Khartoum Khartoum!
From 1996 to 2004 I worked as a physician at a high-security detention center in the Stockholm area. One of my tasks was to assist in deportations of foreign prisoners after they have served prison time. Why the need for a doctor? Well the prisoner could simulate to be sick, make himself sick or be a physical danger to the flight. I also cared for the medical well-being of the prisoner, especially when they were tied up. Sometimes we could fly with a regular airline, but in case of a prisoner that was regarded very dangerous we had to tie up the prisoner tightly and charter a special airplane for the transport, like a Learjet with long-range fuel tanks.
After my first trip to Africa i began listening to ATC (Air Traffic Control) on shortwave 11.300 kHz USB. The purpose for ATC on shortwave is to check speed and altitude while cruising. On 11.300 kHz you could hear ATC operators in Tripoli, Nairobi, Cairo, Khartoum and others. I loved to listen about midnight here in Sweden. One ATC-operator stood out in the crowd, the shouting lady in Khartoum! The other operators sounded very professional, but this lady shouted with a strong voice: Khartoum! Khartoum! almost as she was calling in her boys for dinner…
In August 2000, (NB: before 9-11), our company was on a night flight, Kenya 117, (a Boeing 767) from Amsterdam to Nairobi. As it was very calm I kindly asked if I could join the pilots in the cockpit! No problem! Captain and second officer were from Australia, but the first officer was Ms Barbara Green from Canada. I spent some wonderful hours in the cockpit and was even served tea along the crew in the cockpit. Sometimes we met other aircrafts in the same corridor, but on different altitudes. The pilots greeted each other by flashing the lights. I remember seeing the stars in the sky, and the flames from the oil rigs in Libya.
The Rockwell Collins transeiver was set on 11.300 Khz. The frequency was set by thumb-wheels(!). First Officer Barbara Green was managing the radio. I told her that I used to listen to 11.300 kHz and I especially had noted the shouting lady in Khartoum. Guess which operator was on duty in Khartoum that night, The Shouting Lady! Barbara Green then said: “Let’s see if we can wind her up a little”…
Epilogue: I had contact with Barbara Green a couple of years after our encounter, but later lost it. Last time I heard from her she said that she had difficulties getting flight simulator time, and that she worked in an hospital in Toronto scanning body temperature of people entering the hospital… (SARS epidemic) Just recently I have found a couple of casette recordings where I have recorded Barbara Green on flight Kenya 117, from my home near Stockholm. It’s just short snippets of calls, and I have not digitized them yet…
How to listen to CW at work!
No one has ever asked me what’s under the surgical towel! The frequency is set on 14.058 kHz. The volume is set very low so I can recognize if there is CW going on or not, but no one else reacts. When the situation allows I increase the volume, without lifting the towel.
My own QSL card
Just the other day did I receive 1000 pc of my own QSL card from LZ1JZ.com, a fellow radio amateur who provides printed QSL cards after your own design. I am very satisfied with the design.
Radio Delta International
The blog title “Radio Memories” suggests that the memories come from time that has past, but this is definitely not the case with Radio Delta, as you will see.
When I grew up both the Medium Wave band and the Shortwave bands were crowded with broadcasting stations. There were both the big super strong stations like BBC, Voice of America, Radio Moscow etc, and at the same time there were a lot of small local radio stations. Now there are not many left, and some countries have totally disappeared from the scene. Among them Sweden and Australia.
But the summer of 2022 I made a dicovery, Radio Delta transmitting from the beautiful town of Elburg in the Netherlands, and since then I have a been a regular listener. Why? The format is close to that of Radio Luxembourg, but with a much more personal touch. The music played is mostly from the golden decades of pop music, but with this station you can come up with music requests in real time. Radio Delta is privatly owned and run by a very kind man.
The present transmission schedule is Friday – Sunday from 18:00 to 22:00 UTC on 6170 kHz. Give it a try, you wont get disappointed!
Short Update:
After a hiatus of nearly 20 years I had yesterday my first CW QSO with Joe SP6JOE! My call is SM0VPE. Band 20 meter. My power was 5 watts.
To be active transmitting on shortwave four factors are important:
I. Time
II. Space
III. Money
IV. Support
Over the years these factors have varied, and now, with the new very small and cheap QRP transceivers with ATU, it’s once again possible for me!
Manx Radio, 1368 kHz
Things changes over time. This blog is dedicated to preserve some memories from radio stations that are no more. One station though is unchanged from 1987 when this QSL is from, and it is of course Manx Radio on 1368 kHz! I use to listen to Manx Radio with my radio in my bed besides me. Also on my car audio system if I am driving early winter mornings. Easy listening with a lot of good music.
RTL Radio Luxembourg, 1440 kHz
It’s hard, if not impossible, to explain the enormous impact this radio station had for mine, and nearby generations during the 50s to the the beginning of the 90s. Imagine Sweden, for instance, had only one radio channel, but there was Radio Luxembourg that aired the heavyweight championship match in boxing between Ingemar Johansson and Floyd Patterson the 26th of June 1959. I think that that was the single moment when most Swedes listened to a foreign radio station.
Every evening Radio Luxembourg played pop music, and was at times heavily promoting some songs. Personally when they played Lynn Anderson’s “Rose Garden” I don’t know how many times every hour, 1970. I also remembered when I heard the announcement over Radio Luxembourg the 16th of August 1977 that Elvis had died.
Please tell us your personal memories of R Luxembourg.
NRK, Norsk Rikskringkasting, 6015 kHz
Norway may be a small country, but they had a significant footprint both on shortwave and mediumwave. On shortwave they had programming both in Norwegian and English. Much was aimed for all the Norwegian seamen all over the world with greetings from families and friends and with music requests. Nowdays seamen connect over the internet… NRK, also had a nice printed magazine for listeners.
Personally most memories of NRK are from mediumwave where they had a very powerful transmitter on 1314 kHz. As a young doctor on call, when I had the rare opportunity to retire to bed I used to listen to NRK 1314 kHz. Even though the room at the hospital was below ground level I had no problems with the reception.
One night the night show hosts had called the Soviet Embassy in Oslo to ask how they were going to celebrate the CIA’s 40th anniversary!
YLE Vaasa 1242 kHz
The nearest radio station outside Sweden was Yleisradio’s Swedish language transmitter in Vaasa. I remember one music request show called “Ungdomens gåva i toner” that sounded a bit old fashioned, as the they talked about “The Slade Ensemble”.
Radio Memories 
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