The SWLing Post

(from Bill Tilford) The following is the Radio Angela (WBCQ 5130 kHz) schedule for September 2022. Radio Angela welcomes Austin Saturday Night, a new monthly program by Terry Colgan, who also produces Texas Radio Shortwave on other frequencies/stations, and Venerable Verses with Lainie Petersen on Sunday nights. That program begins with a serialized reading of […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor extraordinaire, 13dka, who brings us Part Two of a three part series about the new SULA homebrew antenna project. This first article describes this affordable antenna and demonstrates its unique reception properties. The second article focuses on construction notes. This third and final article will essentially be a Q&A about the SULA antenna. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Julian, who writes: Hi Thomas, I found this eBay listing for a seemingly new in the box Sony ICF SW77 complete with accessories and paperwork. It may interest SWLing readers. Click here to check it out on eBay. Best wishes, Julian Thank you for the tip, Julian. This does […]

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! Hubbard Is Four Years In With All-Digital AM. Here’s How It’s […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Matt Blaze, for the following guest post: Matt’s 2022 Portable Loop Antenna Shootout by Matt Blaze, WB2SRI Followers of this blog may be familiar with my “shortwave radio shootouts” that I post from time to time. The idea is to compare how well different radios demodulate the exact same signal. Basically, I […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who publishes the following guest post: Letter to Eton: Cutting Corners on Elite Satellit Won’t Succeed by Dan Robinson As SWLing.com readers will recall, weeks before Eton shipped the first group of Elite Satellit receivers I published a commentary that asked a key question: would Eton be […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor extraordinaire, 13dka, who brings us Part Two of a three part series about the new SULA homebrew antenna project. This first article describes this affordable antenna and demonstrates its unique reception properties. This second article focuses on construction notes. The third and final article will essentially be a Q&A about the SULA […]

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! AM/FM Receiver Sales Have ‘Stabilized’ Even As Audio Turns Up On More Devices. (Inside Radio) Anyone who has tried to find an AM/FM receiver in […]

Eton Elite Satellit Update (August 20, 2022) As many SWLing Post readers have pointed out, Universal Radio has posted the following update to their product page for the Elite Satellit: Our initial allocation of radios arrived 08/17/22. Our Q/C testing detected a problem with the radio. We are working closely with Eton to find a […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor extraordinaire, 13dka, who brings us a three part series about the new SULA homebrew antenna project. This first article describes this affordable antenna and demonstrates its unique reception properties. The second article will focus on construction notes. The third and final article will essentially be a Q&A about the […]

Thanks to commenter Keith on my “Consistently Inconsistent” article, we learn that the Eton Elite Satellit HD receiver is now shipping. Keith purchased the receiver from Amazon.com and is expecting delivery on August 18. Note that over the half-hour it took me to write this update article, Amazon’s stock of the Elite Satellit HD dropped […]

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! “Huge flaw” threatens US emergency alert system, DHS researcher warns (ARS Technica) Hackers can disrupt legit warnings or issue fake ones of their own. The […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares his A-22 (version 3) 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 v3 (PDF) Thank you for sharing your excellent guide, Alan! This dedicated page will always have the latest […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adid, who writes: The Erres KY-418 Radio set assembly line. You must watch this: Click here to view on YouTube. My heart goes to the poor guys who work under all that machinery noise with no ear plugs or with no mask when spray paint. Everything is hand made […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Julian, who writes: Thomas, I stumbled across this listing for a Panasonic RF-3000A so I thought I’d share it in case some SWLingers interested in or who collect vintage solid state radios are interested in the following listing for a Panasonic RF-3000A for US$125.00. 73 Julian Click here to […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow, who writes: [Check out this] YouTube video : Vintage SONY JAPAN Manufacturing Plants: TRINITRON TV, Video Recorder, late 1960-1970s Click here to view on YouTube. This very interesting near 12 minute video shows Sony manufacturing plants. At 2:10 you will see the CRF-150 / 160’s being manufactured. […]

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! Journalist Vitaly Portnikov was found to be “eavesdropped” at his home in Lviv, – Knyazhytskyi (Espeso) Note this article has been translated in English. Original […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frans Goddijn, who shares the following video demonstrating the AMT-MW207: a tiny $25 mediumwave transmitter kit that can be purchased on AliExpress: To be clear, the AMT-MW207 is not designed to be a whole house AM transmitter like the SSTran and others. The seller describes it as a device […]

Apologies to everyone in SWLing Post land who tuned into WRMI to listen to WTAB last Sunday, it turns out due to technical difficulties there was a bit of a mix up but it’s all sorted now. WTAB will be “Transmitting by the magic of wireless” on 9395 kHz at 2200 utc on Sunday 14th […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen, who shares this video showing how radios were made in the VEF (Valsts elektrotehniska Fabrika) factory in Riga, Latvia in 1936: Click here to view on YouTube.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark (AE2EA), who shares the following AWA video about crystal production during WWII: Click here to view on YouTube. Thank you so much for sharing this, Mark. I posted the original film of this a few years ago, but it appears that the YouTube account has been deleted. I’m […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following photos from the Berryville Hamfest. Dan notes that the resolution is not great in these photos, but I believe we can still see enough detail to know that this hamfest had many vintage treasures: Thank you once again for sharing these, Dan! Click […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and friend, Wlodek (US7IGN), who writes from Kiev: Hello! Because of another air raid alert, I can’t sleep and I decided to make a small comparison of the receivers of the 60s and the modern one. Of course, you can not compare their size and weight, as well as […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dura, who shares the following article from Slate: The Radio System That Keeps Us Safe From Extreme Weather Is Under Threat NOAA Weather Radio needs some serious upgrades. In March, a group of massive tornadoes struck communities around Des Moines, Iowa. Seven people were killed, including two children […]

Hi everyone to everyone in SWLing Post land, this Sunday we’ve another old-time treat for you thanks to the good folks at WRMI. WTAB will be “Transmitting by the magic of wireless” on 9395 kHz at 2200 utc on Sunday 7th August 2022. Like last week’s KTAB, the show will feature music from yesteryear and […]

I’m traveling this morning and packing up my EDC (everyday carry) bag here int he hotel room. Last night, I was using the Tecsun PL-330 to do a little band-scanning and it dawned on me that I’ve used this radio along with the Belka DX quite extensively this summer while on an extended family road […]

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! Interview about Brooklyn pirate radio (Irish Pirate Radio Audio Archive) Although Irish pirate radio is our main interest, today we explore the lively pirate scene […]

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Okay, I realize this is ham related, but I thought it was fun, and I hope you do too. On a quiet Saturday morning in May, the “Big Gun” Motorola 1250 (which is used for running the Commuter Assistance Net) is quietly scanning through half a dozen frequencies. The scanning stops […]

I suppose I’ve been holding out hope that the Voice of Greece would magically reappear on 9,420 kHz, but they’ve been off the air for 45 days now and we must assume this time it’s for good. Over the past decade the Voice of Greece seems to have weathered every storm it encountered; even broadcasting […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jerome van der Linden, who shares the following response from from the Australian Foreign Affairs department regarding any future shortwave services to the Pacific. As Jerome notes, the letter “suggests that all is not yet lost, though it’s lacking in commitment.” Click here to download a PDF of the response. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes: Thomas, I spotted this radio from an episode of the Rockford Files in a story about Russian spies. According to IMDB, the episode, “A Material Difference” aired in February 1979. https://www.rigpix.com/atlas/210x.htm Mark Thanks so much for sharing this, Mark. You’ve got sharp eyes! I remember […]

Hi everyone out there in SWLing Post land, this Sunday we’ve a right treat for you thanks to the good folks at WRMI. KTAB will be featuring “Yesterday’s music today” on 9395 kHz at 2200 utc on Sunday 31st July 2022 via the magic of the wireless. The show will feature all sorts of old […]

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! Astronomers detect a radio “heartbeat” billions of light-years from Earth (MIT) The clear and periodic pattern of fast radio bursts may originate from a distant […]

From the Speedway to Your Wall: Taking the W9IMS Checkered Flag By Brian D. Smith, W9IND The Checkered Flag is in sight – for hams and SWLs who’ve completed two-thirds of the chase for the annual W9IMS certificate. And for those who haven’t, there’s still a special QSL card awaiting all who snare the final […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tom Gavaras, who writes: Hi Thomas, I hope you are having a great summer. In the event you are not aware, there is a large collection of NASWA magazines available online from 1971-2008 including an issue from 1962.: https://worldradiohistory.com/NASWA_Frendx.htm I see that there are also many issues from SPEEDX […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron, who shares information about the latest C.Crane FM transmitter: Check out the new C.Crane FM Transmitter 3. Everything is the same as the previous model except it now covers 87.7 to 108 MHz. People have been reported as being in big trouble for using 87.7 MHz, or is […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rafael Rodriguez, who writes: Hi Thomas Once again the Radio Tecsun model S2000 makes its appearance in a movie, this time in the Hollywood science fiction action and adventure production called “Moonfall.” Without being a film critic, the movie is very regular ; but it gives screen to this […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Al Hearn (WA4GKQ), who writes: Thomas: I’ve just received this Rotrics NexTube [see photo above] after a year of waiting. It was a KickStarter project and suffered numerous delays, and is just now shipping. It’s beautiful — real walnut wood, glass tubes and brass fixtures. It appears at first […]

Hi Fastradioburst23 here, apologies to all of the SWLing Post community who tuned in last week but sadly CTRN wasn’t broadcast due to a problem at the sidings. The show will now go ahead this Sunday 24th July via WRMI on 9395 kHz at 2200 utc. There’s always a chance of delays on the line […]

The Maritime Radio Historical Society is hosting a brilliant on-the-air event via KPH. I’ve pasted full details below, copies directly from the Maritime Radio Historical Society announcement: ATTENTION ALL AGENTS! Crypto Transmission from KPH! Background The MHRS in cooperation with our good friends at the Cipher History Museum will send a coded message in 5-letter […]

I’ve been listening to Apollo 11 in real-time, as mentioned in a previous post. Today, I’ve been listening to NASA communications as the Eagle landed on the moon (53 years ago). Of course, any of those Apollo era comms include loads of Quindar Tones, so this reminded me of the following post from the SWLing […]

(Source: Radio World) NYC-Area Landlords Get Pirate Letters (Radio World) FCC Enforcement Bureau traced FM signals after receiving complaints Continuing its efforts to fight illegal broadcasts, the Federal Communications Commission has sent notices to five property owners and managers in and around New York City. The letters from the Enforcement Bureau inform the owners that […]

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM Back in April of this year (2022), I accidentally discovered The Radio Boys series of books, many of which are available for free if you have an Amazon Kindle. These books, I believe, are intended for young adults, and, in my mind, they very much resemble The Hardy Boys series of […]