It began with a simple thought: I wanted to listen to shortwave radio over the internet. A few moments later, I had a live spectrum display open in my browser and was tuning a real radio receiver located hundreds of kilometres away.

The website was the University of Twente WebSDR. Unlike an ordinary audio stream, this is a remotely controlled software-defined radio. I could enter a frequency, choose AM or USB, watch signals appear on the waterfall, and hear whatever the antenna in Enschede was receiving at that moment.

The best part was the uncertainty. A frequency might contain music, speech, a mysterious mechanical sound—or nothing at all.

First stop: The Buzzer

We started on 4625 kHz USB, home of the famous Russian utility signal commonly called UVB-76 or The Buzzer. Most of the time it produces a monotonous repeating buzz. Very occasionally, the pattern is interrupted by a spoken Russian message.

It was an appropriately strange introduction to shortwave: less like selecting a radio station and more like opening a tiny audio window onto an unexplained corner of the world.

Finding music in the noise

Next, we moved to the broadcast bands. On 6070 kHz AM, music and speech emerged clearly enough to make the whole experiment feel real. We tried 6160 kHz too, but heard nothing useful. That failure was part of the fun: shortwave reception changes with time, daylight, distance, transmitter schedules, and the state of the ionosphere.

Then came the best signal of the session: 9670 kHz AM. My verdict was simple: 9670 was the cleanest music. The frequency is used by Channel 292, transmitted from Rohrbach/Waal in Bavaria, Germany. Channel 292 carries a rotating collection of independently produced music and spoken-word programmes, so the content can change throughout the day.

A medium-wave bonus

Not every discovery was technically shortwave. On 1008 kHz AM, in the medium-wave band, we clearly received Radio Twente Gold’s German Hour. The station broadcasts from Hengelo in the Netherlands, very close to the WebSDR receiver. Its programming leans into radio nostalgia, including music from the 1920s through the 1940s, historic announcements, and old commercials. Radio Twente Gold’s own reception guide even recommends using the University of Twente WebSDR for that authentic medium-wave sound.

An Italian CB surprise

At the opposite end of the receiver’s range, 27465 kHz AM—or 27.465 MHz—produced another confirmed catch. The frequency is widely known among listeners as Italian Canale 45 or the Italian Superbowl. It is associated with lively, often high-powered CB and freeband conversations, including Italian truck drivers and so-called “big radio” operators. The signals can feature forceful modulation and conspicuous echo effects.

This was not a scheduled broadcaster at all, but two-way radio traffic carried over an unusually good 11-metre propagation path. “Pirate” and “freeband” are common listener labels for this activity; from reception alone, we cannot determine the equipment, power, or legal status of any individual operator.

A quick visit to China

To finish, we looked for something transmitted from China. The current schedule pointed us to 13720 kHz AM: an English-language China Radio International broadcast from Xi’an. Its transmitter runs at a formidable 500 kW, but shortwave is never simply about power. The signal still has to make the long journey to the Netherlands, bouncing through the ionosphere and fading along the way.

Correcting a mistaken identity

A later experiment on 7280 kHz AM taught us why a schedule is only a guide. A database lookup initially suggested a Chinese CNR1/Firedrake signal, and our first listening guess was Radio Europe. Closer listening caught the spoken identification “Dynamite”, making the most likely source Radio Dynamite from Tilburg in the Netherlands. The station’s music came through with slightly disturbed reception. Because no current published schedule we found documents Radio Dynamite on 7280 kHz, the identification remains carefully qualified—but the audible ID is much stronger evidence than the original database match.

That is the peculiar magic of shortwave. The sound may be scratchy and unstable, yet it has travelled through the atmosphere from a physical transmitter somewhere else on Earth. It is not a podcast selected from a server. It is a signal caught in flight.

How to try it yourself

Open the WebSDR, enter a frequency in kilohertz, and select the appropriate mode. International broadcast stations normally use AM; utility and amateur voice signals often use USB or LSB. If a frequency is empty, try another one—or return later. Reception can be completely different after sunset.

Open the University of Twente WebSDR

There are also schedules such as Short-Wave.Info and the HFCC broadcast listings, which help identify what should be on air at a particular UTC time.

Ten countries for the next listening session

Our first afternoon only scratched the surface. Here is a ten-country itinerary for the same receiver, based on the current A26 summer schedules. Every frequency uses AM. The reception rating is a practical expectation from the Netherlands—not a promise—because shortwave propagation can turn a strong scheduled transmission into silence.

Live test, 7 August 2026 at about 11:00 UTC: all ten itinerary frequencies were tuned successfully on the Twente receiver. Channel 292 on 9670 kHz was clearly received. Radio Romania International on 15320 kHz produced no useful reception. Ifrikya FM on 15140 kHz carried a weak voice signal that needed synchronous AM and a wider filter to improve intelligibility. A separate test of 7280 kHz carried music with slightly disturbed reception and an audible “Dynamite” identification, pointing to Radio Dynamite in Tilburg. The remaining services were outside their listed broadcast windows, so any signal on those frequencies could not be honestly attributed to the named station. They remain targets for timed follow-up listening.

These targets come from broadcaster notices and the coordinated A26 listings: Radio Romania International, KBS World Radio, Voice of Vietnam, Akashvani, and the HFCC A26 database. Frequencies and programmes may change, so it is worth checking the schedule again before tuning.

What surprised me

I expected an online radio directory. What I found was much more tactile: a shared scientific instrument, a live waterfall of signals, and the small thrill of not knowing what the next frequency would contain. In less than an hour we encountered a mysterious Russian buzzer, music from Germany, an empty patch of spectrum, and a broadcast from China.

It felt less like browsing the web and more like turning a dial across the world.