The SWLing Post

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who writes: Today February 25 th is the 71th anniversary of Radio Canada International. They published this: http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2016/02/25/history-feb-25-1945-canadas-voice-to-the-world-official-start/ Earlier this month, I listened to a 2012 spectrum recording of the 31 meter band–RCI’s … Continue reading →

If you’ve emailed me in the past two weeks there’s a good chance you haven’t received a response; my apologies. The reason is that I’ve been travelling through DC, Philadelphia, and surrounding areas, visiting friends and colleagues, as well as attending (and … Continue reading →

Many thanks to Jon Hudson at SDRplay who shares the following news: The latest EXTIO control file (Version 3.8.1) has a very cool new feature for shortwave listeners interested in hunting HF DX stations. Using the world-wide station list mintained … Continue reading →

(Source: China Radio International via David Iurescia, LW4DAF) A state-owned radio station’s signature tune is about to be approved as China’s first sound trademark. http://mod.cri.cn/eng/news/reports/2016/2/3450cri.mp3 The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) said on Sunday that it has reviewed the … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron, who shares this deal from CountyComm: http://www.countycomm.com/gp5ssb.html

If you’re a subscriber to the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive, you’ve no doubt noted the excellent recordings submitted by Colin Newell (of DXer.ca) the past few weeks. Colin has been digitizing loads of off-air recordings made in the 1970s and … Continue reading →

SWLing Post reader, Lee, writes: I just wondered if you have ever seen any information about how to tap the I.F of the Tecsun 606 by any chance? I want yo use it for DRM but cannot find any info . … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, John, who hosts TheReportOfTheWeek channel on YouTube and writes: To begin, I have a YouTube channel which focuses primarily on reviews of popular fast food items and while this may seem irrelevant at first, this … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN) for the following guest post: Listening in to 10 Meter Radio Beacons Mario Filippi, N2HUN (All photos courtesy of author–click to enlarge.) Radio beacons can be found across the RF spectrum from … Continue reading →

In reply to our post about a home brew high-pass filter, SWLing Post contributor Guy Atkins replied: I recently purchased one of these high pass kits and an enclosure from an Australian company, and look forward to assembling it: http://www.minikits.com.au/electronic-kits/filter-kits/hf-highpass-filters/HPF9-1M8 … Continue reading →

(Source: Bonito Press Release) At the beginning of the model year 2016, there is good news in the range of our MegaLoop Active Loop Antennas: New Model: MegaLoop ML052 The new Active Loop MegaLoop ML052, which is available end of … Continue reading →

This once-a-year broadcast could be an interesting challenge for folks on Sunday: Radio Öömrang will broadcast on Feb.21, 2016 from 1600 to 1700 UTC on 15215 kHz in German, English and Frisian. *(Caroline Mesnier via EuroRadio)* Radio Oomrang broadcasts once … Continue reading →

SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, is not only a shortwave listener, he’s also a broadcaster. Paul works at community radio station KIYU in Galena, Alaska. At my request, Paul has kindly shared a few photos of his workplace with us. … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Ally, who shares the following note from WRMI: WRMI has a new schedule as of today, February 17th. We have some new frequencies — a total of 21 now. You can find the … Continue reading →

Many thanks to Jon Hudson, of SDRplay, who posted the image above along with the following note on Facebook: David, WA7JHZ has designed and assembled this neat 2.6 MHz high-pass filter (HPF) for use with SDRs. He says that this … Continue reading →

If you’re in the mood for a little Cold War era nostalgia, check out this video produced by Radio Free Europe in 1964. One of the things I found most fascinating was seeing the number of rack-mounted Hammarlund SP-600s (and … Continue reading →

Several months ago, we conducted a shack photo contest sponsored by Universal Radio. At the time, I promised to post all of your excellent photos soon–apologies to all for the extended delay! The following is the first set of ten photos … Continue reading →

(Source: KBS World Radio via Andrea Borgnino) The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) will launch a shortwave radio service to North Korea this fall. A BBC insider said the British government has given final approval to the public broadcaster’s plan to … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Dan H, who writes: The biggest news during the last week is not the Republican or Democratic national party debates, the surrender of the last Militia Man at Malheur National Wildlife Reserve in Oregon … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Moshe Zaharia, who recently made my day by sending the photo above (click to enlarge). I told Moshe that I’m pretty certain, he’s the first SWL in Israel to snag both an SWLing Post coffee … Continue reading →

(Souerce: Al Jazeera) The United Nations cultural agency UNESCO has marked World Radio Day by calling for more freedom of expression and wider access to information in times of emergencies and disasters. While digital technology dominates the modern means of transmitting … Continue reading →

Regular SWLing Post readers know that I’m a sucker for classic solid-state portables and vintage tube radios. What many of you may not know, however, is that I’m not a fan of auction-style bidding for radios. Those who are familiar … Continue reading →

February 13th is World Radio Day, a day “to remember the unique power of radio to touch lives and bring people together across every corner of the globe,” as UNESCO reminds us. At the SWLing Post, we get it: shortwave radio listeners understand the unique power of information … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrea Borgnino, who shares this article from Fox News: Seeking to derail North Korea’s drive for nuclear weapons, Republican and Democratic senators set aside their partisan differences Wednesday to unanimously pass legislation aimed at … Continue reading →

I received a C.Crane newsletter this morning and noticed that the company is giving away a CC Skywave portable radio (my review). From the C.Crane newsletter: “ENTER TO WIN A FREE CC SKYWAVE RADIO!!! All you have to do is go to … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Phil Brennan, who shares the following guest post–an article he originally authored for the Australian DX News: What Future for Radio Broadcasting in Australia? By Phil Brennan, Darwin, NT As we witness the worldwide decline in … Continue reading →

This was posted on the European broadcasting Union page: To mark World Radio Day (13 February), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) is organizing a ‘Musical Caravan’ from east to west in partnership with other broadcasting unions across the globe. Listeners … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Gary (WN9U) who writes: Just an FYI comment about the narrow filters NOT staying on while tuning. I read about the similar problem that you encountered during the initial testing of the PL-880. While tuning CW … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrea Borgnino, who shares a link to a new web SDR in New Zealand: The KiwiSDR installation. Andrea posted the following on Twitter: The new KiwiSDR is fantastic !! Best web-receiver ever !!! https://t.co/YiIEUE3CIe @SWLingDotCom … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Mike Nikolich (N9OVQ), who writes: Hi, Tom: Uncle Eric mentioned [this past weekend] on The Mighty KBC (6040 kHz) around 0145 UTC that they will be leaving the airwaves if they cannot attract enough advertising … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Paul Walker, who writes: I will be doing another broadcast on Shortwave and it’s going to be even bigger and better right now. Tentatively, this is how the broadcast schedule times/frequencies work out to … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bob, who writes: A great photo for your blog, for no particular reason… [The image above is a] part of a long blog post by Lenovo about CES history, but I did not see … Continue reading →

Lately, I’ve been spending a lot of time with WiFi radios. You see, I’ve been preparing a three part series about WiFi radios for The Spectrum Monitor magazine (Part 1 will appear in the April 2016 issue). Not only have I been … Continue reading →

This morning, I listened to Radio Australia on 9,580 kHz with my WWII era Scott Marine Radio SLR-M (above). Radio Australia provides a reliable, strong signal into North America every morning and it’s where I typically tune for the morning news at … Continue reading →

Digital Radio FM Europe blog is reporting Sweden wants to keep FM radio: Parliament Confirms Rejection of DAB Radio in Sweden [updated] Public radio continues on FM and will push for extending its remit to include digital radio online. The … Continue reading →

Yesterday evening, I warmed up my Signal Corps BC-348-Q and tuned to 9,420 kHz to see if the Voice of Greece happened to be on the air. Fortunately, I was rewarded with a strong signal from Avlis. The ‘348 did a fine job … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes: [Check out this] rarely seen RCA receiver: http://ebay.to/23NHtYv Thanks for the tip, Dan! I just checked Fred Osterman’s Shortwave Receivers Past and Present. It appears the CRM-R6A is a “double … Continue reading →

Interesting 15 min. video demonstrating the Army Signal Corps using an Hallicrafters SCR-299. While certainly a promotional piece for Hallicrafters, this has great footage and captures a bit of the excitement of radio expanding into new frontiers. There is a … Continue reading →

SWLing Post contributor, Gary DeBock, is an acclaimed innovator in the realm of Ultralight DXing–he’s well-known for constantly pushing the envelop on these inexpensive DX receivers. Gary has published yet another detailed home-brew project that can turn your stock Tecsun PL-380 into a Mediumwave DX Fiend! … Continue reading →

UPDATE: Ooops! Appears this was a pricing error on the part of the seller. They have cancelled orders that were placed. I just discovered this excellent deal for a new Grundig S450DLX on Amazon.com from the Japan-based seller, SayakaDOU7. Go to … Continue reading →

As of February 1, 2016, the Internet radio pioneer Live365 has closed shop. I imagine many SWLing Post readers are familiar with Live365, especially if you have a WiFi radio with the Live365 app. While I’ve never been an avid listener … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Mike, who writes: I thought your readers might like to know about the new Xiegu X5105 [HF] transceiver which is being developed by the Wouxun group out of China (the same company who produces an inexpensive line … Continue reading →

Frequent contributor Mario Filippi N2HUN has written a brilliant piece for the latest edition of The Spectrum Monitor entitled RTL-SDR: Your Eye To The Wireless World, February 2016. Here is a brief synopsis: RTL-SDR Dongle: Your Eye to the Wireless … Continue reading →

Recently, I learned about a new portable by Kaito Electronics: the Kaito KA108. While there are a number of compact portables on the market, the KA108 really caught my attention because it features a built-in digital recorder. Which is to say, you … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, John George, who shares the following story from DVIDShub.net: PENSACOLA, Fla. – The cryptologic technician (collection) (CTR) student cohort in the first revised Basic Manual Morse Trainer (BMMT) course wrapped up, Jan. 28, at … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Terry (VE7TEB) who writes: You may have already posted this, but if not here is an excellent Public Radio resource, perhaps worthy of another mention: http://www.publicradiofan.com/ Indeed, Terry! Public Radio Fan is a fantastic resource–especially … Continue reading →

Many thanks to Chris Smolinski who writes: I wanted to run SdrDx, and other SDR apps on my Mac with an RTL SDR Dongle. So I wrote this server app, that makes it appear like a networked SDR. No … Continue reading →

The Voice of Greece is an unpredictable broadcaster these days. VOG is not on the air as much as in the past and doesn’t seem to follow a broadcast schedule. I only hear them perhaps once or twice per week now. … Continue reading →

While not directly radio related, this was too amazing not to share (so forgive me in advance! There is an Arduino involved, if that helps?!) The video above is of a robot which can solve Rubik’s Cube in about 1 … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Dave Zantow, who notes that the Icom IC-7200 general coverage transceiver is being discontinued. Dave notes the following on his website: Icom IC-7200 “Last Call” : It appears that the Icom IC-7200 DSP HF … Continue reading →