Last week I received my first OIRT signals. Until 2 years ago I never had a receiver that was able to pick up 70 MHz signals. Today I do, but the only antenna I have is a 87-108 MHz antenna… apparently that’s all it takes to pick up these signals over a distance of 1600 km when sporadic E conditions are favourable.

What is OIRT?

The OIRT radio band is a range of radio frequencies used for FM broadcasting, primarily in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, spanning from 65.8 to 74.0 MHz (sometimes cited as 65.9 to 74.0 MHz). Named after the Organisation Internationale de Radiodiffusion et de Télévision (OIRT), a Prague-based organization that served as the Eastern Bloc’s counterpart to the Western European Broadcasting Union (EBU), it was established to standardize broadcasting in socialist countries during the Cold War.

The OIRT band was a product of Cold War-era technological and political divisions, designed to isolate Eastern Bloc broadcasts from Western signals. Its lower frequencies allowed better coverage in expansive regions but made cross-border reception difficult. Today, its use is declining, but it remains a niche interest for radio enthusiasts (DXers) who tune in during Sporadic E propagation events to catch distant signals.

Below a little recording of a conversation on BR Pershy Kanal (Channel Nr. 1) on 66.32 MHz. The spacing between stations is only 30 kHz, rather than the 100 kHz used for the 87-108 MHz band.

I tried to send a reception report to Belarus Radio, but since the war between Russia and the Ukraine all email correspondence is blocked “for security reasons” (which might be the EU or Belarus, I just don’t know). That’s a pity. If someone knows a workaround, please let me know!