The SWLing Post

The Virtual 2021 Winter SWL Fest starts today and one of the Fest traditions–the Shortwave Shindig hosted by David Goren–will be broadcast via WRMI at 0200 UTC Saturday (9:00 EST Friday/Today) on 5,800 and 7,780 kHz. Please tune in!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who recently shared a message he received from his friend Randy regarding the VisAir HF DDC/DUC Transceiver: I recently acquired a VisAir transceiver from Russia. It is an amazing SDR unit developed by two amateur radio operators. It is about the same size as the RDR55, but […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kevin, who writes: I often see people on the side of the road at intersections holding signs, “homeless, can you help”, that sort of thing. Like a lot of people I used to ignore them. A few years ago I decided that I wanted to help so I looked […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave (K4SV), who shares the following video: Click here to view on YouTube.

From the Isle of Music, February 28-March 6: This week, special guest Yunior Romero, leader of Yunior Romero y su Sello Cubano, helps us present music from his two albums. The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, DanH, who shares the following guest post: Sangean ATS-909X2 First Impressions by DanH A few hours spent tuning a new radio are enough to make me feel confident that I know most of the new features and how to use them. Then several days, weeks or months later I […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Porter, who shares a link to the following site which contains an extensive galley of photos taken at the Rampisham HF transmitting site on October 11, 2003. Click here to view the gallery. Thank you for the tip, Dave!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan Cholakov, who writes: Hello Thomas, Something entertaining – Thomas, N1SPY got his hands on a QST Magazine dated April 2041 if you can believe it! So he shared some of the stories in the magazine in a video and also attached the magazine to this email. I found […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who shares the following feature from Radio Bulgaria who celebrates their 85th anniversary: Speaking your language for 85 years 2021 marks the 85th anniversary of the Bulgarian National Radio’s foreign language service to the world. It all began on 16 February, 1936. One year after the […]

I recently took delivery of a better-than-new classic solid-state portable broadcast receiver: the venerable GE Superadio II. This Superadio II was generously given to me by SWLing Post contributor, Chuck Rippel (K8HU), who has–in his spare time–been re-capping and restoring all three of the GE Superadio series models and bringing them back to life. Chuck […]

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting […]

Not much to say here other than it’s cold outside, but the BC-348 is keeping me warm inside. There are few radios in my collection I love more than this one. She’s built like a tank and warms my shack and my soul!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, DanH, who writes: Thomas, My Sangean ATS-909X2 arrived in excellent condition late this Friday afternoon. I will enjoy a shortwave session with the radio this evening and early next morning. Other than setting the clock to UTC and tuning in XEPPM Radio Educacion in Mexico City I haven’t spent […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Chris Rogers, who writes: Hi Thomas, An interesting new product has just been released for pre order, a US made Chameleon model CHA-RXL receive loop covering from 137 kHz -30 MHz. Looking at the options it comes on the web page it mentions a Loop type ”US single section” […]

Recently, I’ve received a number of emails from readers who are frustrated because new ham radio transceivers are out of stock and used prices have increased. At first, I thought this might be due to supply chain and logistics issues due to the continuing Covid-19 pandemic. If it is, it’s only a partial explanation. As […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nick Booras, who writes: I am stuck in the house in Texas, bored and with no power. So I decided to make a couple videos with my phone. One nice thing about a power outage… no RFI [Radio Frequency Interference]. This Icom 705 is an awesome radio! Perhaps your […]

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mei Tao, who writes: Hi Thomas: I saw one reader had asked about Tecsun TU-80 FM Tuner several days ago, Fortunately, I have had this machine for only a couple of weeks. Tecsun’s Chairman, Mr Liang Wei has told us that TU-80 was not designed for the pure Bclers […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mei Tao, who shares the following: Hi Thomas: Before the Chinese New Year, I received a prototype of the HRD-747 radio and was asked for suggestions on how to improve it. As far as I know, this little gem will hit the Chinese market in April. Here are its […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Robert Richmond, who writes: You probably have seen the info months ago, but I just noted Tecsun China has officially launched the Tecsun H-501 receiver in China priced at 1500 Yuan, which is about $230 USD. Add shipping. The Chinese domestic market H-501 model on AliExpress and Bangood has […]

From the Isle of Music, February 21-27: This week, we present a collection of new releases by various artists. The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100Kw, Sunday 1500-1600 UTC on SpaceLine, 9400 […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frank Howell (K4FMH), who shares the following post published on AmateurRadio.com: Many of us hams, SWLs, and makers buy inexpensive electronics from China. It’s become a bonanza for small, cheap and surprisingly good radio-related gadgets and parts on eBay and other vendors. I buy a fair amount, most recently […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes: Thomas, I got a new FT-891 recently and wanted a protective case for taking it out into the field. A mixture of internet searches and Amazon algorithms turned up this very affordable case which closely matches the size of the radio, as the enclosed photograph […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Balázs Kovács, who writes: Hi Thomas, As it was first announced last September as a possibility now happens: (one of?) the last major independent talk radio station in Hungary, the Klubrádió is forced off the air (92.9 MHz, Budapest region) from Monday (they will continue online). “With the silencing […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bruce (VE6XTC), who writes: Hi Thomas; Are any other North American shortwave listeners hearing Chinese and North Korean stations in the 19, 16, and 13 meter bands in the dead of night? I heard plenty of regional stations plus North Korea on 15180 KHZ after 4:00 UT, February 13th. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Fastradioburst23, who shares the following recording: This is the studio version of the WTAB transmission that went out on 9395 kHz at 00:00 UTC Monday 15th February 2021 (repeated on the same frequency and time on Monday 22nd February). Below is a great clip of the transmission caught on […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, for the following guest post: Premium Receiver Scammer(s) Back by Dan Robinson From time to time here on SWLing Post, we have alerted readers to scammers using multiple eBay addresses to attempt to rip off unsuspecting potential buyers and using old photographs of usually premium receivers to […]

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting […]

Today is UNESCO World Radio Day and this year the theme highlights diversity on the airwaves. Here’s the announcement from UNESCO: Proclaimed in 2011 by the Member States of UNESCO, and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 as an International Day, February 13 became World Radio Day (WRD). Radio is a powerful […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, 13dka, who shares the following guest post: Dipping my toes into transatlantic MW DX by 13dka Most of my SWLing life I wanted to dig into MW DX but never managed to make that really happen for some reason. Then last November, I fetched my first transatlantic station while […]

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting […]

WARNING: due to the graphic nature of these photos, those radio enthusiasts who love the Sony ICF-SW100 may want to look away. Parental Discretion is advised. Guest Post by Troy Riedel Some of you may remember my recent lamenting regarding the unexpected loss of my beloved Sony ICF-SW100 posted on this blog. The Medical Examiner […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Sharpe, who writes: Hi Thomas, Here are some personal observations after playing with the Tecsun PL-330 for a couple weeks, maybe an hour or two a day. I made a point of picking up the 310ET , the CCrane Skywave SSB and the G6 Aviator at the same […]

I just received the flyer below for a new broadcast by “WTAB”–I’ve no clue what the content will be, but it certainly looks fascinating! Guess I’ll have to tune in to find out!

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting […]

From the Isle of Music, February 14-20: This week, we present Cuban music related to Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras. The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100Kw, Sunday 1500-1600 UTC on SpaceLine, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nick Booras, who writes: Hi Thomas I posted a video of this radio compared to a couple other popular radios. Thought your viewers might be interested. This 368 is a significant improvement over the 360 and 365. Thank you so much for sharing this, Nick! People who love the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Chris Smolinski, who shares annual pirate radio activity reports he has recently published on his blog. Chris notes that, due to time constraints, he hasn’t been able to publish these for a while, but recently posted reports from 2017-2020. Click the year to read each report on RadioHobbyist.org: 2017 […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nick Hall-Patch, for sharing the following guest post: Using Carrier Sleuth to Find the Fine Details of DX by Nick Hall-Patch Introduction Medium wave DXers are not all technical experts, but most of us understand that the amplitude modulated signals that we listen to are defined by a strong […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John (VA1JG), who notes: As per the following exchange on the Yaesu Facebook group, the FTDX3000 is the latest Yaesu HF model to be discontinued: John Kruk is the national sales manager for Yaesu USA, so this is real news. This was posted on Tuesday. Many thanks for the […]

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio Because I keep my ear to the waves, as well as receive many tips from others who do the same, I find myself privy to radio-related stories that might interest SWLing Post readers. To that end: Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting […]

Jinze (Justin) Peng, developer of the high performing, high value RX-888 SDR, has just announced an improved “MK II” version. I’ve been very pleased with my original RX-888 in all performance aspects, and it’s wideband demodulation and IQ WAV recording have opened up new DXing possibilities (small capacity hard drives need not apply :^) The […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrea Borgnino (IW0HK), who shares the following video–a 15 minute NSA documentary–about the FLR-9 “Elephant Cage” antenna in Anchorage, Alaska. Click here to view on YouTube.

Last week, I received a long-awaited Christmas gift: the 2021 World Radio TV Handbook. Normally, I’d receive this annual guide in the December time frame, but because of delays in international postal services due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I took delivery a few weeks late. I always look forward to receiving this excellent staple […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mei Tao, who shares the following photos of Tecsun’s chairman, Mr. Wei Liang: Thanks for sharing these photos, Mei Tao. It’s evident that Mr. Liang is a proper radio enthusiast–he’s certainly a major innovator in the world of shortwave radio portables!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, George, who writes: Hi Thomas -I hope you’re keeping well. […]I have had my eye on the Tecsun TU-80. However, I seem to find no videos on its use and no reviews. Perhaps it’s because it’s new. I wonder if any of the SWLing Post readers have some info […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes: SWLing Post readers have no doubt been wondering, along with the rest of us, about the status of Radio Kahuzi, the religious missionary station in Democratic Republic of Congo. The station has been off the air for months, following a lightning strike in 2020 and […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David (G4EDR), who writes: I know that you and many of your readers of the SWLing Post (myself included) have a fascination with the UK Shipping Forecast so thought you may be interested in this YouTube video showing how the Met Office prepare the forecast for broadcasting. Thank you, […]

The number of ARISS (Amateur Radio on the International Space Station) has been lower during the Covid-19 pandemic due to so many schools being closed and relying on remote instruction. Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bruce Atchison, who notes that there will be an ARISS contact tomorrow (February 5, 2021) in Canada. Listening to […]

My buddy, David Goren, could use your help. David writes: I’m looking for recordings of the Bolivian Mining Radio Stations from any era for a radio documentary I’m making for the BBC. Many used to be on Shortwave…Radio Nacional de Huanuni, La Voz Del Minero, Radio 21 De Diciembre, Radio LLallagua to name a few. […]