Monthly Archives: May 2013

The 2013 Dayton Hamvention

WinRadio's booth in the East Hall.

WinRadio’s booth in the East Hall.

Whew! Back from the 2013 Dayton Hamvention.  You may have noticed the lack of posts over the past week–this is just a hint of how incredibly busy I’ve been following this annual event. Every year that I go to the Dayton Hamvention, I come back exhausted…yet somehow energized about the lasting power and utility of radio.

As I’ve mentioned, one of the main reasons I go to the Hamvention is to build awareness about my non-profit, Ears To Our World (ETOW). The Hamvention donates an inside exhibitor table (worth $550+!) to ETOW each year, and our volunteers (myself among them) man it all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Hamvention. My voice was nearly gone by Sunday; I’d estimate we spoke with several hundred people.  But the great news is, we received a record number of donations this year–and on behalf of ETOW, I just want to say, Thank you! to all who support our mission of providing self-powered world band radios to classrooms and communities throughout the developing world.

I spotted this Hallicrafters Super Skyrider in the flea market.  She would look quite good in my radio room!

I spotted this Hallicrafters Super Skyrider in the flea market. She would look quite good in my radio room!

At the Hamvention, I also get a chance to network with friends, meet fellow radio amateurs/shortwave radio listeners, and check out both vintage radios in the outdoor flea market, and new radio innovations inside. One of the great things about representing ETOW is hearing the stories of others who share our belief that shortwave radio has a place on this planet.  It’s very encouraging and cathartic.

Moreover, I’m fortunate that once more this year several SWLing Post readers sought out our booth:  it was terrific meeting each and every one of you! This blog provides me with a sense of radio community that lasts throughout the year; I hope it does the same for you.

My Regency MR-10 Monitoradio.

My Regency MR-10 Monitoradio. (click to enlarge)

Typically, when I go to Dayton, I bring back a few purchases.  This year, I did not find a bargain like my BC-348-Q from 2012, but I did come back with much-needed supplies in the form of  connectors, adapters, cables, and one $6 Regency MR-10 Monitoradio (see photo).

I was thoroughly impressed by the number of innovations I saw at Dayton this year, especially the Software Defined Radios (SDRs) that are new to the market.

CommRadio's president, Don Moore, working with a customer at the Universal Radio booth.

CommRadio’s president, Don Moore, working with a customer at the Universal Radio booth.

One SDR that received a lot of attention, according to Fred Osterman at Universal Radio, was the CommRadio CR-1; it is an SDR in stand-alone tabletop-receiver form (see current sale). Universal sold all of the units they brought to the Hamvention in very short order. We mentioned the CR-1 in an earlier post, and received mixed reactions:  many readers noted that it was very robust, but didn’t have the feature set to make it particularly marketable at the price point.  This doesn’t seem to have mattered.

Fortunately, at the Hamvention, I met with Don Moore, president and founder of CommRadio, who most kindly gave me a loaner radio for review. He’s well aware that my review will be frank, and I’m grateful to have this little receiver in my possession. I have only had it on the air for perhaps an hour so far.  Just long enough to tell that it plays well, has a tidy footprint, is built like a tank and…well, that it’s frankly cute.  I will pit it against my WinRadio Excalibur, Alinco DX-R8T, and Elecraft KX3, and include audio samples in a forthcoming review.  Stay tuned!

WinRadio also had a booth in the East Hall that seemed to have a constant stream of visitors. I found Dennis Walter with Bonito in Hara Arena showing off the RadioJet receiver we reviewed last year. I also saw many other shortwave receiver manufacturers and retailers including C.Crane, Palstar, TAPR, Ten-Tec and Alinco.  Indeed, Alinco hinted that an updated version of the tabletop DX-R8T is on the way, the DX-R9(T).  It will have the same form factor of the DX-R8T, but the receiver will be built around Collins mechanical filters, which will be much easier to replace than the current ones in the DX-R8T. I’ll post an announcement when the DX-R9 is in production.

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CommRadio offering sale on CR-1 for a limited time

The CommRadio CR-1 is on my test bench, ready for review. (Click to enlarge)

The CommRadio CR-1 sitting on my test bench, ready for review. (Click to enlarge)

Gary writes:

There is a limited time sale on the CommRadio CR-1 communications receiver. I received this offer via email today.

CommRadio is offering a SPECIAL SALE through Sunday, May 26th, 2013

Purchase a CR-1 Communications Receiver, with the battery included for free, PLUS take an additional $20 dollars off.

This is a one time DEAL – $480 Dollar Special

The CR-1 will then go back up to $500 until June 4th. Starting June 5th it will go up to $599.

This is your chance now to save with the promotional price.

Terms and Conditions:
One coupon per customer
You may only use it once.
This offer is only for US and Canada shipments.

Expiration day: May 26th 2013

COUPON CODE: CR1SPECIAL
(Enter at check out)

http://www.commradio.com/

Thanks, Gary, for the tip! I’m in the process of reviewing the CR-1 right now. Check back soon!

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Photos from the Dayton Hamvention

I’m at the Dayton Hamvention again this year. If you are also attending, please stop by booth 411 in the Ball Arena and introduce yourself.

I had a chance to search the outdoor flea market yesterday morning  and even check out a few indoor exhibitor booths in the afternoon.  Here are a few photos from yesterday:

IMG_7781 IMG_7723 IMG_7673 IMG_7636 IMG_7634 IMG_7630 IMG_7626 IMG_7625 IMG_7619 IMG_7618 IMG_7615 IMG_7613 IMG_7612 IMG_7610 IMG_7608 IMG_7606 IMG_7604 IMG_7601 IMG_7600 IMG_7598

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Pirate Radio Recordings: Radio Strange Outpost 7 and Shrunken Head Radio

"Timmy, quick!  That's Radio Strange Outpost 7!  Get your decoder ring!"

“Timmy, that’s Radio Strange Outpost 7! Get your decoder ring!”

While attending the Winter SWL Fest this year in Plymouth Meeting, PA, I left my WinRadio Excalibur running day and night back home, recording spectrum in the pirate radio watering hole. I always find that while shortwave pirate activity is slightly lower during the SWL Fest (because many pirates are in attendance), there are always some interesting stations I miss.

This year, I was chatting with famed Pirate Radio enthusiast/author, Andrew Yoder and mentioned how I love rare pirates like Radio Strange Outpost 7. He then told me that he’d just noticed a logging of RSO7 on a pirate radio forum. I quickly logged into my home computer (via smart phone) and could see that my receiver had been capturing the right frequencies at the right time. When I returned home, I dug through the spectrum and found the broadcasts of RSO7 and Shrunken Head Radio (possibly the same pirate?) via the WBNY relay service. Woo hoo!

RSO7 is semi-cryptic, quirky and always fun (check out my off-air recording from last year). Though this broadcast contains no real music content from RSO7, Shrunken Head radio does.

Click here to download the full recording, or simply listen via the embedded player below:

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WRTH 2013 Summer (A) season available for download

WRTH2013I just received the following message from Sean Gilbert with WRTH:

The WRTH editorial team are pleased to announce that the Summer (A) Season broadcast schedules file is now available to download for free from http://www.wrth.com/ just follow the link on the front page (updates).

Included in this file are: Broadcast schedules for international and clandestine/target broadcasters, international broadcasts in DRM, International frequency listing, and selected language broadcasts. Also included is a decode table for site and target area codes.

The 80 page file is just over 2MB in size and in PDF format (with bookmarks to assist in navigating between sections) and unique section page numbering to assist with printing. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat reader in order to open this file. The Acrobat Reader can be downloaded from http://www.adobe.com/

We hope you find this file a useful accompaniment to the printed WRTH.

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Going to the Dayton Hamvention? Stop by our booth!

Hamvention2013For the third year in a row at the Dayton Hamvention, fellow volunteers and I will be representing the charity Ears To Our World (ETOW).

We will be in booth 601 in the East Hall. Stop by and introduce yourself! Here’s a map of how to find us.

If you’re not familiar with Ears To Our World and our mission to empower children and teachers in the third word through radio, check out our website and this article from the Wall Street Journal.

Look forward to meeting you there!

-Thomas (K4SWL)

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A review of the Lowe SRX 100

The Lowe SRX 100 shortwave receiver (Click to enlarge)

The Lowe SRX 100 shortwave receiver (Click to enlarge)

I recently had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the Lowe SRX 100 (a.k.a., Target HF3, AKG HF-3, and Garex HF-3), a receiver produced in the UK around 1995-96. It’s not know for being a DXing machine, but virtually any Lowe product has a certain nostalgia factor, not to mention, collectability factor. As you can see in the photo on the right, the SR 100 is a very simple receiver, and as such, it’s just the type for which I have a personal affinity.

The antenna connection and attenuation switch on back panel of radio. (Click to enlarge)

The antenna connection and attenuation switch on back panel of radio. (Click to enlarge)

When I first brought the SRX 100 home and hooked it up, I used the supplied 10 meter antenna wire that Lowe shipped with all of these units when new. The antenna wire has the correct fitting for the antenna connector on the receiver:  an RCA type connector, instead of the more common SO-239 or BNC.  A bit strange. But nonetheless, I hooked it up, plugged in the supplied AC adaptor, and turned on the radio…to find I received nothing but loud static. I live in a fairly RFI-free house and area, but the supplied antenna was so good at receiving noise that I thought the receiver was “deaf” and broken. I decided to give it another chance:  I took the SRX 100 into my radio room and hooked it to my large, external horizontal loop antenna; lo and behold, it came to life!  Needless to say, it was a relief.  (I later learned that many others have experienced this symptom with the supplied antenna.)

(Click to enlarge)

(Click to enlarge)

Basics

The SRX 100 receiver coverage is from 30 kHz to 30 MHz, in one-kHz steps. The receiver is a dual-conversion design with the first intermediate frequency at 45 MHz, and the second at 455 kHz. During the past two months of use, I have noticed no serious overloading.

The bandwidth, however, is fixed in AM and SSB–there are none of the wide and narrow settings we’re used to seeing on modern portables, let alone tabletops. I found, though, that for broadcast listening, the AM filter is near ideal so long as no adjacent signals are present. In crowded conditions, you can tune off-frequency to decrease interference unless your desired signal is sandwiched between two others.

The sound quality is a major plus. My unit reminds me very much of the mellow sound I got out of my Palstar R30C; it has almost a tube-like quality.  And in my book, that’s a huge compliment.

Tuning around

photo_4As simple as the Lowe SRX 100 is, tuning it can take practice. First off, the tuning knob is substantial, with a weighted feel–it spins freely and hints of quality workings within.  The actual tuning encoder, moreover, is quite clever.  I thought it odd that this radio had no band switching–to permit moving from meter band to meter band, or even in 1 MHz increments–instead, it is adaptive, something I hardly recall in a receiver from this era. If you tune the SRX 100 slowly, you will move in 1 kHz increments; speed up, and you can skip in steps of 10, 100 or 1,000 kHz steps. So, if I wanted to move from the tropic lower bands up to 11 meters, one really quick spin will get me there in a second. While this seems intuitive, in practice, any jerky movement of the tuning knob will shoot you right past the desired frequency into the hinterlands.

Also, 1 kHz increments in single side band can seem like a large tuning step on a modern tabletop radio.  The SRX 100 gets around this with its “Clarify” knob, which allows for fine tuning. The LDC display, though, does not reflect any incremental changes with the clarify knob.

Back panel of the Lowe SRX 100 and RCA to BNC adapter (Click to enlarge)

Back panel of the Lowe SRX 100 and RCA to BNC adapter (Click to enlarge)

Sensitivity-wise, the Lowe SRX 100 is quite respectable in the lower bands, but above 15 MHz or so, started to drop off a bit. Selectivity-wise, you will have no contest grade receiver here. For most broadcast listening, it does quite well, even on medium wave.  But on SSB, it’s simply disappointing in crowded conditions. Forget CW listening unless your “internal filter ” (your brain/ears combo) can cope with multiple signals at once.

Every receiver has pros and cons; I started noting them from when I first tuned on the radio:

Pros:

  • Simple design–even grandpa can figure out these controls without cracking open the manual
  • Nice weighted tuning knob
  • Easy to read LCD display (see con)
  • Tuning rate is adaptive to spin rate of tuning knob
  • Pleasant, mellow audio from its built-in speaker, reminiscent of the Palstar R30 series
  • Compact size for a tabletop receiver
  • 12 VDC power supply and current are only at 300 mah
  • Sturdy metal chassis and build quality excellent
  • Attenuator switch (Con: on back of unit)
  • Even at time of production, this was a relatively inexpensive tabletop with reasonable performance for price

Cons:

  • No adjustable bandwidth
    • SSB bandwidth too wide for listening to CW if any adjacent signals are present
    • AM too wide if competing station within 5 kHz of either side of desired carrier
  • No back lighting on display (see pro)
  • Clarifier only marginally effective on SSB signals
  • Only 10 memory positions
  • Adaptive tuning rate takes practice to become fast and accurate (see pro)
  • Non-standard RCA type antenna connector (will require an adapter for most people)
  • Supplied 10 meter length of antenna wire with RCA plug is useless in most environments
  • No bail

photoSRX100FrontPanelSummary

This is a fun little radio!  Even thought it’s a tad quirky, it may just be the best shortwave radio for an armchair shortwave radio listener, someone who wants an uber-simple design and small footprint. If you find used one on eBay, or with a company like Universal Radio, it may make a nice working addition to any shortwave radio collection.

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