The SWLing Post

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, for the following guest post: UPDATE: Malahit DSP-2 (July 24, 2021) RECOMMENDATION: Hold Off Until Issues Are Resolved I thought it important enough to write this update to my earlier extensive review of the Malahit DSP-2, the second version of the Russia-made receiver. Earlier incremental updates can be seen on […]

For potential Tecsun PL-368 owners, this is an exciting update! I just received the email below from Anna at ANON-CO: Hello Robert, I just wanted to let you know that we are expecting to receive our PL-368 radios around the middle or end of next week. It turns out that these radios will have one […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, for the following guest post: Test Driving The Russia-Made Malahit DSP-2 Poised on Edge of Greatness? (Some Challenges To Overcome) by Dan Robinson By now, the Malahit SDR is well known in listening hobby circles. We have the made-in-Russia original, and those manufactured in China with various firmware and […]

From the Isle of Music, July 25-31: This week, our guest is Gastón Joya, whose album with Rolando Luna Fusión de Almas won one of the two Grand Prizes in Cubadisco this year. The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including […]

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, Ken, who shares the following announcement about All Tribes Radio: ALL TRIBES RADIO www.alltribesradio.com ONE PLANET, ONE PEOPLE…. This is ALL TRIBES RADIO and RADIO TODAS LAS TRIBUS, Nosara, Costa Rica Broadcasting across the globe on shortwave radio, as well as streaming on the internet, All Tribes Radio (ATR) […]

Over on QRPer.com, I just published a post on portable power that was The Spectrum Monitor magazine’s April 2021 cover article. This article is essentially an overview of a few different types of rechargeable batteries including pros and cons of each chemistry. While this article focuses on use in ham radio field applications, it also […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood, who shares the following article and translation: REE Noblejas Site celebrates 50 years. Radio Exterior de España’s “Amigos de la Onda Corta” latest show marks the history of the 50 years of the Noblejas Broadcast Center. Program Summary (loose translation) Noblejas is the voice of Spain in […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, 13dka, who shares the following guest post: Massive jamming on 40m (possibly from Cuba) is bugging the radio community by 13dka Apparently this is going on for a week now on 40m: Spent last night at my beach listening post on the German North Sea coast and found this fairly strong signal […]

This has been a busy summer for me here at SWLing Post HQ. In the background, I’ve been working on a number of reviews and articles for The Spectrum Monitor and a new transceiver review for RadCom, among many other projects (including my Social DX list). My work and family life has been very busy–no […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Franco (K4VZ) , who writes: Just a quick note to let you and the SWLing post readers know about the news of a backdoor in the KiwiSDR software that for years “gave root to project developer”. https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/07/for-years-a-backdoor-in-popular-kiwisdr-product-gave-root-to-project-developer/ For years, a backdoor in popular KiwiSDR product gave root to project […]

Perú le canta a las Américas (Peru Sings To the Americas) Date/Time: Thursday, July 29th, 0300-0400 UTC** **(Wednesday July 28 2200-2300 Lima Time) WRMI 5800 kHz In honor of the bicentennial of Peru’s independence, a special hour of Peruvian music hosted by Luis Alejandro Vallebueno with guests Estefania Rivera and “Uncle Bill” Tilford will air […]

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, Gareth, who notes that Anon-Co will start selling the new Tecsun PL-368 by the end of July 2021. Click here to check out the product page at Anon-Co. Also, check out Robert Gulley’s recent review and a review by Dan Robinson!

From the Isle of Music, July 18-24: This week, our guest is Angel Yos, whose album 20/20 won the Bailable Fusión Latina category in Cubadisco 2020-2021. 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 […]

Guest Post The Tecsun PL-368: An Everyman Review By Robert Gulley I entitled this review an “Everyman” review because, while I am far from “normal” (just ask any of my friends!), I am not a hard-core SWL. I am a hard-core amateur radio operator perhaps, but only for the last decade(+). I have been casually […]

Without a doubt, DSP (Digital Signal Processing) technology has forever changed the portable receiver market in so many positive ways: It’s made portable radios more affordable for consumers It’s increased the profit margin for manufacturers It’s made features like SSB mode and variable filter width affordable When properly implemented, DSP technology can provide DX-grade performance […]

Many thanks to Jon Hudson with SDRplay who shares the following announcement: Introducing a new series of videos comparing the performance of wideband active loop amplifier/antennas for HF frequencies and below. In this introductory video, Mike Harwood shows how an RSPduo enables a real-time comparison of two antennas – in this demo, he uses a […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Robert Richmond, who writes: An ATS-25 receiver has appeared on eBay and similar sites. It appears to be a touchscreen and user interface update to the previous ATS-20 model. I suppose it remains to be seen if there are any improvements to the underlying electronic design and construction quality. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Fastburstradio23, who shares the following: Beaming to you from the transmitter’s location, forget summer vacation, it’s time for summer school. Get your pencils sharpened and thinking caps on for the KMTS Summer Test (transmission)! Numbers, poetry, the science of strange tones, music and mountaineering are all part of the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jon, who writes: Good day, I regularly visit the SWLing Post and very much appreciate the breadth of content you provide on the shortwave hobby. In between the receiver reviews and stories on broadcaster activities, I much enjoy the pieces showing the radio gear that folks notice in television/films. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who shares his latest A21 season guide to music on shortwave. Click here to download Music on Shortwave A-21 v4 (PDF) Alan notes that this might be the final update of the A-21 broadcast season. This dedicated page will always have the latest version of Alan’s guide available for […]

Hats off to the crew at the UNESCO World Heritage Grimeton Radio Station! Today is Sunday July 4, 2021. Besides being Independence Day here in the States, it’s also Alexanderson Day in Sweden! This morning, I discovered a video on the Grimeton Station YouTube channel: a recording of their live stream live stream starting around […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Roseanna, with Radio Northern Europe International who shares the following announcement: Hei alle sammen, We’ve been continuing to write your QSL cards and we’re now sending them within 2 months of receipt of your emails! Just like the last few months, we’ve split the broadcasts into 3 versions; • WRMI & On-Demand Version: […]

If you live in the UK and have been waiting for the arrival of the lab599 Discovery TX-500 transceiver, this is a positive development: Lab599 have informed me that Nevada Radio will be the exclusive distributor of the TX-500 in the UK. In addition, Waters and Stanton will be a TX-500 dealer and distrubutor. The price will […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul, who recently shared a link to this Craigslist listing and asked if anyone in the SWLing Post community might be familiar with this Beam Box Electronically Directable FM Antenna. He included a link to the following review in an archived issue of Radio-Electronics: https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Electronics/70s/1978/Radio-Electronics-1978-03.pdf The Cragslist post actually […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, TomL, who shares the following guest post: Recording Music on Shortwave Part 2 – Weak signal recovery by TomL The QRM noise cloud surrounding my condominium motivated my first foray into noise reduction software to find a little relief (Please refer to Part 1 posted here) using SDR recordings. I was able […]

While some SWLs and radio listeners dislike Web-based SDRs because they don’t feel like “real radio” there’s no denying that they do offer up listening opportunities you might not otherwise be able to enjoy from home. Case in Point Friend and SWLing Post contributor, Pete Madtone, has been enjoying dropping in on a local Slow […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Pete Madtone, who shares the following announcement: This Sunday 4th July 2021 Free Radio Skybird is being beamed out of the WRMI transmitter from Miami on 9395 kHz at 2300 utc (12 midnight UK time). Expect some free radio goodness from DJ Frederick and the Free Radio Skybird crew. Tune in here on Sunday if you’ve no shortwave radio.

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, sometime in July 2021 (possibly tomorrow?) the email subscription service we’ve used since 2008–Feedburner–will be shutting down. We’ve invested in a new email service that is actually much better than the old one. Please sign up for the new service in the form below or via this dedicated sign […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, for the following guest post: Vintage JRC Receivers in Japan Set Price Records by Dan Robinson While used market prices for older vintage communications receivers have been dropping significantly in recent years, prices for some classic “premium” receivers — particularly rare marine radios made by Japan Radio […]

From the Isle of Music, July 4-10: This week, our guest is Maikel Dinza, winner of the Popular Dance Music category in this year’s Cubadisco for his album Manigua. 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 […]

As mentioned in a previous post, we are migrating from Feedburner to a new email subscription service called Aweber. Feedburner has announced that they will discontinue all email delivery at some point in July 2021. If you are currently a subscriber to the SWLing Post email digest, you will need to subscribe to the new […]

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, Dennis Dura, who shares the following promo from Airspy: This summer, we offer 20% OFF on #Airspy products from June 28th until July 4th 2021. https://airspy.com/purchase

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frank Sturzaker, who writes: I am a new SW listener in the UK and am using an elderly Sony ICF SW100E picked up from selling website here in the UK fairly cheaply as a starter. It gets excellent reviews and seems to do what is required very well. A […]

If you’re one of the 1,700 people who have an email subscription to the SWLing Post via Feedburner, please take note: No more Feedburner In July 2021, the email delivery system we’ve used for daily email newsletters, Feedburner, is scaling back their operations and will discontinue email delivery. This means, if you subscribe to the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Markku (VA3MK), who writes: I just received this stand today, works and fits well with my orange Tecsun PL-368. Click here to view at CountyComm. What a nice and simple little stand! Thanks for sharing this, Markku. This would work (I assume) with any of the CountyComm and Tecsun […]

I’ve just learned that KFOG will broadcast a special remix edition via WRMI (9395 kHz) on Sunday June 27, 2021, at 2300 UTC.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors, Eric McFadden and Mike Agner, who share the following announcement from MFJ: MFJ to sell Eton Shortwave Receivers! Elite 750 A 360-degree rotating AM antenna enhances the radio’s ability to pull in weak AM signals. You can listen to AM, FM , SW, LW, SSB and aircraft band frequencies, and you […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares the photo above of the radio beacon at the Brazilian Navy in Tramandai, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. What a gorgeous photo, Carlos! Can anyone identify that antenna configuration?

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who shares the following video of sounds he heard on HF. Carlos adds, “Are we in the Twilight Zone or Lost in Space? They sound like effects from a 60’s/70’s sci-fi movie!” Those sounds are wild! The stuff of Star Wars. My only guess is that it’s […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ulis (K3LU), who shares the following note via his Twitter feed: “Comrade Africa” – a historic look at the GDR’s (Radio Berlin International) Cold War era shortwave broadcasts to Africa via the BBC World Service: https://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download/proto/https/vpid/p07zc40r.mp3 Click here to listen to the documentary at the BBC World Service.

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, June 27-July 3: Part 2 of 2 parts: This week, our guest is Rodney Barreto, winner of the Making Of category in this year’s Cubadisco and a nominee in Jazz for Drummer Negrito. He also performed in several other nominees and winners of Cubadisco. Our conversation will be in English. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following guest post: Big news in these days of declined shortwave by Dan Robinson It is rare — no super rare — that we get any good news these days about shortwave broadcasting. Remember the excitement a few years ago when Guinea returned to […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Giuseppe Morlè (IZ0GZW), who writes: Dear Thomas, I want to share my latest version of my case / antenna for Tecsun S-8800 to make it immediately operational: simply open and listen. In addition to the loop inside the case with a 3-meter wire at one of the ends that […]

In the comments section of this post, I’d like you to share your recording of the NNC 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 […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mikael, who writes: The Big Gun Friendship Net, an amazing and friendly net! It was late or earlier here in France, when I switched on my Tecsun PL-660 with its wire antenna plugged in. As always, I was scanning the 40 meters band. I obtained my ham licence in […]

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 […]