Listening Review, March 2020
Welcome to Listening Review for March 2020. Firstly, some program news. In January’s Listening Review I mentioned a new program Radio Free Chicago, produced by Bill Tilford (producer of From The Isle of Music and Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot) to be aired on WBCQ. Sadly that plan hasn’t worked out, however UBMP (via WBCQ only) has now been extended to one hour, with the first hour being a new edition, and the second half hour being a repeat of an early episode from 2-3 years ago. UBMP is therefore scheduled as follows: Sundays 2300-0000 UTC via WBCQ on 7490 kHz and Tuesdays 2000-2030 UTC via Channel 292 on 6070 kHz.
This month I am taking a look at a few programs heard during the European morning hours starting from 0900UT in the 75, 49, 41 and 31 meter bands on Sunday 2 February.
0900-1000UT
Radio Tumbril is in full swing with Encore Classical Music on 7440 kHz via Channel 292’s Rohrbach transmitter, providing fair- to-good reception. I’m not going to list the entire playlist here, however I joined the program at 0920UT just in time to hear a recording of Chopin’s Polonaise No. 6 played by Vladimir Ashkenazy followed by Bottesini’s Double Bass Concerto No. 2 in B minor. Now, I must confess that my knowledge of classical music is more than limited and I rarely, if ever, listen to either BBC Radio 3 or Classic FM, but I do enjoy this program. The playlist is quite varied providing new music (to me, that is) all the time. If you are signed up to the BDXC IOG mail list, a summary of the upcoming program, and latest schedule, is posted weekly (usually on Fridays), and a full playlist is published on the Radio Tumbril website at https://www.tumbril.co.uk/ playlists, usually available by Sunday evening. I highly recommend the program. Sadly, at time of writing, the producer – Brice Avery – advises that the US relays of this popular program (via WBCQ and WWCR) will cease from the end of February, however good news is that the program will be sponsored by WRMI with two airings each week.
The schedule from beginning of March is therefore as follows: Saturday 1100 on 6070, Sunday 0900 on 7440 and Friday 1900 on 6070, all via the Channel 292’s Rohrbach transmitter and Sunday 0100 on 5850 and Monday 0300 on 9455 via WRMI’s Okeechobee’s transmitters.
Welle 370 was heard with another of their occasional one-hour broadcasts (all in German) on 6140 kHz via Moosbrunn. I did hear a long discussion with multiple mentions of a museum. I presume this was a discussion with Christine Oliwkowski, the new director of the Transmitter and Radio Technology Museum. I have just received from Welle 370 an informative flyer about this museum.
Meanwhile … The unlicenced station Harmony Radio with their always enjoyable, and always relaxing, programming of easy listening music was coming in with fair-to- good reception on 5780 kHz. There was more relaxing music being heard with fair reception (at best) on 6085khz from Radio Mi Amigo International, but not to be confused with an unlicenced station in Dutch on 5884 kHz apparently IDing also as Radio Mi Amigo International. Shortwave Radio for Europe was playing rock/pop music on 6160 kHz via their German transmitter in Winsen – strong on this frequency and also being heard, but much weaker, on 3975 kHz.
1000-1100UT
Radio Ukraine International’s German service was hard with fair reception on 6005 kHz via the shortwave service’s low power relay transmitter in Kall, Germany, with several pop/rock songs throughout the hour, including what I presumed to be cultural/entertainment news which included some opera and pop music extracts.
Meanwhile … Other, legal, German lower power transmitters are being heard with fair or better reception, including HCJB Deutsche has a religious service on 5920 kHz and Channel 292 with the program from Radio DARC (a mix of technical news in German and a variety of oldies music).
1100-1200UT
There’s quite a variety of music being heard in this time slot today: The long-running Charlie Prince Show from Radio Joystick was heard on 7330 kHz via Moosbrunn. This program airs once a month on the first Sunday of the month with modern club/dance music. Not so much my sort of music, but if it’s yours then you’ll surely enjoy this program. Crusader Radio has a pleasant program of music which they described as “contemporary Christian music” on 7440 kHz via Channel 292. Sounds Irish presented by Joe Bollard was heard with a great selection of Irish music on IRRS Shortwave on 9510 kHz from 1105-1130. I have also heard this program at various times in the evening on IRRS Shortwave in the 1900-2000UT broadcast on 7290 kHz, although I haven’t yet confirmed a regular schedule for the program, or if it’s being used partly as a fill program. Incidentally, after some research, I find that Joe can be heard with a regular two hour program My Kind of Music on the Internet station Uplift FM aired Saturday: 2200-2400, Sunday 1800-2000 and Monday 1400-1600 & 2200-2400.
Meanwhile …. Radio Canada International’s weekly English program The Link is heard on 6005 kHz from 1130 via shortwave service in Kall. However, this edition is a repeat of the pre-Christmas program, so I don’t stay here for too long.