Category Archives: Shortwave Radio

It’s shortwave sleepy time again!

Hi all SWLing Post Community, FastRadioBurst 23 from the Imaginary Stations crew letting you know about our shortwave shows this week. The first is another very chilled, dreamy and sleep inducing programme (in the best way possible of course). It’s called WZZZ 2 and is broadcast to Europe via Shortwave Gold on Sunday 17th March 2024 at 1000/1400 hrs UTC on 6160 kHz and then at 2100 UTC on 3975 kHz. More music to snooze to!

On Thursday 21st March via WRMI we have another adventure in sound called WMMR – Mystery Mix Radio. You will only know what tunes will be played if you tune in at 0200 UTC on 9395 kHz. Don’t worry, they will be of the highest quality and of an eclectic mix from very own DJ Frederick. And here’s more on WZZZ:

For more information on the shows please email [email protected] and check out our old shows here.

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KBS A24 SW Frequency Change

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, David Iurescia, who shares the following announcement via KBS:

With the beginning of A24 season at 0100 UTC (1000 KST), March 31, 2024, KBS WORLD Radio English Service will broadcast at 1400-1600 UTC (2300-0100 KST) on 9785kHz instead of 9630kHz.

We hope the new frequency and the adjustments will better serve our listeners in the target area this season. Please send your listener feedback to English Service via email, snail mail and social media as always. Thank you!

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A Conversation with Eric Fetters-Walp

By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM

When the Top 10 DX of the Year 2023 Contest results were posted by the Top DX Radioclub on January 24, 2024 — https://swling.com/blog/2024/01/results-top-10-dx-of-the-year-2023/ —  I noticed that Eric Fetters-Walp had placed seventh overall and #1 in North America and #1 in the USA.

I was curious how he had achieved his results, so I contacted him, and he agreed to an interview.

SWLing: Tell me a bit about your history as a SWL.

EFW: When I was about 8 years old in the late 1970s, my Dad and I built a VHF airband radio kit; we were under one of the flight paths for LAX in the suburbs east of Los Angeles. I was into music on AM at the time, especially on 1020 KTNQ, a top 40 station back then.

By then time I was about to turn 13, we were living outside Seattle, and I wanted to upgrade to a better VHF radio. I bought a Realistic Patrolman SW-60, a big analog-dial radio with AM/FM/VHF/UHF and SW. I remember I had to earn the money doing chores, though my dad chipped in the last five bucks.

I brought it home and, while playing around with it, switched it to the shortwave band. I had never heard of shortwave before, but I almost immediately heard HCJB in Ecuador, and I was hooked. I was already a geography geek, so I’d listen while looking through a world atlas book I had. Even today, above my work desk, I have a map on cork board with pins in it.

I got really into collecting QSL cards from all over the world as I listened all through the rest of the 1980s. Shortwave really helped me become a news hound as I thought about studying journalism, and all the Cold War-era stations fed my fascination with history. For my college essay, I wrote about how I felt that being a shortwave listener as a teen helped me learn about the world.

I didn’t have an outdoor antenna at my parents’ house growing up, and I didn’t own a radio with a digital display until the 1990s. So, listening in that era taught me to be super patient, to sometimes just park on a frequency looking for signal to fade in.

By the early 1990s, as I was starting my career, working as a reporter and editor at small-town newspapers, I mostly fell out of SWLing. Then, I got married and my wife and I had three kids. My oldest is now 21 and my youngest is 14, so I had started to have some extra time again just a few years ago.

In 2018, I dusted off my old Sony ICF-SW7600G, and I had a little Kaito radio my dad gave me, and I started listening again. A little later on, I acquired the Eton model that became the current Elite Executive. And I strung up a wire on the backyard fence about 60 feet. I have an advantage: our backyard backs up to a wide-open middle school athletic field, which seems advantageous for cutting down the noise. I also have an MLA 30+ loop, and I’ve just started playing with an SDR dongle for hunting signals.

SWLing: What about the contest?

EFW: The rules are you record your best 10 catches during the month of December; they all must be in different countries. The scoring is complicated, but basically you are trying to hear the lowest-power station from the farthest distance. However, no clandestines, no pirates, no military stations, etc.

The first year I entered was 2018 after I read about it on The SWLing Post. I was surprised to do relatively well.

The past few years, my strategy has basically been to map out a list of target stations and then try to catch as many as I can. I started early in this latest contest, and that’s good thing; reception was pretty bad the second half of month. My goal’s always to make a good showing and just not finish last.

In the first week of December, LRA36 from Antarctica could be heard; 300 watts, and that was a huge addition to my points (I checked with the contest organizers to make sure it counted). I also logged Rádio Clube do Pará on 4885 in Brazil, which comes in pretty regularly here, and worked down the rest of my list.

SWLing: Do you have any advice for SWLs?

EFW: Even if you don’t have the most expensive equipment, so much depends on getting an antenna outside—even if it hangs only 6 feet off the ground as mine does.

In addition, a key to success is a willingness to be patient. I listen to relax and try not to be frantic about it. Since I’ve started SWLing again, I have logged nearly 70 countries by doing just that. Also, while I feel like I’m pretty experienced now, I’m always learning from others in this hobby. There are folks out there who are just great DXers, and I’m still reading their tips online to learn more.

Click here to check out Eric’s 2023 Top 10 DX of the Year Notes/Logs (Google Sheets).

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Paul is impressed with the XHDATA/SIHUADON R-108 Shortwave Radio

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Paul Jamet, who writes:

Hi Thomas,

Near my home, there’s a small pond where shortwave reception is often very good…

Receiver: XHDATA SIHUADON R-108 with single telescopic antenna (No external antenna)
Recording with a smartphone placed close to the receiver, which explains the ambient noise, especially the wind noise in the microphone.

Here are two recordings:

1 – The Voice of Korea in English; at the end of the recording, the frequencies are announced. Note that the Voice of Korea broadcasts to Europe in English from 3 pm to 4 pm UTC on 12015 kHz … But I got the best reception on 12020 kHz; this is not due to a defect in the receiver. At the same time, I also received 5/5

2 – RFA (Radio Free Asia) in Tibetan from the island of Tinian precisely on 12125 kHz; Cf. attached file; very strong signal

[…]Voice of Korea is becoming commonplace, but what’s interesting is to be able to pick up these distant stations with a little 45€ receiver! I’m very happy with this little receiver for listening to shortwave.

Click her to check out the XHDATA/SIHUADON R-108 at XHDATA.

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RAC: Canadian Amateurs Invited to Participate in Solar Eclipse Project

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Richard, who shares the following announcement from the RAC:


Contribute to Eclipse Science and History: Research Propagation with Your Receiver!

March 5, 2024 – 

The Case Amateur Radio Club W8EDU of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio is excited to invite Canadian Amateurs to participate in the upcoming CHU Eclipse Data Collection Project!

We will be monitoring the reception of the Canadian time standard CHU before, during, and after the eclipse to measure the recombination time of the ionosphere. In other words, we know that the ionosphere changes in response to the presence of UV radiation in the sun by ionizing during the day and ‘de-ionizing’ at night (which is why many frequency bands propagate differently during the day and the night).

We understand how the ionosphere changes over a normal 24-hour period in response to the relatively slow transition from daytime to night time, but want to learn more about how it changes over a much shorter period (which is what the eclipse provides). We want you to help!

Our goal is to study how the eclipse affects radio wave propagation, helping us understand the ionosphere’s recombination time. To achieve this, we need your help recording Canada’s time standard station CHU for two weeks surrounding the April 8th eclipse. Anyone with a KiwiSDR or a rig capable of interfacing with analysis/recording software like Fldigi is encouraged to join the effort!

This project has already garnered enthusiastic support from various communities, including the American Radio Relay League, the Radio Amateurs of Canada, and the Ham Radio Citizen Science Investigation HamSCI.

We have over 20 stations across the continent participating, from universities and high schools to representatives from the Radio Amateurs of Canada and even a station in Mexico!

To join us and contribute valuable data, simply visit our website and follow the instructions (https://w8edu.wordpress.com/chu-eclipse-data-collection/) to set up your station and notify us about your participation.

Please reach out to [email protected] if you have any questions or comments.

Adam Goodman W7OKE, President, Case Amateur Radio Club
David Kazdan AD8Y, MD, PhD, Faculty Advisor, Case Amateur Radio Club
Chistian Zorman, PhD, Faculty Advisor, Case Amateur Radio Club, Associate Dean for Research, Case School of Engineering

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2024 Eclipse: HamSCI Roundtable Events

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Ed Efchak (WX2R), who shares the following announcement:


The Solar Eclipse Is One Month Away!

Learn How You Can Participate in Two HamSCI Roundtable Events

The last total solar eclipse across North America for twenty years will occur on Monday, April 8th. Hams across North America are asked to participate in learning more about how the ionosphere functions by getting on the air to help scientists in a series of ionospheric experiments.

Connect with HamSCI members and curious hams on Wednesday, March 27 at 8PM (Eastern) / 5PM (Pacific)*, or that same day at 10PM (Eastern) / 7PM  (Pacific)* for a Zoom presentation on HamSCI’s Festivals of Eclipse Ionospheric Science (FoEIS).  The presenters will take your questions during the 30-minute presentations.

The link to these presentations is here: https://scranton.zoom.us/j/286316405?pwd=QWdwMlFPbDlYeXg5ZDg1dmYzeFdCUT09#success

The program will start by covering HamSCI’s basis and purpose, quickly moving into why we are conducting experiments, how hams and SWLS can participate, and what we hope to learn from the event.  Along the way, we will discuss why the science behind the events is important to users of the high frequency radio spectrum – including amateur radio operators!

Learn about the HamSCI’s eclipse-focused operating events:

Solar Eclipse QSO Party (SEQP)

Gladstone Signal Spotting Challenge (GSSC)

Medium Wave Recording Event

Time Delay of Arrival (TDOA) Event

Grape 1 Doppler Receiver project

…and more!

There is no need to pre-register, create an account or log into any site. Simply follow this link at the date and times above to be taken to a Zoom meeting room, hosted by HamSCI:  HamSCI FoEIS Roundtable Zoom Link

Join us on March 27th!!   Get on the air April 8th!!

HamSCI serves as a means for fostering collaboration between professional researchers and amateur radio operators. It assists in developing and maintaining standards and agreements between all people and organizations involved. Its goals are to advance scientific research and understanding through amateur radio activities and encourage the development of new technologies to support this research.

For more information about HamSCI, to join our mailing list, or participate in our work, please visit us at www.hamsci.org.

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