The SWLing Post

(Source: Mauno Ritola via WRTH on Facebook) From Alfredo Cotroneo of IRRS-Shortwave: Dear Listeners and Friends, We were approached by colleagues who produced a special one-hour’ tribute’ program to Tom Taylor, and we decided to air it on our station in the coming days. A very great deal of effort has been taken to produce this […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia (LW4DAF), who writes: The Mexican Diexist Group has created a petition on the Change.org platform to ask that Radio Taiwan International don’t finish broadcasting their programs on the shortwave. Those who want to add their signature, can do so by following this link. Thank you very much […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Larry W, who writes: The Grundig Satellit 750 is now on sale on Amazon.com for $255.95 shipped. This is the best price I have seen in ages! Typically the 750 floats between $300-320. I thought you might want to post this because 750 sales are so rare compared with […]

Encouraged by SWLing Post contributors Guy Atkins and Ivan Cholakov, I recently installed the latest version of SDR Console on my PC. I had not tried SDR Console in many, many years, but after Guy announced that SDR Console had moved from preview to Beta, I decided it was time to try it once again. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Sandipan Basu Mallick (VU3JXD), who shares the following guest post: Dear Thomas, On the even of World radio Day, 10 DXers of Kolkata, India gathered while the radio enthusiast around the world are coping with bad news for the hobby. In this regard, please find a guest post written by […]

Some of you might recall our story about this 1940s RCA transmitter–here’s is the follow-up: (Source: CBC via Mike Hansgen) The massive transmitter is being moved from the former RCI site to the former Dorchester jail Bill Steele is a collector of odd things. A year ago, for example, he bought the site of the […]

Note that the Edward R. Murrow Transmitting Station–the last VOA/BBG transmitting site in the US–is the main provider of Radio Marti over shortwave. No doubt, this proposed cut could close the site permanently. The end of an era. (Source: Miami Herald via Mike Hansgen) Trump’s budget includes drastic cuts to Radio and TV Martí President […]

(Source: Radio New Zealand via Mike Hansgen) Papua New Guinea’s communications minister, Sam Basil, says he plans to grow radio services in PNG. He marked this week’s World Radio Day by saying radio is a medium that reaches the widest audience, including vulnerable communities in remote parts of the country. Mr Basil has announced the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kim Elliott, who shares the following story from the Odisha Sun Times: Bhubaneswar: Only a lucky few get to live and breathe their passion and Rajendra Sahu, a carpenter, is one of them. From Odisha’s capital city of Bhubaneswar, Sahu steals time to give shape to his imagination. He […]

From the Isle of Music, February 18-24, 2018 This week our special guest is Tony Avila, whose 2016 album Que se haga la luz is one of the most interesting Nueva Trova albums we have heard in many years. Also, some excellent Cuban Jazz. 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area […]

Rob Sherwood, at Sherwood Engineering, has now published test results of the Icom IC-R8600 wideband receiver. The IC-R8600 is (impressively) second from the top of the list sorted by third-order dynamic range narrow spaced if phase noise limited: Click here to view the full list at Sherwood Engineering. Click here to check out Dan Robinson’s recent […]

Several SWLing Post readers have sent me a link to this item on BCL News (originally posted by Takahito Akabayashi via WOR) stating that Sony will cease production of all shortwave radios this month: SONY Japan declared in January that they ended the production of ICF-SW35 shortwave receiver. They also declared in February that they end the […]

(Source: UNESCO World Radio Day) The seventh edition of World Radio Day will be held on 13 February 2018 under the theme: Radio and Sports, with all radio stations, regulatory bodies and related organisations invited to celebrate radio and its contribution to democratic debate through information, entertainment and audience interaction. As we look forward to […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi (N2HUN), who shares the following guest post: Battery Testers; Don’t Get Caught Without One! by Mario Filippi, N2HUN (All photos by author) Ever consider what life today would be like without the humble dry cell battery? Old timers know the term “dry cell” as opposed to “wet cell.” […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mario Filippi, who writes: Hope you are doing well. Spotted this J.I.L. receiver on eBay, never heard of this unit before. Click here to view on eBay. Thanks for the tip, Mario! This is a new one for me as well–what an interesting stack-able set of up/down converters. RigPix […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen, who shares the following article by Paul Litwinovich at WSHU: In this article I’ll look at two things that, unless you are a serious ham operator or an absolute radio geek, you probably are unfamiliar with. First, we will take a look at a very rare phenomenon first […]

Simon Brown, G4ELI’s widely used, free SDR-Console V3 was upgraded from “Preview” to “Beta 1” level today. Many SDR enthusiasts have waited for this next step; even in Preview form, Version 3 has performed nearly as well as a production release in many ways. I have briefly used SDR-Console (V2 and V3) off and on for […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who writes: Nothing that an SWLing Post reader doesn’t already know–more for general consumption: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-42819704/numbers-stations-the-spy-radio-that-anyone-can-hear For decades, people around the globe have been able to listen in to mysterious spy broadcasts from all over the world with just a radio. Gordon Corera has been investigating the strange […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Frank M. Howell, who left the following comment on our indoor antenna post yesterday: You omitted the MFJ Receive Loop….it outperforms my Wellbrook ALS-1530+. Very competitive price point! See http://www.mfjenterprises.com/Product.php?productid=MFJ-1886. Thanks for pointing this out, Frank. You’re right in that I had forgotten about the MFJ receive only loop antenna. It’s […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Chris Freitas, who writes: “I am thinking of the new RSP1A SDR. Would you know of a good indoor antenna that would work well with it?” Your antenna question is simple, but the answer is complex! First off, I think the RSP1A is a great choice as it’ll give […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Curtis, who shares the following video from NBC Left Field: Hawaii’s recent false nuclear missile alert showed us how reliant we are on cell phones and modern technology—and how unprepared we are if they become inaccessible. But in case the unexpected happens, an unlikely group of hobbyists—ham radio operators—are […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rawad Hamwi, who writes: When I bought my Sony ICF-SW7600GR back in 2014, I was happy with the included case that came with it. However, signs of wear and tear started to be visible. This inner fabric lining was peeling off, since it was rubbing against the antenna both plastic […]

Amazon has just posted an excellent price for the Eton Grundig Edition Traveller III shortwave portable: $35.83 shipped! This is the lowest price I’ve seen for the Traveller III since December when it hit this lowest price for a very brief period of time. As with any Amazon spricing, this could end at any time. […]

From the Isle of Music, February 11-17, 2018 More of Alejandro Falcón and his new album Mi monte espiritual; also some great music from Yunior Terry, Yosvany Terry and Estrellas de Areito. 1. For Eastern Europe but audible well beyond the target area in most of the Eastern Hemisphere (including parts of East Asia and […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Hirst, who adds the following to our growing archive of radios in film. Mark writes: A clutch of radios, this time from Brooklyn 99: The first is what looks like a scanner behind Terry Jeffords, then an unidentified radio in the book case behind Captain Ray Holt, and finally what I think […]

Okay SWLing Post readers: I need you to dig through your off-air recordings for something pretty obscure… Over at the Shortwave Radio Audio Archive, I frequently receive inquiries from educators, researchers, historians, and enthusiasts looking for very specific off-air recordings, often for some worthy project or other. It’s quite a thrill when I can lay […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) With Solar Minimum right around the corner, sunspot counts are at an almost 10-year low. So it came as a surprise yesterday when a relatively large sunspot emerged near the sun’s eastern limb. AR2699 has a primary dark core larger than Earth with many smaller magnetic condensations trailing behind it, in all stretching […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Luke Perry, who writes: I am experiencing a issue with my shortwave reception at my part-time home. I have been helping out my mother so I have brought over my Sony portable, along with the Sony active antenna. I have a constant ‘clicking’ sound starting at about 5 kHz […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mad Radio DXer, who writes: I want to bring to the attention of your readers & fellow XHDATA D-808 owners that it can accept an external antenna on MW without the need for any modifications. This I found out during a DXpedition to the field when I used around […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gregg Freeby, who writes: I recently purchased a Sangean ATS-909X and while I really like the radio, I wasn’t too impressed with the envelope pouch/case it came with for protecting the radio. I really like the leather case of the Tecsun PL-880 but it appears to have one major flaw, […]

After SWling Post contributor, Guy Atkins, posted the survey results of his excellent Elad FDM-S2 vs AirSpy HF+ weak signal comparison, I received a few questions about the AirSpy HF+ “R3 Bypass” modification Guy mentioned in his post. Guy has not yet performed the modification on his HF+–neither have I–but he points out that others […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan Cholakov, who shares the following video where he compares the SDRplay RSP1A and the AirSpy HF+ software defined radios on shortwave and mediumwave: Click here to watch on YouTube.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, G. Koopal, who who sent a tip regarding RTI’s French language service leaving shortwave. I followed up directly with RTI and received the following reply from their French language service team: [English Translation] We have just announced this news in the last “courriers des auditeurs” this Sunday, February 4th. From […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who shares the following guest post: ICOM’s IC-R8600: Can this mega-radio stay in the ring with big gun “legacy” receivers when it comes to shortwave band reception? by Dan Robinson When ICOM rolled out its new wideband receiver, the IC-R8600, I immediately took an interest in it. […]

Looking north toward Cape Lookout, Oregon, near the site of my SDR receiver recordings. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. In my original article 10 days ago, I set up a SWLing Post reader poll to let you give your opinion on which shortwave recordings within four pairs of audio files provided the most intelligible result. […]

Many thanks to Mark Stafford who shares the following news: RIP Tom Taylor/ Barry Stephens a Short Wave Pirate Radio Legend Just got some very bad news: Barry Stephens (Tom Taylor) of European Music Radio fame has died. To many of us learning the art of Pirate Radio Broadcasting in the South East of England […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Mander, who writes: I’ve recently really been enjoying swling.com. Thanks for having such a great resource online with shortwave radio and hardware reviews, tips and more! I started listening to shortwave on an old Philips portable receiver back in the late 70’s as a teenager. Recently, after decades of […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike, who writes: I’ve recently picked up an XHDATA D-808 and I’ve noticed a rather bothersome problem with it. When I have headphones plugged in and I switch bands, such as from SW to FM, a rather loud “pop” is emitted through my headphones during the band switching. This […]

The following review first appeared in the January 2018 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. Those who know me know I’m all about travel, and all the things that make the travel experience enjoyable. I like to pack light, taking only the essentials, and if I’m traveling by air, I can easily fit two weeks of fun […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen, who notes that Ken Burns’ film, Empire of the Air is now streaming on YouTube. This impressive documentary was originally broadcast in 1992. The following is a summary taken from the Empire of the Air website: For 50 years radio dominated the airwaves and the American consciousness […]

Many of you likely know I’m fascinated by remote islands and communities–especially the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. If you’ve been an SWL for a few decades you likely also remember the very popular Radio St. Helena day! We’ve posted several articles about it in the past–click here to […]

(Source: Sean Gilbert via WRTH Facebook) As in past seasons, WRTH is pleased to announce that an update file for the B17 broadcast schedules is now available for free download from http://www.wrth.com This update contains changes, additions and frequency cancellations; new stations that have become active since WRTH was published; and the revised full schedules of […]

(Source: Radio Romania International via David Iurescia, LW4DAF) February 13 is a day to celebrate radio, to improve international cooperation between broadcasters and to encourage major networks and community radios to promote access to information, freedom of expression and gender equality over the airwaves. The theme of World Radio Day this year is “Radio and Sports”. […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Rawad Hamwi, who writes: Hi Thomas Recently I was looking over the internet for some high resolution images for an opened Sony ICF-SW7600GR, but could not find much. So…I took the “risk” and I opened mine! The main purpose was to clean it from dust, since I am living […]

SWLing Post readers may have already heard Brother Stair back on the air this past weekend. Stair was released on January 24 with a $750,000 bail. Click here to read the story at The Post and Courier. In truth, Brother Stair never really left the shortwaves. WBCQ (and others?) replayed archived Overcomer Ministry shows while […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mike Hansgen, who shares this news/media from the BBC World Service: Could broadcasting school lessons solve Africa’s education crisis? The BBC spoke to a pupil in the Democratic Republic of Congo who is learning through the radio. Click here to view on the BBC World Service website. At Ears […]

(Source: BBC Media Centre via Mike Hansgen) The BBC is launching new daily radio services which will be aired Monday to Friday in Amharic, Afaan Oromo and Tigrinya. The new language services have been available online since September 2017 when they launched websites and Facebook pages in all three languages. The new radio services will […]