Radio Tirana. - UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum

G6Tanuki · 12th Feb 2021, 7:46 pm

Anyone who was a SWL in the 60s/70s/80s would have been horribly familiar with the funereal trumpet-dirge that was Radio Tirana's channel-claim/signature-music.

The Cold War International History Project has some interesting insights of the people who wrote in to Tirana, whether out of 'fraternal support', to complain about interference to the signal, or merely wanting to score another QSL-card.

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-po...oism-and-noise

Ted Kendall · 12th Feb 2021, 8:25 pm

Not just shortwave - it used to sprawl over my reception of Radio 4 MW.

paulsherwin · 12th Feb 2021, 8:26 pm

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B2mBP40w_hU

Ted Kendall · 13th Feb 2021, 10:34 am

That wasn't the one that caused me trouble - it was a sort of perverted Ode to Joy on a harmonica interspersed with unintelligible speech.

AdrianH · 13th Feb 2021, 12:23 pm

One of the wonderful signals I used to pick up on the old radiograms I had in the 60/70's. Was it called with pickaxe and rifle or similar.

Adrian

kellymarie · 14th Feb 2021, 1:27 pm

Oh yes radio Tirana what a pain in the proverbial they used to cause QRM in the 40 meter ham band cause QRM to radio one on 247 meters and finally to add insult to injury their presence on 1395 kilocycles meant that the short lived big L revival had to close down at 7 pm all in all, I think they were haunting me!

Top Cap · 14th Feb 2021, 6:19 pm

The follow-on video was also very interesting and brought back some happy memories. I particularly liked one of the radio dials featured and I wonder if anyone knows what make/model it is. Unlike many radios of that time, it does not try to cram too many frequencies on each scale so that the tracking should be quite good. Any ideas?
Les_G4CNH

sabaman · 15th Feb 2021, 9:26 pm

Hi Top Cap,

Looks like the (National) Panasonic RF-5000(A) to me.

Kind regards,

Sabaman.

Richard_FM · 15th Feb 2021, 11:51 pm

I think it was Radio Tirana which had broadcasts in English by a woman who gained the nickname 'Countess Dracula' because of her accent.

Years ago I was reading about short wave radio which mentioned listening to Eastern European broadcasts which mentioned the above.

Beardyman · 16th Feb 2021, 8:48 am

Finally, after a few decades, I've found out what radio station that tune belonged to! Many thanks for posting the sound link too, much appreciated. I remember my father puzzling over what station it was as he was an avid SW listener. I don't remember hearing anything but the tune from the station though. Seemed to go on for hours!

saxmaniac · 16th Feb 2021, 8:56 am

I remember listening to all those iron curtain stations when I was a keen swl in the 70s. The attempts at propaganda were laughable particularly the made up correspondence

Junk Box Nick · 17th Feb 2021, 8:28 pm

Listening recently on the now expended 40m band I was thinking how wonderful it was not having Tirana 0n 7.065 blocking off much of what was then a meagre amateur allocation.

Radio Tirana expanded my knowledge of vocabulary. It was where I first heard words like ‘proletariat’ and ‘bourgeoisie’. Sadly, I don’t ever remember hearing a review of the latest Norman Wisdom film.

That sort of broadcasting is largely missing from SW though I suppose Radio China International carries on the heritage to some extent.

KW2000A · 18th Feb 2021, 9:29 am

I was licensed in 1969 when I was just turned 18. The delights of the Sunday morning 40 metre nets being comprehensively trashed when Radio Tirana fired up with the rants about the lumpen proletariat ( what on earth was it?) and the pronouncements of Enver Hoxha were firmly planted in memory..Albania was very much a closed country. Only Regent Holidays of Bristol could do the occasional supervised group tour.

Fast forward to 1999 and I'm working for a short while in Tirana . On the way from the airport into the city there was a very interesting looking curtain array with a building not unlike the old Post Office HF Station outside Dorchester. I got the taxi to stop so I could go and have a look ( I did have an Albanian with me!). It was the transmitter of Radio Tirana....now closed up but very much like being in the engine room of an ocean going liner of the 1920s ( which I knew from pictures only!)..Huge diesel engines driving generators....mercury arc rectifiers and massive valves with associated plumbing.Sadly it was a time when photography was still sensitive. And when I went back a year later it was all gone....

Sorry mods ....trending off topic except in context and nostalgia.

Best Wishes

Phil

kellymarie · 20th Feb 2021, 1:42 pm

Hi KW2000A can you remember where it was? If memory serves me right the 3 main transmitting stations were Shkodra Gjirokastra and Durres so I wonder if it was one of them I think that the station at Durres was home to the 150 Kilowatt transmitter on 1089 Kilocycles which could be heard warbling away under radio one. Oh the memories!

12th Feb 2021, 7:46 pm	#1
G6Tanuki Dekatron Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Wiltshire, UK. Posts: 13,996	Radio Tirana. Anyone who was a SWL in the 60s/70s/80s would have been horribly familiar with the funereal trumpet-dirge that was Radio Tirana's channel-claim/signature-music. The Cold War International History Project has some interesting insights of the people who wrote in to Tirana, whether out of 'fraternal support', to complain about interference to the signal, or merely wanting to score another QSL-card. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-po...oism-and-noise

12th Feb 2021, 8:25 pm	#2
Ted Kendall Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Kington, Herefordshire, UK. Posts: 3,670	Re: Radio Tirana. Not just shortwave - it used to sprawl over my reception of Radio 4 MW.

12th Feb 2021, 8:26 pm	#3
paulsherwin Moderator Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Oxford, UK Posts: 27,936	Re: Radio Tirana. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=B2mBP40w_hU

13th Feb 2021, 10:34 am	#4
Ted Kendall Dekatron Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Kington, Herefordshire, UK. Posts: 3,670	Re: Radio Tirana. That wasn't the one that caused me trouble - it was a sort of perverted Ode to Joy on a harmonica interspersed with unintelligible speech.

13th Feb 2021, 12:23 pm	#5
AdrianH Octode Join Date: Mar 2020 Location: Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, UK. Posts: 1,572	Re: Radio Tirana. One of the wonderful signals I used to pick up on the old radiograms I had in the 60/70's. Was it called with pickaxe and rifle or similar. Adrian __________________ Asking questions and learning, or trying to! Youtube EF91Valve

14th Feb 2021, 1:27 pm	#6
kellymarie Pentode Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: Weymouth, Dorset, UK. Posts: 135	Re: Radio Tirana. Oh yes radio Tirana what a pain in the proverbial they used to cause QRM in the 40 meter ham band cause QRM to radio one on 247 meters and finally to add insult to injury their presence on 1395 kilocycles meant that the short lived big L revival had to close down at 7 pm all in all, I think they were haunting me!

14th Feb 2021, 6:19 pm	#7
Top Cap Octode Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Watford, Hertfordshire, UK. Posts: 1,270	Re: Radio Tirana. The follow-on video was also very interesting and brought back some happy memories. I particularly liked one of the radio dials featured and I wonder if anyone knows what make/model it is. Unlike many radios of that time, it does not try to cram too many frequencies on each scale so that the tracking should be quite good. Any ideas? Les_G4CNH Attached Thumbnails __________________ Whether the Top Cap is Grid or Anode - touching it will give you a buzz either way!

15th Feb 2021, 9:26 pm	#8
sabaman Pentode Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK. Posts: 116	Re: Radio Tirana. Hi Top Cap, Looks like the (National) Panasonic RF-5000(A) to me. Kind regards, Sabaman.

15th Feb 2021, 11:51 pm	#9
Richard_FM Nonode Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Stockport, Cheshire, UK. Posts: 2,002	Re: Radio Tirana. I think it was Radio Tirana which had broadcasts in English by a woman who gained the nickname 'Countess Dracula' because of her accent. Years ago I was reading about short wave radio which mentioned listening to Eastern European broadcasts which mentioned the above. __________________ Hello IT: Have you Tried Turning It Off & On Again?

16th Feb 2021, 8:48 am	#10
Beardyman Hexode Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire, UK. Posts: 428	Re: Radio Tirana. Finally, after a few decades, I've found out what radio station that tune belonged to! Many thanks for posting the sound link too, much appreciated. I remember my father puzzling over what station it was as he was an avid SW listener. I don't remember hearing anything but the tune from the station though. Seemed to go on for hours! __________________ The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits. (Einstein)

16th Feb 2021, 8:56 am	#11
saxmaniac Heptode Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Birmingham, West Midlands, UK. Posts: 618	Re: Radio Tirana. I remember listening to all those iron curtain stations when I was a keen swl in the 70s. The attempts at propaganda were laughable particularly the made up correspondence

17th Feb 2021, 8:28 pm	#12
Junk Box Nick Octode Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: West Midlands, UK. Posts: 1,571	Re: Radio Tirana. Listening recently on the now expended 40m band I was thinking how wonderful it was not having Tirana 0n 7.065 blocking off much of what was then a meagre amateur allocation. Radio Tirana expanded my knowledge of vocabulary. It was where I first heard words like ‘proletariat’ and ‘bourgeoisie’. Sadly, I don’t ever remember hearing a review of the latest Norman Wisdom film. That sort of broadcasting is largely missing from SW though I suppose Radio China International carries on the heritage to some extent.

18th Feb 2021, 9:29 am	#13
KW2000A Triode Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates Posts: 40	Re: Radio Tirana. I was licensed in 1969 when I was just turned 18. The delights of the Sunday morning 40 metre nets being comprehensively trashed when Radio Tirana fired up with the rants about the lumpen proletariat ( what on earth was it?) and the pronouncements of Enver Hoxha were firmly planted in memory..Albania was very much a closed country. Only Regent Holidays of Bristol could do the occasional supervised group tour. Fast forward to 1999 and I'm working for a short while in Tirana . On the way from the airport into the city there was a very interesting looking curtain array with a building not unlike the old Post Office HF Station outside Dorchester. I got the taxi to stop so I could go and have a look ( I did have an Albanian with me!). It was the transmitter of Radio Tirana....now closed up but very much like being in the engine room of an ocean going liner of the 1920s ( which I knew from pictures only!)..Huge diesel engines driving generators....mercury arc rectifiers and massive valves with associated plumbing.Sadly it was a time when photography was still sensitive. And when I went back a year later it was all gone.... Sorry mods ....trending off topic except in context and nostalgia. Best Wishes Phil

20th Feb 2021, 1:42 pm	#14
kellymarie Pentode Join Date: Sep 2020 Location: Weymouth, Dorset, UK. Posts: 135	Re: Radio Tirana. Hi KW2000A can you remember where it was? If memory serves me right the 3 main transmitting stations were Shkodra Gjirokastra and Durres so I wonder if it was one of them I think that the station at Durres was home to the 150 Kilowatt transmitter on 1089 Kilocycles which could be heard warbling away under radio one. Oh the memories!