Silencing Kurdish voices: Turkey's blocking of Radio Dengê Gel #shortwave #antenna

SWL
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Published 2024-05-17
There is a constant battle on shortwave between Turkey and Radio Dengê Gel, a Kurdish nationalist radio station. Turkey prohibits Kurdish nationalism within its borders and it is trying very hard to block the Dengê Gel radio signal. It does so by transmitting Turkish nationalist music and slogans over the same frequencies used by Dengê Gel.

This video contains an explanation of the Kurdish situation and a clip of the Turkish jamming signal, very clear, on the Eton Elite Traveler III with a 10 metre wire. The little Eton is a great radio that performs very well on shortwave, and it has very good sound. A few days ago I picked up Dengê Gel as well, you can see it here:    • Radio Dengê Gel 11515 kHz on Kenwood ...  

The frequencies used by Turkey and Dengê Gel change constantly. As Dengê Gel tries to evade the jammer, Turkey tries to follow. Generally, these signals can be heard between 11515 kHz and 11580 kHz. In my experience here in Johannesburg, South Africa, the Turkish jammer is always stronger and easier to catch. It is rare for me to actually catch Dengê Gel.

00:00 Conflict between Turkey and Kurdish nationalists
02:00 Turkish jamming signal against Dengê Gel.
All Comments (9)
  • @Kw1161
    Thanks Andre for another SW mash-up still being heard today…that’s what makes SW so interesting to me…😊! Unlike the digital internet stations it’s possible to hear both a the same time…and I like a challenge while DXING!😂😂😂😂! 73! Have a great day!
  • @StratmanII
    The music sounds different from the one I've used to listen on the Denge Welat jamming broadcast. 🤔🗼 I have to thank Deniz for educating me that what I heard last year wasn't the actual transmission but the jammer's signal. No wonder it's always the same nationalist songs that were played over and over again, with no announcer's voice heard between the music! This begs the question: how effective is Turkey's jamming and does this mean absolutely no one on this planet can listen to the real Dengê Gel station? The fact that what Andre and I both receive are Turkish nationalist music means that the Dengê Gel's transmitter is unable to overcome the jammer. Great intro and preamble, bru. Enjoyed the brief backdrop on the Kurdish/Turkish conflict too. The 25m band is one of my favorite shortwave bands as many international radio stations prefer to use it night and day.👍
  • @rtcurtis5858
    Andre, i listen to this some days thru the Dutch sdr. Didn’t know it was jamming. Very interesting! Randy-Illinois
  • @ArnieDXer
    Thank you André for this upload 😀 indeed your reception of Erdogan Jammer isn't bad, and it is better than Denge Gel's. I suppose the signal from Emirler is beamed East, so you'd off-the-side, where many multi-element directional antennas often show a deeper or shallower null in their pattern. But then the transmitter power of 500kW can mitigate this 😜 Just to add some more background, Turkey actually launched a war against Kurds in October 2019, as president Erdogan portrays the nation as terrorists! That's also just about when the jamming of Denge Welat started. It only was suspended for a few months (if not almost a year) in the first months of COVID-19 pandemic. But since it returned, it's been running uninterrupted.
  • @liliuMAX
    The second song is called Ceddin Deden at 3:45. The first one I couldn't identify
  • @paulwalker7161
    I have heard the turkey jammer many many times here in alaska.. not always well but ive spotted it on multiple frequencies between 11510-11600... sometimes even in one day. I've never heard Denge Gel.
  • @Ali-uj4gd
    They used to broadcast from Grigoriopol transmitter in Moldova it was very powerful signal but the transmitter was destroyed back in 2022 by booms no one knows who did it but I guess it was Turkey