Mount Evelyn DX Report: CLANDESTINE STATIONS ALIVE AND WELL

CLANDESTINE STATIONS ALIVE AND WELL

PART 1

(I wrote this article for "The World of Shortwave Listening" column of The Spectrum Monitor magazine - April 2016 issue. Further details on this excellent publication is available at www.thespectrummonitor.com)

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Clandestine broadcasting is a fascinating part of the DXing hobby for many shortwave enthusiasts. And clandestine stations best illustrate the still-relevant nature of shortwave broadcasting today. By using this medium to bring their political or religious voices to people in troubled parts of the world, clandestine broadcasters transmit their opposition messages from points well beyond central government control.

Shortwave radio knows no borders. Historically many political organizations were quick to realise the potential of infiltrating the minds and hearts of citizens with messages of hope, rebellion, revolution and the promotion of change from within the targeted country. Indeed, since World War II, clandestine broadcasting operations have been conducted in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Central and South America on a regular basis.

But, long gone are the examples of political organizations using their own low-powered transmitters in hidden locations to get their messages out. We no longer have the Cuban station Radio Rebelde broadcasting from the jungles of the Sierra Maestra mountains using an old amateur radio transmitter as it did when it commenced in 1958.

For some time now, political movements have utilized the high-powered facilities of sympathetic governments or purchased time from global brokers of HF transmitting facilities. In addition, as the major international stations have reduced their shortwave broadcasting output or have vacated the medium completely, there are transmitters standing idle with lots of spare capacity for anyone wishing to have a global presence. To lease some broadcasting time is now very cheap, affordable by almost any small or fledgling political movement. The hire of a transmitter could involve just a short series of broadcasts in the lead up to the target country’s coming election or be an ongoing arrangement that continues for many years. Some operations have been known to come to an abrupt ending once their funds ran out.

And as a sign of the times, many clandestine broadcasters also have a website, a Facebook page, Twitter accounts and some can even be found on streaming Internet radio sites such as TuneIn or Streema.

Here are some clandestine broadcasters to try monitoring over the coming months. Most are quite easily heard throughout the world because the transmitters used are nearly always pushing 100 kW or more.

Voice of Oromo Liberation (VOL)

The operations of this station date back to 1988 and broadcasts have been beamed from outside Ethiopian territory since 1996. VOL programs are produced by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). This group has a long history and describes itself as:

“…a political organization established in 1973 by Oromo nationalists to lead the national liberation struggle of the Oromo people against the Abyssinian colonial rule. The fundamental objective of the Oromo liberation movement is to exercise the Oromo peoples' inalienable right to national self-determination to terminate a century of oppression and exploitation, and to form, where possible, a political union with other nations on the basis of equality, respect for mutual interests and the principle of voluntary associations.”

VOL broadcasts can be heard quite easily around the globe through its use of high-powered leased transmitters, such as the site in Issoudun, France and Nauen, Germany on 15420 kHz. The station is usually targeted by jammers from inside Ethiopia, which often degrades clear reception. However, the severity of the jamming can sometimes depend on the location of the listener. The VOL service is currently scheduled on 15420 kHz on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 1700-1730 (via Nauen) in the Oromo language and on Wednesdays at 1730-1800 in Amharic. http://oromoliberationfront.org/en/

Dandal Kura

A much more recent station to arrive on the shortwave bands is Dandal Kura, which began its broadcasts in January 2015. According to the current World Radio TV Handbook, it’s

“…funded by USAID and produced by Freedom Radio, an independent local radio network in Northern Nigeria and VOA affiliate, owned by Film Lab & Production Services, Ltd.” The station’s Facebook page describes its role as aiming “…to connect, inform, and hear Kanuri and Hausa speaking people who have been affected by Boko Haram in Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon.”

You can hear Dandal Kura broadcasting twice daily in three-hourly segments: 0500-0700 on 7415 kHz (via the Ascension Is relay) and then switching to 15480 kHz (via the Woofferton relay) for the final hour at 0700-0800. Then at 1800-2100 the station can be heard on 12050 kHz (via Ascension Is). All broadcasts are in the Kanuri language and most DXers around the world are finding that the station provides good reception on these three frequencies. https://www.facebook.com/dandalkura/

Sound of Hope (SOH)

A large and colourful QSL card from the Sound of Hope,
received by well-known DXer, Timm Breyel.

Also known by its Chinese name Xi Wang Zhi Sheng, the Sound of Hope broadcasts mainly in Mandarin, but also has segments in Cantonese. The station first appeared around the middle of 2003 and has a mixed content of news, current affairs, and educational programs. It provides a voice for the mainland-banned Falun Gong, a spiritual and philosophical movement that proved to have huge popularity amongst citizens of mainland China in the 1990s. Despite espousing meditation practices, promotion of good health and spiritual enlightenment through Buddhist and Taoist teachings, Falun Gong is regarded with deep suspicion by the Chinese Government. It cracked down on the movement in 1999, declaring Falun Gong a "heretical organization”, that threatened social stability, its perceived independence from the State, its religious tenets that could potentially be responsible for violent uprisings, and its promotion of spirituality that is regarded as being at odds with the country’s Marxist ideology.

As a result, the station’s transmitters in Taiwan are subject to heavy jamming in the form of the musically jarring “Firedrake” broadcasts or relays of China Radio Network 1 (CNR1). Some sources also report that SOH uses low powered transmitters that make reception difficult beyond Asia. However, with SOH operating on more than 75 frequencies at various times of the day, this makes it challenging for the mainland to constantly jam every frequency. So it is possible to pick up some unjammed SOH transmissions with relative ease, especially on the higher frequencies. Look out for such channels as 6370, 6730, 6900, 7280, 7800, 9180, 11070, 11100, 13640, 13680, 13870, 13890, 13980, and many other outlets. Some frequencies are variable and at times unstable, and can be off by up to 1 or 2 kHz, so use the above list only as a guide. Also, be aware that when you think you are listening to SOH broadcasts, you could well be monitoring CNR 1 jamming instead. Listen out of the SOH station ID as “Xi Wang Zhi Sheng guoji guangbo diantai”. A complete list of SOH frequencies can be found in the World Radio TV Handbook. http://www.soundofhope.org

For Part 2 of this series CLICK HERE.

73 and good DX to you all.

Rob Wagner VK3BVW