My Introduction to Shortwave Radio pgm. 2, 1968-70 

South Africa had a time signal back in the day. ZUO was the call sign.

Absolutely! My earliest SW listening was in 1962, I was about your age. Never forget the magic and mystery on that evening. WWV, WWVH were faves, like lighthouses. Accidentally discovered CHU one night as a young teen. We had to learn about stuff by tuning around for hours, no Internet to query for info and tips.

and if you're feeling particularly alone, landline too

Yes, Destinys Child, Beyonce, etc

You're welcome. However, I didn't know it had something to do with NASA. Star Trek, yes. :-)

@@evandoorbell4278 you're right. Star Trek "All Our Yesterdays" Season 3 Episode 23

The recordings I made in 1968-70 were on cassette from a Radio Shack DX-120 receiver, which was wide open with no lowpass filter. There was nothing but a small amount of power line -type noise in the environment.

And haarp,Russian woodpecker, 5g towers , microwave ovens ,cell phones( + iPhone , apps + smartphones) . They rile up the earth's weather machine/ atmosphere.

@@evandoorbell4278 these days PLT interference is almost impossible to avoid! I do often escape into the countryside in my camper van, and get away from the hub-bub. Not only is SW reception easier to navigate, I transmit (licence free) on 11 meter ssb, which here in the UK is legal, often getting clear contacts right across Europe and into the old USSR, When propagation allows Canada and the United States!

Great to hear from you! And it's mind blowing to find out about that Portuguese song 54 years after I first heard that signal.

@@evandoorbell4278 Yes indeed, it is.:-) Regarding the "interval signal" from the maritime station that I've referred to before, just check this out: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-9GyAGLTbzt0.html at 0:44' This is a recent version from the very traditional Portuguese folk song from the North of the country (Minho region). You will immediately recognize the notes that are in the radio signal. I also used to listen to a lot of shortwave radio back then but I never recall having heard that call sign you taped. It could have been from the maritime radio service aimed at the Portuguese long haul fishing vessels, many of which sailed the waters of Newfounland for many many years. It could relay telephone calls to ships. And that being the case, now I see why you could pick it in the States and I had never heard it here in PT, for it was beamed far away. I remember by that time (70's-80's) above the Broadcast Mediumwave band and the lower end (longer wavelengths) of Shortwave band there was the so called "Maritime Band" and many fishing ships used the service, boith in AM and SSB. I could listen to them. In a remote place in a mountain not far from where I live, there was a trasmitter/antennae site for that service. Anyway it was very refreshing to get to know this channel of yours and to listen all these sounds that although buried back there in my memory immediately popped out on listening to your 2 videos. Maybe I will soon find a way to replay the dozens of tape cassettes I have from those radio years and also do some sound archeology . If they are usable still. Thanks again for these very enjoyable "moments". All the best ;-)

@@jonastender1245 I heard the song on RU-vid and the refrain IS the same melody. Is that song also known in Brazil, by chance? My experience with old cassettes is that the tape itself survives excellently but in most cassettes the pressure pads do not. Don't be quick to judge your old cassettes as "damaged" just because it doesn't play well at first. I had to buy empty cassette shells and transplant about 1000 tapes into new shells, and of all those, only one suffered actual damage to the tape over the years; The rest were perfect after 40 years in storage.

Hi Evan! :-) I don't think that song is popular in Brazil as a whole, other than among the big Portuguese immigrant community there which was considerable at the time. Thanks for the hints on old cassette tapes usage.

I got my first shortwave receiver (a Trio 9r59de ) when I was 10 in 1978!!, then in 1981 here in the UK CB was legalised, now here in Europe AM/FM SSB cb is legal to operate, I often talk to people all over Europe, Canada, and the United States! I still spend time tuning through the shortwave bands, and with what's going on in Ukraine at the moment a lot of shortwave stations that previously shut down have started up again! Our own bbc world service have started broadcasting news programmes into Russia, something they stopped in 2008!!

Also, you might enjoy listen to Amateur Radio, also called ham radio. Search for it online and you will find frequencies.

And, you might enjoy listening to OfficialSWLChannel on RU-vid.

Thanks for commenting! I'm really sorry I don't have a recording of the entire sign-on because I'd LOVE to have that translated! I heard it SO many times...

Thanks! WWV had morse code from 1969 until July 1971, when they started announcing the time every minute instead of every 5.

@@evandoorbell4278 Just FYI - I recall WWV using Morse Code in the mid 1960s also.

Chances are it is NOT tape degradation. 99% of my cassette TAPES had no degradation at all from 1977 to 2017. What DID degrade was the pressure pads in the cassettes themselves. I had to transplant the tapes into new shells, and then almost all sounded perfect.

@@evandoorbell4278 I had no idea... and will try that, thanks!

@@jjohnstn Jerry, be patient - the process requires a very steady hand and the dexterity of a jeweller.

And another thing I'll mention about cassettes which is often overlooked is head azimuth adjustment. If the recording device was a little out of alignment compared with the playback device you're using now, it can sound muffled. Little turn of the screw on the head and clarity is suddenly restored. Note that it usually requires removing the door or outer portion of the door on the player and on some players it just isn't possible to adjust it while the player is playing. To "reset" it, use a good quality commercially released music cassette. Google for more information on the procedure.

There ARE 2 examples is this group which possibly ARE number stations, between 20:51 and 21:59. "Lima Charlie" has the same format as some known German number stations. I didn't know this when I made this program. The one before "Lima Charlie" I only got once, and I don't know anything about it. It might be a number station, a point-to-point station, or something else. However, I never said anything about a Cuban NUMBER station. The segment which ends at 25:30 was the Cuban point-to-point station used for phone calls from ships. It never broadcast numbers, just phone calls in Spanish, and in 1971 it began also identifying itself. We heard it every day for years and it never said numbers, just phone calls in Spanish, the tone ditties, and the Spanish/English ID in 1971. A recording of "Papa November" is here: www.numbers-stations.com/ns/german/g15/ This has a tone ditty which is nothing like the one used by Cuban point-to-point station.

70s I got introduced to shortwave by going to my uncls whe lived with his mom and dad house my uncl room was up stars he had two shortwave receivers one he had plug in

Cool -- I didn't realize it started in MD. Thanks! I was a WN6 back then, too.

I was WN7IWN around 1967-1968

I don't have any RMI program recordings... Anyone?

Great Song!!! Village Stompers rocked on it!

12:02 seconds, it sounded as though that woman was speaking in jelly, but having the jelly near a microphone no a megaphone and boom in it down and first down a microphone. Microphone microphone microphone, microphone, microphone, microphone, Megan Megan Megan Megan Phone

12 seconds in it sounded as though she was talking in jelly through a megaphone, but one minute 11 minutes a.m. sounded as though she was talking in jelly, put into a microphone

In the 80s 90s I had my first shortwave receiver