Comments on: Interval Signals Online

Interval Signals Online

jason's_planet — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:20:34 -0800

Interval Signals Online is a site devoted to "Interval signals, signature tunes, airchecks and identification announcements from international, domestic, and clandestine radio stations around the world" such as Radio Tirana, AFAN Radio of Antarctica's McMurdo Station, and Radio Greenland. (Last three links are automatic downloads). Tip of the hat to mykescipark.

By: genghis

genghis — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:38:44 -0800

Oh good grief, one of the UK ones is my voice.

By: greenie2600

greenie2600 — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:40:42 -0800

Context please. What's an interval signal?

By: hortense

hortense — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:42:26 -0800

The Great Gate of Kiev

By: jason's_planet

jason's_planet — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 10:56:22 -0800

Interval Signals on Wikipedia

By: greenie2600

greenie2600 — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:01:38 -0800

Thanks for indulging my laziness, jp :) I was hoping they were some variation on numbers stations—encoding information in musical intervals, y'know. Well, okay, they do encode information in musical intervals, but only prosaic information. Not, y'know, super-secret spy information, which is way cooler. This is still cool, though...some of these would make excellent sampler food. Time to dust off the Yamaha A3000, perhaps!

By: vronsky

vronsky — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:40:48 -0800

Nice find! Thanks j_p.

By: tinkertown

tinkertown — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:51:27 -0800

Voice of America used to have an awesome Yankee Doodle version around 1980. After the flutes and woodwinds, the snare drummers would carry the rhythm to a powerful close. All they have on that site is the wimpy <1977 version and stock 2000s versions.

By: preparat

preparat — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:52:53 -0800

Thanks for this. The intro to the Radio Tirana signal is from an (original?) movie soundtrack. Can't think of the title or plot right now, but many communist-era soundtracks are actually not bad.

By: WyoWhy

WyoWhy — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:24:47 -0800

I'm going to have to dust off my SW receiver. This brings back lots of memories!

By: goodnewsfortheinsane

goodnewsfortheinsane — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 12:36:47 -0800

BBC Radio 2 has these super-corny "jingle in a genre" station IDs that are just so sugary you can't help but love them. I think they're 100% HFCS. One of them is in the style of a 90s-ish radio-friendly 'college' American pop rock band - think the Rembrandts or whatever - and it's just impossible to forget: Eigh-ty eight point nine-ty one eff ehm! Bee... bee... ceeeeeeeee - ray-dee-oh two! Every time I hear it I think, I know they got paid for this - but how can people ever sound so happy? About a radio station? And still I smile. I thought I had rid my mind of it for today, but this post reminded me again. I hope you're happy, jason's_planet. Eigh-ty eight point nine-ty one eff ehm!

By: mykescipark

mykescipark — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:01:17 -0800

Thanks for the credit, j_p. In the interests of not self-promoting too heavily on the Blue, I will only say that there will be something very significant about this coming to MeFi Projects in the next 12 months.

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:06:00 -0800

I somehow triggered all three to play at once and thought I had been patched into WFMU.

By: OverlappingElvis

OverlappingElvis — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:53:31 -0800

genghis: So you admit you're a spy?

By: OverlappingElvis

OverlappingElvis — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:54:52 -0800

Unless you're not talking about a numbers station. I like my version better.

By: mykescipark

mykescipark — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:49:57 -0800

OE: Wrong shortwave meme, sorry.

By: Slack-a-gogo

Slack-a-gogo — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:37:34 -0800

This is going to tie up too much of my free time tonight, and I'm not even sure what I'm looking for. But it's intriguing just the same.

By: genghis

genghis — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:38:58 -0800

Overlapping Elvis: something I recorded as a strictly-temporary news-in ident which they were supposed to replace the next morning, and which I can't bear to listen to, to the extent I turn the radio down when it came on... is still playing on the station in question a year and a half later, thirteen times per day. Hearing it on this site caused me to physically wince. Fortunately only I know it's me. There's actually another seven-year-old clip in there from a now-defunct satellite station where you would hear me start a news bulletin if the clip ran for another one second. I feel one wince per day is plenty, though.

By: peterkins

peterkins — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 05:49:48 -0800

Fantastic. Thanks for posting.

By: jason's_planet

jason's_planet — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 12:09:27 -0800

I somehow triggered all three to play at once and thought I had been patched into WFMU. Like Trans-Pacific Sound Paradise? Yeah, I can see that. Thanks to everyone who complimented and enjoyed this post! (and again, thanks to mykescipark!)