The SWLing Post

(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 […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who recently discovered two note-worthy items on eBay. The first is a WinRadio Excelsior SDR. Dan notes: A seller on eBay is offering the WR-G39DDCi. Just picked one up on a Buy It Now for $200. He still has some up without Buy It Now but the […]

Earlier this week, I stumbled upon this Bell Telephone short film about the beginnings of the mobile phone network: I don’t know about you, but I love the view inside the trunk of the car! I bet that tube receiver and transmitter both weighed over 100 pounds. Although the system wasn’t full duplex, it must […]

I have enjoyed three to four medium wave and shortwave DXpeditions per year since 1988, to sites on the Washington and Oregon coasts. I love the chance they give to experiment with antennas in a (hopefully!) noise-free location, and concentrate on catching stations that might not be heard from home. All of my DX trips […]

From the Isle of Music, February 23-29: This week, our special guest is Jesus”Aguaje” Ramos, a veteran of the Estrellas de Areito, Buena Vista Social Club and many other projects, who will present his excellent new big band recording, De Vueltabajo Llegó. The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond 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’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Van Hoy (K7DAN), who shares the following comment in reply to our recent KGEI post. Dan writes: It was my privilege to work at KGEI as a broadcast engineer and antenna rigger with FEBC from 1981-85. After that we went off to serve FEBC in Davao City in […]

(Source: Southgate ARC via Jake Brodsky, AB3A) Not an everyday find: Archaeologists from the Rhineland Regional Council were amazed when they came across a Russian spy radio instead of Roman traces in the Hambach open-cast mine during excavations. Hidden in a large metal box. “When the box was opened, it hissed,” Dr. Erich Claßen, head […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood (K7UO), for sharing the following article from The Daily Journal. Tracy’s notes follow this excerpt: KGEI, a shortwave radio station in Redwood Shores that was the only voice from home for GIs in the Pacific during World War II, has its call letters back. The letters on […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Evans, who shares his insight regarding the 5G band grab. Paul writes: The ramifications of the FCC selling big chunks of spectrum with existing users in the name of 5G goes on: (Source: Radio World) Radio World has learned it’s possible that thousands of radio stations in 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’sRadio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories […]

Many thanks to Martin Butera and Ivan Dias who inform us that their first logs from the Marajó Island DXpedition have been posted. They provided a link to both a full story (click here) and a direct link for the logs (click here). They note that the logs will be updated monthly. They expect the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Walker, who writes: If you know any DXers out in western US… pass the word: Saturday night/Sunday Morning, at 12 AM Pacific KKOH 780 will be off the air for about 6 hours to do some maintenance. Thanks to Chief Engineer Daniel Appellof for letting me know well […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nigel Holmes, who writes: Those of you who hold amateur (VK) licenses – form an orderly queue to book a spot. Those of you who listen – make space on your shack wall for the last QSL card from Shepparton IHFTS. A special callsign has been issued by ACMA […]

Earlier this week, I mentioned in a Patreon post that if you’re plotting to buy a radio or other consumer electronics currently in development or production in China, expect delays. Due to the spread of the Coronavirus, a number of factories have been shut down and production effectively frozen since the beginning of the Chinese […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Roseanna, who shares the following announcement posted on her blog: (Source: The Girl With The Radio) I would like to share something very exciting that I’ve been working on since May 2019: Radio Northern Europe International RNEI will be the station for pop and dance music from Northern Europe […]

(Source: Pete Madtone) It seems like it’s been a while since DJ Frederick’s Free Radio Skybird was last on the shortwaves. Don’t worry, it won’t be long until the next one on Sunday 16th February at 1400 UTC/UK on 6070 kHz via Channel 292. The show will be rebroadcast on Sunday 23rd February at 1100 UTC/UK on 7440 kHz. If you haven’t got a shortwave radio it can also be heard on the […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) The Leicester Mercury reports on the top secret wartime listening station role of a Leicestershire mansion As we approach the 75th anniversary of VE Day in May, a Loughborough Library Local Studies Volunteer (LLLSV) tells the fascinating story of Beaumanor Hall’s crucial role in the Second World War. Many readers may not […]

Today is UNESCO World Radio Day and this year the theme highlights diversity on the airwaves. Here’s the announcement from UNESCO: On World Radio Day 2020 (WRD 2020), UNESCO calls on radio stations to uphold diversity, both in their newsroom and on the airwaves. Radio is a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in all its […]