CLANDESTINE STATIONS
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Part 2

(This post is an edited version of an article I wrote for "The World of Shortwave Listening" column of The Spectrum Monitor magazine - December 2022 issue. Further details on this excellent publication are available at www.thespectrummonitor.com)

Missed Part 1 of this article? CLICK HERE!

Radio ERISAT

Another recent addition to the shortwave dial is Radio ERISAT. Founded in 2018, this broadcaster is a publicly funded non-profit satellite television service, hence the name ERISAT. It claims to offer citizens of Eritrea “an alternative to the government-owned propaganda media outlets.”

Radio ERISAT began its shortwave service in early 2022 with programming in the Tigrinya language consisting of news and commentaries via a satellite TV audio feed. It can be heard every day except Tuesdays and Thursdays, beaming to East Africa at 1800 to 1900 UTC on 11690 kHz via the Talata Volonondry transmitter on the island of Madagascar. The 250 kW signal is quite easily heard in most parts of the world.

Radio Ndarason International

In north-central Africa is a large but relatively shallow body of water called Lake Chad. Located in the semi-arid Sahel region of Africa, the importance of the lake to local tribes and surrounding towns cannot be overstated. And, although annual evaporation is high, this is a freshwater lake. Four countries border the Lake Chad Basin - Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon.

It just so happens that the brutal Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram is based in northeastern Nigeria but has active cells in the other three countries. In addition, this part of Africa is desperately poor. Recent news reports out of the region highlight starvation, wet season floods that have washed away the meagre crops, and stalled economies with rampant inflation.

Against this backdrop, Radio Ndarason has become a well-established clandestine broadcaster since it began shortwave transmissions in February 2018. Before that, broadcasts were under the banner of another station, Dandal Kura Radio, which I discussed in this column in April 2016.

Today, Radio Ndarason International uses shortwave to reach across a broad area of Africa, providing news, commentary, health advice, educational programs, support for women and much more. The station describes its primary role as “…to serve as a tool against extreme violence. It serves as a platform to promote a local discourse among all actors affected by the current crisis in the Lake Chad region.” The station works in partnership with the Lake Chad Basin Commission to provide programs in Kanuri, Kanembu, Buduma and French. The studios are in N’Djamena (Chad) and Maiduguri (Nigeria). Broadcasts can be heard at:

0500 and 0600 UTC on 7425 kHz via Woofferton, England

0600 to 0700 on 9535 kHz via Woofferton, England

0700 to 0800 on 12050 via Ascension Island

1800-1900 on 12050 via Woofferton, England

1900 to 2100 on 12050 via Ascension Island

Radio Ergo

Located in the area known as the Horn of Africa, Somalia has struggled with conflicts, starvation, disease, and drought. It is fair to say that life for the average Somali citizen is a constant battle. The two official languages are Somali and Arabic. Radio Ergo has operated since 2011 from its studios in Nairobi, Kenya. It comes under the umbrella of the international NGO, International Media Support, based in Denmark. But the station is also co-funded by some other humanitarian organizations. On its website, the station clearly outlines its goals:

“Our dual focus is on amplifying the voices of ordinary Somalis, enabling better communication with the wider international humanitarian community, and providing Somali audiences with the critical information they require to make better-informed choices on issues affecting their lives. Radio Ergo programming covers themes including health, education, protection, agriculture and livestock, gender, youth and employment, environmental protection, culture and governance.”

Interestingly, the Radio Ergo website also enthusiastically advances the case for shortwave broadcasting with this statement: “Shortwave transmission is a key element of our strategy, as large audiences in the rural and remote areas of Somalia are not served by local FM radio and therefore get their news and information through shortwave radio.”

You can find Radio Ergo broadcasting daily in Somali via the transmitters in Dhabayya, U.A.E. Watch out for it between 1200 and 1300 UTC on 17845 kHz, a frequency it has held onto for quite a few years now.

See also a two-part series of articles I wrote in August 2016 on other clandestine broadcasters:

Clandestine Stations Alive and Well - Part 1

Clandestine Stations Alive and Well - Part 2

73 and good DX to you all,

Rob Wagner VK3BVW