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What to listen to · Mystery stations

The Squeaky Wheel at night: the same squeak on 3363.5 kHz

Once 5367 kHz stops carrying after dark, the Squeaky Wheel's grinding marker continues on 3363.5 kHz, where night-time shortwave travels far across Europe. The night entry of the Rostov marker.

Frequency3363.5 kHz
ModeUSB

What you hear

The same short squeak, repeated endlessly, that the day frequency carries, and the same rare chance of a voice message. The station itself, its history since the mid-2000s and what is known about its purpose are covered in the main article.

Who transmits and why

The same transmitter near Rostov, and the same military net. The night frequency exists because physics demands it: a 5 MHz signal that covered half of Europe in daylight shrinks to a few hundred kilometres after sunset, while 3363.5 kHz does the opposite and opens up with the dark.

When and where to listen

The marker shows up on 3363.5 kHz around dusk at the transmitter and stays until dawn there, so for European listeners this is the evening and night entry. Receivers in eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Turkey hear it strongest; from central Europe it is steady on a quiet night, from the west and north fainter but often there. The frequency lies inside a tropical broadcasting range, so weak broadcasters from far away may appear nearby; the squeak is easy to tell from them on the waterfall. USB works as it does by day; AM is an option when the signal is strong.

In ShackDeck

Station catalogue → Mystery stations → The Squeaky Wheel (night). The program chooses a public receiver that covers 3363.5 kHz, tunes it and sets USB; no receiver, antenna or account of your own is needed. In daylight use the main entry, The Squeaky Wheel, on 5367 kHz.

More stations

The Goose: a honking Russian marker near Smolensk, silent since 2024

4310 kHz · USB

A channel marker that sounded like a goose, from near Smolensk: 4310 kHz by day, 3243 kHz at night, with live voice messages and, now and then, operators talking in the clear. Not heard since August 2024.

The Squeaky Wheel: the third Russian marker, a squeak on 5367 kHz

5367 kHz · USB

A short, grinding squeak repeated around the clock from the Rostov area since the mid-2000s, on 5367 kHz by day and 3363.5 kHz at night. Voice messages are rarer than on the Buzzer, so each one is an event.

The Air Horn: a long blast on 4930 kHz from Smolensk, now silent

4930 kHz · USB

A channel marker from the Smolensk area that held 4930 kHz around the clock with a drawn-out horn blast. From December 2023 it carried the Goose's marker instead; at present it is not heard.

The Pip at night: the same marker on 3756 kHz

3756 kHz · USB

After sunset in Rostov the Pip leaves 5448 kHz and the same one-second pip goes out on 3756 kHz, where it reaches most of Europe. The night entry of the Russian channel marker.

Radio Romania International in English on 11975 kHz: Bucharest's evening programme for Europe

11975 kHz · AM

Romania's external service in English to Europe, 20:30 to 21:00 UTC on 11975 kHz from Țigănești, 300 kW, plus 22:00 on 9740, 05:30 on 11960 and 11:00 UTC on 15320 kHz in the A26 season. News and listeners' letters.

Hungarian minority programmes on 1188 kHz: Nemzetiségi Adások from Marcali

1188 kHz · AM

The minority-language service of Hungarian public radio on medium wave from Marcali, 300 kW, 06:00 to 18:00 UTC. Croatian, German, Serbian, Romanian and Slovak at fixed hours, plus Ukrainian and Rusyn once a week.