Radio Waves: The Discovery Dish Pre-Launch, China Radio International, Hackaday Prize, and Baseball Radio

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors Dennis Dura and Ulis (K3LU) for the following tips:

Discovery Dish Pre-launch: A Lightweight Dish And Feed For L-band Weather Satellites And Hydrogen Line Reception (RTL-SDR Blog)

For the past few years we have been working on finding the best way to help beginners get started with L-band weather satellite reception and basic radio astronomy. We have now come up with a solution that we’re calling the ‘Discovery Dish’ – a lightweight 65 cm diameter dish and active filtered feed set.

The Discovery Dish will be crowd funded, and we currently have a pre-launch page set up on Crowd Supply. So if you are interested, please visit the pre-launch page and click on the Subscribe button for updates.

Discovery Dish is a 65-cm diameter aluminum satellite dish and active filtered feed designed for receiving GOES HRIT, GK-2A LRIT, FengYun LRIT, NOAA HRPT, Metop HRPT, Meteor M2 HRPT and other weather satellites that operate around 1.69 GHz. The dish is designed to weigh under one kilogram, and it splits into three petals, making it easier to ship worldwide. The 1.69 GHz feed contains a built-in LNA right at the feed point, as well as filtering, which means that there is almost no noise figure loss from cables or connectors.

Note that the prototype images show an early non-petalized prototype with rough laser cut wind holes. The production version will obviously be a lot neater looking! […]

Click here for more details about the Discovery Dish campaign.

How China’s Propaganda Infiltrated Radio Stations in Europe (The Diplomat)

State-owned China Radio International is airing its content without attribution on commercial radio stations in Europe.

China has consistently and systematically pursued the dissemination of its narratives on the global stage, with the primary aim of shaping the international landscape to align with its strategic interests and ideological perspectives. These endeavors encompass a diverse array of tactics, including the acquisition of media enterprises, active engagement by Chinese ambassadors in both mainstream and fringe media outlets, the utilization of paid supplements, collaboration with pro-Kremlin media, and the steadily expanding presence of China across various social media platforms.

Recently, China Radio International (CRI), an official Chinese state media outlet broadcasting in multiple languages, has garnered attention for its establishment of partnerships with and provision of content to radio stations worldwide. Remarkably, CRI has effectively outsourced the production of China-related programming to local partners, often without transparently disclosing the sponsorship of content creation to the listeners. This strategy, known in Chinese as “borrowing a boat to go out on the ocean,” plays a pivotal role in laundering Beijing’s propaganda and fostering the acceptance of its messaging among local audiences.

One illustrative case of this approach within Europe involves two Czech radio stations, namely Radio HEY, a nationwide commercial radio station airing rock music, and Radio Color, which positions itself as “one of the last independent radios.” From 2019 to May 2023, these radio stations broadcasted a program titled “Barevný sv?t” (Colorful World), a nearly 30-minute segment aired six times a week, with the objective of acquainting Czech listeners with Chinese culture, language, and history. [Continue reading…]

Hackaday Prize 2023: A Software-Defined Radio With Real Knobs And Switches (Hackaday)

When cheap digital TV dongles enabled radio enthusiasts to set up software defined radio (SDR) systems at almost zero cost, it caused a revolution in the amateur radio world: now anyone could tune in to any frequency, with any modulation type, by just pointing and clicking in a computer program. While this undoubtably made exploring the radio waves much more accessible, we can imagine that some people miss the feeling of manipulating physical buttons on a radio while hunting for that one faint signal in a sea of noise. If you’re one of those people, you’re in luck: [Kaushlesh C.] has built a portable, self-contained SDR system with real knobs and switches, called SDR Dock 1.0.

The heart of the system is a Raspberry Pi running GQRX, an open-source SDR program that supports many different RF modules. [Kaushlesh] used an Airspy HF+ Discovery, a compact receiver that can work the HF and VHF bands, but it’s easy to modify the SDR Dock to accept other types like those ubiquitous RTL dongles. A seven-inch LCD screen with integrated speakers forms the main output device, with everything powered by a 10,000 mAh lithium-polymer battery. [Continue reading…]

With the future of AM unclear, a look back at the powerful role radio plays in baseball history (Citizen Tribune)

Many baseball fans, especially older ones, originally fell in love with America’s pastime by listening to ballgames on AM radio

Click here to browse this gallery.

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Can you identify this Hallicrafters in “Sky King”–?

6 Replies

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Dan Robinson, who writes:

Who can identify the classic Hallicrafters in the 1960s show Sky King?

Thanks, Dan! Readers: if you know the answer, please comment!

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Eclipse Time and Amateur Radio Astronomy Opportunities

1 Reply

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Marty, who writes:

Hi Thomas,
Here’s two interesting opportunities for hams and SWLers from NASA:

Radio Jove and HamSci:
https://www.popsci.com/science/radio-jove-solar-eclipse/

Link for required radio kit: https://radiojove.net/kit/order_form.html

From the article: “Radio JOVE hopes to improve our understanding of the ionosphere… if you’re a ham radio operator, you can get involved with HamSCI, which also plans to observe the upcoming eclipse.”

Sounds like fun!
Regards,
Marty

This is a brilliant idea and Radio Jove is a solid project. You’re right that enthusiasts should also follow HamSCI as they have many opportunities to be a citizen scientist in the radio realm! Thank you for sharing, Marty!

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Shortwave times, they are a-changin’

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Hi all of the SWLing Post Community, FastRadioBurst 23 bringing you news of this week’s Imaginary Stations broadcasts. On Sunday 1st October 2023 at 2000 hrs UTC on 3975 & 6160 kHz we have The Imaginary Stations Polka Party beamed to Europe via Shortwave Gold. Get the tankard out and get ready for one exciting polka party!

From this weekend the times they are a changing for Imaginary Stations on WRMI. No, you don’t need to set your clocks to fall backwards just yet, but depending on where you have your listening post, you might want to grab some tea and biscuits for some later night listening.

The show will now go out on 0200 UTC Mondays on 9395 kHz and then repeated at 0300 UTC on 9455 kHz. That is four hours later than the time you all have become accustomed to, so translated into Eastern Time we will now be on at 10 pm Sunday evening. This is good news for all the night owls out there, and also good news for those on the West Coast where the show will air at 7 pm Sunday Evening.

The first show for the new times is the debut of WMMR – Mystery Mix Radio where DJ Frederick will be putting together a mix up show from his eclectic record collection, so expect an interesting selection.

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

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RNEI: Broadcasting from Woofferton today at 19:30 UTC

1 Reply

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Gérard Koopal, who notes that Radio Northern Europe International will be broadcasting from Woofferton today beaming to Europe. Here are details from the RNEI Twitter page:

Woofferton confirmed: 3955kHz, 19:29:30UTC, 28th September! Europe beam 🙂

ITS HF application’s prediction of 3955kHz; we’re feeling it’s going to go further than this but this is the “guaranteed” reception areas! 🙂

Please follow the RNEI Twitter account any for updates.

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The Great Medium Wave Grey Line Challenge

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By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM

According to https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/greyline.html: (the image above comes from them)

The “grey line” is a band around the Earth that separates daylight from darkness. Propagation along the grey line is very efficient. One major reason for this is that the D layer, The “grey line” is a band around the Earth that separates daylight from darkness. Propagation along the grey line is very efficient. One major reason for this is that the D layer, which absorbs HF signals, disappears rapidly on the sunset side of the grey line, and it has not yet built upon the sunrise side. Ham radio operators and shortwave listeners can optimize long distance communications to various areas of the world by monitoring this band as it moves around the globe. which absorbs HF signals, disappears rapidly on the sunset side of the grey line, and it has not yet built upon the sunrise side. Ham radio operators and shortwave listeners can optimize long distance communications to various areas of the world by monitoring this band as it moves around the globe.

Elliott’s short version: Some funky stuff can happen with propagation when the grey line is passing through your location.

So let’s have some fun for a couple of hours chasing MW DX along the grey line.

Here are the rules:

Frequency range is the medium wave band: 520-1710 kHz
From one hour before Civil Twilight your local time on Saturday, October 14, to one hour after Civil Twilight at your location.
Any radio with any antenna, but must be the radio at your location (no using remote internet radios)
The listener must hear the signal in real time
The stations must be ID’ed by listening to the signal.
Your report should include:
- Your name (or Internet handle)
- Your receiver and antenna (stay with the same setup from beginning to end; if you use multiple setups, provide a separate report for each).
- Your location
- The time, the frequency, and the ID of each station heard
- The total mileage of your top five most distant stations.

A final point: this is not a contest; it is a challenge. The reward for every participant will be fun and fellowship.

You can find when Civil Twilight begins at your location by visiting www.wunderground.com . Enter your location, click on “Full Forecast” then scroll down to the “Astronomy” section.

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Radio Waves: Enigma Event, Oldest US Ham, RTI Celebrates 95 Years, Bridge Built Station, and Yosemite Sam Mystery Solved

Radio Waves: Stories Making Waves in the World of Radio

Welcome to the SWLing Post’s Radio Waves, a collection of links to interesting stories making waves in the world of radio. Enjoy!

Many thanks to SWLing Post contributors David Iurescia, Paul, and Andrew for the following tips:

Enigma Reloaded International Event (Enigma Reloaded)

Click here to read about this international radio event that takes place between September 29 – October 7, 2023.

Meet the Gaston County man who is the oldest living ham radio operator in the U.S. (Ham Radio World)

Gaston County resident Oscar Norris, also known by his call sign W4OXH, is turning 106 on Sept. 25.

Norris is not only the oldest living amateur radio operator in North Carolina, but according to information from the American Radio Relay League he is also the oldest living operator in the United States.

The Gaston County Amateur Radio Society and the Gaston Radio Club, both of which Norris is a long-time member, have come together to host a special airwave event for him from Sept. 20 – Oct. 1.

This event will honor Norris and his life, and will be hosted by operators in three different states, according to Gaston County Amateur Radio Society president Tony Jones.

Both on and off the air, Norris “is one of the most gentle and kind people,” a person could encounter in life, according to fellow amateur radio operator and friend, Mike Harvey. [Continue reading…]

Rti celebrates 95th anniversary with event featuring speech by President Tsai (Rti)

Radio Taiwan International (Rti) celebrated its 95th anniversary with an event featuring remarks by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Tuesday. Additional speakers included Legislative Speaker You Si-kun, Ambassador of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to Taiwan Andrea Bowman, and Rti Chairperson Cheryl Lai.

In her speech, President Tsai said that Rti has witnessed important events in the development of Taiwan’s democracy over its 95-year history. Tsai says Rti has carried out its responsibilities from then until now by continuing to cover Taiwan’s growing engagement with the world. Tsai also said Taiwan’s ability to connect people all over the world was demonstrated by the many postcards received in various languages on display at the event. She thanked Rti for its past work and says she hopes Rti will continue to bring the voices of Taiwan to the world.

Rti Chairperson Cheryl Lai also gave remarks at the event. Lai says Rti is Taiwan’s only public media company to broadcast in 20 languages across multiple platforms. Lai says Rti has been an important channel for people in Southeast Asian countries to understand Taiwan. She says the Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Thai language services have a long history at Rti, and are important resources for Taiwan’s new immigrants and migrant workers. Lai says that Taiwan also began a Ukrainian language social media service following the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Lai concluded by saying that as Taiwan grows more vibrant and diverse, Rti will continue to spread Taiwan’s voices to all corners of the world.

Ambassador Bowman said in her speech that reaching 95 years of service is not an easy accomplishment to achieve. She says Rti represents an excellent model for how to spread the message of democracy and peace across the globe. [Read this article on the Rti website…]

The Radio Station That Bridge Built (Nuts And Volts)

It was 1923, and radio was the phenomenon of the day. Over 600 broadcast stations were on the air, and Americans bought 100,000 receivers that year. (Sales would jump to 1,500,000 in 1924.)

This new instant mass medium flashed news of important events around the country in minutes instead of days. In addition to news, tens of thousands tuned in to hear music and learn from lecturers holding forth on their areas of expertise. A few tried to make sense of broadcast guitar or swimming lessons.

Those without radios gathered in taverns and restaurants to listen to election returns and descriptions of baseball games.

New radio owners everywhere strung wire across their rooftops to make aerials, and then puzzled out how to connect a loudspeaker to the set, along with the A, B, and C batteries the setup required. (Soon enough, “house-current” radios would come along; most of the early ones were designed to draw power from fittings screwed into lamp sockets.)

Once the radios were set up, many owners hosted “radio parties” and danced to the latest jazz music with their friends.

At the same time, the game of Bridge was sweeping the country. It had been brought to New York from England in 1893. Here, as across the Atlantic, Bridge replaced the popular game of Whist as a top pastime, and quickly spread across the nation. [Continue reading…]