fluent in the language. HUGE signal. This could be a broadcast from Radio Diecisiete de Mayo. Announcement at at 0016 was overdriven and the audio clipped badly. Radio Cinco de Mayo was one of the entries that I wrote about an hour ago. I thought I was safe to write the entry, but not so. Great to hear again.

Ireland Radio International: 6299.5, 5/17, 0004+ Heard a tiny bit of audio and a decent carrier. I decided to record Radio Cinco de Mayo instead, with the hope that IRI will still be here after R5dM signs off. I really need to set up a good secondary antenna! Fortunately for me, my bet paid off and RII was still on the air when I tuned back at 0029. It's just barely there in heavy static crashes. Signal has improved here, but it's not as good as what other North Americans have been reporting. I've been comparing it back & forth with the signal on the Twente receiver and it's now getting to the point that I can copy a bit via my own radio without using Twente as a crutch. Right now playing Laurie Anderson "Oh Superman" which is so choppy that it sounds like something weird is going on with propagation (like really fast selective fading or maybe a utility on the frequency). No, it's just the song. Also heard music by Green Day & John Lennon. I didn't hear an address, nor have I found one online. Does anyone have contact info?

Radio Abu Dhabi: 6285, 5/17, 0115+ Much better signal that IRI here! Heard the end of an announcement, then part of a song. Dead air, then into what sounds like folk music with flute 

Went grocery shopping and filled the car up with gas. Came back & discovered that I missed Radio Free Whatever and Wolverine Radio. On the plus side, at least I heard Radio Cinco de Mayo, which typically only makes one broadcast per year and Ireland Radio International, which I've never heard or heard of. 

unid: 6965U, 5/17, 0320-0324* '60s music: "Incense & Peppermints" "Little Red Riding Hood" SSTV of what seems to be a husky or maybe a wolf. During the show, someone threw a carrier on the freq that was so strong, I had to look to see if the receiver had shut off.


Big Johnson Radio: 6935U, 5/17, 1946-1956* Decent signal here with the original version of "10-Inch Record" clear IDs with gmail address (so it was a new or revised show). Haven't heard this station in close to 20 years. Found a few instances of this one being on in '95 & '96. Not sure the last time it was on.

Northwoods Radio: 6935U, 5/17, *2312+ SSTV but the sync is totally messed up, then loons & "Freedom from the Great Lakes" ID. Excellent signal. "Proud Mary," Leningrad Cowboys "Vodka" (sounds like a good band for Radio Free Whatever) + "Fight for Your Right," "Gimme All Your Lovin'" Ha! Jack Pine Savage just said that this is the perfect band for DJ Dickweed. I'm guessing that it was just serendipity & not that JPS is reading my blog while the songs are playing :o)

The Crystal Ship: 6876, 5/18, 0140+ Excellent signal with a song that sounds like Tom Petty. Tuning away to check on Big Johnson Radio. Only caught the last two min of BJR, so I'm back here. More Tom Petty music & heard IDs that this is the TCS Tom Petty Buried Treasure special

Big Johnson Radio: 6950U, 5/18, 0143-0145* Good signal. "Big 10" Record again" YL computer voice: "Write to us at Big Johnson Radio at gmail dot com" Old interval signal, but I can't remember whose it is.

Friday, May 8, 2015

Weekend Loggings: 5/8-5/11/15





Old-Time Radio unid: 6770, 5/8, 2210+ Noted in passing on my way up to listen for Over 60 Degree Radio (but not heard here)

Saturday, April 25, 2015

Weekend pirate loggings: 4/26-4/28/15

Weekend pirate loggings: 4/26-4/28/15

Made it back home to a bunch of pirates on the air, but unfortunately I missed KVPH again and also WPIG. Wonder if WPIG is in any way related to the WPIG from the '90s?

Radio Free Whatever: 6940U, 4/26, 0149-0156* Girlpool "Blah Blah Blah" Mentioned X-FM: "I'm sure you want to go listen to him, not me" "I'm kinda like the president of Hair Club for Men . . . I'm not only the president, but I'm a client of pirate radio." Mentioned stations he enjoyed listening to & haven't been around lately: MAC, Undercover Radio, Blue Ocean Radio . . . " "I'm going to try to listen to X-FM when I'm done here"

unid: 6951, 4/26, 0145+ Noted this station in passing while checking what was on 6965, but disappeared when I was heading back through

X-FM: 6965, 4/26, 0144+ I think this is the 1st time that I caught it, but heard while running the canned "stay tuned for X-FM" IDs. Will tune back to it in a bit, but I'm still finding other stations! Just checked the Twente receiver in NE Holland & signal is barely audible there!



Captain Morgan SW: 6924.2, 4/26, 0159-0244* The Who "Who Are You?" Lou Reed "Walk on the Wild Side" Stones "Jumping Jack Flash" Bowie "Let's Dance." Big signal, like almost everyone else I've been hearing tonight. Twilight Zone theme a few times, which can only mean one thing. Just checked the Twente receiver in NE Holland & signal is very audible there!

unid: 6924.6, 4/26, 0244-0254* Hearing someone here with music immediately after Captain Morgan signed off. Weak. Air raid sirens at 0249 & again later. Thought I heard a bit of "Green Onions" by Booker T & The MGs

WPIG: 6925U, 4/26, 0254+ Weak, but I heard a few clear IDs. Sounds like a phone call. Not sure if this is a recording of the '90s WPIG, but it does sound like it is now. Now singing some songs about WPIG

Radio Free Whatever: 6849, 4/26, 0323+ The Hives "Main Offender" Signal's pretty good, but the audio is overdriven

Radio Casablanca: 6940, 4/26, 1336+ Fair with big band music, computer ID, & a clip from the movie Casablanca."Stormy Weather" "Dancing Cheek to Cheek"


The Crystal Ship: 6876, 4/27, 0145+ Excellent signal with '70s Jukebox Program. Heart "Magic Man" Donner Pass Cafe ad

Old-Time Radio unid: 6770, 4/27, 0200+ Good signal with Abbott & Costello.


European Pirate Logs via the Twente Web Receiver: 4/24/15



 European Pirate Logs via the Twente Web Receiver: 4/24/15

We were busy last night, so I didn't have a chance to check the radio. I did check out the computer earlier in the day & heard these via the Twente web receiver:

Radio Mirabelle: 6300, 4/24, 1420+ Very poor. Sounds about like I’m listening to a somewhat typical reception of a Europirate on my home receiver. I saw the signal on the Twente waterfall & tuned in. It’s mostly just carrier, but I’m getting occasional fadeups of audio. I checked Iann’s chat & it’s Radio Mirabelle because they announce a location in France. Chris Smolinski heard them and received a QSL when the station was running in LSB at a better time of day (2330 UTC), about six weeks ago.

? 6380, 4/24, 1502-1545* Talking about the weather, “but hoping for good conditions for HF” A bit of “Tubular Bells,” announcer mentioned “Mike Oldfield,” then on to other music. Many later announcements in Dutch. Lynyrd Skynyrd “Freebird.” Lots of electronic dance music. Said “---- from Holland. Until next time, bye bye.”

Radio Odynn: 6285, 4/24, 1545-1640* Vince Taylor & Playboys “Brand New Cadillac” Dire Straits “Walk of Life” Norman Greenbaum “Spirit in the Sky” Jetho Tull, Talk in Dutch. Really nice pro-sounding promo with e-mail address & phone number. Arthur Brown “Fire” Amii Stewart “Knock on Wood”

? 6295, 4/24, 1615+ Lot of schlager & talk in Dutch

Misti Radio: 6306.8, 4/24, 1553-1557* The Doors “People Are Strange,” dance music. Fairly weak. ID per Iann’s chat

Radio Pioneer: 6735, 4/24, 1856+ Nice signal, BZN “Just an Illusion” Buddy Holly “Bye Bye Love” & “Oh Boy” Signal is 20 kHz wide! Cliff Richard “Bachelor Boy” & “Congratulations” & “Lucky Lips”

Radio Arcadia: 6850, 4/24, 1856+ CW & ID arcadiaradio@gmail.com Audio sounds a bit overdriven. Nice signal. Many YL IDs, but a heterodyne on the frequency made listening tough

Radio Voyager: 6950, 4/24, 1903+ Dixieland jazz with a male announcer. Not sure about the language. Nice signal. Also hearing tangos, blues, classical music. Nice promo with e-mail address at 1953