The SWLing Post

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jerry Popiel, for the following guest post: A MW DXing Powerhouse Mini FSL Antenna by Jerry Popiel In late February 2016 I completed construction of a modified version of Gary DeBock’s excellent 3 inch Mini FSL … Continue reading →

(Source: ARRL via Eric McFadden, WD8RIF) The Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE) has told the FCC that the regulatory agency needs to take another tack in its efforts to tackle AM revitalization. If the FCC takes the SBE’s advice, the … Continue reading →

(Source: ARRL) […]At 0000 UTC on March 23 (the evening of Tuesday, March 22, in US time zones), Tom Medlin, W5KUB, host of the weekly “Amateur Radio Roundtable” video webcast and radio program, hopes to make ham radio media history … Continue reading →

(Source: Eastbourne Herald) Much has been written about Bletchley Park and the decoding of German Enigma signals. However, the code breakers first needed the raw material – transcripts of enemy messages. The British Y Service was the ‘ears’ of Bletchley … Continue reading →

(Source: The Motley Fool) Is the U.S. Army Really Spending $12.7 Billion on Radios? The U.S. government spends a lot of money on weapons. So much money, in fact, that sometimes, you see a number and think, “That can’t be … Continue reading →

(Source: PRI) On first impression, Radio and TV Martí looks and feels pretty much like any other newsroom. Emilio Vazquez shows me around, and we stop and watch two radio broadcasters behind a thick pane of glass. “We have a … Continue reading →

(Source: DailyNK via Andrea Borgnino) North Korea has been from the beginning of March continually signal jamming radio broadcasts on the shortwave frequency used by the South Korean non-profit broadcaster Unification Media Group (UMG). Given the present situation, in which … Continue reading →

China Radio International via Radio Havana Cuba Each morning, I enjoy listening to Radio Australia on 9,580 kHz, but I’m forced to tune elsewhere due to interference when China Radio International starts broadcasting on 9,570 kHz, via Radio Havana Cuba’s relay. Hypothetically … Continue reading →

Yesterday, I stumbled upon this 1940 photograph of the US Army Signal Corps communicating via radio in the field. I bet that radio kit weighs almost as much as or more than the typical soldier! Does anyone know what model … Continue reading →

SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, is seeking your input for his next shortwave broadcast. Paul writes: Thomas, I will be doing another shortwave broadcast in about 2 months and I need some input from your readers, particularly those in the … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader and KiwiSDR developer, John Seamons (ZL/KF6VO), who notes: The KiwiSDR for BeagleBone Kickstarter just launched: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1575992013/kiwisdr-beaglebone-software-defined-radio-sdr-with Many thanks, John! Those of you who had such a positive response to our previous post about John’s New … Continue reading →

Many thanks to the SWLing Post reader who noted this latest post by Paul Litwinovich at WSHU (Paul is frequently referenced here on the Post). A short excerpt: “AM occurs elsewhere in nature. A lightning strike or manmade electrical discharge … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, William Lee, who shared the following story from Mynorthwest.com about how radio station KIRO saved a bit of radio history through “accidental preservation.” Here’a an excerpt: One of the most important events of the … Continue reading →

Looking back through my notes this morning, I re-discovered this excellent documentary on the early days of radio listening; how radio changed the way we interacted with music and how we interacted with our radios. (Source: BBC Radio 4) As … Continue reading →

Yesterday, my buddy Eric (WD8RIF) sent the following message: “Take your girls outside with an HT and listen to the ARISS pass in just about 10 minutes. The downlink freq is 145.800.” Though I was in the middle of another project, … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bill Tilford, who shares this From The Isle of Music update: March 21 in the Americas (March 22 in Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania), our very special guest will be Ivan Acosta, leader of the … Continue reading →

I’ve just received a copy of the Office of Inspections (OIG) report on the VOA transmitting station in Greenville, NC. The full OIG report is now in the public domain as a PDF. Here are a few highlights… A summary of … Continue reading →

(Source: Hobart Radio International on Facebook) We are on air this weekend covering three continents: Shortwave: Channel 292 6070 19h00-19h30UTC Saturdays (Europe) Channel 292 6070 00h00-00h30UTC Sunday Channel 292 6070 12h30-13h00UTC Monday Radio 700 7310 15h00-15h30UTC Sundays (Europe) WRMI 9955 … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Christopher Brennen, who shares this retro advert (above) from Retropia. I’m very curious what it must have been like to tune the Bush S.W.45. Seems the big selling feature was its ability to reliably tune … Continue reading →

SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, is a radio host for KIYU in remote village of Galena, Alaska–we recently posted a few photos of Paul on site. Many thanks to Paul for sharing the following notes about SWLing at his location. Paul … Continue reading →

(Source: LA Times) CBS Corp. is poised to exit the radio business that it helped create. Eighty-eight years ago, the company’s founder, William S. Paley, bought the nascent Columbia Broadcasting System, and those radio stations became the nucleus of a … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who followed this Sony ICF-6800W on eBay. Dan notes: In my talk at the SWL Fest, I rated this receiver as among the best ever made for SWLing. Dan believes the final price of $919.00 … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, for sharing a link to the following article in Radio World: The General Electric Co. was truly among America’s premier broadcasting companies. In addition to developing much of early broadcast technology and … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Ron, Vimal and Phil for noting that Jay Allen has updated his excellent AM radio shootout. Click here to read his full post. Happy to see that the Panasonic RF-2200 remains his reference AM … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Mark Hirst, who writes: Thomas, I have been very impressed by the shacks featured on SWLing ! I don’t really have the room to accommodate such large collections, or to dedicate a special area … Continue reading →

(Source: WRMI on Facebook) Friends, we’re doing another round of tests for Radio Taiwan International the nights of March 13, 14 and 15 (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) in a new frequency of 11530 Khz. The transmissions will be at 0000-0100 … Continue reading →

Two weeks ago, through a radio preservation group, I met the son of Heathkit product designer of the 1950s-70s, Stu Sizer––”stylist, artist, maker of models, bon vivant.” His son described the discovery of a few vintage Heathkit brochures, photos, and illustrations his father kept in his … Continue reading →

Tonight on Allan Weiner Worldwide (WBCQ 7490 kHz coming in beautifully on my FRG-7) Allan mentioned a shortwave radio converter for car radios. The package uses a small box which plugs into the cigarette lighter socket and can either use … Continue reading →

Several months ago, we conducted a shack photo contest sponsored by Universal Radio. I’m posting all of your excellent photos as time allows and putting them under the tag, shack photos. The following is the second set of ten photos along with any … Continue reading →

As I catch up with reader correspondence and the many projects I’ve been working on, I’m happy to take a moment to watch the latest episode of the superb ham radio show, TX Factor. If you’ve never watched TX Factor, … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Robert Gully, who points out this Sony CRF-320 on eBay: Click here to view on eBay. The BuyItNow price is $1900 plus shipping(!)–not for the casual radio collector. A serious collector will probably purchase this … Continue reading →

SWLing Post readers who are located in countries other than the United States, may have found it difficult (and pricey) to order the CountyComm GP5/SSB portable radio. I’ve just learned about an eBay seller that ships internationally and works directly with … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Bill Tilford, who shares this From The Isle of Music update: Starting March 14 we will be at 0200-0300 UTC Tuesdays (8-9 PM EST Mondays in the Americas) March 14 in the Americas (March 15 … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who sends this reminder about his music show on WBCQ, WRMI, and Channel 292 this Friday and Saturday: “The Classics Experience”, 2 hours of oldies and a smattering of country airs this … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Colin, who writes: This chart may be familiar to some, for others like me who has just found it, this will be a very useful one-stop information page for UK spectrum allocations for scanning … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrea Borgnino, who shares a link to this photo gallery of Radiofusión Argentina al Exterior’s historic transmitter site. Note that the photos on the RAE site are rather large and may take patience to … Continue reading →

SWLing Post contributor, Chris Smolinski, would like your help to ID a Spanish language station. Chris notes: “I record the 6800-7000 kHz band every night with my SDR, looking for pirates, but sometimes I also stumble on other interesting transmissions. The … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, James Surprenant (AB1DQ), who shares this update to his review of the Heathkit Explorer Jr. TRF AM radio receiver kit: With regard to the Heathkit TRF AM receiver kit, I did indeed build my LM386 amplifier. I was … Continue reading →

Many thanks to Dennis Walter, who writes with this update from Bonito: The new Bonito Hamradio / SWL Catalog 2016 in English has been released. We will distribute it on our Shows at Montichiari, Dayton Hamvention, Florence Hamfest, Friedrichshafen Hamradio, UK … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader (and contest winner) Ashok Shankar Das, who writes: The GP5/SSB receiver I got as prize from your SWLIing Post Virtual Radio Challenge is great. My friends envy the cute Monster Well with this radio I am … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Danny Garris (KJ4FH), for the following guest post which originally appeared on his blog, Up In This Brain: How I cleaned the sticky coating off of my Grundig G6 radio with guidance from KJ4FH A … Continue reading →

Interest in shortwave numbers stations seems to wax and wane. We’re currently going through a period of increased interest (again) as I’ve been receiving quite a few messages from new readers asking where to find spy numbers and what type of shortwave … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post and SRAA contributor, Brian D. Smith (W9IND), for the following guest post and recording. Note that Brian could use your help to ID a few unidentified broadcasters in this recording. If you can help, please comment: Shortwave … Continue reading →

I just received the following notification on The Mighty KBC’s Facebook page: Due to the lack of new sponsors, The Mighty KBC will close down on 6095 on March 27th. We will soon announce if we continue on shortwave on … Continue reading →

SWLing Post reader, Chris Smolinski, writes: Here’s my Mac Book Pro (2010 model) playing Mary Had A Little Lamb over the radio, by modulating the RFI (Radio Frequency Interference) produced by it and other computers. As picked up on a … Continue reading →

I’ve learned through a couple of sources that the Icom IC-R75–which has been a staple tabletop shortwave receiver for 16 years–is being discontinued by Icom. Here’s what Dave Zantow (N9EWO) announced on his website: “Last Call” ICOM IC-R75 Table Top HF … Continue reading →

SWLing Post contributor, Mike Ladd, has been working with vendors to lock in promotional pricing on products and accessories commonly used by SDR enthusiasts. Last week, for example, he shared an excellent promotion for high/low pass filters. This time, Mike … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gary Wise (W4EEY), who writes: I stumbled over an interesting documentary on radio jamming. You have probably seen it, but just in case you haven’t, here is a link. I had not seen this before, … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Vendel Boeree (K2DSI), who writes: Hi Tom, I just wanted to compliment you on your fine website. As a kid I would listen to Radio Netherlands which made me quite the hit with mom because … Continue reading →

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, for sharing the following story: (Source: Hackaday) […]In a publication released last week, Google asked the FCC to treat some information relating to radio experiments as confidential. These experiments involve highly directional … Continue reading →