Free Radio Skybird

Justin Patrick Moore's picture

As many of you know I am an incurable radio junky. It started with community radio on WAIF 88.3 FM which I listened to as a kid, I had a pirate FM show called the Psychedelicatessin during my year at college on Anti-Watt circa 1999, then later became a became a programmer on a couple of shows at WAIF when I came back home and eventually took over the reigns of one of those shows for a number of years. I tried to quit radio and only found it enabled me to become a ham radio operator. The past year I've stepped into the role as a fill-in at WAIF because radio is a hard habit to quit (and being able to fill in gives me a fix!) . Starting in July of this year, through friendships made in the shortwave listening & ham communities I have had the opportunity to have a 10 minute segment on the monthly shortwave program Free Radio Skybird hosted by DJ Frederick Moe. When the internet is dead, Shortwave Listening (and ham) will be one of the ways people could still receive news & entertainment from distant points around the world... so I'm happy to be a part of this project. It's a dream come to true to be involved in international brodcasting. The next episode of Free Radio Skybird is coming up on Oct. 5th. Below are the details for listening.

For those who have yet to get their first fix of the radio hobby shortwave listening is a great entry point.
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"On Saturday 5th October at 2200 UTC (6 PM EST) there’s a new transmission from DJ Frederick’s Free Radio Skybird on 6070 khz on shortwave. The later time which will help propagation hopefully is broadcast by Channel 292 ( http://www.channel292.de/ ) and if you haven’t a shortwave set can also be heard on the SDR link on their site here ( http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/?tune=6070am ).

This month’s programme will feature: Justin Patrick Moore’s Radiophonic Laboratory, Steve with Mini-indie radio and our very own One Deck Pete presenting the Skybird Mailbag. They will also play his “Solar minimum but the music’s maximum” mix that has tunes from: Froth Whitlam, Dasya, Andre J Kwenda and a worldwide exclusive from Madtone.

The programme will be available on DJ Frederick’s Soundcloud page ( https://soundcloud.com/djfrederick ) the day before, if you want to hear the show in quality stereo. We here prefer it intermingled with the sounds of the ionosphere. Tune in and turn on whichever way you fancy!"

This was originally posted on my friend One Deck Pete's gardening & music blog, Weeds Up to Me Knees:
https://weedsuptomeknees.wordpress.com/

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David Trammel's picture

Great news and big congrats. I have an annual sci-fi con and Motherly visit that weekend so listening live is out but I will definitely check out the recording. Thanks for the heads up and maybe the next time I can listen in live.

Justin Patrick Moore's picture

Thank you David. I hope you have a nice visit with your mom and a blast at Archon. I've only been to one con myself... and always wanted to remedy that since I've been a life long SF/Fantasy/Horror geek. The recording that will be broadcast is now available to listen to on the soundcloud.

One summer I lived on a remote homestead in the mountains. I had a small hand-crank emergency radio and quickly took to DXing as one of my few connections to the outside world. Ever since then I've had the fantasy of broadcasting DIY instructions and similar info to the world.

Justin Patrick Moore's picture

Hey Ethan. Glad to know another DXer is on board. There are at least two options I know of where you can get a pre-recorded show broadcast on a shortwave station. You will have to pay to do it, but imo, it's money well spent because the money helps keep the stations in operation. The two stations I know of doing this are Channel 292 in Germany -which is where Free Radio Skybird is broadcast from. Then there is WBCQ in Maine (whose station I'd love to visit sometime as I have family in Maine... and I'm up there roughly twice a decade it seems) .

Check them out: http://www.channel292.de/
http://www.wbcq.com/

Of course, one could also become an HF pirate ( https://www.hfunderground.com/board/ )

Do you have a ham radio license? SWLing is a great gateway to the ham hobby.

I know a few people here have talked in the past of starting a GW HF net... and I tried on a few occassions to make contact with Lathechuck over the air. I've been busy ... but need to get to work on that project again.

Justin Patrick Moore's picture

Here is an off air recording of the transmission from this past Saturday recorded by One Deck Pete off a Web SDR out of Ireland. Propagation conditions were terrible and there was also interference from a nearby channel.... On the plus side if you like noise this has plenty of that, so I consider it the industrial noise radiophonic remix. Remixed by the ionosphere itself.

https://soundcloud.com/sothis-medias/justin-moores-rad-lab-on-shortwaver...

Blueberry's picture

On the West Coast of Ireland a couple of radio stations transmit on long wave (below the AM band). The signal is direction towards the ocean guess for the fisherman. Folks alone the Maine coast can pick up a signal. Some nights during the winter months I have received the signal in North Florida app. 80 miles inland. The signal may be in English or Irish. The set I am using is a old Zenith TO. Looks like problems in Ireland for long wave. http://savertelongwaveradio.com/ General info about long wave. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longwave

Justin Patrick Moore's picture

Thanks for these resources Blueberry. We have family in Maine and next time I go up to visit them I hope to do some AM DXing. Maybe I'll be able to pick this up. Salt water seems to help propagation.

I love those old Zenith sets too! Do you pick up WRMI easily? I can always seem to get that Florida SW station in.

Blueberry's picture

Super loud like a boom box!!!!!