The SWLing Post

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! Triple J is shedding young listeners, but radio isn’t a dead medium yet (The Age) I’ll never forget the excitement I felt as I bought […]

Hi all, Fastradioburst23 here letting you know about the return of DJ Frederick’s Free Radio Skybird that takes to the air again on Sunday 26th June via WRMI on 9395 kHz at 2200 utc. Tune in for a mixture of great tunes from all genres!

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! Many thanks to Eric Jon Magnuson for summarizing these news items for Radio Waves! Pirate radio stations operating outside London (Southgate ARC) In a Freedom […]

In the comments section of this post, I’d like you to share your recording of the BBC Midwinter Broadcast to Antarctica! In years past, I’ve created a post with all of the Midwinter recordings curated in one article. This usually takes me 12+ hours to prepare over a couple of weeks as many of the […]

Every year, the BBC broadcasts a special program to the scientists and support staff in the British Antarctic Survey Team. The BBC plays music requests and sends special messages to the small team–35 individuals this year–located at various Antarctic research stations. Each year, the thirty minute show is guaranteed to be quirky, nostalgic, and certainly a […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who shares the following note from Alan Pennington via the WoR io group: BBC Antarctic Midwinter broadcast – June 21 frequencies confirmed From: Alan Pennington Thanks to Dave Passey at Woofferton who has just confirmed to me the frequencies for the BBC Antarctic Midwinter broadcast tomorrow, Tuesday […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bob Colegrove, who shares the following guest post: My Very First Radio By Bob Colegrove Sears and Roebuck Co., Silvertone, Catalog No. 8003, Model No. 132.818-1 I don’t remember much from 1949. I was seven years old and still in the first grade. I do remember being gifted a radio […]

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! Opinion: The Future of AM Radio England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (FrequencyFinder.co.uk) Summary AM radio in the British Isles is now in terminal decline […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè (IZ0GZW), who writes: Dear Thomas and all friends, This is Giuseppe Morlè, IZ0GZW, from Formia, central Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea. I went back to listening with my Kenwood R1000 and indoor homemade cross loops …this time a station in Kuwait, 9k2yd Younes on general call. I used the 2 […]

On May 14, 2022, this blog published an announcement of the Annual Armed Forces Day Crossband Test. The blog included a link to a PDF file that listed all the details, such as times, frequencies, and military stations that were participating (including some that were aboard ships), and there was even a link where you […]

(Guest Post) By Robert Gulley K4PKM (Note: This review was requested by Radioddity, who provided the in-production radio to the reviewer, with no strings attached or pre-approval.) I confess to have been a little bit skeptical when Thomas asked me to review this radio, not because of past experience with RADDY, but because tiny radios […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark C, who writes: Thomas, You have posted numerous photos of radios appearing in film. I found something similar but with an interesting twist. The link is to the YouTube clip Good Vibrations the Lost Studio Footage. Watching the Beach Boys singing that iconic musical selection is thrilling enough […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who shares the following message from Dave (M0MYA): Hello All, There is to be a second set of test transmissions for the BBC Antarctic special. The will take place tomorrow (Friday 17.06.2022) at 2130 – 2145 UTC. The frequencies are the same as they were on Tuesday […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Jamet, who writes: Hello Thomas, I hope everything is fine. To complete Carlos Latuff’s contribution, here is a recording of the French language program of “La Voix de la Corée” made the afternoon of May 30, 2022 at 14h00 UTC on the frequency 13760 kHz with a TECSUN […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson who writes: An NRD-301A, still one of the rarest of JRC receivers, appears headed for a record selling price on the Japan Buyee site. In 2021, even rarer NRD-302A receivers sold in the $5000 range. Click here to check it out on Buyee. What a beautiful radio! […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Irish, who writes: Icom America has indicated that it no longer services Icom radios manufactured after December 2010. Please let me know if you have a recommendation for someone who repairs older Icoms, preferably in DC metropolitan area or in North Carolina and in Virginia. Thank you, Mark […]

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Murphy’s Law: If anything can go wrong, it will. 1st corollary: Even if anything can’t go wrong, it still will. 2nd corollary: It will go wrong in the worst possible place at the worst possible time. Most devastating corollary: Murphy was an optimist. “It’s tough to make […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who writes: Hi Thomas: According to a posting on the WoR io group, the frequencies for the 21 June broadcast won’t be finalised until after the test transmissions, but the latter have now been scheduled. They will be on air today Tuesday, 14.06.2022, at 2130-2145 UTC. ASC: […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ulis, who shares a link to the following episode of the Cold War Conversations podcast which focuses on numbers stations: Cold War number stations You might remember listening to short wave radio during the Cold War and coming across weird transmissions of metallic voices reciting random groups of numbers […]

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! Giant Magnetic Waves Have Been Discovered Oscillating Around Earth’s Core (Science Alert) Earth’s interior is a far from quiet place. Deep below our surface activities, […]

Hi all, Fastradioburst23 here reminding you about X-Raydio on Channel 292 this Sunday 12th June 2022 at 2200 utc on 3955 kHz. The broadcast will be a little different to the one on WRMI last weekend. X-Raydio explores audio from unusual musical formats and features a piece on Bone Music by Stephen Coates from The […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John (KC8RZM), who writes: Hi Thomas, Don’t know if this is relevant to SWLing but maybe there’s others out there that might be interested in the following. I always kicked myself not picking up one of Icom’s IC-R8500 receivers before Icom discontiued it. I know this wideband receiver has […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark (AE2EA), with the Antique Wireless Museum who shares the following: This isn’t a SWL, or even a ham radio story, but it’s a nice technology story about a vacuum tube at the beginning of the digital age and near the end of the tube age, that I thought […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kostas (SV3ORA), for sharing the following guest post which originally appeared on his radio website: TAP: A Morse alternative mode for the HAM, with no need for training by Kostas (SV3ORA) Introduction The thinking of this new mode, came to me when someone posted that he quit the HAM hobby because he […]

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Truth be told, I’ve been curious about the MFJ 1020C for a long time. Back when I wrote for Passport to World Band Radio, over a decade ago, I wondered if the 1020C was a worthwhile device, but then I had a big wire antenna outside connected to a communications receiver, […]

Friends, I’d like to share some good news with you! The short version: I’ve created an SWLing Post discussion board that anyone can join, free of charge, at SWLing.net. My hope is that this will be a spot for community members to get quick answers to questions and connect with other like-minded operators. Everyone is […]

You might have noticed a lack of posts this weekend and that would be because I was completely off-grid and off-line, camping with two good friends in Pisgah National Forest. It was brilliant, actually. I got to hang with friends I’ve known for over 30 years, test my new one person backpack tent (a.k.a. the […]

This morning, I was searching hundreds of half-finished articles I’ve accumulated on the SWLing Post over the years looking for a particular note. During my search, I stumbled upon the following post from September 2020 that I thought I published but had not. There’s no time like the present, right? Here you go: A couple […]

Hi all, Fastradioburst23 here letting you know about some transmissions on the shortwaves over the next couple of weekends via the services of WRMI and Channel 292. X-Raydio will explore some audio from unusual musical formats (think flexidiscs, 5″ vinyl etc.) and will feature a piece on Bone Music by Stephen Coates from The Real […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Jamet, who writes: Hi Thomas, I am reacting to the latest Radio Waves news items on the SWLing Post: Funklust is back on air with a boost Connected to a Kiwi SDR installed in Portugal, I listened to this experimental station on its 15785 kHz DRM frequency and […]

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! Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric Jon Magnuson, who has been taking an active role in helping to curate our Radio Waves tips. Taiwan […]

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! Russian radio voices sow fear in Ukraine war zone (France24) Lysychansk (Ukraine) (AFP) – The portable radio in the dark cellar of the rocket-damaged kindergarten […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of a recent Voice of Korea broadcast. Carlos notes: Part of news bulletin from Radio Voice of Korea shortwave broadcast in English about efforts of North Korea’s government to fight covid-19 pandemic. Listened in Porto Alegre, Brazil, May 26, 2022, 21h09 (UTC), […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares his A-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 A-22 v2 (PDF) Thank you for sharing your excellent guide, Alan! This dedicated page will always have the latest […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Matt Blaze, for the following guest post: Matt’s Rooftop Receiver Shootout, Round Two. by Matt Blaze You may recall that back in April, I dragged eight of my favorite receivers up to the roof, hooked them up to a portable antenna, and compared their abilities to demodulate various signals at the same […]

Many thanks to my friend and SWLing Post contributor, Vlad (US7IGN), who recently shared a recording of VORW Radio International he made in Kiev (Ukraine) on May 27, 2022, at 16:00 UTC using his Icom IC-756 Pro III connected to a roof-mounted GP 5 M antenna. This show was broadcast on 9670 kHz from Austria. […]

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Disclaimer: this isn’t about shortwave; it’s about 2 meter ham radio, but it’s something I thoroughly love doing in the world of radio. About 40 years ago, a Citizens Band operator named Ed Barnat started a loose-knit group called Tri-County Assistance. Its purpose was to detect problems on the roadways and report […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave (N9EWO), who writes: Hey Thomas, Interesting little tidbit. Noticed a Sony CRF-320 being used as prop in a 1982 episode of “Taxi” (Season 4 Episode 11), See captured enhanced attached photo [above]. “I Wanna Be Around” : Louie turns the tool room into a survival shelter. YouTube (marked […]

Hi all, Fastradioburst23 here letting you know about KZOO Too, another installment of the imaginary radio stations show to be broadcast this weekend via WRMI. It’s on Sunday 29th May 2022 at 2200 UTC/ 1800 EST on 9395 kHz and will feature more music using those strange and wonderful instruments. To check out the previous […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jonathan Marks, who notes that BBC Director General Tim Davie announced a digital strategy along with a number cuts following the BBC licence fee settlement. This was all outlined in his “A digital-first BBC“ speech to staff this afternoon. I’ve pasted the full copy of his speech below, but […]

Hello shortwave listeners! I just wanted to make this short post as a reminder for an upcoming broadcast of mine – transmitted with high power for listeners in Europe and beyond! Friday 1600 UTC (7 PM EEST/MSK) – 9670 kHz – Moosbrunn 100 kW – Europe, Russia, Central & East Asia You can hear this […]

W9IMS: A Radio Run at the Indy 500 By Brian D. Smith, W9IND You can’t win the Indianapolis 500 until they wave the checkered flag – and you can’t win a W9IMS Checkered Flag Award unless you contact the Indy 500 special event. You’ll have that opportunity from now through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, May 29 […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gareth Buxton, who writes: Hi Thomas I see that Anon-co have the Tecsun PL-990 Ferrite rod aerial for sale. It even says in the product description “You can use it for your DIY projects.” I thought it might be of interest to your MW/AM radio constructors, especially if they […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and noted political cartoonist, Carlos Latuff, who shares his radio log art of a recent Voice of Korea broadcast. Carlos notes: Part of news bulletin from Radio Voice of Korea shortwave broadcast in English about efforts of North Korea’s government to fight Covid-19 pandemic. Listened in Porto Alegre, Brazil, May 23, 2022, 21h18 (UTC), […]

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! Spotlight on Broadcast Tower Climbers in New Documentary (Radio World) NATE, in collaboration with Storybuilt Media, has created a feature-length documentary titled “Vertical Freedom,” which […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Roseanna, with Radio Northern Europe International who shares the following announcement: RNEIxtra Japanese Show Special Announcement Hei alle sammen, The first week of June is a special week at RNEI: It’s a 5th show week! This means that there are 5 broadcasts before the next RNEI show airs on 6070KHz, (Channel […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kim Elliott, who shares the following report from CBS Weekend News: Florida residents broadcast Ukraine war news to Russian citizens (CBS Weekend News) A farm in central Florida has become one of the largest shortwave radio operations in the world. Using Cold War era radio technology called shortwave, Jeff […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jock Elliott, who shares the following guest post: How can you tell if you are a radio nerd? By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Jeff Foxworthy made a name for himself with his comedy routine, “You Might Be a Redneck.” That phrase – you might be a redneck – is always followed by a […]

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! The improvised Led Zeppelin song that was lost by the BBC for over 40 years (Far Out) During Led Zeppelin’s 12 years together, the group […]

Hi SWLing Post community, Fastradioburst23 here letting you know about a transmission of KZOO, another installment of the imaginary radio stations show to be broadcast this weekend via the good folks at WRMI. It’s on Sunday 22nd May 2022 at 2200 UTC/ 1800 EST on 9395 kHz and will feature music using those strange and […]