The SWLing Post

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Scott Gamble and Bill Mead who both share the following story via the CBC News: Joseph Hovsepian says he is part of the last generation that knows how to repair electronics Joseph Hovsepian has been repairing? radios for so long that he claims that he can sometimes smell the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Stefano Mollo (VK6WFM), who writes: I have been lately experimenting with DRM 30, with the aim of coming up with a cheap solution to get on air for next to no $$$, for small, local broadcasters that would either go pirate on FM or would not go at all due […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan (NO2CW), who writes: If anyone is interested in monitoring aircraft communications across HF, VHF and UHF, Thomas, N1SPY put together a demo video of what you can hear and how: Click here to view on YouTube. Brilliant instructional video, Tommy! Like you, I love both radio and aviation […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Porter, who notes: Pleased to let you know that Woofferton Transmitting Station celebrated 75 years of continuous operation yesterday 17th October 2018. It is now run by Encompass Digital Media to give it its full name! Woofferton has certainly experienced and propagated a lot of world history! Thank […]

(Source: Radio Romania International via David Iurescia) Dear friends, on Sunday, November 4th 2018 we invite you to Listener’s Day on Radio Romania International, to tell us about the role of radio in your life On November 1st, 2018, we celebrate the 90th anniversary of the first official radio broadcast in Romania. We are celebrating 90 […]

(Source: New Zealand History via Andrea Borgnino) First trans-global radio transmission to London From the family sheep station in Shag Valley, East Otago, amateur radio operator Frank Bell sent a groundbreaking Morse code transmission received and replied to by London-based amateur operator Cecil Goyder. Frank and his older sister Brenda were radio pioneers. Invalided home from […]

(Source: Tom Taylor Now) The FCC’s busting more pirates in smaller markets. True, the Dallas office issues two Notices of Unlicensed Operation for an 87.9 in Houston, run out of New Beginnings Fellowship Church. But agents from Dallas also found a pirate FM at 93.5 up in the smallish Texas Panhandle town of Amarillo. (That […]

From the Isle of Music, October 21-27: Our special guest this week is Samuel Formell, leader of the legendary Los Van Van, whose new album Legado won a Special Prize in Cubadisco 2018.. The transmissions take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Hughes, who notes that Tecsun Radios Australia have announced a new DRM stand-alone receiver: the Q-3061. When I first received Alan’s tip, I was surprised that I had not been been given some advance notice or even a hint about Tecsun developing and producing a DRM radio. Then I saw […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) After recently being demonstrated at the Tokyo Hamfair, we are pleased to announce that the new RS-R30I (for iOS)/RS-R30A (for Android) remote control software for the IC-R30 Communications Receiver is now available to download for FREE from the App Store and Google Play. The RS-R30I and the RS-R30A enable you to wirelessly connect to […]

Thanks to all of you for indulging me yesterday as I tried to decide whether or not I should keep my beloved TRS-80 Tandy Color Computer 2 (CoCo 2). I conducted a survey asking this very question. As of this morning, 158 readers responded to the survey, 81.4% replied (rather, shouted) “Keep it!”: And so […]

Many thanks to Ken Reitz (KS4ZR) who reminds us that the School Club Roundup started today: [T]his is it! The start of the fall term SCR is today. Challenge yourself to work as many school clubs as possible and see if you don’t feel optimistic about the future of amateur radio. Here are the SCR rules: http://www.arrl.org/school-club-roundup […]

[Click here to read the follow-up to this post.] We radio enthusiasts are a nostalgic bunch. Let’s just admit that and get it out of the way. I’ve always found it difficult to let go of vintage radios, but over the past three years I have. I used to have well over a dozen boat […]

I was just chatting with my buddy Dave Cripe (NM0S) who recently snagged a cool Soviet-era vintage portable radio at ShopGoodwill.com. It’s a beauty: I’ve always been fascinated with Soviet and Eastern European designs from the 60s, 70s and 80s, but I’ll be the first to admit that I know little-to-nothing about them. I’m curious […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor and resident shortwave music specialist, Justin Moore, for sharing the following from his blog, Sothis Medias: Holger Czukay was another musician who was fascinated with the sounds of shortwave listening. He brought his love of radio and communications technology on board with him when he helped to found the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Stan (WA1LOU), who writes: Besides being a radio aficionado, I also dabble in philately and subscribe to a couple of stamp magazines. The cover of the October 15 issue of Linn’s Stamp News caught my eye displaying a QSL card from Swan Island (HR6SWA) (see attached). As it turns out, […]

(Source: Fortune via Mark Fahey) Switzerland Is Doing Away With Over-the-Air TV. Could the U.S. Do the Same? Rabbit ears and other TV antennas could be useless in Switzerland before too long. The Swiss government has given the country’s public broadcaster approval to turn off its digital terrestrial TV (known as over-the-air to most people) […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post reader, Christian, who writes: Hi Thomas. Amazon have dropped the price of the Field BT once again. This time to $79.00 shipped! This is the lowest price I’ve ever seen for this model. I already have one now but thought I’d “share the love.” This is Amazon, so who knows how long […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave (NM0S), who left the following comment on our previous post regarding wireless electric transmission: This company [Viziv] had been known as Texzon until recently, and must have apparently had a recent change of name. Their main published paper is found here: Click here to download PDF. Basically they […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael Taniwha, who shares the following story from KWTX (my comments follow the article excerpt): CARL’S CORNER, Texas (KWTX) An oddly shaped, but prominent, roadside construction project along Interstate 35-East just north of Carl’s Corner is actually a high-tech study into the feasibility of transmitting electricity from place to place without […]

(Source: BBC News) BBC World Service announces biggest expansion ‘since the 1940s’ The BBC World Service will launch 11 new language services as part of its biggest expansion “since the 1940s”, the corporation has announced. The expansion is a result of the funding boost announced by the UK government last year. The new languages will […]

Yesterday, UPS delivered a much-anticipated package: the CTX-10 QRP transceiver from CommRadio. CommRadio dispatched this loaner CTX-10 for evaluation and I’m excited to get my hands on it since it’s not everyday I get to evaluate a transceiver designed around field portability (my favorite category of gear). Yesterday, I took a few shots of the […]

From the Isle of Music, October 14-20: Our special guest this week is Gastón Joya, whose album Mama Ina won the Jazz Soloists category of Cubadisco 2018. We’ll speak with him about the album, listen to some of it, and we will also hear music from some of the other nominees. The transmissions take place: […]

I’ve been an owner of the Amazon Echo smart speaker since it was first released and even reviewed it here on the SWLing Post a couple years ago. Although it’s not a perfect device–and many feel IOT products like this invade their privacy (rightfully so)–it is a nice hands-free way to call up a radio station, […]

(Source: The Age via Richard Langley and John Figliozzi) Michelle Guthrie wanted to make one thing clear. “I love my job,” she said when we met one winter morning at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s inner-Sydney head office. Granted, being managing director and editor-in-chief of the ABC at one of the most turbulent times in its history was a […]

(Source: Tom Taylor Now) Are the protected night signals of monster 50,000-watt AMs “an anachronism?” And is the FCC poised to do something that will frustrate late-night DX’ers? The Commission tries again to balance the role of Class A signals like KMOX St. Louis/1120, designed to serve listeners hundreds of miles away, with the desires […]

The following article originally appeared in the July 2018 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine: Welcome back to the world of SDRs Last month we covered Part One of our three-part primer on software-defined radios (SDRs). While last month’s Part One focused on the nomenclature and components of a functioning SDR system, Part Two will take a […]

I had a nice phone chat with SWLing Post contributor and good friend Robert Gulley this week and discovered that, like me, he’s in the process of selling a few radios in his collection. Robert is thinning his radio herd in order to help fund another hobby: photography. I’m minimizing my collection, on the other hand, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden, who shares the following ARRL response to the FCC Enforcement Advisory we posted last week. The following was published in the ARRL News: ARRL has taken a minor exception to the wording of a September 24 FCC Enforcement Advisory pertaining to the importation, marketing and sale of VHF […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen (K8RAT), who shares the latest space weather forecast from Tamitha Skov: Click here to view on YouTube.

From the Isle of Music, October 7-13: This episode presents a special broadcast of Misa Cubana. The transmissions take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and Oceania) with 100Kw, Sunday 1500-1600 UTC on SpaceLine, 9400 KHz, from Kostinbrod, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Korchin (K2WNW), for sharing the following article from The New York Times: London’s Radio Pirates Changed Music. Then Came the Internet. LONDON — In 1993, the illegal radio broadcasters at Kool FM came up with a plan to keep the regulators from raiding their studios. In those days, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alex, who notes that he’s updated his frequency charts once again. Alex writes: I have updated my short wave charts for the summer season. There was a lot on this summer, so sadly the charts are rather late in the season, but at least there is still a month to […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Goren, who notes the passing of Peggy Sue who was the inspiration for Buddy Holly’s song. Dave notes, “Peggy Sue was a ham.” She was indeed and her callsign was K5PSG. David shared the following article from the Lubbock-Avalanche Journal: Peggy Sue Gerron, who will be forever remembered in […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who notes that WWV and WWVH are announcing the end of marine storm warning announcements on October 31, 2018. This morning, I made the following recording of the announcement via WWV 5 MHz at 4 minutes past the hour: Last year this time NOAA announced the end […]

(Source: The Interpreter via Michael Taniwha) Restoring Australia’s Pacific media presence by Kevin McQuillan The departure of ABC Managing Director Michelle Guthrie just two-and-a-half years into her five-year term reflects the board’s decision to seek “fresh leadership”, according to Chairman Justin Milne. Announcing Guthrie’s sacking today, Milne said “the board’s foremost consideration was the long-term interests of […]

(Source: RadioInfo via William Lee) Radio Tomorrow with James Cridland I’m writing this in London, where the doors are (as I type) just about to open for Next Radio, the radio conference that I run here with my friend Matt Deegan. It’s a positive radio conference with an uplifting feel. Go to a radio conference in the […]

(Source: InsideRadio via Ulis K3LU) All-Digital AM Grabs Automakers’ Interest. The fate of AM radio in the car dashboard may pass through Frederick, MD. That’s where the latest experiment on an all-digital AM signal is taking place, on Hubbard Radio’s adult alternative “The Gamut” WWFD (820). The project, in conjunction with digital radio developer Xperi […]

(Source: India.com) New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI) On October 1, 1939, the All India Radio made its first broadcast for foreign listeners — a Pashto service started by the then British rulers to counter the Nazi Germany propaganda during World War II. The national radio broadcaster has decided that the 80th anniversary of the historic […]

(Source: IEEE Spectrum via Ed C) Amanda Dawn Christie’s work commemorates the fading glory of shortwave radio By Stephen Cass Some artists work in oils, say, or marble. Amanda Dawn Christie works in radio. Not radio in the sense of performing on air. But radio in the sense of the giant cultural and technological phenomenon that is […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) New Zealand’s regulator RSM reports: In August, we mentioned creating a prohibition notice for unrestricted two-way radios. This was to limit the availability to the general public for radios that don’t meet the Radio Standards. The prohibition notice is ready to gazette and will come into effect on 18 October 2018. The notice will […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Lee Reynolds, who shares these images and notes after a recent visit to WBCQ in Monticello, Maine: Looks as if the basic antenna construction is all done up there now. Thank you, Lee. Wow–that is an amazing antenna! I can only image what the foundation of that tower would entail! Thank […]

Many thanks to a number of SWLing Post contributors including, Mike, Dan, Ron and Bob who all shared this article from the BBC World Service: The bombs used by Allied forces during World War II were so large, they weakened the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The air raids turned towns to rubble and ash, but now […]

Post readers might recall that I attended and presented at Circle of HOPE (Hackers On Planet Earth 2018 in New York City. One of the many cool things about HOPE was the Hardware Hacking Village: a space with 40 or so fully-stocked soldering stations that HOPE attendees could use anytime during the conference. I built two […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed, who writes: Whilst watching the 1998 movie The Interview on Netflix, I spotted a Kriesler Radio Company Super-Power Long Range Panoramic 11-71 made in Newtown (Sydney) Australia about 1:11 into the movie (the opening scene.) More information here: https://www.radiomuseum.org/r/kriesler_11_71_117.html I’d never heard of the Kriesler Radio Company before, probably […]

Many thanks to Jon Hudson with SDRplay who shares the following announcement: SDRplay have just released a new video guide to using SDRuno software and an SDR for recording and playback: Click here to view. This is one of many video and written guides available in their Applications and Support Catalogue: https://www.sdrplay.com/apps-catalogue/

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Balázs Kovács, who discovered a number of scenes in Fear the Walking Dead that feature various radios. Balázs notes: In the last episodes (after a hurricane) various two way radios were quite frequently used. Thanks, Balázs! That looks like a Kenwood HF transceiver on the table. Anyone know the model? […]

(Source: Maritime Digitalisation & Communications via Richard Cuff) KNL Networks is building a mesh network of base stations on ships for securely transmitting operational and machinery data to shore Shortwave radio can be used for data transmissions from ships to shore and between vessels as an alternative, or even complementary, service to satellite communications. This is […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who references this thread on RadioReference.com regarding the following FCC Enforcement Advisory: The Enforcement Bureau (Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has observed that a growing number of conventional retailers and websites advertise and sell low-cost, two-way VHF/UHF radios that do not comply with the […]

(Source: The Washington Post via Jeff McMahan) CHICAGO — Cedar Electronics has been selling CB radios to American truckers since the 1960s, helping connect the workers who keep the U.S. economy rolling. But these days Cedar’s business isn’t exactly trucking along. The Chicago-headquartered company is racing around Asia looking for other countries to host its […]