The SWLing Post

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Balázs Kovács, who writes: [Found this radio on] Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 05 Episode 03 (on a spaceship in the future): Great catch, Balázs! Can anyone name this modern ham radio transceiver? Please comment! I’ll add this post to our growing archive of radios in film.

(Source: Southgate ARC) Possible ISS SSTV on Wednesday The latest ARISS schedule notes that the 145.800 MHz FM Slow Scan Television on the International Space Station may be tested on April 25 The callsign to be used will be RS0ISS and the SSTV test will be with Kursk in Russia and is expected to start […]

(Source: Columbia Journalism Review) ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2017—the day before Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico—the evening news team at WORA-TV in the coastal city of Mayagüez broadcast its final program before shutting down the station ahead of the storm. “If Maria was going to be the monster everyone was predicting,” says Carolina Rodriguez […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gary (W4EEY), who writes: I want to recommend an excellent presentation on RF Interference from the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) Convention in 2015. The presenter is Ian White, GM3SEK, who has a Blog website here: https://gm3sek.com/ You can find the presentation video on YouTube here: Click here to […]

(Source: ABC11.com via Mike Hansgen) The distinct Art Deco style clearly defines the WPTF radio station as a 1940’s classic. With rounded windows and curved edges, the building looks tiny on the outside, but cuts deep underground into a shelter that allowed announcers to broadcast through wars and hurricanes. Today, it’s hidden behind tall shrubs, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Moshe, for sharing the following video: I uploaded this video I made in a rush, holding our baby in one hand and my smartphone in the other one… The receiver is my Ben-Gal Verdi. I caught the station by accident, while tuning to VOA 15580kHz to listen to Boarder […]

I get just as excited as my kids when I receive any communications from the International Space Station. This past week, we fit an ARISS contact fit into our hectic schedule during lunch break. I gave both of my kids a handheld radio and we all listened together as the ISS passed overhead. Right on schedule, we […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden, for sharing the following announcement for International Marconi Day. Eric states, “I love the presentation of this invitation!” Me too, Eric!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, The Professor, who shares the following guest post: A 1960s Signal Sniffer by The Professor I just recently purchased a radio that on eBay that looks very intriguing, especially if you happen to DX AM Radio. It’s a mid-60s portable made in Japan – a Nova Tech Pilot II […]

I’ve been helping a friend’s daughter study for her Technician Amateur Radio License. Besides my tutoring, she’s only been studying with a free phone app thus far and essentially learning the answers to the questions. I know she really needs a book that can provide context for each question. Since there was no need to […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN), for sharing the following guest post: TYT Frequency Counter/Tone Meter Review by Mario Filippi (N2HUN) All photos courtesy of author Most hobbyists own some type of transceiver whether it is a handheld, mobile, or base station. Some examples are amateur radio HF/VHF/UHF transceivers, Citizen’s Band radios, FRS […]

(Source: Global Voices via Mike Hansgen) How RootIO Broadcasts Radio in Uganda Using a Bucket The open-source toolkit allows users to broadcast using just a smartphone and a transmitter Radio is still and continues to be a powerful medium across most of the African continent. Not only is radio used to share community information but […]

From the Isle of Music, April 22-28: Our celebration of Jazz Appreciation Month continues with special guest Michel Herrera, an important young saxophonist/composer/bandleader/producer, who will converse with us about his newest recording and the newest generation of Jazz musicians in Cuba. We will also listen to some of his excellent music. Four opportunities to listen […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gary DeBock, who shares the following notes from his Cook Islands Ultralight DXpedition: Cook Islands (Aitutaki) Ultralight DXpedition from April 8-13 A gorgeous environment, with thrilling long range DX! Ruth and I took this trip as the 38th anniversary of out first meeting at Victoria Peak in Hong Kong […]

On April 18, consider setting your scanner or handheld VHF radio to 145.80 MHz around 15:57 UTC; you may be able to hear the downlink from the International Space Station. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contact will be between between NA1SS (on the ISS) and KD2IFR at a school in Central Islip, NY. […]

(Source: Futurity) Radio receiver ‘listens’ for dark matter particles Researchers have developed a way to “listen” for the signs of dark matter axions, the particles that may make up dark matter. Forty years ago, scientists theorized a new kind of low-mass particle that could solve one of the enduring mysteries of nature: what dark matter […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who shares the following news from Radio Slovakia International: RSI addressed by President On Thursday, RSI celebrated 25 years of its existence at a special event. Besides welcoming the newly appointed Culture Minister ?ubica Laššáková, the Education Minister Martina Lubyová, the US Ambassador Adam Sterling, the Russian […]

Without a doubt, C. Crane Company has become an established name in our radio community as a retailer and manufacturer that focuses on the world of broadcast listening. The company’s ads, website, and blog all promote broadcast listening as a viable and important part of our evolving media landscape. Their radio products are all designed […]

(Source: Chicago Tribune) Art Bell, a radio host best known for a paranormal-themed nightly show syndicated on hundreds of stations in the 1990s, died at his home in southern Nevada, authorities said Saturday. Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly announced in a Facebook video that Bell died Friday in Pahrump. He was 72. An autopsy will […]

Last week, I picked up the first season DVDs for the TV science fiction series “V” at our local library. I somehow missed this series when it was first produced in 2009–however, I do remember clearly the original 1984 series. In the second half of the first season, a small group of resistance fighters created […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) The ESA just discovered a second magnetic field surrounding our planet A trio of satellites studying our planet’s magnetic field have shown details of the steady swell of a magnetic field produced by the ocean’s tides. Four years of data collected by the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Swarm mission have contributed to […]

SWLing Post readers: check out this amazing audio documentary by our friend David Goren about the legendary hip hop pirate radio station WBAD. It’s part of a new series from KCRW called Lost Notes. David shares the following note: “Endless thanks to DJ Cintronics, and Dren Starr for sharing their stories. Thanks also to Myke […]

Recently, there have been numerous articles regarding FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s efforts to increase pirate radio enforcement. This article in The Outline is a worthy read and features our good friend David Goren prominently: The FCC wants pirate radio stations off the air Immigrant communities rely on these unlicensed broadcasts to stay connected to their roots. Now […]

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

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard Langley, who shares this article from Radio World. Here’s an excerpt: Headsets Deliver FM to Mobile Devices, No Chip or Internet Required [The BLACKLOUD SOUNDOT AF1] headsets are nothing like the ones you might remember from your first Sony Walkman. According to information provided by Blackloud, SounDots feature patented […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who shares this short video from BBC News: Click here to view via the BBC News website.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, TheReportOfTheWeek, who writes: With every month, a few changes are made to the schedule of VORW Radio Int. The latest change is the resumption of broadcasts via WBCQ at 2100 UTC on 7490 kHz, targeting Eastern North America. Also, here is the full broadcast schedule, each show features some […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, The Professor, who shares the following review of the RFA200 external ferrite antenna: A Quick Review of the RFA200 The Professor I’ve considered saying something here about RFA200, as I bought one of these not long after its existence was announced on this blog a few months ago, but […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Moshe Ze’ev Zaharia, who submits the following videos of his reception of Radio Kuwait at 10:30 UTC on April 6, 2018 from his home in Israel. Moshe notes that the signal was of blowtorch strength and, for at least 45 minutes, there was an ever-present delay/echo. Moshe’s receiver is a […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen (K8RAT), for passing along this press release from SunSDR: The 3B7A Saint Brandon team is now active from Saint Brandon and we are exited! This is the first major DXpedition that will be using only SDR transcievers in its setup.[…] Using past experience from their successful FT4TA expedition […]

(Source: The VOA Museum via David Snyde) Museum Icon Passes Away The National Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting mourns the loss of one of its major leaders and benefactors. Clyde Haehnle passed away peacefully on Sunday, April 8th. Over the years, this icon in the development of broadcasting technology, not only locally but nationally, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Richards (AA7EE), who writes: Thomas – I know you’ve posted before about the NBC chimes, so I thought you might be interested to know that CHRS, the California Historical Radio Society, has acquired one of 8 original NBC chime machines. They don’t think that more than a dozen […]

UPDATE: Many thanks to Mike Barraclough who notes that a report today is that this has been averted. Click here to read. (Source: Southgate ARC) Germany – up to 10 million people could be hit by threatened radio shut down The airwaves across many parts of Germany could fall silent next week due to a […]

Many thanks to Bill Hemphill (WD9EQD) who is one of our newest contributors at the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive (SRAA). Bill approached me at the Winter SWL Fest this year noting that he has a wide variety of radio-related audio recordings to share with the SRAA and the SWLing Post. This week, Bill shared two fascinating […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kevin Turinsky, who writes: Just spotted a curious radio stack in an upcoming movie reviewed by The Economist: Take a look: “A Quiet Place” is high-concept horror at its best John Krasinski transforms a B-movie conceit into a smart, nerve-shredding film IN MOST cinemas, films are preceded by a […]

The SWLing Post Blog has recently featured a few posts on “Space Weather” & Geomagnetic Storms. As an amateur astronomer, I receive many daily space-related emails in my INBOX right along with the SWLing Post Daily Digest. I thought this might be of interest: From Spaceweather.com An unusually wide hole in the sun’s atmosphere is […]

Last month, on “Pi Day” (March 14, 2018) an upgraded Raspberry Pi 3 B was announced on the Raspberry Pi website. The new $35 B+ sports a few performance enhancements over the original–most notably: A 1.4GHz 64-bit quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU Dual-band 802.11ac wireless LAN and Bluetooth 4.2 Faster Ethernet (Gigabit Ethernet over USB 2.0) […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Direwolf131, who recently commented on one of the Sangean ATS-909X reviews in the Post archives. Direwolf131 writes: I’m a few years after Steve’s comments but I will have a go at it, at least anecdotally speaking. I’ve owned a half dozen Sangean ATS-909’s, which includes two of the 909X’s, and […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) The Danish Shortwave Club International have made their Domestic Broadcasting Survey covering broadcasters up to 25.9 MHz available for free download The document is in three parts: Part 1 (page 3) covers the Tropical Bands Survey (TBS) and active clandestine stations Part 2 (page 7) covers the Domestic stations on international shortwave bands above […]

(Source: ARRL News via Mike Hansgen) In late March, Paul Kelley, N1BUG, of Milo, Maine, completed what may have been the first transatlantic 2200-meter contact by a US radio amateur under Amateur Radio rules. Signals in this part of the spectrum and lower previously have spanned the Atlantic in one direction, and Canadian radio amateurs […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, The Professor, who shares the following review of the XHDTA D-328: First off, this is the best radio I’ve ever operated… that cost me less than ten dollars new. When I saw the promotion on the SWLing Post for free or half price radios, I had to bite, especially […]

Good news for listeners in Europe: Uncle Bill’s Melting Pot, a program of world music (including Americana), novelty and comedy songs which currently airs on WBCQ 7490 on Sundays, is adding a transmission for Europe effective May 1. This new transmission will air on Channel 292 Tuesdays from 2000-2030 UTC on 6070 Khz (right after […]

From the Isle of Music, April 8-14: April is Jazz Appreciation Month around the world, and we are going to celebrate by taking a look at some of the roots of modern Cuban Jazz in both Cuba and the United States. This week, we are going to dive into some of the epic Cuban Jam […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Aaron Kuhn, who shares the following guest post: XHDATA D-328 Radio Review by Aaron Kuhn Disclosure: This radio was supplied at a 99% discount by the manufacturer, costing me only $0.15. About Me I live in the Philadelphia Suburbs, where there’s ample FM Stations, good AM Coverage, and also […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) India to employ long wave radio technology Two towers, about three times the height of the Qutab Minar, are likely to be erected at as-yet-undecided locations in the country for disseminating Indian Standard Time. The National Physical Laboratory, an organisation charged with ensuring that Indian time stays accurate, has signed an agreement […]

I’m in the process of writing up a review of the C. Crane CCRadio-EP Pro, but a number of readers have been asking about how pronounced muting is between frequencies while band scanning. To be clear, the CCRadio-EP Pro is not a true analog set like the original CCRadio-EP (even though it looks like an […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ian P, who writes: Bob Padula noted some interesting information on his latest podcast–this was also played on last weeks episode of Wavescan. [In summary] the Shepparton site is still intact and on standby mode yet not staffed and is now Heritage Listed. The property is still for sale […]