The SWLing Post

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bill Tilford, who shares this From The Isle of Music update: Beginning June 7, From the Isle of Music begins an exciting new phase. Our host, Bill Tilford, recently returned from Cuba with the music of the winners and nominees of Cubadisco 2016, which among other things is Cuba’s equivalent […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron, for sharing a link to Jay Allen’s review of the Channel Master 6515 Super Fringe AM radio. Jay notes: The Channel Master 6515 “Super Fringe” is a beautiful 8 transistor AM portable radio with a tuned RF stage manufactured by Sanyo exclusively for Channel Master throughout most of the […]

Many thanks to an SWLing Post reader who shared this brilliant 1953 documentary film about the anticipated impact the transistor could have on technology. Here’s the film description from the AT&T YouTube channel: Made between the 1947 invention of the transistor at Bell Labs and the 1956 awarding of the Nobel Prize for Physics to its creators, this […]

by Paul Walker I tried logging the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu shortwave broadcast stations for years, however, owing to my location and poor antenna along with technical problems with the stations, I was never able to log them. Well, I recently moved to Alaska and was able to take the stations off my “Most Wanted List.” […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and broadcaster, Paul Walker, who writes: The next broadcast of “The Classics Experience” with Paul Walker is rapidly approaching. It’s a 2 hour broadcast of rock and roll music with some country classics scattered in and occasionally a few audio surprises. The next broadcast schedule looks like this: WINB […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN) for the following guest post: Communications Service Monitors – A Radio Hobbyist’s Perspective Mario Filippi, N2HUN (All photos courtesy of author) Over the past few decades I lusted after a communications service monitor for my radio hobby but prices were always prohibitive; several thousands of dollars […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrea Borgnino, who shares the following news via Twitter: Radio Liberty to stop Russian broadcasts on shortwave https://t.co/vFQB67erNo @SWLingDotCom @aborgnino @UlisK3LU — London Shortwave (@LondonShortwave) May 31, 2016 Click here to view via Twitter.

Hailing from Germany, the KWZ-30 communications receiver was one of the first DSP receivers available. This collectable and high performance receiver is rarely seen for sale, but one is now available for a $1890.00 Buy-It-Now price from a Russian Ebay seller. Even with the few dings visible on the radio’s case, it’s likely worth the […]

(Source: KT Press via Richard Cuff) Germans Close Business in Rwanda After Half Century Lease Expires Once a powerful facility in the region, the German owned Deutsche Welle radio center at Kinyinya hill outside Kigali is finally and completely shutting down. It’s no more. In 1965, Rwanda leased 68.4 hectares on Kinyinya hill for fifty years […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Korchin (K2WNW), for sharing this short video demonstrating the shortwave receive capabilities of the Icom IC-92AD handheld transceiver: Click here to view on YouTube. Frankly, I’m quite amazed at the clarity and fidelity of the Voice of Turkey interval signal on this handheld. Goes to show that with […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Cuff, who shared the following article via the Winter SWL Fest email group: (Source: Ithaca.com) He Got News to Families of POWs The word “archives” can conjure up an image of dusty boxes of documents and sepia photographs. Do not be deceived. In fact, the files in the […]

Sangean ATS-909x on eBay For those who might be interested there is a black version of the 909X on eBay with an auction end day of Monday early afternoon. The condition looks good from the pics (of course buyer beware!) and current bid is $127.50 with two bidders. I have one of the white series […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, DanH, who writes: I have been working on my Hammarlund SP600-JX-21 for the last two weeks. Results of the filter cap replacement were encouraging. I’m going after an AVC issue that is probably capacitor-related as well before doing a re-alignment with the signal generator. All of this activity has […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Barraclough, who writes: BBC World Service Archives continue to put up programmes on the main site, they were previously available on a beta site you had to register for and were allowed to add tags or edit data. 64 editions of Waveguide, their radio broadcasting developments programme now […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Eric (WD8RIF), who shares this (quirky!) animated video set to a British Library Sound Archive of “Wireless” by J R R Tolkien. This animation was produced by students at the University of the Arts London: Click here to view on YouTube.

(Source: BBG Watch via Andrea Borgnino) BBG Watch has learned that a proposed privatization of the U.S. taxpayer-funded Voice of America (VOA) is widely opposed by Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) federal employees, their union, the independent Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB – cusib.org), and numerous foreign policy and public diplomacy professionals, as well […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Ron Wagner, who writes: Thanks very much for your informative SWL pages. With the, seemingly, shortsighted, contracting world of SW broadcasters, you keep our interest alive! Recently, you called attention to Jay Allen’s modification and installment of a new speaker for the Satellit 800. Not quite ready to open […]

I returned home last night from my week-log Dayton Hamvention trip around 8:30 PM. The Hamvention actually ended at 1:00 PM on Sunday, May 22, but my buddy Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), his son Miles (KD8KNC) and I stayed Sunday night in Dayton, and Monday night at Eric’s home in Athens, Ohio. After packing up our Hamvention booth (for […]

Most years I attend the Dayton Hamvention, I take photos of the outdoor flea market. It’s a great opportunity for me to gauge used equipment prices and check out rare finds. This year, I made an effort to take photos of some of the inside exhibitor booths as well. Here they are, in no particular order:

Yesterday, at the Dayton Hamvention Flea Market, a Hallicrafters SX-11 caught my eye. I don’t often see the SX-11 in such excellent shape. The seller wanted $500–quite steep for a flea market find. Then I noticed a plaque on the side of the cabinet. This Hallicrafters SX-11 has been in the seller’s family since Bill […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Cuff, who writes: “Thought the blog might enjoy this…it’s actually longwave related more than SW, but I know you often include historical items in blog posts.” Indeed I do, Richard! Thanks for sharing. Here’s an excerpt from the Bangor Daily News: Former radio relay station in Houlton may lead to new […]

Weather yesterday morning at the Dayton Hamvention was quite pleasant–cool and partly cloudy (the rain moved in by afternoon). As I walked around the Hamvention Flea Market yesterday, I snapped a few photos. Here they are, in no particular order: … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who writes: This just came to my attention. It seems that William McClellan (Mac) Thornberry, the Republican representative of Texas’s 13th congressional district and Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, proposed … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who writes: You’ve posted shack photos before from other readers. I guess this is a shack, so here’s mine. By the banks of the thawed and now flowing Yukon River. Paul braves … Continue reading →

One of the benefits of being an inside exhibitor at the Dayton Hamvention is the ability to visit with vendors and exhibitors on Thursday, prior to all of the traffic that happens on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Elecraft’s booth is … Continue reading →

En route to the 2016 Dayton Hamvention, I’m doing a few National Parks On The Air (NPOTA) activations with my my buddy, Eric (WD8RIF). Eric is currently the number one activator in the state of Ohio. NPOTA is a great … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Ken (N2VIP), who writes: I was at Microcenter.com the other day and saw a case for their 7″ touchscreen for the Raspberry Pi, it includes a ‘bump’ in the back of the case to … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrea Borgnino, who shares a link to the excellent archived radio documentary, The first 21 years of the World Service, via the BBC World Service‘s online audio archives. The recording/broadcast dates from December, 18 1953. Here’s the description of the … Continue reading →

Click here to download the PDF version of the Elecraft KX2 product sheet (2 pages). If you have difficulty opening the link above, use this alternate link.

Since I own the Elecraft KX3, Elecraft K2 and the Elecraft KX1, I’m excited to see that Elecraft has announced a new addition to their product line: the Elecraft KX2. Elecraft will feature the KX2 at Four Days In May (FDIM) and the … Continue reading →

(Source: Radio Bulgaria via David Iurescia, LW4DAF) The Council for Electronic Media elected Alexander Velev as the new Director General of the Bulgarian National Radio. Velev was elected out of 12 candidates for the position. Alexander Velev has already been … Continue reading →

As we mentioned in a post last month, Radio Canada International’s program “The Link” is now being broadcast via Shortwave Service in Germany. If you’ve been listening to The Link via shortwave, SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, encourages you to … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Dan Robinson, who writes: Almost never seen on Ebay, the Drake RR3, otherwise known as the R4245, which is also essentially a Drake R7/A inside a marine style case. This one has some condition issues, … Continue reading →

In August 2015 at the Tokyo Hamfair, Icom debuted a new type of transceiver in their product line––one featuring a direct RF sampling receiver. Essentially, it was an SDR tabletop transceiver. At about the same time that the IC-7300 started … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes: The Kenwood R-1000 has been enjoying a resurgence in popularity over the past few years, fueled in part by a positive re-review of the receiver at http://webpages.charter.net/n9ewo2/news.html While new condition R-1000s, and … Continue reading →

For the sixth year in a row at the Dayton Hamvention, fellow volunteers and I will be representing the charity Ears To Our World (ETOW). I always enjoy meeting SWLing Post readers who stop by our booth to introduce themselves. Note: New … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who notes: The amazing streak of rare radios, never before seen on Ebay or rarely seen there, continues, with the appearance of this Nems-Clarke 1510A receiver. I attempted to find this radio in the Osterman … Continue reading →

In response to our post about a Panasonic RF-9000 being offered on eBay for $20,000(!), SWLing Post reader, Luke, comments: I actually just bought a RF-9000 from a Spanish Ebay seller. It might show up in the ‘completed auctions’, not … Continue reading →

(Source: Sean Gilbert via WRTH on Facebook) We are pleased to announce that the A16 International Radio and Clandestine/Target Broadcast schedules file is now available for download from our website. The file is offered free of charge, but we do … Continue reading →

Culture Secretary, John Whittingdale, has made public the UK government’s plan for the future of the BBC, which among other things, will now include Ofcom regulation. The BBC Trust will also be dissolved and the BBC will have a new unitary board … Continue reading →

An announcement has been made by Kurt, OE1KBC and reported by Don Trynor, VA3XFT concerning a multi-mode radio combining various digital modes. The radio/computer is called simply NEW RADIO and is a joint initiative of the ÖVSV, DARC and IARU R1. … Continue reading →

In response to our post mentioning the Harris RF-505A, SWLing Post contributor, Bob LaRose (W6ACU), writes: I know the RF-505A very well. It was introduced in about 1969 while I worked at Harris in Rochester. I started working there as a Co-Op … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes: This is the highest price ever sought by an RF-9000 seller. [The last RF-9000] went for around $9,000-10,000. […]The RF-9000, as many veterans of SWL know, was produced by Panasonic as a kind … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes: These days as shortwave continues on the decline, we’re seeing some great rarities, receivers that have never been seen before on the used market. One of these is [top of page], a … Continue reading →

It’s not often I find a shortwave radio I’ve never heard about–so you can imagine my surprise when I looked at 73 Radio Row this morning and found the Shortwave Daddy software defined radio for $159.00. How did I miss hearing … Continue reading →

One of my favorite podcasts, 99% Invisible, recently featured a story on the Bell Labs’ Voder and how its innovation lead to one of the best kept secrets in WWII high frequency communications: SIGSALY. The episode is called Vox Ex … Continue reading →

I’ve been evaluating the BST-1 car shortwave radio for a review that will soon appear in The Spectrum Monitor magazine. I must admit: it’s mighty fun to be able to listen to shortwave broadcasters through my vehicle’s audio system. Last … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Jeff (KB7AIL), who shares the following: Saw the article on the DC meter in a Hammerlund HQ180. Another mod I have seen is replacing the meter with a digital display. http://www.electronicspecialtyproducts.com/dd101.html It integrates with the … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bill Tilford, who shares this From The Isle of Music update: Our May 10 (May 9 in the Americas) program will feature two special guests with interviews and music: 1. Cuban Laud (a relative of … Continue reading →