The SWLing Post

Herein lies one of the wonderful things about our SWLing Post community…. Yesterday, we posted a message from John (KC8RZM) asking readers to help identify a vintage radio book that had meaningful impact on his life. Within a few hours, SWLing Post contributor, Bob LaRose (W6ACU), came to the rescue with the following comment: I’ve […]

SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, has recently written a series of opinion articles for the BBG-USAGM Watch website. Dan worked 34 years with the Voice of America, most recently serving as the senior White House correspondent from 2010 to 2014 before his retirement. Dan’s Op-Ed pieces (in five parts at time of posting) take a […]

From the Isle of Music, July 19-25: This week, special guest Ethiel Failde helps us present his new album Faidle con Tumbao, then we listen to some jazz from trombonist Juan Carlos Marín. 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, John (KC8RZM), who writes: I wonder if anyone at SWLing can help me identify this book on shortwave listening from my childhood. It was an older book when I checked it out from the local library mid-1970s but what I remember specifically is that it had a cartoon of […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Neil Goldstein, who writes: I added a sub-page to radiokitguide.com with a list of the remaining electronics and radio surplus outlets I was able to find and verify. The list is evolving, but is complete enough to publish at this point. Enjoy! https://fofio.blogspot.com/2020/07/sources-parts--outlets-and-more.html Many thanks for sharing, Neil!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rob, who writes: I recently made another video on the AirSpy YouLoop – this time paired in a configuration that shouldn’t really work. I used it with an RTL-SDR v3 dongle in direct sampling mode, and signals still came in. This was somewhat of a surprise given the RTL-SDR […]

Hello readers! I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be doing a special broadcast of VORW Radio International on Saturday the 18th of July and Sunday the 19th of July. This is purely being done for the fun of it and no other reason. The show will feature good music, listener requests, comments and responses to […]

I had planned on today being a rather laid-back Sunday with a good book lined-up and lots of radio time. Instead, my wife has convinced me to work on a home project this afternoon. That’s okay, because it is a project I’d like to get out of the way and the weather today is ideal. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frank (ON6UU), who shares the following guest post which expands upon his previous DB4020 article: The EA3GCY DB4020 transceiver now has CW mode by Frank Lagaet (ON6UU) After telling you all about the DB4020 SSB build I’m here with the CW part of the kit, let’s say this is […]

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 […]

Last week, I took delivery of an IQ32 SDR Transciever on loan from HobbyPCB. The IQ32 has been on the market for a few years now and is a fusion of the HobbyPCB RS-HFIQ and the STM32-SDR. I’ve been told by the HobbyPCB team that the STM32-SDR was developed a few years ago “when PSK31 […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, April TimeLady, who writes: This is a collection of SDR recordings made of Japanese language radio stations for June 2020.” It may be useful to note that I had encoded them at .ogg from .wav, and archive.org automatically converts audio to .mp3 format. The great majority of the recordings are from […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Adrian Korol, who shares the following notice from the Argentine Antarctic station, LRA36: Saturday, July 11, from 1400 to 1500 UTC, a test broadcast from LRA 36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel on 15476 khz using USB. Thank you for the tip, Adrian!

Tuesday, many of us in the shortwave and DXing community learned about the unexpected passing of our good friend and veteran radio reporter, Allan Loudell. I got to know Allan via the Winter SWL Fest community. Allan attended every year and was well known for being not only wonderfully good-natured, the sort of guy who […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow, who shares the following video (in Japanese) where a technician performs an IC-705 cabinet breakdown and examines the internal PC board layers:

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bennett Kobb, who shares an FCC Informal Objection he drafted and filed together with Kim Elliott and Christopher Rumbaugh. Click here to download the Informal Objection. (PDF) Radio World published a great summary of the filing today: There’s a plan in the works to build a new international shortwave […]

On Sunday, 21 June 2020, the BBC World Service officially transmitted the 2020 BBC Antarctic Midwinter Broadcast–an international radio broadcast intended for a small group of scientists, technicians, and support staff who work for the British Antarctic Survey. This is one of my favorite annual broadcasts, and I endeavor to listen every year. Once again, the SWLing Post called […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike, who writes: Hi, Tom: Icom Japan have just published a couple videos in Japanese where and enthusiastic JH1CBX takes us on a tour of the new IC-705. Although many of us don’t speak Japanese, it’s easy to understand what she’s talking about as she tours the radio features, […]

From the Isle of Music, July 12-18: This week, Arturo Cruz shares songs from his new release Benny por Siempre, a tribute to Benny Moré with ten prominent vocalists. 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 […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Hemphill (WD9EQD), who writes: I’ve just finished reading “Sealand’s Caretakers”. Very fascinating. In the article, they give a link to an article “This excerpt describes the fallout that came from a gang of international scam artists bootlegging Sealand passports.” This article is titled: “The Plot Against the Principality […]

Last year, my friend Matt gave me his Icom IC-756 Pro transceiver. Yep, Matt’s a very generous fellow and, trust me, one of the coolest radio guys you’ll ever meet. Matt was in the process of moving and told me nothing would make him happier than the transceiver to go to a good home and […]

Many thanks to Apache Labs who share the following announcement: Sneak peek at the Andromeda 100W Transceiver…… 10th GEN Intel 6 Core i7, 7 inch built in touch screen and an option to add up to two External HD Monitors. Windows 10 Powerful PC and an Ultra High performance 100W SDR with PureSignal Goodness in […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jack, who writes: Greetings, I was going through some old paperwork that belonged to my father-in-law, and I found a Christmas Greeting Card postmarked December 1956. The card contains greetings from the Antarctic, received by the Radio Amateurs of Greater Syracuse, then forwarded to my father-in-law at his posting […]

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, Pete Madtone who shares the following announcement from Radio Lavalamp: Can you pass the ham radio test? Tune in to DJ Frederick’s Radio Lavalamp on Sunday 12th July at 2200 UTC (11pm UK time) on 3955 kHz via Channel 292. The transmission will feature amongst other things One Deck Pete with a mix called The Purple Nucleus of Creation 001 featuring Carlos Pizzetti, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Roseanna, with Radio Northern Europe International who shares the following announcement: Radio Northern Europe International #6 & TIAEMS July 2020 annoucement! Hello everyone, This is just a little announcement post for the next instalment of RNEI! Our show for July 2020 will have a few pop, traditional and dance […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Franco Venturi (K4VZ), who writes: I just found out that the podcast ‘QSO today’ has organized a ‘Virtual Ham Expo’ (https://www.qsotodayhamexpo.com/). The current list of speakers and their topics looks interesting (click here to read), and I thought you and other readers of the SWLing Post might be interested […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kris Partridge, who shares the following article that notes the UK will not follow a Norway-style digital switch-off. Rather, broadcasters will be allowed to switch off individual AM (and eventually FM) transmitters once they determine it is no longer a cost-effective strategy. From Radio Today: Analogue commercial radio licences to […]

Shortly after posting some of my initial impressions of the Xiegu G90, SWLing Post contributor, Guy Atkins, encouraged me to upgrade the stock G90 tuning knob/encoder with one that is highly recommended by the G90 community. While I didn’t really have an issue with the stock plastic knob, I couldn’t resist a larger, slightly heavier […]

We posted an update about the new Tecsun PL-330 in late April 2020. While we didn’t have a lot of details, it’s worth reading. We still don’t have a lot of details (as of today, July 3, 2020) but readers have been contacting me and commenting recently with links to online retailers who are already […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who writes: Just a quick note to let you know that Radio Algérie Internationale is now broadcasting for an hour on SW using an Issoudun transmitter. The multilingual (French, Arabic, English, and Spanish) broadcast is at 18:00 UTC, presumed daily, is on 13820 kHz. I heard it […]

Although I’ve been rather busy the past few days, I have managed to fit in a little radio time. On Wednesday, I spent part of the day doing the RAC (Radio Amateurs of Canada) Contest to celebrate Canada Day. My simple goal in mind was to work as many provinces as I could. Although I […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood (K7OU), who writes: I found a modern replacement for RDP- English. Perhaps even better! My Portuguese knowledge remains limited to two quarters of university courses; similar Spanish cognates help bridge the Luso-English comprehension gap. Could I find an English-language radio show that would help revive my interest […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jim Salmon, with Radio Emma Toc World Service, who shares their July 2020 schedule: Happy listening! If you are outside the transmitter coverage areas, why not listen via the broadcasters’ online services. Website details for the above stations are listed on our own website here – www.emmatoc.org/worldserviceschedule If you […]

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, Ahmet (KD2AQU), who shares the following item from NASA: As of June 2020, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory – SDO – has now been watching the Sun non-stop for over a full decade. From its orbit in space around Earth, SDO has gathered 425 million high-resolution images of the Sun, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Brian D. Smith (W9IND), who shares the following announcement: W9IMS: A delayed start for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway special event station by Brian D. Smith, W9IND It’s a late start for auto racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, as well as the amateur radio station that honors this century-old […]

Many thanks to Paul Jones with EladUSA who notes that they now sell the venerable Microtelecom Perseus via their online store. Paul also notes that each purchase comes with full factory support from Microtelecom. Price is $760 US. Click here to view at EladUSA.

From the Isle of Music, July 5-11: This week, guitarist and bandleader Héctor Quintana discusses his new album Benny Moré – un siglo después with us as we listen to some beautiful tracks from this live recording. The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of […]

If you’ve been reading the SWLing Post for long, you’ll know that I’m a big fan of portable radio gear. Whether it’s a portable receiver, an SDR, or a ham radio, I believe radios are made to be taken outside––rain or shine; hence I love programs like Parks On The Air (POTA ) and Summits […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rob, who writes: Thank you for your informative blog. As a longtime SWLer I enjoy reading up on your posts. A few months ago I was considering the purchase of a magnetic loop antenna. Based on your “YouLoop is a freaking brilliant passive loop antenna” article, and the fact […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gareth Buxton, who writes: I “watch” the Anon-Co new additions page for changes and this morning I received an update that the PL-365 has been added. I think they only used to stock the non-usb Pl-360 version. Click here to view the PL-365 page at Anon-Co. Thanks for the […]

Special Simulcast: WBCQ’s 4th of July in the Park Date/Time: Saturday, July 4, 8pm-9pm EDT (0000-0100 UTC July 5) Frequencies: 6160 and 7490 kHz 4th of July concerts at the bandshell (usually a concert band or orchestra sometimes followed later by a rock or country band) are a long tradition throughout the United States. Take […]

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, Bruce Atchison, who writes: I’m hearing an intermittent buzzing noise on 9820kHz each evening at around 4:00 UTC. What could it be? Sorry the quality isn’t as good as I’d like, but here’s a recording: Thank you for sharing this recording, Bruce. My hope is an SWLing Post reader […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andrew, who correctly identified the radio Ed spotted in The Last Man On Earth as the Allocchio Bacchini RF4D. Andrew shared the following notes and links: That radio is an Allocchio Bacchini RF4D (see photo below from this site): Here’s a snippet from an Italian movie showing the same […]

This weekend is the 2020 ARRL Field Day! Typically, I’d be telling you about the benefits of finding a local club’s Field Day site and getting on the air for the first time. This year? Not so much. 2020 being a pandemic year, many clubs that would normally host a large public event are asking […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dennis Dura, who shares a link to this radio project by Emanuele Pizzolorusso who wishes to combine a modern Internet radio with old-school city-labeled memory buttons. From Wallpaper.com: CityRadio, designed by Emanuele Pizzolorusso for Italian design brand Palomar, allows you to access local radio around the world, with a […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ulis Fleming (K3LU), who shares the following video via Twitter and notes: Spain: Must see newsreel video of the 1954 inauguration of REE/RNE shortwave radio transmitters: NOT N 604 B Click here to watch video at the RTVE archives. Many thanks for sharing this excellent bit of radio history, […]