The SWLing Post

(Source: BBC Media Centre) Today the BBC is setting out how it will ensure it keeps the nation informed, educated, and entertained in unprecedented times. Director-General Tony Hall says: “We all know these are challenging times for each and every one of us. As the national broadcaster, the BBC has a special role to play […]

Many thanks to Sheldon Harvey with the International Radio Report who shares the following announcement: Hi, all. We received the following notice from the management of CKUT-FM. As a result, International Radio Report is on hiatus, effective immediately. In the meantime, we encourage you to continue to post items of interest here [on our Facebook] group. […]

From the Isle of Music, March 22-28: This week, our special guest is Liz Castillo, we also listen to music from Orquesta America, Enrique Lizaga’s Orchestra and Imagen Son. 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 […]

Over at the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive, we receive some truly amazing recordings from our devoted contributors. How many of you remember Ian McFarland’s Shortwave Listener’s Digest on Radio Canada International? It was certainly one of my favorite DX and SWL shows! Our good friend Tom Laskowski recently sent in the following recordings of the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John (AE5X), who recently shared a link to the following story on his excellent radio blog: […]It was the late 1990’s in Montclair NJ. A friend played guitar in a local band and wanted to get some air time for a few of their original songs. He knew his […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Robert Gulley, who shares the following announcement from the 2020 Hamvention Chairman: The Hamvention Executive Committee has been monitoring the COVID19 pandemic. We have worked very closely with our local and state health Departments. It is with a very heavy heart the Hamvention Executive Committee has decided to cancel […]

Let’s face it: COVID-19 is certainly disrupting “business as usual” across the planet. It’s hurting economies, and of greater concern, hurting people. Besides washing our hands frequently and not touching our faces, one of the most effective means of slowing/halting the spread of the Coronavirus is by exercising social distancing. Simply staying home, and if […]

(Source: National Association of Shortwave Broadcasters) IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: The CEO of EWTN, owner of WEWN shortwave, announced on March 13 that they will not be able to host any meetings in the near future due to the COVID-19 coronavirus situation. As of now, there is no way to know how long the virus is going […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Arecki, who notes that the HFCC shortwave broadcast schedules for the A20 summer period are now available. Click here to view on the HFCC website.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes: Going to a local UK charity shop will usually turn up a grim selection of romance novels, old DVD box sets and children’s toys. They do a brisk trade in clothing, shoes and bags, but technology often consists of dire examples of cheap DVD players, […]

(Source: Inside Radio) Broadcasters would likely call it money well-spent, but it’s still cash coming from the federal government’s hands. The Federal Communications Commission estimates it will cost the agency at least $11 million to enforce the newly-adopted law that requires it to step up pirate radio enforcement. “Specifically, in order to combat the problem […]

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’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making […]

(Source: BBC Reel) In a remote forest, a few kilometres from the Chernobyl power plant, the huge Duga-2 radar tower stands as relic of Soviet mismanagement. Click here to view on BBC Reel.

Black Cat Systems has just announced a version update to their popular Weather Fax software. Black Cat software engineer, Chris Smolinski, notes: I have updated Black Cat HF Weather Fax to version 1.1, which adds a bunch of new features from the series of betas, such as a built in schedule of fax transmissions, as […]

Several private shortwave broadcasters have been adding Coronavirus information and news to their scheduled programs. One of the first broadcasters to make an announcement was the IRRS–they have even made a special QSL card available. Here’s their release via the WRTH Facebook page: Hello There from IRRS & EGR, 1.) While most of Northern Italy […]

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’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making […]

As I suspected, it appears the Tecsun PL-990 batch that showed up recently on AliExpress for $399 each are the preliminary pilot run units that Tecsun offered in China last year. The final export version of the PL-990 is not ready for production yet and has been severely delayed by Covid-19 quarantines. Anna at Anon-Co […]

I was recently contacted by Allan Rosenbluth, a particularly generous SWLing Post reader. Allan contacted me because he would like to give away his cosmetically excellent Grundig Satellit 600 Professional (see photo above) with all the original paperwork. He said that the radio turns on, but does not work or produce sound. Allan purchased this […]

(Source: SiriusXM via Radio Survivor) Doctor Radio & NYU Langone Health launch 24/7 coronavirus-focused channel & hotline SiriusXM, in conjunction with NYU Langone Health, launched a special 24/7 channel dedicated to providing the public with the latest information on the coronavirus outbreak. The channel launched on Friday, March 6 at 6pm ET and features programming from SiriusXM’s Doctor Radio […]

From the Isle of Music, March 15-21: This week, our special guest is Ruly Herrera, leader of Real Project, which recently released GES, a tribute to Grupo de Experimentación Sonora del ICAIC, one of the most musically transformative groups of 20th-Century Cuba. The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the […]

Almost two weeks ago, at the 2020 Winter SWL Fest, I gave a presentation called “A New Era in Portable SDR DXing.” The presentation was essentially an in-depth version of an article I published in the January 2020 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine (see cover above). I devoted a good portion of the presentation […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Van Hoy, who shares the following item from WFAA: GAINESVILLE, Texas — A North Texas radio station that the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles determined had call letters that were too “vulgar” to put on a personalized license plate finally has those formerly vulgar letters proudly affixed to […]

In response to our second mystery interval signal challenge, SWLing Post contributor, Dean Bianco replies: Mystery solved! This is the “interval signal” (more accurately, a placeholder with a musical station identifier) for the Compañía Telefónica Nacional de España (CTNW) from Madrid, Spain. They were a point-to-point HF radiotelephone terminal that provided overseas telephone and telegraph […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Roseanna, who shares the following announcement posted on her blog [with apologies for the late plug!]: Radio Northern Europe International has worked with This is a Music Show to make a broadcast consisting of 30 minutes of RNEI and 30 minutes of TIAMS, that’s 1 hour of great music! […]

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Broadcasting 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 stories […]

Last month, we published a post asking SWLing Readers to help Brian (W9IND) identify an elusive interval signal. Turns out, the interval signal belonged to the Voice Mirror of the PTT Habana, Cuba station. This month, SWLing Post contributor, David Crawford is asking for help to ID another interval signal which likely belongs to a utility station. David […]

(Source: Aljazeera) Radio Red Zone broadcasts from a town under quarantine and brings listeners useful health advice and sense of community. Codogno, Italy – As the coronavirus grips Italy and stringent measures are taken to slow the spread of the infection, a local radio station is providing citizens with a sense of normality amid a […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who notes that the Tecsun PL-990 has now appeared on AliExpress.com. The price is a steep $399 US shipped via DHL with an estimated delivery of late March. They claim to have about 900 units available. You can check out the PL-990 on the AliExpress website, but […]

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’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories […]

EUROPE: This coming weekend Encore – Classical Music on Radio Tumbril will be broadcast at 11:00 UTC on SATURDAY on 6070 kHz by Channel 292. There are two repeats – 19:00 UTC Friday on 6070 kHz, and 09:00 UTC on Sunday on 7440 kHz by Channel 292. NORTH AMERICA: WRMI will broadcast Encore to the US and Canada on […]

I’m back from a week of travels and the 2020 Winter SWL Fest. In short, is was another amazing Fest and so much fun. I hope to write more about it in the coming days, when I have a few moments to catch up and after I shake a nasty bug (chest cold) I picked […]

From the Isle of Music, March 8-14: This week, our special guest is Antonio Duverger, leader of the changüi ensemble Son del Guaso. Also, we taste a new album by Barbarito Torres and a new single by Orquesta Failde featuring Omara Portuondo. The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Matthew, who shares the following tweet from Helen Leigh: This sculpture at the Tate Modern blew my mind this week. It’s a wire sculpture inspired by the International Space Station that functions as an antenna for a ham radio. Twice a day it plays live audio and data transmissions […]

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’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories […]

(Source: Inverse) Thanks to NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission to Mars, you may soon never need to fiddle with the tuning dial on a car radio again. When we listen to songs on the radio, the sound travels via radio waves that are given out by a transmitter and then received by a receiver […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Evans, who shares the following video from an MIT/W1MX presentation series:

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Goren, who notes that the Winter SWL Fest Shortwave Shindig will stream live via the Wave Farm this evening. The Shortwave Shindig will begin on February 28, 2020 at 9:15 pm EST (or February, 29 at 2:15 UTC). The stream link will be accessible at the Wave Farm […]

EUROPE: This coming weekend Encore – Classical Music on Radio Tumbril will be broadcast at 11:00 UTC on SATURDAY on 6070 kHz by Channel 292. There are two repeats – 19:00 UTC Friday on 6070 kHz, and 09:00 UTC on Sunday on 7440 kHz by Channel 292. NORTH AMERICA: WWCR Nashville will broadcast Encore for the last time […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Evans, who writes: Interesting article on the new monument to radar between Daventry and Towcester in Northamptonshire, UK. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/birth-of-radar-memorial Legend has it that this was conducted around 25-28 MHz, which was the very top end of higher power RF at the time. The location sits closer to Towcester, although the event […]

(Source: RCI.net via David Iurescia) Today is an auspicious day for RCI. It was February 25, 1945 that the CBC International Service began shortwave broadcasting to Europe. It was designed at the time to provide accurate news to occupied areas in English French and German, and to provide news from home for the huge contingent […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Grayhat, who shares the following: I stumbled upon a document I found in the “CIA reading room”: https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP76-00451R000200010013-1.pdf In short, the document, titled “HF SPACED LOOP ANTENNA” and dating back to 1967, describes the design of a “direction finding” antenna used to find an HF transmitter. The document describes […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Julien, who writes with the following question: First, thanks for your site ! I have a question about PL-365. It seems auto-scan works only in the range of 2,245-21,950 kHz. The ranges from 1,711-2,245 and 21,950-29,999 can only be scan manually. Do you know the reason for this? Or […]

Special 12-Hour Marathon of From the Isle of Music and Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot March 4 0800-2000 UTC: On Wednesday, March 4, Radio Channel 292 from Rohrbach Germany will present a special 12-hour marathon of From the Isle of Music and Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot on 6070 Khz from 0800 to 2000 UTC. There will […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jesse (W9JES) who writes: I’ve been busy enhancing my Radio Shack DX-390. I added an IF-Out jack for my SDR, changed out the light for a LED, added a latch circuit for the light switch, added static protection, and disabled auto-mute. My blog with full instructions is at www.w9jes.com […]

Yesterday, we published a post asking SWLing Readers to help Brian (W9IND) identify an elusive interval signal (click here to read that post). We received dozens of replies–thank you so much! Many readers immediately identified the tune as some sort of utility station placeholder for Point To Point communications. Turns out, they were correct. Many […]

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’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories […]

[Mystery solved! Click here to read the update.] Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Brian (W9IND), who writes: I want to thank you for stirring a memory that I never thought I’d relive – even though it still doesn’t solve the mystery of what the heck I was listening to in the first place! Back […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Van Hoy, who shares a link to this YouTuber who stumbled upon shortwave station, WBCQ, while driving through rural Maine in 2018. He obviously didn’t understand what the site was at the time–nor the fact that the owner loves collecting vintage equipment. The video gives the impression of […]

(Source: Sky News via Dan Van Hoy) The number of TV channels could also be reduced, the website scaled back and stars banned from taking well-paid second jobs. […]The Sunday Times quoted a senior Downing Street source as saying that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “really strident” on the need for serious reform at the […]

Last month, we noted that the popular SDR.hu KiwiSDR portal now requires registration and an amateur radio callsign to use the site. While SDR.hu is still online, we certainly get the impression all site development has been halted. This is not the end of the world because SDR.hu is only one of several KiwiSDR portals–we […]