Mon Apr 7

3935: Radio Rainbow playing 80s pop @ 1640. Fair signal. SINPO 34333.

6305: No-Name station (although I recognise the voice!) with non-stop schlager heard @ 1510. Modulation sounded a bit rough. Off at 1615. SINPO 34333. To hear recording click here

6882: Pirate Music with jingles and dance music @ 1630. Good signal but some fading. SINPO 44433.

North American logs

Some weekend logs from Joe Wood in Greenback TN, USA:

6850 MAC (t). 0059-0137* 6 Apr. EG. Anncr with ments of Paul Starr. Very poor vox. Mx by the Beatles, Blue Oyster Cult, Black Sabbath, Boston, and many others. Very nice selection of mx. Gave email add as MACshortwave@yahoo.com, but I never heard a clear ID. This may have been a relay. Off at 0137 with NA. Lots of QRN. Mx was much better than vox. S5/F-P.

6925u UNID. 2200-2228* 4 Apr. English. OM announcer that sounded quite a bit like Walter Breenan. Repeated mentions of the phrase "How about some real pirate radio. Who wants to wants to hear pirate radio?" Mx included: "Be Sure," "Young Love," Because of You," "Wandering Gypsy," and several more. Announcer kept yelling "Hey" in between several spots of dead air. Very poor vox and generally a poor reception. No ID heard.

6925 WHYP. 2315-2341*. 4 Apr. English. The first log of Mr. Brownyard’s station since Halloween, 2005. James Brownyard and Uncle Schleckstien with IDs and a promise to return to the air soon. Mx by Styx and an instrumental blues tune. Nice to hear this station again. Fair.

6925u Sycko Radio. 0226-0231. 6 Apr. EG. ID as "Sycko Radio, 69-25." Ments of Uncle Bob and talk with YL. Ments of several noted pirate DXers. S7/F-G. 6925 Unid. 0252*. 6 Apr. EG. Just heard the last minute or so of the show. Playing "Ain’t no Bugs on Me," and off w/o s/off ancmts. Fair.

6925u Uncle Bob Radio. 0138-0220*. 6 Apr. EG. Uncle Bob playing ragtime and very old pop mx. Ments of having to take his medication. ID as "This is Uncle Bob at the microphone," and off. S5/Poor.

Sun Apr 6

Woke up to find everything - including the longwire - covered in snow, but it is now rapidly thawing.

3935: Laser Hot Hits with 60s music and jingle @ 1910. SINPO 34333.

5815: Orion Radio with instrumental music @ 0805. Poor signal today. SINPO 24432.

6140: MV Baltic Radio via Wertchatal playing "Caroline" by the Fortunes @ 1210 and giving out web address. SINPO 44444.

6261: Radio Perfekt playing country music @ 0850. Heard phone number in German but deep fades. Some utility QRM. SINPO 23332.

6270: Radio Calypso has the best signal so far this morning. Heard @ 0755 playing schlager. 44433.

6274: Radio Kilo Tango Lima heard @ 1120 giving out hotline number and playing the song "Working Class Hero." Splash from Calypso. SINPO 33433.

6281: Radio Jodel Piraat with music from the Bavarian mountains @ 0815. Weak signal with fair peaks. SINPO 24332. For recording click here

6306: Radio Brandaris Int @ 1020 with instrumental music and IDs. Fair-good signal. SINPO 34433.

6309: Radio Marconi playing schlager @ 1025, IDs in Dutch. SINPO 33433.

6311: Radio Barrentina @ 0815 with talk by man in Catalan. SINPO 24332.

6925u: Spider Radio (tent) with music @ 1920. Weak signal but could just hear classical music on this frequency.

(updated 19:25UTC)

Sat Apr 5

3905: Antonio Radio heard @ 2010 playing 60s music. Some fading of the signal. SINPO 34433.

3935: Laser Hot Hits playing reggae music @ 1825. SINPO 34333.

6215: Radio King Shortwave (tent) heard @ 0930 playing oldies, with a weak signal, suffering from utility and other QRM. SINPO 23332.

6220: Mystery Radio with dance music @ 1855. Good signal. SINPO 44444. At 2005, live programme with Chris Ise. Still 44444.

6265: Radio Altrex heard @ 0850 with ID, greeting Iann in France and playing oldies. Weak signal with fair peaks. SINPO 24332.

6270: Radio Calypso @ 0810 with Dutch music. Good signal. SINPO 44433.

6275: Unid station @ 1415 with 80s pop and rock. Too weak to get ID - possibly Laser. SINPO 24332.

6307: Radio Royal playing Dutch ballads @ 1820, greeting Foton. Good signal but some splash from station on 6310. SINPO 43443.

6310: Radio Marconi @ 1835 playing schlager, whistle on signal, ID at 1900. SINPO 43433. For recording click here

6311: Radio Lowland heard @ 1400 with ID, playing song "Big in Japan." Slight whistle - possibly from Barrentina, who I can't hear at the moment. SINPO 33333.

6311: Radio Barrentina @ 1600 with talk by man in Catalan. Fair peaks. SINPO 24332.

6325: Radio Waves Int (tent) with American country music show @ 1830. Signal only just audible. SINPO 23432.

6882: Radio Playback Int @ 1605 with jazz music, strong SSB QRM on 6880. SINPO 33333.

9290: Radio Joystick via Latvia @ 0900 signing on and playing dance music. SINPO 55544.

(updated 20:10UTC)

Fri Apr 4

3935: Laser Hot Hits heard @ 1845 playing an Ian Dury song. Fair signal. SINPO 34333.

6265: Premier Radio Int from Ireland with a live programme. Heard at 2020 playing "Motorbiking" from the 70s. Good signal here - S9. SINPO 44433.

6307: Radio Royal with a good signal @ 1825, playing dance music, before signing off a few minutes later. Slight whistle caused by weak station on 6305. SINPO 44444.

6310: Radio Fox 48 heard @ 1840 with blues music and jingle IDs. SINPO 33333.

(updated 20:20UTC)

Thurs Apr 3

3935: Laser Hot Hits coming in well this evening @ 2010 with music by Dave McWilliams. Good signal. SINPO 44433.

6882: Pirate Music playing "When the Going Gets Tough" @ 2040. Also has some new jingles. Good signal with some fading. SINPO 44433.

Radiofax: 20th anniversary

It is the 20th anniversary of the launch of Radiofax, the groundbreaking Short-Wave radio station.

Listen again to the first four test transmission broadcasts from the 1st to 4th of April (Easter weekend) 1988:

http://www.radiofax.org/audio_1988.html or Podcast feed http://www.radiofax.org/podcast_1988.xml

More about the station and its campaign to get a UK shortwave licence:
http://www.radiofax.org/

(info via Mike Barraclough, anoraksuk)

Wed Apr 2

3935: Laser Hot Hits with 60s music @ 1805. SINPO 34333.

6882: Radio Playback Int playing dance music with jingles @ 1815. SINPO 34333.

Tues Apr 1

3935: Laser Hot Hits heard @ 2000 playing an Abba song. Fair-good signal. SINPO 34333.

Mon Mar 31

6310: Unid station heard @ 1820 playing polka. Voice quite distorted so couldn't get ID. SINPO 33332.

Sun Mar 30

5800: Radio Telstar South with oldies @ 1320. Weak signal and fading heavily. SINPO 24322. Tuned in again @ 1630, much better signal now - around S8 with the Golden Boys. SINPO 34433.

5815: Orion Radio coming in well this morning @ 0845, playing Dutch songs. Signal peaking at 9+10dB. SINPO 44444.

6220: Radio Marabu via Mystery Radio with pop and rock. Heard @ 0915 with SINPO 34433.

6220: Mystery Radio @ 1540 playing dance music. Signal S8 here. SINPO 34433.

6275: Voice of the Netherlands with a good signal. Heard @ 0830 playing Queen "Don't Stop Me Now." SINPO 44444.

6280: Radio Calypso heard signing on @ 0945 and playing oldies. Fair signal. SINPO 34433.

6280: Radio Daiwa heard in QSO with Calypso @ 1305. SINPO 34333.

6295: Unid station heard briefly @ 0935 playing a Rolling Stones song before fading out. SINPO 24332. Maybe same station @ 1135 playing snatches of music - still much fading.

6300: Radio Merlin (tent) @ 0840 with oldies, bit of a whistle from co-channel station. I'm not sure what time the Saharan station signs off. SINPO 33433.

6308: Radio Royal with schlager and IDs @ 0920. SINPO 34333.

6310: Radio Malaisy playing "Rhythm is a Dancer" @ 1105, with jingle IDs. SINPO 34333.

6882: Radio Playback Int heard @ 1635 with a fair-good signal, playing the song "Tell It To My Heart." SINPO 34433. The station also has a new blog.

(updated 16:35UTC)

Sat Mar 29

3935: Laser Hot Hits @ 1730 with Steve Roberts playing oldies. SINPO 34333.

6215: Radio King Shortwave (tent) @ 1010 playing rock music. Weak signal with fair peaks. SINPO 24332.

6265: Radio Altrex heard here @ 1645 signing off after moving to avoid QRM on 6270. SINPO 34333.

6270: Radio Altrex playing blues music @ 1530. ID heard at 1535, giving out email address. SINPO 34333.

6275: Radio Monte Carlo playing Kim Wilde song @ 1520. Splash from Merlin. He said he was broadcasting from the Netherlands with "little power and longwire antenna." SINPO 33333. For recording click here

6280: Radio Calypso with a fair-good signal @ 0915, playing schlager. SINPO 34433.

6280: Radio Merlin playing "Supernature" @ 1415. Good signal here - not in parallel with 6300. SINPO 44444.

6300: Radio Merlin heard @ 1025 playing r&b with IDs. Fair signal here - S7-8. SINPO 34433.

6306: Radio Pionier with 60s music and ID in Dutch @ 1610. SINPO 34333.

6310: Radio Condor playing dance music, jingle ID @ 1720. SINPO 34333.

6325: Radio Alice playing instrumental music @ 1620, ID at 1630. SINPO 34433.

6882: Power FM with jingle then playing Boney M @ 1420. SINPO 34433.

6882: Radio Playback Int @ 1635 with jingle followed by rock music. Good signal but some fading. SINPO 44433.

(updated 17:35UTC)

North American logs

Here's some interesting logs from Joe Wood in Greenback, TN, USA, made last night:

6925u Radio Caroline. 2316-0015+. 28-29 Mar. English. Presumed relay of this station. It is also my first log of the station. Rock music from Aerosmith, Jefferson Starship, David Bowie, and many others that were less well known. Several IDs as "Radio Caroline," and one at 2333 as "The Legend Lives One-Radio Caroline." The programming changed over to a Blues Show with Mr. Charles at 2400. Both segments were great. All of the TC were in synch with GMT, so this was either a live feed to a relay station, or somebody took a great deal of care to match up a recording to the times, or Radio Caroline is now broadcasting on 6925 from the UK. The signal was a great deal stronger and better than any other Europirates I have heard, so I think it was a relay of some kind, but one never knows….. Fair to Good

6925u Victory Radio. *0135-0153*. 29 Mar. English. First log of this station. OM announcer with several mentions of the University of Texas (the other, UT) basketball team. Music by "The Austin Lounge Lizards." Also, "The Eyes of Texas" at s/on. There was a polka and ments of nightspots in Austin where Bob Wills is still the King. Off with ID and Unreadable QSL ancmts. Poor.

Fri Mar 28

3935:Laser Hot Hits with 60s music @ 1900. Fair signal. SINPO 34333.

6311: Radio Barrentina testing his antenna. Coming in quite well here - about S7. Heard @ 1905 playing the song "Crazy." Some utility QRM. SINPO 33333.

6882: Radio Playback Int playing a Michael Jackson song @ 1825. Some local QRM. SINPO 33333.

Thurs Mar 27

3935: Laser Hot Hits heard @ 1905 playing a Joan Armatrading song. Fair signal. SINPO 34333.

6925u: Spider Radio @ 2130 with oldies, deep fades with SSB QRM. SINPO 23332.

(updated 21:30UTC)

North American logs

A couple more logs from Joe Wood in Greenback, Tennessee, USA:

6925L Unid. 2354-0005, 24-25 March. English. Parody game show “Sexual Harassment Challenge.” Parody ads for GGW, Beauty Pageants and Hooters Restaurants. Parody of “Surfin USA” and “Sesame Street.” Unid mx about Southern US. S7/Fair.

6925u Conelrad Radio (p). 2330-2334. 25 March. English. Mx from the 1940-1960 era including: “…Boogie,” “Fujiama Mama,” and “Counter Spy” by Bob Newhart. Off at 2334 in mid song. S5/Poor.

Wed Mar 26

3935: Laser Hot Hits heard @ 1915 giving out mailing address, playing 60s music. SINPO 34333.

Tues Mar 25

3935: Laser Hot Hits heard @ 1910 playing Paul McCartney's "Frog Chorus." SINPO 33333.

6925u: Unid. Tuned in @ 2305 to hear American radio jingles "Classic Q 104.3." Off at 2307. Was this Spider Radio? Fair signal. SINPO 34333. To hear recording click here

(updated 23:10UTC)

Listening to Laser

We have set up a new way of listening to Laser shows on the Internet by using a Flash-based player called uBroadcast.

Surf along to http://www.ubroadcast.com/ to download and install the program. We can be found on the Stations section by clicking through the category/shows folders to "Independent Music Broadcasters/Pop/Pop Variety/Laser Ch 2".

Or else go to http://rustybucketradio.tripod.com/ and click the "Play" symbol under the "Rusty Bucket Radio" title at the top of the screen.

If the "Play" button does not appear, there may be a browser message at the top of the screen instead. This will ask you if you want to install an Active X plug-in which will allow the uBroadcast player to automatically install and start playing a Laser show from the beginning.

If you don't want to hear that show then just click "Play" once more. This will start streaming another show. The audio quality is the best we have ever broadcast on the Internet with some shows in stereo so give it a go !

(info via Laser website)

Well, here's some more ways to catch Laser if the shortwave frequencies aren't coming through.

North American log

Another log from Joe Wood in Greenback, TN, USA

6925u WBNY-Radio Bunny. 2320-2349UTC. Sun 23 Mar. English. Cdr. Bunny with his announced 39th annual Easter bx. Several IDs and add as P.O.Box 1, Belfast, NY 14711, USA. Call for reports and mentions of enclosing 3 first class US stamps. S2/Poor.