The SWLing Post

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rich Stahl (WR3V), who writes: FYI, a Muzuho SX-3 preselector just showed up on eBay. Rare as hens teeth, and said to be excellent units. Looks to be in nice condition. Click here to view on eBay. I’m not that familiar wit the Muzuho SX-3, but it does appear […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, TomL, who shares the following guest post: Stupid Radio Trick – DSP “Hi-Fi” by TomL If you can remember the 1960’s, there was an audiophile rage going on called Hi-Fi. The base unit consisted of a ponderous piece of furniture consisting of a rectangular cabinet and equally large mellow […]

From the Isle of Music, August 5-11, 2018: Part 1 of 2 parts. Our special guest this week and next is Yasek Manzano, one of the young lions in both Jazz and Electronic Music in Cuba today. Four options to listen to the transmission: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gary Wise (W4EEY), who writes with the following inquiry: Have you (or your subscribers) ever investigated the supposed radio recordings of the Judica Cordiglia brothers of Italy back in the 1960’s? Two YouTube videos just crossed my path which sparked the question. The brothers allegedly recorded transmissions from failed […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Ladd, who notes that the SDRplay RSP1A aluminum metal enclosure kit is now available on eBay. The price is $29.95 shipped and the kit includes: 1x Black aluminum metal enclosure with two labelled side panels 1x Black semi-hardshell carry case 1x Thermal pad to keep the RSP1A cool and mechanically […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who notes that one of my favorite podcasts, 99% Invisible, has featured The Shipping Forecast in their latest episode: https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/media.blubrry.com/99percentinvisible/dovetail.prxu.org/96/474ddc6a-89d7-46d3-83a4-8f153c94e3a3/316_The_Shipping_Forecast_pt01.mp3 Four times every day, on radios all across the British Isles, a BBC announcer begins reading from a seemingly indecipherable script. “And now the Shipping Forecast […]

(Source: WRMI & HFCC) HFCC Announces the Passing of its Founder Oldrich Cip Oldrich Cip, founder and Vice Chairman of the High Frequency Coordination Conference, known as the HFCC, passed away on 27 July following a sudden illness. Oldrich was involved in radio since he was a child — first as an amateur radio hobbyist […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Luke Perry, who writes: Hi Thomas, I thought I would share with the people on the SWLing Post my new radio purchase. I needed a receiver with a noise blanker as you might (or might not) recall my issue that I was having with electrical noise at my listening […]

(Source: ARRL News) The FCC has issued a Notice of Apparent Liability (NAL) proposing to fine Jerry W. Materne, KC5CSG, of Lake Charles, Louisiana, $18,000 “for apparently causing intentional interference and for apparently failing to provide station identification on amateur radio frequencies,” the FCC said. “Mr. Materne was previously warned regarding this behavior in writing […]

Jetzt Geht’s Los!, an excellent program of early German Jazz produced by Radio Ohne Nahmen, has added a new Tuesday night broadcast time in Europe, Tuesdays 1800-1900 UTC on Channel 292, 6070 Khz to be exact. This puts it right in front of From the Isle of Music, a program of music from Cuba, […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) Chris Fallen KL3WX will be using 80 kilowatts into the massive HAARP antenna array in Alaska for WSPR experiments in the 80m band from July 30 to August 1 Chris KL3WX tweeted: WSPR experiments are tentatively planned to occur between 2300 and 2400 hours UTC on July 30, 31, and Aug 1. Most […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes: [This Barlow Wadley XCR-30 (above)] appears in Episode 4 of The Looming Tower on Hulu. Shown sitting in a slum in Nairobi (or a location posing as Nairobi), tuned to what sounds like Radio Australia… Great catch, Dan! If I ever find an XCR-30 in […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Patrick, who shares the following guest post: Dear Thomas, Thank you for all good articles on the SWLing Post. After the passing of Top 40 radio disc jockey Dan Ingram of WABC 770 AM and later WCBS 101.1 FM, the golden days of Top 40 radio in New York City, […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) LED lights jam shipping Automatic Identification System VERON report investigators from the Netherlands Radiocommunications Agency have discovered RF Pollution emitted by LED lights caused the loss of AIS shipping signals around 162 MHz A Google English translation of the Radiocommunications Agency article reads: In the mouth of the Waalhaven in the Nieuwe […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Olivier Tkaczuk (F4BXV), who writes: Hello, my name is Olivier TKACZUK 36 years F4BXV and I live in the north of France. Just to present my last Sony SRF-M95 AM/MW bought on eBay for 13 euros. [I regularly receive] Absolute Radio in England…and also Radio Nacional de España. [H]ere is an […]

(Source: Southgate ARC via Mike Hansgen) New Datamodes programme on BC bands Starting on Wednesday 25th of July 2018 at 1830 UTC, there will be a new 30 minute programme featuring various datamodes, such as SSTV and some of the more complex and interesting PSK modes. The programme is called ‘SLOW SCAN RADIO’, and will […]

Wow! Thank you, Hackaday: HOPE XII: TIME TRAVEL WITH SOFTWARE DEFINED RADIO by: Tom Nardi It’s easy to dismiss radio as little more than background noise while we drive. At worst you might even think it’s just another method for advertisers to peddle their wares. But in reality it’s a snapshot of the culture of […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Bill Mead, who writes: Thomas, I’m sending you a short clip from WWFD 820 kHz in Frederick, MD. It’s America’s only all-digital station, apparently. They are HD only with a relatively eclectic music format. I’m hearing them at my QTH in Harrisburg, PA, about 80 miles or so north of […]

From the Isle of Music, July 29-August 4, 2018: No interviews this week, just some excellent Cuban music from the 1970s and 1980s for your listening and dancing pleasure. Four options to listen to the transmission: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Chris Peters, who shares the above photo for Boat Anchor Tuesday and writes: I was lucky enough to recently pick up both these familiar faces for $150. Hallicrafters S-40B and SX-100 Both are in decent shape but are due for a recap and alignment. Wow–both of these are classic sets, Chris! After a […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ulis (K3LU), who shares a link to the full text of the H.R.5709 – PIRATE Act–a bill to “amend the Communications Act of 1934 to provide for enhanced penalties for pirate radio, and for other purposes.” Here’s an excerpt from the preface of the bill: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Figliozzi, who shares a link to this website which has archived radio listings from four major U.S. cities/newspapers from 1930-1960: http://www.jjonz.us/RadioLogs/index.htm As John pointed out, there is some serious nostalgia to be found here! Thanks for the tip, John!

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m currently at the Circle of HOPE (Hackers On Planet Earth) convention in New York City. Yesterday morning, I grabbed some breakfast and a cup of coffee then headed to the Hardware Hacking Village–a space in the Hotel Pennsylvania with over 50 soldering stations–sat down and started to […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen (K8RAT), who shares this message from Wayne (N6KR) of Elecraft. This message was originally posted on the Elecraft email reflector: Several KX2/KX3 users have asked what I use as an adapter to go from an iPhone headset to the rig’s headphone and mic jacks. Here it is. […]

(Source: The Sandpiper via Richard Langley) Who knows how many Americans realize that 100 years ago the United States was at war? After all, when about 25 people on the street in Beach Haven in the summer of 2012 were asked for a SandPaper article what war the U.S. had been involved in 200 years […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike S, who comments with his short review of the Sangean HDR-14. Mike writes: Well, I did something I said i would not do, triggered by Amazon’s tendency to introduce impossibly low prices on things for a couple of days, I sprang for the HDR-14. I have used it […]

From the Isle of Music, July 22-28: This week, our special guest is Cuban Jazz saxophone virtuoso Michel Herrera, who will share and talk about some of his new recording Nueva Era. Four options to listen to the transmission: 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Price Kagey, who shares the following photo for Boat Anchor Tuesday and writes: “My wonderful HRO-50T. I have replaced all tubes and now need to start on capacitors and resistors.” What a beautiful radio, Price! Once you’ve re-capped and replaced the resistors in this girl, you’ll have a phenomenal receiver. […]

(Source: SNIPER IN MAHWAH & FRIENDS) After my first few public posts about shortwave trading, I gradually realized that I’d inadvertently created a worldwide network of deputy antenna sleuths. This is the final post in the Shortwave Trading series since the terms of my forthcoming employment agreement will prohibit me from future public talk on the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kris Partridge, who shares the following comment regarding John Harper’s recent post: The receiver which featured in Same Sky is of Italian manufacture, it’s from Geloso but I’m not able to identify which model. Here is a link to a very interest and comprehensive page, by Tony I0JX, about […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who shares the following guest post: Micro Go-Box for the ICOM IC-7100 by Mark Hirst You’ll be familiar I’m sure with the IC-7100 base unit and separate head unit design. It lends itself very nicely for vehicle installation. Using it in any ‘portable’ situation however has always […]

(Source: SNIPER IN MAHWAH & FRIENDS) I’ve heard that years ago, there was a stable business selling microwave data radios to local governments for networking their offices. Then the traders discovered microwave and everything changed for the radio vendors. Their new customers weren’t so much concerned about the cost—they just wanted the lowest-possible latency in the […]

(Source: Hackaday via bernieS) Unless you live in a cave, you’ve probably heard a little about the thirteen people — mostly children — trapped in the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Thailand. What you may have missed, though, is the hacker/ham radio connection. The British Cave Rescue Council (BCRC) was asked for their expert help. [Rick […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN), who writes: Saw this Sony receiver at a current high price on eBay: Interesting that it has a cassette recorder, although back in those days cassettes were popular and other radios had ’em installed to record your favorite shows or to just use as a player. Yes […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John Harper (AE5X), who writes: I don’t know if you’ve heard of a new series on Netflix – “The Same Sky” is a Cold War spy series regarding an attempt to gain access to an American eavesdropping facility in Berlin in the 1970’s. Not a lot of radio-related activity […]

(Source: Southgate ARC via Ralf Bender) The ex-DDR call-sign group from Y81A through Y89U, not used for 28 years has been issued especially for the WRTC Championship in Wittenberg, Germany. BUT …. These call signs will ONLY be on the air for the 24 hours of the WRTC / IARU HF contest – after that these call signs may never appear on […]

There has been some fascinating functionality added to the excellent KiwiSDR network of online software defined radios: Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA) direction-finding functionality. RTL-SDR.com has posted an informative article about this new feature and how effectively it works: The KiwiSDR is a US$299 HF SDR that can monitor the entire 0 – 30 MHz band at […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Brian Smith (W9IND), who writes: The cast may be smaller than in previous years, but the “Night of Nights” nostalgia show will go on. At 8:01 p.m. Eastern Time today (0001 UTC July 13), two maritime CW stations operated by the Maritime Radio Historical Society will begin transmitting Morse […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) 88 MHz Trans-Atlantic signals heard in Ireland On Sunday the 8th of July 2018, there was a remarkable opening on the VHF bands across the North Atlantic. While there were plenty of strong multi-hop Sporadic-E signals on the 28 MHz and 50 MHz bands, the maximum qusable frequency did reach as high […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen, who shares this latest Space Weather report from Tamitha Skov: Space Weather jumps into action this week with two weak solar storms en route to Earth. NASA models predict they will hit starting July 9 and they could easily bring aurora to high latitudes, if not mid-latitudes. […]

Yesterday, as I took a little time to curate a massive collection of photos I took at the Museum of Radio and Technology, I posted a few “boat anchor” (heavy metal vintage radio) photos and labelled them “Boat Anchor Tuesday” on Twitter and Facebook. Much to my surprise, I received a number of comments and […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jeff McMahon, who writes: I wanted you to know that my Sangean WR-2 keeps perfect time when I don’t play the radio, but when I do play the radio I lose 25 minutes; the clock is 25 minutes slow in other words. I’ve read other complaints from Sangean owners, […]

From the Isle of Music, July 15-21: This week, our special guest is trovador Pedro Luis Ferrer, who also spent a couple of years in the Rock/Pop group Los Dada. We will listen to some archival music of that group plus selections from Mr. Ferrer’s recordings over the years. Some other surprises as well. Four […]

Many thanks to Rainer Ebeling at Channel 292 who writes: I have to shut down the transmitter for three months beginning 13th July at 0700 UTC. I have no other choice to do this because part of the transmitter needs replaced and I cannot get this part fast it needs to be made from the company. […]

Dear Post Readers, If you live near or are planning travel to New York City next week, I would encourage you to check out the HOPE (Hackers On Planet Earth) conference at the Hotel Pennsylvania (July 20-22, 2018). The location couldn’t be more accessible: across the street from Penn Station and down the block from the […]

(Source: The BBC Media Centre) BBC’S Global audience rises to 376m The BBC is reaching a record weekly audience of 376m people, new figures published today reveal. The figures – the Global Audience Measure (GAM) – show how many adults the BBC reached weekly with its news and entertainment content in the year 2017/18. The […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Jarno de Haan, who shares this US Army Training Film about circuit testing via YouTube. If you own vintage radio gear, you should check this out: Click here to view on YouTube.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Lilian Putin?, who writes: Greetings, my name is Lilian Putina and I am from Moldova. I’ve been following your blog for a long time, with the help of it I’ve purchased a short wave radio, SDR, and WRTH almanac. I take everything a little bit: shortwave, FM DX, weather images […]

(Source: Radio New Zealand via Mike Hansgen) China is taking up a lot of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s former shortwave radio frequencies into the Pacific region. In response to budget cuts, the ABC last year ceased shortwave broadcasting in the Asia-Pacific region ahead of a transition to FM transmission. Since that withdrawal, frequencies on which […]