The SWLing Post

From the Isle of Music, December 9-15 This week, our special guest is Producer and Musicologist Gretel Garlobo, with whom we will present music from La Trovuntivitis, which was awarded a Special Prize in Cubadisco 2018. We will also listen to music from another Cubadisco Special Prize winner, Privilegio de Origen The broadcasts take place: […]

Three weeks ago, we announced a new contest to celebrate the SWLing Post‘s 10th Anniversary. The prize is an amazing piece of broadcast history: a 75 year old round plate glass window that was fitted in the central main door of the RCA senders at the Woofferton, UK, transmitting site in 1943. This prize was generously […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Anderson, who writes: Just to let you and and your readers know that the AR1780 has had a price drop – NZ$99 and AU$89 at Jaycar. https://www.jaycar.co.nz/compact-world-band-radio-with-ssb/p/AR1780 https://www.jaycar.com.au/compact-world-band-radio-with-ssb/p/AR1780 That is a great price for the AR-1780! Thanks for sharing, David! FYI: if you live in the US and […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Robert Sillett, who shares the following regarding late US President George H. W. Bush: Firstly, thank you so much for providing such a great service to the shortwave community. Thanks so much! I am dropping you a line because of something I noticed in the following article from the Washington […]

Earlier this month, I had the honor of being interviewed by both the Radio Survivor podcast and WAIF’s radio show Trash Flow Radio, hosted by Justin Moore. It was great fun to spend time with the Radio Survivor crew who are massive supporters of community radio and then the very next day be interviewed on a […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Mike Hangen and Kim Elliott who share the following item from The Verge: Crosley, the company best known for making those junky $100 turntables you can find at Target or Best Buy, is expanding into a different era of musical nostalgia: cassette decks, via TechCrunch. The company is selling […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Addy, who shares a link to this large collection of novelty radios: Click here to view on Dangerous Minds. I recognize a couple of those radios, but there are so many promotional sets I had never seen before. Who would have thought of a canned Pineapple radio? Love […]

Tomorrow is the final day in this latest HAARP campaign–still time to tune in: (Source: Chris Fallen) Funding Agencies: National Science Foundation, Fourth State Communications Experimenters/Instrumentation Support: Cornell University, UAF, Naval Research Lab, Eastern Michigan University, HAM amateur radio operators Research: Experiments are carried out by scientists from Cornell University, the University of Alaska Fairbanks, […]

The following article originally appeared in the November 2018 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine: Shortwave Portables: Some of my favorites Being a radio writer and blogger, I’m often asked, “Isn’t radio dying?” or “How long are you going to keep listening to radio when there are so many other options out there?” My answer? It’s simple: […]

The Retekess V115 (A.K.A. Tivdio V-115 & Audiomax SRW-710S) price has been lowered to $19.99 US shipped on Amazon.com. Click here to read our previous reviews of this radio. The V-115 makes for a great portable broadcast receiver/recorder and has very pleasant audio–certainly a benchmark performer in the sub $25 category. It’s a great little backup radio to […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Neil Goldstein, who writes: I know a lot of your readers (especially the QRP ones) may be interested in the update I FINALLY made to the radio kit guide. Added, removed, etc. Lots of cool stuff. http://radiokitguide.com Thanks for sharing, Neil! What a great curated list of QRP kits!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst–developer of the Shortwave Signals Alexa skill--who shares the following tutorial: How to use the Shortwave Signals Alexa skill Introduction Alexa skills come in all shapes and sizes, from the trivial random fact skill, to a fully fledged news reader. Some have little or no input, while others […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contribuor, Charlie (WA2ONH), who notes: A good price for the XHDATA D-808 on eBay right now. No connection with the vendor. Buy at your own risk. Click here to view on eBay. Thank you for the tip, Charlie! Looks like the seller has a 99.6% positive rating–impressive for the volume they […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gregg Griffith, who notes that the Eton Grundig Edition Executive Sattelit is on sale at Amazon for $109.99 shipped. This is the lowest price I’ve ever seen for a new GEE Satellit. Since this is an Amazon sale, the price could change at any time. I have the original Satellit […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, 13dka, who left the following comment on my post about coastal SWLing: Nice weather and pics! Hmmm… it wasn’t so obvious to me before but it looks like the Skywave SSB is even smaller than the D-808. Now I’m jealous! ? I find it pretty amazing is that just a […]

Two weeks ago, we announced a new contest to celebrate the SWLing Post‘s 10th Anniversary. The prize is an amazing piece of broadcast history: a 75 year old round plate glass window that was fitted in the central main door of the RCA senders at the Woofferton, UK, transmitting site in 1943. This prize was generously […]

(Source: Jeff White at WRMI) This coming Saturday, December 1, marks the fifth anniversary of WRMI’s transmissions from Okeechobee, Florida. Every year at this time, we have an Open House, which doubles as a Christmas party, for station staff, clients and local friends. WRMI listeners are also very welcome to attend this Open House. You […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mohamed, who comments with an update about the loss of NWS High Seas and Storm Warnings on WWV and WWVH. Mohamed writes: The decision to terminate the broadcasts has not been retracted. It has only been delayed to January 31, 2019: (Source: National Weather Service) NOUS41 KWBC 151610 PNSWSH Service Change […]

In addition to its regularly- scheduled programming, UBMP (Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot), a program that presents music from around the world along with a little comedy now and then, will be presenting the following hour-long holiday specials for the Americas in December: 1. Uncle Bill’s X-Mess Special, featuring Christmas music from around the planet, unusual holiday […]

From the Isle of Music, December 2-8 This week, our special guest is Ricardo Oropesa, Artistic Director of Septeto Nacional Ignacio Piñeiro, which was awarded a Premio de Honor at Cubadisco 2018 for its 90 years of existence. This is the group that first took the Son from Cuba around the world. Plenty of great […]

After Thanksgiving Day (here in the States) my family took a little camping trip on the coast of North Carolina. We spent a few nights near Holden Beach and Oak Island–some of my favorite parts of the NC coast. Weather was splendid on Sunday, so we took a long walk on the beach and, of […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Chris Freitas, who adds the following note to our post about the Echo Dot Cyber Monday sale: It is also worth noting that the Google Home Mini (a similar product) is also having the same sale. You can snag one for about $25 on most retailers. If you’re invested […]

I received a promotional email from C. Crane this morning announcing their Cyber Monday Sale of 10% all products in their catalog. While this isn’t an incredibly deep discount, it’s about as low as you’ll ever see C.Crane go. If you’ve been considering a C. Crane product, this might be the time to order. Make […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Christian, who writes: Hi Thomas. Last week you mentioned using the Echo Dot with Mark’s Shortwave Signals Alexa skill. At the time the best price was $29.95 for a refurbished unit. Today [Cyber Monday] Amazon is selling the Dot for $19.95. Just snagged one. First thing I’ll install is […]

Last week, I had the honor of speaking with Eric Klein and Jennifer Waits on the excellent Radio Survivor podcast. It’s rare that in one show I get to spread so much shortwave radio love–thanks for making that happen Radio Survivor: Perhaps you are like me and you have wished that you could go back […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Guy (KC5GOI), for sharing a link to the following (brilliant–!) radio feature from the Texas Standard: Texas Standard For November 23, 2018 On this Black Friday, we explore how marketing created a legacy of pirates in the air over Texas – affecting music culture and politics. It’s a special edition […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, James (W4AMP), who notes that the excellent Icom IC-7300 general coverage transceiver (click here to read our review) is currently $959.95 after coupons and rebates at GigaParts, DX Engineering and Ham Radio Outlet. Click here to view at DX Engineering. Click here to view at Ham Radio Outlet. Click […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nigel Holmes––formerly of Radio Australia––for the following op ed. Developments in the Australian domestic HF broadcasting scene by Nigel Holmes Radio broadcast on HF (high frequency or shortwave) has a solid role to play in the pantheon of media in the Australian and pan-Pacific context. It might be off […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kim Elliott, who shares this fascinating story from WBUR: For the past 70 years, WPAQ out of Mount Airy, North Carolina — population 10,000 — has broadcast bluegrass and old-time string music. But music isn’t all you’ll hear on WPAQ. “If folks call in and say they’ve lost an […]

(Source: SDRplay via Jon Hudson) SDRplay is pleased to announce the availability of an updated Raspberry Pi3 image: This release (V0.4) is a complete image for the Raspberry Pi 3 with a range of pre-built applications for SDRplay devices. Please note the following: 1. This software is made available purely for the convenience of users […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Figliozzi, who writes: I figure you’re the best source to get word of this out. Heartland America (1-800-229-2901) (www.heartlandamerica.com) is selling refurbished Grundig Executive Satellit receivers for $129.99 (MSRP $229.99). The ad states “Factory serviced to meet original quality standards – may have slight cosmetic blemishes”. It is Item […]

From the Isle of Music, November 25-December 1: This week, our special guest is Diego Gutierrez, whose album Palante el Mambo! won the Fusion category in Cubadisco 2018 and was nominated in the Tropical Fusion category of the Latin GRAMMY awards this year. Additionally, we will listen to recordings by the other Latin GRAMMY winners […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Balázs Kovács, who shares the following: Hi Thomas, Just found: the launch of the SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was delayed today, part of the load is a new radio-wave emission seeker satellite system the Pathfinder from HawkEye 360: https://www.businessinsider.com/spacex-to-launch-70-satellites-radio-tracking-2018-11 Some parts from the article: “An unprecedented rocket mission for […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ian P, who shares the following story and interview via ABC News Northern Territory Country Hour. I strongly suggest listening to the full seven plus minute interview via the embedded audio player below: https://abcmedia.akamaized.net/radio/local_darwin/audio/201811/acl-2018-11-19-shortwave.mp3 Click here to download audio. If elected next year, Federal Labor says it will provide […]

Last week, we announced a new contest to celebrate the SWLing Post‘s 10th Anniversary. The prize is an amazing piece of broadcast history: a 75 year old round plate glass window that was fitted in the central main door of the RCA senders at the Woofferton, UK, transmitting site in 1943. This prize was generously donated […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Christian, who writes: Hi Thomas. Amazon have dropped the price of the Field BT yet again. This time to $70.99 shipped! This is now the lowest price I’ve ever seen for the Field BT. Perhaps they’re discontinuing the model? It’s a fine radio (very sensitive) with amazing audio. I paid a […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes: I’m pleased to announce that my Alexa skill has been approved by Amazon and is now available in the following countries: Australia, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Because single word skills are reserved for organisations and brand names, the skill name had […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Charlie Liberto (W4MEC), who shares the following: Perhaps you could post somewhere a general call for anything WW II related that went into a B17F. This website: http://hangarthirteen.org/ under the ‘Parts Drive‘ menu, lists the many things that will be sought after for the next few years. There might […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Robert Gulley (AK3Q), who shares the following announcement from his blog All Things Radio: I have posted two new articles in the Reviews and How-Tos section. These were both previously published in The Spectrum Monitor magazine earlier this year. The first article deals with buying used and new equipment, while the other article is […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who shares the following announcement via Radio Romania International: Dear friends, RRI continues its traditional polling of listeners on short wave, the Internet and social media, with a new challenge, which we hope you will find interesting We would like to ask you which personality you think […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who notes that WWV & WWVH marine storm warning announcements continue despite a recent announcement that they would end. Richard has been monitoring WWV/WWVH broadcasts and shared the following note earlier this month: The weather broadcasts (storm information) were still there at 8, 9, and 10 minutes past […]

If you’ve been a shortwave radio listener since the Cold War, you no doubt remember Radio Moscow‘s Mailbag program with Joe Adamov. Tom Gavaras, a new contributor at the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive, recently shared a series of seven Radio Moscow studio recordings and noted: These recordings were originally provided to me on reel-to-reel tape directly […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, for the following guest post and review: Tecsun’s S-8800: Is This All The Radio You Will Ever Need? These days, we who still derive enjoyment from listening to shortwave broadcasts, be they larger international broadcasters or smaller stations that remain on the air against all odds in […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Lilian Putina, who shares the latest broadcast schedule update (in Spanish) from Radio Havana Cuba. Click here to download the schedule as a PDF.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow, who shares the following comment regarding our recent post that highlighted the JRC NRD-301A: Please note that my JRC NRD-301A review can still be found on my web page. Excellent construction, but we found it not so great in other area’s. For the big money it was […]

From the Isle of Music, November 18-24: This week, we listen to music from the winners of the Academic Music (concert music) categories of Cubadisco 2018 and some related Special Prize winners. The transmissions take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts […]

Ten years ago, I created a blog. I designed the SWLing Post as a simple site where I could share a few links and articles about my favorite topic: radio. And maybe educate a few new listeners about the hobby. Never would I have imagined that within a few years, the site would grow to […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Marcus Keulertz, from Düsseldorf, Germany, who writes:. Here are some nice pics about my own special way practicing our beloved radio hobby. I was quite satisfied with my logs. I heard Radio Taiwan’s Mandarin broadcast and All India Radio National Service in vernacular languages. I did [all of this listening from] […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, William Lee, who shares the Radio Survivor’s Podcast #166: The FCC’s Effort To Decimate Community Media: The FCC has proposed to de-fund community media through an arcane rule that determines how contributions from cable companies to public-access, educational and government (PEG) stations are counted. Because it’s arcane, the effort […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post sponsor, Bob Raymond with DXtreme Software, for sharing the following press release: Product Announcement DXtreme Station Log 14 DXtreme SoftwareTM has released a new version of its popular logging program for Amateur Radio operators: DXtreme Station Log 14TM. New Features in DXtreme Station Log 14 DX Spot Checker Now Has Two […]