The SWLing Post

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, for sharing the following updated schedule from Radio Thailand World Service:

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, DanH, for sharing the latest schedule from RNZI:

For the B16 season, our transmission on WBCQ moves to 0100-0200 UTC Tuesdays (which means 8-9pm EST Mondays in the Americas). On Channel 292, we stay at 1900-2000 UTC Tuesdays, which will now be 2000-2100 CET. Next week: JoJazz is the most important competition for young Jazz musicians in Cuba. This week, we will dedicate our […]

I had hoped this Halloween weekend would bring out a lot of shortwave pirates and it surely did! At one point Monday evening, I noted no less than five pirate radio stations broadcasting simultaneously between 6910 – 7000 kHz. You can see the four SSB and one AM signal in the spectrum display above. Chris Smolinski, […]

Hi there, further to my previous post regarding the initial testing of the Medium Wave Circle-design 200 metre Beverage antenna at the woods in Oxford, UK, I am pleased to share further reception videos for both the medium wave and shortwave bands. For medium wave, I operated the FDM DUO via a laptop and the […]

The following review was originally published in the October 2016 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. Anyone who knows me knows that since I was licensed nearly twenty years ago, I’ve been a fan of low-power (QRP) operations. There’s just something inexplicably fun in being able to talk to the other side of the world […]

Halloween is typically the most active day of the year for shortwave pirates…so, here are two things you’ll want to do this Halloween (tonight): 1. Hobby Broadcasting Blog Check out Andrew Yoder’s pirate radio blog ,the Hobby Broadcasting blog. Andrew is the author of the Pirate Radio Annual and a guru on shortwave pirate radio. Andrew has already […]

The following review originally appeared in the SEptember 2016 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. Over the past year, I’ve received a number of inquiries from readers who are considering purchasing a handheld wideband receiver. This is a market I’ve never truly explored because, to be honest, I’m partial to the HF part of the spectrum, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Steve T, for sharing the following news from Business Insider: KNL Networks, based in Oulu, Finland, has been in stealth mode during the past four years while developing a revolutionizing system that enables internet connection anywhere in the world – even in the middle of the Pacific Ocean – […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John (AE5X), who writes: Hi Thomas – I thought you might be interested to know that KE9NS has updated PowerSDR software for Flex 1500, 3000 and 5000 series radios with the following features: SWL BANDS: 14 standard Shortwave Listening bands, each with their own Bandstacking memories. SWL SPOTTER: SWL.CSV […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron, who shares a link to Jay Allen’s review of the Sangean WR-50/WR-50P: The Sangean WR-50/WR-50P is a high performance table radio with excellent AM/FM reception and sound quality. […]It features standard AM/FM reception plus FM RBDS capability and has Bluetooth connectivity so you can stream audio from any […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan (K2DLS), who writes: There is a MARS communication exercise taking place this weekend. As part of the exercise, a MARS station on the east and west coasts will broadcast a bulletin which will be verified by a QSL. Please see the notice below: A HIGH POWER 60 METER […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan Cholakov (NO2CW), who writes: Thomas, not sure if this is something relevant but airlines now state it is OK to use an am/fm radio on board aircraft. Not much possibilities for AM unfortunately but on a recent flight from Ft Lauderdale to Dallas and Albuquerque I hooked up […]

(Source: Hobart Radio International on Facebook) We’re getting ready for the B16. Here is our new schedule. Changes include WRMI reductions and Ch292 commencement. We air for the first time on Channel 292 6070 Nov 5th.

JoJazz is the most important competition for young Jazz musicians in Cuba. This week and next, we will dedicate our entire program to it. Our November 1 (October 31 in the Americas on WBCQ) program offers music from past JoJazz winners and an interview with the competition’s founder, Alexis Vázquez. Two options for listening on […]

Those of you following the upcoming Titus II receiver will enjoy reading this interview with Mike of Pantronix. Here’s a short excerpt taken from DRMNA.info: [DRMNA] Can you tell us a little about the process taken to develop the new receiver? [Mike] We became aware of the need for a digital capable receiver by a […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Vlado (N3CZ), for sharing the following story from the South African Radio League newsletter: Broadcasters, jammers wreak havoc on amateur radio frequencies The ARRL reports the battle in the amateur radio 7 MHz band continues between Radio Eritrea and Radio Ethiopia, which is said to be jamming the Eritrean […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who shares the following reply to TomL’s post More Anti-Noise Ideas: My VERY NOISY Sony CRT TV has gone to the great electronics recycling bin in the sky thank goodness. But I still have a MFJ-1026 here and need to use it when the neighborhood gets […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who shares the following: This is the English service broadcast for The Voice Of Korea to “Latin America” from Kujang, North Korea. Recorded 0430-0530UTC October 17, 2016 using a Tecsun PL-880, Wellbrook ALA1530LNP, EmTech ZM2 antenna tuner and DXEngineering HF Preamp. Listening location is Galena, Alaska. A […]

For the past six years or so, we’ve used Google Feedburner as an email distribution system on the SWLing Post. Feedburner is a bare-bones RSS-based system, but it’s worked quite well–allowing readers to sign up for individual Post emails or daily digests. It’s also free for both readers and for me. However, in the past two […]

In a previous guest post, SWLing Post contributor TomL, shared his “Evolving, Morphing, SW Listening Station” where he detailed the many ways he’s trying to fight heavy radio interference at his listening post. The following post is TomL’s update: More Anti-Noise Ideas (Continuing the hunt for better reception in a foul RFI environment) by TomL I […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bob Chandler (VE3SRE), who leaves the following reply to our WiFi Radio Primer: I have been streaming online radio using a PC for a number of years using a really simple programme for the GNU/Linux operating system called “Radio Tray“. Radio Tray is a tiny programme written in Python that […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, DanH, who shares the following feedback. Note that he sent this to me about two weeks ago, but my life has been so busy the past few weeks, I’m still catching up on email. Thanks to everyone for understanding! DanH writes: We all know how hard it is to […]

Many thanks to Pete (WB9FLW) who writes: Don’t know if you have seen this or not. VU2ESE of BITX20 Fame has just introduced the BITX40. This is a fully assembled and tested SSB Transceiver for $45 including shipping from India! http://www.hfsigs.com/ Wow! I may have to purchase one of these and try it out. I’m […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Armin Sander, who writes: Here is a link to a very interesting auction on eBay Germany: Click here to view on eBay. Only the price speaks for itself! (And now I need a good whisky!) 😉 No kidding, Armin! That is a hefty price–8,9999 EUR–even though this particular unit seems […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Fahey, who shares the following reply to our Como Audio Solo review: I am a heavy user of internet radios and have a few scatted around the home, the one most frequently used is the Grace in the kitchen. What stations do people listen to? I listen to lots […]

Regular SWLing Post readers might remember that this past summer, I made an impulse purchase–and in doing so, backed a Kickstarter campaign for the new Como Audio Solo. But exactly why did I buy this small, self-contained digital music device–? Having just completed an in-depth review of several WiFi radios, I certainly didn’t need another. But […]

A feast of Cuban vocal music with Los Van Van for dessert… From beautiful harmonies to stunning a cappella imitations of instruments, Cuba’s best vocal groups are a delight. Our October 25 (October 24 in the Americas on WBCQ) program offers a few of them along with special guest Luz Divina Reyes, Director of Vocal […]

I’ve just learned that my buddy, David Goren, is selling his remaining stock of Shortwave Shindig T-Shirts for $15 each (shipped!). That’s a great deal in my book–especially for a shirt sporting a Jeff Murray, K1NSS original design! I just purchased a spare Shindig T-Shirt. David only has a few select sizes and colors left (Black/White […]

In yet another reversal concerning the fate of Longwave in the UK, this was reported in Radio Survivor Oct 10: Ireland’s Longwave Station RTÉ 252 Spared from Imminent Closure By Paul Riismandel on October 10, 2016 in International, Radio Bands Listeners located in the U.K. who enjoy Ireland’s RTÉ 252 radio service are breathing a […]

Many thanks to Andy Yoder, author of the Pirate Radio Annual, who writes: I thought maybe you’d be interested in info about the upcoming Global HF weekend. This event was run a few years ago, with the concept of friendship and cooperation among stations and listeners from around the world. Successful tests would give the […]

Many thanks to the 86 responses we received from the SWLing Post dream radio contest! Also huge thanks to Universal Radio who sponsored this contest and made it possible! This morning, I entered the numbered contest entries into a tool on Random.org. The following two winners were selected at random–one from the US, and one from Australia: […]

Think back to your first days in radio…What was your “dream” receiver? And why? Or–if you’re new to shortwave radio–what is your “dream” receiver currently, and why? Many of us had a radio they dreamed of in their youth, or when they first began to hanker after the radio experience. What was yours? For newer hobbyists, what is […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Troy Riedel, who writes: I don’t have a “shack”, but I wanted to take the time to share with you my “listening post”. But first, let me start from the beginning. I’d call myself an amateur astronomer first – and a Shortwave Listener (SWL’er) second (I have never […]

Many thanks to Fred Osterman and Dave Zantow for sharing information about the new CommRadio CTX-10 transciever. Here is the description from Universal Radio’s catalog: AeroStream Communications near Golden, Colorado entered the hobby radio market in 2013 with their revolutionary CommRadio CR-1 and follow up CR-1a SDR receivers. The success of these innovative radios left […]

Hi there, I have finally deployed the Medium Wave Circle-design 200 metre Beverage antenna (schematic diagram above) at the woods I use in Oxford, UK. It was terminated at the ‘front end’ with a 650 Ohm resistor into a 1 metre-long, permanent copper earthing rod that I had previously driven into the ground, away from […]

Think back to your first days in radio…What was your “dream” receiver? And why? Or–if you’re new to shortwave radio–what is your “dream” receiver currently, and why? Many of us had a radio they dreamed of in their youth, or when they first began to hanker after the radio experience. What was yours? For newer hobbyists, what is […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Phil Brennan, who writes: Your readers may be interested in this article detailing a clandestine radio station that was set up between the Fretlin rebels in East Timor (now Timor Leste) and supporters based in Darwin where I live. The Fretlin rebels fought against the Indonesian occupation until the country’s […]

A potpourri of styles of Cuban music… Our October 18 (October 17 in the Americas on WBCQ) program offers a potpourri of reissues of Cuban music from prior decades and some more Cubadisco 2016 nominees – a mixture of traditional and contemporary. Two options for listening on shortwave: WBCQ, 7490 KHz, Tuesdays 0000-0100 UTC (8pm-9pm […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who writes: Here is an interesting one [I saw] on eBay this morning. A SONY marked SW33 SW portable, but of course it’s NOT the ICF-SW33 model you (or I ) are thinking of. Click here to view on eBay. Looks to be a Kchibo made […]

Contrary to a news item we recently shared from The Independent, SWLing Post contributor, Mike Barraclough, notes the following news from the Irish Post: RTÉ RADIO will proceed with plans to axe its longwave 252 service next year, it has been confirmed. […]RTÉ has consistently argued that better use could be made of the money […]

I have been procrastinating over investing in another portable shortwave radio to replace my ageing (but still going strong) Sangean ATS909. Also known in the U.S. as the rebadged Radio Shack DX–398, the Sangean has been a most reliable rig for in-the-field DXpeditions. My unit is one of the early first generation versions that […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Matt, who shared this review of the BST-1 car shortwave receiver: Overall: a good sensitive receiver, with a very inventive interface. I am looking forward to my long commutes for a change. Using the FM RDS info on the car radio is a stroke of genius. Performance: Miles ahead […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Barraclough, who shares this Thump interview with Amanda Dawn Christie: For her latest documentary, Spectres of Shortwave, Moncton-born experimental artist and filmmaker Amanda Dawn Christie spent the last seven years exploring this otherworldly phenomenon. While working at Sackville’s Struts Gallery in 2009, she heard stories from local residents […]

I’m very proud to note that my good friend, George Knudsen (W4GCK), has been featured on the excellent omega tau podcast. The interview is absolutely fascinating–here’s a description: George Knudsen started working in 1958 on the Redstone missile, and moved on to working on the Atlas ICBM. Later he worked on the Saturn 5 launch vehicle, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who notes that the following update posted on the WRMI Facebook page: “WRMI went back on the air around 1600 UTC Friday when our power came back on. All transmitters except #4 are now back on the air, and we hope to have #4 back on later today.” […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) Icom are introducing a new external speaker for its revolutionary IC-7300 Software Designed Radio. The new SP-38 complements the appearance of the IC-7300 as well as improving the listening experience from its large diameter speaker. The SP-38 external speaker will be available in October with a suggested retail price of £156.00 inc.VAT […]

(Source: WRMI at 23:00 UTC, 06 October 2016) Our windows are boarded up, but we are still on the air here at WRMI as Hurricane Matthew approaches the east coast of Florida at 2300 UTC Thursday, October 6. The worst winds and rain are expected during the next several hours. Nuestras ventanas estan protegidas por planchas […]