Jeff: The “Radio Station of the German Freedom Party” was the first European offshore radio station, and the only one which primarily targeted a German audience. Remarkably, it served a political purpose – resistance against the Nazi regime. It was programmed by German journalists living in exile, supported by Dutch, British, and French collaborators in … Read more
In recent times, many DXers and international radio monitors worldwide have reported hearing the unique shortwave service for Australian troops serving in the peacekeeping forces in Timor and elsewhere. Over a period of time, these broadcasts have been radiated over transmitters located at three different radio bases in Australia, and they form an interesting update … Read more
Dr. Adrian Peterson researching the early days of Offshore Radio “Wavescan” is a weekly program for long distance radio hobbyists produced by Dr. Adrian M. Peterson, Coordinator of International Relations for Adventist World Radio. AWR carries the program over many of its stations (including shortwave). Dr. Adrian Peterson is a highly regarded DXer and radio … Read more
Jeff: Half a century ago, the Voice of Peace radio ship was one of the best known pirate radio stations in the world. It was on the air in the Mediterranean for twenty years in an effort to bring peace to those troubled areas, and it was quietly sunk at the end of its illustrious … Read more
Jeff: Today Ray Robinson brings us some interesting historical notes regarding the offshore beginnings and nautical connections of one of Southern California’s best known stations – KBIG, or ‘K-BIG’. As an AM station in the early 1950’s, it created a distinctive presence by broadcasting from a popular passenger ferry, the S.S. Catalina, while plying the … Read more
Jeff: Offshore radio broadcasting from international waters has most frequently been associated with radio stations in the North Sea that broadcast pop and rock music, such as Radio Caroline or Radio Veronica. But then in 1993 came Radio Brod (“Radio Boat” in Croatian). In the middle of the worst armed conflict in Europe since the … Read more
Jeff: Many people worldwide are familiar with the name ‘Radio Caroline’ – the offshore ship-based station which first broke the monopoly of BBC radio in the UK in the 1960’s. They may be less familiar with the fact that the station has continued to operate down through the decades, and is not only still … Read more
How an early offshore radio station ended up in Hawaii in 1931 Jeff: This week’s feature story was written and researched by Jan van Heeren in The Netherlands, and was forwarded by Dr. Martin van der Ven in Germany to our editor-in-chief, Dr. Adrian Peterson. We thank each of those for bringing this story to … Read more
Jeff: For 12 years during the Cold War from 1952 to 1964, the United States used a Coast Guard vessel in the Mediterranean Sea to broadcast Voice of America programming via medium wave and shortwave to Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East and North Africa in up to 16 different languages. Those operating the … Read more
A detailed review by Martin van der Ven (March 2025) Radio stations on ships in international waters (often incorrectly called pirate stations) have been associated for decades with radio stations in the North Sea that broadcast pop and rock music, such as Radio Caroline or Radio Veronica. Accordingly, countless publications deal with the well-known phenomenon. … Read more