The SWLing Post

(Source: Southgate ARC and ARRL) The Planetary Society’s LightSail 2 CubeSat, launched on June 25, will transmit Morse code from space. LightSail is a citizen-funded project to send a small spacecraft, propelled solely by sunlight, into Earth’s orbit. The innovative satellite is due to be deployed on July 2 from Prox-1, a Georgia Tech student-built spacecraft the […]

Encore – Classical Music this weekend is being broadcast as usual by Channel 292 (Europe) on 6070 kHz at 15:00 UTC Sunday 30th June. And by WBCQ on 7490 kHz at 00:00 – 01:00 UTC Monday 1st July There is a repeat on 6070 kHz on Friday 5th JULY at 19:00 UTC. This week’s show has […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Robert Yowell, who writes: I was visiting the US Air Force Museum [Friday] and walked through “Columbine III” which was the Lockheed Constellation used as Air Force One by President Eisenhower from 1954 until he left office. In the back of the cabin was a nice cozy area where […]

(Source: Radio World via Michael Bird) Russia will begin testing the Digital Radio Mondiale digital radio standard in the FM Band in July in St. Petersburg. Russian firms Digiton and Triada TV are working with Fraunhofer IIS, RFmondial, chipmaker NXP and others to carry out the pilot. The organizers will install a DRM-capable transmitter mid-July […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Tracy Wood, who writes: Radio México Internacional will disappear (again)…web stream to sadly go away. Tracy referenced this article (in Spanish) from El Sol de México. The following excerpt was translated to English via Google Translate: A grim picture was presented to employees and workers of the Mexican Institute […]

Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post readers who have shared links to this petition for rulemaking–created by Michelle KU3N–to create a new 8-meter Amateur Radio allocation. I’ve included the author’s notice about this proposal and also a news item from the ARRL below. First, however, just a quick tip on filing comments via […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Evans (W4/VP9KF), who notes another affordable QRP transceiver on the market: the Omega +. According to the Omega + website, it appears there are three configurations/versions: 1 band – basic (up to 30 MHz) 2 bands (50 / 70 MHz) 10 bands (160/80/60/40/30/20/17/15/12/10m) Notes, Specifications and Features The […]

(Source: The Alexander Association via Mike Hansgen) Grimeton Radio / SAQ Transmission on June 30th, 2019. The annual transmission on “Alexanderson Day” with the Alexanderson alternator on VLF 17.2 kHz with the call SAQ will take place Sunday, June 30th, 2019. Two transmissions are scheduled as follows: Startup of tuning at 10:30 (08:30 UTC) with […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nithin George, who shares this teaser trailer of an upcoming Malaysian film called “Maarconi Mathaai“: Click here to view on YouTube. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t understand the dialog in this trailer, but it certainly appears that Nithin is correct in saying that it’s a […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ola, who shares a link to this inexpensive mag loop antenna on eBay. I have no clue if this antenna performs as well at all, but the price is certainly much lower than its competition at $47.99 US. It appears you’ll need to supply your own dielectric center support […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Hemphill (WD9EQD), who writes: I have enjoyed listening to Scow Scan Radio SWL Program. I used a WebSDR to receive it. http://www.slowscanradio.com/ But it has been off the air for the past weeks due to some minor health issues. The program was interesting in that besides Slow Scan […]

From the Isle of Music, June 30–July 6: This week our special guest is Arlenys Rodríguez, who in addition to her own projects has performed with NG La Banda and collaborated with several other artists. The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Vlad, who shares some images and a video of a new QRP transceiver in development: the Discovery TX-500 by a company called lab599. Specifications have not been published yet, but we have confirmed a few details from the manufacturer: 10 watts PEP HF plus 6 meters Weight 570 grams […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Srebnick, who notes that the Raspberry Pi 4 mini computer was unveiled this morning by the Raspberry Pi Foundation. This model has a number of upgrades we’ve all been waiting for: I love the Raspberry Pi and own a number of models that I’ve employed in various projects. […]

(Source: BBC News via Kris Partridge) The Yle public broadcaster has told its ‘carissimi auditores’ (dear listeners) that “everything passes, and even the best programmes reach the end of the road. This is now the case with our world-famous bulletin, which has broadcast the news in Latin on Friday for the past 30 years”. The […]

This has been a very crazy and radio-active weekend! It started with a busy Friday that was capped off with the BBC Midwinter Broadcast and then continued into Saturday with a Parks On The Air activation and Field Day at Mount Mitchell State Park. In short: it’s been a lot of fun! I’ll plan to […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes: It seems the world is full of containers that are serendipitously sized for radios and other treasured possessions. Unfortunately, this tip is probably only helpful to UK based readers of the SWLing Post. WH Smiths, high street stationer and purveyors of newspapers and magazines, infamous […]

Encore – Classical Music on Shortwave – Broadcast on Sunday afternoon in Europe and USA Encore – Classical Music this weekend is being broadcast as usual by Channel 292 (Europe) on 6070 kHz at 15:00 UTC Sunday 23rd June. And by WBCQ on 7490 kHz at 00:00 – 01:00 UTC Monday 24th June. There is […]

If you live in North America and have an interest in becoming a ham radio operator, this is the weekend to check out what amateur radio is all about, and meet local radio enthusiasts. It’s Field Day! What is Field Day? I’ll quote from the ARRL, who sponsors the event: “ARRL Field Day is the […]

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 of 40+ located at various Antarctic research stations. Each year, the thirty minute show is guaranteed to be quirky, nostalgic, and certainly a DX-worthy catch! After […]

(Source: Southgate ARC via Mike Hansgen) Historic trans-Atlantic contact made on 144 MHz A historic contact was made on Sunday the 16th June 2019 when the Atlantic was spanned for the first time on 144 MHz. D41CV on Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa managed to work FG8OJ in Guadeloupe on 144.174 MHz […]

(Source: Southgate ARC via Eric McFadden) Caroline North June We are counting down the days to another fabulous Radio Caroline North broadcast – LIVE from our historic radio-ship Ross Revenge this weekend. Welcome back Chris Pearson after a two-year absence, now joining us as both a Caroline presenter and MD of Manx Radio! Tune in on Saturday 22nd and […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Jones, who shares an image of the new ELAD DUO-X transceiver: A prototype of the DUO-X will be on display this weekend at Ham Radio Friedrichshafen this weekend. I don’t have a lot of details about the DUO-X yet, but here is what I can confirm: There will […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gary DeBock, who shares a video of his latest Ferrite Sleeve Loop (FSL) antenna: the 3″ Baby FSL. Gary Notes: The new design 3 Inch (76mm) Baby FSL antenna is the smallest, most compact and lightweight of the “airport friendly” FSL’s developed here recently, but it provides a very […]

From the Isle of Music, June 23-29: No interviews this week. Instead, we listen to some selections from EGREM’s 45 D’lujo and 55 D’lujo compilation series. The 12-CD set for 55 d’lujo has over 200 songs and was awarded a special prize in Cubadisco 2019. The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible […]

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 of 40+ located at various Antarctic research stations. Each year, the thirty minute show is guaranteed to be quirky, nostalgic, and certainly a DX-worthy catch! After […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who shares this article from Mashable: Genius is, well, genius. The company recently accused Google of lifting song lyrics from its site, reports the Wall Street Journal. How did Genius know Google was stealing? In 2016, Genius made a few changes to the punctuation in its song lyrics. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Van Hoy, who shares this interesting article via Space.com: The orbits of Venus, Earth and Jupiter may explain the sun’s regular 11-year cycle, a new study suggests. A team of researchers from Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), a research institute in Dresden, Germany, showed that the magnetic fields of those […]

(Source: RNZ via Michael Bird) The Cook Islands Investment Corporation says there are no plans to replace an AM radio mast that is to be dismantled on Rarotonga. The mast at Matavera, built with New Zealand aid money many years ago to provide a signal to the outer islands, is rusted through in places and […]

Universal Radio has posted a product page for the new Eton Elite Satellit. Pre-Order As they have done in the past, Universal is offering a “pre-order” discounted price of $349.95 that will not be charged to the buyer until the unit actually ships. Availability Universal expects the Elite Satellit to ship sometime in the 4th […]

(Source: Radio Free Asia) A Taiwanese businessman is scheduled to face trial in Thailand’s northern Chiang Mai city next week on charges that he illegally hosted a radio station that broadcast uncensored news to listeners in China, amid claims that Beijing pressured Thai authorities to shut down the station. The June 19-20 hearing at the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who notes: Here is an interesting looking indoor passive HF loop antenna [photo above] that Randy McIntosh just started selling in the US. Made in Greece. Model TLA500C. Sorry it’s not for MW. Here’ are the specifications/description from the eBay page: This sale is for an […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, 13dka, who shares the following guest post and review: Do I really need this radio? A very belated review of the C.Crane CCRadio 2E by 13dka Ever since my relapse into radioholism a few years ago, I had a craving for a top-notch medium wave radio. This became even […]

Encore – Classical Music on Shortwave – Broadcast on Sunday afternoon in Europe and USA Encore – Classical Music this weekend is being broadcast as usual by Channel 292 (Europe) on 6070 kHz at 15:00 UTC Sunday 16th June. And by WBCQ on 7490 kHz at 00:00 – 01:00 UTC Monday 17th June. There is […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes: Hi Thomas, This month’s DRM Newsletter from the Digital Radio Mondiale Consortium has announced that a chip has been developed and introduced to make DRM receiver manufacturing easier and cheaper. It’s to be made available soon in a module with a header connector for developers, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, PA, who notes that Lennart Benschop has posted a review comparing the Tecsun PL-680 and Tecsun S-8800. Click here to read the full comparison & review.

(Source: WRTH) The latest version of the A19 International and C&OTB broadcaster schedules pdf has been uploaded to the WRTH website. This download is available free of charge and includes the transmission schedules from 180+ International and Clandestine/Target broadcasters, arranged by country. For maximum usability, these schedules are in the same format and use the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron, who shares the following news via the ARRL: After filing a civil action and seeking an injunction to stop a church-related pirate radio station from operating in Worcester, Massachusetts, the US Attorney’s Office this week reached a settlement with the station’s operators, Vasco Oburoni and Christian Praise International […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kris Partridge, who shares the following note following our recent series of posts about WWII radio: The, nearly, full story of the BBC’s wartime reporting can be found here. Yes, I hope another interesting read both for your good self and the readers of The SWLing Post: http://www.orbem.co.uk/repwar/wr_action.htm What […]

From the Isle of Music, June 16-22: This week our special guest is Horacio “El Negro” Hernández, whose new album Italuba Big Band Live was the winner of the Jazz category of Cubadisco 2019. This is one of our rare interviews in English, and the Jazz is superb. The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill (WD9EQD), who notes: [Recently] the Radio Canada program Sunday Edition had an interview with CBC President Catherine Tait. Very interesting on the challenges facing CBC and radio/tv in general: (Source: CBC Radio) It is the job of the CBC to build social cohesion in Canada, according to CBC/Radio-Canada president […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who shares this piece from the Vatican News: ‘Hebdomada Papae’: News in Latin on Vatican Radio Saturday, 8 June, sees the launch of “Hebdomada Papae, notitiae vaticanae latine redditae” (The Pope’s week in review: Vatican news bulletin in Latin), on Vatican Radio. By Linda Bordoni Starting […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bruce Atchison, who who shares this short video from the early 1980s showing a glimpse inside Radio Venceremos: Click here to view on YouTube. From Wikipedia: Radio Venceremos (Spanish; in English, “‘We Shall Overcome’ Radio”) was an ‘underground’ radio network of the anti-government Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) […]

(Source: WRTH via John Hoad) WRTH A19 Bargraph Frequency Guide Now Available – Buy your CD or Download today! We are delighted to announce the availability of the new WRTH Bargraph Frequency Guide for the A19 season. The CD contains the complete, and monitored, A19 international broadcasts on LW, MW and SW, and fully updated […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who passes along this interesting radio show from the CBS Radio Workshop and a description from his friend, Art Chimes. Art writes: Airing in 1956-57, The CBS Radio Workshop was an anthology series that featured a wide range of productions, often in experimental formats. On Nov. 11, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Brent Levit, who notes a new Eton receiver in the latest Universal Radio print catalog: the Eton Elite Satellit. Raise your hand if you see the similarities between the Elite Satellit and the famous Eton E1 (photo below)? Brent also notes: “Universal Radio has a $399.00 price tag. It […]

Each year at the Dayton Hamvention I enjoy checking out the latest radio products and services. This year (2019) I found an exceptional number of innovations and will share these in Hamvention Highlights posts. If you would like to check out 2019 Hamvention Highlights as I publish them, bookmark this tag: 2019 Hamvention Highlights The Polar […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Christian, who notes that the price of the Eton Executive Traveler continues to go down on Amazon. Christian notes: The price is now less than $37US shipped. I’m sure the price will continue to decline until inventory is sold out but I’ve a feeling that once they’re gone, they’re […]

(Source: The Hindu) If Prasar Bharati has its way, All India Radio will have to stop all global short wave transmissions — eighty years after it began international broadcasting in 1939. AIR is resisting the move arguing that it will curtail its global reach. There are about 46 short wave transmitters that run both domestic […]

This is sad news for those like me who enjoy Maker Faires. This year, our own community started a Mini Maker Faire that was held on a university campus–it was a massive success. My daughters and I taught a number of children and adults how to solder simple circuits. I also met quite a few […]