Since 2018 the Voice of Indonesia is back on shortwave. They are using frequencies in the 90 meter band (3325 kHz) from Palangkaraya on the island of Borneo and 60 meter band (4755 kHz) from Jakarta on this island of Java. A remarkable change of strategy as most broadcasters have left shortwave, and tropical band frequencies in particular.
According to Voice of Indonesia the reason is to promote Indonesian culture and government views, at relatively low costs and with the ability to reach areas where digital infrastructure is not as easily available as in other parts of the world.
eQSL from RRI Voice of Indonesia on 4755 kHz
I received a personal email and a beaticul eQSL card for my reception of their program on 4755 kHz. I listened to their Spanish and German program which could be received in reasonable quality at 17:30 and 18:00 h UTC respectively. They even have a Dutch program which I will try to receive on 3325 kHz in the coming months.
My first QSL from the Voice of Indonesia is from February1989. See below.
1989 QSL from the Voice of Indonesia
In those days they were still broadcasting in the 25 and 19 meter band, and despite their 100 kW of power I don’t recall it being an easy catch. Funny thing is that in those days they didn’t have a broadcast in Dutch.
Earlier I wrote about the 80th anniversary of the Voice of Vietnam. My reception report to englishsection@vov.vn was awarded with a beautiful traditional QSL in a nice envelope:
KTL is an internet radio station broadcasting a live stream from various studios across Germany and one in The Netherlands.
Occasionally KTL also uses Channel 292. I listened to a German program “Beatschuppen” full of oldies. I am not sure if this was a relay of their regular on-line radio program though. It offered the opportunity for listeners to send a request “Musikwunsch” which suggests that this broadcast was live.
My request didn’t make it to the show, but I got their e-QSL. I sent my report to andre(at)ktl-radio.de .
Thanks to a tip from Hugo Matten I learned that Radio Augusta is active again via the Radio Onda transmitter in Junglinster (formerly Radio Luxembourg). I received them last weekend. My report via their webform was answered three (!) times. By Mike Guy, the DJ on duty, by Didier Petit, station manager, and by David Angell who presents the Wednesday/Thursday shows.
The first time I heard Radio Augusta was when I received their program on 1611 kHz. Didier confirmed my reception report stating that the program content was Radio Augusta but that he is unaware of who relays the show on AM. He explained that he lives in Ivory Coast where he broadcasts via internet and on a local FM outlet. And so Radio Augusta on AM always remained somewhat shrouded in the mists of underground radio. And that’s how it should be, in my opinion!
eQSL Radio Augusta on 6140 kHz
In 2024 Radionieuws reported that the mediumwave radio station Augusta on 1611 kHz was taken off air by the BIPT, the Belgian Institute for Post and Telecommunications. Their location was apparently the Wallonian village of Péruwelz.
Radionieuws article about Radio Augusta shut down.
The good news is that Radio Augusta is now back in the “ether’… because for my generation internet radio will never beat the “vibes” of good old radio over the airwaves. Via Radio Onda, Junglinster, Luxembourg they are on the air at 1800 h UTC. Please check their schedule as this might change when we move from summer to winter time. But even if you don’t have the opportunity to listen to them through the airwaves, don’t hesitate to tune in to their internet stream… it truly brings back good old feeling of offshore radio as it was meant to be! “When the dreams come true”
I am a regular Channel 292 listener, but this weekend was the first time I noticed Radio Bandit on their 9670 kHz schedule. My report to Uwe Reiter was answered within a day.
Uwe wrote a nice email on his station:
“Radio Bandit is a one man show, unfortunately I don’t have a helpful team to help me. It can also be good: if mistakes are made, you know exactly who you can hold responsible. Yesterday’s broadcast was a test for me to find out what profit the Beam of Channel 292 brings, 10 dB were always possible. Otherwise I would have only ever used the omnidirectional antenna.
I am 67 years old. When I was about eight years old, my father gave me an old tube receiver, a Super AT with medium and short wave 50 to 30 m. On medium wave I listened to the numerous local stations at the time, on short wave nothing could be heard until I simply connected a few meters of wire to the existing antenna input. At that time, there were many more stations on shortwave than today. Everyone listened to Radio Luxembourg, including Radio Nordsee International from MEBO 2. In short, the virus radio had done its job.
I spent my childhood and youth in the shadow of the former Königs Wusterhausen transmitter south of Berlin. With its 20 kW medium waves for Radio DDR, several 250 kilowatt transmitters for Radio Berlin International, the foreign service of the former GDR and a 500 ! Kilowatt longwave transmitter for the Soviet occupying troops at the time, there was always enough HF in the air. That’s probably why I’m so radio-crazy and irradiated.
The Königs Wusterhausen antennas (picture supplied by Radio Bandit)
By the way, I only transmit on shortwave two or three times a year, simply when shortwave calls me. In 1974, RNI and Radio Veronica had to stop broadcasting. RNI then reappeared on the Internet in 2008, where I broadcast as Doc. Wolfgang Haus in the German service, which was always broadcast on Thursdays. At the legendary Radiodays in Erkrath I also had the opportunity to meet my former stars like Andy Archer. Dick de Graaf and Graham Gill in person.“
Uwe as Dr. Wolgang Haus on RNI German Service
Uwe might be a one man radio show, but it was obvious from the show that he had a solid radio background. And still a very pleasant voice to listen to. It was nice to learn that Uwe pretty much got addicted to radio the same way as I did. Growing up with offshore free radio and discovering the world on the family tube receiver in an era where there was no internet. By the way, you can learn more about Köning Wusterhausen in Germany in my post about the Funkerberg.
I listened to “The Ghoul” via Channel 292 on 6070 kHz. That’s a radio program I haven’t seen often in the Channel 292 schedule. And I’m still not entirely sure what it actually was that I was listening to. A nice non-standard music selection interspersed with some either provocative or humorous opinions like “minimizing the production of misfits, the choice is yours”.
That said, my report was awarded with this very nice QSL. It perfectly represents how I feel as a DXer sometimes.
I sent my report to differentradio@yahoo.co.uk, and received an answer within a day.
A very nicely designed QSL card from Radio Badger. A Free Radio Station on 6040 kHz from the UK. I think I saw the card somewhere and really wanted to add this one to my collection!
Reception was far from perfect, but I was able to copy a few songs (Shazam helped me big time) and with some effort recorded this ID… “Radio Badger”
Radio Badger has a very nice (and a bit funny) website radiobadger.co.uk . Check it out! They announce 6070 kHz as a frequency which might imply that they occasionally use Channel 292. But I never saw them in the Channel 292 program schedule. No problem, the website also offers a live stream as well so you can listen to their excellent music selection in stereo quality. Of course we DX-ers prefer the real short wave sound!
Within a day I received a PDF e-QSL for my reception of RTW Wai FM, broadcasting on 11665 kHz from Kajang, Malaysia. The EDXC (European DX council) still treats Malaysia as two DX countries, making this a West Malaysia reception.
eQSL RTM Wai FM, Kajang, Malaysia on 11665 kHz
As can be deduced from the name Wai FM is in fact a national FM network operated by Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM). The purpose of the shortwave broadcast on 11665 kHz is to extend its reach to rural and remote areas in Sarawak (East Malaysia), where FM signals often cannot penetrate due to challenging terrain, dense forests, and limited infrastructure. This allows indigenous communities, such as the Kenyah, Kayan, Iban, Bidayuh, and Lun Bawang, to access programming in their native languages, including news, folklore, music, and cultural content that has been a station staple since its origins in the 1950s.
Transmissions are scheduled from 21:45 – 14:05 h UTC. They originate from RTM’s powerful 100 kW shortwave site in Kajang (Peninsular Malaysia), beamed eastward at a 93-degree azimuth to target Sarawak specifically. This might also explain why in Europe late night reception (long path) is often more easy than early afternoon.
Last year I received a QSL from Port Said Radio on 2187.5 kHz. Prior to that my only QSL from Egypt was from the Middle East News Agency (MENA) for a 1993 reception report. In those days I built a small RTTY converter connected to my first PC allowing me to decode these messages. It was quite common for news agencies to have an RTTY outlet on shortwave. It resulted in a nice QSL letter:
QSL letter from MENA Cairo broadcasting on shortwave
Despite many attempts I’ve never been able to get a QSL from Radio Cairo. But a DX friend of mine, Paul Flanagan, triggered me to give it another shot as he received what he described as a “pre-QSL email”. So I tried again and indeed, within a day I received this “pre-QSL email”:
pre-QSL email from Radio Cairo
So now I have to wait and see if that elusive e-QSL will arrive in my email inbox one day…
I listened to a Turkish program from Radio Cairo on 9900 kHz. They seem to have broadcasts in English, French, German on the 31 meter band as well, but I have the impression that it is a bit erratic. And when I receive them the signal is often strong, but a poor modulation compromised reception quality. Below a clip of my recent reception with time announcement.
Like the German service of Radio Taiwan International the French service of RTI also ran test transmissions this year from Tamsui. For my reception report on three frequencies I received a beautiful paper QSL:
BDXC : SWL 2262 PRe VERON : NL 14228 If you want to get in touch, just leave a message on one of my posts. Please note that I don't publish email addresses of verifiers which are not part of the public domain. So if you don't see the QSL address, just leave a message and I'll get back to you.
Feel free to copy anything on this weblog. I try to provide accurate information, but if I'm wrong: don't blame me! A link back to my site is appreciated when you copy info.
