The SWLing Post

Four 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: Southgate ARC via Mike Hansgen) IARUMS reports on mystery frequency hopping station IARU-R1 Monitoring System reports an intriguing transmission has been spotted giving short beeps exactly on each second, frequency hopping between 10108-10115 kHz and 18834/18899 kHz One of the mysterious transmitters is located in the vicinity of Chicago, near the town of Aurora or […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ron Chester (W6AZ), who writes: Have you seen this site from Duke University’s Center For Documentary Studies? Shortwave is so cool that the digital nerds are now working on reproducing it on the Internet. It’s got a great interface, authentic sounding noise between stations, a train passing by on one […]

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 […]

From the Isle of Music, December 16-22 This week, we celebrate Formell y Los Van Van’s nomination for Best Tropical Latin Album in the GRAMMY awards by listening again to our interview with Samuel Formell and music from the album Legado. The broadcasts take place: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target […]

(Source: Nicholas Hardyman WRTH) World Radio TV Handbook 2019 Published 7 December 2018 – Order your copy today! We are delighted to announce the publication of the 73rd edition of WRTH. For full details of WRTH 2019 and to order a copy please visit our website at www.wrth.com where you can also order the B18 WRTH […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alan Roe, who notes: I have now compiled my Music on Shortwave listing for the B-18 broadcast period. Alan, thanks so much for keeping this brilliant guide updated each broadcast season and for sharing it here with the community! Click here to download a PDF copy of Alan Roe’s Music on Shortwave […]

Here at SWLing Post HQ we’ve been under a Winter Storm Warning since yesterday–it’s not set to expire until sometime tomorrow. This storm hasn’t been all snow–it’s a mixture of snow and ice. If this continues, I fully expect to lose power at some point today. In general, we’re prepared to handle this sort of […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Thomas, who shares the following reply to our recently post highlighting a number of novelty radios. Mike writes: That is a nice collection of novelty radios. I have a few of them but tend to focus on early production transistors. [Here is a] picture of my collection: Wow! […]

I just discovered that Ham Radio Outlet has cut the price of the excellent SDRplay RSPduo by $50 as a holiday special. If you’ve been considering the RSPduo, I would encourage you to jump on this deal. Click here to check out our review of the RSPduo. Click here to view this deal at HRO.

Following our post yesterday regarding Eneloop rechargeable cells, SWLing Post contribtors Guy Atkins and Ivan Cholakov both warned of numerous fake and counterfeit batteries available from sellers on eBay and elsewhere. Ivan notes: Please be aware Eneloop batteries are widely copied and there are many many fakes out there. You should only buy them from […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Marcus Keulertz, who writes: I use these special rechargeable batteries [Panasonic Eneloop cells] for almost everything especially in household appliances and think what else? In my energy hungry portable radios and active Loop Antennas. They are reliable power sources, especially in the cold weather period right now. They are quite […]

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 […]