Shortwave being a major venue for freedom of information, it is telling that the western nations are shutting down short wave and medium wave stations.
Agreed! Makes you wonder why. I used to love going through the entire MW band. Tons of stations. They always have tried to discourage international listening, at least for the most part wher I live. In most places SW is readily available. Less and less so in North America. Almost makes you wonder, and also makes some people paranoid.
@jamesglenn6461 So true James, it is really surprising that Western nations don't use it more. We all know how easy it is to censor the internet. SW can be jammed, yes, but I think it is much harder to do, especially if you keep changing frequencies.
@@swlistening The internet medium is much easier to censor, monitor and to contain. All a government has to do is to control connectivity and content at their state ISPs. China may ban anything that is related to Google or anti government material but North Korea's control over the internet is even worse. 😄 Using a computer or Internet connected phone without a VPN leaves digital footprints and but shortwave radios are virtually untraceable and requires an insane amount of manpower to check for home receivers from door to door. 😎
It amazes me... back in the 80s and 90s I heard lots of Soviet/Russia signals all over the bands in the mornings in the Eastern USA. Fast forward about 30-35 years, and while Western stations reduce their output, China takes over the spectrum with lots of CRI/CGTN Radio, and CNR domestic services. And there are plenty of Asian and Pacific signals to hear, i e many NHK-Yamata broadcasts are available, RFA from USAGM sites, etc.
Hi Joe, so true. I remember that myself, back in the 80s and 90s there were so many signals, all the major world powers and even many small countries had shortwave stations. But now China seems to be most active, and then also other ones you mention like NHK, also Thailand, Taiwan. Things have changed. But, fortunately, there are still very many signals, SW is still interesting. Here in Africa we still get a lot of signals.
China is a huge country and they try to keep their mass communication centralized. At this time the SW network serves the same purpose as AM broadcast did in the US a couple of decades ago. I have memories set for RNZ on my ham transceiver, every morning here in Hawaii 11.725 has a Chinese strong signal coming through. The same music is played every broadcast and the only voice heard is close to the signoff, it is in the German language. I enjoy the traditional Chinese music, even if it is the same every morning.
Yeah, you may be impressed by how big China still is on SW & how they don't make any cuts, unlike everyone else... But behind the propaganda curtain, CRI has a lot of language services, particularly to Europe, which have been playing exact same content every day, every hour, for years. Some do have some actual programming, varied features, but others just kilowaste kilowatts for nothing but the same hour-long music playlists repeated over & over, day by day, since Sep 1 2020 in case of German, and since 2017 for Portuguese. And guess what... at the same time, these very same services still continue producing up-to-date podcasts online! So yeah, an incredibly idiotic, paradoxical, wasteful move there from China 🤡
I'm half way through watching to see if any of the signals that I'm picking up in Ireland are the same which obviously they are ...but tonight was a first for me I picked up a station called Twr Africa ..19.35 -20:05 lingala Manzini 13,869 km away anyways bro I'm watching rest of ur video .Ged Ireland 🇮🇪
André, before I watch: 11520 Denge Gel, 11540 Erdogan Jammer, 11935 buzz, no tx switch-over observed but I may be a bit late, and 12095 BBC has both the mystery buzz and a Chinese residual jammer (various pips & farts LoL) vs them. That residual jammer has become very active in last few months, occupying various frequencies within the broadcast bands. It is traced back to 2012 (there is a video by @FirstToken), but until spring of this year or so you had to be very lucky to catch it! UPDATE: ambient Buzz had gone from 12095 around 1600z, just like a few days ago, but the residual jammer remains. No radar hitting it, there's Pluto (RAF UK one in Cyprus) centred on 11460 kHz instead. And a reminder about RTI German @ 1700z on 11995 & 1730z on 9545 😉
One more tip: something religious on 11600 kHz, I suppose Overcomer Ministry. Yes, Brother Stair w/ quick ID & giving "his" phone number... Sure he will answer 🤣
Hi Arnie, thanks for the reminder about Taiwan, I picked up both frequencies. 11995 was weak, but 9545 was fair, quite intelligible. I made a video, will upload it tomorrow. Interesting about 11600, I missed that one. I can't recall having heard it before. I will call him next time, I am sure he must have very good reception in the afterlife :-) I checked Yemen tonight, also heard the buzzer. Funny enough I did not hear Denge Gel or the jammer at all tonight. But I had really excellent reception from East Asia here, Shiokaze was bright and clear. And KNLS from Alaska also. I recorded some videos, comparisons of receivers, will also upload them tomorrow.
Thanks Andre missed my chance at purchasing the 368 for $65 on the Amazon prime sale yesterday…back up to original price, so I buy the County Comm GP-7m version next month as I have the GP-5 version. Therefore, I am not surprised at your 200+ catches at your QTH, at my home in Tucson, Arizona it’s been too hot walk in the park without both me a the radio becoming melted…😢! Have a great day! 73!
I used to use my Tecsun PL-368 a lot, until I got the Qodosen. But, lately, I have been taking out the PL-368 more and I must say, it is actually a very good radio. I am beginning to think it is better than the XHDATA D-808, less noisy and clearer reception. Just tonight I recorded some stations where I compare these two and the Qodosen also, interesting results. I will upload the videos tomorrow. I have seen in the news that it is very hot in the northern hemisphere right now, I hope you are coping. Do you have air-conditioning at home? I have air-con, but I rarely use it in summer, electricity is just so expensive now. Only on the really hot days. For me that is when it gets above 30 degrees Celsius or 86 Fahrenheit. Fortunately we have few of those days here in Johannesburg, but they are getting more every year...
@@swlistening Andre yes I have A.C. and the high temperature in Tucson, Arizona has been average of 106 F for the high and around 80F for the low. Better than last year where we had 18 straight days of over 110F with the average low of 92F…too hot for me. This makes A.C. More of a life-saver than a luxury service. The electric bill is the biggest drawback to living here in the summer…🥵! I am glad the 368 is a good radio, because in the fall the weather will be just right for my nearby biking trails and the shape of the radio makes it more easy to carry for me. 73! Have a great day!
@@swlisteningIt's just the evolution of shortwave radio technology. There will be a time when something else will take the Qodosen's place, Andre. It's just that you haven't found that radio yet. ☺️📻 I have never experienced summertime in Jo'burg. My first impression of Johannesburg back in early July 1998 was that the climate was surprisingly cool at the Jan Smuts international airport. My colleagues and I looked for a smoking spot and we found this nice outdoor garden within the transit area. None of us had ever been to the African continent and our impression of Africa was the sands of the Sahara, the vast plains of Kenya and Tanzania and the hot and sweaty jungles of Nigeria and Congo. 😄 We did study geography back in school but our text books never mentioned which parts of the continent have temperate climates. You had toured Southeast Asia before. Did you find the hot and humid climate of Thailand and Malaysia unbearable? Air conditioning at home has become a necessity these days due to climate change. Back in the 70s night time temperatures in Kuala Lumpur were a lot more tolerable compared to the last two decades.
@@Kw1161 Wow, 110 Fahrenheit is really hot. I had to convert that: 42 Celsius. Not comfortable. The 368 is just the right radio for biking trails, it is very compact and very sensitive. Perfect to take along when you go biking or hiking. And the fact that it has SSB is a nice bonus.
@@StratmanII It's quite surprising that SW radios are still evolving, seeing that signals are becoming fewer. But I guess it makes sense to develop new SW radios in China, where SW is still very strong. It's great that we are still getting new SW technology! Our weather here in Johannesburg (and most of South Africa south of here) is actually surprisingly cold in winter. We are situated well outside the tropics, so we get real winter weather, we get all four seasons. Winter days are relatively mild, 15 to 20 degrees, but the nights are cold, often 0 degrees or even below. Whenever there is snow on the Drakensberg mountains, which happens several times in winter, our temperatures drop to 4 or 5 degrees in daytime and well below zero at night. Last year we even had snow here in Johannesburg. It's the altitude, of course, and also because we are relatively far south. I never found the weather in SE Asia unbearable, I seem to remember it was extremely humid, with temperatures around 30 to 35 degrees. That's hot, yes, but I managed OK. But my last visit to SE Asia was about nine years ago, when I went to Bali. I think now it probably feels hotter there. The weather in Durban in summer is somewhat similar, just a few degrees cooler, but also very humid.
@@RJDA.DakotaSangean had a prototype portable radio about 7 years ago, but withdrew it, just before they were to take orders. The old “Dream software “ used to be good to decode DRM, but that was cancelled due to copyright claims. They need to redesign the codec and make it open source so hobbyist can use it just like Linux. 73!
@@RJDA.Dakota There are also two new DRM radios by Gospell on Ali Express, the one costs about $125, the other one is more than double that, around $280. Here is the cheaper one: www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007174608719.html
Some of the shows on RCI are actually quite interesting, albeit with a slight agenda. But other than that, I like learning about the country. I still think North Korea is my favourite station, as you can't really look up the DPRK online like you can most countries. Listening feels like the old days.
Hi James, 18970 is a frequency that Voice of Hope uses, so China jams it, usually with a CNR1 transmission on the same frequency. I have received this one also. I don't know 18865, but I think it is probably also Voice of Hope.
Hi Andre, I often think about this. They are the only country heavily investing in SW, makes you wonder if they know something we (the western world) don’t? I sometimes listen to The Round Table show on CRI but for some reason the lady with a strong American accent irritates me 😅 It doesn’t seem authentic, when I listen to RRI in English they have Romanian accents which is what I expect. Anyway… Thanks for sharing. 73.
Hi Franco, interesting question you ask there. Spain and New Zealand are also investing, so maybe those three countries know something we don't... I have noticed that quite a few of the presenters on CRI seem to have American accents, I guess maybe they are people who have studied in the USA. Like you, I prefer a more realistic accent. We all have accents when we speak a second or third language :-)
@@swlisteningI concur. China spares nothing when it comes to flexing their presence in shortwave broadcasting. There are many Westerners who are expats in Beijing, Shanghai and the major industrial tech cities like Shenzhen working as full or part-time English teachers. CRI employs radio presenters who have not only mastered the English language but are also proficient in Western accents. I think the Chinese are much better at hiding their Chinese accents when speaking in English. Native Japanese people on the other hand, have difficulty in speaking perfect English without a Japanese accent. The only people with Japanese roots who can speak perfect American English are well, Japanese Americans. 😎
@@StratmanII I wish the other countries will realise that China is flexing its muscles on shortwave and start bringing back some of their SW transmissions...
@@swlistening Well, according to the official review of the Australian Broadcasting Services in the Asia Pacific, Australia has incurred $80.6 million of economic costs (expressed in 2018-19 dollars), in order to provide shortwave radio broadcasts to the Asia Pacific region. ABC has since provided satellite radio/TV and Internet streaming services. They can't spend any more money on additional medium like shortwave radio, therefore that was the first service to go. 😞 I remember I used to tune into Radio Kuwait back in the late 80s but they've long ceased their foreign shortwave services due to cost cutting. The same goes for the Voice of Malaysia, Voice of Indonesia and Radio Singapore International. At least Vietnam and Thailand are still active on shortwave radio as they're state funded radio stations. 😀
Shortwave being a major venue for freedom of information, it is telling that the western nations are shutting down short wave and medium wave stations.
Agreed! Makes you wonder why. I used to love going through the entire MW band. Tons of stations. They always have tried to discourage international listening, at least for the most part wher I live. In most places SW is readily available. Less and less so in North America. Almost makes you wonder, and also makes some people paranoid.
@jamesglenn6461 So true James, it is really surprising that Western nations don't use it more. We all know how easy it is to censor the internet. SW can be jammed, yes, but I think it is much harder to do, especially if you keep changing frequencies.
@@swlistening The internet medium is much easier to censor, monitor and to contain. All a government has to do is to control connectivity and content at their state ISPs.
China may ban anything that is related to Google or anti government material but North Korea's control over the internet is even worse. 😄
Using a computer or Internet connected phone without a VPN leaves digital footprints and but shortwave radios are virtually untraceable and requires an insane amount of manpower to check for home receivers from door to door. 😎
It amazes me... back in the 80s and 90s I heard lots of Soviet/Russia signals all over the bands in the mornings in the Eastern USA.
Fast forward about 30-35 years, and while Western stations reduce their output, China takes over the spectrum with lots of CRI/CGTN Radio, and CNR domestic services. And there are plenty of Asian and Pacific signals to hear, i e many NHK-Yamata broadcasts are available, RFA from USAGM sites, etc.
Hi Joe, so true. I remember that myself, back in the 80s and 90s there were so many signals, all the major world powers and even many small countries had shortwave stations. But now China seems to be most active, and then also other ones you mention like NHK, also Thailand, Taiwan. Things have changed. But, fortunately, there are still very many signals, SW is still interesting. Here in Africa we still get a lot of signals.
China is a huge country and they try to keep their mass communication centralized. At this time the SW network serves the same purpose as AM broadcast did in the US a couple of decades ago. I have memories set for RNZ on my ham transceiver, every morning here in Hawaii 11.725 has a Chinese strong signal coming through. The same music is played every broadcast and the only voice heard is close to the signoff, it is in the German language. I enjoy the traditional Chinese music, even if it is the same every morning.
Yeah, you may be impressed by how big China still is on SW & how they don't make any cuts, unlike everyone else... But behind the propaganda curtain, CRI has a lot of language services, particularly to Europe, which have been playing exact same content every day, every hour, for years. Some do have some actual programming, varied features, but others just kilowaste kilowatts for nothing but the same hour-long music playlists repeated over & over, day by day, since Sep 1 2020 in case of German, and since 2017 for Portuguese. And guess what... at the same time, these very same services still continue producing up-to-date podcasts online! So yeah, an incredibly idiotic, paradoxical, wasteful move there from China 🤡
But for some reason they keep those SW frequencies alive. Weird, but intriguing to me.
I'm half way through watching to see if any of the signals that I'm picking up in Ireland are the same which obviously they are ...but tonight was a first for me I picked up a station called Twr Africa ..19.35 -20:05 lingala Manzini 13,869 km away anyways bro I'm watching rest of ur video .Ged Ireland 🇮🇪
That's a nice one Ged! Very distant one for you. For me it is just around the corner 😀
Shortwave is soft power and I couldn't agree more with you.
André, before I watch: 11520 Denge Gel, 11540 Erdogan Jammer, 11935 buzz, no tx switch-over observed but I may be a bit late, and 12095 BBC has both the mystery buzz and a Chinese residual jammer (various pips & farts LoL) vs them. That residual jammer has become very active in last few months, occupying various frequencies within the broadcast bands. It is traced back to 2012 (there is a video by @FirstToken), but until spring of this year or so you had to be very lucky to catch it!
UPDATE: ambient Buzz had gone from 12095 around 1600z, just like a few days ago, but the residual jammer remains. No radar hitting it, there's Pluto (RAF UK one in Cyprus) centred on 11460 kHz instead.
And a reminder about RTI German @ 1700z on 11995 & 1730z on 9545 😉
One more tip: something religious on 11600 kHz, I suppose Overcomer Ministry. Yes, Brother Stair w/ quick ID & giving "his" phone number... Sure he will answer 🤣
Hi Arnie, thanks for the reminder about Taiwan, I picked up both frequencies. 11995 was weak, but 9545 was fair, quite intelligible. I made a video, will upload it tomorrow. Interesting about 11600, I missed that one. I can't recall having heard it before. I will call him next time, I am sure he must have very good reception in the afterlife :-)
I checked Yemen tonight, also heard the buzzer. Funny enough I did not hear Denge Gel or the jammer at all tonight. But I had really excellent reception from East Asia here, Shiokaze was bright and clear. And KNLS from Alaska also. I recorded some videos, comparisons of receivers, will also upload them tomorrow.
Thanks Andre missed my chance at purchasing the 368 for $65 on the Amazon prime sale yesterday…back up to original price, so I buy the County Comm GP-7m version next month as I have the GP-5 version. Therefore, I am not surprised at your 200+ catches at your QTH, at my home in Tucson, Arizona it’s been too hot walk in the park without both me a the radio becoming melted…😢!
Have a great day! 73!
I used to use my Tecsun PL-368 a lot, until I got the Qodosen. But, lately, I have been taking out the PL-368 more and I must say, it is actually a very good radio. I am beginning to think it is better than the XHDATA D-808, less noisy and clearer reception. Just tonight I recorded some stations where I compare these two and the Qodosen also, interesting results. I will upload the videos tomorrow.
I have seen in the news that it is very hot in the northern hemisphere right now, I hope you are coping. Do you have air-conditioning at home? I have air-con, but I rarely use it in summer, electricity is just so expensive now. Only on the really hot days. For me that is when it gets above 30 degrees Celsius or 86 Fahrenheit. Fortunately we have few of those days here in Johannesburg, but they are getting more every year...
@@swlistening Andre yes I have A.C. and the high temperature in Tucson, Arizona has been average of 106 F for the high and around 80F for the low. Better than last year where we had 18 straight days of over 110F with the average low of 92F…too hot for me. This makes A.C. More of a life-saver than a luxury service. The electric bill is the biggest drawback to living here in the summer…🥵!
I am glad the 368 is a good radio, because in the fall the weather will be just right for my nearby biking trails and the shape of the radio makes it more easy to carry for me.
73! Have a great day!
@@swlisteningIt's just the evolution of shortwave radio technology. There will be a time when something else will take the Qodosen's place, Andre. It's just that you haven't found that radio yet. ☺️📻
I have never experienced summertime in Jo'burg. My first impression of Johannesburg back in early July 1998 was that the climate was surprisingly cool at the Jan Smuts international airport.
My colleagues and I looked for a smoking spot and we found this nice outdoor garden within the transit area.
None of us had ever been to the African continent and our impression of Africa was the sands of the Sahara, the vast plains of Kenya and Tanzania and the hot and sweaty jungles of Nigeria and Congo. 😄
We did study geography back in school but our text books never mentioned which parts of the continent have temperate climates.
You had toured Southeast Asia before. Did you find the hot and humid climate of Thailand and Malaysia unbearable? Air conditioning at home has become a necessity these days due to climate change. Back in the 70s night time temperatures in Kuala Lumpur were a lot more tolerable compared to the last two decades.
@@Kw1161 Wow, 110 Fahrenheit is really hot. I had to convert that: 42 Celsius. Not comfortable.
The 368 is just the right radio for biking trails, it is very compact and very sensitive. Perfect to take along when you go biking or hiking. And the fact that it has SSB is a nice bonus.
@@StratmanII It's quite surprising that SW radios are still evolving, seeing that signals are becoming fewer. But I guess it makes sense to develop new SW radios in China, where SW is still very strong. It's great that we are still getting new SW technology!
Our weather here in Johannesburg (and most of South Africa south of here) is actually surprisingly cold in winter. We are situated well outside the tropics, so we get real winter weather, we get all four seasons. Winter days are relatively mild, 15 to 20 degrees, but the nights are cold, often 0 degrees or even below. Whenever there is snow on the Drakensberg mountains, which happens several times in winter, our temperatures drop to 4 or 5 degrees in daytime and well below zero at night. Last year we even had snow here in Johannesburg. It's the altitude, of course, and also because we are relatively far south.
I never found the weather in SE Asia unbearable, I seem to remember it was extremely humid, with temperatures around 30 to 35 degrees. That's hot, yes, but I managed OK. But my last visit to SE Asia was about nine years ago, when I went to Bali. I think now it probably feels hotter there. The weather in Durban in summer is somewhat similar, just a few degrees cooler, but also very humid.
You r right
And to add more
China is using DRM
And this is the prospect
Others
Are laging behind
This is life
True about the DRM also, and the DRM radios are all made in China.
@@swlisteningI still have never seen or heard of a DRM based radio.
@@RJDA.DakotaSangean had a prototype portable radio about 7 years ago, but withdrew it, just before they were to take orders.
The old “Dream software “ used to be good to decode DRM, but that was cancelled due to copyright claims. They need to redesign the codec and make it open source so hobbyist can use it just like Linux.
73!
@@RJDA.Dakota There are also two new DRM radios by Gospell on Ali Express, the one costs about $125, the other one is more than double that, around $280. Here is the cheaper one: www.aliexpress.com/item/1005007174608719.html
Some of the shows on RCI are actually quite interesting, albeit with a slight agenda. But other than that, I like learning about the country.
I still think North Korea is my favourite station, as you can't really look up the DPRK online like you can most countries. Listening feels like the old days.
True. They do have some interesting programmes. Their African beams focus quite a lot on development and investment here.
Don’t know what it is but it sounds Chinese. It’s on 18970 or on 18865. 15m. At between 2300-0130 UTC.
Hi James, 18970 is a frequency that Voice of Hope uses, so China jams it, usually with a CNR1 transmission on the same frequency. I have received this one also. I don't know 18865, but I think it is probably also Voice of Hope.
Hi Andre, I often think about this. They are the only country heavily investing in SW, makes you wonder if they know something we (the western world) don’t?
I sometimes listen to The Round Table show on CRI but for some reason the lady with a strong American accent irritates me 😅
It doesn’t seem authentic, when I listen to RRI in English they have Romanian accents which is what I expect. Anyway…
Thanks for sharing. 73.
Hi Franco, interesting question you ask there. Spain and New Zealand are also investing, so maybe those three countries know something we don't... I have noticed that quite a few of the presenters on CRI seem to have American accents, I guess maybe they are people who have studied in the USA. Like you, I prefer a more realistic accent. We all have accents when we speak a second or third language :-)
@@swlisteningI concur. China spares nothing when it comes to flexing their presence in shortwave broadcasting. There are many Westerners who are expats in Beijing, Shanghai and the major industrial tech cities like Shenzhen working as full or part-time English teachers.
CRI employs radio presenters who have not only mastered the English language but are also proficient in Western accents. I think the Chinese are much better at hiding their Chinese accents when speaking in English.
Native Japanese people on the other hand, have difficulty in speaking perfect English without a Japanese accent. The only people with Japanese roots who can speak perfect American English are well, Japanese Americans. 😎
@@StratmanII I wish the other countries will realise that China is flexing its muscles on shortwave and start bringing back some of their SW transmissions...
@@swlistening Well, according to the official review of the Australian Broadcasting Services in the Asia Pacific, Australia has incurred $80.6 million of economic costs (expressed in 2018-19 dollars), in order to provide shortwave radio broadcasts to the Asia Pacific region.
ABC has since provided satellite radio/TV and Internet streaming services. They can't spend any more money on additional medium like shortwave radio, therefore that was the first service to go. 😞
I remember I used to tune into Radio Kuwait back in the late 80s but they've long ceased their foreign shortwave services due to cost cutting. The same goes for the Voice of Malaysia, Voice of Indonesia and Radio Singapore International.
At least Vietnam and Thailand are still active on shortwave radio as they're state funded radio stations. 😀
always China dominating the SW airwaves at my qth. Thanks
Hi Dan, I think they dominate everywhere... While others fall behind.