Free Radio Weekly #1316

Free Radio Weekly #1316, Saturday, June 12, 2021
Covering free radio activity from June 5-11, 2021

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 inputs!


== FRW editors ==

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

FRW 1316 - June 12 - Larry
FRW 1317 - June 19 - Dave
FRW 1318 - June 26 - Harold
FRW 1319 - July 3 - Larry
FRW 1320 - July 10 - Dave


== Contributors ==

Rick Barton
Sun City, AZ
Drake SW1 and longwire oriented for E/W reception

Glenn Hauser
P O Box 1684
Enid OK 73702
wghauser@yahoo.com
P- or E-QSLs welcomed
NRD-545 with ALA-330S, IC-R75, PL-880, random wires

William Hassig
williamhassig@yahoo.com

Edward Kusalik
P.O.Box 253
Daysland, Alberta
T0B 1A0 Canada

Greg Majewski
Connecticut
Equipment used: an old Eton E1XM with MFJ 1310C tuned preamplifier and Air Spy You Loop

Mark Taylor
Wisconsin
Perseus, Elad FDM-SW2, Airspy HF+ dual & Discovery, various portables; W6LVP loops

Larry Will
Mount Airy, MD
Icom IC-R75, Tecsun PL-880, Grundig Sattelit 6001, G5RV dipole and various wires


== FRW on WBCQ ==

On 5 June, 0018 - 0056UTC, Alan and Angela were talking about Free Radio and reading from the Free Radio Weekly issue 1315. The broadcast was the 7490 transmitter of WBCQ. (Majewski-CT) Also logged here on 6.160 // 7.490. They usually will read from the FRW if they receive it just before or during their show, unless they're preoccupied with politics or some other subject. (Will-MD)


== Documentary on Pirate Radio Ships ==

Rebel Radio Ships | Al Jazeera World [45:08 minutes]

Pirate radio: A force for change or a transient subversive movement?

The Voice of Peace and Radio Caroline were pirate radio stations that launched in the 1960s and 1970s, broadcasting from ships anchored outside national territorial waters, in an attempt to challenge the societies around them.

Radio Caroline, moored off the east coast of England, was "The Boat that Rocked" and was hugely popular with young 1960s music fans. Along with other pirate stations of the time, it helped bring about a cultural change in British broadcasting that is still felt today.

The Voice of Peace, based in the eastern Mediterranean, expressed an alternative, pacifist, political viewpoint outside of 1970s Israeli mainstream politics.

This documentary intercuts the stories of these two stations, through a mix of archive, presenter anecdotes, journalistic analysis and historical context. In so doing, it sheds light on both 1960s European pop culture and on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

[www.youtube.com]

(Glenn Hauser, World of Radio, via Geoffrey Myosotis and Simon Hicks, BDXC-UK iog)


== Summary ==

6/1

0017-0017 Memory Radio 6936am
0104-0140 Unid 6955lsb
0104-0104 Unid 6975am

6/4

1946-2016 XTC Shortwave 6275am
2017-2053 Black Bandit Radio 6322am
2109-2136 Radio Rock Revolution 5885am
2322-2359 Yeah Man Radio 6925am
2328-2340 The Vault 6985am

6/5

0000-0014 Yeah Man Radio 6925am
0054-0011 Unid 6975am
0059-0151 Ball Smacker Radio 6960am
0136-0136 WDOG 6930am/6933am
2329-2359 Zeeky/WEZL/Weasal Radio
2356-2359 Truth Radio International 6925usb

6/6

0000-0045 Zeeky/WEZL/Weasal Radio
0000-0009 Truth Radio International 6925usb
0058-0153 WDOG 6930am
0146-0154 Nowhere Radio 6975am
2335-2359 Mix Radio International/Cool AM Radio 6865am
2335-2340 Truth Radio International 6925usb

6/7

0000-0329 Mix Radio International/Cool AM Radio 6865am
0027-0245 Unid 6955usb
0226-0226 Nowhere Radio 6975am

6/8

0310-0353 YHWH 7475am
2235-2239 Nuttin' On Shortwave 6925am

6/9

1605-1624 Fox News Relay 6970am
2358-2358 Unid 6975am

6/10

0001-0048 Zeeky/WEZL/Weasal Radio 6933usb


== North American Shortwave ==

** Ball Smacker Radio

6/5, 0059-0151*, 6960am. Played songs that had a color in lyrics, title, or artist name. ID at 0101. Heard among others, Little Red Corvette, Black Dog, Mellow Yellow, Red Red Wine and Yellow Submarine. Fair to Good signal. I do enjoy the theme shows. Thanks for one. (Majewski CT)

6/5, 0157, 6960am. Pirate music at S6-S9, presumed Ball Smacker Radio on usual 0100 UT Saturday show. Many more reports here including extensive playlist but no SSTV: [www.hfunderground.com] concluding with this from BS itself: ``Sorry if we are a bit weaker tonight, only 30W instead of 200W as we are camping deep in the woods. Totally solar charged batteries though! Thanks for toughing it out and we hope to see you at full power next week. The whole setup including antenna fits in a back pack! Audio quality is still full if you can hear us. Lighting [sic] doesn't help either. We really appreciate your reports, good or bad, and emails to BallSmacker@... will receive an eQSL reply`` (Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR)

** Fox News Relay

6/9, 1605, 6970am. Politics talk by female host. Poor to fair signal. Still going at 1624 check. (Will-MD)

** Memory Radio

6/1, 0017, 6936am. Slow ballad, Easypal send (didn’t decode here,) “Born in the USA,) Easypal send (didn’t decode,) waterfall image “Memory Radio 2021,” off. Fair. (Taylor – WI)

** Mix Radio International/Cool AM Radio

6/6, 2335-0011, 6865usb. Start as an excellent signal allowing the use of a 10 KHz bandwidth. Played various sixties popular tunes by the likes of Franky Valli, Beach Boys and others. Also have announcements relative to June 6 DD operation of World War II. Signal ranged from Excellent to Poor due to fading conditions. Thanks for a good show. (Majewski CT)

6/7, 0009-0017+, 6865usb. WW2 era ditties such as Kiss Me Goodnight Sgt. Major & Lily Marlene; Churchill? speech. S9; 0154 still going w/WW2 stuff; now S8 (Frodge-MI)

6/7, 0114, 6865usb. With Dixon IL sdr, fair/good signal, big band swing tune playing then patriotic song about pilots, Mix ID and email address which is mix.radio.international@protonmail.com , News report about the D-day invasion of 6 June 1944, at 0122 song "praise the lord and pass the ammunition" then another D-day news report, at 0240 switched to Barrington Hills IL sdr with also good signal, at 0300 slowly beginning to fade at both sdr locations, played "taps" at end of program at 0328, off at 0329utc, excellent program, thanks. (Hassig-IL)

6/7, 0228, 6965usb. WWII news recordings about D-Day, June 6 being the anniversary from 1944y; mentions ``New York studio of Columbia`` in contact with correspondents; occasional weak running-H2O QRM. 0248 swing music reminiscent of ``Boogie-woogie Bugle Boy`` on xylophone, and more tunes; 0252 ``Accentuate the Positive``; 0254 Mix Radio International ID, joint produxion with Cool AM Radio in Europe; 0258 protracted variations on ``Yankee Doodle`` including a promo for buying War Bonds featuring Donald Duck. 0303 inviting e-mail reports to both stations; maybe voice of Edward R Murrow; 0320 songs, 0327 contact info again, ``Taps`` until 0329*. Tnx for the show (Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR)

** Nowhere Radio

6/6, 0146-0154+, 6975am. EZL instr’l music; 0150 ID w/peppy jingle music; nowhereradio@yahoo.com. SIO=353+ (Frodge-MI)

6/7, 0226, 6974.9am. Music at S9 vs noise level, presumed Nowhere Radio as IDed by some here as if ``6975``: [www.hfunderground.com] (Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR)

** Nuttin' On Shortwave

6/8, 2235, 6925am. Music, AC/DC, Shot Down In Flames; Crusher by The Novas; op reading DX reports from the hfu. Nuttin' On Shortwave ID at 2239 and into more AC/DC music. Fair to good signal, superior AM sound, noisy conditions. (Will-MD)

** Truth Radio International

6/5, 2356-0009+, 6925usb. C&W ditties including Take This Mask & Shove It; Trump bit @0005; ID @0008 & e-mail TRIInternatinal@protonmail.com. SIO=353 peaks but very fady (Frodge-MI)

6/6, 2335-2340*, 6925usb. Brief transmission of new age babble. (Majewski CT)

** Unid

6/1, 0104, 6955lsb. Country song, 0140 switched to USB with same song, break, same song in LSB, Easypal image (didn’t have decoded on,) pause, same song again. Poor – fair. (Taylor – WI)

6/1, 0104, 6974.9am. Initially distorted music, brief a capella singing, into a program of instrumental music, some electronic, some rock occasional vocals in song, no ID or other talk heard. Fair. (Taylor-WI)

6/5, 0054, 6974.9am. Electronic music faded in, segue to instrumental rock (sounds like Kraftwerk,) slower electronic music, rap like music, break 0107 – 0111 then slow atmospheric music. Fair. (Taylor – WI)

6/7, 0227, 6955usb. Pumping rock music at S9; 0231 ID? missed, SSTV; 0233 hard rock; 0236 more SSTV beepery; 0237 music; 0243.5 even more SSTV to 0245*. Strangely, no HFU logs of this during this span, too much competition from the others? But one unID log starting at 0244, could be else: [www.hfunderground.com] (Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR)

6/9, 2358, 6975am. Upbeat rock music, In/Animate, A Portal Opens. Really nice AM sound, 39 dBu. (Will-MD)

** WDOG

6/5, 0136, 6930am. End of a rock song, ID, “Soak up the sun,” then faded in and out for the rest of the evening. Jumped between 6930 & 6933 then back and forth before settling on 6933. Difficult to tell the music between fading and high QRN. (Taylor-WI)

6/5, 0159, 6930am. S9/+10 of rock music, stronger than the other two on at this time. These say it`s WDOG: [www.hfunderground.com] which kept jumping frequencies from 6950 to 6933, 6930 (Glenn Hauser, OK, WOR)

6/6, 0058, 6960am. Detect carrier in ssb mode locally, weak signals on both Dixon IL and Barrington Hills IL sdr's, hear soul music then great selection of oldies from 1950's and 1960's including Elvis "hound dog", "weemeaway", Chubby Checker "the twist", etc, at 0130 fair signal on Dixon IL sdr, weak on Barrington Hills IL sdr, almost not there locally, at 0131 song "Barbara Ann", off at 0153 after quick ID, excellent program, thanks. (Hassig-IL)

6/6, 0108, 6930am. Started out poor with flute music then I wondered if was Native American, but started coming up at as rock, 0127 clear ID into more rock. Fading in and out thereafter playing 60’s pop with occasional ID. Fair at peaks. (Taylor – WI)

** Yeah Man Radio

6/4, 2322-0014*, 6925am. Yeah Man Radio, A great show of music with the likes of Temptations, Beach Boys, Barbra Lewis, Righteous Brothers, Gold Theme theme and others. 2331 gave a shoutout to the posters on the HF Underground. Played the Solid Gold jingle and a Million Day Weekend. End with Jimmy Rogers King of the Road. Good signal (Majewski CT)

** YHWH

6/8, 0310, 7475am. Josiah & typical monologue. In progress at tune-in, Days of Hard Life song played at 0350, cut out at 0353 and was gone. (Barton-AZ)

** Zeeky/WEZL/Weasal Radio

6/5, 2329-0045, 6930usb. A show of blue grass, country and folk music, most which I did not know the artists. ID at 2341. The operator was testing the audio quality and using a remote SDR to hear the signal. 0044 did a sign off. Poor to Good signal due to fading. (Majewski CT)

6/5, 2339-2341+, 6930usb. Pop ditties & Zeeky chatter. SIO=2+53 (Frodge-MI)

6/5, 2340, 6930usb. Mellow pop ballad, ID’ & talk by Zeeky then into a program of mellow ballads, some talk about playing 45’s and other music. Fair. (Taylor – WI)

6/6, 0014, 6930usb. Very weak locally, fair signal on Dixon IL sdr, slightly distorted audio, long musical selection telling a story, at 0018 DJ speaking with distorted voice, gave ID as WEZL then bluegrass music, nice program, thanks. (Hassig-IL)

6/10, 0001, 6933usb. Music, Arlo Guthrie, Oklahoma Hills. 0003-0012, three consecutive SSTVs. 0009, music, multiple songs by Eric Johnson, Ah Via Musicon, Cliffs of Dover, Desert Rose. 0032, mellow rock music, 0039, folk music, Down on the farm watching the apples grow. 0043, Stan Rogers, Forty Five Years. Op talking from 0045-0048 and into music by the Beastie Boys. s9 on the R-75, 40 dBu on the PL-880. (Will-MD)

6/10, 0029, 6933usb. Tune & Zeeky chatter. SIO=353 (Frodge-MI)


== European shortwave ==

** Black Bandit Radio

6/4, 2017-2053, 6322am. Great pgm of rock radio, great audio and signal into SDR in SW England. (444-Kusalik-AB)

** Radio Rock Revolution

6/4, 2109-2136, 5885am. Program with ID's; no e-mail address known; via SDR site in SW England. (444/3 -KUSALIK-AB)

** The Vault

6/4, 2338-2340, 6985am. Poor signal with most of audio in the noise. I can usually hear the carrier for this station between 2300 - 0000. (Majewski CT)

** XTC Shortwave

6/4, 1946-2016, 6275am. Taped prgm, followed with a 'live' BCB. (4/5,5,4 - Kusalik-AB)


== QSL ==

** XTC Shortwave

6275 AM XTC Shortwave received within 48 hours of posting my report with audio file to xtcshortwave@googlemail.com Rec'd a Cover letter plus 'The Xenon Transmitting Company' E-QSL. Power is 35 watts, somewhere in England. Matt is very approachable to reports! v/s Matt Roberts (Kusalik-AB)


== Internet Resources ==

Free radio station contacts:
[sites.google.com]

The FRW on Facebook:
[www.facebook.com]

HF Underground
[www.hfunderground.com]

The FRN
[www.frn.net]


Regards, Lw