Free Radio Weekly #1436

Free Radio Weekly #1436, Saturday, September 30, 2023
Covering free radio activity from September 23-29, 2023

The Free Radio Weekly (FRW) is an internet newsletter devoted to the hobby of listening to free radio "pirate" broadcasters in the shortwave radio bands. The FRW is produced by the free radio community and distributed to those who contribute.

The weekly deadline is Saturdays at 0000 UTC (Friday night in North America). Please send your logs to all the editors, as our editing schedule is subject to last minute changes. Thank you for your inpoots!


== FRW editors ==

Harold Frodge (99crawdads@gmail.com)
Rom Hunsicker (frwrjh@ptd.net)
Dave Turnick (caodwolf@gmail.com)
Larry Will (radio@zappahead.net)

FRW 1436 - September 30 - Larry
FRW 1437 - October 7 - Dave


== Contributors ==

William Hassig
williamhassig@yahoo.com

Glenn Hauser
P O Box 1684
Enid OK 73702
wghauser@yahoo.com
P- or E-QSLs welcomed

Ron Hunsicker
1238 Cleveland Avenue
Wyomissing, PA 19610-2102
rjhpe@ptd.net

Dan Srebnick
Lancaster, PA

Mark Taylor
Madison, Wi.
markokpik@gmail.com

Larry Will
Mount Airy, MD
Icom IC-R75, Tecsun PL-880, Tecsun PL-990, G5RV and assorted long wires


== North American shortwave ==

** Ballsmacker Radio

9/16, 0059, 6960am. JBA carrier direct, slightly stronger than 6950. 0102 into NH SDR, S7 with rock. Bet this one is Ballsmacker, regular frequency and UT Saturday time. Yes, as here: [www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,118204.0.] I am trying to be helpful by linking to other reports at HFU, but some editors delete them from my reports! (Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR)

9/23, 0059, 6960am. 'Wildfire' IS, 0100 ID w/ bowling strike sfx, 'Rio' - Duran Duran into a program of songs with city names or themes. Others included; 'Do you know the way to San Jose' - Dionne Warwick, 'Walking in Memphis' - Marc Cohn, 'La Grange' - ZZ Top, and many others. 0240 SSTV (Little girl w/ red bowling ball about to throw it with "Ballsmacker Radio"), ID & e QSL offer, "Wildfire", 0242. Fair to poor with lightning QRN. (Taylor – WI)

** Filibuster Radio

9/21, 2359, 6910usb. Program of music with synth YL giving occasional IDs and both she and man with short mostly nonsensical few sentences talk between songs. Music included; 'Lust for Life' - Iggy Pop, 'Deep Blue Day' - Brian Eno, 'Dead Souls' - Nine Inch Nails, 'Carmen Suite No. 1) - Alfred Scholz & London Festival Orchestra, 'Atomic' – Sleeper. Fair. (Taylor – WI)

9/28, 2100-2110*, 6925usb. Program in progress with Jazz female vocals. Vera closed the show with an ID. 3000 Hz was a good fit. (35454, Hunsicker, PA)

** Midnight Radio

9/24, 0000-0034*, 6935am. Midnight Radio Shortwave (via NAPRS). Via a recording, the BC started at 0000. ID at 0008 and 0011 and then NAPRS at 0034. Muddled audio made it hard to understand most of the words. (35342, Hunsicker, PA)

9/24, 0231-0241, 6935am. Via a recording, opened with bells and an OM talked. At 18 dB above the noise, AM is unusable here. ID at 0232 with program notes and QSL info. No audio was heard after 0247, but a faint carrier remained visible in the waterfall until 0300 or so. Seemed to be the same program as at 0000 on 09/24. (25342/1, Hunsicker, PA)

9/25, 0155, 6935am. On Brookfield WI sdr with noisy S9 signal, heard woman speaking the male with ID, unmod carrier after that. (Hassig-IL)

** 77LJS

9/24, 0021, 6m945usb. 77 Lima Juliet Sierra. Piano solos by Richter. A short biography of Richter at 0059. A discussion of “well-tempered,” and its derivation, and “mean-tuning.” Played a concert from February 2, 1969. ID at 0129 and 0212. 3000 Hz audio bandwidth. (35443, Hunsicker, PA)

9/24, 0101, 6945usb. On Traverse City MI sdr with fair S9+10 to S9+20 signal, talking about musician then piano music, thanks for the music. (Hassig-IL)

9/24, 0104, 6945usb. Playing Part of Book 1 of Bach’s “Well Tempered Clavier” played by Sviatoslav Richter. At tune in ‘Prelude and Fuge No. 9 in E Major, BWV 854', 'No. 10 in E Minor,” 'No. 11 in F Major, BWV 856', 'No 12 in F Minor, BWV 857', etc. working through book. 0126 OM talking of "The Well Tempered Clavier", explanation of the term "Well Tempered", ID, 'Prelude and Fugue No 15 n G Major, BWV 860' and so on. Fair to good. (Taylor – WI)

** Sycko Radio

9/25, 0200, 6950usb. On Brookfield WI sdr with noisy S7 to S9 signal, punk rock tune, talking then short SSTV/FAX then more talk. (Hassig-IL)

** Thunder Chicken Radio

9/28, 2253-0037*, 6950.05usb. Via a recording. All the music seemed to be from the same male artist. SSTV transmissions in Martin 1, including an SSTV ID. Also, waterfall images. 3000 Hz sounded good. (35443, Hunsicker, PA)

9/28, 2332, 6950.02usb. Hard rock music, The Way It Is by Tesla. (I originally logged this as an Unid.) Good, s7. (Will-MD)

9/28, 2346, 6950.02 usb. On Barrington Hills IL sdr with good S9+10 signal, a bit higher freq than 6950, heavy metal rock tunes, tried tuning in locally with fair S9+20 signal over reduced S9 neighborhood noise, thanks for the tunes. (Hassig-IL)

** "Unidentified"

9/24, 0057-0157*, 6930usb. (SSTV ID as “UNIDENTIFIED”) Mostly instrumental rock and pop music; also, I’ll Be Watching You, It’s My Life, Hotel California, Stairway to Heaven, others. Only 14 dB above the background. 2800 Hz. (25342, Hunsicker, PA)

9/24, 0137, 6930usb. Somewhat dense and repetitive electric music, SSTV (Black Circle with Green Triangle and white "UNIDENTIFIED" through middle.), 0155 off. Fair. (Taylor – WI)

** Unid Christian pirate 7300

9/17, 0501, 7300v. At 0501, the gospel huxter pirate is back, sermon about Daniel stuff. I last logged it Sept 2, no luck since on occasional but not nightly chex. Tnx to tip from Lucas Bandura at 0454:

``WOR] UNID religious 7300v AM --- Glenn’s UNID station on this frequency is on tonight, I finally got it. S7 on TWR Raleigh, North Carolina KiwiSDR. Just a carrier direct in British Columbia, no audio heard. Preacher now, music at tune in around 0450 UTC.

Interesting, at 0513 UTC I saw the operator bump the VFO up [with screenshot]. I have heard religious pirates on AM mode in the 80 meter ham band, I’m sure this is another one of them. Likely using an antique transmitter and VFO tuned right up to the top of its range for 40 meters.``

I`ve brought up the TWR NC SDR too and let it run for quite a while. Very steady signal strength but noisy, maybe near local range. Frequency constantly varying, and SDR calibration is accurate compared to WWV 10000. At first it`s on 7300.125, shortly downward to +100.5, 97.5, 72, 69.

0522 no ID but cut to ``holy`` hymn, but not the well-known ``Holy3``. Now it`s offset minus 30 Hz. 0527 back to preacher IDing self as Robert Breaker ? sounds like, with website southchurch.org - I go there and find that`s in New Britain CT, but searching on name with as many alternate spellings as I can think of finds no one. Visual reference, and podcast mentioned. 0541 happens to attain 7300.000 but not for long! Still going 0608 at +155 Hz. 0639, +368 Hz. At 0648 I finally tune in direct and he`s S9+10 but due to noise, JBA on 7300.389 varying upward to 7300.425 by 0652 when I quit.

Ron Howard reported from CA: ``Sept 17 - Hearing 7300 at 0730 UT with extremely weak signal at Asilomar Beach. Ron`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR)

9/24, 0639, 7300.287v. JBA talk in HSNL, tornado warnings east of OKC. The Christian pirate previously logged but last heard on Sept 17, also UT Sunday. Tnx to tips from Walt Salmaniw at 0600 and Eric Fetters-Walp at 0630 who first heard it at 0425 after tip from Lucas Bandura as of 0300, each on a different exact variable frequency. Never any IDs, it seems, but plays recorded/podcast sermons. Their best reception on easterly SDRs such as in WI, NC (Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR)

** (Other) Unid

9/23, 2246-2255, 6925usb. Unidentified (WDOG?) Program in progress repeating a song with the theme ‘going sideways.’ Falsetto voice advises will be ‘going old school’ and shifting to the 41M band, in the range of 7350 to 7400 on AM. This, in about 10 or 15 minutes. 2800 Hz seemed to fit. (45454, Hunsicker, PA)

9/23, 0111, 6954usb. Tuned into 'Autumn Leaves' by Nat King Cole then Eric Clapton, drop from S7 to S4, barely audible for next song. 0121 signal came back up into a program of all songs with Eric Clapton with various bands or on his own. Music included: 'While my Guitar Gently Weeps' - Paul McCartney & Eric Clapton, 'My Father's Eyes' - Eric Clapton, 'Layla' (played at a weird speed) - Cream, 0140 off. Fair. (Taylor – WI)

9/24, 0024-0030*, 6925am. Via a recording, the carrier appeared, but no audio was heard until 0025 when an OM spoke. Only 16 dB above the noise, and difficult to understand. (Hunsicker, PA)

9/24, 0057-0101, 6930usb. Via a recording, the BC and music started at 0057. Solo vibraphone (?) then other instruments. Gone or very weak? (35353, Hunsicker, PA)

9/27, 2347-2356*, 6910usb. Via a recording, the BC and the music started at 2347. Two Rap songs. At the end of the program, a YL said “End of line” five times. 3000 Hz sounded best. (35443, Hunsicker, PA)

** WAVE Radio

9/16, 0026, 6950am. JBA carrier direct, the OPOB. My HLNL makes my pirate DXing even more minimal. By 0102, NH SDR is getting drumming at S7. 0108 dinging and YL ID as ``W-A-V-E Radio`` as also reported here: [www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,118198.0.] 0117 ID again this time adding it fonetikaly (Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR)

9/16, 0125, 6950am. At 0125 just a bit after posting my previous log, another ID: ``WAVE Radio, we are very existential, ride the wave`` as heard via NH remote (Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR)

** WDOG

9/23, 2310, 7380am. Program of music including 'Are 'Friends' Electric' - Tubway Army, 'Going Down to Liverpool' - Katrina and the Waves, ID & talk, 'Gone Daddy Gone' - Violent Femmes and many others. IDs and brief talk between most songs, signature dog barks and howls over and between songs. Poor to fair with lightning QRN. (Taylor – WI)

9/23, 2348, 7380am. On Traverse City MI sdr with noisy S9+20 signal, rock tunes from 1970's and 1980's. (Hassig-IL)

9/23, 2348-0007, 7380am. Via a recording, a program in progress. Leony, Midnight Radio, and other music. Since the dogs were howling, I guess they didn’t like the music. 6000 Hz fit. Distorted audio made listening unpleasant, and I stopped. (55442, distortion, Hunsicker, PA)

** Wolverine Radio

9/23, 2356-0100*, 6955usb. Via a recording, opened with “Testing, one, two, three, can anybody hear me?” Repeated several times. ID at 0000 then a “wild” themed show. Wild Irish Rose, Wild One, Wild Thing, Born to be Wild, Wild Horses. Fun show! SSTV ID at 0058 in Scottie 1. 3800 Hz audio bandwidth sounded best. (55454, Hunsicker, PA)

9/24, 0000, 6955usb. On Barrington Hills IL sdr with fair S9 signal, "testing 1 2 3 can anybody hear me," Wolverine ID, old acoustically recorded 78's "wild Irish rose" and "I'm just wild about Harry," various songs with the word "wild" in them, "wild side of life (honky tonk angels)" by Hank Williams, Bobby Rydell "wild one" from 1960, "wild thing" by the Troggs, at 0058 echo ID then SSTV/FAX, thanks for the program. (Hassig-IL)

9/24, 0001, 6955usb. Program with “wild” theme. Songs included; 'I'm Wild About That Thing' - Bessie Smith, ID, 'Wild Wild Young Men' - Ruth Brown, 'Walk on the Wild Side' - Lou Reed and 'Child of the Wild Blue Yonder' - John Hiatt. After 'Driving Me Wild' - Bryan Ferry, 0057 "Echo" ID, SSTV (Bear snarling with "Wolverine Radio"), 0100 off. OM voice a few seconds after finishing, “Wolverine Radio. We love you” by a fan. Armchair, thought his transmitter was in my back yard. (Taylor – WI)

9/24, 0017-0049, 6955usb. Male IDs and music with "Wild" in the title as a theme for the program. S9, no QRM on a Malahit DSP 2 w/Pixel 1B Loop indoors (Srebnick-PA)

** WTF Radio Worldwide

9/24, 0144-0300, 6055usb. ID by OM, than Calypso music. Old rock. Kenneth gave frequent ID’s. The signal went from overall “Good” to overall “unusable” at about 0239. 2700 Hz fit nicely. (Hunsicker, PA)

9/24, 0149, 6955usb. On Traverse City MI sdr with up to S9+30 good signal, pop music. (Hassig-IL)

9/24, 0158, 6955usb. Playing Peter Gabriel tonight including ‘Sledgehammer', 'Family Snapshot', 'Kiss of Life' 'Shaking the Tree', 'Not One of Us' 'Red Rain' and 'Games Without Frontiers'. Many IDs between songs. Good. (Taylor – WI)

** Yeah Man Radio

9/23, 0044, 6925usb. 'Light my Fire' - Doors, song, 'Green Eyed Lady' - Sugarloaf, ID and Yeah Man talking (hard to understand with QRN), ' A beautiful Morning' - The Rascals. Adequate signal but very noisy with lightning QRN. (Taylor – WI)

9/28, 2257-0048*, 6925usb. Via a recording. Thirsty Thursday was a live show. Nice evening of old Rock tunes and pleasant chatter—well done! Almost filled 3000 Hz audio bandwidth. (35454, Hunsicker, PA)

9/28, 2330, 6925usb. Rock music, Angel Eyes by the Jeff Healey Band. very good, solid s9. (Will-MD)

** Zeeky

9/17, 0105, 6952usb. At 0105, weak talk from pirate way below what sure seems like jamming, much stronger random tone beepery like someone wiggling a VFO a few kHz above and below, S9+30 also vs line noise at S9+12. By 0133 recheck, none of this. Many reports here of Zeke taking requests and being jammed: [www.hfunderground.com/board/index.php/topic,118250.0.] (Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR)

9/23, 2348-0031*, 6965usb. Via a recording, a program in progress. Music and Zeeky chatter. Playing autumn-themed music. While the music was fine, the voice audio was badly distorted. 3000 Hz audio bandwidth was best. (35453, Hunsicker, PA)


== European shortwave ==

Euro - 6955 AM Indy Radio (P), 2304, 9.22.23. Weak instrumental music, which faded out after about 15 minutes. IDed from Europirate page on HF Underground and folks reporting it on the HF Underground chat. (Taylor – WI)


== QSL ==

Good Times Radio full data, full color QSL via an email from the Pirate QSL Service for a broadcast on 26 March 2023 on 6925AM from 1347 UTC. (Hunsicker, PA)



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Regards, Lw