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Addendum: Shortwave Pirate Radio 2015 – A Year In Review
Richard Blaine, operator of Radio Casablanca, wrote and asked why the station didn’t appear in the table of ratio’s of listener posts vs message threads (broadcasts) in the Shortwave Pirate Radio 2015 – A Year In Review post. This ratio can be considered a proxy for the average number of listeners reporting hearing each broadcast for a station. Perhaps a sort of popularity rating.
I looked into calculations, and saw that table was limited to stations with 10 or more logging threads, while there were only 7 for Radio Casablanca. This resulted in some stations being cut off. So I re-ran the numbers, this time with no cutoff:
30,Drunken DJ Radio
27,WEAK
21,Pumpkin Patch Radio
21,Radio Trump
20,Native Radio
19,Girl Scout Radio
18,WPOD
17,Germany Calling
17,Generation Wild 100
16.8333,Wolverine Radio
16.4286,Radio Casablanca
16,W807
15.5,Hard Tack Radio
15.5,Radio Halloween
15.0769,XFM
15,Radio Cinco De Mayo
15,Crazy Wave Radio
14.5,Up Against The Wall Radio
14,KAOS
14,Sousa Station
13.5,New Horizons Radio
13,Mushroom Radio
12.5,Free Thinker Radio
12.5,Nordic Wind Radio
12.234,Radio Free Whatever
12,Edmund Fitzgerald Radio
11,NRUI
11,Radio Enterhaken
10.8571,Random Radio
10.8,Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic
10.75,Pirate Clip Radio
10.6842,Burn It Down Radio
10.6667,Twangy Radio
10.2456,The Crystal Ship
10,Big Boobs Radio
10,WAHR
10,Rcok and Roll Radio
9.5,Northwoods Radio
9.5,Appalachia Radio
9.33333,Radio Clandestine
9.18182,WMID
9.10667,XLR8
9,WKND
9,Radio Marlene
9,COOLAM
9,D.B. Cooper Memorial
9,Hummingbird Radio
8.85714,THX1138
8.85714,X Minus One
8.83333,WRR
8.75,Peskie Party Radio
8.5122,Ghost Shortwave
8.29412,Insane Radio
8.28571,Undercover Radio
8.25,WREC
8,XEROX
8,Frederick Chopin Radio
8,WPDR
8,Ringo
8,Pirate Nation Radio
7.85714,KCPR
7.66667,CYOT
7.6,KHAT
7.55556,Channel Z
7.5,Radio Azteca
7.4,Brockett 99
7.25,Renegade Radio
7.2,Radio Broadcaster
7.07692,Radio True North
7,KIPM
7,WGWR
7,WHJR
7,WPIG
7,Channel X
7,Big Johnson Radio
7,Radio Mirror Park
6.95,CKUT Relay
6.9375,Rave On Radio
6.85714,Canadian Radio After Dark
6.85714,Radio Fusion Radio
6.80556,Amphetamine Radio
6.75,Javelina Radio
6.66667,WBOG
6.66667,WOLF
6.50746,Liquid Radio
6.5,Captain Morgan
6.33333,Cool AM
6.33333,Boombox Radio
6.25806,Moonlight Radio
6.25806,PeeWee Radio
6.2,WHYP
6.07143,BBC Pirate Radio
6,Radio Free Mars Radio
6,Halloween Radio
6,KBOX
6,Kid From Brooklyn
6,Muffin Man
6,Evil Elvis Radio
6,SIRIUS XM Relay
6,Friday Night Radio
5.88889,Blue Ocean Radio
5.85714,Happy Hanukkah Radio
5.75,Radio Ga Ga
5.66667,The Bangalore Poacher
5.66667,Weather Control Radio
5.66667,CPRRS
5.6,WJD
5.58108,Cold Country Canada
5.5,WLIS
5.4,Partial India Radio
5.33333,Pirate Radio Boston
5.33333,Network 51
5.25,WEZY
5.2,Radio Illuminati
5,NOEL
5,Solar Centric Radio
5,Hobart Radio
5,Christmas Radio
4.66667,Radio Caroline
4.66667,KOTH
4.57143,Radio Ronin
4.5,WAZU
4.5,Stars And Stripes
4.33333,Radio Paisano
4,Turtlehead Radio
4,Southern Relay Service
4,Satan Radio
4,YHWH
4,Radio Bingo
4,Rainin Tacos
3.57143,Radio Dr Tim
3.5,Toynbee Radio
3.5,Black Cat Radio
3.5,Radio Free ADD
3.39286,Old Time Radio
3,Laser Hot Hits
3,Chairman Of The Board Radio
3,Radio Ritalin
3,KITE SDR Radio
3,Tiger Radio
2.9,KVR
2.6,Vivian Girls Radio
2.5,Chamber Pot Radio
2,KAMP
2,Fruitcake Station
2,WRRI
2,Barn Radio
2,Pirate Pixie
1,Radio Morania
1,Radio Garbonzo
1,Progressive Radio
Avg Ratio 8.08803
Some very different results at the top of the chart! This version does not leave out stations that only had a few transmissions in 2015, such as some of the seasonal stations.
Thanks for pointing this out, Richard. And thanks for the tip about betting on number 22!
Here’s the raw data (station name, number of posts, number of threads, ratio):
Liquid Radio 872 134 6.50746
Amphetamine Radio 735 108 6.80556
XLR8 683 75 9.10667
The Crystal Ship 584 57 10.2456
Radio Free Whatever 575 47 12.234
Wolverine Radio 505 30 16.8333
Cold Country Canada 413 74 5.58108
Old Time Radio 380 112 3.39286
Ghost Shortwave 349 41 8.5122
Captain Morgan 247 38 6.5
Burn It Down Radio 203 19 10.6842
XFM 196 13 15.0769
Moonlight Radio 194 31 6.25806
PeeWee Radio 194 31 6.25806
Radio True North 184 26 7.07692
Radio Ga Ga 184 32 5.75
Insane Radio 141 17 8.29412
CKUT Relay 139 20 6.95
Channel Z 136 18 7.55556
Radio Casablanca 115 7 16.4286
Rave On Radio 111 16 6.9375
WMID 101 11 9.18182
WREC 99 12 8.25
Northwoods Radio 95 10 9.5
Boombox Radio 95 15 6.33333
Drunken DJ Radio 90 3 30
BBC Pirate Radio 85 14 6.07143
Random Radio 76 7 10.8571
Free Thinker Radio 75 6 12.5
THX1138 62 7 8.85714
X Minus One 62 7 8.85714
Undercover Radio 58 7 8.28571
Appalachia Radio 57 6 9.5
WPIG 56 8 7
KCPR 55 7 7.85714
Radio Gallifrey Intergalactic 54 5 10.8
Blue Ocean Radio 53 9 5.88889
WRR 53 6 8.83333
Toynbee Radio 49 14 3.5
Pirate Radio Boston 48 9 5.33333
Canadian Radio After Dark 48 7 6.85714
Radio Fusion Radio 48 7 6.85714
Pirate Clip Radio 43 4 10.75
Happy Hanukkah Radio 41 7 5.85714
Mushroom Radio 39 3 13
Girl Scout Radio 38 2 19
KHAT 38 5 7.6
Brockett 99 37 5 7.4
WPOD 36 2 18
Radio Broadcaster 36 5 7.2
Peskie Party Radio 35 4 8.75
Germany Calling 34 2 17
Generation Wild 100 34 2 17
CPRRS 34 6 5.66667
Radio Ronin 32 7 4.57143
Twangy Radio 32 3 10.6667
WHYP 31 5 6.2
Hard Tack Radio 31 2 15.5
Radio Halloween 31 2 15.5
WAHR 30 3 10
Solar Centric Radio 30 6 5
Renegade Radio 29 4 7.25
KVR 29 10 2.9
Up Against The Wall Radio 29 2 14.5
KIPM 28 4 7
Radio Clandestine 28 3 9.33333
WJD 28 5 5.6
KOTH 28 6 4.66667
Partial India Radio 27 5 5.4
WEAK 27 1 27
New Horizons Radio 27 2 13.5
Javelina Radio 27 4 6.75
Radio Illuminati 26 5 5.2
Radio Dr Tim 25 7 3.57143
Nordic Wind Radio 25 2 12.5
CYOT 23 3 7.66667
WLIS 22 4 5.5
Pumpkin Patch Radio 21 1 21
WEZY 21 4 5.25
Big Johnson Radio 21 3 7
Radio Trump 21 1 21
WBOG 20 3 6.66667
WOLF 20 3 6.66667
Native Radio 20 1 20
Cool AM 19 3 6.33333
WAZU 18 4 4.5
The Bangalore Poacher 17 3 5.66667
Weather Control Radio 17 3 5.66667
XEROX 16 2 8
Frederick Chopin Radio 16 2 8
W807 16 1 16
Network 51 16 3 5.33333
Radio Azteca 15 2 7.5
Radio Cinco De Mayo 15 1 15
Crazy Wave Radio 15 1 15
KAOS 14 1 14
Radio Caroline 14 3 4.66667
Sousa Station 14 1 14
Radio Paisano 13 3 4.33333
Vivian Girls Radio 13 5 2.6
Radio Free Mars Radio 12 2 6
Edmund Fitzgerald Radio 12 1 12
KBOX 12 2 6
Kid From Brooklyn 12 2 6
NRUI 11 1 11
Radio Enterhaken 11 1 11
Big Boobs Radio 10 1 10
Rcok and Roll Radio 10 1 10
WKND 9 1 9
Radio Marlene 9 1 9
COOLAM 9 1 9
D.B. Cooper Memorial 9 1 9
Stars And Stripes 9 2 4.5
Hummingbird Radio 9 1 9
Turtlehead Radio 8 2 4
Satan Radio 8 2 4
YHWH 8 2 4
WPDR 8 1 8
Ringo 8 1 8
Pirate Nation Radio 8 1 8
WGWR 7 1 7
WHJR 7 1 7
Black Cat Radio 7 2 3.5
Radio Free ADD 7 2 3.5
Channel X 7 1 7
Radio Mirror Park 7 1 7
Halloween Radio 6 1 6
Muffin Man 6 1 6
Evil Elvis Radio 6 1 6
SIRIUS XM Relay 6 1 6
Friday Night Radio 6 1 6
Chamber Pot Radio 5 2 2.5
NOEL 5 1 5
Hobart Radio 5 1 5
Christmas Radio 5 1 5
Southern Relay Service 4 1 4
KAMP 4 2 2
Fruitcake Station 4 2 2
Radio Bingo 4 1 4
Rainin Tacos 4 1 4
Laser Hot Hits 3 1 3
Chairman Of The Board Radio 3 1 3
Radio Ritalin 3 1 3
KITE SDR Radio 3 1 3
Tiger Radio 3 1 3
WRRI 2 1 2
Barn Radio 2 1 2
Pirate Pixie 2 1 2
Radio Morania 1 1 1
Radio Garbonzo 1 1 1
Progressive Radio 1 1 1
One risk here is that the same transmission could be logged in two, or even more, threads, which would reduce this ratio.
6914 Oddity
For the past several years, I have been hearing odd transmissions on 6914 kHz in AM mode. For lack of a better name, I’ve referred to this as the 6914 Oddity. I’ve heard a mix of cryptic voice transmissions, as well as MCW (morse code transmitted with an AM carrier) as well as RTTY and some MFSK digital mode, all transmitted in AM, not SSB as is typical with these modes.
The station will have a burst of activity, lasting for several days, then go silent for a period of time, weeks or even months.
Based on the times I can hear the station, and signal strengths, it seems to be something on the order of 500 to perhaps 1,000 miles from my location (Maryland). That could place it somewhere in the northern and eastern USA, or perhaps southern and eastern Canada.
I regularly run overnight and weekend SDR recordings from 6800 to 7000 kHz to catch any pirate stations that may be on, so these transmissions routinely show up in the recordings.
I observed the following voice transmissions last night (UTC 13 September 2015) on my regular overnight SDR recording:
0232 UTC
0259 UTC
0315 UTC
0331 UTC
0345 UTC
0401 UTC
0417 UTC
0429 UTC
0445 UTC
0500 UTC
0515 UTC
0529 UTC
At 1206 a transmission was made in an MFSK mode:
1206 UTC
This was followed at 1215 with an RTTY transmission. The signal was too weak to decode, but previously 50 baud and 1000 Hz shift was used, with a center frequency of 1700 Hz:
1215 UTC
There has been some speculation about the purpose of these transmissions. One thought is that they are SIGINT (signal intelligence) training exercises. But for now, the true purpose remains a mystery.
Pirate Station YHWH
There’s a relatively new religious pirate station, apparently from the west coast as that’s where most of the loggings have been from. The programming consists mostly of readings from the Old Testament, as well as religious commentary. YHWH being Yahweh without the vowels.
First reported on 5990 kHz on September 7, 2013, starting at 0220 UTC. Then on 6010 kHz on September 11, 2013 from 0440-0502 UTC, and then on 6010 kHz on September 15, 2013 from 0120 until 0204 sign off, all by Dan Sheedy of Encinitas, CA.
Bob LaRose of San Diego, CA heard YHWH on 9775 kHz on September 28, 2013 until 0133 UTC.
Glenn Hauser of OK heard them on October 8, 2013 on 9775 kHz starting at 0105 UTC, and heard past 0145 UTC.
Most recently, YHWH was heard on October 14, 2013 on 3234.95 kHz by Ron Howard of CA, who provided an audio recording of the ID.
Thanks to Glenn Hauser of DX Listening Digest for the above logs.
However, it looks like YHWH has been heard since at least August. I found this logging from W6SO of Woodland Hills, CA :
Is anyone else hearing a broadcaster (Station YHWH) in the 80 M band (3.845 Mhz using AM)? It is currently 18 August 2013 at about 04:15 GMT and this station has been there for over an hour now. Is this station in some way legitimate, or are they just bootlegging in the middle of our bands?
W7UUU in Tacoma, WA also heard that transmission.
Our own Pigmeat Martin heard YHWH on October 7, 2013 on 9775 kHz at around 2330 UTC (I suspect this was the UTC October 8 logging), so it is making it to the east coast.
There was some speculation that YHWH transmitted on the Sabbath (Friday night, UTC Saturday if from the west coast), but here’s a list of the reported transmissions:
3845 August 18, 2013: Sunday
5990 September 7, 2013: Saturday
6010 September 11, 2013: Wednesday
6010 September 15, 2013: Sunday
9775 October 8, 2013: Tuesday
3235 October 14, 2013: Monday
I’m not sure how well 6 MHz will propagate to the east coast at 0100 UTC, that is 6 PM local time on the west coast. 3 MHz is even more doubtful. 9 MHz should have the best chance.
If anyone knows of any loggings of YHWH lot listed above, please let me know, either via an email, comment to this blog post, or via a post to the HF Underground.
Some more updates: Token has heard this station as far back as May 18, 2013 on 6925 kHz at 0145 UTC. Also on July 27, 2013 at 0115 on 6950 kHz. The following weekend he heard YHWH just above the 40 meter ham band.
How Signal Strengths Vary on 43 Meters Over Time
The follow graph is the signal strength on three frequencies, from 2055 UTC on 10 September 2013 to 0545 UTC on 11 September 2013:
(Click on the image to see a larger version)
The X axis scale at the top of the graph is seconds since the recording started (2055 UTC)
The Y axis scale is the signal strength in dBm. I’ve marked off several corresponding S meter readings for easy comparison.
I’ve smoothed out the signal readings with a low pass filter, to make the general trends easier to see.
6875 kHz is used by WWCR, which you can see signed on at 2100 UTC, and signed off at 0100 UTC. It has a transmitter power of 100 kW, and is located approximately 700 miles to my southwest.
6885 kHz is used by Galei Zahal, Israeli army radio, which has a power of 5 kW. It is approximately 5800 miles away.
6890 kHz had no station, and was recorded to show how the background noise levels varied.
Local sunset here was 2322 UTC, which is at about 9300 on the X axis.
Several things can be observed:
The signal strength of both WWCR and Galei Zahal steadily increased until local sunset. This is likely due to the D layer of the ionosphere recombining, which means it causes less attenuation to the radio signals.
Likewise, the background noise level also increased over this time period, from about S5 to a little over S7.
You can also observe Galei Zahal fade out as the Sun began to rise in Israel.
WWCR had a strong signal, but there was considerable variability, about 3 S units worth.
WWCR is within the range of where you expect to find most pirate stations in the Northeast USA (Guise Faux’s famous 500 miles around Pittsburgh). We can extrapolate how strong it would be at lower power levels, in the range most pirates use. We can also take into account the high gain provided by their antennas, as their characteristics are provided at the FCC. They claim 14 dB. I’ll assume that I am likely in their main beam.
The signal level of WWCR is about -25 dBm during the peak signal period. Adjusting for the antenna gain, we can reduce it to -39 dBm.
We can further adjust for the power level. If instead of 100 kW it was 100 watts, we would expect the signal to be about 30 dB less (a power factor of 1000 is equal to 30 dB), So that would be -69 dBm, just a bit above S9, which is -73 dBm.
At 30 watts, we’d expect 5 dB less, or -74 dBm, very close to S9.
At 10 watts, our standard grenade power level, we’d expect a signal of -79 dBm, which is close to S8.
These signal levels seem reasonable, based on signal levels I have observed, when the operator gave their transmitter power.
Observe from the graph that the background noise levels were about S7 during the time period. So a 10 watt signal would be about an S unit above noise, or barely audible at this distance, 700 miles. At 30 watts, you’d be about 2 S units above noise, and somewhat easier to hear. 100 watts would be almost 3 S units above noise.
For fun, we can do the same with the Galei Zahal transmitter power. I know nothing about their antenna setup, so we can’t compensate for that. Their signal was about – 67 dBm, once it got dark. Reducing the 5 kW transmitter power to 100 watts reduces the signal by 17 dB, or down to -84 dBm, which is S7. So it would be barely audible. Europirates in the 100 watt range are heard well here, but that part of Europe is much closer, so that’s to be expected.
Much of the background noise is static from thunderstorms. Once we get into late fall and winter, storm activity levels are much less, and the noise level should go down.
A New Station – BOC HF RADIO
A new pirate station, BOC HF RADIO was heard yesterday, August 30, 2013 on 6925 USB starting at 2310 UTC. The station featured music from the electronic music band Boards of Canada.
The station was logged by quite a few listeners on the HF Underground Pirate Radio Message Board
The station opened with a PSK125 transmission:
RYRYRYRYRYRY I AM GLAD that my signal has reached such a far audience! I was not expecting such a turn out for te teS t _eP show. I couldn’t help myself, I have to go up again! I will be playing a new album, a favorite of many: TOMORROW’S HARVEST by BOARDS OF CANADA Thank you for listening, everybody. -UNID
The second transmission began with this CW (Morse Code) message:
xxxxx/xxxxx/xxxxx/xxxxx/xxxxx COSECHATRANSMISSIONES BOCHF BOCHF BOCHF
And closed with an SSTV image:
The station operator send me the following eQSL in response to my reception report, which was sent to bochfradio@gmail.com
Here are recordings of the two transmissions from yesterday:
2310 UTC:
2340 UTC:
Welcome to the HFU Blog
Welcome to the launch of The HF Underground’s new area, “30 Below”, featuring articles about topics related to shortwave radio, which of course includes pirate radio.
30 Below is a a blog that any HFU member can contribute to. Topics include (but are not limited to) pirate radio (both as a listener and an operator), general LW/MW/HF listening, Clandestines, SWBC, technical topics (receivers, transmitters, antennas, and such), how you got into the hobby, hamfest/yardsale finds, as well anything else related to the hobby.
Contributing is easy. Just contact me via a private message letting me know what user name you want, and the account will be created.