Radio Botswana is a governmental broadcasting service headquartered in Gaborone. Their broadcasts could be heard on shortwave on 3356 kHz and 4830 kHz. Who can forget their cow bell clanking interval signal when they signed on? I am not sure when they closed down their shortwave service, but I know they were still operating through the 1990’s. Today, their radio programs are broadcast on two networks,  Radio Botswana 1 (RB 1) and RB 2. These can be heard live at http://www.radiobotswana.gov.bw/ A historical sketch of Radio Botswana can be found at http://www.dib.gov.bw

Botswana is still on the shortwave bands. The USA’s International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) operates a relay station in Selebi-Phikwe. So it is still possible to receive a QSL for shortwave broadcasts from Botswana if one missed receiving one for Radio Botswana. A short treatise of this relay station can be seen at http://www.paws.dircon.co.uk/Bots6a.htm

Over the years, three QSLs from Radio Baghdad have made it into my collection. The first one shown here, besides being the largest QSL in my collection, I would consider this to be one of the most unusual. It measures almost 22 inches by 11 inches. It features several icons of Iraq, including silhouettes of Shahazad and Shahrayar of One Thousand and One Nights fame. Also included are various scenes from around Iraq and some geographical information. Of particular interest are the two postage stamps displaying the likeness of Saddam Hussein.

As I remember, Radio Baghdad was a sporadic broadcaster. It seems that they were strong at times, and then would disappear. There is no international broadcast from the territory of Iraq today. These QSLs are a treasured part of my collection.

This set of QSLs from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) Vancouver is a sampling of different types of stations. I had fun picking up the various ways they transmitted their signals and receiving QSL cards for my reports. Continue reading to see what I am talking about.

The first one is for their medium wave flagship station (CBU) on 690 kHz. This outlet can be easily heard throughout the West, but it does have to contend with interference from the station in Tijuana, Mexico. I could hear it all day long, especially in the winter in Spokane.

The second QSL below is for their main FM outlet (CBU-FM)  on 105.7 MHz.  They can be heard in the Seattle area with a fair signal. For this report, the reception was made at Moran State Park, on the San Juan Islands, Washington State.
The third QSL is for their shortwave service (CKZU) on 6160 kHz which can be heard throughout the world under proper conditions.  I could hear them all day long in Spokane, and occasionally all day long in Utah.

The fourth QSL is for the analog television station on channel 2.  I managed to pick them up in Heber City, Utah on E-Skip. They were quite strong.

The fifth one is for the reception of a regional FM outlet (CBTA-FM) 94.7 MHz in Trail, BC. Amazingly, they could be fairly frequently heard in certain areas in Spokane on a car radio. I sent a report to Vancouver when I heard them on vacation to Spokane and received this card.

The sixth and final QSL is for their low-powered relay station (CBXQ) in Ucluelet, BC on Vancouver, Island. This 40-watt outlet on 540 kHz can be heard for a fair distance up and down the coast during the day. I heard them a couple of times in Utah on a beverage antenna after CBK signed off at midnight. My report this time is for a reception made at the Kalaloch Campground in the Olympic National Park along the coast. It was quite strong.

(Please scroll down to see all the QSLs)

(NOTE: Not all of the reception locations match my mailing addresses because they were vacation loggings.)

This QSL card and letter from Radio Nacional de España was left in my mailbox this afternoon. It was for their station on 585 kHz with the transmitter located at Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain. It was strong for about 30 or so minutes and I was able to pick out enough program details for the kind staff at the station to verify.It is RNE number 5 in my collection. A big thank you to José Antonio Garcia Merino for taking the time and effort to answer my reception report.

(QSL’s below the text.)

KBS World Radio in Korea 12 January 2016 via SDR Twente. 0859 Sign on

Radio Korea (and its successors Radio Korea International and  KBS World Radio and its predecessor Voice of Free Korea) has to be my sentimental favorite shortwave radio station. They have been one of my connections  to Korea, where I served as a missionary from 1975 to 1977.

On 7 July 1977, I had the opportunity to visit the KBS transmitter site at Kimje (김제). You can see the photos here.

Over the years, they issued some rather eye catching and classy QSL cards. I first heard Voice of Free Korea in 1969. Unfortunately, I did not send them a reception report for a QSL card. From what I understand they changed their name to Radio Korea in 1973. Then in 1975, I was called to be a missionary in Korea, so my interest in Radio Korea piqued. Since I was busy as a missionary, my time for listening to the radio was virtually non-existent, but I do remember hearing Radio Korea’s English language program for foreigners on medium wave on 600 and 750 kHz. I even picked up a shortwave broadcast and received a QSL for my reception report.

After I came home from my mission in 1977, I sent off a few more reports and received QSL cards in return. My interest in Radio Korea was in full gear. I listened to their Korean language transmissions to practice my Korean, in addition to listening to their English language programs.

In 1983, I became an official monitor and received a new QSL every month. I even listened to their English language program on FM during a three-month long visit to Korea in 1984. My term as an official monitor lasted until 1987 when we moved to Germany. I still sent reception reports to them on a fairly regular basis even after that.

After we moved to Korea in 1989, I began to spend less time listening to Radio Korea, mainly because they no longer broadcast on FM and medium wave and because it was difficult to pick up their shortwave broadcasts. That is because we were so close that their signals would skip over us, and so they were not strong. However, in addition to the American Forces Korean Network (AFKN), I listened to the Korean stations including KBS. I did send a few reception reports to Radio Korea nonetheless.

We returned to the USA in 1997, and discovered that it was still difficult to hear Radio Korea in Maryland. Propagation of their signal to Maryland was not good, and they started to beam their signal elsewhere. Additionally, my schedule did not mesh with their broadcast times. So, my reports were very sporadic.

I collected almost 100 different QSLs from Radio Korea and KBS World Radio, by far the most from any single station. Most of them are for their shortwave transmissions from Kimje. I also have a QSL verifying the reception of a transmission from their transmitter site in Suwon (수원) as well as several QSLs verifying their FM broadcasts in 1984 and a couple QSLs for overseas relay stations.

I hope to be able to listen to KBS World Radio more in the future as time and propagation permits.

You can see the QSL cards that I collected from Radio Korea and KBS World Radio over the years below. They bring back a lot of fond memories to me. Comments are welcome. (Click on the images for enlarged views.)

REFERENCE:

About KBS World Radio – http://world.kbs.co.kr/english/about/about_kbsworld.htm – accessed 25 September 2015