The SWLing Post

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), who notes that the excellent website, Atlas Obscura, recently featured The Shipping Forecast: Why a Maritime Forecast Is So Beloved in the United Kingdom For the penultimate song on their 1994 album Parklife, Blur chose the swirling, meditative epic, “This Is a Low.” The song envisions […]

The AirSpy HF+ is the new SDR on the block, but how does it compare to the Elad FDM-S2 which is more than 2-1/2 times its $199 price? My main interest is finding out how they compare in a very RF-quiet DXpedition setting, but today I compared the two briefly from my home in Puyallup, […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Michael (N9YZM), who writes: Hi Thomas, I took the plunge and purchased the Skywave SSB. It was under the tree on Christmas morning. It was with some trepidation that I unwrapped it and installed a pair of AA batteries. I had read all the reviews regarding whistles and whines […]

(Source: The Mighty KBC) Moving frequency! Important news for our listeners across the pond! On December 31 we are moving to 6150 kHz. Sunday 00:00 – 02:00 UTC. Please spread the word.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Larry W, who points out the following announcement on the Overcomer Ministry website: Since Overcomer Ministry leader, “Brother Stair” was arrested on multiple charges including sexual assault, I think many of us assumed his on air programming would soon come to an end. A number of private broadcasters had already pulled […]

(Source: BBC) We are closing a number of BBC Local Radio’s medium wave transmitters in January 2018. This will not affect listeners who use FM, digital radio, digital TV, or the internet to listen. Why is the BBC switching off these transmitters? We know how much our listeners value BBC local radio – and have […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan Cholakov (NO2CW), who writes: I never got a chance to summarize my results of the AM scans I did during the 2017 total eclipse. I used an SDR and a 40 foot end-fed antenna located in a park near the Nashville, TN airport. On the plus side I did […]

(Source: BBC Media Centre) BBC World Service to broadcast for the first time from within the Arctic Circle BBC World Service English has signed a new agreement with Guovdageainnu Lagasradio (GLR) – a local FM radio station in Northern Norway that serves the local Sámi community. The agreement will allow GLR to broadcast content from […]

Note: Jeff Murray and I posted at Christmas in 2014–I thought it would be fun to dig it out of the archives once again. Enjoy! Dear Editor— I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no shortwave. Uncle DX Dash! says, “If you see it on the SWLing Post, it’s […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, The Professor, who shares the following guest post: Late Night Pre-Christmas Medium Wave Scan, NYC 2017 I haven’t recorded a proper scan of the AM dial in New York City for a while, so I took a shot at it a week before Christmas, starting around three A.M. Monday […]

(Source: Southgate ARC) Australian broadcaster celebrating on shortwave As part of 50th celebrations, radio broadcaster 4KZ in Northern Queensland is now on 5055 kHz and already getting signal reports including from North America and New Zealand. General Manager of NQ Radio (4KZ, 4AM, 4AY, KIK FM & KOOL FM), Al Kirton announced the decision to SWLing Post […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Mark Fahey, who comments: My WRTH is still in transit to me, however, Thomas’s comment in the post about the Cross Country Wireless Active Loop sparked my interest and I surfed over to their website. They have a great collection of really innovative antennas. I’m fascinated to see that […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Andy Howlett, who writes: Always nice to see another WRTH arrive, even though I haven’t actually bought one for many years. Attached is a pic of the very first one I bought, back in 1980. I only got it as it contained a review of the then spanking-new Trio […]

I received my copy of the 2018 World Radio and TV Handbook (WRTH) directly from the publisher yesterday, just prior to my Christmas holiday travels. As I mention every year, I look forward to receiving this excellent staple radio reference guide–and this is their 72nd edition! WRTH’s team of noted DXers from around the world curate frequencies and […]

(Source: ARRL News) Each year, the “residents” of McMurdo Station, Antarctica, celebrate Christmas by singing and sharing Christmas Carols via HF — using a non-Amateur Radio frequency just above 40 meters — for those at remote Antarctic field camps. They’ll be doing it again in 2017, on Saturday, December 23, at 2300 UTC. “Multiple stations […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ivan Cholakov (NO2CW), who comments: Just FYI US retailer Fry’s has the Grundig Traveler III for $35 ending Dec 23rd. Click here to view at Frys.com. Thanks for the tip, Ivan! This may require a store pickup as online shipping doesn’t appear to be an option. Also, the photo […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ralf Bender, who shares the following news: Hello SWLing Post, I send you a translation of an announcement of a special german broadcast with tradition: MEDIA BROADCAST broadcasts NDR radio program worldwide via shortwave on Christmas Eve. On Christmas Eve sailors all over the world look forward to a special […]

Now an annual Christmas tradition, Brian Justin (WA1ZMS) will put his longwave experimental station WI2XLQ on the air to commemorate the 110th anniversary of Reginald Fessenden’s first audio transmission. WI2XLQ will be on the air from 17:00 UTC Dec 24th on 486 kHz and run for 48 hours until 16:59 UTC on Dec 26th. Listener reports may be […]

Amazon just posted an impromptu sale on the Eton Field BT–the lowest price I’ve ever seen for for a new unit: $89.99 shipped! If you’ve been considering the Eton Field BT, you might pull the trigger now as Amazon sales can change at any time. Click here to view on Amazon.com (affiliate link) Click here […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Nigel Holmes, who shares the following: SIBC [Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation] has ended its MF service on 1035 kHz. Delivery on FM & HF has been retained. Audience surveys indicated HF delivery was more effective than MF. The decision will be reviewed in 2018 http://www.sibconline.com.sb/special-announcement-from-sibc-management/ Thank you for the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Alex, has just informed me that he’s updated his website. Alex writes: Christmas Greetings from the U.K.! After 8 months[…] I have fully updated my website. I have added a new feature: Top 20 Stations – hour by hour – December 2017 [click to download PDF] It is all based on my […]

Many thanks to Al Kirton, group general manager of radio station 4KZ, who writes with an update to our post from earlier today: We are pleased to advise that as part of our 50TH Anniversary celebrations, Radio 4KZ shortwave 5055 kHz commenced transmission yesterday afternoon. Reports have come in from as far as Monterey, California […]

SWLing Post contributors, Golan and DanH, have both reminded me in comments that RadioWorld Canada has a fantastic price on the excellent Eton Satellit (the original, non-executive version). If you live in Canada, or better yet the GTA, you should purchase directly from RadioWorld Canada on their website or in their store–only $99.99 CDN! Click here […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Phil Brennan (VK8VWA), who notes that 4KZ started broadcasting today in Australia. Phil notes: At last! ID for 4KZ confirmed at 0750 [UTC] Wednesday 20 December on 5,055 kHz. Thank you, Phil–and thanks for following this development so closely over the past few weeks. I tried tuning to 5055 […]

The beautiful Capim River in a land of Jaguars, Tarantulas and occasionally, wonderful shortwave DX Hi there, I returned from my third trip to the Rio Capim area of Pará, Northern Brazil about 5 weeks ago, having been out there for exactly a month. Now, whilst this was strictly a business trip I always make time […]

From the Isle of Music, December 24–30: This week, a potpourri of excellent albums from 2017 plus a touch of Cuban Christmas Jazz. Four opportunities to listen on shortwave: 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, […]

(Source: Southgate ARC via Mike Terry) Radio Caroline AM service to open Weather and technology permitting, our programmes on 648 kHz will commence originating from the Ross Revenge at 7.00 AM on Friday 22nd December. The changed schedule for the day will be : 7am Johnny Lewis 9am Top Fifteen 10am Ray Clark – with the official launch at […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post friend “Karen” who writes: My husband reads your website every day and is a dedicated radio geek. I’ve decided I’d like to get him an extra last minute stocking stuffer for Christmas. Any suggestions? We buy a lot from Amazon and are Prime members but any retailer that could get […]

Update: Stair has waved his rights to a bond hearing. See details and video at bottom of page. I’m sure many–if not a majority of–shortwave listeners have heard the Overcomer Ministry on the air via various private broadcasters. Ralph G. Stair, the leader and voice of Overcomer was taken into custody this morning on eight […]

(Source: BBC News via Kris Partridge) Belgium’s telegram service is about to stop. Stop. One hundred and seventy-one years after the first electrical message was transmitted down a line running alongside the railway between Brussels and Antwerp the final dispatch will be sent and received on 29 December. The fact that this 19th-Century technology is still […]

(Source: The Times via Richard Cuff) There should surely be a queue down the street for a steady job in a subtropical climate with beautiful beaches and ocean views, especially after you have climbed a 413ft radio mast. But contractors running the BBC Atlantic relay station on Ascension Island in the south Atlantic have had […]

I just received Alcaraván Radio’s annual Christmas and New Year eQSL card: I enjoy tuning in Alcaraván Radio–they’re one of many low power shortwave broadcasters in South America that make shortwave listening and music discovery so fun! Click here to listen to an Alcaraván Radio recording I made several years ago.

(Source BBC Genome Blog) The BBC Genome Project is releasing the next batch of pages from Radio Times, this time covering the 1930s. Genome users will now be able to access the articles, editorial material, letters pages, illustrations and photographs from the 1930s. We hope this will help users correct some of the errors in the […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Anderson, who writes: Attached is the manual for the new XHDATA D-808. Your readers who have ordered the D-808 may be interested in downloading this: https://www.digitalnomad.nz/downloads/XHDATA-D-808.pdf Many thanks, Dave! I’ve ordered the D-808, so I appreciate getting a sneak peek at the manual. I did note one thing […]

On WBCQ’s Twitter feed, Allan Weiner announced that the station’s transmitter building suffered a fire on December 10, 2017: Lost one of our main transmitters in a fire. Total loss. Need to replace. Please help. https://t.co/DItb23ZHE0. Donate what you can. pic.twitter.com/x6K0XwxXDF — Allan Weiner (@AllanWBCQ) December 15, 2017 Allan has set up a Go Fund Me […]

One of our SWLing Post contributors recently sent the following message with a request: I have a suggestion/challenge for a post: what’s out there for low cost, off-the-shelf HF antennas? I simply can’t drop $500 on a Wellbrook. The AirSpy HF+ and the new $100 RSP1A SDR are super enticing, but then I look at […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Benn Kobb (AK4AV), who notes: This routine FCC HF announcement indicates that it has received an application from WINB. http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2017/db1213/DOC-348229A1.pdf According to Ms. Ghavami, the FCC’s engineer on HF broadcast matters, the application is to add a transmitter to the existing station, for which a new construction permit is […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Guillermo, who writes: I own the PL-880 and just discovered a new feature : a 1.0 kHz bandwidth mode on shortwave (SW only not in MW). The procedure to get it is as follows: Tune to any frequency on shortwave and connectan external antenna (indoor or outdoor) via the miniplug […]

(Source: The Guardian) Digital switchover means that only the country’s local radio stations continue to use FM frequencies Norway has completed its transition to digital radio, becoming the first country in the world to shut down national broadcasts of its FM network. The country’s most northern regions and the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic switched […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Don Moore, who writes: I’ve been traveling through northern Peru and I’ve made some SDR recordings along the way – medium wave, long wave, and some shortwave meter bands. I hope to eventually get through them all! I have also uploaded some recordings to a shared Google drive so […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul McDonough, who notes that CountyComm has posted a 48 hour sale on the GP5-SSB (click here to read our review). The price is $71.99 US. Click here to view on the CountyComm website.

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Kim Elliott, who shares this link to a French company called a.bsolument who specializes in converting vintage valve radios into hi-fidelity Bluetooth-connected audio devices. According to a.solument’s introduction video, they take vintage radios in disrepair, gut the insides and replace the components with modern hardware which includes Bluetooth 4.0 […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ferruccio Manfieri, who writes: I bother you to mention this uncommon radio listening project i’ve just found via The Guardian: Green Bank telescope in West Virginia will listen for radio signals from ‘Oumuamua, an object from another solar system Astronomers are to use one of the world’s largest telescopes to […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Lennart Weirell, who writes: Hi Thomas, I have received a QSL-card from Radio Mi Amigo with a special individual stamp. Radio Mi Amigo announced this in the Newsletter in December: “Unique Radio Mi Amigo stamps: We are proud to announce our own official Radio Mi Amigo stamps. They are […]

Though not a shortwave radio (the SWLing Post loves ALL radios!), C. Crane’s latest special involves free Priority Mail shipping to U.S. customers for their CC Pocket Radio. Just use the Promo Code: CCPKTSHIP. This special ends at midnight PST on 17 December. The CC Pocket Radio comes standard with the CC Buds earphones – […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Phil Brennan, who writes: I spotted this article in the Australian edition of the Guardian about a local community radio network for Yolgnu people here in the NT: ‘We’re not going anywhere’: how cyclones failed to batter Yolgnu Radio In 2015, when two cyclones battered the northern coast of […]

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 ever seen for a new Traveller III, which is a very capable little radio! As with any Amazon sale, this could end at any time. Click here to view on Amazon.com […]

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dave Zantow (N9EWO), who writes: Just how many MW stations in North America are broadcasting in “C-QUAM AM Stereo” these days?? I found this reference which appears to be the most accurate list around the internet. http://www.meduci.com/stations.html I have taken this list and have edited it and converted to […]