The SWLing Post

(Source: The Guardian via BJ Leiderman and Kris Partridge) America’s rural radio stations are vanishing – and taking the country’s soul with them When I arrive at the radio station, Mark Lucke is standing in the doorway, looking out at the spitting, winter rain. He’s slim and stoic, with sad, almost haunted, eyes. The first […]

The NK News has published an article about North Korea’s “Third Network”: the infamous cable network radio installed in many homes and that, some report, cannot be turned off. This article tries to separate fact from fiction and turns to SWLing Post friend, Mark Fahey, among other North Korea experts: The North Korean radio you […]

(Source: The Hindu) by Sobhana K. Nair Prasar Bharati has asked it to come up with a proposal to phase out SW transmitters If Prasar Bharati [India’s largest public broadcasting agency] has its way, All India Radio will have to stop all global short wave transmissions — eighty years after it began international broadcasting in […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Fred Waterer, who shares the following fascinating video from the CBC and notes: “The Listeners” Members of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Corps monitored the airwaves for German U-Boat traffic. Their participation was secret for decades.” Click here to view this video via the CBC. This is such an […]

Today, as many know, is the 75th anniversary of the World War II battle in Normandy, France, known to history as D-Day. “Operation Overlord,” as D-Day was code named, without doubt, was one of the key turning points of World War II. But many may not know that D-Day was also one of the first […]

Yesterday, we posted a photo of a Tecsun S-9900 “prototype” that was shared by @katsu3_uc on Twitter: Shortly thereafter, another image was shared featuring the Tecsun PL-990: To put this in perspective: there hasn’t been a new product announcement like this from Tecsun since the appearance of the S-8800 nearly four years ago–! This buzz […]

[Update: Please check out this post about the Tecsun PL-990.] Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following image originally posted in the Shortwave Radio Listener Appreciation Facebook group: This looks like a solid iteration of the venerable Tecsun PL-880. While the previous photo we posted via Twitter user @katsu3_uc of […]

[Update: Please check out this post about the Tecsun S-9900.] [Update: Also see this post that includes an image of a Tecsun PL-990. I will try to confirm if one or both of these radios may indeed be produced this year.] Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and producer, Scott Gamble, who notes the following […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Roseanna, who shares the following guest post originally published on her blog, The Girl with the Radio: Unexpected FM madness! I would like tho share with you a once in a lifetime Sporadic-E event that happened to me today along with videos of the catches I received during 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 QRP […]

(Source: Radio World) China Radio International Recommits to Africa Mali relay site near Bamako is back on air diffusing China Radio’s shortwave signal. The site carries CRI’s shortwave broadcasts for more than 20 frequency hours a day to Africa. The move has also benefited Mali’s own shortwave transmissions, which were reportedly suffering from weak signals […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rob Gray, who writes: I recently returned back from a three-month trip in Africa (Namibia, South Africa, and Morocco) and had a couple of shortwave-related items that you might be interested in. The rental car in Namibia had shortwave capabilities in the in-dash radio! The rental company was oblivious […]

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 2nd June. And by WBCQ on 7490 kHz at 00:00 – 01:00 UTC Monday 3rd June. There is […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who notes that George Thomas (W5JDX) visited the iconic surplus/parts store Mendelsons in Dayton, Ohio. George spoke about his visit on HamNation and plans to air his tour and interview with the owner on a future episode. The owner did mention that they plan to close […]

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 Diversity […]

From the Isle of Music, June 2-8: No interviews this week, instead we feature the music of Grupo Afrocuba, one of the best Jazz/Fusion bands in Cuba in the 1970s and 1980s The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts […]

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 […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jarno (PA3DMI), who shares the following Old Time Radio (OTR) show, The Spy on the Kilocycles, which features Henry Fonda who had just completed his military service (October 8, 1945). Enjoy: Click here to listen via YouTube.

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 And […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Steve Yothment, who writes: Check out the attached picture. It is from a preview of tonight’s episode of “Young Sheldon.” In it, Sheldon and Dr. Stergis are listening to an antique shortwave radio. I think it is a Capehart International Radio Model 88P66NL. Also in the preview is an […]

Note that Hara Arena is the former home of the Dayton Hamvention. Lots of memories in that old building! (Source: WHIO via Eric McFadden) […]Hara Arena suffered extensive damage when tornadoes and severe storms moved through Monday night. Drone footage shows the roof and side of the structure blown off in several places. Click here […]

At the 2019 Hamvention, I stopped by the Airspy.US booth and checked out the specifications of Airspy’s latest SDR: the Airspy HF+ Discovery. At first glance, the Discovery looks a lot like the Airspy HF+ but even smaller and sporting performance upgrades. Keep in mind, I consider the Airspy HF+ (the Discovery’s predecessor) to be […]

The following Memorial Day post was originally published on May 25th, 2015: Today is Memorial Day, and I’m feeling humbly grateful to all of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Since I’ve been reading a lot of WWII history lately, I’ve also been playing a lot of WWII-era music here in my sanctuary to […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF) who shares the following post by James Wade (WB8SIW) from the QRZ.com forums: The CBC recently interviewed Lavina Shaw, Past International President of the Morse Telegraph Club. In this biographical documentary, Lavina talks about her experiences working as a railroad and commercial telegrapher as well as […]

(Source: Gizmodo) […]The February 1945 issue of Radio-Craft magazine included an article titled “Radio Audience Meter” which looked at the machine that was revolutionizing audience measurement. First installed in homes on a trial basis in 1939, the Audimeter was placed next to a family’s existing radio. The article included photo cutaways that showed how the […]

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 26th May. And by WBCQ on 7490 kHz at 00:00 – 01:00 UTC Monday 27th May. There is […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Christian, who writes: Hi Thomas. Thought you and your readers might like to know that the Eton Grundig Satellit 750 has just dropped to the lowest price I’ve seen in over three years on Amazon.com…$262.43 shipped. As always, Amazon prices change without notice so just be aware. Click here […]

Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post readers who shared the following article from the Smithsonian Magazine: The first message sent by Morse code’s dots and dashes across a long distance traveled from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore on Friday, May 24, 1844 – 175 years ago. It signaled the first time in human history […]

SWLing Post readers might recall that last year at the 2018 Hamvention, I met with radio engineer, Boris Sapundzhiev (LZ2JR), who was debuting the prototype of his 50 watt transceiver kit: the Mission RGO One (click here to read that post). Since last year, I’ve been in touch with Boris, and we arranged to meet […]

One of the hottest topics here on the SWLing Post this month is regarding Frontier Silicon and vTuner “aggregation aggravation.” Let me explain. Earlier this month, Frontier Silicon abruptly dropped vTuner as its radio stream aggregator after vTuner CEO Peter Johnson shut off the service. Johnson stated here on the SWLing Post that he: “[T]urned […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who notes: I attach an updated version (version 2) of my “Music Programmes on Shortwave” PDF list for the current A-19 broadcast season for you to consider adding to your SWLing Post pages. I hope that you find it of interest. As always, I appreciate any updates or corrections. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kris Partridge, who shares the following film from the archives of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB): Click here to view on YouTube. Wow! Thanks so much for sharing this film, Kris. What an amazing number of classic rigs. Hams back then needed some serious muscle to take […]

(Source: The Guardian via Michael Bird) ABC staff have been warned a $14.6m budget cut will be implemented in the next financial year after the re-election of the Coalition. The new managing director, David Anderson, told staff on Monday morning that a “budget challenge” was looming after his lobbying efforts in Canberra to reverse the […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester will host a 75th anniversary commemoration of the D-Day landing on Thursday, June 6 at 9 a.m. on the museum’s front lawn. The event sponsored by Kehoe Financial Advisors of Cincinnati will honor the memory of WW II soldiers who participated in D-Day […]

The 2019 Hamvention seemed to attract a very large crowd this year so I’m eager to see what the actual numbers are when they’re published. The weather was nearly perfect. From speaking with inside exhibitors, it sounds like sales were quite good this year, some told me it was a record event. On Saturday I […]

(Source: Inc42) […]Inntot Technologies provides software-enabled IP solutions for Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM for AM and FM band, a set of digital audio broadcasting guidelines) enabled receivers, DAB/DAB+ (digital audio broadcasting) enabled receivers and ISDB-T (A technical standard for digital TV broadcast) Digital Television paving way to digital radio transmission. Though the transmission side in […]

This morning, we’re about to head out to the Greene County Fairgrounds for the final day of the 2019 Hamvention. The past two days have been amazing and, as always, it’s been a pleasure to meet so many SWLing Post readers and contributors–thank you for stopping by! Below, I’ve posted photos I took at the Hamvention […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) The presentation by Noel Matthews G8GTZ on the Farnham WebSDR given to the 2018 RSGB Convention is now available on YouTube: Click here to view on YouTube. This presentation gives an overview of the Farnham WebSDR, available at http://farnham-sdr.com/ which currently covers the LF bands through to 10GHz. The presentation describes the system architecture and […]

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 19th May. And by WBCQ on 7490 kHz at 00:00 – 01:00 UTC Monday 20th May. There is […]

Today, prior to the open of the 2019 Hamvention, I had an opportunity to hang with the folks at Elecraft and grab some photos of their newest transceiver: the Elecraft K4 direct-sampling SDR (click here to read the announcement). Elecraft has now published a K4 product page on their website with information about pre-orderswith information […]

Today we learned about the latest addition to the Elecraft product line, the Elecraft K4. This fills a niche in the Elecraft product line and is certain to directly compete with the likes of the Icom IC-7610 and a number of Flex Radio transceivers, among others. Elecraft describes the K4 as having a “modular hybrid […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Pete Eaton, who writes: Don’t know if you are familiar with this project, a full blown 5 watt HF SDR Transceiver for less than $300! No sound cards, DUC/DDC architecture. Here’s the project description by Steve Haynal via YouTube: The Hermes-Lite is a low-cost direct down/up conversion software defined […]

(Source: European DX Council) A reminder that this year’s EDXC Conference takes place in Andorra, starting on Friday 6th September, with a visit that morning to Radio Valira. Please can you let EDXC Secretary General Chrissy Brand (chrissylb@hotmail.co.uk) or EDXC Assistant Secretary General Christian Ghibaudo (chr.ghibaudo@gmail.com) know if you are planning to attend the conference? […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who shares this update regarding RM Broadcasting: (Source: Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, May 13, 2019 Court Finds RM Broadcasting Must Register as a Foreign Agent U.S. District Court Judge Robin L. Rosenberg has ruled that a Florida-based company, RM Broadcasting LLC (RM […]

For the tenth year in a row, fellow volunteers and I will be representing the charity Ears To Our World (ETOW), at the Hamvention now in Xenia, Ohio. You can find us at booth 6510. (Click here for a map.) I always enjoy meeting SWLing Post readers who stop by our booth to introduce themselves! If you’re not familiar with Ears […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor Stephen Cooper who shares photos from his recent visit to the Duga Soviet Union era over-the-horizon (OTH) radar system near Chernobyl. The following photo gallery contains images of the antenna, control room, training room and server room. Click on the thumbnails below to enlarge images and browse: What an amazing […]

Something new (to me) caught my eye this morning and brought an exclamation to my lips: the three-day geomagnetic forecast for today shows Purple!! This indicates some serious geomagnetic activity! Red is not uncommon, but Purple really got my attention! The disturbance is due to an active sunspot area 31 times the size of earth! […]