The SWLing Post

(Source: Sean Gilbert via WRTH Facebook) WRTH A17 Broadcasting Schedules Update file is now available for free download from www.wrth.com. The PDF file contains the changes to the transmission schedules of International and Clandestine/Target broadcasters.

“Is anybody even listening?” So said the powers-that- be at CKZN. To find out, the relay was (temporarily) shut down. You, too, may have noticed that the CBC Radio 1 relay through CKZN on 6,160 kHz has been off air for several days. I’m traveling in Canada this summer, and noticed that CKZN has been […]

(Source: Sky and Telescope via Sheldon Harvey) When the Moon’s shadow glides across the U.S. on August 21st, you’ll have have a chance to hear the eclipse as it happens. Solar eclipses are more than remarkable visual astronomical phenomena; they’re pretty interesting from a radio viewpoint too. Should overcast skies prevail over your location on […]

From the Isle of Music, July 2-8 This week, our special guest is bandleader and drummer Yissy García, whose Jazz/Fusion group Bandancha received two Cubadisco awards this year -Opera Prima (best new artist) and Diseño (design) for their exciting album Última Noticia. We’ll listen to some of that and some selections from the Música Urbana […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes: Hey Thomas, if you haven’t already covered this in the SWLing Post, this might be worth mentioning: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/radio-hat-1931-1949-man-from-mars TURNS OUT, LISTENING TO PODCASTS on your morning commute is nothing new. In 1931, the British cinemagazine Pathetone Weekly—which documented odd fashion trends during its run from 1930 […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ken McKenzie, who shares the following deal via Woot: a two pack of Eton Executive Travelers for $94.99 US: Click here to view on Woot. Woot has a great reputation–I’ve purchased from them several times. You can buy with confidence. Note the following, however: You must use the Woot […]

On Wednesday, 21 June 2017, the BBC World Service officially transmitted the 2017 BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast–an international radio broadcast intended for a small group of scientists, technicians, and support staff who work for the British Antarctic Survey. This is one of my favorite annual broadcasts, and I endeavor to listen every year. Once again, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrea Borgnino, who shares the following article from the website Journalism Is Not A Crime: From Propaganda to Journalism: How Radio Free Europe Pierced the Iron Curtain The end of the Second World War signaled the beginning of an information war in Europe. As the military alliance between the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, James Leary, who shares the following news and audio clip from RTÉ: Hi Thomas, I heard this announcement the other day about RTE 252 and thought it might be of interest for your site. I think it’s also going to shut down permanently in 2019. Received on a Tecsun PL-390 […]

Recently, an SWLing Post reader asked this simple question: “If you were me, would you laminate a super-rare QSL card?” The short answer–? Please don’t! Never laminate a QSL card, photo, page or postcard You should never apply heat-seal or adhesive (cold) seal lamination to a QSL card or any other paper memorabilia if your ultimate […]

(Source: Hamvention Press Release) 29,296 Attendees at Dayton Hamvention® 2017 Chairman’s Message It took a while to collect all the information but the numbers are in and it has been a most successful year. This is quite an increase over last year’s attendance. We knew this would be a big year but this was even […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Hawkins, who writes: Air traffic bands on VHF is well-known. Not so well-known are the shortwave (HF) communications networks that must be operated by transoceanic flights. This is an ARINC station for San Francisco, California. I am located about 70 miles inland from this station. I assume ARINC […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who writes: Hi Thomas As always, thank you for your regular SWLing Post – it’s always an interesting read! I have just completed my Music on Shortwave listing for A-17 season, and attach it here for you to consider including in a future SWLing Post. My regards […]

Last week, I watched the Netflix movie, Spectral, and couldn’t help but notice a couple of radios on set. I spotted the first rig at the beginning of the film while the camera was panning a military communications center. It’s a dark screen shot, but I believe this may be a Kenwood TS-940S: The second […]

Wednesday, as I listened to (and attempted to record) this year’s annual Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast, I couldn’t help but recall the W4DXCC conference three years ago, during which representatives from the Amsterdam Island DXpedition (FT5ZM) gave a one-hour multimedia presentation about their journey, including their on-air accomplishments. It was, to say the least, all fascinating. Even the expedition’s financing […]

If you live in North America and have an interest in becoming a ham radio operator, this is the weekend to check out what amateur radio is all about, and meet local radio enthusiasts. It’s Field Day! What is Field Day? I’ll quote from the ARRL, who sponsors the event: “ARRL Field Day is the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nigel Holmes, who shares the following link to the ABC & HF broadcasting Senate Hearing and notes: http://parlview.aph.gov.au/mediaPlayer.php?videoID=355749 3 hours in total. Three quality options for streaming/download – Hi 1400 MB, Med 675 MB & Lo 250MB Witnesses in order 1. DFAT (Foreign Affairs & Trade) 2. 52′ Gary […]

From the Isle of Music, June 25-July 1 This week, Bobby Carcassés discusses some of his new Cubadisco-winning album Blues con Montuno with us, and we listen to some of the best tracks. Later, we listen to music from the other nominated albums in the Jazz Soloists category of Cubadisco 2017, Four opportunities to listen […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Patalon, who shares the following story from The Smithsonian: The Forgotten Man Who Transformed Journalism in America Lowell Thomas was the first host of a TV broadcast news program, and adopted a number of other new technologies to make his mark in the 20th century By the time Lowell […]

Yesterday afternoon, I packed up the Sony ICF-SW100, Audiomax SRW-710S and Elecraft KX2 portables in search of a quite spot to listen to the BBC World Service Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast. I also packed my PK Loop and NASA PA 30 antennas. I’m traveling in Canada again and staying in an RFI-dense condo. There was no way I’d hear the broadcast through […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rob G, who shares a link to this rare Galaxy R-530 receiver and speaker on eBay: Click here to view on eBay. The R-530 is certainly a handsome receiver. FYI: the last time we posted one of these from eBay, the final price was $470 shipped, but this particular […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes: Thomas, did you see this? It’s a detailed application to the FCC for the construction of a 10KW shortwave transmitter for DRM on 9.65 MHz and 15.45 MHz. Click here to download the application (PDF). Thanks, Ed! I know nothing about Turms Tech other than on […]

(Source: Shortwave Radiogram via Tom Ally) Shortwave Radiogram begins 24-25 June 2017 The Shortwave Radiogram transmission schedule: Sunday 0600-0630 UTC 7730 kHz Sunday 2030-2100 UTC 11580 kHz Sunday 2330-2400 UTC 11580 kHz All via WRMI in Florida Great to see that Kim Elliott isn’t skipping a beat moving from the VOA Radiogram to the Shortwave […]

Every year, the BBC broadcasts a special program to the scientists and support staff in the British Antarctic Survey Team. The BBC plays music requests and sends special messages to the small team of 40+ located at various Antarctic research stations. Each year, the thirty minute show is guaranteed to be quirky, nostalgic, and certainly a DX-worthy catch! After […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who shared the following message after I posted the Mystery Radio Challenge yesterday: I could tell that FM tuner is actually an ‘FM converter’ by its shape and by the giveaway wide knurled tuning bar mounted way up front, so the driver of the 8-track tape player-equipped car […]

I’ve been fascinated with radio astronomy since my university days. In the 1980s and 90s almost any radio astronomy experiment equated to forking out some serious money to purchase a wideband receiver (serious money to a student, at least). With the advent of SDRs, though, radio astronomy has become affordable for everyone. Many thanks to […]

Sunday morning, I attended the Sainte-Foy flea market in Québec City. When I’m in QC, I love attending this particular market because of the amazing variety of things for sale. It’s a proper community event. As I was browsing the various tables, I happened upon one of these: Talk about a blast from the past! […]

Yesterday, at the marché aux puces de Sainte-Foy (Sainte-Foy flea market) in Québec City, I stumbled across the little receiver above in a box of junk under a vendor’s table. I’ve actually worked up a short post about this radio and will publish it tomorrow, but first I’m curious if any Post readers can identify it based […]

UPDATE–Caveat emptor: I can no longer link to this deal. Several readers have noted the seller has no history nor feedback. Additionally, Joe notes that “The same seller is offering the Tecsun PL-660 for $39.99 and the Tecsun PL-360 for $17.47, among other extraordinarily low-priced items.” Thanks guys–I’m sorry, but that’s just too good to […]

On the topic of “Swiss Army Knife” shortwave portables, many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who adds: Since the KA1121 was referenced in a comment on your blog today, [my review is] now located at: http://webpages.charter.net/n9ewo2/de1121.html Sadly the set is no longer manufactured either as the Kaito KA1121 or the Degen DE1121 (the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nigel Holmes–formerly of Radio Australia–for the following update regarding Nick Xenophon’s bill to resume ABC shortwave services: Last Friday I travelled to Canberra and fronted the Senate Committee hearing testimony on the matter of HF broadcasting & Senator Xenophon’s Bill to compel ABC to resume HF domestically & for […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, David, who writes with the following inquiry: I really enjoy the SWLing site. It’s great and you guys have such good reviews and information! I’m looking for a radio and one thing I have not seen on the site is a “features” type breakdown when you could limit the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who adds the following to our growing archive of radios in film. Mark writes: Another radio spotted in a TV show, this time in the Netflix show iZombie. Having been gifted a Yaesu FRG-7700 recently, it was an easy spot. This FRG-7700 appears to be a ‘special’ model […]

(Source: VOA RadioGram via Dennis Dura) VOA Radiogram, 17-18 June 2017: One more show before I leave the building The last VOA Radiogram is this weekend. The successor to VOA Radiogram is Shortwave Radiogram, which will be broadcast for the first time on 25 June on the WRMI times and frequencies in the schedule below. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes: Here’s an update on the PantronX Titus II DRM boombox from Mike at PantronX: “We are first fulfilling large orders from international broadcasters. Individual orders most likely are late fall. If you preordered someone will contact you when the order comes up. Sorry for the delays […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan Cholakov (NO2CW), who writes: My 11 year old son Tommy (N1SPY) completed a project where he compared a 1W lightbulb to a .25 W radio beacon that he put together and bet that the radio beacon can be heard around the world. I asked him to document his activities […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following regarding a Furuno RV-103SR marine receiver he discovered on eBay: Recently, I came upon two great rarities in the world of receivers. Furuno is a Japanese company known for maritime equipment, and is featured on one or two pages of the Osterman receiver […]

I thought I would pass along this article from Radio World concerning the connection between Amateur Radio and Broadcast professionals. (And please, no flames for not being strictly SWLing related!) Here a taste of the article, while the full piece may be found here: http://www.radioworld.com/news-and-business/0002/strong-ties-bind-amateurs-and-broadcasters/339846 Many people who work in broadcast radio got their start […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who discovered this like new Kenwood R-1000 on eBay. Dan notes: This just went up on Ebay — a seemingly new and unused R-1000. Price is actually not high for one in this condition [$450 US]. I would jump on this if I didn’t already have one […]

SDRplay support have just posted the following news on their community forum: We have released a Raspberry Pi 3 image that has a number of SDR applications pre-built and tested that support the RSP. Periodically, we will update the image with software updates and new software. The current list of software included on the image […]

From the Isle of Music, June 18-24 This week and next, our special guest is Bobby Carcasses, creator of Jazz Plaza, singer, trumpeter, showman, recording artist, whose new recording Blues Con Montuno just won a Cubadisco award in the Jazz Soloists category. Bobby is one of the most important people in Jazz in Cuba in […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors, Richard Langley and Mauno Ritola, who shared frequencies and times for the test transmissions in advance of the BBC Midwinter broadcast next week (June 21). I didn’t get their tips in time to post prior to the transmissions yesterday, however, Mauno believes there may be another test transmission today. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who writes: Hi Thomas: I’m sending you what I received today from Radio Bulgaria. The petition can be read in Spanish, English or Bulgarian. Dear Friends: We need your support for a noble and responsible cause. Radio Bulgaria, which belongs to National Radio of Bulgaria, is the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John, who shares a link to this recent tour of WRMI, by Ham Radio Concepts: Click here to view on YouTube.

Ok, so officially it wasn’t a DXpedition; it was a well needed vacation in the sun after several hectic months of work, some of which involved travel to slightly more exotic locations. However, these days, I view any travel, whether it be for business or pleasure as a ‘DXpedition’ opportunity! Some of you might […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) Carl Laufer’s RTL-SDR on HamRadioNow Carl Laufer isn’t a ham (yet), but he got caught up in the RTL-SDR craze in his home town, Auckland NZ, as he was completing his PHD He began writing about them, and selling them, on his blog at www.RTL-SDR.com, and soon discovered that the little SDR […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes: It might be interesting if you invited SWLing Post readers today see how NASA’s ionospheric experiment tonight (shortly after 9:00PM ET) affects RF propagation along the east coast: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nasa-will-make-colorful-clouds-near-sunset-tonight-180963652/ I searched online to find any reference to this long series of NASA experiments affecting RF propagation, […]

While looking through photos I had backed up on my laptop, I discovered a set I took at the Hamvention Flea Market on Saturday morning (May 20, 2017). I’ve gotten tremendous positive feedback from the photos I posted of Hamvention Setup, the Friday Flea Market and Inside Exhibits, so I thought I’d post these as […]

(Source: Open Democracy) Eritrean radio station Radio Erena provides a voice for the voiceless Broadcasting from Paris, Fathi Osman’s Radio Erena challenges the government’s monopoly on truth and champions those who gave their lives for freedom of expression. Last night turned out to mark a double-celebration for Eritrean journalist Fathi Osman. While the father-of-four nearly […]

From the Isle of Music, June 11-17 This week our special guest is Giraldo Piloto, leader of Klimax, one of Cuba’s best Timba bands. Klimax won a Cubadisco award this year in the category Música Popular Bailable -Maestros for its album Mis 21 Años. We will listen to some of that album as we speak […]