The SWLing Post

My dear friend and SWLing Post community member, Volodymyr Gurtovy (US7IGN), has been featured in another brilliant documentary on BBC Radio 4 called Call Signs. This documentary was produced by the talented Cicely Fell with Falling Tree productions for BBC Radio 4. Note that Cicely also produced a BBC Radio 4 Short Cuts earlier this […]

Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post readers who share the following announcement–also previously noted by Robert–from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (followed by an announcement from the ARRL): HAARP to bounce signal off asteroid in NASA experiment (UAF News) An experiment to bounce a radio signal off an asteroid on Dec. 27 will […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alexander (DL4NO), who writes: A Message from Germany: Growing Disaster Preparedness favours Ham Radio For a long time most radio amateurs in Germany found themselves in the defensive: Building regulations, combined with EMC standards, heavily restrict antenna possibilities. Neighbors fear “dangerous” radiation, often going to court without any legal […]

HAARP IS ABOUT TO PING AN ASTEROID: “Researchers from NASA and the University of Alaska are about to perform an unusual radar experiment. They’re going to ping a near-Earth asteroid using shortwave radio. The target is a 500-ft-wide space rock named “2010 XC15.” When it passes by Earth on Tuesday, Dec. 27th, the HAARP array […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following post: Japan Buyee Site Halts Shipment of Amateur Equipment by Dan Robinson As readers of SWLing.com know, the Buyee website has provided a way for those who view it to see and purchase a range of equipment including premium receivers and items previously […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares the following audio of Radio Romania International recorded on 9,740 kHz in Brazil on Saturday, December 24, 2022: Click here to view on YouTube.

Absolutely brilliant to see Mika Mäkeläinen giving a tour of the Aihkiniemi DXing cabin in Lapland this morning via the BBC World Service website: (Source: BBC World Service) The radio man listening to the world from the Arctic Mika Mäkeläinen is a radio enthusiast who listens to stations from around the world in a remote […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Don Moore–noted author, traveler, and DXer–for the latest installment of his Photo Album guest post series: Don Moore’s Photo Album: Bolivia 1985 by Don Moore After finishing Peace Corps, my ex-wife and I spent six months traveling around South America in 1985. In mid-June we crossed the border to southern Bolivia […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frans Goddijn, who shares the photo above of what he calls his “FM Antenna Budget Christmas Tree.” I love it, Frans! Thanks for sharing!

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy! Splinter Cell: Audio drama, gaming’s next frontier? (BBC) Whether it’s World of Warcraft, Uncharted or the upcoming Super Mario movie – games characters have been […]

This week, the BBC World Service celebrated 90 years. Enjoy these two programs from the BBC World Service chock-full of history and nostalgia: The World Service is 90: The Documentary Podcast For 90 years the BBC World Service has been broadcasting in dozens of languages to audiences so huge they are counted in the tens […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jack (W1JS), who writes: Hi Thomas, I was just on HRO’s website and noted that they have the C Crane SkyWave on sale for $119.99 until 1/2/2023. https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-016072 That’s a great price! I am fairly sure I paid $170 for mine which I purchased 5 years ago. 73 & […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Walter Salmaniw, who shares the following guest post: 10 Meter Beacon DXing by Walter Salmaniw, Masset, BC My hobby of radio listening has evolved over the years. Beginning with crystal radios as a child in the 60s, I’ve migrated through SWLing with numerous rigs including the kings of valve […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares Version 3 of his annual Holiday Programmes on Shortwave schedule. This guide is chock-full of numerous shortwave holiday programs Alan has curated for us all to enjoy on the air! Click here to download Holiday Programmes on Shortwave V3 (PDF). Thank you so much for sharing, Alan!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares his B-22 (version 2) season guide to music on shortwave. Alan provides this amazing resource as a free PDF download: Click here to download Music on Shortwave B-22 v2 (PDF) Thank you for sharing your excellent guide, Alan! This dedicated page will always have the latest […]

Firstly a large seasonal greetings to all the SWLing post community from Fastradioburst23 and from all of the crew at the Imaginary Stations. Thanks to all who have tuned in to our programmes this year. As a festive treat on Sunday 25th December 2022 via WRMI on 9395 kHz at 2300 hrs UTC we have […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and KSKO Program Director, Paul Walker, who shares the following announcement: Tune in for two hours of nothing but Christmas tunes December 23rd and it’s extra special because it’ll be a live worldwide broadcast of KSKO on Shortwave!! From 2300-0100UTC (2pm Alaska, 3pm Pacific, 6pm Eastern) we’ll be live […]

Now an annual Christmas tradition, Brian Justin (WA1ZMS) will put his longwave experimental station WI2XLQ on the air to commemorate the anniversary of Reginald Fessenden’s first audio transmission. As in years past, he will be conducting the Fessenden transmission on Christmas Eve, as well as New Year’s Eve. The plan is to start each day around 1800z […]

(Source: The Alexander association) Update: This broadcast has been cancelled due to several of the SAQ staff contracting Covid-19. Click here for more information. Many thanks to Grant for the tip. SAQ transmission scheduled for Christmas Eve morning, Dec. 24th On Christmas Eve morning, Saturday December 24th 2022, SAQ Grimeton is scheduled* to be on the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of a recent NHK World broadcast. Carlos’ goal is to vividly illustrate the broadcaster’s message in his own unique artistic style and is not a reflection of his own beliefs or those of the SWLing Post. His objective is for his artwork […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Georges Ringotte (F6DFZ), who writes: When I did tests on my Belka-DX, I noticed that the signal level scale was extremely accurate, each mark is 10 dB I regretted that the manufacturer didn’t use the IARU S meter scale. So I decided to make my own. With RF Gain […]

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy! Supermarket delivery driver saves 90-year-old after ‘SOS’ Morse code signal on car horn (ITV) A 90-year-old widower was saved by an supermarket delivery driver when […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN), who writes: For those who’d like to try receiving SSTV images and also get into the holiday spirit, there is an annual SSTV Fiesta from December 12, 2022 to January 6, 2023. The Fiesta is sponsored by the Azteca DX’ers. The frequencies are 14.230 MHz in the 20m amateur […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Georges Ringotte (F6DFZ), who writes: Recently my “radio brother” Bruno F6CRN gave me a vintage Hallicrafters SX-130 from the mid seventies. The receiver was extremely nice for a 55 years old rig, had never seen a soldering iron for repair and had original Hallicrafters tubes but was not performing […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Loyd Van Horn at DX Central who shares the following announcement: The Inaugural DX Central MW Daytime Challenge What a great season of DX Central Live! and the MW Frequency Challenge it has already been and we are just getting started! This season, you helped us cross 1,000 subscribers on our YouTube channel, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares Version 2 of his annual Holiday Programmes on Shortwave schedule. This guide is chock-full of numerous shortwave holiday programs Alan has curated for us all to enjoy on the air! Click here to download Holiday Programmes on Shortwave V2 (PDF). Thank you so much for […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adi, who writes: Hi Thomas, In one of the comments to your CC Skywave SSB 2 report I read, “Micro-USB is the worst connector ever” so I thought I might send you this solution, a magnetic cable https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000478737800.html I’m using this on all my phones, tablets and radios. One […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark (AE2EA), who writes: One of our AWA Members recently made this video on the Foreign Broadcast Monitoring Service (FBMS) and the Radio Intelligence Division (RID) during World War 2. I think it might be of interest to your SWLing enthusiasts: Click here to watch on YouTube. Brilliant presentation! […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè (IZ0GZW), who writes: Dear Thomas and Friends of the SWLing Post, I’m Giuseppe Morlè from central Italy, Formia on the Tyrrhenian Sea… My Cassette Loop experiment this time shows how induction takes place on short waves after medium waves. I used a smaller box as the primary […]

Hi SWLing post community and all train fans out there from Fastradioburst23. The Imaginary Stations team have a train related broadcast on Sunday 18th December 2022 via WRMI on 9395 kHz at 2300 hrs UTC. Enjoy the sound of train effects, stories of what it was like to work on the railroad many years ago […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Arun Kumar Narasimhan, who shares the following announcement: My Name is Arun Kumar Narasimhan from Chennai in India in India and I have been producing and presenting “DXERS DIARY”, a 5-minute weekly DX programme in KTWR’s DRM broadcast in 15205 kHz from 15.00 hrs UTC every Sunday from January […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan Cholakov (NO2CW) who writes: Hey I just got a radio from China based on the famed tef6686 tuning chip. Just started checking out the basic functions and will let you know how it fares on the bands. Video description: This project started by enthusiasts has created many DIY […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares his annual Holiday Programmes on Shortwave schedule. This guide is chock-full of numerous shortwave holiday programs Alan has curated for us all to enjoy on the air! Click here to download (PDF). Thank you so much for sharing, Alan!

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Call me a retro-crank, an old-schooler, but part of the joy of listening to shortwave is that the signals sound like they have come from far away. There is nothing like hearing the music, the news, the commentary “filtered through the shortwaves” . . . as Edward R. Murrow once put […]

Last month, C.Crane sent me (and the infamous Jock Elliott–read his review here) a pre-production CC Skywave SSB 2 portable shortwave radio. In full disclosure and to be clear: these pre-production units were sent to us free of charge by C.Crane who is a long-time sponsor of the SWLing Post. Back in October, I was […]

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy! Where VOA’s Broadcast Infrastructure Stands Today (Radio World) Shortwave retains a role in serving particularly difficult-to-reach audiences Russia’s horrific invasion of Ukraine and its simultaneous […]

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM A while back, Thomas, SWLing’s Maximum Leader, told me the scope of the SWLing Post is “shortwave listening first, then all things radio.” As a fan of “all things radio,” when conditions on the shortwave and HF ham bands are awful, frequently I will turn on a scanner (or two) to […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and KSKO Program Director, Paul Walker, who shares the following announcement: Tune in for two hours of nothing but Christmas tunes December 23rd and it’s extra special because it’ll be a live worldwide broadcast of KSKO on Shortwave!! From 2200-2400UTC 2300-0100UTC (2pm Alaska, 3pm Pacific, 6pm Eastern) we’ll be […]

Hi SWLing post community from Fastradioburst23. Just when you thought it was safe to put that canvas toolbag away, the Imaginary Stations team have a DIY related broadcast on Sunday 11th December 2022 via WRMI on 9395 kHz at 2300 hrs UTC. There will be toolshed related tunes, advice on repairing stuff around the home […]

(Source: The Guardian via Mark Fahey) BBC preparing to go online-only over next decade, says director general Tim Davie outlines vision for a world of ‘infinite choice’ where broadcast TV and radio are being switched off The BBC is preparing to shut down its traditional television and radio broadcasts as it becomes an online-only service […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gayle Van Horn (W4GVH), who shares the following announcement: 19th Edition of the Global Radio Guide (Winter 2022-23) Now Available Small moves and gradual escalation. Positioning resources so that at the perfect moment, a move can be made to ensure a swift victory. This is no game of chess, […]

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. A special thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dura, for these news tips! Enjoy: Historic Bell Labs Horn Antenna At Risk, Holmdel Citizens Group Says […]

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM There is a richness in human experience, and I want to sample it. When I worked the world on the HF ham bands, I considered myself a “conversation hunter.” I wasn’t content to simply make a contact, exchange signal reports, and move on; I wanted to talk to people in foreign […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, TomL, who shares the following guest post: Earbuds for Shortwave Listening by TomL A few years ago I had bought the discontinued Sennheiser MM 50 earbuds for a cheap price on Amazon to use in my various radios. The portable radios in particular can use more fidelity because of their small, raspy […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rob, who shares a link to this Hy-Gain Galaxy R-1530 listed on eBay and notes: “A radio that might be of interest to your readers.” Click here to view this listing on eBay. It is a beauty for sure. The seller also has a stellar reputation on eBay which […]

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy! ABC Radio Australia’s 83 years of broadcasting to the world (ABC) This is the story of one of the ABC’s best kept secrets. ABC Radio […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè (IZ0GZW), who writes: Dear Thomas and all friends of the SWLing Post, I’m Giuseppe Morlè from Formia on the Tyrrhenian Sea… I wanted to share this experiment of mine with all of you by tuning the medium waves with two separate loop cassettes and each for itself by exploiting the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adi, who writes: Hi Thomas, I saw this TV critic report in a local newspaper. It took me few long minutes until I found this series title in English, The Allegation: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13116888/ I’m a cord cuter since 2010 so I can’t watch it. Maybe other SWLs can view it […]

Hi SWLing post community, it’s bargain time again! This weekend your one stop shortwave shopping experience KMRT will be live from an imaginary supermarket near you. We will be broadcasting from the Manager’s office via an instore microwave link up and the show will go out on Sunday 4th December 2022 via WRMI on 9395 […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè (IZ0GZW), who shares the following: Dear Thomas and Friends of SWLing Post … This is Giuseppe Morlè. As always, I try recycling what I have and improving upon antennas I’ve built in the past. This is one way we radio lovers can experiment. Many years ago, I made an […]